At his command the Chorister Enounced the Prophet's song, "To God our Saviour mercies And forgivenesses belong." Ten thousand voices join'd to raise And hearts were thrill'd and eyes were fill'd And when they ceased, and Basil's hand A warning signal gave, The whole huge multitude was hush'd In a stillness like that of the grave. The Sun was high in a bright blue sky, But a chill came over the crowd, And the Church was suddenly darken'd, As if by a passing cloud. A sound as of a tempest rose, Though the day was calm and clear; Intrepid must the heart have been Which did not then feel fear. In the sound of the storm came the dreadful Form; Day-light had sicken'd at his sight; And the gloomy Presence threw A shade profound over all around, Like a cheerless twilight hue. "I come hither," said the Demon, "For my Bondsman Eleëmon! Mine is he, body and soul. See all men !" and with that on high He held the open scroll. The fatal signature appear'd Distinct as when the accursed pen "I ask for justice! I prefer I appeal to the Law, and the case "If there be justice here, If Law have place in Heaven, Award upon this Bond Must then for me be given. "What to my rightful claim, That I should not seize the Bondsman, 1 Satan might have been reconciled to St. Basil's profession if he had understood, by his faculty of second-sight, that this "The writing is confess'd;.. No plea against it shown; The forfeiture is mine, And now I take my own!" "Hold there !" cried Basil, with a voice That arrested him on his way, When from the screen he would have swoopt To pounce upon his prey; "Hold there, I say! Thou canst not sue Upon this Bond by law ! A sorry legalist were he "The Deed is null, for it was framed A thing unlawful in itself; "This were enough; but, more than this, "The man, thou sayest, thy Bondsman is; Thou hast allow'd, . . nay, aided him As a Freedman to contract A marriage with this Christian woman here, "That act being publicly perform'd "For when they solemnly were then 66 Thy claim upon the man was by A marriage thus by thee procured So Basil said, and paused awhile; A sulphurous sigh for the Bishop's vocation, "The Law thy calling ought to have been, With thy wit so ready, and tongue so free! To prove by reason in reason's despite, That right is wrong, and wrong is right, And white is black, and black is white,. .' What a loss have I had in thee!" which it is sometimes the business of alawy er to prove, would one day be the duty of the Romanists to believe, if their "I rest not here," the Saint pursued; "Though thou in this mayest see, That in the meshes of thine own net I could entangle thee! "Fiend, thou thyself didst bring about The spousal celebration, Which link'd them by the nuptial tie For both their souls' salvation. "Thou sufferedst them before high Heaven "That tie holds good; those rites Will reach their whole intent; And thou of his salvation wert Thyself the instrument. "And now, methinks, thou seest in this With rising energy he spake, And more majestic look ; And with authoritative hand Held forth the Sacred Book. Then with a voice of power he said, "The Bond is null and void! It is nullified, as thou knowest well, By a Covenant whose strength by Hell Can never be destroy'd ! church were to tell them so. No less a personage than St. Ignatius Loyola has asserted this. In his Exercitia Spiritualia, the 13th of the Rules which are laid down "ad sentiendum cum Ecclesiá," is in these words: "Denique, ut ipsi Ecclesiæ Catholicæ omnino unanimes conformesque simus, si quid, quod oculis nostris apparet album, nigrum illa esse definierit, debemus itidem, quod nigrum sit, pronuntiare. Indubitate namque credendum est, eumdem esse Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et Ecclesiæ orthodoxæ, sponsæ ejus, spiritum, per quem gubernamur ac dirigimur ad salutem; neque alium esse Deum, qui olim tradidit Decalogi præcepta, et qui nunc temporis Ecclesiam hierarchicam instruit atque regit."-p. 141. Antwerpiæ, 1635. Such is the implicit obedience enjoined in those Spiritual Exercises, of which Pope Paul III. said in his brief, Sub annulo Piscatoris, "omnia et singula in eis contenta, ex certâ scientiâ nostrâ, approbamus, collaudamus, ac præsentis scripti patrocinio communimus." The Romanists are to believe that black is white if the Roman Church tells them so morally and politically it has often told them so, and they have believed and acted accordingly. 