The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-03-02
Able Sauter's Dog.
"a Translation from the French.
Two Parts.)
a

Two Parts.)
PART I.
Able Sauteu was the cure of sleepy
little village at the extreme end of Prov
ence--the Provence of the oIden time,
when doubts had not yet crept in to cor
rupt the simple faith Of the peasants. The
old priest lived happily among his parish
toner's, kindly souls all of them, and so
obedient TO the commandments of God
and our Holy Mother Church that their
lives were a real benediction for their spir-
itual father. The good man had no need
TO touch them up every now and then
with a rousing sermon. nor did he ask
the aid of others more eloquent than him
self TO convert his flock; they were born,
lived and died in the fold, and their pas
tor 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 a the gam
bols of Oremus, his little dog. They
were as inseparable as st. Roch and his
famous bowwow. Oremus enjoyed these
strolls as much as his master. but in
different fashion. The priests pleasure
was purely contemplative, 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 behind. some
times ahead of the cure; jumping, max
ing a corkscrew of his tail, swapping at
the birds, and giving himself up to all
the prahks BETTING the Well-bred dog
Of a priest.
Superfiuous to add that Oremus under
stood absolutely all that his master said
to him, and that he could do everything
but speak AS for tricks, our Oremus
could have given points to the whole ca
nine world. He danced on his hind-legs
and shook hands like a Christian, and his
great feat was to refuse the most deli
cious chop. the juiciest morsels, if offered
with the left hand.
You may well believe that this victory
over the canine flesh was not gained with
out effort. The Able and his dog had
given much time and patience to the per-
fecting OF this triumph, and evenings af-
ter the cure had dined alone, the little
dog was put through his PAGES, always
ending the performance with the famous
chop act" Then the Able, with tears
in his eyes, would ask himself 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 a sentiment-he, a 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 about seven years, and
who was supposed by the villagers to have
1 e.
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
a pirate at every word, and more than
all, ate meat on Friday!
Able Sauteu almost died of mOrtifica-
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 NJ: lie Cure often stroll
ed past the field where lie Faiard was
working; almost always he stopped 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 the
point; he was pig-headed fellow, who
liked to hear himself talk, and frequently
it happened that our good Abbe-who was
by no means a well of learning-fOund
himself fioored by the arguments which
his opponent had picked up in his mill
tary life, and which he reeled off with
parrot-lke vOlubility.
One day, when lie Faiard had reduced
his adversary to silence, he asked, as a
finishing stroke:
Anyway, Father, do you take me for
a saint?"
ALIAS. far from it my SON."
'"The devil fly away with me, then, if
you don't demand more of me than Il
saint. or even an apostle, is capable Of
Heaven forbid" calculated the priest,
falling innocently into the snare.
"Nen, then, Father" said lie Faiard,
with a sly grin, did st. Thomas believe
on the faith of others? Didn't he require
a miracle, and, trone-de-Dieu. what a
mira Gle! Who can blame me for following
St. ThOmass example. Only 1 ask less
than his saintship; show me the least lit
tie 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 phase a friend of God 5"
And he walked away, in high glee, at the
effect produced by his words
Work a miracle" said the priest to
himself. Impossible, 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 lie
Faiard's field, he chuckled softly to him.
self.
"A miracle, indeed. You must have a
miracle, must you, you rogue? Oremus,
little villain. leave those birds alone. You
have other things to do. a miracle? Yes,
my fine fellow you are going to have
your miracle, and I'm going TO have your
soul"
Bachelors Reflection.
N