Girard0080 - Revision history

Merv at 05:40, 26 November 2014

2014-11-26T05:40:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:40, 26 November 2014
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	:::::United in true charity, very Reverend and beloved Father,		:::::United in true charity, very Reverend and beloved Father,
	:::::::Your most obedient servant		:::::::Your most obedient servant
	:::::::::+ J(ean) B(aptiste) F(ranç)ois Pompallier		:::::::::+ J(ean) B(aptiste) F(ranç)ois Pompallier
	:::::::::::Bishop of Maronea and Vicar-Apostolic of Western Oceania		:::::::::::Bishop of Maronea and Vicar-Apostolic of Western Oceania
	;[25]: PS As we have been told with great certainty that there are great troubles in Europe, I have addressed some letters directly to the person to whom I have written. There is a letter to my mother, dated the 16th or 17th of this month. It contains some general news. I am drawing to your attention to it so you may warn my mother with a little note that she takes care not to copy it, if it concerns the Congregation and the Propagation of the Faith.<ref>Pompallier has in mind, it seems, that his mother would copy parts of his letter – to send to friends and relatives, perhaps - translator’s note</ref>		;[25]: PS As we have been told with great certainty that there are great troubles in Europe, I have addressed some letters directly to the person to whom I have written. There is a letter to my mother, dated the 16th or 17th of this month. It contains some general news. I am drawing to your attention to it so you may warn my mother with a little note that she takes care not to copy it, if it concerns the Congregation and the Propagation of the Faith.<ref>Pompallier has in mind, it seems, that his mother would copy parts of his letter – to send to friends and relatives, perhaps - translator’s note</ref>

	:::::::+ François		:::::::+ François
	=== Notes ===		=== Notes ===

Merv at 05:39, 26 November 2014

2014-11-26T05:39:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:39, 26 November 2014
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	==26 November 1840 - Bishop Jean-Baptiste-François Pompallier to Father Jean-Claude Colin, Otago==		==26 November 1840 - Bishop Jean-Baptiste-François Pompallier to Father Jean-Claude Colin, Otago==

