began early, the Hours were duly recited. There was work in the morning
and after tea, with exercise in the afternoon. On Saturday a chapter was
held, with public confession, made kneeling, of external breaches of the
rule. Silence was kept from Compline, at ten o'clock, until the next
day's midday meal; there was manual work, wood-chopping, coal-breaking,
boot-cleaning and room-dusting. For a long time Hugh worked at
step-cutting in the quarry near the house, which was being made into a
garden. The members wore cassocks with a leather belt. They were called
"Father" and the head of the house was "Senior" or "Superior."

The vows were simple, of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but were
renewed annually for a period of thirteen months, accompanied by an
expression of an intention, only, to remain in the community for life.
As far as I remember, if a Brother had private means, he was bound to
hand over his income but not his capital, while he was a member, and the
copyright of all books written during membership belonged absolutely to
the Community. Hugh wrote the book of mystical stories, _The Light
Invisible_, at this time; it had a continuous sale, and he used
humorously to lament the necessity of handing over the profits to the
Order, long after he had left it and joined the Church of Rome. The
Brothers were not allowed, I think, to possess any personal property,
and received clothing and small luxuries either as gifts, or purchased
them through orders from the Bursar. Our dear old family nurse, Beth, to
whom Hugh was as the apple of her eye, used to make him little presents
of things that he needed--his wardrobe was always scanty and
threadbare--and would at intervals lament his state of destitution. "I
can't bear to think of the greedy creatures taking away all the
gentlemen's things!"

There was a chapel in the house, of a High Anglican kind, where