CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 BX 4705.V44A3 1913 
 
 3 1924 022 987 006 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022987006 
 


A MODERN MARTYR 
 
 THEOPHANE vfeNARD 
 
 (BLESSED) " 
 
 REVISED AND ANNOTATED BY THE 
 
 VERY REV. JAMES A. WALSH, M. AP. 
 
 V 'I 
 CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 
 
 OF AMERICA 
 MARYKNOLL N^W YORK 
 

 "The world martyrs the Church, and the Church subdues 
 the world. The words of our Divine Lord are always verified, 
 ' I come not to send peace upon earth, but a sword.' The age 
 of martyrs, as of miracles, never ceases. Martjfrdom is a 
 perpetual note upon the Mystical Body, which has the Stigmata 
 of Jesus ever fresh upon it." — Cardinal Wiseman. 
 
 Copyright, 1913, by the 
 
 Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America 
 
 Maryknoll, N.y. 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
IBebtcation 
 
 This edition of Blessed Theophane Venard's life is 
 dedicated to the Catholic youth of America in the 
 hope and belief that among them many will be found 
 to foUow Christ the whole way into the wilderness 
 for the souls that He has died to save. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In the city of Paris on the 5th day of June, 1853, 
 two young men were ordained to the priesthood. One, 
 born in Ireland twenty-three years before, was ap- 
 pointed almost immediately to the chair of Funda- 
 mental Dogma in the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Paris. 
 Nineteen years later, during the revolt of the Com- 
 munists, this priest, from his prison cell in the Concier- 
 gerie, defied his persecutors and narrowly escaped 
 massacre. Afterwards, in 1884, he came to America 
 and, until his death in 1900, gave to the clergy of the 
 United States the ripened fruit of his broad and cul- 
 tured mind. 
 
 The other young man, a native of France, was or- 
 dained for the foreign missions of Eastern Asia, and 
 four months later sailed for Tong-king, at the south- 
 east extremity of China, where, after seven years of 
 apostolic labor, he was beheaded for the faith. 
 
 These two young men were John Baptist Hogan, 
 the late honored superior of St. John's Seminary in 
 Boston, and Jean Theophane Venard, now Blessed, 
 the subject of these letters. 
 
 To Father Hogan, his early guide in the spiritual 
 life, the editor of this volume is indebted for a first 
 acquaintance with the story of Theophane Venard, 
 whose letters, read in Seminary days at Brighton, 
 have always been a treasured memory. 
 
 In the summer of 1903, while at the Paris Seminary 
 for Foreign Missions, he learned that Theophane's 
 youngest brother, Eusebius, was still living, and at 
 once arranged to visit him. 
 
 He found Eusebius a venerable priest, cure of the 
 
Preface 
 
 little village of Assai, in the diocese of Poitiers. With 
 this visit began a cordial friendship, which became 
 more intimate through subsequent correspondence and 
 two later sojourns in the province of Deux-Sevres. 
 
 In Assai and at St. Loup, the martyr's birthplace, 
 a few miles away, were secured most of the photo- 
 graphs and extra data that appear in this volume. 
 
 A few weeks after his first visit to Assai the writer 
 called, in London, upon the late Lady Herbert of 
 Lea, to whom English-speaking Catholics are indebted 
 for the discovery of the charming letters which make 
 up this life. When Lady Herbert learned of the 
 writer's intention to publish these letters anew, she 
 expressed the hope that her former work, which had 
 long been out of print, might be of some service. 
 
 Lady Herbert's kindness was accepted and many 
 of the letters which appeared in the earlier translation 
 were embodied substantially in this new life. 
 
 Catholic Foreign Mission Seminary, Maryknoll, N. Y. 
 Feast of the Presentation, November 21, 1913. 
 
CON-TENTS. 
 
 Preface. 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGE 
 
 Birth and School Days 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 At College — Doue and Montmorillon 10 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Seminarian at Poitiers 20 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Breaking Home Ties 34 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 In Paris — The " Missions fitrangeres " 47 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Last Days in Paris — The Departure Gl 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Voyage — Antwerp to Hong-Kong 80 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 In Hong-Kong — ^Final Preparation 91 
 
CONTENTS — CONTINUED. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. PAGE 
 
 Arrival at Tong-king 105 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Persecutions in Tong-king 116 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 Labors and Trials 125 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 Under Fire 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 In the Caves 161 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Arrest and Martyrdom 173 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 First Anniversary and Retrospect 207 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Afterword 219 
 
 Hynm of Sister Therese 232 
 
 Chant of Departure 234 
 
A MODERN MARTYR 
 
 (THEOPHANE VENARD) 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Birth and School Days. 
 
 St. Loup-sur-Thouet is a little French town in the 
 department of Deux-Sevres, in the diocese of Poitiers, 
 situated some miles north of Parthenay. Here begins 
 the beautiful golden valley which gives its name to 
 Airvault (aurea vallis), a busy little town built in the 
 shape of an amphitheatre, and possessing, besides the 
 ruins of an old castle, a very interesting Gothic church. 
 Airvault is not more than three miles from St. Loup, 
 which, surrounded by numerous hills, is hardly dis- 
 cernible even at a short distance. 
 
 In spite of the ill-natured assertions of a modern 
 author, the population of St. Loup is too serious and 
 religious to have imbibed any Voltairian spirit. Even 
 should it be true that the author of "Henriade" was 
 born there, St. Loup now boasts of a more glorious 
 hero ; for from its soil has sprung in these latter days, 
 — a martyr. 
 
 Jean Theophane Venard was born at St. Loup on 
 the 31st of November, 1829, the feast of the Presenta- 
 tion of the Blessed Virgin. He belonged to one of 
 those patriarchal families in which religion and honor 
 hold the first place. His father, M. Jean Venard, 
 
 1 
 
2 A Modern Martyr 
 
 whose family came originally from Anjou, filled the 
 post of village school-master with as much ability as 
 devotion to his duties. He gave up this fatiguing work 
 only after thirty years of toil, to accept a position as 
 justice of the peace in the department of which St. 
 Loup was* the chief town. There his experience in 
 business and his good judgment made him invaluable 
 to his townspeople, until the day when his laborious 
 and useful labors were brought to a close. 
 
 His wife, Mme. Marie Gueret, was a gentle, pious 
 woman, simple and loving in character, entirely devoted 
 to the care of her own home. She had six children. 
 Two of these died as infants, but the others, Melanie, 
 Theophane, Henry, and Eusebius, will all play an im- 
 portant part in this little history. Under the direction 
 of these good parents, Theophane Venard made rapid 
 progress in virtue. He combined the loving, gentle 
 character of his mother with the firmness and resolu- 
 tion of his father. His contemporaries still talk of the 
 amusing contrast between his small, baby figure and 
 his grave, quiet manner. His greatest pleasure was 
 to watch the goats or the cows on the hillside, an oc- 
 cupation which fostered his love of solitude and his 
 spirit of recollection. These hillsides and pleasant 
 fields hold an important place in the story of the 
 future missioner, for here the first thoughts of his 
 vocation came upon him ; and the feelings then inspired 
 remained among the sweetest of his whole life. 
 
 The country around St. Loup is very picturesque, 
 but it owes its great fertility to the rivers, the Thouet 
 and the Cebron, which intersect the valley in opposite 
 directions. Between the beds of these two rivers is a 
 hillside called "Le Bel-Air," on account of its health- 
 ful situation and the glorious view on all sides. When 
 Theophane was only nine years old, his delight was to 
 
Theophane Venard 3 
 
 pasture his father's goats on this spot with his sister 
 or a friend. Here they would sing, or read books 
 which they had borrowed from the pastor of the 
 village. Among these books, the "Annals of the 
 Propagation of the Faith" had the greatest charm for 
 the little boy. One day he was reading aloud to his 
 companions the life of the Venerable Charles Cornay, 
 whose martyrdom was then recent. The account of 
 the sufferings and death of this martyr for Jesus 
 Christ touched him even to tears, so that at the end he 
 cried out, "And I too will go to Tong-king, and I too 
 will be a martyr!" 
 
 Shortly afterwards his father joined the little group, 
 and Theophane, turning to him with a gravity very 
 unusual at his age, said, "My father, how much is this 
 field worth?" "Well, I really don't know exactly, my 
 child," replied his father. "Why do you ask?" "Be- 
 cause," the boy answered, "if you could give it to 
 me, and I could have it for my share, I would sell it, 
 and then I should be able to go to college and study." 
 His father, surprised at such serious thoughts in one 
 so young, put him off with some simple answer; but 
 he thought over these words which gave him a new 
 light on the character and intentions of his son. He 
 soon allowed the boy to learn Latin with one or two 
 other children who went for that purpose to the pres- 
 bytery, and Theophane succeeded so well that it was 
 decided to send him to college for a regular course 
 of study. 
 
 At this time, tHe principal of the College of Done, in 
 the diocese of Angers, was a brother of the venerable 
 pastor of St. Loup, and to him young Venard was sent 
 in October, 1841, together with a friend whom he had 
 known and loved from childhood. This friendship 
 never cooled, and ten years afterwards Theophane 
 
4 A Modern Martyr 
 
 wrote from Paris, — "Until I came to the Seminaire 
 des Missions Etrangeres, the only intimate friend I 
 ever had was one who had been born in my own vil- 
 lage, and who was dear to me as my own soul. The 
 same fatherly hand baptized us; side by side we sat 
 on our benches at school; and at the very same time 
 we were transplanted together to a new home, where 
 another father received us both with open arms. My 
 friend was older, cleverer, and wiser than I, and took 
 a higher place in the College, but our friendship was 
 not in the least affected by this. He flew, and I 
 crawled; but we were each quite contented. J was 
 transferred to the 'Petit Seminaire'*; and there we 
 found each other again in the same cloister, sharing 
 the same masters, the same studies, the same compan- 
 ions. God, who had united us in childhood, gave us 
 but one thought, one aim, and one object in life. But 
 the day at last came when we were to be separated — ^. 
 my life seemed to be broken altogether ! But I have 
 the firm hope that we shall be reunited in Heaven." 
 
 No sooner was he fairly settled at college, than 
 Theophane gave his whole mind to the fulfilment of 
 his duties. He was a model to the other students, 
 not only through the hours of study but also during 
 recreation, when he showed himself the gayest of the 
 whole party. He bore all ill-nature or contradiction 
 with such good humor that those who were at first 
 inclined to tease him soon gave it up. The more 
 people vexed him, or gave him pain, the greater was 
 his kindness toward them, and he rarely failed to 
 win their hearts and make them ashamed of their 
 previous behavior. 
 
 He gladly entered into all the little private devo- 
 
 *Preparatory Seminary. 
 
Theophane Venard 5 
 
 tions of the students, which were in harmony with 
 his taste and affections. Even as a child he had vowed 
 a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He was 
 inscribed among the children of Mary, at Notre Dame 
 des Victoires, and enrolled himself in the work of the 
 Propagation of the Faith, determined to help mis- 
 sioners as far as he could, until he became one himself. 
 He tried also to lead, as much as he was permitted, 
 a mortified life. When, on a winter's day, one of the 
 masters, seeing him suffer very much from chilblains 
 on his hands and feet, told him to go and warm him- 
 self by the comfortable fire in his room, Theophane 
 refused, exclaiming, "The missioners you were talk- 
 ing to us about last night, sir, suffered much more 
 than that !" 
 
 He had a passion for reading, and delighted in the 
 lives of children of his own age, and especially of those 
 who had suffered martyrdom. All these holy disposi- 
 tions were fostered by the thoughts of his first Com- 
 munion, which was approaching, and for which, un- 
 like the average small boy, he prepared himself with 
 the utmost anxiety and care. 
 
 "The day has almost come," he wrote his parents, 
 "that day which I have so earnestly desired ! the most 
 beautiful day in my whole life! Please pray to the 
 Blessed Virgin for me, that I may receive her Son 
 worthily, for I feel I can never prepare myself suffi- 
 ciently for so solemn an occasion. I beg you, there- 
 fore, to forgive me any faults I may have committed 
 against you, and to give me your blessing." 
 
 Great as had been his previous doubts and fears, 
 when the time came, his joy knew no bounds. "I 
 remember him perfectly on that day," wrote one of 
 his tutors. "He seemed not able to contain himself 
 for happiness." From that hour began his great devo- 
 
6 A Modern Martyr 
 
 tion to the Blessed Sacrament. He would steal away 
 for a visit during recreation. "I often used to open 
 the door of the chapel softly to see if he was there," 
 wrote the same master, "and was always edified by 
 his wonderful spirit of recollection. Sometimes I 
 forced him to go out to play with his companions, as 
 I thought it necessary for his health; then devotion 
 gave place to obedience." 
 
 But a great sorrow was hanging over his head, for 
 which he would need all the strength his Lord had 
 vouchsafed to him in the Sacrament of His love. 
 After two happy months spent with his family, he was 
 obliged to part with his mother to return to college, 
 and he foresaw that their parting would be a final 
 one. Very soon after, in fact, she expired calmly in 
 the arms of her husband, leaving him the care of their 
 four little children. The blow to Theophane was 
 terrible. Nevertheless, his first thought was how he 
 could best console the mourners at home. 
 
 "Dearest papa," he writes, "when you wrote me 
 that my darling mother was very weak and suffering, 
 I flattered myself that our prayers and tears would 
 win from God the preservation of her life, But just 
 now the headmaster has told me of the terrible mis- 
 fortune which has befallen us. O my God, help me to 
 say, 'Thy Will be done !' The hour fixed by Him has 
 come and she has had to leave us, and is gone to be 
 our protector in Heaven with the two little angels to 
 whom she gave birth. Once more, may His Holy 
 Name be blessed! It is thus He tries His creatures 
 here below. Putting on the buckler of faith, we will 
 have recourse to religion, which alone can comfort 
 us in such sorrows. But it is very, very bitter. I have 
 cried till I can cry no longer, and I have prayed with 
 all my heart for her dear soul. May she at this mo- 
 
Theophane Venard t 
 
 ment be in the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision with 
 His elect! May the Saviour whom she ever loved 
 and whom she strove to serve, receive her into His 
 kingdom !" 
 
 But our Lord reserved to Theophane a special con- 
 solation. Many years after the event, and at the 
 moment when he was about to leave his family for- 
 ever, he broke silence on the subject, and said, "I 
 think I may assure you positively that our good mother 
 is in Heaven. I tell you this for your comfort ; but I 
 have never spoken of it before, and I must beg of you 
 not to repeat it to any one. At the time of her death, 
 one night when I was watching in prayer, an angel 
 took me by the hand and led me, as it were, into a 
 great and wonderful Light, in the midst of which, sur- 
 rounded by other glorified bodies, I distinctly saw her 
 whom we so fondly loved, and for whom we had 
 wept so bitterly." 
 
 From the time of this great sorrow the links which 
 bound brother and sister were drawn closer, and a 
 correspondence began between Theophane and his 
 sister, Melanie, which ceased only with death. Their 
 letters remain as models of tenderness and holy inspi- 
 rations, while they are most attractive in point of style 
 and taste. Speaking on this subject, the Bishop of 
 Poitiers says, "It is in this outpouring of heart to heart 
 that w« see his extreme delicacy of feeling, his loving 
 thoughtfulness, his graceful imagination, and the good 
 judgment which balanced all his other qualities. We 
 have read these letters again and again, with ever- 
 increasing pleasure, and we trust we shall be forgiven 
 if we have watered some of them with our tears." 
 
 In the course of the winter of 1844, Theophane 
 writes, "I must send you a few lines, my dearest sister, 
 for there is not a day, nor scarcely an hour, when I 
 
8 A Modern Martyr 
 
 do not think of you, who are so very dear to me. I 
 know you too are thinking of me, and I suppose you 
 will be saying, 'Oh, my poor old brother will be so 
 cold this winter; and here am I enjoying a good big 
 fire!' Be comforted. Though I have suffered from 
 the cold, as you know I always do, yet I have had some 
 fun out of it too, for we have had famous skating. 
 And now the weather is milder, and I am thawing, 
 and pouring out some of my thoughts to my second 
 self." 
 
 Soon after, his brother Henry joined Theophane at 
 the College; and it was impossible not to be touched 
 at the care which the elder took of the younger, so as 
 to spare him the usual schoolboy troubles. In 1845, 
 the Sodality of the Children of Mary was established 
 in the College, and Theophane announced this event 
 with joy to his sister. He was made sacristan of his 
 chapel, an honor which he greatly coveted, as it not 
 only gave him the care of the altar, but enabled him 
 to steal away oftener for prayer. "Yesterday," he 
 wrote to Melanie, "I went to say my rosary in the 
 chapel; and I don't know why, but I was very sad, 
 and I began to cry like a child. Yet all the time I had. 
 a wonderful interior consolation, and everything 
 appeared to me in a supernatural light. . . . Very 
 often, when I am at work, my thoughts fly back to 
 you. I seem to see you going lightly about the house, 
 singing softly as is your wont, and doing things for 
 our father and the children and everybody. I follow 
 you in thought everywhere. Although we are so far 
 apart, our thoughts, our wishes, our aspirations seem to 
 be one. Oh, what a blessed thing it is, this communion 
 of souls, to be able to pray for each other, and to pray 
 for our loved ones together! A sort of peace and 
 calm comes over me with this thought. Do you know. 
 
Theophane Venard 9 
 
 the other day, on the Feast of our Patron Saint, as I 
 was kneehng before the Blessed Sacrament at Bene- 
 diction, the Blessed Virgin seemed to smile amidst her 
 flowers and tapers, and I thought of you, who, I know, 
 were then at the Sodality Vespers. I prayed so hard 
 for you, and I felt that you were doing the same for 
 me and that our prayers were one. And then I was 
 so happy, so relieved. But I should like to be with you 
 again in body as well as in spirit. Oh, when shall 
 we cease to be separated? When shall we be able to 
 live together as we did as children and share all our 
 troubles and all our joys ?" 
 
 It seemed as if a vision of the future were before 
 him — ^that future which was to be so great a struggle 
 to flesh and blood. But we must not anticipate. 
 
10 A Modem Martyr 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 At College — Doue and Montmorillon. 
 
 On New Year's Eve, 1847, Theophane wrote to his 
 father from Doue: — 
 
 "Here we are in the midst of piercing frost and cold ; 
 but if the winter numbs our limbs, at least it does not 
 freeze our hearts. Whatever happens — whether my 
 chilblains disappear or not — I can't let New Year's 
 Day pass without scribbling a few lines to repeat once 
 more to you my hearty prayers and wishes for your 
 happiness. People declare that New Year's Day is 
 the day for telling lies. Let those say so who tell them. 
 As for me I always welcome the return of the anniver- 
 sary as an occasion for renewing the expressions of 
 my old childhood's love. In one word, dearest papa, 
 I wish you many, many happy New Years." 
 
 At this time Theophane was eighteen. Although he 
 had given himself up to God from his youth, the 
 devil filled him with doubts and temptations when it 
 came to a question of deciding on his future voca- 
 tion, and, as usual, his sister is the confidante of his 
 troubles : — 
 
 "My dearest Melanie, — We must talk a little of the 
 Blessed Virgin, for I feel as if I had not spoken enough 
 of her this year. Can it be that I have changed? I 
 
Theophane Venard 11 
 
 think not ; but other thoughts preoccupy me just now. 
 I am nearly at the end of my classes here and yet I 
 seem to have no clear conception of my future. This 
 worries me very much. I always thought I was called 
 to the priesthood. Sometimes I say to myself, 
 'What a glorious thing it is to be a priest! What it 
 must mean to say one's first Mass!' But then for 
 that, one must be so good! — so pure! — ^like one of 
 God's angels. That is why I still hesitate. Please to 
 unite your prayers with mine, that I may discern God's 
 will in the matter. Will you? But why do I ask? 
 I know you will, and I want you to give me your 
 Communion the first Sunday in Lent with this inten- 
 tion, and I will prepare myself for the same." 
 
 A little later he writes, "O my dearest sister, do 
 write to me at once, for I look only to you for com- 
 fort. Bring back hope to my poor sad heart ; that is 
 your mission, you know. As regards me, I should like 
 to laugh and be merry with you; but I have not the 
 heart. I wait for your letter with the greatest 
 anxiety." 
 
 Still his heart turned towards Mary in the midst 
 of his greatest distresses: "O Mary, how I love the 
 word! Mary, refuge of sorrowful hearts! Mary, 
 under whose wing we have both sheltered ourselves, 
 like little children with their mother at the approach 
 of the enemy ! I love Mary, but I think you, my dear- 
 est sister, love her more." . . . Then he comes back 
 to his previous sorrow. "I get so weary of life and 
 of everything, I don't know what to do. It is only 
 to you that I dare own such a thing. But you, you are 
 half of myself. You are more than my sister— you 
 are my guardian angel." 
 
 At last, by God's grace, peace came back to his 
 soul, and he writes, — 
 
13 A Modern Martyr 
 
 "Dearest Melanie, — Thank you, my good little sis- 
 ter, thank you a thousand times for your delicious 
 letter. Oh what good it has done me ! Once more I 
 thank you with all my heart, that's all I can say. Here 
 is the month of Mary nearly over ! It is high time we 
 should talk about her a little. We too have special 
 devotions every day for Mary's month, and I delight 
 in decorating her altar. We have a quantity of beau- 
 tiful roses in the garden here. The largest and sweet- 
 est, you may be sure, I keep for our tender, good 
 Mother, and it is a great pleasure to offer her fresh 
 ones every morning. I fear the hands and the heart 
 that bring them are miserably unworthy; but she is 
 so good, she receives everybody! Well may we call 
 her 'Comfort of the Afflicted' and 'Refuge of Sinners.' 
 
 "Oh, if you did but know how my poor old head 
 works when I am all alone, and can't ^leep for think- 
 ing! Oh, how happy I should be in a <[uiet country 
 parish with my Melanie I I would guide the good peo- 
 ple to try to save their souls, and you would have 
 care of the church; and together we would labor for 
 God, and talk of Him and of His Mother, and of all 
 those we have loved and lost. But one thought troubles 
 me in the midst of these castles in the air. AH this 
 is very good and very pleasant certainly; but when it 
 comes to the point, what is the Priesthood ? Is it not 
 an entire detachment from all worldly goods — ^a com- 
 plete abandonment of all temporal interests ? To be a 
 Priest, one should be a Saint. To guide others, one 
 must first learn to guide oneself. Then should not the 
 life of a good Priest be one of continual sacrifice, self- 
 immolation, and mortification of all kinds? How in 
 the world should I ever have the courage to embrace 
 such a life, — I who am so little advanced in the paths 
 of virtue, or of penance ? 
 
Theophane Venard 13 
 
 "These are my thoughts, darling sister, and they 
 always come back to the same thing. 
 
 "But when I pray God to enlighten me, I seem to 
 hear an interior voice ever singing, 'Thou must be a 
 Priest; God gives His grace to all who ask Him.' 
 Then a great peace seems to come over me, and I find 
 myself happy and contented. You will say, 'What on 
 earth am I to conclude from all this ?' Why, that the 
 choice of a vocation is a terrible thing, and that who- 
 ever thinks of it seriously is in a desperate difficulty. 
 
 "But as concerns myself, I hope, in spite of my 
 unworthiness, that God will have pity upon me. Our 
 God is a Father, and a most tender Father; and we 
 have besides a powerful Advocate in one who deigns 
 to be our Mother." 
 
 But in Melanie's own heart the struggle was going 
 on likewise as to the choice of a vocation, and the 
 mutual difficulties and the entire confidence which they 
 had in each other bound them, if possible, still more 
 closely. In Theophane's mind his sister appeared more 
 and more holy, while his own love for God was un- 
 consciously increasing in like proportion. 
 
 He writes again to her, "You may be quite sure that 
 I am true to my promise, and if you pray for me I 
 feel often as if my life were one prayer for you. But 
 though you will laugh at me for saying so, I can't help 
 sometimes, when I am asking God and His saints to 
 enlighten us, I can't help, I say, wishing for what you 
 do not desire. I hear you say, 'But this is not right ; 
 this is not really loving me.' Don't be angry, the 
 thought is repented of as soon as conceived. But 
 the fact is, I cannot bear the idea of a total separation. 
 I am afraid this arises from selfishness on my part; 
 never mind, it is only a slight shade. No, dearest Me- 
 
14 A Modern Martyr 
 
 lanie ! believe this, — I will never try for an instant to 
 turn you from any generous or holy project. I should 
 be afraid of robbing you of your crown! But I tell 
 you frankly that to lose you would be a terrible sacri- 
 fice on my part. Every time the thought comes across 
 my mind, I beg for the grace of God to enable me to 
 bear it, if it be His will that you should go and leave 
 us. I wish only for your highest happiness. You say 
 that God calls you. If so, so much the better for you ! 
 I can only envy you your lot, and hope that some day 
 I may have the like favor. Let us leave it to our dear 
 Lord and Master to direct our future ; our only busi- 
 ness is to strive to correspond with His grace as far 
 as we possibly can." 
 
 Theophane was going upwards with rapid strides, 
 and not content with the Priesthood, was beginning to 
 thirst after the higher glories of the Apostolate. He 
 himself said later that he was, as it were, led by the 
 hand, not knowing whither he was going. The fol- 
 lowing memorandum, found among his copy-books, 
 and dated June 17th, ISit, shows the working of his 
 mind at that time : — 
 
 "To-day in the chapel of the College at Doue, I 
 made a vow to Mary, Refuge of Sinners, to say my 
 rosary every day, in order to obtain a special grace 
 from God." 
 
 In the following letter to his sister, he gives an en- 
 thusiastic description of the procession on the Festival 
 of Corpus Christi; and concludes with the words, "If 
 religious services on earth are so glorious, what must 
 they be in Heaven ? Eternity ! Have you ever thought 
 of this word? Eternal, eternal! a thing which 
 will never, never end! Reflecting on such subjects 
 sometimes overwhelms me, although I am still 
 
Theophane Venard 15 
 
 inclined to be giddy and thoughtless. I try occa- 
 sionally to find some kind of theory about it which I 
 can comprehend; but when I have made my plan I 
 only feel, 'Oh what a goose I am!' and then all my 
 fine building crumbles away." 
 
 Theophane had remained six years at the College of 
 Doue, and he already gave promise of great ability. 
 His frank, sweet-tempered nature made him a univer- 
 sal favorite, while his piety, sound judgment, and high 
 principle won the respect and confidence of his tutors. 
 Although kind to every one, he kept his love for 
 his own family and for two or three of his compan- 
 ions; and on these he lavished all the wealth of his 
 affectionate, loving heart. This devotion to his family 
 and to one or two congenial souls far exceeded any 
 ordinary love or friendship, and seemed to be permitted 
 by God in order to show the full power of His grace, 
 which hereafter would wean him from all human ties, 
 and say to him, as to Abraham, "Go forth out of thy 
 country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's 
 house, and come into the land which I shall show 
 thee." 
 
 As to his person, although under medium height, he 
 had a peculiarly pleasing and taking appearance, with 
 a frank expression, a clear complexion — slightly tinged 
 with red — ^bright eyes, and a very fascinating manner.* 
 He was above the average in his studies, always bring- 
 ing home the first prizes, and he had a great talent for 
 poetry and other kinds of composition. 
 
 At the vacation in 1847 he left school, and in the 
 
 'The hair was dark, almost black. The writer has in his possession 
 several relics, brought from St. Loup, and among them are some 
 locks of hair, cut before Theophane's departure. A daguerreotype 
 which formerly hung in the home of Fr. Eusebius Venard at Assai, 
 gives the truest likeness. [Ed. 
 
16 A Modern Martyr 
 
 month of October entered what is called "Le Petit 
 Seminaire" at Montmorillon. He was very happy 
 here, and wrote to his sister, "From the bottom of my 
 heart, dearest Melanie, I do assure you I never was so 
 happy. . . . t'Cor unum et anima una', — ^this is the 
 motto of the congregation! Such words can come 
 only from God Himself! Is not that the link which 
 unites all Christians to one another? Is it not this 
 feeling which creates the Missioner, the Priest, the 
 Christian Brother, the Sister of Charity? Cor unum, 
 we can apply it to ourselves, for our love and our 
 hopes are one. Oh, yes! Cor unum et anima una! 
 We can say so now, and we shall be able to say so 
 still better later, if God calls you to serve Him more 
 distinctly. Go, go, my dear, good sister. I will 
 never stop you, notwithstanding the sorrow I cannot 
 help feeling at the idea. But think a little bit of our 
 father, our dear, good father. I pray for you every 
 day, that God may deign to enlighten us both and 
 to show us His Holy Will." 
 
 There was nothing gloomy or repelling in his relig- 
 ion. On the contrary, he was always cheerful and 
 merry, especially at Montmorillon, where his en- 
 train and gaiety became proverbial, and where the 
 little feasts of which he was the presiding genius will 
 be remembered as long as his generation remains.* 
 
 fOne heart and one mind. 
 
 •Montmorillon is only a short journey from Poitiers, and in the 
 early part of July, 1905, the writer spent a pleasant day and night 
 at the "petit seminaire." Several new frescoes adorn the chapel, 
 one describing in detail the martyrdom of Theophane V&ard, the 
 others being devoted to two more of the alumni who have also won 
 the "martyr's crown." The members of the seminary faculty, a 
 body of bright, active young diocesan priests, were most gracious 
 and attentive to the American who was interested in their saintly 
 pupil, and the students of English on this occasion enjoyed the 
 novelty of hearing English spoken without a French accent. The 
 traditions of the house have hardly changed since Theophane and 
 Eusebitis V&iard lived there. [Ed. 
 
Theophane Venard 17 
 
 In spite of his gaiety and £un, however, Theophane 
 had a strong groundwork of serious and deep feeling, 
 which came out in his letters to his little brother, of 
 which we will give some extracts here: — 
 
 "My dear little Eusebius, — Well, how do" you like 
 school? Are the lessons very hard? Very disagree- 
 able ? Courage ! you are just now at the bottom of the 
 ladder. Very soon you will get on, and see the fruit 
 of your work. Have you found any fellows that you 
 like? Have you jolly games together? Tell me all. I 
 so often think of my poor little brother and wish I 
 could be with him, especially in these first weeks of 
 his school life. ... It is half-past six in the evening. 
 The wind blows through the chinks of the door ; isn't 
 it bitter ? But I feel so for you, my poor little man. I 
 am sure your poor little toes and paws are all over 
 chilblains, as mine used to be ; and the tip of your nose 
 is all frozen, isn't it ? Ah ! but that's the true life of a 
 schoolboy ! We go to learn to bear ; but let us leave 
 the winter behind, and wish one another a very, very 
 happy New Year, and Paradise by and by, though I 
 hope not just yet, as I don't feel disposed to give up 
 my little brother so soon. I recollect how in old times 
 you used to long for New Year's Day, but then that 
 was all for the presents and sugar-plums. Now, alas ! 
 there are no presents and no goodies — only lessons. 
 Oh, dear! But by and by you will be glad to have 
 learned something, so as to be more fit to fulfil the du- 
 ties God will appoint for you in life, and thus win 
 Heaven. For that, dear Eusebius, and that alone, must 
 be the object of all our actions. Work hard, work well, 
 not to get praise, or honor, or prizes, but because you 
 will thus please God. Take this as the maxim of your 
 life: 'All for our good God.' Don't neglect your 
 2 
 
18 A Modern Martyr 
 
 prayers. Be docile to your superiors, for they are set 
 over you by God ; be loving and kind to your compan- 
 ions, and then everybody will love you, and you will 
 be really happy." 
 
 Then came his little brother's first Communion, and 
 Theophane writes, — 
 
 "My dear little brother has just made a great step 
 in life, and a step towards another world. For one 
 little moment you paused and pitched your tent, and 
 looked back to all your childish faults, faults which 
 the world counts little, but which a Christian judges 
 differently; and kneeling at the feet of God's priest, 
 you told him all these little failings and short- 
 comings, and he lifted the burden from your shoulders 
 with the words of absolution in the name of the Thrice 
 Holy God. You have now become once more innocent 
 as a little child, and the friend of the angels ; and you 
 have received Him whom the heaven of heavens can- 
 not contain. Oh, the inexpressible happiness of the 
 child's first Communion! Who can describe that 
 mystery of love? Only angels know that language. 
 May you understand it, too, my dear little angel on 
 earth !"* 
 
 Theophane was now eighteen. His year of Philos- 
 ophy was over, and he was about to be transferred 
 from the "Petit" to the "Grand Seminaire," but first 
 he was allowed to go home, and his joy found vent in 
 the following words: — 
 
 "In a month more I shall see the sky of my native 
 
 'Eusebius Vlnard was, until his death, February 24, 1913, pastor of 
 Assai, a small town about five miles from the railway station at 
 Airvault, and less than four miles from the paternal home of St 
 Loup. [Ed. 
 
Theophane V6nard 19 
 
 valley. How happy the thought makes me! My 
 friends at the 'Grand Seminaire' begin their vacation 
 a month sooner, which makes me rather envious. 
 Well, the time will soon slip by. My schoolboy life is at 
 an end ; it has not been without its trials, but it has had 
 its sweets too. For the moment I feel as if I wanted 
 the fresh air of my own dear home to strengthen 
 me, body and soul. Till now I have not lived, so to 
 speak. I am going to begin. Every living thing seems 
 to me to follow its vocation. The river flows to the 
 sea, and the plant germinates, and the animal feeds and 
 grows, and man lives and draws daily nearer to God. 
 But each man walks after his own fashion. The busi- 
 ness of one is to cultivate the soil ; another, the intel- 
 lect. Handicrafts supply the material wants of man- 
 kind; politics, the social. One and all gravitate to- 
 wards their end, which is death, although each follows 
 a different path. In one sense man has a free will, 
 but he can scarcely be said to choose his career; it 
 is almost always marked out for him. If he wanders 
 from it, nothing but confusion is the result. Well, I 
 am longing to work and to find my place in the world, 
 to spend and be spent for my brethren. Whatever 
 course be proposed to me, I always come back to that 
 — ^to be a Priest. No other career has the least at- 
 traction for me. Yes, one day I shall be the soldier of 
 Jesus Christ, and fight under the banner of the Church, 
 and the day will soon dawn for the fulfilment of that 
 wish. That is why I feel so happy at the thought of 
 going home soon. A week or two among my own 
 people, and then to my cell and to my vocation for- 
 evermore." 
 
20 A Modern Martyr 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Seminarian at Poitiers. 
 
 Theophane Venard entered the "Grand Semi- 
 nary," as we have seen, with the firm determination to 
 become a Priest. He understood at once how im- 
 portant the training there given would be to him ; and 
 the shortness of the time allowed made him grasp at 
 every opportunity to improve himself, especially as re- 
 garded his sanctification. With a clear and subtle in- 
 tellect, and abilities very much above the common, he 
 at once distinguished himself among his companions; 
 but none of these qualities made him lose sight of the 
 great virtue of humility, which he cultivated assidu- 
 ously, so as always to try to escape notice by burying 
 himself among the rest. He also made charity act as 
 the handmaid of humility; and therefore not only re- 
 frained from any unkind act or word, but denied him- 
 self many of those little sharp and amusing "repartees" 
 which his wit and sense of fun made often very tempt- 
 ing to him. He preferred to pass for one who was dull 
 and could not enter into a joke, than to wound in the 
 smallest degree the feelings of another. "I think that 
 this was not the least remarkable of his virtues," 
 wrote one of his college friends. 
 
 His regularity in his work attracted the attention of 
 all his masters; and he even began to have a sort of 
 scruple as to the length of his letters to his family. 
 His cell was his delight, and he realized the promises 
 
Theophane V€nard 31 
 
 in the "Imitation" to those who jealously guard their 
 little sanctuary. 
 
 "Everything speaks to me in my cell," he writes to 
 his sister. "I love it as a mother loves her child, fevery- 
 thing about it encourages me to charity and devotion. 
 I come in ; to the right is my holy water stoup, and it 
 seems to say to me, 'Your cell is your sanctuary ; noth- 
 ing impure must enter it,' and so I leave my worldli- 
 ness at the door, and purify myself with holy water, 
 I walk towards the window and look out on the sky, 
 and I say to myself, 'Up there a place is reserved for 
 you; work and struggle hard to win it.' Then I beg 
 of our Lord to bless my labor, and lest any strange 
 thought should disturb my mind, there hangs my Cru- 
 cifix, preaching forever by the Divine example. Then 
 above my book-case, the Cross stretches out its arms 
 and covers me with its shadow ; and soon I shall have 
 also the picture of Mary Immaculate watching over 
 her Child. You fancy that I may have some troubles 
 in my present life, dear Melanie ? No ; I do assure you 
 this place is to me a paradise upon earth. Everyone 
 is happy here, even those who, like me, are far from 
 being saints!" 
 
 At the same time he was ever mindful of his home 
 ties, and seized every little opportunity for opening 
 his heart to his family. "How good you are to me !" 
 he wrote one day, "and how I love you for your ten- 
 der thought of me ! I said, 'I want some sleeves,' and 
 in a trice here they are ! 'I should like a curtain for 
 my window,' and there it hangs, keeping out all curi- 
 ous eyes. I desired some money, and behold, here it is, 
 without my asking ! as well as half a dozen minor 
 things which make my little establishment completa 
 Only one thing is lacking and that is time! A little 
 
32 A Modern Martyr 
 
 quarter of an hour to say, 'Thank you!' and again 
 'Thank you!'" 
 
 On one occasion he describes to his family the de- 
 parture of one of the seminarians for the foreign 
 missions, and his secret wish for the first time breaks 
 forth : "Several vocations of the like nature have de- 
 clared themselves," he exclaims. "It is quite glorious I 
 We are in a state of excitement and enthusiasm about 
 it not to be described." These words awoke some 
 fears at home, especially in the heart of the sister who 
 knew him best; and he writes in reply, "So my news 
 troubled you, dear little sister, did it? But is there 
 anything so very extraordinary in the fact that one 
 among us is going to devote himself to the salvation of 
 the heathen? Why, one talks of going to be a Jesuit; 
 another, to La Trappe; another to China; and so on! 
 Oh, if you think there are no events and no gossip in 
 the Seminary, you are very much mistaken. But you 
 have created a whole world of hope and fears out of 
 that one little sentence of mine! I can scarcely help 
 laughing. Another time don't let your imagination run 
 wild, but sleep in peace." 
 
 In this humble and hidden life, like that of his Mas- 
 ter at Nazareth, nothing is so striking as the way he 
 passed from the natural to the supernatural. Every- 
 thing spoke to him of God. One day after telling his 
 brother how at Easter he had changed his room, and 
 altered the arrangement of his things, he adds, "It is 
 quite an event for me, this change; and now I am 
 going to work away with fresh courage, for one 
 thought pursues me, and seems to me to be at the 
 bottom of all my college life. 
 
 "Why have I come here? Ad quid venisti? Why 
 come to a theological seminary? It is to go through 
 a certain course of instruction, you will say. Well, 
 
Theophane V6nard 23 
 
 but that course comes to an end ; and then? . . . Oh, 
 when that thought comes to me, I can simply bow my 
 head, and beg God to answer me. I will do as He 
 shall appoint." 
 
 The ceremonies and anniversaries of the Church as 
 celebrated in the Seminary impressed him strongly, 
 and were the constant subjects of his letters. On 
 Good Friday he was especially moved, and wrote as 
 follows : — 
 
 "Oh, this is indeed a sad and exceptional day at the 
 Seminary! ... To see us all mournfully wandering 
 here and there in the cloisters, without a sound being 
 heard, not a voice, not even a whisper, one would 
 imagine we were sheep without a shepherd. And it is 
 quite true; the Pastor of pastors is dead; the Pastor 
 has given His life for His sheep." 
 
 These thoughts, which seemed to come naturally to 
 the young theological student, were often poured out 
 to his brother and sister. With his younger brother, 
 especially, it seemed to him the best and most delicate 
 way of making him take an interest in serious things 
 without disgusting him by lectures, or appearing to be 
 always "preaching" to him. "I like to think of you 
 on these occasions," he wrote one day, "and I fancy I 
 see you, so recollected in prayer, so studious in class, 
 so merry and gay at recreation, and making us all so 
 glad and happy ! for to be good is to be happy ; and we 
 cannot be thoroughly happy unless you are the same." 
 
 In the faithful practice of all these relative duties, 
 Theophane made the best preparation for the priest- 
 hood. The Christmas ordination, at which he had only 
 assisted as a spectator, had touched him to the quick. 
 When that of Trinity came around, he was told to 
 
24 A Modern Martyr 
 
 prepare himself for the first step by receiving the 
 tonsure. 
 
 "My dearest Sister," he writes, "to-morrow I am to 
 be tonsured; that is, I shall no longer belong to the 
 world, but to our Lord. I shall say to Him, 'My God, 
 Thou art the portion of my heritage, and of my lot. 
 Thou wilt give me a place in Thy Heavenly King- 
 dom.' I shall say to the Blessed Virgin, 'Regina cleri, 
 ora pro nobisl'f Oh how proud I shall be to wear on 
 my head the crown of the saints ! that crown to obtain 
 which it would not be too much to devote one's whole 
 life!" 
 
 But his happiness was to be delayed some time, 
 owing to the death of the beloved bishop of the 
 diocese. In so public a calamity his generous soul 
 could not think for a moment of a personal disappoint- 
 ment which had been swallowed up in the general 
 mourning. Just before the long vacation his father's 
 feast day occurred; and in spite of the press of 
 work before the examinations, he found time to write 
 a few loving words: "My dearest Father, — I try to 
 fancy myself with you on Saturday evening, and em- 
 brace you with all my heart, while offering you the 
 flower which most expresses my humble but devoted 
 love. O Thou who art the Master of life and death, 
 preserve to us our darling father; watch over him, 
 and keep him in all his ways now and ever." 
 
 The first year of his seminary life was over, and it 
 had been fruitful in gifts and graces. But always 
 afraid of himself, and fearful lest he shoiild relax dur- 
 ing the long vacation, he wrote out a series of resolu- 
 tions, which we will give verbatim : — 
 
 tQueen of the Clergy, pray for us. 
 
Theophane Venard 25 
 
 July 1, 1849. 
 A. M. D. G. 
 
 Some Resolutions for the Holidays. 
 
 One year of my seminary life is already past, and I 
 must give an account of this time of retreat and sancti- 
 fication. Alas ! where are the graces which I have ac- 
 quired? My God, Thou hast searched me out, and 
 known me. Even the angels are not pure in Thy 
 sight; and what am I? . . . O my divine Redeemer, 
 have mercy upon me. Deign to accept my penitence, 
 and to bless the resolutions which, with the help of 
 Thy grace, I hope to make for the future. Virgin 
 Mother ! thou whom from my childhood I have chosen, 
 pray for me, for thou art my refuge and my strength. 
 "Refugium peccatorum, ora pro nobis !"^ 
 
 1. I will get up the moment I wake, offering my 
 heart to Jesus and Mary. I will never sleep later 
 than six. If I serve the six o'clock Mass, I will say 
 my prayers and the "little hours" afterwards; if the 
 eight o'clock, then I will say them all before, together 
 with my meditation and the study of a certain portion 
 of Holy Scripture. The rest of the Office I will say 
 in the evening at separate times. 
 
 2. I will make a particular examen every day be- 
 fore luncheon at two o'clock. This examination is 
 to consist of a few minutes' meditation on faith, 
 charity, modesty, interior recollection, etc., etc., with 
 a special consideration of the way in which I have 
 practised each. At the end of the month I will make 
 a general examination, to prevent my relapsing into 
 laxity or indifference. 
 
 3. In the course of the afternoon or evening I will 
 
 tRefuge of Sinners, pray for us. 
 
26 A Modern Martyr 
 
 visit the Blessed Sacrament, making use of St. 
 Alphonsus Liguori's Exercises on the subject. I will 
 also take for my meditation book the "Memoriale 
 Vitae Sacerdotalis" (by Claude Arvisenet), besides 
 the "Imitation" and the Holy Scriptures, both of 
 which I always carry with me. 
 
 4. Directly after breakfast I will spend an hour or 
 so in working either at my holiday task or at the Holy 
 Scriptures. In the evening, after Vespers and Com- 
 pline, I will study again a little bit, but on less serious 
 subjects. I could do this while walking, or when I 
 am waiting at the Cure's. 
 
 5. In my intercourse with the outside world, I will 
 try to be most careful in speech. I will be gentle and 
 kind toward everyone, and especially towards my 
 own family. Should the occasion present itself, I will 
 never neglect to say a little word of our good God, 
 especially to children. But I will do this with great 
 caution, remembering that deeds are worth more than 
 words. 
 
 6. On feast days I will work between Mass and 
 Vespers if I have time. On those days I will try to 
 keep up a greater spirit of recollection. 
 
 7. Of these resolutions, there are a few which I 
 must strictly put into practice ; such are those in regard 
 to prayer, the particular examen, the visit to the 
 Blessed Sacrament, and the spiritual reading of the 
 "Imitation" or the "Memoriale." 
 
 As to the other points I may be less severe, espe- 
 cially if my friends or companions insist upon my ac- 
 companying them on a walk or on a party of pleasure. 
 In fact, I must be careful to do nothing singular or 
 out of the way, so as to excite observation ; all affecta- 
 tion, therefore, is tabooed. True merit is hidden and 
 simple, and dreads nothing more than publicity. If 
 
Theophane V6nard 27 
 
 I can only keep always humble, charitable, and mod- 
 est, I may escape some of .the dangers of my long va- 
 cation. I am sure good examples will not be wanting 
 to me ; and then, have I not the grace of God? "Domi- 
 nus custodiat te. Dominus protectio tua. Omnia pos- 
 sum in eo qui me confortat."f 
 
 T. Venard. 
 
 In this little rule of life no mention is made of the 
 frequentation of the Sacraments or other devotions; 
 but as he followed strictly the rule of the Seminary 
 in all these points, it was not necessary to speak of 
 them. No mention is made either of the rosary. It 
 was said every evening in his family circle, and Theo- 
 phane presided at it during his holidays as a matter of 
 course. Some readers may be surprised at the sim- 
 plicity of this rule and its few austerities. This arose 
 from his determination to keep it strictly, so that 
 it should not be a dead letter. Moreover, he thought 
 it right for the sake of those around him to share in 
 their simple pleasures, and in the expeditions and pic- 
 nics which took place during his visit. His greatest 
 delight was to be with his sister, and to talk with her 
 of holy things and of their future vocations ; and daily 
 was the soul of each strengthened by their mutual in- 
 tercourse. 
 
 Two months after his return to the Seminary (on 
 the 8th of December), Mgr. Pie, the new Bishop of 
 Poitiers, made his solemn entry into his episcopal 
 town. The sight of this young and saintlike Bishop 
 had a great effect on Theophane, all the more so as 
 it ensured the Christmas ordination, when he was to 
 receive the tonsure. From that moment he consid- 
 ered himself as set apart for the priesthood, and re- 
 
 tMay the Lord keep thee. The Lord is thy protector. I can do all 
 things in Him who strengtheneth rae. 
 
28 A Modern Martyr 
 
 doubled his zeal and fervor. At the Trinity ordina- 
 tion, in 1850, he received minor orders, and wrote to 
 his father, "Oh what a grand day is that of one's ordi- 
 nation! How I wish you had been here to share in 
 my joy! But you will come, will you not, when the 
 great and final step is taken ? You will add your bless- 
 ing to the rest ? Oh, it seems as if I could hardly wait 
 patiently for the dawning of such a great day !" 
 
 The vacation came round again, and Theophane 
 took the opportunity to open his heart more entirely to 
 his sister, both for his own consolation and because he 
 knew that her faith would triumph over all human 
 considerations, and help him to overcome the shrink- 
 ings of his loving heart as he thought over a separation 
 which would probably be final. He spent almost the 
 whole time at home, and employed part of it in help- 
 ing his brother to make a little grass terrace at the foot 
 of the garden,* where, he fancied, after his departure 
 they would be able to sit and think of the absent 
 one whom they had freely given for God's work. On 
 his return to the Seminary he seems to have redoubled 
 his efforts to profit by this last year of study and 
 preparation for his future career. But he did not neg- 
 lect others in thinking of himself, and his letters to 
 his little brother and to his sister are more frequent 
 than ever. To the former he writes on the beauty of 
 piety in the young, adding, however, "Npw don't im- 
 agine it necessary to put on a sour face, or to look 
 sanctimonious. True devotion is natural, gay, and 
 
 *The Venard home at St. Loup was in possession of the family until 
 the death of Fr. Eusebius in 1913. According: to the custom of 
 the country, a high stone-wall encloses the long^, narrow garden in 
 the rear, where Fr. Eusebius pointed out to the writer, on one of 
 his visits, vegetable beds, rose-trees and lilies, — ^the many fruits of 
 Theophane's vacation labors. [Ed. 
 
Theophane Venard 29 
 
 bright, according to the words of St. Paul, 'Gaudete 
 in Domino semper; iterum dico, gaudete.' "f 
 
 To his sister he writes more as to an equal. 
 
 "I rejoice, my darling Melanie, to see you growing 
 every day in fervor and the love of God. I am sure 
 we shall both try not to forget that humility is the 
 base of all perfection, and that obedience is its 
 guardian. Read Rodriguez's article on Humility in 
 his work on Christian Perfection. But do not let this 
 book give you any scruples, as it is addressed to nuns, 
 and one must not confound absolute precepts with 
 practices which vary according to the position and 
 duties of each person. ... I quite understand what 
 you say in your letters about the sacrifice hanging over 
 our heads. Courage! God asks of us only our good 
 will ; His grace does the rest. What I am most afraid 
 of, is lest you should be discouraged. The Christian 
 motto is Hope! Hope on! hope ever! Be very gen- 
 erous to our good God. Try to leave all things to 
 Him, without trouble or preoccupation. 'In quietness 
 and confidence shall be your strength.' If you feel you 
 have been wanting in such sentiments, make a little act 
 of contrition, and then rise again quickly with renewed 
 courage. In this way we shall really feel as children 
 of God in the holy liberty wherewith Christ has made 
 us free. To be truly humble ; to fly from this world's 
 notice; to hold ourselves continually as in the pres- 
 ence of God ; to be little in our own eyes, — ^these are 
 the dispositions which are most pleasing to Him, and 
 which are easier for you to practise than for many 
 others, on account of your quiet, hidden life, very 
 Hke that of the Holy Family of Nazareth. ... A great 
 
 tRejoice in tiie Lord always; again 1 say, rejoice. 
 
30 A Modern Martyr 
 
 step must soon be taken — ^the sub-diaconate — a. step for 
 life and for eternity! Oh, pray for me, that I may 
 in all things follow God's will, and that I may fully 
 know what He requires of me. Say the 'Memorare' 
 frequently for me with this intention. You know 
 how I thank and love you beforehand for all that you 
 do for me in that and a thousand other ways." 
 
 To his father he writes, in view of his approaching 
 vows: 
 
 "I am now at an age when my future career must 
 be decided upon, and perhaps there may be a ques- 
 tion of my marriage. All this might have been a sub- 
 ject of great anxiety and trouble to you. But, my 
 dearest father, I have chosen my own path. Do not 
 seek an earthly partner for me. Our Lord has called 
 me, utterly unworthy as I am. He has asked for my 
 whole heart, for my body, soul, and spirit, and can I 
 refuse Him what is His ? And then I turn in thought 
 to you, from whom, next to God, I have received all — 
 to you, my darling father, and I ask, do not you wish 
 the same thing for me? Are you not willing to give 
 me up to God? To give me up without reserve; to 
 make a complete sacrifice of your child? Oh, I am 
 sure you will say yes! For if you have a father's 
 heart, you have equally the heart of a fervent, loving 
 Catholic. . . . But I would add one word more. Is 
 it not the father who takes the bride to the house of 
 God, who gives her to her spouse ? Do not her friends 
 and relatives accompany her? Oh, I am sure you will 
 do the same by me! You will come to this my mar- 
 riage, the mysterious union which joins a human soul 
 to its Creator. You will come to offer to God the 
 child He has given you. You will come and bless me 
 not only in your own name, but in that of her who I 
 
Theophane Venard 31 
 
 feel sure is now helping us with her prayers before 
 the Throne of God. You will bless me for my mother." 
 
 We add to this touching letter the few words he 
 addressed to his godmother on the same occasion: — 
 "I hasten to tell you a piece of news. Perhaps my 
 dear godmother has forgotten that the little child she 
 carried to the Baptismal Font is now twenty-one, the 
 age required by the Church for the office of sub-dea- 
 con. Well, I have made up my mind, or rather it is 
 not I that have settled it, but God who has chosen 
 one so miserable and unworthy as I to serve at His 
 altar. And can I say 'No' ? I can only adore the mercy 
 of God, and nature must submit. So, on the 21st of 
 this month I am to be ordained sub-deacon. My 
 father, I trust, will come to the sacrifice of his son; 
 but I have no mother left on earth. Dare I ask my 
 godmother — ^my mother in the order of grace— to 
 take her place?" 
 
 The day of immolation came, and the sacrifice was 
 consummated. Then the young sub-deacon sought 
 his Director with the words, "Now I am ready — ^you 
 will no longer oppose my wish? you will let me go?" 
 And the good and prudent Director assented, and at 
 once wrote to Paris to obtain his admittance to the 
 Foreign Mission Seminary. His much-loved sister 
 and little brother were unable to be present at his 
 ordination; but to console them he wrote the follow- 
 ing words: — 
 
 "Dearest Melanie, — ^Your brother is at last a sub- 
 deacon ! My soul overflows with joy, but with a joy so 
 sweet and so pure that I cannot express it. I should 
 like to be able to tell you all I feel, but I cannot put it 
 
33 A Modern Martyr 
 
 into words. I took the terrible step without trembling. 
 God, in His infinite goodness, spared me the agony of 
 fear at the moment. My knees did not knock against 
 each other, nor did my foot fail me. When I was 
 stretched on the pavement I was filled only with a sol- 
 emn calm ; but when I got up I felt as if I had broken 
 every link, as if I were for the first time free — free 
 like a little bird who has escaped from the snare of the 
 fowler. Oh, how willingly would I then have flown 
 up to heaven!" 
 
 To his brother he writes more gaily: — 
 
 "My dear little Eusebius, — ^Henry IV. said, 
 'Hang thyself, brave Crillon ! we have won a victory, 
 and thou wert not there!' I shall say, too, 'You were 
 not there when your poor old brother, prostrate on 
 the pavement, gave himself irrevocably to God !' But 
 I know well that it was not your fault. Therefore 
 please do not hang yourself ! but help me to thank our 
 dear Lord for the great grace He has bestowed upon 
 me, and for the happiness with which I am filled. 
 Gratias Deo super inenarrabili dono ejusl'f Oh, it 
 was a great day, and a day that has no ending — quae 
 nescif occasum diei! Its dawn will be brighter and 
 brighter until we come to eternity. And now, my 
 dearest little brother, I feel as if I had acquired a right 
 to say to you, 'Do not love the world or its pleasures.' 
 They are seemingly attractive and beautiful; but 
 within all is corruption, vileness, emptiness, and re- 
 morse. O my brother, let us love God, our dear, good 
 God, and be as sheep under His hand ! Love Him, and 
 you will have no cause for repentance even on this 
 
 tThanks be to God for his unspeakable gift! 
 
Theophane Venard 33 
 
 earth. He, too, promises us joys and pleasures, but 
 they are joys certain, inexpressible, eternal, — pax Dei 
 quae exsuperat omnem sensum!"^ 
 
 The answer soon came from Paris, and it was 
 favorable. Then the young student began to make 
 his preparations to leave the Poitiers Seminary, bid 
 adieu to his family, and start joyfully for that house 
 which for more than two centuries has trained Apos- 
 tles for Eastern Asia. 
 
 tThe peace of God which surpasseth all understanding. 
 
 3 
 
34 A Modern Martyr 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Breaking Home Ties. 
 
 Theophane's departure for the Paris Seminary 
 was definitely settled, and it became necessary to break 
 the news to his family, and especially to his father, 
 who, proud of his son, had already made endless 
 plans for his future advancement. Theophane 
 knew this; and although he thoroughly appreciated 
 his father's courage and generosity, he yet shrunk, as 
 his favorite child, from inflicting a blow which, he 
 well knew, would annihilate all his father's hopes. 
 Nevertheless, he could not bear that a strange hand 
 should give the tidings, and so he summoned courage 
 to pen the following letter, which we give in its en- 
 tirety. 
 
 "February 7, 1851. 
 
 "My dearest Father, — It is a little more than a 
 month ago that, to my great joy, you came to witness 
 my consecration to the service of God. You yourself, 
 as it were, presented the victim at the altar. A poor 
 and miserable offering indeed! yet such as it was our 
 Lord in His infinite mercy accepted it. And since 
 that moment how the time has flown ! God guides the 
 hearts of men, and they follow as He leads. God, as it 
 were, took me by the hand, and spoke to me with an 
 irresistible voice. 'My son !' He said, 'come, follow Me, 
 fear nothing; you are little, and poor, and weak, and 
 miserable, but I am the Almighty God. Come, I will 
 
Theophane Venard 35 
 
 be with thee !' And I, can I have a will in presence of 
 the will of God? 
 
 "My dearly-loved father, have you understood me? 
 One day God said to Abraham, Take thy only-begot- 
 ten son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land 
 of Vision; and there thou shalt offer him for a holo- 
 caust upon one of the mountains which I shall show 
 thee.' And Abraham obeyed without a moment's hesi- 
 tation, and without a murmur ; and his obedience was 
 most pleasing to God. Now, my dearest father, do 
 you begin to understand me? Here am I, the child 
 whom you love ; I have not borrowed a strange pen to 
 tell you the truth. I come openly, without any subter- 
 fuges unworthy of us both. God calls me; yes, it is 
 His call. Oh, call me likewise; say that you, too, are 
 willing that your Theophane should become a mis- 
 
 sioner 
 
 "Poor father! the word is said, — ^the Foreign Mis- 
 sions. Do not let your human nature shrink from the 
 thought. Rather kneel and take your crucifix, that 
 crucifix which received my mother's last breath, and 
 say, 'My God, I consent, may Thy holy will be done. 
 Amen.' 
 
 "O my father, forgive me for having struck the 
 blow myself! Some people will tell you I am mad, 
 ungrateful, a bad son, and I know not what besides. 
 My darling father, you will not think so ! I know you 
 have a great and generous soul, and one that has drunk 
 deeply at the only true source of real strength and 
 greatness — that of Religion and Faith. I have sad- 
 dened your heart; my own is sorrowful and heavy 
 too. The sacrifice asked of us is hard — ^most hard! 
 But, O Lord Jesus! since Thou dost will it, I will it 
 likewise, and so willeth my father. 
 
 "Courage, then, my dearest father — courage, and 
 
36 A Modern Martyr 
 
 resignation and confidence in God and in His Holy 
 Mother. Let us pray for each other. Father, I kneel 
 at your feet. Bless your child, and believe in his re- 
 spectful devotion and dutiful submission. 
 
 Theophane Venard, Sub-deacon." 
 
 As he knew beforehand, this letter came upon his 
 father as a thunder-clap ; nevertheless the blow did not 
 leave a sting behind, for M. Venard was a large- 
 hearted and generous Catholic. His answer, which we 
 subjoin, was one of consent, and a consent so heartily 
 given that it rivalled the sublime virtue of his son. 
 One day, when a friend was trying to console M. 
 Venard by assuring him that his son's vocation had 
 been abundantly weighed and proved by his superiors 
 before they gave their assent, he exclaimed, "And 
 what would become of the prophecy of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who declared that His Gospel should be 
 preached throughout the whole earth, if directors of 
 colleges and heads of families were to check the as- 
 pirations of all the young students who wish to em- 
 bark for the foreign missions?" 
 
 Such was the frank, loyal, generous nature of the 
 father of the future missioner, and his character is 
 well shown in the following letter: — 
 
 "St. Loup, February 13, 1851. 
 "My dearest, well-beloved Son, — I will not at- 
 tempt to describe the emotion your letter caused me. 
 I fancy you had calculated beforehand the force of 
 the blow. You may well say that the sacrifice is hard. 
 Your ordination cost me nothing. On the contrary, it 
 fulfilled my fondest wishes for you, and I was quite 
 content. But now everything is changed. All my 
 plans are upset. Well may people say, 'Man proposes, 
 
Theophane V6nard 37 
 
 and God disposes.' I had flattered myself that you 
 would some day have a parish near me, that I should 
 be able to make over everything to Henry, and then 
 come and finish my days quietly under your roof, so 
 that you should close my eyes. Happy, but, alas! 
 hopeless illusions. 
 
 "My child, I cannot attempt to try to turn you 
 from your great and holy resolutions. Neither will I 
 sadden your heart by reproaches. I will content my- 
 self with asking if, at your age, you think you can 
 really arrive at so serious a decision, and not regret it 
 hereafter. But if you are resolved, if you feel that 
 God has indeed called you, then I would say, 'Obey 
 Him without hesitation.' Let nothing keep you back, 
 not even the thought of the poor old father whom 
 you leave in his sorrowful desolation, nor of the pa- 
 ternal roof which will no longer shelter you. Enough ; 
 I know that he who puts his hand to the plough must 
 not look behind him ; I know also that he who leaves 
 father and mother to follow his Lord will receive an 
 eternal recompense, and such reasons are unanswer- 
 able. ... I could not reply to your letter at once, my 
 dearest son, for poor human nature would have its way 
 at first. But to-day I am a little calmer, and I hasten 
 to fulfil your wishes. You ask for my consent. I give 
 it to you without restriction. My blessing — O my dear- 
 est boy, why should I refuse it to you ? You know that 
 I belong only to my children, and that you may always 
 reckon on me. All that gives you pleasure gives it 
 to me likewise, cost what it will. My sacrifices began 
 when you first went to school and I was separated 
 from you ; they went on increasing year by year, and 
 now God knows where they are to end! Well, I can 
 only resign myself and leave all in the hands of Him 
 
38 A Modem Martyr 
 
 who, perhaps, will give me back my Isaac, as you have 
 compared me to the Father of the Faithful. 
 
 "Do not let my letter sadden you too much. I can- 
 not put my ideas down as I wish, but you will guess 
 my thoughts. Let us hope that God will sustain us 
 both in this great trial. Although your sister knew of 
 your intention beforehand, she was terribly affected 
 by your declaration, for she flattered herself the day 
 was still far off. But, as you say, the time is short. 
 . . . Henry saw at once that there was something the 
 matter but I have told him nothing as yet. And poor 
 little Eusebius, whom you were to mould and form, 
 is he to lose his model and his guide? Forgive my 
 saying this — forgive your poor old father, who lives 
 but in his children. I feel I have gone too far, and 
 that I shall give you pain, and you don't deserve it. 
 
 "Bear in mind, then, that I freely give my consent 
 to your plans. Be at peace, and do not trouble about 
 me. The hand of God is everywhere. I love you 
 with all my heart and embrace you tenderly. 
 
 Venard." 
 
 So the future missioner could go to the Foreign 
 Mission Seminary without fear, and instead of the 
 anger of his father, he was to meet with nothing but 
 love and blessings. Theophane's feelings found vent 
 in the following letter to his sister: — 
 
 "My darling Sister, — Oh, how I cried when I read 
 your letter ! Yes, I knew well the sorrow I was going 
 to bring upon my family, and especially upon you, my 
 dear little sister. But don't you think it cost me tears 
 of blood, too, to take such a step, and give you all such 
 pain? Who ever cared more for home and a home life 
 than I? All my happiness here below was centred in 
 
Theophane V6nard 39 
 
 it. But God, who has united us all in links of the 
 tenderest affection, wished to wean me from it. Oh, 
 what a fight and a struggle I have had with my poor 
 human nature! But then our Lord, who asked the 
 sacrifice at my hands, gave me the strength to accom- 
 plish it. He did more. He gave me the courage to 
 offer nlyself the bitter chalice to those I loved. I un- 
 dertook it because I knew you all so well, and I was 
 full of faith and hope ; and that hope has not been dis- 
 appointed. And now I can only adore His mercy, and 
 praise Him who has led me so tenderly through this 
 terrible trial. 
 
 "Can it be, then, that family ties and family joys 
 are not holy and blessed? Has God forbidden them? 
 Or were our hearts too absorbed in them, so that God, 
 to punish us, wished to withdraw them altogether ? Or 
 have we all gone crazy ? No ! no ! a thousand times no ! 
 Let the world say what it will. What matters it to us, 
 children of grace, who have received the heavenly 
 promises? The world and its maxims have long ago 
 had their condemnation from the mouth of our Divine 
 Lord Himself. Ah ! Lord God, Thy thoughts are not 
 as our thoughts, and Thou walkest by paths of which 
 the world knows nothing. 
 
 "See, my dearest sister, how He has led us until 
 now. We had a good and darling mother, and she 
 was taken from us just as we were entering upon 
 life. How we have cried for her ! But God took pity 
 on her children. He has given you strength and wis- 
 dom to take her place in the family. Then another 
 sacrifice was asked of us. You, my good little sister, 
 had long given yourself to God. You wanted to do 
 so altogether, but Providence contented itself with 
 your will and your submission, and did not exact the 
 consummation of the sacrifice. But God was watch- 
 
40 A Modern Martyr 
 
 ing over your poor brother. He was conducting him 
 as by the hand in a path traced out by Himself. Oh, 
 miracle of grace ! Oh, the depth and the riches of the 
 goodness and mercy of God! He who needs not hu- 
 man instruments to accomplish His great designs, 
 chooses the vilest, the most miserable of His creatures 
 to do His work. I, wretched little I, receive the mis- 
 sion and the inspiration of the Apostolate. . . . Dear- 
 est sister, say with me that our God is good — infinitely 
 good. Let all the earth echo the words and repeat 
 them in a transport of gratitude and joy. See how our 
 Lord loves us. See how He showers His gifts upon 
 us. One more sacrifice is asked of us; but does not 
 our Lord prove those He loves so as to make them 
 more worthy of Himself? Must we not all pass 
 through the crucible? A cross is given to us. Let us 
 embrace it generously, and thank Him. Our tears 
 must flow. Well, let us offer them up to Him who has 
 called them forth. This earth is after all but a valley 
 of tears ; and the Divine Master has said, 'Blessed are 
 those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.' And 
 then, even if we do part here for a little time, it is only 
 our bodies that are separated. Our souls are united 
 more closely than ever in thoughts which know no 
 space or distance. We shall meet one another in 
 heaven. Yes, all of us shall be together then. Let us 
 trust in God, and make the sacrifice generously. And 
 then you have Henry; and God will watch over poor 
 little Eusebius. Let us pray and trust and hope, and 
 remain united to each other in the hearts of Jesus and 
 Mary. . . And now I must add a line to my dear 
 father. You don't know how proud I am to be his son! 
 I long to feel myself in his arms, pressed to his heart. 
 . . . My father, with your great courage, firm faith, 
 burning love — all for God — even your Theophane! 
 
Theophane Venard 41 
 
 Dearest father, these souls that I am going to strive 
 to win for our Lord, I oflEer them all to you, next to 
 God. They will be your crown and your glory in the 
 Home of the Elect. 
 
 "I am going away, but I leave you an angel of con- 
 solation — a loving guardian angel — ^in Melanie. When 
 the time of your pilgrimage is over, Melanie will close 
 your eyes, will pray by your bedside, and will speak 
 to you of your poor little missioner; and you will 
 bless her and him too. But why do I speak of death ? 
 Oh, please God, you will live many, many years yet to 
 be the joy and the providence of your children ! The 
 little missioner will get letters from you from time 
 to time, and news of all the family, and that will be 
 a great joy to him. I hope also to spend a good long 
 fortnight with my dear ones at home and enjoy them 
 thoroughly before I start." 
 
 The "little missioner" accordingly went home on 
 Saturday, the 15th of February. He arranged to walk 
 from Parthenay, so as to meet his brother Henry and 
 have a talk with him before they saw their father. The 
 only idea of something extraordinary about to happen 
 was from a little note which Theophane had written to 
 both his brothers in these words: "I implore you to 
 say the 'Memorare' for me every day till we meet, that 
 I may obtain a great grace. You will soon know why." 
 But the poor children were far from guessing the 
 truth. 
 
 Henry, being then eighteen, at once understood the 
 gravity and importance of the step which his brother 
 was about to take. As for poor little Eusebius, his 
 tmcertainty came to an end the next day when Theo- 
 phane called to carry him off for a fortnight from his 
 studies. He had set his heart on having the whole 
 
42 A Modern Martyr 
 
 family together on this occasion, so as to enjoy for the 
 last time the happiness which such a home circle alone 
 can give. 
 
 It is easy to understand how trying these last few 
 days were to them all; but to Theophane they were 
 the hardest. He had to be tender, affectionate, and 
 loving to every one, and yet firm and determined in 
 his resolution to leave them. At times he could 
 scarcely contain himself, and he had to do incessant 
 violence to his own heart to maintain any kind of 
 decent calm. But he acquitted himself marvellously. 
 
 We cannot attempt to describe his first meeting with 
 his father. They embraced each other closely in si- 
 lence, without tears or sighs. Only after a time the 
 words, "My dearest boy!" "My good father!" burst 
 from the lips of each. These few words said all to 
 those who could feel and understand what was passing 
 in two such loving hearts. 
 
 These touching scenes were renewed very often in 
 the course of the trying fortnight, especially towards 
 evening, near the fireside after dinner, when there 
 would often be a dead silence, the father contenting 
 himself with pressing his son's hand and not daring 
 to trust himself to speak. The future missioner 
 would try to cheer them all by droll stories, or interest 
 them in the countries he was so soon to visit. At last 
 he excited them so much on the subject of China and 
 the missions, that nothing would content Melanie and 
 her brothers but the thought of going too. They 
 made a thousand little plans, in which each was to 
 share in his labors. "And what is to become of me?" 
 at last exclaimed their father, who had been silently 
 listening to their fine projects. "Am I to be left like 
 poor old Zebedee to mend my nets? Rather than that. 
 
Theophane Venard 43 
 
 I will go too." Indeed he several times told his son 
 that nothing but his duty to his other children kept 
 him back, adding that he had no longer anything else 
 to bind him, and that all he asked of God was to be 
 allowed time to launch his children in life, and then 
 sing his "Nunc Dimittis." 
 
 So the days sped on, only too rapidly, and each 
 evening became more sad as it grew nearer to the 
 one which was to hear the last farewell. Poor Melanie 
 felt the strain especially, and every night would linger 
 after the others to get the last kiss and the last word. 
 There was always something more to say and the 
 last night of all they made no attempt to retire. 
 Melanie had several little things to add to his outfit; 
 and he sat watching her, saying as many loving things 
 as his sad heart would allow. Ten years later, Theo- 
 phane, then a Confessor for the Faith, remembered 
 every single incident of that night, which consoled 
 him even in the bottom of his cage. Only two days 
 before his martyrdom, he wrote to his sister, "It 
 was alone with you that I passed that delicious night 
 of the 36th of February, 1851, that night at home 
 which was the scene of our last interview on earth, 
 spent in holy, helpful, consoling talk like that of St. 
 Benedict and his sister." 
 
 The day of departure came at last. The whole 
 family sought strength where alone it could be 
 found, and received Holy Communion together. Theo- 
 phane served the Mass with a rapt manner and ex- 
 pression, which made him look more like an angel 
 than a man. Then came farewell visits to friends 
 and relatives, when he tried to turn aside sorrowful 
 thoughts and anticipations by a bright, gay manner, and 
 occasional little jokes; yet he owned afterwards that 
 he was nearly suffocated with sorrow. One visit cost 
 
44 A Modern Martyr 
 
 him many tears, — it was to the churchyard, to the 
 tomb of his mother, whom he had so idolized, and from 
 whom he had been separated at the hour of her death, 
 so that he had never had her dying blessing — ^to him a 
 cause of eternal regret. He could scarcely tear him- 
 self away from those precious remains. And yet the 
 thought of this visit was most consoling to him after- 
 wards, and he always spoke of it with tears of grati- 
 tude. 
 
 The hour of departure was fixed for nine o'clock in 
 the evening. Theophane had chosen that time to 
 avoid a crowd of anxious and sympathizing friends; 
 his brother and one old friend were to drive him to 
 Parthenay, where he would take the night train. The 
 family sat down to dinner earlier than usual, the good 
 old pastor of the village having joined them ; and Theo- 
 phane, by almost superhuman efforts, succeeded in 
 making the meal cheerful, almost gay. But a few 
 words from his father towards the end brought back 
 sad and sorrowful thoughts, and they all became more 
 and more silent. The dinner was over and the time 
 of departure was drawing nearer every moment. As 
 usual they said the rosary together, then read a chap- 
 ter from the Imitation, after which they knelt for 
 evening prayers. No one had the courage to lead 
 except Theophane himself, and as he went on the 
 sobs and tears of his little audience became more 
 pronounced. Whatever restraint we may put upon our 
 feelings before men, the barrier breaks down when we 
 find ourselves alone with God! Theophane with diffi- 
 culty finished the prayer, and approaching his father, 
 said, "The hour is come; we must part. My father, 
 will you not bless your son, your poor little Theo- 
 phane?" As he spoke, he threw himself at his father's 
 feet, embracing his knees. The poor father lifted his 
 
Theophane Venard 45 
 
 eyes and his hands to Heaven, and with a broken 
 voice, making the sign of the Cross on his child's 
 head, said, "My dearest son, receive the blessing of 
 your father, who offers you a willing sacrifice to our 
 Lord. May you be blessed forever and forever, in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost. Amen!" 
 
 Then Theophane rising, knelt for a moment in the 
 same way for the good old priest's blessing, and rap- 
 idly kissed his whole family, as he did each evening 
 before going to bed; but this was for the last time! 
 Henry went out to see if the carriage was ready. 
 Eusebius threw himself into his brother's arms, sob- 
 bing as if his little heart would break. Melanie, kiss- 
 ing him and crying "Only once more," fell back almost 
 fainting on her chair. The poor father, still and im- 
 movable from excess of sorrow, leaned heavily on the 
 arm of his old friend, the Cure. 
 
 "Courage! let us be generous in our sacrifices!" 
 murmured the poor missioner. He could bear no 
 more. With one last kiss to his half-unconscious 
 sister, he seized his cloak and hat, and rushed into 
 the carriage. Then several friends and townspeople 
 crowded round him, to shake hands for the last time. 
 He wrung their hands, exclaiming "Good-bye! good- 
 bye ! we shall meet in our true home," and the carriage 
 set off rapidly for Parthenay. The sacrifice was over, 
 and M. Venard, without wronging his other children, 
 could say, "I have lost the fairest flower in my gar- 
 den !" The delay at the moment of departure, though 
 slight, made them miss the train at Parthenay by five 
 minutes. This was a minor but very real trial to our 
 poor Theophane, who longed for the final parting to 
 be over. But there was no help for it, and so Theo- 
 phane and Henry waited for the next train, which 
 
46 A Modern Martyr 
 
 started at six o'clock in the morning. His brother 
 remarked that when once settled in the railway car- 
 riage, Theophane looked away, and burying his face 
 in his hands, cried bitterly and uncontrollably, to re- 
 lieve the poor heart which had with such difficulty 
 contained itself during the long ordeal.* 
 
 *Henry, who was alive when the writer first visited Assai, remembered 
 this night vividly. He died shortly before the Beatification. [Ed. 
 
Theophane Venard 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 In Paris — The "Missions Etrangeres." 
 
 Three days after the sad parting we have just 
 recorded, Theophane left Poitiers for Paris, and ar- 
 rived at the Foreign Mission Seminary. "I had hardly 
 come into the house," he wrote to his sister, "when I 
 was met with affectionate greetings on all sides, and 
 every kindness was showered upon me. One hoisted 
 up my trunk into my cell ; another uncorded it; a third 
 made my bed and showed me where my little estab- 
 lishment was to be; a fourth took me all over the 
 house, introduced me to the Directors, and showed me 
 the garden. In half an hour I felt as if I knew them 
 all intimately. Oh, the good their welcome did to my 
 poor, sad heart! There is nothing like the love and 
 charity of this house and the way they make one feel 
 immediately at home." 
 
 This spirit of charity and mutual kindness is the 
 distinguishing characteristic of the Foreign Mission 
 Seminary in Paris. Its divine fire is carefully main- 
 tained by the superiors as the best means of spreading 
 its genial rays to the extremities of the heathen world. 
 In the heart of a great city, and in a world gone drunk 
 with dissipation and all kinds of business, these young 
 men find an abode of peace and quiet indeed, but 
 no ascetic solitude. Rather is it a home where each 
 strives to be foremost in loving, kindly ways and con- 
 
48 A Modern Martyr 
 
 sideration for the others; and the Holy Spirit seems 
 especially to bless this atmosphere of mutual charity 
 and forbearance, and to pour His sevenfold gifts on 
 the future Apostles, who are learning in that best of 
 schools — for it is our Lord's — the school of love.* 
 
 Theophane was thoroughly happy here, although 
 his new life did not altogether do away with the 
 bitterness of separation from those he held most dear. 
 
 He writes, "We are all like one family, with one 
 object and one aim. We have no care or troubles and 
 I should have nothing left to desire if you were by 
 my side. I am greatly touched by your anxiety about 
 me, my dearest father, but you must let me scold you 
 about this a little bit. Am I not more than ever the 
 child of Providence ? Did you not yourself give me up 
 to God? He who watches over the birds of the air 
 and the flowers of the field, will He not take care of 
 me wherever I may be ? I cannot help longing for you, 
 and missing you terribly sometimes; but love suffers 
 and is resigned, and the thoughts of Heaven grow 
 more vivid as we become more detached from all on 
 earth. Only a little more trust ! A little more confi- 
 dence in God ! A little more patience ! and the end will 
 come, and the past weary years will seem as nothing; 
 then will arrive the moment of reunion, and all will 
 be amply compensated for and repaid, principal and 
 interest. O Christian hope! How beautiful thou art! 
 
 •The writer has been privileged to remain as a guest at the Missions 
 Etrangeres in Paris. The atmosphere of this house is indescribable. 
 One feels about him the presence of a purely unselfish love of God. 
 The recreations are full of life, the students at times even boisterous, 
 though never rough; sadness finds no resting place on the features 
 of these bright young men who are preparing to be apostles, perhaps 
 martyrs. Any consciousness of the spirit of self-sacrifice, which to 
 an eminent degree they all possess, is entirely lacking. On the 
 contrary, humility expresses itself so naturally in their words and 
 acts, that one dwelling among these chosen souls hardly resizes the 
 heroism of purpose and the burning love with which they are ani- 
 mated. [Ed. 
 
Theophane V6nard 49 
 
 How thou dost satisfy the heart of man,^ the creature 
 of a day, and yet created for an eternity of bliss !" 
 
 His family could not rise at once to his spiritual view 
 of the future, and their letters gave evidence of the 
 void he had left behind and their despair at losing him. 
 His answers, therefore, were written at this time to 
 heal the wound he had caused, and he had always a 
 kind and loving word for the consolation of each. To 
 Henry he writes, "Your letter touched me deeply, 
 especially where you say that the thought of me is 
 not enough — that you want my bodily presence to com- 
 fort you. I feel just the same about you all. My 
 thoughts fly home to the little room where you all are 
 in the evening, and to my place by Melanie's side, and 
 to the thousand and one recollections of our boyhood. 
 But it is God's Will that we should be separated. May 
 that Will be forever blessed! After all, are we not 
 bound for the same haven? Will not the gaps in the 
 family circle then be filled up ? Nay, more, are we not 
 already expected up there by one most near and dear 
 to us? You recollect our last visit before leaving 
 home — ^the visit paid at your suggestion — ^to the ceme- 
 tery, where we prayed and cried so together for our 
 darling mother? Well, very soon we shall go and 
 join her; and the links that bind us are tightened at 
 the thought, and the time which seems so long and 
 weary is bridged over." 
 
 To his sister he says, "If I have read your dear let- 
 ter over once, I have read it twenty times ! Every word 
 you say goes to my heart, for we are one — are we not ? 
 — ^with the same feelings, the same tastes, the same 
 wishes, the same hopes. We really are, as the saying 
 is, born for each other; and how comes it, then, that 
 we are separated? Why, because God wished that 
 4 
 
50 A Modern Martyr 
 
 we should be united eternally. As you said yourself 
 one day, dearest Melanie, if we could live together 
 here below, we should have cared too much for the 
 world, and so He has divided us that our souls may 
 be more and more purified, and sigh more and more 
 after the moment when they shall take their flight to 
 Heaven. A great servant of God once said that 'if 
 some gall were not mingled in our earthly cup, we 
 should be content with our exile, and think less of our 
 own true country.' . . ." 
 
 To Eusebius he sends also a word of loving S3rm- 
 pathy: "You cannot imagine the pleasure your letters 
 have given me. I know well my poor little brother's 
 tender, loving heart, but I rejoice that you have strug- 
 gled against your sorrow, and not given way to it too 
 much. You have thrown yourself into Mary's arms as 
 a child into the arms of its mother. What a comfort 
 it is to be able to do that in our moments of loneliness 
 and desolation ! Let Mary always be your refuge, my 
 darling brother. The Blessed Virgin is much loved 
 and honored in the Mission House here. When you 
 have any little sorrow or trouble go simply to her, 
 and ask her to offer it up for you to our dear Lord, 
 and there leave it without any further care or pre- 
 occupation. Then you will have nothing to fear either 
 from men or devils. You will walk quietly in the path 
 of life until you come hopefully to that home for which 
 we all sigh and where we wish to be !" 
 
 After what we have told our readers, it is not to 
 be wondered at that Theophane not only won all hearts 
 at the Seminary, but made rapid progress in the paths 
 of perfection. His humility and simplicity concealed 
 even from himself the beauty of his soul, but it could 
 
Theophane Venard 51 
 
 not be hidden from his superiors, and still less from his 
 holy and wise director. Among the students, two, 
 M. Dallet and M. Theurel, soon won a high place 
 in his affections.* But fearful lest the tie should 
 become too human, they mutually agreed to tell each 
 other their faults, and so to make their very intimacy 
 a means of advancing more rapidly in their heaven- 
 bound path. Theophane fulfilled this compact consci- 
 entiously, and it might have been thought almost se- 
 verely, if his words had not been tempered by such 
 extreme humility and sweetness as to disarm all 
 inclination to wounded feeling. As far as he himself 
 was concerned, he was his own severest accuser, and 
 often his humility led him to exaggerate his short- 
 comings to such an extent that he honestly believed 
 himself utterly unfit for the apostolic life he had 
 chosen and besought the prayers of all his friends 
 for his conversion. He even had himself publicly 
 recommended at Notre Dame des Victoires, and, writ- 
 ing to a lady who had been preparing various little 
 things for his future chapel, he says, "I am not sure of 
 being allowed to go. I feel myself so utterly un- 
 worthy! Not that my desire is altered; on the con- 
 trary, I am more firmly resolved than ever. But the 
 decision does not rest with me. May His holy will 
 be done! After all, if they think me unworthy of 
 the missionary life, you must not be troubled; for it 
 is not for me you have been working, but for God; 
 and if I do not make use of your gifts, you will find no 
 difficulty' in placing them elsewhere. And, indeed, if I 
 thought you were working for me, I should be in 
 
 *Two of Theophane V^nard's fellow-students were yet at Paris when 
 the writer first visited the Seminary. One of them, Fr. Delpeoh, 
 (v. p. 96) was superior. Fr. Delpeoh recalled the gaiety of Theo- 
 phane while at the Mission House, a disposition so pronounced, 
 that the future martyr was always the life of any little circle of 
 students among whom he might be found. [Ed. 
 
53 A Modern Martyr 
 
 great distress to know how to repay you for your 
 kindness and zeal. But, thank God, I know that it is 
 for Him you labor — ^to Him that you have devoted 
 your life. He reserves for you a glorious crown, and 
 the brightest flower in that crown will be your co- 
 operation in this work of the foreign missions. Oh, 
 what a joy would it be to me at that great day, when 
 the prizes will be distributed by the hand of unerring 
 Justice, if I might hear your name and your merit rec- 
 ognized and rewarded, and be permitted to sing 
 'Amen' to the solemn declaration which will admit 
 you into the land of everlasting light and love — into 
 the presence of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, and of His holy Mother, and of all His holy 
 angels and saints !" 
 
 Theophane was to be ordained deacon at Christmas 
 in 1851, and wrote with delight of the retreat which 
 was to precede his ordination : — 
 
 "On Sunday evening next we go into retreat till the 
 Saturday following, a holy and happy time of medita- 
 tion and prayer, when we dwell under the shadow of 
 the altar, free from cares and distractions, absorbed in 
 God. Fancy a delicious day in spring, with a pure 
 sky, all nature bursting forth into leaf and blossom, 
 or the deep calm of a tomb. . . . Ah, it is better than 
 all this, for it is Heaven begun on earth, God com- 
 municating Himself to man, man raising and uniting 
 himself to God ! Ah, dear friend, what happiness He 
 allows to His creatures !" 
 
 Then came the ordination. He writes, "The ordina- 
 tion was very large, and all the different communities 
 of Paris contributed some members. I found, kneel- 
 ing side by side with me, Lazarists, Dominicans, Fran- 
 
Theophane Venard 53 
 
 ciscans, Missionaries of the Holy Ghost, Irish, Ne- 
 groes, etc. I knew none of them; but my heart went 
 out to them with love and sympathy, for are we not 
 children of the same Father, servants of the same 
 Master, soldiers of the same King? The same object 
 unites us; the same grace, in different degrees, was 
 distributed to us; the same God gave Himself to us; 
 and we invoked the same Queen, Mary, Mother 
 of the Saviour of the world. And then, as brothers, 
 we gave one another the kiss of peace. Oh, how 
 happy I was!" 
 
 Theophane had a special devotion to church music, 
 especially to the old hymns and canticles. He wrote 
 of them as follows: — 
 
 "The hymns of the Church have always had a 
 peculiar charm for me, and the more I hear them 
 the more I long to hear, and the oftener I sing them 
 the oftener I like to sing, for they are the voice of 
 man in his exile, and the voice of the Church, praying, 
 hoping, loving. Would that my countrymen would go 
 back to the good old days of a purer and stronger 
 faith, and not be ashamed to sing together the songs 
 of their forefathers ! Now they care only for political 
 or revolutionary ditties; a malediction on those who 
 have swept away the faith and the hope of our people, 
 who have robbed them of their peace and their tran- 
 quillity ! France used to be so calm and happy. But, 
 no; we will curse no one. Only, may God have 
 mercy on us all!" 
 
 But Theophane was not to see only the inside of the 
 Seminary. He was sent on several occasions into 
 the great world of Paris, and of this wonderful capi- 
 tal he writes thus to his brother Henry: — 
 
54 A Modern Martyr 
 
 "At Paris we are in the midst of the extremes of 
 vice and virtue — ^vice of the lowest and most degrad- 
 ing kind, and virtue the most heroic! In returning 
 from Meudon, which is our little country house, about 
 two leagues from Paris, I constantly pass through the 
 Bois de Boulogne. It is a magnificent park, splendid- 
 ly laid out with walks and drives, shaded by fine 
 trees, and full of beautiful flowers. It is crowded 
 with people on foot, in carriages, and on horseback. 
 On leaving the park you pass through the Barriere 
 de I'Etoile, and its triumphal arch, to an avenue which 
 leads to the Place de la Concorde. This avenue is 
 planted with trees, and on either side you see fine 
 houses and beautiful villas. There is even a larger 
 crowd here than in the Bois. The greater portion are 
 pleasure-hunters. Do they find it? Well, perhaps 
 those do who care for nothing but dissipation and jol- 
 lity. But happiness? No; happiness is to be found 
 only in home and in the domestic circle where God is 
 loved and honored, and everyone loves, and helps, 
 and cares for the other. The great cry now is, 'the 
 People.' The word written up everywhere is 'Fra- 
 ternite' — ^"Brotherhoodl.' In Paris they have well-nigh 
 abolished the idea of family life. If I were not afraid 
 of vexing some really good souls among them, I 
 should say that Paris was nothing but a scene of con- 
 fusion, a heterogeneous mass, where no one knew or 
 cared for or respected the other. To realize the true 
 meaning of Brotherhood, it should be written not on 
 the walls, but in the heart. There is a beautiful reci- 
 procity of feeling in the different relations of life 
 where all are united in the one great love of Him who 
 gave His life for us, our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ! If only everyone could feel this, how per- 
 fect would be the harmony of earth!" . . . 
 
Theophane Venard 55 
 
 To Eusebius he writes, — ^"You want me to describe 
 Paris to you? Well, let us get out at the Orleans 
 Railway Station, where the rail ends from Poitiers, 
 and we shall find ourselves on the Quays which line 
 the Seine, or rather which restrict it within very nar- 
 row bounds, and into which all the drains are emptied, 
 so that the water is anything but sweet and clear 
 like our Thouet. . . . The Tuileries garden would be 
 the next object of interest to you, and I should praise 
 it, like the Luxembourg, if it were not so peopled 
 with pagan deities! Now, you are in the very heart 
 of the Parisian world. You see splendid mansions, 
 brilliant equipages, elegant dandies, beautiful ladies, 
 who strut like peacocks, but who, it seems to me, need 
 to go to school again to learn modesty, humility, and 
 even common sense. Everybody lounges about, here, 
 or in the museums, or in the galleries of the Palais 
 Royal, or in the Jardin des Plantes, or in the Bois 
 de Boulogne, where the only object seems to be to see 
 and be seen. Here is a whole tribe of nurses with 
 their babies; and the monkeys are showing off their 
 tricks, and the fountains are playing, and the jugglers 
 are trying to make people laugh. . . . Well, have not 
 these people really earned their dinners ? Then comes 
 the evening, when everyone seems to think it neces- 
 sary to go to some theatre or other, or to some ball, 
 winding up with ice and coffee in the Boulevards, if 
 not in a drawing-room; and the gas lights up the 
 city all night, and the world goes to bed when the sun 
 is rising. What a day for a reasonable being, let alone 
 a Christian! This is Paris life, the life of people in 
 the world who fancy they have- found happiness. 
 Frankly, the whole thing disgusts and wearies me to 
 death. I should never end if I were to tell you how 
 ridiculous poor human nature appears in a thousand 
 
56 A Modern McUiyr 
 
 ways when left to itself, regardless of God, our good 
 God, the only end and aim of life! One gives him- 
 self the airs of a philosopher, another, of a poet; this 
 one has a passion for music, that one for pictures. 
 All talk politics, of which three parts know nothing 
 whatever. It is really humiliating to hear them ! Oh, 
 you cannot think, after I have been elbowed half a day 
 by all these worldly people, what a relief it is to me to 
 come back to the Mission House ! How I love its cool, 
 calm, quiet cloisters, the peace in its cells, the hours 
 of study and meditation, the gaiety of its recreations, 
 the charity and good will of its inmates, the charm 
 of its chapel, the recollection of its history, the in- 
 describable 'something' which seems to speak to us 
 all day of the Apostolate and martyrdom ! ... One 
 day I went to Versailles; I saw its enormous castle, 
 and gardens, and park, but I could not feel enthusiastic 
 about any of them. I kept thinking, 'Well, this is 
 all that man can produce of magnificence and splendor. 
 How miserably unsatisfactory!' Ah, but all earthly 
 things fade so before the thoughts of Heaven! . . . 
 You ask me about the sights, the inventions, and the 
 balloons. Well, as to the last, the ladies themselves 
 are the most marvellous specimens ! Even in heathen 
 times, I verily believe such things would have been 
 scouted. If man would give the glory of his inven- 
 tions to God, they might bring a blessing; but we see 
 nothing, hear of nothing, but materialism and 'nature.' 
 God help France and Europe! ... If you ever come 
 here you will be as struck as I am at the marvellous 
 dissipation of this place, the ceaseless turmoil, and 
 bustle, and noise, and unrest. Oh, how I hate these 
 never-ending streets, which tire my feet, my eyes, and 
 my ears, where the world and its views reign supreme, 
 and the one object of every living being seems to be 
 
Theophane Venard 57 
 
 pleasure, and pleasure only! In the midst of this 
 impious city real saints are found, but most of those 
 who have eyes do not see them or know them. They 
 are hidden from the crowd and known only to God, 
 and, thank Him, they are multiplying. Oh, Chris- 
 tianity is not dead, as the gentlemen of the Voltaire 
 school are pleased to say!" . . . After dwelling a 
 little longer on Paris and its sights, he exclaims, "But 
 what is the use of my going on talking to you of all 
 these vanities and follies? I went the other day to 
 Notre Dame to see the splendid decorations which 
 were used on New Year's Day, 1852, when Louis 
 Napoleon made his triumphal entry into the cathe- 
 dral. Well, what struck me most of all was the 
 thought of how the great ones of earth were thus 
 compelled to do homage to the majesty of God and 
 to the glory of His Church. God alone is the sov- 
 ereign beauty and His works alone are perfect. If 
 man be ever so great, it is only when he draws his 
 inspirations from God, and when, in heartfelt humil- 
 ity, he gives to Him the glory. In Catholic countries 
 all human potentates seek the support of the Church, 
 for she is the one power — ^first and indestructible — 
 and without her aid no Catholic government can 
 exist, for the winds and the tempests would blow and 
 sweep it away from the face of the earth." 
 
