The New York Herald Newspaper, August 16, 1873, Page 2

Z "FRENCH FERVOR, The National Pilgrimages ¢o the shrines of the Saints---No. 2 TOURS AND BUQLOSE. St, Martin’s Tomb and the Birth- place of St. Vincent do Paul. THE APOSTLE OF THE GAULS. ‘St. Martin’s Early Victory Over Satan, and His Holy Life. MIRACULOUS VICISSITUDES OF HIS RELICS "Total Destruction of Tomb and Church by the Impious Revolution. THEIR GLORIOUS RESTORATION. France’s Noblest and Best in Pious Procession of Prayer and Praise. MAGICAL RELIGIOUS ELOQUENCE. Wobles Kneeling Devoutly at the Under- ground Tomb of the Apostle. ——_—_—_ A NIGHT JOURNEY TO BUGLOSE. How the Pilgrims Sustain the Weariness of the Way and How They Are Fed and Protected. PRIESTS AND: PRETTY WOMEN. tthe Worship of Peasants and Patricians Under St. Vineent’s Oak. TRUE PIETY OF THE PILGRIMS. ‘Singular Scenes of Simple Faith—Small Chance for Sneers of Philos- ophers or Witlings. THE OPEN-AIR “ANGELUS.” ‘Fours, July 29, 1873. ‘The most ancient and celebrated ofall the French pilgrimages is that to the shrine of St. Martin. During more than fourteen centuries pious Catho- lca have flocked there, Peasants and princes, kings, bishops and sovereign pontiffs have there sought consolstion or supplicated for miracles, The Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, the tombs of St. Peter and St, Paul at Rome, that of St. James, of Compostelio, and the tomb of St. Martin at Tours, formed the four great meeting places of the Christ- fan world, But the tomb of St. Martin had pecu- iar claims upon the devotion of the Gallic race. ‘Monk and prelate were forever relating, in that clear and precise language which knows no dul- ess or confusion of meaning, how the soll which At. Martin had trodden, and which he had sanctified ‘by 50 manppredigies during his long apostolate ‘Was especially blessed Of Heaven. They had good Scripture warrant for the belief that particular places may be thus consecrated, in the text which @ays, “Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for the Place where thou standest is holy ground.” The Banctity, therefore, of all places in which miracles have been performed has always been one of the ‘prime articles of the Roman Catholic creed, and it is not easy to understand why the Protestant Onurch has vemounced it, or, indeed, whether it has renounced ft. St. Martin was the great apostie of the Gauls, Generation after generation their warriors and Statesmen prayed upom the stones of the solitary grotto which had so olten witnessed the vigils of the saint, and wore out with their knees she bare earth upon which he had rendered up his soul to God. The traditions of the earliest ages of the Catholic Church in France, the many memorials which picty has raised to St. Martin throughout the whole country, have invested the narrative of his life and works with the dignity and precision of history. The principal events of his career, the date and Manner of his death; rest upon evidence which Would satisfy a court of law, and those who think— ‘asthe best men of all times have thought—that there isa sort of immortality in virtue and self sacrifice, need not consider those who venerate its mectoory either as fools or as fanatics. St. Martin died upon the 9th of November, 97, in the little town of Candes, at the confiuence of the Vienne and the Loire, between Port Boulet and Saumur. As soon as the news of his death spread abroad the chief men of Poitou and Touraine flocked to Candes to claim the corpse of the holy bishop. But the men of Touraine were either more crafly or more fortunate than the men of Poitou, and they succeeded in carrying of the precious relics by stealth. THE MIRACULOUS SHIP OF TOURAINE. Tradition asserts that the bark which bore them moved up the current of the Loire without sails or oars; that the trees upon the river banks burst out in blossoms as it passed upon its miraculous voy- age; thatthe sick who sawit were restored to health, aad that celestial music accompanicd the body till its arrival at Tours. ‘The remains of St. Martin were destined to un. dergo many strange vicissitudes befere they found ® final resting place, in accordance with a prophecy ‘which he seems to have made in the form of an al- Tegory. It being a custom derived from the ex- G@mple of our Saviour for the first fathers of the ‘Charch to speak in parables, St. Martin relates that, shortly alter his baptism, he was met at the Bates of Milan by a stranger of haughty aspect, who Anquired abruptly whither he was going? ST. MARTIN AND THE DEVIL. My, go," replied the faint, “where God is calling m “Ho, ho,” retorned the stranger, who was no ‘Dther than the Demon of Mischie/, ‘‘whithersoever you go, whatsoever you undertake, if of good or great, you shall always fled me in your path.” | “Then,” answered St. Martin, “God is my strength Bnd my salvation, What cam I fear?’ so tho Memon vanished, as all demons have done before on since at the steady rebuke of faith and cour- | ‘The body of St. Martin was deposited on the Danks of the Loire, and remained there fer a few ays, guarded by the clergy and people of Tou- Faine, who feared that the Poiteving might, per- haps, steala march on them. A chapel, now aban- @oned, but still known by the name of Little st, MArtin. marks the spot where # was laid, The vent ed by the ieee NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1873—WITH SUPPLEMENT. Saint's remains were then removed to a cemetery situated about a quarter of a league from the town of Tours. They were on the site of a con- “Ladies of Perpetual THE MIRACULOUS GRAVE. The renown of the miracles which were dail, performed at the b of St. Martin attract crowds of pil m all countries, and St. Brice, suecessor of St, Martin, built a chapel to re- ceive them. This chapel proving too small, be- cause