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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

b

GIFT OF

-. Ben B. Lindsey

A ROYAL SON AND MOTHER

PKINCK DEMETRII'S (iALLITZIN.

A ROYAL SON

A X D

MOTHER

BY THF

BARONESS PAULINE VON HUGEL

Notre Dame, Ind.:
THE AVE MARIA

LuRETTO PRESS

Copyright, 1902,
By D. E. HUDSON, C. S. C.

M105

In Memory
of

PRINCE DEMETRIUS GALLITZIN

of

HIS NOBLE MOTHER,

and of the

BARONESS PAULINE VON HUGEL.

As a Tribute

to

MR. AND MRS. CHARLES M. SCHWAB,

ofLoretto, Pa.,

who have erected in that storied village u

beautiful and fitting monument to

its Founder and first Pastor;

To

MR. JOHN A. SCHWAB,

who with grateful veneration superintended the

construction of this Memorial Church;

and to the

REV. FERDINAND KITTELL,

who has done so much to revive the memory ol

The Pioneer Priest of the Alleghenies,

This Biography

is republished from the pages of

The Ave Maria.

"In this country, a traditional antipathy or
bigoted repugnance to the Catholic Church pre-
vails in an unjustifiable extreme. Whatever is
repulsive in the Catholic dogmas or rule is
fastened on with unwarrantable acrimony and
exclusiveness. The interests alike of justice and
of good -feeling demand that the attention of
Protestants shall, at least occasionally, be given
to the best ingredients and workings of the
Catholic system. In the present work, we have
the forensic doctrine and authority of Catho-
licity in the background, its purest inner aims
and life in the foreground. We here have a
beautiful specimen of the style of character and
experience which the most imposing organic
Symbol of Christendom tends to produce, and
has, in all the ages of its mighty reign, largely
produced. If every bigoted disliker of the Roman
Catholic Church within the English-speaking
race could read this book, and, as a consequence,
have his prejudices lessened, his sympathies en-
larged, the result, so far from being deprecated,
should be warmly welcomed. This is written
by one who, while enthusiastically admiring the
spiritual wealth of the Catholic Church, the
ineffable tenderness and beauty of its moral
and religious ministrations, is, as to its dog-
matic fabric and secular sway, even more than
a Protestant of the Protestants." — Rev. William
Rounseville Alger, " Madame Swetchine's Life
and Letters" (Introduction).

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. — Germany ... - 5

II. — America - - - 50

III.— The Founding of Loretto - 72

IV— Last Days ... 96

A ROYAL SON AND
MOTHER.

I. — Germany.

TT is rather strange that no
times should have differed
from one another more widely
than the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries. We feel more in
sympathy with, say the fourth
or fifth century, that produced
a Jerome, an Augustine, and a
John Chrysostom — an age of
decadence, no doubt; and yet
one of intense intellectual ac-
tivity, of deep heart - searching,

5

6 A ROYAL SON

of vehement thirst after truth, —
than with those days so com-
paratively close to our own,
when all seemed so cold, so
colorless, so shallow; when the
very first need of man — his need
of God — was as though it had
died away.

Then came the French Revo-
lution, succeeded by the terrible
Napoleonic days, when apathy
and indolence had perforce to
be shaken off, and men were
roused to the consciousness
that there was still such a
thing as patriotism in the
world; that noble enthusiasms
needed but the strong winds
of adversity to fan them into
flame. And yet how deep-seated

AND MOTHER. 7

were the nervelessness and
indolence of the children of an
effete civilization ! Had the Cor-
sican tyrant worn his laurels
with one degree less of insolence,
had his despotism been a little
less brutal, German princes and
Russian statesmen and Italian
diplomatists might have gone
on obligingly handing him over
crown after crown.

An age barren in patriots is
also an age barren in saints.
The man who can not be fired
to a lofty enthusiasm, to heroic
self-sacrifice for his country, is
not made of the same stuff as
those blessedly violent ones who
carry the kingdom of heaven by
storm. Hence we see a lament-

8 A ROYAL SON

able dead level in the religious
life of the eighteenth century.
The gentle Anna Emmerich was
almost persecuted by good men
for having the stigmata; any-
thing abnormal, anything like
direct interference on the part
of Heaven with the ordinary
jog-trot of human existence,
aroused suspicion, even resent-
ment. There was indeed faith,
beautiful and deep - rooted,
among the Catholic poor; but
the wise of this world had not
only lost faith, but lost all
respect for faith; it was looked
upon as something obselete, use-
less, no longer capable of exer-
cising any power over the lives
of men. Bound, as they said,

AND MOTHER. 9

to die out among the lower
orders of society, the upper
classes had already flung it
aside, as soon as the fashionable
French philosophy had won the
day.

It was at this period of spirit-
ual darkness, as yet showing no
signs of the grand revival to
come, that Amalie von Schmet-
tau was born in Berlin, in
the year 1748. Field - Marshal
Count von Schmettau, her
father, was a Protestant; but,
as her mother was a nominal
Catholic, Amalie was to be
brought up in the old faith.
She was sent at a very early
age to a convent school in Bres-
lau, from whence at fourteen

10 A ROYAL SON

she returned good and innocent
but with a very imperfect edu-
cation. "I felt," she wrote in
later years, "as though I had
dropped from the skies, to find
myself abruptly removed from
the atmosphere of an enclosed
convent to that of my mother's
house, one of those most fre-
quented by the gay world of
Berlin."

Frederick the Great had re-
ceived Voltaire with open arms
at his court, and the French
infidel had taught fashionable
German society to sneer in the
most approved style at all
things great and hoty. The
grand old language of their
fathers was no longer tolerated ;

AND MOTHER. 11

in polished circles only French
was to be spoken and written;
and with the old language the
old beliefs were to go too ; and,
if possible, that which has been
well called the glory of the
Teutonic race — its hunger and
thirst after God.

Amalie von Schtnettau, whose
rare abilities fitted her to shine
so brilliantly in her mother's
salon was now sent to an edu-
cational establishment in Berlin,
conducted by an avowed French
atheist. The girl remained there
about eighteen months, to re-
turn home once more, still inno-
cent and in one sense unspoiled,
but with no faith whatever left.
Her beauty, her great talents,

12 A ROYAL SON

her musical accomplishments,
and a certain innate refinement
and distinction, quickly made
her a great favorite at court.

In 1768 she went to Aix-la-
Chapelle as lady in waiting to
one of the German princesses.
Here she met Prince Gallitzin,
the Russian Ambassador to
France. He was a man con-
siderably older than the inter-
esting young girl, but perhaps
all the quicker to discern and
appreciate her superior quali-
ties. After a short acquaintance
he made her an offer of mar-
riage, that was accepted both
by Amalie herself and her rela-
tives, though for very different
reasons. It was a brilliant

AND MOTHER. 13

marriage ; this recommended the
Prince to her family. With
Amalie this side of the question
had not the least weight. In
after years she wrote to an
intimate friend: "My heart did
not feel the need of what is
generally called love. But an
affection that would lead one to
desire and seek the perfection of
the person one cared for — this
I felt myself strongly capable
of; it was an idea that had
taken deep root within me and
had become necessary to my
happiness. Such an ideal was
quite independent of externals.
I believed the Prince could be
everything to me, if he but
shared these views."

14 A ROYAL SON

Alas! so far from sharing
them, he was not even capable
of comprehending them. He
proved himself in many ways a
kind husband and father; but
he was a disciple of the new
school, which owned Voltaire,
Diderot, D'Alembert and the
other Encyclopedists for its
leaders ; and in their philosophy
poor Amalie's idealism had no
place. Indeed, proof does not
seem wanting that the evil tree
— French philosophy — brought
forth evil fruit in the moral
conduct of Amalie's husband,
which explains the long years
of their separation. But over
this the high-souled wife has
thrown a veil, which it would

AND MOTHER. 15

be useless and ungenerous now
to draw aside. At the time of
their marriage the young wife
was almost as little of a Chris-
tian as her elderly husband;
but while she was groping
toward the light in a darkness
that oppressed her, he was
content with his own shallow
views of life.

Shortly after their marriage
Prince Gallitzin took his beau-
tiful bride to St. Petersburg.
She was presented to the famous
Empress Catherine, who soon
after appointed Prince Gallitzin
Minister to the Hague. In
Berlin, on their way to Holland,
Marie Anna (Mimi), their only
daughter was born ; and a year

16 A ROYAL SON

later, in December, 1770, at
the Hague, their only son,
Demetrius.

