Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

Meantime the nurse returned to her master's house. When she entered the empty dwelling, and thought of the miserable discovery that awaited her employers, she became deeply agitated. When in the evening the rabbi and his wife returned, they were horror-stricken to find their darling gone, and his guardian, who had always carefully tended him, alone upon her knees in a state bordering on insanity. Oh! what words can paint their anguish? In vain did they question her. She could make no coherent answer. They rushed frantically into the streets, and inquired from every one; but nothing could they learn. The authorities would not help them, for they were Jews. Day after day their inquiries

MAISONNEUVE, FIRST GOVERNOR OF MONTREAL.

were repeated, to no purpose. No trace of the lost one could be found. They mourned for him with the mourn. ing of Jacob for Joseph, as for one dead. Nay, their grief was even deeper than the patriarch's. They had not eleven other sons to console them; Elhanan was their only child.

All the time he was only at a very short distance from them, but that made no difference. Inside the high, strong walls of his monastic prison he was as much out of sight As if he had been exiled in the wilds of Siberia. With bitter cries and tears did he implore his cruel keepers to release him, that he might see his dear parents again. But hey were inexorable, and when he persisted, they would

punish him severely, or hit Lim dry up his tears, as they would be as kind to him as. his parents. At last his grief so agitated his tender frame that he fell into a violent: fever. For many days he lay tossing upon his hard Led. The Sisters became. anxious about their young

charge, and nursed him carefully and kindly. But. they had not a mother's. heart or a mother's hands. As the delirium rose, the un-. happy child screamed aloud. with piteous and passionate. eagerness for his mother. But she came not.

[graphic]

At last the fever took a turn; the crisis passed safely; slowly the little sufferer gathered strength. In time. he was allowed to walk, as. well as his feeble, shrunken limbs could carry him, in the convent garden. Very weak was he become in mind as well as body. He tried hard to recall the past; but: it was all a blank. His memory was for the time quite gone. He thought and thought again till his head reeled with the effort; but could not recollect where he came. from, or who brought him where he was. All recent events he could remember well, his intellect was otherwise unimpaired, and as soon as he could bear it his. education was commenced. No pains were spared to instill into his susceptible mind as much as he could receive of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic faith. In this waythree years passed, and then he was removed to a Jesuit school at Wurzburg. There, under the tuition of the:

[graphic][merged small]
[ocr errors]

ablest and most experienced masters, his mind rapidly exp.nded. His taste was cultivated by the careful study of the ancient classics, and his reason exercise by logic, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. As he grew older, he was taken through a long and extensive course of patristic reading. Theology was systematically taught him, as far as it was possible to teach it without direct recourse to the fountain-head of God's revealed truth. Thus ten years glided by, and the youth, now developing into a shrewd and learned churchman, was sent to receive his final training at Rome, the centre then, as now, of medieval learning and Papal power.

Gregory VII., better known as Hildebrand, was then the Pope, and had established the despotic rule for which his name is so notorious. The young Israelite was soon brought under the notice of the Holy Father. He quickly discerned in him such capability and promise, that he took him under his own personal tuition and oversight. With so powerful a patron at his side, his future success was from that moment assured. A brilliant and prosperous career opened before him. His promotion was as rapid as possible even in those days. At the earliest opportunity he was ordained priest, and when only twenty-three years of age was made bishop.

Soon after a circumstance occurred of singular interest in connection with the young bishop's Jewish origin. The Pope, seeing in his protégé a special aptitude for carrying out his ambitious schemes, dispatched him as Nuncio to various important places to preach the celibacy of the clergy and the absolute power of the Pope. In the course of his progress, the bishop visited Mayence. During his stay amidst the scenes of his early life, strange misgivings about his origin arose in his mind. In vain did he strive to recall the circumstances of his childhood. A hazy, undefined mist floated between him and those early days; still he was conscious of a strong, though unaccountable, attraction toward the despised and persecuted people to whom he belonged. Something shortly occurred during a visit to the town of Biugen, near Mayence, which called into action this latent sympathy. He was driving one day in state through the streets, when an aged rabbi, short in stature, with long, flowing, silvery beard, sallow complexion, and piercing eyes, rushed in front of the horses, and forced his way to the door of the carriage. He was evidently much agitated. The bishop was struck by his intense earnestness and venerable aspect, and at once bade the driver stop. The rabbi held out a paper. "The bishop took it and read it. Its contents deeply moved him. The petitioner's daughter, described as a sweet and lovely girl of twenty, had been carried off by brigands, who infested the neighborhood. In vain had he implored help from the magistrates. It was enough for them that he was a Jew. They would take no steps toward the recovery of his daughter. He was in despair. He had no money to ransom her from the rapacious robbers, and was utterly powerless in the matter. The visit of the bishop shed a glimmer of light over the distressing situation. He had heard it whispered that the great ecclesiastic was a singular exception to the bigotry of his order, and therefore, with considerable confidence, he laid his case before him. This was fully justified by the result. The bishop warmly grasped the old man's hand, assuring him that he wonld do his utmost to restore him his daughter. His influence with the civil authorities compelled attention to the matter, and by timely and vigorous efforts the girl was recovered. This act of justice, so promptly and graciously performed, won the hearts of the rabbi, his family, and his people. With the spirit of gratitude, seldom wanting amongst the Jews, the good bishop's name is still, after all

these centuries, embalmed in the memories and hearts of their descendants.

