The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-06-24

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siss ,ss ,huteh ,ash ,is., 4 ,.f' ,nno,
ni quite inUihet tiHi Tht tIthnf vhl
/ Voc delegated ~ fhr tTlnuaH iirtHnl
fsfff to- MHirHt tallnHhaIHm fpi
lfH UuffaaU. HilfInuif IhstHtNd fni
ItH co., trnFa uf kHirhi Commander
Hf thr NHtHi ufdtf uf kaiakau8 iiul
tNIf rfnfs " rrd ard Fold did not dc.
r.ns. ne from aiiending the confDs'
On sketch so brief as this BE- is mo-,
possible a. enter iutn the details ~ a
life like Father namirns My two Vie.
IT, to the roper settlement and my aC-
quaintancc with the apostle ~ the lcp-
ers have described 10 some length In
= little volume entitled THE Icpcrs NJ
Mulukai" lice I can add but few
words 10 a tribute. an unworthy ~ the
missioner and his works NJ mercy Of
fufrI n his memory with profouu1cst
usvtenCe and love.
Reverend Mother. who knew IA
tner Damien when he was still nov
ice. said to Eather pamphilc. Your
brother Is saint st Aloysius: no
one can see him serve mass without
being struck by his extreme devotion"
What would she have said had she
seen him-as | did every morning dur
ing my last visit TO the settlement
offer the holy sacrifice Of the mass I'm
his little chapel at kalawao for a con-
gregation composed OF lepersI Even
the acolytes who served him were lep-
crs.
don't care to dwell here upon the
horrors OF leprosy. Anyone who knows
aught of that most loathsome of dis
eases must realize what IL was for
Father Damien To- meet ii and mingle
with IL daily for many years; and for
him to be well aware that sooner or
later he must become one with them
In the flesh. as he was one with them
in the spirit from the first moment of
their Intercourse. \ single brief quota
tion from The Lepers of Molokai" will
suffice to picture what I saw in the
hospital at kalawao-what | shall new
er cease to regret having seen. so long
as ! live:
"A corner OF the blanket was raised
cautiously; a breathing object lay be-
meath; face, a human face turned
slowly toward us-a face on which
scarcely trace OF humanity remained!
The dark skin was pulled up and
blackened: n kind of moss. gummy and
glistening, covered IL: the muscles of
the mouth had contracted and laid bare
grinning teeth; the thickened tongue
lay like a fig between them: the eye
lids curled tightly back. exposing the
inner surface, and the protruding eye
balls. now shapeless and broken. look
ed not unlike burst grapes"
Father Damien was the veritable
shepherd of his flock. In less than six
years after he had taken charge of his
people at the settlement. 1900 lepers had
been buried under his immediate min
istration and he had often to act as
undertaken and carpenter-making the
collins himself; he was grave-digger as
well as pastor 1t was fortunate that
his health and strength We're so long
spared to him, for his burden was al
most greater than he could bear. His
bishop said:
The natives are in constant wonder
at his strength. They think 1t is
miracle, when they see Father Damien
carrying a beam of wood up the hill,
al by himself. which three or four of
them together could scarcely lift"
One of the most beautiful tributes
ever paid him came from the heart of
one who Is not Catholic. The Queen
of Hawaii, the admirable but unfortu-
nate Liliuokalani, thus wrote Father
Damien In 1881:
Reverend Sir:--I desire to express to
you my admiration for the heroic and
disinterested service you are rendering
to the most unhappy of my subjects.
and to pay, In some measure. Il public
tribute to the devotion, patience, and
unbounded charity, with which you
give yourself to the corporal and spir-
itual relief of these unfortunate people,
who are necessarily deprived of the af-
fectionate care of their relatives and
friends.
II know well that your labors and
sacrifices have no other motive than
the desire to do good to those in dis
tress. and that you look for no reward
but from the great God, our Sovereign
Lord, Who directs and inspires you.
Nevertheless, to content my own earn
est desire, ! beg of you. Reverend Fa-
Their, to accept the decoration of Knight
Commander of the Royal order of Ka-
lakaua, as a testimony Of our sincere
admiration for the efforts you are max
ing to relieve the distress and lessen
the sufferings of these afflicted people,
as / myself had occasion to see on my
recent visit to the settlement. l am,
your friend,
'LILIUOKALANI"
Upon reading the following extract
from a letter to Father Pamphile one
might indeed believe that an element
of the preternatural was not unknown
in the life Of Father Damien. He says:
Among the lepers was n Calvinist
woman, as she called herself, who re-
-,