Amalie's life was now seem-
ingly a brilliant one. Rich,
young and beautiful, highly
gifted, blessed with two dearly
loved children, she was not
happy. "In vain," she writes,
"did I throw myself into the
distractions and amusements
of the great world. I brought
back after these entertainments,
visits, dances, theatricals, and
other frivolities, only an in-
creased, fruitless longing after
something higher, something
better, which I could speak of
to no one. It was seldom that
I did not cry myself to sleep.

AND MOTHER. 17

I felt like one of those actors
who have to amuse others on
the stage while in secret they
are shedding bitter tears."

She felt a great longing to
lead a quiet, retired life, devoted
to study and the education of
her children. But the obstacles
in the way of such a plan seemed
insurmountable. And now we
can but admire how God Him-
self leads onward the soul that
is unconsciously striving after
Him.

Diderot, one of the French
atheistic philosophers, was for
a time living at the embassy as
Prince Gallitzin's guest. Amalie
opened her heart to him, and
he approved of her wish to

18 A ROYAL SON

devote herself to "philosophy,"
and to give up the world and
its frivolities. He undertook to
obtain her husband's consent,
which he did ; and in future,
whilst keeping on cordial terms,
corresponding regularly, and
meeting occasionally, the Prince
and his wife pursued their very
different ways apart.

Amalie never did things by
halves. She took care quickly
to burn her ships behind her.
She cut herself off from all
society, save that of a chosen
set of intimate friends of like
mind with herself. Every luxury
of dress, which then was at
its height, was rigorously re-
nounced. Her beautiful dark

AND MOTHER. 19

hair, in which splendid, costly-
pearls had been wont to gleam,
and which had been particularly-
admired, was shaven oft", and a
black flat wig worn instead.
The gay embassy was aban-
doned for a plain little country-
house situated between the
Hague and Schevelingen ; and,
as a warning to visitors, over
the door hung a sign-board with
the strange device, Nithuys —
"Not at home."

Amalie was now exceedingly
happy. "Soon I felt such com-
fort in this new life, in constant
intercourse with my children, in
gradual advance in knowledge,
and above all in the peace of
conscience with which I every

20 A ROYAL SON

night retired to rest, that still
higher thoughts found room in
my mind. God and my own
soul came to be the usual sub-
jects of my reflections and in-
vestigations."

That Amalie Gallitzin's young
children received a very strange
education her most ardent ad-
mirers would not seek to deny.
It must be remembered she was
really educating herself— trying
first one system and then
another, anxious to put what
she read into practice, and
making many an experiment
with the poor little boy and
girl. Mimi, the daughter, being
somewhat of an amiable non-
entity, was affected compara-

AND MOTHER. 21

tively little by the educational
vagaries of her mother. At one
time she and her brother were
made to run about barefoot,
at another to plunge into the
cold river from a bridge, to
"harden" them and make them
fearless.

But with Mitri (Demetrius)—
clever, impulsive, sensitive, re-
fined— mistakes were likely to
be fraught with evil conse-
quences. That his mother, who
loved him so dearly, and whom
he resembled so much, later on,
in his splendid spirit of self-
sacrifice and utter unworldli-
ness, sorely misunderstood him
seems certain. From the first
she had an impossibly high

22 A ROYAL SON

standard for the poor boy, who,
naturally spirited, was forever
being checked and veered round
like a pony in a game of polo.
This led to a seeming inde-
cision and weakness of character
very foreign to his real nature.
If you do not know where you
stand, it is difficult to "put
your foot down." Now, to his
mother, who was all fire and
energy, anything like weakness
and half- heartedness was of all
things most intolerable. His
father, who saw the boy but
seldom, judged far more cor-
rectly when he said: "That lad
has really a tremendous will of
his own, and will always go
counter to the stream."

AND MOTHER. 23

And yet all the different sys-
tems of philosophy and educa-
tion (some absurd enough) that
were tried on herself and her
two children by the Princess,
were adopted and abandoned
with such earnestness of pur-
pose, such a single-eyed desire
to do not only right but the
best, that we feel the Sacred
Heart must have been touched;
and we do not wonder that
our generous God should have
made all things co - operate unto
good to that favored mother
and son, who were by and by
to love Him with a love nothing
short of heroic.

Demetrius had a prodigious
memory, and in his old age

24 A ROYAL SON

could still describe how when he
was four Years old he was taken
to see the Empress Catherine,
who petted the pretty, fair-
haired, blue - eyed child, and
then and there presented him
with that ensign's commission
in the Russian army which was
destined to be the source of so
much trouble. He remembered
those early days and their
sumptuous elegance, in which,
as to the manner born, he had
been the little tyrant, ordering
about servants and serfs in
most lordly style. But soon
all that was changed: he was
required to live in quite a
poor way, to wait upon him-
self, and not to be spared the

AND MOTHER. 25

rod for childish misdemeanors.

In a memorandum from the
Princess to the children's tutor
we find the following: "Keep a
sharp lookout on the children's
chief faults. Mimi is talkative,
vindictive and quarrelsome ; and
Mitri gives me much pain by
his inveterate laziness and ab-
surd want of pluck." Very
serious are her letters to her
son, who was, after all, but a
little boy. On his fourteenth
birthday she wrote to him :

"My thoughts to-day are a
mixture of joy and dread. My
first thought on awaking was
certainly one of joy, love and
gratitude that God had given
you to me, — that He had

26 A ROYAL SON

granted me the grace to bring
a soul into the world, destined,
perhaps, to eternal salvation.
But, oh, this 'perhaps'! Here
came another cruel thought,
fraught with fear and great
uneasiness. To-day I said to
myself: 'He has lived fourteen
years, and he is still, alas!
quite will - less and colorless,
creeping along life according
to the lead and will-power of
others.' This terrible thought
suggested the doubt whether
this being I had brought into
the world could ever grow up
into a man pleasing to God, an
heir of salvation; or whether,
in spite of all the excellent gifts
bestowed upon him by an all-

AND MOTHER. 27

good Creator to enable him to
be one of the best and happiest
of men ; whether in spite of my
anxieties, prayers, entreaties, he
would continue to hasten on
toward destruction.

"For a while I had been full
of better hopes, which I gladly
own have not altogether left
me; but they have all grown
dim since I have seen the ever-
recurring signs of the slavish
way in which you sink back
into your dreadful sloth and
want of energy. . . . Have mercy
on him, Heavenly Father, — have
mercy on him and on me ! Hear
him, help him, and strengthen
him when he prays with sin-
cerity and a firm will. Lord,

28 A ROYAL SON

Thou who knowest all things,
Thou knowest that I care
nothing for the praise of men,
for riches, for honors, either for
him or for myself; but only
for the honor of pleasing Thee
and for the happiness of both
together drawing nearer and
nearer to Thee, till we shall be
united in that love and blessed-
ness which Thou hast promised
us for the sake of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen."

But in quoting this remark-
able letter we are anticipating.
In the year 1779 the Princess
began to think of a change of
residence. Her little retreat did
not afford the necessary means
of education for children beyond

AND MOTHER. 29

a certain age. At first Geneva
suggested itself as a likely place ;
it was in the heyday of its
reputation as a city of culture
and modern "enlightenment."
Moreover, Prince Gallitzin owned
a small property in its neighbor-
hood, and readily gave his as-
sent to a family migration.
But it was not to be: God was
about to lead the eager, earnest,
groping soul surely and sweetly
into His pleasant paths of peace.
Before Geneva had been finally
settled upon, Amalie was told
wonders of a new educational
system introduced by Franz
von Fiirstenberg, as minister of
Prince Maximilian of Cologne,
into the town of Minister and

30 A ROYAL SON

other districts of Westphalia.
This holy and enlightened priest
was greatly in advance of his
age, and had devised such an
excellent scheme for public
education that even infidel
philosophers were forced to
express wonder and admira-
tion.

The Princess was far too eager
to investigate anything likely to
benefit her two children not to
decide upon a visit to Minister
as soon as she had read one of
Fiirstenberg's pamphlets. From
their first acquaintance this
truly great man made a pro-
found impression upon her. In
her letters to her husband she
always speaks of Furstenberg

AND MOTHER. 31

as le grand homme. This ad-
miration soon ripened into a
friendship which made her feel
the priest's counsel and support
necessary to her in the great
task of her life — the education
of her children. Moreover,
Fiirstenberg did not stand
alone: at his side was the
saintly Overberg, who devoted
his time and talents to teaching
the teachers of the poor. She
felt, and with reason, that she
now lived in an entirely new
world.

