The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-10-09

DonnelIy. You swore, swore solemn
ly and before Gods altar to take her
for your lawful wife, to cherish, love
and protect her till death. You made
the contract willingly and freely; you
fully the obligations you as
sumed. And yet after only four
months you threw her aside, deserted
her. The woman you had sworn to
shield and protect, you cast adrift
helpless and dishonoredH'
Father Mitchell's eyes flashed with
scornful indignation; Mooney shrank
back under the unexpected attack and
could only mutter sullenly, "She
showed too much attention to other
men and broke her word"
"Other men!" the priest broke in
sharply. "Stick to facts! It was only
one man. And did you give her a
chance to clear herself? No; you
were both accuser and Judge; you
condemned her without a hearing
Oh, but you are a just, fair-minded
man, Pat Mooney!
The withered sarcasm brought a
rush of blood to Moneys face, then
it receded, leaving only "a dull red
spot in either cheek.
''What business have you to inter-
fere?" he growled savagely.
Father Mitchell's eyes softened; the
tense lines about the lips relaxed and
his voice fell. go
"The ruin of two lives is too great
a price to pay for a little misunder-
standing. Pat, Pat, your hard-headed-
ness and blind jealousy almost cost
you one of the best helpmates God
ever made. Your wife wished to en-
ter into your life as much as possible,
so she attempted to learn baseball.
That was the reason she was so eager
to attend the games. OF evenings
you were too tired to teach her; be-
sides, baseball cannot be learned from
diagrams, as you know. And it was
you who asked Thomas to accompany
her. She threw her heart into the
task of learning rules and plays,
names and dates; she hewed her way
through the mazes of baseball slang.
Thomas was nothing to her; you were
her whole world. She eXnlted when
you won; she suffered when you
lost. She felt the applause or crit,
cism of the stands and bleachers more
keenly than you. And yet you aban'
doned her without word: you were
too self-centered to understand her
Your puny, jealous mind called up
suspicions; the devil knocked at the
door of your heart, whispering, She
is forgetting you; she loves Thomas.
You threw open the door and wei
coined the liar. Then you upbraided
her, tore her loyal soul with the iron
claws of groundless accusation; she
was so startled and hurt that she
could make no defense"
The priests words were not bit
ter; rather they tinged with sadness
MONEYS hands twitched and his face
worked convulsively. This light clear
ed up everything, except-he nerv
ously summoned his last black doubt
"She promised never to speak to
Thomas agaiR the next day saw
them walking along the street as
friendly as ever-s-"
aPromised!" The priest leaned for
ward impetuous1y. 'And did you ex
pect her to keep such a promise
Think, man! What could she dc
when he happened to meet her? Tie
knew nothing Of your suspicious
Would you have wished your wife to
say, 'Oh, Mr.. Thomas, I'm so sorry
but l may not walk with you. My
husband considers you sneak-he
believes that you are stealing my love
from him. So have promised not
to talk to you again Father Mitch
ellis delicious mim1cry was lost on
Mooney, who, seeing his last defense
dissolve and vanish, bowed his head
in his hands.
"She wrote you twice, explaining
all, but your bitterness impelled you
to burn the unopened letters, / sup
pose. Afterward, when your heart
yearned for her, your pride prevented
you from making advances"
MONEYS hands dropped in a ges
ture of despair: misery looked out
from his dry, hopeless eyes.
Its true; it's true. was a jeal
GUS fool and / didn't understand.
see it all now; but loved her SO;
wanted her all to myself"
They sat in silence.
A thrush, perched in a nearby
tree, chirped loudly for it's mate;
softly from the distance came the an
swer and it flew swiftly away. Moon
ey glanced quickly up at the priest
who hooded in return.
"The best man on earth cannot re
pay the devotion Of true woman's
love. Her heart may be bruised by
the hand that should caress and bless
it, and yet it will still remain faith
full. If you confess your laundering
weakness to Katherine she will doubt
less receive you back into the shelter
of her love-
Mooney leaped trembling to his feet
81 do not deserve it, / know; bu
after this"
Father Mitchell grasped the hand
which had been extended in heartfelt
gratitude. "May God prosper you
Only learn from your suffering tina
we can never fully understand thu
| rnntiunr rrhinh govern the acfinns q