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 Corporalion 
 
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 12 3 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
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 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
. -I'-m 
 
 i: - ■ 
 
 
 THE AWFUL DISCLOSURES 
 
 OF 
 
 MARIA MONK, 
 
 AND 
 
 MYSTERIES OF A CONVENT. 
 
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■*W*i««r.V«»dJ', 
 
 
AWDl DISCLOSURES 
 
 OF 
 
 MARIA MONK. 
 
 
 AND 
 
 THRILLING 
 
 isd: 
 
 STS 
 
 •4 given tf 
 
 OF A 
 
 CONVENT REVEALED I 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 X. B. psiEBsoir, 101, ORESssm nsm. 
 
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 Preface. 
 
 V 
 
 iTlttobthopadfhalflMfMdwofllMMiMdiif BteniiiYt wmaolnfpoit. 
 tbalttlM ft flotlQii, or tiMil the N«aM and ptnou thai Z hav* d«UiiMt«d, 
 haanolawalwtotmoa. Itiaa]Md«iir0d,tbatthaaailioroftiilaTol«B« 
 maybaNgaMadnoftaaaTOlimtaiy partidpator in fha Tiiy gnillif tnoii- 
 •eHoiM wbioh an daaoiibed ; butnoaiTa qnnpathj for fha tiiala whlsh aha 
 haaaadiuad, aadtha paonliar litaaUon in wbioh hor part aq^arianeof and 
 oiaapa from tho powar of tha Saparior of tha HoM IMao Hmiiiarj, at Xob- 
 tnal, and tha mm* of tba Boman Pritita In OmaJA, ha,v lafl bar, 
 
 Uf IboUngi ara fraqnantly distw M ad and agltatad bf tba nooUaotlott ol 
 what I bara palled thnmgh; and by night and bj day I hava Uttla paaaa 
 of mind, and turn period! of oalm and pleaaing lefleetion. Fatuity alto 
 appeaiB ^ineertain. I know not what zeoeption this little woik may meat 
 with, and what will be tba eflfootof its pnblioation bate or in Canada, 
 among ittangen, fHendi, or enemiea. I baTo given the world the tmih, 
 •oftraa I ha?agone, on sabJeote of which I fin told tbey are genanlly if- 
 noianti and Z &el perfbetconfldenoe, that any Iketi wbi<4i mayyet badia- 
 ooveredf will oonflim my wordi wbenerer they oan be obtained. Whoerer 
 shall explore the Hotel Dieu Nunnery at IContreal, will And wKLoestion- 
 Oble evidence that the desoriptioni of the interior of that edifloe^ given in 
 this book, were fiimished by one fimiliar with them } for whatever altera- 
 tions may be attempted, there are obaages wbioh no mason or oarpenter 
 oan make and effootoally oonoeil; and therefore there must be planttftil 
 evidence in that Institution, of tha truth oT my desoription. 
 
 Than araJliving witnesses, also, who ought to bemada to speak, withoul 
 fbiir of ptnanoes, torturei^ and death, and possibly their testimony ataoma 
 ft:.tare time^ nuqr be added, to oonflrm my statementa Them aza witnesses 
 ^I should greatly njoioe to see at liberty; or rather there nwra. Arathoy 
 Uvtsgnowt orwillthey ba permitted to live after the Priests aadSupe- 
 rioia have seen this bookt Perhaps the wretehednuna in tha oaUs have 
 aliaady soffnad for my sska— pariiaps Jane Bay has bean sDaaaed Ibraver, 
 «r win be murdered, befoia dmhaa timatoaddlisrmosi important tisti* 
 
 ^Qeedy death in relation only to this woild, can ba no great ealam- 
 itytattoaawholeadflwlifoofanmk The mevaraeoUeetlott of It always 
 imemlacraUe. It would distress tha readir, ihonU I repeat tha 
 
 % 
 
 30^*5 .:;^S2a 
 
FnAuMk 
 
 wMkwUakZmoflHilMrifltdatalgMt ftt Z 
 BjrMlf pwnMd hf Ih* w«nl mmbImi fNVMBtty I tmm m tt ffiA ahat 
 «piaih»OM?tBt| oft«iXlauiglMiByMlfpnMaltttk«nf«IUIoa«f th« 
 wsolMMMilhiitZlMVtJdBtodatordMoribtd. •omtltmM Z itead bf tk* 
 •teralplaMoriDtanuBtlatlMedlart fooMtimM Z think I oui hMurlh* 
 ■hiliks«fthalMlpUMfbiBalMiBtlMluui4iof atrodoui bw ; MidMBM- 
 tlB«alinoiliMm MiiuUyto look ■fdn upoa th«MlmM>d pkwIdllMF 
 InrM of Bt. IhmoMy m dio appoond whon rairoandod ky bor nohUnn. 
 
 Z flMBol haaUh Iho ao«MO aad duurkolor of thli book flrom my atmotj. 
 ToBotlOMMTor onpctt UkoMi MnailDff fUblo, or loM lUlaiiiwIaad 
 toportMioOi Thoitorjis OMwbkh !• oontlniMUy boforo m«^ Midmiiil 
 ntoni frMb to nj mind, with polnftal «iiiollon% m long m Z Uto. With' 
 tinii^aad O bii i t to n iMtrnotloa, and tht lympfttbj ud oamploo effho 
 wiM Md good, Z bopo to loom nibmiiilvoly to bOMTirbatmr trUlf aro ap- 
 pointod moi and to Improro undor tbom alL 
 
 ZaprMMdaaZ oonttnoallj am with tbo Mi^ttalnaUty of tbopalnlbl 
 oommnkatloiui that Z bato mado in tblavolnmOy Z can only oflir to All 
 ponona wbo may doubt or dlibelloTt my itaUmontt, thoM two thlnga t— 
 
 Fmnilt mo to |0 tbrongb tbo Hotel Dion Nunnery at iContraal, with 
 aomo Impartial ladloi and gentlemen, tbat they may comparo my aooount 
 with tbo Interior parte of the building, into wbioh no penoni but the Bo- 
 man Biahop and Pilcoto are eror admitted; and if they do not And my do- 
 Boilpliontmet thM dieoard me ae an impoetor. Bring me before a eonrt 
 of Juatloo—tbere Z am wiUlngto meet Zatargut, D^fttm*, FhtUm^ JMilik, 
 anA SUkqri$t and their wicked companioni, with the Superior, and any 
 of the nnna,' beftwe a thonmnd men. 
 
 VABIAMONX. 
 Jf(NO 7ort,JaiitM»yll| 183fk 
 
 .^4 
 
iftht 
 
 BOIJ« 
 
 Iaa4 
 
 With' 
 
 kffbt 
 ••P- 
 
 ilBltal 
 toAU 
 It— ' 
 wUb 
 lonnt 
 iBo- 
 f dt« 
 Mnirt 
 
 ■ay 
 
 ,. 
 
 AWFUL DISCLOSURES 
 
 OF 
 
 ohafubb I. 
 
 SABLT siooujMnoira. 
 
 BmIt lifb— Rallriou EdoMtion MglMted-— Flnt School— Entmnot taito tTi« 
 BoMol of the Oongngatlonal Nnnnerj— Brief Account of the NnaaeriM 
 In Montreal— The OongregfttUnud Niumery— The Blaok Nunnery- nie 
 Orqr Nannerjr— PnbUo Beipeot for theie Inititatione— InitroolMni f»* 
 oelTed— TheOateohiim— The Bible. 
 
 Mt puvnto wer« both from Scotland, bat had been roridont in 
 the Lower Ganada lomo time before tneir marriage, which toolc 
 
 flaoe in Montreal, and in that city I hare spent moit of mj life, 
 waa bom at St. John's, where they lired for a short time. My 
 father was an officer nnder the British GoTcmment, and mj mo- 
 ther has enJoTed a pension on that account ever since his death. 
 
 According to my earliest redolleotions, he was attentiTe to his 
 family, and had a peculiar passage from the Bible, which often 
 occurred to me in after life. I may yerv probably have been 
 taught by him, as after his death I did not recollect to haTcre- 
 ceiTcd inj initruotion at home, and was not even brought unto 
 read the Doriptnres ; my mother, although nominally a Protes- 
 tant not being accustomed to pay attention to her children. She 
 was rather Inclined to think well of the Oatholics, and often at- 
 tended their churches. Tomy want of religious instruction at 
 home, and the ignorance of my Oreator and mr duty, which was 
 its natural effect, I think lean trace my introduction to couTents^ 
 and tiie scenes which I am to describe in the following narrattTe* 
 
 When about six or soTcn years of age, I went to school to a Mr* 
 Workman, a Protestant, who taught in Sacrament street, and re- 
 mained scTeral months. There I learned to read and write, and 
 arithmetic as far as division. All the progress I ever made in 
 those branchee was gained in that school, as I have never Impro- 
 Ted la anj of them mice. 
 
 A numoer of girls of my acquaintance went to school to the 
 nans of the Oongr^pttional Nunnerv, or Sisters of Oharity, ae 
 th^ are sometimes called. The senools tanght by them are per- 
 haps more nnmerons than some of my readers may imajpne. 
 Kuns afo sent out from that oonventtomany of the towns and 
 TQlagee ci Canada to teach small schools ; and some of them are 
 established as instructresses in different parts of the United States. 
 WhenJE waa about ten years old, my mother asked me one day If 
 lAoudiiotlilwtoleajrntoreaaaiia write French, and iheni 
 
 7 
 
 ^:^' 
 
8 
 
 iwM Bi8oIiMnix8B <if Xaria Monk. 
 
 began to fhink Mfiood/ of attoncUng fho Mhod in tlio Oon^wga- 
 tlonal Naunoij. Ihadalxesd/ioinoaoqaaiDtMioewiththMUui- 
 guago, ■offident to ipesk it a uttlo, M I noud it OTtt/ day, and 
 my mothor knew eomething of it. 
 
 I hare a distinet recollection of my first entrance into the Nnn- 
 nery ; and the day waa an important one in my life, aa on it oom- 
 meooed my aoqoaintanoe with a convent. I waa oondnoted by 
 some of my young friends along Notre Dame street, till we reach- 
 ed the gate. Entering that, we walked sofiie distance along the 
 dde of a building towards a chapel, until we reached a door, atop* 
 ped, and rung a bell. This was soon opened, and entering, we 
 proceeded through a long covered passage till we took a snort 
 turn to the left, soon after which we reached the door of the sdiool- 
 room. On my entrance, the Superior met me, and told me first 
 of all that I must dip my fingers into the holy water at her door, 
 cross myself, and say a short prayer ; and this she told me was al- 
 ways required of Protestaut as well as Catholic children. 
 
 There were about fifty girls in the school, and the nuns profes- 
 sed to teach something of reading, writing, arithmetic, and geo* 
 graphy. The methods, however, were very imperfect, and uttle 
 attention was devoted to them, the time being m a great degree 
 engrossed with lessons in needle-work, which was penormed with 
 much skill. The nuns had no very regular parts assigned them 
 in the management of the schools. They were rather rough and 
 unpolished in their manners, often exclaiming, " O'est un menti," 
 (that* s a lie,) and '* mon Dieii," (my Qod,) on the most trivial oc- 
 casions. Their writing was quite poor, and it was not uncommon 
 for them to put a capital letter in the middle of a word. The 
 only book of geography which we studied, was a catechism of 
 geography, from which we learnt by .heart a few questions and 
 answers. We were sometimes referred to a map, but it was only 
 to ij^int out Montreal or Quebec, or some other prominent name, 
 while we had no instruction beyond. 
 
 It may be necessary, for the information of some of my readers, 
 to mention, that there are three distinct Oonvents in Montreal, 
 all of different kinds— that ia, founded on different plans, and go- 
 verned by different rules. Their names are as follows : — 
 
 1. The Congregational Nuunery. 
 
 2. The Black Nunnery, or Convent of Sister Bourgeoise. 
 
 3. The Grey Nunnery. 
 
 The first of these professes to be devoted entirely to fhe edu- 
 cation of girls. It would require, however, only a proper exami- 
 nation to prove, that with the exception of needle* work, hardly 
 auything is taught excepting prayer and catechism ; the instruc- 
 tion in reading, writing, &o., in fact, amounting to very littl^ 
 and often to nothing. This Convent is adjacent to the next to 
 be spoken of, beine separated from it only bv a wall. The to- 
 cond professes to be a charitable institution for the care of the 
 
 and tiie number of inmates. 
 
 The Orey Nunnery, which is situated in a distant part of fha 
 city, is also a large edifice, containing departments for the oar* 
 of Insane persons and foiw^^ings. With this, ^owever, I haira 
 less personal acquaintance «;r ^n with either of tnl others. I have 
 oftei),iien two of the Qrey nuns, and know their ralw, m wall at 
 
.ii:iiiiiiwiirtiinirriirfl>lirwii>ww iljataaaifc-. 
 
 IwM BisQioBnxqi of Xarla XbnL 
 
 9 
 
 thoaeof th« OongrsgatioiMl Nonnery: th^ do jiot oonfln* fham 
 «lw«yi wittdn their walla, lik« thoM of th« Black Nonnafj. Thaao 
 two OonTenta hare their commou naiaaa (Black and Ghraj) from 
 the coloara of the dreaaea worn by their inmatea. 
 
 In all theae three Ckmrenta there are certain apartmenta into 
 which atrangera can gain admittance, bnt otherafrom which they 
 are alwaya exdudea. In all, large quantitiea of variona oma« 
 menta are made by the nnna, whicb are expoaed for aaie in the 
 OmameiU BooaUf and afford larj^e pecuniary receipta every year, 
 which contribnte mnch to their income. In theae rooma. Tiaitora 
 often pnrohaae anoh thinga aa pleaae them, from aome of the old 
 and confidential nuna who have the charge of them. 
 
 Vtom all that appeara to the public eye, the nuna of theae Oon- 
 Tenta are deyoted to the charitable object appropriated to each, 
 the labour of making differenbarticlea known to oe manufabtnr- 
 ed by them, and the religiona obaerrancea, which occupy a large 
 portion of their time. They are regarded with much reapeot by 
 the people at large; and now and then when a novice takeathe 
 TciL ahe ia auppoaed to retire from the temptationa and trouble 
 of thia world into a state of holy secluaion, where, by prayer, aelf* 
 mortification, and good deeds, she preparea herself for heaven. 
 Sometimes the Superior of a Oonvent obtains the character of 
 working miracles: and when such an one dies, it ia published 
 through the country^ and crowds throng the Oonvent, who think 
 indnlgences are to be derived from bits of her dothea and other 
 thinga she has possessed ; and many have sent articles to be 
 touched to her bed or chair, in which a degree of virtue is thought 
 to remain. I used to participate in such ideas and feelings, and 
 began by degrees to look npbn a nnn as the happiest of women, 
 and a Oonvent as the most peaceful, holy, and delightful place of 
 abode. It is true, s6me pains were taken to impress such views 
 upon me. Some of the priests of the« Seminary often visited the 
 Congregational Nunnery, and both catechised and talked with 
 na on religion. The Superior of the Black Nunnery adjoining, 
 also, occaaionally came into the school, and enlarged on the ad- 
 vantage we enjoyed in having such teachers, and dropped some- 
 tUngnow and then relating to her own convent, calculated to 
 make na entertain the highest ideaa of it, «nd make ua sometimes 
 think of the jpossibility of getting into it. 
 
 Among the instructions given to us by the priests, some of the 
 most pointed were directed againat the FrotestantBible. They 
 often enlarged upon the evil tendency of that book, and told us 
 that but for it many a soul condemned to hell, and suffering eter- 
 nal punishment, might have been in happiness. Thej could not 
 aav anything in its favour ; for that would be speaking against 
 religion and against Otoi. They warned ns against its woe, and- 
 repreaented it as a thing very dangerous to our souls. In confir- 
 mation of this, they would repeat some of the anawera tauaht na 
 at catechism ; a few of which I will here give. We had little 
 cateohisma, ("Lea Fetita Oatechismes") put into our hands to 
 atady ; but tne priests soon began to teach us a new set of an- 
 awera, which were not to be found in our hooka, from aome of 
 which I have received new ideas, and got, as I uionght, impor- 
 tant light on religious subjects, which confirmed me more in my 
 belief m the Boman Oatholic doctrines. Those questions and an- 
 awera I can atill recall with tolerable accuracy, and aome of them 
 I will add here. I never have read them, aa we were taught them 
 only by word of mouth. 
 
10 
 
 kMfi& Mstkit^tmMW^ ^'^^' 
 
 *'iiimUmt,'Potq!aeiUUm JUtaa'ftpM fill ton lit «omiiuad«- 
 flMiiaf*^<*iZ0VeitM. PlMMqmVhomBMa'MtipMaii iort^a'il 
 p^tnHw tout MM oi>miiMi|d«m«iu.'' 
 
 ^ ** QiUMtion, Ytlty did not God mi^ all Um oomouuidiiMats P" 
 — "^«M00r. Beoaaw man ii not ftrong «noiigh to kaep tham.*'^ 
 
 And ADothor : ** Q. Poraaoi I'liomma na lit pM I* BTaogila r'«r^ 
 "A, Paraa qoa I'ei^rtt dfrl'lkomme aittropbrania at tropfaiUa. 
 poor ooinnreadxa iqa'aat oa qoa Diea a dcrit." 
 
 ** Q. Why aia men not to zaad tha New Testament ?*-^**4k 
 Baoanaa tha mind of man ia too limited and weak to andajnrtanicV 
 what God haa written/' 
 
 Thaiaqnastionaand.answanaranot to ba found in thaaoo^- 
 mon cataehiema m naa in Montreal and oth^ places where I iMKve 
 beoi, hnt all the ohildi|sn in the Ooogre^tioaal Nunnery waca 
 taught thenii and many more not found in these hooka* 
 
 ; OHAFTEBH. 
 
 OONOBBaATIOirAL MUANJSKT* 
 
 Story told by a Fellow Ftt|dl against a Priast -Other Storlea-^Pretty Mary 
 --Oonfessto Fktthar lUobitrds^My subsequent oonfesdoa— Instmo* 
 tions in the Catechism. 
 
 Thxbb waa a girl thirteen years old whom I knew in tha achool; 
 who resided in the neighbourhood of my mother, and with whom 
 I had been fanuliar. She told me one day at school, of tha<»n<» 
 duct of a priesewith her at confession, at which I was astoiush* 
 ed. It waa of so crimiinal and shameful a nature, I could hardly^ 
 belieye it, and yet I had so much confidenoe that she apokatha 
 truUk, mxat I could not discredit it. • 
 
 ^ She was partly persuaded by the priest to believe he oonld not 
 ■in, because he was a priest, aod that anything he did to half 
 would sanctify her ; and yat she seemed somewhat doubtful how 
 she should act. A pdeaL she had been told by him, ia a holy 
 man, and appointed to a holy office, and therexore what would 
 be wUdced in other men, could not be so in him. She told ma aha 
 had informed her mother of it, who expressed no anger nor ^a* 
 approbation; but only enjoined it upon her not to speak of it ; 
 and remarked to her, aa priests were not like men, but holy, aaa 
 aeut to instruct and aav a us, whatever they did waa right. 
 ^ I afterwards coofessed to the priest that I had heard tha alory, 
 and had a penance to perf onnior indulging a sinful ourioaity m 
 nuJEing inquiries; and the girl had another for oommunioatingit* 
 I afterwards learnt that other children had been treated in tha 
 same manner, and also of similar proceedings. 
 
 Indeed it was not long before such language was used to me, 
 and I well remembi.£ how my views of right and wrong w«a 
 shaken by it. Anothw girl at the school, from a place above 
 Hontiaal, ealled the Lac, told me the following story of what haA 
 ooeurvad recently in th^ vioinitv. A young squaw, oaUad Jla 
 Belle Harie, (vnttj Mary,) had Seen seen gomg to oonfeanon ai 
 tha house of the pnest, who lived a little out of thevillaga. Xa 
 BsllaMuia waa afterwards missed, and her mtutderad body waa 
 found in ttia river. A knife waa also found bearing the priast^a 
 nama. Great indignation waa exdted among thalndii^^and 
 the ptieat iaunadiatuy absoondad, and waa never heacd ficoaou A 
 note waa found oa hiitaUa addressed to him, tolling him tofly, 
 if ha waa galltf. 
 
 V- 
 
ipp 
 
 .i '!>liAia'JII»U.)^ilitf»Mja^ ■>! at/^-^ -''til 
 
 MM Mg/f^^mm of Ibria lonL 
 
 11 
 
 V 
 
 ■>A 
 
 . 
 
 UwM fonpoNdtiuil; " pilait wm taaieEiil fluit Ui Modnol 
 might be b«n»7«d bjf thkA jroiuiglnulA; sad he nndartook to 
 dMur bimMlf Iqr kflling hur. 
 
 ThMtit<niM •tniekiiwwiihtiiiptia6atflnt,J>at IgndoallT 
 htgwtoleel diflarantlj, «T0a tappodng them tnie, and tolO(»: 
 upon the prieete li men inoapable of no. ; berides. when I flnt 
 W«Bt to oonfaMi whieh I did to lather lEUohmrde in the old SVeneh 
 cihnxdh, linoe tajcen down, I heard nothing improper ; and it was 
 not vntil I had been Mveraltimei that the priens beeamemore 
 and more bcdd. and were at length indecent in ttieir aueitiona, 
 •ad even in ueir ocndnot when I confessed to them in the Sa- 
 etiirtii. Thia sabiect, I believe, it not understood nor sospeeled 
 among Fsrotestants ; and it is not my intention to speak of ft T«rj 
 partieidaily, because it is impossible to do eo wtttiout saying 
 things both shameful and demoralising. 
 
 Z will only say here, that when quite a child, I heard from the 
 months of the priests at oonf ession what I cannot repeat, with 
 treatment oorroMponding ; and scTeral females in Oanaaa have aa> 
 sored me that they have repeatedly, and indeed regularly, been 
 VMuired to answer the same and other like questions, many of 
 wMiii meseiit to thtf mind deeds which the most iniquitous and 
 oormpt heart could hardly iuTent. 
 
 There was a frequent diange of teachers in the school of the 
 Nunnery, and no regular system was pursued in our instruction, 
 niere were many nuns who came and went while J was there, 
 bdng frequently called in and out without any perceptible rea- 
 son. They supply school teachers to many of the country towne, 
 usually, two to each of the towns with which I was acqutdnted, 
 4»esid6S sending Sisters of Oharity to many parts of the United 
 States. Among those whom I saw most was Saint Fatridk, an 
 old woman for a nun, that is about forty, very ignorant and groM 
 in her manners, with quite a beard o& her face, and Tecy ^tou 
 and disagieeable. She was sometimes our tearaer in sswing^ 
 •ad was appointed to keep order among us. We were allowed to 
 enter only s few of the rooms in the Oongregational Nunneqr, 
 although it was not conridered one oi the secluded OouTMits. 
 
 In the Black Nunnery, whieh is rery near the Oongregatianal, 
 is aa ho«pital lor sick people from- the city ; and sometimes sonw 
 cf our boarders, such as were indisposed, were sent there to be 
 cured. I was once taken ill myself and sent there, where I re- 
 maiaedafewdays. * 
 
 ~ There were beds eaough for a oonsiderable number more. A 
 physician attended it dauy, and there are a number of the TeQed 
 nuns of that GOnrent who spend most of their time there. 
 
 These would also sometimes read lectures and repeat prayers 
 toui* 
 
 After I had been jfat the Oongregational Nunnery about two 
 rmn, I left it, aad attended scTend different schools for a short 
 nmt. But I soon beeame dissatisfied, haTing many and sever* 
 Mais to endure at home, which my feelings will not aUow me to 
 deamibe : aad as my Oatholio acqnaiatances had often spoken ta 
 m« fai ftfotur of thor faith, I was inoUned to belieTe it true, al* 
 thottgh, as I before said, I knew little of any religion. While ovi 
 of tte annaery, I saw aothing of religion. If JK^had, Z belianra I 
 li 3«IdiM(fsr haTO tho^^fat of beeoaung • noo. 
 
 .1 
 
 a! 
 
 .W. -S 
 
18 
 
 IvM BiaoilosQni of ][id& lloukt 
 
 /^ 
 
 OHAFCBB m. 
 
 B&AODK I I UJ I Maii r . 
 
 SMgantttwi to beflome a Norloe in fhe Blaoik NunnnT— AitnuMe-Ooon- 
 Mttoni of tho Norloet— The apartmenti to whicb thogr h«d aaeow 
 Firak interview with Jane Bay— BoTerenoe for tha BoMrior— ▲ wen* 
 darftil Hun— ^Ber reliqaee— The Holj Good Shqpheid, or NumImi 
 Nnn— Oontadon of Movioee. 
 
 As leoffth I detennioed to become a Black Nun, and called upon 
 one of ue oldest priests in the Seminaxy, to whom I made known 
 myintention. 
 
 The old priest to whom I applied was IVither Socqae. Be is 
 ■tin aliye. He was at that time the oldest priest in the SMninaxw, 
 and carried the Bon Dien, Good God, as the sacramental wafer is 
 called. . When going to administer it in any country place, ha 
 used to ride with a man before him, who nuijg; a bell as a signal. 
 When the Oanadians heard it, ^hose habitations he passed, they 
 woidd come and prostrate themselves to the earth, worshipping 
 it as a God. H6 was a man of g^reat age, and wore large cnrl% 
 so that he somewhat resembled his predecessor, Father Bone. Ho 
 was at that time at the head of the Seminaxy. This Institntioa 
 is a large edifice, situated near the Oongrecntional and Black 
 Nunneries, being on the east side of Notre Dame Street. It is 
 the generu reudezvous and centre of all the priests in fho dis« 
 trict of MontrMil, and I haye been told, supplies all the countiy 
 as for down as the Three Bivers, which place, I befiere, is under 
 the charge of the Seminary of Quebec. About one hundred and 
 fifty priests are connected with that at Montreal, as erery small 
 .place has one priest, and a number of larger ones haTO two. 
 
 Father Bgoque promised to converse with the Superior of fho 
 GouYcnt, and proposed my calling again at the end of two we^i. 
 at which time I visited the Seminary again, and was introducea 
 by him to the Superior of the Black Nunnery. She told me she 
 must make some inquiries, before she could give me a decided 
 aiiswer, and proposed to me to take up my abode a few days at 
 the house of a French family in St. Lawrence suburbs, a dimant 
 part of the city. Here I remained about a fortnight; dniing 
 which time I formed some acquaintance with the famiiy^partU 
 oularly with the mistress of the house, who was a devoted Fiapisl^ 
 and had a high respect for the Superior, with whom she stood on 
 good terms. 
 
 Atlengch. on Saturday moming about ten o'clock, I called, 
 and was admitted into the Black Nugnery as a novice, mncd^ to 
 my satisfaction, for I had a high idea of life in a Convent, se- 
 cluded, as I supposed the inmates to be, from the world^aad'S^ 
 ito evil influences, and assured of everlasting happiness in heai* 
 ven. The Supenor received : 
 room, where the novices, who i 
 
 were assembled, and engaged iu their customary occupation 
 tewing. 
 
 Here were about forty of them, and they were collected In 
 groups in different parts of the room, chiefly near the windows; 
 out in each group was found one of the veiled nuns of tiie oon* 
 Tont, whose abode was in the interior apartmehis^ to which no 
 liovioo was to be admitted. As we entered, the Snperior inform* 
 •d fhe assembly that a new novice had oome^ and sho doatoed 
 •nw one piesMit who might havo known mo in fhowocldlo/rif> 
 nifyitt 
 
 ouox everiastmg happiness in heai* 
 me, and conducted me into a laigo 
 
 are called in French, PostidanfMk 
 
 1 in their customary occupation of 
 
 >; 
 
 :V 
 
WWiWiMPMiPiii 
 
 . jtf'«f1lkMU.1im,iMUi4J>J »ii..UV4^ «,; :.2.« ^vw" 
 
 BiiolioBtiiai of Hbsik MosIm 
 
 13 
 
 , 
 
 . TmoWmWmmmmimBAmUimBawuA. fcom 7anB0Bl» wbo 
 iMd bin aoqr Mlow^mpib in th* Oongftfaftioiwl Nmmaiy, 
 
 I WM fhcn plMed ia one of ths noBM 
 nUhedbyanvn, Mllad MiBW 
 
 B flo^ niiow*ini| 
 
 lyvtoogiilMdBi . , 
 
 •IftdiiMaMfMmithaiii, and fanUhed . 
 CMOda^wlthouitiriAlitomalMnpan^iaoh m pciMto nit to 
 •■ay^fteoonMontodwafaruitWhMiihaj go to adminiilv Ih* 
 aaonaMnt to tiio ildc. IwonnmembormyfMlingtatflwItfnKk 
 riMng nBMmg n numbor of ttnHigon, and «zpeotinc with painiol 
 •nsii^ tho aniTal of tlie dinnevbhovr. Thon, mi know, om- 
 oioniM won to bo porfonned, thoui^ for wbiob I wm but SQ pn> 
 puid. Ml bad not 70I hoard fho ralei by which I was to bo go* 
 Tmod, and know nothing of tho fuma to bo lopoated in tho dittlf 
 •nraiioi, oKoopttho oread in Latin, and that imporfoetly. This 
 waadoiing tho timo of leotoation, aa it if oalloa. Thoonl/n- 
 oraation ttioro aUowed, howoTor, ii that of tho mind, andofthii 
 thoroia bnt littlo. Wo wom kopt at work, and pormitted to ipeak 
 with oaoh othor only in hoaiing of tho old nans who sat by ns. Wo 
 pcoooodod to dinner in oonpUw^ and ato in sUenoo whiloaleMora 
 waaroad. 
 
 The noTioea had aoooM to only eight of tho apartments of tht 
 OonTont ; and whateTor else wo wuhod to know, wo oonld only 
 eonjoetnra. The deeping room was in the seoond story, at the 
 ted of tho western wing. Tho beds were plaoed in rows^ with- 
 out ooHaina or any thing else to obstmot the Tiew ; and in ono 
 earner wasa small room partitioned off, in ifhioh was tho bed of 
 a idght-watoh, that is, the old nnn who was appointed to O T s r ssa 
 nsfortheniffht. In oaoh ndo of tho partition were two holes^ 
 throoghwhion she oonld look ontnpon as whenoyor she pleased. 
 Her bod was a littlo raised aboTO the level of tho others. There 
 waa a lanq;> hong in tho middle of oar dhamber, Kthieh showed 
 ivecything to her Tory dittinotly ; and as she had no light in her 
 littlo roon^ wo never oonld peroeiYO whether she was awake or 
 idoM^ As Wo knew that tho slightest deviatirn from the rolea 
 Wonld ezpoao ns to her obserratfon as well as to that, of onr omm* 
 paBions,inwhomitwasavirtaetobetray ono another's fanlti^ 
 oontinnal ekposore to saflOr what I dUAiked, and had my mind 00- 
 onpiedin thinking of what I was to do. next, and what I mnst 
 avoid. Though I soon learned the rales and oeiemonies we had 
 topasiLwhioh wore many, and wo had to' bo very particular in 
 their observanoe, we wore employed in different kinds of work 
 while I waa a novioe. The most beantifal speoim«B of tho nan's 
 mannfat^nro whioh I saw, was arioh oarpet made of fine wonted, 
 ithioh had been began before my aoqnaintanoo with the Ctonveni^ 
 and was finished while I waa there. TUs was sent as a present 
 to the King of England, as an expression of gratitado for tho 
 money iannally rooeivea from tho government. It was about 
 forty yards in length, and Tory handsome. Wo were ignorar^ of 
 tho amount of isioney thus reoeived. Tho Convent o J! tho Gfoy 
 Nuns aa also reodvad funds from tho sovemmml^ thouf^ on 
 some aotount or other, had not for levoral years. 
 
 I was sitting by a window ai one time with a giri named Jano 
 .IFOt^.whononoof thooUnunaoamo up and apokotousin* 
 tono of liveliness and kindness, whioh seemed strange in a phw^ 
 what* evesy thing appeared ao sold and reserved. SomorttnaslEa 
 iibieh dia made wore evidently intended to ohoor and eaeonraga 
 4i%ndaudaaathink that aha felt aoma interaat in mew lao 
 M^ffaooOoetiHkatBhoaaidtbutlrsmambaritgavo me ^eaaura* 
 
 ■:.ti:'t» 
 
14 
 
 AwM BfiddBOiHi of Ifuit Xioiib 
 
 laltoMmealwrfluithsraaiiiiwi ilnwk n* iiiifvUrij. 8ha 
 wuy»tltar'oldfovaBvn->flMt ia. pcobaUy tUrfy; hm igvM 
 UKt^btrfMtwri^dadySadlMrdfMioaralMt. SoeMMMdalio 
 taMiiiid«rle«TCttniiittliMithooth«n, Mid tUt I ftlltnrMilt 
 ftrand WM th* oaie. She lometimM 0fwi Mt tht rnlMatdaAaaft. 
 Am would ipMlc aload whan lilenoe wm veqnirtd, tad kwmk 
 tiai6k walk «bo«t wh«a the ought to ham kept h«r idaM t iho 
 woqIcI ercn lay and do tbinga on murpoaa to inake ua bagh, and, 
 although often blamed for hir ooadaoi, had her offencea fraattant- 
 Ij pa w ad OTer, whan othera would have bean pvniahed with pan* 
 
 I learnt Uiat thia woman had alwaya liaea dngnlar. She i 
 would oonseotto takeaBainVanamaonreoeiTingtheTeiltandhad 
 alwaja been known by her own, whioh waa Jane Bay. Her if* 
 ragniaritiea were {oandto be nnmexooa, andpenanoea were oi ao 
 little QM in gOTaming bar* tl>«t ahe waa pined by aome, who 
 thought her partially insane. She waa, therefore, oommonlr 
 apokenof aa mad Jane Bay ; and when ihe oommitted a faulty ft 
 waa apologised for by tiie Superior or other nuns, on umi 
 ground that aha did not know what aha did. 
 
 The oooupationa of a novice in the Black Konnery are not aoiA 
 aa aome of our readers may suppoae. They are not employed in 
 atudying the higher brandies of education : they are not <uEeied 
 •ay advantagea for atoring their minds, or polishing their man- 
 ners; they are^hot taught' eren reading, writing, or ariUunatia; 
 mudi less any of the more adTanoed branehea of knowledge. ICy 
 time was chiefly employed, at first, in work and prayers. Itia 
 tmtj, duriug the last year I atudied » great deal, and was reauisad 
 to work bat Tery little ; but it waa the study of prayera in Irenoh 
 and Latin, which I had merely to oommit to memory, to prepare 
 for the eaay repetition of them on my reception, and after lahonld 
 be adodtted aa a nun. 
 
 Among the wonderful events which had happened in the OoQ* 
 van^ that of the audden oomversion of a gay young lady of the 
 city uto & nun appeared to me one of the most remarkahld. Th« 
 atray whidi I firat heard while a novice, made a deep im pr es rioB 
 upon my mind. It waa nearly as follows : 
 
 The dau^ter of % wealthy dtiaen of Montreal waa paasing Ihf 
 diurch of ISoa Seconrs one evening, on bar way to s ball, whaa 
 dia waa suddenly thrown down upou the steps or near tha doob 
 and lecdved a severe shade. She Waa takmi m^ and repnofad 
 flia^ I think, into the ohnreh, but aoon into the- Blade Ifnnnaiy, 
 whie'* she determined to Join aa a nun ; instead, however, of being 
 Nqtiied to pass through a long novitiate, (which usually ooou* 
 plea about two yeara and a hal^ and ia abridged only where thn 
 diaracter ia peculiarly exemplary and devoutO die waa pendtted 
 to take the veil without dday, being dedared by Godtonptiaafe 
 to be in a atate of sanetity. Tha meaningof this wcp t essip n i% 
 thai aha waan real saint, and already in a great meaaura raiaaa 
 above the world and ita influences^ and inoapaUa d sinning} 
 p oassss i ng . the powaar of inteioesdon,and a proper objestto n 
 •d dre ass d in ]pn.j«t. Thia remafkable indimual, I waa farttier 
 ii^cNCBied, waa atill in the Convent, though I nefer waa alk>wid 
 toianhar; die did not mingle with the other nun^ d^arat 
 w«dL woiah^ or maala; for aba had no need of food, nnd not 
 only her aanl, bnt bar body, waa in he a v e n n great part olhaff 
 Whntadded,if poa^Ui^to thamfsiaoei aBdnvatflOoan 
 
 '''■'•'■ fu'rk'Ti 
 
AifM xyaolBBnrai of lUaAi Ibnic 
 
 Iff 
 
 vm with wliieb I fhonght of hu, wm Um iMt I leanitd, that ih* 
 haAaonuM. The titlM natd in raaddng of hM' wofo, tho hoi j 
 Mial wvoNBd mother, ot Mlat Doa peateor, (the hoty gooa 
 
 Ifleirondeifal thetweooald IwTe oairied our levennoefor 
 ' Ike Superior lo fer m we cUd| althoogh it waa thedireettandenof 
 el many imtmetioiia aiid regulationi, inc||ped of the whole ars- 
 lem, to permit, eren to f oater. a raperatitioaa regard for her. Oae 
 ef va waa oeeaiionally oalled into her rooin to eat her aaila, or 
 drew har hidr ; and we wonld often eoUeot the dippino, and aia> 
 tribate them to each other, or pieMrre them with the utmoat 
 eare. I onoe picked up all her itray hairal oould find after oomb- 
 ii^ her head, bound them together and kept them for aome time, 
 •ntU aha told me I waa not worthy to poaaeaa thinga ao aaontd. 
 Jane ITOoy and I were onoe aent to alter a dreaa for the Supe- 
 lior.. I gathered up all the bita of thread, made a little bag, and 
 put them into it for aafe preaerration. Thia I wore a long time 
 loond my neok, ao long, indeed, that I wore out a nambw of 
 lirinffaL whieh i remember I had replaeed with new onea. 1 be- 
 lieved it to poaaeaa the power of removing pain, and haTO often 
 prayed to it to oure the tooth-aohe, &o. Jane Bay aometimea pro- 
 zeaMd to outdo na allin devotion to the Superior, and would pick- 
 up the f eathera after making her bed. These ahe would diatribute 
 among ua, aaying, ** When the Superior diea, relica will begin to 
 grow acaxoe, and yon had better aupply yonraelTea in aeaaon." 
 Then ahe would neat the whole matter in aome way to torn it 
 into ridio^e. Equally oontradictorv would ahe appear, whmi oo« 
 eaaiomally ahe would obtain leave from her Superior to tell h«r 
 dreama. With a aerioua face, which aometimea impoaed upon all 
 of oa, and made na half bdieve ahe waa in a, perfect atate (A aano* 
 titjr, ahe would narrate in Frendi aome unaoeonntable viaion 
 which ahe aaid ahe had enjoyed ; then turning round, would iay, 
 ** There are aome who do not underatand me ; you auooght to be 
 informed." And then ahe would aay aomething totally different 
 in Buflrfiah, which put ua to the greatest agony lot fear of laugh* 
 inc. Bometimea ahe wonld say ahe fxpe^bed to be Superior her- 
 aau ona of thoae day% and other thinga whkdx I have not room to 
 lepeat. 
 
 While I waa in the Oongregational Nunnery, I had gone to the 
 pariah ehvrdh whenever Iwaa to confesiL for although the nuna' 
 had a private oonfeaaumoroom in the building, the boarders were 
 taken in partiea through the atreeta, on different day a, by aome of 
 the nuna^ to confeaa in the church ; but in ^e Blaek Nutmeg, aa 
 we had a diapel. and prieata attending in the oonfeaaional% we 
 never left the building. 
 
 Our oonf esaions there aa novioea were alwaya performed in one 
 Wi^, ao that it may be aufftcient to describe a aingle eaae. Thoae 
 dt tn who werii to oonfeaa at a particular time^ took onr plaoea ou 
 our knees near the confeaaion-lMn, and, after Lairing repeated m 
 aamber of prayer^ &c,iffeacribedni our book, came up one at a 
 time and kneebd beaide a fine wooden lattiee-wcvk, whiA an* 
 tilibr aeparated the aonfeaaor from ua, yet pwmitted na to place 
 out iaeee almoat to hia ear, and neariy oonciealed his countenance 
 utm onr view, even when ao near. I reeoUect how the nricBta 
 vioi to leeliiia their heads on one side, and often aoveiea th«br 
 ftMB with fhsir handkerehiefs, while they heard me conlase my 
 iiai, iadpnt fn es ti o n s to b% which wesaoftanof themocfia^ 
 

 18 
 
 kwMllMmm of Xttia look 
 
 licoMc m4 nvoltbi iuikm% naming erinMi boOi wnHbooAM <|C 
 uuinlranuui. StOVitimnmM lftBajMMn,IwMpinaii3tdto 
 MIST* that aU tUawca tSatodaty^orat laastthatit waidana 
 without ain. 
 
 Tailad nnna wonld oftan appaar in tha dhapa! at aonfaadon; 
 u<rach,asIttndafatood,tha7ganaraUjoonlesMd inpriTata. Of 
 tha plan of thair oonfaMion*xooma I had no InfonnMion ; bnt I 
 anppoaad tha oaiamony to ba oondaoted mneh on tha aama plan 
 asln tha ehapal and in tha ohnreh. via., with a lattioa intacpotad 
 hatwaan tha oonf aaaor and tha oonfeMioff . 
 
 Pnniahmaats waia aomatimat mortad to whila I waa a notloa, 
 wongh bat laldom. Tha first tima I aval law a gag, waa ona 
 day whan a young novioa had dona somathing to olbnd tha 8a« 
 panor. Tliia girl I always had oompasdon for, babaasa aha waa 
 ▼aiy yonng, wd an orphan. Tha Supaiior sant for a gag, and 
 mcprassed haf ragrat at baing oompelled, by tha bad eondnet of 
 tha ohild, to prooaad to sttch a pumshmant ; after whidhahapnt 
 it into her mouth, so far as to keep it open, and then let it la* 
 main for some time before she took it out. There was a laatham 
 atran fastened to eaoh end, and buckled to the baok piurt of tha 
 
 «« 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 I>IirIe«8edwlthth»OonT«nt~Left it-Beddente at St. Deals— Belles— 
 Msrriage-^Betum to the Black Nannery— Objeotioni mads by soma 
 Kovlcw. - 
 
 ArsKSk I had been a no^ee four or five years, that is from tha 
 time I commenced school in the Oonrent, one day I was treated 
 by ona of the nuns in a manner which displeased me, and be* 
 cause I azprassed some resentmeut I was required to beg her 
 pardon. Js^t being satisfied with this, although I complied with 
 the command^ nor with the coldness with which the Superior 
 treated ma, I determined to quit the Oonvent at once, which I 
 did without asking leaye. There would have been no obatada to 
 my departure, I presume, novice as I then was, if I had asked 
 permission ; but I waa too much displeased to wait for tha^ and 
 went home without speaking to any one on the subject. 
 
 I soon after Tisitea the town of St. Denis, where I saw two 
 young ladies with whom I had formerly been acquainted in Mbn" 
 treal, and one of them a former school-mate at Mr. Workman'a 
 School. After some conversation with me, and leuming that X 
 bad known a lady who kept a school in the place, they advised 
 me to apply to her to be employed as her assistant teachar; lor 
 she was wen instruotiag the government school in that place. 
 
 I visited her, and found her willing, and I engaged M onca aa 
 her assistant. 
 
 Tha govemment'sodety paid her £20 a year ; aha waa obHgad 
 to teach tan ohildren gratnitously; might have fifteok pence a 
 month, about a quarter of a dollar, for each tan acholara mora^ 
 and than she waa at liberty, according to tha regnlatimis, to de- 
 mand aa mnoh aa she pleased for the other pupils. Tha oommac^ 
 faistraotiim aa tequired by the aociety, embraeed only-caa^ttag, 
 writing, and what waa called dphering, though I thmk imoKM*' 
 pariy. Tha only hooka nsadwaraan|Miling.r &istraoticmi:da]a 
 Ja«nasaa» tha OathoUa Kew Teatamen^ and T ffistoira 6»Ouum 
 da. Wbenthaaa hadbaan zaadthroogb, in regular soieMmi^ 
 
 
 1i 
 
 1 
 I 
 I 
 
 3 
 I 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 - a 
 
 ti 
 
 9 
 s 
 
 « 
 
 lijjWiftititlirii 
 
ivft} Wwdmitt of XMa ^1^ 17 
 
 ^fjmm irws AiMBiMtd M hatliif oonpkM IhdrtdaqMioiu 
 Ho anoalW Ja loond ia owkinc th« oommon.IVwiok OfcnMiaiit 
 mni witii radi mi tmoimt of in«trootion m Ihit ; on tho oomf* 
 r, ife IS oftm lonnd tut hud indeed to pre?eU np(m,lliem to 
 
 ^, IMMirelilldiennlaiLlorlh^Myittnkee too mnoh of fho 
 tofoof God from them to tend them to eohooL The teeohee 
 iMotlj ooflbpUed with the reqniiitior i of the eodety in whoee em- 
 BMvaent the wm, and the Boman Oatholio oateohiim was legii* 
 UMj lelight in the whool, aa mnnh from choice, ae from ■abnue- 
 ■lon to authority, as the was a itrict Oatholio. Z had brought 
 with me the little bag before mentioned, in which I had ao Imig 
 fceirlttke oUppinn of the thread left after making a drem for tiie 
 gn^Miior. Such was my regard for it, that I oontinaed to wear 
 KOouitantlT round my neck, and to feel the same rcTerencefor 
 up anppoeed Tirtaei as before. I occasionally had the tooth-aohe 
 wring my stay at St. Denis, sad then always relied on the infln- 
 epoe a my little bag. On such occasions l would say—" Br the 
 yirtue of this bag may I be delivered from the . tooth«acbe I and 
 I e u OTOsed that when it ceased it was owing to that caase. 
 
 . While engaged in this manner, I became acquainted with a man 
 who B0<m lioposed marriage ; and, young and ignorant of the 
 wprid as I was. I heard his offers with fsTour. On consulting 
 irith mj friend, she expressed a friendly interest to me, advised 
 meagsinsttakingsnohastop, and especially as I knew so little 
 ab«mt the man, ezMpt that a report was circulated unfaToumble 
 to his character. XTnfortunatoly, I was not wise enouffh to listen 
 to her advioe. and hastily mamed. In a few weeks I had occa« 
 mfm to repent of the step 1 had taken, as the report proved tiue— 
 ft nport'Whioh I thought Justified, and indeed required, our se- 
 palMion. After I had been in^St. Denis about three months, flnd- 
 U|ig myself thus situated, and not knowing what else to do, I de« 
 tennined to return to the Ck>nvent, and pursue my former inten- 
 tion of becoming a Black Nun, could I gain admittahoe. Know- 
 ing the manv inquiries the Superior would make relative to me 
 firing my aosenee, before leaving St. Denis I agreed with the 
 lijlywith whomlhad been associated as a toacher, (when she 
 ifint to Montreal; which she did very frequently) to say to the 
 ^Imj Superior I had been under her protectioa during my ab- 
 IM|9m«, which would satisfy and stop further inquiry ; as I was 
 sflOfllble, should they know I had been married I snould not gain 
 adalttaaee. 
 
 ,1 soon left and retamed to Montreal, and, on reacbLig the dfy, 
 I visited the Seminary, and in another interview with the Supe- 
 liipf of i^ communicated my wish, and desired her to procure my 
 re-admimion as a novice. little delay occurred. 
 
 After leaving lor a short time, she returned and toldmetiiat 
 fhe Superior of the Gonvent had consented, and I was soon intro^ 
 diwed uto her presence. 
 
 She blamed ^e for my conduct in leavingfhe nunnery, but told 
 me^nat I ought to be ever grateful to my guardian angel for 
 tayiig,ea>e of me, unless pr^bited by the Sunerior ; and this she 
 pCMpedme.^ The money usually required for the admisdkm of 
 ^Nr«i|ahad-not been expeetod from me. I had been admitted 
 ^ WK time without any such requi8itioa;but nowlchose to 
 |iiK%f myre-admissionk I knew that ehe was able to dispense 
 .wmkjtfm^im^aA as ^ell in this as in the former ease^ aira shf 
 WMnot ittposeassioDof any thing like the sum xn^ 
 
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tirtii>*^^rwia»- ■'■**■ - iWtt 
 
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 Bml Z #il ImbI M ptshui to Ibt HVnntM 
 sitahv tiM iotfiUM fmm f$pmlMi to im fe 
 wkta tho odTontOfo of ttio dnurdi wm oonMlM. tho ilv 
 ir«NjiiHilAbto,l«tlionilMirluitthoyiroold; twniufmmmm^ 
 •d to obtain noooy on fdbo pratenoM, eonfldont thai tf dD UMl 
 knoim, I ihonld m fu from displOMing tho Baporior. Z wmfkm' 
 tho brigado-mojor, ood Mkod han to iTto molhomoiMynffaili 
 to mj mothor nom hor pondon, whiob amomitod to abwn lkirl|^ 
 doUwt. and without quottoning ny amthoiHj to loooiTO it in bar 
 aano, ho gare it mo. 
 
 iVom MToval of tfadr fHands I obtaisod amaU BiuBa«nd«fh» 
 namo of loau^ ao that altogothor I had aoon raiaod « nnmbav ol 
 pottada,with irhioh I haatenod to tho Nmwoiy, and diporftad ft 
 part in tho handa of the Snparior. Bhh reooirod Ibo mraty wUh 
 ovident aatiafaotion, though ho moa( havo known that I «olda 
 ndthoTo o/btainod it honoatiy ; and Lwaa at onoo to admittofl io 
 lanoTioo. 
 
 Mooh to my gratiflOation, not a word fel\ from tho Upool ifltf 
 of my old asocxuitoa in relation to my nnoeremoniont dopirta% 
 nor my Tolnntaxy return. The Efnperior'a ordera, I had not a 
 doubt, had been ezplidtly laid down, and they oertainly wore 
 oarefull:^ obeyed, for I never heard an uluaion niado to that tfohm 
 Jeot dnring iqy ■ubseqaent itay in the OonTont. eaceeptthal^ whan 
 alone, the Snpelrior would lometimei say a litue about it. 
 
 niere were nnmbera of young ladiea who entered airtdla M 
 notioea, and beoama weary or diagaited with lomo thinga they 
 obierved, and remained but a abort time. One of my oowini^ . 
 Who lived at Laohine, named Beed, tpent about afortnmhtinHw 
 OOnvent with me. She however, oonoeived «noh an annpalhy to 
 theptieati, that she used expreuioniwhioh offended the Snpeifiar. 
 
 The first day that she attended mass, while at dinner with m 
 in full oommnnity, she said before us all, ** What n ntsoal thi;:; 
 priest was, to preaoh against his best friend 1" 
 
 A31 stared at snob an unusual ezelamatiMi, lamd 'aottio oofa «>• 
 quired what she meant* 
 
 **I aay," she oontinued, '* he has been proMhing afl;ain8t Mtti 
 Who has given him his bread. Do you suppose thu if there iNWi 
 no devil, there would be any fhriesta F" 
 
 Tliia bold youn^ novice was immediately dismissed, and in Una 
 afternoon we had a long aermon from ttioBuperlor on thoauMeoft. 
 
 It happened that I one day got a leaf of an English BiUo waMk 
 lud been brought into the (Convent, wrapped around aomo ao«Hn|f 
 •ilk, purebased at a store in the oity. For some twMoh or other, 
 I determined to oommit to memory a obaptOr it oontained, whi<di 
 I aoon did. It is the only chapter I ever learnt in tho Bituo, «nA 
 t can now repeat it. It is the second of St. 'MatthbW*a idapOL 
 ** Now when Jesus was bom at BethlebOm in Judoa,'* fte. ft lillpi* 
 
 Cod that I was observed reading the paper, and When> tbO iaaiv 
 » of it waa discovered. I waa ooodemned to ^ ponanoo ftr aj^ 
 oilenoo. 
 
 Great dislike to tho Bible WaO ihown by those wlio oeny staa i 
 Willi mo about it, and 'aevoral have ruBiarked'at miamt dllMttMl 
 timoa, that if it were not fO^ Hiit boctk, CathoUOs ifMtfEr aiHife^ 
 led to renounoo their own faith. 
 
 Ihnvoboardpasaagearoadfrom ^0 Bvane^^ ridlatfhtisttM 
 death of Ohxiat; thononvoJMion of Fhnl ; m^w ottaptavs milili 
 UattTtew. and perhapa a fair otinra. Tho pileMs wonld aAloi 
 tiniea take a verse or two, and preaoh firom it. IhavOi 
 
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 kw§A WiH i iBBirW f of Jbdi KdbL 
 
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 Mi 
 
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 Om 
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 riD 
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 ming 
 
 
 
 
 ««|tf'»liii^taltMr««tttbookMlMlkt«LlfMil 
 diM«»iMiMiiM Ite kmof iMftVM nd MI, aiM 
 fdow«hiMk. Atior«aiBl FMri,ZiMMBlMr,Ml 
 
 io MteillMdtt, ttUKlkt WMMMta 
 
 CWJkfKo^ tmlU WbMMM ooBTistod, Md •qoImmA to OM of tte A- 
 ^ ihtrm\pi$ont 1 don't know whioh. For who ma ospool to bo 
 lQi|if on, who doM not booomo n OothoUe^ and oonf on P 
 
 OHAFTBBY. 
 
 JUotiwtA OonflnMttan— Pttiafbl 7MUiig*— SptdaMMi of lutmolloni n- 
 
 octTadoBklMSabjMt. 
 
 Itai dagr on whioh I nooiTod Oonfinnation wm n diitieMinf one 
 tojMo. I boUoTod tho dootrino of the Bomnn OathoUes, ana ae- 
 oocdini to them I was guilty of three mortal lini; coneealiag 
 aemetung at oonf embn, Munlofte, in patting the bodjr of Ohiiit 
 In theaaerament atmy feet, and oy reoeiTinfrr while -^ot ina itate 
 offraeeland nowlnad been led into all those una in emiio- 
 qoenoeofiaymaKriage. whichlueYer had aoknowledge^ as it 
 woald have oat me dl from being admitted aa a nao. 
 
 On the daji therefore, when i went to the ohoroh^ be ooB> 
 firmed with a nnmber of others, I suffered extremely from tho lo* 
 nroaehes of my oonsoienoe. I knew, at least I belieTed, as I had 
 oeea told, thai a person who had been anointed with the holy oil 
 of oonflrmation on the forehead, and dying in the stato in whioh 
 I- waa^ woidd go down to hell, and, in the mace where the oil had 
 been fabbed, ttie names of my sios wonla blase out of my fore- 
 head ; these would be a sign by whioh the devils woiUd know msu 
 and wonld torment me the worse for them. I was thinking of all 
 fhli, while I was sitting la the pew, waiting to receive the oil. Z 
 fstt howivw some oonsolation, as I often did afterwards, when 
 asf liiiB oame to my miud : and this oonsolation I derlTod from 
 auotiMT doetiine of the ohureh, via., that a bishop oouldabsolto 
 ma fMoi all these s^ any minute before my death ;and I intend* 
 ad to oonfiass them all to a bishop before leaving the world. At 
 lou[th the moment for administering of the '* saoramentf' wriTed. 
 aoCa bell was rung. Those who had come to be oonfirmed had 
 bronght tioketo from their confessors, and those were thrown in* 
 vto a Sat, and oasried around by a priest, who in turn handed eaoh 
 to a bishoik by whioh he leanrod the name of eadi of na, and ap- 
 itfiad a UktM of the oil to the foreheads. This was immediately 
 tabbed off by a priest with a bit of cloth ^uite roughly. 
 
 I went home with some qualms of oonsoienee, and often thought 
 with dread of the following tale, which I have heard told, to illua- 
 txato the sinfulness of oonduct like mine. 
 
 ▲ priest waa enoe traTolling, when just as he was passing by a 
 hoaii% hii hoise fell on his knees, and wOuId not rise. His rider 
 dJamoontad and went in, to loam the oause of so extraordinaij 
 •aoeooiianoa. He ioond >ttere a woman near death, to whom • 
 i f ri aa t w aa tsyimr to administer the saorameut, but withont sao- 
 eeati^ avsvy lima she attempted to swallow it, it waa thrown 
 Viit«al4f harmonfh into the ohalioe. He peroeivad it waa 
 •wittil to on coaissc e d sin, and took away the holy wafer iron 
 *^~7,« ffi ^liiek Ua hone mee from his knaes^ and aa pnrsoad Ua 
 
 ■also thtftlhadbaen told, Ibatwa ahatt 
 OS, if wa go to haU,aa wahava i 
 
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 n - UrM BlMteoni of liffli Indt 
 
 I vai itqviNi lo dtvolt MfMlf lor abovl » ywr «6 Ito tMr «f 
 
 tte pnfWt AM ptMMM of tM MnaODiM BMMMiy oolb«i«* 
 Mpoon of ft Bon. This X found a Ttiy todiow d«ty;b«lM| 
 
 WM itlMUNd in A gTMt dMiM fiom tlio dftUf kbooit vMtlijr 
 BiMdfd of norioM, I hit uttlo diipoiitloii to oompkin. 
 
 'H 
 
 OHAFTEBTI. 
 
 Ttldng th* Ttil— Inttr?l«w aftennirdi with the Soptrior— 8aiprf« aoi 
 honor •! tha dlidorarM— Btaolttttonto lubniil. 
 
 I ifif introdaoed into tho Superior'i room on tho fTwingpttet d 
 ing tho day on whioh I wm to tako tho toil, to h»TO an UMCViifr 
 with tho blahopi, Thar Saperlor was proaont, and tho intonltw 
 lasted about half an hour. The bishop on this as on othor d«ei>> 
 sions appearsd to bo habitnally rough in hii manners. Hia ad> 
 drass was br no means prepotaeasing. 
 
 Before I took the Teil, I was ornamented for theoeremony, and 
 was olothed in a dreaa belonging to the ConTeo^ whioh was used 
 on auoh oocasions; and placed not far from the altar in tho dui* 
 
 Eel, in tho Tiew of a number of spectators, who had assemUod, 
 1 number, perhaps about forty. Taking tho Toil is aa alMr 
 whioh oocurs so frequently in Montreal, Uiat it has lon|^ oeiMid 
 to be regard^^ <^ <^ noTelty ; and, although notice had been glTeii 
 in the l^enoh pariah ohuroh as usual, only a small audioooa ai- 
 sembled aa I have mentioned. 
 
 Being well prepared with a long training,'~and frequent rs* 
 hearaala, for wnat I waa to perform, I atood waiting hi my large 
 flowing dreaa for the appearance of the biabop. He soon preseu- 
 ed himself, entering by a door behind the altar $ I then threw inj^* 
 self at his feet, and asked him to oonfuz ii i^on me the rail. Ba 
 expressed hia oonaent ; and then turnint' to the Superior, I threw 
 myaelf proatrate at her feet, according to m j instrttotion^ repeat* 
 ing what I have before done at rebearaala, and nuAk a mora* 
 ment as if to kiss her feet. This ahe prevented, or appealed to 
 prevent, oatdhing nie by a sudden motion of ner hand, and grant* 
 admyrequeat. i then kneeled before the Holy SaoramenL thai 
 is a large round wafer held by the Biahop between hia f ora-fingar 
 and thumb. *nd made my vowa. 
 
 This vr ' il had been taught to re|;ard with the utmost Tana* 
 tation aa I>ne real body of Jeaus Obnat, the preaenoe pf wUeh 
 made the Towe that were uttered before it binding iuthe meat 
 solemn manner. 
 
 After taking the TOWS, I proceeded to a small apartment In^ 
 hind the altar, accompanied by four nuub, where there waaa?^- 
 fin prepared with my nun'a name enftrayed upon it : 
 
 "SiJNT ExnsiAOB." 
 
 My oompanioca lifted it by four handlea attached to it(Whila I 
 threw off my dreaa. and put on that of a nun of ScsutBoutga- 
 oiM ; and vhen ' we .til returned to the ohapel. I proceeded flisiL 
 and was foUovcd kjr four nuns, the Bishop naming a unmbMr in 
 worldly plaasui^jk ^'>> rapid succession, in reply to whidi I uift* 
 pidly r^eat?<!, '^*iT)»vv'inoe, jorenouhee, je renonnoe^"— Xia* 
 jDOunoe^ I renounce, t.'oacanoe. '^ 
 
 . TibaooAn wva ikim plaoed in u*out of tha altar^ aadX aidiMUfO* 
 ad to plaoe my«alf ti i^ This ooffin was to ba deposltadraflar 
 tha oeremony, in an ont-houae, tp be preserved until a ii jglaath , 
 whaait was to xao^va my corpse. There were rafleetioglifliydi 
 
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 4iU IMmm of iiilt Ifaaki 81 
 
 I aflter-n, aMrft at llMl MM, tel I ilMiMd in. AliiUM 
 mSU, m ApillowhlirbMaplM7«ttt^oadottte6i^ 
 ^Mmpoflaif kMd in A eomfortobltpojillMi. A iimithkk 
 MMk alott WM iiMB ipiMd <nr«f bm, ud #•• •haiiifaig ci Litfn 
 kyna* li— ediatoly eoamtnotd. My thougihtd wtM nol tti« 
 IMlipllMliif doiliiff tlM tlm« I Ut ia thai litoatioii. TImpaII, 
 PK Dny MomI, M Im oloth is oallad, hsdaitronff tmillof f»- 
 «MMk wUoh WM always diiagwsbla to ma. and tnmi piovad al- 
 modt Mfloeatiag. I rsooUtotad the storr of tha noTiee. who, In 
 taUag tha ▼til, lay down In har ooftn Uka ma, and wa. M>Tarad 
 io thi Mma manaar, but on tha iamo?al of tha ooTiring wa« f oaaA 
 
 Tr>«r. ' w >« nnooTarad, I roia, itappad out of my aoffln, and 
 Vr.ti^ .: >. ' )• .ar oaramoniM than loUowad, of no partiottlar iota* 
 < itt di'-M wj\ioh tha mado oommenoed, and hara tha whola wm 
 f iU' ' • I . I then pcoceadad from tha chapel, and latarned to the 
 Supani it's room, foUowad by the other nnni, who walked two by 
 two, in their ooitomary manner, with their hands folded on thdv 
 iMMstib and their eyes out down npon the floor. The nun who 
 WM tj bamy companion i&fature, then walked at tha end of tha 
 
 J)rooossion. On reaching tha Supwior'a door they all left me, an4 
 '. antdred alone, and f onud her with the Bishop and two Priests. 
 Tbfl Superior now informed me that having taken the bUok 
 Tsil,itoniy remained that I should swear the three oaths cus- 
 toniary on beooming a nun ; and that soma explanatioa would be 
 naoessary from her. I wm now, she told me. to haTe access to 
 atery part of tha edifice, even to the cellar, wnere two of the slif- 
 tars wara imprisoned for causes which she did not mention. I 
 must be informed that one of my great duties wm to obey tha 
 priests in all things ; and this I soon learnt, to my utter astonish- 
 BMnt and horror, wh to Uto in the practice of criminal intw« 
 oonrM with them. I ezpreised some of the feelings which this 
 amoQnosment excited in me, which came upon me luce a flash of 
 lightning i but the only effect wm to set her arguing with mik in 
 ftivour M the crime, representing it m a yirtiie acceptable to Gfiod. 
 and honourable to me. The priests, she said, were not sitoatea 
 like other men, being forbidden to marry ; while th^ liTcd sa* 
 dttd^d, laborious, and self-denying Utm for our salyanon. They 
 all^t, indeed, be considered our saviouriL m without their ser- 
 ?iM we could not obtain pardon of sin, and a<wt go to hell. Mow 
 > ItwMonr solemn duty, on withdrawing fi«pr^ilM»; world, to con* 
 seorata our Utcs to rangion, to prMtice eIreiioi'Miss of self-ds- 
 aiaU We could not be too humble, nor moroly our fMlinga too 
 ^ t chis WM to be done by opposing them, and acting contrary 
 to them; and what she proposed was, therefore, pleasing in the 
 right of Giod. I now felt how foolish I had been to place myself, 
 in tha power of such persons m were around me. 
 
 Item what she saacL I could draw no other ocmdusbM but that 
 vZ WM required to aat Uke the most abandoned of bainga, and thai 
 aUiay future aassaiaNMas were habitually guilty dC tha most 
 habMnu and ds t Mt abI a wtmea. When I repeated my ezpresaiona 
 of 8uptiaa4Uidhcsfar.ihatold mathatsuoh feelings were irery 
 OMUBoa at ftisl^ and ttiat many other nuna had Mpi ssse d thwn- 
 aslffiMl did, w^ had long slaM changed their minds. She 
 •aid, that aa hat mimm into tha nunnery, she had fdt 
 
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 n 
 
 sha deohuad, were 
 
 <Mu greatest aaamias. TIm|^ 
 
,ui i>iriflyillMiilni»ii>«lii<mjwii)fci»^iirt .cw^ 
 
 mmm 
 
 22 
 
 AwM BIsabBims of luia HbnL 
 
 ■i 
 
 woidd kad m to q«Mtlott vwry ^nl of dnt j, and indiioe m to 
 WftTaraivteiyttep. They uom only fcom ramaininf imp«rCie- 
 tkmif and were always oTidaneea <rf nn. Our only wa^ waato 
 dimJbM them immediMtalT, repent and oonfeM them. Fneeta, ahe 
 jhraiited, ooold not tfo. It was a thing impoinUe. Bvetythinfr 
 tiiat they did, and wished, was of oonrse right. She hoped | 
 would see the reasonableness and duty of the oaths I was ihea to 
 take, and be faithful to them. 
 
 She gare me another piece of information, which esdted other 
 feelings in me, scarcely less dreadful. Infants were sometioms 
 bom m the GonTcnt, but they were always baptised, and imme- 
 diately strangled. This secured their everlasting happiness ; for 
 the baptism purifies them from all sinfulness, and being sent out 
 of the world before they had time to do anything wrong, ther 
 were at once admitted into heayen. How happy, she exclaimed, 
 are those wno secure immortal happineseto suoa little beings ! 
 Thdr souls would thank those who kill their bodies, if they had 
 it in their power. 
 
 Into what a place, and among what society, had I been admit- 
 ted. How different did a convent now appear from what I tap* 
 posed it to be. The holv women I had always fancied the nuns 
 to be, the venerable Lady Superior, what are thejrP And the 
 priests of the Seminanr adjoining, (some of whom, indeed, I bad 
 reason to thilik were base and profligate men,) what were they 
 all P I now learned that they were often admitted into the nun« 
 nery, and allowed to indnlge in the greatest crimes, which they 
 and others call virtues. 
 
 And having listened for some time to the Superior alon^ a 
 number of the nuns were admitted, and took a free part in the 
 conversation. They concurred in everything which she told me, 
 and repeated, without any signs of shame or compunction, thinm 
 which criminated themselves. I must acknowledge the trvth; 
 and dedare that all this had an effect upon my mind. I quaa* 
 tioned whether I might not be in the wrong, and felt as if their 
 reasoning might have some just foundation. I had been severa! 
 
 Sears under the tuition of Oatholics, and was ignorant of the 
 oriptures, and nni^ccustomod to the society, example, and oob» 
 versation of Erotob ants; had not heard any appeal to the Bibk 
 as auihority, but had been taught, both bv precept and example, 
 to receive as truth everything said by the priests. I had not 
 heard their authority questioned, nor anything said of any other 
 standard of faith but their declarations. I had long been fluid* 
 liar with the corrupt and licentious expressions wmch soma of 
 them use at confessions, and believed that other women were also. 
 I had no stondard of duty to refer to, and no judgment of my own 
 whieh I knew how to use, or thought of using. 
 
 All around me insisted iliat my doubts proved only my own ig- 
 Boranoe and sinfulness ; that they knew by experienee that they 
 would soon give place to true knowledge, and an advanoa in n* 
 ligion ; and I felt something like indecision. 
 
 Still there was so much that disgustsdme in the disoovny I 
 had now made, of the debased characters around me, that I would 
 most gladly have escaped from the nunnery, and never retmmad. 
 But toat was a thing not to be thought of. I was in their pofwer, 
 and this I deeply felt, while I thought there was not one Mnong 
 the whole number of nuns to whom I could look for UndBass. 
 There was oae, however, who be^au to speak to me i^ length ia 
 
 ■■ -i 
 
IwM BMlDBines «f Karia IobL 
 
 £8 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 a toiM fhat gftiiitd mmtXblb^f 9t my oontdeoM,— lli« tan lAxm 
 1 nttf mrattcMMKl bdEoie u diitia g aiilKct by her odditjr, Jan* 
 Bay, who nuAe ui w nraoh UMuemmt whes I wass qovim. A1> 
 tiMMigh, M JL hare ramarkad, tiiwa was Boihing'iii bar faea. lotia. 
 Of aiaiinara» to gire me any pleasoze, ahe addxenad ma with ^p- 
 pannt iriandliness ; and wmle ahe seemed to ooneav with soma 
 thioffaq^kaa by tbem, took an opportunity to whiaper afmr 
 woxdi in my ear, unheard by them, intimatinff that I had beltat 
 comply wi» every thing the Superior dedred, If I would WTa mv 
 life. I waa aomewhat alarmed before, but I now became mioh 
 mora ao, and determined to make no further zesiatance. The Su- 
 perior then made me repeat the three oaths; and, when I had 
 sworn them, I was shown into one of the community'rooms, and 
 remained some time with the nuns, who were released from their* 
 usual employments, and enjoying a recreation day, on account of 
 the admission of a new sister. My feelings during the remainder 
 of the day I shall not attempt to describe, but pass on to mention 
 the ceremonies that took place at dinner. This description may 
 give an idea of the manner in which wa always took our meals, 
 although there were some points in which the breakfast and sup- . 
 per were different 
 
 At eleven o'clock the bell rang for dinner, and tiie nuns all took 
 their places in a double row, in the same order as that in which 
 thev left the chapel in the morning, except that my companion 
 ana myself were stationed at the head of the line. Standing thna 
 for a momtot, with our hands placed one on the other over the 
 breast, and hidden in our large cuffs, with our heads bent for- 
 ward, and eyes fixed on the ftoor, an old nun, who atood at the 
 door, dapped her hands as a signal for us to proceed ; and the pro- 
 eessioa moved on,while we all commenced therepetition of litanies. 
 We walked on in this order, repeating all the way until we reach- 
 ed the door of the dining-room, where we were divided into two 
 lines ; those on the right passing down the side of the long table, 
 and those on the left the other, tiU all were in ; and each stopj^ed 
 in her place. The plates were all arranged, each with a knife, 
 fork, and spoon, rolled up in a napkin, and tied round with & 
 linen band marked with the owner mame. My own plate, knife, 
 ftc, were prepared like the rest : and on the band around them I 
 fonnd my new name written—" Saint Eustace." 
 
 There we stood till all had concluded the litany, when the old 
 null, who had taken her place at the head of the table next the 
 door, said the prayer before meat, beginning, ** Benedicite," and 
 we sat down. I do not remember of what our dinnef consisted, 
 but we usually had soup, and some plain dish of meat ; the re- 
 mains of which were occasionally served up at supper aa a frioa- 
 see. One of the nuns, who had been appointed to read that day, 
 rose, and begun a lecture from a book put into her hands by the 
 Superior, while the rest of us ate in perfect silence. The nun 
 who reads uoring dinner, stays niterwards to dine. As fast as 
 we finished our meals, each rolled up her knife, fork, and spoon, 
 in her napkin, and bound them together with the band, and sat 
 with hands folded. The old nun then said a short prayer, arose, 
 steppod a little aride, clapped her haoda, and we marohed towards 
 the door, bowing as we passed, before a little ehapal, or glaaa box, 
 oantaining a wax image of thaJnf ant Jesus. 
 
