UC-NRLF 
 
 SIT 
 
 
3/,~ 
 
 BERKELEY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVE: 
 
 CALli 
 
A VISIT TO EUROPE 
 
 
 HOLY LAND 
 
 NEW > T ORK 
 
 THE CATHOLIC PUBLIC ATION -SOCIETY CO. 
 
 
 LONDON : & GATES, LIMITED 
 
 LEET 
 
 1888 
 

 1 
 
A VISIT TO EUROPE 
 
 HOLY LAND 
 
 KEY. H. F. FAIKBANKS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY CO. 
 
 9 BARCLAY STREET 
 
 LONDON : BURNS & GATES, LIMITED 
 28 ORCHARD STREET 
 
 1888 
 
Copyright, 1888, 
 BY H. F. FAIRBANKS. 
 
 J.OAN STACK 
 
F3 
 
 HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH, 
 JESUS, MARY, AND JOSKPH, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS 
 
 MOST HUMBLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR UNWORTHY SERVANT, 
 
 THE A UTHOE. 
 
 413 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 / IN the following pages I have endeavored to 
 describe what I saw, and the impressions re- 
 ceived, during a visit to some of the most 
 interesting countries of the Old World, from 
 the point of view of an honest and unpreju- 
 diced American. The time that I was abroad 
 might be considered by some as insufficient to 
 obtain an intelligent understanding of the mat- 
 ters about which I write. My answer to this 
 is, that I have not attempted the impossible, 
 and I am well aware that few men are able 
 to write a thoroughly philosophical treatise on 
 the historical, political, and social life of even 
 their own native land. I am also cognizant 
 of the fact that many foreigners, after a brief 
 sojourn in other countries, attempt to discuss 
 them intelligently, a work which they often- 
 times would not be able to accomplish if they 
 had lived in them their whole lives. Yet it 
 must be admitted by all that previous tfcor- 
 ough preparation and honesty of purpose will 
 enable the traveller to make more correct ob- 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 servations, and to understand better the cus- 
 toms, character, and condition of the people 
 whom he visits, than would be possible for 
 those less honest or less intelligent, who might 
 take up their residence among them many 
 months, or even years. 
 
 The book which I now present to the pub- 
 lic does not pretend to high things, but is a 
 simple narrative of the travels of one who 
 never before had been out of America, where 
 his ancestors have lived for nearly two and 
 one-half cen turies. \ 
 
 I did not go abroad with the idea that 
 everything American is right and everything 
 in Europe wrong. I tried to look on all that 
 I saw in an honest and truthful light. I was 
 willing to learn, and to conform myself to the 
 manners and way of life of those with whom 
 I came in contact. I did not expect that 
 Europe would adopt American customs for 
 my particular benefit ; in fact, I am glad that 
 it did not, for by so doing my journey would 
 have been much less agreeable. While I may 
 have doubts whether I would prefer to live 
 in Europe or America, I am certain that I 
 would prefer to travel in Europe./ 
 
 I am aware of the fact that many books 
 have been written on European and Palestine 
 
Preface. 5 
 
 travel ; but it is well known that hardly any 
 of them have been written by Catholic Ameri- 
 cans. Our people, both Catholics and non- 
 Catholics, have read too many books of travel 
 written by dishonest writers, or else by those 
 who are so narrow in their views and so 
 ill-informed with reference to the countries 
 through which they passed that their state- 
 ments and " facts" have been a mere travesty 
 of truth. I am convinced that there has been 
 in America a long-existing need, but a poor 
 supply, of books of travel written by travellers 
 who are able to see with honest eyes, arid who 
 do not go abroad with preconceived prejudices, 
 which they are determined to confirm by per- 
 verted facts and short-sighted observations. 
 
 Being conscious of this need, I have endeav- 
 ored to do my share to remedy the deficiency 
 by presenting this book to my co-religionists 
 and countrymen, with the hope that they will 
 find it entertaining and instructive./ 
 
 H. F. FAIEBANKS. 
 
 Milwaukee, 1887. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Atlantic Voyage and the Emerald Isle 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Wales and England 28 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 La Belle France 38 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Northern Italy and Rome 56 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Southern Italy and the Voyage to Egypt 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Land of the Pharaos and of the Pyramids 79 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Pyramids Refuge of the Holy Family in Egypt Our 
 
 Voyage to Palestine 97 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Jaffa and the Road to Jerusalem 110 
 
 7 
 
8 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Holy City, Jerusalem 122 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Some Sacred Places near Jerusalem 146 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Jewish Temple on Mount .Moria, and the First Christian 
 
 Church on Mount Sion 157 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Bethlehem.... , 172 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Jericho and the Dead Sea 182 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A Morning and Day in Palestine 194 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The " Hill-Country of Judea " and House of the Visitation . . 200 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 " Nobis Donet in Patria" 207 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Mount Carmel The Mountain of the Prophets and of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary 210 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Light of Nazareth 216 \ 
 
Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 " His Own Country" 226 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Departure from the Holy Land 238 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 From Alexandria to Naples 244 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 " See Naples and then Die " 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Eternal City 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Holy Father Education, Religion, and Art 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Sacred and Historic Places of Pagan and Christian Rome. . . 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 From Rome to Loretto. 320 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Bologna, Padua, and Venice 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland 346 / 
 
I o Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 The Home of William Tell and the Four Forest Cantons. ... 360 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 From Lake Constance to the City of the Apostle of Germany, 
 
 by way of Munich 367 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 From Mainz to Cologne The Vine- clad and Castle-crowned 
 
 Rhine 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 From the Banks of the Rhine to Belgium's and Holland's 
 
 Capitals 388 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Return to England, and a Trip to Scotland 402 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 The Emerald Gem of the Ocean 422 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 Cashel of the Kings and the Lakes of Killarney 453 / 
 
A VISIT TO 
 
 EUROPE AND THE HOLY LAND, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE AND THE EMERALD ISLE. 
 
 \THE afternoon of a bright day in the early 
 part of the month of May, in the year 1884, 
 found us aboard one of the large Atlantic steam- 
 ers, which had thrown off her lines and was 
 gradually floating out of New York harbor to- 
 wards the broad ocean. 
 
 It was our first trip to the Old World, and the 
 varied sensations as we steamed down the bay, 
 past the various objects of interest, towards the 
 vast Atlantic were new and strange to us. Our 
 eyes lingered lovingly on the receding shores of 
 our native land, and as we bid them adieu me- 
 mory dwelt fondly on the friends and loved ones 
 whom we had left at home. 
 
 There were three of us : Rev. Thomas Fagan, 
 of Bay Yiew ; Rev. Joseph Keenan, of Fond du 
 Lac two clerical friends and myself, all of the 
 
12 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Archdiocese of Milwaukee. A few weeks before 
 we had decided that the time had come to make 
 a visit to Europe and the Orient. Our passage 
 and rooms had been secured, and at last we 
 were leaving America ; and, although the time 
 for our travels was limited, perhaps we should 
 never return, or, returning, what changes might 
 take place during our absence ! I 
 
 Darkness at length settled down over the 
 waters of the deep, and the morning only re- 
 vealed to us a leaden sky and an expanse of 
 black, gloomy waves. The record of one day 
 was the repetition of another, except that some 
 days were sunshiny and others were dismal with 
 a dense fog or dark, threatening weather ; and 
 sometimes the ever- restless ocean was less rest- 
 less, and sometimes wilder and more angry. 
 Some of the passengers enjoyed themselves, and 
 considered the voyage a most pleasant affair. I 
 disliked it very much. I was not sea-sick, but 
 my entire surroundings had a most depressing 
 effect on my spirits. If ever again I cross the 
 Atlantic it will be on the fastest steamer that 
 sails the sea. Too much imagination is very dis- 
 agreeable when you are a thousand miles from 
 land, and your steamer, with its living cargo, 
 is only a speck on the immensity of waters. I 
 looked put upon the dark and troubled sea, and 
 
and tlic Holy Land. 13 
 
 sometimes not even a white- winged ship was in 
 sight during the entire day. Neither did the 
 sportive finny tribes nor monsters of the deep 
 display themselves. A few sea-gulls here and 
 there were seen enjoying themselves over the 
 waves, many hundred miles from their rocky 
 homes. Or have they a home? Is the ocean 
 their home, or the rocky crag where they build 
 their nests ? \ 
 
 My only real recreation was reading. I read 
 the principal poems of two or three volumes of 
 poetry ; but I enjoyed myself best in reading 
 and taking notes from a work entitled Walks in 
 Rome. Our steamer like all those of all lines 
 sailing from New York to Liverpool, so far as I 
 know was thoroughly English. And as many 
 of the passengers lived in some portion of the 
 British Isles, for the last two days of the voy- 
 age there was a cheerful air about nearly every 
 one in anticipation of home. Even we ourselves 
 began to get animated at the thought that, if 
 not approaching our own homes, we were draw- 
 ing near the land of our ancestors. \ 
 
 Early in the forenoon of the ninth day from 
 New York old voyagers said that land was visi- 
 ble, and aided the less experienced travellers to 
 get sight of it ; but a thin haze very much im- 
 peded their and our effort. It was not long, 
 
14 A Visit to Europe 
 
 however, before the dim outlines of the Great 
 Skellig Rock could be distinguished from the 
 clouds and water by the more inexperienced eye. 
 Then other ropks appeared, and, finally, the blue 
 line of the southern mainland of Ireland, and 
 farther in the interior, rising higher, .could be 
 seen the mountains of Kerry. | 
 
 This was our first sight of the Old World, and 
 the indistinctness with which we saw it lent a 
 wonderful enchantment to the view. There, not 
 far away, lay ancient Erin, the beautiful Emerald 
 Isle, which even in modern times possesses such 
 a magic influence over the hearts of all her chil- 
 dren. We were approaching nearer and nearer 
 to grand, faithful, Catholic Ireland, the "Island 
 of Saints and Scholars." It was not the land of 
 my ancestors, but it was the home of the fathers 
 and mothers and the birthplace of a large num- 
 ber of those who are among the nearest arid dear- 
 est to me of any in this life. With my mind 
 filled with memories of her past glories and 
 sanctity, of her centuries of sorrow and martyr- 
 dom, and with the thought of her present hopes, 
 with the affection I hold for many to whom the 
 welfare of that island is dearer than life, I could 
 not help being stirred with deep emotion, so that 
 I hardly dared speak a single sentence lest the 
 fulness of my heart might become too manifest. 
 
and the Holy Land. 15 
 
 The southern coast looked brown, bleak, and 
 barren, and the waves could be seen dashing into 
 white foam against it. A number of sails were 
 seen, indicating the near approach to busy life. 
 The waters of the ocean gradually changed from 
 their dark color into the most beautiful green 
 that I have ever seen. We passed Fastnet Light 
 and Old Head of Kinsale, while the coast became 
 more settled and cultivated. We could see 
 houses and villages, and, with the aid of a glass, 
 trees and hedge rows, and green fields which, to 
 the unaided eye, had appeared brown. \ 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon on Satur- 
 day we arrived in the Cove of Cork, or harbor of 
 Queertfetown. Our steamer came to a stop, and 
 we were transferred to a tender which would 
 convey us to the land. The harbor is very fine, 
 and the shores were covered with the typical 
 emerald green. As we started towards the shore 
 we gave a farewell cheer to the great ship that 
 had borne us safely across the Atlantic, and 
 waved " adieu" to those companions of our voy- 
 age who did not land. Everything about us was 
 now Irish. The voices, the laughter, the coun- 
 tenances, and the scene were all Irish. The 
 sights and surroundings were thoroughly Irish, 
 and I fully enjoyed them. At the landing we 
 were met by a good-sized crowd of "Hiber- 
 
1 6 -A Visit to Europe 
 
 nian gems/' old men with donkey-carts drawn 
 by sleepy -looking donkeys, and boys of every 
 size, with good-natured, smiling faces, ready to 
 offer their services to carry our luggage to the 
 hotel. Having chosen several as our escort, we 
 walked with the procession to the nearest hotel, 
 where we registered and were soon resting, 
 thankful that we were once more on dry land, 
 and in the Old World, where the day-dreams of 
 our life were about to be realized. But let no 
 one imagine that in the midst of strange and at- 
 tractive surroundings we did not think of our 
 far-off home and friends. Into my heart gradu- 
 ally and silently stole a frequent and unwelcome 
 companion of my entire journey homesickness 
 which tinged the bright green 'scenes around 
 me with a sombre hue. \ 
 
 After a brief rest we started out for a walk. 
 It does not take long to see Queenstown, but 
 as it was the first place that we had visited in 
 Ireland everything seemed most interesting. 
 We visited the new cathedral, and wandered 
 through the streets and pleasure-grounds look- 
 ing at everything. I began thus early to gather 
 leaves and flowers as mementoes, and bought 
 some shamrocks to send home in letters which I 
 would write in the evening. In the morning we 
 attended Mass at the cathedral. Two of our 
 
and the Holy Land. 1 7 
 
 number did not usually say Mass, except in 
 places of special devotion, as we knew that it 
 was often inconvenient for the pastors of church- 
 es to have foreign priests saying Mass at irregu- 
 lar hours, especially on Sundays. 
 
 After Mass we started for Cork by boat, as we 
 wished to behold with our own eyes the far- 
 famed beauties of the river Lee. They are not 
 overestimated. It was a fine Sunday morning in 
 the month of May, and the ever-changing pic- 
 turesqueness of the scenery was all that the 
 heart could desire./ 
 
 We arrived in Cork before noon, and, having 
 chosen a hotel and learned the hour of dinner, 
 we hired a jaunting-car for a trip to Blarney. It 
 was our first ride on a jaunting-car, and from the 
 accounts of some travellers we expected that it 
 would be difficult to keep our seat. Nothing is 
 farther from the truth, as they are very easy and 
 safe vehicles on which to ride./ 
 
 Cork was in its Sunday attire, and we saw it 
 at its best. The inhabitants, who are good spe- 
 cimens of the southern Celt, were well dressed 
 and respectable-looking, and seemed to be tho- 
 roughly enjoying themselves. Crowds of peo- 
 ple who had attended late Masses were coming 
 out of the churches, and, like those who attend 
 High Mass in nearly all countries, were among 
 
i8 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the most genuinely respectable of the popula- 
 tion of the city. To realize that we were in a 
 real Irish city we had only to read the signs on 
 the different places of business. The smallest 
 as well as the largest had on it the name of an 
 Irishman. This fact produced in us a new feel- 
 ing never before experienced : that all around 
 us, the worst and the best, the poorest and the 
 richest, the most humble and the highest of the 
 land, were Irish. This same peculiar feeling, 
 changing according to circumstances, was to a 
 certain extent produced by the thought of race 
 or nationality in other countries, but its novelty 
 gradually wore away. We passed by many 
 fine pleasure-grounds and through several fine 
 streets, one of which was particularly broad and 
 attractive, with grand shade-trees on either side./ 
 The country was fresh and flowery in spring- 
 time and the ride was full of interest. We 
 passed neat, whitewashed cottages and green 
 fields surrounded by bright hedges ; and the 
 grass land was frequently ornamented by sleek- 
 looking cows and contented-looking sheep. 
 Sometimes a mild-looking donkey of gentle 
 manners added variety to the appearance of 
 the neighborhood. Pleasant groups of merry 
 children completed the attractiveness of rural 
 scenes. We often saw a house in ruins, with 
 
and the Holy Land. 19 
 
 walls crumbling and roof gone, and sometimes 
 only a few piles of stones marked the site 
 of a former home, to which perhaps the family 
 love of centuries clings. When we asked the 
 question about their former occupants, the 
 driver answered : i ' They have gone to Amer- 
 ica" ; and the quiet stillness of the day added 
 sadness to our reflections./ 
 
 But there, at length, lay Blarney before us, 
 with the far-famed groves, lake, and castle of 
 Blarney. Passing through meadows and groves, 
 we came to the castle. It is a very solid, 
 romantic ruin, built by Cormac MacCarthy 
 about the middle of the fifteenth century. 
 We climbed up the heavy stone stairs until 
 we were near the top, and in the vicinity 
 of the celebrated blarney-stone. I would not 
 attempt to kiss it for all the blarney pos- 
 sessed by the entire human race from the 
 beginning of time until now. For most per- 
 sons it is a most foolhardy thing to do. 
 One of our number did not even see it ex- 
 cept from the ground below. The other 
 member made up for this lack by a most 
 gallant attempt to acquire the gift, which 
 he already sufficiently possessed. He claims 
 that he succeeded. I can testify that several 
 men held him by the heels while he threw 
 
2O A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 himself over the wide opening that looks 
 down from the dizzy height of a hundred 
 feet; that he grasped the irons, by which he 
 let himself down towards the stone, and made 
 several frantic efforts to press his lijps and 
 tongue against it ; but whether he actually 
 succeeded will never be exactly known to any- 
 body but himself. As we returned through the 
 grounds I loitered behind to hear the sweet 
 notes of the feathered songsters that enlivened 
 those romantic groves. If there is such a thing 
 as blarney in music, they possessed it of the 
 most bewitching kind. But why should they 
 not possess it? They breathe the pure air 
 of that magic locality, and drink the clear 
 water of that mysterious lake, and live and 
 love and sing out their souls in the charming 
 retreats of those mystic groves. 
 
 We returned to Cork by the middle of the 
 afternoon, in time for dinner. After dinner we 
 started out to visit the city. Almost the first 
 sounds that greeted our ears were 
 
 " The bells of Shandon, 
 
 That sound so grand on 
 The pleasant waters of the river Lee."/ 
 
 We visited every church in the city but 
 one, and all in which there were afternoon ser- 
 vices were filled with worshippers. The con- 
 
and the Holy Land. 21 
 
 gregutions appeared devout and the services 
 were stately and solemn, according to the 
 rubrics, and breathing the spirit of the church. 
 Cork was one of the largest British or Eu- 
 ropean cities which I remember to have seen 
 having no street-cars ; but her people know 
 how to observe a Christian Sunday. / 
 
 On Monday morning we left Cork for Dub- 
 lin. It was our first experience on European 
 railway-trains. From all the American criti- 
 cisms I had heard about the compartment- 
 cars, I did not expect to like them ; but I 
 was mistaken. They are not so finely built 
 as ours, but, excepting the Pullman and simi- 
 lar coaches, in many respects I prefer them. 
 On Am erican w trains I usually get a headache, 
 but rarely did I get it on those of Europe./ 
 
 During our two visits to Ireland we passed 
 through thirteen counties, and obtained a very 
 good idea of the country. We now again saw 
 Blarney Castle in the distance, and also ob- 
 tained a fine and extended view of the Gal- 
 tee mountains. Soon after noon we arrived in 
 Thurles, county of Tipperary, and concluded 
 to stop over until the evening train. The 
 Archbishop of Cashel, who resides here, was 
 making a visitation of his diocese, and there- 
 fore was not at home; but wo were kindly re- 
 
A Visit to Europe 
 
 ceived by one of the priests attached to the 
 cathedral, who showed us everything of inte- 
 rest connected with the ecclesiastical buildings 
 of the place. The cathedral is the finest, and 
 I should judge the largest, church that I saw 
 in Ireland. It possesses a magnificent high 
 altar of marble, and an exquisite tabernacle 
 made of rare and antique marbles obtained in 
 Rome and other places by the late archbishop. 
 The grand chime of bells was set ringing for 
 our benefit, and played several of the national 
 airs of Ireland./ 
 
 After leaving our kind entertainer we took a 
 leisurely stroll through the town, passing some 
 interesting ruins of the middle ages ; but we 
 were more interested in the streets, houses, and 
 people than in anything else, for this was 
 our first visit to an Irish country town. Some 
 ballad-singers an aged man and his wife and 
 daughter were moving slowly down the street, 
 singing a ballad with sad air and words, re- 
 counting the sorrows and hopes, and the patri- 
 otism and faith of the people. And, after all, 
 a very strange people they are a people to 
 whom sorrow has become an inheritance which 
 they treasure and love almost equally with 
 their innocent joys. And why should they not 
 love the memory of their sorrows ? For sorrow 
 
and t/ic Holy Land. 23 
 
 is their mother. Joy may be their pure, smil- 
 ing sister ; and even she, with her face wreathed 
 in smiles, has the features and sad eyes of her 
 mother. But the sorrowful Irish mother, who 
 has nourished them on her breast and directed 
 their eyes to heaven, has always had faithful 
 children. Why then should they not sing in 
 sweet and plaintive notes the story of their 
 fidelity ? / 
 
 Leaving Thurles, we continued our journey 
 towards Dublin, passing up through the Golden 
 Yale of ancient Erin, past the Devil's Bit and 
 Slieve Bloom Mountains, and past villages and 
 towns of historical associations and ruins. Be- 
 fore the shadows of evening had rested upon 
 the earth, but after the sun was already set, 
 the train made quite a long delay at Kildare, 
 which .gave us a good opportunity of viewing 
 its round-tower and ecclesiastical ruins in the 
 twilight. Kildare was a pleasing picture as it 
 appeared in the mellow light of departing day, 
 and it seemed even now beautified and hal- 
 lowed by the Christian learniug and sanctity 
 of a glorious past, when St. Bridget and her 
 great monastic establishments blessed Ireland. 
 We arrived in Dublin rather late in the even- 
 ing, and at once took a carriage to the Impe- 
 rial Hotel, on O'Connell Street, formerly Lower 
 
24 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Sackville Street. On our return to Dublin we 
 stayed at both the Imperial and Morrison's 
 hotels. / 
 
 The next morning we hired a jaunting-car 
 and drove through the principal parts of the 
 city. We saw the old Parliament House, Trin- 
 ity College, Dublin Castle, the Four Courts, 
 the Custom-house, and other important build- 
 ings. On our return to Dublin the noted and 
 historic buildings of the city became to us 
 more familiar objects, and made a more lasting 
 impression on our memory. We went to the 
 Zoological Gardens, where I was most inter- 
 ested in a very cross Irish raven, and a fine 
 specimen of the Irish wolf-dog. The keeper 
 informed us that it is now the only one in 
 existence ; certainly there are but two or three 
 living specimens of this symbolical Irish dog. 
 We drove through Phoenix Park, which is 
 one of the finest in the British Isles. It com- 
 prises 1,760 acres, is seven miles in circumfer- 
 ence, and enjoys many delightful views. The 
 spot where the assassination of the late chief- 
 secretary and under -secretary took place was 
 pointed out, which was marked by a cross in 
 the ground. It was one of the most public 
 places of the park, with a wide, unobstructed 
 view in every direction, not even a tree or 
 
and the Holy Land. 25 
 
 shrub near it ; an altogether more public place 
 than I had supposed. We next dro've to Glas- 
 nevin, and as we wandered through the silent, 
 shaded streets of the city of the dead we saw 
 the tombs of many celebrated men, of which 
 the grandest, that of O'Connell, rises in form 
 and height like an ancient Irish round-tower. 
 We finished the ride by driving to St. Patrick's 
 Cathedral. It is in the hands of Protestants, 
 but possesses great interest for Catholics, who 
 earnestly pray that one day it may be re- 
 stored to its rightful owners and service. It 
 was founded by St. Patrick in the year 448 
 over a well where he had baptized the king 
 of Dublin. This well was seen during the re- 
 cent repairs made on the church. The present 
 edifice was built by Archbishop Comyn in 
 1192, and is a grand and chaste specimen of 
 Gothic architecture. So strong and devotional 
 is the hope of Catholic Dublin that this cathe- 
 dral will again be the dwelling-place of the In- 
 carnate God on our altars, and that its magni- 
 ficent organ and sweet and powerful chimes of 
 " joy-bells" will ring out their joyful peals of 
 praise to God on that welcome day, that no 
 other church has ever been dedicated to St. 
 Patrick in Dublin. / 
 
 Later in the day each of us started out on 
 
26 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the particular excursion that most took his 
 fancy. I took the tramway for Clontarf, to 
 look over the ancient battle field of Brian Boru, 
 to wander around in the neighborhood, to look 
 out upon the beauties of the bay and its sur- 
 roundings, and meditate and dream on the 
 great events of the past and make them seem 
 real in the present. It was a clear, beautiful 
 afternoon, and that quiet suburb of Dublin 
 was in an almost ideal state of repose. The few 
 persons whom I met had such modest ways and 
 quiet manners, the leaves fluttering in the faint 
 breeze, and the birds singing in the trees were so 
 gentle, that neither act of theirs nor unkind breath 
 of nature disturbed the calm surface of my soul, 
 which, like a placid lake under a summer sky, 
 mirrored scenes of beauty and peace, while its 
 more sensitive depths felt the touch of the 
 spirit of joy. To the north of the bay the black, 
 bleak-looking Hill of Howth raised its historic 
 head ; over the bay to the south the Dublin 
 mountains calmly lay, three peaks more noble 
 than the rest standing against the southern 
 sky. I wandered out into the country under 
 old, magnificent trees and through large and 
 well-kept pleasure-grounds. In this walk in 
 the suburbs I met but few persons, among 
 them a beggar-woman . with her child who 
 
and the Holy Land. 27 
 
 asked for alms the only time I was asked 
 for charity during my visits to jDublin. It 
 seems to me that I must have got out into 
 that quiet neighborhood where Brian Bora 
 prayed while his army fought the invaders. 
 And in the realms of imagination, in which I 
 walked almost as much as in those of reality, 
 I do not know that I should have been sur- 
 prised if I had heard the sounds of battle 
 breaking upon the stillness of the day, and 
 bad seen in the distance towards Dublin the 
 standards of ancient Erin waving in Tomar's 
 Wood, or had seen the ancient monarch of 
 Ireland praying in his tent while others fought. 
 While his sons and countrymen fought he 
 prayed, but by prayer he fought with the 
 golden sword of Jeremias given to Judas Mach- 
 abeus, and, like him, gained the victory. But 
 he who prayed for those who fought sealed 
 the victory with his life's blood. On my way 
 back I saw an ancient well with the inscrip- 
 tion : "Well of Brian Boru."/ 
 
28 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WALES AND ENGLAND. 
 
 \ THE next morning we took passage on the 
 Shamrock, a packet, for Holy head, where we 
 should arrive in five hours. After a few months 
 we w r ould return and make a longer stay in 
 Ireland, but now we wanted to hasten on to- 
 wards the East. 
 
 Dublin Bay was so brightly reflected in the 
 morning sun and my eyes were so dazzled that 
 I did not appreciate it so well as I did the day 
 before, which led me to suspect, perhaps incor- 
 rectly, that it is seen to best advantage from 
 the land. 
 
 In less than five hours of a not unplea- 
 sant passage we were drawing near to the 
 Welsh coast. At Holyhead we connected wdth 
 a fast train for London. On the train we pass- 
 ed across the Holy Isle, and isle of Anglesea, 
 and the whole northern part of rugged, moun- 
 tainous Wales. The scenery is very romantic, 
 with its fine views of bays and sea on one side, 
 and its picturesque mountains on the other, 
 and its forests, its fields, and excellent houses. 
 
and the Holy Land. 29 
 
 Its houses, even in the country, are well built 
 and of good material, and, judging fpm a hasty 
 look, equal to those of any country through 
 which we passed. The quick succession of wild 
 and beautiful scenes stirred within me a poetical 
 feeling which manifested itself in the beginning 
 of a poem : 
 
 When brave Llewellyn led his host, 
 
 When Wales was proud and free, 
 Where mountain cliffs and rock-bound coast 
 
 O'erlook a stormy sea, 
 
 No people ever fought more brave 
 
 Than they on mountain heights 
 For freedom or an honored grave, 
 
 Their country and their rights. / 
 
 Over the borders in England we passed through 
 the city of Chester, whose Gothic cathedral was 
 built in the eleventh century for the Benedic- 
 tines "by Hugh, Earl of Chester, assisted by St. 
 Ansel m. During the remainder of the afternoon 
 we whirled through the beautiful farm country 
 of England, where between gently-rising hills 
 lay many smiling vales. We rushed past green 
 meadows and pastures surrounded by tvell- 
 trimmed hedges with gateways, on either side* of 
 which stood fine shade- trees, which, with fre- 
 quent groves dotting the landscape, made up a 
 repetition of rural scenes to captivate the hearts 
 
3<3 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 of lovers of the peaceful and beautiful in nature. 
 The large-eyed, contented-looking cows no long- 
 er looked in wonderment at passing trains, but 
 grazed quietly or hardly raised their heads to 
 see us, while others rested sleepily in the shade 
 of some noble old oak or stately elm. / 
 
 Among the other towns which we passed was 
 Rugby, and I took in every object of interest in 
 it or its surroundings that came within the range 
 of my vision. Not that I remembered much 
 about the place, but faint glimpses of the school 
 days of " Tom Brown " stole across my memory ; 
 and although the events recorded in a book 
 read in my college days, when but sixteen years 
 of age, were not very clear to my mind, I re- 
 membered that there was near the town a plea- 
 sant stream running through green fields, where 
 the young student enjoyed his sports, and the 
 scenes new to my eyes were brightened by the 
 memories of years ago. Such scenes always re- 
 main green in the hearts of old boys./ 
 
 During the afternoon we sometimes glided 
 quickly along by the side of a river, whose 
 grassy banks, sylvan shades, and sparkling wa- 
 ters commingled to form a pleasing succession 
 of bright pictures. It was near sunset when we 
 passed Rugby ; and some time before we reach- 
 ed the end of our day's journey night came, and 
 
and the Holy Land. 3 1 
 
 we rushed on through the darkness towards Lon- 
 don. On our arrival we put up at ^he Euston 
 Hotel, which belongs to the railroad company, 
 in which the accommodations were good ; but 
 on our return we preferred a more central plac^, 
 and took rooms at the Golden Cross Hotel, near 
 Charing Cross. All London seems to centre at 
 Charing Cross./ 
 
 The next morning we rose early and looked 
 out of our windows at great, smoky London. 
 Long before our rising we were unable to sleep 
 on account of the noise for which London is 
 noted. It was a holyday of obligation, and 
 our first interest was to find a church where 
 we could attend Mass. After some inquiry 
 and search we found a church of rather hum- 
 ble pretensions in the neighborhood. Having 
 assisted at Mass and returned to the hotel for 
 our breakfast, we started out to see the city. 
 Our first objective point was the City Bank of 
 London, in Threadneedle Street, on which we 
 had letters of credit. We took an omnibus to 
 Charing Cross, and from there found our way 
 to the bank. On this and our return visit we 
 became quite well acquainted with this latter 
 route, in fact, the only part of London that I 
 got to know in any kind of familiar way was 
 that leading from Cheapside, past St. Paul's 
 
32 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Cathedral and Ludgate, down Fleet Street and 
 the Strand, past Trafalgar Square and Charing 
 Cross, through Whitehall and Parliament Street 
 to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Par- 
 liament. In almost any other part of London 
 quite probably I should lose my way. My 
 only course when I wanted to go elsewhere was 
 to take a hansom, which is a quick and pleasant 
 means of conveyance. After leaving the bank 
 we returned to St. Paul's, where ten o'clock ser- 
 vice was progressing. Perhaps two hundred 
 persons were present, some of whom, like our- 
 selves, were drawn thither by curiosity. The 
 service was " higher" than I had expected to 
 find in St. Paul's. Catholic vestments were not 
 used, but the officiating minister and his two 
 assistants like deacon and subdeacon stood 
 with their backs to the people, and the minis- 
 ter sang the preface in nearly the same tone 
 used by us. We left, after sufficiently viewing 
 the church, which, although large, was cold- 
 looking and did not very much impress me. I 
 then hired a hansom by the hour, and first went 
 to the British Museum. After a brief look at 
 some of the curiosities, I became interested in 
 the library, where I remained for about three 
 hours, entirely forgetting the hansom. On 
 going out I found that the driver was looking 
 
and the Holy Land. 33 
 
 for me, thinking he had lost his pay. I then 
 went to Westminster Abbey, where ,;one of my 
 companions met me. Afternoon services were 
 in progress, at the close of which we were 
 at liberty to walk through the different parts 
 of this grand and interesting old edifice. It 
 was founded by St. Mellitus, Bishop of Lon- 
 don, in the sixth century, and as the cathe- 
 dral church of London was dedicated to St. 
 Paul, this church was dedicated to St. Peter. 
 After various vicissitudes of fortune it was 
 rebuilt by St. Edward the Confessor in the 
 eleventh century, and again rebuilt by Henry 
 III. in the thirteenth century, and to which 
 Henry VII. made many elegant additions. As 
 we walked through the corridors of the ancient 
 abbey we read many inscriptions in the pave- 
 ment nearly obliterated by the footsteps of cen- 
 turies, which told us that these were the last 
 resting-places of the old abbots who once ruled 
 here to the honor of God. If they could arise 
 from their graves they would stand in wonder- 
 ment at the change that has been effected in 
 their cloister. Instead of meek-eyed monks in 
 modest habit, engaged in study, prayer, and 
 contemplation, they would see groups of gaily- 
 dressed ladies invading these holy precincts, 
 chatting about all the vanities of life, hardly 
 
34 A Visit to Europe 
 
 dreaming of the religious life once lived within 
 these walls. Affrighted, they would hasten 
 back to the enclosure of the tomb and the 
 silence of death. All the kings and queens of 
 England, from Edward the Confessor to the 
 present time, have been crowned and many of 
 them buried within the sacred precincts of 
 Westminster. The chair of coronation is a di- 
 lapidated thing, having a rough stone for a 
 seat. This stone is believed by many to be the 
 celebrated stone of destiny upon which the 
 head of the patriarch Jacob rested when he 
 saw the vision of the ladder reaching unto hea- 
 ven : " And Jacob, arising in the morning, took 
 the stone, which he had laid under his head, 
 and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon 
 the top of it." It is related that it was after- 
 wards taken by Jacob and his sons into Egypt, 
 whence, in course of time, it was carried to 
 Spain and afterwards to Ireland, B.C. 700, on 
 which the ancient kings of Tara were crown- 
 ed. It was then sent to Scotland, where it 
 remained for centuries. In the ninth century 
 it was placed in the gilded throne of the 
 Royal Abbey of Scone, where the coronation of 
 the Scottish kings took place. In the latter 
 part of the thirteenth century it was trans- 
 ferred to Westminster by Edward I. of the Nor- 
 
and the Holy Land. 35 
 
 man line. The tomb of St. Edward the Con- 
 fessor is near by, and is the most, noteworthy 
 of any in the Abbey. We wandered out around 
 the exterior of the building, and in a short 
 time seemed to live in many different centu- 
 ries, communing with the many generations of 
 priests and prelates, statesmen and kings, poets 
 and saints, to whom Westminster Abbey and 
 its neighborhood had been holy ground, within 
 whose contemplative limits inspired thoughts 
 have been born and quickened. The new pal- 
 ace of Westminster, which comprises the two 
 houses of Parliament, stands near by, and is an 
 immense structure, covering eleven acres. We 
 walked through its grounds and its halls, 
 which are accessible to the public without 
 special permission. We were not very anxious 
 to enter the legislative halls, more especially as 
 those who had tickets were subjected to a tire- 
 some delay in waiting for their turn./ 
 
 We now separated, and each one strolled 
 through the streets according to his inclina- 
 tion. In my rambles I saw many familiar 
 names of streets and public-houses, some of 
 them exceedingly insignificant in their appear- 
 ance, but rendered famous by the poets and 
 literary men who at different times frequent- 
 ed London. A strange feeling steals into the 
 
36 A Visit to Europe 
 
 heart of the Catholic traveller when he sees on 
 every side so many reminders of the ancient 
 faith of England. Besides many streets and a 
 vast number of churches once Catholic, now 
 Protestant that bear the diversified names of 
 saints of the Roman calendar, there still re- 
 main such names as Whitefriars Street and 
 Blackfriars Bridge and Road, Paternoster Row, 
 Ave Maria Lane, and others similar. / 
 
 On my return to the hotel, although I rode 
 in an omnibus the greater part of the distance, 
 I lost my way, and it took me nearly two hours 
 of walking and inquiring of policemen before I 
 found it. The faculty of quickly noting the 
 cardinal points seems never to have been well 
 developed in my mind. I must first become 
 quite accustomed to my surroundings before 
 different directions are clear to me. As several 
 of my relatives and ancestors have been survey- 
 ors, they either must have absorbed this facul- 
 ty of the family intellect, or else have too 
 much accustomed it to instrumental guidance. 
 I had therefore to be always on my guard in 
 European cities to mark mentally my route, 
 unless accompanied by one of my companions 
 whose sensitive faculty in this matter was the 
 exact reverse of mine. | 
 
 The next day we went to the Brompton church 
 
and the Holy Land. 37 
 
 of the Oratorians, which was undergoing the 
 process of renovation at great expense, which 
 was making it exceedingly fine. Afterwards we 
 went to the South Kensington Museum, which 
 contains a vast number of curiosities and pro- 
 ductions of art. On our return trip we visited 
 the Natural History Museum near by ; and, al- 
 though I took due interest in its great animal 
 and other skeletons, what pleased me most was 
 the skilful arrangement of stuffed birds, show- 
 ing the nests, eggs, and habits of the different 
 species in the British Isles. On our way back 
 to Charing Cross we rode in the omnibus with 
 a very respectable, aristocratic-looking gentle- 
 man, who, seeing that we were strangers, with 
 great politeness and kindness pointed out to us 
 all the chief places of interest along the route, 
 among them the residences of some of the chief 
 noblemen and statesmen of England. Each day 
 we spent some considerable time in the enjoy- 
 ment of the different views and street scenes 
 of the great metropolis. On our return they 
 seemed less strange and more pleasing to us./ 
 
 The next morning we left the station at Char- 
 ing Cross for Paris by way of Dover and Calais. 
 We first passed through several miles of streets 
 and houses out into the smiling country, going 
 through Kent from one extremity of the county 
 
38 A Visit to Europe 
 
 to the other. Our journey was made enjoyable 
 by a succession of old-looking towns, often 
 made more interesting by an ancient, pictur- 
 esque church, beautiful farms and comfortable- 
 looking farm-houses, and rural scenes like those 
 which had greeted our eyes on our first introduc- 
 tion to England scenes which we found to be 
 characteristic of the country wherever we went, 
 except in certain limited portions. Towards 
 Dover we came in sight of the chalk cliffs 
 which line the coast, between which we caught 
 occasional glimpses of the blue sea./ 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LA BELLE FRANCE. 
 
 /AT Dover we took the boat for Calais. It 
 was a bright, still day, and the Strait of Dover 
 was as calm as a " summer's sea." Nearly all 
 the passengers spoke French instead of Eng- 
 lish, when I had expected the reverse. We 
 approached France with the French tongue 
 sounding in our ears, with French breezes cool- 
 ing our cheeks, and the gayety and animation 
 of French life surrounding us. The shores of 
 
and the Holy Land. 39 
 
 Albion receded from our view and the shores 
 of France drew nearer. It is a pleasurable event 
 in one's life to approach for the first time a 
 strange and interesting country. Gentle but 
 joyous excitement quickens the pulse and the 
 tlow of life through the heart. Images form in 
 the mind of a long list of the achievements and 
 glories of that land in the midst of historic 
 and poetic scenes. The coast-line, the hills and 
 plains, the old towns, the very sea and sky 
 seem to belong to the realms where the spirit 
 of dying heroes and undying deeds continues 
 to dwell. The spirits of the great past seem 
 yet to live in the places to which they gave 
 renown, and to pervade the very air with their 
 mysterious presence. / 
 
 The smiling fields of bright, beautiful France 
 lay before us, which, with all its faults and 
 deep, disgraceful stains which blot its fair 
 name, still retains much of the chivalry and 
 devotion of the Catholic ages of faith. At Ca- 
 lais we went from the steamer directly to the 
 train for Paris. The language of France was 
 everywhere heard, and the ways and manners 
 of the people, including the railway employees 
 in their plain blue blouses, were distinctively 
 French. During the afternoon we passed many 
 famous old towns, among them Amiens, pos- 
 
40 A Visit to Europe 
 
 sessing, in the judgment of many, one of the 
 most perfect Gothic cathedrals in the world. 
 But to me the most pleasing part of the ride 
 was through the country districts. The high- 
 ways which we frequently crossed, and beside 
 which" we sometimes rode for miles, were, like 
 those of nearly all Europe, smooth and hard, 
 running between hedges and trees and green 
 fields and over picturesque stone bridges. The 
 peasants of northern France appear to be a 
 hardy and industrious race, many of whom, in 
 their plain, simple attire, were working in the 
 fields or journeying along the roads to and 
 from their quaint little villages. On our ar- 
 rival in Paris, not knowing much about the 
 hotels, we took rooms at the Grand Hotel, on 
 the Boulevard des Capucines. We found it 
 grander than we really desired ; yet it was cen- 
 tral and convenient to the famous portions of 
 the city. I 
 
 Street life in Paris is animated and possessed 
 of numerous attractions ; yet, from glimpses of 
 the mode and character of thousands of the in- 
 habitants of this great French city, I ceased to 
 wonder at the irreligious policy of its rulers 
 and scandalous and sacrilegious acts of its com- 
 munistic and revolutionary mobs. On the broad- 
 er boulevards the evening scenes were gay and 
 
and the Holy Land, 41 
 
 bright. The tables of the various restaurants 
 extended out on the broad sidewalks, and sur- 
 rounding them, seated in the open air, were 
 hundreds of stylish ladies and gentlemen en- 
 joying the happy sounds arid sights and polite 
 and easy companionship especially characteris- 
 tic of the streets of Paris in early evening in 
 the month of May. The great majority of the 
 French people are polite, and I believe that 
 their politeness comes from the heart. In res- 
 taurants and bouillons and similar places we 
 were served with a grace that possessed a genu- 
 ine charm, and among all there seemed to be 
 a real regard and delicacy for the feelings of 
 others, except with those where the spirit of 
 irreligion has penetrated. These last mentioned 
 may yet keep on the mask and outward, man- 
 ners _pf old- time French politeness, but it does 
 not reach the heart or come from it, and their 
 brutality is often manifest. With the French 
 people, unlike some other nations, religion and 
 gentle manners go hand-in hand. \ 
 
 The next day was Sunday. We inquired the 
 way to the Madeleine, which was not far distant. 
 It is the grandest and most perfect reproduc- 
 tion in existence, according to pure antique 
 forms, of the ancient Grecian temple. Between 
 eight and half-past nine o'clock we attended 
 
42 A Visit to Europe 
 
 one Mass and portions of two others. On ac- 
 count of the statements of some travellers with 
 reference to the attendance of Parisians at Sun- 
 day Masses, I took particular notice of the ex- 
 act facts. At each of these three Masses the 
 church was emptied and again filled, and I 
 judged that fully half of those present were 
 men. Some eyes cannot see truthfully, or else 
 since some authors wrote Paris has very much 
 changed in this respect for the better. After 
 breakfast we wandered through the streets to 
 the Place de la Concorde, which has witnessed 
 so many strange scenes. Here the guillotine 
 was set up during the Reign of Terror, arid 
 here the German army encamped after its tri- 
 umphal entry in 1871. We wandered through 
 the gardens of the Tuileries, and afterwards 
 through the Champs Ely sees to the Arch of 
 Triumph, begun by Napoleon and finished by 
 Louis Philippe, and which is considered the 
 grandest existing structure of the kind in the 
 world. The people on the streets were not 
 quite so gay, but for the most part they were 
 of a more retiring and respectable class than 
 the ostentatious frequenters of public places 
 whom we saw the previous evening. 1 
 
 Sometimes we spent an hour in walking, an- 
 other hour in the tram-cars, and another hour 
 
and the Holy Land. 43 
 
 in a carriage. In this way we passed tb rough 
 retired and quiet streets, through streets where 
 the great body of the people live, and through 
 grand, broad boulevards. We also saw many 
 of the vast public buildings of Paris ; and 
 when the day was over we had become settled 
 in the conclusion, which we had partly formed 
 on our first entrance to the city, that it is by 
 far the most magnificent city of Europe and 
 the world. We arrived at the cathedral of 
 Notre Dame at near sunset, but the doors were 
 closed, and we had to be content to take a 
 good view of its exterior. \ 
 
 The next day each one of us had different ob- 
 jects of interest in his mind, and so we agreed 
 to separate. As for myself, when we entered 
 Paris I desired rather to see the Madeleine, 
 Notre. Dame, and La Sainte Chapelle than all 
 the other buildings of the city. I therefore 
 took the route, rather indirect, to Notre Dame. 
 On the way I entered an ancient-looking church, 
 where a large class of schoolboys were being 
 prepared for First Communion. They appeared 
 very attentive and devout. The interior of the 
 church was old and venerable, and attractive to 
 devotion. I soon after arrived at Notre Dame, 
 the church which I would prefer to all others 
 in Paris. The present noble structure was 
 
44 A Visit to Europe 
 
 founded in the twelfth century, and was situ- 
 ated on the "Isle of the City," one of the two 
 islands in the Seine near each other, around 
 which, as the ancient nucleus, Paris was built. 
 It is not my intention to give detailed descrip- 
 tions of the churches and public buildings 
 visited during my travels, as they only serve 
 to weary the reader, and can be found more 
 accurately given in guide-books. \ 
 
 Like the other great cathedrals of the mid- 
 dle ages, Notre Dame is an immense edifice, 
 and is built in the pointed style of Gothic 
 architecture, possessing those rich treasures and 
 decorations which were lavished by the hands 
 of monarchs, and those enduring qualities and 
 that artistic excellence which come only from 
 the mind and hand of genius. When I en- 
 tered the church the canons were reciting the 
 Divine Office. The divine harmony of prayer 
 sounding through the sacred edifice and re- 
 echoed in heaven, united with the ever-abiding 
 presence of the "Lamb that was slain," made 
 the material temple seem possessed of life and 
 soul. Like living realities the historic scenes 
 of centuries passed before my eyes. Monarchs 
 were crowned amid grandest solemnities, and 
 I seemed to hear outside the walls the voice 
 of cheering multitudes ; they were brought 
 
and the Holy Land. 45 
 
 back uncrowned, and I seemed to hear the slow 
 footsteps of men in procession, the beat of 
 muffled drum, and the sad, musical dirge of 
 death, and within the intervals the lo\v sobs 
 and sighs of weeping mourners. And then the 
 scenes were changed and the hell-fired fiends 
 of revolution raised their hoarse shouts of blood 
 and lust, and desecrated the sacred temple, and 
 even the altar of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, 
 and a harlot was worshipped by men base 
 enough to make her whose life exemplifies 
 one of their most brutal passions their typical 
 god. O abomination of desolation in the Holy 
 of Holies ! But prayer and sacrifice are ever 
 the same, and Notre Dame is still their con- 
 secrated abode ; and, as in days gone by, she 
 consoles the living and mourns for the dead, 
 but not as those who have no hope. In the 
 highest aspirations of life and in the dread 
 realities of eternity, how far separated are 
 Notre Dame and Westminster ! \ 
 
 After wandering about and taking a brief 
 and reverential view of everything, and saying 
 a few prayers and mentally joining the canons 
 in their office, I returned towards the entrance, 
 where a woman was selling wax-candles to be 
 burned before a statue of the Blessed Virgin. 
 I bought one, which she lighted and gave to 
 
46 A Visit to Europe 
 
 our dear Mother as a votive- offering for me, 
 while I knelt and prayed that she might obtain 
 for my companions and myself a safe journey 
 and safe return to homes unchanged by sick- 
 ness or death. I then went forth again into 
 the busy streets of Paris, but they seemed 
 changed. The busy, frivolous world appeared 
 to talk in a subdued tone, and to have put on 
 a more modest demeanor. It was the influ- 
 ence of the holy Presence which I had just left, 
 and in some sense that Presence was still with 
 me, changing the appearance of men and the 
 face of nature. \ 
 
 I was desirous of seeing more of the quiet 
 life of the people. Back of the cathedral is a 
 park, in which, raised on a high column, is a 
 statue of Mary Immaculate. In the park, which 
 is of fair size, well supplied with rustic seats 
 beneath the shade, were congregated old and 
 middle-aged men, staid and comfortable-looking 
 dames, many of whom brought with them their 
 knitting or sewing, young people in their teens, 
 and pleasant, playful children, whose play- 
 ground was usually in the immediate vicinity 
 of their mothers. I sat a long time on a bench 
 in the shade of one of the trees, enjoying the 
 most peaceful and pleasant scene of quiet hap- 
 piness that I saw during my stay in Paris. It 
 
and the Holy Land. 47 
 
 was all the more attractive because it was almost 
 in the shadow of that great church wliere proba- 
 bly most of those present attended their week- 
 day Masses and offered their daily devotions. \ 
 
 Not far distant was La Sainte Chapelle, which 
 is one of the finest and most complete gems 
 of Gothic architecture of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury. It was built by St. Louis of France to 
 receive the crown of tliorns, which was de- 
 posited in it, together with a portion of the 
 true cross, the iron point of the lance which 
 opened our Saviour's side, and part of the 
 sponge which bore vinegar and gall to His dy- 
 ing lips. A portion of these relics are still in 
 Notre Dame, and a part of the crown of thorns 
 is exposed to the veneration of the faithful on 
 Good Friday. I obtained permission to enter, 
 and was conducted through the chapel by one 
 of the custodians. Notwithstanding the beauty 
 of its architecture, it looked to me desolate, 
 for Mass is but rarely celebrated at its altars. 
 If St. Louis were now to visit his royal chapel, 
 or even his royal city, he would find many 
 changes to bring grief to his soul. Towards 
 evening we had all returned .from our wander- 
 ings, and had to hurry to get ready to take the 
 train for Marseilles, which started about an 
 hour before dark.x 
 
48 A Visit to Europe 
 
 We had hardly passed through the environs 
 of Paris before the shadows of evening began 
 to dim the landscape, and things seen might 
 as well have been conjured up in day-dreams, 
 so indistinct were they and full of romance. 
 We had taken a first-class carriage, and, as 
 the only other occupants of the compartment 
 were a French gentleman and his lady, we 
 passed the night in comparative comfort. | 
 
 On European railways one is inclined to 
 awaken early; but all the better, for by so 
 doing I enjoyed a number of beautiful Euro- 
 pean sunrises and mornings, where country, 
 hamlets and towns, winding streams, extended 
 plains, and gray old mountains renewed their 
 gladness and vigor in the light and life of a 
 new-born day. During the night we had passed 
 through several important cities among them 
 Lyons and the morning found us speeding 
 down the valley of the Rhone, of which we 
 often caught glimpses. Low mountain ranges, 
 at some distance away, lined the valley on 
 either side. As strange as it may seem, the 
 sources of the Rhone and Rhine are near to- 
 gether ; and white, after many windings, one 
 flows to the south and the other to the north of 
 Europe, a certain similarity accompanies them. 
 Both flow through regions having some of the 
 
and the Holy Land. 49 
 
 finest vineyards in the world, and the rugged 
 banks of both are crowned with grand old cas- 
 tles and historic cities. Although in portions 
 of the valley of the Rhone the rainfall is 
 abundant, the country through which we passed 
 during the forenoon appeared to be somewhat 
 arid, and the goddess of perpetual summer 
 seemed to rule ; but it is a land rich in fruits 
 and wine.\ 
 
 Early in the day we had entered the boun- 
 daries of ancient Provence, which is the land 
 where sunshine ever loves to dwell, and leav- 
 ing which it is homesick and quickly returns. 
 No wonder that it is the region of romance 
 and of the troubadours. We passed through 
 strange-looking towns, where we could look 
 down old-fashioned streets and into quaint old 
 stone houses surrounded by flower-gardens and 
 orchards and overhung with trellised vines. 
 At length, not far distant to the right, on the 
 majestic heights that overlook the river, rose 
 the lofty towers, battlements, and spires of 
 Avignon, the residence of seven popes for more 
 than half a century. Those vast piles of build- 
 ings, rising in stately grandeur and distinguished 
 above the others, are the cathedral and palace 
 of the pontiffs who once ruled here and made 
 Avignon a second Rome. In a cave in the great 
 
50 A Visit to Europe 
 
 rock on which, the cathedral is built once lived 
 St. Martha of Bethany, where she had come 
 after the ascension of our Saviour into heaven ; 
 and St. Rufus, son of Simon the Cyrenean, who 
 carried the cross for our Lord, was first bishop 
 of the city. O Avignon ! thou hast for a brief 
 period worn the imperial robes of Rome, the 
 mistress of the earth ; and such has been the 
 efficacy of their virtue that, like her, thou hast 
 become immortal. A brief half hour was all 
 we saw of Avignon, but the city of St. Martha 
 and St. Rufus, the city of the popes and the 
 city of bells, the city of devotion to the Blessed 
 Sacrament, rising grandly on the banks of the 
 Rhone and reflecting the warm, bright sun of 
 Provence, will remain an ineffaceable picture in 
 our memories. \ 
 
 Within less than an hour after quitting 
 Avignon we left the Rhone behind us at the 
 ancient city of Aries, twenty-five miles from 
 "its mouth. Having skirted the shores of the 
 inland lake of Berre, and having passed tlirongh 
 the longest tunnel in France, we soon came 
 into a region of high, barren, rocky peaks. Oc- 
 casionally, far above us on rocky heights, ap- 
 peared some old castle or monastery, once the 
 stronghold of family pride or power, or of faith 
 and devotion. Finally the blue Mediterranean 
 
and the Holy Land. 
 
 appeared, on which our eyes rested with a 
 strange, quiet, fascinating pleasured It is no 
 wonder ; for it is the great sea on whose bor- 
 ders have existed and still exist most of the 
 historic nations of the earth. Its waters have 
 washed the shores of ancient kingdoms and 
 empires until the proud monuments and cities 
 of their glory have crumbled into dust. Car- 
 thaginian, Grecian, and Roman galleys, bearing 
 the armies of hostile nations to death or vic- 
 tory, have danced lightly upon its glistening 
 waves, and on its wide waters have contended 
 with wild storms and fierce foes. The nations 
 on its shores were the first in the history of the 
 human race, and one succeeded another on the 
 grand historic stage of Western Asia. Its bright 
 waters have reflected the majesty and glory of 
 Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the grandest nations 
 of the pagan world ; and their sons most gift- 
 ed by genius, and even the psalmists and pro- 
 phets whom God himself inspired, have sung' 
 its praises. In our own modern history some 
 of the foremost nations of the epoch hold the 
 prond pre-eminence of a place on its historic 
 shores, and all of them lay claim to its vantage- 
 grounds and strongholds, and uphold their 
 position and influence by fleets of iron mon- 
 sters that thunder their warning or their chal- 
 
52 A Visit to Europe 
 
 lenge and hurl their missiles of death and de- 
 struction over its calm surface. This beautiful 
 blue sea, upon whose peaceful bosom I seem 
 to see the white-winged carriers of the heroes 
 and saints of centuries sailing before the favor- 
 ed breezes of heaven, is to me utterly unlike 
 the vast, black, dread ocean with its dark, un- 
 fathomed caverns, where dwell its horrid, un- 
 known monsters. In the following weeks we 
 were to see much more of this great sea which 
 we now viewed for the first time. We never 
 grew weary of it, but, leaving it for a time, 
 we longed to rest our eyes once again on its 
 blue, watery expanse on the one side melting 
 into the azure sky, and on the other lined by 
 its gray and green and purple shores.\ 
 
 Before noon we were in Marseilles. It is 
 the chief seaport of France, and was founded 
 by the Greeks six hundred years B.C. After 
 taking our dinner at a restaurant we hired a 
 carriage to convey us to the principal places 
 of interest in the city. We cannot claim to 
 have made a very thorough inspection of Mar- 
 seilles in the three hours' visit that we made, 
 but we saw all that could be seen in that 
 length of time. Now, after more than two 
 years, only four things have left an impres- 
 sion on my memory : the cathedral, the tram- 
 
and the Holy Land. 53 
 
 ways, the harbor, and the cosmopolitan ap- 
 pearance of the people thronging the docks. 
 How different is busy Marseilles from peaceful 
 Bethany ; yet here Lazarus, Mary, and Martha 
 landed, and in Provence passed the remainder 
 of their days; and St. Lazarus was the first 
 bishop of the city. Often did the contempla- 
 tive Mary, from the high cliffs where she spent 
 her solitary life, look out over the sea to the 
 distant land where she had loved her Lord so 
 faithfully. We visited the new cathedral which 
 was being built, and which was not only under 
 roof, but nmch substantial ornamentation al- 
 ready adorned it. When finished it will be 
 one of the finest modern churches of Europe. 
 The docks and shipping afford a pleasant sight 
 to those who can endure their dirt and smell; 
 but they are not much different in these and 
 other respects from those of New York and 
 Liverpool, except that the port of Marseilles 
 has more intimate connections with the Levant, 
 and oriental costumes were frequently seen. 
 Two Eastern gentlemen in their peculiar dress, 
 wearing crooked swords at their sides, accom- 
 panied us some distance on the train. In our 
 inexperience we took them for Turks, although 
 afterwards we could anywhere readily recognize 
 them as Greeks, \ 
 
54 A Visit to Europe 
 
 We saw many pleasant streets in Marseilles, 
 notwithstanding the general business character 
 of the town ; but what struck us as peculiar 
 was that several street or tramway cars were 
 passing along smooth streets without any spe- 
 cial track on which to run, and turning here 
 and there at their convenience. The white cor- 
 net and gray dress of the Sisters of Charity, 
 which I saw on the streets here as in other 
 French cities, as well as in some towns of the 
 East, reminded me of home where I attend 
 St. Vincent's Asylum and gave me a slight 
 twinge of homesickness. \ 
 
 Early in the afternoon we entered the train 
 for Genoa. It runs along the southern coast 
 of France and northern coast of Italy, and 
 passes through some of the most romantic 
 scenery of the world: Especially from Nice to 
 Genoa we enjoyed beautiful and magnificent 
 views of the Mediterranean, and grand and 
 sublime views of mountain-heights approaching 
 to the very waters of the sea, all uniting in 
 one glorious panorama of nature. After riding 
 more than an hour we passed through Toulon, 
 one of the great war-harbors of France, and 
 formidable-looking with the many forts sur- 
 rounding it and its great war-ships at anchor. 
 Little did we think that in five weeks' time 
 
and the Holy Land. 55 
 
 these two cities Marseilles and Toulon would 
 be smitten by the terrible scourge 'of cholera. 
 Little did they then suspect the near approach 
 of the destroying angel. With outstretched 
 wings, that cast their shadows on the earth, he 
 even now hovered over them. Before reaching 
 Nice we passed through several fine towns sur- 
 rounded by pleasant villas ; for not only Nice 
 and vicinity but the cities and country on 
 either side are the winter resorts of a large 
 number of people of more northern and rig- 
 orous Europe. \ 
 
 We passed the night at Nice, but early the 
 following forenoon we resumed our journey. 
 This day was one of the most pleasant of our 
 entire European travels. Nothing more in na- 
 ture or in outward evidences of religion could 
 be desired. We passed through interesting 
 cities, each one possessing such striking fea- 
 tures of beauty and grandeur that all the 
 others would be forgotten. On the one hand 
 great, rocky heights overlooked the sea, which, 
 on the other hand, reflected all the beauties of 
 the sky, now Colored with its azure blue, now 
 bathed in its golden light. And in the midst 
 of numerous groves of lemon, orange, cypress, 
 myrtle, oleander, olive, and palm-trees appear- 
 ed . lovely villas and pure white churches with 
 
56 A Visit to Europe 
 
 their shining crosses. Beautiful flowers and 
 flowering vines were almost everywhere, and 
 among them quite remarkable, wide spreading 
 vines of purple flowers, and climbing roses fre- 
 quently covered the entire sides of houses. V 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NORTHERN ITALY AND ROME. 
 
 \ WE passed over the border into sunny Italy. 
 In Italy the scenes gradually changed. We 
 entered the region called the Riviera, the an- 
 cient Liguria. Small villages and towns were 
 nearer together in fact, we seemed hardly to 
 lose sight of one before another came in view ; 
 and the number of convents and churches sur- 
 passed anything that I ever saw before or expect 
 to see outside of cities. Every village possessed 
 several, and the hillsides and valleys between 
 were dotted over with them. The crosses on 
 one or the other were continually in sight. 
 Rustic wayside shrines frequently met our eyes 
 to remind us, if we needed it, that we were 
 in a land w r here Mary and the Crucified dwell 
 in the hearts of the people. Nearly all the 
 
and the Holy Land. 57 
 
 convents and churches were picturesque in ap- 
 pearance and venerable in age, and -many occu- 
 pied sites which nature seemed to have cre- 
 ated for them, so skilfully were they selected. 
 At nearly every station we saw one or more 
 of the clergy in clerical habit cassock, hat, 
 and ferraiolo. At one place a bishop with 
 nearly a dozen priests came on the train. The 
 church seemed to be entirely at home in this 
 region. I 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we arrived 
 in Genoa. As our train left for Rome at mid- 
 night we did not go to a hotel, but immedi- 
 ately hired a carriage to drive until dark 
 through different parts of the city. We did 
 not yet possess the faculty, which we after- 
 wards acquired, of seeing a town to advantage 
 in a_ few hours. Perhaps it was well ; for, 
 while we did not enter even the churches, ex- 
 cept one or two, we obtained a number of fine 
 natural views, and saw Genoa the Superb as if 
 exhibited to us in panoramic pictures, although 
 the forms and figures were living and the scenes 
 realities fashioned by the hand of the great 
 Artist. On the streets we saw the people, 
 young and old, rich and poor a new revela- 
 tion to us of another species of national charac- 
 ter and customs. Picturesque Italy thronged 
 
58 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the streets and enlivened life. Genoa is noted 
 for its palaces, and in some streets palaces 
 and palace-like buildings came in quick succes- 
 sion. The city was founded before Rome, it is 
 said, by "Janus, grandson of Noe," and has 
 always been the seaport centre of a large com- 
 mercial trade. In the middle ages it was one 
 of the great Italian republics, like Pisa and 
 Venice, and extended its possessions both in 
 the Occident and Orient. Daring my travels I 
 could not help feel considerable pride in these 
 ancient republics, as well as in the mere modern 
 republic of Switzerland, which were brought 
 into being by Catholic peoples, and which, by 
 their brave, industrious, and independent spirit, 
 became prosperous and renowned. In the strict 
 sense of the word, I am neither a republican nor 
 a monarchist. It is quite probable that one or 
 other of these forms of government is more con- 
 genial to the habits and character of different 
 nationalities ; but the fact that I was born and 
 reared under the flag of a republic adds a new 
 interest with me to the great republics of the 
 past. A constitutional monarchy is, without 
 doubt, a very attractive form of government. 
 It not only gives a voice to the popular will, 
 but it serves as a check to sudden changes 
 and fanaticisms, and it rewards those who de- 
 
and the Holy Land. 59 
 
 serve well of their country by reason of marked 
 patriotism or genius in a manner" that repub- 
 lics are incapable of doing : by granting to them 
 and those of their blood an inheritance of title 
 and position that will be permanent in their 
 country's roll of honor. And however much 
 we may admire our own country's youthful life 
 and vigor, its condition does not appear to us 
 entirely satisfactory. .But it would be hardly 
 just to judge our government by itself, and 
 from its brief existence, without considering 
 what the old-time republics were able to ac- 
 complish. If there is anything that a country 
 needs, it is respect for home and family. And 
 without doubt it conduces to a people's welfare 
 that virtuous and respectable families shall be 
 built up that in time can trace an unsullied 
 and honorable lineage back through the cen- 
 turies, and which will have a standing and in- 
 fluence in communities according to their merits. 
 The history of the old republics proves that this 
 was possible under their systems of government ; 
 and if in our country the family does not occupy 
 the place that it should, the educational and 
 moral principles of the people are at fault, and 
 not the form of government.\ 
 
 We took the midnight train for Rome. The 
 early morning found us leaving Pisa and Pisa's 
 
6o A Visit to Europe 
 
 wonderful leaning tower behind, and speeding 
 over the Maremme, an unhealthy expanse of 
 forest, swamp, and pasture-land that extends a 
 good portion of the way to Rome. The railway 
 coincides with the ancient Aurelian Way .built 
 109 B.C. Frequent herds of large, fine white 
 cows with long horns served to bring to our 
 minds the fact that we had entered the land of 
 the Latin classic poets, which yet retains many 
 striking reminders of their times. Farther on 
 we saw numerous herds of a more mixed breed 
 of cattle, and between Civita Vecchia and Rome, 
 mingled with the others, great mouse- colored 
 oxen. Civita Vecchia, the seaport of Rome, 
 was finally reached. We then passed down the 
 sea coast, getting a pleasant view of the Medi- 
 terranean, and when its bright waves had dis- 
 appeared we soon came in sight of the yellow 
 waters of "Father Tiber," about which we had 
 read so much in our school- boy days./ 
 
 At length we neared Rome, the Eternal City of 
 the Caesars and the Popes. I will not attempt 
 to describe my thoughts and feelings as I was 
 about to realize the longings of a lifetime. We 
 were now passing over the famous Campagna, 
 while in the distance, the former to the right 
 and the latter to the left, were the Alban and 
 the Sabine hills, which I had so often imagined 
 
and the Holy Land. 61 
 
 in my day-dreams to be before my eyes ; and 
 Rome, seated on her seven hills, appeared before 
 us, with her churches and her palaces, her walls 
 and her ruins, the city of St. Peter. It is un- 
 like any other city in the world ; but, after all, 
 is this Rome? A spirit of disappointment 
 hovered over me, although it did not fully 
 enter my breast. But when I knew the city 
 better it seemed changed, and now no city on 
 earth could fill my life so full of grand realiza- 
 tions of my ideal as Rome, except a few of 
 the sacred towns and cities of the Holy Land ; 
 and in many respects we know that even the 
 Holy City, Jerusalem, is far inferior to the 
 Eternal City, Rome. For centuries Jerusalem 
 has been under Moslem control, while Rome has 
 been under Christian rulers. The train passed 
 over the Tiber and skirted for some distance 
 the ancient walls, built more than sixteen hun- 
 dred years ago, crossed the celebrated Appian 
 Way, passed through the city walls, and we 
 were in Rome. 
 
 Having arrived at the station, we entered the 
 omnibus of the Hotel Minerva, where we took 
 rooms. It is situated in that part of Rome 
 which was the ancient Campus Martius, and 
 opposite the site of the temple of Minerva, oc- 
 cupied by the Church of the Minerva, dedicated 
 
62 A Visit to Europe 
 
 to the Blessed Virgin. It is also in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the Pantheon. As the warm- 
 er season of summer was near at hand, we de- 
 termined at this time to remain in Eome only 
 two days and hasten on towards the East, re- 
 serving the principal Roman visit for our re- 
 turn. We arrived in Rome about noon, and, 
 strange as it may seem, it was one of my home- 
 sick days ; but on our return Rome was the 
 place where I always -felt least a heaviness of 
 spirits. 
 
