the spot where the mother of their tiful the scene appeared, how calm and people lies buried. serene the night! Peace seemed to reign in this place, which had been the birthplace of the King of peace.

Entering the church through a low door we found ourselves in a spacious edifice with a half wall keeping out of sight the sanctuary and altar, and with

Passing over the stone floor, which is much worn and broken in places, we come to the sanctuary, where a Greek congregation are now kneeling; a delay ensues, and when services have come to

Pursuing our journey we passed over a wooded hill, and in a few minutes found ourselves clattering through the Next day we visited the church. streets of Bethlehem. It was near It is the oldest edifice of Christian evening now, and the sun was out of worship in the world. Built by St. sight, leaving a purple reflection on the Helena, Constantine's mother, it has clear sky. The narrow and excessively stood for fifteen hundred years, and dirty streets were thronged by a strange, its mighty walls seem even now to motley crowd. Turks strutting by, have scarcely felt the touch of time. with stolid, though I thought disdainful, It covers the most sacred spot in all faces, wicked-looking Arabs lounging the earth, the grotto where the Saviour past and eying everything and every- was born. body. Jews, with bent heads and hurried steps, moving along silently, strangers almost in their own country. Greek monks, Armenian priests, and Latin ecclesiastics of every rank, hur- too many evidences of neglect around. rying to their monasteries-all these combined to make up a rare and curious picture. From the short sight I had of the town I inferred that the principal occupation of the inhabitants is the manufacture of crosses, an end we approach a staircase on one rosaries, and medals, which have a large sale among the pilgrims who come here from all parts of the world. Upon the left side of the ridge is the great church, and quite near it is the Latin convent. Of course we stopped at the latter, and after a plentiful meal retired for the night to prepare for the However, we leave them behind us fatigue of the morrow. I here remem- and descend the staircase. A mysteber how beautiful the old village ap-rious awe takes possession of us all. peared to me as I viewed it through a With sentiments of profound veneradeep, narrow window in the convent tion we approach the birthplace of wall. The valley was lying in shadow Him who died to save us. Suddenly, when I first looked, but presently the as we near the bottom, a brilliant light great yellow orb of the moon came shines upon us. It comes from a numover the top of the great church and ber of small lamps suspended in the threw a lustre on hill and vale, while air, which cast a pure, clear lustre upon the bright stars of Arabia twinkled a silver star set in the floor. and glistened in the sky. How beau- prostrate ourselves there. We have

side while the departing Greek communicants eye us not very amicably, for, strange to say, these Syrian Christians do not love one another according to the Gospel, but spend much of their time in bitter and unprofitable wrangling.

We

reached the holy place, the abode of imagine the strange unspeakable rev

joy, the home of peace. Here, two thousand years ago, occurred the great event of human history. Upon the silver star you see it recorded before your eyes:

HIC

DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS
NATUS EST.

erence, which no devotee can resist. The great mystery of man's salvation began here, to be finished in thirtythree years upon the hill of Calvary. In all the world there cannot be a place so holy, so suggestive, so full of inspiration and of reverence.

We left the sacred place with reluctance, and one day later, when we stood again beside the monastery of No one can know the rapture which Elijah, a feeling of sadness came over fills the pilgrim's soul at the moment us as we saw the dusk coming on and when he bows in adoration where the the gray distance shrouding Bethlehem Magi knelt before him. No one can from our sight.

ABOUT THUMBS.-We suppose that the dying, as if impelled by some all our readers know that man would vague fear, seek refuge under the finnot be what he is without the thumb. gers, and when thus found are almost This little fact has been so impressed certain announcement of the end. So, upon us from our school-days that we in leaving this world, it would seem are not likely to forget it. Without that our hands, in their last desire for the thumb for a lever, we would be movement, assume, with our growing unable to hold anything tightly, and unconsciousness, the same suggestive most of the inventions of our era would position in which the hands of the be useless, not to speak of the enor-new-born babe, with faculties all dormous general power that would be lost. mant, first shape themselves. Small Let us accept the fact of having thumbs, then, and be thankful and rejoice over our Darwinian friends, the apes. We did not know, however, until we saw it in print lately, that the thumb represented intelligence and affection. Born idiots frequently come into the To pass now to the matter of gratiworld without thumbs. Infants, until tude and ingratitude; there never was they arrive at an age when intellect any man yet so wicked as not to apdawns, constantly keep their fingers prove the one and detest the other, folded above their thumbs, but they as the two things in the whole world, soon know better, and, as the mind, the one to be the most abominated, the develops, recognize the dignity and other the most esteemed. The very usefulness of the despised digit. At story of an ungrateful action puts us out the approach of death the thumbs of of all patience and gives us a loathing.

thumbs denote an affectionate disposition; long thumbs go with long heads; short, thick, stumpy thumbs mark a cruel man, and much more is told us of the same kind.

THE SINGER.

BY J. F. H.

Ragged of garment and bare of feet,
A homeless waif in the town's high street
Sang an old ballad soft and sweet.

The burgher noted her sorry plight,

For her eye was dim and her face was white;
But he hurried on in the gathering night.

And the town folks, chatting, passed her by
As her sad strain trembled to the sky,
But they left the singer alone to die.