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	;[21]: We continue the account of this beginning of the missions in this harbour; I have already missed out several ships in the belief that I didn’t have the time to say everything; but I can [now]. I have not told you about our quite providential journey from Akaroa to Otago. As I had been told at Akaroa that it would sometimes take three weeks to complete the journey by sea to Otago because of variable winds and storms, although with a favourable breeze one could get there in twenty-four hours, and as a loss of three weeks’ time would too much upset the schedule of my mission journey at that time, I personally resolved to set sail, on leaving Akaroa harbour, for the south or north coast, according to the way that the wind favoured; that is to say, for Otago if the wind favoured that direction, or for a harbour to the north of Banks Peninsula, if the wind came to blow from the south. It was with this plan that we left Akaroa on a Saturday, the 14th November. We had some difficulty in getting out of the harbour; we were forced to tack out to the entrance; there was almost no wind to that point and still if it wasn’t directly for Otago, it was far from being favourable for it, but hardly had we got out into the open sea with the thought of going to the harbour on the north side of Banks Peninsula, when the wind immediately changed, became strong from the north, and promptly the captain, whom I had told of my intention, had the setting of the sails changed, the ship was headed for Otago and we sped in that direction. The next day at two o’clock in the afternoon we were not very far from the entrance to the harbour which was narrow and not easily seen by captains who had not been there before; there are long reefs hidden under the water; they are about twenty miles to the north of Otago, and according to the locals extend for about three leagues (c. 15 km). As we had three Europeans on board, employed for steering the schooner, who had lived on the coasts near there and in Otago itself, the captain was relying on their directions to discern the entrance to Otago harbour, which the shapes of a mountain range beaten by the waves of the sea made difficult to see. But alas! Those men made a miscalculation, they confused one mountain with another, which should have been the sign for the entry: this mistake, which placed the harbour a dozen miles more to the north, resulted in the captain getting a direction that was both misleading and more dangerous, because in bringing the schooner pretty close to the coast to catch sight of the entry to the harbour and anchor there, we found ourselves precisely over those reefs which we spoke about. We were all on the bridge, happy at arriving and congratulating ourselves on our speedy journey, when suddenly we heard a sudden shaking of the ship, a sound as if we were on the rocks which were covered by six or seven feet of water. Immediately the questions: “Where are we? We are in contact with reefs.” The captain quickly turned the rudder to send the schooner out to sea and God, who was watching over us, had willed that the rock did not do us any harm, and that the breeze should be so strong that in the wink of an eye we were torn from our situation over the reefs and found ourselves further out to sea. We soon realised the mistake made concerning the entry to the harbour, which our people realised must be 12 or 15 miles further south. Interiorly I was quick to give thanks to God and the protection of Mary on account of the imminent danger from which we had just been delivered. From that time we travelled quickly, still with a favourable wind, but with more care, with the captain strongly of a mind to rely only on himself in entering Otago harbour. However the night fell without his being able to make it out; it wasn’t very dark, but the rain and the fog added to the difficulties of finding the entrance; it was overshot by about three miles to the south without being caught sight of; the three men on the lookout constantly did their best to discover the entrance, believing that if it could be seen, there was no danger in entering and going on to anchor in the harbour that very night. The captain, very embarrassed, came to consult me and set out for me his concerns: I answered him by saying that I didn’t believe myself able to settle this navigational matter, and that he to do his best to do what he thought appropriate for the common good, for which he was solely responsible. However, I added that if I were in his place I would, like him, be inclined to await daylight to carry out this entry into the harbour, although by going to bed further out in the open sea, we could be surprised by one of the storms which are frequent in this area, and which could delay our coming to an anchorage by a week or even more. At this point the lookouts and some other seamen came up, saying there was not the slightest danger in entering the harbour; they believed they had caught sight of it amongst the noise of the waves breaking on the coast; they were certain of it, they pointed it out to the captain, but alas, those poor lookouts were quite wrong again; they took a bay which had no depth in its shape, and whose shape was hidden by fog close to the sea, they took I say, this bay for the entrance to Otago (harbour) which we had left more than three miles behind us. The captain, quite worried, again came to me and told me that he had a special difficulty in making up his mind to steer the schooner at night into the place he had been shown. I answered him in a decisive tone, yes, let’s go to bed out at sea, that is what seems to me to be the most prudent thing to do, let the Lord’s will be done. Then any hesitation ended; the bow of the schooner was directed to the open sea, where we spent the night cruising under a fairly strong wind.		