Quinlan - Damien of Molokai

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TORONTO


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St IRfcboIaa SeriesEDITED BY THK REV. DOM BEDE CAMM, O.S.B.

DAMIEN OFMOLOKAI


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PUBLISHERS ACKNOWLEDGMENTSA reprint of R. L. Stevenson s "An OpenLetter " is included in this volume by kindpermission of Mr. Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson s literary executor, and Messrs. Chatto& Windus, his publishers. The thanks ofthe publishers are also due to Mr. JamesBritten, who has kindly allowed them tomake use of excerpts from the " Life andLetters of Father Damien," issued by theCatholic Truth Society; and to Messrs.Macmillan, who have courteously given permission to copy in colour the fine portraitof Father Damien prefixed to EdwardClifford s "Father Darnien," published bythem.


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Father Damien.


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DAMIEN OFMOLOKAIBY

MAY QUINLANAUTHOR OF

"

IN THE DEVIL S ALLEY," ETC.

TOGETHER WITHFATHER DAMIENAN OPEN LETTER TO THE

REV. DR. HYDE OFHONOLULU

BYR: L. STEVENSON

(REPRINTED BY PERMISSION)

R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD.PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON

AND AT MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND GLASGOWIQI/I All rights reserved

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VUbilEDUARDUS MYERS

Censor Deputatus

Imprimatur :EDM: Canonicus Surmont

Vicarius Generalis

WESTMONASTERII,die ii Octobris, 1909


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TOMY FRIEND

MRS. CHARLES BROOKFIELD


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CONTENTSCHAP. PAGE

I. THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSY iII. EARLY LIFE OF JOSEPH DAMTEN DEVEUSTER 18

III. AT THE OUTER GATE 35IV. MISSIONARY WORK IN THE

ARCHIPELAGO 46V. GATHERING CLOUDS 65VI. MOLOKAI 77

VII. THE COMING OF DAMIEN 89VIII. DAILY LIFE IN THE LAZARETTO 107IX. DAMIEN THE LEPER 132X. IN MEMORIAL 152

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ILLUSTRATIONSPORTRAIT OF FATHER DAMIENFATHER DAMIEN S PREPARATION

FOR HIS WORKFATHER DAMIEN AT WORK WITH

HIS LEPER BOYSFATHER DAMIEN MAKES HIS

CONFESSIONAWAITING THE LAST SUMMONS

Frontispiece

Toface p.

88

100

146

vn


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CHAPTER ITHE SCOURGE OF LEPROSY

INthe days of old, when the Jewish priestswere also the medical men of Israel,leprosy was regarded not only as a

terrible disease, but as a signal punishment forsin. Loathsome to the senses and repulsiveto the sight, it inspired in the multitude afeeling of horror as being a direct manifestation of the wrath of God. It was a tangiblesign, like the fire that descended on theCities of the Plain.To us who review the past in the light ofthe present it seems more than probable

that a considerable number of cases whichwere then considered leprous belonged inreality to those various skin diseases whichare so closely allied with it. And while thereappears to be no doubt that the true leprosyhas existed from time immemorial, it is nonethe less a fact that a certain percentage of

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIthe lepers mentioned in the Old Testamentwere afflicted with a lesser kind of evil,which yielded to treatment. Real leprosy,on the other hand, was and is practicallyincurable.And as the Greeks in later times were

wont to consider all skin diseases as " theproper scourge of an offended Deity," sothe Israelites clung to the belief that zara atwas a judgment of God a Divine visitation for past evil. In other words, leprosyrepresented the dead fruit of iniquity.

Therefore in the judgment of the tribesevery leper was accursed. He was acreature with whom no man might holdconverse : he lay under the hand of theAvenger. No longer might he lift his voicein the councils of the living ; from henceforth his fellowship was with the dead. Asan outcast and a pariah he now must dwell,herded with the beasts of the field, allowedonly to roam in the waste places which laybeyond the city gates. He was without ahome. Rags and tears were his portion.Death was his only friend.

Unlike the gentler rulings of the New2


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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYTestament, the iron law of Israel set hardand fast limits round the person of the leper,who, in testimony of his sin, was requiredto rend his garments, and what was a stillgreater indignity among the Chosen Peoplewas compelled to bare his head. Thus it

is written in the Book of Leviticus : " Nowwhosoever shall be defiled with leprosy, andis separated by the judgment of the priest,shall have his clothes hanging loose, hishead bare, his mouth covered with a cloth,and he shall cry out that he is defiled andunclean. All the time that he is a leperand unclean, he shall dwell alone withoutthe camp " (Lev. xiii. 44-46).That the life of the leper was wrapped

round with sorrow is evident from thoseendless petty enactments which, by curtailinghis liberty, must have rendered his dayswell-nigh unbearable. To quote but oneexample : Should the stricken man catchsight of a fellow being along the highway,he must straightway efface himself, andwhile he was yet afar off must awaken theechoes with his cry of self-condemnation.In some instances, as we read, this was

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIdone by a herald who preceded the leperhence the rendering of the ancient Chaldeeparaphrase of Jonathan by " A herald shallproclaim and say, Depart ; depart fromthe unclean/

Curiously enough, the defilement ofleprosy was judged to be a very subtle thing ;it was more moral than physical, the segregation of the leper being a purely ceremonialrestriction, having its root in those elaborateand stringent laws which had been set downby Moses for the spiritual preservation ofthe people of Israel. For it is worthy ofnote that the Jew who was sound was inno sense defiled by contact with a leprousGentile, but only with a leprous Jew. Andthe fact that the Jewish priests were, byvirtue of their office, brought into the closesttouch with numberless lepers, upon whosecondition they had to give judgment, seemsto prove conclusively that the regulationsconcerning the isolation of lepers wereprompted by moral reasons alone.To the clean of Israel every leper wasregarded as a dead man. He had neitherrights nor privileges. He existed more or

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYless on sufferance, his attendance at publicworship being subject to the goodwill ofthe people. Even then the leper might notoffer praise in the synagogue. He mustpray in a space set apart, whose length andbreadth were not to exceed four cubits, andhere within these narrow limits he had perforce to offer his petitions. Furthermore, itwas decreed that he was to be the first toenter and the last to leave the synagogue.No doubt it was by reason of the sorrowfulfate reserved for the lepers that the Jewishpriests were so solemnly charged to weighwell the symptoms of each case beforeuttering judgment. For in the Book of theLaws Moses writes with special care andminuteness when delivering such injunctionsfor the guidance of the priests. Every suspicious case was to be shut up for sevendays. At the end of that time a secondexamination was to be made, and shouldthe disease not have fully declared itself thepatient was to be subjected to a furtherperiod of quarantine.According to the author of Leviticus,

leprosy was to be known by four distinct5


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIsymptoms : (i) bright white spots or patcheson the skin, the hair on which must also bewhite ; (2) the depression of the patchesbelow the level of the surrounding skin ;(3) the existence of " quick raw flesh " inthe centre of the patch ; (4) the spreadingof the ulcer or scall.Such were the signs of the plague of

leprosy as known to the tribes before medicalscience came into its own. And accordingto these signs the sick man was judged ; andfrom the

priestsverdict there was no appeal.Every sick man was bound to give himself

up for inspection. " Go, show thyself tothe priests ! " was a command that keptpace with the ages. Thus, when any oneamong the Jews discovered upon himselfany suspicious symptoms he was morallycompelled to report himself for judgment.No matter what his position or degreemight be, the regulation was binding oneach one alike. The only exception to therule was that if the disease showed itselfonly on the wedding day, then for the sevendays of his nuptials the man was to go free.But on the seventh day he must render him-

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYself up for judgment, after which, if theverdict went against him, he would be drivenout for ever from the haunts of the living,to find a shelter among the gaping tombs.From that day marriage was banned to theleper. From that day he lived apart fromhumankind, drifting hither and thither in thegrey solitude like a soul seeking for rest.When a certain time had elapsed thesymptoms might diminish, and the strickenman was permitted to offer himself forexamination a second time ; after which,if the disease still clung to him, he mustreturn whence he came. But if, in theopinion of the priests, the man was nowclean, he was required to make sin offerings as prescribed in The Book. Should hebe a poor man the holocaust might takethe form of two pigeons, one of which wasto be killed over running water. Accordingto the Law, the sick man was then to besprinkled with the blood of the victimbefore he could be admitted once moreinto communion with the Children of thePromise.Thus, as we read, the Hebrew was

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIreminded on every side that " he was ofGod s peculiar people. His time, his food,his raiment, his hair and beard, his fieldand fruit-tree, all were touched by the fingerof ceremonial."As regards the origin of leprosy when it

arose, and where it first appeared nothingdefinite is known. All that can be gleanedis the fact that leprosy prevailed in Egyptas far back as three, or even four thousandyears before the Christian era. Later on,in the reign of Amen-Hotep I., we find ascore of prescriptions inscribed on the oldpapyri for the treatment of an apparentlyincurable disease called ukhedu, which isthought to be synonymous with the plagueof leprosy.Elsewhere we learn that many Jews weresmitten with the disease during the daysof the Captivity. Indeed, some modernauthorities advance the theory that " theEgyptian bondage, with its studied degradation and privations, and especiallythe work of the kiln under the Egyptiansun, must have had a frightful tendency togenerate this class of disorder."