1 This is not the only miracle of this kind recorded of St. Basil. "There was a certain woman of noble family, and born of rich parents, who was wholly made up of the vanities of this world, and beyond measure arrogant in all things; she, becoming a widow, wasted her substance shamelessly, living a loose and profligate life, doing none of those things which are enjoined by the Lord, but wallowing like a swine in the mire and filth of her iniquities. But being at length by the will of God brought to a consideration of her own estate, and her mind filled with consciousness of the immeasurable offences "The Covenant of grace, That greatest work of Heaven, Which whoso claims in perfect faith, His sins shall be forgiven. "Were they as scarlet red They should be white as wool; This is the All-mighty's Covenant, Who is All-merciful! "His Minister am I! In his All-mighty name To this repentant sinner God's pardon I proclaim! "In token that against his soul The sin shall no longer stand, The writing is effaced, which there Thou holdest in thy hand! "Angels that are in bliss above This triumph of Redeeming Love Will witness, and rejoice; And ye shall now in thunder hear Heaven's ratifying voice!" A peal of thunder shook the pile; The Church was fill'd with light, And when the flash was past, the Fiend Had vanish'd from their sight. He fled as he came, but in anger and shame; The pardon was complete, And the impious scroll was dropt, a blank, At Eleëmon's feet.1 of which she had committed, she called to remembrance the multitude of her sins, and bewailed them penitently, saying, 'Woe to me a sinner, how shall I render an account of the multitude of my sins! I have profaned a spiritual temple: I have defiled the soul which inhabiteth this body! Woe is me, woe is me! what have I done! what hath befallen me! Shall I say, like the Harlot or the Publican, that I have | sinned? But no one has sinned like me! How, then, shall I be assured that God will receive my repentance?' While she meditated in herself upon these things, He, who would that all should be saved and brought back into the way truth, and would have no one perish, was pleased to bring unto her remembrance all the sins which she had committed from her youth up. And she set down in writing all these offences, even all that she had committed from her youth to this her elder age; and, last of all, she set down one great and heinous sin, the worst of all; and having done this, she folded up the writing, aud fastened it with lead. After this, having waited till a convenient season, when holy Basil was accustomed to go to the church that he might pray there, she ran before to meet him, and threw the writing at his feet, and prostrated herself before him, saying, O, holy man of God, have compassion upon me a sinner, yea, the vilest of sinners!" The most blessed man stopt thereat, and asked of her 'wherefore she thus groaned and lamented:' and she said unto him, Saint of God, see I have set down all my sins and iniquities in this writing, and I have folded it, and fastened it with lead; do not thou, I charge thee, open it, but by thy powerful prayers blot out all that is written therein.' Then the great and holy Basil held up the writing, and, looking toward Heaven, said, O Lord, to Thee alone all the deeds of this woman are manifest! Thou hast taken away the sins of the world, and more easily mayest thou blot out those of this single soul. Before thee, indeed, all our offences are numbered; but thy mercy is infinite.' Saying thus, he went into the church, holding the aforesaid writing in his hand; and prostrating himself before the altar, there he remained through the night, and on the morrow, during the performance of all the masses which were celebrated there, intreating God for this woman's sake. And when she came to him, he gave her the writing, and said to her, Woman, hast thou heard that the remission of sins can come from God alone?' She answered, 'Yea, father; and therefore have I supplicated thee that thou shouldst intercede with that most merciful God in my behalf.' And then she opened the writing, and found that it was all blotted out, save only that the one great, and most heinous sin, still remained written there. But she, seeing that this great sin was still legible as before, beat her breast and began to bewail herself, and falling at his feet again, with many tears she said, Have compassion upon me, O Servant of the Most High, and as thou hast once exerted thyself in prayer for all my sins, and hast prevailed, so now intercede, as thou canst, that this offence also may be blotted out.' Thereat holy Basil wept for pity; and he said unto her, 'Woman, arise! I also am a sinner, and have myself need of forgiveness. He who hath blotted out thus much, hath granted thee remission of thy sins as far as hath to Him seemed good; and God, who hath taken away the sins of the world, is able to take from thee this remaining sin also; and if thou wilt keep his commandments, and walk in his ways, thou shalt not only have forgiveness, but wilt also become worthy of glory. But go thou into the desert, and there thou wilt find a holy man, who is well known to all the holy fathers, and who is called Ephræm. Give thou this writing to him, and he will intercede for thee, and will prevail with the Lord.' "The woman then commended herself to the holy Bishop's prayers, and hastened away into the desert, and performed a long journey therein. She came to the great and wonderful Hermit, who was called Ephræm by name, and