de Franclieu.) Letter of the bishop, Monseigneur Claude Simon, to the Minister of Worship, April 18, 1809.

"For seven years that I have been bishop of Grenoble, I have ordained thus far only eight priests; during this period I have lost at least one hundred and fifty.

The survivors threaten me with a more rapid gap; either they are infirm, bent with the weight of years, or wearied or overworked.

It is therefore urgent that I be authorized to confer sacred orders on those who are old enough and have the necessary instruction.

Meanwhile, you are limited to asking authorization for the first eight on the aforesaid list, of whom the youngest is twenty-four....