, 1876-11-25

mountains of Salettc resounded with the
cry, Long life to Plus IN" For France
and the Pope the worshipers were in.
Structed hy ardent bishops and priests
to fight till death. The followers of the
! Sacred Heart Joined in the alteration Of
the Lady of Salette. With frenzy of
patriotic and religious zeal the ultramon
tancs. smarting under the revcrscs Of
/ 1870, chanted their wild appeals to the
Virgin to descend once more to the res.
cue of France and the restoration of the
temporal papacy.
The success of Mary Alacoque and Of
the stupid children of Salette naturally
awakened emulation. France, since 1916,
has been The scene of various apparitions
of the Virgin. Disputes have frequently
arisen between their adherents Amove-
ment in favor of the Perpetual Rosary of
Mary, which Mt one time gained q great
popularity, was at last suppressed by the
active opposition of the members Of the
Sacred Heart. But the latest and most
imposing manifestation has had the good
fortune to surpass and confound all ri.
valry. Here, too, the chief actor was Il
child, the scene a wild romantic country,
the narrator Of the marvellous legend a
priest. 1t was picturesque and easily
accessible valley, running up into the
Pyrences, and not unknown to the tour
ist. The people of the neighborhood
were extremely ignorant, but few could
read and write. The beauty of the scene,
the soitness of the climate, seemed to in.
vite the descent of the miraculous lady.
BernadOtte SOubimns, a sick girl of four.
teen, saw eighteen times, on different
days, the Virgin, clothed in a rich dress,
and radiant with heavenly light. siam
the Lnmaculate Conceptions she said to
her worshiper, and vanished from sight.
The glen where they stood was closed by
precipice. Like Salctte, it must have
its spring, and the Virgin directed Bcr-
nadotte to dig on the mountain side. As
she removed the earth, water broke forth,
and the fountain still pours its miWcu-
ous current, which is bottled and sold
in large quantities, particularly in South
America. An American Roman Catholic
bishop, Gilmour, who was recently re-
ceived on his return to his Western dio.
cese with drums, banners, and military
pomp, has proclaimed to his people that
he was cured of dangerous disease by
the waters Of Lourdes. The valley and
the mountains are now covered with fine
buildings, and the scene of incessant pill
grimages. La Salettc, and even Pauy-
le-Monial, have been outstripped by the
popularity of the new shrine. Its water
is rising in favor. But France is tickle,
says our author, and it is not impossible
that some new apparition may yet eclipse
the Virgin Of Lourdes, who calls herself
the immaculate Conception. WhaG if
one should appear calling itself the Pa
pal Intallibility0 How could any Jesuit
resist the appeal? But the Virgin OF
Lourdes is still the chief of the modern
apparitions. What lends her an addi-
tional charm to France is that she is an.
nounced as the patron of the coming
war with Germany. She is known as
La Verge dc la Revanche, the BeIlona OF
French vengeance.
Our author shows that all governments
are threatened by the fierce fanatical ul-
tmmontanes; that their intrigues reach
over America and are active in New York:
that they are engaged in a persistent
warfare upon knowledge, science, free
dom, religion; that modern society can
only be saved from their fatal influence
by constant appeals to reason and con-
science. 1t will not do to say that any
nation Is safe from the savage worship
ers of Lourdes or the Sacred Heart. They
can not build, but they can destroy. He
sees the only remedy for their mischiev-
GUS activity in the spread of intelligence.
He urges chiefly the elevation and the
cultivation of woman's intellect to save
her from being led into error by her i'm.
pulses and affections. No book, in fact
is better suited to the time. 1t may we'll
be studied by every parent who has COM
mitted his children to the care of priest
or nun by every patriot who has dis.