Golden Saxifrage. _Chrysosplenum oppositifolium._
Dedicated to _St. Irenæus_.
~March 25.~
_Lady Day._ Holiday at the Public Offices, except the Excise, Stamp,
and Custom.
_The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary._ _St. Cammin_, Abbot, A.
D. 653.
~Lady Day.~
The Roman Catholic festival of the Annunciation is commonly called in
England LADY DAY, an abridgement of the old term _Our Lady’s Day_, or
the _Day of our blessed Lady_.
This is a “gaudy day” in the Romish church. Deeming the mother of Christ
an intercessor and mediatrix, it offers innumerable honours and
devotions to her. _Hail Mary!_ resounds in the masses to her praise; and
the worshippers of her shrines and resemblances, are excited to a
fervour of devotion which would astonish, if it were not known that
sculpture, painting, poetry, vocal and instrumental music, have been
added to revive the recollection of monkish fables, and early
impressions in her behalf.
In the ~Golden Legend~, a book formerly read instead of the New
Testament, but now, in degree, supplanted by Butler’s more voluminous
and almost equally miraculous “Lives of the Saints,” there is a story in
honour of the virgin, concerning a noble and ignorant knight, who, to
amend his life, entered an abbey, but was so incapable of learning, that
he could say nothing but _Ave Maria_, which words he continually
repeated wherever he was. When this knight died he was buried in the
church-yard of the abbey, and there afterwards grew out of his grave a
fair _fleur de lis_, and in every flower grew, in letters of gold, the
words _Ave Maria_; and at the miracle, the brethren marvelled, and
opened the sepulchre, and found the root of the _fleur de lis_ came out
of the mouth of the said knight; and then they understood that he was to
be honoured for his great devotion to the virgin, by using the words
_Ave Maria_.
There is another story in the “Golden Legend” of “another knyght.” “He
had a fayre place bisyde the hye waye where moche people passed, whome
he robbed,” and so he did all his life; yet he had “a good custom” of
saluting the virgin every day, by saying _Ave Maria_, and so he went on
committing highway robberies, and saluting the virgin day by day, till
his people having put “a holy man” in bodily fear and robbed him, the
said “holy man” desired to be brought before their master, the knight,
and seeing him, required him to summon all his attendants, which the
knight did; but the “holy man” objected that one of them was not
present. Then the knight perceived that his chamberlain was not there,
and called for him; and when the holy man saw the chamberlain, he
conjured him to declare who he was, and the chamberlain being so
enforced answered, “I am no man, but am a devil in the form of a man;”
and he acknowledged that he had abided with the knight fourteen years,
and watched him night and day, hoping the knight might leave off saying
the salutation _Ave Maria_, that so he might strangle him, “and brynge
him to hell,” because of his evil life; but, because there passed no day
without the knight saying _Ave Maria_, the devil could not have him for
all his long waiting. Then the knight fell down at the feet of the holy
man, and demanded pardon of his sins, and the “holy man” commanded the
devil to depart; wherefore says the “Golden Legend,” “let us pray to the
gloryous virgyn Mary, that she kepe us from the devyll.”
The festival of the annunciation is kept at Rome by sumptuous shows. The
author of “Rome in the nineteenth Century” relates the pope’s
proceedings on the occasion: “We drove through streets lined with
expecting crowds, and windows hung with crimson and yellow silk
draperies, and occupied by females in their most gorgeous attire, till
we made a stop near the church before which the pope’s horse-guards, in
their splendid full-dress uniforms, were stationed to keep the ground;
all of whom, both officers and men, wore in their caps a sprig of
myrtle, as a sign of rejoicing. After waiting a short time, the
procession appeared, headed by another detachment of the guards, mounted
on prancing black chargers, who rode forward to clear the way,
accompanied by such a flourish of trumpets and kettle-drums, that it
looked at first like any thing but a peaceable or religious proceeding.
This martial array was followed by a bareheaded priest, on a white mule,
bearing the host in a gold cup, at the sight of which every body fell
upon their knees. The pope used formerly to ride upon the white mule
himself, and all the cardinals used to follow him in their magnificent
robes of state, mounted either on mules or horses; and as the
_Eminentissimi_ are, for the most part, not very eminent horsemen, they
were generally fastened on, lest they should tumble off. This cavalcade
must have been a very entertaining sight. Pius VI., who was a very
handsome man, kept up this custom, but the (then) present pope (Pius
VII.) is far too infirm for such an enterprise; so he followed the man
on the white mule, in a state coach; at the very sight of which, we
seemed to have made a jump back of two hundred years at least. It was a
huge machine, composed almost entirely of plate-glass, fixed in a
ponderous carved and gilt frame, through which was distinctly visible
the person of the venerable old pope, dressed in robes of white and
silver, and incessantly giving his benediction to the people, by a twirl
of three fingers; which are typical of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost; the last being represented by the little finger. On the gilded
back of this vehicle, the only part that was not made of glass, was a
picture of the pope in his chair of state, and the virgin Mary _at his
feet_. This extraordinary machine was drawn by six black horses, with
superb harness of crimson velvet and gold; the coachmen, or rather
postillions, were dressed in coats of silver stuff, with crimson velvet
breeches, and full bottomed wigs well powdered, without hats. Three
coaches, scarcely less antiquely superb, followed with the assistant
cardinals, and the rest of the train. In the inside of the church, the
usual tiresome ceremonies went on that take place when the pope is
present. He is seated on a throne, or chair of state; the cardinals, in
succession, approach and kiss his hand, retire one step, and make three
bows or nods, one to him in front, and one on the right hand, and
another on the left; which are intended for him (as the personification
of the Father,) and for the Son, and for the Holy Ghost, on either side
of him; and all the cardinals having gone through these motions, and the
inferior priests having kissed his _toe_--that is, the _cross_,
embroidered on his shoe--high mass begins. The pope kneels during the
elevation of the host, prays in silence before the high altar, gets up
and sits down, reads something out of a great book which they bring to
him, with a lighted taper held beside it; and, having gone through many
more such ceremonies, finally ends as he began, with giving his
benediction with three fingers, all the way he goes out. During all the
time of this high mass, the pope’s military band, stationed on the
platform in front of the church, played so many clamorous martial airs,
that it effectually put to flight any ideas of religious solemnity.”
In England, _Lady Day_ is only remembered as the first quarter-day in
the year, and is therefore only kept by tenants who truly pay rent to
their landlords. A few years ago a country gentleman wrote a letter to a
lady of rank in town, and sent it through the general post with the
following address:
“To
“The 25th of March,
“Foley-place, London.”
The postman duly delivered the letter at the house of _Lady Day_ for
whom it was intended.