IN THE EUROPEAN ATMOSPHERE-1853-1856 553 



gorgeous chapel of the saint which forms part of the 

 Cathedral of Naples, and the place was filled with devout 

 worshipers of every class, from the officials in court dress, 

 representing the Bourbon king, down to the lowest laz- 

 zaroni. The reliquary of silver gilt, shaped like a large 

 human head, and supposed to contain the skull of the 

 saint, was first placed upon the altar; next, two vials, 

 containing a dark substance said to be his blood, were 

 also placed upon the altar, near the head. As the priests 

 said prayers, they turned the vials from time to time; 

 and, the liquefaction being somewhat delayed, the great 

 crowd of people burst out into more and more impas 

 sioned expostulations and petitions to the saint. Just in 

 front of the altar were the lazzaroni who claimed to be 

 descendants of the saint s family, and these were espe 

 cially importunate: at such times they beg, they scold, 

 they even threaten; they have been known to abuse the 

 saint roundly, and to tell him that, if he does not care 

 to show his favor to the city by liquefying his blood, St. 

 Cosmo and St. Damian are just as good saints as he, and 

 will, no doubt, be very glad to have the city devote itself 

 to them. At last, as we were beginning to be impatient, 

 the priest, turning the vials suddenly, announced that the 

 saint had performed the miracle, and instantly priests, 

 people, choir, and organ burst forth into a great &quot;Te- 

 Deum&quot;; bells rang and cannon roared; a procession was 

 formed, and the shrine containing the saint s relics was 

 carried through the streets, the people prostrating them 

 selves on both sides of the way and showering rose-leaves 

 upon the shrine and upon the path before it. The con 

 tents of these precious vials are an interesting relic in 

 deed, for they represent to us vividly that period when 

 men who were willing to go to the stake for their reli 

 gious opinions thought it not wrong to &quot;save souls r&amp;gt; by 

 pious mendacity and consecrated fraud. To the scien 

 tific eye this miracle is very simple: the vials contain, 

 no doubt, one of those waxy mixtures fusing at low tem 

 perature, which, while kept in its place within the cold 



