The New York herald., 1873-08-23
fixed to her hair and descended as low as her

1
fixed to her hair and descended as low as her
THE VIRGIN WORE NO ORNAMENTS;
| no ring necklace dtadem or jewels; not one OF
those trlnkets With which human vanity delights
to deck ITSELF chaplet, OF which the beads were
white as milk and through which passed a chain
yellow as wheat ear ripe for harvest, hung down
rom her hands, which were joined in the attitude
OF fervent prayer. She did not speak. She seemed
to be listening to the invocstons rising up to
her. ana with every bead she touched she appeared
| as Though sne bestowed some grace upon her wor.
| shippers.
the little girl who saw this heavenly vision,
having recovered from her first amazement, lelt
no more fear. She sought instnctvely her beads,
and made the sign OF the cross, remaining still
upon her knees Then the Virgin, with grave
sweet look, which seemed like a benediction, made
the sign of the cross also, and when she had done
so the child found courage to utter her broken
prayers:-'I believe In GOd," ~ salute you, Mary,
full OF grace" As she finished them, as usual, with
the words .Glory be to the Father the luminous
vision suddenly disappeared.
Bernadette, after some hesitation, told her com:
palions, and then her mother, what she had seen
The children thought 1t was an evil spirit. Her
mother thought nothing at all, and dismissed the
subject curtly with the word '.n0nsense." When,
however, Bernadette persisted in her story,
Mme Soubirons said, Every well, but don't
do 1t again." lQuotQu'A en- soft, nv
retoM'ne plus, Je H le defends.) Fancy
maternal authority forbiddng those under 1T
to hold any intercourse with the Virgin Mary
Who were those eminent pers ons among the Gada-
renes who, as soon as they had seen the Divine
Master, prayed Him to depart out Of their coasts
In short, would have nothing at all to do with Him
Bernadette. however, was never easy till she had
seen the ady" she called the vision In her coun-
tryfed argon, again. The other Children half fright
ened and half curious thought also OF nothing else
| but the marvellous event, and upon the follow
| ing Sunday, three full days after Bernadette had
first seen the Virgin, she had persuaded her mother
to let her return to the grotto in the rocks OF Mar
| sablelle. The children who accompanied her sug-
gested that she should take some holy water, and
they filed pint bottle with it for that purpose.
| "If 1t is the devil" reasoned these urchins, 'he
| will take himself of II you sprinkle him with holy
water. You Will merely have to say, II you come
from God, draw near; If you come from the demon,
/ depart"
Bernadette thus armed and with her chaplet in
her hands, sat down again in the gr0ttO and
| saw-nOthing.
''Let US pray" she said, ''and let us tell our
beads"
The children kneeled down and each began the
recitation Of the rosary. Then all at once the lace
|
extraordinary emotion was depicted all her
features and her eyes beamed with strange light.
| For there, her feet planted upon the rock, the
marvellous vision was again manifest to her eyes.
"LOOk, she is there ~ exclaimed Bernadette; but
the other children saw nothing save the desert
rock, about which climbed the branches Of egan-
| tine. The appearance OF Bernadette however,
made 1t impossible to doubt her words, and one Of
the children now placed the bottle of holy water in
her hand. Then she rose, and shaking her bottle
vigorously, she sprinkled with its contents that
| gracious lady who stood within few steps OF her
| in the interior of the niche.
"u you come from God, draw near" said Berna-
dette repeating the form Of language which she
had agreed on with her companions. At the words
and actions OF the child the Virgin inclined her
| head several times, and advanced to the extreme
edge OF the rock She seemed to smile at the pre-
cautions OF Bernadette and at her wSrlike att
tude So the little girl called out again, 'If you
come from God, say, draw near" but she was so
impressed by the majesty of the Virgin that sne
did not dare 10 add anything about the demon.
She only knet down and continued to reclte her
chaplet, while the Virgin seemed to listen. count
! ing her own beads also one by one. When Berna-
dette had said her prayer the apparition vanished
! for the second time.
THIRD APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN
the apparition which their daughter had seen as
an illusion. "This is merely one OF the fancies OF
little girls" they said, careessly but their neigh.
bors, getting wind OF what had happened, came to
find out what 1t all meant, much to their amaze
ment; for when they began to interr0gate Berna-
dette she answered them without hesitation; and
neither doubt nor equivOcation could be discovered
in her account OF what had happened to her. Up to
this period the story oil Bernadettes visions had
sounded ike childish tittle-tattle upon the ears OF
her elders-a subject TO be set aside when there
was work to do, and Bernadette herself sent to
bed with a nea In her ear Tor company. But the
| thing was now growing serious, and two ladies'
named Mlle Antoinette Peyret and Nine. Millet
both still living at Lourdes, took the matter up and
resolved to see into it-dd see into 1t on Thursday
the 18th February, at six O'Clock in the morning
and insisted upon going with Bernadette to the
| grotto. The Virgin then appeared for the third
| time to Bernadette. Nine. Mllet and Mile. Peyret
wished likewise to see the celestial visitor but
could in no way contrve it, though they had tried
hard All they could make out was Bernadette In
| an ecstasy Of prayer and devotion. The two ladies'
requested Bernadette to ask the Virgin II their
! presence was dispeasing to her. The child seemed
| to listen for moment, and then answered, 'You
| may remain here" Then each OF the three lit a
waxen taper and knet down to pray while the
| Winter sun broke family through the clouds and
mists Of morning. Bernadette who was still in a
| piOus ecstasy continued to regard the celestial
being, invisible to every eye but hers, and alter
while her companions spoke to her again.
"Go to her, since she beckons to you. Ask who she
| Is and why she comes. Ask II she is soul In pur-
gatory who impl0res our prayers, and request her
to write down her wishes that we may fulfil them"
Mme. Millet and Mile. Peyret had brought pen
ink and paper, which they gave to Bernadette,
who then advanced towards the apparition. As
she moved forward step by step the appariti0n
began to retire into the interior Of the grotto and
| the child followed 1t.
my lady" said little Bernadette, "if you have
AM thing to communicate will you please to have
the goodness to state in writing who you are and
| hot uont1