The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-10-06
THE SISTERS cRUcIFIx.

'You poor fellow, is that all they
sent your" muttered a tall, thin,
swarthy lad as he caught sight of the
contents of a small box which Jack
Murray had just torn open. 1t bore
an American postmark, and the two
pieces of stout brown paper with
enough Irvine to- tie securely a pack
age twice the size and weight, showed
that the sender valued the contents
and was quite anxious that it arrive
in good condition.
who sent you that stuff?' inquired
the third member of the group, with
a sheer.
No answer. came back, but witch
in Jacks face gave evidence that he
was displeased After removing each
of the four, small articles and exam
lining them carefully, he put his hand
into the narrow leather bag and drew
out a small white card. Twice, yes,
three times he read it before putting
it into his pocket.
Lets see it, said the first
speaker, scented with violet, I'll bet
a hat"
Jack was still silent. In fact, a
little moisture could have been seen
in his eyes, but for the fact that his
companions were standing against the
side of the trench, while Jack was
seated on the cover of a box, for the
ground was yet wet from yesterdays
heavy rain.
By this time, several other soldiers
joined the little group. 1t was just
after dinner and most Of them were
rear trench. and in a place where
there had been little activity for four
or five, days, a liberal recreation had
been given after each meal.
The attention of ! the newcomers
had been called to the open package,
and just as the owner was about to
put the little articles away in the
box, an outstretched hand indicated
that one of the boys, at least, was
anxious to examine the contents
Lets see that cross" he said, point
ing to a crucifX. This reminds me
of the Sisters hospital at. home.'
The speaker was not Catholic, in
fact, he was the only non-Catholic in
the crowd. six years ago. he con-
tinued, Il had bad case of erysipe-
las. | never thought would get over
it. Our family physician was attend
ing me, and he said that I must be
removed to a hospital. But the diff
Guilty was to find one that would take
me. We tried the City Hospital 1t
did not really belong to the city but
to corporation of doctors. / think
it got an appropriation, though. But
they refused to handle my case.
Finally, application was made to a
Catholic Hospital. That afternoon
they sent their ambulance to the
house, and / was hustled off. They
told me that | was delirious for three
days; all l remember is that one fine
day | saw a Sister at the side of my
bed and | felt something pressing
lightly against my lips. | inquired
what it was and the Sister showed
me one of these crosses.
Just then the young man stopped
his narrative, kissed the crucifix,
gave it back to Jack, and turned
away. AS he walked down the
trench, his hand felt for a handker-
chief that was partly sticking out Of
his back pocket and quickly brought
it to his eyes. No one said word
and the crowd dispersed.
That evening. after supper, the
same group, as if by agreement,
gathered together. After a lively
conversation and swapping of stories,
Jack turned to the Protestant mem
Der and said, by The way, how long
we're you in that hospetal?'
This renewed the narrative, and in
the course of the story there was not
one word of interruption. Each
listened most earnestly and more than
one throat felt the lump that wouldn't
stay down. Among other things that
impressed the boys was the reference
to the fidelity Of the Special who