strongly recommend them to read something about De la Salle's methods and educational triumphs. It was in 1699 that the Sunday courses were begun; but long before this epoch-making date the name of De la Salle had spread throughout the country. It finally reached the Court, and the Brothers found in Madame de Maintenon a generous patroness. The Grand Monarque himself took notice of the growing institute, and in 1690 gave a remarkable proof of the esteem in which he held the illustrious priest and his society. The episode is of historic interest. After the defeat of the Boyne, James II. withdrew to France, whither many of his gallant officers, after vainly trying to retrieve their losses, followed him. Louis XIV. appreciated their fidelity to their fallen king, and provided for them and their children in a princely manner. He confided their daughters to an illustrious Sisterhood, and proposed to give their sons positions in the army. But these noble exiles were only imperfectly acquainted with the customs and language of their adopted country; they required instruction and refinement before being introduced to society and presented to Court. Louis XIV. consulted eminent authorities, and was advised by them to intrust the noble little band to the Abbé de la Salle. The worthy priest saw in the demand an expression of the designs of Providence that the time had come to extend the usefulness of his society, and accordingly he hastened to open a boarding-school. The hopeful young Irishmen, fifty in number, were warmly received, and soon found a cheerful and comfortable home with the Brothers. De la Salle superintended their education, selecting his ablest masters to give them the instruction suited to their age and position; and so well did these teachers respond to the confidence placed in them that in a short time the young exiles were able to fill with credit, the various offices and posts of honor to which they were appointed. As may be expected, James II. took a lively interest in them. Accompanied by the Archbishop of Paris, he visited the school, and, delighted at seeing them so well cared for, testified his gratitude to M. de la Salle and to the Brothers in the most honorable terms. It may seem that the opening of this boarding-school was due to purely adventitious circumstances. This is only apparently true. Such establishments formed an integral part of the system of edu cation drawn up by De la Salle, and bequeathed to his successors. They were necessary to supply a great want. The extreme orders of society were now fairly provided for; a gap, however, separated the few, and it was the founder's intention to bridge it over as soon as he could by the creation of boarding-schools. To his other merits he thus added that of giving a great stimulus to middleclass education. We have just seen De la Salle considering the demand of Louis XIV. as an expression of the will of heaven. As a man of eminent piety and learning he was wont to see in the march of events the guiding hand of an ever-watching Providence. The spirit of faith was his compass, and it knew no variation. By its influence he interpreted events, one of which had lasting consequences for his institute. It seems to have been his intention from the outset that some of his disciples should take Holy Orders, so as to be the spiritual directors of their respective communities. But he proceeded slowly in order to proceed surely. He singled out from among his earliest followers a man of rare ability, whom he wished to prepare for the priesthood. But this promising subject was carried off by a premature death, and the designs of De la Salle frustrated. This sinister event was to him a warning from above, and he hastened to write in his rule that no member of his Congregation should aspire to the ecclesiastical state. This gave the new institute an essentially lay character, which was a departure from custom, and therefore an innovation. It was an innovation, however, that gave permanency to the Society, securing to it an order of talent that might eventually have been transplanted to other fields of labor. The Brother of the Christian Schools is thus the "pioneer of the various lay teaching Orders by which he is surrounded." De la Salle was eminent not only for his piety, but also for his learning. Of this he gave repeated proofs in his dealings with the Jansenists. These wily sectaries frequently tried to entangle him in their meshes. They were warm in his praises, and affected great zeal for the development of his work. They even helped him to open a noviciate in Marseilles, and encouraged young men to enter. They at last fancied they had fairly entrapped the unsuspecting priest. They then agreed to a public conference, in which the points at issue should be discussed. Guarded at first in their expressions, they soon threw off the mask. They sneered at Mgr. de Belsunce-"Marseilles' good Bishop," as Pope calls him—and derided the orthodox doctrine. They pointed their arguments by referring to De la Salle, then present, as one of their own. He instantly rose to repel the charge, and "in language borrowed from the purest sources, and with an eloquence that the occasion created, he proved the fallacy of the position which he had just heard assumed. Never had he felt the importance of not being misunderstood more than on the present occasion, and never were his enemies worse confounded. They were surprised at his manly defence." Thus writes one of his biographers. Not abashed by this public repudiation of their sect, the Jansenists tried other means to win over so influential a man to their party. They vainly offered him bribes, and tempted him with ecclesiastical dignities. Changing