welcome me, nothing has changed save myself. "Tis vain trying to recall those days; weeping is of no avail, and sighing useless. Questions: Where is the city of Limerick? What is it celebrated for? What is a treaty? sally loiter'd pang frame ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY. Montalembert, Charles Forbes René de, born 1810, died in 1870: French statesman, historian and essayist. He belonged to the period called the "Catholic Revival" in France, of which himself, Chateanbriand, Lacordaire, Ozanam, Dupanloup, Auguste Nicolas and the unfortunate Lamennais were the most prominent exponents. His best known works are the "Life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary," and the 'Monks of the West." The former is the most perfect work of its kind that has ever been written; the latter is a monument of patient research, and of devotion to the faith of the Middle Ages; both are Catholic classics. 66 GENEROSITY to the poor, particularly that exercised by princes, was one of the most remarkable features of the age in which she lived; but we perceiva that in her charity did not proceed from rank, still less from the desire of obtaining praise or purely human gratitude, but from an interior and heavenly inspiration. From her cradle she could not bear the sight of a poor person without feeling her heart pierced with grief, and now that her husband had granted her full liberty in all that concerned the honor of God and the good of her neighbor, she unreservedly abandoned herself to her natural inclinations to solace the suffering members of Christ. Notwithstanding the resources which the charity of her husband placed at her disposal, she gave away so quickly all that she possessed, that it often happened that she would despoil herself of her clothes, in order to have the means of assisting the unfortunate. But it was not alone by presents or with money that the young princess testified her love for the poor of Christ; it was still more by personal devotion, by those tender and patient cares which are assuredly, in the sight both of God and of the sufferers, the most holy and most precious alms. And then, no distance, no roughness of road, could keep her from them. She knew that nothing strengthens feelings of charity more, than to penetrate into all that is positive and material in human misery. She sought out the huts most distant from her castle, which were often repulsive, through filth and bad air, yet she entered these haunts of poverty in a manner at once full of devotion and familiarity. She carried, herself, what she thought would be necessary for their miserable inhabitants. She consoled them, far less by her generous gifts than by her sweet and affectionate words. When she found them in debt and unable to pay, she engaged to discharge their obligations from her private purse. One day, when accompanied by one of her favorite maidens, as she descended by a rude little path — still pointed out and carried under her mantle bread, meat, eggs and other food to distribute to the poor, she suddenly encountered her husband, who was returning from hunting. Astonished to see her thus toiling on under the weight of her burthen, he said to her, "Let us see what you carry,”—and at the same time drew open the mantle which she held closely clasped to her bosom; but beneath it were only red and white roses, the most beautiful he had ever seen; and as it was no longer the season of flowers this astonished him. Seeing that Elizabeth was troubled, he sought to console her by his caresses, but he ceased suddenly, on seeing over her head a luminous appearance in the form of a crucifix. He then desired her to continue her route without being disturbed by him, and he returned to Wartburg, meditating on what God did for her, and carrying with him one of those wonderful roses, which he preserved all his life. At the spot where this meeting took place he erected a pillar, surmounted by a cross, to consecrate for ever the remembrance of that which he had seen hovering over the head of his wife. Amongst the unfortunate who particularly attracted her compassion, those who occupied the chief place in her heart were the lepers; the mysterious and special character of their affliction rendered them, throughout the Middle Ages, objects of solicitude and affection min.gled with fear. Living thus with the poor and for them, it is not astonishing that God should have inspired her with that holy love of poverty which has rendered souls richest in His grace illustrious. Whilst from amongst the people, Francis of Assisi appeared to the world as a new sanctuary, whereto rushed all those who were eager for self-denial and sacrifice, God raised in the midst of the chivalry of Germany this king's daughter, who at the age of fifteen years already felt her heart burn with the love of evangelical poverty, and who confounded the pride and pomp of her person by a sovereign contempt of earthly grandeur. We freely confess that in the life of this Saint, which we have studied with so much love, nothing appears to us more touching, more worthy of admiration almost even of envy, than this child-like simplicity, which may possibly bring to some lips the smile of dis 4 nay, dain. To our eyes, this force yielding to all impressions, these frequent smiles and tears, the girlish joys and sorrows, these innocent sports of her whose soul rested in the bosom of her heavenly Father-all these, mingled with such painful sacrifices, such grave thoughts, such fervent piety, such active, devoted, and ardent charity, offer the sweetest and most powerful charm. It is beyond all, in times like our own, when flowers wither and no fruits ripen - when simplicity is dead in most hearts, in private life as well as in public society, that a Christian cannot study without emotion this development manifested in the soul of Elizabeth, whose short life was but a lengthened and heavenly infancy a perpetual obedience to the words spoken by our Saviour, when, taking a little child and setting him in the midst of his disciples, he said to them: "Amen I say unto you, if you become not like unto little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Questions: What is meant by "solace the suffering members of Christ"? Why are the poor called "members of Christ"? Give texts from the New Testament in which our Lord shows his affection for the poor. Explain the sentence, "She knew that nothing strengthens. . . position and material in human misery." Give it in your own words. In what virtue besides love of poverty does St. Elizabeth resemble St. Francis? (Simplicity.) Write in your own words an account of the charities of St. Elizabeth, and the miraculous manner in which her sanctity was made known to her husband. LOVE OF COUNTRY. Walter Scott (1771-1832), poet and novelist of the Romantic period tz English literature. His greatest poems, the "Lay of the Last Minstrel," "Marmion" and the "Lady of the Lake," appeared between 1805 and 1814. The popularity of his verse then declining, he entered upon a new career, that of romancist, in which he has never been surpassed. “Waverly," "Ivanhoe," "Old Mortality," "Kenilworth," "Guy Mannering," "Heart of Midlothian" and "Bride of Lammermoor" are the most powerful of his tales. The chivalry of the Middle Ages, the legends of Scottish history, the civil wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, were the themes of which he sang and wrote. From the multitude and individuality of his creations he has been styled the Shakespeare of romance. His style is easy and animated, and the moral tone of his works pure, manly and elevated. Yet he was not above an occasional bigoted fling at Catholicism, and his tales are too often disfigured by false statements or unkind insinuations against Catholic personages or customs. BREATHES there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said This is my own, my native land? To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Questions: What questions are asked in the first six lines? What answer is to be given to such a person? Give another expression for each of the following: native land, foreign strand, mark him well, |