 The sun shone brightly, but its rays did riot 
 penetrate my heart. Home, and home only, 
 dwelt there. I hope that but few know what 
 it really is to be homesick. You feel a weight 
 on and in the heart that would seem to rend 
 it from its place and tear it asunder, and you 
 can hardly tell whether you are going to live 
 or die. God help exiled and homesick hearts ! 
 Later in the day we took a carriage, and, hav- 
 ing first driven to the bank in the Piazza di 
 Spagna, on which we had letters of credit, and 
 to the post-office, we visited some of the princi- 
 pal churches. \ 
 
 As one approaches Rome, although it may 
 not be for the first time, the first object he will 
 endeavor to behold is St. Peter's and St. Peter's 
 dome, the marvellous productions of the genius 
 
and the Holy Land. 63 
 
 Angelo. To write the name of Mi- 
 chael recalls to our minds ojne of the 
 great master-intellects of the world. His ge- 
 nius nfined to one particular line, but 
 in paii ulpture, and in architecture; 
 his works are among the highest masterpieces. 
 St. Peter's wonderful dome, the admirable 
 "Pieta" in St. Peter's, the grand and severe 
 " Moses" in the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, 
 and the "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chape], 
 stand among the grandest works of Christian 
 genius. We turned first towar< 
 alone to admire the v 
 
 rst sight 
 
 either of the exterior or interior of St. Pe; 
 it hardly comes up to one's expectations ; but 
 it grows on you by repeated visits. At each 
 visit new beauties and new grandeur sp- 
 into being, and finally, when one gets a con, 
 tion of what the church really is, the soul ex- 
 pands with wonder and admiration. We now 
 
 the joyous privilege of kneeling 1 
 that wondrous dome and before the torn*- 
 holy apostles. As afterwards we i ^ 
 
dKbivign^- 
 
 
and the Holy Land. 63 
 
 of Michael Angelo. To write the name of Mi- 
 chael Angelo recalls to our mindi one of the 
 great master-intellects of the world. His ge- 
 nius was not confined to one particular line, but 
 in painting, in sculpture, and in architecture 
 his works are among the highest masterpieces. 
 St. Peter's wonderful dome, the admirable 
 "Pieta" in St. Peter's, the grand and severe 
 " Moses" in the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, 
 and the "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel, 
 stand among the grandest works of Christian 
 genius. We turned first towards St. Peter's, 
 not alone to admire the wonders of the edifice, 
 but to pray at the tomb of the holy apostles 
 St. Peter and St. Paul, over which this church 
 was raised by the Christian world as an endur- 
 ing monument./ 
 
 It is a well-known fact that at first sight 
 either of the exterior or interior of St. Peter's 
 it hardly comes up to one's expectations; but 
 it grows on you by repeated visits. At each 
 visit new beauties and new grandeur spring 
 into being, and finally, when one gets a concep- 
 tion of what the church really is, the soul ex- 
 pands with wonder and admiration. We now 
 had the joyous privilege of kneeling beneath 
 that wondrous dome and before the tomb of the 
 holy apostles. As afterwards we made more ex- 
 
64 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tended and systematic visits to this cathedral 
 of the world, our iirst observations, except those 
 already given, are hardly worthy of record. 
 During this and the following day we made 
 visits to the churches of St. John Lateran, the 
 Minerva, the Pantheon, and several others, on 
 our way passing the ancient church of St. 
 Clement and the mighty Coliseum. Inasmuch 
 as on our return we visited all these with more 
 care and attention, anything I may have to 
 write about them will be deferred until the ac- 
 count of our second visitA 
 
 Near the church of St. John Lateran are the 
 Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs, taken from the 
 palace of Pilate in Jerusalem, consecrated by 
 the sacred feet and sprinkled with the Precious 
 Blood of Jesus Christ. The stains of His blood 
 are even now seen beneath the covering of glass, 
 fastened to the stairs, which the pious kiss. 
 We went up these stairs on our knees, praying 
 as we went ; and the tears flowed from my eyes 
 as I remembered our Saviour's sorrows, that 
 calmed my heart, troubled by homesickness, 
 which almost entirely left it. \ 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon of the fol- 
 lowing day we were at the railway station to 
 take the train for Naples. In a little while 
 after we were speeding over the Campagna, past 
 
and the Holy Land. 65 
 
 Frascati and Albano, and past Castel Gandolfo, 
 the pope's former country residence, with the 
 Sabine and Alban hills in view, and for a con- 
 siderable distance the Yolscian Mountains. The 
 scenery for a good portion of the journey, until 
 the darkness of night settled down, was really 
 fine. We passed down through what appeared 
 to be a succession of beautiful valleys with 
 mountain ranges on either side. At first the 
 valleys were wide and expanding, and we pass- 
 ed through country scenes where picturesque- 
 looking peasants, retaining much of the old- 
 style dress of Italy, journeyed over their splen- 
 did but countrified-appearing roads. As we 
 advanced the mountains drew nearer together 
 until they fairly looked down upon us, and the 
 valleys grew proportionately more beautiful. 
 Dead and seemingly fossilized old cities stood 
 on mountain -sides, and we wondered whether 
 they were inhabited by bats and owls or by 
 human beings. Others appeared differently and 
 gave no room for such doubts. Towards even- 
 ing we passed Aquino, the birthplace of St. 
 Thomas of Aquin ; and when the dimness of 
 evening began to obscure all things, we saw, 
 resting grandly on an eminence of the mountain, 
 the great monastery of Monte Casino. We ob- 
 tained a much better view of it on our return, 
 
66 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and intended stopping over to see its sacred 
 precincts and numerous treasures, but were un- 
 able to do so for want of time. Taken all in all, 
 it is the most remarkable monastery in the 
 world. In some respects others may surpass it, 
 like that which stands on Carmel's heights over- 
 looking Galilee and the Mediterranean. But, 
 with due respect and reverence for all other re- 
 ligious orders, none" of them stand side by side 
 in the fore rank with the Order of St. Benedict ; 
 for, under God and the Holy See, it has been 
 one of the greatest influences in the civilization 
 and Christianization of Europe. Monte Casino 
 was the mother-house of the Benedictines, and 
 the religious home of St. Benedict more than 
 thirteen hundred years ago ; and from its 
 foundation until now it has always been a great 
 monastery. \ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SOUTHEEN ITALY AND THE VOYAGE TO EGYPT. 
 
 NEAR midnight we arrived in Naples. Al- 
 though the hotel which we chose was first-class, 
 we did not take a fancy to it, and on our re- 
 
and the Holy Land. 67 
 
 turn trip we selected the Hotel de Rome, next 
 to the parish church of St. Lucy, Hvhich was 
 found in every way satisfactory. The next 
 morning, after wandering awhile through the 
 streets to observe the people, we hired a car- 
 riage to drive to some of the principal places of 
 interest. The visit on our return from the East 
 was more pleasant and was made with a better 
 acquaintance with the city, but the order of 
 narrative will require a brief description of our 
 present sight seeing. On this occasion we first 
 went to the cathedral church of St. Januarius. 
 This saint is patron of the city, which, it is 
 claimed, was his native place, to which his re- 
 lics were undoubtedly transferred. His head 
 and body, and vials containing his blood, which 
 liquefies on being brought near the relics of his 
 head, ^all rest in this church. We were shown 
 the casket containing his body, a relic-case 
 containing his finger, and a fac -simile of the 
 vial of blood when liquefied. The church con- 
 tains the tombs of noted princes and ecclesias- 
 tics, and the old chapel of St. Restituta, at- 
 tributed to Con stan tine. We also entered a 
 beautiful church across the street where the 
 exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was taking 
 place. \ 
 We afterwards visited several other churches, 
 
68 A Visit to Europe 
 
 among them the line church of St. Francis de 
 Paulo, and then the royal palace. As we 
 strolled through its grand rooms and gorgeous 
 apartments, and viewed the beauties of the 
 bay and its surroundings from the garden-like 
 balconies, and saw the empty royal throne, 
 the vanity of earthly power and glory was 
 brought forcibly to our minds. They for whom 
 it was built, and who once dwelt here and en- 
 joyed its regal pleasures and splendors, were 
 either lying in narrow coffins or passing the 
 few remaining years of their life in exile./ 
 
 We went to the aquarium which is one of 
 the finest in the world and there saw the 
 living curiosities of the mighty deep from a 
 place of observation similar to being side by 
 side with them in the depths of the sea. Leav- 
 ing there, we passed the tomb of Virgil, who 
 for many years made Naples his home, and 
 we then drove through the grotto of Posilippo, 
 mentioned by writers nineteen hundred years 
 
 We closed a day of sight-seeing by ascend- 
 ing the heights below the castle of St. Elmo 
 and the monastery of San Marino, where we 
 obtained a grand and far-reaching view of the 
 city and bay. In the distance, at the mouth 
 of the bay, rose the islands of Capri and Ischia, 
 
and the Holy Land. 69 
 
 and on its high, rugged shores on either side 
 gleamed the white walls of ancient towns whose 
 foundations date back more than a score of 
 centuries. Towards the north old Vesuvius 
 belched forth his cloud-like column of smoke. 
 Although the conditions were favorable, the 
 scene before us could not at all compare with 
 that presented to our eyes on our return, en- 
 tering the bay from the* sea a little before sun- 
 set.\ 
 
 In the evening about dark we started on 
 the train for Brindisi by way of Foggia. The 
 lights shone brightly over the city. Naples is 
 always animated ; it is the most lively city 
 that we saw in Italy. I have often heard it 
 called "lazy Naples," but I saw nothing lazy 
 in it except the climate.. I had been led to 
 believe that the lazzaroni of Naples who are 
 not necessarily beggars were the most indolent 
 class of persons in the world. In all my travels 
 I have never elsewhere met such lively and 
 active beggars. The only fault I could find 
 with Naples is that it is altogether too full of 
 life ; it does not seem consistent with its para- 
 disal climate. Everybody is either in continual 
 motion or eagerly awaiting the opportunity 
 to bring into exercise his native potential ac- 
 tivities. \ 
 
70 A Visit to Europe 
 
 For some time the only other occupant of 
 our railway compartment was a captain of the 
 Italian army. Although we had taken a com- 
 partment in which smoking was forbidden, 
 the officer soon began to make preparations 
 for a smoke a proceeding which the smoker 
 of our party viewed with evident signs of sat- 
 isfaction. Whenever we two non-smokers were 
 alone with him in a railway carriage he re- 
 spected the rights of the majority ; but the 
 slightest encouragement of bad example would 
 lead him in a moment to cast to the winds 
 all rules and railway regulations in regard to 
 smoking. For the next two hours they enjoyed 
 themselves amidst clouds of smoke in the 
 lofty regions of fancy. As for ourselves, we 
 could hardly distinguish the thick smoke 
 rolling out of the crater of Vesuvius. \ 
 
 During the night our feverish sleep was in- 
 terrupted at frequent intervals by the noisy 
 shouts of the men at stations, in which the 
 names Napoli and Foggia were always min- 
 gled, and for days afterwards at odd times 
 those two names were ringing in our ears. As 
 the next day would be Pentecost Sunday, we 
 intended to stop over for Mass at the latter 
 episcopal town, situated on the great plain of 
 Apulia, where we arrived early in the morning. 
 
and the Holy Land. 71 
 
 The streets were already filled with people 
 from the country, who appeared *to belong 
 mostly to the poorest and most rustic class- 
 shepherds and workingmen on farms, with their 
 wives and daughters. Many of them wore 
 clothes so patched and old that they must have 
 been the Sunday suits of their grandfathers 
 in their courting-days. One of our number 
 obtained permission to say Mass in the cathe- 
 dral. The bells^ were rung and the church 
 was quickly filled with people. A few were 
 well dressed, but, taken all in all, it was one 
 of the most motley crowds I have ever seen. 
 At later Masses a higher social grade would 
 probably have been present. The sanctuary 
 was filled with women of middle age, who 
 were plainly but cleanly dressed, and sat in 
 rows, seemingly some privileged confraternity. 
 If I had known exactly who they were they 
 would probably have appeared to me more 
 interesting. Of those in the main body of 
 .the church some stood during almost the entire 
 Mass, some knelt a portion of the time, while 
 others some of them young _ men in ragged 
 raiment, with great, heavy shoes with large 
 nails thickly driven in their soles knelt on 
 the hard stone pavement from the beginning 
 to the end of Mass, in deep and earnest prayer 
 
72 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and adoration. True devotion is not depend- 
 ent on rank in society, respectable dress, or 
 even on education. Among the most impover- 
 ished and illiterate classes, while some from 
 lack of proper dispositions, and others, .with 
 good dispositions, from lack of instruction, fail 
 in that outward respect which is due to the 
 solemn sacrifice, some, poorest of God's poor, 
 most scanty' in their store of knowledge, most 
 humble of God's lowly ones, kneel before the 
 altar like the rapt cherubim and sera/phim 
 before God's throne.\ 
 
 After Mass the rain began to pour down, 
 and Foggia looked dreary. I am afraid that 
 our impressions of the town were not such as 
 they could have been under more favorable 
 circumstances. We saw many respectable-ap- 
 pearing people, both in the town and at the 
 station, and the priests whom we met were a 
 very respectable and priestly-looking clergy. 
 
 Before noon we were again on the train, mov- 
 ing quickly through the country. At first we 
 passed over a level plain where often, in shep- 
 herd's hat and cloak and with shepherd's 
 staff, tending their flocks and herds, we saw 
 the brothers in likeness of those who had at- 
 tended early Mass in Foggia. Passing over 
 the country roads in all styles of vehicles, 
 
and the Holy Land, 73 
 
 drawn by teams of variegated kinds, large 
 numbers of people were going to or. returning 
 from the churches in neighboring towns and 
 villages. In the early afternoon we came in 
 sight of the Adriatic, and until near evening 
 passed down its queenly shores. This is the 
 region of ancient Apulia in classic times, and 
 in the early Christian centuries belonged to 
 the patriarchate of Constantinople, and Greek 
 was the language of its liturgy. We passed 
 through numerous olive-groves, getting fre- 
 quent views of the blue waters of the Adriatic, 
 and passed many fair cities on its shores, 
 whose walls and spires and towers shone with 
 a white brightness towards the land and cast 
 their majestic shadows o'er the sea.\ 
 
 Towards evening we arrived in Brindisi, the 
 ancient Brundusium, which was settled at a 
 very early time in history by the Cretans, and 
 for many centuries was an independent city 
 ruled by its own princes. In the year 267 
 B.C. it was taken by the Romans, who made 
 it one of the most renowned harbors of the 
 world. It was the chief naval station whence 
 they set sail on all their great expeditions to 
 Greece and the East. It was the scene of 
 some of the exploits of Caesar, and was visited 
 by Cicero. Horace, and Virgil, where the last 
 
74 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 named died. It was the end of the Appian Way 
 from Rome, and contains a vast number of Ro- 
 man ruins. Of late years its harbor has been 
 greatly improved, which has brought about a 
 corresponding revival in the business and im- 
 portance of the town. On our arrival we im- 
 mediately bought tickets for Alexandria, on 
 the Peninsular and Oriental line of steamers, 
 owned by an English company. As one of 
 the boats was lying at the dock, we went on 
 board without delay, although she would not 
 sail until the next afternoon. In the evening 
 we took a stroll through the city. Some kind 
 of a noisy demonstration was taking place in 
 honor of some event of Italian unity. An un- 
 couth crowd of boys, from eighteen to twenty 
 years of age, seemed to be the principal agents 
 of the farce. Some sympathy might be felt 
 for a people in their efforts for national unity, 
 if they had not consummated their iniquity 
 by drawing down on themselves the curse of 
 God by smiting the anointed Vicar of Jesus 
 Christ. When they shall have repaired that 
 wrong, crying to Heaven for vengeance, some 
 of their other victims, who have been 'cast 
 under the national car of Juggernaut, may ask 
 the pardoning prayer of mercy for the guilty 
 ones, or rather for those of them who have 
 
and the Holy Land. 75 
 
 not already appeared, unabsolved or unrepen- 
 tant, before the judgment-seat of Gocl.l 
 
 The following morning we were able to get 
 a better view of our surroundings. Brindisi 
 rose by rather steep incline to its dignified 
 eminence overlooking the bay. Standing above 
 us, not far distant, was the stately column that 
 marked the end of the Appian Way. Just 
 across an alley from it we could see the roof 
 and upper portion of Virgil's house. At a little 
 distance was the cathedral, built in Norman 
 times on the highest elevation of the city, with 
 a square tower on one corner and opposite to it 
 a pointed round tower surmounted by the cross. 
 On the other side of the vessel appeared the 
 beautiful bay, with a narrow but fair opening 
 to the sea, whose blue expanse could be seen 
 beyond. On the shores of the bay on either side 
 were groves of the principal trees of South 
 Italy olive, lemon, orange, and xmlm. And 
 towering over the bay with its immense round 
 towers frowned the old castle, built by succes- 
 sive sovereigns in the middle ages. After break- 
 fast I climbed the hill to make a closer inspec- 
 tion of the column and Virgil's house. Some- 
 times in Italy the most historic buildings are 
 occupied by the poorest and most humble fami- 
 lies, which was also true in the case of the 
 
/ 6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 bouse of the great Latin poet. I chose a good 
 position on a large stone near the base of the 
 column, and gave myself to musing on the mar- 
 vellous power, the grand highways, the exten- 
 sive dominions, and the poets, orators, and war- 
 riors of ancient Rome. Afterwards I entered 
 the cathedral, where they were just commencing 
 a solemn High Mass. The canons were present, 
 and here, as elsewhere in Italy, I was very favor- 
 ably impressed by the priestly look and bear- 
 ing of the clergy. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we got 
 under way and steamed out of the harbor and 
 down the eastern coast of Italy, beholding in 
 the distance the land of Otranto, the ancient 
 Calabria of the Romans, passing cities and towns 
 upon its shores which appeared to us more like 
 a mirage than a reality, until night closed down 
 upon the waters. \ 
 
 When we came on deck the next morning the 
 island of Cephalonia was in sight not far dis- 
 tant, which is the largest of the Ionian Islands 
 and frequently ' mentioned by Homer. It was 
 named after the mythological Cephalus, and is 
 separated from ancient Ithaca by only a nar- 
 row channel. Ithaca is another of the Ionian 
 Islands, and the "kingdom of Ulysses" in Ho- 
 meric poems. In a short time Zante, the most 
 
and the Holy Land. 77 
 
 productive of the Ionian Islands, rose above the 
 horizon. It is only ten miles south 5 of Cepha- 
 lonia, between which two islands ships can sail 
 into the Gulf of Lepanto, celebrated for its vic- 
 torious battle in defence of Christendom. Pass- 
 ing by Zante, we sailed all the afternoon down 
 the shores of fair Greece, where delightful 
 breezes kissed the most lovely blue waters that 
 I have ever seen. All of the country to the 
 north and northeast of us was the ancient Pelo- 
 ponnesus, whose chief city, Sparta, so celebrated 
 in history, was only twenty miles inland from 
 that rocky coast, among those blue mountains 
 on which our eyes now rested. \ 
 
 The day was beautiful, the air was delicious, 
 the sky was like the pure dome of heaven, the sea 
 was an image of the sky in deeper colors, and the 
 spiritjof historic centuries not only hovered over 
 us but had already alighted in our hearts. Greece 
 in ancient times must have been to its refined in- 
 habitants a fascinating country, an earthly para- 
 dise. Captivated by my surroundings, I began 
 to compose a poem, of which I wrote only two 
 stanzas, but which reflect my feelings at the time : 
 
 Greece ! if thou hadst been ray home, 
 
 On shores of thy blue sea, 
 In golden vales though I might roam, 
 
 My heart would cling to thee. 
 
78 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Though fairer skies might smile on me 
 
 In realms of goddess queens, 
 My homesick heart would turn to thee 
 
 And languish for thy scenes. \ 
 
 The next morning we were sailing near the 
 shores of Crete, which, veiled in a thin, light 
 haze, and its mountain-tops shining like silver 
 crests, seemed to us a fairy island of romance. 
 An island of romantic history it truly is ; for 
 on majestic Mount Ida, one of those highest 
 mountains seen rising from its centre, Zeus, 
 chief god of the Greeks, and Jupiter of the 
 Romans, supreme ruler of mortals and immor- 
 tals, was said to have been born. Homer, who 
 lived nearly three thousand years ago, spoke of 
 Crete as the island " of a hundred cities." How 
 often have the pennants of Greece and Rome 
 fluttered in sight of its shores as their galleys 
 flashed past, under the quick stroke of banks of 
 gleaming oars, on their way to conquest or do- 
 minion ! How many of the apostles of Christ 
 and the early Church have sailed along those 
 shores and seen the same bright vision that we 
 saw, and lovingly, with apostolic eye and zeal, 
 have looked on those bays and cities, witli 
 ardent longing to bring the blind worshippers of 
 mythical deities to a knowledge of Christ, the 
 true God ! In the afternoon the blue waters of 
 
and the Holy Land. 79 
 
 the Mediterranean alone were visible on every 
 side. 
 
 The next day soon after noon we came in 
 sight of the shores of Egypt. As we approach- 
 ed them a dark, sultry atmosphere overhung 
 the coast and the city of Alexandria. Every- 
 thing was typical of Egypt, and no country 
 that we had yet visited was more like what we 
 had conceived it to be than the one before US.N 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE LAND OF THE PHARAOS AND OF THE 
 PYRAMIDS. 
 
 \THE kingdom of Egypt is more than four 
 thousand years old, its first king having been 
 Misraim, or Menes, a grandson of Noe. It is 
 said that Cham, son of Noe, settled in Egypt, 
 and after his death was worshipped under the 
 title of Jupiter Ammon. Egypt is certainly a 
 very extraordinary country, and one of the most 
 wonderful nations of pagan times. A stable 
 government, wise laws, and a fertile soil com- 
 bined to procure for her a long era of pros- 
 perity, during which great cities rose on the 
 
8o A Visit to Europe 
 
 banks of the Nile, whose imperis liable ruins evi- 
 dence their elegance, grandeur, and magnifi- 
 cence. The history, ruins, and monuments of 
 ancient Egypt prove her advanced knowledge 
 and culture in the arts and sciences. When we 
 consider where the human race had its origin, 
 arid where a good portion of it continues to 
 dwell, we see that she is situated in one of the 
 most favored centres of the earth. 
 
 .We soon entered the harbor of Alexandria, 
 and the scenes which surrounded us were full 
 of dreamy excitement. Vessels of nearly all the 
 chief nations of the world were riding at anchor, 
 from the ancient Egyptian barque with its 
 single tall lateen sail to the great iron monsters 
 of modern warfare ; and their flags floating from 
 their masts represented a large portion of the 
 history, sentiments, and principles of the world 
 for more than a thousand years. But we look- 
 ed in vain for a vessel flying the stars and 
 stripes.X 
 
 Alexandria was founded by Alexander the 
 Great more than twenty-two hundred years ago, 
 and was once a city of great magnificence. It 
 is on the great highway between the East and 
 West. Although in many respects distinctively 
 oriental, it is one of the most cosmopolitan 
 cities of the Avorld. The different nationalities 
 
and the Holy Land. 81 
 
 comprising its population are an evidence of 
 this. In 1870 its entire population was about 
 240,000. Of these there were 25,000 Greeks, 
 20,000 Italians, 15,000 French, 12,000 English 
 Maltese, 12,000 Levantines of miscellaneous Eu- 
 ropean descent, 8,000 Germans, and 8,000 other 
 foreigners, besides Arabs, Copts, Turks, Arme- 
 nians, and Persians. On account of the English 
 occupation of Egypt, since that time the num- 
 ber of English residents in Alexandria must 
 have greatly increased. Nearly one thousand 
 passengers, on an average, daily enter and leave 
 its port. 
 
 Various buildings and ruins stand prominent 
 on the shores on either side ; but among them 
 all the eye seeks for the famous Pompey's 
 Pillar, about which there has been much dis- 
 cussion as to its origin and in whose honor 
 erected ; but it was probably built by an Egyp- 
 tian governor named Pompey, in honor of Dio- 
 cletian. Far out at sea its majestic form is 
 visible. \ 
 
 Having come to anchor, a fleet of small boats 
 immediately surrounded us, whose commanders 
 and rowers were decked out in all the innumer- 
 able styles of the Orient. Fez and turban, flow- 
 ing robes and wide breeches gathered below the 
 knee, rich dress and scarcely any dress at all, 
 
82 A Visit to Europe 
 
 distinguished the men in the boats below the 
 gangways of the steamer who contended for 
 place and passengers. A passenger gained at 
 the port often means service for a tour through 
 Egypt and up the Nile. We selected an Egyp- 
 tian dragoman who, with the exception of a 
 Turkish fez, wore the usual dress of Europeans. 
 From the landing, where we had no difficulty, 
 not even our passports being required, we drove 
 to the Hotel Abbat, accompanied by our guide. 
 Having taken rooms, being yet inexperienced in 
 the East, we placed the entire excursion for the 
 day, carriages, fees, and all, in his hands, for 
 which he was to receive a stated amount. Alex- 
 andria is a very interesting city, and although 
 there are not a large number of existing monu- 
 ments of historical renown, there are many 
 ruins which mark the sites where pride of 
 power has crumbled into dust, where the fanes 
 of learning, sacred and secular, have become 
 smoke and ashes, and where the Christian re- 
 ligion once shone with a new splendor and left 
 an immortal name. But the people and street 
 scenes were a constant source of pleasure to us. 
 When one considers the many diversified orien- 
 tal races and nationalities that throng the streets 
 of the city, and the varieties and combinations 
 in the cut and colors of their costumes, he can 
 
and the Holy Land. 83 
 
 readily conceive how strangely new those Eastern 
 faces and old fashions seemed to us; Our guide 
 could tell us to what people or race, and usu- 
 ally to what trade or profession, the different 
 persons that we met belonged. He pretended 
 to like the Americans and to dislike the English, 
 not because they were English, but because of 
 their continued occupation of his country. He 
 took great pride in the Egyptians and frequent- 
 ly told their superiority over the Turks and 
 Arabs. He seemed to bear a special hatred 
 against the Greeks, and would never speak of 
 them with respect.^ 
 
 On our way to Pompey's Pillar we met 
 wagon-loads of women coming from the ceme- 
 teries. They wore a kind of thick veil reach- 
 ing from below the eyes, and partly kept from 
 the face by a sort of spiral spool above the 
 nose. They appeared to me as the Egyptian 
 women might have looked three thousand years 
 ago. Pompey's Pillar is constructed of red 
 granite and is one hundred and fourteen feet 
 high. Surrounding it were many large blocks 
 of stone half -buried in the sand, and near by 
 was a Mohammedan cemetery. Although now 
 deserted, this was once a busy place on the 
 most magnificent street of the city. \ 
 
 In the evening we wandered through the 
 
84 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 streets to see the city after nightfall. Two of 
 us, realizing that the ornamental part of our 
 education had been neglected, and knowing 
 that it would soon become a necessity and 
 that the practice which makes perfect usually 
 appears more graceful in the dark, concluded 
 to take a donkey-ride. About twenty boys 
 and donkeys immediately surrounded us for 
 they seemed to get a knowledge by instinct 
 of our half-formed resolution and amid much 
 confusion of names and qualities of donkeys 
 we got astride of those which we thought 
 would suit us ; but to this day I cannot tell 
 whether my donkey was the " Prince of 
 Wales," " Yankee Doodle," or the "Empe- 
 ror of China." Let it be well understood 
 that one must stand pretty high in the public 
 esteem of Egypt and the world before he can 
 have an Egyptian donkey named after him. 
 The ride was pleasant. I afterwards got to love 
 the sound of the quick clatter of donkey-hoofs 
 on the streets, and to see the donkey -boy 
 running behind, urging on his favorite. It is 
 a picturesque sight. Our friend who did not 
 care for a ride, in fact who thought it was 
 rather undignified, returned nearly the entire 
 distance to the hotel accompanied and sur- 
 rounded by the remaining eighteen boys and 
 
and the Holy Land, 85 
 
 donkeys. He did not take an undignified ride, 
 but his march was triumphal. We enjoyed 
 his situation v then better than he did, but I 
 believe that he enjoys it better now when he 
 looks back at it. Afterwards in Palestine he 
 got to prefer those innocent, long eared, useful 
 little pets to any other means of conveyance. 
 
 The next day we took the train for Cairo. 
 In a short time we came in sight of and 
 passed Lake Mareotis, which, with the low- 
 built, brown Egyptian villages with small white 
 domes or minarets rising in their midst, and 
 the green groves of palm-trees on its banks, 
 presented a perfect picture of oriental sce- 
 nery. The route led across the famous Delta 
 of the Nile. The valley of the Nile and the 
 Delta constitute one of the most fertile coun- 
 tries of the world and one of the most im- 
 poverished. It is enough to make the heart 
 bleed to see the poor, industrious people of 
 Egypt, working hard the whole year, bringing 
 forth abundant harvests from a rich soil, and 
 at the same time living on the verge of star- 
 vation. Are not the so-called Christian na- 
 tions of Europe guilty of the crime of allow- 
 ing it ? Who but God hears the cry of the 
 oppressed ? \ 
 
 On our journey we saw many curious and 
 
86 A Visit to Europe 
 
 instructive sights. However attractive the low 
 mud villages of the country might appear at 
 some other season, under the burning heat of the 
 sun in June, without the proximity of a cooling 
 body of water, they looked quite the opposite. 
 Nearly the whole way the tillers of the soil 
 were engaged in artificial irrigation. A water- 
 wheel with a number of buckets surrounding 
 it served the purpose. Sometimes a mule, 
 more frequently a buffalo, often a cow, was 
 hitched to a pole and moved around in a cir- 
 cle to turn the water- wheel, sending down 
 empty buckets into an opening at the side of 
 the canal, and bringing up full ones, which 
 were emptied out over the fields on the other 
 side. I noticed that these wheels were always 
 placed under the grateful shade of a tree. 
 Irrigation in a somewhat similar manner was 
 seen practised in southern Italy, and it occur- 
 red to me that some such plan might be suc- 
 cessfully adopted in our country in case of con- 
 tinued drought. Along the way we often saw 
 herds of cattle lying in the water, with only 
 their heads and necks uncovered, to protect 
 them from the hot rays of the sun.\ 
 
 Men and women were frequently seen reclin- 
 ing under the cool shadows of the trees. In 
 such a land trees are a great blessing, well 
 
and the Holy Land. 87 
 
 _ 
 
 enjoyed and appreciated. Their graceful forms 
 and verdant colors seem endowed "with a new 
 and more ethereal beauty to the heated dwell- 
 ers in tropical and sub-tropical climes. Many 
 of the country people were travelling over the 
 roads, going to and from villages on foot or 
 on horses, asses, and camels. Sometimes long 
 trains of camels, bearing burdens, were seen, 
 perhaps caravans from distant places ; and 
 sometimes a band of Bedouins would come 
 upon the scene with their wild and warlike 
 appearance. Once we saw approaching a vil- 
 lage a party of horsemen, dressed in rich and 
 showy costumes, riding fine blooded, high-spi- 
 rited steeds gaily caparisoned with silk spark- 
 ling with gold. The leader of the party, who 
 rode at its head, was a venerable man with a 
 long gray beard, a royal-looking man, of such 
 dignity and appearance as one would imagine 
 were the ancient Egyptian kings. It was the 
 finest Eastern cavalcade that we saw in our 
 travels, and any which we saw in Europe could 
 not compare with it. At another time I saw 
 a tall man in white turban and black flowing 
 robes, with a full black beard, walking on the 
 road beside a donkey on whose back was a 
 woman in blue dress, bearing in her arms an 
 infant child, Seen from the distance it was a 
 
88 A Visit to Europe 
 
 faithful representation of the Holy Family in 
 Egypt nearly nineteen hundred years ago. In 
 both Egypt and Palestine one frequently meets 
 such living reminders of holy scenes./ 
 
 We crossed on our way both the Eastern and 
 Western Nile, and at length saw that we were 
 approaching the vicinity of Cairo ; for there, 
 away in the distance on the sands of the de- 
 sert, distinct and clear-cut standing against 
 the sky, were three forms that had ]been fa- 
 miliar to us in pictures from our youth. There 
 were many buildings and monuments in Eu- 
 rope and the East which, as soon as we saw 
 them, so well known was their appearance, 
 seemed to us like old acquaintances ; but the 
 pyramids could never be mistaken for any- 
 thing elsewhere on the face of the earth.\ 
 
 Having arrived at the station, we intended to 
 go to Shepherd's Hotel, but on leaving the train 
 we saw its omnibus driving away, and so took 
 the one for the Hotel d' Orient, which we found 
 very satisfactory. It was only a little after 
 midday when we were settled down in our 
 rooms. A blast of air was blowing from the 
 desert, as heated as if coming from the furnace 
 of Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon. We con- 
 cluded that it was not safe to venture out, so 
 we saw what we could from the windows. We 
 
and the Holy 'Land. 89 
 
 were opposite a square where many donkey- 
 boys and carriages were waiting for a job. For 
 a time we witnessed the antics of the boys 
 and drivers, and their untiring readiness to 
 catch sight of a stranger or acquaintance who 
 might wish to employ them. But nearer by, 
 across a narrow street, was a domestic scene 
 that pleased me more : A young Egyptian of 
 the humbler class, in a long, coarse blue robe, 
 with a white turban on his head, was tending 
 a little stall- in which were boiled eggs, cakes, 
 crockery, and similar cheap articles for sale. 
 With him was his wife, dressed in the same 
 poor material, and veiled. She had with her 
 a little curly- haired boy, not yet weaned. In 
 a little while his father took him in his arms 
 and fondled and caressed him in a way to 
 show, by unmistakable signs that brought 
 tears to my eyes, a father's tender love. A 
 father's and a mother's love is about the same 
 everywhere, and to witness its manifestation 
 brings all of us back to our childhood once 
 more.f 
 
 For several hours I had heard a solemn, 
 monotonous music not far away, and now it 
 seemed to be moving ; so I determined, notwith- 
 standing the heat, to start out alone and grati- 
 fy my curiosity, I went around several blocks 
 
90 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and met what proved to be a funeral proces- 
 sion of a young married man of wealthy family. 
 At its head was a camel covered with rich 
 trappings, on which rode a fantastic-looking 
 man. These were followed by musicians and 
 hired mourners, who in musical tones bewailed 
 the departed. A carriage in the procession 
 evidently belonged to the young wife. A lady 
 richly dressed, whom I took to be her, fran- 
 tically left the carriage and endeavored to seize 
 the bridles of the horses to prevent them go- 
 ing further. I suppose this also was one of 
 the customary manifestations of grief. Taken 
 all in all, to our Western eyes it was a funeral 
 procession most remarkable for show and as 
 an exhibition of outward sorrow, which pro. 
 bably was the exterior of a truer and deeper 
 sorrow in the hearts of the afflicted wife and 
 relatives. 
 
 Later in the afternoon we took a carriage 
 for a drive through the city. Cairo is a true 
 Egyptian and oriental city, and possesses all 
 the charms of orientalism, partaking much 
 more of the Eastern character than Alexandria. 
 Tn Alexandria one sees much more of the whole 
 world j in Cairo much more of the East. Cairo 
 is a great emporium of trade between Europe, 
 Asia, and Africa, receiving their treasures by 
 
and the Holy Land. 91 
 
 railways, boats on the Nile, and caravans of 
 the desert. Her merchants deal ia the silks, 
 jewelry, and gold arid silver trimmings of Da- 
 mascus, the products of India and the East, 
 and ostrich plumes, ivory, and slaves of the 
 Upper Nile region and Central Africa. It is 
 also one of the great marts for precious stones. 
 People from all the different lands with which 
 Cairo is connected by trade crowd her streets 
 in dresses peculiar to their race and regions, 
 and with complexions in all the shades from 
 pure white to jet black. A large number of 
 well-dressed ladies are met, heavily veiled ; and 
 from head to foot, covering their dresses of 
 rich material, falls a black silk mantle. Every 
 kind of four-footed animal used for pleasure 
 or bearing burdens is jseen in its thorough- 
 fares :_ the donkey for riding or heavy loads, 
 horses for quicker or more aristocratic con- 
 veyance, the pure-blooded Arabian studs of 
 the Bedouins or of those with wealth to afford 
 them, and camels, singly or in long lines 
 " stately ships of the desert," as they are often 
 called. 
 
 We drove to the citadel to get a good view 
 of the city and to see the mosque of Mehemet 
 Ali. The citadel is in the hands of the British 
 troops, and the mosque in the hands of a 
 
92 A Visit to Europe 
 
 crowd of beggars as persistent as the world af- 
 fords. From the heights of the citadel Cairo 
 lay before us, with its walls and battlements, 
 its store-houses, its palaces, its harems, and 
 its four hundred mosques with their tapering 
 minarets shining in the glaring sun of an almost 
 perpetually cloudless sky. The eye wandered 
 up and down the Nile for thirty miles, and be- 
 held the sites and monuments of some of the 
 oldest cities of antiquity : the sands of the far- 
 famed Libyan desert, on whose borders the 
 everlasting pyramids raise their mighty forms; 
 Old Cairo with its granaries of Joseph and 
 refuge of the Holy Family in Egypt ; Memphis, 
 ten miles towards the south, founded by Menes 
 forty- two hundred years ago, and one of the 
 grandest cities of ancient Egypt ; Heliopolis, a 
 few miles toward the ndrtheast, the ancient On, 
 the oldest ecclesiastical city of Egypt and the 
 chief centre of the worship of the sun, the 
 daughter of one of whose priests the Hebrew 
 Joseph married. This great city with its grand 
 temples has been a city of ruins for two thou- 
 sand years. Some of its most magnificent tem- 
 ples reflected their- new-born splendors in the 
 morning sun of four thousand years ago. An 
 obelisk, covered with hieroglyphics, alone marks 
 the site of the ancient city. It is the oldest of 
 
and the Holy Land. 93 
 
 its kind and has been in existence from thirty- 
 seven to thirty-nine centuries. We , were stand- 
 ing in the centre of one of the oldest populated 
 regions of the earth, where one of the first and 
 most ancient streams of history had its origin ; 
 and having admired with expansion of soul 
 this grand scene, where the monuments of the 
 long- sleeping dead look down serenely on the 
 activities and vanities of life, we turned to our 
 more modern surroundings.! 
 
 The mosque of Mehemet Ali was near at 
 hand. It is built in great part of yellow ori- 
 ental alabaster. At the door of the court be- 
 fore the mosque slippers were put on over our 
 shoes. In the East they cover the head and 
 uncover the feet as a mark of respect. Of late, 
 however, instead of uncovering the feet, it does 
 as well to cover the boots or shoes with a pair 
 of slippers. It takes several able-bodied men to 
 manage one pair of slippers, all of whom expect 
 backsheesh. As well as I could understand the 
 arrangement, one man puts them on your feet, 
 another looks out for them when they slip off, 
 as they are very loose, and another owns them. 
 They are a source of revenue for all. It requires 
 less capital to enter into business partnership in 
 a Mohammedan mosque than in any other place 
 in the world. A man with a dollar as capital 
 
94 A Visit to Europe 
 
 will take three partners to help him conduct 
 the business. I think there were about ten 
 men who managed us. As we found out after- 
 wards, the affair could have been better ar- 
 ranged ; but at that time we were inexperi- 
 enced in mosque visits, and had been misled 
 by writers who had travelled in Eastern coun- 
 tries, but who had not learned much by ex- 
 perience. Dark looks and fierce frowns of 
 fanaticism were not cast on us, although we 
 lost considerable backsheesh. If it had been 
 the Grand Turk himself, he would hardly have 
 been treated with greater respect and deference 
 than we were by all the officials, devotees, and 
 hangers-on of the mosque. One intelligent 
 young fellow acted as guide and told us to whom 
 to give backsheesh. At this date I cannot re- 
 member any exceptions that he made, except a 
 devotee who was prostrating himself in prayer 
 near a fountain in the outer court. No one who 
 has not once entered a Mohammedan mosque 
 under favorable conditions, when business was 
 slack, will ever be able to understand how many 
 men it requires to conduct you through the en- 
 trance, to take your umbrella and return it, to 
 care for your slippers, to keep you from losing 
 yourself, to manifest a kind interest in you, to 
 get you out safely, and finally to assure you, 
 
and the Holy Land. 95 
 
 as it were, of your personal identity, that you 
 are actually the same person you wer& when you 
 entered. Of course we emerged with empty 
 pockets but high in the esteem of a portion of 
 our fellow-men. \ 
 
 One of my friends is a person who is not per- 
 fectly satisfied with the smooth flow of any 
 stream ; he usually wants to cause at least a 
 ripple on the surface. Looking at a very beau- 
 tiful alabaster mosque and giving backsheesh 
 were too monotonous. As he had very large 
 slippers, he could easily let one slip off and 
 still push his foot along the floor, as if the fact 
 were unnoticed. With large slippers one moves 
 along as if skating ; in his case the slipper was 
 about two feet behind him, held to his ankle 
 by strings, and the attendant made frantic at- 
 tempts to catch hold of it and attract his atten- 
 tion, which he of course innocently considered 
 was an effort to show him some new beauty in 
 the mosque. The mosque was certainly beau- 
 tiful, but not nearly so fine as the mosque of 
 Omar in Jerusalem, and was almost colder to 
 the spiritual nature of man than St. Paul's 
 Cathedral in London. No edifice of worship 
 that I have ever seen can even approach, in 
 the spiritual warmth and beauty of heaven's 
 sunlight, to the temples of the Catholic Church. 
 
96 A Visit to Eitrope 
 
 We would have visited other mosques, but our 
 change was .exhausted, and somehow our ex- 
 perience had not been sufficiently pleasant to 
 induce us to do so, at least for some time, un- 
 less there was something more attractive than 
 costly material and clever architecture. In this 
 way we missed the most elegant mosque in 
 Cairo, that of Sultan Hassan, which is consid- 
 ered the finest structure in modern Egypt. We 
 returned to the hotel by a circuitous route in 
 order to see more of the city.\ 
 
 In the evening a pretty little girl seven or 
 eight years of age came in front of the hotel, 
 where a number of guests were sitting, and per- 
 formed some very skilful tricks of jugglery. 
 She then wanted backsheesh ; and when one of 
 the party jocosely asked her to continue, she 
 quickly replied : "No backsheesh, no juggle." 
 She was a bright, clever little Egyptian, spoke 
 English well, and succeeded in getting back- 
 sheeshA 
 
and the Holy Land. 97 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PYRAMIDS REFUGE OF THE HOLY FAMILY 
 IN EGYPT OUR VOYAGE TO PALESTINE. 
 
 \WE retired to our rooms early, as at day- 
 break the next morning we were to start for the 
 pyramids. It was so warm that I did not 
 sleep well and wakened at frequent intervals, 
 and each time I heard that sad, monotonous, 
 funereal music, I must have heard it in my 
 sleej), for it seemed continuous in my ears until 
 dawn, when it ceased. At early dawn we were 
 ready, the driver having slept in his carriage 
 in front of the hotel, We employed a guide 
 whom we did not need, and who understood 
 just enough English to misunderstand every- 
 thing -.said to him. { 
 
 Cairo appeared much more charming in the 
 mild light of early morning than in. the fierce 
 glare of the sun when his red, angry counte- 
 nance looked down from the higher heavens. 
 We passed over the wondrous Nile, crossing on 
 a bridge six hundred feet in length, built on six 
 spans, and having at each of its four corners 
 an enormous lion in repose carved in stone. 
 The pyramids are from six to eight miles from 
 the city. The smooth road is lined on either 
 
98 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 side with, fine trees, whicli interlaced their 
 branches above us and gave a refreshing 
 shade ; and thus, the road being not only well 
 made but cool, the ride was very pleasant./ 
 
 From the time we crossed the bridge until 
 some distance in the country the way was 
 thronged with camels, asses, and horses, and 
 their drivers and riders. Numbers seemed to 
 have been encamped by the roadside, and were 
 just awakening from their slumbers or pre- 
 paring to move ; others seemed to have come 
 some distance and to have started in the night 
 in order to arrive with their loads in the city 
 early in the morning. Some were Bedouins, 
 but the large number were country people 
 bringing the produce of their farms and gar- 
 dens to the city market. We passed some fine 
 grounds and villas in the suburbs, among them 
 a royal harem, and further in the country 
 several villages some distance from the way- 
 side. Near one or two of these villages were 
 large ponds, into which a dozen or score of 
 women and girls with jars were wading to pro- 
 cure water. About a mile from the pyramids 
 several Arabs met us, and ran behind the car- 
 riage the whole distance, frequently repeating 
 their offers of service.\ 
 
 At the pyramids a dozen others who were 
 
and the Holy Land. 99 
 
 waiting for us joined them, all anxious to ren- 
 der any service in their power. The day had 
 already begun to grow very warm, and the 
 rays of the sun, reflected on the white sands 
 of the desert and the great stones of the 
 pyramids, acquired a new intensity of heat. 
 My companions concluded that they would 
 not make the ascent of the pyramid of Cheops, 
 which so many undertake. As for myself, I 
 never intended to run the risk of any such 
 experiment. To say nothing of the heat, I 
 believe s that I could hardly stand on such a 
 height without dizziness, unless the pyramid 
 was steadied with its base up with a railing 
 around it.\ 
 
 When we approached the pyramids they 
 seemed disappointingly small ; but when we 
 got near them, and looked up at the great 
 pyramid of Cheops, and saw the size and 
 number of the stones of which it was con- 
 structed, and hired an Arab to ascend it in 
 our place, and had seen him go up, up, stone 
 after stone, until he was only a white speck, 
 we concluded that after all they were very 
 large. The greatest of the number is the pyra- 
 mid built by King Cheops four thousand years 
 ago. At the present time it is 460 feet in 
 height, and its slope 610 feet, and it covers 
 
ioo A Visit to Europe 
 
 an area of about twelve acres. Its size is not 
 so large as formerly, as great quantities of 
 stone have been taken from it to Cairo for 
 building purposes ; its surface was formerly 
 smooth, but is now rough for the same reason 
 that it has diminished in size. Leaving the 
 pyramids, we went to see the Sphinx, accom- 
 panied by the entire crowd of Arabs and our 
 "guide," who had come with us to protect 
 us from the ravages of the Bedouins. He 
 sometimes did scold them for their excessive 
 forwardness, but with no apparent success. 
 The truth is, he had got into "bad company," 
 for we rather encouraged them in all their en- 
 terprises. We really enjoyed their company. 
 They were more like the same number of chil- 
 dren than anything else. We had to choose 
 first and second assistants to help us through 
 the sand, into the underground apartments, and 
 over the walls of the temple of the Sphinx. 
 We could have accomplished everything as 
 well without them ; but their transitory friend- 
 ship for our silver pieces was worth some- 
 thing. One of our party even purchased speci- 
 mens of the "antique,", found near the pyra- 
 mids, and probably manufactured in Europe, 
 perhaps in Cairo. My chief young man told 
 me when I ridiculed the other's purchase ; 
 
and the Holy Land. 101 
 
 "You know better, but many English people 
 do not know." Then he got confidential and 
 told me that they bought them from the manu- 
 facturers and sold them again. Perhaps he 
 told me that to please me, for he was trying 
 by all reasonable means to make himself agree- 
 able. We all bought a few specimens of a beau- 
 tiful stone from the temple of the Sphinx, which 
 I think we preserved until we got back to 
 Cairo ; they certainly are not yet lost to Egypt. 
 The venerable Sphinx was an old acquaintance 
 of ours, and had not changed any since we 
 last saw him in school-books. He is a stone 
 lion 146 feet long, with a man's face 28 feet 
 in length. But different authors give the 
 measurement differently, and I do not pretend 
 that I actually measured him. The paws are 
 extended about fifty feet in front. The Sphinx 
 was a deity among the ancient Egyptians the 
 "god of the setting sun" ; they worshipped 
 the sun under the different appellations of 
 " morning," "noonday," and " setting sun." It 
 is quite probable, from inscriptions which have 
 been found, that this Sphinx was chiselled out 
 of the solid rock of the desert before the time 
 of Cheops, who built the first pyramid. In 
 former times an altar stood before this huge 
 image, where the incense and odors of sacrifice 
 
102 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ascended into his nostrils. He then wore the 
 royal helmet of Egypt, which has since been 
 broken off. Near the Sphinx is his temple, 
 which has been excavated from beneath the sand, 
 over which it once raised its costly walls. It 
 was built of polished red granite and marble 
 in tiers of great square blocks, over which and 
 under which we passed in curious admiration.\ 
 On our return to the carriage near the great 
 pyramid, as we approached it, my chief young- 
 man said to me: " It is finished." I had in- 
 tended to give him his backsheesh as a parting 
 token of my regard, so that he would not fur- 
 ther annoy me by future requests for more. 
 In a short time he again told me: "It is fin- 
 ished." His meaning began to dawn on my 
 mind. I said that I supposed those were the 
 chief attractions, but that we would look at 
 them awhile longer. He still insisted: "It 
 is finished ; would you please give me my 
 backsheesh before the others come up to us ? 
 I do not want them to see what I receive ; give 
 me what you please." I yielded to his rea- 
 sonable request ; and I must give him, and 
 the boy with him, the credit of not asking 
 for any more. Amid the clamor of voices we 
 rode away, and by the same pleasant route by 
 which, we came returned to Cairo. \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 103 
 
 A short time after our return we took an- 
 other carriage for a visit to Old Cairo, to see 
 the place where the Holy Family dwelt during 
 their sojourn in Egypt. Old Cairo is a pecu- 
 liar-looking place, without much external 
 grandeur ; in fact, it looks like the dwelling- 
 place of the poor and neglected. We soon 
 found the place we were seeking. It is in the 
 hands of the schismatic Copts. The Copts are 
 probably the only descendants of the ancient 
 Egyptians. Some congregations among them 
 are united to the Catholic Church, including 
 about one-third of the Christians of that 
 rite. The remaining two-thirds are schismatics, 
 in union with whom are the Abyssinians, who 
 receive whatever orders they have from the 
 Copts. The Copts are the only schismatic 
 body in the East whose ordination is doubted 
 by Rome, and it seems that both their clergy 
 and laity are to a great extent men of loose 
 morals and principles. Yet, in common with 
 all the Christians of the Orient, they hold the 
 sacred places in great veneration./ 
 
 We were met by a young Coptic priest, who 
 was very ready to show us the places we 
 sought. We first entered an ancient and rather 
 attractive church possessing several fine paint- 
 ings and carvings in wood. We descended 
 
IO4 A Visit to Europe 
 
 still lower to what is now a subterranean 
 chapel. Our clerical guide pointed out to us 
 the places where the divine Infant Jesus was 
 laid by His parents, and where the Blessed 
 Virgin and St. Joseph sat to rest themselves 
 and gaze in silent rapture on the face of the 
 Holy Child. We knelt and said short pray- 
 ers to each of the Holy Family. 
 
 O mysterious Egyptian land ! the refuge 
 thou didst give to the Holy Infant, even though 
 unknown to thyself, brought down upon thee 
 for centuries the choicest blessings of faith 
 and sanctity, so that thou didst become the 
 garden of Christ, and even thy deserts were 
 peopled with the saints of God. What hast 
 thou done, O sorrowful and oppressed land, 
 that thou hast lost thy heritage ? \ 
 
 When our priest guide saw us kneel and 
 kiss those sacred places, he asked us if \ve 
 were Latin priests. When we told him that 
 we were he showed us much more respect 
 and attention than before, although he had 
 already been sufficiently attentive. All over 
 the East, although they may sometimes pos- 
 sess considerable bigotry and bitterness, the 
 schismatic priests usually manifest a genuine 
 respect, not unlike a deep feeling of brotherly 
 kindness, towards their Western brethren who 
 
and the Holy Land. 105 
 
 acknowledge the supremacy of the great Patri- 
 arch of Rome. No wonder that* Leo XIII. 
 has manifested an admirable sympathy and 
 love for these mistaken Christians of the 
 East. Their return to the told of Peter should 
 not by any means be considered an unlooked- 
 for event. I was pleased to see, while in Rome, 
 that any information pertaining to the present 
 condition of the Orient was listened to with 
 deepest attention ; and in fact, judging from 
 appearances, the authorities of the Church are 
 at present more interested in the return of the 
 Eastern schismatics than in the labors for 
 the conversion of any Western people./ 
 
 The places once occupied by the Holy Family 
 are now small altars in the form of niches 
 cut in the rock. Under certain conditions, 
 and by permission easily obtained, Catholic 
 priests are allowed to say Mass in this holy 
 chapel. The church above, which we first en- 
 tered, was probably built by St. Helena, mother 
 of Constantine ; and even before her time the 
 house of the Holy Family had been converted 
 into a church by the primitive Christians. 
 We were then shown the well which was 
 miraculously produced for the use of the Holy 
 Family ; and having given fees to the priest, 
 and to some attendants who had furnished 
 
io6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tapers and had otherwise been of service to 
 us, we returned to Cairo./ 
 
 Later that afternoon we were again in the 
 railway train, which was moving out of Cairo 
 towards Alexandria. A number of the pas- 
 sengers on this return trip were officers and 
 soldiers of the English army, some of whom, 
 having brought along a good supply of beer, 
 were enjoying themselves. We arrived in 
 Alexandria after dark and immediately drove 
 to our hotel. The next day was Sunday, and 
 we attended Mass in the cathedral church of 
 St. Catharine of Alexandria, built over the 
 spot where this holy virgin received the crown 
 of martyrdom. St. Catharine is the patron 
 saint of the city, but her body is preserved 
 in the Greek monastery on Mt. Sinai. On our 
 return we all celebrated Mass in this church, 
 around whose altars from early morning until 
 late in the afternoon gather the various nation- 
 alities and races that compose the population 
 of Alexandria, from the fair-haired Saxon of 
 the northern German-land to the jet-black 
 native of Central Africa. The Orientals retain 
 many of their old customs, and assist at Mass 
 in fez and turban without uncovering their 
 heads. As already remarked, this is in accord- 
 ance with their ideas of reverence to uncover 
 
and the Holy Land. 107 
 
 their feet rather than their heads and is in 
 harmony with the sanctioned customs of olden 
 times ; for when the Lord appeared to Moses 
 in " a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush," 
 He said to him: "Come not nigh hither, put 
 off the shoes from thy feet ; for the place 
 whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exo- 
 dus iii. 5). In Alexandria similarity of cus- 
 toms was sometimes manifest among people of 
 different races who are very dissimilar in ap- 
 pearance : black mantillas covered the heads 
 and hung low from the shoulders of Spanish 
 ladies whose intelligent faces and clear com- 
 plexions indicated the pure blood of Castile ; 
 a white mantle over the head and falling to 
 the feet, enveloping the entire body, was the 
 usual covering of a very different race of females, 
 who ? when they turned their faces towards us, 
 revealed the dark skin and black, glittering 
 eyes of the Nubian negress. The Catholics 
 of Alexandria and Cairo together number 
 about sixty-three thousand./ 
 
 That same day we took passage on a Russian 
 steamer for Jaffa. Everything on board was 
 according to the Russian style, and we found 
 the first cabin very pleasant, the officers of 
 the boat very kind and polite, the beds clean, 
 and an excellent table, with its white cloth 
 
io8 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and napkins, its neat, shining silver service, 
 and its many courses of food well cooked ac- 
 cording to the Russian mode. / 
 
 Early the next morning we arrived in Port 
 Said, where we remained until the middle of 
 the afternoon. The town itself was not inte- 
 resting, but the harbor was filled with vessels, 
 among them some of the finest war-ships of 
 different nations which I have ever seen. Un- 
 til then I had never realized the beauty and 
 finish, combined with strength and power, of 
 the best class of Italian, English, and French 
 war-vessels. That some of the other powerful 
 nations of Europe have ships of equal excel- 
 lence is probable, but I do not remember to 
 have seen them. As a patriotic American I 
 grieve to say that our American naval arks are. 
 shabby-looking hulks, with the only things of 
 beauty about them the flag that floats over 
 them and the thought that they bear upon 
 their shaky decks men with hearts true to 
 their colors. We hired a row-boat with rowers 
 and took a ride up the harbor, hoping to get 
 a better view of the now famous Suez Canal. 
 On our return to the steamer we spent the re- 
 mainder of the listless day watching half -naked 
 men at work, who, like a great many others 
 who only half work, made up the deficiency 
 
and the Holy Land. 109 
 
 by a generous amount of noise. We also tried 
 to amuse ourselves looking at it-he huge por- 
 poises, of which the harbor seemed full, dis- 
 porting themselves, rising partly out of the 
 water, skimming along its surface, and then 
 diving again into its depths./ 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we moved 
 slowly out of the harbor to the open sea. 
 The land gradually disappeared ; we had left 
 successively America, Europe, and Africa, and 
 now the great continent of Asia was before us. 
 The next country which we shall see is the land 
 of promise, not alone to the chosen people of 
 God, but in a wider sense to all the nations of 
 the earth. Oh ! is it possible that in to-mor- 
 row's light our eyes shall rest upon that favor- 
 ed country ? Tlie night and sleep will intervene, 
 but in to-morrow's rising sun we si i all look 
 upon that land. To-day is the dark Egypt 
 of this life, to-night will come the sleep of 
 death, and to-morrow will appear the bright, 
 beautiful shores of the heavenly country and 
 the haven of eternal rest. The city of the liv- 
 ing God is enclosed in those emerald hills be- 
 yond, and before our eyes its jewelled walls 
 and golden splendors will flash in the celestial 
 light of to-morrow's eternal day./ 
 
THE HOLY LAND, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JAFFA AND THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 \ AT an early hour the next morning we stood 
 on the deck of the steamer, waiting anxiously 
 for the first glimpse of land, which we knew 
 lay not far away before us. We had been 
 deeply interested in the lands which we had 
 already seen ; and before our return home we 
 expected to visit other countries, cities, and 
 shrines of the Old World ; but none of them, 
 not even the Eternal City itself, could compare 
 in interest with the land which we were now 
 approaching. It is the Holy Land, the cradle 
 of the human race and of Christianity. It is 
 the very soil that has been impressed with the 
 sacred footprints of our Lord. It was the 
 earthly home of St. Joseph and the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary and the Divine Child Jesus. And 
 as the land is so dear, and everything that per- 
 tains to it so interesting to every Christian, I 
 will try to describe, in a simple way, our too 
 
The Holy Land. \ i i 
 
 brief visit there. I will be strictly truthful in 
 describing what I saw, as it is possible that 
 sometimes imagination has run away with vera- 
 city. Truth cannot do harm, even when told 
 of the most sacred places. In many other 
 countries you will find longer rivers, higher 
 mountains and more extended plains, more 
 beautiful and sublime scenery, a more fertile 
 soil and more salubrious climate. Palestine 
 evidently is not what it once was ; but even 
 in ancient times, in the days of Naaman, there 
 were more magnificent rivers than the Jordan, 
 but none so sacred. A mother's grave may 
 not be the brightest spot on earth, but it is 
 often the dearest. So with the land to which, 
 with every stroke of the wheel and every beat 
 of our ardent hearts, we drew nearer. / 
 
 There at length, lying before usj appeared 
 the hills of Palestine the mountains of Ephraim 
 to the north, and the "hill country of Judea" 
 to the south and a little later the white and 
 colored walls and houses of Jaifa were plainly 
 visible. In the distance, seen from the sea, 
 Jaffa, rising in terraced heights on a conically- 
 shaped promontory, surrounded by its numer- 
 ous palm, cypress, and orange groves, is cer- 
 tainly beautiful ; and when you are once 
 within the town, although you will find many 
 
ii2 A Visit to Europe 
 
 things to shock your taste, you will also come 
 upon many fine views from which you will 
 find it difficult to draw yourself away./ 
 
 Our steamer came to anchor about half a 
 mile from the shore, as all vessels of fair size 
 do ; and the water was soon covered with a 
 multitude of small boats, making to us as 
 quickly as possible. We had already become 
 used to Oriental costumes, Oriental ways, and 
 the East in general, but never before had we 
 seen a Jaffa boatman. There may be other 
 mortals in the world like him we know there 
 are in Haifa but we never expect to look upon 
 his like again. The Jaffa boatmen are the noisiest 
 lot of fellows in the world. The man who can 
 shout louder or gesticulate more violently must 
 have more lungs and life than one of them. From 
 my knowledge of the world I do not believe 
 the man exists. You would think that nothing 
 less would satisfy them than the blood of their 
 fellow-boatman who might be successful in get- 
 ting a passenger or trunk. But, after all their 
 noise and seemingly desperate intentions, they 
 see their rivals row away with a boat-load, and 
 their own boat empty, with the best evidences 
 of good nature. You gradually discover that 
 they are a lot of good-natured, good-looking, 
 courageous fellows, whom you would soon get 
 
and the Holy Land. 1 1 3 
 
 to admire if it were not for the noise and con- 
 fusion they make./ 
 
 We were about to visit Palestine at a sea- 
 son of the year when there are few visitors. A 
 priest on the American mission cannot choose 
 the season most pleasant for his travels. From 
 the middle of March to the first of May is un- 
 doubtedly the best time for Palestine travel. 
 In the first part of June the harvest is nearly 
 over, and every week the weather is becoming 
 more uncomfortably warm. But that this Bib- 
 lical land may be better understood, it is well 
 that its valleys and hills and towns should be 
 described as seen by different eyes at different 
 seasons of the year. We were about to enter 
 the Holy Land when it was clothed neither 
 with the beautiful verdure of spring nor with 
 the barren desolation of autumn. Although 
 there had been no rains for five weeks pre- 
 vious, neither all the green nor all the flowers 
 of spring had yet faded. Heavy dews fell at 
 night, and an occasional cloud was seen. 
 
 We soon landed, and the place whereon we 
 stood was holy ground. Our baggage had to 
 submit to a slight examination, and our pass- 
 ports were presented. We now learned the 
 great convenience of a moderate use of "back- 
 
ii4 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Among the crowd that met us was one man 
 whom you would readily recognize as a native 
 of the Eastern States of our own country. We 
 learned from him that he was a resident of 
 Jaffa, who had come out with the now defunct 
 American colony once planted here. It was a 
 pleasure, so far away from home, to meet one 
 of our own countrymen ; and yet it seemed 
 strange to see him choose to live in such sur- 
 roundings. We can understand the reason of 
 the choice in the case of monks and other 
 pious persons, who live there because it is the 
 Holy Land. He told us he was the guide of 
 our -great American general and of our new 
 minister to Turkey when they visited the 
 country. Followed by about a dozen others, 
 he conducted us to the Franciscan monastery 
 and hospice, where we were cordially welcomed 
 by the good monks. It was our first intro- 
 duction to the monks and their hospitality in 
 Palestine. We had determined during our stay 
 to make our home with them wherever pos- 
 sible, for we knew that they could better di- 
 rect us, open the way to greater spiritual ad- 
 vantages, and more quickly animate us with 
 the right spirit of the holy places. We were 
 not deceived, and soon learned to love these 
 humble sons of St, Francis and devoted 
 
and the Holy Land. 115 
 
 todians of the Holy Land, and prayers rise 
 from our hearts whenever we remember them.} 
 It was now early in the morning, and we 
 were not to start for Jerusalem until about live 
 o'clock, so we had sufficient time to see Jaffa. 
 The time was past when we could travel here 
 and there to places of interest in carriages. 
 Horses, donkeys, and pedestrianism must take 
 their place. We visited the traditional house 
 of Simon the tanner, and ascended to the roof, 
 where St. Peter went to pray, and where he 
 beheld the vision of the sheet let down from 
 heaven. It was certainly a pleasant place to 
 which to retire, and takes in one of the most 
 beautiful scenes of Jaffa, but not more lovely 
 than that from the windows and terraces of 
 the Franciscan convent. On our return to 
 Jaffa, about two weeks afterwards, I had bet- 
 ter occasion to appreciate the latter during a 
 quiet Saturday and Sunday, when I had little 
 else to do but to enjoy the scene and meditate. 
 The waves of the blue sea were rolling in over 
 the rocks that surround the peaceful little 
 harbor, where a few sailing vessels were lying. 
 Farther out an American man-of-war was rid- 
 ing at anchor, and the stars and stripes were a 
 pleasant sight, one which we did not elsewhere 
 see for a long time, except when they floated 
 
1 1 6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 over our tent in Jericho. In fact, from the time 
 we left New York Bay until we returned, 
 while we frequently saw the flags of other coun- 
 tries, we saw our own only a few times. Our 
 commerce seems to be destroyed and our flag 
 banished from the ocean. What other eyes be 
 fore mine have looked out upon this ancient har- 
 bor ! Here the cedars were brought for Solomon's 
 temple; here Jonas embarked; here also, with- 
 out doubt, many of the Apostles departed to the 
 ends of the earth to spread the Gospel and suffer 
 martyrdom ; and, dearest of all, St. John, the 
 beloved Apostle, and the Blessed Mother of our 
 Lord came here to the seaside to set sail for 
 Ephesus. Jaffa is probably the oldest port, and 
 is on the site of one of the oldest cities, of the 
 world. It has an antediluvian origin. It is said 
 that here Noe entered into his ark, and that his 
 sepulchre is here, where one of his sons, after 
 the flood, built a city.V 
 
 After our visit to the house of Simon the tan- 
 ner we wandered through the narrow streets and 
 saw their strange sights. We constantly won- 
 dered why all the cities of the Orient are not 
 stricken with cholera during the summer season. 
 Palestine is the home of the cucumber, a great 
 favorite with the people. Thousands of them 
 are bought daily and eaten raw, without being 
 
and the Holy Land. \ \ 7 
 
 pared or seasoned. Yet, notwithstanding the 
 seeming violation of nearly all tHe laws of 
 health, they escape, and the really clean and 
 careful cities of Europe are afflicted. \ 
 
 On our tour we had to make use of guide- 
 books, and they are certainly useful, but we 
 began to discover some of their discrepancies. 
 The population of Jaffa, as given by Baedeker, 
 is 8,000; by Bradshaw, 20,000; by the Ameri- 
 can Cyclopcedia, 10,000. Besides the schis- 
 matical Oriental, there are in Jaffa Catholic 
 Maronite, Greek, and Latin churches. The 
 Catholic population of Jaffa is about 2,000. 
 There is near Jaffa a German Protestant col- 
 ony of the temple. Of the American colony 
 of forty families who settled here in 1866 
 about half died, and the others, with the ex- 
 ception of four, returned home. Their idea 
 was a religious one, but our American friend 
 told us that the religious notion had long 
 since departed.\ 
 
 The Germans have been more successful. It 
 is their belief that it is the duty of Christians 
 to settle in the Holy Land. Notwithstanding 
 the numerous deaths that have occurred among 
 them, they have prosperous colonies near Jaffa, 
 Jerusalem, and Haifa. They have good cut- 
 stone houses, fertile fields, and fine cattle. We 
 
n8 A Visit to Europe 
 
 also found them a very honest and industrious 
 class of people ; but we were told, whether 
 truthfully or not, that the younger generation, 
 for the most part, is growing up without re- 
 ligion. There is a telegraph-line and wagon- 
 road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. This road, and 
 one from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and another 
 from Haifa to Nazareth, are the only wagon- 
 roads in Palestine. The German colonies have 
 the best wagons. Their charges to Jerusalem 
 in June are five or six dollars. Cook & Son 
 have a carriage which will cost nearly three 
 times that amount. \v 
 
 Towards evening we started for Jerusalem, 
 and were in Ramleh by dark. We were ac- 
 companied about two miles out by our Ameri- 
 can friend, who rode a very fine horse. Not of 
 our party were wagons before and behind, and 
 on horseback, riding near us, a member of the 
 temple community who keeps an inn at Ram- 
 leh, and a very picturesquely dressed Bedouin. 
 Our American friend and the Bedouin indulged 
 in the excitement of a horse-race, in which the 
 American was winner. We passed on our way 
 some fine groves surrounding various kinds of 
 buildings, among them a Jewish school of agri- 
 culture. We were now crossing the renowned 
 plain of Sharon. We were attracted by the 
 
and the Holy Land. 119 
 
 remarkable hedges of cactus, which afterwards 
 became very familiar to us, many of 4 which are 
 ten or more feet high.\ 
 
 The place where Samson tied together the 
 foxes' tails, that he might burn the cornfields 
 and vineyards of the Philistines, was pointed 
 out to us. We did not go to the convent in 
 Ramleh, as it was cooler travelling during the 
 night, but took supper with our new German 
 acquaintance, and then proceeded on our way. 
 
