sa
for changing the Pagan festivals into Christian holidays, the better to
draw the heathens to the religion of Christ.[335:7]

The month of _May_, which was dedicated to the heathen Virgin Mothers,
is also the month of Mary, the Christian Virgin.

Now that we have seen that the worship of the Virgin and Child was
universal for ages before the Christian era, we shall say a few words on
the subject of pictures and images of the Madonna--so called.

The most ancient pictures and statues in Italy and other parts of
Europe, of what are supposed to be representations of the Virgin _Mary_
and the infant Jesus, are _black_. The infant god, in the arms of his
black mother, his eyes and drapery white, is himself perfectly
black.[335:8]

Godfrey Higgins, on whose authority we have stated the above, informs us
that, at the time of his writing--1825-1835--images and paintings of
this kind were to be seen at the cathedral of Moulins; the famous chapel
of "the Virgin" at Loretto; the church of the Annunciation, the church
of St. Lazaro, and the church of St. Stephens, at _Genoa_; St. Francis,
at _Pisa_; the church at _Brixen_, in the Tyrol; the church at _Padua_;
the church of St. Theodore, at _Munich_--in the two last of which the
white of the eyes and teeth, and the studied redness of the lips, are
very observable.[336:1]

"The _Bambino_[336:2] at _Rome_ is black," says Dr. Inman, "and so are
the Virgin and Child at Loretto."[336:3] Many more are to be seen in
Rome, and in innumerable other places; in fact, says Mr. Higgins,

"There is scarcely an old church in Italy where some remains
of the worship of the _black Virgin_, and _black child_, are
not met with;" and that "pictures in great numbers are to be
met with, where the white of the eyes, and of the teeth, and
the lips a little tinged with red, like the black figures in
the museum of the Indian company."[336:4]

[Illustration: Fig. No. 20]

Fig. No. 20 is a copy of the image of the Virgin of Loretto. Dr. Conyers
Middleton, speaking of it, says:

"The mention of Loretto puts me in mind of the surprise that I
was in at the first sight of the Holy Image, for its face is
as black as a negro's. But I soon recollected, that this very
circumstance of its complexion made it but resemble the more
exactly the _old idols of Paganism_."[336:5]

The reason assigned by the Christian priests for the images being black,
is th