46 Life of The 



He was anxious to enter without delay upon the 

 field of his labours, where the harvest was fast 

 ripening, and lest one ear might drop, or be lost 

 from neglect. Accordingly, on the i8th of April, 

 accompanied by his brother. Very Rev. Walter J. 

 Quarter, he departed from New York for Chicago 

 where he arrived on Sunday morning, May the 5th. 

 Though fatigued and weary from his long and very 

 tedious journey, like a general on the field of battle, 

 he was at once at his post, and no personal con- 

 siderations could induce this faithful servant of God 

 to neglect for a moment his duty. On the day of his 

 arrival, he said mass in the old church and preached 

 in the new one. 



The old church was a long low frame building, 

 having upon it a small steeple and bell. It was on 

 the lot directly in the rear of the Bishop's dwelling. 

 This building has been since divided : one half being 

 used as the Academy of St. Joseph, the preparatory 

 department of the University of St. Mary of the 

 Lake. The other half was removed to the rear of 

 the new church, to be used by the Sisters of Mercy 

 for their free school. 



The new church, then unfinished, is the present 

 cathedral. At that time the brick walls of the 

 church were merely roofed, and four posts stood 

 upright where the steeple now stands. "The build- 

 ing was not plastered; a temporary altar was stuck 

 up against the western wall. There was no vestry; 

 the sanctuary was enclosed with rough boards; the 

 children were seated on benches, on each side, where 



