Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-30

A MonOtnOus Existence-The Daily ROu-
tine.

NAACs
A Monks day begins at 1850 a. am,
says the st. Louis Republican, and that
breakfast is a very light and hasty mat
ter, taken without formality somewhere
between 8 and 8, no n will be surprised
to hear that English stomachs are ready
for their principal meal at 1890. Let us
90 through a day: At 4:55 precisely-for
punctuality is a grea, matter-the big bell
begins tolling for mathis. This is the mod
ern equivalent of what used to be called
the midnight office. In the thirteenth GEN.
tury the time was 2 a. M, now it is 8; in
some monasteries on the Continent it is 4.
But IN those days they went to bed at
shutdown or soon after 6, while we mod
ems think 8 o'clock early. When the
tower clock has ceased striking 5 all rise
at a signal given by the superior, from the
places where they have been kneeling and
waiting in the chancel, and the matin ser
vice begins. On ordinary days it lasts an
hour and a quarter, and has not much
about it of ceremony or ritual that could
catch the eye of an Onlooker. But on fes-
rivals it is an almost gay scene, and must
begin earlier on account Of its greater pro-
traction. On such occasions q large mum
Der are arrayed in alb and cope; the organ
accompanies the chant, and sometimes
the voices of boys mingle with the heavier
tones OF the Monks. These little chOris-
tiers are selected from the abbey school.
'EPrime" is chanted at 1870; the convent
cal mass-that is, the public mass of the
day-is sung at 8 O'Clock, and at this the
whole school assists. On festivals this is
the great celebration of the day, and is
more or less solemn in proportion to the
greatness of the feast; a sermon often ac-
companies it. The next time that the COM
munity are called to the church is for the
office of '~EnOne," and after this, at 1880,
the evening Office, or verpers. This,
like the mass, is sung with organ accom-
painment, and these two, with mathis,
make up the more solemn of the daily SER
vices, at which all are more stringently
bound to be present. The office of 'cOm-
pline," the closing prayer of the day, re
cited at $3.50, makes the sixth and lase
time that the Monks assembled in tn
church. They spend at least three hours
and a half every day in this choral duty
on festivals much more; it is one of the
principal e~mplOyments of mOnastic life.
The order of the day never varies, with
the 9 ngle exception that on Sundays and
very great festivals the high mass takes
place at 10 O'Clock, for the convenience of
those "Outsiders7 who frequent the abbey
church, and who might think 8 O'Clock
rather early. The remainder of the Gay
is filled up in divers ways, in the dis
charge of the various occupations which
each has assigned to him.. From the end
Of cOmpline till the end of prime Of the
following morning is a time of the strict
est silence and recollection; not a word
must be spoken for anything short of the
gravest necessity, and no work or bust
ness is done. 1t is the time for the nightly
rest, and for meditation and private
prayer. But when prime is finished the
active work of the day begins. Foremost
among this is the work of teaching; for
the Monks of these days still maintain
their ancient tradition of education, and
the school is an almost integral part of a
site pstahliShmon