The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1916-08-19


male ward, and the poor creatures
were sitting or standing in little
groups under the portico. Oh! what
contrast they presented to the gay
multitude of pleasure seekers that
thronged the Prado, only a few stone
throws Distant A Sister came for
ward and offered to show us through
the institution. We thanked her kind
ly, but declined to go farther Some
thing about her accent and appearance
aroused our curiosity; for she spoke
in perfect English, and her features
seemed to indicate a different nation
atty from that of those about her. We
made bold to enquire where she was
born. I'm from Ireland, Father" she
replied. Even now those words still
ring in our ears. The day before We
had visited the convent school in the
Vedado, the fashionable suburb of Ha-
vana. We had thought the lot of the
Sisters there hard enough, teaching in
monotonous climate and far from
their homes, for they were Americans.
! But what was their sacrifice to that Of
this Irish nun! They enjoyed the So
ciety of those of their own land, and
their charges were interesting, bright
eyed Spanish girls of the weather.
class. Her society, however kindly
disposed, was alien to her, and her
charges the most abject of humanity.
The nuns of the Vedado could look
journey after at most, three or four
years; but this poor victim of charity
| would have no vacation, at least in the
accepted meaning of the term, nor
! would she ever bid the top O. the
morning to her beloved Irish coast.
She seemed to us the very personifica-
ton and epitome of that spirit of SELF
sacrifice that has moulded the lives of
so many of her race.
! But the Irish of the old land enjoy
no monopoly of this spirit. We were
| oWu4 . VI tuO 1OCO4u VI JuO D1OCC0C VI
Pembroke which had won for it the
appellation of Nursery of the sane
tuary and of the cloister;" but did
not expect to find it's religious chill
drcn in the land of the royal palm.
Yet we encountered in convent at
Cienfuegos a young lady from the
| banks of the Mattawa. Again at San
tiago, when we enquired if there were
any English speaking ecclesiastics in
the city, we were told that there was
a Jesuit Father at the College who
could speak English, and that there
was Canadian Christian Brother
teaching in community of French
religious that had been recently exileo
from their own land. We decided to
meet the latter and enjoyed his COM
pany during the greater part of our
sojourn in that oldest of new-world
cities. He talked of his work, of the
apparent fruitlessness of it, of the in
stability of the Cuban character, and
of the great number of students that
failed to persevere in the practice of
their religion after leaving school.
Yet he was content to labor and leave
the rest to God. But the natural man
in him longed for the day when he
would be recalled to his northern
home. He accompanied us to the ship,
and talked of Canada and of his con-
| frnpoo fhorn fho
whistle blew.
AS we sailed out of the harbor, past
Moro Castle, whose grim walls had
looked down more than two centuries
and half ago upon the galleons of
Spain, many memories were awakened
within us. We thought of Columbus,
who landed here in 1892; of Valas-
quez, who founded here just four CEN
turtles ago the site of the first episco-
pal see in the western world; of Cor
tez, who sailed from here to conquer
the Aztec empire We remembered,
too, but not with the same degree of
interest, Cervera and San Juan. But
these thoughts were merely superb
cial. Deep down we were meditating
upon our own recent experience; and
that night, when the Captain pointed
out to us the constellation of stars,
that is known as the Southern Cross,
we were thinking of another cross
that is borne by so many friends of
F1:s, all unknown to us, in every part
of the world.-"The Cleaner" in Cath
clio Record.