** dDvoUe. HYMN OF A CENTURY ^ JAN 23 1937 GiCALS- BY SISTER MARY ANTONELLA HARDY " Hail to the Queen who reigns above, Mother of clemency and love, Hail thou, our hope, life, sweetness; we Eve's banished children cry to thee. " We, from this wretched vale of tears Send sighs and groans unto thy ears ; Oh, then, sweet Advocate, bestow A pitying look on us below. " After this exile, let us see Our blessed Jesus, born of thee. O merciful, O pious Maid, O gracious Mary, lend thine aid." " Did Father Nerinckx make this translation of the Salve Regina?" Many who have heard this hymn sung by the Sisters. of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, have been in admiration of it. Throughout the years, copy after copy of words and music has been requested, especially by priests, and the question heading this article has time and again been asked. No one knew more than that it was called " Father Ne- rinckx' hymn ", a title affectionately bestowed since he had adopted it for his spiritual children, the Sisters of Loretto, and made it an obligation of Rule to sing it at their morn- ing and evening devotions. The Rule specifies, in part, for the morning : " A consideration is read on the Passion of our Lord, with the Stabat Mater, . . . one Our Father and Hail Mary for the Bishop and Missionaries of this Diocese, another for the welfare of the country and the Benefactors Sc 3£ H4 American Catholic Historical Society of the Institute. The conclusion with the Antiphona : Hail to the Queen, sung." And it is again specified to be sung at the evening devotions. From an article, " A Philadelphia Choir Book of 1787 ", by Monsignor H. T. Henry, Litt.D., begun in the Sep- tember, 191 5, issue of the " Records of the American Catholic Historical Society ", a much desired light has been thrown upon the origin of the translation, or, at least, as to the time of its appearance. If Father Nerinckx did not obtain it from the Philadelphia Choir Book of 1 787, he very probably got it from one of the various Primers, which Monsignor H. T. Henry mentions as furnishing trans- lations of Latin hymns for Catholic use in England before 1787. These he could easily have obtained from his Rev- erend brother, John Nerinckx, who, an exile from Belgium because of the Revolution, was ordained in London in the year 1802. Outside of the Rule, Father Nerinckx, by a Directory which he compiled for his spiritual children and in the in- structions which he imparted to them at different times, gave detailed particulars concerning the various duties of the Religious. In his instruction to them on March 25, 1823, at Loretto, the Mother House, he is reported as say- ing: Four Sisters shall be appointed as censors to watch the others, and see if they sing at the appointed times, and keep that holy rule which so much animates us to praise the Lord. Let all the Friends of Mary join in praising their sweet Saviour, some in sounding forth His praises with their voices, and others with their hearts. No one is allowed to sit in cor- ners under pretence that she cannot sing. We find recorded in his instruction to the Sisters at their branch house, Holy Mary's, Calvary, Kentucky, November 6, 1822 : " The three oldest singers that are capable of lead- Hymn of a Century 115 ing the tunes, should take their tower a in the Chapel for a week at a time to lead the tunes." Singing School and Song (Father Nerinckx' Directory) The Song in the Society is a necessary duty, a continual practice & a particular act of devotion, its nourishment and one of its sweet effects. It is for the school an help to piety, a pleasant recreation, a refreshment of zeal and an addition to education. These motives ought to make the necessary impres- sion upon Superiors and Teachers, & should encourage Sisters and scholars that are blessed with voices to comply with this duty. If they have not the voice of mouth, their hearts may accompany; their little breath may blow while others give the sound ; for God hears mighty sharp. In singing, the hearts ought to be raised to God. That song is not good, says St. Bernard, whose tune pleases more than the words & their meaning. The beauty of the voice is some- times the cause of vanity, when vain complacency takes place & turns devotion into sin. The Society in song as well as in other performances and actions of life shall incline to humility, imitating their singing Mother Mary when she uttered her heavenly Magnificat. rules 1. There shall be in every house two teachers for the Song, who know the notes and have their tower of teaching. 2. Every day shall be half an hour singing-school for be- ginners, & half an hour at night performances for Community & school. 3. Four, or surely two, will be designed to strike the hymns in the chapel. 4. The teachers ought to be acquainted with songs for their schools. 1 Father Nerinckx no doubt had in mind the French word tour, meaning "turn". ii 6 American Catholic Historical Society 5. No new songs nor new tunes to be brought in, besides those now in use at Loretto — the Gregorian or plain song for Mass may be learned — the Lady's Song or Magnificat must be sung once every day, twice on Saturdays, & twice on Sundays & holydays ; the time to sing this when all together at prayers. Mass or evening-song. (Note: In an instruction April 23, 1823, Father Nerinckx is recorded as saying: "The Magnificat need not be sung at Mass every time that anyone Communi- cates, but only on days of general Communion.") 