A Strange Adventure

by Mary Grace Halpine

At the close of a dull day in November, Father Jose reached his snug, though humble apartments in the Rue St. Gaspard, which forms a part of the gay city of Paris.

By his own choice, he exercised his holy office chiefly among the poor and lowly; to which work he brought a kind heart and a more than ordinary amount of shrewdness and courage.

He had had a more than usually fatiguing day; the number of marriages, christenings, and funerals he had attended, in addition to his ordinary duties, was almost incredible, so it was with a pardonable feeling of reluctance that he received notice that he must quit his comfortable shelter for the chill night air that was heavy with an approaching storm.

“For what purpose?” he inquired of the messenger, whose features he could but dimly discern by the flickering light of the candle, but whose complexion seemed to him to be as dark as a mulatto’s.

“To give absolution to a dying woman,” was the reply. “Make haste, Monsieur le cure; the carriage is waiting, and there is no time to lose.”

This was an appeal from which Father Jose never turned away, and, drawing on his boots and wrapping himself in a thick overcoat, he followed his guide to the cabriolet that was waiting for him.

The man opened the door with ceremonious politeness, but closed it with a sudden snap that jarred harshly on the nerves of its occupant; then, springing to the top, gave his orders to the driver, but in a slow voice as to render it impossible for Father Jose to distinguish the words, though he listened for that purpose.

The carriage, though otherwise comfortable, was so close as to give him a feeling of suffocation; and he placed his hand upon the window with the intention of throwing it open, but found, to his surprise, that it was immoveable, and… Read More