Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 5, 2025
The Padre Passanha looked gayly round on the little world he cherished, and on the two young couples which his hands would shortly bless in the waters of Para. "Eat, padre," said Benito, who joined in the general conversation; "do honor to this betrothal dinner. You will want some strength to celebrate both marriages at once!"
The marriage will take place here, not later than to-morrow, on the jangada, with the aid of Padre Passanha, if, after a conversation I am about to have with Manoel, he agrees with me to defer it no longer." "Ah, father, father!" exclaimed the young man. "Wait a little before you call me so, Manoel," replied Joam, in a tone of unspeakable suffering.
And here Yaquita, followed by her daughter and Padre Passanha, came out of the house. Minha was still weeping, but her mother's face was tearless, and she had that look of calm resolution which showed that the wife was now ready for all things, either to do her duty or to insist on her rights. Yaquita slowly advanced toward Manoel.
Assuredly the good old priest had never been so lodged in his modest parsonage! The parsonage was not enough for Padre Passanha; he ought to have a chapel. The chapel then was built in the center of the jangada, and a little bell surmounted it.
Joam and Yaquita had there received the nuptial benediction of the Padre Passanha, who was then the curate of Iquitos parish. At that time, as now, there was no distinction in Brazil between the civil and religious acts, and the registers of the mission were sufficient testimony to a ceremony which no officer of the civil power was intrusted to attend to.
For fifty years Padre Passanha had lived at Iquitos, in the mission of which he was the chief. He was loved by all, and worthily so. The Garral family held him in great esteem; it was he who had married the daughter of Farmer Magalhaes to the clerk who had been received at the fazenda.
"And when my father spoke like that, you did not hesitate for a moment to believe him?" "Not for an instant," replied Manoel. The hands of the two young fellows closed in a long and cordial grasp. Then Benito went up to Padre Passanha. "Padre," he said, "take my mother and sister away to their rooms. Do not leave them all day. No one here doubts my father's innocence not one, you know that!
"He probably left Brazil, and now, in some distant land, lives a cheerful life with the proceeds of the robbery which he is sure to have realized." "Perhaps, on the other hand, he died miserably!" answered Joam Garral. "And, perhaps," added Padre Passanha, "Heaven caused him to feel remorse for his crime."
While this was going on, Yaquita, aided by Lina and Cybele, was getting everything in order, and the Indian cooks were preparing the breakfast. As for the two young fellows and Minha, they were walking up and down in company with Padre Passanha, and from time to time the lady stopped and watered the plants which were placed about the base of the dwelling-house.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking