Since he was to spend no less than ten happy years, in the formative period of seventeen to twenty-seven, in connection with this institution, it may be well that we say a few words about it and its director. It was the principal fruit of the great Catholic revival at the beginning of the century, the embodiment of all the force of that movement—a movement marked by very earnest piety and a somewhat unusual combination of emotionalism and asceticism. It was founded by a group of devoted men sprung from the upper-middle class; and chief among them was M. Olier, a man justly celebrated for his saintly life. He was appointed in 1642 to the parish of St. Sulpice when it was noted as the most depraved quarter of Paris. He labored unremittingly and very successfully to reform this unpromising flock, and the young priests who were associated with him in his task constituted the nucleus of the seminary and community of St. Sulpice. The necessary building to house the institution, to the establishment of which Monsieur Olier gave himself with highest enthusiasm, was completed in 1652—a square edifice capable of receiving one hundred inmates. This became the center of a most wholesome and inspiring activity. The founder had a very high ideal of sacerdotal character. He would not admit any who embraced the sacred calling from considerations of ambition or expediency, and those admitted were subjected to the sharpest kind of tests. Whatever their birth or condition they were required to perform the menial duties of the house, and to mingle on terms of absolute equality with their fellow-students. The complete immolation of self was set as the paramount aim before those who looked forward to holy orders. The will must be entirely surrendered. The good priest must become the model of all the virtues. All earthly interests and ties must be renounced. The closest union with the Divine was to be cultivated. A very literal interpretation of the teaching of the Master was followed. The pupils were urged to study the Gospels till they could bring the Divine life before them at any moment in a series of mental pictures which should help them in the decision of all perplexing questions of duty, and were exhorted to keep themselves in such a disposition that meditation on that model life would never seem strange or demand a violent mental revulsion whatever their outward circumstances might be. While the ceremonies of the Church were observed with minute exactness, and occasional austerities were practiced, and learning was not neglected, the main thought was that the perfection of personal character must be secured at all costs; the world was to be abandoned, the flesh crucified, the devil in all his forms resisted, and lessons of humility, obedience, and charity were to be most carefully learned. They were taught that in the silence which succeeds the struggle of self-abandonment they would find Christ coming to them—the