knocking at his door, she cried aloud, saying, Have compassion on me, Saint of God, have compassion on me!' But he, having been forewarned in spirit concerning the errand on which she came, replied unto her, saying, Woman, depart, for I also am a man and a sinner, standing myself in need of an intercessor.' But she held out the writing, and said, The holy Archbishop Basil sent me to thee, that thou mightest intercede for me, and that therethrough the sin which is written herein might be blotted out. The other many sins holy Basil hath blotted out by his prayers: Saint of God, do not thou think it much to intercede with the Lord for me for this one sin, seeing that I am sent unto thee to that end.' But that confessor made answer, No, daughter! Could he obtain from the Lord the remission of so many other sins, and cannot be intercede and prevail for this single one? Go thy way back, therefore, and tarry not, that thou mayest find him before his soul be departed from his body.' Then the woman commended herself to the holy Confessor Ephræm, and returned to Cæsarea. "But, when she entered that city, she met the persons who were bearing the body of St. Basil to burial; seeing which, she threw herself upon the ground, and began to cry aloud against the holy man, saying, Woe is me a sinner, woe is me a lost wretch, woe is me! O man of God, thou hast sent me into the desert, that thou mightest be rid of me, and not wearied more; and behold I am returned from my bootless journey, having gone over so great a way in vain! The Lord God see to this thing, and judge between me and thee, in asmuch as thou couldest have interceded with him for me, and have prevailed, if thou hadst not sent me away to another.' Saying this, she threw the writing upon the bier whereon the body of holy Basil was borne, and related before the people all that passed between them. One of the clergy then desiring to know what this one sin was, took up the writing, and opened it, and found that it was clean blotted out: whereupon he cried with a loud voice unto the woman, and said, 'O woman, there is nothing written herein! Why dost thou consume thyself with so much labour and sorrow, not knowing the great things of God unto thee ward, and his inscrutable mercies?' Then the multitude of the people, seeing this glorious and great miracle, glorified God, who hath such power, that he remitteth the sins of all who are living, and giveth grace to his servants, that after their decease they should heal all sickness and all infirmity: and hath given unto them power for remitting all sins to those who preserve a right faith in the Lord, continuing in good works, and glorifying God and our Lord and Saviour.”—Vitæ Patrum, pp. 159, 160. "In the days of the blessed Theodemir, Bishop of Compostella, there was a certain Italian, who had hardly dared confess to his own Priest and Bishop a certain enormous crime which he had formerly committed. His Bishop having heard the confession, and being struck with astonishment and horror at so great an offence, dared not appoint what penance he should perform. Nevertheless, being moved with compassion, he sent the sinner with a schedule, in which the offence was written, to the Church of Santiago at Compostella, enjoining him that he should, with his whole heart, implore the aid of the blessed Apostle, and submit himself to the sentence of the Bishop of that Apostolical Church. He therefore without delay went to Santiago in Galicia, and there placed the schedule, which contained the statement of his crime, upon the venerable altar, repenting that he had committed so great a sin, and intreating forgiveness, with tears and sobs, from God and the Apostle. This was on Santiago's Day, being the eighth of the Kalends of August, and at the first hour. "When the blessed Theodemir, Bishop of the See of Compostella, came attired in his pontificals to sing mass at the altar that day at the third hour, he found the schedule under the covering of the altar, and demanded forthwith, wherefore, and by whom it had been placed there. The Penitent upon this came forward, and on his knees declared, with many tears, before all the people, the crime which he had committed, and the injunctions which had been laid on him by his own Bishop. The holy Bishop then opened the schedule, and found nothing written therein; it appeared as if no letters had ever been inscribed there. A marvellous thing, and an exceeding joy, for which great praise and glory were incontinently rendered to God and the Apostle, the people all singing, This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes' The holy Bishop then of a truth believing that the penitent had obtained forgiveness with God through the merits of the Apostle, would impose upon him no other penance for the crime which he had committed, except that of keeping Friday as a fast from that time forth, and having absolved him from all his other sins, he dismissed him to his own country. Hence it may be inferred, that if any one shall truly repent, and going from distant countries to Galicia, shall there, with his whole heart, intreat pardon from God, and pray for the aid of the blessed Santiago, the record of his misdeeds shall, without all doubt, be blotted out for ever."