The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-17
THE ABBE'S DOG.

Able Sauteu was the cure Of sleepy
little village at the extreme end Of Prov
ence-the Provence Of the olden time
when doubts had not yet crept in to cor
rupt the simple faith Of the peasants
The old priest lived happily among hi
parishioners, kindly souls all of them,
and so obedient to the commandments
Of God and our holy mother church
that their lives were real benedictior
for their spiritual father. The good mar
had no need to touch them up every
now and then with q rousing sermon,
nor did he ask the aid Of others more
eloquent than himself to convert his
flock. They were born, lived and died
in the fold, and their pastor discharged
his simple priestly duties and led in
anticipation the life of the blessed.
The able adored nature, and every
day you could have seen him strolling
among the fields, reading his breviary,
while from time to time he glanced at
the gambols of Oremus, his little dog.
They were as inseparable as st. Roch
and his famous bowwow. Oremus en-
joyed these strolls as much as his mas.
ter, but in different fashion. The
: priests pleasure was purely contempla-
tive, that Of the doggie active.
Oremus firmly believed that God gave
four legs to little dogs so that they
could be twice as alert as their masters,
who, poor creatures, had but two. So
he raced over the fields sometimes be-
hind, sometimes ahead of the cure,
jumping, making corkscrew Of his
tail, swapping at the birds and giving
himself up to all the pranks BETTING
the well bred dog of a priest.
Superfuous to add that Oremus I'M
derstood absolutely all that his master
said to him and that he could do ev.
erything but speak. AS for tricks, our
Oremus could have given points to the
whole canine world. He danced on his
hind legs and shook hands like Chris
tian, and his great feat was to refuse
the most delicious chop, the juiciest
morsel, if offered with the left hand.
You may well believe that this vic.
tory over the canine flesh was not gain
ed without effort. The able and his dog
had given much time and patience to
the perfecting of this triumph, and
evenings after the cure had dined alone
the little dog was put through his PAGES,
always ending the performance with the
famous "ohop act" Then the able,
with tears in his eyes, would ask him
self if the good God could have the
heart to refuse scrap of paradise to
such a creature. Let us hasten to add
that the worthy priest would have died
before giving voice to such sentiment
he, son of the church.
But nothing is perfect in this world,
and one day the sacred calm of Abiho
was turned into confusion. Listen, and
you will learn how. A young conscript,
who had been absent seven years and
who was supposed by the villagers to
have been killed in the war, reappeared
one fine morning and Immediately took
up his old life Of farming. So far so
good. But what a scandal arose, my
friends, when it was known that LIE
Faiard absented himself from mass on
Sunday, swore like pirate at every
word, and, more than all, ate meat on
friday
Able Ssuteu almost died of mortifca-
ton. Night and day he racked his brain
to find some means of bringing the apos-
tate back to the faith of his childhood.
As if by accident M. 10 Cure often
strolled past the field where LIE Faiard
was working. Almost always he stop
ped to gossip with his black sheep, and
very often the conversation turned on
the all absorbing question LIE Faiard,
for his part, was only too ready to argue
tho point He was pigheaded fellow,
who liked to hear himself talk, and fire.
quently it happened that our good able
who was by no means well of learn
ing-found himself floored by the argu-
ments which his opponent had picked
up in his military life and which he
reeled off with parrotlike volubility.
One day when LIE Faiard had reduced
his adversary to silence, he asked, as Il
finishing stroke:
Anyway, father, do you take me for
a saint?'
"Alas, far from it, my son."
"The devil fly away with me, then,
if you don't demand more of me than q
saint or even an apostle is capable Of "
Heaven forbidr' calculated the
priest, falling innocently into the snare.
well, then, father" said lie Faiard,
with a sly grin, did St. Thomas be-
lieve on the faith of others? Didn't he
require miracle, and, trone-de-Dieu,
what miraclel Who can blame me
for following St. Thomas example,
only I ask less than his saintship. Show
me the least little miracle, l don t care
how small, and I'll go to confession
with all my heart"
Then seeing that the priest was dunn
founded, he added: "Morbleu, father,
won't you show me one? That ought
not to feaze friend of Gods"
Then ho walked away, in high glee,
at the effect produced by his words.
"Work miracle" said the priest to
himself. "Impossiblel And yet if God
would help me-
In truth God did help him, and one
day in mid-Lent Father Sauteu left the
house, escorted by his dog. All the way
to Lo Faiard's field he chuckled softly
to himself.
"A miracle, indeed. You must have
a miracle, must you, you rogue? Ore
mus, little villain, leave those birds
alone You have other things to do. A
miraclel Yes, my fine fellow, you are
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