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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYManetho even goes so far as to assert thatthe Egyptians finally drove out the Israelites

because of their leprosy ! * But though thisrendering of the Exodus does not accordwith the Mosaic narration, it throws aninteresting light on contributory causesthe overcrowding and the general want ofsanitation in the Egyptian ghetto beinglargely responsible for the prevalence of thedisease.

It must not be thought, however, thatleprosy was confined to any one people orcountry ; for throughout the years we findfrequent references to it in India so longago as when Atreya reigned (circa 1400 B.C.) ;also in the Japanese records of five hundredyears later.

Foremost among the individual leperswhose names occur in ancient historystands the patriarch Job. The exact natureof his disease has remained unknown ; butthe Talmudists declare that Job s afflictionwas that which is known to-day as " scratching leprosy."

* According to Manetho, 90,000 of the Jewishcaptives were lepers.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIThus the scourge, when it befell, was

justly regarded as worse than death itself.This, indeed, being considered the mostawful of all human tribulations, was thecurse which the old-time Israelite used toinvoke, as the cheerful custom was in thosedays, upon the heads of his enemies. Thuswe find David calling down the curse ofleprosy on Joab for having so treacherouslyslain a noble foe. So, also, did Eliseusutter a malediction on Giezi for his meancovetousness,

il

which was calculated tobring the name of Israel into disreputeamong the heathens." Ozias, too, wasstricken with the plague for taking tohimself the priestly office when he burnedincense on the golden altar of the Temple.This reference to Ozias recalls the notablefact that he lived thereafter in a lazar-house

this being the first authentic reference inancient times to the existence of such aninstitution.Among the profane records of a later

period much information lies scatteredthrough the old parchments. That theGreek and Roman physicians knew of the

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYdisease is evident from writings which arestill extant. Pliny states that leprosy wasunknown in Italy until the time of Pompeythe Great, when it was supposed to havebeen imported from Egypt.Herodotus writes that according to a

popular belief then current in Persia noman was struck with leprosy except he whohad committed a sin against the Sun ; thatthe leprous stranger was driven from outthe country ; and, furthermore, such beingthe horror in which the Persians held theplague, that they even destroyed whitepigeons, thinking them to be tainted withthe dire disease.*

* In view of the important laws and regulationslaid down by Zoroaster (660-583 B.C.) for themoral and social betterment of the Persian people,the question arises whether the segregation of leperswas enforced under his rule. To this BishopCasartelli gives answer that: "though there is nodirect legislation about lepers [in the Avesta], thevery name of the disease therein employed, patsovitaretotanus ** 1 leprosy (causing) the body (to be)avoided \_cf. Germ. Aussatz. from Aus-setzen] indicates the segregation of lepers [tans-=body, vitareto= avoided, set apart, segregated]. The modernPersian name of leprosy is pis (derived from paeso).

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIDuring the early ages of the Church we

findspecial rules laid down for the lepers ofthe community. According to the decrees

of the Council of Ancyra, they were to beexcluded from the churches. The ThirdCouncil of Orleans ordains that every lepermust keep to his own diocese and refrainfrom wandering further afield. But apartfrom this restriction, the Council of Orleansmarks the inception of a more humanetreatment, for among the rules then setdown, it is expressly ordained that the leperswere to be fed and clothed out of the Churchfunds. In the days of St. John Chrysostom,they were even permitted to live within thecities. But that they were obliged to keepmore or less within certain limits is suggestedby the instructions issued to the clergythat the lepers were to be communicatedapart.

Sometimes the sinister figure of the leperreveals itself in one country, sometimes inanother. Now it is the Lombard KingRothar who is making laws and regulationsanent the marriage of lepers. Now it isPippin; and again it is Charlemagne. In later

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYyears Robert the Bruce is quoted as a leper,and according to one authority was sufferingfrom the affliction when he held the Parliament of Cambuskenneth. Henry III., ofWinchester, is supposed to have died of thedisease, as also Henry IV., head of thehouse of Lancaster.Nor were more distant peoples immune,for according to a well-known authority itseems evident that leprosy was not unknown in America prior to the landingof Columbus, the existence of a pre-Columbian form of the scourge beingproved by pieces of ancient pottery, representing deformities suggestive of thisdisease.

But omitting the records of other lands,and confining our attention to those ofWestern Europe, it is significant that thetotal number of leper hospitals at thistime stood at 19,000, of which 2000belonged to France alone. Indeed, tojudge by the official records of thetwelfth century, the kingdom of Francewould seem to have lain prone beneaththe scourge.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAINor was England in much better case.

Here the disease had got a firm hold.*In the eleventh century the first leper

hospital or lazar-house was built in Canterbury, the last being erected in Highgatesome time in the fifteenth century. f Howmany thousands suffered and died duringthose four centuries we have no means ofknowing. But certain it is that the passing

* According to one theory leprosy was broughtinto England by the Crusaders, who had contractedit while in the East, but this is disproved by the factthat the great leper house in Canterbury was builtin 1096, i.e., immediately before the first Crusade,rom 1096 to 1472 there were in all one hundredand twelve leper hospitals in England, not to speakof those other lazar-houses which existed in Irelandand Scotland (see Hastings ** Dictionary of theBible"). Even as late as 1591, a leper hospital wasbuilt at Greenside, near Edinburgh ; while the nameof another and more famous leper settlement northof the Tweed has since been corrupted into thepresent Liberton [i ., Leper Town].

f The name Lazar was given to these hospitals inremembrance of Lazarus, the brother of Martha andMary, to whom, conjointly, the leper hospital ofSherburn (Durham) was dedicated. In the sameway the other term, pauperes Christi, by which themediaeval English lepers were known, owes its originto him whom the Saviour loved.

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYbell was never long silent, and at each tollingit sounded a leper s release. Leprosy wasfound to be here, there, and everywhere.It crouched beside the fields ; it hid behindthe hedges ; it crept inside the hovel ; itdefied the rich and mighty. Before its foetidbreath men and women went down as ripecorn before the sickle. In its awful wakelay the creatures upon whom it had wreakedits vengeance, the extent of its ravages beingfaintly outlined by the long list of lazar-houses which are set down in the old parishrecords. In Norwich alone there were sevenof these charnel-houses ; in King s Lynnfive ; and so on, throughout the length andbreadth of the land.

Happily the scourge of leprosy is no longerrife among us, and these things are now amemory. But although the plague has practically been stamped out in Europe, it stillexistsin lands more distant. Nor is this all, for,by a curious process of evolution, the modernform of the disease is of a more virulent typeand character than the old, and among theworst forms of this latter-day leprosy, is thatfound to-day in certain islands of the far

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIPacific. There the scourge of leprosyassumed such proportions in the last centuryas to necessitate unusually drastic measures.Accordingly the Hawaiian Government in theyear 1850 decreed that every leprous subjectwas to be seized as a malefactor and transported to a lonely island set apart as a Statelazaretto. Here the victims of the fell complaint were doomed to live and die, withoutcomfort and without succour. For, as in theolden days, they were cut off from the livingand deprived of all hope. Set down on abarren headland from which there was noescape ; hemmed in by the frowning cliffsand the sullen sea, the lepers of Molokai feltthemselves forsaken by God and man.

But as in Gospel times, so now in our ownday, the heart of the Divine Healer wasmoved with pity for the stricken among Hispeople. And lo ! He caused His voice tobe heard afar off, even in a tiny Flemishhamlet that lay among the cornfields ; andat the sound, a soul awoke that was destinedto bring good tidings to those that sat indarkness and in the shadow of death.Thus once more, did the Mighty One

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THE SCOURGE OF LEPROSYchoose as His ambassador one of the littleones of the earth an obscure peasant, without position, without power to whom Hegave the command which in days of oldHe put into the mouth of the prophetIsaiah : " Strengthen ye the feeble hands.Say to the faint-hearted, take courage. . . .God Himself will come and save you."

