. The monk and the hangman's daughter. heart, I led her into thechurch before all the people. But do thou, 0 holy Franciscus, pardon the sinthat I committed during that high sacrament!For while Father Andreas was reciting the solemnwords of the mass my eyes constantly wandered tothe spot where the poor child knelt in a darkcorner set apart for her and her father, forsaken 37 2C|)e IWonft ana tjjje and alone. She seemed to pray with holy zeal,and surely thou didst grace her with a ray of thyfavor, for it was through thy love of mankind thatthou didst become a great saint, and didst bringbefore
. The monk and the hangman's daughter. heart, I led her into thechurch before all the people. But do thou, 0 holy Franciscus, pardon the sinthat I committed during that high sacrament!For while Father Andreas was reciting the solemnwords of the mass my eyes constantly wandered tothe spot where the poor child knelt in a darkcorner set apart for her and her father, forsaken 37 2C|)e IWonft ana tjjje and alone. She seemed to pray with holy zeal,and surely thou didst grace her with a ray of thyfavor, for it was through thy love of mankind thatthou didst become a great saint, and didst bringbefore the Throne of Grace thy large heart, bleed-ing for tlie sins of all the world. Then shall notI, the humblest of thy followers, have enough ofthy spirit to pity this poor outcast who suffers forno sin of her own ? Nay, I feel for her a peculiartenderness, which I cannot help accepting as asign from Heaven that I am charged with a specialmandate to watch over her, to jirotect her, andfinally to save her soul. jB^anamana3Bausf)ter. UR Superior has sent formc and rebuked me. Hetold me I liad caused greatill-feeling among thebrothers and the people,and asked what devil hadme in possession that Ishould walk into church with the daughter of thepublic hangman. What could I say but that I pitied the poormaiden and could not do otherwise than as Idid? Why did you pity her ? he all the people shun her, I replied,as if she were mortal sin itself, and because she iswholly blameless. It certainly is not her fault thather father is a hangman, nor his either, since, alas,hangmen must be. Ah, beloved Franciscus, how the Superiorscolded thy poor servant for these bold do you repent? he demanded at the 39 close of his reproof. But how could I repent01 my compassion — incited, as 1 verily believe,by onr beloved Saint ? * On learning my obduracy, the Superior be-came very sad. He gave me a long lecture andput me under hard penance. I took my pun-ishment meekly and i
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbierceam, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1892
