Les Misérables, v. 2/5: Cosette

  CHAPTER II.

  THE OBEDIENCE OF MARTIN VERGA.

  This convent, which had existed for many years prior to 1824 in theRue Picpus, was a community of Bernardines belonging to the obedienceof Martin Verga. These Bernardines, consequently, were not attachedto Clairvaux, like the Bernardine brothers, but to Citeaux, likethe Benedictines. In other words, they were subjects, not of SaintBernard, but of Saint Benedict. Any one who has at all turned overfolios knows that Martin Verga founded, in 1425, a congregation ofBernardo-Benedictines, whose headquarters were Salamanca, and which hadAlcala as an offshoot. Such a grafting of one order upon another is notat all unusual in the Latin Church. If we confine our attention merelyto the Order of St. Benedict, we find four congregations attached toit, beside the obedience of Martin Verga; in Italy two, Monte Cassinoand St. Justina of Padua; two in France, Cluny and St. Marco, and nineorders,--Valombrosa, Grammont, the Celestins, the Calmalduli, theChartreux, the Humiliated, the Olivateurs, and the Silvestrines, andlastly, Citeaux; for Citeaux itself, while trunk for other orders, isonly a branch with Saint Benedict. Citeaux dates from Saint Robert,Abbot of Molesmes, in the diocese of Langres, in 1098. Now it was in529 that the devil, who had retired to the desert of Subiaco (he wasold, did he turn hermit?), was expelled from the temple of Apollo inwhich he resided, by Saint Benedict, a youth of seventeen years of age.

  Next to the rule of the Carmelites, who walk barefoot, wear a pieceof wicker-work on their throat, and never sit down, the hardestrule is that of the Bernardo-Benedictines of Martin Verga. They aredressed in black with a wimple, which, by the express order of SaintBenedict, comes up to the chin; a serge gown with wide sleeves, alarge woollen veil, the wimple cut square on the chest, and the coif,which comes down to their eyes,--such is their dress. All is black,excepting the coif, which is white. Novices wear the same garb, butall white, while the professed nuns also wear a rosary by their side.The Bernardo-Benedictines of Martin Verga practise the PerpetualAdoration, in the same way as those Benedictines called the ladies ofthe Holy Sacrament, who, at the beginning of this century, had twohouses in Paris, one in the Temple, the other in the Rue Neuve St.Geneviève. In other respects, the nuns of the Little Picpus to whom weare referring entirely differed from the ladies of the Holy Sacrament;there were several distinctions in the rule as well as in the dress.The nuns of Little Picpus wore a black wimple, the former a white one,and had also on their chest a Holy Sacrament, about three inches inlength, of plate or gilt brass. The nuns of the Little Picpus did notwear this decoration. The Perpetual Adoration, while common in LittlePicpus and the Temple house, leaves the two orders perfectly distinct.This practice is the only resemblance between the ladies of the HolySacrament and the Bernardines of Martin Verga, in the same way as therewas a similitude, for the study and glorification of all the mysteriesattaching to the infancy, life, and death of the Saviour, between twoorders which were greatly separated and at times hostile,--the oratoryof Italy, established at Florence by Philippe de Neri, and the oratoryof France, established in Paris by Pierre de Bérulle. The Paris oratoryclaimed precedence because Philippe de Neri was only a saint, whileBérulle was a cardinal. But to return to the harsh Spanish rule ofMartin Verga.