Her new friends did not talk
religion to her — that would at
once have repelled her, — they
lived religion. Their lives were
obviously the fruit of an unseen

32 A ROYAL SON

deep root. Amalie asked no
questions, she but basked in
this sunny atmosphere of light
and life, from which she felt it
impossible to tear herself away.
She rented a small country-
place, known as Angelmodde, in
the neighborhood of Minister;
and now at length the days of
real education had begun. To
her own children, Mimi and
Mitri, were added Amalie von
Schmettau, who afterward be-
came a nun in Vienna; George,
a son of the celebrated Jakobi;
and the Droste-Vischerings, one
of whom became dean the other
bishop of Miinster.

The Princess, in her anxious
search after truth and goodness,

AND MOTHER. 33

had lost none of her old spright-
liness and charm. Her society
to the end was eagerly courted
by all the best and most dis-
tinguished men of her time.
But, strange to say, even yet
Amalie continued to believe she
was attracted to Fiirstenberg
and her new friends in spite of,
rather than because of, their
religion. "I could not," she
once wrote, "blind myself to
the great views and principles
of Herr von Fiirstenberg; but
I felt I must forgive him his
Christianity on the score of
early education and prejudice.
I had started my friendship by
frankly asking him kindly not
to convert me, as in all that

34 A ROYAL SON

concerned Almighty God I could
stand no meddling; that I did
not fail to pray to Him for
light, and at the same time kept
my heart open to receive it.''
Hence even then there could be
no question of definite dogmatic
Christian teaching in the educa-
tion of her own and her adopted
children.

Later she mourned that her
want of faith had deprived the
children's earlier years of the
blessed knowledge of Christ.
Once, when speaking of a family
singularly fortunate in the way
the sons had turned out, she
unhesitatingly ascribed it to
their early training in piety and
devotion ; adding that what she

AND MOTHER. 35

had obtained only through in-
finite pains and labor, these
Christian parents had effected
with comparatively little or no
trouble.

But a practical difficulty now
arose. What were the children,
no longer little children, to be
taught about religion? It was
the very last subject she would
entrust to the teaching of a
stranger ; yet what did she her-
self know or believe about it?
But at length she solved the
vexed problem by resolving to
teach them "historical Christi-
anity," as she called it, leaving
them free to choose their own
religion as they grew up. But
even for this she had to qualify

36 A ROYAL SON

herself, and with her usual

whole - heartedness she threw

herself into a most careful and

conscientious study of the Bible,

especially of the New Testament.

And then there arose before

her, dim and shadowy at first,

but ever gaining in strength and

light and beauty, the blessed

picture of the Incarnate God, —

of Him who is not only the

light of the New Jerusalem, but

the sunshine, the glory of every

faithful soul in this vale of tears.

"I resolved," she says in her

memoirs, "to obey our Saviour's

touching advice: 'My doctrine

is not Mine but His that sent

Me. If any man will do the

will of Him, he shall know of

AND MOTHER. 37

the doctrine.' Consequently I
began to act as if I really be-
lieved in Him. I at once com-
pared my principles and actions
with His teaching; and how
much did I not find that re-
quired attention, — many things
that before had hardly seemed
to me to be faults! I had
prayed before only rarely, now
I began to pray frequently;
and so often were my peti-
tions answered that I became
incapable of doubting the effi-
cacy of prayer. Certain doubts
against Christianity also were
gradually cleared away."

During this time of spiritual
growth she was attacked by a
dangerous and tedious illness,

38 A ROYAL SON

during which she was forbidden
to exert herself in any way ;
even the children's education
had to be entrusted to other
hands. Hence she had plenty
of leisure for quiet reflection,
self-examination, and above all
prayer. And so it came about
that on the Feast of St.
Augustine, which happened also
to be her birthday, Amalie's
eager, troubled spirit found joy
and peace in a very humble
confession — her first since the
old days of childhood. In the
saintly Dr. Overberg she found
not merely a confessor, but a
spiritual father, — "some one
who," as she so well expresses
it, "would care for me suf-

AND MOTHER. 39

ficicntly in spite of all my
unlovableness, out of pure
Christian zeal; one who would
look after me spiritually, train
me, correct, comfort and exhort
me."

Soon afterward she wrote
to Mitri, somewhat wistfully:
"Dear child, I am obliged to
grieve you so often because I
must wish and will for you
what till now you have not
known how to wish and will
for yourself; and I have had to
keep 3rou from what you most
eagerly desired. Believe me,
my dear son, this constant
thwarting of your wishes is
the hardest of my duties; for
it seems to me as though

40 A ROYAL SON

thereby I might lose your love
and confidence. And yet some
day — perchance only after I am
in my grave — you will learn to
bless me for this strictness."
And the day did come; for in
far -distant America the grand
old missionary would at times,
with tears in his eyes, talk by
the hour in glowing words of
his "glorious mother."

Amalie's children soon followed
her example in submitting them-
selves to the Church. On Trinity
Sunday, 1787, they were both
Confirmed ; they were now
seventeen and eighteen years
of age.

Prince Gallitzin seems to have
manifested no displeasure at the

AND MOTHER. 41

religious conversion of his wife
and children. As his son was
receiving the liberal education
befitting a youth of his rank —
an education that included
French, music, riding, fencing,
dancing, and the more serious
studies requisite for the military
profession, — the father was sat-
isfied, and had sufficient good
taste and feeling to be glad that
to all these things should be
added innocence of life and high
principle. Seven years earlier
Amalie had considered the
children old enough to profit
by travel; and Demetrius in
later life would recall with
interest the visits paid with
his mother to the Stolbergs at

42 A ROYAL SON

Eutin, to Jakobi at Diisseldorf ;
above all to Weimar, the Athens
of Germany, where the noble
Herder seems to have attracted
the lad more than the great
Goethe himself; though Goethe
was a sincere admirer of the
Princess.

There is an account of an
interesting interview between
Amalie and Goethe in after
years. She, full as usual of
her beautiful, earnest zeal for
souls, invited Goethe to her
house at Miinster, — an invita-
tion gladly, though perhaps a
little timorously, accepted. The
great man probably guessed
what he was "in for," and
showed no resentment when

AND MOTHER. 43

the Princess began, after the
manner of the saints, to speak
to her guest of the judgment
to come. The next day, when he
departed, she accompanied him
a stage or two of his journey,
still speaking to him with that
wonderful absolute conviction
which invariably commanded
respect, often admiration, and
not infrequently brought about
conversion. Alas! in the case
of Goethe it was to bring forth
only the first two of these fruits.
But such pleasant journeys in
the Fatherland were considered
insufficient for the liberal edu-
cation of the children of the
upper classes of those times.
As Demetrius grew older, Prince

44 A ROYAL SON

Gallitzin did indeed talk of
sending him straight to St.
Petersburg to join the army;
but his mother was opposed to
this plan. Her Catholic heart,
no doubt, shrank from exposing
her son, whom she considered
very unformed, very young for
his age, very "infirm of pur-
pose," to the corruption of
Russian high life. Moreover,
her motherly vanity wished to
see him more polished, less
angular; and so a distant voy-
age was discussed.

Till now there had been but
one place where "golden youth"
could receive its extra coat of
gilding ; but, happily, Paris,
the gilder's shop, could not

AND MOTHER. 45

then be thought of, — it was
in the throes of that terrible
revolution of which no one
could foresee the end. An
alternative was decided upon,
in which we can not fail to
see the guidance of Providence.
The Gallitzins determined to
send their son to America for
two years, — why it seems a
little difficult to say. Probably
the Princess, who looked upon
Mitri as an idle dreamer and
somewhat of a weakling, judged
that having to "shift for him-
self" and stand alone for a
time would strengthen and
develop his character.

A young priest named Brosius,
tutor in the Droste family, had

46 A ROYAL SON

just decided to go to America

as a missionary. This would

be an excellent escort for

Demetrius, whose two years

in America were to be spent

in making himself conversant

with the language, laws and

habits of this interesting and

most flourishing country. Prince

Gallitzin was an admirer of

Washington and Jefferson, and

in his letters to his son bids

him try for familiar intercourse

with such great men. His

mother, too, furnished him with

an introduction from the Bishop

of Hildesheim and Paderborn

to the celebrated John Carroll,

first Bishop of Baltimore, —

indeed in those days the only

AND MOTHER. 47

Catholic bishop in the whole
of the United States.

