The New York Herald Newspaper, October 27, 1872, Page 7

LA DAME DE MASSABIELLE. ‘Fhe Great French Catholic Pil- grimage to Lourdes, FIFTY THOUSAND PILGRIMS ON THE SPOT. History of the Virgin Visions of Berna- dette Soubirous. THREE PEASANT GIRLS PICKING BRAMBLES. Appearance of the Woman in White to Bernadette. Bursting Forth of the Mi- raculous Spring. A RAILROAD JOURNEY OF PSALMS. Lodging the Parisian Pil- grims at Agen. ARRIVAL AT LOURDES. | Mass and Vespers Sung Beneath the Pyrenees. SKETCH OF THE SUPPLIANTS. Impressive Scenes and Historic Mem- ories Before the Shrine. THE VOICEFUL PRAYERS. Vive la France! Vive l’Eglise! Vive le Pope! AGEN (LOT-ET-GARONNE), France, Oct. 5, 1872. The religious manifestation I am about to de- Scribe is one of the most extraordinary that has been recorded in the history of this century, and can only be compared to the antique celebrations of pastages. It isa gigantic exodus of voluntary pilgrims and several thousand priests gathering from every part of France round the famed grottoes of Massabielle, in the village of Lourdes (Hautes- Pyrénées), for the purpose of obtaining through prayer the BEGENERATION, CONVERSION AND PEACE OF FRANCE. The present pilgrimage consists of 50,000 travel- Jers, including those from Paris as well as from the principal provincial cities, but not the thousands of pilgrims from other parts belonging to the dio- ese of the department in which Loudres itself is situated. The great idea is to reach the spot by to-morrow, the 6th instant, when fiye bishops are to officiate at mass and vespers at five different altars erected among the mountains, and where as many of the priests who are crowding thither are ‘also to say low mass, one after the other, at the mumerous churches and side chapels for miles and miles around. In consequence of THE IMMENSE CONCOURSE OF PILGRIMS, the administration of the Orleans Railway Com- pany have wisely concluded that the two trains which left Paris yesterday, 4th October, containing 650 persons each, and myself as eye-witness among the number, should be detained a few hours at Agen, whence this correspondence is dated. Not- withstanding the great anxiety expressed to pro- ceed without delay, this halt, which breaks the jour- ney in two, is considered provident, as it will avoid great encumbrance at the small station of Lourdes: perhaps also positive danger. For my own part.I appreciate it entirely, as it affords me an oppor- tunity of giving your readers a retrospective ac- count of Lourdes and of THE ORIGIN OF THE PILGRIMAGE thither. There is, moreover, so much to be told that it is as well to narrate the events ofthe past fourteen years before those of the present are en- tered into. First, Lourdes is a small and pic- turesque village in the French Pyrénées. Whether the traveller be en route for Barreges, Saint-sauveur, Cauterets or Bagnéres-de-Bigorre, or whether the tourist be leaving Cauterets or Pau for Luchon, he he must pass by Lourdes. This little spot is a ©entre whence all the roads to the thermal sta- tions radiate; and yet no one knows any more about it than if it nad not a fortress on the top of & rock, and had not been besieged by Charlemange, nd were not the key of the Pyrénées, My own souvenirs of Lourdes are very indistinct nd I would not undertake to reproduce them, though I remember having, many years ago, been greatly interested in the place nowin such repute from having heard a strange tale about the mighty Saracen chief who was master of the fortress WHEN CHARLEMAGNE MARCHED OUT to drive him from the stronghold.- Other stories of brigand chiefs who lived up on the rock, like eagles in their nesta, caused me on one occasion to goa Jong way out of my route for a look at the venera- ble pile, But that was years ago, and though the River Gave may still roll on tumultuously at the foot of that rock, itis probable the village has un- dergone changes and will not appear so poetic as it did when imagination was young and railways did not shrick through mountain passes. I have to come to the realities of the present, and they read so much like fiction that I need seek no recollection to make Lourdes interesting. Up to the year'1858 this village was to every one nothing but what I have just said of it, a thorough- fare to the Winter stations. Since then it has be- come famed for A MIRACULOUS SPRING nd other miracles too numerous to relate here. What adds to the wonderment of all who know anything about Lourdes is this:—Every person connected with the stories related is alive; their names, their dwellings are known; they have been questioned and cross-questioned; they have been brought up before the authorities and officials; have been examined and found—perfectly sincere. ‘The other remarkable fact is that the clergy and bishops were opposed to the propagation of the great event which marked the origin of the reli- gious celebrity of Lourdes, The following are the facts related by thousands and de visu:—On the 11th of February, 1858, the day being clear and mild, THREE LITTLE GIRLS were sent out to pick up sticks in the direction of the Grotto of Massabielle. Two were sisters, Marie and Bernadette Soubirous, the other girl's name is Jeanne Abadie, a neighbor. They were of very poor parents, so needy that the sticks they were to bring home were the fuel waited for by which to cook the family dinner. Marie Sou- birous was healthy and strong; but Bernadette, her elder by afew years, was troubled with asthmay and though only fourteen was so delicate that she did not look more than ten. This Bernadette had got been brought up at home, but by a friend of her mother, living at Bartres, and who; for the small um of five francs a month, provided her with lodg- and food, It had been arranged that she should Jena What assistance she could, but as she ‘was too delicate to work at the farm or fleld, she memorable of picking up tagots marked a great Revs. in she’ forvanes ot ae village of Lou! T have said. the two Soubirous sisters their The crossed & ridge over Gave, rent tthe mlllof M. de Lamitte, the ‘wealthy man of 8, villagers in those shoes, only hed her from the other Poor sm was & of Bi These had m her by mother in con- tion of her weak lungs. On the three went until they came in front of the Magsabielle wi of ks, bared by nature are over! short that the wind wrenches ont Of the scanty ear which it grows. There was unfortunately a nar- Tow stream to cross; but girl tf dry. Jeanne and Mary soon took off their wooden poste aa lauanig ko ig stone to e, aN in upon stones which were far ronda vite “HOW OOLD THE WATER 18,” said one of them when they got on ary land and t down to puton their shoes. Bernadette, on > ering this; was siraid to put her small tect in the ‘Do throw some big stones quite close,” she begged, shuddering on the opposite side; “1 should as to keep ey a ir jut the two heal is were too busy picking 4 peaiint sticks to attend to the request of Ber- e, “You must get into doing as we do,” at last criea Jeanne; “take leaps and come over.” Poor Bernadette had to make up her mind to the dreaded water, leaned her back on a fragment of rock and began to pull her stockings of. She had already thrown one down, when she heard a sud- den swell of the river anda whirling in the air as if a terrible storm was gathering; but when she looked up she found the poplars rfectly straight and none of the leaves shaken b; he wind. “I thought Iheard the leaves rustle,” she said, lool about, and. then went on poe her other stocking off. The noises increased. Ber- nadette looked up, and suddenly her figure fell to- gether, while her face remained uplifted; like a crushed flower down she bent and remained on her knees. She hada vision. A RADIANT VIRGIN IN PURE WHITE, without jewel or coronet; nothing like what she had fancied was the Blessed Lady; a real figure, such she could have imagined was that of a prin- cess or queen had ahe ever thought of any one 80 Much above her station, This apparition held a long chal ot _ her arm. Bernadette was She saw not . fixe her eyes on the beautiful vision, then seein: it smile and make the of the cross, she did like- Bernadette wise, and then the vision vanished. was still ll-bound to the spot long after the “dame” had disappeared. After a time she looked around her, The Gave, close by, was running on as usual, but everything seemed night and dark- ness, IN THE HOLLOW OF THE GROTTO, @ few instants before filled with a luminous vision, there was nothing but a branch of wild briar that she had often seen before. She could not make out what had happened, but, Geeply moved, she hurried over the stream, finding that both Jeanne and Marie were looking ather. Her surprise was immense on noticing they were not surprised. “Have you seen nothing ?”’ she asked. “What?” they asked. “Nothing ? No one?” repeated Bernadette. “What have you seen?’ asked the little girls, “Oh,” replied Bernadette, with a feeling of timid Bee not unmixed with fear, ‘If you have seen nothing I cannot say.’ The two girls looked at her, and, though they wondered why she was so pale and strange, they went on picking up their wood. But Bernadette could do nothing. She stood in deep thought, pass- ing the vision over in her mind and looking up. “what did you see?” asked the girls again. “Well, some one in white,” replied Bernadette. Marie and Jeanne were afraid. “Dear me, I hope it won’t hurt us. We will not come to the grotto Ly bye was all they said and thought of the vision; but when they got home they told the tale to their mother, “Nonsense,” said Mme. Soubirous, shrugging her shoulders. “You fancy; you did not see, my child.” Bernadette maintained she had, and related the whole scene, with the Loach ape of her vision, in the same words as to her sister and friend. “Well, I will not let you to the grotto any more,” was Mme. Soubirous’ conclusion. Berna- dette returned no answer. The next day was Friday, and the child talked of nothing but her “dame.” On Saturday some one asked her who she was like. She said she fancied she had seen such faces at church. As she talked on of the same vision incessantly the mother was prevailed on to allow her to go to the grotto on the following Sunday, and the only restriction Madame Soubi- rous made was that Bernadette should not be left alone, but that the two girls, Marie and Jeanne, should stop on each side of her all the time. Ber- nadette walked very fast, and when she came to Massabielle she knelt. Her two companions did likewise, watching her face all the time and divided between wonder and fear. “THERE SHE 18!” cried Bernadette. ‘There! there! Jeanne and Marie looked ; they could see nothing; but when they next turned to Bernadette the child was transformed, her face was radiant, her lips eng ‘She was listening attentively, with clasped ands. “Bernadette !? exclaimed both, “we are fright- ened of you. Get up! come!” But Bernadette did not hear, neither did she rise until they saw her features assume their usual expression. They then went home to repeat the story they had already told; and it was heard with the same disbelief. This occurred several times, until at length ALL THE PEASANTRY HEARD AND TALKED OF IT. Among others who disbelieved were a Mme. Millet and a Mile. Antoinette Peyret; but they thought they would cross-question Bernadette after taking her to the grotto themselves and watching her, On this occasion, instead of walk- ing quietly at her usual slow , She took a short cut down a precipitous rock, and the ladies had some difficulty in following her. When they were in front of the grotto they witnessed the most ex- Sabaneta change come over the child's face. She appeared in ecstasy and yet in holy fear. They were so impressed that Mme. Millet whispered :— “We should not be here.”’ “You are to stop!” cried Bernadette, as if she had been told to speak. “ASK WHO SHE IS,” desired Mme, Millet, “or take this paper, with my pencil, and request her to put down what she wants,” The child obeyed g#nd the witnesses distinctly heard her say:— “Ma ‘Dame,’ if you have anything to tell me will you be good enough to say who you are and what you desire.” The witnesses heard no reply, but they saw the child advance with paper and pencil, keeping her on the excavation, then she stopped and istened for some time. Her features were angelic. It lasted for fully three minutes, after the expirationof which Bernadetto walked back, and on being questioned related that the lady had said she saw no necessity for writing, as she knew Bernadette would obey; but what she wanted was to see her every day at the tto for fifteen days, promising her that if she did so she SHOULD BE HAPPY IN A BETTER WORLD. This is but the preliminary of the whole story. During the fifteen days which followed Berna- dette was accompanied not by one, two or twelve Poole. but by hundreds, i the inhabitants of Lourdes followed her to witness her interviews with the vision, and the same transformations took place curing her trances. The Prefect of the Com- mune, Mr. Massy, and the Commissaire de Police, Mr. Jaconet, took alarm at the spread of the agita- tion, the former came to Lourdes from Tarbes to look into the matter and desired Mr. Jacomet to arrest the chdid as an impostor, if, after question- ing her alone, he discovered she had been infu- enced to act her part. Meanwhile the fifteen deys were far advanced, and