  The Bernardo-Benedictines of this obedience abstain from meat the wholeyear; fast all Lent, and on many other days special to themselves;get up in their first sleep, from one to three A.M., in order to readtheir breviary and chant matins; sleep in serge sheets at all seasons,and on straw; never bathe or light fires; chastise themselves everyFriday; observe the rule of silence; only speak during recreation,which is very short; and wear coarse flannel chemises for six months,from September 14th, which is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, up toEaster. These six months are a moderation; the rule says all the year,but the flannel chemise, insupportable in the heat of summer, producedfevers and nervous spasms. Even with this relief, when the nuns puton the flannel chemise on September 14th, they suffer from fever forthree or four days. Obedience, poverty, chastity, perseverance,--suchare their vows, which are greatly aggravated by the rule. The prioressis elected for three years by mothers called "Mères Vocales," becausethey have a voice in the Chapter. She can be re-elected only twice,which fixes the longest possible reign of a prioress at nine years.They never see the officiating priest, who is hidden from them by agreen baize curtain nine feet high. At the sermon, when the preacher isin the chapel, they draw their veil over their face; they must alwaysspeak low, and walk with their eyes fixed on the ground. Only one manis allowed to enter the convent, and he is the Diocesan Archbishop.There is certainly another, who is the gardener; but he is always anaged man, and in order that he may be constantly alone in the garden,and that the nuns may avoid him, a bell is fastened to his knee. Thenuns must display absolute and passive submission to the prioress,and it is canonical subjection in all its self-denial. They must obeyas if it were the voice of Christ, _ut voci Christi_, at a nod, atthe first signal, _ad nutum, ad primum signum_; at once, cheerfully,perseveringly, and with a certain bland obedience, _prompte, hilariter,perseveranter, et cœca quadam obedientiâ,_; like the file in theworkman's hand, _quasi limam in manibus fabri_, and are not allowed toread or write anything without express permission, _legere vel scriberenon ediscerit sine expressa superioris licentia._ Each of them performsin turn what they call the "reparation." This reparation is a prayerfor all the sins, faults, irregularities, violations, iniquities, andcrimes performed upon earth. For twelve consecutive hours, from fourin the evening till four the next morning, the sister who performsthe reparation remains on her knees, on the stone before the HolySacrament, with her hands clasped, and a rope round her neck. When thefatigue becomes insupportable she prostrates herself with her face onthe ground, and her arms forming a cross,--that is her sole relief.In this attitude she prays for all the guilty in the world; it is agrand, almost a sublime idea. As this act is accomplished in frontof a stake on the top of which a wax candle is burning, it is calledeither "making reparation," or "being at the stake." The nuns throughhumility, indeed, prefer the latter expression, which contains an ideaof punishment and abasement. Making reparation is a function in whichthe whole soul is absorbed; the sister at the stake would not turnround were a thunder-bolt to fall behind her. Moreover, there is alwaysa nun on her knees before the Holy Sacrament; this station lasts anhour, and they relieve each other like sentries. That is the PerpetualAdoration.

  The prioress and mothers nearly all have names imprinted with peculiargravity, recalling, not saints and martyrs, but the incidents in thelife of the Saviour,--such as Mother Nativity, Mother Conception,Mother Presentation, and Mother Passion; still, the names of saintsare not interdicted. When you see them, you never see more of themthan their mouth; and they all have yellow teeth, for a tooth-brushnever entered the convent. Cleaning the teeth is the first rung ofthe ladder, at the foot of which is "losing the soul." They do notcall anything "mine;" they have nothing of their own, and must not beattached to anything. They say of everything "ours,"--thus, our veil,our beads; if they were to allude to their chemise they would say"our chemise." Sometimes they grow attached to some trifling object,a book of hours, a relic, or consecrated medal; but so soon as theyperceive that they are beginning to grow fond of it, they are obligedto give it away. They remember the remark of Saint Theresa, to whom agreat lady said, at the moment of entering her order,--"Allow me, HolyMother, to send for a Bible to which I am greatly attached." "Ah, youare still attached to something! In that case do not come among us."No one must lock herself in under any pretence, or have a room of herown; and they live with open doors. When they pass each other, onesays, "The most Holy Sacrament of the Altar be blessed and adored!"and the other answers, "Forever." There is the same ceremony when onesister raps at another sister's door; the door has scarce been touched,ere a gentle voice is heard saying hurriedly from within, "Forever."Like all practices, this one becomes mechanical through habit; and asister will sometimes say, "Forever," before the other has had timeto utter the long senten
ce, "The most Holy Sacrament of the Altar beblessed and adored!" Among the Visitandines, the one who enters says,"Ave Maria," to which the other replies, "Gratiâ, plena;" this istheir greeting, which is truly full of grace. At each hour of the daythree supplementary strokes are struck on the chapel bell, and at thissignal, prioress, vocal mothers, professed nuns, lay sisters, novices,and postulants break off what they are saying, doing, or thinking, andall repeat together,--if it be five o'clock, for instance,--"At fiveo'clock, and at every hour, may the most Holy Sacrament of the Altarbe blessed and adored!" and so on, according to the hour. This custom,which is intended to break off thoughts and ever lead them back to God,exists in many communities, the form alone varying. Thus at the InfantJesus they say, "At the present hour, and at every hour, may the loveof Jesus inflame my heart!"

