Advantages of the Month of Mary.

THE Church, ever attentive to procuring glory for Mary, has multiplied devotions and feasts in her honor. She invites her children to honor her three times a day by the recitation of the Angelus, she consecrates the Saturday of each week to her, and celebrates one of her festivals almost every month. But this was not enough for the piety of her children. All hearts filled with the love of Mary wished to pay her their homage in a way more notable still. A holy priest filled the void which all acknowledged, by making them consecrate a month in the year to celebrating the greatness and studying the virtues of the august Virgin. "Now," well says Father Lalomia, "when one makes an offering, he should choose what is best and most pleased: this is why the most beautiful month of the year has been selected, which by the renovation of nature and the agreeable variety of flowers wherewith. the earth is covered, seems to invite the soul to recognize grace, to clothe itself with most beautiful acts of virtue, to make of them as it were a crown for the Queen of the universe." The author of so holy a practice remains unknown; all researches can lead only to uncertainty. God, doubtless, wished to preserve the humility of His servant from the praises of men, reserving an infinitely more precious reward for him in heaven; but He has blessed His work. Its development and spread strike the most prejudiced minds with astonishment, and compel them to recognize the finger of God therein. A holy priest whose name is so well known and so justly revered by all children of Mary, thus explains this wonder to us: "Remember that touching story of the prophet Elias, who after three mortal years of drought, retires on the summit of Carmel and implores God to remember His mercies of old. Six times in succession he sends his servant to look towards the sea, and he anxiously asks him if he does not behold any favorable sign. Only on the seventh time does the young man tell him of a little cloud the size of a man's foot." Truly it is very little: it is enough to make the Prophet hope that his prayers will be heard. A moment more and the heavens grow dark, the clouds pile up, the winds are unloosed, and the rain falls in torrents. That little cloud was the size of a man's boot. The origin of the month of Mary displayed still less, only a child's foot. It was in Rome, towards the end of the last century, on a beautiful evening in the month of May, a child of the people assembled his companions around him before a statue of Mary, where, according to the custom of the holy city, a lamp was kept burning. And there those pure and innocent voices sang the litanies of the Virgin. Next day this lovable little band returned to the feet of the Madonna, followed by other children. The mothers came of themselves to join this meeting; then other groups were formed and soon became popular. The month of Mary was founded.

Soon the little stream became a great river which brought fertility and abundance to the whole earth. The mustard seed has produced a

great tree whose branches offer a sure refuge for birds of the air; that is, devotion to the month of May, so weak and limited in its origin, immediately developed most marvellously. The humble country sanctuary and the proudest basilicas resound with hymns in honor of Mary, and there at the foot of her revered statue, the rich and the pcor, the learned and the ignorant, blend in one and the same love. They have all but one heart and one voice to love and praise Mary. On leaving the sacred temple, they again assembled around her picture, the ornament and treasure of their dwelling, and with the flowers which surround it, they offer her their heart and implore her protection and love. Hence the devotion of the month of Mary has merited most abundant benedictions for the faithful. The power of the Immaculate Virgin, responding to the homage of her children, has been manifested by the greatest prodigies, and has made them love a practice which she rewards by the most glorious advantages.

"I am," the Most Blessed Virgin tells us, "the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all hope of life and virtue." These words are a source of consolation for the just, of strength for those who are wavering, and of light for the sinner. Pharao had put all his confidence in the virtuous Joseph, and made him the depositary of his treasures and his power, so he sent to his faithful minister all his subjects who came to ask him for bread to maintain their life and commanded them to do whatever he wished. God, far better than this, has put His power and His treasure in the hands of Mary; hence no grace flows and descends from the throne of God unless it has passed through the hands of Mary. "O Mary," cries out a holy bishop, "thy greatness is infinite, thy protection is mighty, O Mary! Thy benefits are many, they are numberless, for no one, O Most Holy Virgin, is saved unless through thee, no one is delivered from the evils of this life unless by thee, O most pure Virgin! No one, O most chaste Virgin, receives grace unless through thee, and grace is merciful to none unless through thee, O Virgin deserving of all honor." Let the just then gladly enter upon the holy exercises of the month of May; the moment has come for him to increase his merits, and to attain a higher degree of perfection. He is already dear to the heart of Mary; his virtues which recall those of the august Mother give him most precious rights to her maternal affection. Let him pray to Mary, and he will obtain for himself the abundance of divine treasures; Mary will grant him to push out his branches, and his branches will be of honor and glory; she will make him send forth flowers of pleasing odor, and his flowers will be fruits of abundance and glory. Let him pray to Mary, and his prayers will obtain the perseverance for the just, strength for the weak, and the grace of conversion for sinners.

