California 
 
 gional 
 
 3ility
 
 -4.8C 
 
 J
 
 THE 
 
 DURING HIS STAY IN INDIA. 
 
 BY 
 
 FATHER GEORGE WEN 
 
 PRINTED AT THE "EXAMINER PRESS." MEDOWS STREET, FORT. 
 
 1883-
 
 IMPRIMATUR. 
 < L. MEURIN, S. J., 
 
 Bishop of Ascalon, Vicar Apostolic of Bombay.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE object the author has in view in publishing 
 this little book is to place in the hands of young 
 soldiers, who have to serve in India, a friendly adviser, 
 a good companion and guide. 
 
 By way of introduction, an old Soldier tells his story, 
 how, in his time, men were enlisted and came out to 
 this country. Things are now quite different, and 
 greater advantages attend the young soldier under 
 existing circumstances than in the time of the old 
 East India Company. 
 
 Since the Troopships have begun to pass through 
 the Suez Canal, the danger and tediousness of a voyage 
 round the Cape has disappeared. On their arrival at 
 Bombay, men are now better cared for, and, within a 
 short space of time, they find themselves comfortably 
 lodged in a military station. 
 
 What the author writes about the Bombay Pre- 
 sidency may be applied also to the other Presiden- 
 cies. The] first Chapters of the book are intended 
 to lay the foundation for a good Christian life. 
 The Chapter on Temperance and Temperance Societies 
 is an important one for young and old soldiers alike. 
 We next accompany the soldier through the various 
 phases of his life in India : in hospital, in prison, and 
 at school, and point out to him the many opportu-
 
 IV 
 
 nities of self-improvement he possesses ; the use he 
 can make of his time and of his money. The married 
 quarters, which are styled ' Patcheries' in India, are 
 not so numerous now as they were ten years ago, 
 before the introduction of the Short-Service system. 
 However, mention had to 1 be made of the married 
 soldier's state, of his wife, and life in the Patcherie, 
 and also of his children. 
 
 Old soldiers are getting scarce now. But it is a fact, 
 that in many military stations they once formed the 
 best and steadiest part of our congregations. After 
 having led a dissolute life in their younger days, they 
 turned over a new leaf, (at least a good many of them). 
 Long and sad experience had taught them the right 
 road. These were the men who attended at the 
 evening devotions with great regularity ; went to Holy 
 Communion every month; were enrolled in the Con- 
 fraternity; were generous in their subscriptions to 
 Chapels and Schools; and kept away from the Canteen 
 and from all those places, whence their misfortunes 
 once originated. Almost all of them were natives of 
 the Emerald Isle, most of them illiterate, but staunch 
 Catholics, strong in their faith, who showed great 
 respect for their clergy. And so were the Irishwomen, 
 who still taught their daughters to courtesey to the 
 Priest, as they had learned to do from their own 
 parents in Ireland. 
 
 However, these remarks do not imply that young 
 soldiers are all wanting in piety. On the contrary, we
 
 witness in these days many heroic actions of piety and 
 penance done by young men in the ranks. As a rule, 
 they have had tlu advantage of a better education, 
 and have been br* ught up in one of those institutions 
 which, through the exertions of the English and Irish 
 Bishops, have been established in London, Liverpool, 
 Manchester, Glasgow, and many other towns in 
 England and Scotland, where Irish families are 
 numerous. Some of them have enlisted, because they 
 thought that such was their vocation ; some have run 
 away from school and home to seek out the Recruiting 
 Sergeant, by whom they have been relieved from 
 present troubles. Such young men must be well cared 
 for. By instruction, advice, and a little encourage- 
 ment given to them with kindness and affection by a 
 zealous Chaplain, they will become and remain good 
 Catholics. 
 
 The young soldier is a stranger in this country, 
 and perhaps during his whole stay he has no true friend 
 to advise him. Thus, he is exposed to all kinds of 
 dangers, surrounded by many occasions of sin; and when 
 he once gets into bad company and used to bad 
 habits, he cannot easily extricate himself. The Priest 
 must be to him in the place of a parent ; and it 
 can be proved by facts that the exertions of a sym- 
 pathizing Priest have, in many cases, been crowned 
 with great success. 
 
 It is but natural that such men, who spend only 
 Jour or five years in India, should not look on this
 
 VI 
 
 country as their home, and should constantly long for 
 the day of their return to Europe; nevertheless a 
 great deal of good can be done for them even during 
 the short period of their stay. In the military ser- 
 vice they have learnt habits of regularity, obedience 
 to orders, and have had also opportunities afforded to 
 them to improve their spiritual and temporal welfare. 
 Many go back to Europe completely changed, and 
 settle in life there under the most favourable circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Should this little book chance to fall into the hands 
 of Catholic soldiers at Aldershot or Woolwich, who 
 are under orders for India, the perusal of it will give 
 them the most desirable information and warn them 
 to be on their guard during their future career. 
 
 Each Chapter ig illustrated by examples, all of 
 which are real facts, many of them having been 
 brought to the author's notice during the last fifteen 
 years, during which he has been engaged in adminis- 
 tering to the spiritual wants of soldiers in several 
 Stations of the Bombay Presidency. 
 
 There are also several extracts from Butler's 
 "Lives of the Saints." especially in Chapter V., cer- 
 tain critical notices which do not concern the ordinary 
 soldier having been left out. Soldiers not unfre- 
 quently find such books as " Lives of the Saints "
 
 VII 
 
 tedious ; but they will take interest in short examples 
 from the lives of holy men, who have distinguished 
 themselves in the military profession. 
 
 CATHOLIC SOLDIERS, 
 
 Here then is a friend of yours. He wishes to be your 
 guide and companion during your stay in India. You 
 may have many other friends at home and abroad, 
 but not every one you meet is a sincere, true friend. 
 Many persons are your friends only as long as they 
 can expect something from you, but in time of need, 
 just when you are in want of their assistance, they for- 
 sake you. This is an every-day occurrence. It 
 happened long ago to holy Job, as we read in the 
 Bible. You may take it as a sure sign, then, that 
 a man is your real friend when he perseveres and 
 assists you in your troubles, in the hour of distress. 
 False friends, deceitful companions, are often met 
 with ; such, I mean, as lead you to sin. A comrade 
 who takes you to the Canteen, [and causes you to 
 become intoxicated ; another who employs bad lan- 
 guage ; another who induces you to gamble ; or one 
 who shows you the most wicked places in the bazaar ; 
 all these are false friends who, under the cover of 
 friendship, bring about the ruin of your soul and 
 body, and thus injure your eternal and temporal wel- 
 fare. 
 
 Now, listen ! A true friend, a sincere companion, a 
 valuable guide presents himself to you in the shape of
 
 VIII 
 
 thia little book. Read the good advice and stick to 
 it. There are different instructions here, which arc 
 calculated to enlighten you on certain very important 
 subjects, and you will notice many hints concerning 
 your religious and military duties. Take advantage of 
 them ! They are meant for you particularly ! 
 
 Kirkee, THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Feast of St. George, 1883.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 1. The Military Profession ............ 1 
 
 2. The llecruit .................. 2 
 
 3. Starting for India .................. 4 
 
 ., 4. Arrival in Bombay, thirty-six years ago ...... 5 
 
 II. 
 
 . 1. In a Military Station ............... 7 
 
 2. The Library .................. 8 
 
 3. On Joining the Confraternity ............ 13 
 
 4. The Rosary .................. IK 
 
 ,,5. The Catholic Soldier's Evening Devotions ....... -0 
 
 in. 
 
 . 1. On Temperance .................. 23 
 
 5,2. On Temperance Societies ............ 36 
 
 3. Bombay E. C. Temperance Society ......... 45 
 
 . 1. The Soldier's Salvation ............ 50 
 
 ., 2. The Soldier in mortal sin ............ 57 
 
 3. The Soldier's Death and Particular Judgment ... G4 
 
 4, The Soldier fearing Hell ............ 70 
 
 5. The Mercy of God .................. 78 
 
 Easter Duty ........................ 89 
 
 CHCA.FTEIS 'VI- 
 
 Calendar of Soldier Saints ............... 102 
 
 St. Sebastian ..................... 105 
 
 The Forty Martyrs of Scbaste I ............... I 0(i 
 
 Saint George Martyr .................. **1 
 
 Pachomius Abbot .................. 114 
 
 Julius, M ...................... n9
 
 X INDEX 
 
 S. S. Basilides, Quirinus or Gyrinus, Nabor & Nazarius, PAGE. 
 
 Martyrs ............ ......... 120 
 
 Saint Jerom of Acrnilian, C ............. ... liO 
 
 Victor of Marseilles, M ................ 122 
 
 Romanus, M, .................. 126 
 
 Julian, M ...................... 126 
 
 Adrian, M ...................... 127 
 
 Ferreol, M ...................... 128 
 
 Maurice and his Companions ......... ... 130 
 
 Marccllus the Centurion, Martyr ...... ... 134 
 
 Theodorus, surnamed Tyro M. ... ......... 13G 
 
 Martin, A. D. 397 .................. 139 
 
 . 3. A modern example of a saintly soldier, Joseph Louis 
 
 Guerin ..................... 142 
 
 VII. 
 
 . 1. The Soldier in Hospital ............... 148 
 
 2. Care of the Body .,. ........ : ...... 150 
 
 ., 3. Care of the Soul .................. 151 
 
 ., 4. How to spend Leisure-Hours ......... ... 154 
 
 5. The Chaplain's Visit ............... 15G 
 
 6. The Last Rites of the Church ............ 158 
 
 7. An Incident of Indian Life ............ 1G4 
 
 -VIII. 
 
 . 1. The Soldier in trouble ............... 175 
 
 ,,2. Behaviour whilst in Prison ... ......... 179 
 
 ,,3. On being rclensed from Prison ............ 182 
 
 I22U 
 
 The Soldier's Self-Improvement ............... 184 
 
 . 1. The Workshops .................. 185 
 
 2. The Regimental School ............... 190 
 
 The use a Soldier can make of his money ......... 198
 
 INDEX XI 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 1. The Soldier who wants to get married ......... 207 
 
 2. On Impurity ..................... 209 
 
 3. Choice of a Wife .................. 221 
 
 4. On Mixed Marriages ............... 227 
 
 OIEI^IPTEiR XII. 
 
 . 1. The Soldier's Wife and Life in the Patcherie ...... 234 
 
 2. Three days in the Patcherie after arrival from Europe 239 
 
 CHIA.FTEK XIII. 
 
 The Soldier's Children . . 251
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1. The Military Profession. 
 
 The military profession is a very honourable one ; 
 this is proved by the fact that many heroes have ber 
 longed to it, and distinguished themselves as soldiers, 
 in fighting for God, religion and country. Those 
 who are called to this state of life should live in it aa 
 it behoves a true Christian soldier. For, 
 
 It is a Profession esteemed by Heaven. 
 
 Almighty God Himself, seems to be well pleased 
 with it. In the Bible He calls Himself the " Lord of 
 Hosts," that is, of Armies. The very Angels have 
 served in His armies, when under the leadership of the 
 blessed Michael the Archangel they fought against 
 Lucifer, conquered him, and cast him into Hell. At 
 least such is the image under which this event in 
 God's creation is represented. In the course of time 
 Angels frequently helped the Israelites, and Christian 
 armies also, to conquer their enemies. Nay, St. Luke 
 (n. 13), calls the Angels who appeared to the She- 
 pherds during the first Christmas night, " a multitude 
 of the heavenly host." 
 
 The Military Profession is also esteemed 
 ly the Catholic Church. 
 
 The Church, our mother, loves all her children 
 alike, to whatever state of life they belong ; but at the
 
 same time she esteems the military state in a particu- 
 lar manner, because she is much indebted to it for 
 having defended and propagated the faith in many 
 countries. Who is able to name all the soldiers, 
 who have shed their blood for the Church, during the 
 persecutions of the first centuries? Sebastian, Eustach, 
 Mauritius, George, Porphyry, and many hundreds of 
 other saints are patterns worthy of the imitation of 
 all Christian soldiers. 
 
 The Military Profession is esteemed by the World. 
 
 It is the school of courage ; it is the birth-place of 
 heroes. The oldest and noblest families owe all their 
 grandeur, in most cases, to this profession, in which 
 their ancestors distinguished themselves. Even kings 
 and princes have sprung from this state of life. If 
 you have embraced it. show yourselves worthy of this 
 dignity by good morals and a Christian behaviour ia 
 the barracks and field alike. 
 
 2. The Recruit. 
 
 Listen to what an old soldier says, who comes from 
 Ireland, and has had long experience of the military 
 profession, both at home and here in India. Between 
 the spring and harvest time in Ireland there is 
 always a dead lock both in town and country, amongst 
 tradesmen, and labourers, and small farmers' sons espe- 
 cially, who are toiling from morning till evening on 
 a small piece of land that will barely yield enough to
 
 pay the rent. These poor fellows go to some fair for a 
 day's pleasure, and enter a dancing booth or tent to 
 enjoy themselves. " I was among such people," says 
 the old soldier, "when we met the Recruiting Ser- 
 geant with his party. He told us that soldiering was 
 much easier than labouring. One of us took the 
 Queen's shilling and, of course, his chum must take it 
 too ; some fellows got the shilling slipped into their 
 pockets and did not know a word about it till next 
 morning, when they cried themselves sick at the 
 thought of leaving a helpless family behind them. 
 Indeed, most of the tradesmen and students, who give 
 themselves up to the Recruiting Sergeant regret it 
 afterwards, when they are ground down by the Bar- 
 rack discipline, though they invariably make good 
 soldiers. There are also a number of commercial tra- 
 vellers, and attorneys' clerks, discharged for drunken- 
 ness or dishonesty ; ticket-of-leave men, also, who on 
 similar occasions become soldiers, because they cannot 
 do better. That evening we got some good punch 
 from the Recruiting Sergeant, and for the first time 
 in my life I drank two tumblers of it. Some fellows 
 took three or four tumblers of it, and fell asleep. In 
 the morning we were measured, and taken before the 
 Medical Officer to pass. So the young gentleman, the 
 farmer's son, the labourer, the clerk, and the ticket- 
 of-leave man were all alike caught in one net. 
 
 " We were all draughted into the Regimental Depot, 
 soon attired in Her Majesty's uniform, and turned
 
 4 
 
 out to drill. The old soldiers gave us a hearty wel- 
 come, and knowing that we had received the bounty, 
 they invited us to the canteen, and would not let us 
 go until they saw our last farthing spent. After 
 seven or eight months had elapsed, we had completed 
 our course of drill, and drafts were prepared for India. 
 The poor recruit was glad to get away from the 
 Drill Instructor, and went on boardship ready to 
 sail to any part of the world." 
 
 3. Starting for India. 
 
 " It was on the 15th August 1846, when we weighed 
 anchor and started for Bombay. At that time 
 the Troopships had to sail round the Cape, calling at 
 Ceylon and Goa. We were over a thousand strong, 
 counting men, women and children ; but, strange to 
 say, the old East India Company cared only for her 
 eoldiers' bodies, and no provision was made for their 
 souls. The Church service was performed by the 
 Captain himself, for there was neither Minister nor 
 Priest on board. One Sunday, when we had just 
 reached the Bay of Biscay, the service was suddenly 
 interrupted by an approaching gale. " All hands on 
 deck," sings out the Captain, and in a few minutes a 
 terrible squall caught the ship on one side, so that the 
 water rushed in jn torrents. We were all employed 
 pumping and shifting the ballast. Boxes were over- 
 turned, hurting many, and all night long, whilst
 
 5 
 
 this confusion lasted, we thought that we should 
 perish altogether. Here you should have seen the 
 old Irish women, with their husbands and children, 
 praying to Almighty God to save them ; but others, 
 who seemed to have no religion at all, were blasphem- 
 ing in the most fearful language. We Catholics 
 wished for a Priest, but there was none, and so we 
 could do nothing but pray and repeat Our Act of 
 Contrition over and over again. 
 
 "Thank God, the folio wing morning the danger was 
 over ; the sun shone out, though the sea was still very 
 wild. But there was another reason why we missed 
 the spiritual consolation of a Priest. Erysipelas broke 
 but, and not less than fifteen men died of it, and 
 were consigned to the deep without the rites of the 
 Church." 
 
 4. Arrival in Bombay, thirty-six years ago. 
 
 " On the 2nd January 1847 we arrived in Bombay 
 Harbour. It was just after the cholera had swept 
 over Kurrachee, and made such ravages in Sir Charlea 
 Napier's army. So we were kept in Bombay for ten 
 days, and all taken to hospital. No Roman Catholic 
 clergyman visited the sick ; and, in fact, I thought 
 there were no Priests at all in India. Yet we were in 
 great need of a Priest, for many of our number died 
 without Confession. Oh, happy days now, when the 
 poor sinner has the opportunity of shaking off his 
 load before he goes to his last place of reckoning!
 
 Oh, Glory be to God, that the dying man can hare 
 the food of Angels administered to him before starting 
 on his long journey ! 
 
 As a rule, soldiers landing in India are in debt on 
 account of different charges made against them on 
 boardship, and also because they hate to get many 
 articles for their new kit. However, there was in 
 the old East India Company's time a charge of a 
 peculiar kind. It was called the COFFIN MONEY. 
 
 Indeed, the soldier on his arrival was at once put 
 under stoppages to pay for his expected funeral. This 
 arrangement was enough to frighten the new comer, 
 and it filled his mind with serious reflections and anti- 
 cipations. India is called the grave of British soldiers, 
 because many die in the country, partly through their 
 own fault, the diseases which they bring on them- 
 selves by their intemperate and licentious habits, and 
 partly because the climate is injurious to them." 
 
 Such being the case, a man in India should take 
 good care of his soul and his spiritual affairs. For, 
 when in this respect all is correct he need not fear 
 anything. I advise you, therefore, to read the fol- 
 lowing chapters with groat attention.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 1. In a Military Station, 
 
 tt will not be many days until the draft of eacli 
 corps, or the whole Regiment arrives at the place of 
 Its destination a military station in' India. Almost 
 everywhere the Cantonment is in the vicinity of u 
 native town, and one or more Priests are in charge 
 of the congregation, consisting of European and Na- 
 tive Christians. Now, when you are in your quarters, 
 and settled, you must at once make inquiries where 
 your Chapel is. Adjacent to the Chapel you are sure 
 to find the Priest's house, perhaps, also a Convent or 
 some other Educational establishment, which is con- 
 ducted by members of a Religibus Order or secular 
 Catholic teachers. You are still a stranger in this 
 country, arid everything looks so different from what 
 you have seen at home. But in the Chapel you will 
 see a real home, and in the Priest you will discover a 
 friend. After having given thanks to Almighty God 
 for your safe voyage, you should make the acquaint- 
 ance of the Military Chaplain, Who will be very glad 
 to welcome and advise you. He will tell you that 
 there is also a Library near the Chapel, or at least 
 some kind of accommodation for a Reading Room, 
 where you can get a good book or paper to read. 
 Some good Catholic men attend there, especially in 
 the evening, and say together the Rosary in the 
 Chapel. They chiefly belong to the Confraternity of 
 Mount Carmel, and wear the Scapular. If there be
 
 I 
 
 no separate Temperance Society established, you will 
 be at least in good company among temperate men, 
 or teetotallers, who do not make use of bad language 
 and. who pass their evenings in harmless amusements. 
 Your first days in camp are of the greatest import- 
 ance, they may decide the whole future of a soldier 
 in India. If you come to the Chapel nd Reading 
 Room, and say the Rosary every evening when you 
 are off duty, and make it a rule to go to Confession 
 and Communion once a month or so, you will have 
 God's blessing and protection, arid be free from many 
 dangers and troubles. But, unfortunately, the maj- 
 ority of new-comers get into company of other kind. 
 Perhaps, they meet a "towney", i. e., one from the 
 same town as themselves, or one who hails from the 
 same county, or some dther old soldier who introduces 
 them to the Canteen, shows them the bazaar and such 
 like places, which are the occasion of sin, and where 
 they lay the foundation of a bad life. 
 
 In order to get at once a clear notion of the books 
 and news-papers to be found in a Garrison Library, 
 consider the following points, and afterwards make up 
 your mind to read such books and papers only as 
 may be of any benefit to you. 
 
 2. The Library. 
 
 There is no doubt but that a man who can and doea 
 read, will, by degrees, obtain higher and nobler no-
 
 tions, provided he reads suitable productions oftho 
 press. What a contrast is there between a soldier 
 who passes his leisure hours in reading something 
 useful, and the man who spends hia time in idleness, 
 in smoking, gambling and drinking ! There are dif> 
 ferent kinds of useful books. Religious books must 
 be mentioned in the first place, such as explanations 
 of the Christian doctrine ; Lives of the Saints ; the 
 History of the Old and New Testament, and of the 
 Christian Church in general. The perusal of such 
 books with attention cannot be too much recommend^ 
 ed, especially to persons whose religious knowledge is 
 deficient from want of a good education. By reading 
 them you will get enlightened and strengthened in 
 your faith, and will learn how to lead a good moral life. 
 
 In the next place, such books are recommended as 
 afford secular instruction : Historical works; Lives of 
 heroes and conquerors; Descriptions of famous battles ; 
 of voyages and grand adventures. Likewise, popular 
 editions of geography, astronomy, records and 
 explanations of modern inventions and the like. 
 English literature also abounds in many classical 
 works belonging to every branch of prose and poetry, 
 from the careful perusal of which you may learn a 
 great deal, and refine your taste, improve your knowle- 
 dge, and rectify your judgment. 
 
 Lastly, if you are not inclined to read books of a 
 serious character, if you want only to amuse yourself 
 and pass away the leisure hours in the Barrack-room,
 
 10 
 
 yon can also get good novels in every Catholic 
 Library, written by conscientious authors of the first 
 rank. You can see good news-papers, which have a 
 religious tendency, as, for instance, the Bombay 
 Catholic Examiner, the Indo-European Correspondence, 
 and others which are printed in this country. There 
 are also Home papers to be had, which give a correct 
 account of the religious and political transactions 
 all over the world. 
 
 But beware of false prophets ! There are in certain 
 station Libraries, books, magazines, illustrated papers, 
 pamphlets, and tracts, provided for the use of soldiers, 
 which do great harm, fill your mind with doubts or 
 prejudices regarding your faith; and, though they have 
 on the clothing of sheep, they are inwardly ravening 
 wolves, as you will presently see. 
 
 In a Pastoral Letter the Catholic Bishop of Bombay 
 warned his flock against this danger. ** He compares 
 the press of our time with the Tree of Knowledge of 
 Good and Evil. The fruits of that tree are books and 
 news-papers, good and bad. Our Holy Mother, the 
 Catholic Church, warns us incessantly with a loud 
 voice against bad writings. Thou shalt not read, for 
 otherwise thou shalt die the death. Bad are all those 
 books, pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers that in 
 any way soever are directed against faith and morals, 
 against the Church and authority. And who can 
 
 * Leo Mcurin, S. J., Titular Bishop of Ascalon, Vicar Apostolic 
 of Bombay and Administrator Apostolic of Pooua, 15th February
 
 11 
 
 deny that the amount of such writings has increased 
 to a terrible extent? Thousands of novels, "fair to 
 the eye and delightful to behold, "(Gen. II, 6) like the 
 forbidden fruit of Paradise, are flooding the Book 
 market. With very few exceptions these novels, 
 written in a brilliant style, treat of illicit love and 
 adultery, and offer to the excited imagination most 
 indelicate, if not indecent and disgusting, represent- 
 ations calculated to vitiate a pure mind and to corrupt 
 an undefiled heart. The destruction of pure morals 
 brought about by such novels is only equalled by the 
 extinction of the holy faith in those who indiscrimi- 
 nately read those newspapers, which the infidelity of 
 our age has multiplied all over the world with such 
 an astounding energy, talent, and sacrifice of gold, as 
 have hardly ever been found in the service of truth 
 and virtue. It is not possible to take up certain of 
 these papers, without coming across a more or less 
 frivolous attack on Religion." 
 
 The Pastoral winds up with an exhortation to 
 establish Catholic Libraries everywhere, and to main- 
 tain Beading Rooms in the service of Religion as 
 much as possible. It is a great pity that many 
 soldiers by their subscriptions contribute to the 
 maintenance of secular Libraries, and pay there for 
 Protestant tracts and periodicals in which their 
 Religion is ridiculed, nay, insulted. Perhaps they will 
 answer that they want a variety of books and papers 
 to read, which are not to be found in the Priest's
 
 12 
 
 Library. But why are they not to be found there? 
 Mainly, because so very few subscribe to the Catholic 
 Library, not even enough to balance the expenses 
 which the Priest has to incur for it even in the state 
 in which it is. Let all the Catholic soldiers come 
 forward and support a Library of their own; let them 
 pay up regularly and generously their subscriptions 
 and the Priest will be able to supply all their wants 
 both in a religious and secular, but always Christian, 
 point of view. Wherefore, the new comer to this 
 country should consider it his duty to join at once 
 the Catholic Library, and also to persuade others to 
 do the same. 
 
 Next to joining the Catholic Library, the best thing 
 a young soldier, after his arrival, can do, is to get 
 enrolled in the Confraternity. In every military station, 
 though under different names and rules, there is such a 
 Confraternity for the soldiers. The one which is most 
 widely spread is called the Confraternity of Our Blessed 
 Lady of Mount Cannel, the members of which wear the 
 Scapular. The whole organization and rules of this 
 Confraternity are set forth in the " Garden of the 
 Soul" (Edition for the army, page 291), 'which prayer- 
 book is in every soldier's hands, so that there is no 
 need of reprinting them here. But in order that you 
 may properly appreciate this religious society, you 
 must have clear notions concerning its advantages 
 and obligations. Wherefore, read with attention this 
 short chapter.
 
 13 
 3. On joining the Confraternity. 
 
 Instruction on the Scapular. 
 
 In the year 1164, in the county of Kent, in England, 
 the man was born who received the first Scapular from 
 the Blessed Virgin herself. His name was Simon 
 Stock. At the age of twelve he retired into a solitude, 
 gave himself up entirely to prayer, ate nothing but 
 wild herbs and roots ; a little well supplied him with 
 water to quench his thirst, and a hollow trunk of an 
 old tree served him as shelter and bed. He had al- 
 ready spent thirty years in this manner when some 
 monks of the Order of Mount Carmel, (Carmelites) 
 came from Palestine to settle in England. Our holy 
 hermit was informed of their arrival by the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, who appeared to him, saying, " Join 
 this Religious Order, for it is very dear to me." 
 Simon did not hesitate for a moment, and was happy 
 to be received among their number. Then he made a 
 pilgrimage to Palestine. Barefooted he visited the 
 holy places, and at last reached Mount Carmel where 
 he remained for six years. During that time he re- 
 ceived extraordinary favours from heaven, and had a 
 constant intercourse with the holy Angels, and espe- 
 cially with the Queen of all the Angels and Saints. 
 One day she appeared to him, surrounded by a mul- 
 titude of heavenly spirits, and handed to her servant 
 the Scapular, saying, " Beloved son, receive the Scapu- 
 lar of thy Order, the sign of my Confraternity, a pri^
 
 H 
 
 vilege for tliee and for all the Carmelites. He who 
 dies with the Scapular on, will not have to suffer 
 the flames of Hell." 
 
 Now, what do yon say to this promise ? Could the 
 Blessed Virgin have said anything better calculated 
 to animate your confidence V The holy Fathers have 
 written much about the rewards of pious servants of 
 Mary, but none of them has, or could have, said so 
 much. St. Bonaventure declares that Mary is all 
 powerful in a certain sense. St. Peter Damian assures 
 us that a soul, for which Mary prays, cannot perish. 
 The abbot Guerier regards being under her protection 
 as equal to being in heaven. Great promises indeed ! 
 But what are they in comparison to that which the 
 Blessed Virgin made to Simon Stock? No wonder 
 then, that, at the first rumour of this promise, Chris- 
 tians of all countries flocked to the Carmelite fathers 
 to have their share of the treasure offered them by 
 Mary. Lords. Princes, and Kings who have, no less 
 than the poor, a soul to save or to lose, presented 
 themselves to receive the Scapular. True, nobody can 
 be absolutely certain regarding his eternal salvation, 
 and whatever proofs we have of our being in a state 
 of grace, still we must tremble when we think of the 
 judgments of God, inscrutable and impenetrable as 
 they are. We must work out our salvation, as the 
 Apostle says, with fear and trembling. All this must 
 be borne in mind to prevent our falling into error.' 
 When the Blessed Virgin promises us that by wear-
 
 15 
 
 Ing the Scapular we shall escape Hell, the promise 
 can be fulfilled on this condition only that we persevere 
 to the end. Yet we are not without certain signs that 
 we shall be saved. Devotion to Mary is one of these ; 
 and, in particular, this devotion of the Scapular. 
 
 About fifty years later the Blessed Virgin vouch- 
 safed to appear a second time to Pope John XXII in 
 order to recommend to him the Scapular. On that 
 occasion she promised to assist in Purgatory the souls 
 of those, who, during their lives on earth had been 
 enrolled in the Confraternity and to console and liber- 
 ate them on the first Saturday after their death. 
 This is the second privilege which has been confirmed 
 by many Popes in the course of time. However, in 
 order to obtain these graces, certain conditions must 
 be observed. As for the first promise, viz., that of a 
 happy death, (1) you must have received the Scapular 
 from a Priest who has power to give it ; (2) you must 
 wear it round your neck (and not in your pocket) day 
 and night, and have it on you when you die. 
 
 As for the second promise, viz., Delivery from Pur- 
 gatory you must comply with the following condi- 
 tions : If you can read, you must say the Little Office 
 of the Blessed Virgin ; if you cannot read, you must 
 abstain from meat on all Wednesdays, Fridays, and 
 Saturdays. But these conditions can be altered by 
 any Priest, who has the power to do so. 
 
 * Maurel ; Indulgences, 1860.
 
 16 
 
 The Scapular should be made of woollen cloth of 
 either a brown colour or black. When you do not 
 wear it, say for a whole day, you lose the indulgences 
 for that time. Sometimes, soldiers, who fall into sin, 
 think they are not worthy to wear the Scapular, take 
 it off', and lay it aside. This is a mistake. Put it on 
 again, for if you should be surprised by a sudden and 
 unprovided death in a state of sin, you would go to 
 Hell, although you had a Scapular laid by in your box. 
 
 As for the promise made by Mary, that those who 
 wear the Scapular will be saved, we must not under* 
 stand it in this sense : that a sinner by merely wear- 
 ing it will go to Heaven. No, an impure soul cannot 
 by any means be received into the society of the 
 Saints. But we must be convinced that Mary obtains 
 the grace of conversion which will prevent our dying 
 in a state of sin. Mary makes use of natural means 
 to change the heart,'-* and, by the grace of God, the 
 greatest sinner may, if he does penance, become a 
 Saint. But when a man resists the grace of God, and 
 will not change his life ; when he shuts his eyes to 
 the light of salvation -then, he is lost. He dies in a 
 state of impenitence, but he will not die with the 
 Scapular on him. For, if Mary cannot prevail upon 
 you to return to a state of grace, she will do one thing 
 at least, and take the Scapular from you. Thus it 
 happened to one who was going to commit suicide by 
 drowning himself. He could not succeed. When he 
 * Colombiere ; Sermon on the Scapular,
 
 17 
 
 remembered that he wore- a Scapular, he took it off at 
 once, plunged again into the water, and disappeared. 
 So he died in a state of sin by committing suicide, but 
 he did not die with the Scapular round his neck. 
 
 But the Scapular affords also great protection to 
 our temporal lives. At the siege of Montpellier in 
 France, the following happened in the sight of the 
 whole French Army. A ball struck a soldier's breast 
 penetrated his uniform, but was arrested by the 
 Scapular, and melted on coming into contact with it. 
 King Louis XIII witnessed the miracle, and asked at 
 once for a Scapular. 
 
 In 1866, when the Prussians were at war with 
 the Austrians, another strange case occurred. At 
 Aix-la-Chapelle 300 young men were summoned to 
 proceed to the front. They were all good Catholics, 
 and belonged to the Confraternity of Mount Cannel. 
 Thousands of men were killed on the battle-fields in 
 Bohemia ; but these 300 remained uninjured, and 
 when peace was concluded they all returned safe and 
 sound to give thanks to God, who had protected them 
 through the intercession of Our Lady of Mount 
 Carmel. 
 
 Many books have been written on this subject, 
 recording the miracles of the Scapular. You should 
 read them in your Library, so as to strengthen your 
 devotion, and also to induce others to get enrolled 
 into this Confraternity.
 
 18 
 
 Lastly, a great number of Indulgences are grant- 
 ed by the sovereign Pontiffs to those who wear the 
 Scapular. Having complied with the usual duties of 
 Confession, Communion, and Prayers according to 
 the intention of the Pope, you may gain a Plenary 
 Indulgence 
 
 (1) On the day when you receive the Scapular; 
 
 (2) On the feast of Our Lady of Mount C arm el, 
 
 which is the 16th July, or on any day of the 
 Octave ; 
 
 (3) On your death-bed. 
 
 Pope Clement X granted a Plenary Indulgence to be 
 gained on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, viz., on the 
 Immaculate Conception; on that of the Nativity of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary ; on the feasts of the Presentation, 
 Annunciation, Visitation. Purification, and Assumption. 
 
 What a number of blessings may be thus received ! 
 What advantages ! Go then, and become invested 
 with the Scapular. It will be the best addition to your 
 uniform, and be of more use to you than all the Vic- 
 toria Crosses in the world. It is customary with the 
 members of the Confraternity to assemble at the 
 Chapel every evening- when they are off-duty to recite 
 the Rosary. 
 
 4. The Rosary. 
 
 This ancient, easy, and most familiar devotion is 
 known to every Catholic from the days of his
 
 19 
 
 childhood. There are different prayers or meditations 
 in different books ; but that does not matter, and, in 
 fact, every one can make his own meditations on the 
 mysteries. The principal thing is to recite at each 
 mystery one " Our Father" and ten "Hail Marys." 
 Here in India we use the small Evening Prayer-book, 
 which was first printed at Malta, and contains, besides 
 the Soldiers' evening devotions, the fourteen Stations 
 of the Cross, and the Office of the Blessed Virgin. 
 No good Catholic soldier should be without it. 
 
 But what must be particularly calculated to move 
 you to say and attend the Rosary devotions is the 
 great number of Indulgences the Church has granted 
 to such as do so. 
 
 Pope Benedict XIII granted a Plenary indulgence 
 to be gained once a year by all those who daily recite 
 the Rosary. But for this purpose you must have 
 your beads blessed by an : authorised Priest. The 
 blessing of the beads is of the greatest importance. 
 As crucifixes, statues, or medals are blessed, in order 
 that those who keep them may gain certain Indul- 
 gences, so it is also with the beads of the Rosary. 
 But, remember, the beads which you have caused to be 
 blessed, and which you have used in saying your 
 Rosary, are only good for yourself, and when you give 
 them to another person, they must be blessed anew, 
 otherwise the Indulgences cannot be gained by the 
 new owner. By using such beads Plenary Indulgences 
 
 * To be had at the Examiner Press, Bombay. Price 3 anuas,
 
 20 
 
 are each time gained, on the usual conditions 
 of Confession and Communion, on the principal feasts 
 of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin; also on the 
 feasts of the Apostles ; on St. John's and St. Joseph's 
 day; All Saints' day, and some other feasts.* The 
 inost privileged of all beads are those of St. Bridget, 
 to which the greatest number of Indulgences is at- 
 tached. One particular condition deserves to be 
 mentioned, viz : you must hold in your hands the 
 Rosary, during recitation ; or at least the person who 
 says the prayers in public with others must have a 
 blessed Rosary in his hands. The Eosary contains 
 the principal part of the soldier's evening devotions. 
 
 5. The Catholic Soldier's Evening Devotions. 
 
 A short explanation of the same may prove useful, 
 and both enlighten and encourage many who hitherto 
 have been strangers to them. 
 
 After having invoked the Holy Ghost, whose aid 
 and grace are necessary for the right performance of 
 all good works, we say 
 
 The Anyelus DominL 
 
 It is an ancient pious usage to say this prayer, three 
 times a day, at the sound of the bell, which is rung in 
 the morning, at noon, and in the evening. By this 
 
 * Maurcl Indulgences of the Eosary.
 
 21 
 
 prayer we honour and make as it were a profession 
 of our faith in the mystery of Our Lord's Incarnation, 
 which the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary. Every 
 Catholic who recites the Angelus daily gaina a Plenary 
 Indulgence once a month. It is said kneeling, except 
 on Sunday and Saturday evenings, and during Easter^ 
 tide, when the " Regina Cffili " (Rejoice, Queen of 
 Heaven!) is substituted, 
 
 After having finished the five mysteries, we add 
 
 The Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen!) to which 
 likewise many Indulgences are granted, and especial- 
 ly one at the hour of death can be gained by those 
 who say it every day. Then follows the 
 
 " Litany of the Blessed Virgin" commonly called 
 the " Litany of Loretto." The titles under which we 
 invoke her, such as " Mystical Rose," " Tower of 
 David," " Morning Star," and so on, are taken from 
 Holy Scripture and have special reference to Mary. 
 Here, again, a Plenary Indulgence is granted to those 
 who say it daily. 
 
 For the prayer of St. Bernard, commonly called the 
 ( ' Hfemomre" (Remember, most Gracious Virgin 
 Mary), Pope Pius IX, by a decree of llth December 
 1846, has, granted a Plenary Indulgence in a similar 
 manner. The same applies to the prayer for " the 
 Conversion of Sinners," and to that in honour of St. 
 Francis Xavier for " the Propagation of the Faith," 
 which are purposely said in order that you may gain
 
 22 
 
 tlie annexed Indulgences. For the Psalm, " De Pro- 
 fundis," you have an Indulgence of 100 days every 
 time you recite it, as is done at the end of the Even- 
 ing devotions. 
 
 So you see there is an accumulation of graces and 
 Indulgences to be gained by practising these devotions. 
 Happy the soldier who never fails to attend Chapel 
 in the evening to assist at the Rosary and recite those 
 prayers ! He gains the blessing of God. the interces- 
 sion of His Blessed Mother, the treasures of the 
 Catholic Church. He obtains the most powerful 
 help to lead a religious life according to his calling, 
 strength to resist temptations, and consolation on 
 his death-bed. Rest assured, the Blessed VirginMary 
 will never forget those hours which you have spent 
 at the foot of her altar. She will guide you through 
 this stormy life ; she will protect you in all dangers ; 
 she will plead your cause when you have reached the 
 threshold of Eternity.
 
 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 L On Temperance. 
 
 By a "temperate man," is commonly meant one 
 who does not exceed in drinking-; and he who never 
 tastes spirituous liquor is called a total abstainer. 
 Temperance, however, as a Cardinal virtue, means 
 something more than all this. According to St. 
 Thomas, it is the moderation of every affection under 
 the control of reason. In the Book of Wisdom 
 (VIII. 7.) the word is called, Sobriety, and means 
 the moderation of concupiscence or love of pleasures, 
 especially those that consist in the sense of taste and 
 touch. Since so many moral virtues are founded on 
 temperance and depend upon it as on a hinge, it is 
 a Cardinal virtue in the strictest sense of the word. 
 The opposite vice of intemperance chiefly refers to 
 excesses committed in eating and drinking. Hence, 
 a man cannot be called temperate who avoids drunken- 
 ness only, but is a glutton in eating. This is a hint 
 to certain members of Temperance Societies, who 
 boast of being total abstainers from intoxicating li- 
 quor, but at the same time are not temperate in eating, 
 nor moderate in drinking other beverages which are 
 agreeable to the taste. How often do we not read in the 
 papers about grand tea-parties in a Temperance Hall, 
 on which occasions the members enjoyed their cakes 
 and other good things without a thought of self- 
 restraint ? From this it follows, that a man may be
 
 24 
 
 temperate without being a total abstainer, if he never 
 exceeds in eating and drinking, and a man may be 
 intemperate, although he is a total abstainer, because 
 he exceeds in eating. 
 
 In the whole creation it is man alone who can be 
 intemperate. The reason is this: Man consists of 
 a reasonable soul and body. The Angels have no 
 body, and therefore have no bodily wants. The 
 animals have no reasonable soul and therefore have 
 no spiritual wants. But man, because of his body, 
 has sensual appetites, and these must be controlled 
 by reason. When a brute eats or drinks, it is guided 
 by natural instinct ; and no horse nor dog will drink 
 a drop of water more, when once it has had enough. 
 Man has to be guided by reason, and if he be not so, he 
 will be guilty and responsible for excess. Hence 
 gluttony is one of the seven capital sins. 
 
 The danger of intemperance is the greatest when 
 it is spirituous liquors that are indulged in without 
 moderation. Excesses in eating may make a man 
 sick ; but alcohol flies to his head, and soon deprives 
 him of the use of his spiritual faculties. Wherefore, 
 what you read in the following pages on the advanta- 
 ges of temperance, and the baneful influence of in- 
 temperance refers to the use of spirituous liquors 
 only. 
 
 Much has been said and written on this sub- 
 ject, so that it is almost impossible to say anything
 
 25 
 
 new upon it. But you will read facts and examples 
 of daily occurrence here, which will surely astonish 
 you and give a fresh colour to the whole affair, 
 founded, as they are, on truth and reality. For 
 some of them the author is indebted to a pamphlet 
 written by an officer of the 95th Regiment, who was 
 the President of a Temperance Society at Aden in 
 1863 and 1864.* 
 
 Temperance benefits the body and the soul. The 
 advantages of a temperate life are therefore twofold 
 temporal and spiritual. Amongst the former, we must 
 mention, above all, the good health of the body. It 
 is true that certain teetotallers sometimes exaggerate 
 the case, as though every alcoholic liquor was in- 
 jurious to every one indiscriminately, and by publish- 
 ing their eccentric opinions, they have more than 
 once done harm to the cause of temperance. But 
 there stands the fact, that the man who drinks 
 nothing but water and such beverages as coffee and 
 tea is generally in more robust health than the dram 
 and pint and peg- drinker. 
 
 One of the ablest chemists of Europe, Professor 
 Liebig (the inventor of the famous meat extract) 
 states that, if a man were to consume eight or ten 
 quarts of the best Bavarian beer every day, he would 
 obtain in the course of twelve months no more nourish- 
 ment than that contained in a five-pound loaf of bread. 
 
 * Five Addresses by Lieutenant Edward Chappie.
 
 26 
 
 A London coal-heaver, a reformed drunkard, declared 
 that from the time he took the pledge he could back 
 sixty tons a day with perfect ease, whilst before that 
 he could scarcely crawl home after such work, and 
 was utterly unable to rise next day. 
 
 Dr. Jackson, a great authority on the health of 
 armies, says that the use of ardent spirits is not ne- 
 cessary to enable a European to undergo the fatigue 
 of marching in a climate, whose temperature is between 
 75 and 89. He had had great experience himself 
 iu marching on foot, and had been employed in seve- 
 ral operations in the field with troops in such a climate, 
 and he never drank other beverages than water and 
 coffee. 
 
 Livingstone, in all his travels and wanderings, 
 through the red-hot sands of the deserts of Africa, 
 in privations and fatigues of every kind, was always a 
 water-drinker. 
 
 " I regard even the temperate use of wine," says 
 Dr. Andrew Combe, " when not required by the con- 
 stitution, as injurious, and it has been truly said that 
 every healthy dram-drinker is a decoy duck, and no 
 more proves that health is safe in intemperance, than 
 an unwounded soldier proves that life is safe in battle." 
 
