The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-10-17

you have only to see my mistress and
you will love her It would be so
quiet and peaceful here for her. The
hotel where we are now staying is
dreadfully noisy. She came to M
to consult "a specialist 1of whom we
had heard, but I haven't much hope
for her. It's heart trouble, you see,
and did think If she were here with
Catholics around her, she might turn
to our Faith for consolation. %
"She has known sorrow, them" the
Religious questioned, besides her i'll
ness ?" :; 60 Z. - t.EAAn~'
"Ah, yes; such sorrow" came the
quick response, land yet it has not en-
Filtered her. She is. most sweet and
kind, but she has no faith"
The Sister was considering the mat
ter carefully, ''The Child" she OBJ
jected, would, be q disturbance in a
convent" arg qe, -
mo-" Martha assured her, "the lit
tie one is so good, SO quiet-and j, of
course, would walton them and care
for them. They would not trouble the
dear Sisters one, particle" s,. II
Very well, they may come" Mother
Theresa responded slowly, "hut this
lady's husband, how lis it he does not
accompany herr" tr...4 s,s, @
HE is away" the girl explained.
Perhaps" she continued slowly, evil
IDENTIFY carefully weighing her words,
''it would be as well not to mention
her husband to Mrs. Lorraine. She
is anxious about him, at present"
The nun assented, and then took
Martha to see the rooms she could
place at her mistress disposal.
Dusk had fallen when, escorted by
the faithful Martha, Alice Lorraine
arrived at the convent, weary, of life,
fearful of death; with shattered h., pes
and broken health and heart. An in
definable pathos in her delicate beau
ty, the charm of her rare smile, the
caressing softness of her voice, COM
bined with perfect. courtesy of manner,
won for her at once the loving hom-
age of the gentle nuns of St, Mary's.
To all overtures she responded gra-
ciously and sWeetly, but there was al
ways about her certain aloofness,
and in her beautiful, soft eyes the
shadow of some brooding sorrow.
Before Mrs. Lorraine could see the
heart specialist there were some few
days Of waiting, but at last the day ar
rived, and she went with Martha to
his Office, which was, close by. Her
questions elected nothing definite from
him; he must place her under regular
treatment and only time would tell
whether or not. he could benefit her.
Days passed. and. she. became only
thinner and paler. The convent was
very peaceful, for it was vacation
time. Alice. grew to love, the place
very dearly, especially the stiffness,
and the quaintness Of the convent gar
den, where she spent long hours, her
little child playing happily beside her.
Then, without warning, came one Of
the terrible heart attacks, and the
specialist was summoned. When he.
left, the parexysm was over, but she
was lying on her couch, pale and weak.
The doctor, when. outside the door,
told Martha grayely, that there was
no hope for her MISTRESS she would
rally from this attack, but in all prob.
ability, the next one would prove fatal.
Hiding her sorrow, Martha returned
to her mistress, staying with her until
she had fallen asleep; then she went
10 ~ i1v ri 1clr pdU
Should she tell her mistress of. the
doctors verdict? The nun advised
her not to do so for the present, as
it might retard her recovery. Then,
knowing Alice Lorraine had little or
no religion, the whole Community set
itself to praying for the conversion
of their gentle guest, adyihg, as she:
was, with no Faith to uphold her, with
out the Cross to strengthen her, and
no beautiful Christ Presence entering
within her heart. ,aoa2 = o.! .tn=s5 1.
Mrs. Lorraine recovered somewhat,
slowly growing stronger again. One
morning, when Mother Theresa
stopped at her door with. pleasant
greeting, the invalid inquired if she
was at leisure to- talk for while.
You have been SO good to me" Alice
said, when the nun was seated. Il
want you to know that l appreciate
it all-the kindness, the attention,
everything" .&as:t Il. t.Ez>T
Il wish we could do more" the other
responded sincerely, 1--WE have all be-
Of >.
Thank you,'' Alice said,, with one Of
her f1eeting smiles, and, then continued
slowly: do you know, u am afraid l
am never going to get well Certain
ly it is obvious that. Am not improv-
ing, so / have been thinking that. as
soon as l am strong, enough it is best
that / go home. If death is coming
there are many things must attend
to, especially | must arrange for my
little ones future.
Mother Theresa breathed prayer
before answering, st lis we'll indeed
to be prepared for DEATH" The
Mothers voice softened. 1--WE do not
know when it may come to any Of
us, though we need not fear it be
cause of our Lord Jesus Christ"
But / do fear it. q little" Alice
humbly acknowledged. and Jesus
Christ lived such a long time ago.
Sometimes it has seemed strange to
me that Christ, so good and holy as
He was, stayed such a little while on
earth. Do we not need Him as much
today?" ..es <EY aE W