 -Nothing important occurred till lata in the aftomoon. when, as 
 I was sitting m the community-room, Father Dufresne called me 
 
24 )M^TikmmiaW^ 
 
 «tt|,«ftylttg:ii«widMatoi|M«iewl^iB«» XfMWtdirliiitwifttm 
 uAMitiaa ; biit I muwd not aiiolMy. In « fri#att'»p«ii»tli^ Iw 
 trailed m« in ft bruial mftdiMr ; audi horn tiwojmkt nrlwt^ I 
 fifUnrwardtnioelT«d dmiUur in«g« that vreniiig. VmMt "DH^ 
 fraine afterwiurdi ftppMured igftin ; and I was oompelled to innala 
 in oompany with |i{m nntil mottiiog. 
 
 ^ I am aMnred tl^at the oonduot of prieatsin onr OonTioli bad 
 nerer been expoied. and it is not imi^ed by the people of thf 
 United States. This indaees me to say what I do, notwithstand* : 
 ing the strong reasons I have to let it remain unknown. "Stitt X 
 oannOt force myself to speak on snob subjeets esoept in the most 
 brief manner. 
 
 OHAPTEBVU. 
 Dally oeremenies— Jane Bay among the nnns. 
 
 ONThursdar morning, the bell rang at half-past sfiE to waken 
 OS. The Old nun who was acting as night- watoh immediately 
 spoke aloud ; 
 
 ** Voioi le Seignenr qui yient." (Behold the Lord oometh;) The. 
 , nuns all responded : 
 
 "Aliens— ydevantlni." (Let us go and meet himO 
 
 We then rose immediately, and dressed as ezpeditioudy M 
 possibly, stepping into the passage-Vay, at the foot of our bed, as 
 soon as we were ready, and taking place each beside her omKMite 
 companion. Thus we were soon drawn np in a double row tike 
 Whole length of the room, with our hands folded across our 
 breasts, and concealed in the broad cuffs of onrsleeyes. Not n 
 word was uttered. When the signal was given, we all proceeded 
 to tiie community-room, which is spacious, and took our places in 
 rows facing the entrance, near which the Superior Was seated in 
 avergiere. 
 
 We first repeated " An nom du Pdre, dn Fils, c^ du Saint ShM 
 prit— Aninsi soit il." (In the name of the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Qhost,— Amen.) 
 
 We then kneeled and kissed the floor ; then, still on our knees^ 
 we BKid a Terr long pn^er, beginning^; " Divin Jesus, sanyeiup 
 demon ame," CDivine Jesus, Saviour of my soul.) Then oaaM 
 the Lord's prayers, three Hail' Marys, four creeds, and Ave eon* 
 feasions, (confesse & Dieu.) 
 
 Next we repeated the ten commandments. Then we repeats 
 the acts of faith, and« prayer to the Virgin, in Latin, which likfl 
 ererything else in Latin, I never understood a word of. N«Et we 
 said litanies of the Holy Name of Jesus, in Latin, which ware • 
 afterwards to be repeated several times in the course of the day* 
 Then came the prayer for the beginning of the day; then bend- 
 ing down, we commenced the Onson Mental, (or Mental Orison.) 
 ^hioh lasted about an hour and a half. 
 
 This exercise was considered peculiarly solemn. We were told 
 in tiie nunnery that a certain saint was saved by the use of it, as 
 she never omitted it. It consists of several pans: First, tibeSa- 
 perior read to^ns a diapter from a book, which eoenpied five mi* 
 untes. Then*piK>found silmoe prevailed for fifteen minutM^ dtic* 
 Jng which we were meditating upon it. Then she read anOtlMflr 
 chapter of equal length on a mffer^t snbjeet, and we meffitated 
 upon tbi^ another quarter of an hour ; and after • third leadfini 
 Mid meditation, we finished the ezereise wUh n prayer, w^ttmlf^ 
 
 
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 Wmid dQring ttio Oriion. 
 
 , Dning thii hour «nd a hi^ I baoftma' ^ery weaiy, having W* 
 . foyi'lMiii knaAiag for Mnne time, and having then to dt in iao* 
 ,fhef i|oaition mofe nnoomfortable, with my feet nnder me,and 
 ■ty nmdi elaeped, and my body went bumbly forward, with my 
 Mad bowed down. 
 ' When the Orison wai orer, we all rose to the npright kneeling 
 poetare, and repeated several pravers/and the litanies of the 
 providences, 'Vprovidenoe de Diea,'^&o., then followed a number 
 of Lattn prayers, which we repeated on the way to mass, for in 
 the nunnery we had mass daily. 
 
 When mass was over, we proceeded in- our usual order to the 
 eattng-room to breakfast, practiiiDg the samefonns which I have 
 desenbed at dinner. Having made our meal in silence, we re- 
 peated the litanies of the ** holy name of Jesus," as we prooeed* 
 ed to the conAnunity'rbom ; and such as had not finished them on 
 their arrival, tiirew themselves upon their knees, and remained 
 theire until they had gone through with them, and then kissing 
 the floor, rose again. 
 
 Athine o'clock oommenced the lectore, which was read by » 
 nun appointed to perform that duty that day : . all the rest of us 
 in the room being engaged in work. 
 
 The nuns were at this time distributed in different community 
 rooiiis, at different kinds of work, and each was listening to a 
 leotnre. This exercise continued until ten o'clock, when the re- 
 oreation-bi^ rang. We still continued our work, but the nune 
 bttnn to converse with each other, on subjects perlbitted by the 
 riues, in the hearing, of the old nuns, one of whom was seated in 
 eadk of the^iroups; 
 
 At half-past ten the silence bell rang, and this conversation in- 
 stantly ceased, and tbe recitation of some Latin prayers oom- 
 menced, which continued half an hour. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the dinner-bell ran?, and we went through 
 the 2orms and ceremonies of the preceding day. We proceeded 
 two hy two. The old nun who had the command of us, dapped 
 her huids as the first couple reached the door, when we stopped. 
 The first two dipped their fingers into the font, touched uie holy 
 water to the breast, f orehead^and each nde^hus forming a woss. 
 said, "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Qhost, Amen,** 
 aikd then walked on to the dining-room repeating the litanies. 
 The rest followed their example. On reaching the door the oon- 
 
 J ties divided, and the two rows of nuns marched up, stopped, and 
 aOed the table against their plates. There we stood, repeating 
 the dose of the litany aloud. The old nun pronounced 
 
 "BXNBKOKB," 
 
 ind we sat down. One of our number began to read a lecture^ 
 whkh continued during the whole meal ; she stays to eat after 
 Iha fsst haye retired. When we had dined, each of us folded up 
 ovdraapkin, and again folded her hands. The old nun thenre- 
 jMitM a diort prayer in French, and stepping aside from tho 
 .headof the table, Un us pass out as we came in. Bach of usbow- 
 •d in pasdng the little chapel near the door, which is a gjass- 
 oaa^ eentaimng a waxen figure of the infant Jesus. When we 
 .MiNiad the oommnnity-room we took our plaoee in lows, and 
 lnMiili.vpo& tbe floor, while a nun read aloud, **I>oale«re de 
 aitfm fiainte Marie," (the sorrows of our holy Mary.) At the end 
 
 
 
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 '*,: 
 
 jtjiiia th« Utuy of tlM pNrridmioM Slid tlM 
 
 Ttiii w» Wmfl tta floor, and, ttfaft tooh oarwetfli, wttlRloMiii^ 
 to oottvwMOB Mvnitted Mibjooto-pthis i« what fa ooUod w wU T i 
 M9»->liUoiioo'o|iooh. Wolh«iibogontoz«pi!atliteiifa%oMot« 
 time in foooeMion, itiU engogod in sewing, for an hour. 
 
 At two o'eleeii eommooeed the afternoon leotiMtee, wMoli liHed 
 till aoar three. At that hoar one of. the nnno mod «p in tiki 
 middle of the room, atid aaked eaeh of nia qaeationovt. el the 
 eateehim ; and eooh as were nnable to answer oocrsetly w!«ra Ob* 
 liged to kneel, until that ezerciso was ooQelnded, vnmi aa maa(|p 
 drf peaa aa there were- verses in the chapter oni of whieh thef 
 were questioned. This seems like a penanoe of no great impovU 
 anoe ; out I hare sometimes kneeled on peas nntil I soffered gr e at 
 iaeontenieaoe, and even pain. It soon makee one feel as if nee* 
 dlee were running through the tkin ; whoever thinks it n title 
 had better tiT it ^ 
 
 At four o'iuook recreation commenced, when we were aUawif^ 
 as usual, to speak to each other while at work. 
 , At hau-paat four we began to repeat prayers in Latln^%»1lAe 
 we worked, and ooncladed about fire e'c|ook, when we ooal« 
 menoed repeating the " prayers for the ezaminakian <^ oesndk 
 en9e.''the ** Mayer after eonfesdon,** the ** prayer b^inosittik 
 menv' *nd ^e *' prayer after sacrament.'* Thua we oontfaraid 
 our work mitil dark, when we laid it aside, and began to goresfir 
 the sam« ]»ay«n which we had repeated in thamomini^ wttiilSi* 
 
 eipoeption of the orison mental ; instead of that Ions enerciae^ i||e 
 eanwnined oar oonsdences, to determine whether, we nad perform^ 
 ed the resolution we had made in the morning, and fuen aa hmi 
 kept it repeated an " aote do joie," or expression ol gratitadi; 
 
 wmle iuch aa had not, said an " aete do contritiao*'' 
 
 When the prayers were ooncladed, any nun who had bee»die« 
 obedient in the day, knelt and aeked paraon of the Supeiiorand 
 her oompanions ** for the scandal she had eaosed them," and thaa' 
 teqneeted the Superior to giTe her a penanoe of perf onn* "VHieii 
 all the penances had been imposed, we all proceeded to thaeat- , 
 Sng«room to supper, repeating litaniee on the way. 
 
 At sapper, the ceremonies wer e t he same aa at diniier, efsospt 
 that tbwe was no lecture read. We ate in nlence, and went oal 
 bowing to the dhapelle, and r^)eating litanies. Betuming totha 
 oommunity*room, which we had left, #e had more prajrws to re«i 
 peat, whion are caU6d La eouronne, (crewn,) which eoaiiists ol tibc 
 following parta: 
 
 let. Four Paters. 
 2Qd. Four Ato Marias. 
 Srd. Four Gloria Patiia. 
 4th. Beoissez, Santeys. 
 At the dose of these we kissed the floor; after which .^ had te- 
 oreation tiU half-past eight o'clock, being allowed to converse on 
 peimitted subjects, but elosely watched, and notiallowed to sttia 
 uiaownerSt. a 
 
 At half-past eight a bell was rung, and a chapter waa lead to 
 ns^ in a book of meditations^ to employ our minds upon duiiDi 
 out wakiag hours at night. 
 
 Staadiag near the door, we dipped eurflngere in fhebdbrwa* 
 ter, erossed and blessed ourselvea, and proceeded up to ttm:ai/lfl0* 
 
 
 
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 4^Mii/iHido0inl (■'-■Ibdi ilNtti.. 
 
 «AMMit 
 
 » 
 
 191^ w»hai golteto 
 
 m4 tihM •» old mni» bniigiDf toaw holjr water, ^lialdad II ca 
 ««r liida to4iiv« mtat tli« dtfiL wliil* wvlook lomftMid !»)■■■ < 
 
 jM nibM^dodc ih« b«U nuur* mbA all who ww wrato Mgmt 
 «d a fMrayti^ oallaA tlM dEcanoo; fhoM wlio w«n a ri oa pw a wooB* 
 aidMradtaosoaiad. ' 
 
 Alfewmj adniMrioa aiaong fhanvna^Ihadmonopportanity 
 fluMtbafofa to obaarra tha oondiiet of nad Jane Bay. f^ h^ 
 luanA q^rito differantly from tha nat, aad with a danaa oi Ufrttf 
 {nraoonoOable with the nilea; She was, aa I have d aae rih a d bar, 
 • la^woaMug^ with nothing- bttMitifal or attraotivafat harlaaib 
 !(«■, Of nuuimam; earoleaiin her drea^ and oi a ro a H iia dJijipal* 
 Ilea, whleh proTOntad hw horn applying heraelf to amrtttei far 
 tty laogth of tima^ and kept her roiring abont, and umml^Tm^ 
 ' fanal^ talldag to aomeboay or other. It wonld be vaiy ottt* 
 eolito giTo an aoeuzate desoription of thia atngolar woaam; 
 drataad m the plain garments of the nnns, bonna by tha flaOM 
 Towi, and aeenstomed to the saaielife, resembling them in no- 
 : tiling iSm, and ftaqomitljr intermpting all their emi^yaMnla. 
 JEHha waa mppasnatir almost always stadying, or pnrMiiag aemn 
 •diianoy; now nsing irom sewing to wuknp and down, or 
 atnq^iM in from anoUMr apartment looking aoont. addrssnng 
 Boaraal^^mjandpaasingont again, or saying somethuig to SMika 
 nalattgh. But what showed she waa no aorelty, waathalitlio 
 a^tanoon paid to her, and the levity with whioh ahe waa tiaatad 
 bytiMWholaanns; even the Superior every day paased over ir* 
 lagalarlkias in thia singular perscm, which she woidd have powi 
 ilMtft with penance^ or at least have met with lepifmanda, in any 
 OittMt. From what I saw of her I soon perceived that ahe betnqr- 
 ad tNvodisttoot traits of oharaeter; a kind diqsoiition towasda 
 anqh aa she ohose to prefer, and a pleasure in teaang theae «h« 
 ^wtifced, or aoeh m'- had offeaded her. 
 
 GHAPTEB YUL 
 
 i t ss et j a i i on sf apartOMMts in the BUok Niiimer]r,.iB order : lit noor>-tBd 
 
 ybsr-Gsmit— The FOumiei^-Supeiior's aumacpeaicnt with the 
 
 ■ frirads of Novioes— Beligioni Um— OrimiBsUty of ooaosaUng aiasat 
 
 lintt now give from memory a general description of ttia lata* 
 ri« of tha Oonvent of Black Nuns, except the few apartmanta 
 wl^oh I never saw. I may be inaccurate in acme things^ aa ttw 
 apmrlmanta and passagea of that si>acious building arennmetmu 
 imd -fiaridua ; but I aim willing to risk my oreditiw truth andsia^ 
 oaiil^.oii tha general e(»reapondenee between my descri p t ion an d 
 thfa^iaaafteyara. And thia would, perikaps,baaagcoda«a8a 
 
 m aaj t/ whiah to test the truth of but statements, wera itpoa* 
 snla to obtain acossa to the interior. It ia well known, thitnana^ 
 bwtfaOldnnmLtHI bishop aad priasta, are ever admitted: aad. 
 4ifeoaarae, thai I oaaaot have seen what I prof esa to describe^ if 
 thiifa not been a Maoknnn. The prieatswho- read tUabcSak 
 W^a#knowladga to thamselvaa the troth «fmvdaseriji>tion; but 
 WW, of oonrai^ deny it to tha world, aad probably aaart them* 
 
 .'11 
 
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 ""'ll 
 

 i' 
 
 .* 
 
 i5vi 
 
 J-' 
 
 
 filvMto^UilNjfllf cltdtti Zoflteto«f«nn«dtrtli»i 
 aMMntonoii» lmowi% thifc ttoMiiMj poMtuy U^co1r dp«ttl 
 MMnrMnoMM{k anf aOoir the MteMUM ol t^t iMrho e«a i 
 
 ' thamMlT«% with their own »••» of its tmth. thttA o^ * t. 
 ol«r»ti6os may bo thought dofiaoiit in* oridonea^ and thtofhw 
 nliutof neoeMitybointheprepent ttato of things. Bat holOM 
 a kind of oTidenoo, on which I rsly, m I mo how nnqaeslionaMM 
 and latisfaotory it muit pxoTo. whenever it ihall be oDtainod. 
 
 If the interior of the Black Nunnery. whencTcr it thall be aaiE' 
 amined. is materially , different from the following description, 
 then I sni^claim no confidence, of my readers. If It resemble it, 
 they wiU| I persume, place confidence in some of these deQlanM 
 tions, on wmch I may never be corroborated by true and liting 
 witnesses. 
 
 I am sensible that great changes may be made in the famitnr* 
 
 of apartments: that new walls may be constmcted, or'old ones 
 
 .remoTcd; and I have been incredibly informed, that masons hava 
 
 ; been employed in the Nunnery since I left it. I well know, bow* 
 ever, that entire changes canuot be made, and that enough must 
 
 '. remain as it was to sabstantiat> my description, wheneTer the 
 'truth shaU be known. 
 
 The Fira Story, 
 Beginning at the extremity of the western wing of the Oonveiit 
 
 . jowwds Notre Dame street, on the first story, there is-* 
 
 ; let. The Nuhli^ private chapel adjoining which is apassi^ to A 
 «maU projection of the building extending from the upper i^iy 
 
 ' to ^e ground, with'very small windows. Into the passagS we 
 w ere sometimes required to bring wood from the yard, and |^ 
 
 ■" it up for use. 
 
 2nd. A large community-room^ with plain benches fixed against 
 the wall to sit, and lower opes m front to place our feet upon. 
 Qlhere is a fcantain in the passage near the chimney at the furaier 
 end, for washing the hands and face, with a green curtain alimng 
 on a rod before It. This passage leads to the old nuns' sleeping- 
 ilM>monthe right,and theSuperior'ssIeeping- room just bevonait, as " 
 'well as to a stair-case which conducts to the nunr sleeping-romn, 
 or donnitoire above. At the end of the passage is a door opening 
 ,into— 
 . 8rd. The dining-roQm ; this is larger than the community •ro(nil» 
 and. has three long tables for eating, and a chapelle, or coUectiioiii 
 ^f little pictures, a crucifix, and a small image of the infant 8atl<> * 
 ^ionr in a glass case. This apartment has four doors, by the firit 
 of which we are supposed to have entered, while one opeostoa 
 ^^try, and the third and fourth to the two next apartments. . 
 .. 4th. Alarge community-room, with tables for sewing, and a 
 stair-case on the opposite left-hand comer. 
 
 5th. A community-room forprayer used by both nuns and no- 
 vices. In the further right-hand comer is a small room, paxti- 
 tidned off, called the room for examination of consoienos, whi^ I 
 had visited while a novice by permission of the Supttior^Sundt:. 
 mime nuns and novices occasionally resorted to refieot on ttntqop 
 diaraoter, usually in pi aparation for the sacrament, or when tiiey 
 li#d transgressed some of their rulee. This littib room was hardly ; 
 lane enough to contain half a doaen persons at a time. 
 
 ^. Nen, beyond, is a large community-room for Sundays. A 
 doorlM&itotheyard,«ndtnencetoagate in tha waU on Vm 
 •rossstreet. 
 
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 'iLB 
 
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 '*• 
 
 
 SMtmni df fttitft iuM n 
 
 
 TMi. M|oii|iiiff «hit it • •itt&ii looii, hm^g tn ^ 
 
 iMt^wlQif«olHndoiri,ttada«lonioomoiitlii^^ opsoiil*, 
 thin. Vh«»fo bat Uttt«funittiif«.«nd that ▼«f7pUia. 
 
 flOu IVom this loom a door leads into what Imay eall tha was- 
 rgMBf M it eontaini manT figures in wasc. not intended for lale. 
 TliM we eomeiiniet need to pray, or meaitate oi^ the SaTienr'i 
 pipwn. This room projects from the main bnUdin> ; leaTinjr it, 
 jcu entar a Ions passage, with cupboards on the rigbi^ in wmoh 
 aM stored erooKery-ware, knives and forks, and other artideeof 
 table fomitnxe, to replace those worn out or broken— all of tho 
 ^Unest description ; also, shoyels, tongs, fto. This passage leads 
 
 9th. A comer room, with a few benches, ftc, and a door lead- 
 ing to a gate in the street. Here some of the medicines were 
 kept, and persons were often admitted on business, or to obtain 
 medicines with tickets from the priests; and waited till the Sn- 
 perior or an old nnn could be sent fot. Beyond this room we 
 aerer w«re allowed to go ; and I cannot speak from personal 
 knowledge of what came next. 
 
 The Second SUny. 
 
 Beginning, as before, at the western extremity of the norfli 
 winir, bat on the second story, the furthest apartment in that di« 
 leetton whidh I oyer ebtered was,— 
 
 1st. The nuns' sleeping.room, or dormitoire. which I have al- 
 ready described. Here is an aceesB to the projection mentioned 
 in spealdng of the first story. The stairs by which we came np 
 to bed are at the further end of the room ; and near them a om- 
 oifix and font of holy water. A door at 'the end of the room 
 opens into a passage, with two small rooms, and dosets between 
 thenu cont^ning bed-clothes. Next yon enter, — 
 
 2nd. A small community-room, beyond which is a passage 
 with A narrow staircase, seldom used, which leads into ibe foorth 
 «ommnnity-room, in the fourth stoty. Following the passage 
 lost mentioned, you enter by a door, — 
 
 Sfed. A little sitting-room, furnished in the following man- 
 ner :— with chairs, a sofa on the north side, covered with a red- 
 figored coyer and fringe ; a table in the middle, commonly bear- 
 ing one or two books, an inkstand, pen, &o. At one comer is a 
 lime projection into the room, caused by a staircase iMding from 
 9boTe to ttie floor below, without any communication with the 
 second story. This room has a door opening upon a staircasa 
 leading down to the yard, on the opposite side of which is a gate 
 o|iening into the cross street. By this way the physidan is ad- 
 initted, except when he comes latc» than usual, wnen he comes 
 in, he usually sits a little while, until a nun goes into the adjoin- 
 ing buna' siok-room, to see if all is ready, and returns to admit 
 , him. After prescribing for the patients, ho goes no further, but 
 returns by^ the way he enters ; and these are the onl.T rooms injto 
 whidi he is ever admitted. ' 
 
 ^. The nnnsf sick-room adjoins the little sitting-itoom on tibe 
 wuKf and haiL I think, four windows towuds the north, witii 
 beds ranged in two rows from end to end, and a few more be- 
 tween them, near The opposite extremity. The door to the sit- 
 ting-room swings to the left, and behind it is a table, while a 
 glass ease on the right contains a wax figure of the infant Savi* 
 otte^ with several sheep. Kearthe nortn-eastem comer of this 
 room ace two doors^ one of which opens into a long and narrow 
 
 &H 
 

 ,^Miil BfaNUSQCf fiWisik Hoik 
 
 oomMuAwilMn • — ^ 
 
 tkip *• btH ftl; tiM gate, wUoh I WM toM had • «OM0ri«d pill, 
 teoira only to him acd &ii6priwli,ptoeeedtiip itaiii and ihiMigk 
 4lwpaMag«^ nuppiag thiM tfniMat tht door of thariak w aw, 
 whkfe la ^ipaaaflpy a nnii in attondanoa, after dia haa gtHm «•• 
 n^te laply. when ha haa Tiaitad his patiauta and y a t i rib i d 
 lor thaaa, ha ntam by tha Mune way. 
 
 Ml. Sfozt bayoud tha aidc^room, la a lavga nnoaoapiad apart- 
 laaBt, half divided by two partial pertitioas, whidh ^^ %ve an open 
 qMUM in the middle. Hare lome of the old nnns oc.timonly meat 
 in Hia day time. 
 
 6th. A door flrom thia apartment opens into another, not appio- 
 priatad to any peenliar nse, but oontidning a table, waere JMdi* 
 einea are somenmes prmparad by an old nnn, who iansoally found 
 theea. Pauing through thia room, you enterapassaga^ irith 
 doors on ita four sides; that on the lefc, which is krat faatanad 
 on the inside, leads to the staircase and ^te ; uid that in ficoot 
 to theraiTate sick*rooms. soon to be desonbed. 
 
 7th. That on the right leads to another, apmropriated to nnns 
 aaABring with the most loathsome disease. There waa nanally a 
 nnmber of straw mattresses in that room, as I well know, havisg 
 helped to oai(y<them in, after the ]rard>man had filled them. A 
 do<Etr beyond enters into a store-room, whtoh extends also beyond 
 this apartment. On the right, another door opana into aaothjT 
 paaMge, orossing which, yoa enter by a door. 
 
 8th. A room with bed and screen in one comer, on whidinaaa 
 wave laid to be examined, before their introduction into thasisit* 
 room last mentioned. Another do^r, opposite the formari opana 
 into a Mssage; in which is a staircase leading down. 
 
 9th. Beyond this is a spare room, sometimes need to atocaap" 
 plas. boxes of different things, fto. 
 
 10th. Betaming now to the passage whidi opens on one ilda 
 npon the stairs to the gate, we enter the only remaining door, 
 which leads into an arortment usually occupied 1^ aorna oitiMi 
 old nuns» and frequently hy tiie Superior. 
 
 lltb and 12th. Beyond this are two more rick«rooms,in onaef 
 whioh those nnns stay who are waiting their acoouehman^ and 
 in the other (&ose who haTe passed iti 
 
 - ISth. The next is a small Bittiog-room, where a priest waits ta 
 baptise the infants previous to their murder. A passage laada 
 from this room on the left, by the doors of two succeeding qpaA« 
 meats, neither of which have I ever entered. 
 
 lith. The first of them is the ** holy retreat," or room oeoopied 
 by the priests, while snffermg the penalty of thek licentionsneps* 
 
 16th. The other is a sitting-nxmi, to wi^oh they have access. 
 Beyond these, the passage leads to two rooms, containing do as t fc 
 for tha storage of various articles ; and two ouiers, where paMUM 
 ate received who come on business. 
 
 1%e>«iblio hon>itale succeed, and ortend a considetabla cHa- 
 tance-^ believe, to the extremity o^the boildljiig. Byapirtilia 
 entraiioe in that part, priests often come into tiiaKuauieiT'; and 
 I have often eeen some of tiiem thereabonta, who nraat havean- 
 teted that way. Indeed, priesta often get into tha ** holy Mtaaat* 
 withdttt esposing tiieBsselvesintheviewofpeiaeaain'tbaollMr 
 |Nwts of the Convent, and have been first known to be tSwiie, hp 
 the y axd-nuns beiujf iaut to the Seminary for their clothes. . 
 
 
 
 ■•>(! 
 
 ^! 
 
>." 
 
 km 
 
 
 1{^ OoBgnnllMal HtoMiy ww ioudtdlif*^ 
 ilMBMdqM** SttMi«M«tdlMfilinlfcNilrMLMidkilp»> 
 MtAv f6vfh«lottbflftllan of ft OoBVMt. H«r body ubtfifiL aaA 
 ditlMHitktptttndArfhoKumMfytefniioii oljwfe, wUoiiluM 
 WMiAMmtoaOfWillitlMMMinaM tiMt it ooitiiNWi in pivfial 
 Mtwmu tiop, •IthOMh <w h«i b<— aMd«ioi«tlMi«(oa«h«ndnA 
 M Ittlr srwn. ^la tho eli«p«l to tlio folloiHag Jm wi m wi t 
 ••floMir Boargooiitk loadatiift da Ck»T«iift." Otottv .PBuryuiw^ 
 Vooi^ttr of ttio Oo&Tfliit.) 
 
 IfoUiiBg WM mon ommaoB Uuui for the BoMviorto itep bMlik 
 hr Mo our o o m a m n ity -room, wUle nnmbon of «• waco HMmUed 
 UMTk and luutily oommonioate h«r wtohM in wofdci Uk« thtit t-- 
 
 ''Savoantho jNuontit of imohanoTioo; eomo witii mcLttid 
 batt me out in "* ( *!oty." Sh«%oQld than mantlon the outMnai 
 cf n tiMva of ft.. . afi x)da ihe hhd joat invented, that we n^ht be 
 IMtottad to fM)iioiU)e oinmaiatMoea) and throw in whatever alae 
 odgntlvroar the deoeption. Thia waa Jnatifled and indeed aoat 
 Mgp^ e optmnnded, by the ayctem of faith by whiohweaMin- 
 ifenrattdt 
 
 It waa a oommon remark alwaya at the initiation of a newnm 
 into tiie Black nvn department, that ia. to reedTO the btoek Teil, 
 thatiHie introdnetion of another nOTioe into the oonyentaa a vail- 
 ed nnn, alwaya oanaed the introduction of a veiled nan into hea* 
 > van aa a aiiiii% whkdi waa on acconnt of the aingnlar diaupear- 
 nioe «f VMHiML of the older nana alwaya at the mtrnnoe of new 
 
 * lb witneaa the acenea which often oooorred between oa and 
 atrangeta wtfald have atmok a peraon moat powerfnlly, if he had 
 hB»Wtt how trath waa act at nought. The Superior, with a aeri- 
 oaa and digniSed air, and a pleasant voice and aspect, wonld com- 
 m««oe it recital of thmga moat favourable to the character of the 
 abUnt iieviee, representing her equally fond of her aitoation, and 
 beiofMbythe other inmatea. The tale told by the Superior^ 
 miatwflir it waa, however unheard before might liave been any 
 «f her itatemantB, was then attested by us, who in every wi^f wt 
 «i(pidd Hiifkk o^ endeavoured to confirm her deolarattooa bag^ond 
 »e iceadh of doubt. 
 
 Sme ti mea thejBuperior would entmat the managementof ao^ 
 a «tm to atmie or the nana, whether to habitnate na to the piao« 
 tiee in which afae waa ao highly accomplished, or to relieve her> 
 adf of what would have been a serious burden to moat4>ther 
 peratntfe, or to aaoertain whether she could depmid upon ns, oaridi 
 together, I cannot tell. «Often, however, have I seen her throw 
 open a door, and say, in a harried manner, ''Whc oantdltiie 
 beit akny P" 
 
 One pMnt, on wUoh we have recced frequent and partimlar 
 inatracliona was, the nature oi falaehoods. On this subject I have 
 heoid nuu^ a speech, I had almost said many a sermon; and I 
 ma led to,beUeve tut it waa one of great importance^ one on 
 triiidi % %«i a duty to be well informed, as well oa to aet. 
 ** What I" acclaimed a prieat one day— "what, a nan of yoor 
 aoa^ and not know the offorence between a wicked and a i«U« 
 
 ^a^r» 
 
 BettMatW«aton,-aa had been done many Mmee pvevionifyin 
 my heailnir, to diow the eaaential diffarence between the two dtf- 
 i«oat kind* of ffclaehooda. A lie told merely for the iaiasr of 
 «pofibev,te onrown interest alone, or for no ohjeot atol^be 
 
 A-- .H, 
 
 
 *'M 
 

 ■■^ 
 
 88 . ' 'JkwtA ObdMRiiai of Vuii i um fr t ^ 
 
 p«iittdMAdnirofttiyotp«BaaM.— B«t A}i«(olA fotlUfe#l^ 
 ol ^« eluinh or oonTtnt, wm mtrit(»toYU, aiid ol povnt iMWiU 
 nt <tf ii ft datj. ' And of ttiit dtm of Um th«ra w«t mtmy n^. 
 MUM ftad ihftdM. Iliii dootrint has botn iooolofttod on p* «ad 
 ay oompftoioDk io flit nunnwry, moio timM than I oaa ti»UMi*> 
 ftte : ftnd to ny tiiftt it wm gonerally nooiTod, would bo to tiH 
 ptnof thetnitb. WeoftenMwthepnotiooof it,ftnd wmmIp^ 
 oatntly miide to leaks part in it. Whonerer anything whi«li flia 
 oaperior thought important, oould 1^ most oonToniontly aooonp 
 pUihed by faliehood, she rewrtad to it without ■oroplo. 
 
 Thoro wat a data ol oaaei^ in whioh aha mora fraquantiy ilIMt 
 on deorotion than any other. ^ 
 
 The nionds of noTioai freqaently applied at the OouTeatfto Mi 
 fham, or at least to inquire afteMoeur welfare. It waa oonunou 
 for them to be politely ref oaed an interriew, on i^ma aoooubt ov 
 other, generally a mere pretext ; and then tha Superior genaral||( 
 sought to make as f ayourable an impression aa possibto oa fM 
 ▼iaitors. Sometimes she would make up a atofy oa the spot^ aii4 
 tell tho strangers ; requiring some of us to donflrm it in tna mosli 
 oonyinoing way we oould. 
 
 ▲t other times she would prefer to make orer to oa the task of 
 deoeiving, and we were oommended iu proportion to our ingaus* 
 ity andsuecess. ■^.,, 
 
 Qoma nun usuallf showed her submission, by immediately tUip* 
 ping forward. She would then add, perhaps, that the pazanta of 
 Buoh a novice, whom she named, were in WMting, and it waa uot 
 eessary that they should be told suoh and suoh Ihings. To per- 
 form so difficult a task well, was considered a difflomt dufy, aa<l 
 it WM one of the most certain ways to gain the favour of the Su^ 
 pallor. Whoever volunteered to make a story on the8pot,i>a« 
 aant immediately to tell it, and the other nuns proMut were huZi< 
 riad off with her under strict |ajunotions to uphold her in avary- ' 
 thing she might state. The Superior, A there waa ecvery raaaoa 
 to believe, on all such occasions, when she did not herself appear^ 
 hastened to the apartment adjoining that in whioh tha nuns were 
 going, there to listen through the tun partition, to hear whetkav 
 all performed their parts aright. It wm not unoommon for her 
 to go rather further, when she wanted to give suoh esplanationa 
 u she oould haye desired. She would then otter abruptly, «nd 
 Hk, " Who can tell a good storv this morninff P" and hurry oa dl 
 wiukout a moment's delay, to do our best.at a venture, withonl^^ 
 waitine for instructions. It would be curious, oould a stnuigar 
 from the "wicked world" outside thePonvenL witness snon ft 
 scene. One of the nuns, who felt in a favourable humour to nn* 
 dertake the proposed task, would step promptly forward, and sig- 
 nify her readineu in the usual way, oy a knowing wink of one 
 eye, and a slight toss of the head. 
 
 ** Well, go and do the best you can," the Superior would say. t 
 ** and all uie rest of you mind and BWeax to it.'' The lattnr pwl 
 of the or^r, at leMt, wm always performed ; for inlvery caaa, 
 all the nuns prcMot appeared m unanimous witnessM of avefy* 
 thing that wm uttered oy the sjpokeswoman of the day. 
 
 We were constantly hearing it repeated, that we must never 
 again look upon ourselvm m our own ; bu^ must remeniber^ thai 
 we were solely and irrevocably devoted to God. Whatevar waa 
 required of us, we were callM upon to yield under the meat so* - 
 tonn. Gousiderationa. I oannot speak on avery partioular with 
 
 /a 
 
 *:-■ 
 
 Ni 
 
* 
 
 If 
 
 % : 
 
 It 
 
 her 
 
 rat 
 
 IwM dfldlosara of lula llonk. 8S 
 
 •qoalflMdemt Imt I wiA my iMdon oImiIj to midanlMid tti« 
 floadttie n fai whinh w wen puMd, and the meeni weed to aedace 
 «■ to what wo hod to snbmit to. Not only woM wo reqoiNd to 
 peitem the iOTfval toehe iapoaod upon us ot work, proyen, oad 
 poDonoei^ under the idea that wo were perfuming aolonn dutiea 
 to oar Maker, but overTtUng elee whioh waa roqnired of oa, we 
 were oonatantly told, waa something indiapenaaUe in hia eight. 
 The vriests, wo admitted, were the senranta of Ood, eapedally 
 appointed bj hie authority, to teaeh ns oar dntr, to abeolTo ue 
 'from sin, and load ua to heoTen. Withont their asaistanee, we 
 had allowed we eonid nerer enjoy the laTonr of Gkxl ; nnleaothey 
 administered the sacrament to us, we oould noteojoy orerlasting 
 hap^ees. Hating oousented to acknowledge all this» we had 
 no okrieotion to urge against admitting any ^or demand that 
 might be made for or by them. If we thonght an act OTer so 
 eiiminal, the Superior would tell ns that the ^esta acted under 
 the direct sanetion of God, and could not iin. Of course, then, it 
 oould not'bo wrong to comply with any of their reouests, beoanse 
 they could not dMnaod anyuiing but what waa nght. On the 
 oontrary, to refuse to do anything they asked would neoesaarily 
 be duful. Sttoh dc trinee admitted, and such praotieea perform- 
 ed, it will not seem wonderful when I mention that we often felt 
 aomothing of their preposterous charaotw. 
 
 Sonetimea wo took pleasure in ridiculing some of thefaTOurite 
 themes of our teachers ; and I recollect one subject particularly, 
 which at one period aaorded us repeated merriment. It may 
 seem irroTerent in me to give the account, but I do it to ehow 
 how things of a solemn nature were sometimes treated in the con- 
 ▼ent, by wmnen bearing the title of saints. A Canadian novice^ 
 who spoke Tory broken English, one day remarked that she waa 
 performing some doty "forthoQod." This peculiar ezpresaibn 
 bad somettiing ridi«aloua to the ears of some of us : and it waa 
 Boon repeated again and again, in application to ▼arions eeremo- 
 nice which wo had to perform. Mad Jane Bay seised upon it 
 with aTidityj and with her aid it soon took the place of a bv- word 
 in conversation, so that we were ooostantly reminding each other 
 that we were doing this thing and that thing, how trifling and 
 unmeanine syerer, *' for the God." Kordid we stop here; when 
 the Snperfor called upon us to bear witness to one of her religi- 
 one lies, or to fabricate the most spurious one the time would ad- 
 mit; to save her the trouble, we were sure to be reminded, on our 
 way to the stiranger's r6om, that we were doiiis[ it '* for the Ood." 
 And so it was when other things were mentioned— everrthin^ 
 whioh belonged to our condition was spoken of in somewhat si- 
 milar terms. 
 
 I haye hardly detained the reader long enough on this subject 
 to give him a fust impression of the stress laid on ooof sssion. It 
 is one of the great points to which our attention was constantly 
 directed. We were directed to keep a striot and constant waton 
 oyer ourthoaghta; to haye continually before our minda the 
 rules of the conyent, to compare tiie one with the other, remem- 
 ber eyery deyotion. and tell lUl, eyen the smallest, at confession, 
 oithertotheSupeilorortotlieprieet. My mind was thus kept 
 in a qontinual state of aotiyity, whioh proyed yery wearisome; 
 attd it tequfared the constant exertion of our teachers to keep us 
 up to th#pi|utioa th^ inculcated. 
 
 AiiOthArtiii Wjours to me, of tiioee whioh were frequently told 
 tu, to make ualeel tte importance of nnreseryed ooiuessicm. 
 
 
84 iwM IMidMoiii of lifia IbaL 
 
 ▲ Bfui dt ooar •onvwli who kad bidtai mbo lia 
 fcnor, ditd luddmly, and wilhovt uy on* lo oonftM hir. Utv 
 ritttn UMmbtod lo vnj lor tho ommo of htr soul, whoa A» mp» 
 pMftd, Mid inlonMa thtm tluil it would bo of no qm. bol nlkor 
 tiooUoiomo to htn, m h«r poidon w«tf ImpoMiblo. Tao doatriao 
 is, tbol pmy tn BMOo f or Mmlo foilty of onoonfOMod lia, do b«l 
 ■iok Ikom OMpor in boll; •adlbii«U tho roMon I bat* botid 
 ffiron for not proying for Frotostonta. 
 
 Tbo ontbonty of too prioats in oTorytbing, and tbo oaormity of 
 trory aot wbiob oppoMO it, woro «l«o imra«Med npon onr mindly 
 in Tnriont woyi, by oar tooobora. ▲ ** Fatbor" told no tbo loU 
 lowing itory ono day at oAteobitm. 
 
 ▲ man oneo diod wbo bad f ailod to pay lOBia monoy wbiob tho 
 priMt had aakad of bim ; bowaa oonaomned to bo bamt in pniw 
 gatory nntil bo ibonld pay it, bat bad pormiMion to oomo baokto 
 thif world, and tako a bnnian body to work in. Ho mado kli ^7 
 poaranoo, iboreforo, i«ain ou oanb, ;.jid birod bimielf to b rich 
 man aa a labonror. & worked all day, with tbo Are working in 
 bin, nnaeen by other people ; but while be wai in bed ttiat iilgbti 
 a girl in an adjoining room, peroeiTing the smell of brimitoni^ 
 looked through a eraok in the wall, and saw him eoTwed with 
 flames. She Inf ormed bis master, wbo questioned him tho nezi 
 morning, and found that his hired man was seoretly suffering tha 
 
 Eains of purgatory, fo; neglecting to pay a oertain sum of money 
 > tho piieslT He, thereiore, funushea blm with the amount due; 
 it was paid, and the set cant went off immMiatelyto beaTon. 
 '^e priest oanaot f orgire any debt due unto him, beoause it is tha 
 liord^s estate. 
 
 While at confession, I waa urged to hide nothing firom the 
 priests, and bare been told by them, that they already Knew what 
 was in my heart, but would not tell, beoause it was neoessary for 
 me to oonfess it. I really beliered that the prifsts were acquaint- 
 ed with my thoughts ; and often stood in awe of ibem. They ofteo 
 told mo^ they had power to strike me dead ^i any moment. 
 
 0HAPTE2 EC 
 
 VuDM with similar namas— Sqaaw nana— Flni Tidt to tha cellar— Daserip* 
 tion of it— Shocking diacovary there— Soperior'a inatructioDa— Prifata 
 atonal of tha prieete- Booka used in the Nannery-Opiniona azpreaaad 
 Mtha Bibla-^Bpadmena of what I know of tha Boripturea. 
 
 I wouiiD that I bad seyeral namesakes anK>ng the uun% for there 
 were two others who bad already borne away my new name, 
 Saint Eustace. This was not a soutary case, for there were fire 
 Saint Marys, and three Saint Monroe, besides two novices of that 
 name. Ox my nameaakea. I haye little to aay, for they reaembled 
 moat nuna ; being ao mnon cut off from interoourae with me and 
 other sisters, that I tfever saw anything in theih, nor learnt any* 
 thing about them, worth mentioning. 
 
 SoToriJ of my new companions we^ squaws, who had taken 
 the Toil at different times. They were from some of the Indian 
 settlements in the country, but were not diatinguiababla by any 
 atfUdng babita of cbaraotcir from other nuna, and were generaUj 
 not Tory different in their appearanoe when in ^heir usual drossy 
 and'engaged in their customary ooonpations. It was eridentthef 
 were trealed with much kinduesa and lenity by fJia Superior ana 
 thaoldnaBSi and this I disooTONd waa dona in order toiindat 
 
 »IWR»I5W!?>!W 
 
IvM OWum tf Ink iBiilL 
 
 m4 aiMald hat» lAMbiitad tka oMtifw fot lliif pMlia% IQ «Mff 
 wtMsff tkAllktj Miflbt AOl laflMiiM oIlMn to kMp«waj,kail 
 I Ml KoowB Ihtj win, lik« oontlTM^ vnabU lo •xtrt worn im 
 laflotiiM* And thMifor*, I ooald not Mtiaf j my own mind wkj 
 this dillMMM WM made. Hmj of tho Indisnt wtto rtmaricablj 
 dofottd to tho prfMt^ b«)U«ti!:s oftrjuing thoy won longhf i 
 •nd M il ii xo|MrMOut«a to bo not only n Ugn hoiionr, bal n nol 
 advontago to n familj, to hata ona of ita niemban boooaa f . nan, 
 Xadian navanta will ofUn pay larga aami of monaf for tiia admia- 
 aion of thair daogbtan into a conTont. Thafathac of onaoftha 
 aqnawi^ I waa told, paid to tha Saparior naarly bar waigbt in ail- 
 Tar on bar raaaption, althongb ba waa obligad to aall naarly all 
 bia proparty to lalaa tba monay. Tbia ba did Tolnntarily, ba- 
 oavia ba tbongbt bimialf orarpaid by baring tba adTantagia of 
 bar prayara, aalf •aaorifloaa, fto., for bimaalf and tba ramaindar of 
 Ua nnuly. Tba aqnawa aometimaa aarrad to amnaa na; for wbaa 
 wa wara partially diipiritad or gloomy, tba Suparior would oooa- 
 •lonally aand ibam to draaa tbemMlraa m tbair Indian garmanta, 
 wbiob oanally azdtad ua to merrimant. 
 
 Among tba aquaw nana whom I partienlarly ramambar, waa 
 •na of tba Saint Hypolitei, not tba ona wbo flgurad in a draadfol 
 soana, daaoribad in anotbar part of tbia narratiVa^ but n woman of 
 n far more mild and bumana obaractar. 
 
 Tbraa or four day a after my reception, tba Saparior aant ma in- 
 to tba oallalr for ooala : and after aba bad giren ma diraotiona, I 
 {»rooaadad down a ataireaaa witb a lamp in my band. I aoon 
 ound myaalf on tba bare aartliT in a apaoioua vlaoa, ao dark tbat 
 loouldnotatonoa diatinguiah ita form or aiiM, but I obaarred 
 tbat it bad TaiT aolid fetona walla, and waa arobed OTerbead,at 
 no great eleranon. Following my directiona, I prooeeded on^ 
 waraa from tba foot of tha ataira, wi;ere appeared to be one and 
 of tba oallar. After walking about fliteen pacea, I paaaed tbree 
 amaU. doora, on tha right, f aatened witl^ large iron bolta on tha 
 ontaide, puuied into posts of atone work, and eaohJutTing a amall 
 opening abore, ooTered witb a fine grating, aafured by a amaller 
 bolt. On my left were three aimilar docra, reaembling thaae, and 
 plaoed oppoute them. 
 
 Beyond these, the space became broader; ttia doora erridantly 
 doaed amall oompartments, projecting from the outer wall of tho 
 cellar. I aoon stepped upon a wooden floor, on which wete heapa 
 of Wool, coarse linen, and other articles, apparently deposited 
 there for oooaaional oae. I soon croaaed ua floor, and found tba 
 bare earth again under my feet. 
 
 A little further on, I found the cellar again oontraoted in a 
 by a row of closets, or smaller compurtmenta, projecting on .uMh 
 afdo. Theae were doaed by doora of % different deacripiion from 
 the flrat, having a simple fastening, and no opening through them. 
 
 Jnat beyond, on the left aide, I passed astairoaae IcMingnp, 
 and thw three doors, much resembling those first desoribedtStena* 
 ing <moaita three more, on the other aide of the cellar. Having 
 p a a ae d theae, I found the cellar enlarged aa bef&re. and bare the 
 earth amaared as if mixed with some whitiab aubstanoa^ which 
 ntt w etedmy attenUcm. 
 
 AaIpcoeeeded,Ifoandtbewbitene88inereaae, until tba anr* 
 faoo lookpd almoat like anow, and in n diort timerobearred bo- 
 tME* BN^H kola dog w deep into tba earth thatleoald paioaif« 
 
36 
 
 kwM Disdlosnres of llaiia KonL 
 
 BoboHom. I stopped to obMire it— it was dronlar, twelve or 
 perhaps fifteen feet across, in the middle of the cellar, and nnpro- 
 ieoted by any kind of curb, so that one might Msily have walirad 
 into it iu the dark. 
 
 The white sabstance which I have observed, was spread all 
 over the sarf ace around it ; and lay in the quantities on all sides, 
 that it seemed as if a great deal of it must have been thrown in* 
 to the hole. It immediately occurred to me that the white sub- 
 stance was lime^ and that was the place where the infants were 
 buried, after bem^ murdered, as the Superior had informed me. 
 I knew that lime is of tea used by Boman Oatholios in bnrving 
 places ; and in that way I aecountdd for its being scattered about 
 the spot in such quantities. 
 
 This was a shookiog thought to me ; but I can hardly tell how 
 it a£fected me, as I had alrrady been prepared to expect dreadful 
 things in the Convent, and had undergone trials whioh prevent- 
 ed me from feeling as I should formerly have done in similar ob> 
 oumstanoes. 
 
 I passed the spot, therefore, with dreadful thoughts, it is true, 
 about the little corpses which might be in that secret burying 
 
 Elace, but with recollections also of the declarations which I had 
 eud, about the favour done their souls in seading them direct 
 to heaven, and the necessary virtue accompanying ul the actions 
 of the priests. 
 
 Whether I taoticed them or not at the time, there is a window 
 or two on each side nearly against the hole, in at which are some- 
 times thrown articles brought to them from without, for the use 
 of the Oonvent. Through the wiudow on my right, which opens 
 iato the yard, towards the cross street, lime is received from 
 carts ; I then saw a large heap of it near the place. 
 
 Passing thehole, I came to a spot where was another projec- 
 tion on each side, with three cells like those I first described. 
 Beyond them, in another broad part of the cellar, were heaps of 
 vegetables, and other things, on the right ; and on the left, I 
 found the charcoal I was in search of. This was placed in a h<Mp 
 a^^ainst the wall, as I might then have observed, near a smaU 
 high window, like the rest, at which it is thrown in. Beyond 
 this spot, at a distance, the cellar terminated. 
 
 The top, quite to that point, is arched overhead, though at dif- 
 ferent heights, for the earth on the bottom is uneven, and in some 
 places several feet higher than in others. 
 
 Not liking to be alone in so spacious and gloomy a part of the 
 Oonvent, especially after the discovery I had made, I hastened to 
 fill my basket with coal, and to return. 
 
 Here then I was in a place whioh I had considered as the near- 
 est imitation of heaven to be found on earth, amongst a society 
 where deeds were constantly perpetrated, which IhadbeUeved 
 to be most criminal, and had now found the place in which harm- 
 less infants were unfeelingly thrown out of eighty after being 
 murdered. 
 
 And yet, such is the power of instruction and example, al- 
 though not satisfied, as many around me seemed to be, that this 
 was Ml righteous and proper, 1 sometimes was half inclined to 
 believe it, for the priests could do no sin, and this was done by 
 priests. 
 
 Among th# first instmctions I received from the Soperior, were 
 •uflh M prepared me to admit priests into the nunnery, from the 
 
 :w._.„,^- 
 
iwM Sifldosnrei of laila MbnL 
 
 87 
 
 street, at irregular hoars. It is no secret f'hat priests enter and 
 
 foout; butu they were to be watohed by any person in St. 
 *anl's street all day long, no irregolaritv might be sospeoted; 
 and they mi|;ht be supposed to Tisit the Oonvent for the perform- 
 anoe of religious ceremonies merely. 
 
 But if a person were near the gate about midnight, he might 
 sometimes form a different opiuion ; for when a stray priest is 
 shut out of the Semiuary, or is otherwise put in the need of seek- 
 ing a lod|{in£b he is always sure of being admitted into the Black 
 Kunnery. x^'obody but a priest can ever ring the bell at the 
 nok-room door ; much less can any but a priest gain admittance. 
 The pull of the bell is entirely concealed somewhere on the out- 
 side of the gate, I have been told. 
 
 He makes himself known as a priest by a peculiar kind of hiss- 
 ing sound, made by the tongue against the teeth while they are 
 kept closed and the lips open. The nun within, who delays to 
 open the door until informed what kind of an applicant is there, 
 immediately recognizes the signal, and replies with two inarti- 
 culate sounds, such as are often used instead of yes, with the 
 mouth dosed. 
 
 The Superior seemed to consider this part of my instructions 
 quite important, and taught me the signals. I had often occasion 
 to use them ; I have been repeatedly called to the door, in the 
 night, while watching in the sick-room ; and on reaching it, heard 
 the short hissing sound I have mentioned ; then, according to 
 my standing orders, unfastened the door, admitted a priest, who 
 was at liberty to*go where he pleased. I will name M. Bierze, 
 from St. Dems. 
 
 The books used in the nunnery, at least such as I recollect of 
 them, were the following. Most of these are lecture books, or 
 such as are used by the daily readers, while we were at work and 
 meals. These were all furnished by the Superior,^ out of her li- 
 brary, to which we never had access. She was informed when 
 we had done with the book, and then exchanged it for another, 
 as she pleased to select. 
 
 La Miroir du Chretien (Christian Mirror,) History of BomcL 
 History of the Ohurch, Life of Soeur Bourgeoise, (the founder of 
 the Oonvent,) in two volumes, L'Ange Oonducteur, (the Guar- 
 dian Aneel.^ L'Ange Chretien, (the Christian Angel,) Les Vies 
 des Saints, (Lives of the Saints,) in several volumes, Dialogues, 
 a volume consisting of conversations between a Protestant Doc« 
 tor, called Dr. D., and a CathoUc gentleman, on the articles of 
 faith, in which, after much ingenious reasoning, the former was 
 confuted ; one large book, the name of which I have forgotten, 
 occupied us nine or ten months at our lectures, night mid morn- 
 ing, L'Instruction de la Jeunesse, (the Instruction of Youth,) 
 containing much about Convents, and the education of persons in 
 the world, with a great deal on confessions, &c. Examen de la Con- 
 science (Examination of Conscience,) is a book frequently need. 
 
 I may here remark, that I never saw a Bible in the Convent 
 from the Aky I entered as a novice, until that on which I effected 
 my escape.' The Catholic Kew Testament, commonly diUed the 
 Evan|||ile, was read to us about three or four times a year. The 
 Sunenor directed the reader what passage to select: but we never 
 had it in our hands to read when we pleased. I often heirdthe 
 FMyteitant Bible spoken of, in bitter terms. M a most dahgerona 
 b0ok, alad one whleh never ought to IDS in the hahds of oommoa 
 .people. 
 
8S 
 
 XwM BisoiloBiirQB Df KBiia UooL' 
 
 OHAFTEB X. 
 
 MuraAMtaN of bntd «id wax eandlea, carried on In fh« OonTcnt— Sopo^ 
 
 ■tition»-Boapularie»— Yirfdn Mary'a Finonshion— Har Hoiue--Th6 
 
 Bishop'a power OTer fire— My inatractiona to KoTicea— Jana Bay-rYa- 
 
 cillation of feaUnga. 
 
 ' Labob qnantitiea of biead are made in the Black Nnnnezy ereiy 
 
 week ; for, beridea what ia neceaaary to feed the nuns, many of 
 
 the poor are aupplied. When a prieat wiahea to give a load of 
 
 . bread to a poor peraon, he givea him an order, which ia presented 
 
 { at the OonTcut. The making of bread ia, therefore, one of the 
 
 ' moat laboriona employmenta in the inatitntion. 
 
 The manufacture of wax eandlea was another important branch 
 of buaineaa in the nunnery. It waa carried on in a small room, 
 i on the flrat floor, thence called the ciergerie, or wax room, cierge 
 being the French word for wax. I waa sometimes sent to read 
 the^aily lecture and catechism to the nuns employed there, but 
 found it a very unpleaaant task, as the smell rising from the 
 melted wax gave me a sickness at the stomach. The employment 
 was considered as rather unheaithy, and those were assigned to 
 it who had the strongest constitutions. The nuns who were more 
 lemployed in that room were Saint Maria, Saint Catherine, Saint 
 Charlotte, Saint Hyacinthe, Saint Hypolite,and others. But with 
 jthese, as with other persons in the Convent, I was never allowed 
 |to speak, except under circumstances before mentioned. I waa 
 sent to read, mid was not allowed even to answer the most tri- 
 ivial question, if one were asked me. Should anun say, " What 
 o'clock is it r* I never should have dared to reply, but was re- 
 quired to Ycport her to the Superior. 
 
 Much stress was laid on the sainte scaptilaire, or holy soapn- 
 lary* This ia a amall band of cloth or silk, formed and wrought 
 in a particular manner, to be tied around the neck, by two strings, 
 fastened to the ends. I have made many of them ; having b^n 
 sometimes set to make them in the Convent. On one side is 
 worked a kind ot double cross, (thus, X X,) and on the other, 
 i. H. S., the meaning of which I do not exactly know. Such a 
 band is called a scapulary, and many miracles are attributed to 
 its power. Children on first receiving the communion are often 
 presented with scapularies, which they are taught to regard with 
 great reverence. We were told of the wonders effected by their 
 means, in the addresses that were made to us, by priests^ at cate- 
 chism or lectures. I will repeat one or two of the stones which 
 occur to me. 
 
 A Boman Catholic servant woman, who had concealed some of 
 her sins at confession, acted so hypocritical a part as to make her 
 mistress belie/e he* a devotee^ or strict observer of her duty. She 
 even imposed upon her confessor to such a degree that ne gave 
 her a scapulary. After he had given it, however, one of thesunts 
 in heaven informed him in a vision, that the holy scapulary must 
 not remain on the neck of so great a sinner, and that it most be 
 restored to the church. She lay down that night witlhthe aoapn- 
 lary round her throat ; but in the morning was found dead, vnth 
 heir head cut off. and |be scapulary was discovered in the ohureh. 
 The belief was, that the devu could not endure to have so holy a 
 thing on one of his servants, and had pulled so hard to g^t it oil^ 
 as to draw the sUken thread, with which it was tied, through her 
 neck : after wbioh, by aome divine power, it waf nttored to Hm 
 ohurcn. 
 
 (t 
 
IwM BlsdosQies of Uaiia Konk. 
 
 89 
 
 Anotber story was m f ollowi. A poor Bomaa Oatholio waa 
 onoe taken prisoner by the heretics. He had a sainte teapulain 
 on his neck, when God, seeing him in the midst of his foes, took 
 it from the neck by a miracle, and held it up in tiie air abore the 
 throng of heretics; more than one hundred of whom were con- 
 verted, by seeing it thus supematurally suspended. 
 
 I had been informed by the Superior, on my first admission as 
 a nun, that there was a subterraneous passage, leading from the 
 cellar of our Oonvent, into that of the Congregational il'unner^ : 
 but, though I had so often yisited the cellar, I nad neyer seen it. 
 One day, after I had been received three or four months, I was 
 sent to walk through it on my knees, with another nun, as a pen- 
 ance. This, and other penances, were sometimes put upon us by 
 the priests, without any reason assigned. The common way, in- 
 deed, was to tell us of the sin for which a penance was imposed, 
 but we were left many times to conjecture. Now and then the 
 priest would inform us at a subsequent confession, when he hap- 
 pened to recollect spmething about it, as I thought, and not be- 
 cause he reflected or cared much upon the subject. 
 
 The nun who was with me led through the cellar, passing to 
 the right of the secret burial-place, and showed me the door of 
 the subterraneous passage, which was at the extremity towards 
 the Oongregational Nunnery. The reasons why I had not notic- 
 ed it before, I presume, were, that it was made to shut dose and 
 even with the wall : and all that part of the cellar was white- 
 washed. The door, which is of wood, and square, opens with a 
 latch into a passage about four feet and a half high. We imme- 
 diately got upon our knees, commenced saying the prayers re- 
 quired, and began to move slowly along the dark and narrow 
 passage. It may be fifty or sixty xeet in length. When we reach- 
 ed the end, we opened a door, and found ourselves in the cellar 
 of the Oongregational Nunnery, at some distance from the outer 
 wall ; for the covered way is carried on towards the middle of the 
 cellar by t^o low partitions covered at the top. By the side of 
 the door was placed a list of names of the Black Nuns, with a 
 slide that might be drawn over any of them. We covered our 
 names in this manner, as evidence of having performed the duty 
 assigned us ; and then returned downwards on our knees, by the 
 way we had come. This penance I repeatedly performed after- 
 wards ; and by this way, as I have occasion elsewhere to mention, 
 nuns from the Oongregational Nunnery sometimes entered our 
 Convent for worse purposes. 
 
 We were frequently assured that miracles are still performed ; 
 and pains were taken to impress us deeply on this subject. The 
 Superior often spoke to us of the Virgin Mary's pincushion, the 
 remains of which are pretended to be preserved in the Oonvent, 
 though it has crumbled quite to dust. We regarded this relic 
 with such veneration, that we were afraid even to look at it and 
 we often heard the following story related, when theaubject was 
 introduced. 
 
 A priest in Jerusalem once had a vision, in which he was in- 
 formed that the house in which the Tirgin had lived, should be 
 removed from its foundations, and transported to a distance. He 
 did not think the communication waa nom Qod, and therefore 
 disregarded it ; but the house was soon after missed, which oon- 
 vinoed him that the vision waa true, and he told where the house 
 |Di(^t be foood. A picture of the hooie ii preaerved in the Nan- 
 
m 
 
 IwM DlsdosnreB of Haiia Honk. 
 
 • 
 
 l&ery, and was fometimei shoim ui. There was also wax flgatres 
 of Joseph sawing wood, and Jesus, as a child, picking up the 
 chips. We were taught to sing a little song relating to this, the 
 ohoras of which I remomber : 
 
 " Saint Joseph Osrpentier, 
 Petit Jesus ramassait lescopeanz 
 Pour faire bouillir la marmite I" 
 (St. Joseph was a carpenter, little Jesus collected chips to make 
 the pot boil.) 
 
 I began to speak of miracles, and I recollect a story of onCf 
 about a family m Italy saved from shipwreck by a priest, who 
 were in consequence converted, and had two sons honoured with 
 the priest's office. 
 
 I had heard, before I entered the Convent, about a great fire 
 which had destroyed a number of houses in the Quebec suburbs^ 
 and which some said the Bishop extinguished with holy water* 
 I once heard a Oatholic and a Frotestuit disputing on this sub- 
 ject, and when I went to the Congregational Nunnery, I some* 
 times heard the children, alluding to the same story, say, at an 
 alarm of fire, " Is it a Catholic fire P Then, why does not the Bis- 
 hop run P" 
 
 Among the topics on which the Bishop ad;ilre88ed the nuns in 
 the Convent, this was one. He told us the story one day, that he 
 could have sooner interfered and stopped the flames, but that at 
 
 that he never did it except when inspired. 
 
 The holy water whioh the Bishop has consecrated, was oonsi« 
 dered much more efflaoious than any blessed by a common priest ; 
 and this it was which was used in the Convent in sprinkling our 
 beds. It has a virtue in it, to keep off anv evil spirit. 
 
 Now that I was a nun, I was occasionally sent to read lectures 
 to the novices, as other nuns had been while I was a novice. 
 There were but few of us who were thought capable of .reading 
 English well enough, and, therefoire, I was more fre<]^ueutly sent 
 than I might otherwise have been. The Superior otten said to 
 me. as I was going among the novices : 
 
 "Try to convert them— save their souls— you know yon will 
 have a higher place in heaven for every one you convert." 
 
 For whatever reason, Mad Jane Bay seemed to take great de« 
 light in crossing and provoking the Superior and old nuns ; and 
 often she would cause an intermptiou when it was most incon- 
 venient and displeasing to them. The preservation of silence 
 was insisted upon most rigidly, and penances of suoh a nature 
 were imposed for breaking it, that it was a constant source of 
 uneasiness with me, to know that I might infringe the rules in so 
 many ways^ and that inattention might at any moment subject 
 me to something verv unpl^ant. During the periods of medi- 
 tation, therefore, and those of lecture, work, and repose, I kept a 
 strict guard upon myself, to escape penances, as well as to avoid 
 sin ; and the silence of the others convinced me that they were 
 equally watchful, and from th j same motives. 
 
 My feelings, ho^ ever, varied at different times, and so did those 
 of many, if not of all my companions, excepting the older ones^ 
 who toox their turns in watohing us. We sometimes felt dispos- 
 ed lor gaiety, and thxaw off all idea that talking was sinlo], «vm 
 
 I. . 
 
iwM IHsolosnres of Maria Monk. 
 
 41 
 
 when required by the rales of the Oonvent. I eren, wlitn X felt 
 that I might perbape be doing wrong, reflected that oonfeeiion, 
 and certauily penanoe, wonld soon wipe off the guilt. 
 
 I may remark here, that I ere lonv found out eeveral things im« 
 portant to be known to a person liviag under such rules. One 
 of th<ise was, that it was much better to confess to a priest a sin 
 eommitted against the rules, because he would not require one of 
 the penances I most disliked, viz., those which exposed me to the 
 observation of the nuns, or which demanded self •debaser.ent be- 
 fore them, liko begging their pardon, kissing the floor, or the 
 Superior's feet, ftc, and, besides, he as a coufessor was l«ound to 
 sc^rhoy, and could not inform the Superior against me. My con- 
 scidnoe being as effectually unburdened by my confession to the 
 priest, as I bad been taught to believe, I therefore preferred not 
 to tell my sins to any one else : and this course I found was pre- 
 f erred by others for the same good reasons. 
 
 To Jane Hay, however, it sometimes appeared to be a matter of 
 perfect indifference, who knew her violations of role, to what pen- 
 ance she exposed herself. 
 
 Often ana often, while perfect tdlence prevailed among the nuns, 
 at meditatioD, or while nothing was to be heard except the voice 
 of the reader appointed for the day, no matter whose life or writ- 
 ings were presented for our contemplation, Jane would break 
 forth with sotte remark or question, that would attract general at- 
 tention, and often cause a long and total interruption. Sometimos 
 she would make some harmless remark or inquiry aloud, as if 
 through mere inadvertency, and then her loijd and well known 
 voice, so strongly associated with every thing singular and ridi • 
 culous, would arrest the attention of us all, and generally incline 
 us to laugh. The Superior would then usually utter some hasty 
 remonstrance, and many a time I have heard her pronounce some 
 penance upon her; but Jane had some apology ready, or some re- 
 ply calculated to irritate still further, or to prove to every one 
 that no punishment would be effectual on her. Sometimes this 
 singular woman would appear to be actuated bv opposite feelings 
 ana motives; for althougn she usually delighted in drawing others 
 into difBiculty, and has thrown many a severe penance even upon 
 her greatest favourites, on other occasions she appeared totaHy re- 
 gardless of consequences herself, and preferred to take all the 
 blame, anxious only toshield others. 
 
 I have repeatedly known her to break silence in the community, 
 as if she haa no object, or none beyond that of causing disturo- 
 ance, or exciting a smile, and as soon aS it wa(| noticed, exclaim, 
 ** Say it's me, say it's me 1" 
 
 Sometimes she would oven expose herself to punishment in 
 
 1)lace of another who was guilty ; and thus I found it difficult f ul- 
 y to understand her. In sorut* cases she seemed decidedly out of 
 her wits, as the Superior and priests commonly preferred to re- 
 present her ; but generally I saw in her what prevented me from 
 accounting her insane. 
 
 Among ner common tricks were such as these ; she garerme the 
 name of the *' Devout English Beader," because I was often ap- 
 pointed to read the lecture to the English girls ; and sometimes, 
 after taking a seat near me, under pretence of deafness, would 
 whiner it m my hearing, because she knew my want of self-com- 
 mand when coctuted to laughtnr. Thus she often exposed me to 
 peuBMi for ft teeaoh of Moonun, and let me to biting my lipe, 
 
42 
 
 Iwflil BifloloBores of Maria Xbnk. 
 
 to avdd UnffUoff ontright in the midit of a lolemn leotnxe. ** Oh I 
 yoQ deTout Ensliiih reMerl" wonid ■ometimM oome upon me 
 suddenly from her lipe, with something in it so ladioronSi that I 
 bad to exert myself to the utmost to avoid obserration. 
 
 This oame so often at one time, that I grew uneasy^ and told 
 her I must oonf ess it, to unburden my oonsoienoe. I had not 
 done so before, because she would complain of it , for giving wi^ 
 to temptation. 
 
 Sometimes she would pass behind us as we stood at dinner 
 ready to sit down, and softly moving back our chairs, leave us to 
 fall down upon the floor. This she has repeatedly done ; and 
 while we were laughing together, she would spring forward, 
 kneel to the Supe-^^or, and beg her pardoo and a penance. 
 
 OHAFTEBXI. 
 
 Alaimtng order from the Superior— Prooeed to ezecutA it— Scene i^ an up- 
 per room— Sentence of death, and murder— My ovn distreaa— xteporis 
 made to friends of St. Frances. 
 
 But I must now come to one deed in which I had some part, and 
 which I looh back upon with greater horror and pain than anv 
 occurrences in the Oonvent, in which I was not the principal suf- 
 ferer. It is not necessary for me to attempt to excuse myself in 
 this or any other case. Those who have any disposition to judge 
 fairly, will exercise their own judgment in making allowances for 
 me, under the fear and force, the command and examples, before 
 mo. I, therefore, shall confine myself, as usual, to the simple 
 narration of facts. The time was about five months after I took 
 the veil, the weather was cool, perhaps in September or October. 
 One day, the Superior sent for me and several other nuns, to re- 
 ceive her commands at a particular room. We found the Bishop 
 and some priests with her ; and speaking in an unusual tone of 
 fierceness and authority, she said, " Go to the room for the Ex- 
 amination of Ck)nscience, and ixaig St. Frances up stairs." No- 
 thing more was necessary than this unusual command, with the 
 tone and manner which accompanied it, to excite in me the most 
 gloomy anticipations. It did not strike me as strange that St. 
 Frances should be in the room to which the Superior directed us. 
 It was an apartment to which we were often sent to prepare for 
 the communion, and to which we voluntarily went, whenever we 
 felt the compunctions which our ignorance of duty, and the mis- 
 instructions we received, inclined us to seek relief from self-re- 
 proach. Indeed I had seen her there a little before. What tor- 
 xified me was, first; the Superior's angry manner ; second, the ex- 
 nrei don she used, being a French term, whose peculiar use I had 
 leamt in the Oonvent, and whose meanmg is rather softened when 
 translated into dragj third, the place to which we were directed 
 to take the interesting young nun, and the persons assembled 
 there, as I supposed, to condemn her. My fears were such, con- 
 cerning the fate that awaited her, and my horror at the idea that 
 ■he was in seme way to be sacrificed, that I would have given 
 anything to be allowed to stay where I was. But I feared the 
 coniequenoes of disobeying the Superior, and proceeded with the 
 rest towards the room for the examination of conscience. 
 
 The room to which we were to prooeed from that, was in iM 
 sev jnd story, and the place of many a scene of a shameful na- 
 ture It ii inffieient to say, alter what I have said in other parte 
 
 V 
 
 y 
 
IwM Biidositiei of Maria 
 
 43 
 
 and 
 
 of tUi book, that things had theraooeoired whidhriudoaMM- 
 gard tho plaoe with the greatest disgust. Saint R ^noes had ap- 
 pealed melanoholy for some time. I well knew thai she had 
 canse, for she had oeen repeatedly sahjeot to trials which I. need 
 not name— our common lot. When we reached the room "where 
 we had been bidden to seek her, I entered the door, mv oompa- 
 nions standing behind me, as the plaoe was so small as hardly to 
 hold fire persons at a time. The young nun was standing alone, 
 near the middle of the room ; she was probably about twentr, 
 with light hair, blue eyes, and a very fair complexion. I spoke to 
 her in a compassionate yoice, but at the same time with such a 
 decided mtiuner, that she comprehended my meanipg. 
 
 " Saint Frances, we are sent for you." 
 
 Several others spoke kindly to her, b^l two addressed her very 
 harshly. The poor creature torued round with a look of meek- 
 ness, and without expresidng any unwillinfmess or fiar, without 
 even speaking a word, resigned herself to our hands. The 
 tears came into my eyes. I had not a moment's doubt that she 
 considered her fate as sealed, and was already beyond the fr<ur of 
 death. She was conducted or rather hnmed to the staircase, 
 which was near by, and then seized by her limbs and dothes, and 
 in fact almost dragged up stair^ in the sense the Superior had 
 intended. I laid my own hands upon her— *I took holdiaf her, 
 too. more gently indeed than some of the rest ; yet I encouraged 
 and assisted them in carr^ ' jg her. I could not avoid it. My re- 
 fusal would not have saved hei, nor prevented her from being 
 carried up ; it would only have exposed me to some severe pun- 
 ishment, as I believe some of my companions would have seized 
 the first opportunity to complain of me. 
 
