,,lourdes ,,by ,,the ,,very ,,rev4 ,,monsignor ,,robert ,,hugh ,,benson ,,with ,,eight ,,full ,,page ,,illustrations ,,st4 ,,louis ,,mo43 ,b4 ,,herder1 ,,publisher #ag1 ,s4 ,,broadway ,,london3 ,,manresa ,,press ,,roehampton1 ,s4,w4 #aiad ,nihil ,obstat3 ,s4 ,,georgius ,,kieran ,,hyland1 ,s4,t4,d41 ,,censor ,,deputatus ,imprimatur3 ,,gulielmus ,f4 ,,brown1 ,,vicarius ,,generalis1 ,,southwarcensi4 #ae ,maii1 #aiad4 ,,preface4 ,since writing the following pages six years ago1 ,i have had the privilege of meeting a famous ,french scientist--to whom we owe one of the greatest discoveries of recent years--who has made a special study of ,lourdes and its phenomena1 and of hearing him comment upon what takes place there4 ,he is1 himself1 at present1 not a practising ,catholic2 and this fact lends peculiar interest to his opinions4 ,his conclusions1 so far as he has formulated them1 are as follows3 7#a7 ,that no scientific hypothesis up to the present accounts satisfactorily for the phenomena4 ,upon his saying this to me ,i breathed the word suggestion2 and his answer was to laugh in my face1 and to tell me1 practically1 that this is the most ludicrous hypothesis of all4 7#b7 ,that1 so far as he can see1 the one thing necessary for such cures as he himself has witnessed or verified1 is the atmosphere of prayer4 ,where this rises to intensity the number of cures rises with it2 where this sinks1 the cures sink too4 7#c7 ,that he is inclined to think that there is a transference of vitalizing force either from the energetic faith of the sufferer1 or from that of the bystanders4 ,he instanced an example in which his wife1 herself a qualified physician1 took part4 ,she held in her arms a child1 aged two and a half years1 blind from birth1 during the procession of the ,blessed ,sacrament4 ,as the monstrance came opposite1 tears began to stream from the child's eyes1 hitherto closed4 ,when it had passed1 the child's eyes were open and seeing4 ,this ,mme4 ---- tested by dangling her bracelet before the child1 who immediately clutched at it1 but1 from the fact that she had never learned to calculate distance1 at first failed to seize it4 ,at the close of the procession ,mme4 ----1 who herself related to me the story1 was conscious of an extraordinary exhaustion for which there was no ordinary explanation4 ,i give this suggestion as the scientist gave it to me--the suggestion of some kind of transference of vitality2 and make no comment upon it1 beyond saying that1 superficially at any rate1 it does not appear to me to conflict with the various accounts of miracles given in the ,gospel in which the faith of the bystanders1 as well as of sufferers1 appeared to be as integral an element in the miracle as the virtue which worked it4 ,owing to the time that has elapsed since the following pages were written for the ,ave ,maria--by the kindness of whose editor they are reprinted now--it is impossible for me to verify the spelling of all the names that occur in the course of the narrative4 ,i made notes while at ,lourdes1 and from those notes wrote my account2 it is therefore extremely probable that small errors of spelling may have crept in1 which ,i am now unable to correct4 ,,robert ,,hugh ,,benson4 ,church of our ,lady of ,lourdes1 ,new ,york1 ,lent1 #aiad ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,the ,,basilica4 ,,front ,,view ,frontispiece ,,dr4 ,,boissarie to face p4 #af ,,bureau ,,des ,,constatations #bf ,,the ,,grotto ,,in #aheh #cf ,,the ,,grotto ,,in #aiad #df ,,the ,,blessing ,,of ,,the ,,sick #ef ,,the ,,basilica4 ,,side ,,view #ff ,,bernadette #gh ,i4 ,the first sign of our approach to ,lourdes was a vast wooden cross1 crowning a pointed hill4 ,we had been travelling all day1 through the ,august sunlight1 humming along the straight ,french roads beneath the endless avenues2 now across a rich plain1 with the road banked on either side to avert the spring torrents from the ,pyrenees2 now again mounting and descending a sudden shoulder of hill4 ,a few minutes ago we had passed into ,tarbes1 the cathedral city of the diocese in which ,lourdes lies2 and there1 owing to a little accident1 we had been obliged to halt1 while the wheels of the car were lifted1 with incredible ingenuity1 from the deep gutter into which the chauffeur had1 with the best intentions1 steered them4 ,it was here1 in the black eyes1 the dominant profiles1 the bright colours1 the absorbed childish interest of the crowd1 in their comments1 their laughter1 their seriousness1 and their accent1 that the ,south showed itself almost unmixed4 ,it was market-day in ,tarbes2 and when once more we were on our way1 we still went slowly2 passing1 almost all the way into ,lourdes itself1 a long-drawn procession--carts and foot passengers1 oxen1 horses1 dogs1 and children--drawing nearer every minute toward that ring of solemn blue hills that barred the view to ,spain4 ,it is difficult to describe with what sensations ,i came to ,lourdes4 ,as a ,christian man1 ,i did not dare to deny that miracles happened2 as a reasonably humble man1 ,i did not dare to deny that they happened at ,lourdes2 yet1 ,i suppose1 my attitude even up to now had been that of a reverent agnostic--the attitude1 in fact1 of a majority of ,christians on this particular point--,christians1 that is1 who resemble the ,apostle ,thomas in his less agreeable aspect4 ,i had heard and read a good deal about psychology1 about the effect of mind on matter and of nerves on tissue2 ,i had reflected upon the infection of an ardent crowd2 ,i had read ,zola's dishonest book2#a and these things1 coupled with the extreme difficulty which the imagination finds in realizing what it has never experienced--since1 after all1 miracles are confessedly miraculous1 and therefore unusual--the effect of all this was to render my mental state a singularly detached one4 ,i believed8 ,yes1 ,i suppose so2 but it was a halting act of faith pure and simple2 it was not yet either sight or real conviction4 ,the cross1 then1 was the first glimpse of ,lourdes' presence2 and ten minutes later we were in the town itself4 ,lourdes is not beautiful1 though it must once have been4 ,it was once a little ,franco-,spanish town1 set in the lap of the hills1 with a swift1 broad1 shallow stream1 the ,gave1 flowing beneath it4 ,it is now cosmopolitan1 and therefore undistinguished4 ,as we passed slowly through the crowded streets--for the ,national ,pilgrimage was but now arriving--we saw endless rows of shops and booths sheltering beneath tall white blank houses1 as correct and as expressionless as a brainless1 well-bred man4 ,here and there we passed a great hotel4 ,the crowd about our wheels was almost as cosmopolitan as a ,roman crowd4 ,it was largely ,french1 as that is largely ,italian2 but the ,spaniards were there1 vivid-faced men and women1 severe ,britons1 solemn ,teutons2 and1 ,i have no doubt1 ,italians1 ,belgians1 ,flemish and ,austrians as well4 ,at least ,i heard during my three days' stay all the languages that ,i could recognize1 and many that ,i could not4 ,there were many motor-cars there besides our own1 carriages1 carts1 bell-clanging trams1 and the litters of the sick4 ,presently we dismounted in a side street1 and set out to walk to the ,grotto1 through the hot evening sunshine4 ,the first sign of sanctity that we saw1 as we came out at the end of a street1 was the mass of churches built on the rising ground above the river4 ,imagine first a great oval of open ground1 perhaps two hundred by three hundred yards in area1 crowded now with groups as busy as ants1 partly embraced by two long white curving arms of masonry rising steadily to their junction2 at the point on this side where the ends should meet if they were prolonged1 stands a white stone image of ,our ,lady upon a pedestal1 crowned1 and half surrounded from beneath by some kind of metallic garland arching upward4 ,at the farther end the two curves of masonry of which ,i have spoken1 rising all the way by steps1 meet upon a terrace4 ,this terrace is1 so to speak1 the centre of gravity of the whole4 ,for just above it stands the flattened dome of the ,rosary ,church1 of which the doors are beneath the terrace1 placed upon broad flights of steps4 ,immediately above the dome is the entrance to the crypt of the basilica2 and1 above that again1 reached by further flights of steps1 are the doors of the basilica2 and1 above it1 the roof of the church itself1 with its soaring white spire high over all4 ,let me be frank4 ,these buildings are not really beautiful4 ,they are enormous1 but they are not impressive2 they are elaborate and fine and white1 but they are not graceful4 ,i am not sure what is the matter with them2 but ,i think it is that they appear to be turned out of a machine4 ,they are too trim2 they are like a well-dressed man who is not quite a gentleman2 they are like a wedding guest2 they are haute-bourgeoise1 they are not the nobility4 ,it is a terrible pity1 but ,i suppose it could not be helped1 since they were allowed so little time to grow4 ,there is no sense of reflectiveness about them1 no patient growth of character1 as in those glorious cathedrals1 ,amiens1 ,chartres1 ,beauvais1 which ,i had so lately seen4 ,there is nothing in reserve2 they say everything1 they suggest nothing4 ,they have no imaginative vista4 ,we said not one word to one another4 ,we threaded our way across the ground1 diagonally1 seeing as we went the ,bureau de ,constatations 7or the office where the doctors sit71 contrived near the left arm of the terraced steps2 and passed out under the archway1 to find ourselves with the churches on our left1 and on our right the flowing ,gave1 confined on this side by a terraced walk1 with broad fields beyond the stream4 ,the first thing ,i noticed were the three roofs of the piscines1 on the left side of the road1 built under the cliff on which the churches stand4 ,i shall have more to say of them presently1 but now it is enough to remark that they resemble three little chapels1 joined in one1 each with its own doorway2 an open paved space lies across the entrances1 where the doctors and the priests attend upon the sick4 ,this open space is fenced in all about1 to keep out the crowd that perpetually seethes there4 ,we went a few steps farther1 worked our way in among the people1 and fell on our knees4 ,overhead1 the cliff towered up1 bare hanging rock beneath1 grass and soaring trees above2 and at the foot of the cliff a tall1 irregular cave4 ,there are two openings of this cave2 the one1 the larger1 is like a cage of railings1 with the gleam of an altar in the gloom beyond1 a hundred burning candles1 and sheaves and stacks of crutches clinging to the broken roofs of rock2 the other1 and smaller1 and that farther from us1 is an opening in the cliff1 shaped somewhat like a vesica4 ,the grass still grows there1 with ferns and the famous climbing shrub2 and within the entrance1 framed in it1 stands ,mary1 in white and blue1 as she stood fifty years ago1 raised perhaps twenty feet above the ground4 ,ah1 that image6444 ,i said1 ,as she stood there6 ,yet it could not have been so2 for surely even simple ,bernadette would not have fallen on her knees4 ,it is too white1 it is too blue2 it is1 like the three churches1 placed magnificently1 yet not impressive2 fine and slender1 yet not graceful4 ,but we knelt there without unreality1 with the river running swift behind us2 for we knelt where a holy child had once knelt before a radiant vision1 and with even more reason2 for even if the one1 as some say1 had been an hallucination1 were those sick folk an hallucination8 ,was ,pierre de ,rudder's mended leg an hallucination1 or the healed wounds of ,marie ,borel8 ,or were those hundreds upon hundreds of disused crutches an illusion8 ,did subjectivity create all these8 ,if so1 what greater miracle can be demanded8 ,and there was more than that4 ,for when later1 at ,argels1 ,i looked over the day1 ,i was able to formulate for the first time the extraordinary impressions that ,lourdes had given me4 ,there was everything hostile to my peace--an incalculable crowd1 an oppressive heat1 dust1 noise1 weariness2 there was the disappointment of the churches and the image2 there was the sour unfamiliarity of the place and the experience2 and yet ,i was neither troubled nor depressed nor irritated nor disappointed4 ,it appeared to me as if some great benign influence were abroad1 soothing and satisfying2 lying like a great summer air over all1 to quiet and to stimulate4 ,i cannot describe this further2 ,i can only say that it never really left me during those three days1 ,i saw sights that would have saddened me elsewhere--apparent injustices1 certain disappointments1 dashed hopes that would almost have broken my heart2 and yet that great ,power was over all1 to reconcile1 to quiet and to reassure4 ,to leave ,lourdes at the end was like leaving home4 ,after a few minutes before the ,grotto1 we climbed the hill behind1 made an appointment for my ,mass on the morrow2 and1 taking the car again1 moved slowly through the crowded streets1 and swiftly along the country roads1 up to ,argels1 nearly a dozen miles away4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,the epithet is deliberate4 ,he relates in his book1 ,lourdes1 the story of an imaginary case of a girl1 suffering from tuberculosis1 who goes to ,lourdes as a pilgrim1 and is1 apparently1 cured of her disease4 ,it breaks out1 however1 again during her return home2 and