New-York tribune., 1895-08-18
NOT MADE BY MONKS.
n,p-rrME ELIXIRs AND MODERN COR
DIALS

.,nence Society concerning the brewing of beer
-, the foreign monks established at the Abbey
=, 81. Vincent. Latrobe. Penn 1t may be OF in
.res, TO point out that this is the only religious
community engaged In the manufacture Of stim-
Giants on this side of the Atlantic: that eccesi-
ss,,cal orders in Europe have almost entirely
.haudoned this form Of industry. and that the
-rs,or part Of the liqueurs sold to the public on
the understanding that they have been distilled
nv monks such as. for instance chartreuse and
nenedictine. have nothing monastic left about
,hem save the name In medieval times II is
,-,. the monks were famed for their elixirs in
Seed. there was scarcely a single religious order
wh,ch did not have its name associated with
that Of some liqueur or other. Thus the Carthu-
s,ans were famed for their chartrsuse. the Bene-
s,ctinc fathers for their ben edictine. the Trap
mist fathers for their trappistine. and the Car
melites for their eau des carmes. etc. In fact.
an entire volume might be written about these
.,,xirs alone. so numerous were they
The reason for this former monopoly by the
Church Of the production Of cordials Is easy to
.xnlain In those dark ages. when ignorance
vas the rule and learning the exception. most
~ the knowledge Of chemistry and Of botany
xas concentrated in the hands Of he clergy who
constituted the only class possessed Of any SCI
.nce or. indeed. of even elementary education.
alton Of those physical sufferings which fall to
the lot Of the human race. The monk was looked
mon not only as the priest but also the doc
tor and. inasmuch as the science OF medicine
vas restricted TO the use OF herbs 1t was only
,a,ural that the good father should devote all
.s attention and intellectual toll the study OF
those essences that can be distilled from plants.
such as for instance. rosemary. balm mint. sweet
trefo borage iris. elder etc
THE SPECIAL MONASTIC ELIXIRs.
The result was that each monastery of any i'm
ror,ance soon had its own particular elixir.
wn,ch its members administered TO the sick and
.r,rr firmly convinced that there existed no
o,her drug endowed with many digestive.
.ntl-apoplectic. anti-spasmodic. anti-cholerc and
,or,c virtues as theirs Not even was the order
~ the Jesuits an exception 10 the rule: Tor when
u was first instituted the chief occupation OF the
fathers consisted according 10 the writer's or the
time .'in caring for the sick and wounded ana IN
the distillation Of salutiferous waters, whence
fhey were long known among the lower classes
~ the population in Italy and Spain as the
"padri de raqua-vtae." that is. the fathers OF
lfe-giving waters.
II Is only since the beginning OF the present
century that monastic liqueurs have been con-
verted from elixirs and medicines into post
prandial delicacies: and II they are no longer
manufactured. as in days OF yore. mainly Tor the
comfort and cure OF the sick. but rather as
luxury for well-to-do gastronomists. it must be
admitted that the monks are gradually abandon
ing the manufacture thereof to laymen. In fact,
,he vast majority of these liqueurs have nothing
ecclesiastical left about them. save their names
their labels and the secret Of the ingredients OF
which they composed
THE HISTORY OF BENEDICTINE.
Especially is this the with the elixir
known as benedctne. produced at Fecamp III
Normandy in spite OF the odd-shaped. pot-bellied
hotties being adorned with the monastic seal and
the four cabastic letters "A. NJ. D. g. which
stand for "Ad majorem Del gloram.' Monks
nave had no hand In It's dstng since the great
Revolution, of lust one hundred years ago. Re-
nowned ac a digestive particularly in the United
States where II enjoys perhaps a greater vogue
than any other lqueur. 1t was invented In lolo oy
a. Benedictine father. Dom Bernardo Vincelli. and
soon became popular throughout Normandy lor
the monks when visiting the novels or the peas
,rts in the district would always carry an ample
supply Of this their sovereign remedy. In lo34
according 10 the chronicles Of the ancient aopey
K,ne Francis ! came specially TO Fecamp to
sample the cordial, the reputation OF Which had
reached him at Paris and 1t is related that he
in commemoration or his visit he secured from
Rome a Cardinals hat for the abbot.
For close upon three hundred years the good
monks were left undisturbed, blessed by the
,neighborng population OF the entire province for
she,r never-ending acts OF charity. and honored
and admired by the outside world for their skill
IN concocting the mysterious cordial On the
outbreak Of the great Revolution. however. they
were forced 10 quit the country, leaving their
abbey which had been home and shelter TO
their order for eleven centuries, to be destroyed
by the ruthless hand OF the Terrorists Their
church. an edifice dating from the year 1900 alone
escaped.
They did not make their temperance at Fe-
camp after the restoration and the manufac-
ture OF the cordial entirely abandoned until
1862 when NJ Legrand. native of Fecamp,
member of whose family had been the prior Of
the monastery at the time Of the Revolution hap
pened to find among his dead kinsman's papers
a document yellow with age. on which was in
scribed In faint writing the secret of the manu-
facture Of benedictine NJ. Legrand seized the
opportunity thus offered. and began TO distil the
elixir with so much success that four years after
ward a COMPANY was formed for manufacturing
Il on a large scale Mindful of the traditions of
the past NJ Legrand collected all the available
relics Of the ancient abbey. and buildings were
erected something Of the same style as the old
monastery.
The business nourished and everything pro-
ceeded merrily until the year 1892. when the dis
tery was burned. 1t has since been rebuilt. and
q few weeks ago the new buildings. which are all
in the Renaissance style. were solemnly inau-
gurated None OF the revenues derived by the
company from the manufacture of the cordial go
into the Golfers OF the Benedictine order. and.
while NJ Legrand is most philanthropic and
charitable the only tribute which the Benedic-
une Company may be said TO pay to the Church
IS that It employs in the sealing; labelling ana
packing departments a coupe OF hundred young