 This, surely, is a noble view to take of the political 
 situation of a great Catholic country. In 1848 Theo- 
 phane had been painfully moved by the debate in the 
 National Assembly; and when he came to Paris he 
 asked and obtained permission to go to the Chambers 
 and hear the principal speakers. He gave an account 
 of his impressions to his father, and his sinister pre- 
 visions were soon realized. The political horizon be- 
 came more and more darkened, and the agitation was 
 
58 A Modern Martyr 
 
 at its height, when the Coup d' Etat of the 2nd of De- 
 cember gave the signal for a fresh revolution. On 
 this event Theophane wrote as follows : — ^"My dearest 
 Father, — It is ten o'clock in the morning. Paris is 
 declared in a state of siege. The National Assembly 
 is dissolved." . . . Then he goes on to relate facts 
 well known, and subjoins, "May our good God come 
 to our aid, and direct all to His honor and glory! 
 Let us pray for France and for all Europe. We have 
 been expecting this shock from day to day and so we 
 are not troubled. When and how will it all end? 
 Human events succeed one another so rapidly and 
 then pass away. God alone is immutable — let us go 
 to Him ! After all, what does the future matter to us ? 
 If the world were destroyed we should be safe in 
 the bosom of His Church! The works of men alone 
 remain — let them, then, be works of charity and jus- 
 tice. All this seems to me to detach one more and 
 more from things of earth and to fix one's thoughts 
 and heart on Heaven." To a college friend he writes, 
 "To remedy the evil, France must be converted or 
 else God will permit the working classes, the men who 
 possess nothing, to be sooner or later the instruments 
 of His vengeance. It seems to me our business is to 
 try to become, each one of us, better, and then God will 
 have pity upon our country. . . As far as I am con- 
 cerned, I assure you I am in perfect safety. Our con- 
 gregation is looked upon with a favorable eye in Paris, 
 and everyone knows us and is kind to us. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1848, on the eve of the dethronement of Louis 
 Philippe, our community was going across the Champs 
 Elysees. An immense crowd had collected and some 
 deliberated what they should do to the students. But 
 the majority exclaimed, 'Let us leave them alone. 
 
Theophane Venard 59 
 
 Those are the men who are going to martyrize them- 
 selves in China!' and the observation saved our poor 
 missioners. 
 
 "The 4th of December we remained almost the 
 whole day near the Bois de Boulogne. A detachment 
 of cuirassiers had galloped toward Paris where the 
 fighting had begun. The workmen were in the streets, 
 quiet and orderly, but anxious. They were very civil 
 to us. The next day three of our students were obliged 
 to go through the streets where they had already 
 erected barricades. The soldiers were bivouacking 
 by their fires ; a dense mob thronged around them, sul- 
 len and silent, and breathing nothing but vengeance; 
 but they allowed our missioners to pass without mo- 
 lestation, and even showed them marks of kindness 
 and good will."* 
 
 After the Coup d' Etat, the agitation ceased, and 
 people gradually became calmer. Theophane wrote 
 hopefully to his godmother: "The new government 
 seems well disposed towards religion and willing to 
 give the Church her due. If it goes on so, God will 
 send His blessing on this poor, distracted country and 
 there may be some chance of seeing things reorgan- 
 ized. Since our Lord Jesus Christ became man, His 
 Divine manhood must take the lead in human affairs ; 
 for a people calling itself Christian, and throwing off 
 all allegiance to the Most High, becomes thoroughly 
 ungovernable, for the simple reason that corruption 
 is greater when it shows itself in what was originally 
 good. Those who think they can see farther than 
 
 •The students of the Paris Mission House are distinguishable by their 
 cassocks and their beards. The cassock is shorter than the average, 
 so as to facilitate rapid walking, long excursions being taken regu- 
 larly into the suburbs. Those who are soon to depart grow beards 
 during the last few months, as, according to the custom of Catholic 
 missioners, the beard is quite universally worn in far-away countries. 
 
60 A Modern Martyr 
 
 their neighbors are hopeful as to the future of 
 France, which makes me sanguine too. Ahhough I 
 may soon be far away, I shall always look anxiously 
 for tidings of my country's welfare. May God bring 
 about a brighter day! Amen." He ends with the 
 beautiful words, — 
 
 "O my Lord, Thy people know and love Thee by 
 instinct; but they are deceived by their chiefs, who 
 betray and mislead them. Oh, if only all the world 
 were of one heart and one mind to serve and honor 
 and glorify Thee!" 
 
Theophane Venard 61 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Last Days in Paris — The Departure. 
 
 We are tempted to give one or two more extracts 
 from Theophane Venard's letters to his family during 
 the remainder of his stay at the Paris Foreign Mission 
 House; for these letters are so full of counsel, espe- 
 cially those to his younger brother, that we have felt 
 they might be of equal value to others in a like posi- 
 tion. 
 
 ■ Eusebius had just entered the Preparatory Seminary 
 at Montmorillon ; he was fifteen, and had a strong 
 desire to become a priest. Under these circumstances 
 he writes to Theophane for advice; and the elder 
 brother answers as follows: — 
 
 "My dear Eusebius, — ^You are now of an age to 
 choose your future career, an. age when people begin 
 to think, and when certain convictions form them- 
 selves in their minds and influence their conduct. In 
 your intercourse with men, you will encounter much 
 prejudice, many strange ideas, and perversions of the 
 truth; for their minds have wandered from the good 
 old paths; and society in Europe has become thor- 
 oughly corrupt. I do not mean to say that there were 
 not plenty of bad people in old times, as there are now, 
 for man is ever the same. But formerly there were 
 certain social bases and landmarks which none but 
 the very vicious overstepped. For religion was the 
 
62 A Modem Martyr 
 
 foundation of society and God gives life to nations as 
 well as to individuals. Now all these safeguards are 
 removed or ignored, but you will understand this bet- 
 ter by and by. 
 
 "Well, you are asking yourself what is to be your 
 future ? Pray, simply, humbly, and fervently, to know 
 God's will, and your path will be made clear. Then 
 you will follow the inspiration which Divine mercy 
 has put into your heart. Sometimes a person says, 'I 
 will be a priest,' or 'a soldier,' or 'a landed proprietor,' 
 and then he adds, 'Oh, such and such studies are not 
 necessary for this or that profession !' This is the rea- 
 soning of pure idlers. Then others go on about piety : 
 'Piety ! it is only good for priests and nuns. God does 
 not expect so much of us!' {How do you know?) 
 These are the arguments of cold and calculating na- 
 tures. Now what I want you to say to yourself is, 'I 
 am, first of all, a man, a reasonable being, created to 
 know, love, serve, and glorify God. I come from 
 God. I go to God. I belong to God. My body is His. 
 My mind is His. My heart is His. I shall be judged 
 according to my works and to the way I have corre- 
 sponded to the grace given me. Well, then, God help- 
 ing me, I will use this body, this mind, and this heart, 
 as much as I possibly can for His greater glory, 
 honor, and love.' 
 
 "My dear Eusebius, life well employed consists in 
 this — a faithful correspondence to grace, and a good 
 use of the talents given. There is no other religion 
 than this, and the rule of life is the same for all. 
 
 " 'But,' you ask, 'what does God ask of mef Hu- 
 mility, prayer, obedience to His Divine commands and 
 to the voice of our mother the Church, and an entire 
 abandonment of ourselves to His Divine Providence. 
 You answer, — 
 
Theoptiane VSnard 63 
 
 " 'But many men do not reason like this.' 
 "To God alone it pertaineth to judge of others. We 
 have only to look to ourselves. For the moment, what 
 you have to do is — study with all your might to make 
 use of the advantages which God has put in your way, 
 and which you owe, under Him, to the generous love 
 of our dear father. Work not to gain honor and 
 distinction but to please God. He who does not work 
 for God, works for the devil and for his friend, the 
 world. God is represented on earth by His Holy, 
 Catholic, Roman, and Apostolic Church. She is the 
 City of God, whose citizens we are, no matter in what 
 corner of the earth our lot may be cast. Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ is the chief of this city ; but we shall not 
 see this clearly until the consummation of all things. 
 The Pope and the Bishops are His representatives on 
 earth, and have a permanent and infallible authority 
 to which we must submit, and in which we must be- 
 lieve, as in Jesus Christ Himself. He who is not with 
 them is against them. The Catholic Church on earth 
 is termed Militant — ^that is, she is perpetually at war 
 with Satan and the world. Ever since her birth she 
 has been attacked on every side. Your business must 
 be to fight for her, and under her banner, taking the 
 saints as your protectors and guides. . . . Do not let 
 yourself give way to vexation at little troubles and 
 cares. Banish the idea that such and such things bore 
 you. We have to learn very early to live amidst con- 
 stant contradictions and mortifications of our natural 
 tastes and inclinations. But it is this which trains us 
 and makes us good soldiers of the Cross, and the soul 
 is thereby raised and purified. It is a trite saying 
 that there is no heaven without a cloud and that you 
 mustn't expect anything to be perfect in this life, but 
 what I want you to do is to bear everything cheerfully 
 and gaily, to rejoice even in vexations; and if you 
 
64 A Modern Martyr 
 
 can't be bright naturally, strive to be bright in and 
 for God. ... Be agreeable in conversation, good- 
 humored and merry, full of cheerfulness and fun, and 
 not brooding on disagreeables. And now you will say 
 I have preached enough, and so I will only add, hav- 
 ing laid down certain great principles for your life, 
 forward ! Don't be afraid of being laughed at. You 
 will crown all by keeping up the tender love of a little 
 child for the Blessed Virgin and a confiding trust in 
 your Guardian Angel." 
 
 A little later he writes to him on his vocation — ^"You 
 tell me that your wishes, your tastes, a secret inspira- 
 tion of grace, draw you strongly towards the priest- 
 hood. May God's Holy Name be praised ! But if our 
 Lord calls you, you must answer. One day little 
 Samuel heard a voice crying out, 'Samuel! Samuel!' 
 'Here I am. Lord,' he replied. Ecce ego, Domine, 
 quia vocasti me. Eusebius! you think our Lord has 
 called you. Well, then, you must answer like Samuel, 
 'Here I am, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? 
 With the help of Thy grace I will do all that Thou dost 
 appoint, and that grace I feel will not be wanting.' 
 
 "It is, then, on the 1st of October — ^the month 
 dedicated to the angels — ^that you are to leave your 
 country and your home and your beautiful valley, to 
 go into a strange place. Courage! When one leaves 
 anything for God He rewards us a hundredfold; He 
 has said so Himself. Btft (you say) you are 'alone,' 
 'quite alone.' Oh, no, you are the child of our Divine 
 Lord and His Blessed Mother, the child of His Love, 
 the sheep of His pasture; have confidence in God. 
 Nevertheless, if there are times when your heart sinks 
 within you, my dearest brother, go to the chapel, oflfer 
 to our dear Lord your tears and your sacrifice, and 
 then, alone before God, consecrate yourself anew 
 without reserve to His service. Offer Him, to be- 
 
Theophane Venard 65 
 
 gin with, the trials of your college life; throw your- 
 self like a boy into the arms of Mary, and believe me 
 when I say you will never be forsaken. 
 
 "You will have to choose a confessor, and for this 
 you must pray earnestly to our Lord and His Mother 
 to enlighten and guide you. Then, when you have 
 chosen one, you must open your whole heart to him, 
 not only in the confessional, but when you see him 
 alone elsewhere ; make him your friend and counsellor 
 in all your little difl&culties and sorrows, and tell him 
 of your temptations and faults with thorough sim- 
 plicity and openness. Then be guided by his advice, 
 and follow it to the letter. This is the kind of spiritual 
 direction necessary to one who seeks to advance 
 towards perfection. Confide in him entirely, and be 
 sure that he will keep all your little secrets as if they 
 were told in the confessional. You are no longer a 
 child, dear Eusebius, and you must begin to walk as 
 one worthy of the mercies of God, and of His great 
 designs in your behalf. Make a little book in which 
 you can write your impressions and your religious 
 feelings, now and then, putting down the date ; you can 
 dedicate it to our Lady. Some time later you will read 
 them over again with pleasure, and they will serve 
 to brace you up when days of heaviness and weariness 
 overcome your courage." 
 
 (Theophane himself had this practice, but, unfor- 
 tunately, when he was ill, he insisted on burning all 
 that he had written.) 
 
 "I should like to think that you deprived yourself 
 now and then of some indulgence to give to the poor. 
 You ought not to run into great expenses or attempt to 
 imitate the luxurious habits of many of those around 
 you. Remember yourown simple home, and still more 
 remember how many thousands there are who suffer 
 6 
 
66 A Modern Martyr 
 
 for want of the very necessaries of life. Above all, 
 never forget that God is in everything, in little things 
 as in great. He ought to be the one motive of your 
 thoughts, words, and actions. Go often to confession, 
 have great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and as- 
 sociate yourself as soon as you can with some congre- 
 gation of our Lady. Oh, how happy I was when I 
 first became a child of Mary! Go, then, dearest 
 brother, and may the Angel of God guide your steps ! 
 A great future is before you ! a grand vocation ! Think 
 of it well, anchored on the infinite mercy of God. 
 . . . Perhaps you will hear a voice saying, 'Come with 
 me,' and perhaps we shall find ourselves soldiers of 
 the same regiment, travellers on the same road, bound 
 for the same haven. May His Holy Will be done, and 
 not ours. Strive to fulfil with diligence and joy the 
 work of each day ; be gay, very gay. The life of a true 
 Christian should be a perpetual jubilee, a prelude to 
 the festivals of eternity " 
 
 These letters abundantly show the anxious care and 
 thought which Theophane bestowed on his brothers, 
 who were the continual subject of his prayers, and 
 when he became a priest, of his Masses likewise. On 
 one occasion he wrote and told Eusebius that he was 
 going to say Mass for him on the 1st of August, the 
 Feast of St. Eusebius, when, from some unknown rea- 
 son, he changed it to the second of the month. Now 
 it happened on that very day that a thunderbolt struck 
 the College of Montmorillon, and an electric spark 
 fell on Eusebius, who was left for dead, and with great 
 difficulty recovered. Eusebius always attributed this 
 escape to the intervention of his brother, who at that 
 very moment was offering up for him the Holy Sac- 
 rifice. 
 
Theophane Vfinard 67 
 
 To his elder brother, Henry, Theophane writes in a 
 different strain; but his letters are full of suggestive 
 thoughts and beautifully expressed. On one occasion 
 he writes, — 
 
 "I am not astonished that my loving old brother 
 found poetry in my letters but I think that his own 
 heart supplied it. Talking of poetry, do you not think 
 that men have profaned it more than ever in these 
 latter days? Poetry presupposes a soul lifted above 
 the things of sense ; it means the outpouring of a heart 
 full of love for God and for our neighbor, keenly 
 alive to the beauties of nature and of grace. The mys- 
 teries of Christianity and of the Blessed Eucharist are 
 eminently fitted for a poet. So also are pure love, de- 
 votion, heroism, self-sacrifice, and the rest. But when 
 I see men calling themselves poets, and abusing their 
 gift by impure allusions, and sophistries, and vague 
 aspirations after dreams which have no existence ex- 
 cept in their morbid imaginations, I confess I have no 
 patience with them. Poetry is not meant to be merely 
 the exaltation and feeding of human passion by sen- 
 sual indulgence. Yet three parts of the world call this 
 poetry. Oh, let us draw our inspirations from purer 
 sources ! The literature of the day seems to me to run 
 forever either in impure or rationalistic channels, so 
 much so, that I dread lest we shall be all submerged 
 in the foul tide! I try to think of the exile going 
 back to his country. He sees and thinks of nothing 
 else. We are all exiles here below. Let us hasten on 
 to our home in Heaven. ... I am very much struck 
 with the young men I have met here outside of the 
 Seminary. They are such contradictory creatures. 
 There is in them a great deal of pride with considerable 
 generosity; a strong love of independence with a 
 certain submission; much impurity with a vestige 
 
68 A Modern Martyr 
 
 of better thoughts learned at a mother's knee; some 
 courage and audacity, and yet more weakness and 
 foolish yielding; an ardor for work by fits and starts, 
 but usually inconceivable idleness ; a desultory way of 
 living and acting without aim or purpose ; in fact, the 
 old strife between the spirit of evil and the spirit of 
 good. Still among these young men there are excep- 
 tions. I know some who are living in the world, in 
 the very heart of great riches and luxury, and yet 
 are humble, pious, devout, charitable, and reverent, — 
 seeking out the poor in their garrets, religious 'as a 
 woman,' as the saying is. Their manners are simple 
 and natural, for they are thoroughly in earnest. They 
 are bright, amiable, and courteous, with faces which 
 prepossess one at first sight. Their lives are spent in 
 doing good. I don't mean to say that they don't 
 commit faults sometimes, for human nature is weak; 
 but their very failings increase their humility and 
 make them lean more completely on the Divine mercy. 
 God be praised ! Such men are not very rare, though 
 they do not show themselves much in the streets. 
 There is another species, whom one sees all day long 
 lounging at cafes or in ball-rooms, never by them- 
 selves. They are restless, walking in a wild sort of 
 way, judging and criticizing everybody and every- 
 thing. They neither respect nor esteem women. 
 They want to know everything, hear everything, and 
 see everything. They talk for the sake of talking, 
 and their least sin is that of doing nothing. . . . Such 
 young men swarm in the streets of Paris and their 
 secret lives are more pitiable than their public ones. 
 All young men, more or less, may rank in one or 
 the other of these two classes. It does not cost more 
 to side with the right, but then one must have a 
 
Theophane Venard 69 
 
 heart and reason calmly as to the object of life, — 
 in a word, serve and love God. 
 
 "Good-bye, my dearest brother. Write to me soon 
 again. Your letters do me so much good." 
 
 But it was to Melanie that Theophane spoke all his 
 most intimate thoughts and aspirations, poor Melanie, 
 who had never recovered from her brother's departure, 
 and at last had become seriously ill. After a time she 
 rallied, and then her brother (whom she called her 
 "other half") wrote to her as follows: — 
 
 "My dearest Sister, — I am glad you have been ill, 
 and I am very thankful you have recovered. To ex- 
 plain my first proposition, which will appear, very ex- 
 traordinary, I feel that you have had the opportunity 
 to suffer something for the love of our Lord. Oh, I 
 am quite sure you felt the advantages of your position ! 
 Sufferings are the money with which one buys 
 Heaven; therefore, your fortune is already begun. 
 As for me, I have not a penny. I am as poor as a 
 church mouse. But I hope soon to go to California. 
 Now do you understand my meaning? At any rate, 
 you know how I love you." 
 
 Melanie had long wished to devote herself to God 
 in a religious life, but her brother's plans had 
 thwarted the accomplishment of her own wishes for a 
 time. She had made the sacrifice generously. Never- 
 theless, she felt herself strongly urged in the same 
 direction. 
 
 "Be comforted, my dearest sister," writes Theo- 
 phane. "We are made to live together ; then let us do 
 so in Heaven. Be patient until God opens the way for 
 you to give yourself entirely to Him. Perfection does 
 
70 A Modern Martyr 
 
 not lie in one state of life more than in another, but 
 consists in an entire correspondence with grace in 
 the position in which God has placed us. Above all, 
 do not be discouraged, or give way to sadness and 
 despondency. Your holy and hidden life in the bosom 
 of your family is quite as meritorious in the sight of 
 God, and perhaps safer than a more heroic one." 
 
 But although Melanie was compelled to wait for a 
 few years to attain the great object of her wishes, she 
 found she could realize a portion of them by conse- 
 crating her virginity to our Lord, even while still 
 living in the world; and on this she writes to consult 
 her brother. He replies, — 
 
 "Your letter has filled me with great joy, for I see 
 how anxious you are to advance in the paths of perfec- 
 tion. I have joined my poor prayers with yours and 
 laid them at the feet of our Lady of Victories. Do 
 nothing hastily. You say you wish to obey your direc- 
 tor, and you are quite right, for obedience alone is a 
 sure guide. You are very good to consult me, my dear 
 little sister; and I, who am so far below you in 
 everything, — I thank you with all my heart for this 
 fresh proof of your love. Well ! what answer am I to 
 give you? You would not like me to say 'No,' and I 
 should like it still less. How can I advise you to re- 
 main in a world which I detest as you do, and which I 
 have left myself? I know well that for a long time 
 you have entirely detached yourself from its pleasures 
 and its frivolities; but the last act, the act of entire 
 renunciation, you have not yet signed and that is all 
 that is left for you to do. What is there, then, to stop 
 you? Consult your courage, consult the voice of 
 grace, consult those with whom you live, and if no 
 obstacle presents itself, may your holy desires be ful- 
 filled. May God's will be done. Celebrate your nup- 
 
Theophane Venard 71 
 
 tials, give Him your heart and your life, clothe your- 
 self with the bridal robe, place His ring on your fin- 
 ger, take a new name, enter into a new family. I wish 
 you joy, sister Mary, virgin spouse of Jesus Christ! 
 May the day come when I shall see my much-loved 
 sister in the choir of virgins, of which Mary Immacu- 
 late is the Queen, and when you shall count your 
 brother in the ranks of apostles, and perhaps martyrs 
 — who knows ? How joyfully we shall each then sing, 
 'Regina Apostolorum, Regina Virginum, ora pro 
 nobis. 'f . . . 
 
 "You wish me to guess the new name you have 
 taken. I have puzzled my brains in vain and can find 
 only my own. Perhaps, in the eccentricity of your 
 love, you have chosen that one? And now you say 
 you want to be a missionary nun — a tertiary, I sup- 
 pose ? I have a little bit of a doubt as to the reality of 
 this vocation ; it seems to me to taste a little too much 
 of fraternal affection." 
 
 But the great day came for Melanie, and on the 15th 
 of July, 1852, her brother wrote again, — 
 
 "I received your cake on the Feast of St. John, you 
 naughty, little, spoiling sister, and I thought it very 
 good, though a little salt, which is the fault of your 
 confections. Well, be the salt of the earth ! So many 
 souls get insipid and lukewarm. Ah, you did not ex- 
 pect me to preach morality to you on a cake ! ... It 
 is just like you and your love to remember all the little 
 details of that last day, and how I carried my surplice 
 on my arm. Ah, I am sometimes afraid you care for 
 me too much! Perhaps it is to punish us both that 
 God told me to leave you. I congratulate you with all 
 my heart on the step you have taken, and that you 
 
 t Queen of Apostles, Queen of Virgins, pray for us. 
 
12 A Modem Martyr 
 
 should thus have separated yourself from the world, 
 though still living in it. God has inspired you and 
 given you a great grace. I know you will receive it 
 with gratitude and humility; but do not forget that 
 your first duty is still to your family and for your 
 family. . . . God bless you, sister Mary Theophane. 
 All joy be with you in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. — 
 Your devoted brother, T. V." 
 
 The hour drew near when Theophane was to be- 
 come a priest, and his zeal and fervor were redoubled. 
 The atmosphere around him strengthened all these 
 pious desires, and everything tended to help him on- 
 ward in the path of perfection. In one of the corners 
 of the garden at the Paris Foreign Mission House 
 is a little oratory dedicated to Our Lady, and filled 
 with candles and flowers. Every Saturday evening, 
 and on all the vigils of her feasts, it is lighted, and the 
 students go there to recite Litanies and sing hymns in 
 her honor, after which follow the usual prayers at nine 
 o'clock. But on leaving the chapel, and before re- 
 tiring to his cell, each of the future missioners goes 
 to pay a little visit to the Hall of Martyrs, a large room 
 in which are ranged along the wall not only relics of 
 the confessors, but the instruments of their torture and 
 pictures of their martyrdom. Everyone stays a few 
 minutes here to pray in silence, and then to kiss the 
 crucifix stained with the blood of Bishop Borie. 
 Theophane used to spend every spare moment in this 
 room, and when the news came of the martyrdom of 
 Father Schoeffler at Tong-king, he wrote to his sister, 
 "Oh, if I might some day give my life like him for the 
 Faith ! I am not afraid of saying so to you, because I 
 know your generosity and that you would not even 
 wish to rob me of my crown. This Tong-king Mission 
 
Theophane Vlnard 73 
 
 is now the most enviable, for it is almost certain mar- 
 tyrdom. . . . Whatever happens, I know I may reckon 
 on your prayers." 
 
 Every day he was getting more detached. Writing 
 to the Bishop of Poitiers, he says, — 
 
 "Formerly, my Lord, I rejoiced in the thought of 
 receiving at your hands the last great grace which 
 God has deigned to bestow on me. But Divine Provi- 
 dence has ordered otherwise and disposed of my 
 future. In the midst of my regrets I cannot help look- 
 ing forward with joy. Yes, I own that every day I 
 get more detached from France, even when France 
 means to me Poitiers, and my tastes have become 
 decidedly Chinese. I do not know what secret im- 
 pulse makes me s)rmpathize so warmly with people of 
 another clime, be they Indians or Chinese. Some of 
 my friends here declare I am growing like them, that 
 I have a Chinese head, and Chinese eyes, and Chinese 
 ways, in fact, that I am getting Chinese altogether. 
 Do not think, however, that I have set my heart upon 
 China. I have no other choice than the will of my 
 superiors, that is, if they think me worthy of any 
 mission at all, as I sometimes fear they will not. I 
 shall always find myself too happy in the place where 
 the Great Master will allow me to work for the wel- 
 fare of my brethren and the Glory of His holy name." 
 
 Nevertheless, his superiors had no difficulty in rec- 
 ognizing the eminent merits of the young aspirant 
 after foreign missions, in spite of the humility which 
 induced him to throw a veil over all his actions ; and 
 so they hastened the time of his ordination (he was 
 only twenty-two), and desired him to prepare himself 
 for Trinity. He received the good news with a mix- 
 
74 A Modern MarLyr 
 
 ture of joy and fear, and writing to his Bishop ex- 
 claimed, — 
 
 "My Lord, — Fruit which grows ripe before the 
 proper time has no flavor; and here am I, a young 
 and green fruit, which yet must be ripe in a month. 
 In spite of this hot May sun, is it not too soon ? . .1 
 never dreamt of being called to the priesthood before 
 Christmas, but God has disposed things otherwise. . . . 
 'Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juven- 
 tutem meam.' * Very soon, perhaps, another message 
 will be brought to me, ai the very thought of which 
 my heart sings for joy. 'Pack your things, and start.' 
 Yet when I look at myself, when I see the childish 
 hands so soon to receive the holy oils ; the feet, fresh 
 from the playgrounds, which are to carry so far the 
 gospel of truth and peace; my whole being, in fact, 
 only just beginning to understand what life is, and 
 yet so soon to teach men how to live, I can scarcely 
 help laughing and yet crying. So mingled are my 
 feelings and thoughts at this moment, that I can only 
 hope in God, and beseech Him to give me strength, 
 meekness, humility, prudence, knowledge, and charity. 
 I trust in your Lordship's kindness that you will give 
 me a place in your prayers, which will obtain for me 
 the graces of which I stand so much in need." 
 
 A severe illness prostrated him for a time, but his 
 courage and cheerfulness never deserted him; and 
 in spite of his sufferings, which were very great, his 
 gaiety and patience astonished his companions, who 
 vied with one another as to who should wait upon him 
 and do little things for him. He wrote gaily after 
 his recovery, "I have a new body altogether, which, as 
 
 •1 will BO onto the Altar of God, to God who rejoiceth my youth. 
 
Theophane Vfinard 75 
 
 I am going into a new country, will be very useful, and 
 I hope we shall agree perfectly. It is a pity that I 
 can't get a new spirit and a new heart, and then I 
 should be altogether a new man. Pray that I may be 
 thus transformed on the day of my ordination." He 
 recovered sufficiently to be ordained on the 5th of June 
 and said his first Mass the next day, — ^Trinity Sunday. 
 He writes home on this occasion to his father, "My 
 dearest Father, — Send me your blessing. I said my 
 first Mass to-day. Oh, what a glorious day for me! 
 True, I cannot yet meditate very well — my head is still 
 weak and I can scarcely realize the awful mysteries 
 of which I have become, as it were, a participator. 
 But I feel a great peace, and am very happy. You will 
 share in my joy, which is a family one. Would that 
 you could have been with me on this day! But God 
 ordered it otherwise. May we be strengthened in 
 faith and hope ; at least we shall be united in prayer." 
 The new missioner was at length a priest. His 
 departure could not be long delayed, and the an- 
 nouncement was made to him only three days after 
 his ordination. He gave notice to his relatives that 
 his destination was not yet fixed, nor the actual day 
 of farewell, but that they must be prepared for a 
 speedy summons. He told them that he had been 
 promised a month's notice, and added, "Dearest 
 friends, — Courage and faith! God watches over us, 
 and the Blessed Virgin is our protector." 
 
 The missions of his two friends, Fr. Dallet and Fr. 
 Theurel, were already fixed; the latter was bound for 
 Tong-king, the former for India. Fr. Dallet embarked 
 in the middle of the month of August, and this was the 
 first break in the chain which united these faithful 
 friends. 
 
76 A Modern Martyr 
 
 But the summons for Theophane Venard was not 
 long delayed, and a letter dated the 13th of September 
 announced his speedy departure to his family. 
 
 "My dearest Father, Melanie, Henry, and 
 EusEBius, — Once more let us say together, 'God's holy 
 name be praised !' About a month ago five of my fel- 
 low-students received a notice to hold themselves in 
 readiness for departure. I was left behind until my 
 health should be fully regained. I could not help 
 grieving very much, but let that pass, for time presses. 
 One of the five, who had been compelled to return 
 home for family affairs, did not come back on the 
 day fixed. I have been, consequently, appointed to 
 replace him. I am therefore going to leave you at 
 once, my dearest ones, and to wish you good-bye until 
 our reunion in Heaven. I shall not remain even this 
 week in Paris; Friday will probably be my last day 
 on the soil of France, as we are to embark at Ant- 
 werp." 
 
 The 19th of September was to be the day of de- 
 parture, and in the morning Theophane sent a fare- 
 well line to each member of his family. 
 
 "My dearest and much-loved Father, — ^To-day I 
 leave France. I must send you, my last farewell; we 
 start at seven o'clock. On Monday we are to embark 
 from Antwerp; Tuesday morning we set sail. Dear- 
 est father, good-bye. My departure I know will be 
 a sorrow to you; to me also the separation is very 
 liard to bear. But courage ! Life on earth passes so 
 quickly and death will reunite us so soon; for death 
 to a Christian is life, a life of eternal happiness in the 
 bosom of our God, in company with His angels and 
 His saints. Au revoir, then, dearest father; the way 
 
Theophane V6nard 77 
 
 is short, and the end is blessed. Good-bye, I embrace 
 you with all my heart." 
 
 "My much- loved Sister, my own little Me- 
 LANiE, — Good-bye. I feel it very much that I am 
 not able to write you a good long letter. It is positive 
 suffering to me, for we have so many, many things to 
 say to each other, but I have scarcely a moment. I 
 shall never forget you or our happy childhood to- 
 gether, or our family gatherings and home joys. By 
 and by we shall all be reunited. I go with a heavy 
 heart and eyes full of tears, but we must pray together, 
 the one for the other, and bear the pain of parting 
 bravely. God bless you. My paper must convey my 
 last kiss to my darling sister." 
 
 "Good-bye, my dear, good Henry. Your last letter 
 gave me so much pleasure. Oh, no, my heart is not 
 made of stone ; on the contrary, just now it melts like 
 wax. But we shall meet again. I am going to talk 
 of our Father who is in Heaven, and make Him 
 known to our brothers who as yet know Him not, and 
 perhaps I shall be first at the tryst. Pray for me. 
 Prayer alone can soften bitterness and assuage sor- 
 row. And I, do you think I can ever forget you? 
 Good-bye. Let us have courage in this life and fight 
 our battles bravely. I love you with all my heart." 
 
 "Good-bye, my poor little Eusebius. We are about 
 to be separated but we shall be more and more closely 
 united in thought and prayer. We must all walk 
 straight heavenwards, no matter how rough the way. 
 Happy those who get there first! My colleagues and 
 I start under the best auspices, for only yesterday we 
 heard of a fresh martyrdom in Tong-king and it is for 
 
78 A Modem Martyr 
 
 that mission we are bound. Good-bye! I kiss you 
 on both cheeks. Once more, good-bye !" 
 
 Then came the usual ceremony of departure. The 
 departing missioners entered the chapel after even- 
 ing prayers and knelt on the altar steps. Behind them 
 knelt the directors of the Seminary with the student 
 body, as well as the friends and relatives who came to 
 see the young apostles for the last time.' Theophane's 
 relatives were not of the number. After the prayers 
 a short meditation was given, and the assistants sat 
 down, the five missioners alone remaining on the 
 altar step standing, while one of the directors, lately 
 returned from a foreign mission, made a short but 
 touching address. Then the five young apostles ap- 
 proached the altar, and when close to the tabernacle 
 turned to their brethren, who, leaving their places, 
 went one by one, to kiss the feet of those who were so 
 soon to be our Lord's heralds, while the choir intoned 
 the anthem, "Quam speciosi pedes evangelizantium 
 pacem, evangelizantium bona!"*^ 
 
 A little episode followed, which was well described 
 at the time by an eminent Catholic writer. 
 
 "From the midst of the crowd of visitors an old 
 man came forward, walking with some difficulty, and 
 assisted by one of the directors of the Seminary. An 
 inexpressible emotion was felt throughout the chapel, 
 and the voices of the choir faltered as they watched 
 
 *The ceremony of departure now takes place several times each year. 
 During the Summer the date is generally fixed in August, and the 
 ceremonies are divided between the Blessed Virgin's shrine in the 
 garden and the chapel. As the chapel is not large and the main 
 body is reserved for choir purposes, only a limited number of the 
 laity may attend, [Ed. 
 
 tHow beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, 
 of them that bring glad tidings. 
 
Theophane Venard 79 
 
 him slowly advancing up the aisle towards the altar. 
 He kissed the feet of the four first missioners, but 
 when he came to the fifth, the young man, as if in- 
 stinctively, bent forward and tried to prevent him. 
 But the poor old man knelt, or rather prostrated him- 
 self before him, and not only pressed his lips to his 
 feet, but his face and his forehead, so that his soft 
 white hair covered them as with a veil; and then a 
 sigh burst from his heart, which was more like a sob, 
 a sigh which was heard all over the building, and at 
 which everybody was moved to tears; while the poor 
 son himself (for it was his father) became whiter 
 than a sheet. Yet this was the second son which this 
 new Abraham had sacrificed to God, and it was the 
 last! . . . They assisted the old man to rise, and he 
 with difficulty returned to his place. The sympathy 
 of all present was evident, while the choir, which in 
 the excitement had paused for a moment, intoned the 
 'Laudate pueri Dominum' ." 
 
 After this touching ceremony, the missioners them- 
 selves gave the kiss of peace to their brethren and 
 friends, and then followed the "Hymn of Departure" 
 by M. Dallet. (See p. 234) 
 
80 A Modern Martyr 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Voyage — Antwerp to Hong-Kong. 
 
 Our travellers left Paris and the Seminary with 
 full hearts. To Theophane, especially, the parting was 
 very bitter, for he had become attached to the Semi- 
 nary, and to everything in it, in a way which only 
 clinging, loving natures like his can understand. The 
 young missioners managed to get together in the rail- 
 way carriage, so that they might console one another ; 
 and after a time they became calm, — even joyous, so 
 that Theophane wrote that they seemed "more like 
 people going to a fete." Arrived at Antwerp they 
 lost no time in going on board their ship, the Phylo- 
 taxe (lover of order), an American clipper of 600 
 tons, and a good, fast sailer. As a day or two elapsed 
 before the ship was ready for sea, they spent this time 
 seeing the quaint old Belgian town, and admiring the 
 simplicity and devotion of its inhabitants. The em- 
 barkation took place on the 33rd of September. Theo- 
 phane wrote home, — 
 
 "We bade farewell to Antwerp with a salute of 
 nine guns, which was answered from the citadel. I 
 am rather inclined to dreaming, and were it not for 
 the help of God my heart would fail me altogether. 
 You were more than half my life, and I feel the sepa- 
 ration terribly, especially from the fact that it may 
 be so long before I shall have any letter or tidings of 
 you all. At any rate you are anchored in my remem- 
 
Theophane Venard 81 
 
 brance — ^you see I am already getting nautical in my 
 expressions — and I feel as if your presence would be 
 ever with me, to cheer and strengthen me. We have 
 already passed two nights on board ; how beautiful the 
 nights are at sea ! The moon throws such a soft light 
 on the waves while we walk up and down the deck, 
 singing some national air, and smoking our cigars. 
 For now we are ordered to smoke; and a kind old 
 gentleman at Antwerp gave me for the passage a thou- 
 sand cigars, of a mild kind, which I can manage bet- 
 ter than the stronger ones. I sleep like a little bird in 
 its nest and as yet I have not been sick. The vessel 
 is most comfortable, the wind favorable, the crew a 
 picked one, the discipline admirable, and the captain 
 like a father. In spite of the dispensation, we ab- 
 stained on Friday, as is the universal Belgian custom. 
 The captain never omits grace before and after meals, 
 and the officers are faithful likewise. I am struck 
 with the hard life of these sailors but I see that it 
 has a certain charm. I like to hear their monotonous 
 singing during work, and to watch them climb the 
 ropes; but the wonderful expanse of water, and the 
 thoughts which it suggests, occupy me almost exclu- 
 sively. I wished good-bye to every village and steeple 
 as we sailed past. Now we see nothing but ocean 
 and sky. Good-bye, then, for many months." He was 
 able, however, to send a few pencil lines the next 
 day, as follows: — 
 
 "Sunday, September 26, by a fishing-smack, 
 
 seven leagues from Calais. 
 
 My dear ones, — One more word to say that I am 
 
 well, though rather seasick. We are all bright and 
 
 cheery on board. Pray for us. Dearest Father, Me- 
 
 6 
 
83 A Modern Martyr 
 
 lanie, Henry, Eusebius, once more good-bye! A last 
 farewell to France, and to you all." 
 
 According to all human probability these were, in- 
 deed, the last words he was to send them from Europe ; 
 but a further consolation was granted to his family 
 through a violent gale, which obliged the ship to take 
 refuge in Plymouth harbor, where it remained three 
 days. Theophane gave his brother an amusing ac- 
 count of the storm and its consequences; and adds, 
 "This evening I have been watching a beautiful sun- 
 set on the English coast while the moon rose on the 
 French side of the Channel. I could not help think- 
 ing about England, this country where the Sun of 
 Truth has so long been darkened, — and praying for 
 her wiih all my heart. England could do so much for 
 the good cause, if she would only make it her own! 
 If she only saw the truth ! She reigns over the seas ; 
 but she sows error wherever her flag floats. Let us 
 pray that this state of things may not continue. It is, 
 I fancy, a rare sight for English people to see a priest 
 in his cassock ; for when we went into the town, men, 
 women, and children looked at us in amazement. 
 Some of the little ones were fairly frightened and ran 
 away; one of the men was curious enough to come 
 and touch one of our cassocks and examine the but- 
 tons. Then they burst out laughing, and that so 
 naively, that we laughed too. It seems to me that 
 they are very like the Chinese in character — curious to 
 the verge of incivility and with little sense in their 
 mockery." 
 
 To his sister he wrote, — 
 
 "Plymouth. 
 
 Dearest Sister, — Peace and love and joy in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Providence has willed that we 
 
Theophane Venard 83 
 
 should be detained here, to repair the damage done to 
 our ship in the gale — ^at least, that is the reason the 
 world gives ; / believe it is to enable me once more to 
 say good-bye at my ease to my friends. What do you 
 think, dear little sister? Do you recollect how in old 
 times, when the last of the holidays came, you and 
 I used to take the longest road to the station, so as to 
 prolong the time as much as possible and talk a little 
 more? We never could agree as to which was to 
 have the last word ; we always had so much to say to 
 each other. And now I am leaving you indeed, and 
 probably forever! Ought we not, then, to have a 
 good long talk ? Ah, now comes the sorrow ! I must 
 have all the say to myself. There is no dear little 
 Melanie to answer me; no gentle eyes to look at me; 
 no soft hand to hold in mine, and to keep it back, and 
 try to make me stay a few minutes longer ! And our 
 good father and brother, where are they? Ah, you 
 are all together; and I? I am alone! Alone with God 
 — alone forevermore! But I know how you have 
 followed me in thought; and I like to think of this 
 letter's arrival at our home, and the welcome it will 
 get ! Am I not a real baby? But O my God, it is not 
 wrong, is it, to love one's home, and one's father, 
 and one's brothers, and one's sister ? — ^to suffer terribly 
 at being parted from them? — ^to feel one's loneliness? 
 — ^to try to console one another? — ^to mingle our 
 prayers and our tears, and also our hopes? For we 
 have left all for Thee. We wish to work but for 
 Thee; and we trust to be reunited one day in Thee 
 forever and forever! You see, my darling sister, as 
 usual, I cannot help opening my whole heart to you, 
 who understand me so well. But let us look the 
 thing bravely in the face. All is over, is it not so ? An 
 enormous distance is about to separate us. Never 
 
84 A Modern Martyr 
 
 again shall we meet on this earth ! But after all, why 
 do we feel it so dreadfully? A little sooner or a 
 little later we shall be together again in Heaven. How 
 short will our separation appear to us in eternity! 
 Mother, friends, the Saints, are all gone home before 
 us. Au revoir! they said. So it is our business to 
 follow them and to go to them. People who are 
 taking a journey often go by different roads ; the only 
 question is, which shall arrive first at the place of 
 destination. Well, I am going by this road, you by 
 that. Let the one who reaches home first encourage 
 the other. 
 
 "Melanie, my sister, I leave you a precious charge 
 — ^that of our dear old father! You must help him 
 to pass from this world to a better. You must be his 
 angel of consolation and soothe his last days on earth. 
 Watch over our brothers, too; try to make yourself 
 one with them as you have been with me; and link 
 yourself with them in the bonds of the tenderest affec- 
 tion. Three are stronger than one; help one another 
 onwards and upwards in the rugged path of life. 
 Above all, let nothing separate your interests or your 
 affections. True love cannot be snapped asunder; it 
 spreads and widens, but never diminishes. Love 
 never dies ; for it is stronger than death. God Him- 
 self has said so. The strength and increase of love 
 is in prayer. We are little and weak and miserable 
 but He who sustains us is strong and mighty. His 
 arms are ever stretched out towards us; let us lift 
 ours to meet Him. 
 
 "Life has many bitter, sad, and weary hours ; often 
 
 it can scarcely be called existence. The little rivulets, 
 
 as well as the great rivers, all empty themselves into 
 
 one source — ^the sea. God is an ocean of love and 
 
 -mercy; in Him alone is the fulness of joy. Patience 
 
Theophane Venard 85 
 
 and courage, then! A little while and we shall be 
 with Him. He has promised it and He never belies 
 His word. When the little river is dried up, the 
 heavens give rain, and the river gaily continues its 
 course. When our life is arid and we are ill at ease, 
 let us ask for the dew and the refreshing rain and the 
 food from God. Our Father who is in Heaven knows 
 our wants, and feels for our weariness ; and He sends 
 His ministers to supply our need. 'Ask and ye shall 
 receive.' Well, then, it is an understood thing, that 
 each of us is to help and strengthen the other, and to 
 make a start upwards. Short is the way and short 
 the time. Courage, dearest sister! my thoughts press 
 and tumble one upon the other; but you understand 
 even half a word ; and you will make the others enter 
 into my feelings. I can speak freely only to you ; but 
 if I write confusedly you will unravel it. 
 