6. If one of the Sisters or Society, able to sing, does not do it, she must acknowledge her fault and say five Our Fathers and Hail Marys; if used to it, do public penance. 7. A sign will be given when blunders are making or slum- ber observed, or want of zeal in the time of singing; this to the charge of the oldest Cantress, that is, the appointed singer. 8. A distinction should be made for songs of common days, Sundays & feasts. Also for High Mass & private; taking habits, vows, & making First Communion. Times of begin- ning & stopping in solemn & private Masses — three tunes al- lowed according to quality of the services : tenor, treble & bass. 9. Never music or any instruments. THE SONGS OF LORETTO i. The holy name of Jesus. Jesus the only thought of Thee. 2. The Incarnation of the Son of God. O Sion, sing the wondrous Love. 3. The Nativity of our Lord. With hearts truly grateful. 4. Another upon the same. Whilst Angels to the world. 5. Another. Sion rejoice, let joyful songs. 6. Desire of loving God. O power divine ! O charity. Hymn of a Century 117 7. Confidence in God. Through all the changing. 8. A song of praise to God. Grateful notes & numbers. 9. Return of a dissipated soul to God. Where have my wandering senses. 10. The happy effects of the love of Jesus. Jesus, Lover of my soul. 11. Another. Graces from my Jesus flowing. 12. Adoration of the B. Sacrament. Saving Host, we fall before. 13. Aspiration before Communion. My God, my life, my Love. 14. Another. I hear a charming voice. 15. Aspiration in Communion. Delightful moment, happy hour. 16. Aspiration after Communion. What happiness can equal mine. 17. A song of praise to God. O praise ye the Lord. 18. The Lord's Day. Welcome, sweet day of rest. 19. Farewell to the world. No longer shall my soul confide. 20. Contemplation of Heaven. Come, let us lift our joyful eyes. 21. In Lent. O bountiful Creator ! hear. 22. In Passion time. Behold the Royal Ensign fly. u8 American Catholic Historical Society 23. At Easter. Young men and maids. 24. Another at Easter. Sion rejoice! Let joyful songs. 25. An invitation to praise God. Sing ye praises to the Lord. 26. Salve Regina. Hail to the Queen. 2j. Ave Maria. Hail Mary Queen & Virgin pure. 28. An address to the Virgin Mary for the conversion of those who are in error. O Mother of the light. 29. Antiphona to the Blessed Virgin. O holy Mother of our God. 30. The Stabat Mater. Under the world's redeeming wood. 31. For the beginning of Mass. With trembling awe. 32. At All Saints for the Souls ; or the Dies Irae. That day of wrath ! that dreadful. 33. Invocation of the Holy Ghost. Come, Holy Ghost, send down. 34. The Veni Creator Spiritus. Spirit Creator of mankind. 35. The sinner's return to God. Lord, my sins lie heavy on. 36. A funeral song on death. Death is our doom. 37. A hymn at Vespers. Sing, O my tongue, adore &. 38. For the Feast of a Martyr. O God, the lot, the crown. Hymn of a Century 119 39. A morning hymn. Now night descends the. 40. To Jesus in the B. Sacrament. O Jesu Dens Magne. O Salutaris Hostia. O quam suavis est. Adoro te devote latens deitas. The Litanies of Our Lady & the Saints. The Magnificat. Lord Jesus ! have mercy. The Sanctus. The Agnus Dei. And whatever may be found in graduals or Antiphonals. Note. — The Teachers ought to have a minute of this. Father Nerinckx' injunction that no new songs nor new tunes — " besides those now in use at Loretto " — be brought in, was a wise provision against the introduction of non- Catholic words and music. Unconscious he must have been of the certain Protestant authorship of " Through all the changing scenes of life ", and the same authorship sus- pected of " While Angels to the world proclaim ", " Sing ye praises to the Lord ", and " O praise ye the Lord ". Father Nerinckx' restriction, " Never music or any in- struments ", was very probably directed against the violin, so much used in connection with the dances of that period — not certainly against the pipe organ, since he has the dis- tinction, together with that of having brought to Kentucky the first stoves, of having introduced here the first pipe organ, a splendid instrument for that day and now in pos- session of the Sisters of Loretto at their Mother House. This organ was made in Paris, France, and placed by Father Nerinckx in Bardstown Cathedral, where the Right Rev- erend John B. David was organist. Later it was bought 120 American Catholic Historical Society by the Sisters of Loretto at Calvary, for many years used in the Calvary church, and in 1899 brought to Loretto, where it is used in the orchestra of the Academy. The office of " striking " the tunes, especially of Hail to the Queen — difficult because of its minor key — was relig- iously fulfilled but not sought, and so much did it prey upon the mind of the one appointed that many amusing in- cidents are related of timid Novices who on being jostled to arouse them from the drowsiness that had overcome them at meditation hour, would discordantly break upon the prayerful quiet with the intonation, " Hail to the Queen " ! The setting of the hymn — the same as that given in the Philadelphia Choir Book of 1787 — was used by the Sisters until 1849, at