rtal worthy of description. There is the dome of Saint Anne's Chapel
with a huge statue of the Patron, and the lantern of the central dome
ending in a pointed roof; but each addition to the exterior seems only
an ignorant or a spiteful accentuation of the general architectural
confusion.

To the faithful Catholic, the interest of Sainte-Anne of Apt lies in its
wonderful and glorious relics. Here are the bodies of Saint Eleazer and
Sainte Delphine his wife, a couple so pious that every morning they
dressed a Statue of the Infant Jesus, and every night they undressed it
and laid it to rest in a cradle. There is also the rosary of Sainte
Delphine whose every bead contained a relic; and before the Revolution
there were other treasures innumerable. During many years Apt has been
the pilgrim-shrine of the Faithful, and great and small offerings of
many centuries have been laid before the miracle-working body of the
Virgin's sainted Mother.

[Illustration: THE VIRGIN AND SAINT ANNE. _By Benzoni._]

The most famous of those who came praying and bearing gifts was Anne of
Austria, whose petition for the gift of a son, an heir for France, was
granted in the birth of Louis XIV. In gratitude, the Queen enriched the
church by vestments wrought in thread of gold and many sacred ornaments;
and at length she commanded Mansart to replace the little chapel in
which she had prayed, by a larger and more sumptuous one, a somewhat
uninteresting structure in the showy style of the XVII century, which is
now the resting-place of Saint Anne. In this chapel is the most
beautiful of the church's treasures which, strange to say, is a piece of
modern sculpture given by the present "Monseigneur of Avignon." It is
small, and badly placed on a marble altar of discordant toning, with a
draped curtain of red gilt-fringed velvet for its background. Yet in
spite of these inartistic surroundings it has lost none of its tender
charm. Seated, with a scroll on her knees, the aged mother is earnestly
teaching the young Virgin who stands close by her side. The slender old
hand with its raised forefinger emphasises the lesson, and the loving
expression of the wrinkled, ascetic face, the attentiveness of the
Virgin and her slim young figure, make a touching picture, and a
beautiful example of the power of the modern chisel. Yet faith in
shrines and miraculous power is not, in this XX century, as pure nor as
universal as in the days of the past; and Faith, in Pro