Life and characteristics of Right Reverend Alfred A. Curtis, D. D., second bishop of Wilmington

Front matter

RIGHT

URTISD.D.

BIOGRAPHY

Preface

FOR many reasons I am glad to introduce and recommend the " Life " of the Right Reverend Alfred A. Curtis, D.D.

Although he was a self-educated — In contradistinction to a college-bred — man, yet he early attained to real scholarship In ecclesiastical learning. His knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, which he read in their original Hebrew and Greek, and of the Fathers of the Church, also read in their Greek and Latin texts, was deep and accurate. From these pure sources of Christian truth he drew rich material for his unique preaching, his sermons portraying an originality of thought, a precision of language and an earnestness of delivery peculiarly his own. Moreover, his character of sterling honesty, his hatred of sham, his practices of mortification, sense of duty and many other virtues are even stronger motives for writing his biography.

Then there was that test, proof of religious faith and love, next to martyrdom: that uprooting of himself from dear lifelong surroundings, that tearing of tendrils and breaking asunder of interlacing branches of personal friends and religious bonds, suffered by every man who is transplanted into a higher place of spiritual obedience in the vineyard of the Lord.

While for these reasons I commend the subject of this book, I congratulate the writers, the Sisters of the Visitation of Wilmington, who have surprised me by bringing to light letters of keenest Interest. This is all the more delightful, as I had fancied that the

Preface

good Bishop's hatred of notoriety had made It quite impossible to gather any such documentary evidence of his life-story.

From what I have already perused of the manuscript copy of " The Life," I feel sure that it will not only charm and edify the many personal friends of Bishop Curtis in Maryland and Delaware, but I also hope that as the Life of Newman in England, so that of Bishop Curtis in America, may become a signboard, pointing out to many a religious traveller " the way and the truth and the life." John xiv. 6.

J. Card. Gibbons.

The CATHEDR.fL. Baltimore, Feast of Saint Mark, 1913.

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION

THIS humble sketch, as simple and unpretending as the life of the noble soul whose characteristics It endeavors so inadequately to portray, Is the fruit of obedience. Furnished with this passport In which we are told " all Is safe," we have every hope that our labors will be blessed, and should the perusal of this biography make our readers better acquainted with the holy Bishop, or inspire a deeper love of the spiritual life, our mission will be accomplished.

Should any be tempted to think the Bishop's fasting and penance too austere, his long hours of prayer extreme, his love of poverty and simple living eccentric, and his views Incompatible with modern Ideas, let them for a moment consider the lives of other men eminent for holiness, and note the presence of these characteristics In a marked degree. The Bishop was in the world, but conspicuously out of It, while his wonderful knowledge was veiled by a modest simplicity. He was always hard on himself, but his tenderness and leniency for others could scarcely be exceeded.

Afflicted with the true homesickness of the saints he lived on a plane elevated above the low and perishable things of earth, and his occupation with the invisible world caused him to soar to the Infinite, where In the extremity of his anguish he exclaimed, " I long to be dissolved and to be with Christ."

Convent of the Visitation, Wilmington, Delaware, Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel, April 26, 19 13.

Letter of Right Reverend John J. Monaghan, Bishop of J^y liming ton, to the Sisters of the Visitation of Wilmington.

My dear Daughters:

I have learned with genuine pleasure and satisfaction of your purpose of writing and publishing the " Life and Characteristics " of my predecessor of holy memory, the late Rt. Rev. Alfred A. Curtis, D.D., the second Bishop of Wilmington.

Knowing well as I do the intimate relations of your community with him, not only whilst Bishop of this Diocese, but also In the eleven years that followed his resignation of the See of Wilmington, during which time he came to you, week after week, to discharge for you the office of Confessor and Spiritual Director, I cannot but consider you eminently fitted for the work of writing his life. At the same time your grateful devotion to your saintly Father must make it for you a labor of love to gather from every possible source the details of his edifying life, and to interpret to others, who knew him, not as you knew him, the admirable character of this chosen servant of God.

May your undertaking be blessed with success, and may It help to keep alive amongst us the sweet memories of his virtues and apostolic zeal. May It serve also to perpetuate the holy Influences which Bishop Curtis exercised over our beloved Diocese of Wilmington.

