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THE STANDARD GUIDE. 
shrine was prepared to receive it. The ever-burning lamp was kindled 
before the altar, and to a pious hermit was entrusted the care and pro¬ 
tection of the image. One night as he was trimming the lamp he dis¬ 
covered that the Virgin had disappeared from her place. She was found 
upon the top of a hill in Cobre and was brought back to the shrine in 
Hato; but three times more she disappeared, and three times again was 
found on the hill of Cobre. Then the people knew that this was where the 
Virgin wished to remain; and here in 1631 her church was built. The 
original church was in time succeeded by the magnificent sanctuary in 
which the precious image is still preserved. The figure is of wood, and is 
fifteen inches high. True to her name, Our Lady of Charity heard the 
prayers of those who made their appeal to her, and wrought many 
miracles in their behalf. As the years passed the miraculous interventions 
grew in number, and as her fame and honor increased, she became the 
popular patroness of the island. Although formal Papal sanction has not 
been accorded to her as such, the Virgin of Cobre has long been regarded 
as the especial Patron Saint of Cuba. She is the particular patron of sailors 
and fishermen; their faith in her is simple and strong. “Everybody 
believes in the Virgin of Cobre,” said a Havana fisherman; “one does not 
have to be a Catholic to believe in her.” On the scales of every fish in 
the waters of Cuba is depicted her image. The Cobre church is filled with 
costly gifts and votive offerings, and the furnishing and decorations are 
of great value. The sedan chair in which the image rests is fashioned 
from the most exquisite tortoise shell and inlaid with ivory and gold. 
The jewels with which the Virgin is decked are reputed to be worth 
$10,000; the vestments of her priests are worth as much more. One night 
in May, 1899, thieves broke into the church and looted it of treasures 
valued at $25,000. The Festival of the Virgin of Cobre annually is cele¬ 
brated on the 8th of September, on which occasion in some years as many 
as 15,000 pilgrims have resorted to the shrine. At these times the image 
is exposed to the view of the multitudes in a religious procession of 
solemn and imposing magnificence and pomp. Of late years the Cobre 
pilgrimage has lost something of its religious feeling, and has taken on the 
character of a picnic. Churches dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Caridad 
are found in many places on the island, the image of the Virgin usually 
having beneath it a miniature boat carved from wood and containing the 
three salt gatherers who made the wonderful discovery in the Bay of Nipe. 