the population of the vil- Jage, as well as of the villages around, gathered to look at the child. She passed through them with perfect impassiveness, neither reddening nor turning pale, ever thinking and walking on in her coarse clothes as ifshe had too much on her mind to care for people, or for what was going on about her. The curé of the place did not encourage the peasantry to believe in her visions; he was even very ey with Bernadette. His name is Peyra- male, and he Is still alive; none of the peasantry, on the other hand, doubted; in their opinion Ber- nadette was an instrument in the hands of God, and they believed that the Blessed Virgin ap- peared to her., On the 2ist February Bernadette caine as usual to the grotto, and as simply as pos- sible knelt in her accustomed pli where, in the presence of a dense multitude, aiter she had her usual vision and was rising to move, A POLICE OFFICER PUT HIS HAND ON HER SHOUL- DER and arrested her fn the name of the law. She was ito M, Jacomet, who with threats and ‘persua- ion endeavored to make her prevaricate, but alter a long sitting fare his efforts up, saying he had never seen or heard such a case. He jorbade her turn to the grotto, and thinking he would have to adopt some course, after having written for advice to M. Roaland, who was then the Minister of Public Instruction, he let her go to her parents’ home. The attraction of the grotto proved so strong that her lather after a day or two preferred getting into trouble with M. le Prefect rather than cause his child to pine and grieve, as she visibly did, besides which the peasantry of Lourdes are not to be trified with. hey took the part ot Bernadette aguinst Prefect, curé, father and commissaire and to the grotto Bernadette. re- turned, all making way for her wherever she ap- peared, It was then thought M. Peyramale could shake the child’s fancy and detect any equivo- cation if there existed any. As he was Known to be averse to her visions and to be very little ac- quainted with her on account of her long stay away from the village, It was supposed he would show no partiality to her, and the time was looked forward to when he would call her to the p bytery. He, however, was disinclined to father at the peril of his liberty to allow ner to re- bat Bernadette. to his wonder, one waiked throagh his raien into, his bonse. aaa “Afe you not the daughter of Miller Soubirous 7” “Yes, Monsieur ” “Well, : Je Curé, “Monsieur ie Cure the bs vno rs the otto ot Massabielie — ki ita “Yes, yes, | know,” said the curé. ‘You pre- tend you have visions, and you have got ail'tne country in excitement with your tales, What do you mean by telling me thése things? bie at ? Nothing but things you cannot prove.” » Bernadette was in nt way asto She clearly related all that had occurred, all had seen and heard, and when she had done the curé asked, “And what is the name of your ‘dame?’ “1 don’t know.” “Those who believe aay it ia the ae child, know, that if it is not, if you lie, | never see her in heaven.” ae ¢ “I do not know if she is the Virgin,” re) re nadette, “but I see her as I see you, and to me, and I have come to tell told me to tell you she wants 4 CHURCH 10 BE BUILT ON THE MASSABIELLE ROOK, that’s all.” M. Pe; looked closely at the child. She stood gaze with innocent assur- ance; he made Reretpenvnerrancasagey.sne 458 i after which he replied :— “You tell me, Bernadette, that the lady hasa branch of briar under her feet in the srotte. This is February; go and tell her that if she wants a new chapel on the rock she must first make that branch bring forth roges in this season.” There Bernadette was dismissed. upon “Phe briar will bring forth buds,” sald the people in the village; Dut the rook has brought forth some- else. “When the child next saw her vision she gave the curé’s mei which the “dame” did not heed; but told her to go on her knees from the place she ‘was on to the hard, dry rock, and as tar as she could; until she could go no further. The people’ who were looking on saw her do this, there were 300 present, holding their breath in suspense and won- der, When she came to herself she was still re- peating “REPENT!"” “REPENT!”? The time after this, instead of 300 spectators, there were all the people from the villages round, far and near. Several dally assert they were present in alt the departments. Be that asit may, when Bernadette had her vision she suddenly rose to her feet and walked to the River Gave; then, as if called, went back to the grotto, where she Lada sd with her two hands a portion of earth on the 3. she carried it to her lps, and did as itshe washed herself with it; then she knelt and hes @ hole in the und, and by degrees aren. er Srop. of muddy, thick water appeared on the surface. She went on until she had. enough to fill her hands; she drank it, and then went away. The crowds pressed forward, There was a@ hollow of sticky CT irs soon 8 thin streak of water burst up, and with one voice the whole people cried, “4 FOUNTAIN OUT OF THE ROCK |’? It was so. The next day the streak had become as thick as a man’s wrist. The child related that the dame” had desired her to wash and drink in the fountain ; that she had gone to the river, know- ing of no fountain in the rock, and that she had been called back and told that she was to drink of the spring, not the Gave. She had obeyed, and the “aburce merveilleuse”” was the consequence. The rest of Bernadette’s story is more that of a saint than of a human being. The authorities intervened to stop what they considered a great superstition, until the Emperor Napoleon III. telegraphed to M. Massy to leave his coercive measures alone and the peasantry to their fountain. For several years MM. jacomet and Massy were the declared enemies of the Lourdais. Bernadette’s fountain is at present said to be a strong stream, and the numerous CURES AND MIRACLES here performed fill all the papers. A church is being built on the grotto that has already cost 2,500,000 francs; convents are to cover the moun- tains around; the Orleans Railway Company have added a branch in order to render access easier. Bernadette is at this present moment a sister of charity in the Hospital of Nevers. , Her father and mother have died, but her sister Marie and her brother live at Lourdes. Mead large offers of mone; have been made them, but all have been rejected. This place of Anger is full of Bernadette, and the above facts ave related all over the place, As seeing is believing—and there is a vast fleld for be- lief—I will refrain from expressing any opinion until I have questioned some of the eye-witnesses of jot above scenes and visited every spot accu- rately. Meanwhile the journey