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[Translatod by Jonis Gilmauy Shea from the edition of the original manu- script printed in Shea's Crumoisy Series, 1859.] On the 12th of Jarniary, 1727, all the religious destined to found the monastery in Louisiana, assembled in the Infirmary of the Nuns at Ilenncbon to acknowlrdge as fii-st Superior, Mother Mary Trancliepain of St. Augustine, who had been confirmed in two lettei-s of Mgr. the Bishop of Qu-ibee— one to Rev. Father Baubois, the other to that Mother. All the professed nuns, one nr vice and two seculars, came to make their submission to her accoi-ding to their rank in profession, as follows : Sister Mai-garct Judde of St. John the Evangelist, professed nun from the Ilonen conimtinity. Sister Marianne Boulanger of St. Angelica, from Rouen. Sister Magdalen de Maliieu of St. Francis Xavior, professed of the Havre community. Sister Rence (iui(iuel of St. Mary, professed fi-om Vannes. Sister Margaret de Salaon of St. Teresa, f i-om Ploermel. Sister Cecilia Cavalier of St. Joseph, professed from the Elboouf community. Sister Marianne Dain of St. Martha, professed from the Hennebon community. Sister Mary Ilachard of St. Stanislaus, novice. Sister Claudia Massy, secular, choir. Sister Anne, seculai-, lay sister. All the above-named religious came from France and founded the Ursuline Monastery at New Orleans, August 7, 1727. They were all professed members of the Paris congre- gation, except Sister St. Mary, who belonged to that of Bor- 1 ■;* I w 2 deaux, but who joined the others under condition of taking the fourth vow, and conforming in all respects to tiie Paris rule. They arrived at New Orleans in company with Fathers Tartar'in aud Doutreleau, most worthy missionaries of the So- ciety of Jesus, after a painful voyage of iive months, and they would infallibly have perished but for the protection of the IBlessed Virgin* and St. Francis Xavier, whom they invoked in idl dangers. They came under the authorization of Mgr. John de la Croix ae Sa'int Vallier, Bishop of Quebec, who admihis- tered the diocese. The gentlemen of the " Compagnie des In- des" were the founders, by the contract Avhich they made with Eev. Father Baubois, Vicar-General of Mgr. the Bishop of Quebec, and Superior -General of the Louisiana missions. This lleverend Jesuit Father, animated with zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, came from New Orleans to France to obtain an establishment of his order and of the TJrsuline Nuns for the education of youth. God blessed his good intentions by enabling him to succeed completely iii his undertaking, notwithstanding a host of crosses and oppositions which he had to suffer from the persons most necessary to his work. But after a year's exertion by the Eeverend Father and the Nuns, after a thousand impediments raised by the Lord Bishops, who, having first approved the project, subse- quently raised many dithculties, when it came to giving obedi- .ences to the Religious of their dioceses. On one occasion they were obliged to appeal to his Eminence Cardinal Fleury, Min- ister of State. The " Compagnie des Indes " esteeming that the most solid basis of the colony of Louisiana is what tends to advance the glory of God and the edification of the people, such as the es- tablishment of the Reverend Capuchin and Jesuit Fathers, whose zeal and charity assure spiritual succor to the people, and inspire great hope of converting the Indians, and wish- ing also by a new and pious establishment to relieve the sick poor and at the same time provide for cho education of youth, welcomed aud accepted the IJj-suline Nuns. 8 The Company agrees to support six Religious, including the Supei-iur ; to pay their passage and that of four servants to attend them on tlie voyage ; and moreover to pay the pass- age of those who, for any reason, might desire to return to IVance. It was agreedttliat one of the Religious ehould be Treasurer (Economc) of the Hospital, that she should have charge of all its temporal interests, and should present her ac- counts to the officers monthly ; that two others should be con- stantly in attendance on the sick ; that there should be one for the poor-school, and another to act as assistant, to replace the others in case of sickness, and relieve them when over- tasked. When the Religious can do so conveniently, they shall, if they deem it proper, take young ladies as boarders, but no one'of the Sisters appointed to thv^ care of the sick is to be taken from that duty and assigned to ^he care and edu- cation of the boarders. On the 9th of August, 1727, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the iirst