 From Ramleh not much of the country was 
 to be seen until morning, but the journey was 
 not accompanied by the usual stillness of the 
 night. Many others besides ourselves were 
 going over the same way. At length we came 
 to a place called the "Gate of the Mountain" ; 
 on one side of the road is a restaurant, and on 
 the other a watch-house. Here we stopped, 
 with a number of others, and nearly every one 
 took a short sleep or some refreshments. Our 
 driver, who was a very sleepy-headed fellow, 
 after caring for his horses " went to bed" on 
 the ground. He probably would have stayed 
 there until morning if we had not found him 
 and got him again started on the journey. 
 We now began to ascend sometimes went 
 down again, but usually up until we reached 
 Jerusalem. In the morning Neby Samwil rose 
 
I2O A Visit to E^trope 
 
 before our eyes to the north. It was the birth- 
 place, residence, and burial-place of the pro- 
 phet Samuel. It was the site of the famous 
 city of Benjamin, where the people rejected 
 God as their king and chose to have a king 
 " like other nations." It is claimed by some 
 to have been the place where arose the watch- 
 tower of Mizpah, "a place of lookout," where 
 Saul was chosen king in the midst of the as- 
 sembly of Israel. There might be much reason 
 for the opinion that Mizpah or Maspha was 
 in that neighborhood if it could be reconciled 
 with the ancient and undoubtedly correct tra- 
 dition that Neby Samwil is the site of the 
 home and tomb of the prophet Samuel.\ 
 / Soon after we came to a wayside inn situ- 
 ated in the beautiful valley of Terebinth, six 
 miles from Jerusalem, which was the scene of 
 the battle between David and Goliath: "And 
 all the children of Israel were in the valley of 
 Terebinth, fighting against the Philistines." To 
 the south, at the end of the valley, is the vil- 
 lage of Ain Karim, which the Christians call 
 St. John's. It is the place of the Visitation of 
 the Blessed Virgin to St. Elizabeth, and where 
 St. John the Baptist was born. We afterwards 
 made a visit there, which will be described in 
 proper order.x 
 
and the Holy Land. ill 
 
 After a short "rest" we again started over 
 the weary road. The morning grew more sul- 
 try, and the sun beat down upon us with its 
 intenser rays. The "everlasting hills about 
 Jerusalem," on this side at least, were barren 
 and desolate. Lizards in large numbers were 
 gliding quickly over the burning rocks, about 
 the only living thing manifest. Now and then 
 we would pass a woman carrying on her head 
 a load of some kind of produce to the city. 
 A miserable village, clinging to the side of a 
 hill or lying in a valley, would occasionally be 
 seen. The general effect produced in the minds 
 of tired travellers was a strange one, and it 
 was hard to realize that this was the once 
 rich "land of promise flowing with milk and 
 honey." But it is hard to realize the natural 
 changes, to say nothing of those that are 
 supernatural, that take place in any country 
 during three thousand years. Yet we could, 
 without much effort, imagine the ancient people 
 of God "going up to Jerusalem," the holy city 
 on Mount Sion, to worship Him in His holy 
 temple: "For thither did the tribes go up, 
 the tribes of the Lord to praise the name of 
 the Lord."/ 
 
122 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HOLY CITY, JERUSALEM. 
 
 \ WE ascended Mil after hill, and from each 
 high eminence before us expected the long- 
 sought vision to burst upon our joyous sight. 
 The Crusaders went around by way of the north, 
 and from the heights of "Neby Samwil" first 
 caught sight of the Holy City. Many travellers 
 have also taken that route, and have enjoyed 
 the sublime pleasure of first seeing the city 
 from afar, and crying out: "Behold Jerusa- 
 lem!" It is probable, however, that at. the 
 present time the vast number of pilgrims like 
 ourselves take the smoother main road and 
 find themselves suddenly in the suburbs of the 
 city. \ 
 
 After having seen the desolate country through 
 which we had just passed, we were hardly pre- 
 pared for the city that now met our eyes. To 
 me, at least, there was no disappointment in my 
 first view of the walls and city of Sion. The 
 modern city has extended out beyond the walls, 
 and there are fine buildings in the suburbs on 
 all sides of Jerusalem. If one did not know 
 that such a city existed, and should come on it 
 
BEHOLD JERUSALEM ! 
 
and the Holy Land. 123 
 
 suddenly after a rough journey through the 
 bleak hills surrounding it, he would .hardly be 
 able to believe his senses. 
 
 It was indeed to us a joyful surprise. We 
 passed down the street outside the walls to the 
 Jaffa gate. Wheeled vehicles are not allowed 
 on the streets within the walls. So we stopped 
 outside the gate, and were quickly surrounded 
 by a number of men and boys anxious to take 
 our baggage to any part of the city. Having 
 chosen several, we directed them to Casa Nova, 
 the hospice of the Franciscan fathers. They 
 welcomed us with their usual cordial welcome, 
 and the father-superior assigned us the rooms 
 which we were to occupy during our stay ; and 
 right glad we were to have a good chance once 
 more to take a quiet rest. Before we got to our 
 rooms native guides were on hand to offer their 
 services.y 
 
 Guides are a necessary evil. They are of great- 
 use to you at times, and just when you begin 
 to get independent you find them to be a ne- 
 cessity ; but they are also a great bother, hang- 
 ing after you when you would much rather be 
 alone. There were two native Arab Catholic 
 guides, who spoke English and wished to be 
 employed ; we chose the younger. We stayed in 
 Jerusalem and vicinity eleven days, but did not 
 
124 A Visit to Europe 
 
 see half that we wanted to see, and could not 
 delay over and meditate on what we saw as 
 long as we would desire ; but we saw all that 
 was of most interest to us.\ 
 
 The population of Jerusalem is on the in- 
 crease. I believe it cannot now fall much short 
 of 40,000. The Catholic population is not so 
 large in proportion as in several other towns of 
 Palestine. The city probably contains about 
 3,000 Catholics of all rites, mostly of the Latin 
 rite. Probably there are twice that number of 
 Greek, Armenian, and other schismatics, nearly 
 10,000 Jews, and the remainder Moslems. Jeru- 
 salem is a much larger and finer city than I had 
 expected to find it. It is situated on an elevated 
 plateau of limestone, about 2,500 feet above the 
 level of the sea, and is nearly surrounded by 
 valleys on three sides : on the east by the valley 
 of Josaphat, or valley of the Blessed Virgin, 
 through which flows the torrent Kedron ; and on 
 the south and a portion of the west side by the 
 valley of Ennom. Beyond the valley of Josa- 
 phat lies the Mount of Olives, which rises about 
 200 feet higher than the city ; south of the valley 
 of Ennom is the Hill of Evil Counsel. The 
 walls surrounding the principal part of the 
 city are 15 feet thick at the base, and from 30 
 to 50 feet in height, or a mean height of 38| feet, 
 
and the Holy Land. 125 
 
 with 37 towers, forming an irregular quadrangle 
 of about 2 miles in circumference. Beginning 
 with the northeast corner, the wall extends 
 nearly south ; from the southeast to southwest 
 corner it runs southwest ; from the southwest to 
 northwest corner the direction is northwest by 
 north ; and the north wall runs northeast. The 
 north and south walls are the longest. Mount 
 Calvary is towards the northwest, Mount Moria 
 at the southeast, and Mount Sion at the south 
 of the city, to the west of Mount Moria. The 
 streets are narrow and irregular, and not at all 
 times clean. There are seven gates to the city, 
 six of which are open a portion of the time ; but 
 the Golden Gate, leading up to the temple from 
 the east, through which Christ made his trium- 
 phal entry, is now closed. The principal gates 
 are : on the north the Damascus gate, on the 
 east St. Stephen's or the Blessed Virgin's gate, 
 on the south Sion gate, and on the west the 
 Jaffa gate. Before I entered Palestine, Jerusa- 
 lem lay in a well-defined picture before me, and 
 I knew its celebrated sanctuaries, as if familar 
 sights, as soon as I saw them. Yet I was able 
 almost every day to lose my way, and only 
 found it when I turned up at the Jaffa gate.\ 
 The highest temperature of Jerusalem is 92 
 Fahr., the lowest 28 above, and the mean 
 
126 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Fahr. Snow falls in Palestine in the winder, 
 but usually does not lie except on the higher 
 mountains. The two chief seasons are the rainy 
 and dry. The spring is the most pleasant part 
 of the year, lasting from the middle of March 
 to the middle of May. About the middle of 
 May harvest begins, and ends about the middle 
 of June. Very rarely in May there are thunder- 
 storms, but from that time until October there 
 are but few clouds and no rains, although at 
 night there are very copious dews. During a 
 portion of this time the heat becomes excessive, 
 especially in the valleys. In October the " early 
 rains''' of Holy Scripture take place, and seed- 
 time extends from the middle of October to the 
 middle of December. In the latter part of No- 
 vember the trees lose their foliage, which they 
 resume towards the beginning of February. The 
 " latter rains " fall in March and April, during 
 which months the whole country is covered with 
 the choicest flowers and verdure. The climate in 
 the lower valley of the Jordan is tropical, owing 
 to its wonderful depression. \ 
 
 At last we were in Jerusalem, eight thousand 
 miles away from our home on the shores of 
 Lake Michigan. We were in Jerusalem, city 
 of the " vision of peace." " Our feet were stand- 
 ing in thy courts, O Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! 
 
and the Holy Land, 127 
 
 which is built as a city, which is compact 
 together." "The foundations thereof are in the 
 holy mountains ; glorious things are said of thee, 
 O city of God!" Thou hast been great in thy 
 joy, O city of Sion ! and thou hast been desolate 
 in thy sorrow, O city of Calvary ! But in joy 
 or in sorrow, thou dost ever attract the soul of 
 the Christian ; for the Lord "hath loved Sion," 
 and the Son of God "wept over it." 
 
 Jerusalem was a city in the days of Abraham, 
 when Melchisedech was King of Salem, which 
 now is Jerusalem. It was a city of the Jebusites 
 for five hundred years after the children of 
 Israel had entered the Promised Land. It was 
 finally captured by David, and made the royal 
 city of David and Solomon, and of a long line 
 of the kings of Juda. Here God dwelt in His 
 holy temple, and here Jesus Christ closed the 
 scenes of his life on earth . by His Passion and 
 Crucifixion. We could hardly realize that we 
 were really in Jerusalem. 
 
 After we had rested a few hours we started 
 out to visit those places which are the first and 
 only thought of the Christian pilgrim when he 
 enters the city Mount Calvary and the Holy 
 Sepulchre. On the streets the same Oriental 
 scenes and costumes met our eyes to which we 
 had become accustomed. \ 
 
128 A Visit to Europe 
 
 The great change that almost necessarily occurs 
 in the surroundings of any historical place in 
 the course of centuries makes it more difficult 
 to realize that this is the exact spot where a 
 particular event took place Yet a man would 
 lack reason who would doubt when the proofs 
 are convincing. Practically he rarely does 
 doubt, except where some kind of opposing pre- 
 judice deprives him of the right use of reason. 
 The natural and necessary changes in surround- 
 ings do not make an intelligent man less thor- 
 oughly convinced in judgment, but he may fail 
 to realize as vividly as he might expect the ful- 
 ness of what was once actual. This is the case 
 when one approaches the Holy Sepulchre and 
 Mount Calvary. But, like all things of great 
 importance, they grow on you with time and 
 repeated visits. Yet even at the first visit no 
 one can describe the strange sensations that 
 thrill the heart and the elevated thoughts that 
 fill the mind. Here, just before us, was the 
 church. of the Holy Sepulchre, which covers the 
 hill of Calvary, where Jesus Christ died on 
 the cross and rose from the dead. I will not 
 enter into details about the church, it has been 
 so often described, and printed plans are famil- 
 iar to almost every reader. \ 
 
 As you enter the church, at the left are a 
 
and the Holy Land. 129 
 
 few Moslem custodians, squatted on a slightly 
 elevated bench, to whom you pay no particu- 
 lar attention, except to be reminded by their 
 presence that many of the most sacred places 
 of the Holy Land are in the hands of in- 
 fidelsa fact which heresy, schism, and the 
 indifference of Catholic nations permit. Not 
 far from the door, and directly before you as 
 you enter, is the Stone of Unction, where our 
 Lord's body was placed when it was anoint- 
 ed by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus : 
 " They took therefore the Body of Jesus and 
 bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as 
 the manner of the Jews is to bury." It is the 
 custom of Christians to kneel and kiss the 
 stone as they enter. Not only Catholics but 
 all kinds of schismatics do the same. So far 
 as nearly all the sacred places are concerned, 
 they are treated alike with reverence by all 
 who bear the Christian name, except by the 
 unfortunate followers of the Western heresy 
 of the sixteenth century. Even Moslems look 
 on many of them as sacred, and treat them 
 with becoming respect. The Mohammedans 
 treat the sacred places of the Chris lians with 
 far greater reverence than do Protestants, 
 with a few praiseworthy exceptions. To the 
 right leads to Mount Calvary ; we turned to 
 
130 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the left, to the Holy Sepulchre: "Now there 
 was in the place where He was crucified a 
 garden ; and in the garden a new sepulchre, 
 wherein no man yet had been laid. There, 
 therefore, because it was the parasceve of the 
 Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulchre 
 was nigh at hand." This account shows that 
 the sepulchre was near Calvary. The distance 
 is about 110 feet. The Holy Sepulchre is in 
 the centre of a rotunda. A chapel 26 by ]? 
 feet encloses it. In front of the sepulchre is 
 the " Chapel of the Angel," which you enter 
 by a low door. The chapel is 10 by 16 feet. 
 From it, through a small door, stooping low, 
 you enter the Holy Sepulchre. It is 6 feet 
 wide by 6^ feet long. At the right is a hewn 
 stone nearly six feet in length, on which the 
 body of our Lord was laid. It rises nearly 
 three feet from the floor, and is covered with 
 a marble slab. On the sepulchre, as an altar, 
 the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. It 
 is in the hands of the Greeks, Copts, Armen- 
 ians, and Catholics. Here, as everywhere else 
 in Palestine, the Greeks, through the aid of 
 Russian money, have the chief influence and 
 control. Catholics are usually allowed to offer 
 the Holy Sacrifice only twice each day on 
 this altar. By permission of the Holy See, 
 
and the Holy Land. 131 
 
 Catholics say Mass on the same altar, with a 
 few necessary additions, as the schismatics. A 
 large number of precious lamps are constantly 
 burning over our Saviour's tomb, and devout 
 native Christians and pilgrims from every 
 land, at all times, are found kneeling here in 
 prayer: "In that day the root of Jesse, who 
 standeth for an ensign of people, Him the 
 Gentiles shall beseech, and His sepulchre shall 
 be glorious." Coming out, not far beyond the 
 sepulchre is the place where St. Mary Magdalen 
 met Christ and mistook Him for the gardener, 
 and near by is her altar, on which I after- 
 wards said Mass. To the right is the sacristy 
 of the Catholics, and directly ahead the Chapel 
 of the Apparition, built over the site of the 
 house to which the Blessed Virgin retired 
 after the Crucifixion, and where our Lord ap- 
 peared to her after His Resurrection. It be- 
 longs to the Catholics, and contains a portion 
 of the Pillar of Scourging, f 
 
 From here we went back to Calvary, from 
 the floor of the church ascending nineteen 
 steps to the place where Christ was crucified. 
 The Greek and Catholic chapels, really in one 
 room, are forty-seven feet long and about the 
 same in width. The altar over the place where 
 the cross stood is in the hands of the Greeks, 
 
132 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and no Catholic pries fc is allowed to say Mass 
 on it. Beneath it is seen the hole where the 
 cross was fixed in the rock, and a few feet 
 away the rent in the rock: "And the earth 
 quaked, and the rocks were rent." Very close 
 to this altar, a few feet distant, is a Catholic 
 altar of the Seven Dolors, where the Blessed 
 Virgin stood at the foot of the cross and 
 received the body of her Divine Son into her 
 arms. I have not seen this altar marked on 
 any of the printed plans of the church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre. A few feet beyond it is the 
 altar of the Crucifixion, where Christ was 
 nailed to the cross, which is also in the hands 
 of the Catholics. A number of persons are 
 continuously approaching, to kiss the sacred 
 rock where the cross was raised on which 
 Christ died, and a priest in passing the spot, 
 to say Mass at the other altars, makes a genu- 
 flection. We then descended beneath the 
 chapel of the raising of the cross to the tradi- 
 tional tomb of Adam. It is directly under the 
 place of Crucifixion, and certainly has very 
 authoritative tradition in its favor, upheld by 
 Tertullian, Origen, St. Epiphanius, St. Chrysos- 
 tom, and St. Augustine. While St. Jerome in his 
 commentary disfavors it, in his 46th Epistle he 
 says: " It is said that in this city (Jerusalem), 
 
and the Holy Land. 133 
 
 yea, at this very spot, Adam had lived and 
 died, whence the place where Christ was cruci- 
 fied was called Calvary that is, because there 
 was buried the skull of the old man (Adam) 
 in order that the second Adam that is, the 
 blood of Christ dropping from the cross- 
 would wash away the sins of the first Adam 
 lying there." Calmet says, in his commentaries 
 on the Holy Scripture, that "it is the opin- 
 ion received in a great measure by tlie ancient 
 writers, and in a great measure approved by 
 the authority of the Church, that the tombs of 
 Adam and Eve are on Mount Calvary." \ 
 
 From this it seems probable that this place 
 was called Calvary, or the place of a skull or 
 skulls, not from its possible shape like a 
 skull, nor because, being a place of execution, 
 skulls may have been strewed there, but be- 
 cause it was known to the Jews that Adam 
 was buried there Near by is shown the 
 tomb of Melchisedech, the priest-king of Jeru- 
 salem and type of Christ, who, when he came 
 forth to bless Abraham, offered the sacrifice of 
 bread and wine in the valley of Josaphat.y 
 
 We afterwards visited the prison of Our 
 Lord, chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, chapel 
 of Longitms, chapel of Parting the Garments, 
 chapel of Mocking, chapel of St. Helena, altar 
 
134 A Visit to Europe 
 
 of the Penitent Thief, place where the true 
 cross was found, tombs of Joseph of Arima- 
 thea and Nicodemus, and the "Greek Centre of 
 the World." V After visiting the church we went 
 out to make a visit to the Via Dolorosa (Sor- 
 rowful Way), over which our Lord made His 
 sorrowful journey on His way from the house 
 of Pilate to the place of His Crucifixion. It 
 begins near St. Stephen's gate and extends 
 in a southwesterly direction. The house of 
 Pilate is now separated by the street from 
 the place of Scourging. At the present time 
 the former is occupied by Turkish troops, 
 and the latter is a chapel belonging to the 
 Franciscan fathers. I had already had the 
 sad pleasure of going up the holy stairs of Pi- 
 late's house, on my knees, in Rome, where 
 they are preserved. A portion of the Pillar of 
 Scourging is in the church of the Holy Sepul- 
 chre, and another portion is in Rome. A little 
 farther on is the arch and balcony where Pilate 
 presented Christ to the people, saying: " Ecce 
 Homo!"" Behold the Man ! " All along the 
 Via Dolorosa are numbers indicating the differ- 
 ent Stations of the Cross : where our Lord fell 
 under the weight of the cross, where He met 
 Simon of Cyrene and the women of Jerusalem, 
 the house of St. Veronica, and where He met 
 
and the Holy Land. 135 
 
 His most afflicted Mother. The Sisters of Sion 
 have a line convent near the arch ''JScce Homo" 
 We afterwards, at different times, passed over 
 this Sorrowful Way, and in our memory and 
 imagination could ever see that sad procession 
 more than eighteen hundred years ago ; and 
 we seemed to see the half-closed, blood-stained 
 eyes of the Sorrowful Son as they met the 
 tearful, loving eyes of the Sorrowful Mother. 
 The next day was the festival of Corpus 
 Chris ti, and I had the privilege of saying 
 Mass in the Holy Sepulchre. The usual Mass 
 said in the Holy Sepulchre is the Mass of the 
 Resurrection. But on great feasts like Corpus 
 Christi it is the Mass of the feast. The same 
 is true of Masses said on many other altars in 
 the Holy Land. At the altar of the Seven Dolors 
 that Mass is said, and at the altar of the Cruci- 
 fixion the Mass of the Passion ; at the altar of 
 the Manger, in Bethlehem, it is the Mass of 
 the Nativity, and at the altar in Nazareth the 
 Mass of the Annunciation. Before saying Mass 
 I vested in a crowded corner of the Chapel of 
 the Angel. The chapel was packed with devout 
 worshippers, but no one except the celebrant 
 and server entered the small chapel of the Sep- 
 ulchre. My server was a native Arab named 
 Bulos Meo Bulos means Paul,\ 
 
136 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Nearly all of the Catholics in Palestine are 
 called Arabians, probably descendants of the 
 ancient Chanaanites, who inhabited the country 
 before its occupation by the children of Israel, 
 and who were never driven out, but remained 
 MS slaves to the Israelites. A number of devout 
 native women received Holy Communion at my 
 hand at the door leading to the Sepulchre. 
 Before my Mass was finished the Latin Patri- 
 arch of Jerusalem began solemn Pontifical Mass 
 at an altar erected outside the Holy Sepulchre. 
 He was a pale, thin, venerable, although young 
 prelate, who wore a full beard, like all the 
 priests that I saw in the East.\ 
 
 As two of our number wore beards, the re- 
 maining member of our party was the only 
 shaven priest I saw in the Orient, although a 
 number of French and Spanish travellers were 
 among them. I must acknowledge that this 
 ancient, apostolic, and Christian custom very 
 much pleased me. Jerusalem in some respects 
 is more Roman than Rome itself. How grand 
 and solemn was the stately Gregorian chant 
 accompanying the Mass sung by the patriarch ! 
 Everything was Roman to the most minute de- 
 tail. They have in Palestine the same con- 
 venient little cruets for wine and water for the 
 Mass that are used in St. Peter's, Rome, and 
 
and the Holy Land. 137 
 
 in almost all Catholic countries, instead of the 
 awkward things which we use for cruets in this 
 country. 
 
 I had wondered, when I read it in theology, 
 that there was opposition in some countries to 
 the use of a little spoon to measure the water 
 poured into the chalice. But when I saw the 
 Roman cruets I ceased to wonder, as it would 
 be of no use when water could be poured drop 
 by drop from a cruet without danger of too 
 much. 
 
 When the priest recites the prayers after Mass 
 in the Holy Land, nearly all the people present 
 answer in Latin, and accompany him in the 
 same language in the recitation of the " Salve 
 Regina." In Palestine, too, Saturday as well 
 as Friday is a day of abstinence, the same as in 
 Italy. \ 
 
 After the Pontifical Mass a procession with 
 the Most Holy Sacrament took place three times 
 around the Holy Sepulchre. The boys, who are 
 instructed by the Franciscan fathers, were al- 
 most perfect in plain chant, which to me was 
 a much more than delightful surprise. The 
 singers, the Franciscan fathers and brothers, 
 the French consul and a few other European 
 laymen, a number of native Catholics, and boys 
 with large baskets of most beautiful flowers 
 
138 A Visit to Europe 
 
 strewing them before the Blessed Sacrament, 
 preceded the patriarch carrying the Sacred Host 
 under a baldachin. The church was thronged 
 with native Christians. 
 
 In succeeding days I had the joy of saying 
 Mass four times on Mount Calvary : twice at 
 the altar of the Seven Dolors and twice at the 
 altar of the Crucifixion. 
 
 Offering up the Unbloody Sacrifice so near 
 where Christ died, me thinks I see the cross 
 again raised on high, and, looking down upon 
 me, the bleeding, sorrowful face of the Cruci- 
 fied ; and I seem to hear that dying cry of 
 litter desolation : " My God, my God, why 
 hast Thou forsaken Me?" echoing for ever 
 among these hills, and resounding to the ends 
 of the earth. But the sweet thought consoles 
 me that the beautiful garden of the Resurrec- 
 tion is so near the dread Calvary of Death, 
 and the bright morning of Easter so soon suc- 
 ceeded the dark hours of the Crucifixion. \ 
 
 I gradually became accustomed to the church 
 of the Holy Sepulchre ; and the more familiar 
 it became the more real did the scenes once 
 witnessed there seem. Not only did the Sepul- 
 chre of Christ and Calvary seem holy, but 
 the very walls and pavements, built by the 
 hands of men, seemed to have become partici- 
 
and the Holy Land. 139 
 
 pators of the divine holiness of those sacred 
 places. 
 
 The succeeding days were happy ones, bright 
 with the sunshine of God, that shines on the 
 walls and sacred temples of both the old and 
 new Jerusalem. As early as we might start 
 from Casa Nova, we found, either at the door 
 or on the way, a young Christian Arab .ready 
 to serve our Mass. The fee of one franc, which 
 we usually gave, was a great encouragement. 
 One morning my usual server, a small brother 
 of our guide, had gone with one of my com- 
 panions ; a little ragged Arab was ready to 
 take his place. He accompanied me with de- 
 light ; between fear and expectation he held 
 the missal while I vested ; and his eyes sparkled 
 and his face beamed with joy when the good 
 Franciscan brother told him to serve me, and 
 on the way to the altar, as we met another 
 brother, he looked at him with a look of tri- 
 umph, which the brother returned with a good- 
 natured smile. Thus do the children of the 
 poor rejoice at what seem trifles to others, and 
 their hearts are made captive by a smile of 
 friendship or an act of kindness. \ 
 
 As you enter the square space in front of the 
 church, you are met with numerous smiles and 
 requests from the proprietors of various stands 
 
140 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and mats to buy some of the articles of devo- 
 tion which they exhibit for sale. They have 
 olive wood and mother-of-pearl worked into a 
 great variety of forms. The Greek rosaries are 
 very similar to the Catholic ones, having a tas- 
 sel at the end instead of a cross or medal. 
 The Mohammedans likewise use a string of 
 beads in their devotions. Beggars are always 
 waiting, and stretch out their hands for alms. 
 Having once made an offering to two or three, 
 I was instantly surrounded by a small army 
 of them from every adjacent nook and corner. 
 On my return from the church each morning 
 I was followed by two little boys and a beauti- 
 ful little girl about eight years of age, with the 
 brightest dark eyes and rich, wavy hair, who, 
 every few rods, would seize my hand and kiss 
 it, and give me a look of deep, earnest sup- 
 plication, yet altogether childlike. \ 
 
 I have sometimes wondered if the Divine 
 Child Jesus, when He walked these streets or 
 prayed in the temple, did not leave as a herit- 
 age to the children of the despised Chanaanites 
 this look of sweet simplicity and deep earnest- 
 ness mirrored from their souls. During my 
 few weeks' stay I became greatly attached to 
 these poor Christian children of Palestine. 
 Like the Divine Child, they are poor in the 
 
and the Holy Land. 141 
 
 goods of this world, but rich in the love and 
 blessings which they have inherited from Jesus 
 and Mary. I usually waited until near Casa 
 Nova before making their .hearts glad with a 
 piece of money, for fear of the importunate 
 crowd that would otherwise follow me. But 
 they knew by experience that they would get 
 it just the same. / 
 
 What strange and interesting sights you see 
 on the streets of Jerusalem ! The odd build- 
 ings and streets hold no comparison in ancient 
 form and variety with the more peculiar cos- 
 tumes and people. But you soon get to feel 
 at home in the midst of your strange sur- 
 roundings. No one seems to notice what any 
 one else wears. To attempt to describe the dif- 
 ferent modes of dress, to a man would be an 
 endless confusion and final impossibility. You 
 meet Catholic, Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Syr- 
 ian, and Abyssinian monks in their various 
 habits ; Turks, Greeks, Europeans, Jews, Egyp 
 tians, Nubians, and natives of different races. 
 Only the practised eye of an expert can distin- 
 guish by their dress to what particular class 
 they belong, and I seriously doubt if he can. 
 The guide-books say that they can thus be dis- 
 tinguished, but our dragoman in Alexandria 
 told us it is not true, but that every man dresses 
 
142 A Visit to Europe 
 
 according to his particular fancy and ability. 
 A person long accustomed to the people might 
 distinguish them, but any one else would make 
 a mistake at least every other time. / 
 
 Many, both Christians and Mohammedans, 
 wear long robes, and turbans on their heads, 
 some black, some white or green, blue or yel- 
 low. Many wear the red fez with black tassel, 
 a flowing jacket with a close one under, and 
 baggy breeches, or else a large, full garment, 
 fastened at the waist, reaching half-way from 
 the knees to the ankles, having openings for 
 the legs, and stockings and shoes beneath. 
 Some wear a simple white, blue, or other col- 
 ored tunic, both cool and cheap, and nothing 
 else except a fez or turban. The Jews are al- 
 ways easily distinguishable, having mostly col- 
 ored gowns, usually a cap, which is sometimes 
 fur, on their heads, and, although their hair is 
 otherwise short, they have two long locks, 
 sometimes curled, hanging down in front of 
 their ears. But, as already remarked, pecu- 
 liar dress will not be noticed in the East, ex- 
 cept, perhaps, for its richness and beauty. I 
 have my doubts if even an Esquimau from 
 near the North Pole, dressed in his eternal 
 winter dress of Arctic furs, would attract any 
 vulgar attention. Yet it has frequently hap- 
 
and the Holy Land. 143 
 
 pened in our best American cities that the 
 "Young American" rabble has thrown stones 
 at Oriental Christian men in their own cos- 
 tumes. There is great need that "Young Ame- 
 rica" should be made at least half-civilized 
 and much less vulgar. A young Englishman, 
 who had always lived in Palestine, told me 
 that he believed many costumes of the people 
 had not changed their fashion in the last eight- 
 een hundred years. \ 
 
 The Friday after Corpus Christi I had for- 
 gotten my breviary in the Church of the Holy 
 Sepulchre. I had not yet become used to the 
 streets, and soon missed my way. I met an 
 Arabian boy, and, not being able to speak Ara- 
 bic, addressed him in Latin, as I found I was 
 more frequently, for some reason I cannot ex- 
 plain, partially understood in that language 
 than any other. I asked him to show me the 
 church. He seemed to understand perfectly, 
 and immediately led the way. Following him 
 for some time, I reached the conclusion that 
 he had mistaken my meaning. It dawned on 
 my mind that it was Friday and he was 
 taking me to the Jews' Wailing Place. Being 
 very anxious to visit that place, I was well 
 satisfied with the mistake. My suspicions were 
 correct, and we soon arrived on the scene that 
 
144 A Visit to Europe 
 
 draws sympathy from the heart of every man 
 with a heart. There were not to exceed fifty 
 persons present, of every age and both sexes. 
 They were all evidently of the Jewish race. A 
 very few asked and received alms. Some were 
 sitting in silence, and, in the same posture, 
 others were praying. Some were looking around 
 with curiosity, but a number of men were 
 standing with their faces to the wall, with 
 books in their hands, and praying with great 
 earnestness in a sad and mournful tone. The 
 wall is over against the site of the ancient 
 temple, an inside wall that surrounds Mount 
 Moria. They seemed to try to peer through 
 the cracks in the wall as they mourned over 
 the desolation of Sion and the desecration of 
 the Holy of Holies: "Behold, your house shall 
 be left to you desolate. >J \ 
 
 The wall of the Wailing Place is fifty-two 
 yards long arid fifty-six feet high. Some con- 
 sider the lower courses of stones in this wall, 
 which are very large, as very ancient. Some- 
 times, towards evening, the following litany is 
 chanted : 
 
 Leader. For the palace that lies desolate ; 
 Response. We sit in solitude and mourn. 
 L. For the palace that is destroyed; 
 R. We sit, etc. 
 
and the Holy Land. 145 
 
 Li. For the walls that are overthrown; 
 
 R. We sit, etc. 
 
 L. For our majesty that is departed \ 
 
 72. We sit, etc. 
 
 L. For our great men who lie dead; 
 
 .R. We sit, etc. 
 
 L.- For the precious stones that are burned; 
 
 R.We sit, etc. 
 
 L. For the priests who have stumbled; 
 
 R. We sit, etc. 
 
 L. For our kings who have despised Him; 
 
 .R. We sit, etc. 
 
 Here is also another litany : 
 
 Leader. We pray Thee have mercy on Sion t 
 
 Response. Gather the children of Jerusalem. 
 
 L. Haste, haste, Redeemer of Sion! 
 
 R. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem. 
 
 L. May beauty and majesty surround Sion. 
 
 R. Ah! turn Thyself mercifully to Jerusalem. 
 
 L. May the kingdom soon return to Sion! 
 
 R. Comfort those who mourn over Jerusalem. 
 
 L. May peace and joy abide with Sion! 
 
 R. And the branch (of Jesse) spring up at Jerusalem. 
 
 Near the Wailing Place of the Jews is the 
 very poor quarter of the Moghrebins, who are 
 Moslems from the northwest of Africa.^ 
 
146 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SOME SACRED PLACES NEAR JERUSALEM. 
 
 \OciR next excursion was a more general one 
 of the whole party. Starting from Casa Nova, 
 early in the afternoon, might have been seen 
 my companions and myself with our guide, 
 four of us in all, dressed for very warm wea- 
 ther and astride four Jerusalem donkeys. It 
 was not, however, our first experience in don- 
 key-riding, as the reader knows. The donkey 
 is deservedly a great favorite in the East. He 
 seems to be one of the family, and always at 
 home to company. He seems never to lose 
 confidence, impudence, or self-possession. If 
 any one ''buys him for a fool" he will find 
 that be has made a grievous mistake and has 
 a donkey on his hands. They are of all colors, 
 white, gray, black, and mouse-colored, and of 
 many sizes. The Oriental donkey is much 
 more intelligent than his Occidental brother.\ 
 We rode past the church of the Holy Sepul- 
 chre, down the Via Dolorosa, and out of St. 
 Stephen's gate, near which St. Stephen was 
 stoned. This gate, on the east of Jerusalem, is 
 also called both the gate of the Blessed Virgin 
 
and the Holy Land. 147 
 
 Mary and gate of Benjamin. Our road led 
 down a steep declivity into the valley of Josa- 
 phat, or Jehoshaphat. Of this valley the pro- 
 phet Joel -speaks: "Let them arise, and let the 
 nations come up into the valley of Josaphat ; 
 for there I will sit to judge all nations round 
 about." " Nations, nations in the valley of 
 destruction ; for the day of the Lord is near 
 in the valley of destruction. The sun and the 
 moon are darkened, and the stars have with- 
 drawn their shining. And the Lord shall roar 
 out of Sion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. 
 And you shall know that I am the 
 Lord your God dwelling in Sion, My holy 
 mountain." Jews, Christians, and Moslems be- 
 lieve that this valley will be the scene of the 
 Last Judgment. It is filled with Jewish and 
 Mohammedan tombs. We passed over the 
 brook Kedron ; on our left, up the valley, 
 was the tomb of the Blessed Virgin ; on pur 
 right, down the valley, were the tombs of Absa- 
 lom, the ungrateful son of David; of Josaphat, 
 the pious king of Juda ; of Zacharias, who was 
 " slain between the temple and the altar"; and ' 
 the tomb of St. James the Less, who was first 
 Bishop of Jerusalem and a cousin of our Lord.\ 
 
 When the terrible events of the Crucifixion 
 were taking place, the Apostles, weak and 
 
148 A Visit to Europe 
 
 trembling, fled and hid themselves in caves 
 and tombs near the city u scattered like sheep 
 when the shepherd was struck." After the 
 Crucifixion St. James the Less retired to a 
 grotto here, and ate no food until after the Re- 
 surrection. He ended his life by being stoned, 
 and was buried at or near the place where he 
 had formerly concealed himself. We did not 
 go nearer these tombs, that chiefly attract the 
 attention among the many everywhere visible. 
 This valley was first called the Vale of Save, 
 or King's Yale, where Melchisedech offered 
 bread and wine as he met Abraham on his 
 return from battle. \ 
 
 We hastened on to the Garden of Gethse- 
 mani and Grotto of Agony at the foot of the 
 Mount of Olives. We first entered the grotto. 
 It is the place where our Lord retired a ''lit- 
 tle further to pray," and where, in His agony, 
 the drops of bloody sweat fell down upon the 
 ground. These are the same rocks wbich saw 
 that scene of "sorrow unto death," and re- 
 ceived those drops of the Saviour' s blood. Oh ! 
 if they had voices they would cry out in an- 
 guish, until the end of time, with cries that 
 would fill the whole earth with weeping for 
 the spectacle that they witnessed on that 
 awful night. The grotto and garden are in 
 
and the Holy Land. 149 
 
 the possession of the Franciscans. The Fran- 
 ciscan in charge treated us very 4dndly and 
 gave us some pieces of the sacred rock. We 
 then went to the garden : " Then Jesus came 
 with them into a country place which is called 
 .Gethsemani." It is surrounded by a wall, and 
 the interior again by a high but sightly fence. 
 Among about fifty olive-trees in the garden 
 are eight more aged and venerable than the 
 rest. As olive-trees live to a great age, and as 
 these are very old and large, some of them 
 nineteen feet in circumference, the claim is 
 considered by careful writers as quite probable 
 that some of the oldest date from the time of 
 the Passion. The monks cultivate a fine flower- 
 garden among the trees. The good brother 
 gave us pieces of branches from the trees, and 
 a package of dried flower- seeds to be planted 
 in our distant American soil. We now turned 
 back to the sepulchre of the Blessed Virgin. 
 It is principally in the hands of the schismatic 
 Armenians and Greeks. Catholics have some- 
 times had the privilege of singing Mass here 
 on the festival of the Assumption.^ 
 
 As an instance of how well those authors 
 frequently agree who try to be critical without 
 regard to Christian traditions, we have in this 
 place an illustration. Baedeker says: "It is 
 
150 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ascertained, however, that a church stood over 
 the traditional tomb early in the fifth cen- 
 tury." The American Cyclopaedia says: " Is 
 the traditional tomb of the Virgin Mary, first 
 mentioned in the eightli century." So it ap- 
 pears that the American Cyclopcedia is at least 
 three hundred years behind the times in mat- 
 ters of critical history. You descend to the 
 tomb by long flights of very broad marble 
 stairs. On the right, going down, are the 
 tombs of St. Ann arid St. Joachim, parents of 
 the Blessed Virgin, and on the left is the tomb 
 of her spouse, St. Joseph. Still farther down 
 is the vacant tomb of our Holy Mother, where 
 her pure, -precious body was laid until it was 
 transplanted into heaven. Next to the Sepul- 
 chre of Christ, the sepulchre of the Blessed 
 Virgin is the tomb dearest to the Christian 
 world. We passed out of the church, and up 
 the side of the Mount of Olives. Nearly three 
 thousand years ago King David went over this 
 way " towards the way that looketh to the 
 desert," and up this mountain: "But David 
 went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, going 
 up and weeping, walking barefoot," as he fled 
 from Jerusalem and his unnatural son Absa- 
 lom. How many times did our Lord with His 
 Apostles and Holy Mother pass up and down 
 
and the Holy Land. i 5 1 
 
 this mountain- side as they departed from or 
 approached Jerusalem ! Over tlfis mountain 
 He came from Bethany, when vast numbers of 
 people met Him and cut down palm branches 
 and strewed them in the way, and raised the 
 shout "Hosanna!" as on the feast of taber- 
 nacles; but Jesus, " seeing the city, wept over 
 it." We soon reached the summit, the plnco 
 whence Christ ascended into heaven. The au- 
 thors of guide-books and works on travel, and 
 others who make little of sacred places tra 
 ditionally held as such by Christians, almost 
 unanimously reject this as the spot of the 
 Ascension. They base their rejection on the 
 passage from St. Luke: "And He led them 
 out as far as Bethany, . . . and while 
 He blessed them He departed from them, and 
 was carried up to heaven." Baedeker, Brad- 
 shaw, and the genial author of Orient Sun- 
 beams hastily conclude that He must have 
 ascended from Bethany. St. Luke, the same 
 inspired author, says in the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles : "Then they returned to Jerusalem from 
 the mount that is called Olivet, which is nigh 
 Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day's journey." 
 This agrees with the summit of the mount, 
 which is about one mile or less, or a Sabbath 
 day's journey, from the city.\ 
 
152 A Visit io Eiirope 
 
 Bethany is about two miles, or two Sabbath- 
 days' journey, distant: " Now Bethany was 
 near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off" 
 (St. John xi. 18). 
 
 It must also be remembered that in Holy 
 Scripture events frequently follow each other 
 in narration which did not occur in the same 
 place. The account given by St. Mark, too 
 closely followed, would indicate that the Ascen- 
 sion took place from Jerusalem. Besides this 
 explanation, Tischendorf. the great Protestant 
 Biblical critic, considers the clause in St. Luke, 
 " and He was carried up to heaven," a very 
 ancient addition to the original text. "The 
 Codex Sinaiticus, Manuscript D of Cambridge, 
 five Latin documents, together with St. Augus- 
 tine, are against the genuineness of said pas- 
 sage." (Four Gospels, by Archbishop Heiss.) 
 It may be further added that the text of the 
 Latin Vulgate does not necessarily uphold our 
 English translation, "as far as Bethany." It 
 reads: " Eduxit autem eos for as in Bethani- 
 am" which can be correctly translated: "And 
 He led them out towards Bethany." The 
 Latin word "in," denoting direction, is trans- 
 lated either "to" or "towards." The Mount 
 of Olives is towards Bethany from Jerusalem. 
 Thus we see that there is no good reason for 
 
and the Holy Land. 153 
 
 rejecting the traditional site of the Ascension, 
 handed down by primitive Christians to the 
 days of St. Jerome and St. Augustine, and 
 indicated in the Acts of the Apostles. The 
 readiness with which it is done, even by some 
 of the more intelligent Protestant authors, 
 shows how little dependence can be placed on 
 the hypercritical and superficial speculations 
 of more prejudiced writers. The church that 
 stood over the place is now turned into a 
 mosque, in which Christians have the privi- 
 lege of celebrating Mass on certain days of 
 the year. We had some trouble to find the 
 custodian, but he was at length found, as 
 there were plenty of boys ready, if necessary, 
 to search every building on the mount in 
 hopes of backsheesh. It is the same all over 
 Palestine: assistance is always at hand. A 
 half-dozen or more are nearly always ready, 
 if you have only the appearance of wanting 
 something. / 
 
 We were directly shown the footprint of 
 our Lord, which He left on His ascension 
 into heaven. We knelt and kissed that sacred 
 impress in the rock, as we did everywhere in 
 the Holy Land not only the footprints but 
 the footsteps of Him whose divine feet upon 
 the mountains brought good tidings, peace, 
 
154 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 and salvation to the world. We retired a 
 little farther to get an unobstructed view of 
 the surrounding country. To the west the 
 whole city of Jerusalem seemed to lie under 
 our feet, with its towers, domes, and minarets ; 
 and its great eastern wall rose grandly out of 
 the valley of Josaphat. To the south the 
 heights about Bethlehem were visible; while 
 to tha east a farther and wider range of vision 
 was presented first was the "wilderness of 
 Judea," which is a wide expanse of sterile, 
 rocky hills and mountains; farther on was the 
 valley of the Jordan, and at its southern ex- 
 tremity, lying far below us, was the Dead Sea, 
 shining like a bright blue mirror in the sun. 
 Although less than twenty miles distant, it is 
 almost four thousand feet below the Mount of 
 Olives, and three thousand seven hundred feet 
 below the level of Jerusalem. Beyond it and 
 the valley of the Jordan were seen the blue 
 mountains of Moab and Ammon, among which 
 is Mount Nebo, from whose height Moses be- 
 held the Promised Land. To the north of 
 these appeared the mountains of Gilead. \ 
 
 Whenever afterwards I had the opportunity 
 of seeing that range of mountains beyond the 
 Jordan, my eyes seemed riveted to them, as if 
 at every instant I expected to see emerge from 
 
and the Holy Land. 155 
 
 among them the* vast army of the Israelites, 
 coming forth from their forty years' wandering 
 in the wilderness to take possession of the land 
 of their forefathers. 
 
 Not far from here, on the mount, is the 
 place where Christ taught the Lord's Prayer 
 to His disciples. A pious French princess has 
 built a convent over the spot, and around an 
 interior court that Divine Prayer is inscribed 
 on tablets in thirty- one different languages. 
 Near by is the place where the Apostles came 
 together and composed the Apostles' Creed. 
 Perhaps they came to this place in memory 
 of the fact that here they had learned from 
 their Master's lips u how to pray." We rode 
 part way down the mountain, and then turned 
 on the road to Bethany. On the way ruins 
 were pointed out to us as on the site of the 
 ancient village of Bethphage, where the ass 
 was procured on which Christ rode into Jeru- 
 salem. They now belong to the Franciscans./ 
 
 We soon reached Bethany, which is situated 
 on a southeast spur of the Mount of Olives. 
 The Arabs call it El 'Azariyeh, from Lazarus, 
 or Lazarium. It has a population of about two 
 hundred, who live in about forty miserable 
 houses, all of whom are Moslems, except the 
 family who have charge of the tomb of Lazarus 
 
156 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 and the house of Mary and JMartha. I cannot 
 agree with those writers who speak so dis- 
 paragingly of modern Bethany. The village 
 itself has few attractions, and its inhabitants 
 seem poor, but the valleys and hillsides imme- 
 diately around are well cultivated, and the land- 
 scape is made pleasant by groves of olive, fig, 
 almond, and carob trees. Before I had seen 
 that lowly village on the borders of the wilder- 
 ness, outside of the noise and care, bustle and 
 business of Jerusalem, my mind often dwelt 
 on it with feelings of special affection ; for our 
 Lord loved it and its retirement. Beautiful, 
 peaceful Bethany, where Jesus found a home 
 and rest, love and sympathy ! And the human 
 heart of Jesus was moved by human love and 
 tenderness, and the Gospel tells us: " Now 
 Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and 
 Lazarus." Who would not wish to live and 
 die in a place so dear to our Lord ? Who would 
 not love a habitation and solitude in a place 
 where Jesus loved to retire from the busy world ? 
 O Bethany, how fair thou art to the eyes of 
 the soul ! How dear thou art to him who loves 
 his earthly home and desires a heavenly one ! \ 
 We visited or passed through Bethany three 
 times. On this occasion we visited the tomb 
 of Lazarus, and south of it the house of Mary 
 
and the Holy Land. 157 
 
 and Martha. They are not in a very good con- 
 dition, but they are now in the hands of the 
 Catholics, and Mass is sometimes celebrated 
 here. A crowd of children constantly surround- 
 ed us, trying to sell a Bedouin dagger, "an- 
 tique," or trying to do us some favor for back- 
 sheesh. As it was growing late we soon returned 
 to Jerusalem, wh^re we arrived after dark. It 
 is not pleasant to ride in the dark through the 
 rough-paved but slippery streets of Jerusalem, 
 as your beast more frequently slips and stum- 
 bles than he does on the steep, rocky roads of 
 the country./ 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE JEWISH TEMPLE ON MOUNT MORIA, AND 
 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON MOUNT SIGN. 
 
 OUR next visit was to be made to the site of 
 Solomon's Temple, now occupied by the " Dome 
 of the Rock," or Mosque of Omar. The sur- 
 rounding courts, enclosed by a high wall, com- 
 prise about one- seventh part of the modern city. 
 This was the ancient Mount Moria, but it was 
 so closely connected with Mount Sion that it 
 is frequently included in that name when the 
 praises and glory of Sion are sung by the psalm- 
 
158 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ists and prophets. At one of the western gates, 
 through which we entered, we were joined by a 
 Turkish military official from the Tower of 
 David, near the Jaffa gate, dressed in a very 
 showy uniform, who was to accompany us and 
 pay all fees and manage all affairs connected 
 with our visit. We had visited the alabaster 
 mosque of Me he met Ali in Cairo, and did not 
 want a similar experience. Very few mosques 
 would be attractive to our eyes after that com- 
 bined attack on our pockets and good-nature. 
 Although the Mosque of Omar is considered 
 by the Moslems, next after Mecca, the holiest 
 arid the second most beautiful in the world, in 
 all probability we would not have visited it if 
 some stronger attraction did not compel us. 
 Who would not be drawn to that place which 
 was once the mountain of the Lord, even though 
 now desolate \ / 
 
 I will not attempt a description of the Mo. 
 bammed an surroundings of the present time, 
 for it sickens the heart to think that this place, 
 the holy mountain of God in the old dispen- 
 sation, and in Christian times reconsecrated 
 to divine service in the Old Testament the 
 dwelling-place of the God of Hosts, and in 
 the New Testament so frequently sanctified 
 by the presence of the Son of God is now 
 
and the Holy Laud. 159 
 
 desecrated by the occupation of the infidel 
 Moslem. 
 
 At the door of the mosque, as usual, slippers 
 were put on over our shoes. 
 
 Our party would have attracted great atten- 
 tion anywhere else than in the Orient : the ro- 
 mantic looking Turkish officer, our gay- looking 
 Arab guide, the mosque officials and attend- 
 ants, and ourselves in American and tourist 
 styles mixed, very much out of style in Jerusa- 
 lem, and with huge colored slippers on our 
 feet. / 
 
 In the midst of the mosque is the Holy Rock, 
 57 feet long and 43 feet wide and about 6 feet 
 high. From the earliest history this rock must 
 have been a place of worship and altar of sacri- 
 fice. It is probable that it was on this rock 
 that Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac. 
 It is believed to have been anointed by the 
 patriarch Jacob. It was at this rock that the 
 angel of the Lord stood who slew the people of 
 Israel because of the pride of David in number- 
 ing his people: " And the angel of the Lord 
 was by the threshing-floor of Areuna the Jebu- 
 site. And Gad came to David that day, arid 
 said : Go up, and build an altar to the Lord in 
 the threshing-floor of Areuna the Jebusite" 
 (2 Kings xxiv.) Here Solomon afterwards built 
 
160 A Visit to Europe 
 
 his temple: "And Solomon began to build the 
 house of the Lord in Jerusalem, in Mount Moria, 
 which had been shown to David his father, 
 in the place which David had prepared in the 
 threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite" (2 Par. 
 iii. 1). It is probable that this rock was the 
 place of the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of 
 the Covenant rested, although some claim that it 
 was the great altar of sacrifice. Not only did 
 the Ark of the Covenant rest here, but it is 
 said that it was hidden under the rock by the 
 prophet Jeremias, and still lies buried beneath ; 
 but the. Ethiopians believe that it was borne 
 to their country, where it is yet preserved. Al- 
 though Christians take advantage of the privi- 
 lege of visiting so sacred a place, the Jews will 
 not enter, through fear, it is said, of the sin of 
 treading on the Holy of Holies. Excavations 
 are ffbt allowed to be made, and therefore much 
 knowledge of the place must continue to be 
 hidden. Not a " stone upon a stone" remains 
 of the magnificent temple that once stood here. 
 .The temple in which Christ taught and prayed 
 was not the temple of Solomon. Solomon's 
 Temple was destroyed by Nabuchodonosor four 
 hundred years after its building, and six hun- 
 dred before the coming of Christ. After the re- 
 turn of the Jews from their Babylonian cap- 
 
and the Holy Land. 161 
 
 tivity it was rebuilt by Zorobabel, the son of 
 Salathiel, and Josue, the son of Jose^lec. This 
 was inferior to the first temple, which was a 
 source of great sorrow to the Jews. Herod there- 
 fore determined to build a third temple more 
 worthy of taking the place of the first. He 
 employed on the cloisters and temple ten thou- 
 sand skilled workmen and one thousand priests, 
 whom it took eight years to build the cloisters, 
 and a year and six months to finish the temple. 
 Yet it was more than sixty years before it was 
 wholly completed. The temple proper was sur- 
 rounded by great cloisters or courts, 600 feet 
 square, made from the richest materials and by 
 the most skilful artisans. The outer cloister 
 was the court of the Gentiles ; the second clois- 
 ter, into which under pain of death none but 
 Israelites might enter, was divided into an outer 
 court for the women and an inner court for the 
 men. Into the third cloister none but priests 
 were permitted to enter. Within this was the 
 temple itself, and before the temple was the 
 great altar of sacrifice. Within the temple was 
 the sanctuary or holy place, and farther in the 
 background, in a deeper recess, was the Holy 
 of Holies. From this we see that the courts 
 of the Lord have become more glorious than 
 His inner temple, for " He has glorified the place 
 
162 A Visit to Europe 
 
 of His feet," "and all that slandered Thee shall 
 worship the steps of Thy feet, and shall call the 
 city of the Lord the Sion of the Holy One of 
 Israel.?' With memories and reflections like 
 these we wandered around the courts and within 
 the sanctuary of God's ancient temple ; and in 
 that reverent spirit with which men walk on holy 
 ground, our eyes were closed to the present, 
 and we seemed to see the Holy Family, St. 
 Joseph, the Mother Mary, and the Divine Child 
 Jesus, accompanied by the holy priest Simeon, 
 coming up the steps of the courts of the temple. 
 On our way to the church of the Presentation 
 of Mary, in the southwest corner of the grounds, 
 now the mosque of El-Aksa, we had pointed 
 out to us the judgment-seat of David, and 
 where Solomon prayed at the dedication of the 
 temple, and many other interesting places. The 
 mosque of El-Aksa was originally built by 
 the Emperor Justinian in honor of the Blessed 
 Virgin. In this part of the temple grounds 
 tradition states that the Holy Family remained 
 some days in a dwelling occupied by the holy 
 priest Simeon. On the east is the beautiful 
 Golden Gate through which Christ came in His 
 triumphal entry, which is celebrated by the 
 Church on Palm Sunday. During the time of 
 the Crusaders, on Palm Sunday the patriarch 
 
and the Holy Land. 163 
 
 rode through it on an ass in grand procession 
 from the Mount of Olives. It is now walled 
 up, because the Moslems have a tradition that 
 on some Friday a Christian conqueror will enter 
 this gate and retake Jerusalem. May God 
 hasten the day ! 
 
 After visiting El-Aksa we went out and looked 
 over the walls to the south. Across the deep 
 valley, on the other side, is the village of Si- 
 loam, on the declivity of the Mountain of Of- 
 fence, said to be the site of Solomon's idola- 
 trous sacrifices. The inhabitants are all Mos- 
 lems and noted for their thievish propensities. 
 The caves which serve as dwellings for many of 
 them were formerly inhabited by hermits. But 
 we had other places to visit and could not de- 
 lay. We soon found ourselves outside the tem- 
 ple walls, where our gallant Turk left us. / 
 
 Mounted on donkeys, with a donkey-boy run- 
 ning behind with a rod to make them more 
 lively, we followed the leadership of our Arab 
 guide. We first went to the Jews' Wailing 
 Place, which my companions had not yet seen. 
 Soon after we dismounted and entered one of 
 the chief synagogues of the Jews. It was Sat- 
 urday, but there was a great difference in the 
 devotion manifested here and at the place we 
 had just left. We did not long delay, for our 
 
164 A Visit to Europe 
 
 way was over to Mount Sion. We passed out of 
 the gate of Sion, for the objects and sanctuaries 
 of greatest interest are now outside the walls. 
 When one tries to compare the sacred places as 
 to relative importance and sacredness, he finds 
 himself at a loss to decide between them, and 
 is happy in the thought that it is not necessary. 
 What place can be more holy than the one we 
 were about to visit ? The Ccenaculum of our 
 Lord is now a Mohammedan mosque. It lies 
 in the midst of a cluster of buildings called by 
 the natives " Prophet David." We were readi- 
 ly admitted by the Moslem custodian, and as 
 cended into the "large upper room" where our 
 Lord ate the Last Supper with His Apostles. 
 This is the place spoken of in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures : " But David took the castle of Sion, the 
 same is the city of David." Here was his royal 
 palace, and here he prepared his tomb where 
 he was buried. The tombs of David and Solo- 
 mon are in the east part of the building, at the 
 end of the Coenaculum. It is quite certain, ac- 
 cording to ancient authors, that this building 
 escaped destruction when Titus took and de- 
 stroyed Jerusalem. The Mohammedans have a 
 superstitious dread of entering the tomb of 
 David. Our guide told us it was believed that 
 one who entered it would immediately die It 
 
and the Holy Land. 165 
 
 is related by Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish rabbi 
 who travelled extensively in the East in the 
 twelfth century, that when two workmen once 
 raised a stone that revealed the mouth of a cav- 
 ern, they entered and found two grand, palace- 
 like tombs, ornamented with marble, gold, and 
 silver, and crowns and sceptres were lying on 
 tables. They saw also other tombs of the royal 
 house and family of David. On trying to enter 
 they were repulsed by a whirlwind, and a voice 
 was heard saying : ' ' Arise, and go from this 
 place." This wonder was related before a learn- 
 ed Jew, who said it "was the burial-place of 
 the house of David, prepared for the kings of 
 Juda." Josephus writes that it is stated that 
 when Herod attempted to enter David's tomb 
 "two of the guards were slain by a flame that 
 burst* out on those that went in." As we stood 
 there in that plain, uncared-for, unornamented 
 room, we said within ourselves: Is it possible 
 that this is the actual room in which the Holy 
 Eucharist was instituted by the Son of God, 
 and which witnessed the wonders of Pentecost? 
 What mysteries of divine love and power have 
 been accomplished in this place ! Bead the first 
 and second chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, 
 and it will appear plainly that there was one 
 u large upper room," called in the Latin Vulgate 
 
1 66 A Visit to Ezirope 
 
 " Ccenaculum," a word having different mean- 
 ings, but in this case evidently applied to the 
 same place, which was the common sanctuary 
 of holy life, prayer, and mystery ; which Christ 
 sanctified by His great mystery of love, and the 
 Holy Ghost made glorious by the manifestation 
 of His divine power and the communication of 
 His divine gifts ; where earth and heaven seem- 
 ed to meet and commingle ; where those who 
 were yet among mortals raised their hands and 
 touched the heavens, and where the glorified 
 yet loved to linger ; so that men could then and 
 even now exclaim : " How terrible is this place ! 
 This is no other but the house of God and the 
 gate of heaven."/ 
 
 To summarize the events of this place: Here 
 David and Solomon lived ; here do their bodies 
 rest. Here our Lord instituted the Holy Eucha- 
 rist, and here, after His resurrection, He ap- 
 peared to His Apostles and instituted the Sacra- 
 ment of Penance as He breathed on them and 
 said: " Receive ye the Holy Ghost "; here also 
 the doubting Thomas was led to exclaim : "My 
 Lord and my God ! " Here the Holy Ghost de- 
 scended. Here Matthias was chosen by lot to 
 take the bishopric of Judas ; here St. James the 
 Less was made bishop of Jerusalem. Here the 
 Apostles dispersed to go forth to fulfil the 
 
and the Holy Land. 167 
 
 divine commission to teach the nations of the 
 earth ; here they assembled in the Council of 
 Jerusalem. Here the seven deacons were cho- 
 sen, and among them St. Stephen, the first Chris- 
 tian martyr ; and here his body was brought 
 alter his death. And this was the home of St. 
 John and the Blessed Virgin after our Lord's 
 Ascension, where St. John celebrated Mass in 
 her presence. Here the Blessed Virgin died, 
 and was borne from here for burial. This was 
 the first Christian church. It is now a Moslem 
 mosque, but Mass is yet offered in this ho]y 
 place on Holy Thursday. The Franciscan su- 
 perior is yet styled "Guardian of Mount Sion." 
 "Arise, arise, put on thy strength, O Sion ! put 
 on the garments of thy glory, O Jerusalem, the 
 city of the Holy One ! Shake thyself from the 
 dust, arise, sit up, O Jerusalem ! loose the bonds 
 from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion ! "/ 
 From the Coenaculum we went to the Arme- 
 nian monastery of Mount Sion. It is situated 
 on the site of the house of Caiphas, the high- 
 priest, where Christ was led and where Peter 
 denied his Lord. The prison of Christ is shown, 
 and the stone which was placed against the door 
 of the sepulchre. We then rode out through a 
 cemetery, and to the very brow of Mount Sion 
 toward the south. We looked away to the 
 
i68 A Visit to Europe 
 
 south while the dearest memories filled our 
 minds, because in that direction, only six miles 
 distant, lies Bethlehem. How often King Da- 
 vid, from his palace on Mount Sion, must have 
 looked in the same direction ; for Bethlehem was 
 his native place, and there he was anointed king. 
 Mount Sion was the home of his manhood and 
 greatness, of his wives, sons, and daughters ; 
 Bethlehem was the home of his childhood and 
 simplicity, of his father and mother. Which 
 do you think was dearer to him ? I cannot 
 decide, but I must cry out : O happy man 
 whose eyes in his mature and declining years 
 can rest, as his could, upon the home of his 
 birth and the scenes of his youth ! Our Lord 
 likewise looked out from this hill towards Beth- 
 lehem ; and the eyes of the Blessed Mother also 
 wandered over those southern hills as she re- 
 membered that dark and dismal stable and that 
 cruel night. Wandering among the tombstones 
 scattered over the hill were several black eccle- 
 siastics from Abyssinia, like ourselves quietly 
 enjoying the scene. How frequently does it 
 occur that on these holy hills Europe, Asia, Af- 
 rica, and America are represented, drawn from 
 the corners of the earth by a fact which seems 
 so simple and is so powerful, that One who was 
 spoken of as the "carpenter's Son" here lived 
 
and the Holy Land. 169 
 
 a brief life in poverty, and here died an igno- 
 minious death nearly two thousand years ago ! 
 After we had sufficiently dwelt on the scene 
 with mind and eye we turned homeward, around 
 the southern and western wall, through the val- 
 ley of Hinnom, or "valley of the son of En- 
 nom," i.e., "valley of the children of groan- 
 ing," called also Topheth and Gehenna used 
 in Scripture to designate the hell of the damn- 
 ed because in this valley children were sacri- 
 ficed to the idol Moloch. Across, on the south- 
 ern side of the valley, are the Field of Blood 
 and Hill of Evil Counsel, where the death 
 of our Lord was plotted in the country- house 
 of Caiphas. On the hill is the " tree on which 
 Judas hanged himself." It is a solitary tree, 
 with none others near it, and can be seen from 
 every direction. It seems to me quite probable 
 that this one is a growth from the actual tree. 
 I have said above, "homeward," for Casa Nova 
 seemed like home. We were always welcomed 
 back with a friendly, cordial welcome by those 
 whose faces had become familiar. I can never 
 say enough in praise of the Franciscans of Pal- 
 estine, nor admire sufficiently their humility, 
 labors, self-sacrifice, and genuine Christian hos- 
 pitality. Their beds and rooms were clean and 
 neat, their food good enough and served with 
 
1 70 A Visit to Europe 
 
 care and politeness. They were ever ready to 
 yield their own convenience to the desires of 
 the pilgrim-priest, especially in the matter of 
 saying Mass at the first opportunity on those 
 altars where only two Masses can be celebrated 
 each day. Next to the glory of God and the 
 salvation of their sonls, the welfare and plea- 
 sure of Christian pilgrims seem to be the chief 
 aim of their lives./ 
 
 There are not a great number of visitors In 
 Palestine in the month of June, so we soon got 
 acquainted with the pleasant faces daily around 
 the pilgrims' table. Some remained a part of 
 the time and others all the time of our stay. 
 Among them were two Jesuit fathers from their 
 college in Beirout, a priest from France, another 
 from Spain, and about a dozen sisters from 
 France, going to Nazareth to establish a house. 
 With them was their chaplain, a fine old Capu- 
 chin father, who had been a missionary in the 
 East Indies. The pleasant, friendly superior of 
 Casa Nova usually spent a part of the time with 
 us at both dinner and supper, and seemed espe- 
 cially to enjoy the conversation with his Ameri- 
 can friends. Perhaps we are naturally inclined 
 to be interested in what is or comes from very 
 far away in distance. \ 
 
 The Patriarch of Jerusalem has a new and 
 
and the Holy Land. 1 7 1 
 
 beautiful church, where we went on the after- 
 noon of Corpus Chris ti. There was 4 to be a 
 grand procession in honor of the Most Holy 
 Sacrament. A large number of priests, some of 
 them of Oriental rites, were in the sanctuary. 
 There must have been fully two thousand per- 
 sons present, which convinced me that it is quite 
 probable that the Catholic population of Jeru- 
 salem is even greater than claimed. When a 
 very large procession was outside, the church 
 was nearly filled with women. The procession 
 was like all similar ones, but those who appear- 
 ed in it were quite different from those who take 
 part in more western lands. The patriarch and 
 numerous clergy presented a very venerable and 
 Oriental appearance ; while it would be impossi- 
 ble to describe the picturesque effect of the long- 
 line and surrounding throng of dark-complex- 
 ioned Syrian Christians of all classes in their 
 strange and graceful varieties of dress. I was 
 pleased to see pews in the patriarchal church ; 
 for, whatever may be said of them, they conduce 
 to^good order and respectful devotion, and are 
 usually accompanied with the Christian instruc- 
 tion of the people, as we saw by a comparison 
 of the different countries of Europe. Where 
 chairs are stationary with kneeling stools they 
 answer the same purpose as pews, Of course 
 
172 A Visit to Europe 
 
 there are churches like the Holy Sepulchre, 
 and St. Peter's, Rome where they would be 
 out of place. \ 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BETHLEHEM. 
 
 WE had now seen the chief places of interest 
 in Jerusalem ; it was time to visit those farther 
 away. I will proceed in the order of visitation. 
 
 Bethlehem naturally comes first. It is only 
 six miles away to the south. There is a so- 
 called carriage-road reaching there, but we pre- 
 ferred our favorites. We took our guide with 
 us. Although not necessary, his company was 
 useful. It is always understood that a donkey- 
 boy runs behind to urge on the donkeys and 
 take care of them. The ride to Bethlehem was 
 a very pleasant one. The afternoon was fine, 
 and a large number of people, walking and rid- 
 ing, were constantly passing in both directions 
 over the road: natives on foot, and riding on 
 donkeys or horses ; others driving or leading 
 long lines of heavily laden camels, such as you 
 meet on almost every road in Palestine ; Greek 
 and Armenian priests and monks, and once in a 
 
and the Holy Land. 173 
 
 while the brown-robed sons of St. Francis, two 
 by two, on foot, like the Apostles of >ld. Hav- 
 ing passed out of the Jaffa gate, and down and 
 across the valley of Ennom, we left the hill 
 of Evil Counsel and the tree of Judas on our 
 left, and the new German temple colony on 
 our right, frequently looking back to get new 
 glimpses and views of the city, walls, and sur- 
 roundings of Jerusalem. From the east and 
 southwest the "Daughter of Sion" appears to 
 advantage, "sitting. in silence" in the midst of 
 the "everlasting hills." We were now in the 
 valley of Raphalm, the plain where David over- 
 came the Philistines in battle. This plain de- 
 scends towards the southwest to the Valley of 
 Roses. To the right is shown the house of holy 
 Simeon, and still farther on is the "Well of 
 the Wise Men from the East," where the star 
 again appeared to them as they "went their 
 way" from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. We then 
 ascended a hill, near the summit of which is a 
 schismatic Greek monastery, where they show 
 the impress of a man in the rock, where they 
 say the prophet Elias slept when he was flee- 
 ing from the impious Jezabel. I do not pre- 
 tend even to mention one-fourth of the places 
 pointed out as scenes of historic events of the 
 Old and New Testaments; it would be impos- 
 
1 74 A Visit to Europe 
 
 sible, for Palestine is a land of small extent, 
 and the time from Abraham to Christ covers 
 a period of nearly two thousand years. Too 
 many things confuse. I try, therefore, to bring 
 out only those landmarks of sacred history 
 which are especially prominent to the physical, 
 intellectual, or spiritual eye. Here is a view 
 that I could spend a lifetime beholding with 
 the eyes of the senses and the eyes of the 
 soul. To the south lies Bethlehem, to the 
 northeast Jerusalem, both in full view the 
 birthplace and the burial ground of kings, 
 where kings have been anointed, and where 
 they have been crowned, and where they have 
 laid aside their crowns and sceptres: the royal 
 David and the royal Son of Mary, of the house 
 and family of David. The sceptre of the one 
 was powerful and his crown glorious, but they 
 rust in the tomb ; the sceptre of the other was 
 the reed of scorn, His crown the crown of 
 thorns, but they are for ever enthroned on 
 high. It was a beautiful sight which I shall 
 never forget, the first sight of Bethlehem, still 
 beholding that other city which, as in olden 
 times, is now the city of the " vision of peace." \ 
 A monk told me that Jerusalem seemed a 
 city of sorrow and Bethlehem a village of joy. 
 It does not seem to me, however, that the city 
 
and the Holy Land. \ 75 
 
 is altogether sorrowful that possesses the Ccena- 
 culum, and where the Resurrection arid Ascen- 
 sion took place. To the north, beyond Jeru- 
 salem, rose Neby Samwil. and to the east the 
 mountains beyond the Jordan.) 
 
