The legend however calls them Kings and gives them Gothic names.
Let
schoolmen and theologians reconcile this difference: ce n'est point notre
affaire. To me it appears that when the German tribes embraced
Christianity and enrolled themselves under the banner of St Peter, it was
thought but fair to allow them to give vent to a little nationality and to
blend their old traditions with the new-fangled doctrine, and no doubt the
Sovereign Pontiffs thought that the people could never be made to believe
too much; the same policy is practised by the Jesuit missionaries in China,
where in order to flatter the national vanity and bend it to their purposes
they represent Jesus Christ as being a great personal friend and
correspondent of Confucius.
To return to these monarchs, wise men or Magi: their sculls are kept
separate to the rest of the bones and each scull bears a crown of gold.
But if you are fond of miracles, legends, and details of relics, come with
me to the Church of St Ursula in this city, and see the proof positive of
the miraculous legend of the eleven thousand Virgins who suffered martyrdom
in this city, in the time of Attila; the bones of all of whom are carefully
preserved here and adorn the interior walls of the Church in the guise of
arms arranged in an armoury. Eleven thousand sculls, each bearing a golden
or gilt crown, grin horribly on the spectator from the upper part of the
interior walls of the church, where they are placed in a row.
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