;[21]: We continue the account of this beginning of the missions in this harbour; I have already missed out several ships in the belief that I didn’t have the time to say everything; but I can [now]. I have not told you about our quite providential journey from Akaroa to Otago. As I had been told at Akaroa that it would sometimes take three weeks to complete the journey by sea to Otago because of variable winds and storms, although with a favourable breeze one could get there in twenty-four hours, and as a loss of three weeks’ time would too much upset the schedule of my mission journey at that time, I personally resolved to set sail, on leaving Akaroa harbour, for the south or north coast, according to the way that the wind favoured; that is to say, for Otago if the wind favoured that direction, or for a harbour to the north of Banks Peninsula, if the wind came to blow from the south. It was with this plan that we left Akaroa on a Saturday, the 14th November. We had some difficulty in getting out of the harbour; we were forced to tack out to the entrance; there was almost no wind to that point and still if it wasn’t directly for Otago, it was far from being favourable for it, but hardly had we got out into the open sea with the thought of going to the harbour on the north side of Banks Peninsula, when the wind immediately changed, became strong from the north, and promptly the captain, whom I had told of my intention, had the setting of the sails changed, the ship was headed for Otago and we sped in that direction. The next day at two o’clock in the afternoon we were not very far from the entrance to the harbour which was narrow and not easily seen by captains who had not been there before; there are long reefs hidden under the water; they are about twenty miles to the north of Otago, and according to the locals extend for about three leagues (c. 15 km). As we had three Europeans on board, employed for steering the schooner, who had lived on the coasts near there and in Otago itself, the captain was relying on their directions to discern the entrance to Otago harbour, which the shapes of a mountain range beaten by the waves of the sea made difficult to see. But alas! Those men made a miscalculation, they confused one mountain with another, which should have been the sign for the entry: this mistake, which placed the harbour a dozen miles more to the north, resulted in the captain getting a direction that was both misleading and more dangerous, because in bringing the schooner pretty close to the coast to catch sight of the entry to the harbour and anchor there, we found ourselves precisely over those reefs which we spoke about. We were all on the bridge, happy at arriving and congratulating ourselves on our speedy journey, when suddenly we heard a sudden shaking of the ship, a sound as if we were on the rocks which were covered by six or seven feet of water. Immediately the questions: “Where are we? We are in contact with reefs.” The captain quickly turned the rudder to send the schooner out to sea and God, who was watching over us, had willed that the rock did not do us any harm, and that the breeze should be so strong that in the wink of an eye we were torn from our situation over the reefs and found ourselves further out to sea. We soon realised the mistake made concerning the entry to the harbour, which our people realised must be 12 or 15 miles further south. Interiorly I was quick to give thanks to God and the protection of Mary on account of the imminent danger from which we had just been delivered. From that time we travelled quickly, still with a favourable wind, but with more care, with the captain strongly of a mind to rely only on himself in entering Otago harbour. However the night fell without his being able to make it out; it wasn’t very dark, but the rain and the fog added to the difficulties of finding the entrance; it was overshot by about three miles to the south without being caught sight of; the three men on the lookout constantly did their best to discover the entrance, believing that if it could be seen, there was no danger in entering and going on to anchor in the harbour that very night. The captain, very embarrassed, came to consult me and set out for me his concerns: I answered him by saying that I didn’t believe myself able to settle this navigational matter, and that he to do his best to do what he thought appropriate for the common good, for which he was solely responsible. However, I added that if I were in his place I would, like him, be inclined to await daylight to carry out this entry into the harbour, although by going to bed further out in the open sea, we could be surprised by one of the storms which are frequent in this area, and which could delay our coming to an anchorage by a week or even more. At this point the lookouts and some other seamen came up, saying there was not the slightest danger in entering the harbour; they believed they had caught sight of it amongst the noise of the waves breaking on the coast; they were certain of it, they pointed it out to the captain, but alas, those poor lookouts were quite wrong again; they took a bay which had no depth in its shape, and whose shape was hidden by fog close to the sea, they took I say, this bay for the entrance to Otago (harbour) which we had left more than three miles behind us. The captain, quite worried, again came to me and told me that he had a special difficulty in making up his mind to steer the schooner at night into the place he had been shown. I answered him in a decisive tone, yes, let’s go to bed out at sea, that is what seems to me to be the most prudent thing to do, let the Lord’s will be done. Then any hesitation ended; the bow of the schooner was directed to the open sea, where we spent the night cruising under a fairly strong wind.