hither was inaugurated by a full service at Notre Dame des Victoires, in ‘Paris, where ALL THE PARIS PILGRIMS ASSEMBLED. In each car were ten, and out of the ten there were onan Cade fe four priests who had never left their Gitegess and made straight to Paris for the purpose of joining in the great “manifestation of faith and hope.” The prayers read and chanted all along the road from Paris to Agen were litanies, one of the priests giving the key-note and the other joining in with the responses. This occurred ineach car, and nothing but prayers went on until night time, when silence ensued and the priests slept; but with the first streak of daylight the litanies and psalms recommenced. The people at the stations were not amicably disposed, as a general rule, MOCKERY, SHOUTS AND ORIES being heard occasionally. At Agen a notice was posted forbidding cries or demonstrations of et a Seactipece that might originate a notion that the pilgrims were out on a political instead of a religious excursion. A. ser- vice in the Cathedral, vespers and a sermon inau- gurated their arrival, and a band struck up, in which all joined, “SAUVEZ LA FRANCE.” Acurious sight was that of so many people, in different garbs, threading in long lines through the narrow streets of this small city, taken by sur- prise at our sudden halt andinvasion. The market women, with handkerchiets round their heads, and Men in brown, short blouses, without belts, appear to be the principal inhabitants. Garlic, onions and prunes lie about in heaps. Heads of garlic are purchased as we purchase potatoes, by the bushel or by the bunch. There are some handsome murai paintings in the Cathedral, whicn is very ornate, but the most curious of the churches is one that was built in the fourteenth century. Finally, everything I have seen and heard since I left Paris yesterday is suggestive of the Middle Ages. These lines of interminable piigrims, elated and enthusiastic; the plain chant along the roads, the numbering of beads, the old cathedral, the curious Southern costume and hot sun, the Capu- chin fathers, with bare feet, in cowl and cope; the flocking over food in the open air, a total absence of English sounds or American travellers, the ringing of bells—all these things carry one far into dust and worm-eaten volumes that tell of Crusad- ers, processions and pardons. The Pilgrims at the Shrine. LOURDES, Oct. 9, 1872, The departure of Paris pilgrims for Lourdes aiter their short stay in the city of Agen was marked with a slight but very noticeable movement of non-adherence and disapproval on the part ofa large fraction of the inhabitants. There arose a loud murmur among the close files of lookers-on who stood on both sides of the new-comers, and several epithets expressive of sarcastic contempt were heard; but the affable bearing of the pilgrims, their visible relish at the idea of a little insult and persecution, completely silenced any further demonstration. Agen is a miserably built city, paved with knobby, small stones, which stand up in points and are as perfectly oval as the prunes this place is famed for. It is, in fact, like walking over plum-stones barefoot to get over them. The sidewalks are not over thirty inches broad, and the streets are excessively narrow. The situation of the town, however, on the Garonne, is remarkably pictur- esque, standing and straggling about AT THE FOOT OF A VINE-CLAD HILL that is dotted with villas, cottages, fruit trees and steeples, This 1s the native place of the celebrated Bernard dé Palissy and Laceptde. It was in olden times taken and retaken by the Goths and Huns, and has belonged both to the Kings of England and to those of France, to the Dukes of Aquitaine and to the Counts of Toulouse. There are signs of an- tiquity and of all the different styles of architec- ture here and there. The pilgrims were led to the spacious college, which, fortunately for them, is unoccupied by scholars at this season of the year, the vacation not being yet over. They had no sooner gained access to the courtyard than all flocked to the cloisters and school rooms around, where provision baskets were unpacked and ,A PICNIC COMMENCED ON A GIGANTIC SCALE, the priests going backwards and forwards, making themselves generally useful and hospitable. Itwas a curious sight. Here and there sat the fasting. piigrims—those who had determined to take no food until they reached the miracle spring ag Lourdes, They read their prayers aloud by the side of feasting pilgrims, who listened as they enjoyed their meal, The Franciscan or Capuchin Fathers would hurry by to visit the different convents during their short stay. The resident college professors assem- bled in groups under the shady chestnut trees and communicated their impressions to each other. The fountain was surrounded by those who pre- ferred a good wash to food and who were luxuriat- ing in a dash from the welcome spouts. When all had satisfied their different necessities the Cathedral bells rang tor the grand gathering of pilgrims within the Cathedral, where they were to hear sermon and vespers. The old walls had perhaps never seen cn congregation for many a long year, and the cut jooked on them from his oaken pulpit with emotion, after which he preached and admonished the pilgrims to go on their way in peace and rejoicing. Itis certain every one was disposed so to do, but there was nothing to rejoice over when the hour of ten saw them IN COMPLETE DARKNESS HUDDLED TOGETHER at the statien and waiting for the signal to enter the train that was to convey them to Lourdes. There they stood shivering in the damp, and when at length the doors were opened they rushed in the waiting rooms, and thence into the cars. It was @ perfect assault, each compartment being taken by storm, and the priests showing they could maintain tueir positions as firmly as Pontifical Zouaves at Mentone. At last, every one had a place somehow, by favor of some extraordinary chance or other, and general good humor returned notwithstanding the very trying circumstances, These were caused by the numerous small packages each pilgrim had set out with, Nol had been allowed beyond what each could 4m hand; but some had fan- cled their: could hold more than nature ever accumulation of bags, bundies and ‘overhead, underioot and in the interme- diate space was reasive. No first clas# car- ise 6 ‘either for any but the infirm of ipless, Bee mises ek abe dasarne! Wee sacle ‘wo! ras very ai al worthy, up from his book and trying to read by the light of the roof lamp; ‘but jer, my children, that a pious mo of pligrims is not like a profane excursion This soothed the good wayfarers, and by de- grees the packages sunk into