Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 14, 1903.djvu/149

Rh tions. Others, however, soon came from far and near to see the holy woman, and thus was discovered the Valley of the Furnas.

In the year 1763 some hunters were in search of game in the woods near Botelho when one of the dogs rushed suddenly forward, and the party following came upon the dead body of a woman lying on the ground in a small cave. It was thought to be that of a holy woman, who lived a hermit's life in these woods; and though she had evidently been dead for some time, her body was in a state of perfect and miraculous preservation. The body was embalmed and placed in the chapel at Botelho, but next day it disappeared, and was found again in the cave. Three times this was repeated; until at length the priests, finding their efforts vain, erected a chapel over the cave, and in it placed a statue representing the dead body. The embalmed body itself was then sent to Rome as a holy relic. The statue remains to this day, and the country people make pilgrimages to the shrine of the Lady of the Rock.

At Fenaes da Luz is a circular gulf or chasm communicating with the sea at the bottom known as St. Peter's Chasm. Many years ago a countryman pushed over his wife in a fit of jealousy, and in storms her voice may yet be heard calling for help.

The belief is widely spread throughout Portugal, that Dom Sebastian, the heroic king of Portugal, who fell while fighting against the Moors in 1578, is not dead, but will return again to lead his people to battle; and, according to Sir Richard Burton, it has been met with in remote parts of