THE HAAVTHOKN. 89 



he mentions a pretty one, in; wliich a branch of the 

 Glastonbury Thorn, which usually flowers on Christmas 

 Eve, used to be brought up in procession, and presented in 

 great pomp to the King and Queen of England on Christ- 

 mas morning. Pere Gamache, in mentioning this cere- 

 mony, says, this blossoming Thorn was much venerated 

 by the English, because in their traditions they say that 

 St. Joseph of Arimatliasa brought to Glastonbury a thorn 

 out of our Lord's crown, and planting it in the earth, it 

 burgeoned and blossomed, and yearly produced blossoms 

 to decorate the altar on Christmas Eve mass — • 



' ' That only night in all the year 

 Saw the stolecl priest the clialice rear." 



Wordsworth. 



The Pere seems to enjoy very much the following anec- 

 dote of Charles I., though it was against the Catholics : — 

 "Well!" said the King, extending his hand, one Christ- 

 mas Day, to take the flowering branch of Glastonbury 

 Thorn, " this is a miracle, is it 1 " " Yes, your Majesty," 

 replied the officer who presented it, "a miracle peculiar 

 to England, and regarded with great veneration by the 

 Catholics here." " How so," said the King, " when this 

 miracle opposes itself to the Pope 1 " (Every one looked 

 astonished in the royal circle, Papist and Protestant.) " You 

 bring me this miraculous branch on Christmas Day, old 

 style. Does it always observe the old style, by which we 

 English celebrate the nativity, in its time of flowering 1 " 

 asked the King. " Always," replied the venerators of the 

 miracle. " Then," said King Charles, " the Pope and your 

 miracle differ not a little, for he always celebrates Christ- 

 inas Day ten days earlier by the calendar of new style, 

 which has been ordained at Rome by papal orders for 

 nearly a century." This dialogue probably put an end to 

 this old custom, which, setting all idea of miracle aside, 

 was a picturesque one ; for a flowering branch on 

 Christmas Day is a pleasing gift, whether in a court 

 or a cottage. 



The same authoress thus accounts for the fact that the 



