The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-01-09
BROTHER FELIPE'S MEMORY.


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I in the year 1S0-. You know the events
Of that year? The arch enemy Napo-
leon had thrown his men, with equal
disdain and cunning, into the PENN
sula, and the Spaniards, remembering
their glory, had risen. Skirmishes, be-
leaguerments. defeats, victories, all
these the patriots had tasted, and it
was by one Of the last-briefy, since
this is no place for the details of the
fighting-that Capt. Herpolet, with 400
conscripts, mad with hunger and de-
feat, was cut off from the French main
army of the Pyrenees and led them
ravaging by whatever ways they could
find among the hills. If there was any
method in their retreat, the historians
will know it. Enough that this cap
tain came, ignorant that Spaniards
had let his slip ahead only a league or
so-that league by which fear for a
little outstrips vengeance-to the vii
lage of Gale d'Estrez. Above that on
the hill, as we all know, the monastery
stands.
Something Of the news of the rising
had come to the brothers ears. Viii
layers on their way to join the patri
OTIS had passed within sight of them;
Brother Pedro, sent on an errand into
the Nils, had come back with the sound
Of trumpets in his ears. sounds of
firing, too, to make the world seem
furiously near. The abbot might ex-
hort to prayer and fasting; he might
speak Of VOWS in which neither war
nor rumors OF war had any part But
the tidings came-kept coming. Only
they knew SO little that the first cot
tages Of Gale d'Estrez were in flames
and smoke steaming up from the val
ley before the brothers knew that a
detachment of the French army was al
ready there.
And about to march upon the mon
astery, my Father" cried the peasant
who first came to them. After Nones
it was already-these Frenchmsn who
feared neither God nor dev1l-they
would arrive before DUSK having, it
seemed, utterly defeated the Spanish
soldiers.
you are sure that we are defeated"
asked the abbot, forgetting IN his
trouble that he and the brothers had
no part nor side with earthly armies.
The peasant swore to that. and to
many other things, and those that
came after him. swiftly, swore to the
same. Therefore it was clear to the
abbot that for the time being work
must take the place Of prayer. There
were precious and sacred things in the
monastery that must be moved away
and hidden till the danger was past.
Lives, too, though they were vowed
away from the world, must not be CIV
en- over to these raging soldiers. Rag
ing and drunk with wine and blood"
the peasants said. The abbot bestirred
himself, and the brothers did likewise.
Strangely enough, only Brother Fe-
lipe, who in his moments of forgetful-
ness was wont to speak of the world as
a present and-almost-an enjoyable
thing, had shown no interest In the
tidings of battle that had been brought
up and banded from tongue to tongue
for these many days past Some had
thought it sign Of grace in him, as
indeed, it would have been in any 9th
er. But most of the brothers opined
that Felipe had no mind for these
things. The sound of musket would
go into one ear-with him-and out Of
the other, just as the sound Of the din
ner bell would.
"And now that he has been given q
paint box" said Brother Antonio, not
without envy. "he requires nothing in
side of him"
He referred to the Illuminating of
missal, which had of late been set as a
task to Brother Felipe in lieu Of the
htchener's work which should have
been his lot for the week. This by
special petition of all the brothers.
Brother Felipe liked his painting He
sat in a windowed alcove of the hall,
SuChluS VI uoA liza A1ooAO SOoSSASySn
the missal before him. and who knows
where his wits were? He was sitting
like this when the tidinwy Of. the.
French marauders came, and through
ALI the hustle he sat on. No one dis
turbed him, because there was much
to be done, and little time to do 1t, and
that being SO. Brother Felipe was not
accounted helpful. So little time was
there, indeed. what with the burying Of
some OF the weightier things in the
grounds outside the. monastery. and the
collecting, Of the chalices and precious
candlesticks for postage, that by the
time all was ready, and the abbot had
assembled his flock In the rear Of the
great hall and unlocked the secret door
into the passage that leads out on to
the hills mile away, there came to
the ears Of I'll the most frantic shouts