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The' Abbey of La tr,tppe, in Fr:tace' war fin tled in 11440 anrd six ye.air later en tered into the general eh;,pter. Thii. chapter iy nmetnsr::Ile in the anal.s of the order for having been, presidtd otver by P'ope Eugene III, who had been a monk at Ceteaux, before his elevati 'n to the Pontiicial SH:e. Thet Cistercians became nlunelroll and powerful. anti again abut a s mnaaifeted themselves. A thor ugh reform way institute l by Abbi't Hance, a Parisi in nobleman, at the Abbey of La Trappe, in 17'1S, His effrts to restore the original amlmters nil's of St. Benedict was succesful. As the C'isterclan4 are a Branch of the Benedictines, so are the Trappists of the Cistercians. Though tldeiglatetl as Trappists, they observe the original rule of St Benedict. They are a body of men, who, by their own free will, are empletely cut off from communication and intercourse with the outinde world. They devote themselves to a life of prayer. penance, fasting con templation, solitude, silenceb manual labor, and live subject to the will of their Superior, and are members of the Catholic Church. Notwithstanding the various politieal changes, the Trappists have survived al. Only two monasteries are to be found in the Itnited States-New M lerary, near lunbuque Iowa, foun letl by a Trap pist, who came from the Emerald Isle in 1467, and Getheemane, where The Post's lonely youth is penning th:s ar ticle. This Abbey was founded in 1844 by monks from Mellerary France. It is si tuated in the southern portion of Nelson county, on the New Hope a Bardstown turnpike. Getheemane forms a station on the Knoxville branch of the L. & N. railroad, and the abbey is one mile from there. We enter the monks church, where I obtained a better view. Encircling the main altar are pietures of the "Way of the Crses," and there are some other pie tures in the brothers choir, which were painted by the old masters, that have been in the order for hundreds of years. All the wood work in the church is ex quieitely carved, and its high ceiling and stained windows help make it a very handsome structure. intering the sacristy, I was shown the "Abbot's Cro sler," or "Shepherl's Crook." It is a piece of inlaid work or mosdlln wood. It is composed of nothing but different pieces of wood bearing portraits of Jesus Mary, St Benedict and St. Entropius, with birds and flowers and other faney cuts. I doubt if there is a piece of workman ship in America to compare with it. Father Timothy devoted seven yearn of bhis life to it. The work of this rare genis oernaemnta every altar in the building. We next entered the graveyard. In a niche back of the monk's church is a large and picturesque shrine of the Grotto of Lourds, with a statue of little ,enedict kneeling at the feet of the Blessed Virgin, as she says : "I am the Immaculate (aeeption." To your left is the grave dt Mrs.Nancy Miles, and by her side rest the remains of Mrs, Mrs Bradford,the only bsterof Hoon. Jefferson Davis, late President of the SoLther Confederacy. They were great *tac tors of the order and on that t aount they were permitted to be buried in the inelosure. Each monk's grave is covered wgh myrthe, and his name in relgnlon ij p:itsit, inw vwlit,* letters, on a ,lack e·-ri . ,At the foot ou elrh grave i a small stoo.l, where the monks often ga to pray for their departed brethren. When t!;e monk dies, "ao coffin enelo sos hisu breast;" but wrapped in his .circular with the cowl drawn over his face, as lie lived, buried to the world, so Is he placed under the sod. The monks do not dig their own graves, as is gener ally believed. When a monk dies, the sexton immediately opens another grave to constantly remind them of death. To your left is the shrine in which is inter red the remains of Baron de Hodimout, a Belgian, who spent the latter part of his life at the home of the Trappist. His only surviving heir was Emma, a bright-eyed little miss that recalls ten der recollections of boyhood days. She went West, and I lost sight of her. Among the handsome donations of this gentleman to the Trappists is the grist and saw-mills and carding machine which he rebuilt some years since when theirs burned. The next wds the dormitory, where each monk has an iron cot, and is parti tioned of from his fellows by some heavy fre-brick. As in death the meek always sleeps with his clothes on, and in three minutes time from the tap of the bell whether it strikes I or 2 oclock in the morning he is expected to be in the