the case would appear therefore to be one of those in which1 owing to fierce excitement and the mere power of suggestion1 there is a temporary amelioration1 but no permanent1 or supernatural1 cure4 ,will it be believed that the details of this story1 all of which are related with great particularity1 and observed by ,zola himself1 were taken from an actual case that occurred during one of his visits--all the details except the relapse8 ,there was no relapse3 the cure was complete and permanent4 ,when ,dr4 ,boissarie later questioned the author as to the honesty of this literary device1 saying that he had understood him to have stated that he had come to ,lourdes for the purpose of an impartial investigation1 ,zola answered that the characters in the book were his own1 and that he could make them do what he liked4 ,it is on these principles that the book is constructed4 ,it must be added that ,zola followed up the case1 and had communications with the miracule long after her cure had been shown to be permanent1 and before his book appeared4 ,,ii4 ,we were in ,lourdes again next morning a little after six o'clock2 and already it might have been high noon1 for the streets were one moving mass of pilgrims4 ,from every corner came gusts of singing2 and here and there through the crowd already moved the brancardiers--men of every nation with shoulder-straps and cross--bearing the litters with their piteous burdens4 ,i was to say ,mass in the crypt2 and when ,i arrived there at last1 the church was full from end to end4 ,the interior was not so disappointing as ,i had feared4 ,it had a certain solid catacombic gloom beneath its low curved roof1 which1 if it had not been for the colours and some of the details1 might very nearly have come from the hand of a good architect4 ,the arrangements for the pilgrims were as bad as possible2 there was no order1 no marshalling2 they moved crowd against crowd like herds of bewildered sheep4 ,some were for ,communion1 some for ,mass only1 some for confession2 and they pushed patiently this way and that in every direction4 ,it was a struggle before ,i got my vestments2 ,i produced a letter from the ,bishop of ,rodez1 with whom ,i had lunched a few days before2 ,i argued1 ,i deprecated1 ,i persuaded1 ,i quoted4 ,everything once more was against my peace of mind2 yet ,i have seldom said ,mass with more consolations than in that tiny sanctuary of the high ,altar4444 ,an ecclesiastic served1 and an old priest knelt devoutly at a prie-,dieu4 ,when the time for ,communion came1 ,i turned about and saw but one sea of faces stretching from the altar rail into as much of the darkness as ,i could discern4 ,for a quarter of an hour ,i gave ,communion rapidly2 then1 as soon as another priest could force his way through the crowd1 ,i continued ,mass2 he had not nearly finished giving ,communion when ,i had ended my thanksgiving4 ,this1 too1 was the same everywhere--in the crypt1 in the basilica1 in the ,rosary ,church1 and above all in the ,grotto4 ,the average number of ,communions every day throughout the year in ,lourdes is1 ,i am told1 four thousand4 ,in that year of ,jubilee1 however1 ,dr4 ,boissarie informed me1 in round numbers1 one million ,communions were made1 sixty thousand ,masses were said1 with two thousand ,communions at each midnight ,mass4444 ,does ,jesus ,christ go out when ,mary comes in8 ,we are told so by non-,catholics4 ,rather1 it seems as if1 like the ,wise ,men of old1 men still find the ,child with ,mary ,his ,mother4 ,at the close of my ,mass1 the old priest rose from his place and began to prepare the vessels and arrange the ,missal4 ,as soon as ,i took off the vestments he put them on4 ,i assented passively1 supposing him to be the next on the list2 ,i even answered his ,kyrie4 ,but at the ,collect a frantic sacristan burst through the crowd2 and from remarks made to the devout old priest and myself1 ,i learned that the next on the list was still waiting in the sacristy1 and that this old man was an adroit though pious interloper who had determined not to take ,no for an answer4 ,he finished his ,mass4 ,i forbear from comment4 ,for a while afterward we stood on the terrace above the piscines2 and1 indeed1 after breakfast ,i returned here again alone1 and remained during all the morning4 ,it was an extraordinary sight4 ,from the terrace1 the cliff fell straight away down to the roofs of the three chapel-like buildings1 fifty or sixty feet beneath4 ,beyond that ,i could see the paved space1 sprinkled with a few moving figures2 and1 beyond the barrier1 the crowd stretching across the roadway and far on either side4 ,behind them was the clean river and the green meadows1 all delicious in the early sunlight4 ,during that morning ,i must have seen many hundreds of the sick carried into the baths2 for there were almost two thousand sick in ,lourdes on that day4 ,i could even watch their faces1 white and drawn with pain1 or horribly scarred1 as they lay directly beneath me1 waiting for some man to put them into the water4 ,i saw men and women of all nations and all ranks attending upon them1 carrying them tenderly1 fanning their faces1 wiping their lips1 giving them to drink of the ,grotto water4 ,a murmur of thousands of footsteps came up from beneath 7this ,national ,pilgrimage of ,france numbered between eighty and an hundred thousand persons72 and loud above the footsteps came the cries of the priests1 as they stood in a long row facing the people1 with arms extended in the form of a cross4 ,now and again came a far-off roar of singing from the ,grotto to my left1 where ,masses were said continuously by bishops and favoured priests2 or from my right1 from the great oval space beneath the steps2 and then1 on a sudden a great chorus of sound from beneath1 as the ,gloria ,patri burst out when the end of some decade was reached4 ,all about us was the wheeling earth1 the ,pyrenees behind1 the meadows in front2 and over us heaven1 with ,mary looking down4 ,once from beneath during that long morning ,i heard terrible shrieks1 as of a demoniac1 that died into moans and ceased4 ,and once ,i saw a little procession go past from the ,grotto1 with the ,blessed ,sacrament in the midst4 ,there was no sensation1 no singing4 ,the ,lord of all went simply by on some errand of mercy1 and men fell on their knees and crossed themselves as ,he went4 ,after djener at the ,hotel ,moderne1 where now it was decided that we should stay until the ,monday1 we went down to the ,bureau4 ,at first there were difficulties made1 as the doctors were not come2 and ,i occupied a little while in watching the litters unloaded from the wagonettes that brought them gently down to within a hundred yards of the ,grotto4 ,once indeed ,i was happy to be able to fit a brancardier's straps into the poles that supported a sick woman4 ,it was all most terrible and most beautiful4 ,figure after figure was passed along the seats--living crucifixes of pain--and lowered tenderly to the ground1 to lie there a moment or two1 with the body horribly flat and1 as it seemed1 almost non-existent beneath the coverlet2 and the white face with blazing eyes of anguish1 or passive and half dead1 to show alone that a human creature lay there4 ,then one by one each was lifted and swung gently down to the gate of the piscines4 ,at about three o'clock1 after an hour's waiting1 ,i succeeded in getting a certain card passed through the window1 and immediately a message came out from ,dr4 ,cox that ,i was to be admitted4 ,i passed through a barrier1 through a couple of rooms1 and found myself in the ,holy ,place of ,science1 as the ,grotto is the ,holy ,place of ,grace4 ,it is a little room in which perhaps twenty persons can stand with comfort4 ,again and again ,i saw more than sixty there4 ,down one side runs a table1 at one end of which sits ,dr4 ,cox2 in the centre1 facing the room1 is the presiding doctor's chair1 where1 as a rule1 ,dr4 ,boissarie is to be found4 ,dr4 ,cox set me between him and the president1 and ,i began to observe4 ,at the farther end of the room is a long glazed case of photographs hung against the wall4 ,here are photographs of many of the most famous patients4 ,the wounds of ,marie ,borel are shown there2 ,marie ,borel herself had been present in the ,bureau that morning to report upon her excellent health4 7,she was cured last year instantaneously1 in the piscine1 of a number of running wounds1 so deep that they penetrated the intestines47 ,on the table lay some curious brass objects1 which ,i learned later were models of the bones of ,pierre de ,rudder's legs4 7,this man had for eight years suffered from a broken leg and two running wounds--one at the fracture1 the other on the foot4 ,these were gangrenous4 ,the ends of the broken bones were seen immediately before the cure1 which took place instantaneously at the shrine of ,our ,lady of ,lourdes at ,oostacker4 ,pierre lived rather over twenty years after his sudden and complete restoration to health74 ,for the rest1 the room is simple enough4 ,there are a few chairs4 ,another door leads into a little compartment where the sick can be examined privately2 a third and a fourth lead into the open air on either side4 ,there are two windows1 looking out respectively on this side and that4 ,now ,i spent a great deal of my time in the ,bureau4 7,i was given presently a doctor's cross to wear--consisting of a kind of cardboard with a white upright and red cross-bar--so that ,i could pass in and out as ,i wished74 ,i may as well1 then1 sum up once and for all the impressions ,i received from observing the methods of the doctors4 ,there were all kinds of doctors there continually--,catholics and free-thinkers1 old1 young1 middle-aged4 ,the cases were discussed with the utmost freedom4 ,any could ask questions of the miraculs or of the other doctors4 ,the certificates of the sick were read aloud4 ,i may observe1 too1 that if there was any doubt as to the certificates1 if there was any question of a merely nervous malady1 any conceivable possibility of a mistake1 the case was dismissed abruptly4 ,these certificates1 then1 given by the doctor attending the sick person1 dated and signed1 are of the utmost importance2 for without them no cure is registered4 ,yet1 in spite of these demands1 ,i saw again and again sixty or seventy men1 dead silent1 staring1 listening with all their ears1 while some poor uneducated man or woman1 smiling radiantly1 gave a little history or answered the abrupt kindly questions of the presiding doctor4 ,again1 and again1 too1 it seemed to me that all this had been enacted before4 ,there was once upon a time a man born blind who received his sight1 and round him there gathered keen-eyed doctors of another kind4 ,they tried to pose him with questions4 ,it was unheard of1 they cried1 that a man born blind should receive his sight2 at least it could not have been as he said4 ,yet there stood the man in the midst1 seeing them as they saw him1 and giving his witness4 ,this1 he said1 was the way it was done4 ,such and such is the name of the ,man who cured me4 ,and look for yourselves6 ,i was blind2 now ,i see4 ,after ,i had looked and made notes and asked questions of ,dr4 ,cox1 ,dr4 ,boissarie came in4 ,i was made known to him2 and presently he took me aside1 with a ,scottish priest 7who all through my stay showed me great kindness71 and began to ask me questions4 ,it seemed that1 since there was no physical miracul present just now1 a spiritual miracul would do as well2 for he asked me a hundred questions as to my conversion and its causes1 and what part prayer played in it2 and the doctors crowded round and listened to my halting ,french4 ,it was the need of a divine ,leader--an authority--then1 that brought you in8 ,yes1 it was that2 it was the position of ,st4 ,peter in the ,scriptures and in history2 it was the supernatural unity of the ,church4 ,it is impossible to say exactly which argument predominated4 ,it was1 in fact1 the grace of ,god1 smiled the ,doctor4 ,dr4 ,boissarie1 as also ,dr4 ,cox1 was extremely good to me4 ,he is an oldish man1 with a keen1 clever1 wrinkled face2 he is of middle-size1 and walks very slowly and deliberately2 he is a fervent ,catholic4 ,he is very sharp and businesslike1 but there is an air of wonderful goodness and kindness about him2 he takes one by the arm in a very pleasant manner2 ,i have seen dilatory1 rambling patients called to their senses in an instant1 yet never frightened4 ,dr4 ,cox1 who has been at ,lourdes for fourteen years1 is a typical ,englishman1 ruddy1 with a white moustache4 ,his part is mostly secretarial1 it seems2 though he too asks questions now and again4 ,it was he who gave me the doctor's cross1 and who later obtained for me an even more exceptional favour1 of which ,i shall speak in the proper place4 ,i heard a tale that he himself had been cured of some illness at ,lourdes1 but ,i cannot vouch for it as true4 ,i did not like to ask him outright4 ,presently from outside came the sound of organized singing1 and the room began to empty4 ,the afternoon procession was coming4 ,i ran to the window that looks toward the ,grotto2 and there1 sitting by an ,assumptionist ,father--one of that ,order who once had1 officially1 charge of the ,grotto1 and now unofficially assists at it--,i saw the procession go past4 ,i have no idea of its numbers4 ,i saw only beyond the single line of heads outside the window1 an interminable double stream of men go past1 each bearing