The Roman by the divine Mother herself, about the beginning of the thirteenth century. . . . The rosary, when practised in the most perfect manner, consists of two distinct modes of prayer joined together in one exercise. It is a combination of mental prayer, or meditation, with vocal prayer. "The meditation is made by the consideration of the most memorable and touching mysteries' or events in the life, passion, and victory of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. The vocal prayer consists of the recitation on the beads of the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Gloria Patri, or Doxology. The mysteries to be meditated are 15 in number and divided into three parts, which are named the five joyful, the five sorrowful, and the five glorious mysteries "The rosary beads on which the vocal prayers are recited are also divided in a corresponding manner into three parts, and each part into five decades (or tens), each decade consisting of one bead for the Pater and ten for the Aves. The Gloria at the end of every decade is recited on the same bead as the Pater, which begins the decade that follows. "The chaplet, or, as it is sometimes called, the rosary of five decades,' constitutes only a third part of the full rosary, and is the common form in which the beads are made and used at the present day, it not being usual to recite more than one part at a time. "The indulgences attached to the recitation of the rosary are of two kinds, viz., the ordinary indulgences and those (so-called) of St. Bridget. Among these indulgences the principal are the following: (1) Those who are accustomed to recite weekly the chaplet, or rosary, of five decades, blessed in the ordinary manner, gain an indulgence of 100 days each time. (2) If the rosary has been blessed by a priest authorised to give the Bridgetine indulgences on gains for every time he recites the five decades and indulgence of 100 days for each bead. The rosaries blessed during the mission receive those as well as the ordinary indulgences. "N. B.-Those who are not capable of meditating the mysteries may gain the above indulgence by simply saying their beads with piety. "Method of Saying the Rosary with the Mysteries.-Taking your beads in your right hand by the medal, or cross, bless yourself and say, In the name of the Father,' etc. Then recite, by way of introduction, the creed, one Pater, three Aves, and one Gloria, after which you go on with the meditation of the mysteries and the recitation of the decades." * 1. A Chaplet of Beads.-2. A Devotion. This devotion is said to have been instituted by St. Dominic, after having had a special revelation from the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1206. It consists of 15 Pater Nosters and Glorias, and 150 Ave Marias divided into three parts. Each part contains five decades; a decade consists of one Pater Noster, ten Ave Marias, and one Gloria Patri. To each of these decades is assigned for meditation one of the principal events in the life of our Lord, or of His Blessed Mother, five joyful, five sorrowful, and five glorious mysteries." t 66 The rosary was first used by the Dominican Monks, though it is not certain that it was introduced by St. Dominic himself. As it is used by both the Mohammedans and the Brahmins, it is generally believed to have been brought to Europe by the Crusaders." *St. Alphonsus Liguori, "The Holy Rosary." Rev. F. G. Lee, "Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms." Philip Schaff, "Encyclopedia and Dictionary. Religions." CHAPTER XXIII CALLIGRAPHY USED IN ORNAMENTATION OF RUGS "Words set to music have a wondrous power when aided by inspiration and the magic of fine writing." SINCE the Saracenic conquest Arabic characters. have been used by the scholars and scribes of Persia, and such have figured largely in the decoration of pottery and weaving. It would indeed take the learning of a sage to grasp even a faint idea of the forms, by accents, positions, and abbreviations. There |