octave in that sacred shrine, and then, with the seal of its authenticity attached, is sent to Nazareth, and from thence, year by year, forwarded to churches in far-off lands. Gratefully does she accept it for a church very dear to her heart in her own land, the beautiful Church of the Oblates of St. Charles, where she received her first teachings of Catholic truth. And then she stood listening to his few parting words of kindness and loving counsel.

"I have nothing of value to give you, my child," said the old man in conclusion; "nothing but this, the breviary given me by the bishop who ordained me in the Tyrol many years ago. See, it has the picture in it of my patron saint, St. Wenceslaus, and of our Franciscan brethren who were martyred in Japan. Take the book and read it, if you can, daily, in remembrance of me. You have been so accustomed to say office with us that you will have little difficulty in finding your places. Some day I hope you will be admitted into the third order, and then you know our office will be incumbent on you."

Sorrowfully the lady received his parting gift and blessing, and mounting rode away.

As she reached the brow of the hill she looked back, and still saw the brown figure of the kind old monk standing watching her from the convent door. It was the last time she was to see him on earth.

A few months later a malignant fever which broke out at Tiberias carried off the Franciscan priest who served the little church of St. Peter there. The Padre Guardiano instantly set off to replace him till a successor could be appointed. But the same poisonous air rapidly filled his veins. He fell sick the following day, and in less than twenty-four hours the end came. He died alone and unattended, save by a poor Greek priest who came to administer to him the last rites of the Church. Yet surely other ministries waited, unseen, around that dying bed; and the dark river past, those words must have echoed in his ears: Euge, serve bone et fidelis; quia in pauca fuisti fidelis supra multa te constituam; intra in gaudium Domini tui.”

66

Ir is a prevalent impression that there is no legal relief for the poor in France, because there is no cla s answering to that of “paupers," and no workhouses. But although no dingy brick buildings, nor palatial structures, destined for the reception of the indigent, meet the traveller's eye in France, and although there are neither paid overseers, nor surly masters, nor salaried union doctors connected with the administration of aid to the distressed in that country, still there can be no doubt that the poor are there much more tenderly treated, and more efficiently relieved, too, than in England. Amongst us, relief attended with enormous expense is thanklessly received, because it is almost always contemptuously, and but too often brutally, administered; and because here poverty is regarded as a crime to be punished, rather than as a misfortune to be alleviated; whereas in France, the revenue destined to succor those requiring public assistance is dispensed with an economy which permits almost all the receipts to go directly to the purpose for which they are designed, and alms are given in a manner calculated to assuage the humiliated feelings of the recipients; the rule most strongly insisted upon in the official instructions issued to the directors of the "Bureaux de Bienfaisance" in France being the truly Christian one, “that in the distribution of relief they must always remember that misfortune does not obliterate shame or destroy selfrespect, and that one of their most important duties is to succor the unfortunate without causing them a blush."

Before the great Revolution of 1789, the sick, the infirm, the aged, and the destitute were relieved in France by the convents and monasteries, whose ample revenues enabled them to provide liberally for the

VOL. XIV.-16

necessities of the surrounding poor, and by the public hospitals, which were numerous and richly endowed ; but in the first outburst of unbridled license and infidelity which followed that memorable event, religion and everything pertaining to its sustenance was swept away, and public charity ceased when the sources from which its support was derived were directed to other purposes.

In 1793, and the following year, the sufferings of the French people were extreme, and some attempts were then made to establish a system of relieving the poor; but it was only after the Reign of Terror had fairly passed away, and when the national mind was in some measure reassured by the brilliant victories which saved France from invasion, and by a comparative state of internal tranquillity, that the government had sufficient time or power to devote itself to a serious consideration of the means necessary to alleviate the misery of the indigent and afflicted. On the 27th November, 1796, the Directory introduced and succeeded in passing a law which, with unimportant modifications, is that under which public relief to the poor is at this moment administered in France.

The French system of poor relief is entirely and strictly confined to outdoor assistance, save only that portion of it which is administered through the "hospices" and hospitals; the former serving as asylums for deserted children, and those whom old age or incurable infirmities may have rendered incapable of earning their bread, and the latter appropriated to the reception of those suffering from acute disease, or accidents which necessitate medical advice and assistance. By the law of 1796 a tax of one penny per ten francs ($2) was imposed for the benefit of charitable establishments

