Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1918-07-18
:, x1rscRIPT DATING FROM THE
A-, -rr,rrH cENTURY-ANOTHER
FROM FOURTEENTH
TYPOGRAPHICAL STORE
Father Jerome Takes Free Press Man
Through Monastery and Shows
Him Splendid Library
By the Editor.


Hidden under the shadow of Craig Is
maintain. west of Cottonwood, and at
the foot of towering pine trees, lies ST.
Afebael's monastery, which a party Of
us had the privilege of visiting last
Sunday evening, at dusk.
Escorted through the monastery by
Rev. Father Jerome, who sought US out
from a picnic party in. a glen amid the
fragrant pines and wildflowers and a
running brook, the visit to the monas-
tery was an, exceedly pleasant and pro-
fitable one.
Simplicity marks the interior of the
monastery. Everything is plain-furni-
ture. simple-no carpets on the floors
hut the whole interior scrupulously
clean. From the monastery one can see
only a short distance to the westward,
for soon ones eyes meet the pine
clad mountain side, but, looking to the
east from the height on which the
monastery is located, the whole of Camas
Prairie is revealed in a great panorama
stretching eastward for forty miles or
more to the mountains beyond the
Clearwater river. 1t is a sight that is
wonderful to behold. With such magni-
ficent natural surroundings, one can
readily appreciate why the secluded spot
was chosen as an ideal location for st.
Michael,s-an institution for work, for
study and f9r prayer.
Wonderful Old Books.
Perhaps it is not generally Under
stood that st. Michael's monastery is
the LOCATION of what no doubt is the
largest library of theological and his
tOrical works in Central Idaho, if not
in the entire state. Indeed it is doubt
ful whether at any-other place in Idaho
exist books and parchments of the age
of those kept in small room in a corn
er Of the second floor. of the monastery.
Really it was great surprise to see the
books and manuscripts and rare privi-
lge to handle them, if one could not read
them, for they are written mainly in
Latin and we must confess lack o. suf-
fieient knowledge of the Latin tongue
to peruse the old writings.
The parchments consists of two
specimens, one of which was written
In the Tenth eentury-1000 years ago
and the other was produced in the Four
teenth century. Both are lettered by
hand, the only method of book making
In vogue before the invention of print
ing by movable types. The specimen
dating from the Tenth century was
produced 500 years before the invention
OF printing, and the other specimen
yates from perhaps a century before
printing was invented.
Beautiful Lustre to Colors.
Inc manuscripts are lettered, evenly, !
'Hu the characters are so shaped that /
'ne might imagine they were picked
ION type case. Most of the letter
ng Is IN black, with occasionally words
IL red, with initials in a combination
ncindmg gold and blue. The coloring
> superb, and one wonders at the
Methods employed thousand or even
I've hundred years ago in the making of
Oiois when those we use today will
aue II exposed for day or two to the
SsS Oh the sun. Even as the ancient
'syptians possessed the secret art of
"loaiming, which has not been equalled
-. luis day, so the makers of inks in
nc Tenth and Fourteenth centuries
new now to produce inks that would
''ain their color down through the
ges.
ne parchments on which the words
y written are heavy and stiff, and are
0Huefrully well preserved. The speci-
''Hs consists of what probably were
,aVes IN books, and were procured by
: "ichael's from monastery in
witzerland.
among the books, the Rev. Father