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CHAPTER IIEARLY LIFE OF JOSEPH DAMIEN

DE VEUSTER

UNDERan arching sky of blue, a wide

stretch of lowland lies out in thesunlight. It is a rich flat plain,

without break or undulation. Sometimes ared-tiled farmhouse nestles down beside thecornfields, or the eye is attracted by a waysideshrine where the peasant children linger asthey pass along the straight road that isguarded by poplars.Further along, there stands a small hamlet with a Church in its midst, the cottageroofs just peering over a line of green.

Here and there across the country a giantwindmill raises its arm as if in silentbenediction ; while six miles off, on thenorthern horizon, lies the university town ofLouvain, whose streets re-echo to the soundof passing feet.

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EARLY LIFEAt Tremeloo, on the contrary, all is still.

No sound disturbs the quietude of thelistening fields. The hush of dawn isaccentuated rather than broken by thedistant bells. " Laborare est orare," saythe bells ; and not a man in the fields butbares his head and makes an offering of thenew-born day.How well has the poet set down theprinciple of national greatness in those fewlines wherein he writes :What is it makes a nation truly great ?" Her sons, her sons alone; not theirs, but they;Glory and gold are vile as wind and clayUnless the hands that grasp them consecrate.And what is that in man by which a stateIs clad in splendour like a noontide day ?Virtue : Dominion ebbs and arts betray :Virtue alone endures."

Surely then, these sturdy sons of the soil,these silent, slow moving folk whose daysare passed among her quiet furrows, closeup to the heart of the great Earth-Mother,are the best material of a nation s wealth.Verily, in their souls are planted the seeds ofthe Greater Knowledge.Humanly speaking, it is a dull uneventful

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIlife, this life of daily toil : a hard life too,and bare of reward. For the field labourermust work from sunrise till sunset, and inreturn receive but a pittance. With theexception of the Day of Rest, he has noleisure and but few pleasures. His life isone long monotonous round.

Yet, as Newman reminds us, " Man isborn for labour, not for self ; what right hasany man to retire from the world and profitno one ? He who takes his ease in thisworld, will have none in the world tocome."

But however true this is from the moralpoint of view, it is none the less a fact thatit is only the few to-day who do not raisetheir voices to demand a re-adjustment ofsocial conditions and a fairer division of thegood things of the earth. For truly doesMaurice de Guerin speak, when he says," What a mystery is that of all these rudeand lowly lives ! The day will surely comewhen all these drudges of the world willstretch out towards it, their black and calloushands cracked by the handles of their tools,and will say : Lord, you who have said,

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EARLY LIFE" Blessed are the poor and lowly/ beholdus! "Such are the men of Tremeloo, and

from this particular stock was born thesimple peasant priest, Joseph Damien DeVeuster, whose heroism was destined tobe lauded among the nations, and whosename is now inscribed among the greatmen of all time.Every age, happily, has its heroes. Some

die for country ; others for a cause ; somehave sacrificed themselves for the many,others for an individual friend or stranger ;but the sacrifice of Joseph Damien DeVeuster was not as these. For though hedied that others might live, his object wasnot so much to preserve the life of the bodyas to ensure the salvation of the soul. Forthat alone did he, in the flower of his manhood and the glory of his days, go down toa living death in the lazaretto, pouring outthe riches of his health and strength in theservice of the stricken, and wrestling single-handed with the spirits of darkness for thesouls made reckless by despair. And thissuperhuman labour of love was to continue

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKA1in health and sickness for sixteen years, evenuntil he, too, fell a victim to the disease, andexperienced in his own person the dissolution of the grave.

Before a sacrifice so awful, so complete,so absolute, the world held its breath. It wasgreater than heroism, better than bravery.It was the defying of death and the challenging of hell. And for what ? that he mightsave the souls of sinners.The village of Tremeloo has changed but

little, if at all, since the year of grace 1840when Damien De Veuster was born. Hewas the sixth child of his parents, who, goodsimple folk, earned their bread by theirlabour in the fields. And no better settingcould well be found for the future missionary and apostle, than the humble homewhich seemed to radiate an atmosphere ofquiet peace. For it was here, in the whitewashed cottage with its russet roof andwooden shutters, that he first drew in thestrength and beauty of truth from the lipsof those he loved. From his mother inparticular, who possessed to the full thatstrong abiding faith which characterises

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EARLY LIFEevery true daughter of Flanders, he learntthose early lessons, which in after yearswere to bear such wonderful fruit.

Indeed, the domestic setting of his homelife might almost be a picture from thehand of some old Flemish master : theroomy kitchen with its tall chimney-pieceflanked by the old brass candlesticks;the red flags strewn with yellow sand ; thesacred prints on the walls, and, in a farcorner, a holy water stoup beside a crucifix.And while the firelight played hide and seekwith the shadows, a sudden gleam of redtouched up the burnished copper utensils, thepride and joy of every Flemish housewife.In the foreground were grouped the motherand her children, their childish upturnedfaces expressive of rapt attention as she readto them the well-worn volume. It was the" Lives of the Saints," inscribed in the oldblack letter type a type unintelligible to thechildren, but with which she, of an oldergeneration, was familiar. With handsroughened by toil, she held the bulkyvolume, and as she read, the children drankin those tales of heroic love and sacrifice of

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAImen and women of an earlier day whosedeeds have been set down in the Great Bookof Life because they strove, not for worldlyhonour or glory, but for better and morelasting things.How vividly this reading impressed itselfon the minds of the children may be gatheredfrom their early attempts at asceticism.They not only desired, but seriously triedto imitate the hermits of the desert, and toemulate the example of such men as St.Anthony, the anchorite. Of course therewere obstacles. There always are in anygreat enterprise, and their first difficulty wasto find a convenient desert. Alas ! Belgiumis not rich in deserts. This lack might havediscouraged less earnest seekers, butDamienand his party decided to make the best ofthings. Accordingly they dispensed witha desert and chose instead a leafy copse.This they entered, satchels in hand forthey were on their way to the villageschool when " the call " came and straightway, without any hesitation or wavering, pressed forward into the woodysolitude to devote their lives to prayer and

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EARLY LIFEcontemplation. Each child knelt downbeneath an arching canopy of green, andwith quaint gravity vowed himself to a lifeof silence and reflection. It was tiresome,of course, that the hidden brook babbledaway among the shallows, splashing andlaughing as it ran. And it was a distraction,too, that the birds kept on singing, seeminglybent on outdoing each other. As a seven-year-old hermit Damien found the ascetic lifesomewhat difficult, though with characteristicenergy he braced himself up, determined toshut out these subtle wiles of earth.

At noon, the satchels were opened, andeach child ate his frugal repast with becominggravity. Dinner over, the party remainedplunged in meditation until the shadowslengthened and the sun dropped low on thehorizon. But, alas ! at this moment theywere discovered by a passer by, whoshepherded them home to bed, and thesmall truants, and would-be saints, divestedof their crowns of glory, were soon asleepunder the paternal roof they thought to havequitted for ever.On another occasion, when the absence

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIof the youthful Damien, who had beenmissing since morning, began to causeanxiety in the home circle, he was soughtin the village church, but was not to befound there.

It so happened, however, that there was aKermesse, or annual fair, in a neighbouringvillage. And as the Flemish fair usuallysynchronises with the patronal feast of thevillage church, the Kermesse is an event oftwo-fold importance. The fair lasts threedays, and from miles around the country folkpour in, all in their Sunday-best. Every manwears a clean linen smock ; and some of thewomen a neat black frock trimmed with jet,which is further set off by a bright kerchief at the neck. Others, scorning suchmodern finery, prefer the cosy Flemishcloak, with its gathered hood of shiny blacksatin. These wearers of cloaks are truedaughters of the land and supporters ofancient tradition, a fact which is furtherestablished by the snowy frilled caps whichframe their rosy smiling faces. And howquaintly demure the Flemish children look !They too wear long black cloaks which hang

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EARLY LIFEin stiff Dutch folds about them, whileshining plaits of brown hair, neatly pinnedabove the nape of each small neck, and blackjet bonnets give a touch of elderly dignityto their childish figures.

Clatter, clatter, clatter, go the clogs, as thepeasants hurry to the fair. The cobblestones ring with the noise of the crowd :the village square is agog ; booths and sideshows; stalls of fancy gingerbread ; shootinggalleries ; trestle-tables piled with the much-prized gauffres, or Kermesse dainties, straightfrom the griddle ; tents of mystery, wrestlers,fortune-tellers, monstrosities, human andotherwise, all are there.And while the showmen are bawling theirwares the village band, with distendedcheeks and wildly goggling eyes usual com-comitants of musical endeavour marchproudly past, amid a perfect blare of discordant sound. No sooner has the bandpassed, than the music of the roundaboutonce more gains the ascendant, to the detriment of human nerves.The scene of happy laughing figures is

never still. The peasants, falling into ever27


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIchanging groups, give the impression thatthe village square is a vast kaleidoscope, andthe moving forms, flitting here and there inthe sunlight, but part of a preconceivedpattern.

