The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-09-24
UFTHE BLESSED r1RGTN n
MARPLNGEN, PROHLNCE OF IRETES.

Tablet writes:
Very considerable attention has been di-
rected to certain occurrences which hap |
pened in the early part of July near the
village of MarpingeD, in the district of st.
Wendell, province of Treves. The facts as |
| they have been stated by many impartial
witnesses, including the local clergy, ap. |
pear to be as follows On Monday, 3rd
July, the day after the Visitation OF the
Blessed Virgin, three little girls about (
eight years old, named respectively susanna
Leist, Catherine Hubertus, and Margaret
Kunz, went in the evening into the pine
wood, near the village, TO gather whortle
berries. Suddenly Susanna Lest screamed
out and called the two other children to her.
All three then ran home in state OF great
fright, declaring that they had seen white
lady. Their parents laughed at them ana
reproved them for talking such nonsense,
bat the children adhered firmly to their
story. Next day they were taken by their
parents, accompanied by some otheE grown
up persons, TO the place Indicated by them.
| Full of respect, and certain fear, the
children knelJ down when they came to
within about thirty PAGES of where they said
they had seen the apparition. Tney began
| to recite the Our Father and Hail Mary,
and when they had repeated these prayers
| three or four times, suddenly CatbarlDe and
| Margaret exclaimed they saw the Lady.
| SusauIi. got up and hnSi5 ii front OF tho
| other two, but she never saw the appari
| ton after the first evening. By direction
| OF their elders the children asked who che
] was. The answer was " am the immacu
late Conception The children then asked
| what were they to do. TIE answer was:
&" Pray much" Still prompted by their
| elders the children inquired what the Wis
| ion desired. The answer was that chapel
should be built on the spot. They asked
might sick persons be brought to the place,
aud they received al affirmative answer.
The apparition thea slowly withdrew from
their sight. The people remained on the
spot for a considerable time reciting the
Rosary and other prayers. The next after
noon similar scene took place with the
same questions and answers, and u greater
concoarse of people. The parish priest who
had been absent, returned home that night
and next morning after Mass sent for the
children. He examined them very closely
and at great length, but found their story
most coherent. He dismissed them, aying,
that the advice to- " pray much" was very
good one, and that they would do we'll to
follow it. From frat to last, neither he
nor any of the neighboring clergy expressed
any opinion publicly on the matter. He
described his own position very clearly.
Had there been regularly recognized
episcopal authority in the diocese he would
at once have applied for instructions. But
the See of Treves is vacant, and, on account
Of the May Laws, there is no publicly re.
cognized administrator of the diocese. II
this was from men the movement would
soon cease if it came from God He would
know how to work out His will without
l me-" Such were his words. But, as soon
as public controversy arose, he did not hes
itate to express his own private belief in the
genuineness of the occurrences, and he has
E written to the GernaniG an account of q
singular cure which was connected with
). them. There was little child, seven and
= half years old, dying of decline. He had
!. himself administered the Extreme Unction
. to her, and was surprised that she still
ahn hoH tO Az
. tremity. She heard, somehow, of the ap.
= partition, and said, as best she could, several
prayers. She prayed her mother to take
her to the place, and, as other persons also
> recommended this, the mother carried he1
in her arms. The mother carried thithel
> in her arms the (as she thought) dying
. child. The next day, returning to hel
= house about noon, she was amazed to SEE
. . her little girl entering the house unassisted
. It appeared that she bad arisen unaided
L had dressed herself and gone to the from
=. of the house by herself. The parish priest
:, . hearing of her cure came next day, and
y y found her sitting in chair, nursing he
= = little brother. She was taken by the po
lice before the Government officer of tht
district who had her examined by the pub
!. lie medical officer. This gentleman wa
~ we'll acquainted with her former state, ant
:, declared chat he could now find no trace o
q illness about her. Crowds of person
s. flocked to the woods. But there was NJ
a dlsoroer. Iney reclteu tAe hosary, In'
% . Litanies, and sang hymns. But the liberia
papers of the Rhine province began to no
tice these proceediugs, aud to speak o
=" them in a shameful and even blasphemou
70 manner. They represented the apparitio
.. u as " Swindle of the priests" got up t
~ arouse an Ultramontane iusurrectionar.
~ movement. Under the pretext of dauge
% to the public peace, a company of soldier
was sent to Marpingen. They found owe
500 persons assembled in the wood al
y praying. The captain ordered them t.
~ ~ disperse, and their movements were has
~ ~ tened by rather rough treatment. Som
a. were beaten with the butt ends OF the mus;
b kets, one man received bayonet wound
All ,assemblages there are now forbidden
and the soldiers are billeted in the distric
es around. One of the clergymen of the neigh
B. borhood, who was an inspector of school.
L having declined to express hls belief that
ut was ali a "swindle," has been dismissed wit
"a | H.