Footprints: old and new; or, a nun's mission. By L. Y. B

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FOOTPRINTS OLD AND NEW; OR, & Quit's jaissicm. BY L. Y. B. AUTHOR OF "THE QUEEN'S LIEGES," " LOST OR SOLD," "GUILE AND SIMPLICITY," etc. BURNS AND OATES. LONDON : GRANVILLE MANSIONS, ORCHARD STREET, W. NEW YORK : CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY CO., BARCLAY STREET. Dedicatee* (By PERMISSION) TO HER GRACE THE MOST NOBLE DUCHESS DOWAGER OF NORFOLK; AS A HUMBLE EXPRESSION OF THE DEEPEST PEELINGS OF KESPE0T AND GRATITUDE. PEEFACE. A simple record, prepared for indulgent friends and a beloved noviciate, cannot promise to the learned or the travelled reader much that is new. It only aims at imparting information to those who are not literary students, and can never hope to visit scenes which possess for them the deepest interest. The brief notes respecting the Australian colonies were suggested by our many experiences that the ideas formed of them by Europeans generally are rather confused, and the incidents of the voyage across the globe have been dwelt upon because our English friends regarded our intention to return home with awe and pity.

Our ocean voyages certainly did not justify the remark of Dr. Johnson, that " to journey by sea is to dwell in a prison, with the chance of being drowned." Perhaps, also, this little work may tend to give a more distinct reality to ideas floating in most minds respecting the wonderful old city that was for eight hundred years the capital VI

Preface

. of the ancient civilised world, and has been for more than twice as many the central city of Christendom. The accident related in chapter viii. really occurred as stated, though it may remind the reader of a passage in a popular writer. With every desire and effort to be accurate, success may not have been always attained ; but if a quotation may be excused, a well-known couplet suits the case exactly — " Be to my faults a little blind, Be to my virtues very kind." L. Y. B. Victoria, 1880. CONTENTS. CHAP. PACE I. NEW ZEALAND I II. SYDNEY 15 III. VICTORIA 20 IV. PARTINGS 26 V. LIFE ON BOARD .- . . . . 31 VI. AUSTRALIA LEFT BEHIND 36 VII, THE VOYAGE 40 VIII. POINT DE GALLE 46 IX. CEYLON LEFT BEHIND 5 1 X. THE RED SEA 55 XI. IN THE DESERT 62 XII. BRINDISI 71 XIII. ANCONA 7S XIV. START FOR ROME 84 XV.

ROME 93 XVI. EXPERIENCES IN ROME 101 XVII. THE VATICAN I IO XVIII. THE POPE AND ST. PETER'S Il6 XIX. ROME : ITS RUINS AND MONUMENTS 1 CONTENTS. PAGE CHAP. XX. ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS ■ I32 XXI. THE TRUE GLORY OF ROME I3& XXII. ART-TREASURES 146 XXIII. ST. JOHN LATERAN . . 153 XXIV. THE COLOSSEUM AND OTHER RUINS 1 58 XXV. THE FORUM AND OTHER RUINS 1 64 XXVI. A GLIMPSE OF ROYALTY . 171 XXVII. LINGERING AMONG THE RUINS 177 XXVIII. CHURCHES IN ROME . . 1 88 XXIX. EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS . . -195 XXX. ANCIENT MEMORIALS AND MODERN CHANGES . . . 200 XXXI. FINAL VISIT TO THE VATICAN 206 XXXII. LAST VISIT TO ST. PETER'S 214 XXXIII. FAREWELL TO PROSTRATE ROME FOOTPRINTS: OLD AND NEW. Book I.

Chapter I. New

Z E ,4 Z, /i iV Z>. New Zealand — Free from venomous reptiles — General features — Change — Capital city — Earthquakes— Early missionaries— Convent of St. Mary — Bishop Viard — A pupil's poem on his death — Convent difficulties — A nun's dream — Architectural plans— Encouragement — A mother's tears — Dream realised— Painful partings— Death of Father Petitjean — Au old priest's last work — Voyage of 1500 miles. Nothing did we meet with in Europe wliich surprised us more com pletely than the deficiency of information that prevailed everywhere respecting the countries we had left in the Southern Hemisphere, which yet form a fifth of the habitable globe. In this record of our mission, we shall, therefore, present our readers with a few brief particulars respecting the seven colonies of Australasia, giving the precedence to that in whose behalf it was undertaken.