Yours faithfully in Christ,

IjlJOHN J. MOXAGHAN,

Bishop of JVilmington Feast of St. Francis de Sales, January 29, 191 3.

Chapter I

Birth and Early Education — Made a Deacon and receives Orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church 3

CHAPTER H

Rector of Mt. Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church, Baltimore — Religious Convictions — Tending to Rome — Correspondence with Bishop W. R. Whittingham — Resigns Rectorship OF Mt. Calvary Church 10

CHAPTER HI

Goes to England — Last Letter to Bishop Whittingham — Answer to the Letter 25

CHAPTER IV

1872 {continued)

Visits Oxford — Birmingham — Interview with Dr. Newman — Former Parishioner's Letters I — II — III — Reply . . 37

CHAPTER V

1872-1875

Returns to America — Enters the Seminary — St. Mary's OF St. Sulpice — St, Charles College — Rev. J. B. Tabb, Poet Priest — Elevation to the Sacred Priesthood — Made Secretary of the Most Rev. James Roosevelt Bayley . . 6^

xi

Contents

CHAPTER VI

1 875-1 886

Life at the Cathedral — Parochial Work — Preaching — Visiting the Sick — Death of Archbishop Bayley — Archbishop Gibbons — Death of Fr. Curtis' Mother — Conversion OF his Brother — Organizes a Sodality of Children of Mary — Meeting of the two Future Bishops of Wilmington

— Summer \'acations — Visit to ^Rome and Third Plenary Council of Baltimore — Death of Archbishop Seghers — Election to See of Wilmington 77

CHAPTER VH

The " Diamond State " and its Environs — Maryland and its Missionaries — Jesuits of Bohemia Manor — Pioneer Priests — "Delmarvia" Peninsula, its Bishops — Consecration OF Bishop Curtis in the Baltimore Cathedral — Sermon BY Rt. Rev. T. A. Becker — Installation in St. Peter's Cathedral at Wilmington — Words of His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons 93

CHAPTER VHI

1886-1888

The Bishop's Household — Preaching — Fasts — Austerities

— Vigils — Private Life — Work of the Diocese . . . 102

CHAPTER IX

1888-1893

Rural Missions — Labors — Privations — First Church erected BY the Bishop — Mission of Cape Charles — Dedication and Consecration of Church — Rev. Edward Mickle its Pastor — Salisbury — Oblates of St. Francis de Sales — Westover, Md. — Letters — Preaching — Churches. . . .118

CHAPTER X

Orphan Asylums — The Franciscans — The Bishop's Visits to the Catholic Protectory — The Benedictines — The Visitation Nuns — Letters — Spiritual Direction . . . 134

xii

Contents

CHAPTER XI

1893-1896

He establishes a Visitation Convent of Exact Observance — He writes to Annecy on this Subject — Presides at the Installation of the Superioress from Annecy, Mother M. Alexandrine de Butler — Engages the Ursulines to replace the Visitandines in the Work of Teaching — Translation OF Community to the New Monastery — He consecrates the Chapel — Exhortations — Rumors of his Resignation of the See of Wilmington — Letter .... 152

CHAPTER Xn

Titular Bishop of Echinus — Recapitulation of the Bishop's Work in the Diocese of Wilmington — ■ Farewell Address to his People — Comment of the New York Sun — Parting Gift of the Congregation of St. Peter's — His Former Vicar-General accompanies him to Baltimore — Continued Interest in the Diocese — Rt. Rev. John J. Monaghan — His Various Works in the Diocese . . . .163

CHAPTER Xni 1897-1907

Cardinal Gibbons' Words of Appreciation upon Bishop Curtis* Return to Baltimore — Private Life at the Cardinal's House — His Prayer and Self-denial — Made Vicar General OF the Archdiocese — Lecture on Snakes — Silver Jubilee of his Ordination — His Spiritual Trials — His Mortification — Judgment of a French Prelate — The Bishop's Opinion of Worldly Music in the Church — His Almsdeeds — His Vacations — Letters from Florida — His Labors — His Illness — Extracts from Letters — Makes Will — His Solicitude for his Sisters — Sentiments on the Death of one of his Sisters — Ordaining and Confirming . 173

