The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-06-11

| Une feStlvai OF our patron SxIfit. lit
will be my turn to. act as steward on
that occasion. Mind and drink every
thing | 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
muscles of the face take downward
curve; drink deep, and you become
apparently a prey to intense detection
and melancholy
"The monks hearkened, all atten-
ton, and one and all with the utmost
alacrity promised to obey. True,
| their order concerning Father Chrys-
tails elixir was somewhat damped by
i 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 ps-who could sayP-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, well, there it
was!
''The important day came duly
round, and the presence of visitors,
dignitaries from distant houses, lent
additional pomp to the celebration.
cit was indeed an inviting an appe-
tizing board that was spread in the
long refectorium that day. Trout,
fresh from the river; melons in the per-
fection of ripeness; venison from the
adjoing forest; pasties for which that
especial region of France was famous;
chez Sc creanlest of the creamy luscious
grapes; in fact, the banquet was prince
ly, aldermanic On the sideboard
goodly array of bottles promised
equal delectation in the way of wines
and liquors Well might the Superior,
as he passed down the refractory,
with his guests, cast satisfied glance
to the right, TO the left, and before
him; everywhere he saw s:gns Of a
feast befitting one of the cheeriest,
most hospitable orders that ever
wore the cowl This religious man, it
must be admitted, although his grav-
ity in no wise abated whilst he sat at
table, was an excellent trencher man.
Doubtless his appetites were so purged
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 contriving 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.
erich in expedients and full of de-
vices, the miracle-worklng distiller
had now a twofold object to attain.
He must not only take good care that
not 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 glas' +s s,1f The
monks his Elixir de Doule, as he
pleasantly styled it, into that of their
stern monitor and his friends a bever-
age of directly opposite properties.
'aThe lvsult was what had been fore
told. Ingrave 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 roys-
terons conversation, no unseemly
tests 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, iachrymose
detection. One by one the poor monks
looked the variest images of woe; they
ate, they drank, it is trEe, 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 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