New Zealand is separated from the continent of Australia by about 1500 miles of the vast Southern Ocean, and bears no resem blance to it either in scenery, flora, fauna, or the characteristics of its natives. Its area nearly equals that of Great Britain and Ireland, being 64,000,000 acres. It resembles Ireland in being free from all venomous reptiles, and its most dangerous animal bears the human form. In 1870 its white population was 463,479, and the natives about 42,000. A strait, thirteen miles wide at its narrowest part, divides the two largest islands. The scenery is very beautiful and varied, the land fertile and well watered, the climate salubrious. In the North Island are medicinal springs, which are much resorted to by invalids, and highly appreciated by the sister colonies. The gold fields of New Zealand have proved very rich, and there are A FOOTPRINTS : OLD AND NEW. 2 many valuable minor deposits that offer scope for future enterprise.

A considerable portion of the colony indeed is liable to earthquakes, which in some places have been very frequent. Recently, tbe town and district of Oamaru suffered serious loss from a succession of shocks, which, however, were very slight. The city of Auckland, situated in the extreme north, where the first settlers congregated, was for many years the capital of New Zealand, but as the white population extended to the South Island, the position of the metropolis was found inconvenient, and the central city of Wellington became in 1865 the seat of government. Since that date the young metropolis bas rapidly increased in size, prosperity, and population. Its suburbs are pushing out into the " bush " on all sides, and its fine port and bay now receive crowds of shipping from every part of the globe.

It has'but one disadvantage — the liability to earthquakes ; but these, however frequent, are seldom severe. The sharpest shock remembered occurred many years ago ; it dashed down every chimney in the city except that of the baker who supplied the convent with bread. Of course the populace ascribed its preservation to that circumstance. Since that date, although the earthquakes still are frequent, they have no more alarming or injurious result than to cause the non-Catholic children attending the convent schools to make the sign of the cross. But this liability necessitates the exclusive use of wood for building purposes ; and it is so neatly covered with stucco, that strangers believe tbe city to be formed of the usual materials. No mere observer would suspect that the fine Catholic Cathedral, the numerous churches, the Parliament House, the handsome public buildings and private houses, are built entirely of wood.

It follows that when a fire breaks out, its progress is not easily arrested. In 1879 the Opera House (said to be the finest in Australasia) was burnt to the ground, along with a church, a hotel, and many other buildings. The fire commenced quite near to the suburban school of the nuns at " Te Ara " (which is now connected with the city proper) after sunset ; and when the news reached the Convent of St. Mary, they could only crowd to their chapel, and pray that the danger might be averted. A strong wind fortunately carried the conflagration in the opposite direction, with the results above recorded, and the supplications of the sisters were changed to thanksgivings. The inhabitants appear as indifferent to the danger from central fires as the dwellers on Etna and Vesuvius, who, after an eruption, hasten back to their homes and vineyards, and calmly resume the labours as if never interrupted.

There is no lack of private charity in Wellington, but only two institutions are provided by the State, which are "Tbe Lunatic Asylum" and "The Jail." There is also an hospital, but those who enter its wards are expected to pay a small fee. Previous to the discovery of tbe gold-fields in Australia, New Zealand was the favourite resort of emigrants, because it never was a penal settlement. These first settlers chiefly occupied themselves in pastoral and agricultural pursuits, until centres of population were gradually formed, where commercial relations rapidly assumed importance, and gave rise to populous towns, innumerable hamlets, and many flourishing seaports. Ireland and France did not fail, even at the first settlement of this remote country, to supply it with devoted pastors, whose extra ordinary experiences would fill volumes.

One of these was the Rev. Father O'Reilly, who died but recently in Wellington in his ninth decade. He came to New Zealand at the age of twenty-five, and when he died, of the 3000 of all classes and creeds who followed his funeral, there were a few who had attended his first mass on the bare sea beach. He had been a great friend to the struggling Convent of St. Mary, Wellington, and was attended during his last illness by the nuns, who watched by turns, two and two, beside his bed, and closed his eyes. The pupils of their five schools followed his funeral procession. The young ladies of the Select School wore white veils and wreaths, and after the ceremony they surrounded his grave, and flung their white gar lands on the coffin of their venerated pastor. Anecdotes of his devoted life are still related in Wellington, and will probably become traditional.

