Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and IncidentsBeckford, William
General
Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
Beckford, William
Beckford, William, 1760-1844
The Secretary, almost with tears in his eyes, beseeched me to revere
these consecrated edifices, and to preserve their remains, for the sake
of St. Hugo, their canonized Prior. I replied greatly to his
satisfaction, and then declaimed so much in favour of Saint Bruno, and
the holy prior of Witham, that the good fathers grew exceedingly
delighted with the conversation, and made me promise to remain some days
with them. I readily complied with their request, and, continuing in the
same strain, that had so agreeably affected their ears, was soon
presented with the works of Saint Bruno, whom I so zealously admired.
After we had sat extolling them, and talking upon much the same sort of
subjects for about an hour, the Coadjutor proposed a walk amongst the
cloisters and galleries, as the weather would not admit of any longer
excursion. He leading the way, we ascended a flight of steps, which
brought us to a gallery, on each side of which a vast number of pictures,
representing the dependent convents, were ranged; for I was now in the
capital of the order, where the General resides, and from whence he
issues forth his commands to his numerous subjects; who depute the
superiors of their respective convents, whether situated in the wilds of
Calabria, the forests of Poland, or in the remotest districts of Portugal
and Spain, to assist at the grand chapter, held annually under him, a
week or two after Easter.
This reverend father Dom Biclét died about ten days before our arrival: a
week ago they elected the Pere Robinét prior of the Carthusian convent at
Paris in his room, and two fathers were now on their route to apprise him
of their choice, and to salute him General of the Carthusians. During
this interregnum the Coadjutor holds the first rank in the temporal, and
the Grand Vicaire in the spiritual, affairs of the order; both of which
are very extensive.
If I may judge from the representations of the different convents, which
adorn this gallery, there are many highly worthy of notice, for the
singularity of their situations, and the wild beauties of the landscapes
which surround them. The Venetian Chartreuse, placed in a woody island,
and that of Rome, rising from amongst groups of majestic ruins, struck me
as peculiarly pleasing. Views of the English monasteries hung formerly
in such a gallery, but had been destroyed by fire, together with the old
convent. The list only remains, with but a very few written particulars
concerning them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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