they'd niver be one of us, wid their praching about dooty, an praying, an all to plase Father Morgan; an Pat says he'll take the plidge whin the missioners come." Why, Nell, you can't see through a stone wall, cute as you are; if things go wrong, it's ownly to hide ony of the articles under Sheehan's bed; an do you think the polishmen ull let him off? not they, indeed; I know the law." "So I've heerde," answered Nell, with emphasis; "but thrust me, Moll, Florry an the Burkes have somethink be-. tween thim that we know nothing about; an now this milksop's in the way, we may look afther oursilves, that's all." "Now, let's luk at the cards;" and Mrs. Carty, pulling a greasy pack from under her, threw out a certain number, and commenced arranging the remainder in four separate parcels, whilst Nell, with staring eyes and gaping mouth, devoured every word which fell from the old woman's lips, treasuring them as if they were oracles. Just, however, as she had succeeded in awakening the most intense interest in her dupe, Mrs. Carty sprang from her seat, scattered the cards in every direction, and uttered a yell which startled the whole company: "There he is again!" she exclaimed, frantically; "I see the sarpint's head undher Nell Sullivan's chair. Sure an I promised Father Morgan niver to do business ony more; an now I've broke me word, an the divil ull have me body an sowl." "An sarve you right," said old Murphy. "See what you will, you'll see nothing worse than yersilf." "I tell you I see the divil, he's curled round me tight;" and she began tugging at her chest, as if to extricate herself from some invisible object. "She's in one of her dhrunken fits," said Florry, drily; for he was accustomed to the fortune-teller's nocturnal vagaries. "Come, be aisy, you witch! an let us have some pace; keep your freaks till to-morrow, will you? Brandy or divil, it's all one, keep thim to yoursilf, and make the most of thim." There was that in Daly's eye which Mrs. Carty did not think it convenient to misunderstand; indeed it was very seldom she ventured on a display when he was present; as it was, she sat quietly down, and answered in a cowed tone: "You're a wonderful man, Florry Daly; sure an it's at your voice the sarpint laves me; it'll not thrubble me agin to-night." "So much the betther," he answered, with a derisive laugh; and Moll, letting her head fall on the table, soon gave unequivocal proofs of the soundness of her repose. (To be continued.) 307 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF DEVOTIONS TO THE No. IV.-The Festival of Corpus Christi. THE Church being engaged in an unceasing strife with the powers of evil, and Satan varying his weapons of attack against her according to every change of circumstances, she is forced from time to time to raise fresh bulwarks of defence for the better protection of her children. Moreover, since by God's help she is ever victorious, and since in all ages she is but one and the same body, having her several members, however distant in time or place, yet knit together in the closest bonds of union, therefore the Christian calendar is continually receiving a gradual increase, each new addition telling of another struggle and another triumph over sin, error, or persecution. Thus, an attentive study of Catholic devotions during the period of a single year is a complete lesson in ecclesiastical history; every day imparts its own lesson of instruction, every prayer and hymn and creed has its own tale of interest, reminding us either of cruel sufferings endured with patience, of temptations successfully resisted, or of false doctrine refuted and driven out. Nor can it be doubted but that these memorials of earlier ages are calculated to be of the utmost service both in comforting the hearts and enlightening the understandings of modern combatants in the same field of warfare; it cannot fail to cheer the spirit, ready to faint under the labour and heat of the day, to meet the memory of those who, having once journeyed along the same road, have long since entered into their rest; and so, in like manner, when the mind is assailed by doubts and tempted to rebel against those mysteries which it cannot comprehend, new strength and stedfastness must needs be inspired by the sight of those landmarks, as it were, and testimonies to the true faith, which ancient piety and wisdom have every where erected. Indeed, to the poor and simple, who are always most numerous, and who have a special claim to all things appertaining to the Gospel, these outward and visible tokens are the easiest and best, if not the only, means of conveying any spiritual instruction; for except there were certain set forms of words, in which to express the mysteries of the faith, and certain fixed days, on which they should be distinctly proposed to their contemplation, they would hardly obtain sufficient hold upon their minds, to enable them to detect and avoid the dangerous snares of the enemy. From the earliest ages, therefore, particular times have always been set apart for the more solemn commemoration of particular events, the more punctual discharge of certain duties, or the fuller consideration of certain doctrines; as, for instance, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, by the mere instinct of natural piety, that the memory of events might be celebrated on their own actual anniversaries; or by the express institution of Christ or of his Church, as in the appointment of Lent for the special exercise of penance, of Corpus Christi, Trinity Sunday, and others, for the more careful contemplation of those mysteries, whose names they bear. And the Church has been moved to do this at different times and for different reasons, according as the Holy Spirit has instructed her. In the case of the festival with whose history we are at present concerned, the festival of Corpus Christi, the overruling hand of God was more than ordinarily manifest; indeed it may be truly said, that it was in a very special manner ordained by God Himself as a day of praise and thanksgiving for the institution of the holy Eucharist, so numerous and remarkable were the interpositions of his power in its regard. Nor is its present position in the cycle of Christian festivals unworthy of such a beginning; for towns, villages, and cities have vied with one another in adding to it new circumstances of pomp and magnificence, until it has become, in almost every part of the world, the very brightest festival in the