pigeons. The law further required that the first-born son should be carried to the temple, and dedicated to the Lord, and afterward be released by the payment of a ransom of five shekels.

Although in the eyes of God the Blessed Virgin was not subject to these laws, yet she wished to submit to them and to appear outwardly like any other mother. So when the time was come, the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph set out on the journey to Jerusalem.

At daybreak the holy pilgrims were already on the road. Mary, holding her Child, rode upon an ass led by St. Joseph. No one noticed the lovely Babe, but Mary pressed Him the more closely to her love-warm heart. But what man in his blindness refused, the senseless animal endeavored to make good. When the pilgrims were near to Bethlehem, the beast stopped under a tree which stood by the roadside, and the tree bowed and dipped its largest branches over the head of the Infant and His Mother as if to pay homage to its Creator. For a while the Holy Family rested under this tree; then they resumed their journey, and soon stood before the gates of Jerusalem.

Quietly and unnoticed they passed through the streets on their way to the temple, where they met the venerable priest, Simeon. To this saintly servant of God it had been revealed that he should not see death till he

had first beheld the consolation of Israel, the promised Messias. Impelled by holy yearnings this devout man had come at early morning to the temple, and on meeting the Holy Family near the door he knew that here was the Child of promise.

When the ceremony of purification was over, the venerable Simeon conducted the holy Mother and her Child to the altar, where the presentation and ransoming of the first-born took place. As the Child was laid on the "table of offerings" a supernatural light filled the sacred edifice, and the glory of God was made manifest in the temple.

One of the priests who were always present at the rite of presentation took the Child from His Mother's arms, held Him over the altar of offering, and raising his eyes to heaven pronounced the prescribed prayer and benediction, while the devout parents offered the five pieces of silver for His ransom.

Every requirement being complied with, the offerings were sacrificed, and the ceremony was over. Then did Simeon give vent to his feelings. Taking the Divine Child in his arms, he blessed God, and cried out, "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace, because my eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

The women, too, were to be represented: "There was one Anna, a prophetess; she was far advanced in years `and a widow, who departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day. Now she coming in confessed to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel."

As Mary and Joseph listened to the words of Simeon and of Anna they wondered it had so soon pleased the Holy Ghost to make known the hidden glory of their Child. All four together praised the mercy of God, and the holy parents, bidding farewell to Simeon and to Anna, returned with the Infant to their own home at Nazareth.

ransom: the amount paid for the release of a prisoner; the price paid for freedom from a penalty. -shekel: an ancient coin used by the Jews, and worth about sixty cents in American money. -Messias: Our Savior.-impelled: moved. — yearnings: eager desires. scribed ordered. - vent: utterance.

- pre

The Shandon Bells.

With deep affection

And recollection,

I often think of those Shandon bells,
Whose sound so wild would,

In days of childhood,

Fling round my cradle their magic spells.

On this I ponder

Where'er I wander,

And thus grow fonder, sweet Cork, of thee; With thy bells of Shandon,

That sound so grand on

The pleasant waters of the river Lee.

I've heard bells chiming

Full many a clime in,

Tolling sublime in cathedral shrine,

While at a glib rate

Brass tongues would vibrate;

But all their music spoke naught like thine:

For memory dwelling

On each proud swelling

Of the belfry knelling its bold notes free,
Made the bells of Shandon

Sound far more grand on

The pleasant waters of the river Lee.

I've heard bells tolling

Old Adrian's Mole in,

Their thunder rolling from the Vatican,
And cymbals glorious

Swinging uproarious

In the gorgeous turrets of Notre Dame;

But thy sounds were sweeter

Than the dome of Peter

Flings o'er the Tiber, pealing solemnly;
O, the bells of Shandon

Sound far more grand on

The pleasant waters of the river Lee!

Such empty phantom

I freely grant them;

But there is an anthem more dear to me,

'Tis the bells of Shandon,

That sound so grand on

The pleasant waters of the river Lee.

REV. FRANCIS MAHONY.

Shandon: a church in the city of Cork, Ireland.-ponder: think; reflect. Lee: a river of Ireland.-vibrate: produce a ringing effect. belfry: bell-tower. - Adrian's Mole: the Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome, which is the remodeled mausoleum of the Emperor Adrian. -Vatican: the Papal palace, Rome. - turret: a small tower rising from or connected with another building. - Notre Dame: a famous cathedral of Paris.- Peter: St. Peter's, Rome.-Tiber: the second largest river in Italy. - phantom: fancy; delusion.

Happiness is a thing of the soul and not of the body; its source is in devotedness, not in enjoyment.