December Night
- It's December now, and Father Vaillant has been gone since mid-summer. Father Latour is suffering from depression because he can't help but wonder what the purpose of his life's work is, or whether he'll leave anything of lasting value when he dies.
- One night, he lies awake because he can't stop thinking. He finally gets up and looks outside, surprised to find that it's snowing. He also sees an elderly woman crouching and weeping. He immediately goes out to get her and brings her inside his house.
- The woman's name is Sada and she's the slave of an American family. The family carefully watches her at home and locks her in a woodshed when they sleep. Tonight, she must have escaped somehow.
- She tries to refuse Latour's cloak when he offers it, but he forces her to take it and to warm up. The woman is a devout Catholic, but her Protestant masters have never let her visit the church. She has come to pray while they are asleep. Bishop Latour feels really moved by this, so he takes her inside the church and prays with her.
- Bishop Latour doesn't have the power to free this woman, but he promises to pray for her every night. She eventually leaves, and the experience leaves him feeling as though his depression has lifted. He is reminded of just how much religion can mean to people.
- Before the woman leaves, Latour gives her a silver medal that's been blessed by the Pope himself.
- It's one of Latour's favorite possessions, but he wants the woman to have it.