One of the most recent pictures him to us as at day-dawn standing up to his waist in a swamp calmly reciting his beads. He had lost his way on returning from a sick-call, and finding that at each step taken in the darkness he sunk deeper, he had resolved to wait for the sunrise. A severe illness followed, and the old priest was not allowed again to obey a night-call to the sick. There are many in Wellington who remember Father Moreau's escape from deadly peril at the time when travellers on the west coast were lost aud never heard of again. He had set out in that direction one Saturday, in order to arrive in time at an out-lying mission to perform Sunday duties. The day was sultry, the way long and hilly, and unsheltered. Towards noon the priest was glad to perceive at some distance from his desolate track a clump of bushy trees, and resolved to allow himself a brief rest beneath them.

As he reached his place of repose, he, conscious of low voices near him, paid little heed to the circumstance till they rose in angry dis pute, when words of horrible meaning came through the intervening bushes. " I won't do it ! I have spilled human blood like water, but never harmed a priest, and I never will !" The reverend Father instantly knew that he was in deadly peril, and that escape was impossible from villains who were evidently lying in wait for him. He arose, commended himself to God, and passed round the bushes. There he found four heavily-armed Europeans, whom he accosted with his customary calm smile ; but after making inquiries respecting his route, they allowed him to pass unharmed on his way. It was Sullivan's notorious gang, three of whom afterwards died on the scaffold, confessing to many murders of hapless wayfarers.

The one who spared the priest escaped the extreme penalty of the law. The Convent of St. Mar}', of the Order of Mercy, is situated on a FOOTPRINTS: OLD AND NEW. 4 low hill, commanding a view of the city, the port, and a very beautiful bay. This fine site, consisting of several acres, was the donation of Lord Petre, who owns an extensive domain in the Wellington district, and who also added another gift some years later — four acres on the Hutt River, a few miles from the city, — which is also a valuable property, being easily accessible by river or by rail. A small church has been erected near this by the scattered inhabitants, where a priest occasionally attends to the spiritual wants of the resident Catholics. As is usual in such cases, the mission is chiefly owing to the presence of one family, which in this case consists of about thirty, of different generations.

The mother of them all is wont to say, that though " a very humble woman all the week, yet on a Sunday, when surrounded in church by her descend ants, she feels ' as proud as Queen Victoria.' " On the land bestowed by Lord Petre, a Convent of Mercy was founded by Dr. Viard, the first bishop of Wellington. An extract from a very amusing comic paper named The Tatler, which the nuns issued at one of their bazaars, gives a very interesting account (in its serious page) of Bishop Viard and his works, which we have permission to introduce in this chapter on New Zealand : — Extract from " The Tatler." " In the year 1850, when all Europe was preparing for the London Exhibition of 185 1, Wellington was but the nucleus of a city to exist in the future ; most of its streets, and probably all the public buildings that now adorn it, being not even designed.

The heights overlooking the city commanded few points of interest ; yet over their verdant uplands, on a fine September evening in 185 1, a man, advanced in year3, was strolling and regarding the spot immediately beneath him with the deepest interest. " It was the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, which occurs in 'southern latitudes during the first freshness of spring tide. " The influences of the season surrounded the contemplative sage, deepened the verdure of the wide unenclosed pastures, and deco rated the landscape with variously-tinted leafage. Flocks were browsing tranquilly, undisturbed by the slow and gentle footfall ; new-born lambs were exhibiting the frolicsome joy of an existence which had awakened in the full possession of perfect limbs and senses ; while innumerable birds darted from bough to bough with merry chirrup.

But of these surroundings — the glories of sunset, and the cool breeze from the bay, that stirred his long silver hair — the solitary ponderer appeared unconscious, as if all his senses were turned inward. Was he one of the thousands who at that date were devoting their highest energies to perfect a new idea which was to astonish the world at the first Great Exhibition 1 No ; that vener able old man was Bishop Viard. His thoughts were cast forward to the future ; and as be considered the benefits to be conferred on the rising generation by the work of which he bad that day laid the first stone, his face became radiant with a joy far beyond that con ferred by any earthly triumph. With his outward eyes he only saw a few excavations and temporary erections for spectations ; but bis mental vision beheld crowds who should rejoice in the bless ings obtained by means of a Christian education, where 'they who instruct others unto justice shine like stars for all eternity.' " It is now nearly thirty years since the first school for girls was founded in Wellington, and its well-worn steps prove how the good Bishop's work has prospered.

