Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1890-10-03
THE SANCTITY OF LOVE

was q tall, thin priest, very fanatical, of
an ecstatic but upright soul. All his be
hefs were fixed without ever a wnvering.
He thought that he penetrated the de-
signs. the wishes, the intentions of the
creator.
Everything in nature seemed to him
created with an absolute and admirable
logic. The wherefore" and the "be-
cause" were always balanced. The dawns
were made to render glad your waking.
the days to ripen the harvest, the rains
to water them, the evenings to prepare
for sleeping, and the nights dark for
sleep.
The four seasons corresponded perfect
IL TO all the needs Of agriculture; and to
him the suspicion could never have come
that nature has no intentions, and that
all which ives has bent itself, on the
contrary, to the hard conditions Of differ
ent periods, of climates and Of matter.
Only he did hate women; he hated
them unconscionably, and he despised
them BY instinct. He often repeated
the words Of his Master, woman, what
have l to Go with theeY' and he added.
lone would almost say that God him
self was i'll pleased with that particular
work of his hands," Woman was the
te1nptress who had ensnared the first
man; she was the being which is feeble,
dangerous, mysteriously troubling. And
v more than her weak body he hated
her loving soul.
He had often felt women's tenderness
attach itself to him, and though he knew
himself to be unassailable he grew ex-
asperated at the need Of loving which
quivered always in their hearts.
Woman, to his mind, had only been
created to tempt man and to prove him.
You should not approach her without
these precautions for defense which you
would take, and those fears which you
would cherish, near a trap. She was,
indeed. Just like a trap, with her arms
extended and her lips open toward a
man.
He had Indulgence only for nuns rem.
dered harmless by their VOW; but he
treated them harshly notwithstanding
because, ever living at the bottom d
their chained up hearts, of their chast
ened hearts, he perceived that eterna
tenderness which constantly went out Il
him although he was a priest.
He was conscious of it in their looks
more moist with piety than the looks o.
monks; in their ecstacies, in their trans
ports of love. which angered him because
il was womcn's love; and he was alsC
conscious of it, of that accursed tender
ness Of their voices when they spoke t
him, in their lowered eyes, and in tn,
meekmess of their tears when he reproveC
them.
And he shook his cassock on issuin;
from the doors of the convent, and h
went off with long strides, as though h
had fed before some danger.
He had a niece who lived with he
mother in a little house near by. II
was bent on making her a sister Of chan
fly.
She was pretty, and hairbrained, an
a great tease. When the able sermon
lied she laughed, when he was angry a
her she kissed him vehemently, press
ing him to her heart, Will he woul
seek involuntarily to free himself fror
this embrace, which, notwithstanding
made him taste a certain sweet Joy
awaking deep within him chat %sensatin
OF fatherhood which slumbers in ever
man.
Often he talked TO her of God, of h
God, walking beside her along the foo
paths through the fields. Sac hard
listened, and looked at the sky, the gras
the flowers, with a Joy Of living whic
could be seen in her eyes. Sometiml
she rushed forward to catch some iyiI
creature, and, bringing it back, woul
cry: Look, my uncle, how pretty it /
/ should ike to kiss it," And this II
cessity to kiss flies" II lilac berri
worried, irritated and revoltsd the prizes
who saw ever in that the ineradicah
tenderness which ever springs at Il
hearts of women.
And now one day the sacristan's Wit
who kept house for the Able Marigna
told him very cautiously that his ME
had a lover.
He experienced a dreadful emotio
and he stood choked with the soap
over his face, being in the act of Shawn
When he found himself able to THU
and speak once more he cried, ut is Il
true; you are lying, MelanieF
But the peasant woman put her ha
on her heart: MAY our Lord judge me
am lying, Monsieur 10 Cure. tell y
she goes to him every evening as so
as your sister is in bed. They mi
each other beside the river. You ha
only to get there between 10 o'clock a
midnight, and see for yourself"
He ceased scratching his chin, and
commenced to walk the room violent
as he always did IN his hours of gravI
thought. When no tried TO begin
shaving again he cut himself tn
times from nose to ear.
Alday long he remained silent. swol
with euger and rage. To his priestly 2
against the mighty power OF love '
added the moral indignation OF a faith
Of a teacher. of a keeper of souls, W
has been deceived. robbed PLAYED W