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THE HISTORY OF ST. PAULA
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through, and all the emotions she felt in seeing them. Thoroughly versed as she was in the knowledge of the sacred writings, each name reminded her of some event either in the Jewish or Christian history. Jerome, too, was there, with his astonishing memory and his prodigious knowledge of Scripture, to quote or interpret the passages which referred to each place through which they passed; taking careful notes as he went along. Science and piety had thus each their share in this deeply interesting journey. The details given by Jerome are very precious, and enable us to follow Paula day by day, and thus to make with her the pilgrimage of the Holy Places in the fourth century.

After having, then, passed the Roman colony of Beyrout, and the ancient town of Sidon, against which Isaiah had prophesied, the first town in Judea which she came upon was Sarepta, of the ancient tribe of Asa. This place was full of recollections of Elijah. There was the little tower, turned into an oratory, which served as a retreat to the man of God during the famine, and where the poor widow, whose son he brought to life, fed him with a cake of flour and a cruse of oil, which was miraculously renewed each day. Paula knelt in this little oratory and adored Jesus Christ, who had inspired the Prophets. Then the famous city of Tyre came in sight—Tyre also struck by the maledictions of the Prophet. It reminded Paula of one of the great scenes in the Acts of the Apostles. St. Paul, on his journey from Asia to Jerusalem, where chains awaited him, stopped there seven days. When he left, the Christians, who had in vain striven to detain him, accompanied him, weeping, to the seashore, where they knelt down and prayed. Paula looked with pious reverence on the shore where the Apostle had so touchingly parted with his disciples. From Tyre they