Latin and cookery--Shepherds--The Manchu’s new creed and cooking
utensils--Salad, honey, and jujubes--Wild animals--The Trappist and
the leopard--A saintly life--Gentle Christians--Hostility towards the
Trappists--The Chief of the village--Suggestive pictures.
The Manchu father kept silent for some time, and stood watching every
movement I made. At last he could not resist the temptation, and,
breaking the vows he had sworn to obey, began a Latin conversation
with me, the subject being the quality, size, and cooking of the fried
potatoes, and the bad success of the soup, with consequent apologies. I
tried to console him, and said that I found everything delicious.
It was strange, indeed, to be talking of fried potatoes in the Latin
language, with a Manchu cook, in a French Trappist convent in Chinese
Mongolia!
I must confess, however, that the Manchu was better up in Latin than
I was. He could talk it as fluently as his own language. Only now
and then he would put in some Manchu word to fill up gaps. He was an
interesting man, and very talkative, now that he had once begun. He had
been wandering, poverty-stricken, all through Manchuria, and, coming
south, fate had led him to the monastery. He begged for shelter, which
was immediately accorded him. The proceedings of the fathers interested
him, and he asked to remain with them. For several years he was a
novice, but such was his goodwill, perseverance, and quiet demeanour
that he was ordained a father. He enjoyed doing the cooking, for, he
said, it was not such rough work as cultivating the ground, or looking
after goats and cows, of which the Trappists have quite a number.
“There, you see,” he said, pointing towards the hill-side, “there is
one of our shepherds, a novice. You can see him; he has a large straw
hat on.”
I ventured to ask him whether he liked his new religion better than his
former one, and he said he did. He was unaware before, that by leading
a saintly life (I should call it a lazy one), man could earn happiness
in the life to come. He felt a different creature since he had joined
the Trappists, and was happy with his new creed--and cooking utensils.
Like all Eastern people, he possessed a keen sense of humour, and
his conversation, in Latin and Manchu, was getting more and more
interesting, when we heard the sound of steps.
“Father Maurus is coming, I must keep silent; please do not say that I
spoke.” And, bowing to Father Maurus as he entered, he retired to his
kitchen.
Salad, honey, and dried “jujubes” were then placed on the table, and I
enjoyed them thoroughly.
“One of our little dogs is going to die,” began Father Maurus. “We have
two of them, and their mother was killed by a leopard a few months ago.
We are often troubled by wild animals, especially in winter. Panthers,
leopards and tigers are numerous in the neighbourhood, and they often
visit us, bearing away with them our goats, and even our dogs. One
beautiful moonlight night, when the ground was still covered with snow,
I heard strange noises in the garden. The dogs were barking furiously,
and one of them seemed in great distress, judging from his howling.
A window of the dormitory overlooks the garden, and creeping along
the wall I went to see what was the matter. My hair almost stood on
end when, close to the window, I saw, not many yards from me, a huge
leopard eating up one of our dogs. I did not dare to move or call for
help. I was nearly paralysed with fright. You will agree with me,”
added Father Maurus, “that a few panes of glass are not much protection
against visitors of that kind. As things turned out, and with the help
of our Lord, the leopard seemed satisfied with his meal, and, after
having taken a turn round our premises, gracefully jumped over the wall
and disappeared. So our lives were spared,” and he made the sign of the
cross while saying so.
[Sidenote: TRAPPIST AND LEOPARD]
The Trappists possessed 800 hectares of ground, which they purchased
from the Roman Catholic missionaries, who induced them to come out from
France to serve as an example to intending imitators. Though not making
converts directly, they were the means, as it were, of getting natives
converted to the faith of Christ, by showing them how to lead a saintly
life.
They had certainly been successful. They had been there at Yan-Kia-Ku
more than ten years, and during that time all the inhabitants of the
neighbouring village of Hu-tzia-Ku had accepted the Roman Catholic
religion, and their children were brought up in that faith. However,
this village only numbered about forty houses, and certainly not more
than one hundred people, so that at its best, when one compared these
hundred souls to four hundred millions (the population of China), most
people will agree that the success of the Trappists might have been
correctly described as a drop of water in a vast ocean.
I must say in their favour that their followers at Hu-tzia-Ku, though
not numerous, were certainly the nicest and gentlest Chinese converts
I have met in my wanderings through the Celestial Empire, and to all
appearance they seemed to be extremely good Christians. They spoke
well of their neighbours the Trappists, and in fact worshipped them.
They all were most honest, straightforward, and kind--qualities not
universal among converts in China.
I paid them several visits, and a few presents in the shape of needles
and cotton-reels were much appreciated by the weaker sex, while a few
small Japanese silver coins sent the men crazy with delight. They did
not even object to be sketched, which, for a Chinaman, is going a very
long way.
Hu-tzia-Ku was a pretty little village. Its name, translated into
English, meant the valley of the Hu family. It was situated on a high
bank on the left side of the river, south of the monastery. The other
two villages of Shang-wan-tzu and Shia-wan-tzu (meaning the upper and
lower turnings of the river) were at no great distance from it, but the
villagers had not followed the example of their brothers of Hu-tzia-Ku;
on the contrary, they had on different occasions shown themselves
decidedly hostile towards them and the Trappists.
[Sidenote: A CHAPEL]
At Hu-tzia-Ku I was received into the house of the chief of the
village, who was the catechist as well, and he showed me into a
room which had been turned into a chapel. It had an altar with a
few candles, a crucifix, and on each side of that a large coloured
chromo-lithograph of French production. The subjects of these works of
art were as suggestive as they were badly executed. In one of them a
young Chinaman who had not accepted the Christian creed was to be seen
roasting in the midst of huge flames of bright vermilion and chrome
yellow. In the other a Chinese Christian with a happy countenance was
led by an angel for a walk on the clouds. A full description both in
Chinese and French was printed on the margin of these _chefs d’œuvre_,
to enlighten persons who might entertain any doubt as to what the
pictures were meant to represent. A few benches and a couple of wooden
chairs were the remainder of the furniture in this humble place of
worship. All the villagers went to it in the morning and evening to say
their prayers, and on Sunday one of the Trappist fathers came over to
celebrate mass.