Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-02-16
THE CHARrREUsE SECRET.
Some Facts About fhe CaTtausia"
Ionks by whom the Iiqneur ~
Manufactured.


A PARIS letter says: For some days
past a mild excitement has peryaded
Europe. 1t was caused by a rumor-of
which no doubt the cable has apprlsed
vou-that Pope Leo XIII. had deter
mined to make the Carthusian monks
reinQuish the monopoly Of the hqueur
whose process of manufacture lsa secret
with them. The sum offered was about
100000 and expressed the valne
the London bankers placed on the Sc
cret and monopoly that belong TO the
monks Of Grenoble.
A Papal legate visited the far-iamed
monastery Grand Charueuse-sO
days after the offer had been rejected,
and it was said that he carried with him
from the Vatican many doctrines to show
that the Monks were violating the rules
of their order IN engaging IN commercial
lines, and that they should accept the
prouoation Of the ondon bankers. This
story IS officially denied to-day by tho
Papal Nuncio, and the Monks may con-
Time their old pursuits without fear OF
mOlesiatlon and with the consciousness
that the French Government would
never permit their tlme-honored rights
to be lntrlnged.
The Car!husian monks have always
been secure IN the protection OF the
French Government, no matter what IT'S
complexion might have been. Other
religious orders have been expelled from
time TO time, but the Chartrense monks
have never had occasion 10 fear the
wrath Of the powers that be. They an
nually turn in $3.50, coo 10 the French
exchequer, and the profits OF their liqueur
are distributed in charities in which they
could use more than they receive
Their secret no one has ever been
able to reach, although time and
money have been wasted IN the effort
Experiments without number have
been made, but they were es futile ss tie
search to discover the mysteries OF the
polar regions-the freezing presence OF
an iceberg being as nothing to the air Oh
chilhness with which the uonks have al
WAYS treated the investigator. There are,
it is said, about fifty different plants used
in the preparation of the ilqueur. Each
monk has his own grounds TO cultivate,
his own workshop 10 himself, and IN
them he pursues his daily manual Occu-
pations without conversation with any
| one, and alone to his self-cOmmunings.
A visit 10 the Grand Chartreuse many
desire to pay, but none is privileged to
do so. When the early monks were
given the lands now occupied by the
order ChartTeuse was desert. The place
is not very cheering to-day, and the ten
mile ride away to the north Of Grenobit
runs through dresry roads that take 81
hours 10 traverse. The monastery II
seated on Il height in narrow val
lev, with a rugged cliff on eacl
side. The distillery is situated lowe
down than the monastery, am
there the preliminary work OF the
monks is converted into the IA
nous LIQUID, under the direction o
lay brother who has large number o
| common laborers under his superlnten
dence. No visitor is allowed 10 remain
within the wall OF the institution NOR
than forty-eight hours, and ladies' ar
never admitted and can only look on tn
buildings as they appear from the con
vent of the Sisters OF Providence nea
by. The rules Of the order have neye
been changed, and they are so strict tina
anv priest or monk can be relieved oil hi
vows to enter the order, but Carthusial
cannot secure translation to any otheror
ganization OF the Church.
A brief account OF the Carthusian
will appropriately conclude this letter
The order was founded by st. Bruno i
1854. Its founder believed that manus
labor was more healthy to relieve ID
hours OF contemplation than other un
profitable exercise. The monks ar
never allowed to eat meat, and fish can
not be eaten except when given as almi
Eggs aud cheese are their foo
on two days, pulse and boiled herr
on three others, and bread an
water on Wednesday and Friday. On
meal day is the only allowance, exceI
on feasts Of the double class. and TIL
they eat in tneir lonely cells. The
sleep on sheetless beds, and al
awakened twice during the night to II
cite their Office. Rough hair shirts 81
worn next their skin, and when they d
they are laid in the grave without an,
thing between them aud the clay bI
the robes they wore in life. A sing
cross marks their graves, no name beln
J engraved thereon. Strange TO say nea
liz all the monks die OF old age.
Cardinal Gibbons has endorsed IL