 In the Returns published some twenty years ago 
 by the Government of India of the mortality of the 
 troops it appears that amongst the abstainers eleven 
 in one thousand died annually; amongst the temperate,
 
 27 
 
 twenty-five per thousand ; and amongst the intem- 
 perate, forty-five per thousand. In the hospitals, the 
 drunkards, and not the abstainers, are the first to be 
 carried off by disease. 
 
 The men who contended in the Athenian games in 
 the old days when Greece was in her glory, and whose 
 bodily perfection was wondrous, drank nothing but 
 water. 
 
 Many years ago some regiments were sent from 
 Bengal to take part in the war in which the English 
 were engaged in the Mysore country with the famous 
 Tippoo Sahib. Several of the officers left Calcutta, 
 labouring under incipient liver complaint ; their faces 
 were sallow, their cheeks sunken, their eyes glassy 
 and hollow from thai disease. During the contest 
 many of them fell into the hands of Tippoo and were 
 confined in a prison in Seringapatam. No wine nor 
 spirits of any kind were allowed them ; their beverage 
 was water only. When the war was concluded, and 
 the prisoners were released, they went forth from the 
 prison walls with the bloom of health upon their 
 cheeks, and no trace of disease was visible. 
 
 From these statements and facts it is clear that 
 temperance, and particularly total abstinence is not 
 injurious to the health and strength of the body. It 
 does not shorten life, on the contrary, it prolongs it, 
 as the ancient Anchorites prove. St. Paul reached 
 113 years of age, drinking only water, and having for 
 daily food only a small loaf of bread.
 
 28 
 
 But there is another advantage in temperance. It 
 is conducive to the comforts of life ; it greatly helps 
 to make a man really happy ; it secures to him a 
 respectable position in the world ; and the prospects 
 of a soldier are particularly good when he abstains 
 from drink. A sober man has fixed principles and 
 acts upon them. He allows himself no extravagances, 
 but only those recreations and refreshments, which 
 tend to preserve life and good health. His kit is in 
 good order ; he has no debts. He never gets drunk. 
 He keeps no bad company, and thus he is free from 
 all the troubles which are the consequence of intem- 
 perance. There is no greater blessing on a family 
 than a sober father, and a thrifty mother. Let them 
 have small pay, and many children to provide 
 for, yet they will do more with their little than 
 others who have double their pay, but spend it 
 in drink. You may see Non- Commissioned Officers' 
 families who are always in want and misery, and 
 many a private soldier, with a large family, is get- 
 ting on well and contentedly, 
 
 Mr. MacGuire, a late member of Parliament, who 
 wrote a very instructive book on "The Irish in 
 America," states that all his countrymen there who 
 are prosperous, owe all their wealth and respectability 
 to their thriftiness and sobriety; but that drunkenness 
 is the ruin of the most prosperous settlements. 
 " A few years ago," he writes, " some hundreds of 
 Irish families settled in Woolfe- Island. In the
 
 v ery commencement the profits of a * good seasofl 
 were sacrificed to the fascinations of boon- companion- 
 ship, and the indulgence of that passion so especially 
 fatal to Irishmen. The evil was assuming alarming 
 proportions, when the Priest resolved to grapple with 
 it; and so powerfully arid persuasively did he plead 
 the cause of prudence and sobriety, so strenuously did 
 he wrestle with the veteran drinkers, and such was 
 his influence over the young, that he succeeded in 
 enrolling eight hundred men in the ranks of tempe- 
 rance. The result was all that could be desired. 
 Soon there was not a more prosperous or progressive 
 settlement than that of Woolfe-Island, and now they 
 are happy and contented, and are every year advan- 
 cing in prosperity. Now see the 
 
 Spiritual Advantages of Temperance. 
 
 Ydrt need not be told how a temperate man edifies 
 his neighbour arid helps on the suppression of driink- 
 enness By his exainple. For this reason many of 
 the dignitaries of the Catholic Church have promoted 
 the Temperance movement at home and in India, 
 by pledging themselves to total abstinence and have 
 persuaded many to become teetotallers. Many Priests 
 have done the same, for the same purpose. Though, 
 of course, in such cases, there was no necessity, on 
 their owu account for them to take the pledge. 
 But the influence of good example counterbalances 
 that _of bad. Hence every temperate man, by
 
 so 
 
 his abstemious iriarineY' 6f life, encourages others to 
 imitate him, and beccrmes in a certain sense of the 
 word, an apostle of temperance, and may take to 
 himself those words of the Prophet: "They that 
 instruct many to justice shall shine as stars for all 
 Eternity" (Daniel XII, 3). Nor is it necessary 
 to dwell long upon the advantages of temperance so 
 far as it is an act of self-denial, by which we' can do 
 penance for the sins of our past lives'. For this 
 purpose the Church reeoimrrends the law of fasting 
 and abstinence. To abstain from alcoholic drink 
 may be a great penance for persons who have at any 
 time been addicted and used to it; perhaps greater 
 penance than to abstain from meat, as the Church 
 commands us to do on fast days. If, therefore, in a 
 spirit of penance, they become teetotallers, it is a 
 very real kind of satisfaction they give to Almighty 
 God for the sins of their past lives. Many soldiers 
 who are not obliged to fast, nor can do so, during 
 Lent, abstain from porter and rum, and also from 
 smoking, in order to keep to the spirit of the Church. 
 
 But there is another advantage of temperance. It 
 inclines or helps a man to take care of his soul. The 
 temperate man will also be a good Christian, and 
 have religion in his heart. Members of Temperance 
 Societies, if they are not given to other bad habits, 
 will not find it difficult to make a good confession, or 
 to approach the Table of the Lord, or in complying 
 with all their religious duties. The sober man will
 
 31 
 
 pray, read good books, attend the Rosary and other 
 devotions at Chapel, and find in them his true con- 
 solation. 
 
 Thus, he is esteemed by his superior officers; he 
 gives no offence to his comrades ; he is respected and 
 loved by his Priest; in short, he is a credit to the 
 whole congregation. If he has a poor mother at 
 home, he will not fail to send her a few pounds every 
 year, and the blessing of God is upon those who do 
 not forget to support their parents in their old age. 
 If a subscription for the Chapel, or the Orphanage 
 be set on foot, he will be happy to give his share to 
 it. If he is married, he will give a good example to 
 his family, and parents and children will be united 
 in peace and love, arid the practice of religion. 
 
 How look upon another portrait the baneful in- 
 fluence intemperance has on body and soul. It ruins 
 a man's temporal and spiritual welfare. These lines 
 refer directly to the drunkard, riot to' the man who 
 drinks with moderation. All the medical authorities 
 are unanimous in the opinion that drink taken in ex- 
 cess destroys health. 
 
 The human frame in all its constituent parts is, so 
 to say, made from the blood, bones, sinews, muscles, 
 skin, hair, nails, all are formed from the blood. What- 
 ever goes to make good blood tends to build up and 
 strengthen the system ; whatever does not make good 
 blood aids nothing in forming the human body.
 
 32 
 
 All our vitality is derived from tHe good blood in 
 Our system. But alcohol cannot assimilate with the 
 human system, and never goes to make up any por- 
 tion of the blobd, on the contrary it reduces the di- 
 gestive powers of the stomach ; it nullifies the action 
 of the gastric juice, reduces the volume of blood, and 
 causes inflammation of that membrane which lines the 
 stomach. The affinity it has for oxygen prevents the 
 removal from the system of decayed materials, forms 
 instead carbonic acid, and much decayed matter is 
 retained, instead of being removed, and replaced by 
 that which is full of life and health. 
 
 We have seen the advantages of temperance and 
 total abstinence ; they are beneficial both to soul and 
 body, they make a man comfortable and happy in his 
 Social position, and in particular in the condition of 
 a soldier. The disadvantages of intemperance are 
 corresponding. Immoderate drinking destroys a man 
 both in soul and body. Dreadful as the consequences 
 are to a civilian, of indulgence in this vice, to a sol- 
 dier they are more so. To him, more than to any one 
 else, the virtue of temperance is indispensable. In 
 his daily and hourly routine of life, subject to the un- 
 ceasing supervision of those above him, it is incum- 
 bent on him to refrain from drawing upon himself 
 the bitter fruit of addictedness to drink. It is with 
 him an absolute necessity to keep from that vice, the 
 practice of which entails so many, so severe, so pro- 
 longed punishments.
 
 33 
 
 " Drunkenness is the invariable cause of Courts 
 Martial" says the Duke of Wellington ; and unhap- 
 pily in our Indian army we must testify to the truth 
 of this great Commander's statement. Now, think a 
 moment on the long and painful punishment which 
 drink entails on many of your comrades ; you know 
 the cheerless days and bitter nights they spend in 
 narrow cells for faults committed through intemper- 
 ance. The corrected prisoner sees, when it is too 
 late, the fate to which he has doomed himself. From 
 the Canteen his judgment has gone forth it is there 
 that he himself has framed the sentence. Lonely, he 
 hears the bugle call to duty, but the sound falls sadly 
 on his ears. For him there is no change. The heavy 
 tread of the sentinel is the only sound through the 
 long night to break the dismal monotony of his cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 In an address delivered on the 30th April 1864 by 
 Lieutenant Chappie, the following example is related ; 
 "A few weeks ago, a man in the morning of life, 
 with the red blood leaping in his veins, in all the 
 strength and vigour of the prime of life, stood with- 
 in a few moments of Eternity as the sun had just 
 risen over one of the fairest spots in southern 
 Europe : above his head was the scaffold, at his feet 
 was the unconsecrated grave ; around him stood his, 
 comrades with blanched cheeks, upon whose sinking 
 hearts fell the sounds of the Dead March from the 
 muffled drums. He was a Sergeant in the 2nd Bat?
 
 34 
 
 talion of the 4th King's Own ; four medals, won in 
 hard fight, decorated his breast, and he stood there 
 that morning, condemned to die a felon's death for 
 having, in a moment of drunken rage, shot the wife 
 whom he had sworn to protect. Nature was glad all 
 round him ; the air laden with the perfume of orange 
 groves ; the sunbeams were making silver pillars on 
 the blue waters, and gilding the open grave, uncon- 
 scious of the sad scene they were shining upon ; all 
 creation was singing its morning hymn of joy : but 
 mingled with them was heard the solemn voice of the 
 clergyman reading prayers for the wretched man, who 
 stood within a few moments of God's judgment. Ho 
 looked upon the glorious sight with the terrible con- 
 sciousness that his own act was to shut his eyes 
 with the seal of death, never more to open on earth, 
 and that his own hand had dug the unconsecrated 
 grave in a foreign land, far away from his home and 
 friends. Before the fatal rope was adjusted round 
 the swelling sinews of his manly throat, he asked 
 permission to say a few words ; it was granted to him. 
 
 "Comrades,' said he, 'see what a terrible fate I 
 have brought myself to, It was drink brought me 
 to this ending. Avoid drink ; take warning by me," 
 In a moment his career on earth was ended. 
 
 Drink is the source of all crimes ; it fills the prison 
 cells ; it loads the convict ship ; it throngs the work- 
 house; it crowds the lunatic asylum; it guides the
 
 steps, and nerves the red hand of the murderer ; and 
 it gives to the scaffold those haggard victims of 
 despair. But bad and degrading as the vice of in- 
 temperance is to a single man, it is tenfold more 
 ruinous to a man with a family. Let the father of 
 a family drink but two drams a day ; at the end 
 of the year it amounts to eighteen gallons of spirits. 
 See what clothes he could purchase for his children, 
 with the price of those eighteen gallons ! It is a 
 terrible thing for children when their father is a 
 drunkard. There are scenes in a drunkard's home 
 that chill the life-blood in the heart ; scenes from 
 which human nature turns in horror, and weeps 
 for the wretchedness of man ; scenes at which the 
 angels in heaven stand aghast, and wonder at the 
 forbearance of God. Watch the children in a drunk- 
 ard's home ! From their gaunt and haggard cheeks, 
 which the roses of health have never reddened, their 
 unchild-like eyes, gleaming with unholy light, peer out 
 with startling precocity on scenes of drunkenness ; 
 their young feet have early learnt the way to the 
 Canteen to fetch the liquor for their parents, their 
 young ears are familiar with curses ; their thoughts are 
 of the time when their father or mother will lie down 
 in drunken slumber. No wonder, they will do as their 
 parents have done. 
 
 Wherever you may turn your eyes, to the broken 
 healths, and broken fortunes, to the broken hearts, 
 and broken souls, you will discover the awful conse-
 
 36 
 
 quences of intemperance. You will see the hideous 
 phantom of drink with its bloated face, its moist eye, 
 and its swollen body and tottering legs, gloating over 
 the ruin it has made. 
 
 Go to the hospital ! There is one couch in that 
 sick chamber at which humanity shudders and starts 
 back, and religion turns away her head and weeps ; 
 one couch from which the loud, piercing shriek of 
 madness breaks the silence of the night. It is the 
 drunkard's death-bed ! His eye is glassy and sunken; 
 his tongue is swollen and black ; his breath is fetid ; 
 his cheek-bones bare, and his cheeks, from which 
 his own hands have torn the blossom of health, have 
 fallen in. He is in the horrors of delirium. He is 
 sinking rapidly. The doctor's art is now of no avail. 
 Life is ebbing fast : he is within a few heart- 
 throbs of Eternity. The conquered soul leaves the 
 unworthly temple of the flesh, for the flesh has tri- 
 umphed over her. The gates of death open, and the 
 soul stands affrighted upon the shores of Eternity, and 
 cowers beneath the glances of an angry God. 
 
 2. On Temperance Societies. 
 
 The establishment of Temperance Societies has, 
 especially during the last ten years, contributed much 
 to lessen drunkenness in the army out here in India. 
 There are different sorts of such societies.
 
 37 
 
 1. Regimental Temperance Societies, which are 
 usually patronized by a Commanding .Officer, and with 
 a view to exclude every religious principle, so as to 
 induce Roman Catholics as well as Protestants to join 
 them. In some places, however, where the Parson 
 and certain religious ladies take an interest in them, 
 these Temperance Societies assume a sectarian 
 character. Protestant prayers are said, reli ious tracts 
 served out, bigoted newspapers and periodicals distri- 
 buted, so that a Roman Catholic soldier cannot, with- 
 out 'sin and risk to his faith, belong to the Society. 
 There is a great deal of attraction, even for Catholics, 
 in a well-conducted Regimental Temperance Society. 
 Not to speak of the refreshments provided in the 
 Temperance Hall as well as in the Coffee-shop, they 
 are amused by lectures, recitations, and songs occa- 
 sionally ; they have dances kept up nearly the whole 
 night once a month a privilege seldom granted by 
 the Commanding Officer of a station to ' outsiders', 
 who have to keep to their Barrack-rooms. More- 
 over, as the names of the members are known to the 
 Colonel, they are the first on the roll for promotion, 
 or for recommendation for some employment and 
 the like. 
 
 The Soldiers' Total Abstinence Association was form- 
 ed in Agra 1862. Mr. Gelson Gregson is the soul of 
 that Society, and very cleverly managed to get it 
 spread and approved of for the whole English Army, 
 both in India and at home. The Annual Report for
 
 38 
 
 the year 1882 can boast of 3 Major-Generals who are 
 Patrons, and Col. C. Ball- Acton, C. B., as President, and 
 68 Officers, Doctors and Protestant chaplains, who are 
 Vice-Presidents. Mr. Gregson himself is the Secre- 
 tary and Treasurer. When forming the branch So- 
 cieties in 68 Stations, he always obtained first the 
 sanction of the Commanding Officer, and by this 
 means the Temperance Societies became "Regimental 
 institutions," and gained the confidence of the men 
 and the support of the Non- Commissioned Officers. A 
 Commissioned Officer is appointed in many Regiments 
 as the Superintendent, and inspects the accounts of the 
 Society. The Report states that in India we have 
 an army of 60,000 Europeans; of whom from 8,000 
 to 10,000 belong to the Regimental Temperance 
 Society. No mention is made of a Catholic Temper- 
 ance Association. 
 
 Mr. Gregson lays a great stress on the establish- 
 ment of Temperance Halls, where the men can have 
 their coffee and tea, without being obliged to endure 
 the chaff of those who drop into the Regimental Coffee- 
 shop fresh from the Canteen. 
 
 The Temperance Hall, he says, is to the abstainer 
 very much what the Canteen is to the drinker. He 
 found in one Regiment the Temperance Hall so well 
 managed that it was more frequented than the Can- 
 teen. Wherefore he expresses a wish that these Rooms 
 should be made as attractive as possible.
 
 39 
 
 In order to get soldiers of all denominations to join 
 the Regimental Temperance Society, Mr. Gregson laid 
 down the rule, that religious discussions as well as 
 political are not allowed in a Temperance Hall. The 
 membership is also open to all ranks, women and 
 children. There is one rule, however, against which 
 Catholics must object, viz.: "That the second Mon- 
 day in every month is observed by the members 
 of Soldiers' Prayer Union and Bible Classes for special 
 prayer on behalf of the Society." 
 
 One good suggestion is made, that all members on 
 signing the pledge have their names taken off the 
 Canteen roll, or have a mark placed against their 
 names to prevent their liquor being drawn by others. 
 
 The services of Mr. Gregson in the Temperance 
 cause were acknowledged by Government when, at the 
 recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, a free 
 passage was granted him to Europe. 
 
 2. The Good Templars' Society was, several 
 years ago, imported into India by Methodist 
 preachers from America. The name of this Socie- 
 ty is taken from that of the old Catholic religious 
 Order called the " Knights Templars." This Order 
 was instituted by seven gentlemen at Jerusalem in 
 1118 to defend the holy places and pilgrims 
 from the insults of the Turks, and to keep the ways 
 free for such as .undertook the pilgrimage to the Holy 
 Land. As their first house was situated near the
 
 40 
 
 place where the Temple of Solomon stood, they were 
 called Knights Templars. By the liberality of princes, 
 immense riches flowed into this Order, by which 
 the knights became (so it is said) puffed up to a 
 degree of insolence which rendered them insupport- 
 able even to the Kings who had been their protectors; 
 and King Philip of France resolved to compass their 
 ruin. They were accused, (justly or falsely.) of 
 treasons and conspiracies with the infidels, and of 
 other enormous crimes, which occasioned the sup- 
 pression of the Order, by a decree of Pope Clement V 
 and the General Council of Vienne in 1312. 
 
 Still some members continued to be united among 
 themselves, in opposition of course to the rules of the 
 Church. There is a secret tie between Templars and 
 Freemasons, and they have almost the same signs, 
 the same regulations, the same attitude towards the 
 Church of Christ. One may assert, without exaggera- 
 tion, that the Good Templar of these days is, though 
 only outwardly and slightly connected with the craft, 
 a Freemason who does not drink spirituous liquor. 
 To say the least, if a Good Templar is not as yet a 
 Freemason, he is on the road to become one. The 
 Society of Good Templars is a secret Society, an 
 imitation of, or a preparation for, Freemasonry. The 
 attraction which this sort of Temperance people 
 exercise, lies chiefly in their Masonic practices, and 
 most men join them merely out of curiosity. It is 
 
 * Butler's Lives qf the Saints, Vol. II., p. 572,
 
 41 
 
 clear that a Catholic is bound in conscience to shun the 
 Good Templars' Society, just as he is the Foresters and 
 Odd Fellows. 
 
 8. Catholic Temperance Societies, bas'ed on religious 
 principles, afford to the Catholic Soldier in military 
 stations the greatest advantages. 
 
 In Ireland, as everyone knows, it was the great and 
 renowned Father Theobald Mathew, a native of the 
 County of Tipperary, who first commenced the 
 Temperance movement. He had been for some years 
 one of the governors of the workhouse at Cork, where 
 he daily witnessed the effects of strong drink among 
 the poor wretched and broken-down waifs and strays 
 of society. The dilapidated drunkard excited his 
 compassion, but the orphan child of the drunkard 
 made his heart bleed with sorrow. Some Protestant 
 preachers had years before advocated the cause of 
 Temperance, but, though they worked resolutely and 
 bravely, they had not the ear and therefore found it 
 impossible to reach the heart of the community, aa 
 Mr. MacGuire truly remarks in the Father's biogra- 
 phy.* There was, besides, a lurking suspicion on the 
 part of Catholics, who thought that these Protestant 
 preachers only intended to entangle Catholics in their 
 Societies. 
 
 After mature deliberation Father Mathew took the 
 matter into his own hands. He convened a Temperance 
 * Compare Fr. Slathew's Life, by MacGuire, page 99.
 
 meeting on the 10th of April 1838, and having de- 
 clared in a short speech : " I have come to the con- 
 viction that there is no necessity to take strong 
 drinks for any one in good health I advise you to 
 follow my example :" he approached the table where 
 the pledge book was laid, and said in a voice that is 
 remembered by some to this day. " Here goes, in the 
 name of God!" and signed his name. Every one 
 knows how that small mustard seed became a mighty 
 tree; how many hundreds of thousands in Europe and 
 America were benefitted by taking the pledge of Total 
 Abstinence. But God alone knows how many souls 
 owe their eternal salvation to this great Temperance 
 movement. 
 
 But there is one thing which particularly distin- 
 guishes Catholic Temperance Societies from all others. 
 It is the sacredness of the pledge, (the banner of Reli- 
 gion) , and the reliance on the grace of God. The lat- 
 ter is necessary to us for every act of virtue ; without 
 the grace of God we can do nothing profitable in the 
 way of our salvation. Now, since the man who pledges 
 himself to Total Abstinence is practising a great act of 
 self-denial, it is clear that he must get from Almighty 
 God the grace and strength to keep his promise. 
 This divine assistance is obtained by prayer and the 
 holy Sacraments. Hence, all the Catholic Temperance 
 Societies make it a rule that their members should 
 also comply with their religious duties. Let, there- 
 fore, a soldier who has taken the pledge attend the
 
 43 
 
 Evening Devotions at the Chapel whenever he can; 
 let him go, once a month or so, to confession and 
 cdmmunion; let him pray for God's grace, especially 
 during holy Mass, and he will have the most power- 
 ful help to persevere in his good resolutions. 
 
 It is not a Christian idea, much less is" it a Catholic 
 one, that a man is all right when he is a teetotaller 
 only. Certain Methodist preachers extol Total Abs- 
 tinence above every other virtue. It is true, on the 
 one hand that intemperance is the cause of many 
 Other vices", but, on the other hand, we must not 
 believe that a total abstainer is already a good Christ- 
 ian, if he does not practise other virtues ; for it fre- 
 quently happens that such a man is given to many 
 vices, especially impurity, vices which he seems to 
 have substituted for intemperance. A real good 
 member of a Temperance Society is he only who leads 
 also a religious life. This principle is a leading one 
 in the management of such a Society. " Neither 
 drunkards nor fornicators shall enter the kingdom of 
 heaven." Wherefore, a man might die an unhappy 
 death for other reasons than the vice of intemperance. 
 In order to persevere to the end in a sober life, you 
 must never omit your religious duties, and you must 
 shun sin, whatever name it may bear. 
 
 In 1878 an old soldier was discharged from Her 
 Majesty's 66th Regiment with five badges, a good 
 conduct medal, and the bounty attached to it. This
 
 44 
 
 hiati had left home, whilst he was very young and 
 foolish. The regiment was first stationed at 
 Bangalore, and he carried on a very wild life in the 
 line of drinking and other debauchery. One night, 
 while returning from the Canteen quite drunk, he 
 missed his way and fell into a ditch. There was 
 about one foot of water in it, and as he was quite 
 helpless, he remained lying in that ditch, fell asleep, 
 and was picked up in the morning by coolies in a 
 fearful state. His body was numbed by the cold 
 water in every limb ; his face was quite blue, and, in 
 fact, people believed that he was dead. After careful 
 treatment in hospital he came to himself again, and. 
 on being told in what condition he had been, he 
 said at once, " that was the last drop of the 
 creature, I shall never taste it any nlore." So he 
 went straight to the Priest, and took, at the steps 
 of the altar, a most solemn pledge. At the same time 
 he made a general confession, joined the Confraternity, 
 attended at the Rosary every evening, received the 
 Holy Sacraments once a month, arid distinguished 
 himself by extraordinary piety. He kept his pledge 
 during the following 15 years, he stayed in Madras, 
 Burmah, and various places in the Bombay Presi- 
 dency. 
 
 It cannot be denied that as temperance induces d 
 man to lead a good Christian life, so intemperance 
 is the greatest obstacle to the practice of religion. 
 A member of the Temperance Society gets to like
 
 45 
 
 to pray, to read good books, to receive the holy 
 Sacraments, to shun fornication and adultery ; whilst 
 the drunkard can never make up his mind to lead a 
 good life. Drink and nameless pleasures are always 
 in his mind and in his way. 
 
 Of these Catholic Temperance Societies, we have 
 now a great many in every Presidency. The mis- 
 sionaries in Madras have done their utmost to esta- 
 blish them in the principal military stations, and in 
 those Temperance Halls the Catholic soldier can have 
 all he desires. The Reverend Fathers Capuchins in 
 Bengal, the Punjab, and the North- West Provinces 
 work with great success in propagating the Temper- 
 ance Society of St. Joseph. In the Bombay Presi- 
 dency you have "under the protection of Mary Im- 
 maculate " a Temperance Society established by the 
 Right Reverend L. Meurin, Bishop and Vicar- Apos- 
 tolic of Bombay. 
 
 The fqllowing are the rules of this Society, and of 
 them the 24th deserves particular attention : 
 
 REVISED RULE.S 
 
 OP THE 
 
 BOMBAY R. C. TEMPERANCE SOCIETY, 
 
 Under the Protection of Mary Immaculate. 
 1. The Bombay R. C. Temperance Society is 
 divided into several Branches, viz., for the civilians and 
 for the several regiments and brigades of the army 
 serving in India.
 
 46 
 
 2. The Society enrolls as members only such per- 
 sons as pledge themselves to total abstinence from 
 spirituous liquors, either for lifetime or, in the case of 
 soldiers, for the time of their stay in India, and then 
 they form the First Class, or for any other period, 
 and then they form the Second Class; be they guided 
 by the motive of preventing themselves from falling 
 into the sin or vice of intemperance, or that of en- 
 couraging others to the practice of the virtue of absti- 
 nence, or that of offering to Almighty God an agreeable 
 sacrifice, or by any other praiseworthy motive. 
 
 3. The use of spirituous liquors for medical pur- 
 poses is considered to be against the pledge, except in 
 a hospital or on a written order of the physician. 
 
 4. Persons, who desire to pledge themselves to the 
 difficult task of partial abstinence, may address them- 
 selves privately to the Spiritual Director for guidance, 
 and may. at his discretion, be admitted to attend the 
 meetings, tea-parties and other amusements of the 
 Society. 
 
 5. On entering the Society each member receives 
 an Admission Card. The honours of the Society are 
 the Diploma to be given to the members of both 
 Classes after the first year of faithful observance of 
 the abstinence pledge ; a Silver Medal to be given to 
 all after the second year, and the Veteran Bar to be 
 given only to members of the First Class, after the 
 j,hird year.
 
 47 
 
 6. Members of the Second Class do not receive 
 the last honour; should they, however, enter the First 
 Class, then their time oi faithful observance of absti- 
 nence in the Second Class is to be taken into account. 
 
 7. The members pay a monthly subscription of 
 4 annas , whereby they are entitled to take part in 
 the meetings and parties of the Society, and to receive 
 the honours gratis. 
 
 8. No honours are given, unless the subscriptions 
 are fully paid up. 
 
 9. Each branch chooses by a majority of votes its 
 President and its Treasurer, for one year, in an annual 
 meeting held for this purpose. Re-election is allowed. 
 
 10. The supreme government of the Society is in 
 the hands of the Director, appointed by the Patron 
 of the Society, the B. C. Bishop of Bombay. 
 
 11. In each Station the Chaplain is ex-officio the 
 Director of the branches present in the Station. His 
 duty is to admit or to dismiss members. 
 
 12. When taking or renewing the pledge, the 
 member says in presence of the Director, on bended 
 knees, before a crucifix or a statue of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary : 
 
 " I promise to abstain from all spirituous liquor 
 for my whole lifetime, (or, for the time of my stay in 
 India) (or, for the period of ) ; and beg 1 of Almighty
 
 48 
 
 God, through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, 
 to give me grace and strength to fulfill this my pro- 
 mise. In the name of the Father, and of the Son 
 and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 13. In each Station the members hold meetings, 
 festivities, lectures, etc., according to their own wish or 
 that of their Director and President. 
 
 14. A member who breaks his pledge, forfeits all 
 rights and subscriptions already paid up, and is not al- 
 lowed to use the honours in the meetings. On sincere 
 repentance he may begin his first year again. 
 
 15. In the army, branches of the Bombay Tem- 
 perance Society are formed according to regiments 
 or companies and brigades or batteries, each of 
 which has a President for conducting its whole busi- 
 ness. In case of a regiment having detachments in 
 different Stations, a temporary Vice-President is 
 elected for each of the Stations, in which the President 
 does not reside. 
 
 16. Each branch has likewise its Treasurer, and 
 in case of division, its Vice-Treasurer. They deposit 
 the money with the Chaplain. 
 
 17. At the time of the division of a regiment, 
 the funds in hand of the Treasurer are divided accord- 
 ing to the number of Members. On rejoining, the 
 offices of the Vice-President and Vice-Treasurer cease, 
 and the funds are amalgamated.
 
 49 
 
 18. When different branches are stationed 
 together, they join in common meetings and festivities 
 under the guidance either of the Chaplain, or of a 
 President chosen by common accord. Their funds 
 remain separate, but they contribute to the common 
 meetings according to the number of members. 
 
 19. The civil branches form themselves under 
 their respective Parish Priests, who are their 
 Directors ex offitio. 
 
 20. They hold their meetings according to the 
 discretion of the Director and the President. 
 
 21. The bearers of honours wear them in the 
 meetings and in' the Church on the feast-day of 
 the Society. 
 
 22. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is 
 the feast of the Society, on which all Catholic 
 members are expected to receive holy Communion. 
 
 23. On the feast of the Immaculate Comception, 
 on entering the Society, and on receiving an honour, 
 each member gains an Indulgence of 40 days. 
 
 24. It is recommended to the members to join a 
 religious Confraternity, to assist at the Evening 
 Prayers and to receive every month holy Communion 
 according to the pious usage of the Station.
 
 BUFFALO, \il 50 
 
 If T 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1- The Soldier's Salvation. 
 
 God has made us to know Him, to love Him, to 
 serve Him in this world, in order to be happy with 
 Him in the ne5t. We shall be happy with God in 
 heaven, if during this life we work out our eternal 
 salvation. That is our great and last end. 
 
 When you joined the army you did not think of 
 that, but nevertheless the truth must be always be- 
 fore your eyes: "I have a soul to save or to lose." 
 Perhaps you have heard or read something about the 
 great St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of India and 
 Japan. He came out to this country in 154:2, and 
 converted many hundreds of thousands of heathens 
 to the Christian religion. He was a saint: he worked 
 countless and stupendous miracles, 
 
 But when he was young he was somewhat worldly- 
 minded. One day St. Ignatius met him and said: 
 " Francis, what does it profit a man, if he gain the 
 whole world, but suffer the loss of his soul" ? These 
 words made a great impression on him, and he cared 
 no more for the world, and only thought of his eternal 
 salvation. 
 
 The same words I address to you, young soldier. 
 You may have good prospects before you ; but what is 
 the use of all you can get in the world, if you lose your 
 soul? Even, if in the next campaign, you should so 
 distinguish yourself as to deserve to be decorated
 
 51 
 
 with the Victoria Cross; if you should obtain a com- 
 mission in the army, and afterwards a respectable 
 position in civil life : all this, if alone, is of no use, for 
 you must also save your soul. 
 
 1. God made man according to His own image 
 and likeness, and that likeness is in his soul. God is 
 a spirit and so is your soul. God is existing in three 
 persons ; and so your soul has three faculties : under- 
 standing, free will and memory, the acts of which in 
 a certain manner explain to us the mystery of the 
 Blessed Trinity. God is immortal ; and so is your 
 fioul immortal. Let the body after its separation 
 from the soul become the prey of worms in the dark 
 grave; let 100 and 1000 years pass away, and 
 nothing remains of this earthly frame, but a handful 
 of ashes ; let the very monument that has been 
 erected over the grave of a distinguished man have 
 crumbled into dust ; let the end of the world approach, 
 the day of Judgment come and pass away : even, 
 then, your soul will still live either eternally happy 
 in the bosom of God, or eternally unhappy in hell. 
 Hence, the Catechism says, that we must take greater 
 care of the soul than of the body. The soul is indeed 
 our noblest part, our own whole. 
 
 2. And when the soul of man became stained with 
 the first sin, when man having thus obscured the image 
 and likeness of God, surrendered it to the devil, its 
 value only enormously increased on account of the
 
 52 
 
 price, which Jesus Christ paid for its redemp- 
 tion. Ask then your Saviour what it has cost him 
 to redeem your soul from the power of hell ? 
 Ask him why he came down from heaven? why 
 he was born in a stable at Bethlehem? why 
 he led that hidden life so many years at Naza- 
 reth? why he exposed himself to so many pains, 
 to poverty, hardships and misery? why he suffered 
 under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried? For 
 cur salvation he came from Heaven. Indeed, for no 
 other reason did the Son of God become the Son of 
 Man. Our salvation it was which drew from him a 
 sweat of blood ; this it was which bound him to the 
 pillar, crowned him with thorns ; for this he took the 
 heavy cross upon his bruised shoulders, and gave his 
 hands and feet to be pierced and underwent the tor- 
 ments of death. Ah, what do you think no-fr of the 
 value of your soul I God himself created that soul 
 after his own image and likeness ! The Son of God 
 Buffering, weeping, bleeding to redeem that soul ; and 
 man remains thoughtless, careless with regard to his 
 immortal soul! But more than all this has been done 
 for our salvation. 
 
 3. The work of our Saviour is still continued and 
 will be so till the end of the world. Christ has esta- 
 blished his Church, and left there the merits of his re- 
 demption: his word, his grace, the seven Sacraments, 
 the Sacrifice of the Mass, his own Real Presence under 
 the appearance of bread and wine. He commanded
 
 53 
 
 his apostles to go forth into the whole world and to 
 preach the Gospel. From the beginning the Church 
 has sent out her missionaries across the ocean, and 
 bid them live and die in foreign countries, sacrifice 
 their health and strength, shed their very blood, if 
 required, for the salvation of souls. You must not 
 think that Priests and Nuns come out to India only 
 in order to get a livelihood. No, the Catholic mis- 
 sionary, impelled by the love of God and zeal for 
 the salvation of souls, and the Sister of Charity 
 who has left her parents arid relations, and renoun- 
 ced the pleasures of the world, hav6 consecrated 
 themselves to the service of God alone, to labour 
 and suffer for saving souls. 
 
 But alas ! How little do the greater part of man- 
 kind care for their eternal salvation ! Whilst they do 
 everything for the body, they neglect the soul alto- 
 gether. The best years of life are spent in serving 
 the body, but for the soul scarcely an hour can be 
 spared on a Sunday morning. 
 
 The body is well fed ; all means are procured to 
 promote health and strength ; but the poor soul starves 
 for want of the nourishment she would find m 
 hearing the word of God and receiving the Bread 
 of Life. 
 
 The body is neatly dressed, but the soul remains 
 in a filthy state, deprived of the garment of sanctify- 
 ing grace, wallowing in the mire of vice.
 
 54 
 
 To recover from bodily sickness, all means are 
 tried, all doctors consulted, all medicines applied ; 
 but to recover from a disease of the soul from mortal 
 sin. nothing 1 is done. " O blindness of men," exclaims 
 St. Augustine, "you deplore the death of a mortal 
 body, and you are not troubled about the death of 
 au immortal soul ! " 
 
 Alas! What price, what value is set on that 
 immortal soul by the Christian, who lives for months 
 and years in a state of mortal sin ; by the drunkard, 
 who deprives his soul of sense aad reason ; by the 
 youth who, to gratify his impure appetite, flings his 
 soul, the image and likeness of God, into the mire ; 
 by the apostate who renounces the trne religion and 
 thereby tramples under foot the blood of Jesus 
 Christ ! 
 
 A priest who was giving a Mission in a village in 
 Trance, passed one day a farmer's yard, where a 
 groom was at the time busy in rubbing down his 
 master's horse with great care. 
 
 My friend, said he, how many times a day do you see 
 to your horse to keep him in good condition ? I do not 
 know exactly, replied the man, but I spend as much 
 as two hours every day on the horse. 
 
 That is a great deal, said the Priest, and I see ac- 
 cordingly that your horse is very fine. But tell me, 
 how much time do you give every day to the care of
 
 55 
 
 your soul to justify it, to sanctify it, to render it 
 better, in a word, to prepare it for heaven? I will 
 soon tell you that, father. Every morning I bless 
 myself, I say an Our Father and Hail Mary. On 
 Sunday I do not often miss Mass. That's all. Ah I 
 my poor friend, Said the Priest, since you take so little 
 care of your soul and so much of your master's horse, 
 I would rather be your horse than your soul. And 
 yet what will it profit you, to earn a thousand francs 
 a year, if you lose your soul ? * 
 
 The cafe of your soul is, therefore, the most import- 
 ant business you have on earth. Every other busi- 
 ness belongs to time; this belongs to eternity. 
 
 The question is not, whether you are to be rich or 
 poor, sick or in good health, in disgrace or in honour, 
 for a certain number of years. No, the question is, 
 whether you are to be a citizen of heaven or an in- 
 habitant of hell, a friend of God or an object of His 
 indignation. 
 
 The question is about heaven and hell ! I dare 
 go so far as to say it is our only business on earth. 
 For temporal losses may at least, in some measure, be 
 repaired. If we lose one friend, we may find another. 
 If we lose an eye or a hand, we have another still. 
 But we have only one soul, and if that soul be lost 
 the loss is absolute and eternally irretrievable. Your 
 soul once lost is lost for ever. 
 * Noel, Cateclueme de Kodez.
 
 56 
 
 The salvation of your soul is your own personal 
 business. Nobody else can attend to it, if you neglect 
 it. It is true, God helps you with His grace. Your 
 parents and friends advise you. Your Priests instruct 
 you, but nobody can fight against your temptations. 
 Nobody in the world can work out your salvation for 
 you, if you yourself neglect your salvation : because 
 nobody can perform good works for you. Your own 
 virtues and good works, your own victories over the 
 flesh, the world and the devil, and nothing else, will 
 save your soul. 
 
 6. It must also be observed that your salvation is 
 a very urgent affair. When you have to do a thing 
 within a certain time, and when, moreover, that space 
 of time is very short, then you must not delay ; you 
 must do it at once. Well, the time allotted to you for 
 the salvation of your soul is very short and veiy uncer- 
 tain. The thread of life may be cut at any period, and 
 therefore you must begin that great important work 
 at once. Delay is, Oh ! how dangerous ! 
 
 From all this you must conclude that the salvation 
 of your soul is your greatest, or rather your only 
 affair on earth. 
 
 Save your soul ; for God has made it after his own 
 image and likeness. 
 
 Save your soul ; for Jesus Christ has redeemed it 
 by shedding his blood for it. Save your soul; 
 for the Holy Ghost has sanctified it, and Holy
 
 57 
 
 Church supplies you with every means, and shows 
 you the way to your salvation. No affair is more 
 important, more necessary, more urgent, than the 
 eternal salvation of your immortal soul. 
 
 2. The soldier in mortal sin. 
 
 About 1300 years ago there lived at Constantinople 
 a very holy man by name St. John Chrysostom. He 
 was a Bishop and also a most eloquent preacher; he 
 was also a true follower of the Apostles, and without 
 the least human respect he freely inveighed against 
 the vices of his age. Theodosius, then emperor of 
 Constantinople, oftentimes^ took oSen.ce at the strong 
 language the Bishop made use of in his sermons, and 
 on one occasion at a dinner-party he expressed his 
 great indignation. His favourites proposed to him 
 several modes of taking revenge. One said : trans- 
 port him for life. Another thought it would be bet- 
 ter to punish him by confiscating all his property; 
 a third advice was for his immediate imprisonment, and 
 a fourth one voted for his death. At last a general, 
 who commanded great respect, rose up and said that 
 not one of these punishments would afflict the holy 
 Bishop. For, said he, if you [banish him, he will lead 
 the life of a holy hermit in the desert ; if you con- 
 fiscate his property, he will not feel the loss, because 
 he spends all his money on the poor ; if you send him 
 to prison, he will embrace his chains, and like St.
 
 58 
 
 Paul deem it a great happiness to suffer for the name 
 of Jesus ; and if you kill him, he will be venerated as 
 a glorious martyr. So it will be no revenge nor 
 punishment. But I give you this advice: get him 
 to commit a mortal sin; for that holy man considers 
 mortal sin the greatest evil in the world. 
 
 Indeed, there is no greater evil. The Saints of 
 God were ready to suffer any loss, but they would 
 not commit one sin for all the good and all the evil 
 things in this world. 
 
 They knew and understood the malice of sin. The 
 reason, then, why many men lead a sinful life is. be- 
 cause they do not reflect on, and therefore do not un- 
 derstand the evil of it. Now, what is sin? Sin is a 
 wilful transgression of the law of God. By the law of 
 God, I mean not only the Commandments of God and 
 of His Church, but also the natural law, which God 
 has written in every man's heart, telling him to do 
 good and to avoid evil. The transgression is wilful 
 when it is done with fall knowledge and free will. 
 You must know an order before you can disobey it. 
 Not to hear Mass on a holiday of obligation is a 
 transgression of a Commandment of the Church, and 
 consequently a sin. But, when a man does not know 
 it is such a day, his missing Mass on it is no sin. be- 
 cause of his want of knowledge. 
 
 Again, not to hear Mass on a Sunday is a mortal 
 sin, but when duty prevents a soldier from hearing
 
 59 
 
 Mass, it is no sin, becauae he is not free. There ^ are 
 however certain actions which are sinful though not 
 wilful at the moment they are committed. So, when 
 a man knows, that under the influence of drink he al- 
 ways makes use of filthy language, curses and blas- 
 phemes, he is responsible for these sins, because his 
 drinking was wilful. He should not have got wilfully 
 drunk, then he would not have committed the other 
 crimes. 
 
 You always commit a mortal sin, when you wilfully 
 break a Commandment in an important matter; you are 
 guilty of venial sin, when the matter is not grievous, 
 or when the action is wilful only to a certain extent 
 To tell a lie is a sin. To tell a lie in joke or in excuse 
 is only a venial sin; but if you tell a lie that injures 
 your neighbour's character very much, you commit a 
 mortal sin, because the matter is serious. But a 
 good Christian should avoid even all sin, just because 
 it is sin, and therefore displeases God. What you read 
 in the following pages will give you an accurate idea 
 of the evil there is in mortal sin. 
 
 1. Mortal sin is an offence against God. The 
 grievousness of an offence depends on several circum- 
 stances as for example the high rank of the offended 
 person, the low condition of the offender; the nature of 
 the offence, the motives impelling a man to it, and 
 also the persons in whose presence the offence ia 
 given.
 