 All the way up the staircase. Saint Frances spoke not a word, 
 nor made the slightest resistance. When we entered,^ with hw, 
 the room to which she was ordered, my heart sank witUn nre. 
 The Bishop, the Lady Superior, and five priests, vis.: Bonin, 
 Bichards, Savage, and two others, I now ascertained, were assem- 
 bled for triaL on some charge of great importance. 
 
 When we had brought our prisoner before them, Father Bich- 
 ards beran to question her, and she made ready, but calm, re- 
 plies. I cannot pretaad to give a connected account of what en- 
 sued ; my feelings were wrought up to such a pitch, that I knew 
 not what I did, or^hat to do. I was under a terrible Apprehen- 
 sion that, if I betrayed the feelings which overcame me, I should 
 fall under the displeasure of the cold-blooded persecutors of my 
 poor innocent sister ; and this fear on the one hand, with tiie dia- 
 trtiss I felt for her on the other, rendered me almost franco. As 
 soon as I entered thn room, I had stepped into a comer, on the 
 left of the entrance, trhere I might partially support myself ^1^ 
 leaning against che wall between the door and the window. This 
 support was all that prevented me falling to the floOr, for the 
 oooiusion of my thoughts was so great, that only fk few of the 
 words I heard spoken on either side made an^ lasting imprMsion 
 upon me. I fell as if struck with some insup^ oirtable blow : and 
 death would not have beei^ more frightful to me. I am inclined 
 to the belief that Father Bichards wished to shield the poor pri- 
 soner from the severity of her fate, by drawing from her expres- 
 sions that migl^ bear a favourable oonstmotion. He askecl her, 
 anong other tUbBgik if she was now sorry fw what she had bet a 
 overheard lo »ft(jt9f ibt had been betrayer by one of ili& namO 
 
44 
 
 JLwM Blflolosiiies of Karia Monk. 
 
 and if til* would not prefer oonflnement intheoeDeto the pnnish- 
 ment whioh was threatened. Bat the Bishop soon interrupted 
 him, and it was easy to perceiTe, that he considered her fate as 
 sealed, and was determined she should not escape. In reply '^o 
 some of the questions pat to her, she was silent ; to others i heard 
 her Toice replr that she did not repent of words she had uttered, 
 thoQgh they bad been reported by some of the nans who had 
 heard tfakm ; that she had JBrmly resolved to resist every attempt 
 to compel her to the commission of crimes which she detested. 
 She added that she would rather die than cause the murd«r of 
 harmless babes. 
 
 " That is enough, finish her 1" said the Bishop. 
 
 Two nuns instaotlv fell upon the woman, and in obediente to 
 directions, given b^ the fikiperior, prepared to execute her sentence. 
 
 She still maintamed all the calmness and submission of a lamb. 
 Some of those who took part in this transaction, I believe, were 
 as unwilling as mjrself ; bat of others I can safely say, I believe 
 they delighted in it. Their conduct certainly exhibited a most 
 blood-thirsty spirit. But above all otherspresent, and above all 
 human fiends I ever saw, I think Saint Hypolite wm the most 
 diabolical ; she engaged iit the horrid task with all alacrity, and 
 assumed from choice the most revolting parts to be perfonned. 
 She seized a gag, forced it into the mouth of the poor nun, and 
 when it was fixeq between her extended jaws, so as to keep tbsm 
 open at their greatest possible distance, took hold of the straps 
 fastened at each end of the stick, crossed them behind the help* 
 less head of the victim, and drew them tight through the loop 
 prepared as a fastening. 
 
 llie bed, which had always stood in one part of the room, still 
 remained tiiere ; though the screen, which had usually been placed 
 before it, and was made of thick muslin, with only a crevice 
 through which a person might look out, had been folded up on 
 its hingues in the form of a W., and placed in a comer. On the 
 bed the prisoner was laid with her face upwards, and then bound 
 with cords so that she could not move. In an instant, another 
 bed was thrown upon her. One of the priests, named Bonin, 
 spuntf like a fury first upon it, with all his force. He was speed- 
 ily followed by the nuns, until there were as many upon the bed 
 as oould find room, and all did what they could, not only to 
 smother, but to braise her. Some stood up adQ jumped upon the 
 
 Soor girl with their feet, some with their knees: and others, in 
 ifferent ways, seemed to seek how they might best beat the 
 breath out ot her body, and mangle it, without coming in direct 
 contact with it. or seeing the effects of their violences. During 
 this time, my feelings were almost too strong to be endured. I 
 felt stupefied, and scarcely was conscious of what I did. Still, 
 fear for myself remained m a sufficient degree to induce me to 
 some exertion ; and I attempted to talk to those who stood next, 
 partly that I might have an excuse for turning Away from the 
 dreadful scene. 
 
 After the lapse of fifteen or twenty minutes, and when it was 
 presumed that the sufferer had been smothered and ernahedto 
 death. Father Bonia and the nans ceased to- trample upon her, 
 and stepped from the bed. All was motionless and silent beneath it. 
 They then began to laugh at such inhuman thonghts as eeour- 
 red to some ci them rallying ea<di other in the most unfeeling man- 
 «er| and ridiculing me for fielings which I in vaia endeavoured 
 
AwM Blsolosnres of Maila Konk 
 
 45 
 
 toooneeal. Thej aIIadecltoihet«iignaticnofoarmQrderedoom- 
 panion ; and one of them tanffhtiitgly laid, " She would haTemada 
 a good OathoUo martyr." ▲fter iipending some momenti ia lodt 
 oonvanation, one of them asked ii the corps' should be removed. 
 The Bnperior said it had better remain a lit.,ie while. After wait- 
 ing a ehort time longer, the feather-bed was taken off, the eords 
 unloosed, and the body taken by the nuns and drugged down 
 stairs. I was informed that it ^ as taken into the cellar, and 
 thrown unceremoniously into the hole which I hare already de- 
 scribed, covered with a great quantity of lime ; and afterwards 
 sprinkled with a liquid, of the properties and name of which I am 
 ignorant. This liquid I'have seen poured into the hole from 
 large bottles, after the necks were broken off ; and hare beard 
 that it is used in France to prevent the effluvia rising from ceme- 
 teries. 
 
 I did not soon recover from the shook caused by this scene; in« 
 deed, it still recurs to me, with moat gloomy impressions. The 
 next day, there was a melanoholv aspect over everything, and re- 
 creation time passed in the dullest manner ; scarcely auything^ 
 was said above a whisper. I never heard much said afterwards 
 about Saint Francos. 
 
 I spoke with one of the nuns, a few words, one day, but we 
 weie all <»utioned not to expose ourselves very far, and could 
 not place much reliance in each other. The murdered nun had 
 been brought to her shocking end through the treachery of one 
 of our number in whom she confided. 
 
 I never knevr with certainty who had reported her remarks to 
 the Superior, but suspicion fastened on one, and I never could re- 
 gard her but with detestation. 
 
 I was more inclined to blame her than some of those employed 
 in the execution ; for there could have been no necessity tor the 
 betrayal of her feelings. We all knew how to avoid exposing 
 each other. 
 
 I was often sent bv the Superior to overhear what was said by 
 novices and nuns, when they seemed to shun her ; she would say, 
 " Go and listen, they are speaking English;" and though I obey- 
 ed her, I never informed her against them. If I wished to clear 
 my conscience, I would go to a priest and confess, knowing that 
 he dared not communicate what I said to any person, and that he 
 would not choose as heavy penances ub the Superior. 
 
 We were always at liberty to choose another confessor when he 
 had any tin to confess, which we were unwilling to tell one to 
 Whom we should otherwise have done. 
 
 Not long after the murder juiit related, a young woman came 
 to the nunnery, and asked for permission to see St. Frances. It 
 was my former friend, with whom I had been an fissistant teacher, 
 Miss Louisa Bousquet, of St. Dv^nis. From this, I supposed the 
 murdered nun might have come from that town, or its vicinity* 
 The only answer was, that St. Frances was dead. 
 
 Some time afterwards, some of St. Frances' friends called to in- 
 
 2 uire after her, and they were told that she had died a glorious 
 eafli ; and further tQld, that sho made some heavenlv expres- 
 sions, which were repeated ia order to satisfy her friends. 
 
48 
 
 IwM Bisdosnrai of Maria Monk. 
 
 OHAFTEB Xn. 
 
 DeMriptioii of the Room of the three States, and the pletores in it— Jane 
 Bay— Ridiculins Priestn— Their oriminal treatment of at at Confev* 
 _ elon— Jane Ray's tricki with the Nun's Aprons, Handkerohielh, and 
 Night Oowne— Apples. 
 
 Thb piotares in the room of tho three states were larg^ and 
 
 Eainted by some artist who noderstood how to make some horri- 
 le ones. They appeared to be stuck to the walls. The light is 
 admitted ^rom small and high windows, which are curtained, and 
 is rather faint, so as to make everything look gloomv. The story 
 told ns was, that they were painted by an utist. to whom Qod 
 had dten power to represent things exactly at tney are in hea« 
 70^,^1, and purgatory. 
 
 In heaven, the picture of which hangs on one side of the apart* 
 ment, multitudes of nuns and priests are put in the highest plaoeSf 
 with the. Virgin Mary at their head, St.Teter and other saints, 
 far above the great numbers of good Oatholiot of other olassc;, 
 whc are crowded in below. 
 
 In pnrgatorv are multitudes of people ; and in one part, ealled 
 " TheploDe qf lambs,** are infants who died nnbaptized. " Th$ 
 plaiM^ darJmesa'* is that part of purgatory in which adults are 
 collected, and tl^ ef e they are surrounded by flames, waiting to be 
 deliverea by the prayers of the living. 
 
 In hell, the picture of which, ana that of purgatory, were on 
 the waH opponte that of heaven, the human faces were the most 
 horrible that can be imasined. Persons of different descriptions 
 were represented, with the most distorted features, ghastly eom- 
 plexions;and every variety of dreadful expression; some with 
 wild beasts gnawing ut their heads, others furiously biting the 
 iron bars which kept them in, with looks which could not fail to 
 make a spectator shudder. 
 
 I could hardly persuade myself, that the figures were Jiot liv- 
 ing, aifd the impression they made on my iwSnn was powwful. 
 I was often sh6wn the place where nuns go who break their tows, 
 as a warning. It is the hottest place in hell, and worse, fai every 
 potiit of view, even than that to which all Protestants are assign- 
 ed ; because they are not so much to be blamed, as we were some- 
 times assured, «» their ministers and the Bible, by which fhey are 
 perverted. 
 
 Whenever I was shut in that room, as I was several times, I 
 prayed for " les &mes des fiddles trepasses ;" the souls of those v 
 nitnf ul ones who have long been in purgatory, and have no re- 
 lations living to pray for them. 
 
 Mjr feelinga were often of the most painful description, while I 
 remained' alone with those frightful pictures. 
 
 "Jane Bay waironee put in, anduttered the most dreadful shrieks. 
 Some of toehold nuns pre «osed to the Superior to have her gag- 
 ged ; **Ild." sh^ replied, " go and let out uiat devil, she makes m« 
 sin mon than all the rest." 
 
 Jane oould not efidure the place; and she afterwards gava 
 names to many of the worst figures of the pictures. On eate- 
 chism-days she would take « aeat ^hind a cupboard door, whew 
 the priest bonld not see her, while she faced ttie none, and would 
 makeUs laugh. ** Yon are not so attentive to your lessons asyoo 
 used to bo," lie would begin to say, while we were endeaTOvnnf 
 to su pp ress ' onr laughter. 
 
 V 
 
Awftal Bifldlorarai of Marf a Monk. 
 
 47 
 
 Jftnt woald then hold up tbe first letter of eone prlett't name 
 whom the had before compared with one of the faoes in '*hell/' 
 and 10 look that we oould hardly preaerre our graTity. 
 
 I remember ahe named the wretch who was biting at the bare 
 of hell, with a serpent gnawing his head, with ohains and pad- 
 looks on, Father Dafresne; and she would say— " Does he not 
 look like him, when he oomes in to oateohism with his long so- 
 lemn face, and begins his speeches with, * My children, my hope 
 is that Tou have lived Tcry de?out liTesr " 
 
 The first time I went to confession after taking the Tcil, I found 
 abundant eyidenoe that tbe priests did not treat even that cere- 
 mony, which is called a solemn sacrament, with respect enough 
 to lay aside the shameless character they so often showed on other 
 occasions. The confessor sometimes sat in the room for the ex- 
 amination of conscience, and sometimes in the Superior's room, 
 ayd always alone except the nun who was confessing. He had a 
 Mfnmon chair placed In the middle of the floor, and instead of 
 being placed behind a grate, or lattice, as in the chapel, had no- 
 thing before or around him. There were no spectators to ob- 
 serve him, and of course any such thing would have been unne- 
 cessary. 
 
 A number of nuns usually confessed on the same day, but only 
 one oould be admitted into the room at a tiftie. They took their 
 places Just without the door, on their knees, and went through 
 the preparation prescribed by the rules of confession : repeating 
 certain prayers, whicH always occupy a considerable time. When 
 one was ready, she roii) from her kneeii, entered, and closed the 
 door behind her ; and no one even dared touch the latch till she 
 came out. 
 
 I shall not tell what was transacted at such times, under the 
 pretence of oonf easing, and reoeivine absolution from sin; far 
 more sin was often incurred than pardoned ^ and crimes of a deep 
 dye were committed, while triflinff irregularities in childish cere- 
 monies, were tre<i<«a as serious offences. I cannot persuade my- 
 self to speak plaiuiy on such a subject, as I must offend the vir- 
 tuous ear. I can only say, that suspicion cannot )lo any injustice 
 to the priests, because their sins cannot be exaggerated. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the manner in which even uaek 
 women as many of my sister nuns, regarded the father confes- 
 sors, when I state that thtre was of tan a contest among us, to 
 avoid entering the apartment as Ion;; as we oould : endeavour- 
 ing to make each other go first, as that was what most of us 
 dreaded. 
 
 During the long and tedious days which filled up the time be- 
 tween the occurrences I haye mentioned, nothing or little took 
 place to keep up our spirits. We were fatigued in body with la- 
 bour, or witn sitting, debilitated by the long continuance of our 
 religious exercises, and depressed in feelings by our miserable and 
 hopeless condition. Nothing but the humours of mad Jane Bay 
 oould rouse us for a moment from our languor aud melancholy. 
 
 To mention all her devices, would require more room than is 
 hare allowed^ and a memory of almost all her words and actions 
 for years. I had early become a favourite with her, and had op- 
 portunity to learn more of he character than most of the other 
 nuns. As this may be learr-M from hearing what she did. I will 
 here recount a few of her tricks, just as they happen to prseent 
 fhamselvci to my memory, with regard to the order of tiaie* 
 
48 
 
 IvM Bifldosnres of Maria Honk; 
 
 lectoirou ftpront wuajaua; aproDi anapooKes- 
 
 are the ouly articles of dress whioh are erer ironed 
 
 t. At soon as ve were alone, she remarked, " Well, 
 
 sm the rules while we are at this work ;" and, aU 
 
 ShtontdaT. in aa nnaoooontable hamovr, sprinkled the floor 
 plentif nlly with holy water, which brought upon her a serere leo- 
 ture from the Superior, as might hare oeen expected. The Su- 
 perior said it was a heinous oileor.. : she had wasted holy water 
 enough to saye many souls from purgatory : and what would 
 they not give for it. She then ordered Jane to sit in the middla 
 of tne floor, and when the priest came, he was informed of htr 
 offence, instead, however, of imposing one of those penanoee 
 to .Thich she had been subjected, but with so little effect, he said 
 to her, " Go to your place, Jane; we forgive you for this time." 
 
 I was once set to iron aprons with Jaue; aprons and pocket- 
 handkerchiefs a~~ ^"^ — ' "-' — ' " ^ *^ ' ^ 
 
 in the Oonvent. 
 
 we are freeuirom 
 
 though she knew she had no reason for saying so. she began to 
 
 sing, and I soon Joined her, and thus we spent the time, while 
 
 we were at work, I ^ the neglect of the prayers that we ought to 
 
 hare said. 
 
 We had no idea that we were in danger of being oyerheard, 
 but it happened that the Superior was overhead all the time, with 
 seyeral nuns, who were preparing for confession : she came down 
 and said, " How is this r* Jane Bay coolly replied that we had 
 employed our time in singing hymns, and referred to me. I was 
 afraid to coufirmtso direct a falsehood, in order to deceive tJie 
 Superior, though I had often told more injurious ones of her 
 fabrication, or at her orders, and said yery little in reply to Jane's 
 reouest. 
 
 The Superior plainly saw the trick that was attempted, and or- 
 dered us Doth to the room for the examination ox conscience, 
 wh^re we ri aaiued till night without a mouthial to eat. The 
 time was not, however, unoccupied : I received such a lecture 
 from Jane as I haye very seldom heard, and she was so angry 
 with me, that we did not speak to each other for two weeks. 
 
 At length she found something to complain of against me. had 
 me subjected to a penance, which led to our begging each other's 
 pardon, and we became perfectly satisfied, reooncilM, and aa good 
 friends as ever. 
 
 One of the most disgusting penances we had eyer to submit to, 
 was that of drinking the water in whioh the Superior had wash- 
 ed her feet. Nobody could ever laugh at this penance except 
 Jane Bay. She would pretend to comfort us, by saying she was 
 sure it was better than mere plain clear water. 
 
 Some of the tricks whioh I remember, were played by Jane 
 Hith nuns' clothes. It was a rule that ''he oldest aprons in use 
 should go to the youngest received, aoc t;hat the old nuns were to 
 wear all the new ones. On four dilf«»rent occasions, Jane stole 
 into the sleeping-room at night, ta^ <«uobserved by the watch, 
 changed a great part of the aprons, jUadag them by the beds of 
 nuns to whom they did not belong. The consequence was, that 
 in the morning they dressed tbAmselvvw iu such haste, as neyer to 
 disooyer i.he mista^ they mad*, uiit^ th^ were idl ranaed at 
 prayers ; and then the ridiculouf appi^- ^raaoe which mAuy of them 
 out, disturbed the long devotions. 1 laugh so easy thaL on sudh 
 occasions, I usually incunwd a full share of pec mces. ]p general- 
 ly, however, got a new i^sroo, when Jane played this tnck ; for it 
 was par<; of her object to #\ tiie beet aprons to her favourites, 
 and put oS the ragged oi^«n some qtf the old ntina whom she 
 aotosthafed. 
 
 • 
 
ivM Dlsdosares of HariaHinlc. 
 
 49 
 
 JftDA 0006 lofl htr pookot-handkoroiiiof . Tho ponanoo tor nioh 
 aa offeiioe it, to go without aoy for flro weeks, for this iho hud 
 no niluh, and roqueited ma to piok one from some of the nuui ou 
 the way up etairt. I saooeeaed ia gettiug two i tbii Jaae laid 
 was one too mAUj, and the thought it danicerous lor either of us 
 to keep it, lest a searoh should be made. Very soon the two uuus 
 were oomplaining tbat they had lost their haudkurohiefs, and 
 wouderiutf what oould have beoome of them, as they were sore 
 they had been oaref ul. Jane seised an opportunity, aud slipped 
 oue into a straw bed, where it remained until the bed was emp- 
 tied to be filled with new straw. 
 
 As the winter was coming on, one year, she complaiued to me 
 that we were not as well supplied with warm ui^bt>olotlies, as 
 two of the nuns she named, whom she said she '* abominated." 
 She soon after found means to get possession of their fine warm 
 f\anuel night-gowns, one of whioh sne gave to me, while the other 
 Whi put ou at bedtime. She presumed the owners would hare a 
 secrei. s^uroh for them ; aud iu the morning hid them in the stove, 
 after the fire had gone out, whioh was luudled a little before the 
 hour of rising, ana then sufiFered ter-burn down. 
 
 This she did every morning, taking them out at night through 
 the winter. The poor nuns who owned the garments were afraid 
 to complain of their loss, lest the^ should have some penance 
 laid on them, and nothing was ever said about them. Wlien the 
 weather be^an to grow warm in the spring, Jane returned the 
 night-gowns to the beds of the nuns from whom she had borrow- 
 ed them, aud they were probably as much surprised to find them 
 again, as they had been before at losiuff them. 
 
 Jane once found an opportunity to ml her apron with a quan- 
 tity af fine apples, oaMod faineases, whioh came iu her way, and 
 hastening up to the sleepiug-room, hid them under my bed. Then 
 ooming down, she informed me, aud we agreed to apply for leave 
 to make our elevens, as it is called. T<te meaniug of this is, to 
 repeat a certain round of prayers, fot mne d:iys in succession, to 
 some saint wf choose to address for assistance in becoming more 
 charitable, afleotionate, or sometUMr^ else. We easily obtaiuoi 
 permission, and hastened upetM^s te begin our nine days' feast on 
 the apples ; when, much to oar eurprise, they had all been taken 
 away, and there was no way 1k> avoid the disagreeable fate wa 
 had brought upon onrselveaw Jane, therefore, began to search 
 the beds of the other nuns; but uot finding any trace of the ap« 
 pies, she became doubtly vexed, aud stuck pins in those that be- 
 longed to her enemiea. 
 
 When bed<time oaase, they were much scratched in getting into 
 bed, whioh mAde th— i bxeak silence, and that subjeoted them to 
 penances. 
 
 GHAFTEB ZIIL ' 
 Jane Ray'strieks oentinnsd— The broomstick ghost— Sleep'Walking— Salt- 
 ed oidw— Ohsoging beds Objeats of some of her trloks— Feigned Hu* 
 aiUty— Alarm. 
 
 -^ Jane, who had been sweeping the sleeping-room for a 
 
 dreesed up the broomstiok, when she had completed her 
 
 with a white oloth on the end, so tied as to resemble an 
 
 m dressed in white, with lone arms stickins out. Tnis 
 
 through a brokan pane of gUss, and plaoed it so that it 
 
50 
 
 kwM Bisdosnres of Uaria UbnL 
 
 appeared to be looking in at the window, by the font of holy 
 water. There it remained till the nnns came up to bed. The 
 first who atopped at the font, to dip her finger in, oanght a 
 glimpse of the singular object, and started with terror. The 
 next was equally terrified, as she approached, and the next, and 
 the next. 
 
 We all believed in ghosts; and it was nbt wonderful that such 
 an object should cause alarm, especially as it was but a short 
 time after the death of one of the nuns. Thus they went on, 
 each getting a fright in turn, yet all afraid to speak. At length, 
 one more alarmed, or with less presence of mind than the rest, 
 exclaimed, " Oh, mon Dieu 1 Je ne me coucherais pas I" When 
 the night watch called out, " Who's that?" she confessed she had 
 broken silence, but pointed at the cause ; and when all the nuns 
 assembled at a distance from the window, Jane offered to ad- 
 vance boldly, and ascertain the nature of the apparition, whioh 
 they thought a most resolute intention. We all stood looking on. 
 when she stepped to the window, drew in the broomstick, and 
 ■howed us the ridiculous puppet which had alarmed so many su- 
 perstitious fears. 
 
 Some of her greatest feats she performed as a sleep-walker* 
 Whether she ever walked in her sleep or not, I am unable, with 
 certainly, to say.) She, however, often imposed upon the Superi- 
 or, and old nuns, by makin|^ them think so, when I knew she did 
 not ; and yet I cannot positively say that she always did. I have 
 remarked that one of the old nuns was always placed in our 
 sleeping-room at night, to watch us. Sometimes she would be 
 inattentive, and sometimes fall into a doze. Jane Bay often seiz- 
 ed such times to rise from her bed, and walk about, occasionally 
 seizing one of the nuns in bed, in order to frighten her. This she 
 generally effected; and many times we have been awakened by 
 screams of terror. In our alarm, some of us frequently broke 
 silence, and gave occasion to the Superior to lay us under pen- 
 ances. Many times, however, we escaped with a mere repri- 
 mand, while Jane usually received expressions of compassion: 
 " Poor creature ; she would not do so if she were in perfect pos- 
 session of her reason." And Jane displayed her customary art- 
 fulness, in keeping up the false impression. As soon as she per- 
 ceived that the old nun was likely to observe her, she would 
 throw her arms about, or appear unconscious of what she was do- 
 ing ; falling upon a bed, or standing stock-still, until exertions 
 had been made to rouse her from her supposed lethargy. 
 
 We were once allowed to drink cider at dinner, whioh was 
 quite an extraordinary favour. Jane, however, on account of her 
 negligence of all work, was denied the privilege, which she much 
 reseuted. The next day, when dinner arrived, we began to taste 
 our new drink, but it was so salt we could not swallow it. Those 
 of us who first discovered it were as usual afraid to speak ; but 
 we set down our cups, and looked around, till the others made 
 the same discovery, which they all soou did, and most of them in 
 the same manner. Some, however, at length, taken by surprise, 
 uttered some ludicrous exclamation, on tastiug the salted cider, 
 and then an old nun, looking across, would cry out— 
 
 ** Ah ! tn oasses la silence." (Ah ; you've broken silence.) 
 
 And thus we soon got a laughing, beyond otir power of sup- 
 porting it. At recreation that dav, the first question asked by 
 many of us was, " How did yoa like your cider P' 
 
iwftal Bisolosiires of Uarla Honk. 
 
 51 
 
 #- 
 
 Loh was 
 it of her 
 le muoh 
 
 to taste 
 Those 
 )ak ; but 
 rs made 
 
 them in 
 surprise, 
 id older, 
 
 Jaae Bay neTer had a fixed place to deep in. When the wea- 
 iher hegan to grow warm in the spring, she osdally pushed some 
 bid oat of its plaoe, near a window, and put her own beside it ; 
 and when the winter approached, she would choose a spot near 
 the stove, and occupy it with her bed, in spite of all remonstrance. 
 We were all oonvinoed that it was generally best to yield to her. 
 
 She was often set tr^ork in different ways ; bat, whenever she 
 was dissatisfied with doing any thing, would devise some trick 
 that would make the Superior or old nuns drive her off ; and when- 
 ever any suspicion was expressed of her being in her right mind, 
 she would say that she did not know what she was doing ; and 
 all the difficulty arose from her repeating prayers too much, which 
 wearied and distracted her mind. 
 
 I was once directed to assist Jane Bay in shifting the beds of 
 the nuns. When we came to those of some of the sisters whom 
 she most disliked, she said, now we will pay them for some of 
 the penances we have suffered on their account ; and takiug some 
 thistles, she mixed them with the straw. At night, the first of 
 them that got into bed felt the thistles, and cried out. The night-* 
 Watch exclaimed us usual, " Ton are breaking silence there." 
 And then another scream^ as she was scratched by the thistles, 
 and another. The old nun then called on all who had broken si- 
 lence to rise, and ordered them to sleep under their beds as a 
 penance, which thev silently complied with. Jane and I after- 
 wards confessed, when it was all over, and took some trifiing pen- 
 ance which the priest imposed. 
 
 Those nuns who fell most under the displeasure on mad Jane 
 Bay, as I have intimated before, were those who had the reputa- 
 tion of being most ready to inform of the most trifling faults of 
 others, and especially those who acted without any regard to 
 honour, by disclosing what they had pretended to listen to in con- 
 fidence. Several of the worst-tempered " saints" she held in ab- 
 horrence ; and I have heard her say, that such and such she 
 abominated. Many a trick did she play upon these, some of which 
 were painful to them in their consequences, and a good number 
 of them have never been traced to this day. Of all the nuns, how- 
 ever, none other was regarded by her with so muoh detestation aa 
 St. Hypolite ; for she was always believed to have betrayed St. 
 Frances, and to have caused her murder. She was looked upon 
 by us as the voluntary cause of her death, and ol the crime which 
 those of us committed, who, unwiUiuffly, took part in her execu- 
 tion. We, on the contrary, being under the worst of fears for 
 ourselves, in case of refusing to obey our masters and mistress, 
 thought ourselves chargeable with less guilt, as unwilling assist- 
 ants in a scene which it was impossible for us to prevent cr delay. 
 Jane has often spoke with me of the suspected informer, and al- 
 ways in terms of the greatest bitterness. 
 
 The Superior sometimes expressed commiseratien for mad Jane 
 Bay, but I never could tell whether she really believed her insane 
 or not. I was always inclined to think, that she was willing to 
 put up with some of her tricks, because they served to divert our 
 minds from the painful and depressing circumstances in which we 
 were placed, v I knew the Superior's powers and habits of decep- 
 tion also, and that she would deceive us as willingly as any one 
 else. 
 
 . Sometimes she proposed to send Jane to St. Anne's, a plaoe 
 near Quebec, celebrated for the pilgrimages made to it by persons 
 
63 
 
 Awfbl Disdosoies of Maria VaaL 
 
 diffanntly affliotad. It is rappoaed that aoiiM peoaliar virtae tzlitfl 
 there, which will restore hMlth to the siok;and I hare heacd 
 ■tories told in oonoboration of the common belief. Manylaoie 
 and blind persons, with others, visit St. Anne's every year, ooma 
 of whom may be seen travelliog on foot, and begging their food. 
 The Superior would sometimes say that it was a pity that a wo- 
 man like Jane Bay, oapable of bang so useful, should be unable 
 to do her duties, in consequence of a malady which she thought 
 might be cured by a visit to St. Anne's. 
 
 xet to St. Anne's Jane was never sent, and her wild and vari- 
 ious tricks continued as before. The rules of silence, which the 
 others were so scrupulous in observing, she set at nought every 
 hour ; and as for otner rules, she regarded them with as little re* 
 spect when they stood in her way. She would now and then 
 step out and stop the clock by which our exercises were regula- 
 ted, and sometimes in this manner lengthened out our recreation 
 till near twelve. At last the old nuns began to watch against 
 such a trick, and would occasionally go out to see if the clock 
 was going. 
 
 She once made a request that she might not eat with the other 
 nuns, which was granted, as it seemed to proceed from a. spirit of 
 genuine humility, which made her regard herself as unworthy of 
 our society. 
 
 It being most odnvenient, she was sent to the Superior's table, 
 to take her meals after her; and it did not first occur to the Su- 
 I)erior that Jane, in this manner, profited by the change, by get- 
 ting much better food than the rest of us. Thus there seemed to 
 be always something deeper than anybody at first suspected, at 
 the bottom of everything she did. 
 
 She was once directed to sweep a community-room, nnder the 
 sleeping-chamber. This office had before been assigned to the 
 other nuns, as a penance ; but the Superior, considering that Jane 
 Bay did little or nothing, determined thus to furnish her with 
 some employment. 
 
 She declared to us that she would not sweep it long, as We 
 might soon be assured. It happened that the stove by which the 
 community-room was warmed in the winter, had its pipe carried 
 through the floor of our sleeping chamber, and thence across it 
 in a durection opposite that in which the pipe of our stove was 
 carried* It being then warm weather, the hole was left unstop- 
 ped. After we had all retired to our beds, and while engaged m 
 our silent prayers, we were suddenly alarmed by a bright blase 
 of fire, which Durst from the hole in the floor, and threw q^ks 
 all around ns. We thought the building was burning, and ut- 
 tered cries of terror, regardless of the penances, the fear of whicAi 
 generally kept us silent. 
 
 l%e utmost confusion prevailed ; for although we had solemnly 
 vowed never to flee from the Convent even if it was on fire, we 
 were extremely alarmed, and could not repress our feelings. We 
 soon learnt the cause, for the flames ceased in a moment or two, 
 and it was found that mad Jane Bay, after sweeping a little in 
 the room beneath, had stuck a quantity of wet powder on the end 
 of her broom, thrust it up through the hole in the cealing into 
 our apartment, and with a lighted paper set it on fire. 
 
 The date of this alarm I must refer to a time soon after that of 
 the election riots; for I recollect that she found meant to get 
 possession of some of the powder which was prepared at thai 
 
IwM Bifldlosiires of Haada Monk. 
 
 63 
 
 thne f or an emerfeiuqir to which lome thought the GonTentwM 
 ezpoMd. 
 
 SheoooAMkedforponandpaper^and then the Saperiortold 
 her if she "vrote to her irienda she must see it. She replied that 
 it was for no suoh purpose : she wanted to write her oonfession, 
 and thns make it once for all. She wrote it, handed it to the 
 
 J>rieft. and he gave it to the Superior, m\o read it to us. It was 
 ttll of offences which she had never committed, eyideutiv written 
 to throw ridicule on confessions, and one of the most ludicrous 
 productions I ever saw. . 
 
 Our bedsteads were made with very narrow boards laid across 
 them, on which the beds were laid. One day, while we were in 
 the bed'Chambers together, she proposed that we should misplace 
 these boards. This was done, so that at nif^ht nearly a dozen 
 nuns fell down upon the floor in getting into bed. A good deal 
 of confusion naturally ensued, but the authors were not discoYcr- 
 ed. I was so conscience-stricken, however, that a week after- 
 wards, while we were examining our consciences together, I told 
 her I must confess the sin the next day. She replied, ** Do as you 
 like, but you will be sorry for it." 
 
 The next day, when we came before the Superior, I was just 
 going to kneel acd confess, when Jane, almost without giving me 
 time to shut the ''r^'ir threw herself at the Superior's feet and 
 confessed the u: - 1 a penance was immediately laid upon me 
 for the sin I ba<' c aled. 
 
 There was an uiU uun who was a famous talker, whom we used 
 to call La Mere (Mother.) One night, Jane Bay got up, and se- 
 cretly changed the caps of several of the nuns ; and hers among 
 the rest. In the morning there was great confusion, and suoh a 
 scene as seldom occurred. She was severely blamed by La Mdre, 
 having been informed against by some of the nuns; and ac last 
 became so much enraged, that she attacked the old woman, and 
 even took her by the throat. La Mire called on all present to 
 come to her assistance, and several nuns interfered. Jane seized 
 the opportunity afforded in the confusion, to beat some of her 
 worst enemies quite severely, and afterward said, that she had 
 .intended to kill some of the rascally informers. 
 
 For a time Jane made us laugh so much at prayers, that the 
 Superior forbade her going down with us at morning prayers ; 
 and she took the opportunity to sleep in the morning. When 
 this was found out, she was forltidden to get into her bed again 
 after leaving it, and then she would creep under it and take a nap 
 on the floor. This she told us of one day, but threatened us if we 
 ever betrayed her. At length she was missed at breakfast, as die 
 would sometimes oversleep herself, and the Superior began to be 
 more strict, and always inquired, in the morning, whether Jane 
 B ay w as in her place. 
 
 When the question was general none of us answered ; but when 
 it was addressed to some nun near her by name, as. 
 
 "Saint Eustace, is Jane Bay in her place f* then we had to 
 
 "8r-. 
 
 Of all the scenes that occurred during my stay in the Oonvent, 
 there was none which excited the delight of Jane more than one 
 which took place in the chapel one day at mass, though I never 
 had any partioalar reason to suppose that shehad brought it about. 
 
 Some person unknown to me to this dvf , had put some snb« 
 itanoe or other, of a most nauseous smell, into the hat of % little 
 
54 
 
 AwM Bisdosnies of Maria HgiiM 
 
 boy, who attended at the altar, and he, without observing the triek, 
 put it upon his head. In the midst of the oeremoniee he approach- 
 ed some of the nuns, who were almost suffocated with the odour; 
 and as he occasionally moved from place to place, some of them 
 began to beckon to nim to stand further off, and to hold their 
 noses, with looks of disgust. The boy was quita unconsdous of 
 the cause of the difflor' 7, and paid them no attention, but the 
 confurion soon becan; wO great through the distress of some, and 
 thelaughine of others, that the Superior noticed the droum« 
 stance^ and beckoned the boy to withdraw. 
 
 All attempts, however, to engage us in any work, prayer, or 
 meditation, were fonnd ineffectual. Whenever the circumstances 
 in the chapel came to miud, we would laugh out. We had got 
 into aurha state, that we could not easily restrain ourselves. The 
 Buperior, yielding to necessity, allowed us recreation for the whole 
 day. 
 
 The Superior used sometimes to send Jane to instruct the no- 
 vices ic their English prayers. She would proceed to the task 
 with all seriousness ; but sometimes chose the most ridiculous, as 
 well as irreverent passages from the songs, and other things^ 
 which she had sometimes learned, which would set us, who un- 
 derstood her, laughing. One of her rhymes, I recoUeot, began 
 with— 
 
 *< The Lord of love— look from above 
 Upon this turkey hen 1" 
 
 Jane for a time slept opposite to me, and often in the night 
 would rise, unobserved, ana slip into my bed, to talk with me, 
 which she did in a low whisper, and returned again with equal 
 caution. 
 
 She would tell me of the tricks she had played, and such as she 
 meditated, and sometimes make me laugh so loud, that I had 
 much to do in the morning with begging pardons ani doing pen* 
 ances. 
 
 One winter^s day, she was sent to light a fire ; but after she had 
 done so, remarked j>rivately to some of us, " my fingiiiZB vere so 
 cold — you'il see if I do it again." 
 
 The next day there was a great stir in the house,becai7r9it was 
 said that mad Jane Bay had been seized with a fit whilo maldng 
 a fire, and she was taken np apparently inoensible, and conveyed 
 to her bed. She complained to me, who visited her in the course 
 of the day, that she was likely lo starve, as food was denied her ; 
 and I was persuaded to pin a stocking under my dress, and se- 
 cretly put food into it from the table. This I afterwards carried 
 to her, and relieved her wants. 
 
 One of the things which I had blamed Jane most for, was a 
 disposition to quarrel with any nun who seemed to be winning 
 the favour of the Superior. She would never rest until she had 
 brought such a one into some difficulty. 
 
 We weire alV wed but little soap ; and Jane, when she found her 
 eupply nearly gone, would take the first piece she could find. One 
 day there was a general search made for a large piece that was 
 missed ; when, soun after I had been searched, Jane Bay passed 
 me, and slipped it into my pocket; she soon after was seuched 
 herself, and then secretly came for it again. 
 
 While I recall these particulars of our Nunnery, and refer so 
 often to the conduct and language of one of the nuns, I cannot 
 speak of some things, which I believed or suspected, on account 
 
AwM Bisdosurai of Maria Honk. 
 
 55 
 
 f 
 
 of my want of raffideot knowledge. Bat it it a pity jon bare 
 not Jane Bay for a witness ; she knew manr thinn of which I 
 am ignorant. She mast be in possession of facts that shoold be 
 known. Her long residence in the Oonvent, her habits of roam- 
 ing aboat it, and of obserring eykirything, mast hare made her 
 acquainted with things which woold be heaiu wiih interest I 
 always felt as if she knew eveiything. She woald often go and 
 listen, or look through the cracks into the Superior's room, while- 
 any of the priests were closeted with her, and sometimes would 
 come and tell me what she witnessed. I felt Inyself bound to 
 oonfesif on such occasions, and always did so. 
 
 She knew, however, that I only told it to the priest, or to the 
 Sai^rior, and without mentioning the name of my informant, 
 which r was at liberty to withhold, so that she was not found out. 
 I often Mid to her, ** Don't tell me, Jane, for I must confess it.'* 
 She wot'li reply, ** I^ is better for vou to confess it than for me." 
 I thus became, even against my will, informed of scenes supposed 
 by the actors of them to be secret. 
 
 •Tand Bay once persuaded me to accompany her into the Supe- 
 rior's zoom, to hide with her under the sofa, and await the ap- 
 pearance of a Tisitor whom she expected, that we might overhear 
 what passed between them. We had been long concealed, when 
 the Superior came in alone, and sat for some time ; when, fearing 
 she might detect ns in the stillness that prevailed, we began to 
 repent of our temerity. At length, however, she suddenly with- 
 drew, and thus afforded us a welcome opportunity to escape. 
 
 I was passing one day through a part of the cellar, where I had 
 not often occasion to go, when the toe of my shoe hit something. 
 I tripped and tell down. I rose again, and holding my lamp to 
 see what had caused my fall, I found an iron ring, fastened to a 
 small square trap*door. This I had the cariosity to raise, and 
 saw four or five steps down, but there was not light enough to 
 see more, and I feared to be noticed by somebody and reported to 
 the Superior ; soj closing the door again, I left the spot. At first 
 I could not imagine the use of such a passasre ; but it afterwards 
 occurred to me that it might open to the subterranean passage to 
 the Seminary ; for I never could before account for the appear- 
 ance of many of the priests, who often appeared and disappeared 
 among us, particularly at night, when I knew the gates were 
 dosed. They could, as I now saw, ccme up to the door of the 
 Superior's room at any hour ; then up the stairs into our sleep- 
 ing.:room, or where they chose. And often they were in our beds 
 before us. 
 
 I afterwards ascertained that my conjectures were correct, and 
 that a secret communication was kept up in this manner between 
 these two institutions, at the end towards Ndtre Dame street, at 
 a considerable depth under ground. I often afterwards met 
 prieste in the cellar, when sent there for coals and other articles, 
 as they had to pass up and down the common cellar stairs on 
 their way. 
 
 My wearisome daily prayers and labours, my pain of body and' 
 depression of mind, which were so much increased by penances I 
 baid Bufferedi and those which I constantly reared, and the feel- 
 ings of shame, remorse, and horror, which sometimes arose, 
 brouffht me to a state which I cannot describe. 
 
 In the first place, my frame was enfeebled by the unear/ pos- 
 tuiM I was required to keep for so long « time during prayers. 
 
53 
 
 AwM Bifldosnies of Mitala Uonk. 
 
 Q^it alone^ I thought, was tiiffioieiit to undennine my health and 
 destroy my life. An hour and a half every morning I had to sit 
 on the floor of the oommunitT'Toom, with my feet under me, my 
 body bent forward, and my head hanging on one side, in a pos- 
 ture ezpressiye of great humility, it is true, but rery fatiguing to 
 keep for suoh an nnrsasonable length of time. Often I found it 
 impossible to avoid falling asleep in this posture, which I oould 
 do without detection, by Mudlcg a little lower than usual. The 
 signal to rise, or the nois' ^ ide bv the rising of the other nuns, 
 then woke me, and I got r ith the rest unobserved. 
 
 Before we took the post ^ ^ast described, we had to kneel for 
 a long time without bendiuf; the body, keeping quite erect, with 
 the exception of the knees only, with the hands together before 
 the breast. This I found the most distressing attitude for me, 
 and never assumed it without feeling a sharp pain in my chest, 
 which I often thought would soon lead me to my grave— that is, 
 to the fjpreat common receptacle for the dead under the chapel. 
 And this upright kneeling posture we were obliged to resume aa 
 soon as we rose from the half-sitting posture first mentioned, so 
 that I usually f'jlt myself exhausted and near to fainting before 
 the conclusion of morning services. 
 
 I found the meditations extremely tedious, and often did I sink 
 into sleep, while we Wv<)re all seated in silence on the floor. When 
 required to tell t^j^ meiitations, as it was thought to be of no 
 great importance what we said, I sometinr es found that I had 
 nothing to tell but a dream, and told that, which jiassed off very 
 well. 
 
 Jane Bay appeared to be troubled still more than myself with 
 wandering thoughts ; and when blamed for them, would reply, 
 " I begin very well ; but directly I begin to think of some old 
 friend of mine, and my thoughts go a wandering from one ooun* 
 try to another." 
 
 Sometimes I confessed my falling asleep.; and often the priests 
 have talked to me about the sin of sleeping in the time of medi« 
 tation. At last^ one of them proposed to me that I should prick 
 myself with a pm, which is often done, and so rouse myself for a 
 time. 
 
 My close opnflnement in the Convent, and the want of oppor- 
 tunities to breathe the open air, might have proved more injuri- 
 ous to me thau'they did, had 7. not been employed a partt)f my 
 time in more active labours than those of sewing, &o., to which I 
 was chiefly conflned. I took part occasionally in some of the 
 heavy work, as washing, &c. 
 
 The events which I am now to relate occurred about five months 
 after my admission into the Convent as a nun ; but I cannot fix 
 the time with precision, as I know not of anything that toqk 
 placein the world about the same, period. The circumstance I 
 clearly remember ; but as I have elsewhere remarked, we were 
 not accustomed to keep any account of time. 
 
 Information was given to us one day, that another novice was 
 to be admitted among us ; and we were required to remember and 
 mention her often in our prayers, that she might have faithful- 
 ness in the service of her holy spouse. No information was given 
 us concerning her beyond this fact; not a word about her age, 
 name, or nation. On all similar ocoanons the same course was 
 pnrsned, and all that the nuns ever learnt concerning one another 
 was what thev might discover by being togethar, iuu whioh nsa* 
 tJij amottuted to little or aothins. 
 
 
 I 
 
JLwM BlBolosiireB of Maria Monk. 
 
 57 
 
 ■I • 
 
 ' 
 
 Whtn the d»7 of her admisdon anrived, ihont^h I did not wit- 
 noH the ceremony in the chapel, it wae a gratification to ne all on 
 oneaoconnt, because we were uways released from labour, and 
 enjoyed a great lepreation day. 
 
 Our new sister, when ehe was introduced to the " holy'* society 
 of us '* saints," proved to be young, of about the middle sixe, and 
 ▼ery good looking for a Canadian ; for I soon ascertained that 
 ■he was one of my own countrywomen. TUe Oanaditi^n females 
 are generally not handsome. I neyer learnt her name nor any- 
 thiug of her history. She had chosen St. Martin for her nun 
 name. She was admitted in the morning, and appeared melan- 
 choly all day. This I observed was always the case ; and the re- 
 marks made by others, led me to believe that they, and all they 
 had seen, had felt sad and miserable for a louger or ihorter time. 
 Even the Superior, as it may be recollected, confessed to me that 
 she experienced the same feelings when she was received. When 
 bed«time arrived, she proceeded to the chamber with the rest of 
 QS, Mid was assigned a bed on the side of the room opposite my 
 own, and a little beyond. The nuns were all soon in bed, the 
 nsuiu silence ensued, and I was making my customary mental 
 prayers, and composing myself to sleep, when I heard the most 
 piercing and heart-rending shrieks proceed from our new com* 
 rade. xSvery nun seemed to rise as if by one impulse, for no one 
 could hear such sounds, especially in such total silence, without 
 being greatly excited. A. general noise succeeded, for many 
 voices spoke together, uttering cries of surprise, compassion, or 
 fear. It was in vain for the ui^ht- watch to expect silence : for 
 once we forgot rules and peoauces, and gave vent to onr feelings, 
 and she could do nothing but call for the Superior. 
 
 I heard a man's voice mingled with the cri's and shrieks of the 
 nun. Father Quiblier, of the Seminary, I bac. fait confident, was 
 in the Superior's room at the time when we retired ; and several 
 of the nuns afterwards assured me that it was he. The Superior 
 soon made her appearance, and in a harsh manner commanded si- 
 lence. I heard her threaten gagging her, and then say, " You are 
 no better than anybody else, and if you do not obey, you shall be 
 sent to the cells." 
 
 One young girl was taken into the Convent during my abode 
 there, under peculiar circumstances. I was acquainted with the 
 whole affair, as I was employed to act a part in it. 
 
 Among the novices was a young lady, of about seventeen, the 
 daughter of an old rich Canadian. She had been remarkable for 
 nothing that I know of, except the liveliness of her disposition. 
 The Superior once expressed to us a wish to have her take the 
 veil; though the girl herself had never such intention that I know 
 of. Why the Superior wished to receive her I could only conjee- * 
 ture. One reason might have been, that she expected m receive 
 9. considerable sum from her father. She was, however, strongly 
 desirous of having the girl in our community, and one day said— 
 *' Let us take her in by a trick, and tell the old man she felt too 
 humble to take the veil in public." 
 
 In obedience \o the directions of the Superior we exerted our- 
 selvee to main her oontented, especially when she was first re- 
 ceived, when we got round her and told her we had felt so for a 
 time, bnt having since become acquainted with the happiness of 
 nun'e life, were perfectly content, and would never be willing to 
 leave the Convent. An exception teemed to be made in her fa> 
 
53 
 
 AwM BifldosiireB of Maria Honk. 
 
 
 ▼our, in one respeot ; for I belier* no oriminal attempt WM nutdo 
 upon her, until aho had been for lome time an inmate of the 
 nnnnery. 
 
 Soon after her reception, or rather her foroible entry into the 
 Ooiivent, her father oalled to make enquiries about his daughter. 
 The Superior first spoke with him herself, and then oalled ni to 
 repeat her plausible stoiry, whioh I did with aoouraoy. If I had 
 wished to say any thing else, I nerer should have dared. 
 
 We told the foolish old man, that his daugiitar, whom we r.U 
 affectionately loved, had long desired to become a nun, but had 
 been too humble to wish to appear before spectators, and had, at 
 her own desire, been favoured with a private admission into the 
 community. 
 
 The benefit conferred u]^n himself and his family, bv this act 
 of self •consecration, I reminded him, must be truly great and va- 
 luable; as every family who furnishes a priest or a nun, is Justly 
 looked upon as receiving the peculiar favour of hea< an on that 
 account. The old Canadian, firmly believing every word I was 
 forced to toll him, took the event as a great blessing, and express- 
 ed the greatest readiness to pay more than the customary fee to 
 the Convent. After the interview, he withdrew, promisiitg soon 
 to return, and pay a handsome sum of money tb the Convent, 
 which be performed with all despatch and the g-eatest cheerful- 
 ness. The poor girl never heard that her father had taken the 
 trouble to call and see her, much less did she know any thing of 
 the imposition passed upon her. She remained in the Convent 
 when 1 left it. 
 
 The youngest girl who ever took the veil of our dsterhood, was 
 only fourteen years of age, and considered very pious. She lived 
 but a short time. I was told that she was ill-treated by the priests, 
 and believed her death was in consequence. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 iDflaendng novices— DifBcnlty of oonvindng persons fh>m the TTnited 
 States— Tale of the Bishop in the city— The Bishop in theGonvent— 
 The prisoners in the cells— Practice in singing— Narratives— Jane Bay's 
 hymns— The Superior's best trick. 
 
 It was considered a great duty to exert ourselves to influence no- 
 vices in favour of the Boman Catholic religion ; and different 
 nuns were, at different times, charged to do what they could, by 
 conversation, to make favourable impressions on the minds of 
 some, who were particularly indicated to us by the Superior. I 
 often heard it remarked, that those who were influenced with the 
 greatest difficulty, were young ladies from the United Stetes ; and 
 on some of those, great exertions were made. 
 
 Cases in which citizens of the States were said to have been 
 converted to the Boman Catholic faith were sometimes spoken of , 
 and always as if they were considered highly important. 
 
 The Bishop, as we Were told, was in the public square, on tht 
 day of an execution, when, as he said, a stoanger looked at Um 
 in some peculiar manner, which made him confidently believe 
 God intended to have him converted by his means. Whbn ho 
 went home he wrote a letter for him, and the next day he found 
 him again in the same place, and gave him the letter, which led 
 to bis becoming a Boman Oathouo. This man, it was added, 
 proved to be a citizen of the Stetes. ' 
 
 \ 
 
 
AwM Bisdosnres of Uarla Honlc. 
 
 69 
 
 ,•■1 
 
 I 
 
 The Biihop, at I hart xmoiurked, wm not rery dignified on all 
 oooadoni, and lometimeii acted in inoh a manner aa would not 
 have appeared well in public. 
 
 One day I law him preparing for man ; and beoanie he had 
 ■ome difBonlty in gettmg On mi robes, ahowed evident eigne of 
 anger. One of the nuns remarked : " The Bishop is going to 
 perform a passionate mass." Some of the others exdaioMd : 
 " Are Tou not ashamed to speak thus of my lord P" And she was 
 rewarded with a penance. 
 
 But it might be hoped that the Bishop wonld be free from the 
 crimes of which I have declared so many priests to have been 
 
 g kilty. I am far from entertaining each charitable opinions of 
 m ; rnd I had good reasons, after a time. 
 
 I was often required to sleep on a sofa, in the room of the pre- 
 lent Superior, as l may have already mentioned. 
 
 One night, not long i^ter I was first introduced there for that 
 purpose, and within the first twelve months of my wearing the 
 Toil, having retired as usual, at about half«past nine, not long 
 after we had got into bed, the alarm-bell from without, which 
 hangs over the Superior's bed, was rung. She told me to see who 
 was thee ; and going down, I heard we signal given, which I 
 have before mentioned, a peculiar kind of nissing sound made 
 through the teeth. I answered with a low " Hum — ^hum ;** and 
 then opened the door. It was Bishop Lartique, the present Bis- 
 hop of Montreal. He said to me, " Are you a Novice or a Beceiv- 
 ed r" meaning a Beceived nun. I answered, " a Beceived.' 
 
 He then requested me to conduct him to the Superior's room, 
 which I did. He went to the bed, drew the curtains behind him, 
 and I lay down again upon the sofa, until morning, when the Su- 
 perior called me, at an early hour, about daylight, end directed 
 me to show him the door, to which I conducted him, and he took 
 his departure. 
 
 I continued to visit the cellar frequently, to carry up coal for 
 the fires, without anything more than a general impression that 
 there were two nuns somewhere imprisoned in it. One day, while 
 there on my usual errand, I saw a nun standing on the right of 
 the cellar, in front of one of the cell doors I had before observed ; 
 she was apparently engaged with something within. This at- 
 tracted my attention. The door appeared to close in a small re- 
 cess, and was fastened with a stout iron bolt on the outside, the 
 end of which was secured by being let into a hole in the stone- 
 work which formed the posts. The door, which was of wood, 
 was sunk a few inches oeyond the stonework, which rose and 
 formed an aich'overhead. Above the bolt was a small window, 
 supplied with a fine grating, which swung open, a small bolt hav* 
 ing Dcen removed from it, on the outside. The nun I had ob- 
 served seemed to be whispering with some person within, through 
 the little wfndow ; but I hastened to get my coal, and left the cel- 
 lar, presuming that was the prison. When I visited the place 
 again, being tuone, I ventured to the spot, determined to learn 
 the truth, presuming that the imprisoned nuns, of whom the Su- 
 perior had told ate on my admission, were confined there. I 
 spoke' at the window where I had seen the nun standing, and 
 heard a voice reply in a whisper. The aperture was so small, and 
 the place so dark, that I could see nobody; but I learnt that a 
 
 Kor wretch was confined ttiere a prisoner. I feared that I might 
 discovered, and after a few words, whidi I thought could do 
 tto harm, I withdrew. 
 
60 
 
 iwM IMsolosiizeB of Haiia Honk. 
 
 My oariodtj WM now aliTe to laani eTwythinff I ooald aboat 
 10 myiterioni a lobjtct. I made a few inaniiriM of St. XaTiar, 
 who only informed me that they w^ panuhed for refadoff to 
 obey the Superior, Bishop, and Frieats. I af terwarda found that 
 the other nans were aoquainted with the fact I had J net discover- 
 ed. All I could learn, however, was that the prisoner in the c^U 
 whom I had just spoken with, and another in the cell Just be- 
 yond, had been confined there several years without having been 
 takdn out ; but their names, connexions, offences, and everything 
 else relating to them, I could never learn, and am still as ignor- 
 ant of as ever. Some conjectured that they had refused to com- 
 ply with some of the rules of the Oonvent, or requisitions of the 
 Superior ; others, that they were heiresses whose property was 
 desired for the Oonvent, and who would not consent to sign deeds 
 of iti Some of the- nuns informed me, that the severest of their 
 Bufferings arose from fear of supernatural beings. 
 
 I often spoke with one of them in passing near their cells, when 
 on errands in the cellar, but never ventured to stop long, or to 
 
 {)re8S my inquiries very far. Besides, I found her reserved, and 
 ittle disposed to converse freely, a thing I could not wonder at 
 when I considered her situation, and the character of pfrsons 
 around her. She spoke like a woman in feeble health, and of 
 broken spirits. I occasionally saw other nuns speaking to them, 
 particularly at mea) times, when they were regularly fumishea 
 with food, which was such as we ourselves ate. 
 
 Their cells were occasionally cleaned, and then tu6 doors were 
 opened. I never looked into them, but was informed that the 
 ground was their only floor. I presumed that they were furnish- 
 ed with straw to lie upon, as I alwavs saw a quantity of old straw 
 scattered about that part of the cellar, after the cells had been 
 cleaned. I once inquired of one of them whether they could con- 
 verse together, and she replied that they could, through a small 
 opening between their cells, which I could not see. 
 
 I once inquired of the one I spoke with in passing, whether she 
 wanted anything, and she replied, *' Tell Jane Bay I want to see 
 her a moment if she can slip away." When I went up I took an 
 opportunity to deliver my message to Jane, who concerted with 
 me a signal to be used in future, in case ^ similar re?j^^uest should 
 be made through me. Tbis was a sly wink at her with one eye, 
 accompanied with a slight toss of the head. She then sought an 
 opportunity to visit the cellar, and was soon able to hold an in- 
 terview with the poor prisoners, without being noticed by any 
 one but myself. I afterwards learnt that mad Jane Bay was not 
 BO mad but she could feel for those miserable beings, and carry 
 through measures for their comfort. She would often visit them 
 with sympathizing words, and when necessary, conceal part of 
 her food while at table, and secretly convey it into their dungeons. 
 Sometimes we would combine for rach an object; and have re- 
 peatedly aided her in thus obtainiag a larger supply of food than 
 they had been able to obtain from others. 
 
 I frequently thought of the two runs confined in the cells, and 
 occasionally heard something said ibout them, but veryUttle. 
 Whenever I visited the cellar and thought it safe, I wentrnp to 
 the first uf them and spoke a word or two, and nsnaUv got soma 
 brief reply, without ascertaining that any particular onange took 
 place with either of them. The one with whom alone I aver oon- 
 versed, spoke English perfectly well, and nranoh X thoaghfc aa 
 
 I 
 
Iwftl Bladloiniiefl of llarla Monk. 
 
 ei 
 
 I 
 
 wen. I rappoMd iha mmt hara been well edaoated, forleonld 
 Mt tell whicii WM her natire langnaiie. I remember that she 
 freqoenthr need theee words when I wished to say more to her, 
 ana which alone showed that she was constantly afraid of pun- 
 ishment, ** Oh, there's somebody coming— do go away I" I hare 
 been told that the other pr..«oner also spoke £mglish. 
 
 It was impossible for me to form any certain opinion about the 
 sIm or appearauce of those two miserable creatures, for their 
 cells were perfectly dark, and Inerer caught the slightest glimpse 
 eren of their faces. It is probable they wer^ women not aboTC 
 the middle rise, and my reason for this presumption is the follow- 
 ing : I was sometimes appointed to lay out the dean dothes for 
 alTthe nuus in the OonTcnt on Saturday erening, and was always 
 directed to lay by two suits for the prisoners. Particular orders 
 were given to select the largest sized garments for several tall 
 nuns ; but nothiug of the kind was ever said in relation to the 
 dothes for those in the ceils. 
 
 I had not been long a veiled nun, before I requested of the Su- 
 perior permission to confess to the " Saint Bon Pasteur," (Holy 
 Good Snepherd) that is, the mysterious and nameless nun whom 
 I had heard of while a novice. I knew of several others who had 
 confessed to her at, different times, and of some who had sent 
 their clothes to be touched by her when they were sick ; and I 
 felt a desire to unburden my heart of certain things, which I was 
 loa;h to acknowledge to the Superior, or any of the priests. 
 
 The Superior made me wait a little, until she could ascertain 
 whether the " Saiut Bon Pasteur" was ready to admit me ; aud, 
 after a time, returned, and told me to enter the old nuns' room. 
 
 S^at apartment has twolve beds arranged like the berths of a 
 ip, by threes ; and as each is broad enough to recdve two per- 
 sons, twenty>f OUT may be lodged there, which was about the num- 
 ber of old nuns in the Oonvent during most of my stay in it. Near 
 an opposite comer of the apartment waa a large glass case, with 
 no appearance of a door, or other opening, in any part of it ; and 
 in that case stoooi the venerable nnu, in the dress of the commu- 
 nity, with her thick veil spread over her face, so as to conceal it 
 entirely. She was standing, for the place did not allow room for 
 sitting, and moved a little, which was the only sign of life, as she 
 did not speak. I fell upon my knees before her, and began to 
 confess some of my imperfections, which lay heavy upon my 
 mind, imploring her aid and intercession, that I might be deliver- 
 ed from t^'^m. She appeared to listen to me with patience, but 
 still neve returned a word in reply. I became much affected as 
 I went on ; at length b^an to weep bitterly : and, when I with- 
 drew, was in tears. It seemed to me that my heart was remark- 
 ably relieved, after this exercise ; and all the requests I had made, 
 I found, as I believed, strictly fulfilled. I often, afterwards, vi- 
 sited the old nuns' room for the same purpose, and with similar 
 results ; so that my belief in the sanctity of the nameless nuUi and 
 my regard for her intwcession, were unbounded. 
 
 What is remarkable, though 1 repeatedly was sent into that 
 room to dust it, or to put it in order, I remarked, that the glass 
 case was vacant and no signs were to be found, either of the nun, 
 or of the way by Which she had left it ! so that a solemn condu- 
 ■ion rested upon my mind, that she had gone on one of her fre- 
 quent visits to h e av e n , 
 
 A ptieet woold aoaletimes come in the daytime to teach us to 
 
68 IwfU Slfldofiores of Uaila Ifenk. 
 
 tingt and thte wm don* with loine pt,m&t or ttir. m if it wtt 
 oonddered. or meaot to bo oonaidorod, m » thing of importanoo. 
 
 Th-* intiraotiont, howortr, wore •ntii'ely ropotitiont of the 
 frordi Mid tanas, nothing baing taught aTan of tha first prindplaa 
 of tha sdanoa. It appaarad to ma.that^although hymns alona wara 
 sung, tha axarcisa was ohiafly dasignad for onr amuMmant, to raisa 
 oar spirits a littla, which wara apt to baooma deprasaad. Mad Jana 
 Bay oartaiuly usually traatad tha whola thing as a matter of sport, 
 and oftan azdtad thosa of ua who undarstooid English, to a graat 
 dagraa of mirth. Sha had a very flna voioa, which was so powar- 
 f ulaa ganarally to ba heard abova tha rest. Sometimes she woold 
 ba silent when the other nuns began ; and tha Superior would of- 
 tan call out, '* Jane Bay, you don't ung." She always had soma 
 trifling excuse ready, and commonly appeared anwilung to Join 
 the rent. 
 
 After being urged or commanded by tha Superior, she would 
 then strike up some English song, or profane parody, which was 
 rendered ten times more ridiculous by the ignorance of the lady 
 Superior and tha majority of the nuns. Icannot help laughing 
 now when I remember how sha used to stand with perfect com- 
 posure, and sing, 
 
 " I wish I was married and nothing to me. 
 With plenty of money and nothing to do. 
 
 « Jane Bay, you don't sing right," the Superior would exclaim. 
 ** Oh," sha woutd'rlply with perfect coolness, that is the English 
 for 
 
 " Sei^eur Dieu de olemenoe, 
 Beoois ce grand pecheur!" 
 and, as sung by her, a person ignorant of the language would na- 
 turally be imposed upon. It was extremely difficult for me to 
 conceal my laughter. I have always had greater exertion to make 
 in repressing it tha** moat other persons ; and mad Jane Bay of- 
 ten took adrantage of this. 
 
 Saturday evening usually brought with it much unpleasant 
 work for some of us. We received Sacrament every Sundav ; and 
 in preparation for it, on Saturdav evening, we asked pardon of 
 the Superior, and of each other, "* for the scandal we had caused 
 them since we last received the Sacrament/' and then asked tha 
 Superior's permission to receive it on the following day. She en- 
 quired of each nun, who neoessarilv asked her permission, whe- 
 ther she, naming her as Saint somebody, had concealed any sin 
 that should hinder her receiving it ; and if the answer was in the 
 necnative, she granted her permission. 
 
 On Saturday we were catechised by a priest, being assembled 
 in a community-room. He sat on the right of the door, in a chair. 
 He often told us stories, and frequently enlarged on the duty of 
 enticing novices into the nunnery. ** Do you not feel happy," ha 
 would say, " now that you are safely out of the world, and sure 
 of heaven P But remember how many poor people are yet in tha 
 world. Every novice you influence to take the black veil, will 
 add to your honour in heaven. Tell them how happy you are." 
 
 The Superior played one trick while I was in the C!onvant| 
 which always passed for one of the mobt admirable she ever car- 
 ried into execution. We were pretty good judges in a case of this 
 kind ; for, aa may be persumed, we were rendered familiar with 
 the arts of decepuou under so accomplished a teacher. 
 
 There was an ornament ou hand in the Nnrmraj, of an extra- 
 
iwfU Biadonirei of ]£arla MonL 
 
 ordJnaij kind, wLioh wm priiad at Imi poaads ; bat it hftd b«oa 
 oxpoMa to view lo long, tnat it bMun* aamAgM and auita an- 
 •atMble. Wa wan ona aaj Tititad by an old priaat from tha ooan* 
 try, who was atidantiv lomawhat intozioatad ; and aa ha with* 
 draw to go to hit lodgingt in tha Baminary, whara tha conntry 
 
 giaati of tan stay, the Superior o aoeired a plan for ditpoiing of 
 a old ornament. ** Oome," laid she, ** we will send it to the old 
 priest, and awear he has bought it." 
 
 Wa all approved of the ingenious dsTice, for it eridently olass* 
 ad among tha pious frauds we had so often had reoommeuded to 
 ns, both by pecept and example ; and the ornament was sent to 
 bim the next morning, as his property when paid for. He soon 
 oama into the OonTent, and ezpreased the greatest surprise that 
 be had been charged with porcnasing such a tiling, for which ha 
 bad no need and no desire. 
 
 The Superior heard his declaration with patience, but poli(>'ly 
 insisted that it was a fair bargain ; and we then surrounded bha 
 old priest, with the strongest assertions that such was the fact, and 
 that nobody would have thought of his purchasing it unless ho 
 bad expressly engaged to take it. The poor old man was entirelv 
 put down. He was certain of the truth ; but what could he do 
 to resist or disprove a direct falsehood pronounced by the Supe- 
 rior of a Convent, and sworn to by all her holy nuns? He finally 
 expressed his conviction that we were right : and was compelled 
 to pay his money. 
 
 OHAPTBB XT. 
 
 Freqoenoy of the prie-ts* visits to the Nuonerj— Their flreedom and crimes 
 —SilBoulty 01 leurning their names— Their Holy Retreat— Objeotlous 
 incur minds— Means used to oounteraot oonsoienoe— Ingenious Argw* 
 ments. 
 
 SoMB of the priests from the Seminary were in the Nunnery every 
 day and night, and often several at a time. I have seen nearly 
 all of them at different times, though there are about one hundred 
 and fifty in the district of Montreal. There was a difference in 
 their conduct: though I believe every one of them was guilty of 
 licentiousness ; while not one did I ever see who maintained a 
 character any way becoming the profession of a priest. Some 
 were gross and degraded in a degree which few of my readers can 
 ever have imagiuM : and I should be unwilling to offead n A^e, 
 and corrupt the heart, of any one, by an account of thel: *r :.d8 
 and actions. Few imaginations can conceive deeds so abomin- 
 able as thev practised, and often required of some of the poor 
 women, under the fear of severe punishments, and even uf death. 
 I do not hesitate to say with the strongest confldeuc«), that aU 
 though some of the nuns bcjame lost to every senti'nont of virtue 
 and honour, especially one of the Oongregational Nunnery whom 
 I have before mentioned. Saint Patrick, tbe greater part of them 
 loathed the practices to which they were compelled to submit, by 
 their Superior and priests, who kept them under so dreadful a 
 bondage. 
 
 Some of the priests whom I saw I never knew by name, and 
 the names of others I ^d not learn for a time, and at last learnt 
 only by-accident. 
 
 QHiey were always called " Mon Pdre," (my father,) but some- 
 times when they had purchased something in the ornament-room, 
 they would give their real names, with directions where it should 
 
64 
 
 AwM Dlsdosuies of ILaria Honb 
 
 I " • 
 
 be lent. tUaj names thns learnt, and in othe^ ways, wen 
 whispned about from nun to nun, and became pretty genteally 
 known. Several of the priests some of us had seen before we en- 
 tered the Oonveut. 
 
 Many things of which I speak, from the nature of the case, 
 must necessarily rest chieflr upoa my own word, until further 
 evidence can be obtained ; but there are some facts for which I 
 can appeal to the knowledge of others. It is commonly known 
 in Montreal that some of the priests occasionally withdraw from 
 their customary employments, aud are not to be seen for soma, 
 time ; it beiag understood ti.at they have retired for religious 
 study, meditation, and devotion, tor the impiovement of their 
 heaits. Sometimes they are thus withdrawn from the world fox 
 three weeks : but there is no fixed period. 
 
 This was a fact I knew before I took the veil ; for it is a fre- 
 quent subject of remark, that such and such a Father is on a'' 
 '* holy retreat." This is a term which conveys the idea of a reli- 
 gious seclusion from the world, for sacred purposes. On the re- 
 appearance of a priest after such a period, in the church or the 
 streets, it is natural to feel a peculiar impression of his devout 
 character — an impression very different from that conveyed to the 
 mind who knows matters as they really are. Suspicions have 
 been indulged by some in Canada on this subject, aud facts are 
 known by at least a few. I am abie to speak from personal know- 
 ledge ; for I have b<)en a nun of Soaur Bourgeoise. 
 
 The priests are liable, by their dissolute habits, to occasional 
 attacks of disease, which render it necessary, or at least prudent, 
 to submit to medical treatment. 
 
 In the filack Nunnery they find private accommodation, for 
 tney are free to enter one of the private hospitals whenever they 
 I>lease ; which is a room set a,part on purpose for the accommoda— 
 > tion of the priests, and is called a retreat-room. But an excuse 
 is necessary to blind the publiC; and this they find in the pretence 
 they make of being in a " Holy Betreat.*' Many such oases have 
 I known ; and I can mention the names of priests who have been 
 conflued in this Holy Betreat. They are very carefully attended 
 by the Superior and old nuns, and their diet consists mostly of 
 vegetable soups, &c., with but little meat, aud that fresh. I have 
 Been an instrument of surgery lying upon the table in that holy 
 room, which is used only for particuiai' purposes. 
 
 Father Tombeau, a Bomr i priest, wan on one of his holy re- 
 treats about the time whcL < left the Nunnery. There are some* 
 times a number confined t* ire at the same time. The victims of 
 these priests frequently shi e the same fate. 
 
 I have often refiected how grievously I had been deceived in my 
 opinions of a nun's condition 1— All the holiness of their lives, I 
 now saw was merely pretended. The appearance of sanctity and 
 heavenly-mindeduess which they had shown among us novices, I 
 found was only a disguise to conceal such practices as would not 
 be tolerated in any decent society in the world ; aud ai for joy 
 and peace like that of heaven, which I had expected to find among 
 them, I learnt too well that they did not exist there. 
 
 The only way in which such uoughts were oounteracted, was 
 by the ooQstant instructions given us by the Superior and priests, 
 to regard every doubt as a mortal sin. Other faults we might ^ 
 have, as we were told over and Qver again, which though woriny 
 of peuaaoes, were far less sinful than these. FocanuntodoaM 
 
IwM Bifldlosnies of Uaiia Honki 
 
 65 
 
 that she wm doing her duty in fulfilling her rows and oaths, was 
 a heinona offence, and we ^ /ere exhorted always to rappren our 
 donhta,to confess them without reserve, and cheerfully submit 
 to severe penances on account of them, as the only means of mor- 
 tifying our evil dispositions, and resisting the temptations of the 
 devil. Thus we learnt in a good degree to resist our minds and 
 consciences, when we felt the rising of a question about the duty 
 of doing anything required of us. 
 
