s, there
would have been no "rebellion." He maintains that the _role_ played by
Riel in the "rebellion" was forced upon him. Listen to Father Andre's
own words: "It can, in all truth, be stated, and the affirmations of the
government to the contrary will not destroy the fact, that it was the
guilty negligence of the government at Ottawa that brought Riel into the
country. The half-breeds, exasperated at seeing themselves despised, and
at being unable to obtain the slightest justice, thought the only means
left to them to secure the rights which they demanded was to send for
Riel. He, in their opinion, was the only man capable of bringing the
authorities at Ottawa to reason. Riel came, and we know the ruin which
he gathered about him, but the government may well say _mea culpa_ for
their delay in taking measures which would have preserved the peace of
the country."

The Old Year's Army of Martyrs.

The year just past will long be known in the missions of the East as the
year of martyrs. In presence of its events, it seems almost wrong to
call only the early age of Christianity the Age of Martyrs. Brief
accounts have already been given in the public prints; but our readers
will be glad to have copious extracts from the letters of the survivors
among the missionaries, who have seen their flocks, with their brethren,
slaughtered by thousands. We give these the more willingly, as there has
so far been no full review of Catholic Mission work in the English
language. This tale of steadfastness in faith is also a new incentive to
love of the Sacred Heart of our Lord.

Mgr. Colombert, vicar-apostolic of Eastern Cochin China, writes under
date of August 29, 1885: "This mission, tranquil and flourishing two
months ago, is now blotted out. There is no longer any doubt that
twenty-four thousand Christians have been horribly massacred.... The
mission of Eastern Cochin China is utterly ruined. It has no longer a
single one of its numerous establishments! Two hundred and sixty
churches, priests' houses, schools, orphan asylums, everything is
reduced to ashes. The work done during two hundred and fifty years must
be begun anew. There is not a single Christian house left standing....
The Christians have seen the massacre of their brethren and the
conflagration of their houses. They have experienced the pangs of
hunger, and have felt the heat of the sun on the burning sands. They
must now undergo the hardships of exile, far fro