In the midst of this babel stands the villagechurch, and every now and again a singlefigure will detach itself from the noisy crowdand make its way into the quiet sanctuary.Indeed, a constant stream of holiday-makerspasses backwards and forwards from theboisterous fun of the fair into the hushedatmosphere of the sacred building. Andhere, in the half light of that summer evening long ago, Damien was discovered asolitary little figure close up to the altar.These glimpses of his childhood, and ofhis early fervour are not without interest,

shadowing forth, as they do, his after-life, sofull of that deep religious enthusiasm, without which he could not have accomplishedthe peculiarly trying duties of his ministry.As he grew in boyhood, however, he gaveless evidence of his future destiny. But hewas naturally of a good disposition ; andfrom his earliest years displayed a love of

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EARLY LIFEstudy. At the humble village school therewas little scope for his quick acquiringmind the schoolmaster s learning beingmeagre, and apparently confined to theu three Rs," the high water-mark of villagerequirements.

But if the village school afforded littleinterest or pleasure, there were happily otherjoys which lay outside the school-room.Damien was an expert skater, and throughout the long winter months, when everyriver and canal in Flanders is frozen hardfor weeks, and sometimes months together,Damien spent all his leisure time on the ice.Skating was his only sport, but with him itamounted to a passion. Was there an errandto be run, or a message to be delivered, onwent the skates, and off flew the willingmessenger. And how the icy wind used toblow across the flat level country ! On thesedays the peasant folk went about shivering,with benumbed fingers scarcely able tograsp their baskets as they trudged along tomarket.But to the skilful young skater whose

blades skimmed over the face of the ice in29


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIlong quick flashes, the keenness of the windadded but a fillip to his energies. To Damien,the soft gliding sound of the skates on thefrozen canal came as music to his ear. Whatmattered it, if the icy blast hurried along ina clear sweep off the sky line ? On, on, hesped with flying feet, putting mile after milebehind him, while the tall elms scuddedquickly past like a battalion in retreat.Above him was the clear blue of the Belgiansky, and all around lay the silent fields ofvirgin snow.

But skating could not last for ever, andwhen the winter months were passed,Damien s mind became again a prey toregrets. His wish was to obtain a goodeducation and perhaps, later on, to studyfor the priesthood. But the wish just thenwas deemed a matter of regret in the peasanthousehold, where ways and means had tobe considered.Only quite recently the eldest son hadbeen given to the Church. The parents

could not spare both sons, therefore it wasjudged necessary that Damien should remainat home to help in the field work, and by

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EARLY LIFEhis daily toil bring in the much needed gristto the mill.So the months passed in which Damien

busied himself, not only in digging andplanting, but in every kind of manual work.With his sturdy limbs and vigorous mindhe scarcely knew what fatigue meant. Andhis work never lacked variety. If there wasany carting to be done, Damien did it, andafter a day in the fields, hoeing turnips ordigging potatoes, he would turn his attention to other labours. Was there a gate tobe mended, Damien volunteered. Had afence to be painted, a shed built, a sick cowtended, Damien was ready for the work.Such was the versatility of the boy s naturethat he was equal to any emergency. Hecould literally put his hand to anything.But however willing he was to throw him

self into the duties of his life on the farm, itwas noticeable that his higher nature stillyearned for other spheres of work. Intruth, his way lay apart from the cornfields ;and after much thought and anxious consideration, his parents decided that he shouldcontinue his studies.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIHe was accordingly sent to a school at

Braine-le-Comte in the Walloon district,that he might have greater opportunities foracquiring a knowledge of French. Thisrelief gave Damien a new lease of life. Itpromised the realisation of the dream deephidden in the secret places of his heart. Someschoolboys find lessons tedious. Damienfelt as if he could never learn enough. Thedesire of knowledge was a passion with him.The more he fed it the stronger it grew.His classmates were apt sometimes to lagbehind, but Damien had always to be heldback. So things continued until the timeapproached for him to leave school, andthen a more serious difficulty presenteditself ; Damien s mind was now made up.He would follow in his brother s steps ; theforeign mission was calling him.

But how could he follow the call ? Hisparents still needed him ; perhaps now morethan ever. Without their consent he feltthat he could never enter the priesthood,and in all probability that consent wouldbe refused to him. Damien s fears wererealised. His parents listened patiently and

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EARLY LIFEsympathetically to his arguments, but theyconsidered that, having already given oneson to the ministry, they were entitled tokeep the other, whom they needed not onlythen, but as a help and support in theyears to come. This attitude of his parentsmust have wrung Damien s heart, for hislove of home and family was deep, andended only with his life.On the other hand, Damien felt convincedthat this desire to devote himself to theforeign mission did not come from himself.To him the call was as certainly divine asthat which the infant Samuel heard of old,in the night watches. Therefore his answerwas as Samuel s, but like Samuel, he hadperforce to bide his time. Indeed, it wasonly after long waiting and earnest prayerthat Damien obtained his heart s desire. Foreven when the parents had given their consent they delayed indefinitely to set himfree.Things were in this unsatisfactory condi

tionwhen Damien s father, having business totransact in the town of Louvain, suggestedthat his son should accompany him. Nothing

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIloth, Damien agreed, and it was arrangedthat while M. De Veuster attended to hisbusiness affairs in the town, Damien shouldvisit his brother Pamphile, who was then aChurch student at the Seminary for ForeignMissions.*The brothers accordingly met, with the

result that Damien applied there and thento the Seminary authorities, for permissionto join the Community. His request wasgranted. Therefore, instead of returninghome that evening to take a last farewell ofthose he loved, Damien decided to save hishome-circle the grief of a formal leave-takingand remained within the Seminary walls.So his father returned alone to Tremeloo,

leaving Damien on the threshold of his newlife.

* Congregation des Sacrces-Cceurs. otherwiseknown as the Picpus Fathers.

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CHAPTER IIIAT THE OUTER GATE

WHEN Joseph De Veuster, at the ageof eighteen, put on the religioushabit at Louvain, he gave up hisfamily name, taking in its stead that of hispatron St. Damian a name which he wasdestined to make still more famous.

In joining the community, his ambitionwas to enter the priesthood. But owing tohis ignorance of Greek and Latin, hissuperiors decided that he could not takeorders. It was therefore in the humblecapacity of a lay-brother, of a hewer of woodand a drawer of water, that Damien tookhis place among the community ; and it wasin the willing performance of such menialduties as fell to his share, that Damien firstpressed his feet upon the royal road.Accustomed to the heavy work of the

fields, he made light of his household duties,35


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKA1always contriving, indeed, to take to himselfmore than his share ; and while he workedhe seemed to inspire his companions withhis own cheerfulness and good humour.Damien was never dull ; neither did he knowan idle moment.

Sometimes his brother Pamphile used toseek him out, and, to relieve the tedium ofhis brother s toil, formed the habit of reading aloud, while Damien worked. The bookchosen was a Latin grammar, extracts fromwhich the lay-brother took pleasure in repeating and committing to memory. Begunsimply as a pastime, these impromptu lessonsattracted the attention of his Superior, whoinquired into his progress. The result wasthat the question of Damien s ordinationwas re-considered, and before long theerstwhile lay-brother found himself amongthe aspirants to the priesthood.Damien s joy was now full. His days

were spent in study and prayer, and, in theexercise of his new duties, his characteracquired new strength.He had indeed come into his own, and inthe quiet peace of the Seminary Chapel he

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AT THE OUTER GATEpassed his happiest hours, and sometimes,when the permission was granted, prolongedhis vigil far into the night.The life of a novice is by no means aneasy one. On the contrary, it is full of thosehumiliations and discouragements by whicha man s stability is tested, his fitness gauged,and his mind trained to have just thatpatience with his own shortcomings, as, inafter years, he would need in dealing withthe faults of others. Damien learned theselessons well.