time in a hall of the house where we were staying till the new monastery was built. They deferred placing 'the Blessed Sacrament there till October 5th in the same year, when the little tabernacle was prepared; and on that day the Rev. Father Baubois, our most worthy Superior, assigned to the care of the whole commnnity by Mgr. the Bishop of Quebec, and acknowledged with the ordinary cere- monies, left us this precious depesit. He also confirmed Sis- ter Mary Tranchepain of St. Augustine, as Superior. RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF THE FOUNDKESSES OF NEW ORLEANS, WRITTEN TO TUE URSULINES OF FRANCE, BY THE FIRST SU- PERIOR, MOTHER SAINT AUGUSTINE. After having spent some time with the good Ursulines of . , we embarked February 22, 1727; but as the wind shifted, it was decided not to set sail till next day. This gave us time to arrange ourselves in our little apartment. This was a place that they had enclosed for us between decks; we found oiirpclvcs somewhat cramped, but we had it all to our- selves, which gave us tnuch pleasure. ' We set saif, February 23(1, at two o'clofk iu the afternoon ; the weather was beautiful, and we went on deck to enjoy the air; but half a league from L'Orient we struck a rock ; the shock was severe and the alarm general. At the sa.ne t^ime the sails were furled. This being perceived from the har- bor of L'Orient, they came to our r.ssistance, and exerted theme-elves so vigorously that we were delivered froni this first fright, aTid enabled to keep on our way. Then each one be-an to pay tribute to the sea. None of us escaped, and tlie least sick were Sisters Boulanger and Ilachard, who got oH with a slight nausea. Meanwhile the winds changed and became dead against us. The vessel was constantly tossing, and gave lurches that sent us over each other. Scarcely was the soup on the table when a pitch would upset it. These little accidents and others made us laugh in spite of the seasickness which is a violent disease, and brings one almost to extremity: but when it is known, no one takes alarm, for people do not die of it, 1 was the one who suffered most: but that did not shake my vocation : our Lord infuses something indescribable into all we do for Him, that sweetens pain itself : my Sisters experi- enced this even more than 1 did, because they deserved it more. It was thus my consolation to see that in spite of discomfort, sickness caused by our long voyage, in spite of encounters with pirates, not one repented the sacrifice which she had made to God of her wliole being, or was troubled at the dan- gers we ran. It was on one of these perilous occasions that we made a vow to the Blessed Virgin and to Saint Francis Xavier, in order to ment their protection. Meanwhile our vessel made scarcely any progress, and in a fortnight we sailed no further than we ought to have done in three days. Our provisions were running short, water espe- cially : and we were limited like the crew to a pint a day, and very wretched water at that. Our captain was forced to put in at the Island of Madeira, three hundred Ica-ncs from Lon- ent. As soon as the chief city on that ishuid discernedus, a boat was sent to know what we wished. They were satished and returned. Tlien the .captain fired seven cannon to sahite the town, which answered in tlie same style. When those who eatne to see us, reported that there was a •lleligious Conuiiunity on board and some Jesuit missionaries, as those lathers have a famous college in that city, they were not long m paying us a visit, before our Reverend Fathers had time to anticipate theni Kothing could be more gracious than these bathers were: onlv one among them spoke French, but he said a thousand courteous tilings to us in the name of all. ihey beo-ged us to land and take up our abode w.tli them, but we thanked them. Our two Fathers went there the next day to dine and were received with all possible hospitality and inag- nificence. We shared in their generosity, for they themselves brought us large baskets full of all kinds of refreshments. During the three davs we spent in the harbor, these generous Fathei-s paid us several visits, and every day they seemed to find new pleasure in praising the zeal which had induced us to undertake such a long voyage. The greatest regret, he said, that they felt, was their inability to render us greater service, treating what they did as nothing compared to their good-wnl. These Fathers wear large spectacles on the nose, in the 1 or- tucniese style, and I noticed one who took his off in order to read something, which made us laugh. Otherwise, their man- Tier is nearly that of our French Fathers, except