their tactics, they then endeavored to break up the noviciate and destroy the schools; but, failing in all these attacks, they determined to open their last battery. They printed a libellous pamphlet, and circulated it far and wide. They hoped to drive their enemy out of the city, his retreat being their triumph. But he boldly stood his ground and replied to their fire. This he owed to the faith he professed, as well as to the Brothers of his institute. "He, therefore," says his latest biographer, "prepared a memoir, in which, while speaking mildly of the character of his maligners, he tore their doctrinal errors to shreds. His victory was complete. His friends, who had known him principally because of his virtues, now found, to their great delight, that he was one of the ablest, though most modest, champions of the Church against the errors of Jansenism and its hypocritical followers." Soon after this, Clement XI. issued the famous Bull Unigenitus, which crushed Jansenism under its latest form of Quietism. De la Salle read and explained the document to his Brothers, and published an elaborate defence, which again drew down upon him the wrath of the irritated sectaries. It had long been his ambition to go to Rome and solicit in person from the Holy Father canonical recognition for his new Order. While yet residing at Marseilles he determined to avail himself of a favorable opportunity, and secured a berth on board a ship bound for Civita Vecchia. He had even gone down to the quay, and was on the point of embarking, when he perceived Mgr. de Belsunce hastening towards him. A good opportunity of opening a new school had just occurred, and the great bishop urged the importance of not neglecting it. De la Salle acquiesced; and, returning home, humorously said to his astonished community: "Behold me back from Rome!" He had already founded a house in the Eternal City, and intrusted its direction to one of the most prominent men among his earliest disciples. He was cordially attached to the Holy See, and ever wished to show his loyal submission to the successor of Peter by signing himself Roman priest. We have now briefly alluded to the leading events in De la Salle's life, and endeavored to sketch the bolder creations of his genius. And genius he unquestionably had, whether we give the term its usual meaning or define it as "the infinite power of taking pains." He was original in his conceptions, and considered no detail too minute that might in any way contribute to the harmo nious development of his plans. He foresaw everything, calculated his chances, and confidently abided his time. His life is an illustration of the saying, "To know how to wait is the great secret of success." His amiable manners and intelligent energy triumphed over difficulties before which many of a more herculean mould would have failed. He organized his Society with rare tact and sagacity, so much so that De Bonald, speaking of his code of rules, calls it a "masterpiece of wisdom and knowledge of men.” For forty years he led the educational movement in France; he identified himself with it, and became one of the glories of the great age in which he lived. After four decades of unwearied labor, after firmly establishing his Order, this great and good man went to his heavenly reward. He died at Rouen, April 7th, 1719, in the sixtyeighth year of his age. Posterity has classed him among the benefactors of humanity, his country has raised his statue,' and the Church, mindful of his virtues and heroic sanctity, has conferred upon him the title of Venerable. The grand work of the Venerable de la Salle continued to prosper down to the time of the Revolution. The men of 1789, who spared no one in their blind fury, imprisoned some of the Brothers and scattered the rest. But Italy kept alive the sacred fire; the Communities of Orvieto and Ferrara escaping the proscription of the French army, and thus maintaining the unbroken continuity of the institute. In 1806 Napoleon re-established the Society by imperial decree, pointedly remarking to those who discountenanced the measure: "I do not know what sort of fanaticism some persons manifest against the Brothers; everywhere I am asked to re-establish them. This general cry shows their utility. The least that Catholics can expect is equality; and certainly thirty. millions of men deserve as much consideration as three millions.”’2 Since that period the Order has steadily progressed and wonderfully developed. It is now no longer confined to its native country. It has crossed the seas, and its beneficent action is felt in almost 1 This magnificent monument, erected in Rouen, was unveiled with national splendor and ceremony in June, 1875. It represents the Venerable de la Salle in a pleasing attitude, with all his grace and benignity; it shows the arms of his noble house, of his institute, of Rheims and of Rouen. One of the bas-reliefs represents him in the act of distributing his patrimony to the poor, whilst another commemorates the visit of James II. The corners are held by children, who typify the four quarters of the earth, and from the base gush forth limpid streams, which symbolize the instruction plentifully poured out on the four parts of the globe by the Venerable de la Salle and his disciples. 2. "Je ne conçois l'espèce de fanatisme dont quelques uns sont animés contre les Frères. Partout on me demande leur retablissement; ce cri général démontre assez bien leur utilité. La moindre chose qui puisse être demandée pour les Catholiques, c'est sans doute l'égalité, car trente millions d'hommes meritent autant de consideration que trois millions." every land. The Order speaks all tongues. Instance the "heathen |