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222 DAYS IN THE SUN
and lower him into a deep well; and there they let
him hang, up to his neck in water, until he becomes
more tractable.
The child which San Antonio bears in his arms has
only a little peg to connect it with the saint’s image;
and it is indicative of the Andalusian’s love for chil-
dren as well as the serious spirit in which he adminis-
ters this chastisement, that the child is always removed
before the punishment is executed. The image is a
living reality and consequently may feel pain. In fact,
I was told that there were ladies in the best circles of
Granada who would not give away photographs of
themselves, believing that any harm that came to the
picture would also be inflicted upon them.
One day I missed some papers. I asked Beppa
about them, for she had just tidied my room. She did
not even take the pains to look for them, but went for
San Antonio, at once, treating him to a savage mouth-
ful:
“San Antonio, we will have none of your tricks
here! I will have you understand that you must treat
our tenant well! You know what you look like? You
look like a plain ordinary drunkard, nothing better
than that!” She was very angry, and the papers were
soon found. I had mislaid them myself and was
obliged to beg the saint’s pardon by sacrificing a cuarto
of oil, “for otherwise he might not help us the next
time.”
It must be hard for a saint to be called a drunkard
and other bad things, but San Antonio accepts these
epithets with admirable humility. The fact is, if we
may believe the unanimous report of all the women in
this section of town, his own fingers are not always
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