The feast and octave of the Immaculate Conception, announced and prepared with so much zeal by the pious Bishop, were celebrated with extraordinary solemnity in all the churches throughout the diocese of Paris, and especially at Notre Dame. It was one of the last consolations this great prelate enjoyed upon earth. He died the 31st of December, crowning a life rich in virtues and sacrifices, by an act of filial homage to Mary Immaculate, and a final testimony of tender solicitude for the flock he was about to leave. He loved this flock during life, and before dying, he confides it to the inexhaustible charity of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of Jesus, he conceals it under the mantle of her purity, that he may feel assured of the victory over the enemies of its happiness. He had consecrated his person, his diocese and all France to this Virgin, conceived without sin. Was it not to her maternal protection the venerable prelate owed that generous submission, that admirable tranquility, that tender love and sweet serenity of the just, when he was hovering on the brink of eternity? He had placed all his confidence in thee, O Mary! at that last moment, he invoked thee as the Star of the Sea that was to guide him to Heaven, and it was under thy auspices his beautiful soul winged its flight to the bosom of its God. * * * * * In emulation of the example of the illustrious Archbishop of the capital, the other Archbishops and Bishops of France petition the Holy See for the same privileges, publishing them in their respective dioceses by solemn circulars, and proclaiming them a new source of benediction for the people. Thus, in the same year, 1839, the Archbishops of Toulouse and Bourges, the Bishops of Montauban, Pamiers, Carcassonne, Fréjus, Châlons, Saint-Flour and Limoges; in 1840, the Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen, the Archbishop of Lyons and Besançon, the Bishops of Bayeux, Évreux, Séez, Coutance, Saint-Dié, La Rochelle, Tulle, Ajaccio, Nantes and Amiens; in 1841, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, the Bishops of Versailles, of Nîmes and Luçon, Mende and Périgueux. We are fully persuaded, and even assured, of the fact that a great number of the dioceses in France requested and obtained the same privileges; but we cite only those of which we ourselves have kept note. "What should be our transports of joy, confidence, admiration and gratitude, at this universal tribute of honor and homage to the Virgin conceived without spot! All earth unites with Heaven in a concert of praise and thanksgiving, proclaiming that Mary has been conceived without sin; all hearts vie with one another in celebrating the signal favors, the miraculous cures and conversions God has deigned to accord those who invoke the Blessed Virgin under the title of Immaculate in her Conception." (Circular of the Archbishop of Bourges.)