The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-04-11

adventures IN places far remote from
that metropolis of the Western world
A glimmer Of light would come into
his eyes when they let fall quite
casually the names of Cape of Good
| Hope, Tangiers or Tripoli, Pekin or
Rio Janeiro, Melbourne, or Constan-
| tinople.
The Turk made no effort to join in
the conversation-only let his eyes
wander from one speaker to another.
The sailor in the bed on either side
of him told how the Turk spoke or
prayed aloud, in his own language, to
Allah, or muttered strange words
which he had heard in far other
scenes. The Sister in the ward gave
the man, if anything, a little more
attention than the rest, through pity
for the dark-browed alien, so lonely
and forlorn, who had come to for
eign land to die. For dying he GER
tainly was. Human skill had ex-
hausted it's resources, although the
case had attracted the attention of
the doctors, and sometimes two or
three of them gathered in earnest con-
sultation about his bed.
The other patients noted that when
the Sister was in the ward, the dark
eyes always followed her, with an ex-
preston of reverence and of wonder;
and her garb-a simple gown of gray,
| with black cape and veil and silver
cross-seemed to excite an almost
awe-stricken attention. The Sister al
ways gave him an intention in her
prayers, and Holy Communion, espe-
cially as the end drew near, and the
physicians declared that death might
be hourly expected. 1t distressed her
to feel that he was passing out from
her ward into eternity without any
other preparation than those muttered
invocations which his neighbors re-
ported, though she realized they were
an effort toward the best that he
knew.
One dull autumnal afternoon, as
the early darkness was beginning to
fall over the ward, and the sunset
over the river was deepening from
dull amber into purple, the Sister sat
at her desk near one of the windows,
busted with some reports she was
making out for the doctor, and, in her
economical fashion, waiting as long
as possible to turn on the light. The
CLEAN from the western window still
enabled her to see every object in the
room very distinctly; and her eyes
wandered occasionally from one bed
to another, lest any of the patients
might require her attention.
Such tender, willing service as she
| God could inspire! Her eyes, in their
scrutiny of the room, suddenly met
those of the Turk, which had some
thing pleading and pitiful in their ex-
preston. She thought, too-or was it
the dim shadows of the twilight
that a change had passed over the
mans face In answer to a slight
gesture of entreaty which he made
her, she rose hastily and went to his
| bedside.
What is it, my poor mani" she
inquired Are you feeling worse?"
THAT matters not now," he an
swered in his hating fashion. Il have
long been sailor man, where death
was near on the ocean. fear it not"
His voice sank, and the Sister
waited She saw that he had some
thing to say Finally, he went on in
broken and disjointed fashion:
"You and the other Sisters are
angels, not women. I want to belong
] to a religion that has made you so.
l want to belong to that religion, >
and he pointed to the silver cross
upon her breast
"Oh," said the Sister, 81 am so glad!
l have prayed so hard for this! will
go and get the chaplain at once"
The chaplain came, and the screen
was drawn around the two. 1t did
not take so long, after all, even in the
mans slow and difficult English, to
relate the story of life; and the
priest afterward declared that he was
astonished and edited at the mans
good will and excellent sentiments, as
we'll as the knowledge he had ac-
| uuired of the Catholic religion. He
spoke more than once of the cross
which the Sister wore, and expressed