ies of "Les Saintes" and the
neighbourhood, and its civic affairs were administered by three
consuls, who were assisted in their duties by three classes of
citizen office-holders--_divities_, _mediocres_, and _paupers_, the
latter doubtless the "_povres gens_" mentioned in the testament of
Louis I. of Provence, he who bequeathed the guardianship of his soul
to "_Saintes Maries Jacobe et Salome, Catherine, Madeleine et
Marthe._"

The first day's celebration was devoted to the further gathering of
the throng and the "Grand Mess." At the first note of the
"Magnificat" the _reliques_ were brought forth from the upper chapel
and the crowd from within and without broke into a thunderous
"_Vivent les Saintes Maries!_" Then was sung the "_Cantique des
Saintes:_"

"O grandes Saintes Maries
Si cheries
De notre divin Sauveur," etc.

On the second day a procession formed outside the church for the
descent to the historic sands, upon which the holy exiles first made
their landing, the men bearing on their shoulders a representation of
the barque which brought the saints thither. There were prelates and
plebeians and tourists and vagabond gipsies in line, and one and all
they entered into the ceremony with an enthusiasm--in spite of the
sweltering sun--which made up for any apparent lack of devoutness,
for, alas! most holy pilgrimages are anything but holy when taken in
their entirety.

The church at "Les Saintes" is a wonder-work. As at Assisi, in Italy,
there are three superimposed churches, a symbol of the three states
of religion; the crypt, called the catacombs, and suggestive of
persecution; the fortified nave, a symbol of the body which prays,
but is not afraid to fight; and the _chapelle superieure_, the holy
place of the saints of heaven, the Christian counsellors in whose
care man has been confided. This, at any rate, is the professional
description of the symbolism, and whether one be churchman or not he
is bound to see the logic of it all.

Deep down in the darkened crypt are the _reliques_ of the dusky Sara,
the servant of the holy Marys. She herself has been elevated to
sainthood as the _patronne_ of the vagabond gipsies of all the world.
On the occasion of the Fete of Les Saintes Maries the nomads,
Bohemians, and Gitanos from all corners of the globe, who have been
able to make the pilgrimage thither, pass the night before the shrine
of their sainted _patronne_, as a preliminary act to the election of
t