Page 117 - March On! God will Provide by Brother Aubert

96 rNvrrATroN To ENGLAND
Founder was seemingly patriarchal, and the ensuing
years would persistently widen the gulf between his
ideas and those of his disciples, between comparative
youth and comparative old-age. Profession wrought an-
other subtle change. The foundation had been Ryken's
idea, but the pronouncing of vows for life by his dis'
ciples made them co-sharers in the enterprise, equal
partners in the Congregation. In a casting of votes, if
that were ever necessary, Brother Ryken's vote would
have no more weight than any other Brother's.
The pronouncing of vows for life marked the end of
a long journey. Ten years had come and gone since
that day in October, 1837, when at the direction of
Father Van de Kerckhove he had set out from Bruges
to interview the American Bishops and to win their
approval for the proposed Brotherhood.
Tough-minded Father Van de Kerckhove had rninced
no words in 1837 when Ryken showed signs of panic.
He told him: "He who has a plan in his head must
carry it out himself." For ten years Ryken had carried
out the plan in his head to the best of his ability.
The Foundation at Bury, Lancashire, did not rnate-
rialize that December. Fortunately for Ryken the house
in Bury was not ready. He could not have sent anybody
because practically everybody at "Het Walletje" was sick.
The mystery is how the Infant-School and the Primary
School were kept in operation.
The most seriously ill was Brother Dominic Van den
Boorn, the young man who along with Brother Alphonse
Tomballe, had followed the two-year course at the In-
stitute for the Deaf and Dumb under Father Van Beek.
Brother Ryken had counted on having Brother Dominic
take charge of a school for the deaf and dumb which
he would open in Holland.