This  is  another  of  the  almost  endless  metamorphoses  of  the
Virgin  and  child — an  affair  got  up  for  the  special  accommoda
tion  of  Portuguese  seamen  bound  round  the  South  African  prom
ontory.  By  calling  here,  they  used  to  secure  (and  some  yet  se
cure)  a  fair  passage  by  raising  their  eyes  to  the  lady  in  the  lan
tern  and  dropping  something  into  her  money-box.
The  Portuguese  were  the  first,  and  for  a  while  the  only  navi
gators  exposed  to  the  dangers  thus  provided  against.  The
frightened  crews  and  shattered  vessels  of  Bartholomew  Diaz,
its  discoverer,  prevented  him  from  doubling  Cape  Tormentoso,
as  he  named  it.  In  the  absence  of  a  proper  maritime  god,  the
White  Friars  proposed  a  goddess — their  "  sister" — in  the  new
character  of  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Cape,"  and  Heaven,  by  miracle,
confirmed  the  proposition  on  this  wise :  A  vessel  was  on  the
point  of  foundering  off  Table  Bay.  "  Our  Lady"  appeared  in'
persona,  and  saved  her.  On  landing,  the  men  were


LIFE   IN   BRAZIL.  181

surprised  to  find  an  exact  image  of  her  as  she  appeared  at  the
mast  head.  From  this  "  milagroso  imagem"  all  others  were
copied.
