ador_, or Saviour, always strikes a disagreeable note. There is in
Madrid a "Calle Jesus," and the sacred name, used as a common expletive,
is heard on all sides. One of the most charming of Yradier's Andalusian
songs, addressed by a _contrabandista_ to his _novia_, runs thus:

Pero tengo unas patillas.
Que patillas punala!
Es lo mejor que se ha jecho
En de Jesu Cristo aca![2]

[2] "But I have such a stunning pair of whiskers!
The best that have ever been seen since those of Jesus Christ!"

And no one is offended; in fact, no irreverence is probably meant.

But the innumerable "Virgenes" which abound throughout the country, and
all seem different, have the heartfelt devotion of all classes. To one
or other of them the bull-fighter goes for protection and aid before he
enters the arena; the mother whose child lies sick vows her magnificent
hair to the Virgin of the Atocha, or of the Pillar, or some of the many
others scattered about the country, if only she will grant what she
asks; and you may see these marvellous locks, tied with coloured
ribbons, hanging amongst the motley assemblage of votive offerings by
the side of her altar, when the prayer has been answered. It is
difficult for us, with the best intentions, not to let prejudice colour
our judgment, and to understand what we are told--that these are really
all the same "Mother of God"; for, if so, one would imagine that she
would hear the devout prayers of her worshippers, to whichever of the
wooden images--most of them said to have been carved by St. Luke, and
black by age, if not by nature--they are addressed. But no, the Virgen
del Carmen is only efficacious in certain circumstances; and in the time
of Isabel II. she used to be taken down from her altar and placed in the
Queen's bedroom whenever an addition to the Royal Family was imminent.
Those in the other parts of Spain have each their specialty, and
pilgrimages are necessary to their shrines before the prayers addressed
to them can be listened to by the original.

The various saints in their way are wooed with candles burnt before
their images, or little altars set up to them at home; but they are
sometimes treated with scant courtesy if they do not answer the
expectations of their worshippers. On one occasion in Madrid, I
remember, San Isidro, who is the patron of the labouring classes, had
the bad taste, as his votaries considered, to send rain on his own
_fiesta_--a thi