"Do you know," once said de Lamen-nais, " why man is the most sufferingamong creatures ? It is because he has onefoot in the finite and the other in the infinite, and that he is torn asunder, not byfour horses, as in certain horrible times, butbetween two worlds." This being so, it isbut natural that in no place is this sufferingmore keenly felt than in a religious house,where the cultivation of the higher perceptions gives birth to that feeling of Divinediscontent, which, did we but know it, standsas a substitute for that which was lost inthe world s dawn, and which is to-day the

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAImost precious heritage left to the childrenof men. What wonder then, that the novice,whose soul is tempered to an appreciationof that wisdom which is not of earth, whoseeyes seek the HiddenWays and to whom suchmysteries are revealed as it is not given tohumanity to utter what wonder then, if hestretch out vain hands towards the All-Perfect, and with a bitter cry, pray in thewords of St. Paul, that he may be deliveredfrom the body of this death ?

Like the eagle, which was created to spreadits wings in the vast empyrean, and which,newly snared, strains at the chain that bindshim to earth, while, with impotent yearning,he longs to wing his way upwards with gladpinions outstretched even so, does theardent soul who has cast off fleshly trammels,burn with intense desire to be lifted up,that he too, in the plenitude of grace, maymount ever higher and higher.Not that Damien frittered away his time in

unfruitful regrets. He had too much respectfor life to waste it. Life, in his judgment,was given for a definite purpose, each man sduty being to fulfil the end for which he was

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AT THE OUTER GATEmade. And since no one else can accomplishthat particular work which each man isappointed to do, it becomes the more necessary for the individual soul to learn itsindividual mission.

Therefore, during the period of the noviciate, it was Damien s chief care to try andlearn what his life s work was to be. And,as he sat outside the gate whence all wisdomflows, straining his ears to catch a whisperfrom within, it seemed as if he heard avoice in the listening silence. It was a voiceof marvellous sweetness, so soft, so low,yet of such power that he thought it filledall space, making the heavens to thrill again.

" I came to cast fire on the earth/ saidthe voice, " and what will I, but that it beenkindled."Then with a throbbing heart of gladness,

the young Levite bowed his head in acceptance of the trust. This was a promise ofservitude, a ratification of his hope that inthe not far distant future he might be chosento carry the glad tidings to those that dweltafar ; when, with the seal of the priesthoodimprinted on his soul, and, in his hand the

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAItorch of burning charity, he should be sentforth as the Lord s ambassador to fire thecresset of the cross where the shadows laythickest. Nay, might it not be reserved forhim yea, even for him to spend himself,body and soul, in humble imitation of thatapotheosis of charity which found its consummation on the dread hill of Calvary ?So Damien prayed for length of days and

for the loan of the future years, wherein hemight be a lamp to the feet that stumbleand a guide to those that stray.Not in a day do men grow great ; nor is

the saint made perfect in an hour. Thetiny rivulet that draws its strength from theheart of the distant ranges, trickling unseenthrough the tangled fern and the shelteringgrasses, gathering force and intensity as itgoes, both from the night s rain and themorning s dew, is only mindful of the onething necessary, namely, to respond to thesummons of immensity and become absorbedin the might of the ocean into which allstreams flow. Such is the way of man sspirit, whose life is the breath of God." For the earth is gathered up in man : he

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AT THE OUTER GATEis the whole which is greater than the sumof its parts." Nay, more : " having his rootsin the dark places of the earth, but hisbranches in the sweet airs of heaven/ is henot greater than a myriad worlds ?Remembering this, have we not the right

to expect great things from humanity, butmore particularly from those whose mindsfrom early infancy have been familiar withthe deeds of the dead who have fought thegood fight and have gone to their exceedinggreat reward ?But the spirit of generosity and the sacri

fice of self need to be daily fostered andexercised, if they are to be of use in times ofemergency. The sudden act of braverywhich proclaims the hero, the flash of recklessdaring which makes the human pulse beatfaster, is not the result of a moment s thoughtand quick decision. It is the natural andlogical sequence of a man s life. It is, consciously or unconsciously, the result of yearsof preparation the final and tangible victoryover one s objective self. Such is the evolution of character which James Lane Allendescribes as "arising silently within usf


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIbuilt up out of a myriad nameless elementsbeginning at the very bottom of unconsciousness, growing as from cell to cell, atom toatom, the mere dust of victorious experience :the hardening deposits of the ever living,ever rising will, until at last, based on eternalquietude below, and lifting its wreath ofpalms above the waves of life, it standsfinished, indestructible, our inward rock ofdefence against every earthly storm."

Like all great men, Damien built up thestructure of his soul

during those hiddenyears when he lived unknown to the world.And when, his noviciate over, he enteredthe University of Louvain for his course ofphilosophy, there was little to distinguishhim from the many other Church studentswhose life ambition was similar to his own.By degrees, however, his greater aptitude,as well as his energy and dogged perseverance in mastering a difficult subject, madehim a man of mark, and one who was likelyto take a responsible position in the ranksof scholastic teachers a career confidentlypredicted for him by those under whom hestudied.

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AT THE OUTER GATEAs for Damien, he concerned himself not

at all as to what the future might hold.Neither the past nor the future was his, butonly the present. Therefore whatever hishands found to do, that he did with all hismight.

It was about this time that a party of youngmissionaries had been chosen from theCommunity at Louvain for apostolic workin the Sandwich Islands. Among thesewas Damien s brother, who had recentlybeen ordained. But no sooner had the latterbegun to make his preparations for departure, than he was struck down by a seriousillness. This misfortune was a heavy trialto the ardent young missionary, who, apartfrom a

feelingof personal disappointment,was also concerned for the inconvenience

his failure was likely to entail upon others.To toss about on a sick bed when there iswork afoot, to see the chance of a lifetimeslip by, and to know there is no substituteavailable to fill the gap these things constitute a form of suffering known only to thosewho have experienced them.Damien happened to be in the sick room

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIone day when Pamphile gave expression tohis regrets. "What if I went instead?"asked Damien. The suggestion was characteristic in its impulsiveness and its bluntdirectness. Nor was his brother unwilling,so Damien straightway took paper and inkand wrote to the Superior General in Paris.He was not yet ordained, consequentlywithout a signal exception being made inhis favour, the proposal was not likely to beendorsed. Yet it is ever the unlikely thathappens, and two days later Damien receivedword that he had been included among thechosen band.

His preparations were quickly made, forthe party was about to sail. On November I, 1863, they set out, and one hundred and thirty-nine days later put into portat Honolulu.On his arrival, he went into retreat for the

space of two months, where, in silence andsolitude, he prepared himself for the responsibilities which were soon to be his. At theend of the retreat, on May 22, he wasordained priest, his first Mass being celebrated on Trinity Sunday.

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AT THE OUTER GATE"There is something inexpressibly beau

tiful/ says Michael Fairless, " in the unusedday something beautiful in the fact that itis still untouched, unsoiled. . . ." The samemay well be said of the human soul ; andthe glimpse we get of Damien during thatfirst Mass, when, by the power of the spokenword, he recognised his Redeemer seeingHim face to face in the Breaking of Breadis a spiritual scene of rare beauty. So toois his attitude of reverential awe when hedistributed, for the first time, the LivingManna to those who had erstwhile dwelt inthe wilderness, but who now with clearervision, and souls newly purged from thedross of earth, are clothed in white as asymbol of their redemption.Thus did Damien, at the early age oftwenty-three, join the ranks of those whoselife work it is to seek and to save that whichwas lost.

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CHAPTER IVMISSIONARY WORK IN THE

ARCHIPELAGO

ITwas in the Island of Hawaii, the largestof the Sandwich Islands, that Damienfirst laboured as a missionary. His flock

were simple kindly folk, among whom hecontinued to work for the space of nineyears.

At first he was given charge of the parishof Puna, but, hearing that a brother missionary was breaking down from over-workin the larger district of Kohala, Damienasked and obtained leave for an exchange,thus taking upon his own shoulders thosemore strenuous duties which he fulfilled sofaithfully throughout the years he spent atHawaii.

It was a time of unceasing toil and unremitting hardships. But to the youngmissionary whose only desire was to spread


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MISSIONARY WORKthe glad tidings in every corner of his district,these privations counted but little. Sometimes in his letters to the brethren at Louvainhe makes a passing reference to the discomforts of his daily life, but after any suchreference and as if ashamed of having madeit he hurries on to the consideration ofthose better things which constituted hisreward, as for instance : " how often duringthe past three months have I been led, asit were by accident, to some tiny cabin,hidden away in the loneliness, where somedying man would seem to have kept deathat bay until my coming ; and then, withthe waters of baptism still glistening on hisfevered brows, he has gone hence, in answerto the great summons/During the first years of his missionarylabours in the Archipelago he writes frequentletters home, in which he gives glimpses ofhis life in the island. Writing in the year1864, he said : " I have plenty of cares andtroubles, my dear parents, still I am veryhappy. Our Bishop has just made over tome a new parish, a little larger than that ofTremeloo ! It takes me quite a month to

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIget round it. Here we cannot travel by rail,or by carriage, or on foot." This difficultyof transit compelled Damien to purchase ahorse and a mule, for which horse he paidone hundred francs,the mule costing seventy-five francs. With these two mounts, he wasable to travel about at his ease.