	;[22]: The next day we saw we were not far from land; we approached, the breeze was favourable. We looked for the entrance to the harbour which had, some thought, been caught sight of the day before, and we all realised, even the lookouts, by the sight of two mountains which were on the northern and southern heads of what seemed to the entrance to Otago harbour, that it was only a small bay backed by a sandy shore and offering very little shelter, but that the true entrance of Otago harbour was three or four miles to the north. Alas, that second mistake could have been at least as dangerous as the first, over the reefs the day before! If we had, at night, steered for the claimed entrance of Otago harbour, we would have, in a few moments, got into the half-moon shape of this little bay, and as we had a strong wind from the stern to get there, it would have been impossible for us to get out of it when we found our mistake and we would have certainly been shipwrecked. You can imagine how much the captain and I congratulated ourselves at not having listened to the entreaties made the previous evening, with the best of intentions, no doubt, to get us to go in a direction heading for shipwreck instead of that leading to the harbour!		;[22]: The next day we saw we were not far from land; we approached, the breeze was favourable. We looked for the entrance to the harbour which had, some thought, been caught sight of the day before, and we all realised, even the lookouts, by the sight of two mountains which were on the northern and southern heads of what seemed to the entrance to Otago harbour, that it was only a small bay backed by a sandy shore and offering very little shelter, but that the true entrance of Otago harbour was three or four miles to the north. Alas, that second mistake could have been at least as dangerous as the first, over the reefs the day before! If we had, at night, steered for the claimed entrance of Otago harbour, we would have, in a few moments, got into the half-moon shape of this little bay, and as we had a strong wind from the stern to get there, it would have been impossible for us to get out of it when we found our mistake and we would have certainly been shipwrecked. You can imagine how much the captain and I congratulated ourselves at not having listened to the entreaties made the previous evening, with the best of intentions, no doubt, to get us to go in a direction heading for shipwreck instead of that leading to the harbour!
	;[23]: At last, with the breeze continuing to blow from a good direction, we caught sight of the so much sought for entrance, we were very close to it, only a mile, and there was rejoicing that we were, in a few moments, going to anchor in the harbour. But God still wanted to test us: the breeze fell, a calm occurred and the schooner went before our very eyes towards the rocks on the south side of the entrance which we were missing. However, we were not alarmed, the danger was not great, because the currents which pulled us along, although strong, were not such as would prevent us from towing the schooner from there with two ships, which were launched with men from the crew; by rowing, the ship could be turned enough towards the open sea by going with the currents going southward. Once out of danger, we waited almost the whole day until a breeze blew to take us out of the calm which left us at the mercy of the currents and close to the coast. Our desires were more than satisfied in this sense, in that instead of a favourable breeze that we were hoping for, we quickly went from one extreme to another: a very strong wind got up and we had a storm instead of a calm, and we had to quickly get out to sea and out of the threatening proximity of the coasts in such circumstances. It was at nightfall, and the whole night went by without our knowing where we were, amongst the waves: resting in the arms of the Lord, the best of fathers, we went to bed: Father Comte, Father Pèzant and I; (Father Pèzant is with us, I will explain that later on). We slept nevertheless and in the morning we were more than twenty-five miles from the entrance which we had got only a mile from the day before. The storm was soon over in the morning, and we once again were in a calm. Finally at two in the afternoon, a good breeze came, and we sped under full sail towards the entrance which the captain had clearly perceived the day before, and in less than three hours we were at the mouth of the river<ref>Otago Harbour, being long and narrow with strong tides, like the Hokianga Harbour that Pompallier knew well, could well have seemed like a river - translator’s note</ref> of this great harbour. Then I called together the missionary Fathers who were with me, and we recited the customary prayers I had prescribed for the first time a mission territory is entered: they consist in reciting the litanies of the Blessed Virgin, the ''Miserere'',~~<ref></ref>~~ ''Veni Creator'', so as to drive evil spirits from this district, and give it the blessing in the name of the most holy Trinity, and ending with the ''Sub tuum'' to place, in advance, the people and the works of the ministry which will open up for them, under the protection of Mary, the mother of mercies and of all the treasures of grace, like those of faith. We were soon at the anchorage. Hardly had we anchored – it was about six or seven in the evening, and still daylight, when four or five young New Zealanders came out to us by means of a good whaleboat, because the harbour being quite rough would not have allowed them to come out in ordinary canoes. As soon as they were on the bridge they came and shook hands with us: they were open and friendly in appearance. They looked us up and down, and quite astonished, gazed at three strangers dressed in soutanes, which they had never seen. I said to the one who seemed the smartest and to be the leader of the little group of his companions, “From what tribe are you?” He replied immediately, indicating with his hand the place where his tribe lived. “Do you know who I am?”, I went on. “Yes”, he said, “you are perhaps the ''episcopo'' [bishop] whose visit we were told about by the high chief of the Baubi peninsula, and he advised us that if you came, we should receive you in peace.” We were surprised, the two priests and myself, at the speed with which news was shared among the natives. Myself, I had not been certain that I could carry out my intentions in that matter about which I said little, for fear that once it became known, difficulties would be raised against it being carried out.		