Hundreds of children of all deno minations have been educated at its several schools. Its works of charity grow more extensive every year ; but tbe founder of this noble institution, the generous protector of many an orphan, and the model of every Christian virtue, long ago quitted the scene of his labours. He has left a name that will be revered in Wellington, and works that will last while the city exists. May we never forget bis example of perfect charity, exercised without respect to race or creed, and also remember that the highest tribute we can pay to his virtues is to imitate them. " A young lady, educated at the convent he founded, commemorated his death by writing the following lines : — "ON THE DEATH OF RIGHT. REV. DR. VIARD, THE FIRST CATHOLIC BISHOP OF WELLINGTON, N.Z. " O'er a silent, slumbering city Flew two angels in the night : Death, and tender-hearted Pity, Unperceived by human sight.

" Meek-eyed Pity, gently wafted On her rustling golden wings, By his mighty hand was leading The unconquered king of kings. "Like the wind a ship impelling, Swiftly, with unechoing feet, Glided they o'er many a dwelling, Traversed many a silent street. " Passing thus, with speed infinite, O'er the unconscious, sleeping town, They paused not for a moment in it, But on a hill alighted down. " Then from Pity's clinging fingers Death did gently draw his hand, And with a look of tender sorrow Thus his course of action planned : " ' I must take from this young city A soul to-night iu my embrace — Only one.'— Then gentle Pity, Weeping, veiled her pallid face. " ' Farther with me, sister dearest ! 'Tis in vain for you to go, If my solemn task thou fearest — For no mercy eau I show. FOOTPRINTS : OLD AND NEW.

" 'Ere yon ocean, darkly heaving, Shall salute the rising sun ; Ere the shades of night are leaving Earth, my duty must be done. " ' Yet, to thee a boon is given, And a mighty task assigned: Thou must choose, O lov'd of Heaven ! "Which I take, which leave behind. " ' Near us is the gilded summit Of a churcli with painted dome, And a little distance from it Virtue's temporary home. " 'To that house, in darkness hidden, To that window's feeble light, Thitherward my steps are bidden, There my duty calls to-night.' " ' At the casement take your station ; Gaze therein — what see you there ? ' *In the last stage of prostration A weak and agfed man at prayer.' " ' Look again ! ' — ( A room half-furnished. Small, uncarpeted, and bare, With no gildings richly burnished, And a holy man at prayer. 11 ' Prie-dieu, crucifix, and altar, Humble pallet see I there ; And with faith too firm to falter, An old man engaged in prayer.

" ' White his locks are, long, and flowing, But his spirit is more bright ; Death! O Death ! thou art not going To withdraw his soul to-night. " 'Nothing bad or unbecoming Stains his priestly sanctity; In his eyes is goodness glowing, In his heart dwells purity. " ' Nought unkind or harshly spoken From his lips hath ever dropped ; Give me some undoubted token Ere their eloquence is stopped.' " ' God Himself is my Employer, Mortals live but in His breath ; Although Death is Life's destroyer, Life commences but in Death. " ( "When I take a soul in kindness To its own true home above, It is only human blindness That distrusteth heavenly love. " ' Grieve not that I gently enter "With an undisturbiDg tread. And my hand place on the centre Of that venerable head. " 'Sweetly he received my warning, Nor will shrink my touch beneath ; But at first faint blush of morning On this earth he will not breathe.' " Once again her fervent pleading Tearful Pity interposed: 'There are thousands interceding That his soul be not transposed.

