The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-11-23
MOUNT MELLARAY's TRAPPIsTs.
How They Impressed Non-cathoIic
American Journalist.

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among hills that would be at once the
temptation and despair of a colorist in
landscape
To it go the brain and heart weary
from all countries, and the goOG
monks there's no doubt that they are
good welcome them whether they
have money or not
] must confess that. being a Protest
ant, felt a little conjunction about
going to the place, but l had been
assured that my sect would make no
difference, that the fathers were glad
to receive all who came, and that ]
would be as we'll treated there as
| though l were a saint. On my way
up the jarvey told me of the amount
of good that the monks do, not only in
a spiritual, but in a material way,
by providing work for the able bodied
men of the vicinity.
1 was received at the monastery by
| a monk, who, on learning that l
wished to become a guest, took me
over to the guest house, and there a
white-robed father took my surname
and I began to feel that I had re-
nounced the world, and that perhaps
l was trying something that I would
regret, and wouldn't mamma come
and get me?
But the bearded man before me
! was kindly, and when | told him mot
wishing to sail under false colors)
that / was q Protestant, he told me
that it was a fast day, and had
dined?9 Fortunately had eaten
heartily at noon.
If We have not dined we can give
| you something substantial" said he,
but I decided that it would be better
to be treated as the other guests were
to be treated. and so 1 told him, and
he said that at s o'clock there would
be tea, and that at I would retire
to ny room, and at 10 all lights must
be out.
1t was raining dismally, but he said
that l could go for walk in the Sar-
den or stay in my room, or go to the
smoke shed to smoke pipe or a ci-
gar. [ chose the smoke shed, as I
understood there were other human
beings there. and, although 1 had only
been in the monastery five minutes,
I felt imperatively the need Of COM
panionship- After a brother had taken
my traps to my room l went out u
the smoke shed, and found there ten
or twelve guests, five or six of them
priests, and all Catholics
They were very quiet as I came UP,
and I feared to speak above a whisper
myself, but a jolly looking priest.
seeing a newspaper sticking out Of
my raincoat pocket, said: rs that
today's paper? and on my saying
that it was, he asked me if he might
borrow it. and then he stood up in
front Of them all and said:
THE news of the day Irish
Ireland, "A Leaguer's Point of View,
The French Trunk Horror The
Bachelor Tax discussed by Mr.. Doc
ley'''
"Rade that, father" said young
chap with a twinkling eye The pa
per was the Dublin independent.
and III moment more 1 was listening
to the familiar humor of the funniest
man in America, and that in a monas-
terry, of all places.
L was soon in conversation with the
group, and discovered two compatri-
OTIS from Indiana, one a native of Ire
land returning to visit it once more
before he departed, the other his son.
Vesper bells broke up the talk, and
went out with the rest to chapel. |
After vespers came tea, which l had
supposed would be literally nothing
else, but there was the most delicious
graham bread | have had since | Il
came to Ireland, and unlimited milk. |
There was not butter, as it was fast |
day.
Talk went on among us all until a |
bearded monk in white came in and |
began to read passages from Thomas |
a Kempfs. His enunciation was pc |
culiarly pure, and I doubt not that |
he was a gentleman born. II was a |
pleasure to hear such English While |
he read we were all silent.
After supper we went out to the |
garden, and in a sheltered place (al- |
though we did not need shelter. as
the tickle rain had stopped). those |
who wished played a spirited game
that consisted of tossing stones into |
a little pocket of earth. One of the
priests was an adept, and he carried /
all before him.
In such simple pleasures. or in
walking. the evening was spent uitfI
it came time to go to chapel again.
One of my companions (and they
were there from all parts of Ireland,
and you might hear the Scotch ac-
cent of the north, the pure Dublin and
Wicklow Elizaethan English. the
slightly thickened Waterford variety.
and the hurried talk of the Corkonian.
as we'll as other styles 1 could not place
probably west coast dialects, mourn
full and slow asked me what / thought
of Ireland. andI told him my impress
sions bad been tremendously favorable.
He said that man who had re-
turned not long since told him that Ire
land was hopelessly behind the times,
and | told him, for his comfort, that
to take one instance in which Ireland
was up to date the tram service in
Dublin was far ahead of that of New
York both in the elegance of its roll
ing stock, its cheapness and the cour-
tesy and civility of its employees
He was much amused at the idea of
horse cars in New York. Electric cars
play an important part in all the large
Irish cities, and a ride on the top of
one to Howth, lovely suburb of Dub
lin, is worth every bit of the eight
cents it costs.
They have yet to introduce the trans
fer system, but in other particulars,
like Mr.. O'Reilly, they're doin quite
WELL All this / told him.
At I sought my room. where there
was reading matter suitable to the
place, but the candle was not conducive
to extended reading unless l held it
close to the book, and then it dazzled
me; 50 at o'clock l was in bed, and
until 2 in the morning the hose was
quiet, save for snore here and there.
But at . the bells began to ring. and
kept it up at intervals all through the
night l was told this, but tired ma