which time an easier melody in major key and three-fourths time, was adopted. This melody, which they use to the present day, is almost note for note that of the Dona nobis pacem of Bishop David's Mass (see " The Catholic Melodist", published in 1855, by Webb, Gill & Levering, Louisville, Ky.), also in some old hand-copied music done by Lorettines is found the same melody used for the Easter hymn, " Ad regias Agni dapes" : The Red Sea's dangers now are past. To which of these three uses of the air is due the right of priority is not now known. In the Directory compiled by Father Nerinckx, we find also the following provision for the singing of Hail to the Queen at midnight: The Principal Feasts of Our Lady. They are Immaculate Conception, most holy Nativity, most wondrous Annunciation, and her most glorious Assumption. Waking" at quarter before 12 the bell rings while 12 Hail Marys are said. Hymn of a Century 121 At 12 o'clock: nine Glorys, Hail Daughter, &c, Then Hail to the Queen, The Litany of our Lady, Hail Mary Queen, Nine Glorys, The Sanctus, Four Our Fathers, &c, in honor of St. Joachim, St. Anna, St. Joseph, & St. John Evangelist, One verse of the Veni Creator, Three verses of Jesus, the only thought, Nine Glorys, Finish with the Angelus. At the Feast of the Annunciation : Beginning and ending with the Angelus — kneeling. These Mysteries so much interesting the Society are sup- posed to have happened at midnight. But perhaps the most interesting of all these extracts from Father Nerinckx' Directory is the following: The Sending to a New Establishment A procession on the Sunday before the journey. 1. All the nominated come to the Mother House three days before the start. 2. A retreat of nine days, at the end of which the Mother is installed and offices designated in the workroom after advices. This done, the Litany is sung in the Chapel, then recreation ; the rest of the time is spent in fixing for the journey. 3. The day of starting: High Mass early, in which Com- munion for the travelers, Dear Mother and the rest disposed for Communion. 4. All things being ready beforehand, after breakfast they all go to the Chapel, say the Lady's Litany, adore the Blessed Sacrament, hail the Blessed Virgin, go in the refectory, em- brace their Sisters with a farewell. Then on their knees re- 122 American Catholic Historical Society ceive the blessing of the new Mother, Dear Mother and the Mother of Loretto standing. Then, all in the Chapel, invite the Lord Jesus, the dear Mother Mary for company, with all the Saints and Angel Guardians of the Society, bidding rest to the departed; go in silence into the wagon from the Chapel, which starting, they strike Hail to the Queen. 5. On the road all Rules kept as much as possible; the Sacred Heart picture and the Loretto picture carried in sight. When arrived at the place, the adoration of the B. Sacrament and Hail to the Queen sung, they kiss the ground on which they are to work for God's glory, to live and die, &, if there be a grave-yard, plant the cross, & dig three spades. Recrea- tion the third day. " Hailing " the Blessed Virgin has reference to another point of Lorettine Rule, which instructs the Sisters to begin and end all their community prayers with the indul- genced greeting used in the Holy House of Loretto, namely : " Hail Daughter of God the Father!, Hail Mother of God the Son !, Hail Spouse of God the Holy Ghost !, Hail Tem- ple of the Blessed Trinity ! " The " Picture of the Sacred Heart " which, together with the " Loretto Picture ", was to be carried in sight, is one that Father Nerinckx had made in Mechlin in 181 6. It bears the mark, " Grave par Courtais en M alines ", He designed it specially for the Society;- it represents our Lord on the cross, consumed in the flames of His burning Heart. " Little Loretto " is seen at the foot of the " Cal- vary ", small hearts mounting upwards toward the open Wound represent the souls of those leaving the world to enter the Loretto cloister, while around the spear-pierced heart of the Sorrowful Mother in the open Wound are clustered the hearts of the Lorettine religious. This pic- ture, on the reverse .side of which Father Nerinckx wrote the " Morning Manna " of the Society : w > |D bo Hymn of a Century 123 " O Dear Sisters and scholars ! Love your Jesus, dying with love for you on the Cross ! Love Mary, your loving Mother, sorrowing at the foot of the cross ! Love one another, have only one heart, one soul, one mind' ! Love the Institute, love the Rules, love Jesus' darling humility !" was placed on the Epistle side of the altar, the celebrating Driest would read aloud the " Manna ", and the Superior, representing the Sisters, and the eldest pupil, the school, would come up to the altar-railing and kiss the image of he Sacred Heart. The " Loretto picture " was also designed by Father Nerinckx and likewise done in Europe in 181 6. The first Duilding on the left is Father Nerinckx' own dwelling and is still preserved on the grounds at the Mother House. The worthy historian, John Gilmary Shea, writing April 25, 1 89 1, to a Sister of Loretto, says: Many thanks . . . for the delightful old view of the Con- sent of Loretto. It is so quaint and odd that it deserves a >lace among queer pictures. They tell a story of an officer of ;he English army in India who, having been sent