XXIII.
March 30th.
GOOD Friday. …
The bells have ceased to ring,—even the bells for the dead; the
hours are marked by cannon-shots. The ships in the harbor form
crosses with their spars, turn their flags upside down. And the
entire colored population put on mourning:—it is a custom among
them centuries old.
You will not perceive a single gaudy robe to-day, a single
calendered Madras: not a speck of showy color visible through all
the ways of St. Pierre. The costumes donned are all similar to
those worn for the death relatives: either full mourning,—a
black robe with violet foulard, and dark violet-banded
headkerchief; or half-mourning,—a dark violet robe with black
foulard and turban;—the half-mourning being worn only by those who
cannot afford the more sombre costume. From my winndow I can see
long processions climbing the mornes about the city, to visit the
shrines and crucifixes, and to pray for the cessation of the
pestilence.
… Three o'clock. Three cannon-shots shake the hill: it is the
supposed hour of the Saviour's death. All believers—whether in the
churches, on the highways, or in their homes—bow down and kiss
the cross thrice, or, if there be no cross, press their lips three
times to the ground or the pavement, and utter those three
wishes which if expressed precisely at this traditional moment
will surely, it is held, be fulfilled. Immense crowds are
assembled before the crosses on the heights, and about the statue
of Notre Dame de la Garde.
… There is no hubbub in the streets; there is not even the
customary loud weeping to be heard as the coffins go by. One
must not complain to-day, nor become angry, nor utter unkind
words,—any fault committed on Good Friday is thought to obtain a
special and awful magnitude in the sight of Heaven. … There is
a curious saying in vogue here. If a son or daughter grow up
vicious,—become a shame to the family and a curse to the
parents,—it is observed of such:—"Ça, c'est yon péché Vendredi-Saint!"
(Must be a Good-Friday sin!)
There are two other strange beliefs connected with Good Friday.
One is that it always rains on that day,—that the sky weeps for
the death of the Saviour; and that this rain, if caught in a
vessel, will never evaporate or spoil, and will cure all
diseases.
The other is that only Jesus Christ died precisely at three
o'clock. Nobody else ever died exactly at that hour;—they may
die a second before or a second after three, but never exactly at
three.