 To enforce this upon us, they employ various means. Some of 
 the most striking stories told us at catechism by the priests, were 
 -designed for this end. One of these I will repeat. " One day," 
 as a priest assured us, who was hearing us say the catechism on 
 Saturday afternoon, '* as one Monsieur * * * *, a well-known 
 oitiaen of Moutroal, was walking near the cathedral, he saw Sa- 
 tan giving orders to innumerable evil spirits who were assembled 
 around him. Being afraid of being seen, and yet wishing to ob- 
 serve what was done, he hid himself where he could observe all 
 that passed. Satan despatched his devils to different parts of the 
 city, with directions to do their best for him ; and they returned 
 in a short time, bringing in reports of their success m leading 
 persons of different classes to the commission of various sins, 
 which they thought would be ajfreeable to their master. Satan, 
 however, expressed his dissatisfaction, and ordered them out 
 again; but just then a spirit from the Black Nunnery came, who 
 had not bc'^n seen before, and stated that he had been trying for 
 seven years to persuade one of the Dunnto doubt, and had just 
 succeeiaed. Satan received the intelligence with the highest plea- 
 sure ; and turning to the spirits around him, said : * You nave 
 not half done your work, — he has done much more than all of 
 you put together.' " 
 
 In spite, however, of our instructions and warnings, our fears 
 and penan<fes, such doubts would obtrude ; and I have often in- 
 dulged them for a time, and at length, yielding to the belief that 
 I was wrong in giving place to them, would confess them, and 
 undergo with cheerfuloess such new penances' as I was loaded 
 with. Others too would occasionally entertain and privately ex- 
 press such doubts ; though we had all been most solemnly warn- 
 ed by the cruel murder of Saint Frances. Occasionally some of 
 the nuns would go further, and resist the restraints of punish- 
 ments imposed upon them ; and it was not uncommon to hear 
 screams, sometimes of a most piercing and terrific kind, from nuns 
 suffering under discipline. 
 
 Some of my readers may feel disposed to exclaim against me, 
 for believing things which will strike them as so monstrous and 
 abominaUto. To such, I would say, without pretending to jus- 
 tify myself, — you know little of the position in which I was plac- 
 ed; in the firstplace, ignorant of any other religious doctrines, 
 and in the second, met at every moment by some ingenious argu- 
 ment, and the example of a large community, who received all 
 the instructions of the priests as of Undoubted truth, and prac- 
 tised upon them. Of the variety and speciousness of the argu- 
 ments used, you cannot have any correct idea. They were often 
 so ready with replies, examples, anecdotes, and authorities, to en- 
 force their doetnnes, that it seemed to me as if they could never 
 have learnt it all from books, but must have been taught by wick- 
 ed spirits. Indeed, when I refiect upon their conversations, I am 
 astonished at their art and address, and find it difficult to account 
 
 E 
 
 ■■" 1 
 
!,>. 
 
 V, 
 
 66 AvM Ittfotaiiifli of liB^ 
 
 i<k their nibtltty aod iivmms ia iafliMtiaiiit mj ndad. and p«r. 
 •aading m« to anytbiag thej plsMwd. It Meint to mo UMthiid- 
 ly fmyoody woula W safe in woir bands. If yoa were to go to 
 oonleiiion twioOj X belioTo yon would fed very differant from 
 wbat yon do now. They have ineb a way of aToidiog onethiifg 
 and q>eabing of anothf r, of ai&rming this, and doubting and dia- 
 pntinff that, of quoting autboritiee, and epeaking of woaden ura 
 miraciea recently performed, in oonflrmanon of what they teaeh, 
 as familiarly known to persona whom they oall by nam^ ana 
 whom they pretend to oner as witnesses, though they noTer gi«e 
 yon an opportunity to speak with them,— these, and many other 
 means, they use in snob a way, that they always blinded my mind, 
 andi I ihoiud think, would Uind the minds of others. 
 
 OHAFTEB XYI. 
 
 Trsatm«nt of young Inlluits in the Oonrent— TalUng In Bleep— Amosemanli 
 — Oeiemonles at the puhUo Interment of deoeaaed Nuns— fiadden dieee- 
 
 Eurance of the Old Superior— Introduction of flie neir one— 8upMra>> 
 n— Alann of a nun— Diflonlty of Oommnnioation with othv Nuns* 
 
 It wiU be reoolleoted, that I was informed immediately after r^ 
 oeiving the reil, that infants were oooasionally murdered in the 
 Gonyeut. I was one day in the nun's private siok room, whml 
 bad an opportfii^ty unsought for, of witnessing deeds of suoh a 
 nature. It wluat perhaps, a month after the death of St Frances. 
 Two little twin babes, the ohildren of St. Oatherine, were brought 
 to a priesi^ who was in the room^ for baptism. I was present wmis 
 the oercmony was performed, with tiie Superior and seyeral of 
 the old nuns, wbose xuunes I neyer knew, tbey being ealled Ma 
 tante (Aunt.) 
 
 The priests took turns in attendmg to confession and oateohism 
 in the OouTent, usually three months at a time, though sometimes 
 longer periods. The priest then on duty was Ff^cr Latkin. He 
 is a good-looking European, and has a brother who is a Professor 
 in the Goliege. He first put oil upon the heads of the infants, as 
 is the custom before baptiism. When he bad baptia^ the ohildren, 
 they were taken, one after another, by one of the old nuns, in the 
 
 Sresence of us all. She prensed her band upon the mouth and 
 lOse of the first 80 tight that it could not foeatha, and in a few" 
 minutes, when the hand was removed, it was deed. I^e titou 
 took the other, and treated it in the same way. No sound was 
 beard, and both the children wera corpses. The greatest indiftV'* 
 enoe was shown by all present during this operation ; for aU^ as I 
 well knew, were long accustomed to such scenes. The little bo> 
 £es were then taken into the oellax, thrown into th»pitIhaTe 
 mentioned, and covered with a quantity of lime. 
 
 I afterwards saw a new-bom infant treated in the same man* 
 aer, in the same place ; but the actors in this scene I choose not 
 to name, nor the circumstances} as everf thing connected vritb it 
 is of a peculiarly trying and painful name to my own feelisf s. 
 
 These were the only uistanoesd! infantidde I witness^ ; and 
 it seemed to be merely owing to ac<)idiiit that I was then present. 
 So far as I know there were no pains taken to psescffve aeoraoy 
 on this subject; that is,! saw no attempt made to keef any in^ 
 mate of the Oonvent in ignorance of the murder of the ohildren. 
 On the oontrary, othart wan told, as well as my sell on tiujlr i\rp(| 
 admission as veiled nuns, that all iafanttbomiatfai plaoaiii\ii 
 
 W 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 a 
 r 
 tl 
 
 P 
 
 « 
 ai 
 
 tl 
 o( 
 h 
 ai 
 tl 
 ai 
 
 fl 
 
iirM Bisolosiins of luda llimL 
 
 67 
 
 a the 
 
 and 
 
 fsvr* 
 
 tbett 
 
 was 
 
 asl 
 ebo- 
 ha,i9 
 
 m^ 
 
 ilk* 
 dren* 
 
 t»ptiMdftiidklllaa.irithoatlonoftiiM; «iidlluidbe«i mUsA 
 (o witetM ths maraer of th* thrM Jaifc mentioiMd, only Imcnuim 
 I happened to be in the toom at tbe time. 
 
 Itiat othen were killed^ in the aame manner, dating my itay la 
 the nnnnery, I am well assiured. 
 
 How many thefe were I oannot tall, and haTing taken no ao- 
 eotant of thoM I heard df , I cannot tpeak with preoiaion ; I be- 
 Uere, however, that I learnt throngh none, that at least aehteen 
 or twenty infante were imothered, and Moretiy buried in the eel" 
 lar, while I wai a nun. 
 
 One of the efleote qf the wearineu of our bodies and minds, 
 wii our pronenese to talk in our deep. It was both ludiorous and 
 painful to hear the nuns repeat their prayers in the oourse of the 
 night, as they freqamtly did in their dreams. Bequired to keep 
 onrnunds oont'nually on the stretob, both in watching our oon> 
 duct, in remtimbering'the rules and our prayers, under the fear 
 of ttie consequences of any neglect, when we closed our eyes in 
 sleep, we often went over again the scenes of the day ; and it was 
 ao uncommon thing, for me to hear a nun repeat cme or two of 
 her long exercises m the dead of the night. Sometimes by the 
 titne she had finished, another, in a different part of the room, 
 would happen to take, a similar turn, and commence a similar re« 
 citation ; and I have known cases in which several such unoon> 
 sdous exercises were performed, all within an hour or two. 
 
 We had now and then a recreation day, when we were relieved 
 from qnr customary labour, and from all prayers except th6se for 
 morning and evening, and the short ones said at every striking 
 of the clock. The greater part of our time was then occupied 
 with different games, particularly backgammon and draughts, and 
 in such conversation as did not relate to our past lives, and the 
 outside of the Oonvent. Sometimes, however, our sports Would 
 be intenupted on such days by the entrance of one of the priests, 
 who would come in aSxA propose that his Ute, the birthday of his 
 patron saint, shouldbe kept by " the saints." We saints 1 
 
 Several nuns died at different times while I was in the Oon- 
 vent ; how many, I cannot say, but there was a considerable 
 nnmber. I might rather say many in proportion to the number 
 in the nunndry. The proportion of deaths I am sore was very 
 ' large. There were always some in the nuns' sick-room, and sev- 
 eral interments took' place in the chapel. 
 
 When a Black Niin is dead, the corpse- is dx-essed as if living, 
 and placed in the chapel in a sitting posture, within the railing 
 rooad the altar, with a book in hand as if reading. Persons aro 
 then freely admitted from the street, and some of them read and 
 pray before it. No particular notoriety is given, I believe, to this 
 exhibition out of the Oonvent, but sudha case usually excites some 
 attention. « ■ 
 
 The living nana are fequired to say prayers for the delivery of 
 their dec e ased sister from purgatory, being informed, as in all 
 other sneh cases, that if she is not there, and has no need of our 
 interoeisian, our prayers are in no danger of beina thrown away , 
 as fkey will be set down to the account of some ol our deceased 
 fdendh, ot at least to ttiat of the souls which have no acquaint- 
 anoei to pray for them.' 
 
 It wia eustomary lor us ocotaimially to kneel before a dead nun 
 fhtta seated in the eha^^ and I have often parfomed that task. 
 Itwatatwaytpainfalffor the ghastly oou&teaance being 
 
n 
 
 9& iwM Bifldosures of lEaiia UbsL 
 
 ( . - 
 
 whenevw I mlied my ajw, and fh« i&iXtag that the podttoa and 
 4resf were entirely opposed tOvOTery idea of propriety in euoh a 
 oaae, always made me melancholy. 
 
 The Saperior sometimes left the Oonvent, and was absent for 
 an hour, or soTeral hours at a time, but we never knew of it until 
 she bad returned, and were not informed where she had been. I 
 one day had reason io presume that nhe had recently paid a visit 
 to the priests* farm, though I had cc direct evidence that such 
 ^ras the fact. The priests' farm ie a fine tract of land beloagiag 
 to the Seminary, a little distance froji '^he city, near the Lachine 
 road, with a lar^e old-fashioned «ic ific -j upon it. I happened to 
 be in the Superior's room on the day alluftod to, when she made 
 some remark on the plainness and poverty pf her furniture. I 
 replied that she was not proud, and coidd not be dissatisfied on 
 that account : she answered, — " Ko : but if I was. Low much su- 
 perior is the furniture at the priests' farm; the poorest room 
 there is furnished better than the best of mine." 
 
 Twas one day mending the fire in the Superior's room, when a 
 
 Eriest was conversing with her on the scarcitjr of money ; and I 
 card him say that very little money was received by the priests 
 ioT prayers, but that the principal part came with penances and 
 absoluuons. 
 
 One of the most remarkable and unaccouu table things that 
 happened in tb«i Convent, was the disappearance of the old Supe« 
 nor. She had performed her customary part during the day, and 
 had acted and appeared just as usual. She had shown no syinp- 
 toms of ill health, met with no particular difficulty in conducting 
 business, and no agitation, anxiety, or gloom had been noticed in 
 her conduct. We nad no reason to suppose that during that day 
 she had expected anything particulsf to occur, any more than the 
 rest of us. After the dose of our customary labours and evening 
 lectures, she dismissed us to retire to bed. exactly in her usual 
 manner. The next morning the bell rang, we sprang from our 
 beds, hurried on our clothes as usual, and proceeded to the oom- 
 munity-room in double line, to commence the morning exerdses. 
 There, to our surprise, we found Bishop Lartique ; but the Supe- 
 rior was nowhere to be seen. The Biwop soon addressed ui^ m- 
 stead of her, and informed us, that a lady near him, whom he 
 presented to us, was now the Superior of the Convtmt, and en- 
 joined upon us the same respect and obedience which we paid to 
 her predecessor. 
 
 The lady he introduced to us was one of our oldest nuns, Saint 
 Du***, a very Inrge, fleshy woman, with swelled limbs, which 
 rendered her very uow in walking, and often gave her great dis- 
 tress. Not a word was dropped from which we could conjecture 
 the cause of this change, nor of the fate of the old Superior. I 
 took the first opportunity to inquire of one of the nuns, whom I 
 dued to talk to, wLat had become of her; but I fuuna them as 
 ignorant as myself, though suspicious that she had been murder- 
 ed by order of the Bishop. Never did I obtain any light on her 
 mysterious disappearance. I am confident, however, that if the 
 Bishop wished to get rid of her privately, and by foul means, he 
 had ample opportttuities and power at ms commiOid. Jane Bay, 
 as usual, could not alh>w such an occurrence to pass by without 
 intimating her own suspicions more plainly than any onbar of the 
 nuns womd have dared to do. She spoke out one day in the com- 
 aiQnity*room, and said, ** Fm going to have a hunt in the orilas 
 fox flB^ old Superior." 
 
 i 
 
u 
 
 Iwft* BiBQioBilrai of Miuia MmJe. (Ml 
 
 ** Hiidi, Jane Bay I" ezolaimad lomo of the nana, ** yonll be 
 panidMd.'' 
 
 ^''My mother need to teT. me." r^^Hed Jane, ** neTerto ba airaid 
 ofthslaoeofman." 
 
 li cannot be thought itrange that we were saperstitiom. Some 
 wwe more eaiMy terrified than others by nnacooaatable lighta 
 and eoanda; but all of us belieyed in the power and ocoaeional 
 appearance of spirits, and were ready to look for them at almost 
 any time. I have seen sereral instances of alarm oaosed by such 
 snperstitbn, and hare experienced it myself more than once. I 
 was one day sitting mendrnj^ aprons^ beside one of the old nuns, 
 inthe community-room, while the htanies were repeating: aai 
 was Tory easv to laugh, Saint Ignace, or Agnes, (^e iUfValked 
 np to her with much agitation, and began to whisper in her ear. 
 She usually talked but little, and that made me more curious to 
 know what was the matter. I overl^eard her say to the old nun, 
 in much alarm, that in the cellar from which she had just ratnm* 
 ed, she had heard the most dreadful groans that ever came from 
 any human b^ng. This was enough to give me uneasineM.. I 
 could not account for the appearance of an eyil spirit in any 
 part of the Convent, for I had been assured ttiat the only one 
 CTcr known there was that of the nun who had died with an un- 
 oonfessed sin ; and that others were kept at a distance by the 
 holy water that was rather profusely used in different parts of the 
 nunnery. Still, I presumed that the sounds heard by Saint Ig- 
 nace must have proceeded from some devil, and X felt great dread 
 at the thought of visiting the cellar again. I determined to seek 
 fuither information of the terrified nun, but when I addressed 
 heron the subject, at tecreation-time, the first opportunity! 
 could find, she replied, that I was always trying to make her 
 break silence, and walked off to another group in the room, so that 
 I could obtain no satisfaction. 
 
 It is remarkable that in our nunnery, we were almost entirely 
 cut off from the means of knowing any thinpr even of each other. 
 There were manv nuns whom I know nothing of to this day, af* 
 ter having been la. the same rooms with tb&iu every day and night 
 for four years. There was a nun, whom 1 supposed to be in tha 
 Oonvent, and whom I was anxious to learn sombthing abdUtfrom 
 the Mine of my entrance as a novice ; but I never was able to 
 leant anything concerning her, not even whether she was in the 
 nunnerv or not, whether alive or dead. She was the dau($hter of 
 a rich family, residing at Point aux Trembles, of whom I had 
 heatd my mother speak before I outerad the Oonvent. The name 
 of her family I think was Lafayette, and she was thought to be 
 from Europe. She was known to have token the Black Yeil ; but 
 as I was not acquainted with the Saint she had assumed, and I 
 could not descnbe her in " the world," all my inquiiies and bb- 
 servittions proved entirely in vain. 
 
 I had heard before my entrance into the Oonvent, that one of 
 the nuns had made her escape fijm it during the last war, and 
 once inquired about her of the Superior. She admitted that such 
 was the fact : but I was never able to learn any particulars oon- 
 oeming her name, origin, or manner of escape. 
 
n 
 
 i«M UidosiDM a ;fula Dnki 
 
 #■ 
 
 OHAFTEIBZVIL 
 
 DiMppauiBM of mm*— 3». Pi«m— Oagt— Kbr tcmponrr ooMltiittmtBt In 
 ft mU— Thft oholeift OMson^Hoir to aToid Ife— Oooifpatloni in th* Oon- 
 Tint daring the pettiienob -Mtaufiustn «■» of wuc eandlM— Th* •leottoa 
 xioto— Alann ftinoog the nnni— Pr^pwvtions tn doAmoa— Pmuumm. 
 
 X AM nnnbU to lay b<^«7 many nuoi disappeared while I was itt 
 the OonTeat Therd were seTdval. Oue wat-a yoang lady «)|tUed 
 St. Pierre, I think, but am not certain of her name. Ther^^ woM 
 two nnni Dy tUa name. I had known her as. a aovfoe witti nke. 
 She had Men a noyioe about two year^ imd a hilt before I ^)o« 
 oame one. She was rather large mthoat Iniiing itdh nnd ha& i-a- 
 ther dark hair and eyes. She disappeareil anaoou)2:6ablT, and 
 nothing wi'ji said of ner except whati iUeard in whispors frrmi a 
 few of the unni, as we found moments when we oonld «pe»^!; an' 
 obserred. 
 
 SoR!9 told lae they thouK^^i iJbe mnst haftt left fhe Oonvenf ; 
 and 1 mig?it have saopossd so, bad I not some time after\vcird» 
 found some of Lor thl.* -6; lytnp aboat, which she would, in snt)h & 
 case, doubMess have tt !; ::n] mfh her> 1 had never known My* 
 thing more of her than wl<af. 1 mvld oI>36rve or conjecture. I had 
 alwt^s, however, the idea vHAt her parents or friends were weal« 
 thy, for she sometimes tdCvfii' :d clothes and other things which 
 were vory rich. 
 
 Another nun nam«3d Bb. Paul, died suddenly, but as in ofhe? 
 cases, we knew so little, or rather were so entirely ignorant of the 
 cause and drcumstanoes, that we could only conjecture; and bs- 
 ing forbidden to spe&k freely upon that or any other subject, 
 iJiought little about it. I have mentioned that a number of veil- 
 e^ nuns thus myetariously disappeared during my residence 
 a&ong them. I canaot perhaps recall them all, out I am oonfi- 
 d»nt there were as many as five, and I think mor6. All that we 
 knew in such cases was, that one of our number who appeared as 
 usual wi. -.>n last observed, was nowhere to be se^ and never seen 
 again.— Mad Jane Bay, on several such occasions, would indulge 
 in her bold, and, as we thought, dangerous remarks. She hid 
 intimated that some of those, who had been for some time in the 
 Ocnvent, were by some means removed to make room for new 
 ones ; and it was generally the fact that the disapj^gsarande of one 
 and the intrpdnction of another into our community, were near- 
 ly at the same time. I have repeatedly heard J4ne lUy say, with 
 one of her signifloant looks, "When you appear, somebody else 
 disaiipears l**^ 
 
 It is unpleasant enough to distress or torturi one's self; but 
 there is something worse in being tormented by others, especially 
 when they resort to force, and show a pleasure in compeUmg you, 
 and leave you no hope to escape, or opportunity to resist. 1 had 
 seenihe gags repeatiBdlv in use, and sometimef applied with a 
 roughness which seemed rather inhuman ; but it is one thing to 
 see and another thing to feel. They were ready to recommend a 
 resort to compulsory measuree^ and ever ready to rt&n for the 
 gags. These were kept in one of the oommunity-rooms. In a 
 drawer between two closets; and there a stock of about fifty of 
 them were always kept in deposit. Sometimes a ^umber of nunt 
 would pro vajefiaetory at a tinm; and I have seen battles oom- ' 
 menoed in wnidh several appeared on botii sides. The disobedient 
 
 i^-m 
 
 [ 
 
 

 It^ IHiddBara of Ibuda Ibnlb 
 
 71 
 
 , r 
 
 wtttt, liow«nr«r, aoon oravpowiMd ; aadi to pnrrant fhair mtmubu 
 being heard bejond th« wftUi) gagglns oommenoad immadutely. 
 I \an% Men haU a doien lying gaggaa and bound at onoa. 
 
 I haTa been aubjected to the same itate of inTolnntaiy ^enoa 
 aunra than onoa ; for lometimea I became exdted to a itaca of dea- 
 perationbyttw maaauret used againtt ma, and than oondnotod 
 myidf in a manner perhaps not lets Tiolant tiian loma othert. 
 .^"^ hands have been tied behind ma, and a gag put into my 
 Aonth, sometimes with saoh- force and mdwiessaa to separate my 
 Upa, and canaa the blood to flow freely. 
 
 Treatment of this kind is apt to teach sabmission ; and many 
 ilmas I have acquiesced under orders reoeiyed, or wishes express- 
 cd, with a fear of a recurrence to aome severe measures. 
 
 One day I had incurred the anger of the Superior in a greater 
 degree than usual, and it was oidored that I should be taken to 
 one of the cells. I was taken by some of the nuns, bound and 
 gagged, carried down the stairs into the cellar, and laid upon the 
 floor. Kot long afterwards I induced one ef the nuns to request 
 the Superior to come down and see me; and on making some ac- 
 knowledgment, I was released. I will, however, relate thia story 
 rather more in detail. 
 
 On that day I had been engaged with Jane Bay. in eanring 
 into effect a plan of revenge upon another pers<m, when I fell un- 
 der the vindictive spirit of some of the old nuns, and suffered se« 
 verely. The Superior ordered me to the cells, and a scene of vio- 
 lence commenced which I will not attempt to describe, nor the 
 frecise circumstances which led to it. Suffice it to say, uat after 
 had exhausted all my strength,. by resisting as long as I could, 
 against several nuns, I had my hands drawn behind my back, a 
 leathern band passed first round my thumbs, then round my 
 hands, and then round my waist and fastened. TMs was drawn 
 ao ti|^t that it cut through the flesh of my thumbs, making 
 wounds, the scars of which still remain. A gag was then forced 
 into my mouth, not indeed so violently as it sometimes was, but 
 roughly enough ; after which I was taken by main force, and cur- 
 ried down into the cellar, across it almost to the opposite eztrem* 
 ity, and brought to the last of the second range of cells on tiie 
 left hand. The door was opened, and I was thrown in with vio- 
 lence, and left alone, the door being immediately dosed, ahd bolt- 
 ^ on the outside. The bate grouud was under me, cold and hard 
 as if it had been beaten even. I lay still in the position in which 
 I had fallen, as it would have been difficult for me to move, con- 
 fined as I Was, and exhausted by my exertions ; and the shock of 
 my fall, and my wretched state of desperation and fear, disinclin* 
 ed me from any further attempt. I i^aa in almost total darkness, 
 there being nothing perceptible except a slight glimmer of light 
 which came in through tins little window far above me. 
 
 Ibw long I remained in that condition I can only conjecture. 
 Itseemedtomealongtime, andmust have been two or three 
 hours. I did not move, expecting to die there, and in a state of 
 distress which I cannot describe, from the tight bondage about 
 my hands, and the gag holding my Jaws apart at their greatest 
 exteation. I am confident I most nave died before morning, if, 
 as I then expected, I had been left there all night. By-and-hye, 
 hows^ror, the bolt waa drawn, the door opemM, and Jam Bay 
 spoka to me in a tone of kindness. « 
 
 She had taken an opportuttity to dip into the ewas unnoticed, 
 
72 
 
 Awfkil BifldiosanB of IbiiA MbnL 
 
 on purpose to see me. She tmboond the gag, took it oat of mf 
 mouth, end told me, she would do any thing to get me out of the 
 duuMon. If ehe had had the bringing of me down ahe would 
 not nave thruet me In so brutally, and ehe would be resented on 
 those who had. She offered to throw herself upon her knees b«* 
 fore the Superior, and beg her forgiveness. To this I would not 
 oonsent ; but told her to ask the Superior to come to me, as I wish* 
 ed to speak to her. This I had no idea she would condescend toi 
 do; but Jane had not been gone long b<*!ore the Superior oamoy 
 and asked if I repented in the sight of Qoi for what I had done. 
 I replied in the u&rmative ; and after a lecture of some length on 
 the pain I had given the Virgin Mary by my conduct, she asked 
 whether I was willing to ask pardon of all the nuns for the soan« 
 dal I had caused them by my behaviour. To this I made no ob- 
 jection ; and I was then released from my prison and my bonds^ 
 went up to the community-room, and kneehng before all the sis* 
 ters in succession, begged the forgiveness and prayers of each. 
 
 Among the marks which I st^l bear of the wounds received 
 from penances and violence, are the scars left by the belt with 
 Which I repeatedly tortured myself, for the mortifloation of my 
 spirit. These are most distinct on my side : for although the 
 band, which was four ot five inches in breadth, and extended 
 round the waist, was stuck full of sharp iron points in all parts, 
 it was sometimes crowded most against my side, bv resting in my 
 chair, and then.'the wounds were usually aeeper were than any- 
 where else. 
 
 My thumbs were several times cut severely by the tigh| draw- 
 ing of the band used to confine my arms ; and scars are still vi- 
 sible upon them. 
 
 The rough gagging which I several times endured wounded my 
 lips very much ; for it was common, in that operation, to thrust 
 the gag hard against the teeth, and catch one or both the lips, 
 which were sometimes cruelly cut. The object was to stop the 
 screams made by the offender, as soon as possible ; and some of 
 the old' nuns deughted in tormenting us. A gag was once forced 
 into my mouth, which had a large splinter upon it ; and this out 
 through my under lip, in front, leaving to this day a scar about 
 half an inch long. The same lip was several times wonnded as 
 well as the other; but one day worse than ever, when a narrow 
 piece was cut off from the left side of it, by being pinched b** 
 tween the gag aiad the under fore-teeth ; and this has left an in- 
 equality in it which is still very observable. 
 
 One of the most shocking stories I heard, of events that occur- 
 red in the nunnery before my acquaintance with it, was the fol- 
 lowing, which was told me by Jane Bay. What h uncommuu, I 
 can fix the date when I heaid it. It was on New Year's Day, 
 1884. The ceremonies, customary in the early part of that day, 
 had been performed ; after mass, in the morning, the Superior 
 had shaken hands with all the nuns, and given us her blesshig, 
 for die was said to have received power from heaven to do so onoe 
 a year, and then on the first day of the year. Besides this, oakes^ 
 raisins, ftc, are distribnted to the nuns on that day. 
 
 While in the oommunity-room, I had taken a seat just within 
 the oupboard-door, where I often fonnd a partisl shelter from ob« 
 serrauon with Jane, when a conversation Incidentally befam be- 
 tween ns. Our practice often was, to take places there bende one 
 of the old nuns, fiwaiting the time when she would go away iw • 
 
 1 
 
ItM msdonim of Ifaitt Monki 
 
 7» 
 
 ' 
 
 tfttb whilt^ and leavt oi partially Mnaned from lh« obMrfatton 
 of others. On that oocaiioii, Jane and I wero left for a tima 
 alone ; when, after aome diaoonne on raioide, ahe remarked that 
 three nana onoe killed themieWes in the Oonrent. This happen- 
 ed, she said, not long after her reoeptioc, and I knew, therefore, 
 that it was ssTeral yeara before I had become a novice. Three 
 
 Sonng ladies, she informed me, took the Teil together, or very near 
 lie same time, I am not certain which. I know they haye foot 
 robes in the OonTent, to be worn during the ceremony of taking 
 the Teil : bat I never have seen more than one of them nsed at • 
 time. 
 
 Two of the new nuns were laters, and the other their oondn. 
 They had been received but a few days, when information was 
 given one morning, that they had been found dead in their beds, 
 amid a profusion of blood. Jane Bay said she saw their corpses, 
 and that they appeared to £ave killed themselves by opening veins 
 in their arms with a knife they had obtained, and all had bled to 
 death together. What was extraordinary, Jane Bay added, that 
 she had heard no noise, and she believed nobody had suspected 
 that anything was wrong during the night. St. Hypolite, how* 
 ever, had stated, that she had found them in the morning, after 
 the other nuns had gone to prayers, lying lifeless in their beds. 
 
 For some reason or other, th^ death was not madepubliQ; but 
 their bodies, instead of being exhibited in full dress, in the cha- 
 pel, and afterwards interred with solemnity beneath it, were taken 
 unceremoniously into the cellar, and thrown into the hole I have 
 so often mentioned* 
 
 There were a few instances, and only a few, in which we knew 
 anything that was happening in the world ; and even then our 
 knowledge did not extmid out of the dty. I can recall but three 
 occasions of this kind. Two of them were when the cholera too- 
 vailed in Montreal ; and the other was the election riots. The 
 appearance of the cholera, in both seasons of its ravages, gave us 
 abundance of occupation. Indeed, we were more borne down by 
 hard labour at those times, than ever before or afterwards daring 
 my stay. The Pope had given early notice that the burning of 
 wax candles would afford protection from the disease, because, so 
 long as anv person continued to bum one, the Virgin Maiy would 
 intercede for hini. No sooner, therefor^ had the alarmmg dis- 
 ease made its appearance in Montreal, than a long wax candid 
 was lighted in the Oonvent, for each of the inmatM, so that all 
 
 ? arts of it in use were artificially illuminated day and night, 
 'hus a great many candles were constantly burning, which wer» 
 to be replaced from those manufactured by the nuns. But this 
 was a tnfle; The Pope's message having been promulgated in 
 the Grey Nunnery, and to Oatholics at large thrpueh the pulpit, 
 an extraordinary dfemand was created for wax candles, to sui^ly 
 which we were principally depended upon. All who could pos- 
 sibly be emp: ^yed in malong them were, therefore, set to wmrk, 
 and I, among the rest, assisted u^ different departments^ and wit- 
 nessed all. 
 
 Numbers of the nuns had long been familiar with the buriness ; 
 for a very considerable amount of wax had been annually manu- 
 factured in the CSonveut ; but now the works were much extend- 
 ed, and other occupations in a great degree laid aside. Large 
 qiHuititlea of wax were receiveaf in the building, whioh waa said 
 to have been imported from England; kettles were placed iu 
 
74 iwM BbdoiQiai of Inla IbnL 
 
 •oat of flM iroffkhigwfooim, la wbldi it wm oIwUM hfhmH 
 OTor •oal fliw, ud. when pftp«>ed, the p ioww ol dipfincoom* 
 BMDOtd. The wiiae, whhih were qvite long, were j^Med, uiiff- 
 ing apon % feel, taken an end dipped in tneoeeeioB, nnnl nner 
 Biany ilow reToioUone of the red, Um oendlee were of the proper 
 ■lie. They were then taken to a part of the room where taUet 
 wei« prepared for roUing them anooth. Thli is done by paaring 
 ft roller OTor them, antUT they beoame eren and polished; after 
 whidi ther are laid by for sale. These processes eausedaoon* 
 stent bustle in ssTsral of the rooms; and the melaneholy reports 
 from without, of the raTages of the oholera, with the uncertainty 
 of what might be the relult with us, notwithstanding the promis- 
 ed interoesiion of the Virgin, and the brilliant lights constantly 
 burning in such numbers aroand us, imtoressed the scenes I used 
 to witness very deeply on my bind. I had very little doubt, my- 
 •tUL of the strict truth of the story we had heard abont the se- 
 curity conferred upon those who burnt candles, and yet I some- 
 times had serious fears arise in my mind. These thoughts, how- 
 eyer, I did my utmost to fegard as great sins, and oTidenoee of 
 my own want of faith. 
 
 It was during that period that I formed a partial aeqnaintanee 
 with seyeral Orey Nuns, who used to come frequentlv for sup- 
 plies of candles for their Convent. I had no opportunity to eon- 
 verse with them, except so far as the purchase and sale of the ar- 
 ticles they required. Fbecame familiar with their countenanOes 
 and appearanoes, but was unable to indire of their characters or 
 feelings. Oouceraing the rules and nabits pretailing in the Qrey 
 Nunnery, I therefore remained as ignorant as if I had been a 
 thousand miles off ; and they had no better opportunity to learn 
 anything of us, beyond what they could see around them in the 
 room where the caudles were sold. 
 
 We supplied the Oongregational Nunnery also t^ith wax can- 
 dles, as I before remarked ; and in both these institutions, it was 
 understood, a constant illumination #as kept up. Oiticens were 
 also frequently running in to buy candles in great and' small 
 quantities, so that the business of store-keeping was far more la- 
 borious than oommon. 
 
 We were confirmed in our ftdth in the intercession of the Yir- 
 gin, when we found that we remained safe from the oholera ; and 
 » it a remarkable fact, that not one case of that disease existed 
 in the Nunnery, during either of the seasons in whidi it proved 
 ao fatal in the city. 
 
 '- When the election riots prerailed at Montreal, the ei^y was 
 thrown into general alarm ; we heard some reports from day to 
 day, which made us anxious for ourselves. Nothing, however, 
 ||[ave me any serious thoughts, until I sa^ uncommon movements 
 m some pairts of the Nunnery, and ascertained, to my own satis* 
 faction, that there was a large quantity of gunpowder stored in' 
 some secret place within the walls, and that some of it was re- 
 moved, or prepared for use, under the direction of the Superior. 
 
 PenaHee9.—i have mentioned several penances in differint parta 
 of t> .s narration, which we sometimes nad to parCojrm. Thrae is 
 a groat variety of them ; and. while some, though trifling in ap- 
 peuranoe, bCHoame very pdnful, by long endurance or frequent re- 
 petition, otheial are severe in their nature, and never would b« 
 submitted to, unless, through fear of something worse^ or a real 
 belief in their efficacy to remove guilt. I will mention here tmok 
 
«, 
 
 iMlt 
 
 ■ag- 
 iftor 
 
 Mm 
 
 poite 
 liiity 
 tmU- 
 mtly 
 
 UMd 
 
 liow- 
 
 M of 
 
 lup* 
 eon- 
 tear* 
 inoei 
 tnor 
 Grey 
 Ben a 
 learn 
 Bthe 
 
 can* 
 was 
 were 
 (mall 
 «la- 
 
 Virb 
 
 and 
 
 isted 
 
 ored 
 
 ly to 
 BTor, 
 lenti 
 atis- 
 idin 
 r»- 
 !<». 
 >artt 
 ceis 
 lap* 
 tre- 
 dbe 
 nal 
 
 iwM JJMomm tf Mfu^u Inik 
 
 78 
 
 !^ 
 
 MXfteoIlMl,whlaboaBban««td withont oflMding a vliteoM 
 •ar; fov tooM thevt wu% whkk, allhoiigh I hava baea oompallad 
 to Mlnatt to, aithtt by a mtolad aonaotoooa, or the lear of Hma 
 pnnlihiiienti now that I am batter abla to Judge of juj dntiei^ and 
 at liberty to aot, I would not mention «t oeeoribe. 
 
 KiMing the floor is a very oommon penaaoe ; kaeeling and 
 kiMliif the feet of the other none la another; aa are k«>ee]iDg on 
 hard peai^ and walking with them in the ehott. we had repeat- 
 adly to walk on our kneea throogh the eabterranean .paeeage^ 
 leading to the Congregational Nunnery; andeometimea to eat 
 oar mealt with a n^ ronnd onr neeke. Sometimea we were fed 
 Only with anoh thinga aa we moat dialiked. Ghurlio waa giTon to 
 me on thie aooonnt, oecanae I had a atrong Antipathy ag^oat it. 
 
 Bela were repeatedly giran aome <d na, oecaaae we felt an an- 
 eoaqaerable repognanoe to them, on aceoant of reporta we heard 
 of their feeding on dead oareaaea in the rirer St. Lawrence. It 
 waa no nnoommon thing for na to be required to driuk the water 
 in which the Superior had waahed her feet. Sometimea we were, 
 required to brand onraelrea with a hot iron, ao aa to leave aoara ; 
 at other timea, to whip our naked fleah with aoTeral email roda, 
 beftne a private altar, until we drew blood. loan aaaertrwith 
 the perfeot knowledge of the faot, that many of the nana bear 
 the aoara of theae wouhda.- 
 
 One of the penanoea waa to atand for a length of time with our 
 arma extended, in imitation qf the Saviour on the Oroaa. The 
 CftemAi de la erotat, or Bead to the Oroaa, ia, in faot, a penance^ 
 though it oonriata of a variety of pcoatiatioua, with the repetition 
 of many prayera, oooupying two or three houra. Thia we had to 
 perform nequently going va ohapel, and falling before each oha- 
 pelle in aooeeaaion, at each time commemorating aome partionlar 
 aotor^drcnmatanoe reported of the Saviour'a progreaa to the 
 plaoe of hie orueiflzion. Sometimea we were obliged to aleep on 
 the floor in the winter, with nothing over ua but a aingleaheet; 
 and Bometimea to chew a pieee of window glasa to a fine powder, 
 in the preaenoe of the Superior. 
 
 We had aometimea to wear a leathern belt atnok full of duftrp 
 metallio pointa, round our waiata and the upper part of our arma, 
 bound on ao tight that they penetrated the fleah, and drew blood. 
 
 Some of the pmianoea wen ao aevere, that they aeemed too 
 muoh to be endured : and when they were impoaed, the nuna who 
 were to anffer them ahowed the moat Violent repugnanee. They 
 would often reaiat, and atill ofteAer ezpreaa their oppoaition by 
 ezolamationa and aoreama. 
 
 STever, howevor, Waa any noiae heard from than for a long 
 time, for there waa a lemedy alwaya ready to be applied in caaea 
 of the kind. The gag which waa put into the mouth of the un- 
 fortunate Saint Franoea, had been brought from a place where 
 there were forty or fifWotheraof different ahapea and aiaea. 
 Theae I have aeen in their depoaitory, which ia a drawer between 
 two doaeta, in one of the community-rooma. Whenever any loud 
 noiae waa made, one of theae inatrumenta waa demanded, and 
 gagging commenced at once. I have known manv inataaoea^ ud 
 aometimea five or aiz nuna gagged at once. Sometimea they 
 would beeooie ao much excited Mif ore' they could be bound and 
 mtgii, that oonriderable force waa neceaaary to be exerted ; and 
 I have aeen the blood flowing from mouthaiuto which the gag 
 had been tkiruit with vkdencO^ 
 
78 
 
 IwM BifldlMlini €f Xaiift IbnL 
 
 lodtud I ought to know ■omolhlnf of this dopartiiiMil of nvn* 
 
 B«y diMtpUno"; Z hmf hmSUt triad apon myMli; and oin boar wlt- 
 noM that it i« not onlr moot humiliatlnff and oppmoiTOb bnt oftoa 
 oxtromoly painf nl. Tho month if kopt forood opon. and tho ilnin* 
 ing of the Jaws at their ntmoet itrotoh, for a oonildarable ttmoi ia 
 nut dieircMing. 
 
 One of the woni punishments whloh I erer law inflidad, waa 
 that with the oap ; and yet some of the old nnnt were permitted 
 to infliot it at their pleamire. I hare repeatedly known them to 
 go for a oap. when one of onr number had tranegre m ed a mle^ 
 ■ometimee though it were a Tory unimportant one. These oapo 
 were kept in a cupboard in the old nuns' room, whence they were 
 brought when wanted. 
 
 Thev were small, made of a reddish looking leather, fitted olose* 
 
 2 to the head, and fastened under the chin with a kind of buokli» 
 was the common praotioe to tie the nun*s hands behind, and 
 gag her before the oap was put on, to prsTont noise and resist- 
 ance. I nerer saw it worn by any one for a moment, without 
 throwiuff them into se?ere sufferings. If permitted, they would 
 scream m the most shocking manner, and always wriuied as much 
 as their confinement would allow. I can speak from personal 
 knowledge of this punishment, as I haTO endured it more than 
 once; and yet I have no idea of the cause of the pain. I noTer 
 examined one of the caps, nor saw the inside, for they are always 
 brought and taken away quickly ; lyit although the first sensation 
 was that of ooolness, it was hudly put on my head before a Tio- 
 lent and indiscribable sensation began, like that of a blister, only 
 much more insupportable: and this continued until it was re« 
 moTed. It would produce sucK an acute pain as to throw us in* 
 to oouTulsions, and I think no human being could endure it for 
 an hour. After this punishment, we felt its effect through the 
 ^^stem for many days. Having once known what it was by ex^ 
 perienoe, I held the cap in dread, and whenever I was condemned 
 to suffer the punishment again, felt ready to do any thing to aroid 
 it. But when tied and gagged, with the cap on my head again. 
 I oould' only sink upon the floor, and roll about in anguish until it 
 was taken off. 
 
 This was usually done in about ten minutes, sometimes less, 
 but the pain always continued in my head for several days. I 
 thought that it might take away a person's reason if kept on a 
 much longer time. If I had not been gagged, I am sure i should 
 have uttwed awful screams. I have felt the effects for a wisek. 
 Sometimes fresh cabbage leaves were applied to my head to re- 
 move it. Having had no opportunity to examine my head, I con- 
 not saymore. 
 
 C JCAPTEB XVni. 
 
 niS'minlahment of the Oap— The priests of the distriot of Moatrsal hare 
 nee acoeas to the Blaok Nunnery— Crimes oommittSd ana required by 
 them— The Pope's command to oommit indeoent crimes— Ohaiaeters w 
 the old and new Boperiors— The timidily of the latter— I began to be 
 employed in the hospitale— Some aooowit of thou— Warning i^von me 
 by a aide nan— Penance of hanging. 
 
 Tarn punishment was oooasionally resorted to for very trifling of- 
 fences, snob as washing the hands without permisdon ; and it 
 was generally applied on tha spot^ and bef oca tha other nuns bi 
 commonity-iooB. 
 
 

 ni 
 
 ivflil JJIMmm of Maiii Ifonb 
 
 77 
 
 1 bftTt OMotioiMd b«f ON^ fhat th« oonnlnr, to far down m Um 
 Thnt BIf an, ii f nrniahod with pritite by tbo 8«Blnu]r of Ifou* 
 tfMl; and that thtw handrod and llfiy man an liabla to ba oo« 
 oaiionally tvauafanad tnm ona atation to anothar. Nambait of 
 Iham aM oftan to ba aean in tha straata of Montraal» aa thay mmj 
 And » boma in tha Saminary. 
 
 Tb«y ara oonaidarad aa baring an aqaal rigbt to antar tha Black 
 Nannary whanaTer thay plaaaa ; and than, aooording to ouaoatha, 
 thay bavt eomplata oontrol orar tha nnna. To nama oU tha worka 
 of ahama of which thay ara gnilty in that ratraat, would raqnira 
 mnch tima and apaca, naithar would it ba naoaiaary to tha aooom- 
 pliabmant of my objact, whioh ia, tha pnbUoation of but aoma of 
 thflir oriminality to tha world, and tha daTalopmant. in ganaral 
 tarma. of aoanaa thus far oarriad on in aecret within tha walla of 
 that OonTant. whare I waa ao lopg an inmata. 
 
 Saonra againat dateotion l^ the world, thay naTerbaliarad thai 
 an aya-witnaaa would ever aaoapa to tall of thair crimea, and da- 
 olaraaomaof their names before tha world; but the time baa 
 eoma, and aome of their deeda of darkneia must oome to the day. 
 I hare aeen in tha Nunnery, tha prieats from more, I preiome, 
 than a hundred oouutry placet, admitted for ihameful and crimi- 
 nal purpoaea ; from St. Charlea. St. Denia, St. Mark's, St. Antoine, 
 Ohambly, Bartier, St. John's, ice. 
 
 How-vaazpected to them will be the discloaures I make! Shut 
 np in a plaoe from whioh there has been thought to be but ona 
 way of agreas, and that tha passage to the grave, they considered 
 themsaWes safe in perpetrating crimea in our presence, and in 
 making ul share in their criminality aa often aa tiiey chose, and 
 oonduoted more shamelessly than eren the brutes. 
 
 These debauchees would come in withviut ceremony, oonoealinff 
 their namea, both by tight and day. Bv<)ing within the walla of 
 that priaon-house ox death, where the criet^ and paina of tha in- 
 jured innocence of their victima would never reach tha world, for 
 relief or redreaa for their wrongs, without remorse or shame, they 
 would glory, not only in sating their brutid passions, but even in 
 torturing, in the most barbarous manner, the feelings of thosa 
 under their power; telling us at the aama time, that thia morti- 
 fying the flesh was religion, and pleasing to Gk>d. Themore they 
 could torture ua, or make us violate our own feelings, the mora 
 pleaaure they took in their unclean rerelling ; and all their brutal 
 obscenity they called meritorious before QoA. 
 
 We were aometimes invited to put ourselves to voluntary auf- 
 feringa in a variety of ways, not for a penance, but to show our 
 devotion to God. A priest would sometimes say to us— 
 
 *'-Kow, whioh of yon have love enough for Jesus Obrist to stick 
 a |un through your cheeks P" 
 
 pome of us would signify our readiness, and immediately thrust 
 ona through up to the head. Sometimes he would propose that 
 wa dioiddrepeat the operation several times on the spot ; and tha 
 cbaaka of a number of tha nuna would be bloody. 
 
 Thne wera other acta occasionally proposed and eonaented to, 
 whi(Ai I cannot name in a book. Sucn the Superior would soma- 
 tlmaa command us to perform; many df them, thinga not only 
 Uieleaa iand unheard oL but loathsome and indeeeat in tha hich- 
 ert pOasibIa degree. How they ever oould have been invented, I 
 nivfr oonld oonoeiva. Thinse wera done worse than the entire 
 aarpolntt of the person, though this was occas i onall y required of 
 several at onoa in the i reaenoe of priests. 
 
78 
 
 IwM DlsdoBorai of Ifaria Honki 
 
 The Sqperior of the Seminaiy woiild sometimes oome uid*lo« 
 form us, that she had receiyed order* from the Pope, to leqaest 
 that thoseiinns who posselsed the greatest devotion and faith, 
 Bhon!d he reqaested to perform some partionlar deeds, which she 
 named or described in our presence, but of which no decent or 
 moral person could ever venture to speak. I cannot repeat what 
 would injure any ear, not debased to the lowest possible degree. 
 I am hannd by a regard to truth, however, to confess, that de- 
 luded women were found among us, who would comply with 
 their requests. 
 
 There was a great difference between the characters of our old 
 and new Superiors, which soon became obvious. The former used 
 to say she liked to walk, because it would prevent her from be- 
 ooming corpulent. She was, therefore, very active, and constant* 
 ly going about from one part' of the Nunnery to another, over- 
 seeing us at our various employmeits. I never saw in her any 
 appearance of timidity ; she seamed, on the contrary, bold and 
 masculine, and sometimes much more than that, cruel and cold- 
 blooded, in scenes calculated to overcome any common person. 
 Such a character she had particularly exhibited at the murder of 
 St. Frances. 
 
 The new Superior, on the other hand, was so heavy and lame, 
 that she walked with much difficulty, end consequently exercised 
 a leas vigilant oversight of the nuns. She was also of a timid 
 disposition, or else hi^ been overcome by some great fright in her 
 past life ; for she was apt to become alarmed m the night, and 
 never liked to be alone in the dark. She had long performedthe 
 part of an old nun, which is that of a spy upon the younger ones, 
 and was well known to us in that character, under the name of 
 St. Margarita. Soon after her promotion to the station of Supe- 
 rior, she appointed me to sleep in her apartment,- and assigned me 
 a sofa to he upon. One night, while Z was asleep, she suddenly 
 threw herself upon me, and exclaimed, in great alarm, *' Oh I 
 mon Dieu I mon Dieu ! qu'estque ca ?" (Oh I my GK>d ! my God I 
 what is that F) I jumped up and looked about the room, but saw 
 nothing, and endeavoured to convince her that there was nothing 
 extraordinary there. But she insisted that a ghost had come and 
 held her bed-curtain, so that she could not draw it. I examined 
 it, and found that the curtain l.i.d been caught by a pin in the 
 valence, which had held u back ; buc it was impossible to trau- 
 quilize her for some time. She insisted on my sleeping with her 
 the rest of the night, and I stretched myself across the foot of her, 
 bed, and slept there till morning. ^ 
 
 During the last part of my stay in the Convent, I n^as often 
 employed in attending in the nospitals. There are, as I have be- 
 fore mentioned, several apartments devoted to the sick, and there 
 is a phvsician of Montreal, who attends as physician to the Con- 
 vent. It must not be supposed, however, that he knows anything 
 concerning the private hospitals. It is a fact of great importance 
 to be distinctly understood, and constantly borne in mmd, that 
 he is never, under any circumstances, admitted into the private 
 Vnspital'Cooms. Of those he sees notMng more than any scranger 
 ^ .iatever. He is limited to the care of those patients who are 
 admitted from the city into the public hospitall and one of the 
 uuue' hoq^tals, and these ha visits every day. Sick poor are re- 
 ceived for chanty by the institution, attended bv aome of the 
 nan«, and often go away with the hij^ett ideas of omr obaritable 
 
kwM fiisdosares of Miaiia UodL 
 
 79 
 
 obaraoten and holy Utm. The phydoiaii himielf might, pwhapa, 
 in fome oases, share in the deindon. 
 
 I irequently followed Dr. Nelson thxoug^h the pnblio hospital 
 at the mreotion of the Superior, with pen, ink, and paper, in my 
 hands, and wrote down the prescriptions which he ordered for the 
 diflereht patients. These were afterwards prepared and admin- 
 istered by the attendants. About a year before I left the Oon- 
 yeat, I was first appointed to attend the prirate siok-rooms, and 
 . was frequently employed in that duty up to the day of my de« 
 parture. Of coune, I had opportanities to observe the nanbei 
 xad classes of patients treated there ; and in what I am to say on 
 the subject, I appeal, with perfect confidence, to any true and 
 competent witness to confinn mv words, whenever such a witness 
 may appear. It would be vain for any bodv who has merely vi- 
 sited the Oonvent from curiosity, or resideo^n it as a novice, to 
 question my declarations. Such a person must necessarily be ig- 
 norant of even the ezistenoe of the private rooms, unless inform- 
 ed by some one else. Such rooms, however, there are, and I could 
 relate many things which have passed there during the hours I 
 was employed in thom, as I have stated. 
 
 One night I was called to sit up with an old nun, named St. 
 Glare, who, in going down stairs, had dislocated a limb, and lay 
 in a sick-room adjoining the hospital. She seemed to be a little 
 out of her head a part of the time, but appeared to be quite in 
 possession of her reason most of the night. It was easy to pre- 
 tend that she was delirious ; but I considered her as speaking the ' 
 truth; though I felt reluctant to repeat what I heard her say, and 
 excused myself from mentioning it even at confession, on the' 
 ground that the Superior thought her deranged. 
 
 What led her to some of the most remarkable parts of her con- 
 versation was, a motion I made, in the course of the night, to 
 take the light out of her little rOom into the adjoining apartment, 
 to look once more at the sick persons there. • She begged mo not 
 to leave her a moment in the dark, for she could not bear it. ** I 
 have witnessed so manv horrid scenes," said she, "in this Oon- 
 vent, that I waat somebody near me constantly, and must always 
 have a light burning in my room. I cannot tell you," she added, 
 " what things I remember, for they would frighten you too much. 
 What you have seen are nothing to them. Many a murder have 
 I witnessed : many a nice young creature has been killed in this 
 Nunaery. I advise you to be very cautious— keep everything to 
 yourself —there r.;e many here ready to betray you." 
 
 What it was that iuduced the old nun to express so much kind* 
 ness to me I could not tell, unless she was frightened at the re- 
 collection of her own crimes, and those of. others, and felt grate- 
 f ul for the care I took of her. Shf had been one of the night 
 watches, and never before showed me any particular kindness. 
 She did not indeed go into detail oouoeroing the transactions to 
 which she alluded, but told me that some nuns had been murder- . 
 ed under great aggravations o< otaelty, by being gagged, and left 
 to starve in the cells, or having their flesh burned off their bones 
 with red hot irons. 
 
 It was uncommon to find compnuotion expressed by any of the 
 nuns. Habit renders us insensible to the sufferings of others, and 
 careless about our own sins. I had become so hardened myself, 
 that I find it difficult to rid myself of many of my former false 
 piinoiplee and views of right and wrong. 
 
80 
 
 Xwta^ Bisolosnies of Maria Monk. 
 
 m.- 
 
 > I WM oif^ day set to wash aome empty bottles frotn the oeOar, 
 which had contained the liquid that was poured into the cemetery 
 there. A number of these had been brought from the comer 
 where so many of them were alwayato be seen, and placed at the 
 head of the cellar stairs, and there we were required to take them 
 and wash them out. We poured in water and rinsed them ; a few 
 drops which got upon our clothes soon made holes in them. I 
 think the liquid was called vitriol, or some such name, and I 
 heard some persons say that it would soon destroy the flesh and 
 even the bones of the dead. At another time, we^ere furnished 
 with a little of tho liquid, which was mixed witlT a quantity of 
 water, and used in dymg some cloth black, which was wanted at 
 funerals in the chapel. Our hands were turned very black by 
 being dipped in it, but a few drops of some other liquid were 
 mizM with fresh water, and given us to wash in, whicn left our 
 skin of a bright red. 
 
 The bottles of which I spoke were made of very thick dark*co> 
 loured glae.^, large at the bottom, and, I should say^held some- 
 thing less than a gallon. 
 
 I was once much shocked, on entering the room for the exami- 
 nation of conscience, at seeing a nun hanging by a cord from a 
 ring in the ceiling, with her head downward. Her clothes had 
 been tied round with a leathern strap, to keep them in their place, 
 and then she ha^ been fastened in that situation, with her head 
 some distance from the floor. Her face had a very nnpleasant 
 appearance, beiilig dark coloured, and swollen by the rushing in 
 of the blood l her hands were tied, and her mouth stopped with a 
 large gag. This nun proved to be no other than Jane Bay, who 
 for some fault had been condemned to this punishment. 
 
 This was not, however, a solitary case ; I heard of numbers 
 who were " hung," as it was called, at different times ; and I saw 
 St. Hypolite and St. Luke undergoing it. This was considered a 
 most distressing punishment ; and it was the only one which Jane 
 Bay could hot endure, of all she had tried. 
 
 Some of the nuns would allude to it in her presence, but it usu- 
 ally made her angry. It was probably practised in the same 
 place while I was a novice, but I never heard or thought of such 
 a thing in those days. Whenever we wished to enter the room 
 for the examination of conscience, we had to ask leave, and, 
 after some delay, were permitted to go, but always under a strict 
 charge to bend the head forward, and keep the eyes fixed upon 
 the floor. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Sfore visits to the Imprisoned nuns— Their fears— C 'hers temporarily pnt 
 into the cells— Relics— The Agnus Dei— The priests' mivate hospital, 
 or Holy Retreat— Secret rooms in the eastern ving— Reports of mur- 
 ders in the convent— The Superior's private records— Number of nuns 
 in the convent— Desire ox escape— XJigent reason for it— Plan— Deli- 
 beration-Attempt— Success. 
 
 I OFnsN seized an opportunity, when I safely could, to speak a 
 cheering or friendly word to one of the poor prisoners, in passing 
 their cells, on my errands in the cellars. For a time I sopposea 
 them to be sisters ; but I afterwards discovered that buis was not 
 the case. I found that they were always under the fear of suffer- 
 ing some puaishment, in case they should be found talking with 
 a person not commissioned to attend them. They would often 
 ask, <* Is not somebody coming f" 
 
 i 
 
iwM Bisdiosnres of Haria Monk. 
 
 81 
 
 
 I oonld easfly believe what I heard affinned by others, that fear 
 waa tho seTerest of their sufferings. Confined in Uie dark, in so 
 gloomy a place, with the long arched cellar stretching off this 
 way and that, visited only now and then by a solitary nun, with 
 whom they were afraid to speak their feelings, and with only the 
 miserable iocieiSy of each other ; how gloomy thus to spend day 
 after day, months, and even years, without any prospect of libe* 
 ration, and liable at any moment to another fate to which the 
 Bishop or Superior might condemn them. But these poor crea- 
 tures must have known something of the horrors perpetrated in 
 other parts of the building, and could not have been ignorant of 
 the hole in the cellar, which was not far from the cells, and the 
 use to which it was devoted. One of them told me, in confidence^ 
 she wished they could get out. They must also have been often 
 disturbed in their sleep, if they ever did sleep, by the numerous 
 
 Sriests who passed through the trap-door at no great distance, 
 'o be subject to such trials for a single day would be dreadful ; 
 but these nuns had them to endure for years. 
 
 I often felt much compassion for them, and wished to see them 
 released ; but at other times, yielding to the doctrine perpetually 
 taught us in the Convent, that our future happiness would be 
 proportioned to the sufferings we had to undergo in this world, I 
 would rest satisfied that their imprisonment was a real blessing 
 to them. 
 
 Others, I presume, participated with me in such feelings. One 
 Sunday afternoon, after we had performed all our ceremonies, 
 and were engaged as usual, at that time, with backgammon and 
 other amusements, one of the young nans exclaimed, " Oh I how 
 headstrong are those wretches in the cells, they are as bad ae the 
 day ttiey were put in !'' 
 
 This exclamation was made, as I supposed, in consequence of 
 some recent conversation with them, as I knew her to be parti- 
 onlarly acquainted with the older one. 
 
 Some ox the vacant cells were occasionally used for temporary 
 imprisonment. Three nuns were confined lu them., to my k- jw- 
 ledge, for disobedience to the Superior, as she called it. Thry did 
 not join the rost in singing in the evening, being exhausted is 
 the various exertions of the day. The Superior ordered them to 
 sing ; and, as they did not comply, after the command had been 
 twice repeated^ she ordered them away to the cells. 
 
 They were immediately taken down into the cellar, placed ia 
 separate dungeons, and the door shut and baried upon them. 
 There they remained through the night, the foUowirog day and 
 second night, but were released in time to attend mass on ttie se- 
 cond morning. 
 
 The Supenor used occadonally to show something in a glass 
 box, whicn we were required to regard with the highest degree 
 of ceverence. It was made of wax, and called an Agnus Dei. She 
 used to exhibit it to us when we were in a state of grace ; that is, 
 after confesssioa and before Sacrament. She said it had been 
 blessed in the very dish in which our Saviour had eaten. It was 
 brought from Borne. Every time we kissed it, or even looked at 
 it, we were told it gave a hundred days' release from purgatory 
 to ourselves, or if we did not need it. to our next of km in pur- 
 gatory, if not a Protestant. If wehsdno such kinsman, the bene- 
 fit was to go to the souls in purgatory nof prayed for 
 
 Jane Bay would sometimes say to me, ** Let's kiss it— some of 
 our friends will thank us for it;" 
 
 V 
 
32 
 
 IwM Bisdosnres of Maria Monk. 
 
 I hare been repeatedly employed in earrjing daintiea of differ- 
 ent kinds into the little private room I have mentioned, next be- 
 yond the Superior's sitting-room, in the second story, which the 
 {meets made their ** Holy Retreat " That room Inererwasal- 
 owed to enter. I could only go to the door with a waiter of ve- 
 ireshments, set it down upon a little stand near it, give three raps 
 on the door, and then retire to a distance to await orders. When 
 anything was to be taken away, it was placed on the stand by 
 the Superior, who then gave tluree raps Tor ine, and closed the 
 door. 
 
 The Bishop I saw at least once, when he appeared worse for 
 wind, or something of the kind. After partaking of refreshments 
 in the Convent, he sent for all the nuns, and on our appearance, 
 gave us his blessiug, and put a piece "4 pound cake on the shoulder 
 of each of us, in a manner which appeared singular and foolish. 
 
 There are three rooms in the Black Nunnery, which I never 
 entered. I had enjoyed much liberty, and had seen, as I suppos- 
 ed, all parts of the building, when one day I observed an old nun 
 go to a corner of an apartment near the northern end of the wes- 
 tern wing, push the end of her scissors into a crack in the panel- 
 led wall, and pull out a door. I was much surprised, because I 
 never had conjectured that any door was there ; and it appear- 
 ed, when I afterwards examined the place, that no indication of 
 it could be disbovered on the doeost scrutiny. I stepped forward 
 to see what was within, and saw three rooms opening into each 
 other J but the nun refused to admit me within the door, wLic b 
 she saii led to rooms kept as depositories. 
 
 She herself entered and closed the door, so that I could not sat- 
 isfy my cnriosity ; and no occasion presented itself. I always 
 had a strong desire to know tho use.of these apartments : for I 
 am sure they must have been designed for some purpose oi which 
 I was intentionally kept ignorant, otherwise they never would 
 have remained unknown to me so long. Besides, the old nun 
 evidently had some strong reason for denying me admission, 
 though she endeavoured to quiet my curiosity. 
 
 The Superior, after my admission into the Convent, had told 
 me I had access to every room in the building ; and I had seen 
 places which bore witness to the cruelties and the crimes com- 
 mitted under her commands or sanction ; but here was a sueces- 
 sion of rooms which had been concealed from me, and so con- 
 structed as if designed to be unknown to all but u i«>>«\, I am 
 sure that any person, who might be able to examine the wall in 
 that place, would pronounce that secret door a surprising piece 
 ,of work. I never saw anything of the kind which appeart^^ to 
 me so ingenious and skilfully made. I told Jane Bay what I bad 
 seen, and she said at once, " We will get in and <■ & what is 
 there." But I suppose she never found an opportunity. 
 
 I naturally folt a good deal of curiosity to leara whether such 
 scenes, as I hau witnessed in the death of Saint Frances, were 
 common or rare, and took an opportunity to inquire of Jane Bay. 
 Her reply was — 
 
 " Oh, yes ; and there were nany murdered while you were a 
 novice, whom you heard nothing about." 
 
 This was all I ever learnt on this subject ; but although I was 
 told nothing of the mai^ner .'.' which they -vcere killed, I suppose 
 it to be the suwc which I had seen practised, namely, by nmoth- 
 ering. 
 
IwM IMsoIcNirizoi of Hazia UonL 
 
 ^ 
 
 I wepit into fhA Superior'! parlonr lae dftr for lointihiiig, nxti 
 found jane Bay there alone, looking into a book with an appear- 
 ance oTinterest. I4uiked her what it wae, bnt she made ■osne 
 trifling answer, and laid it hv ai if nnwilling to let me take it. 
 There are two Dookcaaei in t&e room ; one on the right as you 
 enter the door, and the other oppomte, near the window and the 
 sofa. The former contains the lectore^books and other printed 
 ▼olumes, the latter seemed to be filled with note and aooo^ut 
 books. I have often seen the keys in the bookcases while I hav» 
 been dusting the furniture, and sometimes observed letters nuck 
 up in the room ; although I never looked into one, or thought of 
 doing so. We were under strict orders not to touch any of 
 them, and the idea of sins and penances was always present in 
 my mind. 
 
 Some time after the occasion mentioned, I was sent into the 
 Superior's room with Jane, to arrange it ; and as the same book 
 was lying out of the case, she said, *' Gome let us look into it." I 
 immediately consented, and we opened it, and tamed over sev* 
 eral leaves. It was about a foot and a half long, as nearly as I 
 can remember, a foot wide, and about two inches thick, though I 
 cannot speak with particular precision, as Jane frightened me al- 
 most as soon as I touched it, bv exolaimiag, " There, you have 
 looked into it, and if you tell of me, I will of you." 
 
 The thought of being subjected to a severe penance, which I 
 had reason to apprehend, fluttered me very much ; and, although 
 I tried to cover my fears, I did not succeed very well. I reflect- 
 ed, however, that the sia was already committed, and that it 
 would not be increased if I examined the book. 
 
 I therefore looked a little at several pages, though I still felt a 
 good deal of agitation. I saw at once that the volume was a re- 
 cord of the entrance of nuns and novices into the Convent, and 
 of the births that had taken place in the Convent. Entries of the 
 last description were made in a brief manner, on the following 
 plan : I do not give the names or dates as real, but only to show 
 the form of entering them. 
 
 Saint Mary, delivered of a son, March 16, 1834. 
 Saint Clarice „ daughter, April 2. 
 
 Saint Matilda ,, daughter, April 30, &o. 
 
 No mention was made in the book of the death of the children, 
 though I well knew not one of tbem could be living at that time. 
 
 Now I presume that the period the book embraced was about 
 two years, as several names near the beginning I knew ; but I 
 can form only a rough conjecture of the number oi infants born, 
 and murdered, of course, records of which it contained. I sop- 
 pose the book contained at least one hundred pages, and one 
 fourth wMe written upon, and that each page contained fifteen 
 distinct records. Several pages were devoted to the list of births. 
 On this supposition there must have been a large number, which 
 I can easily believe to have been bom there in the course of two 
 years. 
 
 What wero the contents of the other books belonging to the 
 same case with that which I had looked into, I have no idea, hav- 
 ing never dared to touch one of them ; I believe, however, that 
 Jane Bay was well acquainted with thsm, knowing, as I do, her 
 intelligence and prying disposition. If the could be brought to 
 give her testimony, she would doubtlesa a»fold many curious 
 partioolan now unknown. 
 
?* 
 
 kvM BiiRilosQres of Maria UbnL 
 
 I «m aU<^ in oonMqaracM of a oinramftanoe Whidh wpaMtd ao- 
 doental, to tUte wit£ oonfldenoe the exaot namber of ptnoni in 
 the Oonrent one da/ of the week in which Bleft it. Thie may be 
 a point of some intereit, as seyeral deaths LmI ooonned nnoe my 
 taUng the veil, and many burials had been openly made in the 
 ehapel. 
 
 I was appointed, at the time mentioned, to lay ont the coTen 
 for all the mmates of the Oonvent, including the nuns in ttt»eelle. 
 These covers, as I have said before, were linen bands, to be bound 
 around the kniTes, forks, spoons, and napkins, for eating. These 
 were for all the nuns and novices, and amounted to two hundred 
 and ten. As the number of novices was then about thirty, I know 
 that there must have been at that time about one hundred and 
 eighty veiled nuns. 
 
 I t/ca occasionally troubled with a desire of escaping from the 
 Nuiiudry, and was much distressed whenever ! felt so e^ an im« 
 a?f nation rise in my mind. I believed that it was a sin, a great 
 ciu, (.ud did not fail to confess, at every opportunity, that I felt 
 (iiscoixtent. My confessors iaformed me that I was beset wiUi 
 avil upirits, and urged me to pray against it. Still, however, every 
 J.OW and then, I would think, ** Oh, if I could get out." 
 
 At length one of the priests to whom I had oonf eased this sin. 
 irfo! ^M 1 me. for my comfort, that he had bagua to pray tt> Saint 
 An'hony, and hoped his intercession would, by<and>by, drive 
 away the evil spirit. My desire of escape was partly excited by 
 the fear of bringing an infant to the murderous hands of my com- 
 panions, or of taking a potion whose violent effects I too well 
 knew. 
 
 One evening, however, I found myself more filled with a desire 
 of escape than ever ; and what exertions I made to dismiss tiie 
 thought proved entirely unavaiJdng. During evening prayers, I 
 became quite occupied with it ; and when the time of meditation 
 arrived, metaad of falling into a doxe, as I often did, though I 
 was a good deal fatigued, I found no difficulty in keeping awake. 
 When this exercise was over, and the other nuns were abont to 
 retire to the sleeping room, my station being in the private sick- 
 room for the night, I withdrew to my post, tirhioh was the little 
 sitting room adjoining it. 
 
 Here, then, Ithrew myself upon the sofa, and being alone, re- 
 flected a few moments on the manner of escaping whicAi had oc- 
 curred to me. The physician had arrived a little before, at half- 
 past eight ; and I had now to aroompany him as usual from bed 
 to bed, with pen, ink„ and paper : to Vy^iia down his prescriptions 
 for the direction of the old nun, who was to see the n administered. 
 
 What I wrote on that evening. I cannot now xacollect, as my 
 mind was uncommonly agitated ; but my customasy way was to 
 note down briefly his orders, in this manner— « 
 1 d. salts, St. Matilde. 
 1 blister, St. Qenevieve, &o. 
 
 I remember that I wrote these orders that evening, and then, 
 having finished the rounds, I returned for a few mommts to the 
 sitting-room. 
 
 ' 1'here were two ways of access to the street from those rooms; 
 -first, the more direct, from the passage adjoining the sick-room 
 d jwn stairs, tb rough a door, into theNnrmery-yard, and through 
 a wicker gate ; that is the way by whieli the physician nsnaUy 
 enters at night, and he is provided witii a key for that pui^se. 
 
 I 
 
ivM IMoennB of Hula Ttaak. 
 
 8S 
 
 It would have bMn unsafe, howeTer, for me to pan oat that 
 way, beoaoae a man is kept oontinaaUy in the yard, near the gate^ 
 who ileept at night in a imall hut near the door, to escape whose 
 obseryation wotQd be impossible. My only hope, thereforej was, 
 that I might gain my passage through the other way, to do whioh 
 I nnist pass through the sick-room, then through a passage, or 
 small room usually occupied by an old nun ; another passage and 
 stairease leading down to the ysrd, and a large gate opening into 
 the cross street. I had no liberty to go beyona the sick-room, and 
 knew that several of the doors might be fastened; still I deter- 
 mined to try ; although I have often since been astonished at my 
 boldness in undertaldng what would expose me to so many ha* 
 surds of failure, and to severe punishment if found out. 
 
 It seemed as if I acted under some extraordinary impulse, 
 which encouraged me to what I should hardly at any other mo- 
 ment have tuought of undertaking. I had sat but a short time 
 ui)on the sofa, however, before I rose with a desperate determin- 
 atio]3i to make the experiment. I therefore walked hastily across 
 the rack room, passed into the nun's room^ walked by ner in a 
 great hurry, and alraest without giving her time to speak or thin^ 
 said, " A message I" and in an instant was through the door, and 
 in the next passage. I think there was another nun with her at 
 the moment ; and it is probable that my hurried mannex% and 
 promi)t intimation that 1 was sent on a pressing mission to the 
 Superior, provented them from eutertaiQiug any suspicion of my 
 intention. Besides, I bad the written orders of the physician iu 
 my hand, which may have tended to mislead them ; and it was 
 well known to some of the nuns, bhat I had twice left the Con- 
 vent, and returned from choice, so that I was probably more like- 
 ly to be trusted to remain *^ i many of the others. 
 
 The passage which I nonv >e&jhed had several doors, with all 
 which 1 was acquainted ; that on the opposite side opened into a 
 community-room, where I should have probably found some of 
 the old nuns at that hour, and they would certainly have stopped 
 me. On the left, however, was a large door, both locked and bar- 
 red : but I gave the door a sudden swing, that it might creak as 
 little as possible, being of iron. Down the stairs I hurried, and 
 making my way through the door into the yard, stepped across it, 
 unbarred the great gate, 'and was at liberty 1 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 Ths following dreuBBrtances comprise ell that is deemed neces- 
 sary now to subjoin to tbe piwcediag marrative. 
 
 After my arrival in New York, I was introduced to the alms- 
 bouse, where 1 was attended with kindness and care, and, as I 
 hoped, was entirely ur known. But when I had been some time 
 in thatirstitution, I found that it was reported that I was a 
 fugitive nun ; and not long after, an Irish woman, belonging to 
 the house, brought me a secret message, which caused me some 
 agitation. 
 