with a de- triment into a new part of the country near the mountains, bought that a sketch of the new fort and its surroundings vould interest friends in England. So he prepared a careful jketch and sent it to the London Illustrated News. He re- reived by return mail a letter of thanks, but when the paper irrived, to his horror and the intense enjoyment of all his fellow officers the whole picture had been filled up with palm- :rees, when in fact there was not a tree of any kind in sight from the fort. It was in vain for him to protest that his sketch lad not been followed, he was the butt of all regimental jokes. WTien he wrote to London complaining indignantly of the lib- erty taken with his drawing, they replied that the English xiblic required palm trees in pictures from India! The Bel- gian engraver seems to have had the same idea. " And if there be a grave-yard, they plant the cross and iig three spades." It was formerly a Lorettine custom for 124 American Catholic Historical Society the community to go to the grave-yard on every first Mon- day of the month after the recitation of the Dies Irae and for each member to dig a spadeful of earth from the grave destined for the Sister who might be next to die. This custom, faithfully kept at the Mother House until 1896, was thereafter discontinued, as it could not be generally practised in the Society. The term 4< Dear Mother ", appearing in the quotation, was the title given to the " Generalissima ". A certain " sending to a new establishment " proved one of the most pathetic that pen has ever recorded, resulting in the death from fright of one of the Sisters. We shall not here repeat the story which, at every re-reading, gives forth a new aroma of spiritual beauty. We refer ou readers to the Life of Father Nerinckx by Bishop Maes, or to the Annals of Loretto by Anna C. Minogue. The Annals states in part : ; In 1867 three Sisters started for Santa Fe, traveling from St. Louis with Bishop Lamy, Father D. M. Gasparri, S.J., two other Jesuit Fathers and two Sisters of Charity. On Friday, June 14th, the caravan left Leavenworth, Kansas, reaching St. Mary's, at that time a reservation of the Pottawattamie In- dians, on the 2 1 st. From that point on the party was more or less beset by savages, who, however, showed no indication of fighting until the evening of the 17th of July, when fifty of them suddenly appeared and began their attack on the caravan. We learn from the History of the Sisters of Charity, of Leavenworth, published in 1898, that there were twenty- six in the party and that the Indian fight lasted three hours — " bullets flying around the canvass of the Sister's wagon and arrows piercing it until it was covered with them." Six days later the party was again set upon by the Indians, the terrorizing situation lasting throughout the entire night. The five Sisters remained in a tent, tortured by fears more Hymn of a Century 125 agonizing than their defenders could dream of, and fer- vently they prayed for death before falling into the hands of the maddened savages. " Drenched with rain and hold- ing down the poles of their tent, the poor Sisters sang a hymn." (This from the Leavenworth History.) What hymn the historian does not tell us, but those Western winds surely caught these words, as they ascended from sorely tried hearts : " We from this wretched vale of tears Send sighs and groans unto thy ears ; Oh, then, sweet Advocate, bestow A pitying look on us below !" Many of these temporary directions of Father Nerinckx, which he gave as suited to that particular period, were dis- continued long years ago, but that point of Rule which re- quired the singing, night and morning, of Hail to the Queen, the Sisters have faithfully kept throughout the century. So earnest are they in their desire for the ful- fillment of this ardent wish of their holy Founder, that some not blessed with voice have prayed for that gift if only they might sing this hymn with the community. It is considered very unworthy of a Lorettine to be dilatory in this pious exercise, while the sick desire not to be dis- pensed from it. At the present time there is in the Loret- tine house of Santa Fe, New Mexico — Academy of Our Lady of Light — an aged Religious who has been sixty-seven years in the Order, and who, now no longer able to go to the Chapel, sings alone, in her own little room, at her early rising hour of about three o'clock in the morning, the loved " Salve ". At Loretto Heights Academy, Loretto, Colo- rado, where are taken for burial the remains of those mem- bers who die in the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs, the Sisters, in file on either side of the front entrance await the arrival of the hearse, and greet the remains of their 126 American Catholic Historical Society sacred dead with the age-used hymn to their Heavenly Mother. With special fervor is the hymn sung on occa- sions of Reception and Profession, and on the splendid occasion of the Order's Centenary, in 191 2, it was made a special feature in the celebration of each House, while the Religious of the Mother House and local houses of Ken- tucky made a pilgrimage to the site of " Little Loretto ", and sang with heartfelt gratitude on the very spot where their cradle was first rocked, the hymn their Father taught them, that has ever been their consolation in the long ascent to " Calvary ", that, though old. to them ever younger and sweeter grows : " Hail to the Queen who reigns above!" Note. — Through Dr. H. Grattan Flood it is learned that this trans- lation of the Sakw Regina is in the Primer (London) of 1685. (See Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, Vol. XXVI, No. 4.)