 "Dear Melanie, when you hear the priest at Mass 
 intone the 'Sursum corda,' think that it is I who am 
 speaking to you, who invite you in our dear Lord's 
 name to lift up your heart. Yes, mount upwards ! up- 
 wards! Mount always, like a bird of passage; and 
 then all this sorrow will assume its just proportion, 
 and Heaven will be attained. Even on this sad earth, 
 with hearts on high, and spade in hand, we must labor 
 each at his task. Be patient, gentle, loving; and pray 
 for me, that I, working in my little furrow, may be 
 the same. Pray for those among whom I am going to 
 work, for these poor heathen brothers and sisters 
 of ours, for whom I would so gladly give my life. 
 Make your prayers thoroughly Catholic in that sense, 
 for such is the real meaning of the communion of 
 saints. 
 
 "From time to time I hope that you will write me 
 long letters to cheer me in my solitude, and that you 
 
86 A Modern Martyr 
 
 will beg our dear old friends to do the same. Think 
 what a joyful surprise a letter will be to me out there ! 
 I shall send my scribblings in a Chinese guise to make 
 you laugh; for we must try to be gay and bright in 
 our correspondence and not dwell always on the 
 sadder side of life. And now, my darling sister, I 
 must come to a stop. There is a limit to everything, 
 even to these closely-written pages! My heart rests 
 on your heart and my hand in yours. Adieu. You 
 understand? God bless you, my dearest sister!" 
 
 From Plymouth Theophane wrote also a few lines 
 to his little brother : — 
 
 "Bless our Lord, and the rain and the winds and 
 the tempests which have blown me into this town of 
 Plymouth, that I might write one word more to my 
 dear little Eusebius! Our good-bye has been said, 
 and our lives will henceforth run in different channels 
 — ^unless you come to have a Chinese taste like me ! I 
 turn my back upon you, but not my heart, you will 
 understand ! Our thoughts will ever be united, in our 
 prayers as in our work. You are going back to col- 
 lege. Work! work! work! Time is more precious 
 than you realize. Learn all you possibly can, but 
 especially languages; for people fraternize a great 
 deal more than they used to do, and this fusion 
 should tend to the triumph of truth. Try to cooperate 
 in this great work. I leave you to the care of your 
 good angel. May he guard and protect your youth 
 and your whole life! Dear brother, we shall see 
 each other in Heaven. I give you for advice the 
 same words I gave Melanie, 'Sursum corda.' May 
 God give you the fulness of His grace, patience, 
 peace, and joy, in life and death! Amen." 
 
Theophane Venard 87 
 
 These letters were dated the 7th of October. Two 
 days after, the voyagers left the port of Plymouth, 
 and no news was received of them till the April fol- 
 lowing, when a letter arrived from Singapore, dated 
 February. Theophane wrote a long and detailed ac- 
 count of the passage, but as all long voyages resemble 
 one another, we will confine our extracts to a few 
 personal details: 
 
 "We are entering the harbor," wrote Theophane 
 from Singapore. "So I will prepare my home letters, 
 and I am glad to do so on New Year's day. This 
 morning my first thought after God was for you all. 
 On the 10th of October, Sunday evening, we left 
 Plymouth. Another Belgian vessel, the 'Atalanta,' 
 left the port at the same time, with a hundred and 
 sixty passengers who were going to the gold-fields. 
 What a poor object! You may believe that not for 
 all the gold in Australia or California would I have 
 left you all ! Our vessel is a very fast sailer, and our 
 captain a model of all virtues, religious from con- 
 viction, speaking little but always to the point; he 
 has his ship in perfect order, and is immensely 
 popular with his men; his courtesy and kindness to 
 us could not be exceeded. The days are long and 
 monotonous on board ship ; the sight of a few strange 
 birds, one or two swallows, flying-fish, and porpoises, 
 with a shark here and there, these are the only events 
 in a long voyage. The sea, I confess, wearies me to 
 death. It is certainly fine to see great waves rolling 
 one over another, but I should prefer seeing it from 
 terra firma. We had the unspeakable consolation of 
 daily Mass for the first month and a half ; but after- 
 wards our altar-breads got spoiled. How I have 
 longed for the possibility of paying a visit to the 
 
88 A Modern Martyr 
 
 Blessed Sacrament, or of assisting once more at some 
 Catholic ceremony! When the body is deprived of 
 food, it languishes and dies; and it is the same with 
 the soul, without the Bread which sustains its life. . . . 
 Time and again I found myself dreaming on deck, 
 leaning against the bulwarks, and looking back on 
 my past life — ^my happy childhood, my darling mother, 
 my father's sacrifices, my education, our joyous home- 
 gatherings, my life at school and at college. . . . And 
 now here I am, in the hands of Providence, full of 
 thankfulness for past mercies and blessings, full of 
 hope for the future. My dear father, in your last 
 letter, consenting to my departure, you encouraged 
 me by saying, 'The hand of God is everywhere.' 
 This shall henceforth be my motto. The hand of God 
 is everywhere; therefore it will be everywhere with 
 me. . . . On our arrival at Singapore we heard, 
 without much astonishment, of the proclamation of 
 the empire. God grant peace to our dear France! 
 In this country it seems to me that gold is the supreme 
 god. New mines are daily discovered; but I never 
 heard that men found in them peace or happiness. It 
 is charity alone which is pure gold, gold tried in the 
 furnace; the rest is but false money." 
 
 Our missioners were still at Singapore, when there 
 arrived several young Cochin-Chinese students who 
 had been sent by Bishop Gaultier to the College of 
 Penang. The sight of them made Theophane's heart 
 beat more quickly than ever, and he wrote to Father 
 Dallet,— 
 
 "Every evening these young men pray together in 
 their own language, and we put our ears to the cracks 
 of the door to hear them. Their singing is so sweet! 
 Such plaintive, touching tones! And shall I tell you 
 aH? They are real heroes that we have next to us. 
 
Theophane Venard 89 
 
 men on whose heads a price has been put for leaving 
 their country. They are the sons, the brothers of 
 martyrs, and they come from Annam, the land of 
 martyrdoms." 
 
 After spending three weeks at Singapore, Father 
 Venard and two of his companions started for Hong- 
 Kong. The rest remained a few days longer, till 
 a favorable opportunity presented itself for going to 
 their respective destinations. Before leaving Singa- 
 pore, Theophane wrote a few lines to the great friend 
 and companion of his boyhood, a young lady living 
 near his old home: — 
 
 "I like to think that you remember our old walks on 
 the hillside, and the pleasant readings we used to have 
 together. I assure you I have a faithful memory and 
 I never can think of those happy days without emo- 
 tion. All my friends have a place in my heart and 
 the thought of them often brings tears to my eyes, — 
 not that I regret what I have done, for it seems to me 
 that I simply followed the inspiration of God's grace, 
 but because this separation from those so dear to me 
 cannot take place without a terrible wrench, and when 
 the wound is reopened it bleeds. 
 
 "You tell me that you are full of troubles and 
 trials. I can well believe it ; and I ask of God to give 
 you strength and grace to bear them. You know 
 how deeply interested I am in everything that concerns 
 you. Ah, one must own that life on this earth is a 
 poor thing at best; there is scarcely a day without a 
 cloud! Sorrow and suffering are foun4 everywhere; 
 they are the daily bread of each of us. The thing is 
 to know how to use them. Happy those who know 
 how to turn them to advantage! Such souls will be 
 
90 A Modern Martyr 
 
 amply recompensed hereafter. I always look upon 
 these miseries as a kind of money with which to buy 
 Heaven ; but then this money must bear the image of 
 Jesus Christ, just as our ordinary coinage bears the 
 superscription of the king or queen of the country 
 where it is struck. Courage, then, courage! Our 
 King loves you and calls you to Himself by His own 
 way, the royal road of the Cross. Try to love it for 
 His sake, and to follow Him gladly, when and where 
 He calls you. When we shall meet each other again 
 in the place where we all hope to be reunited, you will 
 be rich in glory, for you have been rich in sorrows 
 and in merits!" 
 
Theophane Venard 91 
 
 CHAPTER Vlir. 
 
 In Hong-Kong — Final Preparation. 
 
 From Singapore our missioner proceeded to Hong- 
 Kong, where he arrived after a long and tedious pas- 
 sage on board an English sailing-ship. The joy he ex- 
 perienced on landing made him exclaim, "I feel all the 
 more keenly how great a rest it will be to quit this 
 stormy sea of the world, and to repose in our good 
 God!" He was a little disappointed not to find at 
 Hong-Kong the letters which were to fix his future 
 destination ; but he consoled himself with the thought 
 that he was not yet fit for the heavy charge of the 
 apostolate. A still greater disappointment arose from 
 finding no letters from home — ^not even one from his 
 sister! He felt this keenly and his loneliness pressed 
 upon him heavily for the first few weeks. When ti- 
 dings from his family at length arrived, he broke into 
 a song of joy to his father, as follows: — 
 
 "Oh, your letters did me so much good! I love 
 them as one loves the dew after great heats, as the 
 traveller in the desert rejoices at the green oasis 
 where he and his camels can rest and find shade and 
 water. For we poor missioners live, as it were, in a 
 desert, and that always. When we get news of our 
 loved ones at home, of our country, of our friends, 
 how happy it makes us! I feel a thousand times 
 stronger when I have read and re-read your dear 
 letters, for your sympathy fortifies and encourages 
 
92 A Modern Martyr 
 
 me. I no longer feel alone in my sacrifice; others 
 share in it and live, as it were, with me in thought and 
 heart. God be praised for the home-love in which I 
 have been cradled and for the dear friends He has 
 given me ! I am as a branch of a tree, and no longer 
 dried up by being separated from the parent stem, 
 for the same loving sap runs through us all. God is 
 surely very good to our human hearts, which He has 
 formed, and of which He knows the yearnings and 
 the weaknesses; and then He is the same in China 
 as in France, and what do we want beside Him on 
 earth or in Heaven !" 
 
 Fr. Venard stayed fifteen months at Hong-Kong. 
 During this time he devoted himself to learning the 
 Chinese language, in itself a most arduous and weari- 
 some task, for the different dialects are innumerable, 
 and though he put his whole heart into it, yet his 
 health, which was affected by the great heat, often 
 prevented his studying. When this was the case he 
 used to take long walks by the seashore or in the 
 mountains, trying to become acquainted with the 
 people and their habits; and although their hypocrisy 
 and vanity often disgusted him, still the modesty of 
 the women, and their careful decency in dress and 
 manner, often contrasted favorably with the customs 
 of his own countrywomen. What drove him almost 
 to despair was the bad example given to the natives 
 by Europeans calling themselves Christians, who, as 
 he expressed it, "wherever they went, spoiled God's 
 work." But his special indignation was aroused by 
 the conduct of the English engaged in the opium 
 trade. He writes to his sister, — 
 
 "This opium is a substance extracted from the 
 
Theophane Venard 93 
 
 poppy and is smoked like tobacco. The result is a 
 positive destruction of all the faculties of mind and 
 body, ending in complete stupefaction. The Chinese 
 have a passion for this pernicious drug, and the Eng- 
 lish an equal anxiety to supply them with it; they 
 bring it from Hindustan. In spite of treaties and 
 protestations, the sums acquired in this contraband 
 traffic are enormous, and the trade is a thorough 
 disgrace to the English nation. If the devil had tried 
 to invent something to ruin men, body and soul, he 
 could not have hit on anything more effectual. I wish 
 we could have an association of prayers to try to put 
 down this infamous traffic." 
 
 Writing to Father Dallet about the Chinese insur- 
 rection, he says, "Nothing can be more terrible at 
 this moment than the state of China. But the melan- 
 choly thing is that European agents are at the bottom 
 of it, and vainly expect, by coquetting with the rebels, 
 to promote a Protestant movement among the people. 
 Never was there such a delusion! . . . The worst of 
 it is that it all adds to the hatred of the Chinese 
 toward strangers ; so that when the Emperor succeeds 
 in defeating the rebels, which is inevitable, his ven- 
 geance will fall on the Europeans, and especially on 
 the missioners.- . . . You ask me, 'What are the 
 rebels about?' Nobody knows. The French and the 
 English papers write long articles, and give their 
 readers astounding intelligence of battles fought and 
 won, and develop grand theories as to the future of 
 the Chinese Empire; but they are all the dreams of 
 editors. Every one laughs at them here, for there 
 is not a word of truth in their statements; and as to 
 the marvellous changes which this rebellion is to 
 bring about, I think they will find that the mountain 
 has brought forth a mouse! They talk, too, of the 
 
94 A Modern Martyr 
 
 energetic representations made by the French and the 
 English ministers in favor of Christianity; all this is 
 pure invention. The spirit of Constantine and of St. 
 Louis is far from being that of modern governments, 
 which have all become more or less atheistical under 
 the influence of Protestant, rationalistic, and infidel 
 doctrines ; expediency is their watchword. As for us, 
 in God alone is our hope and succor. Let us pray, 
 then, more and more fervently for the conversion of 
 the infidels." 
 
 The numbers of letters which we find written by 
 Theophane to his old friend. Father Dallet, prove that 
 their affection had not been cooled by distance or 
 separation. We give an extract from one written on 
 the 26th of September, 1853 : — 
 
 "You ask me, dear old friend, if you live as much 
 as ever in my remembrance. Oh yes, quite as much ! 
 I love you with a special and devoted attachment, and 
 you must not be scandalized at it. It is surely allow- 
 able to have a warm, particular friendship, especially 
 when one is so far away from its object, and the 
 community will not be the sufferers. I have a full be- 
 lief and confidence that God does not disapprove of it ; 
 for it is in Him and for Him that our hearts have 
 been united. It is not the evil which is in us that 
 unites us in this tender bond of love, but our higher 
 and better aspirations. Let us, then, be forever one, 
 my dearest brother, united in the same work, devoted 
 to the same cause, humble disciples of the same 
 Master. . . . Our feet toil painfully here on earth, 
 but our thoughts soar above. . . . My bishop wrote 
 to me, just before I left Paris, 'I pray for you to our 
 dear Lord, that your devotion may daily become more 
 
Theophane Venard 95 
 
 perfect, that your holocaust may be complete, and 
 that having embarked in so great a work, you may 
 persevere in it after the manner of the saints. Do not 
 be an Apostle by halves, ray dear child.' . . . Now I 
 have these words always before me, and they give me 
 courage and strength; and I have copied them for 
 you that you may use them too. ... I have been 
 laughing at the idea of your beard, of which you 
 fancy I shall be envious; but I assure you my 
 moustache is quite enough for me. . . . Dearest 
 friend, I am afraid you are very much tried in your 
 present mission. If I were only by your side to grasp 
 your hand and share all your troubles, as of old! I 
 know you so well that I feel the more for your 
 peculiar trials. But it is always the same; the gold 
 must pass through the furnace. God will prove and 
 try you, and having fed you with milk. He is now 
 weaning you for stronger and greater things. Don't 
 let us be 'Apostles by halves!' It's a great thing to 
 be a missioner! Our duties are without limit, and 
 imply perfection, if possible. All the miseries you 
 picture to me I feel and see vividly, and my heart 
 bleeds for you. I feel that my own soul is strengthened 
 by suffering, and that from one's very wounds arise 
 greater vigor, firmness, and courage. You tell me of 
 all these sad things, but you add, 'Happy are those 
 who can keep themselves apart, and live in the still 
 silence of their own hearts with God.' May God 
 pour into your wounds the wine and oil which alone 
 can heal them, and make you taste the sweetness as 
 well as the bitterness of His cross ! . . . Well, I must 
 stop. My heart could go on forever to you, but my 
 head and hand are tired. I repeat constantly for us 
 both my favorite little ejaculation 'Jesu, mitis et 
 
96 A Modern Martyr 
 
 humilis corde, miserere nobis!'* In fact, I say these 
 words so constantly to myself that they have become 
 a habit. I hear you exclaim, 'Ah, he is going to preach 
 again !' No, for once you are wrong. I am not going 
 to give you any more bad advice but try to become 
 more humble and amiable myself. God bless you, 
 dearest friend and brother." 
 
 Theophane had many warm college friends besides 
 Father Dallet ; and among these we must mention the 
 Abbe Theurel, afterwards Bishop of Acanthus. These 
 links were never broken till the end, for Theophane 
 looked upon them, "as given by God, that each soul 
 might be helped upwards by mutual love in the heav- 
 enly race." After some weeks spent at Hong-Kong, 
 Fr. Theurel left for Tong-king, leaving Theophane to 
 follow him later. This separation with the last of his 
 fellow-travellers was very trying to our missioner, 
 who consoled himself by writing certain stanzas in 
 honor of his friend. He always had a great taste 
 and talent for poetry, and often used to say that he 
 had to guard himself, like Father Faber, lest it should 
 absorb him too much. Other friends from the Paris 
 Seminary soon joined him, among whom was Father 
 Chapdelaine, who was much older than Theophane, 
 being about forty. Theophane describes Fr. Chap- 
 delaine as "a Norman, with an iron constitution, 
 frank, gay, and loyal in character, a capital companion, 
 and above all, a holy and courageous missioner." 
 Writing to Fr. Dallet, he adds, "Father Chapdelaine 
 (who sends you his best love, by the by) is only 
 waiting till his little lodging is prepared, to start. He 
 is the healthiest, the most active, and the joUiest of 
 us all; and Father Bariod might well say on his 
 
 *Jesus, meek and humble of heart, have mercy on us. 
 
Theophane Venard 97 
 
 birthday that he had 'the rosiness of perpetual 
 youth.' " After a few years of arduous toil in the 
 mission of Kwang-si, this joyous, ardent spirit received 
 in 1856 the crown of martyrdom ! But we are antici- 
 pating. 
 
 Near the town <yi Hong-Kong a college had 
 been established for the Canton mission, under the 
 patronage of St. Francis Xavier, Fr. Guillemin was 
 the head of this college, and he asked Fr. Venard to 
 come and teach Philosophy to the students who had 
 made their first studies at Penang, another missionary 
 college. Theophane gladly accepted, delighted to find 
 some definite work during this time of weary waiting, 
 and especially to be under the direction of a man 
 whom everyone looked upon as a saint. A few years 
 later this same Fr. Guillemin came to Europe, was 
 consecrated Bishop at Rome, and then paid a visit to 
 France, bringing with him a young Chinese who had 
 been Theophane's pupil. Eusebius Venard was at 
 that time in the Seminary and describes Bishop Guil- 
 lemin's visit to Poitiers as follows : — 
 
 "It was on the 30th of January, 1857, that Bishop 
 Guillemin came to the Seminary to talk to us about 
 his mission. The first day I could not get a private 
 conversation with him, but I made acquaintance with 
 Benedict, his Chinese companion, and began talking 
 to him about Theophane. The moment I mentioned 
 his name, Benedict's face lit up with joy, and one 
 could see that the name awoke in him the fondest 
 recollections; from that moment we became like 
 brothers. The next day I was presented to the Bishop ; 
 he looked at me attentively, and seeing in me a like- 
 ness to my brother, exclaimed, 'Oh, my dear Abbe! 
 my good Abbe!' and was much moved. Then he 
 7 
 
98 A Modern Martyr 
 
 began to talk of Theophane, of his zeal and devotion, 
 of his bright, gay, frank manner, of his distinguished 
 talents, of the way he was beloved, and of his 
 ingenious charity and kindness towards everyone. He 
 added, 'When I was made superior of the Canton 
 mission, all the students, with Theophane at their head, 
 came to congratulate me, and to recite some verses 
 which he had composed in my honor. He had even 
 made a mitre and crozier of bamboo, with a playful 
 allusion to their being a prophecy of what they most 
 wished, — a dignity to which, unhappily for my poor 
 self, I have now arrived. But this cheerful, bright dis- 
 position of his was of immense use to me in directing 
 the college. The students idolized Father Theophane, 
 and he kept up an admirable spirit among them, 
 which enabled them to make light of every hardship 
 and difficulty. He went with me one day up a high 
 mountain, from which he could see what he called 
 his "Promised Land." Never did I see him so joyous. 
 Ah, your brother is indeed a perfect missioner and I 
 have done nothing but regret his departure for Tong- 
 king, for I loved him very much, and he belonged to 
 me first of all !' He then gave me many little details 
 of his daily life, too long to write, but all showing 
 his deep affection for my brother, and his thorough 
 appreciation of his merits." 
 
 It was in the month of February, 1854, that Father 
 Venard received his orders for the Western district 
 of Tong-king. He wrote at once to express his joy 
 to Fr. Barran, Superior of the Foreign Mission 
 Seminary at Paris. 
 
 "Very Rev. Father Superior, — Tong-king for 
 China, I shall not lose much by the exchange! I 
 should have liked any mission which was awarded 
 
Theophane Venard 99 
 
 me; but that of Tong-king, under the care of Bishop 
 Retord, so full of holy associations and blessed recol- 
 lections, oh, this is indeed the post I should most 
 ardently have coveted ! I love it as being the heritage 
 which the great Father has awarded to me. I love it 
 because it is the grandest mission of all, 'the Diamond 
 of Asia,' as a poet has called it. When I was at Paris, 
 and so unhappy at being left behind, when my brothers 
 had all been sent to their respective destinations, Fr. 
 Albrand, to console me, said, 'Do not be cast down, 
 this is not a case of tarde venientibus ossa!''\ — I like 
 to think of this, and I beg of you to express my 
 gratitude to that dear, good Father for all his kindness 
 towards me." 
 
 Theophane wrote also to his family. "Well, my 
 dear people, I am going to Tong-king. There the 
 venerable Charles Cornay died a martyr. I do not 
 say that the same fate is reserved for me; but if you 
 will only pray ardently, perhaps God may grant me a 
 like grace. ... I am not going to China, which I have 
 seen as Moses saw the promised land; but I must 
 guide my boat to another shore, a shore on which Frs. 
 Schoeffler and Bonnard (one on the 1st of May, 1851, 
 the other on the 1st of May, 1853) obtained the 
 martyr's palm.* It is in the Annamite country, which 
 includes Tong-king and Cochin-China, where the spirit 
 of persecution is most active. A price is put on the 
 head of each missioner, and when one is found, they 
 put him to death without hesitation. But God knows 
 His own, and only to those whom He chooses is the 
 grace of martyrdom given. One is taken and the 
 
 fBones to the late comers. 
 
 * Fathers Cornayj Schoeffler and Bonnard were all fcrmer students 
 o£ the Paris Mission Seminary. Frs. Schoeffler and Bonnard were 
 decapitated; Fr. Cornay was not only-jlecapitated but dismembered. 
 
100 A Modern Martyr 
 
 other left ; and there as everywhere His Holy Will is 
 done. In spite of the violence and the universality of 
 the persecution there, the missions are the most flour- 
 ishing. 'Sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum.'^ 
 We run the risk likewise of being cut off by pirates in 
 the passage from Hong-Kong to Tong-king; but that 
 must be as God permits. . . . This mission, to which 
 I am appointed, is indeed a great one, — in its organiza- 
 tion and in the number and fervor of its converts, who 
 amount to upwards of 150,000 souls; greater still in 
 its hopes ; in its native clergy, who number 80 priests, 
 and 1300 catechists; in its religious communities, for 
 there are upwards of 600 Sisters; in its seminaries, 
 with more than 300 students; in its chief pastor, of 
 whom the highest praise that can be given is, that 
 since his episcopate, he has added 40,000 sheep to his 
 fold. Is not that a noble escort with which to mount 
 to Heaven? a beautiful crown for all eternity? I 
 cannot tell you with what impatience I am looking 
 forward to being under so holy a bishop, to be initiated 
 by him into the apostolic ministry, to be trained in his 
 school, and to march, as a simple soldier, under the 
 orders of so great a general. There are already six 
 missioners under him from the Foreign Mission 
 Seminary. May I make a worthy seventh! And 
 then think of the martyrs, — ^those real glories of Tong- 
 king, those immortal flowers gathered by our Lord's 
 own hand in the garden of His predilection. These 
 martyrs are the patrons and protectors of the mission ; 
 their blood, shed in the great cause, is always pleading 
 for us before God, and the remembrance of their 
 triumph gives fresh courage to those who are still in 
 the strife. Only think what an honor and what a 
 
 fThe blood of martyrs is tbe seed of Christians. 
 
Theophane Venard 101 
 
 happiness it would be for your poor Theophane, if 
 God deigned, . . . you understand. 'Te Deum lauda- 
 
 '>nus Te martyrum candidatus laudat exer- 
 
 citus'."'^ 
 
 He wrote also to his old friend. Father Dallet ; and 
 as if martyrdom was the great object of his life, he 
 exclaimed, "Only a few years ago Frs. Galy and 
 Berneux were seized on their arrival at Tong-king; 
 if the same good luck could only befall us ! Oh, dear 
 old friend, every time the thought of martyrdom 
 comes across me, I thrill with joy and hope! But 
 then this better part is not given to all. I dare not 
 aspire to so brilliant a crown, but I cannot help 
 feeling a longing and sighing for such a grace. 
 'Domine qui dixisti: major em charitatem nemo habet 
 ut animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis.'X You do 
 not forget our mutual prayer. It has for me an 
 inexpressible charm: 'Sancta Maria, Regina Mar- 
 tyrum, or a pro nobis !'^^ Pray, pray for your poor 
 little friend, who never forgets you, no, not for a 
 single day!" 
 
 To his brother Henry he wrote, "How well I 
 understand what you meant when you said, 'Eusebius 
 has arrived fresh and well, so that we are almost a 
 complete family party.' And I, poor little I, on the 
 contrary, am going farther and farther away ! Ah ! I 
 assure you my thoughts travel back to St. Loup very, 
 very often, and the tears come into my eyes when I 
 think of you all and our happy home, and all the joys 
 of my childhood and youth. Never since my departure 
 have I known family happiness and real love; such 
 
 tWe praise Thee, O God. The white-robed army of martyrs gives 
 
 praise to Thee. 
 
 to Lord, Thon who hast said, " Greater love than this no man hath, 
 
 that he lay down his life for his friends." 
 
 ttHoly Mary, Queen of Martyrs, pray for us. 
 
102 A Modern Martyr 
 
 things are not to be met with every day! But I 
 expected it. I felt that it was inevitable. All I can 
 hope is, that after the wound will come the healing. 
 Every age, every position has its cares, its pains, and 
 its bitternesses. Nothing except what comes from 
 God is good here below ; but we have much to thank 
 Him for, and especially for the grace which makes us 
 His friends. ... Do not think of me as sad; on the 
 contrary, I am very happy and bright; when one is 
 working and living for God, one's heart is at ease. 
 And you, you say, are all day scribbling on musty 
 papers. Well, oiSce life has its charms for some. For 
 me, had I not chosen a different path, I should have 
 preferred to work in the fresh air. The day's 
 shooting you tell me of brought back such pleasant 
 recollections of the good old times. I could have 
 fancied myself there! At Tong-king I wonder what 
 I shall find. Not much game, I fancy. Well, one 
 finds our good God everywhere, and He is our 
 happiness and our joy. There is no use in being 
 sad, so that in the midst of discouragement and 
 disgust, and every kind of mental suffering, one must 
 try to take one's heart in both hands, and force it to 
 cry out, 'Welcome joy all the same!' The soul finds 
 itself in such a different state at different times ; some 
 days, gay and calm, and at ease; other days, sad and 
 weary, and broken-hearted. This is the case with 
 everybody who is not a phenomenon. I believe it is 
 the struggle between the upper and the lower parts 
 of our nature. When our better half triumphs, we 
 are at peace; but when we let ourselves go, and 
 yield to our natural inclinations, then comes a state of 
 disorder, of anxiety, of longing after the impossible, 
 of dissatisfaction with our lot and with the position 
 in which God has seen fit to place us. This state 
 
Theophane Venard 103 
 
 of mind must be vigorously resisted, for it obscures 
 our judgment and falsifies our ideas. Now there are 
 certain things which strengthen the ascendency of evil 
 thoughts in us, and these are bad companions, bad 
 books, a forgetfulness of daily duties, and consequent 
 vicious habits. But of all these, bad books are the 
 worst. They are the plague of the present day. A 
 book is bad not only when it contains impure and 
 immoral thoughts, but when it gives false ideas, pre- 
 tending to judge of everything, to ridicule everything 
 sacred or venerable. Such books are all the worse 
 when they are beautifully written, as they often are ; 
 they vitiate the taste and give a disgust for all healthy 
 food. I knew a young man in the navy whose mind 
 had been completely poisoned by this kind of reading ; 
 and when he came to realize the evil of it, you cannot 
 imagine how he expressed himself to me about these 
 pernicious books. My dearest brother, forgive me for 
 saying all this ; but I know your passion for reading, 
 and all I venture to say is, do not play with poison." 
 To his favorite sister he added a few words of 
 farewell. She had told him that having, for fun, 
 drawn lots at Christmas as to who should represent 
 the different personages at the Nativity, she had 
 drawn the name of "Mary ;" but Theophane's lot had 
 fallen on that of the ass. In reply, Theophane says 
 gaily, "I am very much pleased at the portion awarded 
 me in your drawing. I am to be the ass. Very well. 
 I won't accuse you of a little bit of mischief in the 
 matter, but accept my part. The ass knows how to 
 bray; that is to teach me to be a good trumpeter of 
 the Gospel. The ass receives blows without com- 
 plaint: may his patience be my model. Again, the 
 poor animal is treated with scorn and derision, his 
 very name is the reverse of a compliment; but he 
 
104 A Modern Martyr 
 
 goes on his way just the same. Well, like him, I 
 must disregard human opinion, cultivate humility, bear 
 to be despised, and follow my Lord and Master every- 
 where, always, and in spite of all. As for you, my 
 darling little sister, you have indeed chosen the 
 better part. Guard it carefully. It is a life of recol- 
 lection, of union with God. I fancy your sitting like 
 Mary at Bethany, at the feet of Jesus, listening to 
 His Word, — ^gentle, attentive, loving, and caring 
 nothing for the world outside. Your life must be not 
 only the active one of Martha, but the contemplative 
 one of Mary, for both were united in the Mother of 
 our dear Lord. The true science of piety, in fact, 
 consists in reconciling these two. I know you love 
 best to be Mary, but when duty compels you to act as 
 Martha did, do not be only Martha, full of anxiety, 
 and 'careful about much serving.' Do the works of 
 Martha with the spirit of Mary; let the interior life 
 leaven the exterior, conforming your will to the Will 
 of Jesus. Dearest sister, imitate Jesus, imitate His 
 holy Mother, and you will be indeed perfect." 
 
Theophane Venard 105 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Arrival at Tong-king. 
 
 On the 26th of May, 1854, Theophane Venard, 
 with an older missioner who was returning to Tong- 
 king, said good-bye to Hong-Kong, and as the wind 
 was favorable, a few hours' sail brought them to 
 Macao, where they were most kindly and hospitably 
 entertained by the Spanish Dominicans. Fr. Venard, 
 speaking of this town, says, "When the Portuguese 
 were masters of the sea, Macao was an important 
 place. Ships of all nations were anchored in its 
 harbor, and it was the centre and emporium of all the 
 European commerce with China. The numberless 
 missioners who have watered the Chinese soil with 
 their blood all started from Macao, whence they 
 spread themselves to the remotest confines of this 
 great empire. Portugal had a noble mission assigned 
 to her by Providence, but she misunderstood and 
 rejected it. This brought her downfall, and it seemed 
 as if God had broken her as one breaks a useless or 
 worn-out instrument. The kings of the earth have 
 never gained anything in their strifes with the Church 
 of Jesus Christ and against His vicar on earth, and 
 their victory is magnificently rendered in the Psalms, 
 'Et nunc, reges, intelligite; erudimini qui judicatis 
 terram.'f Macao is indeed a ruin. There is a gov- 
 
 tAnd now, ye kings, understand; learn, ye who Judge the earth. 
 
106 A Modern Martyr 
 
 ernor, it is true; but he has no longer any prestige. 
 Soldiers still mount guard but their number is mis- 
 erably small, and no one has any money to pay them. 
 There are fine houses, but those which are not shut 
 up are occupied by English or Americans. A rich 
 Portuguese scarcely exists; but the poor actually 
 swarm. The Chinese alone still maintain some kind 
 of trade. Hong-Kong gave the death blow to Macao. 
 There are a few curious things to be seen in the old 
 colony, among them the tomb of Camoens, buried be- 
 tween two rocks in the midst of the most beautiful 
 scenery, just such as one might imagine should be the 
 grave of a poet. This tomb forms the principal orna- 
 ment of a garden, which, unfortunately, is poorly kept. 
 It is a place much frequented by strangers, and some 
 of them have had the bad taste to cut their names in 
 the rock; others (among whom, I am sorry to say, are 
 some French sailors) have written stupid and even 
 indecent rhymes on the slab above." 
 
 On the 3nd of June our two missioners left Macao, 
 and we read the following account of their journey 
 in the letters of Theophane to his family : — 
 
 "TONG-KING, 
 
 The Eve of St. John, June 33, 1854. 
 My dearest Brothers, — To you I am going to 
 write my first Tong-king letter. I arrived safe and 
 sound at the mission of the Spanish Dominican 
 Fathers, and I write now to give you some details of 
 our voyage. Fr. Legrand and I embarked at Macao 
 on the 2nd of June, towards evening. We thought 
 our Chinese captain would weigh anchor immediately. 
 Not a bit of it. A Chinaman will never do anything 
 directly. They had to deliberate as to the voyage, 
 
Theophane Venard 107 
 
 consult the Devil, take precautions against pirates, etc. 
 We were to sail in company with other Chinese junks; 
 but the Chinese mistrust one another, and before 
 making an actual start, they feign to go several times, 
 to see if the other ships are ready and trustworthy. 
 There we were, two poor European missioners, among 
 a people who don't admire anything from Europe, 
 and who are always ready to insult those who do not 
 inspire them with fear. We were thrust into a little 
 hole where we could only sit or lie down, breathing 
 foul air, and covered with vermin. Here we had to 
 stay day and night, for if we attempted to leave it 
 the Chinese called us 'Foreign Devils,' and amused 
 themselves by examining all we had on, and all that 
 we did. If the departure was delayed, if the wind 
 blew, if we were threatened by pirates, it was we who 
 were to blame. It was impossible to please them. If 
 we tried to be kind or familiar with them, they insulted 
 us ; if we talked little, and maintained a certain gravity 
 and reserve, we were cold and haughty. The only 
 source of strength and consolation to the missioner in 
 these miseries is the cross. He thus passes over many 
 things which would otherwise irritate and wound; so 
 we can maintain a certain equanimity, a necessary 
 virtue in the East, though sometimes rather difficult to 
 attain. But the courier is waiting. . . . We set sail 
 at last, in company with seventy vessels, whose 
 skippers, after parleying, had come to an understanding 
 with our captain; they were obliged to make a for- 
 midable appearance in numbers so as to intimidate 
 the pirates. We caught sight of six of the latter's 
 vessels in a place called Tin-Pac, and being well armed, 
 we fired upon them with the small cannon in our 
 bows; they retreated, and we made all sail towards 
 Hai-Nan, a large island, where we remained several 
 
108 A Modern Martyr 
 
 days, anchoring under a tOAvn which is said to contain 
 two hundred thousand inhabitants. We did not dare 
 to land, or in fact, to show ourselves in any way. One 
 of our missioners from the diocese of Poitiers, Fr. 
 Bisch, is working here, but we could only salute him 
 with our hearts. On leaving Hai-Nan, the Chinese 
 junks separated, only a small number steering for 
 Tong-king. Until then the sea had been calm and 
 beautiful ; afterwards it became windy, and I paid my 
 usual tribute to the fishes. . . . Two days later we 
 sighted the shores of Tong-king. I cannot tell you 
 my feeling as we neared the place of disembarkation. 
 I offered myself again to God, begging Him to dispose 
 of me for His glory and honor, and I invoked my 
 Mother Mary, and my guardian angel, and the Patron 
 Saints of Tong-king. . . . The general view of the 
 country is magnificent, — rich plains, with grassy hills, 
 a luxuriant vegetation, such as one reads of in 
 Robinson Crusoe, and the whole backed by a superb 
 range of snowy mountains. We entered the harbor by 
 the mouth of a beautiful river which glided through 
 woods and gardens till we cast anchor at a place called 
 Cua Cam, which is the centre of the contraband 
 Chinese trade. We Avere no longer allowed to see 
 the light of day, and even at night we dared to breathe 
 the fresh air on deck only with very great precautions. 
 This state of things lasted (fortunately for us) not 
 more than forty-eight hours. The mandarin of the 
 Custom House came to inspect our vessel. We could 
 see this august personage through the cracks of our 
 prison, while we scarcely ventured to breathe and most 
 carefully abstained from all noise or movement; but 
 the old fox returned to the shore without having 
 scented the nest. The next day a Christian boat came 
 for us, for nearly all the inhabitants of Cua Cam are 
 
Theophane V6nard 109 
 
 Christians. There was a misunderstanding between 
 our Christians and the crew ; but the Christian rowers, 
 seeing that we were not afraid, took courage and 
 managed to bring us in a few hours to the flourishing 
 Mission House of the Spanish Dominicans. Bishop 
 Hilarion Alcazar received us in his episcopal palace 
 (which, you must understand, is in these countries a 
 simple hut or cabin), and treated us with that generous 
 and delicate hospitality which makes one think of the 
 early Christians. He has insisted on my resting here 
 a few days to recover from the effects of the late 
 voyage, and I am enjoying that ineffable peace and 
 joy which seems to me especially sent by our Lord to 
 His missioners." 
 
 Fr. Venard continues his recital to his sister a few 
 weeks later as follows: — 
 
 "Western Mission, Tong-king, 
 Vinh-Tri, July 31, 1854. 
 My dearest Sister, — ^You have doubtless read my 
 letter to Henry and Eusebius, describing our voyage 
 from Macao to Tong-king; we heard afterwards 
 that if we had delayed our landing for a few hours 
 only, the news of our death would have followed that 
 of our arrival; for three royal ships, having heard a 
 rumor of our coming, surrounded the Chinese junk 
 in which we had taken our passage, and examined her 
 minutely in every part, as well as other vessels, so that 
 no escape would have been possible. But God pre- 
 served us, and at that very moment we were enjoying 
 the refined hospitality of Bishop Alcazar. We stayed 
 there eight days but I was ill all the time. An Anna- 
 mite doctor gave me some kind of tonic which enabled 
 me at last to continue my journey. You will wonder 
 
110 A Modern Martyr 
 
 at hearing me talk of doctors and medicines, as you 
 probably imagine that I am in a country of savages. 
 But you must know that the civilization of the Anna- 
 mites equals, if it does not surpass in some points, 
 that of Europe; and they possess physicians of 
 undeniable skill and very high reputations in the 
 country. The one who attended me could tell at once 
 by the pulse the nature of my malady and said that it 
 arose from derangement of the liver. From Bishop 
 Alcazar's we went on to Bishop Hermozilla, a vener- 
 able man, like an ancient column standing amidst the 
 ruins. Nothing can equal the simplicity and piety of 
 this good old bishop. One day, while we were there, 
 the heads of the mission came to him with a complaint 
 that the peasants had not paid up what they call 'the 
 rice of the Blessed Virgin,' a species of tithe for the 
 maintenance of the altars, levied on the congregations, 
 and put under Our Lady's protection. The bishop 
 took the side of the poor, as the rice harvest that 
 month had failed, and he finally gained their cause. 
 We stayed only two days at this episcopal palace. 
 Don't let the name mislead you. A bishop's residence 
 here means a poor cabin, half wood and half mud, 
 thatched with straw. The houses are all of the same 
 kind and it is easy to get used to them, for the 
 climate is very hot. All one needs is protection from 
 the sun and the rain. 
 
 "The churches are not more beautiful. A straw 
 roof, sustained by wooden pillars, which are hung 
 with silk on festivals, that is all our splendor. A 
 few rough boards form the altar. If the Annamite 
 Church enjoyed any kind of peace, even for a time, 
 more sumptuous temples would be built. But now it 
 is not worth while to construct anything but temporary 
 buildings, which may be removed at the breaking out 
 
Theophane VSnard 111 
 
 of any fresh persecution. After a few days we started 
 for the Central Vicariate of the Spanish Fathers. We 
 were to have gone by water, but the wind was against 
 us. So we had to be transported in hammocks, 
 according to the custom of the country, and in this 
 way to traverse many pagan villages. Once we passed 
 near a great market or fair which was being held on 
 the roadside. ,We were just in the middle of this 
 fair, when we came upon the house of a mandarin, 
 the great man of the place. Now it is a rule that all 
 travellers, unless of superior rank, shall go on foot 
 before these residences, to testify their respect. We 
 did not dare to conform to this usage and thereby 
 show ourselves to the crowd. Our bearers quickened 
 their pace to a trot. Presently came the cry after us, 
 'Who are those men that do not get down from their 
 nets ?' The catechist, at the head of our escort, replied 
 that we were 'sick people of his household.' 'At 
 least let them lower their nets,' replied the sentinel. 
 The bearers were compelled to obey. Fr. Legrand, 
 who knows the language, was in a blue fright. I, on 
 the contrary, who did not in the least understand 
 our danger, thought that we were supposed to get 
 out, and with joy began to stretch my legs. The 
 bearers, luckily, did not give me time, but hurriedly 
 raised us again and trotted on. If the pagans had 
 paid us a visit what a prize they would have found! 
 We soon came to the river and found several 
 Christian junks, into one of which we gladly stepped, 
 our rowers conveying us safely to the hut of Bishop 
 Diaz, Vicar Apostolic of the Central Mission of Tong- 
 king. Two couriers were waiting for us there, sent 
 by Bishop Retord to escort us to our final destination. 
 After a few days' rest we bade good-bye to their 
 cordial, frank, and noble Spanish hospitality, and the 
 
112 A Modern Martyr 
 
 last stage of our journey began, not less dangerous. 
 We went in a junk by night, and had to pass a citadel 
 guarded by four hundred soldiers, stationed there to 
 protect a rice granary belonging to the king. When 
 our boat was opposite the citadel, we were hailed and 
 asked who we were. The owners of the junk replied 
 that we were mandarins. The soldiers did not believe 
 this, and very soon we heard a drum sound the 
 alarm, and in a moment a vessel came after us in hot 
 pursuit. Luckily, we had a favorable wind, and as we 
 were some distance ahead, their boat could not reach 
 us. A second junk was behind us, carrying our 
 baggage and attendants. This they attacked, but our 
 men defended themselves bravely, so that they too 
 escaped. This will give you some idea, dearest sister, 
 of the way in which we travel in Tong-king. One 
 goes generally by night, for greater security ; sometimes 
 by water, on rivers or canals, with a continual change 
 of boats; sometimes by land, like mighty lords, in 
 palanquins, or on the backs of slaves in a species of 
 net or hammock, with matting at the side which hides 
 you from the passers-by. Sometimes one can go only 
 on foot, without shoes, in the little narrow paths 
 between the rice-fields. If it be daytime, one has a 
 fair chance of escaping the difficulties of the road, but 
 at night one must be content to walk 'clumpity-clump,' 
 falling into holes one moment, into rice-water the next, 
 unable to find a firm footing anywhere; and often, 
 when you think you are going on swimmingly, your 
 foot slips on the greasy, damp soil, and you measure 
 your length in the mud. Now, don't you think this 
 is a very picturesque way of travelling? I don't say 
 that it is not a little fatiguing now and then, but I 
 assure you it is very laughable at times and gives 
 rise to a host of comical adventures. 
 
Theophane Venard 113 
 
 "On the 13th of this month we arrived at the scene 
 of our future labors, and I was introduced for the 
 first time to my Vicar Apostolic, the illustrious Bishop 
 Retord, whose name you so often read in the 'Annals.' 
 I found His Grace busy giving a retreat previous to 
 an ordination. Bishop Jeantet, his coadjutor, and Dean 
 of the Tong-king Mission, was helping him. Two 
 other missioners had also arrived on business. We 
 were therefore six Europeans together — ^two bishops 
 and four missionary priests — a rare event in Tong- 
 king. . . . You can't think how happy I felt to be 
 one of them; there was such frankness and sim- 
 plicity — such goodness and condescension on the part 
 of our superiors. Very soon we felt as if we had 
 known one another all our lives, and we talked of 
 every conceivable subject — France, Rome, the Russian 
 war, etc. ; and before we separated, we sang together 
 a whole heap of new and old songs and national 
 hymns." 
 
 Soon after he wrote to Fr. Dallet, — 
 
 "Whom do you think I found here with Bishop 
 Retord ? Who but my dearest friend, Fr. Theurel, to 
 whom I had said good-bye with such bitter tears 
 only one short year ago. What now of possibilities, 
 eh! Father Dallet? Here I have been a month in 
 all the delights of Tong-king, for I assure you there 
 are great pleasures here. Theurel preaches, con- 
 fesses, bums with desire for work; his health is 
 as good as possible. Mine, perhaps, is not first-rate, 
 but what is the use of complaining? You know the 
 fable, 'Weak health often goes on longest.' So I 
 8 
 
114 A Modern Martyr 
 
 console myself. Courage! I am always repeating 
 those maxims of St. Teresa's. — 
 
 " 'Let nothing disturb thee ! 
 Let nothing affright thee! 
 All passeth away; 
 
 God only shall stay. 
 Patience wins all; 
 Who hath God needeth nothing, 
 For God is his all.' 
 