 The country, from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, 
 is tolerably well cultivated, and around Bethle- 
 hem seems quite fertile. To the right is the 
 residence of the schismatic Greek patriarch, 
 and, farther on to the right, Beit Jala, the 
 beautiful residence and seminary of the Ca- 
 tholic patriarch, surrounded by vineyards and 
 olive groves. Nearly a mile before we reach- 
 ed Bethlehem we came to the tomb of Rachel. 
 The love of Jacob for Rachel furnishes one of 
 the most beautiful stories of the Old Testa- 
 ment. Jacob himself thus relates her death: 
 "Rachel died from me in the land of Chanaan 
 in the very journey, and it was spring-time ; 
 and I was going to Ephrata, which by another 
 name is called Bethlehem." Her tomb is rev- 
 erenced by Christians, Jews, and Mohamme- 
 dans. It is now about 3,600 years old. Near 
 here a road branches off to the Pools of Solo- 
 mon, from which, by means of aqueducts, wa- 
 ter was formerly supplied to Jerusalem. To 
 the left we saw the hills where the shepherds 
 were " keeping the night-watches over their 
 
76 A Visit to Europe 
 
 flocks," and heard the angelic song of great 
 joy: " Glory to God in the highest, and on 
 earth peace to men of good will." 
 
 It is just such a picturesque spot as where 
 they might be expected to guard their flocks 
 during the night, neither high up on the hills 
 nor yet in the valley.\ 
 
 At the present time there is a church, belong- 
 ing to the Greeks, over the place where the an- 
 gels appeared. Not far distant, on the side of 
 the mountain, is the village where the shep- 
 herds lived, and which is now occupied by 
 about fifty families of Greek and Catholic 
 Arabs. Even to this day the dwellers in this 
 rural abode partake much of that simplicity 
 which characterized the humble shepherds who 
 adored the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem. And as 
 in olden times, so now they go over to Bethle- 
 hem, and, going down into the Grotto of the 
 Nativity, they kneel and adore Him who was 
 once an infant there. 
 
 We soon arrived in Bethlehem, which is 
 situated on the brow of a hill overlooking a 
 deep valley, and in the distance presents a 
 pleasing appearance. It is surrounded by a 
 verdant, well-cultivated, and fruitful country. 
 The name signifies ' ' house of bread. " \ 
 
 At the present time it is an enterprising 
 
and the Holy Land, 177 
 
 village, manifesting a better growth and more 
 healthy life than any other town '"that I saw 
 in Palestine. Along the street through which 
 we entered the village a goodly number of 
 fine hewn stone buildings were being erected. 
 Bethlehem has a population of about 5,000. 
 Of these 3,000 are Catholics, 1,500 schismatic 
 Greeks, and 500 others. They are for the 
 most part a prosperous people, possessing some 
 of the best characteristics of a Christian com- 
 munity. It is a very ancient town, arid pos- 
 sessed of great historical importance. We 
 know that it was already in existence more 
 than seventeen centuries before the coming of 
 Christ. Bethlehem was the scene of the charm- 
 ing story of the book of Ruth, who gleaned 
 wheat after the reapers in the field of Booz, 
 whom she afterwards married, and from whom 
 the family of David was descended. It is distin- 
 guished as the birth-place of David, but far 
 more as the birth-place of our Saviour, where, 
 nearly nineteen hundred years ago, shepherds 
 and kings knelt on a common level and 
 adored the King of kings. " And thou, 
 Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among 
 the thousands of Juda : out of thee shall He 
 come forth unto me that is to be the Ruler 
 in Israel ; and His going forth is from the be- 
 
178 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 ginning, from the days of eternity.' 5 Wherever 
 in the whole world the joys of Christmas day 
 are known, the bills and plains, the houses 
 and people of Bethlehem, and the scenes and 
 events of the Divine Nativity and of the suc- 
 ceeding days, have been a hundred and a 
 thousand times pictured. It is enough ; in 
 Bethlehem the Son of God and the Son of 
 Mary was born. And the thought keeps run- 
 ning in my mind : Is Bethlehem or Nazareth 
 dearer to me? If, after our Lord's birth, He 
 had lived in Bethlehem until His ninth or 
 tenth year, all doubt would disappear. Beth- 
 lehem was the place of His birth, which wit- 
 nessed the mutual love of Mother and Son 
 the first time that they looked into the depths 
 of each other's eyes ; but Nazareth was His 
 home, and home, to the human heart, is 
 next to heaven. And the Sacred Heart of 
 Jesus loved His home, for it was the sanctu- 
 ary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That 
 home was the Holy House of the Holy Fami- 
 ly, which they yet love on earth, even though 
 they dwell in the heavenly mansion of the 
 Eternal Father. And I believe, if it were pos- 
 sible to be home-sick in heaven, that the 
 Holy Family would be home-sick for the Holy 
 House of Nazareth. Home and family are the 
 
and the Holy Land. 179 
 
 foundations of society, planted by the fiat of 
 God in nature, and cemented and consecrated 
 by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the love and 
 miraculous care and preservation of the Holy 
 House of Loreto. 
 
 Such thoughts must enter the mind of any 
 Christian who passes through the streets of 
 the sacred towns of Palestine. We soon ar- 
 rived at the portals of the great monastery 
 and church built over the Grotto of the Na- 
 tivity. As ever, we were kindly welcomed by 
 the monks. The monastery at Bethlehem, in 
 parts at least, is a little more richly fur- 
 nished than others in the Holy Land ; the 
 wine also is better. But the kindness and 
 hospitality shown the pilgrim are the same 
 in all.\ 
 
 Soon after our arrival we went to visit the 
 grotto. It may be entered from different di- 
 rections, and one not used to the entrance or 
 exit is liable to lose his way. The crypt 
 which served as a stable is about forty feet 
 long, twelve feet wide, and ten feet high. At 
 the east end is the Altar of the Nativity, and 
 under it is a silver star with an inscription 
 round about: " Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus 
 CTiristus natus est" "Here Jesus Christ was 
 born of the Virgin Mary." As in all similar 
 
8o A Visit to Europe 
 
 holy places, a large number of lamps, belong- 
 ing usually to the Catholics, Greeks, and Arme- 
 nians, are always burning before the different 
 altars. A few paces distant from the spot of 
 the Nativity are the Chapel of the Manger 
 and Altar of the Wise Men, which are the 
 places where the Infant Jesus was laid in the 
 manger and where the wise men adored 
 Him.\ 
 
 The manger itself is preserved in the 
 church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 
 The Altar of the Nativity belongs to the 
 Greeks, and the altar of the manger to the 
 Catholics, although the Catholics can say only 
 two Masses daily at their altar, as it is in the 
 same room with the Altar of the Nativity. 
 We also visited the chapels of St. Joseph, 
 of the Holy Innocents, and of St. . Jerome 
 and St. Paula. The next morning I had the 
 privilege of celebrating Mass in this holy 
 grotto at the altar of the manger. At the 
 time appointed I found that a Pontifical 
 Greek Mass, sung by a schismatic Greek 
 bishop, was in progress. I put on my cassock 
 and waited in the grotto, without vesting, 
 until it was finished. I had to wait more 
 than an hour, but in the meantime was very 
 much interested. The bishop was vested in a 
 
and the Holy Land. 181 
 
 vestment similar in appearance to our cope, 
 and had on his head during a portion of the 
 service a very high crown with a cross at the 
 summit. An attempt at a description of their 
 ceremonies would serve to confuse and mis- 
 lead rather than inform the reader. Assisting, 
 were four or h've clergymen in vestments simi- 
 lar to that worn by the bishop. All wore 
 beards, and very long hair parted in the mid- 
 dle. During the Mass the Kyrie eleison was 
 frequently sung by the bishop, accompanied 
 by the clergy and choir. The use of incense 
 was much more frequent and common than 
 with us. There were also several processions 
 through the chapel. At one time he gave 
 what I suppose was blessed bread to many of 
 those present. He turned towards me to see 
 if I would receive it, but I indicated that I 
 would not, and he passed on. When they 
 had finished I went to the Catholic sacristy 
 and vested, and then had the great privilege, 
 which until lately I had never expected to 
 enjoy, of offering up and adoring the Sacred 
 Host in the exact spot where the Divine In- 
 fant lay and was adored on Christmas night, 
 and afterwards by the Magi, nearly nineteen 
 hundred years ago. Whenever we said Mass 
 in any of the sacred places a goodly num- 
 
1 82 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ber of native Christians were present and as- 
 sisted. 
 
 We returned to Jerusalem that day. The 
 pilgrim will always find that the journey from 
 Jerusalem to Bethlehem and return is one of 
 the most pleasant in all Palestine. / 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 JERICHO AND THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 OUR next excursion was to be a longer one, 
 and more tiresome and subject to danger. It 
 was to Jericho and the Dead Sea. Greater 
 preparations were necessary ; but these were all 
 under the supervision of young Auwad, our 
 guide and dragoman. Much to our disinclina- 
 tion, we had to take horses instead of don- 
 keys. We were accompanied by two parties : 
 first the cook and men with tents, whom we 
 only saw a portion of the time, and then our 
 own party: ourselves, the dragoman, the mule- 
 teer who owned all the horses and donkeys, 
 and who was a Turk and our Bedouin guards. 
 Our guards were the sheik of Abu Dis and 
 his two sons. Sometimes one was with us, 
 sometimes another. As there were only a few 
 
and the Holy Land. 183 
 
 travellers at that season of the year, the three 
 made the journey with us. I may as well say 
 it right here, I like the Bedouins and almost 
 everybody else in the Holy Land. The Bed- 
 ouins seem like children in disposition and 
 friendship, but they are brave men when cou- 
 rage is required. They were careful and al- 
 most childlike to point out their native vil- 
 lage or their homes, and I have to acknowledge 
 that I took at least as much interest in them 
 as in the country seats or palaces of the noble- 
 men and princes of Europe. And that little 
 village had a new interest for me as the birth- 
 place of our Bedouin guard. They are a showy, 
 warlike-looking lot of fellows, with their dark 
 faces and large, black moustaches, in their 
 strangely fashioned dress, double-barrelled gun 
 slung over their shoulders, daggers and pistols 
 in their sashes, and mounted on their Arab 
 steeds. But they are nevertheless as good-na- 
 tured, kind, affectionate, and honest fellows, 
 towards those to whom they think these quali- 
 ties are due, as you would wish to meet.^ 
 
 Very early in the morning we passed out 
 of the Jaffa gate, around the northern wall of 
 the city, to the eastern side. The city was 
 silent, and as we looked upon the grotto of 
 Jeremias to the north, where he wrote his 
 
1 84 A Visit to Eitrope 
 
 Lamentations, we were better able to appreciate 
 his mournful words: u How doth the city sit 
 solitary that was full of people." We rode 
 over the Kedron, and around the southern side 
 of the Mount of Olives towards Bethany. The 
 place of the barren fig-tree which Christ cursed 
 was pointed out to us. We rode on through 
 Bethany, ever beautiful and ever dear to us, 
 and soon after were joined by our Bedouin 
 guard, whose village was visible on a hillside 
 towards the south. From here, until we 4 'drew 
 near to Jericho," we were in the region called 
 the "desert of Jericho," which is an expanse 
 of barren and partly barren hills. \ 
 
 We soon descended into the "Valley of the 
 Watering- Place," and reached the " Spring of 
 the AposMes," which is so called because 
 Christ and His Apostles must have many times 
 rested here and drank water from this spring 
 on their way from Jericho to Bethany and 
 Jerusalem. It must have been to the weary 
 Apostles of our Lord one of the pleasantest 
 fountains in the whole land. So it seemed to 
 me as we returned from Jericho after a tedi- 
 ous ride; and for several miles I eagerly 
 looked forward to see it come in view. How 
 cool and refreshing did its waters seem, how 
 delightful was the place ! This was the ancient 
 
and the Holy Land. 185 
 
 "fountain of the sun" spoken of in the book 
 of Josue. I .. 
 
 The morning sun sends its sparkling rays 
 down through the valley, and its first beams shine 
 on the fountain. This "Valley of the Foun- 
 tain," with its e very-day beauty and its thirty- 
 three hundred years of tranquil history, has 
 all the elements of idyllic poetry. It must 
 have been near here that Semei, of the house of 
 Saul, cursed David in his flight, but afterwards 
 asked forgiveness, and his life was spared. 
 
 From here to Jericho and back again we 
 met several hundred Bedouins, sometimes only 
 two together, sometimes in bands of twenty, 
 with horses, camels, donkeys, and flocks of sheep 
 and goats. Flocks of sheep and goats were 
 usually together, the former of the large- tailed 
 variety. Of the several hundred men whom 
 we met, only two were unarmed. All the rest 
 had guns of various patterns, most of them 
 old-fashioned fire-arms with flint-locks, and 
 long barrels bound with brass and inlaid with 
 mother of pearl. Our guard was the best- 
 dressed and best-armed of any.y 
 
 About half-way to Jericho is the traditional 
 place where the man fell among robbers, as re- 
 lated in the parable of the Good Samaritan. 
 He could not have found a more fitting spot 
 
1 86 A Visit to Europe 
 
 for such an occurrence. It would seem perfect- 
 ly natural to the locality to have a band of 
 robbers appear before you, rob you, and leave 
 you half-dead. It is a dreary and dangerous- 
 looking place. There is a large, unoccupied 
 building standing there, one of only two or 
 three that we saw in a distance of fifteen miles. 
 Along the route enough grass is frequently 
 found for grazing purposes, and now and then 
 a tree spreads its sheltering branches. The 
 road, while fairly good, was often very pre- 
 cipitous. In many places it was cut through 
 the rocks, and the white limestone, reflecting 
 the hot sun, dazzled the eyes and formed a 
 heated oven, in which we sweltered. Some- 
 times we came into the cool shade of a rock, 
 and thought of the refreshing simile of Holy 
 Scripture: " As the shadow of a rock that 
 standeth out in a desert land." We were ap- 
 proaching a tropical climate in June. \ 
 
 For a long distance we had seen the moun- 
 tains beyond tie Jordan, but at last the plain 
 of Jericho, the valley of the Jordan, and the 
 Dead Sea burst upon our sight. Far below 
 us, running by the side of the road, was a 
 deep ravine through which runs the ancient 
 torrent of Carith, or Cherith, out into the plain 
 and past the modern Jericho, into the Jordan, 
 
and the Holy Land. 187 
 
 We soon descended the last hill and found our- 
 selves in a beautiful, fertile, ancf very green 
 plain. The plants and fruits of the valley are 
 semi-tropical, on account of its great depres- 
 sion. Jericho is called in the Scriptures the 
 "city of palm-trees." When Moses looked 
 down from Mount Nebo he saw a wide plain, 
 luxuriant in vegetation, and rich in fields of 
 grain and groves of palm-trees, and in its 
 midst a large city, surrounded by walls, and 
 rich in gold and silver. \ 
 
 It was on this plain that Josue saw the 
 "prince of the host of the Lord " "standing 
 over against him, holding a drawn sword." At 
 the command of the Lord the valiant men and 
 priests went around the city seven times ; the 
 seventh time the priests sounded the trumpets 
 and the people raised a great shout, and the 
 walls fell down and the entire city was de- 
 stroyed. In this vicinity took place many of 
 the events described in the lives of the pro- 
 phets Elias and Eliseus. Here David fled and 
 passed over the Jordan from the pursuit of 
 Absalom. Near here St. John the Baptist 
 preached penance, and our Lord was baptized 
 by him in the Jordan. About two miles to 
 the north rises the barren, desolate Mountain 
 of Temptation, where Christ fasted forty days, 
 
1 88 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and was afterwards tempted by the devil. Near 
 here He cured the u blind man Bartimeus, who 
 sat by the wayside begging." Here also He was 
 a guest at the house of Zacheus, "chief of the 
 publicans." And from here He began His last, 
 sad journey towards Jerusalem. We passed 
 down the almost level valley of the Carith, 
 through pleasant groves and gardens, to an inn, 
 built of wood and looking very much like an 
 American farm-house, kept by a Russian fami- 
 ly. How tired we were ! As for myself, I was 
 so stiff and lame from horseback riding over 
 such a long, hot, rugged road, that I was hard- 
 ly able to dismount, and, once on my feet, 
 scarcely able to walk ; but a certain degree of 
 elasticity quickly returned. We were shown a 
 well- ventilated, comfortable upper room, where 
 we soon settled ourselves for a few hours' mid- 
 day rest. The old sheik, father of our guards, 
 who had arrived before us, made us a call. 
 He was a venerable, dignified old Bedouin, with 
 whom we spoke through an interpreter^ 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon we re- 
 mounted our horses and started for the Dead 
 Sea, about six miles distant. We tried to make 
 ourselves believe that a cool breeze had modi- 
 fied the temperature, but it was of no use. 
 There was a breeze, but imagination would not 
 
and the Holy Land. 189 
 
 help us ; the atmosphere was too glowing. For 
 warm weather commend me to the Dead Sea 
 region in summer-time ; yet I prefer it to the 
 furnace-like blasts that come from the desert 
 at Cairo. Modern Jericho contains about sixty 
 families, most of whom are Moslems and live 
 in miserable huts. There is a Greek monastery, 
 and a few other buildings are connected with 
 their colony. After riding some distance we 
 again came to the valley of the torrent of Ca- 
 rith, at the place where the prophet Elias was 
 fed by the ravens. As we approached the Dead 
 Sea vegetation gradually disappeared, although 
 not entirely. Like the soil, it was coated with 
 salt and gypsum./ 
 
 The Dead Sea is forty-six miles in length, 
 and at its broadest place ten miles in width. It 
 contains in its waters no minimal life, although 
 birds fly over and even swim on its surface. At 
 near six o'clock in the afternoon the thermo- 
 meter stood 105 above, Fahr., in the shade of 
 the most corpulent member of our party. It is 
 said that the water has an oily appearance. 
 There was a breeze coming from the sea, which 
 produced small waves breaking upon the shore, 
 which caused much foam ; otherwise it did not 
 seem to me different than other sea- water. But. 
 it is, in fact, as chemical analysis shows that it 
 
IQO A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 contains twenty-live per cent, of solids, one-half 
 of which is salt. The mean depth of the sea is 
 about eleven hundred feet. It is calculated that 
 six million tons of water flow into the Dead Sea 
 daily, and it has no visible outlet. It is called 
 in the Scriptures the Salt Sea, the Eastern Sea, 
 and the Sea of the Plain ; by the Greeks the 
 Sea of Asphalt, and by the Arabs the Sea of 
 Lot. Where this sea and barren plain now lie 
 in dreary, desolate grandeur, surrounded by the 
 high mountains on either side, was once a luxu- 
 riant plain, adorned with prosperous and popu- 
 lous cities. This was the plain chosen by Lot 
 nearly four thousand years ago, and described 
 in these words: u And Lot, lifting up his 
 eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, 
 which was watered throughout, before the Lord 
 destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as the para- 
 dise of the Lord." Mountains from fifteen hun- 
 dred to twenty-five hundred feet in height near- 
 ly surround it, those on the east side being the 
 higher, and their blue slopes form a rugged and 
 grand framework to the blue mirror which they 
 enclose. Notwithstanding the dread desolation 
 of the place, it is, after all, a very beautiful pic- 
 ture on which the eyes rest. The scenery is a 
 wonderful commingling of the beautiful and 
 sublime. / 
 
and the Holy Land. 191 
 
 We did not attempt a full bath in the heavy 
 waters, but contented ourselves witli bathing 
 our hands. 
 
 Taking in the entire surroundings, we medi- 
 tated on what they once were by God's bless- 
 ing, on what they now are by God's curse. 
 Our reveries, as we looked upon those scenes, 
 were not so prolonged as they would have been 
 had the heat been less intense. We were easi- 
 ly convinced that we had gone far enough, and 
 were satisfied to look upon the green course of 
 the Jordan from the distance, rather than far- 
 ther overheat ourselves in the great natural oven 
 which we had entered. / 
 
 Therefore, returning directly through Jericho, 
 we passed to our camping-ground near the foun- 
 tain of Eliseus (or Elisha). It was dark after 
 leaving Jericho, and we rode two miles through 
 groves, near Bedouin encampments, and across 
 streams exceedingly difficult of passage, until 
 we reached our tents. In the dim light of the 
 evening we could see over the larger tent pie- 
 pared for us the Stars and Stripes floating in 
 the warm breeze of the plain of Jericho, and, 
 like ourselves, a long way from home ; but the 
 flag of our country cheered our weary spirits. 
 We were quickly off our horses and in our tent. 
 Although during the day we frequently drank 
 
192 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the cool water from an earthen jug carried by 
 our muleteer, and replenished by him at every 
 good fountain, we were as thirsty as if we had 
 been drinking from the Dead Sea. Lemonade 
 is easily procured in Palestine, and we drank 
 more of it that evening than was really good 
 for us. A most excellent meal was soon placed 
 before us in different courses soup, three kinds 
 of meat, and various delicacies. It was really 
 a marvel of good food and good cookery. But, 
 alas ! we had lost our appetites ; we were too 
 tired to feel like eating. Hunger was gone, 
 thirst had taken possession of us. My two 
 companions fell out by the way at the first 
 course of soup. The one of our number whom 
 God had blessed with the most magnificent ap- 
 petite had completely lost it, and was the first 
 to relinquish the contest, which he scarcely be- 
 gan. I alone determined, notwithstanding my 
 feelings, not to disappoint the cook, and par- 
 took something of every course. We had very 
 nice beds, but the night was excessively warm. 
 Our Bedouin guards did constant sentry duty 
 during the entire night. We had noticed on 
 our way to the Dead Sea and return that the 
 guard in charge frequently took close observa- 
 tions of the mountains of Moab, as if to note 
 any indications of the presence of hostile tribes, 
 
and the Holy Land. 193 
 
 and at night they showed more particular anx- 
 iety and vigilance. We were not ^inclined to 
 apprehend danger in any part of Palestine, as 
 many travellers do, but we concluded that night 
 that there was at least some show of danger. 
 Without doubt there are many dangers lurk- 
 ing in the mountains east of the Jordan, liable 
 at any moment to make their presence felt, es- 
 pecially at a time of the year when there are 
 but few travellers, where less hindrance might 
 be expected on account of less numbers to op- 
 pose. The Bedouins beyond the river are less 
 tractable, and often make incursions to the west- 
 ern side for purposes of robbery, although when 
 once they have become your escort you are per- 
 fectly safe in their hands. It was so sultry in 
 our tent dining the night that a good sleep was 
 out of the question, and the fleshiest member of 
 our party might have been seen in the middle 
 of the night, in his shirt-sleeves, sitting at the 
 door of his tent like Abraham of old, and now 
 and then negotiating with one of the guards to 
 go to the spring of the prophet Eliseus to bring 
 him a drink of cool water. / 
 
194 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A MORNING AND DAY IN PALESTINE. 
 
 WE were out of our beds and dressed at 
 dawn of day. Having partaken of a slight 
 meal, and while the tents were being taken 
 down, packed, and loaded on the mules, we 
 visited the fountain of Eliseus. This is the 
 spring spoken of in the Holy Scriptures : 
 ' ' And the men of the city said to Eliseus : 
 Behold the situation of this city is very good, 
 as thou, my lord, seest ; but the waters are 
 very bad and the ground barren. And he 
 said : Bring me a new vessel and put salt in 
 it. And when they had brought it, he went 
 out to the spring of the waters, and cast the 
 salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: 
 I have healed these waters, and there shall 
 be no more in them death or barrenness. 
 And the waters were healed unto this day.' 7 
 The spring is a large one, copious and beau- 
 tiful, and sends forth pure water and fertility 
 to a large tract of country./ 
 
 It was a splendid morning ; a cooling breeze 
 fanned our cheeks and invigorated our bodies, 
 while all nature gladdened our hearts ; the 
 
and the Holy Land. 195 
 
 rising sun darted its golden beams over the 
 purple mountains and through the 4 green val- 
 leys of the east, gilding the tops of the gray 
 mountains of the west, and sending a thou- 
 sand beautiful reflections upon the shining sur- 
 face of the Dead Sea, until we could no longer 
 draw the dividing line between the gray, blue, 
 green, and purple of the earth and the azure 
 of the heavens. The joyous vision of these 
 things which are seen, united with hallowed 
 and historic associations of four thousand 
 years, raised our souls to the contemplation 
 of the unseen and spiritual things of God, to 
 praise and thanksgiving for His everlasting 
 love and bount} r . I looked back four thousand 
 years to that terrible morning when u the sun 
 was risen upon the earth and Lot entered into 
 Segor," and I seemed to see towards the south 
 the fires of divine anger hurled forth from 
 heaven like awful thunderbolts upon the fair 
 cities of that luxuriant plain, crushing and 
 consuming them from the face of the earth, 
 that an hour before had been bathed in the 
 warmth, richness, and glory of God's sunlight. 
 I looked back more than three thousand years, 
 and I seemed to see shining among those east- 
 ern mountains the "pillar of the cloud by day 
 and the pillar of fire by night," covering the 
 
196 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tabernacle of the Lord in the midst of the 
 camp of Israel, coming to the banks of the 
 Jordan and in its waters for ever vanishing, 
 but a figure to be fulfilled in that same place 
 and in those same waters fourteen centuries 
 afterwards in the baptism of Christ ; for the 
 holy Fathers teach that the " pillar of fire" 
 was a figure of Christ, and the " pillar of the 
 cloud" a figure of the Holy Spirit, x 
 
 I looked back nearly two thousand years, 
 and I seemed to see in the plain below a 
 small company of men of venerable appear- 
 ance, in long, flowing, graceful robes such as 
 are seen everywhere in Oriental lands, who are 
 departing from Jericho, slowly ascending the 
 first hill and disappearing among the moun- 
 tains. One among them seems more noble 
 than the rest, more perfect in form and bear- 
 ing, and I seemed to see even in the distance 
 that He had a more godlike brow, and eye, 
 and face than the others ; and I could not 
 tell, it was so far distant it may have been 
 the morning sun that formed that bright halo 
 around His head, but it seemed to me milder 
 and yet more radiant. It is the last sad, 
 solemn procession of Jesus and His Apostles 
 on their way to Jerusalem, where He goes to 
 be crucified. \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 197 
 
 And in those three pictures I saw the ter- 
 rible anger, the holy fear, and the sweet love 
 of our God. 
 
 We rode around the base of the desolate 
 Mountain of Temptation, and in a few miles 
 got back to our old road by which we had 
 come from Jerusalem. The usual return of 
 travellers is by the way of Mar Saba and 
 Bethlehem, but on account of the great heat 
 that road appeared longer than we wished to 
 undertake. As we gradually ascended the 
 mountains, on every higher eminence we look- 
 ed back to see if we could still distinguish 
 Mount Nebo, and to give ourselves up to spe- 
 culations perhaps somewhat romantic. I have 
 heard it stated, but without reference or cita- 
 tion of proof, that there is an old prophecy 
 that the East will be reconverted to Chris- 
 tianity by priests from America. If the long- 
 ings of some hearts could be realized, it sure- 
 ly would be fulfilled. As the sun rose higher 
 it became warmer, but luckily we were now 
 ascending towards Jerusalem, to cooler heights. 
 After a few hours we anxiously looked for- 
 ward down the valley to catch a glimpse of 
 the Fountain of the Apostles, which once 
 reached, we quickly threw ourselves from our 
 horses. An old Moslem, with his family, was 
 
198 A Visit to Europe 
 
 lying in the shade ready to assist travellers 
 in any way possible. The water is most ex- 
 cellent, but a cloth must be placed over the 
 mouth of the vessel to strain it, on account 
 of leeches. As we came near Bethany our 
 guard bid us "farewell," and turned to the 
 left to his own village ; he afterwards came to 
 see us at Jerusalem. / 
 
 We soon after reached Bethany, and de- 
 cided to stop there and lunch in a beautiful 
 olive orchard near the house of Mary and 
 Martha. We were immediately surrounded by 
 a large number of the women and children of 
 the village. Every one wanted to do us a ser- 
 vice. The woman, with her family, who has 
 charge of the tomb of Lazarus, was there with 
 a jug of water. The boy who sold "antique" 
 Bedouin daggers was also on hand ; and many 
 others, with jugs of water or pleading looks, 
 made up the company, all expecting back- 
 sheesh. Water for drinking purposes seemed 
 to be the chief staple product of the place ; 
 but the water of Bethany is very good. We, 
 however, seated on the ground under the pro- 
 tecting shade of a large olive-tree, confined our- 
 selves to lemonade, wine, cold chicken, and other 
 solids. On our way to Jericho we had met the 
 funeral procession of a man who died in that 
 
and the Holy Land. 199 
 
 village, but whose native place was Bethany, 
 where he was borne by his friends *for burial. 
 As soon as we met them they started a mourn- 
 ful cry or song of sorrow. They were now 
 down below us in a green, shady valley, sing- 
 ing their mournful dirge during one hour at 
 midday, which, I was told, is repeated for 
 eight days. As for myself, I kept constantly 
 falling asleep, and slept a good portion of the 
 time that I sat in the midst of that motley 
 crowd. But, half-dreaming, with the happy 
 voices of children and the sad voices of 
 mourning sounding in my ears, Bethany seem- 
 ed to me more lovely than ever. When wilt 
 Thou, O Lord, call out : Come forth from your 
 spiritual graves, ye men of the village of 
 Lazarus ; and ye daughters of Bethany, dry 
 the tears of your mourning that is without 
 hope ? / 
 
 After about an hour we started for Jerusa- 
 lem, and rode around the southern brow of 
 Mount Olivet, and in a short time familiar 
 scenes were once more before our eyes. We 
 passed through St. Stephen's gate, up the Via 
 Dolorosa, and soon stopped before the ever- 
 hospitable portals of Casa Nova, where we 
 were received like old acquaintances. Our 
 rooms, where we left our large leather travel- 
 
2oo A Visit to Enrope 
 
 lingbags, in which were so many things to 
 remind us of our home in America, and which 
 we missed so much in a few days' absence, 
 seemed like a second home to us. As I now 
 write, that travelling-bag is in an adjoining 
 room, but it does not seem so intimate as it 
 did then ; it even seems to have put on more 
 foreign airs than its master, and to be per- 
 vaded with a certain Oriental atmosphere ; but 
 it is nevertheless the old companion of my 
 travels, which I can never forget. / 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE " HILL-COUNTRY OF JUDEA " AND HOUSE OF 
 THE VISITATION. 
 
 OUR next excursion was to Ain Karim, or St. 
 John's in Montana, where St. John the Baptist 
 was born, and where the Blessed Virgin visited 
 her cousin St. Elizabeth : " And Mary, rising up 
 in those days, went into the hill-country with 
 haste into a city of Juda." It is about seven 
 miles distant from Jerusalem, nearly west, 
 through valleys and over hills. We were again 
 mounted on our favorite donkeys, and from 
 
and the Holy Land. 201 
 
 practice were enabled to get considerable speed 
 out of them, even over rocky roads *and down 
 steep hills. The country around Jerusalem is 
 rocky beyond ordinary imagination ; but wher- 
 ever there is an attempt to cultivate it, not only 
 in valleys but even on hillsides, trees, gardens, 
 and vineyards are successful, for the soil is so 
 rich that but little of it is necessary . Almost 
 everywhere flowering shrubs of various kinds 
 were seen ; they were still green, and many of 
 them contained a sprinkling of flowers, although 
 no rain had moistened them for more than 
 seven weeks. Small flowers also were seen peep- 
 ing up among the rocks and stones, as bright- 
 looking as if they had just caught in their beau- 
 tiful cups the refreshing drops of a spring 
 shower. 
 
 In spring Palestine must be the land of 
 flowers. From north to south it is the same 
 everywhere ; every blade, plant, and shrub seems 
 to produce flowers of rich or delicate hue. It 
 would be difficult to describe the richness of 
 some and delicacy of others, and the never-end- 
 ing varieties. / 
 
 Descending a high, steep, rocky hill, we were 
 in Ain Karim. Our first visitation was to the 
 place where the Blessed Virgin hastened to meet 
 St. Elizabeth. We left the village, and passed 
 
202 A Visit to Europe 
 
 by the Fountain of the Madonna, which the 
 Blessed Virgin must many times have visited. 
 It is the most beautiful and picturesque fountain 
 that I saw in the Holy Land. A number of girls 
 and women were around it, washing clothes in 
 its waters as they flowed down and away. In 
 their strange, various colored dresses, and with 
 their dark eyes and* hair, they presented a most 
 pleasing Oriental picture not quickly forgotten. 
 We passed around and up the side of a hill, 
 perhaps a quarter of a mile from the village. 
 To our right was a convent, the country house of 
 the Sisters of Sion, and to our left a church, 
 where once stood the house of the Visitation, 
 probably the summer-dwelling of Zacharias. 
 Between the two is a tasty flower-garden. The 
 church stands in the midst of the grand, solid 
 ruins of a church built by the Crusaders. We 
 entered, and standing directly before us was an 
 altar with an inscription beneath it stating that 
 it is of constant and perpetual tradition that this 
 is the place of the u Magnificat," the place where 
 the Blessed Virgin and St. Elizabeth met, and 
 where St. Elizabeth called her " blessed among 
 women," and where the Blessed Virgin with di- 
 vine rapture answered : " My soul doth magnify 
 the Lord," etc. We knelt and repeated the joy- 
 ous and grateful words of that inspired Canticle. 
 
and the Holy Land. 
 
 Oh ! liow beautiful are those places* that have 
 been made holy by our Blessed Mother's feet. 
 No wonder that a pious legend says that the 
 roses of Jericho sprung up in the desert wher- 
 ever the Blessed Virgin placed her foot. We 
 were shown a small cave near by, where St. John 
 the Baptist was concealed during the slaughter 
 of the Holy Innocents./ 
 
 We were at the end of the valley of Terebinth, 
 which we had crossed on our road from Jaffa to 
 Jerusalem. From the ruins of this ancient 
 church we could see far up the valley, beyond 
 the Jaffa road, to Neby Samwil rising in the dis- 
 tance. It is a fertile valley of green groves and 
 orchards, and near Ain Kariin it is wholly cov- 
 ered with well-cultivated gardens, delightful to 
 the eye. St. John's has a population of about 
 seven hundred, of whom about six hundred are 
 Moslems and one hundred or more are Catho- 
 lics. We passed down the hill and by the foun- 
 tain to the castellated monastery and church of 
 St. John the Baptist, where he was born. This 
 is where the holy priest Zacharias uttered that 
 other inspired canticle, "Benedictus" "Bless- 
 ed be the Lord God of Israel." Having knelt 
 at the various altars, and having commended 
 ourselves to the Blessed Mother, to St. John 
 the Baptist, to St. Zacharias and St. Elizabeth, 
 
204 A Visit to Europe 
 
 who once ft welt here, we started back to Jeru- 
 salem. / 
 
 The time was drawing near when we must 
 leave Jerusalem. We had intended to visit He- 
 bron, the home and final resting-place of the 
 patriarchs. We had also intended to go north 
 overland, and have the privilege of drinking at 
 Jacob's Well, which is four thousand years old, 
 and where our Lord sat, weary, conversing with 
 the Samaritan woman. But our weeks were 
 quickly passing, and we had a limited time for 
 our absence from home ; and we would remain 
 in Rome some weeks, and then extend our 
 travels up through the countries of central Eu- 
 rope. So we concluded to omit Hebron and other 
 places of interest, and go to Nazareth over the 
 easiest route, by way of Jaffa and Mount Carmel. 
 
 The good and kind superior of Casa Nova, 
 and the sisters who were about to found a house 
 in Nazareth, and their simple-hearted, pious old 
 Capuchin chaplain, were about to make the 
 same journey by the same route. We went in 
 different parties. \ 
 
 Having received sacred mementoes from al- 
 most every one in the house mementoes on the 
 border-land of relics, which we shall ever sacred- 
 ly treasure we were ready to start. A num- 
 ber of natives had come to the convent to see us 
 
and the Holy Land. 205 
 
 off and to assist us. After all, even though, 
 those who assist you expect a little reward, does 
 the little given in any way repay the kindliness 
 of spirit with which you are served? And that 
 which is expected is frequently sadly needed. 
 In most instances it is given to the poor ; and 
 how often ifc is the case that the poor wonder- 
 fully control themselves when it is a real pain 
 to do so, because of their necessities ! Under 
 that half-concealed look of anxiety hunger and 
 want are frequently hidden. I have no patience 
 with those who do not wish to give a reasonable 
 fee to those who serve them ; for to fee is often 
 to feed- the hungry, whether that fee is called 
 backsheesh or goes by some other name.. On 
 our way to the Jaffa gate a considerable number 
 came to bid us "good-by." They were those 
 whom we knew, and we were somewhat surpris- 
 ed to think that we had made so many acquain- 
 tances in Jerusalem. We were soon in our 
 wagon, bade "adieu" to our friends, and once 
 more were on our journey. We looked back 
 from time to time, but in a little while the walls 
 of the Holy City disappeared from our vision, 
 probably for ever. But may our eyes at length 
 catch sight of the glorious walls of the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, the Holy City of the Living God ! / 
 The road to the valley of Terebinth did not 
 
2o6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 seem half so long as it did the morning of our 
 arrival. The cafe in the valley, like many simi- 
 lar places in Palestine, has, besides various 
 kinds of liquors, imported beer from Vienna and 
 Marburg, in Austria, Oar driver on this trip 
 was an Arab, and was not so sleepy as the Rus- 
 sian driver of the former journey. About two 
 o'clock in the morning we arrived at Ramleh, 
 but made only a short stop. As usual, a num- 
 ber of other travellers were taking a brief rest, 
 nnd among them were several Turkish soldiers in 
 charge of a Bedouin who had stabbed four or 
 five men. We again saw them the next morn- 
 ing in the plain of Sharon, riding on their 
 horses, marching him before them, until they 
 finally turned into a guard-houSe. The poor 
 fellow looked dusty, tired, and dejected, and I 
 could not help pitying him, although he may 
 have been getting his just deserts. We were in 
 Jaffa at an early hour and at the doors of the 
 convent, where we were welcomed by familiar 
 faces. The sisters were there before us, and one 
 of them was appointed to deliver us an address. 
 It was about as follows : u We meet so often in 
 the Holy Land, we hope that we will also meet 
 in heaven." We expressed a reciprocation of 
 the good desire, and shall pray that it may be 
 fulfilled. As soon as possible we took a much- 
 
and the Holy Land. 207 
 
 needed sleep, and, thus refreshed, were prepar- 
 ed to enjoy during the remainder of the day and 
 evening that singularly peaceful and beautiful 
 scene. / 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "NOBIS DONET IN PATRIA." 
 
 TOWARDS evening, while the rays of the sun, 
 already set, lingered on the distant waters of the 
 Mediterranean at the western horizon, and as 
 the evening breezes were springing up from the 
 great sea, cooling the parched day, and silence 
 began to take the place of busy noise, the sis- 
 ters, who had assembled together on one of the 
 higher, court like terraces of the monastery, 
 commenced to sing, and sung a few plaintive, 
 pious melodies, which sounded to me like the 
 sad songs of exiles who never again expected to 
 see their native land./ 
 
 But we are all exiles in this world, longing 
 for our heavenly home and country. I cannot 
 imagine a sadder land to the Christian exile 
 than Palestine, nor one nearer or surer of hea- 
 ven, O home ! thou art dear to the homesick 
 
208 A Visit to Europe 
 
 heart, but our real home is heaven. Therefore 
 the pious exiles of the Holy Land, who are 
 exiles by their own will for the sweet love of 
 Jesus and Mary, are the favored ones of God. 
 
 The next day was Sunday, and we had the 
 privilege of offering up the Holy Sacrifice in the 
 church of Jaffa. We enjoyed the remainder of 
 the forenoon looking out upon the sea, and gave 
 ourselves up to our imagination ; for this is the 
 great sea of whose majesty and wonders the 
 inspired psalmists and prophets so frequently 
 sing./ 
 
 In the afternoon we took the steamer for Haifa 
 (or Caifa). A number of Franciscan fathers, 
 and the sisters already spoken of, were also 
 aboard. The steamer belonged to the Austrian 
 Lloyd line. While on the Mediterranean we 
 sailed on steamers of four different lines : from 
 Brindisi to Alexandria on the P. and O. steam- 
 ers, an English line ; from Alexandria to Jaffa 
 on a Russian steamer ; from Jaffa to Haifa and 
 back to Alexandria on the Austrian Lloyd ; and 
 from Alexandria to Naples on a French steamer. 
 The passenger rates were by far the dearest on 
 the P. and O. line, and next dearest on the Aus- 
 trian Lloyd. The food was best on the French 
 line, about equally good on the Russian and 
 Austrian, and poorest on the P. and 0. line ; 
 
and the Holy Land. 209 
 
 but the steamers of the last-named were fine 
 and large. On the French and Russian steam- 
 ers wines were free, and on the other two lines 
 to be paid for extra. In the first cabin of all the 
 lines everything was very clean and neat, the 
 English steamer having East Indian table wait- 
 ers and the others Europeans, whom I very 
 much pref erred. \ 
 
 It was ten or eleven o'clock at night before we 
 arrived at Haifa. The wind was blowing, the 
 waves were rolling, and it was very dark. The 
 small boats put out from the shore as soon as we 
 had anchored, each with a solitary lantern, but 
 with an abundance of suppressed noise and con- 
 fusion, ready to burst all bonds and bounds as 
 soon as the steamer was reached. I must ac- 
 knowledge that I do not like the mode of land- 
 ing. We had to go down a dark gangway, and 
 then step off into we knew not what a boat, if 
 we could, that was rising and sinking, and tip- 
 ping about among twenty other boats, each one 
 trying to push the others away from the foot of 
 the gangway. We all managed to step into a 
 boat instead of the sea, although it was so dark 
 below that we could not discover which until 
 we found ourselves in the bottom of the boat. 
 A gentleman, accompanied by his wife and two 
 small children, was in the boat with us, and at 
 
2io A Visit to Europe 
 
 tended to the custom-house officer in the usual 
 way. He proved to be a German in the employ 
 of the English Missionary Society for the con- 
 version of the Jews. He had been operating in 
 Jerusalem, but had lately been transferred to 
 Safed, the " city seated on a hill" at the north 
 end of the Sea of Galilee, where there is a large 
 Jewish population. We decided to stay at the 
 Hotel Carmel, of the German colony, which is 
 some distance out of town ; but it proved to be 
 an excellent inn, and on the direct way to the 
 convent of Mount Carmel. We awakened early 
 the next morning, and after breakfast went 
 out to take a look around us. \ 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MOUNT CARMEL THE MOUNTAIN OF THE PRO- 
 PHETS AND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 HIGH above us rose Mount Carmel, which 
 branches off from the mountains of Samaria, 
 and extends towards the northwest to the sea. 
 It is about fifteen miles long, and rises in places 
 to a height of more than seventeen hundred feet. 
 Along its northern base is the great plain of Es- 
 
teiv ' 
 
 way. i .. in (lie employ 
 
 of i nary Society for f 
 
 version had been < 
 
 Jei-i; had lately been transferred to 
 
 SalV t on a hill." at "the north 
 
 of Galilee, where th'H'e is a large 
 
 J.on.. We to stay at the 
 
 of the German colony, which is 
 
 . ; but it proved to be 
 
 Uent inn, and vay to the 
 
 ,ened early 
 
 the next .,, and after breakfast went 
 
 out to take a look around us.\ 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 MOI 
 
 PI! ! MY. 
 
 UK; ,luch 
 
 . .ria, 
 
 and ex' north w sea. 
 
 It is ab places 
 
 to a height of rnoiv tidred feet. 
 
 Along its north -lain of Es- 
 
and the Holy Land. 211 
 
 draelou. This mountain was the residence of 
 the prophets Elias and Eliseus, and Uhe seat of 
 the "school of the prophets." It slopes to- 
 wards the great sea, into, which it juts, a high 
 and bold promontory, on which the convent of 
 Mount Carmel is situated, four hundred and 
 eighty feet above the water. The convent, seen 
 from land or sea, is a very conspicuous object. 
 Carmel is covered with trees and vegetation, 
 and even now is beautiful and majestic; there- 
 fore does Solomon sing in the Canticle of Can- 
 ticles, in reciting the praises of the Spouse of 
 Christ: " Thy head is like Carmel." Christ, 
 the invisible Head of the Church, is here signi- 
 fied. But, like all other places in Palestine, 
 Carmel is not what it once was, but rather the 
 mournful prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled: "And 
 gladness and joy shall be taken away from Car- 
 mel, and there shall be no rejoicing nor shout- 
 ing in the vineyards. He shall not tread out 
 wine in the press that was wont to tread it out : 
 the voice of the t readers I have taken away."\ 
 On this mountain the prophet Elias called 
 down fire from heaven, which consumed the 
 holocaust upon his altar, to the confusion of 
 the prophets of Baal, so that the people cried 
 out: "The Lord He is God." And the false 
 prophets were brought down from the moun- 
 
212 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tain to the ancient torrent of Kishon, or Cison, 
 and were slain on account of their impiety and 
 imposture. 
 
 On this mountain. Elias prayed when there 
 had been no rain for three years and six months 
 and while he prayed "a little cloud arose out 
 f the sea"; "and while he turned himself this 
 way and that way, behold the heavens grew 
 dark with clouds and winds, and there fell a 
 great rain." The place of the sacrifice of Elias 
 > yet pointed out, and the convent of Carmel 
 is built over the cave where he dwelt. From 
 time immemorial this mountain has been occu- 
 pied not only by the prophets, but by saintly 
 anchorites before the time of Christ, and after 
 [is coming by Christian hermits until the pre- 
 sent time. The Carmelites have the prophet 
 Elias as their founder.^ 
 
 The fourth and fifth lessons of the Divine 
 Office of the Roman Breviary for the Commemo. 
 ration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Car- 
 met relate the following : When, on the sacred 
 day of Pentecost, the Apostles by heavenly in- 
 spiration spoke in divers tongues, and, having 
 invoked the most august name of Jesus, perform- 
 ed many wonders, it is related that very many 
 men who followed in the footsteps of the holy 
 prophets Elias and Eliseus. and had been prepared 
 
and the Holy Land. 213 
 
 by the preaching of John the Baptist for the 
 coming of Christ, . . . forthwith embraced the 
 evangelical faith, and by a certain especial love 
 began so to venerate the Most Blessed Virgin 
 whose converse and familiarity they had hap- 
 pily been able to enjoy that first of all on that 
 place on Mount Carmel where Elias formerly 
 saw the cloud rising, marked as a type of the 
 Yirgin, they built a chapel to the same most 
 pure Virgin. Therefore, gathering frequently 
 every day at that new chapel, with pious rites, 
 prayers, and praises, they worshipped the Most 
 Blessed Virgin as the particular patroness of 
 their order. For which reason they came to be 
 called everywhere the Brothers of the Blessed 
 Mary of Mount Carmel."\ 
 
 The German colony has reclaimed considera- 
 ble land between the base of the mountain and 
 the sea. It is a wide, level plain of fields and 
 orchards. Their houses are good arid substan- 
 tial, constructed of fine hewn stone. Their 
 yards and gardens are well kept and ornament- 
 ed, and among the trees here and there are a 
 few graceful palms. Across the bay we could 
 see the town of Acre, or Ptolemais, and far be- 
 yond the waters of the bay, to the east, the 
 hills of Galilee. \ 
 
 During the forenoon I determined to make a 
 
214 A Visit to Europe 
 
 visit to the convent. My companions thought 
 the day was too warm and would not accom- 
 pany me, so I set out alone on foot. The path, 
 which was quite good, was pleasantly lined the 
 whole distance by shrubs and trees, so that when 
 1 felt the heat was too intense I always found 
 the welcome shade of a tree near at hand. These 
 occasions of rest also gave an opportunity to 
 enjoy quietly the beauty and grandeur of the 
 scenery. From this holy mountain of Carmel, 
 the mountain of God and the mountain of the 
 Blessed Virgin, many a pure and holy eye has 
 lingered for the last time on the blue, beautiful 
 sea, and over the green plains and hills of Gali- 
 lee, quickly to catch a glimpse of the home of 
 eternal rest and the divine delights of the ce- 
 lestial country. It is, surely, a holy place in 
 which to pass a lifetime, and a divine place 
 from which to pass from earth to heaven \ 
 
 I soon reached the monastery, and received a 
 most cordial welcome from the Carmelite monks. 
 The convent of Carmel looks out from its heights 
 over the Mediterranean Sea, and from its influ- 
 ence over the world. I became acquainted with 
 an aged Carmelite father, wearing a long, white, 
 flowing beard. He w.as a Belgian, and had been 
 on the missions in the East Indies and knew 
 English well. He delighted in making eloquent 
 
and the Holy Land. 215 
 
 quotations which he had formerly committed to 
 memory from Paradise Lost. In about half 
 an hour after my arrival my two friends, hav- 
 ing reconsidered their morning resolutions, ar- 
 rived on donkeys at the monastery -gate. Our 
 venerable Carmelite guide showed us over the 
 building. The most interesting part was the 
 cave of the prophet Elias. In how many ways 
 these monks of Mount Carmel, who have gone 
 forth to the ends of the earth " with the spirit 
 and power of Elias," have proven themselves to 
 be the true sons of Elias, quickened by a new 
 fire consuming and working wonders to the 
 confusion of the false prophets of the world, 
 and making men cry out : U O Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, Thou art the Son of the Living God ! and 
 
 Mary, thou art indeed the Mother of God ! " 
 We also knelt before the altar of St. Simon 
 Stock, who lived six years in this holy retreat. 
 We were cordially invited to stay over-night 
 and as long as we pleased, but, having to start 
 for Nazareth that afternoon, we could not ac- 
 cept the kind invitation. In returning to Haifa 
 
 1 was glad to have the privilege of walking down 
 the side of the mountain alone and in silence, 
 meditating on the history and mysteries of 
 CarmelA 
 
 Nazareth is about eighteen miles distant from 
 
216 A Visit to Europe 
 
 $ . 
 
 Haifa, between which places is a fair wagon- 
 road, over a level country, except the last few 
 miles of the approach to Nazareth. We em- 
 ployed a member of the German colony to con- 
 vey us, and were pleased to see on what good 
 terms many of these simple and industrious men 
 apparently live with their Catholic neighbors, 
 especially the Catholic monks.* Fraternity 
 seems to be one of the prominent characteris- 
 tics of a large portion of the inhabitants of the 
 Holy Land. In saying this I am not unmind- 
 ful of the robberies and contentions that some- 
 times take place, but which only appear to serve 
 to unite more closely the larger number of the 
 people. \ 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE LIGHT OF NAZARETH. 
 
 LEAVING Haifa, for some distance we passed 
 between hedges of cactus and groves of various 
 kinds of trees, crossing once or twice the an- 
 
 * Since writing the above I have seen it stated, on seemingly 
 good authority, that members of the colony at Haifa have in- 
 terfered with the rights and property of the monks on Carrnel. 
 If this be so, it would very much detract from the estimate that 
 I formed of them ; but I should hope that not all the colony 
 joined in any such injusticeA 
 

 Haifa,. 'air wagon- 
 
 road, over y, except the last few 
 
 miles of the :li to Nazareth. em- 
 
 ployed a r f the German colony 
 
 vey us. used to see on what good 
 
 ten; of these simple and industrious men 
 
 aly live with their Catholic neighbors, 
 ily the Catholic monks.* Fraternity 
 ns to be one of the prominent characteris- 
 tics of a large portion of the inhabitants of the 
 Holy Land. 1 kis'I a*m not unmind- 
 
 ful of the rob ! that some- 
 
 times take place, but which only appear to s 
 to unite more closely the larger nur the 
 
 ^people. \ 
 
 CHAPTER XW 
 
 THE LI- 
 
 ro Haifa, for some distance we passed 
 s of cactus and gr ions 
 
 ossing an- 
 
 *s :n g^y 
 
 good liaifa ha 
 
 terfered \v ! . ne ^ 
 
 If tin 
 
 I formed of i ! 
 
 joined in any such i 
 
and the Holy Land. 1 \ 7 
 
 cient river Kishon, and continued through, its 
 wide, fertile valley for some miles along the 
 base of Mount Carmel. At the present time 
 Galilee seems much more verdant, fertile, and 
 well timbered than Judea. In the valley of 
 the Kishon we saw many flocks, herds, and 
 cultivated fields. The villages along the way, 
 however, made but very humble pretensions, 
 worthy of humble Galilee. A portion of the 
 country is not unlike what we call the "oak 
 openings" of our Western States. Other parts 
 of it are very dissimilar. I believe that it 
 would be a good country for the settlement, 
 farms, cities, and homes, of fifty thousand in- 
 dustrious and courageous European and Ame- 
 rican Catholic Christians, who could thus live 
 in the midst of the constant sacred associa- 
 tions of the Holy Family. \ But why indulge 
 in such dreams ? Nevertheless they may have 
 been the dreams, in another form, that led the 
 Crusaders to offer up their lives by sickness 
 and in battle for the restoration of the Holy 
 Land to Christ. The Cross of Christ be- 
 fore our eyes leads us to imaginations and 
 desires which never on this earth will be ful- 
 filled, but which shall be realized in perfect 
 form and being in heaven. Having passed out 
 of the valley of the Kishon, we entered a 
 
218 A Visit to Europe 
 
 woody tract which extended some distance 
 without any sign of habitation. After a while 
 the plain of Esdraelon appeared on our right. 
 It is called also the Great Plain, the Plain of 
 Jezreel, and Plain of Megeddo, and was one 
 of the great battle-plains of Jewish history. 
 We passed through various estates and vil- 
 lages, near most of which extensive piles and 
 stacks of grain were waiting for the threshers. 
 Darkness came on some time before we reached 
 Nazareth, and towns were pointed out to us 
 by lights seen shining in the distance. One 
 light shone out, far away beyond the plain 
 of Esdraelon, towards the south ; we were told 
 that it was in the "city of Nairn," where our 
 Lord restored to life the widow's son. O 
 mild and bright light of the mercy and love 
 of Jesus Christ ! Soon afterward, to the left, 
 near the highway, appeared the town of Yafa, 
 the Japhie of the book of Josue, which was 
 the native place of the holy Apostles " James 
 and John, the sons of Zebedee" ; our driver 
 called it St. James. We were now entering 
 the region where the Apostles lived and toiled 
 before they were called to be the disciples of 
 the Lord ; in which our Lord also lived, and 
 chose the sons of His own simple, humble 
 neighbors to be His Apostles, the teachers of 
 
and tke Holy Land. 219 
 
 the wise, and the spiritual conquerors and 
 rulers of nations. Not long after the lights 
 of Nazareth appeared. How can I express my 
 feelings as we approached Nazareth ? There 
 is hardly a square rod of . ground in it or 
 about it that has not been sanctified by the 
 footsteps of Jesus, our Saviour, in His child- 
 hood and manhood.. And where He walked, 
 Mary His Mother walked, and Joseph the 
 carpenter. In connection with Nazareth *I love 
 to use these names, so simple and yet so 
 powerful Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. How 
 many times did the lights of Nazareth bring 
 joy to our Lord and His weary disciples as 
 they drew near home ! We rode into the city 
 and through the streets until we came before 
 the portal of the Franciscan hospice, which is 
 situated not far from the church of the An- 
 nunciation. Our coming was in some way 
 known, so we were not unexpected guests, and, 
 although we were somewhat late, supper was 
 almost immediately ready. Here we found the 
 same kind welcome as elsewhere, the last, per- 
 haps, which we ever should receive from our 
 kind entertainers and friends, the Franciscans 
 of the Holy Land. Their reward awaits them 
 in heaven.\ 
 We retired to our rooms, to awaken in the 
 
22O A Visit to Europe 
 
 morning to see Nazareth for the first time by 
 daylight. For a long time I could do nothing 
 but look out of the window and watch the 
 men going to their work, and the women going 
 to the fountain of the Blessed Virgin, and the 
 children at play or accompanying their mo- 
 thers, and think of the same scenes more than 
 eighteen hundred years ago. Many also were 
 going to the church to assist at one of the 
 early Masses. Nazareth contains a population 
 variously estimated at from six to ten thou- 
 sand. Of these from fifteen hundred to twen- 
 ty-five hundred are Catholics of the Latin, 
 Greek, and Maronite rites, all of whom have 
 churches. The remaining population is about 
 equally divided between Greek schismatics and 
 Moslems. The greater part of the town lies 
 on the steep slope of a hill, and the re- 
 mainder on a level at the base, with a beau- 
 tiful, green, shady valley immediately at the 
 east. It is surrounded by mountains, from 
 some of which an extensive view is obtained. 
 As soon as we were ready we were conducted 
 to the church of the Annunciation, where we 
 were to have the happy privilege of saying 
 Mass at the altar of the Annunciation, on the 
 very spot where the Incarnation of the Son 
 of God took place, when the Angel Gabriel de- 
 
and the Holy Land. 221 
 
 clared unto Mary: "Behold, thou shalt con- 
 ceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a 
 son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus." 
 We entered the church, and very soon saw 
 that, in architectural design, and artistic finish, 
 it is one of the most attractive churches in 
 Palestine. Above, at the farther end, was a 
 high altar, but below it, by steps leading down 
 from the body of the church, we descended 
 to the chapel of the Annunciation. Beneath 
 the altar of the chapel are these words: "Hie 
 Verbum caro factum est" "Here the Word 
 was made flesh." Above the portals of the 
 grand Christian basilica which the Empress 
 Helena had erected here, she had these words 
 inscribed: "This is the ground whereon the 
 foundation of human Redemption was laid." 
 This chapel and altar stand on the rock where 
 once stood the Holy House, in which dwelt 
 the Blessed Virgin, and afterward the Holy 
 Family. We had the privilege, after our re- 
 turn to Italy, of saying Mass in Loreto in 
 the Holy House, which was translated from 
 Nazareth by miracle.\ 
 
 The Blessed Virgin belonged to a family of 
 Judea that seemed to have partially settled 
 in Galilee. It is generally believed that she 
 was born in Jerusalem, where her parents 
 
222 A Visit to Europe 
 
 lived for a time, just within the walls at St. 
 Stephen's gate, and where the church of St. 
 Ann now stands. As already mentioned, the 
 tombs of the parents of the Blessed Virgin 
 are down in the valley below the same gate. 
 It is also commonly believed that both St. 
 Joachim and St. Ann were born in Galilee, in 
 Sepphoris, a little more than three miles north 
 of Nazareth ; although some ancient writers 
 claim with good reason that St. Ann was a 
 native of Bethlehem. / 
 
 It is piously related that St. Ann, born in 
 Bethlehem and retaining her virginity until 
 Jier twentieth year, was informed by the An- 
 gel Gabriel that she should go to the temple 
 in Jerusalem, where she would meet St. Joa- 
 chim, whom she should marry. St. Joachim 
 was also informed by a messenger of heaven 
 that he should likewise go to the temple, 
 where he would meet St. Ann, who should 
 become his wife. They were both obedient to 
 the will of God, although they kept the com- 
 munications made to them secret from each 
 other ; but for twenty years their marriage 
 was without fruit. At the end of that time 
 St. Joachim, having brought his offerings to 
 the temple, while praying in the court of the 
 Israelites was cast pat by the priest Issacher 
 
and the Holy Land. 
 
 as a dead branch of Juda. He went forth 
 meekly, but prayed that he might return the 
 following year, bearing offerings and a hope 
 for the family of David. At this time St. 
 Ann received a second vision from the Angel 
 Gabriel, in which it was revealed to her that 
 she would be the mother of the Virgin Im- 
 maculate, who would be the Mother of God. 
 How beautiful and marked by divine good- 
 ness and love are the revelations of Christ to 
 His saints ! 
 
 The following immediate genealogy of the 
 Blessed Virgin, as given by St. Hippolytus, 
 who received the martyr's crown A.D. 252, is 
 interesting : / 
 
 "Before Herod's coming to the throne of 
 Judea, under the reign of Cleopatra in Egypt, 
 and Carsoparia in Persia, there dwelt in Beth- 
 lehem a priest named Mathan, of the race of 
 David by Solomon. By his wife, Mary, he 
 had three daughters. The eldest, called Mary, 
 after her mother, married at Bethlehem, and 
 had a daughter named Salome. The second, 
 called Sabe, also married in Bethlehem, and was 
 the mother of St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. 
 John the Baptist. The third, Ann, the mother 
 of Mary, of whom Jesus Christ was born, dwelt' 
 in Nazareth with an Israelite named Joachim." 
 
224 A Visit to Europe 
 
 We said the votive Mass of the Annuncia- 
 tion, and had the joy of repeating the angeli- 
 cal salutation in the Holy Sacrifice in that 
 very place where Mary first listened to it, as 
 it was borne, not from earth to heaven, but 
 from the royal court of heaven to the abode 
 of humility on earth, by the resplendent mes- 
 senger of God. Adjoining this chapel, but sep- 
 arated from it, is the chapel and altar of 
 St. Joseph, with the inscription: "Hie erat 
 subditus ill /?"" Here he was subject to 
 them." Near by is the kitchen of the Blessed 
 Virgin, where, as well as in the workshop of 
 her holy spouse, labor was sanctified./ 
 
 As in the church of the Holy Sepulchre and 
 the church of the Nativity, so here, numer- 
 ous lamps and candles are always burning, 
 lighting up dim and dark places with a 
 strange and holy beauty ; and silence reigns 
 everywhere, except broken by the musical, 
 solemn chant of the Divine Office or the Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass. And, filled with a mys- 
 terious awe and love, the soul bows down be- 
 fore its God in praise arid rapture, and cries 
 out: "This is the House of God and the Gate 
 of Heaven." How many holy feet have press- 
 ed these pavements and this ground since the 
 time when the Holy Ghost overshadowed this 
 
and the Holy Land. 225 
 
 place with His power, and the Son of God 
 "bowed down the heavens and descended," 
 and the Eternal Father looked down with a 
 complacent eye, and loved the place which 
 had witnessed the great mystery of the Incar- 
 nation ! The Blessed Mother of God, her holy 
 spouse St. Joseph, Gabriel, the arch-angelic 
 messenger of Heaven, St. Ann, St. Joachim, 
 and all the holy Apostles of our Lord, knelt 
 here and adored. An ancient tradition says 
 that "immediately on the Ascension of our 
 Lord into heaven, the Apostles and the prim- 
 itive faithful turned the house into an ora- 
 tory, wherein they repaired to pray, and that 
 they kept it in great veneration." Here St. 
 Helena came and built a magnificent basilica. 
 Besides the many great saints who came here 
 in the following centuries after St. Helena, in 
 later times came two most eminent servants 
 of God, and wept and prayed on this sacred 
 spot : St. Louis of France, the great crusader, 
 and St. Francis of Assisi, who chose the Holy 
 Places for his earthly inheritance and the heri- 
 tage of his Order. And since the time that 
 this holy spot was last visited by the Blessed 
 Virgin and St. John, probably no saint has 
 ever here prostrated himself with a more pro- 
 found spirit of adoration, deeper sentiments of 
 
226 A Visit to Europe 
 
 love for the Divine Child Jesus and His holy 
 poverty, and more ardent transports of spir- 
 itual joy than St. Francis. / 
 
 After Mass one other member of our party 
 and myself determined to visit Mount Thabor. 
 The other member preferred to stay in Naza- 
 reth. We had only a short time left before 
 taking the steamer for the return voyage. It 
 was our first intention to go to the Sea of 
 Galilee ; but our experience of the valley of 
 the Jordan in summertime had already been 
 sufficient. We also had intended to visit Bei- 
 rout and Damascus, and return to Italy by 
 way of Smyrna and Athens. But on account 
 of the date of the sailing of the steamers, and 
 their tardy connections, reluctantly we had to 
 conclude to retrace our old route Two of us, 
 therefore, determined to get as good a view as 
 possible of the Sea of Galilee and all the sur- 
 rounding country, from such a commanding 
 position as the summit of the " high moun- 
 tain" of the Transfiguration.\ 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 "HIS OWN COUNTRY." 
 
 IT was yet early in the morning when, mount- 
 ed on our horses, and with a dragoman to ac- 
 
and the Holy Land, 227 
 
 company us, we started on our way. Mount 
 Thabor lies about six miles to the s0uth of east 
 of Nazareth. The country intervening is very 
 hilly, and the road, or rather path, very uneven. 
 Just as we left the town we passed by the foun- 
 tain of the Madonna, where many women were 
 filling their earthen jugs with water. It is the 
 only spring of good water in Nazareth, and 
 every hour of the day, on all the streets, women 
 are seen going to and returning from the foun- 
 tain with the water- jars upon their heads./ 
 
 We know but little of Nazareth before the 
 coining of Christ, but we know that in His time 
 the same daily scene was witnessed. And the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary, during her long residence 
 here, must have gone daily to this fountain, 
 often accompanied by the Divine Child Jesus. 
 
 From the base to the summit of Mount Thabor 
 the path is very steep and rocky, and to a cer- 
 tain extent dangerous, especially in the descent. 
 Sometimes for a rod or more there would be 
 only a smooth, precipitous rock, with hardly a 
 place on which the horse's foot could catch, so 
 that its feet would slide some distance, and by 
 a slight mishap one would be hurled down the 
 precipice. It takes one hour to ascend or de- 
 scend the mountain, which is in the form of a 
 truncated cone and rises more than two thou- 
 
228 A Visit to Europe 
 
 sand feet high. It stands almost entirely alone 
 at the east side of the plain of Esdraelon, from 
 which it abruptly rises. It is covered with 
 shrubs and trees, and abounds in game. The 
 entire summit is surrounded by an ancient wall ; 
 and the level plateau at the top contains schis- 
 matic Greek and Catholic convents, and some 
 massive ruins, evidently of a primitive church 
 and of the time of the Crusaders. It is claimed 
 by some that a town existed here more tlian a 
 thousand years before the coming of Christ, 
 which met with the various successes and re- 
 verses of human fortune. Whether this be true 
 or not, there is nothing in history to indicate 
 that, in the time of our Lord, there was any 
 such settlement here as to preclude this being 
 the place mentioned in the evangelical narra- 
 tive of the Transfiguration. 
 
 The Franciscans have a hospice here in which 
 there were only two members of their order. 
 Several persons besides ourselves were likewise 
 on a visit, and among them a very gaily cos- 
 tumed and gentle-mannered Asiatic young gen- 
 tleman from Haifa. He was very agreeable to- 
 wards us, and tried to make our brief stay 
 pleasant and interesting. / 
 
 Out among the ruins we wandered to the place 
 that beheld the Transfiguration. The scene that 
 
and the Holy Land. 229 
 
 was presented to the eyes was magnificent. To- 
 wards the east lay the beautiful Sea of Galilee 
 glistening in the sun, and nearer fo us the hill 
 of the Beatitudes, where Christ preached the 
 " Sermon on the Mount"; at the base of which 
 was the field where His disciples plucked the 
 ears of corn as they walked on the Sabbath 
 day. As I looked down on the shores of that 
 sea and over that Eastern scene, the quiet and 
 repose of that Sabbath day still seemed to lin- 
 ger. Beyond the lake were the fortress-like 
 mountains of Hauran, in the ancient land of 
 Basban, and south of them the mountains of 
 Gilead. To the north of the lake appeared the 
 city of Safed, situated high on the mountains, 
 and so prominent to the eye that its visibility 
 seems its chief characteristic. It is the "city 
 seated on a mountain that cannot be hid." Far- 
 ther north were the ranges of Lebanon and the 
 Great Hermon : " Thabor and Hermon shall re- 
 joice in thy name." To the south and west'was 
 the plain of Esdraelon. In every direction nu- 
 merous villages dotted the hill- sides and plains. 
 Among them to the south, across the plain at 
 the foot of the hills, was Endor, where the witch 
 called up the spirit of Samuel that Saul might 
 consult him and learn of the disasters about to 
 overwhelm him in the battle of Gelboe ; and to 
 
230 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the southwest was Nairn, whose lights we had 
 seen on our way to Nazareth. Beyond them 
 was Little Hermon, and still farther beyond 
 were the mountains of Gelboe (or Gilboa). The 
 range of Carmel stood boldly and grandly 
 against the western sky. The wide-extended 
 plain of Esdraelon, even in summer, appeared 
 very fertile, green, and beautiful. At the foot of 
 Thabor, to the northwest, nestled the little vil- 
 lage of Debbora the prophetess ; for it was here 
 that Barac the son of Albinoem, and Debbora 
 the prophetess, leading down the mountain-side 
 the army of the Israelites, met and destroyed 
 the hosts of Sisara. This view takes in a large 
 portion of northern and central Palestine ; and 
 this vicinity has been the scene of battles be- 
 tween the Jews and Romans, the Moslems and 
 Crusaders, and Napoleon and the Turks. With 
 the eyes of the memory and imagination I seem- 
 ed to see all these events passing before me, one 
 after the other, in grand historical procession, 
 until the mountain seemed left alone in its soli- 
 tude. \ 
 
 The sun shone as brightly, but it Hashed not 
 upon the bright arms and armor of contending 
 hosts ; the shouts of battle arid of victory had 
 died away, and the last notes of the victorious 
 canticle of Debbora and Barac, " So let Thy 
 
and the Holy Land. 231 
 
 enemies perish, O Lord : but let them that love 
 Thee shine, as the sun shineth in* his rising," 
 had melted away into eternal silence, or to 
 burst forth again in the eternal harmonies of 
 heaven. And while the top of the mountain 
 yet seemed to belong to earth, the bright at- 
 mosphere a few feet higher seemed bathed in 
 the sunlight of God's glory ; and in its midst 
 three forms appeared, ''with garments white and 
 glittering as snow, and faces shining as the 
 sun"; and on the top of the mount three hum- 
 ble forms bowed down, men clothed in the 
 poor, coarse garb of Galilean peasants, whose 
 poor, thin faces were pale with fear. The pov- 
 erty of earth caught a glimpse of the glory of 
 heaven, and was prostrated to the earth in ter- 
 ror, and the peaceful words from the throne of 
 God only transfixed their hearts with a new and 
 greater fear. But how quickly it passed away 
 when Jesus, their Lord, touched them, saying : 
 u Arise, fear not." O happy moment, when the 
 humble heart that has suffered long years from 
 doubts and fears shall hear the reassuring words 
 of its Saviour ! Great will be the change in that 
 instant ! / 
 
 In whatever direction we turned our eyes we 
 saw some road where Christ walked, some place 
 where He taught by parable, revealed a new 
 
232 A Visit to Europe 
 
 truth, or performed a miracle. This was in- 
 deed "His own country." 
 