a burning taper and singing as he came4 ,there were persons of every kind in that stream--groups of boys and young men1 with their priest beating time in the midst2 middle-aged men and old men4 ,i saw again and again that kind of face which a foolish ,briton is accustomed to regard as absurd--a military1 musketeer profile1 immense moustaches and imperial1 and hair en brosse4 ,yet indeed there was nothing absurd4 ,it was terribly moving1 and a lump rose in my throat1 as ,i watched such a sanguine bristling face as one of these1 all alight with passion and adoration4 ,such a man might be a grocer1 or a local mayor1 or a duke2 it was all one2 he was a child of ,mary2 and he loved her with all his heart1 and ,gabriel's salute was on his lips4 ,then the priests began to come2 long lines of them in black2 then white cottas2 then gleams of purple2 then a pectoral cross or two2 and last the great canopy swaying with all its bells and tassels4 ,,iii4 ,now1 it is at the close of the afternoon procession that the sick more usually are healed4 ,i crossed the ,bureau to the other window that looks on to what ,i will call the square1 and began to watch for the reappearance of the procession on that side4 ,in front of me was a dense crowd of heads1 growing more dense every step up to the barriers that enclose the open space in the midst4 ,it was beyond those barriers1 as ,i knew1 that the sick were laid ready for the passing by of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,on the right rose the wide sweep of steps and terraces leading up to the basilica1 and every line of stone was crowned with heads4 ,even on the cliffs beyond1 ,i could see figures coming and going and watching4 ,in all1 about eighty thousand persons were present4 ,presently the singing grew loud again2 the procession had turned the corner and entered the square2 and ,i could see the canopy moving quickly down the middle toward the ,rosary ,church1 for its work was done4 ,the ,blessed ,sacrament was now to be carried round the lines of the sick1 beneath an ombrellino4 ,i shall describe all this later1 and more in detail2 it is enough just now to say that the ,blessed ,sacrament went round1 that ,it was carried at last to the steps of the ,rosary ,church1 and that1 after the singing of the ,tantum ,ergo by that enormous crowd1 ,benediction was given4 ,then the ,bureau began to fill1 and ,i turned round for the scientific aspect of the affair4 ,the first thing that ,i saw was a little girl1 seeming eight or nine years old1 who walked in and stood at the other side of the table1 to be examined4 ,her name was ,marguerite ,vandenabeele--so ,i read on the certificate--and she had suffered since birth from infantile paralysis1 with such a result that she was unable to put her heels to the ground4 ,that morning in the piscine she had found herself able to walk properly though her heels were tender from disuse4 ,we looked at her--the doctors who had begun again to fill the room1 and myself1 with three or four more amateurs4 ,there she stood1 very quiet and unexcited1 with a slightly flushed face4 ,some elder person in charge of her gave in the certificate and answered the questions4 ,then she went away4#b ,now1 ,i must premise that the cures that took place while ,i was at ,lourdes that ,august cannot yet be regarded as finally established1 since not sufficient time has elapsed for their test and verification4#c ,occasionally there is a relapse soon after the apparent cure1 in the case of certain diseases that may be more or less affected by a nervous condition2 occasionally claimants are found not to be cured at all4 ,for scientific certainty1 therefore1 it is better to rely upon cures that have taken place a year1 or at least some months previously1 in which the restored health is preserved4 ,there are1 of course a large number of such cases2 ,i shall come to them presently4#d ,the next patient to enter the room was one ,mlle4 ,bardou4 ,i learned later from her lips that she was a secularized ,carmelite nun1 expelled from her convent by the ,french ,government4 ,there was the further pathos in her case in the fact that her cure1 when ,i left ,lourdes1 was believed to be at least doubtful4 ,but now she took her seat1 with a radiantly happy face1 to hand in her certificate and answer the questions4 ,she had suffered from renal tuberculosis2 her certificate proved that4 ,she was here herself1 without pain or discomfort1 to prove that she no longer suffered4 ,relief had come during the procession4 ,a question or two was put to her2 an arrangement was made for her return after examination2 and she went out4 ,the room was rapidly filling now2 there were forty or fifty persons present4 ,there was a sudden stir2 those who sat rose up2 and there came into the room three bishops in purple--from ,st4 ,paul in ,brazil1 the ,bishop of ,beauvais1 and the famous orator1 ,monseigneur ,touchet1 of ,orlans--all of whom had taken part in the procession4 ,these sat down1 and the examination went on4 ,the next to enter was ,juliette ,gosset1 aged twenty-five1 from ,paris4 ,she had a darkish plain face1 and was of middle size4 ,she answered the questions quietly enough1 though there was evident a suppressed excitement beneath4 ,she had been cured during the procession1 she said2 she had stood up and walked4 ,and her illness8 ,she showed a certificate1 dated in the previous ,march1 asserting that she suffered gravely from tuberculosis1 especially in the right lung2 she added herself that hip disease had developed since that time1 that one leg had become seven centimetres shorter than the other1 and that she had been for some months unable to sit or kneel4 ,yet here she walked and sat without the smallest apparent discomfort4 ,when she had finished her tale1 a doctor pointed out that the certificate said nothing of any hip disease4 ,she assented1 explaining again the reason2 but added that the hospital where she lodged in ,lourdes would corroborate what she said4 ,then she disappeared into the little private room to be examined4 ,there followed a nun1 pale and black-eyed1 who made gestures as she stood by ,dr4 ,boissarie and told her story4 ,she spoke very rapidly4 ,i learned that she had been suffering from a severe internal malady1 and that she had been cured instantaneously in the piscine4 ,she handed in her certificate1 and then she1 too1 vanished4 ,after a few minutes there returned the doctor who had examined ,juliette ,gosset4 ,now1 ,i think it should impress the incredulous that this case was pronounced unsatisfactory1 and will not1 probably1 appear upon the registers4 ,it was perfectly true that the girl had had tuberculosis1 and that now nothing was to be detected except the very faintest symptom--so faint as to be negligible--in the right lung4 ,it appeared to be true also that she had had hip disease1 since there were upon her body certain marks of treatment by burning2 and that her legs were now of an exactly equal length4 ,but1 firstly1 the certificate was five months old1 secondly1 it made no mention of hip disease2 thirdly1 seven centimetres was almost too large a measure to be believed4 ,the case then was referred back for further investigation2 and there it stood when ,i left ,lourdes4 ,the doctors shook their heads considerably over the seven centimetres4 ,there followed next one of the most curious instances of all4 ,it was an old miracule who came back to report2 her case is reported at length in ,dr4 ,boissarie's uvre de ,lourdes1 on pages #bii-cjh4e ,her name was ,marie ,cools1 and she came from ,anvers1 suffering apparently from mal de ,pott1 and paralysis and ansthesia of the legs4 ,this state had lasted for about three years4 ,the doctors consulted differed as to her case3 two diagnosing it as mentioned above1 two as hysteria4 ,for ten months she had suffered1 moreover1 from constant feverishness2 she was continually sick1 and the work of digestion was painful and difficult4 ,there was a marked lateral deviation of the spinal column1 with atrophy of the leg muscles4 ,at the second bath she began to improve1 and the pains in the back ceased2 at the fourth bath the paralysis vanished1 her appetite came steadily back1 and the sickness ceased4 ,now she came in to announce her continued good health4 ,there are a number of interesting facts as to this case2 and the first is the witness of the infidel doctor who sent her to ,lourdes1 since it seemed to him that religious suggestion1 was the only hope left4 ,he1 by the way1 had diagnosed her case as one of hysteria4 ,it had a result1 he writes1 which ,i1 though an unbeliever1 can characterize only as marvellous4 ,marie ,cools returned completely1 absolutely cured4 ,no trace of paralysis or ansthesia4 ,she is actually on her feet2 and1 two hospital servants having been stricken by typhoid1 she is taking the place of one of them4 ,another interesting fact is that a positive storm raged at ,anvers over her cure1 and that ,dr4 ,van de ,vorst was at the ensuing election dismissed from the hospital1 with at least a suspicion that the cause of his dismissal lay in his having advised the girl to go to ,lourdes at all4 ,dr4 ,boissarie makes an interesting comment or two on the case1 allowing that it may perhaps have been hysteria1 though this is not at all certain4 ,when we have to do with nervous maladies1 we must always remember the rules of ,benedict ,,xiv43 ',the miracle cannot consist in the cessation of the crises1 but in the cessation of the nervous state which produces them4' ,it is this that has been accomplished in the case of ,marie ,cools4 ,and again3 ,either ,marie ,cools is not cured1 or there is in her cure something other than suggestion1 even religious4 ,it is high time to leave that tale alone1 and to cease to class under the title of religious suggestion two orders of facts completely distinct--superficial and momentary modifications1 and constitutional modifications so profound that science cannot explain them4 ,i repeat3 to make of an hysterical patient one whose equilibrium is perfect 444 is a thing more difficult than the cure of a wound4 ,so he wrote at the time of her apparent cure1 hesitating still as to its permanence4 ,and here1 before my eyes and his1 she stood again1 healthy and well4 ,and so at last ,i went back to dinner4 ,a very different scene followed4 ,for a couple of hours we had been materialists1 concerning ourselves not with what ,mary had done by grace--at least not in that aspect--but with what nature showed to have been done1 by whatever agency1 in itself4 ,now once more we turned to ,mary4 ,it was dark when we arrived at the square1 but the whole place was alive with earthly lights4 ,high up to our left hung the church1 outlined in fire--tawdry1 ,i dare say1 with its fairy lights of electricity1 yet speaking to three-quarters of this crowd in the highest language they knew4 ,light1 after all1 is the most heavenly thing we possess4 ,does it matter so very much if it is decked out and arranged in what to superior persons appears a finikin fashion8 ,the crowd itself had become a serpent of fire1 writhing here below in endlessly intricate coils2 up there along the steps and parapets1 a long-drawn1 slow-moving line2 and from the whole incalculable number came gusts and roars of singing1 for each carried a burning torch and sang with his group4 ,the music was of all kinds4 ,now and again came the ,laudate ,mariam from one company1 following to some degree the general movement of the procession1 and singing from little paper-books which each read by the light of his wind-blown lantern2 now the ,gloria ,patri1 as a band came past reciting the ,rosary2 but above all pealed the ballad of ,bernadette1 describing how the little child went one day by the banks of the ,gave1 how she heard the thunderous sound1 and1 turning1 saw the ,lady1 with all the rest of the sweet story1 each stanza ending with that ,ave1 ,ave1 ,ave ,maria6 that ,i think will ring in my ears till ,i die4 ,it was an astounding sight to see that crowd and to hear that singing1 and to watch each group as it came past--now girls1 now boys1 now stalwart young men1 now old veteran pilgrims1 now a bent old woman2 each face illumined by the soft paper-shrouded candle1 and each mouth singing to ,mary4 ,hardly one in a thousand of those came to be cured of any sickness2 perhaps not one in five hundred had any friend among the patients2 yet here they were1 drawn across miles of hot ,france1 to give1 not to get4 ,can ,france1 then1 be so rotten8 ,as ,i dropped off to sleep that night1 the last sound of which ,i was conscious was1 still that cannon-like chorus1 coming from the direction of the square3 ,ave1 ,ave1 ,ave ,maria6 ,ave1 ,ave1 ,ave ,maria6 ,,footnotes3 #b ,la ,voix de ,lourdes1 a semi-official paper1 gives the following account of her1 in its issue of the #bcrd3 444 ,marguerite ,vandenabeele1 #aj ans1 de ,nieurlet1 hameau de ,hedezeele1 7,nord71 est arrive avec un des trains de ,paris1 portant un certificat du ,docteur ,dantois1 dat de ,st4 ,momeleu 7,nord7 le #be mai1 #aijh1 la dclarant atteinte d'atrophie de la jambe gauche avec pied-bot quin4 ,elle ne marchait que trs difficilement et trs pniblement4 ,a la sortie de la piscine1 vendredi soir1 elle a pu marcher facilement4 ,amene au ,bureau ,mdical1 on l'a dbarrasse de l'appareil dans lequel tait enferm son pied4 ,depuis1 elle marche bien1 et parait gurie4 #c ,this was written in the autumn of the year #aijh1 in which this visit of mine