The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-07-19

IaSt, IL was enforced. ALI war was pro-
hibited during the holidays of eachweek,
that is, from the Wednesday evening to
the Monday morning, underpunishment
of death, Punishment or excommunica-
ton.
In this general despair, few enjoyed
any peace save under the shadow of the
Church. Men crowded to lay ON the al
tar gifts Of land, of houses, andOf serfs;
all of which acts bear the imprint of the
Il universal belief:-"The end of the
world draws Nigh" so they ran, leach
day brings fresh destruction therefore
I, count or baron so and so, give to such
and such a church for the benefit of my
~sOul"-or else: "Refecting, that slavery
is contrary to Christian liberty, Ideclare
such or such a One, my born thrall, him,
his children, and his heirs, Free"
The great Of the world longed to for
sake the sword, the baldric, and all the
insignia of the military service of the
age, in orderto screen themselves among
monks, and under monkly garb, seeking
but a corner Of a convent in which to
bury themselves. The difficulty was to
hinder the rulers of mankind, the kings
and dukes, from becoming monks, or,
atleast, lay-brOthers. Guillaume I, duke
Of Normandy, would have forsaken all
and retired into. the monastery of Jul
mieges, had the abbot permitted him
still, he managed to carry away q cOwl
and a frock, which he secured in a small
Golfer, the key of which he always car
ried at his girdle. Hughes I, duke Of
Burgundy, was only prevented from
turning monk by the pope. Henry II,
the Emperor of Germany, neverhadany
sincerer desire than to enter q convent
as a simple monk. Once, on entering
the church of St. Vanne, at Verdun, he
exclaimed with the Psalmist: "This is
my rest forever, here will / dwell, for l
have desired it." Being overheard by
a monk, who put the Abbot on his guard,
the latter invited the Emperor to attend
a chapter of the house, dthen inquired
into his intentions. "By the grace of
God,n replied Henry with tears, 81 seek
to renounce the garments of this world,
to assume yours, and to live, serving
God, with your brethren."-"Will you
then,n said the abbot, Gin compliance
with our rule, and the example of Jesus
Christ, promise obedience until death T.
81 WILL" was the answer.-"Well,
accept you as a monk; from this day
forward I take on myself the care OF
your soul, and what I order, that do you
with the fear of God before you. / bio
you to return to the government of the
empire, which God has confided to yorl1
charge, and to watch with all your soul
in fear and trembling, Over the safety OF
the whole State.n The Emperor, bound
: thereto by his vow, s~orrowfully obeyed
This predominating fear of the ap,
preaching doomsday, had, as we have
seen, done a great deal more good thar
harm. In the first place, it had confer.
red an incalculable benefit On the work,
ing, the earning classes of society, by
finally enforcing the "truce of Cod"
boon that humankind in Europe never
more lost during the remainder of thu
! Middle age. In the second place it hat
liberated a great many serfs, an unques
! tionably good and beneficial effect.
One more, rather dangerous, effect o
-, those peculiar times, was the enormou
E increase of the, already overgrown, pow
, er of the clergy. The dangers of thi
unheard of prevalence of the Church ap
= peared soon enough, and all the peopl
= and kings of Europe were the bondsmel
of the priests for a couple of hundrec
q years, counting from the time of Greg
. ory VII. But still, if we look Impartial
= on this question, we must confess tina
4 the peasantry was treated incomparabl
better onestates, be1Ongingto the clergy
! than on those of secular lords, and thu
a the people at large undoubtedly game
! by being transferred from the stern an
willful rule of the feudal nobility to th
mild and equable one of monks an
+ clergymen.
! After the dreaded year 1OO0ha passed
- man commenced, little by little, to b
comforted, andto hope to last yet awhil'
seeing, like Hezekiah, that the Lord Wa
4 pleased to add to his days, and rising, g
4 if. out of his death-struggle, set one
4 more about living, working, and builC
p ing-but, first of all, building the house
of God. We find in no century SO man
;s magnificent churches completed, bui
~ or, at least, commenced, as in the ele7
enth. F. B.
% Letter En.nam ExnGnverrnnn 4