 I was sittir 3; in the room of Mrs. Johnson, the matron, enga^;ed 
 in sewing, when that Lrish woman, employed in the institution, 
 came in and told me that Mr. Gonroy was below, and had sent to 
 tee me. I was mformed that he was a Boman priest, who often 
 visited the house, and he had a particular wish to see me at that 
 time; having oome, as I believe, eiq^reisly for that purpose. X 
 
 >^ ■ fe 
 
 JL 
 
86 
 
 kwM BiBdosures of Maria Monk. 
 
 ihowtid vnirilliiigneM to oompfy with laoh aa invitatioii, and did 
 notffo. , 
 
 The woman told me, farther, that he tent me word that I need 
 not think to aToid him, for it would be impossible for me to do sc^ 
 I might oonoeal myself as well as I oould, but I should be found 
 and taken. "So matter where I went, or what hiding-plaoo I 
 might choose, I should be known ; and I had better come at onoe. 
 He knew who I was ; and he was authorized to take me to the 
 Sisters of Oharity, if I should prefer to join them. He would 
 promise that I might stay with them if I chose, and be permitted 
 to remain in New York. He sent me word further that he had 
 received full power and authority over me from the Superior of 
 the Hotel Dieu Nunnery at Montreal, and was able to do all that 
 she oould do ; as her right to dispose of me at her will had been 
 imparted to him by a regular writing received from Oanada. This 
 was alarming information for me, in the weakness in which I was 
 at that time. The woman added, that the same authoritv had 
 been given to all the priests ; so that go where I mieht I should 
 meet men informed about me and my escape, and fully empower- 
 ed to seize mo whenever they could, and convey me back tu 'He 
 Convent from which I had escaped. 
 
 Under these ciroumdtances, it seemed to me that the offer to 
 place me among the Sisters of Charity, with permission to remain 
 in New York, Was mild and favourable. However, I had resolu- 
 tion enough to refuse to see priest Conroy. 
 
 Not long afterwards I was informed, by the same messenger, 
 that the priest was again in the building, and repeated his re- 
 quest. I desired one of the gentlemen connected with the insti- 
 tution, that a stop might be put to such messages, as I wished to 
 receive no more of them. A short time after, however, the wo« 
 man told me that Mr. Conroy wished to inquire of me, whether 
 my name was not St. Eustace while a nun, and if I had not con- 
 fessed to Priest Kelly in Montreal. I answered, that it was all 
 true ; for I had confessed to him a short time while in the Nttn< 
 nery. I was then told again thnt the priest wanted to see me, 
 and I sent back word that I would see him in the presence of 
 
 Mr. T or Mr. S— ; which, however, was not agreed to ; 
 
 and I was afterwards informed, that Mr. Conroy, the Boman 
 priest, spent an hour in the room and a'passage where I had fre- 
 quently been ; but, through the mercy of Ood, I was employed at 
 another place at that timo, and had no occasion to go where I 
 should have met him. I afterwards repeatedly heard, that Mr. 
 Conroy continued to visit the house^ and to ask for me ; but I 
 never saw him. I once had determmed to leave the institution, 
 and go to the Sisters of Charity ; but circumstances occurred 
 which gave me time for farther reflection ; and I was saved from 
 the destruction to which I should have be^i exposed. 
 
 As the period of my accouchement apinroached, I sc<metimea 
 thought that I should not survive it ; and then the recollection of 
 the dreadful crimes I had witnessed in the Nunnery would come 
 upon me very powerfully, and I wsuld think it a solemn doty to 
 disclose them before I died. To have a knowledge of those things, 
 and leave the world without making them known, appeared to 
 me like a great sin, whenever I coud divest myself of the im- 
 pression made upon me by the declaratioaii and arguments of 
 the Superior, nuns, and priests, of tb» duty of lubmittins to 
 ever|thing, and the necessary holineu of whatever they did ox 
 required. 
 
AwM Dlsdosores ot Maila Hbnlc 
 
 87 
 
 Th« aTening but om befon tti« period which I antidpated with 
 ■o much anxiety, I was sittiDg alone, and began to indulge in re- 
 fleotiont of this kind. It seemed to me thai I must be near the 
 elose of my life, and I determined to make a disclosure at once. 
 I spoke to Mrs. Ford, a woman whose character I respected, a 
 nurse in the hospital, number twenty-three. I informed her that 
 I had no expectation of living long, and had some things on my 
 mind which I wished to communicate before it should be too late. 
 I added, that I should prefer telling them to Mr. T , the chap- 
 lain I of which she approved, as she considered it a duty to do ao, 
 under those circumstances. I had no opportunity, however, to 
 converse with Mr. T. at that time, and, probably, my purpose of 
 disclosing the facts already given m this book, would never have 
 been executed, but for what subsequently took place. 
 
 It was alarm which led me to form such a determination ; and 
 when the period of trial had been safely passed, audi had a pros- 
 pect of recovery, anything appeared to me more unlikely than 
 that I should make this exposure. 
 
 I was then a Boman Catholic, at least a great part of my time; 
 and my conduct, in a great measure, was according to the faith 
 and motives of a Bomau Catholic. Notwithstanding what I knew 
 of the conduct of so many of the priests and nuns, I thought that 
 it had no effect on the sanctity of the church, or the authority or 
 effects of the acts performed by the former at the mass, confes- 
 sion, &c. I had such a regard for my vows as a uun, that I con- 
 sidered my hand as well as my heart irrevocably given to Jesus 
 Christ, and could never have allowed any person to take it. In- 
 deed, to this day, I feel an instinctive aversion to offering my 
 hand, or taking the hand of. another person, even as an expres- 
 sion of friendship. 
 
 I also thought that I mi|a;ht soon return to the Catholics, al- 
 though fear and disgust held me back. I had now that infant to 
 think for, whose life I had happily saved by my timely escape 
 from the Nunnery ; what its fate might be, in case it should ever 
 fall into the power of the priests, I could not tell. 
 
 I had, however, reason for alarm. Would a child, destined to 
 destruction, like the infants I had seen baptized ana smothered, 
 be allowed to go through the world unmolested, a living memo- 
 rial of the truth of crimes long practised in security, because nevsr 
 exposed P What pledges could I get to satisfy me, that I, on 
 whom her dependence must be, would be spared by those who, I 
 had reason to think, were wishing then to sacrifice me P How 
 could I trust the helpless infant in hands which had hastened the 
 baptism of many such, in order to hurry them iuto the secret pit 
 in the cellar P Could I suppose that Father Phelan, Priest of the 
 Parish Church oj Montreal, would see his own child growing up 
 in the world, and feel willing to run the risk of having the truth 
 exposed ? What could I expect, especially from him, but the ut- 
 most rancour, and the most determined enmity, against the inno- 
 cent child and its abused and defenceless mother? 
 
 Yet, my mind would sometimes still incline to the opposite di- 
 rection, and indulge the thought, that perhaps the only way to 
 secure heaven to us both, was to throw ourselves back into the 
 hands of the church, to be treated as she pleased. — When, there- 
 fore, the fear of immediate death was removed, I renounced all 
 thoughts of communicating the sabstunce of the facts of this vo- 
 lume. It happened, however, that my danger was not passed. I 
 
S8 
 
 IwM Bisdlosiires of Haria MonL 
 
 wai loon seiied with Tery alarming ■ymptomi ; then my deilit to 
 diuloM my ttory nTiyea. 
 
 I had before had an oppori .nity to speak in priTate with the 
 chaplain ; but, ai it was at a time when I lupposed myself out of 
 danger, I had deferred for three days my proposed oommanioa- 
 tion, thinking that I might yet aroid it altogether. When my 
 symptoms, howeyer, became more alarming, I was aozioni for 
 Satcurday to anive, the day which I had appointed ; and when I 
 had not the opportunity, on that day, which I desired, I thought 
 it might be too late, l did not see him till Monday, when my 
 prospects of surviving were very gloomy, and I then informed 
 him that I wished to communicate to him a few secrets, wh^oh 
 were likely otherwise to die with me. I then told him, that while 
 a nun, in the Convent of Montreal, I had witnessed the murder 
 of a nun, called Saint IVances, and of at least one of the infants 
 which I have spoken of in this book. I added some few circum- 
 stances, and I believe disclosed, in general terms, some of the 
 crimes I knew of in that Nunnery. 
 
 My anticipatious of death proved to be unfounded: for my 
 health afterwards improved, and had I not made the confessions 
 on that occasion, it is very possible I might never have made 
 them. I, however, atterwaitls, felt more willing to listen to in- 
 struction, and experienced friendly attentions from some of the 
 benevolent persons around me, who, taking sn interest in me on 
 account of my darkened understanding, furnished me with the 
 Bible, and were ever ready to counsel me when I desired it. 
 
 I soon began to believe that Ood might have intended that his 
 creatures should learn his will by reading his word, and taking 
 upon them the free exercise of their reason, and acting under re- 
 sponsibility to him. 
 
 It is dimcult lor one wl^o has never given way to such argu- 
 ments and inflrenccji ti& thosu to which I had been exposed, to 
 realize how hara it is to think aright, after thinking wrong. The 
 Scriptures always affect me powerfully when I read them ; but I 
 feel that I have but just begun to learn the great truths, in which 
 I ought to have been early and thoroughly instructed. I realize, 
 in some degree, how it is, that the Scriptures render the people of 
 the United States so strongly opposed to such doctrines as are 
 taught in the Black and Congregational Nunneries of Montreal. 
 The priests and nuns used often to declare that of all heretics, the 
 children from the United States were the most difficult to be con- 
 verted; and it was tnought a great triumph when one of them 
 was brought over to ** the true niith." The fixst passage of Scrip- 
 ture that made any serious impression upon my mind, was the 
 text on which the chaplain preached on the Sabbath after my in> 
 troduotion to the house^— " Search the Scriptures." 
 
i 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM PUBLIC JOURNALS, 
 
 SBLA.TITE TO 
 
 THE TRUTH Ou 
 MARIA MONK'S DISCLOSURES. 
 
 The following eertificaU appeared in the Protestant Vindieaior^ in 
 
 March, 1836« 
 
 Wa, thesabioriben, have an acquaintance with Miss Maria Monk, 
 and haying considered the evidence of different kinds which has 
 been collected in relation to her case, have no hesitation in de- 
 claring our belief in the truth of the statements she makes in her 
 book, recently published in New York, entitled * Awful Disdo- 
 eures,' &o. 
 
 "We at the same time declare that the assertion, originally 
 made in the Boman Catholic Newspapers of Boston, that the 
 book was copied from a work entitled 'The Oates of Hell Open- 
 ed,' is wholly destitute of foundation ; it being entirely new, and 
 not copied from anything whatsoever. 
 
 " And we further declare, that no evidence has been produced 
 which discredits the statements of Miss Monk ; while, on the con* ■ 
 trary, her story has yet received, and oontinuei to receive, obn* 
 firmation from various souroei. 
 
 " During the last week, two important witnesses spontaneously 
 appeared, and offered to give public testimony in her favour. 
 Irom them the following delineations have been received. Hie 
 first is an affidavit given b^ Mr. William Miller, now a resident 
 of this city. The second is a statement received from a young 
 married woman, who, with her husband, also resides here. In 
 the clear and repeated statements made by these two witnesses, 
 we place entire relianoe ; who are ready to furnish satisfeotioii to 
 any persons making reasonable enquiries on the subject. 
 ** W. C. BsowmtEB, " Aacos BacsBir, 
 
 "JoHNJ.SLOOuii^ "David WssBOzr, 
 
 . **Ain>SBwBBiTC!B, ** Teoiua Hocuv." 
 
 **D. FijraBAW, __ 
 
^, 
 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
 I/, 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 %& 
 
 :^ ij£ 12.0 
 
 IL25 i 1.4 
 
 II 
 
 1.6 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sdaices 
 
 Corporatton 
 
 
 23 WIST MAIN STRUT 
 
 WIBSTER,N.Y. MSM 
 
 (716) •72-4503 
 
 '^ 
 

90 
 
 AwM DisdlosnzeB of Maria HboL 
 
 ISron the Ameriean Prote^nt Vindieator. 
 
 *'It was expected that, after Maria Monica disolosoresi an art- 
 ful attempt would be made to inralidate her testimony— which 
 was done secretly after her escape from the Hotel Dieu Nnnnerj% . 
 by so altering the appearance of that institution by planking, and 
 bricking, and stoning, as to deceiye Ool. Stone, who was then re- 
 qresteoto examine itior himself and the world. The OoL mis* 
 reiHcesented what he saw, he was deceited regarding those alter- 
 ations by the inmates, who dragged him, as it were, by force 
 thi»)ugh the building during hia examination, which was perform- 
 ed in the amazing short space of a few hours. But time is the 
 grand unraveUer of mysteries. On the appearance of the book 
 of Misi Monk, the hoodwinked people of Montreal were so sur- 
 prised and stupefied at finding that the immaculate purity of the 
 Hotel Dieu had been so disparaged, that thej forgot to think se- 
 riously on the subject— but, understanding that the story had 
 l^ained almost 'general belief abroad, they, at last, were led to oon- 
 
 Iecture that perhaps it was partiality that preTcnted them from 
 relieving it at home. General attention, therefore, in Montreal, 
 was directed towards that edifice— and those residing in its im- 
 mediate vicinity cast a retrospective glance over what they had 
 seen transacted there, between the time at which the ' Bisdo- 
 snres* were puUlibhed, and the visit of Ool. Stone. The result of 
 this investigation has been lately given on the spot to the Bev. 
 Jas. P. Miller, of New York, who visited that city for the pur- 
 
 ?ose of hearing that the truth was gradually coming to light, 
 'he neighbours informed Mr. Miller that about the time it was 
 rumourei th%t she had exposed the institution, a mysterious pile 
 of planks, twenty-five feet in height, had been placed myBterious- 
 ly m the yard, which were wonderfully and graf''"<dly used in 
 progressing some improvements in the building— f6r they were 
 neither empl<^ed outside nor hauled away. 
 
 Whatever may be the fact with regard to Maria Monk's alleged 
 disclosures, those of our people who have read your papers, are 
 satisfied in one point : that Mr. Stone's credibility as a witness 
 as been successfully impeached; that his examination of the 
 Nunnery, was a mere sham ; thiit he was either ttie dupo of Je- 
 suitical imposture, or that he himself is a fond impostor ; that he 
 has been unwilliugly or ignorantly befooled ; and unless he has 
 had a tangible reward, that he has ' got his labour for his pains.' 
 
 **My wife, who spent her childhood in Montreal, says, that she 
 and her schoolmates, when walking the street near the Nunnery, 
 often used to wonder if the famous subterrauean passage was un- 
 der the place where they then stood : and yet, forsooth^ no person 
 in Canada ever before heard of it ! Whatever may be the facts 
 in relation to thostt disclosure^ we needed not your paper to sat- 
 isfy tis either that Jesuits must be as holy as the * Blessed l^brgin 
 Mother* herself or those conventicles of unprotected females are 
 scenes of the most damning character.— A Pboibbiast.** 
 
 From the Lot^f Idand Star, qfFeb. Wth, 
 
 ^'EHncefhepnblicationof our last paper, we have recdved a 
 oommnnioation from Messrs. Howe and Bates, of New York, the 
 publishers of Miss Monk's * Awful Disdosnree.' It appears that 
 
 V 
 
AwM BtedOBQiw of Haiia HanUL 
 
 81 
 
 mery, 
 snu- 
 enon 
 facts 
 
 sat- 
 ligin 
 
 are 
 
 souittlnflaenoe tea baan at mtk in tiial tUj, adrana to fha fraa 
 ezaodnatioii of ttia oaaabatwaaa her Mid the iniailaof Canada : 
 for tlins far fhe newepapers have been aaoBt entireljr eloaed aoauut 
 ewjihinginfaerdennoekWhilift moat cf them have pabUahed 
 f alae chai^ acpainit the book, aome of e prapoatenros natore, the 
 oontradiotion of whioh ia plain and palpable. 
 
 " Betumine to New York, she then first resolred to publish her 
 story, which she has recently done, after several intelligent dis- 
 intmested persons liad satisfied themselves by much eziuninatioa 
 that it is true. 
 
 When it became known in Oanada that this was her intention, 
 
 nz affidavits were published in some of the newq>aper^ intended 
 
 to destroy confidence in her oharacter ; but these were found very 
 
 - contradictory in several important points, iemd in others to afford 
 
 undesigned confirmation of statements before made by her. 
 
 « On the publication of her book, the New York Oatholio Dairy, 
 the Truth-teller, the Qreen Banner, and other papers, made vi- 
 rulent attacks upon i^ and one of them proposed that the pub- 
 lishers should be * buched.' An anonymoas handbill was also 
 circulated in New York, declaring the worbTa malignant libel, ^ot 
 up by IVotestant clergsrmen, and promising an ample refutation 
 of it in a few days. ^Diis were re-published in the Oatholio Dairy, 
 &c., with the old Montreal affidavits, which latter were distn- 
 buted through New York and Brooklyn ; and on the authority of 
 these, several Protestuit newspapers denounced the work as false' 
 and inalioious. 
 
 « Another charge, quite inconsistent with the rest, was also 
 made, not only by the leading Boman Oatholic papers, but by sev- 
 eral others at second hand — ^viz., that it was a mere copy of an 
 old Enroj^an work. This had been promptly denied by the pub- 
 lishers, with the offer of 100 dollars reward tot any book at all 
 resembling it. * 
 
 ** Yet such is the resolution of some, and the unbelief of others, 
 that it is impossible for the publishers to obtain insertion for the 
 replies in the New York papers generally, and they have been 
 unsuccessful in an attempt at Philadelphia. 
 
 " This is the ground on which the following article has been 
 offered to us^br publication in the Star. It was offered to Mr. 
 Sohneller, a Itoman Priest, and Editor of the Catholic Dair^, tot 
 insertion in his paper of Satrrday before last, but refus^^, al- 
 though written expressly aa an answer to the affidavits and 
 charges his previous number had contained. This article has also 
 been refused insertion in a Philadelphia daily paper, after it been 
 satisfactorily ascertained that there was no hope of gaining ad- 
 mission for it into any of the New York papers. 
 
 " It should be stated, in addition, that the authoress of the book, 
 MuiaMonk, isiuNew York,and stands ready to answer any 
 queltions, and submit to any enquiries put in a proper manner, 
 and desires nothing so strongly aa an opportunity to prove before 
 a court the truth of her story. She baa already found several 
 persons of ren>ectabiUty who have confirmed some of the facts, 
 important and likely to be attested by ooncurraut evidence ; and 
 much further testimony in her favour may be sooh expected by 
 the pnblio. 
 
 ** With these facta before fhem, intelUgent readers will Judge 
 for themselves. She asks for investiganon, while her opponents 
 deny her every opportunity to meet the charges made agaiost her. 
 
or* 
 
 Maiia XiXBiL 
 
 rjyg- ^^«rt«, •»oa« B&iroffitoiirotSS teSi 
 
 \ 
 
■ pub- 
 Iumbm; 
 to 9M 
 .Willi, 
 b^ng 
 
 -1 
 
 /■■'^■^ 
 
 MISTEEnS OF A CONVENT. 
 
 Vv 
 
 V 
 
i i 
 
 's HI* 
 
 «•' 
 
 % i 
 

 %: . 
 
 THE 
 
 i 
 
 . -1 
 
 THRILLING 
 
 3i^''5rsrr3BiizBs 
 
 OF A 
 
 GOISTEIT REVEALED ! 
 
 PHILADELPHIA! 
 
 T. £. VVSEB80IC, 101, OBXSXRVI SIBEBI 
 
M 
 
 V 
 
LITERABT NOTICE. 
 
 *«Tlili book will 1m «fnlji«iigbt fbrand •ppioeifttodbf •& fhooo rin- 
 oeidy and ooooeiontioiuly opp^sod to fho wont of ^mnnloo ikt tyrtnu 
 ny <ifr§Hgion. It It xauixuMoaMj on* of tlio boot wwdn tbat bai boon 
 issued daring fho nioetoeatboentarf. Mr.PotenonbMbecaatooiuidoiw 
 •bio oq^oDN in gottlng vp tbii Interestiiig book) and wo fott •araiod that 
 it will kATonxapidMdOi oothoroMO Ibw pononi of tho preoont d^r* bat 
 who wiih to bo mado fblly aoqoainted with this impoxtaat oaljeot. Tbo 
 author gnqpploo hio labjoot with a keon, dotormiaod intoUoot, and all tho 
 Mgotry, iknatioinn, pnusttaoa, and doingi in a Oonyent, aro horo oxpooed 
 totlioIightofthonooD-day gun. Itisaworkofeopeoial intetostattho 
 pro oo nt timo. Tho aafhor it ono of tho most odobrated Methodist preaeh* 
 ers now liTing^ and what'he exposes and naipteo he does flrom the howt. 
 All should read and study ii Itisarloh, highlj intoreotlng work, ar ! 
 tholotpprioo at whiehil is published, will, as it should, bring it wttbte 
 tho zoaohof the tens of thousands in vntj seottonofour eountiythat 
 should read it,**— IVim Sum. 
 
 97 
 
if 
 
THE MYSTERIES OF A CONVENT. 
 
 OHAPTEBL 
 
 jktttlqa* nuuuloa— Fhmny portraiti— Count of it. Avbjii— lathtr and 
 
 daughter. 
 
 Towards the oIom of the laat oentory, there itood, within a few 
 milei of Paria, an andent, most-grown ehatean, emboaomed in 
 oaks, whose snarled limbs. coTered with mistletoe, gave eyidenoe 
 of their antiqnitj, and showed that they had battled against 
 manj a fierce onset of the elements. 
 
 This renerable pile, with the ample and handsome demesne in 
 whose midst it stood, was the family seat of the Oonnts of St 
 Anbyn, through whose loug line of suooession it had deaoended 
 from sue to son, in spite of politioal conyulsions which had shaken 
 the State to it Tory fonndatious. Every thing about tiie build- 
 ing wore the impress of time. The furniture, throughout its al- 
 most numberless rooms, was of the most antique fashion, and 
 had been presenred with great care, indeed with a sort of super- 
 stitious roTerenoe. Over the spacious fire-place in the great din- 
 ing hall, which had so often rung with the voice of revelry, was 
 snsjpended the once brilliantly illuminated, but now discoloured, 
 pemgree of the family ; while upon the oaken panelled walls 
 were hung suits of mail, and implements of war and of the chase, 
 many of which were of the most primitive and curious construc- 
 tion. In Tarious parts of the building were to be found portraits 
 of those members of the family who had been remarkable for 
 achierements on the battle field, or in the tournament ; for learn- 
 ing, fbr statesmanship, or for personal beauty: the mailed war- 
 rior, the tilting knight, the gr9.vo couneiilor of state, the robed 
 priest, and the toTely oelle of h*u day. In the chapel, the floors 
 and widlewere covered with marble tablets and monuments, 
 whose bass-relief s and inscriptions declared tbe honours of the 
 race in bygone days ; while in the library was carefully preserv- 
 ed an andenl Tolume of vellum, heavily bound, and clasped with 
 brass, upon whose broad pages the chaplains of the family had 
 been wont to record the history of the suocesdve counts. An old 
 oaken chest, which stood in one comer of this room, fhu flUed 
 with musty rolls ahd moth-eaten parchments, that told many a 
 ourious taie, and contained the evidence of many a dark trans- 
 action. 
 
 GharleSitheOountof St. Aq^vn, at the period when our story 
 opens, had distinguished himself in the wars of France, and had 
 fought many a well-contested battled; but haTing, in uie laat of 
 thes^ received a dangerous wound which wholly incapaoitated 
 him for the further service of his oountiy, in the amy, he had re- 
 tired to hie patrimonii residenee, wlune he spent mndi of hit 
 time in supenntending the education of his only dauj^hter, Louies^ 
 
100 
 
 Iffsterlei of a OonTeni 
 
 a bMvttfol ibl, now in btr tightMoth yttr ; bit itmtiiiiBff !•!• 
 •nra btliig diTottd to tho mMMgomonl m hia wtoto^ and to ooiait 
 intrigiio. 
 
 Natonllj of a ooM, haagbty, and tTrannioal diipotitloB, wbidf 
 bis long otNor as a miUtaiy l«ad«r bad by no moans abatod, bnt| 
 on tbo oontrary, bad groatly aggraTatod ; oxoossivoly Tain of Ua 
 anooatry ; impatlont of all oontradiotion, and ambiUoni of powar 
 and prtfennout ; Count St. Aubyn was bat ill pnparad for tba 
 aooomplisbniont of a task wbiob bad boon oarW doToWod upon 
 bim by tho doatb of tbo oonotoss, soon after giTiog birtb to Lo- 
 uisa ; and tbis task was rsndered tbo mors dilBioalt by btr in- 
 beritanot of btr fathtr't traits of obaraottr ; and by tbt faot tbal» 
 wbilt abstnt from homo in tho serriot of bis oountoy, bo bad oon* 
 fldtd bis daughter to tho oart of a maidtn aunt, who waa too in- 
 doltnt to take any iuttreit iu what so nearly oonoemed her neioa,. 
 and to the ohapwn of the family— a Boman Oatholio priest— wbo 
 thought that any knowledge beyond that of the breriary waa 
 wholly utelesa for a young and beautif ul girl, aole heiress to a 
 noble name and prinoely estate. Possessing, bowerer, an inouir* 
 log mind and great natural talents, Louise spent muob of her 
 time, from the age of twelve years, hi ber father's library ; read- 
 ing sueh books as suited her fanoy, and especially delighting in 
 the perusal of the rolume of Telfum whioh contained the his- 
 tory of her ancestors. Finding, too, the key whioh unlocked the 
 old oaken chest, khe OMtrlv pored oyer the contents of its time- 
 rasted parchments. At other times, she would rabble over tbo 
 gloomy pile, passing from room to room, spendiuff hours in look- 
 ing at the family pictures which smiled or frowned upon ber ftrom 
 the walls, and in examining the curiously wrougbt tapestry with 
 whioh some of the rooms were draped ; or, golog forth into tbo 
 forest near the chateau, she would stroll from plaoe to place, as 
 ber fancy dictated, or sit by the side of the rippling stream, lost 
 in Inight musings, engendered by the works of fiction she had 
 read. Oompanionship she had none. saTo when, after supper, she 
 entered the senranVs ball, where sne would sit until midnight, 
 listening to tho le^nds wnich were recited to ber hj the old re- 
 tainers of the famiW, who had spent more than half a century in 
 the household, and by those who had accompanied her father to 
 the wars, liien, retiring to ber room, with her imagination 
 wrought up to the highest pitch, she would lie awake for hours. 
 Thus raised unti)<i4^e had passed her seTonteenth Tear, it is not 
 wonderful that when Gount St. Aubyn, himself, undertook to au- 
 
 {3erintend the education of his daughter, he should find her mind 
 n chaotic oonf usion, and her disposition wilful and impatient of 
 all restraint. 
 
 Fortunately for both of them, the protracted illness oontequent 
 upon the seTore wound that he had received in his last battie, and 
 during which Louise had nursed her father with the greatest af- 
 fection and tenderness, scarcely ever leaving his bedsicM,hmd serv- 
 ed greatly to attach them to each other, preparatoi^ to thosa 
 oollisions of temper whioh were auxe to be the reeult of tbt aato- 
 dation, at teaober and pupil, of two peraons so nnbapinly oon- 
 atituted aa Louise and the Count. In spite of this, however, 
 aeenea fireqnentiy occurred in the Libraiy, durini? the tnree years 
 which were aptnt bv them, in thia relation, wbidi would bMrgar 
 disoription; tbt father in a storm of wrath ; and the danguter 
 
lyBtaries of a OonTani 
 
 101 
 
 •lUnaMj ww|rfog pMiionatolf, ud fhta iuraliif mon litr m« 
 MnL with all tb« iury of mi nnsoTtnuibl* .wirit. liidoiDitablt 
 fai hu pnrpoM, howoTtr, th« Ooont bad at 5«nRth toooMdad, to 
 ■oma aztont at laait, in bringiiiK LooiM into ■ubjection !o biairoa 
 will, whan aranta oeounad wbioh ebangad tba wnolw tanor olbar 
 Ufa, and ttarraHonsly ihapad bar f utnra daatiuy. A raoital of 
 tbaaa wa ihaU dafar to tba nast obaptar. 
 
 oon- 
 
 OHAFTBB n. 
 
 BfMits fitnthadowed— A daughter's anstety— A iMiia of terrpr— Tb« Tle< 
 tim'a doom— Th« daughter's horror. 
 
 Causes had been in operation, for ^aars, tending to rarolntion and 
 bloodshed in Franca :— oaosas which it it the proTinoa, not of ti^a 
 writer, but of the historian, to trace and to record. Tbatrem- 
 bUngs and ominous muttenngs of the glaciers had long been felt 
 and beard :— good men, and there were a few, had stood ashast, 
 aa the earth reeled beneath their feet, in fearful azpectatfon of 
 ■ndden and dire catastrophe ; bad men, and their name was la- 
 gion, bad, with malicious exultation, looked forward to mighty 
 upheavings of popular exci^ment, which should benefit them by 
 the change they should effect, be that change what it might, and 
 ruin whom it would. At length, the mountain masses are loosen- 
 ed ; tiia aTalabche descends, crashing, crushing, destroying, in its 
 downward rush, life, honour, fortune,— all that it had cost tba 
 labourers of centuries to rear :— >at one fell blow, civil goyemment, 
 the rights of man, religion, are overwhelmed in one undistinguish- 
 able mass of utter ruin ; while auarohv, cruelty, and impiety, sit 
 enthroned in gloomy grandeur apd the wide-spread desolation, 
 wearing a triple crown, baptized in the blood of more than a mil- 
 lion of victims ;— fit emblem of that worn by " Babylon the grstUf 
 the Mother of harlots, and abominations qf the earth j" which 
 would exalt thus to sit gloating upon the ruins, not of one pro- 
 vince or state only but of all the world ; while the wailings, not 
 of infidel France alone, but of Prpteatantiam every where, should 
 come welling up as sweetest melody in her ears. 
 
 Oonnt St. Aul>yo»— CSount no longer, for titles of honour had 
 been abolished,— was not one of those who could be inert or in- 
 active at such a crisis as this ; and soon rendered himself obnoxi- 
 ous to the fury of the *' Inftrnal TriurmiraU*' He had, of late, 
 been frequently absent from home, during the day, but bad al- 
 ways returned, at night, for tba protection of his daughter. At 
 length, however, he came not, as usual ; and Louise felt greatly 
 ^ alarmed, for she was apprised of passing events, as they occurred 
 ' from day to day. She went to ue great ball door, and, looking 
 out upon the darkness, waited long and anxiously for her father's 
 return bjit he came not. She sent messengers to the citv, that 
 she might, if possible, learn what had befallen him. The old 
 eloek, which stood in the hall, and whose tickings seemed to vi- 
 brate through her every nerve, at last told the hour of midnight. 
 Still be came not, nor had her messengers returned. She knew 
 not what to do, nor where to send ; she feared tba worst, yet bop- 
 ad hourly for her fathar^a arrival. Waaried and exhausted by 
 
133 
 
 , Mysteries of a Oonrent 
 
 anxiety, m w«11 m chilled by the damp ni^ht alir, she went to her 
 loom, and tried to oompoae henelf^ but in vain ; the old cloek 
 oontioued to sound forth, from its iron throat, hour after hour, 
 and still her father,— whom she loved, in spite o.. their ontbursta 
 ei temper iu the past, — her father oame not. Hastily summon- 
 ing her maid, she bade her descend to the servants' hall, and or- 
 der the coachman to get ready the carriage ; and, just as the day 
 broke, she threw herself into it, and, saying, " To the city/' lean- 
 ed heavily upon the cushions, in a perfect fever of excitement. 
 
 It was already seven o'clock when she reached the gates of Pa- 
 ris; and here fresh difficulties arose in her path. She was refused 
 admittuice ; but, opportunely for her, a friend of her father, who 
 had some iufluence with the guard, arrived just at the moment, 
 and succeeded in bribing him to let her pass; the stipulation be- 
 ing made, however, that the carriage should remain outside the 
 barrier, and that she should enter the city, alone and on foot, so 
 as to attract no observation. 
 
 What a scene met her gaze, on her entrance into the thorough- 
 fares through which she had repeatedly passed before, a light- 
 hearted maiden, richly appareled, seated iu the old family coach, 
 by the side of her father, the Count ; of whose dignified and com- 
 manding appearance she was so justly proud. Now, alone, on 
 foot, and, happily for her own safety, but indifferently dad, with 
 her neart pslpitating under the iufluence of fear and anxiety, she 
 had to make her way through a dense mass of human beings, 
 heaving and rolling like the waves of the ocean, when moved by 
 the storm. Here were men, drunken with excitement and iutox- 
 icated with power, for the mob ruled— drunken men uttering the 
 most awful blasphemies, and crying, in tones which called the 
 very soul within her, " Blood I Blood. More Blood /" Here 
 were woman with dishevelled hair ; torn and ragged dresses, be- 
 smeared with blood ; counteuances haggard and pale for want of 
 food ;women blaspheminfr, and crying, iu accents of despair— 
 " Bread I Bread, Down with the Aristocrats —give vs bread, or 
 we die.** There the infuriated crowd was making a bonfire of 
 the elegant but broken furniture which had just been taken from 
 a neighbouring mansion — that mansion in flames ; while another 
 
 i>arty was dragging to the guillotine the late owner of this prince- 
 y establishment— his only crime, perhaps, his wealth. A few 
 steps further on, and she beheld some unfortunate being hanging, 
 lifeness, from a lamp-post; and advancing but a short dis^ce 
 boyond, she encounters a dead body, lying upon the pavement, 
 with its ghastly, upturned features, ground by the heel of some 
 ruffian, until they could not be distinguished. Blood, blood, blood 
 —every where ; in the street ; on the pavement ; standing in great 
 
 guddles, running in the gutters, spattered upon the wuls in the 
 ouses, staining the faces and garments of the populace ; blood 
 crying to heaven for vengeance upon the regicides, the homicides. 
 O, it was a horrible spectacle ~a sight to have sickened her wo- 
 man's heart — a sight which she never forgot, and which myste- 
 riously affected her whole after life, as it stood in connexion with 
 the event of that morning, which froze that heart to stone, and 
 for ever dried up that kindly emotion. Drawing her shawl close- 
 ly about her person, and stopping from time to time to recover 
 herself, as in the swajrings to and fro of the maddened crowd, she 
 was now hurried rapidly forward, and now almoi^ hurried to the 
 
HiysteilflB of ft OmiTpti 
 
 103 
 
 gronad. BbeluidioooeodediiipftMiDg fhtoofl^ ivranl itreet& 
 as yet unhurmed, when, on sadcMnly taming a ooroer, ihe stood 
 in loll Yiew of the guillotine ; aroand whieh wm gathered a mot- 
 ley mnltitadewof men, women, and oLiidren, all Todferating that 
 tenible 017—*' Blood I blood r' One glance snffioed to tell her 
 that she had found her fathier. but undwr what fearful dronrn- 
 stances. There he stood er(>ct ppon the scaffold, casting. a look 
 of dignified defiance upon the surging mob, thirsting for his life. 
 A. moment more, and he. who had nerer feared deau upon the 
 battle field, calmly lays his head upon the block. SpelUbound, 
 Louise sees the fatal knife descend with lightning speed, but she 
 sees no more : with one wild shriek of agony she falls swooning 
 upon the hard stones ; the last link severed which bound her in 
 sympathy to her race. 
 
 ose- 
 over 
 she 
 the 
 
 CHAFTEBin. 
 
 Betuming consciovBness— Loaise the orphan— A friend in need— Oennine 
 sympathy— Disinterested generosity. 
 
 Oh recovering from the state of insensibility into which she had 
 been thrown by the dreadful spectacle that she had witnessed, 
 she was surprised to find herself on a low pallet, in a small and 
 iU-furnishea apartment, with a female bending oyer her, whom 
 she did not recollect to have seen before, busily engaged in chaf- 
 ing her temples. 
 
 ** Where am I P" cried the unhappy girl. " O, where ain I, and 
 where is my dear father P I have had such a horrible dream I I 
 thought I saw my father lay his head upon the bloody block — 
 that I saw his gray hairs floating on the breeze, and then — ^Isaw 
 that terrible knife— but tell me, O, tell me," she added, eagerly 
 grasping the arm of the stranger, ** have I been dreaming, or is it, 
 indeed, a fearful reality P Speak, I entreat you, for my poor head 
 reels so, that I cannot remember any thing." 
 
 The good woman sought to soothe her, and to evade the ques- 
 tion; telling her how important it was for her to be quiet ; but 
 all her benevolent efforts were in vain. Louise pressea the ques- 
 tion, until, finding it was still evaded, she screamed in agony — 
 
 '*Then, indeed, it was no dream. They have murdered my poor 
 father. Take, O take me to himl" and again fell back ^hausted 
 and faint upon the couch. 
 
 Her kind hostess again succeeded in restoring her to.consdous- 
 ness ; and then, in spite of all entreaties, refused to answer any 
 questions, until she could have tried to sleep. 
 
 Louise, fully aware of her loss, and that she was truly an orphan, 
 for her father had been cruelly murdered before her eyes ; her mo- 
 ther had died in giving her birth ; and she had not a blood rela- 
 tive in all France ; wrung her hands in silent agony, and tossed 
 from side to side upon the bed, until at length wearied nature 
 vielded to the soft impulse of sleep : and she lay, for four or five 
 hours, in unoonsdousuess of the sorrows whidi had settled down 
 upon ner young spirit, like a pall of darkness. 
 
 While she thus sleeps, it may be as well to inform the reader, 
 that, when Louise uttered the cry of horror, and swooned in the 
 
m 
 
 MyBteiieB of a Oonfe&i 
 
 street, on Mdng her fftfher guillotined, there itood not far fi^m 
 her in the oroira, an old eolaier, in the dreae of a labourer, who, 
 httraoted by her aoream, and looking upon her f aoe, diacoTered in 
 her the daughter of his old general, the Oount St. Aubyn, whose 
 blood was, at that moment streaming from tiie neighbouring 
 scaffold. Hastily seising the poor girl, as she lay upon the pate- 
 ment, her dress stained with we onmson fluid, whioh stood in 
 puddles all about her, he raised her in his arms, while the rushing 
 crowd seamed ready to trample them both beneath their impa- 
 tient feet; and, forcing a passage, with his brawny shoulder, 
 through the hesTing masses of human beings, who appeared to 
 be demons incarnate keeping their infernal holiday on the s^een 
 earth, whioh blushed in blood, he made his way as oest he might, 
 until, turning into a by^street which was lew thronged than &at 
 through whidi he had passed, he presently reached the outskLrts 
 of the citv. and arriTed at his own humble dwelling. Here de* 
 positing ms unconscious burthen upon the bed, and bidding his 
 wife take care of the stranffer, until his return, he went forth, 
 and, goinff to a restaurant, nought a loaf of bread and & bottle of 
 wine, with which he hastened home ; the shouts of the maddened 
 multitude, from a distance, even now and then fallinff upon his 
 ear, as victim after victim sank beneath the stroke of the guillo- 
 tipe. Accustomed as he had been to the mingled cries of the bat- 
 tle-field, and to scenes of carnage, there was something inexpres- 
 sibly dreadful to him in these fiendish shouts of citiaens imbru- 
 ing their handil ih each other's blood, and in the wild excitement 
 of neighbours fighting against their neighbours, in mortal strife 
 and deadly hatred. 
 
 On re-entering his dwelling, he found Louise sleeping disturb- 
 edly, and, seating himself by the side of his wife, proceeded to re* 
 late to her the events of the morning, and to mf orm her who 
 their guest was. 
 
 Presently Louise awoke, and, heaving a deep sigh, cast a hur- 
 ried glance from one to the other of the strangers who sat near 
 her bedside^ as if to inquire where she was, and who they were. 
 
 With a kmdness and consideration that would have done hon- 
 our to those who make greater pretensions to refinement than 
 this humble couple, Marie— for this was the good woman's name 
 --approached Louise, and, placing her hand affectionately upon 
 h^r forehead, from whioh, as well as from her hair and dress, all 
 stains had been carefully removed while she had been sleeping, 
 
 Eressed her to take some nourishment, and placed before her the 
 read and wine which the old soldier has brought home. Louise 
 succeeded in taking a little of both, and then, thanking her kind 
 but unknown frienas, begged they would satisfy the enquiries of 
 her mind. 
 
 Pierre Loubat— her generous preserver— then proceeded to roi- 
 late what had oocirred during the init»rval of her unconscious- 
 ness, and assured her that, as long as she desired it, his house, 
 humble as it was, should be her; home ; adding that her father, 
 under whom he had served in the army, had saved his life on the 
 battie-field ; and that, while he had an arm to raise, it should be 
 outstretched for her protection. 
 
 " Thanks, most kind friends," replied Louise, who, while lis- 
 tening to tiie good Pierre, had covered her face with her hands ; 
 the heaving <^ her bosom, and the tears as they fell upon her 
 
Myi^des of & Gtmyeni 
 
 105 
 
 dftai, meanwbiitt t\h. ^ her deep emotion ; ** a poor ofphau, 
 for tndr laoh I am, <?ik. auot reward you. for your beneyolenoe to 
 lier, bin may that God who hae promised to be a father to th^ fa* 
 therleai, poor npon yoa hie choioeat blesrion." 
 
 ** Speak not of reward," was the prompt and feeling response 
 of the labourer : ** yonr noble father has laid me under eternal 
 obligations, and it is but a poor return to befriend his child. You 
 have only to command my serrioes, to secure them in any way 
 you may require." 
 
 '* But tell me," he presently added, ''are there none of yonr 
 relations in the city, to whom you would like to send a mes8ag«« 
 bynleP*' 
 
 Louise shuddered as this question fell npon her ear ; and, with 
 a fresh gush of tears, replied, *' Alas, I have not a blood relative 
 on earth. My parents are both dead ; and I know not another 
 being, l^sldes myself, la whose veins flows the blood of the St. 
 Aubyns." 
 
 '* £ut your father must have had many friends in Paris, who 
 would be glad to be of service to you now." 
 
 " My father had friends, while in prosperity ; but now that he 
 is dead, and bv means of the guillotine, who would dare to be- 
 friend his cnild P To apply to them, would be but to throw my- 
 self upon the same block, and to meet the same fate." 
 
 ^ Tne Virgin forbid 1" exclaimed Marie, devoutly crossing her- 
 self. 
 
 "Alas! poor younjo; lady," said Pierre, in tones of heartfelt 
 sympathy, " how sad is your condition 1 Be assured, at least, that 
 neither Maria nor I will ever desert or betray you." 
 
 A fresh burst of grief was the only response that Louise could 
 make. 
 
 At length, as though a sudden thought had crossed her mind 
 she asked, 
 
 <• Do you know M. De Montmain, the banker P" 
 
 " I know where he lives," replied he. 
 
 " You will greatly oblige me then," said Louise, " if you wiS 
 go to his house, to-morrow morning; and say to liim, that the 
 daughter of the Count St Aubyn would be glad to see him here, 
 for a few minutes, on business." 
 
 "I will most cheerfully," quickly returned Pierre, as if it did 
 his noble heart good to have an opportunity of redeeming his pro- 
 mise to the poor orphan. 
 
 Here Ms,ne interposed, and, insisting ih4t Louise should be 
 left to seek rest, made arrangements for the night, and, giving up 
 their own bed to her, retired to a little room adjoining that iu 
 which she was to sleep. 
 
 lis- 
 .her 
 
 OHAPTEB IV. 
 
 Eind-hearted tMmker— Noble resolve— A generous proposal— Obligation 
 returned— A tbankfku beart. 
 
 Ox the following morning, at an earlv hour, Pierre called at the 
 residence of M. de Montmain, and having with some difficulty, 
 Booceeded in seeing the banker, informed him that a young tadj 
 
' ^\S.)^ 
 
 m 
 
 HjysteriflB of a OoATOit 
 
 wiihad to w Maa, on bariimi, at No. 58, Boo do Kantoi, wul 
 thotif howonldgowithhioBfOrioy whm it would rait hii ooor 
 yanienoe to nuke tho ealL ho would thow him tlio woy. 
 
 ** But my good friend, replied the hanker, " you hnre not .Gld 
 mo her name ; ind theie, yon are aware, are not timee for • man 
 in my litnatimi to be oalling on nameloMdanuele, limply heeanae 
 they ezi«eM a dedre to lee him. Who is thie unknown ladv P" 
 
 ** The daughter of General St. Aubyn, who was gnillotinedyee- 
 terday," answered Pierre, bowing - respectfully, and bmihing 
 away a tear from his eye. 
 
 ** The daughter of Genieral St. Aubyn, who was guillotined ves- 
 lerday I" slowly repeated M. do Montmain, looking fixedly t%»oa 
 Pierre. *< Impossible I" added he, " How oame she there P' 
 
 ** I carried her there on my shoulder, from afiu the scaffold on 
 which she had seen her noble father perish," answered Fierro ; 
 " and I intend to protect her with my own life, now that she ie 
 an orphan, without home, and without friends." As he said this, 
 the good soldier drew himself up to his full height, and looked as 
 though he saw before him some one who had intentions of injury 
 towards his young protest 
 
 The hanker saw the no\)le bearins of the reteran, and, reading 
 the devotion to her interests which no had unconsciously betray- 
 ed, took him warmly by the hand, exclaiming, 
 
 **Noble«hearted man, the great Gk>d will oless you for this 
 kindnets to the orphan. Come, show the way to your house ; I 
 will follow you* anywhere." 
 
 Advancing hastily along the less^trequented streets ; for no one, 
 wholiad anything at stake, loved, in those troublous days, to lin- 
 ger by the way, or to mingle with the orowd ; the banker and the 
 old soldier soon reached the dwelling of the latter, and were sea* 
 ted by the bed of Louise, who was too feeble to arise. 
 
 M. do Hontmaiu immediately recognised the daughter of the 
 deceased (General, whose features she bore very distinctly, and 
 whom, indeed, he had once seen at her father's; and, addressing 
 her in tones full of sympathy and kindness, asked if he oould in 
 any way serve the child of his old friuid. 
 
 **I am an orphan, and destitute"— replied Louise, her utterance 
 almost chokea^with emotion— '* and having no home to which I 
 can safely repair, while I am willing to become a bnrdmi to these 
 kind-hearted people, who have savM my life, and perhaps, at 
 least, my honour, I have sent for you, M. do ICentmain, to know 
 if my father, at tiie time of his deathj had any money in your 
 handt'^ and u in any way I can, as his sole survivor, obtain that 
 money, or any portion of it P" 
 
 "There are in my hands, belonging to the estate of your kte 
 father, 18,000 francs;" replied the banker—*' but you are aware. 
 Mademoiselle, tha^ in times like these, it is impossible to foresee 
 what may happen, as well as to ttfke any legal steps, to aeoureto 
 you the mhentance ; besides, if it were Imown to the government 
 that this amount were now standing on my books to the credit of 
 Qeneral St. Aubyn, it woujd be seised upon immediately, and con* 
 fiscated to the purposes of the State. In this dilemma, it is very 
 difficult to determine what is best to be done." 
 
 Having said this, the banker sat for some time in deep thought ; 
 at length raising his eyes from the floor, upon which they had 
 been intently fixed, he said, 
 
llystflrieB of a Gtmrent. 
 
 107 
 
 ** I will tdl joa what I will do, ICademofawU* LoiUm : I am undw 
 obiimtiims to your exoaUmit father for adTanoot iraoo nm in uy 
 biuueii^ whan 1 greatly needed them. This money ia rightfolly 
 yooM, independent of all legal prooeedines. whioh are now «a 
 oohtm entirely oatof the qnestion : but eignteen thonaand francs « 
 iialwgeanmof money, andif itwc^ disooverad, alter I had 
 paid it over t6 yon, that it was in my possessien subsequent to 
 the General's death, the Gk>Terumeutmight oonfiscate that amount 
 of mj funds, and hold me responsible for the entire aum. But 
 you need money, and must have it ; I will, therefore, in the oourse 
 of two hours from this time, pay you the sum of ten thousand 
 franoee. and take your receipt for that amount, together with a 
 bond (a indemnity against any loss that I may sustain by theaet, 
 payable out of the estate ; should the^ troublous timea ever pass 
 away, and men's right be once more respected and established. 
 The remainder to be left in my hands, subject to the establish^ 
 menL at some future time, of your claims, as heiress of your fa- 
 ther/' 
 
 ** Ton have my thanks, M. de Montmain, for this generous o/- 
 fer," said Louise, in tones which at once' evinced her surprise at 
 the generosity of the banker, and the relief which it afforded to 
 her mind. ** I will most cheerfully sign any writing you may re- 
 quire, and ahall consider myself under obligations to one who haa 
 manifested so much honesty and true kindness of heart.*' 
 
 into buiker hastened home, and, retotning in about an hour, 
 plaoed in Louise's hands the sum of ten thousand francs in gold, 
 tiJdng the necessary papers to secure himself from loss, ha far, at 
 least, as posdble, under the circumstances ; and, assuring hef of 
 his readiness at all times to serve her, for the sake of her father, 
 he bade her adien, and left the house. 
 
 Louise at once called the good Pierre to her, and, counting into 
 his lumd, in spite of all his remonstrances, five hundred fnncs, 
 desired him to consider them as his own, and to take the remain- 
 der into his safe keeping, for her use. Itia unnecessary to add 
 ' that the trust was never betrayed. 
 
 OHAPTEB V. 
 
 * 
 
 \ A confi»rteb1e retreat— Retribution— The peaaant sirPs victim— Blood for 
 blood— The chieliB reoeive their merited doom— The orphan's outse. 
 
 EiasTBEir months rolled away, and still found Louise an inmate 
 of the same family which had first afforded her protection. They 
 lived^iot in the same house, however : for she had insisted upon 
 their taking one somewhat larger and more comfortable, at her 
 eipense, while it was at tho same time less exposed to the pofing 
 eye of curiosity, and her safety was, tlierefore, rendered ^the 
 greater. The good Marie ministered to all her wants, and sub- 
 mitted to all her caprices; while Pierre daily brought her the 
 news from the city. 
 
 Meanwhile, the first of that "Infernal Triumvirate" which had 
 condemned her father to death by the guillotine, and had deluged 
 Franoe with.the blood of her citizens, had fallen beneath the knife 
 of Ute peasant girl, who putting aside the weakness of her sex* 
 
108 
 
 HysterieB of a C(m?eni 
 
 And clothing htnclf with anthuiMtio devotioii to th» iati i i rt t of 
 her natiTe ami, bared her arm in the name of Vreedoin, and in- ' 
 ipired with a heaTenobom heroism, traeked the monster ICarat to 
 Ml lair, and there stuck that knife to the heart of him whom shebe- 
 Uered to ba the foremost in the butchery of her countrymen, and 
 whose death would, she though!^ giro- birth to the ubertiea cf 
 France. 
 
 Nest fell Bantpn— a victim to the j[eaIouqrandtothewfleaof 
 the unprincipled Robespierre— but while he met the fate which 
 Ue attocities so richly merited, his dying prediction was f ally Ti- 
 rified, for, in falliDg, ne dragged with him the arch-murderer, B6« 
 beipierre, from the guilty seat of power, which they had occupied 
 together. 
 
 Onthemomingof the 29th of July, 1794, at dajbreak, the 
 streets of Paris were filled to repletion with masses of human be- 
 ings, all converging to one point of genoral attraction. The po- 
 pulace of this great and wicked city, their hands and garments 
 reeking with the gore of the thousands whom they had slidn in 
 t^e fever of popular excitement, had grown weary of the sight of 
 blood, and yet wey were thronging to witness another execution. 
 Onward they press, one cry sounding above all others— "Bown 
 with the tyrant— down with Robespierre. T6 the guillotine with 
 him I" What, Bobespierre ! Ay, tniftt name, at mention of which| 
 as it passed from lip to lip, hundreds of thousands, nav, all France, 
 had trembled t-t- that name, whose magic power had led the mad« 
 dened multitude to deeds of violeaoe, and to words of blasphe- 
 my whidh astonished the world— that name, which had swept, 
 sirdcco-Uke, over the land, blaspheming and blighting— that name, 
 once so powerful, now so powerless— that name, once so dreaded, 
 ndw so contemned. How are the mighty fallen I Bobespierre 
 is about to expiate his crimes, upon that very scaffold to which ho 
 had sentenced so many victims. The guillotine stands on the vei^ 
 q>ot where the unhappy Louis XYI. and his noble ' consort, Marie 
 ▲ntokiette had suffered. It stands in the Place de la Revolution. 
 Around it gathered the dense crowd, waiting impatiently to wit- 
 ness the death of him who had promised them riches, and flelda 
 of grain, but who had, instead, fed them upon the blood of their 
 fathcon. and husbands, and brothers. Now the crowd disports to 
 the right and left ; and, amid cursings, and execrations, and shouts 
 of exultation, the band of conspiraton. against the liberties of 
 France, slowly advances. There are Sennot, and Oouthon, and' 
 St.'Just, and Dumas, and Ooffinal, and Simmn, and others, but 
 conspicuous among them all is Bobespierre— the master-spirit, 
 and aroh-conspirator, the tyrant, the bloodhound, of the Bevolu- 
 tion. The bodies of Henriot, of Oouthon, and of i&obespiorre, are 
 mnltilated — mangled in the bloody scene . consequent upon tiidr 
 seizure, the night before. They all stand around the fearful in- 
 stnunent of death, each awaiting his turn. One by one.they as- 
 oeni the platform, above which the glittering blade is suspendedi 
 and each is beheaded ; a vild shout of joy goes up from the co» 
 gregated thousands who witness this laal offering to liberty. At 
 ust comes the tyrant's turn, and, as he mounts the noaffol^ a yet 
 wilder shout ascends from the multitude, who are frantic with ex- 
 ultation. There he stands, the last of the dreaded enemies of hu- 
 man rights! See the blood oosing from the bandage that holdt 
 up his fractured jaw ; it runs down upon his olothiug;fhei 
 
 '4 .t». 
 
 •:i\i 
 
ttNttoof 
 
 mdiAllM- 
 man, tad 
 •ertiM ^ 
 
 BWflMof 
 
 be whioli 
 folly ▼»■ 
 em,Bd« 
 oeoapied 
 
 «alc, the 
 imanbe- 
 Thepo- 
 {armentf 
 slain in 
 > sight of 
 ceoation. 
 -"Down 
 tine with 
 ofwhioh, 
 1 France, 
 the mad- 
 blasphe- 
 1 swept, 
 at name, 
 dteaded, 
 Mspiene 
 rhioh he 
 the verjr 
 rt, Marie 
 'ohition. 
 r to wit- 
 id fields 
 of their 
 iportsto 
 a shouts 
 rties of 
 ion, and' 
 ffs, bnt 
 r'Spin't, 
 Reyola- 
 Mrre,are 
 antiieir 
 fal ia- 
 ihey as- 
 lendedi 
 leoofllk 
 J. At 
 I. a yet 
 ithez- 
 of hu- 
 ; holds 
 leese- 
 
 H^ystnleB of a Onmni 
 
 loe 
 
 Miioocr maldiae the baadaM firom bis head ; ttie bKokm fair ftdla 
 ^ upon his breast : and one yeU of terrible agony is wrong from hia 
 stoical sool, whwh had borne the angoish of the preTioos night, 
 withont a groan. Bot, what ory is that whioh pierces the ear, 
 whose totuis. soonding eren aboTO the yell of mortal pain wUeh 
 filled wnv heart with horror, are heari ringing oot shrill and 
 elear opon the air P It was the Toioe of a woman—* yoong and 
 beaotif ol woman, whose dress of deepest mourning, and whose pale 
 ftoe, showed that she has been a sufferer from the tyraaVs oroel- 
 tiea. HarktotheToice! " Murderer of my father, your agony 
 fiUs ma with joy ; descend to hell, covered with the cuiies of the 
 orphan! aye,coyered with the curses of all the orphans and wi- 
 dows TOO LaTe made in France ;** See, he shuts his eyes, he would 
 fdn stop his<ears i he would gladly hush his conscience^ but he 
 cannot ; the iron has pierced his eoul— " there ie a-jQcd.** The re- 
 tributions of that hour declare it. Bobeapierre feels it ; and, with 
 remorse gnawing at his vitals, he bows his head upon the Uod^ 
 and his doomed spirit passes into the awful presence of Jehovah t 
 exultant shouts produm the joy of France, that a tyrant has been 
 removed from the face of the earth ; while the whole seen* d*- 
 i«fl^ . dared the presence qf an avenginf; Deity. 
 
 The execution over, the crowd oispersed : imd Louise St Anbyn. 
 leaning heavily upon the arm of Pierre, the old veteran, walked 
 dowly Jiomeward. ^ It was she who, having heard what was to 
 tran^ire that day, had clothed herself in mourning, and, stand- 
 ing beneath the guillotine, had cursed Bobespiems tiie murderer 
 of her father. 
 
 OHAFTEB "VX 
 
 Louise, longs to leave Itence— Looking towards America— Prevallt npoa 
 Pierre and Uarie to accouApany her— Arrival in the nev Bepnblio— 
 Ohmeh of the Jesuits— Interrieir with Father Jubert. 
 
 FnAzrcn was hateful to Louise, since the death of her fttther, and 
 the atrodties which she had witnessed, and of which die had 
 heard ; and she longed to leave its shores. She had>4ieard much 
 of the young Bepublic across the broad Atlantic, and determined 
 to go thither, ttiat die might no longer be surrounded by those 
 whom she regarded aa lawless murderers, against whom die had 
 in secret vowed eternal hatred. Indeed, her heart was filled 
 with bitterness towards her whole race, save the good Pierre, the 
 kind Mwie, and the generous banker, M. de Montmdn ; the only 
 beinga, in i^U the world, towards whom die f dt one emotion <n 
 regard or esteem. 
 
 On the morning succeedinff the tragical events narrated in the 
 last diapter, Louue inllisd Pierre and his wife into her room, af- 
 ter breakfast, and, bidding them be seated, she said to them : 
 
 ** My friends, I hate Fntnoe ; I wish to leave it, and seek an 
 aqrlom in the new home of the sorrow-stricken, the United States. 
 I am onwilling to leave yoo behind ; will yoo go with m* f* 
 
 '* Bnt Mademoiselle," replied Pierre, who was moch astonidi- 
 •dattUaintdligeooe— **we have not the means; and, besides, 
 w* dwold starve^ when we got there^ withoot friends, and with- 
 out boduess." 
 
110 
 
 Hjsteriei of A OonTeat 
 
 ** Af to tiM UMiit of gtMbig to Amorioft"— fftipOBtfod ; 
 MleaTOthaitdina: IiriU piotide thorn. It is m tttUo m I om 
 A> in TCtnm for tht kindnoM whioh yon hoTO mmif oitod to no^ 
 daring tho numy monthi thot I hoto tpont nnder joov horait* 
 abloioof. IwiUpoTyoarpMUgooeroMthoooean; «id.wli«i 
 wo TCMdk thot Mondly ohon^ wo will toko a home, and Hfoto- 
 gothorMwodohon. OnrgoodFieROoaDflndoomeihinf todo; 
 {00, Xwlo, and ^ ean koop honoo, and thai wo will do THty won. 
 haTO lOTon thoniand mneo left ; and, whilo 
 
 lai«»TC 
 f,and| 
 
 rott' 
 shall not want. Oome^ let na leaTo'thia hbniblo eonntfy, and go 
 at onoo where at least oar liyos will be safe, and we oan earn oor 
 daQy broad in peaoe. What say yon, nir friends T' 
 
 *« Ah i it will be hard to lesTo Puis, with aU her fanlts," an- 
 sweredPierro: **bat yet,Ifeel wellassnred, fromwhatlhaifo 
 heard aboat that far off oonntry, that Mademoisello Loniso ad- 
 vises for the best We Ioto her,**— oontinaed he, addressing him- 
 self to his wife—** and we will go with her; wo oan soon earn 
 enongh, by oor labour, to repay what she may adranoo for onr 
 expenses. Ck>me, Marie, say yes, and we will go with her.*' 
 
 ^ Well, Pierre, be it so. then. Wo hare nothing to keep ns 
 here, saTo our Ioto for la doUo France, and who knows bnt we 
 may groW rich in America, whioh wo assorediy we oannot do 
 here." 
 
 ** Sy the Way," said Pierre, *' it Jnst ocears to me, at this mo- 
 ment, that the captain of the new brig, the Jean Maorioft, told 
 me, the other day, that he woold start from HaTre for New York, 
 some time next week. If yon say so. Mademoiselle Loaise, I wfll 
 see the oaptain, and ascertain what ho will charge to take as all 
 to that place." 
 
 Snf^ it to say that the anrangemento were all made to the 
 satisfaction of Loaise and her companions ; their passporto ob- 
 tained, hers being in an assumed name ; and On the Thnrsday 
 following the conversation that has just been i^slated, the Jean 
 Maurice was breasting the wares of the ooean, on her way to the 
 new world. 
 
 In due time the brig arrived at its port of destination ; and, in 
 a few days, Pierre had taken, at the request of Louise, a nice lit- 
 tle house in the suburbs of the dty, which was plainly but bom- 
 f ortobly famished ; and here the three friends, whom misfortuno 
 had so singularly bound together in strong ties, lived in thii en- 
 joyment of quiw and repose. Pierre soon found profitable em- 
 ployment ; Marie busield herself with household affairs ; while 
 Louise employed her time in embroidery, lessons in which she 
 had taken Dofore she left Paris, and for which she received a 
 handsome remuneration from a French merchant, who I^d been 
 for some time ntablished in busiuess. 
 
 Some weeks rolled liway, when, one momin|r. Louise entered 
 the eonfessional in toe chuvGh of the /uu4ts, at New York { and, 
 after a full confession, sought absolution from the priest who was 
 present. He inquired who she was, and, manifestinr great 
 sympathy for her sorrows, asked for her address; tolling nor he 
 would Mil, in a few days, and pav her a pastoral visit. This 
 priost was a young man. of about thirtv years of age, of hand- 
 some fsatores, oommanaing figure, poliuked manner^ and was a 
 lefdgee from Fkanoo^ being a deeoendant from a noble family; 
 his name, Jubert. 
 
imImu 
 
 lOdtoiM, 
 
 ir homtt* 
 
 LWMB 
 
 ngfodo; 
 my wen. 
 
 7, and go 
 iMonow 
 
 ItM,- an. 
 
 lOlliMftd- 
 
 ringhim* 
 
 tooneun 
 
 Be for our 
 
 ler." 
 
 okeepu 
 
 '8 baiwe 
 
 Bumotdo 
 
 i thii mo- 
 
 u1oe,toId 
 fewTork, 
 lise^Iwiil 
 ■Ice QS all 
 
 t^^ 
 
 tetoibe 
 >orte ob« 
 rhanday 
 the Jeaa 
 'ay to the 
 
 ; and, in 
 % nice lit- 
 bat bom- 
 itfortniM 
 a th^ en- 
 Able em- 
 i; while 
 rhibhiha 
 Bodveda 
 had been 
 
 I entered 
 k t and, 
 wnowaa 
 
 gliarhe 
 i. This 
 of hand- 
 ndwata 
 famay; 
 
 l^yistnlfii of & Oontsiitt 
 
 111 
 
 II was not l<mg befora Vafher Jnbert atood before the dwdliag 
 el Lenise St Anbyn, and, lightly npping at the dboi, waa admit* 
 
 r, where latli 
 
 led into iha little jialma, whera lai h«r whom he eame to see. 
 The blnsk naallea vpon t&e eheek of Lonise, as she looked al 
 the handsoiM priest; and, Jesuit aa he was. and aoeostomed to 
 the maintanaaea of an ironoootiol otot himself, the teU>tale 
 Uood whieh mounted to his faos^ told that an imiureeslon had 
 been made upon his heart wUeh would be exceedingly danger- 
 euf to the peaoa of both* 
 
 The interview was a long one ; ftnr Tbther Jnbert insisted upon 
 having, from the lips of Louise a fall aooountof herpasthistMnr; 
 and, during its redtal, manifested the deepest interest In its details. 
 
 At lengft, the nanatiTe was oompletea : and the priest had ar- 
 rived at the oonelnsion that Louise St Aubyn possessed rare qua* 
 lifieations for membership in the order of Jesuits, and that if she 
 could but be persuaded to join that order, it would be at onoe a 
 most valuable acquisition, while it would render more ea^f of 
 accomplishment, certain intenttons of his own, which had been 
 formed in his mmd, while, with flashed cheek and fire-flashing 
 Cje, she had told her thrilling stonr. 
 
 He^ therefore, related to her, at her request, his own bisloiT, 
 taking care to expatiate upon the happy retreat from worldy 
 anzieiy. which he had found in the bosom of the chutoh, and in 
 assodnUon with the order of which he was a mem ber. His im- 
 passioned dognenee, while he enlarsed upon this topfo, made a 
 deep impression upon the mind of Cooiae, already predisposed, by 
 misanthrophicfeeUQg, t'> abandon the world, and shut herself out 
 from ite tumult and its sorrows ; and the wily Jesuit, fioding that 
 he had succeeded beyond his expectations, thought it best not to 
 push the matter, at that time, any further, but to leave Um im- 
 pression to deepen itself, and work its own way. 
 
 Bising gmcexully from his chair, and offering his services to 
 Louise, in the moM delicate manner imaginable, he promised to 
 visit her again : and took hie leave, with all the xeflned politeneia 
 of the accomplished IVendmian. 
 
 OHAPTEBYIL 
 
 LoalBs'srefleettsnsonfhetaitarvieir— Its efilNt^ Loiilse~4nstetjof Pisne 
 and Marie— Ihe heart's oonsolations— The wily Jesuit. 
 
 Tbxb interview with father Jubert left the mind of Louise in a 
 ^tumult of emotion, raeh aa only a being of hat peculiar mould is 
 capable of. Before the disastrous event oceaired, which made 
 Imr an wphan, ehe had had but little intercourse with those of 
 ua opposite sex ; and then only when, on State occasions she had 
 Tirited Paris, in company with her father ; and i^though her im- 
 afdnation had often been inflamed by the perusal of romances, 
 which she found in the library of the chateau, and whidi she had 
 devoured with great avidity, she had never befora met with anv 
 one who had inepired her wi1» the feelings which she experiMced 
 inua interview with the young, the handsome, and the polished, 
 rtmuik priest. In short, she had fallen deeperately in lova with 
 him; ual bar quick womaa'a wit had made the dieooveiy that tiie 
 pasnoa waa a reciprocal one. Had ha been of low orifia is bis 
 
ia 
 
 ItjiMlM of ft Oonmit* 
 
 Batii«lftad»dtowoaldh|i?« ipwiMd fh« idea ; bat, m h« te4 !&• 
 loiiMd h«r tbil h« WM a wn of th« Oonnt Jabtrt thui whoM 
 th«ra WM no iMttor blood in Fnuio«,htrsomMitiodia|KMitibii Mil* 
 •d Mgwl/ amm tho adTontarM | and har londnaaafor axeitMBtnt 
 of OTaiT kind, thai might xaliera tha tadiona monotooT of h» 
 avaiy^aT lifa, f6and natrimant upon which to faait itaaU; in tha 
 llama whloh tha Fathar Jabart had ioipiiad in har boiom. 
 
 ** Bat ha ia a priaat." nid aha to hanalf, aa aha thought of tha 
 dfonmatanoaa which had trantpirad in tha intarviaw : and thi^ 
 initaad of shocking har by tha naw phaaa in which it prasantad 
 tha tnbjact to her mind, only garrad to maka tha affair mora ro- 
 mantic, and tharaf ora, tha mora plaaaurabla to har azdtad f anej. 
 
 ** Tat ha loTaa ma, I know ;" aha added. menUUy. *• Did not 
 hia Toica falter, and hie cheek redden, aa na spoke to maP and, 
 whan ha bade me good bye, how his band trembled, as ha pr ess 
 ad mine I He lores me, I am sure of it. What a pity he is a 
 prieati How handsome he is I How agreeable 1" And thus she 
 sat reasoning and communing with hsr own thoughts, nntil Msp 
 ria announced that dinner was on tha table. 
 
 " Mademoiselle does not eat to-day," said Pierre, with aoma 
 anxiety, as he obserred that Louise scarcely touohed the food on 
 her plate, and seemed greatly abstracted during the silent meal, 
 *' I hope you Me not unwell.*' 
 
 ** I am quite well," replied Lonise, aronsed, for tha moment, 
 firomher reverie— " I was only thinking of we past, my good 
 Pierre, and that made me sad."^ 
 
 " Ah 1 do not let your thoughts go back to the sorrowful days 
 that are past. Mademoiselle Louise;"— said Maria, with a tear in 
 her eye— "it willinjure your health; think only of thathapRf 
 time wa now see, and of the bright future." 
 
 But Louise heard not what was said by tha kind-hearted Ma- 
 riei aha was thinking of the handsome priest, anid of the pheasant 
 tones of his Toioe, which seemed still to vibrate as aweet music 
 upon har ear. 
 
 Her simple friends exchanged looka of sympathy, little dream- 
 ing of what was passing in the mind of Louise; and, her plain 
 meal being finished, she retired to her own room,* and spent the 
 afternoon, not aa naual over her embroidering frame^ but in the 
 rcTcries of a passionate imaaination, and in building air-oaatles 
 for the future. She devised a thousand schemes by meana of 
 which she thought, for a moment, the obstaolee in tha way of her 
 nnion with Father Jubert might be removed ; and aa insurmount- 
 able difScttlties would throw themselves around each of these, as 
 if in mockery of her anxiety on the subject, others would aiis^ 
 to be in turn destroyed by some impossibility that would suggest^ 
 itself. Thus waa paased the afternoon and evening of that event- 
 ful day; and, at last, overcome with fatigue, consequent upon tha . 
 strength of her emotions, and tha unwonted mental exeEmse^ aha n 
 fell aueep, and dreamed of tiie handsome young priest' 
 
 Father Jnbert, meanwhile, had sat himself down in hia com- 
 fortable room, and, after readling to mind the incidents that had 
 bean related to him by Louise in their interview, and raflacttag 
 npon tha traita of character which she had developed to hia kaan 
 observation, aa well aa tha beauty of her face and parson, wbicih 
 had indeed made a moat lively hnpresrion upon his haarlt aa she 
 had anpoMed: taorad hia inventive powera to devise a plan by 
 meana of whicbsha might be induced to enter tha otd^r, and ha 
 
 ♦^. 
 