of their multitude, St. Perpet, who filled the See of Tours sixty-four years alter §t. Martin’s death, erected a spacious basilisk, which is de- acribed in glowing language by St. Gregory, the historian, and which he mentions as the richest and most remarkable of the epoch. On the 4th of@uly, 473, the body of St, Martin was transferred to the new tomb which Bt. Per- pet had prepared for it, and thereafter the 4th of July was a day set apart in each year for the FESTIVAL OF THH TRANSLATION. é was upon this memorable day that the body of the Saint found its last resting place upon carth, and, notwithstanding all the changes and chances of after times, it wag never displaced. In periods of public trouble, whenever the relics had been tewporarily disturbed, thoy were carefully restored again to the place chosen by St. Perpet. REDUCING THE SIZE OF A CORSE. That famous bishop diminished all the bones of St. Martin to the eize of an infant's body, bound them closely together, and, having enveloped them in a white shroud, he placed them ina large vase of alabaster, enclosed within an outer cover- ing of metal, made in tne form of a coffin, Having thus made the SAINT'S RELICS PORTABLE, he placed them under the high altar, in acave from five to six feet long and three fevt wide, This eave was lised with a metal composed of brass and copper mixcd with a little gold. It was closed by doors of the same composition, and it had four massive locks of curious workmanship. Aslab of polished marble covered the cave, which was surmounted by a ciborium, or little cupola of gold and silver, enriched with precieus stones and supported by four columns of inestimable value. Upon this tomb the solemn sacrifice of the mass ‘was held, @ distinction which hitherto had been reserved exelusively for the tombs of martyra, BISE OF A CITY. According to the usage ef the times, St. Perpet employed a large number of clerks te sing hymns continually at St. Martin’s tomb, and @ numerous population soon formed itself around them. Most townsin Europe owe their origin to camps or churches. At the beginning of the sixth century the magnificent basilisk raised by 8t. Perpet was burned down, but Clotaire L hastened to rebuild it in all its splendor. The worship of St. Martin and the devotion to his tomb went on always increasing. Pilgrimages flocked there from all parts of the world. It wes there that kings came to seek @ promise of health or “4 PROMISE OF VICTORY,’ and there that the queens ef France retired to dic. | Popes came to venerate the relics of the Saint, and bowed down before them in all the pomp and ceremony of pontifical state. Here also was founded, under the auspices of Alcuin, that famous school of theology, which was THE ORADLE OF ALL THE FRENCH UNIVERSITIES that have since flourished.and given laws to loarn- ing. Religious ceremonies were held at St. Martin's tomb with great solemnity; first by abbows and monks especially delegated for the service, after- wards by @ numefous chapter under the sole authority of the Popes, but protected by the Kings of France. This chapter owned immense posses- sions; ithad the privilege of coining money, and eould send an army into the field to defend the patrimony of St. Martin whenever force was needed to do 80. Their riches attracted the cupidity of the Nor, mans, who appeared in arms before the town of Tours, in 638, during the reign of Charles the Bald, but at the sight of St. Martin’s body, borne upon the ramparts of the city, they were SEIZRD WITH 4 PANIC and took to fight. This miracle is still celebrated every year, upon the twelfth of May, under the name of the Subvention of St. Martin. Neverthe- less, toward 853, the Chapter, alarmed by the suc- cesses of the Normans in other parts of France, de- termined to put the relics in their custody beyond the reach of surprise and capture. With this object they were conveyed first to Orleans, then to Chablis, and afterwards to Auxerre. The tomb at Tours remained bereft of its precious deposit for nearly thirty-four years, BURNING OF ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH. ‘rhe Normans, baulked of their prey, set fire to St. Martin’s Church and carried off its treasures; but no sooncr was peace re-established than a + temple more beautiful than before arcse from its ruins, It was called at first Martinopolis, but sub- sequently underwent so many transformations that it acquired the name, or nickname, of Cna- teauneuf and became likewise a town, quite distinct from Tours. A SHARP BISHOP. In 887 the Dean and Chapter of St. Martin de- manded the relics of the saint from the city of Auxerre, but the prelate of the diocese, fully aware of their importance, refused to restore them. So the Chapter called out lustily for help. Ingelger, grandson of the Duke of Burgundy, hearing their outcry, marched an army to their help, and broagh t the city of Auxerre with its sharp bishop to their senses. It was a great day when the body of the saint Was brought back, and the event is still celebrated upon the 14th of December as THE REVERSION OF ST, MARTIN. The Burgundian troops, huge fellows with much wine in them, and 4 propensity for making tho most of their achievements, made a great noise. They insisted on having a triumphal march, and came on through the fields of Touraine with the fruits of their victory, amid tne call of trumpets and the clash of cymbals, and gave out their ban- ners to the wind. The coffin of the saint was borne by the greatest of the lords of Burgundy in the very midst of the army; and Ingelger, upon a mighty war horse, rode bareheaded and@ lance in rest before it, with hts heimet hanging by his mace and battle axe upon his saddle bows. An Mnumerable multitude lined the roads upon his way and the same miracles were done again which were wrought when the