 Having partaken of the dinner prepared for 
 us at the hospice, we returned to Nazareth. 
 We met numerous parties of Bedouins on 
 horseback wending their way towards the east 
 over the uneven paths between the rocks, and 
 now and then a camel- train bearing burdens of 
 various kinds and going in the same direction. 
 
 On our return, although weary, we started 
 out to visit the holy places of Nazareth. Next 
 in interest to the house of the Blessed Virgin, 
 where the church of the Annunciation stands, 
 is the workshop of St. Joseph, which was his 
 home before his espousal to Mary, and which 
 was then and afterwards his workshop, where 
 our Lord as a child and as a young man daily 
 assisted him. It was on the way from the 
 Holy House to the fountain. How frequently 
 then did the Blessed Mother pass this way and 
 stop here and rest, and converse with them as 
 they toiled for their daily bread ! f 
 
 The carpenter-shop of St. Joseph is very at- 
 tractive to me. In it, as in the home of Mary, 
 human labor was sanctified. When our first 
 parents were driven out of Eden they had been 
 cursed to toil ; it was now changed into a bless- 
 ing, and those most favored of Heaven were ap- 
 
and the Holy Land. 233 
 
 pointed to the humanly speaking hard lot of 
 daily toil and poverty. St. Joseph is the great 
 model and patron of workingmerf, and under 
 his patronage Jesus and Mary will change home 
 into heaven, and the blessings of toil into the 
 treasures of eternity. St. Joseph's workshop 
 was the model workshop of the world. The 
 tools he used were perhaps very primitive and 
 clumsy, and his income was probably very 
 scanty. But his arm was willing and his heart 
 simple and sincere ; his life was honest, and his 
 home purest of the pure. He was a true friend 
 to his neighbor, and Jesus and Mary loved him 
 as he loved them. Oh ! who, in our day, can 
 preach rightly to the workingmen of the world, 
 except he preach from the workshop of St. Jo- 
 seph? For "him God sanctified in his faith and 
 meekness, and chose him out of all flesh. He 
 glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave 
 him commandments in the sight of his people, 
 and showed him His glory." The labor ques- 
 tion can be solved only by aid of the light that 
 still burns on the altar of the workshop of St. 
 Joseph in Nazareth. The site and chapel now 
 belong to the Franciscans. The chapel is an 
 humble one, but it has a beautiful marble altar, 
 beneath which are the words: "Hie erat sub- 
 dt'tus z7&V "Here He was subject to them." 
 
234 A Visit to Europe 
 
 We next went to the schismatic Greek church 
 of the Archangel Gabriel. It is situated over 
 the spring which supplies water to the foun- 
 tain of the Madonna, to which it is conveyed 
 by means of a conduit. According to the Greek 
 tradition, here the archangel appeared to the 
 Blessed Virgin, who afterwards retired to her 
 house, where she received the heavenly mes- 
 senger and gave her consent to be the Mother 
 of God. We drank some water from the spring, 
 and then started for the western part of the city. 
 In passing through the streets I noticed that 
 Nazareth is not an over-clean place in fact, in 
 parts it is rather dirty. But I did not notice 
 any of that extraordinary filth that is spoken 
 of by some writers, a number of whom are Ca- 
 tholics. It* a man is looking for filth I suppose 
 he could find it in almost any city or village 
 of the world. The Oriental cities and towns 
 are certainly not any too clean. But where some 
 writers hunted up their piles of filth I cannot 
 imagine. It is natural for some persons to find 
 fault with everything, but they are not usu- 
 ally very honest writers. Their own bile makes 
 everything look bilious to them, and they paint 
 all their pictures for others in the same un- 
 natural colors. \ 
 
 In the western and upper part of the town 
 
and the Holy Land. 235 
 
 is the chapel of Mensa Christi, or Table of 
 Christ. It contains a large, thick^ flat stone, 
 ten by twelve feet, in the shape of a table, on 
 which, it is said, Christ ate with His Apostles 
 both before and after the Resurrection. Near 
 it is the Maronite church. On our way back 
 to the hospice, but nearer the centre of the 
 town, is the synagogue, a house like building, 
 which is now the church of the Greek Catho- 
 lics: "And He came to Nazareth, where He 
 was brought up : and He went into the syna- 
 gogue, according to His custom, on the Sabbath 
 day ; and He rose up to read." The book of 
 Isaias the prophet was delivered to Him, from 
 which He read a prophecy relating to Himself, 
 and, having given up the book, sat down: "And 
 the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed on Him. 
 And He began to say to them : -This day is fulfill- 
 ed this Scripture in your ears." "And they won- 
 dered at the words of grace that proceeded from 
 His mouth, and they said : Is not this the son 
 of Joseph?" or, according to another Evangel- 
 ist: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of 
 Mary?" We had not time to visit the Precipice, 
 nor the chapel of Tremor, where the Nazarenes 
 brought Christ, " that they might cast Him down 
 headlong," and seeing which, in the distance, 
 His holy Mother was seized with a great fear./ 
 
236 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Having returned to the hospice, and having 
 made a farewell visit to the church of the An- 
 nunciation, we started back to Haifa. Some of 
 the children followed us out of the city for 
 backsheesh. We passed through the country by 
 daylight, which we had not seen before on ac- 
 count of the darkness. We met many loads of 
 grain and straw on donkeys and camels going 
 to the city ; and at a fountain about a mile out 
 of Nazareth a Bedouin wanted us to give him 
 tobacco, with which request the smoker of the 
 party readily complied./ 
 
 The afternoon was pleasant, and towards 
 sunset we halted for a brief rest under the 
 shade of some fine trees on the borders of 
 the valley of the Kisson, or Kishon, and not 
 far distant from the side of Carmel. Some na- 
 tive men, in groups along the road, were re- 
 turning from the work of the day. A few vil- 
 lages with trees near them appeared as if 
 asleep at the base of the mountains. All na- 
 ture was in a state of repose, or so quiet in 
 its movements and manifestations of life that 
 its tranquillity was undisturbed. We should 
 soon bid adieu to Palestine, and this peaceful 
 hour at the close of a day sacred in our lives 
 would soon pass into a holy twilight, and the 
 sable curtains of night would quickly descend 
 
and the Holy Land. 237 
 
 to shut from our sight the fading scenes of 
 the last day of our pilgrimage ur the Holy 
 Land./ 
 
 For the benefit of those who are interested 
 in ancient biblical narrative I will state that 
 during our journey through Palestine, Jaffa 
 and the road towards Jerusalem for some dis- 
 tance lay in the portion of country allotted 
 to the tribe of Dan, while to the south along 
 the sea-shore our eyes rested on the land of 
 the Philistines, to the east of which appeared 
 the land of Juda, and on the north we be- 
 held the hills and mountains of Ephraim. Je- 
 rusalem and the road to Jericho are in Ben- 
 jamin, while Bethlehem is in Juda. Across 
 the river from the plain of Jericho we saw the 
 portions of Ruben and Gad. In the north, 
 Nazareth and nearly the whole of Galilee 
 through which we passed were in Zabulon, 
 although Mount Thabor is on the borders of 
 Issachar, and the principal part of the great 
 plain of Esdraelon belonged to the same tribe. 
 Across the Sea of Galilee, as well as beyond 
 the mountains of Carmel, lay the land of Ma 
 nnsses. Towards the north our eyes wandered 
 over the lands of Nephtali and Aser, which 
 latter we entered as we approached the sea- 
 coast, for "it reacheth to Carmel by the sea.^J, 
 
238 A Visit to Europe 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 IT was rather late at night when we arrived 
 at the Hotel Carmel, of the German colony, 
 and we rose early the next morning to take 
 the boat, which, however, did not start until 
 noon. / 
 
 Nearly all the afternoon we sailed down the 
 coast of Palestine, looking away over the sea 
 and intervening space at its blue mountain 
 ranges, dreaming dreams of commingled joy, 
 sadness, and solemnity. The mountain of Car- 
 mel, ever grand, seen from sea or land, gradu- 
 ally sunk beneath the wave. But the moun- 
 tains of Ephraim, and lastly the mountains of 
 Judea, had appeared, and I said to myself: 
 " This is the last time that I shall look upon 
 the sacred mountains of the Holy Land." 
 What a strange old land it seemed to me ! 
 And I could do nothing but look and dream 
 until night settled down upon the sea and 
 land, and we could see nothing but the lights 
 of Jaffa. The next morning we were still in 
 the port of Jaffa, but set sail during the day.* 
 We watched the mountains until they disap- 
 
and the Holy Land. 239 
 
 peared, and then said, in our hearth, "Fape- 
 well!" We were leaving Palestine, but we 
 were returning home. / 
 
 When we were well under way we noticed 
 a Franciscan father on deck reading a news- 
 paper, and, taking closer observations, we saw 
 that he was reading the New York Freeman ' s 
 Journal. Seeing one of our favorite American 
 Catholic papers, we drew nearer, and recog- 
 nized a good Franciscan that we had met in 
 Jerusalem, to whom I had twice made my con- 
 fession. Our first greeting over, we learned 
 that he had been transferred to Alexandria. 
 He had been in the Holy Land, about a year, 
 having been previously many years in Ameri- 
 ca. He related many things of interest to us 
 about Palestine, its cities, people, and religious 
 condition ; the relations of the various religious 
 bodies Latins, Greeks, Armenians, and others. 
 Catholic and schismatics of various rites ; and 
 the difficulties, hardships, trials, and consola- 
 tions of the guardians of the sacred places. 
 He said that the authorities at Rome seemed 
 to favor the Oriental rites in the East for a 
 reason readily perceived. He said, if there was 
 any difference, that the Greek Catholics seemed 
 more tenacious of their ancient rites and disci- 
 pline than the schismatics. He informed us 
 
240 A Visit to Europe 
 
 that a Greek, Armenian, or other schismatic, 
 who wishes to become a convert, is not allowed 
 to become a Latin, but is obliged to become a 
 Catholic of his own rite, whero a congregation 
 of his own rite exists. How truly Catholic is 
 the Church of God, that takes into considera- 
 tion all the prejudices, national traditions, and, 
 above all, religious customs held in just rev- 
 erence by the nations of the earth ! We were 
 introduced, on board the steamer, to the post- 
 master at Jaffa, who is an Arab Catholic of the 
 Greek rite./ 
 
 To a Catholic from Europe or America it 
 seems strange to find in the Orient Catholics 
 and Catholic churches of so many different 
 rites in the same city, and each rite under a 
 different local ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The 
 ancient city of Damascus might be taken as 
 only a fair example of this frequent occur- 
 rence. In 1840 its population w r as probably 
 under-estimated at 110,000, and the number of 
 Christians was stated to be about 12,000. Of 
 these the schismatic Greeks numbered more 
 than 5,000, Greek Catholics more than 5,000, 
 Maronites about 300, Armenian Catholics about 
 300, Syrian Catholics about 600, and the Latins 
 a few hundred. Whatever the Christian popu- 
 lation in reality may have been in 1840, it is 
 
find the Holy Land. 241 
 
 probably double the foregoing figures at the 
 present time, the Catholic Greeks -being about 
 equal in numbers to the Greek schismatics, 
 and the other Catholic Oriental rites consider- 
 ably surpassing in numbers, wealth, and po- 
 sition (he corresponding schismatical bodies, 
 which is the reverse, however, in a number of 
 the other cities of Syria. / 
 
 North of Palestine, in tlie region of the Leba- 
 non, the Maronites are a very important body of 
 Oriental Catholic Christians. One day, as we 
 were waiting in the hall of the Casa Nova in Je- 
 rusalem, four tall, venerable, and dignified stran- 
 gers, wearing the usual flowing robes of the East, 
 entered the door and passed through to a room 
 in the building. As they passed they saluted us 
 by bowing and placing the right hand to their 
 foreheads and then on their breasts in the Ori- 
 ental manner, as token of their respect in mind 
 and heart. We were glad of the opportunity of 
 meeting these manly and heroic Christians of 
 northern Syria. Probably we had already seen 
 some of their number, but were unable to dis- 
 tinguish them from others of the finer specimens 
 of Palestine manhood. They number about two 
 hundred thousand and chiefly inhabit the moun- 
 tains of Lebanon. They claim never to have de- 
 parted from the orthodox faith or from obedi- 
 
242 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ence to the chair of St. Peter. Like all the 
 other Oriental Catholic bodies, they have their 
 own rites and liturgy, and the Church disci- 
 pline peculiar to the East. They use the Syr- 
 iac language in their liturgy, the very language 
 which Christ our Lord used when He instituted 
 the holy mysteries. The secular and regular 
 clergy number about twenty-six hundred, and 
 the monks possess many fine monasteries in the 
 Lebanon./ 
 
 We arrived in Alexandria at noon on Satur- 
 day. All the guns of the British war-fleet were 
 about to fire a royal salute. It gave us a good 
 idea of the bombardment of Alexandria without 
 its terrible results. It seemed the more real, as 
 we recognized the names of several war- ships 
 that took part in that battle. We went on shore 
 and drove to Abbat's Hotel. There we saw late 
 papers for the first time in a month, in which 
 we learned the name of the nominee of one of 
 the great political parties for the Presidency of 
 the United States, and found a confirmation of 
 the rumors which we had heard in Jaffa that 
 cholera had broken out in southern France. 
 Towards evening we took a walk through the 
 streets' to get a last good look at Oriental scenes, 
 which now we might enjoy, although they were 
 no longer possessed of novelty. 
 
and the Holy Land. 243 
 
 The next day was Sunday and Uje Feast of 
 the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. We cele- 
 brated Mass in the cathedral of St. Catharine, 
 and for my Mass I was directed to the altar of 
 St. Peter. Some of those who assisted at the 
 Mass which I celebrated were afterwards with 
 us on the steamer. 
 
EUROPE, 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 FROM ALEXANDRIA TO NAPLES. 
 
 ON our arrival in Alexandria we were unde- 
 cided as to the route by which we should return 
 to Europe ; but, as we were desirous of making 
 haste on account of the summer weather, we de- 
 cided to take the French steamer which sailed 
 on Sunday forenoon for Naples. It is a more 
 lonesome route than some others, but we were 
 rewarded with the sight, within the space of the 
 last twenty -four hours, of the three great volcan- 
 ic mountains Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius. 
 We drove to the harbor in a carriage with an 
 Egyptian guide, who told us that our former 
 guide was taking a vacation, as he was able to 
 do so, being quite wealthy. He appeared, to 
 feel at home with us and to enjoy himself, and 
 laughed quite heartily as he narrated the efforts 
 of some English ladies to convert him to " Chris- 
 tianity."/ 
 
 244 
 
A Visit to Europe. 245 
 
 An hour afterwards our vessel ^teamed out 
 
 - 
 
 of* the harbor, and by noon the Egyptian coast 
 disappeared from our sight beneath the distant 
 horizon of waters, and to us-the East, the dream- 
 land and wonder-land, lived only in the past 
 and in our imagination. Until some time be- 
 yond the middle of the afternoon of the fourth 
 day we saw only the blue billows of the deep. 
 But the sea was not so dreary as tlie ocean, for 
 nearly always some white-winged messenger of 
 peace and plenty which under the bright rays 
 of the sun appeared like fleecy clouds of snow 
 and then again like transparent golden banners 
 skirted the horizon or moved majestically on- 
 ward at a more neighborly distance. The cabin 
 passengers were all French except ourselves and 
 a solitary German who seemed to possess both 
 a gentlemanly and sensitive nature, but who 
 did not appear to feel at home among so many 
 Frenchmen. As for us, we thoroughly enjoyed 
 our French company, and we had a good oppor- 
 tunity of observing their polite bearing, ' light 
 hearts, and genial dispositions, ever unchangeable 
 during the voyage. We had music, songs, and 
 lively conversations ; and sometimes the ladies 
 and gentlemen, including the captain and first 
 mate, skipped the rope like children, to see who 
 could make the best record, which was always 
 
246 A Visit to Europe 
 
 greeted with rounds of applause. Sometimes 
 the sea itself seemed to catch the infectious spi- 
 rit of jollity, and would take on playful moods 
 and start into quick motions that would set all 
 the passengers dancing until they were sick 
 of it. 
 
 About two or three hours before sunset we 
 came in sight of Sicily, and rising high among 
 its mountain peaks was volcanic Etna, whose 
 summit, ten thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea, marked a short line against the blue 
 sky. Nearer and nearer we approached the 
 land, and the great mountain gradually reveal- 
 ed more clearly its grand proportions. We sat 
 on deck and looked out over the smooth sea 
 towards the land and mountains until night set- 
 tled down over all. What a sublime and terri- 
 fic sight that mountain would have presented 
 to us two years later, as it cast forth its liquid 
 streams of fire into the black heavens of night, 
 lighting up mountains, land, and sea with its 
 lurid light ! / 
 
 The next morning at dawn there was some- 
 thing about the movement of the vessel that 
 made me think we were not far from land, and 
 I hastily arose and looked out of our state-room 
 window. The land was near by, and we were 
 passing between the Scylla and Charybdis of 
 
and the Holy Land. 247 
 
 the ancients, where, according to Grecian my- 
 thology, two horrid monsters dwelt on opposite 
 sides, ever ready to swallow up unlucky naviga- 
 tors. In former ages it was certainly considered 
 a dangerous place in navigation, but in modern 
 times it has lost most of its terrors. I dressed 
 as hastily as possible and went on deck, but by 
 that time we were gradually moving out into 
 wider waters, and the narrower channel was left 
 behind. Huge banks of jagged clouds rested 
 over the land, and they stood so calmly, with 
 their white-capped and gray -mantled peaks, that 
 at first I mistook them for high mountains, and 
 it took close observation to dispel the romantic 
 illusion. / 
 
 About the middle of the forenoon we came in 
 sight of Stromboli, which is a volcanic mountain 
 island, rising three thousand feet out of the sea. 
 Although we could discern at the base of the 
 mountain a space containing a town of many 
 houses, it otherwise looked like an island form- 
 ed of a single mountain, rising directly out of 
 the waves into a solitary peak. It is said to 
 have been an active volcano for two thousand 
 years, and is called the "light-house of the 
 Mediterranean," but we did not discover any 
 signs to indicate, at the present time, the fit- 
 ness of the name. From about half-way up its 
 
248 A Visit to Europe 
 
 i 
 
 sides it was covered with a cloud, which at times 
 
 would break in pieces, revealing the summit, 
 which would again quickly be hidden. 
 
 The remainder of the day we sailed up the 
 uneven Italian coast, with nothing more to in- 
 terest us than the sight of land, arid sailing-ves- 
 sels scudding over the water in every direction, 
 and dignified steamships, under clouds of smoke, 
 starting on their journey to southern and east- 
 ern countries./ 
 
 Towards evening we came in sight of the Bay 
 of Naples. It was one of the rarest and most 
 beautiful scenes ever painted on my memory. 
 The entrance to the bay, from Cape Miserio on 
 the north to Cape Campanella on the south, is 
 twenty miles in width. To our right, at the 
 south of the bay, were mountain heights adorn- 
 ed with numerous villages and cities, many of 
 which were founded by Grecian colonists five 
 hundred years before Christ. Immediately at 
 our left was the high, rocky island of Capri, 
 looming up like a grand, impregnable fortress. 
 This island was the favorite resort of the Ro- 
 man emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and of 
 many of the old Roman nobility. Towards the 
 north entrance rose the island of Ischia, noted 
 for its earthquakes and volcanoes. Before us 
 was tfre fair bay, beyond which was the beau- 
 
and the Holy Land. 249 
 
 tiful city. And towering over all was mighty 
 Vesuvius, belching forth its black and threat- 
 ening volume of smoke, which, as evening came 
 on, became at frequent intervals a lurid red, for 
 an instant appearing like an angry demon light- 
 ing the darkness with his infernal torch. But 
 when we first entered the bay and rounded the 
 southern coast all was calm, bright, and beauti- 
 ful ; a clear blue sky overhead, the blue waters 
 of the sea beneath, and on the land commingled 
 green and white, and changing colors every- 
 where ; and all sky, water, vessels with their 
 .white sails, cities, and land were bathed in the 
 limpid light of the setting sun. An American 
 man- of war in the harbor was covered with flags 
 and bunting, for the next day was the Fourth of 
 July./ 
 
 As we came to anchor and the shades of even- 
 ing began to deepen, we heard the loud, distinct 
 voice of military orders on a neighboring Italian 
 man-of-war, followed by the beat of drum and 
 the clear, musical notes of the trumpet ; and the 
 dark pall of night rested on the bright scenes 
 of day, as the pall of death rests upon the fair 
 face of beauty. And t"he lights that quickly 
 rose in the city, like those of the death-watch, 
 added an appearance of reality to the 
 son, 
 
250 A Visit to Europe 
 
 The next morning, as we stepped on shore, we 
 realized that we were in a new world. The sa- 
 cred places and associations of the Holy Land 
 were no longer ours, but our feet rested on a 
 land that, with all its faults, is still Catholic. 
 And everywhere over the land were sanctuaries 
 and sacred temples, hallowed by the divine pres- 
 ence of Jesus Christ in their holy tabernacles./ 
 
 But our first impressions on landing were not 
 pleasant. The chief officer of the custom-house 
 happened to be present, and the under- officials 
 showed great zeal in unpacking our baggage and 
 hunting in every nook and corner for tobacco 
 which two of us never use and for articles of 
 devotion, such as rosaries and crucifixes, some 
 of which we had bought in Rome but most of 
 which in Palestine, and which we were carrying 
 through Italy as presents to our friends and pa- 
 rishioners in America. Perhaps we did not suf- 
 ficiently "possess our souls in patience," or pay 
 the duties, which we had to pay, with sufficient 
 meekness, nor did we speak complimentary- 
 words of the decency of a government that is 
 Catholic even in name and does such things. 
 We blamed the officials,, in which we were proba- 
 bly wrong, as they were only the dutiful ser- 
 vants of a needy and greedy government, whose 
 own people everywhere feel the slavery of a 
 
and the Holy Land. 251 
 
 grinding taxation. It was the Fourth of July, 
 and we were perchance a little inflated with the 
 spirit of American independence, and expected 
 too much. We were foolish enough to expect 
 decency in a matter where we knew that the 
 legislators had a right in law to disregard it. 
 We expected too much when we looked for de- 
 cency from a government that steals convents 
 and churches and robs the Vicar of Christ. Yet 
 in justice I must add that all over Italy we 
 found many officials, both civil and .military, 
 who were kind and obliging in their manners, 
 and gentlemen in every respect. And, so far as 
 I am personally concerned, I have no complaints 
 to make of my treatment by the Italian people, 
 and I got to like the greater number of those 
 with whom I formed" any acquaintance. In few 
 countries would I sooner live than in Italy, only 
 I would not wish to become a citizen of the Ita- 
 lian kingdom. I consider the Italian population 
 as a too patient people, Catholic at heart, toiling 
 under the burdens and oppression of ambitious 
 rulers and the unprincipled classes who uphold 
 them. We afterwards noticed over the custom- 
 house a beautiful statue of the Immaculate Con- 
 ception, which quieted our disturbed feelings. 
 No one has a more sincere loyalty to the flag 
 of his country than I have for the Stars and 
 
252 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Stripes, but I was never in love with the bra- 
 zen goddess of liberty. May the day quickly 
 come when the Immaculate Queen of Heaven 
 will be invoked by our nation to bless the starry 
 banner of freedom ! / 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " SEE NAPLES AND THEN DIE." 
 
 WE took a carriage and drove to the Hotel 
 de Rome. During the forenoon we made ar- 
 rangements with a guide for a carriage and 
 driver and his own service for a visit to the 
 ruined city of Pompeii. It is situated twelve 
 miles southeast of Naples, yet the houses along 
 the streets were so continuous that we hardly 
 perceived that we had left the city. Naples 
 possesses more than three hundred churches, 
 and we passed many of them on our way. 
 From the inscriptions on those which we saw 
 we learned that a large number of them are 
 dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under some one 
 of her titles ; and at almost every corner there 
 was a picture of the Blessed Virgin, or the 
 Blessed Mother and Divine Child, Some special 
 
and the Holy Land. 253 
 
 festival of the Blessed Virgin* had lately been 
 celebrated, and hanging across the street, through 
 which we drove for about a mile, as nearly as I 
 could judge the distance, were cords and wires 
 only a brief space apart each one upholding 
 many lights of various kinds. It must have 
 been a grand display and illumination in honor 
 of the Queen of Heaven, and Naples appeared 
 to me in a better and more beautiful light than 
 it ever had before, for I have great confidence 
 in a people that has such tender love and de- 
 votion for the Mother of God. After we had 
 gone a certain distance we noticed that a cross 
 was marked on all the houses^ and on many of 
 them was a painting representing a bishop mak- 
 ing the sign of the cross towards Vesuvius. 
 This is in honor of the miracle that occurred 
 on that terrible day in December, 1831, when 
 the city was experiencing repeated shocks of 
 earthquakes, and the dread fires of Vesuvius 
 were rolling down towards the city, threatening 
 it with destruction, when the archbishop went 
 forth bearing the blood of St. Januarius, and 
 with it made the sign of the cross over the 
 burning mountain, and its devouring torrents 
 of fire were stayed in their course and the city 
 was saved. When I saw these pictures on the 
 houses I took them to represent St. 
 
254 A Visit to Europe 
 
 making the sign of the cross over Vesuvius, but 
 it is probable that they are representations of 
 the archbishop with the reliquary. / 
 
 The road to Pompeii led near the bay, along 
 whose shores were charming villas surrounded by 
 pleasure-grounds and flower-gardens, such as can 
 be found only in a climate as delicious as that of 
 Naples. With frequent glimpses of the bay 
 and its surrounding peopled heights, and a con- 
 stant view of great Vesuvius before us, and fre- 
 quent changes of nearer passing scenes, we jour- 
 neyed over the road. On our arrival at the en- 
 trance to Pompeii we heard a party of about 
 twenty singing familiar words to a familiar air ; 
 they were evidently citizens of the great repub- 
 lic of the West, over which the sun shines at 
 his zenith during about one-eighth part of the 
 time of an entire revolution of the globe. They 
 were singing the " Star-Spangled Banner." They 
 were about to make the ascent of Vesuvius, and, 
 as we were to visit Pompeii, after a short and 
 friendly acquaintance we separated, perhaps to 
 meet but once in our lives, and then at the gates 
 of a dead city in a far-off foreign land. As they 
 left us it occurred to me that it was not the first 
 Fourth of July that our countrymen had ap- 
 proached "the crater" beneath which slumber 
 volcanoes. We were soon afterwards inside the 
 
and the Holy Land. 255 
 
 walls of Pompeii. This was a city^five centuries 
 before the coming of Christ, and how much older 
 it is history does not inform us with sufficient 
 certainty. In the^year 79 A. D. it was destroyed 
 by an eruption of Vesuvius, and lay buried un- 
 der volcanic deposits for seventeen centuries, to 
 be brought to the light in our age, revealing to 
 our eyes the homes, customs, and domestic life 
 of the Roman people two thousand y ears ago. / 
 
 We walked through silent streets and entered 
 tenant-less houses whose last masters had left 
 them in haste, so that they were found eighteen 
 hundred years afterwards just as they were 
 when last occupied^ the furniture in its place, 
 and sometimes the table with its dishes and 
 food ready for a repast. The owner's name is 
 often inscribed over the door, and the various 
 rooms are pointed out which the family occu- 
 pied for different purposes ; even the profession 
 or trade of the householder and his manner of 
 life can be determined. Frescoes are painted on 
 the walls adorning the different rooms, reveal- 
 ing the tastes and enjoyments of their former 
 occupants. Their wine shops where drink was 
 sold are well preserved, and cavities in stone 
 where different kinds of drink were kept, and 
 slabs of marble on which wines and liquors were 
 dealt to customers, look as if they might have 
 
256 A Visit to Europe 
 
 been used yesterday. The places of amusement 
 and the military barracks are not different than 
 those which are well preserved in other cities. 
 The temples of the pagan gods and goddesses, 
 with their statues, and altars on which sacrifices 
 were offered, are well kept, and in many re- 
 spects appear very much as they must have 
 looked had we entered them the day before 
 their terrible visitation. The streets are nar- 
 row, and it is not far from the curbstone of one 
 sidewalk to that of the other ; but they are well 
 paved with stone, in which are well-worn ruts 
 made by the chariot- wheels of those early times. | 
 In the museum near the entrance were several 
 petrified bodies of human beings and animals, 
 in the exact position they were, and with the 
 expression of agonized terror that was on their 
 faces, when they were overtaken by the ele- 
 ment that destroyed life but preserved all else. 
 About one third of the city has been excavat- 
 ed, and laborers are constantly emplo^yed by 
 the government at the same work. When we 
 were there it was the time of their siesta, and 
 they were lying in the shade of ancient walls, 
 some of them fast asleep. This unfortunate 
 city occupied one of the fairest sites that the 
 earth could afford. As I looked around me on 
 that early afternoon I did not wonder that the 
 
and tJie Holy Land. 257 
 
 ancients built a city in such dangerous proxim- 
 ity to Vesuvius. On the one side were the calm, 
 blue waters of the bay with its picturesque 
 frame ; on the other side was the grand moun- 
 tain raising its giant head into the azure heav- 
 ens. Between the mountain and sea .was a 
 plateau, sufficiently large for a city, and gradu- 
 ally sloping downwards to the surrounding 
 country with its groves and farms, gardens and 
 villas, over which the eye could wander at plea- 
 sure ; and this fair scene reposed under the 
 clear, dreamy sky of southern Italy. Having 
 bought some mementoes of the place from sol- 
 diers and others, we returned to Naples.\ 
 
 Among the prominent objects in Naples which 
 frequently attract attention are its castles. 
 Three are especially noticeable : Castel del' Ovo 
 the Egg, so called on account of its oval form 
 occupying an island near the shore and built 
 in the eleventh century ; Castel Nuovo, on the 
 mainland near the Port, and built in the thir- 
 teenth century ; and Castel St. Elmo, on the 
 heights overlooking the city. We rose rather 
 early the next morning, as we wished to make 
 a few remaining visits before leaving on the 
 train for Rome early in the afternoon. Having 
 dressed, I was looking out of the window at 
 the morning street scenes when I saw coming 
 
258 A Visit to Europe 
 
 up the street a priest in surplice and stole, walk- 
 ing under a baldachin, and bearing a ciborium 
 with the Blessed Sacrament. Several persons 
 with colored lanterns preceded him. He was a 
 priest from the neighboring parish church of 
 St. Lucy returning from a sick-call. The peo- 
 ple on the street, for the most part, showed pro- 
 per reverence for the Most Holy Sacrament by 
 kneeling as it was borne by, and just in front 
 of the hotel a street- car was passing down the 
 street. The driver immediately stopped the car 
 and knelt in his place; more than one-third of 
 the passengers got out of the car and knelt in 
 the street, and more than half the rest knelt in 
 the car, while a few remaining persons kept 
 their seats with more or less indifference. I 
 suppose they belonged to the class of infidels 
 and free-thinkers who disgrace modern Italy, or 
 some of them may have come from those unfor- 
 tunate countries where faith is looked on as 
 superstition. But, taken all in all, the scene 
 was edifying, and one which is frequently wit- 
 nessed in Catholic lands. \ 
 
 After breakfast we took a carriage and rode 
 first to the church of St. Dominic, in order to 
 see as much as possible of the locality made 
 sacred by the presence and labors of St. Thomas 
 of Aquin. We saw several places of his more 
 
and the Holy Land. 259 
 
 public ministry, but were unfortunate in not 
 being able, for some reason or another, to enter 
 the room where, raised from the floor in fervent 
 prayer, a voice was heard directed to him from 
 the crucifix: "Thou hast written well of Me, 
 Thomas: what recompense dost thou desire?" 
 To which he answered: "No other than Thy- 
 self, O Lord." We were shown, however, the 
 tombs and skeletons of the Anjou princes, 
 which we did not care to see ; although St. 
 Alphonsus Liguori, who was born in Naples, 
 would probably have made them the subject 
 of a meditation on death./ 
 
 We next drove to the National, formerly 
 Bourbonic, Museum, one of the finest and most 
 extensive in the world. It contains hundreds 
 of frescoes brought from the ruins of Pompeii; 
 and although the best of them have been trans- 
 ferred to the museum, I better appreciated 
 those that I saw on the walls where they were 
 painted, and overlooking the rooms which they 
 ornamented for their owners in the long-de- 
 parted past. I do not intend to publish a cata- 
 logue of any museum, but I may state that 
 among the thousands of curiosities and works 
 of art contained in this one, those of world- 
 wide fame are the Farnese Hercules and Far- 
 nese bull. \ 
 
260 .A Visit to Europe 
 
 When in Palestine we had expressed to a 
 Franciscan father our intention of visiting Bo- 
 logna to see the body of St. Catharine of Bo- 
 logna. He advised us to go to the Franciscan 
 church in Naples to see the incorrupt body of 
 St. John Joseph. We therefore next drove to 
 the Franciscan church for that purpose. On 
 stating the object of our visit to one of the 
 fathers, we were taken through the sacristy to 
 an interior chapel, where he lighted the candles 
 over the altar, and, drawing two curtains aside, 
 revealed the body and face of the saint. We 
 could see only the face clearly, but it was per- 
 fectly incorrupt and natural, and, while evi- 
 dently the face of a corpse, it looked like the 
 face of one who had died yesterday. Having 
 knelt and prayed to this pure saint, whose 
 pure body lay before us, and having received 
 some pious mementoes of the church, w r e re- 
 turned to the hotel.y 
 
 We would leave Naples in a few hours, and 
 during that time we could not be idle ; so we 
 sauntered through the streets until near train- 
 time, enjoying the gny life and lively manners 
 of the people. It is not to be expected that 
 the traveller will relate the story of his rambles 
 through the streets of different cities ; but after 
 all it may be to himself one of the most plea- 
 
and the Holy Land. 261 
 
 sant, interesting, and instructive parts of his 
 travels. I may not often speak *of it, but we 
 never failed to make such walks necessary inci- 
 dents of our visits. Since the cholera broke 
 out in Italy I have frequently heard the expres- 
 sion, "dirty Naples." These words may be 
 true of some sections of the city which 1 did 
 not see ; one of my companions says he met 
 with such districts, and on our first visit I no- 
 ticed that the neighborhood of Virgil's tomb 
 possessed an unsavory atmosphere. But on 
 our last visit I rode and walked many miles 
 through its streets, and I hardly found a cleaner 
 city in Europe ; and I remember several in 
 northern Europe and in America that were much 
 dirtier, although their climate may be more fa- 
 vorable to their sanitary condition./ 
 
 The afternoon found us moving out through 
 the suburbs of the city, past gardens and vine- 
 yards, towards the north on our way to Rome. 
 The luxuriant foliage of the frequent clumps 
 and groves of trees was much more pleasing to 
 our eyes than it was on our downward jour- 
 ney, for since that time we had become accus- 
 tomed to the more barren scenery of Palestine. 
 A little past the middle of the afternoon we 
 again came in sight of Monte Cassino. For a 
 full half-hour we had the privilege of beholding 
 
262 A Visit to Europe 
 
 its grand, fortress-like walls, while we were stop- 
 ping at the station and as we continued our way 
 up the beautiful valley. It is, indeed, a grand 
 old fortress against "the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil." The first rainstorm that we had 
 seen since we left for the East now threatened 
 us. The dark clouds rested over the tops of the 
 mountains and deepened the shadows in the 
 valleys, but it proved to be a mild, refreshing 
 shower, without thunder and lightning. \ 
 
 The monastery stands on the brow of a moun- 
 tain, looking down upon a fertile plain, which 
 is nearly surrounded by mountains and ex- 
 tends into the narrower valleys north and 
 south through which the railroad runs. The 
 mountain scenery is stern and grand, but the 
 valleys below are fair and smiling. St. Bene- 
 dict certainly chose a grand solitude for the 
 mother house of his Order ; but to what ex- 
 tent since that time the wilderness has blos- 
 somed into roses and the surrounding country 
 grown rich in fields of golden grain, by means 
 of the self-denying toil of his monks, I will 
 not stop to narrate, as we must hasten on 
 towards Rome, from which this sacred and im- 
 pregnable mountain has received its divine 
 strength, and of which Monte Cassino has 
 been, during fourteen centuries, a mighty fort- 
 
and the Holy Land. 263 
 
 ress, sending forth from its gates, legions of 
 Christian soldiers to the four corners of the 
 earth. As I beheld that long line of conquer- 
 ors marching out of those venerable monastic 
 walls, as the pale, ascetic faces of many of 
 them were revealed in the first* rays of the 
 morning sun, I saw that they already glowed 
 with the light of victory ; and even now around 
 the heads of some shone the aureola of sanc- 
 tity, growing brighter and more beautiful as 
 they advanced, changing at times into the ra- 
 diant and glorious crown of prophetic martyr- 
 dom, f 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE ETERNAL CITY. 
 
 TOWARDS evening we were again passing 
 through the charming remote environs of 
 Rome. It was dark when we arrived in the 
 city, and we took the omnibus of the Hotel 
 Minerva. We secured pleasanter rooms than 
 we had occupied at the time of our first visit, 
 and we engaged them for ten or eleven days, 
 with breakfast and table-cT Jiote, the latter at 
 four o'clock. I 
 
264 A Visit to Europe 
 
 The next day was Sunday, and, as we had 
 not yet presented our papers to the cardinal- 
 vicar to get our "Celebret," we decided to at- 
 tend Mass at St. Peter's. We crossed the 
 bridge of St. An gel o, built by Hadrian more 
 than seventeen hundred years ago to connect 
 his tomb with the city, and passed near the 
 Castle of St. Angelo, built by the same empe- 
 ror to be his tomb, where the Roman emperors 
 and their families were buried until the time 
 of Septimius Sever us, and perhaps later. We 
 were now approaching the ancient Vatican 
 mount, which in *the time of the Roman Re- 
 public was occupied by suburban gardens, 
 where dwelt those in humble life, which under 
 the Empire were turned into public pleasure- 
 gardens and parks ; and on that eminence just 
 before us, where rises the grandest structure of 
 the world, was the circus of the infamous Nero. 
 In this vicinity St. Peter was crucified, and the 
 cross of the Vatican, like that of Calvary, be- 
 came symbolical of suffering and victory. And 
 beneath the centre of that wondrous dome his 
 body was laid at rest, j 
 
 We soon reached the Piazza of St. Peter, 
 which is 1,100 feet in length by about 800 feet 
 in its extreme breadth, partially encircled by 
 colonnades, each having four rows of columns, 
 
and the Holy Land. 265 
 
 284 of which and 88 buttresses forming three 
 covered passages, whose roofs are surmounted 
 by 162 statues of saints. In the centre of this 
 piazza is an Egyptian obelisk, brought from the 
 city of Helio polls in the first years of the first 
 century of the Christian era, and placed in the 
 Vatican circus by Caligula, third emperor of 
 Rome. It was placed in its present site in the 
 sixteenth century. On either side is a large 
 fountain, whose waters, rising in jets and spray, 
 shone with prismatic colors in the bright light 
 of a summer morning sun. 
 
 Before us to the right was the immense pal- 
 ace of the Vatican, which is the largest palace 
 in the world. It is said to contain 11,000 halls, 
 chapels, salons, and private apartments. It is 
 many stories high, and covers an area about 
 770 feet in width by 1,150 feet in length. Only 
 a relatively small portion is set apart for the 
 direct use of the papal household. Even under 
 the present civil rule the palaces of the Vati- 
 can and Lateran. and Castle Gandolfo, are de- 
 clared by the Italian " guarantees" to be ex- 
 territorial. \ 
 
 As we entered through the great doors of St. 
 Peter's we seemed to witness the vast proces- 
 sion of pilgrims who in past centuries had 
 passed over this same ground, even if in earlier 
 
266 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ages their feet had not trod the same pave- 
 ment, to pray before the tomb of the Prince of 
 the Apostles ; for the poor, illiterate Galilean 
 Fisherman has become the Prince of Christen- 
 dom. This church was founded by Constantine 
 the Great ; and Charlemagne and Alfred the 
 Great, and a long line of emperors and kings, 
 have here received their crowns from the Suc- 
 cessors of the Fisherman. Near the entrance is 
 a round block of porphyry on which the em- 
 perors were formerly crowned. The length of 
 St. Peter's, including the portico, is about 700 
 feet, and its width that is, the interior length 
 of the transept is 450 feet ; its height to the 
 summit of the cross is 435 feet. When we 
 entered, Solemn High Mass was in progress at 
 an altar erected before the crypt. The singing, 
 which was without organ accompaniment, was 
 a delight not merely to the ears but to the 
 soul. I noticed that the celebrant did not sit 
 during the singing of the Credo, but continued 
 the Mass. Having assisted at a good portion 
 of this Mass, we began to watcli the sacristy 
 door in order to discover a priest about to 
 celebrate a Low Mass which we might attend. 
 We had not long to wait. A half-dozen men 
 of the working class attended the same Mass, 
 who knelt during the whole time, and seemed 
 
and the Holy Land. 267 
 
 to assist with true devotion. At first it may 
 strike the stranger, passing his first Sunday in 
 Rome, that but few people attend the different 
 Masses. At some Masses there might be not 
 more than half a dozen, and at others from 
 one to two hundred persons were in attend- 
 ance. But when we consider that there are 365 
 churches for a population of about 300,000, 
 that many of these are children and persons 
 not bound to attend Mass, and the large num- 
 ber of Masses in nearly all the churches, and 
 the number of priests, students, and religious, 
 male and female, who attend Mass in their 
 own chapels, the number of those who assist 
 at the Holy Sacrifice must be relatively large. 
 Having fulfilled our obligation, we were attract- 
 ed to a crowd of persons collected at the end 
 of the church under the chair of St. Peter. On 
 approaching we found that a bishop was con- 
 firming a number of children, and the parents 
 and friends were gathered around./ 
 /During the remainder of the day we visited 
 a number of other churches, even the names 
 of which I cannot now remember ; but I be- 
 lieve that the Pantheon was among them, as it 
 was only a short distance from our hotel. It 
 was built by Agrippa about twenty-seven years 
 before the Christian era, and it was probably 
 
268 A Visit to Europe 
 
 called the Pantheon because, being lighted by 
 a single opening in the centre above, it bears 
 resemblance to the vault of heaven, the sup- 
 posed residence of the gods. In the year 609 
 it was converted into a Christian temple and 
 dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and all the 
 martyrs ; and it was at this time that the Festi- 
 val of All Saints was instituted by Pope Boni- 
 face IV. It is the best preserved and no- 
 blest former temple of paganism in Rome. It 
 has a portico in front, 110 feet wide and 44 feet 
 deep, which is supported by 16 Corinthian col- 
 umns of Oriental granite, with bases and capi 
 tals of white marble. They are 41 J feet in 
 height and 15 feet in circumference. The main 
 building is round, 143 feet in diameter and the 
 same in height, with walls 20 feet in thickness. 
 It contains the tomb of Raphael and the tombs 
 of many other celebrated artists. Victor Em- 
 manuel is buried here, and over his tomb were 
 hung the symbols of mourning. The Pantheon 
 is still used as a church./ 
 
 That afternoon we paid a visit to the Ameri- 
 can College, where we were kindly received by 
 the pro-rector, Rev. Dr. Schulte, who offered to 
 send our papers to the Vicariatus. that they 
 might be endorsed with the permission to cele- 
 brate Mass while we remained in the city. Dur- 
 
and the Holy Land. 269 
 
 ing our stay in Rome I celebrated Mass six 
 times: three times in St. Peter's; once in the 
 crypt at the altar beneath which rest the body 
 of St. Peter and a good portion of the body 
 of St. Paul ; once at the altar over the bodies 
 of the holy Apostles St. Simon and St. Jnde ; 
 and once at the altar over the body of St. 
 Gregory the Great. I celebrated Mass twice in 
 the Gesii ; once at* the altar over the body of 
 St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus ; 
 and once at the altar of St. Francis Xavier, my 
 patron saint. Often had I desired to visit the 
 cathedral of Goa, in the far East, where the 
 body of St. Francis Xavier is preserved incor- 
 rupt ; but, not having that joyful privilege, 
 I took advantage of the opportunity to say 
 Mass at his altar in Rome beneath his incor- 
 rupt hand and arm, which are preserved over 
 the altar in an oval golden plate that glorious 
 hand that was so often raised towards heaven 
 in God's ministry, that baptized so many 
 pagans, that was raised so often in the sacra- 
 ment of reconciliation, and that touched with 
 such reverence and bore aloft with such a pro- 
 found spirit of adoration the body and blood 
 of Jesus Christ. I also celebrated Mass once 
 at the principal altar in the church of Santa 
 Maria sopra Minerva. Beneath this altar is the 
 
270 A Visit to Europe 
 
 body of the wonderful "dear St. Catharine of 
 Sienna." This altar has been remodelled and 
 renewed, and consecrated by Pius IX , and the 
 body of St. Catharine has been brought from a 
 side-altar and placed under it ; but after all it 
 is the same altar before which the great doctor 
 of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori, was con- 
 secrated bishop. Since we had but a short 
 time before said Mass on Calvary and in the 
 Holy Sepulchre, and in other sacred places of 
 the Holy Land, it might be doubted if we pro- 
 perly appreciated the full value of the privi- 
 leges that we now enjoyed. In a certain sense 
 we valued them much more than we would have 
 otherwise ; for to the heart which Jesus Christ 
 has lately touched the whole world seems on 
 fire with love. / 
 
 On Monday forenoon we drove to the con- 
 vent of St. Calixtus in Trastevere, which is oc- 
 cupied by the Benedictines of St. Paul. I had 
 a letter of introduction which had kindly 
 been given me by an American bishop to 
 Right Rev. Dr. Smith, O.S.B., Consultor of the 
 Holy Office, and who since that time has be- 
 come ac abbot. As Dr. Smith is a member of 
 several of the Roman congregations, he was 
 absent from the convent in attendance at one 
 of their meetings. We left the letter, and Dr. 
 
and the Holy Land. 271 
 
 Smith called on us early the next forenoon 
 at the Minerva with offers to 'show us any 
 kindness in his power. As we knew that he 
 must be very busy, and perhaps often bothered 
 by travellers, we requested of- him as little as 
 possible, but hold in grateful remembrance his 
 ready willingness to be of service to us. On 
 leaving the convent we visited the church of 
 Santa Maria in Trastevere, which is in close 
 proximity to St. Calixtus. / 
 
 This church was founded by Pope St. Calix- 
 tus in the year 224, and was the first church 
 in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It 
 was built over a fountain of oil which miracu- 
 lously sprung up at the time of the birth of 
 Christ, as attested by ancient writers, both pa- 
 gan and Christian. The present edifice was re- 
 built in the twelfth century by Pope Innocent 
 II. We were now in the region of the city 
 where the inhabitants boast of being descend- 
 ants of the ancient Romans. It is narrated 
 that o*>ce when one of them wished to see the 
 Holy Father, and was repulsed by a Swiss 
 guard, he proudly replied : u Barbarian, I am of 
 ancient Roman blood, and moreover of Trojan." 
 Whether the Swiss understood what he said is not 
 related ; nor do authors inform us whether the 
 Trasteverian had been reading light literature./ 
 
272 A Visit to Europe 
 
 During the remainder of this day and on 
 following days we made various excursions 
 through Rome, but I will not attempt to date 
 the particular days on which they were made, 
 describing them only in the order, or nearly 
 the order, of their occurrence. Before making 
 any more journeys it may be well to preface 
 them with the following introduction : Rome 
 was founded by Romulus descended from 
 JEneas, Prince of Troy 753 years before the 
 birth of Christ, and reached the summit of its 
 greatness under the Empire in the time of Au- 
 gustus. Including its thickly-populated sub- 
 urbs, it must have extended over an area thir- 
 ty miles in diameter, possessing from 3,000,000 
 to 5,000,000 inhabitants, and was adorned with 
 many thousand magnificent palaces and tem- 
 ples. Seated on her seven hills, she was queen 
 of the whole civilized world. Though her citi- 
 zens travelled to the most distant lands and 
 entered the gates of strangely foreign cities, a 
 Roman soldier stood on guard at every gate. 
 On the shining waters of every sea then known 
 to the civilized nations of the earth, the oars 
 of the Roman galleys flashed in the bright sun- 
 light. In order that the reader may revive a 
 few fjicts in his memory, I would remind him 
 that ancient Rome was built on both banks of \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 273 
 
 the Tiber, but was chiefly situated on its east- 
 ern side. It occupied seven hills, and in fact 
 extended upon several others. Commencing at 
 the northeast, and continuing down the east- 
 ern part of the city towards the south, the 
 Quirinal, Yiminal, Esquiline, and Cselian lie 
 in irregular order. Southwest of the Cselian 
 and near the Tiber is the picturesque Aven- 
 tine, north of which is the Palatine, adorned 
 with the palaces of the Caesars ; and north- 
 west of the Palatine is the Capitoline, the site 
 of the citadel and of the great temple of Ju- 
 piter, and the smallest but most important 
 hill of ancient Rome. Northwest of the Capi- 
 toline is the famous Campus Martins, enclosed 
 in a bend of the Tiber. Across the river are 
 the Janiculum and Vatican hills, the latter 
 northeast of the former. At the present time 
 the northernmost hill on the east side of the 
 Tiber is the Pincian. I have not pretended 
 to be exact in my description of the relative 
 position of these hills, but have rather at- 
 tempted to give a rough sketch, which the 
 mind will be apt to retain. For example, 
 while I have stated that the Quirinal is north 
 of the Yiminal, I have left out the fact that 
 it also bounds its whole western extent ; for to 
 draw every boundary line in an entire city 
 
274 A Visit to Europe 
 
 which is not familiar to most readers, would 
 only serve to confuse them. To give a too full 
 description is often hardly to describe at all./ 
 One of our first excursions was over a por- 
 tion of the way with which we became partly 
 acquainted at the time of our first visit. We 
 entered the ruins of the mighty Coliseum- 
 called also the Flavian amphitheatre one of 
 the greatest works of men. It is situated be- 
 tween the Palatine, Esquiline, and Cselian hills, 
 and was commenced and finished in the first 
 century of the Christian era. It is four stories 
 high, built in the form of an ellipse, attaining 
 a height of 157 feet, and (530 feet* long by613 
 feet wide, covering six acres of ground, and 
 capable of accommodating more than 100,000 
 spectators. In the celebration of some of its 
 great feasts 5,000 wild beasts and 10,000 gladi- 
 ators were engaged. St. Ignatius, a convert of 
 St. John the Evangelist, and Bishop of An- 
 tioch, and thousands of early Christian martyrs, 
 moistened the soil of its arena with their life- 
 blood. I saw with sadness that Christianity 
 has taken away the emblems of religion and 
 abandoned it again to paganism, but the blood 
 of its martyrs is the seed that shall give birth 
 to the new army of heroes and saints who at 
 no distant time shall destroy modern heathen- 
 
and the Holy Land. 275 
 
 ism with the fiery, avenging sword of Christian 
 charity. We next visited the ancient church 
 of St. Clement. It is partly in the hands of the 
 Irish Dominicans. St. Clement who is spoken 
 of by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians 
 was third pope after St. Peter, and this church 
 was erected over the site of the house of his 
 family. From excavations that have been 
 made in modern times the ruins of an older, 
 grander, and much more extensive church have 
 been found beneath the present edifice; and 
 still lower has been discovered masonry be- 
 longing to imperial and republican Home. 
 Under the high altar are the bones of St. Ig- 
 natius, St. Clement, and Flavius Clemens, a 
 martyred cousin of the Emperor Domitian.\ 
 
 In this church is a marble slab which con- 
 tains an inscription that tells such a touching 
 story of piety that I w r ill transcribe it from a 
 celebrated work on Home: "In the sixth cen- 
 tury there lived at Rome a holy beggar named 
 Servulus. He was paralyzed from his child- 
 hood, and could neither stand straight, nor 
 raise his hand to his mouth, or turn himself on 
 his bed. His brother and his mother watched 
 over him, and carried him each day to the 
 church of St. Clement, and placed him in the 
 vestibule. He gave to the other poor all that 
 
276 A Visit to Europe 
 
 he received in charity, beyond what was nec- 
 essary for his own wants. He used to stop 
 the faithful, and ask them to do some charity 
 for his soul. They willingly read for him some 
 chapters from the holy books. He listened so 
 attentively that he soon knew the entire of 
 Holy Scripture. He then daily passed his 
 time in singing the praises of God. His suf- 
 ferings only rendered his fervor greater and his 
 voice sweeter. One day, as he lay on his bed 
 in the vestibule of the church, he asked the poor 
 and pilgrims who were around him to pray and 
 sing for him, as he knew his end was approach- 
 ing. He joined with them in their songs of 
 praise. Suddenly he desired them to stop and 
 listen to the sweet melody of the heavenly choir. 
 At these words he expired, and his soul went 
 to join the angels in their eternal song."| 
 
 The Irish Dominican father who accompanied 
 us through the edifice would not go with us, 
 at that season of the year, into the excavations 
 under the church, for he said that he had once 
 got the Roman fever in that way ; so we lighted 
 our tapers and went alone.- It was not so in- 
 teresting as it would have been if we had 
 studied the subject better beforehand, and had 
 been perfectly sure that \ve might not at any 
 moment fall into the bowels of the earth. It 
 
and the Holy Land, 277 
 
 contains a number of figures and frescoes ex- 
 tending through seven centuries, but which 
 could not be seen to such good advantage as 
 those in the Christian museum of the Lateran, 
 or those in the long staircase leading into the 
 church of St. Agnes outside the walls. / 
 
 During the afternoon we again visited the 
 basilica of St. John Lateran. This church is 
 situated on the Cselian Hill, near the walls, in 
 the southeast part of the city. In front of the 
 church is the largest Egyptian obelisk in the 
 world, and the oldest object in Rome. With 
 the pedestal it is 153 feet in height and 
 weighs 600 tons. It is of red granite, and 
 was erected before the temple of the sun in 
 Thebes nearly thirty-five hundred years ago. 
 The church of the Lateran is the cathedral 
 church of the Pope, and takes precedence of 
 all other churches in the wwld. Hence it 
 bears upon its noble front the inscription : 
 "The most holy Lateran Church, the mother 
 and head of all the churches of the city and 
 world." It was founded by Constantine, and 
 was so magnificent in gold and silver that it 
 was called the Golden Basilica. But I must 
 conform to my original intention, and not 
 write a guide book or one filled with dry and 
 uninteresting details. For what are even ar- 
 
278 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tistic statues and paintings in comparison with 
 the spiritual beauty and historical greatness 
 of the edifice? Yet I did not pass by its 
 colossal statues and ancient mosaics even 
 though I omit to describe them without a 
 profound admiration for the vast and skilful 
 labors that genius has bestowed on ,the con- 
 struction and adornment of this venerable ca- 
 thedral. At the time of our visit a very ex- 
 pensive restoration was being made, which has 
 since been brought to a completion worthy of 
 the ancient fame of the "mother and mistress 
 of churches."/ 
 
 The papal altar of St. John Lateran con- 
 tains a large portion of the one on which St. 
 Peter offered the Holy Sacrifice ; and over it 
 are the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. In this 
 church are preserved the table on which our 
 Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, a part of 
 the purple robe put over His shoulders in the 
 court of the palace of Pilate, a piece of the 
 sponge filled with vinegar and gall which they 
 offered Him to drink, a part of the tunic 
 which St. John the Evangelist wore, and a 
 part of a chain with which he was bound, as 
 well as other relics of many saints and mar- 
 tyrs. Five general councils have assembled 
 within the venerable walls of this basilica, 
 
and the Holy Land. 279 
 
 and a long line of popes have here been en- 
 throned. As on our first visit we had ascend- 
 ed the Holy Stairway near the Lateran, we 
 did not on this occasion perform that sorrow- 
 ful devotion. We paid a brief visit to the 
 Lateran palace, which was the residence of the 
 popes for a thousand years. It is now turned 
 into a museum, where we saw a fine collec- 
 tion of sarcophagi, engravings, and inscrip- 
 tions, taken from the catacombs and ancient 
 churches and basilicas. / 
 
 We next went to the church of Santa Croce 
 in Gerusalemme. The church of the Holy 
 Cross in Jerusalem is situated east of the church 
 of St. John Lateran, and on the southeastern 
 extremity of the Esquiline. After Constantine 
 had seen the sign of the cross in the sky, 
 and had been converted to Christianity, his 
 mother, St. Helena, found the true cross in 
 Jerusalem. She brought it to Rome, together 
 with a large quantity of soil from Mount 
 Calvary. For their reception Constantine then 
 built this church, which has since been sever- 
 al times restored. The church and relics are 
 now in the hands of the Cistercians. We were 
 conducted by a monk to a chapel in connec- 
 tion with the church, where we were shown 
 some of the most sacred relics anywhere pre- 
 
280 A Visit to Europe 
 
 served a large portion of the true cross, 
 thorns from the crown of our Saviour, one of 
 the nails that was driven through His sacred 
 flesh into the cross, one of the fingers which 
 St. Thomas put into the wound of His side, 
 and a large part of the cross of the penitent 
 thief. This church also contains the inscrip- 
 tion placed over the head of the Crucified : 
 " Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the JeWs." 
 In the pavement of the church are a number 
 of stones brought from the hill of Calvary. 
 At the present time the situation of Santa 
 Croce seems like a country place in the suburbs 
 of the city.\ 
 
 Our next visit was made to St. Maria Mag- 
 giore, called also St. Mary's of the Snow and 
 St. Mary's of the Crib. It is the largest and 
 chief church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed 
 Virgin, and is one of the oldest churches in 
 the world. About the middle of the fourth 
 century a noble Roman husband and wife, 
 desiring to devote their patrimony to the Bless- 
 ed Virgin for the honor and service of God, 
 saw in the night a vision of the Blessed Mother, 
 who directed them to build a church in her 
 honor on the , place which on the following 
 morning should be covered with snow. When 
 the next day dawned upon the world it re- 
 
and the Holy Land. 281 
 
 vealed the Esquiline hill covered with a beauti- 
 ful mantle of snow, although it was in the month 
 of August, a season of extreme heat in Rome. 
 Pope Liberius and the noble patrician John 
 came to explain to the people the meaning of 
 the miracle, for a great number had gathered 
 together to witness so strange a sight. A 
 grand church was soon erecied and dedicated 
 to the Mother of God, which, although several 
 times restored or enlarged, was the same one 
 we now entered. In its construction as well 
 as in its more recent restorations rich and 
 rare materials were used that have been obtain- 
 ed from different sources, the ceilings being 
 gilded with the first gold brought by Colum- 
 bus from America. \ 
 
 The most important relic preserved in this 
 church is that which gives it one of its titles 
 the crib or manger in which the Divine Child 
 was laid in the stable of Bethlehem, and which 
 is placed on the high altar during Pontifical 
 Mass on Christmas. Beneath the high altar 
 and in other parts of the church are many no- 
 table relics of the Saints of God members of 
 their bodies, and sometimes the entire body 
 among which are very important relics of 
 the Apostles and of the companions of their 
 apostolic labors, Here are also some very 
 
282 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ancient mosaics which were referred to by 
 the Council of Nice. Over the altar of the 
 Borghese Chapel is an ancient picture of the 
 Blessed Virgin, said to have been painted 
 by St. Luke, which Pope St. Gregory the 
 Great carried in solemn procession through 
 Rome in the sixth century. It was not ex- 
 posed to view on the day of our visit, so I re- 
 turned on the following Sunday, when I saw 
 it. A man who pointed out to us some of the 
 objects of interest, having keys which admitted 
 to various chapels, at length brought us into 
 a sacristy, and desired to take our order for 
 an altar, a tabernacle, or some other article of 
 church furniture, to be made of variegated 
 Italian marble. Judging from the specimens 
 which he showed us and the prices he gave, 
 one in need of artistic articles of this kind 
 could make from him a satisfactory purchase. 
 During the remainder of the day we visited 
 other churches and places of interest, but I 
 have now forgotten which ones they were. \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE HOLY FATHER EDUCATION, RELIGION, 
 AND ART. 
 
 WHEN we arrived in Rome on our second 
 visit the time for public audiences given by 
 the Holy Father was ended for the summer. 
 As we had no reason for a private audience, 
 we should have felt guilty of robbing the Pope 
 of some of his precious time if we had obtained 
 one ; although we were told that we should 
 probably be received by His Holiness if we 
 made application through those with whom 
 our friends had influence. But as we only 
 wished to see our Holy Father and receive 
 his blessing, we accepted the kind offer of Dr. 
 Schulte to obtain for us tickets of invitation 
 to a discussion in theology and canon and 
 civil law, to take place in the Vatican, at 
 which His Holiness was to preside. The next 
 day, at the appointed hour, we passed the 
 Swiss Guard, and were directed to the large 
 hall where the intellectual contest was to take 
 place. It was soon filled with several hundred 
 students and priests, and a large number of 
 
284 A Visit to Europe 
 
 monsigiiori and bishops. We had the pleasure 
 of seeing some of the most distinguished pro- 
 fessors and men of learning in Rome or the 
 world. Among those present was occasionally 
 seen a priest without the tonsure, indicating 
 that he came from some land less Catholic in 
 its customs. I also noticed one priest of the 
 Greek rite, distinguishable not so much by his 
 beard as others present wore one as by his 
 long hair, parted in the middle, to which we 
 had become accustomed in the East. 
 
 In a short lime side doors were thrown, 
 open, and several of the Noble Guard led a 
 procession the most distinguished that I had 
 ever seen. About fifteen cardinals entered, 
 wearing over their dark cassocks beautiful 
 scarlet silk ferraiolos, and on their heads 
 skull-caps of the same color and material. 
 Following them, 
 
 In robes of purest white, 
 Christ's Vicar came, reflecting heaven's light. \ 
 
 Leo XIII. was before me. His great piety, his 
 highly cultivated classical and literary abili- 
 ties, his profound learning, his broad grasp of 
 intellect, his high rank among men of science, 
 his intimate knowledge of men and public af- 
 fairs, his enlightened Christian statesmanship, 
 were almost forgotten in the one thought that 
 
and the Holy Land. 285 
 
 tilled my mind : He is the Vicar of Jesus Christ 
 whom mine eyes behold ! The exercises lasted 
 about three hours, and during almost the entire 
 time the countenance of the Holy Father, who 
 sat in a chair in the middle of the platform, 
 was lighted up with a pleasant and benignant 
 smile. The opening address was delivered in 
 Latin, the language of all the exercises, by 
 Cardinal Parocchi. After the discussions the 
 Holy Father delivered a short address. He 
 seemed very animated, but I noticed that he 
 was, notwithstanding, very deliberate in his 
 utterances. \ 
 
 When all was over we retired to the church 
 of St. Peter, which we commenced to visit with 
 more reference to details, beginning on the 
 light of the door of entrance, with guide-book 
 in hand, and making the circuit of the entire 
 church. This visit could not be finished in a 
 few hours, but had to be continued on the 
 following days. While it took so much time 
 and care, it was continuously interesting, and, 
 once completed, our after-visits possessed an 
 attraction and pleasure which they could not 
 before enjoy. In writing about St. Peter's it is 
 useless to enter into particulars ; a good sized 
 volume might be written on this great church, 
 and the subject not be half-exhausted. I prefer 
 
286 A Visit to Europe 
 
 to leave such description to guide-books and to 
 those who make a specialty of it. I delight- 
 ed to wander in its every chapel, to kneel at 
 its wondrous shrines, and to breathe in the 
 broad and grand catholicity which seems to 
 have a living existence within its majestic walls.\ 
 Having had my name registered, I received 
 the privilege of celebrating Mass in its Sacred 
 Crypt at six o'clock on Sunday morning. As 
 I nearly always wore the cassock, ferraiolo, 
 and clerical hat when I visited the Roman 
 churches, and having a fall beard, I do not 
 think that any of those around, except those 
 to whom my papers were presented, suspected 
 my nationality or race. When I said Mass at 
 other altars in this church I was accompan- 
 ied from the sacristy by the server, who car- 
 ried with him two wax candles, which he 
 placed on the altar and lighted. T do not 
 remember that the bell was rung at any Mass 
 that I said in Rome. If it was ever rung it 
 was an exception. I noticed that we always 
 had in the Mass an " o ratio impe^ata," which 
 was changed several times during two weeks. 
 On the morning that I said Mass in the Crypt 
 I was accompanied from the sacristy by two 
 young men, one of whom unlocked the gates 
 and doors and prepared the altar, and the 
 
and the Holy Land. 287 
 
 other served my Mass. They were;, older than 
 my former servers, being, I should judge, more 
 than twenty years of age, and wearing Roman 
 collars and purple cassocks. They were very 
 obliging, and did all that they could do to 
 serve me, and we parted without any mar of 
 politeness and without disappointment on the 
 part of either of us. The Romans everywhere 
 j)leased me, and no people that I saw abroad 
 made a better impression on my mind. I do 
 not remember to have seen a brazen looking 
 girl except in statuary during our stay in 
 Rome. When I had finished my Mass I ob- 
 served that they were preparing for the cele- 
 bration of the next Mass by a bishop. I made 
 my thanksgiving and retired, accompanied by 
 my server. As w r e came out through the last 
 gate the episcopal procession came in sight. 
 It was probably a not unusual, but after all it 
 was a strange procession for St. Peter's. The 
 bishop was accompanied by two priests, dress- 
 ed like himself in the awkward-looking cleri- 
 cal coat of heretical lands, regulation panta- 
 loons, and carrying the Usual high silk hats 
 in their hands. The clergy were accompanied 
 by several ladies, stylishly dressed, who were 
 doomed to disappointment. When they came 
 to the first gate, which was unlocked for the 
 
288 A Visit to Europe 
 
 clergy, the ladies were turned back, as females 
 are not allowed to enter the Crypt except by 
 papal permission, and thus the beautiful sym- 
 metry of the procession was broken. 
 
