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Show BY PATH AND TRAIL. 113 his own clerk, or sexton, the mason of the village. Not knowing at the time that I was addressing the cura or parish priest, I asked him how all these people were paid. 1 ' Paid?" said the reverend hodman, " why, they a] T belong to this parish. " " Yes," I replied, " but how are they paid? I mean," continued I, hesitating and turning over in my mind what was Spanish for church rates or dues, " how do you raise the money to pay all these people their day's wages 1 ' ' The hodcarrier laughed. " Why," he spoke back, and I now from his face and accent began to suspect he was somebody, " why, you do not pay people for doing their own work. It is the house of God, their own church which they are repairing. It is mine, it's theirs, it is their children's. Until the church is ready we have no place to assemble to pray to God and publicly to offer up to him the holy sacrifice. There will be no work done by us till we have repaired God's temple, our own church." Who was it who wrote : " 0, for the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of the voice that is still." And for the simple piety and child- like faith of the days of old. In the presence of this example of rugged faith and zeal for the house of God on the part of this priest and his flock I called back to my mind the ages of faith and the sublime heroism and devotion of the early Christians. Beyond a doubt the church was theirs. Not a day did these simple people go to their work till they had assisted at the mass offered up by the priest who was now, as a hodman, helping in the rebuilding of their temple. Not a time did any of them start out on a long journey withouf first receiving holy communion from the hands of this |