— S. M. A. REVEREND CHARLES NERINCKX. 1 BY THE REV. JOSEPH J. MURPHY, J. C. D. No apology is needed for a new biography of Reverend Charles Nerinckx, the famous pioneer missionary of Ken- tucky and founder of the Congregation of the Sister of Loretto in that State. Bishop Maes had already written an extensive biography and several minor sketches had ap- peared, but there is ample room for the present volume which conveys much new information, based on recently discovered documents. The life story of Father Nerinckx is most interesting, almost fascinating, and the present lengthy review is given in the hope of leading our readers to secure this volume and learn the difficult conditions that confronted the pioneer missionaries of a century ago in our own land. Charles Nerinckx was born in Herffelingen, in Brabant, 2 October, 1761, the eldest of a family of fourteen children. He studied philosophy at Louvain and theology at Mech- lin, where he was ordained, 1 November, 1785. After spending eight years as assistant at the Mechlin Cathedral he was appointed pastor of Meerbeek, a country town mid- way between Brussels and Louvain. The times were far from peaceful and then, as now, Belgium was the battle- field of Europe. He writes : " At Mechlin, the previous year (1793), I suffered from the first invasion of the French, and the day after my installation at Meerbeek the 1 Life of Rev. Charles Nerinckx, Pioneer Missionary of Kentucky and Founder of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, by Rev. W. J. Howlett. 191 5. Mission Press, Techny, 111. 128 American Catholic Historical Society second invading army reached my parish ... the French took possession of the country, and I was forced to flee from my house in the dress of a layman, and seek refuge in various houses for about three weeks" (p. 33). The infiltration of French revolutionary ideas and the general laxity of morals made his priestly work difficult, but his unceasing labors, particularly with the children, had begun to show promising results, when (17 October, 1797) his refusal to subscribe to the schismatical oath required by the French government led to his banishment from his parish. The next few years were spent in hiding in the diocese of Ghent, where he acted as Chaplain to the nuns who directed the hospital. His name was placed on the list of fugitives from justice, and death or exile would be the penalty if he were apprehended. Under these circum- stances, as a return to his parish was out of the question, his thoughts turned to America, and 20 September, 1803, he wrote to Bishop Carroll, offering his services for the American missions. His application, endorsed by the mother of the Reverend Demetrius Gallitzen, was favorably received. Nine days' journey on foot and two by water took him to Amsterdam, whence he set sail for Baltimore, where he arrived after a three months' voyage, 14 Novem- ber, 1804. After spending several months at Georgetown College, he was appointed by Bishop Carroll as assistant to Father Badin, who had labored in the Kentucky missions since his ordination in 1793. He joined Father Badin at St. Stephen's, thirteen miles from Bardstown, 2 July, 1805. The parish boundaries were : " Florida and Louisiana on the south, the Mississippi on the west, Detroit on the north, and the Alleghanies to the east " (p. 104). The residence of the missionaries was a small cabin of two rooms, and from this as a centre there were eighteen stations to be visited at stated times and numerous other smaller places Reverend Charles Nerinckx 129 to be visited as occasion permitted. Here he remained for seven years, and then removed to Hardin's Creek. " Often he was known to ride twenty-five or thirty miles fasting in order to be able to say Mass. . . . He crossed wilderness districts, swam rivers, slept in the woods among the wild beasts. ... He often arrived at a distant station early in the morning after having ridden during all the previous night" (p. 121). The following winter was completely taken up by a general visitation of the missions by the two priests, and later Father Nerinckx was given charge of the settlements located east of their home church. He writes in a letter : " On the 15th of November, 1805, just one year after my arrival in America I had the happiness of laying the corner-stone of Holy Mary's Church. . . . The church will cost about $400.00, which I intend to pay in trade" (p. 138). In another letter he gives some interesting de- tails of his activities : " We have some twenty-four missions to attend. The most remote church is sixty miles from here, but we are sometimes called as far as 180 miles in either direction. ... I have traveled a hundred and fifty miles on horseback in two nights and one day, through bad roads and all kinds of weather. . . . My usual occupations during the week are : On Sunday I am in the saddle at about four o'clock, so as to reach one of my missions at about half past six. I there find a crowd of people