Cuap. IIL THE FESTIVAL OF OUR LADY. 47 
of Nazareth : it is, I believe, peculiar to Pard. As I have said before, it 
falls in the second quarter of the moon, about the middle of the dry 
season—that is, in October or November—and lasts, like the others, nine 
days. On the first day a very extensive procession takes place, starting 
from the Cathedral, whither the image of the saint has been conveyed 
some days previous ; and terminating at the chapel or hermitage, as it 
is called, of the saint at Nazareth, a distance of more than two miles. 
The whole population turns out on this occasion. All the soldiers, both 
of the line and the National Guard, take part in it, each battalion accom- 
panied by its band of music. The civil authorities also, with the 
President at their head, and the principal citizens, including many of 
the foreign residents, join in the line. The boat of the shipwrecked 
Portuguese vessel is carried after the saint on the shoulders of officers 
or men of the Brazilian navy, and along with it are borne the other 
symbols of the miracles which Our Lady is supposed to have performed. 
The procession starts soon after the sun’s heat begins to moderate— 
that is, about half-past four o’clock in the afternoon. When the image 
is deposited in the chapel, the festival is considered to be inaugurated, 
and the village every evening becomes the resort of the pleasure-loving 
population, the holiday portion of the programme being preceded, of 
course, by a religious service in the chapel. The aspect of the place 
is then that of a fair; without the humour and fun, but, at the same 
time, without the noise and coarseness, of similar holidays in England. 
Large rooms are set apart for panoramic and other exhibitions, to which 
the public are admitted gratis. In the course of each evening, large 
displays of fireworks take place, all arranged according to a published 
programme of the festival. 
The various ceremonies which take place during Lent seemed to me 
the most impressive, and some of them were exceedingly well arranged. 
The people, both performers and spectators, conduct themselves with 
more gravity on these occasions, and there is no holiday-making. 
Performances, representing the last events in the life of Christ, are 
enacted in the churches or streets, in such a way as to remind one of 
the old miracle plays or mysteries. A few days before Good Friday, a 
torchlight procession takes place by night from one church to another, 
in which is carried a large wooden image of Christ bent under the 
weight of the cross. The chief members of the government assist, and 
the whole slowly moves to the sound of muffled drums. A double 
procession is managed a few days afterwards. The image of St. Mary 
is carried in one direction, and that of the Saviour in another. Both 
meet in the middle of one of the most beautiful of the churches, which is 
previously filled to excess with the multitudes anxious to witness the 
affecting meeting of mother and Son a few days before the crucifixion. 
The two images are brought face to face in the middle of the church, 
the crowd falls prostrate, and a lachrymose sermon is delivered from the 
pulpit. The whole thing, as well as many other spectacles arranged 
during the few succeeding days, is highly theatrical, and well calculated 
to excite the religious emotions of the people, although, perhaps, only 
temporarily. On Good Friday the bells do not ring, all musical sounds 
are interdicted, and the hours, night and day, are announced by the 
