Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-09-18

~ vl11aoe q ssn Mastino lay far
1muo toWn, out Of the way Of rail.
11n60nd by olnngsrA and, In its sim
~ uu1FuubIsd generally by the
1ionoo1 uueueions which have dur
1on9 no6iousl struggle convnlsed
= tkoa thsrs was grevious tribula-
~ - Soung men were drawn by
ore3ea end carried on for many
~ nSehnps forever, into the unknown
~ 1ay beyond the chestnutclad hills
Inst5uO now and then one Of them
6uuDe back for while on leave, hav-
~ 20 much that his very parents
= hin with mixture OF admiration
WI when be spoke Of . state OF
D110A seemed 10 them evil and bias
~ beyond measure, In the great
pepls kspt their quiss habits and their
~ - The chestnut bread, though they
DC1o The consequence that out Of every
m1ly, at leose half wore sent TO Join
~ hand oe holy innocents In heaven. 1t
Unl o. heaven they said, and sought no
y {foWning glory OF San Martino WAS
9vUut Il stood half way up. the hill,
- chestnut trees ali around IL, large
to)lding with IL church adjoining, and
11noof which wss exquisitely lovely
~ % have attracted sightseers from iar
W1do. had IL existence been better
~ fiays the convent of the Santissima
~ - he'd been founded and held by
lx0k community, and the buildings were
large, and the revenues were great, and
0myont chapel possessed q rich treasure
2676en and oliver reliquaries, splendid
nonts and other vessels, adorned with
n1ous stones and rare euamela. The vii
bolong0d TO the convent, and the mother
rItce herself issued orders to all her con-
NJ who cultivated the land in the valleys
z 1T Of late the riches of the convent had
&lnAod-only about twenty sisters lived
m14 and the mother superior had not even
&DDotnted chaplain, but had accepted the
Ifvices OF the village priore the conse-
E11neo being that the little village church
~ oomporArily closed, and the large con-
<ontohapsl was thrown open to the will age
Wolic and the nuns occupied the gallery at
~ went end, seated behind an ancient graf
~ o. old wrought iron, the delicate leafage
nnd SCROLL work OF which were touched here
0nd there with gold.
Dohind this grating the sisters assembled
- their creamy white robes, and led the sing
~ There was one voice among them OF
m1Oh extraordinary power and richness OF
u0und that 1t seemed to echo and ring through
- church, and the worshIppers would turn
113d eaxe ut the closed-in gallery, and wonder
11on which Of the still, yelled figures, all ap'
jDGrenuy exactly alike, came the glorious
(1eaody. Had they seen within they might
&EvN wondered still more. Sister Assunta
Guuld sing--she had the face and the voice oi
q q Cecilia but she could do nothing else.
uhe was not wise, she was not clever-for
yoarB they had tried to teach her slow fin
ofp 70 play the organ she could not learn
4oll0ate embroidery In her hands was hope
Ionn{y tangled and spoiled she could not
0yon teach the little orphans In the sisters
1ehool 10 do anything-her eyes were always
~ away and dreamy. The mother superior
uood 70 tell her how she had been brought tc
~ convent years ago when a child of II
yoars old, aud that then she seemed 80 dazec
ono bowildered that they said il would b,
eruel 10 arouse her Numbering mind thu
nhadow Of some terrible horror something
1Aat she had heard or seen, had fallen on thu
brightness OF her intellect and quenched ID
& But she could sing; 1t was long before sh,
|00uld learn the glorious old Latin hymns
tont sounded 30 nobly from her lips bu
Whon she had once mastered the words sh,
hever forgot them, but would cit with hel
6nndn In her lap, her face raised, and hel
oyes gazing outward unseeingly, and tn,
4ound Of her voice ringing grandly through
he building or thrilling higher and higher
ending with sound 30 full and sweet anl
hqnvonly, that long after 1t had ceased the al
ooomed 70 vibrate with its music.
And for that wonderful gift of song all tn
olnoefu loved Assunta, aud treated her with
9 pscuitar, gentle tenderness, almost rev
ogencA
The mother said to the priore one day az
9eoms to MS indeed sometimes that whel
ehe spirit OF the real, lonely, miserable chile
Wa Qudp9hed, that ST. Cecilia took her unde
mar own especial protection and gave he
that look in her eyes and that tone in he
voice."
4 But as the years pas sed by and the tide c
the 18th century washed over Italy, tn
waters of the new era rushed even into tn
M distant sleeping valleys, and one day
terrible thunderbolt fell on the Santissim
Annunxiata.
Tho mother superior was summoned to ap
par before the project of the district, an'
16und him In presence of the mayor, OF
eerange officer whom she had never seen be
1ore, and OF the priore himself
The mother superior was q woman OF keel
sense and shrewd cleverness; by intuition
me know more OF the ways of the worl,
than would really seem possible. She ha'
long expected the crisis that came on her tha
oeH but the blow was none the less terribl
when II fell.
Tho prefect announced to her that by orde
- the government the convent would b.
N1oped within one week; that by order of tn
1overnment the sisters were to dIsband, wer,
- resume q secular dress, and to disperse q
their homes; and he further began to declar,
11om freed from their VOWS, sbsolved from
~ obligation to continue in their order
o00 -
Hut the mother stopped him with a ges
enEo % dignified that he felt as II to proceed
Wonld bs to offer an insult to a dethronet
A&aoen.
Ne -bnwed and folded up the paper from
W11ch he had been reading.
Madame doubtless fully understand
Y1fh0ut my forcing on her the pain of bein,
looEo explicit" he said. "The government
- oonaideration Of the hopelessness of il
ouolecs thus thrown homeless upon tn,
Z Here the mother could not help throwing
1ook Of anguish upon the priore. The pre-
~ cleared his throat and went on: 9TH,
Uoxefnment undertakes TO give pension o
80 franc daily TO each nun for the rest OF he
:9ni hie' and until she marries, or"-
~dold !" said the mother. "You have sail
Nu1se enough--one franc day; and our rev
(nues--the revenues of the convent that W,
~ heid for past generations as Gods stew
6stls for his poor ?''
eThey become the affair of the. 90 yern
nent said the project with bowl
the mother superior stood still for one mo
Nnent; no one dared to interrupt her. Sh,
poQ before the three men, her hands meek
~ hidden in the broad sleeves OF her white
l0olt her face full of concentrated power
11o dignity which awed them involuntarily
IL OLD priore could not lace the blow she
1eo received a. she did herself his hands
moleo, ana the tears rolled down his
4 When she spoke again 1t was with infinite
I41cenesa. "How long do these gentlemen
~ that the government gives us ?''
One week before the place is etely
yon mp; but madame" said the prefect,
mmLIn0 lia lh mat Ilnl nj L 1