to listen to these wise men, these great teachers so that you may learn from them about the gods of our country."

"The Church of Christ being my teacher," calmly replied Catherine, "what have I to ask concerning false gods, even from the learned philosophers of Alexandria?"

"Tell us, then, since you have nothing to ask," said Caranus, "how one so young could have dared despise the gods of her nation, and, listening to new teachers, have put aside the belief of her nation?"

"Is it a philosopher of Athens who asks me this question? Did not Socrates and Plato, whose disciple you claim to be, acknowledge a belief in the one supreme God? I adore that one God whom they were proud to acknowledge as philosophers, but dared not serve as Greeks."

"But who is this Christ in whose school you have learned to practice what Socrates and Plato taught?" said Myron.

"The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity; that Christ who is the Son of God and who is also Man; that King who was born in a stable and died upon a cross, but who rules the world and the kingdoms thereof, and who shall, one day, come in His glory to judge both the living and the dead."

Her manner even more than her words carried the truth to the minds of the philosophers, and the divine enthusiasm ran, “like a spark among the reeds," through the ranks of those venerable men.

The emperor noticed the change in the grave teachers and saw that Catherine had made them turn toward Christ.

SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA 117

His face flushed with anger as he said in loud tones: “Dolts, idiots, have I brought you here to betray me? Sacrifice to the gods or, by the thunder of Jupiter, you shall burn like the Christians."

Then it was that these great scholars proved themselves to be great indeed; for in the very presence of the emperor they declared themselves Christians, ready also to suffer as Christians.

No time was lost. Soon the forty philosophers were delivered to the flames, and the emperor ordered Catherine to be placed in a cell and allowed to "starve to death.”

Eleven days after, the jailer went to the door of Catherine's cell, and with trembling hand turned the key. The heavy door swung on its hinges, and there sat Catherine, not even wasted, but radiant with a beauty which blinded the eyes and converted the heart of the jailer. He could only fall on his knees and pray to the "God of the Christians."

The news of the miracle spread like wild-fire through the palace. The empress, Porphyry, the head of the emperor's forces, and two hundred attendants, came to visit Catherine in her dungeon, which they found full of fragrance and of light. No sooner did they see this truly celestial maiden than they fell to the floor, and when she spoke to them they could only answer, "We, too, are Christians!"

The emperor's anger was increased, and he commanded that the empress, Porphyry, and all the other converts should be put to death. He ordered that wheels be made, sharppointed, and so arranged that two would revolve one way

and two the other, and that Catherine should be tied to those wheels so that when they revolved she would be torn to pieces.

No sooner had the executioners bound her to the wheelwithin-wheel than fire came down from heaven and the wheels were broken into pieces which struck many among the crowd. There stood Catherine, under the blue African sky, unharmed, surrounded by a crowd of awe-struck people.

The enraged emperor cried, " Beat her with rods and behead her with the sword!" and the soldiers obeyed him and God took her spirit home.

The Church joyfully celebrates her death, which was her birth into heaven, on the twenty-fifth of November.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria is regarded and honored as the special patron of schools and scholars.

K

SLY REYNARD

A hungry fox in quest of prey,
Into an outhouse found his way;

When looking round with skillful search,
He spied a hen upon the perch.

Thought Reynard: "What's the reason why

They place her on a roost so high?
I know not what the use can be,

Unless it's out of spite to me."

SLY REYNARD

As thus he thought, the hen awoke,

And then to her Sly Reynard spoke:

Dear madam, I'm concerned to hear
You've been unwell for half a year;

I could not quell my strong desire
After your welfare to inquire.
But pray come down and take the air;
You'll ne'er get well while sitting there.
I'm sure it will not hurt your cough;
Do give me leave to help you off."

"I thank you, sir," the hen replied;
“I'd rather on my roost abide.
'Tis true enough I've been unwell-
And am so now, the truth to tell,
And am so nervous, you must know,
I dare not trust myself below;
And therefore say to those who call,
I see no company at all;

For from my perch should I descend,
I'm certain in my death 'twould end;
As then, I know, without presumption,
My cough would end in a consumption."

Thus cunning people often find
Their crafty overtures declined
By prudent people, who they thought
For want of wit would soon be caught.

119

THE CURE OF ARS

KATHLEEN O'MEARA

On February 9, 1818, M. Vianney set out toward his unknown parish. The village of Dombes, buried in the midst of fields now covered with snow, was not easy to find. The wayfarer wandered along by the banks of the Fontblin until he lost his way. At last a little shepherd met him and led him back to the right path. The Curé observed the towers of a feudal castle in the distance and asked who lived there. The answer was, " Mademoiselle d'Ars. They call her the mother of the poor."

"That is a beautiful name," remarked the priest, and he walked on.

This amiable lady was almost the first acquaintance he made at Ars, and he soon discovered that the beautiful name was the true expression of a beautiful life. His noble parishioner was a type of the grande dame of old Catholic France. Her small figure was full of grace and dignity; she was spirituelle, clever, and hospitable as a patriarch. Her devotedness to the poor made a great bond between her and the new pastor, and their souls were drawn together in a holy friendship.

Mademoiselle d'Ars was over sixty years of age and deli