saint's relics c me up the Loire from Candes to Tours aforetime. The sick and infirm were restored to health, and na- ture herself, putting on her fairest robe to honor the servant of God, covered her troes with bios” soms and her meads with flowers, The basilisk of St, Martin was at once restored to its ancient glory, but in 994 it was burned again with the town of Chateauneuf, iu an attack di- recied by Foulqnes Nerra, Arich man named Hervé, however, being then treasurer of St. Martin’s church, cleared away its ashes and constructed a more spacious and con- venient building where it had stood, During these proceedings the body of the saint was deposited in the Church of St. Venant, but Hervé took care to replace it in the exact spot where It had been placed on Its first translation by St. Perpet. The church, which had been built by Hervé, was damaged by fire in 1096, 1123, 1187, 1202 and 1203, the demon of mischief having fully resolved to do his utmost to put an end to it, But it was always restored with equal magnificence, All through the ages, till the reign of Charles the Handsome, St, Martin’s coffin contained his relics intact. In 1323, however, this King, empowered by a bull of Pope John XXIL, separated the head of St. Martin from the rest of his body, amidst @ great conccurse of bishops, and placed it within a bust of gold for the veneration of the faithful. ENCASED IN GOLD. In 1458, also under the reign of Charles VII,, the body of St. Martin was definitively removed from 11s tomb and, inclosed within a case of gold, mag- nificently wrought, it was placed upon an estrade Of silver ander a cupola; By its side was put the golden bust which contained 81. MARTIN'S HEAD, and near it also, in golden caskets, were ranged the cerpses of St. Brice, o¥3t. Eustache, of St. Per- pet, of St. Euphrone, of St. Gregory, and of St, Epain, the martyr. Lamps of great price suspended round these cas- kets burned night and day, and a strong iron rail- ing kept off sacrilegious persons from laying hands upon these treasures, It was replaced by a trellis- work of solid silver, a gift of Louis XI, who also caused hig own statue, in an attitude of prayor, to be set up before the tomb. King Francis 1, however, being in want of money, seized upon these things, and his over- throw at Pavia, which consigned him asa prisoner to Charles V., has always been attributed by the Chureh to his irreverence for the patron saint of France. There can be no doubt that it must have considerably shaken the faith and consequently cooled the courage of his foligwers. Now, when faith is absont and courage | ena te doubt, what ig, what can be the fate of ¢ and its leader? In 1562 the Hugbonots fell upon the cloister of Bt. Martin, pillaged the church, ravaged the tomb, stole the treasures of it, melted the sacred vases, burned the bodies of the saints, and finished their work by sctting dre to St. Martin's religa, Never- theless 4 Ra A PORTION OF HI8 HEAD AND ARM were saved from the conflagration, and the furious fanatics being ultimately expelled from the neigh- borhood by force of arms St. Martin’s tomb was rebuilt as it ever had been. His blackened cinders were collected by pious hands, and put into a small silver casket, aud returned to the same spot where his body had formerly been laid; also the place where his ashes had been thrown by the RAGE AND CONTEMPT OF THE HUGUENOTS was surrounded by an iron railing, and, up to the time of the revolution, pilgrims from many lands press2d round itto gaze upon the flowers which grew in that sanctified soll. The cupclaand the columns which supported it were likewise rebuilt, and therein wore enclosed the scanty remains of the saint which had been saved from profanation. ‘Thus it seems that the flercest fights of hostile armies and wildest phrenay ef angry sects had indeed succeeded in redicing the body and bones of St. Martin to a shapeless heap of ashes, but they had, in no sense, diminished the veneration in which his name was held, or shaken the confidence felt in his intercession. To his shrine still came the sick to pray that they might be healed, the sorrowful to seek for comfort from on high, and the just to ask that they might not faint or grow weary in well doing. The French revolution, which broke out at the close of the eighteenth century, and swept all re- Higious things away as a heap of rubbish, dispersed the Dean and Chapter of St. Martin, demolished his church and scattered his relics, so that in 1502 there no longer existed tomb or basilisk or Mar- tinopolis, The site upon which the basilisk was built is now travérsed by two streets, the Rue St. Martin and the Rue Descartes. The very building materials of his temple were sold by the Coaven- tion, but the veneration of the saint remains as fresh and fervent as ever. A few years ago, therefore, the idea of roviving pilgrimages to the tomb of St. Martin had entered no man’s mind. The utmost that could be done by Monseigneur Morlot, Cardinal Archbishop of Tours, in 1854, was to bless and approve a pious associa- tion which had been formed under the name of “Cuvre de St. Martin” (St. Martin’s charity), to provide clothes for the poor, in memory o/ the mantle which he rent to clothe a beggar in the town of Amiens, BEGINNING OF THE RESTORATION. This was the beginning of the business. Tho ‘Quvre de St. Martin” was a charity which had iife in it, and, from the time of its foundation, the nine days of prayer, which every year precede the festival of the patron Saint of France (November 11) were celebrated with more and more magnificence and attended by ® more numerous congregation. Pilgrims also began to be seen now and then at Marmoutier, where St. Martin resided during his episcopate;.at Candes, whore he gavo back bia soul unstained to heaven; at Ligugé, where he founded