The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-02-23
AGAIN AT TOMB
OF ST. GENEVIENE
GREAT CROWDS PRAY BESIDE
HER SHRINE WHEN FRANCE
is IN DIRE DANGER.
Till MOTHER OF HER COUNTRY
Twice She Saved City During Her
Lifetime, and Parisians Believe
She Helped Them to Recent VictO-
nv of the Marine Over Germans.

tomb of an old woman remembered
after long neglect as the mother of
her country" Vast crowds of Paris
ians, in their distress and thankful
ness, are actually praying beside the
shrine of Saint Genevieve.
She was a very old maid, born a
peasant, who lived very long ago and
is often forgotten by the pleasure low
ing city; but when danger threat
ems Paris the population instinctively
rushes to the spot where she lived
and died 1000 years before Joan of
tArc. Young Joan is the "liberator OF
the land" Old Genevieve is the
mother of her country the
peculiar protectress of Paris.
They are convinced she helped
them to the victory of the Marne-
! it is her role Twice she saved Paris
during her lifetime, and who knows
how often after? Certainly the Ger
mans began to neglect Paris after
their terrific raid southwark on the
very few days of the iridium OF sup
plications" Sept. 6, and 81, ap-
pointed by the cardinal archbishop
to be celebrated in the Church OF St.
Eeienne-du- Mont, where the tomb OF
Genev eve is.
They cite other condolences.
The recent invasion stopped just
before reaching Juilly. Well, there
exists at Juilly, in the gardens of the
celebrated college, a spring of crys-
tai water, which, according to tradl-
ton. gushed forth or was discovered
on the prayer of St. Genevieve. And
this is why when honored guests are
received at Juilly the superior toasts
their health, not in the ordinary
champagne wine of the land, but in
silver cup from the miraculous
spring.
Again, Sept. s, the Germans at
tackled Mont Ste. Genevieve, which
they considered to be the key to
Nancy. After taking it with great
loss they abandoned it two hours lat
err of their own free will, seemingly
without reason, and did not return.
Now, the church of this Mont Ste.
J Genevieve, near Nancy, was struck by
| eleven shells; but an antique copper
box containing relics of Genevieve
was found intact after the lombard
ment.
When She Made Paris Pray.
Condolences, evidently; and they
said it, already, during Genevieve's
life time, when Attila and his Huns,
six hundred thousand strong, after
having rayaged the Rhine country
and sacked Metz Good Friday night
of the year 451, made straight for
Orleans and neglected Paris.
Genevieve at that moment was
young girl of %, but already of vast
influence, because of her burning
piety. AS a child she had been no.
ticed by a powerful and venerated
protector of the people, the Bishop
German of Auzerre, who said: she
will be great before God, and her ex-
ample will save many sinners" From
the age of Is, when she took the veil
(there were no convents), her infiI-
ence upon the women of Paris grew.
/ Genevieve never saw Atilla. Atilla
never attacked Paris. But how did
she know he would not? The people
were wild with fright. They remem-
bered the ravages of the Vandals,
Adams, Saxons, Burgonds and Ala
mans of fifty years previously. They
wanted to flee, abandon Paris, their
homes and their property. GeneVleVe
told them not to; they would not
even have to fight, only pray!
First, she worked on the women.
She got them fasting, praying and
sitting up all night in holy vigils. In
times OF trouble such examples are
contagious.
Little by little the women got the
men of Paris fasting, praying and
confessing their sins. They fortified
the city and sat tight. Attila was at
Reims. They prayed some more.
Attila was at Troyes and passed to
Orleans Paris was saved, because
the Roman forces under Aetius, aid
ed by the friendly Franks, soon
smashed the horde in the terrible
battle of Chalons.
The people said, Her prayers saw
ed Paris''-meaning hers and theirs
together. So they have thought
through the centuries, and so runs
the litany: Saint Genevieve, so
agreeable to God. model
of prayer, model of austerity, purity,
Spatience and all the virtues
terror of the Huns, helper of the be-