The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-02-14
SOLDIER AND SISTER

One day, in the year 1886, solemn
silence reigned under the lofty acres
of Notre Dame de Paris. Thousands
! Of auditors, agitated, attentive, trou-
bled by the accents of a friar preacher,
held in their breath, sitting thus even
the pulsations of their hearts.
Leaning against one of the columns
of the edifice, I saw around me, hang
ing, as it were, on the lips of the
priest who spoke, the greatest and
most learned among the men, the
most spiritual among the women, the
most experienced among the old men,
the most distinguished among the
scholars.
The friar preacher conducted us, by
the charm of his words, into that
sphere from whence the soul, rocked
space, and sees beneath it all human
PHILOSOPHERS. The subject of the con-
ference was "The Means of Acquiring
Faith"
These words struck my mind, "The
religious science is learned by the
study of religious phenomena" The
shock of that idea was for me, as that
of the steel upon the flint which
brushes it-a brilliant sparkling.
I was under the impression, sorrow
| full, but at the same time pleasant,
that is given by new idea, piercing
an obscure doubt, and discovering
broad way of light, when formidable
| 1c oh +hn
preacher exclaimed, Insects of day,
lost under sprfg of heritage, we ex-
haust ourselves in vain reasonings; we
ask ourselves whence we came,
whittier we co.. The sprig of
heritage was the Cathedral of Paris,
the stately church of thousand years,
| important by the arts, immortal by
religion; the insect of day was that
French society, for ever renowned by
it's learning, by the splendor of it's
works, by it's riches and it's beauty.
The Able Lacordaire had sub
jugated my mind. The feeling of ad-
miration could not be carried farther.
The next day military duty led me
to the hospital. l went there to visit
poor soldier, my sergeant Of the
Spahis of Constantinople, and whom
a malady contracted in Africa, con-
Quoted slowly to death frightful and
immediate.
Science became powerless, and
passed inattentive, and without stop
by the pillow of the bed of my
trooper.
The family, absent, scattered, per-
haps brought to nought, had never
visited this solitary bed. Of friends
and comrades, none we're seen around
the bed of that man who came from
the earth; none here pronounced his
name, and they scarcely knew who he
was.
The number %, traced on a small
board, was fastened by nail to the
head of the bed of that man. Two
ciphers, which had served many a
time, which will serve many q time
again, distinguished this unfortunate
from the others.
1 had known him formerly full of
strength; joyous trooper, he enliv.
ened our marches; a brave soldier, he
bore life heartily. I liked him, and
had proved his attachment to me in
many perilous conjunctures.
Nevertheless, when stopped at the
foot of his bed, it seemed that he did
not know me. His eyes were fixed
upon me, but no intelligence beamed
from them; from his half-open lips,
immovable and dry, an irregular res.
piration, checked, escaped with diff
Guilty. His wasted hand. white and
the contact with mine.
At the aspect of that vast, silent
hall, inhabited by affliction, thought
of the immense Cathedral where the
day before I heard the voice of Pere
Lacordaire. This crowd of sick, whose
bodies and intelligence are almost
brought to nought made me think OF
that multitude of yesterday SO power
full and happy. The sprig of heritage
and the insect required to my memory
Pensively l regarded that man, and
confess, to my shame, the elevated
discourse Of the illustrious Christian
orator appeared to me insufficient.
asked myself, can genius descend
sufficiently nigh to the earth to touch
the sprig of heritage? and the look Of
the eagle, which is fixed upon the
? sun, can it, dazzled as it is by the
luminous rays, distinguish the insect
which dies under the blade of grass
I called to the sick man in louC
voice, but he remained deaf and i'm
movable.
His looks were always fixed OF
mine and all proved, nevertheless
that he saw me not. The soul still
inhabited his body, but it wa!
!. shrouded in the most secret recesses
, it withdrew itself there, so that Coz
: alone could find it again. The senses
> the interpreters of the soul, were al
!. asleep.
? A noise, light as that of the lea
4 futtered by the breeze, came to me
:. That almost imperceptible sound
y which I scarcely perceived, made tn
i sick man start; his eyes turneC
q towards it, his face frightened, hi
lips sought to smile, and the bloot
circulating in his veins, carried tn
life to his hands, which crossed them
: selves on the breast.
My look followed his, and I say