If you are among those whose heart is divided between God and man, those who fear, on the one hand, to enter the ways of virtue whose charms captivate their heart, but whose difficulties affright their weak ness, and, on the other hand, fear to follow the vagaries of the world, because they understand all its dangers, and are not ignorant of the fact that the broad road on which it keeps its victims leads to death if, I say, you are of these, come to Mary; she assures you that "he who

hearkens to her will not be confounded and that they who act by her shall not sin." For you is she the mother of fears, of knowledge, and of hope. She will give you that salutary fear of vice which, at the moment of the Incarnation, made her dread, for her virtue, the presence even of an angel. She will enlighten your mind with that divine knowledge which, unveiling to you all the worth and joy of virtue, will make you love and practise it. She will put in your heart that lively hope which overturns all obstacles, and keeps one firm and unshaken in the path of virtue. She herself will be your strength, and the demon has no power over those whom she protects.

Oh! if you are sinners, let your hearts have hope. Draw near in all confidence to the throne of graces; for you especially was Mary placed thereon; she is queen and sovereign, but above all she is Mother of mercy. "And," says St. Bernard, "as the sun rises indifferently on the wicked, Mary despises no one. The greatest sinners, provided they be sincerely touched, always find her disposed to listen to their prayers, to give them proofs of her clemency, and to solace with pitying charity their griefs and miseries." These then are days of grace and salvation for you; be the first to draw nigh Mary, for you are the first whom she seeks and calls.

To all then does Mary offer, during this month, treasures of grace and mercy; let us then understand our dearest interests, and follow this touching invitation of St. Bernard: "Let us all gladly fly beneath the standards of Mary; let us all fall prostrate at her feet; let us all implore that heart inflamed with divine charity to be moved by our miseries; let us perseveringly implore her aid; and let us not cease groaning and praying until she has granted us her protection, and adopted us as her children."

Pneumonia.

THIS disease has been very prevalent the past winter. The chilly winds of March have not been the means of lessening the fatality of the disease, and persons in middle life, as well as old people, are stricken down, and die within a few days after their attack. B. V. French tells in the Boston Journal what pueumonia is, and what to do in the first stages of the disease. His mode of treatment seems rational; certainly it is simple enough, and most of the remedies can be found in out-of-theway places, away from physicians. Pneumonia, says the writer, is inflammation of the lungs. When the inflammation is on the lining of the chest it is pleurisy. The two may be combined. The two may be combined. Pneumonia is a dangerous disease and requires prompt action. It is preceded by a chill, from which it sometimes is difficult to restore the natural heat. This chill is followed by a high fever, in which the heart beats rapidly. Chills may come from other causes than pneumonia, but unless sure of the cause and sure that it is not dangerous it is safe to suspect a com

ing pneumonia, and to send at once for a physician. On no account attempt to manage the case without one. The disease is too serious to warrant such an attempt. Until he arrives do what you can to equalize the circulation and temperature. Keep in bed between woollen blankets, or sheets, increase the temperature of the room, apply to the affected parts old soft cotton (not linen) cloths wet in hot water, in which has been mixed one-half of a teaspoonful of mustard to a quart of water, and to this apply heat from tins or bottles of hot water or hot bricks. Rubber water bags are best; apply heat in the same way to the feet. Do not increase the quantity of mustard. The object is to excite action in the skin, but to avoid an irritation that would hinder or destroy action. As these cool, replace them at once with others, not allowing the temperature to reduce at all. On no account must the patient get out of bed. For medicine give aconite, four globules, every half hour; this is homœopathic. When the perspiration returns and the patient can sleep, let him sleep; continue the heat for a time, and when it is reduced let it be done with great care. If the patient needs food, let it be of a plain, simple kind. Avoid cold drinks until the natural condition of the skin is restored.