respective hollows, and the passengers themselves gradually found space for their elbows, each in or her neigh- bor’s side. It is wonderful what things people can comparative ease was re- guest in orders having the Magiicat era cat others taking up the litanies, while lestastic ims responded UNTIL SLEEP CONQUERED FERVOR. But it awoke again with daybreak, and eyelids Were no sooner unclosed than Te Deums were heard from car to car, or psalms, or the cha let, accord- ing to the taste of the pil ‘Thus did the train reach Lourdes at tive A. M. on the 6th October, the finest sun ee the Pyrenees that ever wel- comed @ Sabbath in. It was quite rei to behold the astonishment of the imex- Beertcee travellers, who for the most part never left ir parish in Paris for any journey beyond some church or walk in the en- virons of the The snow that covered mountain peaks by the. side of green, verdant meadows lower down, the leaping streams, the rising morning haze disclosing novel scenes, were tol new to them, and some of the priests, even, with their heads full of learning, showed by their questions and exclamations that they had never further than their schoois and convents, les certainly is A LOVELY SPOT, A VERY GEM dropped from one of the mountain ridges nearest heaven. Only a part of the scenery could be dis- cerned in the gray morning, and. a proper view of Lourdes cannot be had until the traveller stands On one of its-eminences, As the pilgrims had been told peforehand that it was not le that a small place, contain- ing 4,600 in! aDAD, could accommodate 30,000 igrims assembling there from all parts of France, were quite prepared to put up with all sorts of inconveniences; but still all nourished a very legitimate hope that they could ta place in the were they in 8, at least, they were ppointed, for on looking about they were rewarded with shelter, if not beds, in the village and environs, For my own part, as I have come to @ part in ay narrative in which { find I must speak of personal adventure, I walked, after having studied my map of Lourdes, with carpet-pag in hand, up to the ‘‘hospice,’’ an asylum for the sick, kept by the ‘“Sceurs,” or Sisters of Charity. i knew that the heroine of the place, Bernadette Soubirous, had been sheltered there aiter her extraordinary vision at the Massabielle Grotto, I was less anxious to gain admittance within this asylum for the purpose of obtaining rest than for that of procuring information from the Sisters who had had the child under their roof and lived in daily intercourse with her. I proposed making friends with the good people at the hospice at any cost, to see, to question and put facts to- THE HOSPICE OF LOURDES is a very poor institution, though it is rendered healthy and inviting by the great economy and in- dustry of the sisters who Keepit. 1t stands ona slope from which a splendid view is obtained of the country around, When lascended the path lead- ing to the entrance the Sisters were decorating it by hanging evergreen garlands from poplar to ee paper cut flowers and bannerets, on whieh were painted sentences from the Scriptures and the Chrisgian virtues to be practised here be- low, such as resignation, frugality, &c, Their cos- tume was black, relieved by white muslin caps tightly bound on the forehead and having stiff bord in front, which supported their veils, leav- their faces uncovered. Ms ‘or six monks came up behind me, not know- ing tly where I was going, but impressed by my apparent confidence, very likely, with a con- victiom¢nat Imeant to find room and trusting they might Pe as successful. “MY good Sister,” said one of them to @ very fresh-colored and energetic looking “Saar,” who put down her festoons to come and grect us, “we are pilgrims, and beg you will keep our bags while we go down in the v! age to say mass,” “4 good friars!” exclaimed the Sis- ter. “God Ley you all may, but many a holy man will be deprived of that biessing to-day; there are pe round every altar who have been waiting jong hours for their turn since last midnight, and are no nearer now tO mass than my soul is to Para- se, é At am information the priests were greatly dis- ressed. “But come, my good friars,” went on the Sister,’ “there is nothing Uke trying; 1 will show you where you can put your things in safety, if we can do nt “No beds f’’ 1 asked. “Beds!” exclaimed the Sister, as if 1 had asked for something never heard of beiore. ‘Well, yes, my pl im, there are such things as beds for the ailing, and we have given our own up to lie down on the floor,’? Hereupon the priests followed her; for after the above she turned her back and led the way. I re- mained under the porch, and when the monks had hurried by, after having placed their worldly goods under one I detained the Sister by her lous sleeve, and gained s0 much of her confidence that before I left her or let her go she half promised A SPARE NER IN A REMOTE ROOM for the night, adding that perhaps, as I was willing to put something in the poor box in return for any kindness shown, she might be able tofind a mat- tre but she would make no rash promise before the clock struck twelve, a8 a father of the Church— pgs she meant one of the bishops—might claim her hospitality, and there was itively but that one corner left. When this was settled { hur- ried away in the direction of THE GROTTOES OF MASSABIELLE, the centre to which all were bound. 1 needed no directions, having but to follow the muititude, when Lentered the principal street, which 1s bor- dered with irregniarly built houses, backed with mountains on either side, After havin; d the old, frowning fort, on the top of a formidable rock, 1 proceeded to the principal “place” ot the village, which was huny with jestoons and undergoing preparations for a general illumination in the even! I then struck off to the right, following a line of devout pigs all ages and Pioteasione, colors and sizes. At length I entered the trodden road’ that goes winding through admirable and gtand scenery, not stopp! until I came to a bridge which crosses the noisy, Gave, There I stood in order the aspect of the couutr; and people attentively. The former is wild in some parts, charmingly peaceful in others; een pasture land, thick woods, sharp rocks stand in the fore- ground, with snowy peaks rising at the back, thus minghng wild asperity and winning smiles in one giance. THR PILGRIMS, The same extreme contrasts were observable in the animated population streaming by me. Here was hoary, white-headed age; here came the mid- die-aged mountaineer with his knotty stick, his sunburned face, dark, tashing eyesaud huge limbs; beads.as she went along; here the beautiful south- ern maids.of Arles and ha hag