"The Superioress came into the hall where the men were collected and asked if they wished a priest to come and hear their confessions. All consented with unequivocal signs of gratitude. A good priest, one of the hostages of the Commune, came and heard their confession. On leaving them he seemed much consoled, and said he had every reason to hope for their salvation. The unfortunate men left the house at seven o'clock, and were conducted to Versailles; they were calm and resigned, and when about to leave, showed the Sisters the medal they wore. Doubtless, God accepted the sacrifice of their life in atonement for their faults." [Illustration] CHAPTER IX. Recent Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin _IN FRANCE, ITALY AND GERMANY_. THE CONFIDENCE WITH WHICH THESE APPARITIONS SHOULD INSPIRE US. The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, has, in our age, brought to its climax, devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Divine Providence employed twenty-four years in preparing the world for this great event; we have seen in the preceding chapters, how much the apparition of 1830, contributed thereto, and how powerful the influence of the Miraculous Medal in propagating this devotion. Since this time a second period of twenty-four years has elapsed, during which devotion to the Immaculate Mary has shone as a radiant star in the firmament of the Church, spreading everywhere the light of truth and the warmth of true piety; and, by a gentle yet efficacious impulse, producing unanimity of mind and heart in the great Catholic family. Since the definition, as well as before it, France continues to be the privileged country of Mary; nowhere else are miracles so numerous, or graces so abundant. Whence arises this glorious prerogative? So far as we are permitted to penetrate the secrets of God, it appears to us, to our understanding: France who has wrought so much evil by disseminating philosophical and revolutionary doctrines, is to repair the past by propagating truth, and Mary desires to prepare her for this mission. Everyone knows, moreover, that the French character possesses a force of expansion and a power of energy that render the French eminently qualified to maintain the interests of truth and justice. Then, again, is not France the eldest daughter of the Church, since she was baptized in the person of Clovis, the first of the Most Christian Kings; and in virtue of this title, is it not her duty to devote herself under the patronage of her Mother in heaven to the defence of her Mother on earth? Be the motives of Mary's predilection for the French nation what they may, the fact is incontrovertible. Nevertheless, the Blessed Virgin has not forgotten other Catholic countries; they also have had their share in the singular favors she has so generously dispensed in our days. OUR LADY OF LOURDES.--1858.