MONTSERRAT. Thirty miles to the north-west of Barcelona in Spain there rises a very remarkable mountain of grey conglomerate, 24 miles in circumference, and at its loftiest point (San Geronimo) a little more than 4000 feet in height. From the comparative lowness of the surrounding district, and from its extraordinary configuration, it is a conspicuous object for many miles around. The mountain consists of jagged pinnacles and spires rising abruptly from the base of the mass, which is cloven with many clefts, and abounds with steep precipices. It is the Mons Serratus of the Romans, the Monte Serrado of the Spaniards, and is thus named either in allusion to its jagged appearance, like the teeth of a saw, or because the eastern face is split, as if sawn,—which occurred, say the Spanish legends, at the time of the crucifixion, when the rocks were rent. The arms of the monastery represent a mountain with a saw resting upon it and penetrating some distance into its mass. Its pinnacles and pyramids and sharp angular masses resemble a mountain of hard crystalline volcanic tuff which occurs between Akureyri and Kalmanstunga in Iceland. The effect of Montserrat may be realized faintly if we place ourselves upon the roof of Milan cathedral, and imagine the forest of spires magnified a thousandfold. The central spire will represent San Geronimo. The result of this varied contour in the case of Montserrat is to make it one of the most picturesque places in Europe. Paths wind along the faces of the precipices, ascending to bare grey summit«, descending to sheltered valleys filled with evergreens and flowers. The Pyrenees are seen in one direction, the sea in another, while the Llobregat winds at the foot of the mountain through the village of Monistrol. Manresa and other villages are seen scattered over the plain; and hills covered with a warm red soil alternate with rich valleys. Street says of Montserrat, — “After much experience of mountains, it strikes me more each time that I see it as among the very noblest of rocks.”

The monastery, a great pile of buildings, stands upon a narrow platform on the edge of a vast chasm in the eastern face of the mountain. It owes its existence to an image of the Virgin, said to have been carved by St Luke, and brought to Barcelona by St Peter in 30 a.d. When the Moors invaded the province in 717, the image was taken to Montserrat and hidden in a cave. In 880 Gondemar, bishop of Vich, was attracted to the cave by sweet sounds and smells, and there found the image, which he determined to take to Manresa. But at a certain spot on the mountain the image refused to proceed farther; there it was consequently deposited, and a chapel was erected to contain it. A stone cross near the walls of the monastery still marks the spot where the image refused to move. Round the chapel a nunnery was built, and in 976 this was enlarged and converted into a Benedictine monastery. Philip II. built the present church. In 1835 the monastery was suppressed and despoiled of the vast treasures which had accumulated during the Middle Ages. But the buildings were allowed to remain, as well as a few of the fathers to take charge of the Virgin’s shrine. At present they number 19; a hundred years ago there were 76 monks, 28 lay-brothers, 25 singing boys, together with surgeon, physician, and servants. The possessions then consisted of numerous hamlets, besides great quantities of plate and jewels, including 85 silver lamps.

Nuestra Seftora de Montserrat, Patrona de Cataluna, is one of the most celebrated images in Spain, and her church is visited annually by more than 80,000 pilgrims. It is a small carved wooden image, “regularly handsome, but the colour of a negro woman,” and possesses magnificent robes and jewels. It has been visited by numbers of sovereigns and high ecclesiastics, and by millions of Catalonians. In September 1881 it was solemnly crowned by Leo XIII., who sent a croλvn from Rome for that purpose. Quantities of ex votos are offered at the shrine: wax models of injured or diseased limbs, models of ships, pictures and clothes, jewels and silver hearts. As the celebrity and sanctity of Montserrat increased, so did the number of devotees. Ignatius Loyola laid his sword upon the altar of the Virgin, and, placing himself under her protection, started from Montserrat to commence his new life. Many eminent Spaniards, weary of the world, have retired to this monastery to end their days. Some preferred solitary hermitages perched among the rocks. Of these there were fifteen, eleven of which once formed a via sacra, ending at the summit of San Geronimo. They were destroyed by the French, but the ruins of some of them still remain. From all the view is magnificent; some are indeed placed on the edges of precipices in almost inaccessible places. There are also caves in the mountain, some of which were formerly occupied by monks. The most celebrated of these are the cave of the Virgin, in which the Santa Imogen remained hidden until found by Gondemar, and the cave of Fray Juan Garin, a notorious sinner, who ended his days in the practice of revolting penances at Montserrat. At Collbato, on the south-east side of the mountain, near the base, there are also some very curious caves.