The Trappistes, who
compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle
and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood.
I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only
momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence,
that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot,
without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden
by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished
by the appellation of _Freres Convers_, the others by that of
_Religieux de Coeur_.
The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable
to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths
occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cenobites of La Trappe,
at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks,
sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six _Freres Donnes_. The inmates
are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take
the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as
servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The
_Freres Donnes_ are brothers given for a time; these last are not
properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons,
whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order
absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to
retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform
strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join
the order for life.
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