 " I forgot to tell you that all our worldly goods were 
 pillaged by the pagans, so that we are destitute of 
 everything; but what does that signify? He who has 
 God lacks nothing. You will easily believe that my 
 first visit was to the tomb of Fr. Bonnard. It is close 
 to the altar of the College Chapel." 
 
 If Fr. Venard was pleased to find his old friend at 
 Tong-king, the joy to Fr. Theurel was equally great. 
 
 "Who would ever have said, or thought, or imag- 
 ined such good fortune ! " exclaimed the latter in a 
 letter to their mutual friend. Father Dallet. "How- 
 ever improbable it may seem, it is nevertheless a posi- 
 tive fact, that here are Father Venard and I, together, 
 in this western mission of Tong-king, actually in the 
 same village, in the same house, in the same room! 
 To describe the pleasure, the joy it has given us ! . . . 
 Yes, but then I feel as if you would break your heart 
 at not being here too. Nevertheless, you must take 
 comfort. Will you believe it ? Venard, who has been 
 here only a month, already speaks the language with 
 a perfect accent. I think his little voice is made for it. 
 'AH goes well.' I can only wish you the joy and 
 peace of the poor little Tong-king missioners." 
 
Theophane Venard 115 
 
 Theophane's happiness in being at last fairly em- 
 barked on his work, and in the very mission he would 
 have chosen above all others, found vent in an enthu- 
 siastic poem. This outpouring of his heart was occu- 
 pied with the three great objects of his life : work, the 
 salvation of souls, and death. 
 
116 A Modern Martyr 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Persecutions in Tong-king. 
 
 Of all missions those of Cochin-China, Korea, and 
 Tong-king have been exposed to the cruellest perse- 
 cutions. Tong-king, perhaps, deserves first rank, and 
 young missioners have consequently looked upon it 
 as the vestibule to Heaven. The cross has been the 
 program of Tong-king missioners; for, from the 
 first, their lives have been one long martyrdom — pre- 
 figured by a great cross found on the Annamite shore 
 by a Dominican missioner, Diego Advarte, in 1596, 
 before any European had entered the country. 
 
 Jesuits were the founders of the mission, in the 
 person of Father Alexander Rhodes, who died in 
 1660. From them it passed into the hands of the 
 Paris Foreign Mission Seminary, to whose priests it 
 has always proved a land of special interest. In fact, 
 from the martyrdom of the first missioner in 1684 
 until the present day, the Church of Tong-king, always 
 under the shadow of persecution, may be said to have 
 grown with her head on the block, and her children's 
 feet steeped in blood. 
 
 Still, there have been moments of calm between the 
 storms. The first great persecution was in the 
 eighteenth century, and God avenged it by destroying 
 its authors and depriving them of their thrones. The 
 dynasties of Cochin-China and Tong-king were swept 
 
Theophane Venard 117 
 
 off the face of the earth, and the rightful heir, re- 
 placed by the hand of a Christian Bishop, resumed his 
 sceptre when he had torn asunder the bloody edicts of 
 the persecutors. Twenty years of peace under this 
 Prince Gia-Long gave breathing time to the Annamite 
 Church, and prepared it for the frightful persecu- 
 tions of Minh-Menh, a monster in human form who 
 rivalled Nero in his cruelties. The "Annals" narrate 
 the horrible persecution which broke out in 1833 and 
 lasted till 1841. Frs. Gagelin, Mafchand, Cornay, 
 Jaccard, Borie, with a great number of Spanish 
 Dominicans and native teachers, fell victims to this 
 relentless tyrant. God did not leave him unpunished, 
 however, for Minh-Menh was killed by a fall from his 
 horse on the 21st of January, 1841, execrated equally 
 by pagans and Christians. The new king, Thien-Tri, 
 weary of the bloody edicts of his predecessor, passed 
 an act of amnesty, annulling the penal laws. Unfor- 
 tunately he died in 1848, and was succeeded by Tu- 
 Duc. During the reign of this prince, famine, cholera, 
 typhus, and other plagues decimated his people; and 
 although these trials enabled the Christians to show 
 themselves in their true colors, and to repay their 
 persecutors by acts of superhuman charity, still these 
 calamities were looked on as the result of Divine 
 vengeance upon the new sect; and the mandarins, 
 working on the credulity of the people, fanned the 
 flame of a new persecution, in which, among others, 
 Frs. Schoeffler and Bonnard were sacrificed. A tem- 
 porary peace followed, and during this time of com- 
 parative security Theophane Venard arrived. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the obstacles thrown in the way 
 of preaching the Gospel; in spite of the small 
 numbers of apostolic laborers and the insufficiency of 
 their resources ; in spite of this furious persecution of 
 
118 A Modern Martyr 
 
 Minh-Menh, which lasted twenty years, in no country 
 had Christianity made such wonderful progress as in 
 Tong-king. Bishop Retord wrote at this very time as 
 follows : — 
 
 "When I undertook to govern this mission, sixteen 
 years ago, it did not contain more than a hundred 
 thousand Christians. Now there are 140,000, al- 
 though the cholera of 1851 carried off 10,000. All 
 these converts, with very few exceptions, practise 
 their religion in a way that would shame many Euro- 
 peans. They are constant attendants at the Sacra- 
 ments and most diligent in the performance of their 
 religious duties. It is useless to add that they are all 
 Catholics. Heretical ministers, with their wives and 
 children, have never attempted to approach these in- 
 hospitable and unhealthful shores, or to face a perse- 
 cution which can end in only one way — ^martyrdom." 
 
 Bishop Retord was only fifty years old when Theo- 
 phane Venard arrived at Tong-king. He was still 
 strong and vigorous, in spite of trials and sufferings. 
 He had established a large seminary of native priests, 
 which numbered upwards of seventy-five, all well in- 
 structed and full of zeal for the conversion of their 
 countrymen. The college, which he had erected close 
 to his house, had more than two hundred students, 
 divided into different classes, as in France; while 
 various smaller schools had been established all over 
 the diocese. When the students finished their college 
 terms they passed an examination as catechists. Be- 
 fore receiving his diploma, however, each must have 
 converted at least ten pagans. The theologians were 
 chosen from among the catechists, but were admitted 
 to Holy Orders only after a long and rigorous trial. 
 
Theophane Venard 119 
 
 The work of God prospered visibly in this land. In 
 the year 1854 fifteen hundred more souls were added 
 to the Christian ranks. Still the number of pagans 
 was enormous, though crowded into a small area. 
 
 But let us return to Theophane Venard. Before 
 his arrival in Tong-king and during his passage, he 
 had suffered from an attack of inflammation of the 
 lungs, which seemed to get worse every day, in spite 
 of the prescriptions of the Chinese physicians. His 
 entire recovery can be attributed only to a direct 
 Divine interposition. The account of it will be found 
 in the following letter to his father, written in March, 
 1855 :— 
 
 "When I wrote to you last, my dearest father, I 
 was with Bishop Retord, at his College of Vinh-Tri. 
 At the end of August, the Bishop sent me to a college 
 in the village of Ke-Doan to study the Annamite 
 language, and associated with me two catechists, 
 who could speak a little Latin. As I had to pass by 
 Ke-non, where there is a seminary directed by Bishop 
 Jeantet, Bishop Retord's coadjutor, I stayed there 
 for eight days. Bishop Jeanet is sixty-three years 
 old, and has been thirty-seven years in the mission. 
 He is a most venerable man, kind and amiable. He 
 was never tired asking me questions about France, 
 that country so dear to the missioner's heart. I was 
 also very much interested in the seminary, and stam- 
 mered some words of Annamite which I had just 
 learned. From here I left for the college at Lang- 
 Doan. A month in such study as this went like 
 lightning. On the second Sunday in October I ven- 
 tured to preach a short sermon in the little church. 
 
120 A Modern Martyr 
 
 The chiefs of the village came to congratulate me, 
 not that they could understand much of my allocution, 
 but being Annamites, they are very civil and courteous ; 
 and though I had made such a hash of their language, 
 they thought it right to compliment me. 
 
 "Some days later I fell sick of a pestilential illness 
 which declared itself in the college. I was one of 
 its first victims. My catechists nursed me with great 
 care and attention, and Bp. Retord, Bp. Jeantet, and 
 Fr. Castex, Pro-Vicar-General of the mission, sent 
 me all sorts of medicines, which, with the grace of 
 God, cured me. As soon as I could stand, I went by 
 boat for a change of air to another village, named 
 Ke-Dam, where an Annamite priest has his principal 
 residence. Remark that I went in a boat across the 
 fields, because every year at this time there is a flood 
 caused by the overflow of the rivers, the result of the 
 tropical rains in the western mountains. The whole 
 country becomes like one vast sea. The villages 
 themselves are all under water and the only means 
 of communication is by boats. I found myself well 
 enough on All Saints' Day to say a low Mass. The 
 evening before, all the village gathered around the 
 church to congratulate me on my recovery. The 
 chiefs, dressed in their best clothes, came to conduct 
 me solemnly to church, to the sound of native music 
 and repeated hurrahs. You see, dearest father, that 
 the Annamites care for their missioners. But the 
 evening of the Feast of All Saints was the reverse 
 of the medal. I had hardly gone to bed when they 
 came to wake me, and to announce the arrival of a 
 mandarin for a domiciliary visit. They were in a 
 great fright and implored me to go on to another 
 village. Though the news was not very certain, I 
 thought that I had better comply with their wishes, 
 
Theophane Venard 131 
 
 and so packed up my traps as fast as I could. I was 
 carried with all my little establishment on men's 
 backs in the middle of the night to the said village. 
 This was my first nocturnal flight; since then I have 
 had many others ! I remained eight days in the house 
 of a devout Christian in this place, who acted as if 
 he could not make enough of me; and to show my 
 gratitude I made a great distribution of medals and 
 rosaries. Then I went on to a college in the little 
 town of Hoang-Nguyen, where Fr. Castex has his 
 principal residence. Fr. Castex was on a diocesan 
 tour and would not return till December. I was, 
 therefore, the only European in the college, at the 
 head of which was a native priest, an Annamite Father. 
 Here I began to hear confessions, first among the 
 students, and then among the Christians of the vil- 
 lage; but I made little or no progress, because very 
 soon I fell sick again with inflammation of the lungs, 
 which endangered my life. But I recovered. Fr. 
 Castex returned with Fr. Titaud, and then another 
 of our missioners, Fr. Neron, came along, so that we 
 were four altogether. You can fancy what a pleasure 
 it was! After some days of mutual enjoyment, Fr. 
 Titaud went back to his district. Fr. Neron also 
 prepared to leave for his College of Vinh-Tri, of 
 which he is the superior; but he was taken prisoner 
 in crossing the river and very nearly gave us a fresh 
 martyr. By a special providence, the soldier who 
 had hastened to the village to get a reinforcement in 
 order to secure our poor brother, met the chief of the 
 canton, who knew Fr. Neron and had a great regard 
 for him ; although a pagan, he connived at his escape 
 and the only loss was a sum of money. 
 
 "You want to know more about my health. On 
 New Year's day I was so ill that I could hardly re- 
 
123 A Modern Martyr 
 
 ceive the visits of congratulation from the Christians 
 of the district. The bishop sent me his own physician, 
 a very clever man, whose medicines did me some 
 good, but after his departure I fell ill again. Fr. 
 Castex took every possible care of me and was ex- 
 tremely anxious on my account. I was obliged to give 
 up confessing, saying Mass, or Office, even reading 
 and writing, and I was scarcely allowed to speak at 
 all. At last Fr. Castex advised me to make a novena 
 to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and insisted 
 on sharing it with me. We began on the day of the; 
 Purification and at once I felt myself getting better; 
 since then all bad symptoms have disappeared and my 
 strength has nearly returned. To the Sacred Hearts 
 of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph be the praise. 
 
 "About this time the political horizon darkened; a 
 revolutionary party broke out in Tong-king; a new 
 edict, emanating from the king, denounced our holy 
 religion; evil-disposed persons betrayed to the man- 
 darins the residences of the missioners; the College 
 of Ke-Vinh was broken up ; and Bishop Retord, with 
 several of his missioners, had to keep himself in 
 hiding. The mandarin of Ke-Cho, the capital of Tong- 
 king, laid siege to the Seminary of Ke-Non, but Bishop 
 Jeantet had already taken flight to the mountains, 
 whence he wrote to Fr. Castex and me : 'I have been 
 looking up my old haunts, and the caves where I lived 
 at the time of the persecution of Minh-Menh, — not 
 that it is very easy for an old man like me to scramble 
 up and down rocks and precipices. I sometimes won- 
 der how I manage to get on at all.' 
 
 "The mandarin found only an Annamite Father and 
 a deacon, whom he released soon after, although not 
 
Theophane Venard 123 
 
 without the payment of 10,000 francs. The College 
 of Ke-Non is at least still standing. , 
 
 "As for Fr. Castex and myself, after having been 
 chased from one village to another, we have finally 
 taken refuge in a convent near the town of But-Dong, 
 where we have lived as hermits with two catechists 
 for the last two months. Very soon, however, I hope 
 we shall be able to show our faces again, as the storm 
 seems to have subsided. Yet we must be prudent, 
 for the denouncer of Bishop Jeantet, having failed 
 to catch him, has offered his own head to the mandarin 
 if he cannot deliver a European into his hands before 
 the end of the year. Everyone, therefore, keeps him- 
 self on guard. What will happen, God knows ; in any 
 case it is better to hope than to fear. Bishop Retord 
 writes to us, 'Jesus and Mary will not abandon us 
 now any more than they have done before. Pray 
 then with great confidence, and do not let us be dis- 
 couraged or give way to sadness. If any of us win 
 the martyr's palm so much the better. Sicut fuerit 
 voluntas tua, sic fiat''\ 
 
 "The rebellion goes on spreading; it wants to re- 
 establish the ancient dynasty on the throne, and the 
 revolutionists say that they will soon present the new 
 king. On the other hand the misery is very great. 
 Last year's rice harvest was bad enough; this year 
 in many places it is simply lost. Thousands of people 
 are dying of hunger. It is enough to move any one 
 to compassion. People in Europe have no idea of the 
 common misery in this unhappy country. The feasts 
 of the New Year, which are generally so gay, have 
 this season passed in sadness and mourning, and it is 
 
 fBe it done according to Thy will. 
 
134 A Modern Martyr 
 
 not probable that the end of the year will be brighter. 
 Now, dearest father, I must stop. Adieu. Do not 
 be anxious about me. What God keeps is well kept. 
 Stay well ; pray for me ; and may the joy of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ fill your heart forevermore." 
 
Theophane V6nard 125 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Labors and Trials. 
 
 Up to this time Theophane had not said much of his 
 relations with the people. He filled up this void in the 
 following letter to his sister: — 
 
 "You say you would like to be a little bird, my dear- 
 est sister, and see how I get on with my new children. 
 Well, I assure you I begin to love them very much. 
 The Annamite people are thoroughly good and their 
 respect for the missioners is very great. Until now 
 the state of the country and my small acquaintance 
 with the language have prevented my doing much, but 
 the principal people of the villages often come to see 
 me and bring some little present. I could only say 
 a few unintelligible sentences at first, which I saw 
 made them very much inclined to laugh; but they 
 would not have done so for all the world, they are so 
 afraid of hurting my feelings. Very often the peas- 
 ants come to pay me a visit : one day it is the father 
 of a family who has married off one of his children 
 and brings me a pig's head killed for the feast; an- 
 other day some mother arrives who wishes to recom- 
 mend her son just starting for the army; or four or 
 five poor women will come together to offer me a 
 little basket of fruit, or to ask me for a rosary or a 
 cross. I can answer only in a few words but every 
 one goes away pleased and satisfied. It is the custom 
 among the Annamites that no one shall present himself 
 to a superior without offering a present. If our poor 
 
126 A Modern Martyr 
 
 Christians ever have any fine fruit, or extra good fish, 
 or any vegetable larger than usual, they take the 
 greatest delight in coming to offer it to the missioners. 
 I assure you, Melanie, I love the Annamites very much, 
 and I thank God every day that He has consecrated 
 me to their service. All is not, certainly, colour de 
 rose, but there will always be thorns in every path. 
 
 "One word as to these nuns of Tong-king, about 
 whom you make such eager inquiries. They are 
 natives living in community under the authority of an 
 abbess; they do not take vows and are received very 
 young. They work in the fields, prepare the cotton 
 for linen cloths, or sell pills, which will astonish you, 
 and probably make you laugh ; but it is by this means 
 that they gain access to pagan children who are ill and 
 baptize those in danger of death. 
 
 "They live poorly, pray a great deal, give them- 
 selves the discipline, and fast far more than ordinary 
 Christians. When necessary they act as couriers to 
 carry letters from one mission to another, in which 
 capacity they are often invaluable; there is nothing in 
 this occupation which shocks the feelings or customs 
 of their country. On such occasions they always go 
 in pairs. They often carry great loads, but they are 
 accustomed to toil and fatigue, as all Annamite women 
 are. The Christians always call them 'Sisters' and 
 they are universally loved and respected. 
 
 "It is very pleasant to hear the native prayers, 
 especially when they are said well together; their 
 harmony has often touched me more .than the most 
 beautiful European music. The people have some 
 very pretty litanies of Our Lady, especially one of the 
 Immaculate Conception. But their acts of thanks- 
 giving after Communion are the most touching ; when 
 I hear them, it moves me almost to tears. The Anna- 
 
Theophane Venard 127 
 
 mites do not know how to pray in silence or in a low 
 voice; and even if there is only one communicant, 
 he intones his thanksgiving aloud, either alone or in 
 company with the choir. The catechists sing the plain 
 chant very well, and sometimes chant High Mass; 
 but then there is always a musical accompaniment. 
 Their instruments are the violin, harp, drums, fife, and 
 cymbals. They have not much variety in their music, 
 and during High Mass will play a single tune over 
 and over till one is satiated with it. But after all, 
 God is, perhaps, as much praised and glorified by this 
 simple, devout congregational music as by the most 
 magnificent harmony, executed by first-class artists. 
 It is the vibration of the heart, and not of the chords, 
 which is acceptable to Him. 
 
 "And my Latin scholars, you ask, are they very 
 learned ? It is difficult for them to be, since they have 
 no dictionaries. At the end of their studies they 
 understand the Catechism of the Council of Trent, 
 and of late years Bishop Retord has started a class of 
 Philosophy which is conducted in Latin. You may well 
 imagine that we do not trouble our heads to teach 
 Ovid, Horace, or heathen mythology to these poor 
 Annamites. Hence the controversy as to the classics 
 must be judged by itself." 
 
 In a letter to an old friend about this time we find 
 a touching passage showing the simplicity and naivete 
 of these people in their religious rites: — 
 
 "I am quite sure that your first experience in 
 performing a marriage ceremony was widely different 
 from mine. In Tong-king there are no marriage 
 processions and no bridesmaids, as in France. The 
 married couple receive the sacrament as they do the 
 Blessed Eucharist without any demonstration. Well, 
 my fiances having been to confession, and thus 
 
128 A Modern Martyr 
 
 prepared themselves, the day was fixed. I went very 
 early in the morning, and sang Mass for the whole 
 population (they keep early hours in Tong-king). 
 Then my catechist made a signal for the young couple 
 — each was about eighteen years of age — ^to go up to 
 the altar. The young girl mounted the steps; but 
 where was her betrothed ? He never appeared. After 
 waiting some time in vain, the poor child was quietly 
 told to go back, and come again at the same time 
 to-morrow. Resigned and gentle, she obeyed. The 
 next day the future husband made his appearance at 
 the proper moment and I blessed the marriage. In 
 the course of the day the newly-married couple, con- 
 ducted by the sister of the bride, came to pay me a 
 visit, and to thank me. I ventured to ask why the 
 young gentleman had not made his appearance the 
 first day. He answered with perfect simplicity, that 
 he 'did not wake in time.' " 
 
 We cannot better describe the people and the life 
 of the young missioner, than by his letters, which 
 are graphic pictures of his daily trials and their 
 consolations. In September, 1855, Theophane wrote 
 again to his family: — 
 
 "I hope that my last letters, written in March, have 
 reached you. Since then it has pleased God to throw 
 me again on a bed of sickness. On Ash Wednesday 
 I went to Father Castex, Vicar-General of the mission, 
 who was at the College of Hoang-Nguyen. The 
 distance was not more than a quarter of a league but 
 the road was full of mud and water. I took a violent 
 chill and fever, and from that moment I got worse and 
 worse. I was also obliged to flee by night several 
 times from the mandarins and hide in the rice-fields. 
 
Theophane Venard 129 
 
 This did not mend matters. The people around me 
 thought the end was at hand and prepared everything 
 fol- my funeral. But God sent me a doctor, who 
 gave me some new sort of medicine which brought 
 me to life again. I received Extreme Unction twice, 
 and each time God was pleased, in strengthening my 
 soul, to restore my body. I am now staying at Ke- 
 Vinh with Bishop Retord, who hopes to complete my 
 cure; but I am afraid it will be difficult, as my left 
 lung is almost gone. I have terrible perspirations and 
 an oppression on my chest ; in the morning I sometimes 
 have such violent expectoration and running at the 
 nose that I cannot say Mass. On the other hand my 
 appetite is good, so that I can go on with my little 
 studies. Do not let my illness make you unhappy, 
 my dearly-loved people! but pray for me, that the 
 sufferings of my body may be for the spiritual 
 welfare of my soul. ..." 
 
 In this September letter he alludes as follows to 
 the persecutions: — 
 
 "They threatened to be terrible; but thank God! 
 our worst apprehensions have not been realized. Our 
 purses have suffered most; for one could close the 
 mandarins' mouths only by bars of silver. Our poor 
 missions have indeed been bled to satisfy pagan 
 rapacity. These poor Annamites are always the 
 victims of some misfortune or some act of oppres- 
 sion. One year an inundation comes; the next, a 
 drought. The harvest almost always fails. A bowl 
 of riee is all that the people want, and even this much 
 they cannot always obtain. Yet these rapacious 
 gentlemen, the mandarins, who are nominally their 
 fathers and protectors, think of nothing but pillage 
 and robbery, and how to suck wealth out of these 
 9 
 
130 A Modern Martyr 
 
 unhappy people like so many leeches. I really believe 
 there is no such thing as an honest man among the 
 mandarins. The Christians are a capital bank for 
 them; their religion being proscribed by the king, it 
 is the easiest thing in the world to accuse them at any 
 moment of 'treason and rebellion against the state.' 
 From the village mayors up to the mandarin gov- 
 ernors of the provinces, every man will have his share 
 in the plunder. In a village which is half Christian 
 and half pagan, the Christians pay a heavy ransom to 
 
 have liberty of conscience This year we have 
 
 had no martyrdom. I have heard of a doctor and his 
 two brothers who were thrown into prison by the 
 mandafin and who are still in captivity. I know this 
 physician; he is a most fervent and excellent man, 
 and has already been a Confessor for the Faith in the 
 Minh-Menh persecution. Thanks to the interposition 
 of a friendly mandarin at court. Bishop Retord has 
 been able to return to his college ; and Bishop Jeantet 
 has also gone back to his seminary. So after the 
 storm comes the calm, and God protects His own. 
 Since January I have not had a line from any of 
 you and am getting rather anxious for tidings. May 
 God and His Holy Mother preserve you, my dearest 
 father, and sister, and brothers, from all evil, now 
 and forevermore !" 
 
 A little later he writes: — 
 
 "I am dying out like a candle, and holding to life by 
 a mere thread. I think the doctors have given me up 
 but I can still rejoice in whatever God appoints. Per- 
 haps this is the last note you will receive from me. 
 Pray for me, that, though my poor body perishes from 
 day to day, my soul may be saved through the merits 
 
Theophane Venard 131 
 
 of Him Who died for me. We shall meet one 
 another in a brighter and better home. Adieu!" 
 
 On the 1st of December he wrote again to his 
 sister, saying that he had recovered his strength ; that 
 his left side was much better; and that she must join 
 with him in thanking and praising God for having so 
 unexpectedly restored him to health. He continues ; — 
 
 "We are in a period of comparative peace, so that 
 our schools are re-opened. The bishop can officiate 
 pontifically on festivals ; and we may go, in the day- 
 time, to walk in the college gardens — a favor of 
 which you would understand the magnitude better if 
 you had been confined, like us, for so long a time in 
 one room, without daring either to sing or speak above 
 a whisper. Lately the government has been put in a 
 state of excitement by the appearance of an English 
 man-of-war at Touranne, which is close to the capital 
 of the kingdom in Cochin-China. I believe that the 
 Governor General of Hong-Kong and the Plenipoten- 
 tiaries of Queen Victoria came to propose a treaty of 
 commerce to Tu-Duc, the Annamite king. However, 
 this 'gracious sovereign' would not receive the des- 
 patches; so the English had to retire without doing 
 an3rthing. But the consequences have been rather 
 disastrous for us, as they choose to fancy that we 
 sent for the English. We have had no news from 
 home for more than a year. I try to be patient but 
 each courier who arrives and brings no letters is a 
 fresh mortification. Pray for me, that I may strive to 
 live above all these feelings and become a more 
 worthy priest of Jesus Christ; so that in the difficult 
 post which I now occupy, I may have the necessary 
 grace and prudence. As for me I never cease to pray 
 for you all. Remember your poor little Theophane !" 
 
132 A Modern Martyr 
 
 At this time the Crimean war and the proclamation 
 of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception occupied 
 the minds of men of every class in Europe. Although 
 sixteen months had elapsed since Theophane had re- 
 ceived any letters from home, yet the news of these 
 two great events reached our missioners and rejoiced 
 their sad hearts. Theophane wrote to express his 
 joy to his sister, and adds: — 
 
 "Since my last letter the persecution has been re- 
 newed and one of our native priests, Huong, has been 
 martyred. This did not prevent Bishop Retord from 
 preaching his Lenten missions, and, thanks to Our 
 Lady's protection, we have not had to take many more 
 precautions than usual. As far as I am concerned, I 
 had the pleasure of accompanying His Grace in one of 
 his diocesan tours, where the work was arduous and 
 incessant. He celebrated the Offices of Holy Week 
 and Easter at Ke-Vinh before an immense congre- 
 gation, and everything passed off well, and in compar- 
 ative peace, if such a word can be used in connection 
 with people in our position. You will perhaps wonder 
 how, being continually on the 'qui vivel and in hiding, 
 with a price put upon our heads, we can think of 
 keeping feasts and talk of peace. But it seems as if 
 a special protection of God and the Blessed Virgin 
 rested upon us, so that we may 'serve Him without 
 fear.' Besides, when we do get a little liberty, we 
 set it against the continual vexations and constraints 
 to which we are generally subject. We are like rats 
 coming out for a little bite, regardless of the cat, and 
 hastening to regain our holes on the first alarm or 
 sound of danger." 
 
Theophane Venard 133 
 
 At last, after a nineteen months' fast, the poor 
 missioners received their letters from home. Theo- 
 phane then wrote: — 
 
 "On the feast of St. Peter, Bishop Retord called 
 in all his missioners and his coadjutor, Bishop Jeantet, 
 to meet him at the College of Ke-Vinh. We made a 
 retreat in common, and passed fifteen days in the 
 most perfect calm and peace, in spite of the emissaries 
 of the mandarins who were spying in the neighbor- 
 hood. We sang heaps of French songs and enjoyed 
 ourselves thoroughly. Just before we parted, a 
 courier arrived from Cochin-China, bringing news 
 from Europe of the allies' success, the proclamation 
 of peace, the birth of the Prince Imperial, and the 
 rejoicings of the people at the new dogma. We 
 were told also of the embassy sent by the Emperor 
 to negotiate with the Annamite king, so as to stop the 
 persecution of Christians, and especially of the French 
 missioners, whose blood this king, a worthy successor 
 of his father, has so cruelly shed. We were about to 
 disperse to our respective missions and had already 
 taken leave of one another, when a tremendous inun- 
 dation came, worse than any in the memory of the 
 oldest inhabitant, and it compelled us to stay where 
 we were. The flood lasted a whole month and the 
 waters covered four large provinces, besides breaking 
 down the dykes in many places. The newly-sown 
 rice was completely lost; that which was almost ready 
 for the harvest was submerged, and the greater por- 
 tion rotted; many villages were destroyed, and 
 thousands of persons drowned, or killed by the falling 
 of the mud walls of their houses. Many took refuge 
 in the mountains; others huddled close to the dykes 
 which had resisted the rush of waters, and remained 
 
134 A Modern Martyr 
 
 there without food for days; others again, like our- 
 selves, were kept prisoners in their houses, obliged 
 to battle with the ever-rising flood. Often it was 
 necessary to take up the flooring and make a tem- 
 porary standing-ground in the upper story or close 
 under the roof, which had to be pierced to give air. 
 "In the villages where inundations are an annual 
 occurrence, there is a system of boats, which are kept 
 ready in case of need, but in other places you can 
 imagine the misery! Besides, the gardens are all 
 destroyed, trees killed, and cattle and domestic animals 
 drowned. As for ourselves, the students of the 
 college, by working day and night, contrived to build 
 a dyke sufficiently strong to protect the church 
 and our place of refuge, but the bishop's house was 
 full of water. In the midst of this I fell sick of a 
 violent fever with an attack of asthma, and it was in 
 one of the worst fits that your letter was brought to 
 me and acted like the dew on the parched ground. 
 Don't fancy that this is a figure of speech. I do 
 assure you it is a fact that the sight of your hand- 
 writing, and the joy that I felt, reacted on my whole 
 system, and the fever was sensibly diminished. How- 
 ever, just as I was beginning to rejoice in a kind of 
 convalescence, I caught typhoid fever, which again 
 brought me to the very gates of death. Bishop Retord 
 and my fellow-missioners said Masses for me to St. 
 Peter of Alcantara (to whom, St. Teresa says, our 
 Lord refuses nothing), and I got better from that 
 time. The end of all this succession of fevers is, that 
 although I am about again, I am still very weak; but 
 as my appetite has returned, I hope to be able to work 
 soon. My left side no longer gives me so much pain; 
 
Theophane Venard 135 
 
 and as God has preserved me until now, I hope that 
 He will do so to the end, and enable me to do some- 
 thing for His glory before I die." 
 
 After receiving these letters, his family naturally 
 feared that the following courier would bring the news 
 of his death. Their surprise and joy were therefore 
 very great at the contents of a letter, dated June, 1857, 
 in which he says, "At the end of the year 1856 every 
 one thought I was dying. So I took the advice of 
 Bishop Retord and consented to try a Chinese remedy, 
 which is used o^/^y in extreme cases, and is called, 
 in Annamite, 'Phep-Quenou.' In Europe it would 
 be considered a species of cauterization. It consists 
 in applying little burning balls of a certain herb, some- 
 thing like absinthe, to different parts of the body. 
 There are, the Chinese doctors say, three hundred and 
 sixty points in the human body which may thus be 
 burnt. The difficulty is to know which is the right 
 spot; otherwise, you may be lamed, or become blind, 
 or have your mouth drawn to one side, etc., etc. I 
 was burnt in five hundred different places, about two 
 hundred of which were near the lungs. At the end 
 of a few days these cauterizations, or inoculations, 
 produced a little yellow pustule full of matter ; this is 
 a sign that the operation has been successful, as the 
 system is supposed thus to reject all that is noxious. 
 The result has been that I am wonderfully better, 
 and my patience in enduring this small purgatory for 
 several hours has been rewarded. But enough of 
 my wretched ailings, for to be sick is natural to me; 
 and Bishop Retord declares that I have chosen 
 sufferings for my specialty. 
 
 "I would rather talk to you about the state of our 
 poor mission. We were at Ke-Vinh in February, 
 
136 A Modern Martyr 
 
 when one Monday, at eight o'clock, one of the villagers 
 came in hot haste to tell us that the mandarin of the 
 southern province had surrounded the village and 
 was coming to seize us. Bishop Retord was forced 
 by the students into a subterranean hiding-place; 
 Father Charbonnier and I were stuffed into a place 
 between two walls, where we remained for four hours 
 without seeing the light of day. At the end of this 
 time, some one came to announce to us that the 
 domiciliary visit was over, and the mandarin gone; 
 but that he had carried off with him the director of 
 the college (a venerable priest named Tinh), one of 
 the catechists, and the mayor of the place. The 
 truth was, that in the neighboring province certain 
 Christians had been forced by blows to reveal the 
 bishop's residence; and a poor woman, who was the 
 bearer of some European letters to one of our 
 missioners, was seized, and, being put to the torture, 
 confessed in her agony, that they were destined for 
 the College of Ke-Vinh. But this was only the begin- 
 ning of a series of misfortunes. In March the man- 
 darin returned with two hundred soldiers to destroy 
 both the church and the college; but we had received 
 warning in time, and had all taken refuge in the 
 mountains. The next day we returned to find every- 
 thing in ruins, and as we were surrounded by spies, 
 it was thought best to leave the place for a time. I 
 went by night, secretly, in a boat, to my old quarters 
 at Hoang-Nguyen, while Bishop Retord and Father 
 Charbonnier returned to their hiding-places in the 
 mountains. Father Castex and Father Theurel, the 
 superior of the college, were at Hoang when I 
 arrived; but the former was soon seized with rheu- 
 matic fever, and became dangerously ill. Bishop 
 Retord, hearing of this, came down from the hills to 
 
Theophane Venard 13? 
 
 administer the last consolations to our dear friend 
 and brother, who expired on the eve of Trinity, after 
 great sufferings. His death was, however, perfectly 
 peaceful, and he slept the sleep of the just. To me, 
 who had lived in great intimacy with him for two 
 years, the loss is very great, and I have scarcely 
 courage to face the future. Bishop Retord has given 
 me his post, for which I feel utterly unworthy. May 
 I only imitate the holiness of my predecessor and win 
 as many souls for our dear Master as he did ! 
 
 "Our good old priest, Tinh, of whom I spoke as 
 having been carried off by the persecutor, made a 
 glorious confession of faith, and was instantly be- 
 headed. The Christians had no time to help him in 
 his last moments, but he was one who kept his lamp 
 always burning. The sword of the executioner broke 
 in halves during the operation. The mandarins 
 thought this a bad omen, and in consequence offered 
 pagan sacrifices to appease the dead ancestors of 
 the victim. Poor Tinh's three companions, having 
 also generously confessed the faith, were condemned 
 to perpetual banishment in a distant, unhealthful 
 mountain. A few months later, a pagan prefect, 
 having taken a spite against Bishop Diaz, a Dominican, 
 denounced him to the mandarins, and his Lordship was 
 seized at his residence in the village of Biu-Chu and 
 dragged to the prefecture, where he is now imprisoned 
 and rigorously guarded. We expect every day to hear 
 that he has been condemned to death. The great 
 mandarin has a special hatred for all Christians just 
 now, and has placed crosses at the gates of the town, 
 so tJiat everyone going out or coming in shall 
 trample them under foot. The unhappy Christians 
 have been subject to domiciliary visits day and night- 
 Fortunately, however, they were warned in time, and 
 
138 A Modern Martyr 
 
 the greater number have taken flight. In Cochin- 
 China the state of things is still worse. 
 
 "I told you, in a previous letter, that the Emperor 
 was going to send a plenipotentiary to plead the 
 cause of the Christians with the Annamites. Well, 
 M. de Montigny arrived in due time, but with only 
 two little steamers and a small warship, and with 
 no real powers to treat. So the king refused to 
 hear him and the Frenchmen had to weigh anchor 
 and go. The people. Christians and pagans, who had 
 been rejoicing at the prospect of being delivered 
 from the tyrants, seeing the complete failure, were not 
 only thoroughly discouraged, but began to despise 
 a power which could do nothing, and this shame has 
 fallen heavily on us poor missioners. If France 
 meddles at all, she ought to do it thoroughly, so as 
 to carry her point. Still, all hope is not gone, as the 
 Chinese war has brought a large fleet into these 
 waters. M. de Montigny, unable to help us as he 
 wished, threatened the king with the account which 
 he would have to render for the French blood shed in 
 his dominions. The king, seeing the interest which 
 M. de Montigny took in the Christian missicwiers, 
 imagined that we had sent for him; so that when M. 
 de Montigny went away he left us in the claws of 
 a tiger more than ever irritated against us. In conse- 
 quence, they seized a Christian mandarin with thirty 
 of his neophytes, and after having made them suffer 
 horrible tortures, condemned them to be beheaded. 
 Then the poor mandarin was dragged through all the 
 streets of the capital, and at each corner his sentence 
 was read out, while he received thirty blows with a 
 stick. This sentence was full of blasphemies against 
 our Lord such as these : 'The Christians pretend that 
 those who suffer tortures are sure of Paradise after 
 
Theophane Venard 139 
 
 their death. Who knows that? Fools that they are! 
 If it were so, why does not their Jesus come and 
 deliver them?' Oh, my Lord! Thou hast heard 
 their words, and wilt remember them. Yes, I have a 
 firm conviction that Thou wilt aid us and avenge 
 Thy name!" 
 
 After the death of Fr. Castex, as we have said, Fr. 
 Venard remained at the College of Hoang-Nguyen, 
 where he had the joy of being once more with his 
 great friend, Fr. Theurel. But the difficulty of 
 carrying on the work of the missions, owing to the 
 violence of the persecution, weighed heavily on his 
 mind. "I sometimes ask myself," he writes, 'Is God's 
 grace no longer so effective as before? Has the time 
 passed for the conversion of the Gentiles? Or are 
 we poor missioners less zealous than our predeces- 
 sors?' It is quite heart-breaking to look around and 
 to see nothing but heathen pagodas, to hear nothing 
 but the bells of the bonzes, to witness only diabolical 
 processions! Our dear Lord has to bow before the 
 ministers of Buddha and Confucius. His missioners 
 live in holes and caverns and a price is put upon their 
 heads. Is not the day of their deliverance at hand? 
 In this Annamite kingdom the penal laws are most 
 cruel and rigid, but they are only half carried out, on 
 account of the greed of mandarins, who simply use 
 them as a means to extort money. If at least one 
 might buy peace with the money ! But no ; this half 
 and half persecution undoes everything. One day 
 you build a church, open a school, establish a college. 
 The next week perhaps you have to flee and your 
 works are all destroyed. Another time you pay a 
 large sum to a mandarin to be left in peace. Then 
 he goes out of office, and another comes, who perhaps 
 asks double the price, which it is impossible to raise ; 
 
140 A Modern Martyr 
 
 and the edifice you have reared with such pains and 
 labor crumbles away! As for me, I have no hope but 
 in God and in His Immaculate Mother, whose Con- 
 ception has just been so gloriously proclaimed. Under 
 the yoke of the oppressor, we are like the Jewish 
 captives, 'Super flumina Babylonis.' But I look on 
 this proclamation as a rainbow, which is to announce 
 to us the end of the storm." 
 
 In September, 1857, he wrote again to his sister, — 
 
 "My Dearest Sister, — You will have seen by my 
 last letter that my health is improved, and that Bishop 
 Retord has given me a new district. I have upwards 
 of twelve thousand Christians here, divided into four 
 large parishes, with six or seven native priests under 
 me. My duty is to go from parish to parish, seeing 
 that all is in good order ; establish peace if there should 
 be discord; give the necessary dispensations; confirm, 
 in cases where the Bishop or Vicar Apostolic cannot 
 come to perform that sacramental function; give re- 
 treats and missions; in fact, try to augment in all 
 hearts the love of God and the zeal for His Church. 
 As to the pagans, I have never counted them, but 
 there must be from 350,000 to 300,000. It needs ten 
 St. Francis Xaviers to bring all these people to the 
 knowledge of the Gospel. At this moment it is diffi- 
 cult for us to do much in the way of conversion on 
 account of the violence of the persecution. Still from 
 time to time souls are garnered. When the children 
 are ill, the mothers bring them for baptism. The other 
 day a young widow brought her little one who was 
 dying. She herself was in the greatest misery, having 
 eaten only five times in twelve days. I baptized her 
 child, and then entrusted her to the care of one of our 
 
Theophane Venard 141 
 
 Christian women, who is now preparing the mother 
 likewise for that holy sacrament. 
 
 "After the Feast of the Assumption I went to a dis- 
 trict almost entirely pagan. Only about two hundred 
 Christians were scattered here and there. It was close 
 to the residence of the mandarin. No European had 
 ever penetrated so far into the interior; so I had to 
 keep myself as hidden as I possibly could. But the 
 children whom I had confirmed, unintentionally be- 
 trayed me by chattering and saying 'A little European 
 has come into the village, very small, but very white 
 and pretty;' for you must know, my dear little sister, 
 that we poor Europeans pass for great beauties, and 
 one who is considered dark in France appears white 
 among these people, who are burnt a mahogany color 
 by the tropical sun. Well, what was to be done ? The 
 hare was started and the dogs on the scent ! I resolved 
 not to lose courage ; but putting my whole trust in God, 
 I worked day and night in this. His neglected vineyard, 
 during one whole week; meanwhile the Christians, 
 who were in a terrible fright, acted as sentinels, and 
 refused all visitors whose curiosity prompted them 
 to wish to have a look at the European. Having 
 finished my work, I departed secretly by night, favored 
 by the darkness, and came to another place, where 
 the villagers, amounting to four or five thousand souls, 
 were all Christians, and the neighborhood, though 
 pagan, was favorable to Christianity. 
 
 "My goings and comings are easy at this season of 
 the year, as the inundations last for four or five 
 months. The country becomes an immense sea, in 
 which float green villages. There are no roads.. 
 Everyone goes in boats; but fortunately there are- 
 plenty of these in all shapes and sizes. I have one 
 which holds just one person. It is very light, and 
 
142 A Modern Martyr 
 
 woven of bamboo; every evening, sitting like a 
 tailor in my little skiff, I paddle myself along to my 
 different penitents, often meeting one or the other on 
 the way, and then having races to see who shall be 
 the quickest, in which manoeuvre I need not say that 
 your poor brother is always beaten. I make a point 
 of visiting my flock in their own homes, which gives 
 them immense pleasure. In fact, it is impossible to 
 find a better-disposed people than these poor Anna- 
 mites, or to meet more fervent or pious souls. This 
 year (and last) the inundations have been extraordi- 
 nary, and more than a foot of water came into my 
 house. I had fishes, frogs and toads, crabs and ser- 
 pents, swimming about my room very happily, while 
 I myself was perched on some planks about three or 
 four inches above them. But what I disliked most was 
 that the rats insisted upon taking refuge on my mat, 
 and one night I squashed one while I was asleep. It 
 was a disagreeable discovery, but on waking, I found 
 a poisonous viper, with black and white stripes, which 
 had likewise coiled itself up on my poor bed, as if to 
 ask for hospitality, and was hissing just as I stretched 
 my toes. So I forgave the rat. However, I deter- 
 mined, under the circumstances, to raise my house. I 
 got the Christians to bring me a quantity of earth, and 
 then to lift up my house four or five feet. For you 
 must know that this house, like all the rest, consists 
 only of two or three wooden columns, interlaced with 
 bamboo trellice, outside of which is a thin plaster of 
 mud, covered with a coating of lime that is supposed 
 to look 'grand.' The height is never more than ten 
 or fifteen feet, and the roof is made of dry leaves. 
 The whole edifice is easy enough to transport, as it is 
 very light, and a man can lift it in his hand. So now 
 I am high and dry, and away from the water. I 
 
Theophane Venard 143 
 
 have actually made a little garden, with flower seeds 
 from Europe, and I have a rose tree, a honeysuckle, 
 some balsams, and some stocks. Don't you think 
 I was very persevering? But now, my darling little 
 Melanie, don't go and imagine, in your foolish, loving 
 sister's heart, that I am a great saint. I am not 
 even a little wee one! Sickness has weakened my 
 poor body, and stupefied my senses, and cooled my 
 ardor. You see I own all my spiritual miseries to you 
 so that you may pity me and pray for me. My 
 heart is as cold and icy sometimes as the tropical sun 
 is burning and hot. There are no beautiful churches 
 or services here to rouse one's tepidity, and to drop 
 a little dew of piety on one's frigid soul. Pray then 
 for me, dearest sister, that the heavenly dew may 
 descend and soften your brother's heart; that his 
 interior life may be strengthened, and his prayers 
 become more fervent, and the spirit of sacrifice more 
 entire; so that he who bears the great title of mis- 
 sioner may do works worthy of the name. Ask also 
 that God may give me a little more health and 
 strength, for you know how the body reacts on the 
 soul ; and if the laborer stumbles in tracing the furrow, 
 it will be crooked and only half done. Beg the 
 Author of all Good for these gifts which I so greatly 
 need, that His work may be better done, and His 
 name be glorified. 
 
 "You ask me if I should not like some object of 
 devotion, or something for my church. If you could 
 manage to make me a chasuble I should be most 
 grateful, and my catechists would be delighted. Only 
 yesterday they said to me, 'Oh, father, do write to 
 France, and get a prettier set of vestments for Mass 
 on Feast Days.' 
 
144 A Modern Martyr 
 
 "And now, dearest sister, God bless and keep you 
 and all near and dear to us. I recommend myself 
 especially to the prayers of all who care for your 
 unworthy brother, 
 
 Theophane." 
 
Theophane Venard 145 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Under Fire. 
 
 The letters written by Theophane Venard in May, 
 1858, did not reach their destination, and to follow the 
 course of events preceding his martyrdom, we must 
 have recourse to the report of Bishop Retord. 
 
