Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-06-28

ne Should sooner or later become a leper
though exactly how he caught it he doe
not know. But it was not likely that h,
would escape, as he was constantly livin,
IN a polluted atmosphere, dressing the suf
ierers' sores, washing their bodies. visitint
their death-heds, and even digging theii
graves. The sights and smells were yer,
sickening, and the moral evil was worse
But he set himself steadily 10 the work OF
reformation, and a change soon became ap
parent The government was generous and
wise the queen and the heir apparent Wis
tied the settlement in person food, dwell
ings and water were all supplied
After living at Molokai for about ten
years, Father Damien began TO suspect
that he was a leper The doctors assured
him that this was not the case but anms.
thesa began in his foot aud other fatal
signs appeared One day he asked DR..
Arning to give him a thorough examina
ton.
" Il cannot bear to tell you said DR..
Arning, but what you say is true
" 1t is no shock to me- said Joseph, for
| have long felt sure of it,
And he worked ON with the same cheer
ful, sturdy fortitude, accepting the will of
God with gladuess
He said to me, 4 would not be cured if
the price of my cure was that must leave
the island and give up my work
a lady wrote to him, You have given
up all earthly things TO serve God, to help
others, and | believe that you must have
now that joy that nothing can take from
you, and great reward hereafter
" Tell her, he said, with a quiet smile,
that it is true do have that JOY now.
While l sketched him he read his brevi-
airy, and at those times, and while he was
listening to hymn singing, the expression
OF his face was very sweet and tender
He looked mournfully at my sketches.
What an ugly face ? he said 4 did not
know the disease had made such progress.
Looking glasses are not in great request at
Mookai
81 need scarcely say that he gives him
self no airs Of martyr, saint or hero. A
humber man l never saw. He smiled
modestly and deprecatingly when | gave
hlm the Bishop of Peterborough's message
He won't accept the blessings of hereto
bishop, but tell him that he has my prayers
and ask him to give me his
" Docs he call himself a hereto bishop 2
he asked doubtfully, and had to explain
that the bishop had used the term plavfullv.
He asked many affectionate questions about
Mr.. Chapman, who had sent him a large
sum of money for his work
He would never come inside the guest
house where | was staying, but sat in the
evening on the steps Of the veranda and
talked on IN his CHEEKY, pleasant simple
way. The stars shone over his head and
all the valleys glimmered in golden moon
light. There is often wild weather in Mo.
loka The coma wind rushes up from the
southern coast, and reaches with steady
force the heights of the island then it
seems staggered at fuding the ground sud
denly come 10 an end and descends through
the gorges TO the leper villages in gusts
which, though warm, are so violent that
one evening our roof was mainly torn off,
and the rain came pouring through dozen
hssures The china roses by the balcony
were ruthessly withered and torn to pieces.
aud in a ride from Kaaupapa was driven
in exactly opposite directions within dis
tance of two hundred yards, while the rain
IN my face felt more like gravel than like
water. This weather sometimes lasts for
days together, and the wind continues,
though the skies may be full of starlight or
sunshine
Generally the weather is what would
universally be described as lovely but Mr..
Sproull, the clever young engineer who was
busy with the water supply, and my com
panlon at the guest house, told Inc that the
heat and stiffness were sometimes so ex-
hausting that every one got as limp as a |
wet collar
The ground at Molokai is strewn with |
great black rocks of lava, round which |
grows tall, delicate grass so closely that |
one has to he careful of pitfalls as one |
walks. There are not many wild flowers |
in the Sandwich Islands The lilac major |
convovulus, handsome white poppy the |
diverse colored lantana, and bright orange.
blossom with IA milky stem are among the |
principal On the hills grow the crimson
blossomed lehna, and various pretty ber-
rles, white, black, purple, yellow and red
some of them (the ohelo especially excel
lent to eat
Half way between the two leper towns
rises a lowish hill, which is found OH as
cending it to he an extinct volcano with a
perfect cup, and at the bottom of the cup
a hole one hundred and thirty feet wide
which is said to be unfathomable. 1t is
nearly full of turbid green water. Half
skeleton trees grow ON its sides, and some
big cactuses. The place looks like the scene
of some weird fairy tale
The fathers We're on very affectionate,
playful terms with the lepers. | found
Father Conradi one morning making a list
Of the boys names, which think are worth
recording with some others that | got from
Mr.. Sproull and Dr. Nichols 1t must be
that they are boys names
Jane Peter, Henry Ann, Sit-in-the cold,
The rat-eater, The eyesof the fire, A fall
from horse, Mrs. Tompkins, The heaven
has been talking, Susan, The window, The
ghost, The first nose, The tenth
heaven, The dead-house, The white bird,
The bird-ofwater, The river of truth, The
emetic.
The lepers sing very nicely. One man
had full, sweet baritone, and there was a
Tiny child who made great effect with a
Dawling metallic voice. A refined looking
woman played the harmonium well, with
hands that looked as if they must have been
disabled. She had been a wellknown mu-
iician in Honolulu.
II enjoyed their singing the Latin Christ
mas hymn 'Adeste fdees But the most
thing was the leper song Ccompos-
I'd by native poet), a kind of dirge in
which they bewailed the misery of their lot
The last Sunday evening | showed them
,he magic lantern, and Father Damien ex-
planned to them the pictures from the life
lf Christ. 1t was a moving sight to see the
poor, death stricken crowd listening to the
story of his healings, and then of his suffer
ngs, his oruoifixon and his resurrection
Father Damien told me that there had
leen beautiful instances of true devotion
among them. Roman Catholics and Protest
ants are about equally numerous, and both
churches were well filled. The total mum.
Der of lepers was a thousand and thirty.
heard good accounts of the Protestant ma
i've minister, who had come to Molokai in
charge of his leprous wife l visited him,
but we could only understand each other
through an interpreter.
The next morning left the island, for a
ship came bringing two hundred friends of
epers to spend few hours at Mookai-a
treat generously provided by Mr.. Samuel
Damon of Honolulu The scenes of meeting
and parting were never TO be forgotten
When the vessel sailed away all the popu-
ation seemed TO have come out to say fare.
WE'LL and there was much wailing and wav-
ng of handk, rchiefs. But what u differ
snoe it must make 10 the sufferers and to
heir relatives to look forward to such meet
ngs instead Of an unbrnken separation
"As our ship weighed anchor the sombre
lurple cliffs were crowned with white
clouds. Down their sides leaped the cata
racts, The little village with its three
'hurches and its white cottages lay at their
bases. Father Damien stood with his peo-
pie ON the rocks till we slowly passed from
heir sight. The sun was getting low in
,he heavens, the beams of light were slant
ng down the mountain sides, and then |
'aw the last of Molokai in Il golden veil of