The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-10-10


brought him back, and led to the step which
forms the key to the Truth of It. wick had
scarcely passed from the time she came to him.
when the whole aspect of his life changed. In |
the eyes of that wisest of criterions, Society, |
Constance Houghton had been charming But
Constance Maxwell, hidden from it's 81 iire, and |
invested with that added charm to her Eoman- |
hood, arising ont of the holiness of her sacri- |
fee, was transformed 80 that her preSence In
the humble room of the hitherto lonsly man
was like the very light. For all that was Bit |
ter in the sacrifice she shat up iu her own
heart, and the beautiful alone came fotth. AS
the bare room soon became neat, nay, linty, !
by the skillful touches of her fingers, sb did bis
bare life soon become filed with beautJ Oy the
marvellous touches of her love.
Ny DEAR" he said one day, after htchiug
her brighten the room, singing softly 10 herself
as she did so, like very happy aE heart,
you are miracle to me-"
She turned to him with smile Ikea little
child's. OF course, father, and you spoil me
| accordingly"
lyon do not understand me-" was the an
| swer. L mean that it passes my comprehen.
sion how you could make this sacri6ee, and
| keep to it you are doing, considering the
manner in which you were brought up. Where
did you get the ideas which upheld you in your
"Do you know, father" she said it does
not bear, to my view, the extraordinary as
pects AS long as l can remember, have
| wished to be noble, and to uphold right and
| truth by my life. All the women of my mothers
circle wish that, or, at least, they think they
do"
have applied the wish as you have done 7"
~ cannot answer that" she said; but
about two ye rs ago l read book which |
picked up by chance when travelling and
which, indeed, read for want of something
else, and that book changed all my IDEAS OF
| life. l can never explain to You the force
| with which it took hold of my mind and COM
PEELED me to aspire to higher things. think
before read it would not have considered it
SO manifestly my duty to do as l have done
now"
"And what was the book that had so great a
| powerf
"The title was. How she found her Place
1t depicted forcibly the struggles of a girl who
aspired to grand mission, her mistakes and
heartaches and her final finding of it in very
humble lot, where all was sacrifice, but all was
peace. 1t was Catholic story, but was car
ried away by it, and anything you fiud in me
savoring of the miraculous is due to it, The
authors name was Philip Thomas, and can
not conceive of greater honor than to meet
him face to face some day, and tell him of his
During this speech light had come into his
face that grew to glory there, and something
! like the look that might be brought there by q
glimpse of heaven, beamed from his eyes.
"This," he cried, in a tone of rapture, this
is famew
"Do you know him, father Can you" But
his look stopped her. "Oh, father, can it be
possbe!- lis it You 7"
heard the book had done such good to the soul
of one perfectly Indifferent to me, would
have considered that sufficient fame for my
work. Imagine, then, my ecstasy at this mo-
ment.n
"And mine Oh, what is there of sacrifice N
becoming the intimate companion OF the one
with such geniusV ..ho
"D.ss,Ir, and he smiled o quiet smile, the
sacrifice is all the same. The life Is noG moie
luxurions because PhiliP inomSs nia a"nesa sn ~
is to take the place of that which belongs to
these useless hands. Now tell me, are you
quite satisfied that the theories in which you
| hrD, h mn re q mlatak6n
"Not ali, father. 1 hate divorce and free
love- and always did as long as can remember,
mt 1dasS 6 s aewb % Ge1xeessSqSt! ~l!
If ties for women, and their being PrSeed 1nCeI
is lectually on an equal footing with man.
could be a Catholic, only know the Catholl
,r Church gives us the inferior place in every
And yet" he said, his whole face lightin
80 mn with enthusiasm, "the Catholic Church
IN the only sure haven for woman's purity, an
ii the oply true defender of woman's rights; tn
a only tribunal which from the beginning ma
IL preserved the one, and through all attacks
he the world, the flesh, and the devil, steadtasti
~ ~ cannot understand how, father. | hav
'r, never heard of any stand the Catholic Churc
OF has taken in the matter at all"
ny "That is because the stand was taken ag'
az ago The Church provided for the most sacre
op rights of women from the very beginning
IA did not wait for the nineteenth century
~ ~ come leaving all that time 80 important
%. work undone. In erecting matrimony to u
n,I, dignity of a sacrament, endowlng III WIN q
Iet grsces and privileges belonging to one, makir
ie' It's obligations holy, referring its duties al
responsibilities to higher tribunal than al
, q of this world, the Catholic Church built up I
= "a the preservation of woman's most sacr,
" " treasure bulwark SO powerful that all II
~ powers of darkness assail it in vain; BY
H. H., this state which is the natural sphere
Vs. women becomes cOnseoEated on one; I;roiacta all II
of divorce laws free love license, ETC., are CO
trolled by the power of gaace; all the
,or called trarnmels are turned to duiies; hdeli
o5 unto death is the moving power of all. Lo
' lau is sacred, is held to live beyond the grave,
w. ~" divested of the earth, earthly"
U e"f My dream of it," cried the girl, involu
he tarly.
,rt ne The dream of all pure women, my child I;
' lrS' dream very different from those of our mode
o+ on+ theorists and novel-writers. Talk of progre
'"U and reform Why these would-be retormers
ort back to paganism itself for their theories
CIV love and matrimony."
20 And do you claim for the Catholic Chur
Srt that she gives to women an lntellectr
naT naT equality with menf'
nan "Yes, and more a field in which to exerc