reduced to three, frankincense,
myrrh, and balm.

"Their meaning is known to you. Incense is the Divinity of the Son, and
our prayers which rise up like vapours in the presence of the Most High,
as the Psalmist says. Myrrh is repentance, the sufferings of Jesus, His
death, the martyrs, and also, according to Monsieur Olier, the type of
the Virgin who heals the souls of sinners as myrrh cauterizes the
festering of wounds; balm is another word for virtue.

"But though there are few Liturgical savours, it is not so with regard
to mystical effluences which vary infinitely. We have, however, but
little information on the subject.

"We merely know that the odour of sanctity is antithetical to that of
the Devil; that many of the Elect have diffused, during their lifetime
and after their death, an exquisite fragrance which cannot be analyzed;
such were Madalene of Pazzi, Saint Etienne de Muret, Saint Philip Neri,
Saint Paternianus, Saint Omer, the Venerable Francis Olympus, Jeanne de
Matel and many more.

"We know too that our sins stink, each according to its nature; and the
proof of this is that the saints could detect the state of men's
consciences merely by the smell of their bodies. Do you remember how
Saint Joseph of Cupertino exclaimed to a sinner whom he met: 'My friend,
you smell very badly; go and wash.'

"To return to the odour of sanctity: in certain persons it has been
known to assume a natural character almost identical with certain
familiar scents. Saint Treverius exhaled a fragrance compounded of
roses, lilies, balm, and incense; Saint Rose of Viterbo smelt of roses;
Saint Cajetan of orange-blossom; Saint Catherine of Ricci of violets;
Saint Theresa by turns of lily, jasmine and violet; Saint Thomas Aquinas
of incense; Saint Francis of Paul of musk;--I mention these at random as
they occur to me.

"Yes, and Saint Lydwine, when so ill, diffused a fragrance which also
imparted a flavour. Her wounds exhaled a cheerful savour of spice and
the very essence of Flemish home cooking--a refined extract of
cinnamon."

"On the other hand," the Abbe went on, "the stench of wizards and
witches was notorious in the Middle Ages. On this point all exorcists
and writers on Demonology are agreed; and it is almost invariably
recorded that after an apparition of the devil a foul odour of sulphur
was left in the cells, even when the Saints had succeeded in dislodging
him.

"But the essential odour of the devil is amply re