The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-12-10

"Ah very WE'LL but listen. and / will
ask you another question. When you
taste this alcohol ont of necessity do you
like it? Does it please your"
"Alas! yes. my lord!'' answered the
unfortunate man, getting very red, s'for
the last two nights especially found
out particularly nice taste in it. / am
quite sure the devil has played me this
trick; I am quite determined not to use
the meter again, all the worse if the
slqueur is not tasted enough, or fin
ished up"
Heavens! protect us from such reso-
lution," answered the Prior, sharply.
'We must not displease our customers.
All that you can do, now that you, have
Let us see, about how many drops does
it take to make up your account? Fifteen
or twenty?"
Twenty, should say"
'The devil would be very clever to
catch you with twenty drops. Also, in
order to prevent any future accident, I
will permit You to say your evening
prayers in the distillery, instead of COM
ing to church. And now go in peace, my
reverend father, and please take care to
count your drops"
Alas, the poor reverend father counted
them in vain; the devil had him and
would not give him up. Strange noises
came forth from the distillery. During
the daytime everything was quiet. The
father was always calm; he prepared his
chafng dishes, his alembics, carefully
sorted his herbs-they were all herbs
in Provence, rare ones and gray varie-
gated ones exhaling strange perfumes.
.~~l, L l.
fused, and the cellar was cooling in i'm
mense brass cauldrons, the poor mans
martyrdom began. Seventeen-eighteen
the pewter gob4et. Ali these twenty
drops the father swallowed at one gulp,
without much feeling of de-
light. But the twenty-frst he longed
| after. Oh! to taste that twenty-frst
| drop; SO in order to escape temptation,
he would kneel quite at the extremity of
| the labratory, and his thoughts were for
| some time in his Pater Nosters. There
rose little perfumed smoke from the
still heated ''liqueur," which enveloped
him, and whether he choose or not,
] brought his thoughts back to his cal
drons. The s'liqueur" was of beautiful
golden green color. Meanwhile, orders
were pouring into the monastery-it was
a great blessing they received them
from Nismes, AK, Avignon, Marseilles.
Gradually the monastery became a small
mandatory. There were brothers who
packed, brothers who ticketed, others
| who wrote, others who managed the
| transport business. In this way they
/ became very lax in their religious duties
the bells were very rarely rung; but I
assure you the poor country folks were
| no losers by the change! Well, one fine
| Sunday when the treasurer was reading
| the account of the year which was end
| ing before the whole assembled chapter,
| the hearty canons were listening with
| cleaning eyes and smiling lips, when
| quite suddenly Father Gaucher rushed
in among them crying: ''It is all over
!. now. I will make no more. Give me
back my cowsp'
t ssWhat is the matter, Father Gaucher?"
asks the Prior, who, however, had his
| doubts as to what was the matter!
"sWhat is the matter, my lord p The
matter is that am ON the high road to
perdition, an eternity of flames and of
pitoh-forks. The fact is that drink
like fish,"
"But I warned you to count the
drops"
ooh! yes. it was all very well to count
| the drops, but now I should have to
count the gobiess. Yes, reverend
| fathers, have reached to that depth of
degradation I take my three bottles
nightly. You understand that this can
not last, therefore you must find some
one else to concoct the elixir for you.
Let the everlasting fire consume me if I
meddle with it again"
can tell you the whole chapter
4 l. II. L. /,
words. "But unfortunate man, you will
be the cause Of our ruin cried the
treasurer. agitating his enormous book.
would you prefer that should be
damned?"
At these words the Prior stood mp.
Reverend fathers he began, extend
ing his beautiful white hand on which
was the pastoral ring, everything will
be arranged for the best. It is at night,
is it not, my dear son, that the devil
tenpts you?"
"Yes, holy Prior, regularly every
night. As soon as evening closes in, /
find myself perspiring at the mere
thought of what is going to happen me,
like Capitou's ass at the thought Of the
burden"
every well calm yourself We will
recite st. Augustine's prayers for your
neneht, and L Will Join to them the
plenary indulgence. By these means you
will be quite safe. It is actually giving
you absolution while you are in the act
of singing"
"Oh, well, many thanks, my lord
Prior, and without further ado Father
Gaucher returned to his distillery as gay
as lark. Surely from that day forth
every evening at the end of the even
song the officiating monk never missed
saying: Let us pray for our poor
Father Gaucher, who sacrifices his eter-
nal happiness to the interests of the mo-
mastery"
"Oremus Domino"
Then when the prayers of the cowled
monks sounded through the nave like the
blowing of an easterly wind amid snow,
at the other extremity of the monastery
Father Gancher, behind the blazing
window of his distillery, was heard sing
ing with all his might:
I'm Paris there lived white monk,
Patatin, Patatan," Ac
Here the good Cure stopped quite
frightened. tMercy?" cried he; ssif my
parishioners were only to hear me-
The great mistake our farmers make
that are in good circumstances, is that
fhau MI their To-