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Near this great idol temple, there is an artificial lake of water in an open place, into which the pilgrims and devotees cast gold and silver, and precious stones, in honour of the idol, and as a fund for repairing the temple; and when any new ornament is to be made, or any repairs are required, the priests take what is wanted from the oblations that are thrown into this lake.
And it suggests the thought that in trust there lie both the previous elements, for he that trusts possesses, and he that trustingly possesses is thereby impelled as trustingly to seek for, larger gifts. So, then, I turn to this outline sketch of the happy pilgrims on the road, and desire to gather from it, as simply as may be, the stimulating thoughts which it suggests to us.
In general beggars are much less numerous at Medina than at Mekka; and most of the foreign beggars, as at Mekka, are Indians. Few hadjys come here without either bringing the necessary funds, or being certain of gaining their livelihood by labour, the distance of Medina from the sea being much It may be calculated that only one- third of the pilgrims who visit Mekka go also to Medina.
The singular dispensations of Providence, and the strong impressions made by the Word of God upon some minds, seem to amount to a special invitation; while others are gradually and gently brought to embrace the Gospel, and these are sometimes discouraged lest they have never been truly awakened. Such is the true spirit of real pilgrims, that do not love to eat their precious morsel alone.
The intelligence of this conspiracy reached the settlers when a party of them were on the peninsula of Cape Cod, whither they had gone to bring back a young English boy, named Francis Billington, who had lost himself in the forest some time previously, and, after having subsisted for several days on wild fruits and berries, had reached a camp of the Nausett Indians, hitherto so adverse to the Pilgrims.
And he thought, too, of those which that same morning had started from Orleans, Le Mans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Carcassonne. Coming from all parts, trains were rushing across that land of France at the same hour, all directing their course yonder towards the holy Grotto, bringing thirty thousand patients and pilgrims to the Virgin's feet.
The country of Thibet produces several fruits of the same kinds with those grown in Europe, together with rice and wheat, and has abundance of cattle; but a great part of the land is barren. The Jesuit fathers Andrada and Marquez went from Delhi in the country of the Great Mogul to Thibet along with a caravan of pilgrims that were going to visit a famous pagoda.
He told the pilgrims that the great Lord of the land had built that porch, and set him there to help the poor travellers, who were before without hope or help amongst the beasts, and snares, and pitfalls of the terrible wilderness; he told them that the blood of the King's own Son had been shed, that that porch might be built; that the King had prepared them a narrow way to walk in, which led straight from that porch to His own blessed presence, and that they might all pass along it safely if they would; he told them that if they left that path, they would surely get again amongst the pitfalls which they had left in the wilderness; nay, that they would be worse off than they had been even there, for that there was no other porch where they could again be set right, and no other place where the gifts that he was giving them now, could ever be got any more, if they were once thrown quite away.
And the sick and the pilgrims repeated louder and louder: "Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us!" Then the flow of the litany set in, and continued with increasing speed: "Most pure Mother, most chaste Mother, thy children are at thy feet!" "Most pure Mother, most chaste Mother, thy children are at thy feet!" "Queen of the Angels, say but a word, and our sick shall be healed!"
I think it was Aden where the sailors reappeared who had died and gone to a certain fiery place; and on being asked why they came back, they replied that they had caught cold, and had got leave to come home and fetch their blankets! We returned at half-past four in the afternoon to our ship and the pilgrims. The weather that night became very rough, and during the night a Bengali fell overboard.
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