The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-05-11
THE SACRISTAN
the Old Spanish Settler
rr1erts in California.
AND TIE CATS.

An Odd Piece of EuInor From
the old Spanish Settle
r1aerts in California.
Padre Mateo Verdugo was the vener-
able priest in charge of an Indian mission
near the coast of California. The mission
is now a majestic ruin, and the race for
whose regeneration it was founded is
nearing extinction; but sixty years g
Padre Mateo was the busiest man in the
world. There were the massive struct-
ures of adobe to be erected, neophytes TO
instruct and discipline, infants to bap-
tie, hordes of hungry Indians to feed
and funeral services 10 preach, for be-
fore the benighted savages could be
brought to understand that the mission
was being established for the saving of
their souls they had sent many a Chris
tian to join the army of the blessed
martyrs.
But when, after ten years of toll, the
buildings were completed, and the last
martyrs were buried, and the infants
were all regenerated, and the Indians
were pacifed by gifts of trinkets and
clothes. time began to weigh rather
heavily upon the jealous padre. He
heightened the services and sang mass
every day and performed all the cere-
monies of the church with scrupulous
exactness; he provided the mission with
cattle and sheep, and taught the Indians
to sow grain and to labor with tools, yet
there were long hours left unoccupied
and the priest was often lonely.
After the soldiers were removed to a
younger mission the padres parishioners,
with the exception of Gaudaloupe Cor
teo, the ancient saeristan, were all In
dams. Now, Gaudaloupe. it must be
confessed, made but q poor companions;
for, his work being done, he straightway
stretched his lank body upon a bench be-
tween the great arches at the sunny side
of the building and went to sleep.
Years passed away. The mission pros
pered. The harvest of souls was bounti-
full, and where once had been an un-
broken solitude now uprose apicturesque
Indian village, with houses built of reeds
or of adobe, and the winding streets all
leading up to the great gray pile on the
hill.
One morning, while the sacristan slept
on his bench, Padre Mateo sat outside his
door with a big book on his knees.
The rugged mountains were yelled in
miles of blue mist, but their snowy crests
shone in the sunlight. Upon the velvety
slopes of the foothills grazed cattle and
sheep. The wide, fertile valley was
bathed in golden light. Far off-a silver
line-gleamed the Pacific ocean. The
village streets were deserted. Save the
droning of insects and the regular respi-
rations of the doing saeristan, not a
sound broke the stiffness.
The padre had almost fallen asleep,
when, hearing the patter of bare feet, he
looked up to see some dark skinned boys
carrying a litter of kittens toward the
creek.
''Que! Quew cried the padre, rubbing
his eyes. "Adonda va V? Would you
destroy the poor Kittens?
Isl, padre, replied n little Indian.
para ques'' questioned the priest.
"They are too many, padre" answered
the little Indian, poking his great toe in
the dust and looking longingly toward
the creek.
But wait! The pretty things! They
have not yet beheld the light of day.
Give them to me!' cried the benignant
priest. "They shall not perish, for / will
care for them myself. Are they not
pretty, my worthy ~Gaudaloupe? Open
thine eyes for an instant. See! are they
not pretty?'
Surely, had the sacristan foreseen the
consequences, he would have made re-
monstrance then, before the padres pas
sion strengthened; but, being sleepy and
selfish, Gaudaloupe only chuekled as he
settled himself for another nap, think
ing, "Now that the reverend padre has
somewhat to amuse him, perchance I
may be permitted to doze in peace"
One of the inconvenience arising
from the adoption Of a family of cats is
the manner in which it is prone to in
crease. At the end of the second year
Padre Mateo's cats were the bane of the
sacristan's life. Every day the priest
found it necessary to reprove Gaudaloupe
for omes sad dereliction. Either he had not
bathed Celestine's sore eye, or the dose
of catnip tea for Antonio had been neg
lected, or Christafus had been allowed
to scamper off before breakfast-for, be
it understood, each cat had a high sound
ing name, and a place at the PADRES
table, and regularly partook of a repast
three times a day.
Had Gaudaloupe not SO highly veneer
ated the PADRES sacred calling, there
would surely have been an open rebel
lion; as it was, the sacristan had to con-
tent himself with thinking his indigna-
ton.
''Must l." thought he, with rising
spleen, 81, who am 70years old and have
a stitch in my back-must /, besides
busting the altar and ringing four heavy
bells and tending the padres house
i do obedience to an army Of yowling
cats? Es vergonzoso, indeed"
Had he not feared the padres male
diction he would have murdered the
creatures without conjunction. He even
gave up his morning nap, sitting with
his little red eyes open and a scowl on
his wrinkled, yellow face, while he tried
to devise a means of Kidding the world
of the pests. In vain he pondered. The