CHAPTER IX.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
Whilst the Hand of Providence was establishing the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel upon a solid basis in the young American Republic, Europe was being convulsed by one of the most appalling catastrophes that could have befallen human society. The Revolution in France had burst with all the fury of a gigantic storm upon Europe, causing thrones and empires to tremble and threatening to overturn the existing order of things. The seed planted by the so-called Reformation, and watered by the pseudo-philosophy of the XVIII century, represented by Diderot, Rousseau and Voltaire, had been developed, and the fatal plant of license and irreligion was now producing its most bitter fruit. The people, impatient of the yoke that tyranny had frequently rendered insupportable, on seeing its growing power, cast off authority, both of God and man, and set itself up as its own master. The good young monarch, Louis XVI, had been dragged from the throne to the scaffold, and an altar, erected to the goddess of Reason, had taken the place of the ancient worship.
The Revolution did not confine itself to France, but burst beyond the limits of that kingdom and threatened all Europe with destruction, carrying death and desolation along with it. Its choicest victims were the ministers of the Church, and religious men and women. It became in God's hand the instrument of His vengeance. The walls of the too often polluted sanctuary were overthrown, the guillotine reeked
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with the blood of countless innocent victims who were suffering the penalty of the sins of their fathers.
In 1792 the armies of the Republic had already entered into the Low Countries, and the war against religion began. On January 25th, 1793, four armed men entered the Carmelite Convent at Antwerp, and took an inventory of its goods. They, however, treated the nuns with great civility, and merely sealed the chest of three keys.1 Happily the enemy was driven out on March 27th, of the same year; and after their departure, the community settled down into its usual tranquillity, as every one assured them that it was impossible for the French ever to enter Brabant.
The year following, the enemy again appeared in the Netherlands. Now began the persecutions of the religious with renewed vigor. Convent after convent was suppressed, and the peaceful inmates who escaped with their lives were driven to seek a refuge beyond the seas. The following account given by one of the Augustinian nuns of Bruges, gives us an insight into the dreadful state of affairs that then existed :
"After leading a dying life for some months, from the constant dread of the French attacking us, on the first day of May, 1794, there was a general alarm in the whole town, for our cruel enemies were but twelve miles off and none of the troops of the combined army between them and us. Thousands of the inhabitants of Bruges were flying into Holland, and we ourselves were in the greatest consternation, not knowing what step to take. . . . The Bishop sent us an order to quit our dear convent and seek an asylum at Sluys, in Holland, nine miles from Bruges. We set off with heavy and broken hearts, between six and seven in the evening; some on foot, more than twenty of us, some in carts, for no other carriages could be procured, and only four of those. About
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1The chest of three keys is a case in which important documents and the funds of the community are preserved. It has three distinct locks, of which the keys are kept by the prioress and the first and second discreets.
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nine o'clock it began to rain very hard, and became so dark that we could not see. We lost our way and were very much frightened. A cannon was being fired off very much, and appeared very near to us. We endeavored as much as we could to keep up our spirits and to be resigned to the Will of God, in Whom we put our trust. We were soaked through with rain, and almost dead with fright and fatigue. We were obliged to stop at a village at about eleven, and take shelter in a public house, where we were obliged to stand all night, for not above six chairs could be lent us. We got fire made to dry ourselves, and a little warm tea without either milk or sugar. Though ready to die with fright and fatigue, each one seemed calm and resigned, although our hearts were almost broken. . . . At break of day we again began our dreadful march, and with great danger at last arrived at Sluys, about seven in the morning, ready to drop, all of us, having had neither rest nor sleep from the time we set off from our dear convent."
These good Sisters remained at Sluys in the midst of great sufferings for the space of five weeks, when, affairs seeming to take a better turn in Flanders, they all returned to their convent on June 4th. They had scarcely been there ten days when they were once more obliged to fly. This time they proceeded to Ghent, where they were hospitably entertained by the English Benedictines, and from thence to Antwerp. There they were lodged and boarded by the English Carmelites, who were most hospitable, generous and kind to them. Nine of the number went to the convent of Lierre, where they met with the same kind treatment. At Antwerp they were obliged to sleep three and four together in the same rooms, and on the ground. They had scarcely been there a week when they found that the French were making rapid progress in Flanders, and that Brabant was expose to great danger. They were consequently again obliged t fly, and departed for Rotterdam, intending to sail thence to England.
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It was now the turn of the Antwerp Community. They were forced to quit their beloved convent, that peaceful abode of virtue for nearly two hundred years. They started from Antwerp on the morning of June 29th, after having received Holy Communion and recited the Canonical Hours. One of their number, Sister Anna Maria, was left behind to dispose of' the property. She joined them three weeks later. Their confessor, Mr. Newsham, and four exiled French priests accompanied them. They remained at Rotterdam until the 6th of the following month, while waiting for a vessel. The Augustinian nuns hired a vessel, but admitted many on board, who, like themselves, were flying for their lives. The number that embarked was seventy-three. Of these, sixteen were Carmelites, one of whom belonged to the Lierre Community. There were also on board six Trappist monks. In this vessel, where they were deprived of all conveniences, they had to spend seven days and nights. One of the Augustinian nuns gives us the following account of their hardships:
" We were all stored, in the heat of July, in the body of this vessel. We had neither light nor air but from the roof, part of which we were obliged to keep open night and day, that we might breathe. We were provided with water and provisions for only four days, being assured our voyage could not exceed that time. The provisions were quite spoiled, the water began to fail and grow musty, and we were very little advanced on our way. . . . Our joy was great when we entered the river Thames, but was soon damped by an alarming event. An English man-of-war lay out to keep watch ; we were smartly fired at. The captain, a stranger, did not know what it meant, and did not give signs of submission, so that we expected our lives must pay for his ignorance, so that we set to our prayers and to resignation to God's holy Will. He lowered his sails, and waited the coming of the long boat; they came on board with drawn swords, but finding who we were, they left us with signs of compassion for us, and behaved very civilly."