Demetrius set out on his long
journey in August, 1792. His
departure furnishes a curious
anecdote. Had the sensitive
and high - souled youth of
twenty - two summers some
presentiment that, once gone,
he would never return; that
this was a last solemn fare-
well to home, to friends, to
country, — in fact, to all human
brightness? At any rate, his
resolution failed him ; and, with
what his mother considered
characteristic indecision, he
began to discuss whether the
journey had not best be given
up, after all. The moment was

48 A ROYAL SON

certainly ill chosen: already his
mother and he were walking
arm in arm to the quay at
Rotterdam, whence a little boat
was to take him on board the
great ocean vessel. For a few
minutes Amalie said never a
word; then, with flashing eyes,
she exclaimed, " Mitri, I am
most heartily ashamed of you ! "
and the next moment Demetrius
found himself floundering in the
water. He was quickly picked
up by the laughing sailors, who
at a sign from his mother rowed
him swiftly away.

The dear old priest, Father
Gallitzin, when he merrily told
this tale against himself forty-
two years later, would not be

AND MOTHER. 49

positive that the "accident"
had not perhaps been occasioned
by a quick, involuntary move-
ment on the part of his mother,
causing him to stumble and so
fall into the sea ; but he very
much inclined to the opinion
that she had purposely given
him this wholesome ducking.

50 A ROYAL SON

II. — America.
It is strange that Gallitzin's
sudden immersion should have
effected as sudden a change in
his character. Up to then he
was the refined, romantic, pur-
poseless youth ; henceforth he is
a man of energy and action —
devoted, self-sacrificing, ready
to do and dare anything in
the great cause to which he
was about to give his life.
Almost the first news received
in Germany from our traveller
was the very astounding in-
telligence that he had resolved
to leave all things and settle

AND MOTHER. 51

down in America as a poor,
despised missionary of the Cross
of Christ.

Mitri, her own beloved Mitri —
dear and good, it is true, but
somewhat of a "softy," a pur-
poseless dreamer, — now a priest,
and above all a missionary!
His mother could hardly believe
her senses. This was the son to
whom but a few years before
she had written: "It is a
wretched thing that a youth
of eighteen should be a child.
He can not, of course, as yet
be a man; but he must be a
youth and no longer a child,
if he ever means to be a
man."

And now Princess Amalie had

52 A ROYAL SON

a hard time of it. She was a
chronic invalid, a great sufferer.
With all her seeming harshness
toward Mitri, she loved him
dearly and well. Yet she had
to bear not only his loss, but
to be blamed by her husband
and all her relatives for being
in the secret, — for having known
" all about it " throughout. And
when able to disprove this as-
sertion, she was still accused
of having, through her exag-
gerated piety, been the means
of putting such high - flown
ideas into the young man's
head. The Prince was the first
to recognize his mistake and
to write a generous letter to
his wife, freeing her from all

AND MOTHER. 53

blame; which, considering his
grievous disappointment, was
most creditable to him.

The Gallitzins were indeed in
a very awkward position. As
Demetrius held an ensign's com-
mission in the Russian army,
and was due in St. Petersburg
at the end of two years at the
latest, his father now wrote to
him entreating him, almost com-
manding him, to return; for he
foresaw clearly enough what
a refusal would entail. Accord-
ing to Russian law, he would
be disinherited for becoming a
Catholic priest ; but besides this
he would, because of his neglect
to take up his commission, be
looked upon as a quasi-deserter,

54 A ROYAL SON

and be banished from the empire
as a rebel.

It was now that the full
beauty and magnanimity of
Amalie Gallitzin were seen in
their true light. Her absolute
unworldliness, her reverence for
the slightest whisper of the
Divine Voice were so great that
never once did she seek to turn
Mitri from his purpose, beyond
quietly laying the state of the
case before him for his own
judgment. In spite of worry
and opposition and a good
deal of secret heartache, in the
depths of her great soul she
rejoiced and gloried in the
vocation of her son.

When the Princess had given

AND MOTHER. 55

Mitri the Bishop of Hildesheim's
introduction to the Bishop of
Baltimore, she no doubt im-
agined him one of those dig-
nitaries of the Church, such
as they were in Germany — a
temporal lord, a man of vast
influence, who lived in a palace
and had a large seminary and
other ecclesiastical establish-
ments under his control. How
different was the reality!

John Carroll had been named
Bishop in 1790, two years before
Gallitzin's arrival. He belonged
to one of those honorable
families that had come over
to America in Lord Baltimore's
time and settled in Maryland.
His cousin Charles was a true-

56 A ROYAL SON

hearted patriot, who had signed
the Declaration of American
Independence. Demetrius found
Bishop Carroll living a life of
truly evangelical poverty and
hardship. Beyond a small pri-
vate fortune, he possessed no
means except such as, with
some difficulty he derived from
Europe; for no endowment went
with the episcopal dignity.

Carroll had received his ec-
clesiastical education in France,
where he had formed many
friendly relations. Hence when
the revolution broke out several
distinguished French priests
came to America and offered
him their services. Among these
were the Abbe Dubois, who

AND MOTHER. 37

died in extreme old age as
the first Bishop of New York;
Flaget, Bishop of Louisville;
Brute, afterward Bishop of Vin-
cennes ; and Nagot, president of
the famous Seminary of St.
Sulpice in Paris. When first
this little band of devoted men
came to the new country, they
had to earn their daily bread
by giving French lessons; and
only after mastering the diffi-
culties of the English language
were they able to help Bishop
Carroll in the care of souls.

The Abbe Nagot soon founded
an establishment for training
youths for the priesthood; it
was on so modest a scale and so
humble in its beginnings it could

58 A ROYAL SON

hardly be called a seminary.
Among its candidates for the
priesthood, Stephen Badin was
the first and Demetrius Gallitzin
the second.

At first, of course, Gallitzin
took up his abode in the quasi-
seminary simply for conveni-
ence' sake — as a visitor, — for
Brosius, his travelling com-
panion, had been sent off to
another mission ; so he was
alone. But he had hardly been
Abbe Nagot's guest for two
months ere he wrote a letter
to Minister, in which he said
that he had dedicated himself,
soul and body, with all that
he had and all that he was,
to God's service and the salva-

AND MOTHER. 59

tion of his neighbor in America ;
and that what had led him to
this resolve was the urgent need
of workers in the Lord's vine-
yard. He saw that priests in
this country had often to ride
for forty or fifty hours or more
to administer the Sacraments to
the faithful. He could scarcely
fear that any one would doubt
the sincerity of his vocation,
considering the prospect of very
hard work which it entailed.

This was indeed true. Mitri
had well counted the cost; for
was he not living in the heart
of the painful but glorious self-
immolation which characterized
those first Catholic missionaries?
There was nothing feverish or

60 A ROYAL SON

spasmodic in his resolve: the
sacred fire had been quietly
kindled in his heart; little was
said by hirn at any time, only
much was done.

The jroung man was to receive
no outward encouragement.
The letter to which I have
just referred was written to
his confessor in Miinster, — a
good man, a Franciscan friar,
but a man of the eighteenth
century. He seems to have
been too much alarmed to
reply. Only after a second
letter from Mitri had made
it clear that his advice was
no longer needed, and that
the decisive step had already
been taken, did he pluck up

AND MOTHER. 61

courage to write. In a long-
winded Latin epistle, full of
platitudes, he, a son of St.
Francis, dared not positively
say, "Give up this high-flown
nonsense and return to your
family"; but he said that it
was Mitri's duty to consult
his father, and to do nothing
till he had obtained his consent.
Alas for the friar if his blessed
founder had followed such ad-
vice!

Demetrius had, of course,
written to him in confidence,
with the express recommenda-
tion to say nothing even to
his mother for the present; for
he had made up his mind not
to proceed in the matter till

62 A ROYAL SON

he had waited a reasonable time
for a reasonable answer. The
reply failed to come; and when
at length the friar did write, it
transpired that Demetrius' first
letter had been handed to him
by the Princess herself, who said
she had received but a short,
unsatisfactory letter from her
son ; and as the Father's seemed
to be a longer letter, she asked
him if he would read it and tell
her what her son wished or
was doing.

