En Route Part 22

And he left Durtal alone.

He soon made an inventory of the room; it was very high and extremely narrow like a gun-barrel, the door was at one end, the window at the other.

At the bottom, in a corner, near the cas.e.m.e.nt, was a little iron bed, and a small round table in chestnut wood. At the foot of the bed which stood along the wall was a prie-Dieu in faded rep, upon which was a crucifix, and a branch of dried fir below it; on the same side was a table of white wood covered with a towel, on which were placed an ewer, a basin, and a gla.s.s. On the opposite wall was a wardrobe, and by the fireplace, on the mantelpiece of which a crucifix was placed, was a table opposite the bed near the window; three straw chairs completed the furniture of this room. "I shall never have water enough to wash in,"

thought Durtal, gauging the miniature jug, which held about a pint; "since Father Etienne shows himself so obliging, I must ask him for a larger ration." He unpacked his portmanteau, undressed, put on flannel instead of his starched s.h.i.+rt, arranged his toilet things on the was.h.i.+ng-stand, folded his linen in the wardrobe; then sat down, looked around the cell, and thought it sufficiently comfortable, and above all very clean. He then went towards the table on which were laid a ream of ruled paper, an inkstand, and some pens; he was grateful for this attention of the monk, who knew no doubt by the Abbe Gevresin's letter that his business was writing, opened two volumes bound in leather and shut them again. The one was "The Introduction to the Devout Life," by Saint Francis de Sales, the other was "Manresa," or "The Spiritual Exercises" of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and he arranged his own books on the table.

Then he took up, just as it came, one of the cards spread on the table and read:--

"Exercises of the Community for ordinary days--from Easter to the Invention of the Cross in September.

Rise. 2.

Prime and Ma.s.s. 5.15.

Work after the Chapter.

End of work and leisure time. 9.

s.e.xt. 11.

Angelus and Dinner. 11.30.

Siesta after Dinner.

End of Siesta. 1.30.

None and work, five minutes after waking.

End of work and leisure. 4.30.

Vespers followed by prayer. 5.15.

Supper and leisure. 6.

Compline. 7.25.

Retire to rest. 8."

He turned the card, and on the other side was a new horary, ent.i.tled:--

"Winter Exercises, from the Invention of the Cross in September to Easter."

The hour of rising was the same, but bed-time was an hour earlier; dinner was changed from 11.30 to 2; siesta and supper at 6 o'clock were suppressed; the canonical hours were the same, except vespers and compline, which were changed from 5.15 and 7.25 to 4.30 and 6.15.

"It is not pleasant to drag oneself from bed in the middle of the night," sighed Durtal, "but I am inclined to think that the Retreatants are not subject to this rule of wakefulness," and he took up another card. "This must be the one intended for me," he said, reading the head of the card:--

Rules of Retreat from Easter to the Invention of the Cross in September.

Let us look at these rules rather more closely.

He examined the two tables, brought together, one for the morning, and one for the evening.

MORNING.

4. Rise at the Angelus bell.

4.30. Prayer and Meditation.

5.15. Prime and Ma.s.s.

6-7. Examination of Conscience.

7. Breakfast.

7.30. Way of the Cross.

8. s.e.xt and None.

8.30. Second Meditation.

9. Spiritual Reading.

11. Adoration and Examination. Tierce.

11.30. Angelus. Dinner. Recreation.

12.15. Siesta. Absolute Silence.

EVENING.

1.30. End of Siesta. Rosary.

2. Vespers and Compline.

3. Third Meditation.

3.15. Spiritual Reading.

4.15. Matins and Lauds.

5.15. Reflections. Choir Vespers.

5.30. Examination and Prayer.

6. Supper and Recreation.

7. Litanies. Absolute Silence.

7.15. a.s.sist at Compline.

7.30. Salve Regina. Angelus.

7.45. Private Examination. Retire to rest.

"This at any rate is more practical--four o'clock in the morning is an almost possible hour, but I do not understand it, the canonical hours on this tablet do not agree with those of the monks, and then why these double Vespers and Compline? Lastly, these little points in which you are invited to meditate so many minutes, to read so many more, scarcely suit me. My mind is scarcely malleable enough to run in those channels--it is true that after all I am free to do as I please, for no one can verify what tricks I may play, can know, for instance, if I meditate....

"Ah, here is again a regulation at the back," he went on, as he turned the card, "the regulation for September, I need not trouble myself about it, it differs, moreover, little from the other; but here is a postscript which concerns both horaries."

NOTE.

1. Those who are not bound to say the Breviary will say the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin.

2. The Retreatants are requested to make their Confessions at an early date, in order to have their mind more free for meditation.

3. After each meditation an a.n.a.logous chapter of the Imitation must be read.

4. The best time for confessions and the Way of the Cross is from 6-9 in the morning, 2-5 in the afternoon, and in summer from 9 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon.

5. To read the table of notices.

6. It is well to be punctual at meals to keep no one waiting.

7. The Father Guestmaster alone is charged with providing for the wants of guests.

8. Guests may ask for books for the retreat, if they have none themselves.

Confession! He saw this word only in the whole series of rules. He must at once have recourse to it. He felt a cold s.h.i.+ver down his back; and knew that he must speak to Father Etienne about it as soon as he returned.

He had not long to wrestle with himself, for the monk entered almost at once and said,

"Have you noticed anything you need, and the presence of which may be useful to you?"

"No, Father; yet if you could let me have a little more water."