the first monastery of the Gauls, and at Olivet, where been recently found. At tue same time the archives of France and England were ransacked for plans of the tomb and basilisk which had been destroyed. A committee was formed to go into the work in a _ business- like manner, and it was soon ascertained that | the case was not so bad as it seemed. In the first Place, it was proved to demonstration by these means that the site of St, Martin’s tomb, ¢eon- trary to the general belief, had not been madea public highway. Then, in 1857, a rich man, who was a member of the committee, gave 150,000f. out of his private fortune to purchase all the cot. tages which had been built upon the site. Isaw this rich man. He came up and spoke to me, as well he might, as I stood in St, Martin’s church, a pilgrim at the surine he had helped to restore. He was stont, fresh-colored rich man, witha con- tented countenance and an agreeable smile. I dare say he was a good hand at a bargain, and that he id not pay too much for the houses which he bought for pious purposes, and that things have prospered with him ever since he rose to notice in that way. 1 was standing near the French Duke, whom he recoznized as an habitual pilgrim by the red cross and the sacred heart upon his breast. It is my telief that the rich man was giad ofa little notice, but would have preferred a great deal of it, and was apprehensive that his light might be hidden under a bushel, for @ personal friend at his cibow told me his name, which I have forgotten, theugh he spoke it in a loud whisper, The Romans used to call such personal friends “shadows.” Perhaps they are. At last, om the 8th of Decembor, 1859, Monseig- neur Guibert, the present Cardinal Archbishop of Tours, solemnly approved a project for the re- establishment of St. Martin's tomb, and issued an archlepiscopal circular to that effect. After this benediction the committee went on with such en- ergy that on the 14th of December, 1860, at eleven o'clock post meridian, the toinb of St, Martin, a8 indicated by historical record, was indubitably found. THE NATIONAL CREED OF FRANCE 1s this—namely, that God will bless thé work which began when this tomb was discovered; that He will reanimate all hearts by His grace, and cause them to turn with hope and confidence | towaras St. Martin, the patren saint of France. One would not think it who saw French gentle- men dancing the cancan at bulliers and at Ma- billie, but all Frenchmen are not such Frenchmen as these. The more educated class of Frenchmen, by which I mean the nobles of the old fauvourg, who are very caretully instructed, really do trust that princes and people will coime as aforetime to pros- trate themselves before the bones of the miracle- worker, That they actually, as a matter of fact, do come ig geen in this, that the proprietor of the most go- ahead newspaper of thé Worll has 8B & corres spondent hither togive an account\pf them, and he is an American, and I am an Englishman, and around me and him are men of other countries, equally astonished at the fact, which is neverthe- less a fact. Hear also Monseignour Pile, the high-hearted Bishop of Poitiers, “My brethren,” says this prelate, thundering from his favorite pulpit, ‘look ye here! The in- gratitude of nations never gocs unpunished any more than the sins of individuals, Somebody (not mecessary to say who) keeps a sharp lookout on us. Therefore observe that the Empire of the Franks was always gourishing and glorious while the worship of the saints was held in honor, and that its splendor always decreased asthe worship of the saints diminished, “1 do not want to talk to you (observes the Bishop dryly to his flock) abont the tremendous tumble you have just got from the Germans. I need not warn you of your dangers or your fears. (No occasion whatever, Your Greatness, All France 1s smarting.) 1 will merely tell you that I, for one, begin to hope for better days, when France has begun to rebuild the basilisk of St, Martin, “He (look here, you unbellevers) was the founder ana father of this our nation, He is its patron and protector. Whatsover France may do for St. Martin she will do for herself. Amon. “The day,” continues the Bishop, “upon which France shall raise her voice in honor of St. Martin the world will listen te it. (The world clearly has Ustened to It.) “Emperors and kings,’ shouts Monsigneur Pie, with prophetic fervor, “will hear it. During fif- teen centuries they paid homage to St, Martin, SENSO EE A OA ERR, SE RT TD the relics of his mantle had” and the greatest sovereigns of France were most Jealous of the dignity of serving at his sepulchre. “Popes will listen, because’they have gratified the basilisk of St. Martin with a thousand favors, with a thousand privileges, and because the basilisk of St. Martin has given pontiffs to the Church of Rome. “Bishops will hearken, because St. Martin was the glory of their order; because he is inscribed as tho first among the diptychs of the Church, and ts the nead of the Pontiff confessors. “Priests will lend their ears, because who wasever 0 bold a8 St, Martin to raise up the dignity of the Gacerdotal character before the great of the earth? (and to say, ‘AlLBON 18 of God ») “Young maldens will listen from their chambers and their bowers, betause St, Martin (boing @ Frenchman) refused all other presents, save those made to him by virgins,\which be avezred (peasy upon French grounds) carried with them a pécullar blessing. Soulp. Sev., De Vita B, Martin, By the bye, the slang phrase— Its all my eye and Betty Martin, came from the usual form of invecation to this saint; though it isa matter which has nothing to do with the narrative at present in hand, “All elasses of society will hear,’ concludes this terrible Bishop Pie (who is.as ajburning brand in the Church of France, much