The Pilgrimages or _romerias_ are devout expeditions made to certain celebrated sanctuaries on the days of the saints to which they are dedicated. Those sanctuaries are generally situated out of the towns. Some of them are convents, others mere chapels; but in both one case and the other, large sums of money are collected on those occasions. In ancient times, in Spain, as also in all other Roman Catholic countries, these pilgrimages were acts of sincere devotion, which imposed the necessity of confession and communion. The devout passed all their time in the church,—in the morning hearing mass, in the evening reciting prayers dictated to them by a priest from the pulpit. On these occasions it was usual for enemies to be reconciled, confessing their most grievous sins, and celebrating other acts of true repentance and piety. But in modern times these usages have been much relaxed; the greater part of those who attend such pilgrimages give up the entire day to dinners, dancing, and other amusements. Many serious disorders have generally resulted from such customs, and the authorities have been under the necessity of suppressing them. In olden times the two sanctuaries of Santiago in Galicia, and of the Virgin del Pilar in Zaragoza, drew together immense crowds of devotees, not only of the Peninsula and other Spanish dominions, but from all parts of Europe; and the offerings which were made to the images in those temples, in money, and in jewels, and other precious things, amounted in value to sums which would, if named, be considered fabulous. In the present day, however, that zeal has considerably cooled, although the practice of attributing to those images, and others called _Milagrosas_, the cure of all human disorders, is not exploded, but still prevails. Whenever cases occur in which an individual believes that he has been restored to health by means of the _Milagro_, it is customary for him to deposit, in the chapel of the image he venerates, a small model or representation of that member or part of the body restored to health by the prodigy. These objects in great abundance adorn the walls of such edifices, where may be seen innumerable arms, legs, eyes, mouths, and so on, of silver or of wax, according to the circumstances of the persons so favoured. People, who have been cured of their lameness, leave in the chapel the crutches which they made use of during the continuance of their infirmities.