The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-02-14
Under these circumstances the at
tention of charitable souls is called to
this corner of China.
Continued from Page 81
SOLDIER AND SISTER.


his captain; the Christian Joseph
recognized the Sister of Charity.
After having contemplated him for
some moments, as a mother looks upon
her child, the Sister opened a napkin
which she carried, drew from it some
flowers, and spread them on the bed
of Joseph. The sick man thrilled, his
eyes sparkled, and his hands wandered
over the flowers, caressing them.
For the first time the Sister of Char
ity seemed to perceive me. Recog-
niZing in me an officer of the army, she
comprehended that we we're of the
same branch. Then, without preface,
she said to me-"Joseph was gar
dener before he entered the service. %
o! Cathedral of Paris! magnificent
accents of eloquence! illustrious audi
tory! I saw you again at this mo-
ment, and I thought of the spring of
heritage and of the insect
The genius of Michael Angelo, the
sublime eloquence of Bossuet, all the
human sciences, could they equal that
act of charity of that poor girl who in
tuitively felt that the flowers were
necessary for that dying gardener? No
doctor had printed that in his book,
no philosopher had counselled it, and
yet the Sister knew it. I had thought
she brought some balm to alleviate the
pains of the body, or some religious
discourses to direct the soul towards
heaven; I expected to find in her a
reflex Of the cares of the physician, or
the solicitude of the confessor; but in
stead Of the sciences, human or divine,
I found charity.
Surprised to meet there, in a hos
pital, that profound knowledge of the
heart and of the soul, thought that
the Sister was one of those select ma
lures who had fled the world, where
her place remained void.
With curiosity, mingled with inter.
est, observed Sister Martha. Grown
old by fatigue and labors, she seemed
to be forty years of age, but she was
scarcely thirty. Her wanness con.
trasted with an apparent and real
strength; as for the rest, in her per.
son there was nothing remarkable, il
it 'was not that almost etherealized
look, so pure and translucent, which
the painters of Italy give to their Ma
donnas, and then tone of voice sweet
but strangely melancholy.
Her large head-dress of dazzling
whiteness, her dark clothing, the chap
let suspended from her girdle, and he1
wooden crucifiX-in short, the whole
appearance and costume of the sister
are too well known for me to give
her the least description of them.
My unfortunate soldier was the pre-
text and the subject of a very short
conversation between the Sister and
me. l informed her that Joseph Meyer
had been one of my soldiers.
Like the soldier, the Sister of Char
ity had left her country to serve; he
also was the servant of the country
she the servant of the poor. Subjected
both to rude privations, to painful
labors, clad in coarsest materials
strangers both and for ever to the
riches of the science of the world
they passed their existence in sleep
less watches for society; the soldier
in the camp, the Sister in the hospital;
she kneeling by the bed of death, HI
standing on the frontier marches.
-
Twelve years after the time O
which 1 have just conversed with you
on June rs, 1S48, rapidly directed
my way with the battalions which
were confided to me, towards tn,
Hotel de Vile of Paris following, tn,
quays of the Seine. From the Pom
des Arts found only solitude; thicl
clouds of smoke raised themselve
slowly above Paris, and necessarily
renewing themselves, rested almos
immovable, GROWING the edifices
Frightful detonations of musketr,
were heard, and from minute to min
: ute the great voice of the canon mad
itself heard over all the tumult. At
distance the fatal call of the tocsil
responded to the roar of the artillery
We marched forward always withou
hearing a single human voice.
A merchant, whose snop was open
examined the space with an uneasy
eye and attentive ear; he said to me
Here it comes. Run, rum" Then the
merchant closed his house, and
heard the sound of the bolts and the
iron works Of the door.
The battle had taken it's most terri
BILE development. Very soon we were
in presence of the insurgents. Gen
eral Duvivier, who had just been NOR
tally wounded, and whom I saw, alas
for the last time, occupied the square
of the Hotel de Vile; behind him TIVE
pieces of artillery swept a street A
the entrance of the square, on thu
side of the river, battalion of youns
mobile guards, all bloody from it.
glorious combats of the day before
prepared itself for the attacks of thu
barricades which enclosed us NOR,
and more.
The spectacle of destruction coult
not be more complete. The houses
tumbled down, struck by the bullets
From those parts Of the walls which
still stood in the midst of the surge
of dust, human bodies living yet
} glided rapidly to be enshrouded unde
the rubbish. Some of these insurgent
; got up again, bruised, and seeking t,
| fee in the shadow to rejoin their &C
: completes.
Some cannon and fusees appeare,