 Although we remained in Rome only a short 
 time, St. Peter's became very familiar to me, 
 and even now I seem once more to walk over 
 its pavements on my way to its holy shrines 
 and altars ; and I seem once more to hear in 
 the morning requiems, when but few worshippers 
 were in the church, the solemn, musical voices 
 floating majestically but sweetly through the 
 aisles and chapels, and among the arches of 
 the world's cathedral. I 
 
 A few evenings after our arrival in Rome we 
 had a pleasant audience with His Eminence 
 Cardinal Simeoni, Cardinal Prefect of the Prop- 
 aganda. He probably does more hard work 
 than any other cardinal in Rome. Neverthe- 
 less he is as pleasant and affable as if he had 
 nothing else to do but entertain visitors from 
 America. I felt a twinge .of conscience that 
 we should take up so much of his valuable 
 time, but, as it is Roman etiquette that the car- 
 dinal should make the sign for departure, we 
 could not transgress the proprieties ; so we 
 talked about America, the newspapers, and ec- 
 clesiastical affairs, while he asked us numerous 
 
and the Holy Land. 289 
 
 questions. But lie seemed really, more inter- 
 ested about affairs in the Orient than in the 
 Occident, rather confirming a preconceived opin- 
 ion that Rome at the present time is tak- 
 ing special interest in the return of the Oriental 
 schismatics to the Church. We retired from 
 his presence with a great confidence in Ids 
 splendid ability to perform the vast labors of 
 his high office with the best results to the mis- 
 sionary portion of the Church of God \ 
 
 Our next visits were made to the Sistine 
 Chapel and the various galleries "and museums 
 of the Vatican. The Vatican Palace was found- 
 ed by Pope St. Symmachus, who reigned dur- 
 ing the last years of the fifth and opening 
 years of the. sixth century. We passed tlio 
 Swiss Guard in their picturesque and artistic 
 uniforms, and went up the Scala Regia and 
 were admitted into the Sistine Chapel. This 
 is the papal chapel, and possesses as an al- 
 tar-piece the celebrated fresco by Michael An- 
 gelo, " The Last Judgment." It covers the 
 entire end-wall, and is sixty-four feet in width. 
 Many years before this fresco was produced 
 the ceiling was painted in twenty months by the 
 same artist. Both these paintings are consid- 
 ered by different authorities as the greatest 
 masterpieces in fresco, and the culmination of 
 
290 A Visit to Europe 
 
 modern art. The "Last Judgment" is very 
 much dimmed by age and incense, and it 
 would require an artist fully to appreciate 
 its merits. Photographers were taking photo- 
 graphs of some of the figures on the ceiling, 
 throwing light on them artificially to get a 
 clearer picture. We next went to the Stanze 
 of Raphael, which consists of allegorical, bibli- 
 cal, and historical paintings. These works are 
 considered by many to be his greatest efforts, 
 and rivalled only by Michael Angelo's fres- 
 coes in the Sistine Chapel. We then studied 
 the beautiful biblical scenes in Raphael's Log- 
 gie, called " Raphael's Bible." The time for 
 closing came and we should return another 
 day. Leaving the Vatican, we spent several 
 hours in St. Peter's.\ 
 
 The following day we went directly to the 
 " Picture Gallery," which contains some of 
 the most important masterpieces in existence. 
 Among them are the " Transfiguration " and 
 the "Madonna of Foligno," by Raphael, and 
 the "Last Communion of St. Jerome," by Do- 
 menichino, a number of others by Raphael, 
 Murillo, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Perugino, 
 Guercino, and other world-renowned artists. 
 We spent about two hours contemplating these 
 great works of genius. We then visited the 
 
and the Holy Land. 291 
 
 Vatican Museum, or collection pf antiquities. 
 Collected in its vast halls and galleries are hun- 
 dreds of the most remarkable works of ancient 
 art. It was but reasonable that we should se- 
 lect for special inspection the statuary most 
 highly prized by artists of cultivated taste, 
 whose own works have proven their capability 
 of just appreciation. Before two masterpieces 
 I remained much longer than before any others, 
 however worthy of attention. The genius of 
 the minds that conceived them and the hands 
 that chiselled them is evident even to the eye 
 less skilled than that of an artist. The first of 
 these is the famous group of the Laocoon, who 
 with his two sons is being strangled by ser- 
 pents. It was executed by artists of the Rho- 
 dian school. The second is the beautiful statue 
 of Apollo Belvedere, probably of the same age 
 as the other in the history of art.\ 
 
 These masterpieces of genius are in a state 
 of almost perfect preservation. It is different 
 with some other specimens of remarkable excel- 
 lence. Among those that are most noted are a 
 bust of Zeus, or Jupiter, formerly regarded as a 
 faithful copy of the Zeus of Phidias, the great- 
 est of the Grecian sculptors; a " Daughter of 
 Niobe," probably a work of Praxiteles or Sco- 
 pus, both of whom were among the most dis- 
 
292 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tinguished of Grecian artists ; a torso of Her- 
 cules, by Apollonius the Athenian; " Apoxy- 
 omenos," an athlete cleaning his arm with a 
 scraping-iron, probably a true copy from Lysip- 
 pus, and several other fine copies of the great 
 Grecian artists. It is altogether probable that 
 some of the fragments of ancient art contained 
 in this Clementine museum are the actual pro- 
 ductions of some of the greatest sculptors that 
 Greece or the world ever saw. For want of 
 time we did not visit many other museums, but 
 afterwards I was sorry that we did not enter 
 them and see one or other piece of statuary 
 which most interested us. In this way we 
 might have seen the "Dying Gladiator" of the 
 Capitoline, and the "Sophocles" of the Lat- 
 eran, one of the finest specimens of ancient art 
 to be found in Rome. We returned by the 
 way we came, making the circuit of St. Peter's, 
 which enabled us to realize better the vast ex- 
 tent of that magnificent structure. We were 
 invited to enter the Vatican stables and inspect 
 the grand papal carriage of state, ornamented 
 with scarlet and gold. My companion wanted 
 to enter it, but was not permitted ; he also 
 wanted to sit on the throne of Naples, but was 
 unsuccessful ; and he ascribed all his ill-luck 
 to us who were less ambitious,! 
 
and the Holy Land. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XX y. 
 
 SACRED AND HISTORIC PLACES OF PAGAN AND 
 CHRISTIAN ROME. 
 
 / ONE of our excursions while in Rome was 
 past the palace of the Caesars and the baths of 
 Caracal la, and out on the ancient Appian Way 
 built 312 B.C. to the church of St. Sebastian, 
 one of the "Seven Churches of Rome." We 
 passed out of the gate of St. Sebastian, and 
 rode over the Appian Way, which in the days 
 of Rome's glory was the highway on which 
 were witnessed the diversified scenes and tri- 
 umphal processions of her historic centuries. 
 I seemed to see marching out of the great gate 
 and over the regal road, which led to the thou- 
 sand highways on land and sea that reached 
 the extremities of the earth, the military legions 
 of imperial Rome, their arms and armor flash- 
 ing in the golden sunlight of a land of sun- 
 shine, and their imperial banners floating in 
 breezes that seemed like the divine breath of 
 the gods of war. Proud Roman forms march 
 beneath those ever-victorious battle-flags, and 
 brave, intellectual Roman faces are lighted with 
 the smile of the lover in remembrance, and of 
 
294 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the hero whose eyes are directed towards the 
 aurora which will usher in a day of martial 
 deeds, and victory, and undying glory to proud 
 and adored Rome./ 
 
 Better far that those brave Roman soldiers 
 si jail die on the field where Roman eagles 
 triumph than return to the welcome and de- 
 baucheries of the imperial mistress of the world. 
 We seemed to see the decimated legions return- 
 ing from foreign lands and conquest. Their 
 step is more wearied, but none the less that of 
 Roman soldiers ; their smile is changed ; from 
 the faces of some it has departed, for they re- 
 turn to desolate homes ; on the faces of others 
 its brightness has been toned into fairer lines 
 and sweeter expression by hardships in strange 
 lands, and wounds upon the battle-field, and 
 perhaps gentle and kind-hearted deeds towards 
 friend and foe ; on the faces of others it has 
 developed more fully into cynical pride, or even 
 downright cruelty of expression. How many 
 times this regal road has echoed to the steps 
 and chariot-wheels of returning victorious 
 armies, when the lofty Roman gateways have 
 opened to receive them, and the Roman people, 
 proud of their conquests, have met them with 
 shouts of welcome and applause ! Captives 
 from distant and strange lands have seen those 
 
and the Holy Land. 295 
 
 Roman gates close upon them, ^the seal upon 
 their living tomb of liberty, and the symbol of 
 a life-long slavery. The songs of victory by 
 the victors are often the de,ath-notes of liberty 
 to the vanquished./ 
 
 In a short time we came to the wayside chap- 
 el, "Domine quo Vadis." It is related that St. 
 Peter, having been rescued from the Mame.r- 
 tine prison, was prevailed on to make his escape 
 from martyrdom, and fled over the same road 
 on which wearily he had entered the city twenty 
 years before. At this spot he was met by his 
 Lord bearing His cross and going towards the 
 city. St. Peter asked Him: "Lord, whither 
 goest Thou?" Our Lord answered: " I go to 
 be crucified again." St. Peter returned to 
 Rome and received the crown of martyrdom. 
 This tradition is considered by candid histo- 
 rians to be well verified. About one and one- 
 fourth mile from the gate appeared the entrance 
 to the catacombs of St. Calixtus, shaded with 
 cypresses. These are the most interesting and 
 important catacombs in or about Rome. As it 
 is deemed unhealthy to enter them during July, 
 we had to be satisfied with alighting and mak- 
 ing an inspection of the surroundings, and 
 plucking a few flowers as mementoes of the an- 
 cient tombs of saints and martyrs. Such a visit 
 
296 A Visit to Europe 
 
 is seemingly superficial, but oftentimes since, 
 in the recitation of the Roman Breviary, when 
 I have read that the body of some early martyr 
 was buried and reposes in the cemetery of St. 
 Calixtus on the Appian Way, it lias added a 
 new spirit to my devotion. It is well known 
 that the catacombs are chiefly composed of 
 underground streets not more than three feet 
 wide, and from seven to fifteen feet in height, 
 where the dead were buried in tiers of graves 
 on either side. There were in all 160 different 
 catacombs bordering on public ways, and con- 
 taining about 900 miles of streets. It is esti- 
 mated that each seven feet in length contains 
 five graves on each side, which would show the 
 whole number of graves to be more than six 
 millions. / 
 
 In another quarter of a mile we had arrived at 
 the church of St. Sebastian. The original church 
 was founded by Constantine the Great, and was 
 dedicated by St. Sylvester. It was built over 
 the entrance to the catacombs of St. Sebastian, 
 in which the body of that brave Roman soldier 
 was buried. An inscription near the door by 
 which they are entered states that 46 popes 
 and 174,000 martyrs are buried here. In these 
 catacombs a number of saints spent many hours 
 in prayer ; among them St. Charles Borromeo 
 
and the Holy Land. 297 
 
 here passed entire nights ; here c|l v i ne l ve s 
 moved and inflamed the heart of St. Philip 
 Neil that his ribs were broken by its power ; 
 and here St. Bridget was rapt in ecstatic vision ; 
 here also for some time were concealed the 
 bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul. When we 
 entered the church one of its priests was con- 
 ducting through it a party of Italian soldiers, 
 who appeared to belong to some other district 
 of Italy, for the time being quartered in Rome. 
 They were listening with respectful attention, 
 and were looking at the relics and sacred places 
 with respectful demeanor. Italy is without 
 doubt Catholic at heart. Whenever the entire 
 voting population takes part in the municipal 
 elections in Rome, Naples, and many other 
 cities, the Clerical party carries them by im- 
 mense majorities. / 
 
 Among the relics in this church are the 
 heads of Popes St. Calixtus and St. Stephen, 
 an ancient leaden chalice containing the ashes 
 of St. Fabian, the head of St. Fabian, an iron 
 point of one of the arrows which pierced St. 
 Sebastian, and the footprint of our Lord in 
 stone, taken from the place where He appeared 
 to St. Peter. Beyond the church, and rising on 
 a slightly higher eminence, we could see the 
 round, high tomb of Cecilia Metella, who was 
 
298 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the wife of the younger Crassus, son of the 
 triumvir. It is 65 feet in diameter and of cor- 
 responding height. We did not proceed farther, 
 but returned over the same way to the city; 
 when we arrived at our hotel it was near dark./ 
 Another day we visited the church of St. Paul 
 outside the walls, passing out of the city through 
 the gate of St. Paul, near which is the pyramid- 
 al .tomb one hundred and twenty -two feet in 
 height of Caius Cestus, who lived in the time 
 of Augustus, and who prepared the solemn 
 banquets of the gods in the temples on certain 
 important occasions. The present structure 
 of St. Paul's is modern, and is probably the 
 finest church edifice built during the nineteenth 
 century. The interior is 75 feet in height, '195 
 feet in width, and 390 feet in length, and is rich 
 in its varieties of tine marble and rare stone. It 
 contains several lofty pillars of yellow alabaster, 
 presented by the viceroy of Egypt, four of 
 which, fifty feet in height, support the baldac- 
 chino over the high altar. Used in the construc- 
 tion of this and the side-altars are many expen- 
 sive and beautiful gifts of malachite from the 
 Emperor of Russia. The two side-altars pre- 
 sented by him are valued at $100,000. Mala- 
 chite, possessing a beautiful green color, under 
 almost any form is very pleasing to the eye. 
 The mosaics are numerous, and among them a,re 
 
and the Holy Land. 299 
 
 some that are ancient, rescued fipm the fire 
 which destroyed the old basilica. Among the 
 modern mosaics are portraits of all the popes 
 from St. Peter to our time. Each is about five 
 feet in diameter, and taken as a whole they are 
 an interesting study. My clerical companion, 
 who, as well as myself, wore a beard, took 
 special notice of that particular aspect of these 
 historical pictures. He afterwards told me that 
 fully three-fourths of the entire number of 
 popes had worn a beard in one form or an- 
 other. I had noticed the same general fact, but 
 had not reduced my observations to such math- 
 ematical precision. The ancient basilica of St. 
 Paul was built by order of Constantine, under 
 Pope St. Sylvester, over the place where the body 
 of St. Paul was buried. By order of St. Sylves- 
 ter his body was afterward divided, and half 
 placed here and half in the basilica of St. Peter. / 
 Usually these visits to churches within the 
 city or outside the walls were only a part of 
 our daily routine. Frequently we would dis- 
 miss our carriage at the Trajan or the Roman 
 Forum, or at some other place of interest in 
 ancient or modern Rome, and, choosing a favor- 
 able position where the crumbling monuments 
 of old, pagan Rome mingle with the venerable 
 temples of early Christian times, we would 
 dream day-dreams of the departed centuries. 
 
300 A Visit to Europe 
 
 And these memorable places of antiquity seemed 
 peopled once more with the living men who in 
 quick succession occupied them, and Jived their 
 part in history, and left their monuments behind 
 them to tell to future generations what they 
 had thought and done. To the imaginative 
 mind the historical procession of centuries is 
 an interesting one, with its ever-changing faces 
 and scenes, now peaceful, now warlike, pagan 
 and Christian, as it moves through the streets, 
 always the same, but sometimes changed in 
 name, stopping finally to arrange itself pic- 
 turesquely around the selfsame arches and 
 broken columns that raised themselves in the 
 midst of the actual, living events of the past./ 
 
 The forum of Trajan contains the cele- 
 brated column of Trajan, built in the year 
 112 A.D., 147 feet in height, and having around 
 it from top to bottom a spiral band three feet 
 wide and 600 feet in length, having in bas relief 
 2,500 human figures, besides animals, engines 
 of war, etc. It was erected by the " Senate and 
 Koman people, to the Emperor Caesar Trajan, 
 son of the divine Nerva Augustus, German Da- 
 cian, high- priest, 12 times tribune, 11 times 
 consul, father of his country." The Roman 
 Forum is far more interesting than that of Tra- 
 jan. It is situated at the base of the Capitoline 
 
and the Holy Land. 301 
 
 hill, and extends toward the Palatine. It is 
 said to have been the battle-field where the 
 Romans under Romulus, and the Sabines under 
 Tatius, fought each other, after the rape of 
 the Sabine women, who acted as peacemakers, 
 rushing in between the combatants and plead- 
 ing that they preferred death to seeing either 
 their husbands or their fathers slain. After 
 the peaceful ending of the contest these 
 tribes made the "Forum their centre of common 
 assemblage, increasing in importance under the 
 Republic and Empire. Through the Forum the 
 Via Sacra, passing under a number of triumphal 
 arches, -led to the Capitol. On account of 
 extensive excavations the remnants of ancient 
 grandeur in the Roman Forum are now revealed 
 to the curious eyes of the nineteenth century ; 
 columns, altars, floors, and foundations of its 
 numerous temples dedicated to the gods, touched 
 by the finger of time or broken by the giants 
 of war and devastation, are crumbling into dust, 
 and strew the ground or raise their mutilated 
 forms toward the sky. In the midst of this field 
 of ruins stand the gray and venerable arches of 
 triumph, erected by the pride of men, but telling 
 a more important story than the record engraved 
 on them of battles and victory, the vanity of hu- 
 man life and the emptiness of human greatness. 
 
302 A Visit to Europe 
 
 At one extremity of the Forum stand the 
 vast, crumbling, but still magnificent ruins of 
 the Colosseum. To this part of the city we paid 
 more than an occasional visit. On one of these 
 visits, having dwelt for some time in silent ad- 
 miration on the forsaken centre of the life of 
 ancient Rome, we retired into a church near at 
 hand. It proved to be the church of St. Joseph, 
 erected over the Mamertine prison, where St. 
 Peter and St. Paul were confined before their 
 martyrdom. In the church were a considerable 
 number of persons praying. We descended 
 into the lower dungeons where the two holy 
 Apostles were imprisoned, and we had the 
 privilege of kissing with pious veneration the 
 place where they were fastened. We also saw 
 the well which St. Peter caused to flow that he 
 might have water with which to baptize his 
 jailers, St. Processus and St. Martinianus, cap- 
 tains of the guard, together with forty others, 
 who soon afterwards received the martyr's 
 crown. In pagan times Jugurtha, the African 
 king, after having adorned the triumph of his 
 Roman conqueror, was cast into this prison and 
 left without food, where in six days he died of 
 starvation, B.C. 104. In this prison Lentulus 
 and others, engaged in the conspiracy of the 
 infamous Catiline, were strangled during the 
 
and the Holy Land. 303 
 
 niglit. The Mamertine prison is ^one of the 
 most ancient structures of Rome, which ante- 
 dated even the Republic, and was built by 
 Ancus Martins or Servius Tullius more than six 
 centuries before the Christian era. / 
 
 Several times we ascended the Capitoline hill 
 and visited the church of Ara Coali. The Francis- 
 cans of the Strict Observance have been connect- 
 ed with this church since 1251, almost from the 
 foundation of the order of St. Francis, and the 
 monastery adjoining has always been one of their 
 most important houses. The church of Ara 
 Co3li (Altar of Heaven) is one of the oldest 
 churches in Rome. On the ancient Capitoline 
 were two chief eminences, on one of which was 
 the arx, or citadel, and on the other the magnifi- 
 cent temple of Jupiter. It has been disputed 
 whether the temple was built on the northern 
 or southern summit. It is known that the cita- 
 del occupied the other. Most modern critics 
 agree that the chnrch of Ara Coeli, which is on 
 the northern eminence, stands on the site of the 
 ancient citadel. It is said that on this place 
 the pagan Emperor Augustus saw a vision of 
 the Divine Child and Mother, according to an 
 inscription in the chapel of St. Helena: ''This 
 chapel, which is called Ara Co3li, is believed to 
 have been erected on the same spot where the 
 
304 A Visit to Europe 
 
 most holy Virgin, Mother of God, revealed 
 herself with her Son to Csesar Augustus in a 
 golden circle in the heavens." The emperor 
 then built here an altar to the " First Born of 
 God," which is enclosed within the present 
 altar. In this church repose the ashes of the 
 great empress, St. Helena. Without doubt a 
 number of the pillars of the present structure 
 of Ara Co3li once adorned the Capitoline temple 
 of Jupiter. On our first visit, while we were 
 viewing the church, a Franciscan father came 
 forward, and, having addressed us in Latin, 
 learned that we were from America. He then 
 spoke in English, which was evidently his native 
 tongue. He had been in America, even in our 
 own city of Milwaukee, and knew one of our 
 older priests. We did not inquire his name, 
 but he gave us much serviceable information, 
 for which we most sincerely thanked him.\ 
 
 We afterwards wandered over the Capitoline, 
 and ascended and descended it from almost 
 every direction, where there were streets and 
 where there were none. Although the celebrat- 
 ed Tarpeian rock is pointed out, inasmuch as 
 its exact locality is doubtful we gave our im- 
 agination freedom in the choice of places where 
 the criminals of Rome were hurled down to 
 death. In front of the Capitol is a remarkable 
 
and tlic Holy Land. 305 
 
 equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius^ supposed 
 by many to be in reality a statue of Constantine. 
 The Capitoline is the least extended but the 
 most important of the seven hills of Rome. 
 Where Jupiter, king of the gods and chief of 
 the devils, once held sway, Jesus- Christ now 
 rules, but never without a contest with His old 
 pagan foe whom St. Michael cast out of heaven.\ 
 Between the Palatine hill and the Tiber, 
 quite near the river, and not far from the an- 
 cient Circus Maximus, is an interesting local- 
 ity which we twice visited, and which pos- 
 sesses some excellent specimens of pagan tem- 
 ples changed into Christian churches. One of 
 these is the ancient temple of Fortuna Virilis, 
 now the church of St. Mary of Egypt, probably 
 the oldest temple in Rome, existing in the time 
 of the Republic, and probably built more than 
 five hundred years before Christ. It is in a 
 good state of preservation, being surrounded by 
 pillars, four at each end and seven at each 
 side. We were unfortunate in not being able 
 to find it open, although we made two jour- 
 neys with the hope of gaining admittance, and 
 passed it several times But the exterior is 
 said to be much more interesting than the in- 
 side. Near by is an old but elegant temple of 
 Vesta, now the church of S, Maria del Sole, It 
 
306 A Visit to Etirope 
 
 is believed by many to have been built about 
 seven hundred years before the time of Christ, 
 by Numa Pompilius, the first king of Rome 
 after Romulus, and who instituted vestals and 
 pontiffs. By some it is thought to have been 
 a temple of Hercules Victor. It is twenty- 
 eight feet in diameter, circular in form, and 
 surrounded by twenty Corinthian pillars of Pa- 
 rian marble, each thirty -two feet high. It is a 
 very picturesque object, in the midst of a par- 
 tially undisturbed quarter of ancient Rome. 
 Across the street from this temple is the church 
 of St. Mary in Cosmedin, probably the second 
 church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Vir- 
 gin. It is built on the foundations of an old 
 pagan temple, perhaps that of Pudicitia Patri- 
 cia, where only noble unmarried females could 
 enter ; but by others it is considered a temple 
 of Fortune, ascribed to Servius, sixth king of 
 Rome, which would consequently make it very 
 ancient. The church, though rebuilt in the year 
 772 A.D., dates from the third century, and 
 contains some of the columns of the original 
 temple. Here St. Augustine taught rhetoric, 
 and here lie the relics of two hundred mar- 
 tyrs.\ 
 
 Some distance north of the Colosseum, and 
 on the Esquiline hill, is the church of St. Pe- 
 
and the Holy Land. 307 
 
 ter in Cliains. It is said that on Jhe spot 
 where the church now stands St. Peter built 
 an oratory. It was rebuilt 442 A.D., to receive 
 the chains of St. Peter, those by which lie was 
 bound under Herod and also under Nero, which 
 are miraculously united. We were aware of 
 the fact that on account of certain regulations 
 we should be unable to see them ; but we de- 
 sired to visit this ancient church, not only for 
 its holy associations, but because it possesses 
 the celebrated statue of Moses by Michael An- 
 gelo. This great work, chiselled by the hand 
 of the great master, is considered by nearly all 
 judges as the grandest and most perfect pro- 
 duction, in sculpture, of Christian art. It was 
 originally intended for St. Peter's basilica. In 
 this church are the relics of many saints, among 
 them the Machabean mother and her seven sons ; 
 and here St. Leo the Great preached his sermon 
 on the " Festival and Martyrdom of the Mach- 
 abees, and the Continual Conflict of Christians."/ 
 Our last Sunday in Rome was one of those 
 days on which each of our number started out 
 in a different direction from the others. Each 
 of us had particular churches or other objects 
 of interest which he had not yet seen, and he 
 would not feel satisfied to leave Rome with- 
 out seeing them. After I had said Mass in the 
 
308 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Crypt of St. Peter's, and had eaten my break- 
 fast, I took a carriage and directed the driver 
 to go first to the church of St. Pudentiana. This 
 is probably the first and oldest Christian church 
 in Rome. It is not the oldest edifice used as 
 a Christian church, for some of the pagan 
 temples are older; but it was the first place 
 of prayer and sacrifice in the Eternal City, and 
 has ever since been used as a church, and for 
 three centuries was the cathedral of Rome. 
 When St. Peter first came to the city he con- 
 verted the Senator Pudens, Priscilla his mother, 
 his two daughters Pudentiana and Praxedes, 
 and his two sons Novatius and Timotheus. St. 
 Peter took up his residence here in the house 
 of Pudens where he celebrated the holy mys- 
 teries. Here he consecrated Linus and Cletus. 
 What the Coenaculum was to Jerusalem, this 
 place was to Rome. It is situated between the 
 Yiminal and Esquiline hills, on the ancient Yi- 
 cns Patricias, or Patrician Street. About the 
 year 100 A.D. Pope St. Evaristus divided Rome 
 into parishes and gave the name of "titles" to 
 their churches ; but this church, being the pon- 
 tifical church, was left without a title until the 
 middle of the second century, when Pope St. 
 Pius I. added to it an oratory with the designa- 
 tion of the title of the Pastor, to which frequent 
 
and the Holy Land. 309 
 
 reference is made by early Christian writers. 
 When we arrived at tlie church it was closed, 
 but the driver soon found the custodian, who 
 unlocked it and pointed out. to me its chief his- 
 toric attractions. This church is specially rich 
 in mosaics, and those in the choir are among 
 the oldest and finest in Rome, dating not later 
 than the fourth century, and representing our 
 Lord witli St. Pudentiana and St. Praxedes, 
 and the holy Apostles, and the emblems of the 
 Evangelists each side of the cross. In the aisles 
 are also some very ancient mosaics ; and the 
 old pillars of the primitive church can still be 
 seen. The custodian directed me up the left 
 aisle to the altar of St. Peter, which contains 
 the most venerable relic of the church a por- 
 tion of the wooden altar on which St. Peter was 
 accustomed to offer up the Holy Sacrifice. The 
 larger portion has been removed to the altar of 
 St. John Lateran ; but a large plank is preserved 
 here with a glass covering before it, so that it 
 can be clearly inspected. \ 
 
 I knelt before that altar, and with deep rever- 
 ence looked on that sacred wood consecrated 
 by the Prince of the Apostles, and many thou- 
 sand times consecrated by the Divine Offering 
 of Calvary. How many saints of the "city and 
 the world," in the different centuries from the 
 
310 A Visit to Europe 
 
 time of St. Peter and the saintly family with 
 whom he dwelt, have knelt before that altar 1 
 If, one after another, the whole number would 
 pass in procession before it, and each for a mo- 
 ment would kneel and pray, what a long line 
 of saints and martyrs we should behold, from 
 every rank in life, from the canonized beggar 
 to the canonized emperor and pontiff, and what 
 a grand manifestation of devotion we should wit- 
 ness ! My guide then lighted a taper attached 
 to a long pole, and thrust it into a deep, dry 
 well, in the bottom of which was revealed a 
 large collection of human bones, which he told 
 me were "the bones of the martyrs." The 
 bodies of nearly three thousand martyrs, slain 
 in the early persecutions, were buried beneath 
 this church.! 
 
 Leaving St. Pudentiana's with its holy memo- 
 ries, w 7 e drove to St. Maria Maggiore, on our 
 way to the church of St. Praxedes, both of 
 which were in the neighborhood. Although 
 we had already visited St. Mary Major's, I 
 stopped to see the picture of the Madonna by 
 St. Luke, which is exposed on Sundays. It 
 now appears very indistinct ; but that matters 
 not, for its antiquity and venerable associa- 
 tions render it far more attractive to the 
 Christian heart than the grandest masterpieces 
 
and the Holy Land. 311 
 
 that the world has ever produced. 4. The very 
 atmosphere surrounding it seems holy, not only 
 on account of the hand of the artist who traced 
 its lineaments before the living face of the 
 Madonna herself, but also from the innumer 
 able prayers that have risen in its presence 
 from pure lips and saintly souls to the Mother 
 and Son.\ 
 
 Soon after we stood before the closed portal 
 of the church of St. Praxedes. This church 
 is, I believe, in the hands of the Olivetan 
 monks. I was met by one of the monks at 
 the door of an adjoining building, through 
 which I was conducted into the church. It 
 was dedicated as an oratory as early as the 
 second century, but assumed its present noble 
 proportions under Pope St. Paschal I. in the 
 year 822. It is adorned with many beautiful 
 mosaics of the ninth, tenth, and thirteenth cen 
 turies. The mosaic of the ninth century is an 
 inspiring representation of heaven. In a side- 
 chapel we were shown a large table of Sc. 
 Charles Borromeo, which he frequently used. 
 The church also contains a number of gifts 
 presented by him, as this was his titular church. 
 Near the opposite wall from the high altar 
 is a slab with this inscription : " On this 
 slab slept St. Praxedes." I was shown a well 
 
312 A Visit to Europe 
 
 into which St. Praxedes and St. Pudentiana 
 squeezed the blood of martyrs wliich they had 
 gathered in sponges. I was then conducted 
 to the chapel, on the right side of the church, 
 which contains the portion of the pillar of 
 scourging preserved in Rome. The other por- 
 tion I had seen in the Chapel of the Appari- 
 tion in Jerusalem. We entered the crypt 
 under the high altar, where we saw and rever- 
 enced the tombs of the sister-saints, Puden- 
 tiana and Praxedes. \ 
 
 Leaving the church, I directed the driver to 
 convey me to the church of St. Agnes, outside 
 the walls, erected over the tomb of the child 
 virgin and martyr. We passed through the 
 new part of the city, built up under the pres- 
 ent administration. We passed out of the 
 Porta Pia, the gate through which the Italian 
 troops first entered Rome, under the present 
 occupation. The ride into the country was a 
 pleasant one. On either side of the road 
 the ancient Via Nomentana were far-famed 
 villas of noble and princely Romans, with ex- 
 tensive grounds and cultivated gardens sur- 
 rounding them. On the left was an unob- 
 structed view of the Sabine Mountains in the 
 distance. Although it was a summer day, the 
 description of the Nomentan villa of St. Agues, 
 
and tlie Holy Land. 313 
 
 and of the scenes on the Nomentafi Way on 
 the anniversary of the saint, as pictured by 
 Cardinal Wiseman in his Fabiola, came touch- 
 ingly to my mind. I seemed to live in the de- 
 parted years, and the glory and pride of .pagan 
 Rome, and the humble lives of Christian saints 
 and joys of Christian festivals, in turn passed be- 
 fore my eyes, and I beheld them as they reached 
 the eternal gates of the city of the living God, 
 where the long, glittering procession of human 
 pride and worldly glory was turned back in 
 confusion, and the chaste and radiant line of 
 Christian souls entered in triumph under the 
 white banner of the "Lamb that was slain." \ 
 
 A little more than a mile from the gate we 
 came to the church of St. Agnes. The church 
 was closed, but a monk put his head out of 
 an upper window of the adjoining convent and 
 said it would be opened immediately. We 
 passed through an open court, and entered on 
 a long, wide stairway of forty-five marble steps 
 which descends to the church. On either side 
 of the staircase on the walls are hundreds 
 of primitive Christian symbols and inscriptions 
 taken from the catacombs. In this church, 
 on its patron feast, the Holy Father, or a car- 
 dinal appointed for the purpose, blesses the 
 two lambs from the wool of which the palliums 
 
Visit to Europe 
 
 are woven for the archbishops throughout the 
 world. Under the high altar rests the body 
 of the saint. Here I knelt and prayed for my 
 congregation and friends in my far-off home ; 
 for on Sunday more than on other days my 
 mind was usually inclined to wander home- 
 ward. Having sufficiently observed the various 
 parts of the church, I started back towards 
 Rome. I had seen in a side-chapel a sweet 
 picture of the Blessed Virgin and St. Agnes, 
 painted by a modern Roman painter, and I be- 
 gan to feel a half-formed desire in my heart to 
 be an artist. But as I did not see any strong 
 probability of ever becoming very successful 
 in that line, I concluded to confine my desire 
 to words, and commenced to write a poem. 
 As the road was rather rough, and writing con- 
 sequently difficult, I finished only these two 
 stanzas ; the others exist in the dim, misty fu- 
 ture : 
 
 Would that I could paint a picture 
 
 Like the one that I saw there, 
 With a face so sweet and holy, 
 
 And that wavy, golden hair ; 
 
 And with eyes so soft and tender 
 
 Heaven's blue is not so mild, 
 When they look upon the sinner^ 
 
 Or turn pleading to the Child. \ 
 
 The time was drawing near when we must 
 
and the Holy Land. 315 
 
 leave Home. Many of the rides and walks that 
 
 * * 
 
 we took together over the Pincian hill or to 
 other pleasant but not remarkably interesting 
 localities I will not take time to describe. In 
 the immediate vicinity of our hotel nearly every 
 building of importance became quite familiar to 
 us not alone the church of the Minerva, just 
 across the street, but the Pantheon, the Ro- 
 man College, the church of St. Ignatius, and 
 the church of St. Mary in Via Lata ; for we 
 passed these several times each day. This was 
 the region of the Septa Julia, founded by Cae- 
 sar, where the votes of the national assembly 
 were taken, but which was turned into a market 
 in the time of Tiberius. The church of St. 
 Ignatius, adjoining the Roman College, belongs 
 to the Jesuits, and contains the body of St. 
 Aloysius. In visiting the Roman churches it is 
 needless to say that we did not visit them "like 
 the heathen that know not God." We did not 
 kneel before all the altars, but before the chapel 
 of the Blessed Sacrament we always knelt and 
 prayed, and frequently before other altars in 
 various chapels, especially those which contained 
 particular objects of devotion. For this reason 
 the churches of Rome did not seem like strange 
 and unfamiliar places to us, as they must ap- 
 pear to those outside the household of faith. To 
 
316 A Visit to Europe 
 
 us they appeared like home, the house of our 
 Lord and Father, and a part of our own inheri- 
 tance. \ 
 
 In walking to the Corso, the principal street 
 of Rome, only a short distance from the hotel, 
 as we turned on the Corso was a church which 
 I several times entered to offer a brief prayer. 
 On one occasion the chapter were reciting the 
 divine office. I was always interested in this 
 church, for in some way it suited me, although 
 at first I did not even know its name. I after- 
 wards learned that it is the ancient church of 
 St. Mary in Via Lata. The Via Lata which 
 was the Via Flaminia outside the city, and 
 one of the chief streets of former times very 
 nearly corresponded with the present Corso. 
 This church was first built by Cons tim tine, 
 over the place where St. Paul "remained over 
 two years in his own hired lodging"; and it is 
 believed that here St. Luke wrote the Acts of 
 the Apostles. The present building was erected 
 in the seventeenth century. We entered many 
 other churches in different parts of the city, but in 
 most cases their names are forgotten, and for the 
 most part they did not make the same impression 
 on my mind as those that I have remembered ; 
 perhaps in a few instances because we did not 
 know at the time what churches they were,\ 
 
and the Holy Land, 3 1 7 
 
 Before leaving Rome I wished to procure 
 two relics for my church, and therefore went 
 to the vicariate to procure those only that would 
 be properly authenticated. I had to go several 
 times on account of various delays, but finally 
 obtained one of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the 
 Holy House of Loretto, and another of St. Pat- 
 rick, the patron of my church. During these 
 errands I had the privilege of visiting the 
 neighboring church of St. Augustine. It con- 
 tains the body of St. Monica, mother of St. 
 Augustine, a picture of the Madonna attributed 
 to St. Luke, a miraculous statue of the divine 
 Mother and Child, and many rare works of art. 
 Among the last mentioned is a fresco of the 
 prophet Isaias, by Raphael, who is said to have 
 been influenced in its production by a desire 
 to excel the "Prophets," by Michael Angelo, 
 in the Sistine Chapel.\ 
 
 We had arranged to leave Rome on Wednes- 
 day morning, but before leaving a few obser- 
 vations may not be out of place. The traveller 
 from America, after passing through several 
 countries of Europe having large standing 
 armies, might not be surprised at the number 
 of soldiers he would meet on the streets of 
 Rome, for the agents of war would have be- 
 come familiar sights ; but to see so many 
 
318 A Visit to Europe 
 
 priests, the messengers of peace, would be to 
 him a new revelation, which, unless he were 
 a Catholic, he might not quite understand. 
 Priests are frequently met all over Italy, and 
 in Rome you might meet one on almost every 
 block, and sometimes in that distance, at cer- 
 tain hours of the day, a dozen or more. But 
 Rome is the religious capital of the world. I 
 was somewhat interested in observing the nu- 
 merous clergy of the various cities and districts 
 of Italy, because I had seen them so differently 
 described by different writers. I can remem- 
 ber to have read only one Protestant author 
 who has given them anything like justice. So 
 far as good, priest-like appearances go, I have 
 seen no other priesthood in the world who 
 surpass them ; nor have I seen any other class 
 of men anywhere who even approach them. 
 There is a look on their faces indicative of 
 habitual moderation, abstemiousness, and vir- 
 tue in their lives. Notwithstanding the slanders 
 that I had read against them by non-Catholic 
 authors, I had expected to meet a good priest- 
 hood, but they so far surpassed my expectations 
 that I am ready to declare them to be at least 
 equal to any body of clergy, and to excel as a 
 class the men of any other profession or vo- 
 cation in any country. I also made observation 
 
and the Holy Land. 319 
 
 as to the temperate Labits of the people. Nearly 
 every one drinks wine, but I could hardly say- 
 judging from my experience that it is ever 
 used to excess. Daring our sojourn of a month 
 in Italy, travelling a good portion of the time, 
 and frequently on the streets, I did not see 
 one person drunk or laboring under the influence 
 of drink. I believe that Catholic total-absti- 
 nence societies are beneficial in some countries, 
 but not until the tastes of the people have 
 become vitiated and their drinking customs un- 
 catholic. 
 
 Another fact to which I will merely allude, 
 but which I will not explain was noted by us 
 which would indicate that, notwithstanding the 
 corrupting influence of the present government, 
 Rome is still the most moral large city in the 
 world. Verily the influence of the Papacy has 
 made a lasting impression on the Roman people. 
 
 As our time was quickly passing we con- 
 cluded that we must miss either Florence or 
 Loretto. It did not take us long to decide that 
 to us Loretto was more attractive, although 
 we very much disliked to leave out from our 
 route beautiful Florence. \ 
 
320 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 
 
 ON Wednesday morning, the 16th of July, 
 we were leaving the walls of Rome behind us, 
 as our railway train moved smoothly over the 
 road towards Ancona. This road runs in a 
 northeasterly direction, passing through the 
 Umbrian Apennines of Central Italy, to the 
 Adriatic coast, 184 miles distant, and continuous 
 in the pontifical territory. For about fifty miles 
 we rode through the wooded valley of old Tiber, 
 the river being in sight sometimes near at 
 hand during a good portion of the distance. 
 For some time the railroad follows the direction 
 of the ancient Via Salara, passing in sight of 
 picturesque villages and towns, among them 
 the old Sabine town Cures the modern Cor- 
 rese which was the birthplace of Numa Pompil- 
 ius. To the left rose Mount Soracte, spoken of 
 by Horace and Virgil. \ 
 
 Leaving the valley of the Tiber, we turned 
 into the beautiful and fertile valley of the Nera, 
 with its fine plantations of evergreen oaks. Dur- 
 ing the day we passed through many old cities, 
 founded by Roman colonists before the Chris 
 
and the Holy Land. 321 
 
 tian era, and noted as the birthplaces of many 
 remarkable men, among others a number of 
 pagan emperors and Christian pontiffs. Among 
 these ancient towns was Spoleto. "the Roman 
 Spoletium, founded more than twenty-one 
 centuries ago, and which within twenty-five 
 years of its foundation courageously repulsed 
 an attack by Hannibal. It was a Christian 
 see as early as 50 A.D. Soon afterwards we 
 passed through the charming vale of the Cli- 
 tumnus, whose rich pastures and shady groves 
 upon the sunny banks of the little river, and 
 its temple of Jupiter, are described by Pliny ;* 
 and whose snow-white herds of cattle are cele- 
 brated by Virgil, which with gilded horns and 
 wreaths of flowers were adorned for sacrifice. 
 Until this ride I had never looked upon the 
 truly picturesque and attractive rural scenes of 
 Italy./ 
 
 I could trace with the eye the white, smooth 
 road down the side of the hill, between stone 
 walls and overhanging trees that enclosed the 
 wayside vineyards, into some cozy little vale, 
 and then up again, winding around the mountain 
 side, descending into a more extended valley, 
 over the gray arches of some old stone bridge, 
 until it was lost sight of amidst the ancient 
 streets of some venerable city whose buildings 
 
322 A Visit to Europe 
 
 were already old centuries ago. The number of 
 pleasant valleys in the Apennines seem count- 
 less. If a life on earth could anywhere be 
 enjoyable it should be among a simple and 
 pious peasantry, surrounded by all the charms 
 of nature. These scenes of interior Italy only 
 wanted a glimpse of the far-off blue sea, with 
 its white, spreading sails, to make them perfect. 
 We passed world- renowned Assisi on our left, 
 but had not time to visit that celebrated 
 sanctuary of St. Francis. About two hours 
 before sundown we came in sight of the 
 glistening waters of the Adriatic, and not long 
 afterward we entered Ancona./ 
 
 Ancona was founded by the Doric Greeks 
 from Syracuse about four centuries before 
 Christ, and is built on the slope of two hills, 
 rising from the sea in the form of an amphithea- 
 tre. It contains a triumphal arch to Trajan, and 
 several old churches, among them the cathedral, 
 dedicated to St. Cyriacus, whose tomb it possess- 
 es, and built over a temple of Venus, mentioned 
 by Juvenal, from which it has retained ten pil- 
 lars. We entered only one church in Ancona, 
 but as to the rest of the city and its churches 
 we concluded to be satisfied with an inspection 
 from the outside. So we took a carriage and 
 directed the driver to drive through the prin- 
 
and the Holy Land. 323 
 
 cipal parts of the city. On our way from the 
 station we were stopped at the city gates by 
 soldiers on guard, who demanded our passports. 
 They were afraid that we might have come from 
 some cholera-infected district. We had already 
 been fumigated at the station. It is doubtful 
 if one of us- had his passport with him. as we 
 never expected to be asked for them. But one 
 of my friends, whose wits come to him quickest 
 in an emergency, very coolly drew forth from 
 his pocket a paper such as each of us had 
 received from the Guardian of the Holy Land, 
 stating that we had made the pilgrimage, and 
 signed and sealed in Jerusalem. He pointed to 
 the word Jerusalem, and said, Jerusalem ; they 
 repeated, Jerusalem, and said in the Italian 
 equivalent: " All right; pass on." So far as 
 most parts of Europe are concerned, a mortgage 
 on one's house would answer all the purposes 
 of a passport ; and a policy from some of the 
 fire-insurance companies would prove a flaming 
 document that would insure the bearer every 
 needed politeness and protection. / 
 
 We returned to the station in seasonable 
 time to take the train for Loretto, only fifteen 
 miles distant towards the south. The munici- 
 pal council, or something of the kind, from 
 some other city, had been visiting a similar 
 
324 A Visit to Europe 
 
 body in Ancona. After a grand supper and 
 the usual number of speeches, they were ac- 
 companied to the station by brass bands and 
 silken banners, and the customary noise and 
 ostentation. / 
 
 In less than an hour we were in Loretto. 
 We took an omnibus, which slowly climbed 
 the hill on which the town is situated. We 
 found a fairly good hotel, where having ob- 
 tained rooms we immediately retired to rest, 
 in order to rise early the next morning to say 
 Mass in the Holy House. The next morning 
 we were directed to the church, and soon found 
 ourselves within the holy sanctuary which has 
 made the name of Loretto familiar to the ears 
 of the Christian world. Loretto is a small 
 town, containing perhaps six thousand inhabit- 
 ants. Along the street leading to the church 
 are numerous venders of articles of devotion, 
 and Loretto is also noted for the importu- 
 nities of its beggars, who naturally collect 
 here from different parts of Italy. At the sea- 
 son of the year when we were there they did 
 not, however, prove to be very annoying. Having 
 offered thanksgiving to God for His great kind- 
 ness in permitting us to approach the sacred 
 threshold of His house on earth, we went to 
 the sacristy, where we obtained permission to 
 
and the Holy Land. 325 
 
 offer up the Holy Sacrifice at th$ altar within 
 its sacred walls, which contains the altar which 
 came with the Holy House from Nazareth. 
 My Mass was to come immediately after a 
 High Mass celebrated if I remember rightly 
 by a bishop. The chief sacristan was a Fran- 
 ciscan father whom I afterwards saw saying 
 Mass at an altar immediately outside the Holy 
 House, called the altar of the Annunciation. 
 He asked me if there were any members of 
 his order in my part of America. I informed 
 him about the matter, and also told him that 
 a Capuchin father had charge of my congre- 
 gation during my absence. While waiting for 
 my turn I had a good opportunity to look 
 about me. not with the mere sense of curi- 
 osity, but with the more observant insight of 
 faith and devotion./ 
 
 The basilica erected over the Holy House is 
 a magnificent structure, on which many emi- 
 nent artists have been employed. The Holy 
 House itself has been covered with marble, 
 and adorned with reliefs and statues chiselled 
 by the hands of eminent sculptors. The Holy 
 House is constructed of a dark, reddish stone, 
 proven by chemical analysis to be identical 
 in chemical composition with the stone of 
 Nazareth. It is about 31 feet 4 inches in 
 
326 A Visit to Europe 
 
 length, 13 feet 4 inches in breadth, and as 
 well as I can judge about 18 feet high, al- 
 though I find that writers place its height all 
 the way from 13^ to 28 feet. It has every 
 mark of a former dwelling-house changed into 
 a church, such as we know the Holy House 
 of Nazareth to have been from the very time 
 that it was last occupied by the Holy Family. 
 A thorough investigation of the facts and 
 miracles connected with its history, and finally 
 the authority of the Church, leave no doubt 
 that this House of Loretto is identical with 
 the House of the Blessed Virgin in Nazareth, 
 from which place it was translated nearly six 
 hundred years ago. / 
 
 I cannot do better, in relating the story 
 of its miraculous translation, than to tran- 
 scribe a portion of the Bull of Pius IX., 
 which repeats the substance of what many pon- 
 tiffs before him had written with reference to 
 this fact: ' : Among all the temples consecrat- 
 ed to the Immaculate Mother of God, there 
 is one which holds first rank. The most holy 
 and august House of Loretto, consecrated by 
 divine mysteries, ennobled by countless miracles, 
 honored by multitudes of pious pilgrims, fills 
 the whole Catholic universe with the glory of 
 its title, and is the object of the devotion and 
 
and the Holy Land. 327 
 
 veneration of all nations and races . of mankind. 
 It is at Loretto, this Holy House of Nazareth, 
 cherished by the Eternal Father on account 
 of the numerous circumstances and mysteries 
 connected with it ; first built in Galilee, then 
 raised from its foundation by divine power, 
 and transported by angels beyond the sea, first 
 to Dalrnatia, then to Italy. Huppy and sacred 
 House ! where the Blessed Virgin, predestined 
 from all eternity and exempt from the stain 
 of original sin, was conceived and brought up ; 
 where the Angel Gabriel saluted her as blessed 
 among women ; where, filled with the grace of 
 God, and by the operation of the Holy Ghost, 
 without being deprived of her spotless virgin- 
 ity, she became the Mother of the only Son 
 of God." In Nuzareth I had already said 
 Mass over the spot where the Annunciation 
 took place, and now I was about to enjoy the 
 same privilege within the walls where the 
 great mystery of the Incarnation was accom- 
 plished. / 
 
 I could not realize it ; the very fact seemed to 
 partake of the miraculous ; and the holy myste- 
 ries of the Incarnation seemed to envelop me 
 as in an atmosphere not of this world. One 
 could afford to journey through strange lands, 
 over rough and dangerous mountain roads to 
 
328 A Visit to Eitrope 
 
 the extreme ends of the earth, in hunger and 
 thirst, in heat and cold, until the iinal day of 
 his life, if, on the last morning of that day 
 whose setting sun should never rise again, he 
 would be permitted to offer up the Holy Sac- 
 rifice in the House of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. 
 After Mass, and thanksgiving by attending the 
 Mass of the venerable priest whom I had met in 
 the sacristy, I started to return to our hotel 
 On the way back I bought some rosaries, and 
 then walked slowly along until I came upon 
 one of the finest views that I had ever enjoy- 
 ed. Loretto is situated in the province of An- 
 cona the ancient Picenum which is one of 
 the most fertile and picturesque regions of 
 Italy. Some of its most characteristic features 
 could now be seen from where I stood, far 
 below me on all sides, lying under the rich, 
 bright glow of the summer sun To the west 
 the Central Apennines rise to their highest 
 elevation, and between them and the eminence 
 on which I was standing reposed the smiling 
 fields and pleasant valleys of the Marches of 
 Italy. To the east, about three miles distant, 
 the Adriatic sparkled in the sunlight. Al- 
 though standing, as I was, under the oppressive 
 heat of July, I remained for some time be- 
 holding this fair and tranquil scene. 
 
and the Holy Land. 329 
 
 During the forenoon we made one more 
 visit to the Holy House, at a time when no 
 others but ourselves within its walls whispered 
 prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and 
 the Sweet Heart of Mary./ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 BOLOGNA, PADUA, AND VENICE. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of the afternoon we took 
 the train for Bologna, by way of Ancona. 
 During the late afternoon and early evening 
 we passed through the "Five Maritime Cities," 
 Ancona, Sinigaglia the birthplace of Pius 
 IX. Fano, Pesano, and Rimini, all of which 
 were founded before the beginning of the 
 Christian era. Rimini, the northernmost of 
 these cities, was the end of the ancient Flamin-. 
 ian Way, which here united with the /Emilian. 
 As the shadows of evening lengthened over 
 sea and land, and enveloped the whole earth, 
 perhaps those last rays of light, strag- 
 gling through the western mountains or dimly 
 gilding the very tips of the topmost peaks, 
 revealed to us the indistinct outlines of the 
 
330 A Visit to Europe 
 
 liberty-loving little republic of San Marino, 
 which was founded in those mountains a 
 thousand and five hundred years ago by St. 
 Marinus, and ever since has preserved its 
 form of government arid independence. It 
 was only a few miles distant, but it would 
 hardly be possible that we could distinguish 
 it from the surrounding territory. We soon 
 afterwards passed over the Rubicon of Csesar. 
 
 About eleven o'clock we arrived in Bologna, 
 and not long after, in our rooms in the hotel 
 Brim, we had forgotten the events of the day ; 
 and, as often elsewhere when we awakened in 
 the morning, we wondered where we were, 
 for the room had a foreign look, unlike the 
 one at home. As we were to take the train 
 for Venice about noon, we started early to see 
 the city. We directed the driver to convey 
 us first to the church wilh which the con- 
 vent of Poor Clares is connected ; for it had 
 been the chief motive of our visit to Bologna 
 to see and pay reverence to the body of St. 
 Catharine of Bologna. / 
 
 Bologna is a walled city containing a popu- 
 lation of more than one hundred thousand. 
 About two centuries before the Christian era 
 it became a Roman colony, but was already 
 an old city, having been founded by the Celts 
 
and the Holy Land. 331 
 
 about the fifth century before Christ. It con- 
 tains about one hundred and thirty churches, 
 some of which are quite remarkable for size, 
 ornamentation, and antiquity. As we rode 
 through the streets our attention was attracted 
 to the wide and extensive covered porticos or 
 arcades, in front of the buildings and over 
 the sidewalks, protecting the foot-passengers 
 from the hot rays of the sun and the incle- 
 mency of the elements. They were something 
 new to us. which we had not seen elsewhere./ 
 
 Arriving at the church, we entered, and, 
 having met a priest, we told him the object 
 of our visit. He was very kind in his man- 
 ner, and rang a bell as a signal for the nuns 
 to unlock a door leading into an adjoining 
 room. This they did, but immediately retired. 
 We passed through this room into another 
 which contains the body of St. Catharine, 
 who has been dead more than four hundred 
 years, having died in the year 1463. St. Catha- 
 rine is sitting in a chair, and the nuns have 
 decorated her person with many ornaments of 
 gold and precious jewels ; but her face and 
 hands are without covering. They have 
 changed to a black color, except a spot on 
 and near one of her lips, which is of a lighter 
 hue, where it is related that on the holy fes- 
 
332 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tival of Christmas the Infant Jesus kissed her. 
 After the death of St. Catharine, when it was 
 found that her body had remained incorrupt, a 
 chair was prepared for her, and, knowing that 
 in life she had always been obedient, she was 
 commanded to seat herself in it, which com- 
 mand she promptly obeyed. We knelt before 
 her and prayed, requesting her to intercede 
 for us with God. The father who accompanied 
 us asked if we were priests, and, being told 
 that we were, said that we might kiss her hand, 
 which we did. Although black, it was as 
 soft as my own living hand. We retired with 
 praise in our hearts to God for His saints, 
 for "God is wonderful in His saints"; and 
 thanking Him that we "are fellow-citizens with 
 the saints" and "partakers of the lot of the 
 saints in light.'"'/ 
 
 Although we had become so accustomed to 
 fine churches that it was difficult, at least in 
 Italy, to find something new, several of the 
 churches of Bologna occupied our well-re- 
 warded attention during visits as long as our 
 time permitted. The church dedicated to St. 
 Petronio who was bishop of the city in the 
 fifth century, and is honored as its patron- 
 is 385 feet long and 156 feet in breadth; al- 
 though according to its original plan it was to 
 
and the Holy Land. 333 
 
 have been 750 feet in length. The church of 
 St. Dominic is also a grand edifice, and con- 
 tains the tomb of St. Dominic, who died in 
 Bologna. Among the other churches which 
 we visited, the oldest foundation was evidently 
 that of the cathedral church of St. Peter, 
 founded by St. Zama in the third century. 
 The church of St. Stefano or the "Seven 
 Churches" over the site of a former temple 
 of Isis, was founded in the fifth century by 
 St. Petronius. Several other churches were 
 founded by the same saint. 
 
 The university is perhaps the oldest in Italy, 
 claimed by many to have been founded in 
 the fifth century, and which in the middle 
 ages often counted 10,OOJ students. It still 
 continues to exist, but with enfeebled faculties 
 and in a diminutive form. Bologna also possesses 
 two leaning towers, one of which is only 163 
 feet in height, and is ten feet out of the 
 perpendicular. Among the minor things for 
 which the city is famous are its poodle-dogs, 
 sausages, and modern radical opinions. We 
 returned to our hotel, and from there went 
 directly to the station, where we soon en- 
 tered the train for Venice. / 
 
 Our route led for the most part through a level, 
 fertile, and well-cultivated country. Between 
 
334 d Visit to Europe 
 
 Ferrara and Rovigo we crossed the Po, and for 
 some miles the railway extends along its banks. 
 To us the most interesting city on the line was 
 Padua, through which we twice journeyed, but 
 only saw it as it is seen from the train. Its 
 numerous high steeples and lofty domes were 
 quite in contrast, and to me a pleasing one, with 
 nearly all the towns of more southern Italy. 
 Padua is one of the oldest cities of Italy, and is 
 believed to have been founded by the Trojan 
 prince An tenor after the destruction of Troy, 
 more than three thousand years ago. It was an 
 important town long before it passed under 
 Roman power, arid after that event it was, in the 
 time of Augustus, the wealthiest city in northern 
 Italy. It claims to be the birthplace of the 
 historian Livy ; he certainly was born in its 
 vicinity. But during the whole time that my 
 eyes rested on that attractive Italian town- 
 and it makes a fine appearance from the railway 
 my mind seemed to dwell only on one person- 
 age connected with it, one whose name and spirit 
 have rendered it illustrious, and whose ashes 
 rest within the precincts of one of its grandest 
 churches St. Anthony of Padua. He was a 
 native of Lisbon, in Portugal, but he so long 
 resided in this city that its name is added to his 
 as a distinctive title./ 
 
and the Holy Land. 335 
 
 In about half an hour after leaving Padua the 
 towers and domes of Venice rose in the distance 
 against a blue horizon of ' sky and water ; and in 
 a short time we were passing over the waters of 
 the lagoon in which Venice is situated, on a 
 bridge more than two miles in length, and rest- 
 ing on 222 arches. A lagoon is a shallow lake 
 formed by the sea, of which, strictly speaking, 
 it is a part. The lagoon in which Venice is built 
 is about nine miles in width and twenty-five 
 miles in length, and is protected from the fury 
 of the sea by islands of sand, which have been 
 strengthened by solid and expensive bulwarks. 
 Venice is built on three large and one hun- 
 dred and fourteen small islands, but the land is 
 entirely covered by buildings, piazzas, and streets 
 mostly narrow and next to some of the canals. 
 
 The " streets" are usually canals, or, correctly 
 speaking, the shallow waters of the Adriatic. 
 We did not stay long enough in Venice to find 
 out the duties of their street commissioners, or to 
 understand thoroughly their system of water- 
 works. We learned, however, that the drinking- 
 water was not good, and that a new system of 
 supply was soon to be introduced. On our ar- 
 rival at the station gondolas were in waiting to 
 convey passengers to the different hotels or to 
 any part of the city. Every reader has seen pic- 
 
336 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tares of these peculiar boats, and is therefore 
 practically familiar with them. In all they 
 number about four thousand within the limits of 
 the city corporation. We entered one to convey 
 us to the hotel Angleterre, on the Riva dcgli 
 Schiavoni, a broad quay fronting one of the 
 widest canals of the city, where a number of 
 large vessels were always lying at anchor. It 
 was only a short distance from tlie piazza of 
 St. Mark, which is the centre of life and attrac- 
 tion in Venice. We arrived sufficiently early in 
 the day to hire a gondola to carry us wher- 
 ever the gondoliers fancied might please us. It 
 was a pleasant, dreamy ride, full of romantic 
 suggestions. Samuel Rogers well d<*smb<*s in 
 oft-quoted lines the impressions of the travel ]-r 
 as he approaches and enters the city, or soon 
 afterwards, in swan-shaped boat, glides through 
 its silent streets : 
 
 "There is a glorious City in the Sea. 
 The sea is in the broad, the narrow streets, 
 Ebbing and flowing ; and the salt sea-weed 
 Clings to the marble of her pal 
 No track of men, no footsteps to and fro, 
 Lead to her gates. The path JiVs o'er the sea, 
 Invisible; and from tin- hind \ve went. 
 As to a floating city steering in, 
 And gliding up her streets as in a dream, 
 A- -nioothly. silently, by many a dome 
 
and the Holy Land. 337 
 
 Mosque-like, and many a stately portipo, 
 
 The stat ues ranged along an azure sky ; 
 
 By many a pile in more than Eastern splendor, 
 
 Of old the residence of merchant kings ; 
 
 The fronts of some, though Time had shattered them, 
 
 Still glowing with the richest hues of art, 
 
 As though the wealth within them had run o'er."/ 
 
 Our gondoliers first rowed to some islands 
 opposite, where we entered different churches, 
 among them S. Giorgio Maggiore and S. Maria 
 della Salute. Connected with the latter is the 
 Patriarchal Seminary. This church contains 
 some of the masterpieces of Titian, who rep- 
 resents the highest excellence of Venetian art, 
 which is quite distinct from that of the rest of 
 Italy, and partakes liberally of Oriental richness. 
 Our gondoliers next directed their boats through 
 the Grand Canal, the entire length of which we 
 had already seen on our way from the station, 
 each time passing under the famous bridge of the 
 Rialto. On either side of the canal rose the 
 stately palaces of ancient Venice, for this is the 
 aristocratic street of the city. They then turned 
 into narrower ways, where we could see the dif- 
 ferent classes of people, and to a certain extent 
 their modes of life. / 
 
 Everywhere we saw people swimming in the 
 streets, jumping into the water from their 
 doorsteps. It occurred to me that in Venice a 
 
Visit to Europe 
 
 child should be taught to swim before it learns 
 to walk or even to creep ; for otherwise if it 
 should manage to get out of any door of the 
 house it would probably fall into the water and 
 be drowned. I saw mothers teaching their in- 
 fants to swim who could be scarcely two years 
 of age. When they put them into the water 
 they held them up by a rope, and the quick- 
 ness with which they would learn the art of 
 swimming might readily be to them a matter 
 of life or death. Our boatmen brought us 
 finally under the Bridge of Sighs, and soon after- 
 wards landed us at the hotel. On the following 
 days we often saw this celebrated bridge, as it 
 was between our hotel and the piazza of St. Mark. 
 It connects the palace of the Doges with the 
 prison where criminals were executed, and when 
 under sentence of death they went from the 
 judgment-hall to their prison, they never re- 
 turned ; hence the name of the bridge over which 
 they passed. / 
 
 During the next day we spent most of our 
 time in the church and around the square of 
 St. Mark. To a traveller there are many attrac- 
 tive resorts in that vicinity. The piazzetta 
 through which we had to pass on our way to 
 the piazza and church is a pleasant place, where 
 one can sit and enjoy the cool breezes from 
 
and the Holy Land. 339 
 
 the water, with a good view of the lagoon and 
 shipping ; and several times we tooTi advantage 
 of the favorable situation, but not so often as 
 we would have done had not our own rooms 
 in the hotel commanded a finer view of the 
 same scene. Next to the piazzetta on the. one 
 side, and the mole on the other, is the an- 
 cient and magnificent palace of the Doges. 
 It is about 240 feet square. On two sides are 
 double colonnades, one above the other, having 
 107 columns, whose capitals, mouldings, and 
 traceries are rich in artistic designs executed 
 in stone. This palace was founded in the year 
 800, but has been destroyed at different times, 
 and each time rebuilt, until the present struc- 
 ture, which has been in existence about five 
 centuries. It was, in one form or another, the 
 palace of the republican doges for 'more than a 
 thousand years ; for Venice was a republic from 
 the eighth century until its overthrow by Na- 
 poleon. If the republic of the United Slates 
 of North America, or any other republic, had 
 subsisted eleven centuries on the principles of 
 mere secularism, or secularism mingled with some 
 Christian principles, there might be a question 
 as to whether secularism or the Catholic relig- 
 ion is more favorable to republican institutions. 
 As the facts now stand, only republics founded 
 
34-O A Visit to Europe 
 
 on Catholic principles have on their side proofs 
 from history. But had the republic of the United 
 States existed for a thousand years, it would 
 not be by any means a test of the principle 
 of mere secularism in government, for her most 
 important laws and articles of constitution 
 are founded on the common law of Catholic 
 times and on the principles of Magna Charta, 
 which was simply the laws and customs for 
 which the people of England always clamored ; 
 for their fathers had experienced their justice 
 and protection under "good King Edward" 
 the Confessor, their author and a canonized 
 saint of the Catholic Church. It is not alone 
 to republics that the principles of the Church 
 are favorable, but they are the foundation and 
 bulwark of every form of legitimate govern- 
 ment. / 
 
 Although for the present time the cry of 
 Italian unity has captured the crowd a cry 
 which in some sense is an echo of Roman 
 paganism and the apostasy of Julian, and a 
 unity which has been acquired by tyranny 
 and fraud the grand genius of the Italian peo- 
 ple will yet re-assert itself, and, under the fos- 
 tering influence of Christian pontiffs, great Ital- 
 ian republics and freedom-loving kingdoms may 
 again arise, and, with a milder spirit and more 
 
and the Holy Land. 341 
 
 glorious destiny than the enterprising, giant 
 republics of the middle ages, will outshine 
 with beneficent rays upon the earth, and out- 
 rival in Christ-like deeds among men, any of 
 their predecessors in the past. The enemies of 
 Catholic Italy have tried to make little of the 
 Italian name, and have slandered the Italian 
 character. But Italy has furnished too many 
 illustrious pontiffs and scholars, statesmen and 
 literary men, painters and musicians, sculptors 
 and architects, and men great in every voca- 
 tion of life where genius and the more gener- 
 ous endowments of nature are required, to per- 
 mit mal-conceived and low-born opinions to in- 
 fluence the judgment of fair-minded and intel- 
 ligent men. / 
 
 In the year 828 the body of St. Mark the 
 Evangelist was brought from Alexandria of 
 which city he had been the first bishop and 
 the adjoining church, dedicated to his name, 
 was built to receive it, where it now rests un- 
 der the principal altar. It is believed by many 
 and the great veneration in which he has 
 always been held by the Venetians would seem 
 to add strength to the claim that St. Mark 
 established the see of Aquileia, a town about 
 fifty or sixty miles northeast of Venice, and 
 once a very important metropolis, from which 
 
34 2 A Visit to Europe 
 
 their city having been destroyed by Attila 
 in the year 452 the inhabitants fled to the la- 
 goons of Venice, and became the founders of 
 the city. The lion was the emblem of the 
 evangelist Mark, similar to the likeness spoken 
 of in the first chapter of the prophecy of Eze- 
 chiel. In Venice at almost every turn, on low 
 pedestal or lofty pillar, is seen the winged lion, 
 symbol of its patron saint, and also of the 
 cherubim seen by the prophet Ezechiel before 
 the throne of God. Meeting it so frequently, 
 and knowing its meaning, it was to me one of 
 the most inspiring emblems that I have ever 
 seen. / 
 
 St. Mark's is a most wonderful church, of 
 mixed Byzantine and Gothic style, and of ori- 
 ental magnificence, on which the treasures of 
 the East and West were lavished. It received 
 presents from the wealthy and adventurous citi- 
 zens of the republic which gold could not pur- 
 chase. It is adorned by five hundred pillars 
 of every variety of material and design, brought 
 by ships of Venetian merchants from every re- 
 gion of the Orient, and among them are two, 
 which help to support one of the altars, that are 
 said to have belonged to the temple of Solomon 
 in Jerusalem. St. Mark's is in the form of a 
 ^Greek cross, and springing up from its walls 
 
and the Holy Land. 343 
 
 and roof is a very forest of domes and pinna- 
 cles. At the entrance the eye is attracted by 
 four gilded bronze horses, five feet in height, 
 which even the man of uncultivated tastes will 
 admire, but which the artist will at once rec- 
 ognize as among the choicest works of art. 
 It is claimed by many that they are the pro- 
 ductions of Roman skill in the time of Nero ; 
 by others it is thought that they were brought 
 to Rome from Alexandria by Augustus Caesar ; 
 while for a long time they were believed to be, 
 and perhaps truly, the creations of the renowned 
 Grecian Lysippus. In the interior the church 
 is about 210 feet in width, by 260 feet in length- 
 Its walls are covered with rich marbles and 
 mosaics. How impossible it would be to give a 
 brief and intelligible description of its remark- 
 able mosaic pictures may be understood from 
 the fact that they cover a surface of 45,790 
 square feet. When we entered the church we 
 were somewhat surprised to find it full of peo- 
 ple, but we immediately saw that preparations 
 were being made for. a solemn requiem Mass. 
 The vast number of those present were standing, 
 some were kneeling on the stone floors, while 
 several long lines of aged men and women were 
 occupying seats. They were dressed in uniform, 
 the men having blue coats with brass buttons, 
 
344 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and collars and facings like those worn by 
 Americans in colonial days ; the women were 
 attired in a neat but more simple fashion. It 
 was easy to see that a large number of those in 
 attendance were not Catholics, but were drawn 
 hither through curiosity. I approached as near 
 to the altar as possible. 'Many priests were in 
 the sanctuary, and after the Mass assisted at the 
 absolution. A large choir occupied one gallery, 
 and a full orchestra the other, both being just 
 over the sanctuary on either side. The harmoni- 
 ous music of the two was very fine, arid helped 
 to raise my soul above the pleasures enjoyed by 
 mere tourists, thankful that I was everywhere at 
 home in God's Church ; and for a time I forgot 
 how hard the stone pavements are to the bended 
 knee of the worshipper. For whom the Mass 
 was offered I do not know, but I heard after- 
 wards that one hundred Masses were said annu- 
 ally on that day for some person, who was a 
 man of wealth and importance while he lived, 
 and who had left a legacy to be applied in this 
 manner for his soul.V 
 
 At -two o'clock in the afternoon we were 
 waiting in the piazza to witness the feeding of 
 the doves, which takes place daily at that 
 hour, and has been a daily occurrence for 
 nearly seven hundred years. Near the Church 
 
and the Holy Land. 345 
 
 of St. Mark is a clock-tower, whe*e two bronze 
 Vulcans called the ' ' Moors ' ' - strike the 
 hours. 
 
