Worcester daily spy., 1872-11-09
The Miracle and the z'iIgrimages 10
LOuPdes.
IFrom the Missouri Democrat. ]

PARIS, Oct. 10.
The Methodist has his camp meeting, the Ro.
man Catholic his pilgrimage to hallowed shrineS
to rouse enthusiasm, to kinde fervid faith, to
raise men and women above the world and its
cares, the flesh and its temptations, and TO bring
men and women face to face with the altar, and
the priest and the book. Methodist and Roman
Catholics both are wise in turning their backs
on cities filled with mans handicrait, mans
pre-eminence, mans pleasures, and in with
drawing to the country when all nature speaks
of eternity in spring, or of death in autumn
God made the country, and His work is never
more conspicuous than when genial airs are
throwing green mantles and gariSh garlandS
everywhere, or when gravCr colorS give admir-
able relief to the fruit trees the olive and the
vine, laden with their matured wealth. France
is the most beautiful aud delightful in autumn.
Inc deep blue skies are cloudless, the sun gives
only grateful light and heat, the atmosphere is
Just cool enough to eXhilarate, not wound, the
nerves; gossamer webs Ithe Virgin's thread
they call them here) float laZily in the air; for
est and vineyard wear the checkered livery of
the fall; life, mere existence, bare vegetation
is delight, is luxury. In autumnal France one
can understand why the dog basks in the sum-
mer's sun and finds in the ndolent sell-forget-
fulness extreme happiness. The most celebrat
ed ShrneS lie in beautiful places. They are to
be found in secluded valleys, bowers of foliage
and gurgling waters, and messy carpets, or on
mountain, where the horizon is bOundless in its
azure, or on cliff, where the granite and the
ocean look eternity and mock men until he en-
braces heaven to shun despair. Congregate
men and women together amid these scenes in
this pure air. drown nyiduality in numbers, in-
spire them with supernal hopes you may lash
them to madness, or melt them to tears. Earth'S
distinctions, high birth, wealth, talents, plebei-
an extraction, poverty, simplicity, are effaced
as completely asethey are in the grave; it is
crowd, and its individual atoms are governed by
the mass.
Lourdes could not be situated in a loyelier
place. 1t is on lofty, steep mountain a spur
of the Pyrenees. In front of it lies valley Ter
tilized by the waters of LIE Gave, and which ex-
tends to the gap in the distant ridge which
bounds the horizon with its snow capped peaks.
The villages nestle so closely in the mountains
base, not one Of them is TO be deserted from the
shrine Look where you may, not house is
visible. The landscape is checkered only by
grass and vine and woods, browsing sheep and
goats, sterile granite and eternal snow. All is
lighted by the sun of southern France. What
miracles this miracle hath wrought! When NJ.
Henri LaSsere wrote his book telling how his
blindness had been removed by water from
Lourdes Grotto, when NJ. Victor Palme pub
lished the work, the former was poor writer
for the press, and the latter an obscure pub
Usher The volume sold by hundreds of thou
sands of copies, the author has received $50, 900
from it, and it still yields him $1,000 a year; the
publisher is wealthy. The Southern railway
company receipts at Lourdes station are $1,000
day the year round, and the pilgrimage OF the
Sth October but $4,000 into its treasury. Every
year the company has determined to build a
monumental station at LOurdes and every wear
the accepted plans have been found INADEQUATE
to the stations requirement. Lourdes was
Wretched hamlet without a single inn; no rail-
way trains stopped there. Now there are fifty
shops Of religious articles" alone, none making
less than 5000 a month, and the majority of
them $500 a month"; Whole villages in the
neighborhood are supported by the manulac-
ture Of "beads." There are dozen hotels at
Lourdes, and every house has furnished odg-
ings, A subscription to place an organ in the
church at the grotto was opened. Twenty
thousand were at once subscribed.
The miracle occurred on Shroye Thursday,
February, 1858. Bernadette Soubirous, girl
fourteen years old, was gathering wood on the
mountain. While near the Grotte de Masse-
biele she perceived in the grotto a woman of
angelic beauty, wearing a long white dress with
a blue belt Bernadette was terriied at first,
but seeing la dame recite her beads, she initiated
her, and fell on her knees and swooned When
Bernadette's senses returned la dame mad dis
appeared. Bernadette returned the next and
following days, and saw la dame each time: but
la dame never appeared to anybody but to Ber-
nadette The villagers in crowds followed Ber.
nadette without seeing anybody, and told Ber-
nadette: Take pen. ink and paper, and beg the
Virgin TO give us evidence that she has indeed
visited the Gr0tte ue MaSSeDlelle. Bernadette
did so, but the Virgin smiled and refused to
write. When Bernadette reported her unsuc.
cessiul request she became the butt of the vii
lage and the curate himself refused to give the
least credit to what she said. Bernadette de-
plored her hard fate to la dame, who bade her
scratch the ground whereon she stood and
she would discover spring there-Notre
Dame dc Lourdes spring. She did as directed,
and discovered an abundant spring. EVERYBODY
cried miracle had been wrought. Still until
NJ. Lassere published his book, the miracle had
merely local reputation. The events of the
last two years current incidents, the menacng
future, have created in many minds ycarning
for that support man finds Quly when he rests
on heaven. The importance of religion as a
social necessity is more keenly felt than ever
1t is, moreover, desirable for deYout people to
count themselves and show the world how
strong, numerically, they are, All the causes
combined have made this pilgrimage to Iourdes
extremely important, The number of pilgrims
fell below expectations. One hundred thousand
were reckOned on; $4,000 only came This
difference was doubtless due ip part 10 the dis
turbauces at Nantes and 70 apprehensions of
still graYer scenes, Moreover, there were ru.
mors current that Henry Y. Count de Cham.
bord) would be proclaimed king at Lourdes
Timid people kept at home Nevertheless, the
pilgrimage was imposing. There were eight
bishops and 1000 priests, all Of whom celebrated
mass and viii earTy back to their parishes stories
likely to extend the enthusiasm to Lourdes.