in their red, blue a beg walking on like queens, and,-as. dignified as Koman women; here passed the Basque peasant, in his col- ored béret, his shaggy ioose coat, gaiters and earrings; here _ passed the — sharp-chinned Bearnais with prominent cheek bones, long, thin cheeks and teatures cast in the same mould as those of Henry IV. Then, jostied by the Gascon, with a broad smile on his gleeful face, helping some pushing a wheelbarrow here, Piving some chil litt there; roiling his r’s e spoke, and 8] to every one, mul- tiplying the different gitts. of single humanity and the uses of his limbs in innumerable ways. Here still followed the provincials of France, her doc- tors, dealers, merchants, ladies in vety modest garbs, women of the world disguised as poor femeie pilgrims, all trudging in and out oJ the meandering road, united one conviction namely, that Lourdes was a blessed spot, favored by the Sack marino eco of the pure Vir- n—a spot agreeable God—and, therefore, the ittest of all in which to join in PRAYER FOR BELOVED FRANCE AND THE CHURCT. Alter noticing these poi became ak sticky, sequence of the incessant coming and going of foot passengers from the spring of Massabieile. By dint of patience and ode good will I at length waded through thousands round the altar, at which mass sung in front of the itto, I did not vent found a proper afforded by a plan! to look up at it until I sition, which was at length of wood that agatentaly jay Senoun oF7 la eee bo “ry bank: , the! tly opposite. To this I ste: ad Was exactly facing the grotto, si abet IT WAS A VERY STUPENDOD® SIGAT. There are three excavations bored by Nature through the old rocks of Massabielle that stand on 4 kind of island formea by the waters of the Gave and acanal, The latter have been turned off in order now to render access to the grotto more easy. ‘The best simile wherewith to convey a clear idea of the appearance of the perforations is that of a huge aponge, The lower Br ison a level with the ground, and looks like a deep, black oven of semi-cir- cular form. It is about four metres high by fifteen wide (thirteen feet by fifty). Above this there are two ir excavations. one, to the right like a deep niche in @ church, or large oval window, for through it the light is given to the grotto below. Itis overhung with moss. tratis of here the wrinkled, tottering matron, saying her | NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, OUrOBER 27,, 1872.QUADRUPLE SHEET. ivy, brushwood and @ wild mixture of bramble, briar and hedgerow vegetation. In this latter orifice, now filled with a white etatue of the virgin, did Bernadette behold her vision. The lower grotto panemnente = ce a ey dn. aaber. to prevent pil- join: ecurryin, away jeces. Bonind these raittuge hang a re THE CRUTCHES OF THOSE WHO COME THERE LAME and go away with the use of their limbs. A pulpit, ce ructed with deal , is erected right of the grotto tor the bishops, who mount it in turn, in order to address the flocks of people around, ‘The sermon was just beginning when | reached the t I have described, and was di livered by er. the Bishop of Tarbes, ‘was on the vicissitudes of France. The prelate as- rincipally tothe breaking of the d: Srteot to the love of eaze.and show, to the intatu spirits re ater their past folly, he told them there was ‘NO CAUSE TO DESPAIR OF THE PUTURE; he did not think there was py aston on the face of the world so capable of self-sacrifice, generous impulse and so amenable to salutary influence as France, but that there were causes which rendered these virtues of no account. He explained that his were easily led away by theories they Sta not look into, and iso ren rea inert by in- difference as to the public He saw no good, ifthe devout did not come forward boldly wit! example and word of speech; he thought this great manifestation was a.desire on the part of the Pilgrims to walk in the path of courage and strength in the future; he trusted that men who had come 80 miles from their homes would not keep away from thelr ih church on Sundays, butattend divine service of LEAVING ALL THE RELIGION OF THEIR FAMILIES TO THEIR WIVES, as if it were only fit for the weak instead of being in reality the blood and sinews of a nation, He besought them to stand shoulder to shoulder; to root out their love of pigenuras to be earnest citizens, and, stretching his hands out towards them, he asked. “Will you here promise to serve and love your country as I mean f”? ‘Out /” replied the thousands, and this aftirmation echoed from mount to valley. ‘Will you say, ‘Vive la France!’ as children should who have been fed on the boun- bosom of a dear mother ?’" “VIVE L& FRANCE !?? shouted the people likeoneman. Then the Bishop, after a pause, during which nothing but the rush of the Gave and the rustling of ash trees were heard, raised nis clear voice still higher, and, turning to the rock behind him, cried, ‘VIVE THE CHURCH, THE ROCK OF AGES.” It was as if the place shook with the clamoring echo of nature responding to the voice of man: ‘Then all joined in a “Vive the Holy Father, vive Pius IX.” The Bishop.descended and the pilgrims rushed to the pool which is filled by the miraculous fountain that started out of the rock under Ber- nadette’s touch when she did as the vision described. TIN CANS, BOTTLES AND PAILS were filled, the infirm were led down, all ap- letepcne unmolested; the eyes of the blind were athed with handkerchiefs steeped in the piscina; the deaf immersed their heads, and the paralytic as of old to sat on the edge, waiting be pelpad. Diseased pilgrims had been carried thither in sedan chairs. Some drank, some. washed. On returning back tothe hospice I fell in, as pilgrims do, with a good father, whose cassock was looped up and who held his three-cornered, spacious hat in his hands, We talked as we went jong, and he gave me a programme in his own handwriting of the ceremonies of the afternoon and next day. As this letter is already very long I will describe them in my next, which will leave by the followin, mail, and also my progress with Sister Elizabet! and what [further heard of Bernadette and saw at Tansee in the course of the two days which fol- lowed. TEMPLE EMANUEL. Dr. Gutheim’s Farewell Discourse—The Light of Faith, Truth, Virtue—What Is Needed to Make Judaism Permanent and Beloved Here. Notwithstanding the disagreeable morning, a goodly congregation gathered yesterday m the Temple Emanuel to listen to the parting words of Rey. Dr. Gutheim, who this evening leaves New York for New Orleans, where he has accepted a call to minister to his old congregation, who have during his absence organized on the plan of the'Temple here and erected a synagogue