The Washington herald., 1907-03-24

send their most costly gems 10 aa0rn the
image OF the Virgin. On the head Of the
statue circles the Queens crown. ard
around its neck. arms, and ankles ars
strings after strings Of priceless pearls.
chains OF enormous diamonds, collars of
esaaralds. sapphlres. and rubies. which
fairly dazzle the eye. as it IS borne along
in the brilliant southern sunlight. in
front Of the palace OF the Cortez, a large
platform is erected for the King, the two
Queens. and the members OF the court
IS the procession advances. all the occu-
pants on the platform fan 10 their knees
and remain in that position until the last
Of the pageant has gone BY.
On Good Friday. In accordance with
! pious tradition, the minister Of justice
submits for the Kings signature the free
1 fun pardons OF three prisoners lying under
/ sentence of death This ancient custom.
/ which has been in nse in Spain since the
fifteenth century, dates from MosaicaI
times The Hebrews were in the habit OF
/ releasing a prisoner at the Passover. IN
| remembrance Of their delivery from
Egypt. the popular choice at the time OF
| the cruclhxion lying between Christ and
/ Barabbas. Their most Catholic inaies-
]
rulers Of Spain, adopted q similar GUS
/ tom for the celebration OF Good Friday.
/ Until the reign of Isabella II only ona
] sentence was Temitted Several papers.
| however, were prepsred and folded, each
one containing the name Of a condemned
/ prisoner These were placed promlscu.
/ ously in a large silver saIver. and that
criminal was reDrieyed on whose aaper
! the royal hand rested, the others obtain
/ ing no benefit The anxiety OF all those
4 whose names We're given in for this pur-
pose, and the bitter disappointment Of the
/ unsuccessful, may be better imagined
/ than described S0Oa after Isabella IL
came to the throne. Good Friday came
round The court was assembled tn the
rpalace chapel The time for the adora-
/ ton Of the cross had come The young
/ queen knelt before the crucihx. the sal
/ yer with three papers was presented. and
I al watched for her majesty 20 touch
/ one and 10 repeat the traditional words.
( May God pardon me. as 7 pardon thee"
i But with tears in her eyes, and a heart
/ fun of pity regardless OF tradition. she
| stretched forth both her hands brought
all three papers together, and In a broken
voice, exclaimed "YO Os perdono a todos
/ yasi DiOs me perdOne." (AIay God pardon
/ me as ] pardon you aIL) Since that time
the sovereign has invariably been accus-
/ toned 10 commute the penalty OF three
/ criminals under sentence Of death instead
Of one.
In England the custom OF washing the
feet on Holy. or Maundy, Thursday was
retained until the close Of the reign OF
King James II. the last Roman Catholic
sovereign of Great Britain. Since that
time the washing 9f the feet has been
abandoned, but sixty-six poor men and
/ sixty-siX poor women. their number cor
! responding to the number Of years of the
/ sovereign. Will assemble en- Westminster
Abbey on Thursday to receive gifts OF
/ money in the name Of the monarch, and
known as the Royal Maundy. The men
get on an average S26 and the women
so. all in bTand-new coins OF the realm.
and contained ia oid-fashfoned red and
/ white kid purses. The men OCCUPY. at
/ the ceremony OF distribution the lower
I row or seats OF The choir. reaching from
! the organ to the sacrariun The yeomen
Of The, guard are on duty during the serv-
ice, and the distribution takes place
after the reading Of the first lesson. be-
ing performed by the lord high aimoner.
assisted by the subalmoner. the dean
Of Westminster. and several Of the canons
Of the Chapter Of Westminster.
At the principal Protestant courts Of
Europe, the old-fashioned custom OF max
ing Easter the occasion for great civic.
political. and ceremonial amenities has
fallen into disuse, and save az the court
OF Berlin the day differs but little from
ordinary Sundays. At Berlin, however.
Easter Day is inaugurated by the trump
eters of the Gardes du Corps Regiment,
who. with thei- great silver clarfons.. her
aid the advent OF this great festival Of
the church by means Of LuJhers grand
Easter choral They take their place. for
the occasion on the tower Of the imperial
palace at Berlin, and the clear, metallic
notes of their trumpets res0und far be-
yond the precincts OF the royal abode.
On this day the Emperor and Empress
attend divine service at the Cathedral
and at its close the Kaiser. as on New
Years Day, walks. accompanied by all
the princes Of his house and the chief dig
nttaries Of the army TO the main guard,
IN order to give the watchword for the
day. Fuil-dress uniform is de rigueur.
not only for every officer. but likewise
for every soldier who shows himself in
public on this day In the Afternoon. East
CT eggs are hidden for the royal young
sters and their friends 10 seek, the Easter
egg institution being one OF the old Ro-
man Catholic usages that have been re-
tanned by the Lutberans. For some .rea-
son or other. Easter eggs are supposed to
symbolic the Resurrection, and at tha
ttuf y pA 2idutiut vienna. ana Munich.
painted and gilded eggs are offered to thu
sovereign at the close OF the Easter high
mass. ana are then distributed by him
among the members Of the royal entour-
age present.
Until 1870 Easter was celebrated in tho
most impressive manner at the court OF
the Vatican. Shortly after midnight the
entire square in front OF st. Peters would
be thronged by people OF every class OF
society, from the grandest patricians
down to the humbiest contadini OF. peas
ants. The greater part OF the papaI army.
all its members arrayed in fuIl-dress uni
form, were drawn up in the center ard
along the cOldnnsde on either side, and
then every one would patiently wait for
daybreak. Just before the sun appeared
on the horizon, deep and solemn silence
would settle over the immense assembly.
and then the Pope, followed by a great
[ retinue OF g0rgeously attired prelates,
would appear in the loggia or open gal
lery above the huge gates Of the cathe-
dral Stretching his hands IN a sweep
ing gesture the pontim. crowned for the
/ occasion with his-jeweIed tiara, would.
just as the sun rose pronounce IN q loud
and resonant tone of voice the blessing
/ ,Bendicat vos,' and a moment later the
cannon of the castle of St Angelo would
boom forth the Easter morn salute. while
? the various military bands in the square
would strike ap the "Te Deum." the