"As I had forgotten my spec-
tacles," the worthy man writes,
"Dr. Overberg, who was also
present, offered to read the
letter aloud, which he did from
beginning to end. How I felt

AND MOTHER. 63

during the reading and how
overcome the reader himself
was you can not well imagine.
What deep sorrow filled my
heart as I saw your mother
look so sad and anxious! Herr
von Fiirstenberg was absolutely
silent. Oh, how I sighed when
I noticed that I had been the
innocent cause of so much
sorrow ! "

The poor young student, so
far from receiving encourage-
ment, was disturbed by long
letters from all sides, seeking
to change his purpose. Even
good men could not appreciate
the heights of such a vocation
as this. Such a new experience
in the even tenor of the dear

64 A ROYAL SON

old Miinster existence puzzled
the saintly Overberg himself, —
who, however, soon came to
Gamaliel's conclusion — "If it be
of men it will come to naught;
if it be of God no one can resist
it," — and contented himself with
merely exhorting his young
friend to prove his own heart
earnestly, and not to be in too
great a hurry to take any ir-
revocable step.

The excellent Von Fiirsten-
berg winced at the scandal of
the Cross, — at the trials and
humiliations of an unknown
missionary in a strange land.
If Mitri really wished to be
a priest, he wrote, why not
return to Europe, where such

AND M OTHER. 65

a vocation could at least be
carried out in a manner suit-
able to his rank and position?
It can, therefore, be no matter
of surprise that Mitri's Protes-
tant relatives should be furious.
His uncle, a Russian general,
wrote that he considered cer-
tain enthusiasts must be to
blame for making his nephew
forget his rank and family, as
well as all sense of fitness and
propriety, to embrace "a state
of shame and disgrace."

In the meantime, as Gallitzin's
German biographer writes, "his
mother, though she was the
hardest hit and had to bear
the brunt of the storm, behaved
much the most sensiblv. She

66 A ROYAL SON

wrote immediately to the Abbe
Nagot, the Bishop of Baltimore,
and Herr Brosius. And when,
through their answers and the
letters of her son, she felt as-
sured that it was a true voca-
tion, she was unconcerned as to
the worldly consequences of so
unusual a proceeding, and ex-
ulted in the happiness of being
the mother of a young man
so superior to the colorless,
commonplace personalities of
these times as to have been
capable of choosing such a
state of life."

Prince Gallitzin ( or Herr
Schmet, as he was called ) was
all the while quietly pursuing
his studies at Georgetown, to

AND MOTHER. 67

which place the little seminary
had been removed from Balti-
more. Humility had doubtless
much to do with the ugly alias
to which Gallitzin persistently
clung; but in the first instance
it had been motived by a little
human prudence. A prince is
often fleeced ; and Mitri's father
had wisely suggested that the
American tour could be made
equally pleasant at half the
expense if the young man
travelled as plain Herr Schmet.
In 1793 his mother writes:
"The greatest— nay, the only
happiness that can rejoice the
heart of man here below is
to be able to put himself just
there where God would have

68 A ROYAL SON

him be, and then to fill that
post worthily and well." She
goes on to assure him that all
the reproaches and unpleasant-
nesses she may have to bear
on his account will be accepted
cheerfully; and that she can
conceive no greater delight, no
more splendid reward for all
her sorrows and cares than to
see the son of her heart standing
at God's altar. Only two things
would she ask of him : first, not
to hurry — carefully to examine
his own heart before taking the
irrevocable step; secondly, to
promise her to keep his free-
dom— not to bind himself by
vow to the American mission;
for, though determined not to

AND MOTHER. 69

keep back anything in her
sacrifice, she could not as yet
face the thought of never seeing
her only son again.

Gallitzin's friends were of
opinion that by a timely,
merely temporary return to
Em-ope, some settlement might
be made with the Russian
government so that at least
part of his inheritance might
come to him. However, a re-
quest for his return had been
anticipated by Demetrius, who
had at once written to say
that he renounced all claim
to his inheritance. In a letter
to Amalie the elder Gallitzin
explains that the mere fact of
their son's having become a

70 A ROYAL SON

priest disinherited him accord-
ing to Russian law. And he
adds:

"All that I have will conse-
quently go to Mimi, whom,
however, 1 know to be honor-
able and generous, so that her
conscience would never allow
her to rob her brother in order
to enrich herself. ... If you wish
you may send on this letter to
Mitri. It will save me the pain
of writing to him myself. I
must add, however, that, in
my opinion, if a nobleman
renounces the profession of
arms to which he is destined
by his birth and enters the
Church, he can do no less than
become either a missionary or

AND MOTHER. 71

a monk, if he wishes to prove
to the world that the career
to which he was entitled was
abandoned neither through
cowardice nor ambition."

72 A ROYAL SON

III. — The Founding of
Loretto.

In March, 1795, Demetrius
Gallitzin was ordained priest,
and at once set to work; for
in April we already find him
at Port Tobacco with another
missionary. The self- forgetful
zeal and splendid spiritual gal-
lantry which were to char-
acterize his long and arduous
apostolical career at once
showed themselves. In the very
first month of his new labors
there was a letter from Bishop
Carroll bidding him moderate
his ardor and spare his strength

AND MOTHER. 73

more; for it had reached his
Lordship's ears that the young
priest would often travel un-
conscionable distances in his
love for souls, even "in weather
unfit for a dog." Bishop Carroll
knew only too well from per-
sonal experience what sort
of entertainment awaited the
weary missionary after a jour-
ney of this kind. So Gallitzin
was ordered to return to Balti-
more for a while to take charge
of the German Catholics, who
were clamoring for a priest con-
versant with their language.

Gallitzin remained for two or
three years, first at Conewago,
a settlement composed mainly
of Germans ; and then at Taney-

74 A ROYAL SON

town, Maryland, which had
an exclusively English-speaking
community; so that he had to
resort to this language, which
he soon learned not only to
speak but also to write with
singular ease and purity. In-
deed toward the end of his life
his German grew very rusty.
After all, French had been the
fashion at home; and there was
now a strong feeling that Gal-
litzin preferred the English and
Irish sheep of his flock to his
own country people. If so, it
was not unnatural: the Irish
and English emigrants were
often excellent specimens of their
countrymen; whereas in those
days the settlers from Germany

AND MOTHER. 75

were frequently the reverse. But
this is anticipating.

He had not been long at
Taneytown before he and his
church - trustees fell out, — a
thing at that time so common
that it would not be worth
mentioning, says his biographer,
had it not been the occasion of
making Gallitzin first think of
founding an independent colony
established on entirely Catholic
lines.

In the year 1798 Bishop
Carroll wrote to inform him
that some of his flock had
been complaining of his harsh-
ness and high-handedness. The
good Bishop knew how to take
such an accusation with a very

76 A ROYAL SON

large grain of salt; still he
thought it well to remind his
ardent missionary to temper
zeal for God's glory with gentle-
ness and forbearance toward
his neighbor. The advice was
given in the most paternal
spirit; and it may well have
been that Gallitzin, with the
blood of many a Russian despot
in his veins, should sometimes
have found it difficult to ac-
commodate himself to the ways
of American democracy. But he
was singularly clear-headed as
well as far - seeing ; and not
many years were needed to
prove to the rising episcopate
that he had been contending
for something worth a contest —

AND MOTHER. 77

the freedom and independence
of action of the clergy, without
which a priest's position in re-
gard to his flock becomes false
and untenable. The trustee sys-
tem, which answers among the
various Protestant sects, does
not work well in a Catholic
parish. The priest's position is
that of the spiritual father of
a family, not that of a salaried
preacher to a congregation of
critics.

It may here be objected that
trustees were useful in the erec-
tion of churches, founding of
missions, etc. Even in such
cases it is not clear that the
system worked well. In a new
country, where speculation was

78 A ROYAL SON

the order of the day, sharp
practice might be resorted to
in the building of a church or
school as unscrupulously as in
that of a theatre or factory.
Sacred buildings would be
erected with borrowed money,
which might be reclaimed by
an unfortunate speculator at
a moment when it was im-
possible to pay back the loan;
and thus a church might come
under the hammer, without any
regard to its holy character.

Pews — of the old-fashioned
kind, provided with lock and
key — filled the churches, and
were let to the highest bidders
by auction. To Gallitzin, such
a system, which left the poor

AND MOTHER. 79

no alternative but to be jostled
in the doorway or to stop at
home, was an abomination.
He also strongly resented trial
sermons, such as are usual
among Presbyterians, where the
congregations are free to choose
whichever candidate has pleased
them best by his discourse. , Gal-
litzin could not and would not
be a parish priest under such
conditions. It was not for this
that he had left home and
country and fortune and honors.
In his old age he was asked
how the strange idea had ever
entered his head of wandering
forth into the wilderness to
found his Catholic colony, from
whence at first he had had to

80 A ROYAL SON

send no less than fifty miles to
the nearest mill, and twice as
far for coffee, salt, sugar, and
other necessaries. He replied:
"I migrated to get away from
trustees, pew - renting, and all
the other evils connected with
the system; and there were no
means of escape but to devise
another system with laws of
its own. Wherever the work
had been already begun, it was
spoiled because Catholics had
always copied Protestants. I
recollect going to Philadelphia
to pay Brosius a visit and to
see what the place was like.
While saying Mass in the church
belonging to the Germans, I
heard a constant rolling and

AND MOTHER. 81

banging, with shouts and loud
speaking. When I asked what
it all meant, I was told that
there was a cellar under the
church which had been let by
the trustees to a wine and
spirit merchant. 'Well, well,' I
said to myself, 'and has it
really come to this? Never will
I enter that church again."'

