New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-03-26
The Life and Trials 0f Hyncinihe.

Near the cathedral is dingy public
building dating back to Calvin's time. and
here. in low, close, upper cham Der"
preached Pere Hyacinthe. We went to
hear him one Sunday morning, and had
good deal of difficulty in finding the place.
The hall was we'll filled, but / should say
that the greater part of the audience were
tourists-many of them Americans. The
service was singular. but very simple. The
Pere was assisted only By two young gen
tlemen in ordinary dress. There was lit
tie chanting. a few genufle1ions, and the
elevation Of the host. Then followed
the reading of prayers. with re-
sponses, and the singing Of a hymn by a
small choir, the congregation joining in.
The sermon was delivered in Towing
white embroidered robe, singular; be.
coming to the grand Napoleonic face and
figure of the preacher. Indeed, so elegant
SO refined, so regal did he look, as he came
forward to the edge of the platform, and
began speaking, with earnest, but grace
ful gestures-little more than the Varied
sweep of his beautiful hands-that it made
one ehudder to think of him as a bare
footed Dominican in q coarse brown robe.
with a rope about his waist and a toncure.
He spoke rapidly, but very clearly and
most eloquently. though in apparent forget
fulness Of the art of eloquence and the rules
of rhetoric. 1t was soul talking to soul.
civil and religious liberty, he paid q
noble tribute to America which was pleas
ant for us to hear. We were told that
year or two ago Pere Hyaclnthe had
large congregation Of dsaffected Catholics
and liberal Protestants, but that he found
that his fame and power were being used
to build up a sect which might be as ;rtol-
Grant and arrogant as any other, and low
ing religious liberty aud purity With a pas
sion of unseltish devotion he broke with
some uf his strongest adheren;s and made
a new departure. He is not man to b. a
zealot, or small Pope. Now, his little
flock of honest men aud women is TO his
mind, and he preached to them as erand,v
as ever he preached to crowds of devotees,
the pulpit OF the Madeleine CT Notre
Dame. 1t must be confessed that he is
not much loved in Geneva by the
religious istrictly speaking) portion of com
munity. Religious party lines are drawn
too straight to take him in on either side.
The Calvanists distrust, the Catholics hate
him. He bas often been insulted BY coarse
blgots and ignorant zealots. Usually he
taxes no notice of these insults, but Occa-
slonaliy he turns upon his tormepters and
deals with them in summary and sanitary
fashion. A short time before our visit to
Geneva he was one day accosted in the
street by wagon full of market women,
VINO screamed after him such opprobrious
epithets as "apostate," traitor" rene
gade.' NJ. Loyson is gallant man, but
he thought this was going little too far.
lie called few gendarmes-fortnnatel
every NTH man you meet in. Geneva
!s a northumberland had the yocifercus
ladies' arrested: They were taken to the
police court and fined and reprimanded for
their exuberart piety and untempered zeal
But such things disturb him little. He
keeps on his way, showing by the calm of
his manner and conversation and the beauti-
ful serenity of his face, that as his day 80 is
his strength and his peace strength no
less divine that much of it comes through
the love OF faithful wife-a peace no less
sweet and comforting that it is sometimes
dropped into his soul in the kiss of his baby
boy. The sacred name he has borne for 90
many years has for him now conservation
when it comes from the lips of his child
not az 'Pere." but as "Mon Pere."-Le.ter
from Grace Greenwood.