The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-04-03

We had now got out inrojhcopnn -trccl The
air was keen and frosty, the wind was blowing
. from the east, and Wc both pu' our hand&cr
i chiefs ND to our faces ~ We issued from the
great west door Then, entering the arch
! way which leads Ia Dcau's yard, we took the
-. turn 10 the left and in the course Of IA few
|moncnts we stood on the threshold Of the
=. really beautiful cloistcrS. The porter might
possibly be sanCIuarl2cd in his own Little
house hard hy but We saw no signs Of life
save the milk boy and "A very old woman.
was just in the interim between the ecIisc
of day and the lighting Of lamps for the night.
The lamplightcr would be round in II few
i minutes. He had not come yet | should
have hailed his approach with pleasure. My
/ friend was CXuDcranlIy talEy, and ran over
with profound cogitallon. He was SO glad
to have me for companion. An intellIgcn,
acquaintance was such IN infinite treat III the
world where one met SO few.
You have mind he said warmly a
mind is the lVXury of life to others as we'll As
toyourscIt | should prefer your companion
ship to that Of the CannOns who iEhabit this
comfortable close. They read Greek and
drink port; but mind, sir, mind Is the thing
Could doubt him to be a man Of obscrva
ton?
How domestic this seems, continued my
friend, as We stood at the entrance of the ClO-
listers We can hardly imagine that the
me-loving clergy who live IN these nests Of
repOse are successors of the men who prayed
half the night for the souls of the living and
the dead Times change, like cities. Since
the night when, as the legend assures Us, the
fishermen, fishing in the Thames, caught
sight Of St Peter and ms companions and
ferried them across the river to COnSccrate
the Abbey-whiCh then was but partially
built-London is no more changed in char
acter and area than the people in faith and
habit
This was really too much tor Il cold after
noon. But before | had time to suggest our
return my friend proceeded TO rave;
DO you know ,he had a constant habit of
saying Do you know as though he would
convey real sympathy and an intuitivc appre
heusiOn of me-, whenever | come here al
ways regret that | did not live and die a
monk. My father was a clergyman Of the
Church Of England He was rector of Broad
stone, in Suffolk, and he wrote the lives of
some saints, which used to read when boy
| always believed that to be monk was the
most thoughtful and philosophical life; but
married when | was only nineteen 50, you
see, was born to be Benedict
Like good many others, | replied, who
are monks in theory or sentiment you were
eminently COMMUNAL in fact CelibaCy is a
charming abstraction, but it not frequently
ends in twins.
All, true he continued Ny brother
wrote book on the blessings of CclibaCy,
but his wife was the prettiest woman to be
found in the county Of Dorset
And then we stood still in the cloistcr Nor
can | tell why | did not move away.
| scraCely know what it was that aroused
IL, 1 =.
He was gentleman, and evidently educated;
but there was something abouthlm.
defy IA man to act for three-quarters of an
hour without doing something that is odd
He Will stand STILL or lac Will NOPE, when he
should do just the contrary, and he will speak
his words without soul. A contrast that
struck me IN this man was the finish and ar.
dor Of his language with Il Coldness on crvc
and tone. a man who is an enthusiast will
throw about his limbs, and feeling will CLEAN
from his face; but this man spoke always by
rote, like an actor who has got up a part,
vas about to insist on departure when
there passed u.s. very hastily indeed, a sran.
ger, dressed in black. What struck me about
aim was the singular fact that l could see
him but could not hear any sound. lie must
have worn Enthusiastically thin boots or per
hapS he wore slippers which would be a
little unusual on II cold afternoon in DeCcm-
Der Anyway, he was totally inaudble, and,
gliding like vision, he passed under an
archway in the direction OF Little Deans
yard
Did you sec thatman; | asked my friend,
lie looked not u little disturbed; then he
said, aurrcdiy, and with obvious effort:
'No-what man? was thnkin" at the
instant of this interesting passage, which led
To Little Deans yard, 1t was one Of The old
est bats of Ii e Abbey. It has OF course been
spoiled by observation-disclosures like
the cathedral pIety but you cannot eilacr
the real DO you know, believe if you can
Ietatch the beauties OF London from the mass
OF modernism and money and place them IN
one spot 10y themselves You would make II re
sort compared To which Rome would be
dustbin and Athens Ramsgatc and Margatc
| thought this absurd, but did not say SO
My friend was obviously mad. But then hls
white hair-hs very white hair seemed to
give him excuse for being exceptional; since
age has the right To be dogmatic with youth
and was but Il youth in his presence.
We were now ia the passage which my
friend had pancgyrizcd rs one of the most
ancient of the Abbey. Ancient or not i was
certainly dark and could scarcely >cu where
was going. Hardy conscious OF what WAS
doing, or Why | should feel very anxious, !
looked over my shoulder behind me. per
ccived in the darkness that same strange liz.
urc which mad passed us three minutes be.
fore. Not ii sOund-not a mutcd one; the
human being alnnc-ils iUrm-.ts very dark
form.
Now here mlght descend from these very
lofty heights ct aesthetic dISqui~lIon and lore,
with which my friend had Instructed me- ami
tell plainly, exactly what happened. | anu
not going To d. anything OF the kind. 1.-THE
reader wishes Ia enjoy an account of a rob
Dery, of 'garrolng with violence in London
he has only To take in copies of H,ypoidS
NaHddy NcrSp1per, and he will be able to
satisfy his ycarnlng,. | was garro,cd; but
since the sensation was quite enough for my
self, and have no wish to live it over again,
the reader viii be So kind rs TO supply his
imagination with whatever particulars he
pieascs | Lost my bank notes | never re-
covered them. But let the fact suffice "A, To
detail. | bate garrutny, both the reading of
Il IL. .atN.l yat. q