David-A-Wagner

xvii. The choice DAYS passed. The exaltation produced in the monks by the abbot's short talk began to wear off. They were crowded and uncomfortable in the half-finished chapel and bell tower, and a spell of cold wet weather added to their difficulties. The half-demolished kitchen made feeding the eighty or so who had lived in the conventual halls possible, but a real problem, and an epi­demic of colds reduced spirits to a very low ebb. Dispositions were edgy, work lagged, and idleness gave ample opportunity for self-pity and complaining. Abbot Robert was tireless in his efforts to set the routine of the Benedictine life going again. The