vilified by the lukewarm). “The poor, because they would like to give & half-penny at least (une obole) to a saint who gave one of them the skirts of his cloak. The army, because St. Martin by his disin- terestedness (French soldiers have small pay, and this was hitting them home) was the first type of the French soldier before he became the type of monk and bishop; he offers, therefore, the most perfect model of the soldier-priest. (Evidently no intention here ef laying exclusive claim to St. Mar- tin’s virtues, set up by Bishop Pile.) “If any Obristian Ohurgh or any member of any Christian Church,” says the Bishop, “refuses an Offering to the shrine of St. Martin 1t must abdicate its name and deny its etymology. All the world (well, not quite all the world, My Lord,) knows that the cape of St. Martin’s cloak gave its name to the oratories of our kings, and hence the origin of the word chapel.” WHAT A PILGRIM SAW. Having now endeavored to show what is the shrine of St. Martin, why it is worshipped and that pilgrimages to this shrine are not a crack-brained, new-fangled thing of yesterday or the day before, but that they represent the outward and visible sign ofa belief which has lasted unimpaired for 1,500 years, I proceed to tell what saw and heard as a pilgrim there. THE ALTAR OF ST. MARTIN ‘was hung with the votive offerings of the © '‘nful, and the new church erected for his worsu.p was bung with banners of silk and gold, There, as at other shrines to which pilgrimages are made, might be seen, moved by the breath of hymns, which called on God in the sweetest language which creatures can utter, the violette orifamme of Troyes and the flag of the immaculate Virgin of Toulouse; the embroidered yellow, with the lily branches of Our Lady of Lorette, and the Ave Maria, on cleth of gold, which is the spiritual cog- nizance of Angers. There, too, emblazoned on & field of azure, was the sacred heart of St. Philip of Marseilles, and near it waved, in stately folds, the Oypher of Rochelle. Many of these banners of the Church of Rome have occult and mystic signifca- tions, The painted glass of the church windows, through which came, as it were, bowed dowa and salating, the garish light of the Summer noon, had each its story fer the eye of faith. It was in this scene and with these surroundings that the Grand Vicar of the Archdiocese stood up before the altar and preached to us. There was no halting between two opintons In what he sald. He told us that ‘‘Ohrist is the resurrection and the lfe,? very simply and plainly, with a certain stern grandeur, as if there could be no dispute on that subject. Then one by one tke pilgrims knelt be- fore the rails of the altar and each received a little scarlet cross—a poor thing in itself. (Merelya bit of red fannel sewed to a bit of canvas, and Dot worth a penny, my stock-jobbing friends; so you had better have nothing to do with it.) Yet there Were some who kissed it reverently as the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Iv is a pretty thing, too, neatly sewed with white silk round the edge, and If it were not “excluded from commerce” might be sold with advantage to all Gothamites, After this, each pilgrim, with his cross upon his breast, descended to the tomb of St. Martin, which is under ground, There such of his relics as remain are kept, and there chaplets were blessed amidst prayer and thanksgiving, A PILGRIM’S DINNER, 80, having worshipped at this shrine, we remem- bered that we were earthly creatures with appe- tites; and that we thirsted and were hungry. There is not so much nonsense, atter all, about the Roman Catholic Church; and one of the directors of the pilgrimage, not seeing why those who had thanked God for His mercies upon bended knees should not enjoy His gifts comtortably seated at a table a'hdte, conducted us te the Hotel de Univers, @ clean refreshing piace, where we hada wonderful dinner for three francs. And what a dinner! Soup, salmon, boiled beef, stewed veal, reast fowl, French beans, salad, pudding, wine at discretion, @nd all the fruit in the gardener’s calendar then ripe. Ilooked demurely up at a priest beside me, and I said: “Surely, Your Reverence, this is a good iiving for apligrim? Isee noreason why it should not suit an alderman." “Sir,” replied the priest, reluctantly setting down a glass of wine he was about to raise to his lips, “to overtask human strength aad endurance is to ask of God a new miracle every day, in order to repair waat our folly has done.” “Je vous conseille,” said the Prencn Duke, driv- the nail well home, “never to measure tongues with @ clergyman.” The Hotel de WUnivers was served by cool, pretty girls, in the snowy caps of Touraine. I liked them better than hot waiters, I walked about the town some time after dinner. Everywhere new churches were buila- ing. One, the Church of St. Stephen, had beon stopped awhile by the Republic, but its walls were now rising fast again. It was built of soft stone, very easily worked and not unlike that usea at Sebastopol; and it reminded me of Mr. Bright, the English trivune—a man for whom 1 have a high esteem, and who once tried to render me a great service, but could not do dt, being, as he said, too busy—not having time, in short, to do his duty, which {s the case with most of us, We have eltuer too much to do or nothing at all. ANEODOTE OF MR. BRIGHT. Well, it happened that once I dined with the most eloquent 6 the English orators, It was during the Crimean war, and 1 montioned cdsuaily to Mr. Cobden, who sat next to me, that the cannon balls of the allies directed against Sebastopol sometimes embedded thems in the stonework of its forti- ficutions like plums in a pudding. “THAT'S A LIE,” interrupted Mr, Bright, briefy. Being a very young man I blushed, I now think that Mr. Bright should have