"The islanders rejoice," he says, " whenthey see Kamiano and me coming. I likethem immensely, and would willingly givemy life for them. ... So I do not sparemyself when it is a question of going to visitthe sick, or any other persons seven or eightleagues distant."

Indeed this parish of Kohala appears tohave been considerably larger than he wouldhave his parents think, his wish being to savethem anxiety by minimising his burden andthe responsibility that went with it. Butto his brother Pamphile he writes morefreely.

"

Truly," he asserts, " I ought to be proudof my district, for it is as large as the wholediocese of Malines." That the duties wereno sinecure may be gathered by the accompanying extract taken from the " Life and


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MISSIONARY WORKLetters of Damien/ * in which the Englishauthor gives the following account. Thepassage is quoted at length, in view of itsvivid reality.

" One day [Damien] arrived on horsebackat the foot of a high and steep mountain,behind which he remembered there was aChristian settlement, not yet visited by him.Determined to visit it now, he tethered hishorse and began the ascent, climbing up onhis hands and feet owing to the steep natureof the path. The summit reached, he foundhimself on the side of a precipitous ravine,which lay yawning at his feet. No humanhabitation could he see, but in the distancea second mountain as high as the first onemet his undaunted gaze. Without hesitationhe commenced the descent and courageouslybegan to make his way up the second hill inthe same manner as the former. But whatwas his disappointment when he had gainedthe summit ! There was no sign of a churchor village to encourage him. Below him hesaw a large piece of flat country, and beyond

* " Life and Letters of Father Damien," CatholicTruth Society, London.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIthat still, another hill. Any ordinary manwould have turned back in despair, but onewith a spirit like his whose aim was thesaving of souls, could not be so easilydaunted." Accordingly, "he persevered inhis journey over the third mountain and thenanother ravine, till he had to stop from sheerfatigue. His hands were now torn andlacerated and the blood flowed freely ; hisfeet too were wounded, for the boots thatshould have protected them were cut andrendered almost useless by the hard treatment they had received. As he looked uponhis blood-stained hands and feet, he gainedcourage, and calling to mind the sufferingsof Our Lord, he said, Courage ! the goodGod also has shed his blood for those soulsyonder ! He started again on his labourof love, and when at last, travel-worn andexhausted, he reached his destination, hewas well repaid by the Christians, who welcomed, for the first time, their new foundApostle."Up to comparatively recent times, Hawaii

was entirely pagan. Kamehameha the First,however, was a progressive ruler. It was he

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MISSIONARY WORKwho abolished the system of caste, or tabu,in his tiny kingdom, bringing the SandwichIslands within reach of a higher civilisation.Under the old-time system " it was death fora man to let his shadow fall upon a chief.. . . No woman might eat with her husband."Neither might she eat any of those thingswhich were offered to idols, such as " fowl,pork, cocoanut, or bananas." For breakingthese laws, the culprit was punished withdeath. So too, if a man disturbed publicworship by making an unseemly noise, hewas executed. Another custom which musthave tended to make the mason s craft unpopular, was, that on the completion of anative temple, one or more of the workmenhad to be offered up in sacrifice. " Infanticide was a common practice ; maniacs werestoned to death. Old people were buriedalive or left to perish. There was no writtenlanguage. . . ."Such was the state of Hawaii when the

first missionaries arrived in the year 1820.A new king was then sitting on the thronewho was prepared to extend a welcome tothe strangers. No sooner therefore had the


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIband of devout Congregationalists takenpossession of their official quarters than asignal honour was paid them. The king andhis five wives came to visit them.The royal party, it appeared, had gonedown to bathe that morning, and, while so

engaged, conceived the idea of paying theirduty-call without further delay. Accordinglythey stepped out of the sea, and so into theCongregational presence.The painful sense of shock with whichtheir hosts received them may be betterimagined than described. And it wouldseem that the missionaries went so far as toprotest at the absence of raiment, urgingthat the occasion called for greater state apoint of view which seemingly appealed tothe king s sense of fitness, for in his subsequent visits to the mission-house he wascareful to draw on the royal stockings, as adelicate concession to Western ideas plusChristian prejudice.

Later on, a native chieftainess became aconvert to Christianity the same Kapiolaniwho in 1824 broke the spell which hungover the great volcano, the supposed home

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MISSIONARY WORKof the terrible goddess Pele. Kapiolani hasbeen described by Edward Clifford * as

" marching with her retinue across theplains of lava till she reached the lake offire. Then she flung into it the sacredohelo berries and defied Pele to hurt her.There was a horror-stricken silence ; but nocalamity followed." This bold action onthe part of Kapiolani is supposed to havedone much to break down the superstitionwhich formed the basis of the formercultf

It was not until 1839 that Catholicism wasintroduced into the Archipelago, since whichdate the Church of England has also established different mission centres.The Sandwich Islands being of volcanic

origin earthquakes are not uncommon, whilethe frequent eruptions of the burning mountain Kilanea form a lurid background to lifein Hawaii.* Edward Clifford s " Father Damien."f A charming account of the heroism 01 this first

Christian chieftainess and of the part she tookin breaking down the old-time prejudices of theHawaiian people is set down in Tennyson s poem" Kapiolani."

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIEdward Clifford describes the volcano as

follows. The crater, he says, is "round likea cup, and is about three hundred feet indiameter (as large as a small circus). Its rim isabout ten feet high, and it isfullof boiling lava.The lava is as liquid as thick soup, and of abluish grey colour, with occasional greenishtints. It keeps simmering and heaving, andthen it breaks in all directions into mostlovely vermilion cracks, changing into violetand then into dead grey. Nearly all roundthe edge it shows scarlet, and tosses upwaves which are not unlike the waves of thesea, only they are red hot, and the sprayis the colour of coral or of blood. Abovethem there is often a beautiful lilac or violeteffect. This violet atmosphere of the fireis one of the loveliest of the phenomena.Sometimes the edge of the volcano getsundermined with its fiery waves, and topplesover with a crash, and all the time a roaringsound goes on like the roaring of the sea.And now, as one watches, one suddenlysees a scarlet fountain beginning to play inthe middle of the lake. At first it is abouttwo feet high, with golden spray, then it

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MISSIONARY WORKgets wilder and larger and more tumultuous,tossing itself up into the air with a beautifulkind of sportiveness great twistings of fieryliquid are springing high into the air, likeserpents and griffins. . . ."Damien had now been in Hawaii fouryears. That they were not uneventful maybe seen by the letter (undated) which hewrites about this time.

" HAWAII." MY DEAR PARENTS. It is now more

than two years since I received any news ofyou, either from yourselves or my brothers.Pauline and Auguste have, however, writtento me lately. . . .

"As for me, my dear Parents, I am quitewell, and very happy in the office which theLord has entrusted to me. My duties willbe somewhat lighter now than in past years,as a priest has come to help me and labourwith me in my immense parish, whichextends over twenty leagues. In the fouryears I have been here, I have built fournew Churches and repaired one old one. Imyself had to do the work of a carpenter.I have still one or two Chapels to build in

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAImy parish, and then we can live more comfortably. Last year I succeeded in bringinginto the right path about sixty heathens, towhom I administered Baptism. . . .

" Last year we had some very violent earthquakes here, caused by the gaseous vapoursfrom the volcano. More than thirty menwere killed by the eruption of the volcano,and about forty by a great wave which brokeon the land with such force that no one hadtime to escape. An entire village, with anewly built stone Church, was destroyed bythe inundation. The roofs of two otherstone Churches fell in, in consequence ofthe earthquake.

" Leprosy is beginning to be very prevalent here. There are many men coveredwith it. It does not cause death at once,but it is very rarely cured. The disease isvery dangerous, because it is highly contagious. The population of our islands consists of some sixty-two thousand at present.It was larger formerly. There are in alltwenty-one priests in different parts of theislands. The island where I am, is largerthan all the others together. Here there

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MISSIONARY WORKare seven priests who serve about twentyChurches and, I think, about one third ofthe population are Catholics, and the restare either Protestants or pagans.

" Do not forget, my dear parents, to prayfor me every day ; there are so manydangers here for both soul and body.

