human
But, continued the abbé,
gpt
Semaine religieuse,
human
See, he said, and read,
gpt
That is a ceremony which interests me much.
human
I too shall probably be there.
gpt
Then we can meet in the chapel?
human
Just so.
gpt
These ceremonies of clothing have not now the gaiety they had in the eighteenth century in certain Benedictine institutions, amongst others the Abbey de Bourbourg in Flanders,
human
Yes, there was no sadness about it, or at least it had a special sadness of its own; you shall judge. On the eve of the day that the postulant was to take the habit, she was presented to the abbess of Bourbourg by the governor of the town. Bread and wine were offered to her, and she tasted them in the church itself. On the morrow she appeared, magnificently dressed, at a ball which was attended by the whole community of nuns, where she danced, then she asked her parents' blessing, and was conducted, with violins playing, to the chapel, where the abbess took possession of her. She had for the last time seen, at the ball, the joys of the world, for she was immediately shut up, for the rest of her days in the cloister.
gpt
The joy of the Dance of Death, said Durtal,