Note 71 — Chapter XII · The Sierra Madre.—Todos Santos.—Evening Prayer (La Oracion).—Indian domestic habits.—Religious devotion.—Goitre.—Jacaltenango.—Indian Festival.—A Temblor.—Indian Idolatry.—Custom of ancient inhabitants to serve the parents whose daughters they wished to marry.—Doubtful fidelity of my guide.—Condition of Mule.—Mexican Frontier.—Comitan.—Note on President Juarez, and the Execution of the Emperor Maximilian.

In Guatemala this prayer is called La Oracion.

This custom is familiar to those who have travelled upon the Italian coasts, or who have visited the western parts of Brittany near Carnac and in the Morbihan, where the faith of the peasants still remains strong.

The Indians living amongst the hills frequently assemble in considerable numbers, and, kneeling on the ground, worship outside the doors of their churches; and there is a singular resemblance in the manner of their devotion to what is to be seen at the “Pardons” of the Bretons, where the peasants come from long distances, light their candles, and kneel before the church door, the line of the worshippers often extending beyond the precincts of the churchyard.