 60 
 
 Were your language or actions to inault the 
 Commander- in- Chief, you would be more severely 
 punished, than if you were to insult a Non- Commis- 
 sioned Officer. Now in committing a mortal sin 
 you offend One, who is infinitely greater than all the 
 Kings of the world. It is He, who has made heaven 
 and earth ; the Governor and Ruler of the whole 
 universe ; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob : 
 the Supreme Being, all powerful, all wise, all just and 
 most holy. Yes, He is insulted by you. And who 
 are you? The creature of God, the work of his own 
 hands, a worm of the earth, as the Scripture says. 
 You rise like a rebel against God. You despise the 
 laws He made for you, in order to make you happy 
 in the world to come. But you say, at least implicitly: 
 "I do not care for the reward which God has 
 promised to the just in heaven. I am not frightened 
 at the punishment which God threatens to inflict on 
 me in hell. I will not serve Him ; I shake_ofi' His 
 yoke ; I will have my own way." 
 
 0, the wickedness that is involved in every single 
 mortal sin ! And what induces a man to behave in 
 this manner towards his Lord and good Master? 
 If by committing a mortal sin you could get posses- 
 sion of all the wealth of the whole world, the enjoy- 
 ment of all the pleasures of the world, the dominion 
 over all the countries of the world : even, then, were 
 you to commit a mortal sin, you would deserve to be 
 called the meanest rebel against your King. But the 
 reward of sin is not so great as thia.
 
 Cl 
 
 What induces men to offend God is a very trifle. 
 For a few rupees, for a momentary pleasure, for a 
 glass of liquor, many commit the greatest crimes. 
 
 Now, turn your eyes to heaven and see God on His 
 throne surrounded by angels and saints that praise 
 Him for His great power and glory whilst you thus 
 Insult the divine Majesty. Oh, who can measure the 
 greatness of such an offence '? I must say God 
 alone can. For He alone can know and compre- 
 hend the distance between the Creator and the creature. 
 
 2. Mortal sin is also the blackest ingratitude 
 against the best of fathers. All men, the very heathens, 
 abhor him who is ungrateful, and who instead of 
 thanks returns only insult and injuries to his benefac- 
 tor. Now. God is our greatest benefactor ; my exis- 
 tence, my redemption, the fact that I can obtain 
 heaven I owe to Him, the faculties of soul and 
 body He has given to me bespeak His bounty ; that I 
 awake in the morning in good health, that my heart does 
 not cease to beat, that the blood runs through my veins 
 and arteries, that I can see with my eyes, hear with 
 my ears, speak with my tongue, work with my hands, 
 walk on my feet : all this is a standing proof of the 
 love and protection of God who constantly watches 
 over me. And I know that were He to withdraw 
 for a moment His arm from me, I should fall into 
 nothingness. All grace again comes from Him the 
 Sacraments, the Sacrifice of the holy Mass, the count- 
 less and inestimable benefits He has left in the Church
 
 remind me every clay and hour of my benefactor. 
 We read in the Gospel, that on many occasions our 
 Saviour showed His mercy and love to sufferers by 
 working miracles for their cure. 'Now, suppose that, 
 having cured, say a leper, this man had turned against 
 our Saviour and struck His face with that very hand 
 that he had cleaned from leprosy : of what an ingra- 
 titude would not such a man have been guilty ? Or, 
 suppose that one of the deaf and dumb, to whom he had 
 given the use of speech had repaired to Mount Calvary, 
 and whilst the Saviour was in his agony on the Cross 
 had begun to abuse and insult him with that same 
 tongue that lie had loosened ! We shudder at the 
 thought, our indignation is aroused, so monstrous would 
 have been such ingratitude. But are we not doing 
 something very similar when we commit sins with 
 our eyes, ears, hands, with the faculties of the soul, 
 which we have received from God's bounty ? 
 
 3. More than this: sin is a desertion from the 
 camp of Christ. 
 
 We were enrolled in the army of Christ on the day 
 of our baptism. We were then sworn in to defend 
 his colours, the holy Cross. But on the day on which 
 we commit a mortal sin we actually go over to the 
 devil, the enemy of Christ. Is he a loyal soldier who 
 sides with the enemy V And if such a man were to 
 be tried by martial law and sentenced, would the 
 punishment inflicted by the Lord of Hosts on such
 
 traitors to Jesus Christ be too severe V The holy 
 Fathers are quite right when they say that sinners 
 betray and crucify our Saviour anew. 
 
 The greatest harm which you do by living in sin is 
 done to yourselves. Take the case of a man, who 
 after a good confession has received the Blessed 
 Sacrament and turned over a new leaf, as the saying 
 is ; he will commit mortal sin no more ; he is attentive 
 to all his religious duties ; he reads good books and 
 keeps away from bad company. His soul is now 
 robed in innocence ; heaven is his own ; by the tran- 
 quillity of a good conscience he already tastes in 
 anticipation the joys of heaven. The angels rejoice, 
 and are prepared to inscribe his name in the Book 
 of Life. So he goes on for several days or weeks 
 truly and happily. But the tempter draws near, 
 takes him to the Canteen and other wicked places. 
 He commits mortal sin. Ah, what a change has 
 come over him ! His soul is no longer an 
 object of God's love. The dwelling place of 
 the Holy Ghost has become the habitation of 
 the devil. Peace is gone ! The love of God is gone ! 
 Heaven is lost ! The blood of Christ cries to heaven 
 against that soul, because he has trampled on the 
 blood that was shed for him ; has made void the work 
 of his redemption. The angels mourn over it. Hell 
 Opens to receive that soul, and the next moment may 
 hurry it for ever into its abyss.
 
 64 
 
 And, lastly, let the sinner think of the way sin is 
 punished. How Adam and Eve by a single mortal sin 
 brought such misery on themselves and on all their 
 children. How the angels who followed Lucifer were 
 condemned to hell ; how so many who have sinned less, 
 have had their lives cut short and are now suffering 
 in hell. How our Saviour, to expiate the guilt of sin, 
 suffered the most excruciating pains, and died on the 
 cross. How so many penitents to satisfy for a single 
 mortal sin have buried themselves in frightful 
 solitudes and spent their lives in fasting and watching. 
 
 Oh, my God, what a monster a sinner must be ! 
 He offends Thee, who art his Creator and greatest 
 Benefactor. He is an ungrateful wretch, this worm 
 of the earth. He betrays the cause of Christ by de- 
 serting from his camp. He ruins his immortal soul. 
 No more sin then ! Oh, my God, who art in- 
 finitely good and always hatest sin, I beg pardon 
 from my heart for all my offences against Thee ; and I 
 detest them all, because they are displeasing to Thy 
 infinite goodness, and I firmly resolve never more to 
 offend Thee and to avoid carefully all the occasions of sin. 
 
 3- The Soldier's Death and Particular 
 Judgment. 
 
 It is appointed for men once to die, and after this 
 the Judgment, (Hebr. 9, 27). In these words the 
 Apostle speaks of that judgment which takes place 
 immediately after death, and is called the Particular
 
 6o 
 
 Judgment, The great Universal Judgment on tlio 
 last day is only a publication and confirmation of 
 the sentence passed by God on the souls of men on the 
 occasion of their Particular Judgment. It is this 
 which makes death so terrible to every thinking and 
 believing man. It is the awful account we have to 
 give the moment we die. 
 
 Those who say they fear not death, because we all 
 must die one day, little reflect on what follows death. 
 We must not look upon death as though it were 
 merely the end of our time on earth, but we must 
 remember that it is the beginning of our eternity in 
 the next world. This is a sei'ious reflection. Cast 
 your eyes on the very first step you must take beyond 
 the grave! Consider, then, in this light the situation 
 of a man the moment he expires with regard to Eter- 
 nity! Represent to yourself a man in hospital in 
 his last agony. He is stretched upon his bed, 
 which he will not leave except to be taken to 
 the dead-house. By degrees he loses his senses and 
 the free use of his faculties, and you see him violent- 
 ly struggling with death, that draws near to sever 
 the soul from the body, and to bring the soul into the 
 presence of the Judge. The body will soon be a corpse. 
 The eyes are broken and fixed, the feet and arms cold 
 and stiff, the pulse is scarcely perceptible his breath- 
 ing more and more hard and gasping, until the by- 
 standers see he has breathed his last. Yes, even at 
 that very moment his soul stands before the tribunal
 
 66 
 
 of God, which, according to the opinion of learned 
 divines and pious writers, is in the very place where 
 he has just died, beside the deathbed on which the 
 corpse is seen lying. Now, give an account of thy 
 stewardship ! Thus said the Lord in the parable to the 
 man, who had been accused of dishonesty in squander- 
 ing the property entrusted to his administration. 
 Who are you ? A private soldier or a sergeant, or 
 something more ? How much have you in the bank ? 
 Are you decorated with a medal for having distin- 
 guished yourself as a valiant and gallant soldier? No 
 such question will be asked. Your friends may 
 speak about such things ; your relations may be glad 
 to get the money, and all the rest that belonged to 
 you; a newspaper may mention your name and the 
 distinction you have had in the world. But you will 
 be asked other questions by your Judge. 
 
 What sins have you committe d ? 
 What good works have you performed? 
 What virtues have you practised? 
 
 What use have you made of the gifts and all the 
 gr'aces which God bestowed on you when in life? 
 
 The reply is already given in the Book of Life. 
 Almighty God has seen and knows all particulars, and 
 He will make them known to the whole world on the 
 last day. How happy will be a soul that stands free 
 from all stain of sin !
 
 67 
 
 A soul that has not to fear either purgatory nor 
 hell, such is the soul of a saint. But a few only 
 are in such a case when they die. God is infinitely 
 just and holy. Nothing denied can enter heaven. 
 Wherefore, the Church teaches that there is a place, 
 called purgatory, where souls suffer for a time on ac- 
 count of their sins, that is to say, those souls which 
 depart this life in venial sins, or which have not fully 
 paid the debt of temporal punishment due to their 
 sins, great or small. The soiil, it is true, is in a state of 
 grace, but not purified altogether, and now in the 
 presence of the Judge the slightest stain of sin, how- 
 ever venial, is foul and horrible. Oh ! what does nofc 
 such a soul now feel for not having' taken greater pain 
 to please God and satisfy His justice during its tem- 
 poral life ! What grief will it feel for all its negligences 
 in His holy service, in prayer and other good works ; 
 for those acts of impatience, lies, foolish idle words ! 
 Now, the soul perceives that it should have been 
 more mortified, more charitable and humble, more 
 fervent in gaining indulgences and making better 
 use of the time it had on earth. But. alas ! time is 
 no more; divine justice can no longer be appeased by 
 good works. 
 
 It is impossible to do any good, but it remains for 
 the soul to suffer in purgatory for weeks, months, 
 for years. 
 
 If such is the case with those who die in a state 
 of grace, how terrible will be the situation of the
 
 68 
 
 impenitent sinner when standing before the tribunal 
 of God! St. Paul wrote to the Hebrews (10, 31): 
 '' It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living 
 God." This the sinner now experiences. He beholds 
 an angry God and is struck with terror. He sees 
 the world and cannot return to it. He sees hell 
 and cannot escape it. Now, all the thoughts and 
 words and deeds and omissions that make up a 
 criminal life are spread before him. 
 
 Up to then he did not understand the wicked- 
 ness there is in a single mortal sin. No ; a weak 
 memory, worldly principles and blindness of heart 
 made him underrate the grievousness of an offence 
 against God and made him incapable of at all com- 
 prehending it. But now his eyes are open ; now he 
 sees all his shameful sins, their number, circum- 
 stances and species. The whole judgment, the 
 examination of conscience and the execution, of the 
 sentence is the work of a moment. The by-standers 
 at that man's death-bed notice nothing but the fact 
 that life is extinct. "What has become of him after 
 death ?" This question is already mentioned in the 
 Book of Job. The dead body is there, yes ; but 
 what has become of the soul ? God knows that it has 
 received its sentence. 
 
 From human knowledge all is concealed and 
 remains a secret till the day of the Universal Judg- 
 ment. The funeral is prepared. The post mortem 
 examination of the body is over. The party warned
 
 69 
 
 for the occasion marches from the hospital to the 
 cemetery, and in silent solemnity the coffin is carried to 
 the grave. Here the Priest recites the burial service. 
 He implores God to look down upon the deceased 
 man with mercy, and sprinkles holy water on the 
 coffin, that the dew of heaven, as it is called, may 
 refresh his soul. 
 
 But ivhere is the soul all this time ? Has the 
 man died in a state of sin ? Did his Saviour 
 meet him with a mild countenance, telling him, 
 as the Priest prayed at his death- bed, that his 
 place would be to-day in peace ? Did the holy Angels 
 and Saints receive him into their company, or did he 
 die under the empire of Satan ? All is a mystery. 
 All we know is, that he had to give an account of his 
 stewardship. The military honours are paid to his 
 remains. The funeral party disperses, and the grave 
 is closed. 
 
 What impression does the ceremony of the funeral 
 make on the survivors? Alas, how few reflect on it! 
 And yet we all must die, and then will all be judged. 
 When? where? in what manner? God alone knows. 
 Hence is derived every motive that loudly calls on us 
 to prepare now for a good death. This preparation 
 consists in leading a good life. Be then attentive to 
 your religious duty ; regular in receiving worthily the 
 holy Sacraments; be sober, honest and chaste.
 
 70 
 
 Men almost invariably die as they have lived. 
 Those who lead the lives of sinners, ordinarily die 
 the death of sinners, or at least is it not to be feared? 
 And those who lead good and virtuous lives, commonly 
 iie the death of the just. 
 
 4. The Soldier fearing Hell. 
 
 Nothing is more certain than that Almighty God 
 desires that all men should be saved. For this pur- 
 pose he gives every man sufficient grace to work 
 out his eternal salvation ; grace to keep his com- 
 mandments, to resist and overcome all the assaults of 
 the world, the flesh and the devil. And even, when 
 a man goes astray. God does every thing, and so to 
 say, takes every pains to bring him back. 
 
 At one time he calls the sinner by the voice of 
 conscience, at another by sermons, good books, the 
 advice of friends, or he sends him trials and troubles 
 to bring him to his senses. But if after all these 
 calls and warnings, the sinner remains obstinate, then 
 the Almighty lifts up his arm, threatening him with 
 eternal punishment in hell. 
 
 "\Vluit is hell? A place where the sinner is deprived 
 of the blessed sight of God : is separated from God, his 
 Angels and his Saints; it is a place of torments, fire, 
 the worm of conscience to be endured for ever. 
 
 As the essential happiness of the Blessed in heaven 
 consists in seeing God. knowing, loving and possess-
 
 ing him, so the essential torment of hell is the eter- 
 nal separation from God. The moment God says: 
 "Begone, ye accursed!" the damned are rejected by 
 him for ever. That is damnation. Thus God is lost, 
 heaven is lost, all is lost. Ah! what a terrible dis- 
 appointment must it be. when a man. who has been 
 rich in the world, in the enjoyment of all amusements 
 and comforts, respected by all for his positon. abili- 
 ties, achievements, as soon as he breathes his last, 
 finds himself deprived of every thing- poor, miser- 
 able, rejected by God on account of his sins, excluded 
 from heaven, and never more to have the least plea- 
 sure or relief from his sufferings. 
 
 There reigned once at Constantinople a Christian 
 Emperor, called Zeno. But he had enemies who 
 conspired against his life, and the Empress herself 
 with them. One day when a dinner was given in 
 the palace, the Emperor drank to excess and became 
 insensible. His enemies gave out that the Emperor 
 was dead. He was at once put into a coffin, and 
 before he awoke from his intoxication was carried 
 to the vault, where the Imperial family were buried. 
 The heavy iron-gates of the vault were closed. Only 
 after several days had passed, they were opened again, 
 when it was found that the Emperor had been buried 
 alive. Now imagine for a moment, the feelings of 
 the Emperor Zeno, when he awoke from his state 
 of intoxication and found himself in a coffin, locked 
 up among the dead, soon to be like one of them !
 
 72 
 
 But this conveys to our minds only a faint idea of 
 the heart-break and the horror of a sinner on his 
 first finding himself buried in hell. His sufferings 
 begin at once. Let us endeavo ur first to get an idea of. 
 The Fire of Hell 
 
 Even here on earth the pain of fire is one of the 
 greatest we can imagine. To be burnt alive ; to have 
 burning torches brought near a person's body ; to be 
 laid on a red-hot iron grate or on live coals, to have 
 the flesh torn by red-hot iron-pincers : such were 
 the cruel tortures to which pagan tyrants condemned 
 so many martyrs during the first centuries of raging 
 persecution. Try only to hold your finger for one 
 second in the flame of a candle, how painful it is ! 
 Perhaps you have some time or other seen one of 
 those large furnaces they have in iron foundries is 
 it not a fearful heat, and an awful thing to go near and 
 look at the crackling fire ? Imagine that you were 
 sentenced to be cast into such a furnace ! True, you 
 would soon be suffocated and dead. But if by a 
 miracle God should keep you alive in that fire for a 
 quarter of an hour, what would you not have to 
 endure ? And if you should remain in those flames 
 for one hour for a whole day for a whole week 
 for a whole year? Oh God! we shudder at the 
 mere thought, for it surpasses all Ave can imagine. 
 And yet, that fire is only natural an earthly fire. 
 It destroys only the body, and after a short while it 
 puts an end to our life. But the fire in hell is a quite
 
 73 
 
 different thing. It is created by God for the purpose 
 of torturing the damned; it is a fire that acts on the 
 very soul. The least degree of pain produced by the 
 fire of hell is (according to St. Thomas) greater than 
 all the excruciating pains the martyrs ever suffered. 
 And. then, not to mention the other indescribable pains 
 which through the senses torture the damned, no 
 doubt, the worm of conscience is one of their chiefest 
 torments. Our Saviour thus denominates the stings, 
 the reproaches of conscience, the memory of past life 
 and of crimes committed. Oh. how will not all 
 the precious opportunities they have had and have 
 misspent arise for ever against them ! The fos- 
 tering care of their parents ; the advice they have 
 received ; the good examples they have seen ; all 
 the wondrous graces that have been lavished on 
 them, but which they have despised and abused ! 
 Had they not heard of the joys of heaven and of the 
 pains of hell? But they heeded not, nay, listened not, 
 and now they are lost. The damned soul now clearly 
 feels the self-reproach. 
 
 " I miijkt have been saved, but I would not. Ah! 
 if I had taken and followed the advice of my parents, 
 of my friends, of my confessor! If I had only kept 
 away from bad company! If I had never seen that 
 young person again, with whom I became familiar and 
 sinned ! If I had been modest and had at once banish- 
 ed those bad thoughts, desires and imaginations, 
 which were the cause of so many sins of impurity. 
 
 7
 
 If I had always made good confessions, and had not 
 from shame concealed such and such sins. Indeed, I 
 might be now in heaven. And now I am among the 
 devils, in thaty?Ve which will never be extinguished ; in 
 this place where the worm will never die ; in this 
 prison out of which there is no redemption. No, says 
 St. Gregory, there needs no devils be in hell, no fire to 
 make it a place of torments : the sins the damned 
 brings with him into hell are tortures enough. But 
 may one not say, that the most dreadful part of all this 
 is that the fire of hell is never quenched, and that the 
 worm will never die, in other words, the punishment 
 in hell is eternal ? 
 
 Etc nitty of Hell. 
 
 All other sufferings must sooner or later end. This 
 hope for an end is a great alleviation. How different 
 is it with the damned ! They suffer not only without a 
 glimmer of hope, but they are in actual despair. 
 Never will they obtain again one favour from God ; 
 never can they move His compassion ; never appease 
 His just wrath by all their sufferings. A soul con- 
 demned to hell a thousand years ago must exclaim : 
 Hell is not for a thousand, a hundred thousand years, 
 it is for ever ! 
 
 Hear what the great orator Bourdaloue says on this 
 subject: Can I represent to my mind this eternity? 
 I figure to myself all the stars of heaven; to this 
 innumerable multitude I add all the drops of water
 
 75 
 
 in the ocean ; I reckon all the grains of sand on its 
 shore. Then I ask myself: If I had for as many 
 ages undergone torments in that fire, which is kindled 
 by the wrath of God, would eternity be at an end ? 
 No ! And why '? Because it is eternity, and eternity 
 has no end. To number the stars, to count the drops 
 in the ocean, to tell the grains of sand that lie on its 
 shore is not absolutely impossible ; but to measure the 
 number of days, years, ages of eternity, is what cannot 
 be done, because its days, years, ages are without 
 number, or to speak more properly, because in eterni- 
 ty there are neither days, nor years, nor ages, but a 
 single, endless, infinite duration. 
 
 Oh Eternity that will never end! Serious reflec- 
 tion on this one word is enough to convert the great- 
 est sinners. In 1760 there died at Lucca in Italy a 
 saintly Archbishop, Joseph Dominick Mansi. He 
 had commenced life as a notary. One day, being 
 obliged to go to a house, where he had probably some 
 will to make, he passed a church where a sermon was 
 being preached. Impelled by curiosity, he entered and 
 soon perceived that the preacher had taken for his sub- 
 ject the eternity of hell. From time to time he 
 passed and electrified his audience by crying out : 
 ' Oh eternity that will never end." The tone in 
 which he pronounced these words, produced an extra- 
 ordinary effect on Mansi. He left the church, absorbed 
 
 * Schmidt ct Bcllet, Cat. Hist, II, 569.
 
 70 
 
 in thought, and went on his way ; only now and then 
 he stopped and repeated to himself: % '-Oh eternity 
 that will never end !'' Retui'ning to his house, just 
 as he was about to sit down to table, an interior voice 
 seemed to repeat the same words in his ear : Oh 
 eternity, that will never end ! By night as well as 
 by day. alike at prayer and at business, that important 
 sentence sounded in his ear and occupied his mind. 
 Touched, at length, by this celestial warning, he left 
 the world, became a priest and later on a real exem- 
 plary Bishop. 
 
 Let every man have a proper fear of eternal punish- 
 ment, such a one will never sin. Think of hell, and 
 you will escape it, as St. Augustine says. See who 
 are in hell, what road leads to it, and ask yourself, 
 whether you are in danger of going there. Who are 
 in hell ? Men, who on earth made little of religion, 
 transgressed God's Commandments and those of the 
 Church. Are you one of them ? If you are of that 
 number behold your place is in hell ! Who are in hell ? 
 Men who took the name of God in vain, profaned the 
 holy name of God by cursing and swearing. Are you 
 one of them ? If you are, behold your place in hell ! Who 
 are in hell ? Bad parents, those who gave scandals, the 
 unchaste, the drunkards, the impenitent, those who 
 neglected their Easter duty, apostates, those who 
 belonged to secret societies forbidden by the Church. 
 Have you committed and are you still committing- 
 mortal sin? Behold your place in hell !
 
 77 
 
 Away, then with, mortal sin ! Keep from it and re- 
 pent. One Act of perfect Contrition, made even at the 
 last moment of life, extinguishes the fire of hell. Al- 
 ways make good confessions, and you will have a pass- 
 port which will give you admittance into the kingdom 
 of heaven.
 
 78 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 5. The Mercy of God. 
 
 It is dreadful whilst in a state of sin to fall into 
 the hands of the living God at the moment we die. 
 It is consoling and encouraging to know that God ia 
 infinitely merciful and long- suffering as long as we 
 are in this world. God is infinite in all His perfec- 
 tions, and, therefore, none of them, none more than 
 the other can be called greater or smaller, and yet, 
 in regard to mankind, God's power, wisdom, pro- 
 vidence, immensity and eternity seem all to have 
 a share in manifesting His infinite mercy to us. 
 "Thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens," 
 (Ps. LVI. 11). Therefore, the mercies of the Lord 
 I will sing for ever." (Ps. LXXXVIII. 2). 
 
 It was surely out of His goodness that He created 
 the universe, and assigned to our first parents such 
 a beautiful dwelling place as the Garden of Eden. 
 Still much more was his infinite mercy manifested, 
 when, they having committed sin, He at once, there 
 and then promised them a Redeemer to atone for, 
 and give satisfaction for their sin. The whole history 
 of the chosen people of God is one long series of 
 merciful dealings of patience and long-suffering. 
 But how were these all surpassed in the fulfilment of 
 time when the second person of the Blessed Trinity 
 took our human nature, to live, to suffer, and to die 
 in it for us. Mercy and love were the prominent
 
 79 
 
 features of the character of Jesus, God made Man . 
 In one of the eight Beatitudes, he pronounced in his 
 sermon on the Mount, he declares : iv Blessed 
 are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." Byword 
 and example he, all his life-time, encouraged poor 
 sinners to trust in the mercy of God. When we read 
 in the Gospel of those frequent conversations with 
 sinners, we must observe that he had for his sole 
 object to reclaim them from their wicked ways, and 
 bring them to the ways of justice and eternal salva- 
 tion. On one of these occasions (he was eating in 
 the house of a publican, as St. Luke relates in the 
 15th Chapter of his Gospel), the Pharisees were 
 greatly scandalized; but our Saviour in reply told 
 them that it was the great end of his mission on 
 earth to seek sinners and convert them, that is. to 
 win them to His mercy ; those in good health need 
 not the physician, but the sick only: so he had come 
 not for the just, but for sinners. He has left us two 
 parables, marvellous pictures, both of them, of the 
 mercy of God towards sinners. These, are '-The Lost 
 Sheep" and " The Prodigal Son." In the first par- 
 able a shephei'd, who has one hundred sheep, misses 
 One. Leaving its companions in safety, he goes after 
 the lost sheep ; he seeks it till he finds it, then he 
 lays it upon his shoulders, and carries it home with 
 joy. Here we have a graphic picture of himself and 
 of his conduct. He is the Divine Shepherd who 
 follows the sinner, pursues him, moves him by 
 his grace, and at length brings him back to
 
 80 
 
 the flock in this way. How often have the great- 
 est sinners been thus converted to God ? Count, if 
 you can. the hermits of old who have left the world 
 and retired into deserts, there in solitude and silence, 
 by works of penance, prayer, and watching, to atone 
 for their past offences! It was the voice of the Good 
 Shepherd that called and brought them from their 
 once sinful life to their holy one. Penetrate with 
 your eyes the interior of monasteries aiad convents, 
 and how many similiar witnesses to God's mercy will 
 you find there ! How many soldiers, wild and dis- 
 solute in their youth, whilst they indulged in 
 drink, who committed fornication, and were in the 
 habit of cursing and swearing, were at last found by 
 the Good Shepherd, obeyed His voice, and cor- 
 responding with grace, turning over a new leaf, and 
 keeping their good resolutions, are now happy and 
 content and as it were already at home : how many 
 good Christians and true soldiers of Christ are to 
 be found, bearing witness in their sufferings to the 
 mercy of God. 
 
 The other parable I referred to as that which our 
 Saviour related on this occasion is the parable of 
 " The Prodigal Son." A greater enemy Religion 
 never had than Voltaire, who lived about 100 years 
 .ago. and even he used to say that he never read this 
 parable without shedding teai'S. 
 
 A young man. one of two sons, and the younger of 
 them, who had obtained from his father a portion of
 
 81 
 
 the family fortune, to which he had certainly no claim 
 during- his father's life, left his parental home, and 
 went to some distant country, where he led for a 
 while a very bad life, and spent all his money in de- 
 bauchery. He soon fell into the depths of misery, 
 as soon as his money was spent, he lost the friends 
 he had made ; then a famine visited the country, and 
 he was glad to take even the lowest service, to at- 
 tend to the swine and he was fain to satisfy his 
 hunger on the husks given to these animals. 
 
 Seeing himself in such misery, he began to think 
 of his former condition whilst in his father's house, 
 and made up his mind to return. So he went half- 
 naked, filthy, a true 1'epresentation of a man in the 
 state of sin. What will his father say ? How re- 
 ceive him? Ah! a long way off his father saw. and 
 knew him. Full of pity, he did not wait until the 
 poor boy had prostrated himself at his feet, but he ran 
 to meet him, embraced and kissed him, had the fatted 
 calf killed and made a great feast for ' this my son 
 was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and he is 
 found again." We know what the feelings of a tender 
 father are, and how the greatest offences are forgiven 
 when a child submits and asks pardon. But there are 
 certain sins which cannot be pardoned at once, nor 
 without reproaches, to make the offender sensible of what 
 he has done. And surely the case of the Prodigal Son was 
 such a one. But Almighty God in His mercy acts in a 
 different manner. Jesus Christ being the Friend of
 
 repentant sinners receives them at once wtihout utter- 
 ing- a single word of reproach, and he himself related 
 this parable in order to show us the kind of reception 
 every poor sinner will meet with, if only he has made 
 up his mind to do penance. Ah ! this sonl was dead 
 and is come to life again. Jesus embraces the repent- 
 ing sinner, covers him with the garment of sanctify- 
 ing grace, ai'ranges a great feast, and at the great en- 
 tertainment gives him His own flesh and blood in 
 Holy Communion. Then all the angels are invited 
 to rejoice with the Heavenly Father over the conver- 
 sion of that sinner. " For this my son was lost, and 
 he is found again."' Thus did Our Lord receive Mary 
 Magdalen when prostrate at his feet, she wept for 
 her sins ! The Pharisees were scandalised. " Many 
 sins are forgiven her, for she has loved much," were 
 his words. 
 
 Jesus Christ is indeed the Friend of repenting 
 sinners. See, how he deals with Zaccheus. This 
 man (who was the chief of the publicans) sought 
 to see and to become acquainted with Jesus. When 
 Jesus came near his city, he climbed into a tree that 
 he might see Him. But Jesus looking up called to 
 him: " Zaccheus, make haste, come down, this day I 
 must abide in thy house.'' The people murmured at his 
 intention to be the guest of a man who was a sinner 
 But Zaccheus standing afar on', said : ' Behold, 
 the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I hare 
 wronged any man, I restore him fourfold." Jesus
 
 83 
 
 replied: -This day is salvation come to this house, 
 because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of 
 Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." 
 Listen to all this, all you poor sinners. Come to 
 Our Lord Jesus, trust in his mercy ! On the day of 
 your conversion he will abide in your house, in 
 Holy Communion, he will be your guest, and truly 
 you may say: -To-day salvation is come to this 
 house." 
 
 Not less touching is the reply Jesus made to the 
 Pharisees when they had brought to him a woman 
 taken in adultery. According to the law of Moses, 
 such women Avere to be stoned outside the city. But 
 Jesus said (John VIII. 7.) : -He that is without sin 
 among you, let him cast the first stone at her." And 
 they went out one by one, leaving the woman alone- 
 Then Jesus asked her : - Where are they that accused 
 thee? Has no one condemned thee?" She said Xo 
 man, Lord." And Jesus said: -Neither will J con- 
 demn thee, go, and sin no more.'' Yes. go in peace, 
 thy sins are forgiven thee ! Blessed words of absolu- 
 tion ! and his words, for in his name we dare to 
 utter them. How often have they been repeated by 
 the Priests of God during the last 1800 years! Go, 
 and sin no more. 
 
 Let us now turn to the closing scene of Our Savi- 
 our's life, and there see what his mercy is ! Death 
 is the echo of life. What a man has said and done
 
 84 
 
 during life, he repeats at the hour of death. Now, 
 since mercy and love for repentant sinners so dis- 
 tinguished Jesus Christ through life on all occasions, 
 we shall surely find them shining in all splendour at 
 his death. The hour of his death has come. His 
 hands and feet are nailed to the Cross, and His divine 
 head is crowned with thorns ; the blood trickles down 
 from innumerable open wounds to the earth. Seven 
 times he spoke, and what he said is known as the 
 " Seven last words of Christ on the Cross." And 
 which was his first word? ' Father," he exclaimed, 
 " forgive them, for they know not what they do." 
 He calls on God: ' Father," the sweetest name a son 
 can pronounce. " Show not Thyself as the Almighty, 
 nor as the severe Judge, but as a Father. Here 
 I am hanging on the Cross ; I have been obedient 
 even to the death of the Cross; I have done every- 
 thing Thou hast commanded me. but now listen to 
 my last dying request. Father, forgive them for 
 they know not what they do. Forgive Pontius 
 Pilate, forgive the High Priests, forgive the false 
 witnesses ! Forgive the cruelty of my executioners, 
 forgive the ingratitude of the people who cried f 
 ' Away with him, let him be crucified,' forgive these 
 Scribes and Pharisees who at this moment insult and 
 blaspheme me; they know not what they do." Surely 
 they could not be excused on the ground of ignor- 
 ance; but Our Saviour would show his mercy and 
 love towards them.
 
 85 
 
 What sinner then will despair when he meditates 
 on the mercy of God ! If Jesus Christ prayed for 
 those who nailed him on the Cross, will He not Be 
 ready to forgive all the sins you have committed ? 
 God Himself tells you : " I will not the death of the 
 sinner, but that he may be converted and live." 
 
 To continue the work of his infinite mercy he 
 instituted the Sacrament of Penance. He gave the 
 power of forgiving sins to his apostles, and to their 
 successors, to the end of the world, and this 
 all for the sake of penitent sinners. Is not the Con- 
 fessional a standing monument of the mercy of God ? 
 Were a king to empower all the judges throughout his 
 dominions to forgive all sorts of crimes to any one who 
 should apply for forgiveness, how merciful and good 
 would he be ! And, behold, such is the power which 
 Christ has given to his Priests : " Whose sins you shall 
 forgive they are forgiven," and observe, the Priest in 
 Confession is not only a judge, he is also a father to 
 console, help, and encourage the sinner; he is also 
 the physician who heals the wounds inflicted by sin ; 
 he is surely the truest of friends to the sinner who 
 complies with the conditions required for obtain- 
 ing pardon. Let a man have been as bad and as in- 
 famous as possible, hated as his crimes deserve, there 
 is always one who will not show or feel aught 
 but true love for him, or have aught but the kindest 
 words for him, and this one is he who represents Jesus 
 -Christ. He loves his penitent, and treats him as 
 Jesus Christ has done.
 
 86 
 
 Without allowing one moment for repentance were 
 God at once to punish the sinner, ( as he did the 
 fallen angels); were he to send fire from heaven to 
 consume the rebellious sinner, were the earth to open 
 under his feet and swallow him, at the moment that 
 he transgresses God's holy law ; indeed, that sinner 
 would have no reason to complain. But the Lord would 
 still be just, and his judgment just. Bat, mercy 
 of God ! He does not punish us at once, nor the 
 second time, nor the third. How long do we try 
 his patience. How often, and how dreadfully do we 
 provoke him, and still he is ready to embrace the 
 sinner at the first sign of penance. 
 
 And what kind of penance is required '? In former 
 times the Church imposed severe penances. For 
 example one who had consulted a fortune-teller had 
 to do penance for five years ; one who had done servile 
 work on Sunday had to fast for three days upon 
 bread and water. A child who had cursed his parents 
 had to fast forty days. Persons who had committed 
 sins of impurity had to do penance for three, ten, 
 or fifteen years, according to the nature of the offence. 
 Now, the discipline of the Church is not so severe, 
 and this should be another reason for the poor sinner 
 to have recourse to the mercy of God in the Sacra- 
 ment of Penance. 
 
 We read in a book of respectable authority, the 
 following almost incredible story. I tell it to you, as 
 
 * S. Carol. Baroin. Instruct.
 
 87 
 
 though I were showing yon a picture in order to 
 bring vividly before you the inconceivable goodness 
 of God to him who is sincerely penitent. There lived 
 in Milan a certain wicked wretch who. though learned, 
 hated God, and committed all sorts of crimes, not 
 from ignorance of their guilt, nor overcome by 
 temptation, but with the wilful intention to offend God, 
 whom he so much hated. Hearing of a catalogue of 
 sins drawn up by a certain professor of divinity, he 
 got the book to read it and see if there was anything 
 new in the way of sin to him ; and there was one sin, 
 and only one he had not as yet committed, namely, 
 Sacrilege. So he forthwith went to a saintly old 
 Priest for the express purpose of making a sacrilegious 
 confession. He began to enumerate all the horrible 
 crimes he could think of. The Priest listened atten- 
 tively without a word of reproach. ' ; But. Father." 
 said lie, "do you not hear what I have done ? I have 
 committed all these sins out of pure malice." " God 
 is good and merciful.'' said the Priest, "he will for- 
 give you." " But supposing- I came only to make a 
 mockery of you, and of God, how then could I obtain 
 pardon?" " Even then, " replied the Priest '-pro- 
 vided you were only to repent. God would forgive 
 you." 
 
 Hearing this the wretched sinner melted into tears 
 of extreme sorrow for his sins. So great was his 
 emotion, and so vehement, that a blood vessel burst, 
 and he expired in the Confessional, before the Priest
 
 could give lu'm absolution. The latter was of course 
 very much troubled at the event. But the next 
 day, as lie was saying a mass for his soul, he heard a 
 mysterious voice: " God sends me, I am saved. Thank 
 you for the kindness and love with which you received 
 me yesterday. Oh. it is true, God is infinitely 
 merciful ! "
 
 89 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Easter Duty. 
 
 It is strange, but, alas ! it is at the same time true, 
 that the majority of soldiers out here in India do not 
 comply with their Easter duty, I mean do not go to 
 Confession and Communion at Easter or thereabouts, 
 according to the two Commandments of the Church : 
 
 1. To go to Confession at least once a year 
 
 (4th Com.) 
 
 2. To receive the Blessed Sacrament at least 
 once a year, and that at Easter or there- 
 abouts, (oth Com.) 
 
 Since Jesus Christ has instituted the Sacrament 
 of Penance for the forgiveness of sins, and Holy 
 Communion in order that we might have " life 
 eternal," it has been from the beginning an established 
 law to go to Confession and Communion. When 
 and how often the faithful should communicate was 
 not determined by Christ Himself. In fact, the 
 fervour of the first Christians rendered such an order 
 superfluous. But when, in course of time, piety 
 grew cold, so cold that Christians used to pass years 
 without going to Confession and Communion, the 
 Church, in the General Lateran Council (1215) made 
 the law, that all should do so once a year under pain 
 of excommunication. To neglect, then, this Easter 
 duty is a very grievous sin, for the Church doe9 
 not inflict such a great punishment as excommunica-
 
 90 
 
 tion for a transgression that is not very grievous. 
 Now, supposing you have neglected your Confession 
 and Communion at the last Easter season, can you 
 wait till the next season comes round ? No, the 
 earliest opportunity, as soon as possible, you are bound 
 to comply with your duty. As one who has failed 
 to pay his debts within the time appointed is obliged 
 to pay them as soon as ever he can afterwards, so lie 
 who has not complied with his religious duties at 
 Easter, must do so as soon as possible. 
 
 This Confession you can make to any Priest 
 authorized to hear Confessions, and in any place you 
 like. But when it is practicable you ought to receive 
 Holy Communion in your own Parish church. 
 
 Again, though the Church thus obliges us to 
 confess and communicate once a year we should not 
 be satisfied with this, but we should oftener go to 
 Confession and Communion. A good Christian sol- 
 dier or civilian will receive Holy Communion on 
 all the great feasts during the year, and if he be a 
 member of the Confraternity, on every first Sunday 
 of the month, according to the Rules. 
 
 The Reverend F. Durien, a Missionary among the 
 wild tribes of North America, relates that he once 
 met with Christians in a deserted place, who for 
 three whole years had been without a resident 
 Priest. Now attend to what follows. Every year 
 they had gone the 300 miles that lay between them
 
 91 
 
 and the next parish in order to get Confession and 
 Communion. 300 miles! and along- what kind of 
 road had they to travel ! Oh, shame on those who 
 have a Chapel and a Priest in their station, and yet 
 neglect their Easter duty for years and years. ! 
 And what judgment have they to expect after neglect- 
 ing so many graces ? 
 
 But what are the reasons and causes, why so many 
 soldiers keep away from Confession and Communion ? 
 Many causes might be assigned. The following- 
 three will perhaps account for most of this deplorable 
 neglect: (1) ignorance: (2) human respect, indif- 
 ference and sloth ; and (3) the love of one's sins or 
 evil ways. 
 
 1. Some neykct their Easter duty out of ignorance. 
 
 A man who is ignorant as regards religion, cannot 
 know the duties of his religion nor the importance 
 of these duties. Unfortunately there are many in the 
 army whose education has been neglected. They did 
 not go to a school long enough to learn to read or 
 write ; they have had no parents nor any friend to 
 look after them. In order to earn a little money, 
 they have been compelled to work in a factory or in 
 a farm-yard, and so years passed away until they took 
 the shilling which has fixed them where they are. 
 In this manner young soldiers come out to India, 
 men who have never made their first Confession 
 and Communion, as ignorant of their religious duties
 
 92 
 
 as on the day they left home as children. They 
 /iave heard nothing about religion, but only know 
 that they are Roman Catholics. On Sundays they 
 are marched to Chapel, and. of course, understand 
 very little about the service. They hear the Priest 
 speaking from the altar or the pulpit about Confes- 
 sion and Communion, but they do not know what it 
 means. If they had anybody to teach them how to 
 make a good Confession and Communion they would 
 gladly learn. Now they feel shy and ashamed of 
 their ignorance, and so they remain for years in the 
 same ignorance and in the same neglect. How often 
 do Priests in India meet with such cases in the 
 hospital ! How many a soldier makes his first and 
 last Communion on his death-bed! Now such should 
 put away their shyness and shame and ask their 
 Priest for instruction in their religious duties. If 
 they can read, (only a slight knowledge of reading will 
 be sufficient to read the Catechism with fruit) they 
 should get a Catechism ; if they cannot read, they 
 should not despair nor delay from year to year their 
 Easter duty, but with great courage and confidence 
 in God learn, as they easily may, what is necessary 
 for their eternal salvation. The author of this book 
 would say to the uninstructed soldier : " Fear not to 
 go to your Priest ; he will be happy to instruct you !' ' 
 In fact, without private instruction such men will 
 never be sufficiently instructed. Then let them pay 
 great attention to the sermons on Sunday, and to all
 
 93 
 
 the instructions that are given in the Chipel, and 
 soon they will assuredly know how to prepare for a 
 good Confession and a worthy Communion. 
 
 2. Many neglect their "Easter duty' 1 out of pure 
 weakness, that is to say, out of human respect, indiffer- 
 ence and sloth. 
 
 They would like to receive Holy Communion, but 
 they are afraid of Confession. It is true that to 
 make a good Confession may be hard, especially when 
 one has neglected it for a long time, or has committed, 
 certain sins which he would not like to mention to 
 any one. It may require courage to show the hide- 
 ousness and ulcers of the soul ; it is a great humilia- 
 tion and a thing quite against nature to kneel before 
 another man and tell the secrets of one's heart. But, 
 nevertheless, there is no help for it, Confession is the 
 only remedy. Confession will not be so difficult as you 
 imagine when you consider that at any rate it 
 is better to tell one's sins to the Priest, who is 
 bound to secrecy by a most solemn law than to live 
 in a state of sin and die an unhappy death. Remem- 
 ber that the Priest is there only to absolve and not 
 to condemn you ; to heal your wounds and not to 
 irritate them ; to console and encourage you and not 
 to humble you ; to excite your sorrow and shame, 
 but only with a view to wash your sins away. The 
 Priest will keep the secret of the Confessional, even 
 at the loss of his own life. He is a sinful man him- 
 self, and he every day prays like you ; " Forgive us
 
 94 
 
 otii' trespasses." You may be sure that you cannot 
 tell him anything- ne\v. You may be equally sure 
 that he will have compassion on yon. and that he 
 rejoices in reconciling- you to God. all the more 
 rejoices, the more you have offended God. On the 
 Day of Judgment all the sins we have not confessed 
 will be laid bare before the whole world. It is not, 
 therefore, so difficult to make a humble Confession 
 to the Priest, and you ought to prefer it to that con- 
 fusion which you will have to suffer on the Day of 
 Judgment before all the Angels and before all men. 
 But it is God himself who will make it easy for you. 
 Then, again, very many soldiers neglect their Easter 
 duty simply out of carelessness, indifference, and sloth. 
 They perhaps regularly say their prayers every day, 
 come to Mass, and. though not marched, nevertheless 
 go to Benediction on a Sunday evening : they are 
 good, honest, sober, exact in the performance of every 
 other duty, but with regard to Confession and Com- 
 munion they are quite careless and indifferent. It is 
 not want of faith, but thoughtlessness ; they do not 
 take the trouble to fulfil this chief duty commanded 
 by the Church. Such men should remember that 
 the kingdom of heaven must be gained by violence, 
 and it is not the slothful, easy-going Christians who 
 are worthy of it. ' Not even- one who says, 
 ''Lord, Lord!!" will enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who 
 is in heaven.'
 
