ritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus!

A free translation is--

Guide us safe, unspotted
Through life's long endeavor
Till with Thee and Jesus
We rejoice forever.

Praise to God the Father,
Son and Spirit be;
One and equal honor
To the Holy Three.

Inasmuch as this ancient hymn did not attain the height of its
popularity and appear in all the breviaries until the 10th century, its
assumed age has been doubted, but its reputed author, Venantius
Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, was born about 531, at Treviso, Italy,
and died about 609. Though a religious teacher, he was a man of romantic
and convivial instincts--a strange compound of priest, poet and _beau
chevalier_. Duffield calls him "the last of the classics and first of
the troubadours," and states that he was the "first of the Christian
poets to begin that worship of the Virgin Mary which rose to a passion
and sank to an idolatry."

_TUNES_

To this ancient rogation poem have been composed by Aiblinger (Johann
Caspar), Bavarian, (1779-1867,) by Proch (Heinrich), Austrian,
(1809-1878,) by Tadolini (Giovanni), Italian, (1803-1872,) and by many
others. The "Ave, Maris Stella" is in constant use in the Romish church,
and its English translation by Caswall is a favorite hymn in the _Lyra
Catholica_.

"AVE, SANCTISSIMA!"

This beautiful hymn is not introduced here in order of time, but because
it seems akin to the foregoing, and born of its faith and
traditions--though it sounds rather too fine for a sailor song, on ship
or shore. Like the other, the tuneful prayer is the voice of
ultramontane piety accustomed to deify Mary, and is entitled the
"Evening Song to the Virgin."

Ave Sanctissima! we lift our souls to Thee
Ora pro nobis! 'tis nightfall on the sea.
Watch us while shadows lie
Far o'er the waters spread;
Hear the heart's lonely sigh;
Thine, too, hath bled.

Thou that hast looked on death,
Aid us when death is near;
Whisper of heaven to faith;
Sweet Mother, hear!
Ora pro nobis! the wave must rock our sleep;
Ora, Mater, ora! Star of the Deep!

This was first written in four separate quatrains, "'Tis nightfall on
the sea" being part of the first instead of the second line, and "We
lift our souls," etc., was "Our souls rise to Thee," while the
apostrophe at the end read, "Thou Star of the Deep."

The fact of the modern origin of the hymn does not make it les