church. Their regular time to arise is 2 oeclock, and on feast days from one to two hours sooner but never later. It is to these apartments, on every Friday evening, they retire and scourge them selves with a cat-c-nine-tail (a rope with nia knotty strings hanging from it,) in hboer of the seurgio g f ourdivine Sn visor. I then followed the Holy Father to the kitchen, where four large bollers are used to cook their meal, which con slm of a vegetable diet. Exeept by a physician's prescription, a monk never tastes meet of any kind. No fish, eggs, butter or lard is used in cooking. No stimulants, not even tea, coffee or tobac co in any shape, are used. Next was the dining-room. For each monk is a tin-plate a wooden fork and spoon. From September 14 to Ash Wed nesday, the Trappist only eats one meal aday,at 2:30 pm. During Lent, this meal is two hours later. From Easter Sunday to September 2t, they eat two meals, the Arst at ll and the second at 6 oeloek. They are free from all disea ses of the stomaeh, and It is elaimed that they live from ten to iftee years longer than the people in the outside world. The number of very ol me in this order bears testimony to this fet. There are sixty monks in this monas tery. The habit worn by the monk was the ordinary drew of the people of the flth centlq. The TTppisteebmowperpetual silence They never speak ti egh other ulenm in presence of the abbot. One of the inmates was t one time a reporter on a Paris daily, so I was In formed. The monks own 1,800 acres of land, 800 of whh aren a hlgh stat of cultivation. The cheese manufactured by the monks is maid to be very bse. Large quantities of it is shipped to your city. Only two Americans belong to the order. One is from Selma Ala., and the other from Philadelphia. The members of this community are of various nationalities: French, German Swim, Italian, Irish and Belgans. Li the center of the inner cA.urt is a eistern and wII together. Yrom one pump you can draw rain water, and from the other well water. Their library is well filled with Latin French and English books. In it I found an old Bible printed in Lyons in 1532. The type is very clear, and the pper on which it is printed is very heavy. By aneient rule of the order, the wife of the ruler of the naih is the only wo man who will be permitted to go through the abbey. The Trappists pay much at tention to raising ane stock. Their barn is one of the most novel in the State. They ham a small engine that cute up all the feed, and mall car that carry it to the proper places, The Trappiste have a sboo, at which young men living in this section can ob tain a first-class education, free of charge or a person can go there and work to pay his board, and beeducated free, or by pay ing a small sum for his board he can receive a free education. It was the ab bot's desire to have a similar school for girls, and he erected the academy of Mount of Olives, but the sister who took charge of it for some camse or other gave it up. B. B. DYER, -DIALU IN Fine Family Groceries, Cigars Tobacco etc. etc. FRESH GOODS RECEIVED DAILY. PRICES WAY DOWN. A first class Barber Shop. Market Street, St,Martinsville, La. NOTICE. Notice is hereby given by the under signed that be will make applcation at the next msession atbe general assembly of the State of Loisiaa for the passage at a reli bill for amount due him for making a duplicate assessment Boil f theparish l S Martin for the year 188$, the original of which was destroyed by re in the Sherlf ooe during the meath eo May 1884. A. V. FLEMING. Get your lower eeds from Martial Blenvenu, he has a ll pply of freh CONVENT OF MERCY, St. Martinsville, La. This Institute offers supe rior advantages to Parents desirous of giving their chil dren a solid and refined Edu cation Terms of Tuition, Music Etc. moderate. For particulars ap ply to Sisters of Mercy. Get your flower seeds at Martial Bienvenu. Get our prices for job work. JOB WORK OF ALL KINDS at THIE MESSENGER Office. Bill Heads, Letter Heads, Pamphlets, Envelopes, *Funeral Notices, Wedding Cards, Ball Invitations, Plantation Tickets, Visting Cards, Business Cards. We have just received a fine assortment of light tinted cards of all sizes. All work will be neatly and promptly executed. # We guarantee entire satis faction. Martial Binvsnu, Dmler a Dry Geom, sauesHate, raee yGoode, and Family 6eeries. A spelalty ot Ladles eamy mds, orh a Plhwara, emthrs,ersaments and ell kids of trlmminga or ladle bats, LiAery and Feed &table. Maim Smst, S. mrtimsils La.