took place4 #d ,since #ahhh the registered cures are estimated as follows3 '#hh1 #eg2 '#hi1 #dd2 '#ij1 #hj2 '#ia1 #ec2 '#ib1 #ii2 '#ic1 #ia2 '#id1 #abg2 '#ie1 #afc2 '#if1 #ade2 '#ig1 #afc2 '#ih1 #bdc2 '#ii1 #agd2 #aijj1 #afj2 '#ja1 #aga2 '#jb1 #afd2 '#jc1 #afa2 '#jd1 #adj2 '#je1 #aeg2 '#jf1 #adh2 '#jg1 #aji4 #e ,my notes are rather illegible at this point1 but ,i make no doubt that this was ,marie ,cools4 ,,iv4 ,i awoke to that singing again1 in my room above the door of the hotel2 and went down presently to say my ,mass in the ,rosary ,church1 where1 by the kindness of the ,scottish priest of whom ,i have spoken1 an altar had been reserved for me4 ,the ,rosary ,church is tolerably fine within4 ,it has an immense flattened dome1 beyond which stands the high altar2 and round about are fifteen chapels dedicated to the ,fifteen ,mysteries1 which are painted above their respective altars4 ,but ,i was to say ,mass in a little temporary chapel to the left of the entrance1 formed1 ,i suppose1 out of what usually serves as some kind of a sacristy4 ,the place was hardly forty feet long2 its high altar1 at which ,i both vested and said ,mass1 was at the farther end2 but each side1 too1 was occupied by three priests1 celebrating simultaneously upon altar-stones laid on long1 continuous boards that ran the length of the chapel4 ,the whole of the rest of the space was crammed to overflowing2 indeed it had been scarcely possible to get entrance to the chapel at all1 so vast was the crowd in the great church outside4 ,after breakfast ,i went down to the ,bureau once more1 and found business already begun4 ,the first case1 which was proceeding as ,i entered1 was that of a woman 7whose name ,i could not catch7 who had been cured of consumption in the previous year1 and who now came back to report a state of continued good health4 ,her brother-in-law came with her1 and she remarked with pleasure that the whole family was now returning to the practice of religion4 ,during this investigation ,i noticed also ,juliette ,gosset seated at the table1 apparently in robust health4 ,there followed ,natalie ,audivin1 a young woman who declared that she had been cured in the previous year1 and that she supposed her case had been entered in the books2 but at the moment1 at any rate1 her name could not be found1 and for the present the case was dismissed4 ,i now saw a ,capuchin priest in the room--a small1 rosy1 bearded man--and supposed that he was present merely as a spectator2 but a minute or two later ,dr4 ,boissarie caught sight of him1 and presently was showing him off to me1 much to his smiling embarrassment4 ,he had caught consumption of the intestines1 it seemed1 some years before1 from attending upon two of his dying brethren1 and had come to ,lourdes almost at his last gasp in the year #aijj ,a4 ,d4 ,here he stood1 smiling and rosy4 ,there followed ,mademoiselle ,madeleine ,laure1 cured of severe internal troubles 7,i did not catch the details7 in the previous year4 ,presently the ,bishop of ,dalmatia came in1 and sat in his chair opposite me1 while we heard the account of ,miss ,noemie ,nightingale1 of ,upper ,norwood1 cured in the previous ,june of deafness1 rising1 in the case of one ear at least1 from a perforation of the drum4 ,she was present at the piscines1 when on a sudden she had felt excruciating pains in the ears4 ,the next she knew was that she heard the ,magnificat being sung in honour of her cure4 ,mademoiselle ,marie ,bardou came in about this time1 and passed through to the inner room to be examined2 while we received from a doctor a report of the lame child whom we had seen on the previous day4 ,all was as had been said4 ,she could now put her heels to the ground and walk4 ,it seemed she had been conscious of a sensation of hammering in her feet at the moment of the cure1 followed by a feeling of relief4 ,and so they went on4 ,next came ,mademoiselle ,eugnie ,meunier1 cured two months before of fistula4 ,she had given her certificate into the care of her cur1 who could not at this moment be found--naturally enough1 as she had made no appointment with him6--but she was allowed to tell her story1 and to show a copy of her parish magazine in which her story was given4 ,she had had in her body one wound of ten centimetres in size4 ,after bathing one evening she had experienced relief2 by the next morning the wound1 which had flowed for six months1 was completely closed1 and had remained so4 ,her strength and appetite had returned4 ,this cure had taken place in her own lodging1 since her state was such that she was forbidden to go to the ,grotto4 ,the next case was that of a woman with paralysis1 who was entered provisionally as one of the ameliorations4 ,she was now able to walk1 but the use of her hand was not yet fully restored4 ,she was sent back to the piscines1 and ordered to report again later4 ,the next was a boy of about twelve years old1 ,hilaire ,ferraud1 cured of a terrible disease of the bone three years before4 ,until that time he was unable to walk without support4 ,he had been cured in the piscines4 ,he had been well ever since4 ,he followed the trade of a carpenter4 ,and now he hopped solemnly1 first on one leg and then on the other1 to the door and back1 to show his complete recovery4 ,further1 he had had running wounds on one leg1 now healed4 ,his statements were verified4 ,the next was an oldish man1 who came accompanied by his tall1 black-bearded son1 to report on his continued good health since his recovery1 eight years previously1 from neurasthenia and insanity4 ,he had had the illusion of being persecuted1 with suicidal tendencies2 he had been told he could not travel twenty miles1 and he had travelled over eight hundred kilometres1 after four years' isolation4 ,he had stayed a few months in ,lourdes1 bathing in the piscines1 and the obsession had left him4 ,his statements were verified2 he was congratulated and dismissed4 ,there followed ,emma ,mourat to report2 and then ,madame ,simonet1 cured eight years ago of a cystic tumour in the abdomen4 ,she had been sitting in one of the churches1 ,i think1 when there was a sudden discharge of matter1 and a sense of relief4 ,on the morrow1 after another bath1 the sense of discomfort had finally disappeared4 ,during ,madame ,simonet's examination1 as the crowd was great1 several persons were dismissed till a later hour4 ,there followed another old patient to report4 ,she had been cured two years before of myelitis and an enormous tumour that1 after twenty-two years of suffering1 had been declared incurable in her certificate4 ,the cure had taken place during the procession1 in the course of which she suddenly felt herself1 she said1 impelled to rise from her litter4 ,her appetite had returned and she had enjoyed admirable health ever since4 ,her name was looked up1 and the details verified4 ,there followed ,madame ,franois and some doctor's evidence4 ,nine years ago she had been cured of fistula in the arm4 ,she had been operated upon five times2 finally1 as her arm measured a circumference of seventy-two centimetres1 amputation had been declared necessary4 ,she had refused1 and had come to ,lourdes4 ,her cure occupied three days1 at the end of which her arm had resumed its normal size of twenty-five centimetres4 ,she showed her arm1 with faint scars visible upon it2 it was again measured and found normal4 ,it was an amazing morning4 ,here ,i had sat for nearly three hours1 seeing with my own eyes persons of all ages and both sexes1 suffering from every variety of disease1 present themselves before sixty or seventy doctors1 saying that they had been cured miraculously by the ,mother of ,god4 ,various periods had elapsed since their cures--a day1 two or three months1 one year1 eight years1 nine years4 ,these persons had been operated upon1 treated1 subjected to agonizing remedies2 one or two had been declared actually incurable2 and then1 either in an instant1 or during the lapse of two or three days1 or two or three months1 had been restored to health by prayer and the application of a little water in no way remarkable for physical qualities4 ,what do the doctors say to this8 ,some confess frankly that it is miraculous in the literal sense of the term1 and join with the patients in praising ,mary and her ,divine ,son4 ,some say nothing2 some are content to say that science at its present stage cannot account for it all1 but that in a few years1 no doubt 444 and the rest of it4 ,i did not hear any say that3 ,he casteth out devils by ,beelzebub1 the prince of devils2 but that is accounted for by the fact that those who might wish to say it do not believe in ,beelzebub4 ,but will science ever account for it all8 ,that ,i leave to ,god4 ,all that ,i can say is that1 if so1 it is surely as wonderful as any miracle1 that the ,church should have hit upon a secret that the scientists have missed4 ,but is there not a simpler way of accounting for it8 ,for read and consider the human evidence as regards ,bernadette--her age1 her simplicity1 her appearance of ecstasy4 ,she said that she saw this ,lady eighteen times2 on one of these occasions1 in the presence of bystanders4 ,she was bidden1 she said1 to go to the water4 ,she turned to go down to the ,gave1 but was recalled and bidden to dig in the earth of the ,grotto4 ,she did so1 and a little muddy water appeared where no soul in the village knew that there was water4 ,hour by hour this water waxed in volume2 to-day it pours out in an endless stream1 is conducted through the piscines2 and it is after washing in this water that bodies are healed in a fashion for which science cannot account4 ,perhaps it cannot4 ,perhaps it is not intended4 ,but there are things besides science1 and one of them is religion4 ,is not the evidence tolerably strong8 ,or is it a series of coincidences that the child had an hallucination1 devised some trick with the water1 and that this water happens to be an occasion of healing people declared incurable by known means8 ,what is the good of these miracles8 ,if so many are cured1 why are not all8 ,are the miraculs especially distinguished for piety8 ,is it to be expected that unbelievers will be convinced8 ,is it claimed that the evidence is irresistible8 ,let us go back to the ,gospels4 ,it used to be said by doubters that the miraculous element must have been added later by the piety of the disciples1 because all the world knew now that miracles did not happen4 ,that a priori argument is surely silenced by ,lourdes4 ,miracles in that sense undoubtedly do happen1 if present-day evidence is worth anything whatever4 ,what1 then1 is the ,christian theory8 ,it is this4 ,our ,blessed ,lord appears to have worked miracles of such a nature that their significance was not1 historically speaking1 absolutely evident to those who1 for other reasons1 did not believe in ,him4 ,it is known how some asked for a sign from heaven and were refused it2 how ,he ,himself said that even if one rose from the dead1 they would not believe2 yet1 further1 how ,he begged them to believe ,him even for ,his work's sake1 if for nothing else4 ,we know1 finally1 how1 when confronted with one particular miracle1 ,his enemies cried out that it must have been done by diabolical agency4 ,very good1 then4 ,it would seem that the miracles of ,our ,lord were of a nature that strongly disposed to belief those that witnessed them1 and helped vastly in the confirmation of the faith of those who already believed2 but that miracles1 as such1 cannot absolutely compel the belief of those who for moral reasons refuse it4 ,if they could1 faith would cease to be faith4 ,now1 this seems precisely the state of affairs at ,lourdes4 ,even unbelieving scientists are bound to admit that science at present cannot account for the facts1 which is surely the modern equivalent for the ,beelzebub theory4 ,we have seen1 too1 how severely scientific persons such as ,dr4 ,boissarie and ,dr4 ,cox--if they will permit me to quote their names--knowing as well as anyone what medicine and surgery and hypnotism and suggestion can and cannot do1 corroborate this evidence1 and see in the facts a simple illustration of the truth of that ,catholic ,faith which they both hold and practise4 ,is not the parallel a fair one8 ,what more1 then1 do the adversaries want8 ,there is no arguing with people who say that1 since there is nothing but ,nature1 no process can be other than natural4 ,there is no sign1 even from heaven1 that could break down the intellectual prejudice of such people4 ,if they saw ,jesus ,christ ,himself in glory1 they could always say that at present science cannot account for the phenomenon of a luminous body apparently seated upon a throne1 but no doubt it will do so in the course of time4 ,if they saw a dead and corrupting man rise from the grave1 they could always argue that he could not have been dead and corrupting1 or he could not have risen from the grave4 ,nothing but the ,last ,judgment could convince such persons4 ,even when the trumpet sounds1 ,i believe that some of them1 when they have recovered from their first astonishment1 will make remarks about aural phenomena4 ,but for the rest of us1 who believe in ,god and ,his ,son and the ,mother of ,god on quite other grounds--because our intellect is satisfied1 our heart kindled1 our will braced by the belief2 and because without that belief all life falls into chaos1 and human evidence is nullified1 and all noble motive and emotion cease--for us1 who