" Your affectionate son,"JEF. DE VEUSTER."*

From a reference in the above, it is clearthat news came but seldom from Tremeloo.Yet in spite of his busy missionary life, andin spite of his absorbing duties and hisarduous labours, Damien s love of homewould seem to have grown even strongerwith the years.For never, surely, was Tremeloo so dearto the heart of Damien as it was in theloneliness of his exile. He could see it allso plainly : the little Flemish village wherehis own folk lived ; he could see the shadowsgathering in the quiet graveyard beside theold grey church ; and when the Angelus

* " Life and Letters of Father Damien," CatholicTruth Society, London.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIrang out across the fields, he fancied hecould catch the whispered prayer as hisfather stood and bared his head in thesilence.However busy his day might be, Damien smind found time to think of those who were

dear to him, and though his letters homewere few and far between, they alwaysbreathe the same strong spirit of filial love,as witness the following letter :

" KOHALA, HAWAII,"October 12, 1869.

"MY DEAR PARENTS, I have at lengthreceived your welcome letter. For a longtime I have been distressed and in suspenseabout you, not knowing what might havehappened. I learn to my great joy that youare in good health. As for me, thanks beto God, I am very well ; I have never beenill since I have been here. My duties arealways the same. In this last year I havebuilt two new Churches, one of which I havehanded over to another priest, together withhalf of my vast district, so that my work is abit easier. At present I have three Churches

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MISSIONARY WORKto serve, at fifteen miles distance from oneanother. I say Mass at each in turn onSundays. The last Church I built is a finelooking building with a nice little tower.I am still waiting for the bell that Augustehas so often promised me, but it nevercomes. Apart from the manual labourwhich I furnish almost entirely myself, thiswooden Church has cost me about fourthousand francs. After spending my lastfarthing, I was still four hundred francs indebt, but Providence came to my aid. Asthere is no bell yet, we call our peopletogether with a horn.

" Continue to pray for the conversion ofthese heathen. Perhaps it is in consequenceof your prayers, that God has granted methe conversion of the forty or fifty pagansand heretics whom I have baptized this lastyear. The best way to render our prayersacceptable to God is to purify our conscienceby the Sacrament of Penance, and to livealways in His fear. I am myself exposedhere to many dangers of body and soul.But knowing that I can do nothing of myown strength, I put my confidence in Our

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAILord, Who has accepted my service, andnourishes me daily with His Body andBlood in the Holy Sacrifice. It is moreover a great consolation to me to offer Massnow and then for my dear parents, mybrothers and sisters.

"You must not be surprised, my dearfather, that our natives here use neitherspoons nor forks, neither chairs nor tables.It is the custom to eat with their fingers, andto sit on the ground ; but they have nicemats in their houses to sit on. It is thesame thing in the Church. At first I madebenches for them, but they would not usethem, and I find it much more economical.On Sundays they are generally well dressed,but on week days they go half naked. Thenative population is continually decreasing.

" Write me as soon as you can and giveme a little more news. How many childrenhave Lonce and Gerard ? What has becomeof the mill ?

" Your affectionate son,"JOSEPH."

*

* " Life and Letters of Father Damien," CatholicTruth Society. London.

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MISSIONARY WORKThroughout his correspondence to his

own people, there is the same affectionateinterest in the small affairs of home andthe trivialities of everyday life. Sometimeshe writes to warn them against some projected business scheme which he thinksunwise ; at other times his letter contains asuggestion for the more frequent receptionof the Sacraments ; for he would have thembetter than good.A letter to his sister Pauline, now a nunat Uden in Holland, further accentuates thehuman side of Damien s character, andseems to recall the evenings of their childhood, when he and she sat together in theglancing firelight, and drank in from theirmother s lips those tales of love and daringwith which the saints of old linked worldwith world, and by wondrous acts of sacrifice climbed up from earth to heaven.This letter, written in 1872, is the last ofthose from Hawaii, for the time was nowapproaching when Kohala would see himno more. So far, however, he is unconscious of what the near future holds instore.

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI" KOHALA, HAWAII,

"July 14, 1872" MY DEAR SISTER PAULINE, Three years

now, and not a line from you. Where areyou then, my dear sister ? Are you off toHeaven already ? Not so fast, if you please.A little more time is wanted to win thatCrown. Take pity, then, on your poorbrother, who by dint of being so longforgotten, will become a regular savageamong savages. Well, I certainly love mysavages, who will soon be more civilisedthan Europeans. They all here know howto read and write, and are quite well dressedon Sundays. I have in my own district,which contains three thousand souls, fourchapels built of wood, very neat, where I sayMass in turn on Sundays. I endeavour toinstruct my people as well as I can, especially the chief men who take my place in myabsence, hold meetings on Sundays, andpreach. Visiting the sick is my chief dailytask. We have to fight their doctors whoare generally nothing but sorcerers. Incases of sickness, idolatrous sacrifices arestill in use. All diseases are attributed to

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MISSIONARY WORKmysterious causes. It is very hard to disabuse these poor people of such superstitiousnotions. Still by dint of preaching andwatching over them, especially when sick, Ihave hopes that a good many of my flockdie in good dispositions. They are alwaysglad to receive the last Sacraments. Deathcarries off in these islands more in a yearthan are brought into life ; so the nativepopulation is continually diminishing. Atpresent there are about sixty thousandnatives in our group of islands. Ourmission goes on fairly well ; we are twenty-five priests in all, with Churches everywhere.We do our best to hold our own against theProtestants. Our Sisters beat them with theirgirls school ; but as regards the educationof the boys, they beat us. Our priestlyduties occupy us too much for us to keepschools. There should be Brothers for thatduty. A few months back, we had twoterrible hurricanes. The first, in the coupleof hours that it lasted, smashed a hundredhouses. The second lasted three days. Mychapels stood it well : two in the neighbouring district were blown away. I play

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIthe carpenter when necessary, and have agood deal of work in painting and decorating my chapels. In general I have muchbother and little consolation ; and it isonly by God s grace that I find my yokesweet and my burden light. When I get alittle unwell, I congratulate myself that theend is near ; but I am content with my lot,only let perseverance crown my work.

" Let us be in the hands of God as toolsin the hands of a skilful workman. Whetherin life or death, we belong to Jesus. Prayfor me.

"DAMIEN." ** " Life and Letters of Father Damien," Catholic

Truth Society, London.


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CHAPTER VGATHERING CLOUDS

BUT clouds fraught with misfortunefor the Sandwich Islands weremassing on the horizon. At first nobigger than a man s hand, the herald patchdrifted up from the vague, and was quicklyfollowed by others. Silent and sinister theyjoined together, then with arms outstretchedand with scarce a cry of warning, they flungdown a pall of sorrow which covered everyisland in the Archipelago. Thus, before thepeople were conscious of their danger, thestorm broke, carrying all before it Therewas no escape ; the victims of disease wereswept along like straws in the eddying stream.Homes were brokenup and families scattered;husbands were torn from wives ; childrenwere wrested from their mothers arms ;young men and maidens were struck downand forced to part. Neither old nor young

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIwere spared ; neither age, nor sex, nor condition. The blow fell alike on the innocentand the guilty. Like a hurricane the scourgecame down upon the islands, and in itswake rose a sound of wailing. It was a crywhich struck terror into the heart, for ittold of the loved ones who had been drivenout, to meet a fate that was worse thandeath.

It is now nearly sixty years since theplague of leprosy first appeared in the Sandwich Islands. Once established, the diseasespread rapidly, the extraordinarily sociablehabits of the islanders lending wings to theinfection.

In Hawaii the spirit of hospitality is paramount. The passing stranger has only toenter a native dwelling to be reckoned abosom friend. From henceforth he is madefree of the cabin and of all it contains. TheHawaiian knows no half measures. He willshare his last crust with his guest. Nay, isnot his well-seasoned pipe passed from handto hand, and may not the necessitous wayfarer enjoy the full half of his host s sleepingmat ?

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GATHERING CLOUDSAnd among the women, will not the sick

and the sound borrow and lend the well-used garment, with a superb contempt forthe laws of hygiene ? In view of thesethings it is not surprising that leprosy shouldhave won its way into the islands, disputingpossession of the little kingdom with itslawful sovereign.

Therefore the local government, suddenlyroused to the urgency of the case, resolvedupon immediate action. A law was accordingly passed, by which it was ordained thatevery leper, irrespective of his social standingor position, was to repair forthwith to theIsland of Molokai, there to spend the yearsthat remained to him.To the easy-going Hawaiian, who had

grown familiar with the disease in the personof his friends, the blow fell with unexpectedsuddenness. It sent a chill to his heart.From henceforth the leper was not only asick man, but a felon, and to his physicalsuffering must be added the greater pain ofexile. No longer might he indulge in thosefriendly acts of social intercourse, the confidences exchanged in the open doorways?


