know until we reached New York that he was the famous Peter B Sweeney of the Tweed Ring of swindlers in the government of New York. He had been a fugitive in Paris for some years and was returning by special arrangement to endeavor to effect a compromise with justice in that famous case that brought Samuel J Tilden to the front as Presidential Candidate. I do not know what arrangements he made, but he was allowed to return to Paris to spend the rest of his life undisturbed.

          In New York I spent a few days at the Church of St Michael at the invitation of an old acquaintance, Father Spalding of Kentucky, then Bishop-elect of Peoria, Illinois. My old professor at Bardstown, the Rev Jas P Ryan, was then a Paulist and I had a pleasant visit with him at their monastery. I witnessed the St Patrick’s Day parade and listened to a fine lecture on Ireland by Bishop-elect Spalding at St Michael’s in the evening. 

          On my way west I could not leave Kentucky off my itinerary, so coming to Louisville I was the guest of the family of my friend Mr Deppen, and I made a circuit of the places with which I was familiar in former days. 

          Bardstown with its old college and cathedral, Nazareth, Loretto, Lebanon, New Haven and other places in what is called the Holy Land were visited again, a mass and a few words to the students of the college, and a seranade [serenade] by the band in return recalled former days when I helped to do for others what my successors were now doing for me. A former classmate, the Rev Thoe F Tierney, got an extension of time for me from Bishop Machebeuf, and I went with him to Franklin, Kentucky, his mission, for a visit. It was Holy Week and we went to Nashville and helped at the Holy Thursday services and again on Good Friday. There I made the acquaintance of Father Scannell, the rector of the Cathedral and future Bishop of Omaha. We also helped Father Bax at Bowling Green for Holy Saturday, and then Father Tierney told me I would have to preach for him on Easter Sunday. I had very little time to prepare and as this was my first sermon I was glad it was to be a small congregation. It can be understood that it was short, and nearly half the attendants were Protestants, who generally are quite appreciative of a sermon the Gospel.

          Continuing my way toward Denver I stopped at St Louis to see my sister who had become a member of the Loretto Order and was teaching at St  Michael’s school in that city. It was my first sight of her as a Sister and her first sight of as a priest. We had many things to speak of in the wonderful dispositions of Providence which need not to be written down here. Her life was not a long one, and there are some yet living who knew and loved Sister Theodors. It was while I was in St Louis on this occasion that the old Southern Hotel was burned with the loss of many lives. I was staying with Father Eustace at St Michael’s and heard of the catastrophe only the next morning. I went down to the scene of the fire and saw the ruins while the fire department was yet at work extinquishing [extinguishing] the blaze among the debris of what was one of St Louis’ most popular hostelries. 

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