 The Church commands us all to make our Con- 
 fession and Communion once a year. Thus by ne- 
 glecting Confession and not going to Communion, you 
 disobey the Church, and therefore you disobey God. 
 Regarding this disobedience, Christ has said : " He 
 who does not hear the Church, let him be to 
 you as a heathen or a publican." But it is 
 clear, that neither unbelievers nor public sinners 
 who die in a state of impenitence will be saved; 
 therefore, this one simple neglect of your Easter 
 duty (if you die with the sin of it on your con- 
 science.) prevents your eternal salvation. You 
 may be good and honest in every other respect, 
 but if you do not go to Confession and Communion 
 as the Church commands you, all the rest of your 
 religion is in vain. Remember what St. James says 
 in his letter (Ch. II. v. 10. 11.) : '' Now whosoever 
 shall keep the whole law, but ofl'end in one point is 
 become guilty of all. For he that said. ' Thou shalt 
 not commit adulteiy,' said also. ' Thou shalt not kill,' 
 Now if thou do not commit adultery, but shalt kill, 
 thou art become a transgressor of the law. " 
 
 3. Finally, Wickedness of Life is the great cause 
 of many omitting their Easter Duty. 
 
 They assuredly may be termed wicked who do not 
 wish to give up their bad habits. ' What is the use 
 of my going to Confession, " soldiers often say, " if I 
 do not change my life''? i Indeed, their refusing to 
 abandon their sins is a very sad thing to think of.
 
 96 
 
 Nor will they leave the occasions of sin, that is to say, 
 the persons with whom they have committed it ; the 
 places in which they have been in the habit of offend- 
 ing God. They hope to return to God some day, and 
 make peace with him at least they wish to die in a 
 state of grace ; but, not now while they are in India, 
 they say, not whilst they are in the army ; not whilst 
 in the midst of so many temptations to sin. Thus 
 they delay their conversion. Delay is the great 
 stratagem of our enemy. True God has often granted 
 the grace of conversion to many sinners on their 
 death-beds. The good thief on the Cross is such 
 an instance. Those who come at the eleventh hour 
 will receive the same reward as those who came 
 early in the day. Many a soldier who has obstinate- 
 ly refused to go to Confession has at the last moment 
 had the Priest at his bedside and received absolution. 
 But these are the exceptions, not the rule. How often 
 does it happen, that the Priest is called too late, or 
 not called at all, or that no Priest is to be had ? 
 
 To delay one's conversion and at the same time 
 hope for God's pardon before death is marvellously 
 like the sin of presumption, one of the sins against 
 the Holy Ghost, of which Christ says, that ithey will 
 not be forgiven, either in this world or in the next. 
 Does God promise or grant the grace of a happy 
 death to every one? Quite the contraiy. Hear the 
 awful threat which our Saviour uttered against the 
 Jews: '-You shall seek me, and you shall not find me, 
 and you shall die in your sins."
 
 07 
 
 And. this is in accordance with what the prophet 
 Isaias says: Seek the Lord whilst you can find Him; 
 invoke Him whilst he is near you ; tor the time will 
 come when you cannot find him. and He will not hear 
 your prayers.' 
 
 "Not that you should suppose that there are any 
 circumstances, under which mercy is impossible at 
 the hour of death ; as long as life lasts, the greatest 
 sinner may still obtain pardon of Clod, and one act 
 of contrition and pure love of God is enough. Let 
 no one then despair of his salvation ; let every one 
 hope to hear those words which our Blessed Saviour 
 spoke to the penitent thief : " This day thou shalt 
 be with me in Paradise." But the fact is that old 
 sinners, who for years have gone on neglecting the 
 grace of God, for years refused to go to Confession, 
 for years delayed with their eyes open, are usually 
 surprised at last by a sudden and unprovided death. 
 
 Such was the case with an Artillery man at Colaba 
 in 1874:. He was like many another who turned a deaf 
 ear to the "Priest's advice. He did not even feel sick, 
 but on a sudden God called him to his account. A 
 blood-vessel broke, caused his death, and he had not 
 even time to say, ' Lord have mercy on me." How 
 many an old drunkard has been suffocated in his sleep, 
 and found dead in the morning without having been 
 able to make one act of contrition ! 
 
 Some years ago a time-expired man went home.
 
 98 
 
 He was repeatedly advised by the Priest to make Ilia 
 Confession before he embarked, but he would not, 
 and did not do so. He died on boardship without 
 the assistance of a Priest, and was buried in the 
 Bed- Sea. 
 
 In 1869 a battery of Artillery marched from Kirkee 
 to Mhow. The Priest exhorted the men to go to 
 Confession and Communion before starting, and there 
 was some reason for it, because on the line of march 
 a number of men always died of malarious fever as 
 they passed through the jungles. On one occasion no 
 fewer than twenty men died in those jungles, and 
 since then the road is known to officers and men as 
 the " Dead March." Well, the Battery was only 
 one day's march from Kirkee, when a man died of 
 cholera. He Avas a Catholic, and unfortunately one of 
 those who had neglected their Easter duty. 
 
 Sickly men sent to a sanitarium for a change of 
 air should always avail themselves of the first 
 opportunity of going to Confession and Communion, 
 when the visiting Priest arrives at the place. For 
 it often happens that men take a sudden change and 
 there is no time to send to the next military station 
 for a Priest, and so they die in their sins. 
 
 We call it a death-bed conversion, when a man 
 living in sin obtains from God the external grace to 
 have a Priest at his side to hear his Confession, and 
 the interior grace to make it. But these conversions
 
 99 
 
 are not always sincere ; they are always doubtful, 
 because tliey are caused merely by the prospect o^ 
 death. But for this the dying man would have gone 
 On deferring his conversion. Were this fear removed, 
 he would go on deferring it for a still longer time, and 
 probably return afterwards to his former ways as 
 many others have done. Were he sure his illness 
 would not end in death, he would neither confess nor 
 think of doing so. As long as there was no danger, he 
 thought little of his sins and less still of doing 
 penance for them. Wherefore, his grief seems to 
 have been caused by nothing that God can accept as a 
 just motive. Is it not evident that he never meant 
 to embrace God's service until the world and all the 
 opportunities of sinning were slipping out of his 
 hands ? Does the motive which prompted him 
 differ from natural fear, the view of the grave, the 
 near prospect of eternal punishment? Take away 
 that fear, and where Avill be his repentance ? Gone ! 
 
 It is not a thing of rare occurrence for soldiers 
 who have received all the rites of the Church, Ab- 
 solution. Communion, Extreme Unction, the Last 
 Blessing, when at last they have recovered from 
 their illlness, to return to barracks and lead the same 
 bad life as before. And can we call such conversions 
 sincere ? And if not, could such conversions have 
 gained heaven for them? This opinion is rather 
 severe, for the sinner may be well disposed when 
 receiving the last Sacraments, but afterwards his will
 
 100 
 
 changes, ns is often the case with penitents in good 
 health. However, we can only judge from facts ; 
 it is God who searches the hearts. 
 
 But there is another side of the question. Putting 
 oft' conversion in this way, no doubt, increases the 
 difficulty of a good Confession. Now that you are 
 in good health and can quietly go to Chapel on an 
 evening to prepare for a good Confession, all is very 
 easy and can be done properly. But when you have 
 not been to your Easter duty for years, and sickness 
 comes upon you, fearful pains perhaps in the body, 
 and great troubles of soul, when you are in a hospital 
 ward, among a number of Protestants, and the Priest 
 is sent for only a day, or as it may happen, half an 
 hour before you die, how difficult is it then to prepare 
 for and to make a good Confession ! Think what a 
 good Confession means, involves, implies ! It implies 
 the making an examination of conscience, the recollec- 
 tion of all the sins of so many years, the confession 
 of them, the number of times you have been guilty of 
 them, and the circumstances which have aggravated 
 them. Now, though you are in good health, you 
 say that you are not prepared to make a good 
 Confession ; you want time for it, and thus you evade 
 the invitation of the Priest aguin, and again, and again. 
 It is difficult to pray and prepare for Confession 
 when we suffer only from a headache or the like. 
 But how difficult must it be when we are on our death- 
 bed, seized with the pangs of our last agony ? Then
 
 101 
 
 perhaps a man may make a sort of Confession, but 
 without any preparation. The Priest has only time 
 to ask a few questions. Where is the good act of 
 Contrition so much required for a good Confession ? 
 Where is the penance you should perform for the sing 
 of your past life? What difficulties attend a death-bed 
 repentance on every side? Therefore go to Confession 
 in proper time ; do not delay your Easter duty ; receive 
 the Blessed Sacrament, often during the year and 
 you will be prepared for a happy death.
 
 102 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Many soldiers, young and old, often say : "As 
 long as I am in the service, I cannot lead a religious 
 life." No better argument against this prejudice 
 can be brought forward than the fact, that such a 
 great number of soldiers have not only distinguished 
 themselves by their piety, but have become great 
 Saints, as the following Calendar of Soldier Saints will 
 show : 
 
 CALENDAR OF SOLDIER SAINTS. 
 
 (Prioileyed with many Indulgences by Ills Holiness 
 Pope Plus IX.) 
 
 ST, FLORIAN, PRAY FOR US, THAT WE MAY BE MADE WORTHY OF THE 
 
 PROMISES OF CHRIST. 
 
 PATRON OF THE INFANTRY: S, M.vi'iucr.. OK THE TIIEBAN LEGION. 
 PATRON OF THE CAVALRY : S. GEOUOK. 
 PATRON OF THE ARTILLERY : S. BARBARA. 
 PATRON OF THE SAITEIJS .VXD MINKIIS : S. JOSEPH. 
 
 January. 
 
 February. 
 
 rius, Cheleilmiius, 
 Cleomiens, Eutro- 
 
 1. 30 .Martyrs 
 
 2. Cornelius 
 
 pius and liusiliscus 
 
 2. Marcellinus 
 
 4 . Philoromus 
 
 4. Casimir, Prince 
 
 3. Gordiu.s 
 
 7. Adacavus, 
 
 8. John of God 
 
 4. Edward Ivinf. 
 7. Canute, Kinj:. 
 12. 40Matvrs. 
 13. Godfred & 40 
 Martyrs 
 18. Moseus" and 
 
 Theodore and 
 liichard, Kings 
 10. 10 Martyrs 
 12. Damiamu 
 2). Edelbert, Kin;: 
 27. besa 
 
 10. 4u Martyrs 
 15. Lonfrinus 
 18. Edward, Kin.L r 
 20. Sebastian 
 23. Victorian 
 
 Aniinonius. 
 
 
 27. Alexander 
 
 
 
 
 20. Sebastian, 
 28. Charlemagne 
 
 
 Cronidas 
 
 Emperor 
 
 March. 
 
 28. Gimthram, Kinir 
 
 29. Papias and 
 
 
 29. x\rmojfastus 
 
 Miami 
 
 3. Marinus Hemite- 
 
 30. 30 Quit-inns
 
 103 
 
 
 
 April. 
 
 22. A Soldier, who led 
 s. Allian to 
 
 10. Ambrose and 
 Arsacius. 
 
 11. 8. Martyrs 
 13. Hermenegild, 
 
 Martyrdom. 
 Galenus, Valenns, 
 Ailiatius, Theodore 
 
 20. Meminon. 
 21. Anastasius. 
 2o. Louis, King 
 
 16. Gerald, Duke 
 18. Corebus 
 23. Geortre 
 
 24. Subas 
 
 and 10,000 Mar- 
 tyrs 
 24. Seven brothers 
 Orentius, Heros, 
 
 20. Secundiis and 
 Alexander of the 
 Theban Legion. 
 2~. Marcellinu<. 
 
 2S\ Vitalis 
 21*. Aemilian 
 
 Pliarnacins, Firmi- 
 nus, Firnms, Cy- 
 
 28. Julian. 
 29. Sebbus, Kintr 
 
 
 riaeus and Longi- 
 
 . , 
 
 
 nus 
 
 
 
 25. Gallican 
 
 September. 
 
 May. 
 
 27. Ladislaus, King 
 o('. Rasilides, who led 
 
 2. Stei'lien, Kmi. 
 
 
 St. I'otamiona to '> '-""oxius, 
 
 1. Sigismnnd, King 
 
 Martyrdom. 
 
 Macarins and 101 
 
 3. Alexander 
 
 
 companions- 
 
 4. Florian 
 
 
 ^. Adrian. 
 
 8. Victor and 
 
 
 
 Acathius 
 13. Gangolph 
 
 July. 
 
 14. Cerealis. 
 ]n. Ferreolns. 
 
 18. Solccamns and his 
 companions; Erich, 
 King 
 21. Xicostratns and 
 Antioehus and 
 
 1. liumald, Prince 
 2. 3 Soldiers convert- 
 ed by the death of 
 S. i'aulus, the 
 
 20. Kustache, 
 
 sninctiini.-- 
 1'liicidus. 
 22. Mauritius, Kxupe- 
 
 rius, CandMiis, 
 
 another 
 
 Martyr. 
 
 Victor, Iiinncentins 
 
 24. Meletius and 252 
 Soldiers 
 25. Gerlach 
 
 5. William 
 8. 50 Martyrs 
 12. John Gaulbert 
 
 Vitalis and the 
 holy Martv-- in 
 the" Theban Le- 
 
 27. Julius 
 28. William Duke 
 30. Ferdinand, King 
 31. Hermias 
 
 1 1 4 Justus 
 15. Henry Emri. 
 18. Camillas de Lellis 
 20. Hieronimus 
 
 gion. 
 25. Horciilan. 
 20. Callistratus and 
 
 4!l Soldier-. 
 
 
 Armilianus. 
 21. Victor Alexander, 
 Felician and 
 
 Longinus. 
 23. Victor and S3 
 
 2S. A'eneeslans, 1C ing 
 ami 30 Sul'i 
 30. Victor, Ursn, and 
 Antoninus of ;hc 
 
 
 June. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 1 heban Le^'i' >r, . 
 
 1 . Ischyrioii and 
 5 Soldiers, 
 
 29. Olav, King. 
 31. Fabins & Ignatius 
 of Loyola. 
 
 October. 
 
 Felinus Gratian 
 
 2. Eleutherhis. ^ith 
 
 Civsi-entian and 
 
 innnnieraluf 
 
 Wistan Prince 
 
 
 others. 
 
 7. Gottsehalk, Prince 
 
 August. 
 
 ". < lei-hard. 
 
 12. Basilides, ( 'yriuus. 
 
 4. Thvrsus Siv, indus 
 
 Nabor and Xaxa- 5. Kusignius and 
 
 Bonifkoe and :;oo 
 
 rins Oswald, Kin^ 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 15. Hesychius 
 
 7. Faustus and 
 
 S. Demetrius. 
 
 17. Montanus 
 
 Vietricius 
 
 10. Yk-tor (icr.Mn. 
 
 1*. Leontius and 9. Komanus. 
 
 l.'assius J'lori'ntins 
 
 Hvpatius 10. 1C5 Martyrs. 
 
 Mallusius and t57
 
 104 
 
 October. 
 
 November. 
 
 25. Mercurius. 
 
 The)). Legion. 
 
 1. All Saints. 
 
 
 13. Kclwanl, King and 
 
 3. Hubertus. 
 
 December. 
 
 Gerald. 
 
 It. Theodore. 
 
 
 15. Maurus. 
 
 10. Kespicius and 
 
 3. Claudius and 70 
 
 19. Yarns. 
 
 Quintinaa. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 2(1. Artemius. 
 
 11. Martiuus and 
 
 5. Lucius, King. 
 
 21. Dasius, Zoticns 
 
 Mennas. 
 
 7. Agatho. 
 
 Cajus and 12 
 
 15. Leopold, Count of 16. Valentine. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 the March. IS. Auxentius. 
 
 -2-2. Heraclius. 
 
 IS. Hesvchus. 
 
 20. Atnmon, Zcno* 
 
 20. Theodosius, Lucius 
 
 in. An and 100 
 
 Ptolomaeus 
 
 Marcus, I'etrus. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 Ingenes anil 
 
 Miniates and 46 
 
 20. Octavius, Solutor 
 
 Theophilus. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 and Adventor of 
 
 22. Flavian* Xeno, 
 
 27. Kelasbaan, King. 
 
 the Tlieb. Legion. 
 
 26. Coinmeinoration of 
 
 29. Ferrutius. 
 
 and Edmund, 
 
 all Martvrs. 
 
 30. Marcellns. 
 
 Qng. 
 
 29. David, King. 
 
 .His Holiness I>ope Pius IX, on. the Oth. A.pril 
 18Q3, grantee! the following inclulgences 
 
 1. An indulgence of 100 days to all those, who devoutly recite 
 one " Our Father" and one " Hail Mary'' for the soldiers, that 
 they may lead a Christian life, valiantly resisting the tempta- 
 tions of the world. 
 
 2. A plenary indulgence to those, who with the above intention 
 recite daily during a whole month, one ' Our Father and one 
 "Hail Mary." and worthily receive once a month the Sacra- 
 ment of Penance and Holy Communion. 
 
 5. A plenary indulgence to those, who witli the above intention 
 receive worthily the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy 
 Eucharist on the following feasts ; Blessed Virgin of Victory 
 (1st Sunday in October) ; St. Michael the Archangel (29th 
 September) St. Joseph (10th March), St. Florian (4th May, 
 St. Barbara (1th December). 
 
 I.Mrm MATCH. 
 
 >J< LEO MEURIN, S. J. 
 F.pu.s. Vicarius Apostolicus Bomb. <0 Poonensis. 
 />'.,*// ///; <S>/ A^r'ilif 1874. 
 
 Of those lioly soldiers who are generally more 
 known, Alban Butler in his Lives of the Saints gives 
 very interesting particulars, which you may read 
 with profit and edification in the following pages.
 
 lOo 
 
 January SO. 
 
 St, Sebastian. 
 
 St. Sebastian was a captain in a company of the 
 Pretorian guards, an office attended with a very con- 
 siderable dignity. When under the Emperor Diocle- 
 sian, in the year 286. the persecution grew hot. Pope 
 Caius selected Sebastian to stay in Rome to defend 
 the Church, by encouraging and otherwise assisting 
 the martyrs. He acquitted himself of this arduous 
 and dangerous duty admirably, until at length he was 
 himself accused of being a Christian and brought 
 before the Emperor Dioclesian, who sentenced him to 
 be shot by certain archers of Mauritania. His body 
 was pierced all over with arrows, and he was left for 
 dead. But a Christian woman who went to bury him 
 found him still alive, took him to her home, where 
 through her care he recovered, but refused to fly, and 
 even placed himself one day on a staircase where the 
 Emperor was to pass. When the latter had come up 
 to where he stood, he reproached him for his cruelties 
 against the Christians. The freedom of speech from a 
 person, whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly 
 affected the Emperor : but recovering from his con- 
 sternation, he gave orders for his being seized and 
 beaten to death with cudgels, and his body thrown 
 into the common sewer. A pious lady, called Lucina r 
 admonished by the martyr in a vision, got it pri- 
 vately removed and buried. His relics are still kept 
 in Belgium, France and Germany, and St. Sebastian
 
 106 
 
 has been always honoured by the Church as one of her 
 most illustrious martyrs. By praying to him, Rome 
 was freed from a raging pestilence in 680, Milan in 
 l;*>7o, Lisbon in 1509. and other places have ex- 
 perienced, in like calamities, the miraculous effects of 
 Ids intercession with God on their behalf. 
 
 March 10. 
 The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. 
 
 A. D. 320. 
 
 These holy martyrs suffered at Sebaste in the 
 Lesser Armenia, under the Emperor Licinius, in 320- 
 They were of different countries, but enrolled in the 
 same troop, all in the flower of their age. comely,- 
 brave, and robust, and were become considerable for 
 their services. St. Gregory of Nyssa and Procopius 
 say, they were of the thundering legion, so famous 
 under Marcus Aurelius for the miraculous rain and 
 victory obtained by their prayers. This was the twelfth 
 legion then quartered in Armenia. Lysias was 
 duke or general of the forces, and Agricola the govern- 
 or of the Province. The latter having signified to the 
 army the orders of the Emperor Licinius, for all to 
 sacrifice, these forty went boldly up to him, and said 
 they were Christians, and that no torments should 
 make them ever abandon their holy religion. The 
 judge first endeavoured to gain them by mild usage, 
 as. by representing to them the dishonour that would
 
 107 
 
 attend their refusal to do what was required, and by 
 making them large promises of preferment and high 
 favour with the Emperor in case of compliance. Find- 
 ing these methods of gentleness ineffectual, he had re- 
 course to threats, and these the most terrifying, if 
 they continued disobedient to the Emperor's order, 
 but all in vain. To his promises they answered that 
 lie could give them nothing equal to what he would 
 deprive them of : and to his threats, that his power only 
 extended over their bodies, which they had learned to 
 despise when their souls w r ere at stake. The governor 
 finding them all resolute caused them to be torn with 
 whips, and their sides to be rent with iron-hooks. After 
 which they were loaded with chains, and committed 
 to jail. 
 
 After some days, Lysias their general coming from 
 Csesarea to Sebastethey were re-examined, and no 'ess 
 generously rejected the large promises made them. 
 than they despised the torments they were threatened 
 with. The governor, highly offended tit their courage 
 and that liberty of speech with which they accosted 
 him, devised an extraordinary kind of death, which 
 being slow and severe, he hoped would shake their con- 
 stancy. The cold in Armenia is very sharp, especially 
 in March, and towards the end of winter, when the 
 wind is north, as it then was. there being also at that 
 time a severe frost. Under the walls of the town stood 
 a pond which was frozen so hard that it would bear 
 walking upon with safety. The judge ordered the
 
 108 ' 
 
 saints to bo exposed quite naked on the ice. And in 
 order to tempt them the more powerfully to renounce 
 their faith, a warm bath was prepared at a small dis- 
 tance from the frozen pond, for any of the company to 
 go to. who were disposed to purchase their temporal 
 ease and safety on that condition. The martyrs, on 
 hearing their sentence, ran joyfully to the place, and 
 without waiting to be stripped, undressed themselves, 
 encouraging one another in the same manner as is 
 usual among soldiers in military expeditions attended 
 with hardships and dangers, saying, that one bad 
 night would purchase them a happy eternity. They also 
 made this their joint prayers : " Lord, we are forty who 
 are engaged in this combat, grant that we may be 
 forty crowned, and that not one be wanting to this 
 sacred number. " The guards in the mean time 
 ceased not to persuade them to sacrifice, that by so 
 doing they might be allowed to pass to the warm bath. 
 But. though it is not easy to form a just idea of the 
 bitter pain they must have undergone, of the whole 
 number only one had the misfortune to be ovei-come ; 
 who losing courage went off from the pond to seek 
 the relief in readiness for such as were disposed to re- 
 nounce their faith : but as the devil usually deceives 
 his adorers, the apostate no sooner entered the warm 
 water than he expired. This misfortune afflicted the 
 martyrs ; but they were quickly comforted by seeing 
 his place and their number miraculously filled up. A 
 sentinel was warming himself near the bath, having 
 been posted r.here to observe if any of the martyrs
 
 109 
 
 were inclined to submit. While he was attending, 
 he had a vision of blessed spirits descending from hea- 
 ven on the martyrs, and distributing, as from their 
 king, rich presents and precious garments, Saint 
 Ephrem adds, crowns, to all these generous soldiers, 
 one only excepted, who was their faint-hearted com- 
 panion, already mentioned. The guard being struck 
 with the celestial vision and the apostate's desertion 
 was converted upon it, and by a particular motion of 
 the Holy Ghost, threw off his clothes, and placed himself 
 in his stead amongst the thirty-nine martyrs. Thus 
 God heard their request, though in another manner 
 than they imagined : ' Which ought to make us 
 adore the impenetrable secrets of his mercy and 
 justice," says St. Ephrem, " in this instance, no less 
 than in the reprobation of Judas, and the election of 
 St. Matthias." 
 
 In the morning the judge ordered both those that 
 were dead with the cold, and those that were still 
 alive to be laid on carriages, and cast into a fii'e. 
 When the rest were thrown into a waggon to 
 be carried to the pile, the youngest of them (whom 
 the acts call Melita) was found alive, and the execution- 
 ers hoping he would change his resolution when he came 
 to himself, left him behind. His mother, a woman of 
 mean condition, and a widow, but rich in faith and 
 worthy to have a son, a martyr, observing this false 
 compassion, reproached the executioners ; and when 
 she came up to her son, whom she found quite frozen, 
 
 10
 
 110 
 
 not able to stir, and scarce breathing, he looked on 
 her with languishing eyes, and made a little sign 
 with his weak hand to comfort her. She exhorted 
 him to persevere to the end, and fortified by the Holy 
 Ghost, took him up and put him with her own hands 
 into the waggon with the rest of the martyrs, not only 
 without shedding a tear, but with a countenance full 
 of joy, saying courageously: ; 'Go, go, son, proceed 
 to the end of this happy journey with thy companions 
 that thou mayest not be the last of them that shall 
 present themselves before God." Nothing can be 
 more inflamed or more pathetic than the discourse 
 which St. Ephrem puts into her mouth, by which he 
 expresses her contempt of life and all earthly things' 
 and her ardent love and desire of eternal life. This 
 holy Father earnestly entreats her to conjure this whole 
 troop of martyrs to join in imploring the divine mercy 
 in favour of his sinful soul. Their bodies were burned 
 and their ashes thrown into the river, but the Christ- 
 ians secretly carried off or purchased part of them 
 with money. Some of these precious relics were 
 kept at Csesarea, and St. Basil says of them : " Like 
 bulwarks they are our protection against the inroads 
 of enemies.'' He adfls, that every one implored their 
 succour, and that they raised up those that had fallen, 
 strengthened the weak, and invigorated the fervour 
 of the Saints.
 
 Ill 
 
 April S3. 
 
 Saint George Martyr. 
 A. D. 802. 
 
 St. George is honoured in the Catholic Church as 
 one of the most illustrious martyrs of Christ. The 
 Greeks have long distinguished him by the title of the 
 Great Martyr, and keep his festival a holiday of obli- 
 gation. There stood formerly in Constantinople five 
 or six churches dedicated in his honour, the oldest of 
 which was always said to have been built by Constan- 
 tine the Great, who seems also to have been the found- 
 er of the Church of St. George, which stood over 
 his tomb in Palestine. 
 
 One of the churches of St. George in Constantinople 
 called Manganes, with a monastery adjoining, gave to 
 the Hellespont the name of the Arm of St. George. To 
 this day St. George is honoured as principal patron or 
 tutelar Saint by several eastern nations particularly 
 the Georgians. The Byzantine historians relate seve- 
 rjil battles to have been gained, and other miracles 
 wrought through his intercession. From frequent 
 pilgrimages to his church and tomb in Palestine per- 
 formed by those who visited the Holy Land, his vene- 
 ration was much propagated over the West. St. 
 Gregory of Tours mentions him as highly celebrated 
 in France in the sixth century. 
 
 The intercession of this Saint \vas implored es- 
 pecially in battles, and by warriors, as appears by
 
 112 
 
 several instances in the Byzantine history and he 
 is said to have been himself a great soldier. He is at 
 this day the tutelar Saint of the republic of Genoa ; and 
 was chosen by our ancestors in the same quality 
 under our first Norman Kings. The great national 
 council held at Oxford in 1222, commanded his 
 feast to be kept a holiday of the lesser rank through- 
 out all England. Under his name an ensign was 
 instituted by our victorious King Edward III in 1330, 
 the most noble order of knighthood in Europe, con- 
 sisting of twenty-five knights, besides the Sovereign. 
 The extraordinary devotion of all Christendom to this 
 Saint, is an authentic proof of how glorious his triumph 
 and name have always been in the Church. All his 
 acts relate that he suffered under Dioclesian at Ni- 
 comedia. Joseph Assemani shows, from the unanim- 
 ous consent of all churches, that he was crowned on 
 the 23rd of April. According to the account given us 
 by Metaphrastes, he was born in Capadocia of noble 
 Christian parents. After the death of his father, he 
 went with his mother into Palestine, she being a 
 native of that country, and having there a con- 
 siderable estate, which fell to her son George. He 
 was strong and robust in body, and having embraced 
 the profession of a soldier, was made a tribune, or 
 colonel in the army. By his courage and conduct he 
 was soon preferred to higher stations by the Emperor 
 Dioclesian. When that prince waged war against the 
 Christian religion, St. George laid aside the marks of 
 his dignity, threw up his commission and posts, and
 
 113 
 
 complained to the Emperor himself of his severities 
 and bloody edicts. He was immediately cast into 
 prison, and tried, first by promises, and afterwards 
 tortured with great cruelty ; but nothing could shake 
 his constancy. The next day he was led through the 
 city and beheaded. 
 
 The reason why St. George has been regarded as 
 the patron of military men, is pai'tly upon the score 
 of his profession, and partly upon the credit of his 
 appearing to the Christian army in the holy Avar, 
 before the battle of Antioch. The success of this 
 battle proving fortunate to the Christians, under God- 
 frey of Bouillon, made the name of St. George more 
 famous in Europe, and disposed the military men to 
 implore more particularly his intercession. This 
 devotion was confirmed, as it is said, by an apparition 
 of St. George to our King Richard I in his expedition 
 against the Saracens : which vision being declared to 
 the troops, was to them a great encouragement, and 
 they soon after defeated the enemy. St. George is 
 usually painted on horse-back, and tilting at a dragon, 
 under his feet : but this representation is no more 
 than an emblematical figure, purporting, that by liis 
 faith and Christian fortitude, he conquered the devil, 
 called the dragon in the Apocalypse.
 
 114 
 
 May 14. 
 
 St. Pachomius, Abbot. 
 .4. D. 348. 
 
 He was born in Upper Thebais about the year 
 292, of idolatrous parents, and was educated in their 
 blind superstition, and in the study of the Egyptian 
 sciences. From his infancy he was meek and modest, 
 and had an aversion to the profane ceremonies used 
 by the infidels in the worship of their idols. Being 
 about twenty years of age, he was pressed into the 
 Emperor's troops, probably the tyrant Maximinus, 
 who was master of Egypt from the year 310, and 
 in 312 made great levies to carry out a war against 
 Licinius and Constantiiie. He was, with several 
 other recruits, put on board a vessel that was sailing 
 down the river. They ai-rived in the evening at 
 Thebes or Diospolis. the capital of Thebais, a city in 
 which dwelt many Christians. Those true digciples 
 of Christ sought every opportunity of relieving and 
 comforting all that were in distress, and were moved 
 with compassion towards the recruits who were kept 
 close confined and very ill-treated. The Christians of 
 this city showed them the same tenderness as if they 
 had been their own children ; took all possible care 
 of them, and supplied them liberally with money and 
 necessaries. . Such an uncommon example of dis- 
 interested virtue made a great impression on the 
 mind of Pachomius. lie inquired who their pious
 
 115 
 
 benefactors were, and when he heard that they believ- 
 ed in Jesus Christ the only Son of God, aud that in 
 hope of a reward in the world to come they laboured 
 continually to do good to all mankind, he found 
 kindled in his heart a great love of so holy a law. and 
 an ardent desire of serving the God whom these good 
 men adored. The next day. when he was continuing 
 his journey down the river, the remembrance of this 
 purpose strengthened him to resist a carnal tempta- 
 tion. From his infancy he had always been a lover 
 of chastity and temperance,, but the example of the 
 Christians had made those virtues appear to him ft* 
 more amiable, and in a new light. After the over- 
 throw of Maximinus, his forces were disbanded. 
 Pachomius had no sooner returned home, but he re- 
 paired to a town in Thebais, in which there was a 
 Christian church, and there he entered his name among 
 the catechumens, or such as were preparing for 
 baptism ; and having gone through the usual course 
 of preliminary instructions and practices Avith great 
 attention and fervour, he received the sacrament at 
 Chenoboscium. with great sentiments of devotion and 
 piety. From his first acquaintance with our holy 
 faith at Thebes, he had always made this his prayer : 
 " God, Creator of heaven and earth, cast on me an 
 eye of pity: deliver me from my miseries : teach me 
 the true way of pleasing you, and it shall be the 
 whole employment, and most earnest study of my life 
 to serve you, and to do your will." The perfect 
 sacrifice of his heart to God was the beginning of his
 
 116 
 
 eminent virtue. The grace by which God reigns in a 
 soul, is a treasure infinitely above all price. We must 
 give all to purchase it. To desire it faintly is to 
 undervalue it. He is absolutely disqualified and unfit 
 for so great a blessing and unworthy ever to receive 
 it. who seeks it by halves, or who does not esteem all 
 other things as dung that he may gain Christ. 
 When Pachomius was baptized, he began seriously 
 to consider with himself how he should most faith- 
 fully fulfil the obligations which he had contracted, 
 and attain to the great end to which he aspired. 
 There is danger even in fervour itself. It is often 
 an artifice of the devil to make a novice undertake too 
 much at first, and run indiscreetly beyond his 
 strength. If the sails gather too much wind, the 
 vessel is driven a-head. falls on some rock and splits. 
 Eagerness is a symptom of secret passion not of true 
 virtue', where it is wilful and impatient of advice. 
 Pachomius was far from so dangerous a disposition, 
 because his desire was pure, therefore his first care 
 was to find a skilful conductor. Hearing that a ven- 
 erable old man named Palemon served God in the 
 desert in great perfection, he sought him out, and 
 with great earnestness begged to live under his 
 direction. The hermit having set before him the 
 difficulties and austerities of his way of life, which 
 several had already attempted in vain to follow, ad- 
 vised him to make a trial of his strength and fervour 
 in some monastery ; and. to give him a sketch of the 
 great difficulties he had to encounter in the life lie
 
 117 
 
 aspired to, he added: "Consider, my son, that my 
 diet is only bread and salt : I drink no wine, use no 
 oil, watch one half of the night, spending that time 
 in singing psalms or in meditating on the holy Scrip- 
 tures, and sometimes pass the whole night without 
 sleeping." Pachomius was amazed at this account, 
 but not discouraged. He thought himself able to 
 undertake everything that might be a means to ren- 
 der his soul pleasing to God, and readily promised to 
 observe whatever Palemon should think fit to enjoin 
 on him, who therefore admitted him into his cell, and 
 gave him the monastic habit. Pachomius was by his 
 example enabled to bear solitude, and an acquaintance 
 with himself. They sometimes repeated together the 
 psalter, at other times they exercised themselves in 
 manual labours, (which they accompanied with inter- 
 ior prayers) with a view to their own subsistence and 
 the relief of the poor. Pachomius prayed above all 
 things for perfect purity of heart, that being disen- 
 gaged from all secret attachment to creatures, he might 
 love God with all his affections. And to destroy the 
 very roots]of all inordinate passions, it was his first 
 study to obtain the most profound humility, and 
 perfect patience and meekness. He prayed often 
 with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross, 
 which posture was then much used in the church. 
 He Avas in the beginning often dz*owsy at the night 
 office. Palemon used to rouse him, and say : Labour 
 and watch my dear Pachomius, lest the enemy over- 
 throw you and ruin all your endeavours." Against
 
 118 
 
 this weakness and temptation he enjoined him, on such 
 occasions, to carry sand from one place to another 
 till his drowsiness was overcome. By this means the 
 novice strengthened himself in the habit of watching-. 
 Whatever instructions he read or heard, he immediate- 
 ly endeavoured fervently to reduce to practice. One 
 Easter- day Palemon bade the disciple prepare a din- 
 ner for that great festival. Pachomius took a little oil 
 and mixed it with the salt which he pounded well, 
 and added a few wild herbs, which they were to eat 
 with their bread. The holy old man having made his 
 prayer, came to table but at the sight of the oil he 
 struck himself on the forehead, and said with tears : 
 " My Saviour was crucified, and shall I indulge so far 
 as to eat oil '?" Nor could he be prevailed upon to taste 
 it. Pachomius used sometimes to go into a vast 
 uninhabited desert, on the banks of the Nile, called 
 Tabenna. in the diocese of Tentyra. a city between 
 the Great and Little Diospolis. Whilst he Avas there 
 one day in prayer, he heard a voice which commanded 
 him to build a monastery in that place, in which he 
 should receive those who should be sent by God to 
 serve Him faithfully. He received, about the same 
 time, from an angel who appeared to him. certain 
 instructions relating to a monastic life. Pachomius 
 going back to Palemon, imparted to him this vision ; 
 and both of them coming to Tabenna built there a 
 little cell towards the year 32o. He died when 57 
 years old the death of a Saint.
 
 119 
 
 May 27. 
 St. Julius, M. 
 
 This martyr was a veteran soldier, and was impeached 
 by his officers for the Christian faith, before 
 Maximus, governor of the Lower Moesia, which was 
 afterwards called Bulgaria. Pasicrates and Valention, 
 both of the same regiment, had received the crown of 
 martyrdom a little befoi'e. The judge employed 
 caresses, promises and threats; but Julius professed 
 that to die for Christ in oi'der to live eternally with 
 him would be the accomplishment of all his desires. 
 Whereupon he was condemned to lose his head, and 
 led forth to the place of execution. As he went, 
 Hesychius, a Christian soldier, who was also a prisoner 
 and suffered martyrdom a few days after him, said : 
 >: Go with courage, and run to the crown which the 
 Lord hath promised ; and remember me who shall 
 shortly follow you. Commend me to the servants of 
 God, Pasicrates and Valention, who by confessing the 
 holy name of Jesus are gone before us." 
 
 Julius embracing Hesychius said : " Dear brother, 
 make haste to come to us ; they whom you salute 
 have already heard you. Julius bound his eyes with a 
 handkerchief, and presenting his neck to the execu- 
 tioner, said : ' Lord Jesus, for whose name I suffer 
 death, vouchsafe to receive my soul in the number of 
 thy Saints." His martyrdom happened on the 27th of 
 May, two days after that of St. Pasicrates, about the 
 year 302, in the reign of Dioclesian, at Durostoro 
 on the Danube.
 
 120 
 
 June, 12. 
 
 S. S. Basilides, Culrinus or Cyrinus, Natoor and 
 Nazarius, Martyrs. 
 
 Saints Gelasius and Gregory the Great in their 
 Sacramentaries, the ancient Roman Calendar, make 
 honourable mention of these four martyrs who suffered 
 at Rome, and were interred on the Aurelian road. 
 According to the Acts of Martyrdom, they -were four 
 soldiers in the army of Maxentius, son of Maximian 
 Herculius, and after suffering many torments were 
 beheaded by the command of Aurelius, prefect of 
 Rome. 
 
 July 20. 
 St. Jerom of Aemilian, C. 
 
 Founder of the Congregation of Regular Clergy 
 of Somascha, 
 
 He was born at Venice of a patrician family and 
 in the most troublesome times of the Republic, served in 
 the troops from his childhood. Whilst he was governor 
 of the new castle in the mountains of Tarviso. he was 
 taken prisoner, cast into a dungeon, and loaded with 
 chains. His sufferings he sanctified by penance and 
 prayer, and being delivered by the miraculous protec- 
 tion of the Mother of God, arriving at Tarviso, he 
 hung up his chains before an altar consecrated to God
 
 121 
 
 under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, and, 
 returning- to Venice, devoted himself to the exercises 
 of pi-ay er and all virtues. 
 
 At that time a famine and a contagious distemper 
 having reduced many families to the greatest distress, 
 he laid himself out in relieving all, but was particularly 
 moved with compassion for abandoned orphans. These 
 he gathered in a house which he hired, clothed and fed 
 them at his own expense, and instructed them himself 
 with unwearied zeal in the Christian doctrine and in 
 all virtues. By the advice of St. Cajetan and others 
 lie passed to the Continent and erected little hospitals 
 for orphans at Brescia, Bergamo, and other places, 
 and others for the reception of penitent women. At 
 Somascha on the frontiers of the Venetian dominions 
 between Bergamo and Milan, he founded a house 
 which he destined for the exercises of those whom he 
 received into his Congregation, and in which he long 
 resided. Prom this house it took its name, though 
 it was sometimes called St. Mayeul's, titular of a 
 college at Pavia, which St. Charles Borromeo put 
 under his direction. 
 
 The instruction of youth and young clergymen 
 became also an object of his zeal in his foundations, 
 and continues still to be in this Institute. The 
 brothers, during the life of the founder, were all 
 laymen, and it was only approved as a "pious Con- 
 gregation. The holy founder died at Somascha on 
 the 8th of February. 1537, of a contagious distemper
 
 122 
 
 which he had caught by attending the sick. He 
 was beatified by Benedict XIV and canonized by 
 Clement XIII. An office in his honour was appoint- 
 ed for the 20th of July, by a decree of the Holy 
 See published in 17G9. 
 
 July 21. 
 
 St. Victor of Marseilles M. 
 
 The emperor Maximian, reeking with the blood of 
 the Theban legion and many other martyrs whom he 
 had massacred in different parts of Gaul, arrived at 
 Marseilles the most numerous and flourishing church 
 in those provinces. The tyrant breathed here nothing 
 but slaughter and fury, and his coming filled the 
 Christians with fear and alarms. In this general 
 consternation. Victor, a Christian officer in the troops; 
 went about in the night from house to house visiting 
 the faithful and inspiring them with contempt of a 
 temporal death and the love of eternal life. He was 
 surprised in this action, so worthy a soldier of Jesus 
 Christ, and brought before the prefects Asterius and 
 Eutychius, who exhorted him not to lose the fruit of 
 all his services and the favour of his prince for the 
 worship of a dead man, so they called Jesus Christ. 
 He answered, that he renounced those recompenses if 
 he could not enjoy them without being unfaithful to 
 Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who vouch- 
 safed to become man for our salvation, but who raised
 
 himself from the dead, and reigns with the Father, 
 being God equally with him. The whole court heard 
 him with tumultuous shouts of indignation and rage. 
 However the prisoner being a person of distinction, 
 the prefects sent him to Maximiaii himself. The 
 incensed countenance of an emperor did not daunt the 
 champion of Christ, and the tyrant seeing his threats 
 to have no effect upon him, commanded him to be 
 bound hands and feet and dragged through all the 
 streets of the city, exposed to the blows and insults of 
 the populace. Every one of the heathens seemed to 
 think it a crime not to testify their false zeal by 
 offering some indignity or other to the martyr. 
 Their design was to intimidate the Christians, but the 
 example of the martyr's resolution served to encourage 
 them. Victor was brought back bruised and bloody 
 to the tribunal of the prefects, who thinking his 
 resolution must have been weakened by his sufferings, 
 began to blaspheme our holy religion and pressed him 
 again to adore their gods. But the martyr filled 
 with the Holy Ghost and encouraged by His presence 
 in his soul expressed his respect for the emperor 
 and his contempt of their gods, adding. ' I despise 
 your deities, and confess Jesus Christ : inflict upon 
 me what torments you please/' The two prefects 
 only disagreed about the choice of the tortures. 
 After a warm contest, Eutychius withdrew and left 
 the prisoner to Asterius, who commanded him to be 
 hoisted on the rack, and most cruelly tortured a 
 long time. The martyr lifting up his eyes to heaven
 
 124 
 
 asked patience and constancy of God. whose gifts he 
 knew it to be. Jesus Christ appeared to him on the 
 rack, holding a cross in his hands, gave him his 
 peace, and told him that he suffered in his servants, 
 and crowned them after their victory. These words 
 dispelled both his pains and his grief; and the tor- 
 mentors being at last weary, the prefect ordered him 
 to be taken down and thrown into a dark dungeon. 
 At midnight God visited him by his angels, the 
 prison was filled with a light brighter than that of 
 the sun, and the martyr sung with the angels the 
 praises of God. Three soldiers, who guarded the prison, 
 seeing this light, were surprised at the miracle, and 
 casting themselves at the martyr's feet, asked his 
 pardon and desired baptism. Their names were 
 Alexander, Longinus, and Felician. The martyr in- 
 structed them as well as time would permit, sent for 
 priests the same night, and going' with them to the 
 sea-side, he led them out of the water, that is, was 
 their godfather, and returned with therrf again to his 
 prison. 
 
