I had to wait in Bruges a day later than I expected, in order to see[1] Dr Malou, & have had to hurry as fast as possible afterward in order to reach home in time for my missionary duties; & now that I am quietly settling down I am glad to receive your kind note[2] by which you remind me of my promise of writing to you after my interview with the Bishop of Bruges.
I proposed to His Lordship your conscientious scruples which keep you from urging your request to come p2to the English missions[3] & on the other hand I spoke of course of the great want of priests here, & the great good you would probably do among us when we once get our Petit Seminaire[4] a going.
Well, the good Bishop is quite disposed to give you permission to come over to us (His Lordship easily understands that your being partly engaged with Dr Grant[5] will be settled without difficulty between Dr Grant & our Bishop[6] who are on the most intimate terms) He feels your present harassing[7] position, & the impossibility of doing anything, this year at least, for the English in Bruges. However His Lordship will only give his final answer during the ensuing[8] holidays, in order not to unsettle things at Roulers[9] more than necessary.p3This, of course you must keep secret. As it would otherwise be a betrayal of the Bishop’s[10] confidential communication to me
If then, you have not yet done it, you must see the Bishop at the commencement of the holidays, & come as soon as ever you can.
I like very much the idea of the good youngman[11] coming to help us as a professor: whilst he will be doing good, perhaps God will give him to become a priest. You say that he is ready to go to Louvain to make a year's study. This is the best thing that could be done. For it appears to me that it is better for you to come & see on the spot how matters are; & after a few months, which you will spend most usefully in helping at some of our missions you will p4acquire an exact knowledge of the ways & means to carry on successfully our important undertaking. & at the same time you will be enabled to define accurately the position which Mr Karel de Gheldere[12] will hold in the Petit Seminaire[13]
When you are among us you will very soon see that whatever good your[14] are, under God's blessings, doing in bringing about a more christian education among the Belgian youths, the good you will do here will be a hundred fold greater.
Please give my kindest regards to Mr Algar, & tell him that I still hope that he will be your collaborateur in the great work of evangelizing that part of England which gives at present the tone to the whole country by its gigantic trading[15]