[Illustration: NIEUPORT. Interior of Church.]
Though the procession at Furnes is a thing of yesterday compared to
the Procession of the Holy Blood at Bruges, it is far more suggestive
of mediaevalism. The hooded faces of the penitents, the quaint wooden
figures representing Biblical characters, the coarse dresses, the
tawdry colours, the strangely weird arrangement of the whole business,
take us back into the monkish superstitions of the Dark Ages, with
their mystery plays. It is best seen from one of the windows of
the Spanish House, or from the balcony of the Hotel de Ville, on
a sultry day, when the sky is heavy with black clouds, and thunder
growls over the plain of Flanders, and hot raindrops fall now and
then into the muddy streets. The first figure which appears is a
veiled penitent bearing the standard of the Sodality. Then come,
one after another, groups of persons representing various scenes
in the Bible story, each group preceded by a penitent carrying
an inscription to explain what follows. Abraham with his sword
conducts Isaac to the sacrifice on Mount Moriah. A penitent holding
the serpent and the cross walks before Moses. Two penitents wearily
drag a car on which Joseph and Mary are seen seated in the stable
at Bethlehem.
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