Masterton

New Zealand Tablet, 27 August 1908, Page 14

Masterton

(From Our Own Correspondent.) * AugUSt 22. The letreat for the Children of Mary commences on Tuesday, September i, and ends on the following Sunday.

The Children of Mary held a general Communion at the 8 o'clock Mass last Sunday, and in the evening there was v procession of the Blessed Sacrament, in which the members ».f the confraternity and the school children took part. There was a crowded congregation.

During his stay in Masterton yesterday his Excellency Lord Plunket was driven to various places of interest in the town. He was accompanied by the Mayor (Mr. P. L. Hollings), Captain Gathorne-Hardy, A.D.C., and others. A visit was paid to St. Bride's Convent. After being received by the Mother Superior and the members of the community, they were shown •to the schoolroom, where two of the pupils played a pianoforte duet and the Glee Class sang ' Rest thee on . this mossy pillow. ' His Excellency thanked the nuns for their genial welcome and the pupils for their concert. Though he had other calls on his time,- he could not leave "without saying, a few words to : the " children of the school. He reminded them their first duty was to their God and their religion. This, he said, he knew was in safe hands. Their next duty was to the King, the Empire, ' and their country. In King Edward VII. they had a monarch .whom they all loved and respected. The Empire was the freest in the world, and New Zealand was a growing little country^* .which he knew they all loved. In the convents and Catholic schools of New Zealand they were taught one thing better than anywhere else, and that was politeness, respect for their eldersand, for the time being, their betters, and he "hoped when they left school they would not forget the excellent training they had received from the nuns.