The idea which soon shaped
itself in his mind was to found
a little Catholic community in
the far West. The "far West"
in those days was Pennsylvania;
for anything still farther was as
yet a complete wilderness, in-
fested by Indians and wild
beasts. A small colony had
some years previously settled

82 A ROYAL SON

in the present St. Vincent, and
thence a few families had pushed
on about fifty miles to the
northeast into the Allegheny
Mountains.

Gallitzin, who had occasionally
visited these people from Taney-
town, decided to cast in his lot
among them, and accordingly
wrote to the Bishop for the
necessary permission. In his
reply the Bishop expressed great
surprise at so strange a request,
and doubted whether Gallitzin
would have strength for so
arduous an undertaking. How-
ever, he added: "I will grant
your petition, and heartily agree
to your evangelizing from thence
the districts you mention —

AND MOTHER 83

Huntington and other places
lying nearer to the East, and
consequently to civilization."

In the August of 1799Gallitzin
and his flock set out for the new
mission, in which the indefati-
gable pastor was to labor for
forty years, and where he was
to find his last resting-place.
Several respectable families, all
Catholics, accompanied him ;
these were people who were
too poor to acquire land in
already civilized districts.

A journey of this kind was
in those days no light matter;
for roads were altogether want-
ing. Women, children and bag-
gage went on pack - horses,
or in carts and sledges drawn

84 A ROYAL SON

by oxen; the men acted as
pioneers, clearing the way for
the caravan to follow. Only
short distances could be travelled
in one day, and at night they
had all to camp in the forests.

An Irishman of the name of
McGuire had left a rough tract
of land to Bishop Carroll as
church property; this the Bishop
now handed over to Gallitzin,
who, besides, bought out of his
own fortune another large piece
of ground, which he let to his
poor parishioners on most easy
terms. Indeed for many plots
he never received a penny.

The first buildings erected in
the speedily -cleared settlement
were two modest log edifices, —

AND MOTHER. 85

one the church, the other the
presbytery. On Christmas night,
1799, the first Mass was said
in the new church. Fervor was
great : no one thought of sleep ;
all had been made as festive as
possible with evergreen decora-
tions and as many candles and
tapers as could be mustered in
the wilderness. "Thus," ob-
serves Gallitzin's biographer,
"it came to pass that on a spot
where but a year previously had
stood a primeval forest, a hand-
ful of wanderers of various
countries and tongues found a
home under the care of an exiled
prince; and where formerly at
the solemn midnight hour no
sounds had been heard but the

86 A ROYAL SON

howling of wolves, now re-
sounded the glad song of the
heavenly hosts : ' Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth
peace to men of good -will!'"
The same writer proceeds to
draw a pretty picture of the
devoted part a priest like
Gallitzin is bound to play in
a settlement as yet without
police, magistrate, doctor, or
lawyer: "The love of Christ
urges him; he is not satisfied
with just fulfilling his priestly
duties, such as preaching at
stated times, and then treating
the hundred little things of daily
life that affect humanity with
proud disdain, as much as to
say, 'That is no affair of mine.'

AND MOTHER. 87

On the contrary, he enters into
all his people's interests, is easy
of approach to all. He writes
their letters to Germany, Ireland
or France; and when he is on
his missionary rounds he carries
back the answers from distant
postal stations. He is not too
grand to bring the women folk
the little necessaries which can
be procured only at a great
distance and which others might
easily forget — some pepper or a
packet of needles, and so forth.
All this begets appreciation end-
ing in unbounded trust and
affection; and as the priest in
a new mission of this kind is
generally the only educated
man, he is soon all in all to his

88 A ROYAL SON

parishioners. He has become a
centre of unity, about which
the most heterogeneous elements
gather in love and obedience;
and a patriarchal form of
government is once more pos-
sible."

It must be admitted that in
his great generosity Gallitzin
spent more money than was
wise upon his beloved settle-
ment; yet he had good reasons
for thinking himself wealthy. So
long as his mother was able she
kept him liberally supplied with
money for all his good works,
even at the cost of considerable
self-sacrifice. At the death of
his parents the fortune would
be his sister's, and she had

AND MOTHER. 89

solemnly promised that she
would "share and share alike"
with her brother.

His father never sent him any
money, but occasionally wrote
to him. In his last letter he
says, wistfully: "We are both
getting on in years; your
mother is, moreover, broken by
ill health. . . . There is no time
to lose if you wish to see
us once more. Besides, your
presence here is necessary, in
spite of your deed relinquishing
all claim to my fortune ; for un-
less the precise legal formalities
are observed, the inheritance
may be lost to Mimi likewise,
and go to the next of kin."

But it was impossible for

90 A ROYAL SON

Gallitzin to leave. Not only
was he absolutely essential to
the life and social well-being
of his model little colony, but
it would have meant much
spiritual loss as well; and the
brave priest decided to remain
at his post. Not without sac-
rifice, however, — heroic sacrifice.
In 1803 he wrote to his mother
that he had been hoping to find
a substitute so as to be able
to go to Europe ; he had always
feared this might be impossible,
but of late years his work had
increased to such a degree that
he began to doubt whether he
should ever see Miinster and his
dear mother again.
"I dare not," he writes, "trust

AND MOTHER. 91

myself to think about it; for
when I do my heart trembles,
and I feel as if I positively must
see you once more. . . . But God
knows what is best under the
circumstances and most con-
ducive to His honor. . . . The
number of priests here seems to
decrease, while the number of
Catholics goes on increasing. I
know you are perfectly resigned
to the will of God under all
circumstances — indeed far more
so than I am,— and that your
one real desire is to meet me safe
in the bosom of our Heavenly
Father when the gates of death
are passed."

In March, 1803, Gallitzin's
father died, leaving no will. The

92 A ROYAL SON

Princess hoped against hope to
secure something for Demetrius,
and once more asked him to
return, if it were at all possible.
He thereupon visited Bishop
Carroll, and laid the whole
state of the case simply before
him, ready to abide by his
decision. His Lordship came to
the conclusion he ought not to
leave ; and Gallitzin returned to
his beloved flock once more,
never to leave them again even
for so short an absence.

That his noble mother under-
stood and approved of his
decision was shown in a very
acceptable form. First arrived
a substantial cheque, then a
large box containing books,

AND MOTHER. 93

rosaries and pictures; another
with a quantity of linen for
himself and his poor parish-
ioners, all worked by herself
and her friends. Long years
after, an aged woman showed
Gallitzin's biographer, with
great pride, a dainty christening
robe, and told him it had been
made by the pious mother of
their own blessed Father. "I
was baptized in it, and every
one of my children ; and I now
keep it as a sacred relic for
my grandchildren."

Another still more acceptable
present did the Princess send;
this was a complete set of
church vestments made by her-
self, her daughter, and the

94 .4 ROYAL SON

Countess Stolberg. Gallitzin
was particularly fond of the
alb, which was a masterpiece
of needlecraft. He wore it on
all great feasts; and, according
to his wish, he also wore it
when laid in his grave.

Gallitzin, as he quietly travelled
back to his little colony after his
interview with the Bishop, never
dreamed what bitter crosses
were in store for him. He knew
he had turned his back upon
all that makes life pleasant —
upon love and sympathy and
congenial friends; he had em-
braced a life of hardship; he
was to spend himself and to be
spent among rough, uneducated
strangers, unable to appreciate

AND MOTHER. 95

or to understand him. But
beyond all this, persecutions,
opposition, ingratitude and
calumny were to tame his
ardent spirit and bring it cap-
tive to the Cross of Christ.
Indeed, so relentless was the
storm, so fierce the persecution,
often from those who owed
him everything and who ended
by loving him enthusiastically,
that we can only account for
it by saying that the devil, see-
ing the good that was being
done, raged against its author
with full fury in the expectation
of driving him to despair.

