The Virgin, the great idol of popery, was
honored by a pageant, which was celebrated with extraordinary splendor;
and as I must initiate you in the mysteries of Catholicism, I think you
will be well pleased to receive a detailed account of it. The ceremony I
consider as curiously illustrative of the manners of the rulers, of the
ruled, and of the times; and I will only add, by way of preface, that it
was instituted by the governor, Des Marets, in 1443, in honor of the
final expulsion of the English, and that he himself consented to be the
first master of the _Guild of the Assumption_, under whose auspices and
direction it was conducted.--About Midsummer the principal inhabitants
used to assemble at the Hotel de Ville, and there they selected the girl
of the most exemplary character, to represent the Virgin Mary, and with
her six other young women, to act the parts of the Daughters of Sion.
The honor of figuring in this holy drama was greatly coveted; and the
historian of Dieppe gravely assures us, that the earnestness felt on the
occasion mainly contributed to the preservation of that purity of
manners and that genuine piety, which subsisted in this town longer than
in any other of France! But the election of the Virgin was not
sufficient: a representative of St.
Pages:
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49