Page 164 - March On! God will Provide by Brother Aubert
P. 164

Chapter 24
              DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA



             suALLy rHE, FouNprR  oF THE XavnnreN Bnornrns
              had so many irons in the fire that one more only
         added to the excitement, but in the early months of
         1854 with plans for Germany and America  still uncertain
         he could attempt  no more. In February he notified the
         Capuchins  in North Wales that he was declining their
         invitation  to staft a secondary school in Holywell. He
         explained that he had no Brothers qualified to teach
         Latin and Greek, that it would be too expensive to hire
         lay-teachers,  and that he was under obligations  to send
         Brothers to Germany  and America.
           During the preliminaries  incident  to establishing the
         school for the dea{ and dumb in Germany, everything
         had gone serenely. And then had come tfre uncertain
         hours. Brother Ryken complained  to his friends  that
         no one to whom he wrote in Germany about the school
         would  answer. His predicament, he felt, was worse as
         regarded  America.
           Finally, after waiting for a year, he did get word from
         Bishop Spalding  in March,  1854. His Excellenry wanted
         to know on what date the Brothers would arrive in
         Louisville.
           Brother  Ryken was embarrassed.  He could not say
         definitely on what date the Brothers  would sail. He had
         hoped to travel at little or no co$t on one of the ships
         operated by a Dutch Catholic firm. This hope had
         turned out to be the usual mirage that he encountered
         in most things involving money. He explained to a
         friend: "I wrote to the Compagnie  Catholique  d'Arma-
   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169