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Show A SINCERE PENITENT. After Pifty Years Apostasy ex-Priest L. La Pountaine Returns to the Fold. After nearly fifty years outside th fold of the Roman Catholic church, during dur-ing which period he was ordained as .a Presbyterian minister, was married and raised a family, the Rev. L. Ifi Fountaine, an ex-priest, at the age ot 7." years has returned to his old faith ami left all else behind. This is the explanation given for the f - disappearance of Father La Fountaine, "ho came to Chicago from his home in t. Anne, near Kankakee, last Decem- v, and aPParently dropped out o S1gnt. He is believed to be confined in some monastery in Canada, there to do Penance for the remainder of his days, as he had been excommunicated after accepting the Protestant faith. father La Fountaine. became a con-frt con-frt to the teachings of the Rev. Father Fa-ther Chininquy when that celebrated ex-Catholic priest was in Canada. He toilowed Chininquy to St. Anne, taught lor several years in a parochial schoo', and then was ordained as a Presbyterian Presbyteri-an preacher. OFFICIATES IX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. He officiated in the St. Anne Presbv-terian Presbv-terian church for many years, and final-y final-y resigned to open the largest store in ne village. He became rich, married into one of the aristocratic families of the picturesque little French-Canadian town, and was the father of two daughters, daugh-ters, one of these is Mrs. L. Blan-chette, Blan-chette, teacher of music In St. Anne, and the other is Mrs. L. E. Scott, wife of a Denver capitalist. Though he prospered beyond his most sanguine expectations, it was always evident to the close friends of Father La Fountaine that his mind was not easy and that he yearned for the old fauh, and he has been known to ex-Press ex-Press regret because he left the church. The feeling became so intense that he eft his home in St. Anne three months ago and without giving any one the is ightest hint of his intention came to t hicago and held a conference with his son-in-law, L. Blanchette, a photographer photogra-pher and a Catholic. Mr. Blanchette hves at St. Anne, but is at present In hicago. stopping at the St. Nicholas hotel, 202 Washington street. STORY BY SON-IN-LAW. "Three months ago Mr. La Fountaine came to Chf-oago on business," said Mr. Blanchette yesterday, "and for a tevr days visited with me at the hotel. Then he met a nephew of his who came from Canada. I do not remember the name. This nephew invited him to take a month's trip through Canada, and as it would cost nothing he accepted. Mr. La Fountaine wrote to his wife at St. Anne, and I read the letter, explaining that he had this chance to make the trip and that he would be back In four or five weeks. "After that we heard nothing from him for a month, when he sent a letter to me, just inclosing another to his wife, which he wanted me to address so they would not see his handwriting in thepostofnee at home. There was no oth?r message. I heard from my wife that the inclosure said he had entered en-tered a refuge, and now he had the chance to follow it." Chicago Chronicle. |