Ladies clothed elegantly in white dresses and ornate hats toss handsful of something. Boys, some of whom have monks' haircuts, scramble for them.
It's a distressing image to me as it looks like earlier actualities of people feeding chickens or doves. Quite clearly it is an act of charity on the part of the women, its methods hallowed by custom. Equally clearly, it is degrading to those to whom the charity is offered, although I am sure these boys had other matters on their minds: stern necessity. Even so, it must have rankled, if not then and there, then later.
It's a distressing image to me as it looks like earlier actualities of people feeding chickens or doves. Quite clearly it is an act of charity on the part of the women, its methods hallowed by custom. Equally clearly, it is degrading to those to whom the charity is offered, although I am sure these boys had other matters on their minds: stern necessity. Even so, it must have rankled, if not then and there, then later.