But out of the dusk one came along
Who listened awhile to the child-waif's song,
And he stole aside from the bustling throng.

The night had fallen, the crowd was gone,
And the flickering stars came one by one
To look at the child so sad and wan.

Then he who watched in the dusk came by, And he said as he looked on the heavy eye, "The world knows not where its jewels lie."

A singer of beauty and high renown
Came to perform in the quaint old town.
But little the raptured people guessed

That the minstrel all went wild to greet Was the beggar waif whom they had passed, One night before in the town's high street.

But one stood by as the lady sang,

And his face was glad when the plaudits rang; For well he remembered that dark, cold night. ""Twas true," quoth he, as he sauntered by, "My passing words are proven right,

The world knows not where its jewels lie."

AUTHORITY.

A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY FRANCIS JOSEPH HAGERTY.

The world moves.

can be very easily changed by declaring that popular, or if you will, public opinion moves the world.

This assertion affairs on the part of popular opinion. Scientists say that prayer is of no avail, natural causes and their effects everything. Public opinion cries bravo. Herbert Spencer and his followers seek only the advancement of the mind of man and the care of his material in

This great agent of progress in worldly affairs, before whom the noblest and haughtiest bow in abject submission, must certainly be more than an ordi- terests, while they demand nothing from nary character, one possessing some supernatural attribute, a being so strong that none dare oppose its will, so august, that its presence overawes and subjects the boldest intruder to instant compliance with its demands, so potent, that from the peasant's hut to the king's palace all feel the effects of its power and hasten to shout its glory.

No matter under what guise, or of what object in search, public opinion wins respect; and having once gained control asserts its power with absolute sway, holding its subjects so firmly, that even the sun of justice so long obscured is almost unable to reflect a single ray of honesty on the human mind.

him, as a tribute to his Divine Former. Public opinion here informs you that your intellect must rule, the heart is only sentiment, this is the nineteenth century not the days of lazy monks and feudal barons.

Go on still further, and when public opinion stands to contemplate the dead, perishable body of a John Stuart Mill, it gives itself the lie direct; on the one hand it praises his ability while living, but fails to answer the question: Why did not he who when living sought not God, as the agent of goodness, but bestowed upon a frail creature in the capacity of wife the love and adoration due to his Creator, why did not he check the onward advance of death, and show the world, that if the human being is the only object of regard or adoration, that corporeal form which it has assumed must by its own inherent power say to death, Halt! I am not subject to thy sway, I am thy master? No, an unseen, omnipotent Being rules Pause for a moment and ask your-otherwise; and the world, with its blaselves whence this right to control your tant guide, popular will, better desig

You must admit that daily the press proclaims the doctrines of this great slave-driver of society, and when one boldly comes forward to question this or that idea so unanimously heralded by the papers, he is either looked upon as a fanatic or lunatic unfit to be trusted with any of the rights of manhood.

1. Because you have the authority

2. Because the good of society at large demands it.

nated as self-willed ignorance, has to
stand condemned before the higher to do so.
power, always self-conscious of right as
emanating from the Godhead and given
to the world in the Church, the only true
guide, the safest counsellor, because she
alone has the passport to traverse this
transitory sphere and from her rock-
built eminence, say to the young men
of this age: Behold, I am the only true
and reliable AUTHORITY for you to adopt
and follow.

The first proposition can be quickly and efficiently disposed of, inasmuch as you are members of the Catholic faith, which is the pillar and ground of truth, and in her teachings cannot err. The proof of which is self-evident from your earliest recollections. You have inherited that authority as a birthright, and it remains for you to guard it jealously, protect it with all your might and sacrifice your lives rather than surrender your title and claim to so inestimable a privilege, because the popular The mistake most likely to arise is, ideas of the day do not accord with the the taking of a synonyme for the word principles enunciated by your infal itself, as supposing influence, ascend- lible guide. The second proposition, ency, and power to have the same that society has need of your assistmeaning as authority. ance, is most certainly susceptible of proof.

Thus far you have found public opinion, as known in this age, to exist without authority. I request your attention while presenting to you the proper definition of the term.

Authority includes the idea of right necessarily. Superior wisdom, age, and office give authority; but authority is of itself, and requires no collateral aid. Authority is confined to that species of power which is determined from legitimate source. God is the source of all authority, an attribute which is commensurate with his goodness, his power, and his wisdom. Man therefore exercises the supreme authority over man, as the minister of God's authority: he exceeds that if he does anything contrary to God's will.

Some believe power to mean authority. This is not true. There is power where we can or may act; there is authority only where we ought to act.

Therefore, I propose to show the necessity of Catholic young men associating together for benevolent and social objects.

On every side you find allurements and fascinations to draw away the young from the path of duty, first by destroying parental control, secondly by fostering an over-thirst for the acquisition of money as a means to gratify depraved taste and satisfy an indomitable ambition to be considered something in the eyes of the world, it little matters what, provided it brings notoriety, either as a pugilist, spendthrift, blackguard, or politician.

Obtain power; use it; show by your influence you can sway a band of followers to your notions; and it is of very little importance if you can show no authority.

You have gained the upper hand. While you hold the winning card, watch your opportunity, society knows you. But once lose your trick-the game is