awaiting my coming to go to confession. We first say the prayers for morning and make a meditation. I then give them an in- struction on the sacrament of penance and prepare them for it. At intervals of half an hour, marked by the ringing of a bell . . . one of the congregation says the beads for a special intention already determined, and so on until about eleven o'clock, when I vest for Mass. Before beginning the Holy Sacrifice I give a short address, and I preach after the reading of the Gospel. After Mass I have the children pray for special intentions. The congregation is dismissed 130 American Catholic Historical Society between one and two P. M., when I am ready for baptisms and funerals, if there should be any. Seldom do I break my fast before four o'clock, unless to take a glass of water or milk, and it often happens that when I have had a bite someone is ready to take me twenty miles or more on a sick call " (p. 140). The Maryland Catholics who settled in Kentucky, as a rule, brought with them no traditions of generosity towards the Church (Bishop Spaulding's explanation of this peculiar condition is quoted, pp. 150-153), so that Father Nerinckx was forced to apply to his friends in Belgium to aid him in building and furnishing the new churches. It is esti- mated that he received over $15,000.00 in money and church supplies from abroad, so that he was amply justified when he said : " I can truly say that I alone have contributed more to the church than the four or five hundred families under my care taken together" (p. 150). Nevertheless he man- aged to erect more than ten churches, including the first brick Catholic church in Kentucky at Danville. In 1808, he refused, despite the repeated solicitation of Bishop Carroll, the office of Apostolic Administrator of New Orleans. On the second Sunday of Lent of the fol- lowing year he established the first Holy Name Society in America, at St. Charles' Church, Hardin's Creek, Marion County (p. 222). Soon after the arrival of Bishop Flaget in Bardstown, n June, 181 1, a conference of the five secu- lar and four Dominican priests — the entire clerical body of Kentucky — was held for the purpose of distributing the diocese into missionary districts with defined limits. To Father Nerinckx was assigned practically half the state of Kentucky, with residence at St. Charles in a " little log cabin of one room that served him as study, sleeping-room and dining-room ". The following year he was able to lay the first foundations of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross. The author gives an interesting account of Reverend Charles Nerinckx 131 the early days of the order, of their struggles and the con- stant care of their founder, who never rested until the rule had been approved by the Holy See. An old Sister gives the following word-picture : " Father Abell walked into the room where the sisters were eating from tin plates, two to each plate, taking turns with the single knife and fork to help herself to a portion of the cabbage or potatoes, with a slice of bacon fried or boiled, which comprised their usual dinner. Each had a tin cup, filled with some dark-colored beverage called coffee, but which in reality was boiling water that had been poured over some burnt crusts of bread but not a grain of the aromatic plant was present " ( P . 382). Father Nerinckx made two visits to Europe to secure priests and sisters for the work of the diocese, and also furnishings for the churches. On his first visit, in 181 5, he had published a pamphlet : " A Glance at the Present Condition of the Roman Catholic Religion in North Amer- ice ", an excellent resume of the progress made in the spread of the faith in America. He states : " The popula- tion of the United States is between seven and eight mil- lions, and among these there are about 300,000 Catholics " (p. 278). "Kentucky contains about 14,000 Catholics . . including the Bishop, the whole number of priests in this diocese is 12. . . . Tennessee has no priests. . . . Ohio has no priest. . . . Michigan has one priest at Detroit. . . Indiana has no priest. . . . Illinois Territory has two priests" (pp. 282-283). After his return from his second trip to Europe, during which he persuaded Father De Smet to devote his life to the American mission to the Indians of the Far West, he remained near Loretto for a short while. He left there 16 June, 1824, and scarcely two months later breathed his last at St. Genevieve, Missouri, in the sixty-third year of his age. 132 American Catholic Historical Society Such are the salient features of the strenuous mission- ary career of this saintly pioneer. In the volume under re- view, the Rev. W. J. Howlett tells the complete story with marked sympathy and affection for the memory of Father Nerinckx. The liberal extracts from the writings of Father Nerinckx are a specially valuable feature of the book, which contains numerous interesting illustrations and an index. A map, showing the location of the various missions, would be a desirable addition to an otherwise complete and highly interesting book. The Catholic Summer School of America 295 Records of the American Catholic Historical Society Vol. XXVII December, 191 6 No. 4 some of the results ; but those who come after us will reap them in the fullness of a ripened harvest. A college