Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

mother was seized with a profound
A i>orr,i.i: SACRIFICE.
consternation. At. first a.
deadly pale: |>read hetOOUntenanoe, almost as i|iiirl. ly
fired with u feverish flush. She lio\ve,l her head, clasped hex
, and was for sin instant on tbo point of fainting, under
the pressure of thin violent interior emo'ion.
" Your son," continued the "
priest, not haviug the courage
to communicate to you his pious resolution, charged me with
speaking to you, poor mother, in his name. I thought it more
prudent to wait. You were for a long time too wc:tk, still suf-
his future, his life, and perhaps his whole happiness !"
" Here I urn, mother," gently responded Joseph, who had
fallen at Madame Van Dael's knees, taking the him 1 of that
beloved mother and kissing it fervently; " shall I go, good
mother? Oh ! accede to my prayer ; say I may go !"
"All! my child, what love! My Joseph, thou fillesi heart with joy and sadness."
my
"But you'll not retain me, you won't, dear mother?
Heaven itself wills it. The Lord, who heard me, has subscribed
this engagement and poured down His graces on us.
The first part of that vow is already accomplished; say when
shall I be permitted to accomplish the second ?"
Alas ! a painful struggle must then have certainly wrung the
wid w's heart; but it was easy to foresee that pious resignation,
fervent Christian heroism would in the end triumph over pa-
ternal regrets, affections and tears. The widow's sad glances
at one time were raised to heaven at another time rested on
her sou; then, as it were, a ray of joy, pride and hope gleamed
in her eyes. The huml'.le and valiant Christian, the devoted
mother, was going to unite her sacrifice to that of her sou.
"Could I retain you, my son!" she cried. "Oh! no; I
don't wish to appear less valiant, less generous than you. As
stivngt.li to bear it. Go, and when you shall have the happiness
of saluting the. Holy Father, te.l him if I had millions I
would joyfully send them to him, but not having them, I send
him my only t-ou. We pray God earnestly that He may restore
h.ni tons. And, my son, if it should please God that you
should sacrifice your life in His honor, be resigned to that holy
will, and face danger with a joyful heart, for, know well, that I
join heartily in your sacrifice; I bless the intention, I accept
the consequences, and 1 would esteem myself happy if you
io perish for the triumph of Christ and the holy faith.
Kriy all that on my behalf to the Holy Father, and ak him for
me, in exchange, his prayers and his benediction. And now,
my beloved son, go fearlessly, joyfully, hopefully; your
i
r, whom you have saved, confirms your vow and joins in
your saeri
The voice of the courageous mother died away in pri-
cing these words. The new Pontifical Volunteer, transported
with gratitude, happiness, and love, seized the. affectionate
mother's huiid, clasped it warmly and pressed it to his heart.
"PRO
m.
We have not yet baoome i 1 with the hero of our
Let our readers kindly allow us to introduce him to
We ore in a large, superb gallery eov
of an elegant house in the city of Antwerp. The m-pert of this
fering too much, for it to be possible to inilict upon you at
that time this news, this bitter grief. At length, however,
yielding to Joseph's prayers, his reiterated entreaties, I decided
on making known to you this sacred vow, on revealing to
you the secret. And now, dear madame, it is for you to de-
appartment, sumptuous
i cide. Shall Joseph depart or remain with iis, grieving
o
doubt, but half resigned and obedient to his mother's will'"
"Where is he ? where is my amiable, my generous child ?"
cried Mailame Van Dael, her heart "
palpitating. Ah ! I knew
well he loved me notTa doubt of it but could I ever think he
loved me BO tenderly, that he was willing to snerifico for me
aa it is, ia somewhat stningn.
ilile to distinguish the color and appearance of the tapestries
on the walls, for tho large shelves disappear
selves under the mass of books, big and little, old and
bound and unbound, ranged in order and with a certain elegance.
Allow us to examiSe for an instant this chamber and these
books; for when we are opposite to a bookcase it is
easj
a few moment's examination, to ascertain the t. tud-.-s
and opinions of him who has accumulated and consults all
those works. Qui se ressemble a'asscmblr, says the old
French proverb.
Now what books do we find here ? Voltuiie,, Bor.
Diderot, Volney, dangerous acquaintances! A little further
on; Dante, Tasso, Milton,
are more reassuring.
Shakespeare, Vondel;- these titles
The ihird compartment contains purely literary works, written
in different languages Flemish, French, English, Swed-
ish, German, &c. No need to give the catalogue.
Here, further on, is an imposing collection ef scientific
books, history, antiquities, natural sciences, jurispn:what
not. To my thinking it might be that that grave studious
person for the moment seated yonder and studying at his
desk, was only an indiffereutist in matters of religion, a libre-
jx-ii.-ir.iir as it is called uow-a-days.
A libre-penseur ! Assuredly it is a great rarity among our
good people of the Campine! And, honest Catupinese who
listen to me, if ever you come across one of these r;iro birds,
put on your spectacles directly and contemplate him with all
due respect, for it is an object interesting to look at and curious
t i etudy, the instructive and amusing sight of which will
recompense you for your pains.
A libre-penseur is then a particular species of animal, ;h;:t
well as you offered yourself for your mother's safety, I wish to
offer my mother's love and tears on the altar of my Lord for
th" safety of the Church, His spouse, and our common mother.
Go, my son. My love, indulges
my thoughts, nay benediction shall not
e.-ase to follow you. Oh ! certainly, your sister and I will
suffer deeply, cruelly by your abseuce; but the God of goodness
to \vin iin we give you up to-day will undoubtedly grant us
in and ':
imagines many things, but, however,
very wire of being able, to justify his title that is to say, to
think freely.
But wo have not yet done examining the room.
In tbe centre are placed low tables supporting glass cases ;
only a narrow passage separates these crowded cases from the.
bookcases in which are ranged the volumes we have examined.
Here are placed and classed, according to their importance
and antiquity precious collections of medals and coins from
the time of the Bomaus down to our days, and all shapes and
all countries ; these round, oval, octagonal or square those of
gold, silver, or copper, or even nickel. Here and there
antique urns of pottery, marble, or stone, containing a littlo
grey ashes or fragments of broken bones then flint ;
hatchets,
rusty swords and poniards, trinkets, and pieces of anno/.
Further on still, carefully classed and ticketed, we see skeletons
of animals, great and small, and quite a multitude of
stuffed birds, from the ostrich, roamer of the desert, to tho
humming-birds those melodious ,
winged flowers then eollee-
;
tions of insects, minerals, seals, portraits, pos
a word, this cabinet contains acollection of collections.
is
; iu
L
at the very end of the gallery, a multitude of small wooden
figures, rudely carved, v ry like those children draw on their
dans books two big dots forming the eyes, a stroke the
mouth, and another stroke the nose. Beneath these !u
"
Falso
grotesque figurues we read the :
following inscription
divinities of the North American .savages.''
But where is the image of the true Saviour ?
God, of the Crucified'
You will look in vain for it ; it is nowhere to be found in :