-Acta SS. Jul, t. vi. p. 48. THE PILGRIM TO COMPOSTELLA; BEING THE LEGEND OF A COCK AND A HEN, TO THE HONOUR AND GLORY OF SANTIAGO. A CHRISTMAS TALE. "Res similis fictæ ; sed quid miki fingere prodest." Ovid, Met. xiii. v. 935. "Hear also no lean story of theirs!"-Lightfoot. THE Legend (for a genuine Legend it is) which has been made the subject of the ensuing Ballad, is related by Bishop Patrick in his Parable of the Pilgrim, (ch. xxxv. pp. 430 -434.) Udal ap Rhys relates it in his Tour through Spain and Portugal. (pp. 35-38.) Both these writers refer to Lucius Marineus Siculus as their authority. And it is told also in the Journal du Voyage d'Espagne, (Paris, 1569,) by a Conseiller who was attached to the French Embassy in that country. (p. 18.) A The story may likewise be found in the Acta Sanctorum. duplicate of the principal miracle occurs in the third volume for the month of May, (die 12â, p. 171.), and is there ascribed to S. Domingo de la Calzada, the author, Luiz de la Vega, contending, that both relations are to be received as true, the Bollandist (Henschenius) contrariwise opining that they are distinct miracles, but leaving the reader nevertheless to determine freely for himself " utrum id malit, an vero credere velit, unicum dumtaxat esse quod sub quadam circumstantiarum varietate refertur ut geminum." In the sixth volume of the same work, for the month of July, (die 25â,) the legend of the Pilgrim is twice told, ones (p. 45.) as occurring to a native of Utrecht, (Cæsariue Heisterbachensis is the authority,) once as having befallen a German at Thoulouse (p. 50.); the latter story is in the collection of Santiago's miracles, which Pope Calixtus II. is said to have compiled. The extract from Lucius Marineus Siculus may also be seen there. It is here annexed as it stands in the fifth book of that author's work, De Rebus Hispanic memorabilibus. "In antiquissimâ civitate quam Sancti Dominici Calciatensis vulgus appellat, gallum vidimus et gallinam, qui dum vixerunt, cujus coloris fuissent ignoramus: postea vero cum jugulati fuissent et assi, candidissimi revixerunt, magnam Dei potentiam summumque miraculum referentes. Cujus rei veritas et ratio sic se habet. Vir quidam probus et amicus Dei, et uxor ejus, optima mulier, cum filio adolescentulo magnæ probitatis, ad Sanctum Jacobum Compostellam proficiscentes, in hanc urbem itineris labore defessi ingrediuntur, et quiescendi gratiâ restiterunt in domo cujusdam qui adultam filiam habebat. Quæ cum adolescentem pulchrâ facie vidisset, ejus amore capta est. juvenis ab ea requisitus atque vexatus, ejus voto repugnasset, amorem convertit in odium, et ei nocere cupiens, tempore quo discedere volebant ejus cucullo crateram sui patris clam reposuit. Cumque peregrini mane discessissent, exclamavit puella coram parentibus crateram sibi fuisse subreptam. Quod audiens Prætor satellites confestim misit, ut Et cum peregrinos reducerent. Qui cum venissent, puella conscia sui sceleris accessit ad juvenem et crateram eruit e cucullo. Quapropter comperto delicto, juvenis in campum productus iniquâ sententiâ et sine culpâ laqueo suspensus est: miserique parentes cum filium deplorassent, postea discedentes Compostellam pervenerunt. Ubi solutis votis et Deo gratias agentes subinde redeuntes ad locum pervenerunt ubi filius erat suspensus, et mater multis perfusa lacrymis ad filium accessit, multùm desuadente marito. Cumque filium suspiceret, dixit ei filius, Mater mea noli flere super me: ego enim vivus sum, quoniam Virgo Dei genetrix, et Sanctus Jacobus me sustinent et servant incolumem. Vade charissima mater ad judicem qui me falsò condemnavit, et dic ei me vivere propter innocentiam meam, ut me liberari jubeat, tibique restituat.' Properat solicita mater, et præ nimio gaudio flens uberius, Prætorem convenit in menså sedentem, qui gallum et gallinam assos scindere volebat. 'Prætor, inquit, filius meus vivit; jube solvi, obsecro!' Quod cum audisset, Prætor, existimans eam quod dicebat propter amorem maternum somniasse, respondit subridens, 'Quid hoc est, bona mulier? Ne fallaris! sic enim vivit filius tuus, ut vivunt hæ aves!' Et vix hoc dixerat cum gallus et gallina saltaverunt in mensâ, statimque gallus cantavit. Quod cum Prætor vidisset attonitus continuo egreditur, vocat sacerdotes et cives, proficiscuntur ad juvenum suspensum: et invenerunt incolumem valdeque læ tantem, et parentibus restituunt ; domumque reversi gallum capiunt et gallinam, et in ecclesiam transferunt magnâ solemnitate. Quæ ibi clausæ res admirabiles et Dei potentiam testificantes observantur, ubi septennio vivunt; hune enim terminum Deus illis instituit; et in fine septennii antequam moriantur,pullum relinquunt et pullam sui coloris et magnitudinis; et hoc fit in eâ ecclesià quolibet septennio. Magnæ quoque admirationis est, quod omnes per hanc urbem transeuntes peregrini, qui sunt innumerabiles, galli hujus et gallinæ plumam capiunt, et numquam illis plumæ deficiunt. Hoc ego testor, propterea quod vidi et interfui, plumamque mecum fero.”