 I 
 1 
 
 h 
 n 
 
 V 
 
 h 
 
 a 
 U 
 si 
 si 
 n 
 
 ix 
 
 w 
 ai 
 
 C( 
 
 so 
 
 in 
 
 Pl 
 
 w: 
 
 W( 
 
 th 
 ax 
 qn 
 
 se] 
 
 M 
 
 I 
 
 im 
 
i whoM 
 ion Mis* 
 
 BltMMBt 
 
 r of 1m> 
 I^Uklho 
 
 ktof tht 
 nd fhiih 
 n nta to d 
 mom ra- 
 id f«n^. 
 •Did not 
 mP and, 
 tioprMi- 
 iy he is a 
 thusiho 
 mtUM»> 
 
 « 
 
 lih ■omo 
 » food on 
 mtmMl, 
 
 monont. 
 my good 
 
 VfdldftTI 
 
 latearln 
 At hftpi^ 
 
 rtadHa- 
 
 pkeMut 
 Mtmude 
 
 dream- 
 her plain 
 ipent the 
 at in the 
 ir-oaatlea 
 neane of 
 ay of her 
 rmonnt* 
 thoMtas 
 ildanie. 
 
 raggen» 
 fttoTent- 
 aponthe 
 WiMkihe 
 
 hli( 
 that had 
 efteoting 
 his keen 
 whioh 
 tiaaite 
 plan by 
 r, and he 
 
 liflMm of a Oim?aiit 
 
 113 
 
 •MompUsh hit prirate pnrpoioe. Having aoooeeded in thia. to 
 hie own eatiefkotion, and determined that no time ehoold he KMt 
 in earrying hie phut into effeot, he tamed to hit writing-table, 
 and add r etted to the tuperior of the order in Bome, a letter, eon« 
 taining tome general information, and a tummary of the OTonta 
 whioh had trantpiredin thelatt month, not omitting to lay 
 enongh, in referenoe to Looiae, to attraot the attention of the tu- 
 perior to her oate, and to evinoe with what aridity the writer 
 •eised upon every oiroomttance whioh might promote tiie inter- 
 ettt of the order. 
 
 CHAFTEB Tin. 
 
 The loTer*t dream—The ooofesiioiud— Its effeota on Louisa— Har deter- 
 mination to eutwr the OonTent of St. Mary's— Sorrow of har flriends— 
 Eaters the Oonrent, andor the appellation of Slster^Franoes— father 
 Jubart's wily schemes. 
 
 Oh awakening, the next morning, Lonite found herteff, at it 
 were, in a new world ;— a world oontaining but two inhabitantt, 
 the priett of whom the had dreamed, and herself. She arose, and 
 dr e taed hertelf witti more than her uaual oare : and, after break- 
 fatt, telling Marie that the wat going to. oonfettion, repaired to 
 the ohuroh whioh the had visited a week before ; and there, to her 
 great Joy, the found Father Jubert in hit teat, ready to liaten to 
 her. with palpitating heart, ahe entered the oonfetaional, and 
 her tremulout voice be&ayed the emotion of her touU The prieat 
 heard her Ihrou^h, andtnen adminiatered oontolation to her; 
 but what wat taid, or wbai; wta done, in that hour, the writer it 
 not prepared to lay. Iiet it tufice that Louiae left the ohuroh, 
 wi^ a tmile upon ner countenance, which beapoke the Jov of her 
 heart, and, in the oonrae of a few daya, attoniahed the good Fiearre 
 and hia wile, by informing them that ahe had made up her mind 
 to entA the convent of St. Mary'a, in New York ; and that ahe 
 ahonld give to them one half of the remaining money which 
 the had brought from France, to be their own : to uiat they might 
 not auffer from the atep ahe waa about to take. 
 
 Marie, who loved Louise, buret into teara, and wrung her handt 
 in the bittemeaa of her aorrow, dedariog that ahe thonld die 
 without the presence of her good mittrest, for to ahe termed her; 
 and Pierre atood mute and motionleat, aa if he were striving to 
 comprehend what had been aaid to him. Meanwhile, Louiae 
 aootbed them, by telling them that ahe had no loneer anything to 
 live for in thia world, that her situation wat a peculiarly distress- 
 ing one, and that her happineat would be greatly promoted by 
 placing heraelf under the protection of the nunt, in aaaooiation 
 with whom ahe could apend her daya in acta of devotion and 
 workt of piety. She alao aasured them that her entrance into 
 the convent would not prevent her from seeing them frequently, 
 and from affording them asaittance, at any time, ahould they re- 
 quire it. 
 
 Thut astured, her kind friendt reluctantly contented to their 
 teparation from Lonite ; and, during the remainder of that day, 
 Marie't eyet were conttantly red with weeping. 
 
 Some ten daya were apent by Louisoin making preparatiout 
 for her oonvwtoal Ufe, during whioh time frequent visitt werf 
 
 B 
 
^p 
 
 l:.J 
 
 114 
 
 MjfBtnlfli of A OoiiTSlit 
 
 paid to lh« IubOj bj lU nou ol lh« oodtmiI, wd ^ lithtt !«• 
 Mrl; llMUtUrmttniklngliimMUior Ftomw mnohMftoMl 
 him op in » imftll bal Ivami?* boilnMa, \n ibmum of tbo nonoj 
 wUeh LooiM had pi ma t t d to him, in toKon of h«r f riondihip. 
 and of tho nppiMiftUon in whioh iho hold hit part ^iudnaM ana 
 lldaUty. 
 
 Bafora aotarlnff tha oonTont^ Lonlia, nndar tha difaellon of Vk- 
 Ihar Jabart, maoa a saf^ inTaatmant of har ramaininff mooaj, 
 anbjaot to har own orda)r wbila liffaig, raTarrionary to tha oidar 
 at har daath ; andL prooaring tha aarrioaa of an agant to iriait 
 Franoa. and attand to har intaraata thara, axeoutad an imtnunant 
 in writing, donating tha ona hidf of whatatar might ba raaliaad 
 from har^athar'a astata, abaolntaly to tha Jaauita, and rataining 
 tha oontrol of tha othar half in her own handa, with an oblign* 
 tion that it ihonld ba i^Tan nltfanataly to tha oonvant in wwoh 
 aha ahonld and har daya. '*' 
 
 In dna tima, aha antared tha aonvant, and. harins papaad har 
 noTitiata aatiafaotorily,baoama a nnn, nndar tha appaliation of aia* 
 tarFranoaa; and, from tha momant of her introduotion into tha 
 order, aaanmad a podtion. and aoqnirad an inflnenoa, whioh amply 
 attaati»d tha aagadty of Father Jubert, and terified the aonndnem 
 of tha oonoloaiona whioh ha had drawn from their first intarriaw. 
 Meanwl^lf , tha latter, who waa tha oouf esaor to thia same oon* 
 Tent, had not been idia, bat had laboured indnstriously to pro- 
 mote tha interests of sister Frances, between whom and himself 
 a solemn oompact had bean entered into. On the morning of that 
 last Tisit to tha oonfasaional, to whioh allusion haa already been 
 made. By meana of an underground oommnnioation between tha 
 monastery, in whioh ha reaid^ to avoid scandal, and the oonvan^ 
 by tha oonniTanoa of tha sister Pr^-^trr, who was charged with tha . 
 oara of tha gate whioh opened iuto tiie latter buiidinff from the 
 arohed way whioh formed this uommimioationt ha Tisited sister 
 Frances almost nightly in her privato cell, where ha instmoted 
 her in tha mvsteriea and usages of the Jesuits, and prepared har 
 fully to act that part whioh she afterwarda flUed with such dis- 
 tinguished ability. Nor waa the father confessor wholly disin- 
 terested in these labours ; he wan duly rewarded : and. as subse- 
 quent events will demonstrate, they were coupted with hia own 
 Mho X of personal ambition. A more unhallowed oompact than 
 ^h^•^. which existed between this priest and sister Frances— a com- 
 pact instigated by a Jesuit mind, and the foul offspring of pas- 
 don and of pride— was perhapa never entered into, nor ever mora 
 fearfully punished. 
 
 OHAFTEBEL 
 
 Honours in proroeot— Bcsta(^ of Father Jubert— Power, apostrophe to^ 
 ~hs Cvtinpaot not to be forgotten— Arrival of the Legate— Hta treat* 
 ment- -Ai.T)roaching ceremony- High IXass celebrated— Conaistorlal 
 Hall, its talendidftimitureandfittings-Procentonof priests— Tha 
 oereuidj of Inatellation—Awfol Oath—The onp of blooo— The Bible 
 ec>»9^tku«I U'i;ri—Vien« exultation of the priestn— Jhe Ameiioan 
 flag of Jijertr - >>vu>;?led nnd r foot, and torn iu pieces— Pather Jubert 
 nuiich«aif.of %e Order of r.^,. Ignatius Loyola, for the United Stales of 
 Am^ri^— H ovage and oV eisanoe of the priests— Oath of allegiance. 
 
 Fxva yeara had passed away, whan, one momingi a lai|t and 
 

 I mao0ft 
 bio tWt 
 • iMOind 
 
 >n into the 
 dbh amply 
 ■oundneM 
 interriew. 
 same oon« 
 Af iopio- 
 nd himieU 
 ing of that 
 ready been 
 etweentno 
 be couventi 
 idwithihe . 
 < from tbe 
 
 dted eiiAw 
 instracted 
 !epwedher 
 i taehdii* 
 loUy didn- 
 1 M Bubee- 
 bh hie own 
 ipact tbaa 
 18— a oom- 
 Dg of pas- 
 evei more 
 
 Lstropbeto;^ 
 ■^-Hto treat* 
 Muistorlal 
 
 {—The Bible 
 j|0 Amefiow 
 riitlier Jttbert 
 ktedStetMof 
 lalle^oe. 
 
 Lurgaabd 
 
 ^jitnfn of a Oonrflnti 
 
 115 
 
 . Qy-Malad domuMnI, bMriafspon it tbe impvMi of th« 
 9$,U.Mt Q«n«ral of tlM Oidar at Bom», "vae handei (o VMhwr Ju- 
 birt. XMamiadng ilMMrrant wbo had bpmight II, he bfoka the 
 •wlib Md Mt down at hie writiuf^-table tc i%ti4it. Aeha nio- 
 gmnd in iff paruaL ha beeatse aiognlarly atfealad ; and, at 
 laogth, arlrfng from his ehair, greatly agftOed, hie eye dfMad, 
 and hb oonntenanoe ezpreaeiTe ttoth of aetoniehment and Jof, Aa 
 ■tood tiNl, and, with tbe letter held almoet at arm's length, ha 
 gand npon it intently, aa thongh he fonnd it difBoalt o oonnrc • 
 hand ite meaning. Then, enatohing hie eapfrom hi» hea^bo 
 threw it T?p in the air, and dapped au hands in rery excitement, 
 esa!iirr*Ui/, as he did so ! 
 
 ' '/•' If, 'f has oome at last ; and I— yes, I— -naneois Jabert,— 
 aiu>\e»il 1 the Order of 8t. Ignatius Loyola, in theee United 
 States." 
 
 ' /\in seating himself, and carefally examining the seals, t e 
 envelope, the outside and inside/ of tbe doonment whioh cooler- 
 red this high dignity upon him, as though he yet feared that 
 f$$'' there might be some mistake, he appeared to be fully satisfied 
 ' wit.ri bis somtinT, and, replaoing the missiTe npon the taale, again 
 arose and paced the room from one end to tne other, talking to 
 himself, and occasionally uttering audiblj a sentence or two. 
 
 " It is well," he said ; •* I hare richly merited this hononr, 
 youM as I am." 
 
 ** K>wer I dearest idol of my soul, I have thee ; aye, and wiU 
 use thee, too 1" 
 
 ** Louiss^ our compact shall not be forgotten." 
 
 ** But when doee he say the installation is to take place P" 
 Here he seised the letter, and read, 
 
 ** The Legate, by whom you are to be installed, within ten days 
 after his airiyal in New York, is the bearer of this letter. See 
 that he is treated with all the respect due to his high office." 
 
 ** Treated with an the respect due to his high office," slowly 
 repeated the Jesuit. "Aye, that shall he be ; and he shall be 
 made a stepping stone to further power. I must away to see this 
 Lagate." 
 
 Bo sayinfT, he carefully locked up the important document, and, 
 arranging his dress, went out to make the necessary preparations 
 for the suitable reception of him who bore so honourable a com- 
 mission as the repreiantative of the Supreme Power at Bome. 
 
 SeTeral days of inasting and ceremony had passed by, that 
 set apart' for the uaballatio^ of Father Jubert had arrived. 
 
 A^ an early hour in the morning, Hi^h Mass was celebrated in 
 the chapel of the monastery ; after which all the members of the 
 order, resident in the city, together with several from a distance. 
 
 who had been ha(rtily summoned to attend, adjourned in proces- 
 sion to the Consistorial Hall, in the same building. This was a 
 spacious BDom, with arched ceiling, some sixty feet in length, by 
 thirty in width : Ike «»Us heavily draped in black doth, which 
 hung in deep f Mda, so as entirely to shut out from right the open- 
 ings both for window* and doors. At one end of this uartment 
 was a platform raisti some three feet above the floor, being co- 
 vered with ridh carpating of tha best fabric XTppn this plaHorm 
 or dai^ was plaaed a aort 9i iWsne, aafaited a brisht scarlet, or- 
 namanted wftii gold, and sutmeuntiid by a magnificent canopy of 
 
 «iU^ of fh* asao oohmr, 
 
 with heavy gold fringe. In the 
 
tm 
 
 m 
 
 Uysteiles of a Conyeni 
 
 centre of the Toom wm latpended from the oeilitajr, a riohlT oat- 
 
 glass dkandelier, with almost iuuumerable lights brilliantly Dom- 
 ig ; while placed at oonyenient distances around the hall were 
 ofndelabra of jilver, supporting massive branch candlestioks, 
 each having several lights. At the lower end, there was a neat 
 but small or^an, of powerful tone, and^ seats for the choristen ar- 
 ranged near it. 
 
 Immediately in front of the throne stood an altai*, upon which 
 was placed a golden censer, sending forth its clouds of sweet in- 
 cense to perfume the air ; and near this altar, an ancient, curious- 
 ly carved chair, lined and cushioned with black velvet, and stud- 
 ded with gold-headed nails, intended for the occupancy of the 
 candidate for the honours of the occasion. Seats of a plainer de- 
 scription, but displaying the same contrast of colours, were ar- 
 ranged along the sides of the room, on either hand. 
 
 As the procession of priests, clothed in their long black robes, 
 with their peculiarly shaped caps upon their heads, and having 
 the youngest member of the order in the front, bearing a massive 
 silver crucifix, and the oldest in the rear, with the Legate in the 
 centre, supported on the right hand by toe candidate, and on the 
 left by the f'ather Superior of the monastery ; and all, save these 
 last, walking two abreast, entering the ante^chamber, they seve- 
 rally armed themselves with drawn swords, which were placed 
 in racks on either hand ; and, as they passed through the looped- 
 up drapery which covered the ample door- way, between two sen- 
 tinels, who, fully armed, were there found on duty, they several- 
 ly gave the watdi-word, on the right and left—" Abasia Libertd.'* 
 
 Having entered the spacious hall, whose whole arrangements 
 presented a most imposing appearance ; the Legate was escorted to 
 the throne, by the entire body of priests, who kneeled in a circle 
 around him, while he seated himself, and exclaimed, 
 
 ** Honour to his lordship, the Legate of his Holiness the Pope, 
 and Yicegerent of the Father (General of the Order of St Ignatius 
 Loyola !" 
 
 Then rising, and taking their appropriate seats, the Gmdfix, 
 meanwhile, having been placed in an upright position in a re- 
 ceptacle fot :.ts foot, provided for the purpose, near the altar, a 
 low 'toned, tit beautiful, chant was sung by the choir, assisted 
 by the organ, whose rich notes seemed to fill the apartment with 
 fleeting melody. 
 
 The Legate, wearing a robe of gorgeous grandeur, then arose, 
 and, with a distinct voice, read aloud the authority, appointing 
 Francois Jubert the Bepresentative of the Supreme HeM of the 
 Jesuits in the United States ; and commanding his installation 
 as such, by the hands of the Father Bomeo, there present for that 
 purpose. 
 
 ** The will of the Father General be done !" cried all the priests, 
 devoutly crossing themselves and bowing low. as the Legate 
 took his seati, ; while a joyous peal burst forth zrom the organ. 
 
 Directing the Superior of the monastery to present the candi- 
 date at the altar, the Legate proceeded to dictate to the kneeUng 
 priest, the rest all standing, the following oath, which was repeat- 
 ed by him in an audible voice : 
 
 " J^ Francois Jubert, in the prerjnce of the Holy Mother of 
 Qod ; of St. Iffuatius Loyola ; the Legate of the Father (General 
 of the order <» Jesuits, aad of these members ai the same, here 
 
oMt eai* 
 ayborn- 
 tiall were 
 Uestidlu, 
 M a neat 
 istenar- 
 
 on which 
 eweet ia- 
 ;, ourions- 
 and stud- 
 ty of the 
 Uiuer de- 
 were ar- 
 
 lok robes, 
 id haying 
 a massive 
 ate in the 
 ,nd on the 
 lave these 
 bhey seve- 
 re placed 
 iie looped- 
 a two sen- 
 y severaU 
 % lAberW* 
 ingements 
 escorted to 
 inaoirde 
 
 the Pope, 
 t Ignatius 
 
 e cTuoifix^ 
 3u in a re- 
 le altar, a 
 ir, assisted 
 ment with 
 
 hen arose, 
 ippointing 
 iead of the 
 nstallation 
 at for that 
 
 he priests, 
 heliCgato 
 the organ, 
 the oandi- 
 a kneeling 
 as repeat- 
 Mother of 
 » Gtoneral 
 iame,here 
 
 l^teiles of a Gmreai 
 
 117 
 
 smUed: do most sincerely and solemnly swear;— that I will 
 and do renounce all allegiance to king, prince, potentate, and 
 powerof ererykindj and howerer constituted, which may now 
 or hereafter hold civil rule in this or in any other country in 
 which I may be called to reside ; acknowledging, now and for 
 eve^, no other civil or religious rule whatsoever, save that of his 
 Holiness, the Pope— the Vicegerent and Yicar of Ghrist— an^l of 
 the Father Qeneral of the order of St. Ignatius Loyola ; hereby 
 solemnly engagin(|[ to sarrender myself, at all times, as I now do, 
 body, soul, and spirit, unreservedly to their sole control ; to have 
 no will or mind of my own, but unhesitatingly and without ques- 
 tion, in all things, to think, and speak, and acf^ as they may di- 
 rect. 
 
 « I do most sincerely and solemnly swear eternal hatred to all 
 forms of government, whether monarchical or republic, and by 
 whomsoever administered, whose tendency is in any wise, direct- 
 ly or indirectly, to limit, or subvert, or control the supreme and 
 rightful authority of his Holiness, the Pope, or the Father (Ge- 
 neral of the order of Jesuits, to reign over the whole world ; and 
 to use my best endeavours, at all times, for the overthrow of all 
 such governments, and the universal extension of that of the or- 
 der of which I am a member. 
 
 "I do sincerely and solemnly swear eternal hatred to all sects, 
 societies, and institutions, of every kind, whether political or re- 
 ligious, which tend to the establishment of civil or religious free- 
 dom in this or in any other land ; and to use my best efforts for 
 their destruction ; ever keeping in my mind that divine maxim 
 of the order, that— 'the end justifies the means/ 
 
 " I do mofit sincerely and, solemnly swear that I will not ap- 
 propriate <:o my own purposes, any funds that may entrulted to 
 my care or keeping, as belonging to the treasury of the order ; 
 but will sacredly apply the same to the Uses to which they are 
 set apart, rendering to the Father General at Borne, quarterly, a 
 true and faithful account of the same ; and that I will further 
 use a!T possible means to increase the wealth of the order, for 
 the better accomplishment of the purposes for which it has been 
 instituted. 
 
 " I do most sincerely and solemnly swear that I will not ex- 
 pose, to any person or persons whatever, nor permit the same to 
 ue done by others, any of the secret instructions that may be given 
 to me by the Father General, or any of his duly accredited agents ; 
 and should any such at any time fall into the hands of those for 
 whom they were not intended, I will deny, even with oaths, their 
 authenticity, affirming them to be forgeries. 
 
 " I do most sincerely and solemnly swear to regard the orders, 
 instructions, and requirements, of the Father General of the or- 
 der of Jesuits, as of paramount authority to those of his Holiness 
 the Pope, whenever the latter shall dash or conflict with the for- 
 mer ; and, should I ever discover any plot or conspiracy, or in- 
 tention of evil in any nerson or persons whatsoever, towards the 
 interests or safety of tne order, I will, without delay, communi- 
 cate the same to the Father General, and do all in my power to 
 contravene and to thwart such plot, conspiracy, or intention of 
 evil : alwaye esteeming his interest and authority, as the head of 
 the order, paramount to all others. 
 
 ** I do most sincerely and solemnly swear that I will keep a 
 
U8 
 
 Uj^sterieB of a GoafSIt 
 
 tnit, flKlfhfbl, and permanent register, and fonrard a oojpj there > 
 of qnarterW to the Father General, of all events, volitioal or re- 
 ligbus that may eome to my knowledge, and of all penoaa, by 
 name, residence, and ocoupatiou, wheuer Frotestint or Oatholic, 
 who may in any wise, or to any extent, obstraot the progress of 
 our order, or say or do anght against it ; and by mv agents, offi- 
 cers, and emisssdries, do all in my power to injure their business, 
 and ruin their diaraoter and fortune. 
 
 ** I do most sincerely and solemnly swear that I will, at what< 
 ever inoonyenience or sacrifice to myself, repair, without delay, to 
 Bome, or whatever othdr place I may be ordered by the Father 
 Oeneral ; and should I in any manner violate this my oath, I will 
 inform him of such violation, and undergo any punishment that 
 he may think proper to inflict upon me therefore. 
 
 *' To do, and keep^ and perform, all of this, I devoutly call upon 
 the ever blessed Trinity to witness my sincerity ; and should I 
 ever prove a traitor to the order, or betray its interests, or its se- 
 crets, may the severest paios of purgatory be suffered by me, 
 without cessation or mitigation, for ever and ever." 
 
 " Amen I and Amen !" shouted all the priests. ' 
 
 This fearful oath— so fully embracing all the destructive fea- 
 tures of the Jesuits, and so faithfully pourtraying the real objects 
 of their organizations— having been taken by the candidate, he 
 was sternly ordered to arise from his kneeling posture, ana to 
 place his hand upon the cross, the symbol of his xaith; while the 
 whole number of priests were made to surround him, and, point* 
 ing their naked swords at his body, were directed to thrust the 
 steel to his hearty should he falter or hesitate in the least in obey- 
 ing the order which should next be given to him, and which was 
 wholly unexpected by him ; a test of the promptitude to comply 
 with a^ mandate that he may hereafter receive from the Su- 
 preme Head of the order, though its performance might involve 
 even death itself. 
 
 The Superior of the monastery, by direction of the Legate, 
 then handed to the candidate a small cup, formed of a section of 
 a skull, into which had been poured about half a gill of a dark 
 fluid resembling human blood. Bidding him hold uiis cup to his 
 lipstthe Legate thus addressed him ;— 
 
 "Francois Jubert, the honour which I am about to confer upon 
 yon, by the authority of his Holiness the Pope, and of the Father 
 General of the order of St. Ignatius Loyola, is of too august a 
 character, and involves interests of too great moment to belight- 
 ly bestowed, or to be given to one who quails at the eigh^ or 
 smell, or taste, of human blood ; if you have been sincere ui tak- 
 ing the solemn oath which has jus^ been administered to you, and 
 if you are worthy of the high honour for which you are the can- 
 didate, yon will not hesitate to drink the contents of that cup. 
 If you are insincere or craven in spirit, yon will hesitate and die. 
 
 U W MtNXf-^SBINKl" 
 
 No sooner had the word paned the lips of the Leffate— uttered 
 in a tone of powerful emphasis, which ran through the vast apart- 
 ment, and vibrated on the nerves of the priests— than the candi- 
 date swallowed the contents of the cup, without even blanching, 
 as though it had contained the most delicious nectar ; and, to 
 show that he had done so, held it up at the full ,stretoh of his arm, 
 as his commanding stature towered above the priests who sur- 
 rounded him, its Mttom turned upwards. 
 
 i 
 
l^BtflrlBB of ft GoDYdnti 
 
 n9 
 
 **Lowflr your iwoidsl" oriedihe Legate, **the candidate is 
 worthy.* 
 
 The priests let fidl their sword points, and, as they did so, a 
 rich and triamphant gnst of mosic sounded forth from the or- 
 gan ; while the choristers ohaated the patron saint and founder 
 of the order. 
 
 "Bring forth the acoorsed book," cried the Legate, wheathe 
 morio had ceased. 
 
 A copy of the Protestant Bible was then handed to the candi* 
 date: while a ohaffiog dish of burning coal was placed before him. 
 
 *' That book," said the Legate, ** is the great enemy of our Or- 
 der. It must perish from the earth, or we must cease to exist. 
 Ourse and bum it, in token of your enmity and ours, and of your 
 determiuation to do all that lies in your powdr Jot its destruc- 
 tion, and with it for that of all heretics." 
 
 "I curse thee, thou text-book of heresy !" exclaimed the can- 
 didate, placing the book upon the blazing coals ; " I spit upon 
 thee, vile cheat, uncompromising enemy of my order. I bum 
 thee ; and, as thou consumest in that flame, so may all heretics be 
 burned in that fierce flame which shall wreathe itself around 
 them, in that hell prei>ared for the reception and punishment of 
 all those who put their confidence in thee; and reject the true 
 Scriptures, the only trae and infallible churoh." 
 
 As the sacred Tolume— the charter of human liberties— crack- 
 led and glowed under the action of tiiefire, and its smoke ascend- 
 ed heavenward, like the spirit of many a martyr, whose body has 
 been burned by the minions of popery, a shout, wild and fierce, 
 arose from the congrogated priests, which shook the room in 
 whose midst they stood ; while again the organ and choristers 
 sent forth swelling psaans of praise to " Mary^ the refuge t^fni^ 
 nets— the blessed Mother of OodJ* 
 
 "Bring forth the ensign of freedom, P' hissed, from between his 
 teeth, the proud Legate, concentrating unutterable hatred in the 
 manner in which he celled for the American banner, under whose 
 stars and stripes, Washington and the worthies of the revolution 
 had fought and bled. 
 
 " This vile rag," he cried, as the flag of the Union was losing 
 unfurled from its staff, "fit emblem of those hellish principles 
 which have wrested this noble land, with its fertile fields^ itf ma- 
 
 i'estic rivers, and its ocean lakeiL from the hands of an imbecile 
 :ing ; which have rovolutionized France ; and which, if not pro- 
 vented from spreading, will one day overturn the thrones, and 
 destroy the ancient established monarchies of Earope ; that vile 
 rag is more to be dreaded by us, as an order, than all things else, 
 beside the Bible. If it be peri^itted to pollute the pure air of 
 Heaven by its foul embrace, for half a century longer, it will float 
 on eve:^ sea, on every land, and be the rallying sign for the na- 
 tions of the earth. It must be tom down ; it must be trampled 
 under foot; it must trail dishonoured in the dust, or our cause is 
 lost. In token of your love for the order, and determination to 
 uproot liberty — accursed name, mora cursed thing! — ^tear it from 
 its sup^rt, and trample it beneath your feet." 
 
 Hastily obeying the mandate, the candidate flung the stripes 
 and stars upon the floor, and, with an energy which declared the 
 feelings of his heart, ground them with his heel ; while, in a voice 
 of thunder, the Legate cried— 
 
120 
 
 Mysteries of a GimTent 
 
 ** Jemita, dMtfoy the enemy of your order. A bai la Ltberte." 
 
 Like at a herd of famished wolves rush upon their prey, rend* 
 lug and tearioff it in pieces, while growling and screaming in hor« 
 riole discord, t£ey oyertum each other in their efforts to gratify 
 their rapacity : so rushed these Jesuits upon the ensign of the 
 world's freedom, and, pushing each other aside, in frantic fury, 
 they soon tore it into a thousand fragments, while their yells and 
 shouts-added to the terrible uproar of the scene. Meanwhile 
 from the choir came forth, in strains of wild excitement, as though 
 the downfall of man's liherty and the universiU triumph of Jesuit- 
 ism were already secured, and the world were fixed in eternal 
 slarery, civil, political, and religious— the "Te Deum Laudamus 1" 
 insulting hign heaven with blasphemous asorijptions of praise, as 
 though it had been instrumental in a destruction of all that is 
 dearest to man, and of highest appreciation in the sight of Otoi 
 and.^f the blessed angels. 
 
 In the meantime, the Legate had received, from an attendant 
 priest, a gorgeous ro. d, which might have well become a monarch, 
 and, when the insulting strains had died away, and the prieats, at 
 his command, had resumed their places, he advanced to the can« 
 didate, who stood near the crucifix, and, throwing the garment 
 upon his shoulders, led him to the throne, and, seating him there, 
 turned to the priests, saying — 
 
 *' Behold, Jesuits, the Father Qeneral of the order of St. Igna- 
 tius Loyala, for the United States of America ; whom I declare 
 duly appointed, and installed in that high office. Approach, and 
 do his Lordship reverence." 
 
 So saying, he caused the priests to kneel around the throne, anA 
 to repeat aiter him the following salutation and oath of idlegi- 
 anoe:— 
 
 *' Hail, most worthy Father Qeneral, we honour thee I 
 
 ** We solemnly swear full and explicit allegiance to you, as ^he 
 representative of the Father (General of the order ; and to obey, 
 without hesitation, or question^ any command that you may give 
 to us, while holding the said high office ; here surrendering our- 
 selves body, soul, and spirit, ' as dead corpses,' to your control and 
 government, to be directed and used as your judgment, and that 
 of Him whom you represent, may dictate." 
 
 It was a proud moment for Francois Jubert ; and well did it re* 
 pay him for the toil, anxiety and effort, which it bad cost him to 
 gain the eminent distinction. 
 
 A choral burst of melody, swelling the general joy and congra- 
 tulation, closed the ceremonial ; and the priests, arising from their 
 knees, and preceded by the Legate and their new Father Gener- 
 al, repaired, under the conduct of the Superior to the refectory, 
 wnere a sumptuous banquet awaited them. 
 
 OHAFTEB X. 
 
 The father Oeneral's affections for Sister Frances on the wane— Remores 
 hST, b7 instituting her to the office pf Superior in the Convent of An- 
 nunciation—Her active and proselyting e£Forts shortly after assnming 
 office— Emily de Yere— The Supenor's base conduct towards her. 
 
 Fob some monthi prior to the oocorrenoes which hare ju^t beea 
 
Ijsteiies of a (kmmt 
 
 m 
 
 deM^b«d, th« Mofh«r Superior of tbe AnnanoiattOD, diataat lomo 
 fifty milet from the dty of New York, had been in rery feeble 
 health ; and. among the fint acts which the Father (General was 
 called upon to p«aform after his installation into office, was to ap- 
 point a superior to fill the vaoanoy occasioned by her death. 
 
 He had not lost his attachment to Sister Frances, but, with the 
 inconstancy of the Jesuit character, he had for some time past 
 thouffht it no harm to look upon other pretty faces besides hers ; 
 and his facile conscience saw no impropriety in intrigues with 
 other nnns than the good sister, who. ezceeaingly jealous of her 
 . power over him, muntained a most rigid watch upon his conduct ; 
 so vigilant, indeed, that there had a&eady occurred some inter- 
 esting quarrels between them, which, however, were easily made 
 up, although they left traces of uneasiness behind them upon her 
 mind, conscious, as she was, that her personal attractions were 
 , not as fresh as once they were. 
 
 It was, therefore, a great relief to the Father Qeneral to have 
 it in his power to appoint Sister Frances to the vacancj[ ; as, 
 while he adroitly persuaded her that it was an honour which ha 
 had long been anxious to see conferred upon her, and one for 
 which she was peculiarly qualified, he would thus be removed 
 from her immediate espionage, and be more at liberty to act as 
 he pleased. 
 
 Connected with the Convent of the Annunciation, was a rexj 
 large female boarding-school, which, in the great dearth of the 
 means of education existing at this time, was very extensively 
 patronized by Protestant families. This was represented to Sis- 
 ter Frances as being a ver^ strong inducement to her acceptance 
 of the appointment, since it wouM afford her ample opportunity 
 for the protection of the interests of the order, in prbsely ting to 
 the true faith the children of heretics, who should be entrusted to 
 her care. 
 
 Ambitious of power and of preferment; and such anlippoiot- 
 ment as this, with its cognate rank and influence in the order, 
 having been an object held in view in the original comp;?ot, to 
 which allusion has alteady been made. Sister Frances felt a sa- 
 cred joy in its contemplation ; while, at the same time, her mind 
 misgave her somewhat as to the real motives of the Father Gten- 
 eru ; but when, in an interview which she had with him, in her 
 private room, she broached the subject, and he, with well-affect- 
 ed surprise, the most solemn protestations, and fondest caresses, 
 assured her that she was wholly misteken ; she suffered herself 
 to be deceived, and accepted the ofBoe, as an additional proof of 
 the undiminished affection of her priest lover. 
 
 In the course of a few weeks, she was duly installed Mother 
 Superior of -the Convent of Annunciation, and entered upon the 
 duties of her new stetion, witii a spirit and zeal^ as well as exhi- 
 bition of tcdente of the highest order, which bespoke her adapta- 
 tion to it, and presaged a brilliant career for her in the future. 
 
 With a tact rarely equalled, and by means of her winning man- 
 sera, and consummate skill in accommodating herself to the pe- 
 culiarities of those whom she wished to control, she soon succeed- 
 ed in engaging the affections of the nuns, and especially in secur- 
 ing those of the young ladies who were boarding pupils in the es- 
 tablishment. In the course of five years after her installation, 
 she was the instrument of converting not less than tl^y-fivc of 
 
122 
 
 Mystarlos of a GmYsiiti 
 
 the latter to the Bomuh faith ; tweWe of whom joined the order, 
 and beoama num. 
 
 Among the latter was a Miis Bmiiie de Vere, a joang girl, 
 some sixteen yean of age, of lurpaMing beauty, and the only^ 
 daughter of a wealthy planter in Louisiana, who, haying lived in 
 New York for some time before he remored to his southern home, 
 had selected the Oonyent of the Annunciation, as a suitable place 
 for the education of the child, because of its remoteness from the 
 city. Mr. De Y ere was descended from Protestant parentage, aa 
 was his wife, but thoue|ht well of the Oatholios^ and apprehended 
 no danger in thux plaomg his daughter in their hands, while ho 
 went to his far-off home, not expecting to see her again for some 
 three years. Great was the self-gratulation of l^he Mother Su« 
 perior, when the rich heiress Joined the Catholio church, bnt 
 greatcnr stiU when she wore the habit of a nun, and bore the name 
 of Sister Theresa, two years before the time of which we arenow 
 writing. 
 
 In the course of onf» of his somewhat frequent yisits to the 
 OouTent,— during which the Mother Superior was always careful 
 to keep, as much as possible, out of sight, all those nuns who had 
 any pretensions to personal attractions, — ^the Father QenerM hap- 
 
 Sined to meet Sister Theresa in one of the passages ; and, imme- 
 ately recognising her as one whose great beauty had strongly 
 aitixacted his hdtice, on the occasion of her taking the religious 
 Vows, he entered into conversation with her ; and, while holding 
 her hand in his, and giving her some fatherly advice, the Mother 
 Superior, having occasion to pass that way^ unseen by them, had 
 witnessed a portion of the interview, and imagined that she saw 
 enough to warrant a jealous feeling on her part, and to deter- 
 mine her to' prevent any further occurrence of a similar sort. 
 Dissesibling her true feelings, however, she met the Father Qen- 
 oral, in half an hour afterwards, with a brow as pladd as if no- 
 thhig hsA ooourred to disturb the quiet current of her emotions. 
 To gratify her vindictiveaess, nevertheless, as she dared not re- 
 proach the Cteneral, she degraded the poor nun, for a month, to 
 servile work in the kitchen, yrithout assigning to her any other 
 reason for so doing, than her own will. 
 
 CHAPTEB XL 
 
 Che Father Oenersl's visit to theoonvent— His Interest for Sister Theresa 
 —The deformed nun— Proposes a meeting at midnight with Sister The- 
 resa—The Mother Superiors kind entertainment ofthe Father General 
 in the private parlour— Her chagrip at his abruptly leaving her— Bus- 
 pldon— Sister Theresa's sorrow and anxiety at receiving the Father's 
 . note— Her trepidation on meeting the Father General— He reassures 
 her— His wily stratagems to accomplish his base objaot— A wolf in 
 sheep's clothing. 
 
 Thb Father Gene ."al again visited the convent, in about siz weeks 
 after this unpleasant occurrence ; and, as he ^>proached the great 
 iron gate, the image of the beautiful nu|i arose to his mind, and 
 he determined, if possible, to learn something more aboht her ; 
 but, aware of the sensitiveness of the Mother Superior, he knew 
 that his inquiries must be made with great caution. 
 
ItystarlM of a GonTent 
 
 128 
 
 Tb«n wai. in th« oShTant. • dtf ormad mm, who, Immom of « 
 ffimclg* whiea iha bon to Mother Vranoat. and of tlM uniform 
 kindnoM with which the Qeneral h«d troated her, hea, on more 
 then one ooeeiion, been of service to him in hie intrignes in the 
 oonTeni He determined to make sie of her on this occasion. 
 
 Accordingly, seising a faTonrable moment, he took Sister Mar- 
 tina aside, and. asked her who the beautiful nnn was. The com- 
 raonicatiTe sister answered his question, and said so much about 
 her,- and the cruel treatment which she had recently received at 
 the hands of the Mother Superior, for she knew not what offence, 
 as she afkmed, as greatly to enlist his feelings in behalf of Sister 
 Theresa. Hastily writing a few words upon a piece of paper, 
 which he took from his pocket-book, he handed it to the nnn ; 
 directing her to give it to Sister Theresa, and to be discreet about 
 the matter, saying that he would reward her handsomely, if she 
 did not betray his trust. Then returning into the parlour, where 
 he had left the Superior, he chatted gaily with her until they 
 were called into the refectory to tea. While seated at the table, 
 the nuns and boarders all present, both the Father Oeneral and 
 the Mother Superior were models of propriety and decorum ; wad 
 the former, especially, was oarefnl not to cast even a look which 
 could serve to excite any suspicion in the mind of the Superior, 
 while their j[uniors were greatly edified by their pious conversa- 
 tion concerning some of the saints, and the miracles that had been 
 wrought by them. 
 
 Arising from the table, the Mother Frances invited the Qenwal 
 to her private parlour, the room in which she usually entertain- 
 ed him, when he visited the convent. This was one of a suite of 
 rooms, three in number, set apart for her own q>ecial use, and 
 neve^ intruded upon save by her own invitation or permission : — 
 all of these, save the last,, opened upon the great passage v^hich 
 ran through the house, on the second floor. The first of this 
 suite was furnished as a private parlour, in very neat and ele- 
 gant taste. Communicating with this, by means of a slidingpau- 
 nel, ao inffenionsly contrived as to be known to but few of the 
 iumates of the family, was a beautiful bed-chamber, most taste- 
 fully fitted up ; and beyond this, and accessible only from this 
 room, was a smaller apaxtment, arranged as an oratory, having; 
 a mahogany reading desk, a magnificent ebony crucifix, an escri- 
 toire inuda with mother of pear^ and some hanging ahelves, upon 
 which were arranged a number of elegantly*bound volnmea— the 
 entire suite of rooms Was handsomely carpeted, and abounded 
 with indications of female taste and refinement. 
 
 Having seated themselves upon a sofa placed at one side of the 
 
 Srivate parlor, and converged for some time upon general subjects, 
 tie Superior arose, and, taking from a small sideboard a richly 
 cut decanter of old wine, with some glases, and a plate of delioi- 
 oha apiced cakea, which she had prepared with her own hands, 
 she placed these upon a table which stood in front of the sofa, 
 and invited the General to partake of them, and to join her in a 
 game at cheai, of which die knew he was passionately fond, and 
 for which die had arranged the materials before him. 
 
 They thus occupied themselves until the convent dock tolled 
 the hour of deven, when the Father (General, pleading a headache, 
 and affectionatdy as well an moat gracefully saluting the Mother 
 Superior, asked toave ffi retire to his own apartment which was 
 
m 
 
 HjBteries of a GonTaat 
 
 r 
 
 i I' 
 
 liiiutad on the ilnl floor, uid olegtntlj fiAiiihod. Thii the lat- 
 ter rather ^gradondy granted, with an air whidh showed that 
 ehe wae disappointed ; and the priest retired. '^ 
 
 Meanwhil^ the note had been handed to Sister Theresa, by the 
 deformed nun, and had greatly exdted her mind by its contents. 
 
 " Meet me in the gar&n, near the plam tree, alone, at mid- 
 night:"— she repeated, for the twentieth time, as she sat in her 
 room, with the note iu her hand, thinking oyer its contents. 
 
 " What can he mean P*' And then, as the thought that his in- 
 tentions towards her might be those of ctU flashed across her 
 mind, she burst into tears, exclaiming — 
 
 " What have I done or said, that could Vad him to think so 
 meanly of me P" 
 
 " Have I not spumed the base oyertures of my own confessor, 
 Father Jerome P* 
 
 " Graoioua heaven, into what hands hare I fallen P" 
 
 Here a sense of her helpless condition, as a poor, friendless, and 
 unprotected nun, was forced upon her mind, with such terrible 
 conviction, that she became feuf ully agitated ; and throwing her- 
 self upon the bed, she wept as if her very heart would break. 
 
 "O that I had known all this," she said, her voice broken by 
 sobs— " before I took the vows 1— How sadly have I been de- 
 ceived!" 
 
 " O. what ^^11 1 do P Where shall I hide myself P My hononr/ 
 my life, is hunted by those who made me vow eternal iiliUjIMil 
 and purity 1" . v^^JSp' 
 
 ^ *' But recently I was degraded to the condition of a rndSu^ I 
 I know not why ; and now this priest, as if he were master of an 
 eastern harem, and I his G^rgian slave, bids me meet him alone 
 in the garden at midnight I Good God, what does this mean f ' 
 
 ** O that I were once mora vrithiu reach of my dear father I how 
 gladly wosiid^ fly to him for protection 1" 
 
 Bha anin^btfiBtt into tears, and wept most bitterly : then^ as a 
 mMuk uionght occurred to her mind, she started up, exclaiming— 
 
 '"^It inay he so. Perhaps Sister Martina may have intimateato 
 l^ii iMbat I have been badly treated, and, in order to know;^ " 
 (fDOlit it, without the danger of being interrupted by the 1' 
 Superior, or in order to keep her from knowing that be had?i 
 to me on the subject, he may have selected this time anf 
 with a view to secresy. It must be so." ; :^ 
 
 The more die thought about the matter, the more full[^ Evin- 
 ced she became that this was the true state of the case ; and while 
 she felt grateful to the good Father, as she now called him, when 
 she regarded him as intending to befriend her, she reproached her- 
 self for having thought so ungenerously of him. The idea of be- 
 ing revenged on the Mother Superior, dried up her tears ; and she 
 determinra to keep the appointment. 
 
 It now wanted hut a few minutes to twelve; and, wrapping 
 herself up in a heavy shawl, to guard against the chilly midniffht 
 air, and, with her heart beating wildly within her breast, she left 
 her room, and noiselessly creeping down the great stairway, 
 
 Sausing at alihost every step, as she fancied that some one Mta 
 isoovered her ; while she started at the verv pantings of h« 
 bosom, she reached the back door of the hall ; whore, findih 
 
 key in the lock, she turned it»%ith great caution, and then,i 
 
 ly opening one dde of the K^ding leaves^ so as to avoid any 
 
 ;j^'*-'^'—*M>-'*^»>«^*"..^yy^jffl*-- *■**» 
 
 Mn, f,„n ^ mm > » mm i .s^ 
 
it the lat. 
 
 9W6dth«t 
 
 n, by the 
 
 Dontants. 
 I, at mid- 
 sat in her 
 snti. 
 
 >at hii in- 
 oroM her 
 
 think w> 
 
 sonfeuor, 
 
 lIiBss, and 
 tenible 
 iflng her- 
 reak. 
 rokenby 
 been de« 
 
 r faonoiiiy 
 
 MysterieB of a Gonyeni 
 
 12(1 
 
 . I 
 
 ter of an 
 im alone 
 mean?" 
 lerl how 
 
 ^en^ as a 
 inunff— 
 mated to 
 
 oonvin- 
 id while 
 D» when 
 led her- 
 eof be- 
 andihe 
 
 rapping 
 idnighf 
 lei 
 
 
 ereaUng which migh^ giro notioe of her moTementSi and looking 
 out intently to we if any one waa paising about, the went forth, 
 
 Slttietly drawing the door to behind her, and, with quick and ei* 
 ant IMP, hastened to the garden. It waa a moonlignt nighty but 
 haiy and somewhat cloudy. 
 
 On arriving af the spot which had been designated in the note, 
 she was surprised to find that there was no one there but herself ; 
 and she was about to couclude that she was the victim of some 
 treacherous plot, when she beheld the Father Qeneral rapidly ap« 
 preaching her. On reaching her, he extended his hand, in the 
 kindest manner, saying, as he did so : 
 
 ** Thanks, Sister Theresa, for this evidence of your oonfldence 
 in your Father Qeneral. I was half afraid that you would not 
 meet me I \. t this loiely hour; and that I should be deprived 
 of theoppoiiv^itvof doingyou a kindness. But," added he, 
 perceiving that she trembled as he spoke to her, " fear not, my 
 child ; I mean you no harm ; but will protect you from all injury 
 and insult." 
 
 Beassure^Jby these words, which she believed to be sincere ; 
 and feelin|^asnamed of her previous misgiyinss with regard to 
 the Fathers intentions, whion now seemed to oe so wholly un- 
 founded, the nun thanked him for his kind consideration, and 
 said- 
 
 " I have every confidence in the honour of the Father Gtoneral, 
 and cannot suppose that he would betray that confidence." 
 
 " Never," replied the wily Jesuit, who quickly perceived the 
 change that had been wrought in the feelings of the trusting 
 girl ; for she no longer trembled, nor seemed disposed, as at firs^ 
 to withdraw her hand from his. 
 
 " I have heard," he continued, " no matter how nor from whom, 
 of the cruel conduct of the Superior towards you, recently ; ana 
 I wish you to tell me, if you can, why she did so r" 
 
 " I know not," replied Sister Theresa. " I have endeavoured 
 faithfully to perform every known duty, and to comply, as far as 
 I could, with e^ery rule of the institution. I have always treat- 
 ed the Mother Superior with marked respect; rendering instant 
 obedience to her every command ; and I cannot imagine why she 
 suddenly, and without assigning any reason whatever for i^ in- 
 fiioted so severe a punishment upon me, and degraded me so in 
 the eyes of the whole convent. Had the punishnlent been con- 
 tinued f or. a short time longer, I should have been seriously ill, 
 for my health is but delicate at the best." 
 
 << "Wlien did she order you to this menial service P" asked the 
 Father, eagerly. 
 
 " On the very day that you left the convent, on your last visit 
 before the present, replied the nun. 
 
 " I s€e it all," muttered the priest, as if communing with his 
 own thoughts ; '* it is as plain as it can be. Poor fo<n, to think 
 that I belong to her, soul and body, and that I cannot be civil to 
 a pretty ntm, but that instantly, m soon as my back is tamed, 
 the poor nun must be a victim of her jealousy and wrath. 
 Pshaw 1" he continued, as if still talking to himself; " she shall 
 suffer for this." Thenf'seeming to reooUect himself , he said to 
 Sister Theresa. 
 
 "Never mind. I am your friend and protector. I have the 
 right and the power to shield you from oppression and from in- 
 
IgA 
 
 Xysteries of a OonTeiit 
 
 ■alt; and, shoold yoor fteliagi erer be ontrfged ofaln, I nqoir* 
 
 Joa to let me know it «t onoe, th«t I may^tAke the neoeeiwy etepe 
 > redme the wionff. 'Meanwhile, say nothing, bat leave this 
 matter in my hands. ' 
 
 **I know not how suffloiently to thank yoa for yonr kindness," 
 rssvK>nded the nqn ; her heart realljr touched by what she belioT- 
 ed to be the sino4re friendship of toe Father Geaeral, and fully 
 prepared to feel all its force, by the lonely life that she had led— 
 a life so full of disappointment as to the expectations whiohshe 
 had formed when entering upon the religious duties of a nan— 
 and, with the tears standing upon heroheek, she coutinued. " bat 
 if yon will show me how I may eiince my gratitude, I will most 
 cheerfully do it." 
 
 '* You can show your gratitude, Sister Theresa, by loring me," 
 replied the priest, in low and thrilling tones, gently putting ms 
 arm around her waist, and drawing her to him, on pretence, as 
 he sadd, of protecting her from the cool nisht air ; but, as he per- 
 ceived thai she shrank from his embrace, he added, 
 
 " Fear not, my child ; I love you too well to mean yon any 
 harm." 
 
 He then entered into a lengthy conversation with her, touching 
 her studies, her employments, and what not that was likely to in- 
 terest her mind, and inspire her with confideuoe ; and then, tell- 
 ing her it was time that they should return to the house, he in- 
 quired the humber of her room, and its position in the building ; 
 saying to her that, on the following night, he would visit her 
 there, in order to instruct her how to spend her time in the fu- 
 ture, BO as to prepare herself to occupy the position of Mother 
 Superior, in her own turn, when she should be a litMe older and 
 more experienced. 
 
 Meanwhile, the wily priest kept his arm around Sister There- 
 sa, and, wallung thus to the house, he gave her what he called 
 the kiss of peace, at parting, and each sought their own room; 
 the former feeling assured that he had gained a victory ; the lat- 
 ter, as she had never done before in ail her life ; her soul a sea 
 of tumultuous emotion. The Father General soon fell asleep 
 and dreamed of beautiful nuns and bowers of roses ; the unhap- 
 
 Ey Sister Theresa laid awake for hours, tossing restlessly upon 
 er couch. She felt that she was caught in the coils of thepnest, 
 and that it was as useless for her to struggle against what seem- 
 ed to be her inevitable destiny, as for the poor fly, caught in the 
 meshes of the spider's web, to attempt to escape its impending 
 fate. She felt that she was powerless in the bands of an all- 
 powerfuTfoe ; and, though she deeply regretted having keptJthe 
 appointment, and met the Father in the garden, yet, strange to 
 say, she did not after all wish to avoid the meeting on the foUow- 
 iug night. In truth, the arch magician had infused his poison 
 into' her young soul ; and his foul necromancy had thrown a spell 
 upon her, which she no longer desired, or had the strength, to 
 break. She was doomed, and yet she trembled not ; she was in 
 chains, and still she hugged those chains to her breast, and seem- 
 ed to delight in wearing them. The priest had silenced her mo- 
 nitory fears ; had thrown her off her guard ; had awakened feel- 
 ings of gratitude, which were eacily transmuted to others <rf a 
 wanner nature ; and the hellish work was well nigh oomploted— 
 the oonsummation waited but for the oooasios* 
 
Xysteries of a GonTent 
 
 127 
 
 En* I Nqairt 
 
 t iMTe this 
 
 r klndntM,** 
 •he beliey. 
 \t andfoUy 
 • bad led-- 
 wUoh she 
 of ft aan-— 
 aued. «« but 
 [ wUl moat 
 
 >Ting me," 
 puttTog hii 
 reteaoe, as 
 aiheper- 
 
 yoa auy 
 
 » tottohiDff 
 kelytoin. 
 thea, tell. 
 ISO, he in- 
 buildioff; 
 ▼uit her 
 a thefa- 
 >f Mother 
 alder and 
 
 le 
 
 There, 
 called 
 i room; 
 
 thelat. 
 ul a aea 
 i asleep 
 nnhap. 
 Ijvjpoa 
 epnest, 
 '' seem. 
 
 in the 
 >ending 
 an all. 
 apt4he 
 angeto 
 follow, 
 poison 
 a spell 
 gth,to 
 was in 
 seem. 
 Br mo. 
 dfeel. 
 s of a 
 rted- 
 
 Oh, yt wll-annoteted. self>exalted priests, that pat yoiiiMlTes 
 ** aboTt a?l that is called Ood, or that is worshippwl -/* •* slttiog 
 in the temple of Ood. showing TourselTes that ye an God* 
 ** whose coming is after the wornog of Satan, with all power, 
 and ligns, and lying wonders, and with all deceiTableness of an. 
 righteousness;** ye " false prophets ;" ye " ravening woItcs ?a 
 sheep's clothing r ye "blind guides,'* that "compass sea and 
 land to make one proselyte ; and, when he is made, ye make him 
 two-fold more the child of hell than yonrselTes;'' yeunooth. 
 faced hypocrites that devour virgin innocence, " and, for a pre- 
 tence, make long prayers ;" ye priests, that work your damning 
 deeds, in the dark shrouding of the midnight hour; and then, 
 with unblushing countenance, go forth in broad day, and look 
 honesty in the eye ; when the oispartiag veil of eternity shall be 
 drawn aside, and the judgment trump shall summon you to stand 
 before the dread bar of Him whose searching gase now pene. 
 traies your convent walls, your monastio cells, your dark hiding, 
 holes, where works " the mystery of iniquitv,' and reads all your 
 damnable crimes as though they stood emblazoned in the face of 
 the noontide sun ; ah I how will ye quail then 1 how will y»seek 
 to escape iVa fearful inspection of that hour, iu the presence of a 
 congregated universe, and unbidden try to hide yourselves, and 
 your hellish deeds, in the depths of eternal night I But know, 
 " ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, ye cannot escape the dam- 
 nation of hell ;" " the Lord shall consume you witlrthe spirit of 
 his mouth, and shall destroy you with the brightness of his com. 
 ing.*' Babylon " shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is 
 the Lord God who judgeth her/' 
 
 CHAFTEBXU. 
 
 Interregnum— The fotnily of Mr. Moreton— Discnssion on the education 
 given in boarding-sohools. 
 
 The reader must now suffer himself to be carried forward over 
 an iaterval of three years, and be presented to an interesting fa* 
 mily circle, whose members will have a large share in the scenes 
 of tne following pages. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moreton were the parents of an interesting fa* 
 mily, consisting of two sons and three daughters, living in the 
 town of — — , in the state of Pennsylvania, about eighty miles 
 from the city of New York. 
 
 Mary, the eldest of the five children, was a handsome brunette, 
 just entered into her seventeenth year, and had been wholly edn* 
 cated in her native town. Julia, the next in age, was fourteen, 
 and gifted with strong natural powers of mind,l>ut nof as hand- 
 some as her sister Mary. Mrs. Moreton was a lady of ezcellejit 
 judgment and refined manners, but, like her husband, — who was 
 a merchant, in very comfortable oircnmstanoes— not a member of 
 any church. Having received a better education than her com- 
 panion, she had, in matters of this sort, acquired considerable in- 
 fiuence over him ; while, with the sagacity and prudence of a 
 business man, he looked narrowly to the expenses, and was, to a 
 certam extent, liable to the charge of penunonaness ; yet he dear. 
 
128 
 
 Vysterles of a Gonyriit 
 
 h 
 
 I7 loT«d hU funilT, and wm wiUing to inour mnj naionabU <mt- 
 1*7, for AOTthiiig M thought would promoto their happiuoM, or 
 Monr* their «d?anMment in life. 
 
 One winter eveniog, after tea, when the young ohildren had 
 been lent to the nunery, Mary futViug gone to a party at a neigh* 
 boor's, and Julia being Mated at a table by benelf, engaged in 
 prepanug her lesionefor the next day, Mr. and Mrs. Moreton 
 were litting in their snug baok parlour, by a blaiing fire, talking 
 oTer domutio matters, when the following oouTersation oocurred 
 between them: 
 
 "I think, Mr. Moreton, that we ought to send Julia to a good 
 boarding school. She is fast growing up to womanhood; her 
 teaohershere cannot instruct her much further; and, besidesi 
 there are many advantages to be enjoyed at subh a school, which 
 ■he cannot possibly have at home." 
 
 " Why so r Hare we not good teachers in our town, as good as 
 any where else ? I am sure that Mr. Tread well has adranced Ju- 
 lia very rapidly ; and I beard you tell Mrs. Winslow.the other 
 day, that she ud learned more, in the same length of time, under 
 his instruction, than from any other teacher to whom she had ever 
 been sent." 
 
 '* Very true, my dear, and yet I discover that Julia is greatly 
 interrupted in her studies, by tae company which her sister re- 
 ceives ; and when visitors are in the drawing-room with Mary, Ju- 
 lia seems to tbluk it verv hard, indeed, that she must sit up stairs, 
 and study. I find, too, that her head is full of dreas, and iewellery, 
 and parties, and beaux, young as she is ; and, when sne passes 
 through the streets on ner wav to school, she sees a great deal to 
 divert her mind from her books. Besides, these mixed schools 
 may do well enough for younger ohildren, but Julia is too old to go 
 any longer to one where bovs and girls are tautt^it together. In 
 short, I think it high time that she should )te sent from home, to 
 a good boarding sonool, for at least two years." 
 
 ** Well, but Ido not see what you wcnld gain bv sending her 
 to such a sbhool, even on your own showing. Will Ae not be as 
 f^nd oi dress there as here, and will she not find quite as much to 
 district her mind from study P" 
 
 ** Certainly not. In a well-regulated boarding school, every 
 thing is taken care of, and providfed for, even to we minutest de« 
 tails. Extravagance in dress, and fondness of display, are dis- 
 couraged as much as possible ; and, indeed, there are no incentives 
 or opportunities for either, since the young ladies are seldom seen 
 upon the streets, and the visits of young men are forbidden : while, 
 on the other hand, bv means of a systematic arrangement of time— > 
 a useful occupation being found for every hour ; — ^the presence of 
 teachers of the very best abilities, who have adopted the businesa 
 as a profession, ana not as a merely temporary means of sup^rt; 
 and the stimulus to study which is furnished by the competition 
 of a number of schoolmates, for the honours of the institution, a 
 hefdthf ul ambition is excited, and habits are formed, which not 
 only greatly facilitate the acquirements of a thorough education, 
 but areofessentiaiserviceinaxterdays, when school-lx>oks are laid 
 aside, and the sterner duties of life make hourly demands up9a 
 our industry, patience, and fortitude." 
 
 " And still it seems to me that, if the same system and disoio 
 pline were established at home, whiob you say are to be met with 
 
l^jrsteites of » Otmnoi 
 
 hi IhtM boftiding nhooU^ »ftd wliott iaportonM I fMdII] 
 ISm mum miiltt might m ■Mmxad, mad oertainlj «l maeh 
 
 tmAftf mimt% 
 
 ** ImpoMibls^Mr. MoretonI how-ouil. In th* midil of homt 
 dlttraouons, and with laoh a family as I naTa, adopt any rooh 
 ooune P The house is to be kept ; the younger ohUdren an to 
 ba attended to ; ooiupany to be eotertaioed ; tisits to be return- 
 ad ; Mary requires a la«M share of my time aud care t for her 
 ffdueaMon, ooaduoted entirely at home, is exoeediagly aefeotire; 
 and this remiods me of one most importaat ad?anta(,e that is de« 
 rlred from these schools, — the early formatioo of habits of ««{A 
 rriianoi. Now, you know what a baby Mary is: and yet she ia 
 MTeuteen. She cannot move without me, All day long it is, 
 * Ma, show me how to do this ;'— * Ma, do go to such a place with 
 me, or out shopping;'—' Ma, will you fix my hair, or adjust my 
 dress f— * Ma. will you just go into the parlour with m6 to see 
 my company r I cannot ko alone.* I do verilv belicTe that it 
 would be the same thing if she wera married, and that she would 
 not be willing to go to housekeeping without me. It is not so 
 with Miss Bamsey, or Miss Patersou, who were both playmates 
 of Mary's, when they were children, and you know that they ware 
 educated at boarding schools. They were amiable, modest, aud 
 accomplished young ladies; and yet they make their own dres- 
 ses ; assist their mother in keeping house ; are handy at'almost 
 •Tory thing; are always self-possessed and agreeable in their 
 manners ; and, for all I can see, love their parents just as fondly 
 as Mary does hers ; while they are not dependent upon their mam* 
 mas, as she is upon me. I do not know what Mary would do if 
 I were to be takea away from her, or what she will do when she 
 is married." 
 
 ** Well, my dear, I see yon have thought a great deal more 
 about these things than I have ; aud I am therefore willing 
 to try the experiment, next api'itig, for one session. If the ^sult 
 is satisfactory, we will continue Julia at some good boarding- 
 school until she graduates ; if not, she must come nome, and fin- 
 ish her eduoattou here." 
 
 " But, Mr. Morton, believe me, that is not the way to try th/s 
 experiment, as you call it ; it does not afford time enough to do 
 the matter justice; and I really believe that one session only 
 would be both time and money thrown away. Send her with the 
 expectation of continuing for one year, or not at all.** 
 
 ** Be it so, then ; but where shall we send her ? Have you 
 made choice of any school, in your mind P'* 
 
 " I have been thinking of two schools ; but really so far as I 
 have any means of jud^^ng, there appears to be but ''^Me, if any, 
 difference between them. Both have their minic .s of high 
 standing, who have employed, as assistants, the best teachers, I 
 am told, within their reach ; and have equal facilities, I suppose, 
 for the education of those who may be sent to them. The one is 
 at Philadelphia, and the other near New York ; and, as the for- 
 mer is rather mora uuiiveuieut for us, as well as cheaper than the 
 other, I should prefer it :— besides, it is in our own State." 
 
 '* Ah !— these Protestant schools are too expensive for me, my 
 dear ; I cannot afford to send Julia to one of ttiem. Why not 
 ■end h^ to one of the Catholic schools P'* 
 
 ** Mr. Morton, yon astonish me t— Send her to a Catholic sohooll 
 Would you have our Julia to be made a Catholic P" 
 
 X 
 
180 
 
 Ifysteries of a Convart 
 
 11 
 
 ** And w1iy» pray, ihonld that be the ^taltr I do not iee that 
 Ik followa, as a necessary result." 
 
 ** It may not as a necessary result, but it appears to me to be ft 
 iwtv natural one. I must confess that my Protestant education 
 iBMlnee me to look upon Bomish institutions with a very suspid- 
 Otts eye ; and my observation in life has but confirmed my pxein- 
 jUea on this subject, if prejudice it can be properly termed. Did 
 Bot ICiss Williams, after having been at a Catholic school for 
 rtient a year, write home to her mother, for permission to be 
 bsiptised by a priest, and join the church P And you reooUeot 
 tkat Miss Beaumont, when at our house, on her way to the nuu- 
 »eiy Mhool, where she had been for a year or two, told you that 
 •he believed the Boman Catholio to be the only true religion ; 
 fllfinir af her reason that it was more probable that the transla- 
 lion el the Bible, which was made by the Pope and his Cardinals, 
 llMmld be truer than that made by one man. King James of Eng- 
 iMkd ; and when you asked her where she had got that precious 
 yieea of information, she replied that sister Agatha had told her 
 m. And yet the parents of both these young ladies are strict 
 Vtotestants, and members of the Presbyterian Church. You, 
 dtfttbtiess, remember, too, to have heard, also, of a young lady, 
 vriMse name I do not recollect, but who was the daughter of F)ro- 
 teetant parents, and who, havingt^aduated at a Catholio school, 
 determine4 fo become a nun, and refused to leave the institution, 
 even to pay a farewell visit to her friends, before separating her- 
 self for ever from them. Indeed I have never conversed with 
 Plrotestants who had been educated by Catholio teachers, that 
 wonld suffer one word to be said, in tbeir hearing, in disparage- 
 nw nt ol that church. Now all this confirms me in the fear that, 
 if our daughter should be sent to a Catholic school, she wiU oi«' 
 thev, beoome a member of that faith, or be so weakened in her 
 attachment to fa«r own, as seriously to be injured by it, if, indeed, 
 tbe zesDll do not tend to infidelity." 
 
 " WeU, ay dear, you are certainly very eloquent on the snb- 
 Jeet, and yet you have failed to convince me that your fears have 
 any other fyiundation than prejudice ; and while, if I thought 
 tMra was any real danger, I should be quite as unwilling as your- 
 sell to expose JuKa to it, I am convinced, I must give my prefer* 
 •nee to that school which costs tbe least, provided the education- 
 al ad vaatafresarer equal; and I presume they are. I therefore 
 prefer that Jutia rtieuMt go to the nunnery school.** 
 
 "It does seem to me, Mr. Moreton, that there must be some 
 mistake as to the superior cheapness of the CathoUo schools, in 
 ftiat, whilo I admit that in appearance they are so. Are you sura 
 tiiat they are cheaper in the end f* 
 
 " I have ssen and eompared tiie oironlars put 'forth by both 
 ■ides; and certainly so far as these, in their respective statements 
 of terms, &e., afford proper data upon which to foYm an opinion, 
 the Catholic schools seem to have the decided advantage : but I 
 am awarto that, after all^ it is exceedin<!ly difficult to arrive at 
 the truth of the matter in this way. The only sure method of 
 determining tho qutetton, is to compare tbe bill as made out and 
 paid at the close of the sessions.'' 
 
 **Yes— and I know that many parents have been greatly dis- 
 appointed when they called for their bills, and found them so 
 asitek kighar than tkay had expected, by reason of ex^ra duirgtt,. 
 
that 
 
 ytjtMiSB of ft OOBTQDti 
 
 m 
 
 ■itttoMthuktoMoalttiedifleraBoeiatlMappsraiit ooftof edit* 
 eation at theM Oatholio aohools, as set forth ia these oinmlaM. 
 And VtmOi tlMre is sudh a thing, yoa know, as finding » oheap ar- 
 tiele of little real Talne after yon hare bought it, when a siMll 
 addition to the outlay at the time of purohase would have bought 
 one infinitely superior, and of permanent worth. 
 
 '*WeU, my dear, it grows late: suppose we defet the further 
 oonsideratlon of this matter for a few days, until I shall return 
 Irem Kaw York, where I must go, next week, for goods." 
 
 8* <^Fing, the subjeot was dropped for the present ; and, ICary 
 ftaviag returned from the partT, after a lively conTersation iipDu 
 the incidents of the evening that she had spent at theii iMigh- 
 bauc'% the family retired fov the n^ht. 
 
 •OHAFTEB Xm. 
 
 Mr. IfdMtOB tlslts New Tork-Hia eouTenatlofl with Mr. Tsndaiietf— Its 
 sffMt npsB Mr. Moieton— Mr. Ysnduaen's letter to the Mother Supeiioi. 
 
 Dnlnrtt the following week^ Mr. Moreton went to New York, to 
 purohase goods; aaid, while Mtting in the counting-room of 
 Messrs. Yandusen and Co., with whom he dealt largely, waiting 
 for his bUls to be mside out, the senior partner remarked to him— 
 
 ** By the way, Mr. Moreton, yon have a family, have you not t" 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the reply—** a wife and five children; three of 
 wllom are daughters." 
 
 <* Where are tou educating them f" asked the merchant. 
 
 '* The oldest nas finished her education," returned Mr. l^ore- 
 ton*— ** but the next oldest ought to be sent to a boarding-school 
 loitaewhere, and I must confess I am greatly at a loss where to 
 place her. I would like to send her to the Catholic school at 
 Bethlehem, because it is so much cheaper than our Protestant 
 schools ; but Mrs. Moreton is so opposed to trusting her daugh- 
 ter in the handeof the Catholics, that I do not like to say posi- 
 tivelv she shall go there." 
 
 "Itievery natnral, indeed, that the women should feel thus 
 opposed to these Catholic schools. My wife, for instance, was 
 Violently opposed to them ; but they are, after all, the best schools, 
 my dear sir, depend upon it. Oiur oldest daughter has been for 
 two years at the convent school, some fifty miles from this city ; 
 netwithstanding the opposition of her mother, who reluctantly 
 yielded to my wishes in the matter; and I assure you that she is 
 making most astonishing progress in her studies. Mrs. Vandu- 
 •eu, findiuff this to be the case, has becoue quite reconciled, and 
 BOW sees the folly of her former dislike to these institutions." 
 
 "But you have a very excellent boarding school in your own 
 dty, I am told, conducted by a Presbyterian minister;' I should 
 have thought that you would have patronized that school, as you 
 belong to that denomination/' remarked Mr. Moreton, in an in- 
 terrogative tone. 
 
 ** So I do belong to that denomination, my dear rir, but I do 
 not feel as if I were under any obligation, for that reason, to pay 
 thy per cent, more for the education of my danghter at a Fkes- 
 bytenaa ashool, ttkan I would have to pay at one belonging to 
 
18ft 
 
 Mysteries of a GonTeiLt 
 
 the Cbfholiot. These Firoteitaat lohoolB are too high for me, ICr. 
 Moreton ; I cannot stand their onoonsoionable prices/' 
 
 ** That is Jost what I told Mrs. Moreton ;"— was the reply, in s 
 tone that evinced the gratification of the speaker at ilnding that 
 he was not mistaken in his Tiews, as expressed to his wife ; for 
 he was exceedingly tenaoions of his opinions—" but she was un- 
 der the impression that the extras which are charged in the bills, 
 made the Oatholic schools the most expensire, after all." 
 
 '* It is a mistake, my dear sir, depend upon it,"— said the mer- 
 ohant— ** at least such has not been my experience ; and the * truth 
 of the pudding'— you know the rest. I surely ought to know all 
 about it, after two years' experience." 
 
 Mr. Moreton felt perfectly satisfied upon the point of expense, 
 but asked Mr. Yandusen to tell him, candidly, what he thought 
 about the efforts of the priests and nuns to proselyte Protestant 
 children to the Bomish faith ; and whether he had any reason to 
 belieye that they had tunperedwith the religious faith of his 
 daughter. 
 
 ** It is all humbug. Sir *,"— replied the latter, with some warmth 
 of manner, — " the result of sectarian bigotry. I am astonished, 
 as a practical man, that sensible people should have raised such 
 a hue and cry about the proselyting disposition of the Oatholics. 
 I assure you that I do not believe a word of it." 
 
 Mr. Moreft6n thanked the merchant for his information, and 
 expressed his determination to send his daughter, the next spring, 
 to the Oatholic school at Bethlehem. 
 
 "But,y replied Mr. Yandusen, " is not that too near home, sir P 
 My advice to you would be, not to send your daughter where she 
 would be anxious to come home every week, because it was so 
 short a distance to travel, and where she would be dissatisfied if 
 she did not get to visit her friends frequently ; but to place her 
 at school at such a distance as to make it inconvenient for her to 
 
 go home oftener than once in six months, since her mind would 
 e undisturbed by the proximity of her relations, and her pro* 
 gress in her studies would conseouently be the greater;" and as- 
 sured Mr. Moreton that he considered the school to which he sent 
 his own daughter, the very best in all the country. 
 
 Oonvinced by his arguments, Mr. Moreton thanked the mer- 
 duint again, and, having settled his bills, bade him farewell, and 
 returned to the hotel where he was stopping. 
 
 No sooner had he left the counting-room, than Mr. Yandusen, 
 with great glee expressed in his countenance, sat down at hie 
 desk, and wrote the following letter, which he despatched to the 
 post office. 
 
 " New Tork, December 6, 1810. 
 
 *' To the Mother Superior of the Ck>nvent of the Annunciation. 
 **DkabMat)Aji, 
 
 "I have just had a long conversation with one of my custom- 
 ers, a Mr. Charles Moreton, of Pennsylvania. He is a wealthy 
 merchant, having two daughters to be educated ; one of whom he 
 will no doubt send to you next spring ; and the other, in due time, 
 if he should be pleased. I found his head full of the usual no- 
 tions about extras, and proselyting, and all that, but succeeded in 
 sweeping the cobwebs from his brain. I think yon may certain- 
 ly calculate upon his bringing you his daughter in the sprin». 
 
 riu cieoitmy aooount with twenty dcX- 
 
 When ihA anives, you wi 
 
XTsteries of a ConTBni 
 
 las 
 
 aooording to onr oontraot. I hope my danghtei't faealth b 
 
 aud that she projtresses well in iier studies. The affair of 
 
 oomeson swiifamingly. I shall, without doubt, get 
 
 that money secured to the order. 
 
 " With the h^;he8t consideration, I remain 
 
 "Your unworthy servant, 
 
 and 
 
 CHAFTEB ZI7. 
 