 The next morning Maximian \vas informed of the 
 conversion of the guai'ds, and. in a transport of rage, 
 sent officers to bring 1 them all four before him in the 
 middle of the market-place. The mob loaded Victor 
 with injuries, and would fain have compelled him to 
 bring back his converts to the Avorship of their gods, 
 but he said : ' I cannot undo what is well done." 
 And turning to them he encouraged them saying :
 
 125 
 
 'You are still soldiers; behave with courage, God 
 will give you victory. You belong to Jesus Christ, be 
 faithful. An immortal crown is prepared for you." 
 The three soldiers persevered in the confession of 
 Jesus Christ, and by the emperor's orders were 
 forthwith beheaded. Victor prayed in the meantime 
 with tears that he might, by being united with them 
 in their happy death, be presented in their glorious 
 company before God ; but after having been exposed 
 to the insults of the whole city as an immovable rock 
 lashed with the waves, and been beaten with clubs 
 and scourged with leather-thongs he was carried back 
 to prison, where he continued three days, recom- 
 mending to God his martyrdom with many tears. 
 After that term the emperor called him again before 
 his tribunal, and having caused a statue of Jupiter 
 with an altar and incense to be placed by him he 
 commanded the martyr to offer incense to the idol. 
 Victor went up to the profane altar, and by a stroke 
 of his foot threw it down. The Emperor ordered the 
 foot to be forthwith chopped off, which the Saint 
 suffered with great joy, offering to God these first 
 fruits of his body. A few moments after, the emper- 
 or condemned him to be put under the grindstone 
 of a handmill, and crushed to death. The execution- 
 ers turned the wheel, and when part of his body was 
 bruised and crushed, the mill broke down. The 
 Saint still breathed a little ; but his head was im- 
 mediately ordered to be cut oft'. His and the other 
 three bodies were thrown into the sea, but being
 
 126 
 
 cast ashore were buried by the Christians in a grotto 
 hewn out of a rock. The author of the acts adds : 
 " they are honoured to this day with many miracles, 
 and many benefits are conferred by God and our Lord 
 Jesus Christ on those who asked them through their 
 merits." 
 
 August 9. 
 St. Romanus, M. 
 
 He was a soldier in Rome at the time of the 
 martyrdom of St. Lawrence. Seeing the joy and 
 constancy with which that holy martyr suffered his 
 torments, he was moved to embrace the faith, and 
 addressing himself to St. Lawrence, was instructed and 
 baptized by him in prison. Confessing aloud what 
 he had done, he was arraigned, condemned, and be- 
 headed the day before the martyrdom of St. Lawrence- 
 Thus he arrived at his crown before his guide and 
 master. The body of St. Bomanus was first buried 
 on the road to Tibur, but his remains were translated 
 to Lucca, where they are kept under the high altar of 
 a beautiful church which bears his name. 
 
 August 28. 
 St. Julian. M. 
 
 He was descended from one of the best families of 
 Vienne in Dauphiue. He served with the tribune
 
 127 
 
 Ferreol, and knew well how to reconcile the profes- 
 sion of arms with the maxims of the gospel. Crispin, 
 governor of the province of Vienne, having de- 
 clared himself against the Christians, our Saint with- 
 drew to Auvergne, not that he dreaded the persecution 
 but that he might be at hand to be of service to the 
 faithful, for being acquainted that he was sought 
 after by the persecutors, of his own accord he pre- 
 sented himself before them saying, " Alas, I am too 
 long- in this bad world ; oh ! how I burn with desire 
 to be with Jesus." He had scarce uttered these 
 words, when they separated his head from his body. 
 It was near Brioude ; but the place of his interment 
 was for a long time unknown, until God revealed it 
 to St. Germain of Auxerre, when he passed by Brioude 
 on his return from Aries about the year 431. 
 His head was afterwards translated to Vienne with 
 the body of St. Ferreol. St. Gregory of Tours relates 
 a great number of miracles wrought by his interces- 
 sion. The same author mentions a church dedicated 
 at Paris under the invocation of the holy martyr, it 
 is that which is near the bridge called Petit pont> 
 and has successively gone under the name of St. 
 Julian the Old, and St. Julian the Poor. 
 
 8. 
 
 St. Adrian, M. 
 
 This saint was an officer m the Romaii army, who 
 having persecuted the Christians in the reign of
 
 128 
 
 Maximian Galerius, was so moved by their constancy 
 and patience that he embraced their faith, and suffer- 
 ed many torments and a glorious martyrdom for the 
 same, at Nicomedia, about the year 306 in the tenth 
 or last general persecution. His relics were conveyed 
 to Constantinople, thence to Rome, afterward into 
 Flanders, where they were deposited in the Benedictine 
 Abbey of Decline dedicated in honour of St. Peter. 
 
 September 18. 
 
 St. Perreol, M. 
 
 St. Ferreol was a Colonel, lived at Vienne in Gaul, 
 and was secretly a Christian. St. Julian of Brioude. 
 a native of that city and a person of high birth lodged 
 in his house, and made public profession of the 
 Christian faith. When the persecution began to rage 
 St. Julian withdrew into Auvergne, and lay some time 
 concealed in the house of a widow at Vinicelle near 
 the town of Brioude. Certain pursuivants having 
 got information about him. the servant of Christ dis- 
 covered himself to them, that the widow who had 
 concealed him might not be brought into danger. 
 The soldiers cut off his head upon the spot and 
 carried it back with them to Vienne that his execu- 
 tion might strike a terror into the rest of the Christians. 
 Crispin, governor of that part of Gaul, caused St. 
 Ferreol to be apprehended upon suspicion. Finding 
 him refuse to offer sacrifice, he told him that as he
 
 129 
 
 had the honour to serve his country in so eminent a 
 station, it became him to set an example of obedience. 
 The martyr answered : <: I do not so much overrate 
 the honours and riches which I enjoy. If I may be 
 allowed to live and to serve God, I am well satisfied ; if 
 even this seems too much, I am willing to resign my 
 life itself rather than to abandon my religion." The 
 judge commanded that he should be scourged, and then 
 laid in the dungeon loaded with chains. On the third 
 clay after this his chains fell oft" his hands and legs, and 
 seeing the door of the prison open and his guards 
 asleep, he made his escape, and went out of the city 
 by the gate which led to Lyons. He swam over the 
 river Rhone, and got as far as the river Geres, 
 which falls into the Rhone two leagues above Vienne 
 when he fell again into the hands of the persecutors* 
 who tied his hands behind his back, and led him part 
 of the way with them, till being seized with a sudden 
 fit of savage cruelty, they cut off his head near the 
 banks of the Rhone about the year 304. The Chris- 
 tians of Vienne interred his body with great vener- 
 ation near the same river, and the citizens experience 
 his protection by frequent benefits which they receive 
 from God through the prayers which they perform at 
 his tomb.
 
 130 
 
 September 22. 
 
 St. Maurice and his Companions. 
 A. D. 286. 
 
 The emperor Carus. who had impiously assumed 
 the title of a god, being killed by lightning, and his 
 son Numerianus Augustus being cut ofi by the treach- 
 ery of his uncle Aper, Dioclesian. a man of low birth, 
 was saluted emperor by the army, which he then 
 commanded in the East, on the 17th September, 284. 
 He defeated and slew Carinus, the second debauched 
 son of Carus the year following in Moesia, and after 
 this victory took the haughty name of Jovius from 
 Jupiter, and. creating Maximian Ca?sar, allotted to 
 him the care and defence of the West. The Bagaudal, 
 a people, consisting chiefly of peasants in Gaul 
 who had been attached to the interest of Carinus, 
 took up arms to revenge his death under two com- 
 manders Amandus and ^Elian. Dioclesian ordered 
 Maximian to march against them, and on that occasion 
 declared him Augustus and partner in the empire, and 
 this new emperor assumed the surname of Hercules. 
 In this expedition the most judicious historians place the 
 martyrdom of the Theban legion. It seems to have 
 received its name from being raised in Thebais or 
 Upper Egypt, a country full of zealous Christians. 
 This legion was entirely composed of such ; and St. 
 Maurice, who seems to have been the first command- 
 ing officer that was then with it. made it a point 
 to admit no others among them.
 
 131 
 
 Dioelesian in the beginning * of Iris reign was no 
 enemy to the Christian religion, and employed many, 
 who openly professed it, near his own person, and 
 in posts ot trust and importance, as Eusebius assures 
 us. Yet even private governors and the giddy 
 populace were at liberty to indulge the blindest 
 passion and fury against the servants of Christ ; and 
 Maximian. on certain extraordinary occasions, stained 
 his progresses with the blood of many martyrs. 
 The Theban legion was one of those which were sent 
 by Dioelesian out of the East to compose his army 
 for his expedition into Gaul. Maximian in crossing 
 the Alps made a halt with his army some days, that 
 the soldiers might repose themselves in their tedious 
 march while some detachments filed off towards 
 Triers. They were then arrived at Octodurum, at 
 that time a considerable city on the Rhone. Here 
 Maximian issued out an order that the whole army 
 should join in offering sacrifice to the gods for the 
 success of their expedition. The Theban legion here- 
 upon withdrew itself and encamped near Agaunum. 
 now called St. Maurice, three leagues from Octodu- 
 rum. The emperor sent them repeated orders to re- 
 turn to the camp and join in the sacrifices, and upon 
 their constant and unanimous refusal he commanded 
 them to be decimated. Thus every tenth man was 
 put to death, according as the lot fell ; the rest ex- 
 horting one another all the while to perseverance. 
 After the first decimation, a second was commanded,
 
 132 
 
 unless the soldiers obeyed the order given, but they 
 cried out over their whole camp that they would 
 rather suffer all extremities than do anything contrary 
 to their holy religion. They were principally encour- 
 aged by three of their general officers, Maurice or 
 Mauritius, Exuperius, and Candidus. St. Eucherius 
 does not style St. Maurice the tribune, but Primi- 
 cerius, which was the dignity of the first captain, 
 next to that of the tribune or colonel. He calls 
 Exuperius Campiductor or Major, and Candidus the 
 senator of the troops. 
 
 The emperor sent fresh threats, that it was in 
 vain they confided in their multitude ; and that if they 
 persisted in their disobedience not a man among 
 them should escape death. The legion, by the advice 
 of their generous leaders, answered him by a dutiful 
 remonstrance, the substance of which was as follows : 
 ' : We are your soldiers, but are servants of the true 
 God. We owe you military service and obedience; 
 but we cannot renounce him who is our Creator and 
 Master, and also yours, even whilst you reject him. 
 In all things which are not against his law, we most 
 willingly obey you, as we have done hitherto. We 
 readily oppose all your enemies whoever they are, but 
 we cannot dip our hands in the blood of innocent per- 
 sons. We have taken an oath to God before we took 
 one to you ; you can place no confidence in our second 
 oath, should we violate the first. You command us to 
 punish the Christians : behold, we are all such. We
 
 133 
 
 confess God the Father, Author oi all things, and his 
 Son. Jesus Christ. We have seen our companions 
 slain without lamenting them ; and we rejoice at 
 their honour. Neither this extremity to which we 
 are reduced nor any provocation hath tempted us to 
 revolt. We have arms in our hands, but we do not 
 resist, because we had rather die innocent than live 
 by any sin." 
 
 This legion consisted of about six thousand six 
 hundred men, who were all armed, and might have 
 sold their lives very dear. But t'hey had learned to 
 give to God what is God's, and to Caesar what is 
 Caesar's, and they showed their courage more in 
 dying than they had ever done in the most hazardous 
 enterprises. Maximian, having no hopes of over- 
 coming their constancy, commanded his whole army 
 to surround them, and cut them to pieces. They 
 made no resistance, but, dropping their arms, suf- 
 fered themselves to be butchered like innocent sheep 
 without opening their mouths, except mutually to 
 encourage one another ; and not one out of so great 
 a number failed in courage to the last. The ground 
 was covered with their dead bodies, and streams of 
 blood flowed on every side. Maximian gave the 
 spoils of the slain to his army for their booty, and 
 the soldiers were making merry over them, when 
 Victor, a veteran soldier, who belonged not to thafc 
 troop, happened to pass by. They invited him 
 to eat with them, but he, detesting their feast, 
 
 is
 
 134 
 
 offered to retire. At this the soldiers inquired if 
 he was also a Christian. He answered that he was, 
 and would always continue one : upon which they 
 instantly fell upon him and slew him. Ursus and 
 Victor, two straggling soldiers of this legion, were 
 found at Solodora. now Solenre, and massacred upon 
 the spot. Their relics are still preserved at Soleure. 
 These martyrs were styled by Fortunatus : " The 
 happy legion." 
 
 October 30. 
 
 St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr. 
 A. D. 298. 
 
 The birthday of the emperor Maximian Herculeus- 
 was celebrated in the year 298 with extraordinary 
 feasting and solemnity. Pompous sacrifices to the 
 Roman gods made a considerable part of this solem- 
 nity. Marcellus. a Christian centurion or captain in 
 the legion of Trojan, then posted in Spain, not to 
 defile himself with taking part in those impious abo- 
 minations, cast away his military belt at the head 
 of his company, declaring aloud that he was a soldier 
 of Jesus Christ, the eternal King. He also threw 
 down his arms and the vine-branch, which was the 
 mark of his post of centurion for the Roman 
 officers were forbidden to strike a soldier with any 
 instrument except a vine-branch which the centurions
 
 135 
 
 usually canned hi their hands. The soldiers in- 
 formed Anastasius Fortunatus, prefect of the legion, 
 by whose order Marcellus was committed to prison. 
 When the festival was over, this judge ordered Mar- 
 cellus to be brought before him, arid asked him what 
 he meant by his late proceedings. Marcellus said, 
 ' When you celebrated the emperor's festival, I said 
 aloud, that I was a Christian, and could serve no 
 other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Fortunatua 
 told him that it was not in his power to connive at 
 his rashness, and that he was obliged to lay his case 
 toefore the emperors Maximian and Constantius Caesar. 
 Spain was immediately subject to Constantius, who 
 was at that time Ca?sar, and most favourable to the 
 Christians. But Marcellus was sent under a strong 
 guard to Aurelian Agricolaus, vicar to the prefect of 
 the praetorium, who was then at Tangier, in Africa. 
 Agricolaus asked him whether he had really done a3 
 the judge's letter set forth ; and, upon his confessing 
 the fact, the vicar passed sentence of death upon him 
 for desertion and impiety as he called his action. St- 
 .Mavcellus was forthwith led to execution and be- 
 headed on the 30th of October. His relics were 
 i i 'i rwards translated from Tangier to Leon in Spain, 
 and are kept in a rich shrine in the chief parish 
 church in that city, of which he is the titular saint.
 
 136 
 
 November 9. 
 Saint Theodorus, surnamed Tyro. M. 
 
 St. Gregory of Nyssa begins the panegyric which 
 lie pronounced upon this martyr on his festival, at 
 his tomb near Amasea, by gratefully ascribing to his 
 intercession the preservation of that country from 
 the inroads of the Scythians who had laid waste all 
 the neighbouring provinces. Imploring his patron* 
 age, he says : " As a soldier defend us ; as a martyr- 
 speak for us ask peace : if we want a stronger inter- 
 cession, gather together your brother martyrs, and 
 with them all pray for us ; stir up Peter, Paul, and 
 John, that they be solicitous for the churches which 
 they founded. May no heresies sprout up ; may the 
 Christian commonwealth become, by your and your 
 companions' prayers, a flourishing field." The pane- 
 gyrist testifies, that, by his intercession, devils were 
 expelled, and distempers cured ; that many resorted 
 to his church, and admired the stateliness of the 
 buildings, and the actions of the Saint painted on 
 the wall ; approached the tomb, being persuaded that 
 the touch thereof imparted a blessing ; that they 
 carried the dust of the sepulchre as a treasure of 
 great value, and if any were allowed the happiness 
 to touch the sacred relics, they respectfully applied 
 them to their eyes, mouth, ears, and qther organs of 
 their senses. " Then," says the same St. Gregory, 
 shedding tears of devotion, "they address them : 
 selves to the martyr as if he were present, and pray
 
 187 
 
 arid invoke him, who is before God, and obtains gifts 
 as he pleases." The venerable panegyrist proceeds 
 to give a short account of the martyr's triumph. 
 
 Theodoras was a native of Armenia, young and 
 nr-wly enlisted in the Roman army whence he was sur^ 
 named Tyro. With his legion he was sent into winter 
 quarters in Pontus, and was at Amasea when fresh 
 edicts were published by Maximian Galerius and Maxi- 
 min, for continuing with the utmost rigour the per- 
 secution which had been raised by Dioclesian. Our 
 young soldier was so far from concealing his faith, 
 that he seemed to carry it written on his forehead. 
 Being seized and presented to the governor of the 
 province and the tribune of his legion, he was asked 
 by them how he dared to profess a religion which the 
 Emperor punished with death ? To whom he boldly 
 made the following declaration : " I know not your 
 gods. Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, is my God. 
 Beat, tear, or burn me, and if my words offend you, 
 cut out my tongue ; every part of my body is ready 
 when God calls for it as a sacrifice." His judges, with 
 a pretended compassion for his youth, allowed him 
 time to give the affair a second thought, and dis- 
 missed him for the present. Theodoras employed the 
 interval in prayer for perseverance, and being resolved 
 to convince his judges that his resolution was inflexible, 
 by an extraordinary impulse he set fire to a temple of 
 Cybele, which stood upon the banks of the river Tris 
 in the middle of the city, and the fabric was reduced
 
 138 
 
 to ashes. When he was carried a second time before 
 the governor and his assistant, he was ready to 
 prevent their questions by his confession. They 
 endeavoured to terrify him with threats of torment s> 
 and allure him by promising to make him the priest 
 of the goddess if he would offer sacrifice. His 
 answer was, that their pi'iests were of all idolaters 
 the most miserable, because the most criminal. His 
 body was unmercifully torn with whips, and after- 
 wards hoisted on the rack. Under all manner of 
 torments the Saint maintained his former tranquillity 
 and greatness of soul, and seemingly insensible to the 
 smart of his wounds, ceased not to repeat those words 
 of the Psalmist: "1 will bless the Lord at all times: 
 his praises shall be always in my mouth." When the 
 governor's cruelty was tired, the martyr was remand- 
 ed to prison, where in the night he was wonderfully 
 comforted by God and His holy Angels. After a third 
 examination, Theodorus was condemned to be burnt 
 alive in a furnace ; which sentence was executed in 
 the year 306, probably on the 1 7th February on which 
 day the Greeks and Muscovites celebrate his festival, 
 though the Latins keep it on the 9th of November. 
 The body of this Martyr wag translated in the 
 twelfth century to Brindisi, and is there enshrined. 
 except the head, which is at Cajeta.
 
 139 
 
 November 11. 
 St. Martin, A. D. 397. 
 
 The great St. Martin, the glory of Gaul, and the 
 light of the Western Church in the fourth age, was 
 a native of Sabaria, a town of Upper Pannonia, the 
 ruins of which appear upon the river Gunez, in Lower 
 Hungary, two leagues from Sarwar, upon the Baab, 
 near the confines of Austria arid Styria. St. Gregory 
 of Tours places his birth in the year 316, or before 
 Easter in 317, the eleventh of Constantine the Great. 
 His parents carried him with them in his" infancy 
 to Pavia in Italy, whither they removed, and the 
 Saint had his education in that city. His father was 
 an officer in the army, and rose to the commission of 
 a military tribune, not much different from that of a 
 colonel or rather of a brigadier amongst us. Our 
 Saint seemed animated from his infancy with the 
 Spirit of God, and to : have no relish for anything but 
 for His service, though his parents were idolaters. 
 At ten years' of age he made his way to the Church 
 against the will of his parents, and desired to be en- 
 rolled amongst the catechumens. His request was 
 granted, and he assisted as often as possible at the in- 
 structions that wefre given to Such at the church, by 
 which he conceived so ardent a love of God, that at 
 twelve years of age he wished to retire into the 
 desert, and would have done it, had not the tender- 
 ness of his age hindered him. His heart, however, was 1 
 always set upon the Church and monasteries. An im-
 
 140 
 
 Aerial order being issued to oblige the sons of veteran 
 officers and soldiers to bear arms, the Saint's own 
 father, who very much desired that his son should 
 follow that profession, discovered hiih, and at fifteen 
 years of age he was compelled to take the military oath 
 and ivas entered in the cavalry: He contented himself 
 with one servant, and him he treated as if he were his 
 equal: they ate together, and the master frequently 
 performed for him the lowest offices. At the time he 
 remained in the army, he kept himself free from those 
 vices which too frequently sully and degrade that profes- 
 sion, and by his virtue, goodness, arid charity, gained 
 the love and esteem of all his companions. He was 
 humble and patient above what human nature seemed 
 capable of, though he was not yet baptized. He com- 
 forted all those that suffered affliction, and relieved the 
 distressed, reserving to himself out of his 1 pay only 
 what was sufficient for his daily support: 
 
 Of his compassion and charity St. Sulpicius has 
 recorded the following illustrious example : One day 
 in the midst of a very hard winter and severe frost, 
 when many perished with cold, as he was marching 
 with other officers and soldiers, he met at the gate of the 
 city of Amiens a poor man, almost naked, trembling 
 and shaking for cold, and begging alms of those 
 that passed by. Martin seeing those that went before 
 him take no notice of this miserable object, thought he 
 was reserved for himself; by his charities to others 
 he had nothing left but his arms and clothes upon his
 
 141 
 
 back : when, drawing his sword, he cut his cloak into 
 two pieces, gave one to the beggar, and wrapped him- 
 self in the other half, Some of the bystanders laughed 
 at the figure he made in that dress, whilst others were 
 Ashamed not to have relieved the poor man. 
 
 In the following night St. Martin saw in his sleep 
 Jesus Christ dressed in that half of the garment which 
 he frad given a\yay. and was bid to Iqpk at it well, 
 and asked whether he knew it, He then heard Jesus 
 gay to a group qf angels that surrounded him : " Martin, 
 yet a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment." 
 
 jr . i i . 
 
 This vision inspired the Saint with fresh ardqur, and 
 determined him speedily to receive baptism, which 
 he did in the eighteenth year of his age. b.ut still con- 
 tinued almost two years in the army at the; request 
 of his tribune, with whom he lived in the most inti : 
 mate friendship, and who promised to renounce the, 
 world when the term of service and commission in 
 which he was then employed, should be. elapsed. 
 During this interval Martin was so entirely taken up 
 with the obligations of his baptism, that he had little 
 jnore than the name qf a soldier, and expressed much 
 impatience at being detained one moment from devot- 
 ing himself olely to th divine service,. IJpon an 
 irruption which the Germans made into Gaul, thq 
 troops were assembled to march against them, and a 
 donative was distributed amonggt the soldiers. Martin 
 thought it would be ungenerous and unjust to 
 the donative when he had thoughts qf quitting
 
 the service. He therefore begged that his donative 
 might be bestowed on some other person, and asked 
 his dismission, that he might give himself op totally 
 to the service of Christ. He was told that it was for 
 fear of the battle that was expected next day that he 
 desired his dismission. Martin, with surprising in- 
 trepidity, offered to be placed in the front without 
 arms, saying: "In the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
 protected not by a helmet and buckler, but by the 
 sign of the cross, I will thrust myself into the thickest 
 squadrons of the enemy without fear." That night the 
 barbarians demanded and obtained peace ; upon which 
 Martin easily procured leave to retire, after having 
 gerved in the army about five years, according to the 
 most probable accounts. Afterwards he waa ordained 
 Priest and became Bishop. He was above fourscore 
 years old, when Grod was pleased to put a happy end 
 .;<> his labours.. 
 
 g 8.- A modern example of a saintly soldier. 
 Joseph Louis Guerin. 
 
 (From his life written by Ocmon Allanl. ) 
 
 He was a native of Belgium and born in 1838. 
 At the age of 16 he entered the Seminary at T antes 
 to study for the priesthood.* In 1860 when the in r 
 0olent aggressions of the revolution against the Holy 
 Pee moved the, faithful of all nations to indignation, 
 
 * Compare the preface written by Card. Manning, Bayswater, 1864,
 
 H3 
 
 Guerin was earned by the ardour of his devotion to 
 place himself at the feet of Christ's Vicar on earth to 
 give his life for him, if God so willed. He had only 
 received the minor orders, and therefore soldiering 
 was no obstacle to his clerical vocation. In June 
 1860 he came to Rome. In September he was order- 
 ed to active service and mortally wounded during the 
 battte at Castelfidardo. His military career will, 
 though it was short, show us how a soldier's duty in 
 camp may be reconciled with the practices of religion ., 
 
 The love of order and cleanliness for which he had 
 always been distinguished while at the college followed 
 him to the barracks, and was as conspicuous in his 
 accoutrements as in everything else that belonged to 
 him. He said his beads every day, as well as the little 
 Office of the Blessed Virgin, whenever he could find 
 time. He went to Holy Communion regularly every 
 Sunday, and occasionally several times in the week, 
 He employed his leisure hours in visiting the religious 
 monuments of Rome. His piety, cheerfulness, and 
 charity made him esteemed and loved by all his 
 comrades. He was most rigid in all that related to 
 purity of morals, nor could he ever tolerate in con- 
 versation a word in the least opposed to Christian 
 modesty, and he used to reprove severely, and even 
 sometimes harshly anything that could offend it. His 
 virtue was, however, exposed to a great danger. With- 
 out being in the least aware of it, he had been taken 
 to a house of questionable repute ; his lively manners
 
 144 
 
 inducing the hope of an easy triumph over his virtue ; 
 but he came off victorious, full of indignation at the 
 snare which had been laid for his innocence. 
 
 The same spirit of order and submission ; the aflec- 
 tion towards his superiors which had distinguished 
 him during his studies in the college ; that same good 
 spirit he had shown in every circumstance before, 
 accompanied him in his military career. He always 
 appeared happy and contented in the camp, whilst no 
 soldier could be more faithful in the discharge of his 
 military duties. He carried cleanliness almost to a 
 fault, spending a considerable time in polishing his 
 arms and brushing up his accoutrements. To see 
 his radiant countenance in which, as in a mirror, waa 
 reflected his soul ; his light graceful step ; his jovial 
 manner when on the march ; to see all that and not 
 to share his noble ardour was impossible. 
 
 " Why should we fear anything ?" he often said 
 to his comrades. If your conscience be not at ease, 
 why, there is our good confessor. Our cause is the 
 very best of all, since we fight for God. We are 
 immortal, what matter then the few days we sa- 
 crifice ? As for me, I have made an offering of my 
 life to the Church and to Pius IX." 
 
 Through his irreproachable conduct, his piety, his 
 amiable manners, he had won all hearts, and waa 
 without comparison the most popular man in the 
 battalion. When one of his comrades uttered an
 
 unbecoming expression, he never failed to correct the 
 offender, but he took care that his seasonable reproof 
 should not appear one. 
 
 " Come now," he would say, " lam sure that word 
 is not to be found in the dictionary of the Pope's 
 soldiers." It was not enough for Guerin to edify his 
 comrades by his good example, he also encouraged 
 them by his words. No one possessed, as he did. the 
 priceless gift of bearing up cheerfully against mis- 
 fortunes; he perfectly understood the meaning of the 
 proverb : '' What we cannot cure, we must endure." So 
 lie never let any opportunity pass without availing him- 
 self of it to amuse his companions when they were tired 
 or sad. But never did he appear to greater advantage 
 than in the long and weary marches from Rome tu 
 the battlefield of Castelfidardo. It would have moved 
 the coldest heart to admiration, to have seen him, 
 short as he was, invariably marching in front, his 
 musket on one shoulder, his knapsack on his back. 
 Few among the volunteers being accustomed to sueli 
 fatiguing journeys, had their feet litterally bleeding 
 and felt quite exhausted ; while others could not carry 
 their arms or baggage, and worse still, had become 
 dispirited and despondent. As for Guerin he never 
 appeared in better spirits ; he cheered all by his 
 lively songs and animated anecdotes. He often took 
 the rifle and knapsack from the weakest of the party, 
 so that he was seen sometimes loaded with three 
 instead of one. His equanimity of temper was uu- 
 
 13
 
 146 
 
 paralleled ; he was always himself. One day he lost Ins 
 purse containing all the money he possessed, and to 
 a friend who condoled with him on his misfortune, 
 he simply said : "To be sure it is very unlucky, but 
 t,hat will not prevent me from fighting, for I have 
 not lost my arms." 
 
 The little Pontifical array passed on the 17th of 
 September near Loretto. whose venerated sanctuary 
 they hailed with religious transports. The battle was 
 expected for the following day. The gallant Com- 
 mandant de Becdelieve concluded a magnificent 
 address to the battalion in these beautiful word.-? : 
 " We are come here for the Pope's cause, which is 
 God's own. Many among us will to-morrow by this 
 time have been summoned to appear before the Al- 
 mighty, and, as He requires, that our souls should be 
 pure, let those who arc afraid, that their consciences 
 are not in perfect order, settle them at once. Our 
 worthy chaplain here is ready to help them." Al- 
 though Guerin had a few days ago been at confession. 
 he was one of the first to comply with their trulv 
 Catholic Commanding Officer's admirable exhortation. 
 
 The battle was fought and lost. Guerin was among- 
 the wounded, having got a shot through his right 
 lung. On a litter he was carried to a church at. 
 Castelfidardo, which was converted into a temporary 
 hospital, and from there later removed to Osimo, 
 where the Dominican monks took care of the wounded. 
 The science of suffering is studied by few, while by
 
 147 
 
 *till fewer it is reduced to practice. To endure the 
 most acute bodily sufferings without a murmur, is 
 the proof of a noble soul ; but to bear with the same 
 serenity of mind severe moral grief; to pardon those 
 who add insult to persecution ; to pray for the very 
 authors of our death ; to bear the heavy burden of 
 urteiing with an entire forgetfulness of self, coupled 
 with an ardent love of God, is to ennoble suffering ; 
 and this is what Guerin uniformly did during the last 
 days of protracted and excruciating agony. Guerin's 
 patience in bearing the privation of necessaries, es- 
 pecially at first, when his bed was an old broken 
 wooden box, on which he could hardly move, excited 
 the admiration of all the attendants at the hospital. 
 This great devotion prompted him to ask frequently 
 for confession and communion. He encouraged his 
 ('ompanions both by word and example to bear their 
 sufferings with resignation and patience ; in short,, he 
 was a model of edification to all who visited the hos- 
 pital, and he was loved by every one who had the 
 happiness of witnessing his angelic death, which oc- 
 curred a few weeks afterwards.
 
 us 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 1. The Soldier in Hospital, 
 
 Some General Eemaiks on Sickness. 
 
 If you were to contract a dangerous illness, what 
 would you do, how take it ? One man will say : "It 
 annot be helped, Tre must all die one day, and it' it 
 be my lot now, I must submit." 
 
 To another man death is very fearful. You must 
 not speak of death to him ; all through his illness 
 you see plainly his great anxiety and fear. 
 
 The first of these two we term a fatalist, the second 
 :i coward. But the good Christian is neither a fatalist, 
 nor a coward. He accepts sickness with resignation 
 and conformity to the will of God. He knows that 
 nothing happens in this world without the knowledge 
 of God, or against His will, that He, our heavenly 
 merciful Father chastises those whom He loves best. 
 uch a conviction of mind and disposition of heart 
 are unfailing sources of consolation. Besides, the 
 sick man gains great merit by suffering patiently out 
 of love, in union with : and after the example of, Jesu.- 
 Christ and all the Saints, and in satisfaction for his 
 sins, and is sustained by the hope of his reward and 
 crown in heaven. The good Christian will ever sutler 
 with patience. However great the pain, he will en- 
 dare it all without murmuring. How hard it is to 
 keep a man. without religious principles, from cursing 
 and blaspheming everything. Nothing can please him.
 
 The doctor, the medicine, the diet, the attendant,* 
 are all inveighed against, and even Almighty Got 
 Himself is cursed by such a man. In fact, he i* 
 a burden, nay, a scandal to every one. 
 
 True patience i8 a hard enough virtue to practise 
 under such trying circumstances, but God gives Hi* 
 grace to the sufferer who prays for it as he should, 
 and a patient should therefore pray to God for it 
 frequently, as it is the virtue he most requires now: 
 After all. what is there in impatience '? What good, 
 will or can comeot it? Will it shorten our sufferings, 
 or lessen them ? The very reverse, of course. What 
 so aggravates suffering as impatience, what so 
 alleviates it as patience ? 
 
 Good health is a gift of God, but sickness is no> 
 less a gift. " A grievous sickness maketh the soul 
 sober" (Bcc. XXXI. 2). Many Christians have become 
 great saints in the course, and by the discipline, of 
 a severe and protracted illness. Saint Lidwina is 
 an instance. She lay sick for thirty- eight years, in 
 constant great pain ; during thirty years unable to 
 leave her bed, and she suffered all with patience mora 
 wonderful than any of the miracles that she wrought 
 about this time. 
 
 Often does the priest meet with patience truly 
 heroic, during the course of his visits to patients in 
 the hospitals and elsewhere. These patients die 
 unknown to the world and in foreign countries ; but 
 their names are registered in the Book of Life.
 
 150 
 
 2. Care of the Body. 
 
 The sick man has to take care of his body, I mean 
 it is his duty so to do, as well as of his soul. No- 
 body may be indifferent or careless as regards the 
 medical treatment he is under. The prescriptions of 
 the doctor must be exactly observed. Soldiers, both 
 in and out of hospital frequently do themselves great 
 harm by not taking the prescribed medicine, making 
 use, instead of medicines, of things utterly injurious 
 to them. 
 
 The Christian should understand that it is his duty 
 to respect his medical adviser, according to what the 
 Holy Ghost says in Ecc. XXXVIII. v. 1. 2. & 4 : 
 " Honour the physician for the need thou hast of 
 him ; for the Most High hath created him ; for all 
 healing is from God. (v. 4). The Most High hath 
 created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man 
 will not abhor them." 
 
 Not that we may place all our confidence in the 
 doctor alone. St. Basil writes : " We are to attribute 
 not to the doctors, but to God alone, Who makes them 
 operate as He pleases, the good or bad success of 
 remedies." God sometimes restores health without 
 any help from doctors or medicines; sometimes He 
 works by means of them. At other times all consul- 
 tations, all remedies, are useless ; and it is He who 
 bids them be so to teach us to place all our trust in 
 Him alone. Therefore, always ascribe ycnir recovery 
 not so much to the doctor's care, as to God, Who
 
 151 
 
 alone lias the power to cure all diseases. Wherefore 
 it is written in the Book of Wisdom (XVI. 12): " It 
 is not herbs nor fomentations, but Lord, it is Thy 
 word which has the virtue to heal all diseases." 
 
 And when it happens that the doctor does not un- 
 derstand your complaint, or has not taken that care 
 which was required, you must attribute even this to 
 the will of God. * 
 
 . 3 Care of the Soul. 
 
 But Of far greater importance than bodily health is 
 the welfare of the soul. According to the Regulations 
 of the Army, Military Chaplains are expected to visit 
 the hospitals twice a week, or oftener, in order to im- 
 part religious consolation arid instruction to the sick. 
 The Catholic Priest has another object in view. His 
 Chief care is to save souls. The bodies are cared for 
 by the doctors, apothecaries and others. Now, souls 
 can only be saved and sinners converted by the Sa- 
 crament of Penance, and therefore the Catholic Priest 
 takes advantage of the opportunity which sickness 
 gives him of persuading the sick man to go to' con- 
 fession. The sick soldier is in bed and earirio't escape. 
 In a ward full of patients, indeed, like ariy one else 
 under the influence of hurdan respect, he shrinks, of 
 Course, from niakirig his confession in the presence 
 
 * See liodriguez' Christian Perfection. Vol. 1.
 
 152 
 
 of others. Nevertheless, a good confession can and 
 must be made. Listen to this. Doctors, as a rule, 
 conceal the gravity of the disease from the patient ; 
 the Priest cannot always perhaps can seldom tell 
 whether the case is serious or not. The patient goe3 
 on unaware of his actual state, and in the sense of 
 false security Confession is neglected, until the dread- 
 ful truth at last comes out, when, in many instances, 
 it is unfortunately too late. 
 
 In the quiet orderly life in hospital the soldier will 
 have time and freedom to read his prayers and ex- 
 amine his conscience. If he is ashamed to confess 
 before his comrades, the Priest can generally choose 
 his hour when he is alone or get a private room. 
 But if the soldier is too ill to leave his bed, does he in^ 
 tend to lose his soul for fear of a comrade's sneer '? 
 And will his comrade sneer ? No ; soldiers though 
 not good themselves ever respect those who are good, 
 or who at least make an attempt to become good. 
 Protestants, no less than Catholics, act in this manner. 
 
 Every soldier who goes into hospital, no matter how 
 trifling his ailments may seem to be, should at once 
 make his confession, that is. if he needs to do so if in 
 sin. An indisposition that seems to the patient and 
 to the medical officer trivial at first may be the begin- 
 ning of the last sickness. 
 
 How often does the last sickness come on in this 
 way ! Headache may be the symptom of approach-
 
 ing apoplexy. A feeling- of debility and a slight 
 fever may be the insidious signs of typhoid tever. 
 A slight injury, a kick from a horse, and the like. 
 may take an unhealthy turn. Pain, with an irritating 
 fever is most likely to follow, and will undoubtedly 
 preclude that calm attention which is so necessary to 
 a good confession. 
 
 It is the opinion of all our medical officers that 
 the progress of sickness in India is rapid, and it is 
 asserted, on the best authority, that there is no greater 
 obstacle to a cure being effected than a disturbed 
 mind as there is no greater help towards a care 
 than a mind at rest. Peace of conscience puts the 
 patient in the most favourable state for recovery. 
 The sting of a bad conscience tends to bring about. 
 the very result the patient most fears. 
 
 Besides the incalculable advantage of the peace of 
 heart which follows a good confession, there is the 
 immediate removal from the occasions of sin which he 
 enjoys in hospital. A man who has been the slave of 
 vice should seize the rare opportunity of renouncing 
 it, whilst in hospital, altogether. He is removed 
 from all temptation which his bad habits render it so 
 difficult to resist, to overcome the vice. Seize the 
 time thus offered, when vice cannot be indulged in. 
 
 Many a man who from his weakness would never 
 have reformed, if surrounded with the temptations 
 of life outside, has left hospital an altered man.
 
 Every vice is strengthened by indulgence in it ; in 
 hospital that indulgence is difficult to procure, and is 
 easy to abstain from; but the man who would indulge in 
 his vice there would only teaze and worry himself the 
 means of gratification are not there. God, Who knows 
 your weakness and your difficulties sends you sickness 
 in order that you may make use of it ; that it may help 
 towards your reformation. 
 
 Looked upon as the only, or at least the indispen- 
 sable, means of amending a bad life and avoiding a bad 
 death ; or looked upon as putting one in the most 
 favourable condition for the recovery of bodily health 
 whether you think of the soul or the body in whatever 
 light you may regard confession, it should be made 
 as soon as possible after entering the hospital. 
 
 4. How to spend Leisure Hours. 
 
 This is a question of the greatest importance, 
 especially if a man is confined for many weeks or 
 months to bed. He maybe too ill to read reading 
 may be very bad for him. But so far as he can, 
 without any risk, it is just the time to read. If he 
 is not too ill, he should read ; but not the news- 
 papers and novels supplied from the Garrison Library. 
 He may read something more useful, anything inno- 
 cent, though amply amusing. After being reconciled 
 to God, he is supposed to have a greater relish for 
 religious books ; they console, they instruct, they
 
 155 
 
 counsel him to a good life. The Chaplain will be only 
 too glad to lend him books of this kind, which do 
 marvellously strengthen good resolutions, and show 
 the way to imitate Christ and His Saints. Saint- 
 Ignatius is only one truly an illustrious one of ten 
 thousand instances of this, that is, of the fruit you 
 may expect from reading when seriously sick. In 
 Alban Butler's " Lives of the Saints" you will find 
 the memorable instance mentioned concerning a 
 soldier's conversion by reading good books in time of 
 illness. In 1521 there was war between France and 
 Spain. The French were besieging Pampeluna ; it 
 was defended by Ignatius, then a very young officer 
 in the Spanish army. The garrison had resolved to 
 surrender, in spite of all Ignatius could do, and the 
 gates were already open to the enemy when Ignatius 
 retired to the citadel. There, at the head of the little 
 handful of men who followed him he endeavoured to 
 hold the place and drive back the enemy, but in the 
 heat of the fight a cannon ball struck both his legs, 
 severely bruising one, and breaking the other. He 
 fell, and the garrison, seeing his fall, surrendered at 
 discretion. The French treated the prisoners well, 
 especially Ignatius in consideration of his bravery. 
 They carried him to the General's quarters, and soon 
 after removed him to his own castle, Loyola. During 
 his illness, whilst the surgeons had to set his legs, he 
 found the time tedious, and called for something to 
 read. He thought only of romances, he had al- 
 ways been fond of such reading. No such booka
 
 156 
 
 strange to say, were then to be found in the Castle of 
 Loyola, and, stranger still, there was found a volume 
 of the Life of our Saviour, and the Lives of the Saints. 
 This was brought to him. He read it at first only to 
 pass the time, but afterwards began to relish it, and 
 to pass all days in reading it. He chiefly admired 
 in the Saints their love of solitude and of the Cross. 
 He considered, among the hermits how many people of 
 quality, there were who had buried themselves in caves 
 and dens, pale with fasting, and covered with hair- 
 cloth, and he said to himself : " These men were of the 
 same frame as I am of : why then should I 
 not do as they have done ?" He made his resolu- 
 tion to become a saint, and immediately after his 
 recovery he went to a chapel, hung up his sword 
 at the altar of the Blessed Virgin and consecrated 
 himself to the service of God alone. Now this officer 
 is the same great Ignatius of Loyola who founded the 
 Society of Jesus, and who is renowned in the History 
 of the Catholic Church for the wonderful things done 
 by him and by the Society he founded for the glory 
 of God and the salvation of souls. 
 
 . 5. The Chaplain's Visit. 
 