that they wear their hair short. . , r -l AVe also received a visit from all the pupils of the Jesuits: they carry a rosarv in their hands, which gives them a good appearance ; but for all that, we are told that they are not the niore devout. The most notable gentleman of the island paid us a visit : but we did not see any ladies ; in this comitry they are not visible and are seen only behind gratings, ihey never go out except to mass, and all together, so that they form a kind of procession. They walk enveloped in great veils, in silence or saying their beads. II 6 There are two communities on this iBland. Tlie principal one is of the order of St. Chire, and the Abbess is a Po.tu- guese princess. As they have greater freedom than secular women, their manners are consequently more easy. They soon received intellij^'enceof our arrival, for the Abbess wrote me in a most polite ajid flattering manner to invite me and all my religions to her convent. Her style is very frietidly, and she lavished praises on us. I replied as well as I could, and slie received my letter with all marks of esteem and friendship that I could have desired from one of my own ecpials. The next day a young woman from on board, going to visit her in my nanie, was loaded with attentions and presents. They re- peated to her their pressing invitation t<> induce ns to visit, their convent; but not thinking that we ought to do so, and the crew having laid in the necessary supplies, we thanked the city by tiring a cannon, and made for the high sea to con- tinue our voyage. The Avind was favorable only two days ; then it changed^ and we were a long time making 200 leagues, at the end of which we descried a pirate. We immediately made the ordinary preparations for defense ; each one armed himself, and the cannons were loaded. It was determined to shut us up in the safest part between decks during the action. AVonien bade farewell to their husbands. Mile. La Chaise, who wished to join us, wept bitterly fo. fear of losing her brother, who is one of the officers of our vessel. As for us, thaidvs be to our Lord, not one of us showed any weak- ness. After all, the pirate, seeing himself not strong enough, stood off, and left us at liberty : a sad liberty for nuns to be on a vessel where it is impossible <o have a moment to your- eelf. However, we performed our spiritual exercises, but amid the dissipation that prevails among peoi)!e who thiid-- only ol amusing themselves to pass the time, and this constituted our greatest pain. At last we reached the tropic. It was Good Friday, and the holiness of the day having prevented the baptismal ceremony of which you have doubtless heard, it was deferred till Satur- day afternoon. I will not f,nve you the details of this ccro- inoiiy, which in merely a diverMon for the puilorn, the more bo as you "cannot obtain exemption except hy money, and as we numbered more than twenty, includinj^ servantw, those of the Fathers as well as ours, we had a nice little sum to pay. Those who were unwillinjjt to j;ive anythin<; had several buck- ets of water poured over them ; but the great heat may have made the bath agreeal)le. Some days later we had a second alarm, by meeting a vessel which followed us closely. We put ourselves on the defens- ive, and when the vessels came near each other, we were s^hut np in the place assigned to us. As our vessel was about to tire, the enemy sheered oft" a little, which gave us time to get supper. As tlie enemy was seen approaching from time to time, a strict watch was kept all night : we went to sleep, ex- pecting all the while that they would come to rouse us. The next d!iy the enemy bore asvay, the sea continuing to excite alarm, and so furious at times, that we expected to be swal- lowed up. Jhit we suffered most from the length of the voy- age, sighing more and more for that land so long and so ardently desired, which made us rcdoul)le oiir prayers to ob- tain more favorable weather. Our Lord sometimes granted us several hours oi favorable wind, and by the assistance of this succor we reached liay Saint Louis, where we were to anchor. As there was no religious house and no person of our acquaintance at that place, we intended to land oidy to take a stroll, and to oversee the necessary clothes-washing. But the very evening of the day we anchored, the Directors of the (.^ompany asked leave to pay us a visit, and declared that they wished us to lodge with them as long as the vessel remained in the roadstead. ^YG could not resist such pressing offers and promised to go there the next day. These two gentlemen are perfect models of politeness and merit. They give us one magniiicent entertainment, and during the fort- night we spent with them, we ate in private: that is to say, with our Reveren<l Fathers only, and we were lavi.