The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-03-31


passed over her countenance which,
unknown to her. seemed to reflect the |
emotions of her heart
All this was going on in Cologne. In
the meantime, in far off Toxic, when
ever the white veil of Sister Marie ap-
peared approaching along the pathway
between rows of jasmines and roses
up to the entrance of the Wendes man.
sion, o Fana would hasten out to her
friend, seize her hand and give way to
every expression of joy.
Come in, Sister, she would say
"COme in and see my little Cherry
Blossom. He is asleep, and over his
cradle hang large punches of grapes.
change them every day.; today, the
carnations watch over his sleep; to-
morrow, when he opens his eyes, the
apple blossoms will be smiling down
on his tiny features. My darling loves
the flowers even as his mother. Per-
haps in former life o Fana was a
flower. Would not you love, after
death, to be changed into a beautiful
camelia? You would be culled by the
gentle hands of some fair damsel, YOU
would repose on the breast of some
beautiful matron, and the pious would
offer you up to the blessed gods,
among hymns and clouds of perfumed
incense"
Sister Marie could not but smile at
this childish ingenuity.
why do you laugh? You also love
everything white. Why do you wear
white veil? Is it not fair and pure as
the camelia?"
''The white veil of the Catholic nun
is symbolical of the purity she ought
to preserve within her soul. BE seat
ed, o Fana; where is the life Of Jesus
that l gave you?"
''It is here she answered, drawing
the book from the ample sleeves of
her kimono. Even your God loved
children, flowers, the birds and the
| fields, the golden sheaves and the blue
vault Of heaven. Had | but lived dur
ing the lifetime of Jesus | would have
loved him much, and l would have fol-
tine. But why did he have to die upon
a cross? Oh! He should have lived
forever with us to quaff the nectar of
immortality brought down to lis by the
divine Kaeuya."*
open the book, o Fana, and you
| will learn why Jesus wished to die on
| the cross. If he had not died crucified
| the divine love would not have come
down to earth from heaven to unite
the great human family in the bonds
of Christian charity
o Fana read the Life of Jesus Christ
and as occasion presented itself Sister
| Marie explained the dogmas Of our
faith. Of an intellect naturally keen
| and broad, 0 Fana found not the
slightest difficulty in mastering the
teachings of faith; but having her
mind filed with the fables and super
stitions of the Japanese mythology,
she would easily confound the two,
and thus her ideas often presented a
singular medley. This somewhat re-
tarded her progress in the search after
| truth
what is Henry doing at this mo-
| ment?" she would often eXclaim, in
| the midst of conversation or reading.
Perhaps he is busy writing you a
beautiful letter." the Sister would an
| swer with a smile You know at this
hour it is night in Germany"
| ooh! Sister, wait a moment, and see
what tender letter l received from
him yesterday" The good girl would
run to find Henrys latest epistle, and,
returning, would show it to the nun,
| then place it upon her head in sign of
reverence, and finally with the utmost
| ingenuity would read it aloud, adding
her own annotations in the naivest
manner possible.
| On these occasions the good nun
would take real delight in showing her
appreciation of the fidelity manifested
to his wife by this young man thou
sands of miles away. But dark clouds
now began to gather over the head of
| the innocent o Fana
| During the first three months after
his departure Wendes wrote to his
wife every week, and hence she re-
ceived a letter every time the Euro
pean mail arrived. In the fourth
month the letters became less fire.
quent. This filled the breast of the
young spouse with mortal terror, and
the dark clouds of suspicion and doubt
that from time to time o'ershadowed
her soul found but weak resistance.
Her former certainty that he would
return was now changed into doubt,
and this cast her into the deepest des-
pair. Seeing that the letter did not
arrive she made inquiries at the post
office, and then, almost beside herself,
fastened down towards the sea, and
gazed wistfully at the dark blue waves,
the bare rocks and the pleasant green
hills that everywhere dotted the shores
of the bay Thence she hurried to the
Office of Mayer, and demanded point
blank:
when will my husband return?'
'Now, be calm, and watt he an
swered. How often must / tell you?
In five or six months he will be
| here"
Eyes, but he has not written to me