The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-01-01
OUR LADY OF CANDELARIA OR
THE FRlAR WHO COULD
NOT REST.
A Spanish Ghost Story.

The old city of SAM Cristobal de la
Laguna in Tenerife. stands on rich
and fertile plain surrounded by green
hills.
1t is quiet and grass1grown, for be-
yond the main thoroughfare modern
innovations have affected it but little,
and the sunny silence of it's streets is
broken only by the musical clamor OF
it's Cathedral chimes high up in the
blue air, or the jingling of mule bells
as some crazy diligencia' rattles over
the cobble stones. i"
Occasionally ramshaclxle carriage
drawn by three horses harnessed
abreast draws up before the door of
the hotel to disburthen itself of it's
load of English tourists bound for
Orotava, who pause to partake of
luncheon and rest the horses before
proceeding on their journey; but few
visitors remain in Laguna, which
offers them no attractions in the way
of amusements, and it is altogether
too Spanish, conservative, and eccle7
siastical for English tastes.
However, the events with which
this story is concerned took place
many years ago, before the coming of
the Strangers as the islanders call
these visitors, and while yet the peo-
pie of Tenerife were primitive, pious,
and unspoiled.
Laguna is full of churches, converts,
and stately old Spanish houses former
ly belonging to rich and noble fami-
lies, many of whose descendants still
remain, though in greatly impover.
ished state. ttt
| Those old mansions are of marked
Moorish type, with heavily carved
projecting caves, grotesque water
spouts resembling the gargoyles
of Notre Dame in Paris, and windows
barred and grated. Many of the bal
comics are closed in with lattice work
resembling the mishrabya of Egyptian
and Tunisian seraglios, and most Of
them are adorned with long branches
| of blessed palm tied with faded ribbon.
| The converts are mostly deserted
| and going to ruin, or are turned to
secular uses, for in the revolutions
that convulsed Spain and Portugal
early in the last century the religious
| Orders were turned adrift and their
| property confiscated.
In one of the grass-grown streets
was-perhaps is still-a large ram.
bling old building which had once
| been monastery, but was fast going
to decay. 1t had long stone corridors
wide staircases, and Wondering
cloisters that gaze on to wilderness
of garden where ancient orange
trees dropped their golden fruit
amongst the unpruned roses, plum
bago, and maravillea that ran riot
there.
| Within were rooms silent and de
serted but for the rats which held
high revel where once the good friars
had pursued their peaceful avocations
or recited the Divine Office.
| After the expulsion of the religious
the building had been used for various
purposes, and for while was let out
in tenements, but for some time it had
remained unoccupied, as it had
acquired the reputation of being
haunted.
The pious inhabitants of Laguna de
clared that the curse of God rested on
the place from which it's former own
ers had been sacrilegiously expelled
a curse which would surely fall on
At last, however, a portion of it was
At last, however, a portion of tt was
let to a young married couple who
came from Garachico, town on the
far side Of the island, and who conse
quently were ignorant Of the sinister
reputation of their new abode.
They had been married serera
| years, but as yet had not been blessed
with child, which was great griei
to them, for all Spaniards love chill
dren, and to be ctlildless is regarded
as misfortune.
At first these young people were
very well satisfied with their new
home, which had been put into as goo6
repair as the circumstances permitted
of, but their satisfaction did not las
Ilong, for soon the strange happenings
which had SO alarmed their predeces
sors recommended. D.
i These happenings were of variou:
kinds. Mysterious noises of a lout
and startling nature we're otter
i heard, apparently close at hand; un
accountable events occurred, anC
worse than all there was constan
sense of the presence of some unseer
being.
i Strange to say, this ghostly pres
ence, whatever it was, seemed to at
tach-- itself principally to the younl
wife, her motherin-law and husband