 The sick soldier should always be glad to see the 
 Priest. Many shrink from his visits, avoid him if they 
 can, and this for different reasons. It often happens 
 that neither the Catholic Priest nor the Protestant 
 Minister can find out who belongs to their flock.
 
 157 
 
 A card hangs above each patient's cot for the guid- 
 ance of the visiting Chaplains. On one side is print- 
 ed ' Church of England," on the reverse, < ; Roman 
 Catholic." Some men, on observing the approach of 
 their Chaplains reverse their card, others hide them 
 altogether, while others again will exchange cards with 
 their neighbours. In a certain place on one occasion 
 at all events the Minister on visiting the hospital 
 found all the patients in one ward marked with the 
 designation of " Roman Catholic," though there was 
 really not one Roman Catholic in it ; and, alas ! Ca- 
 tholics in that place used to play the same trick, and 
 get " Church of England" or " Church of Scotland " 
 cards, to make the Priest believe that they were not 
 of his persuasion. When a bad Catholic has no time 
 to escape the visiting Priest, an easier trick is to 
 feign sleep which can be done at once, as soon as the 
 Priest is seen and of course he is safe in that case. 
 Those who are allowed to walk about hide themselves 
 in the wash house, or in some other ward; and it is a 
 real fact, that men have been for months in hospital, 
 and have never been spoken to by their clergymen 
 they have never been able to get at them. Look- 
 ing at such conduct from a mere worldly point of 
 view, it must be called anything but noble, or even 
 manly or civil ; but marvellously ungrateful, rude, and 
 childish. Why should a gentleman kindly visiting any 
 one be treated in this manner ? For a Catholic soldier 
 the consequences may be very serious. How often 
 
 14
 
 158 
 
 does it happen that the Priest knows nothing what- 
 ever of his illness, and is only called when it is too 
 late ! 
 
 . 6. The Last Rites of the Church. 
 
 When once your illness becomes serious, and there 
 is danger, you are bound to receive the last Sacra- 
 ments, viz. Holy Communion and Extreme Unction. 
 There is a special obligation to receive Communion 
 in such a case. It strengthens you against temptation, 
 (and then, if ever, you need being strengthened) ; so 
 a Christian would be guilty of a mortal sin, did he, 
 on his death-bed, refuse to communicate. 
 
 In Catholic countries the taking of the Blessed 
 Sacrament to the sick is a most solemn ceremony. 
 The church bell is rung, and people assemble with 
 candles in procession to accompany the Blessed Sa- 
 crament to the house of the sick. Generally there is a 
 Confraternity, whose principal business is thus to 
 assist the dying, thus to honour the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment. The priest carries the Blessed Sacrament 
 publicly through the streets, with his head uncovered, 
 whilst four men hold the canopy over him. It is a 
 pity that, in military hospitals, not only all show must 
 be avoided, but also certain circumstances render it 
 difficult to administer the Viaticum with even only 
 becoming decency and reverence.
 
 159 
 
 But some kind of preparation should be always 
 made by getting- the little table which is near each 
 patient's bed cleared and covered with a napkin or 
 towel so that the priest may place on it all the articles 
 lie requires for the occasion. Where there is a 
 Catholic apothecary or matron such a preparation is 
 easily made. It often happens that several Catholic 
 soldiers are in the same ward. If they are not 
 confined to their beds, they should assist with devo- 
 tion at the ceremony, and not behave in that in- 
 different, disrespectful manner, which only ignorance 
 and unbelief can excuse. Wherefore, do not walk out ; 
 do not smoke your pipes in the verandah ; do not talk 
 whilst the Eucharistic God is in your presence. No, 
 no, do not make that sacrifice of your faith to 
 human respect, and to the irreligion by which you 
 are surrounded. 
 
 The orderly, the man who is placed in charge of 
 the patient, can do much good and earn much here- 
 after, by doing his duty to the best of his ability. 
 However, he should not look after the bodily comfort 
 of the patient alone, there are his spiritual wants 
 also to be attended to. Why not say a few words to 
 him that affords religious consolation ? A few simple 
 words might be so useful, so consoling ! Why not 
 read to him a few lines from a Prayer-Book. or some 
 other religious book ? This would be a great act of 
 charity in the comrade who visits the sick man on the 
 days appointed. Many instances have occurred of
 
 160 
 
 souls being saved by the kind influence ol visitors, the 
 patients being apparently influenced by them, eveu 
 after the clergyman had failed to convert them : also 
 of patients making timely confession and receiving 
 the last Sacraments without which they would have 
 died, but for such a true friend having conveyed to the 
 priest information as to the dangerous state they 
 were in. 
 
 When there is danger the sick man should also' 
 receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction that great 
 Sacrament in which the sick are anointed with holy 
 oil, and through the priest's prayer receive the grace 
 of God for the good of their souls always, and often 
 times for the health of their bodies. Protestants do 
 not believe in this Sacrament; strange is this disbelief! 
 Should one of them ask you, on what authority the 
 priest anoints the sick ? simply ask him, or her, to 
 show you the Bible. Open it, and find the 5th 
 Chapter of the Epistle of St. James, and show him 
 the 14th and 15th verses, and ponder thereon with 
 gratitude yourself: " Is any man sick among you, 
 let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let 
 them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the 
 name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save 
 the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and 
 if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven 
 him." 
 
 There are, we may be sure, three enemies, who 
 assault the soul of the dying man before he departs
 
 161 
 
 this life. Death with its horrors and pains ; conscience 
 with its remorse; the devil /with his temptations. 
 Even when we enjoy good health the thought of death 
 saddens us, but what will it be when it is close at 
 hand and the agony of death has begun? Then 
 conscience also properly wakes up and all the sins 
 we have committed come before us. The devil, too, 
 is busy in tempting the soul, or rather puts forth all 
 his power does all he can to secure it. Where 
 shall the soul find strength to fight against the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil ! 
 
 Behold, the priest of God comes ! - Peace be to 
 this house," he says. He has the holy oil with him, 
 to administer to you a Sacrament instituted by Christ, 
 for this very time this last combat to give corporal 
 and spiritual comfort to the sick. It is the last 
 anointing which the Catholic receives. In Baptism 
 he was anointed on his breast, and shoulders, and 
 head for first time; in Confirmation the Bishop 
 anointed his brow with the chrism of salvation; on 
 his death-bed he is anointed for the last time on the 
 eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands and feet the organs 
 of the five senses. Now, whilst the priest applies this 
 holy oil to his eyes, his ears, and other senses, the sick 
 man should, with a contrite and humble heart implore 
 the mercy of God to forgive all the sins, which 
 through these different avenues have made their way 
 into his soul. How great are the graces and benefits 
 promised by God to all who receive this Sacrament
 
 162 
 
 with the proper disposition ! He will save the sick 
 man, and raise him up from the sick bed, if he sees 
 his recovery expedient for the good of his soul ; and 
 what is infinitely more desirable than the health of 
 the body, he will impart to him the forgiveness of 
 his sins. 
 
 There is probably not one priest who has had for 
 any time to administer Extreme Unction and who 
 has not seen the, so to say, miraculous effects of this 
 Sacrament. In 1877 when the cholera was raging 
 in the city and camp of Ahmednagar, one Saturday 
 night, after 11 o'clock, the Priest was sent for to attend 
 a patient, a Private of the 66th Regiment, who had 
 been given up by the Doctor. He was in a state of 
 collapse, which is the fore-runner of death. " Now 
 make your confession," said the priest, "and I shall 
 anoint you, if you wish." "Yes Father," replied the 
 dying man with his feeble voice, " I am a member of 
 the Confraternity, do you not know me? I go to 
 Holy Communion, as the rule enjoins on the 
 first Sunday of every month, and now I am glad 
 and happy for I am well prepared." After having 
 made his short confession he was anointed, but could 
 not receive holy Communion on account of the 
 vomiting which still continued. It was only half an 
 hour later, when the Doctor made inquiry as to whe- 
 ther the man was dead. " No;" said the Apothecary, 
 "he seems to have got over the crisis." And so it 
 was. Shortly after having received Extreme Unction
 
 163 
 
 he was out of danger. A fortnight afterwards the 
 man was again fit for duty. He lived until the 27th 
 July 1880, on which day he died a soldier's death on 
 the battle-field of Maiwand, in Afghanistan. 
 
 How blessed a thing to be always prepared for 
 death ! But of all the difficulties which prevent a 
 good confession, none is so great as the difficulty of 
 speech, or want of consciousness. Happy the man 
 who has settled the affairs of his soul in good time ! 
 
 Whilst the llth Regiment was stationed at Poona in 
 1878, cholera broke out and carried away many 
 victims. One Saturday evening an old soldier came 
 to St. Patrick's Chapel, wishing particularly to see 
 the Priest. " I come to make my confession," said 
 he, " and I have got a young chap with me who has 
 not been to confession for the last seven years. I got 
 him to come along with me for a walk, and brought 
 him up to this Chapel. ' Now,' says I, ' let us say a 
 handful of prayers inside for the good of our souls,' 
 and he came in with me. ' I am going to confession,' 
 Bays I to him, ' you had better come too. ' But he would 
 not. At last he gave me his consent, and he is now 
 inside preparing for his confession." Both were 
 reconciled with God, and received Holy Communion 
 on Sunday morning at the Soldiers' Mass. About a 
 fortnight afterwards the same Priestjgot a sick call, 
 it was to a cholera patient. He was very ill indeed 
 and had lost the power of ^speech. "What a pity,"
 
 164 
 
 thought the Priest, " that I was not called sooner. 
 The man will not be able to make his confession ; and 
 all I can do will be to give him conditional absolution 
 and anoint him." But as soon as he saw the poor 
 dying man, he thought he had seen him before, and 
 that but recently. Yes, it was the young soldier who 
 had thrown off his load of sin on that Saturday even- 
 ing, and who had ever since been leading a very 
 exemplary life. He received the last consolations 
 of the Church with apparent devotion, and soon 
 afterwards died a happy death. 
 
 Here now follows another incident which will 
 greatly edify you. It is a real fact, and a miracle of 
 the mercy of God. 
 
 7. An incident of Indian Life. * 
 
 Father Francisco, the Portuguese Chaplain to the 
 troops stationed at Gurrumpore in Upper Bengal, was 
 sitting in his bungalow one day in the hot season of 
 1860, endeavouring as well as the intense heat would 
 permit to prosecute his Hindostanee studies. The 
 hot winds were blowing outside with great fierceness, 
 but the Chaplain was too poor to turn them to ac- 
 count by employing a native to throw water on the 
 kuskus mats that blocked up the whole length of the 
 verandah, and thus produce a cooling evaporation, and 
 for the same reason the huge punkah that was slung 
 
 "Lamp, 1867.
 
 165 
 
 from the roof remained motionless, and distributed 
 no reviving draughts of air through the close at- 
 mosphere of the large darkened room. 
 
 Presently the mid- day gun boomed from the front 
 of the soldier's lines, and as the good Priest rose after 
 saying the Angelus a loud cry of ' Boy ! boy !" from 
 the compound announced the approach of a visitor, 
 and Sooka, Father Francisco's only servant, entered 
 with the information that a soldier sahib want to see 
 masta." 
 
 " Very well, Sooka ; show him in ; " and a tall fine 
 looking soldier, his eyes dazed by the strong- glare of 
 the outside sun, stumbled through the windowless 
 room, saluted, and asked in a timid voice if he could 
 have a few moments' conversation. 
 
 Certainly ; I am delighted to see you, Dilvin ; just 
 sit down there, said the Priest as he pushed a chair 
 towards his visitor, whom he recognised as one of 
 the blackest sheep of his flock, and a man whose heart 
 he had been quite unable to touch in matters of reli- 
 gion. 
 
 " Something has come over me. Sir," began Dilvin, 
 in a low voice; "I don't well know what, but I thought 
 I'd step over and just ask, if you thought there was 
 any chance of such a man as me ever becoming a 
 good Catholic ; and I've been a bad man, Sir a very 
 bad man all my life, and never minded religion since 
 I was a boy, Sir; and now I'm afraid it is too late but 
 still I thought I'd tell you
 
 166 
 
 It is never too late to repent in this life, Dilvin," 
 said Father Francisco in a soothing voice, "and you 
 well know that our good Saviour came to call sinnelrs 
 and not the just to repentance." 
 
 " I know, Sir, I know ; but I have been so very bad 
 (this with a deep sigh), I can hardly think my re- 
 penting would be any good, because in fact, it is fear 
 with me, and not religion." 
 
 The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom ; and 
 then the Priest talked in a low comforting tone of 
 the wonderful mercy of our good God ; of His great 
 desire for sinners to come to Him ; of the efficacy of 
 the Sacrament of Penance, and of the power of grace 
 for reconciliation with an offended Creator; and 
 when he saw that his words had taken effect, and 
 that the rough powerful man before him, who had 
 always seemed alike fearless of God and man, was 
 actually sobbing like a child, he asked him to kneel 
 down with him, and ofiered up a fervent prayer, that 
 God would continue to shower down His grace until 
 the blessed gift of perfect repentance was attained. 
 
 The soldier was much affected, and on rising 
 sketched with great humility [the chief events of a 
 wild and sinful career, with a view to obtaining such 
 instruction as might be necessary before preparing 
 for a general confession. 
 
 Robert Dilvin had been educated at a good middle- 
 class Catholic school, from which at the age of sixteen
 
 167 
 
 he had run away to sea, and then on the breaking- 
 out of the Crimean war had enlisted as a soldier, 
 and gone through the whole of the miseries, hard- 
 ships, and dangers of that campaign, without having 
 once experienced the slightest fear either for soul or 
 body. He had plunged into every vice and riot that 
 came within his reach, and although a smart and 
 first rate soldier on parade, was well known as one of 
 the most incorrigible scamps in the regiment. 
 
 During the Indian mutiny he had shown the most 
 dauntless bravery, and would have been promoted 
 over and over again, had it not been for his evil 
 reputation. In all these years he had utterly ignored 
 religion, and though of course obliged to parade for 
 Mass on Sundays had proved quite deaf to all religious 
 exhortations and remonstrances and had lived as if 
 there was no God. One thing he had done, but as he 
 confessed himself, it was more from human affection 
 than with any pious motive he had always worn the 
 little medal of the Immaculate Conception which his 
 poor mother had placed round his neck on her death- 
 bed, and had at times, often at long intervals, said a Hail 
 Mary with a sort of half intention of begging the Bles- 
 sed Virgin's intercession that he might some day 
 repent. 
 
 For ten long weary years he had been a stranger 
 to the Sacraments, and now, as he bade adieu for the 
 present to the good Priest, he repeated that it seemed
 
 168 
 
 to be fear that was driving him to seek a reconcilia- 
 tion with God, and not a true disposition to re- 
 pentance. 
 
 ' But what do you fear, Dilvin ?" asked Father 
 Francisco, as he walked towards the door to show his 
 guest out. 
 
 ''Death. Sir; I never felt it before; but now every 
 time there is a cholera case, or I hear the band 
 playing the Dead March in Saul as we file down to 
 bury some poor fellow, I get quite nervous, and am 
 an utter coward." 
 
 Father Francisco laughed gently, and said he wished 
 a few more would fear death in that manner and then 
 making an appointment for the day after next, to get 
 up the scaffolding, as it were, for a general confession, 
 shook Dilvin warmly by the hand and dismissed 
 him. 
 
 On the two following mornings Dilvin was one of 
 the few worshippers at the early Mass ; but when 
 three o'clock came on the appointed day and he did 
 not appear at the Priest's bungalow, the latter began 
 to fear that the enemy had been too powerful, and 
 that a change had taken place in the soldier's senti- 
 ments. In about an hour's time he had ceased think- 
 ing on the subject, and was on his way to the lines 
 to visit a poor sick soldier's wife, when he met a man 
 who was bringing him a message to say that Dilvin
 
 169 
 
 had been seized with cholera, and was now in hospi- 
 tal, and. during the intervals of the paroxysms of pain, 
 was asking anxiously for Father Francisco. 
 
 Immediately the Priest hurried off, and found the 
 poor fellow writhing in all the awful pains of this 
 most fearful disease. The two Assistant Surgeons of 
 the regiment were standing by the side of the char- 
 poy on which the sufferer lay, and applying every 
 possible remedy they could think of to procure him 
 relief; but nought seemed to be of any avail, and it 
 was evident they both thought the case desperate. 
 
 Too late Sir, Oh, too late !" groaned out the patient, 
 as the Priest hastily took his place at the head of the 
 cot, "too late I'ani lost justly only what I deserve 
 deathbed repentance can be no good; and after such 
 a life as mina Oh ! " and he screamed aloud in his 
 agony. Then the good Priest knelt down by the bed- 
 side and spoke sweet words of mercy and love and 
 hope dismissing the attendants from the immediate 
 neighbourhood exhorted and pressed the sin-laden 
 sufferer to make such confession as he could, and to 
 trust in the infinite mercy of God, who can forgive 
 more than we can offend, pointing out that the 
 intention of repentance and amendment and even 
 a sort of preliminary confession, had been in existence 
 before the dire malady had set in, and that therefore 
 this could hardly be deemed a case of death-bed re- 
 pentance. And so the strange scene went on in the 
 increasing darkness for the burning' sun had now 
 
 K
 
 170 
 
 gone down, and the cool evening- breeze played fitfully 
 in through the open doors and wide verandah and by 
 the light of a single oil lamp that drew a dismal, yellow, 
 indistinct glare over every object, and between the 
 spasms of the greatest agony the human frame can 
 experience, the prostrate man told in broken sentences 
 the awful tale of a life of sins. All the sad catalogue 
 of human weakness, folly, and passion ; all the foul 
 stains that had defiled that once pure and innocent 
 soul ; all the crimes that the wild storms of a 
 rebellious flesh, devil-excited, had driven his un- 
 happy soul into committing ; all the daily and hourly 
 contempt of God, of which the life of an irreligious 
 man is made up ; all the sad volume of possi- 
 ble sin which Satan has compiled for the ruin of 
 mankind : all all were poured out with heart-rend- 
 ing gasps of bodily and mental agony; while ever and 
 anon the melancholy wail oi the troops of jackals that 
 scoured across the adjoining sandy plain in search of 
 carrion broke in as a ghastly chorus. Now and again 
 the surgeons approached to see if any change showed 
 itself of which advantage might be taken, but none 
 such appeared, and presently they retired altogether, 
 having decided that in a very short time collapse 
 must set in. and then death! 
 
 There was 110 time to be lost : and, the confession 
 having been ended, Father Francisco hastened to 
 speak the blessed words of absolution. One glance of 
 unutterable gratitude came over the handsome fea-
 
 171 
 
 tures of the soldier a shudder, a sort of shrinking- into 
 himself, and then he became insensible. 
 
 The Priest thought he was dead, but it was not so ; 
 and he sat by the bedside praying fervently for mercy 
 for the parting- spirit. The noiseless Hindoo Hospi- 
 tal Assistants, in whom hope never dies, piled blankets 
 and rugs over the inanimate form, and then squatted 
 quietly on their haunches round the cot and smoked 
 their hubble-bubbles as they crooned drearily one 
 to another, and waited for the coming of life or death, 
 perfectly indifferent which it might be, and yefc pre- 
 pared to take advantage of any favourable change. 
 
 ' Well, Pud re ! by Jove you 're a better doctor 
 than any of us ! you ought to take out a degree and 
 set up as a sawbones," said Dr. Martin, as he met 
 Father Francisco taking his morning walk some few 
 days after the above events. 
 
 " Perhaps I will, Doctor, when you retire and give 
 up your practice to me. But how do you find Dilvin 
 this morning ?'' 
 
 ' ; getting on famously, and picking up strength 
 at an immense rate. By Jupiter, he had a narrow 
 shave oi it : I would'nt have given a cowrie for his 
 chance when I left him that night. But now he is as 
 right as nine pence. Ta, ta !" And the young Surgeon 
 stuck spurs into his tatoo and galloped home to his 
 breakfast.
 
 172 
 
 And so in truth it was : Dilvin. instead of getting 
 into a state of collapse and dying, had in a few hours 
 broken out into a profuse perspiration, and gradually 
 mended, until he actually was now, as Dr. Martin 
 said, getting- on famously. In about ten days he was 
 convalescent, and in due course left the hospital, ap- 
 parently not much the worse for his close combat 
 with the grim King of Terrors. 
 
 When Dilvin resumed his duty he was a changed 
 man, and thenceforth led a most blameless and correct 
 life, and was evidently endeavouring by good example 
 to atone, in some measure, for the evil his bad conduct 
 had caused to his comrades. No man in the regi- 
 ment was more assiduous in his attendance at the ser- 
 vices of the little chapel and no man evinced so plainly 
 the saving mercy of God's grace, as shown in the 
 meek, humble and contrite manner in which he now 
 conducted himself as the former scapegrace Robert 
 Dilvin. His conversion seemed to want in nothing ; 
 and Father Fransisco had good reason to be proud of 
 his convert, and to hope that there was indeed joy 
 in heaven for the repentance of so public and noto- 
 rious a sinner. And when the remaining portion of 
 the hot season had passed, and the rains came, and 
 they also in turn passed, and the glaring burning sun 
 once more appeared, and by its powerful rays drew 
 from the saturated earth the deadly and noxious 
 steams of rotting vegetation, then came the trying 
 time : and miasma, fever, and the life-destroying
 
 173 
 
 jungle lover ruled triumphant m Gurrurnpove, and 
 drew into the silent grave many and many a poor 
 victim who liad not the requisite stamina to resist 
 their dread embrace. 
 
 In this time of death the undaunted bravery and 
 true religion of Dilvin shone conspicuous, and he 
 never seemed to rest or take his ease while he could 
 be of any use to the numerous fever- stricken men 
 who crowded the hospital to excess. 
 
 He read, he prayed, he exhorted ; he held up his 
 own former shameful life in comparison with his pre- 
 sent happiness before the eyes of his suffering comrades, 
 in hopes of turning* their eyes also to the won- 
 derful mercy of God, and Father EVaiicisco over and 
 over again declared that this recently- converted man 
 did more good in bringing sinners to God than all his 
 own exertions and entreaties. His one word was 
 mercy" the mercy God had shown to him, and 
 the mercy He would show to all who desired to come 
 to Him. He spoke of mercy to the strong in the 
 barrack bungalow, or on guard : he read of mercy to 
 the weak and ailing in the hospital, and he whispered 
 mercy in the ear of the [dying. But it was the last, 
 Our Redeemer had marked him for His own, and or- 
 dained not to leave him in this weary world. 
 
 A headache, a desperate sense of weakness, a weari- 
 ness and desire of sleep-rest, a faintness, a shivering, 
 and Robert Dilvin was soon wrapped up in blankets
 
 and carried ofi to hospital never to leave it alive. 
 His end was one of peace ; and after receiving- all the 
 glorious aids of our Holy Church, he calmly died; 
 and the last word the weeping Priest heard from his 
 lips was ' Mercy." 
 
 In the well-filled graveyard at Gurruinpore there 
 is a humble stone erected by sorrowing comrades to 
 his memory. The name, the date of death, the age, 
 are duly inscribed in fair characters, and underneath 
 by way of epitaph is the single, blessed word ' ; Mercy."
 
 175 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 1. The Soldier in trouble. 
 
 Causes of yetting into trouble. 
 
 Besides the hospital, there is another place which 
 a military Chaplain has to visit, namely, the prison. 
 For minor offences the British soldier is usually only 
 detained in cells : but if tried by a District or General 
 Court-Martial, and sentenced to a long- period of 
 imprisonment, he will be sent to a central military 
 prison, of which there is one in each Presidency. 
 And. why is the man in prison? how does he get 
 there? Statistics make strange revelations. Every 
 visiting Chaplain finds out that insubordination is 
 the crime that has brought most men into trouble, 
 insubordination of which rfn'/ik has been the cause, 
 drink which has led him into bad company to 
 gamble ; that means by which a man's bad passions 
 are aroused. He has sold his kit or stolen, or. it 
 may be, he has committed some more trifling crime 
 in itself. But in all such cases, had the man only 
 had a stronger control over his passions ; if he had 
 borne in mind that submission and obedience arc the 
 first duties of a soldier, he would not have got into 
 such great trouble. 
 
 Subordination of one creature to another tliat has 
 a higher rank is a part of that great order of things 
 made by Almighty God Himself. There could be no 
 harmony, no order, in this world (there would be
 
 176 
 
 nothing but confusion and disorder in it) had not 
 God established certain laws and rules by which the 
 world is governed. From the Bible we learn that 
 God has made everything in this order of subordina- 
 tion. '' Thou hast oi'dered all things in measure and 
 number and weight" (Wisdom XI, 21.) Chemistry, 
 Natural History in all its parts, and Astronomy, 
 the more we know of these sciences, bear their 
 witness to the same truth, and show that the in- 
 ferior elements are everywhere ruled by superior 
 powers, and thus is the perfect order in the world 
 effected. They confirm this text of Scripture. The 
 heavens themselves move around one centre. Moons 
 move around their planets, and the planets around 
 their suns, and the stars still follow the same courses 
 which were assigned to them on the day of their 
 creation. Innumerable angels surround the throne 
 of the Almighty, but even among them there is 
 subordination ; for. as we gather from different 
 texts of the Bible, they are divided into nine hier- 
 archies. In like manner men must obey others who 
 are their superiors. Such is the will of God. All 
 superiors have their power from God, or as St. Paul 
 (Romans XIII.) writes: There is no Power except 
 from God. and he who resists Power resists God." 
 .' ; Servants,"' says the same Apostle in his Epistle 
 to the Ephesians, Chapter VI. v. o, " obey your 
 masters with fear and trembling, in the simplicity 
 of your hearts, as Christ : not serving to the eye, 
 as it were pleasing men, but as the servants of
 
 177 
 
 Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." To 
 this we may add : " Soldiers, obey your superior 
 officers ! Though they may be sinners, unbelievers, or 
 heathens, they have their power from God. and must 
 be obeyed in every point where there is no sin." How 
 obedient were the Christian soldiers who served in 
 the Roman legions under pagan emperors ! They 
 made no difficulty about drawing the sword against 
 the enemies of their country : but when anything 
 was required of them, which religion condemned, 
 they firmly refused to obey, and chose, (although in 
 sufficient force to defend themselves), rather to be 
 slaughtered than displease God. 
 
 Obedience, as you know, is one of the vows taken 
 in Religious Orders, and obedience there is by far 
 more difficult than military obedience in the Ser- 
 vice. Monks and Nuns must not only go wherever 
 they are sent to. and do whatever their superiors 
 may order them to do, they must conform their 
 will and judgment to the will and judgment of a 
 superior ; they must receive all orders as from God 
 Himself, and execute them with attention, exactness, 
 and cheerfulness. St. Ignatius enjoins on his disci- 
 ples the strictest obedience, and urges them to excel 
 in this virtue, to be as thoroughly without opposition 
 as a corpse is supple ; and manageable as is a staff 
 which an old man uses for any purpose he may 
 want it. Oh ! what merits for heaven could not a 
 Christian soldier gain, did he obey all the orders of
 
 his superior ollicors in a true Christian spirit. His 
 duties are indeed works which lie is first of all often 
 obliged to perform those things he so little values, 
 those tilings in themselves, of so little worth. There 
 only needs the good intention, and these most or- 
 dinary actions are surely sanctified. Say every morn- 
 ing something to this effect : " All I have to do this 
 day shall be done out of love of God. for the glory of 
 God.'' You will derive immense benefit from that 
 good intention, it will influence and give its spirit to 
 everything- you do that day. Many soldiers believe 
 that there is nothing- wrong- in breaking a rule or an 
 order, so long as they are not found out. Many 
 things against order are done, and many irregulari- 
 ties are committed without notice being taken of 
 them. The sentry on guard, the orderly man in the 
 1) arrack room, the sick in hospital, often break their 
 rules and think that there is no harm in doing so, 
 as long as 110 report is made. But there is at all 
 events, this harm in it, it is all against the spirit 
 and obligations of religion and conscience. More 
 than this they expose themselves to the greatest 
 danger of coming to grief. True, it is possible that 
 there is no sin in doing acts against an order sim- 
 ply penal, that is given under the pain of punishment; 
 however, a good Catholic will be very careful and 
 abstain from such acts. He will obey the most 
 trifling orders and regulations after the example of 
 Jesus Christ, who, though so great, was subject to 
 Mary and Joseph at Nazareth for so many years in
 
 179 
 
 everything, and at last was obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the cross. Commanding Officers know 
 how to appreciate such conscientious men, and do 
 not hesitate to entrust to them the most responsible 
 positions. 
 
 2. Behaviour whilst in Prison. 
 
 Xow. if you have been so unfortunate as to have 
 committed a military crime for which you have been 
 tried by a Court- Martial, and perhaps sentenced to 
 imprisonment for a long- period, let us see how you 
 can make the best of it. and how you should behave 
 in prison. 
 
 (1). Make a firm resolution to keep all the Prison 
 Rules. They are strict indeed, and you may often 
 break this rule or that without any notice being- 
 taken of it and may escape, but it is a dangerous 
 thing-, and also v amir. You miss your tobacco, and 
 there will be many an opportunity of getting a smoke. 
 But it is against the regulation, and extra punish- 
 ment will be awarded to you if you are discovered 
 and reported. Tlicrd'ore keep on the safe side. 
 
 ('2). Do everything you are ordered with the 
 readiness and cheerfulness you would if you were paid 
 for it. So your behaviour will be appreciated by the 
 Prison authorities, and you will be allowed many little 
 privileges which are withheld from the refractory and
 
 180 
 
 unmanageable. To this behaviour you have only to 
 add the higher motive of Christianity and from good 
 sense it rises to a Christian virtue. 
 
 (3.) Bear your imprisonment with patience. 
 Just call to mind what so many Martyrs and 
 Saints have had to endure, and that they were 
 innocent and holy and suffered for Christ ; while 
 you are far from being innocent. Still you can also 
 suffer for Christ, if you wish, for all the sins of 
 your past life, patiently, and in resignation to the 
 will of God. 
 
 (A.) Follow and take to heart the advice and the 
 consolation which the Priest visiting the prison will be 
 so glad to give. What abundant opportunity, time 
 and quiet, you have here for making your Confes- 
 sion as often as you please and preparing for Holy 
 Communion once a month or oftener, and when the 
 influence of human respect is reduced to the lowest 
 degree, for there are, so to say, none in prison to 
 pass their remarks on you, none thus to hinder you 
 from complying with all your religious duties. 
 
 (5). Like the man in hospital, you should spend 
 your lonely leisure hours in reading. Xone but 
 religious books, or at least instructive, and therefore, 
 in their way, edifying, are allowed to prisoners, and 
 therefore you need not be warned against reading 
 bad books. If there be no Prison Library, you can 
 obtain books from the visiting Priest. But, in ac-
 
 181 
 
 cepting Protestant books, be careful, I would say, 
 do not touch them, unless they do not contain religi- 
 ous doctrine. There are no end of tracts served out 
 by the Minister and Scripture Reader. Do not ac- 
 cept of any, nor read them, no, not even to pass the 
 time. Among those Catholic religious books you 
 should read above all explanations of the Christian 
 doctrine, the Bible History, the sufferings of Our 
 Lord, the lives of Martyrs and other Saints. Have 
 you never seen the " Imitation or the Following of 
 Christ ? " It is a beautiful little book, in which you 
 may read a chapter every day, and then reflect on 
 what you have read, for it affords great satisfaction. 
 You may also probably improve yourself in some 
 branch of learning, as History, Geography. Arith- 
 metic, &c. 
 
 (6.) Whilst in prison, you have also plenty of time 
 to say your prayers regularly, morning and evening, 
 before and after meals, and when the bell rings for 
 the ' Angelus." It is a good practice to say the 
 Rosary every day ; and if you are without beads say 
 it on your ten fingers. 
 
 (7.) There is another point to which you must 
 pay great attention. In every prison you will find 
 men who are regular old gaol-birds, and who are up 
 to every trick and mischief. They often, in spite of 
 all the rules, find means of leading the young and 
 inexperienced astray, and get them by their wicked 
 advice into further trouble, whilst they themselves
 
 manage to evade it. Such was the case with a young 
 Artillery man in the Poona Prison a couple of years 
 ago. He had to do three years there, and the very 
 first month he managed to get into hot water. A 
 sort of conspiracy was going on. and, when dis- 
 covered, these old gaol-birds threw all the blame on 
 him. He was sentenced to be flogged (50 lashes), 
 whilst the real malefactors, the instigators of the 
 plot, got off scot free. 
 
 3 On being released from Prison. 
 
 The nearer the time of your release approaches, 
 the more careful you should be to keep out of trouble- 
 Think over what you will do when out of prison. 
 Make good and firm resolutions for the future. You 
 have had a good opportunity of learning- a good lesson, 
 which you should not forget as long as you live. If 
 drink was the cause of your misfortune, resolve to 
 take the pledge for the time you have to serve in the 
 Army. You may take it before leaving the prison. 
 If gambling and bad company have brought you to 
 this trouble you must keep away from such false 
 friends as you have been friendly with before. Many 
 men, after being released from prison, have distin- 
 guished themselves by their good religious life, and 
 have regained the good character which they had lost 
 by their wildness and folly. But many, nay most, 
 soon get into trouble again, because they commence
 
 drinking and committing- the same crimes as before 
 and at last come to lose all their years of service, and 
 after years of imprisonment are discharged with 
 ignominy from the service. Then Avhat remains to 
 them but a miserable life as loafers or beggars, and 
 death at last in some workhouse at home. Take a 
 warning from such examples, and you will become 
 happy and content enough even whilst you are in the 
 Service, and after your discharge from it you will be 
 able to gain for yourself an honest livelihood, and die 
 a good Christian in your own country, perhaps in the 
 very place where you were born and brought up, and 
 where your forefathers are sleeping and awaiting' the 
 day of a glorious resurrection.
 
 184 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Soldiers Self-Improvement. 
 
 in this Chapter you will read something about the 
 good use you can make of your leisure-hours, and the 
 advantages offered to you from a worldly point of 
 view. 
 
 " Why stand you here all the day idle ?" Thus said 
 the landlord in the Parable to those men whom he 
 found standing in the market place doing nothing. 
 They were poor people, labourers who had to work 
 for their livelihood ; but on that day they had no 
 employment, for they replied, " Because nobody has 
 engaged us." But what would the landlord have said 
 if they had been idlers in the proper sense of the 
 word ? Certainly they would have deserved a sharp 
 reprimand. Idleness is one of the greatest dangers 
 a soldier had to avoid, especially in India. During the 
 heat of the day he cannot leave barracks. After 
 morning parade he has nothing to do, particularly 
 in an Infantry corps. So the men are lying on their 
 cots; some spend their time in reading foolish books and 
 paperss some are smoking their pipes all the day long 
 chatting here and their to no purpose. They only kill 
 time by doing nothing. And in the evening they loiter 
 about the Canteen, the Coffee shop, and the Bazaar 
 until the gun fires and calls them back to barracks* 
 In this manner years are spent without any profit, and 
 when their time is expired they go home as ignorant
 
 as they were on the day of their enlistment. They 
 may have a few pounds in the bank to start with in 
 civil life, but they have learnt nothing but soldiering 
 and can do nothing but what they did before they 
 enlisted. 
 
 In time of peace every soldier in India has much 
 time at his disposal, and many leisure hours after 
 regimental duties are over. The Military Authorities 
 combining with the Government of India do their 
 best to give the men opportunities for their self- 
 improvement, and it is the sodier's own fault if he 
 does not mak use of them. 
 
 . 1. First there are 
 
 The Workshops. 
 
 These are places where soldiers may learn a trade : 
 or, when they know one already, they may obtain 
 useful and also profitable employment. The shops 
 are always close to the barracks, and therefore within 
 easy reach of the regimental workmen. Where prac- 
 ticable, a separate apartment is provided for these 
 shops : the armourers, the tailors, the printers, the 
 bookbinders, the bakers. These various shops are 
 superintended by an officer, who looks after their 
 interior economy, regulates the hours of work, and 
 gives rewards to these soldier mechanics, who are
 
 186 
 
 useful iu time of peace as they are in time of war, the 
 whole of these arrangements being subject to the 
 Officer Commanding. 
 
 If a soldier accepts the advantages offered to him 
 by joining a workshop, he will soon find how the 
 monotony of Indian life is checked by mechanical 
 labour ; and when his time of service is up, he will 
 look back with pleasure to the hours he spent so 
 greatly to his advantage in the regimental workshops- 
 The married man especially will be benefited by it; 
 his children will learn from him habits of industry 
 and will afterwards put into practice what they 
 have witnessed in their earlier days. As the parents, 
 so also the children will be. Great encouragement is 
 given to the soldier-mechanic every year on the 
 occasion of the Industrial Exhibition. Indeed, when 
 visiting such an Exhibition one is astonished at the 
 taste and perfection shown in the manufacture of the 
 various articles then offered for sale. The prizes 
 which the soldiers receive in addition are very 
 liberal and are calculated to stimulate the men to 
 exert all their knowledge and skill. 
 
 Lastly, when the British soldier goes home, he will 
 :ul to himself, to his family, to his neighbours, 
 proviik-tl, I say, he has taken advantage of the 
 opportunities offered to him when he was in the 
 service. He then perhaps may make himself that 
 useful personage we call a Jack of all trades."
 
 187 
 
 There was, in the first Battalion of the 2nd 
 Queen's Regiment an old Irishman, who had spent 
 more than twenty years in India. He was no scholar, 
 as it is called, nor a tradesman by profession. He 
 was only a fly-catcher. When the season came he 
 was always out with his net and bag after butterflies 
 and moths. These he fixed on needles, neatly ar- 
 ranged under a glass case, and sent them to the 
 Industrial Exhibition. His arrangements were very 
 tasteful, and besides the prize he got from the 
 Committee, he cleared about a hundred rupees by the 
 sale of his work. And as he went on repeating the 
 same thing for years, in the end he put nearly a 
 hundred pounds into the regimental bank, a sum. 
 which came very handy to him when he returned to 
 Europe. There are many different kinds of indus- 
 trious work done by soldiers during their leisure- 
 hours; surely none of these men were sorry for having 
 thus spent their time ; only the idler, the lazy man 
 who lounges about the barracks all day long with his 
 black pipe in his mouth forfeits these advantages. 
 
 Old soldiers have often derived the greatest benefit 
 from working in the shops. I knew a man, an old 
 gunner of the late 6th Brigade R. A., who left the 
 station at Colaba with over Rs. 2,000 to his credit in 
 the Regimental Savings' Bank, every piece of which 
 was earned in the workshop, and this with a wife 
 and three children to support. Now, this man was no 
 tradesman in the technical sense of the word, merely
 
 188 
 
 a handy man, who liad learned how to make tables, 
 boxes, and the like. Could he have done this in 
 civil life ? 
 
 Many old soldiers, who have not learnt to utilise 
 the workshops, are, as a rule, discontented, un- 
 happy men, having no resources beyond drinking, 
 Smoking, and gambling, to pass even an hour pleasant- 
 ly. They may often be seen in the morning near the 
 back doors of Sergeants' Messes looking for a super- 
 stitious peg or pint, and when not in hospital, are al- 
 most invariably employed on work in the corps they 
 belong to, which would be considered objectionable by 
 superior men, e. g., such as looking after conservancy 
 business. A man of that stamp cannot, when he 
 leaves the service, settle down in a comfortable home. 
 He can only swell by one more the number of wretched 
 human beings, already, alas! too large, or take his 
 place in some poor-house for a short time before a 
 pauper's grave receives him. Had he taken advant- 
 age of learning something in the regimental workshop, 
 his future would have been quite different. Although 
 a pensioner can only live in a humble way, yet when 
 he has acquired habits of thrift and industry he will 
 be able to pass away a pleasant and useful life. At all 
 events he is above immediate want. 
 
 However, it must also be remarked, that the soldier 
 mechanic, like every other employed man in the 
 regiment who makes some extra money, must be tem- 
 perate and not spend in drink what he earns by his
 
 !.*'. 
 
 work. It is a fact that many men work in the shops 
 only in order to get more money for drink. Thus 
 they always get into trouble and come to greater grief 
 than they would if they had not worked. As a rule, 
 the more money a soldier gets the more he spends in 
 drink. Where is]a sober shoeing- smith? or a temper- 
 ate rough-rider who gets a good deal of extra pay for 
 breaking-in horses? In a Battery of Artillery no body 
 can make more money than they. Cabinet-makers who 
 work for officers and gentlemen in the station, collar- 
 makers, armourer sergeants, photographers, hospital 
 writers, and many others can make a good deal of 
 money but generally speaking, very little of it is put 
 into the bank. It is a pity to see men who are so 
 clever at their trade always* getting into trouble. 
 
 There was in 1877 a soldier of the GGth Regiment 
 at Ahmednagar, an excellent carpenter. The articles 
 he sent to the Poona Exhibition were the best of 
 their kind, and for them he got good prizes and dis- 
 tinctions. But he spent in a very short time all his 
 money in drink, and at last committed suicide by 
 cutting his throat with a razor. 
 
 Wherefore, make good use of your time, be oc- 
 cupied at something useful; learn or practise a regu- 
 lar trade, but take care how you spend the money 
 you acquire by these means. 
 
 Now we come to
 
 190 
 
 2. The Regimental School 
 
 What better use can a man possibly make of his 
 time than in attending- the Regimental School ? 
 Schools are provided by the Government for the pur- 
 pose of educating every man in the Service so far at 
 least as to enable him to read and write. Some 
 soldiers say, " what is the use of going' to school ? 
 I cannot learn." But this must be a mere feeling of 
 discontent or disinclination. Such a man will go to 
 school for a day or two. and then because he does 
 not seem to be getting on. cease his attendance- 
 But how can any man expect to learn to read and 
 write in a few days ? These two simple acquirements 
 can only be gained by ordinary diligence and in a 
 reasonable time. 
 
 Again, a soldier will say, when asked why he does 
 not attend school : " What's the use? " My friends, 
 it is of great use. First, with regard to mere 
 worldly matters, how can a man who is ignorant of 
 even what twice two will make, keep his own ac- 
 counts? How does he know, when at the end of 
 the month, he is called upon to sign his accounts 
 whether they are correct or not ? The Pay Sergeant 
 may have made a mistake, to which every one is 
 liable, and may have given him too much or too little. 
 Too little is. I fear, the common mistake : if there 
 be a mistake at all, it is seldom in favour of the poor 
 ignorant soldier. How often do we see men in the 
 most respectable and responsible positions tried by
 
 191 
 
 Court-Martial for misappropriation of money V It 
 is then evidently to the soldier's advantage to attend 
 school, if he should only do so until he knows ad- 
 dition and subtraction. And when he has the oppor- 
 tunity of schooling gratis, why should he neglect it ? 
 Is it not better for a man to be at school improving 
 himself than lying on his bed, or sitting about the 
 barracks, smoking, drinking, or card playing ? Ly- 
 ing in bed is very injurious to health, except at 
 natural times, and doctors declare that often it is 
 the only cause of Liver Complaint. 
 
 As for the vice of card-playing many and many a man 
 has been ruined completely by acquiring in the Service 
 this pernicious habit. It is all very well to say, " we 
 are allowed to play." So far so good ; but for what 
 and how are you allowed to play? Very simple ordinary 
 games, and to these little objection can be made. 
 But what does this play, as a rule, lead to '? With- 
 out doubt to " Gambling'" and when a man once gets 
 a passion for gambling' it is very hard to break him 
 of it. The result is that if he should manage to 
 obtain a position of trust, he sooner or later yields 
 to a temptation to which that habitual passion ex- 
 poses him, and is "' weighed in the balance and found 
 wanting." Xow, you can surely see from these 
 remarks, that it is much better for a man to attend 
 school and try to improve himself, than to injure 
 himself by other means such as idleness and gambling.
 