;[23]: At last, with the breeze continuing to blow from a good direction, we caught sight of the so much sought for entrance, we were very close to it, only a mile, and there was rejoicing that we were, in a few moments, going to anchor in the harbour. But God still wanted to test us: the breeze fell, a calm occurred and the schooner went before our very eyes towards the rocks on the south side of the entrance which we were missing. However, we were not alarmed, the danger was not great, because the currents which pulled us along, although strong, were not such as would prevent us from towing the schooner from there with two ships, which were launched with men from the crew; by rowing, the ship could be turned enough towards the open sea by going with the currents going southward. Once out of danger, we waited almost the whole day until a breeze blew to take us out of the calm which left us at the mercy of the currents and close to the coast. Our desires were more than satisfied in this sense, in that instead of a favourable breeze that we were hoping for, we quickly went from one extreme to another: a very strong wind got up and we had a storm instead of a calm, and we had to quickly get out to sea and out of the threatening proximity of the coasts in such circumstances. It was at nightfall, and the whole night went by without our knowing where we were, amongst the waves: resting in the arms of the Lord, the best of fathers, we went to bed: Father Comte, Father Pèzant and I; (Father Pèzant is with us, I will explain that later on). We slept nevertheless and in the morning we were more than twenty-five miles from the entrance which we had got only a mile from the day before. The storm was soon over in the morning, and we once again were in a calm. Finally at two in the afternoon, a good breeze came, and we sped under full sail towards the entrance which the captain had clearly perceived the day before, and in less than three hours we were at the mouth of the river<ref>Otago Harbour, being long and narrow with strong tides, like the Hokianga Harbour that Pompallier knew well, could well have seemed like a river - translator’s note</ref> of this great harbour. Then I called together the missionary Fathers who were with me, and we recited the customary prayers I had prescribed for the first time a mission territory is entered: they consist in reciting the litanies of the Blessed Virgin, the ''Miserere'', ''Veni Creator'', so as to drive evil spirits from this district, and give it the blessing in the name of the most holy Trinity, and ending with the ''Sub tuum'' to place, in advance, the people and the works of the ministry which will open up for them, under the protection of Mary, the mother of mercies and of all the treasures of grace, like those of faith. We were soon at the anchorage. Hardly had we anchored – it was about six or seven in the evening, and still daylight, when four or five young New Zealanders came out to us by means of a good whaleboat, because the harbour being quite rough would not have allowed them to come out in ordinary canoes. As soon as they were on the bridge they came and shook hands with us: they were open and friendly in appearance. They looked us up and down, and quite astonished, gazed at three strangers dressed in soutanes, which they had never seen. I said to the one who seemed the smartest and to be the leader of the little group of his companions, “From what tribe are you?” He replied immediately, indicating with his hand the place where his tribe lived. “Do you know who I am?”, I went on. “Yes”, he said, “you are perhaps the ''episcopo'' [bishop] whose visit we were told about by the high chief of the Baubi peninsula, and he advised us that if you came, we should receive you in peace.” We were surprised, the two priests and myself, at the speed with which news was shared among the natives. Myself, I had not been certain that I could carry out my intentions in that matter about which I said little, for fear that once it became known, difficulties would be raised against it being carried out.
	;[24]: Alas! I am forced to end there – the ship is ready to leave. I regret that very much, there are still very interesting things to talk about. But, I hope, there will be another time when I can tell them to you. Please send me, Reverend Father, a lot of subjects, a lot of money, and then the two presses, the two excellent presses I asked you for in my preceding letters. I do not need to ask the whole Society for prayers; I am sure it is offering many of them for us. The work here, the workers, our good Master, our august Mother, our rewards in Heaven, are for us ''a single thing''.		;[24]: Alas! I am forced to end there – the ship is ready to leave. I regret that very much, there are still very interesting things to talk about. But, I hope, there will be another time when I can tell them to you. Please send me, Reverend Father, a lot of subjects, a lot of money, and then the two presses, the two excellent presses I asked you for in my preceding letters. I do not need to ask the whole Society for prayers; I am sure it is offering many of them for us. The work here, the workers, our good Master, our august Mother, our rewards in Heaven, are for us ''a single thing''.
	:::::United in true charity, very Reverend and beloved Father,		:::::United in true charity, very Reverend and beloved Father,

