Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-11-05

u iEdpplSt aDDey IN -tne lS.I centuIS }
nag be reasonably esteemed as great curl
osity as any pilgrimage. Indeed, it is
greater, since. whereas any one can be j
pilgrim, every one cannot penetrate into a
monastery of so strict an order. The Alb
hey Of Sept-Fonds Saint-Lieu is half way
between Diou and DOmpierrc, two small
villages on the Moulins-Macon line. nine
miles from Bourbon Lancey.
As | rang the bell of the monastery was
not predisposed either towards Trappists or
their manner of lie, bat now must con-
Tess that, whatever objection be raised to
their way of getting to heaven, none can
be made to their activity and hard work.
Lazy monk" is not term which can BE-
applied 10 Irappist of Sept-Fonds. The
/ Abbey IS square mass Of buildings divided
| into countless yards and courts. and the
| whole of the grounds are surrounded by
wall Is feet high, broken at intervals by
small towers. 1t takes over an hour to
walk around the inside of this wal On
entering the court yard We were at once
conducted by lay brother into the guests
room. Here brother, whose especial duty
It IS to receive guests appeared and cordially
welcomed Us. lie was of course allowed to
speak. and as his term Of Office was on the
wane. he made the best use of his time
The first place we visited was the reiecto-
ry, where about hundred of the monks
were eating their scanty meal of vegetable
soup. bread, cherries, cheese and beer. the
bowls and plGtters being metal and the
spoons wooden. Meat. fish. eggs and but
ter are always forbidden. OF course their
was no conversation indeed. it is rcck0ned
SIN u look up when strangers enter but
brother was reading aloud from some re-
ligIous work from pulpit standing half
way down the room. From the reiectorv
we ascended to the dormit0ry, where each
monk sleeps, dressed in his clothes. in a
separate cublcle on a straw mattress, with
one coverlet and Z bag OF straw for pillow,
the hoar Tor getting up throughout the
year being a. III. We then went success
siyeiy through the library. the abh1ts |
study, the laboratory. the chapel, which |
Il an unlnteresting modern red brick build /
ing. and then the ehapel-room. Here are /
held the solemn meetings where each Trap /
pist conic,ses his SINS aloud in the presence /
ni all the others, and should he omit any /
iauIt. however trivial, one Of his brethren /
may, should he have been witness Cf it. /
solemnly rise, and alter receiving permission |
from the abbot. dcn0unce the omission Va /
rlOuS punishment arc allotted for sins. from
prayers and lasting down TO n good sound |
LagellatiOn. Close by it is the meditation
room, where each monk ha, a small cup
board IN which to keep his papers. cite,
You see. said the Abbot (Comte de Du-
rlt), not one Of them IS locked. yet one
brother never looks into. anothez's cup
board In the cloisters j. gateway lead
M directly into tho cemetery, and over it Is
'H0d.c NAH, ,crGS tibi." ." Before
passing outsr1e, | must remark how beau
iulIy clean every part of the monastery was
do not believe particle of dust could be
found anywhere Scpt-Fonds might serve
as an example IN this respect to similar in
Stitutl0n in Italy, and, indeed. Paris.
tne Oi the chlet sources Os rcyelue t. the
Abbey iS rs dairy produce, and more than
once has 1t borne away medals for its excel
lent cheese at agricultural exhibitions on
enc occasion obtaining the gold medal at
Amsterdam, and defeating the Dutch in
their own peculiar branch Of Industry.
Iacrc are two hundred and seventy cows
and oxen belonging 10 the monks. Oae
side OF the iarmyart Is entirely devoted TO
pIg-Styes, the occupants being mostly of the
Berkshire a.d Yorkshire kinds, and these
appeared in very favorable contrast 10 their
grey hCund-.ike French neighbors. Close
by the cow houses is a forge, where we
found two monks hammerlng ont horse
shoes, and n an adjacent tlacksmith's .hop
mother was making spade. with the a.
ii-tance oi . deaf and dumb noyice-a very
good subj -c:, as one Of our party observed,
.Jr Irappis5. Passing through gate we
came To the poultry yard, and 4 large -four
mill, worked hy hydraulic power on the
English system. Here | especially noticed
2 very excellent invention of the Abbot,
by which al the dnst Is collected by cur
rents II air into small closed chambers oa
'ach story.
Th,lmill WORKS lSInIays ox ootei) u:sh.
nd day, and griuds corn ilr nearly all the
a7mcTs IN tho Heighborh00l. Behind the
NIL Is small botanical garden. wherein
IRE grown all the vegetable drugs used in
he Abbey, aud here also Is 2 leech pond
yitl some 2e00 0cc spants From here down
. the boundary va. stretch corn fields. or F;
Aar-S, pasture land, hop gardens and vine .
ards, the latter producing IN good years /
80 hog heads OF red and white wine. In :
he brewery Is made, as | can y0Cch, most
xcal.eat beer, though hop growing has
My been introduced during the las. two
cars by the Comtc &c Durat When add d
hat there Is q small shop for the sale 9i I
00aceo and groceries 10 the country folk, c
{ Will be seen that the frappists lead any 9
hing but an idle life Before leaving We '
Skcd leave t. speak to Brother Columbian. t
young lri-hmGn, who l. still a novice lie
Old Us that this was the first time he had ~
pokcn English since be entered the e-tab- %
lshmeat eighteen months ago. DO You =
ike being herc?' asked. "Oh. yes" he y
epliei with bright smile, al should never
Ike 70 leave. enjoy being in the fields
lost, 1t reminds me o. homo" And then. /
tier few minutes conversation, ,'he left.us. c
nd the doors Of the cl0isters shu. him u
rom taa momentaTy glimpse OF the ontside l
rorid most likely tor years.-COr. LOHdlR Il
Itnes a