The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-02-26
A General Revival.


There is great religious excitement
throughout large part of the civilized
world. In Germany, Spain and Italy,
the Roman Catholic church is fighting
the state. In each country it claims to
be fast increasing its membership, and
we see no reason to doubt this, for the
imprisonment of priests, as well as the
blood of martyrs, is the seed of the
faith. Unless persecution develops
into determination, it is aptt strengthen
any organization which offers eternal
bliss as the reward of temporary pain.
In Austria, and likewise in Italy and
Spain, Professionalism, freed at last from
! Ultramontane shackles, is pushing for
ward its work to right and lie t. In
| France, the curious phenomenon of the
/ pilgrimages presents itself. Tens of
thousands of people have gone in SOL
emn procession, with prayers and
| psalms, to the grobto where Our Lady
of Lourdes occasionally appears to the
| faithful, and to the other sacred places,
where the miracles of 1873 were
/ wrought. On holidays, the special
/ trains for pilgrims block up the rail-
ways. The passengers swarm from
every quarter of France. The taunts,
and sometimes the blows, of the free
thinking Reds give a not unpleasant
| flavor of martyrdom to the journey.
/ The sacred springs over which the vir-
/ gin has hovered before the eyes of &C.
/ static worshipers seem as ufaiiing as
/ the widows cruise. Bottled water
/ from Lourdes has been sent over the
| whole world. It was but 8 few days
ago that touch of It cured a sick nun
/ in Indiana. Then, too, France must be
ardently Catholis now, for does not ar
dent Catholicism mean hatred of Prus
sia Crossing the channel, We find
that the senior duke of England, the
Duke of Norfolk, headed a recent pill
| grimage to one of the French shrines. a
number of noblemen and commoners
by the hundred followed him. Two
extra steamers had to be chartered TO
carry the party across the channel, and
the railroads ran half-a-dozen special
trains. Nothing but an almost pas
sionate feeling of religion could have
carried out that pilgrimage in the face
of the ridicuie Of the press. Yet, that
I ridicule was actually courted by the is
sue of conspicuous advertisements ol
Pilgrimage Pilgrimage Our Lady
of Isourdes {! Round trip g IS first
class, 30s secOnd-class. In the mid.
land counties. the established church
has been gaining largely. One of itl
ministers has been dubbed the modern
Wesley. on account of the fervor of his
revival sermons. And everywhere the
different seets have been working fol
the control of the schools with desper
ate vigor. DenominatjonaI dissRtisfac
ton with the education act was one o
the causes of Mr. Gladstone's over
throw. Crossing the ocean, we see il
the multitude of small reEivais nov i
progress throughout this country and
IN the prayer-meetings that are sup
pressing the Ohio liquor traffic, sign
Of a deep religious feeling. This uni
versal revival is phenomenon
Throughout christendom, We find tn
church-militant 10 full conflict with il
foes. It has led more united bands
has met less determined enemies, q
other times in It's cause, but We doub
whether It has ever waged war alonl
the whole line and with Its whole force
regular, volunteer, aud guerrilla, viii
greater ardor.-C Chicago IribS,Sse, 12th