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The company arrived at London on July 12th.
The Carmelites of Lierre and Hoogstraeten were also forced to fly before the fury of the storm that threatened them. A letter dated from London, August 15th, 1794, will afford us further information concerning the exiled Antwerp Community. We reproduce it here in its original form. It is addressed to Mother Clare Dickinson, of Mount Carmel, at Port Tobacco. Its contents are as follows:
LONDON, August 15,1794.
My Dear Clare.
I hope you will have received, before this reaches you, the letter I wrote on the 4th or 5th of July at Rotterdam, to acquaint you of the unhappy catastrophe of the Low Countries. I am sure you and each of your dear Community partake most largely of our afflictions, which we find very great, and each day even to increase at finding ourselves again thrust into the wide and wicked world. We sigh continually for our dear Hopland,1 and the more so as we know what savage hands the Low Countries are under, so that we have reason to fear every trait of religion will be effaced if they continue long there. And if they take Holland, of which there is apprehension, England will be in some danger; but I hope Divine Providence will preserve this land for their great charity to the distressed. One can scarcely believe the change there has been (in the few years I have been abroad) with regard to religion; it flourishes so well in the chapels, etc. The government has shown all the kindness possible to all the religious communities, and would show much more if they were not afraid of the populace, for which reason they advise us to be prudent and not dress particular, whilst we stay in town and are likely to be seen, for fear of raising a mob even for the curiosity of seeing nuns. We have got all our best ornaments and church things safe over, without being stopped or pulled about; as have also all the other convents, their church things. But the little time we had to pack up, made us obliged to leave great part of the worst ornaments behind, as also our library, which we very much lament. Sister Anna Maria staid behind a fortnight, and had a deal of trouble in selling the goods. She has now joined us, but poor Sister Elizabeth has not come, as the doctor declared her in a
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1The name of that part of the city of Antwerp where this Convent was situated.
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dropsy, and we believe will not live long. The Catholics have been very kind indeed to us, and have almost maintained us in victuals ever since we came, besides clothing us; and nevertheless we find London very expensive, and we pay three guineas a week for our house, besides most of us lying on the ground, and several in a room. We have heard of several houses in the country, but most of them so small that we should have the same inconveniences as here, so that I can't tell where we shall settle yet. When you write, direct to Mr. Wright, and he will know where to send it, in case (which I hope) we shall have left town before it arrives.
Our dear nuns of Hoogstraeten have taken a little house called Friar's Place, by Acton, three miles from Brook Green; they are to give £30 per an.; and have only, I think, nine rooms in the house, and have to pay three pence for every pail of water. Our Reverend Mother and Sister Mary Joseph went to see them on Friday; they found them in great poverty and without having any dinner that day, for want of coals and water to dress it with. I hope Almighty God will provide something better for them soon. All the communities of Brabant and Flanders are now safe in England, as also the Friars from Tongres, who came last week with the nuns of Prinsenhof. There now remain only the Jesuits and nuns of Liege; the latter are every hour expected in the river; as they left Rotterdam several days since; and the Fathers will not be many days after, as Mr. Strickland had a letter from Father Stone, a few days ago, from Holland to inform them of their being safe (I think it was from Amsterdam he wrote). We had been in great pain about them for several days, for fear they would not have been able to get out of Mastrick, where they were for sometime past. We had the pleasure to see Mr. Reeves1 a few days ago, with two or three other Fathers. He has brought over several of the boys; be has now gone into the country. The Jesuits will open their college as soon as they can get down to their house. Sister Anna Maria brought me a few lines from dear Monsr de Villegas; he wrote it some days after we left Antwerp. It is only to tell me of his very bad state of health, and how much it increases it not to be able to write to us. I reproach myself very much for not writing to him before we left Brabant, as there is no communication at present with those parts, and the guillotine is so busy there that it would be dangerous I fear to him to receive a letter from emigreés, if one could find a way to send it; pray very hard for him.
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1This was probably Rev. Thomas Reeve, S. J., brother of the author of the History of the Bible, also a Jesuit. Thomas Reeve taught at Liege, and at Stonyhurst, and died in 1826.
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Tell Sister Aloysia we came over in the same ship with Mrs. Moore's community, and that I like her dear friend, Sister Sales, very much indeed; she is gone now into the country with her three aunts; they have at last got a house, which Mrs. Moore sets off for to-day; 'tis where Father Newton died: Irnham.
The Liege gentlemen are arrived in the River; only a few will land; the rest go on to Hull, to their house which is that way.
The Sisters at Lierre left their convent on June 21st, of the same year, taking with them the remains of their venerated Mothers, Margaret and Ursula Mostyn.2 Two of the Sisters proceeded to Hoogstraeten. On their arrival at the English monastery, to their great surprise, they found the community enjoying an undisturbed tranquillity, being quite unconscious of their threatened danger. They actively assisted them in packing and securing their effects, remaining there a week till they were joined by the remainder of the community of Lierre. On July 2d all left Hoogstraeten for Breda and Rotterdam, whence they sailed on the 4th, reaching London on the 6th. Some of the community repaired to a house of a friend named Cotes, and the rest were conducted by Mr. Charles Butler to his mansion in Red Lion Square, where they remained nine weeks, meeting with every attention.
After many vicissitudes and wanderings the Lierre community finally settled at Darlington, where they have built a church and monastery, and are now, thanks to a loving Providence, happily established.
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1The Augustinian Nuns.
2See the Life of Margaret Mostyn, by Canon Bedingfield, edited by Father Coleridge.