Merv at 05:38, 26 November 2014

2014-11-26T05:38:33Z

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Merv: /* Notes */

2014-02-16T05:46:31Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:46, 16 February 2014
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	=== Notes ===		=== Notes ===
	<references/>		<references/>



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			\|align=center \|[[Girard0079\|'''Previous Letter''']]\|\| align=center \| [[Contents#1840\|'''List of 1840 Letters''']] \|\| align=center \| [[Girard0081\|'''Next letter''']]
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Merv: Created page with "==8 December 1840 — Father Philippe Viard to Father Benoît-Stanislas Condamin, Tauranga== ''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, October 2012'' ''The recipient is, no doubt, Fat..."

2013-08-20T08:23:09Z

Created page with "==8 December 1840 — Father Philippe Viard to Father Benoît-Stanislas Condamin, Tauranga== ''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, October 2012'' ''The recipient is, no doubt, Fat..."

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==8 December 1840 — Father Philippe Viard to Father Benoît-Stanislas Condamin, Tauranga==

''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, October 2012''

''The recipient is, no doubt, Father Bênoit-Stanislas Condamin of the diocese of Lyons. He and Viard had been curates at St Louis de la Guillotiêre in Lyons in the time preceding Viard’s entry into the Marist novitiate in 1838; Condamin stayed there until his appointment to the parish of Cours in the canton of Thizy in July 1844 (Cf A A L register of personnel, No 2, Vachet, p 604; ''Dictionary of NZ Biography'', Vol 1, p 560) ''

:Extract from a letter of Reverend Father Viard, missionary apostolic of the Society of Mary, to Father Condamin.

