bishop himself
and of his heroic fellow missionaries. Toward the middle of September,
1819, followed by the intense regrets of the Abbe Richard, Cure of St.
Charles, and by the tears of the children of the free school, Mother
Duchesne moved to the farm which had been thus placed at her disposal.
The boarders, now increased to about twenty, accompanied them to their
new home. Here one room and a garret was all that the nuns had for
themselves and their pupils; but they had also a poor little chapel,
where they were able to keep Him, who was the source of all their
strength, and whose presence among them sweetened their life of toil and
privation.

Mother Duchesne's presence and supervision had hastened the work upon
the new home, that was going up on a piece of ground given to them by
the bishop; and by the end of December, it was sufficiently advanced to
be habitable. Before leaving the farm, a great consolation was granted
to the devoted nuns, in a retreat given by Father de Andreis, the
saintly Lazarist missionary, who in 1900 was placed on the list of
candidates for canonization. He cleared up Mother Duchesne's
perplexities on various points, and between those two kindred souls,
there sprung up a holy friendship, which was for her a consolation and a
support. Unfortunately, less than two years later, a malignant fever
carried away this great servant of God, in the midst of his fruitful
apostolic labors.

On Christmas Eve, the removal to the new house took place. Mother
Duchesne and Aude were the last to leave the farmhouse, and it was late
when they reached their destination, for they had made the entire way on
foot, through deep snow, and in the face of a freezing wind. The little
community set at once to the work of preparing their small and humble
chapel for Midnight Mass, at which nuns and pupils, and also the workmen
employed on the house, assisted and received Holy Communion. With regret
we find ourselves compelled to pass over many interesting and touching
particulars, such as the blessing and encouragement sent by the
Sovereign Pontiff then reigning, the saintly Pius VII, and the gift of
several relics and pictures from Bishop Dubourg, among the latter one
that Mother Duchesne had greatly longed for, that of St. Francis Regis,
her special patron, whose name is so intimately connected with her own.

At Florissant, a new field was opened to her charity. Bishop Dubourg's
farm was intended by him as a quiet an