city, a university town, will rise up upon the shores of Lake Champlain; halls of science will welcome to their lecture rooms thousands of students, who like the pilgrims of old, will journey thither seeking knowledge. Hospitality will spread its pleasant cheer before all and enjoyment and mirth will make the hours of relaxation pass amid the joys of innocent friendship. Days will come, and learned trav- elers will delight the student world with the tales of dis- covery and research. Philosophers and seers with the illumination of faith upon their words, will 1 separate the dross from the gold in the principles of life; and a purer and higher knowledge of God and of themselves will come to the earnest seekers. The warriors of faith, while dis- coursing of the deeds of old, will prepare the weapons of defence for all to use in the battle of the present; builders of a true life will train mind and heart in the skill necessary for the building of the structure of faith. In a word, the Catholic Summer School of America has a future which may be made a potent factor of our religious and social life as American Catholics, opening to them their place in the great intellectual movement which is destined to bring to our Church and to our people the treasures of mind and heart which truth transmits across the ages as our inheritance. NOTES ON FATHER NERINCKX' S HYMNARY. RT. REV. MGR. HUGH T. HENRY, LITT. D. The list of hymns selected by Father Nerinckx for the Sisters of Loretto, published in the Records for June, 191 6, pages 116-119, will perhaps bear a brief comment here. 1. It is gratifying to a lover of the Salve Regina to know that one of its oldest English translations — and in some respects the happiest of any — should have found an abiding home in a Religious Community in the United States, should be so closely associated with the name of the Founder of the Community, and should properly, because of its constant use therein, be styled the " Hymn of a Century." Sister Mary Antonella Hardy, the writer of the highly interesting article, tells us that " throughout the years, copy after copy of words and music has been requested, especially by priests ;" that the question was often asked : " Did Father Nerinckx make this translation of the Salve Regina?" and that no other information could be given than that the hymn was affectionately styled " Father Nerinckx's hymn." The full quotation of the hymn in the Records for Septem- ber, 191 5 1 made it clear that Father Nerinckx was not the author; and in the Records for December of the same year 2 the present writer made grateful acknowledgment to Dr. W. H. Grattan Flood, who had kindly written from his home in Enniscorthy, Ireland, pointing out that the hymn was printed in the Primer of 1685. 3 1 See A Philadelphia Choir Book of 1787, page 212. 2 See Philadelphia Choir Books of 1791 and 1814, page 326. 3 Apropos of this, it may be interesting to add that other, but less felicitous, versions had appeared in the Sarum Primer of 1538, and in the Primers of 1599 and 161 5. Seventy years had elapsed between this last-mentioned translation and the classic one of the Primer of 1685. It is curious to note that the Primer of 1687 thought it desir- able to print a prose version (Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy). Notes on Father Nerinckx' s Hymnary 297 The American use of the hymn was frequent in our hymnals of older date, but appears to have ceased entirely in the more recently edited volumes containing hymns, whether issued in America or in the British Isles. I do not wonder that so many requests for copies of the hymn should have been made, under the impression that it was rare. But it seems pitiable that such a beautiful and brief version of the great Anthem of the Blessed Virgin should have been replaced in our hymnals by versified tributes to Our Lady which are very questionable from the standpoint of poetic taste and spiritual unction. The relatively ven- erable age of the English version might well have served to keep it in loving memory in both prayer-books and hymnals. And here in America it has been associated with our earliest hymnody. 4 Thanks to such articles as that dealing with this hymn as well as with the collection assigned by Father Nerinckx for the Sisters of Loretto 5 we may hope to have at some future time a history of American Catholic hymnody which will possess more than a merely historical value. 2. Father Nerinckx's list of hymns comprises more than forty titles. Whence did he derive them ? He could have found the English version of the Salve Regina in several volumes published in America before the year 1822. It is not necessary, therefore, to suppose that he might have obtained it " from his Reverend brother, John Nerinckx, 4 In addition to the Philadelphia Compilation of 1787, 1791 and 1814, I find it in the Roman Catholic Manual or Collection of Prayers, Anthems, Hymns, published in Boston in 1803 ; in a volume of Hymns for the Use of the Catholic Church in the United States of America, issued at Baltimore in 1807; in a Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Use of the Catholic Churches in Kentucky, printed at Bardstown in 1815; in a Collection of Psalms, Hymns, Anthems, etc., published in Washington, D. C, in 1830, and in A Colleccion of Sacred Hymns (Louisville, 1853). 