he broad waters of Protestant freedom.

As the son of a wealthy family, I was sent to the Gymnasium of Vechta
for higher studies, where I received the best education which Germany
could give to her sons, and from there I was dismissed with the
diploma of "Maturity" in 1870, which was a passport to any man
holding such a diploma in any scholarly community, for a diploma from
this institution meant all that it implied.

After I had gone through a perfect study of Gymnasium, and after
having obtained my diploma, I could then decide for any career that
I might choose.

About this time came the disturbance of all of Germany caused by "The
German-French War." Like every patriot, I volunteered as a soldier,
but the officers in the German army were practical men and they had
little use for unseasoned "student soldiers" in the field of action,
and I was left in garrisons where universities were situated, where I
had military practice for a few hours each day, and then could follow
my studies at the same time.

Peace followed quickly after the Waterloo of Napoleon III at Sedan,
and this peace was restored quickly in the "fatherland," as not one
victorious Frenchman had crossed the "Rhine."

I followed my favorite study, forestry and agriculture, for some
time, but as my parents and my forefathers, both on my father's and
mother's side, had been devout Catholics, I had an earnest longing to
become a Catholic Priest, as I desired to go forth in the world and
proclaim the cause of Christ, believing that Catholicism was the
only church which had a right to establish her doctrines, and, of
course, cast my lot with this church, and to-day finds me an old man
with every vestige of childhood's faith shaken from center to
circumference, as I have lived in America so long and seen so much of
the intelligence of Protestantism, and so much of the deception of
Catholicism, I could not remain in the Catholic Church and be true to
my conception of what was right and wrong, therefore I laid aside,
with a degree of regret, the relics of Catholic barbarism.

I discarded the Scapular and everything that has no more intelligent
meaning to it than the cungering devices of the heathen has towards
the uplifting of humanity and the civilization of the world.

Many, many years ago my faith was shaken by what I had seen with my
own eyes and heard with my own ears, but I nursed my religious belief
from my mother's bosom; my religion was born and br