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Show Story of a Jesuit's Rosary. It was on the 10th of March, when a religious of the Society of Jesus ascended as-cended the scaffold in Glasgow. John Ogilbi was his name, and his great crime consisted in saying that the spiritual power belonged to the Pope and not to the king, who at the time was James I. When he was being led to the scaffold, a Protestant minister came up to him and protesting great affection and concern, spoke thuj "My dear Ogilbi, I feel sorry for ycra and extremely regret your obstinate resolution reso-lution to endure such a disgraceful death." Father Ogilbi, feigning fear of the gallows, answered: "What can I do? I am powerless to prevent it. They declare me guilty of high treason, and therefore 1 must die." , "High treason! Nothing of the kind," replied the . Protestant. "Swear off your papism and you will be at once pardoned; furthermore, you will be overwhelmed with favors." "You are joking!" "No, I am in earnest,, and have a right to speak thus, since the Protestant Protest-ant archbishop sent me to offer his daughter in marriage and for a dowry a rich prebend, i you decide to pass into our ranks." With-these words they arrived at the scaffold. The Protestant insisted that the Jesuit should consent to live. Father Ogilbi replied that he was willing to do so, if his honor would not be contaminated. contam-inated. "I told you already," answered the minister, "that you will be loaded with favors and honors." "Well' then',' answered Father Ogilbi, Ogil-bi, "repeat your promise before the crowd." "With the greatest of pleasure." "Hear me." shouted Father Ogilbi, turning to the people; "listen to the proposition made to me." And the Protestant minister spoke in a loud voice: "I promise to Mr. Ogilbi life and the daughter of the archbishop in marriage, mar-riage, with a dowry of a rich prebend, provided he is willing to pass over into our ranks." "Are you inclined." asked Father Ogilbi of the crowd, "to bear witness, if it is necessary, to this proposition that you heard just now?" "Yes," roared the crowd, and Father Ogilbi made ready to descend from the scaffold. The Catholics who were present and witnessed the scene endured indescribable indescrib-able agony at the thought of the great scandal which such an apostasy would create in the whole Church. "In this case, then," continued Ogilbi, "I will not be prosecuted for high treason." trea-son." "No," roared the crowd. "My crime is, therefore, solely . and alone my religion?" "So it is, only your religion." Father Ogilbi's eyes sparkled with delight, a bright smile played upon his lips. After a momentary silence he said: "Very well, that is more than I asked for. I am sentenced to death only on account of my religion. For my religion I would give a hundred lives if I had them. I have only one, take it: my religion you shall never tear away from me." The Catholics, on hearing these words, rejoiced exceedingly, while the Protestants were frantic with rage. They were caught in their meshes. Order Or-der was given to the executioner to complete his task. The executioner, with tears in his eyes, begged pardon of the martyr, who in return embraced him. . Before his hands were tied. Father Ogilbi loosened his Rosary and flung it into the crowd. It happened to fall upon the breast of a young Calvinist who was at that time traveling through Scotland, Baron John Eckersdorff, afterwards af-terwards governor of Treves, and an intimate friend of Archduke Leopold, brother of Ferdinand III. Years passed by, the governor of Treves, already a decrepid old man, remarked: re-marked: "WThen the Rosary of Father Ogilbi struck my breast and the eager Catholics snatched it before I could take hold of it, I certainly had no rnind to change my religion; but those be?ds struck my heart and from that moment my interior peace was gone, my conscience con-science was even troubled and frequently fre-quently I asked myself: 'Wfhy did these beads strike me and no other person? That thought haunted me for rnany years, and left me no rest - . and I became a Catholic. I ascribe my conversion con-version to this blessed Rosary which today I would buy at" any -price, and which once in my possession I would not part with for anything on earth. From the Portugese. x |