The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-11-13

During his absence Father b. .hssi under
taken to perform the duties Of chaplain.n
The concluding words Of the card fille
ny n.y. ifi hsSs with grief. Going swsy 70 th
they do without his kind counsel and en-
couragementf The news quite cloude,
the enjoyment Of the remainder of tn
evening.
My friends and were walking the mex
afternoon in tho Rue de la Prefecture, tn
| principal business street in Pau, when ",
saw the priest coming towards us with hi
ghding. graceful step, his eyes down
| dropped, his arms folded across his breast
absorbed in thought, he would have passed
US without speaking.
| ,Monslgnore," called my beautiful friend
The broad haze was raised from his brow
| and the dark, lustrOus eyes were lifted ts
our faces.
How tired you look, Monsignore."
81 have not slept since saw you"
What kept youAawake ~
ga great many letters to be written, and
directions also written. that my poor PEN
| absence"
"oh, why do you go! Do not go, Mon
signore."
:, "You counsel disobedience, mademoi-
"But it is SO far. We may be all under
~ U"AeiCo ooAoio you IeCurn-Or you may
be assaulted by piratical Arabs, or spirited
away by some descendant of the witch OF
Endor. Pray, don't CO."
81 am not afraid of Arabs or witches, -
he answered, smiling; "and as the Pope has
ordered me to accompany the Marquis of
butte in his travels, l have only to obey.
Save the parting with my friends here, this
is pleasant duty, butt" continued the
priest-his cheeks flushing and paling in
the same moment-"if, to save a single
soul, l were asked to die in torture this
day, should consider my life as nothing
in the balance"
Half-past three found me sitting in the
over-crowded chapel with the German prin-
cesses, many English people of rank, and
several Americans, besides my Roman Ca
tholic friends. The imposing services, the
delicious chanting over, Monsignore stood
on the steps of the chancel, his prayer
book in his hand, and without notes began
his sermon on the sins of the tongue. / had
been lectured all my life upon the ini-
quities OF the wagging member which 1
owned, by high-stepping relatives, who
had incredible beams in their own eyes,
and the largest, most uncharitable of ears
care" had been the general result
OF those sermons; but this simple, tender,
sweet-spoken lesson of charity, with the
divine Golden Rule for text, sank deep into
my self accusing soul and sat, like many
another woman in the audience, blinded
Win penltent tears. If those were the
pernlcious doctrines of corrupt priest, If
this was one of the pitfalls devised for our
spiritual destru ction, there need be no fear
OF betrayed faith. If those three
to- bel So dreaded interviews could have
taken place, they would have left me, l
b um bly, trust, better woman than before.
L shall never forget that address, or the |
manner and looks of the-speaker. AS he |
stood and pronounced the Benedicite his
sad, npllfted eyes, all his features, rapt |
! absorbed in ecstatic devotion, became puri-
led and like the face of an angel-like
me face of one who had thrown off forever
Ill soiling contact with this world. All |
through the solemn service mournful |
,ndertone kept ringing in my brain, "He
8 going to the Holy Land tomorrow; |
hail never see his face or hear his voice
.gain." And when, at the close of the !
'ervice he bade his dear friends a tender |
arewell, his voice, broken and agitated,
,he violence OF my own grief alarmed me,
md my suddenly awakened conscience /
warned me that I for one ought to be !
thankful that he was going. 1 began to
not O fear-oh no, it did not
mount to that-but q shadOwy ghost of a
ear of those three interviews, and sense
# relief from personal responsibility be-
ause they were now impossible. One
eriOus conversation with man so thor
'ughly good, and SO magnetically earnest,
vas invigorating, delightful to those not of
lis faith. 1t was like q dash of fresh spray;
,ut strong waves would follow, and engulf
he unwary and over-confident.