 Other clocks from different towers struck the 
 hour of two, and hardly a pigeon was seen, 
 and none in flight ; but the clock of St. Mark 
 told us that hour had arrived, and hundreds 
 of doves from every outside nook and corner 
 of the great buildings around the square flew 
 in flocks to the places where they are accus- 
 tomed to be fed. Many strangers buy corn 
 with which to feed them, and are quickty 
 covered with the tame, confiding birds, which 
 light upon their heads, shoulders, and hands, 
 out of which they eat. They always know 
 two o'clock, and wait for the right clock to 
 strike it. / 
 
 In the evening we walked beside the harbor, 
 and through the place of St. Mark, and ob- 
 served the pleasure -seeking Venetians at their 
 evening enjoyments. We afterwards returned 
 to our hotel, and each chose his own method 
 of passing the remaining two hours before 
 retiring. I enjoyed myself at my room 
 window, overlooking the lively street and 
 harbor. It seems that on that particular Satur- 
 day night the inhabitants were celebrating 
 some special event or festival, and they made 
 
346 A Visit to Europe 
 
 a great deal of noise, with gay spirits and 
 happy voices. But notwithstanding the more 
 endurable temperature of the evening, and the 
 faint breath that came over the waters from 
 the sea, I began to long for the cooling breezes 
 of more northern climes. The next morning 
 was Sunday, and we attended early Mass at 
 St. Mark's./ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 NORTHERN ITALY AND SOUTHERN SWITZERLAND. 
 
 THE early forenoon found us at the railway 
 station, and soon after we were moving behind 
 the iron horse over the waters that separate 
 Venice from the mainland, on our way to 
 Milan. We went back to Padua over the same 
 road by which we came, but beyond that city 
 we continued in a westerly direction, passing 
 through Vicenza ancient Vicetia Verona, 
 and Brescia Brixia of the ancients. Many of 
 these northern Italian cities were founded or 
 occupied by the Celts before the Christian era, 
 and centuries ago were towns of great wealth 
 and importance. Brescia was once the rival of 
 Milan, and Verona was the residence of the 
 Ostrogoth, Theodoric the Great, and of other 
 
and the Holy Land. 347 
 
 notable -monarchs. It was also the native place 
 of several of the classic authors. We rode 
 along the southern shores of Lake Garda, the 
 largest lake of Upper Italy ' the Lacus Benacus 
 of the Komans, and whose tempestuous waves 
 are spoken of by Virgil, who was born in these 
 northern regions, near Mantua, riot far south 
 of the place which we were now passing. It 
 seerns that the milder clime and dreamier days 
 of the southern peninsula were more congenial 
 to his poetic nature than the more inclement 
 seasons of his northern home. But without 
 doubt the more vigorous blood of his youth 
 infused strength and energy into the warmer 
 and more passionate life-glow of his maturer 
 years. Our eyes rested with pleasure on the 
 well cultivated southern borders of the lake, 
 and penetrated as far as they were able into 
 the wilder recesses of its northern shores, 
 where the mountains of Tyrol raised tlieir 
 rugged outlines against the northern sk} r . I 
 had always desired to visit the country of the 
 devout Tyrolese, but want of time, added to the 
 inconvenience of the route that we should have 
 to take, discouraged the fulfilment of our first 
 plans in that direction. We saw its mountains 
 from the south and north, and passed nearly 
 around its borders, but like Moses, who beheld 
 
348 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the promised land from afar, we. did not enter 
 into it. / 
 
 /We were now in Lombardy, a country rich in 
 the products of nature, and in the physical 
 and intellectual qualities of its manhood and 
 womanhood. Rows of trees, which to my eyes 
 resembled those familiar to us in many parts 
 of our own land, and called by us Lombardy 
 poplars, reminded us of home ; and in other 
 respects different regions of northern Italy were 
 not dissimilar in appearance to parts of our 
 own country. The country and people of 
 Northern Italy appeared to me to differ in 
 many of their characteristics from those of 
 Southern Italy, and both of these from those 
 of Central Italy ; although the inhabitants of 
 some of the seaport towns in the northern and 
 central provinces seemed to a greater extent 
 than the others to resemble the people of the 
 more southern latitude. ] 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon the city 
 of St. Ambrose and St. Charles Borromeo came 
 in sight, and soon afterward the railway guards 
 shouted "Milano!" But the train guards of 
 northern Italy, however robust in other re- 
 spects, will never be able to sound the musical 
 names of even their grandest cities with the 
 lung-power and noise with which the southern 
 
and the Holy Land. 349 
 
 Italian guard shouts the name *)f his favorite 
 " Napoli ! " Milan, the Mediolanum of the 
 Romans, is situated in the centre of Lombardy, 
 and has always been an enterprising and 
 wealthy city. In the earliest times known to 
 history the surrounding country was inhabited 
 by the Etruscans, until about the sixth century 
 before Christ, when they were driven out by 
 the Celts, who then founded the city of Milan, 
 which in the third century B.C. came under the 
 power of Rome. We directed our driver to 
 convey us to the hotel Roma, which was some 
 distance from the station, but near Milan's 
 celebrated cathedral. As we rode through the 
 city all the signs of a vigorous population 
 were evident at first sight. The city and sub- 
 urbs possess frequent arid extensive lines of 
 tramways, and we saw a number of their cars, 
 especially in the suburbs, making fast time 
 behind locomotives, puffing clouds of black, 
 dirty smoke, and making their usual noise 
 and bluster. / 
 
 When we arrived in Milan we had become 
 wearied with much sight seeing. Sometimes 
 for days we might recover our old enthusiasm, 
 and then it would die out again. I think if 
 any one of us had been asked why he came to 
 Milan, he would have answered : To see its 
 
350 A Visit to Europe 
 
 great cathedral ; and there just before us it 
 now appeared. No one could mistake it who 
 has ever seen its picture ; and who has not 
 seen it many times? It seemed like an old, 
 familiar sight, as if we had seen it in our 
 youth, and now returned to. it once more. 
 It sometimes happens that you wish to leave 
 on your mind the impress chiefly of one object 
 alone. This was the case with me both in 
 Milan and Cologne ; and in each place the 
 object was its grand, magnificent cathedral. 
 We drove through the city of Milan, and were 
 most favorably impressed with its appearance 
 and people. We entered several churches, 
 but I could hardly name them. I now wish 
 that we had cared to observe something more 
 of two which we passed than the mere out- 
 side. One of these was the Church of St. 
 Ambrose, whose body lies beneath the high 
 altar, and where the saintly bishop rebuked 
 the Emperor Theodosius, arid where he preach- 
 ed those learned and eloquent homilies which 
 accomplished the conversion of St. Augustine. 
 The other church or rather convent adjoining 
 - was that of St. Mary of Grace, which con- 
 tains the world-renowned painting of the Last 
 Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. We saw a fine 
 statue of the artist in one of the public 
 
and the Holy Land. -351 
 
 places ; and during our ride, after the first 
 visit to the cathedral, we saw the* outside of 
 the principal public buildings, places, and 
 monuments of Milan. But having seen them 
 we were attracted back to the great cathedral 
 church, and were best satisfied when we couJd 
 sit or stand where we could enjoy a new view 
 of its grandeur and beauty. / 
 
 After engaging rooms at the hotel, and be- 
 fore our jaunt through the city, we started 
 out to pay our first visit to that temple whose 
 shining walls we had seen only from the out- 
 side and in the distance. When we entered, 
 an afternoon service, that did not seem to 
 be Vespers, was just terminating, which was 
 followed by a sermon delivered with life and 
 energy, and, if I remember rightly, was con- 
 cluded with the Benediction of the Most Holy 
 Sacrament. We afterwards had an opportu- 
 nity of viewing the church. The present edi- 
 fice was commenced in the fourteenth century, 
 and was consecrated about two hundred years 
 afterwards by St. Charles Borromeo ; and be- 
 neath its dome, in a subterranean chapel rich- 
 ly ornamented with gold and silver and 
 precious stones, his body rests. St. Charles 
 became Archbishop of Milan at the age of 
 twenty-three, and ruled the see half his life, 
 
352 A Visit to Europe 
 
 dying at the age of forty-six. It is said that 
 the church of Milan was planted by St. Bar- 
 nabas the Apostle. Besides St. Ambrose and 
 St. Charles, thirty-one of its bishops have 
 been canonized saints. The present cathedral 
 edifice was built on the site of the ancient 
 episcopal basilica of the city. Its length is 
 486 feet ; its width in the transepts, 288 feet ; 
 the highest point in the arching of the nave, 155 
 feet ; the height of its highest tower, which 
 is surmounted by a statue of the Blessed 
 Virgin, 360 feet; and, next to St. Peter's in 
 Rome, it is the largest church in the world. 
 It is built almost entirely of white marble, 
 which has become tinged with a color more 
 or less yellowish, according to its exposure 
 to the weather. Springing from its walls 
 and roof are 135 pinnacles and spires, and 
 it contains about three thousand statues in 
 its niches or rising from the topmost points 
 of its spires and turrets. Many niches are 
 yet vacant, and when they are occupied the 
 total number of statues will be 4,500. In the 
 interior of the structure are 52 pillars, each 
 12 feet in diameter and 80 feet in height. 
 Instead of the foliated capitals usual to col- 
 umns in Gothic churches, their summits or 
 capitals, which are 18^ feet in length, although 
 
and the Holy Land. 353 
 
 not lacking in foliations, are encircled and 
 adorned with canopied niches in which are 
 placed statues of the saints. Nearly every 
 reader is already acquainted with its lavish 
 ornamentation, rich emblematic windows of 
 stained glass, and the numerous works of 
 art that adorn its altars. We saw and ap- 
 preciated this great church as only a Cath- 
 olic can see and appreciate the temple which 
 he knows was built for the tabernacle and 
 has become the dwelling-place of the Incar- 
 nate God./ 
 
 Towards evening we seated ourselves in a 
 pleasant place, not far distant from the 
 church, where we could enjoy the golden 
 light of the departing day and quietly con- 
 template a scene truly Milanese. Throngs 
 of people of both sexes, on foot and in car- 
 riages, were constantly passing. More than 
 half the females wore black lace veils instead 
 of bonnets for a head -covering. We sat and 
 watched the happy faces, and listened to the 
 merry voices of the passers-by, which with a 
 large number were without doubt the reflec- 
 tions of the bright sunlight of peace and 
 love, and echoes of the rippling music of joy 
 which the Lord's Bay brings to the hearts 
 of many. We lingered while the resplendent 
 
354 A Visit to Europe 
 
 sunbeams climbed higher and higher up the 
 walls of Milan's great cathedral, until its 
 forest of spires and statues, turrets and 
 towers, was bathed in an ethereal sea of 
 splendor which the rising or setting sun 
 alone is able to pour out upon this world of 
 ours. We did not depart until the last rays 
 of the orb of day had crept to the very 
 brow of the statue of the Queen of Heaven 
 that adorns the highest tower, and had en- 
 circled its head with a halo of glory, which 
 slowly melted away into twilight. / 
 
 Early the next morning we were already 
 settled in a railway carriage, with tickets for 
 Lucerne, in Switzerland. The ride for the first 
 few miles was not very interesting, but we 
 knew that before we reached the end of the 
 day's journey our eyes and hearts would be 
 delighted with probably the finest and grandest 
 scenery of Europe. While the country was yet 
 Italian, with most of the characteristics that 
 belong to the name, it became more and more 
 distinctively marked as northern Italian. The 
 Alpine Mountains gradually appeared more 
 clearly defined, and we could see that we were 
 approaching a region in many respects differ- 
 ent from any that we had before seen. The 
 clear, blue waters of Lake Como soon came 
 in sight, surrounded by their lofty mountain 
 
and the Holy Land. 355 
 
 shores. This lake is considered one of the 
 most beautiful in the world, lying in the 
 midst of a fertile district, which is inhabited 
 by an intelligent and prosperous people. Lake 
 Como was the Lacus Larius of the Romans, 
 and Virgil sings its praises. The town of 
 Como is claimed to have been the birthplace 
 of the elder and younger Pliny, and of other 
 distinguished men. At stations like that of 
 Como our train usually stopped five or ten 
 minutes. For a short distance after leaving 
 the station the railroad ran along the bor- 
 ders of the lake, and I tried to get a good 
 view of every changing scene, to see if there 
 was any that I remembered ever to have 
 seen in pictures. In about half an hour we 
 reached the shores of Lake Lugano, along 
 which we rode for nearly half the way from 
 Como to Lugano, a succession of views ap- 
 pearing as delightful as any that I have ever 
 seen. I am unable to express my full ad- 
 miration for this country, so beautiful and 
 grand, so rich and rare in all the resources 
 of nature./ 
 
 At Lugano our baggage was examined and 
 we were fumigated. It was lucky for us that 
 we were travelling north instead of south, for 
 the Italian authorities had proclaimed a quar- 
 antine of five days. The next year Italy got 
 
356 A Visit to Europe 
 
 the cholera, and Switzerland escaped it. We 
 passed through the charming valleys of Ticino, 
 the Italian canton of Switzerland. We tra- 
 versed almost the entire length of the valley of 
 the river Ticino, and at length began gradually 
 to ascend the Alps. The road would pass 
 through a tunnel, and then curve around the 
 mountain and into another tunnel, until 
 finally, with Alpine peaks half-surrounding 
 us, we could look down the mountain-side 
 into a wide-extended valley spread out far 
 below us, with its farms, villages, and cities, 
 and its river like a thread of shining silver 
 winding through a green velvet ground. W T e 
 passed over rushing torrents and through 
 many quiet Alpine hamlets, reposing in the 
 silence and solitude of the mountains, where 
 even the noisy, hastening train hardly seemed 
 to disturb them for a moment in their dreamy 
 existence. I began to feel a desire to live 
 in one of those mountain hamlets, far away 
 from the noise, business, and molestations of 
 the world. I began a poem, which I intend 
 to finish on some future occasion, as an ex- 
 pression of my feelings at that time : 
 
 Oh t in the Swiss mountains would I might dwell, 
 
 With a few loved friends around me, 
 While none but those bound by love's mystic spell 
 
 Should in my hamlet surround me. N 
 
and the Holy Land. 357 
 
 After a while we were entirely ^surrounded 
 by the grand, glorious mountains. Sometimes 
 on both sides were mountain heights ; at other 
 times on one side would be a deep, wild 
 chasm, and looking down into its depths the 
 brain would grow dizzy ; on the other side, 
 thousands of feet above us, giant peaks raised 
 their crested heads into the regions of per 
 petual snow, and seemed almost to touch the 
 sky. In places the snow did not appear to 
 be far above us, while in others it was more 
 distant, and, melting under the heat of a July 
 sun, sent down the rocky steeps cascades 
 white-foaming and bright- shining in the sun- 
 light, which, as well as I could judge, fell 
 down in an almost perpendicular line two 
 thousand feef. When not entirely occupied 
 with outside scenery we found a number of 
 things inside the car to invite our attention, 
 and, when the train would go slow or stop, 
 the conversation was not altogether uninter- 
 esting. Our car was modelled partly after the 
 American style, and I must acknowledge that 
 this fact because there was a larger and 
 more diversified company added in some ways 
 to the pleasure of the journey. As we began 
 to leave the valley and ascend the mountain, 
 I made closer observations of my immediate 
 
358 A Visit to Europe 
 
 surroundings. I found that the more dogmatic 
 of my two friends was crowded into rather 
 close quarters in the neighborhood of an Eng- 
 lish lady, who, finding that he spoke English, 
 and seeing a number of wayside shrines along 
 the mountain road, unhappily for herself had 
 made a bigoted remark about them. He was 
 engaged in telling her some salutary truths 
 which probably she never before had heard. 
 My other friend, who rather prides himself on 
 business matters, was explaining to the lady's 
 brother how it happens that English stock- 
 holders do not always realize as large a per- 
 centage on their American railroad stocks as 
 they had anticipated. Just in front of me, 
 on a seat facing . mine, were a bride and 
 bridegroom. She was a good-looking country 
 girl, but there was no great attraction in that ; 
 it was the old-fashioned bridal costume she 
 wore that interested me. If I remember 
 rightly, she wore a colored skirt, with a 
 white and colored bodice, while silver chains 
 and ornaments, fastening the various parts, 
 were skilfully arranged to produce a pleasing 
 effect. Her mother and her grandmother, and 
 perhaps her ancestors in the female line for 
 centuries, wore a bridal dress like the one in 
 which she was now adorned. I like old 
 
and the Holy Land. 359 
 
 fashions, for they have a memory^ and a his- 
 tory attached to them. I like those people 
 who cling to the customs and costumes, and 
 who have a love for the traditions of their 
 forefathers. / 
 
 The train had at length climbed the moun- 
 tains until we were nearly .four thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, and about 
 to enter the tunnel of St. Gothard, which is 
 the longest in the world. It is nine and one- 
 half miles in length, and it took the train 
 twenty-five minutes to pass through it. The 
 highest summit of the mountain through winch 
 the tunnel is made rises to the height of 
 about eleven thousand feet. We were now 
 in the vicinity of the sources of the rivers 
 Rhine, Rhone, and Ticino, whose respective 
 waters flow into the German, Mediterranean, 
 and Adriatic seas. At the next station after 
 our exit from the tunnel we took dinner. 
 Although in the valleys below the day had 
 been quite warm, we were here surrounded by 
 thick mists, and it was so chilly that we were 
 thankful to have our overcoats to wear on 
 leaving the train. / 
 
360 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE HOME OF WILLIAM TELL AND THE FOUK 
 FOKEST CANTONS. 
 
 THE descent had already commenced, and 
 was a reversed repetition of the ascent, al- 
 though the northern side is not so steep as 
 the southern, and in some other respects the 
 nature of the country had changed ; the south- 
 ern side of the mountains being the land of 
 the vine and yellow sunshine, and the north- 
 ern side a land of lowing herds and green 
 pastures. We had now entered the region 
 where Swiss independence had its birth. We 
 passed through Burglen, the birthplace of 
 William Tell, and soon after through Alt- 
 dorf, the place where Tell is said to have 
 shot the apple from his son's head, al- 
 though this story is probably a fable. 
 The next 'station was Fllielen, where the 
 beautiful waters of Lake Lucerne, " the 
 lake of the four forest cantons," lay calmly 
 in the midst of the grand Swiss mountains, 
 whose rocky heights so often echoed to the 
 shouts of heroes in their battles for liberty. 
 Many of the passengers here left the train to 
 
and the Holy Land. 361 
 
 take the boat for Lucerne, as that is con- 
 sidered the most interesting route". We were 
 doubtful whether to throw away our railway 
 tickets and go by steamboat, or continue by 
 land. We decided to go by rail, and I, for 
 one, was not sorry. Probably the water route 
 was to be preferred, but we should have 
 missed so many charming views, where moun- 
 tain scenery, glimpses of the bright waters of 
 the lake, green pastures and meadows, grazing 
 flocks and herds, large, comfortable Swiss farm- 
 houses and pleasant and picturesque villages, 
 commingled in ever-recurring scenes of delight, 
 that I am well satisfied with our choice. If we 
 had not chosen as we did, no other part of 
 Europe that we saw could have taken the place 
 of that journey of an hour./ 
 
 The "four forest cantons," Lucerne, Schwytz, 
 Uri, and Unterwalden, which surround the Lake 
 of Lucerne, three of which formed the original 
 Swiss league of the thirteenth century, which 
 the fourth soon afterward joined, are the 
 strongholds of Swiss freedom, as Switzerland 
 is the keystone of civil liberty in Europe. 
 Sometimes Switzerland forgets her traditions, 
 and by a bare majority overrides the rights of 
 those of her citizens to whose ancestors she 
 owes whatever of liberty she possesses. The 
 
362 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 inhabitants of these four cantons are almost 
 entirely German, and have retained that an- 
 cient faith which their forefathers held when 
 the morning sun which ushered in the day 
 of Swiss national independence shone with a 
 new light over their mountains, lakes, and. 
 valleys./ 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we ar- 
 rived in Lucerne. The situation of the city, 
 humanly speaking, is perfect. On the banks 
 of the Reuss, on the shores of the ]ake of 
 Lucerne, it reposes like a picture encircled in 
 a frame of mountains. Before sin and its effects 
 entered into the world, Switzerland was an 
 earthly paradise ; and so far as the mere 
 charms of nature are concerned, the curse of 
 God fell lightly on it. He evidently wished 
 to preserve some spots of earth as only par- 
 tially disfigured patterns of the first beauties 
 of His creation. Probably not every one 
 would enjoy Swiss scenery as I did, but, next 
 to God and faith, and the objects they present 
 to my devotion, nature and nationalities have 
 always held one of the most sacred places in 
 my heart. And it is possible that the spirit 
 of freedom, which so often dwells in the fast- 
 nesses of mountains, may have enhanced in 
 eyes the natural charms of Switzerland. 
 
and the Holy Land. 363 
 
 I was born under a democratic government, 
 and the first banner that pleased my childish 
 eyes was the flag of a republic ; it is there- 
 fore but natural that wherever in the Old 
 World I found republics, past or present, which 
 had exalted the name, and where the home 
 was loved and the family honored, I experi- 
 enced a feeling of gratification. Yet I have a 
 no less sincere admiration for those kingdoms 
 and empires that have fulfilled the true destiny 
 of civil government towards the people and 
 towards God. But in Switzerland the angel 
 of liberty that first floated on the light of 
 the morning had around her brow not alone 
 a garland of all that is beautiful in nature, 
 but a nimbus of all that is radiant in grace 
 divine. / 
 
 We went to the hotel which we had se- 
 lected, the name of which I have forgotten, 
 but it proved to be an excellent one. Lu- 
 cerne has so many good hotels, so pleasantly 
 located, that it would hardly be necessary to 
 mention the name of any one in particular. 
 After we had been shown our rooms we 
 started out for a ]ong stroll through the town, 
 visiting several churches, in which there were 
 monuments and decorations quaint and old, 
 iind where we were glad once more to see 
 
364 A Visit to Europe 
 
 pews. In my mind pews or well-arranged 
 chairs are in some way closely associated 
 with proper Christian instruction. We passed 
 over the different bridges with their legendary 
 paintings, and saw whatever else was curious 
 or interesting. We bought a number of arti- 
 cles, and were always pleased with the honest 
 habits of the people. When we entered one 
 of the stores, the English lady whom we had 
 met on the train was trying to make a bar- 
 gain, speaking German with a decided Eng- 
 lish accent, which seemed very much to puz- 
 zle the saleswoman. One of my friends made 
 proper explanation of what she wanted to say, 
 and the parties came to an understanding. 
 Towards evening and again the next morning 
 we spent our time sitting in some quiet place 
 enjoying the scenes surrounding us. We 
 thought of making an excursion on the lake. 
 A ride on the lake would have been pleas- 
 ant, and a visit to the Rigi, which appeared 
 in the near distance, would have been inspir- 
 ing; but we finally concluded that we enjoyed 
 ourselves full as well where we were. \ 
 
 Towards noon on the day after our arrival 
 we took the train for Rorschach, on the lake 
 of Constance. Early in the journey we passed 
 through the two old cities of Zug and Zurich, 
 
and the Holy Land. 365 
 
 situated on lakes of the same name. At 
 Winterthur we could have made * connection 
 with a train which passed through St. Gall, 
 but we did not know it .in time, and had 
 bought tickets by way of Romanshorn. From 
 this last place the railway ran by the side 
 of the lake until we reached our destination, 
 
 where we arrived about three hours before 
 
 
 
 dark. During the day we had passed through 
 a fertile and prosperous country, and had the 
 opportunity of testing the truthfulness of the 
 statement of some Protestant travellers, that 
 one can readily discern when lie passes from 
 a Catholic to a Protestant canton by the 
 signs of superior industry in the latter. I 
 had supposed it hardly possible that imagina- 
 tion and bigotry could so prejudice the judg- 
 ment of man, for it is impossible to tell the 
 difference between them. The scenery of most 
 of the Catholic cantons that we saw during 
 the ride pleased me better, but yet I could 
 not in honesty affirm that in them the farms 
 were better cultivated or the farm-buildings 
 better than those of their Protestant neigh- 
 bors. They seem to learn good farming and 
 habits of industry from each other without 
 regard to the religion that they profess. I 
 am sure that I am not at all prejudiced in 
 
366 A Visit to Europe 
 
 this matter, for the neat hedges and well- 
 kept farms of England delighted my eyes 
 just the same as if they had not been owned 
 and cultivated by Protestant farmers. How 
 such fictions can be related by honest men 
 is inconceivable. But bigotry usually makes 
 men dishonest and incapable of truthful state- 
 ments on any matter even remotely connected 
 with religion. We had partly expected to 
 meet in Rorschach an honored priest and pro- 
 fessor of our Provincial Seminary, who was 
 visiting his native place, and who had re- 
 quested us to notify him of our coming, which 
 we had failed to do. We were informed by 
 his brother that the doctor had been absent 
 for several days on a visit to Lucerne, the 
 city which we had just left. We enjoyed 
 ourselves until dark strolling through the 
 quiet town, refreshed by the breezes that were 
 wafted over the land from the cool surface 
 of the Boden See. \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 367 
 
 4 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 FROM LAKE CONSTANCE TO THE CITY OE THE 
 
 / THE next morning we took the boat for 
 Lindau, in Bavaria, on our way to Munich. 
 The lake of Constance, which we were now 
 crossing, is about forty -five miles long and 
 nine miles wide. Its shores belong to the 
 territory of Baden, Wiirtemberg, Bavaria, 
 Austria, arid Switzerland. 
 
 It was a beautiful morning, and as we float- 
 ed out over the waters of the lake the re- 
 ceding shores of Switzerland rose into higher 
 uplands at the south, and towards the north 
 settled into a level, fertile plain with farm- 
 houses and villages. Toward the southeast 
 the snow-capped mountains of Tyrol shone in 
 the morning sunlight, while close to the water, 
 but near to the mountains, reposed the fair 
 Austrian town of Bregenz. We were sorry 
 that we could not set our feet on Austrian 
 soil, but were glad that under such favorable 
 circumstances our eyes rested on so pleasant 
 a corner of the Austrian domain. I have a 
 
368 A Visit to Europe 
 
 very friendly feeling toward Austria, because 
 it is a land that has probably been least harmed 
 by irreligious liberalism of any country of 
 national importance in Europe. Before us was 
 the Catholic land of Bavaria ; and probably 
 that low-lying line of blue between the lake 
 and sky, darker than either, away to the 
 northwest, belonged to Wiirteniberg and Baden. 
 To the true German heart this must be one 
 of the central places of interest in the Father- 
 land. No one of us had any German blotfd 
 in his veins, but we all appreciated that calm 
 morning when a loving sky smiled upon a 
 region of the earth so fair. / 
 
 In about ati hour we landed at Lindau, which 
 is built on an island, where we were to take 
 the train for Munich. It would not start for 
 more than an hour, so we concluded in the 
 meantime to ramble through the city. The 
 streets were quiet, and the inhabitants had 
 evidently begun the day with the intention of 
 keeping as cool as the weather would allow. 
 By a few purchases we got our first ex- 
 perience of the cheapness of articles of food 
 and drink in Bavaria and some other parts 
 of southern Germany. Nearly everything in 
 that line costs only about half what it does 
 in other parts of Europe, and for those hav- 
 
and the Holy Land. 
 
 ing incomes from other countries? it must be 
 a very economical place of residence. / 
 
 We returned to the station in time for the 
 train to Munich. The country through which 
 we passed was comparatively level, and seemed 
 to be chiefly agricultural. The towns were 
 not large, but were well built, and always 
 possessed a substantial church, of the plain, 
 German style, and which was usually the 
 principal edifice of the place. During nearly 
 the entire ride the Bavarian Alps presented 
 an uneven chain of rocky heights and snow- 
 capped peaks along the southern horizon. 
 We were now passing through Catholic Ba- 
 varia. The population of Bavaria is almost 
 entirely of the Germanic race, and about three- 
 fourths of its inhabitants are Catholics. Near 
 the middle of the afternoon we arrived in 
 Munich, and having chosen a hotel not far 
 from the railroad station, and having secured 
 rooms, we started out to see the city. Munich, 
 which was originally a monastic town, is not 
 a city of great antiquity in the European 
 sense, although if it were in America it would 
 be considered a very old city, having been a 
 place of considerable importance for about 
 seven centuries. Looked on from a modern 
 standpoint, it is one of the most attractive 
 
370 A Visit to Europe 
 
 cities of Europe. It is situated on the river 
 Isar, and contains a population of more than 
 230,000. It is stated by good authorities that 
 the excellent qualities of the water from the 
 Isar, coming as it does with quick flow from 
 the mountains of Tyrol, have much to do in 
 making Munich beer celebrated throughout 
 the world. Whether this peculiar quality was 
 discovered by the people of Munich from 
 chemical analysis, or whether they actually 
 drank some of the water, I was not informed. 
 In other countries of Europe Vienna beer ap- 
 pears to be more popular ; but when we 
 consider tlie size of an ordinary measure 
 of beer according to the Munich standard, 
 its low price, and the natural patriotism of 
 any people which influences them to patronize 
 home institutions, we can readily surmise why 
 so little Munich beer ever gets outside of 
 Bavaria. It has been noticed that the many 
 foreigners who live in Munich become quick- 
 ly attached to the native habits of the people, 
 and it is not an uncommon sight to see a 
 stranger from foreign lands sitting in some 
 public resort with a half-gallon beer-mug 
 before him, trying to look like a native of 
 the place ; and oftentimes he would not be 
 detected if he did not drink his beer in about 
 
and the Holy Land. 371 
 
 half the time taken by one to the manner 
 born. / 
 
 We went to Munich to see the manner of 
 life of its inhabitants as they appeared in the 
 churches, on the streets, in the parks, and 
 wherever we might meet them. Among the 
 first objects that I wanted to see was the Isar. 
 We took a street-car whose passengers to 
 some extent made me think of Milwaukee 
 and rode until we had crossed the swift-flow- 
 ing stream, where we alighted just at the 
 entrance into an extensive park. Here we 
 had full freedom to wander up and down the 
 river-bank, amid the shady groves and grassy 
 dells, where we could get a brief rest from 
 the scenes and noise of cities and railway 
 trains. Snatches of Munich stories of artist 
 and student life floated on dreamy wings 
 through my memory, and communicated a 
 poetic atmosphere and spirit to Munich life 
 and scenes.\ 
 
 The next day we started out at rather an 
 early hour to get a sight of the people and 
 streets in the morning; for we had found 
 from experience that the morning hour pre- 
 sents another view of the people than midday 
 or afternoon. We walked a part of the time, 
 and then would rest ourselves in some place 
 
37 2 A Visit to Europe 
 
 favorable for observation. At length we 
 reached the cathedral church, which is a 
 venerable edifice, containing a large number 
 of finely adorned altars. Near the door 
 through which we entered was a notice, 
 printed in different languages, forbidding tour- 
 ists and others during the morning hours to 
 walk about the church inspecting the paint- 
 ings and other works of art. This did not 
 apply to us, for we united some devotion 
 with our curiosity, and knelt for a short time 
 before making an inspection of each altar 
 and its adornment. In this way we better 
 appreciated what we saw ; for when with rever- 
 ential spirit one visits the different parts of 
 a church on which much labor and art have 
 been bestowed, lie gets a better conception of 
 the fitness of the work for the special objects 
 of devotion. We learned that in a few hours 
 afterwards the archbishop would bless two 
 handsome bells which were mounted near the 
 front entrance. We determined to return at 
 the time appointed, more than anything else 
 to see the archbishop and clergy. There 
 were but few present when the hour arrived. 
 The archbishop with the clergy soon appeared, 
 and began the long ceremony of benediction. 
 We also visited the church of St. 
 
and the Holy Land. 373 
 
 which is decorated in the style Usually adopt- 
 ed by the Jesuits. We entered several other 
 churches, the names of which I have forgotten. 
 Some were rich in the material and style of 
 architecture employed in their construction, 
 and one was chiefly noticeable for its ancient 
 appearance. We took the tram-cars and rode 
 through the streets containing the principal 
 public buildings ; we also made a hasty visit 
 to the University, and then passed under a 
 triumphal arch into a country-like district- 
 Having taken a long walk, we again entered 
 the street-cars to return to the more central 
 portion of the city. I have since wondered 
 why I did not visit some of the celebrated 
 Munich art-galleries. But at that time I was 
 impressed with the idea that, for a while at 
 least, I had seen enough of picture-galleries, 
 and wanted to see more of the people and 
 out-door life and characteristics of Europe. 
 Not that I was weary of the works of the 
 great masters, but, outside of those that I 
 might meet in the churches, I did not wish to 
 put myself to the inconvenience of going to 
 the places where they were exhibited. We took 
 two of our meals in restaurants. The second 
 place we visited for that purpose appeared to 
 be a favorite resort of students and young 
 
374 A Visit to Europe 
 
 artists. Next to German, English was the 
 language oftenest heard among them.\ 
 
 When evening came two of our number 
 sought our rooms for rest, but our companion 
 declared that evening was the best time to 
 enjoy Munich life and to witness her people 
 in their gayest mood. During the night it 
 commenced to rain, and when I looked out of 
 my window in the morning it appeared very 
 much like the lirst day of the Deluge. I love 
 a rainy day when I can remain in- doors, and 
 under almost any circumstances I do not 
 dislike it. The streets and city had wonder- 
 fully changed, under the dark shadows of the 
 storm, from what they were on the bright 
 day preceding, but I enjoyed them almost 
 better. \ 
 
 Towards noon we were passing out of the 
 city on the train for Ulm. The country was 
 drenched by the rain, which still continued. 
 As a consequence, nature was clothed in a 
 clean, fresh mantle of beauty, which needed 
 only the bright rays of the sun to make it a 
 smiling green. We passed through Augsburg, 
 which is one of the oldest cities -of Germany, 
 colonized by the Emperor Augustus on a site 
 already inhabited, and called Damasia. The 
 country through which we passed was more 
 
and the Holy Land. 375 
 
 pleasing to my eyes than that froni Lindau to 
 
 Munich. / 
 
 Early in the afternoon we crossed the Danube 
 and arrived in Ulm, where we had concluded to 
 spend the remainder of the day and the night. 
 We rarely travelled by night, as we wished to 
 see the whole country through which we jour- 
 neyed. We selected a hotel near the station. 
 There were only a few other guests, but 
 among them was a priest from Switzerland, 
 who was much interested in the narrations 
 of one of my companions about the Holy 
 Land. After making all necessary arrange- 
 ments we started out to take a stroll through 
 the city. The rain had almost entirely ceased, 
 although at times we found it convenient to 
 make use of our umbrellas. Ulm is a quaint 
 old Swabian town, and its buildings are 
 stately and old-fashioned. The waters of its 
 various streams were rushing past its pictur- 
 esque old mills and under its venerable 
 bridges, soon to join the deeper waters of the 
 Danube. From this point the Danube becomes 
 fully navigable, and in consequence Ulm has 
 always been an important commercial centre./ 
 
 The chief object of interest in the city is 
 the " cathedral," which is more than five 
 hundred years old. It is now in the hands 
 
3/6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 of the Protestants, and is one of the largest 
 Protestant churches in Germany, being 420 
 feet in length and 165 feet in width. If it 
 had been -built by them it would not have 
 been so large. Notwithstanding some late ef- 
 forts at restoration, it continues to appear 
 very dilapidated. A feeling of sorrow entered 
 my heart when I considered that it is of so lit- 
 tle use to them, and how much labor and self- 
 sacrifice it cost those who built it in the 
 spirit of faith, with full confidence that so 
 long as it would exist it should be the temple 
 of sacrifice and the habitation of the sacrificial 
 Victim. In the large sacristy we were shown, 
 as curiosities, the ancient adornments of the 
 altars and church : an old crucifix, some sa- 
 cred paintings and metal reliefs, and other 
 objects once held in veneration, a part of 
 them preserved for their intrinsic value, and 
 others because they were presented by kings 
 and emperors. When it was late in the after- 
 noon we returned to our hotel for dinner. 
 The proprietor, who was a Catholic, tried to 
 make us feel quite at home, in which he 
 was very successful. \ 
 
 The next morning we took the train for 
 Mainz, and during the forenoon passed through 
 the fertile kingdom of Wurtemberg. We en- 
 
and the Holy Land. 377 
 
 joyed the fine country, the w^ll- cultivated 
 fields, and the cities and villages along the 
 line of road, surrounded by their gardens and 
 park-like suburbs. But we were not specially 
 interested until we began to approach the re 
 gion of Heidelberg. It is an ancient univer- 
 sity town, now belonging to Baden, situated 
 on the river Neckar, amidst hills whose slop- 
 ing sides are covered with vineyards. For 
 fully an hour, including the stop at the sta- 
 tion, we enjoyed its romantic surroundings. 
 Yet, after all, its scenery could not compare 
 with that of scores of other places which we 
 saw. But to me there was a poetic enchant- 
 ment of my youth spread over the scene. It was 
 like the remembrance of something humanly sa- 
 cred, almost forgotten and suddenly revived; 
 or, if it were possible, the memory of some- 
 thing never experienced, but so vividly hoped 
 for that it had become a partaker of some 
 of the attributes of actual existence ; or like 
 something that had been realized in another 
 state of existence, and now remembered as if 
 a dream. When I was a Protestant student 
 in college I had asked my father to let 
 me finish my studies in Heidelberg. He did 
 not then consent, because it was so far away 
 from koine, But when the time came that 
 
378 A Visit to Europe 
 
 my desire might have been gratified, God's 
 providence had changed the whole direction of 
 my life. When I looked out over the place 
 that might have been my home for years, 
 and saw the scenes that might have become 
 familiar to my eyes, it made a sad, strange 
 impression, like, if it could be so, the loving 
 remembrance of a place that had reflected 
 its image in my soul, but which I had never 
 seen. Heidelberg soon disappeared, and the 
 imagination of youth and the vision of an 
 hour now stand side by side in fancy, and 
 the one does not seem much less real than 
 the other. For a considerable distance the 
 train ran by the side of the Neckar, which 
 we at length crossed, and shortly after entered 
 Hesse-Darmstadt. About four o'clock in the 
 afternoon we reached Mainz, the city of St. 
 Boniface, Apostle of Germany, 
 
and the Holy Land. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 FEOM MAINZ TO COLOGNE THE VINE-CLAD AND 
 CASTLE-CROWNED KHINE. 
 
 MAINZ, or Mayence the ancient Roman Mo- 
 guntiacum is a fortified town situated on the 
 Rhine in Hesse-Darmstadt opposite Nassau. 
 It was a Roman camp in the time of the 
 empire, and contains many remnants of the 
 occupation of the Consul Drusus, who died 
 just before the beginning of the Christian era. 
 St. Boniface chose Mainz for his archiepisco- 
 pal see about the middle of the eighth century, 
 and ever since it has been an ecclesiastical 
 centre of great influence. Having taken rooms 
 in the hotel which we had chosen, we ram- 
 bled about the city until near dark. Some 
 kind of musical festival was in progress, and 
 the streets had put on a holiday appearance. 
 Our first visit was to the cathedral, the erection 
 of which was commenced in the tenth century. 
 It is a venerable building witli imposing bat- 
 tlements and towers, and many times popes 
 and emperors have passed under its portals 
 within its walls. It has pews, like most of the 
 German churches which we entered. In some 
 
380 A Visit to Europe 
 
 churches of Europe chairs having kneeling- 
 stools were so well arranged in rows that 
 they answered all the purposes of pews. In 
 the Guttenberg Place we saw the statue of 
 Guttenberg, the inventor of printing, who was 
 a native of the city. 
 
 Towards evening we wandered into the sub- 
 urbs to an eminence overlooking the town 
 and commanding a fine view of the Rhine and 
 surrounding country. And when the dark 
 shadows of coming night enveloped the earth, 
 and the lights appeared in the city and on 
 the river, we conversed in lower tones, and 
 I at least felt our solitude, but with a vivid 
 consciousness that we were near one of the 
 great arteries of the world's life, so near that 
 we could feel a tremulous movement from its 
 pulsation ; and so powerful was the mysterious 
 influence of the time and place that, if I had 
 my friends around me, here would I be con- 
 tent to dwell in the land of the strnnger.\ 
 
 The next morning, which was Sunday, we 
 attended Mass in the cathedral, preparatory 
 to taking the boat at nine o'clock. At that 
 hour we* went on board a pleasant Rhine steam- 
 er, which soon after swung out into the stream. 
 The voyage before us was the one so much 
 praised by all who have ever made it ; for we 
 
and the Holy Land. 381 
 
 were about to pass through the most interest- 
 ing scenery of the celebrated river whose 
 mountainous banks are vine-clad and castle- 
 crowned. It would be useless to attempt to 
 describe the towns, the castles, and places of 
 historic name, or to recite the innumerable 
 legends connected with this romantic "Para- 
 dise of Germany." During the first and last 
 part of the journey the country on either side 
 was comparatively level, but during the great- 
 er portion of the voyage it presented a series 
 of rocky heights and luxuriant undulations, 
 marked by the ruins of Roman occupation, 
 and adorned with the castellated strongholds 
 and picturesque towns of the middle ages./ 
 * The castle of Johannisberg, on its vine-cov- 
 ered hill, founded as a priory in the year 1006, 
 appeared upon our right, and, after a while, 
 Bingen on our left, at the entrance of the 
 fair valley of the Nahe, surrounded by its 
 vineyards, and Riidesheim on the opposite side 
 of the river, above which, on a high slope of 
 the Niederwald, the statue of Germania raised 
 its colossal form. It was a beautiful day, and 
 our boat glided over the waters of the romantic 
 stream, between its historic banks, with their 
 ever-changing scenery, until it had borne us in- 
 to the very midst of that region where the fan- 
 
382 A Visit to Eziropt 
 
 cies of dream -land, the fairy scenes of legen- 
 dary stories, and the grand dramas of history 
 exert a mysterious influence upon the thoughts 
 of men who wander within their realms. The 
 appropriate lines of an English poet of the last 
 century could well be applied to our summer- 
 day voyage and the scenes that we saw : 
 
 "Twas morn, and beautiful the mountain's brow 
 Hung with the clusters of the bending vine 
 Shone in the early light, when on the Rhine 
 
 We sailed and heard the waters round the prow 
 
 In murmurs parting; varying as we go, 
 Rocks after rocks come forward and retire, 
 As some gray convent wall or sunlit spire 
 
 Starts up along the banks, unfolding slow. 
 
 Here castles,' like the prisons of despair, 
 Frown as we pass ! there, on the vineyard's side, 
 The bursting sunshine pours its streaming tide; 
 
 While grief, forgetful amid scenes so fair, 
 Counts not the hours of a long summer's day, 
 Nor heeds how fast the prospect winds away." / 
 
 Among the many places that attracted our 
 attention, either in themselves or because we 
 already had some knowledge of their legends 
 and history, I will only mention a few : Son- 
 neck castle ; Lorch, one of the oldest of the 
 Rhenish towns, at the entrance of a beautiful 
 valley rich in fairy legends ; Bacharach, which 
 
and the Holy Land. 383 
 
 derives its name from a rock ill, the river 
 called the "Bacchi-Ara" altar of Bacchus; 
 Caub, with a palatine castle in the centre of 
 the stream, and the castle of Gutenfels above 
 the town ; the castle of Rheinstein ; the pleas- 
 antly situated town of Oberwesel and Schon- 
 berg castle ; the rugged and steep Loreley 
 rock, where the Siren sits with the golden 
 harp, and which returns fifteen echoes and 
 has a legend connected with it which last is 
 also true of the rocks a little higher up the 
 river in mid channel and called the Seven 
 Sisters ; Stolzenfels, a fine castle of the Middle 
 Ages ; St. Goar arid the Rheinfels, a strong 
 robber castle of the thirteenth century ; the 
 castles called the "Cat" and the "Mouse"; 
 Lalmeck castle, built in the year 900 ; the 
 Brothers, Sternberg and Liebenstein, the sub- 
 ject of a legend ; the fine old castles of 
 Braubach and Marksburg ; the city of Cob- 
 lence, the Roman Confluentia, where the Em- 
 peror Caligula was born, and which possesses 
 the church of St. Castor, easily recognized 
 by its four towers, and built in the year 
 836 ; the White Tower, where Julius Caesar 
 crossed the Rhine on a bridge described in 
 his Commentaries; the fine modern, Gothic 
 Apollinaris church, built by the renowned 
 
384 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Zwirner, the restorer of the cathedral of 
 Cologne; Roland's rock, the beautiful island 
 of Nonnenwerth, and "the castled crag of 
 Drachenfels," the most celebrated of the 
 Seven Mountains, where the dragon was slain 
 by the hero Siegfried of the old German epic 
 poem, Nibelungenlied ; and, not far distant 
 across the river, G-odesberg with its stately 
 old castle on the hill. / 
 
 We left the grander region of the Rhine 
 when we passed the university city of Bonn 
 the Roman Bonna which ancient town is 
 said to have embraced Christianity within the 
 first century of the Christian era, and which 
 contains a minster built by the Empress St. 
 Helena, which was founded by her in the 
 year 320. In a short time the glorious spires 
 of the cathedral of Cologne appeared in the 
 distance. No one who has seen their picture 
 could mistake the edifice to which they be- 
 long. Like the cathedral of Milan, that of 
 Cologne is familiar to the eyes of the civil- 
 ized world. In half an hour our boat had 
 reached its landing, and we took a conveyance 
 to a hotel in the immediate vicinity of the 
 cathedral. \ 
 
 Cologne was founded by the Roman Em- 
 peror Claudius-, A.D. 51, and named Colonia 
 
and the Holy Land. 385 
 
 Agrippina in honor of his wife, Agrippina, 
 who was born in Cologne when 4 it was a 
 Roman camp, and who was the daughter of 
 Germanicus, and sister of Caligula, and the 
 mother of Nero. It is claimed that even to 
 this day many of the citizens of Cologne have 
 much of the old Roman blood coursing 
 through their veins, and some pretend to see 
 in their features and complexions traces of 
 their Roman descent. I went to Cologne to 
 see the cathedral, and whenever I left the 
 hotel I directed my steps thitherward, and 
 spent nearly all my time in and around it. 
 There are other grand old churches in Cologne, 
 but I did not visit them, for I wanted to leave 
 the city with one lasting impression on my 
 memory. As soon as we had arranged matters 
 at the hotel and our baggage had arrived we 
 went to the cathedral. The first Christian 
 church was established here during the time 
 of the Roman occupation, but the old cathe- 
 dral was founded early in the ninlh century 
 on the site of the ancient citadel. The present 
 edifice was begun about the middle of the thir- 
 teenth century ; it is dedicated to St. Peter, 
 and is frequently called St. Peter's of the 
 North. It is often styled the u queen of ca- 
 thedrals and the pearl of Gothic churches," 
 
386 A Visit to Europe 
 
 which designation is altogether fitting. When 
 we entered the church the people were begin- 
 ning to assemble for afternoon services. We 
 had time, before they commenced, to walk 
 through the different parts of the vast edifice, 
 and then went outside to get a look at its ex- 
 ternal proportions and beauty. When we re- 
 entered we found that a large audience was 
 listening to a sermon which was delivered with 
 much spirit and animation. \ 
 
 When the sermon was ended many left the 
 church, while the larger number removed to 
 another part of the church where Benediction 
 of the Most Holy Sacrament was to be given. 
 The music, as near as I can remember, was 
 first a beautiful solo by a female voice, which 
 under the circumstances I never like or it 
 may have been a piece by a select choir with 
 that one voice chiefly prominent and after- 
 wards singing by the whole congregation, 
 which I always like. When Benediction was 
 over I had more liberty to walk through the 
 church and admire its exquisite architecture. 
 It springs up from the strong foundations of 
 faith on which it was begun into the ten 
 thousand enduring graces and beauties of love 
 and devotion in which it abounds, on the in- 
 side of its sacred walls catching the prismatic 
 
and the Holy Land. 387 
 
 colors of heaven, and on the outside, on its 
 flying buttresses and forests of pinnacles and 
 traceries, and on its spires reaching towards 
 the sky, the golden sunlight of God's counte- 
 nance. I went outside and walked around it 
 different times, often standing for a while to 
 see it more perfectly, and delighted with every 
 point of view. For several hours I looked 
 on the interior and exterior of this marvellous 
 creation of genius and religion, which ravishes 
 the eye but far more expands the soul, and 
 admired ; but how in so short a time could 
 I properly appreciate Cologne's cathedral? 
 
 It contains the entire relics bones and skulls 
 of the three Wise Men from the East who 
 can^e to Bethlehem to adore the Infant Sa- 
 viour, whose names are handed down by tradi- 
 tion as Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar. These 
 relics formerly belonged to the cathedral of 
 Milan, but were transferred to her Gothic sis- 
 ter by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.x 
 
388 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 FROM THE BANKS OF THE RHINE TO BELGIUM'S 
 AND HOLLAND'S CAPITALS. 
 
 THE next morning we took the train for 
 Brussels, intending to break our journey for 
 a few* hours at Aix- la-Chapel le. The part of 
 the country through which we iirst passed 
 was flat and level, but fertile and well culti- 
 vated. In less than two hours we had arrived 
 at the last-named city, and alighted from the 
 train to spend a brief and pleasant time in 
 that interesting town where Charlemagne fixed 
 his residence, where he was buried, and which 
 he made second city of his empire. \ 
 
 We decided to walk leisurely through the 
 streets of this historic old place on our way 
 to the cathedral, which was the principal ob- 
 ject of our visit. A church comparatively 
 new, built in the Gothic style, attracted our at- 
 tention and we entered. It was a real modern 
 gem of architectural beauty. When we reached 
 the cathedral Mass was being offered, and a 
 large number of worshippers were present. Af- 
 ter Mass was finished we found ourselves at 
 full liberty to go through the many different 
 
and the Holy Land. 389 
 
 parts of the church, which is filled with relics 
 and antiquities. It was built by Charlemagne, 
 and was consecrated in the year 804 by Pope 
 St. Leo III., who came all the way from Rome 
 for the occasion. There were present at the 
 ceremony many princes and cardinals and 
 three hundred and sixty-three bishops. Thirty- 
 seven emperors and eleven empresses have been 
 crowned within its walls. It possesses many 
 remarkable relics, presented to Charlemagne 
 by different kings and pontiffs. Among them 
 are the dress of the Blessed Virgin, the 
 swaddling-clothes of the Infant Jesus in Beth- 
 lehem, the cloth which encircled the loins of 
 our Lord on the cross, the cloth which en- 
 veloped the head of St. John the Baptist af- 
 ter his death, the cincture of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin, the leathern belt of our Lord, a piece of 
 the cord with which the hands of our Lord 
 were bound during His Passion, a portion of 
 the sponge that was dipped in vinegar and 
 gall and presented to Him, a rib of St. Ste- 
 phen, and many other relics of great import- 
 ance. A few of the greatest are exposed pub- 
 licly only once in seven years. We were ad- 
 mitted to the treasury and were permitted to 
 venerate its sacred treasures, whether all of 
 them there are so many I cannot well re- 
 
390 A Visit to Europe 
 
 member. They are kept in strong iron safes 
 which were opened for us and many of 
 them are preserved in costly reliquaries. We 
 also saw the throne of Charlemagne, and his 
 empty sarcophagus, in which, long before his 
 time, one of the greatest Roman emperors had 
 likewise been buried. The other historical ob- 
 jects which were pointed out to us were so 
 many that, although interesting in themselves, 
 their list would be long and tedious. / 
 
 In due time we took the train for Brus- 
 sels. It was not long before we passed out 
 of German territory into Belgium. Our first 
 experience of the Belgian land was most agree- 
 able, for we were traversing the most pic- 
 turesque region which that country affords. 
 Our road ran through a continual succession 
 of beautiful valleys, crossing and recrossing 
 the charming river Vesdre, past delightful vil- 
 lages under the protecting shelter of rugged 
 and well-wooded hills ; and the green, well- 
 watered pastures, adjoining luxuriant meadows, 
 were stocked with plentiful herds of sleek, 
 noble-looking cattle. Every farm seemed to be 
 a perfect rural picture in itself, on the banks 
 of the rushing river, adorned with trees, where 
 the eye could rest on pleasant, comfortable 
 farm houses and nestling villages, and the 
 
and the Holy Land. 391 
 
 landscape encircled by a rustic frame of ro- 
 mantic hills.v 
 
 After more than an hour we passed through 
 Liege, the industrious capital of the Walloon 
 district. The Walloons are of Celtic race, and 
 have ever enjoyed the distinction of being a 
 hardy, hard-working, and brave people. Their 
 Flemish fellow-countrymen on the west in 
 Brabant, of which Brussels is the centre, and 
 in other provinces, are of Germanic origin, 
 and in the whole country are in a small 
 majority over their Walloon compatriots. The 
 remainder of the journey to Brussels was at 
 first through a district of industrial activity, 
 and for two hours afterwards through a level, 
 well-cultivated country, passing on our way 
 the university town of Louvain. In Rome and 
 southern Italy high silk hats are extremely 
 rare. As one goes farther north they become 
 more frequent, and in France and England, 
 especially in Paris and London, they are the 
 stylish hats ; but Belgium and Holland seem 
 to be their own country, and they are seen 
 everywhere on the heads of two- thirds of all 
 well-dressed gentlemen. In our compartment 
 besides ourselves were five gentlemen, of whom 
 four wore high silk hats, and the other one 
 looked lonesome. Oar fellow-travellers were 
 
392 A Visit to Europe 
 
 speaking a language which, to us was alto- 
 gether strange ; whether it was Walloon or 
 Flemish I am unable to decide ; and the printed 
 words that we saw, often occupying places of 
 prominence, were a wonder to the eye, and, 
 when spoken, a mystery to the ear. ( 
 
 About four o'clock we reached the Station 
 du Nord, and for our sojourn we chose the 
 Grand Hotel Gernay, because it was near the 
 station where we arrived and from which we 
 would take our departure. Brussels dates 
 back to the eighth century, when it was a 
 town of but little importance. At the pre- 
 sent time, including its extensive suburbs, its 
 population is nearly 400,000, but the city 
 proper does not contain half that number of 
 inhabitants. It is a finely built city, with 
 many wide and splendid streets, and is often 
 called "Paris in miniature," which city it 
 pretends to rival, but with the magnificence 
 of which it can never hope to compare. We 
 strolled through the streets during the re 
 mainder of the afternoon and early evening ; 
 and on the following day we visited those 
 parts of the city that might prove to be of 
 special interest. v 
 
 The cathedral of St. Gudule and St. 
 Michael is a grand Gothic building, 354 feet 
 
and the Holy Land. 393 
 
 long by 165 feet wide. It was built in the 
 thirteenth century on the site of a former 
 church erected in the eleventh century. It 
 contains some of the finest painted windows 
 in Europe, and its pulpit is considered one of 
 the great masterpieces of carving, representing 
 the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the 
 Garden of Eden, and the redemption of 
 Christ. St. Gudule, to whom the cathedral 
 is dedicated, is patroness of Brussels. The 
 Gothic structure called the Hotel de Ville, or 
 city hall, is also a noble edifice, which was 
 begun at the opening of the fifteenth century. 
 It is claimed that the Place in front is one 
 of the finest and most picturesque mediaeval 
 squares in existence. On our way to the ca- 
 thedral of St. Gudule we saw a hearse stand- 
 ing in front of a church, and we knew that 
 a funeral was being solemnized. We entered, 
 and saw at least one ceremony that we had 
 never before seen : a large number of men 
 were advancing to the altar, and in turn 
 kissed the paten held by the celebrant. At 
 the time we did not know the meaning of 
 the custom, but afterwards a Belgian priest 
 in America explained to me its significance, 
 which is by no means inappropriate. We 
 visited the cathedral more than once, and 
 
394 ^ Visit to Europe 
 
 admired the many works of art with which it 
 is enriched. Chairs with kneeling-stools were 
 well arranged for worshippers, many of which 
 were finely cushioned. We received many in- 
 vitations from agents to visit manufactories 
 of the celebrated Brussels lace, none of which 
 I accepted. In all Belgium about 130,000 
 women are employed in this industry. Across 
 the street from St. Gudule's I entered a 
 church-goods store, attracted by a picture of 
 Louise Lateau. I found the proprietor very 
 polite, and, although he knew that I did not 
 intend to buy, he showed me many rich, hand- 
 worked vestments of correct ecclesiastical 
 style. He also showed me many orders for 
 his goods from America, and I learned that 
 he was president of a society for the produc- 
 tion of all kinds of church goods according 
 to strict rubrical patterns. We wandered 
 through the boulevards and parks in a leis- 
 urely manner, and entered the churches, and 
 saw all we could see of the life and habits 
 of the people. In some of the older parts of 
 the city, where the people retain their old 
 Flemish customs, these walks were specially 
 interesting. One of my companions went out 
 of town to see the battle-field of Waterloo. 
 It had been our intention to return to Paris 
 
and the Holy Land, 395 
 
 and visit Lourdes. But as our time was lim- 
 ited, and as the cholera was raging in a 
 portion of southern France, and the conse- 
 quent excitement was extending throughout 
 the country, we feared that we might be 
 somewhere delayed by an unexpected quaran- 
 tine, and therefore reluctantly abandoned our 
 journey to that celebrated shrine of Our 
 Blessed Lady.\ 
 
 The next morning we took the train for 
 Rotterdam, in Holland. The first and last 
 part of the journey was through an interest- 
 ing country. In a short time we reached 
 Mechlin, or Malines, an archiepiscopal see, 
 and within an hour Antwerp came in sight, 
 which is the principal seaport town of Bel- 
 gium, and one of the strongest fortresses on 
 the Continent. It was founded in the seventh 
 century, and at one time was considered the 
 wealthiest city in Europe. The high tower of 
 its famous cathedral rose in the distance, 
 which is the largest and is considered the 
 finest Gothic church in the Netherlands, and 
 is enriched with the masterpieces of Rubens 
 and others of the Antwerpian school of art- 
 ists. We saw some Belgian priests leaving 
 the train, who were the last of the priests of 
 Europe whom we saw dressed in the full 
 clerical habit : cassock, cincture, clerical hat, 
 
396 A Visit to Europe 
 
 and mantle. This is the dress, with some 
 slight variations, of all clergymen in Italy, 
 France and Belgium, and most other Catholic 
 countries of Europe. Why it is not worn in 
 some other countries which we visited, which 
 in every sense are Catholic, I do not pretend 
 to understand.\ 
 
 Leaving Antwerp we passed over the moor- 
 lands of northern Belgium and southern Hol- 
 land. Our baggage had to suffer an exami- 
 nation by the Dutch custom-house officials at 
 Roosendaal, which is a few miles inside the 
 limits of Dutch territory. When we passed 
 over an arm of the sea, called Hollandsch 
 Diep, on a bridge which cost more than two 
 million dollars and is one and five-eighths of 
 a mile long, we began to realize that we were 
 indeed in the Low Countries. We passed the 
 city of Dort, and over another bridge, the 
 scenery becoming more and more characteris- 
 tic of Holland. Almost continually before our 
 eyes was some scene that would have an- 
 swered admirably for a Dutch landscape in 
 painting: a low, flat plain, intersected by 
 canals with trees on their borders, farm -houses 
 with quaint gables, and numerous wind-mills, 
 some standing still and others waving their 
 ]ong, gigantic arms.\ 
 
 About noon we arrived in Rotterdam. Hav- 
 
and the Holy Land. 397 
 
 irig secured rooms at the Hotel Weimar, and as 
 we should have all the following day to remain 
 in Rotterdam, we determined to take the next 
 train, at about two o'clock, to make an af- 
 ternoon visit to The Hague, which is not quite 
 fifteen miles distant. The name of the rail- 
 road is " Hollandsche Spoorweg." The coun- 
 try is the same flat expanse everywhere. The 
 canals take the place of roads, fences, and 
 hedges in other lands.; and it was a peculiar 
 sight to see the masts and sails of a vessel 
 rising in the midst of fields and farms. Two 
 rather important towns, of a little more than 
 20,000 population each, are on the line between 
 the two larger cities ; they are Schiedam and 
 Delft, the former boasting of 230 distilleries, 
 which manufacture the famous ''Hollands," or 
 "Schiedam schnapps," and the latter was cele- 
 brated in former times for its pottery and 
 porcelain works, and is a pleasant town, one- 
 tjiird of whose population is Catholic. / 
 
 We soon alighted from the train at The 
 Hague, which is the capital of Holland and 
 residence of the king. It is a city of 123,000 
 inhabitants, one third of whom are Catholics. 
 Although Holland is a Protestant country, two- 
 fifths of its people are Catholics, a fact which 
 a large number of writers, when they have 
 
398 A Visit to Europe 
 
 spoken of Protestant Holland, probably never 
 mistrusted. The Hague is considered the finest 
 city of Holland, having broad streets, spacious 
 squares and parks, and substantial and im- 
 posing edifices. 
 
 I was agreeably surprised at one thing in 
 Holland that such a large number of the 
 people have remained so old-fashioned. In 
 many other parts of Europe 1 was very much 
 disappointed in this regard, but in Holland 
 I could not complain at least of the female 
 attire. Their costumes, head-dresses, and orna- 
 ments were very attractive to one like me, 
 whose poetic fancy revels in the romantic days 
 and scenes of long ago./ 
 
 The following day was spent in Rotterdam, 
 a town of 157,000 population one-sixth of 
 which is Catholic and the second city of the 
 kingdom. It is intersected in every direction 
 by canals, which are spanned by numerous 
 draw-bridges. In Rotterdam I never succeeded 
 in getting any idea of the cardinal points, 
 and I am not at all sure that I did not think 
 that north was south and east was west. 
 Early in the morning we started out to see 
 the "sights," which include the whole town 
 rather than anything in particular. The 
 houses are often four, five, and six stories 
 
and the Holy Land. 399 
 
 high, and are usually very much out of the 
 perpendicular. One might easily imagine that 
 he had discovered a city of leaning towers, 
 which had been built only, one- third their in- 
 tended height when work on them had been 
 stopped through fear that they might topple 
 over ; or he might suppose that an earthquake 
 had shaken the city, and had skilfully twisted 
 it out of shape, but in every part had left it 
 standing. This peculiarity is due to the soft, 
 swampy nature of the ground, which prevents 
 a firm foundation./ 
 
 I crossed over bridges and wandered through 
 shady streets which run by the side of the 
 great water thoroughfares of the city, which 
 are able to float the largest East-Indiamen. I 
 strolled down the broad, busy quay called the 
 Boompjes, where the Dutch East India Com- 
 pany's house was located, but which is now 
 turned into colonial warehouses, and imagined 
 that I saw its daily scenes in the time of 
 Holland's commercial greatness, when so many 
 Hollanders acquired those fortunes which have 
 left their results to the present generation, and 
 which have made their impress on the man- 
 ners and appearance of the moneyed aristo- 
 cracy of Holland of the present day. After in- 
 quiry I found my way to one of the Catholic 
 
4oo A Visit to Europe 
 
 churches, which possessed a number of paint- 
 ings of some merit. As preparations were be- 
 ing made for Mass, I waited. For a week- 
 day there was a generous attendance, and I 
 noticed that there were present a large num- 
 ber of men of the more comfortable classes, 
 judging from their dress and respectable ap- 
 pearance. They nearly all carried in their 
 hands on entering the church the ever-pop- 
 ular high silk hat. A very respectable-ap- 
 pearing, portly gentleman, past the middle age, 
 entered the pew where I was kneeling. He 
 proceeded to unlock a drawer under the pew 
 in front, taking from it his prayer-book and 
 two very soft kneeling- cushions, one of which 
 he offered to me. This drew my attention to 
 the fact that nearly every pew was supplied 
 with the same convenience, which let alone 
 the cushions seemed to me to be a very use- 
 ful contrivance ; nor could I help admire the 
 old gentleman's sincere politeness./ 
 
 After Mass I again wandered leisurely 
 through the streets, enjoying the people and 
 houses, and in a little while met one of my 
 companions ; we were both beginning to get 
 lonesome, and were glad to continue our ram- 
 bles together. In Holland, August is one of 
 the most pleasant months of the year, and 
 
and the Holy Land. 401 
 
 the day was a brief interval of sunshiny ex- 
 istence. We entered one other church, which 
 appeared to belong to the Jesuits, where .a 
 priest was instructing a class in catechism. 
 Several times we passed through the square 
 in which stands the bronze statue of the 
 erudite and distinguished Erasmus of Rotter- 
 dam. As we had sufficient free time, I had 
 once thought of visiting the museum, which 
 contains some good paintings by eminent 
 Dutch artists ; but I finally concluded to let 
 the visit go, on account of my usual rea- 
 son, that I preferred the living scenes around 
 me in a strange land. At the hotel I found 
 a description of one of the wonders of the 
 museum, which was supposed to have been 
 written in our mother tongue, and was the 
 most ridiculous and amusing specimen of 
 English that I remember ever to have read ; 
 yet it was meant in all earnestness to be a 
 very brilliant production. / 
 
402 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 RETURN TO ENGLAND, AND A TRIP TO SCOTLAND. 
 
 / TOWARDS evening we went aboard the 
 steamer for Harwich, where we should con- 
 nect with the train for London. We sailed 
 down the wide river, meeting and passing 
 many vessels of diiferent kinds which were 
 hurrying, by quick stroke of wheel or under 
 full sail, towards their various destinations. 
 When the day began to show signs that its 
 departure was near, the broad waters of 
 the North Sea spread out before us, and as 
 we floated out upon their bosom, the low 
 lines of the Holland coast gradually receded 
 from our sight. And when they seemed sub- 
 merged beneath the wave, the giant windmills 
 swung their huge arms, as if waving an adieu 
 to the wliite- winged ships and smoky steamers 
 leaving their shores ; and we, turning our 
 faces towards the land, bid farewell to the 
 Continent of Europe./ 
 
 The next morning, soon after we, had risen, 
 our steamer entered the beautiful harbor of 
 Harwich, which indents the eastern shore of 
 England, and whose calm surface shone in the 
 
and the Holy Land. 403 
 
 morning sun like a sea of crystal, bearing on 
 its waveless waters a large number of vessels 
 at anchor. The extensive shipping which some 
 of those small, sea-girt countries possess is 
 something wonderful. It seemed strange and 
 pleasant to hear once more the English lan- 
 guage spoken everywhere around us./ 
 
 In about half an hour the railway train 
 moved out of the station for London. We 
 passed from corner to corner through the fer- 
 tile county of Essex, whose farms are classed 
 among the best in England. The morning was 
 foggy, but it did not prevent a partial view 
 of the clumps of magnificent trees, green 
 hedges, grassy fields, herds of fine cattle, and 
 comfortable farm-houses, which form such 
 striking features of the rural districts of Eng- 
 land. It was yet morning when we arrived 
 in London. We directed our driver to convey 
 us to the neighborhood of Charing Cross, 
 where we engaged rooms at the hotel of the 
 Golden Cross. On account of language and fa- 
 miliar objects on the streets, before the bustle 
 of the day began we felt a kind of feeling of 
 "home again," which was qiiickly dispelled 
 when we left the vicinity of the Strand and 
 the streets which are a continuation of it on 
 either end. During the day we visited some 
 
404 A Visit to Europe 
 
 other parts of the city, especially Kensington, 
 but the most of our time was spent in 
 the district between Charing Cross and St. 
 Paul's. In the afternoon we took a ride on 
 the Thames from London Bridge to Battersea 
 and return, in order to see the city from the 
 river. It would be a useless task to attempt 
 to describe what we saw in London, but our 
 second visit was spent in quietly observing 
 the people and characteristics of the city, in 
 such a manner that some particular impres- 
 sion might be left in the mind, rather than 
 have it filled with a confused mass of many 
 things seen and only half-remembered. / 
 
 The following day one of my companions 
 and myself determined to make a visit to 
 Oxford, although we should have only two 
 hours to remain in that old university town. 
 Our companion preferred to remain in the 
 city, as he wished to see the inside of the 
 Tower of London, which we often saw in the 
 distance, but had not visited. The journey to 
 Oxford was a pleasant one. occasionally reveal- 
 ing choice views of English country scenery. 
 In about two hours the spires of Oxford 
 came in sight./ 
 
 The university was founded by King Alfred 
 the Great in the year 872, and has already 
 
and the Holy Land. 405 
 
 celebrated its millennial anniversary. In the 
 Middle Ages it was sometimes attended by 
 as many as thirty thousand students. At the 
 present time it consists of twenty colleges, 
 with an attendance of about two thousand. 
 We told the driver to drive to every college 
 in the city, although we did not enter them, 
 but when he came to each he told us its 
 name. These ancient piles of masonry, with 
 their fine old towers, and niches, and statues 
 of mediaeval bishops, in many respects have 
 a Catholic appearance on the outside, and 
 one could readily imagine that he is in a 
 venerable Catholic city of an old Catholic 
 land. It is not strange that the great tradi- 
 tions of the past should sometimes exert their 
 influence on the minds of the students and 
 professors within these college walls ; it is 
 stranger that the spirits of the old abbots 
 and bishops who made Oxford illustrious do 
 not move before the astonished eyes of the 
 modern occupants of their ancient founda- 
 tions, and demand their own again. It is 
 stranger how men can resist that appeal to 
 return to the bosom and life of the Church 
 which every stone in each gray edifice, and 
 every memory of Oxford's glorious days, and 
 every noble spirit of her saintly sons, is con- 
 
406 A Visit to Europe 
 
 stantly making. The very stones in her walls 
 cry out, Return ! and a hundred thousand 
 souls, for ever dear to God, make intercession 
 with Him that Oxford may find the old paths 
 from which she lias strayed. I am glad that 
 I did not enter any of those ancient cloisters 
 of devotion and learning, to sadden my soul 
 with the sight of " desolation standing in the 
 holy place." 
 