after its model, In the course of reading they have begun Genesis, the first chapter of which was read yesterday, and from the following verse of which the Doctor preached :—“And God said, Let there be light, and there waslight.” Light, he said, is the most beneficial object in. creation—the richest jewel in the crown of creation. What'would all that we have and hold dear be worth were it not for the light that shines upon us—those variegated flowers that brighten our pathway? The panorama of iife which passes before us day by day would be of no avail to us without it. Without that sun which the Almighty created to rule the day all would be darkness and despair, SWEET IS THE LIGHT and pleasant to our eyes. Desolate indeed is he who 5 of the light. Give him all else, and without the light of this world he would be more helpless than a babe and rer than the poorest. Sweet is the by toman! Itisthe greatest bless- ing of God to the world. With light did God begin His work of creation, giving us the means and set- ting us an example that we should walk in light. Five times does this word occur in this first chapter, be infer its importance. this light man would grope on in darkness, knowing nothing. ‘Thou art my light and my salvatton, says the Psalmist, and the soul that is imbued with unswerving faith in God walks in light. But he who is denied of this faith walks on in darkness. Let us tnen, said the Doctor, cultivate this light of faith in oursouls. Light is also truth as well as faith—truth stamped upon history, upon nature and upon the life of man, It is truth of such prac- tical effect that those who would act differently to inn an evanescent notoriety which does not ri long to them only reveal in more hideous forms thé hypocrisy of their natures. Let the truth grow and spring up in our hearts and look down from heaven upon our souls, and let our prayer be, “O God of truth, send Thy truth abroad intoall the earth and guide us in the way that we should go,” itis virtue also, and ‘virtue should ever be n for light, since its opposite is darkness. Vice ins the light of day, but by virtue alone there | ariseth light im the darkness. Let us then practise this virtue as the light which God has bestowed upon and planted in our hearts. LIGHT IS ALSO KNOWLEDGR, without which man cannot know God. It is knowl- edge chained to virtue that brings peace and joy to the human soul and that makes our lives Lapp} to ourselves anda benediction to those aroun us. It is knowledge that gives man the true in- Sent into t ‘3 past, present and future—into the. things that relate to this world and to that which is to come. It ts this fourfold character of light, as: the brightness of the material universe, as the blessing of faith, virtue, knowle: that we should alway view it and profit by it. The day de abe, and this light was kindled ages ago on Sinai, an far as the light-has penetrated this law of has been and js to be acknowledged. It has been spread abrogd by this Torah. Let us, then, cultivate and enone lent and impart its blesst unto. is, sald you, and what better subject, he asked, could he speak to the congregation about? There were some things, he said, that in parting he de- sired to impress upon their minds. One ol these was a better observance of the Sabbath; another was a closer union with other bodies of Israelites and representation in the Board of Delegates of American Israclites—a society that is recognized in Europe as the mouthpiece and representative of American Israelites, The Doctor then gave A FEW PARTING WORDS of explanation. He has been four years with the Temple congregation, and, scoording. to agree- ment, has preached twice a month in English and rformed such other clerical duties as the Onurch joard had ned. When he came among them he believed there was a desire to cultivate English jeeereing and to make it mora available and use- 1, but he has never been asked even to offer a prayer in English uniess in the absence of his re- spected colleague. He had come, therefore, in some sense, to look upon himself as being rather ornamental’ than usetul to the congregation. He would giadiy have made his services more availa- ble to the people, but they evidently did not want them; and hence, when his old congregation caliea him, he accepted because a wider field of useful- ness would open up before him there. At the Doctor’s remarks many tears were shed, and at the close he was bade godspeed by many. THE STREET OAR COLLISION, Conclusion of the Inve: tion Before the Fire Commissioners—The Driver of the Car To Blame. At the Fire, Marshal's chief office, in Mercer street, the investigation into the late accident on Fourth avenue, whereby one of the horses belong- ing to the Fire. Department was killed, was contin. ued yesterday before Commissioners Shaler and Biair, It will be remembered that a short time jo a engine collided with one of the Fourth avenue wet cars, and the present investigation was held for the purpose of determining was to blame for the accident. Mr. M. Depew appeared for the Fourth Avenue Railroad Company and examined several witnesses in the endeavor to show that the driver of the street car Was not to blame in the matter. But all of them testified that they heard the bell of engine, ana it was improb- able that the driver of the car ould not have heard it also. However, the captain of the com, was running in advance of his ma- chine, so it could not have been progressing at a very terrific rate of speed. The Fire Commission- ers demand restitution tor the loss of their horse— @ valuable animal—and it is not unlikely the matter will be brought into the Courts. The investigation thé Doctor, is the last Sabbath I |* PHILADELPHIA'S HIGHSTEPPING DE- FAULTER. An Insurance Clerk Issues Scrip on His Own Account. ONLY $43,000 “MADE.” A Lover of Elaborate Establishments, Fast Women and Fast Horses. Wills’ Arrest, Bail and Partial Restitution. PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 26, 1878, A defalcation, aggregating $43,000, has just come to light in the office of the Delaware Mutual Safety Fire and Marine Insurance Company ot this city. Fletcher Wills, the dividend clerk of this company, @ young married man, is the author, and a fast woman and fast horses the alleged cause. Several weeks ago Mr. Thomas. Hand, the President of the company, received information that Wills was living entirely beyond the style his salary would entitle him to, and knowing the young man had no other source of income an investigation of his accounts was determined upon, The investigation confirmed the suspicions of the managers and Wills was ac- cused of the crime. He admitted it at once and made a statement