The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-04-15

cross. But wore it in memory of the
man who gave 1t to me, and believe
that the good God, as long as wore it
did not will that / should be hurt. For
the man who gave me that cross, mon
sleur, was martyr of Christ; he shed
MS blood for the Faith just as much
as II he had been eaten by the lions in
the ancient times. Still ii is well, is it
not, to begin story at the beginning?
1t was in the summer of the year
1892, then, that came up to Paris to
offer myself for the service at the
front. All over France they were call
Ing for volunteers; for the Duke Of
Brunswick and his Prussians and the
French emigres were before Vardum,
not much more than days march
from Paris itself; not to speak of the
Austrians in the Rhine country In the
last days of August, therefore, ten
men set forth from our village leaving
behind them much wiping of eyes and
waving Of handkerchiefs; and march
ed with them, though was but seven
teen: they were not too particular in
those days. you understand, and be-
sides, / was well set-up young fellow
enough, although I say it myself
Well, we came to the city early in
the morning of the second day of Sept
ember; and hot day it was-breath-
less and sitting, though the sun was
clouded over. If the weather has any
sympathy with mems doings, that was
a day for something dreadful to hap
pen. Well they let us through the
closed barriers, and we found our way
to the Hotel de Vile, where we en-
rolled ourselves in one of the old regu-
lar regiments, and we were told we
should come for our uniforms and mus
kets the next day-and then to the
front! After that my comrades went
off for a stroll through the streets, and
bethought me Of keeping my promise
to my mother of visiting my uncle,
Pere Jacques. My mother had two
priest brothers-the elder was Pere
Jacques, who had baptised me, and
who had lived in our village as Cure
till his Paris appointment a year or
two before: the other one-his name
was Etienne-had always lived in the
capital, and I had never seen him. You
will pardon these details, monsieur,
for they are necessary to the story.
Well I found my way to the house
where lived Pere Jacques, and old
Marie met me at the door with her
apron at her eyes.
All, my dear, is it you? Eth, what
trouble we are all in! No, NJ lie Cure is
not at home-alas, no!'
She took me into one af the Cure
little rooms and made me eat some
thing, and gradually I found out what
had happened. A week before, an
official of the Commune had arrived
with four armed men, and having
searched the house in vain for arms or
evidence or Royalist plots, they had car
ried off my uncle as prisoner on the
ground that he had not taken the oath
of the civil constitution of the clergy,
which was demanded of all priests who
were public functionaries Marie did
not even know in which of the prisons
the old priest was confined; and in
any case, she said, it would be hard to
find him, for during the last few days
crowds of suspected people had been
thrown into the prisons, which were
now filled to overlooking.
This was sad news of Pere Jacques.
BY and by it occurred to me that if
could find my uncle Etienne, he would
perhaps be able to give me tidings of
his brother; SO mentioned him to
Marie, and asked if she knew his ad-
dress Up went her hands in horror.
What? You will not go near that
wretched man! He is no better than
priest of Satan-a Jacobin, Sanscu-
lotte, probably an ATHEIST, Why, he was
taken the clergy oath! have heard
people say that he is to be made one
of the constitutional bishops. Doubt
less he has a wife by this time. In any
case, he has taken the oath-that is
enough for met"
| laughed at Marie's indignation, for
did not look very seriously on the
matter of the oath. Indeed, at that
time I knew nothing about the oath
SeSAAA~
to see that it might not be taken by a
loyal Catholic. 1t did away with the
power of the Pope, and made priest
the merest servant of the State, just
like the postmen one sees about nova
days; they were just trying to make
France set up little church of her
own as your Henry the Eighth did in
England. So have read in the books
since, for am not without education.
But at that time had not even heard
that the oath had been condemned by
the Pope, and / know not if / should
have cared much then if had heard
it; and certainly I thought no worse
of the Able Etienne for having taken
it.
So I laughed and told Marie that she
was no true patriot, and having made
her give me the address, went off to