Our system is the same that is followed nowadays by writers of history. Let it be understood that we do not meddle with such weighty subjects, nor venture into profound depths, and that our employment of the aforesaid modern system is solely in questions of the humble schools. Our information is all obtained from popular traditions, romances, and beliefs. The data which it is our delight to place in relief, all the world has handled as the Indians did gold before their conquerors gave it value; as future generations will give value to the things of which we treat when they lament their loss.
Our explorations in these rich mines have been rewarded. We have ascertained that the first tree that God planted was the white poplar; therefore the white poplar is the most ancient of trees—the vegetable Adam. We have learned that the serpent went straight, erect, and proud of his triumph in Paradise, until the flight into Egypt, when, encountering the Holy Family, he attempted to bite the child Jesus, and the indignant St. Joseph prevented him with these words, "Fall, proud one, and never rise again!" From that good day to this he has crawled. We have learned, moreover, that snakes and toads are permitted to exist solely for the purpose of absorbing the poisons of the earth. We have found out that the evergreen trees are endowed with their privileges of life and beauty in recompense for having given shelter and shade to the Mother and Child whenever they stopped to rest in their flight from the sword of Herod; that the rosemary enjoys its fragrance and always blossoms on Friday, the day of Our Lord's Passion, because the Blessed Virgin, when she washed the little garments of the babe, used to hang them to dry upon its branches; also, that for this very reason it has the gift of attracting peace and good-hap to the dwellings that are perfumed with it on Holy-night. That everybody has sympathy, affection, and even reverence for the swallows, because compassionately and with such sweet charity they pulled out the thorns that were piercing the temples of the divine Martyr. That the red-owl, which, grieved and appalled, witnessed the cruel crucifixion of the God-man, has done nothing ever since but repeat the melancholy cry "Cruz! Cruz!" That the rose of Jericho, which was white before, owes its purple hue to a drop of the wounded Saviour's blood that fell into its cup. That on Mount Calvary, and all along the way of agony, the gentle plants and fresh herbs wilted and died when our Lord passed by bearing his cross, and that these places were presently covered with briers. That the lightning loses its power to hurt in the whole circumference that is reached by the sound of praying. That at High Mass on Ascension-day, at the moment of the elevation, the leaves of the trees incline upon each other, forming crosses, in token of devotion and reverence. When newborn infants smile, in dreams or waking, we know that it is to angels, visible only to them. A murmur in the ears is the noise made by the falling of a leaf from the tree of life. When silence settles all at once upon several persons forming a company, it is not, as the wise ones say, because "the carriage is running upon sand," but because an angel has passed over them, and the air that is moved by his wings communicates to their souls the silence of respect, though their comprehension fails to divine the cause. Likewise, we have ascertained that the tarantula was a woman extravagantly fond of the dance, and so inconsiderate that when, on one occasion, she was dancing, and His Divine Majesty [Footnote 182] passed by, she did not stop, but continued her diversion with the most frightful irreverence. For this she was changed into a spider with the figure of a guitar delineated upon its back, and possessed of a venom that causes those who are bitten by it to dance and dance until, fainting and exhausted, they fall down in a swoon.
[Footnote 182: The Blessed Sacrament.]
In effect, we have learned many other things: some of them we have already written; the rest we mean to write; that is to say, "If the rope does not break, all will go on as usual."
But, among these things, there is one which we are going to communicate immediately, for fear lest we die of cholera, and it descend with us into the tomb; for it barely survives at present, and with it would perish its remembrance.
In times when faith filled hearts to overflowing, offerings and ex-votos were brought by thousands to the house of God. Now that we are enlightened, we have other uses for our gold, our rare objects, and fine arts; for, as the poet says,
"En el sigh diez y nueve
Nadie á tener fé se atreve,
Y no huy que en milagros cred."
[Footnote 183]
[Footnote 183: In the nineteenth century, no one dares to have faith and there is no one who believes in miracles.]