The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 37
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Reminiscences of Henry Smith.
to save my life. all was hurry scurry and one hour at least was
spent before they were ready to fall into line, and even then one
poor woman had to march without her husband, for find him she
could not. I comforted her however, by telling her she should not
be disappointed, that if he did not come in time she should cer-
tainly have another. They were marched up in solid column and
formed a hollow square around the Priests table. The delinquent
had not been found though many were in search of him.
The ceremony now to be performed was by a Catholic Priest
. . . something new in Texas, eyes, years [ears] and mouths
were all open. the baptism commenced first, as heretics could not
be lawfully joined in matrimony until they were baptised in the
true faith. Next commenced a kind of liturgy-that finished, the
marriage ceremony, which was short and a mere conjoining in
lawful wedlock closed the scene. They bad all been conjoined but
one couple and the lone woman, when her husband made his ap-
pearance quite out of breath, his hair flying his eyes walling with
a wild and frighted look. He did not know how much harm he
had done nor realy what it all meant, for he had been raised with
hue and cry and told to hurry, or the Priest would take his wife
from him. The scene take it all in all, was truly ludicrous in the
extreme. Most of them had children and some five or six. To
see brides on the floor, and while the marriage rites are perform-
ing, with the bosoms open and little children sucking at the breast,
and others in a situation realy too delicate to mention, appeared to
me more like a burlesque on marriage than a marriage in fact.
It was a fine scene for a painter and afforded much for amusement,
and much for serious and sober reflection.
The reign of the Padry among us was however, a short one, and
his conduct soon brought him into contempt . .. I know not
whether he was a fair sample of the Priesthood of that order, and
as such would not be understood as aiming to cast reflections on
any but himself.
The military had now become pretty strongly fortified in their
various Garrisons, and began to shew us their true intentions by
making us feel their power. The civil arm was paralized, our cit-
izens incarcerated for slight and trivial offences, and trial by the
civil authorities refused. This state of things could not long be
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911, periodical, 1911; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101054/m1/45/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.