The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-11-04
NOVEMBER

hours in front of the ins crption, "Quant
ii ny a plus de moi, il NY a plus de
croiX."
In the sunlight under the clear, hard
blue of the Canadian sky, all gravei
reflections give way at the sight of the
| admirably ordered farm buildings, poul-
Try houses, cattle-pens, diaries and wine
or cider-presses of the establishment
The silence which prevails over all the
| human activities engaged here is nc
| check on the cheerful noises of the farms
yard; though one visitor stoutly main
| tanned that he detected signs of ten
| dency in that direction. But ones
chief interest lies less in the organi-
cation itself, which differs from that Of
an ordinary farmhouse in nothing but
cleanliness, than in the knowledge that
this constitutes one of the principal
sources of revenue of the whole institu-
ton. Trappist butter, cheese, wine and
cider are now well known, the first two
! holding their own among Canadian dairy
products, for the general improvement
of which, in the last few years, large
| share of credit must be given to the
| staff of the experimental farm estab-
lished at ottawa by the Dominion
government.
1t must not be supposed that the
produce of farm and dairy Is alone
sufficient for the support of the monast
cry. Notwithstanding the fact that the
land on which it stands was ceded to
the order by the Sulpicians, who still
preserve quasi-seignorial rights and
privileges over the district and many
adjoining parishes, the installation alone
of so large an establishment must have
demanded a great initial outlay. With
out entering into questions with which
neither the present writer nor his read
ers can have any concern, it may be
conjectured that, in common with other
eleemosynary institutions, La Trappe
at times receives through private gifts
some part of what is as literally distri-
buted from its doors or within its walls.
The casual offerings of travellers, though
not completely negligible quantity,
are too often out of all proportion to
what many could easily afford to give.
ccording to Baedeker, while more than
10000 guests are annually entertained at
the st. Bernard hospice, their contr-
buttons hardly cover the expenses OF
1000. The writer trusts that he may be
pardoned for his ndlscretion in citing
parallel case where, after dinner to
20 unlimited gusts, the treasury re-
ceipts amounted to exactly 25 cents.
The humorous twinkle and comment
which accompanied the information
showed that under the cowl the man is
not lost. But this to,erably regular
entertainment forms only part of the
charity freely dispensed here At all
seasons of the year, and more particu-
larly when labor Is scarce, unfortunates
drift hther from various quarters, or
are directed to come by those who know
that from these doors no hungry man
Is ever turned away.
One whose way of life has been de- |
termined by very different conditions |
and considerations from those of ceno- I
bite finds some difficulty in expressing |
without exaggeration the full effect |
produced by the sight of an existence
so ordered, so sheltered so free from in
dividual struggle. and yet to all appear
ances permanently human through its
sincerity, its labor, its steadfastness in
we'll dong We may be far from con-
such a life with envy-equal-
~ far from any intention of carrying
It's austerltes into our own; bit we
cannot forget that the sight of 1t gives
1 wider meaning to our conception of
tolerance, 1t is our lot, however, to re-
urn. and, in the words of the great
worldly philosopher probably unknown
o the Trappist, ito take our part in the
and struggling, the tears and
aughter the crime, remorse, love, folly,
borrow and Montreal Letter in the
New York Evening Post.