that enabled the bookkeepers to discern the full extent of his stealings. It seems Wills has been in the habit of ISSUING FRAUDULENT SCRIP and mingling it with the genuine issues when pre sented for the signatures of the oficers, It was signed without suspicion of its real nature, and Wills, having this scrip in his possession, sold it and appropriated the receipts. He worked his little game for abodt three years and covered his transactions by entering them in the profit and loss account. There is still $7,500 unaccounted for, but Wills pemnamledeed having realized about thirty-five thousand dollars by his peculations. A pore of the money, it is asserted, was expended in the suppert of ‘A FAST WOMAN AND :A PAIR OF STYLISH HORSES. In addition to this he supported in good style his own establishment—in other words, his wife and family. He has made artial restitution to the company by atin oa residence and that of his mistress. His horses and carriage and all his personal effects he has also yielded up to the com- pany. The two houses and the horses and carriage will bring about ten thousand dollars, leaving a deficit of $33,000. Wills’ character has always been considered good, and his uniformity of conduct during business hours completely hoodwinked his employers and those having intimate business re- lations with him: It is thought very strange that peculation to this amount could go on for so long & time without discovery; but the exceeding SHREWDNESS OF HIS OPERATIONS stamps him a man of wonderful ability in his a liar line; but ‘‘murder will out,’ and he probably feels that truth in all its force by this time. His wife: and relatives are well nigh heart-broken over the dicovery of his villany, and Philadelphia busi- ness circles have not received such a shock for years, Wills has been arraigned before an Alder- man for a hearing, and given bail in $10,000 for his. appearance at Court. LITERARY CHIT-CHAT. So INTELLECT is only phosphorus on the brain, after all! Atleast thus reasons a Paris medico in forty quarto pages'ofa report to the Academy of Sciences, According to him you have only to in- troduce phosphorus into the skull of an idiot and you at once transform him into a man of genius. We are not told, however, how the phosphorus is to be introduced. Dr. Hanna, the son-in-law and biographer of Chalmers, is about to publish reminiscences of a tour in Palestine, which he made some years ago, in company with his friend, since deceased, Mr. Keith Johnston, the geographer. Mr, Forster's “Life of Charles Dickens” Is to be extended to three volumes, ANoveEt is in the press by General Sir Henry Vincent, one of the oldest general officers in Her Majesty's service, whose career is well known, Mr. Henry A. WICKHAM, an English traveller in pursuit of the South American paradise of india- rubber, has just published the result of his explor- ation in a book entitled “Journey Through the Wilderness from Trinidad to Para, by Way of the Great Cataracts of the Orinoco.” SriLu ANoTHER history of Maximilian has ap. peared in London, this time by a friend and apolo- gist, one W. H. Chynoweth, who shows that, while the French invasion of Mexico wasa crime and a blunder, the “Emperor” Maximilian was deceived into the belief that the people wanted him to save them from anarchy and misrule. THe Liprary- of the arsenal, situated at the bottom of the Quartier St. Antoine, Paris, has been reopened to the public. The work of cleaning and arranging the volumes, rendered necessary by the precautions taken to protect them from the Com- mune, has been successfully accomplished during the vacation. THE New and enlarged edition of “Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer or Geographical Dictionary ofthe World” is nearly ready for issue. It will contain nearly ten thousand new names of places and the latest census populations at home and abroad, The work has been wholly under the care- ful superintendence of Dr. J. Thomas and T. Bald- win, “THE POLYGLOTTE,” edited by Orm, published by Schneider, of Trieste, is announced as an interna- tional periodical, which will offer articles in Ger- man, Italian, French and English. Tae Importation of American books into France, Germany and Russia is increasing at a very rapid rate. In Letpsic the book firms want American Publishers to establish agencies in that great book market of the Continent. “THE MAN Witt THE Nose” is the title of Miss “Cometh Up as a Flower’’ Broughton’s new serial. A MAGNIFICENT book on Turkish architecture, with many plates and text in Turkish, German and French, is being: prepared by the Ottoman govern- ment for the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. Victor Huao’s next production will be the long- promised sequel to “La Légende des Sigcles’— “Dieu.” That is to be shortly followed by “La Fin de Satan,” though we can see no reason why this should be published before the millennium, Be, . sides these poems, M. Hugo hasin preparation “Lea Quatre Vents de l’Esprit” and “Le Théatre en Liberté.” NEW PUBLICATIONS REGEIVED. From J._B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia “The World of Anecdote: An Accumulation of Facts, Incidents and Illustrations, Historical and Biographical,” by Edwin Paxton Hood; “The~ Harveys,’ by Henry Kingsley; ‘My Brother's Keeper,” by A, B, Warner; “The Toilet in Ancient and Modern Times: With a Review of the Different Theories of Beauty, &c.,” by Arnold J. Cooley. From D. Appleton & Co.—“The Vegetable World: Being a History of Plants, with Their Structure And Peculiar Properties,” adapted from the work of Louis Figuier; “A Handbook of Chemical Tech- nology,” by Rudolf Wagner, Ph. D., Professor at the University of Wurtzburg; translated and edited by William Crookes, F. 8. 8. From Dodd & Meade—‘“The Little Sanctuary and Other Meditations,” by Alexander Raleigh, D. D.; “Premiums Paid to Experience; Incidents in My Business Life,” by Edward Garrett. From Hurd & Houghton—“The City of God and the Church Makers; An Examination Into Struc- tural Christianity and Oriticism of Christian Scribes and Doctors of the Law," by R. Abbey. From T. B, Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia— “The Outcast and Other Poems,” by J. W. Watson, author of “Beautiful Snow.” From Sheldon & Oo.—The Ordeal for Wives; a novel. From Holt & Williams—“Sermons,"’ by the Rev. H. R. Hawcis, M, A., incumbent of St. James’, Westmoreland street, Marylebone, London. From Lee & Shepard, Boston—‘Smallpox: The Predisposing Conditions and Their Preventives; With @ Scientific Exnosition of Vaccination.” by having been ended the Commissioners will report to the Board, who will take such action as deem advisable, Dr, Cari Both.