e; that is to say, that each
devout person draws out as many souls from purgatory as pieces of money
which he draws out of his purse to pay for the like number of masses, or
other acts of devotion to be performed. On those days, a large placard
is erected at the church-doors, and bearing this inscription, "_Hoy se
saca anima_," (To-day souls are drawn out). The churches are full of
people, and the contributions of money are numerous and abundant.

The prayer especially consecrated to the drawing souls out of purgatory,
and which forms an essential part of the office for the dead, is called
in Spanish _responso_. It is composed of three anthems taken from the
book of Job, a paternoster, and a collect, and ends with the formula,
_Requiem eternam dona eis_, _Domine_. When the prayer is in favour of
all souls, the _eis_ remains in the plural; but if it is in favour of one
particular soul, then the singular _ei_ is used. On the day of All
Souls, when an innumerable crowd of people assembles in the cemeteries,
the priests also attend in great numbers to say _responsos_, at so much
a-piece, for those who desire them. In a certain Spanish city, which we
forbear to name, we have seen these priests rival each other in lowering
the prices current of these precious performances. One was crying out,
"I say a _responso_ for tenpence;" {148a} and another, "I say it for
fivepence." {148b} This may appear incredible, but it is an undeniable
fact.

In all Roman Catholic churches there is a _cepillo_ (alms-box), nailed to
the wall, and having this inscription upon it, "_Para las benditas almas
del purgatorio_," (For the blessed souls in purgatory), for the reception
of contributions: and the circumstance has given rise to an operation of
mercantile character which is certainly very ingenious, and to which some
Spaniards attribute the origin of bills of exchange. The priest of a
parish of Andalusia, for example, has occasion for a certificate of the
baptism or of the burial of some person in a parish of Arragon or in
Navarre. The fee for this document is usually two pesetas. As it is
almost impossible to send so small a sum from one extremity of the
Peninsula to the other, the priest of Arragon or of Navarre draws two
pesetas from the _cepillo_, or alms-box of his parish, and the Andalusian
priest puts the same sum into the _cepillo_ of his parish, _or he says
two masses as an equivalent_. In this way purgatory is converted int