 "Our position," the Bishop wrote at this time, "is 
 terrible. We are like birds on the branch of a tree, 
 always on the alert, always receiving messages saying 
 that we have been discovered by the spies, that we 
 have been denounced, that the mandarins are sur- 
 rounding our mission, and that such and such Chris- 
 tians have been pillaged,, tortured, and put to death on 
 our account. In order to spare them, we hide in our 
 little boats, or in caverns, or in tombs in the moun- 
 tains, where we run the risk of being buried alive. 
 One day we had to remain in one of these tombs for 
 eight hours, being able to breathe only through a 
 bamboo tube. When we came out we were all like 
 idiots, and only half conscious. But the bodily pains 
 we endure are nothing to the anguish of our souls, 
 lest any neophytes should deny their faith under 
 torture. The searchings of the mandarins are so 
 thorough, that it is almost impossible to escape. One 
 of our native priests was seized last week and thrown 
 into prison, from which he was released only by 
 martyrdom. His companions and pupils, who had 
 been arrested at the same time, were condemned to 
 10 
 
146 A Modern Martyr 
 
 perpetual exile. Among them was a little child ten 
 years old who, rather than renounce Jesus Christ, bore 
 the strokes of the bastinado, and after being sep- 
 arated from his parents and home, was sentenced 
 to wear till death the malefactor's chain. Another 
 priest and a catechist were arrested the next day and 
 gained the martyr's palm. 
 
 "Two new edicts fulminated against us have greatly 
 kindled the zeal and fury of the pagan governors. 
 Our chapels are destroyed, our houses demolished, 
 our students dispersed, and our money wasted in vain 
 attempts to redeem our converts. There is not one 
 of my poor missioners who has not his personal 
 troubles besides. Frs. Theurel and Venard, sur- 
 rounded by their trembling, weeping flock, have been 
 obliged to take refuge in subterranean caverns, where 
 the mandarins as yet have been unable to follow them. 
 Fr. Titaud saw his church and house destroyed before 
 his eyes, and hid himself with difficulty in a wild 
 solitude, exposed to the attacks of all kinds of 
 venomous creatures. The same has happened to Fr. 
 Saiget. Fr. Mathevon, hard pressed, nearly fell into 
 the hands of the enemy, who had already seized his 
 catechist and his guide. It suddenly occurred to him 
 to throw himself between two or three old mats and 
 he thus escaped detection. Bishop Jeantet has had 
 to stop his theological class and hide in the mountains ; 
 God knows when he will be able to return to his post. 
 Even Fr. Charbonnier and I, who hoped to have 
 escaped the storm in my little retreat of Vinh-Tri, 
 have had to seek shelter (which men denied us) of 
 the bears and tigers who have their holes in the 
 rocks. Frs. Galy and Neron, who are at the extremity 
 of the mission, have enjoyed a certain immunity until 
 
Theophane Venard 147 
 
 now, but I expect every day to hear of fresh dis- 
 asters." 
 
 Then follows a recital of the tortures to which the 
 Christians were exposed, to compel them to aposta- 
 tize. We give a brief resume of these. 
 
 The most ordinary instrument of torture is the 
 "cangue." It is a species of ladder, four or five feet 
 long, and varying in weight from ten to forty pounds, 
 the two sides of which are united at a width of six 
 inches by four iron bars. The head of the martyr is 
 passed through the middle bars, and the two heavy 
 sides rest on the shoulders. To bear this day and 
 night is absolute misery. The flesh of the neck and 
 shoulders becomes raw ; and when the inhuman jailers 
 drag the suiferers from side to side, the agony may 
 be imagined. 
 
 In the prison itself, which is a species of hell upon 
 earth, a fresh torture is resorted to. This is a kind 
 of stocks, in which the feet are caught just above the 
 ankle; very often these are too tight, and enter the 
 flesh. What makes the stocks more insupportable is 
 the fact that innumerable bugs live in the cracks of 
 the wood, and constantly suck the blood of the 
 victims. These stocks being immovable, the unhappy 
 prisoners are compelled to remain in the same position 
 day and night, either sitting or crouching, without 
 being able to move in the least. 
 
 The third torture, and one universally employed, is 
 the "rotin" or knout, which is inflicted most brutally. 
 Several victims are laid flat on their stomachs in rows, 
 one after the other, the feet of one being fastened to 
 thfc hands of the next, and all so stretched as 
 almost to dislocate their joints. Each blow inflicted 
 produces blood, and gives an involuntary start to all 
 like an electric shock, so that those who are not 
 
148 A Modern Martyr 
 
 struck suffer nearly as much as those who are ; and as 
 a certain interval is left between the strokes, the 
 torment lasts for several hours, each sufferer re- 
 ceiving fifty or sixty blows. The instrument used 
 for this horrible flagellation is a flexible whip, about 
 the thickness of one's little finger, and nearly four 
 feet long. The lash is split into four bits, firmly 
 tied with twine steeped in gum, which renders the 
 blow heavier and prevents its being softened in 
 striking. 
 
 After the flagellation come the pincers, either cold 
 or heated in a forge, the bellows of which are always 
 going, so that the pincers may be red hot. A portion 
 of the martyr's flesh is seized with the iron, then 
 dragged and torn off with a rapid twist of the pincers, 
 while the victim is tightly bound to the ground. This 
 operation is renewed on the same individual five or 
 six times. The agony inflicted by the pincers when 
 cold is more intense, but the wound is more easily 
 healed than is that produced by the red hot pincers. 
 In the latter case the flesh around the burn generally 
 festers, and the whole process apparently poisons the 
 blood; but the pain is less, because the burning 
 deadens the nerves. 
 
 A fifth torture consists in forcing the confessor to 
 kneel on a piece of wood full of nails, the sharp 
 points of which pierce the flesh and penetrate to the 
 bone. The unhappy victim sighs pitifully during this 
 protracted torture, while the mandarins laugh at his 
 contortions, and add to his agonies by their fearful 
 blasphemies against our Lord. 
 
 If the martyr has survived the infliction of all these 
 horrors, the persecutors try a sixth method of 
 torture, which consists of dragging him by his 
 "cangue" to the cross, while they scourge him, striving 
 
Theophane V€nard 149 
 
 to compel him to trample it under his feet. If his 
 lips still move in prayer, the executioners strike him 
 on the mouth, and offer insult in the most disgusting 
 manner to the object of his veneration. 
 
 Then the unhappy victims are again thrown into 
 prison, heavily ironed, and separated one from the 
 other. The chains which they wear are of three 
 pieces, one being fastened around the neck by a large 
 ring, the other two around the ankles by smaller 
 rings, soldered to prevent the possibility of their being 
 undone. These chains weigh five or six pounds. If 
 the chain is too long the prisoner must hold it in his 
 hand to be able to walk. If too short, his back is con- 
 stantly bent. After tortures like these, it is not 
 surprising if the courage of the Christians should 
 sometimes, though very seldom, fail, and these oc- 
 casional apostasies add to the sorrow of the missioner, 
 whose whole moral nature has been agonized by the 
 sight of such sufferings. 
 
 Bishop Retord declared that his sadness was intense, 
 and that only the special grace of God could enable 
 him to bear such misery. From Easter Day, 1858, 
 nothing but misfortunes overwhelmed his diocese, 
 and he gives a short summary of them in a letter to 
 Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, who had written to 
 ask him for some account of the state of things. 
 After a graphic picture of the persecution, the Bishop 
 adds, "And now you ask what has become of us poor 
 missioners, apostles in a field once so fertile, now 
 so desolate and abandoned? I can hardly tell you. 
 It is more than six months since I have received news 
 of Fr. Neron, and I do not know where he is, or if 
 he still lives. Fr. Galy started on an Annamite mer- 
 chant-ship to implore the aid of the Spaniards in 
 Manila ; but what has become of him I do not know. 
 
150 A Modern Martyr 
 
 I fear that he may have been assassinated at sea like 
 Fr. Salgot. Frs. Titaud, Theurel, and Venard, 
 finding themselves surrounded by the enemy in their 
 little bamboo huts, escaped by night and took to the 
 mountains. It is more than two months since I have 
 had any tidings of them. Bishop Jeantet, after wan- 
 dering about in the hills for a long time, took refuge 
 with some faithful peasants; and being obliged to 
 escape in the night, was nearly drowned crossing a 
 river. 
 
 "I have no news whatever of Fr. Saiget. As for 
 Frs. Charbonnier, Mathevon, and myself, who have 
 been at Biit-Son since the 13th of June, we have been 
 living as best we could, — one day in a peasant's cabin, 
 the next under the trees, or in the bushes, or scram- 
 bling over impassable roads, exposed to a burning sun 
 or torrents of rain. We are half dead from hunger, 
 with scarcely any clothes to cover us, overwhelmed 
 with fatigue and sorrow, not knowing from one hour 
 to another what is to become of us, or where we are 
 to lay our heads. Indeed, our tribulations have been 
 incredible, and almost unbearable. For more than 
 four months we have been unable to say Mass, having 
 no vestments or altar, and no cabin where we can 
 be quiet or in safety for half an hour. Hardly any 
 of our native priests can say Mass either; and what 
 is worse, the sick die without receiving the last Sac- 
 raments. Everything is destroyed or burnt; all are 
 scattered, everyone is in hiding. Hardly a person 
 knows where I am, for I have no one to whom I 
 can entrust a letter; and the communications from 
 others to me are lost, as the people, afraid of being 
 compromised, generally burn them. We are, in fact, 
 reduced to the last extremity." 
 
Theophane Venard 151 
 
 This sad letter was written in October, 1858. In 
 December Fr. Venard continued the recital in a long 
 letter to his young brother, which we will transcribe 
 literally. 
 
 "My dearest Eusebius, — I received in October last 
 your letters and those that all my dear family wrote 
 to me in 1857 and 1858. You may fancy the joy they 
 gave me. I wish I could, in reply, give you some 
 consoling intelligence, but, alas! nothing but misery, 
 tears, and agony has flooded this unhappy Annamite 
 mission for the last nine months. I wrote you in 
 May, 1858, that the mandarins of Nam-Dinh had 
 vented their satanic rage against the Christians by 
 inflicting unheard-of tortures, and that they had pub- 
 lished a fresh edict against us, more bloody than 
 any that had preceded it. At that time the district 
 where Theurel and I lived was comparatively quiet; 
 but the seizure by the mandarins of some letters 
 which we had written to the Christians of Nam-Dinh, 
 was the signal for the outburst of a more violent 
 persecution than we had before experienced. The 
 bearer of oiir letters was put to the torture, and in 
 his agonies disclosed everything, betraying the sites 
 of Bishop Retord's new colleges of Vinh-Tri, Ke-Non, 
 and Hoang-Nguyen. At the same time, the devil 
 entered the heart of one of our disciples, who, like 
 another Judas, revealed to the mandarins not only 
 the interior organization of the diocese, but all our 
 hiding-places and our means of escape from perse- 
 cutors. Fr. Theurel and I, though very anxious, 
 flattered ourselves that, by being perfectly quiet, we 
 might remain where we were; but the spies were 
 too well informed. 
 
 "On the 10th of June, in the middle of the night, 
 
152 A Modern Martyr 
 
 a Christian woke us hurriedly, to say that the troops 
 were marching to surround our house and make us 
 prisoners. It was necessary to pack our traps and 
 flee. This was no easy matter. We were two Euro- 
 peans, three Annamite Fathers, ten or fifteen cate- 
 chists, more than a hundred students, and we had all 
 the mission furniture besides, which was to be put 
 in some place of safety. But our Annamites are sO' 
 accustomed to these sudden flights, that in a couple 
 of hours everything was hidden in different corners. 
 On the morning of St. Barnabas' Day, the man- 
 darin's troops arrived to the number of two thousand, 
 while upwards of fifteen hundred young pagans of 
 the neighborhood were told off to watch all avenues 
 to the college. In a few minutes they had surrounded 
 not only the college itself, but three villages, the in- 
 habitants of which were nearly all Christians. They 
 thought themselves sure of their prey. Happily, we 
 had been warned in time, and had placed our poor 
 students in distant villages; there were only two who 
 had delayed their departure and these were caught in 
 the very act of escaping; they were instantly hon- 
 ored with a 'cangue.' The soldiers had been prom- 
 ised a rich plunder but found nothing, only bare walls 
 and houses which looked as if they had been aban- 
 doned for ages. In their rage they scattered all over 
 the surrounding country, and came upon a village 
 where the greater part of our students had taken, 
 refuge. These would certainly have been seized, if 
 they had not received an early intimation of their 
 danger. There were only about ten laggards, whom 
 the soldiers caught as they were fleeing across the 
 fields, and whom they tortured as they had the former 
 captives. Among these was an old deacon over seventy 
 years of age. The mandarins, being unable to discover 
 
Theophane Venard 153 
 
 catechists, priests, or students in the first four villages, 
 carried off our poor old porter, a blind man whom 
 we employed to pick rice, and a poor old woman 
 (with her daughter) who had the care of the church. 
 The houses of the principal Christians were spared, 
 owing to the intervention of the colonel and the 
 sub-prefect, who were friendly towards us. 
 
 "Well, the mandarins returned in triumph with our 
 dear prisoners, all wearing the 'cangue' around their 
 necks as criminals, and exposed to the derision of 
 the unbelievers, even as Jesus was when He bore His 
 Cross towards Calvary. This seizure was followed 
 by the capture of several other Christians, among 
 whom were three Annamite priests. In all more than 
 fifty persons were taken. Our confessors had to 
 endure frightful torments and scourgings; but all 
 preferred death to apostasy. One of the mandarins 
 tried to make a young catechist trample the Cross. 
 The catechist replied, 'If you were told to trample 
 under foot a coin bearing the image or superscription 
 of the emperor, would you dare do it?' A great box 
 on the ear was the answer. Another, taking the 
 crucifix tenderly in his hand, and looking at it, said, 
 'Dear Lord! Thou hast never done anything but 
 good, and they wish me to insult Thee ! How could I 
 have the heart ?' Twenty strokes of the terrible 'rotin' 
 were the reward of this outburst of love and piety. 
 The mandarins ordered the students to chant their 
 usual prayers. They intoned at once the litany of 
 the Saints, and when they came to the petition for 
 the king and for the mandarins, they repeated three 
 times, with great fervor, 'Deliver them, O Lord, from 
 all evil !' The mandarins understood the reproach and 
 commanded them to hold their tongues. Then they 
 tried to compel the old woman and her daughter to 
 
154 A Modern Martyr 
 
 apostatize, but both refused, and the old woman 
 said, 'Who would be fool enough to walk on the 
 head of his father or mother?' The judges, ashamed 
 of being defeated by a simple old woman, sent her 
 back to her village with the child. 
 
 "As to the rest, — ^the three priests were beheaded; 
 the two catechists and the poor old deacon died under 
 torture; and the others were exiled to an unwhole- 
 some and wild mountainous district, where many 
 have preceded, and where many will follow them. 
 May our Lord support and strengthen them! They 
 are fools for Christ's sake. Yet theirs is the only 
 true wisdom. What they have sown here below in 
 suffering and humiliation, they will reap above in 
 glory and in joy. 
 
 "Our churches, colleges, and houses have been 
 burnt to the ground. And this is not all. The Chris- 
 tians have been exposed to the most unjust and rapa- 
 cious extortions. How can I describe to you what 
 leeches these Annamite ofScials are, from the highest 
 to the lowest ? The first thing a mandarin does when 
 he visits a province is to ask if the 'king's orders have 
 been executed.' In other words, he says, 'Bring me 
 some money.' When he leaves it is the same thing. 
 The underlings are worse. They quarter themselves 
 upon the Christians, and if these do not at once give 
 all they ask, they denounce them to the authorities, 
 who throw them in prison. The people give them 
 the nickname, 'mandarin horse-flies.' What makes 
 these officials more vexing is the continual movement 
 among them, each one looking upon his province as 
 a place from which he must suck as much blood as 
 possible in a short time. I have neither the time nor 
 the heart to relate to you the turpitudes and villainies 
 of these people, and that not to the Christians only, 
 but to all who may be under their rule. 
 
Theophane Venard 155 
 
 "The fate of our college of Hoang-Nguyen has 
 been equally that of Ke-Non and Vinh-Tri, but the 
 last has suffered most. I cannot tell you all the de- 
 tails, as our communications have been interrupted, 
 and patrols placed on all the roads to prevent the 
 Christians from meeting, or to compel them to trample 
 the Cross under foot. But I know that out of nine 
 hundred souls, thirty or forty of the principal people 
 have been thrown into prison and most, horribly 
 tortured ; yet they have stood firm, and a large number 
 have been condemned to death. 
 
 "It is not only Bishop Retord's diocese that has 
 suffered so terribly. The persecution has swept over 
 the whole country from Cambogia to China. The 
 Spanish Dominicans have been even more cruelly 
 treated than ourselves. The order has come to seize 
 all Christians, and to put them to death by what is 
 called 'lang-tri,' that is, slow torture, cutting off first 
 the ankles, then the knees, the fingers, the elbows, 
 and so on till the victim is nothing but a mutilated 
 trunk. Bishop Melchior, the Dominican Vicar Apos- 
 tolic of the eastern district of Tong-king, suffered 
 this horrible death last August. But you will ask me, 
 'How did you manage to escape the fury of a storm 
 like this?' I can only reply, 'By the grace of God, 
 who has me in His holy keeping, and considers that 
 my hour has not yet come. Our Christians guard 
 my cabin and the only thing for me to do is to keep 
 myself in a little corner without speaking or making 
 the least noise. Even a sneeze or a cough might 
 betray me. We consider ourselves fortunate if, in 
 these retreats, we can have a little hole for light, 
 so as to be able to read our office and some com- 
 forting book. In this weary but voluntary imprison- 
 ment one has to learn patience, and give up oiie's life 
 
156 A Modern Martyr 
 
 freely to Divine Providence. Then, if the mandarin 
 seems inclined to search the house, we take advantage 
 of the darkness to escape to another hiding-place. 
 Sometimes in a temporary lull, or a favorable 
 moment, we are able to get a little fresh air, and 
 to stretch our cramped limbs. 
 
 "The great misery of this state of things is that we 
 cannot administer the Sacraments, and many of our 
 converts have to die without any spiritual consolation. 
 Another misfortune is that we nearly always com- 
 promise the Christians who give us hospitality, so 
 that we often prefer trusting ourselves to the loyalty 
 and good faith of pagans, who are less suspected. 
 Fr. Theurel and I stayed two days and two nights 
 in one of these houses; but we did not meet its 
 owner, who hid himself, that he might not see a 
 European face. One night we received a sudden 
 notice to leave this asylum and only a quarter of 
 an hour afterwards the troops of the mandarins 
 arrived. Bishop Retord, seeing the way in which 
 we were hunted, advised us to take refuge, as he 
 and Bishop Jeantet had done, in the mountain. We 
 went, but the apostate before mentioned got an ink- 
 ling of this, and surrounding the cavern where the 
 Bishops had lately been concealed, placed guards at 
 all the mountain passes. But God watched over His 
 servants and they escaped to the forests before the 
 enemy had completed preparations. The mandarins 
 searched all the caves, and carried off everything 
 they could find, which, in fact, was all that we pos- 
 sessed; but no one was taken prisoner. 
 
 "Bishop Retord, Fr. Charbonnier, and Fr. Mathe- 
 von wandered barefoot through the woods, half dead 
 with hunger, their feet wounded at every step by the 
 pointed stones which the Annamites call cats' ears, 
 
Theophane Venard 157 
 
 and with no means of quenching their thirst but a 
 villainous kind of water which no one can drink with 
 impunity. Seeing no way of escape, they built them- 
 selves a little cabin in the centre of the forest, and re- 
 mained there four months, during which time they 
 were fed by neighboring Christians, and preserved in 
 spite of the danger of being devoured by bears and 
 tigers. I sent one of my catechists to them in August, 
 and he was met by a magnificent royal tiger which had 
 that very day eaten two poor girls who had been pas- 
 turing their bullocks on the roadside. My poor cate- 
 chist was saved only by a miracle from a like fate. 
 Dear brother, you will want to know if Bishop Retord 
 is still in his forest home. His body, yes; but his 
 spirit has left this vale of misery for a better world. 
 A malignant fever carried him off on the 22nd of 
 October. Thus ended his life of labor and suffering, 
 after twenty-five years spent on the missions, and 
 fifteen in the episcopate. He did not live to see peace 
 dawn on this unhappy country. All his days had been 
 passed amid persecutions and contradictions, the 
 realization of a dream which he had as a child, when 
 the Virgin appearing carried him to the top of a high 
 mountain, to the foot of a great Cross, and told him 
 his life would be a series of crucifixions to the end. 
 All missioners have to follow the way of the Cross, 
 but Bishop Retord did so more than any of us, and his 
 death in this terrible forest, where he was exposed 
 to the continual attacks of wild beasts, and had not 
 even the commonest necessities of life, was indeed 
 death on the Cross — naked, austere, like that of his 
 Lord and Master. 
 
 "When Bishop Retord died he was alone with Fr. 
 Mathevon, for as Fr. Charbonnier had had a touch of 
 the fever, the Bishop had sent him down to the plains 
 
158 A Modern Martyr 
 
 to be nursed in the house of a pious Christian. After 
 our holy Bishop had expired, Fr. Mathevon took 
 shelter in a less unhealthful place, where he remains 
 concealed. As for Fr. Theurel, Fr. Titaud, and my- 
 self, we too had to climb the mountains, walk with 
 bleeding feet on the cats' ears and install ourselves as 
 hermits in the forest. We remained a fortnight in 
 perfect peace, and each day added some improvement 
 to our Robinson Crusoe life. We collected rain- 
 water to drink, and to use in cooking our provisions ; 
 then we made a little straight avenue where we could 
 walk and recite our office. Every morning the in- 
 habitants of the village of Dong-Chiem brought us 
 provisions ; and we had just begun to dig the ground 
 and plant some vegetables, when one morning we had 
 an unexpected visit from six pagans, armed to the 
 teeth, who came in the guise of tiger-hunters. We 
 received them with great civility, and a few moments 
 after, under pretense of going out into the adjoining 
 forest to get some wood, we escaped rapidly down 
 the mountain-side to a boat which we kept on the 
 river always ready for emergencies. These 'hunters' 
 were in reality spies sent by the mandarins. From 
 that moment we resolved to live in our boat among 
 the reeds, now in one place, now in another. A 
 faithful and devoted young Christian came every 
 day, on the pretext of going fishing, to bring us food. 
 Our life as sea-birds went on for some weeks, when 
 we found that we were again discovered and watched. 
 So we were compelled to separate, and to seek shelter 
 in diiFerent houses. I returned to my old district and 
 lived for three weeks in the house of a catechist, but 
 amid continual alarms. I then took lodgings at But- 
 Dong, in a convent, where I still remain. This vil- 
 lage is half Christian, half pagan ; and in case of alarm 
 
Theophane Venard 159 
 
 I have promised not to leave it, but to hide in a 
 cavern which has been prepared for me. Fr. Saiget, 
 who had been imprigoned for three months in a dark 
 place, escaped through a hole in the roof, and has 
 been able to come and join me. Just now we are 
 enjoying a certain tranquillity. The nuns have given 
 up their own room, which is large enough for us 
 to walk six or seven steps, and two of our catechists 
 are with us. So we study Chinese together to occupy 
 time. But the spies of the mandarins surround us, 
 and the poor nuns are in continual terror. There are 
 sixteen of them and they take turns watching day 
 and night. On the other hand, it is an immense 
 consolation for them to have the Sacraments, and we 
 strive to console and strengthen them to the utmost 
 of our power. 
 
 "We are in daily expectation of peace. A French 
 squadron arrived at Touranne on the 1st of Sep- 
 tember, and three thousand soldiers are camped on 
 the shore. As soon as their arrival was known, there 
 was great rejoicing among pagans as well as Chris- 
 tians, for the pagans hate the reigning dynasty and 
 attribute all the misfortunes of late years to the bad 
 conduct of the king, who thinks of nothing but 
 pleasure, and neglecjting his people, gives them up to 
 the oppression and rapacity of mandarins. Many say, 
 'The cruelties against the Christians have brought 
 down the vengeance of the gods on this dynasty. The 
 Europeans come to deliver them, which is just and 
 fair.' The appearance of a comet has strengthened 
 the popular belief in the approaching dissolution of 
 the Government. Such phenomena are always a sign 
 of war to a superstitious people. A revolt has been 
 organized, and waits only for the reported success of 
 the French troops to lift its standard from one end 
 
160 A Modern Martyr 
 
 of the country to the other. Strangely enough, al- 
 though the French squadron has been for three months 
 and a half in Cochin-China, we have heard nothing." 
 
Theophane Venard 161 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 In the Caves. 
 
 "I have just heard that six more of our Christians 
 have won the martyr's palm. Four were priests. One 
 of our young students — of a noble family — who had 
 had the misfortune to apostatize under torture, over- 
 whelmed with remorse, gave himself up again into 
 the hands of the cruel mandarin of Nam Dinh, who, 
 in his fury, had him crushed to death under elephants' 
 feet. Bishop Jeantet says he was quite a little fellow, 
 and in one of the youngest classes. He adds, 'Our 
 older students were superhuman in faith and fortitude. 
 One of them, covered with blood, said, smiling, to 
 the torturers, 'Your pincers and scourges are nothing 
 to us; try something else!' 
 
 "Fr. Legrand de la Lyraie, one of our missioners 
 in the eastern district, writes for Admiral Rigault de 
 Genouilly, who commands the French squadron in 
 the Chinese waters, imploring us to seek refuge on 
 board his French steamer until the necessary meas- 
 ures are taken by the French army to deliver the An- 
 namite Christians from oppression. The admiral is 
 excessively alarmed at the dangers with which we are 
 threatened, and wishes to put our lives out of the 
 reach of the persecutors. Unfortunately, his proposal 
 is impossible to us poor missioners of the western dis- 
 trict; we are too far from the sea, and journeying in 
 the country is too perilous to be attempted. I have 
 11 
 
162 A Modern Martyr 
 
 answered Fr. Legrand's kind letter and enclose this 
 one in his, although there is fear that they will not 
 reach their destination. I pray the Holy Angels to 
 guard and conduct in peace the two devoted women 
 who will be the bearers of my epistles ! Women are 
 our letter-carriers everywhere and manage it much 
 better and with greater facility than men. Adieu." 
 
 This letter was dated December 21, 1858, and 
 reached its destination in March, 1859, God having 
 watched over the faithful messengers, so that they 
 reached the French squadron at Touranne in safety. 
 In July, 1859, similar letters were despatched by our 
 missioner, but they were intercepted and never touched 
 the soil of France. It was not till March, 1860, that 
 Theophane again put pen to paper. But already his 
 father had gone to announce in Heaven the coming 
 of his son. His three children, grouped around the 
 bed, had implored his benediction, and Melanie, 
 faithful to her promise, held before her father's dying 
 eyes the portrait of his absent one. "Dearest father, 
 Theophane is also here; you must bless him with us." 
 The poor father gave a deep sigh, and murmured 
 faintly, "Ah, that dear child! where is he?" . . . 
 Then, gathering all his strength, and raising himself 
 in his bed, he exclaimed, "Dear children, receive this, 
 the last blessing of your father, in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen." His uplifted hand fell heavily back on the 
 bed. Then he looked upwards with a fixed expression 
 for some minutes, and those around him felt that he 
 must have seen a beautiful vision. So this good man 
 fell asleep sweetly in God, and his pure, honest soul 
 passed without struggle to its rest. The death 
 occurred at noon on Friday, the 26th of August, 
 
Theophane Venard 163 
 
 1859, M. Venard being sixty-four years of age. His 
 children had the following inscription engraved on 
 his tomb : — 
 
 "Lord! He shared in Thy sacrifice; grant that he 
 may share in Thy peace." 
 
 The sad news was at once conveyed to Tong-king 
 but the unhappy state of that country prevented the 
 arrival of the letters; and Theophane never knew on 
 earth of his father's death. 
 
 But let us return to the Mission. After Bishop 
 'Retord's death, Bishop Jeantet — who was about 
 seventy years of age — remained alone to administer 
 the vast diocese. He chose Fr. Theurel to act as 
 his coadjutor; and this devoted missioner, a bosom 
 friend of Theophane, was consecrated Bishop of 
 Acanthus, though only twenty-nine years old. If 
 God had given peace for a short time to the per- 
 secuted Church, much might have been done by these 
 two men, the one of such ripe wisdom and experience, 
 the other with such fervent zeal and burning love 
 of souls. But our Lord permitted the still further 
 desolation of this land ; and the following letter from 
 Fr. Venard gives an account of the first and last 
 persecution of which he was to be the witness and 
 the victim. The letter is addressed to an old college 
 friend, the Abbe Paziot, and is dated the 10th of 
 May, 1860. 
 
 "My dear Friend, — It is a long time since I have 
 written to you and perhaps you may fancy that I am 
 dead, or that time has swept away our old friendship. 
 Now I hope that both suppositions will disappear 
 when you see this monstrous bit of paper — ^the only 
 
164 A Modern Martyr 
 
 thing I can get — on which I shall try to paint for you 
 — I have nothing but a brush — a description of our life 
 here, in as good language as a poor missioner can 
 command who has nearly forgotten his native tongue. 
 "I write to you from Tong-king, and from a little 
 dark hole, where the only light comes through the 
 crack of a partially opened door, just making it 
 possible for me to trace these lines, and now and 
 then to read a few pages of a book. For one must 
 be ever on the watch. If the dog barks, or a stranger 
 passes, the door is instantly closed, and I prepare 
 to hide myself in a still lower hole, which has been 
 excavated in my temporary retreat. This is the way 
 I have lived for three months, sometimes alone, some- 
 times in company with my dear old friend, Bishop 
 Theurel, now coadjutor to our Vicar Apostolic. The 
 convent which formerly sheltered us has been 
 destroyed by the pagans, who got wind of our being 
 there. We had barely time to escape into a space 
 about a foot wide between two double walls. We 
 could see through the chinks the band of persecutors, 
 with the mayor at their head, garotting five or six 
 of the oldest nuns, who had been left behind when 
 the younger ones took flight. They beat these poor 
 women with rods, laying their hands on everything 
 they could get, even a few earthenware pots which 
 hung on the partition behind which we were con- 
 cealed. And we heard them vociferating, howling 
 like demons, threatening to kill and burn everybody 
 and everything unless they were given a large sum 
 of money. Their 'agreeable visit' lasted four hours; 
 and we were so close that we almost touched them. 
 We did not dare to make the smallest movement, and 
 held our breath till our pursuers were invited by the 
 principal people of the village to go out and eat and 
 
Theophane Venard 165 
 
 get drunk with them. They did not go, however, 
 without leaving guards to surround the house; so it 
 was not till cock-crow in the morning that we could 
 make our escape, and take refuge in a smoky dung- 
 heap belonging to a pious old Christian widow, where 
 we were joined by another missioner who had had 
 equal difficulties in making good his retreat. 
 
 "What do you think of our position, dear old 
 friend? — ^three missioners, one of whom is a bishop, 
 lying side by side, day and night, in a space about a 
 yard and a half square. Our only light comes through 
 three holes the size of a little finger, made in the 
 mud wall, and these a poor old woman is obliged to 
 conceal by some fagots thrown down outside. Under 
 our feet is a brick cellar, constructed with great 
 skill by one of our catechists; in this cellar are three 
 bamboo tubes, cleverly contrived to have their open- 
 ings to the fresh air on the borders of a neighboring 
 lake. This same catechist has built two other similar 
 hiding-places in this village with several double 
 partition walls. 
 
 "We stayed with our poor old widow three weeks; 
 during which time I am afraid you would have been 
 rather scandalized at our gaiety. When the three 
 holes gave no more light, we had a little lamp, with 
 a shade to prevent its tiny rays from penetrating 
 outside through the chinks of our prison. One day 
 we found ourselves surrounded, in fact completely 
 blocked, by sentinels posted at every corner of the 
 house, so that there was no possibility of passing 
 from one house to the other. An apostate who knew 
 that we were in the village, had betrayed our hiding- 
 place. Well, God defeated his plans. From morning 
 till night, the pagans passed and repassed us, upset 
 everything in the house, searched every corner. They 
 
166 A Modern Martyr 
 
 broke in the walls behind which we were concealed, 
 and I thought our hour of martyrdom had come. 
 But vain are the efforts of men when God opposes 
 their designs ! Perhaps you will say, 'In such a place, 
 without- air, light, or exercise, how can you live?' 
 Your question is perfectly reasonable; and, what is 
 more, you might ask why we don't go mad. To be 
 shut up between two walls, with a roof which one 
 can touch with his hand ; having for our companions, 
 — 'Spiders, rats, and toads ; obliged always to speak in 
 a low voice, 'like the wind,' as the Annamites say ; 
 receiving every day terrible news of the torture and 
 death of our fellow-missioners, of the destruction 
 of missions, the exile of our students, and occasionally, 
 worse still, of their apostasy under torture, — ^to live 
 thus and not be utterly discouraged and cast down, 
 we require, I admit, a special grace, a grace fitted 
 to our state, I suppose. 
 
 "As to our health, we are like poor plants in a 
 cellar, stretching our lanky, unhealthy branches toward 
 the light and air. When I can put my mouth close 
 to the door which guards our retreat, I own occasion- 
 ally to a feeling of envy for those who can' enjoy as 
 much of God's fresh air and sunshine as they please. 
 One of my brethren writes to-day that for eighteen 
 months he has not seen the sun, and he dates his 
 letter 'from the land of moles.' As for me, I live on 
 without being too bilious; the weak points about 
 me are the nerves. I want something strengthening, 
 like wine, but we have barely enough to say Mass, 
 so one must not think of it. I have some pills now 
 which an Annamite doctor has made up for me 
 instead. Not many days ago, I managed to pass into 
 a neighboring house, and was very much astoni.ehed 
 to find myself tottering like a drunken man. I had 
 
Theophane V6nard 167 
 
 lost the habit and almost the power of walking, and 
 the daylight made me giddy. 
 
 "I wrote to my family in 1858, to tell them of the 
 French squadron at Touranne. In 1859 the troops 
 destroyed the fortifications of Saigon, in Cochin-China, 
 leaving a garrison in one of the forts of the river. 
 Then in the summer came news of the war with 
 Austria, and a pestilential sickness which began to 
 decimate the French forces. Nevertheless, hostilities 
 were resumed against the Annamites in the autumn 
 and continued till April, 1860, when, to the astonish- 
 ment of everyone, the French retreated, and abandoned 
 all the points which they had previously occupied." 
 
 Then follows a long comment on this retirement of 
 the French troops, ending with, " 'Man proposes, and 
 God disposes.' An expedition undertaken by the iron 
 will of the Emperor Napoleon III., and confided to 
 such a man as Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, ought 
 to have been crowned with success. But what are 
 human probabilities to the Divine decrees? God has 
 permitted that our deliverance should be delayed, and 
 our Church still further purified by suffering." 
 
 "The Annamite government, seeing the French 
 leave their shores, determined once for all to extir- 
 pate the Catholic faith throughout the kingdom. 
 Mandarins in any way favorable to the Catholics 
 were dismissed, and replaced by others whose hatred 
 was well known. Crosses were placed at the entrance 
 to all villages that the Christians might be forced to 
 trample them. Horribly blasphemous verses were 
 chanted, declaring that Zato, the Annamite name of 
 'Jesus,' had a dog for his father ; and men were found 
 vile enough to carve crucifixes with a figure of a dog 
 on one side and a woman on the other, so as to de- 
 grade to the utmost the God of the Christians." He 
 
168 A Modern Martyr 
 
 alludes to other blasphemies even worse, and contin- 
 ues, "The government has established in each canton 
 a new functionary, who is called 'the shepherd of 
 the flock' (you may imagine he should rather be 
 called the 'wolf'), and in each mayoralty an officer 
 styled 'the strong man of the village.' Both these 
 men are employed in hunting down the unhappy 
 'Zato,' or followers of Christ, who, being beyond the 
 pale of law and justice, are exposed to every species 
 of ignominy, suffering, and wrong, without hope of 
 redress. Then there is a curious law in this country 
 which makes a whole village suffer for the offense of 
 one member. Therefore if a priest is found in a 
 place, especially a European, the town is razed to the 
 ground, half the inhabitants put to death, the rest 
 scattered to the four winds, while the mayor or chief 
 functionaries will be exiled and degraded if they have 
 concealed the white man, or will receive a large sum of 
 money if they have betrayed him. Who could resist 
 such a temptation? 
 
 "Again, on account of the destruction of our col- 
 lege, more than twelve hundred young men are 
 without home or occupation, not daring to return to 
 their families (if they have any), and wandering from 
 one Christian mission to another till they almost 
 inevitably fall into the hands of the persecutors. 
 Scarcely one of these has yielded to the cruelty or 
 blandishments of his tormentors, and the Church 
 may indeed be proud of having engendered such noble 
 confessors of the faith. But you see, dear friend, 
 how impossible it is for us, pastors of the flock, to 
 console our poor, suffering children or break the 
 bread of life for them. We are compelled to hide 
 ourselves and leave our lambs to the wolves. And 
 then in this country the more insolent the nobles 
 
Theophane Venard 169 
 
 are, the more cowardly are the people, who become 
 practically slaves. The women, too, are treated as 
 children without souls ; and although they are models 
 of chastity and of zeal for the faith, they are so 
 frightened that they almost lose their senses. It is 
 only the nuns, who have had a longer and more 
 careful Christian training, who can calmly brave the 
 persecutors. When the French squadron appeared in 
 1859, the ofiScials here persuaded themselves that the 
 missioners had sent for it and that we were in league 
 with the rebels to upset the reigning dynasty and to 
 help on the revolution. They therefore seized the 
 principal Christians in each village and threw them 
 into prison, a terrible blow to the poor of the congre- 
 gation, who had no longer any protectors whatever 
 against their cruel oppressors. Out of seventy 
 Annamite priests in this district, ten have already 
 earned the martyr's palm ; seven others are waiting in 
 prison for the moment when death shall put an end 
 to their torments. More than a thousand priests and 
 laymen are exiled in the mountains. 
 
 "I began this letter in a little hiding-place in the 
 midst of a fervent Christian population. In vain 
 the mandarin, who has the hatred of a demon against 
 Christ, has employed every possible agent to destroy 
 or weaken their faith. He has failed because the 
 whole population is of one mind and he cannot put 
 all the people to death. To revenge himself he sends 
 bands of young pagans to announce his arrival, to 
 seize and gag the young girls, and to commit every 
 species of atrocity. When he does not come, th^ 
 are released only on payment of immense sums. So 
 our Christians are always on the qui vive; to escape 
 these horrors, men, women, and children flee to the 
 rice-fields, and remain night and day concealed in 
 
170 A Modern Martyr 
 
 mud and water. Sometimes the poor girls have been 
 brought back to us half dead with the cold from this 
 kind of exposure. One day the mandarin announced 
 his visit, and his satellites were carrying on their 
 work of pillage and brutality in every house. Suddenly 
 they discovered one of our hiding-places, which, 
 happily, was empty. They made a great fuss about 
 this, and next morning, sent masons, with spades and 
 hoes, to dig in every Christian house until they could 
 find us. But Providence watched over us and we 
 made our escape. I am now in the midst of pagans, 
 not knowing what is going to happen next. They 
 appear kind and benevolent; but God alone can read 
 to the bottom of their hearts. They have a high 
 idea of hospitality, and would hardly wrong a stranger 
 who has come so far to seek it. Perhaps God has 
 chosen such protectors so that the light of Gospel 
 truth may shine upon them. Dear old friend! as I 
 write this, the thought of all our misfortunes nearly 
 overwhelms me, and I can hardly restrain my tears. 
 Before this terrible persecution our mission was so 
 flourishing! so many souls were being harvested! 
 And now I feel like Jeremiah groaning over the 
 ruins of Jerusalem. Will these ruins ever be rebuilt? 
 It is like Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. Can 
 they ever be resuscitated? I have given you a sum- 
 mary of our misfortunes, but they are aggravated 
 by a multitude of little circumstances which I should 
 only weary you by enumerating. 'Magna est velut 
 mare contritio tual'f 
 
 "But as for myself, dearest friend, I have confidence 
 in God that I shall accomplish my course, preserving 
 
 fGreat as the ocean is thy sorrow. 
 
Theophane Venard 171 
 
 intact the deposit of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and 
 that finally, by the merits of our Lord, I shall share 
 with His friends the crown of the just. I wrote to 
 my father in June, 1859, but I fear the letter has 
 never reached him. Send him this one, and let him 
 feel it is as if written to himself ; and ask him to re- 
 double his prayers for his poor little child-missioner. 
 Dear father! he must be getting old now! I cannot 
 help being anxious for tidings of him and all ; for two 
 years I have heard nothing. 
 
 "Dearest Melanie, — I meant to have written a sep- 
 arate letter to you, as also to my brothers; but this 
 one must do for you all. I have had no news of you 
 since December, 1858; but I do not doubt that you 
 have written, and perhaps a few months hence I may 
 get your letters. Adieu ! and God bless you, my much- 
 loved ones. May you become greater saints day by 
 day.-— Your own devoted 
 
 Theophane." 
 
 "I commend myself especially to your prayers." 
 
 The contents of this letter, and especially its con- 
 clusion, point to the sad but glorious end which was at 
 hand. The missioners, hunted like wild beasts, could 
 no longer find a place of shelter; it is inconceivable 
 how they could have endured their trials and misfor- 
 tunes so long. In the meantime, Fr. Titaud, ex- 
 hausted by the underground life which he had been 
 compelled to lead for two years, expired on the 29th of 
 January, 1860. Fr. Neron, betrayed into the hands of 
 the enemy, underwent the torture of the knout, and 
 was thrown into prison, where he remained for three 
 months, of which twenty-one days were spent without 
 any other nourishment than a few drops of water in 
 
172 A Modern Martyr 
 
 the morning. At last he was beheaded, and thus ful- 
 filled a curious prophecy which had been made con- 
 cerning him at Paris in 1848. 
 
 "Fr. Neron has left us," writes Bishop Theurel, 
 "and has passed from the battle-field to the rank of 
 martyr; Fr. Venard is taking the same road and will 
 soon be with him in Heaven." The heroic close of 
 this young apostle's life must form the subject of 
 another chapter. 
 
Theophane Venard 173 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Arrest and Martyrdom. 
 
 The letter contained in the preceding chapter was 
 written in May, 1860. Of the events that followed, 
 Bishop Theurel says, — 
 
 "Fr. Venard was living in a pagan village, preaching 
 and teaching with great success, although the people 
 said that, to declare themselves Christians, they must 
 wait till the persecution had ceased a little. But 
 when the chief of the province intimated that he 
 considered him as his prisoner, Fr. Venard went on 
 to the Christian village of Ke-Beo. He found super- 
 stitions of all kinds rampant in this place, and re- 
 mained, desiring, as he said, 'a hand-to-hand fight with 
 the devil.' God crowned his labors with wonderful 
 success; after a few months the whole character of 
 the place was changed, and a fervent Christian popu- 
 lation replaced the timid, superstitious flock which he 
 had found on his arrival. After this, he spent twenty 
 days in the village of Kem-Bang, strengthening and 
 consoling the terrified Christians, and incessantly 
 teaching and administering the Sacraments. He went 
 on then to Biit-Son, one of our noted missions in this 
 terrible thirty years' persecution. In this village he 
 found a devout native priest, and with him worked 
 wonders among the people. Bishop Jeantet joined 
 him here; and a few days after, Fr. Venard, leaving 
 the venerable bishop in safety in this almost impreg- 
 
174 A Modern Martyr 
 
 nable fortress, went back to Ke-Beo. The good 
 effects of his previous visit were still apparent, and 
 Fr. Venard thought that he might remain in peace, 
 to complete the good work. But he promised his 
 catechist, Luong, that he would return very shortly 
 to the safer refuge of But-Dong, as everyone was 
 extremely anxious about his safety. These were 
 indeed critical days. 
 
 "On the 30th of November, about nine o'clock in 
 the morning, five or six junks, carrying about twenty 
 men, appeared a few yards from the missioner's 
 house. As it was an isolated building, and the floods 
 covered the whole country, these junks were able to 
 guard every avenue. They were led by an old chief 
 of a neighboring hamlet, named Cai-D6, the same 
 who in 1854 had contrived the escape of Fr. Neron 
 from the custom-house, but who now came on a 
 totally different errand. Leaving his junks, he 
 marched with five or six of his men to the mission 
 house. Fr. Venard, instantly realizing the whole plot, 
 had retired between the usual double walls. The 
 chief, arriving at the house, cried out, 'Let the 
 European priest come forth.' At these words, the 
 catechist, Khang, who was busy hiding Fr. Venard's 
 property, came forward boldly, and said, 'It is I 
 who inhabit this house, although I have only lately 
 arrived. If you will leave me in peace I shall be 
 thankful ; but if not, I shall be resigned.' The chief, 
 making a signal to his men to garotte the catechist, 
 marched straight into the house, and giving a great 
 kick to the thin double partition which concealed the 
 missioner, seized Fr. Venard, and dragged him 
 brutally to the junks, with his servant. It was a very 
 fine capture accomplished with no risk whatever. By 
 the time the faithful villagers of Ke-Beo heard a 
 
Theophane V6nard 175 
 
 rumor of the event, the junks were well out of sight 
 with their prey, and rescue was impossible. You may 
 wish to know, dear Eusebius, who was the Judas that 
 betrayed our dearest brother and Christ's chosen 
 minister. There are different reports, but the most 
 probable is that which fixes the treachery on Su-D6i, 
 a pagan, related to the widow with whom the missioner 
 Jodged. 
 
