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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
and there lie remains till about thirteen , by which time lie is initiated in what the author characteristically designates the " manual exercise of his religion , " and possessed with a thorough detestation of all true knowledge- During his youth the cowl is constantly before his path , like the moving scare-crow of humanity ; while royal edicts , like the wanton and pettish
tyranny of spoiled children , are continually pouted fortli , threatening punishment for crowding the church-porches , uttering unorthodox oaths , irreligious expressions , and so forth . If lie be seized with illness , the priest is at his bed-side , to scare , appal , exhort , confess him , and play off the mummeries and devilish tricks of his " order / ' Every Spaniard marries , whether old or young , rich or poor , and in married life the padre is tLe almost
xlaily visitor of the family ; hence , what with births , christenings , secrets , quarrels , and confessions , the " man of God" is constantly getting paid for eating-, drinking , and meddling in all affairs . During the Carnival he is busy in dispensing indulgences ; during Lent , in watching for the smell of the forbidden flesh-pots . At Easter all the consciences have to be sponged , like naughty boys' slates , and every one ' s penitence and
communion certified by a ticket—a sort of duplicate , without retaining which there can be no hope of redemption . Nay , to make sure of both sides of the grave , all who seek public employments in this world must be able to produce the aforesaid documents , and it is stated that a traffic in them was carried on by many regular
agents , among whom were some young clergymen , who sold them at the rate of from six to twelve reals a piece . Then , at all seasons of the year , the priest has some emergency ripe with the love of heaven , or an exigency ready ground and pointed for use : an altar-cloth is wanting for his church , or a new dress for Our Lrady , or a becoming mantle for her shoulders ; or masses must
be said for some patron saint , deceased relative , or righteous willmaker ; or the candlesticks want gilding , and a large supply of candles is needed , that wax may be " looking up ! " An individual , perhaps , feels himself crossed and stopped in his career by some mysterious influence ; and when youth and health have
been consumed in vain efforts to succeed in life , he discovers the cause to have originated in a peculiar cross that has been secretly set against his " irreligious" name . Wives beg and pray of their husbands to be prudent and wise , and frighten their children with
an Ave Maria ! mind what you do !—the familiar is watching you !—the padre is coming ! ' Tlius , with the powers of wealth in their hands , and those or Darkness in their tongues , the priesthood rule the people . It is of no use to cry " beware of mantraps" where all " premises" belong to those who set them . c < Brought up with these impressions from his earliest years , a Spaniard conforms , externally , in all points to the ceremonies of his faith ; not
Untitled Article
528 Madrid , in 1836 ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1836, page 528, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2661/page/4/
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