In the Life of the servant of God, Peter de Basto, we find an example which shows how the holy angels, even whilst they are watching over us upon earth, interest themselves in behalf of the souls in Purgatory. And since we have mentioned the name of Brother de Basto, we cannot resist the desire to make known this admirable Religious to our readers; his history is as interesting as it is edifying.
Peter de Basto, brother coadjutor of the Society of Jesus, and whom his biographer calls the Alphonsus Rodriguez of Malabar, died in the odour of sanctity at Cochin, March 1, 1645. He was born in Portugal, of the illustrious family of Machado, united by blood to all the nobility of the whole province between the Douro and the Minho. The Dukes of Pastrano and Hixar were among the number of his relatives, and the world held out to him a career of the most brilliant prospects. But God had reserved him for Himself, and had endowed him with the most marvellous spiritual gifts. Whilst still a very little child, when taken to the church, he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament with the fervour of an angel. He believed that all the people saw as he did, with the eyes of the body, the legions of celestial spirits in adoration near the altar and the tabernacle, and from that time forward the Saviour, hidden under the Eucharistic veil, became by excellence the centre of all his affections and the innumerable prodigies which characterised his long and holy life.
It was there that, later, as in a divine sun, he discovered without veils the future and its most unforeseen details. It was there also that God showed him the mysterious symbols of a ladder of gold which united heaven and earth, supported by the tabernacle, and of the lily of purity shooting forth its roots and drawing its nourishment from the flour of the wheat of the elect and the wine which alone can bring forth virgins.
Towards his seventeenth year, thanks to that purity of
