Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-18

i, VI CAAO5C WIZ tIlCI Lille I6e 1
iigious life, change his name. AS Jose.
nc salo' ne had sinned; and as Jose he
would work out. in deeds meet for re-
P%entance, his full forgiveness. And as
Jose IS q nam most holy, and most be-
loved in the church, there was none to
cavil. W.
because there were few heather there
abouts, but more because he felt that he
could be stronger in his faith and work
II widely separated from his dead vet
living love, Padre Jose asked to be sent
out from the City of Mexico into some
Tar corner of the land. And so it fell
out that Padre Jose was sent to make
his home in the old Franciscan convent
here in the city of Monterey. Even in
the first year of his service many were
the wandering souls that his love and
g%entleness and great compassion
brought safe to shelter in the good care
of God.
Yet for a long while there was only
sorrow in the heart of Padre Jose. His
good works %gladdened others, but him
self they made not glad; for always rose
up between him and happiness the men,
ory of his LOST love. His was a gentle.
clinging nature-albeit a most gallant
one, as his brave deeds of arms time apd
again had ~shown-and the need of a
personal love was strong within him.
There was a holy comfort in his love of
the good God, and in his love of work
ing for His dear sake; but this touched
only the spiritual side of his nature, and
left his human longing for something
real, that he might tend and cherish,
and, if need be, spend his life for, all
unsatistied. While this blank in his be-
ing remained untitled there was nothing
to check the return of his love to the
dear n who had passed from him into
the bosom of the church; of whom, even
to think, as the poor padre but too we'll
knew, was deadly sin. So.his soul was
wrenched and torn within him by his
e~ver-recurring conflict between his holy
duty and his human love.
Therefore it came to pass that the
kind God, seeing how Loyalty the Padre
Jose strove to do his duty, and how
bitter hard that duty was to do, one day
took pity upon him and lightened his
heavy load.
Beneath the hot sun that beats down
so tiercely here in the long summer
time, making the air one q~uivering
cloud of scorching heat, Padre Jose
came slowly cro the valley
toward the town. He came from the
little chapel of Our Lady of Guada-
lupe, over on the first of the foot hills 7;
and his heart was heavy, for few, and
careless of its meaning, were the Indians
who had come to the celebration of the
vooocc Tho lso%n !, n f,o,., <l>D otn.oo %o
the convent is but a mile "a trifling
walk on n of the cool, crisp, October
like days which serve for winter here in
Monterey. But beneath that summer
sum even q strong man would have
grown faint and weary-if he had not
fallen outright by the way. The
strength of Padre Jose was given so
largely to the service of God that but
little remained for his own needs; and
so, midway in his weary walk, coming
to u place where a tangle of mosquitoes
cast a warm shadow-tha yet, in con-
trast with the fiery sunshine, was re-
freshing cool-he thankfully cast him.
self down upon the ground for rest.
Close beside where he sat was a field
just cleared for planting, and along the
newly made acequia the brown water
was moving slowly. and was giving
great solace to the thirsty land. 1t is
thought by some that the large field set
about with palmas, on the slope below
the chapel of Guadalupe, is the very
field beside which Padre Jose rested
that day. Whether this be truth-as it
well may be-or only a fancy, we may
not know; but it sIlrelv IS true that
while the Padre sat there resting he saw
lying in the dust of the wayside, where
it had been carelessly tossed when
plucked up from the ground, a little
palm-tree, rudely wrested from the
place where it had begun its innocent,
joyous life, and thus cast forth to die.
At first the Padre, worn by the heat
and by the sorrow of his heart, thought
not at all of this poor little palm on
which his eyes rested idly. And when,
presently, he perceived its presence, and
understood its evil plight, there came
for it no compassion into his heart. He
even, for a little space, felt a cruel
pleasure in watching it lie shriveline
there in the scorching sunshine, while
he sat restingi in the shade-so hard and
bitter was his mood.
DuG SuCu WlChcu 1ctlulSS do GlcSe
could not long find harbor in the Padres
breast. Soon a sense of great shame,
and of horror at his own sinfulness,
came we him; and he rose up, pray
ing that he might be forgiven, and that
he might, with Gods good help, save
the little palms life. Through the
blistering sunshine-forgetful that his
hood had fallen back from off his ton
sured head-he carried the sorrowfu
little tree to the acequia and plunged il
into'the r%efreshment OF the slow-movine
brown water, and held it there tender
ly, until the pitiful limpness vanished
from the tiny leaves and there was
something of firmness in the pale greer
stem. And he felt that this mourning
thing, now made joyful, was offering
it's thanks to him. Then in some sof
moss that he found beneath the grove
of mosquitoes, well wet, so that a CRATE
full dampness might be had for the res
of the hot walk, he enwrappedit loving;
Wand so set off one more for the
town. Not until he sat resting in his
still, cool cell, the little palm mean