:New Zealand, Tauranga

:8th December 1840

:My beloved confrère,
;[1]: It is a year ago today that I greeted New Zealand for the first time. After a three month stay at the Bay, I accompanied our holy Bishop on his long and happy journey to the islands of the south. A great number of tribes were visited: everywhere his Lordship was eagerly greeted by the natives. You could not have restrained your tears on beholding those good islanders dashing into the water up to their waists to more quickly reach a canoe and compete with one another to bring it to shore, accompanied by shouts from the crowd, drunk with joy. At the moment when we were stepping ashore, the noise redoubled, muskets were fired to celebrate the arrival of the prelate whose arrival had been awaited so long and with so much impatience. In each island people, with great cries, asked for priests; the demands were so lively and urgent at Tauranga that the Bishop promised to leave me amongst these good people.
;[2]: Six months have already gone by since I took up this appointment, still without a confrère and one hundred leagues [c. 500 km] from the Bay of Islands. I have five tribes to serve; here are their names: Matamata, Motuhoa, Matakana, Maungatapu, which means “holy mountain”, and Otumoetai.<ref>Written ''Motuihoa'' for ''Motuhoa''; ''Matakama'' instead of ''Matakana''; ''Maunga-tapu'' instead of ''Maungatapu''; ''Tumeotai'' instead of ''Otumoetai''. Viard’s “five tribes” were in fact ''pa'', or names of places. The name ''Otumoetai'' comes up twice in Pèzant’s history (Cf [[Girard0865|Doc 865]] [8, 34])
</ref> This last named is the centre of the mission. I usually live there, and it is there as well that my ministry has received its most abundant blessings.
;[3]: How often, in the presence of the Lord, do I complain at finding myself alone in breaking the bread of life for so many people so desperate to feed themselves with it! How many souls would be saved, how many children would not die without baptism, if a host of priests flew to New Zealand! The difficulties and sufferings of our apostolate are, indeed, smaller than many imagine. The climate where I live is truly blessed by the heavens, ferocious animals and poisonous insects are quite unknown here, there is no harsh cold here nor excessive heat; if from time to time it rains, serenity quickly returns; the soil is fertile, and although its produce is not really diverse, not only does it provide for the natives’ needs, but it also gives them what they need to trade with the Europeans who frequent these seas. Of course the zeal of the man of God, in order to be encouraged, does not need the gratitude of his neophytes; however that reward which he does not seek is certain to be found in New Zealand. Our Christians easily come to love all those who do them good. When we speak to them about so many people who are concerned for their welfare, they are all dumbfounded and shout in admiration: “Oh, how good they are! Kapai, Kapai!”<ref> Kapai – two Maori words ''Ka pai'' where the particle ''ka'' designates a situation up till now unknown to the speakers, and ''pa'' means good or excellent.</ref> We often show them on the maps the various countries of Europe from whence come the prayers and the alms that support our missions, and then they unite their prayers to ours, so that God may shower graces and blessings on all their loving benefactors.
;[4]: Along with these interior qualities, the New Zealanders have also a happy openness of mind and a great desire for learning. They are, as well, quite industrious and show a lot of interest in carving. The main occupation of the men is cultivating the soil and building Maori canoes,<ref>''Waka-maori'': ''waka'' – canoe, and ''maori'' – usual, normal, native </ref> a type of boat which is long and narrow, with which they are not afraid to challenge waves and storms. The women, after taking care of the housework, spend their time in weaving very beautiful cloaks. More commonly, people of high status clothe themselves in a simple woollen blanket. If you see them from a distance hastening in a crowd to prayer, wrapped in that long blanket with which they sometimes swathe their heads, they could be taken for religious of the Grande Chartreus going to matins.
;[5]: Since arriving in Tauranga, I have baptised nearly two hundred children, a great proportion of whom have already gone to heaven. I have also conferred the same sacrament on a lot of adults, among them the primeval chief of the island. I like to think he owes his conversion to the prayers of his little daughter. That child was the first whom I regenerated in the waters of baptism. I gave her the sweet name of Marie, two months before she died. The sorrow of her parents was extreme, because they loved her very much. According to the custom of the New Zealanders they withdrew far from their dwelling place, near the place where they had put the body of their beloved child, and there they did not cease to weep tears. Several times I went to bear them words of consolation, but nothing could dry their tears. No doubt, while the father and the mother were grieving the loss of their only daughter, that little angel, that innocent Marie, was praying for them in heaven; her payers were heard. The father, worn down by grief, had become dangerously ill, people despaired his life, when I was called to him to instruct him about the holy laws of the Gospel. By means of an unhoped for grace, his strength came back to him, along with that indescribable calm which comes about in a soul which, at last, is invaded by the sweet certainties of faith. He has completely recovered, and has asked me for baptism, and is completely resolved to serve until he dies the God who already has his little Marie. He is always the first to come to prayers, and for myself he is the most devoted friend. He takes great pleasure in being in my house, and, if I am absent, he becomes its guardian. A fortnight after his baptism, I gave the same sacrament to his wife. Many important people are urging me to grant them this grace as well, but I am delaying so as to get them to better appreciate what it is worth.
;[6]: Please commend our mission to the prayers of all those who strive seriously for the glory of God. I have great confidence in particular in the prayers of little children; get them to pray for the little New Zealand children: tell them that the Oceanians of their age are not as fortunate as they are, that most of them do not have priests to teach them to love Jesus and Mary.
:::::Farewell, dear friend, etc
:::::P(hilippe) J(oseph) Viard, missionary apostolic

=== Notes ===
<references/>