I have just heard or read, a touching story; and here it is as I
remember it. In the Faubourg Saint Antoine lives a community of women
with whom the aged of the poor find shelter; those who have become
infirm, or have dropped into helpless childishness, whether men or
women, are received there without question or payment. There they are
lodged, fed and clothed, and humbly prayed for.
Last evening, sleep was just beginning to reign in the little
community. The old people had been put to rest, each Little Sister had
done her duty and was asleep, when the report of a gun resounded at the
house-door. You can imagine the startings and the terror. The Little
Sisters of the poor are not accustomed to have such noises in their
ears, and there was a tumult and hubbub such as the house had never
known, while they hurriedly rose, and the old people stared at each
other from their white beds in the long dormitories. When the
house-door was got open, a party of men, with a menacing look about
them, strode in with their guns and swords, making a horrible racket.
One of them was the chief, and he had a great beard and a terrible
voice. All the Little Sisters gathered in a trembling crowd about the
superior.
“Shut the doors,” cried the captain, “and if one of these women attempt
to escape—one, two, three, fire!” Then the Good Mother—that is the
Little Sisters’ name for their superior—made a step forward and said,
“What do you wish, messieurs?”
“Citizens, _sacrebleu!_”
The Good Mother crossed herself and, repeated, “What do you wish, my
brothers?”
[Illustration: Federal Visit to the Little Sisters of The Poor.]
“That I will,” bravely answered the captain; “give me your hand. And
now, if any one wants to harm you, he will have me to deal with first.”
A few minutes later, the National Guards were gone, the Little Sisters
and the old nurslings were at rest again, and the house was just as
silent and peaceful as if it were no abominable resort of plotters and
conspirators.
But if I had been the Commune of Paris, would I not have shot that
captain!