have received the gift of faith1 in however small a measure1 ,lourdes is enough4 ,christ and ,his ,mother are with us4 ,jesus ,christ is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,is not that1 after all1 the simplest theory8 ,v4 ,after djener ,i set out again to find the ,scottish priest1 who hoped to be able to take me to a certain window in the ,rosary ,church1 where only a few were admitted1 from which we might view the procession and the ,blessing of the ,sick4 ,but we were disappointed2 and1 after a certain amount of scheming1 we managed to get a position at the back of the crowd on the top of the church steps4 ,i was able to climb up a few inches above the others1 and secured a very tolerable view of the whole scene4 ,the crowd was beyond describing4 ,here about us was a vast concourse of men2 and as far as the eye could reach down the huge oval1 and far away beyond the crowned statue1 and on either side back to the ,bureau on the left1 and on the slopes on the right1 stretched an inconceivable pavement of heads4 ,above us1 too1 on every terrace and step1 back to the doors of the great basilica1 we knew very well1 was one seething1 singing mob4 ,a great space was kept open on the level ground beneath us--,i should say one hundred by two hundred yards in area--and the inside fringe of this was composed of the sick1 in litters1 in chairs1 standing1 sitting1 lying and kneeling4 ,it was at the farther end that the procession would enter4 ,after perhaps half an hour's waiting1 during which one incessant gust of singing rolled this way and that through the crowd1 the leaders of the procession appeared far away--little white or black figures1 small as dolls--and the singing became general4 ,but as the endless files rolled out1 the singing ceased1 and a moment later a priest1 standing solitary in the great space began to pray aloud in a voice like a silver trumpet4 ,i have never heard such passion in my life4 ,i began to watch presently1 almost mechanically1 the little group beneath the ombrellino1 in white and gold1 and the movements of the monstrance blessing the sick2 but again and again my eyes wandered back to the little figure in the midst1 and ,i cried out with the crowd1 sentence after sentence1 following that passionate voice3 ,seigneur1 nous vous adorons6 ,seigneur1 came the huge response1 nous vous adorons6 ,seigneur1 nous vous aimons6 cried the priest4 ,seigneur1 nous vous aimons6 answered the people4 ,sauvez-nous1 ,jsus2 nous prissons6 ,sauvez-nous1 ,jsus2 nous prissons6 ,jsus1 ,fils de ,marie1 ayez piti de nous6 ,jsus1 ,fils de ,marie1 ayez piti de nous6 ,then with a surge rose up the plainsong melody4 ,parce1 ,domine6 sang the people4 ,parce populo tuo6 ,ne in aeternum irascaris nobis4 ,again3 ,gloria ,patri et ,filio et ,spiritui ,sancto4 ,sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper1 et in scula sculorum4 ,amen4 ,then again the single voice and the multitudinous answer3 ,vous tes la ,rsurrection et la ,vie6 ,and then an adjuration to her whom ,he gave to be our ,mother4 ,mre du ,sauveur1 priez pour nous6 ,salut des ,infirmes1 priez pour nous6 ,then once more the singing2 then the cry1 more touching than all3 ,seigneur1 gurissez nos malades6 ,seigneur1 gurissez nos malades6 ,then the kindling shout that brought the blood to ten thousand faces3 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna au ,fils de ,david6 7,i shook to hear it74 ,hosanna6 cried the priest1 rising from his knees with arms flung wide4 ,hosanna6 roared the people1 swift as an echo4 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna6 crashed out again and again1 like great artillery4 ,yet there was no movement among those piteous prostrate lines4 ,the ,bishop1 the ombrellino over him1 passed on slowly round the circle2 and the people cried to ,him whom he bore1 as they cried two thousand years ago on the road to the city of ,david4 ,surely ,he will be pitiful upon this day--the ,jubilee ,year of ,his ,mother's graciousness1 the octave of her assumption to sit with ,him on ,his throne6 ,mre du ,sauveur1 priez pour nous6 ,jsus1 vous tes mon ,seigneur et mon ,dieu6 ,yet there was no movement4 ,if ever suggestion could work a miracle1 it must work it now4 ,we expect the miracles during the procession to-morrow and on ,sunday1 a priest had said to me on the previous day4 ,and there ,i stood1 one of a hundred thousand1 confident in expectation1 thrilled by that voice1 nothing doubting or fearing2 there were the sick beneath me1 answering weakly and wildly to the crying of the priest2 and yet there was no movement1 no sudden leap of a sick man from his bed as ,jesus went by1 no vibrating scream of joy--,je suis guri6 ,je suis guri6--no tumultuous rush to the place1 and the roar of the ,magnificat1 as we had been led to expect4 ,the end was coming near now4 ,the monstrance had reached the image once again1 and was advancing down the middle4 ,the voice of the priest grew more passionate still1 as he tossed his arms and cried for mercy ,jsus1 ayez piti de nous6--ayez piti,transcriber's ,note3 original had piti de nous6 ,and the people1 frantic with ardour and desire1 answered him in a voice of thunder3 ,ayez piti de nous6--ayez piti de nous6 ,and now up the steps came the grave group to where ,jesus would at least bless ,his own1 though ,he would not heal them2 and the priest in the midst1 with one last cry1 gave glory to ,him who must be served through whatever misery3 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna au ,fils de ,david6 ,surely that must touch the ,sacred ,heart6 ,will not ,his ,mother say one word8 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna au ,fils de ,david6 ,hosanna6 cried the priest4 ,hosanna6 cried the people4 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna6 ,hosanna6444 ,one articulate roar of disappointed praise1 and then--,tantum ergo ,sacramentum6 rose in its solemnity4 ,when ,benediction was over1 ,i went back to the ,bureau2 but there was little to be seen there4 ,no1 there were no miracles to-day1 ,i was told--or hardly one4 ,perhaps one in the morning4 ,it was not known4 ,several ,bishops were there again1 listening to the talk of the doctors1 and the description of certain cases on previous days4 ,pre ,salvator1 the ,capuchin1 was there again2 as also the tall bearded ,assumptionist ,father of whom ,i have spoken4 ,but there was not a great deal of interest or excitement4 ,i had the pleasure of talking a while with the ,bishop of ,tarbes1 who introduced me again to the ,capuchin1 and retold his story4 ,but ,i was a little unhappy4 ,the miracle was that ,i was not more so4 ,i had expected so much3 ,i had seen nothing4 ,i talked to ,dr4 ,cox also before leaving4 ,no1 he told me1 there is hardly one miracle to-day4 ,we are doubtful1 too1 about that leg that was seven centimetres too short4 ,and is it true that ,mademoiselle ,bardou is not cured8 7,a doctor had been giving us certain evidence a few minutes before74 ,i am afraid so4 ,it was probably a case of intense subjective excitement4 ,but it may be an amelioration4 ,we do not know yet4 ,the real work of investigating comes afterwards4 ,how arbitrary it all seemed1 ,i thought1 as ,i walked home to dinner4 ,that morning1 on my way from the ,bureau1 ,i had seen a great company of white banners moving together2 and1 on inquiry1 had found that these were the miraculs chiefly of previous years--about three hundred and fifty in number4#f ,they formed a considerably large procession4 ,i had looked at their faces3 there were many more women than men 7as there were upon ,calvary74 ,but as ,i watched them ,i could not conceive upon what principle the ,supernatural had suddenly descended on this and not on that4 ,two men in one bed4444 ,two women grinding at the mill4444 ,one is taken and the other left4 ,here were persons of all ages--from six to eighty1 ,i should guess--of all characters1 ranks1 experiences2 of both sexes4 ,some were religious1 some grocers1 some of the nobility1 a retired soldier or two1 and so on4 ,they were not distinguished for holiness1 it seemed4 ,i had heard heartbreaking little stories of the ten lepers over again--one grateful1 nine selfish4 ,one or two of the girls1 ,i heard1 had had their heads turned by flattery and congratulation2 they had begun to give themselves airs4 ,and1 now again1 here was this day1 this almost obvious occasion4 ,it was the ,jubilee ,year2 everything was about on a double scale4 ,and nothing had happened6 ,further1 five of the sick had actually died at ,lourdes during their first night there4 ,to come so far and to die6 ,on what principle1 then1 did ,god act8 ,then ,i suddenly understood1 not ,god's principles1 but my own2 and ,i went home both ashamed and comforted4 ,,footnotes3 #f ,the official numbers of those at the afternoon procession were #cda4 ,,vi4 ,i said a midnight ,mass that night in the same chapel of the ,rosary ,church as on the previous morning4 ,again the crush was terrific4 ,on the steps of the church ,i saw a friar hearing a confession2 and on entering ,i found ,high ,mass proceeding in the body of the church itself1 with a congregation so large and so worn-out that many were sleeping in constrained attitudes among the seats4 ,in fact1 ,i was informed1 since the sleeping accommodation of ,lourdes could not possibly provide for so large a pilgrimage1 there were many hundreds1 at least1 who slept where they could--on the steps of churches1 under trees and rocks1 and by the banks of the river4 ,i was served at my ,mass by a ,scottish priest1 immediately afterwards ,i served his at the same altar4 ,while vesting1 ,i noticed a priest at the high altar of this little chapel reading out acts of prayer1 to which the congregation responded2 and learned that two persons who had been received into the ,church on that day were to make their ,first ,communion4 ,as midnight struck1 simultaneously from the seven altars came seven voices3 ,in nomine ,patris1 et ,filii1 et ,spiritus ,sancti4 ,amen4 ,once more1 on returning home and going to bed a little after one o'clock in the morning1 the last sound that ,i heard was of the ,gloria ,patri being sung by other pilgrims also returning to their lodging4 ,after coffee1 a few hours later1 ,i went down again to the square4 ,it was ,sunday1 and a ,pontifical ,high ,mass was being sung on the steps of the ,rosary ,church4 ,as usual1 the crowd filled the square1 and ,i could hardly penetrate for a while beyond the fringe2 but it was a new experience to hear that vast congregation in the open air responding with one giant voice to the plain-song of the ,mass4 ,it was astonishing what expression showed itself in the singing4 ,the ,sanctus was one of the most impressive peals of worship and adoration that ,i have ever heard4 ,at the close of the ,mass1 all the bishops present near the altar--,i counted six or seven--turned and gave the blessing simultaneously4 ,on the two great curves that led up to the basilica were grouped the white banners of the miraculs4 ,soon after arriving at the ,bureau a very strange and quiet little incident happened4 ,a woman with a yellowish face1 to which the colour was slowly returning1 came in and sat down to give her evidence4 ,she declared to us that during the procession yesterday she had been cured of a tumour on the liver4 ,she had suddenly experienced an overwhelming sense of relief1 and had walked home completely restored to health4 ,on being asked why she did not present herself at the ,bureau1 she answered that she did not think of it3 she had just gone home4 ,i have not yet heard whether this was a true cure or not2 all ,i can say at present is ,i was as much impressed by her simple and natural bearing1 her entire self-possession1 and the absence of excitement1 as by anything ,i saw at ,lourdes4 ,i cannot conceive such a woman suffering from an illusion4 ,a few minutes later ,dr4 ,cox called to me1 and writing on a card1 handed it to me1 telling me it would admit me to the piscines for a bath4 ,i had asked for this previously2 but had been told it was not certain1 owing to the crush of patients1 whether it could be granted4 ,i set out immediately to the piscines4 ,there are1 as ,i have said1 three compartments in the building called the piscines4 ,that on the left is for women2 in the middle1 for children and for those who do not undergo complete immersion2 on the right1 for men4 ,it was into this last1 then1 that ,i went1 when ,i had forced my way through the crowd1 and passed the open court where the priests prayed4 ,it was a little paved place like a chapel1 with a curtain hung immediately before the door4 ,when ,i had passed this1 ,i saw at the farther end1 three or four yards away1 was a deepish trough1 wide and long enough to hold one person4 ,steps went down on either side of it1 for the attendants4 ,immediately above the bath1 on the wall1 was a statue of ,our ,lady2 and beneath it a placard of prayers1 large enough to be read at a little distance4 ,there were about half a dozen people in the place--two or three priests and three or four patients4 ,one of the priests1 ,i was relieved to see1 was the ,scotsman whose ,mass ,i had served the previous midnight4 ,he was in his soutane1 with his sleeves rolled up to the elbow4 ,he gave me my directions1 and while ,i made ready ,i watched the patients4 ,there was one lame man1 just beside me1 beginning to dress2 two tiny boys1 and a young man who touched me more than ,i can say4 ,he was