IMAGES. 



83 



much ; he was a short and stout Creole black, 

 and a shoemaker by trade. I was greatly en- 

 tertained with his pompous manner, exalting in 

 terms of extravagant praise the advantages 

 which Itamaraca enjoyed, and the excellencies 

 of Conception, which was his native spot, in par- 

 ticular. He lamented much the removal of the 

 mayor and chamber to Goiana, giving me to un- 

 derstand that undue influence had been employ- 

 ed ; forgetful of the insignificance of one place 

 and the importance of the other. He also told 

 me with much vehemence of voice and action, 

 that the late vicar had wished to remove the 

 image of our Lady of Conception from the 

 parish-church to Pillar ; but that the inhabitants 

 assembled, and prevented the accomplishment 

 of the plan. " No," he said, " if that image 

 was to leave us, we should consider ourselves 

 unprotected, and then indeed would our town 

 be utterly destroyed." The vicar of whom the 

 man spoke, might have gone to reside at Pillar 

 if he pleased, but he, too, had his prejudices in 

 favour of the image, and did not like to say 

 mass before any other in his own parish. Thus 

 images cease to be regarded as the representa- 

 tions of those to whom prayer is to be addressed ; 

 a value is placed upon the wood itself j and re- 

 ligion degenerates into unveiled idolatry.* 



* The following story was current at Conception, and I 

 knew all the persons of whom it was related. A young man 



G 2 