 Mr Voreton^ sanguine partiality to Catholic schools— Mrs. HoretonV 
 fears and doabto— Julia sent ju a boarder to the Oonvent of the An- 
 nnneiation— Mr. and Mrs. Moreton attend the first ezamination— Ba* 
 gaging manners of the Mother Superior— Extras— The parents reoelve 
 alarmmg intelligence— Distress and anxiety— Mr. Moreton hastens to 
 snatdi bis child from her impending doom— Arrives at the OoiiTen^ 
 and demands to see his daughter— Falsehood and treacltery of the Mo- 
 ther Saperior-Jolia rushes into her &ther's arms, and is home by 
 him flrom the hatred Convent. 
 
 WBKir Mr. Moreton returned home, be related to his wife th« 
 conversation which had taken place between himself and Mr. 
 Yandusen ; laying great stress upon the fact that the latter was 
 a member of the Presbyterian Church,— than which none had a 
 more inveterate hostility towards the Catholics, or had done more 
 to expose the errors of their doctrines, or the enormity of their 
 practices ; and, as he said, it spoke volumes in refutation of the 
 slanders which bad been heaped upon the Catholics, that a Pras« 
 byterian should bear such testimony as he had borne to the ez« 
 cellence of the convent school, the cheapness of its ter^is, and the 
 absence of intention or effort to proselyte the children of Protea- 
 taut parents. Withal, the fact that he was sending his own 
 daughter to this same school, and bis highly respectable standing 
 as a merchant, forbad^ the idea of any insincerity, or want ol 
 aufiicient intelligence upon the subject. 
 
 Still Mrs. Moreton was not convinced, in spite of all this array 
 of imposing testimony ; and, while her husband gently insinuat- 
 ed that she was very obstinate in her prejudices, she could not 
 wholly rid her mind of apprehension, or be brought to believe 
 that there was no real danger incurred in sending Julia to a 
 Catholic school. 
 
 But finding that it was useless to argue the matter any further 
 with Mr. Moreton, she reluctantly yielded the point ; hoping that 
 she might be able to fortify Julia s mind so strongly af^aiust the 
 wiles and sophistry of a crafty priesthood, so that she might safe- 
 ly pass the fiery ordeal which sne fully believed was about to be 
 placed before her child ; and when, in the following spring, the 
 time fixed for the departure of Julia with her father for the oon« 
 vent school, arrived ; and the vehicle which bore them away, re- 
 ceded from her view, she returned from the street door into her 
 sitting room, with a heavy heart; feeling as though a dark cloud, 
 surchfcrgel with evil, bad gathered over herself and family. 
 
 On bis return, after having placed Julia at school, his wife had 
 a tbousand anxious questions to be answered ; all of which he 
 answered so readily, and with such apparent satisfaeftoH to him- 
 
f 
 
 134 
 
 Vyslaries of a Gonreni 
 
 Mil ttuift hn liMurii wvn qoidted, and hope gained fhe Moendaat. 
 He infonnad her that, .on theiir arriTal at ue oonrent, after a f a- 
 ticving but rather pleaeant joamey of lour days, the Mother Sa» 
 perior, whom he represented as a lovely French woman, in tha 
 prime of life, and of most elegant manners, received him with tha 
 
 greatest kindness, and throwing her arms around Julia, kissed 
 er afFeotionately, welcoming her to the institution, and promis- 
 ing to be a mother to her, while she continued there ; that Julia 
 had found one or two old acquaintances among the pupils, and 
 seemed to be satisfied ; and tbat^ on his expressing a wish that 
 his daughter's principles should m vp way be interfered with, sha 
 assured him, in the most frank and positive manner, that he need 
 not entertain any fears on that subject, as they had no desire to 
 nftke proselytes of the children of Protestant parentsi 
 
 ** In shoit/' added Mr. Moreton, " she is one of the i|U>st agree- 
 able ladies I have ever met with ; and X feel well assured that 
 our daughter is placed in good hands." 
 
 Five months passed awav, and the summer vaoation oama on. 
 14^. Moreton and his lady had attended the examination ; and, 
 although Julia's progpress did not meet their expectation, vettiiey 
 supposed that this might be attributed to the novelty of the posu 
 tion ia. which she had been placed -away from home, among 
 strangers, for the first time in her life— and they indulged the 
 hope that sh^jwonld dabetter, the next session. 
 
 On calling for his bill, he was surprised to find that it was larger 
 than he had anticipated. There was so much charged as an <!ae- 
 tra item for this, and so much for that ; so much for fuel, and for 
 room rent, and for stationery, and for medical attendance, al- 
 though she had not been sick an hour durin|[ the entire time ; 
 and so much for store goods, &o. ; amounting m all to some thir- 
 ty or forty per cent, more than he had expected. Unwilling, 
 however, to dispute the account ; fascinated as he was by the ele- 
 gant manners of the Mother Superior, and gratified by the de- 
 ference and respect which were shown tb himself and wife, by aJl 
 the inmates of the family, he paid the bill, without a word of com- 
 plaint ; resolving in his own mind, that for the future, be would 
 take CMure tb avoid all extras, by furnishing every thing from 
 home, as fur as practicable, and by prohibiting the opening of 
 store aeeeunte for his daughter's use. Besides, he pnded him- 
 eelf, as a business man, upon bis tact and foresight ; and, Mrs. 
 Moreton being present, when the settlement was made with the 
 accountant, though she was engaged in conversation with the 
 Mother Superior, he was very unwilling that she should know 
 that be had been outwitted ; especially when so much had been 
 said on this very point, prior to placing Julia in the institution. 
 
 Julia appeared plsased to revisit her home ; but her mother wap 
 pained to find thaJt she did not manifest as great an attachment 
 to it, as before leaving it for school ; and that she more than once 
 wished for the time to come when her father was to take hw 
 back. She found, too; that her daughter loved to talk of the Mo- 
 ther Superior, and of sister this, and sister that, fre<;[uently extol- 
 ling their great kinduAw to her, their piety, and their happy con- 
 dition ; seeming to tbink that the life of a nun was the very beau- 
 ideal, with her, of human happiness on earth. When Mrs. More< 
 ton would attempt to combat this notion, she found Julia disposed 
 to be wayward, and to resent the attempt as aQ inpul^ by impU- 
 
l^ysteiiai of a GojiTeni 
 
 186 
 
 mUob, off»rttd to tboM whom the lo highly etteemod. Knowing 
 horimpulsiyanatore, howvrer, and how every noreUy that ploMM 
 her was wont to effect her mind, the thouffnt this a mere girliah 
 effenreaoanoe of momentary excitement, and that after a while^ 
 when the noTelty had worn oft, ihe would lee thing* in n truer 
 light. ^ 
 
 At length oame the day for Julia'a return to sehool ; and hev 
 mother, haTing given her mueh excellent advice, and made her 
 promise to write, either to herself or to her father, once a fort* 
 niffht, bade her adieu. Arrived at the convent^ Mr* Moreton and 
 Julia were received with similar demonstrations of kindness to 
 those which had marked their first reception^ while there seemed 
 to be more of familiar cordialitv in the attentions fMdd to them; 
 and the former, having given the necessary instructions as to lili 
 daughter's expenses, left her ; congratulanng himself that he Jiad 
 effectually guarded against heavy bills, for the future. 
 
 The feoond session had expired, during which Julia's letters 
 had been received reftularly, in keeping with her promise ; an4» 
 there being no vacation between that and the ensuing aessien, 
 she did not come home, her father's business engagements pus* 
 venting him from going to her; but, as her mother's anxiety 
 ^bout her was greatl v quieted by the rei^ularitv with which her 
 letters arrived, and the imi>rovement both in style and penman- 
 ship which they indicated, it was determined that she should m« 
 main for the third term. 
 
 But after Julia had been thus at school, fifteen months, and 
 when her parents were congratulating themselves upon the so* 
 lection which they had ma& of a school for her^albeit Mr. 
 Moreton had ascertained, beyond all q^uestion, that in point of 
 economy he had gained nothing, since it had cost him somethiojg; 
 more, at this professedly cheap school, for the education of his 
 dvigfater, thns far, than it would have cost him at Froteitant 
 schools, which had been denounced as being so unconscionably 
 eitravagant in their charges; a letter was received from Juli^ 
 which filled their minds with dismay and deep anxiety lor the 
 future. It was writtoi at great length, evidently with studied 
 care, and in a style so whofly different from her former letbenL 
 or from anything that might have been reasonably expected of 
 her. as to convince them that she had not written ft benell^ but 
 eopied it from the dictation of others. 
 
 After thanking her parents, in very measured terms, forth^r 
 care and affection hitherto manifested towards her, and particu- 
 larly for having plaMd her at the convent school, where she bad 
 enjoyed so rare advantage, and spent the happiest period of her 
 existence— she proceeded to state that, without any efforts hav- 
 ing been made, on the part of her teachers, to bias her mind, or 
 to change her relifrious faith, she had become convinced that the 
 Oatholio was the oalj true faith ; that all beside was heresy; and 
 that she felt it to be her imperative duty to join the OttthoUo 
 church, and, at the proper age, to become a nun ; but that the 
 respect— that was the cold word which she addressed to her kind 
 and affectionate parents -^the respect which she entertained fbr 
 them, constrained her to ask their consent, before she took aoim- 
 portent a step—adding, that she hoped they would not withhold 
 this, since, in that event, she must obey God rather than man, 
 •nd should pixMMedf in spite of their ref os^U 
 
186 
 
 XysteiieB of a GonTeni 
 
 ' , Kon« hah thoie who live onlv for fhoir ebildmi, ftnd fetl HhaM 
 iheM wonttitute the ood and object of all their plans and pur- 
 poMttCan imagine the feeling! whioh rushed tumultuonsly into 
 the bosoms of the father and mother, as they perused this harrow- 
 ing letter. They seemed to themselves to haye been sleeping, in 
 fancied security, on the very brink of a frightful predpioe, and 
 to have suddenly awakened to find it cnifnbling nnder them, and 
 ready to carry them with it, in its headloL^ plunge into the yawn- 
 ing abyss beneath. The mother sat in speechless grief: while 
 the scalding tears ran down her cheeks. The father, feeling thai 
 hii own peniurionsness had rendered him deaf to the wamingfi of 
 his wife, when her fears led her, in the outset, to depieoato tha 
 stn» that had wrought this mischief, was self •reproached and 
 ■elf-eondeiiined; yet, reoollectinff that the interposition of Ua 
 anthoriif might and could arert the impending eril. did not giva 
 way to bis feelings, but stood pale, stem, and with oontraebe^ 
 brow, thinking what course he had best pursae* For some min- 
 utes, neither nttered a word. 
 
 It was noon— and the untasted meal had for some timettood 
 nnnoticed on the board : no member of that unusually so hapwf 
 ftomi!y felt any inclination to partake of it. There thev sat, astt 
 death, or worse than death, had snatched away one beloTcd of 
 all. At length the mother, with a strong effort, broke the pain- 
 ful silence, ami said, in the tones of one nerved by urgent !•• 
 solution to « aecisive step. 
 
 ** Mr. Moreton. we must go to Jllilia. She cannot xedst the ap- 
 {Mal of a mothers love. We will save her yet." 
 
 ** We will start at once," was the prompt reply of the deter- 
 mined fktber; and, gfving immediate orders that the carriage 
 should be got ready, they were soon on their way to rescue thmv 
 child fom the imminent ruin which threatened. 
 
 Having travelled as rapidly as possible, they arrived at tha 
 oonvenL In the afternoon of the third day nom home ; and, whilt 
 tiie mother remainad in the oarriaee at the outside gate, in ao« 
 cordance with the plan which haa been previoasly adopted f(nr 
 their government Mr. Moreton hastened up the long avcinucL 
 heavilv shaded with lar^re forest trees, through Which it wound 
 its tortuous way— fit emblem of the practices of those who dwelt 
 within that darlc and gloomy pile of imprisonment and shame; 
 and, knocking at the hall>aoor, demanded to see the Superior. 
 The sister porter invited )^m into the parlour, where presently 
 he was joined by the ladyiii^iiose elej^ant manners had so fascin- 
 ated his judgment, on thur fifst interview, but whom he was now 
 disposed to regard as the most treachercfus of her sex ; since she 
 had betrayed the sacred trust-committed to her hands by confid- 
 ing patents, for he could not doubt that this woman was at the 
 bottom of his daughter's defection. 
 
 She met blm with ouusual affability, and an appearance of the 
 utmost gratificfition at seeing him ; and was proceeding to make 
 inquiry as to the health of Mrs. Moreton and the family, when he 
 interrupted her by saying, — 
 
 ** I wish to see my daughter, madam." 
 
 IRTith a most winning smile upon her countenance^ the SupiN, 
 tibr replied— 
 
 "I regret Tezy much that you cannot now see Julia, sir; sha 
 has been somewhat indisposed, but has fallen asleep: and ^ 
 would be tojnrious to her to ftw»k4 her." 
 
 ^- 
 
MjritarleB of a Oonfoii 
 
 187 
 
 Sfttbflad thai fhif WM A in«ri ran, on flM pwtof fli« Sopnldr, 
 
 togalntim«, or to aoeompltoh mid* othe* purpoM of borowa, 
 
 ' tlie iodigOMit father, throwing off tho rMU«int whioh, until this 
 
 moment, he had maintfiaed «poa himmlf^ ooriad, in tones of great 
 
 oztfitemont; 
 
 **Uy daaghter, Madam:Iwa&tm]rdanghter. Where Is shaf 
 
 * Ton oannot see your daaghter, sir," replied the Superior, wtth 
 oool self-possession, still retaining a bland smila npon b«r oooa- 
 tenanoe. ** She is ill in bed, and oannot be seen." 
 . ** I am her father,andmustseeher;''— and, as hofhwspdBi^ 
 with Increased energy of manner, he took a step iommui u 
 though he would force his wav to the apartment of Ua dNaghtstf. 
 
 The Superior, howerer, antadpating his purpose, instantly rois^ 
 and, intisroepting him, stood fall in his way. between him and the 
 doof . Then, drawing herself up to her full height, while she as- 
 sumed an air of offended dignity,— a slight flush of exdtement 
 ' ig upon her really beautiful oountownce,— answered quiet* 
 
 playiui 
 vTbut 
 
 , utut firmly— 
 
 * I rule here, rir ; and I say to ybu that you cannot see your 
 dalighter. 1 say to you, further, that tht does no;, wish to sea 
 
 ** Does not wish to see her father P What does this mean f— 
 inquired Mr. Moreton, his whole manual indio«.ting the greatest 
 BonKtise and agitation of soul. 
 
 *vBeoau8e she * m renounced you, together with all the Tula 
 ties of this sinful world, and claims the protection of thissano* 
 tuarr;"— haughtily answered the Superior. 
 
 "It is false!"— thundered the outraged parent, who, now 
 wrought up to the highest pitch c 1 excitement, was about to push 
 the Superior aside, and would doubtless have committed some act 
 of violence, but, just at this moment, his daughter, who had by 
 some means learned ^e arrival of her father, or heard his voice 
 in altercation with the Mother Superior, rushed into the room, 
 her dress greatly disordered, and, passing by the latter, who tried 
 in vain to arrest her, threw herselz into liis arms^ crying, in aov 
 cents which thrilled to his inmost soul—** Father, save Ine I 0, 
 lave me!" 
 
 Clasping h(v to his bosom with an energy that mocked all in- 
 terference, for he was a powerful man, the father cast a look of 
 proud defiance upon the no longer mild and placid Superior— 
 who, with the countenance of a demon, and the eye of an infuri- 
 ated tigress, that had just had snatched from her. jaws the prey 
 which she was about to share with the whelps, advanced as 
 though she would tear Julia from the grasp of her natural pro- 
 tector;— an<i, pushing her outstretched arm aside, hastene<l with 
 the almost fainting child to her mother ; who, meanwhile, too re- 
 mote to see or to hear what had passed, waited in great anxiety 
 the return of her husband to the carriage. 
 
 The reader can imagine how pleasant was the surprise to Mrs. 
 Moreton, and what must have been the revulsion of her feelings, 
 when Julia, throwing herself upon hjr bosom, and putting her 
 arms around her necx, cried, in a voice almost choked with emo* 
 tion—** Forgive me, my dearest mother; I will never leave you 
 agidn." ^ 
 
 Driving rapidly away, Mr. Moreton went to the neighbouring 
 Tlllago, where he banded to a friend a sum of monejr n aces saiy 
 
"MpM/B of ft CtofniU 
 
 t»f»f bli4*nglitor*tbiU«l flM«oaTtDt,togta«rwllh tm n9m 
 lortk«4fli«H7ofJbMrolottdBc;«iidtlMatiinM4bi0honii' hmk 
 
 OHAPTBB ZY. 
 
 JNOUtmmMn ipt<WMaatartftilowi<toat<f «m Xothit 
 Bor lb* Iittw WM wrote. 
 
 I>DvmllMjoim«/lioiDewMd,Mid«ftorlh«7liad iMdiMdIhali 
 dMur tpofci-^OTtr wniob bad lo noentlT galhand thiok gloom Mid 
 doop toRov. bat wbora •anabino ftnd gludwmi now ni«t«^^ 
 JuliiinUtedtobariMUDmUwbatbAdtnwcpiraddiuciiig thetMM 
 tbst thm bad ipwit at tha aoovant aabool, tba noat pcwBinaQl fi 
 wbieb it ban iuaguoaarily laid bafora tba laadar. 
 It aaaaa tbat, on bar aniTal at tba ooaTant» wbaa fint btomAift 
 
 i f aToorita, botb wiftb^M 
 
 ly, bar talant at rflfar* 
 
 «««i «m Bw««»iw wHiMwiMvj, «Hu uw isvuwtoaiQaiii ga^nad tba nh 
 
 rt, and woi\ tba affaotion, ol all, from tba Motbar Sanailof 
 n to tba lowast manial. Tba formar loon flzadapoa&avai 
 a aoitabla anbjact ol wbiob to maba a uaef ol and valoaSla ao^nd* 
 •ition to tbf order; and, witb tba qniok paroaption of airtnam 
 ■kicd traiaad under Jaauit influence, raaduy diaooTarad tba] 
 
 bar neaTpuipota, tbat Julia only beoama awar^ id it at tba rm 
 laat nomant, ai it ware, and ttien only tbroqgb tba iuitruoiaoC* 
 alify of ona wbo bad prarioudy fallen a ^otim to tba aama aitt- - 
 fioe^ and wbo pariabad in tba lame ooili. 
 
 Duriac tba firat aaaaion of tbe aobool, tba Mofihar SfiHvIor (HA 
 aattiag mora than gain tba affeotiona of tba yonng girl; ww 
 >aovi^ that thii must be a firat itep, and that intbtheaa bar oon- 
 fidenoa would be aequired aa a necessarr oonieauanoa. Inordwr 
 to do this, she treated her witb diitinguiihed undneia; aUpwwg 
 bar many priTilegaa which were not granted to otber8;andap- 
 eanrafing bar frequent yiaita, in tba aTeninga, to bar priTala jfV" 
 lowr^'HATa when tbe Fatbar Qeneral came to aae bar— whava rat 
 waa awa to find •Qmething nice to eat, and aometbing tbat would 
 intaraet bar mind ; bar taate in both r^^tt being oaref (illy aoa- 
 Bulted. 8ba placed in the hands of Julia, rare and beautiful pip- 
 tuiea, lapiMWtingtha miraolea and prominent incidents in ttia 
 Uvea of tna Saints of the Ohurob and would have ber to read aloud 
 interaattng passages from their history. She would also apeak to 
 JuUa of tuMO ; while tba sUvery notes of her Toice would fi^ like 
 sweet music upon the ear. and the girl's entbosiastio aouji would - 
 be anrapt by tba magic of ber discnptiTe and narratiya powers. 
 AU day Icong, Julia's studies were enlivened, and ber tasks mada 
 liriiter. by tba anticipation of spending an cTening in tba Supeii- 
 orm privata apavtmenti wbare ayery tmng was so aaug and so o6ip«> . 
 
 But all tbia time not a word waa aaid about tbe peculiar dog^ 
 maa ai tba Bomiab religion, aaya in tba most Tiavelea^ and, m tt 
 wsfa^ aaoictoDtal mtnnar; not* diir«ip(Mt|Ail aUnrfaii to tb» ?:r9t^ 
 
•^^^^^^^B^^w w» ^ ^p^^vvvvm*^ 
 
 w 
 
 i 
 
 Utt lkhUl kwu MMo«Mii «l an, it w«* wifhtb* vtmoit impifsal 
 liiiisMt«lfMUBff,wi4<fiUtiMgnfttMtihMr of MtuSTmtlM 
 for titOM who boM it. }?«i(bor ww JuUft nquind to oomply, «| 
 ■aj timo, with Bomiali f craui md Qr^ 9Mi larthor th«iiwMg«o* 
 •lulj oapootodirom all Fiotoitant a»Mpils; bat, if • pMoUarif inn 
 tMMting or imposliig lorfioo wm to bo imfonnod, nor wtiodtf 
 to witooM it WM avootad, boforohMid, dt slow and nadoalap" 
 pica^aa whioh wholly oi ooaalad from tisw tha raal oojaot; and* 
 altar it waa ov^Ti it would be intioduoad in tha mot t jMtnra) inan- 
 aar imanioabla, aa • to|^ of oonvarMtion, aod io aa to land an 
 ■idaat and imaginatiTo mind to ioqnira iato ita pnrport 
 
 That, without i^paaringto taaktt|fr9auant opiiortunltf Wii 
 afforded for tha fiplanation of Oathoiio nogmaa, and their im» 
 planatinn in Julia'a tender mind, before abe waa arare of it No 
 wonder, then, if with auch a nature aa liere, impulfi?e,,oonfidin& 
 and enthnaiaitio ; fond of novelty, and delighting in exoitenieni; 
 with 10 maeh around her to fumiah aliment for her mental app«> 
 tiffM ; and, added to all thia, the preeenoe of a maatar apirit— wm 
 aurongwilled, unaompuloua— which knew well how to oootrol aad 
 adjuit thia oompUeated maohinery for the produotioa of tha 
 lameat reiulte in the aooompliahment of ita own oooult purpoaaa; 
 Jttfia ahould have been ao fully, yet unoonaotoudy, trained by tha 
 Mother Superior, in the short spaoe of five mootha, aa to ha madn 
 to think and feel Jnat aa the Utter miirht wUl that aba ahould ; 
 aud to be ripe for the doTelopment of her plana, on Julia'a return 
 from heme, at the dose of the summer vaaation. Ko wonder, too» 
 ttittk, wider the eiroumstaooea of false oolouring whioh had be<Ma 
 thrown around her, she should regard the life of a nun aa htistg 
 tha fullaat embodiment of human f elioity ; aa all aunahine, witii* 
 ottt an obecuring olond, or fitting rack, to dim for an inatanoa ita 
 litiaihtoaaa* . 
 
 ^ On bar satum from home, however, after the yaoatlont therioh 
 poUtieiM, Into wfaoae hands the unwary girl had ao nnfortuoataly 
 fallen, began to narrow the oirde of her toila, and to bring tham 
 to bear mora directly upon l^e focal point of her scheminga, 1%a 
 first object to be aeooaa^lished waa to deatror bw eonfidence to 
 her own religiona fwith ; and although this had, to » certain aistaK^ 
 been oavertly but auecessf uUy, dona^ yet the completion af Hm 
 work was to be cautiously effected, or (P[^t mischin to tha |dana 
 of the Snperior miffht be the result. The sodal eyenings apent 
 in her room afforded suitable opportunities for this ; and, ai it 
 waa mora thMi likely that Julia would not return home befoffo tha 
 opiratian of ten months, time was not wanting. Besides, how 
 really easy the task with a young girl who had been soimpeiiaot- 
 ly instructed, as she necessarily was, in the principles of her faith. 
 Before tiie third month had elapsed, the eudwas gained :--Frote8- 
 tantism was rejected, and it became a lights affair to substitute Ro- 
 manism in its stead. Ou the day before the session closed, Julia 
 waa bap^xed in the chapel, and became a member of the Bom«n 
 OatiioliiB cliurob. *" 
 
 All thia time, there had been no compulsion. Led in ailkfoi f et- 
 ters, Julia neyer for a moment supposed that aha waa captiToto 
 the iron will of another, but seemed to herself to have taken itep 
 by atep, wholly of her own accord; until not onlv waa effected 
 what we haTa aaen, bat she had been made to baUerathat it waa 
 xifl^nndsfopartooonoaalfromharpazenta what had ooounnd* 
 
i4a 
 
 l^yBtBilet of ft OosTBnb 
 
 Kaj, flMVib Uuit It WM right and proper to doeolt* thtm mIo Iht 
 tmo tUte oihtr fMlinn, and make th«m oonelado, from Mioioo* 
 or of h«r letters, that 100 wu ttill a Arm adharent to Um faith of 
 bar anoantm ; ** the eod'-yonr deTotton to the Mrrioa of Ckd and 
 
 tho YirRin," aaid thalfother Sap«rior-*« wUl lanotify tha 1 
 »tha dtoaption of her host friendt, her parente. 
 
 Kow thM ahe «ra« a member of the OathoUo ohmreh, iha 
 more than ever in the power of the Superior, and iubjeot to hat 
 control ; while the latter, in her torn, found inoreaied means ol 
 exerdeMit that power, in the impodnff oeremoniee, the mjitio^m* 
 bole, the thrilling muiio, the demonuiaing confemional, and tbi 
 oonitant appeali made to the Innate iapentition of poor fallen 
 human nanue; indeed, in all that pertains to the ritual of thai 
 ehnroh. In these, Julia found exoitement i in these, thefefom^ 
 she took an enthusiastio delight ; and whenerer, on the reoeptloa 
 of a letter from home, or from any other oanse, old associatirai 
 and old attaohmente would linger about the hearthstone of ma* 
 mory, and rekindle Ito embers, tne Mother Superior, from whop 
 i^e oonoealed nothing, would promptlv but adroitly smother theas. 
 until she became completely weaned from all that were once most 
 dear to her ; and her great anzietv aow was not to be recalled 
 home, from the scenes and pursuits in which her happiness seem* 
 ed to be so completely inTolved. 
 
 She wai Saow in a fit stete of mind to* be influenced to take fha 
 remainiDB steps, and to be mada a permanent member of the fa- 
 mily in which she resided ; in other words, to become a nun. At 
 this was a step, howerer, in which she could be forcibly contrail* 
 ed by her parents, at least until she was of age ; and as the Mac 
 ther Supenor had now sained all that was immediately necessaiv 
 to Uie uitiiDato accomplishment of her great design ; she deteiw 
 mined to awaitithe close of the ensuing session, whi<diwastobf 
 her last before anything further should be done ;.and, meanwhile^ 
 to do all in her power to confirm and esteblisU Julia in her new 
 faith. 
 
 Thus things progressed until within a few weeks of the tsv- 
 mination of the third session, when the Mother Superior, hafing 
 prepared a letter which she thought would answer the purpose^ 
 
 £ laced it in Julia's hands to be copied. After numerous altera* 
 ions and corrections, which suggested themselves from time to, 
 time, had been made, this letter was finally sent to Mr. Moreton. 
 but, by some unaccountable detention in the post office, did not 
 reach him as soon as it should hare done, by at least ten days. 
 This delay was the salyation of Julia, as wiU be shown in thafoU 
 lowing chapter. 
 
 OHAFTEB XVL 
 
 Bister Theresa, her aufferings and destb—Her dying wsming to Jalta->Its 
 effect upon Julia— The Mother Superior's rage In the chamber it death 
 —The Father Qeneral't base scheme to onrush the order-^Thc Mother 
 Snpetlor in a dilemma. 
 
 Iv appears, from Julia's recital to her parents, that, wh Jo ram- 
 bling over the oonvent building, one day, she found, lying upon 
 t psSlet of straifi with ragged and insufficient bed-doth^ S|ii«ii4 
 
faith of 
 OodMd 
 
 ■Im wm 
 
 ,- tohw 
 
 mMDt 9i 
 
 fitiosjato 
 LandtiM 
 >r fftUM , 
 
 OftlMft 
 IWVfoiiL 
 
 -iptfcm 
 ktiou 
 piaofoM. 
 n whop 
 wrthwB, 
 noaouMl 
 noaUad 
 
 Mjvtflrltt of a (^MToit 
 
 HI 
 
 taka fha 
 fthelh. 
 an. Am 
 BontroU- 
 thelio. 
 
 a detMW 
 raatobf 
 anwhila, 
 
 lar aaw 
 
 thatar- 
 
 »haTing 
 
 parpoaa^ 
 
 laltara- 
 
 timato, 
 
 [ontoa.' 
 
 didnw 
 
 1 daya. 
 
 thalol. 
 
 Ita-^fis 
 >fdettli 
 Mother 
 
 rvpoa 
 
 tftr har.iiiaiaull foom, ia a mnota and vathar oaoaeavladporb 
 lion of tiia Taak pOa, a poor nun, whoaa oonntananoa J>ora thi 
 Ir&uea of ntat baaaty, but who was fearf allr waatad bjrdiaaaaa 
 ■ad ■aflhnng. DiaooTaring, on oonTaraing with har^that aha waa 
 .ftiaatly naglactad by tha mambaraof tha honsahold, Julia raqaaat- 
 
 a and obtainad, penniaaion, from tha Mothar Baparior. to viail 
 nun, which waa tha mora raadily ((rantad baoanaa tha lattw 
 faally knaw nothinff about tha toua ooudition of on* who had long 
 baan loat aight of by bar aa an helplaaa and minad Tiotim« aava 
 aa bar nama waa from tima to tima raportad upon tha aiek liat. 
 Wtom that day on until tha poor nun diad, Julia apant an hour 
 or mora br her bed-aide, •rwtt day, and oooaaionallV a»t up with 
 bar. a portion of the nistht. Her kiodneaa to Siater Theraaa— for 
 that waa tha name of thia poor nun, whom the reader will reool- 
 laet aa having had an intenriew with the Father Oaneral, in tha 
 oonvant garden at midnight— aoon won her grateful affection ; 
 aad, aa her light footatepa would be heard d.'uly aaoaoding tha 
 itaira on her errand of meroy, Thereaa'a oountenanoe would beam 
 with gladaeaa. So'metimea, when Julia would be aeated by her 
 bad'Mda, ahe would look up in her face, with a amile of heartfelt 
 gratitude, and would preaa her hand eameatly, while tha big team 
 wonld atart to her aye, and triokle down her oheek, aa ahe whia- 
 pared a prayer to tha virgin, for bleaainga on her benefaotreaa. 
 
 On the morning of tha very day upon whioh Mr. Moraton reaoh* 
 ad the oonrent, aa related in the cnapter preceding tha laat, Ju- 
 lia paid her uaual Tiait to her patient, aa ahe callea her, and waa 
 alarmed to ilnd her a great deal worae than ahe had been preTi< 
 onaly. Taking her by the hand, Siater Theraaa aaid to her, in 
 tonea of deep emotion,—'* Dear Julia, I am dying : I feel that I 
 aannot Uto much longer; and beoauae I love yon for your I^reto 
 na, and for your charity to a poor deaarted nun, I wiah to give 
 TOO a aolemn charge, aa from the lipa of a dving woman ; which 
 ft would embitter my laat momenta to withhold from ^on, while 
 it ia tli "^ beat return I can make for your exceeding kindneaa to 
 BM. Kerer conaent to become a nun." 
 
 Julia atarted back, aa though aha had been etnng hj an adder, 
 and aeemed to doubt if ahe had heard arixht, or aa if aha thonght 
 that tha poor nun, might be out of her head. 
 
 Siater Thereaa read her thcughta ; and, again taking her hand, 
 and preaaing it eameatlv {a her own, repeated the charge in a 
 atill more aolemn and inipreaaiye manner than before. Julia 
 wonld have apoken, but the nun aaid to her — " liaten to me. I 
 had thought that my melancholy atory would hare died with ma ; 
 ■ad, indeed, I know not that I ahall hare atrength to relate it to 
 you ; yet, deeply indebted to you aa I am, I cannot better em- 
 ploy my remainmg atrength than in communicating that which 
 may aaye you from a fate like mine. In the narrative whioh I 
 am about to give you, you will find abundant cauaa for the charge 
 which haa filled your mind with astoniahment." 
 
 **Iam," contmued Thereaa, *'the only child of wealthy pa- 
 -«anta in tha aonl^, who placed me here, aome yeara aince. aa a 
 mipil in the convent achool. For two yeara after my arrival, tha 
 Mothar Supwior laviahed upon me acta of kindneaa aimilarto 
 timaa which ah^ I Imow, haa exhibited towarda yonraelf and 
 . oUiara^ and with tha aame motives. By degreea— for I have not 
 Iho itcoQgth to lelata to you all of tha partioulara— aha lad ma to 
 
ill 
 
 ^fStsriflB of ft Oonfttti 
 
 •tendon my own PntMtont filth, and to tmbtMo BonMaiMI<*ii 
 nntil, nt tbo ond of tho Moond jMur, I found nyitlf n nofieOi f oUf 
 oonmittod to tnko tho towi of poTorty, ohMtlfy, and ohod to nao ■* 
 and •▼antoally I baoano a nnn ; my ]>ar«nti, howoTar, baing hapl 
 m piofonnd iffnoranoa of tha wbofa mattar, until tha Anal Mg» 
 had baan inatriarably takan. My mothar, aa I bata dnaa laan* 
 ad aooidanUlly, whan Informad of it, took to bar bad, and navatf 
 mA it until oarriad to b*r grava. My fatbar baa mora than onoa 
 npnliad at tba door of tba oooTant, for parmiHion to aaa ma, hvt 
 without my knowladga, and in my nama bai baan rafuaad ; ha* 
 lag told that I did not wiih to aaa bim ; and, wban it waa too 
 lafa, I hava baan told of bia Tiiit, lot tba pnrpoM of harrowinf 
 ay faalingt, and making my lulftfinga tba graatar. I know noi 
 whathar ba ia yat aliva or not." Hara Siatar Tbaraia'a taara fau 
 farruptad bar narratiTa; and iba waa compallad to pauia, for * 
 faw minutaa, wbila dia gara Tant to tham. Than, laaundnff tftw 
 •lory '^f bar misfortnnaa, aha laid— 
 
 "Attar tha impodng oaramony, wbieh attandingmf adopllttg 
 tha raligioua habit, bad baan gona through with, and I hadtint 
 to dt down, and oalmly railaS upon, what I had dona. X found 
 myialf a pray to tha kaaneat lalf-raproaohaa for my four, and to 
 irrapraasiDla looainga after my home and my dear fnanda. X 
 found, too, that the manner of tha Mother Superior waa wholly 
 ahangad tbwarde me. She no longer invited ma to berpritata 
 parlour, where I had ppent eo many happy houra. She no longer 
 mat ma with kind woraa and loving looka ; but. in fba plaoe ol 
 theae, btid aMumed towarda ma an aspeot of ooid and haughty 
 aontrol. and kept me at -a moat eruel distanoa. I waa aubjaotea 
 to menial ol&cea, to heavy taaka, au«^ to laTere penanoea, whioH 
 *<ariota»lT affeoted my health. I bad ^o arounmenta, noialaza* 
 viona— I waa out off from all (how aasooiationi and andearmenta 
 after whioh my beai-tyaaroed, and for the enjoyment of which I 
 ialt myself qualified by tha poeaeailon 6f a warm and ganerowi 
 nature. In abort, I waa buried aUve. In rain I aongbt for aoma 
 one into whoaa bosom I oould pour the tale of my iorrowa, area 
 among those arornd me who i^re as nnhappr as I ; for so oom« 
 pletely were they under the tyrannioal ooutrol of the Mother Su« 
 parlor, that, when onoe or twice I sought consolation from ttils 
 aouroa, my oonfidanca waa betrayed, and aerere pnniriimant waa 
 tha aonseqoenoe. My Father Oonf essor made dishonourable pro- 
 posala to me, and I spurned bim from me ; but the tempter cama 
 m the garb of an angel of l^bt, holding the olire hraniA of 
 frfandsbip in bia hancL and witti the sweet words oi ^ympaihy 
 upon bia oily tongue— I ombU aot resist him— and fell. O &<Mm« 
 Ue fall ! how fearfully B w ifc u d ! The tempter waa the lorer tiS 
 tha Mother Superior; no fowod it out, and, not daring topuniehs 
 him, although it led to a aarriflo scsne between them, whioh had 
 like to hare resulted in Yary serious ooosequences to both, iMrt 
 waa at lengtii eompomised. and a reooDoiliation took plaoe ; her 
 Jealousy and wrath found iftiii mark in me ; and my witimely 
 and pai^il death is the xt^mit. But what wonder thait I feU be- 
 neath the insidious apfNToai «s of tLe wily Father General, who 
 knew all the loneliness of a poor nun's life, the reamlnga<of her 
 heart after kindjess, and the snffenaga and bitter diaappoinl- 
 mentawhiohl b«d pterionslr endured. What wonder wad-i 
 ■hoaldfintfaai^'afttltoiuinwhoq?elc«toma theoafywm^ 
 
IfpMm of aOonTni 
 
 m 
 
 ndawtc 
 
 httlOOM 
 
 ■ ait,b«t 
 nd; b«« 
 
 WMtoo 
 inowiof . 
 inowttci 
 teuraia* 
 iM,lor« 
 mutglkM 
 
 :^ 
 
 Ifoond 
 Ft and to 
 anda. X 
 
 ■ whoO^ 
 rpritAto 
 wUmget 
 plaoeol 
 
 (^ 
 
 ■.whioH 
 
 urmenit 
 whiohl 
 wierouji 
 oraoiwi 
 
 ■OOOBU 
 
 herStt- 
 omtblt 
 »ot waa 
 Uapio- 
 »roaiBe 
 uidkof 
 
 res?" 
 
 >Tar off 
 poaieli, 
 ohlMd 
 
 timelr 
 hUW. 
 i,Wllo 
 ■of bar 
 point. 
 &a4I 
 
 amj aartiaa to tha aatobiiahwaat a parlbd of thirtoaa aiooth% 
 daHas moat of which tioM I hava baau oonfload to mv bad— I 
 baaa wholly aaflaotad by both tha Suparior aad tha auaa, 
 aa naoaarity laqairad thair attantion at dialaot iatarrala. 
 ■ tha Vkthar Ooafaaaor baa ^aitad'aa but oaoa, and than at 
 aay own bmmI oargant requaat: nwtil yon, mj daar Julia, aeaidant* 
 anj d i aaovatad aM» aacT baffaa that aariaa of kindnaaaaa whiak 
 kaa Ut wsf tha gloom of mj aiak room, and allafiatad my aaffa*« 
 tea to aa graat an aztaat. Ood Maaa yan for it, noUa-haactad 
 
 It had aoat tha nan a graat affort to maka tfiit raoUal to Julia | 
 
 f Uad nana adminiatatad aonm aoidiala whiah aha had mmuht 
 with bar— Iha parohaaa of bar own pookat-mooay— and, anaa 
 ]|ying auially for aoma tima, Siatar Tharaaa, turning to hat with 
 » oonntananoa upon whidi tha laal of daath waa lagibly impMW" 
 ad.aaidtohar:— > 
 
 ''Majhaataa raward yoa, daar Julia, far your goodnaai; I 
 oaaiiot In any othar way than by my poor thulra. But lat ma 
 tooat aamaam aotraat yon to haad tna warning whioh I hara 
 gfraa yoa, in thia ralation of my aad lifa ainoa I antarad thia pzi- 
 aon. O,^ yon would not bring aorrow upon your raUttona ; if 
 vm woald Bol hara arary kindly allaotion, arary ganarona amo* 
 aon, amy laaatty of mind, erusnad, and aaarad and witharad— 
 if yos woald not lira with % buraing void within your boaom— « 
 ciiiTiag ap^to altar frtianiihip., and loTa, aad aooial hi^imaa, 
 wWob M doomad nanp to baaatiafted; if yon would not witnaat 
 Mlaaa whioh ovidla ilia blood, and fraaaa tha Tary aoul^if 9ou 
 would not loath yoaaadt and all about yon—if you wonld not ba 
 tamatad. aa I baaa baaa, alaM»t daily, to oommit aniaida, aa af- 
 fording tha only aaaaaa of aaaapa from aosTantnal pollution aad 
 ia^triaoaniant— H you would not dia. at tha laat, away from your 
 £indradand IriMda. daaartad by au,aa I am— by all bat yon, 
 whom God aaaaaa to aava aant to ma aa an anaal of menrr, topity 
 bar whom hariaoa aoataama— O I if yon would aaeapa all of thoaa 
 arils, aya^iaa tbouaaad mora; I baaaaoh you, narar oonaant to 
 baooma — 
 
 •*Tila wretoh ! what maanathiar* eriad, or Tather tfhrialMd, 
 fha Motliar Saparior, who, lor tha first tima, alarmad at Jnlk^ 
 long Tirit to tta aiak nai«, had erept staalthily up atainu and aa* 
 rivad in time to oveiliaar tha laat saatanca or two of tha ahaaga 
 uHbieh had jnat baan ntt«rad, or rathar ao abruptly iotarrnptad if 
 hu azalamation. Wban Julia, almost beside heraall with taaror, 
 laakad aroand to disooTor the aourca from which tUa intafma* 
 ttonaama, riM beheld tha Superior, standing in tha doorway, pale 
 with rag^hav aye flaahing fire, and her huid upUfked aatlMaab 
 aha woSdnito tha paavtlaiaa, lying halplaaaa* tha 
 
m 
 
 Mysteries of a GonTOft. 
 
 . Bat that Tiotimwao beyond t&« reach of her malioe^she WM 
 lead ; and the other, whom she was about to immolate on the al- 
 tar of religiona bigotry, had eaoapad her ooila. The loalea had 
 fallen from her eyes; the deloaion had been diaeipated, as the 
 mondng mist ; she seemed to have awoke from some dream whioh 
 had fast bonna her senses in illusion, and to hare become sensi- 
 ble of the Tcalities which surrounded her, threatening her de« 
 •truction. 
 
 The Motlier Superior saw it all at a glance— saw, too, that her 
 passion had betrayed her, and had serred to make the matter 
 worse ; but, confident in her own abilities, and fondly hoping that 
 die could yet reooyer the ground whioh she had lost, set herself 
 about the work, with iufluite address. It was, howerer, too late. ' 
 Overcome with excess of emotioo, Julia sat weepiog as if her 
 heart would break. The Superior, putting her arm around her, 
 and geutly bidding her arise, left the death-chamber, carefully 
 locking the door behind them, and led her down stairs to her own 
 bed-room, where, laying her upon her own soft couch, she told 
 her to compose herself, and try to sleep. Then, entering the ad- 
 joining room, whioh we have said was fitted np as an oratonr, 
 and which contained an escritoire in whioh she deposited her Vm- 
 luable pafNors, she took, from a secret drawer, a letter receiyed 
 that morning, and whidx she perused with great attention. It 
 lanthus; 
 
 ^ * " New York, Jvly 10, 1812. 
 
 " To the Mother Superior of the Oonvent of the Annunciation* 
 "Dbab Madak, 
 
 ** I have just been informed, by the Father Beanpres, resident 
 at B&toD Ifouge, Louisiana, that the father of Emilie de Yere, 
 now the Sister Theresa, a member of the oonvent under your spi- 
 ritual government, has recently died, leaving an immense estate, 
 and making provision, by his last will and testament, that his 
 only daughter, this same £iuilie, shall inherit * the whole proper- 
 ty, if she will renounce the Boman Oatholio faith, and leave the 
 convent in which she is ;' and that, in the event of her refusing 
 to do so, the said property shall go tc distant relations, in France, 
 the daughter having nothing. 
 
 **I wish you to converse with the Sister Theresa, and devise 
 some plan by means of whioh this inheritance can be secured to 
 the order. I shall repair to the convent on the fifth day from the 
 date of this letter. 
 
 *' I remain as ever, yours, 
 
 « FaANOois Jttbbkt. 
 
 " Father General, ftc" 
 
 The Mother Superior felt greatly agitated, as she perused this 
 document, and scarcely knew what to do. Here was an immense 
 fortune within the grasp of the order ; but she upon Whose life it 
 depended, was dead. True, no one knewlt as yet, besides her- 
 self and Julia ; but she had reason to believe that Julia had hearC 
 enough, from the lips of the dying nun, to have influenced her 
 mind unfavourably towards the order, and, perhaps, to have un- 
 done tiie entire work of the last fifteen months. O, how deeply 
 •he regretted her want of considera,tion, in permitting Julia to 
 attend upon the sick nun ; but so fully had she succeeded, as she 
 thought, in the work that aha had planned and executed aa ra- 
 
lljBtflifas of a CoiiTeni 
 
 148 
 
 iurdad Am fonuMr, ud muk wm fh* ^mankal diMd la rnhkh 
 ■M litii ifvoT mMriwr of tiia honnbolo, that ito oo«ld mI lap- 
 MM it poMiMe that the latter voold kove dand to tay oot wood 
 10 Jalia oboat the poit ; ontil her opprehenrioo hating ^i**^ i*- 
 died hj her pnpil'e long abMooe,-^r the had not ooom down to 
 the dinneT'tablo, a* vaaol,— the had aeoended to the liokehain- 
 ber, and there oTelheord a portion of what paeeed, as has alveadj 
 Should Jnlia, when she went out atnona the boordsn^ 
 
 Make known-the foot of the nnn's death, it wonJd for ever do- 
 ■kroy all hope *>! seeorinff the inheritsooe ; and tma if die eooid 
 wefenttbis, wfaiehwomdbe a Tery dii&eult alliir. beoaoarol 
 the impressioa that it might moke upon her own mind, stiU the 
 dead body was in the houie, and must be diraosed of in seme 
 way, without the knowledfce of any member of the honsshold. 
 She Int her Upe in Tcrr intensity of thonRht ; and her feelings 
 wrought up to a high pitch of ezdtemenit, by her malign^ 
 
 to the dead nun, who, she feared, hod aohieved, althoagk oneott- 
 sdoosly, a wondeif ol retribution upon hersdf and upon the or- 
 der, for the wrongs which she had endured at thdr aaads; Iqr 
 onmhennon that Julia was lost to the oonvent, unless some- 
 raing could be done to prevent it ; aad by anxiety to bring order 
 out of this chaos, and Tiotory out of this apparent defeat ; when 
 die heard a gentle rap at her chombM door. Instantly pasdng 
 froon the oratory into her bed-room, where Julia still li^ upon 
 her couch, she opened the door, where stood a servant to irform 
 her tiiat a gentleman wished to see her in l&e parlotv. Not sup- 
 pesioff, for a moment, that it might be Mr. Moreton — whom of 
 ad other persons she least wished to see at that time, — she has- 
 tened to the room where he awaited her ; neglecting, as she left 
 her chamber, to close the door behind her. Presently, Julia, 
 overhearing the altercation between her father and the Superior, 
 «Dd recognidng the voice of the former, flew down tiie stairway, 
 and rushed into her father's arms, as has before been related, and 
 thus escaped from the dangers which were becoming so imsdnent 
 wouad her. 
 
 OHAPTEB Zm. 
 
 fhe Ifbther Bnperior outwitted— Cursing imdpT^risff— Hasty summons to 
 the ^ther General— Insulting the dead— Jesuitical conduct. 
 
 WxBir Mr. Moreton bore Julia away from the parlour of the con- 
 vent, the Mother Superior stood in speechless amaaement^ for on 
 kidont, and then, hastening to the front door, watched his rapid 
 progress along tiie avenue, until he was lost to her dght, when, 
 like one who had been apell-bouDd under the iufluenee of the 
 night-mare, she seemed to become suddenly aware that some- 
 thing must be done, or Julia, her victim, would be lost to her for 
 ever, and the harvest of all her schemings be destroyed. Just at 
 the moment when it was ripe for the sickle of the reaper. 
 
 Pulling violently the hall-bell, she ordered the servant who an- 
 swered the summons, to call two male servants that belonged to 
 the eetablisfament, and were at work in the garden ; but whether, 
 during the interval ttiat elapsed before they made their appetf^ 
 sha had oonduded that any further steps would ba impro- 
 
 X 
 
Mjsleilds of ft OonTiiitt 
 
 dtnli <m har p«rl| At fhat tim«, or Imomim iIm thought it loo lilo 
 to ottampt to hring book tho f ogitiYoi, her imrponi w«o ohoiuN 
 w(k ; for when tho Mrrants oame. oho ditmitsea them, an4, wub 
 a dignifled, though eomewhat qoickened etep, Moended tho groot 
 hall itaire to her priTate room. 
 
 Here, oariif ally fMteoing the door, she threw honelf at foil 
 liogth upon a loaoRe, at oue side of the room^ and. pladng her 
 baud upon her forehead, as though she were in pain, while her 
 •ijos were almost ready to start from their sockets, she goTO reat 
 to tho most Tiolent outbursts of passion ; bitterly oursing all hO- 
 xotics, and calling down the direst maledictions upon Mr. More- 
 ton and his rescued daughter. And then, hta thoughts reourring 
 to the scene which had taken place in the room of we dying nun,^ 
 ■ho arose hastily from her recumbent position, and strode to- 
 wards tho door, as if she were about to execute some hurriedly- 
 formed purpose ; but, ere she had placed iier hand upon the faa- 
 teniuff, she paused, for a moment, and, retracing her steps, oon* 
 tinnea to walk froqi one end of the large apartment to the other, 
 for some leogth of time ; her steps at first rapid and excited, but 
 nadually becoming moire measured ; until, at length, entering 
 through tho secret pannel into her bed>chamber, and thence into 
 tho oratory, and kneeling down before the crucifix, she remained 
 for some time with her head bowed in prayer, occasionally hear- 
 ing a ooarulsive sob, indicativo of the extent to which her led- 
 ings had been excited. 
 
 Arising presentW from her kneeling position, with tho traoes 
 of tears upon her cheeks, she approached the escritoire, and, draw- 
 big forth the necessary materials, wrote a note, of which tho fal- 
 lowing is a oopy : 
 
 t.;1 
 
 " Convent t/AnnuneiaiiontJulif 12, 1812. 
 ** To the Beverend Father General. 
 
 M Most Bsvbbbmd and Dsab Sib, 
 ** Your favour of the 10th instant, was receiyed by^mo this 
 morning. Business of the utmost importuace oonnected with its 
 oontente, requires your presence here without delay. Fleaao 
 lose no time in coming. 
 
 " Yours, most respectfully and truly, 
 
 "FaiNOon. 
 " Mother Superior, fte." ' 
 
 Having folded and sealed this note, she returned to her cham- 
 ber, and pulled hastily the bell-cord which hung near her bed. 
 On a nun appearing, m answer to the summons, she placed tho 
 note in her bands, and bade her give it to the Porter, with orders 
 to take it instantlv to New York, and, riding day and night, de- 
 liver it to the Father General. Then, re>entering the oratory, to 
 see if all were there in a position to be left, she fastened her es- 
 oritoire, and went up stairs to the death room. 
 
 How silent was all there I The cold and pallid remains of tho 
 SistflV Theresa lay upon the pallet, just as when the Mother Su- 
 perior had left tho room with Julia, after having precipitated the 
 death of the poor nun. bv her sudden appearance and harsh ox* 
 oUmation, but a short while before. . Although fearfully emaoi- 
 atod and wasted with disease, the death-like features stul show- 
 •d traoos of former lovtiiness; and there lat upon tho marble 
 
 ^ 
 
l^ysteiies of a Omtaai 
 
 147 
 
 aii4,wub 
 thttgntt 
 
 Blfat f^ 
 
 while h«r 
 gaTeTanft 
 ng all hck 
 llr. Moie- 
 ireourring 
 lyinff nun,' 
 itrode to- 
 liurriedly- 
 tn the fat- 
 iteps, oon* 
 tha other, 
 [oited, but 
 I entering 
 bence into 
 remained 
 My heaT- 
 berfeel- 
 
 the traces 
 md, draw- 
 3hthe£ol> 
 
 1812. 
 
 Tyme this 
 d with its 
 Fleaae 
 
 i. 
 
 &c" '■■ 
 
 ler cham- 
 ber bed. 
 >laced the 
 ith orders 
 night, de- 
 tratory, to 
 ad her es« 
 
 ins of the 
 other Sa- 
 itated the 
 harsh ex* 
 ly emad- 
 tulsbow- 
 lemacble 
 
 •omileiMiMt ftsmUe^ as fhonffh, just at the moment of depaiten, 
 tt» penitent had caught a nnght Tidon of llerqr stooping fcom 
 HeaTsn to pity and to saTC. 
 
 The Mother Superior stood for a few moments, looking upon 
 *i» face of the dead, and, catching at length the e^yresdon of 
 tbat smile, ground her teeth with very rage. • 
 
 **^ What," said she, as though speaking to the lifeless botfy^— 
 ** smiling art thou f Smilinw at me, as though thou hadst fiined 
 • TiotorV oTer me? Dost thou mock me, now thou art dtad, as 
 tiiou didst thwart me while living P Would thou were capable 
 of feeling, that I might punish thee, vile remains of a most worth- 
 less being. But know, Emilie de Yere, whether th^ polluted 
 Sirit hovers still in this room, or is suffering purgatorial pain in 
 e regions of woe ; know that Louise St. Aubyi" I^m never been 
 defeated yet. She has been cruelly deceived ; but she has had 
 her revenge. Aye, and she will yet be still more fully avenged 
 upon the vile j^aramour that wrought thy fall :— the only virtu- 
 ous act of all bis life. Know, too, that, though Ij^ou didst turn 
 traitor, and reveal to Julia that which has poisoned her mind 
 against my order, I will be revenged there. Poor fool ! she 
 thinks that, because she is in her father's house, she is beyond 
 my power. But, by the Holy ' Virgin, and by all the Saints in 
 Heaven, I swear to move the skies above, and earth and hell be- 
 ta^&U' ^' T-ork her ruin. She shall not escape me. Julia shall 
 yet L . lie, pollnted^worthless thing thou art and has been." 
 
 Tb "" siting the lifeless day, and venting her rage upon its 
 unbeeding ears, the Mother Superior stood for some minutes, un- 
 til the approaching shades of evening reminded her that she had 
 but little time left for the accomplishment of the purpose whicb 
 had brought her to that death chamber ; which was, to gather to-^ 
 gether whatever papers she might perchance find in the trunk of 
 tile deceased, that could possibly be made to subserve the inter- 
 ests of the order, in procuring possession of the coveted iuberi- 
 tance. Finding nothing, however, she closed the door, carefully 
 locking it and, leaving the dead neglected as the living had been, 
 dMcended to her room. 
 
 Let not the reader imagine, for a moment, that the character of 
 the Mother Superior has been too darkly drawn. It is the char- 
 acter of one who, under the iufluence of a dark and gloomy form 
 of superstition, and under the training of a mastermind, was fully 
 prepared for the indulgence of every evil motion, the perpetration 
 of every crime ; while the black heart within was covered over 
 with a self-control which was imperturbable, when circumstances 
 required its exercise ; and an hypocrisy, refined, elegant, and ex- 
 quisite. In short, the Mother Superior was a Jesuit, and a fair 
 ^pe of her order. None but a Jesuit could have gone from that 
 death scene, and from the agitating deliberations of the oratory, 
 into the presence of a man whose anger she had lust reasons to 
 dread, and yet preserve a cool self-possession, and a control over 
 her temper, which would indicate a life free from all disquiet and 
 given up to religious devotion, but most strikingly in contrast 
 with the emotions which were at that moment agitating her bosom* 
 None but a Jesui^ could have risen from prayer, and, in a few 
 minutes after, staid by the dead body of one who had fallen a 
 victim to her jealou-tjr and wrath, and deliberately mock and curse 
 that helpless mas< oi inanimate ok^. She was a Jesoit ; and, whan 
 
148 MpMm fii ^ (kmmt 
 
 this ia Mill ir« OMMo to woBctor ftt witat woold otiMfwUM bt iBMC- 
 
 I OBAFTEB XYHL 
 
 SlMSaiUr Ckneral obeys tlMsnmraons in haste— Meeting betwatn him 
 •nd t' Mother Superior— A viie plot coiiduoted between them— The 
 Mot^ . Superior in a new ohanoter— The Esther Oeneri turned graven 
 digger— ReToltiBg numner of burying the dead. 
 
 BB'MMDffer who had been despatched with the note to lh& 
 tityj with orders to ride day and niKht,had complied strictly with^ 
 his instruetiona, and arrived at the residence of the Father Ooa- 
 eral, by daylight the next momiug ; and the missive which hft 
 bore was handeid to the latter, before he had yet risen from his 
 bed. Having read its urgent contents, he immediately ordered a 
 horse for himself, and r. fresh one for the messenger, and. as soon 
 as he had eaten an early breakfast, started for the convent ; -where 
 by din» of riding very constantly, and as fast as his animal, which 
 was a very Heet one, conld safely be pushed, he arrived at five 
 o^clooic on the afternoon of the day after the nun's death. 
 
 The mother Superior met him at the front door, as he dismount- 
 ed from h^ Jaded horse, and conducted him at once into the ora- 
 totjj, where, with as little delay as possible, she made him ae« 
 
 Suaiated with the present position of things, both as regarded the 
 ecease of tiie Sister Theresa, and the escape of Julia, and a^ed 
 hb advice. 
 
 The Father General saw, at once, the difficulties which were 
 involved in the affair ; .but, with tne readiness of invention fOr 
 which the Jesuit is so remarkable, and f 6r which he in particular 
 was so distinguished, proposed that the ^eeA bodv should be 
 buried, that ni^ht, quietly, without the knowledge of aujjr mem- 
 ber of the family ; and, iu order to this, the Mother Superior and 
 himself must perform the duty, lliis being accomplished.it 
 would be their next business to substitute some one for the de- 
 ceased, who might bear some resemblance to her ; to procure wit- 
 nesses from without the establishment, to sware that she was the 
 true Emilie de Yere. This could be more easily done, as the proof 
 would have to be made in Louisiana, and not in New York. The 
 members of the convent knew nothing of the death of Sister The- 
 resa, and could be kept ?,n entire ignorance of it, by raising a re- 
 nort, iu the establtshmeut, that she had fled, which would account 
 for her absence ; though, indeed, such was the neglect with whidi 
 the poor nun had been treated iu the last few weeks of her illness, 
 especially as it was genernlly kuowu by those who had Previous- 
 ly atteudfed to her at all, that Julia had undertaken to be her 
 nurse, that not a single member of the household knew anything 
 about her real condition, during that time. As for Julia, she 
 wonld in all probability never hear of the matter of the inherit- 
 ance ; and. if necessary, she could be watched. Should she or 
 any of her friends make any attempt to interfere in the affair, she 
 must be kept out of the way, and silenced, at all hasards, and by 
 whatever means. 
 
 This outline of a plan of operatious was freely disoussed bj ^* 
 two ooonseUon^ ana at length adopted, as the veiy best luider 
 
btiBiOB- 
 
 vamUm 
 lem— Tht 
 
 tly with' 
 
 ler Oea- 
 
 rhioh hft 
 
 from his 
 
 rderadft 
 
 as soon 
 
 ] when 
 
 I, whioh 
 
 at fiT6 
 
 ■ 
 
 imoQBt- 
 bheon- 
 himatt- 
 -dedthe 
 daaked 
 
 }h wen 
 
 tionfbr 
 
 rtieokur 
 
 ottldbtt 
 
 ^mem- 
 
 ior and 
 
 Bhed.it 
 
 theae* 
 
 ire wit- . 
 
 ras the 
 
 e proof 
 
 Ic. The 
 
 )rThe- 
 
 gate* 
 
 Boonnt 
 
 whioh 
 
 illnesi^ 
 
 ▼ious- 
 
 beher 
 
 'thing 
 
 ia, she 
 
 iberit- 
 
 sheor 
 
 1', she 
 
 ndhf 
 
 >j1iie 
 under 
 
 HjfBt^rliB of ft OQHYsnii 
 
 140 
 
 the«ire«nrataiMeti Hm Matter Bapetior then ofderadi 
 per lor the Father Osaeful to be- placed ia the private parloti ;, 
 and, leanng him to. finish this, she went up alone to the death 
 chamber, to prepare the bodj for burial ; while he would repair 
 to the gardtm, to see what could be done there towards preponag 
 a ffrave. 
 
 Taking with her a needle and some thread, she entered the room 
 where the body lay, and was surprised to flud it much iu the same 
 state in whioh she had left it on the previous afternoon, and that 
 there was a very riight indication of decay perceptible. The same 
 smile sat upon the countenance, and produced the same state of 
 angry feehng in her miod, but she was in no mood to tarry in 
 that remote and lonely part of the convent, without any other 
 company than that of the deceased nun. she hurriedly and rudely 
 sewed up the body in the sheet upon which it was ; and, leaving 
 it thus without any other preparation, retamedtothe room in 
 which she had left the Father General. 
 
 The lattier had in the meanwhile, selected for the graye a sunk* 
 en spot in the extreme distant corner of the garden, which was 
 depressed some two feet in the earth, and which, indeed, had 
 much the appearance of an old grave. This spot he had noticed 
 before, in walking through the garden ; and it had instantly oo- 
 ourred to him that it would serve the purpose, with very little 
 preparation. There was an abundance of quick lime always kepi 
 about the establishment ; and, by digging the grave a foot decn- 
 er, puttiug on the body plenty of this lime, and filling up tha 
 oijeuing to within a few inches of the surface, covering the whole 
 with rubbish, it would never be discovered ; especially as it was 
 situated where nothing was cultivated, that season. Had there 
 not been sufficient reasons why no member of the family should 
 have any knowledge of what was transpiring, lest it should coma 
 to the ears of some of the many boarding pupils then in the ea* 
 tablishment, the bodv might have been disposed uf in.adeq;) 
 vault under a wing of the building, which was constructed there 
 for the purpose of receiving such remains as they did not wish 
 to bury, or to attach much notice to ; where these were speedily 
 destroyed by meaus of quick lime. But, as this was only acces- 
 sible by going through a portion of the establishment where th^y 
 could hardly hope to avoid notice, the spot in the garden was in- 
 ferred. 
 
 Sometime after the convent dock told the hour of ten, an hour 
 at whioh by the rules of the house, every inmate of the familv 
 must be ia bed, the Father General proceeded to the garden, and, 
 furnishing himself with the necessary tools, from a small building 
 in which they were kept, had succeeded, iu the course of a couple 
 of hours, in making ready the receptacle for the last repose of 
 the Tery nun, who, three years before, had met him in that same 
 
 {(arden, at the dead hour of midnight, and whom he had so base- 
 y ruined afterwards. One might suppose that the whole scene 
 would have come up in his mind, and that the image of that then 
 lovely being would have haunted his memory mid harrowed his 
 his soul, while he was thus engaged in prenariug a spot to hide 
 her body ; and so it did, but the Jesuit shook off all sense of un- 
 easiness, and set about the work with all his physical strength, 
 while he kept his thoughts busied with planning for the f ntur*. 
 In spite of himself, however, when, •■ the dook sconded mi dni ght g 
 
150 
 
 MystoiloB of ft OQHTonti 
 
 Mid, feturaing to fhe hoaw for the oocpM, h« paaied Um phun 
 tree beoeath which he had itood, three yean before| with hie arm 
 around the nofortunate Sitter Thereea. he started UTolnntarily, 
 and with a shudder, as, by the light of the moon, he thoucht he 
 saw her adTanoiug to meet him ; and it was no small relief to his 
 feelings, when he disoovered, that it was the Mother Superior, 
 who was coming to see what progress he had made. 
 
 Fully realizing the extreme delicacy of his position, under the 
 peculiar oirounistances which sarronuded both of them on this 
 occasion, a* <^ ^n the existence of recollections which came op 
 fresh to thn mories of both, while neither dared to make any 
 allusion to .r:^^ the Father (General gracttfuUy offered his arm 
 to the MothtfT Superior, and, playfully complimenting her upon^ 
 her good looks, led her to the house. 
 
 Here, quietly ascending to the room in which the dead nun lay, 
 fhe Superior locked the dpor, and bade the General entor ; nar^ 
 rowly observiug his countonance as he approached the hed>sidiL 
 while she held a candle in her hand, and, as she perceived a slight 
 shudder to pass through his frame as he took the body in his arms, 
 nnd threw it upon his shoulder, a scornful smile might have been 
 »)6n upon her proud features ; but which she took good oaro 
 aixould not be witnessed by him. 
 
 Thev thus passed down again to the garden ; the Mother Snpe- 
 lior bearing in her hand a bucket of lime, which she had previ- 
 ously pltioed near the door stops ; and, in the course of half an 
 hour, the remains of Sister Tlseresa, unslurouded and uncof&ned. 
 were resting in the narrow bed prepared for her, and the spot 
 marked only by the up-piled briars and rubbish ; while the Father 
 General and the Mother Superior were seated in the oratory of 
 the latter, plotting how they might secure to the order the lane 
 estete of her father, left to her on the condition of renouncing tM 
 Catholic faith, and throwing aside her nun's dress; aoonoution 
 with which she would most gladly have complied, had she been 
 alive, and had it boan in her power ; though poverty for her life 
 long, a\Ad not unbounded wealth, had been the result. Slie had, 
 however, exchanged her religious habit, it is to be hoped, for one 
 of glorious sheen, and her prison-house on earth for a noble man- 
 sion in the skies. The quiet smile of hope which played up^in the 
 cold features of the clay which her freed spirit had left hahind, 
 gave token that, though uufriended here, she had found friends 
 there, " where tLe wicked cease from troubling, and the weary 
 are for ever at rest." 
 
 An Omuiacieut eye, however, had beheld this deed of darkness ; 
 and, though the perpetrators might balfle and deceive their short- 
 sighted fellow-creatures, yet they could not escape the detection 
 of Him who seeth all things. 
 
 The next moruing, j ust at daybreak, the Father General was 
 aeen to enter his own room on the first floor, by the Sister Porter, 
 as she descended to ring the bell for matius. She knew not where 
 he had spent the night, but had her own surmises, which, how- 
 ever, prudent i2;oman that she was, she kept to herself. 
 
 '«■' 
 
 ■*f- 
 
thephuB 
 InotarUj, 
 
 >0Uffht£6 
 
 Heftohis 
 Saperior, 
 
 ladtr th« 
 on this 
 (Muneap 
 lake any 
 his arm 
 wtnpott 
 
 nan 1*7, 
 er;nar- 
 bed.aidiL 
 lasUghS 
 liaarmi^ 
 ^▼ebeen 
 tod oara 
 
 BrSapa- 
 i pwTi- 
 ' half an 
 Boffiaad. 
 he spot 
 > Father 
 itotyot 
 helaMe 
 dog the 
 mdition 
 la been ' 
 herlifft 
 'aehad, 
 for one 
 leman. 
 K>a f he 
 lahiud, 
 Irieads 
 wear/ 
 
 hiess; 
 short- 
 action 
 
 I was 
 
 •orter, 
 where 
 how- 
 
 Mjstirlai of a Oonmi 
 
 ttl 
 
 OHAFTEB XTX. 
 
 Ooptieity-^nia plot thidkens— Bsward offtred for the nlisfaig .« 
 sabstftote fonnd— A thiid party in the plot— Thrsatsnsd tomolt. 
 
 Wnnr about to ilt down to the breakftut-table, the n«zt mom- 
 
 trlog, tha Mother Saperior, turning to Sister Martina, In the most 
 
 t natural manner imMinable, asif it were an «Tery dav oocurrenoe, 
 
 q told her to go to Sister Theresa's room, and see u she want* 
 
 -.^ ad anything ; remarking, as she did so, to the Father QaneraL 
 
 that this Sister had been sick, for some length of time, and that 
 
 she was afraid she would continue to be so, for some weeks longer, 
 
 though she did not apprehend a serious result in the case. 
 
 The morning meal was nearlr finished, when Sister Martina 
 glided into tiie room, and, in what was designed to appear as a 
 wliisper, but at the same time to b4 oTerheard by the Father 
 Oeneral, she told the Mother Superior that Sister Theresa was 
 not in her room, and that it seemed to be in confusion, as if sha 
 had left it hastily. 
 
 " Not in her room T* repeated the Superior, with well-aifeoted 
 •orpriae. 
 
 **No, inadam," answered the nun. 
 
 ** She must be in some of the other rooms, in the game pari of 
 the house, then," returned the Superior ; ** go, my good Martina, 
 and see if she is not." 
 
 ** I have looked into them all," was the response ; '* but I can* 
 not find her any whare." 
 
 <* 'Tis TeiT strange," remarked the Superior— "I do' not know 
 what to make of it. Go, Sister Martina, into every room in the 
 •house, and see if you can find her, und let me know immediately, 
 for I feel uneasy about her." Then, tuming to the nuns and 
 boarders, as thev sat in long lines at uie two tables, she asked jf 
 any of then^ had seen Sister Theresa that morning ; and, as might 
 be expected, was answered in the negative. 
 
 On report being made to the Mother Superior that the missing 
 nun could not be found anywhere about the bouse, orders were 
 ffiven that the well, the cistern, and all of the places into which 
 it was possible that she might have fallen, if in her weakness of 
 body she had attempted to pass about the yard, should be strictly 
 Marched ; but iu vain, she was still unfound. 
 
 The Superior's countenance betrayed a neat deal of well* 
 feigned anxiety; the Father (General seemed to be jreatly dis- 
 turbed ; the whole house was in an uproar— nuns mnniDg here 
 and running there— others standin? about in groups, in earnest 
 conversation— all completely mystified, and lost in wonder at so 
 strange an occurrence, while none seemed to be more so than the 
 two individuals i^eseut, who knew all abcat the affair. 
 
 At leuffth, when all further search appeared to ha useless, the 
 Mother Superior, speakiuK so as to be heard by most of those pre- 
 sent, requested the Father General to accompany her to her pri- 
 vate parlour, in order, as she said, that she might consult him 
 further in reference to this truly mysterious disappearance of one 
 of their number, and as to the steps which it might be necessary 
 to take in the premises. Having spent a half hour thus, as the 
 family lupposed, they again appeared in the parlour, in thamidft 
 
162 
 
 UysteiieB of a Gonyent 
 
 of lh« MMnb1«d noniuid boarden; and the F«ith«r Otnenl 
 aanouDoed it m hU deliberate opinion that the miMing nan had 
 eaoaped from the convent, daring the previous night, bv the aid 
 of some peraoD or penous unknown : and. calling for nis horuk 
 iotimnted hit intention of making diligent March for her, thai 
 ■be might be apprehended and brought back ; at the aame time, 
 requir&g the Superior to degrade the Sister Porter from her of* 
 lice, for want of due vigilance in the discharge of her dutlee, un* 
 Um it eould be made to appear that she wae not to blame. 80 
 •ajinff, and giving his blessing to all present, the Father Gtonenl 
 monntodhis horse, which hM meanwhile been brought totht 
 door, and returned to the city. 
 
 In the papers of the following day, an advertisement appeared, 
 oouohed m such language as this : 
 
 **nFTT OOLIiABS BBWIXD. 
 
 ** Left the Ckmvehtof the Annunciation, on the i^btof Um 
 18th instant, in a state of mental derangement, produced by fe« 
 Tcr, a nun, who is doubtless not far frr.m the establishment but 
 who has not yet been found, although diligent search has been 
 made for her. The humane will greatly relieve the distressed 
 feelings of her sister nuns, by giving any-information that they 
 may have in the premises, and receive the above reward for the 
 restoration to 
 
 '*Fbakooxs JxmxBT, 
 n << No. 87, Chamber Street, New York.** 
 
 «*Jii^W<A,1812." 
 
