Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-05-29

lOL lOieFaleu. tie sui wears the Pc
culiar garb, but is not one of them at
this writing. What do you think. O,
my dear reader, of religion that pro-
h.bits temper? Are there not some
things co1nmendable even in an odd
custom we know naught of?
AS stated. there are eight priests,
and twenty-five to thirty of the
Brothers. Every man. from the high
est to the lowest, works. And that is
a good religion that teaches men to
work. There are always outsiders
there who hang around for their board.
But they work for it. Who will not
work may not eat even their simple
fare. l would have to be mighty hum
CRY before relishing their fare, but
hunger is q good sauce, and they enjoy
their grub.
The Monks all live in the Monastery.
1t is a big stone building built in the
shape OF a letter I. Cooking and
washing and sleeping and religious ex-
ercises are all carried on in the Mon
astery. 1t was built in the beginning
Of the establishment of the order in
/ Dubuque County, and is very sub
thousand Years, or ten thousand for
ali | know. 1t is two stories high
with a basement, and entering it one
has a feeling that he has been trans
planted from the present age to the
age of romance and story, which had
to do with old castles and thick stone
walls and cathedral odors. The two
! main parts Of the building are con-
I, nected by Hall of Silence. Pass
| through this hall, no Brother may
/! speak. Lowliness, and self-control,
and meditation, and self-searching are
the mainsprings of their lives. In the
! various little chapels, which are to be
found in numerous portions of the vast
temple, one walks with uncovered
head.
The main chapel, where the priests
| hold religious services, one may go a
little ways beyond the threshold, but
not too far. 1t is sacred ground, and
no outsider has any right there.
Not a bit of carpet as big as a dol
lar bill graces any floor about the en-
tire building, including ''The Lodge"
which is another building away from
the Monastery and used: as guest
house for outsiders. The hired hands
and visitors stop there. There are a
good many things in the way of pic
lures of the Saints, which are the same
as in any Catholic Church. Another
room in the building is devoted to the
| purpose Of rest room. 1t is occupied
| by the Monks who feel indisposed to
work, or when they wish to read or
| mediate. It has in it the hardest
kind of benches. They are made OF
hard wood, as if it We're not uncomfort-
able enough to make them of pine.
The only relief from the severity Of
nature is the paint that is put on
them, and it is a very ugly brown at
that. They read only religious books.
The books of the day would find lit
tie sale there. The monks have never
heard of any of the historical novels,
and am not so sure that they are
much losers, either. They read no
some papers, but the rest do not look
at them. They do not care what the
world outside is doing. 1t might dis
tract their minds from their religion.
Not even do they take religious publi-
cations. Their books consist Of the
lives Of the Saints and other very dry
religious books. The higher criti-
cism is not botherlng the Brotherhood
Of Silence. Their books are all old
and look sas if they had been printed
i'll the, century before the last, which,
many Of them, no doubt We're.
I Their Fife is the simplest and most
austere imaginable. The prisoners il
our prisons have better fare and bet.
ter accommodations. They sleep on
the hardest kind Of a straw Mattress
which rests in bunk, and each is
separated from the rest by a partition.
! The beds are as bare as the floor
That is, as hard as a wood floor. AS
| long as it is softer than stone floor
they are satisfied. Their hours Of
sleep would not be suited to the taste
Of the modern society young man, who
gets in at daylight and sleeps till noon.
The Monks go to bed with the chick
ems. In winter bedtime is Z o'clock
and in summer s O'Clock is counted a
seasonable hour. And whether they
like it or not, they all go to bed just the
same.
And they all go to sleep, not to lie
awake worrying about whether this
will be a wet year or whether this
man or that man will be elected to Of
fee. They sleep against the time Of
getting up, which Is 2 o'clock in the
morning the year round. From this
there is no variation. Every Monk,
unless he is i'll, gets up at 2 a. n. to
attend the first religious exercise of
the day. The first hour is devoted
to matin and lauds. Then one-half
hour is given to meditation. The first
mass Of the day after that is called
Prime, which occurs at 5 80. At &c
they say Tierce, and 11:3O Sext. Al