the Franciscan Fathers. From thence they walked to the table or rock called "Mensa Christi," "The table of Christ," where our Lord is said to have dined with His disciples bōth before and after the Resurrection. It is on the summit of the city, and a tiny chapel has been erected close to the stōne.

4. The Father Guardian then led the way to the Fountain of the Madonna, which is situated at the eastern entrance of the town, and is the only spring of fresh, good water existing in Nazareth. Here, by undisputed tradition,1 the Blessed Virgin daily came during those thirty years. Here, again, must her divine Son have constantly accompanied her. Groups of women now, as then, were filling their pitchers at the fountain, and dressed precisely as the Blessed Virgin is always represented by the early masters--in red dresses and blue drapery, a white square cloth covering the head.

5. In every walk, at every turn in the streets, or on the hills, or in those flowery valleys, one seems to realize the presence of both the Mother and the Son. It was revealed to St. Bridget that the rough men of sequestered Nazareth, when they were sad, used to say, "Let us go and see Mary's Son !"-so wonderful was the reflection of His beauty and holiness; so exquisite His sympathy; so keen in Him was every natural human feeling; so wonderful His thought for all! In the beautiful words of a modern traveler, "Nazareth was the nursery of One whose mission was to meet man and man's deepest needs on the platform of commonplace daily life;" and every step of that "daily life" becomes ennobled in the thought of Him who trod the same päth.

F

II.

82. HUGO, MARQUIS OF TUSCANY.

PART FIRST.

`LORENCE waş not always the beautiful city which she became under the fostering care of the lavish and splendid

1 1 Tra di'tion, knowledge or belief transmitted orally from one gene

ration to another, without the aid of written memorials.

3

Medici,1 nor was the valley of the Arno always a smiling field of olives, vines, oranges, and flowers, studded here and there with gorgeous villas and elegant casinos.2 The envi'rons of Florence, now so beautiful and so populous, were covered with thick and tangled wild-wood in the days when our story begins. The light of the sun, as it fell upon the silent soil, was broken and checkered by the branches of a primeval forest, and the huntsman often dismounted and warily led his steed through briery copsewood, or across marshy meadowland, traversed only by nărrow and straggling päths. Along one of these rustic avenues, somewhat broader and straighter than the rest, a noble horseman rode slowly one sultry summer åft'ernoon.

4

2. He had followed the chase, which was his favorite pastime, through the wilds of Valdarno, for several hours, until, panting from the heat of the season, weary of exertion, and parched with thirst, he paced gently along in hope of hearing a grateful promise of refreshment in the song of some lonely cottager or the bubbling sound of a mountain rill. The noble mien and lofty bearing of the cavalier would have led to the conclusion that he was a person of rank and consequence; nor did his distinguished appearance belie him, for he was the Marquis Hugo, Lord of Florence and its seigniory. He was led onward, on the occasion we speak of, without being himself aware of the fact, by a heavenly guide. Wholesome warning was much needed by the erring prince for his own good and for the good of his vassals; and he was on that day to receive it.

3. The marquis was the grandson of the renowned Hugo of Provence, second king of Italy, after the downfall of the Em

peror Berengarius. He was a powerful chief, a gallant soldier, and during the early part of his career he delighted in the practice of every virtue becoming a Christian prince. The teaching and example of a pious mother, to whom he was fondly attached, had impressed themselves at an early age upon his generous heart, and none more so than her often repeated injunetion that he should ever be faithful in his devotion to Mary. Deeply and sincerely did the young prince mourn his bereavement when his affectionate parent was called from the scenes of her virtuous life upon earth to receive a well-earned crown in heaven. His loss was even greater than the young nobleman fairly understood it to be. For when the gentle voice of his mother had ceased to breathe the timely warnings which had hitherto guided his steps, he began little by little to swerve from the straight päth along which duty is present and certain at every point, while happiness may be reached only at the journey's end.

4. Hugo changed rapidly, and for the worse. Yet such is the inconsistency of human nature that, although he soon neglected and forgot the counsels of his mother concerning the fulfillment of the ordinary practices of Christian virtue, he cherished what was most pure and refined in the course she wished him to pursue a constant love and devotion toward the Queen of angels and virgins. The daily increase of influence and power, the noisy occupations of medieval warfare, and the society of worthless associates, depraved the young prince to such a degree that nothing was left save veneration for her name, and the practice of certain devotions in her honor, to distinguish him from the crowd of ruthless and corrupt chieftains who lorded it over Italy in the time in which he lived. He became a heartless oppressor of his people, and the excesses of his private life were the scandal of all who had access to the court. Such was the conduct of the noble marquis, who professed tender devotion toward the Blessed Virgin, and who now rode along through the forests of Valdarno, cursing the heat of the season and the thirst which parched his lips after the labors of the chase.

1 Mē'di e'val, of, or relating to, the middle ages.

2 Ruth'less, having no ruth or pity; cruel.

5. Suddenly and unexpectedly a person met him on his way, and what was his delight when he perceived that it was a woman, bearing in her hands a salver of the freshest and most delicious fruits. It was a little mound of autumnal treasures, such as Domenichino 1 or Carracci 2 loved to paint to the life, and such as the traveler beholds in the banquet-halls of Italian villas, as he gazes with astonishment at a counterfeit that stands forth from the canvas more real than reality, more natural than nature itself. Piled up before the eyes of the prince, dying of thirst, there were slices of fresh watermelon, large ripe

1581; died in Naples, April 15, 1641, 2 Caracci (kä rät'chee).

figs, mellow apples, juicy pomegranates, luscious pears, and downy peaches, crowned and festooned with heavy bunches of blue and amber-colored grapes, bursting with very ripeness.

6. Eagerly did he stretch förth his hand to this rich treasure, for which he would have paid its weight in gold; but how great was his annoyance when he perceived that these tempting fruits were all besmeared with filth! He withdrew his hand. Yet burning thirst is not apt to be delicate and fastidious. Again he plunged his hand among the little mountain of fruits, but it emitted such a nauseous odor that he hastily drew back again, and turned his head, overcome by a sense of sickening disgust that well-nigh caused him to faint. He now gazed upon the bearer of this strange burden, so tempting to the sight and so repulsive to the smell. She was a comely matron of august mien and majestic bearing, and the salver she bore in her hands seemed to the astonished nobleman to be made of burnished gold. Before he could give utterance to his surprise or demand an explanation, a steady and searching glance was bent upon him, and he thrilled with awe at the words of reproof which fell upon his ears: "Thou seëst in these fruits an emblem of the devotion thou claimest to hold so dear. It is indeed beautiful and good in itself, but so defiled by thy wicked life as to be unworthy of acceptance in the sight of heaven." Such was the warning given Hugo when he had declined to partake of the fruit, after which the vision disappeared from his sight, and he found himself alone in the forest.

7. The mildness of the rebuke he had miraculously received went to the very soul of the young prince, and overwhelmed him with shame and remorse. He thought of the peace and happiness of his innocent boyhood; he remembered the gentle tones of his mother's voice; he thought of the promises, made so often, that he would be a faithful servant of Blessèd Mary, the Mother of holy Purity. Then rose up before him the extravagance and dissipation, the heartlessness and impurity of the life he had been leading of late with his roistering 1 comrādes, and he shed tears of grief and bitter self-reproach. He promised speedy amendment-he purposed and he plannedand turned his horse's head toward the gates of Florence, with 1 Roist'er ing, bold; noisy; bullying.