Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-06-11

Specially on days of church festival or
ceremonials of their own calendar, was
the task grievous and painful in the
extreme. Upon these occasions the
board would be spread more .plenti-
fully than usual, generous wines and
even liquors would be handed round,
and the pleasures Of the table were apt
to be long drawn out.
'lf then hard for q company of jovi-
al fellows to behave like mutes at =
funeral when faring ON potato soup
and haricot beans, washed down with
water from the fountain, Yves 1t not
outrageous, even irrational, to expect
them to be dOwncast and monosylla-
bic when hidden to a sumptuous ban
quet.
1.-THE Superior might frown and look
GUINNESS itself, rs he tossed of his
final glass of ripe old Burgundy or
sparkling champ payne. The brothers
made plteous attempts to put on d
rueful countenance and restrain the
too ready tongue. All in vain. Eyes
sparkled, lips curled upwards, cheeks
elowed, as one good story after anoth-
er elected roars OF laughter. The Su-
perior at last could bear it no longer.
Calling the elders of the fraternity be-
lore him, he demonstrated briefly and
tartly.
REALLY, we'll, really, such astate of
things was passing belief. High spirits
and uproarious mirth were pardonable
among set Of schoolboys on the
eve OF breaking up, but the
case Of men vowed to q religious voca-
ton was quite different. Really
ahem-in fact, the long and the short
OF the matter is, that unless a decor
Gus sobriety of demeanor is at once
strlven after and attained, all celebra-
tons that have hitherto taken the
shape Of a festival must be stopped,
and lasts, even sterner notifications
OF the flesh, be substituted for such
indulsences as the canons OF their or
der not only sanctioned, but encour-
aged"
"The crestfallen delegates were then
dismissed, and the monks took coun-
sci together. For the moment they
looked miserable enough. The supe-
rlor must have been more than salts
fled with such a demeanor, could it be
looked upon as lasting Not much
seemed forthcomingin the way of COM
fort or advice, TILL when each mem
Der OF the conclave had said his say,
the youngest of them all, Father
Chrystal, by name, opened his lips.
This Father Chrystal was quite a
genius, in no common way either. He
was not only q good botanist, but g.
skillful herbalist and simpler, cogni-
zant with the medicinal properties
and virtues generally OF a vast num-.
Der Of plants. Whenever anyone fell
i'll inside the monastery walls, or met
with an accident, Father Chrystal was
the physician sent for. His bal,ns,
syrups, decoctions and miscellaneous
remedies brought III quite ajttle reve-
nue. to the house, being known through
out that quarter OF France.
"Father Chrystal, with twinkling
eyes and countenance unabashed,
now unfolded his plan. He had long
been in the possession, he said, of an
interesting, a most valuable secret,
secret that, were he a civilian and
able to indulge in commercial specula-
ton, would certainly make his for
tune. More than one unworked mine
OF gold, indeed, was his. There
was not a monk or lay-brother
in the house who had not told
him that dozen times. His
eyewater, for instance! Patented and
sold as medicine, such a remedy
must bring in a handsome income.
Then his cure for scalls, burns and
bruises-but pshaw! these were mere
bagSltelles, trlaes not worth thinking
about, at least, talking about just
then! A matter much more import
ant had come to the fore.
''Then Father Chrystal began to
quote Greek, for as we'll as being
first-rate naturalist, he was a. fair
scholar. They must ALL have read, he
continued, Of the wonderful nostrums
OF the ancient love-philtres, aphro-
disiacs, as the classic writer's called
them, and SO forth. But he had struck
out a wholly new line for himself. He
had invented an elixir such as the
world had never yet heard OF, and
which yet in so complex a civilization
as that Of the nineteenth century,
must have extraordinary value. They
were all familiar with the wine that
glad the heart of man. But
would not the wine that sobere1 mems
spirits have it's use also?"
"At any rate, it nicely meets our
CASE he said. This day SO IN night is
the festival OF our patron saint. 1t
will be my turn to act as steward on
that occasion. Mind and drink every
thing I offer you, A light effervescing
wine shall hand round pretty freely
is the draught especially to be INDUCED
in. Whilst tickling the palate and re-
freshing the body, it's effect on the
mind is curious and palpable. The
first portion imbibed diffuses pensive
gravity; empty your glass, and the
of the face take g. downward
curve; drink deep, and you become
apparently a prey to intense detection
and melancholy
1.-The monks hearkeneu, all atten-
ton, and one and all with the utmost
alacrity promised to obey. True,
their order concerning Father Chrys-
tabs elixir was somewhat damped by
the fact that it induced mental de-
preston. That WAS surely uncom.
Portable enough Of itself; nevertheless,
the solution OF knotty problem
was caught at. What harm, more
over, would a temporary fit OF low
spirits do them? They would, at
least, be spared those for more un-
pleasant alternatives limited at by the
superior-rigorous abstention from
wine, an increase of fast days; and,
perhaps-who could say?-penances
savoring Of medieval harshness. A
scourge still formed part Of the furni-
ture OF every cell, and though it was
no more used than the ancestral
sword hanging over the mantlepiece OF
an English mansion, we'll, there it
was!