The Knights Templars,

centre of pilgrimage came to be the Holy Land , the scene of his miracles and his death . It was the most important of all the pilgrimages , where , by visiting the scenes of our Lord ' s life and passion , penitents were freed from the burden of

their sins , ancl the gates of heaven opened to them . The Latin Church , in the eleventh century , allowed pilgrimages to suffice instead of canonical penances . Sinners ivere condemned to expatriate themselves for a time , and , after the example of Cain , to lead a wandering life , visitingcelebrated shrines and . the tombs of the saints .

To the active and restless character of the Western Christians , this was a congenial penance , and , it ought to be added , that the devotion of pilgrimages , whatever may be the opinion of an enlightened philosophy , has been received , and

even encouraged , in all religions . It belongs , moreover , to a sentiment natural in man . If the eight of a land once inhabited by heroes and sages awakens in us touching and noble remembrances ; if the soul of the philosopher finds itself agitated

at the sight of the ruins of Palmyra , Babylon , or Athens ; what lively emotions must not the Christians have felt on beholding places which God had sanctified by his presence and his blessings ?*

Erotmond , t a Breton nobleman of depraved life and ferocious habits , to obtain possession of their estates , murdered his uncle and his youngest brother . Brutal and abandoned , he revelled with his loose companions in his bloodily-acquired

proerty , while the administrators of justice were too weak to revenge the crimes , and the Court winked at actions which at the worst were verv common

incidents m those days , when blood was spilt like water , and the life of a man of no more account than that of a dog ' s . However , as age came upon him , and his strength failed , he began to feel remorse for his sins gnaw at his heart-strings .

An insatiable desire , too , possessed him to make his peace with the Church ; for , liowever evil a man ' s life may have been , and however black and damning the sins upon his conscience , he still desires to be in union with God , and so be certain ,

when he dies , of an entrance to heaven , and a participation in its joys . Frotmond found pleasure had ceased to yield him delight , the wine cup could not banish his remorse and fear , he could

no longer lead the chace , and death appeared to him to be not far off . Agitated by such terrors , he put on the sackcloth dress of a penitent , and one day presented himself before King Lothaire ( son of Louis le Debonnaire ) and an assembly of his

prelates , when , having made a public and full confession of his crimes , he placed himself in the hands of the king for punishment . The kingordered him straightway to be placed in irons and cast into prison , a sentence which Proknoncl

submitted to with exemplary resignation . Having been kept there while the king and his prelates considered what punishment should bo awarded him , he passed the time in prayer and pious conversation with a monk . After much deliberation ,

a notable penance was given him , no less than a pilgrimage to the Holy Land , where , by prayer and pious deeds , he might succeed in propitiating God , and obtain pardon of his sins . Erotmond immediately departed with his servants , and the

accomplices of his crimes , towards the east , clad in sackcloth , with the cross of ashes on his brow . He reached the Holy Land in safety , and visited ,

according to the commands of the king and his prelates , all the sacred places in Judtea . He afterwards extended his pilgrimage to other famous Bible scenes , crossed the Arabian desert in the footpaths of the Israelites , finally landing iu Egypt .

Having spent some time in the land of the Pharaohs , he traversed a considerable portion of Africa , visiting the shrines of the martyrs ; and having resided some time at Carthage , he set sail from thence to Europe . Arriving at Rome , he

presented himself to the Pope , who , considering the circumstances of his case , advised a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land , so that his penance mi ght be complete , and the remission of his sins

confirmed . Once more Eretmond departed for the East , once more visited the Holy Land and the sacred places , ] iroceeded to the shores of the Red Sea , ancl for three years took up his abode on Mount Sinai , passing the time in humiliation and in

prayer . j 4 fter this he took a journey to Armenia , and visited Mount Ararat , where Noah's ark rested on the subsiding of the waters of the Deluge . His conscience being now at rest , and the commands of the Church fulfilled , the penitent

returned in holy triumph to his native laud , and , to banish all temptations that might lead him to resume his former evil ways , he entered the monastery of Redon , where he passed the remainder of his life in prayer and good works , finally