-hly regaled. 8 Two (lays after our arrival the Governor camo to pay us a visit, lie is a Parisian gciitltMnati, soriiowliat in years, but cnjnyin£f frond iiealtli, and of very courteous address. Ho twice f?ave us dinner with French inao;nifieence, and we had cotn})letc liberty to perform onr spiritual exercises. This f?en- tleman manifested v. great desire to have an estal)lishinent of Ilrsulincs in this country. Tlic Directors of the (V.mpany have the same desire in order to educate the young creole girls who show mucli aptness. AVc must hope that we shall have a house of our order in this conntry. I say this, incidentally, in order to intlame some with zeal for the salvation of souls. What ha])piness to burn with ko noble a tire ! Tlie lack of religion here ought to excite zeal : the most devout are those whose lives are not scandalous. Tlio day wo dined at the Governor's he wished ns to visit the fort, situated on the sea, and which, according to connoisseurs, is something rare in its way. We found two or three garrisons drawn up to receive ns mider arms, the drums beating to do us greater honor. 8ome refreshments were served to us. At last we embarked on the 19th, loaded with courtesies and presents : moreover, they offered ns various refreshments, to alleviate the rest of our voyage, which was 500 leagues more. The wind, at first favorable, became contrary, and calms greatly retarded our progress. We encountered two hostile ships, but Nve escaped from them by making ready to engage. Notwithstanding this misadventure, we hoped to reach port by the feast of Corpus Christi, hut our Lord reserved one more trial for us to finish with, for the head winds, together with the currents, drove us for all we could do on White Island, at the very moment when we were impatiently expecting the pleas- ure of beholding the first land in Mississippi. We felt great joy on approaching that land, but alas ! how short was onr joy ! and how dearly purchased. At the moment when we least expected, when enjoying ourselves on deck, the vessel suddenly struck so violently and repeatedly, that we thought ourselves lost beyond all hope. The captain and crew lowered the sails, and used many maiHiMivres to extricate the vesBcl from its danger, hut all waa uaelcHH, and hy nicans of the lead we found that the shii) was five feet deep in the wind. ThcM-aptain resolved to unload her. They hegan by the cannon, which were fastened to two pieces ol wood Ho^that they c(.uld not sink and they were committed to the sea. Then the ballast, composed of stones, lead, an(l iron, was removed. As all this did not lighten the vessel sutHcient- ly, they decided to throw overboard the boxes, which were very numerous. Ours came first, so we had to make the tii-st sacrifice. We did not take long to deliberate, and cheerfully cinisented to see ourselves deprived of everything in order to ])ractice stricter poverty. We had been assure.l that being so near land, we need feel no fears for our lives; but we were to leave the ship only when it came to the worst, as the island is iidiabited only by very cruel Indians. At last, at the very moment when we expected to see our boxes go over, the cap- tain changed his mind, and threw overboard the sugar, which formed a large part of the cargo. Our Keverend Fathers and we lost a cask of 300 pounds which the Directors of the Com- pany had given us. For all that the ship remained too heavy and they agani talked of our boxes, but by the permission of God, and the protection of the Blessed Virgin, whom we invoked during all this time, everv time they came to seize our trunks, the captahi changed his mind, and made them take something else. Sixty barrels of brandy and a large (luantity of salmon were then thrown over, after which renewed efforts were made to get the ship off. They succeeded at last, which tilled us with great joy. This peril lasted twenty-four hours, and few persons retired to sleep that night. A few iiours afterward we resumed our route, but we had not gone a quarter of a league before the vessel struck again with such violent and repeated shocks, that we had no hope left except in God's almighty power. Even the captain was quite astonished to see the ship hold together so long: and he 10 declared that nine out of ten would have gone to pieces. The crew were all in consternation. As for myself, I avow that I never saw death so near, and although I was always hoping in the succor of the Blessed Virgin, the alarm depicted on every countenance led me to believe that our last hour had come. What gave me surest consolation was the magnanimity of my Sisters, who constantly maintained themselves in a spirit of sacrifice, with surprising peace and calm. Bnt our Lord wi!