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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIthe quiet pipe under the trees, the laughingwords bandied in the sunlight these thingswere denied him for ever.

Generous, light-hearted, irresponsible apeople of laughter and tears, unconcernedwith what the morrow may hold, theHawaiians live entirely in the present. Lifeto them is full of the warmth and scentof the tropics. It is a wondrous worldof colour and of dreams. Robert LouisStevenson, who knew the South Seas betterperhaps than any other European writer,gives in his "Letters"* some vivid glimpsesof the different island groups which aredotted about the broad Pacific. And inthose Letters he sets down, with the pen ofa master, the characteristics of the islanders

their vices and their virtues, their failingsand their kindly traits, which together forma fascinating study in native psychology.Sometimes he tells of weird happenings

and strange adventures ; now his letterscome up from the blue troughs of the sea ;now he writes from some obscure islandcapital ; or else he takes up his pen while

* " Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson," vol. ii.68


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GATHERING CLOUDSvisiting one of those low-lying atolls, builtup out of the frail coral, which may outlastthe centuries or disappear in a night ; for inthe Pacific, human life is largely dependenton the good pleasure of the deep.And how refreshing are his accounts ofhis journeyings, as, for instance, when hecamped at Apemama, and lived on salt junkand cocoanut, with a king for his guest.And this king, as depicted by Stevenson,is not like other kings. Tembinoka, saysR. L. S., "is a great character a thoroughtyrant, very much of a gentleman, a poet, amusician, a historian, or perhaps rather agenealogist. It is strange to see him lyingin his house . . . writing the history ofApemama in an account book ; his description of one of his own songs, which he sangto me himself, as about sweethearts, andtrees and the sea and no true, all-the-same-lie, seems about as compendious adefinition of lyric poetry as a man can ask."It is probably because the royal scribecounted Stevenson as a brother in the craft,that he condescended to share his repast ofthe salt junk and the cocoanut. This he

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIdid as often as he could spare the time fromhis kingly duties. But when the cares of akingdom prevented it, he despatched theroyal cook to fetch away the royal share ;for the white light that is said to beat abouta throne, appears to have inconveniencednone at the court of Apemama.

Writing still from the Gilbert Islands(which are not so far from the Sandwichgroup), Stevenson says : " the beech-comberis perhaps the most interesting characterhere : the natives are very different on thewhole from Polynesians : they are moral,stand-offish (for good reasons) and protected by a dark tongue. It is delightful tomeet the few Hawaiians (mostly missionaries)that are dotted about, with their Italian brio,and their ready friendliness." And as givinga background and a local atmosphere to lifein the Pacific an atmosphere which is notpeculiar to any one group of islands, but iscommon to most, Stevenson proceeds tooutline the following picture, in which hegives place to that wonderful colouring whichgoes to make up the freshness and charm ofthe islands.

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GATHERING CLOUDS" The whites," he says, " are a strange lot,

many of them good, kind pleasant fellows ;others quite the lowest I have ever seen inthe slums and cities. I wish I had timeto narrate to you the doings and charactersof three white murderers (more or lessproven) I have met. One, the only undoubtedassassin of the lot, quite gained my affectionin his big home out of a wreck, with hisNew Hebrides wife in her savage turban ofhair, and yet a perfect lady, and his threeadorable little

girlsin Rob Roy MacGregordresses, dancing to the hand-organ, perform

ing circus on the floor . . . and curling uptogether on a mat to sleep, three sizes, threeattitudes, three Rob Roy dresses and sixlittle clenched fists ; the murderer meanwhilebrooding and gloating over his chicks, tillyour whole heart went out to him ; and yethis crime on the face of it was dark. . . ."

Surely, the tropical sun must have enteredinto the veins of the beech-combers, untilthey too, partake of the wilder and morepassionate nature to which the stolid Britonis more or less a stranger. For where else,except in the far Pacific, are scenes so

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIpicturesque, or so paradoxical ; where elsedoes the fire smoulder under an exterior soplacid ; where else does it burst forth sosuddenly into licence all untrammelled ?Given normal conditions the native of the

Sandwich Islands is happy and law-abiding.But once his environment is changed, oncehe is hampered and constrained and driveninto exile, then the darker side of his natureappears, and his manhood goes. For theHawaiian is not built to withstand the storm.He is, figuratively speaking, but a light craftfashioned to sail only in a smooth sea.

Yet it was among these frail vessels thatthe storm broke. It was in the midst of thelaughter-loving natives that leprosy rose uplike an awful spectre, carrying off in hiswake the old and the young, the strong andthe weak, and whomsoever he beckonedhad perforce to follow.

So, when the government edict went forthand the island of Molokai was named as theState lazaretto, a cry of anguish and despairwas heard throughout the Archipelago.

It was an easy thing to promulgate thedecree; the difficulty lay in its execution.

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GATHERING CLOUDSThe lepers were scattered all over the islands,and the one idea of the inhabitants was nowto circumvent the authorities. The strongaffection which is part and parcel of theHawaiian nature was roused by the thoughtof separation. Wives clung to their husbands,and husbands to their wives. It was all invain : the arm of the law was stronger thanthe tender bonds of humanity. Sometimesindeed the sick were successfully hiddenaway in some lonely cabin among the lavabeds, some in the nooks and crannies of thehill-side. But even then, the respite wasshort. Sooner or later the soldiery trackedthem down, pursuing them as malefactors tobe wrested by force from home and happiness.The lot of the lepers was indeed pitiable.They were seized and dragged from theirhiding - places, their relatives and friendsbeing unable any longer to help them. Andas they looked their last on the faces ofthose dear to them, the air was filled withcries and lamentations. And when the finalmoment arrived so keen was the sorrow ofparting that those who were sound pleaded

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIto share the pain of exile with those thatwere sick. But all their entreaties fell ondeaf ears. The lepers must go alone. Sothey departed amid sounds of bitter grietsuch as can hardly be gauged by those whohave not known their sorrow.These sights, alas, became all too common

in the islands. Every year the roll-callincreased. Each district supplied its awfulquota, and month by month a new consignment of lepers was carried off to their livingtomb at Molokai.What wonder then, that the heart of

Damien De Veuster should have been movedwith compassion for these victims of sorrowand disease. How often had he watchedthem take ship, and go out from amongstthe living, never to return. Many of themwere known to him ; some were his ownparishioners. And into what a pit had theyfallen ? Alas ! the lazaretto was a by-wordin the ways of iniquity.It was the thought of the spiritual desolation to which the lepers were exposed thatstirred Damien s strong nature : it was thecrying need of these human souls that made

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GATHERING CLOUDShim long to devote himself to the regeneration of the leper colony. But he had to waituntil 1873 for his opportunity. It came withthe consecration of a new church in theneighbouring island of Mani, to which ceremony Damien had been invited. After theservice, at a reception of the assembled missionaries, the Bishop, in the course ofconversation, expressed his regret that, owingto the fewness of their numbers and theextent of their work, he was unable to provide for the leper colony whose needs werecontinually present to his mind.

At the Bishop s words Damien s heartleaped within him, and he immediately volunteered as Chaplain to the lazaretto. But theBishop demurred. Damien was young ; hislife was before him; besides, he had his ownwork at Kohala.

But, as if the Divine seal had already beenset upon Damien s sacrifice, the Bishop sobjections were suddenly overcome. A partyof young missionaries had landed the daybefore, to help in the work of the islands.Therefore when Damien suggested that hisdistrict of Kohala should be transferred to

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DAM1EN OF MOLOKAIone of the new-comers, his request wasgranted, and on the afternoon of the sameday, without making the smallest preparation, and without any farewells, the apostleof the lepers set sail for the island ofMolokai.


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CHAPTER VIMOLOKAI

ITis a little wedge-shaped island, perhapsthirty miles by seven, and it lies in thetrack of the traders that ply between

Sydney and San Francisco.In the very early morning, before thesun s rays, like a glad host, spread out their

wings to herald the coming day, the islandrises up in its garment of mist like somebeautiful spirit of the deep. Seen thus inthe distance, she is all fair, for the diaphanous drapery in which she wraps herself, buthalf conceals and half reveals the beauty ofform beneath, while from her inmost heartgleam those opalescent tints which, likechildren of the rainbow, come at times tobrighten the days of man s exile.

Surely it must have been a vision such asthis that the Celtic Sagas describe in thelegends of old when they speak of a jewel

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DAMIEN OF MOLOKAIset in the sea, of an island wrapped roundin the mists of the dawn a place of musicand enchantment which ever called to theold-time mariners who set sail, not once,but many times, in quest of that land ofwhich their fathers dreamed Tir-na-no

Quinlan - Damien of Molokai

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