THE FUEGIAN WOMAN AND THE PRIEST.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 50, 4 April 1890, Page 15

THE FUEGIAN WOMAN AND THE PRIEST.

(Liverpool Catholic Times, Feb. 1.)

A touching incident occurred last week in one of the London workhouse infirmaries, of which the Press has not taken much uotica, but which may be noted here as one more instance of the widereaching power and activity of the Catholic Church in tuccoaring human misery and soothing human sonow, For some months this winter there was on exhibition at the Westminster Aquarium what was described as a family of savages from Tierra del Fuego. The exhibition was a pitiful one, a feature of it being the daily feeding of the poor creatures on raw meat in public, as if they were wild beaats. The Fuegians were lately sent on to some show in Brussels, but one of the women was too ill to travel from London, and she was left in the infirmary of St. George's Union, where she died. From evidence given at the inquest it appeared that the only one who could communicate with the poor dying creature was a London priest, Father Herbert, one of the Servitesfrom the church in Falham road. When interviewed on the subject by a Pall Mall Gazettt reporter, Father Herbert said that he had great difficulty in getting her to speak. "I tried her in many ways," he 6aid, "and got a friend to address her in Portuguese, which she seemed to understand a little. At last I spoke to her in a hotch-potch of Spanish pnd Italian, which seemed to be familiar to her e»rß. I spoke in a singsong voice, which at once attracted her attention. She asked in the same mixture of languages if I was one of ' the Black Fathers,' and if I was a medicine man. From this fact I do not believe that she was a Fuegian at all, but belonged to s^me tribe which had been near some civilised centre. Then I asked if she would pray, and she said at once, ' Si, pregia sempre.' I then repeated some simple prayer in Italian, whica she at once said after me. I also showed her a crucifix, which she kissed. When I gave her my hand, she said in a pleading voice, ' Bacio ? ' I said • Yes,' and she at once kissed it. From all I was able to gather I am sure she had some religious knowledge, and had very likely met some of Father Bisco's missionaries." The Salesian Fathers are engaged in missions in Patagonia. Probably it was somewhere there th's poor woman met them, and Providence r j warded her attention to (heir teachings by bringing a priest to her bedside in the London hospital who was able to help her with sime of the last rites of the Church, and to comfort her with kindly human sympathy,;

Mr. William Allingbam expressed the wish before he died that his memory shouli be perpetuated in his native Ballyshannon. His townsmeu are about to place a memorial tablet on the bridge of the town. The wish speaks the Irish heart of the dead poet.

A subscription has been opened at Madrid to make a presentation to the widow and children of the Duke d'Aosta, in memory of the yeais in which Amedeo was King of Spain. The gift to the Duchess will be a costly necklace.

Prince Emanuel Philibert, the eldest son of Prince Amedeus, has now the title of Due d'Aosta. He is a young man of fine physique, with delicate features resembling those of his mother, the Duchess Maria Vittoria. A few days ago he completed hie twentyeighth year. His father, a short time before his death, appointed him guardian of his younger brothers. The Duke will continue ta reside at Turin.

The churches of Mexico were once the richest in the world. The wealth of quarries and mine 9 was unstintingly employed m their construction and adornment. Every parish chapel, every oratory and shrine, as well as every great cathedral, waa a marvel of native handiwork and matchlese artistic skill. The conquerors undoubtedly brought much evil to the land of the Montezumes, but they al'o brought many blessings, chief amongst which waß the true faith of Christ. Their piety loved to display itself in erecting temples to the living God, and the grandest church edifices trace their history back to old Spanish days. But, alas I many of these once gorgeous temples have been pillaged, others have been converted from their religious uses into barracks and warehouses, others, still, have been levelled to the ground — and all this in the name of law and at tbo instance of despotic rulers. There are 6,000 churches remaining in. this Kepublic— not too many for 10,000,000 of Catholic?. Within the last quarter of a centuiy, numbers of bishops and priests were banisned, and the people left, ia enthe districts, without their spintunl guides. The priesthood, which has iia hardships in eveiy country, was here a difficult and dangerous calling, and the ranks uf the clergy were slowly recruited. At the present time theie are hut 2,500 priests to break the Bread of Life find to administer the Sacraments. The Church iB supported mostly by voluntary contnbutions ; but as the Catholics, in many of the States, are exceedingly poor, tha Church revenues are not abundant. Tithes have been abolished under the civil Constitution, and valuable ecclesiastical property confiscated.