The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-07-19
A Good Samaritan.
Thousands were there, in darker
frame that dwelt,
Whose deeds some nobler poet shall
adorn.' Dryden.

A WAY from the turbulent, madden,
| ~ ing crowd of a busy seaside city
a full days journey through rug.
ged mountain passes by pony route
| dure lined and blocked the way of the
| traveller on his Journey, where the fra
GRANGE laden air met you and made
! you think that you were in the realms
of paradise, where the tail and stately
palm tree rose UP to the sky as land
mark to the pedestrian, you at last
reach the city, or, rather, to be more
| technical, the village of Morne Rouge.
| Nesting under the frowning pinnacle
of burning Pelee, Drawing the hidden
dangers of the lava mountain, dwells
Pere Marye, the cure of the village,
surrounded by his little flock of de-
voted followers.
To them he is father indeed. If sick
ness is present, it is Father Marye who
must be called, He is summoned on
all occasions to decide questions of diff
ference between warning and contend
ing parishioners. BY a word, nay, by
look almost, the angry alteration
would be stilIed by their pastor. He
was and is their guiding star, their
friend, their all.
When the pent-up force of nature
hidden away for centuries under the
crust of Mt. Pelee-burst forth on it's
passage of death and destruction, sub
merging with fiery waves and clouds
of sulphurous gases, disintegrating the
Inflated city of st. Fierre, the parish
toner's of Pere Marye We're gathered
around him-fear-laden, trembling, i'm
ploring. The characteristic nature of
the man shone forth like bright, sein-
tillating star at that dreaded moment
With eyes and hands raised, imploring-
ly to God on high. he prayed for his
panic-stricken fiock-with that calm
ness which comes only to those who
lead righteous lives-while the burning
ashes which were continually falling
around him seemed to indicate that
like catastrophe to that of st. Pierre
would be the portion of the people of
Tie dlIfOSI ueSeIlGu Village.
He Gained their fears, he soothed
them in this hour of adversely, and to-
day he lives to tell the story of that
dreaded time to the people of the world.
''Only $50 remain. They are my peo-
pie. 1 stay to minister to them, feed,
them, and to say to them be not
afraid"
These were his words, and that is
why he lives enshrined in the hearts
of his little flock. that is why he is
trusted, respected, honored. No pulled
up vanity is here. His name may not
be known in the hall of fame. 1t may
dwindle into obscurity the same as
many another brave man who seeks
not the vain and wordy vaporings of
an effete world. Yet some poet will
rise up eventually and perpetuate the
name of Pere Marye in song and story
which will live forever.
Meanwhile the faithful flock of
Morne Rouge will continue to partici-
pate in daily masses-from early MORN
ing to late at night--the little old
CHurCh VIII sim pe open, ana the Old
bell will continue to toll; TIE Deums
will continue to be chanted, the An
geius will continue to be heard. and the
Inhabitants will still receive the words
of admonition or censure from Pere
Marye, the sanity priest who would
not desert them when they were
threatened with death and destruction
from the bowels of the volcano of Pc
lee.