 We returned to the station in time to take 
 the one o'clock train back to London. After 
 some distance the line diverged from the one 
 on which we came, and thus we enjoyed the 
 pleasure of another route. We passed in 
 sight of Windsor Castle, the principal resi- 
 dence of the kings and queens of England. 
 It covers twelve acres of ground, and from 
 the railway presents a majestic appearance. 
 The present edifice was founded by William 
 the Conqueror, but Windsor was the residence 
 of the old Saxon kings. Across the Thames 
 is the town of Eton, chiefly noted for its 
 college./ 
 
 We had decided to take each his own course, 
 during the coming days, until Monday even- 
 ing, when we would meet in Liverpool. My 
 route lay to the north, for I had determined 
 to see York, with its old cathedral, and to 
 
and the Holy Land. 407 
 
 climb the hills of Edinburgh. The train which 
 I took left London soon after five o'clock. 
 
 For several hours the journey led through 
 a fine agricultural region, mostly set apart 
 for pastures and meadows. My heart is de- 
 lighted more than my eyes with the quiet 
 scenes of the country in a tastefully-kept and 
 well-cultivated land. Even the uneducated, 
 but, in this matter, not altogether uncultivated 
 human heart possesses many of the feelings 
 of nature's artist, by which the green fields, 
 the sunny dales, the sheltering trees, the 
 greensward on the sloping hills, the curling- 
 smoke rising from the hearth-fires of faithful 
 neighbors, seen in the innocent days of 
 youtb, in the stronger and deeper life of 
 manhood, and in the declining years of old 
 age, are the sources of a purer and more 
 exquisite joy than anything else on earth, 
 next to the unselfish love of friends and 
 family and the consolations of religion. I am 
 glad to say that in Europe and the British 
 Isles I did not see in the fields many reap- 
 ing or harvesting machines. They serve to 
 advantage in America, where laborers are 
 scarcer, but in Europe every such machine 
 takes the bread from the mouths of the hungry 
 poor ; and I will go farther and state my 
 
408 A Visit to Europe 
 
 belief that it becomes another instrument of 
 tyranny in the hands of the rich for the 
 oppression of the poor. We passed through 
 many busy towns, among them the old 
 episcopal cities of Peterborough and Lincoln. 
 The former possesses a fine cathedral church of 
 early English and Norman architecture, with 
 three broad, lofty arches in a row over its 
 front entrance, and which was founded in the 
 year 655, but was afterwards destroyed and re- 
 built. The Lincoln cathedral is one of the 
 finest in England, and was built in the eleventh 
 century, and rebuilt in the following century, 
 and was consecrated to the Mother of God 
 in those ages when England bore the sweet 
 title of " Do wry of Mary.^ 
 
 It was some time after dark which in sum- 
 mer-time in England is rather late before we 
 arrived in York. I took a carriage and was 
 driven to the " Black Swan," one of the old- 
 est hotels in the city. York is the Eboracum 
 of the Romans, and is one of the oldest, if not 
 the oldest of the cities in England, whose exis- 
 tence dates back a thousand years before the 
 coming of Christ. It became an important 
 town under the Romans, and was the Brit- 
 ish residence of the Roman emperors ; where 
 Septimius Severus and Constantius Chlorus 
 
and the Holy Land. 409 
 
 died, and where Constantine was proclaimed 
 emperor, and which many claim to have 
 been his native place. It is surrounded by 
 ancient walls which had . their origin in the 
 time of the Roman dominion. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. I inquired for 
 a Catholic church, to which I was easily di- 
 rected. The church, which was a sightly, 
 substantial edifice, was in the immediate 
 neighborhood of York minster, the ancient 
 cathedral of the archiepiscopal see of York, 
 over whose destinies so many saints in for- 
 mer times presided ; among whom were St. 
 Wilfrid, St. Oswald, and St. John of Beverly. 
 Cardinal Wolsey was also archbishop of 
 York. / 
 
 After attending Mass I directed my steps 
 to the cathedral. By many it is considered 
 the finest church in England. Before the con- 
 version of the people to Christianity a pagan 
 temple stood on its site, where in the seventh 
 century a noble Christian church was raised 
 to the honor of Christ. The present edifice 
 was begun in the twelfth century on the 
 ruins of a grand church built in the preced- 
 ing century, but it was not completed until 
 after the lapse of three hundred yenrs. It was 
 dedicated to St. Peter, Prince of the Apos- 
 
4 TO A Visit to Europe 
 
 ties. It is 524 feet in length and 249 feet in 
 breadth. It has a peal of twelve bells, one of 
 which is the largest in Great Britain. The 
 cathedral windows are among the largest and 
 most beautiful in the world. The great east 
 window is 78 feet high and 32 feet wide, 
 and its traceries, carved in stone, appear like 
 delicate lace-work, and are lilled with admir- 
 able stained glass, making it an open book 
 treating of sacred historic subjects, which 
 even they who know not letters are able to 
 read. This window has been declared by 
 artists and architects to be the finest of its 
 kind in existence. The large window over the 
 central front entrance is also considered to 
 be without a rival elsewhere in England. 
 
 I walked beneath the lofty arches of this 
 stately minster, over the pavements trod in 
 former centuries by the feet of Catholic multi- 
 tudes, and beheld the walls yet grand, al- 
 though deprived of many of their adornments 
 which made them attractive in the ages of 
 faith, and thought of the scenes, the proces- 
 sions, and the solemn services that they had 
 witnessed in the old times when England was 
 Catholic. / 
 
 I wandered among the tombs of those buried 
 here, some modern and others ancient, with 
 
and the Holy Land. 4 1 1 
 
 reclining effigies carved in stone upon them. 
 The old tombs alone represent *the faith, 
 the piety, and the genius that raised this 
 wonderful monument to the glory of God. In 
 a short time the people began to pass through 
 the church for ten o'clock service. They all 
 entered the place whicli was once the sanctu- 
 ary, and, although the number appeared re- 
 spectable, only a part of the reserved space 
 was occupied. When services commenced they 
 closed the doors and shut off from the rest 
 of the great cathedral their little corner, 
 which was once so bright with the Presence 
 of the Glorious King. About twenty like my- 
 self stayed outside in the church, who, rath- 
 er than "fain fill themselves" with the dry 
 moral husks which would be offered for 
 spiritual sustenance, preferred to revel in the 
 grand banquet of the soul's aspirations, sym- 
 bolized in material forms and pictured rays 
 of beauty created to a new image and like- 
 ness by the heart and hand of religion./ 
 
 There was one thing about their service 
 that was not dreary when heard from the 
 place where I was sitting. The music was 
 stately and solemn, and when the rich, deep 
 voices of the male singers resounded through 
 the arches I gave myself up to my imagi- 
 
412 A Visit to Europe 
 
 nation, and the olden times of Catholic devo- 
 tion had returned, and the cathedral chapter, 
 assisted by a pious clergy, were chanting the 
 praises of God in the sublime language of 
 the Divine Office. But if the door between 
 us had opened, my eyesight would have 
 quickly dispelled the illusion. 
 
 It was a bright, sunshiny day supposed 
 to be rare in England and the golden light 
 that oame through the fine old windows in so 
 many rich and delicate shades and forms of 
 color beautified everything on which it rested 
 with that ethereal tint or brighter hue that 
 none but an angel's hand could paint or gild. 
 
 After some time I went out to take a bet- 
 ter view of the exterior of the church and its 
 surroundings. I made the circuit of the build- 
 ing and saw . it from every side, until at 
 length I found a convenient seat under a wide- 
 branching, grand old tree, which cast its wel- 
 come shade on the smooth greensward that 
 extended a considerable distance from the 
 church in that direction. I sat and mused, 
 while I selected different parts of the grand 
 edifice for closer inspection, and then traced 
 their relation to the general plan, until the 
 whole symmetrical ideal stood realized before 
 my eyes, i 
 
and the Holy Land. 413 
 
 Returning to my hotel, which I had a lit- 
 tle difficulty in finding, I passed rfVy time in 
 reading and conversation until the hour in the 
 afternoon when the "Salvation Army" would 
 parade, which . the landlord of the Black 
 Swan desired me to see, as I had never yet 
 seen that newest form of fanaticism, the off- 
 spring of ignorance of the nature of true re- 
 ligion. There were several "separate divisions 
 on exhibition, eacli having a different kind 
 of music. Bands and banners, street pray- 
 ers and exhortations, composed their doubtful 
 stock in trade. Their methods seem to move 
 the lower rather than the higher nature of 
 man, and those who once enlist in their ranks 
 will probably remain loyal to their flag so 
 long as excitement, profit, or the shame of de- 
 sertion are able to keep them./ 
 
 Afterwards I took a walk through the city, 
 which has many picturesque and venerable 
 buildings. I again visited the Catholic church, 
 and took another look at York minster. I 
 returned to the hotel in time for a late din- 
 ner, which was specially prepared for me. 
 A young officer of the British army had not 
 yet finished his dinner when I commenced 
 mine. We soon got into an interesting con- 
 , and he remained until I also had 
 
414 A Vis if to En r opt 
 
 finished. He had never met any Americans, 
 and expected, from what he had heard, that 
 my accent in speaking the mother- tongue 
 would be entirely different. We talked over 
 matters pertaining to the army, certain rules 
 of honor among gentlemen, national character- 
 istics, and religion, j 
 
 After dinner I took another long walk. 
 When, night was coming on, and the rays of 
 the sun no longer lingered, but the day was 
 yet clear, the magnificent cathedral of York 
 stood in bold form against the sky, but soft- 
 ened into milder lines in the mellower light 
 nearer the earth. How many grand cathe- 
 drals and fine churches, built in the ages of 
 faith, remain in every part of England as 
 enduring monuments of her ancient religion ! 
 " Behold your house shall be left to you 
 desolate." "Many pastors have destroyed my 
 vineyard ; they have trodden my portion un- 
 der foot ; they have changed my delightful 
 portion into a desolate wilderness. They have 
 laid it waste, and it hath mourned for me. 
 With desolation is all the land made des- 
 olate " (Jeremias xii. 10, 11). Will the time 
 ever come when the light will once more 
 burn before the altars of these ancient 
 churches of England, proclaiming the return 
 
and tJic Holy Land. 4 1 5 
 
 of the Lamb that was slain, and will the 
 Divine Office once more be heard in their 
 sanctuaries in a word, will they ever again 
 become the temples where the Incarnate God 
 dwells and receives due worship from His 
 creatures? "O our God, hear the supplica- 
 tion of Thy servan.t and his prayers, and 
 show Thy face upon Thy sanctuary which is 
 desolate."/ 
 
 Late that night I left York on the train 
 for Edinburgh. When morning dawned . I 
 looked out of the window and found that 
 we were in the hilly country of northern 
 England. The most part of our journey after- 
 wards was through a region of hills, which in 
 Scotland passing on our way through the 
 hills of Lammermoor became more and more 
 rugged until we reached Edinburgh. But in 
 their midst were frequent dimpled dales, where 
 sometimes fields of grain appeared, but which 
 more commonly were devoted to pasturage 
 and meadow. This district of northern Eng- 
 land and southern Scotland through which 
 we passed is famous the world over for its 
 sheep and cattle. / 
 
 Crossing the Tweed, we were in Scotland. 
 The morning was chilly, but one is always 
 interested when he enters a country for the 
 
4i 6 A Visit to Europe 
 
 first time ; and hardly a hill, or valley, or 
 farm-house was passed without my obser- 
 vation. On our entrance into Edinburgh we 
 passed the abbey and palace of Holyrood. 
 The town of Edinburgh was fiiv-t called Ed- 
 win's burgh in the seventh century, after 
 Edwin, King of North wnbria, who resided 
 there. We arrived at the station at about 
 five o'clock in the morning, and as it was 
 my intention to walk about the city until 
 the departure of the train for Liverpool, 
 which would leave about noon, I took a cab 
 and left my baggage at the station from 
 which the train would depart. I walked 
 along Prince's Street, on which is located the 
 rather ornate monument of Sir Walter Scott, 
 to a high eminence towards the east, which I 
 learned was Calton Hill. It was my desire to 
 view the city at early morn from an elevated 
 position. When I had reached the summit of 
 the hill a fine panorama stretched out be- 
 fore my eyes on every side, slightly obscured 
 by the mists of the morning, which were 
 gradually disappearing before the risen sun. 
 Below me in the valleys, and on sloping 
 ridges and rugged heights, lay the city, awak- 
 ening to the life and activities of another day. 
 Towards the north the pale blue waters of 
 
and the Holy Land. 417 
 
 the Frith of Forth were seen dimly in the 
 hazy distance. Near me on the hill were 
 various monuments erected to Scotch celeb- 
 rities, and below in the city were numerous 
 monuments to the memory of men of every 
 kind of distinction. When a city once deter- 
 mines to ride a hobby in any particular 
 direction, it usually succeeds. Tlie good 
 people of Edinburgh seem to have directed 
 considerable attention to the building of mon- 
 uments, for which purpose their city offers 
 many natural advantages. Across the valley, 
 at the extremity of the ridge on the opposite 
 side, rose from its rocky foundations the 
 battlemented walls and broad, strong towers 
 of Edinburgh castle. The hour that I spent 
 on Calton Hill was the most pleasant of my 
 brief stay in the city./ 
 
 I walked across the bridge to the old town, 
 and loitered through some of its streets, 
 finally going around one side of the castle 
 into the valley below. I did not have time 
 to enter castles, palaces, or other historic 
 buildings, nor had I much desire left for 
 such visits, and the only public buildings 
 which I entered were railway stations and 
 restaurants. Out-door life and views pleased 
 me better. Their churches as I did not hap- 
 
418 A Visit to Europe 
 
 pen to find those that were Catholic had for 
 me but very little attraction. I then took 
 a long walk through the new portion of the 
 town, which is much the finest part of the 
 city./ 
 
 I spent the last two hours of rny visit in 
 the beautiful valley below Edinburgh castle. 
 It is divided into gardens, extensive green- 
 sward, and shady groves, through which runs 
 a small but sparkling river. The long beds 
 of foliage plants and flowers were arranged 
 with almost perfect taste, and kept with most 
 scrupulous care. I sat down on one of the 
 numerous seats under the shade-trees, and 
 tried to compare the past and present. High 
 above me the great, gray old cnstle, stand- 
 ing on its almost perpendicular, dizzy heights, 
 frowned upon the smiling valley. It is said 
 that the daughters of the Pictish kings once 
 resided there, and that it was called the 
 "castrum puellarum." But in those ancient 
 times, when the fair eye of beauty looked in 
 joy or sadness o'er the scene, it rested not 
 upon the sylvan valley, but on a silver lake 
 whose dreamy waters rippled with low, sweet 
 sounds against its high, overhanging shores, 
 and dimpled with smiles in the happy sunshine 
 of heaven. The lake of former times, which 
 
and the Holy Land. 419 
 
 was called North Loch, was drained in 1763 
 and changed into a park and gardens. I walked 
 over the bridge and through the valley, and 
 took different views of the same surroundings, 
 and enjoyed my own reflections on the days 
 gone by and the days that are ours, until it 
 was time to go to the station. I was not sorry 
 that I should so soon meet the two companions 
 of my journey, for one is inclined to get lone- 
 some in a foreign land. Our route by railroad 
 led down through the centre of Mid-Lothian 
 now called Edinburghshire and other southern 
 counties of Scotland. We passed through sev- 
 eral ranges of hills, and even when we trav- 
 ersed wide, level plains, low lines of hills were 
 always visible in the distance. \ 
 
 The first English city of any importance 
 which we reached was Carlisje. We passed 
 through those counties of northeast England 
 that compose the lake district, which is looked 
 on by the English as a very charming region. 
 I did not get sufficient knowledge of the coun- 
 try, from those parts of the counties through 
 which the railroad ran, to form a judgment as 
 to the merits of the claim. The western part 
 of England, as seen from the train, presents a 
 very different appearance from the eastern por- 
 tion of the country. During nearly the whole 
 
420 A Visit to Europe 
 
 distance a long, low range of liills stretched 
 along the eastern horizon ; and the towns 
 through which we passed during the last part 
 of the journey were dirty, smoky, and noisy 
 from the vast manufacturing establishments 
 which they contain. At one of the stations 
 on the route a gentleman with two or three 
 friends entered the compartment in which I 
 rode. He was very much interested in telling 
 his friends of the flattering reception given 
 him by a certain club, and of several other 
 honors of a similar nature which he had en- 
 joyed during that or the preceding day. He 
 seemed to be swelling very big with local im- 
 portance, and the thought came to me : A con- 
 ceited man is the same in every land. But, af- 
 ter all, he may have been a good-hearted and 
 simple man, easily pleased with the /baubles of 
 life, who did not appear to his usual advan- 
 tage, at least in the eyes of a perhaps too 
 critical stranger. Late in the afternoon we 
 reached Liverpool, the greatest seaport town 
 of England. Noise and business reigned su- 
 preme within its confines. \ 
 
 To a certain class of men, whose minds are 
 filled with industrial and commercial enter- 
 prise, Liverpool would probably be one of the 
 most attractive cities on the globe ; to me it 
 
and the Holy Land, 42 1 
 
 was the exact opposite. Without doubt it 
 possesses many pleasant localities, but I did 
 not care to hunt them out ; and Liverpool is 
 one of the cities of the Old World where I 
 should not tare to live. I engaged a carriage 
 and drove to the hotel where we had agreed 
 to meet. 
 
 My companions had arrived before me, and 
 one of them had already seen a considerable 
 portion of the city. The next day we made 
 the final arrangements for our return voynge 
 across the Atlantic, and we would start from 
 Queenstown one week from the following 
 Friday. In the evening two of our num- 
 ber went on board the night steamer for Dub- 
 lin. Our companion had concluded to make 
 Liverpool the starting point for a trip to Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Without doubt a good view of Liverpool 
 Harbor, with its immense shipping, would be 
 an interesting scene ; but this we missed on 
 account of the darkness.\ 
 
422 A Visit to Europe 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE EMERALD GEM OF THE OCEAN. 
 
 we rose in the morning we were en- 
 tering Dublin Bay. As we were very much 
 fatigued by our travels, and had not slept 
 well during the night, we concluded to set 
 apart the forenoon and a part of the after- 
 noon for a quiet rest. Towards evening we 
 enjoyed a stroll, directing our steps to the 
 attractive walks and retreats of St. Stephen's 
 Green. It is one of the largest, city parks of 
 Europe, and in all things is true to nature, 
 even in its most lavish artificial adornments, 
 and contains a lakelet on which float great 
 white swans a cliff with waterfalls, sylvan 
 shades, and a fine, grassy expanse beside the 
 cool waters and under the pleasant trees. \ 
 
 Early the next morning we were at the sta- 
 tion to take the train for Rathdrum, in the 
 County Wicklow, from which place we should 
 visit Gleridalough and the ruins of the Seven 
 Churches. For the greater part of the way 
 the morning ride extended along the sea- coast ; 
 and the still waters of a sheltered bay, or the 
 wide extended waters of the sea which united 
 
and the Holy Land. 423 
 
 with the blue sky at the horizon, afforded us 
 many enjoyable views on that fair August 
 morning, when the golden rays of the sun 
 gilded the emerald landscape with a mild 
 brightness, and, while each color retained its 
 own rare beauty, the two were so commingled 
 and combined that each was made more beau- 
 tiful by the presence of the other. 
 
 It was yet early when we reached Rath- 
 drum, and we immediately took a jaunting- 
 car for Glendalough, which was a little more 
 than eight miles distant. As a number of 
 tourists were going over the same way, every 
 car was fully occupied, and some of them 
 were crowded. A young gentleman and lady 
 from England, who were born in Ireland, were 
 on the car with us, and we kept together dur- 
 ing the day.\ 
 
 Nearly the whole distance our road ran by 
 the side of the river Avonmore, and at nearly 
 every turn or eminence on the way we came 
 upon some new prospect of grand natural 
 scenery, or some charming rural retreat, the 
 most delightful of which was the lovely Vale 
 of Clara, embosomed in green. And as it lay 
 below us in the soft light of a sunshiny Irish 
 day, it seemed as if the pure angel of the 
 vale, living in the light of heaven and catch- 
 
424 A Visit to Europe 
 
 ing its radiance, reflected its beauties in mild- 
 ness o'er the sweet, dimpled face of the valley. 
 
 In due time we reached the small village of 
 Glendalough, composed of perhaps a dozen 
 houses. We preferred to make the remainder 
 of our excursion on foot and by boat. The 
 most important ruins of the churches, together 
 with St. Kevin's Kitchen, were near at hand. 
 Several guides offered their services, with some 
 of whom we were not favorably impressed. 
 They were probably good persons, but, as we 
 did not want " smartness" instead of know- 
 ledge, we chose an old woman of simple pre- 
 tensions who could point out to us the dif- 
 ferent places of legend and history. \ 
 
 We soon reached the first and most im- 
 portant ruins. A splendid specimen of the 
 ancient round tower stood at the entrance to 
 the cemetery and ruins. At its base we found 
 some sod thick with shamrocks. With o*r 
 knives we cut loose several pieces each one 
 being a few inches square to plant in Ameri- 
 can soil. Mine lived nearly two years and 
 then died. The American climate did not 
 prove altogether congenial to their nature. We 
 then wandered among tombs and crumbling 
 walls where the religious and saints of centu- 
 ries Jived, and where they are buried, 
 
and the Holy Land. 425 
 
 These ruins mark the site and are the rem- 
 nants of an ancient monastic city whose walls 
 were laid thirteen hundred years ago, arid 
 which became one of .the most flourishing holy 
 cities of Ireland, with a long line of saintly 
 and learned abbots, from its founder, St. 
 Kevin, to St. Lawrence O'Toole, who was ab- 
 bot here before he became archbishop of Dub- 
 lin. 
 
 A writer has well described the place in 
 these words: u The long, continuous shadow 
 of the lofty and slender round tower moves 
 slowly from morn till eve over wasted churches, 
 crumbling oratories, shattered crosses, scattered 
 yew-trees, and tombs, now undistinguishable, 
 of bishops, abbots, and anchorites. 7 ' When 
 St. Kevin founded this great monastic estab- 
 lishment in the sixth century, it was soon af- 
 ter the beginning of the golden age of Irish 
 learning and devotion \ 
 
 To-day you will find in Ireland grander 
 ruins than those of St. Kevin's time, and 
 which represent religion in the middle ages, 
 but they belong to a period, however notable, 
 six centuries after the era of Ireland's most 
 glorious religious annals. There is probably 
 not a county in Ireland that does not pos- 
 sess ruins of the fifth, sixth, or seventh cen- 
 
426 A Visit to Europe 
 
 turies, and in some counties a large num- 
 ber of such ruins mark the places where his- 
 tory tells us once stood those monastic towns 
 within whose walls were ^gathered thousands 
 of monks, and to which students flocked from 
 nearly every country of Europe, where they 
 learned music, architecture, carving, metallurgy, 
 and the classic languages Greek and Latin. 
 The monks themselves were diligent copyists 
 of the Holy Scriptures and works of the 
 classic authors, and whose ancient manuscripts 
 are found in many European libraries. They 
 also preserved to the world, in their immortal 
 Annals, a record of the important events, 
 as well as a mirror of the age in which they 
 lived. These monks were men whose fathers 
 were pagan warriors who had worshipped ac- 
 cording to the religious rites of the Druids, and 
 whose blood, in the desire of battle and in the 
 fight, had often burned with the fierce fires of 
 revenge. Such men, having become Christians, 
 had reared sons and daughters who became 
 saints by thousands \ 
 
 In that age St. Kevin founded Glendalough, 
 St. Kieran founded Clonmacnoise, St. Finian 
 founded Innisfallen, another St. Finian founded 
 Clonnrd, St. Bute founded Monasterboice, St. 
 Carthagh founded Lismore, St. Enda founded 
 
and the Holy Land. 427 
 
 the monasteries of Arran, St. Bridget, the 
 great convent of Kildare, and a hundred other 
 saints founded monastic houses over the 
 length and breadth of Ireland, whose wonder- 
 ful religious life and influence continued in 
 the following centuries. As a fair illustration 
 of the greatness of many of those foundations, 
 I will mention Bangor, founded by St. Com- 
 gall in. the sixth century, which is said to 
 have had at one time no less than three 
 thousand monks, who were divided into seven 
 choirs of three hundred singers each, who day 
 and night continually sung the praises of 
 God. The great Montalembert in his immor- 
 tal work, Monks of the West, speaking of 
 Ireland, states that " the number of 3,000 
 monks is constantly met with in the records 
 of the great monasteries" ; and farther affirms : 
 ' 'It has been said, and cannot be sufficiently 
 repeated, that Ireland was then regarded by 
 all Christian Europe as the principal centre of 
 knowledge and piety."/ 
 
 We walked by the shores of one of the two 
 lakes, and crossing a bridge over the stream 
 that unites them, we soon reached other 
 ruins near a large pool and rushing stream, 
 where the old woman kindly pointed out to 
 us a great rock "split in twain by the giant 
 
428 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Finn Mac Cumal" (Finn Mac Cool). Near this 
 spot we took a boat on the upper lake, 
 to visit "St. Kevin's Bed." This part of the 
 glen is wilder and more sombre than the 
 scenery of the lower lake, and even to this 
 day, if it were not for its numerous visitors, 
 would be a fit place for deep religious soli- 
 tude. We soon reached the cave, 
 
 "By that lake whose gloomy shore 
 Skylark never warbles o'er." / 
 
 The "bed" is about twenty -five feet above 
 the surface of the lake, almost directly over- 
 hanging it. For this reason we had first to 
 climb an inclined rocky shore to a narrow 
 ledge, from which, by putting our hands and 
 feet in small openings, we made our way 
 around the almost perpendicular side of the 
 rock into the cave. I am easily made dizzy, 
 but I thought that if I fell into the water it 
 could not do much more harm than to wet 
 me. As an example of the mistakes some- 
 times made by even learned writers I will 
 quote from a note in Butler's Lines of the 
 Saints, taken by him from another author: 
 "It is a cave hewed in the solid rock on the 
 side of the mountain, exceeding difficult in 
 the ascent and terrible in prospect ; for it 
 
and the Holy Land. 4 2 9 
 
 hangs almost perpendicular over the lough 
 about three hundred feet above tne surface of 
 the water, says Harris." I entered it alone, 
 and had a short time for contemplation. Its 
 walls are smooth and there is sufficient room 
 for two persons. At one end is a slight ele- 
 vation of stone for a pillow, and at the other 
 is the mouth of the cave, which looks out 
 over the silent waters, darkened by the deep 
 shadows of the desolate surrounding mountains. 
 In this grotto St. Kevin spent many days and 
 nights in holy retreat and penance ; and here 
 St. Lawrence O'Toole passed much time in 
 prayer and spiritual exercises. I was surprised 
 to see the names of many titled and literary 
 gentlemen of the British Isles carved in the 
 sides of the cave. It is a vulgarism that I 
 had not expected to find among that class of 
 people, and even if it had been perpetrated 
 by the class of wealthy, upstart Americans 
 of vulgar manners who sometimes travel 
 abroad, I should have been ashamed of 
 them.\ 
 
 By boat and on foot we returned to the 
 hamlet of Glendalough. As we walked down 
 the road by the side of the lake, farmers 
 were working in the adjoining fields on the 
 sloping hillsides, and I almost envied them 
 
43 A Visit to Europe 
 
 their constant enjoyment of the wild bat beau- 
 tiful scenery of the "Glen of the Lakes.'' 
 
 After a short delay we returned to Rath 
 drum over the same road by which we came. 
 We concluded to remain over-night in that 
 village, at "Crowley's" neat and comfortable 
 hotel. The next morning my companion re- 
 turned to Dublin, and I took the southern 
 train for Enniscorthy, in the county of Wex- 
 ford. Before starting we had sufficient time 
 to take a walk in the suburbs of that quiet 
 country village, which possesses an abundance 
 of grand shade trees. 
 
 Our train towards the south passed down 
 through the "Sweet Vale of Avoca." 
 
 " There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet 
 As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet ; 
 Oh ! the last rays of feeling and life must depart 
 Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart." \ 
 
 On entering the County Wexford we passed 
 through several towns, among which one of 
 the smallest but most ancient was Ferns, 
 which gives its name to the episcopal see 
 of the county, although the bishop resides in 
 Enniscorthy. The see of Ferns was established 
 in the sixth century by St. Mogue, and in 
 this ancient town stood the castle and prin- 
 
and the Holy Land. 431 
 
 eipal residence of the famous MacMurrogb, 
 King of Leinster. I arrived in Enniscorthy 
 soon after nine o'clock, and, as I should re- 
 turn to Dublin that day, I immediately hired 
 a jaunting-car for my trip through the county, 
 going to the sea-coast, near which my route 
 lay for about nine miles, and taking a late 
 afternoon train at Gorey, which is fifteen 
 miles by rail north of Enniscorthy.\ 
 
 It was a warm day, considering' the usual 
 mild climate of Ireland, and as we rode out of 
 Enniscorthy the sun darted down on us some 
 of his most fervent rays. Vinegar Hill, which 
 became noted in the Irish rebellion of 1798, 
 appeared for some time on our right. There 
 was nothing specially interesting during the 
 first half of the journey, except that to me 
 rural scenes in a pleasant country are always 
 enjoyable. In outward appearance Wexford 
 seems to be one of the most prosperous coun- 
 ties in Ireland, although it is said that the 
 soil is not so fertile as in some other parts. 
 The farm-houses, taken in general, were among 
 the best that I saw in the country. Towards 
 noon we entered the village of Kilmucridge, 
 where the parish church of Litter is located. 
 
 The next village where there is a parish 
 church is Ballygarrett, about four miles dis- 
 
432 A Visit to Europe 
 
 tant, which I was anxious to see, as I had 
 once written a poem describing it and the coun- 
 try through which I should pass in going there 
 from Litter. As I had never seen the place 
 when the poem was written, I was desirous to 
 know if my description had been true to the 
 reality. I can now state that if I were to 
 write it again I would not change one word. 
 In order that the reader may travel over the 
 road with me, and in the distance see with 
 my eyes the village and church for the first 
 time, I will here transcribe my poem, which 
 was entitled : 
 
 MEMORIES OF A1ST IRISH EXILE. \ 
 
 Oh ! I love thee, Ballygarrett ! 
 
 As I loved thee when a child, 
 Love thy chapel and thy altar, 
 
 With a love still undefiled. 
 
 O the innocence of childhood ! 
 
 O the purity of love ! 
 In my native home in Ireland, 
 
 Its pure symbol, whitest dove. 
 
 All the memories of childhood, 
 All that joy and love impart, 
 
 Are a portion of my being, 
 And the chords that thrill my heart. 
 
and the Holy Land. 433 
 
 Sweet and tender are these memories, 
 
 Dearest part of all my life ; 
 Stronger, purer do they make me 
 
 In the battle-field of strife. 
 
 Birds are sweetly to me singing, 
 
 Flowers entice of every hue, 
 Fields of green and joy around me, 
 
 And above me heaven's blue. 
 
 And the friends of youth surround me, 
 Father, mother, kindred, kind ; 
 
 Holy scenes before the altar 
 Fill and sanctify my mind. 
 
 Little, quiet Irish village, 
 
 With thy houses thatched and gray, 
 I have never met thy equal 
 
 All the years I've been away. 
 
 And them bright, green Irish landscape, 
 Where my own home smiling lay, 
 
 In my many years of absence 
 I have thought of thee each day. 
 
 On the charming road to Litter, 
 Near the bridge that you cross o'er, 
 
 In my own dear Bally water, 
 You would pass our cottage-door. \ 
 
4.34 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Dear old home of youth and kindred, 
 Where my father's race was born, 
 
 Dear old house that saw my childhood, 
 And where first I saw the morn ; 
 
 Where I saw the morning breaking 
 
 Of a life that soon is o'er, 
 Home from which we sadly parted, 
 
 To return, oh ! nevermore. 
 
 Not a place so brightly smiling, 
 
 Not a corner of the earth, 
 As the home of early childhood, 
 
 And the place that saw my birth. 
 
 Other lands true friends have given, 
 Who have shown me loving care, 
 
 But the love and joys of childhood 
 I have never found elsewhere. 
 
 There the blackbird whistled gaily, 
 And the thrush was singing nigh, 
 
 And the skylark, lightly rising, 
 Sung his matins in the sky ; 
 
 Birds were singing in the hedges, 
 And in trees above our door ; 
 
 Oh! their notes they will be singing 
 In my heart for evermore. \ 
 
and the Holy Land. 435 
 
 * 
 
 While the voice of Irish songsters 
 Nevermore will please my ear, 
 
 Yet the captive bird, sad singing, 
 Will the exile's spirits cheer; 
 
 And each note it sings in sadness 
 
 I will treasure in my breast, 
 For I know 'twas sung in gladness 
 
 O'er its dear old Irish nest. 
 
 In those days of purest childhood 
 One thought hallowed all the rest : 
 
 Day of joy or day of sorrow, 
 Peace of God dwelt in my breast. 
 
 Joys of faith and thoughts of heaven 
 
 Erin's children treasure up, 
 And the smile of Christ and Mary 
 
 Sweeten sorrow's bitter cup. 
 
 And the priesthood and the altar 
 Have made light the heavy rod. 
 
 When the sorrows of the people 
 Left to them no hope but God. 
 
 Once there came to us a Curate, 
 Entered in the peasant's door, 
 
 Pale and thin, and poor in raiment, 
 Whom we loved as none before \ / 
 
436 A Visit to Eitrope 
 
 Served his God and loved his people 
 
 Offered up the Sacrifice, 
 Gave to us the Bread of Angels, 
 
 Gave us hope of paradise ; 
 
 Heard the tale of sin and sorrow, 
 Calmed with holy words our fears, 
 
 Knelt beside the dying Christian, 
 And brought sunshine to our tears. 
 
 Yes, the priest was with his people, 
 Holding out the saving hand, 
 
 And in pity felt their sorrows 
 And the sorrows of his land ; 
 
 Felt their sorrows more than human, 
 Changed dark sorrows into joy, 
 
 By the thought and hope of heaven, 
 Which no tyrant could destroy. 
 
 He is now the royal shepherd 
 Of the ancient see of Ferns,* 
 
 But I love him as I loved him, 
 And my heart in exile turns \ 
 
 * The late Dr. Warren, Bishop of Ferns, was once curate of Ballygarrett, 
 County Wexford. Very Bev. Canon Furlong informed the writer that 
 this poem, which the bishop received in his last illness, gave him the 
 greatest consolation, for which I am thankful, 
 
and the Holy Land. 437 
 
 To the angel of my childhood, 
 
 To that holy priest of God, 
 Who traced out for me the pathway 
 
 In which once my Saviour trod. 
 
 And my feet have kept that pathway, 
 While that gentle voice I hear 
 
 Sounding in my heart for ever, 
 As it sounded in my ear. 
 
 Oh ! the thoughts that throng my memory 
 Of those now departed years, 
 
 How they stir deep sorrow's fountain, 
 How they fill my eyes with tears ! 
 
 But I left thee, Ballygarrett, 
 
 Turned my face away from thee, 
 
 Left my friends and home and kindred, 
 Found a home beyond the sea. 
 
 I remember, when we parted, 
 All the thoughts I left unsaid, 
 
 Looked upon thee in my silence, 
 As one looketh on the dead ; 
 
 Took one long look in my anguish, 
 
 Ere I went from thee away ; 
 O my God ! it is heart-breaking 
 
 When I think of thee that 
 
438 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Oli ! I lingered at the doorway, 
 
 And I lingered at the gate, 
 Then I took one last look backward, 
 
 And I yielded to my fate. 
 
 But I love thee, Ballygarrett, 
 With a love that ne'er grows cold, 
 
 And I'll love thee e'en in heaven, 
 
 Where the streets are paved with gold. 
 
 "Near the bridge that you cross o'er" I 
 gathered some flowers, and dug up some soil 
 with shamrocks for a friend in America, to 
 whom they would bring back all the memories 
 of childhood and early years, described by me 
 in poetical verse. \ 
 
 Arriving in the village, I first entered the 
 church for a few minutes, and then called on 
 the parish priest, the Very Rev. Canon Fur- 
 long, at the parochial residence, who received 
 me warmly. He kindly and cordially invited 
 me to stay several days ; but I was able to 
 spend in his agreeable and intelligent company 
 only a brief hour, when I bid him good-by 
 and continued my journey. Since my visit to 
 Ballygarrett, Canon Furlong has been pro- 
 moted to the more important parish of Gorey. 
 As he had requested me to go by way of 
 Courtown Harbor, to see the new Riverchapel 
 
and the Holy Land. 439 
 
 which he had just built, I took that route. 
 I found the chapel to be a very neat, sub- 
 stantial structure, in good architectural taste, 
 and an ornament to the quiet, beautiful village 
 and neighborhood in which it is situated. 
 
 At Gorey I entered the train for Dublin, 
 where I arrived some time after dark. Each 
 time that we returned to Dublin its streets 
 and buildings became more familiar objects to 
 our eyes, but I should hardly dare to enter 
 into any farther description of the city 
 through fear of becoming tedious. / 
 
 The next day one of my companions and 
 myself took the early afternoon train for Gal- 
 way, "the city of the tribes." On our way 
 we passed through the six counties of Dublin. 
 Kildare, Meath, West Meath, Roscommon, and 
 Galway, and the towns of Mullingar, Athlone, 
 and Athenry. We saw the fine, collegiate-ap- 
 pearing buildings of Maynooth ; and we passed 
 near a number of ruined castles and ecclesi- 
 astical edifices of various kinds, among them 
 the church-tower of Clonard, where once stood 
 the celebrated monastery of that name, 
 founded by one of the several saints who bore 
 the name of Finian.\ 
 
 During the journey we enjoyed the sight of 
 some fine stretches of country, with gently 
 
440 A Visit to Europe 
 
 undulating and well-watered pasturage, where 
 fleecy flocks and fat cattle grazed in fields of 
 green by the side of silver streams reflecting 
 the summer sky, or lay lazily under the 
 shade of grand old trees, half-lulled to sleep 
 by the whispering breezes among the leaves 
 or the low musical sounds of the waters. 
 
 At Athlone we crossed the river Shannon. 
 From the bridge a good view was obtained of 
 the river, and of the lower part of Lough Ree, 
 whose waters expand in the distance. Athlone 
 is well situated, and when we first saw it, and 
 also on our return, it presented an agreeable 
 picture. We arrived in Galway after dark, so 
 that we could not see anything of the city 
 until the following morning./ 
 
 The next day was Sunday. We took an 
 early morning walk, which well repaid the 
 trouble. The poorer classes of people are very 
 old-fashioned, and appeared to good advan- 
 tage on the streets and aboiit their homes 
 during the morning hours. In the middle 
 ages Galway enjoyed a monopoly of the trade 
 with Spain, and probably many of the inhabi- 
 tants of modern Galway have a considerable 
 mixture of Spanish blood in their veins, and 
 possess many Spanish characteristics, because 
 of the close and long-continued intermingling 
 
and the Holy Land, 441 
 
 of the two peoples. We entered almost every 
 church in the city, and finally remained in 
 one to hear Mass. After breakfast we took 
 the tram car and rode some distance along 
 the bay. We took a seat on top of the car, 
 from which we got a good prospect of the 
 city and harbor. At the end of the line we 
 alighted, and continued on foot some distance 
 farther. The view was somewhat obscured by 
 mists, which indicated a rain-storm later in 
 the day. The harbor is really a fine one, 
 and it is a pity that its advantages are not 
 more generally turned to use ; but the hope 
 is entertained that when through Home Rule 
 prosperity returns to the island, Galway will 
 take its place among the most important 
 maritime cities of the British Isles./ 
 
 Across the bay through the misty distance 
 rose the indistinct outlines of hills and moun- 
 tains, which we would gladly have seen un- 
 der a clearer sky ; but sea and land, over 
 which hovered the spirit of the storm, pre- 
 sented a greater attractiveness and more char- 
 acteristic wildness of nature to the western 
 coast of Ireland than would have been afforded 
 under a brighter sun. The western shores of 
 Erin are regions of romantic interest, where, on 
 the extreme coast-line of Europe, they pre* 
 
442 A Visit to Europe 
 
 sent their great rocky sea-wall to the mists and 
 storms and wild billows of the northern At- 
 lantic. / 
 
 Having seen the town to our satisfaction, 
 we returned to our hotel, and soon after hired 
 a jaunting-car to convey us to Tuam on our 
 way to the village and chapel of Knock. The 
 first part of the journey was pleasant, as the 
 rain-storm threatening us had not yet arrived. 
 One feature of this and adjoining parts of 
 Connaught was new to us ; instead of the 
 green hedges which are seen in all directions 
 elsewhere" in Ireland, here their places are 
 taken by gray stone walls, which, so far as 
 the eye can see, checker the landscape. This 
 part of Connaught was much better in soil 
 and appearance than I had expected to find it. 
 When we had gone several miles into the 
 country we began to meet men and women 
 returning from Mass, and, having passed the 
 church, we overtook many on the road. They 
 were a healthy, robust-looking people, with 
 whom hardships and poverty endured with a 
 good conscience, in the mild, healthy climate 
 of their native land seemed to agree. Yet 
 there are so-called statesmen who are narrow 
 enough and hard-hearted enough to advocate 
 driving such people into exile which they 
 
and the Holy Land, 443 
 
 call assisted emigration where, even though 
 they get a more generous diet, their bright, 
 happy looks and rosy cheeks are retained 
 only for a few years./ 
 
 Soon afterwards we passed an old castle in 
 ruins, close to the banks of a winding stream, 
 where a goodly number of young men Lad 
 gathered and were engaged in youthful sports. 
 The rain, which for some distance back had 
 only been drizzling, now became drenching. 
 During the remainder of our journey we met 
 but few passengers on the road, and persons 
 for the most part kept within their houses, 
 looking out of the windows and open doors at 
 the rain an old, dear, familiar acquaintance. 
 In seasons too wet they probably forget to 
 love their old-time companion, but without 
 doubt they would be lonesome without him. 
 We met one carriage with a liveried driver 
 hurrying along. We covered ourselves from 
 the rain as closely as possible, and with the 
 aid of our umbrellas kept almost dry. / 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon we at- 
 tained an eminence which overlooked a fresh, 
 green, undulating expanse of country, in . the 
 midst of which lay the white and gray walls 
 of the houses of Tuam, above which, here 
 and there, its church-steeples uplifted their 
 
444 A Visit to Eiirope 
 
 crosses towards the sky. St. Jarlatli estab- 
 lished a see in Tuam early in the sixth cen- 
 tury, and founded a famous school in its vi- 
 cinity, where St. Brendan, abbot of Clonfert, 
 and St. Colman, first bishop of Cloyne, re- 
 ceived their saintly training. When we had 
 arrived in the town we drove to Daly's ho- 
 tel, which, for an inland country town, prov- 
 ed to be among the best that we found in 
 Ireland. As it continued to rain I did not 
 venture out, but my companion took a little 
 out- door exercise on the soaked streets. 
 
 Towards evening, when the weather had re- 
 turned to a drizzly state, we went out to- 
 gether to visit the cathedral, which is a large, 
 substantial structure, rather commodious than 
 ornate. \ 
 
 The next morning we took passage on a 
 mail-car for Claremorris. On the car with us 
 were a sick girl and her mother, who had 
 come some distance to see a priest who lived 
 between Tuam and Claremorris who had ac- 
 quired a reputation for curing the sick ; an 
 Irish nationalist, who could give us informa- 
 tion on every imaginable subject connected 
 with the country, and who, considering his edu- 
 cation, was a clever talker; and an old Irish 
 gentleman of the old stock, the most charac,- 
 
and the Holy Land 445 
 
 teristic portions of whose dress were leggins 
 and a high hat which had long served to es- 
 tablish the respectability of its owner. Judg- 
 ing from the inquiring glances cast at him by 
 several female passengers whenever a particu- 
 larly strong national sentiment was uttered, I 
 concluded that he owned perhaps a few more 
 acres than somebody else./ 
 
 Early in the afternoon we entered Claremorris 
 and drove to a hotel for dinner. After we had 
 dined we hired a jaunting-car to convey us to 
 Knock. A part of our ride was through a pleas- 
 ant country, while a portion of it led through 
 a bleak and desolate district, where we saw a 
 number of half -ruined and tenantless cabins. 
 We asked about them, and were informed 
 that this was the scene of some of the late 
 evictions. I know nothing more of this par- 
 ticular case, but this I do know, that many 
 of the heart-rending scenes of eviction in Ire- 
 land take place in the poorest and most des- 
 olate parts of the country, and the poor vic- 
 tims who are driven out of their homes are 
 unable to pay the extortionate rent demand- 
 ed of them, even though they have gone 
 from place to place working for others, in or- 
 der to remain in the poor little cabins where 
 they were born or where they began their 
 
446 A ' Visit to Europe 
 
 wedded life. Without doubt there are many 
 kind-hearted and noble-minded landlords in 
 Ireland who possess all the qualities of true 
 Christian gentlemen, and against such I have 
 not one word to write ; but probably a larger 
 number, in proportion, of Irish landlords have 
 been unchristian, unjust, and hard-hearted 
 towards their tenants than of any other land- 
 lords in any civilized country on the face of 
 the globe. \ 
 
 That such men should call themselves either 
 true gentlemen or true Christians is an incon- 
 sistency ; for the true gentleman has gentle feel- 
 ings, manifested externally in gentle manners in 
 all his relations and dealings with his fellow- 
 men, whether they are his superiors, equals, or 
 those in a more humble condition of life. Yet 
 these tyrannical landlords frequently absentees 
 who compose a numerous class of Irish landed 
 proprietors, have subjected to rack-rents and 
 harsh treatment one of the poorest and most 
 patient tenantries of the world, and when ten- 
 ants refuse to pay their unjust demands they 
 have a great deal to say in hypocritical tones 
 about their dishonesty. A true Christian must 
 be just in all things, even though the civil law 
 might permit injustice. But many Iri^h land- 
 lords have formed their conscience according to 
 
and the Holy Land. 447 
 
 other standards than those of Catholic moral 
 theology, otherwise they would rio dare to de- 
 mand a higher price for the use of their land 
 than it is worth. These men have often col- 
 lected double the rent that their land was really 
 worth, and for so many years that, were they 
 to make restitution, the half starved victims of 
 their oppression, instead of being evicted from 
 their holdings, would own them in fee simple. 
 
 Knock was not more than one hour's ride from 
 Claremorris, and soon the thatched hamlet, with 
 its chapel of world-wide reputation, appeared be- 
 fore ns. We first visited the chapel and said 
 some prayers, and then called on the parish 
 priest, Archdeacon Kavanagh, by whom we were 
 kindly received. He told ns that onr other 
 companion had left the village that morning 
 after celebrating Mass.\ 
 
 There is only one hotel in Knock, which is 
 about a half-mile or more distant from the 
 church. We found it to be a retired and pleas- 
 ant place. It was formerly the most respectable 
 private residence in the neighborhood, where the 
 proprietor yet lives, although he has set apart a 
 portion of his house for the uses of a hotel, and 
 has hired persons to conduct it. It is situated 
 in a grove of fine trees which extend down the 
 avenue to the road. Having made all necessary 
 
448 A Visit to Eiiropc 
 
 arrangements, we walked through the fields to 
 the chapel. It was near sunset, and as we loit- 
 ered on the way. with the grove of stately trees 
 behind us and forming a pleasant feature of the 
 landscape and the little, silent village before us, 
 we began to enjoy in their fulness the peaceful 
 happiness and quiet contentment of the Irish 
 country districts, and caught a glimpse of 
 every-day rural life in Ireland when far re- 
 moved from the highways of traffic. | 
 
 The church has been much improved in size 
 and appearance since the concourse of visitors to 
 Knock. I will abstain from any opinion with 
 reference to the supernatural manifestations or 
 apparitions said to have been witnessed here, as 
 ecclesiastical authority has not yet pronounced 
 as to their truth or nature. One. fact is certain, 
 that every visitor in Knock will see perhaps a 
 hundred canes and crutches hung up against the 
 outside walls of the chapel, left there by the in- 
 firm and cripples as proof of their cure. 
 
 The next morning we said Mass at the princi- 
 pal altar of the church, after which Archdeacon 
 Kavanagh showed us many presents received 
 from different persons, one of the finest coming, 
 as a token of gratitude, from the bishop of To- 
 ronto, in Canada. \ 
 
 After breakfast we started on a jaunting-car 
 
and the Holy Land. 449 
 
 for Ballyliaunis, where we would take the train 
 back to Dublin. The morning was bright and 
 warm. The road led through a country district 
 that seemed never to have .been entered by the 
 pleasure-seeking tourist. I do not remember 
 that we met even one wheeled vehicle for many 
 miles. Large girls from fourteen to eighteen 
 years of age were frequently met on foot, driv- 
 ing donkeys with creels of turf upon their backs, 
 which was being stored for winter fuel, and 
 which was heaped up in piles near their dwell- 
 ings. We also met and overtook so many chil- 
 dren some of them barefooted on their way to 
 school that we could hardly see how the school- 
 house could contain them. Some of them small 
 children, too must have walked several miles. 
 There was a cheerful, earnest look on their faces 
 which I always like to see with school children. 
 It is an indication of that eagerness for book- 
 learning which has always characterized the Cel- 
 tic Irish child. I am convinced that no children 
 in the world are more ready to embrace every 
 opportunity to acquire learning than Irish chil- 
 dren in Ireland, and their readiness amounts to 
 a genuine eagerness.\ 
 
 When we arrived in Ballyhaunis the streets 
 were alive with people, and, from the number 
 of cattle, sheep, and pigs that were gathered 
 
450 A Visit to Europe 
 
 in many of the public places of the village, 
 we concluded that it must be some kind of 
 market-day. We entered the church, but re- 
 mained only a few minutes, and then took a 
 stroll through the streets, and tried to imbibe, 
 with as little effort as possible, the spirit of a 
 market day morning in an Irish country town. 
 On a knoll at the end of the village towards 
 the railway station were the ruins of an old 
 monastery, which must have been merely ruins 
 for a century at least. It is doubtful if any 
 of the monks, who dwelt within those walls 
 laid low, were remembered even in the child- 
 hood memories of the grandfathers of the gray- 
 haired men of the present generation. I did 
 not inquire nor have I read about them, for 
 sometimes I prefer to fill into the framework 
 which I know to be real, pictures of the im- 
 agination.\ 
 
 At the station we met an excellent young 
 man who had crossed the ocean with us, and 
 who had soon become intimate with my com- 
 panion, whose brother lived in his neighbor- 
 hood in Pennsylvania. While we were travel- 
 ling on different continents, he had been en- 
 joying the well-remembered scenes of his na- 
 tive land. How many exiled hearts long for 
 that privilege, but almost fear to attain it 
 
and the Holy Land. 451 
 
 on account of the disappointments that must 
 necessarily come through the changes of years ! 
 He had just returned from Lough Derg, in 
 Donegal, where he had made the Stations of 
 St. Patrick's Purgatory. We had intended 
 to go there, but it was now Tuesday, and 
 our steamer would sail from Queenstown on 
 Friday afternoon, and we had yet to see the 
 Rock of Cashel and the lakes of Killarney./ 
 The railroad towards Dublin passed down 
 through the entire length of the County 
 Roscommon and through the city of Ros- 
 common, which is famous as having once 
 been the seat of the royal house of O'Con- 
 nor. For some time before reaching Athlone 
 the bright waters of Lough Ree amid shores 
 of emerald delighted the eye. From Athlone 
 we returned to Dublin over the same route by 
 which we came. In the compartment with us 
 was a gentleman with his mother. I should 
 judge that he belonged to the middle class, 
 but he was a person of much more than ordi- 
 nary intelligence, and had lived for some years 
 in Richmond, Virginia, although he had re- 
 turned to live in Ireland. As we were passing 
 a workhouse he told us the number of pau- 
 pers in all the workhouses of Ireland. I have 
 forgotten the exact number, but it was sur- 
 
45 2 ^ Visit to Europe 
 
 prisingly large. When we consider liow ad- 
 verse the Irish are to becoming paupers prob- 
 ably the proudest, in this matter, of any race 
 in existence these figures show, as plainly as 
 they can prove anything, the terrible misgov- 
 ernment of the country. \ 
 
 When we reached Dublin we were joined 
 by the third member of our party, who had 
 just returnee! from Belfast. Dublin now be- 
 gan to seem to us like home, and the per- 
 sons in our hotels like familiar acquaintances, 
 to which and whom we should bid good-by on 
 the morrow, probably for ever. My two friends 
 declare that in five years they will return to 
 Europe ; but as for myself, I so much dread 
 the Atlantic, if I ever return it Avill be that 
 my last sigh on earth may be breathed forth 
 in the land in which the Son of God and the 
 Son of Mary commended His spirit into the 
 hands of his Eternal Father. 
 
and tlie Holy Land. 453 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CASHEL OF THE KINGS AND THE LAKES OF KIL- 
 LARNEY. 
 
 THE next morning we left Dublin by the 
 same railway by which we entered it nearly 
 four months before. We intended to reach 
 Killarney that evening, but on the way we 
 would stop over at Goold's Cross station, from 
 which we would visit Cashel " Cashel of the 
 Kings." The round tower at Kildare, Slieve 
 Bloom Mountains, and the "Devil's Bit" 
 looked slightly more familiar than they did 
 on our upward journey. At the station in 
 Thurles we bought some blackthorn sticks. 
 At Goold's Cross station we took a jaunting- 
 car for Cashel, which was distant, through a 
 fine, undulating country, about five or six 
 miles. Before we reached Cashel the majestic, 
 ruin-crowned Rock raised its sublime head 
 amidst the fertile plain. \ 
 
 The ruins and Rock of Cashel are without 
 doubt the most historic combination in Ire- 
 land. The earliest legendary history of this 
 celebrated Rock relates that the devil was 
 once making an excursion over this part of 
 
454 ^ Visit to Europe 
 
 Ireland, and, feeling hungry, took a bite out 
 of the mountain at the place called the Dev- 
 il's Bit; but finding it gritty and unpalata- 
 ble, he let it fall in the plain, where it 
 remains the Rock of Cashel. On this Rock 
 the ancient kings of Munster were crowned 
 and had their palace. On this Rock ^Engus, 
 king of Munster, was baptized by the hand of 
 St. Patrick. At the opening of the ninth 
 century Cormac Mac Cullinan, the bishop-king, 
 founded a church on its heights, which in 
 the tenth century were fortified by Brian 
 Born. In the twelfth century Cormac' s chapel 
 was built by Cormac Mac Carthy, and in the 
 same century the cathedral of St. Patrick was 
 erected by Donald O'Brien, king of Munster. 
 These two structures are among the most im- 
 portant and best preserved ruins of the royal 
 Rock. Near the cathedral stands a massive 
 square tower or castle. Not far distant is a 
 large Celtic cross of grit stone, supposed to 
 date from the time of Cormac' s chapel. The 
 ancient round tower, which here, as elsewhere 
 in Ireland, adds such enchantment to historic 
 ruins, and so much picturesqueness to their 
 pictures, is about twenty feet in diameter at 
 its base, and ninety feet in height. \ 
 
 When the traveller looks up at this Rock, 
 
and the Holy Land. 455 
 
 whose great stone temples and strongholds are 
 crumbling into pieces under the touch of the 
 finger of time, he cannot realize the remarkable 
 events that have taken place on those heights 
 and in the surrounding plain below, nor the 
 scenes of pageantry and splendor that have 
 been a thousand times witnessed in the pagan 
 and Christian ages of the past. Chieftains, 
 prelates, and kings have ascended the rocky 
 paths that led to the sanctuaries of religion and 
 strongholds of power and influence, for pur- 
 poses of devotion or consultation, and often- 
 times to make preparations for battle or long- 
 continued Avars, from which they would return 
 with the waving plumes and banners and tumul- 
 tuous noise of victory, or lifeless, with cold, 
 white face upturned, as they were borne on 
 their shields by their warlike retainers, march- 
 ing with steady step and muffled sounds. And 
 then again hostile armies bearing hostile flags 
 have swarmed around the base of Cashel's 
 Rock, while out of its castellated ramparts its 
 brave defenders have poured forth, and half- 
 way down its heights have met their foes in 
 deadly conflict. Beneath its broken arches 
 kings and bishops sleep their last sleep, wait- 
 ing the final summons ; but before that day 
 conies will there be a resurrection of Cashel's 
 
456 A- Visit to Europe 
 
 ancient glory? Kings 'may never rule there 
 again, but let us live in hope that the time is 
 not far distant when on the summit of Cashel's 
 historic Rock a new cathedral shall rise from 
 the ruins of its ancient temples, and that on 
 its consecration-day a long line of Ireland's 
 bishops will join in a grand religious procession, 
 symbolical of a full return to the inheritance 
 of their fathers. May jthe poetic spirit of the 
 closing lines of a poem that I once wrote become 
 prophetic but in a more peaceful way : 
 
 Behold ye Cashel's Rock o'erhead ! 
 I see strange visions of the dead, 
 Which fill my soul witli mighty dread ; 
 
 I see from out historic graves 
 Strange visions rise and disappear, 
 
 And Cashel's ancient banner waves, 
 And sounds of triumph reach my ear. 
 
 I see the king, and bard, and priest, 
 In grand procession like a feast, 
 Come forth and hail the sunlit east; 
 And crumbling bones take flesh again, 
 
 A mighty army is revealed, 
 Which nerves the arms of living men, 
 
 And fights with golden sword and shield ', 
 And Ireland wins, as win she must, 
 For God has always been her trust, 
 And God is true, and God is just, y 
 
 After we had driven to a hotel and had made 
 
and the Holy Land. 457 
 
 arrangements for dinner, we returned to the 
 Rock. We were admitted by the custodian 
 through the walls which enclose the summit. 
 Wo then wandered about at will, climbing to 
 some of the higher windows, where we enjoyed 
 a very extensive view, both near and far, of the 
 fertile Golden Vale of Minister. Having suffi- 
 ciently satisfied our laudable curiosity, we re- 
 turned to the hotel, and soon afterwards to the 
 railway station in time for the afternoon train 
 south, which would connect at Mallow with 
 the train for Killarney. The ride back to the 
 station on that bright afternoon was very 
 pleasant. \ 
 
 It was quite dark when we arrived in Killar- 
 ney. Jaunting-cars were waiting at the station 
 to convey passengers to the various hotels. 
 \Ve chose the Lake hotel, which is pleasantly 
 situated on the shores of the lower lake. In the 
 morning we looked out of the window over the 
 lake, with its craggy rocks and sylvan islands, 
 while near at hand and stretching away in 
 the distance green, blue, and purple mountains 
 reflected the morning sunlight. The lake dis- 
 trict of Killarney has not inaptly been entitled 
 ''the Mecca of every pilgrim in search of the 
 sublime and beautiful in nature, the mountain 
 Paradise of the West."/ 
 
458 A Visit to Europe 
 
 After breakfast we started on a jaunting-car 
 through Killarney, and around the lakes to the 
 entrance of the Gap of Dunloe. This brought us 
 to the very opposite extremity of the lakes from 
 that on which our hotel was situated. On our 
 way we stopped at the cathedral in Killarney, 
 which was designed by one of the Pugins. In 
 the morning we began to discover, what the day 
 fully disclosed to us, that the region of Killarney 
 possesses some of the most magnificent trees in 
 Ireland, and the lawns and greensward spread- 
 ing out from the highway as far as the eye can 
 reach are as delightful as any that I have ever 
 seen. The ride to the "Gap," in the balmy 
 morning air and mild sunshine, would tend, if 
 too often indulged in, to make romantic dream- 
 ers of the least poetic. Very near the opening 
 to the Gap we visited the "cottage of Kate 
 Kearney" now occupied by a descendant of 
 the original Kate Kearney, made famous in 
 song by Thomas Moore where you can take 
 your choice of goat's milk or "mountain 
 dew"; and you will get the same choice of 
 "good or evil" at short intervals all the way 
 through this famous mountain defile. The 
 "Gap" extends about four miles between 
 Toomies Mountain and the Macgillicuddy 
 Range, the heights on either side being lofty 
 
and the Holy Land. 459 
 
 and wild in appearance. On the way through 
 some of the more rugged and romantic parts 
 of the glen several men made themselves 
 generally but picturesquely useless by firing 
 old anvils, in order to awaken the echoes of 
 the mountains and the generous spirit of the 
 tourist. A stream flows through the entire 
 defile, at times widening into small mountain 
 lakes. When we had made about half of tins 
 part of our trip, which had to be accomplished 
 on horseback, a blind fiddler and his wife, 
 standing under a sheltering rock, attracted our 
 attention. He played for our benefit with vigor 
 and spirit, and his airs were full of patriotism, 
 for he seemed unmindful or regardless of the 
 fact that any one would ever pass that' way 
 except men of the strongest Irish national 
 sentiment^. \ 
 
 The principal attractions of Killarney have 
 been described so many times that it would 
 hardly interest but would rather confuse the 
 reader to give a new and extended descrip- 
 tion of such well-known objects as the Too- 
 mies Mountain, the Macgillicuddy Range, Man- 
 gerton, Devil's Punch-Bowl, Glen of the Horse, 
 Purple Mountain, Tore Mountain, Carran Tual, 
 Loch Bubh, Eagle's Nest, Old Wier Bridge, 
 Meeting of the Waters, Dinis Island, and 
 
460 A Visit to Europe 
 
 Glena Bay. Our exit from the Gap was near 
 the head of Upper Lake, where the boats were 
 waiting for us. We enjoyed a delightful ride 
 through Upper and Middle Lakes and out 
 upon the waters of Lower Lake, which had 
 become somewhat rough under a stiff breeze 
 that had sprung up since morning. / 
 
 The boatmen were hardly satisfied to row 
 us to the island of Innisf alien, as it was con- 
 siderably out of their way ; but as I cared 
 more to see that island than everything else 
 in Killarney, I insisted, and they yielded. As 
 they had to row against the waves, it must 
 have been nearly a half -hour before we 
 reached a landing. This island, which is 
 called the "Gem of Killarney," contains about 
 twenty-one acres. When we had landed, each 
 took his own course. I wandered about in 
 search of the ruins of the ancient monastery 
 founded by St. Finian in the sixth century, 
 and on account of which the island became 
 so celebrated. Here the Annals of Innisf al- 
 ien were written, which are so often quoted 
 by historians. The ruins are overgrown with 
 trees and vines, which hold J;hem together. It- 
 is said that the wide spreading ash-trees which 
 overshadow them are among the largest and 
 iinest in Ireland. In fact, magnificent groves 
 
and the Holy Land. 461 
 
 of ash, holly, beech, yew, and other trees are 
 seen on every part of the island, between which 
 are green lawns and sunny glades, which look 
 out upon the waters of -the beautiful lake and 
 its numerous isles. Standing on some spot 
 where we could get glimpses, in places, of the 
 bright water, and on other sides a more ex- 
 tended view of the bosom of the lake, and 
 through the branches of the trees the irregu- 
 lar outlines of the blue mountains, Innisf alien 
 seemed to us to be one of the most favored 
 places on earth for poetic musing or heavenly 
 contemplation^ 
 
 Innisf alien is one of the few places in the 
 world where I would willingly spend a life- 
 time. It is now the property of the Earl of 
 Kenmare, whose new and splendid residence 
 appears on the mainland in full view of the 
 island. On leaving its shores we appreciated 
 the lines of Thomas Moore : 
 
 " Sv*eet Innisfallen. fare thee well; 
 
 May calm and sunshine long be thine! 
 How fair thou art let others tell- 
 To feel how fair thou art is mine. 
 
 " Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell 
 
 In memory's dream that sunny smile, 
 Which o'er thee on that evening fell, 
 When first I saw that fairy isle. 
 
462 A Visit to Europe 
 
 " Weeping or smiling, lovely isle! 
 
 And all the lovelier for thy tears; 
 For though but rare thy sunny smile, 
 'Tis heav'n's own glance when it .appears. 
 
 "Like feeling hearts whose joys are few, 
 But when indeed they come, divine, 
 The brightest light the sun e'er threw 
 Is lifeless to one gleam of thine!"/ 
 
 Alter our return to the hotel we drove to 
 Muckross Abbey, which is considered one of 
 the most venerable and perfect middle-age 
 ruins in Ireland, mantled with ivy, and sur- 
 rounded by one of the most beautiful de- 
 mesnes in the British Isles. An aged yew-tree, 
 said to be as old as the abbey itself, stands 
 in the centre of the ancient enclosure. The 
 immediate grounds are used as a burial-place, 
 and beneath the pavements of Muckross lie 
 the mortal remains of several of the celebrated 
 kings of MunsterA 
 
 At six o'clock we left the station at Kil- 
 larney on our way to Cork and Queenstown, 
 at which latter place we arrived late in the 
 evening. Early the next forenoon we saw the 
 vessel which was to bear us to New York rid- 
 ing at anchor in the harbor. Early in the 
 afternoon we went aboard the tender which 
 brought us alongside the great Atlantic steamer, 
 
and the Holy Land. 463 
 
 and soon after we were on deck ready to 
 commence the voyage across the vast expanse 
 of waters. 
 
 To me the voyage was .a dreary one, although 
 the thought of home lighted up the inner 
 temple of my soul, where the gloom of na- 
 ture could cast no shadows. Thirteen priests 
 were among the passengers. On the second 
 Sunday morning after leaving Queenstown our 
 vessel was steaming past Staten Island into 
 New York Bay, and I recognized the fact that 
 we had enjoyed but few brighter or more 
 beautiful scenes in the bays and harbors of 
 the Old World than the one now presented to 
 our eyes. On landing we drove to the hotel ; 
 and we arrived at St. Patrick's Cathedral in 
 time for ten o'clock Mass. 
 
 A few days afterwards and I was at home 
 again. A few days more passed by, and I 
 was hardly able to realize that I had been 
 away from home, and the scenes which we 
 beheld in foreign lands' seemed to exist only 
 in the enchanted realms of dream-land. /( 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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