" 'Oh defer his dissolution Till another year has past ; "Well I know the grave's pollution Must disfigure him at last.' " "With a gloomy intonation, *I yield to thee! ' Death sadly said, 1 And from other habitation "Will I take a soul instead. " ' Satan unto guilt entices A proud sinner whom I know, Foolish, wicked, worst with vices, To that sinner now I go. " ' He shall lie in unblest acre, Going hence before his time ; And his soul shall meet its Maker Weighted with a load of crime. tl 'In his fallen, debased condition, In his atheistic pride, He'll go headlong to perdition ! ' ' Spare, oh spare him ! ' Pity cried. " Then in words of meek submission Thus replied the angel sad : ' Thou'rt the umpire. Thy decisiou I'll abide by — good or bad.' " ' 'Twixt the two I dare not waver,' Sighed the angel at his feet ; ' 'Tis the sinner I must favour Unprepared his God to meet.' " To the old man's room she pointed, Through the air so damp and dim: ' Go, conduct the Lord's anointed, There's a throne awaitiDg him 1 ' "And sweet Pity, swiftly turning, With her golden wings outspread, Quitted earth, and ere the morning Welcomed home the newly dead.

The convent bells, the solemn church bells, In Wellington chime on the Sabbath-day; But a mournful strain in their music swells, For the soul of our bishop has passed away. "M. A. M'K., Ahama, New Zealand. June 24, 1872." FOOTPRINTS: OLD AND NEW. The above date informs us that Bishop Viard did not long survive tbe completion of the convent. In 1873 the mother-assistant became hopelessly consumptive, and the Rev. Father O'Reilly, who had charge of the see till the arrival of a new bishop, applied to Dr. Gould, bishop of Melbourne, for two experienced sisters from a convent of the same Order that bad been long established in that city. The two first postulants who bad joined the community were deemed the most eligible for the important duty, and they arrived in Wellington on tbe ist of June 1873.

On the Sunday after their arrival, an energetic priest named Father Cummings, when preaching in the cathedral, uttered such a fervid panegyric on the attainments of the newly-arrived nuns as covered the cheeks of those humble religious with painful confusion. But the address benefited parents, children, and schools ; and in many other modes that fell in his way the active and zealous missionary did good service to the struggling community. A singular adventure happened to him some years before, wbich we have per mission to record. Father Cummings habitually placed his business affairs under the patronage of St. Joseph, and always kept a small print of the saint in his cash-box. Dwellings at that period were very simple. The priest's house consisted of a single room, with but one door, which opened into a verandah.

When required by his missionary duties to absent himself, he locked his door, and on returning always found everything undisturbed. One Saturday afternoon, as he was about to leave bis dwelling in order to fulfil the Sunday duties at a distant mission, his attention was attracted to the cash-box, which stood in a corner of the room. It was safe enough, he thought, and would of course be found there on his return as usual. Yet one of those inexplicable impulses which we have all experienced made him turn again and again to regard the old tin box, and then he remembered that it had never before been so well stored. It contained the results of a small art-union, amounting to nearly ,£200, and savings entrusted to his care, which might be almost another ,£100. With a slight feeling of impatience at a delay which was inconvenient, he gave way to the inner prompt ings, unlocked the box, and took out the cash.

Then he relocked the small chest, replaced it, secured his door, and carried the money to the bishop's house, where he bestowed it safely. This operation, however, caused a considerable addition to a long walk which had to be taken after a fatiguing day. But he did not grudge the extra labour when, on unlocking his door on the following evenino he found that his cash-box had disappeared. For some time he was equally at a loss regarding the purloiner and his mode of obtaining entrance, since the door of the room remained intact. He soon re membered, however, that on the morning of his departure a be""ar man had applied at the door for alms, when he had opened the cash box to give him relief, and on examining the window it was easily discovered where the thief had entered. But this is not quite the conclusion of the adventure.

Shortly afterwards, on leavin" his house one morning, the p;iest found his cash-box on the door-step. The lock had been forced, and the little picture of St. Joseph was in it, but torn across, as if the thief had vented on it his rage at his disappointment. But why the cash-box and enclosure were restored is an enigma difficult to solve. We can only vouch for the truth of the fact as related. The new sisters applied themselves with great energy and devoted perseverance to labours of no ordinary difficulty. They found the mother-assistant rapidly sinking under her fatal malady, but had the consolation of knowing that her last days were consoled by the conviction that her beloved convent had obtained the kind of help it most needed. She went to her reward, and when the time arrived for a new election of superioresses, the community chose the two new sisters, St. Mary Xavier Butler as reverend mother, and St. Mary Cecilia Benhow as mother-assistant.