—Rerum Hispanicarum Scriptores, t. ii. p. 805. Luiz de la Vega agrees with Marineus Siculus in all the particulars of this perpetual miracle, except the latter; "sed scriptorem illum fictionis arguit, quod asserat, plumas galli et gallinæ, quæ quotidie peregrinis illac transeuntibus distribuuntur, prodigiose multiplicari: affirmat autem tamquam testis oculatus, in eâ ecclesiá designatum esse quemdam clericum, qui plumas illas conservit et peregrinis distribuit; at negat continuum multiplicationis miraculum à Marineo Siculo tam confidenter assertum, in eå urbe videri, aut patrari. Multis tamen probare nititur reliqua omnia prodigia esse vera, testaturque ad perpetuam rei memoriam in superiori ecclesiæ parte omnium oculis exponi idem patibulum, in quo peregrinus suspensus fuit."-Acta Sanctorum, Jul. t. vi. p. 46. PRELUDE. "TELL us a story, old Robin Gray! We are all in our glory, so tell us a story, "Open your budget, old Robin Gray ! Come out with a murder, . . a Goblin, . . a Ghost, "I have no tale of a Cock and a Bull, My good little women and men ; But 't will do as well, perhaps, if I tell A tale of a Cock and a Hen." INTRODUCTION. You have all of you heard of St. James for Spain The marble ship I have not found any where except in Geddes, who must have found it in some version of the legend which has not fallen into my hands. But that the ship was made of marble I believe to be quite as true as any other part of the legend of Santiago... Whether of marble or not, it was a miraculous ship which, without oars or sails, performed the voyage from Joppa to Iria Flava, now El Padron, in Galicia, in seven days. Classical fables were still so passable when the Historia Compostelana was written, that the safe passage of this ship over the Syrtes, and between Scylla and Charybdis, is ascribed to the presiding hand of Providence. — España Sagrada, t. xx. p. 6. 2 How the body came to leave its head behind is a circumstance which has not been accounted for: and yet it requires explanation, because we are assured that Santiago took particular care not to part with his head, when it was cut off. "At the moment," says the Annalist of Galicia, "when the cruel executioner severed from its neck the precious head of the sacred Apostle, the body miraculously raised its hands and caught it, and in that posture it continued till night. The astonished Jews attempted to separate it, but in vain ; for upon touching the venerable corpse their arms became cold, as if frozen, and they remalned without the use of them." -Añales de Galicia, por El Doctor D. Francisco Xavier Manuel de la Huerta y Vega. Santiago, 1733. "Cortada la cabeza no dio en tierra, Que por virtud de Dios, el con las manos, Que no pueden quitarsela tyranos." Christoval de Mesa: El Patron de España, f. 62. Perhaps his companions dropped it on their way to the coast, for the poet tells us they travelled in the dark, and in a hurry: Their history once was in good repute, And so it ought to be still; Little friends, I dare say you have read it: And if not, why I hope you will. Of this St. James that book proclaims But more amazing are the things How once a ship of marble made,1 Came sailing o'er the sea, Wherein his headless corpse was laid,2 Perfumed with sanctity. And how, though then he had no head, And how he used to fight the Moors," Upon a milk-white charger: Large tales of him the Spaniards tell, Munchausen tells no larger. But in their cause of latter years He has not been so hearty; For that he never struck a stroke is plain, When our Duke, in many a hard campaign, Beat the French armies out of Spain, And conquer'd Buonaparte. "Cubiertos de la noche con el manto Sin que ningun contrario los impida, Mas presto que si fueran á galope, Llevan el cuerpo á la ciudad de Jope." Ib. f. 65. But according to the Historia Compostelana, (España, Sagrada, t. xx. p. 6.) there is the testimony of Pope St. Leo, that the original head came with the body. 3 This is a small allowance, and must be understood with reference to the two most authentic ones in that part of the world,.. that at Braga, and one of the two at Compostella. It is a common thing for Saints to be polycephalous; and Santiago is almost as great a pluralist in heads as St. John the Baptist has been made by the dealers in relics. There are some half dozen heads, and almost as many whole bodies ascribed to him, . . all in good odour, all having worked miracles, and all, beyond a doubt, equally authentic. Whereby, my little friends, we see And not to interrupt This warning shall be printed By way of annotation. 5 Most appropriately therefore, according to P. Sautel, was he called Boanerges: |