University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

Page 21 text:

THE REDWOOD Indians, and their liquid spiritual com- forts. Monsieur Pascal, who was a distin- g uished musician, had charge of the choir and its motley composites, a con- glomeration of Indians and boys, a Ser- aphine organ, violins, violoncellos, bassos, cymbals and triangles, accompanied by the timely five-minute mortars on the Plaza. The news had spread, far and wide, long before Thursday of Corpus Christi, that the Padre who was a Roman, would celebrate the day with magnifi- cence and splendor, and consequently the surviving Indians of the Mission, the devouts and all, irrespective of re- ligion, were coming to the Fiesta de Corpus, to add to the proper celebra- tion of the day. The Indian, Marcelo, chief of the Cahuillas, was coming from Almaden to superintend the firing of the Morteros, together with the Monterey Indian, General Toribio. Tio Jacinto, he who had stamped with his urchin foot ®n one of the tiles, now in the saguan of the Mission of San Antonio, had come on foot from the far off Mission to lead the Indian musicians, together with Ig- nacio, from L,as Llagas, who played the The Ca?itadoras from the distant Mis- sions of San Miguel, La Soledad, and San Juan Bautista had also come, and under the direction of Chief Inigo, the Capataz of Mountain View, were re- hearsing their Gregorian music of early days. None the less sweet, because simple and plain, and none the less ac- ceptable to the Almighty than the heavenly choir of cherubim and sera- phim. Philip also was there, the presiding genius of the culinary department of the College, black as ebony, a Prince of royal lineage, saved by Father Nobili from the pirates who had stolen him from his Cannibal Island home, and who was today arranging the entertain- ment tables in the Atrium of the Chris- tian Mission. But his and that of others named here, as Kipling says, is another story. All morning the Alameda was crowd- ed with Senoritas, in their rich and variegated garments, and embroidered rebozos, mantillas de punto and aderezos, while the Caballeros and jinetes on their fine prancing steeds, con brio y orgullo with silver-mounted saddles and ringing spurs, were winding their way from the Pueblo San Jose to the Mis- sion. They were led by Juan Pablo Bernal, and the famous equestrian, Jose Galindo and Don Pedro Chabolla, who sat as a centaur on one of his famous horses of Andalusian breed. With them too, was that Spanish Hidalgo, Don Jose Noriega, on a black Bucephalus, caparisoned with the accoutrements of Don Manuel Rubio, the Mexican mil- lionaire, with his silver-mounted saddle and embossed trappings and reins and bridle and bit and spurs of the value of ten thousand dollars, all embroidered in filigrana, equal to the splendors of the knights of the middle ages. The time for the commencement of the Misa Mayor had arrived. The

Page 20 text:

THE REDWOOD College students, and a most devout son of our Holy Mother Church. No coaxing could induce Dona Sole- dad to divulge the secret. Thursday commenced with a very anxious and busy morning for the stu- dents of Santa Clara College, who then numbered few over fifty boarders. They were of all ages and nationalities and opposite creeds. But they were Santa Clara boys, and whether native or East- ern, Mexican or South Americans, English, French or Italians, Catholic or Protestant, Christian, Jew or Gentile, they were Santa Clara boys. To some of them had been assigned the responsible duty of Acolyte, and they had been turning over, pressing, cleaning and arranging the red cassocks and white surplices, remnants oi Mission days, gifts from the good Nuns of Guad- alajara, and carefully concealed from vandalism by Padre Real, before he left the Mission. Others were attending to the choir led by Alejandro Forbes, the sweet- voiced and warbling soprano of the Col- lege, Charley Simpson, Dolf Grimwood and myself. The bell-ringers, with Barney Murphy at their head were privileged charac- ters, coming and going at their pleasure, masters of the situation. Their arduous duties entitling them to be out of Church and out of doors, with free in- gress to the Refectory to recuperate from their active exercises, especially that of turning the Esquila. The Esqxdla sonora con su voz pre- gonando, was an important factor in all high functions and ceremonials of the Mission. It was a revolving bell placed on the south opening of the tow- er, and turned quickly by hand, only used, with its loud voice, on great fes- tivals and holidays, such as Corpus Christi. The other boys were to occupy seats on plain redwood benches in the church near the railing and on the right hand side toward the altar. The Faculty and the Powers that at the time were representing Santa Clara College, consisted of Father John Nobili and Father Aloysius Veyret, Monsieur Pascal, who was a combina- tion of general Prefect, Master of Disci- pline, Mathematician, Musician and factotum for all emergencies, and Mr. Wm. Higgins to whom was assigned the A, B, C ' s, and youthful portions of the Institution, and whose favorite occupa- tion was to quarrel with that Dutch Monsieur Pascal — to the delight of good Father Nobili, the peacemaker. With such limited resources the executive abilities of Father Nobili were taxed to their utmost, but he responded fully to all the requirements of the occasion. Sam Middleton, the oldest and most stalwart of the boys was elevated to the position of Disciplinarian and given charge of the boys not otherwise occu- pied at Church and during the proces- sion, with Harry Cobb as assistant. To Mr. Higgins was delegated the official duty of watching over the grounds, with full supervision of order, peace and quiet, especially among the

Page 22 text:

THE REDWOOD Morteros had ceased belching forth their salutes with noisy eclat. The bells had ended their frolicsome peals and even the Esquila had come to silence. In the choir, the organist, Mr. Gates, sat at the Seraphine Organ. The Indians had prepared their plain redwood stands and opened their large musical volumes of sheepskin dotted with square Gregorian notes; and the old violins and violoncelos and bassos, the gifts of years past from the College of San Fernando, in Mexico, were ready to re- spond to the baton of Monsieur Pascal, The Sacristy door was thrown open and twelve Acolytes leading with crosier and censors, came forth in solemn pro- cession, followed by the three cele- brants, resplendent in their gorgeous vestments and robes richly embroidered with gold, sent in the palmy days of the Mission by the Nuns of the Convents of the City of Guadalajara, as a present and tribute to the saintly Padres Juni- pero and Magin. And the Master of Ceremonies in a charming white cloth cassock and sur- plice bordered with real Chantillis, specially made by the Sisters of Notre Dame and the generous gift of Mother Maria Cornelia, was the serious, sedate and pensive pet of Father Nobili, Charles Martin, who even then was anticipating his career like another Whittington to become the Mayor of his quasi birth place, the Garden City of San Jose. The third celebrant was as Dona Soledad Arguello had said the evening before, one of the oldest students, Mar- tin Murphy, Jr. It was he who had been selected for that occasion and en- dowed with the responsibility of offi- ciating in the capacity of sub-deacon. Father Veyret was the Deacon and Father Nobili, the priest secundum ordi- men Melchisedech. Martin Murphy Jr., the Sub-deacon, performed his duties nobly and grandly, with awe and reverence as became a son of the Church. He was the be- loved of the College, and the third in the generation of the Murphy pioneers of Santa Clara county. But, alas! owing to ill health, he had to give up his studies, and was called to join the Lord ere he had reached Nel mezzo del camin di questa vita. I am deviating, but there is so much of the early Chronicles of Santa Clara College as to equal those of Froissart, bristling like the bayonets of the Napo- leonic reserves. The altar was decorated with a pro- fusion of flowers, and the wax tapers burning in the main and side altars on heavy silver candelabra, sent a halo of glory throughout the Sanctuary. Madame de Stael describes the sanc- tified precincts of Santa Croce, where deep meditation and holy contemplation dwell, but within the humble precincts of that Mission Church on that Thurs- day cf Corpus Christi, the deep vener- ation and contemplation of the faithful therein gathered under the eye of that speaking Crucifix on the western wall of the Church, rose to Heaven and was