Huntsville gazette., 1889-09-14
HEROIC FATHER DAMIEN.
His Career as a Leper Apostle the Resul
of "A Brothers Illness.


His Career a Leper Apostle the Result
of a Brothers Illness.
The brother of the late Father Da-
mien, whose name is Auguste Pam
phile de Veuster and whose home is
in Louvain, France, sends to the Lon.
don Times an interesting account Of
the circumstances in which the cele-
brated priest first went to Honolulu
In the year 1868 the writer says that
he himself received orders from his
superior to start for Honolulu in the
month Of October. He was already a
priest At that time his brother, Jef
Danien-Jef is the familiar contrac
tion for Joseph. and was the name he
always bore in the family circle-who
Il was his junior by two years, had still
to complete his studies and receive
the priesthood, and no one dreamed of
his departure. But it so happened
that as the time for sailing drew near
the elder brother, who writes of the
event as ''hy Gods design" fell sick
of typhus fever in the very house in
which he still lives, and in which, all
unconscious of the future, he had
prepared his brother for his sacerdotal
duties by teaching him Latin, a Ian
guage Of which he knew nothing till
he was close on twenty years of age.
The doctors declared that the elder
brothers going was out Of the ques-
tion. His passage money on German
sailing ship from Bremerhaven to
Honolulu had already been paid. JET
Damien, without saying a word
TO any one, wrote direct to the
superintendent in Paris asking
for the place. The return post
brought the reply during the
dinner hour The superior was
so surprised and indeed annoyed at its
contents that he threw the letter down
on the table before the brother, say
ing: You are very young and green,
Damien, to start before receiving the
priesthood" The young brother there
upon snatched up the letter and raced
away to the bedside, where he kept
waving it, crying out in a transport
OF delight, II am going in your place. J"
Then, without waiting for dinner, he
set off to say goodbye to the family.
This was the first and most impor-
tant step in his missionary career, but
the brother adds: Il had later on an
other striking illustration of the simple
earnestness and humility Of my dear
brothers character. Some time after
he had settled down at Molo5ai he
wrote me long letter describing his
life among the lepers. At the request
of many here l published it in the
French missionary journal. Some
months afterward received sharp
rebuke from Damien for having done
so. He added: i want to live and
work here unknown in the world.
But death has now released me from
the obligation of silence and Father
1eamien's English admirers will, per-
haps, be glad to learn that his
letters, translated from the French
and Flemish, many of them dating
back to his childhood, and carefully
treasured for years by our mother,
who adored Jef and who died of a
broken heart when she heard he had
taken the leprosy, will appear in an
English periodical. Your readers may
also be interested in the projected
Belgian memorial of my brothers life
and work. Committees have already
been formed here and in other places
to collect funds for Damien institute,
the object Of which will be to insure a
continuation Of my brothers work at
Molokai itself Burses are to be
founded in a college that shall be
called by my brothers. name, and the
utmost care exercised in the choice of
proper subjects for the glorious but
most difficult task Of ministerinp to
and nursing the lepers. We naturally
hope that the country which sent out
Joseph Damien de Veuster to his leper
apostolate will continue to provide not
unworthy successors of his labors,
who, like him, will address the strick-
en- charges not with the formal NV
brethren. but as he always loved to
say: Nous antres lepreux'-'We lep-
ers.' Long before he contracted the
malady he wrote to me-: That is title
i jealously claim for myself and am
proud TO bear