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THE KING’S BUSINESS
purchase. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘the priest says he will not begin to sell until everyone has arrived. He does not wish the dance which is to follow to be interrupted !’1 “ ‘Oh,’ :I said, ‘he sells redemption with the help of dancing.’ ‘Yes, sir. The priest. himself says that when all have bought we ought to dance and drink Something, in order to show our holy joy over the great treasure tW God has sent to us by means of His holy apostle.’ “I asked him in what this great treasure consisted and he showed me a paper with the following words'written on it: “ ‘I, missionary to all parts of the world by the authorization of his Holi ness the Pope and in the name of the holy church of Jerusalem and of the Virgin Alary and of her Beloved Son, do hereby grant to'the sinner N. N. the pardon of his sins for fifty years. • I have received the payment for this docu ment and given him my blessing. May the Virgin endow and fill him with her holy grace! Year 1913. I, Friar Gre- gorib, of the Santa Sede Apostolica.’ “At once I went up tO' the priest, asking : ‘What is the price of one of those pardons ?’ “He answered : ‘For unfortunates, who, however, can always manage to obtain some thing, even though it be by begging, it is worth ten cents a year ; for those people who work for daily wages it. is worth twenty cents ; and for well-to-do people it is worth thirty cents. As I believe you have enough money, you ought to buy a document that . will serve, you for fifty or evén for one hun dred years.’ “He told me that he was acquainted with Valera’s translation of the Bible and that there was no difference between it and the Roman Catholic version. “I asked : ‘Do you accept the teachings of St. Paul and the other apostles?’ “ ‘Of course,’ he replied. T could not be a minister of Jesus Christ otherwise.’ “I then asked for an explanation of Paul’s words : ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, accbrding to the riches of his grace’ (Eph. ,1:7).
INDULGENCES AT AUCTION. T HE Rev. Alexander ~M. Allan of Bogota (U. S. of Colombia) sends us a letter which appeared first in his paper, El Evan gelista Cristiano. It is written by a colporter and narrates hiis encounter with a twentieth century Tetzel. The scene is laid in a town in the north of 'the province of Arttioquia, Colombia, “It was a rainy‘day. After wandering, along a boggy road for several hours, about six o’clock at night I came to a little hut, where ten or twelve persons were assem bled, all dressed in their best. I asked per mission to go in and lodge there for the night, but was at first refused. Finally, the owner of the house agreed to let me sleep in the harness-room. Passing by a little entry that led thither I saw two attractive looking girls of about sixteen years of age putting the finishing touches to a beautiful wreath of flowers. I asked for whom they were mak ing it ! They replied that it was for the crowning of the priest who was evert then in the house. I told them at once that they should not dream of doing such a thing as God had forbidden it. They looked horri fied and shrank back from me. “A little while after I heard the strains of a mountain song, accompanied by .drum and guitar. The girls were actually crowning Friar Gregory, and he, in a most artistic manner, was singing the praises of the beauty of women. I hurried into the dining room which was beautifully decorate'd with flowers. There, in front of a table covered with a white cloth was seated a personage of Very attractive appearance, with white countenance, big black eyes, little mouth, and black curly beard. His robe Was coffee-col ored. . From his belt hung two great tassels. He was shod with leathern sandals. It was Friar Gregory. “By this time about twenty-five people had gathered. Going up to the owner of the house I asked what in the world was the meaning of all this. He replied : ‘The Lord has sent this holy minister to us to sell us the redemption of our souls.’ In great sur prise I asked if many had already made the
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