The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-01-17

ing four. In these, Mr.. Norton had
expected that his wife and himself
would find consolation for their loss,
| and abundant comfort in their declin-
| ing years. But Mr.. Norton's hopes
| had gradually failed of realization, for
already three of the remaining four
had according to their fathers stand
| ards, occasioned him only disappoint-
ments, sad and very hard to bear.
James, the eldest, as likely lad as
! ever father could hope to have for a
| son, after having graduated from 10y
ola with high honors, and having fin
| ished course in medicine and sur
gerry with great distinction had land
| now follows the sad part) Immediately
taken up his life work in the tene-
| ment district-in the "slums," mark
| you.-of a far-away city. And, would
you believe it, he actually said he
liked the work, arguing that it fur
| nished him the greatest and best op-
portunities in the world to study nat
| ural human bodies and real diseases.
Because" he would assure you, the
| poor haven't the time or money for
artificial sicknesses," and besides,
| weren't their needs greater than those
| of the RICH, and "bother the poor pay,
| anyway" Which last remark on the
| part of the disappointing James had
more than once caused Mr.. Norton to
observe with something like grim sar-
casm that only physicians with rich
| fathers, such as James had, you know,
could afford to bother the poor pay"
| nor could he ever be forgiven (by his
| father, that isl for neglecting the best
| opportunities in the world for becom-
! ing distinguished in the medical
world. But James remained obdurate
and in the slums, and continued to
bother the poor pay, anyway
And there was Elinor who had
shamelessly married man who was
only a head clerk in her fathers es-
| Enlistment, a most excellent head
clerk-none better,-but hardly the
husband for Elinor Norton, as you
must admit
Then there was Francis, the great
est heartache of all. For this disobe-
dent child had taken a fanatical no.
ton to become a priest and had, ac-
cordingly, become one. Not that Mr..
Norton disapproved of priests! No,
indeed. Quite the contrary. He con-
sidered them the most necessary, the
most sacred and the most blessed of
| institutions; and he conceded that the
world needed a great many more of
| them, but he wanted them chosen
| from other mems sons. He had other
| plans for his own sons. Most of all,
he had other plans for the manly and
capable Francis, who was to have sue
| ceeded him in the business which he
had managed with such hard work and
painstaking industry to build up
| Mr.. Norton might in time have be-
come reconciled to Francis becoming
a priest had not that inconsiderate
young man insisted on becoming one
Of the poor missionary variety which
| had occasioned him to be sent to some
| hitherto unheard-of little town of no
| place way out in nowhere, which
never before had had resident pas
tor, and where Catholic priests and
! their tlocks were regarded with hos
tile disapproval and as menace to
Christian civilization and where Fran
| els himself must, consequently, come
to want amid a people who themselves
| had never known anything but want
| You can see for yourself that it was
a sad, sad situation. And following
so closely upon Mr.. Norton's dsap
pointment in James and Elinor, it had
occasioned that aggrieved parent the
| more poignant grief. 1t had even
| caused him to announce his intention
to never, no, never, encourage such
insanity by giving, or allowing his
family to give any material assistance
to Francis in his folly. (To be sure
| Mr.. Norton had literally paid fol
Francis education, but then you un
derstand, no Norton could be allowed
to be educated as pauper.) Not that
| Francis had even intimated that ma
terial assistance was either expected
! VI uSoA Su, OuC putting DetA OA Cut
assistance seemed to Mr. Norton the
supreme manifestation of his disap
prevail of the folly of his Youngest
and, alas! his well-beloved son.
Only Emma Ann, the baby, was left
him, and on her Mr. Norton had re-cen
| tered, so to speak, his remaining
hopes and Emma Ann had been petteC
and spoiled accordingly only to have
| that ungrateful child now take fancy
to leave it all, in order to offer her
self up in some kind of fanatical early
Christian immolation on some kind Of
leprOus altar of her own choosing
1t was as contrary to Mr.. Norton's
plans for his remaining child as the
conduct of all the others had been
Hence, that disappointed mans grie
over the situation as he outlined i
to the sympathetic pastor, Father
Darcy.
Il can't imagine where they all ge
it," he complained to that good man
Such notions of self-sacrifice!"
From their mother, perhaps" sug
gested Father Darcy, humorously.
But Mr.. Norton was far too worried
to appreciate the humor.~y
Il don't see why she can't be salts
fed to stay with us--marry somebod,
II she wants to, but stay with us. o,