 "The chief, having carried off the prisoners safely 
 to his own home, made a great feast of rejoicing, after 
 which he drove our dear missioner into a cage of 
 bamboo, and put a 'cangue' on the neck of the cate- 
 chist. Thus he took them to the prefecture. He 
 stated that, when patrolling with his junks, he had 
 come on these two men outside the jurisdiction of 
 Ke-Beo, and had hastened to bring them before the 
 mandarin. He said this because he looked for a large 
 reward, and also because the chief of Ke-Beo was his 
 own son-in-law, who would either share the booty or 
 lose his place. But his ruse did not answer, for every 
 one knew that the missioner was seized at Ke-Beo; 
 and as a consequence that village was heavily fined 
 and had to pay more than eight hundred bars of 
 silver, of which our poor community bore half. From 
 his cage, Fr. Venard penned the following letter, 
 which I enclose with this one: 
 
 " 'T 
 
 'December 3, 1860. 
 " 'My dearest People, — God in His mercy has per- 
 mitted me to fall into the hands of the wicked. On 
 the Feast of St. Andrew I was put in a square cage 
 and carried to the prefecture, whence I trace these 
 few lines for you, with some difficulty, by the aid of 
 a paint-brush. To-morrow, December 4th, I am to 
 appear before the judge. God knows what awaits 
 
176 A Modern Martyr 
 
 me, but I do not fear. The grace of the Most High 
 will be with me, and my Mother Mary will protect her 
 poor little servant. I hope I shall be allowed writing 
 materials; but I profit by this occasion, which a good 
 pagan has given me, to send you love from my prison. 
 The people of the household of the sub-prefect are 
 full of kindness and attentions toward me, so I suffer 
 very little. They come and visit me continually and 
 allow me to speak freely. I take advantage of the 
 opportunity to instruct them in the Christian faith. 
 Many have owned to me their entire belief in our 
 Creed, and say that the religion of Jesus Christ is 
 the only one conformable to reason, and that if it were 
 not for fear of the king and his terrible edicts they 
 would gladly become Christians. 
 
 " 'Well, here I am in the arena of the Confessors 
 for the Faith. Certainly God chooses the poor and 
 weak things of this world to confound the mighty ! I 
 have confidence that the news of my fight will be 
 equally that of my victory, for I do not lean on my 
 own strength, but on the strength of Him who has 
 overcome the powers of death and hell. I think of 
 you all, my dearest father, my beloved sister, and 
 brothers ; and if I obtain the grace of martyrdom, oh, 
 then still more shall I have you in remembrance! 
 Adieu, my best loved ones, till our meeting in Heaven ! 
 In a moment I shall be adorned with the confessor's 
 chains. Once more, adieu !' " 
 
 "The mandarin," wrote Bishop Theurel at this trying 
 time, "was far from pleased at the arrival of the pris- 
 oners. Like Pilate, he protested loudly against 
 taking innocent blood, and declared that the sin and 
 the odium would fall on the heads of the captors, that 
 for himself he kept the prisoners only because he did 
 not dare to let them go. He was most civil to Fr. 
 
Theophane Venard 177 
 
 Venard, and changed his bamboo cage for a far 
 more comfortable one of wood, higher and wider, so 
 that the prisoner could put himself in any position he 
 pleased. He also had a very light chain made for 
 him, weighing only two pounds and a half; and this 
 valued chain is now in my possession; our dear 
 prisoner wore no other till his death. The prefect 
 carried his condescension to the length of asking the 
 missioner to dine in the audience chamber like a 
 free man. After this a detachment of fifty or a 
 hundred soldiers arrived to escort the prisoners to the 
 capital, and the prefect sent with them a long letter 
 explaining the circumstances of their arrest by the 
 chief Do, who formed part of the convoy." 
 
 Arrived at the capital, Fr. Venard found means to 
 write again to his family. We give this letter in full : 
 
 "January 2, 1861. 
 "My dearest Father, Sister, and Brothers, — -I 
 write to you at the beginning of this year, which will 
 be my last on earth. I hope you got the little note 
 which I wrote announcing my capture on the Feast 
 of St. Andrew. God permitted me to be betrayed by 
 a traitor, but I owe him no grudge. From that village 
 I sent you a few lines of farewell before I had the 
 criminal's chain fastened on my feet and neck. I 
 have kissed that chain, a true link which binds me to 
 Jesus and Mary, and which I would not exchange 
 for its weight in gold. The mandarin had the kindness 
 to have a light one made for me, and treated me, 
 during my stay in his prefecture, with every possible 
 consideration. His brother came at least ten times 
 and tried to persuade me to trample the Cross under 
 foot. He did not want to see me die so young! 
 12 
 
178 A Modern Martyr 
 
 When I left the prefecture to go on to the capital, 
 an immense crowd came to witness my departure; 
 in spite of the guards and the mandarins, one man, 
 a young Christian, was not afraid to throw himself 
 on his knees three times before my cage, imploring 
 my blessing, and declaring me to be a messenger 
 sent from Heaven. He was of course made prisoner. 
 
 "After a couple of days I arrived at Kecho, the 
 ancient capital of the kings of Tong-king. Can you 
 fancy me sitting quietly in the centre of my wooden 
 cage, borne by eight soldiers, in the midst of an 
 innumerable crowd of people, who almost barred the 
 passage of the troops. I heard some of them saying, 
 'What a pretty boy that European is !' 'He is gay and 
 bright, as if he were going to a feast!' 'He doesn't 
 look a bit afraid !' 'Certainly he can't have done any- 
 thing wrong!' 'He came to our country to do us 
 good and yet they will put him to death!' etc., etc. 
 We entered the citadel by the eastern gate and I was 
 brought at once before the tribunal of the judge 
 of criminal cases. My catechist Khang, bearing his 
 terrible yoke, walked behind my cage. I prayed 
 God's Holy Spirit to strengthen us both and to speak 
 by our mouths according to our Savior's promise; 
 and I invoked the Queen of Martyrs and begged her 
 to help her faithful child. 
 
 "To begin with, the judge gave me a cup of tea, 
 which I drank without ceremony in my cage. Then 
 he commenced the usual interrogatory: 
 
 " 'Whence do you come ?' 'I am from the Great 
 West, from the country of France.' 
 
 " 'What have you come to do in Annam ?' 'I have 
 come to preach the true religion to those who know 
 it not,' 
 
Theophane Venard 179 
 
 "'What is your age?' 'Thirty-one.' The judge 
 here said aside, with an accent of pity, 'Poor fellow! 
 he is still very young!' Then he continued, 'Who 
 sent you here?' 'Neither the king nor the mandarins 
 of France; but I myself, of my own accord, came to 
 preach the Gospel to the heathen, and my superiors 
 in religion assigned Annam to me as my district.' 
 
 " 'Do you know the bishop called, in the Annamite 
 language, Lieowf (Bishop Retord.) 'Yes, I know 
 him.' 
 
 " 'Why did he give letters of recommendation to 
 the rebel chiefs to enroll the Christians?' 
 
 "I ventured to ask the mandarin in reply, 'From 
 what source did you derive that information?' 
 
 " 'The prefect of Nam-Digne wrote us word of it.' 
 
 " 'Well, then, I can bear witness that it is not true. 
 The Bishop was too wise to commit so foolish an act, 
 and if letters were produced to prove it, I should 
 know that they were false. I saw the circular which 
 Bishop Lieow addressed to his priests, in which he 
 positively forbade their joining the rebel chiefs and 
 declared that he would a thousand times sooner sac- 
 rifice his life than dip his crozier in blood.' 
 
 " 'And the warriors of Europe, who took Touranne 
 and Saigon, — who sent them? What was their object 
 in making war on our country?' 
 
 " 'Mandarin — I heard the rumors of war ; but 
 having no communication with these European troops, 
 I cannot answer your question.' 
 
 "At this part of the interrogatory the prefect ar- 
 rived, and he had hardly taken his seat when he cried 
 out to me, in a loud and angry voice, — 
 
 " 'Ah ! you chief of the Christian religion, you have 
 a clever countenance, you know very well that the 
 Annamite laws forbid entrance into the kingdom to 
 
180 A Modern Martyr 
 
 Europeans; what was the use, then, of coming here 
 to be killed? It is you who have excited the Euro- 
 peans to make war upon us, is it not? Speak the 
 truth, or I will put you to the torture.' 
 
 " 'Great mandarin, you ask me two questions. To 
 the first I reply that I am sent as an ambassador from 
 Heaven to preach the true religion to those who scorn 
 it not, no matter in what kingdom, or in what place. 
 We respect the authority of kings on the earth, but we 
 respect more the authority of the King of Heaven. To 
 your second question I answer that I never in any 
 way invited or excited the Europeans to make war 
 on the Annamite kingdom.' 
 
 " 'In that case will you tell them to go ? And you 
 will then obtain your pardon.' 
 
 " 'Great mandarin ! I have no power and no au- 
 thority in such matters, but if His Majesty sends me 
 I will beg the European warriors to abstain from 
 making war on the Annamites ; and if I do not succeed, 
 I will return here to suffer death.' 
 
 " 'You do not fear death, then ?' 
 
 " 'Great mandarin ! I do not fear death. I have 
 come here to preach the true religion. I am guilty of 
 no crime which deserves death. But if the Anna- 
 mites kill me, I shall shed my blood with great joy 
 for them.' 
 
 " 'Have you any spite or ill-will against the man 
 who betrayed and took you prisoner?' 
 
 " 'None at all. The Christian religion forbids us 
 to entertain anger, and teaches us to love those who 
 hate us.' 
 
 " 'Chief of the Christian religion ! You must de- 
 clare the names of all the places and people that have 
 sheltered you up to this hour.' 
 
 " 'Great mandarin ! They call you the father and 
 
Theophane Venard 181 
 
 mother of this people. If I were to make such a 
 declaration it would involve a large number of persons 
 in untold misery. Judge for yourself whether it 
 would become me to do this or not.' 
 
 " 'Trample the Cross under foot, then, and you shall 
 not be put to death.' 
 
 " 'How ! I have preached the religion of the 
 Cross all my life until this day, and do you expect 
 me to abjure it now? I do not esteem so highly the 
 pleasures of this life as to be willing to buy the 
 preservation of it by apostasy.' 
 
 " 'If death has such a charm in your eyes, why did 
 you hide yourself when there was fear of your being 
 taken?' 
 
 " 'Great mandarin ! Our religion forbids us to 
 presume on our strength, and to deliver ourselves to 
 the persecutors. But Heaven having permitted my 
 arrest, I have confidence in God that He will give me 
 sufficient courage to suffer all torture and be con- 
 stant unto death.' 
 
 "This is a summary of the questions asked me, and 
 of my answers. The mandarins then proceeded to 
 question my catechist and inflicted ten strokes of the 
 knout upon him. He bore them without flinching, 
 God giving him strength all the while gloriously to 
 confess the faith. 
 
 "Since that day I have been placed in my cage at 
 the door of the prefect's house, guarded by a 
 company of Cochin-Chinese soldiers. A great many 
 persons of rank have come to visit me and converse 
 with me. They will have it that I am a doctor, 
 an astronomer, a diviner, a prophet, from whom 
 nothing is hid. Several visitors have begged me to 
 tell their fortunes. Then they question me about 
 Europe, about France, in fact, about the whole world. 
 
182 A Modern Martyr 
 
 This gives me an opportunity to enlighten them a 
 little on points about which they are supremely ig- 
 norant, and on which they have sometimes the most 
 comical ideas. I try above everything to slip in a 
 little serious word now and then so as to teach 
 them the way of salvation. But the Annamites are 
 a frivolous race, and don't like serious subjects; 
 still less will they treat on philosophy or religion. On 
 the other hand, their heart is good, and they do 
 their best to show me both interest and sympathy. 
 My soldier guards have an affection for me, and 
 though they have been blamed two or three times 
 for letting me go out, they still open my cage from 
 time to time, and allow me to take a little walk. . . . 
 Sometimes their conversation is not very proper, 
 but I never let pass words of that sort; and I do 
 not hesitate to speak to them strongly. I tell them 
 that they lower themselves in the eyes of everyone 
 by :mpure thoughts and libertine discourses ; and that 
 if th->y can talk in that way without blushing, they 
 deserve nothing but pity, not to say contempt. My 
 lessons make an impression. They are far more care- 
 ful in their language now, and some have gone to the 
 length of begging my pardon for having made use of 
 indelicate expressions. Still I cannot say that every- 
 thing is sweet and pleasant; although many are kind 
 to me, some insult and mock me, and use rough 
 language to me. May God forgive them! 
 
 "I am now only waiting patiently for the day when 
 God will allow me to offer Him the sacrifice of my 
 blood. I do not regret leaving this world; my soul 
 thirsts for the waters of eternal life. My exile is 
 over. I touch the soil of my real country; earth 
 vanishes. Heaven opens, I go to God. Adieu, dearest 
 father, sister, brothers, do not mourn for me, do 
 
Theophane Venard 183 
 
 not weep for me, live the years that are yet left 
 to you on earth in unity and love. Practice your 
 religion; keep pure from all sin. We shall meet 
 again in Heaven, and shall enjoy true happiness in 
 the kingdom of God. Adieu. I should like to write 
 to each one separately but I cannot, and you know 
 my heart. It is three long, weary years since I have 
 heard from you, and I know not who is taken or 
 who is left. Adieu. The prisoner of Jesus Christ 
 salutes you. In a very short time the sacrifice will 
 be consummated. May God have you always in His 
 holy keeping. Amen." 
 
 Fr. Venard's particular friend, Bishop Theurel, took 
 charge of this letter, and added, "The sentence of 
 our dearest Theophane has been pronounced. He is 
 to be beheaded, but the execution will probably be 
 delayed till the middle of February. In the meantime 
 he wants for nothing. And though in chains, he is 
 as gay in his cage as a little bird. 
 
 "As I was the nearest missioner to Kecho, being 
 only one day's march from the capital, I was naturally 
 able to write to him three or four times. Bishop 
 Jeantet and Fr. Saiget wrote likewise; and our dear 
 prisoner was able to answer us pretty regularly. Our 
 medium of communication was a native Christian, the 
 head of the patrol, a man true as steel, named Huong- 
 Moi, whose house had been my refuge for two 
 months and who had mingled with the troop of ser- 
 vants at the prefecture, and obtained his present post 
 out of devotion to our sufferer. On the 38th of 
 December, Theophane wrote, — 
 
 " 'The mandarins wrote four days ago to announce 
 my capture to the king, but no answer has yet been 
 
184 A Modern Martyr 
 
 received. They made me sign a written declaration of 
 the circumstances of my arrest, countersigned by my 
 catechist Khang. I have taken care that it shall com- 
 promise no one. I am pretty well treated, and some 
 of the Cochin-Chinese soldiers are noble fellows. But 
 as I am kept at the door of the prefecture, I write 
 with difficulty. The great mandarin allows three- 
 pence a day for my food and I am in fairly good 
 health. My heart is as tranquil as a lake which re- 
 flects the blue sky and I have no fear. The mandarin 
 of Nam-Xang, who spends his life tormenting the 
 Christians, came to see me the other day, and I told 
 him that "Jesus was stronger than he; that it was in 
 vain he struggled with our Lord, and that he would 
 have to yield to His power in the end." The gaoler 
 Tu, who seized four priests in 1859, asked after you. 
 I told him publicly that "his was a vile trade; and 
 that his diploma as mandarin of the ninth class> the 
 price of treachery and blood, would fade as a wild- 
 flower in the Spring." At this the mandarin, judge, 
 and all the guards laughed and applauded. I think 
 they like and respect me, and the great mandarin has 
 twice invited me to dinner.' 
 
 "On the 3rd of January he wrote again: 'I have 
 received your loving letter. A thousand thanks! I 
 profit by the absence of the great mandarin to answer. 
 He used to allow threepence for my food, but now he 
 has stopped it. So I should have gone supperless to 
 bed to-day if the chief Mai, who is also in prison, 
 had not sent me a bowl of rice. The new mandarin 
 of justice came to see me yesterday and put me 
 through a fresh interrogation. When he said that 
 the happiness of the next world was doubtful, while 
 the joys of the present were certain and positive, I 
 replied, 'As for me, great mandarin, I find nothing 
 
Theophane Venard 185 
 
 on earth which gives real happiness; riches create 
 envy and bring cares ; sensual pleasures engender end- 
 less maladies. My heart is too large, and nothing 
 which you call happiness in this world satisfies it.' 
 On the whole, he was not uncivil. As he said that he 
 had given orders to have me well treated, I replied 
 that I had nothing to eat. He pretended not to un- 
 derstand me. So to-morrow the captain of the guard 
 says that he will go and renew the demand. In 
 spite of his fine speeches, this mandarin has doubled 
 my guard, and sends some one constantly to see if 
 my cage is closed. Among the gaolers is an excellent 
 fellow named Tien, who shows me the most affection- 
 ate respect. He alone, with one of the captains, is 
 not afraid, in addressing me, to make use of the ex- 
 pression "Bam lay" — a term of reverence used only 
 to address mandarins or persons of high position. 
 On New Year's Day the captain of the guard brought 
 me a cup of first-class tea, and as the gaoler Tien was 
 passing at the time, I invited him to share it with me, 
 which he did with a delicacy and a simplicity which 
 only the heart could teach, and which hypocrisy could 
 not counterfeit. But my letter runs on without a word 
 as to my feelings. I wrote a long letter to my family 
 on very bad paper, which I hope you received and will 
 kindly forward to them, filling up the details which 
 may be wanting. Ah ! I am now come to the hour so 
 much desired by us all. It is no longer, as in the 
 "Hymn of Departure," "Perhaps some day," but 
 "Very soon all the blood in my veins 
 
 Will be shed for Thee. My feet — oh, what joy ! — 
 Are now loaded with chains." 
 
 " 'In the long, weary hours in my cage I think of 
 
186 A Modeifn Martyr 
 
 eternity. Time is, after all, so short when thus meas- 
 ured. You will repeat the words of St. Martin, 
 "Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sum necessarius, non 
 recuso laborem;"-^ while I can exclaim with St. Paul, 
 "Jam delihor; et tempus resolutionis meae instat; 
 (tibi) vivere Christus est, mihi mori lucrum. O! quam 
 gloriosum est regnum in quo cum Christo gaudent 
 omnes sancti. . . . Audivi vocem . . . Beati mortui 
 . . . "X These are words which, in spite of the per- 
 secution, we never failed to sing on All Saints' and 
 All Souls' Day, and which always touched us to 
 tears. I do not know if I shall ever be allowed to 
 write to you again. Good-bye! I should have been 
 very happy to have gone on working with you. I do 
 so love this Tong-king mission ! But now, in place of 
 the sweat of my brow, I give it my blood. The 
 sword hangs over my head but I have no fears. Our 
 good Grod has taken pity on my weakness and filled 
 me with Himself so that I am happy, and even joy- 
 ous. From time to time I astonish the mandarin's 
 household by singing, — 
 
 "O beloved Mother, 
 
 Place me 
 Soon in our true home 
 Near Thee! 
 Noble Tong-king! land blessed by God! 
 
 Thou glorious country of the heroes of faith ! 
 I came to serve thee. I gladly die for thee. 
 So be it, O Lord. Amen." 
 
 to Lord, if I am still needful to Thy people, I will not refuse to labor. 
 
 tl go now; the time of my dissolution is at hand. (For yon) to live 
 is Christ ; for me to die is gain. O, how glorious is the kingdom 
 in which all the saints rejoice with Christ. . . I heard a voice , . . 
 Blessed are the dead , . . 
 
Theophane Venard 187 
 
 " 'When my head falls under the axe of the execu- 
 tiojaer, receive it, O loving Jesus! O Immaculate 
 Mother! as the bunch of ripe grapes which falls 
 under the scissors, as the full-blown rose which has 
 been gathered in your honor. Ave Maria! I will 
 say this also from you. Ave Maria!' (I had begged 
 him with earnestness to salute Mary for me on his 
 arrival in Paradise.) 
 
 " 'I should be very grateful if you could manage 
 to send some remembrance of me to my family. My 
 chalice was a family parting souvenir; if my 
 brother Eusebius could have it, he would be in the 
 seventh heaven of delight. . . Oh, how glorious 
 must be the kingdom in which the Saints rejoice with 
 Jesus Christ our Lord ! I heard a voice from Heaven 
 saying, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." ' 
 
 "By this letter, written by your brother on the 3rd 
 of January," continues Bishop Theurel, "you see that 
 the mandarins had ceased to feed the prisoner of 
 Jesus Christ. This was what we expected; so we 
 directly employed a Christian widow, named Nghien, 
 who happened to be a sister of the great mandarin's 
 cook, to provide all that was necessary for him; and 
 in that way we could have more frequent communi- 
 cations. On the 6th of January he wrote again : — 
 
 " 'I have just received your good wishes for the 
 new year. Thanks! Yes; for once I have indeed a 
 lucky chance. I ought to have sent you my affection- 
 ate wishes sooner but you will forgive the delay. A 
 happy new year to my dear, reverend Bishop ! Peace 
 and labor, and then an eternal repose in the bosom 
 of the Saviour! . . During the absence of the man- 
 darin prefect, his wife, a young girl from Kecho, re- 
 cently married, came to pay me a visit; but when she 
 saw me come out of my cage, she ran away like a 
 
188 A Modern Martyr 
 
 child! I sent for her, and called her back as gently 
 as I could ; but when she did return she was so fright- 
 ened that she could not open her mouth. Monseig- 
 neur, you must work at this — at the education of 
 woman, to raise her from her present servile position, 
 to establish schools for young girls, to teach them 
 the beauty and grandeur of Christian womanhood. . . 
 Let us say together once more, "Tuus totus ego 
 sum, et omnia mea tua sunt." 'f 
 
 "Just at this time, in the prison of Kecho, was 
 an Annamite priest, named Khoan, who is there 
 still. I was hoping that Theophane might be allowed 
 to see him; but as their meeting seemed impossible, I 
 sent the good Father Tinh, vicar of the parish of 
 Kecho, to comfort our dear prisoner. Huong Moi, 
 that faithful head of the patrol whom I have before 
 mentioned, undertook to introduce him into the man- 
 darin's palace, and even to the cage of Fr. Venard. 
 The meeting took place on the 15th of January, in 
 presence of the guards and of a whole crowd of 
 people, the suite of the mandarins, who filled the hall. 
 Your brother, pretending not to recognize Father 
 Tinh, asked the chief of the patrol, 'Who is the gen- 
 tleman that came in with you just now?' 'It is the 
 thay-ca,' replied Huong Moi. (This expression sig- 
 nifies either a priest or the head of a family.) Poor 
 Father Tinh felt his heart sink into his shoes at this 
 word. But Huong Moi, who laughed at danger, 
 made jokes with the people around^ so as to hide the 
 confusion of the priest and divert the people's atten- 
 tion. Fr. Venard, being formally introduced as to a 
 stranger, was let out of his cage, and allowed to walk 
 in the garden, where he instantly made his confession, 
 
 tl va all Thine, and all that belongs to me is Thine. 
 
Theophane Venard 189 
 
 none of the guards having followed him. When Fr. 
 Venard came back to his cage, Huong Moi made a 
 fresh and a successful effort to amuse the assistants, 
 during which time Father Tinh approached the cage, 
 as if for the purpose of examining it, and said a few 
 words in a low voice to Fr. Venard, giving him abso- 
 lution. Then he walked quietly away. Your poor 
 brother gave them all some tea afterwards, and took 
 leave of Father Tinh. The latter had. brought the 
 Blessed Sacrament, and left It with the devout widow 
 of whom I have spoken. She carried It to Fr. Venard 
 in the evening, concealed in some bread. He there- 
 fore could enjoy the presence of our dear Lord till 
 midnight, after which he communicated. In a letter 
 to Bishop Jeantet, written on the 20th of January, 
 Theophane says with emotion, — 
 
 " 'Father Tinh will tell you of his visit, when I 
 gave him some tea in the midst of all the crowd. He 
 brought me, on the other hand, the Bread of the trav- 
 eller, — "Mi Jesus, Deus meus,"'\ in my cage ! Think 
 of that!' Then he goes on to say, T have not re- 
 ceived a single stroke of the knout. I have had 
 very little insult, and much sympathy; no one here 
 wishes me to die. The people of the household of the 
 great mandarin are kindness itself to me. I have suf- 
 fered nothing in comparison with my brethren. I 
 have only to lay my head quietly on the block, under 
 the axe of the executioner, and at once I shall find 
 myself in the presence of Our Lord, saying, "Here am 
 I, O Lord! Thy little martyr!" I shall present my 
 
 tMy Jesus, my God. 
 
190 A Modem Martyr 
 
 palm to Our Lady, and say, "Hail, Mary ! my Mother 
 and my Mistress, all hail !" And I shall take my place 
 in the ranks of the thousands killed for the holy name 
 of Jesus; and I shall intone the eternal Hosanna! 
 Amen.' 
 
 "I enclose the last letters, written to you all, which 
 are of the same date as mine. It is impossible, I 
 think, for any one to read them unmoved." 
 
 "J. M. J.t 
 
 "From my Cage, Kecho, 
 "January 20, 1861. 
 "My dearest, much honored, and much 
 LOVED Father, — ^As my sentence is still delayed, I 
 will send you one more word of farewell, which will 
 probably be the last. These last days in my prison 
 pass quietly; all who surround me are civil and re- 
 spectful and a good many love me. From the great 
 mandarin down to the humblest private soldier, every 
 one regrets that the laws of the country condemn me 
 to death. I have not been put to the torture like my 
 brethren. A slight sabre-cut will separate my head 
 from my body, like the spring flower which the Master 
 of the Garden gathers for His pleasure. We are 
 all flowers planted on this earth, which God plucks 
 in His own good time, some a little sooner, some a 
 little later. One is as the blushing rose, another the 
 virginal lily, a third the humble violet. Let us each 
 strive to please Our Sovereign Lord and Master ac- 
 cording to the gift and the sweetness which He has 
 bestowed upon us. I wish you, my dearest father, a 
 
 tjesus, Mary, Joseph. 
 
Theophane Venard 191 
 
 long, happy, and peaceful old age, and that you may 
 bear the cross of life with Jesus unto the Calvary of 
 a happy death. Father and son, may we meet in 
 paradise. I, poor little moth, go first. Adieu ! 
 "Your devoted and dutiful son, 
 "Theophane Venard, Missionary Apostolic," 
 
 "J- M. J. 
 "From my Cage, in Tong-king, 
 
 "January 20, 1861. 
 
 "My dearest Sister, — ^I wrote, some days ago, a 
 general letter to the family, which I hope has reached 
 you, and in which I gave all the details of my capture 
 and interrogatory. Now, as my last hour is approach- 
 ing, I want to send you, my darling sister and friend, 
 a special word of love and farewell. For our hearts 
 have been one from our childhood. You have never 
 had a secret from me, nor I from you. When, as a 
 school-boy, I used to leave home for college, it was 
 my little Melanie who prepared my box, and softened 
 with her tender words the pain of parting. It was 
 you who shared in the sorrows and joys of my col- 
 lege life; it was you who strengthened my vocation 
 for the foreign missions. It was with you, dearest 
 Melanie, that I passed that solemn night of the 26th 
 of February, 1851, which was our last meeting upon 
 earth, and which we spent in a conversation so full 
 of intimate thoughts and feelings of sympathy and 
 holy hope, that it reminded me of the farewell of St. 
 Benedict and St. Scholastica. 
 
 "And when I crossed the seas, and came to water 
 with sweat and blood this Annamite country, your 
 
192 A Modern Martyr 
 
 letters were my strength, my joy, and my consola- 
 tion. It is then only fair that, in this last hour, your 
 brother should think of you, and send to you a few 
 final words of love and never-dying remembrance. 
 ... It is midnight. Around my wooden cage I see 
 nothing but banners and long sabres. In one corner 
 of the hall, where my cage is placed, a group of 
 soldiers are playing at cards; another group at 
 'draughts.' From time to time the sentries strike 
 the hours of night on their drums or 'tom-toms.' 
 About two feet from my cage, a feeble oil-lamp throws 
 a vacillating light on this sheet of Chinese paper and 
 enables me to trace these few lines. 
 
 "From day to day I expect my sentence. Perhaps 
 to-morrow I shall be led to execution. Happy death, 
 which conducts me to the portals of eternal life! 
 According to all human probability, I shall be be- 
 headed, — a glorious shame, of which Heaven will be 
 the price! At this news, darling sister, you will shed 
 tears, — ^but they should be of joy! Think of your 
 brother, wearing the aureole of the martyrs, and 
 bearing in his hand the palm of victory! Only a few 
 short hours, and my soul will quit this earth, will 
 finish her exile, will have done with the fight. I 
 shall mount upwards and reach our own true home. 
 There, in that abode of God's elect, I shall see what 
 the eyes of man cannot imagine; hear harmonies 
 which his ear cannot dream of now ; enjoy a happiness 
 which it has never entered into his heart even to 
 conceive ! 
 
 "But before arriving at all this, the grain of wheat 
 must be ground, — the bunch of grapes must be trod- 
 den in the wine-press. May I become only pure bread 
 and wine, fit for the Master's use! I hope for this, 
 through the mercies of my Saviour and Redeemer, 
 
Theophane V6nard 193 
 
 through the protection of His Immaculate Mother. 
 So I venture, while still in the arena and in the midst 
 of the fight, to intone the hymn of triumph, as if I 
 were sure of victory. And you, my dearest sister, I 
 leave you in the field of virtues and good works. 
 Reap a great harvest of these for the eternal life 
 which awaits us both. Gather faith, hope, charity, 
 patience, gentleness, sweetness, perseverance, and a 
 holy death; and we shall be together, now and for- 
 evermore. Good-bye, my Melanie! Good-bye, my 
 loved sister! Adieu! Your devoted brother, 
 
 J. T. Venard, Missionary Apostolic." 
 
 "J. M. J. 
 
 "January 20, 1861. 
 "My Dearest Henry, — I must send you also a few 
 lines of brotherly love and farewell. You were very 
 young when we parted, and a stranger to the world 
 and its pleasures. Ah ! the heart of man is too large 
 to be satisfied with the deceptive and passing joys here 
 below, and I know you will not seek happiness where 
 it is not to be found. My dearest Henry, you are now 
 twenty-nine, the age of manhood. Be, then, a man. 
 Do not waste your life in the frivolities of the world. 
 To resist one's evil inclinations, to watch against the 
 snare of the Evil One, and to practise one's religion — 
 is to be really a man; not to do so, is to be less than 
 a man. I write these words to you at a solemn 
 moment. In a few hours — ^at most, in a few days — I 
 shall be put to death for the faith in Christ Jesus. 
 Yes, my own dear brother, I die with the conviction 
 that you will always love God, as you have loved 
 Him in your childhood. He is the God of your 
 fathers, the God of those who have given you life, 
 the God of your brothers and sister. He is the God 
 13 
 
194 A Modern Martyr 
 
 whom the greatest intellects humanity has ever known 
 have served, worshipped and adored. He is the great 
 and merciful God, the God who helps us to do right, 
 and keeps us from evil — the God who alone will 
 reward or punish us eternally. 
 
 "Read these words often; it is your best friend, 
 your poor brother Theophane, who has written them. 
 I leave to you the care of our dear father and sister. 
 Be a good son and a good brother; a good Christian, 
 in life and in death! Good-bye, dearest brother. 
 Come and meet me in Heaven. 
 "One who loves you, 
 "Theophane Venard, Missionary Apostolic.'' 
 
 "J. M. J. 
 
 "January 30, 1861. 
 "My much-loved one, — If I did not write you a 
 few lines for your very own self, you would be jeal- 
 ous, and, I admit, with reason. You deserve it, too, 
 for your many lengthy and interesting letters to me. 
 It is very long since I have heard from you now ; and 
 perhaps you are already a priest ? and — who knows ? — 
 perhaps a missioner? However that may be, by the 
 time you receive this letter your brother will be no 
 longer in this bad world, totus in maligna positus. He 
 will have left it for a better one, where you must 
 strive to rejoin him some day. Your brother's head 
 will have fallen, and every drop of his blood will have 
 been poured out for God. He will have died a martyr ! 
 That was the dream of my youth ! When, as a little 
 man nine years old, I took my pet goat to browse on 
 the slopes of Bel-Air, I used to devour the life and 
 the death of the Venerable Charles Cornay, and say 
 to myself, 'And I, too, will go to Tong-king. And I, 
 too, will be a martyr!' Oh, admirable thread of 
 
Theophane Venard 195 
 
 Divine Providence, which has guided me through 
 the labyrinth of this life to the very mission of Tong- 
 king and to martyrdom! Bless and praise our good 
 and merciful God with me, dearest Eusebius, for 
 having taken such care of his miserable little servant. 
 Attraxit me, miser ans meil\ 
 
 "Dear Eusebius, I have loved and still love these 
 Annamite people with an ardent affection. If God 
 had given me a long life, I would gladly have sacri- 
 ficed every moment of it, body and soul, to the build- 
 ing up of the Church in Tong-king. The people are 
 so good, so fervent, so loyal! If my health, feeble 
 as a reed, did not enable me to do great things, at 
 least I had my heart in the work. But man proposes, 
 and God disposes: life and death are in His hand. 
 'As for us, if He gives us life, let us live for Him; 
 if death, then let us die for Him. 
 
 "And for you, dearest little brother, still so young 
 in years, you will remain long after me, fighting 
 among the waves of this troublesome world. Guide 
 your ship well. Let prudence take the helm, humility 
 the rudder; let God be your compass, Mary your 
 anchor of hope. And then, in spite of the disgust 
 and bitterness which, like a howling sea, will some- 
 times overwhelin you, never be cast down. Have 
 confidence in God, and, like Noah's ark, swim always 
 
 above the waters My lamp gives no more 
 
 light. Good-bye, my Eusebius, until the day when 
 you come to rejoin me in Heaven. Your most 
 affectionate brother, 
 
 "J. T. Venard, Missionary Apostolic." 
 
 tHaving mercy on me. He has drawn me to Himself. 
 
196 A Modern Martyr 
 
 These letters were accompanied by a note from 
 Bishop Theurel, detailing the consummation of the 
 sacrifice, as follows: — 
 
 "The 1st of February, Fr. Venard wrote another 
 little message, which reached me only after his mar- 
 tyrdom. He said, — 
 
 " 'The days of my pilgrimage lengthen strangely. 
 The prefect is astonished that my sentence should be 
 so long delayed. All the despatches from the king 
 pass before my cage and each time one arrives I 
 ask if my sentence of death is come. Each time the 
 post-boy answers, 'No.' I hail every morning as the 
 dawn of eternity, but evening comes, and I am still 
 here. My reason and my heart announce to me daily 
 the approach of death, but sometimes I have pre- 
 sentiments that the answer will not be death; I try 
 to put this thought from me as a snare of the devil. 
 Still the suspense is trying. Adieu, dear and loved 
 Bishop. Will it be my last good-bye? — who knows? 
 May the will of God be done, and not mine !' 
 
 "This farewell was really to be the last. During the 
 night of February the 2nd the desired sentence ar- 
 rived at last; but Fr. Venard knew it not. At two 
 o'clock in the morning he breakfasted as usual and 
 was allowed to go into the garden. The widow 
 Nghien, having followed him stealthily, said in a low 
 voice, 'Father, you are to be executed to-day.' And 
 because your brother doubted, since he had been told 
 that he was to be taken to the king, she added, 'It is 
 quite certain. Already the elephants are ordered and 
 the soldiers are ready; in a few moments you will be 
 led to execution.' Fr. Venard hastily returned to his 
 cage to distribute his little effects among his friends. 
 At this moment an old lady named Xin arrived, 
 
Theophane Venard 197 
 
 bearing the Blessed Sacrament to the prisoner of 
 Jesus Christ. It was the fourth time that Father 
 Tinh had managed to convey to him the Bread of 
 Life. This pious lady, seeing that his moments were 
 counted, pressed through the crowd of soldiers to 
 the cage, and succeeded in putting into his hand the 
 tiny box which contained the Sacred Host. But it 
 was too bold a movement. No sooner had the poor 
 missioner received the treasure than the soldiers 
 threw themselves upon him, dragged the pyx from 
 him by main force, and gave it to their captain. Fr. 
 Venard^ forgetting everything in his terror lest the 
 Body of our Lord should be profaned, cried out to 
 the widow Nghien, 'They have taken away my Viat- 
 icum!' The courageous widow ran to the captain who 
 carried the box and told him that this mysterious 
 wafer was not, as he imagined, a poison to accelerate 
 death and to anticipate the ends of justice, but a food 
 for the passage from this life to another, and she 
 added, in a tone of conviction, 'If you venture to touch 
 this Viaticum, you and all your family will die 
 suddenly.' 
 
 "The captain, not knowing what to think of it all, 
 timidly gave back the box to the widow, who, on 
 account of the tumult, could not pass it to Fr. Venard. 
 She returned the pyx therefore to Mdlle. Xin, who 
 sorrowfully, though safely, took it back to Father 
 Tinh. 
 
 "In the meantime, the mandarin had summoned the 
 missioner to hear his sentence and to be sent to exe- 
 cution. Fr. Venard had prepared for himself a special 
 dress for this day of his nuptials, a garment of white 
 cotton covered with a long robe of black silk. Having 
 put it on, he calmly appeared before the mandarins, 
 and when the sentence of his death had been pro- 
 
198 A Modern Martyr 
 
 nounced, he took up his parable, and made a little 
 speech. This was a formal declaration that he had 
 come to Tong-king only to teach the true religion, 
 and that he was going to die for the same cause. He 
 ended by saying to the judges, 'One day we shall 
 meet each other again, at the tribunal of God.' The 
 mandarin of justice rose hastily and exclaimed, 'I will 
 have no insolence !' The convoy was ordered to start 
 at once. It was composed of two elephants and two 
 hundred soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant colonel. 
 Fr. Venard began to sing Latin psalms and hymns as 
 the procession passed through the town. The place of 
 execution was about half an hour from the mandarin's 
 house, and when they had arrived, the soldiers formed 
 a great circle to keep back the crowd, which was 
 enormous; but the courageous widow Nghien broke 
 through the ranks and at last obtained permission to 
 remain with the missioner to the end. 
 
 "Fr. Venard, with a calm and even joyous coun- 
 tenance, looked all over the crowd, hoping to see 
 Father Tinh, and to receive a last absolution. But 
 this poor priest, not knowing that the order for exe- 
 cution had been given, could not arrive in time. Your 
 brother, having given his sandals to the faithful 
 widow, sat quietly on his mat. The soldiers took off 
 his chain, and with a hammer loosened the nails 
 which fastened the ring about his neck and ankles. 
 Then they pushed all, even the poor widow, outside 
 the circle. 
 
 "The executioner was a hideous hunchback, called 
 Tue, once a soldier, now a buffoon. He had already 
 decapitated four of our priests on the 25th of March, 
 1860, and had begged to be allowed to perform this 
 korrible office that he might have the martyr's clothes. 
 He began by asking of Fr. Venard, as of an ordinary 
 
Theophane Venard 199 
 
 criminal, what he would give him to be executed 
 promptly and well. The answer he received was, 'The 
 longer it lasts the better it will be.'' Seeing that the 
 missioner's clothes were new and clean, his whole 
 anxiety was to get them without any stains of blood. 
 He therefore begged his victim to strip; and, as this 
 first invitation remained unheeded, he added, with 
 barbarous ingenuity, 'You are to be lang-tri,' that is, 
 to have all the members cut off at the joints and the 
 trunk sawn into four parts. Our dear missioner, 
 either because he believed the lie, or because he wished 
 to experience more fully the humiliation of our 
 Saviour, who before His crucifixion bore similar 
 treatment, perhaps also because he was anxious to get 
 rid of the importunities of this vile hunchback, took 
 off all his clothes except his trousers. His elbows 
 were then tightly tied behind his back, forcing him to 
 hold up his head for the fatal stroke, and he was 
 fastened to a stake badly fixed in the ground. In this 
 position, at a given signal, Fr. Venard received the 
 first stroke — ^but it was simply a trial blow on the part 
 of the merciless executioner and did not enter the 
 flesh deeply. The next stroke, more vigorously 
 applied, cut the head nearly off, the stake and the 
 victim falling together. Then the executioner, finding 
 his sword blunt, took another, and hacked at the neck, 
 while indignant murmurs rose from the crowd. 
 
 "Finally, seizing the fallen head by the ear, he held 
 it up to the lieutenant colonel who presided at the 
 torture. This officer, having desired the municipal 
 authorities to keep watch for three days, during which 
 time the head was to be exposed, instantly sounded 
 the retreat and marched his troops back to their 
 quarters. All this time the poor widow Nghien and 
 many other women were bewailing as if at the death 
 
200 A Modern Martyr 
 
 of their first-born. No sooner had the troops left the 
 ground than these women and a crowd of sympa- 
 thizers precipitated themselves on the spot to soak 
 their handkerchiefs and papers in the martyr's blood; 
 and they showed such ardor that not a blade of grass 
 was left in the place. The execution had not occurred 
 in the usual spot. The great mandarin desired to 
 have the missioner decapitated on the edge of the 
 river, so that the head might be thrown into it with 
 greater ease after the exposition. For this reason 
 many of the curious, and likewise of the faithful, had 
 taken the wrong road, among the rest a good pagan 
 who had arranged for the burial of the body; hence, 
 although the execution was at eight in the morning, 
 at midday the body still remained extended on the 
 sand, covered with a mat. Then, a bier having been 
 brought down the stream, everything was prepared 
 for the interment. Besides the family of this faithful 
 pagan, named Huong-Da, the widow Nghien, who 
 had not left the remains for an instant, was present. 
 "The body was also guarded by a former Christian 
 mayor, named Ly-Vung, and a devout Catholic boat- 
 man from the southern district of Tong-king. The 
 latter had the delicacy to wrap the martyr's body in his 
 own coat, which he took off for that purpose. The 
 whole was afterwards enclosed in a cotton sheet, 
 tightly bound with three linen bands, and, placed in a 
 coffin, was buried only a foot deep so as to be the more 
 readily disinterred. The head had been put in a 
 little wooden box at the top of a pole. The mayor 
 Ly-Vung had a box made exactly similar, hoping to 
 substitute it for the other, and thus to get possession of 
 the precious relics. But it was found impossible to 
 cheat the vigilance of the guards. We had then to 
 resort to another expedient. The gaoler, charged with 
 
Theophane Venard 301 
 
 the care of the head, was promised a silver bar if he 
 would let us throw the head into the river in our own 
 way. This man, nothing loth, came at night on the 
 fourth day, to facilitate the matter. But God per- 
 mitted our plans to be upset by a little mandarin of 
 Balliage, a young wolf of twenty-three, whose only 
 idea of government was to devour his people, — ^his 
 royal blood enabling him to do this with impunity. 
 This man sent one of his household to superintend 
 the projection of the head into the water. Our old 
 friend, Huong-Moi, had fastened a fish-hook in the 
 ear, with two hundred yards of line and a floater, 
 and persuaded the mayor to throw all together into 
 the river, thinking that the float would enable us to 
 discover it easily on the morrow. But the frightened 
 mayor threw the head in without detaching the line 
 from the boat, and after pulling a few strokes, the 
 head . naturally following, at the alarm that the man- 
 darin was coming he shook the line violently, the 
 hook got loose, and the head sank to the bottom of 
 the stream. All our endeavors to recover it the next 
 day were in vain. But God managed it for us in 
 another way. On the 15th of February some pagan 
 friends of Ly-Vung, rowing down the stream, per- 
 ceived something floating on the water about four 
 leagues from the place of execution. They took it up 
 and found it to be our dear martyr's head. The good 
 mayor, Ly-Vung, hastened to take it to his house, and 
 sent for Father Tinh, who instantly recognized it. 
 They wrapped it carefully in a white silk bag and 
 placed it in a vase which they sealed with tar. When 
 the good priest sent me word of what had occurred, 
 I desired him to bring the head to me, and the precious 
 relic arrived on the 34th of February. I opened the 
 vase in the presence of five witnesses: the head was 
 
302 A Modern Martyr 
 
 incorrupt. I took the little white bag in which Ly- 
 Viing had enveloped it, and in which it had been for 
 nine days; from the right ear I took out the fish-hook 
 which Huong-Moi had fastened in it and which had 
 remained with about an inch of the line. It had 
 made a wide opening in the ear as by a violent 
 wrench. The condition of the flesh around the ear 
 showed how it had been hacked by the inhuman exe- 
 cutioner. I cut off some of the hair with my scissors, 
 keeping five or six locks for his family. I tearfully 
 turned this much-loved head in my hands, and finally 
 replaced it in its urn, and deposited it in a neighbor- 
 ing house at the earnest entreaty of the inhabitants, 
 finding it impossible at present to do with safety what 
 I had wished, namely, to reunite the head to the other 
 members. For this we must wait for a time of peace." 
 
 Bishop Jeantet, under the impression that the mar- 
 tyr's father was still alive, wrote to comfort him, de- 
 claring that Theophane, by his great merits, had well 
 deserved the martyr's palm and adding that the Blessed 
 Virgin, to whom he had ever been so tenderly devoted, 
 had thus glorified him in the eyes of the whole world. 
 
