Tinted Sketches in Madeira [pp. 265-278]

Tinted Sketches in Madeira.
in bright stripes, and on their heads
the graceful looking lenco, or handkerchief, in some showy, becoming
color. Others from the fishing villages wore complete suits of blue
cloth, of a light texture, even to the
head-dress, which was the carapuca,
or conical shaped cap, ending in a
drooping horn and a golden tassel;
while a few wore cotton dresses, and
covered their heads with the barrettea,
a knitted cap in shape like an elongated bowl, and having a woollen tuft at
the top glittering with gold beads.
The elder women covered their shoulders with large bright shawls, while
the younger wore tiglhtly-fitting bodices, fastened with gold buttons, and
over these small capes' with pointed
collars. All, whether old or young,
wore their dresses fall, and sufficiently
short to display to advantage their
small and beautifully formed feet.
In singular contrast with this simplicity of taste in their apparel, is
their desire for a profusion of ornaments. Accordingly, you will find
adorning the persons of the peasant
women of Madeira rings and chains
and brooches of intrinsic value and
much beauty, such as in other countries people of wealth assume the exclusive right to wear. An instance of
this ruling passion came under my
notice a short time since, which I may
mention here.
Through a long life of toil and poverty a peasant woman had regularly
laid by, from her scanty earnings, a
small sum weekly. Her neighbors
commended her forethought and prudence, not doubting but that the little
hoard so persistently gathered was
meant to meet the necessities of the
days when the feeble hands would
forget their cunning. At length the
sum amounted to some hundreds of
testatoes, or silver five-pences, and
then the poor woman's life-secret was
discovered. With a step buoyanit for
her years, and a smile which for a
moment brought back the beauty of
her youth, she entered a jeweller's
shop, and exchanged the contents of
her purse for a pair of costly earrings. Had she been remonstrated
with, she would have betrayed not
only her own but the national feeling
on the subject, by saying-" I lose
nothing by the indulgence. At any
moment I can find a purchaser for
real jewellery."
An hour passed, and signs of impatience were becoming visible in the
crowd, when the sounds of distant
music caused a sudden and deep silence. A feeling of awe seemed to have
fallen at once on the multitude, and
every bronze-colored face was turned
with a reverential expression toward
the street by which it was known the
procession would enter the Praca.
Slowly the music drew near, now
reaching us in full strains, then seeming to die away in soft cadences.
Mleantime the guns from the forts and
shipping renewed their firing, and the
bells swung out their grandest peal.
Curiosity was at its height, when the
foremost row of the procession met
our view-four men walking abreast,
wearing violet-colored silk cassocks,
with round capes reaching to the girdles, and holding in their hands wax
candles of an enormous size. A long
train, habited in the same way, followed these, and then came four ecclesiastics in black silk gowns and Jesuits'
caps, bearing aloft a large and gorgeous purple banner, in the centre of
which were four letters in gold, "S.
Q. P. R.," being the initials of a sentence, the translation of which is, "To
the Senate and People of Rome."
After this followed another long
line of men in violet, and then again
four clothed in black, carrying a wax
image, large as life, on a platform,
meant to represent the garden of
Gethsemane. Round the edge were
artificial trees about a foot and a half
in height, having their foliage and
fruit richly gilt. The figure was
clothed in a purple robe, and on the
brow was a crown of thorns. It was
in a kneeling position, and the face
was bowed so low you could not distinguish the features, but the attitude
269