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"And the list might be indefinitely extended. Shall you mention in your article these accompaniments to the saints?" "In point of fact," replied Durtal, "most of these attributes are based on history or legend, and not on symbolism; so I shall not devote any particular attention to them." There was a silence. Then, abruptly, the Abbé Plomb, looking at his brother priest, said to Durtal,
"To understand David," said the Abbé Plomb, "you must not think of him apart from his surroundings, nor take him out of the age in which he lived, otherwise you measure him by the ideas of our own time, and that is absurd.
Why did the Abbé Plomb promise the Benedictines that he would take me with him? "He certainly acted on the request of the Abbé Gévresin. There can have been no other reason for his talking of me to the Fathers. I have, indeed, spoken to him of my distress of mind, of my vague craving for retirement, and my love for monasteries.
"But there are other monasteries besides those of La Trappe," replied the Abbé. "Be a Benedictine Father or oblate, a black Friar. Their rule seems to be mild; you will live in a world of learned men and writers; what more would you have?" "I do not say but " "But what?" "I know nothing of them " "Nothing can be easier than to get to know them. The Abbé Plomb is a welcome friend at Solesmes.
Durtal got through a few afternoons in these churches; then the charm of this prolonged study was at an end, and gloom took possession of him, even worse than before. The Abbé Plomb, to divert his mind, took him for walks in the country, but La Beauce was so flat, so monotonous, that any variety of landscape was impossible to find. Then the Abbé took him through other parts of the town.
This is what old Isaac said to Cassian: 'Pray briefly and often, lest, if your orisons be long, the enemy will come to disturb them. Follow these two rules, they will save you from secret upheaval. "So, go in peace; and if any trouble should overtake you, do not hesitate to consult the Abbé Plomb."
Durtal, nauseated by this odour, was on the point of making his escape, when the Abbé Plomb came in and took his arm. They went out together. "Then you have just come back from Solesmes?" said Durtal. "As you see." "And were you satisfied with your visit?" "Enchanted," and the Abbé smiled at the impatience he could detect in Durtal's accents. "What do you think of the monastery?"
The Abbé Plomb now came in, and being informed by Durtal of the subject under discussion, he said, "But you have omitted from your diabolical flavours the most conspicuous." "How is that, Monsieur l'Abbé?" "Certainly, for you have taken no account of the false fragrance which Satan can diffuse.
The Abbé Plomb, in a mood for teasing, gave his spectacles a push, settling the arch above his nose, and rubbing his hands, remarked, very seriously, "Madame Bavoil, flowers and vegetables are but of trivial importance from the decorative and culinary point of view; the only rule that should guide you in your selection is the symbolical meaning, the virtues and vices ascribed to plants.
"And it is a curious fact," said the Abbé Plomb, "that while beasts, colours, and flowers are accepted by that symbolists sometimes with a good meaning and sometimes with an evil one, gems alone never change; they always express good qualities, and never vices." "Why is that?" "St.
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