  The Bernardo-Benedictines of Martin Verga sing the offices to a grave,full chant, and always in a loud voice, during the whole of theservice. Whenever there is an asterisk in the missal, they pause, andsay in a low voice, "Jesus, Mary, Joseph." In the service for the deadthey employ such a deep note that female voices can scarce descendto it, and there results from it a striking and tragical effect. Thesisters of Little Picpus had a vault under their high altar for theburial of their community, but the Government, as they call it, wouldnot allow coffins to be placed in this vault, and they therefore leftthe convent when they were dead; this afflicted and consternated themlike an infraction. They had obtained the slight consolation of beingburied at a special hour and in a special corner of the old Vaugirardcemetery, which was established in a field that had once belonged tothe community. On Thursday these nuns attend high mass, vespers, andall the services, as on Sunday. And they also scrupulously observeall the little festivals unknown to people of the world, of which theChurch was formerly so prodigal in France, and still remains so inSpain and Italy. Their stations in the chapels are innumerable; and asfor the number and length of their prayers, we cannot give a betteridea than by quoting the simple remark of one of them,--"The prayersof the postulants are frightful, those of the novices worse, and thoseof the professed nuns worse still." Once a week the Chapter meets,the prioress presiding and the vocal mothers assisting. Each sistercomes in her turn to kneel on the stone, and confesses aloud, in thepresence of all, the faults and sins which she has committed duringthe week. The vocal mothers consult after each confession and inflictthe penances aloud. In addition to the loud confession, for whichall faults at all serious are reserved, they have for venial faultswhat they call "la coulpe." The penitent prostrates herself on herface during service in front of the prioress, who is never addressedotherwise than "our mother," until the latter warns the sufferer, bya slight tap on the arm of her stall, that she can get up. The nunsperform this penance for very trivial things; breaking a glass, tearinga veil, an involuntary delay of a few seconds in attending service,a false note in chapel,--that is enough. This penance is quitevoluntary, and the culprit (this word is etymologically in its placehere) tries and punishes herself. On festivals and Sundays there arefour singing mothers, who chant at a large lectern with four desks.One day a singing mother was striking up a psalm, which began with theword _Ecce_, and said instead, quite loud, _ut, si, sol_; and for thisabsence of mind she underwent a penance that lasted the whole service.What rendered the fault enormous was that the congregation laughed.

  When a nun is summoned to the parlor, even if she be the prioress,she pulls down her veil in such a way as only to show her mouth. Theprioress alone can communicate with strangers; the others can only seetheir nearest relations, and that very rarely. If by chance a personfrom the outer world requests to see a nun whom she had formerly knownor loved, a lengthened negotiation is required. If it be a woman, thepermission may possibly be granted. The nun comes and is spoken tothrough the shutters, which are only opened for a mother or a sister.We need hardly say that permission is never granted to men.

  Such is the rule of Saint Benedict, aggravated by Martin Verga. Thesenuns are not gay, rosy, and fresh, as we find sometimes in otherorders; they are pale and serious, and between 1825 and 1830 three ofthem went mad.