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Show entire Life Was Devoted to Charity Soma interesting facts concerning the career of one of the most remarkable men in the history of Vermont are being brought to light in Burlington. A month ago the Rt. Rev. Louis 69 Groesbrand. bishop of Burlington, died in a small, poorly furnished room in th Providence Orphan, asylum. - . After the bishop's -remains . were laid to rest in front of the episcopal res'-uonoe res'-uonoe in Burlington. Vermonters began, to wonder- how much of an estate he left to be divided among his relatives and friends. It was known that he was at once time a very rich man. I Tho exact or even approximate extent ex-tent of his wealth had been a mvsterv always, but it Is estimated that. the late I bisnop was once worth between 'SoOO.COO 1 and $2.CCO,000. Some of his intimate triends who had known him for many years place the figure at ?1.00O.OfiO. . He j had lived frugally, and of late he knowing know-ing ones have been declaring that there j would be some surprise- in store for the : poor people of the dloceFe when ' the 1 bishop's will should be read. BISHOP LEFT A TRIFLE ONLY. But the bishop left r.o will. The surprise, sur-prise, however, has happened. It U announced an-nounced by the Rev. Father Cloarec, rector of St.- Joseph church. . that the fortune left bv the late bishop consists of exactly $2.12. Not. pother penny did he leave. The money was found in the late bishop's) bish-op's) writing desk at the Providence Orphan asylum. Bishop Michaua. successor suc-cessor to the deceased bishop, searched tho desk for further evidences of the fortune that once existed, but besides this small amount of change, there was not even a postage stamp. Bishop de Goesbriand believed that no man should, die rich. .It was his ambition ambi-tion to die in poverty. He gave his fortune for-tune to chaiitable institutions, to churches-and churches-and to the poor. The amounts that he gave are known only to the ler.ef-clarles. Not even his most intimate associates were made aware of the way in which ue disposed of hi wealth. FRIEND OF THE ORPHANS. The bishop's great hobbv was the Providence Prov-idence Orphan asylum, which he erected on North avenue in this city. He felicit-" ed subscriptions to bulid this institution, but most of the funds came from Ma own private fortune. There he spent his de-c'.ining de-c'.ining years in prayer and meditation, surrounded by the little ones. Before b ' became seriously Hi the late bishoo do I Goesbriand asked the Mother Superior: "Sister Joseph, you make up a report j of the inmates of the orphanage resu-I resu-I larly; where do you place my raroe in ! your report? Am I classed with the I children?" I "Oh. no. my lord: your name appears in the list of old people." I "I would like to be classed with the i orphans hereafter. I am one if them." I ho taid. and his wish whs gratified. In I the last report of the Inmates of the I orphanage his name appeared with ,those I of the children. i A SELF-SACRIFICING MAN, ! "He was the most remarkably self-I self-I sacrificing man I ever knew." said the i Mother Superior at the Providence Or-i Or-i phan asylum to a newspaper reoorter. ! "During his stay here I could not fail ; to notice many little things that would 11-I 11-I lustrate his character. His greatest de-I de-I sire was to make the children hat)Dy. Ho j was extremely humble, and a?id, from the ; small change he left in his d.sk. his rar.ti- ! ly possessions consisted of his clotnir.g. ! and I can assure vou -his wardrobe was i scanty and poor at that. "When his body was taken from tho asylum to the .cathedral the litt'.o ones! followed it. Now that he i.T gone some ! of them will come to me with tears in ! their eye.s and ask when he will onw ! back to them. One day Father Ccm- peau of Essex, died ar.d left $5a to the orphanage. When the check was brought ! to the bishop he said: t " 'Father Campeau has been verv good and there are others who will fo'.lbw his example, but when I die I wiii not ue . , able to leave them anything. I don't in- tend to' have anything to leave. I am ; going to die a poor man." , Bishop de Goesbriand was born in Brit- tany, France, eighty-three years ago, and- . i he was the senior Catholic bishop in trie j United States. He was of noble parent- J age, his father being Marquis Henri de ! I Goesbriand of Eerddas. Brittany. Hij M mother also was of noble parentage. f 1 |