5 See Hymn of a Century by Sister Mary Antonella Hardy in the Records for June, 1916, pp. 1 13-126. 298 American Catholic Historical Society who, an exile from Belgium because of the Revolution, was ordained in London in the year 1802," as Sister Mary An- tonella suggests. But what was his source for the remain- ing hymns? All but three of the hymns in his collection are given in Hymns for the Use of the Catholic Church in the United States (Baltimore, 1807). This fact is highly suggestive, but not conclusive; for the title of No. 4 ("Whilst Angels to the world proclaim") is so found in the Compilation of 1787, 1791, 18 14, but the word "Whilst" is changed to "While" in the 1807 volume of Hymns. Of the three hymns I have referred to as not given in the 1807 volume, one (No. 7 : " Through all the changing scenes of life ") is found in the Compilation of 1787, 1791, 1 8 14, and also in the Manual (Boston, 1803). I am in- debted to Sister M. Antonella Hardy for the information that the remaining two (No. 14: "I hear a charming voice "), No. 28 : (" O Mother of the light ") are found in Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Use of the Catholic Churches in Kentucky (Bardstown, 181 5). 3. " Father Nerinckx' injunction that no new songs nor new tunes ' besides those now in use at Loreto ' be brought in, was a wise provision against the introduction of non- Catholic words and music. Unconscious he must have been of the certain Protestant authorship of 4 Through all the changing scenes of life,' and the same authorship sus- pected of ' While angels to the world proclaim,' and ' O praise ye the Lord .'" 6 There are other hymns in the list besides these, however, which are of Protestant authorship. No. 8 ("Grateful notes and numbers bring") is by the Rev. Wm. Dodd, an Anglican; No. 10 ("Jesus, lover of my soul ") is by the Rev. Charles Wesley; No. 18 (" Wel- come, sweet day of rest") is by the Rev. Isaac Watts. I merely note these without comment, although much might 6 Cf. Records, June, 1916, p. 119 and September, 191 5, p. 220. Notes on Father Nerinckx's Hymnary 299 be said about No. 10 and its use in Catholic hymnals. It is a beautiful hymn — confessedly so by the suffrages of hym- nals of all denominations. 7 4. No. 30 is a translation of the Stabat Mater (" Under the world's redeeming wood "). The first line, as given in Father Nerinckx's list, is thus found in the Boston Manual of 1803, in the Baltimore Hymns of 1807, and in the Wash- ington Collection of 1830. It is a corruption (possibly meant as an emendation) of the true title : " Under the world-redeeming Rood." This is a version of the Stabat Mater found in the Primer of 1687 (as a new rendering of the great Sequence) and in subsequent Primers and Office- books. It is not improbable that Dryden was its author, for his conversion to Catholicity took place in 1686 — one year before the translation appeared — and he is known to have translated some of the old Latin hymns of the Divine Office. Certainly the unction, the poetic diction, the power- ful rhythms, the close antitheses, of this exquisite poem are worthy of his pen. What could better illustrate all these peculiarities than the third line of the first stanza ? Under the world-redeeming Rood The most afflicted Mother stood, Mingling her tears with her Son's blood. One may well question the taste of the compilers of pres- ent-day prayer-books that could forget such venerable treas- ures of sacred verse as the translations of the Salve Regina and the Stabat Mater which the elegant discrimination and the deep and tender piety of Father Nerinckx have so fortunately made part of the hymnal treasury of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross — at the Foot of the " world-redeeming Rood." 7 Sister Mary Antonella Hardy writes to state that Dr. W. H. Grattan Flood declares No. 13 ("My God, my life, my love") to be also of Protestant authorship. — Editor. THE CAPUCHINS IN ACADIA AND NORTHERN MAINE (1632-1655) REV. JOHN LENHART, 0. M. CAP. (Continued) LABORS AMONG THE INDIANS. The Capuchins did not restrict their labors to their Aben- aki Seminary and to the care of the French settlers. They worked successfully at the conversion and civilization of the Indians throughout the whole extent of their large mission- ary field. " The soft and religious influence of the Capu- chins," remarks Rameau, 119 " contributed not a little to the establishment and consolidation of the peaceful relations be- tween the French and the Indians." " The universal fidelity of the Micmacs to the faith of their baptism," writes Father Candide, O. M. Cap., 120 " seems to us to be due to a great extent to the influence of the Capuchins. The instruction of the * Barefooted ' Friars, whose memory is still alive among them, must be traced back to the time of the Capu- chins. It blended later with that the Recollects who re- entered this mission in 1673. The Micmacs still retain the memory of the two kinds of missionaries who had evan- gelized them : the ' Black Robes ' and the ' Baref ooters r The latter designation had been a puzzle to them for a long time. They found its solution in 1894 when the Capuchins made their appearance in the Micmac mission at Risti- gouche." Moreover, the spectacle of a staunchly Catholic colony 119 Op. cit., p. 88. 120 Port Royal, p. 33&>