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216 DAYS IN THE SUN
they could lay hands on, tied old iron junk to their
tails, as well as tin-cans and the like. At six o’clock
sharp, when all the church bells of the city began to
ring at once, the dogs were released, dashing away with
rattling noises, accompanied by their own howls.
From all the balconies shots were fired, and a veritable
pandemonium descended upon the city.
During the rest of the year, the Andalusian is more
reserved. After all, there is too much solemnity, too
much ceremony connected with the cult of the Son of
God. One does not feel quite at ease in His vicinity.
He would not take a joke. The Andalusian never
turns to Christ in prayer, and his reason is not an ex-
cessive humility. The Son of God is not too high, but
too remote for him.
If there is a burden on his heart, he turns to the
Madonna, or, in minor matters, to some saint. His
celestial hierarchy really begins with the Madonna,
descending through the saints and through a great
number of relics. Where the Mother of God is con-
cerned, his religion becomes a relation of personal con-
fidence. He adorns her with every manner of divine
quality and surrenders himself confidently to her, for,
after all, she is a human creature like himself; being
a woman, she can understand his cares, and being
an Andalusian she can take a coarse joke into the
bargain.
But since the Madonna controls the whole world,
fills all hearts, and affords aid for all suffering, she
becomes too vague, too hazy for the Andalusian. He
needs some more definite hold to cling to. The Ma-
donna performs this miracle or that, but which
Madonna is it? There are nearly thirty Madonnas.
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