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A Night in an Orange Lodge.

[DR. MURRAY, the author and subject of the following sketch, was, perhaps, the most distinguished Irish theologian of the present century. He was born at Clones, county Monaghan, on the 18th of November, 1811, and received both his English and classical education in the neighborhood of his native town. From his earliest years he showed a decided preference for the ecclesiastical state, and, with a view to prepare himself for the sacred dignity of the priesthood, entered the rhetoric class in Maynooth College on the 25th of August, 1829. He passed through the different classes in the college with great distinction, and was, in June, 1835, appointed a scholar of the Dunboyne Establishment, the prefect of which was then Dr. McNally, who afterwards became bishop of Clogher. Towards the end of his Dunboyne course he was, with the permission of his diocesan, the bishop of Clogher, appointed to a curacy in Francis Street chapel, in the city of Dublin. In September, 1838, he obtained the chair of belles lettres in Maynooth College after a public concursus. He continued in this chair for three years, when, after another concursus, he was appointed professor of theology. On the re-establishment of the Dunboyne class in 1879 he became its prefect, in which office he continued until his death in November, 1882. Dr. Murray wrote a large number of tracts, both on moral and dogmatic theology, his great work being his "Tractatus De Ecclesia," which earned for him a world-wide reputation, and made him. a standard authority in that department of ecclesiastical science. At another time, perhaps, we may have more to say of Dr. Murray in the pages of the MAGAZINE.-OLLAVE FOLA.]

Late in the summer of 1835 I was travelling on horseback to I had set out late or loitered on my way, for when I got as far as the town of M― the shades of evening were beginning to fall. On reaching the village of G, about three miles further on, I determined to remain there for the night, for it was market or fair day, the way was through a Protestant country, I was clerically dressed, and being rather in a hurry to come to my journey's end, I did not choose to run the risk of such delay as the random shot of an Orange gun or a stroke of an Orange bludgeon might cause. So, having inquired from the decentest-looking person I saw on the already thinned street for the hotel of the town, I was directed to a comfortable-looking house over the way. I bent my course to it, lit at the door, had my horse put up, walked in, and asked if this were the hotel of G (for it did not look like one), was answered in the affirmative, shown upstairs into a very good sitting-room, had lights put before me, and requested the brotherin-law of the house- who was bustling in a good-natured way about me—to leave me alone for some time. I soon perceived that my hotel was of the species of deversoria, known in that quarter under the name of "Carmen's stages," a better sort of public houses provided with beds for travellers. The place was good enough for me, and I was quite comfortable and satisfied, or rather would have been but for the uproarious noise of market-day revellers proceeding from one or two rooms contiguous to the one in which I sat. I suppose there was only a lath and plaster wall between us for I heard the voices very distinctly.

"I say, Wilson is true purple and blue; he's not afraid of the papishes; he's the boy can lick them."

"H-11 saize the dhrap of Orange blood in his veins."

"Don't say that; don't you mind the Clownish fights? he was the man that showed off in them."

"Come, Thompson, let us have no more of that, we're all for the right cause; down with the papishes and to hell with the Pope."

And so went on, for a quarter of an hour or better, the symphony of words, phrases, toasts, and sentiments long familiar to my ears. Suddenly the door of my room was thrown open, and a tall, red-haired, very Protestant-looking fellow standing on the threshold looked at me sternly for some seconds, and then turned on his heel, banging the door after him with a crash. Very soon a crowd of persons walked into the room and commenced quietly to sit down at the table. I took up my candlestick and walked as quietly into the adjoining closet, where I was to sleep. "Drink" was of course called for and came, and with it went round the usual clatter and din it produces in such circles at such an hour. By and bye a song was called for and sung, and then, at short intervals, one or two more. They were all in the same strain; loud panegyrics of Orange prowess and victories, mingled with constant repetitions about loyalty and wading in Popish blood,-two ideas, by the way, at the time closely united in the minds of both parties in those quarters. In the mean time brother-in-law gently lifted the latch, and stealing in, sat down beside me and commenced a familiar chat, evidently with a view of drawing away my attention from the proceedings in the next room, and quieting any alarms I might feel. He told me