96 A ROYAL SON

IV. — Last Days.

As Gallitzin's settlement in-
creased and prospered and he
had plenty of land, he deter-
mined to found a little town,
and for that purpose encouraged
workmen and tradespeople to
come to him; and thus was
founded the little town of
Loretto.

No sooner, however, had the
zealous missionary founded his
town than a speculator arose
ready to "undercut" him in
every way. He also started
his opposition town, which, as
he was an Irishman, he called

AND MOTHER. 97

Minister. Unfortunately, a Ger-
man tailor, after deciding to
settle at Minister, changed his
mind and came to Loretto.
This was taken in very bad
part by the Munster worthies.
Their ringleader was only a
nominal Catholic ; he gave such
bad example that Gallitzin, as
his pastor, could not leave him
unreproved. The wretched man
was now able to make himself
out a martyr. He "talked big"
of priests who loved power
and gold, and were ever ready
to tread a poor but honest
enterpriser underfoot. The laxer
members of the community, who
had chafed against Gallitzin's
high moral code, soon joined

98 A ROYAL SON

the malcontent party; to this
were also added certain am-
bitious people who had hoped
to be church -wardens, trustees,
and so forth, and who resented
Gallitzin's keeping the reins of
government in his own strong
hands.

At this most inopportune
moment there appeared on the
scene a priest of whose past
Gallitzin knew far too much
to be able to entrust him with
any ecclesiastical duties. On the
other hand, the Prince's high
sense of honor and charity
made him unwilling to expose
the poor man's history. His
only return for Gallitzin's
clemency was to stir up the

AND MOTHER. 99

people, and represent himself
as persecuted on account of
the parish priest's jealousy and
avarice.

And as if all this were not
enough, a Westphalian turned
up who had known Gallitzin
in Minister. He was a lazy
ne'er-do-well, who thought it
would be very fine to live at
a rich prince's expense. After
treating him with great kind-
ness and giving him the chance
to work, Gallitzin, finding him
incorrigible, was finally obliged
to send him away. Then the
man spread the most odious
calumnies against his benefactor,
hinting this, asserting that;
asking if it were "natural"

100 A ROYAL SON

that, if everything were all
right and square, a Russian
Prince of large fortune should
be called "Herr Schmet" and
bury himself in Loretto. For
once the wretch had surmised
correctly: no, it was not
natural.

Gallitzin was too high-souled
to take notice of this dastardly
mud - throwing. As usual, the
pastor continued to go about
"doing good" — calm, fearless,
kindly, — and that at a time
when, at length, he was in
danger of his life. One day
he was seized upon by a set
of roughs bent on extorting
from him all kinds of con-
cessions which would have

AND MOTHER. 101

done away with his influence
forever. As he remained firm,
they became so threatening
that he sought shelter in his
chapel, where he would have
had to sustain a regular siege
but for the timely intervention
of a certain John Weakland,
known as the tallest and
strongest man within a hun-
dred miles. Like most giants,
he was sparing of words, gentle
and peaceable; but he was a
great admirer of Gallitzin, with
whom he had travelled from
Maryland.

As soon as John appeared,
the roughs paused a little,
thinking he intended to beat
about right and left with the

102 A ROYAL SON

monster staff he held in his
hand ; but, far more wonder-
ful, he made a speech. "In
my day," he cried, "I have
fought with bears and other
wild beasts, but up to this I
have never, thank God, injured
any human being. Now things
may be quite changed, if you
don't go home at once and
behave yourselves. For who-
ever makes a row near God's
house or dares to lay a finger
on the Lord's anointed, let him
look to it" — and he brandished
his staff, — "for so true as I'm
a living man I'll dash his brains
out!" The situation had re-
quired a master - hand. The
better - disposed now rallied

AND MOTHER. 103

round honest John, and but
for Gallitzin's timely interfer-
ence the affair might have
ended in bloodshed.

Bishop Carroll wrote private
letters of comfort to his sorely-
tried missionary. He also wrote
a public notice, dated Nov. 30,
1804, which was nailed to the
church door. It ran as follows :

"I think it necessary, dear
children in Christ, to inform
you, the faithful of Reverend
Mr. Schmet's community, that
I am cognizant of the differences
that have arisen between him
and some of his parishioners.
All the information I have ob-
tained has convinced me that
Mr. Schmet, in all that has taken

104 A ROYAL SON

place, was never actuated by
any other motives than those
of charity and zeal for the good
of those entrusted to his care.
Moreover, I know that he is
quite open to reconciliation:
that he will be ready to treat
all members of his community
with fatherly affection ; and that
it is their simple duty to give
proofs of their confidence and
readiness to profit by his pas-
toral care. Indeed they ought
to be forever grateful to him
for enduring so many hardships
for their sakes. Moved by the
love of God and of their souls,
he has generously renounced
great earthly advantages.
"*i*]-, Bishop of Baltimore."

AND MOTHER. 105

Peace and order were now
once more restored. Many of
the offenders, after begging
Gallitzin's pardon, became his
stanchest friends. It was no-
ticed that a person who refused
to do this died not long after-
ward a horrible death ; whereas
the good John Weakland died
only fifteen years after Gallitzin,
at a very great age, leaving a
posterity of over a hundred
souls. He was followed to the
grave by a great-granddaugh-
ter carrying: her child in her
arms.

But now another ordeal began
for Gallitzin, — one that was to
continue to harass him for
thirty long years. After his

106 A ROYAL SON

father's death his mother found
herself involved in a tedious and
expensive lawsuit, to obtain her
just rights. She won the law-
suit but died before reaping any
benefit therefrom; her daughter
Mimi now came in for the fort-
une. During the last ten years
of her life, despite all her efforts,
Amalie had not been able to
help her son as much as for-
merly. But he, counting on her
ever -ready purse, and upon his
sister's repeated promises as
to the future, had not only
conceived great plans, but had
unfortunately begun to carry
them out. And as the weary
months went by and brought
no remittances from Europe, his

AND MOTHER. 107

poverty increased till at times
he had barely enough to keep
body and soul together. To one
of Gallitzin's temperament that,
however, was not the sting of
the trial: the real sting was to
see his noble daydreams — that
had been so practical, so excel-
lent as well as noble — doomed
to disappointment, and himself
reduced to the humiliating posi-
tion of a seeming foolish enthu-
siast who had begun to build
ere counting the cost.

In 1806 Princess Amalie Gal-
litzin died. Bishop Carroll,
Mimi Gallitzin, and Count Stol-
berg all sent letters to Demetrius
to tell him the sad tidings.
Count Stolberg wrote thus:

108 A ROYAL SON

"Blessed and praised be Jesus
Christ ! She is doing this, dearest
Mitri! . . . She is blessing and
praising Him better far than
we can ever do. But yet we,
too, must, to the best of our
powers, praise Him — and not
in a general way, for that is
a matter of course, and some-
thing we ought to do with
our every breath, but in a
special manner, — for having
so unspeakably blessed your
saintly mother. She was like
Him in suffering, to be the more
like Him in glory. I need not
tell you . . . what an angel your
mother was; but in my deep
sorrow I feel I must tell you
that ever since I have known

AND MOTHER. 109

her I could never think of the
bond which God, in His mercy
toward me, had created between
her soul and mine, without being
filled with a sense of intense
reverence, heartfelt love, and
deep happiness. My soul is very
sorrowful, and yet my spirit
rejoices at the same time that
she has reached the goal;
and I know that she continues
to help me by her powerful
intercession. Rejoice, dearest
Mitri, in being the beloved son
of a saint; rejoice to have been
the cause of so much consolation
to her; rejoice to know that she
is still blessing you with the
unspeakable love of a mother! "
Amalie Gallitzin was buried

110 A ROYAL SON

as she had wished it, — not with
any pride or ostentation, in
some grand vault, but in the
little churchyard of Angelmodde,
among the poor she had
loved so well. A large crucifix
throws its hallowed shade upon
her humble grave, and on the
base of it are inscribed these
words :

"'I count all things to be but
loss for the excellent knowledge
of Jesus Christ my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and count them
but as dung, that I may gain
Christ.' ( Phil., iii, 8. ) Thus
felt and lived the mother of the
poor and the oppressed, Princess
Amalie Gallitzin, Countess von

AND MOTHER. Ill

Schmettau, whose mortal re-
mains rest at the foot of this
cross, awaiting a glorious
resurrection. She died the 27th
of April, 1806, in the fifty-
eighth year of her age. Pray
for her."

