Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-28
A MODERN MARTYR.
The Heroic Life and Work Of Joseph
Damien De Venster
AMONG TIE LEPERS OF MOLOKAI.
DR.. Wades Reply to Prof Huxleys Attack
on Christianity.
FATHER DAMIEN's DEFENSE is BETTER
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.i

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.i
Out in the Pacific Ocean. among the
Sandwich Islands, there projects above the
water the peak of an extinct volcano. Some
people. indeed, hold that all these islands
are but partially submerged volcanoes. In
the southernmost one the old fires are still
burning, and in all are found great blocks
of lava and other evidences of volcanic
origin. In the crater, as it would seem, OF
one of these ancient mountains of fire, now
standing only few feet out of the water,
are built two little villages, inhabited by a
strange and miserable population. I sup
pose that nowhere else in the world, except
in certain afflicted villages down in deep
valleys Of the Alps, can be found any towns
to be compared with them. Everybody in
these two villages is sick, and sick with one
of the most fearful diseases known to the
race of man. These people are lepers.
By wise provision of the Government OF
Hawaii, all lepers in that country are
isolated. They are put apart from other
citizens upon the little island of Molokai.
Molokai is accordingly a sort Of national
pest-house.
Now, let several hundred human beings
be gathered together, all Of them afflicted
with an incurable disease, all of them wait
ing for death; none of them very well edu-
Gated nor very good Christians-put these
wretched people off by themselves and GER
tain conditions are pretty sure to follow.
These conditions will all be fairly summed
up in the word, degradation. There will be
physical degradation. These poor people
~ hat fhau will mi
keep themselves clean. There will be in
tellectual degradation. What ambition can
stir these miserable beings to improve their
minds? There will be moral degradation.
There will be general giving way Of all
which, under ordinary conditions, keeps
men up and gives them some heart. Even
the certain and near approach of death will
make small impression upon most of them.
"Let US eat and drink" they will say, ''for
tomorrow we die" An island of lepers
will be the abode of
DEGRADATION AND DESPAIR.
This is very fair description of the con-
dition of this island of Molokai as it was Is
years ago. But 16 years ago a new settler
arrived upon the scene and proceeded i'm
mediately to change things. The new settler
was q Roman Catholic priest, a young man
only little past 80 years of age, member
of the order Of the "Sacred Heart of Jesus
and Mary"
Joseph Damien de venster, or Father
Damien, as all the world knows him to-day,
was born in 1841 in Belgium. He was early
possessed with desire to be priest. He
had brother who was preparing for the
priesthood in a neighboring town, and one
day, when Joseph was about 10 years old,
going with his father to visit this brother, he
insisted on staying. Nothing could per-
suade him to go back. He, too, would be
priest.
Joseph's brother had planned to go as a
missionary to the South Seas, but as the
time drew near for him to 60 he fell
sick. Joseph was eager to 60 in his place.
He wrote, offering himself for the work,
and begging the privilege of going, and his
request was granted. So the young priest,
not yet, as it seems, ordained, became mis-
sionary.
Among the South Sea Islands he heard
of the poor, forsaken, miserable leper folk
at Molokai, and his heart went out to them.
A third time he heard the voice of God
speaking in his heart, and a third time ne
answered: "Here am I; send me-" In 1873
Father Damien began the work in which
thesremainder of his good life was spent.
There was no doubt in Father Damien 8
mind as to what the end would be. He
knew perfectly well that he would die a
leper. But he went straight forward. No
soldier ever marched into battle more
bravely than this soldier of the cross.
1t is worth while to note just here that
Father Damien had nothing to gain Of those
rewards after which most people nowadays
are striving. There was no money to be
had at Molokai. There was no chance of
winning any ecclesiastical position by
WORKING AMONG LEPERs.
There was no fame to be had away out
there on that obscure Pacific island. There
were not even the ordinary comforts of life.
There is a good deal of epicureanism among
men to-day-a good deal o: the spirit which
urges thoughtful people to make the most
of this life, and to think little about any
other. We want to be comfortable, above
all things. But Father Damien seems not
greatly to have coveted comfort. When he
arrived at Molokai there was at first no
roof under which he could be sheltered and
he slept out-of-doors for several nights be-
meath great tree. He often thought of
those homeless nights. So strong was the
memory he had of them that when he lay
dying the other day he asked to be buried
Just there, under that hospitable tree. We
may believe that as he lay at night, looking
up into the face of the sky, amid the silence
OF the strange land, in the presence of God,
he bowed again more earnestly than ever to
follow Him who for love of us lived upon
this sinful earth, cared for the sick and sor-
rowful, touched even lepers and healed
them, and died at last, making His cross an
emblem of love and sacrifice forever. If
he could but serve Him, and win His
blessing, that was all that Joseph Damien
wanted.
There is no objection in any Chris .S.n
doctrine to human comfort. ChrisA ,nity
teaches evidently the duty of maxi ag the
most of life. All that was good and true in
found in the teachings of Christ. Chris
tianity, indeed, as Christians know by ex-
perience, not only teaches the duty of max
ing the most of life, but reveals heavenly
secret, without which it is hard to see how
one can succeed in making very much of
life. Christians have perfect right to be
comfortable-whereyer comfort does not
stand in the way of Christianity. EVERY
BODY has a right to rest, but not when an
important work needs helping hands.
Christianity puts the soul above the body,
puts character above comfort, crowns life
with the cross. Christ says that they alone
will find their lives who lose them, who
give them to God and their neighbor. That
does interfere with
SOME KINDS OF COMFORT.
It did interfere with Father Damien's
comfort. Daily he lived sin polluted at
mosphere. dressing the sufferers sores,
washing their bodies, visiting their DEATH
beds, and even digging their graves" That
is not the description of comfortable"
life.
And yet Father Damien was abundantly
hor - L.. \ -