year. The ecclesiastical annals of the thirteenth century* abound with distinct and well-authenticated accounts of miracles, which happened in many different countries, attesting the presence of Christ in the adorable Sacrament of the altar, a doctrine which was at that time the special object of attack to the impious spirit of heresy. Some of these miracles happened in private, or only before a few; others were more public and notorious; but even these, though they obtained a partial celebrity, and received (at least some of them) an annual commemoration in the immediate neighbourhood of those churches where they occurred, yet did not affect the whole of the Catholic Church, God having chosen more humble instruments for the accomplishment of his purposes. For, as it had pleased Him that Mary Magdalen, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, should be the first to receive knowledge of the great mystery of the resurrection, and to impart it to the eleven, to Peter and the rest, so it was his will that this festival should in like manner be first revealed to a few women, and then by them communicated to his Vicegerent upon earth and to the rest of the Church. • Bzovius, Annales, tom. xiii. ad ann. 1211, 1213, 1231, 1232, 1249,3 &c. 1. The most remarkable of these chosen witnesses was a nun, named Juliana, who had lived ever since she was an orphan of five years old in a convent either of Augustinians or Cistercians (at Monte Cornelione near Liege), where the good sisters spent their time in tending upon those lepers, pilgrims, and other poor and afflicted members of Christ's body, whom they could receive into their own house. From her earliest years -she had been remarkable for an extraordinary proficiency in every Christian virtue, and especially for a peculiar intensity of devotion towards the sacrifice of the altar, at which whenever she was permitted to assist, she was filled with such an inexpressible ecstacy of delight, that she could hardly be recalled to consciousness, even when it was necessary to remove her for the discharge of other duties; and if, as it often happened, she was unable to be personally present, she would throw herself upon her knees, as soon as she heard the bell, and remain there during the whole celebration of Mass, absorbed in the most earnest prayer. When by and by she was admitted to an actual participation in these mysteries, her devotion naturally increased; whenever she communicated, she observed the strictest silence and severe fasting for the following week, if not for a still longer period, listening only -to the voice of that God who had vouchsafed to come and visit her, and not choosing that any common food should pass those lips which had lately received the very body of her Lord. With a heart disengaged from the world and purified by continual prayer, it is not wonderful that in her, as in so many others similarly endowed, that was fulfilled which had been spoken of by the prophet Joel (ii. 28): "It shall come -to pass in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Juliana had hardly completed her sixteenth year, about A.D. 1208, when God vouchsafed to reveal to her a portion of his will, which had hitherto been hidden from the whole world. A vision was continually present to her mind, wherein she saw the moon radiant with brightness save only on one side, where a strange darkness destroyed the completeness of the circle. Unable either to rid herself of this appearance, or to interpret its meaning, she took counsel with her spiritual directors, who bid her banish it from her thoughts, and to feel assured that thus it would soon cease to trouble her. In vain she set herself to obey these injunctions; the same vision would still be ever before her, whether by day or by night, whether she was at her work or at her prayers; until at length she began to understand that so constant a warning could come only fromí God, to whom she determined to pray for further light and instruction. Her prayer was soon answered; she was told that the moon typified the glories of the Church, and the beauteous cycle of her festivals, but that its partial obscurity indicated that something was still wanting. There were holy days dedicated to the memory of the most eminent servants of God; of Peter, the prince of the Apostles; of Stephen, the first martyr; of John, the forerunner; of the Beloved Disciple, and of others; there were days appointed for the commemoration of every principal event in the history of the Son of God, and of His blessed Virgin Mother; and there was the feast of Pentecost, sacred to the Holy Ghost; one thing alone was lacking, a day wherein men should give themselves up with undivided attention to contemplate the crowning mystery of their Redeemer's love, the gift of Himself in the holy Eucharist. This new festival was to be a confirmation and a proof of the Church's faith, a means of grace to all who should celebrate it with devotion, and, in some sort, a satisfaction also for the many sins and blasphemies of those who denied the doctrine which it was to commemorate. Finally it was revealed to her, that she herself was the chosen handmaid, through whom it was, in the counsels of the Almighty, that this deficiency should be supplied. Conscious of her own weakness, and of the greatness of the task proposed to her, she besought God to choose some more able and efficient ad- › vocate, whose position in life might impart authority to his words, and so more certainly awaken the interest of the Church to listen to them. She erred as Moses had done nearly 4000 years before, when he pleaded his natural want of eloquence as incapacitating him for that function to which God had been pleased to call him; and as he was then reminded of that attribute of the Deity, which he had seemed to forget or to deny, the Lord's omnipotence, so was Juliana instantly reminded of that Christian truth, of which she seemed to be unmindful, viz. that "God has chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the strong and the wise;" for there came a voice from heaven, repeating to her those words of the Redeemer, "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones." Moreover, she was instructed how suitable it was that the little ones of this world, the weak, the base, and the foolish, should be most forward in promoting the honour of that sacrament, in which the Lord of glory, though really present, is yet devoid of every outward token of dignity and |