Many years now passed, during which the conflicts between Church and State, as represented by Henry IV. and Gregory VII., were raging with such increasing bitterness as to occupy all his time and thoughts. The memorable humiliation of the Emperor soon followed. For three suc cessive days in the depths of Winter, exposed to frost and snow, barefooted, bareheaded, and clad in the white gar ment of penitents, the monarch stood within the walled inclosure of the Castle of Canossa, doing penance, and beseeching the Pope to restore him his dominions. O this occasion the imperious Pontiff is said to have been attended by the bishop. A natural reaction ensued. A few years after, by a just retribution, the Pope had himself to fly into exile. In his flight he was accompanied by his faithful and devoted pupil. At length, in 1085, he died, with these words upon his lips: "I have loved justice and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile."

Through the frequent changes and violent struggles of those unhappy times, our legend does not conduct us. It will suffice to say that in the year 1130, after the death of Honorius II., took place one of those schisms between rival Popes by which the pages of medieval history are too often stained. Peter-the Peter de Leon of historyalias the Elhanan of our story, was set up in opposition to Gregory the Cardinal of St. Angelo, whose pontifical title was Innocent II. The usurper took the name of Anacletus II.

The sequel of his life was even more remarkable and tragic than its beginning. Having now reached the zenith of his ambition, and being far advanced in age, he again became anxious to know the truth about his own origin. The strange misgivings as to his early history gained strength within him. He burned with an intense longing * to burst the spell of mystery, and to know who he was, and whence he had come.

By a strange coincidence, the Director of the Jesuit seminary at Wurzburg, who was still living, wished to relieve his conscience before his death of the secret he had hitherto j-alously guarded. Without delay he came to Rome for the purpose, and, in a private interview with His Holiness, broke to him the startling facts. Much moved by the disclosure, Anacletus resolved to sift the matter thoroughly, and if it were so, to see his kindred face to face. Great caution was of course needful in so delicate a business, and he proceeded in this way. He issued a challenge to the Jews of Mayence and its neighborhood by a certain day to show cause for their obstinate rejection of the Catholic faith. He called upon them to depute one of their number as an apologist, whom they should send to Rome to discuss with the Pope in person the great questions at issue between them. The now very aged Simon the Great was, as Anacletus fully expected, unanimously elected. Bending under the weight of years, he still retained the force of his acute intellect, and was as full as ever of zeal and energy in defense of his religion. At the appointed time he came to Rome, and was hospitably entertained in the Castle of St. Angelo. It was a most painful undertaking for the venerable rabbi. The change from his quiet home and studious life to the pomp and excitement of the Papal city, was utterly uncongenial to him. Still more was he distressed by the sights and sounds of idolatry on every side. But, for the sake of the important interests confided to him, he bore up as patiently as he could. Several days were spent in warm and lengthened discussions. All the arguments from history and reason which the Pope could adduce were skillfully and earnestly employed. Deep affection for his parent,

added to his zeal as a Churchmin, prompted the strongest appeals and the most ingenious reasonings. But all were ineffectual to shake in the very least the convictions of the rabbi, and Anacletus abandoned the atte upt in despair. Before his departure, however, he invited his father to a strictly private interview in his own library. After some general conversation, the Pope proposed a game of chess. From his childhood he had been initiated into the mysteries of that immortal game, but he had to put forth his utmost skill against a very formidable antagonist. The contest was long and intricate. At last the Pope made a very clever and unusual move. The rabbi started and fell back in his chair. His face grew ashy pale; every line and wrinkle which time and thou. ht had imprinted on his features became deepened; his whole frame shook as with a palsy. As soon as he recovered a little, he scrutinized every lineament of the Pope's face. "Elhanan!" with hoarse, trembling voice he exclaimed; "Elhanan! art thou indeed my son, my long-lost son? That was the very move I taught thee. Thou must be in very truth my darling child." Further concealment was impossible. The father fondly embraced the son, whom he had so long mourned as dead, The son also was deeply moved. In the secrecy of that chamber the Pontiff threw aside all official dignity. The long pent-up fountain of the man's heart burst open. Loving appeals and affectionate pleadings followed. The Pope's faith, not founded on the only infallible authority of God's Word, gradually gave way. Based as it was on the shifting sands of human traditions, it could not withstand the rabbi's searching logic. The deep impressions of his childhood, too, revived; and he resolved to return to his ancestral creed, as well as to the home from which

he had been so long estranged. Disguised as a peasant, he went out with his father by a secret door. He disappeared suddenly from Rome, never to return, and left his rival, Innocent, the unopposed occupant of his chair.