 192 
 
 Never say you can/lot learn. Eveiy man can 
 improve if he diligently applies himself to the task. 
 The reward is very great. In the first place when a 
 man is once able to read what an immense field of 
 literature opens to his view ! Writers of prose and 
 poetry have worked for him, and from the depths of 
 fertile imaginations have conjured up stories to 
 delight him ; have drawn pictures of home, which 
 must touch his heart when far away from all he 
 loves ; have told stories of battles won and lost. 
 And where is the soldier whose heart will not beat 
 more quickly, and who Avill not himself feel a glow 
 of pride, when he hears or reads of some heroic 
 action ? 
 
 When you are confined by sickness to your bed in 
 hospital and there is nobody to take interest in you or 
 to converse with you, reading will enable you to pass 
 the time most pleasantly. When, through some 
 misfortune, you are detained in the cells, you will 
 find a book a pleasant and useful companion during 
 the long lonesome hours you have to spend there. 
 Above all, if you are in need of religious instruc- 
 tion, the power of reading your Catechism and 
 Prayer-Book will be a great advantage. And when 
 you have to write a letter about private afiairs, you 
 can do it yourself without asking another person to 
 write for you. 
 
 But there is much more to be said on this subject. 
 A man attending school gains, when caialified, a cer-
 
 193 
 
 tain class of certificate, without which no one is eligible 
 for promotion. And as every one should wish to get 
 on and do the best for himself, and has, perhaps, dear 
 relations at home whom he should assist, all who can 
 should attend school. Again, when a man has ob- 
 tained the requisite certificate, which is sufficient for 
 Non- Commissioned Officer's or Warrant Rank, (and in 
 many cases even for a Commission) he has the oppor- 
 tunity of learning languages. 
 
 A Moonshee is provided who teaches him Hin- 
 dustani, Marathi, Persian, and in many places also 
 Arabic and Sanscrit. The most liberal rewards are 
 granted by Government to soldiers for passing in 
 each or any of these languages, and many have been 
 able to leave India for England, Scotland, or Ireland, 
 on what they have thus gained. So many, in fact, 
 are the advantages, so many the situations to be 
 obtained by being in possession of a 2nd Class Cer. 
 tificate of Education that it is really a great wonder 
 that so few men, comparatively speaking, endeavour 
 to obtain one. 
 
 Now listen to what an experienced schoolmaster has 
 got to say regarding young illiterate soldiers, with 
 whom he had a pretty extensive acquaintance in 
 India for many years. He is of opinion that of no 
 class of persons can it be said with greater truth that 
 they do not know what they can do till they try. 
 For the most part they have an aversion to school, 
 
 17
 
 194 
 
 thinking-, no doubt, that there is no probability of 
 their becoming sufficiently educated to enable them to 
 rise in the Service. Some few there are of course, 
 who are too indifferent to anything but their own 
 immediate pleasure even to think of their own welfare 
 in the future ; and they only eat, drink, and sleep, 
 bestowing an occasional malediction on the school. 
 The school would be much better without these But 
 the greater number nearly all possess a latent ambi- 
 tion which, with suitable opportunities, develops itself. 
 The sense of the want of education depresses them, 
 and generally their lack of confidence in their own 
 powers indisposes them to make an effort Here, a 
 little judicious advice and encouragement from, the 
 schoolmaster has usually a good effect. Many of them 
 at this stage seek out the Schoolmaster of their own 
 accord. If the schoolmaster is a man of experience 
 and sympathy, the advice is given with encouraging- 
 words, which, jin hundreds of cases, have produced 
 wonderful ' effects. 
 
 For the benefit of six-year men I will relate an 
 instance, not of what can be done in six years, but of 
 what ha* been done in that time. I know a man 
 who entered the service quite illiterate, that is to say 
 he knew his letters, and would perhaps make out the 
 word '' Cat," if he saw it in a book. I may say he 
 knew nothing. Well, this man had been what is 
 called a puddler, that is, he had been employed at 
 smelting iron in South Wales, and had to work
 
 195 
 
 hard from boyhood for his livelihood. He was tall, 
 well-formed, with a fine, open, sincere countenance, a 
 splendid physique and not more than twenty years old. 
 It was noticeable in this young- man before very long- 
 that whatever he attempted he succeeded in accom- 
 plishing-. As a recruit he was obliged to attend school 
 which he hated ; but after he had realized thoroughly 
 that his future career depended upon his education, he 
 set to work in good earnest, attended day and night, 
 for there was a night school then, and before very- 
 long won a fourth class certificate, was made acting 
 Bombardier and rough rider. I should have mention- 
 ed that this man belonged to the Royal Horse Artil- 
 lery, and. as may be supposed by anyone acquainted 
 with the interior economy of that distinguished corps, 
 had his time every hour in the day pretty well 
 taken up with multifarious duties. Yet he found time 
 to take a 3rd. Class and not long after a 2nd. Class 
 Certificate of Education, was admitted to be the best 
 rider and there were some good ones in the Brigade 
 and a crack swordsman. He competed at the an- 
 nual Assault of Arms held at Poona on one occasion 
 and took the first prize. A soldier of this stamp could 
 not fail to be a marked man, and no one wondered 
 when he became Sergeant. Battery Sergeant Major, 
 and Brigade Sergeant Major in quick succession. 
 Neither did any one grudge him his good fortune for 
 he was a genuine, good fellow in all respects. " And 
 what is he now ?" you will ask. I will tell you. He 
 is Captain and Adjutant of the Artillery Militia in
 
 196 
 
 England. Now. this man had rendered his fortune 
 secure in much less than six years although he entered 
 the service under what must be admitted to be adverse 
 circumstances as far as education was concerned. 
 
 To what was all this promotion due ? To the efforts 
 of the man himself you will say. True, but without 
 the school, could lie ever have obtained his present 
 honourable position? 
 
 You may read another interesting case recorded in 
 the Proceedings of the Royal Commission on Military 
 Education presided over by Earl Dufferin in 1864, 
 where an Army Schoolmaster in his evidence to the 
 Commission on a point in connexion with the griev- 
 ances of Military Schoolmasters said : '' The other 
 day I met and had to salute a Captain, to whom I had 
 taught his letters as a recruit/' Now, this was very 
 creditable to the recruit and also to the Schoolmaster, 
 but the latter thought that he himself was as useful 
 in the service, and as deserving of promotion as the 
 former. 
 
 Circumstances, no doubt, favoured the recruit : but, 
 under no circumstances would he ever have attained 
 to the rank of Captain without education. The moral 
 of this is : Qualify yourself educationally to be able 
 to take advantage of circumstances. These two cases 
 show Avhat can be accomplished by men who avail 
 themselves of the opportunities offered to them in the 
 Service of bettering their condition.
 
 197 
 
 At the same time remember that though a man 
 may be slow, and even stupid, it is no excuse what- 
 ever for his not trying to get on. In the Parable we 
 read that those who had used the talents were greatly 
 rewarded, while he who had buried his talents was 
 disgraced and punished. So shall it be when our 
 time comes. To every one of us has been given a 
 certain amount of ability ; to one much, to another 
 little ; but the Almighty intends all to try and im- 
 prove, and will bless our efforts. The Schoolmaster 
 and his assistants are very ready to help all who go 
 to school to get on. However diligence is assuredly 
 the only thing any man needs. 
 
 Let then, each and all be advised to attend school, 
 and try to make the best of the opportunity afforded. 
 The way seems, and will be, hard at first ; but march 
 on and conquer! Remember Charles Reade's de- 
 finition of the word Difficulties" Things to be Sub- 
 dued. Subdile and surmount them, and all will be 
 well.
 
 198 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The use a Soldier can make of his money. 
 
 No soldier I know of in the world gets so much pay 
 as the British soldier in India. After defraying 
 all his ordinary expenses and charges, a private soldier 
 in the Infantry (and much more easily an Artillery 
 man) can clear Bs 1 a month. 
 
 Now, what do they do with all this money ? The 
 greater part they spend in the canteen ; and if the y 
 had three times as much as they have, they would 
 spend it too in drink. There are some who spend 
 it in the coffee- shop in getting extra comforts and 
 even luxuries. Some put by their savings, or at least 
 a portion of it in the Regimental Bank. Others spend 
 a g'ood deal in charities, sending' every year a few 
 pounds home to poor parents and friends. It is 
 really remarkable, how certain soldiers deprive them- 
 selves of many comforts, pleasures and even necessaries 
 simply with the intention of helping- by their savings 
 a poor relation at home. 
 
 In this regard the following edifying example of a 
 son, who was good to his parents, will be a great 
 encouragement to the charitable soldier. The Gener- 
 al commanding a large military station in Germany 
 had one day the Officers of the Garrison invited to 
 dinner. Towards the end of the banquet he missed 
 his watch and requested the gentlemen present to 
 see whether it was on the table under some napkin.
 
 199 
 
 They searched every corner, but the watch could not 
 be found. The whole affair was disagreeable enough 
 and looked very suspicious. The Officers rose, each 
 turning his pockets inside out, to show that he had 
 not taken the watch. However one young officer 
 refused to show the contents of his pocket, and only 
 assured the company upon his word of honor, that 
 he knew nothing about the watch. Every other 
 officer found this behaviour strange, and the party 
 soon after broke up. That same evening the General 
 sent for this officer at a late hour. "Excuse me." 
 said he, ' for causing- you great annoyance at dinner. 
 My watch is found. It had slipped through a hole 
 in my pocket into the lower part of my coat, my 
 servant has just found it. But may I ask you, Sir. 
 why you refused to turn your pocket inside out as the 
 other officers did?" The young gentleman blushed a 
 little but answered : " Sir, I had my dinner (not 
 your's) in my pocket, that is to say some bread and 
 cheese. Your invitation, General, reached me in the 
 middle of a walk I was taking', provided with my 
 rations for the day." The General was surprised, for 
 he could not understand, how an officer and gentle- 
 man with a liberal salary should live on bread and 
 cheese. 
 
 Are you a miser, or perhaps in debt?" asked the 
 General, " What makes you live in that way?'' 
 
 " No General," was the reply. " I come of poor 
 parents, and my old mother has only a very small
 
 200 
 
 pension and is sickly. So I send her a little from 
 time to time, and to get that little three times a week 
 I eat bread and cheese only a sweet sacrifice when 
 I think I am thus able to assist my dear old mother. 
 I intended to take a long walk this morning after 
 parade, and so I took my rations in my pocket, when 
 your invitation to dinner reached me, and as I told 
 you I was in the middle of my expedition." Here 
 the General wiped a tear from his eye and said with 
 visible emotion. - Surely, you are a brave son! you 
 must dine with me every day in future, in order that 
 you may be able to send more to your good mother." 
 
 Young soldiers ! What do you think of that 
 example ? You can imitate it with little trouble and 
 so fulfil a filial duty to an old father or mother at 
 home. 
 
 Besides this, especially if you have not to render 
 pecuniary assistance to poor relations, you can make 
 a very good use of the money you can spare by con- 
 tributing- in a liberal manner to subscriptions and 
 collections for the chapel or for orphanages and other 
 religious and charitable purposes. 
 
 The best plan to be adopted by a young soldier in 
 this country will be to put some of the money he can 
 spare in the Bank of the Regiment, and also some in 
 the bank of Almighty God. The money in the Regi- 
 mental bank will come handy to you when you are 
 discharged from the Service. The money in the bank
 
 201 
 
 of Almighty God. that is to say. what you have spent 
 for charitable and religious purposes, will come handy 
 to you on your death-bed, nay, it will be paid back to 
 you on the day of Judgment with more than double 
 interest. Your good works, your charities, accompany 
 you to the next world, and there you will find that 
 you have laid up a treasure that will last for all 
 eternity. 
 
 A soldier can easily have his money in both banks. 
 Not long ago an Artillery man left the Service to take 
 his pension in Australia. He had 1,700 rupees in the 
 bank, and during his whole time out here he was 
 known as a most regular and generous subscriber to 
 the orphanages and chapels. He was not a miser, 
 nor did he starve himself for the purpose of making 
 money. The secret was that he always kept to him- 
 self and shunned the canteen. 
 
 Subscriptions to our orphanages have a very 
 special claim on the Soldier. Some 30 years ago 
 the chapels in the Bombay Presidency were few. 
 Schools there were none, orphanages none, refuges 
 for the poor, the sick, the widows none. The Pro- 
 testants were then very active in establishing schools, 
 and rich in subscriptions made in Europe and 
 America and here too, and by the large grants of 
 Government were able to receive our Catholic chil- 
 dren into their institutions who there alas ! became 
 Protestants. Many a poor Irish Catholic in those
 
 202 
 
 times died in the hospital and on the battle-field, not 
 knowing- what would become of the orphans he left 
 behind him. There being- no arrangements then made 
 for the education of Catholic children, the Commanding 
 Officer of a regiment usually sent them to a Protestant 
 orphanage, where they obviously lost their faith. 
 The consequence was, that almost all the European 
 and Eurasian young men and women, who frequented 
 schools during that period, grew up staunch Protestants, 
 many hating and despising the faith of their fathers. 
 How many do we find in these days with Catholic 
 Irish names who belong to the Protestant persuasion? 
 These people, when young, were brought up in Pro- 
 testant schools, and there lost their faith, not through 
 any fault of theirs, but simply because they were 
 educated in non- Catholic schools. The Protestant 
 Byculla Schools in Bombay, the Lawrence Asylum on 
 Mont Aboo and similiar institutions in other pre- 
 sidencies under the patronage of Government and 
 Avealthy military officials are able to boast of their 
 propaganda among the Irish in India. The Catholic 
 clergymen at that time were too few. too poor and 
 destitute of influence to remedy the evil. 
 
 At last the ice was broken. The Catholic Soldiers, 
 especially the brave Irishmen, responded in a very 
 generous manner to their Chaplains' invitation by 
 subsci'ibing funds for building chapels and schools. 
 One of the first monuments they erected in the 
 Bombay Presidency was a Church in honor of St.
 
 203 
 
 Patrick at Poona. An old record states, that every 
 poor private Soldier paid Rs. 3 every month and non- 
 commissioned officers in proportion to their rank. 
 Eternal honour to the regiments stationed in the 
 camp at that time. Their memory shall last for ever. 
 There is now standing a splendid spacious church, 
 of which it may truly be said, that every stone was 
 purchased by the subscriptions of Soldiers. The 
 names of these good men are not known to the world, 
 and the privations and sacrifices which they imposed 
 on themselves to pay their subscriptions may be hid 
 under the cover of charity. Most of them are now in 
 their graves, but Almighty God has registered their 
 names in His Book of Life. 
 
 Similar efforts with the same success were made in 
 other military stations, so that now there is a Catholic 
 chapel in every camp. 
 
 It was not long before schools were built and 
 orphanages founded for the children of soldiers who 
 died in the country. Some help was after a while 
 given by the Government. 
 
 In 1865 a remarkable fact occurred [showing how 
 Catholics, both civilians and soldiers, subscribed to the 
 erection of two orphanages at Poona and Bombay 
 One evening the members of the Confraternity were 
 sitting in the compound of St. Patrick's Chapel, 
 waiting for the commencement of the Rosaiy, when 
 a carriage was seen driving past at a furious pace.
 
 204 
 
 The horses had got quite unmanageable, and the 
 driver had thrown the reins away. In the carriage 
 two gentlemen were sitting pale, apparently in danger 
 of being killed. Here one of the confraternity, an old 
 Irish soldier, rushed forward to the horses, stopped 
 them, got hold of the reins and brought the carriage 
 to a stand still. The B. C. Chaplain, who had been 
 looking on the scene, came immediately and invited 
 the gentlemen to take some refreshments, which they 
 did. They politely asked the Priest to be shown 
 into the chapel, and they appeared much pleased 
 with all they had seen and were, of course, very 
 thankful for the real service and the kindness with 
 which they had been received. Next day another 
 carriage drove into the compound; it was that 
 of Sir Bartle Frere, the then Governor of Bom- 
 bay. He came to thank the Priest on behalf of those 
 two gentlemen, one of them being his own Private 
 Secretary. At his request, he was conducted to the 
 chapel. The conversation led to the subject of 
 schools. It must be noticed, that the erection of a 
 school and orphanage at Poona had been con- 
 templated long before, but from want of funds it 
 could not be carried out, and Government had 
 refused any grant-in-aid. The Priest, having ex- 
 plained these circumstances to His Excellency, was 
 told to make a new application for the purpose. 
 It was done, and the Governor in Council sanctioned 
 the grant of a sum equal to what the Catholics should 
 within a certain period subscribe. Now you should
 
 have seen -the zeal of all Priests and people, es- 
 pecially of the Military Chaplains and soldiers in 
 every camp. The latter subscribed thousands of 
 rupees;'some men as much as 20, 50 Rs., having drawn 
 the money from the bank to meet the emergency. 
 Within four months above 90,000 Rs. were subscribed, 
 and the same amount was contributed by Government. 
 Thus was the Bishop enabled to build St. Mary's 
 Institution (St. Mary's College) in Bombay and the 
 Convent at Poona. However, it was not enough to 
 build the houses ; the children had to be provided 
 for too. In order to meet these expenses, monthly 
 subscriptions were begun and still continue. 
 
 Such is the origin of the subscriptions to the 
 orphanages, which are still made and published in 
 the Bombay Catholic Examiner. The arrangement 
 is this : With the sanction of the Commanding 
 Officer the Priest submits the names of the subscribers 
 to the Pay Master, who deducts every month the 
 amount from the men's pay and sends it to the 
 Priest to be forwarded to the Secretary of the 
 Orphanages. A good plan, and perhaps the best that 
 can be adopted. For when the men do not see the 
 money, they are very content in this way to help in 
 so good a work. When they have the money in their 
 pocket, they do not like to part with it but spend it 
 in drink ; and many times it happens that, when 
 the collection is made for ready money, they have none 
 but have to wait for the next pay-day. 
 
 19
 
 206 
 
 In certain stations Commanding Officers did not 
 like the arrangement and refused permission to have 
 these charities sent through the Pay Office. When 
 the case was represented to the Commander-in-Chief, 
 the following document was communicated: 
 
 Adjutant-General's Office, Head- Quarters, 
 
 Poona. Uth DeremlHn- 1866. 
 
 Memo. Xo. 730G. 
 
 It has been brought to the notice of the Coinmander- 
 in- Chief, that in some of the regiments of his Com- 
 mand, the subscriptions of Soldiers to schools or orpha- 
 nages are allowed to be remitted by the Pay Master 
 and shown in the men's accounts, whilst in others, 
 the Commanding Officers do not permit the practice, 
 under the impression that it is not in conformity 
 with the regulations. 
 
 Sir Robert Napier sees much advantage in, and 
 no objection to. permitting voluntary subscriptions 
 for so desirable a purpose being passed through the 
 account in the manner described. 
 
 By order. 
 
 (Signed) T. STOCK, 
 Adjutant-General of the Army.
 
 207 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 L The Soldier who wants to get married, 
 
 Since the introduction of the Short Service sys- 
 tem, military marriages in India have been 011 the 
 decrease. Several blocks of Patcheries are already 
 empty ; the number of children attending' school is re- 
 duced in every station. Only now and then one 
 meets with an old soldier's family, but they are soon 
 going- home to Europe. This reduction in the mar- 
 ried quarters certainly saves expense to Government, 
 and also saves the Quarter master- General the trouble 
 of providing for a soldier's wife and children in time 
 of war. But whether the moral condition of the army 
 is benefitted by it is quite another question. 
 
 What follows concerns chiefly the soldier who can 
 and will get married, and is thinking of doing' so. 
 Is it better for him to marry, or to remain single ? 
 
 (1). In a material or merely worldly point of 
 view, we must admit that a married soldier in this 
 country is well off. He has his own quarters in the 
 Patcherie. Besides his own pay. he draws a " Family 
 Allowance " of Bs. 8 per month for his wife, and 
 Rs. 2-8-0 for each child. He has his rations for 
 himself, and a portion for his family. He is supplied 
 with furniture, oil -lamps, water, firewood ; all he has 
 to do with his pay is to keep himself and his family 
 in clothing. There is a school, where his children 
 are educated gratis : a hospital for any of the family
 
 who may be sick ; medicines, the most expensive, wine 
 if necessary, and everything else necessary in the 
 way of diet, in fact everything that can make one 
 comfortable ; and when a husband with a large family 
 keeps away from drink, his pay and allowance will go 
 farther than a civilian's Rs. 100 per month, for the 
 latter has to pay for everything out of that sum. 
 
 (2). In a religious point of view the married 
 state may be recommended to those soldiers especially 
 who have re-engaged, or who have cast their lot in this 
 country. True, there are soldiers who lead a good 
 moral life, and who resist all the temptations of the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil. But are not these 
 exceptional cases ? Look at the majority of cases, 
 and consider the difficulty they experience in this 
 regard. St. Paul says: " It is better to marry than 
 to burn." And there are many in hell who would have 
 been surely saved, if they had married. 
 
 Do not misunderstand me ! It is a dogma of the 
 Catholic Church that preference must be given to 
 the single state of life if embraced from religious 
 motives. The state of virginity is more perfect than 
 the married state. Hence the Church obliges her 
 Priests, who daily offer up the pure sacrifice of the 
 Lamb of God on the altar, to remain unmarried. 
 The Holy Ghost in the Book of Wisdom (IV, 1.) 
 bestows this praise on the unmarried state : ' how 
 beautiful is a chaste generation with glory ! for the 
 memory thereof is immortal. ' ' God honoured virginity
 
 by selecting- a pure virgin for the Mother of His 
 
 Son. The holy Fathers say that St. John was the 
 
 */ t/ 
 
 most beloved disciple of Our Lord because he alone 
 was a virgin. In heaven there will be a special dis- 
 tinction of the chaste: "They shall follow the Lamb, 
 singing a song which others cannot sing," and those 
 who have a place in the glorious resurrection, " shall 
 neither many nor give in marriage, but be like the 
 angels in heaven." 
 
 The advantages of unmarried persons are mentioned 
 by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians. " He 
 who is without a wife," he says, -'-is solicitous for the 
 things which belong to the Lord, how he may please 
 God ; but he that is with a wife is solicitous for the 
 things of this world, how he may please his wife, and 
 so he is divided (Cor. VII. 32). But yet it must be 
 remembered that all these texts, all these praises of 
 virginity, which extol the unmarried state of life only 
 refer to those who out of love of God and for the 
 sake of the service of God have chosen it. For, alas t 
 there are but too many, who, in order to lead a free 
 life, and to avoid the burden of Matrimony, remain 
 single, and at the same time are given to debauchery 
 of every description. Let them, remember: "It is 
 better to marry than to burn." 
 
 . 2. On Impurity. 
 
 After drunkenness, there is perhaps no sin so much 
 indulged in as impurity. 'Thou shalt not commit
 
 210 
 
 adultery." "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife." 
 Thus run the sixth and the ninth Commandments. 
 Strictly speaking-, adultery means sexual intercourse 
 between two, a single and a married person, or between 
 two married persons, who are not husband and wife. 
 But, as the oth Commandment " Thou shalt not kill," 
 forbids not only murder, but also fighting, quarrelling* 
 injurious words, anger, hatred, revenge and scandal, 
 so in like manner do the sixth and ninth Commandments 
 forbid us not only all sins of uncleanness with ano- 
 ther's wife or husband, but also every other kind of 
 immodesty, as, in the first place, all impure thoughts, 
 desires, or imaginations. When such cross your 
 mind against your will, and you try to banish them 
 they are not sins, but are temptations ; but as soon as 
 you wilfully harbour them, or take pleasure in them, 
 though only for a moment, you have committed a 
 mortal sin against the ninth Commandment. You must 
 make a distinction between bad thoughts and bad 
 desires. It is a bad thought when you represent to 
 your mind such objects and actions as are apt to 
 excite lust ; it is an impure desire, when you have a 
 wish to see bad things, to hear or read about them, 
 to do them either alone or with others. In confession 
 you must say what was the object of these desires- 
 because, according to the object, an impure desire 
 may be simple fornication, or adultery, a sacrilege, 
 or something worse. 
 
 Now, remember well, as long as you take no plea- 
 sure in these thoughts or desires and with God's help
 
 211 
 
 resist the temptations, there is no sin in them; but 
 the moment you take pleasure in them, death enters 
 your soul, you have committed a mortal sin against 
 the sixth or ninth Commandment. Oh ! how many en- 
 tertain such bad thoughts and impure desires without 
 even thinking that they are guilty of a grievous sin. 
 How many souls are damned and are now enduring the 
 pains of hell, simply for not having resisted such 
 temptations ! How many Christians make bad con- 
 fessions and receive the Body and Blood of Our Blessed 
 Lord unworthily, because they do not confess these 
 interior sins in the proper manner ! Pay then, in 
 future, great attention to this point. 
 
 Secondly, to the same kind of sin belong unchaste 
 looks. Our eyes are mirrors in which the soul sees 
 the objects represented. When this mirror is in front 
 of impure objects, representations fall on the soul and 
 consequently impure feelings or motions must arise. 
 For example, you see an impure picture, an indecently 
 dressed female. What should you do '? Turn your 
 eyes away at once, and thus you are free from sin ! 
 But, when you fix your eyes on such objects, an im- 
 pure lust is excited in you. Ah ! in that case you have 
 committed a sin of impurity. Hence you understand 
 also what a great sin it is to keep and to show to 
 others obscene pictures ; to appear before others 
 without being pi'operly dressed, and thus to become 
 the cause of their souls being defiled. 
 
 Thirdly, filthy language. As for that you must 
 know that not only those who use such language are
 
 212 
 
 guilty of sin, but also those wlioin any way encourage it 
 by a smile; by enduring instead of stopping it when it 
 is in their power to do so. Likewise, all loose talk, 
 words of double meaning, indecent expressions, and 
 immodest songs are sinful, and may be of awful 
 consequence when children or other innocent persons 
 are present. 
 
 Fourthly : The sixth Commandment also forbids 
 all immodesty either with reference to yourself or 
 another person, of the same or of a different sex, im- 
 modest kisses, unseemly amusements, such as often 
 take place at the Regimental Theatre. It forbids every 
 kind of flirtation. It forbids foolish attachment, 
 indecorous levity, indecent jokes, improper familiarities 
 with single or married persons. 
 
 (Soldiers in the barrack-room have in this respect 
 temptations of their own. As bad company leads them 
 to drunkenness, so it leads them to fornication. Young- 
 men arriving in India should be very careful, and not 
 follow the example of old soldiers who take a" certain 
 pride in showing them the wicked places in the 
 bazaar. Whilst they boast of their own sins, they 
 seem to strip themselves of that shame which God 
 has given to all human beings as a defensive armour 
 against the sin of impurity. One step leads to an- 
 other, and the young soldier, who before barely knew 
 such crimes by name, soon becomes enamoured of 
 them and as bad as others. He cares not for prayer ; 
 he neglects his religious duties ; he gives up his for-
 
 mer devotions, and even if lie be not addicted to 
 drink, he will find it difficult to take and keep a 
 pledge ; impurity and intemperance are sisters. Thus 
 it happens (too frequently, alas !) that he brings 
 sickness on himself, and has his disgrace written on 
 the hospital card. He wishes the Priest to pass by 
 him and, perhaps for the first time in his life, he is 
 ashamed of his religion, and cannot bear the sight of 
 his pastor. 
 
 But utterly false notions prevail among soldiers, 
 and among civilians too, amongst persons even of 
 the highest rank no less than among those of a 
 humbler class, concerning the sin and shame of an 
 immoral life. Many there are who walk and strut 
 through life, most respectable in appearance, claim- 
 ing and enjoying a spotless character, who are, in 
 secret, and, in reality, rotten in this matter. So long- 
 as everything is concealed to the world, they are 
 content. However there is one who sees and knows 
 all your sins, your bad thoughts, your works of dark- 
 ness. Almighty God will not only bring them to 
 light on the day of Judgment, but will punish them 
 with eternal fire if not repented of in time. Judge 
 how grievous this sin is from the way he has, even 
 in this life, punished it. For what sin but this did 
 the Almighty inflict the great deluge 011 the world ? 
 Scripture mentions it in a few but strong' words. 
 (Gen. VI. 3.) ' : Men began to be multiplied on 
 earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons
 
 214 
 
 of God. seeing- the daughters of men. that they were 
 fair, took to themselves wives of all they chose. And 
 God said : ' ; My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, 
 because he is flesh. " The sons and daughters of 
 God were the descendants of the pious Seth : the 
 children of men were the descendants of the impious 
 Cain. These were guilty of impurity. It was the 
 flesh which had corrupted them. God gave them 
 time for penance, but they continued their wicked 
 practices, and Noah alone found grace before the 
 Lord, who commanded him to build the Ark for him- 
 self and his family. The flood came and all creatures, 
 men and animals, that were not in the Ark. were 
 destroyed. 
 
 What sort of sin is that which brought down that 
 rain of fire from heaven, and turned the Paradise of 
 God, which that region was, into the sea of death ? 
 I allude to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. 
 It was impurity, unnatural crimes. For these crimes 
 God destroyed them in this manner. On the spot 
 where the two cities formerly stood there is now a 
 large lake, called the Dead Sea. because no living 
 creature can exist in it. Such is the monument 
 which God Himself has made for the whole world, 
 even to this day, to show his anger against impurity. 
 
 What sin was it tor which God himself punished 
 with death in one hour 23,000 Israelites ? Read the 
 fourth book of Moses. Chapter 25. and there you will 
 find that the Israelites cohabited with the daughters
 
 215 
 
 of heathens. The Lord in his anger said to Moses : 
 ''Take all the princes of the people, and hang them 
 upon gallows against the sun, that my fury may be 
 turned away." Every one had to kill his own 
 neighbour. What a slaughter took place! What 
 crying and lamentation was heard all over the camp, 
 when the women saw their husbands executed, the 
 children their parents, their brothers ! How many 
 noble chiefs were killed, how many families ex- 
 tinguished for ever ! Such is the order and will of 
 God, such the punishment he inflicts on fornication. 
 Referring to this terrible fact, St. Paul writes: 
 
 neither let us commit fornication, as some of them 
 
 
 
 committed fornication, and there fell in one day 
 twenty-three thousand." (Epistle I. Cor. X. on the 
 9th Sunday after Pentecost). It would lead too far 
 were we to mention all the temporal punishments 
 which God has inflicted for that crime. Let us only 
 turn our thoughts to the eternal punishment of hell. 
 
 Monsigneur de Segur has written a pamphlet entitled 
 " Hell." He relates the following fact which occurred 
 in 1848, concerning a lady who spent the winter 
 season in London. She was rich, beautiful, and pos- 
 sessed of those manners which are sure to attract 
 admirers. Among others a young nobleman paid her 
 frequent visits, so frequent that she lost her re- 
 putation. 
 
 One night, about 12 o'clock, after reading as usual, 
 in order to fall asleep, she put out the candle, and
 
 21G 
 
 noticed a pale, yellowish flame that seemed to come 
 from the door of the saloon. The door opened, and 
 the young nobleman entered. Before she was able 
 to say a word, he caught her by the wrist of the 
 left arm, saying, Madam, there is a Hell." The 
 pain this caused her was so great that she fell sense- 
 less. As soon as she came to her senses again, it 
 might be half an hour, she rang her bell. The ser- 
 vant came, and perceived the smell of fire. In fact 
 from the door to the bed there were marks of fire ? 
 the carpet was burnt, and on her wrist there was 
 such a deep burn, that the bone was all bare of flesh. 
 The next day the lady heard that the unfortunate 
 young nobleman was dead. He had expired on that 
 night about 12 o'clock, having met with an accident 
 whilst in a state of intoxication. The lady was still 
 living in 18;VJ. and always wore a broad bracelet on 
 the wrist where she had received the terrible wound 
 from hell. Ah, if these unfortunate persons had 
 thought on the eternal punishment in hell ! if they had 
 feared hell ! if they had compared the few moments 
 of filthy pleasure with eternal punishment, surely 
 they would have avoided sin. The thought of our 
 last end should be always present to our mind. For 
 all thy works remember thy last end. and thou shalt 
 not sin." (Ecc. VII. -iO). This weapon should be 
 used especially in temptations to impurity- The 
 hermit Martinianus had already spent twenty-five 
 years in the desert, practising the greatest austerities, 
 when the devil tempted him to sin against the sixth
 
 217 
 
 Commandment, and instigated a woman to go to his 
 cell and tempt him to commit adultery. The Saint 
 met the temptation by kindling- a great fire, and 
 thrusting his feet into it, and when they were nearly 
 burnt, he exclaimed, -' Ah, if I cannot bear this cold 
 and lifeless image of hell, how shall I endure the re- 
 ality"? This excited the woman to grief and repent- 
 ance. She entered a convent at Bethlehem, and led 
 a holy life until she died. 
 
 It is the common opinion of Holy Fathers and 
 Spiritual Doctors that more souls go to hell for im- 
 purity than for any other sin. And indeed, what vice 
 is so widely spread, and so much indulged in ? What 
 sin leads to such obduracy, makes man so blind with 
 regard to salvation ? For what other sin are there so 
 many occasions, so many excuses, such facilities ? It 
 can be committed in silence and darkness, alone, in 
 company, anywhere. The thief, murderer or drunkard 
 is abhorred and punished severely according to the 
 laws of the country, whilst the votary of impure 
 pleasure remains free and unnoticed, nay, even if 
 known, he is not the less a welcome guest in the best 
 society. But his judgment is only delayed. Death 
 comes with all its terrors, and he is well aware of 
 that sentence: "Begone, you cursed, into fire ever- 
 lasting." He cannot expect a place among the chaste 
 virgins in heaven, among those who have denied 
 themselves the most innocent pleasures, and who 
 have mortified their bodies. And for all eternity, for 
 
 10
 
 218 
 
 him there is the torment of hell-fire and the worm of 
 conscience. " I tasted but a little honey, and lo ! 
 I burn." 
 
 You have now seen the extent or at least enough 
 of this evil and its most ordinary consequences, 
 temporal and eternal. " But how shall I be able to 
 lead a pure, chaste life in the barracks? How can 
 I resist all these temptations and avoid these constant 
 occasions of sin ?" you ask. Listen for a moment ! 
 It is difficult and arduous to overcome the enemy, but 
 it is both easy and possible with the help of God. 
 
 You have perhaps six or eight years before you 
 In this country, and during that time you must 
 remain single. Priests, monks, and nuns make a vow 
 of perpetual chastity, and the grace of their religious 
 vocation makes it easy to keep that vow. But a sol- 
 dier's life is so different from theirs. There is so much 
 inducement and enticement in the barrack life to sin 
 against the sixth Commandment and so little encourage- 
 ment to lead a pure life. Yet God's grace is stronger 
 than all temptation. He will give you ample grace 
 to' resist all these temptations. A soldier must, like 
 every other Christian, avoid sins of impurity. If he 
 leads a pure life under the circumstances in which he 
 is placed, and if grace triumphs over lust, his reward 
 will be great, nay, he will have greater merit in 
 heaven than those who have been free from similar 
 temptations. There are many who live untouched by 
 the flames, though in the midst of a furnace. This is
 
 219 
 
 the greatest encouragement a soldier can have in his 
 difficulties. Here are now a few counsels copied 
 from the " Soldiers' and Sailors' Prayer Book." which 
 will be of great use to you. 
 
 (1.) Fly the occasion?. Without doing this, all 
 else you do will prove of no avail ; promises, tears, 
 resolutions, confessions will be to no purpose. There 
 are temptations which can be overcome only by grap- 
 pling with the enemy, but with impurity we must 
 pursue an opposite course. Here, inflight is the only- 
 means of securing victory. By flight the combat 
 must begin, by flight it must be continued, in flight 
 it must terminate. In this case, soldiers, bravery 
 consists in fearing your enemy. Avoid licentious 
 companions. You will soon and easily recognise 
 them by their dissolute conversation. Keep aloof 
 from persons of the other sex, whose presence may 
 be an occasion of sin. 
 
 (2.) Avoid idleness. -An idle man stands all ready 
 for Satan to make him fall into sin; he is his own first 
 and most dangerous tempter. Be punctual in fulfilling 
 the duties of your calling. Work and regular occu- 
 pation are the best defences against the attacks of 
 any passions. 
 
 (3.) Frequent Prayer. To the shunning of oc- 
 casions add frequency of prayer. Recommend your- 
 self to God, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the 
 
 * To the Christian Soldier, Instruction, page 97.
 
 220 
 
 Mother of Purity. When you are tempted, be care- 
 ful not to notice the temptation, but immediately 
 invoke the holy names of Jesus and Mary. Those 
 sacred names put to flight every enemy of salvation. 
 and extinguish the impure flames. If the temptation 
 continues, persevere in prayer, and surely you will 
 not fall. Practise some pious exercise in honour of 
 the Blessed Virgin. For example, say three Hail 
 Mary's in honour of her purity on rising in the 
 morning, and on going to bed at night ; recollect, 
 especially the moment a temptation begins, to im- 
 plore the assistance of Jesus and Mary ; and. if 
 you happen to commit any fault do not give way to 
 discouragement ; humble yourself before God, beg 
 His pardon from the bottom of your heart, and use 
 every means in your power to avoid new failings in 
 the future. 
 
 Lastly be careful to frequent the Sacraments of 
 Penance, and Holy Eucharist. Father Hunnold, 
 a popular and veiy clever preacher in Germany, 
 relates the following fact, which is very much to the 
 point. A young man subject to temptations of im- 
 purity applied to a Priest for the purpose of obtaining 
 his advice. He was told that the best thing for him 
 would be to get married. So he got a wife, and 
 settled down pretty comfortably, being now freed 
 from all those terrible temptations which had made 
 him miserable. A few years later his wife died, and 
 then he was again troubled with the same temptations.
 
 '221 
 
 He went to a saintly Priest of the Society of Jesus, 
 and explained his case. ' The best thing you can 
 do," said the Jesuit Father, " is to go once a week to 
 Confession and Holy Communion." The poor man, 
 in his disturbed state of mind first thought that he 
 was not worthy ot receiving the Holy Sacraments so 
 often, but he tried it, as he was advised to do. 
 Strange to say it cured him, and he got rid of all his 
 temptations. 
 
 Some time ago an old soldier of the 4th King's 
 Own Regiment told a similar story of himself. 
 During two years he was a weekly communicant, and 
 he asserted that there was no greater help to a frail 
 man to keep away from sin, than this pious practice. 
 ' }so temptation to get drunk, or to commit a sin of 
 impurity gets hold of me," he said, when I remem- 
 ber that I receive every Sunday our Blessed Lord. 
 If I should leave off these my devotions, I should 
 not have strength to resist the temptations which 
 surround me." 
 
 3. Choice of a Wife. 
 
 Xow the soldier who has considered before God, 
 and come to the conclusion that he should marry, and 
 can obtain permission in order to have his wife and 
 family on the strength of the Regiment, is often at a 
 loss whom to- choose for his companion.
 
 222 
 
 There are Native girls, Eurasians, Europeans, Ca- 
 tholics and Protestants ; children grown up in the 
 Patcheries, and others who have been educated in a 
 convent school. Where is the advantage in each of 
 these ? Where is the disadvantage ? If a soldier or a 
 pensioner has made up his mind not to remain in the 
 country, he should marry no one but a European, 
 because plainly it will be a great treat for her to 
 leave with him for Europe. If he settles in India 
 for good, his choice may fall on a Native or Eura- 
 sian, he may lead a happy and contented life with 
 such a one. 
 
 Some soldiers contract marriages with Natives 
 whilst serving without permission from the authorities; 
 but when discharged they do not like to leave their 
 Avife and children behind, more particularly when the 
 wife has always been faithful to her husband and a 
 kind mother to her children. Other soldiers, who 
 have contracted marriages in a similar manner, go 
 home when their time is in, and are cruel enough to 
 leave their little family behind without any means of 
 support. A European soldier who marries a Native 
 with or without permission should earnestly consider 
 what he is doing. 
 
 There are alas ! too many instances of the misery 
 and poverty which have been brought on unfortunate 
 women, who have been left behind without protection 
 or support by Europeans leaving for home and who 
 have never been heard of since they embarked.
 
 Others who remain single whilst in the Service and 
 take their pensions in the country because they have 
 no friends at home, contract marriages with Natives, 
 as much for the sake of companionship, as anything 
 else. In most cases there is not more luck than 
 love in such unions. The husband, although his 
 means are small, perhaps one shilling a day. is 
 usually a reckless sort of man who, on the day he 
 draws his three months' pension gets drunk, and 
 spends the greater part of his money. In a very few 
 days the whole of his pension is gone, he ill-treats 
 his wife, and starves her well during that time and 
 at the end of it he has nothing to live on but his 
 wits; and we know what they are, and what they will 
 bring in until the next quarter's pension becomes 
 due. These are the sort of Europeans who are to be 
 seen knocking about the streets of Bombay and 
 Poona. never employed, and, a disgrace to their 
 nation and colour. No doubt those men who are 
 often good clerks or skilfull tradesmen, had they 
 been discharged in Europe, could have mixed with 
 their own class of people, and would have been in 
 a better condition than they are in India, where 
 the climate is over-powering, as also is the bottle. 
 They should never have been married in this country 
 to a Native woman. 
 
 Not that all pensioners are of this stamp. There 
 are many of them who have contracted marriages 
 in India with Natives living very respectably, and are 
 worthy of notice. They do not like being idle, and
 
 224 
 
 get employment here and there. They put their 
 earnings to very good use, build a cottage for them- 
 selves in some suitable place, and lay by a little store 
 for a rainy day. They give a good example to their 
 Native wives, and in return these are faithful and 
 careful. They are to be seen on Sunday respectably 
 dressed, going together to their place of worship- 
 They join in prayer every night before going to bed, 
 and invoke the blessing of the Almighty, which 
 cannot fail to descend on such a family. Their means 
 are perhaps scanty, but with care and sobriety they 
 live comfortably, and bring up their children in the 
 fear and love of God, always glad of the counsel of 
 their Priest, who takes the greatest interest in their 
 welfare, spiritual and temporal. In such cases, and 
 under such circumstances an old soldier is quite happy 
 with his Native wife. 
 
 There are also advantages and disadvantages in mar- 
 rying a European wife. The advantages are that should 
 he be permitted to do so. he can go home with his family 
 when his time has expired, or when sickness makes a 
 change to Europe imperative. In the Patcherie he 
 will more easily keep peace with his neighbours, and 
 his wife will not be insulted, as a Native or Eurasian 
 woman, alas ! too frequently is. In fact he will be 
 better able to mix with his countrymen, supposing his 
 European wife is a good, respectable, quiet person. 
 But if she be not such, it is a great disadvantage to 
 the soldier married to a European.
 
 There are two classes of European girls in this 
 country from which a soldier may choose a wife : viz. , 
 the children of soldiers brought up in the Patcherie, 
 and those who have been educated in a Convent. The 
 former class lookout for a Non-Commissioned Officer; 
 a private soldier need not apply for them. They 
 must have a sergeant, a sergeant major, a conductor, 
 or some one higher still. Their parents will never 
 allow them to marry a man without chevrons. This 
 is one of the principal causes of the mixed marriages 
 so frequent in the army. For. as there are only a few 
 Catholic Non-Commissioned Officers in the station, 
 the Protestants who propose for such girls usually 
 marry them. 
 