standing by the head of the bath1 holding a basin in one hand and a little image of our ,lady in the other1 and was splashing water ingeniously with his fingers into his eyes2 these were horribly inflamed1 and ,i could see that he was blind4 ,i cannot describe the passion with which he did this1 seeming to stare all the while towards the image he held1 and whispering out prayers in a quick undertone--hoping1 no doubt1 that his first sight would be the image of his ,mother4 ,then ,i looked at the boys4 ,one of them had horribly prolonged and thin legs2 ,i could not see what was wrong with the other1 except that he looked ill and worn out4 ,close beside me1 on the wet1 muddy paving1 lay an indescribable bandage that had been unrolled from the lame man's leg4 ,when my turn came1 ,i went wrapped in a soaking apron1 down a step or so into the water2 and then1 with a priest holding either hand1 lay down at full length so that my head only emerged4 ,that water had better not be described4 ,it is enough to say that people suffering from most of the diseases known to man had bathed in it without ceasing for at least five or six hours4 ,yet ,i can say1 with entire sincerity1 that ,i did not have even the faintest physical repulsion1 though commonly ,i hate dirt at least as much as sin4 ,it is said1 too1 that never in the history of ,lourdes has there been one case of disease traceable to infection from the baths4 ,the water was cold1 but not unpleasantly4 ,i lay there1 ,i suppose1 about one minute1 while the two priests and myself repeated off the placard the prayers inscribed there4 ,these were1 for the most part1 petitions to ,mary to pray4 ,o ,marie1 they ended1 conue sans pch1 priez pour nous qui avons recours a vous6 ,as ,i dressed again after the bath1 ,i had one more sight of the young man4 ,he was being led out by a kindly attendant1 but his face was all distorted with crying1 and from his blind eyes ran down a stream of terrible tears4 ,it is unnecessary to say that ,i said a ,hail ,mary for his soul at least4 ,as soon as ,i was ready1 ,i went out and sat down for a while among the recently bathed1 and began to remind myself why ,i had bathed4 ,certainly ,i was not suffering from anything except a negligible ailment or two4 ,neither did ,i do it out of curiosity1 because ,i could have seen without difficulty all the details without descending into that appalling trough4 ,i suppose it was just an act of devotion4 ,here was water with a history behind it2 water that was as undoubtedly used by ,almighty ,god for giving benefits to man as was the clay laid upon blind eyes long ago near ,siloe1 or the water of ,bethesda itself4 ,and it is a natural instinct to come as close as possible to things used by the heavenly powers4 ,i was extraordinarily glad ,i had bathed1 and ,i have been equally glad ever since4 ,i am afraid it is of no use as evidence to say that until ,i came to ,lourdes ,i was tired out1 body and mind2 and that since my return ,i have been unusually robust4 ,yet that is a fact1 and ,i leave it there4 ,as ,i sat there a procession went past to the ,grotto1 and ,i walked to the railings to look at it4 ,i do not know at all what it was all about1 but it was as impressive as all things are in ,lourdes4 ,the miraculs came first with their banners--file after file of them--then a number of prelates1 then brancardiers with their shoulder-harness1 then nuns1 then more brancardiers4 ,i think perhaps they may have been taking a recent miracul to give thanks2 for when ,i arrived presently at the ,bureau again1 ,i heard that1 after all1 several appeared to have been cured at the procession on the previous day4 ,i was sitting in the hall of the hotel a few minutes later when ,i heard the roar of the ,magnificat from the street1 and ran out to see what was forward4 ,as ,i came to the door1 the heart of the procession went by4 ,a group of brancardiers formed an irregular square1 holding cords to keep back the crowd2 and in the middle walked a group of three1 followed by an empty litter4 ,the three were a white-haired man on this side1 a stalwart brancardier on the other1 and between them a girl with a radiant face1 singing with all her heart4 ,she had been carried down from her lodging that morning to the piscines2 she was returning on her own feet1 by the power of ,him who said to the lame man1 ,take up thy bed and go into thy house4 ,i followed them a little way1 then ,i went back to the hotel4 ,,vii4 ,in the afternoon we went down to meet a priest who had promised a place to one of our party in the window of which ,i have spoken before4 ,but the crowd was so great that we could not find him1 so presently we dispersed as best we could4 ,two other priests and myself went completely round the outside of the churches1 in order1 if possible1 to join in the procession1 since to cross the square was a simple impossibility4 ,in the terrible crush near the ,bureau1 ,i became separated from the others1 and fought my way back1 and into the ,bureau1 as the best place open to me now for seeing the ,blessing of the ,sick4 ,it was now at last that ,i had my supreme wish4 ,within a minute or two of my coming to look through the window1 the ,blessed ,sacrament entered the reserved space among the countless litters4 ,the crowd between me and the open space was simply one pack of heads2 but ,i could observe the movements of what was going forward by the white top of the ombrellino as it passed slowly down the farther side of the square4 ,the crowd was very still1 answering as before the passionate voice in the midst2 but watching1 watching1 as ,i watched4 ,beside me sat ,dr4 ,cox1 and our ,rosaries were in our hands4 ,the white spot moved on and on1 and all else was motionless4 ,i knew that beyond it lay the sick4 ,lord1 if it be possible--if it be possible6 ,nevertheless1 not my will but ,thine be done4 ,it had reached now the end of the first line4 ,seigneur1 gurissez nos malades6 cried the priest4 ,seigneur1 gurissez nos malades6 answered the people4 ,vous tes mon ,seigneur et mon ,dieu6 ,and then on a sudden it came4 ,overhead lay the quiet summer air1 charged with the ,supernatural as a cloud with thunder--electric1 vibrating with power4 ,here beneath lay souls thirsting for its touch of fire--patient1 desirous1 infinitely pathetic2 and in the midst that ,power1 incarnate for us men and our salvation4 ,then it descended1 swift and mighty4 ,i saw a sudden swirl in the crowd of heads beneath the church steps1 and then a great shaking ran through the crowd2 but there for a few instants it boiled like a pot4 ,a sudden cry had broken out1 and it ran through the whole space2 waxing in volume as it ran1 till the heads beneath my window shook with it also2 hands clapped1 voices shouted3 ,un miracle6 ,un miracle6 ,i was on my feet1 staring and crying out4 ,then quietly the shaking ceased1 and the shouting died to a murmur2 and the ombrellino moved on2 and again the voice of the priest thrilled thin and clear1 with a touch of triumphant thankfulness3 ,vous tes la ,rsurrection et la ,vie6 ,and again1 with entreaty once more--since there still were two thousand sick untouched by that ,power1 and time pressed--that infinitely moving plea3 ,seigneur1 celui qui vous aime est malade6 ,and3 ,seigneur1 faites que je marche6 ,seigneur1 faites que j'entende6 ,and then again the finger of ,god flashed down1 and again and again2 and each time a sick and broken body sprang from its bed of pain and stood upright2 and the crowd smiled and roared and sobbed4 ,five times ,i saw that swirl and rush2 the last when the ,te ,deum pealed out from the church steps as ,jesus in ,his ,sacrament came home again4 ,and there were two that ,i did not see4 ,there were seven in all that afternoon4 ,now1 is it of any use to comment on all this8 ,i am not sure2 and yet1 for my own satisfaction if for no one else's1 ,i wish to set down some of the thoughts that came to me both then and after ,i had sat at the window and seen ,god's loving-kindness with my own eyes4 ,the first overwhelming impression that remained with me is this--that ,i had been present1 in my own body1 in the twentieth century1 and seen ,jesus pass along by the sick folk1 as ,he passed two thousand years before4 ,that1 in a word1 is the supreme fact of ,lourdes4 ,more than once as ,i sat there that afternoon ,i contrasted the manner in which ,i was spending it with that in which the average believing ,christian spends ,sunday afternoon4 ,as a child1 ,i used to walk with my father1 and he used to read and talk on religious subjects2 on our return we used to have a short ,bible-class in his study4 ,as an ,anglican clergyman1 ,i used to teach in ,sunday schools or preach to children4 ,as a ,catholic priest1 ,i used occasionally to attend at catechism4 ,at all these times the miraculous seemed singularly far away2 we looked at it across twenty centuries2 it was something from which lessons might be drawn1 upon which the imagination might feed1 but it was a state of affairs as remote as the life of prehistoric man2 one assented to it1 and that was all4 ,and here at ,lourdes it was a present1 vivid event4 ,i sat at an ordinary glass window1 in a soutane made by an ,english tailor1 with another ,englishman beside me1 and saw the miraculous happen4 ,time and space disappeared2 the centuries shrank and vanished2 and behold we saw that which prophets and kings have desired to see and have not seen6 ,of course scientific arguments1 of the sort which ,i have related1 can be brought forward in an attempt to explain ,lourdes2 but they are the same arguments that can be1 and are1 brought forward against the miracles of ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,i say nothing to those here2 ,i leave that to scientists such as ,dr4 ,boissarie2 but what ,i cannot understand is that professing ,christians are able to bring a priori arguments against the fact that ,our ,lord is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever--the same in ,galilee and in ,france4 ,these signs shall follow them that believe1 ,he said ,himself2 and the history of the ,catholic ,church is an exact fulfilment of the words4 ,it was so1 ,st4 ,augustine tells us1 at the tombs of the martyrs2 five hundred miracles were reported at ,canterbury within a few years of ,st4 ,thomas' martyrdom4 ,and now here is ,lourdes1 as it has been for fifty years1 in this little corner of poor ,france6 ,i have been asked since my return3 ,why cannot miracles be done in ,england8 ,my answer is1 firstly1 that they are done in ,england1 in ,liverpool1 and at ,holywell1 for example2 secondly1 ,i answer by another question as to why ,jesus ,christ was not born in ,rome2 and if ,he had been born in ,rome1 why not in ,nineveh and ,jerusalem8 ,thirdly1 ,i answer that perhaps more would be done in ,england1 if there were more faith there4 ,it is surely a little unreasonable to ask that1 in a country which three hundred and fifty years ago deliberately repudiated ,christ's ,revelation of ,himself1 banished the ,blessed ,sacrament and tore down ,mary's shrines1 ,christ and ,his ,mother should cooperate supernaturally in marvels that are rather the rewards of the faithful4 ,it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs--these are the words of our ,lord ,himself4 ,if ,london is not yet tolerant enough to allow an ,eucharistic ,procession in her streets1 she is scarcely justified in demanding that our ,eucharistic ,lord should manifest ,his power4 ,he could do no mighty work there1 says the ,evangelist1 of ,capharnaum1 because of their unbelief4 ,this1 then1 is the supreme fact of ,lourdes3 that ,jesus ,christ in ,his ,sacrament passes along that open square1 with the sick laid in beds on either side2 and that at ,his word the lame walk and lepers are cleansed and deaf hear--that they are seen leaping and dancing for joy4 ,even now1 writing within ten days of my return1 all seems like a dream2 and yet ,i know that ,i saw it4 ,for over thirty years ,i had been accustomed to repeat the silly formula that the age of miracles is past2 that they were necessary for the establishment of ,christianity1 but that they are no longer necessary now1 except on extremely rare occasions perhaps2 and in my heart ,i knew my foolishness4 ,why1 for those thirty years ,lourdes had been in existence6 ,and if ,i spoke of it at all1 ,i spoke only of hysteria and auto-suggestion and ,french imaginativeness1 and the rest of the nonsense4 ,it is impossible for a ,christian who has been at ,lourdes to speak like that again4 ,and as for the unreality1 that does not trouble me4 ,i have no doubt that those who saw the bandages torn from the leper's limbs and the sound flesh shown beneath1 or the once blind man1 his eyes now dripping with water of ,siloe1 looking on ,him who had made him whole1 or heard the marvellous talk of men like trees walking1 and the rest--,i have no doubt that ten days later they sat themselves with unseeing eyes1 and wondered whether it was indeed they who had witnessed those things4 ,human nature1 like a ,leyden jar1 cannot hold beyond a fixed quantity2 and this human nature1 with experience1 instincts1 education1 common talk1 public opinion1 and all the rest of it1 echoing round it2 the assumption that miracles do not happen2 that laws are laws2 in other words1 that ,deism is the best that can be hoped--well1 it is little wonder that the visible contradiction of all this conventionalism finds but little room in the soul4 ,then there is another point that ,i should like to make in the presence of ,evangelical ,christians who shake their heads over ,mary's part in the matter4 ,it is this--that for every miracle that takes place in the piscines1 ,i should guess that a dozen take place while ,that which we believe to be ,jesus ,christ goes by4 ,catholics1 naturally1 need no such reassurance2 they know well enough from interior experience that when ,mary comes forward ,jesus does not retire6 ,but for those who think as some ,christians do1 it is necessary to point out the facts4 ,and again4 ,i have before me as ,i write the little card of ejaculations that are used in the procession4 ,there are twenty-four in all4 ,of these1 twenty-one are addressed to ,jesus ,christ2 in two more we ask the ,mother of the ,saviour and the ,health of the ,sick to pray for us2 in the last we ask her to show herself a ,mother4 ,if people will talk of proportion in a matter in which there is no such thing--since there can be no comparison1 without grave irreverence1 between the ,creator and a creature--,i would ask1 ,is there disproportion here8 ,in fact1 ,lourdes1 as a whole1 is an excellent little compendium of ,catholic theology and ,gospel-truth4 ,there was once a marriage feast1 and the ,mother of ,jesus was there with her ,son4 ,there was no wine4 ,she told her ,son what ,he already knew2 ,he seemed to deprecate her words2 but ,he obeyed them1 and the water became wine4 ,there is at ,lourdes not a marriage feast1 but something very like a deathbed4 ,the ,mother of ,jesus is there with her ,son4 ,it is she again who takes the initiative4 ,here is water1 she seems to say2 dig1 ,bernadette1 and you will find it4 ,but it is no more than water4 ,then she turns to her ,son4 ,they have water1 she says1 but no more4 ,and then ,he comes forth in ,his power4 ,draw out now from all the sick beds of the world and bear them to the ,governor of the ,feast4 ,use the commonest things in the world--physical pain and common water4 ,bring them together1 and wait until ,i pass by4 ,then ,jesus of ,nazareth passes by2 and the sick leap from their beds1 and the blind see1 and the lepers are cleansed1 and devils are cast out4 ,oh1 yes6 the parallel halts2 but is it not near enough8 ,seigneur1 gurissez nos malades6 ,salut des ,infirmes1 priez pour nous6 ,,viii4 ,the moment ,benediction was given1 the room began rapidly to fill2 but ,i still watched the singing crowd outside4 ,among others ,i noticed a woman1 placid and happy--such a woman as you would see a hundred times a day in ,london streets1 with jet ornaments in her hat1 middle-aged1 almost startlingly commonplace4 ,no1 nothing dramatic happened to her2 that was the point4 ,but there she was1 taking it all for granted1 joining in the ,magnificat with a roving eye1 pleased as she would have been pleased at a circus2 interrupting herself to talk to her neighbour2 and all the while gripping in a capable hand1 on which shone a wedding ring1 the bars of the ,bureau window behind which ,i sat1 that she might make the best of both worlds--,grace without and ,science within4 ,she1 as ,i1 had seen what ,god had done2 now she proposed to see what the doctors would make of it all2 and have1 besides1 a good view of the miraculs when they appeared4 ,i suppose it was her astonishing ordinariness that impressed me4 ,it was surprising to see such a one during such a scene2 it was as incongruous as a man riding a bicycle on the judgment ,day4 ,yet she1 too1 served to make it all real4 ,she was like the real tree in the foreground of a panorama4 ,she served the same purpose as the ,voix de ,lourdes1 a briskly written ,french newspaper that gives the lists of the miracles4 ,when ,i turned round at last1 the room was full4 ,among the people present ,i remember an ,hungarian canon1 and the ,brazilian ,bishop with six others4 ,dr4 ,deschamps1 late of ,lille1 now of ,paris1 was in the chair2 and ,i sat next him4 ,the first patient to enter was ,euphrasie ,bosc1 a dark girl of twenty-seven4 ,she rolled a little in her walk as she came in2 then she sat down and described the white swellings on her knee1 with other details2 she told how she had been impelled to rise during the procession just now4 ,she was made to walk round the room to show her state1 and was then sent off1 and told to return at another time4 ,next came ,emma ,sansen1 a pale girl of twenty-five4 ,she had suffered from endo-pericarditis for five years1 as her certificate showed2 she had been confined to her room for two years4 ,she told her story quickly and went out4 ,there followed ,sister ,margurite ,emilie1 an ,assumptionist1 aged thirty-nine1 a brisk1 brown-faced1 tall woman1 in her religious habit4 ,her malady had been mal de ,pott1 a severe spinal affliction1 accompanied by abscesses and other horrors4 ,she1 too1 appeared in the best of health4 ,we began then to hear a doctor give news of a certain ,irish ,religious1 cured that morning in the piscines2 but we were interrupted by the entry of ,emile ,lansman1 a solid artisan of twenty-five who came in walking cheerfully1 carrying a crutch and a stick which he no longer needed4 ,paralysis of the right leg and traumatism of the spine had been his1 up to that day4 ,now he carried his crutch4 ,he was followed by another man whose name ,i did not catch1 and on whose case ,i wrote so rapidly that ,i am scarcely able to read all my notes4 ,his story1 in brief1 was as follows4 ,he had had some while ago a severe accident1 which involved a kind of appalling disembowelment4 ,for the last year or two he had had gastric troubles of all kinds1 including complete loss of appetite4 ,his certificate showed too1 that he suffered from partial paralysis 7he himself showed us how little he had been able to open his fingers71 and ansthesia of the right arm4 7,i looked over ,dr4 ,deschamps' shoulder and read on the paper the words lsion incurable74 ,it was certified further that he was incapable of manual work4 ,then he described to us how yesterday in the piscine1 upon coming out of the bath1 he had been aware of a curious sensation of warmth in the stomach2 he had then found that1 for the first time for many months1 he wished for food2 he was given it1 and he enjoyed it4 ,he moved his fingers in a normal manner1 raised his arm and let it fall4 ,then for the first time in the ,bureau ,i heard a sharp controversy4 ,one doctor suddenly broke out1 saying that there was no actual proof that it was not all hysterical simulation4 ,another answered him2 an appeal was made to the certificate4 ,then the first doctor delivered a little speech1 in excellent taste1 though casting doubt upon the case2 and the matter was then set aside for investigation with the rest4 ,i heard ,dr4 ,boissarie afterwards thank him for his admirable little discourse4 ,finally1 though it was getting late1 ,honorie ,gras1 aged thirty-five1 came in to give her evidence4 ,she had suffered till to-day from purulent arthritis and white swellings on the left knee4 ,to-day she walked4 ,her certificate confirmed her1 and she was dismissed4 ,it was all very matter-of-fact4 ,there is no reason to fear that ,lourdes is all hymn-singing and adjurations4 ,it is a pleasure to think that1 on the right of the ,rosary ,church1 and within a hundred yards of the ,grotto1 there is this little room1 filled with keen-eyed doctors from every school of faith and science1 who have only to present their cards and be made free of all that ,lourdes has to show4 ,they are keen-brained as well as keen-eyed4 ,i heard one of them say quietly that if the ,mother of ,god1 as it appeared1 cured incurable cases1 it was hard to deny to her the power of curing curable cases also4 ,it does not prove1 that is to say1 that a cure is not miraculous1 if it might have been cured by human aid4 ,and it is interesting and suggestive to remember that of such cases one hears little or nothing4 ,for every startling miracle that is verified in the ,bureau1 ,i wonder how many persons go home quietly1 freed from some maddening little illness by the mercy of ,mary--some illness that is worthless as a case in scientific eyes1 yet none the less as real as is its cure8 ,of course one element that tends to keep from the grasp of the imagination all the miracles of the place is all this scientific phraseology4 ,in the simple story of the ,gospel1 it seems almost supernaturally natural that a man should have lain with an infirmity for forty years1 and should1 at the word of ,jesus ,christ1 have taken up his bed and walked2 or that1 as in the ,acts1 another's feet and ankle-bones should receive strength by the power of the ,holy ,name4 ,but when we come to tuberculosis and mal de ,pott and lsion incurable and hysterical simulation1 in some manner we seem to find ourselves in rather a breathless and stuffy room1 where the white flower of the supernatural appears strangely languid to the eye of the imagination4 ,that1 however1 is all as it should be4 ,we are bound to have these things4 ,perhaps the most startling miracle of all is that the ,bureau and the ,grotto stand side by side1 and that neither stifles the other4 ,is it possible that here at last ,science and ,religion will come to terms1 and each confess with wonder the capacities of the other1 and1 with awe1 that divine power that makes them what they are1 and has set them their bounds which they shall not pass8 ,it would be remarkable if ,france1 of all countries1 should be the scene of that reconciliation between these estranged sisters4 ,that night1 after dinner1 ,i went out once more to see the procession with torches2 and this time my friend and ,i each took a candle1 that we might join in that act of worship4 ,first1 however1 ,i went down to the robinets--the taps which flow between the ,grotto and the piscines--and1 after a heartcrushing struggle1 succeeded in filling my bottle with the holy water4 ,it was astonishing how selfish one felt while still in the battle1 and how magnanimous when one had gained the victory4 ,i filled also the bottle of a voluble ,french priest1 who despairingly extended it toward me as he still fought in the turmoil4 ,eh1 bien6 cried a stalwart ,frenchwoman at my side1 who had filled her bottle and could not extricate herself4 ,if you will not permit me to depart1 ,i remain6 ,the argument was irresistible2 the crowd laughed childishly and let her out4 ,now1 ,i regret to say that once more the churches were outlined in fairy electric lamps1 that the metallic garlands round our ,mother's statue blazed with them2 that1 even worse1 the old castle on the hill and the far away ,calvary were also illuminated2 and1 worst of all1 that the procession concluded with fireworks--rockets and bombs4 ,miracles in the afternoon2 fireworks in the evening6 ,yet the more ,i think of it1 the less am ,i displeased4 ,when one reflects that more than half of the enormous crowd came1 probably1 from tiny villages in ,france--where a rocket is as rare as an angelic visitation2 and1 on the carnal side1 as beautiful in their eyes--it seems a very narrow-minded thing to object4 ,it is true that you and ,i connect fireworks with ,mafeking night or ,queen ,victoria's ,jubilee2 and that they seem therefore incongruous when used to celebrate a visitation of ,god4 ,but it is not so with these people4 ,for them it is a natural and beautiful way of telling the glory of ,him who is the ,dayspring from on high1 who is the ,light to lighten the ,gentiles1 whose ,mother is the ,stella ,matutina1 whose people once walked in darkness and now have seen a great ,light4 ,it is their answer--the reflection in the depths of their sea--to the myriad lights of that heaven which shines over ,lourdes4 ,therefore let us leave the fireworks in peace4 ,it was a very moving thing to walk in that procession1 with a candle in one hand and a little paper book in the other1 and help to sing the story of ,bernadette1 with the unforgettable ,aves at the end of each verse1 and the ,laudate ,mariam1 and the ,nicene ,creed4 ,credo in 444 unam sanctam ,catholicam et ,apostolicam ,ecclesiam4 ,my heart leaped at that4 ,for where else but in the ,catholic ,church do such things happen as these that ,i had seen8 ,imagine1 if you please1 miracles in ,manchester6 ,certainly they might happen there1 if there were sufficient ,catholics gathered in ,his ,name2 but put for ,manchester1 ,exeter ,hall or ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral6 ,the thought is blindingly absurd4 ,no2 the ,christianity of ,jesus ,christ lives only in the ,catholic ,church4 ,there alone in the whole round world do you find that combination of lofty doctrine1 magnificent moral teaching1 the frank recognition of the ,cross2 sacramentalism logically carried out1 yet gripping the heart as no amateur mysticism can do2 and miracles4 ,mercy and ,truth have met together4 ,these signs shall follow them that believe4444 ,faith can remove mountains4444 ,all things are possible to him that believes4444 ,whatsoever you shall ask of the ,father in ,my ,name4444 ,where two or three are gathered together in ,my ,name1 there am ,i in the midst of them4 ,there alone1 where souls are built upon ,peter1 do these things really happen4 ,i have been asked lately whether ,i am happy in the ,catholic ,church4 ,happy6 ,what can one say to a question like that8 ,does one ask a man who wakes up from a foolish dream to sunshine in his room1 and to life and reality1 whether he is happy8 ,of course many non-,catholics