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It was the hour of morning recreation, between Terce and Sext, and the religious were lolling about and talking, and one lay brother was sweeping up the leaves that had fallen from the tree, for the winter had come and the branches were bare. The lay brother was Brother Paul, and he made sidelong looks at John, but kept his head down and went on with his work without speaking.

Two brethren working in the garden in these hot July days found that permitted conversation about the immediate matter in hand, say the whereabouts of a trowel or a hoe, was easily extended into observations about the whereabouts of Brother So-and-So during Terce or the way Brother Somebody-else was late with the antiphon.

The preces feriales at Lauds and Vespers are the same in structure. They have the same structure in Terce, Sext, None, but differ in character. The preces dominicales at Prime and Compline have a form of their own, additions being made in the preces of Prime when said on a feria. At Vespers Preces Feriales are said on ferias of Advent and Lent when office is of feria.

At what times should the small hours be recited? Prime may be, and, probably with more appropriateness, should be used as morning prayer and said before Mass. Terce and Sext may be said before mid-day, or Sext and None may be said after mid-day. Vespers should be said after mid-day. Compline was the night prayer of the monks, who probably instituted the hour.

Our modern prayer-book Matins is an accumulation and abridgment of Matins, Lauds, and Prime; our Evensong of Vespers and Compline. Terce, Sext, and Nones, which consisted mainly of portions of Psalm 119, with varying Versicles and Collects, are unrepresented in our Anglican office.

The day Office embraces Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. Parts or Hours of the Office. How many parts or hours go to make up the Office? Rome counts seven, and seven only; and this is the number commonly counted by liturgists and theologians. They reckon Matins and Lauds as one hour. The old writers on liturgy ask the question: "Why has the Church reckoned seven hours only?"

The others had to be content with crossing themselves when they heard the bell for Terce or None, and even Sext was sparingly attended after the Prior instituted the eating of the mid-day meal in the fields on fine days. Hence the conversation in the Cloister on Sunday afternoons was chiefly agricultural.

Here we thought it best to send before vs the pinnesse to the riuer Dulce, called Rio Dulce, that they might haue the beginning of the market before the comming of the Iohn Euangelist. At the riuer of Sesto we had a tunne of graines. This riuer standeth in sixe degrees, lacking a terce. From the riuer of Sesto to Rio Dulce are fiue and twentie leagues.

The distance from one land to the other is about fifteene leagues. The middle between them both is 50 degrees and a terce in latitude. We had much adoe to go fiue miles farther, the winds were so great and the tide against vs. And at fiue miles end, we might plainely see and perceiue land on both sides, which there beginneth to spread it selfe.

The Capitulum of Lauds is ordinarily taken from the beginning of the Epistle of the Mass of the day of the feast. Sext and None generally have their capitula drawn from the middle and end of the same Epistle extract. Terce has generally the same words for the Capitulum, as Vespers and Lauds, because it is the grandest and most sublime of the little Hours.