A Curious Shrine--A Human Catharine-Wheel--A Deaf-and-Dumb Band, etc.
Near Ploumanach, in Brittany, there is one of the most curious shrines
in Europe. This is the chapel of St. Guirec, a tiny, picturesque
building of the twelfth century. It stands on a rock in the bay, and
at high tide is surrounded by the waves. Inside is a wooden statue of
St. Guirec in a deplorable state, for it is simply riddled with tiny
holes. The reason for this sad state of things is that the fishermen's
daughters have a strong superstition that if they come to pray at the
shrine and stick a pin into poor St. Guirec they are certain to get
married within the year. If the hapless saint gives himself a shake
during the night and the pin drops out, it is an infallible sign that
everything will go well.
[Illustration: THE CURIOUS CHAPEL OF ST. GUIREC, IN BRITTANY--IT
CONTAINS A WOODEN STATUE OF THE SAINT, INTO WHICH THE FISHER-GIRLS
STICK PINS, BELIEVING THAT THIS WILL ENSURE THEM A HUSBAND DURING THE
YEAR!
_From a Photograph._]
The extraordinary photograph on the next page shows what may well be
called a "human Catharine-wheel." This is to be seen at the annual
feast of the Totonaco Indians at Papantla, in the State of Vera Cruz,
Mexico. Wearing huge, highly-coloured erections--made from the bark
of a tree--on their heads, four men take their positions on the arms
of the mill and proceed to make it rotate, gradually working up to a
speed of forty or fifty revolutions a minute, while the crowd cheer
excitedly. This ranks as "fun," but must be decidedly warm work for
the performers, who, to guard against the results of giddiness, are
strapped by the legs. The two Indians seen in the foreground are
wearing grotesque masks.
[Illustration: A HUMAN CATHARINE-WHEEL--THIS EXTRAORDINARY DEVICE IS
TO BE SEEN AT THE ANNUAL FEAST OF THE TOTONACO INDIANS, OF MEXICO.
FOUR MEN, GAILY BEDECKED, TAKE THEIR PLACES ON THE ARMS OF THE MILL
AND PROCEED TO MAKE IT ROTATE, WORKING UP TO A SPEED OF FORTY OR FIFTY
REVOLUTIONS A MINUTE.
_From a Photograph._]
[Illustration: A SNAPSHOT WITH A CURIOUS HISTORY.
_From a Photograph._]
From Sialkot, India, a member of the 12th Lancers sends us the quaint
little photograph here shown. He writes: "My dog had been burrowing in
loose sand, and, as he turned to come out, the sides of the excavation
fell in and imprisoned him. Had I not been there he would undoubtedly
have died; so, after freeing his head, I made a sort of tombstone round
him and photographed him as a memento."
[Illustration: THE ONLY BRASS BAND IN THE WORLD WHOSE MEMBERS ARE DEAF
AND DUMB.
_From a Photograph._]
The only brass band in the world whose members are deaf and dumb is
depicted in the photograph reproduced below. This remarkable band
belongs to the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. To teach
a person who is afflicted in this way to play an instrument and get
him to understand something of musical notation would appear at first
an impossible task, and it was only accomplished after many months of
patience. First of all the players were taught how to blow the fife,
the simplest of all wind instruments. The next step was more intricate.
By the use of certain fingers the players were made to produce given
notes, and in this way various tones were taught and committed to
memory. Being of necessity taught with the utmost exactness, the pupils
developed a confidence of execution not found in the average musical
student. Certain rules were laid down, which the deaf-mute had to
follow explicitly, and the result was absolute correctness in playing.
[Illustration: THE PENALTY OF GLUTTONY--THE PYTHON HERE SHOWN TRIED TO
SWALLOW A GOAT BODILY, BUT "BILLY" STUCK IN HIS THROAT AND KILLED HIM.
_Copyright Photograph by St. Michael Padmore._]
It is difficult for those who have not had ocular demonstration to
credit the extraordinary capacity of snakes for absorbing large
animals. The striking photograph we next reproduce was taken in the
Zoo at Perth, Western Australia, and shows a python which endeavoured
to dine not wisely but too well. He killed a goat, and commenced to
swallow it bodily, as is the pleasing habit of these great snakes.
Poor "Billy," however, had his revenge, for he stuck in the reptile's
throat, capacious though it was, and all the python's efforts to
dislodge him failed. The result, of course, was distinctly unfortunate
for the snake. When the curator went his rounds the following day he
discovered the monster quite dead, with the goat's hind legs sticking
out of his mouth, as shown in the snapshot.
[Illustration: THE MAP-CONTENTS OF "THE WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE," WHICH
SHOWS AT A GLANCE THE LOCALITY OF EACH ARTICLE AND NARRATIVE OF
ADVENTURE IN THIS NUMBER.]