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220 DAYS IN THE SUN
This condition is even more apparent in the case of
the saints. There are plenty of saints in Andalusia;
one saint for each complaint. They are one’s refuge
in times of need, in sickness, in times of poor crops,
and earthquakes, On such occasions they are carried
in a procession and the whole matter is placed in their
hands. This results in considerable economy, in the
matter of hospitals, disinfectants, doctors, street clean-
ing, in short, in all this modern and expensive hygienic
mechanism. Way up in the steep streets of Albaicin I
once met Latia Lorenza, Beppa’s ninety-year-old aunt,
who was painfully hobbling up the hill. She had in-
flicted a serious cut on her foot while paring her toe
nails, and was now on her way to pray to San Nicola,
in order that he might cure her.
For you must understand that these saints are no
mere quacks. They are not Jacks-of-all-trades who
can cure anything. ‘They have developed a high de-
gree of specialization, in accordance with the modern
evolution of the sciences. Thus, San Nicola cures
corns, callous spots and injuries to the legs; Santa
Lucia specializes in eyes and breasts. Her altar is sur-
rounded by many eyes and breasts of plaster of Paris
or metal, which have been suspended as mementos of
her cures. Many nursing women may be seen daily
kneeling with great concern before her image. The
Old Madonna has a mass of her own said every Satur-
day morning at eight o’clock, in the Cathedral. It is
attended by pregnant women who pray for an easy
or speedy confinement, or by friends who come to take
their places. The birth-pains will last as long as the
mass, and the priests therefore have every reason to
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