The previous reverend mother superior had accepted a long-standing invitation to found a convent on the west coast, and had quitted Wellington for that purpose. The young superioresses had heavy work before them. They found the convent in extreme need of repairs, deeply in debt, and deficient in accommodation. To obtain assistance a canvass of Wel lington, from house to house, was decided on. The timid delicacy of the superioress shrank from tbe humiliating task, but her assistant volunteered to take the initiative, and was ably seconded by the sweet, voiceless face that looked over her shoulder. The issue soon emboldened them ; for their appeal was always received with cour tesy, and generally successful. At one office they called four times without meeting with its owner, aud on approaching it a fifth time the superioress expressed reluctance to apply again, but her com panion walked in without a pause, and the reverend mother was fain to follow.

They found the merchant at his desk, and after a few intro ductory remarks Mother M. Cecilia observed, " This is our fifth visit." " Well," replied the courteous gentleman, " they shall all be successful," and he drew a cheque for five pounds. They soon obtained the money they required, for it was then plentiful in the fair, rising city. Plans were prepared in the convent for a large building, which could be completed by successive additions, on one uniform scheme, and the first portion was soon completed, to the great comfort of the community and the advantage of the pupils. In the course of three years the outward appearance of the convent became wonderfully improved ; and such ornaments as their own talents could supply were not disdained to render the interior elegant in a conventual way.

The windows of the reception-room were made to have the appearance of ornamental ground-glass, and the sentences from the Psalms that formed its cornices were highly effective, though only consisting of illuminations in paper. As house-painting was expen sive, the nuns stained all tbe interior wood-work themselves, making it resemble mahogany, or, if you prefer it, cedar. Soon the new additions became enriched by a few amateur copies of celebrated devotional pictures, which were presented to Mother M. Cecilia, who was also promised a large altar-piece for the new chapel in a style agreeable to the original plan. FOOTPRINTS : OLD AND NEW. 10 The nuns had now five schools, besides their Orphanage ; and the Select School became so renowned throughout the district, that pupils had frequently to be refused for want of accommodation.

The staff of teaching sisters was at length found quite inadequate for the in creasing demands upon it. One sister, who often gave forty music lessons in a day (including those for advanced pupils not in the schools), was kept wakeful at night by the ceaseless beating of one, two, three, &c, which would keep possession of her brain. The New Zealand postulants, though they made good and useful sisters, lacked the educational training required for teachers ; therefore the chief labours of the school devolved on a few, and how to relieve these precious sisters now became Mother Cecilia's dream. The establishment in Wellington of the Order of Christian Brothers, and their excellent system of education, provided for the mental and moral training of Catholic boys ; but unless the girls, the future mothers of the colony, were fitted for their important duties, there could be little hope for the next generation.

Considerations of this kind soon gave rise, in the mind of Mother Cecilia, to a conviction that help must be obtained from older lands. On suggesting this idea to her superior, it was at once rejected as impracticable, because the means of carrying it out were totally wanting. But the project was not therefore abandoned by its origi nator, since she argued far greater difficulties have often been sur mounted in doing the work of God. But the nun contented herself for the present with rendering the idea familiar to her friend by making it frequently the subject of conversation. When a certain novice was pronounced too delicate in health to be received into the community, the mother-assistant begged more than once for a re prieve, and after several interpositions she answered the look of wonder that greeted her request for a little more delay by the remark, " A sea-voyage and months spent in travelling might render her quite strong, and you would be spared the loss of a more gifted sister during my pilgrimage."

" Dear sister," was the reply, " you must be dreaming ! * When a certain large useless box was condemned because it occupied too much space, Mother Cecilia begged that it might not be burnt, as it would be useful on her long voyage. By such means she made her loving mother familiar with a subject from which she had recoiled with dismay, even while she found relief in the con viction of its utter impossibility. But Mother Cecilia made it daily evident that she still cherished her peculiar views, and the gentle superioress often wondered that a mind so practical should entertain for a moment a scheme of impossible attainment. Meanwhile the mother-assistant kept quietly maturing her plans, in order that, when the time of action arrived (if God so willed), she might be well prepared. Every day's experience strengthened her convictions that a great effort was to be made, and would probably be required of herself ; but she had no resources whatever, save trust in God and prayer.