on all tickets sold for admission to theatres where plays were acted, where balls or concerts were given, or horsemanship performed, and also on the rents of the boxes of such establishments which were let by the season or year. By a decree of 21st August, 1806, there was further appropriated to the same purposes onefourth of the gross receipts of all balls, concerts, races, exhibitions of fireworks, and all other sorts of entertainments to which the public are admitted by tickets or subscriptions. This last tax was designed to bring within the range of the law the rural communes where there are no theatres, but in which there are annual "ducasses" (parochial fêtes), which generally last for three days, and other reunions or dances of more or less importance. And by a subsequent decree, all lands originally belonging to hospitals, and which had been usurped by the nation, were restored to those institutions, together with a pecuniary indemnity for the misappropriated rents. In addition to the taxes levied on the amusements of the people, the directors of relief are empowered to order collections for the poor to be made in the churches of all religious denominations, to have boxes for the receipt of donations set up in all public places of business or amusement, and, if need be, to make domiciliary quests once a quarter throughout the commune. They have, besides, at their disposal fees on the sale of burial-places, and a certain sum contributed by the municipalities, the amount of which is regulated according to the number of those considered as fitting objects of charity. Independently of the resources already enumerated, and which are placed under the control of the Bureaux, there is always provision made in the Budget of the Minister of the Interior for extraordinary distress beyond the means of local charity. In such cases, this money is applied to the employment

of able-bodied laborers in the suffering districts on public works of national utility. The "hospices and hospitals are entirely, or in part, supported by the confiscated estates restored to them under the first empire; and when their own resources prove insufficient, the deficiency is made good by grants from the municipalities. The old and infirm inmates are employed in performing any light work required within the house which is not beyond their strength; and for this they receive small gratuities, which they expend on tobacco and snuff, or in procuring for themselves what they term "petits douceurs" (little delicacies), in addition to the ordinary diet of the establishment. As regards the deserted children, along with receiving an excellent education the boys are taught trades, and the girls are instructed in every description of embroidery and needlework, and in all the duties of domestic servants. At sixteen years of age they leave, and after being once placed are never permitted to return. These institutions are also governed by committees of five, named by the Préfet, with the "Maire" as official president; the members go out in rotation, as do the members of the "Bureaux de Bienfaisance," with which, however, they have no connection, as the same persons cannot belong to both bodies. From resources apparently so trifling, and by means of taxes which are almost imperceptible to those who pay them, all persons really entitled to public support receive it, and that class according to the definition of the law, includes those who are thrown out of work by exceptional circumstances, those whose families are too numerous to be supported by the personal earnings of the father, deserted children, and all who, from age or incurable infirmities, are incapable of winning their bread by their labor.

Although the system of relieving the poor is carried out through the

agency of unpaid officials in France, still the acts of those benevolent persons who devote their time gratuitously to provide for the wants of the deserving poor, are as strictly watched over by the constituted authorities as if they were well-paid public servants. The manner in which they discharge. their duties is marked and reported upon, and dismissal is the certain consequence of inattention or neglect; a disgrace which is more keenly felt than we, with our ideas on such subjects, can imagine. To be selected to fill any position of social eminence is considered a high honor by every Frenchman or woman; and to the dread of being lessened in the estimation of their neighbors by a removal from it for incapacity or misconduct, must be mainly attributed the admirable manner in which the Bureaux de Bienfaisance are almost invariably administered. The receiver, on whom the responsibility of all money transactions devolves, is salaried by a percentage; and the religieuse, who acts as inspecting and ministering agent, is supported by a very humble allowance from the commune to whose services she devotes her time. Medical men rarely accept a salary, for it is, when granted, so small (never exceeding $60 per annum) that they prefer acting gratuitously, while their unpaid exertions in favor of the poor naturally recommend them to the notice of the affluent who can afford to pay, and often procure for them the Cross of the Legion of Honor. The only case in which fees are paid by the Bureaux, or received by the faculty, is for attendance on accouchements, when the honorarium only amounts to one dollar and twenty-five cents.

By the decree of 1796, "Bureaux de Bienfaisance,' that is, offices where relief is administered to the poor, were established and still exist in every commune of France. The

committee intrusted with the management of each consists of five

members, "to be chosen from the richest and most respectable inhabitants of the district;" originally they were elected by the municipal councils, but in 1821 their nomination was transferred to the Minister of the Interior, acting on the recommendation of the Préfet of the department. Each year the senior member vacates office, when a list of five persons chosen by the committee itself is submitted to the Minister, from amongst whom one is selected to fill the vacancy. The outgoing members may be re-elected, but special instructions forbid the choice of two persons of the same family. The "Maire" of the town or commune is official president in right of his office, and in his absence the first "adjoint," or deputy Maire; the committee choosing from amongst themselves a chairman to preside on ordinary occasions, when the authorities may consider it unnecessary to attend. The members of these committees are unpaid, and have no concern with the money matters of the bureau, their duty being to inquire into the claims of all seeking relief, and to determine the amount of assistance to be granted, and the mode in which it should be given. From amongst their own body they select the "ordonnateurs," or managers, without whose signature no money can be disbursed by the receiver who is named by the Minister, who also fixes the amount of cautionmoney which he is to deposit, and the salary which he is to be paid. This caution-money is most frequently lodged in the "caisse," or treasury of the "Mont de Piété," where it helps to alleviate the distress of the poor by being lent on their pledges at a very reduced rate of interest. There are no pawnbrokers in France, and those “Monts de Piété" which supply their place are government institutions managed by paid officers. Not more than three per cent. is usually charged for loans, and in some places it is