« satisfied this time with our good-will, and gave His bless- ing to the labors of the r^aptain, and the eiforts of the sailors and pasEjngers, who did not spare themselves on these occa- sions. Eev. Father Tartai-in was conspicuous. ^Ye were ex- tricated from peril this time also, and the captain had the *' Te Deum " chanted in thanksgiving. After this last dange.-, the boat always went ahead, and an officer had the lead in hand, till we got into deep Avater. Then we ran out of water. Tiie heat was excessive : we suf- fered greatly from thirst, and this mac' ) us exchange our wine for water, but we could get it only bottle for bottle : and we were fortunate to get it at that price. This lasted nearly tvo weeks, for the winds and currents were almost constantly ad- verse ; so that we had to anchor several times a day. At last we came in sight of a land unknown to us, and which we sup- posed to be inhabited by savages, on account of the great fires blazing there. However, we sent a boat ashore for water. Some hours after the l^oat left us, the wind became favora- ble, and the captain not wishing to lose the chance of making headway, fired a gun to warn the officer to return, and at tl;e same time weighed anchor ; but the officer taking tho report of the cannon for thunder, kept on toward land, leaving us in great alarm, for the <^ea was furious ; however, he came off again next day. This island is called St. PtOG.^ We remaiiied there three or four days awaiting a favorable v/ind. Having set sail we continued our route, and after a few days we descried Isle Dauphine, and at the same time a brig- antine comin'^ out to us. This sight filled us with joy, hoping 11 to hear Bome news of our New Orleans. Our hope was not vain, and we had the pleasure of seeing 'he brigaiitiue reach our side, the captain proving to be one of ours. He asked to pa-y his respects to us, and it was from him that we first re- ceived the intelligence from Kev. Father Baubois, who was impatiently awaiting us, that our residei.ce was all ready to receive us, and that they had begun to build our monastery. I avow thai it was the iirst exterior joy that I had tasted since -we left France, and it was so deeply felt that it made me, as -well as our Sisters, forget all our past sufferings and hardships. We kept on, attended by the brigantine, toward Isle Dau- phitie, where we lay to, in order to obtain water, fearing the calms which are fre(pient in these parts. We had scarcely anchored when a favorable breeze sprang np ; we ke])t on to Balize, which we reached July 23, 1727, five months, day for day, from our departure. Balize is a port at the mouth of the Mississippi. Mr. Duverger, who was in command there for the Company, at once came to see us, and offered us his house till we could obtain conveyances to transport us to Xew Orleans. We accepted the ofter so po- l" ely made. We took a long boat with part of our baggage, accompanied by Mr. Duverger. The weirJier was very bad, the boat overloaded, the sailors tipsy, and we found ourselves once more in iunrinent peril, from which we should not have been extricated if Mr. Duverger had not put in at Cane Island, near Balif^e. We had some difficulty in making land on account of a contrary wind, and we ran the risk of passnig the night there among the men employed in building a fort under Mr. Duverger's direction. But that gentleman sent for periaguas, and we had to separate into two parties. We reached his home, and he treated us as well as he could. Mr. Duverger is very generous, and although he^s young and un- married, he leads a very correct and very secluded life, inces- santly devoted to the duties confided to him. We remained at his house till the 29th. Father Tartarin had gone on some days before to inform Rev. Father Baubois of our arrival. It 12 was an agreeable surprise, for our long voyage had alarmed the whole conntry, and we were supposed to be lost. The Rev. Father Baubois lost no time in sending for us, and being unable to come in person on account of sickness, lie assigned that duty to Mr. Massy, the brother of our postulant. This gentleman handed me two letters— one from Mr. Perrier, commandant of Louisiana, and Knight of St. Louis, and the other from Mr. La Chaise, director-general. All manifested a great impatience to see us, and as the long boat was too small to hold all our party we had to separate. I took the periagua with our five youngest