blushed. Perlaps he did, being of a fine, humane nature, not, I trust, desirous of giving offence to a small admirer. PILGRIMS FROM BRITTANY. A large body of pilgrims from Brittany joined us at Tours, and we bad swelled to an immense host when we again took our way towards the railway station. It was very hot, and I think some of us wore thirsty, and had small means to spend in Grimk, for they had an eager, wistful look, almost pathetic, and their lips were parched, When we had got into our carriage again the Ouré of Clichy, who had dined with a friend in the house, remarked upon the extraordinary size of the apricots which had been served to him. I asked M. Robert de Devise if the principal inhabit- ants of Tours often invited the pilgrims to dinner, He replied that “there were too many of them to render indiscriminate hospitality possible.’” T noticed as our train moved out of the station that an amazing number of pretty women came to see us Off, and that most of them seemed to have ecclesiastical convictions. “Do you ever hear ofany SCANDALS AMONG THE PRIESTHOOD?" Tasked of the military chaplain, “No, I don’t,” be sald reflectively, “Do your” I was obliged to answer that I did not; but I aid not look satisfied, nor was L ‘The chaplain watched me, and I felt it, though I had looked away from him. 80 I thought it as well to speak again, “How about the marriage questien, your Rever- ence,” said I, geing straight to the point. “Ab” said the chaplain, “how indeed? A troubiesome affair that, and it puzzles most of us. It puzzled me till I was past forty. But you know, of course (I knew nothing of the sort) that the Roman Catholic Uhurch regards marriage not as a matter of faith, but ag a matter of discipline. We think that the secrets of the confessional coul hardly be preaeryegs by a cakes tan; ere tbat, instead of Ing the servant a, it possible that he might bosoms renner te jess $2) the servant of his vats. Noyenenslsas Nie Maronites and the Greek Gacmoles a0 - ue Poles are permitted by the Pope {9 Parry; and ils Holiness would reluctantly ex- tend the same favors to the Russian Church 1f it would acknowledge his supremacy. St. Peter was @ married man and had children.” Just then some fair hands brought a insclous basket of peaches and apricots, daintily tied, and @ grotesque looking bottle for one of the Abbés in our carriage. As they were thrust ina rosy face Q@ppeared at the window and laughed and blushed and vanished. There was & smell of acracoa in tho air for nal{an hour afterwards, and I thought that the priesthood need not marry for the love of good ‘women and the idolatry of children, ‘The more I saw of those. PRIESTS WITH TORIR ROBES OFF the more I liked them, They were quite af their ease among the piligrims, and had no fear ef the practical Jokes of free thinkers, which are apt to make thom rather shy. I was particularly amused by their frequent use of slang words, They seemed like boys out for a holiday, smoking bamboo canes and fancying them cigars; or frolicsome ladies who only half understood some queer expressions they had used, and knew that they had broken out of bounds and liked tt, 4A POLITICAL GLIMPSE, 4s we rolled upon our way, and it was too hot to sleep, the Duke remarked that the government had had a large majority in last night's debate at Versailles. “Dooa that mean the Comte de Chamdord,” I asked rather wearily, being more or less tired of French politics, “Hum! mused the Duke, “The Count de Cham- bord is as obstinate as a mule. No doing anything with him. He will and he won't. I find that the Republic looks even to the clergy as if it were made to last. Mciiahon isan honest man, There are no signs of hig ratting.”” AT POITIERS thirst began to tell severely on the pilgrims. A parched crowd of them rushed tumultuously into the station when we stopped and stormed the re- freshment rooms with wild eagerness tor drink— drink of any sort, and as much of it as possible, But we had arrived by a special train and were not expected, 60 the wine and lemonade was all locked up and the fruitsellers gone away. At last, bow- ever, the contractor came himself and opened his store, and then the struggle between French par- simony and raging thirst was almost terrible. Stiil, upon the whole, when we stopped a third timo for supper, I thought we had at least no lack of crea- ture comiorts, and that, after all, a fight for abottle of cold water was an occurrence which might have happened upon any July day at St. Germains or Joinville. Imade those sentiments known to the Curé of Clichy. “Not yet convinced,” he sald, smiling. “What 1 want for my pilgrims is ‘Mens sana in corpore sano,” BORDEAUX. We reached Bordeaux in the early gloaming, and some tipsy waiters went about crying, “Good wine for @ shilling a bottle.” They sold a great dcal of it, “What wine,” I asked of my neighbor, ‘does the Church of France use for administering the sacra- ment of the Lord’s Supper? In England a sweet, glutinous wine, called ‘Teut,’ is generally set apart for this purpose.” “Each Roman Catholic priest who oMiciates may use the wine he pleases, provided it is good’ and sound wine,” replied my neighbor. ORGANIZATION OF THE PILGRIMAGE. Our pilgrimage was really admirably organized, At Bordeaux wo were a countless host; and as we were obliged to change carriages, and many of the pilgrims were unprotected females, in a pitiable plight, with packages and children, they lett all gorts of things behind them. The directors, however, personaily inspected every carriage, and every cloak, basket or bottle was re- stored kindly and politely to its owner, who was oiten half asleep ani quite de- mented by being suddenly awakened in the twilight, alter a night spent in travel. Isaw that grim Viscount de Damas, with a baby’s rattle in his strong right hand, carrying