The Irish standard., 1898-08-13
THE HERO OF THE BOURG0GNE.
The Only Lady Survivor Relates
the Dreadful Story.
IS OF THE PROTESTANT FAITH.
Enthusiastic in Her Praise of the
Catholic Priest.

A grand and beautiful figure against
the background of horror and death on
board the sinking Bourgogne was New
York priest, Rev. Fr Anthony Kesseler,
the Saint of Harlem" When the ship
went down he was granting absolution.
Indifferent to his own life, he died say
Ing souls, his face turned towards heav-
en-, his hands outstretched in blessing.
After 80 years of continuous labor, with
out one vacation, in st. Joseph's parish,
he was returning to the home of his boy
hood in Germany.
Mrs. A. de Lacasse, the only woman
survivor of the wreck of the Bourgogne,
and an eye witness of the priests hero
ism, has written her impressions of Fr.
Kesselers conduct during those awful
moments of trial. She says:
He died that others may live. He for
got to don his life preserver and gave
no thought to the battle unto death for
a place in the lifeboats when the shin
was sinking. He spent all the precious
moments when he might nave been say
ing his life in trying to save the souls
OF others. He died at his post on the
deck of the vessel, his face turned to-
ward the darkening sky, his hands out
stretched in blessing He died while
granting absolution. He would have
saved while others destroyed. I am a
Protestant: but revere this Catholic
priest as l do no other hero in the
world. The sublimity of his service ap-
peals to my religious fervor. The pic
turesqueness of his act challenges my
artistic appreciation. recognized his
heroism as a tremendous truth, amid
the horror and darkness and death of
the day of disaster July 4, but see with
yet clearer vision since a week has
passed and review the awful event.
Father Kesseler stands the beautiful
central figure in a picture of brutality
and ghoulishness beyond the ken of
man, as the Christ in dance of demons.
While creatures called men X lied wo-
men and children to make room upon
the boat or raft for themselves, he stood
upon the deck and prayed for all.
After the collision ran upon the deck
with my husband The passengers were
crowding together and fighting like mad
men for a place in the boats. The Of
ficers were shouting orders, but no one
needed. The crew seemed paralyzed with
fright or insane in their desire to
crowd into the boats and escape from
the doomed ship. The waves lashing the
sides of the vessel sounded like the
growl of a great, hungry beast. To add
to all this terror we were in semi-dark-
ness.
The steamship gave evidence of set
Ting and listing. 1t was as though the
foundation was passing from beneath
our feet, as though there were a new
heaven and new earth, from which we
were being banished to hell. 1t was a
time of horror to make men mad.
l heard the scream of a woman. It was
the shrek Of one who had received a
mortal blow. Someone shouted that an
italian had stabbed woman who had
tried to get into a boat before him. The
babel of voices was like chorus of
lost souls I felt that my reason was
going. A hush fell upon the shrieking,
fighting mob. Father Kesseler was
coming. He strobe swiftly towards us,
where we were crowded, starboard amid
ship. He looked majestic in his long
robes. His benign face was sad, but
calm. 1t wore. the loek of entire res
ignation. I have seen such rapt ex-
preston only on the faces of Raphael's
seints
AS he approached us we fell on our
knees. My husband knelt close to me
and held my hand in a grasp that hurt.
About us were twenty men and women
and half-grown children.
The roaring of machinery and the his
sing, escaping steam almost drowned the
priests voice, but we strained our eyes
to see his face. 1t was bent above us
longest as my husband and knelt there
shivering. l think he saw that we
were husband and wife, and that we
wanted to die or live together. His
fingers touched our heads for an instant.
Courage and peace, for the end has
come" heard him say.
He passed on to the next and the
next. He could stop for but an instant,
for there were so many in need of a
blessing-770 souls-and there were
groups collecting and awaiting him in
kneeling attitude further on, but each
bent head in our group received his
touch and his blessing.
The faces about me had been white
with terror before. Their owners had
crouched in an attitude that was abject
to animalism. But when Father Kes-