The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-06-16
GLpeGstsIIiap
plIrrimn AncIent and ModeEn.

The first company Of plous pilgrims
that ever left this country to visit sacred
places In the Old World are now sojour-
ming in Rome. having reached that place
afew days ago from that locality in France
made famous by the visits Of the Virgin
Mary to q peasant girl. According to &C.
counts these pilgrims had o merry time
crossing the ocean. They had q Bishop
and several Priests with them. They had
plays. charades, private theatricalS, songs
and other sources OF excitement and
amusement We do not read Of any hair
shirts, any beans in their shoes, any NOR
tldcation Of the flesh. On the contrary,
quite the reverse. Their trip reminds US
Of 1.-THE one that MARX TwA1N's company
made q few years ago, and about
which MARK has written 80 humorouSly
since his return. II anything, the Puri-
tan Pilgrims who accompanied MARX
seem to have surpassed the Catholic pill.
grlmS in solemnity. According to his
book the former sang the Plymouth COL
lection Of hymns for amusement most Of
the time on board the ship, while th6pil--
grims now in Rome sang lively airs,
sacred and proIane, "the only comic song
being sung by priest"
This latter style Of going on religious
pilgrimage differs materially from the
ancient style, but we like It much better.
It Is altogether more rational The old
pilgrims used to set out on such expedi-
tions on foot, with staff in their hands,
very little scrip in their pockets, vows Of
pensnce upon their souls, dolorous ex-
pressions upon their faces, and general
solemnity and sorrow among their friends,
In the middle ages pilgrimages were
numerous to Palestine, as well as to
various points in Europe. They were, in
many instances, undertaken by those who
had escaped some great danger, or who
had committed some great sin, and quite
frequently they were imposed by the
church in lieu of the canonical penances.
The practice was regarded as quiCkener
Of devotion and also ss a most acceptable
satisfaction for sin. The pilgrims not
only worked out their own salvation in
this manner, but, on their return, brought
back sacred relics that had the effect to
stir up the latent religious susceptibilities
OF their friends and neighbors. For In
stance, they brought back bones Of the
Saints, and by means Of these bones mira.
cles were performed. ANY number Of
people were cured Of diseases by touch.
ing a bone. These relics were scattered
sllover Europe. Alta place called Treves,
in Prussia, 1t was claimed as late as the
year 1874 that tho seamless coat Of the
Savior could be seen, and in the space OF
eight weeks not less than 100000 pill
grims visited 1t. Whether 1t is there yet
we cannot say. Those who have read
the "CAnterbury Tales" of CHAuoRR
are familiar with the pilgrimages that
were once made to the shrine oI Thomas
q Beckett at Canterbury, in England,
where as many as 100000 pilgrims are
said to have been registered at one time.
The pilgrimages to the Holy Land, how.
ever, were those that were most highly
esteemed. They were the most dangerous
and therefore most efflcacious. Away
back in the 11th century an archbishop,
accompanied by severallbishops, undertook
. pilgrimage to, the Holy Land. Such
was the enthuslAsm that set in among
the people, and such their faith in the re.
ligious benefits. to. be derived, that no less
than 1000 followers took up the line Of
march, and OF these 1000 persons only
1000 reached home in safety. Such a
tramp, 90 perilous and wearisome, was a
different affair from the present ride
arcoss the ocean in the steamship
Periere, and subsequent o journey to Rome
byIrallroad cars. Whether 1t counted.
for more to the pilgrim we are
unable to ssy, but 1t certainly ought to,
for the present. expedition Is mere junk.
citing trip compared with one Of those old
penances. t4.