Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-23
THE NUN OF
She Predicts a Brighter Future for Ire
land-Her PhIlanthrOpic and Literary

She Predicts a Brighter Future TOT ire
land-Her PhilanthrOpic and Literary
Labors.
Amid the feverish turmoil which en-
sued at the Barge Office last evening on
the landing of passengers from the
steamer Alaska, says the New iorA
Herald of Nov. II, three persons alone
seemed to retain their serenity and goO0
temper. Clad in ecclesiastical amen
two being nuns and one a priest, they SAT
composedly in a corner OF the great build
ing and surveyed the b~ewildering scene
around them with amused eyes. re"
noticed them. None approached tnen'
And yet one of the placid, motnerly loOA-
ing nuns was the lady who was known
many years ago in Dublin society as MISS
Cusack, and who subsequently neG5nIe
famous throughout the CaIhoIc "oII9a az
the Nun of Kenmare." Her companions
were Canon Monaghan, of Nottingham
England, a smiling, elderly gentleman
strangely like ones idea of a french
able. and Sister Evangelist, a grave, CAIN
faced nun
Pushing his way through the noisy
crowd a reporter approached the NIUE
group, and after introducing hlmsen 10
Miss Cusack, or, as she is known IN reA-
RlOu. New MOBltI NAY
asked her low she had enjoyed her "Trip
across the Atlantic.
eOht it was terrible" she said briskIy,
after a hearty h~andshake; but the vessel
is such a splendid Il that IL is nard LOT
any one to complain. Still an old woman
like me-yes. sir. no compliments, L am
old, for L have spent over tWeny-hVe years
in religiOn-must expect a llttIe discom-
fort if She ventures to cross the ocean at
her time of life"
SOME ACCOUNT OF HER RELIGIOUS
WORKS.
..And now YOU want to know something
about my late labOrs. Well, | spent three
months of this year in Rome. L a a
private audience with the Pope at the
Vatican and was invested by him with
the insignia of a new OrdeT-thaC of the
Sisters of Peace. Here is the badge. 1t
bears a fit motto. does it nOtS" Moving
aside her black robe she showed the re-
porter a heart shaped badge, bearing the
device of a white dove, with a branch of
wild olive in its mouth and inscribed with
the text. "Et iRlterrG pdr b~0naini6NS bone
vOluntatiS"-'And on earth peace and
good will toward men,"
s|After l left Rome" the lady went on,
Il returned to Nottingham and busted my
self about the Training and Industrial
School for Girls which l have established
there. The English conservatives, espe-
cialIv the Protestants, are helping me
greatly. and l have already succeeded in
accommodating over thirty girls.
u was sorry to leave kenmare, where
/ had been known and loved for twenty
years, but l saw that there was work for
me at Nottingham and | went"
"DO you think Ireland has improved
during these late years?"
Enthusiastically it has. In 1879 and
later on the p~easantry were starving; now
they are. at least, free from famine. Yes,
rents are being paid now with some
regularity, simply because the people are
able to pay them. The Roman Catholic
bishops have taken a bold stand in regard
to the land question, and who knows but
much GOOD may result from it? Hitherto
thew have been divided into two camps,
and L need not tell you that without con-
certed action on the part OF her natural
leaders Ireland can never hope 10 gain her
ends"
'1Have you written any new literary
work lately, reverend m0ther?'
Dear me! So you class me as a lite
rary woman, do you? No, l have not
written anything for some months. My
Life of Daniel O'ConnelP and my His
tory of Ireland are being reprinted in
London at present. A publisher paid me
$4,000 for the copyright. Give you a list
of my other works? Why, they form a
pile four feet high and embrace all
manner of subjects. Perhaps the best
known are my lives of ST. Patrick, st.
Bridget and st. Columbia"
WHY SHE HAS COME TO AMERICA.
"It is rumored, reverend mother, that
your object in coming to America is to
collect funds for your Industrial and
training school at Nottingham, Is that
trues:7
"Ani now you come to the main point,
and yet, as a personal favor, l beg that
you will not press the question until l
have had a few hours sleep. l am worn
out tonight and cannot be as clear as l
would wish. But you may say frankly
that l have long desired to see America,
and that | hope that whatever | may be
privileged to do here will be productive OF
good. Besides, remember that my ambi-
ticn is to write a book on the country"
"Will you think me impairment,
reverend mother, if l ask you whether or
not it is true that you are a convert to
Roman Catholicism
"a convert or pervert, Which?' was the
laughing reply. Yes, sir, l am a men,
Der of the old Protestant family Of the
Cusacks. MycOusin, Sir Francis Cusack,
the head of the house, is well known in
Dublin. l embraced the Roman Catholic
religion at an early age, and have
seen any reason to change. And now 1
will say goodbye"
The Nun of Kenmare is said to be the
only woman who has ever been granted a
private audience by a Pope. This honor
was granted to her on account of her
steadfast zeal in religion and her philan-
thrOpic labors among the Irish peasantry
during seasons of famine. The Propa-
ganda paid her another compliment by
publicly recognizing the merit of her con-
tributiOns to Catholic literature.