CHAPTER XIV

The Bishop's Failing Health — Presentiment of Approaching Death — He prepares to resign his Office of Vicar-General — Last Confirmations and Ordinations — Instruction to

xiii

Contents

Confirmation Class — His Increasing Sanctity — The Shadow OF THE Cross — Last Visit to the Visitation at Wilmington — Quotation from Convent Annals — The Bishop consults a Specialist — Letter stating Result of the Consultation — His Heroic Fortitude — The Bishop goes to Ocean City — Says his Last Mass — Conducted to St. Agnes' Sanitarium, Baltimore, by the Very Rev. John A. Lyons, V.G. — Monsignor Lyon's Letter — The Bishop's Reception at St. Agnes' — Many Visitors — His Faith and Patience — Visits of Cardinal Gibbons — The Bishop foretells the Day of his Death — His Poverty — His Holy Death, July the iith — Veneration AND Esteem in which the Bishop was held by Clergy and Laity — Laid in State at St. Agnes' Sanitarium 190

CHAPTER XV

Remains removed to Baltimore Cathedral — Laid in State — Office of the Dead — High Mass of Requiem — Funeral Oration by Rt. Rev. P. J. Donohue — Cardinal Gibbons performs Absolutions — Pall-bearers, Honorary and Active — Holy Remains transported to Wilmington — Again laid in State in St. Peter's Cathedral — Pontifical High Mass of Requiem — Eulogy by Dr. Wm. Temple — Absolutions read BY Rt. Rev. J. J. Monaghan — Solemn Procession to the Visitation Convent — Burial — Inscription on Tomb . . 204

Part Second I Spiritual Counsels 237

II EXHORTATIONS 305

III SERMONS 323

IV NOTES FOR RETREATS 377

V NOTES FOR THREE HOURS' PRAYER . 419

VI EXTRACTS FROM THE EARLY FATHERS 433

ILLUSTRATIONS

Bishop Curtis, as Titular Bishop of Echinus Frontispiece ,

Page ^ The Bishop when Rector of Mt. Calvary Protestant

Episcopal Church, Baltimore, 1862 .... 10

Facsimile of a Note by Cardinal Newman, 1872 . . 75

The Bishop when Priest at the Cathedral of Baltimore, 1875 78

Bishop Curtis as Bishop of Wilmington, Del., 1886 104

Interior of Old St. Peter's, 1886 iio^/

Interior View of St. Peter's, 1905 164

Bishop Curtis' Tomb, Cemetery of the Visitation

Convent, Wilmington, Del., 1908 .... 214*^

Bronze Memorial Tablet in St. Peter's Cathedral,

Wilmington, Del 218 ^■''

LIFE OF RT. REV. A. A. CURTIS, D.D.

RT. REV. A. A. CURTIS, D.D.

ALFRED ALLEN CURTIS was born on July the fourth, 1 83 1, near Rehobeth in Somerset County, Maryland, of an old and very estimable family, whose ancestors had lived on the eastern shore of that State as early as the Colonial times. Shortly after his birth, his life being in danger, his parents called in a Methodist preacher to baptize him, although they attended the Episcopal church in the village.^ Little is known of his early life, aside from the fact that he was devoted to reading and study, having inherited this taste from his father, who, besides being a farmer and county surveyor of the district, followed his attraction for teaching, and opened a small country school near Rehobeth.^ It was here young Alfred had all the class instruction he ever received, which he put to such good use, that at the age of fourteen he had learned by heart the Latin grammar, and with the assistance of a dictionary he so completely mastered a Virgil which he bought at the time, that he never afterwards, as he himself admitted, had any difficulty in reading Latin. Taking the book as his only companion in his long walks through the forests, he at first read it from cover to cover three times ; analyzing the words, noting

^ The walls of the little brick Episcopal church at Rehobeth are all that remain to mark the place of worship, which the Bishop so faithfully attended in his boyhood and youth. His Father is buried in the church yard, but the place is so overgrown as to render it difficult to distinguish his grave. The bishop has been seen kneeling there in prayer, when making the rounds of his diocese.

2 The village of Rehobeth on the Pocomokc River is of little importance to-day, having rather decreased in size since the year 183 1; it now counts but two stores, and a few inhabitants. Tlie Episcopal church has been replaced by one of the Presbyterian denomination.

