The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-04-05
THE CHlLDREN'S HOUR.
LEGEND OF A SANCTUARY.

land | saw on one occasion a woman
kneeling reverently on a fragment of
stone in the middle of a large field.
Several irregular little piles Of stones
were scattered about, and the trailing
blackberry vines and dark, old Irish
vines winding in and out among them
showed that they had been there for
long time When the woman had
finished her devotions, l questioned
her and found that, like myself, she
| was an Irish-American on a visit to
the land of her parents.
Everything about here" she said,
'is as familiar to me as if l were
a native. | learned of them first
| through my mother, who was an ex-
cellent narrator. This field in very
| old times was sacred to peace. There
| was tradition that Our Lady ap-
| peared to an Irish saint and promised
| that whoever sought this spot as an
asylum would be saved from the ven
geance of his enemies. 1t was a dis
turbed and dangerous time, and many
life was spared in Mary's name
here. See. the old boundary line is
| standing still; the bank is covered
with vegetation, and some of those
| thorns growing upon it are more than
century old. These little piles of
stone about us once formed an Irish
cross"
She drew away the long grasses
and showed me fragments of the NOR
tar that had cemented the parts of
the base The cross had been carved
from single piece of stone.
THE face,' she continued, was
originally inscribed in Irish. Anti
quarians give this translation: My
peace | leave you; my peace | give
you. Peace, in Mary's name
"One summer day in CrOmWells
time a party of soldiers were detailed
to surround a certain house and cap
ture a priest who was hiding there.
They tramped along, joking about
their errand and seemed to take no
notice of poor laborer who worked
by the roadside. Most of the peas
antry spoke Irish at the time, being
unacquainted with the language of
5
stood the English tongue. AS soon
as the soldiers disappeared he hur-
ried across the fields and warned the
family. The priest and his kind en-
tertainers were soon in a place OF
safety and the gay military party
found the house deserted. But the
kind laborer returned to his spade
just a moment too late. He was per-
ceived by the soldiers and immedi-
ately suspected
They were in i'll humor, too, re-
turning from their fruitless quest.
Several guns were Immediately lev
elled at him, but with almost super
human haste he sprang into the wood,
land on the opposite side. They I'M
mediately started in pursuit. But the
circuitous ways of the grove were
quite unknown to them and they ad
vanced very slowly. Night came on
) and still the chase lasted. They were
often able to hear the object of their
pursuit, but a tree or a rock interviewed
and by the time they reached it he
had gone. They were weary enough
to give up, but anger and disappOint
ment seemed to goad them on. One
man was in advance of the rest. He
, had sworn to carry back the corpse
of the spy as an example for the rest
of the Irish.
DAY was breaking when, lame
hungry and almost exhausted, the
poor hunted peasant emerged from
: the woodland Look yonder and yor
will see the very grove through which
| he hurried all that fearful night. Or
2 coming out of the darkness he was 6
t little dazzled but he soon recognized
Y the place; the hawthorne hedge, tht
t bank on which the primrose and daisy
: were just appearing in the morning
t light, the stone cross, and above al
! the promised refuge. He felt new
power in his failing limbs, and hi
= hurried on, entered through thu
/ arched gateway and cast himself OF
= the ground at the foot of the cross
y "Oh Mary, Virgin and Mother, m!
t trust is in thee l have heard tn,
d old people say that deed of violence
l. or drop Of blood never stained thi:
a holy spot. Save me for my little
e ones"
e Scarcely had he uttered this
s prayer when he beheld one of his pur
Il suers He trembled little, but hi
+ confidence in Mary never wavered
The soldier pointed his weapon
s Rash man. cried the peasant, do no
# dare to violate Our Lady's peace
d The former would have persisted, blu
l. at that moment great wind aros
e and swept him outside the gate.
g Again he entered and again tn
e fierce tornado forced him back an
even across the road, which you Sc
II is quite wide at the entrance. B
IS this time some of his companion
j. had reached the spot. ExasperateC
3 he made a third essay. Frightene
g by his irreverence, the poor ma
e cried to him, DO not try any more
It Mary has been merciful. Twice a
IS ready has she warned you. Thos
st who love danger perish therein Blu
e. his only reply was to adjust his fiel
piece. This time he was not onl
elected as before but when he reache
the opposite side of the street fias
:. of lightning struck him dead.
His terrified companions hurrie
S away, leaving the poor peasant i
| safety From that day no trOODe