it gently, and going about from carriage to carriage, hat in hand, to find the baby’s nurse. COUGHS AND COLDS, Great numbers of pilgrims caught coid py ex- posure to the night air, and whenever we. stopped and the shriek of the engine was still there arose @ hoarse chorus of coughs, THE LANDES. After leaving Bordeaux we passed into the Landes, were the peasants walk abroad on stilts, starting from their first oor windows, and the hilis @re clothed with pine forests. The practice of moving about on poles twenty feet high is indeed rarer than it was twenty yeara ago; but the pine forests are as many asever. ‘The farmers and woods- men of the Landes were enriched by the American war, which first opened to them a market for their turpentine and their rosin. Also it appears that many of the best vines of France will grow to per- tection upon large tracts of land here, which were formerly left uncultivated, FROM BORDEAUX TO BUGLOSE. The railway stations between Bordeaux and Buglose arg charming little wooden chalets, hav- ing gardens around thom, and each is embedded in @ huge nosegay of flowers. Fair France looked here her fairest. Certain precautions, I find, are taken to prevent these pilgrimages degenerating into cheap excur- sion trains. But the French area thrifty people, and it is a great temptation to travel at half price. Some comfortable-looxing families, with bouquets of children and large hampers of eatables, did not, at least, look like pilgrims, MORALITY OF PILGRIMS, Isaw no signs of license or lovemaking during the night passed by so many young men and women together in the pilgrims! tram. There were Ro stolen kisses in the air, no sly looks, no appear- ance of being half found out when seen, among the youths and maidens, likewise. no hullabalooing, I had never before seen French people of this sort, No breakfaat was taken by any of the pilgrims because they were about to take the communion St tho Church of St, Vincent de Paul, and the Roman Catholic church ordains that the Lord’s Supper shall be eaten fasting. The military chaplain told me, as we gathered some pretty wild lowers while the train was wait- ing, that he had been first attached to the army uring the Jate war and that he had since refused to leave it though he had been offered high ad- vancement; “because,” he added with gentle Gravity, “the army contains the scul of France.” AT BUGLOSE, There was some dispute as to who should say Nigh mass; the curé of Clichy, a charming and learned old man, politely claimed the right to do 805 “for,” said he, “Iam the successor of St. Vincent de Paul,” who was curé of Clichy before me, LEGITIMIGT NOBLEMEN, As I saw the great names of France mustering at Buglose and heard the talk of these who bore them, I could not help noticing how closely the nobility of all countries is now united; and whata powerful class it forms, They had relations all over the world. One had been at the Derby races this year, and was going to shoot grouse with the Duke of Richmond in Scotland, Another had been fish- ing in Norway; @ third was fresh from the palaces of Italy; a fourth from the steppes of Russia, The vulgar Frenchman, the commercial traveller, and the small shopkeeper hate the English and despise all other people. The French gentleman has a friendly feeling towards foreiguers and a de- sire to cultivate thelr acquaintance, Ho can hardly make up his mind to sneer even at Germaty, wher he has so many friends and kinsfolk. OBIGIN OF THE PILGRIMAGES. 3 “May I venture to ask Your Greatness,” said I te @ bishop who turned up at Buglose, “who is the autnor or originator of the modern ba | movement which is now extending all France?” The bishop, unused to point blank questions, looked down, Then he answered, smiling, “The movement is to a great extent spontancous. Its present leaders are the Viscount de Damas, the hess de Cyevrouse and her son the Duke de pauines.’? ‘dias nobody got any money or glorification out moans” Of the business?” I next incnirad of oy An Coae OF the Court of Abpea. "Ma jot non,” sald he. THE DIRBOTORS, L The contre carriage of our train is marked “Direction,” and kas rather a business look. But only think what thousands of religious enthusiasts would become and the things they would do if left to themselves without control. Here, however, is the Viscount de Damas, a rough, rude man with knotted joints to his bighands. 1 Saw him scowl down a Parisian dandy just now. He might nave hewed his way tofame by any Path, however rugged, with his large strength of heart, and rare intelligence, He preferred the Service of God, If you watched the innor life of the thing, too, there was greatness in it; and what is more than that, there was faith and self-denial. Many of the pilgrims were poor. One could seo that many were young priests; now the sajary of a young Priest (a vicaire or curate, not curé) is about one thousand francs a year; and this pilgrimage was not to be done at any price under a hundred francs. Therefore, it cost a month’s income, or as much and more than ten thousand pounds would signify to @ man with a hundred thousand a year. Now, whenever a millionaire gives ten thousand toa charity his name is hawked about as a world’s wonder, and he generally looks for prompt returns inthe way of general consideration, These men’s names are unknown. Then as to time: the poor artisan gave a week’s work as well as money te the pilgrimage, and the feeble gave a week’a strength, THE POLITICAL ASPECT. Tq has been said that these pilgrimages are Political demonstration, but I doubt the assertion, Frenchmen who are not deputies, and who d¢ not desire to become 80, care very little about Politics, and are rather inclined to laugh at them gs @ foolish speculation. No Frenchman who if not on the lookout for a place, under some partio ular