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

closely the construction of sentences and even parsing them; he managed with his logical mind to grasp the whole of its contents. This encouraged him to pursue the study of Greek which he also accomplished by himself, and succeeded in learning this language so perfectly, that it is said by his contemporaries in the priesthood, he had hardly a superior in the United States. '' He also acquired a complete mastery- of Blackstone's Commentaries which added to his felicity of language, and the natural acumen of his logic, the rare power of legal exactitude," says one of his most devoted friends and admirers. He took pleasure in discussing the classics with the rustic lads at the grocery store, and it is needless to say, that this custom fell into disuse when our bright scholar left them to follow a higher vocation in life. But his most delightful pastime was reading and memorizing the English poets, and it was this recreation which served to store his mind with the wonderful vocabulary that he possessed in so eminent a degree, giving him at the same time an immense command of English. He learned by heart many of Shakespeare's plays, also Byron's Childe Harold, which he could recite with ease. It was at this early period of his life that the great strength and power of his character began to manifest itself. With the wisest of kings he might have said, '' God has given me a good soul," and this soul he determined to cultivate; for the earnest youth was an obedient son, a conscientious worker and student; and last, but not least, faithful to God and his religion, according to the light he had received. He could be seen regularly assisting at the Sunday services, in the little church at Rehobeth. Alfred endeared himself to all by his remarkable candor, for his unswerving fidelity to truth made him detest the least duplicit}^ in word or deed, so that he was often heard to reproach himself for having deceived his father, when following his attraction for reading, he would steal to the garret

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

where forbidden books were stored, and there spend hours devouring light and romantic literature. He was ardent and impulsive in whatever he undertook, whether work or play, and although of a quick and fiery nature, he possessed a most loving and forgiving disposition, which led him to be always the first to make satisfaction, in the little contentions he encountered with his young companions. This quickness of temper was to be his battlefield in after life, and those who witnessed the sublimity of his virtue can attest that he became one of the meekest and humblest of men, by his magnanimous courage in conquering himself, thus realizing that " He who ruleth his spirit is better than he who taketh cities." Prov. xvi. 32.

In his eighteenth year his father died, leaving a widow and six children : two sons and four daughters. The elder son having left home to seek his fortune on the frontiers of the far west, young Alfred determined to turn his talents to use, for the support of his mother and sisters. He secured a position as assistant teacher at an academy in the town of Princess Anne, Maryland, where he taught for four years.^ His mother having decided to remove to Pocomoke City, it was there the gifted scholar had the inspiration to study for the ministry. He prepared himself with great care, and after considerable reading and study went to Berlin, Maryland, where he passed a very successful examination before a convention of Episcopal ministers, who Immediately began to agitate the question as to the validity of his baptism. It was decided that the young Levite should be re-baptized before receiving orders. This was accordingly done, and the following copy of a license from his bishop, to perform church service in several parishes of the district in which he lived, shows

* The house In which the Bishop boarded, while teaching at the Academy in Princess Anne, is in use at present. He spent Saturday and Sunday with his mother at Pocomoke City, returning to teach at Princess Anne during the week, and it was in his walks between these two towns, a distance of several miles, that he learned his Greek verbs.

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

in what esteem the young aspirant was held by his superiors.

In the Name of God. Amen.

I do hereby license Alfred Allen Curtis of the Parish of Pocomoke, Worcester County, of whose soundness in the faith, and godly, righteous and sober life, 1 am well assured, to perform the service of the Church in the Parishes of Pocomoke, and St. John, Worcester County and Somerset, Somerset County, agreeably to the provisions, and under the limitations of Canon the Eleventh of General Convention of 1832; he being subject in all things pertaining to such performance of public religious service, to the advice and direction of the Reverend the Rectors of said Parishes. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my episcopal seal and signature, this first day of October in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and of my episcopate the sixteenth.

William Rollinson Whittixgham, (Seal) Bishop of Maryland.

The next year he was made a deacon and sent '' to preach the Gospel, and perform all other functions appertaining to his oflice," — as the following lines show: " I hereby License the Reverend Alfred Allen Curtis by me ordained a Deacon, to Preach the Gospel, and perform all other functions appertaining to his office, in St. John's and Pocomoke Parishes, in Worcester County, as long as he shall continue a Deacon of the Diocese of Maryland, unless this License be previously withdrawn."

