OBJECTIONS TO THE RULE.

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bers, the singing of God's praises, and intercessory prayer for the living and for the dead. Hence it seems to follow that a Christian who believes in the efficacy of prayer could not, except from thoughtlessness or want of instruction, doubt that the Order has its utility, not only for its own members, but also for the faithful at large. Solitude makes prayer more continual and less distracted; freedom from all inordinate or imperfect attachment, and entire indifference as to this life's honours and preferments, which follow from utter separation from the outside world, render prayer more universal and disinterested, while fasting and other mortifications add, we think, not a little to its efficaciousness.

These were the views and intentions of St. Bruno and his six companions when they settled in the wilderness of Chartreuse; these were the opinions of the inmates of the London Charterhouse; these, too, will be the objects proposed to all who shall receive the habit, wherever a Charterhouse may flourish in the future.

CHAPTER IV.

PRIORATE OF FATHER JOHN LUSCOTE-BENEFACTORS- ROBERT PALMER'S VOCATION-DEATH OF THE FIRST PRIOR.

At the Annual General Chapter of the Order, held at the Grande Chartreuse in the spring of 1370, Father John Luscote, Prior of the Charterhouse of Hinton and Visitor of the English Province, earnestly requested to be relieved of his offices. His request was partly granted, though not in the manner he had hoped; for, instead of returning to his peaceful cell in the cloister, he was appointed Rector of the new foundation, near London,

which," says the Chapter, "we now receive and incorporate into the Order." A Rector, we may observe in passing, is the Superior of a Charterhouse in which for some reason the Rule cannot be observed in its integrity.

The Rectorship of the unfinished Charterhouse of London was a more difficult post than that of Prior of Hinton, and Father Luscote also retained the office of Provincial Visitor. He had, moreover, extraordinary powers and responsibilities, which, on

account of the distance of England from the mother house, were granted to and imposed upon the Visitor. In any difficulty that might arise with regard to the government of the English Charterhouses, the Priors had recourse to him; nor were they disappointed, for John Luscote has earned for himself the reputation of having been an enlightened Superior.

Less than a year after his nomination as Rector, the buildings were completed, and John Luscote was installed as first Prior of the monastery, which was now known as the Charterhouse of the Salutation of Our Lady, near London.

The title of Abbot having been for humility's sake refused, the Prior of a Charterhouse is the first Superior, and has himself no resident Superior; but he is subject to the Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, who is always General of the Order, and also, at least in actu visitationis, to the Provincial Visitors. These are not modern regulations; nor was the "consent of the Prior of the Grande Chartreuse" the result of "an act of courtesy." 3 This consent was absolutely necessary; the General

2

1 The Priors of the English Province were only expected to attend the General Chapter in leap-year. And even then it seems that all were not present; but one of the two Visitors was obliged to appear.

2 See Sir Walter de Manny's foundation charter, infra, Appendix ii.

8 Charterhouse Past and Present, p. 7.

Chapter when sitting, and the Father General during the year, being the only competent authorities. The annual reports of the Chapter show that those who suppose that prior to the year 1508 the various Charterhouses were independent are quite mistaken.1 A very brief quotation from the report of the General Chapter of 1298 will corroborate this "It is," says the Chapter, "an ancient and approved custom of the Order that Priors shall beg to be relieved from their offices." 2 This was assuredly an act of submission to the Chapter, and an humble acknowledgment of its prerogatives.

statement.

It will easily be understood that, while the Prior of a Charterhouse enjoys a considerable amount of authority, he is also weighed down by a great responsibility, for he must answer to God and to the Order for the welfare of the souls and of the monastery committed to his care. He is not dispensed from keeping the Rule. On the contrary, he is especially bound "to edify the brethren and others by the practice of every virtue suitable to his position, and by the strict observance of the Rule. Unless he is prevented by sickness or pressing business, he is expected to assist in choir by day and by night; nor may he differ from the other monks as regards food or clothing." a

1 Charterhouse Past and Present, p. 7.

2 "De antiqua consuetudine ordinis et approbata est quod Priores petant misericordiam" (Ex Charta Cap. Gen., 1298).

Statuta Ordinis, P. II. cap. iii., "De officio Prioris."

SUBALTERN SUPERIORS.

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The Prior is aided in the discharge of his various duties by subaltern Superiors, or, as they are called in the Order, Officers. These, when the London Charterhouse was flourishing, were three in number; the Vicar, who was the spiritual head when the Prior was obliged to absent himself; the Procurator, who was occupied chiefly with the temporal business of the monastery; and the Sacristan, to whom the Church and all things belonging to Divine service were intrusted. The offices of Novice-Master and of Coadjutor are of later date, and their respective duties of instructing the novices and helping the guests were fulfilled partly by the officers just mentioned, and partly by other monks, at the discretion of the Prior.

It is to be regretted that more is not known regarding Prior John Luscote personally; for it seems, from what little is recorded, that he was deservedly celebrated for his pious and upright life, as well as on account of his zeal for regular monastic discipline. The London Charterhouse and the English Province of our Order flourished and spread under his guidance.

The principal event of Luscote's priorate was the death and burial of Sir Walter de Manny, who departed this life on the 13th of January, 1372. Though he had particularly requested that his funeral should not be accompanied by extraordinary pomp, it was nevertheless performed with great