Note 3 — Character and Influence of the Friars

If the traveler is on good terms with the cura, he will seldom have any trouble. I was once about to take a little journey with a parish priest directly after lunch. All the preparations were completed at a quarter after eleven. I declared that it was too bad to wait the three-quarters of an hour for the repast. Immediately after, it struck twelve, and all work in the village ceased. We, as well as our porters, sat down to table; it was noon. The [following] message had been sent to the bellringer: “The father ordered him to be told that he must surely be sleeping again; it must have been twelve o’clock long ago, for the father is hungry.” Il est l’heure que votre Majesté désire.3