Soon afterward, to the immense joy of his parents and of the whole Jewish community, he appeared again in his native city, no longer as a proud ecclesiastic, but as an humble, despised Israelite. Again he shared his father's rabbinic studies, and attended the synagogue. Unhappily he was not suffered to pass his few remaining days in peace. The trumpet soon rang throughout Europe, summoning all to the holy war. The Jews of Mayence, to a man, resisted the call. The rabbi's son was foremost in encouraging his people in their refusal to take arms. Boldly did he exert all his failing energy and eloqnence in pleading with them against the crusade, as if it were an unhallowed warfare. But vain was their opposition. Cruel persecution was the only result. Vengeance fell upon them all. The venerable ex-Pope was marked out by the incensed priesthood as the object of their special enmity. Having refused to recant his errors and to return into the bosom of their Church, he was dragged to the stake. Undaunted, undismayed, he let his ruthless persecutors have their way. As the lurid flames kindled round him, and wrapped his aged, wasted limbs in their hot embrace, he su ldenly tore open his clothes, and disclosed to the astonished crowd the red cross imprinted on his breast.

"See that !" he cried, with a hoarse voice, heard above the loud crackling of the fagots. "See what I was, and what I am now again! A Jew I was born, aud, do what you will, a Jew I will die. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.'" Thus perished Elhanan, the rabbi's son, in heart always a Jew, in name and office a Pope. Truly neither the cunning nor the wrath of man can work the righteousness of God.

GOVERNOR MAISONNEUVE.

PAUL DE CHOMEDEY, SIEUR DE MAISONNEUVE, the first Governor of Montreal, was born in Champagne, France, and died in Paris, September 9th, 1676. He was selected as the leader of a band of colonists that were destined for Canada, and sailed with them in three ships, arriving at Quebec Angust 20th, 1641. He founded Montreal in May, 1642, was installed as its first Governor, and held that office for twenty-two years. In 1652 he visited France, and brought back another company of settlers. He was an able administrator, maintained great order in the settlement, organized the militia for service against the In iians, and, by his vigorous and courageous policy, gained the respect of the hostile tribes. He retained office under the Sulpicians, when the island was conveyed to them, but was removed in June, 1664, by De Méry, the Governor-genera', who was jealous of his popularity and success. was sent back to France by the Marquis de Tracy in 1665. No charges were made against him, but finding that there was no hope of his restoration to office, he resigned in 1669. A pension was bestowed upon him by the Seminary of Paris for his services to the Catholic Church in Canada.

QUEER PRAYERS.

He

THE modern rage for abbreviations, especially in the names of societies, wao strikingly exemplified the other day at a certain woman's prayer-meeting. One of the sisters, who was very much interested in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, the Woman's Home Missionary Society, and the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, prayed fervently, with a charming certainty that she would be understood: "O Lord, bless the W. C. T. U., the W. F. M. S., the W. H. M. S. and the W. E. and I. U !"

"When I hear stories of odd prayers," said a certain colonel on hearing the one just told, "I always think of one I heard offered by an old darky down on Ship Ieland during the war. He prayed: 'O Lord, ranshack the worl' all ober on a white horse, and gib us all charity like bounding brass and a simple tingle !'"

A distinguished Boston divine preached a few Sundays ago for a cousin who is pastor of a church forty miles out in the country. His relative was somewhat flurried by the presence of the city minister, and in the opening prayer with which he prefaced the other's sermon, he prayed: 'Help Thy servant who is to speak to us to-day. Without Thee-help him-for-” He stopped, tried to collect himself, and finished-"for, O Lord, he can't do much, anyway!"

[ocr errors]

The pastor of a South End church called on a bereaved widow of his congregation, the other day, and began consoling her with Scriptural texts. Her husband had long been an invalid, and the minister's selections bore on the rest into which he had entered.

"Yes," she sighed, "and there is one beautiful verse in the Psalms that applies to me that I think of so much, 'Othello's occupation is gone !"-Boston Record.

POPULATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES.-The census in England and Wales was taken on April 4th, 1881, as 25,974,439, and on the hypothesis that the rate of increase or decrease that prevailed between the census of 1871 and that of 1881 was maintained, the population in the middle of 1886 was estimated to be 27,870,586. This means au increase of about 7.8 per cent. in the five years,

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]
[graphic]

"THEY FOUND HIM LYING OVER THE PIANO IN HIS BOOM, A LITTLE LACH FRILL UP AGAINST HIS LIPS, STAINED

WITH HIS BLOOD."

66

FUNNY BEETHOVEN.

BY ROBERT C. V. MEYERS.

netting.

"THE idea," Miss Palethorpe said to her aunt, Mrs. | placidly counting the stitches in the silk purse she was Cartwright, in the insecure fastness of the watering-place hotel, of disposing of me as though I were a mere chattel, with the hereditaments appertaining thereto,' as a legal paper might put it. It is the most monstrous proceeding outside of a French novel. And Judge Lemon's reverting to it makes it positively vulgar." During this outbreak Mrs. Cartwright had gone on

VOL. XXIV. No. 3.-14.

"Hilda," she now said, "you are as unreasonable as usual. You fly off at a tangent in the old way. I simply inform you that Judge Lemon is coming home from Europe, and has written in the most delicate terms of that clause in your father's will where it is most romantically requested that, should you and the judge, on

« AnteriorContinuar »