form of government, would walk across th¢ street for King or Emperor, much less give time, money and trouble for them in @ roundabout way like this, Toat the pilgrimage must ultimately be recog: nized as a political fact of the utmost importance admits of no dispute, but at present they stand upon religious grounds, and the Archbishop of Paris has given full powers to all his clergy ta grant full absolution to all pilgrims who seek it of them. UNDER ST. VINCENT’S OAK. We arrived at the birthplace of St, Vincent de Paul, which was the end of our second pilgrimage, at about eight o’clock in the morning, and sang the chant “Veni Oreator,” with the meditation ap — pointed for the morning's service, and beginning, “prayer i3 all powerful,” Moreover, as silence had been officially enjoined during the night, though not kept, our French tongue broke loose and ran apace. The local clergy met us in fall canonicals at @ cross road, and we formed in pro cession in the same manner as when we arrived Tours, singing also the “Canticle of the Sacred Heart.” Tne Viscount de Damas upheld the bam ner of the Virgin, supported on,each side by noble- men, whose breastd Were hung with rosaries of pale yellow wood, exquisitely carved. A magnificent church, surrounded by gardens, now rises beside the lowly hut where St. Vincent de Paul was born, and there the Communion was immediately administered to the pilgrims, Allthe beggars in the country seemed to have flocked to meet us, and they josticd us and nudged our elbows for alms 28 our hymns rose up like in- cense in the Summer air. The singing here was very impressive, and would have been much more so to me, but immediately behind me sang a pil- grim with a deféct in his nasal organ, and, unhap- pily, he was determined to chant tarough it. The Viscount de Damas stood up bare-headed in the sun, and I saw that he was quite bald. His dress was not picturesque, I saw no uniforms about, nor any of the government officials, THE HOUSE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL isa humble but substantial cottage. It was inhab ived till within these last few years by members ef the saint’s family, and it 1s now used asa chapel High mass was said under an immense oak tree, with wide-spreading branches, which stands before the cottage where St. Vincent de Paul was born, and probably once formed part ofa garden attached toit. The voices of the pilgrims, as they sung in the open air, sounded very loud and clear. I no ticed that on the portals of the splendid church in the background are inscribed the words, “Quis putas spuer, iste erit.” It was ob Bervable that all the French people of high scclal rank and education prayed with extreme fervor. There were, I think, however, some ecof fers even here, and some indifferent, as there will be everywhere. They were mostly of the lower class and very dirty, It seems strange that rank, education and cleanliness should have anything te do with religion, but they havea great deaito d¢ with It. BOANERGES, a pale priest with flery eyes and @ wasted frame, stood up before the altar and spoke tous, The man was a true Son of Thunder, and made the hearts of some among us to tremble like the reeds swept by the wind. What he said was very fine, and simple, and grand, not a werd too much, not an adjective misplaced. He drew up his fitts in serried order, and the lightning of his splendid elo quence flashed down their ranks like the rays of the morning sun when it glances on the helms and sabres of warriors, What a scholar the man wast How deep and how learned! What nights he must have passed in meditation and vigils beiore he could speak thus! Indeed I have never examined the fraitof any honest haman laborer beyond my own small lines of life without remembering how much it must have cost and how utterly incapable 1 should be of performing it, THB ROADSIDE INN. DiMcult people to manage these, while a strag- gle is going on within them betsveen avarice and appetite. In Paris only seveuteen pilgrims would agree to pay for a » dinner at Tours. But country air and travel make folks hungry, and 45@ pilgrims ultimately found that they couid not aq without dinner. Tours, however, is a big city, and their dinner was forthcoming, though there was a gooa deal of telegraphing about it. They would not take warning—fow of us ever will—and only nine pitgrims could be brought to terms/or breakfast at Buglose. Kight hundred and seventy pilgrims, with appetites sharpened by singing under an oak tree, nevertheless resolved to have breakfast when the time came, and then there wasa fight. There was only one small roadside inn at Buglose, such as is used by peasants and wagoners, witha kitchen for an entrance and a taproom before, the customers mostly preferring to eat the bread and bacon they bring With them (this is a great bacon country) before the door on wooden benches. Thig little inn was taken by surprise at ten o'clock, stormed and sacked; but it made & vallant de fence, and the 870 pilgrims were all fed at last—fea well and cheaply too, A large plate of veal stewea with vegetables, making meat and drink together, was supplied for forty centimes, or some- thing less than four pence, English money. Wine was served at fifty centimes, or say four penee halfpenny quart, and there wore no fees te waiters, Half a dozen stout girls whisked the platters and cups about for nothing. Everywhere LT could feel the strong protecting arm of the mighty Reman Catholic Church around us and shieiding us from all attempts at imposition, APTER BREAKPAST—THB “ANGELUS," We met again beneath the great oak tree in the open air to pray and sing once more, Ali the | province was thore to look atus, The scene now ree sembled what one can fancy the outward aspect of @ pilgrimage must have been in the Middie Ages. @ i wae ai