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

! by fasting and prayer that no kind Of
| enjoyment was derived from delicate
Gates or exquisite draughts, neverthe-
less he could eat and drink with the
merriest gourmet going.
"Grace having been chanted the
meal began, Father Chrystal having
the wine bottles and the lay brothers
in attendance we'll in hand. 1t was his
business to-day to give out the con-
tents of the cellar and superintend the
procedure OF the feast generally, so.
whilst contriying to keep up with the
rest, he yet rose from time to time
! to see that his instructions were prop
erly carried out, and even took part
IN the business OF serving
"Rich in expedients and full OF de-
vices, the miracle-worklng distiller
had now twofold object to attain.
he must not only take good care that
not a drop Of any strong drink, save
his own elixir, should moisten the
throats OF his fellow friars, equally
| important was it that the Superior
and his guests should be piled from
| other sources. Thus, by an ingenious
slight Of hand, he managed to exchange
precisely similar bottles on the side
| board. pouring into the glasses Of the
monks his Elixir de Douleur, as he
| pleasantly ,styled it, into that OF their
stern monitor and his friends a bever-
age OF directly opposite properties.
'"Ihe result was what had been fore.
told. In grave and decorous silence the
twenty and odd Capucin friars sat
| down to table, and the Superior al.
most smiled to see-yes, his rebuke
had not been made in vain; no rows.
| terous conversation, no unseemly
| jests were to shock his sense ofpropri-
ETY. and disgrace the Order to which he
belonged that day. All was as it
| should be-demure, decorous, and So
briefly itself.
"No sooner, however, did Father
Crystals elixir begin to circulate
freely than gravity was succeeded by
pensiveness, pensiveness by gloom,
gloom by absolute, dire, lachrymose
detection. One by one the poor monks
looked the variest images Of woe; they
ate, they drank, it is true, but an out
slider might have supposed they were
all going to be hanged next day.
"And still the Superior almost smil-
ed to see. 1t was q very difficult thing
to make this man unbend; even under
the influence Of sparkling, Joy giving
champagne, he could maintain the
grave demeanor OF Judge. Still to-
day the duties OF a host necessitated
exertlon and sacrifice on his part; he
must at least make a. show OF
urbanity. He was flattered, more
over, that his subjects, as in a certain
sense these friars were, should be so
amenable to reason and remonstrance.
! Thus, although no mood could be
farther from hilarity than his own, he
! looked positively exhilarated by COM
parison with the brothers. AS to his
guests, they had been informed before
hand OF recent occurrences, and took
this openly displayed penitence OH the
part of the offenders as matter of
! course.
CAN this time of course Father
| Chrystal abstained alike from his own
elixir and the mellow cup beside it,
pride of tbs monastery cellar. He
| must be master of himself to the end,
or all would be ruined. So he piled
| now the one bottle, now the other, de-
| lighted with the success of his little
scheme. There they sat, his once
jovial comrades. as he had predicted,
silent as mutes at funeral; if they
interchanged g. word, it WAS in mono
syllables. They looked neither to the
right nor to the left, and ate of the
dainty cakes placed before them
automatically, without relish, appa-
rently without appetite, and when
the browning feature OF the entertain
ment appeared in the shape of chief
d'ceuvre OF the confectioner' skill, the
signal on former occasions Of round
OF applause, one brother, hitherto the
jOlliest of the crew, drew out his peck
et-handkerchief
'That pocket handkerchief brought
matters to climax No sooner was
one brother seen wiping away his
tears, than another and another felt
an imperative call to weep. Grief is
even more contagious than Joy. At
what should have been the merriest
part of the banquet, the monks, ono
| and all, sat sobbing over the delicious
morsel served out to them, which
they new ertheless contrived to eat all
the while. Then at last and indeed, q
smile, real, visible, and unmistakable,
was visible on the face OF the ascetic
Superior. The whole scene was 80 in
congruous, so ludicrous, 80 unex-
pected, that had he not smiled,
he must have been more than
human. AS for his guests, they
feigned tickling in the throat
and Uttered behind their hand
kerchiefs, whilst the poor lay breth-
rem in attendance, overcome with tler-
riment, had hurried pell-nlell into the
buttery in order to avoid scandal.
'The only person present who was
exactly himself, neither whit merrier
nor sadder. was Father Chrystal. A
proud and happy man he felt that
moment, and we'll he might. He had
indicated the honor OF his Order,
he had foiled the intentions OF a crusty
Superior, he had proved himself as
good as his word. AS theparty broke
up-the monks, with tears running
down their cheeks, filing off in one d.
rection; the Superior and his guests,
now laughing audibly as they passed
through the opposite door; the lay
brethren, bursting with fun as they
peered from the pantry; Father
Chrystal surveyed the scene, triumph
ant. He stood like somes success
iul stage manager, contemplating
the triumph of his own bringing
about, no empty vaunter, no vain
trumpeter Of his own achievements.
His Elixir de Douleur was, past ques-
ton, one of the great inventions of
the world"
"And what became of it?" 1 ask
ed the narrator.
"It has made the fortune, not OF
Father Chrystal, but of his house."
added Father Bartolomaus. Chow