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Article THE TRAPPISTS. ← Page 3 of 5 →
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The Trappists.
vespers ; being anxious to behold the brotherhood assembled for the exercise of their faith , we hastened to the chapel , which charmed me by its fair proportions and chaste simplicity ; it forms with the ante-chapel a room about three hundred feet long , adorned on either side by deep windows of richly stained glass between Corinthian pilasters ; the altar , with its rood or crucifix , is entirely of white marble—no gaudy saints
in brocade robes disfigure it ; the candlesticks and ever-burning lamp before it alone were of silver : the fraternity having taken their seats when we entered , the effect was picturesque and beautiful . Between seventy ancl eighty monks were ranged on either side of the prior in richly cawed oaken stalls , black with age , against which their white robes and graceful scapularies presented a bold relief . Vespers were
chaunted without the accompaniment of music , and produced upon the mind an effect at once soothing and solemn . At the conclusion of the service , the superior gave the signal to depart , by striking his oaken crosier upon the pavement , when the brotherhood slowly left the chapel in procession , each bowing as he passed the altar ancl the elevated chair of the prior . As we were leaving the chapel , a fellow-countryman , ivhose angular habiliments like our own , had appeared misplaced when contrasted with the flowing robes of the Trappists , addressed me . In
the course of our walk through the cloisters he informed me that his name was Spencer , that he had resided as a boarder at the monastery for some months , but expected to quit it in the course of a few days in consequence of his approaching ordination . The name instantly caught the attention of my companion , who remembering the sensation created just before by the conversion of the Hon . and Rev . Spencer to the
Church of Rome , . plainly asked him if he was Lord Althorp ' s brother , and received his denial , which was rather equivocal , with disappointment and doubt . AVe accepted his offer , however , of showing us over the establishment , with pleasure , nor did he at all seem disinclined for a companion . The long silence which he had been compelled to observe towards the monks must have been irksome to one , however religiously
inclined , who had no intention of entering their order . The first department to which he conducted us was the refectory , a large Gothic Hall , ivith a finely-painted window , and curiously carved roof . The evening repast of the monks was placed on platters of wood ; it consisted only of bread , fruit , ancl water ; the name of each brother was attached by a label to his seat . On my observing that most of the
fraternity bore names honoured in the Roman calendar , our conductor informed us , that on taking the vows , the name by which they had been previously known in the world was never mentioned , a more suitable and religious one being always adopted . AA'e retired just as the fra-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Trappists.
vespers ; being anxious to behold the brotherhood assembled for the exercise of their faith , we hastened to the chapel , which charmed me by its fair proportions and chaste simplicity ; it forms with the ante-chapel a room about three hundred feet long , adorned on either side by deep windows of richly stained glass between Corinthian pilasters ; the altar , with its rood or crucifix , is entirely of white marble—no gaudy saints
in brocade robes disfigure it ; the candlesticks and ever-burning lamp before it alone were of silver : the fraternity having taken their seats when we entered , the effect was picturesque and beautiful . Between seventy ancl eighty monks were ranged on either side of the prior in richly cawed oaken stalls , black with age , against which their white robes and graceful scapularies presented a bold relief . Vespers were
chaunted without the accompaniment of music , and produced upon the mind an effect at once soothing and solemn . At the conclusion of the service , the superior gave the signal to depart , by striking his oaken crosier upon the pavement , when the brotherhood slowly left the chapel in procession , each bowing as he passed the altar ancl the elevated chair of the prior . As we were leaving the chapel , a fellow-countryman , ivhose angular habiliments like our own , had appeared misplaced when contrasted with the flowing robes of the Trappists , addressed me . In
the course of our walk through the cloisters he informed me that his name was Spencer , that he had resided as a boarder at the monastery for some months , but expected to quit it in the course of a few days in consequence of his approaching ordination . The name instantly caught the attention of my companion , who remembering the sensation created just before by the conversion of the Hon . and Rev . Spencer to the
Church of Rome , . plainly asked him if he was Lord Althorp ' s brother , and received his denial , which was rather equivocal , with disappointment and doubt . AVe accepted his offer , however , of showing us over the establishment , with pleasure , nor did he at all seem disinclined for a companion . The long silence which he had been compelled to observe towards the monks must have been irksome to one , however religiously
inclined , who had no intention of entering their order . The first department to which he conducted us was the refectory , a large Gothic Hall , ivith a finely-painted window , and curiously carved roof . The evening repast of the monks was placed on platters of wood ; it consisted only of bread , fruit , ancl water ; the name of each brother was attached by a label to his seat . On my observing that most of the
fraternity bore names honoured in the Roman calendar , our conductor informed us , that on taking the vows , the name by which they had been previously known in the world was never mentioned , a more suitable and religious one being always adopted . AA'e retired just as the fra-