Sisters, accompanied by Rev. Father DoutrelQau, Brother Crucy, and a gentleman. Our other Sisters took the long boat with Mr. Massy, our two fol- lowers, and two servants of the Reverend Fathers. This little passage, which was only thirty leagues, was attejided by in- credible annoyance. As the long boat moved too slowly we went on. We set out on St. Ignatius' day, but we had to lie to every night, and one hour before sunset, in order to have time to put up our mosquito nets, because you are attacked by insects whose sting causes almost insupportable pain. We slept twice amid mud and Avater that fairly soaked us, and our mattresses were almost always floating in the water. All this tries one at the time, but we are amply rewarded after- ward by the pleasure we feel in each one's relating her little adventures, and that we are utterly surprised at the strengtii and courage /Inch God gives on such occasions : a clear proof that He never fails us, and that He does not permit us to be tempted above our strength, always bestowing graces in pro- portion to the trials He sends us. The ardent desire we felt to reach our destination made us endure our pains with great joy. When we came within eight or ten leagues of iSTew Orleans we began to see houses. Then there was a competition where we should stop to enable them to entertain us, and we were received everywhere with a joy beyond all expression. Boarding scholars were promised us from all sides, and some wisheu to confide the girls to us a I. t< a r n I 1 1 ( < 18 at once We thus spent several days at various plantations. At last Rev. Father Tartarin, who had gone ahead, returned to inform n^ th.at Rev. Father Banbois was expecting us. We accordingly set out at three o'clock in the n^orning, and ai^ rived onMie 6th of August at live o'clock. Our Sisters did not arrive till the next day. It would be too prolix and even useless to endeavor to ex- press the varied sentiments of my heart on beholding a land for which I had sighed so many years. You have too much zeal, my Reverend Mother, to doubt the excess of my consolation on setting foot on land. We found few people, on account of the hour ; and we made our way to Rev. h ather Baubois' house, where we soon met him, coming to us leaning on a cane, on account of his extreme feebleness. He looked pale and reduced, but his face was soon lighted up with the ioy he felt at seeing us. He made us take a little rest, and had an excellent breakfast served, which was often interrupted bv his friends, many of whom came to pay us their respects. About ten or eleven o'clock the Rev. Father took us to our abode It is a house that the Company has hired, while wait- mn for the completion of our monastery. It is directly at one end of the town, and the hospital at the other. We cannot, therefore, assume the direction of it till our monastery is tin- ished The settlers at New Orleans keep watch that we lack nothinc^; there is a rivalry who shall send us most. This generositv puts us under obligation to them almost all. Among our most" devoted friends are the Commandant and his wife, who are persons full of merit, and very agreeable company. This gentleman has acquired the respect of tlie whole coun- try which he traversed some months ago, and he has succeeded in appeasing ,the troubles which prevailed in the city We also receive much politeness and courtesy from Mr. La Chaise, director-general of the Company; he has refused us nothing that we have asked so far. In a word, everything leads us to hope that our establishment will redound to the greater glory of God ; and that in time it will effect great good for the sal- 11 vation of souls, which is our chief aim. For this we need prayers. I solicit them from you, my Eeverend Mother, and hope that your zeal will obtain prayers for us from all the com- munities of the order with which you are in correspondence. I earnestly hope that the perusal of this letter may inflame hearts with love for Jesus Christ, and prompt the Sisters, whom He and His holy Mother have prepared for us, to come to our assistance. Let the long voyage and hardships we have endured repel no one. Oh ! if they only knew how magnifi- cently God rewards what we do for Him, they would never take into account all the hardships through which they must go. As far as possible we shall take religious only of from thirty to forty years. Rev. Father Baubois says mass for us every day, but does not leave us the Blessed Sacrament. May God be ever praised and adored throughout the earth. I have the honor to be, etc., Sister Maey of St. Augustine Tr^iNCHepain Superior. jed ind inl- ine 3rs, me ive lifi. ver list oni oes sed lor.