The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-06-18

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.
"Rich 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 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. 1ngrave and d%ecorous 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-
ferrous 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 b~e-demure, decorous, and So
briefly itself.
mo sooner however, did Father
Crystals elixir begin to circulate
freely than gravity was succeeded by
pensivcness, p~ensiveness by gloom,
gloom by absolute, dire, lachrymose
detection. One by one thepoor 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 vas u very difficult thing
to make this man unbend; even under
the influence OF sparkling, j~oy-giving
champagne, he could maintain the
grave demeanor Of a judge. Still to-
day the duties OF a host necessitated
exertion 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
amenableto 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 on the
part of the offenders as q matter Of
course.
CAN this time OF course Father
Chrystal abstained alike from his own
elixir and the mellow cup beside it,
pride OF tia 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-
ShtCo WIZ Vic StlCNCSS vi Ills lllUlC
scheme. There they sat, his nee
lovial comrades. as he had predicted,
silent as mutes at a funeral; if they
interchanged a 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 GROWING feature Of the entertain
ment appeared in the shape of a chief
d'~uvre OF the confectioner's skill, the
signal on former occasions OF a round
Of applause, one brother, hitherto the
~iolliest OF the crew, drew out his peck
et-handkerchief.
"That pocket-handerchief brought
matters to a climax. No sooner was
brother seen 'viping away his
tears. than another and another felt
an imperative call te.Nweep. Grief is
even more contasionks, \, ioy. At
what should have 'delicio. Innerriest
part OF the banquAm, whicE,l;a lone
and all, sat sobbn to eat all "a iSS,ls
morsel served end indeed, a ~ elh
they new erthelenmistakable, f - y
sm;," ran, r;aan. W." wos 90 IN per
w,s r;s;bla o,,, o npaY- quiz so
superior :'' y p0'S not smiled, er fesOs
%f pssssd, Is f sie s"ssss, t tssy The i: i
he must hg in the throat Genera,
human. Ahind their hand
feisned the poor lay breth- In is
Iarcb; $50 ,eI,.,mel, into the picture:
rem iuer to avoid a scandal. armies.
rimeperson present who was house t
buself, neither whit merrler Va. a
WAS Father Chrystal. A
Cd happy man he felt that er IMAM
and well he might. He had Orleans
ted the honor OF his Order, active.
foiled the intentions Of a crusty ,os+ -,
Or, he had proved himself as ~
his word. AS the party broke me en-
Q monks, with tears running a dark
heir cheeks, filing of in one di. his kin
{; the Superior and his guests, his ro1
audibly as they passed woolly
h the opposite door; the lay were BIZ
IN, bursting with fun as they ing a b
from the pantry; Father He was
al surveyed the scene, triumph the wo,
lie stood like some success ed to n
Ise manager, contemplating "\Vh,
of his own bringing ooh.
no empty vaunter, no vain this is
,ter OF his own achievements. be free!
xir de Douleur was, past cues Will,
ne of the great inventions of the wo;
other
what became of it," l ask a sallt
white v
made the fortune, not OF at once
Chrystal, but OF his house." always
Father Bartolomaus. "How is! She
it be otherwise with such a send he
t.. ,.o -.oll:l.. -. C6o 49,.