Untitled - Libr@rsi

1651 - 52] RELA TION OF 1651 -£2 205
faith, or lessened their devotion.
"
I have re-
' '
marked (says the Father who has furnished these
Memoirs) " that the loss of their possessions, of their
country, of their relatives, and of their friends, does
not touch them so deeply as the loss they have sustained
of their Father and Pastor. They could not
weary of talking about him, and they could not be
'
consoled for his death. He was truly our Father,'
for he loved us as his children.
they would say, '
He kept us alive by his alms and his prayers, when
our famine was at its height. He took ver^^ great
care of our souls. He acted as our Captain, and di-
rected us in our little affairs. It is true, we are
wrong in mourning for him, for he is not dead ; he
is alive in Heaven, where he [53] is praying for his
children.' It must be acknowledged," adds the
Father, " that the innocence, candor, and simplicity
of these people are charming. I have never seen
their equal in docility, obedience, and deference to
their teachers.
" One of their number, who was ill, had me sum-
moned, in order to learn from me how a Christian
ought to conduct himself in his illness. I went to see
him, and found that he was doing just what I could
have commended to him,— he was overcoming the
natural fear of death by an excellent submission to
the will of God, rejoicing to go and see him. The
Father asked him if he had not some thought that
the songs and drums of their Jugglers could help
him.
'
For a long time,' was the answer,
'
I have
been making fun of all those superstitions, and putting
all my hope in him who has the ordering of our
lives.' After he had confessed, he took a Crucifix
that was attached to his Rosary, and, addressing Our