Of Irregular Consorts
Companions are requested not to allow their private amusements to be intruded into the peace of the Abbey.
Of Hospitality
The Order shall not refuse food, wine and shelter to anyone who shall ask for it.
It shall, however, be within the discretion of the Council to turn away those whom it considers to be professional beggars, or any who, in the Council’s opinion and by reason of their frequent return, are looking upon the Abbey as a free inn.
Of Children
The authority of the parents is absolute, and advice may only be tendered to them by the Council. The Companions are jointly and severally responsible for their behaviour and education, but have no parental privileges.
No children may eat with the Companions. They shall take their meals in a special room under the supervision of a competent person.
Of Private Monies
A Companion is free to come and go as he or she may wish, and may draw reasonable sums on application to a member of the Finance Committee for his or her expenses.
Since the Abbey will provide public and private rooms for the entertainment of guests, and the cellar, kitchen and amenities of a first-class club, it is not expected that Companions will need more than petty cash unless on the business of the Order.
Of Clothing
Male Companions and novices will limit their clothing to the minimum necessary for warmth, cleanliness and decency.
Female Companions and novices are requested to dress inexpensively but as gaily as they please, since they will thus give joy to themselves and their Companions.
Outside the Abbey all Companions will go bare-headed and will wear the cloak of the Order, as a sign that they are equal and not bound by the fashions of the world: the cloaks to be of fine black cloth and cut in Madrid.
Of Emissaries
The Council may neither compel nor allow its Emissaries to be away from the Abbey for more than six months for every six months that they spend within the walls.
Should an Emissary, by reason of civil strife, war, or the responsibilities of his task, ask for his term to be extended, permission may only be granted by the majority vote of the Grand Committee.
Of Poverty
No Companion may claim among the poor to be poor nor among the rich to be rich. A Companion may only claim to be without possessions.
Of Religion
A Companion, novice or Consort is entitled to hold any religion that he or she pleases, provided that no attempt is made to convert the others.
Of the Spiritual Guidance of Companions
If a Companion under grave difficulties be unable to form his or her rule of conduct, the Sermon on the Mount, the Talmud and the Republic of Plato shall be considered of equal value.
Of Politics
The Order has no interest in the principles of Government, so long as the Dictator, the Oligarchy or the Democracy is reasonably just and merciful.
Of War
The Order cannot support the League of Nations, since it is founded upon the false premise that the speakers of a common language have a right to self-government.
The order is opposed to all nationalism.
In any struggle between the Communist International and a Nationalist Power or Powers, it would support the Communist International.
Believing, however, that the Dictatorship of the Proletariat has not brought to power men either more or less fitted to rule than the systems of capitalist states, it would not support the Communist International in attempted revolution or aggression.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © The Estate of Geoffrey Household 1937
Cover design by Drew Padrutt
978-1-5040-0525-8
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
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