awoke, and, praising the poor, enthusiastically exclaimed: "With God's help, since the poor are the representatives of Jesus Christ, I will not die till I have the honour of being one of them!" Our Divine Master long ago said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." St. Bernard calls attention to the fact that Jesus does not say will be, but is the kingdom of heaven; for those who sincerely renounce all the riches so ambitioned by the world, not only enjoy in this life an ineffable peace, becoming the blessed in heaven, but can lay claim to the kingdom of glory purchased with the earthly goods which they despise for Jesus Christ; and He improves their lot with respect to the children of the world, whom He endows with earthly things, which are here to-day and away to-morrow; but the right to the kingdom of the just He reserves for the poor of spirit, as the first-born sons of God. And they are perfectly at ease, because free from the weight of riches which attach the heart to this miserable exile; and contenting themselves with what is precisely necessary for their journey through life, they hasten on to that blessed land where lies their real treasure. To this poverty of spirit, so praised and beloved by Jesus, are due the illustrious victories and triumphs which the saints gained over the devil; to this nakedness and renunciation of the things of earth they owe their wonderful progress in all kinds of virtue. For, as St. Gregory thoughtfully remarks, the day the devil finds in the soul no affection for things here below, that day he is conquered, for he has nothing to lay hold on. "And so,

if you wish," says the saint, "to wrestle manfully with the devil, that he may not throw you to the ground, divest yourself of all worldly things, which are like the clothes of the body which the opponent lays hold of to bring his adversary down."

This resolution was taken by our saint, illuminated by

that mysterious dream, and nothing could prevent him from carrying out his purpose. When Peter brought to mind the torments suffered by those condemned to eternal flames under the yoke of the infernal spirits, and the ineffable glory of the just, who, n the company of the angels, bless and praise the King of heaven for all eternity, all the labours of this world appeared as nothing, so that they freed him from those atrocious pains and gained for him the joys of the blessed. In order, then, to make this great business more and more secure, he made up his mind to divest himself of all, that he might walk without tripping in the path of the divine commandments. So one day he called a slave, whom he employed as clerk, and said to him: "My dear boy, I am going to tell you a secret; and, remember, if you let it out, or do not accept my proposal, I will sell you to the pagans. When he got the slave's consent, he gave him ten pounds weight of gold, and said: "Take me to Jerusalem, and there sell me as a slave to some Christian, and give the price to the poor." The honest clerk refused to do such a thing; but when threatened again with being sold to the pagans, he obeyed. Peter disguised himself, and off went the two to the Holy City, where Jesus had died, being made a slave for love of us.

When they reached the Holy Places, and were passing through the streets of Jerusalem, the slave met a silversmith with whom he was acquainted, and addressed him thus: " 'Buy from me a first-rate slave I have here with me. You would say he is of noble family.' "How can I buy him," replied Zoilus, for that was his name, when I have not the means to pay for him ?" "I will give him to you on credit," said the clerk; "don't let a good thing like this pass you, for you will find God will bless you through his diligence and Christian virtues." They made the bargain at thirty pieces of money, and the silversmith became the master of the ragged slave. The clerk asked

the purchaser to keep the contract secret, and, when he could pay, to give the price to the poor, without defrauding a farthing. When the clerk had faithfully complied with his undertaking, he retired in liberty to Constantinople, wondering at the extraordinary ways by which the Lord was conducting his servant.

Now we have our rich taxgatherer transformed into a poor slave for love of Jesus Christ, and bringing down on his owner the blessings of heaven with his prayers and heroic virtues. If masters only knew how important to them it is to have servants who are good and fervent Christians, not only in the performance of their duties, but in procuring the blessing of the Almighty on the work of their hands, they surely would not look for wretches without the fear of God, who shun their regular toil, and steal all they think they can safely lay their hands on. Peter was put in charge of the kitchen as cook, and he attended table so well, and kept everything so neat and clean, that you would say he had never done anything else in his life-though, of course, he never was employed at such duties before. Nor did he, for all that, neglect the pious exercises of a good Christian, nor did his numerous occupations prevent him from giving some time to prayer. He also practised continual mortification, ever keeping his eyes fixed on the glory of God and the eternal reward he hoped for. Peter's humility, goodness, silence, and diligence brought down showers of benedictions on the family; but his fellow-servants mocked him as a fool and maltreated him; and his master, seeing all this, wanted to set him free, retaining him in his house and treating him as a brother. But Peter would not hear of it, and besought him to allow him to carry that cross, which he appreciated above all the things of earth. If he sometimes felt the burden a little heavy, he was not without heavenly consolations to lighten his load. Many a time, when he felt bowed

down by the weight of tribulation, the Divine Pastor appeared to him, clothed with the coat he had given to the shipwrecked sailor, and, showing him the thirty pieces for which he was sold, would say: "Be not sad, brother Peter, for you see I have here the price of your slavery and all you are suffering for Me. Courage, then, and be constant in your humiliation till you are discovered." Peter was animated by these visits to labour and suffer for Jesus Christ, and left no stone unturned to copy the example of Jesus crucified.

He was contentedly pursuing his ordinary course, when one day some dealers in old silver went to visit the Holy Places, and put up in the house of Peter's master. During dinner, when he was serving at table, the guests began to look sharply at him, and then look again, and at last one said: "How very like Peter the taxgatherer is this butler! The holy slave hid his face as far as possible, for the guests were not unknown to him; but the conviction growing stronger on them, they said to the silversmith: " Zoilus, if we are not greatly mistaken, you have no common personage in your service." They did not, however, venture to say it for certain, for his duties and mortifications had changed Peter considerably. But in the end one of them, regarding him still more attentively, exclaimed: "It is undoubtedly he! No wonder we missed him so long!"

When the humble servant found he was discovered, he dropped the plates and ran to the door to escape. There was a deaf-mute at the door, and the saint, without thinking, said, with authority: "In the name of God, open the door for me." And the deaf-mute heard and answered: "Yes, sir." And when the door was opened, the servant of God was off on the instant. When the deaf-mute found himself miraculously cured, he ran to the dining-room, and cried: "Master, master!!!"

They were all astonished at hearing him speak; and then he added: "The cook has escaped. . . . He must be a great servant of God, who could give me my speech so suddenly!" Out they ran in search of the fugitive saint; but all in vain, for he had disappeared. Peter retired to Constantinople, to pass the rest of his days. there in obscurity. We know not what examples of virtue he gave there; for what we have told is all that is left us by St. John the Almoner, as it is related in his life; but undoubtedly, after filling one scale with good works, and emptying the other by penance, he went to heaven to receive from Jesus the hundred-fold of the fleeting goods he had lent to the poor, and now transformed into lasting and eternal treasures. The Greek Church celebrates his feast on the 20th of January.

BLESSED FACIUS, SILVERSMITH.

I.

At the end of the twelfth century was born, in Verona, the blessed Facius, celebrated for his skill in the art of silver-working, and more renowned still for his heroic virtues. We know not what his morals were in the agitated period of youth, in which are laid the foundations either of virtues which will adorn a riper age, or