"Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day, For what are men better than sheep and goats, That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." (_Lord Tennyson._) At the time that Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding were laying the foundation of the Cistercian Order, in the dense forest of Cistercium, or Citeaux, whence the Order derives its name, or to be more precise, in 1098, a lovely little boy eight years old, with golden hair and dove-like eyes, and with nobility of birth stamped in every lineament of his features, was playing in his father's chateau at Fontaines, near Dijon, in France. This child of predilection was the great St. Bernard, who is justly styled the Propagator of that Order which was then in a struggling condition. It has become a proverb, "that the child is father of the man," and a very clever writer exclaims--"Blessed is the man whose infancy has been watched over, kindled, and penetrated by the eyes of a tender and holy mother." It was St. Bernard's singular privilege to have such a mother, one who sedulously watched over his youthful days, and inspired him with a love of all virtues. Hence we are told, that even in early childhood, he evinced a love of piety that was remarkable, and that he constituted his mother the grand model which he was bound to copy. He considered it the summit of his ambition to do all things like his mother--to pray like her, to give alms and visit the sick poor like her; for this noble lady was wont to go along the roads unattended, carrying medicine and nourishment to the indigent. He distinguished himself at the public school where he received his education, and returned to the paternal mansion where he soon after experienced his first great sorrow in the death of his loving mother. He was now approaching manhood, and he must needs select a state of life befitting his high birth. At that time, only two professions were worthy of the consideration of young noblemen--the Church or the Army. With Bernard's distinguished talents, a bright and rosy future presented itself before his youthful imagination, and then the eloquent persuasions of his relatives, who promised him their powerful patronage, were not wanting to arouse his ambition; but, the image of his saintly mother dispelled all dreams of promotion, and her pious instructions, which sank deep into his young heart, acted as potent antidotes against the allurements of worldly pomp and short-lived honours. After much reflection he made up his mind to renounce all honours, and to become a monk. By his irresistible pleadings he gained over his four