3. They come not only from the different provinces of France, but also from England, Belgium, Spain, Russia, and Germany. Even from the midst of far America, pious Christians have set out, and crossed the ocean, to come to the Grotto of Lourdes, to kneel before these sacred rocks, which the Mother of God has sanctified by her touch. And often those who can not come, write to the missionaries and beg that a little of the miraculous water may be sent to their homes. It is thus distributed throughout the world. 4. Although Lourdes is a small town, there is a continual passing to and fro upon the road to the Grotto-a stream of men, women, children, priests, and carriages, as in the streets of a large city. When the pleasant weather comes, and the sun, overcoming the cold of winter, opens in the midst of flowers the gates of spring, the faithful of the neighborhood begin to bestir themselves for the pilgrimage to Massabielle,1 no longer one by one, but in large parties. From ten, twelve, or fifteen leagues' distance, these strong mountaineers come on foot in bodies of one or two thousand. 5. They set out in the evening, and walk all night by starlight, like the shepherds of Judea when they went to the crib of Bethlehem to adore the new-born infant God. They descend from high peaks, they traverse deep valleys, they cross foaming torrents, or follow their course, singing the praises of God. And on their way the sleeping herds of cattle or of sheep awake, and diffuse through these desert wilds the melancholy sounds of their sonorous 2 bells. 6. At daybreak they arrive at Lourdes; they spread their banners and form in procession to go to the Grotto. The men, with their blue caps and great shoes covered with dust from their long night march, rest upon a knotty stick, and usually carry upon their shoulders the provisions for their journey. The women wear a white or red capulet. Some carry the precious burden of a child. And they move on slowly, quiet and recollected, singing the litanies of the Blessed Virgin. 7. At Massabielle they hear Mass, kneel at the holy table, 1 Massabielle (măs'sa be ĕl'). ? So nō'rous, loud-sounding. 3 Căp'u let, a sort of cape with a hood to throw over the head. and drink at the miraculous spring. Then they distribute themselves in groups, according to family or friendship, upon the gråss around the Grotto, and spreading out on the sod the provisions they have brought, they sit down upon the green carpet of the fields. And, on the bank of the Gave, in the shade of those hallowed rocks, they realize in their frugal repast those fraternal agapa1 of which tradition tells us. Then, having received a last blessing and said a parting prayer, they set out with joyful hearts upon their homeward way. 8. Thus do the people of the Pyrenees visit the Grotto. But the greatest numbers are not from there. From sixty or eighty leagues' distance come continually immense processions, brought from these great distances upon the rapid wings of steam. At the request of the faithful, the Southern Railroad has established special trains, trains of pilgrimage, intended exclusively for this great and pious movement of Catholic faith. 9. At the arrival of these trains, the bells of Lourdes ring out their fullest peals. And from these sombre carriages the pilgrims come out and form in procession in the square by the station; young girls dressed in white, married women, widows, children, full-grown men, the old people, and the clergy in their sacred robes. Their banners are flung to the breeze; the crucifix and the statues of the Blessed Virgin and the saints are displayed. The praises of the Mother of God are on every lip. 10. The innumerable procession passes through the town, which seems, on such occasions, like a holy city, like Rome or Jerusalem. One's heart is elated at the sight; it rises toward God, and attains without effōrt that elevation of feeling in which the eyes fill with tears and the soul is overwhelmed by the sensible presence of our Lord. moment a vision of paradise. One seems to enjoy for a HENRI LASSERRE.2 fulfillment of a vow, he undertook to write a history of the apparitions of our Lady at the Grotto, which has been published under the title of "Our Lady of Lourdes," and has received the approbation of the Holy Father. V. 68. ON A PICTURE OF OUR LADY HIS is that blessèd Mary, pre-elect 1 God's Virgin. Gone is a great while, and she Unto God's will she brought devout respect, And supreme patience. From her mother's knee Strong in grave peace; in pity circumspect.2 2. So held she through her girlhood; as it were An angel-watered lily, that near God Grows and is quiet. Till, one dawn at home, 2. Thêre comes no voice from the great woodlands round That murmured all the day; Beneath the shadow of their boughs, the ground Is not mōre still than they. 1 Pre-e lěct', chosen beforehand. ? Cir cum spěct', careful; prudent; watchful 3 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, an English poet and painter, was born in 1828, and died April, 1882. 1 3. But ever heaves and mōans the restlèss Deep; Afar I see the glimmering billōws leap : 4. Each wave springs upward, climbing toward the fair Springs eagerly, and faintly sinks to where The mother-waters lie. 5. Upward again it swells; the moonbeams show, Again it feels the fatal weight below, And sinks, but not to rest. 6. Again, and yět ågain; until the Deep And, with a sullen moan, abashed,2 they creep 7. Brief respĭte!3 they shall rush from that recess And fling themselves, with unavailing stress, 8. O restlèss Sea! that in thy prison here Through the slow centuries 5 yearning to be near 9. The glorious source of light and heat must warm And on those mounting waves a nobler form 10. Then only may they leave the waste of brine 6 In which they welter here, And rise above the hills of earth, and shine In a serener sphere. Crěst, the highest part or summit; the foamy, feather-like top of a wave. 2 A bǎshed', much confused. Rěs'pĭte, a putting off of that which was appointed; delay; rest. II. 70. TIDE-BOUND IN THE SEA-CAVES. IT 1 PART FIRST. T was on a pleasant spring morning that, with my little curious friend beside me, I stood on the beach opposite the eastern promontory, that, with its stern granitic 2 wall, bars ǎecess' for ten days out of ĕvèry fourteen to the wonders of the Doocot, and saw it stretching provokingly out into the green water. It was hard to be disappointed, and the caves so near. 3 2. The tide was a low neap; and if we wanted a passage dryshod, it behooved 5 us to wait for at least a week. But neither of us understood the philosophy of neap-tides at that period. I was quite sure I had got round at low water, with my uncles, not a great many days before; and we both inferred, that, if we but succeeded in getting round now, it would be quite a pleasure to wait among the caves inside, until such time as the fall of the tide should lay bare a passage for our return. 3. A narrow and broken shelf runs along the promontory, on which, by the assistance of the naked feet, it is just possible to creep. We succeeded in scrambling up to it, and then, crawling outward on all-fours-the precipice, as we proceeded, beetling more and more formidable from above, and the water becoming greener and deeper below-we reached the outer point of the promontory; and then doubling the cape on a still narrowing margin-the water, by a reverse process, becoming shallower and less green as we advanced inward-we found 1 Prom'on to ry, headland; high land extending into the sea. 2 Gra nĭt'ic, having the nature of, or consisting of, granite-a kind of rock. 3 Doo'cot, sea-caves situated in Scotland, near the entrance of the Cromarty Frith, an inlet of the North Sea, and connected with wooded headlands called South and North Sutors. 4 Nēap, neap tides are those which happen in the second and last quar ters of the moon, when the difference between high and low water is less than at any other period in the month. 5 Be hoove', to be fit, meet, or necessary for. • Phi lŏs'o phy, the knowledge of effects by their causes. 1 For mi da ble, of a nature to excite fear and hinder from undertaking; alarming. |