*' In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my seal and signature, at Cambridge, this twenty-first day of September, In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, and In the seventeenth year of my consecration."

William Rollinson Whittingham, (Seal) Bishop of Maryland.

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

If the veil of futurity could have been lifted, what an astounding revelation the ardent young deacon would have received. Laboring now under obedience to a bishop of the Anglican church, with that uprightness and singleness of purpose which was ever to distinguish him, he would have beheld himself after years of painful, anxious waiting, entering the true fold, constituted bishop and pastor of souls in this same vineyard of the Lord. Could his thoughts have been revealed, doubtless, he himself would have marvelled at the providence of God, bringing him Into these same fields of his previous labors, to spend himself In seeking and finding the lost sheep of Israel, after the heroic example of so many missionary bishops of America. But all this was as yet the secret of God.

In the year 1859 he received orders according to the ritual of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was immediately sent to Baltimore, to assist Doctor Rankin of St. Luke's Church, which was beginning to adopt ritualistic practices. From thence he was transferred to a small congregation In Frederick, Maryland, and thence to Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland.

This happy return to his rural missions filled his soul with joy, and increased if possible those irresistible longings for solitude, which attracting him from his youth, now pursued him everywhere. It was his chief delight when not engaged with work, to walk alone, through trackless lands and unfrequented woods. This must have been God's way of revealing Himself to this pure soul, which learned the art of communing with God through His creatures; for he comprehended the language of all, and each In its way spoke to him of its Creator.

He loved In after years to recall the scenes of his early life, and held In tender remembrance objects and places associated with his childhood and youth. He often spoke of the profusion of blackberries and cherries, of the peaches " large as saucers," produced

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

on the eastern shore of Maryland, and became quite aroused when his hearers doubted these wonderful stories.

When making the visitation of his diocese as Bishop of Wilmington, he willingly went out of his way to visit these hallowed spots, and could be seen in the churchyard at Pocomoke City, kneeling respectfully at the graves of his mother and sisters. He was heard to say: '' If I have a special affection for any part of my diocese it is for the pines, the creeks, the marshes and even the mosquitoes of the eastern shore," where:

" Each hazel copse, each greenly-tangled bower Is sacred to some well-remembered hour."

It was during the three years w^hich preceded his entrance into a wider field of action, that he began to lead a life of deeper study and reflection. He understood the claims God had upon his heart, and conceived a higher idea of sacrifice, such as the priesthood demands, for he was always at heart a priest. This caused him a little later to sever a cherished tie which he now began to look upon as an obstacle, to that perfect consecration and dedication of his life to the salvation of souls. He w^as then only in his tw^enty-eighth year, in the vigor of life, and of a robust constitution, possessing a strength of mind and body above the common, of which his brilliant florid complexion was the index. His clear, honest blue eye revealed a depth of religious sincerity, while a certain seriousness pervading his whole exterior gave him an ascendency over others, and portrayed the self-discipline he had already acquired over the impetuosit}' of his strong irascible nature. He was above medium height, of a light build and graceful mien, with a modest droop of the head to one side, which all the efforts of a loving mother had not succeeded In correcting, while his amiable manner and winning smile gained all — even the unruly boys of his catechetical class. On one occasion, whether by 8

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

thoughtlessness or wanton mischief, one of the boys sat upon his new silk beaver, which he had carefully placed in a corner of the first pew. When at the close of the lesson the young minister took up his hat to leave, the preceptor of the boys perceiving the mishap was covered with shame and confusion, and hastening towards his pastor, with profuse apologies, begged him to wait until another hat could be procured; whereupon with a smile, Mr. Curtis replied, "It is good enough for me," and thrusting his fist into the crushed crown, smoothed it out, and continued afterwards to wear the hat, as if nothing had happened.

If as the Holy Scripture says, heaven is borne away by the violent only, is it not evident that this young Levite was already like the just man, preparing in his heart admirable ascensions of virtue, which were but the dawning of those heroic acts that characterized his after life?

