The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-01-16
Continued from Page g.
CONTRASTS.

''Take away your idol! don't want
any superstitious, old Womans ideas"
She kept her eyes closed, stopped her
ears with her hands and turned her
face to the wall.
The priest took one last look at the
unfortunate creature whispered
Hopeless" and slowly walked from
the room, followed by DR.. Herrick.
who is she, Doctor?" he asked.
:, "a society girl named Gwynn. A
girl popular in a certain set, abso-
lutely independent, never brooks in
reference, living simply natural ex-
istence, believing nothing in the sup
ernatural or the hereafter, cold
blooded, materialistic beauty"
What Gwynns are they, Doctor?
The ones who live at Greenwood
Hill?" ,gs
THE same. Dohg0n know them?"
Il know them well, Doctor said
the priest. ''I knew her father, an
Irish rover and her mother, butter
fly He was a Catholic once, she a
Baptist Blood will tell, Doctor
well, wish old Oliver were here
unused the surgeon.
"Who is Oliver and why?"
+ "Old Oliver Wendell Holmes. His
theory would not hold in this case,
but he might do something"
What was his atheory?' asked the
priest. .s.s
Holmes says in Over the Tea
Cups IF Cowper had been a Roman
Catholic instead of having his con-
science handled by a Protestant like
John Newton, he would not have died
despairing, looking upon himself as a
castaway. have seen good many
Roman Catholics on their dying beds,
and it always appeared to me that
they accepted the inevitable with a
composure which showed that their
belief, whether or not the best to live
by, was better one to die by than
most of the broader creeds which
have replaced it.
Holmes was right in his opinion.
wonder how he died?" commented
the priest, as he shook hands with
the Doctor and went into the night.
Doctor Herrick went back to the sick
room. The nurse was still watching.
At the foot of the bed sat the black
robed Sister of Mercy, silently saying
the Rosary and asking God for mercy.
"Why don't you get me out of here,
Doctor?" whispered the sick one"
81 can't do anything" he replied;
you won't do anything yourself,
Miss Gwynn, and | am going to be
frank. You are not going to leave
here very soon. You are paralyzed.
You won't ever walk again"
1t was not very pleasant to say it,
but he found that it was useless to
deceive her any longer.
At the sentence she screamed: 81
am not going to die. I won't die.
Why, am not ready to die. ] have
engagements to keep. Look at me. |
am strong, can ride, can hunt and
fish and dance. Why, man, You are
crazy. 1 have a table engaged for
New Years night at the Ritz Hotel"
You won't dine at the Ritz on next
New Years night, Miss Gwynn," he
remarked.
Where will / diner
Il can't say. l don't know"
From the foot of the bed, the soft
whispers of the nun we're heard:
Holy Mary, pray for us sinners, now
and at the hour of our death
Nun, stop that praying! This is
not the hour of death. I won't die!"
she commanded the Sister.
The nun continued to pray in sill
ence. The nurse tried to soothe the
fevered brow. The doctor sat for a
moment at the bedside. The patient
screamed:
Oh your cowardice! You are
no doctor,-you are a fool. Nurse, you
are an idiot and that creature there,
pointing to the nun, is silly. You
are all playing a part. There is no
need to pray to God-there is no God
If there were-1 and all was silent.
The surgeon jumped up, grasped
her pulse, quickly applied the stethe-
scope, and said, She knows now
whether there is a God or not"