64 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



With this encouragement, locking the house, and ac- 

 companied by children and servants, we set out to pay 

 our homage to the saint. The sound of a violin and the 

 firing of rockets indicated the direction of her temporary 

 domicil. She had taken up her residence in the hut of 

 a poor Indian in the suburbs ; and, for some time before 

 reaching it, we encountered crovrds of both sexes, and 

 all ages and colours, and in every degree of dress and 

 undress, smoking and talking, and sitting or lying on 

 the ground in every variety of attitude. Room was 

 made for our party, and we entered the hut. 



It W2is about tvrenty feet square, thatched on the top 

 and sides w^ith leaves of Indian corn, and filled with a 

 dense mass of kneeling men and women. On one side 

 was an altar, about four feet high, covered with a clean 

 white cotton cloth. On the top of the altar was a frame, 

 with three elevations, like a flower-stand, and on the 

 top of that a case, containing a large wax doll, dressed 

 in blue silk, and ornamented with gold leaf, spangles, 

 and artificial flowers. This was the Santa Lucia. Over 

 her head was a canopy of red cotton cloth, on which 

 was emblazoned a cross in gold. On the right was a 

 sedan chair, trimmed with red cotton and gold leaf, 

 being the travelling equipage of the saint ; and near it 

 were Indians in half-sacerdotal dress, on whose shoul- 

 ders she travelled ; festoons of oranges hung from the 

 roof, and the rough posts were inwrapped with leaves 

 of the sugar-cane. At the foot of the altar was a mat, 

 on which girls and boys were playing ; and a little fel- 

 low about six years old, habited in the picturesque cos- 

 tume of a straw hat, and that only, was coolly surveying 

 the crowd. 



The ceremony of praying had already begun, and the 

 music of a drum, a violin, and a flageolet, under the di- 



