The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-04-16

| revenge, DUl II, l'cLCHdHCt, lue SONl
fails to protect his people, he is sub
jected to rude indignities.
Not long ago, the villages Of a
little community south of Naples, IL
ritated by a long drought, tore their
venerated saints from their shrines,
imprisoned some Of them, hanged
some Of them, drowned' and "tor-
tured' others. Verify, if one hap
pens to be an Italian saint, there are
certain advantages in having a wood
en- body. But these savage Contadini
are not always content to wreak their
vengeance on inanimate objects, and
Barletta has the ignominious distinct
ion of being the last city in Europe
to burn martyr at the stake be-
cause of his religious belief.
One Of the most remarkable local
superstitions is that Of the "evil eye'
and the unhappy Italian who hap
pens to have an aquiline nose and a
piercing glance is held in horror as
"jettatore, a caster Of spells, and
no matter how honest, how gentle the
poor fellow may be, he is Stunned
like leper. If by chance native
is exposed to the terrible influence
of his eyes, it is necessary to cross
the fingers or touch some sacred
charm or amulet, usually having the
same form as the ancient fascl-
num-" Those in coral are the most
in vogue, and I have been surprised
to learn that many educated persons
who r. eend to laugh at the super
stition, always keep on the safe side
by having a tiny charm secretly sus-
pended around the neck. AS for the
peasants, they not only carry these
amulets constantly upon their bodies,
but often wear upon their breast, be-
meath the shirt, a Autographed pic
ture of some saint, to protect them
from the knife blades and bullets.
Their homes and even their stables
are defended by "lares,'' small i'm
ages like those which Virgil describes
Aeneas as bearing away from the
burning walls Of Troy. The dwell
lings are further protected against
! evil spirits by species of cactus
planted just outside the door or in an
amphora upon the balcony, and
throughout all southern Italy the
plant is known only by the name "al-
bero del anal occohio, the tree
Of the evil eye."
Next to ignorance and superstition,
the greatest curse Of southern Italy
is brigandage. The very word "Cal-
abria,' no matter where or in what
language it is pronounced, invokes IN
variably the thought Of fierce, pic
turesque robber bands, roaming the
mountains, with plumed hat, rifle and
stiletto. Unhappily the proverblal
Calabrian bandit is not merely
dramatic myth or comic opera hero.
He is a fact. He is not so numer-
GUS as in Eye olden TYNE" but Meth
er changes Of governments nor sever
ity of law, neither promises Of for
giveness nor grim man hunts legallzed
Iynching parties,) not even the mount
ed police armed with Krag Jergen-
sens ami soft noSed bullets, no, not
even ths'railroads, which are the most
undermining # all influences, Eave
been able to make him disappear. o.
ten after prolonged campaigns all;
numerous general battles, the Neapoh-
tan newspapers announce IN famLs
headlines liza! Tie complete eXt!r-
mination II 'rigandage has been az
comp!l5be i, anil the brave police re-
ceive the Official Fluctuations Of the
kine. bu, ,::.z' V eek The murders AMI
robberies break out with renewed Wig
or in another section Of the Com
pania. The trouble is that when the
soldiers and police are in the he!d'
The very wiliest Of the bandits sit
peacefully before their huts IN the
sunshine or pursue for the moment
some peaceful occupation as
"blind."
It is not always the vendetta, not
always the mere love of rapine and
bloodshed that cause the Calabrlan
peasants to become outlaws. More
frequently it is poverty. In this
country, where feudal land tenure,
long ago abolished in name, still ex-
lists in fact, the tillable land is prae-
tically all in the hands of few great
proprietors, many of whom are hard
and unscrupulous, and the result Is