Holy-Days and Holidays 



island, is often heard in the streets. In the 

 country peasants frequently beguile the tedium 

 of a journey with its strains ; and on holidays 

 bands of men, with perhaps half a dozen instru- 

 ments and accompanied by an admiring throng, 

 walking in step to the music, may often be met 

 with. In skilled hands the machete is capable 

 of much ; the peasants as a rule confine them- 

 selves to striking an unending succession of 

 simple chords, such as the following : — 



:-J^==]Hi=ft==M7=rmqr=l^=?=l^=l^ 





It is " a measure full of state and ancientry," 

 and the effect, if monotonous, is not un- 

 pleasant. 



THE PROCESSIONS OF FUNCHAL 



Procession of the Ashes. — So called because it 

 takes place on Ash Wednesday. It is promoted 

 by the third order of S. Francis, at the begin- 

 ning of Lent, as a stimulant to penitence, the 

 principal penitent saints of the Catholic Church 



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