Chapter II 1862 - 1872

TT was In the year 1862 that the young minister was -*■ elected to the Rectorship of ^It. Calvary Episcopal Church in Baltimore. Here a very devout and select congregation awaited him, — who, like another Baptist, would become to them a burning and a shining light, — burning by his zeal for the glory of God's House, and shining by the practice of the most admirable virtues. His long retreat in the rural missions had prepared him for this contact with the world, and his whole bearing had the stamp of a man of prayer.

For the next nine years he could be seen laboring indefatigably for the salvation of souls, and endearing himself to the white and colored congregations committed to his care. He had a little study adjoining the vestibule of the church where he spent most of his time reading, studying and living a very ascetic life. He fasted whole days at a time, sleeping on the bare floor at night, and praying much. He took up a most scrupulous and faithful study of the Bible, and to enable himself to make more thorough researches he went to a learned Jewish rabbi, living In Baltimore, with whom he studied Hebrew. This brought him In close contact with the Fathers of the Church, in whom he felt an Intense Interest, especially the old Greek Fathers — Orlgen, Saints Basil, Gregory Xazlanzen and Clement of Alexandria. Thus In a short time he became more and more Imbued with the truth, and while drinking refreshing draughts of Catholic doctrine at Its source, he found he believed everything our holy Mother the Church teaches. Now he must buy a Roman Breviary^, 10

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

and although he had never heard of an Ordo, he learned how to say the Office from the instructions given in the beginning of this book, but, as these instructions are for choirs, and not for individuals or for the Office in private, the young minister charged himself with saying, not only the Office of the day, but likewise that of the Dead, as well as the little Office of our Blessed Lady, which consumed some three or four hours daily. The Preparation and Thanksgiving for holy Mass, which he also found in the Breviary, struck him as so beautiful, that he made an English translation which he learned by heart, and repeated every day, before and after what he called " his massy He also styled himself a priest, wearing a cassock and biretta. One day two gentlemen passing the church and seeing the door open, entered, and were accosted by the pious minister, who replying to their inquiries as to whether it was a Catholic church, and if he was a priest, answered boldly, '' Yes." At the same moment he was afflicted with such qualms of conscience, that he felt himself obliged to approach these gentlemen before they left the church, and to say to them, " I thought myself a priest, but I am not, and you will find the Catholic church three squares from here." This was the initial step towards his conversion, for could Almighty God ever allow such unselfish uprightness to go unrewarded? He was already inundating this soul of prayer with special graces, which would be needed for the coming conflict. Late one evening, it was Saturday night, an elderly gentleman passing Mt. Calvary church, on his way home from St. Ignatius, " the church three squares away," attracted by the brilliant light, he felt some curiosity to know what could be going on in this pious meeting, at so late an hour. He was held spell-bound at the threshold of the door, on hearing a magnificent eulogy paid to the Mother of God, from the lips of a most eloquent preacher. " This man must be a Catholic," said Mr. Thompson to him-

Rt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, D.D.

self, and from that day until he heard of the entrance of Mr. Curtis into the Church, which was one year later, he never ceased praying for him, saying the rosary every day for his conversion. He ever retained the remembrance of that sermon, which had touched him so profoundly, and when Mr. Curtis was made a priest and stationed at the Cathedral, Mr. Thompson was among the first to become one of his most devoted clients and devout penitents.

About this time, a prominent clergyman of the advanced Ritualistic section of the Anglican church was visiting America, and Mr. Curtis invited him to officiate at Mt. Calvary. He followed so closely the Catholic ceremonial, and imitated so well the movements of a priest at the altar, that he was really taken for a Roman in disguise, by the misguided witnesses of his actions.

All kinds of rumors were now being circulated, and some of the more fervent members of the congregation, becoming alarmed, reported to their Bishop that Mr. Curtis had introduced a ^^ Roman priest ^^ in disguise, who celebrated " Mass hi English^ Mr. Curtis was summoned by the Bishop, who, slow to believe the reports, wished to question the pastor himself. Naturally enough, this attack on his veracity aroused a just feeling of indignation in the breast of the accused, who stoutly denied the charge, and strongly resented the accusation, saying, " I do not He, nor have I ever lied In my life,'* hastily left the Bishop alone, sorely puzzled In his cogitations.