 There is a very bad custom prevalent in the 
 Patcheries when a man is courting. The father, and 
 perhaps also the mother, of a marriageable girl may 
 be fond of the bottle, as is too often the case. 
 Young men are always welcome in their quarters so 
 long as they bring drink with them. It is a real fact 
 that matches are made up, and are again broken off 
 on this account. Thus when a young sergeant thinks 
 he is quite sure of getting married to a girl and has 
 spent much money in supplying her parents with 
 drink, he is suddenly told that she will get married to 
 another man, with whom the same game has been 
 played probably to result in a similar disappointment. 
 
 It is not the fault of the girl, but that of the parents 
 that promises of marriages are thus made and
 
 226 
 
 marriages actually contracted with men of a ditterent 
 religion, and perhaps even of a bad moral character. 
 European girls born in India and brought up in the 
 Patcheries often inherit the vicious habits of their 
 parents, and turn out to be drunkards, licentious, 
 careless about religion, fond of pleasure, dress and 
 dances. They are careless and lazy, and neglect their 
 household affairs, and are often a real encumbrance 
 to their husbands. Of course there are exceptions ; 
 but any Non- Commissioned Officer (private soldiers 
 have no chance) should think twice before he pro- 
 poses for such a girl. 
 
 In our Convent Schools you find a wholly different 
 class of girls. Those who can get married from out of a 
 Convent are generally orphans. The nuns have taken 
 the place of their parents, and with this duty also a 
 grave responsibility, the settling them in life. Most 
 of them have been in these religious houses from their 
 earliest years, and know comparatively little about 
 the world. They have been under the careful super- 
 vision of the nuns all day long ; they have received a 
 good religious and secular education ; they have been 
 taught how to fulfil their religious duties, how to go 
 through their devotions, and so on. As a rule, they 
 are innocent and good. Now, when they have attain- 
 ed the age of 16 years, and the Government allowance 
 is stopped, they may remain for another year or 
 so in the Convent, making themselves useful as 
 irarhors or monitresses. If they have no vocationfor
 
 227 
 
 a Religious Order, if they cannot go into service, nor 
 do anything for themselves in another way, they are 
 the persons to whom a European might get married. 
 
 Many happy matches have been made with such 
 girls. The good example they give to their husbands 
 has had the most beneficial influence on them, and 
 there are, at the present time, many soldiers and 
 civilians residing in India who can bear testimony to 
 the text of Scripture (Prov. XIX. 14.) : '' Houses 
 and riches are given by parents, but a prudent wife 
 is properly from the Lord," also (Prov. XVIII. 22): 
 " He that has found a good wife has found a good 
 thing, and shall receive a pleasure from the Lord." 
 
 4 On Mixed Marriages- 
 
 A Catholic intending to marry should above all 
 other considerations fix upon a virtuous person who is 
 of his own religion. A marriage contracted between 
 a Catholic and a Protestant is called a Mt:ccil Murrini/t. 
 
 Our Holy Church, from the beginning, has at all 
 times disapproved of mixed marriages, and, except to 
 avoid greater evils and under certain conditions, has 
 never tolerated them. 
 
 St. Ambrose says : ' Take heed, not to marry a 
 pagan, or Jew, or heretic." With this great Doctor 
 all the other holy Fathers agree, nay the whole Church 
 in the decisions of her Councils uphold him. The 
 synod of Elvira in Spain decreed in o40 that parents,
 
 228 
 
 who allow tlieir daughters to marry heretics should do 
 penance for the space of five years. 
 
 The Popes, particularly since the so-called Reform- 
 ation have always spoken in the severest terms 
 fiy-ainst such marriages, and have only permitted them, 
 when they have permitted them, to avoid greater evils. 
 
 In the old times before Christ God Himself forbade 
 such marriages. For when He introduced His people 
 into the Holy Land, He laid the strongest injunctions 
 on them never to intermarry with the pagan people of 
 that country. On this subject read (Deut. VII. 2.): 
 ' "X either shalt thou make marriages with them; 
 thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, nor take 
 his daughter for thy son, for she will turn away thy 
 son from following me." Seductions of this kind 
 actually took place, for after the death of Joshua the 
 children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites 
 and they took the daughters of the land to wives .... 
 and they did evil in the sight of the Lord and 
 they forgot their God (Judges VI. 0). 
 
 King Solomon, though so great in wisdom, fell 
 into sin in this very way. For. as it is related in 
 3 : Kings. XI. 1. " Solomon loved many strange 
 
 women of the nations of which God had said to 
 
 the children of Israel : You shall not go into them, 
 neither shah 1 any of them come into you. For they 
 will most certainly turn away your hearts to follow 
 
 their gods And when he was now old, his heart 
 
 was turned away by women to follow strange gods."
 
 229 
 
 This danger of losing the faith is one of the first 
 reasons why the Catholic Church is so opposed to 
 mixed marriages. The true faith is the most preci- 
 ous treasure a Christian has, the indispensable condi- 
 tion of our eternal salvation. Wherefore the Church 
 so anxiously watches over her children, and so 
 zealously guards against all dangers of her children 
 losing their faith. Such a danger exists in every 
 mixed marriage. Familiar intercourse with persons 
 of a false religion naturally, and even necessarily, 
 tends to undermine the principles of the true faith ; 
 and where is intercourse so familiar and so close as 
 that between husband and wife? 
 
 You will say that an Irish Catholic runs no such 
 risk when he marries a Protestant. Nay ; but how 
 many lamentable cases have occurred, in which the 
 Catholic party has become first indifferent to religion, 
 and has ended by losing his faith. Commissioned 
 Officers, come of the best Catholic families and who 
 had received the best of education in the most religi- 
 ous manner, have, by marrying Protestant ladies, come 
 to all but an open abandonment of their faith, and 
 have, at all events, given up the most obligatory of 
 their religious duties, and given the greatest possible 
 scandal. The society, the Protestant relatives of the 
 wife, the whole atmosphere in which they lived, 
 brought on the strong temptation of human respect 
 and made them shy, and soon ashamed, of Catholic 
 practices. In conversing with friends and relations 
 
 20
 
 280 
 
 everything is avoided which may betray a Catholic ; 
 the sign of the cross is not made any longer when 
 grace is said at dinner time ; the days of fasting and 
 abstinence belong to the past ; there is no more Con- 
 fession nor Holy Communion ; the sacrifice of the 
 Mass is neglected ; and perhaps to please the Pro- 
 testant party occasional visits are made to the Pro- 
 testant Church. The service, the sermon there is 
 found to be not at all so bad, not by any means in bad 
 taste, very like Catholic service perhaps in these 
 days of Ritualism, and so the visits continue until 
 the last spark of the true faith is extinguished. 
 
 And what about the children ? The proper, thorough 
 Catholic education of the offspring of a mixed mar- 
 riage is in most instances difficult if not impossible, 
 but how can it be otherwise ? This is another, and if 
 possible a still greater reason why such alliances should 
 be avoided. Let us suppose that the Protestant husband 
 and wife are not bigotted and an agreement to have 
 been made, that all the children should be baptized 
 and educated in the Catholic faith. The zeal of the 
 believing parent will no doubt be able to do a great 
 deal in the matter. But after all the whole education 
 should be the work, not of the one, but of the two 
 of father and mother. Or. what is to be expected of 
 children who hear one thing from one parent, and 
 at all events see the contrary in the other ? who see 
 the Catholic mother reverence religious practices, 
 while the Protestant father, if he does not ridicule, at 
 least shows not the slightest reverence for them.
 
 231 
 
 We find a remarkable comparison of such poor 
 children in 2 Esdras XIII. 27. When the Jews re- 
 turned from captivity, Nehemias their leader saw 
 some of the Jews who had married strange women, and 
 what was the consequence V "Their children." says 
 he, '' spoke neither the language of the father nor 
 of the mother, but half of the one and half of the 
 other," for which Nehemias chid them and laid his 
 curse upon them, showing them from the example of 
 Solomon the great evil they had done, and the danger 
 they ran, and concludes : " Shall we also be dis- 
 obedient to do all this great evil, to transgress against 
 our God and marry strange women '?" Upon this 
 text a renowned English Catholic Bishop justly re- 
 marks. " How often does experience show, that the 
 children of parents who are of different religions, 
 speak neither the language of the one nor of the 
 other in religious matters." c In fact, it happens 
 but too frequently that the offspring of mixed mar- 
 riages become indifferent about religion. Can any 
 state of soul and heart be worse for salvation ? And 
 if the Catholic parent dies and the Protestant sur- 
 viving parent, and Protestant relations or guardians 
 get hold of the children, will they be brought up in 
 the Catholic faith ? Some years ago a Catholic Irish 
 soldier who had married a Protestant, the latter 
 having agreed that all the children should be educa- 
 ted in the Catholic faith, died in the hospital at Poona. 
 
 * The Sincere Christian, liy the Hight Revel. Dr. Georye Hay.
 
 232 
 
 He died leaving two children, and his dying request 
 was that they should be sent to the Convent. They 
 remained only a few months there : the mother soon 
 married again, and this time a Protestant. They re- 
 moved the children from the Convent and made 
 them Protestants in spite of all her engagements 
 and of all the affectionate promises she had made 
 to her husband on his death-bed. 
 
 Ignorant and indifferent Catholic girls in this 
 country sometimes get married to Protestants in 
 the Protestant church, and then there is no agree, 
 ment made regarding the religion of the future 
 offspring. By doing this, they are guilty of a very 
 grievous sin. The first child is born and baptized by 
 the Protestant minister. Then she comes to chapel 
 to receive the Catholic blessing after childbirth. The 
 Priest must refuse to church her, and she, disheartened, 
 keeps away from the Catholic place of worship 
 altogether and neglects her religious duties, in com- 
 plying with which, she was, perhaps, before her 
 marriage very regular. Yes, one meets, and often 
 meets with cases as strange as this, and even stranger^ 
 A girl will wish to go to the Sacraments meaning to 
 do so. and that just before she enters on a course like 
 this. If she does not become a Protestant she is 
 certainly on the way to become one and to die an 
 unhappy death. How terrible will be her portion on 
 the day of Judgment ! She will see her children 
 again, and also her children's children to the last
 
 generation, but without the true faith and she is the 
 first cause of it ; she is the first link of that unhappy 
 chain now standing on the left side among the 
 
 O O 
 
 damned. 
 
 But the trials and troubles of a mixed marriage 
 begin in this world. Peace and happiness are the 
 greatest blessings on husband and wife. Now what 
 is the peace, what the happiness which is not founded 
 on religion? They are hollow and false, with no 
 more substance in them than in a dream. Are they 
 to be found when the parties are of different religions, 
 the one the true, and the other a false one ? How 
 many sneers and slanders is the believing party 
 often exposed to hear? But even supposing there 
 are none, can any one imagine intercourse more 
 dreary than that from which everything touching 
 our religion is excluded ? And yet this exclusion is 
 necessary to secure anything like peace in the family. 
 There must be a common agreement to be indifferent. 
 What difficulty does a Catholic woman find in observ- 
 ing :the rules and practices of her religion in such 
 a case ? Husband and wife do not pray together, 
 they have not the same source of religious consolation, 
 and where is that sweet hope that they will find one 
 another again in a better life?
 
 234 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 1. The Soldier's Wife & Life in the Patcherie. 
 
 Once married, and quartered in the Patcherie you 
 must remember in the first place that husband and 
 wife are to live together in peace, they must love one 
 another and always be faithful to the promise they 
 make at the step of the altar ' until death does part 
 them." Matrimony is according to the intention of 
 Christ (who raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament), 
 a representation of that union which exists between 
 Christ and his Church. But this union is a peaceful 
 one and a true manifestation of natural love. The 
 heavenly bridegroom remains with his immaculate 
 bride even in time of trouble and persecution, and 
 nothing can prevail on the Church to forsake Him. 
 So, in like manner, a husband must love his wife, and 
 both must live together in peace. 
 
 Indeed on the good understanding between hus- 
 band and wife depends the whole prosperity of the 
 family. To this we may apply the words of the 
 Psalmist : ' Behold, how good and pleasant it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity . . . for there the Lord 
 gives blessing and life for evermore." (Psalm 132). 
 And the Holy Ghost says in the book of Sirach : 
 '' With three things my spirit is pleased, which are 
 approved by God and men ; the concord of brethren, 
 the love of neighbours : and man and wife that agree 
 well together." (Eccl. XXV. 12.) Nothing is 
 more edifying than to see married people leading a
 
 235 
 
 peaceful, contented life. It makes them happy even 
 in trials and troubles. When Elkana. of whom we 
 read in I Kings I. 8. asked his wife Anna, why she 
 told him that she was sad, and she told him that it was 
 on account of her not having children, he replied, 
 " Ami not better to thee than ten children?" 
 
 But, when there is neither peace nor love between 
 married people, they have a real hell on earth. 
 
 Secondly, they should edify each other by a pious 
 life. Of the first Christians Tertullian writes : ' They 
 pray and fast together. They appear together in 
 Church and at the Lord's table." The influence a 
 good husband has over his wife in this respect 
 is very great, and a wife can do a great deal 
 by word and example to encourage her husband 
 in the service of God. Many men have become ex- 
 cellent Christians by marrying a good religious wife, 
 who has kept them away from drink and bad company 
 and has induced them to be regular in complying with 
 all their religious duties. Such, however, is not the 
 case in every family. The spirit of religion, of pray- 
 er, and piety is banished. The name of the devil 
 is oftener heard than that of God. One party wishes 
 for the other's death, and so they give each other 
 the worst example. 
 
 It is the husband's duty to support his wife ac- 
 cording to his means ; or as St. Chrysostom says, 
 " Husbands, take care of your wives, in the same
 
 236 
 
 manner as Christ takes care of his Church." It is 
 the wife's duty to obey her husband in all that is not 
 sin, and to look after her husband's affairs. St. Paul 
 writes in the 5th Chapter of his Epistle to the Ephe- 
 sians : ' Let women be subject to their husbands as 
 to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the 
 wife as Christ is the head of the Church." This sub- 
 ordination of woman has its foundation in the natural 
 order itself. God made Adam first, and then formed 
 Eve out of one of Adam's ribs, and only for the sake 
 of Adam, in order that he mig-ht have a companion. 
 Another reason for woman's subordinate place is to be 
 found in the sentence God pronounced against Eve. She 
 had believed the serpent, which told her to eat of the 
 forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. But God de- 
 creed in punishment for that sin : " Thou shalt be under 
 the power of thy husband, and he shall rule over 
 thee." 
 
 From this it follows that a good wife should obey 
 her husband, and respect him like Christ, who is 
 the head of the Church. For example, when the 
 husband tells his wife to hold her tongue, she must 
 be silent ; when, for any good reason, he wishes her 
 to stay at home, she must not go out ; when he is 
 against her contracting friendship with certain peo- 
 ple, she must avoid them ; and so on. She must be 
 obedient to her husband in all that is not sin. St. 
 Peter in the third Chapter of his first Epistle says the 
 same. " Let wives be subject to their husbands ;
 
 237 
 
 that if any believe not the word, they may be 
 gained without the word, by the conversation of 
 
 the wives whose adorning let lit not be the 
 
 outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, 
 
 or the putting on of apparel for after this manner 
 
 heretofore also the holy women, hoping in God, 
 adorned themselves, being subject to their husband." 
 
 Concerning the affection and love of wives towai'ds 
 their husbands, a curious but true fact is mentioned 
 in the history of Bavaria. A place called Weinsberg 
 was besieged by the German Emperor Conrad, and 
 compelled to surrender. All the women of Weinsberg 
 held a meeting in order to consult as to the best 
 means of saving their husbands, for the order was 
 that they should all be put to death. So they sent 
 a petition to the Emperor, beseeching him to allow 
 them to leave the city with all that they could carry 
 on their backs. Permission was granted. The 
 Emperor himself came to have a look at the procession 
 as he wanted to know how much they could carry. 
 Too strange, but quite true. The gates opened, and 
 first came the Duchess with her husband, the Duke, 
 on her back. After her came all the noble ladies, 
 followed by the poor, all carrying their husbands on 
 their backs. At this sight the Emperor could not 
 help giving vent to his feelings. Tears rolled down 
 his cheeks, and he spared the city on that account. 
 
 Our Patcheries alas ! but too frequently present 
 totally different scenes of matrimonial love. The
 
 238 
 
 chief cause of family quarrels is drink OB the part of 
 the husband, and bad temper on the part of the wife, 
 and when the latter also is fond of the bottle (as she 
 often is), when she neglects her household affairs and 
 goes round the Patcherie telling stories (as too many 
 do), complaining of her husband, making rather free 
 with other men or abusing her neighbours, then indeed 
 it is a bad case. 
 
 At the same time a married man must not make a 
 bad use of his authority. His wife is not his servant, 
 but his companion. St. Augustine beautifully remarks 
 that God has made the wife out of the rib of Adam, 
 in order to show that she has the next place to 
 himself in his heart. Wherefore, " husbands, love 
 your wives, as Christ has loved His Church." 
 
 Let husband and wife walk together hand in hand 
 through this stormy life and bear with patience their 
 cross, for difficulties will not be wanting. Many be- 
 fore getting married have fancied they would make a 
 bed of roses for themselves, but after their honey- 
 moon was over, they discovered that there were no- 
 roses, but only plenty of thorns. 
 
 The best advice that can be given to young married 
 women in the Patcherie is : " Do not make too free with 
 your neighbours, in order to have peace with them. ' 
 Most quarrels and actual fights originate from intimate 
 friendships that had been formed once and broken 
 off subsequently. Hence the most disgusting scenes 
 and all the trouble of the Commanding Officer in the 
 Orderly Room. Here is an illustration of this truth.
 
 2. Three days in the Patcherie, after 
 arrival from Europe. 
 
 India is one of the best countries in the world for 
 Soldier's wife. Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey was married 
 at home to a private and used to work as a washer- 
 woman to earn wherewith to support her family. 
 They are now quartered in the patcherie. The first 
 day after her arrival, Mrs. Jones comes to see her, a 
 very wise, good person ; her only fault is that she 
 takes a drop too much now and again. 
 
 Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey does not drink ; she keeps 
 the children nice and clean, though her husband 
 Patrick is fond of a drop at times. Twelve o'clock 
 strikes, Canteen opens, Mrs. Jones enters. 
 
 " Good day ; I have heard you arrived yesterday 
 and come to see you. I am Mrs. Jones, the wife of 
 your Colour Sergeant. How is your husband and 
 the children ?" 
 
 " Quite well," says Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey, " it is 
 very kind of you. indeed, to come and see me." 
 
 Mrs. Jones takes a survey of the house, and gives 
 an account of other women of the Company, to whom 
 she would not be seen speaking. This done, she in- 
 quires if Mrs. O' Shaughnessey never drinks her porter. 
 
 " No, Mrs. Jones, sure the children want some 
 clothes on arriving in India, and I want some for my 
 self, and so I cannot afford anything for drink."
 
 240 
 
 "Nonsense, woman," says Mrs. Jones, -what do 
 you want dressing the children up in this hot climate ! 
 See my little fellows running about without shoes or 
 stockings, it makes them haidy," and to substan- 
 tiate her argument, she calls out : " Harry, come here 
 my boy." And there runs up a little urchin, quite 
 dirty, with a part of his shirt hanging out of his 
 trousers. 
 
 - A fine boy,,; God bless him! How old is he"? 
 asks Mi's. O'Shaughnessey. 
 
 " Five years next June," says Mrs. Jones, "and he 
 is very clever too ; he goes to the Canteen every day 
 and brings his mama's porter he does. " Go now, 
 my boy and let Mrs. O'Shaughnessey know, how quick 
 you can fetch a can-ful." Here, the child is des- 
 patched on his errand. 
 
 " You would not believe, Mrs. O'Shaughnessey, 
 but it is the only thing that keeps the life in me in 
 this country and sure, my poor old man says the 
 same sure, he is the good husband." 
 
 In this way the women discoursed, until the arrival 
 of little Harry with the long sleever. 
 
 " Now you must have a little drop of this with 
 me," says Mrs. Jones. 
 
 " Oh, I declare, Mrs. Jones, I would not. I never 
 drank porter in my life."
 
 241 
 
 -' Do not be a fool, woman," says Mrs. Jones, 
 "just try that little drop, and you will see, how nice 
 it is." Mrs. O'Shaughnessey takes the glass and 
 drinks a little, whilst Mrs. Jones does justice to hers, 
 and refills it again, remarking that the measurement 
 was short to-day. Here she calls out for Harry and 
 scolds him for not seeing to the measurement. 
 
 "It is the fault of the Canteen boy " says he. " he 
 never fills the pots for the women." 
 
 " Oh, I will let that drunken blackguard know 
 that I am Mrs. Jones, the Colour Sergeant's wife. 
 Now, run off my child and call for Mrs. O'Shaugh- 
 nessey's porter. You have no objection Mrs. 0' 
 Shaughnessey, to my getting yours ? " 
 
 " Oh, not in the least, Mrs. Jones, you can have it 
 every day for that matter." 
 
 Here the little fellow is despatched again, in the 
 heat of the day without shoes on his feet, to gratify 
 the appetite of his old drunken mother. However 
 before starting Harry says : " Mama, I am hungry." 
 "Now go," says his mother, "you are always hungry; 
 make haste, and when you come back I will give you 
 some bread." 
 
 At this the young fellow departs, quite content, and 
 both women continue their conversation. Mrs. Jones 
 takes up her glass, eyes it arid drinks off the remainder. 
 By this time little Harry arrives with the second attack' 
 (as they call it), saying, -'now Mama, I want the bread." 
 
 21
 
 242 
 
 " Oh Harry, you are a good boy, Mama's own pet, 
 go up to the house and you will find some bread in 
 the cupboard." 
 
 Here he toddles and finds some stale bread, quite 
 hard, and brings it to his mother saying : "It is too 
 hard, I want some butter." "Go" says she, "you 
 always want butter ; how can I afford to buy butter, 
 and besides this it would make you bilious." 
 
 "Now, Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, you have not emptied 
 your glass, you do not know what is good for you ; 
 you must have another drop of it." So the glasses are 
 filled again and the conversation is turned into 
 another channel. 
 
 " We will have a Good Templars' dance to-morrow 
 night; Mrs. O'Shaughnessey, are you a good dancer?"' 
 
 " I can't dance, Mrs. Jones, but I am quite a 
 stranger here, and besides we do not belong to the 
 Society, as my husband likes a drop now and again." 
 
 " Oh, that does not matter," says Mrs. Jones, " my 
 old man is at the head of it, under the Reverend 
 Mr. Brislaw, and I will get you an invitation for the 
 dance, and I shall be glad to see you along with me." 
 
 " I cannot give you an answer, Mrs. Jones, till I 
 see my husband." 
 
 " Oh, you fool. Mrs. O'Shaughnessey, why do you 
 allow your husband to control you in these little 
 matters of pleasure ! I would not let my old man 
 interfere with me, every one knows that !"
 
 243 
 
 By this time Mrs. Jones had got rid of the contents 
 of her glass and has betaken herself home to receive 
 her husband at dinner and to have another glass with 
 him. For she did not relish the two previous quarts, 
 saying the porter was not so good to-day as yesterday, 
 and the Canteen boy must be at once removed. 
 
 "I have seen Mrs. O'Shaughnessy to-day; she is 
 a very nice sort of a person, and neither herself nor 
 husband drink, and no doubt he would answer you in 
 the Canteen as barman, and would not be so sharp in 
 detecting you adding a bottle more water to the 
 liquor." 
 
 " Yes, dear," says Sergeant Jones, " I think that 
 would be a good plan and decidedly to my advan- 
 tage." 
 
 After dinner the woman went over to Mrs. O'Shaugh- 
 nessey to tell her she had done her a good turn 
 that her husband was to be barman of the Can- 
 teen next day at 12. Patrick O'Shaughnessey had 
 just come home and was delighted at the news, but 
 Mrs. Jones gave him also her lesson regarding her 
 porter and that he was to fill her pot up to the brim. 
 Before leaving she warned Mrs. O'Shaughnessy to 
 be ready for the dance. After she had gone away 
 Patrick asks his wife : " What dance is this that 
 Mrs. Jones talks about ?" 
 
 ''It is the Temperance dance" says she. "and 
 Sergeant Jones is the headman."
 
 "A fine headman" replies Patrick, "with half a 
 bottle of blue rum in his stomach." 
 
 Next day, at 12 o'clock Patrick O'Shaughnessy 
 took charge of his new appointment as waiter in the 
 Canteen, and put a heap of porter in Mrs. Jones' can. 
 When the Canteen was closed and Patrick came home 
 his wife asked him, how he liked the job. 
 
 " Oh, very well indeed, said he, I got four quarts 
 for nothing." 
 
 " But why did you not bring some porter home 
 for dinner? " 
 
 "How was I to bring it, woman, I had no can." 
 
 " Well then," says she, " I will go to the bazaar 
 at once and get one like that of Mrs. Jones." 
 
 So she goes to a tin-man's shop and observes a long 
 tin can, about a foot and a half long. 
 
 " What is the price of a tinpot ? " The Bora answer- 
 ed, he had no tinpots to sell, " But what do you caU 
 this thing ? " " Mam," says the Bora, " we call it long 
 sleever, and the price is 3 annas." 
 
 Here Mrs. O'Shaughnessy remarked that it seemed 
 larger than Mrs. Jones' one. " No Mam," said the 
 Bora, "I make Sergeant Jones' sleevers all same size.'" 
 So she paid down the amount and took the commodi- 
 ty, quite proud (and yet a bit ashamed too) that she 
 would be as good as any of them now, and that her 
 husband could supply her with a drop every day.
 
 245 
 
 A 7 o'clock the Canteen opened for the night issue. 
 Patrick went away to his business, and his wife com- 
 menced dressing for the dance. In company of Mrs. 
 Jones she went to the Temperance Hall. Sergeant 
 Jones was at the door, took her by the hand and 
 introduced her as a new member to Revd. Mr. Bris- 
 law, who was very glad to see her. After Mrs. O' 
 Shaughnessey took her seat, the Revd. Gentleman 
 gave some instructions to all present and then the 
 dance commenced. Mrs. Jones did not dance, but 
 she contented herself over a glass of wine, which is 
 the only drink allowed the '-'Ladies" as they call them. 
 
 Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey danced, and as after every 
 dance she was invited to take a little wine, and took 
 it, she got before long very talkative, and was pretty 
 tight, as they say ; for the less elegant word is tipsy. 
 The dance broke off at 12 o'clock. 
 
 Mrs. Jones also was pretty merry, and after arriv- 
 ing at home she would not let her friend go without 
 giving her a little drop to kill the worm beiore going 
 to bed. 
 
 Mrs. O'Shaughnessey felt very queer next morning, 
 and confessed to her husband the state her head was in. 
 
 ' I cannot look at breakfast this morning." 
 
 Here Patrick's new appointment becomes useful. 
 
 ' Sure," he said, "last night I thought it would be 
 so, and I have managed to secure a drop for the 
 morning."
 
 246 
 
 " Oh, God bless you Paddy, sure you always think 
 for one." For the first time in her life Mrs. 0' 
 Shaughnessey becomes a victim to the bottle. She 
 got her peg, and then was able to take her breakfast. 
 
 It was about 9 o'clock in the morning when the 
 Catholic Chaplain went around the married lines, to 
 ascertain, if there were any belonging to him among 
 the new comers that had arrived from Europe. Some 
 of the other women informed him of a Mrs. 0' 
 Shaughnessey being a Catholic. She was just stand- 
 ing at the door. 
 
 "How do you feel after your voyage from England?" 
 asks the Priest. 
 
 " Quite well, Father, and so are the children. Come 
 here, Paddy and Micky they are rather dirty, I 
 have had no time to clean them since I came, and I 
 have no servant to assist me." The Revd. Gentle- 
 man remarked, that a basin of water and a scrub 
 would do their faces no harm. 
 
 " Where is your husband, Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey ?" 
 " Sir, he is gone to the Canteen, as he was ap- 
 pointed barman by Sergeant Jones, our Colour Ser- 
 geant, who is very kind to us and so is his wife. 
 She invited us to the Temperance Ball last night." 
 
 " Very kind of them," says the Priest, "and how 
 did you enjoy the dance ? Who was there ? " 
 
 Here poor Mrs. 0' Shaughnessey in her simplicity 
 lets the cat out of the bag. When she had done,
 
 247 
 
 the Priest smiled gravely: " So, Mrs. O'Shaughnesse 
 you have no servant to assist you, you have had i 
 time to clean your children, but you find time 
 go to the dance and stop there till morning. No 
 you must drop this sort of amusement and also t< 
 your husband to give up that job in the Canteen ai 
 labour honestly to maintain his little ffmily. Sei 
 him to my house when he comes home." 
 
 " I will, Sir," said Mrs. O'Shanghnessey, andturni. 
 in with a long red face. The first thing that caug) 
 her eye in the room was the long sleever, which sb 
 had purchased the previous evening. Alas I she sa) 
 to herself, after paying my [3 annas for that mis 
 fortunate article and I shall never have the pleasui . 
 of using it ? Never mind ; it must, it must go. I 
 have to give it up, but I will have it full one day a 
 least, please God. 
 
 Patrick did not return till after Canteen closed, so 
 that she was able to make use of the sleever for the 
 first 'time. 
 
 Mrs. Jones was sick after the night's gorge, and 
 did not call on Mrs. O'Shaughnessey at 12 o'clock, as 
 usual. There was rather a great uproar at the Canteen, 
 and Patrick O'Shaughnessy got insulted by half :i 
 dozen old soldiers for taking the place of their old 
 friend, and several remarks were passed about his will- 
 and Colour Sergeant Jones dancing at the Temperance 
 Hall. When he came home his wife could see by his 
 face that something had happened.
 
 248 
 
 " What is the matter?" says she, as they sat down 
 to dinner. 
 
 " I have been' insulted" was Patrick's reply, " and 
 
 so have you been for going to that d d dance." 
 
 After hearing all about the affair from him, she 
 commenced about the Priest. 
 
 '' Well," says her husband we will go and see him. 
 In the evening they both went with the children, who 
 were now clean and neatly dressed to the Reverend 
 Father's house to hear what he had to say to them. 
 The Priest saw them coming and went to the door to 
 receive them. On casting an experienced eye on them 
 he noticed that there was a decided change. 
 
 " Did you give any liquor to your wife this morn- 
 ing ?" asks the Priest. 
 
 " A little drop, Sir." 
 
 ' Yes, and you would give her a bigger drop tomorrow, 
 and drop by drop she would become as big a drunkard 
 as Mrs. Jones, the woman who sought her destruc- 
 tion." 
 
 "Now, go and give up that appointment as barman 
 in the Canteen. I expect you both at your duty next 
 Sunday, and to see your children clean at school in 
 future." 
 
 On their return home Patrick gave up the Canteen; 
 Mrs. Jones was very angry and said that these Irish 
 know nothing about Society, and do not read the Bible 
 and what not.
 
 240 
 
 Twelve months afterwards Patrick was a full Cor- 
 poral and doing- well, as also were his little family. 
 
 It is very much to the advantage of married people 
 in the Patcheries, when the Officer Commanding a 
 Battery or Company takes interest in their welfare, 
 especially also when Officers' wives visit these quarters. 
 So long as religious affairs are not touched upon 
 and a lady is impartial to all alike, the married people, 
 especially the women will be greatly benefitted by it. 
 However, there are certain women who impose on charit- 
 able and kind ladies in order to get something for them- 
 selves or their husbands some staff appointment or 
 promotion. They tell stories about their neighbours? 
 which, of course, come to the ears of the Command- 
 ing Officer and may do great harm. The worst is, 
 when they are seen running to the Commanding 
 Officer to obtain through the influence of his wife a 
 favour which they generally make a bad use of after- 
 wards. Many a lady has had sad experiences in this 
 respect, and has been disappointed at seeing that all 
 the troubles she has taken to make the married people 
 and their children comfortable and content has been 
 in vain. 
 
 The Military Chaplain also who occasionally visits 
 the Patcheries finds himself in presence of difficulties 
 which baffle all description. It is a common com- 
 plaint that soldiers' wives do not always come to Mass 
 on Sunday, nay, some of them are never seen in 
 Chapel, except perhaps on Christmas at midnight
 
 Mass. The excuses they make to the Priest are mani- 
 fold. But, when a tea-party comes off or a theatrical 
 performance, or a dance, they have time to leave the 
 house in spite of all their difficulties. It is not the 
 care they have to take of little children, nor bad health, 
 nor want of decent clothing which can prevent them 
 from going to these places of amusement. Thus they 
 commit a mortal sin every Sunday when through 
 their own fault Mass is neglected. They give bad ex- 
 ample to their children. They remain ignorant, as 
 they never hear a sermon, and deprive themselves of 
 the choicest blessings of Heaven.
 
 251 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Soldier's Children. 
 
 One of the most important duties married people 
 have to fulfil is the education of their children. No- 
 body will deny the fact, that here in India, especially 
 in a Patcherie, where children see and hear so many 
 things, and learn all that is bad, it is very difficult 
 for parents to bring them up in the fear and love of 
 God. Now this is just the reason why both father 
 and mother should do all in their power in order that 
 the children may get a good, religious education. By 
 doing this, they will secure for themselves the greatest 
 blessings for time and for eternity. 
 
 All the happiness of parents with regard to their 
 children, is that they have (food children, that is to say. 
 children who treat them with every respect, and who 
 obey all their orders cheerfully and without a murmur, 
 not only indeed to show the love and reverence they 
 have for their 1 parents, and the pleasure they have in 
 carrying out even their smallest commands, but also 
 with a view of pleasing God after the example of 
 Jesus Christ, who was subject and obedient to Joseph 
 and Mary at Nazareth during his childhood. Such 
 are the duties of children towards their parents, 
 and the latter may be called happy indeed when Al- 
 mighty God has blessed them with children who res- 
 pect, obey, and love them. Such love and obedience 
 are the greatest blessing to parents, as the Scripture 
 says : "A virtuous child is the consolation, joy. 
 satisfaction, and crown of his father." Prov. XVII. (>.
 
 252 
 
 But how will parents be able to obtain this bless- 
 ing ? Answer, by bringing up their children in the 
 fear and love of God. The reason is because he who 
 loves God will also be anxious to love the Command- 
 ments of God, and a child who is instructed in the 
 fear and love of God will keep particularly the great 
 commandment God has given to all children : ' Ho- 
 nour thy father and thy mother/' Yes ; it is a fact 
 that children, who are imbued with religious princi- 
 ples, and have learned to fear and love the Lord are 
 in every other respect good children, and the joy of 
 their parents. When you see a child who does not 
 behave well, showing little respect to his parents and 
 causing great grief to them by disobedience and dis. 
 respect, then you may know at once that this child is 
 neither pious nor good, and neglects his duties 
 towards God. But, when you see boys or girls, who 
 never omit their prayers, and often receive the Holy 
 Sacraments, then you may conclude, for certain, that 
 they likewise fulfil their duties towards their parents 
 at home, and show them that reverence, obedience 
 and love, which are the distinguishing marks of good 
 children. 
 
 It lies in the power of every parent to have good 
 children, and by giving them a good education to 
 secure for themselves the greatest happiness on earth. 
 Only fill their minds with religious principles, with 
 a hatred of sin and a love of virtue ; send them, if 
 your means allow it. to a good school, where they are
 
 253 
 
 taught not only what they require in a worldly point 
 of view, but also the great truths of our holy religion; 
 see that they learn and understand their Catechism, 
 and frequently encourage them to improve in this 
 knowledge ; watch over their conduct at home and 
 abroad ; do not allow them to join bad companions, 
 nor to read such books as may tend to under- 
 mine their faith and be injurious to good morals ; 
 admonish and correct them, chastise them when they 
 deserve it ; but above all, give them by your conduct, 
 the example of a truly Christian life. 
 
 The most that children learn, they learn from their 
 parents, because their ordinary conversation is with 
 them and because, as they love them the best, so they 
 observe them the most. Children copy the very air, 
 mien, habits, and manners of their parents. It is, 
 therefore, of great consequence that parents should 
 let their children see nothing in them, or hear any- 
 thing from them, but what deserves imitation. 
 
 Now many parents are doing just the contrary, and 
 it seems like a miracle that in spite of an entirely 
 neglected education, there are still good, pious and 
 innocent children in the Patcheries. 
 
 When a child is four or five years old, it should cer- 
 tainly know how to bless itself; it should be able to 
 say the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary, but in many 
 cases the parents do not teach their children any- 
 thing, and leave it all to the Priest visiting the school.
 
 254 
 
 At seven years of age children are supposed to have 
 come to years of discretion, and to be able to dis- 
 tinguish between right and wrong, between good and 
 evil, consequently they can be guilty of mortal sins. 
 They should be prepared for their first confession. 
 But their parents take no interest in that, and are 
 perhaps throwing obstacles in the way of the Priest, 
 who insists upon the first Confession being made. 
 But what about the children's first Communion V 
 Alas ! we see boys and girls of nearly fourteen years 
 of age who have not as yet been to Communion, 
 simply because their parents did not in the least 
 encourage them. Thus it happens that such children 
 go into service or are enlisted in the army, where 
 they are quite out of the control of the Priest and of 
 their parents, remaining ignorant of all that concerns 
 the knowledge and practice of their religion. 
 
 It is also of the greatest importance that father and 
 mother should watch the conduct of their children 
 and not allow them to go to all sorts of places, nor 
 join bad companions. Boys should be prohibited.from 
 staying in the barrack rooms where they pick up 
 filthy and blasphemous language ; girls should not be 
 sent in the dark to the bazaar or canteen, where 
 they are often seen standing about at shops and 
 other places, chatting and laughing with dangerous 
 persons. For real faults they should be punished by 
 their parents. ''The rod and reproof give wisdom, 
 but the child that is left to his own will bringeth his
 
 255 
 
 mother shame" (Prov. XXIX. 15) , and He that 
 spareth the rod hateth his son" (Prov. XIII. 24). 
 Parents w ao neglect to correct their children become, 
 in fact, accomplices of their children's sins. Let them 
 remember what God said to Heli, the High Priest : 
 "I will judge his house for ever, for iniquity ; because 
 he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not 
 chastise them." (I Kings, III. 13.) Many parents 
 make a great mistake, when they punish a child for a 
 trifling thing and merely out of anger, in a passion, 
 while they overlook greater faults. For having 
 broken a cup or glass they will chastise their son or 
 daughter severely, but when they make use of bad 
 language, and neglect their religious duties, nothing- 
 is said to them about it. 
 
 St. Jerome, a Doctor and Father of the Church, was 
 once requested by a Roman lady to advise her con- 
 cerning the education of her daughter. He replied 
 in a few words: " Take care she sees nothing in you 
 or in her father, which, if she imitates, she may offend 
 God." Would to heaven, Christian parents, that none 
 of your children saw anything in you, which, if they 
 imitate, they may offend God ! 
 
 Let not your children see you in a violent passion, 
 that breaks out into cursing and swearing ; for if they 
 imitate you in this they will offend God. 
 
 Let them never hear a lie or immodest word from 
 your lips; for if they imitate you in this they will 
 offend God.
 
 256 
 
 Let them never see in you any carelessness in the 
 service of God, neglect of prayer, and of the Holy 
 Sacraments ; for if they imitate you in this they will 
 offend God. 
 
 It is true that in certain cases parents gain very little 
 in spite of all their exertions to give their children a good 
 education; but these are exceptions. With good reason 
 we may ask what would have become of this or that boy 
 or girl, if he or she had not received a good education? 
 Or rather, what has become of so many children 
 whose education was neglected ? Many men would 
 not be in misery if they had had parents who took good 
 care of them whilst young, but unfortunately they were 
 neglected and had to shift for themselves. How 
 many parents can tell a sad tale in this respect ! You 
 need not go very far to find a mother complaining of 
 her adult children, and now she is heart-broken on 
 account of the treatment she receives at the hands of 
 those who should be the joy, consolation, and support 
 of her old age. They must confess that such are the 
 results of a neglected education ; they must strike 
 their breast and say : " It is my own fault, my most 
 grievous fault ! Ah, if I had given these children a 
 religious education ; if I had sent them to a good 
 Catholic school ; if I had shown them the way to the 
 house of God ; if I had not overlooked their faults 
 but punished them instead of allowing them to do what 
 they liked ; if I had but given them a good example!" 
 Alas ! it is too true ; " What a man sows, the same
 
 257 
 
 he will reap." I have sown bad seed, and now I 
 have the fruit. Jesus Christ asks : "Do men gather 
 grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles ?" Behold? 
 your children degenerated into thorns and thistles. 
 What fruib can you expect? But such is the just 
 judgment which Almighty God inflicts upon parents 
 even in this world. They have not taught their 
 children the fear and love of God, and therefore these 
 children have not learned to respect and love their 
 parents. 
 
 But what should above all induce parents to dis- 
 charge their duties, in the best possible manner, 
 towards their children, is the thought that their own 
 salvation depends on it. " If thou wilt enter into life 
 keep the Commandments," says our Lord. Where- 
 fore parents cannot be saved, when they neglect their 
 children's education. Although they may be pious, 
 fervent in their prayers, charitable to the poor, and 
 good Christians in every other respect, yet if they be 
 guilty of neglecting their children they cannot be saved. 
 
 Besides this Almighty God threatens with woe, 
 that is to say with eternal damnation all those who 
 scandalise the little ones. "Woe to him by whom 
 scandal comes, it were better for him that a mill- stone 
 should be hanged about his neck, and that he should 
 be drowned in the depth of the sea." This curse has 
 a greater weight when they are your own little ones, 
 when you have neglected and scandalised those whom
 
 258 
 
 God the Father entrusted to your care ; whom God 
 the Son has redeemed at the price of His blood ; whom 
 God the Holy Ghost has made His temples by the 
 Sacrament of Baptism. 
 
 You must not forget that you take the place of 
 God, and that these children are His property more 
 than yours. You are their parents according to the 
 flesh, but you did not give them their immortal souls. 
 God will ask those souls from you on the day of judg- 
 ment and what a cause of grief it will be to you, 
 should you see them on the left side of the Judge 
 among the damned, and that, through your unpardon- 
 able fault in neglecting to train them in youth in 
 the knowledge and love of Almighty God!
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 At this stage your friendly guide bids you good-bye 
 for the present ; not because he has nothing more to say, 
 but because the book would transgress the limits fixed 
 for it. 
 
 Ho \vevcr do not be satisfied with having perused this 
 book once only, as you would do with a novel or a period- 
 ical. These instructions must be read over and over 
 again, and you must regulate your life accordingly. 
 
 Those who have been at Aldershot will still remember 
 the regularity of Camp life. The only public clock ( at 
 least some years ago ) is the great Sebastapol Bell, on 
 which the hours are chimed. After a certain hour at 
 night the passenger is challenged with, " Who goes 
 there?" and when the reply is made, "A friend!" 
 The sentinel resumes his beat with the response : " Pass, 
 friend, all is well." Now, in referring to the sentry's 
 challenge, think what a solemn time it will be, when you 
 shall be saluted as above, and how you ought to be a good 
 Christian Soldier, so that when you are, at the closing 
 scene of your life, challenged by the words : " Who comes 
 there? the Master's reply will be: "Pass friend, all is 
 well." 
 
 A, M. D. G.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 QL, DUE 
 
 JUL 06 199! 
 
 Subject to Recall
 
 Vl58 00798 3561 
 
 A 000164536 5