are happy4 ,i was happy myself as an ,anglican2 but as a ,catholic one does not use the word2 one does not think about it4 ,the whole of life is different2 that is all that can be said4 ,faith is faith1 not hope2 ,god is ,light1 not twilight2 eternity1 heaven1 hell1 purgatory1 sin and its consequences--these things are facts1 not guesses and conjectures and suspicions desperately clung to4 ,how hard it is to be a ,christian6 moans the persevering non-,catholic4 ,how impossible it is to be anything else6 cries the ,catholic4 ,we went round1 then1 singing4 ,the procession was so huge that it seemed to have no head and no tail4 ,it involved itself a hundred times over2 it swirled in the square1 it humped itself over the ,rosary ,church2 it elongated itself half a mile away up beyond our ,mother's garlanded statue2 it eddied round the ,grotto4 ,it was one immense pool and river of lights and song4 ,each group sang by itself till it was overpowered by another2 men and women and children strolled along patiently singing and walking1 knowing nothing of where they went1 nothing of what they would be singing five minutes hence4 ,it depended on the voice-power of their neighbours4 ,for myself1 ,i found myself in a dozen groups1 before1 at last1 after an hour or so1 ,i fell out of the procession and went home4 ,now ,i walked cheek by jowl with a retired officer2 now with an artisan2 once there came swiftly up behind a company of ,noelites--those vast organizations of boys and girls in ,france--singing the ,laudate ,mariam to my ,ave ,maria2 now in the middle of a group of shop-girls who exchanged remarks with one another whenever they could fetch breath4 ,i think it was all the most joyous and the most spontaneous 7as it was certainly the largest7 human function in which ,i have ever taken part4 ,i have no idea whether there were any organizers of it all--at least ,i saw none4 ,once or twice a solitary priest in the midst1 walking backward and waving his arms1 attempted to reconcile conflicting melodies2 once a very old priest2 with a voice like the tuba stop on the organ1 turned a humorously furious face over his shoulder to quell some mistake--from his mouth1 the while issuing this amazingly pungent volume of sound4 ,but ,i think these were the only attempts at organization that ,i saw4 ,and so at last ,i dropped out and went home1 hoarse but very well content4 ,i had walked for more than an hour--from the statue1 over the lower church and down again1 up the long avenue1 and back again to the statue4 ,the fireworks were over1 the illuminations died1 and the day was done2 yet still the crowds went round and the voice of conflicting melody went up without cessation4 ,as ,i went home the sound was still in my ears4 ,as ,i dropped off to sleep1 ,i still heard it4 ,,ix4 ,next morning ,i awoke with a heavy heart1 for we were to leave in the motor at half-past eight1 ,i had still a few errands to do1 and had made no arrangements for saying ,mass2 so ,i went out quickly1 a little after seven1 and up to the ,rosary ,church to get some pious objects blessed4 ,it was useless3 ,i could not find the priest of whom ,i had been told1 whose business it is perpetually to bless such things4 ,i went to the basilica1 then round by the hill-path down to the ,grotto1 where ,i became wedged suddenly and inextricably into a silent crowd4 ,for a while ,i did not understand what they were doing beyond hearing ,mass2 for ,i knew that1 of course1 a ,mass was proceeding just round the corner in the cave4 ,but presently ,i perceived that these were intending communicants4 ,so ,i made what preparation ,i could1 standing there2 and thanked ,god and ,his ,mother for this unexpected opportunity of saying good-bye in the best way--for ,i was as sad as a school-boy going the rounds of the house on ,black ,monday--and after a quarter of an hour or so ,i was kneeling at the grill1 beneath the very image of ,mary4 ,after making my thanksgiving1 still standing on the other side1 ,i blessed the objects myself--strictly against all rules1 ,i imagine--and came home to breakfast2 and before nine we were on our way4 ,we were all silent as we progressed slowly and carefully through the crowded streets1 seeing once more the patient brancardiers and the pitiful litters on their way to the piscines4 ,i could not have believed that ,i could have become so much attached to a place in three summer days4 ,as ,i have said before1 everything was against it4 ,there was no leisure1 no room to move1 no silence1 no sense of familiarity4 ,all was hot and noisy and crowded and dusty and unknown4 ,yet ,i felt that it was such a home of the soul as ,i never visited before--of course it is a home1 for it is the ,mother that makes the home4 ,we saw no more of the ,grotto nor the churches nor the square nor the statue4 ,our road led out in such a direction that1 after leaving the hotel1 we had only commonplace streets1 white houses1 shops1 hotels and crowds2 and soon we had passed from the very outskirts of the town1 and were beginning with quickening speed to move out along one of those endless straight roads that are the glory of ,france's locomotion4 ,yet ,i turned round in my seat1 sick at heart1 and pulled the blind that hung over the rear window of the car4 ,no1 ,lourdes was gone6 ,there was the ring of the eternal hills1 blue against the blue summer sky1 with their shades of green beneath sloping to the valleys1 and the rounded bastions that hold them up4 ,the ,gave was gone1 the churches gone1 the ,grotto--all was gone4 ,lourdes might be a dream of the night4 ,no1 ,lourdes was not gone4 ,for there1 high on a hill1 above where the holy city lay1 stood the cross we had seen first upon our entrance1 telling us that if health is a gift of ,god1 it is not the greatest2 that the ,physician of souls1 who healed the sick1 and without whom not one sparrow falls to the ground1 and not one pang is suffered1 ,himself had not where to lay ,his head1 and died in pain upon the ,tree4 ,and even as ,i looked we wheeled a corner1 and the cross was gone4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how is it possible to end such a story without bathos8 ,i think it is not possible1 yet ,i must end it4 ,an old ,french priest said one day at ,lourdes1 to one of those with whom ,i travelled1 that he feared that in these times the pilgrims did not pray so much as they once did1 and that this was a bad sign4 ,he spoke also of ,france as a whole1 and its fall4 ,my friend said to him that1 in her opinion1 if these pilgrims could but be led as an army to ,paris--an army1 that is1 with no weapons except their ,rosaries--the country could be retaken in a day4 ,now1 ,i do not know whether the pilgrims once prayed more than they do now2 ,i only know that ,i never saw any one pray so much2 and ,i cannot help agreeing with my friend that1 if this power could be organized1 we should hear little more of the apostasy of ,france4 ,even as it is1 ,i cannot understand the superior attitude that ,christian ,englishmen take up with regard to ,france4 ,it is true that in many districts religion is on a downward course1 that the churches are neglected1 and that even infidelity is becoming a fashion2#g but ,i wonder very much whether1 on the whole1 taking ,lourdes into account1 the average piety of ,france1 is not on a very much higher level than the piety of ,england4 ,the government1 as all the world now knows1 is not in the least representative of the country2 but1 sad to relate1 the ,frenchman is apt to extend his respect for the law into an assumption of its morality4 ,when a law is passed1 there is an end of it4 ,yet1 judging by the intensity of faith and love and resignation that is evident at ,lourdes1 and indeed by the numbers of those present1 it would seem as if ,mary1 driven from the towns with her ,divine ,son1 has chosen ,lourdes--the very farthest point from ,paris--as her earthly home1 and draws her children after her1 standing there with her back to the wall4 ,i do not think this is fanciful4 ,that which is beyond time and space must communicate with us in those terms2 and we can only speak of these things in the same terms4 ,huysmans expresses the same thing in other words4 ,even if ,bernadette were deceived1 he says1 at any rate these pilgrims are not2 even if ,mary did not come in #aheh to the banks of the ,gave1 she has certainly come there since1 drawn by the thousands of souls that have gone to seek her there4 ,this1 then1 is the last thing ,i can say about ,lourdes4 ,it is quite useless as evidence--indeed it would be almost impertinent to dare to offer further evidence at all--yet ,i may as well hand it in as my contribution4 ,it is this1 that ,lourdes is soaked1 saturated and kindled by the all but sensible presence of the ,mother of ,god4 ,i am quite aware of all that can be said about subjectivity and auto-suggestion1 and the rest2 but there comes a point in all arguments when nothing is worth anything except an assertion of a personal conviction4 ,such1 then1 is mine4 ,first1 it was borne in upon me what a mutilated ,christianity that is which practically takes no account of ,mary4 ,this fragmentary1 lopsided faith was that in which ,i myself had been brought up1 and which to-day still is the faith of the majority of my fellow-countrymen4 ,the ,mother of ,god--the ,second ,eve1 the ,immaculate ,maiden ,mother1 who1 as if to balance ,eve at the ,tree of ,death1 stood by the ,tree of ,life--in popular non-,catholic theology is banished1 with the rest of those who have passed away1 to a position of complete insignificance4 ,this arrangement1 ,i had become accustomed to believe1 was that of ,primitive ,christianity and of the ,christianity of all sensible men3 ,romanism had added to the simple ,gospel1 and had treated the ,mother of ,god with an honour which she would have been the first to deprecate4 ,well1 ,i think that at ,lourdes the startling contrast between facts and human inventions was1 in this respect1 first made vivid to my imagination4 ,i understood how puzzling it must be for old ,catholics1 to whom ,mary is as real and active as her ,divine ,son1 to understand the sincerity of those to whom she is no more than a phantom1 and who yet profess and call themselves ,christians4 ,why1 at ,lourdes ,mary is seen to stand1 to all but outward eyes1 in exactly that position in which at ,nazareth1 at ,cana1 in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 in the ,catacombs1 and in the whole history of ,christendom1 true lovers of her ,son have always seen her--a ,mother of ,god and man1 tender1 authoritative1 silent1 and effective6 ,yet1 strangely enough1 it is not at all the ordinary and conventional character of a merely tender mother that reveals itself at ,lourdes--one who is simply desirous of relieving pain and giving what is asked4 ,there comes upon one instead the sense of a tremendous personage--,regina ,cli as well as ,consolatrix ,afflictorum--one who says ,no as well as ,yes1 and with the same serenity2 yet with the ,no gives strength to receive it4 ,i have heard it said that the greatest miracle of all at ,lourdes is the peace and resignation1 even the happiness1 of those who1 after expectation has been wrought to the highest1 go disappointed away1 as sick as they came4 ,certainly that is an amazing fact4 ,the tears of the young man in the piscine were the only tears of sorrow ,i saw at ,lourdes4 ,mary1 then1 has appeared to me in a new light since ,i have visited ,lourdes4 ,i shall in future not only hate to offend her1 but fear it also4 ,it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of that ,mother who allows the broken sufferer to crawl across ,france to her feet--and then to crawl back again4 ,she is one of the ,maries of ,chartres1 that reveals herself here1 dark1 mighty1 dominant1 and all but inexorable2 not the ,mary of an ecclesiastical shop1 who dwells amid tinsel and tuberoses4 ,she is ,sedes ,sapienti1 ,turris ,eburnea1 ,virgo ,paritura1 strong and tall and glorious1 pierced by seven swords1 yet serene as she looks to her ,son4 ,yet1 at the same time1 the tenderness of her great heart shows itself at ,lourdes almost beyond bearing4 ,she is so great and so loving6 ,it affects those to whom one speaks--the quiet doctors1 even those who1 through some confusion of mind or some sin1 find it hard to believe2 the strong brancardiers1 who carry their quivering burdens with such infinite care2 the very sick themselves1 coming back from the piscines in agony1 yet with the faces of those who come down from the altar after ,holy ,communion4 ,the whole place is alive with ,mary and the love of ,god--from the inadequate statue at the ,grotto to the brazen garlands in the square1 even as far as the illuminated castle and the rockets that burst and bang against the steady stars4 ,if ,i were sick of some deadly disease1 and it were revealed to me that ,i must die1 yet none the less ,i should go to ,lourdes2 for if ,i should not be healed by ,mary1 ,i could at least learn how to suffer as a ,christian ought4 ,god has chosen this place--,he only knows why1 as ,he1 too1 alone chooses which man shall suffer and which be glad--,he has chosen this place to show ,his power2 and therefore has sent ,his ,mother there1 that we may look through her to ,him4 ,is this1 then1 all subjectivity and romantic dreaming8 ,well1 but there are the miracles6 ,,footnotes3 #g ,it must be remembered that this was written six years ago1 and is no longer true4