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

tcd NO long ; ho informed us that that prolate was simply
one of his Holiuess's chamberlains, and we were much amused
at this innocent niistako.
"A few moments after Mgr. S came cut of the inner
apartment and invited us to follow him into the presence of
the Holy Father. At that instant wo were seized with a midden
and violent emotion one ; might have heard the hurried
beatings of our hearts, which trembled at once with dread and
pleasure. We were then introduced into a small unjoining
chamber, furnished with the greatest simplicity, and, after having
accomplished nil the prescribed ceremonies, at length found
ourselves at the feet of tlio good and noble Pius IX. I can't
describe to you the supreme, profound emotion that overmastered
ns at that solemn moment. O mother, I am now
amply recompensed for the anguish and bitterness of my
sacrifice.
" The Holy Father, after having permitted us to kiss (he
ring he usunlly wears on his finger, tapped us gently on the
shoulder, saying, wi.h a paternal smile :
"
'Well, my dear Zouaves, you are all Belgians, I sup-
'
pose ?
" '
Yes, Holy Father, '
I answered, ' and our families have
sent us here to throw ourselves at your Holiness's feet, and
assure you of our profound seutimen sof respect and affection,
and devotion to the holiest of caiises. '
"The Holy Father then interrogated us with a solicitude
thoroughly amiable and paternal, speaking to us of our
country, our friends, our parents. He appeared deeply moved
whi 11 he learned that Joseph had made a vow to serve him to
obtain from heaven his mother's cure. As for me, I spoke to
him of you, my good mother, and of my father also ; he then
promised me to pray for you both.
"But when we had delivered to him poor Teresa's offering
(for Martin, in his simplicity, wanted to put the purse into
his hands the moment we had entered the room together), a
tear glistened in his eyes, and he exclaimed w ith a voice of
emotion :
" '
This is truly the widow's mite, and who would have the
name, to your parents. '
"And speaking thus, he gave us three gold medals.
" '
But," he resumed an instant after, addressing Joseph, '
I
forgot that you have a sister. Stay, my son; here's something
for her, too. '
It was n beautiful mother-of-pearl rosary, which
Joseph no doubt will send to Schrambeck.
"He still coutinued.for some moments, to speak tons of our
dear and beautiful country, for which he has told us he has
always had a deep affection, After that I ventured to make
known to him our dearest and most fervent desire, which until
then we had not dared to manifest, fearing to importune the
Holy Father.
"'Holy Father," I said, 'we wonld wish to solicit a very
precious favor from your kindness. Could we have the happi-
ness of receiving Holy Communion from your hands, an 1 in
that way obtain the graces and benedictions of the Lord for
our present enterprise ?'
"'
Assuredly," he replied. 'Beat Mass in my chapel tomorrow
morning. How could I ever refuse anything to my
dear Zouaves.'
" '
'
Holy Father,' we all answered with one accord, we are
profoundly grateful to you for all these proofs of interest and
>:d kindness, and we hope in return, with the help of
(}od, 1 , \y.\ nbld to serve you as becomes good and loyal Bel-
gians that is to say. a:i true, and devoted soldiers of Christ. '
A IXHT.I.I: ,s.ir/////, /;. IS
ops. I hod a long conversation with one f them, who, be-
Boutane, also wore a ring of (ho snme
and whom wo naturally took for a bishop, tilling him Mon-
Bigiior nil the time our couversali m lasted, although he hadn't
tin 1
pectoral cr,>f>s. Wo afterwards asked tlio "Then the Holy Father b in, and < vr-n d'
to blrBH .some beads EUli i.t, with us; after
which ho permitted ns one :id we left
the chamber. But suddenly a chamberlain hurried after
me,'
chaplain of St. and said the Holy Father desired to upon); with
Peter's the name of tho worthy bishop with whom wo
"
ehat- Would yon believe it, my dear 1:1 dunce
had read my noul, hu had discovered, diviii"d
secret I confided to you in the garden bei
lire, and which so deeply moved your Christian heart. And
9 were now humid, and his tender a:.d emotional
ha 1 a prophetic tone when ho murmured in my ear, while I
prostrated myself before him :
1 Go in peace, my son; the Lord is with you; you have
ihatd love on your side. The peril is grc-::t, pei
but the work is noble and holy, and you will trium
" O mother ! mother ! those : words of hope hit ion
fi'nco then constantly resound in my ears. Wan i; ni t our
Lord Himself who deigned to speak to me by the voicu of Ilin
minister and representative on earth ?
"
It is impossible for me to describe to you here the senti-
ments of joy, gratitude and ecstasy that filled our hearts after
this visit to the Holy Father. Martin, the simple;- 1 ami least
eloquent among us, was the one who knew, however, how to
express them in the Biiblimest manner when he answered at tho
moment when, traversing the Vatican, we wanted him to admire
all those marvels of art and nature: 'It's little I card
about that now ! All I desire more is to see the Holy Fa; her
again, to receive Communion from his hands, and then die for
him. In that case I hope the good God will consent to coll me
straight to heaven."
"Surely he was right our bravo and honest Martin.
assuredly we are very happy in having seen our well-be
And
Pius IX. to-day, in having conversed with him liko children
with their father; and to receive to-morrow the Body and
Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ from his paternal hand."
"Will our compatriot's wish be one day accomplished ? I
don't know; but in any case I hope, my good luothc :.
you sstill feel courageous enough to be the mother of a m
if God, in His wisdom, should have so decreed it.
" And now, farewell, dear mother; I must prepare t-> receive
my Redeemer to-morrow. You know well my
moi-t fervent
prayers will be for you, for your consolation, for
"
your happiness
and my father's.
courage to refuse it ? But, my children,' he continued, 'it is
quite necessary that I should do something in turn, (o
worthily recognise your devotion and your faithful affection.
Stay ; here's a little souvenir I charge you to transmit, in Victor, having finished his letter, was thinking of the great
my
joy, the inestimable favor that awaited him with the first
glimpse of morning, when he fell into a sweet, peaceful deep.
But this sleep was soon troubled by agitated dream:), by a
strange vision !
The young man saw stretching before him, farther than his
eye c.juld reach, a limitless ocean, whose giant waves swollen
and agitated by the breath of a powerful storm, rose hoarse-
resounding to the clouds of heaven, scattering everywhere
rocks, dark and daup-cr-
dread, destruction and death ! Naked
ous, lifted their menacing ridges high over tho troubled w ,
lingo fierce birds flew along the crests of th billows, and enorinous
marine monsters, with scaly baclis and confused and hor-
rible forms, raised their gaping mouths above the surface of
the waves in the hope of gulping down the unfortunate shipwrecked
marineis who were to bo the sport of this horrible
tempest.
Sti.l in that vast chaos of light and darkness, clouds and
foam, u noble vessel floated, cleaving tho roaring waters and
preserving in its course a sovereign tranquillity and indescribable
majesty. Despite tho fury of tho windy and tho mighty
wrath of the waves, it traced, in the midst of the sombre rocks,
its broad and luminous track ns it might have done on the bosom
of some beautiful blue lake on a peaceful summer evening. One
had said that all the mariners who manned it were tranquilly
sleeping, for none of them was seen in the lofts or rigging ; the
majestic vessel seemed to steer, bend and move (f its own ac-
cord without anybody's help. However, calm and soli
1
ary, a
m. n was seated at the rudder; it was a venerable old man,
whoso features, at once august and gracioiu, very closely re-