|
||||||||
Chapter 2 The abbess of Andouillets, which if you look into the large set of provincial maps now publishing at Paris, you will find situated amongst the hills which divide Burgundy from Savoy, being in danger of an Anchylosis or stiff joint (the sinovia of her knee becoming hard by long matins), and having tried every remedyfirst, prayers and thanksgiving; then invocations to all the saints in heaven promiscuouslythen particularly to every saint who had ever had a stiff leg before herthen touching it with all the reliques of the convent, principally with the thigh-bone of the man of Lystra, who had been impotent from his youththen wrapping it up in her veil when she went to bedthen cross-wise her rosarythen bringing in to her aid the secular arm, and anointing it with oils and hot fat of animals- -then treating it with emollient and resolving fomentationsthen with poultices of marsh-mallows, mallows, bonus Henricus, white lillies and fenugreekthen taking the woods, I mean the smoak of em, holding her scapulary across her lapthen decoctions of wild chicory, water-cresses, chervil, sweet cecily and cochleariaand nothing all this while answering, was prevailed on at last to try the hot-baths of Bourbonso having first obtained leave of the visitor-general to take care of her existenceshe ordered all to be got ready for her journey: a novice of the convent of about seventeen, who had been troubled with a whitloe in her middle finger, by sticking it constantly into the abbesss cast poultices, &c.had gained such an interest, that overlooking a sciatical old nun, who might have been set up for ever by the hot-baths of Bourbon, Margarita, the little novice, was elected as the companion of the journey. An old calesh, belonging to the abbesse, lined with green frize, was ordered to be drawn out into the sunthe gardener of the convent being chosen muleteer, led out the two old mules, to clip the hair from the rump- ends of their tails, whilst a couple of lay-sisters were busied, the one in darning the lining, and the other in sewing on the shreds of yellow binding, which the teeth of time had unravelledthe under- gardener dressd the muleteers hat in hot wine-leesand a taylor sat musically at it, in a shed over- against the convent, in assorting four dozen of bells for the harness, whistling to each bell, as he tied it on with a thong. The carpenter and the smith of Andouillets held a council of wheels; and by seven, the morning after, all lookd spruce, and was ready at the gate of the convent for the hot-baths of Bourbontwo rows of the unfortunate stood ready there an hour before. The abbess of Andouillets, supported by Margarita the novice, advanced slowly to the calesh, both clad in white, with their black rosaries hanging at their breasts There was a simple solemnity in the contrast: they entered the calesh; the nuns in the same uniform, sweet emblem of innocence, each occupied a window, and as the abbess and Margarita lookd upeach (the sciatical poor nun excepted)each streamd out the end of her veil in the airthen kissd the lilly hand which let it go: the good abbess and Margarita laid their hands saint-wise upon their breastslookd up to heaventhen to themand lookd God bless you, dear sisters. I declare I am interested in this story, and wish I had been there. The gardener, whom I shall now call the muleteer, was a little, hearty, broad-set, good-natured, chattering, toping kind of a fellow, who troubled his head very little with the hows and whens of life; so had mortgaged a month of his conventical wages in a borrachio, or leathern cask of wine, which he had disposed behind the calesh, with a large russet-coloured riding-coat over it, to guard it from the sun; and as the weather was hot, and he not a niggard of his labours, walking ten times more than he rode he found more occasions than those of nature, to fall back to the rear of his carriage; till by frequent coming and going, it had so happend, that all his wine had leakd out at the legal vent of the borrachio, before one half of the journey was finishd. Man is a creature born to habitudes. The day had been sultrythe evening was deliciousthe wine was generousthe Burgundian hill on which it grew was steepa little tempting bush over the door of a cool cottage at the foot of it, hung vibrating in full harmony with the passionsa gentle air rustled distinctly through the leavesComecome, thirsty muleteer,come in. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Copyright: All texts on Bibliomania are © Bibliomania.com Ltd, and may not be reproduced in any form without our written permission. See our FAQ for more details. | ||||||||