Bishop Carroll, writing to
Gallitzin, said: "It is not only
because she was your mother
that she was dear to me, and
that I get others to pray for
her, but because she sought
ever to promote the welfare of
religion with zeal and earnest-
ness in this diocese. I can only
offer you my deepest sympathy
on being deprived of a mother
who was so much to be revered,
and who in the hands of God

112 A ROYAL SON

was the means of procuring you
so many precious graces."

A kindly French proverb says :
"To know all would be to
forgive all." We must not,
therefore, judge too harshly of
the conduct of Gallitzin's sister.
She found it far more difficult
to get her rents paid, owing to
the distracted state of Europe
at that time, than her brother
could well imagine. When he
heard that the Russian govern-
ment had recognized all her
claims, he naturally expected to
receive the half of the large
fortune that had always been
promised him. Instead of this
small doles of money occasion-
ally reached him with long

AND MOTHER. 113

excuses; she may, indeed, have
been an inexperienced business
woman. But after a while, at
the age of forty, she married,
and then she seems to have felt
it quite out of her power to
help her brother at all.

Dear old Overberg finally came
to the rescue. Amalie had left
him a valuable collection of
rare gems to be sold if necessary
in aid of his many charities.
With characteristic disinterested-
ness he resolved to send all
the money thus obtained to
Gallitzin, and exerted himself
to find a suitable purchaser.
The King of Holland bought
the collection; and, remembering
his friendly relations with the

114 A ROYAL SON

Gallitzins in other days, paid
a truly regal sum. It is one
of the pathetic sides of life
that as age advances, our hopes
and wishes grow smaller and
smaller. The ardent missionary,
who in his generous youth had
dreamed such great and noble
things that were to be achieved
with his large fortune, ended
in only longing very wistfully
that he might die free of debt;
for he felt debt as a kind of
stain upon his priestly character.
And this wish was granted him.
By the time Father Lemke,
Gallitzin's devoted helper and
biographer, arrived at Loretto
the grand old missionary was
showing a few signs of failing

AND MOTHER. 115

health ; but he was still upright,
active, energetic as ever, in spite
of his thinness which amounted
almost to emaciation. No longer
able to travel on horseback
owing to an injury to his leg,
he went about in a strange
old-fashioned sledge, in which
were packed all the requisites
for saying Mass at the stations
he visited. His clothes were of
the poorest and almost thread-
bare. Father Lemke at once
felt he had to deal with a saint,
and valued the privilege accord-
ingly. But, it was hard and at
times futile work to induce the
old Father to rest and to take
things a little easier. He was
wont to say that as in these

116 A ROYAL SON

days there was little oppor-
tunity for a missionary to
glorify God by a bloody martyr-
dom, he was at least allowed
to wish that he might drop
down dead in the harness like a
worn-out old cart-horse.

To his countless other labors
Gallitzin added that of writing.
He wrote some excellent though
simple controversial treatises,
always in that remarkably pure
English he had so easily mas-
tered.

Of course Father Lemke
thought that Gallitzin would
keep him at his side to relieve
him from the strain of excessive
work. But, to his dismay, a
few days after his arrival Gal-

AND MOTHER. 117

litzin sent him a considerable
distance, to a small station
badlv in need of the ministra-
tions of a priest; giving him
permission, however, to return
to Loretto once a month to
help him over the Saturday
and Sunday.

The winter of 1839 and 1840
was a particularly cold and
trying one, and Father Lemke
was obliged to travel great
distances during Lent, that not
one of the scattered flock might
be without the means of ap-
proaching the sacraments. As
ill -fortune would have it, he
met with a serious accident,
which made it at last impossible
for him to put his foot to the

118 .4 ROYAL SON

ground. It was just at this
most inopportune moment that
news reached him from Loretto
that Gallitzin had fallen ill;
that he had just managed to
say Mass on Easter Sunday;
but had been unable to preach,
and had been obliged at length
to take to his bed.

Father Lemke immediately
sent a messenger to Loretto,
who came back with the news
that he had seen the dear old
man; that he looked very ill,
but that he had said Father
Lemke was not to dream of
coming, but was to take good
care of himself; that if there
should be any danger he would
be sure to send for him. But a

AND MOTHER. 119

friend had whispered that the
saintly Father was really very
ill, and that it would be well
if his coadjutor lost no time
in corning". Not long after Gal-
litzin's old sledge arrived, the
driver bringing a petition from
the doctor (who loved the old
priest as his father ) to come at
once, as there was but little
hope. In spite of his own
sorry plight, Father Lemke im-
mediately set out upon the
journey; and on arriving found
that the doctor was only wait-
ing for his coming before per-
forming a necessary operation.
Gallitzin required but little
preparation. He was perfectly
resigned to the will of God, —

120 A ROYAL SON

ready for anything. "I have
made my will," he said. "I
do hope that I can depart in
peace so far as that is concerned,
and that everyone will receive
his due, and that there will even
be a trifle over. Now my only
desire is to receive the last
Sacraments, and then you may
do with me whatever you
like."

After midnight Father Lemke
said Mass for him in his
room, during which he received
Holy Communion with most
intense devotion. The operation
brought some temporary relief;
but the whole system was so
thoroughly worn out his com-
munity realized they were to

AND MOTHER. 121

lose their dearly beloved Father
and friend.

The news spread like light-
ning that he was dying; and
from all the neighborhood there
poured into Loretto a very
stream of pilgrims, old and
young, all anxious to see him
once more and to receive his
blessing. So great did the num-
bers become that it was fou'id
necessary to prevent their en-
trance into the sick-room. But
this had to be done with the
utmost caution; for the dying
man himself seemed pleased to
see them all, and had a sweet
smile and a kindly word for
every comer.

But at length a man came

122 A ROYAL SON

for whom Gallitzin had no smile.
He had repaid all the good
priest's kindness with extreme
ingratitude, and had of late
years given way to intemper-
ance and other evil habits.
Him the dying priest looked
at sternly, while he lifted up
a warning finger. This silent
sermon had a wonderful effect:
the prodigal fell upon his knees,
and, weeping bitterly, confessed
his wickedness and promised to
amend. He kept his promise.
And Gallitzin, on his side, did
not forget him; for on the
day of his death, after having
a long time lain still and un-
conscious, he whispered this
man's name. It seemed to pain

AND MOTHER 123

him that he had not left him
anything, as he had to his
other former servants. Father
Lemke caught these words:
"Poor scamp — if it could still
be done — not forget him."
Father Lemke, of course, re-
spected the dying wish.

Two days before his death
Gallitzin had the consolation
of a visit from another priest,
an old friend of his — Father
Heyden, of Bedford. On the
evening of the 6th of May the
end had come. Father Heyden
said the Prayers for the Dying,
while Father Lemke held a
lighted candle in Gallitzin's
hand. As the prayers ended
Father Lemke felt that the

124 A ROYAL SON

pulse had stopped and another
beautiful soul had flown to the
Feet of its Redeemer. A by-
stander, gazing at the dead
priest, exclaimed: "Does he
not look like a grand old con-
queror who had just won his
victory? "

The testimony of one of his
fellow priests is too beautiful
to be omitted. Writing three
years before Gallitzin's death,
he said: "I do not see much of
the venerable Father, for I live
twelve miles distant. Besides
he has lived, so to speak, alone,
for forty -two years, and he is
reserved and self-contained. But
he is the noblest, purest, most
Christian man I ever met. He

AND MOTHER. 125

requires to be well known. . . .
Now that I live without any-
consolation, and have, thank
God, gained sufficient mastery
over self no longer to wish for
any consolation that this world
could give me, I believe that He
will come to comfort me who
alone can give comfort worthy
of the name. We have abundant
proof of this here. For have I
not Gallitzin before me? He
gave up everything — everything ;
and, best of all, he gave himself.
Therefore he now goes about
enshrouded in an abiding peace,
and an angel looks out of his
calm eyes ; and I feel that at
any moment he could lay him-
self down smiling to sleep his

126 A ROYAL SON

last sleep like a weary child.
Can anything higher or better
be striven for or attained?"

Gallitzin's funeral told some-
thing of the universal venera-
tion in which he was held. In
spite of bad weather, mourners
came a distance of forty and
fifty miles to pay him the last
tribute of love and gratitude.
It would have taken but a
few minutes to convey the
body from the presbytery to
its resting-place ; but his friends
had a pretty thought. They
carried their dear Father
through the gardens and fields
and meadows, and lastly
through the little town — all
of which had been his creation,

AND MOTHER. 127

his life's work, — that he might
once more bless it all and
dedicate it anew to Him to
follow whom he had, in the
most literal sense of the word,
"left all things."

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