 Bishop Theurel added in conclusion: 
 
 "My dear friends, shall I say that we are rejoiced 
 or afflicted at your dear brother's glorious end? In 
 one sense we all rejoice at his triumph, blessing and 
 praising God for His choice; but for my own part, I 
 cannot help feeling deeply the separation which has 
 taken place. I am still quite young, being of the 
 same age as our dear Theophane ; our warm friendship 
 and entire conformity of views on all points, made him 
 a powerful auxiliary in all my labors, and a sharer in 
 all the cares and anxieties of the future. Your brother 
 was at least one-half of my strength and of my 
 courage. He had the greatest prudence and wisdom. 
 
Theophane Venard 203 
 
 united with a burning love and zeal. It seemed as if 
 he and I together could do great things in this Tong- 
 king vineyard; but alone, how shall I get on? His 
 departure has cast me down terribly and has upset all 
 my hopes and plans. I have cried for him bitterly, 
 and shall cry still more, whatever people may say ! I 
 have said that he had an immense zeal for souls ; also, 
 though his health was more delicate than that of any 
 other missioner in the diocese, he did more work than 
 anybody else, passing half the night, and sometimes 
 the whole day besides, in the confessional. His con- 
 fidence in God was boundless and made him bold al- 
 most to a fault in his undertakings. While he was 
 working so admirably at Ke-Beo in June, I wrote him 
 that he must take greater precautions, for the heavens 
 were big with clouds. He answered me with that 
 holy boldness which was one of his characteristics, 
 that not a hair of his head would fall unless by the 
 will of God. In truth, our Lord had determined the 
 hour of his martyrdom, and his happy fate was fore- 
 told him in 1851. 
 
 "He was a wonderful linguist and had completely 
 mastered the difficult Annamite dialect. He translated 
 the 'Concordantia Evangelica' of M. Migne into good 
 Annamite, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. He had 
 just completed the translation of the Epistles and of 
 the Apocalypse ; and was in the midst of an abridged 
 Commentary from that of Picquigny, when he was 
 arrested. These two last translations, of which no one 
 had a copy, have, to my great despair, been burned, 
 not by the chief who took him prisoner, but by the 
 Christians of Ke-Beo, whose fears had really troubled 
 their reason. Another of our Christian missions has 
 been more faithful to the memory of our dear brother. 
 I mean that of But-Dong, where he lived for eighteen 
 
204 A Modem Martyr 
 
 months with Fr. Saiget. This whole parish has been 
 for more than a year in open war with the mandarin, 
 Nam-Xang, whom your brother reproached so vehe- 
 mently from his cage. This functionary came himself 
 to But-Dong to force the people to trample the Cross 
 under foot; but the whole population having unani- 
 mously refused to apostatize, he was forced to yield 
 to the resistance of eighteen hundred men; and al- 
 though since then he has issued edict after edict, he has 
 done nothing but lose both his time and his trouble. 
 . . . Bishop Jeantet had expressed the wish that when 
 the time came for the re-establishment of the seminary, 
 Theophane would become Professor of Theology. 
 'I hoped so much,' writes His Grace, 'from his 
 wonderful piety, zeal, and science. But the Sovereign 
 Arbiter of all things has decided otherwise — "Fiat 
 voluntas tua." ' The faithful widow Nghien," con- 
 tinues Bishop Theurel, "brought back the clothes and 
 chain of our dear brother and handed everything 
 over to us. A little later we hope to send to Paris the 
 chain, the little bag, and the fishhook of which I have 
 spoken, together with the hair, one or two autograph 
 letters of the martyr, and the linen soaked with his 
 blood. 
 
 "The ring which went about the neck is wanting 
 to the chain, having been appropriated by the brother 
 of the mandarin, as was also one of the foot rings. 
 I will forward to you, my dear Eusebius, as well as to 
 M. Henry and Mdlle. Melanie, your portion of his 
 hair, and of the linen soaked with his blood. I do 
 not send these things to-day, as my parcel is already 
 too heavy; I must wait for the next time. A little 
 later I hope also to send you each some little remem- 
 brance chosen from among his effects. Bishop Jeantet 
 
Theophane Venard 305 
 
 and I — and I doubt not all our brethren — will consent 
 that his precious martyr's chalice shall pass into your 
 hands.* 
 
 "The catechist, Khang, who was seized with your 
 brother, was exiled into the province of H6ng-H6a, 
 which belongs to the Western Vicariate. But before 
 starting, he was allowed to go and venerate the head 
 of his spiritual father, which was still'exposed. This 
 was on the 4th of February. The chief of the canton. 
 Do, in addition to the recompense of thirty bars given 
 by the king, received four bars from the mandarin 
 prefect, and has been created a mandarin of the ninth 
 class. 
 
 "After the martyrdom of your dear brother, I 
 learned the news of your father's death. So I do 
 
 not address this letter to him, but to you all 
 
 'fBeati qui lavant stolas suas in sanguine Agnif" 
 
 (Note of the Family. — On the 25th of March, 1865, 
 Bishop Theurel wrote as follows on the subject of 
 the relics, to M. I'Abbe Eusebius Venard, curate of 
 the Cathedral at Poitiers: — "The whole of your dear 
 brother's body, except the head, arrived at Hong-Kong 
 on the 1st of March, and started for France by the 
 ship 'St. Vincent de Paul.' It will arrive at the end 
 of August or in the beginning of September, by 
 Nantes. With the body I have sent the chalice and 
 other precious remembrances." 
 
 "Under the same cover, Bishop Theurel, foreseeing 
 our impatience, sent us each a portion of the relics, 
 
 •The letters written from the cage by Theophane Venard to his family 
 were hanging on the wall of the guest room in the presbytery at 
 Assai, when the writer visited Fr. Eusebius. In one corner of this 
 room was a cabinet, a family heirloom, in which were kept the 
 martyr's chalice and many other relics and souvenirs. 
 
 tBlessed are they who wash their stoles in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
206 A Modern Martyr 
 
 contained in three little packets, sealed with the 
 episcopal seal, and marked with the following in- 
 scriptions, written in the Bishop's own hand : — Hair of 
 M, T, Venard, Linen imbued with his blood. Small 
 hones, cartilages, nails, etc")"^ 
 
 *The head of Theophane Venard is in Tong-king, an object of ardent 
 devotion to the native Christians. It was exposed for veneration while 
 the Beatification was taking place at Rome in 1909. Through the great 
 kindness of a bishop in Tong-king, a portion of the neek-bone is to-day 
 treasured in the American Foreign Mission Seminary at Maryknoll, 
 Ossining» New York. 
 
 The hair and linen referred to in the "note of the family" were at 
 Assai until the death of Fr. Eusebius in 1913. Little by little, how- 
 ever, he had disposed of a great part of these relics to clients of the 
 martyr, among others to the " Little Flower of Jesus," the young Car- 
 melite of Lisieux whose devotion to Blessed Theophane was one of her 
 dying consolations. 
 
 To satisfy his "importunate friend from America, whose letters 
 were like telegraphic dispatches," the good old priest was twice pre- 
 vailed upon to part with some small portion of these precious treasures, 
 although it must be confessed he did so grudgingly enough. 
 
 The chain worn during the martyr's captivity is in a cabinet devoted 
 to Theophane Venard in the Hall of Martyrs, at the Missions £tran- 
 geres, Paris. The body reposes in a crypt under the Seminary Chapel, 
 and is indicated by a tablet placed at the left side near the entrance. 
 
 The Mission House, known in Paris as the Missions fitrangeres, is 
 reached from the Rue du Bac, No. 128. The arched doorway, which, 
 it may be well to remember, faces the Bon Marche (a well-known de- 
 partment store) , is quite inconspicuous, since it is crowded between 
 commercial establishments, the Seminary itself, as well as the chapel, 
 being located away from the busy thoroughfare and behind these 
 buildings. 
 
 The Hall of Martyrs is not always open, and there is no inclination 
 on the part of the Seminary Directors to encourage the merely curious 
 visitor. To those who are interested in the mission cause, however, 
 and who, as such, would probably appreciate the priceless souvenirs of 
 modern martyrs, a welcome is always given, and every possible courtesy 
 extended, especially if they are strangers from afar. 
 
Theophane Venard 207 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 First Anniversary and Retrospect. 
 
 The official news of Theophane Venard's martyr- 
 dom did not arrive in France till the end of December, 
 1861, nearly eleven months after the event. The 
 Bishop of Poitiers at once resolved to hold a feast in 
 honor of one whom his hand had led into the sanc- 
 tuary, and who had become the glory of his diocese 
 by the heroic confession of faith and the shedding of 
 blood for Jesus Christ. 
 
 The feast was fixed for Sunday, the 2nd of Febru- 
 ary, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and the 
 anniversary of the martyrdom. The bishop came to 
 preside at the ceremony in the church of St. Loup, 
 the native parish of our hero. He was accompanied 
 not only by the members of his own chapter, but by 
 about a hundred priests, friends or companions of 
 Theophane, including the Abbe Dallet— who had been 
 compelled from bad health to return to France for a 
 few months — and the superior of the Seminary of 
 Foreign Missions at Paris. 
 
 After the Mass, the bishop preached with such fer- 
 vor and emotion that the whole audience was in tears. 
 Yet there was nothing sad about the festival. As a 
 priest who was present said, "In each martyr, grace 
 
208 A Modern Martyr 
 
 assumes a different character. In Theophane it was 
 an indomitable serenity, a joyous calm which nothing 
 could disturb. One may say of him as the English 
 do of one of their poets, 'He was born with a rose-bud 
 on his lips and a bird to sing in his ear;' so graceful 
 was his imagery, so melodious his words. His natural 
 sweetness spread a charm over everything and every 
 one with whom he came in contact. Even at the last 
 moment of his life he poured it out on those who 
 pressed around his cage, on the instrument of his tor- 
 ture, on the very earth which was to drink his blood. 
 We feel as if the fatal blow which severed that dear 
 and venerated head were only as the pressure which 
 separates from its stalk the fair flower that is to 
 adorn the altar." This joyous calm in the martyr's 
 character, so well known to his parents and towns- 
 people, had colored, the festival held in his honor. 
 Nothing spoke of death; but everything breathed 
 hope and life. 
 
 His father's house was decked with flowers that 
 day as for a marriage feast; and at the breakfast 
 given by his brothers, the room was hung with fes- 
 toons and garlands, the martyr's monogram being 
 twined with palm branches and crowns. 
 
 Mdlle. Melanie Venard assisted at the feast. She 
 had now followed her heart's desire, so often talked 
 over with her martyred brother, and had taken the 
 veil in the Convent of the Holy Family, under the 
 name of "Sister Theophane." 
 
 Towards the end of dinner, the Abbe Chauvin, 
 curate of St. Jacques de Chatellerault, read a hymn in 
 honor of the martyr, the graceful and tender poetry 
 of which provoked murmurs of approbation from the 
 bishop and all the assembled company. Between the 
 services, a large number of Theophane's old friends 
 
Theophane Venard 209 
 
 made a pilgrimage to the grassy hillsides of Bel-Air, 
 where the first inspiration for the foreign missions had 
 come into his childish heart. 
 
 The wax taper carried by the bishop on that occa- 
 sion was left, at his request, as a memorial in the 
 parish church, and by its side hangs in a square frame 
 an autograph letter of the martyr, written with a 
 paint brush in his cage. 
 
 And now that we have followed Theophane Venard 
 from his birth to his death, is our interest in him 
 entirely at an end? If our minds have been for a short 
 time turned from frivolous thoughts to the contem- 
 plation of a life so pure, so holy, so single-minded in 
 the dedication of all its gifts and powers to God, will 
 it not have some influence, some effect on our future 
 conduct ? 
 
 We feel confident that our Lord will not allow so 
 eminent an example to pass unheeded, and that already 
 this martyr's words have kindled in other souls a like 
 burning love and zeal for the conversion of the 
 heathen. Scarcely had Theophane Venard reached 
 Tong-king when his letters began to fire the ambition of 
 friends and companions, determining them to share 
 in his apostolic labors for the foreign missions. We 
 trust that on those who read this little book a like im- 
 pression may be made ; that if all cannot actually take 
 part in the missioner's life, they may at least help 
 others to do so by propagating the works of the for- 
 eign missions to the utmost of their power in the circle 
 of their own homes. 
 
 At the Congress of Malines a noted Catholic 
 orator, M. Augustin Cochin, after having pronounced 
 14 
 
310 A Modem Martyr 
 
 an eloquent discourse on the progress of science and 
 arts from the religious point of view, quoted a letter 
 of Theophane Venard to enforce his arguments, and 
 to induce the eminent men who listened to him to 
 join in a series of resolutions, of which the first was, 
 "To labor incessantly for the propagation of the faith 
 among the heathen." He went on to say, "I cannot 
 understand that any true Catholic should refuse to 
 work energetically for the maintenance of those model 
 men amongst us who go fortlj to regions where the 
 Gospel is unknown and seal the truth with their 
 blood. Their words breathe a faith and an ardent 
 charity of which their lives and their deaths are the 
 proof. . . . 
 
 "I was struck the other day by an unexpected coin- 
 cidence between the letters of two men to their sis- 
 ters, both delicate and sincere, both written in pres- 
 ence of the tomb, one by a brother to his sister who 
 is dead, the other to his sister by a brother about to 
 die. The former was from a man but too well known, 
 who, searching in his heart for what was purest and 
 best, could speak only of 'refined doubts,' 'delicate 
 questions,' 'tears mingled by the women of old with 
 the waves of Biblos,' 'the mysteries of Adonis,' .... 
 and thus he writes to her whom he calls his 'good 
 genius !' The other was written at midnight by a pris- 
 oner from his cage on the eve of martyrdom, on the 
 20th of January, only two years ago, at the very 
 moment, gentlemen, when some of us were probably 
 at a ball." ... He then read aloud the letter to 
 Melanie, and added, "Gentlemen, between these two 
 letters of Renan and Theophane Venard, between the 
 two doctrines which they inspire, between the two 
 states of mind which they reveal, my choice is made; 
 
Theophane Venard 211 
 
 gentlemen, I earnestly recommend to you the work of 
 the propagation of the faith!" 
 
 The whole Congress was moved by these eloquent 
 words ; and the letter, which M. Cochin termed "One 
 of the most beautiful pages in the History of the Mar- 
 tyrs of the Nineteenth Century," produced in the 
 hearts of his three thousand auditors an emotion which 
 bore immediate fruit, for the next day, the orator 
 received, among other offerings, without any signature 
 or sign of the donor, a bank note of one thousand 
 francs for the Foreign Mission Seminary. 
 
 Let us hope that this generous heart may find its 
 imitators; and that this humble biography, however 
 feebly executed, may move other Christian souls to 
 come forward and help in the great work. 
 
 Retrospect. 
 
 When the storm of persecution which marked the 
 death of Theophane Venard had spent itself, it was 
 found that, between the years 1857-1863, in the vari- 
 ous parts of Tong-king and Cochin-China, 117 foreign 
 priests were martyred. In addition to these, 115 
 Annamite priests — one third of the native clergy of 
 Annam — ^poured out their blood for Jesus Christ. 
 Eighty convents were destroyed and 2,000 Annamite 
 nuns dispersed, 100 of whom gave up their lives for 
 the faith. All of the colleges were closed and most 
 of the catechists and pupils arrested. The more 
 prominent among the native Christians, to the number 
 of about 10,000, were also put in prison. Of these, 
 more than 5,000 died for the faith, — some being de- 
 capitated after regular trial ; others burned in groups. 
 
212 A Modern Martyr 
 
 » 
 
 buried alive or drowned. In Tong-king, the man- 
 darins, foreseeing that liberty would soon be pro- 
 claimed, cut off completely the supply of food and 
 caused many to die of starvation. 
 
 A period of peace followed in Tong-king, with occa- 
 sional threatenings, until 1883, when Father Bechel 
 was beheaded with his catechists and his flock. The 
 royal council then considered a general massacre of 
 all Catholic priests and people. The king, Tu Due, 
 the same under whom Theophane Venard was sen- 
 tenced, opposed the movement. Shortly afterwards 
 he died, after a reign of thirty-five years, — a reign that 
 had been often criminal and always unhappy. 
 
 Another frightful massacre took place in 1885, 
 covering the whole region of Indo-China. In the mis- 
 sion of Tong-king 163 churches were burned, 4,799 
 Catholics were killed, and 1,181 died of hunger and 
 misery. 
 
 To-day France is in peaceful possession of Tong- 
 king and the great persecutions have ceased. The 
 following statistics, supplied from the latest report of 
 the Paris Seminary will be of interest to the reader, 
 who cannot fail to see here again exemplified the 
 well-known axiom of TertuUian, "Sanguis martyrum 
 semen Christianorum" — "The blood of martyrs is the 
 seed of Christians." 
 
 Tongking in 1922. 
 
 Catholics 856,765 
 
 Churches and chapels 3,162 
 
 Bishops 7 
 
 European priests 180 
 
 Native priests 622 
 
 Native catechists 1,795 
 
 Seminaries (major and preparatory) 11 
 
Theophane Venard 213 
 
 Students in seminaries 1,210 
 
 Religious communities of men 3 
 
 Entirely native, 
 
 Religious communities of women 4 
 
 Entirely native, 2 
 
 European religious 211 
 
 Brothers, 19 
 
 Sisters, 192 
 
 Native religious 1,323 
 
 Brothers, 3 
 
 Sisters, 1,320 
 
 Schools (catechism, primary, and higher) 1,857 
 
 Pupils, about 55,000 
 
 Orphanages and infant asylums 75 
 
 Children in same, about 8,000 
 
 Hospitals 53 
 
 Dispensaries and pharmacies 31 
 
 Leper asylums 8 
 
 Other refuges for infirm or destitute 5 
 
 The writer is now in occasional correspondence 
 with a young missioner whom he met at the Paris 
 Seminary and who has since been sent to Tong-king. 
 Some months after his arrival this young priest wrote : 
 
 "It is a little more than a year since I announced 
 to you my call to the priesthood and my approaching 
 departure for the missions. The mission chosen for 
 me is familiar to you through the life of Theophane 
 Venard, of whom we spoke so much during your stay 
 at the Missions fitrangeres, Paris." 
 
 "Well, I am in the mission where so many martyrs 
 have labored, — ^the mission of Tong-king. My joy, or 
 rather our joy (for there are two of us — Father De 
 Coomay and myself), was all the greater on our ar- 
 rival, because we had been a long time sighing for 
 the day. In fact, the voyage was not a very happy 
 one. In place of thirty days, — the usual passage, — it 
 
214 A Modem Martyr 
 
 took us forty-five days to get to Tong-king. We had 
 two accidents to the machinery during the trip, and 
 just as we were entering the Tong-king River our 
 boat struck on a hidden ledge. 
 
 "Happily the sea was calm and the day following 
 the shipwreck a boat came to rescue us. There were 
 no deaths to deplore, but a considerable portion of 
 our baggage is at the bottom of the sea. I lost nearly 
 all my books and many little souvenirs of home. 
 Father De Coomay was no more fortunate than I. 
 God evidently wished us to practise detachment from 
 the things of this world as soon as we arrived here. 
 We are thankful to have escaped, as the boat went to 
 pieces soon after we left it. 
 
 "On the boat were eight missioners; two for 
 Cochin-China, and six for the three missions of Tong- 
 king. I am in the mission of Maritime Tong-king, 
 with Father De Coomay for my companion. 
 
 "At Phat Diem, where the Bishop lives, I was 
 much pleased to meet Theophane Venard's catechist, 
 that is to say, the native who taught the language to 
 the martyr. He is very old and bears the signs of 
 his religion. These are the marks which the pagans 
 made on the countenances of Christians at the time 
 of persecution. The only occupation of the good old 
 man is to prepare himself for death. He is always 
 wrapped in silence, meditation and prayer. 
 
 "In this mission of Maritime Tong-king, there are 
 80,000 Christians. In the parish where I am, there are 
 more Christians than pagans, and they are fervent 
 Christians, too. 
 
 "On last Corpus Christ! we had a beautiful pro- 
 cession. The Christians had worked many days to 
 prepare a fitting passage, and with triumphal arches, 
 oriflammes, etc., nothing was wanting for the cere- 
 
Theophane Venard 215 
 
 mony. Then came numerous fireworks, for no event 
 can be solemnized here without fireworks. I have 
 been deeply moved by the faith of these Christians, 
 some of whom are descendants of the martyrs. They 
 recite the prayers with loud voices. Just now I am 
 studying the language. I have already preached 
 several times but I cannot yet converse fluently with the 
 natives. 
 
 "I recommend myself and my mission to your 
 prayers. With kindest regards, I am 
 
 "Most sincerely yours, 
 
 "Matthew Rocher, 
 "Missionary Apostolic, 
 
 "Phat Diem, Tong-king." 
 
 These lines have a familiar ring. They bring back 
 the earlier days of Theophane Venard, who after all 
 was only one of many, — a type which is being perpet- 
 uated in the Catholic Church. 
 
 A few years ago, Basil Huctin, a parishioner of 
 Eusebius Venard and one of three brothers all of 
 whom have devoted their lives to the foreign missions, 
 wrote to the editor a farewell letter on the eve of 
 his departure from France. The spirit which breathes 
 through these lines is the same as that which shines 
 with such lustre in the life of Theophane Venard. 
 
 "I know that you are interested in my future 
 mission and I am now able to announce it. 
 
 "The better part has been chosen for me. Coming 
 from the diocese of Poitiers, from the land of Theo- 
 phane Venard and Blessed Cornay, and as a parishioner 
 of Fr. Eusebius Venard, I am booked for Maritime 
 Tong-king. 
 
 "If I must regret not being able to assist in Paris 
 at the solemnity of Theophane's Beatification, I am 
 
216 A Modern Martyr 
 
 amply compensated by the opportunity which I shall 
 have to make a pilgrimage to the scene of his mar- 
 tyrdom, to venerate his head, which, you know, was 
 left at Tong-king, and then to celebrate Mass on the 
 day of the solemnity. 
 
 "Have I not reason to believe that I have drawn 
 the best lot of all? And may I not hope for the 
 powerful intercession of our dear martyr, to whom I 
 owe my sweet apostolic vocation and the special favor 
 of being sent to Tong-king? Am I presumptuous in 
 expecting his constant intercession, and if not the 
 crown of martyrdom, at least the crown of Heaven, 
 the reward promised to the conquerors. 
 
 "More than ever do I need fervent prayers, that I 
 may be a missioner such as were those of past 
 generations — who, worthy of martyrdom, have made 
 the Society and religion illustrious by the shedding of 
 their blood. Fifty years — sixty years, after these, 
 we come, their imitators, to gather the harvest on 
 the soil which they prepared, sowed and watered. 
 May we have fruit as abundant ! 
 
 "The mission to which I am assigned is a new 
 foundation, established in 1900. Out of two million 
 inhabitants there were 90,000 Catholics last year. The 
 thirty missioners on the ground baptized 8,263 pagan 
 infants and 1,371 adults, — a fine sheaf, is it not, to 
 present to the Father of the family? 
 
 "The extraordinary number of pagan infant bap- 
 tisms is due especially to an awful rice famine in 
 which numerous families perished from hunger. 
 
 "In conclusion, I beg your prayers, to spften the 
 grief of my family caused by separation. My beloved 
 father and mother are old. The day when they would 
 have realized their most precious dream — ^to see their 
 
Theophane Venard 217 
 
 children priests — ^will see them depart with no hope 
 of a reunion until we meet in Heaven. Their hearts 
 are already bruised by the departure of my brother 
 Alfred, who left on the 11th of September, and in two 
 weeks more, the sacrifice will be repeated. May God 
 give me strength and courage. 
 
 With sincere regards, I am, as ever. 
 Yours in Our Saviour and Mary Immaculate, 
 Basil Huctin, M. Ap., 
 of Maritime Tong-king." 
 
 "P. S. — I was with my family from Oct. 19th to 
 Nov. 1st. The good-bye is over, eight days ago. My 
 father and mother suffered keenly when I was going, 
 but they had accepted the sacrifice long before and 
 generously offered it to God for His glory, for their 
 own salvation and for the salvation of souls. May 
 the Blessed Virgin soften for them the grief of 
 separation. It is to her motherly protection that I 
 have confided them. I am simply waiting now for our 
 departure from Paris. 
 
 "Oh! how happy I am, and how proud to have 
 received this beautiful mission of Tong-king ! I could 
 not reasonably be otherwise when I consider the links 
 which bind me to Theophane through his venerable 
 brother. 
 
 "To give you an idea of the joy which filled the 
 soul of Fr. Eusebius Venard when he learned that I 
 was destined for Tong-king, I will say that he could 
 hardly express it in words or by his letters. The 
 best proof of his satisfaction is that he wishes to be 
 present at my departure. In spite of his advanced 
 age he does not fear to make the journey. 
 
 "I am going to ask, with insistency, prayers for 
 the young missioner of Maritime Tong-king, for his 
 work and above all for his sanctification. 
 
218 A Modern Martyr 
 
 "The choicer and more beautiful my inheritance, 
 the greater is my obligation to care for it with zeal 
 and love. Pray that I may be a holy missionary priest. 
 God and our blessed Mother will do the rest for me. 
 
 "Be assured that on my part I will not forget you. 
 I will unite my prayers with those of my Christiar\s 
 for all who are included in your intentions. 
 
 Aif ectionately in Our Lord and Mary Immaculate, 
 
 Basil Huctin, 
 M. Ap." 
 
 To-day other young apostles are walking in the 
 footsteps of Theophane Venard. These will follow 
 the path marked out for them, and, if necessary, they 
 too will cheerfully bend their heads to receive the 
 sabre-cut of the persecutor; and when the tidings 
 of their martyrdom shall have reached the Mission 
 House which nurtured them, a joyous hymn of praise 
 will be sung, and that night in the dark silence of 
 the sanctuary, scores of young aspirants will pray 
 with renewed fervor, each asking as a special grace, 
 that he, too, may be fortunate enough to win the 
 martyr's crown. 
 
 The age of martyrs will never pass in the true 
 Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
Theophane Venard 219 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Afterword. 
 
 The reader will naturally wish to know what be- 
 came of the several members of the Venard family, 
 to each of whom in turn the martyr's letters were 
 addressed. 
 
 In the editor's preface mention has already been 
 made of Eusebius, who was for many years the be- 
 loved Cure of Assai. Fr. Eusebius died on February 
 34, 1913. In the course of the narrative it has been 
 learned that M. Venard, the father, died before re- 
 ceiving news of his son's martyrdom, and that Melanie 
 — shortly afterwards — entered a religious order, "Les 
 Religieuses d'Esperance. 
 
 Melanie, Theophane's second self, as he often called 
 her, died in the convent at Amiens, in France. Henry 
 married, but after a few years lost his wife and only 
 child. Until his death, a few years ago, he shared 
 with Fr. Eusebius the humble presbytery at Assai.. 
 Their housekeeper, a gentle townswoman from the 
 old home at St. Loup, remembered Theophane when, 
 as a boy of fourteen, he pastured his father's goats 
 on the hillside of Bel-Air. She recalled too his de- 
 parture for the missions. In this simple household. 
 
220 A Modern Martyr 
 
 aglow with the memory of a martyr and adorned 
 with many souvenirs of his life, the writer spent 
 happy and profitable hours. Towards the end of his 
 life Fr. Eusebius did not enjoy the best of health, 
 but only a few years before his death he produced a 
 successful martyr-play in honor of his brother — ^the 
 labor of many months. 
 
 This drama was enacted by the villagers of Assai 
 in the spacious churchyard and drew a great assem- 
 blage from the surrounding country. A letter re- 
 ceived at the time from Fr. Eusebius, acknowledging 
 some photographs — ^the results, good, bad, and in- 
 different, of a forced attempt made by the writer 
 during one of his visits to Assai — will throw light 
 on this interesting Cure, while it gives information 
 about the little drama in which he is so deeply inter- 
 ested. The reader will remark that the saving sense 
 of humor is not lacking in the brother of Theophane 
 Venard. 
 
 "Assai (by Airvault), Deux Sevres, France. 
 
 "Oct. 23, 1905. 
 "Reverend and dear Father: 
 
 "I have safely received your masterly efforts at 
 photography, and I am waiting to see if I do not get a 
 second package. For a first attempt these are not a 
 poor showing. We might even call them a success, 
 especially the one in which I am posing at the door of 
 my presbytery. 
 
 "However, as a rule, the views of the surrounding 
 country are more pleasing than the portraits, which 
 are a trifle dark. 
 
 "All who have recognized themselves have been 
 delighted, even Kebis,t although he is seen from 
 
 fM. Henry's dog. 
 
Theophane Venard 221 
 
 behind; his master is truly proud of his pose. But 
 there has also been much dissatisfaction in feminine 
 circles (always inclined to jealousy), and my house- 
 keeper is in the first rank, for she has failed to find 
 her beautiful countenance. 
 
 "All the views of St. Loup are clear and distinct 
 except the one of our homestead, which is a little 
 dull. The pictures of Assai, taken from various points, 
 are equally beautiful. The main altar, the dining 
 room and your bed room are excellent. 
 
 "My health is about the same. I had some rather 
 painful attacks in September and October, neverthe- 
 less my work went on as usual. I have filled a large 
 album of about four hundred pages with letters of 
 the dear martyr, to preserve them as autographs. 
 They are written from the College of Doue, the 
 Seminary of Montmorillon, and the Grand Seminary 
 of Poitiers. The following letters will fill two other 
 albums. 
 
 "The drama, 'Captivity and Martyrdom,' is not 
 yet in press. It is extremely difficult to find an editor. 
 I hope later, by Christmas at least, to have it pub- 
 lished. 
 
 "They speak of printing at Hong-Kong, at the 
 Nazareth House of Foreign Missions, a selection of 
 Theophane's letters. I will let you know about this 
 later. 
 
 "Believe me always, dear friend. 
 Your very devoted and affectionate 
 
 L. E. Venard." 
 
 Fr. Eusebius never tired speaking of Theophane, 
 and with advancing years the thought of him became 
 the strong undercurrent of his life. It was hardly 
 possible to converse with the old gentleman for any 
 length of time without drawing from his lips some 
 
322 A Modern Martyr 
 
 reference to his beloved brother. He used to call 
 him, rather proudly, Le Venerable, and later, more 
 proudly, Le Bienheureux (the Blessed). 
 
 From time to time he visited Paris, staying at the 
 Mission Seminary to arrange some of the many de- 
 tails incidental to the process of Beatification. He 
 was always a welcome guest and an object of great 
 respect to the students, all of whom loved Theo- 
 phane. 
 
 Occasionally, too, he drove over to St. Loup to 
 inspect the old home and to talk with the Cure about 
 the days to come, when St. Loup would be a centre 
 of pilgrimages and the relics of his beloved brother, 
 guarded by friends, would be venerated by multi- 
 tudes of the faithful. 
 
 Before returning to Assai, Fr. Eusebius would 
 always walk out through the village, over the bridge 
 that crossed the Thouet, to the hillside of Bel-Air. 
 Here a simple monument still marks the spot where 
 Theophane Venard received his call to be a martyr. 
 
 A few yards from this monument, on a slight ele- 
 vation, there has stood for many years, the stone 
 apse of a memorial chapel. Good Fr. Eusebius 
 pointed out to the writer this unfinished work, 
 confessing, with a sigh, that the generosity of friends 
 had failed him, and the chapel of which he had 
 dreamed as a place of pilgrimage must wait for 
 better times, or look to some other land for its 
 realization. 
 
 That evening as we sat in his poor dining room at 
 Assai, a gleam of hope came into the old priest's eyes, 
 and he said, "Perhaps America will learn to love 
 Theophane." 
 
Theophane Venard 233 
 
 Closing Reflections. 
 
 That was in 1903. 
 
 Two years later the first edition of this life appeared 
 and before Eusebius went to his reward he had the 
 satisfaction of knowing that seven thousand copies 
 had been printed and circulated, and that five and 
 perhaps ten times that number of American people, 
 young and old, Catholic and non-Catholic, had learned 
 to love his blessed brother. He knew, too, that 
 several young men and young women had been drawn 
 to the religious life through the inspiration received 
 from these letters and that the first vocations to 
 the American Foreign Mission Seminary could be 
 traced to the same influence. 
 
 America is beginning to know — ^and to know is to 
 love — Theophane Venard, — and not Theophane Ve- 
 nard alone, but the noble army of heroes and heroines 
 to whose company he belonged, and who, in our 
 own generation, are struggling bravely for the Cause 
 of Christ in fields afar. 
 
 English-speaking Catholics here in the United 
 States and elsewhere have been accused, perhaps 
 justly, of indifference to foreign missions. This accu- 
 sation is met with the excuse that we have had too 
 much to do at home; but the true Catholic, whose 
 heart is all-embracing like that of Christ, knows that 
 the solid development of the Church at home will 
 be helped rather than hindered by our interest in 
 its spread throughout the world, nay mpre, the one 
 must depend upon the other. Love for the Church 
 is like a flame, which if confined will die. 
 
 There is, indeed, much spiritual and material work 
 to be done at home. There always will be ; but if we 
 wait until every home need has been met, we must 
 wait till the end of time. Whatever may be said of 
 
224 A Modern Martyr 
 
 the past, we are certainly now in a position to con- 
 tribute at least a breath of prayer, a mite of alms, and 
 some missioners — even though it be a proportion- 
 ately small number — to the foreign missions. 
 
 We should remember that as yet, notwithstanding 
 the clear command of Christ, uttered nineteen cen- 
 turies ago, "Going, teach all nations, — preach the 
 gospel to every creature," there are at this moment 
 more than i,ooo millions, out of the earth's population 
 of i,6qo million, who do not know Jesus Christ. 
 
 Remarkable progress has, it is true, been made in 
 the last century towards the conversion of the world. 
 This progress may be tfaced to the copious shedding 
 of blood for Christ by men like Theophane Venard 
 and their converts, and to the establishment of sys- 
 tematic means of support for the missions, notably 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. As a 
 result of these influences, spiritual and material, the 
 Catholic Church to-day counts in the mission field, 
 about 15,000 priests, 5,000 Brothers, and 45,000 Sisters, 
 as against 1,000, all told, at the beginning of the last 
 century. 
 
 This progress, however, can hardly be credited to 
 English-speaking Catholics. On the contrary, we in 
 the United States must confess with our confreres 
 in England, "that as yet we have no heart for the 
 heathen, and that zeal for the honor of God and 
 the salvation of souls is less in proportion to numbers 
 among us than among certain European Catholic peo- 
 ples, upon whose shortcomings we are so ready to sit 
 in judgment."* 
 
 These last words refer to our unhappy co-religion- 
 ists in France, and the reader will more easily under- 
 
 *The Rev. Thos. Jackson at thie Annual Conference of the Catholic 
 Truth Society, held at Blackburn, England, in 1905. 
 
Theophane Venard 285 
 
 stand the allusion when he recalls that at the present 
 time more than one half of all Catholic missioners, and 
 one half of all monies subscribed to their support, 
 may be attributed to the generosity of the French 
 people. If we must criticize the indifference of 
 French Catholics, let us admit that the divine note 
 of Catholicity in the true Church is due to-day largely 
 to self-denying sons and daughters of France, whose 
 sacrifices on the mission fields have won the plaudits 
 of an admiring world, and will yet, we believe, by 
 God's grace, enable France to triumph over present 
 trials. 
 
 Thank God, among the English-speaking people of 
 the world there are signs of an awakening to the mis- 
 sion needs. The apostolic zeal of the late Cardinal 
 Vaughan has blessed England with her Missionary 
 College at Freshfield and her Seminary for Foreign 
 Missions at Mill Hill, so that to-day this Society 
 which the Christlike heart of Cardinal Vaughan in- 
 spired, has missions in the Punjab and Madras, India; 
 in Borneo, New Zealand, and the Philippine Islands; 
 and in Uganda and the Congo of Africa. It counts 
 among its members three Bishops, two Prefects 
 Apostolic and nearly two hundred priests. It is true 
 that many of its missioners are not of English-speak- 
 ing origin, yet they have been trained in England. 
 Mill Hill stands to-day as a witness to the aspirations 
 of a far-seeing hierarchy and an encouragement to 
 the missionary spirit of Catholic youth, while it holds 
 before all classes the high and inspiring ideal of the 
 apostolate, a most valuable asset in the life of the 
 Church. 
 
 In the United States we have until recently been 
 without such a national Seminary and the religious 
 orders that supplied foreign mission recruits from 
 15 
 
326 A Modern Martyr 
 
 other countries seemed to lose sight of this phase of 
 Catholic effort in the presence of our many and varied 
 home needs. Had we been asked, a few years ago, to 
 direct some young aspirant whose heart was prompt- 
 ing him to "go the whole way", — ^to give up home 
 and country for Jesus Christ, we should have been 
 at a loss to know where to guide his steps, unless 
 away from our own land, to Mill Hill or to one or 
 other of the seminaries on the continent of Europe. 
 And in some of these he could not be accepted if 
 he were not already familiar with the language of 
 the country. 
 
 In 1905, when the first edition of A Modern 
 Martyr appeared, we expressed a hope that the day 
 was not far distant when this urgent want would be 
 supplied, when the doors of an American Seminary 
 for Foreign Missions should be thrown open to 
 Catholic youth with world-wide hearts. 
 
 To-day, thanks to God, the doors are open. At 
 MaryknoU,* high above the noble river along which 
 Fr. Isaac Jogues, martyr for Christ, once sailed, a 
 little group of pioneer American students are pre- 
 paring for the foreign missions, blazing a trail that we 
 have reason to believe many will follow in the years 
 to come. 
 
 *The Foreign Mission Seminary at MaryknoU was opened to students 
 in September, 1912, It occupies a splendid stretch of land — about 
 ninety-three acres of farm and forest — thirty miles north of New York 
 City, and lies partly in the town of Ossining and partly in New Castle. 
 The elevation is 550 feet and from this height an eight mile .sweep of 
 the Hudson River is in view. The post-office address is Ossining. 
 
 In September, 1913, the new Seminary opened at Scranton, Pa., its 
 first preparatory school. It is called the Venard Apostolic School. 
 Boys who have a special inclination for the foreign missions and who 
 are ready for high school work are received here. The Seminary hopes 
 later to establisn preparatory schools in several other sections of the 
 United States. 
 
Theophane Venard 227 
 
 And Maryknoll is not alone. 
 
 There are now in this country several branches of 
 European orders or societies which have on their 
 membership rolls "apostles in the field." The Congre- 
 gation of the Holy Cross, whose headquarters are at 
 Cornwells, Pa., has sent some of its priests to Africa, 
 and from the house of the same Congregation in 
 Notre Dame, Indiana, several have gone to India; 
 the Brothers of Mary, at Dayton, and Franciscans 
 from the St. Louis province are represented in Eastern 
 missions; and we are inclined to think that other 
 European missionary societies with branches here, 
 e.g., the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the 
 Marists, have one or more Americans (born or 
 adopted) on their missions. If not, we are bold 
 enough to say that they should spare a few for that 
 purpose. 
 
 In this connection we note a thriving German or- 
 ganization, the Society of the Divine Word, which 
 has its headquarters in Steyl, Holland. 
 
 This Society has founded a branch in the United 
 States, at Techny, Illinois, and expects in time to send 
 from our country a goodly number of zealous apostles 
 to some one or other of its several missions. 
 
 The Church in America is at heart Catholic. Her 
 children are generous and capable of great sacrifices 
 for the faith which they treasure. As the knowledge 
 of Catholic missions develops among us, the value of 
 a missioner's sacrifice will be mor^ fully appreciated, 
 and we shall see in the Catholics of America constant 
 proof of their devotion to such heroes as Theophane 
 Venard, and to the soldiers who to-day are struggling 
 in martyrs' footsteps. The name of Theophane 
 Venard will yet find its proper place in our affectionate 
 remembrance, alongside of names which have been hal- 
 
228 A Modern Martyr 
 
 lowed for centuries ; and if our preference must mani- 
 fest itself, we shall hardly be blamed if we turn to one 
 who faced and conquered the trials of our own day, 
 and who died for Christ, — A Modern Martyr. 
 
 On May the 2nd, 1909, Theophane Venard was de- 
 clared Blessed. It was his brother's painstaking labor 
 which prepared the facts leading to this declaration, 
 and a letter from Fr. Eusebius to the writer, prepared 
 in Rome on the day of the Beatification, expresses his 
 joy on this solemn occasion. 
 
 "The great day had just come to an end and I 
 wish to tell you my joy and my happiness and how 
 much I have thought of and prayed for you. 
 
 "Yesterday and to-day, I have had emotions truly 
 delicious and beyond all expression. Yesterday, the 
 entire deputation from the diocese of Poitiers, in 
 which St. Loup (the martyr's home) was notably 
 represented, was received by Pope Pius X. in a very 
 special audience. 
 
 "Before this audience, the Holy Father wished to 
 receive me alone and to give evidence to me of his 
 fatherly tenderness. He asked intimate details about 
 dear Theophane and spoke to me with much satis- 
 faction and praise about my own life-work, conse- 
 crated as it has been to the glory of my blessed 
 brother. 
 
 "To-day was the great day of the Beatification, a 
 ceremony grand and touching in the extreme. The 
 chanting was very beautiful. I admired especially 
 the Te Deum, during which I was many times suf- 
 focated by sobs and tears of happiness. 
 
 "This evening at five o'clock, there was another 
 gathering at St. Peter's, where the Pope came to 
 
Theophane Venard 229 
 
 venerate the relics of the newly Blessed and to assist 
 at the Solemn Benediction. 
 
 "The assemblage was immense, the great Basilica 
 filled to overflowing. All the Papal court was present 
 to participate in the ceremony and there was a splendid 
 illumination which brought out the aureoles of the 
 martyrs. 
 
 "When the Pope and his court had left the Church, 
 from the tribunes next to mine there rushed towards 
 me an avalanche of people, most of them unknown 
 to me, who offered congratulations, shook my hands 
 and kissed them with visible joy. In treating me thus, 
 they believed that they were in relationship with 
 Theophane himself, — as if he were living. 
 
 "I was happy in all these proofs of affection given 
 to the Blessed One in my person and the impression 
 they made was indelible, although my fatigue was 
 extreme. 
 
 Very affectionately yours in Christ, 
 
 L. E. Venard, 
 Cure d' Assai." 
 
 A few months after the Beatification, impressive 
 ceremonies were held at Hanoi, in Tong-king, where 
 the martyr's head is preserved. Fr. Basil Huctin, a 
 parishioner of Fr. Eusebius Venard whom we have 
 already mentioned in these pages, sent to the writer 
 a description of this celebration and added an account 
 of his pilgrimage to the scene of Theophane's death. 
 
 "At St. Loup the pious pilgrims could follow the 
 road leading to the hill of Bel- Air ; but I have followed 
 the road which led to the martyrdom and triumph. 
 Sunday, after Vespers, in company with another 
 Father, I set out from the site of the old prison, 
 now demolished. Opposite is the Grand Mandarin's 
 
230 A Modern Martyr 
 
 former residence, with the judgment hall where the 
 martyr was examined, bidden to trample the Cross, 
 threatened with the rotin, and for a time imprisoned. 
 We examined all these scenes, and a little prayer 
 rose from our hearts to our lips. 
 
 "We proceeded on foot amidst an indifferent 
 crowd, talking little, and only to stimulate memory. 
 From the city gate we went in the direction of Red 
 River, a little distance away. It is hard to discover 
 the actual spot of the execution, for in the past forty- 
 eight years the river has shifted, submerging different 
 islands and claiming more land. We stood silently, 
 among people who had no suspicion of the pilgrims' 
 prayers, and mentally reviewed the scene — ^the great 
 circle of two hundred soldiers formed around the 
 young martyr, radiant with happiness; the removal 
 of his garments, the same ignominy Our Lord suffered 
 before being placed on the Cross. It seemed as if 
 I could hear the sound of the hammers and pincers 
 loosening the nails that fastened the rings at neck 
 and ankles. Then, after the terrible preliminaries, 
 came the picture of the hideous executioner perform- 
 ing his sad work, and the head rolling on the ground, 
 deluging and fertilizing the Annamite soil with its 
 pure blood. 
 
 "After all these thoughts had passed through my 
 mind, I made a fervent prayer to the dead martyr, 
 our protector and model in heaven — a universal 
 prayer, for his venerable brother, for my family, 
 friends, and benefactors, for the missions, for the 
 conversion of the heathen and the spread of Chris- 
 tianity." 
 
 Blessed Theophane Venard has already become 
 to not a few, a special intercessor in Heaven. In the 
 beautiful life of Soeur Therese (which appears in 
 
Theophane Venard 
 
 231 
 
 English under the title "The Little Flower of Jesus"), 
 there is striking evidence of the young Carmelite's 
 devotion to our martyr. "I cannot look upon him," 
 said this holy nun, "nor upon Our Lady, without 
 shedding tears." And again, "He is a little saint. 
 There is nothing out of the ordinary in his life. He 
 loved the Immaculate Virgin very much, his family 
 too. And so do I. I cannot understand those saints 
 who did not." 
 
 Sister Therese died in 1897 at the age of twenty- 
 four. She was one of five sisters, all of whom became 
 nuns, daughters of M. and Mme. Martin, proprietors 
 of the well-known lace establishment at Alengon in 
 France. 
 
 The example of Sister Therese's devotion to Theo- 
 phane Venard has spread to many Carmelite com- 
 munities and to several religious orders of men, in 
 which latter some of the younger novices have taken 
 the name of Theophane. 
 
 May this modern martyr inspire us all with deeper 
 love for souls and obtain for some among us the 
 blessed grace of a vocation, — if not to martyrdom, 
 at least to the world-wide Apostolate! 
 
 2 FtVR.IEIl. IS«I 
 
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