 Anxious to give this pretended escape of the sick nnn as much 
 publicity «■ possible, without appearing to do so, the Qeneral, 
 auring the day, sent some of his ooufident emissaries into differ- 
 ent parts of the city, to talk about the affair in various crowded 
 resorts, as an item of news, until, by noon, it was noised abroad 
 everywhere, and produced quite an excited state of feeling. Ya* 
 rious parties of xealous Oatnolios visited the convent, and con- 
 versed with the Mother Superior, during the week foUowiog; 
 and others scoured the surrounding country, in search of the fu- 
 gitive, but without success. The excitement at length died awaj, 
 and the affair was well nigh forKotten. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Father General had, by means of his own in- 
 defatigable iuduatry, for be dared not entrust the matter to the 
 agency of any thira person, succeeded in finding a nun of about 
 the same age, height, colour of hair, complexion, and general con- 
 tour of person aod features, with the deceased nun ; and, in bring- 
 ing her, unseen and closely veiled, travelling in a close carriage, 
 and principally by night, from the convent in Canuda, where he 
 had discovered her, to the dwelling of Mr. Wilmot, in New York 
 city, where he stealthily left her, about one month after the pre- 
 tended disappearance of the missing nun. 
 
 This Mr. Wilmot was a member of the Episeopal Church, no^ 
 minally, but really a lay Jesuit in disguise— and with him the 
 Father (General had arranged the whole matter, with the conniv- 
 ance of the wife of this supposed Ejiiscopalian ; a handsome dou- 
 ceur being the reward of their iniquity. It may be proper, also, 
 to say that Mr. Wilmot was a small grocer, at the comer of two 
 ■treeti, somewhat remote from the centre of the city. It was 
 nearly midnight when the nun entered the house, disguised iin an 
 ample tzaveUing dress, which completely concealed her reVgious 
 habit. 
 
l^fstorlflB of ft ConTOiiti 
 
 IBS 
 
 y«il momliifi*, Ml*. Wilaot took oan to n«ntloB, la oonfldmoiL 
 to mM of hia (lusUnBen, timt duriof the proTioai uight, ard Jut 
 M bis family wm retiring to rait, between ten and eleTen o'oioohi 
 m beaatifal nno, who bore traoea of reoeufr Klnesa, had knoeked at 
 kia front door, and. appeerins greatlj terrified when he went to 
 aeo who it waa, rttmed into the paaaage. and, falling apon her 
 kneea, implored him to talto pity upon her, aa a poor nan who 
 bad fled from moat dreacUijt^rieotttiona in a oonvent, aome dia> 
 tanoe off, and to afford Hnroteotion, until abe oould write to 
 hm father to oome and talMher home. He then oaTe quite aa 
 kiterefttinff aoooont of the teoeption whioh he and hia wife had 
 fflTen to the poor oreatnre, and toid hia f rienda that he bad no 
 doubt, from oer atory, that abe waa the nun oonceming whom a 
 reward of fifty doUara bad been offered, about a month ago, in 
 ibo oity newapapera ; but that he ahould loom to betray the in- 
 nocent aufferer into the banda of thoae wretched prieatai and 
 would i^roteot her, aa long aa she choose to stay in hia houae. 
 
 Aa might naturally be aupposed, and aa was intended by the 
 crafty grocer, who bad hia cue from the Father Oeneral, theee 
 flrienda of hii^ to whom thia aecret was confided, thought it too 
 good to keep, and ao reltcTcd their burdened minds by abar jg 
 their confidence with some of their neighbours. These, in their 
 turn, thinking that a division of responsibility was *' within the 
 line of safe 'precedents," imjparted tne secret to their friends, un- 
 til, by ten o'clock that morning, a large crowd had gathered about 
 the grooer'a door, clamorous to see the escaped nun. Closing bis 
 ihop door, however, and sending off post haste for a bod; of po- 
 lice to protect his dwelling, and for some two or three clergymen 
 of different denominations, aa well as a lawyer of some eminence 
 with whom he wished to consult aa to what course he should 
 mnreue, he, in the meantime, appeared at an upper window, and 
 told the assembled crowd, which was every moment increasing, 
 that it was true that he had given protection to a friendless nun, 
 who had claimed it at his hands, and that he was determined to 
 guard her with his life, until she should go forth from his house, 
 of her own accord, or he had had time to take couusel.with thoee 
 for whom he had sent, and who were more experienced in f uoh 
 raatters than himself. 
 
 This declaration was heard with cheers by the Protestants, and 
 hisses and groans by the Catholics, instigated, bat held in check, 
 by the emissaries of the Father Qeneral, who, from a neighbour- 
 ing house, in which he had concealed himself— the house of a 
 member of that church— directed the movements of his partv. 
 
 « But the nun is crazy," shouted some of the Catholics, ** and 
 does not know what she is doing." 
 
 "She is not crazy,"— replied the grocer ;'—" she is no more 
 crazy than you are. She is an exoeediugly sensible woman, and 
 knows very well what she is about." 
 
 ** I demand that yob give her up to me," said a very genteelly 
 dressed man, who now made his appearance in front of the mob. 
 ** I make this demand in the name of the Spiritaal Fattier who 
 has the charge of her." 
 
 ** I shall do no such thing," said the grocer. 
 
 ** Tou most, or we will tue her by force," mplied ttn meloM- 
 man, who looked around him, to see how many ne oottM WfnA 
 \jipon, in the erowd, to aid him in the assault. 
 
164 
 
 Vfiteta of i Oontiit 
 
 **Z MBinMBi jOQ to kMp th« pMMk" Mid ftMtflilmlik foltoir* 
 •d bv ft h&fj of poUot, whoftdTMiotd, and laid hii hand «poatlM 
 diooldor of Iho baUigntnt. 
 
 ** I ihaU parmit no Tiolanoa hara, my frianda,"— ha addadp-^ tha 
 inopar antboritiaa muit dadda this mattar; i«d I know yoo aia 
 too good oitiaans to wrait it out of thair handi." 
 
 ** That it tha right war. That ia light 1" otiad oot ft Mora of 
 Toioat-'Matthafawdcoidait." #^ 
 
 Maanwhila, tha panona Mut for ■11 arrirad ; and it waa d^ 
 tarminad that tha nun ibould praMnf herMlf, unde? a atrong aa- 
 oort of polioa, bafore tha city authoritiei, and ^laim thair pro* 
 taction, as being strongar and mora affioiant than that of anj 
 priTftta indiTidnal. 
 
 In a faw minutai, a carriage waa brouffht to tha grocar'a door, 
 in which tha nun, together with Dr. Ohine, an Epiioopal minia- 
 ter, the Ber. Mr. Bcott, a Freibyterian clergyman, and the Bev. 
 Mr. Fletcher, of the Methodist church, were seated ; while tha 
 magistrate and his cItII force surrounded the carriage, and aflao* 
 tnallT guuded them from the show of resistance and attach 
 which waslnade by tha Oatholic portion of tha crowd, but whioh 
 was too well trained, howerer, to strike without a signal from 
 thair leaders, who were thickly interspersed among ttiem, and 
 bald them in perfect control, although tnera were not a faw hot* 
 haftdad Irishmen in tha midst 
 
 1 I 
 
 OHAFTEB XX. 
 
 Ibe pretended nun undergoes a judical examination— Jesuitical manflraf>> 
 nng— An apt pupil— The inquiry terminates in fliTour of the snppoii- 
 ednun. 
 
 Abbxvxd at the mayor's office, the nun, who gaTa her name aa 
 Emilia da Vere, otherwise called by the appellation, as a religi- 
 auM, of Sister Theresa, stated that, in consequence of persecution 
 and neglect in the Oonyent of Annunciation, she had fled from 
 thatestoblishment, about a month ago; had reached the city on 
 the last evening, and now claimed the protection of the dty an- 
 thorities, until she could write to her father, who resided in tha 
 south, and from whom she had not heard for many years, to come 
 and take her home ; declaring, in the most solemn manner, with 
 hands uplifted to heaven, »ud tears in her eyes, whioh drew tears 
 in turn from almost every eye in the house, his honour the mayor 
 not excepted — that she then and for ever abjured Boman Catho- 
 licism, and all allegiance to pope or priest— oeseeohing those be- 
 fore whom she then stood, not to suffer her to fall into the handa 
 of her enemies airain, as, in that event, her life would most in- 
 evitably be the forfeic. She acted her part to perfection, and 
 completely imposed upon all present. 
 
 Francois Jubert, the Father General, then stepped forward, and 
 declared that he had the spiritual charge of the nuns belonging 
 to the Gonvent of the Anunciation— that the nun was correct in 
 stating that she had fled from the establishment, about a month 
 •boa, and that she' was tha aama for whoM recovery ha had offer- 
 •d ft zaward of flfty doUari, en tha Uth of Jnly last, bat thai it 
 
 / 
 
^lollMr* 
 
 of 
 
 Mysterlflt of a GonTaii 
 
 iwr 
 
 and 
 
 WM not tni« that ibc bad baan panaeatad or BMMadF-M tho 
 aontra^, ba afinaad that aha bad baan moat kindly oaiad lor bj 
 tha Mothar Saparior, and by all tha mamban of tha family ; ad- 
 diofTf that tha nun bad baooma eraay by maant of a Mvara apall 
 of liohnaM, tha traoaa of whioh her pafa oountananoa still bora, 
 and that this ataia of mental aberration had lad her to taka tha 
 •lap whioh iha h, J. He ooooluded by axpresdnv tha hopa that 
 hia honour, tha mayor, would not luCfer tha Oatholio Ohuron to ba 
 •oandaliaadby tha wild raTinRS of an insane nun; but thatha 
 would order her surrender to him, that ha miffht take her haok to 
 bar kind friends, tha Mothar Superior and the sisters of oharity. 
 whoso hearts were now filled with disquietude at her absenoe. ana 
 with apprehensions for her safety, while thus addressing him- 
 aelf to the mayor, he oast looks of paternal regard and pitr upon 
 the nun, and even shed a tear, as if in oommispration of ner un- 
 fortunate oondition. 
 
 The minister* present, bowerer, in their turn, azprassed thair 
 oonfldenoe in tne sanity of the nun, and deolarad that they oould 
 not beliera, without further eridenee than they had, that tha da* 
 elaration of insanity, made by the prinat, was anything more thuk 
 a ruse to gat the poor girl baok into his possession. 
 
 The mayor then sent for two of tha ablest phydoians in tha dty, 
 and requested them to examine the nun fully, and to satisfy tham- 
 boItss as to the oondition of her miud. This request they oom- 
 plied with ; and, haying oonrersed with her there in the open 
 oourt for more than an hour, assisted at times by questions from 
 tha obrgymen— they declared, upon oath, that, so far from bar 
 being orasy, she was in the full possession of Tijrorous faoultiaa 
 of mind, of extraordinary power, and was, upon the whole, one of 
 tho most inteUeotual woman they ever conversed with in their livas. 
 
 The Father General here interfered, and, stated that hers was 
 a oase monomania, and that, while she oould oonverse intelligent- 
 ly enough upon every other suhiect— if they would introduce a 
 topio which ne would name to them privately, they would find 
 that, in a few moments, she would become perfectly wild upovit. 
 
 Having whispered this topic in their ears, in reference to whioh 
 ba had declared her to he a monomaniac, the physicians nrooeed- 
 ad to converse with her upon it, for some time; and, although it 
 waa one of her exceeding delicacy, and she was talking with those 
 who were entire strangers to her, yet such was the modesty of her 
 replies, and so rational were they, that her interrogators indig- 
 nantly affirmed that it was an outrageous trifling with the tima 
 of whe court, and more especially, with the feelings of the into- 
 resting lady ; for she was perfeotly free from all traces of insanity 
 as any individual of them all there present. 
 
 His honour the mayor then asked the nun if she had any plaoa 
 in thb city in view, where she would wish to stay, until her father 
 could he written to ; and receiving, for answer, that she would 
 prefer remaining in the family whose protection she had first 
 claimed, if it was thought safe for her to be there ; and Mr. Wil- 
 mot stating that he would give bond and security, in any sum re- 
 quired by the mayoj,, for the safe keeping and rendition of tha 
 nnn whenever called upon to do so, it was ordered that she be n- 
 tnmed to his house, and there suffered to remain unmolested. 
 
 Tha Father General bit his Up, as if in angry disappointmanti 
 and laft tha room ; whila Mr. Wumot took eAargad[1aiiaBan,and9 
 
156 
 
 l^ysteiies of a GonTeni 
 
 maAm the Meoii of m poHoaolBoMr, rt-raterinR tb« mntefft wliMi 
 bad born* thorn to tho nayor*! oftoo, WMdriron to hit rooidouott 
 Hon tho nan loon exohouffod hor reliffiout habit for a Moalar 
 dnat ; and, as aho dwelt aquiot inmato in his family, noTer goins 
 out into tho itroet. ozoept at nifrht, and to Titit the dwolliov of 
 tho Father Glonoral, no f arthor exoitomont oocurrod in tho public 
 Bind. Tho Oatholiot, who. under other ciroametanoes, would 
 have raised an unffOTemable storm about tho poof Bon'a ears, 
 being oontrollod aud kept quiet by their superiors. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL * 
 
 The Father Oeneral'i renidenoe— The library— Splendid ftimitnre and flW 
 tingt of the Mtablishment— The Father General's letter to the Mother 
 Bapeiioi^ Plot upon plot. . 
 
 Tarn residenoe of tho Father Goneral, in New York, was a band- 
 ■omo thcee^story briok building;, of the first class of priTste houses 
 baying a basement with dining room and kitohon attaohed ; a 
 suite of drawing rooms, riohly furnished, on the first floor proper ; 
 two large ohambers on the second, and aa many in the third, with 
 a neat little room, over the hall, on both; and a fine attio, woU 
 finished, Ipf tho serTants of the eetablishment. In the rear was 
 a small yard, which his taste had caused to be bandsoroely ar- 
 ranged in little flower-beds, in which were some most rare and 
 beautiful plants, oaref uUy attended to by the gardener from tht 
 oity oonTont. who came at regular intenrals to spend a day or 
 two in working the beds, nnd seeing that everj^thiog was in nioa 
 order. Between this residence and the adioiuing house, was an 
 alley of some three feet and a half in width, with a front gate 
 opening upon the street ; the alley running back into the garden. 
 The front chamber of this dwelling, in the seoond story, waa oo- 
 onpied by the Father General ; the rear one appropriated to hie 
 guests, and the small room oyer the door, as a oabinet where ho 
 kept his most'yaluable papers in an iron ufe, did all of his writ- 
 ing, and transacted his priyate business. The only opening to 
 this room was through his ohamber ; as he had the door former* 
 ly leading from it into the passage, built up, so as to render him^ 
 ■elf the more secure from eayes<dropping. 
 
 The front room in the third story was fitted up as a library; 
 haying shelves arranged on all sides, upon which was found a 
 magniflcent collection of hooka, in all laomiages, and upon almost 
 all suojects ; many of them very rare and of great yalne. A map- 
 rack stood on one side of the room, proyided with maps and at> 
 lases, some of which were especially prepared with a yiew to ez- 
 liibit, at a glance, the points on the face of the earth, where the 
 tTesuita had established themselyes. A yery large terrestrial 
 globe, also, stood near these majw. An oyal table, coyered with 
 green doth, and of large dimensions, occupied the centre of this 
 ' loom, upon which were bundles of letters and papers tied up witii 
 nd tapa, and neatly labelled by the secretary of the Father Qen- 
 aral, a young Italian by the name of Pietro Lodetti, who spent 
 laeak of hit time in the nbrary, during the day, and occupied the 
 •djoiaiHt iMd-coom, at nightt it may be as well to state, hen, 
 
MistniM of ft OntToni 
 
 1B7 
 
 ttallMifMntaij hadbMu Mot mil Iron IMy, bv Mm IimA of 
 Um mdm tti««^ of Ms own aoeord, lo tko IMIior dononl in tho 
 XJwiUA BMmt with tho raol, ttioaffh not avowod. iufcantion of 
 Mttoff M » ipy npon thoMtioni of tho lottor; inoh Mnc tho nu- 
 piofono jooloiaqr of thoao Jetulto, in xofonoot to ooeh ottier. 
 
 It WM altogothor » nv ottabliihmont in its ontin fitting up ; 
 and^ WTO that it had thr< ORhout that nMonlIno lono which Momi 
 to bo inwponbly oontieotad with all btoholor midonoot, firom 
 whioh tho mellowins hand of woman and bar dolioate taato havo 
 boon oxolndod, it mi^ht haro boon a model for the whole oitjr, in 
 point of neatneie and elegance. In the drawing roomt were hang 
 some of the beet speoimeni of the old maaters : in the ehamhera 
 were found all poMible luxurioui contriTanoee for eaae and com- 
 fort ; iu the cnHine, every arraniremeiit neceeaary for the perfec- 
 tion of good liTiog; and iu the cellar, carefully placed nnder look 
 and key, a chdce ctore of the riobest old wines, duly labelled 
 with the dates of the reepectiTO Tintages, npon his r' ofbund ao« 
 qnaintanoe with which, the Father General greatly prided him- 
 self. Itistmethat all thia contrasted strangelv enough with , 
 the Jeeuit's tow of porerty ; but, if you had asked him to nplain 
 the glaring inconsistency, he would, doubtless, haTO iroplied ^o 
 yon, with great readiness, that, as the head of the order in tiro 
 United States, he had dispensation to lire thus ; the importanoe 
 and dignity of the ofBce wnioh he filled, requiring that ho should 
 live in corresponding state. 
 
 On the OToning of the day npon which the nun represen'Ia,-}; 
 Emilie de Yere or the Sister Theresa, had been taken befon the 
 city autboritiee, the Father Oeneral was seated at the round table 
 ooTored with green cloth, which stood in his cabinet, busily ett< 
 gaiKod in writing a letter, in cypher, to the Mother Sapenor;a 
 quiet smile, meanwhile, playing upon his features. 
 
 After giving her a detailed account of the events of the day, he 
 thnsproMeded: 
 
 " Thus, you will perceiye, our plot works admirably. The Ca- 
 nada nnn, about whom I have already written to you, has played 
 her part to profection ; and I have succeeded, bv her help, and by 
 the manner in which I have managed this whole affair,* in making 
 the mayor and the good citizens of New York believe the nnn to 
 be the -veritable one whom I advertised, last July, and that we 
 Oatholios are the most barbarous people on the face of the earth. 
 But, while they are nnder this impression, we ut6 >iu' idily advanc- 
 ing towards the desired object, and can afford ic. hi. coyered with 
 the dust whioh is tbrown up bj our carriage wheels, whose revo- 
 lutions bear us to the acquisition of a vast inheritance. It is of 
 the utmost importance to ns, that every pen ible suspicion of con- 
 nivance in this matter should be avoided ; and the worse, there- 
 fore, the attitude in which we apf e(>r !,o stand to the pretended 
 Sister Theresa, the more improbable it is that oollufiion should ba 
 suspected or detected. 
 
 *' I have written to Father Marin, to make every possible effort 
 to introduce into the family of Mr. Moretoo, a servant under the 
 oontrol of our order, that we may have a spy upon Julia, and ba 
 able to countervail any mischief ^at she or her friends may at- 
 tempt to do so. 
 
 M On to-morrow, the nnn will write a letter as £rom Emilie de 
 Yexe to her lather, requesting him to Qoma and take her home, 
 
168 
 
 XysterieB of aGoATOii 
 
 wUoli I ihaU tdM omw to wnd to tho laneator of tho Mlilt, te 
 rooh ft way M will ftToid all taspioioii, and pat tho afliiratUp 
 further forward io Uie proooH of oony.pletioii. Ifoaawhilc ■h* 
 ii wfely hooMd with Mr. Wile^ct; li^bom all the world belieTee 
 to be a ffood Bpiaoopalian. wlaile heia one of qi, and as true aa 
 •teel. Hal ha! 
 
 ** I will keep 70a advised of i*arther proceedingi." 
 
 To this letter he added the following poitecript, in the lama 
 ejpher : 
 
 <* If yon hare any olothinur of Emilie de Vere, worn bj her pre- 
 Tious to her aMumiiiK the raligious habit, or any articlee wnioh 
 her friends, if tl^n be any, would be likely to recognise as hen- 
 box them up oarefuUy, and send th<«m to my address." 
 
 Desnatohing this letter to the post offioe, by a servant who an- 
 ■werecl the signal bell wire whion comuuicated with the kitoheoy 
 the Father Qeneral applied himself to the examination of a large 
 mass of documents whioh he took from the iron safe, and to the 
 
 Krusal and answering of several letters whioh lay upon the table 
 fore him some in cypher, and some in a plain hand ; and, as the 
 great town dock, on the City Hall, told the hour of two in the 
 morning, jaded and worn out with fatigue, he entered his bed- 
 room, and, mumbling a sleepy and hasty prayer, thre# himself 
 npon his luxurious oonoh of down, and slept soundly until the rap 
 of the servant at the door, which was carefully and doubly look- 
 ed, aroused him to a late breakfast. 
 
 OHAPTBB XXn. 
 
 The Father 0«neral's anxiety— His interview and transaetlon with the' 
 fftlse Emilie de Vera— The fiibricated letter— The Italian leeratuy— 
 Plot and obnnter-plot— Pietro and Alice— The intimacy eommenoea. 
 
 l^B next evening, bbout nine o'clock, the Father General might 
 have been seen seated at his cabinet, at the little green table, on 
 which were placed writing matorials, anxiously awaiting the ar- 
 rival of some one : for he frequently arose, and, going to the win- 
 dow, looked out into the darkness, and as often returned to his 
 ohair, with an evideutlv increasing uneasiness of manner. 
 
 At length, he was about to seize his hat, and leave the room, 
 when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps ; the gate open- 
 ing into the bllcT jreaked upon its hinges, and he hastened down 
 stairs to meet tb expected visitor, who turned out to be the pre* 
 tended Sister T.^resa, dressed not in the garb of a reltgieuae, but 
 that of a womai vn the middle walk of life, plain but neat. She 
 was accompanied by the secretary, in a secular dress, who, with 
 his quiet, down look, glided silently by her side, and, crossing his 
 arms upon his breast, with a low inclination of the head, as he 
 met the Father Jesuit, passed on to his own apartment ; leaving 
 the nun whom he had been sent for, standing in the hall with th« 
 latter. 
 
 ** I will call for you in two hours," said the Oeneral to the se- 
 oretary, aa ttie former turned to ascend the stairway almg with 
 fhe nun. 
 
 ** Tee, sir," was the reply of the secretary, again oroiaing hit 
 .Hfrns, and bowing hia haao* 
 
 ■=4 
 
•kitt 
 
 ^^ 
 
 •lieTM 
 no M 
 
 VyMim of a (kstrml 
 
 169- 
 
 rprt* 
 wfaioh 
 lers-. 
 
 loan- 
 
 lar^a 
 the 
 
 table 
 Mthe 
 nthe 
 
 bed. 
 maelf 
 «rap 
 look. 
 
 bthe' 
 
 x~ 
 
 ight 
 
 I on 
 
 ar. 
 
 rin. 
 hii 
 
 om, 
 en« 
 
 'WU 
 
 re- 
 but 
 )he 
 ith 
 bis 
 be 
 
 be 
 
 WhtB fh* Owttml had intiodaotd tht nim into Us oaUntL 
 oanfallT looUnf the door of tho bed-room, ho lookod itomly §i . 
 kar, whUt he eaf'^ , in an impreHiTe tone : 
 
 ** Yon are an hour behind jonr time. Why ie thia f* 
 ^''^Hy lord,** replied the nnn, aomewhat alarmed by hit earnest 
 manner, ** I was detained by some oompany that oame to Mr. 
 Wilmors, after tea< and whom I oonld not leave without appear- 
 ing to be abrupt, and ezoite suspioion." 
 
 ** It is well. Yon have aoted your part nobly so far ; oootinue 
 to bo true and faithful, and you will deaerre well of the order. 
 Botray iny trust, and— you know what will be the eonsequeiioe," 
 said the Father Oeueral, while a alight tremor paaaed oTer the 
 poor flirra frame. 
 
 MNow/' oontinned the Jesuit, <* ait down at that table, and 
 wiita as I ahaU dioUte to you." , 
 
 « ^010 Forh CUy, August 18, 1812. 
 ** To Mr. Oharlea de Vere, 
 
 B&ton Bouge, Louisiana. 
 
 " My dear, dear father, can tou, will yon, forgive me, for the 
 baae part I have aoted, in briogiug ao much aorrow upon you and 
 upon.my dear mother, of whoae death, aome yeara ago, I have 
 hierd P Oh, if ahe were but alive, how wonld it rejoice my heart 
 to fall upon my kneea before her, and implore her forgiveneaa, 
 tool but ahe ia gone ; and you are my only remainfaiff parent. 
 WiU you forgive me, dear father, when I tell you that I have re- 
 pented in duat anfl aabea— that I have fled from the hated con- 
 vent, and renounced Boman Oatholioism for ever? O, come to 
 me, beloved father ! and tell me that you do forgive me ; and 
 take me away from this region, where I fear, every day, that the 
 dreadful priests will find me out, and use violence to my life. 
 You will find me at the house of a Mr. William Wilmot, a gro- 
 cer, at the-comer of Hudson and King-street. Mr. Wilmot is a 
 Protestant, who has kindly taken me into his family, and so far 
 protected me against the efforts of the vile Jesuits. But hasten to 
 mo, dear father— every daywill seem an age until I see yon. 
 
 "Your repentant child, 
 
 " EXZLXB DB YBBB." 
 
 ** There, that* a a good girl," said the Gtooeral, patting the nun 
 on the head. " Let me aee what vou have written." 
 
 " Ah 1 that ia just right," he added, after having carefully per- 
 naed the letter— " juat what we want. Ma foi, but you write a 
 pretty hand, lust like those pretty fingers with which you wrote 
 iV" cootinned he, as he looked archly at the pretty woman, while 
 ablush mantled her cheeks." 
 
 " Oome now, my dear, direct this on the back," said the jTesuit. 
 as he banded her the letter, which he had meanwhile folded and 
 enclosed in an envelope—** and write the address in a little larger 
 baud than you have used within, in order that it may be sure not 
 to miscarry. Yes, that will do ; thank you, my pet." 
 
 Leaving the pretty nun with the Father Jesuit, while he in- 
 •truots her fully in that part which she is to act in the plot, let us 
 go up stairs, and look in upon the secretary. See, there he sits, 
 m that room filled with books, surrounded by a pile of papers, 
 which he seems to have been engaged in arranging and filing. 
 But ho no longer has that quiet, down look ; bis feet are placed 
 upon the edge of the table: m he leans back in bis ohair, ho 
 
160 
 
 MTBtffl^ias of a C(»iTeiit 
 
 u 
 
 tmixU hk pen beiweMi hfa &•!«•, and bis {neiaing blaok vjm It 
 Auieing in ttt floolEflk, m, with, a look fn^ of intelligiMioe, heaeomi 
 to be lolTing Bome mental question wbiob deeply intereete Mm. 
 Ihresently, as if unable to anriTe at any ssEtisfaotory oondnsion, 
 he tbveir the pea upon the table, with a gestnie of impatianoei 
 esclainung— 
 
 ** I will find it out, in epite of him. It is no mese lore intrignei 
 I am snre. If so, why should this mm have come all the wa^ 
 from Ganada, as she told me, to-night, she had ; and why all this 
 pretence about her escape from the Oouvent of the Annundatioa, 
 and about her being a sister somebody instead of herself P. why 
 this personation of another nun, and all this uproar at the may- 
 or's office P Why is she staying at Wilmot's P There is some 
 S«nd plot on hand ; and I will have a hand in it— I tow to th» 
 oly Virgin, I will." . 
 
 ** But how shall I go about it? Ah I I see. I will make loye 
 to this nun^and then, Mr. Father General— my Lord, the repre- 
 sentatiye of the Great Head of Uie Jesuits in these United States 
 —then see if I do not get from her all she knows about this mat- 
 ter : and she must necessarily know a good deal. Aha ! Fietco, 
 jou have got him now." 
 
 So saying, the young priest seemed to be greatly elated ; but, 
 net in the height of it, and while he was still planning and plot- 
 ing, in his own mind, how he should carry out his newly-form- 
 ed scheme, a signal, which apprised him that the Father (General 
 required 'his presence to attend the nun to her home, interrupted 
 his reveiie, and called him down stairs. Here be found the latter 
 awaiting him, with averted countenance, outside the chamber 
 door of the General ; and the two, descending to the yaid, soon 
 found their way to the street, and rapidly walked towards the 
 part of the city in which Mr. Wilmot lived. t 
 
 During the ^teen minutes which ela^eed before Beaching the 
 residence of the nun, the secretary had made such {^d use of 
 his time, that she had promised to take a walk with him, for the 
 benefit of her health, on the following night ; it being agreed 
 npon, between them, that, at dark, she shomd retire to her room, 
 oa pretence of a headache, while he would walk slowly before 
 the nonse, on thfl opposite side of the way ; and, when she dis- 
 covered him, she was to steal quietly out mto the street, and 
 Join him. 
 
 The truth is, that the nun found it a very tiresome affair to be 
 cooped up in a small house^ day after day, with nothing to do ; 
 while the busy scenes in the street upon which she looked, day 
 after day, excited her woman's curiosity to know more of what 
 was going on in the world around her ; and, as she did not dare 
 to go but alone, b> day or by night, she looked upon the offer of 
 the handsome young Italian as affording her just what Jti9 want- 
 ed, an opportunity for rambling about unobserved, and of taking 
 a peep at men and things as they existed outside of the walle u 
 a convent. 
 
 They did ramble about, for two good hourSj that night ol their 
 appointment ; and, while the secretary continued to amuue her 
 childish curiosity, by means of many strange sights and sounds 
 which attracted her observation and fell upon her ear, he manag- 
 ed most adroitly, and all unoonsciously to her, to draw from her, 
 indiceetly, a number of items which gaTe him, unitedly, soma 
 
 (A 
 
 1 
 C 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
•f k 
 
 IgvterieB of a 0ini76ni 
 
 m 
 
 (Axm to fluB grand plot whoM oziitonoe ho nuq^Mted, uiA of ivliete 
 mtltam he f ut Mmoiu to hsro lomo knowledgo. 
 
 ThoMi noctomal ramblings wezekeptup for a leonrfderablo 
 langth of time ; bn^ ai they did not oceur oftener than onee, or 
 lU most, twioe a week, and great oare was taken that thoT should 
 not be extended to sach an hoar in the night as would be likely 
 to plao^ the nun in the position of beina looked ont after the fa- 
 vaty had retired to rest, they were not diiooyered ; while they led 
 to oonsequences which will have an important bearing upon fa- 
 tote events in the progress of this story. 
 
 OFAPTEB XXIir. 
 
 AUes's parents— Placed in a oonTentatan early age— Ifew fBelings nra- 
 dueed by new scenes— Evening rambles— Mutual attaohinent— The 
 dawning of light— Ita effect upon Fietro and Alice— Their convena- 
 tion and resolution. 
 
 Tbb nun, -whom the Father (General had fonnd in a eonrent in 
 Ganada, and brought to New York, to personate the deceased 
 Sister Theresc^ was the daughter of Colonel Soule, a French offi* 
 cer of distinction, who had been killed in a duel, near Montreal; 
 and whose widow had placed the youn^; Alice, then only five 
 years old, in the care of the Abbess, while sheTetumed to France, 
 to see after her husband's property. The French Revolution had, 
 in the meantime, broken out, and Madame Soule died, a pray to 
 anxiety and grief. The or|)baued Alice had, therefore, ftrown'^up 
 in the couveot, without having ever been outside of its walls from 
 flie day upon which she entered them, until that when, in com- 
 vany with the Father General, she had started for the city : — she 
 having previously passed her novitiate, and been>« nuu for some 
 two years. 
 
 It IS not to be wondered at, therefore, that, when this young 
 ereature, inheriting all the vivacity of the French character, and 
 trained amid the gloom and monotony of conventual scenes, was 
 placed, wholly inexperienced, in the midst of a large and crowd- 
 ed city, like New York, full of novel sixhts, which excited her 
 onriosity and called into active exercise her ardent imagination, 
 with what she saw and heard around her contrasted so strangely 
 with the austere aspect of things as they existed io the prison- 
 house in which she had been reared, she should be fascinated with 
 ttie new world into which she had been so suddenly ushered, and 
 should look forward, with dread, to the period of her return to 
 that living tomb. Especially is not this to be wondered at, when 
 it is remembered that her Cicerone was a young and handsome 
 Italian, of noble family ; whose accomplished manners and whose 
 brilliant talents had, at first, been employed to win from her all 
 •he knew in reference to the plot of the General ; but which had 
 accomplished results, to both, but little dreamed of by either ; 
 for he had awakened feelings in her mind, to which she had hi* 
 therto been a stranger ; while, in his turn, he felt that the flame 
 which he had kindled in her bosom, burned also in his own. 
 
 Indeed, the circumstances of these two young persons were 
 somewhat similar ; for he had been placed, for family reasons, 
 ail a very tender age, in a monastery at Borne ; and had bean 
 
132 
 
 syBiflfus or % unEfuii 
 
 •d««atid wliollj within its wa]k» in aU the. anlilM 9»A\Mm 
 oi the jMoiti, ntttil, ditoomring p«eali«r ^]0nt for intrigao,M 
 kwl« at thr as* of ^enty thXM Tean, been seleoted by the hMd 
 of the order thete. an^ tent to this oountry, in oompauy with flie 
 Leffste en his visit of installation, as priTste seocetary to the Ks- 
 tber (General ; for the double purpose of actiog as a spy upon flke 
 movements of the latter, and of obliging the rioh and powerful 
 family of the Lodetti, who had their own reasons lor desiring 
 Ikat Pietro should h' removed as far from them as pospiue. 
 Since his arrival in the United SUtes, he had, as a qniok observer 
 and an intelligent ^scosoner. aoquirsd new views of men and 
 thipgs. Life prena W itself, to his mind, in an entirely novel 
 aspect; andheoegaa secretly to form conclusions, e^cn to prp^ 
 ject plans, which startled himselt accustomed has he had been 
 inrbviously to a blind submission to the will of his Superiors, and 
 io have his thoughts take their complexion from the colouring of 
 those who had assumed to thiuk for him. Tot the very novdt/ 
 and daring of these new conceptions had a peculiar oham for his 
 excitable and naturally enterprising disposition, and were, there* 
 lore, readily indulged by him. « 
 
 If, then, Alice felt like a bird let loose, for the Qrst time from a 
 cage in which it had been raised, and 'disposed to soar aloft into 
 the blue ether, upon those pinions which hitherto had heated in 
 ▼a*.n against its prison bars; his feelings resembled those of oqa 
 who. Milt np from infancy in the dark cavern, by and by emor- 
 
 Cie upon ftwa fields, lit up by the gladsome sunshine; and, i||. 
 r sti.udiug for a time, gazing in mute amaxement upon tiw 
 Ireshly developed beautiee of nature, at length longs to roam ov«r 
 fbese fields, aud become better acquainted with those beauties* 
 
 l^eir rambleb through the dty, by night, had served to attach 
 the?e two beings to each other, in strong and mjrstic ties i-Aka 
 stroogsrbaoause they had became mutually acquainted wltheaib 
 other's history ; , and their souls so mingled in sympathv and in- 
 fection, ttiat thoir confidence was peri!ect~no thouijht whiflh 
 q>raug up iu tho mind of the one, being held back frem the other* 
 
 During one of these excursions, tliey ba|>pened to pass neox a 
 Protestant ehufoh, in which the regular night service was oon- 
 ducted. PrcMnpted by curiosity, they entered, and took their 
 seats in the first pew they came to. Hera, unobserved themeel- 
 ves, because seated in the rear of the eutire congregation, they 
 looked with deep interest, for the first time in their lives, upon 
 the riiople form of religious service— so plain, so fervant, so ra- 
 tional ;-4tod could not help contrasting it wim the complex and 
 pompous ceremonial of their own church ; and, when the ounis- 
 ter arose, and in earnest tones gave out his text — " Te shall know 
 the truth; and tha truth shall make you free;"— they listennd 
 with rapt attention to his delineation of true spiritual freedom, 
 the means by whieh it is attuned, and the result of this freedom, 
 to the individual, the nation, the world at large. Asthey lisfaM- 
 ed, new views of human rights, of human happiness, of divine 
 truth, all consonant as they were with right reason, sprang up in 
 their minds, and placed themselves in striking opposition to tim 
 dogmas in which they had been instructed, and the slavery, m«i* 
 tal, moral, and physical, in whioh they had been hitbeBto h^d. 
 They felt as did the monk of EinlAben, when he lonnd the Imw 
 seleoted Latin mtifg of the Ho^ Seri|pftun^ la Iha ]£bmiv of Jbtt 
 
 ,>i. 
 
 ft*?. 
 
th«lMid 
 
 wlthlb* 
 
 othaV*- 
 
 apoo|^ 
 
 daaiipg 
 
 obaanrar 
 men Mid 
 
 atoproH* 
 wd been 
 ion, and 
 taring of 
 ' noTdity 
 Blbrhu 
 le, there* 
 
 efromn 
 lolt into 
 leateilui 
 leof (Mie 
 lyemer- 
 «»d,e|- 
 iponUw 
 am over 
 putiee,. 
 >»tte«* 
 »:— die 
 itheeeh 
 •nde|« 
 i wl|i<di 
 eotheir^ 
 neeva 
 Moon- 
 >k their 
 
 Q, they 
 ■.npoi 
 >8oni- 
 es»nd 
 flunie- 
 I know 
 ieteood 
 aedon, 
 eodom, 
 listen. 
 diniM 
 rap in 
 to the 
 
 «fSIBMi m ft tmnfm 
 
 DheU. 
 
 col 
 
 dMid, while leedinff it, •* hie Honl kindled wiUii 
 «lknM hemw howtmth bad been wronged 1^ ignorant piefy 
 Ikno nypoocitioel iniidelity." And ae oontaot with the opiaione 
 of freemen, who r.ega»l*^, Uberty ae their birthright^ had indaoed 
 teinione and feeliuge in the minds of those who, under the lead- 
 fSg of La I'ayetto and his gallant associates, had crossed the broad 
 ▲uentie to sm the ^ooloniee in America in achioTuig their liber- 
 liee,— wJ^eh had led to the attempt— nnsnccassfnl tbounh it waa 
 — lo aooomplish the same result in France, on their return home, 
 r-eo, in refeienoe to the yountr secretary and Alios, tiiey felt Uiat 
 ih^ birthright had been withheld from them and, that Qod and 
 man would Justify the eflFort to secure ito restoration. 
 
 The eenrioe concluded, the secretary and his oomnanion left the 
 ^nrdif and directed their stops towards Mr.' Wihnofs;— 
 walking slowly, for their minds were busy with the solution of 
 
 Kblems which had been presented to them, for the firet time^ 
 t night. At length, the former said to Alice, in tones whidi 
 indicated deep thought, as well as honest couTictica ; 
 
 ** Alios, we have been asleep. Immured witbin oonventnal 
 walla, we had no knowledge of tbts existence of auy other world 
 ttian thiNt we found around us. Instructed in the dogmas of 
 the Oatholic Church, we haTc been tought to belicTe that all be- 
 ridee is hereqr,— damnable doctrine, unworthy of our belief, and 
 inpulting to HeaToo, as irell as destructive of the souL But we 
 haTe awaked to find that there is a populous world outside of the 
 aniorooosm in which we hare been reared ;— a populous world, 
 irhose inlwbitonto enjoy life, and liberty, under the benign iniln* 
 •nee of a religion which is simple iu ita forms, but which appeare 
 mighty in ite effecto ; a reliKiou embraced by millions, and which 
 net once dignifying to man, since it frees him from tyranny; 
 ind honoureble to Ood, sinoe it representa him notaaenslaT* 
 ing the mind and heart of man, but as the great deliverer from 
 fhraldom. I feel that I have awaked to a new existence : me> 
 thinks I breathe a purer atmosphere than I did in Bome. I am a 
 freeman 1 How is it with thee, dearest Alice P" 
 
 ** Fietro, I feel strange ■"—replied Alice, while her roice trem- 
 bled with emotion. *' I do not kuow what to think, nor what to 
 say. I am bewildered, *Te shall know the truth; and tho 
 truth shall make you free.' Pietro, what is truth P" 
 
 *' Truth, iu the abstract, Alice, is accordance with fact and i'eal- 
 ity. Moral truth must be iu conformity with the character and 
 Will of Him who is the great Moral (Jovemor of the world :— the 
 
 EBat moral principles laid down by Him for man's government, 
 ding their developemtvut in the administration of diriue grace 
 and providence, altimat;iug in the retributions of Eternity, and 
 justified by the results, i i the sight of men, of augds, and of de- 
 Tile. Ton and 1^ Alice, have been teught to believe that the truth 
 is alone to be found within tbe pale of Holy Mothei Ghurch : 
 but, if so, how is this assertit a to be reconciled with the ooirupt 
 and tyrannical practices of the cLurch ; where is the accordance 
 between the revealed character of Jehovah, and the grand dis- 
 tinctive features of Catholicism, and what, l begin to fear, areito 
 direct and necessary tendencies P Where is the accordant truth 
 ■v<4his freedom of which we have heard, to-uig|it for the firrt 
 tbne iii all our livee P We have hitherto seen neither. . On the 
 aouftraiy, we havelieen taoght that tha very ea ecne e oi onr wlt» 
 
.^:^-'^^^^- 
 
 W^:. 
 
 of a &2,T8nt 
 
 ^Um oondilad ia ralnniwioa to ih« will of oar tapooAen, mi4 fil 
 oar r«Ugf< ills Towf of poverty, ohMtity, and obemeBOo;r-wluflli 
 ■ooth to MT, leem to be aolemn mockeriei in tfio ettioiitioii qI 
 thoto to T-iiom we made them: if, indeed, we are to ooneld# 
 their Utm m oommentariee ni;on their principles— we h!»^ :» iie#n 
 led to ■nrrep:2er onrselyea, body, loul, and spirit, to tbc:i' ?o itrw^. 
 I Tory muoh fear that tlm dogmas of our choroh are ia(}ap?.b?^ d( 
 beariuff the test of truth ; and I long to share that li.'>(:'rty ^; Urn 
 seems to be the birthrigbn of man. and to be so largely eujcfttd 
 by the people in vi^'tose m^dst our lot hu^ been so stnur^aiy tuu, 
 I fear that I am fast beooQiing an heretic ; bui I oannot help it.'* 
 
 ** It is stran(id| Fietro, that I have m«} oU the s»me thotiKhts and 
 lsaUn(*s : and it is passing etrange, an yon say. how ve haTebeen^ 
 thrown into this new world of thought & id feeling;, of freedom 
 and happiness. Ton must inntruot me, Pietro ; I koow not how 
 to bring my little bark to i^hore, from ttie XBiidat of the billows 
 which arise tumultuouslv around me." 
 
 •• I will. Alice, with all my heait."— replied Fi«trc. ** Bui,"- 
 contioued he, taking her hand in his, and pref f>ing it tecvi^rly. 
 wbila he i^pcke in soft, yet distinct tones, which thrilled tbio ign 
 bet womi*'' ? heert, pulsatinft as it did in eyery throb for him, and 
 '^ pr . Tttise mi}. Alice, that, in good or ill, in weal'or 
 
 icijc: 
 
 for him ali . 
 
 woe, whateT6i maj be cur future lot, our lives and oiir fate shall 
 
 be one and in>>i;' ruble, — that we shall never be separated." 
 
 ** Nevfif'!'"— vxi t Alioej clinging to his arm, and looking np in* 
 to l»ia i&i.ie, with a countenance which was suffused with the blush 
 of matii^u modesty, but which spoke the deep trust of her soul, 
 and the flrmuess of her decision. 
 
 ** Heaven bless thee, dearest Alice, for that word. Kow will I 
 protect thee with my life,! and lead you, as best I may, to the en- 
 joyment of that liberty for which we both pant. The vows that 
 we madti, were made in ignorance ; they must be. displeasing to 
 God, because evidently repugnant to the triith of things. He 
 will absolve ue t and lus truth will make us free firom the tyranny 
 of man. All will be right, Alice. Trust, and be prudent. Let 
 oe bide our time. We shall yet be free !" 
 
 Be bad become so much excited, while uttering the last few 
 words, that his voice was raised to a pitch which would have en* 
 dangered their safety, had auy prying one been nigh ; but fortun- 
 ately none observed the interesting pair, or heard the words of 
 treason against the interests of Rome, save the loved one to whom 
 they were addressed, and the Oreat Being who bad witnessed the 
 pliRhtiug of their troth, and who doubtless approved the act, not- 
 withstanding the vows which they had made to the Holy Mother 
 Ohuroh, iu ignorance and in superstition. 
 
 They ooon reached Mr. Wilmot's door ; and, as they stood a mo- 
 ment, uefore parting for the night, Pt^itrc saia to Alice; 
 
 *' It seems to me that we both need' a guide in our new situa- 
 tion, as regards both our position to the church, and our inquiry 
 after truth ; and, as I have no longer any confidence in our old 
 ones, which serve but to bewilder and mislead us, I shall, on t6- 
 morrow, procure a copy of the Protestant Bible, and read it for 
 myself. I shall also get a copy for jon, Alice, and brinfr it wijUi 
 •me, when next I come. Meanwhilej, we will come to visit that 
 Fkotestant church, every Thursday night, where we heard sucAi 
 Vbiagit, this evening. Farewell, dearest— be pradeni^ and look l» 
 
MystsridB of a OoDTflftti 
 
 m 
 
 Am OfMt Sooroe of Light, Life, and lAhntj, for hdp and lok gaido 
 inoo. Qood night." 
 
 80 nyiag, ho turned away, while Alioe eonght her room, and. 
 kneelin(( down, not in prayer, as usaal, to Mary— ** the refa^ of 
 •InnenT'— hut to /fuii, who it *' <A« loay, and the fy^Uh^ and th$ 
 tt/r" ehe poured out her soul in devout supplioattou that Ha 
 Would lead them into an acquaintance with the way of aalf atioii« 
 and guide tham in their preient difficult oircumetanoee. 
 
 // 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 OHAFTEBXXIV. 
 
 Aliee^elgnoruieeofthe true nature of the plot ihewae eofagedfai— R« 
 anxiety on that account— Her determination io act rignt--Arrival eff 
 Mr. Prenties— Alioe'e perturbation and alarm in coniequence - Her ia> 
 terriew with Mr. Preniisir— Alice divulges the partioulan to Mr. Prenp 
 tiaa^Uia astonishment at the recital— iiia determination to befriend 
 ▲lice— Escape of Pietro and Alice. 
 
 Tbbxb months had now passed since Alice had written the letter 
 to the south, in the name of Emilie de Yere, which had been dio> 
 tated to her in the name of the Father General. Mr. Wilmot, tf 
 he knew anything of her intimacy with the secretary, said no- 
 thing about it ; and the latter, together with Alice, was almoet 
 ready to make a public recantation of .Roman Catholicism, and 
 to profess the Protestant faith, when a circumstance occurred. 
 Which placed her in an exceedingly embarrassing situation, ana 
 had like to have ruined the plot of the Jesuit, ere yet it had ma* 
 tared. 
 
 Alios, on being brought to New York, had been told that, fox 
 reasons which iuvolyed the interests of the order, and which it 
 was not necessary she should then be made acquainted with, she 
 was to personate Emilie de Yere, a youug girl, who moM about 
 her own age, height, complexion, so. ; whose father was a Mr. 
 Oharles de Yere, formerly a resident of New York city, ^'ut, for 
 some years, of the parish of B4ton Bouge, iu Louisiana, a wealthy 
 ^nter ; and whose mother had been dead for many years. She 
 was further told that the part which she was expected to act, 
 from time to time, would be communicated to her, as it became 
 neoessary, and that she was on no account to take any step^ or to 
 answer any questions, beyond what was stated to her, without 
 leave and instructions from the Father General. The part whioh 
 •be had acted before the mayor's court, had all been arranged for 
 her beforehand, and the very language, as far as practicable, dic- 
 tated to her ; as the General had anticipated, to some extent, the 
 course which things would take under his direction, aided by hia 
 accomplice, Mr. Wilmot. 
 
 At that time, she nevoi4Sreamed, for a moment, that she had a 
 will' of her own, or that it would be anything short of perdition 
 for her to question the right of her superiors, whenever required 
 to do their bidding. She was a mere automaton, moved as thev 
 might pleaee. But now that new light had broken into her son^ 
 and that she had acquired new views of her rights and duties as 
 an accountable moral agent, who owed an allegiance to high hea- 
 ven, paramount to any that she was under to any earthly power, 
 Jiba lelt aioewdingly distressed at the part that sha had aotisd haff- 
 
li 
 
 IQnrtiorfflB oft OmifBiit 
 
 t? 
 
 toiWfls whi fcMiiy.fct<rwhal toatw to adopt fat !> ■ i ^lmm A^ 
 bad eontttlted freely with Pietro upon the iabjeel | Imt bo Ml 
 bitDMlf wboUy iDOompetent to sdviM her. II the WvMit lonraid 
 to the mayor, and oonfeMed to him the troth, her lenMV Mtittg 
 in the Murt which she had played before him, w^vld oomae him ttt 
 •otpect her aiooerity now, and might plaoe her in eiittuaMtaneaV' 
 of aanger to her peraonal liberty : lor be would probably rafptri^ 
 her as iniane ; oonsider the idea of inaauity. aa fonaerly aet «a^ 
 and diareirarded throuRh the teatimony of the ezamiDine>phTai« 
 eiana, aa oeiofc founded in fact ; and order her to be returned to 
 the Father General, who r'ca\d not fail to inflict moat aoTaia 
 pniiisbment upon her, while Pietro would be in no aituation to 
 
 Erotect her. Once in the power of the Qeneral, and ahe knew 
 er aeparation from Pietro would be final and for ever. 8ht ' 
 could not <ionanlt with Mr. Wilmot ; for he waa but the cNptnre 
 of the Oenend. She could not throw heraelf upon the merey d 
 the latter, and bes him to procure the aenricea of iome one elae 
 in the deception in which ahe waa made to bear a oonanionouf 
 part, for thia would enrage him, and aeparateher IromPietrO; 
 riuce ahe would be inatanllv aent back to the convent; and ah# 
 dreaded the fate that would await her there. " PeilHHm^" thoothl 
 [die, ignorant of the magnitude of the plot in which tk^ waa m* 
 ▼olTed — " perhapa, after all, it may be a email affair, and that 1 
 may haye but little more to do with it. I muat bide my time,«p4 
 aet aa cironmstancea may require. I will not, if I can help it, «il 
 dishoueatiyi Qod help me to do right." 
 
 That prayer, though but an ejaculation, waa made in rineeaittpi^ . 
 and waa heard in hearen. Ood did help her, and did rewaai hei 
 lor daring, novice aa she waa in ethics, to do what her conadonia 
 approTed, in apite of the diffleultiea which aurrounded her. 
 
 While aittiDg in her room, one morning, reading the Proleetaaft> 
 Bible which ^etro had giyen her, with her door loekad^ leel^ 
 though in 1i prof eaaedly Protestant family, her aecret dioald^bai 
 betrayed to the Jeauit General, a gentle rap aiinouneed thataom* 
 one wanted her. Hastily concealing the bleaaed volume wUch 
 bad alreadygiren her moral courage aa well aa moral fMedmoi 
 ahe opened the door, and waa aurpriaed to aee Mr. Wihnot hiaS* 
 aelf atandins there, who informed her that a Mr. ihnnt»«9^ of 
 Louisiana, desired to aee her in the parlour. 
 
 '* I suspect," he added, "that it is aomeone connected with 
 that bnsiuesa of yours in the aouth, from a qneatioa or twotimt 
 he asked of me." 
 
 Alice felt her beart beating violently within her bieaat, and aa tf 
 ahe were aboutto suffocate ; but suddenly, and with great effoit, 
 rallying herself, she informed Mr. Wilmot that ahe would bo ia 
 the parlour in a few minutes, and turned to her toilet, aaif toad*^ 
 just her dress. As soon, however, as Le had dobod the door, aaA 
 gone down stairs with bis niessaKC, sbtl burst into a flood oiteara^ 
 and, tbrowiug herself upon her kaees, for a moment or two. ear- 
 neatly implored guidance and help from on high. Then, anaiu^ 
 and bathing her eyea^ ahe arranged her hair, and went down w- 
 the parlour. 
 
 On her entrance into this room, ahe saw, aeated upon tiioaolli, 
 a venerable-looking gentleman, of aome fifty-five yean olafe^ '^ 
 terj genteelly drenad in a full suit of black— hia oountesiaikee «■• 
 ptMaive •! once of iutelleot and of great benignitj^. Btsii^ from 
 
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 j||iHnfli Oi ft iniiPSBL Mi 
 
 Ml iMl^ M lUw MtiNd iteiwMi* ht AdTMiflad to SMl bir» Mi^ 
 mb • BMBMr fall ol wapathy for on* whom k, '<oohti •«»«■ 
 ItefitliBollioiidiboppraMioiifheMid' 
 
 -**! iMMTO tbt ploMura, I pnanne, of taUag bj flio haad Iht 
 dtmfktivef BiTmaoh-attaemadfriandtCharloodaYan. LataM 
 MMUt yoo. If M Emilia, for that I belioTa is yow naoM, that tt 
 affords laa great satisfaction to saa yoa tooking ao wait, aad to 
 MMhgoodhaalth." • ^ 
 
 Thoa sayittg* and shakisf her aost cordially 1^ tha band, Iw 
 lad har, with tha iaishad manuers of a polished gantlamao, to a 
 iaat OB tha sofa ; and thai, seating himself near her, autered into 
 aoAvarsation with h6r, as co the dronmstanoea whitdi had pratraol- 
 ad him from soouer paying a visit to her. Ha waa surprisad to 
 ftad, however, that s^o waa esceediugly bashfnl and reserved; 
 that her colour came aad went with fitful frequeney ; and that 
 there waa something about her whole deuortmeut, which seeiaed 
 to bim aingttUr. Tet, reoollectiog that she had been reared in a 
 convent, had been for some time a nun, and was now a ref ugaa 
 from its wallL he felt diaposed, in the kindness of bis heart, to 
 atteibttto it all to the peat, and to aooouot for it on tha score of 
 tha aoenea which she must have passed through, on her abaodoo- 
 toantirf a conventual life; Mr. Wilmot having painted to bin, 
 while waiting for Alice, in very florid colours, her arrival at bia 
 houee at night, the assembling of the mob, the nest morning tbe 
 visit to the mayor's office, aud the result— tiding caia to repaa* 
 aaot himself iu the most favourable light possible. 
 
 Mm, Wilmot having left the parlour a few memento after AUea 
 bad entered it, Mr. Prentiss exerted himself to place Alice at her 
 ease with him, preparatory to couvernng with her upon busiueev; 
 but, finding this impossible, and that every effort aeemed to agi- 
 tato her the more — ^oc said to her, 
 
 <*Tour letter addressed to your father, MlasAailie^ waa reoelv* 
 ad to due time, but was not read by him. He had made his wiU, 
 and entruatsd his business to me, as bis ezeeutoi; He waa dead." 
 
 Here Alice's feelings completely overcame her with shame at 
 toa part aha was called upon to act ; and she weptfrosly. Thiafc» 
 ing this Bwst natural, under the oircumstamcw^ Mr. Prentiss 
 paocaede d ■■ 
 
 «« Do not weep, my dear Miss Emilia, so bitterly. Ton'4iava 
 evarv raaaon to comfort yourself. Altiiough your letter did not 
 raacb your father, in tiaie to assure him of your recantation of 
 Bomsn Oatholicism, and desire to return to hin^ atiU he loved 
 you very dearly,' aud felt assured of your affection for bim, toi 
 s^ito of tha past. He regarded the steps that yoa had taken, to 
 becMning a nuu, as the result of deception upon the part of tha 
 Mother Superior of the convent, or on that of soma of tne priesta; 
 a»d, although he bitterly regretted it, yet he died at peace with 
 TOO, and, m proof of this, made you his sole legatee, on couditioa 
 uat you would renounce Bomauiam, aud, forsakiug the ooaveut^ 
 cease to be a nun. His estate amounto to something mora than 
 ha ^ a million of dollara. Your letter informs ma that the coa- 
 dition had been complied with, before 'you became aware of its 
 existencel yon are, toerefore,the nndispnted posaessorof thia 
 v»st fortane— and will enter upon ito enjoyment aa soon aa soasa 
 tacbnicalities of the law can be complied with, which will requba 
 bfvt a bxtof dala^. Meanwbilc^ as I preaame yoa maj want soni» 
 
 n 
 
m 
 
 XyiteileB of a Onmni 
 
 
 %. 
 
 fondf for imntdUto qm, I ihftU hvr* «h« plMMUt of baadhif jpa 
 a thouMnd dollars, wbioh I b«Te brottRbt with ne for that pitr- 
 poM. The rtlatioDS of friendthip in which I havo stood to your 
 father, and the attitude in which I stand to theesUte, and to your- 
 Mlf as the heiress of its wealth, will warrant me in tenderTng to 
 yott my serTioee, as a protector, nntil you shall baT« mada aooh 
 other arrangements as you may please." 
 
 So saying, the old gentleman ' drew from the breast>pook«t of 
 bis coat, a large pooliet book, and was about to take from it tba 
 thousand dollars, when, to his utter astonishment, she threw bar* 
 ■elf upon ber knees before him, and, while the tears ran down 
 bar cheeks, begged him to take {dty upon one who was an orphan, 
 indeed, but not the one he took her for, and to promise her upon 
 bis word of honour, as a Ohristian man and a gentleman, that b» 
 would not dimlge, to a living being, what she wae about to re- 
 late to him. 
 
 The old man looked upon the beautiful girl, kneeling thertt ba* 
 fore him, with a heart full of compassion ; ana anauainted, as bt 
 bad been for Tery many years past, as aprutising lawyer <a great 
 ability, with almost all grades and phiises of human crime, and 
 to look upon the faces of timid, as well a^ of undaunted, roguea 
 and criminals of both sexes, he had become a most excellent Jodfs 
 of human character. He read guilt and self-condemnation In ber 
 countenance, and yet, at the same time, the eyideuce of oontrl* 
 tion; and wholly unable to account for what was transpiring be- 
 fore him, jb|S lifted the kneeling girl to her seat, and, making ber 
 the required promise, requested her to relate her storv; assuring 
 ber that he would befriend her, whumsoeTer ehe might be, if ba 
 oould do so consistently with the dictates of honour. 
 
 Thus reassured, and now throwing off that restraint and pain* 
 f nl embarrassment which she had exhibited at the commenoa- 
 meut of this interview, and while hesitating at the course that 
 she ous[ht to pursue, but which disappeared when the victory waa 
 determined for conscience — Alice proceeded to tell Mr. Prentiss 
 all that had transpired, so far as she was oouoerned with the affair 
 of the substitution of herself for Emilie de Yere, from the mo- 
 ment of her iirst introduction to the Father (General, in the parw 
 lour of the convent in Canada, up to that moment ; assuring him, 
 however, that, until that late hour, she never knew why she was 
 required to personate Miss de Yere, nor who she was ; much leea 
 that she was heiress to a large estate, and that she, Alice, was to 
 be made the instrument of getting this estate into the nanda of 
 the Jesuits. 
 
 Mr. Prentiss was thunderstruck. I He was a Protestant, from 
 principle, and a member of the Methodist church. His feelings 
 were averse to Bomauiam ; but that so darius a plot should hav^ 
 been concocted in the midst of an enlightened people, involving 
 an immense property, and should have come so nigh succeedinff. 
 for he could not doubt, for a moment, that the witnesses were mi 
 provided to establish the identity of Emilie de Yere in the pre- 
 tended Alice ; that this damning proof of the hish-handed wick- 
 edness of the Jesuits should stare him in the face, there, in the 
 Stat city of New York, staggered his belief ; and ne was sJmort 
 posed to look upon Alice as craxy, or as attempting to deceiva 
 him. Bul^ when be looked at her really intelligent countenance^ 
 ai it now beamed with honest satisfaotioa— the truth having boW 
 
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 affair 
 
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 XJ^BtefiM of ft Gonrafti 
 
 iolA ;— wIm^ ho thonffbt bow ttr ,. itforward tad oonvidM bit 
 murratiTo, and that ■ha eoold not possibly hava any intoraat to 
 ■abterva, whila tbo ran a graat risk in Ibna ooolldlrig bar otory 
 to a ■tranKor, who, If ba wara diiposed, might do bar vaat Inlory ; 
 ba was foroad to tha oonTictioo that she had made a trathfui oon* 
 fiMlon to him and that it had-baooma his strango prifilaga to lo<dE 
 upon ona of tha dark .plots of Roma. 
 
 ** Tour story/' said ba to Alioe, " shall narar pass my lips. 
 But what do yon propose to do P If I can baf riand yon, and I 
 •aa plain enough that yon stand in need of a iriend, I promise yon 
 Id do so. 
 
 ** Tour frank aTowal of this plot, so far as yon stand oonneeted 
 withit^^r are aware of its f eatares, has saved yon, my ebild, 
 from Twy serious oonseqnenoes; and it would deeply intereet ma 
 to know by what steps you haTobeen led to adopt theoonrsa 
 whioh you nave pursued. But for this we bare not time. Ton 
 IHII tell me that the Father General resides in the oity, and that 
 this Wilmot, with whom you are stayirjr, is a oreature of his. No 
 doubt he is already apprised, by WUmot. of my presenoe here; 
 and he will be anxious to know the result of the interriew be- 
 tween us. Tell me. haTo you no friends in the dty, who oonld 
 ba of senrioe to you in this extremity P" 
 
 ** I huTe but one friend, sir, in this world, so far as I know, ba- 
 tidee Tourself, and he is not in oircumstanoes to aid me." 
 
 ** Ah I who is he P" inquired Mr. Prentiss, with eagerness, as 
 ba felt interested in the welfare of the ioterestiog girl ; and. tha 
 more he thought about it, the more oertain he beaime that tha 
 Jesuits would saorifloe her to their disappointed aTarioe, if they 
 ■bould disooTer that she had been the means of their defeat. 
 ' ** He is a young priest,'* replied Alioe, '* the private seoretary 
 of the Father General." 
 
 *' A young priest, and the prlTata seoretary of the Father Gen- 
 aral I" repeated Mr. Prentiss, with astonishment marked in his 
 oounteoanoe and tone of roioe. • ** This is more mysterioue stiU. 
 I fear, my ohild, that you are, indeed, hopelessly entaufrled in tha 
 ooils of the wily Jesuits. Who is this young priest P Tell me all 
 about him— for I would serre you if I can." 
 
 Alice then related all that has been detailed to tha reader, of bar 
 first aoquaintauoe with the seoretary— their night ramblee about 
 the oity— the effeot, upon both their minds, of whatthev saw aud 
 beard— their first Tisit to the Protesthnt church, and toe sermon 
 they had heard — its effects upon them ; and their sabsequent 
 study of the holy scriptures, according to the Protestart version, 
 and subsequent private abnegation of Catholicism, wish the de- 
 termination of making public profession of the Protoctant faith, 
 on a convenient oooasion, and their betrothment in spite of their 
 monastic vows. 
 
 <* And you say," replied Mr. Prentiss, " tliat you and yoar yonng 
 friend, the secretary, only await a convenient opportunity to re- 
 nounce the Catholic church, and to get married. Well, truth is 
 assuredly stranger than fiction. Here is a villainous plot oon- 
 oooted by this Father General cf the order of Jesuits in the Unit- 
 ed States, to get possession of an immense fortune in Louisiana, 
 by the substitution of another person for a certain nun, in order 
 that she may procure that fortune. A substitute is brought all 
 tbawa;jr from Canada to personate tha*^ deceased or refnotox^ 
 
 If 
 
190 
 
 WpMlB of A OoBfMk 
 
 • wlaltifom pMii«f_iBto tMkM 
 tralh Md jutiM. tnlf, tUt k 
 i th»t niMb ia tiM btftf^as. And m 
 
 it AtfeMOMMMMMiaMlrfiktadbtlNlhtdl* tt» A\^ 
 
 siao«iiiiBirthiiroirB; Md, bv «mm of thit 9onfmdom htm 
 
 WNT to tralh, thto t«7 MMtelt hcvMU dilMto th« plol, by M« 
 
 ▼••liBir it. Mid Mvw »• wtalt from poMlaa ioto tho kMOi of 
 
 tko o o atpi Hiton ofoioit 1 
 
 dorfal. Tboro !■ a Qod 
 
 tko offain of tho ohildron of moo. 
 
 **I am not woalthy." ooBtinuod Mr. FrtstiM, wbo ■■■»■■, .^ 
 •ono momouta. to bo loat in doop thought, **but yon aro b onaa t 
 ohild ; and I thiok that yoa and thit priatt-lovo of yonra wovld 
 doWyiPoUif Toairorodoirnininyooantry. Whataafyouto 
 fiiiui with aof Z will pay yoor osponaaa and hia thoro. To« 
 oanboauurriodyaDdUvowItbnie, wUlohoiaotHdyinf : aad,al«v 
 lav that, my word for tt, if hoia tho man yonMpoMani him tob% 
 ho will novor anflor job to want." 
 
 ** Ooma," addod tba good old man. who iiomod to badoUftaM 
 with tho proopoot, *' wo will aaothialoTor of yoQia thia Tory ai^hi^ 
 and mafca all tho noooisary arrangomonta. z on moat oommtuk 
 oato with him, aomahow, and got hia oonaant to tho plan. lCiad« 
 I ahall tako no rof ttsal. But wo matt got away iromhoroto* 
 morrow momiog, early ; or tho blood-honnda will aaan t no o«i^ 
 and aot on our timok.'* 
 
 •• This iaThnnday," laid Alioo-" if tho Fathar Oonoral doM 
 not hoar that you aro in town. Fietro will oall for ma^ aa oaoaL 
 to go to ebttroh with him ; ana if he dooa hoar it, ho will bo aaai 
 for mo. 80 that, in any oTont, I shall get to sea Um. If yo« 
 will atand at that oomer,"— here Alioo pointed outof tho window 
 to the oomer of tho neat aqoare, below the honoe in whioh thof ' 
 wero"** between beM-paat aiz and MTon o'dook thia oroning, wrn^ 
 will paia that way, wnen you can Join na, and wo oaa f orthat 
 talk of yonr moat genorona ofTer." 
 
 ** Affioed," aaid Mr. Frantiaa; and, dkaking AUoa ooidially by 
 tho hand» ha bade hat ba. of good ooorage^ aid aU woald y^ bo 
 wdL 
 
 Fbfinnately lor all of them, the Father Qeneral waa, that nighl, 
 at the OonTont of the Annuneiation ; having been lent for, poai. 
 haste, by the Mbtter Superior, who had some important oommn- 
 nieation to make to him. Fietro oalled, aa usual, for AUoe, who 
 informed him briefly of what had ooourred, and of the genarooo 
 offer made to them by Mr. Frentias ; and, in » few minutes^ thej 
 joined the kind»hearted old gentleman, wno waa waiting for them 
 at the oomer. 
 
 The three walked together for some length of time; and, bo- 
 iore they perted, the offer waa aocepted, aud the arrangeaMata 
 all made for their departure, the next day ; both Fietro and AUoa 
 having most heartily thanked their benefactor, and invoked the 
 blessing of heaTon up6n him. 
 
 The mail statg^e of tho next day, going South, bore tho old gen* 
 tleman, together with tho ex-nun, and formev private seoretary ; 
 the two latter bearing no token whatever by whioh the most aaii« 
 tiniiing oould have ttseovered that they over won aaored oideMi 
 
 i -?■ 
 
Uptiilii iif ■ 
 
 m 
 
 h-m 
 
 dBJ^ranzxT* 
 
 OmptMrtttoortlwIitMMr Supwlor-A nvoIsMm ta fltecanvMl-ii^lM 
 UMumotlOB mmIM by Um htthar GMcnW-Alarmtef lBMllfMM% «• 
 kit MiMa to iTMr Tom^Hi* fhuitio ooodual ia awMtgo— o>i 
 
 TnsB fUyi bad tlapMcl after tha dapartiura of tha f afttiva^ oa* 
 dav tka oliaNfa of Mv. Prantiat, wbaw, lato ia tha altoruooa of tka 
 foMtb, tba FatfaMT Oaaeral raUraad bona, aara-wora and ffkioaiy. 
 Ba had haaa oallad aaddanlv to tha aoBTant, to qaaU a vavoll 
 aaoaa tha dubi, oocaaiooad b/ tha tvraunioal rula of tha MoMmv 
 S apa n of, who had baoomaio oapnoioaaio har tampaffaadaa 
 , oaMoaain har admiuiitration of iha go? arnmant of tha aalab> 
 liahaiaDt. that thoia uodar har qiiritaal oara, datpairinf <Mt la- 
 diaai anlau affaotad by thair own act, had riaan, with oaa aoowd 
 a«d without a loUtary azoaptioB. in opan raballion ; and, dfpui- 
 iaa a oonmittaa of twal? a of thair nnmbar, aonsiating of tha aoal 
 inioantial oaaa among tham, to praaaut to tha Suparior a lial of 
 thair griavanoat, and to damaod ndraat, nndar pain of baing ra» 
 portad to the Father Gknend, in the event of her ref oaal, fth^ 
 oeaead from all their nsaal aTooations, and roamed about tha 
 buildinfft at their pleasure. 
 
 Deeming il her beet polioT to take tha lead in oaUing for tha 
 intarToution of the Oeueral, she told the oommittee that aha 
 lioakl take the matter into oarfsful oontideration, if they would 
 raiuma their dutiea in the conyent, and, ae soon ai thoT had lelt 
 hea roon^ priTately deepatohad a meeeeoger for that dignitary, 
 raqaesting hia prea en oe at tha oonTant, wiihaa Uttlaoalay aa 
 paeeiMa. 
 
 By eoma BMaas, it beoama known to tba nnns, shortly after hia 
 departure, that a messenger had been sent to thedty; and, aii> 
 raged at the duplicity of the Mother Superior, their revolt assasi* 
 ed^if possible, a more serious ahataoter than ever ; aud, whaa tha 
 Flikher (General arriTod, it was raj^ing at its very height. 
 
 By dint, howerer, of persuading some bkto a good hMBOvr, 
 ft^lgiug others who were more resolute and obstinate, and ra« 
 f ocmiag some of the abusee of which oomplaint had ' 
 
 tha Oeoeral succeeded in restoring subordination and quiet among, 
 tha rebellious nuus, who, accustomed as they were to blind ana 
 implicit obedieace t» their superiors, must have had sarionf 
 grottuds for complaint before they would have Tsntured to taka 
 a step of so grave a character as open revolution. But. during 
 the time that he had spent at the convent, ha had heard enough 
 to satisfy hie mind that the temper of the Mother Superior waa 
 beoomiug entirely too iinpetuousand uncertain to have the charge 
 of so importent a position as that which she occupied. Tet, suoh 
 waa her acquaintence with his own past history—such, too, tha 
 estimation in which she was held at Borne, as a woman of extra- 
 or^aiT talents, and one to whom the order was greatly indebt> 
 ad for W services in promoting their intorestom the United* 
 Siatea ; and suoh, also, her powers aa an /utrigant^ that ha dared 
 not remove her, without some act, on her part, which should ba 
 ol so flagrant a character, and capable of so dear and deoidad 
 pioof, aa to admit of no possible evasion of ito xesulto; aatdtlUf 
 qa oonld bardl/ antieipaia aa poasibU, 
 
 ' I 
 
172 
 
 l^tteiifli of ft COBTQIlt 
 
 In fhii itata of mind, he retarned to hit tsridenoe In tlwell^y; 
 ftnd, it may well be suppoaed, in no mood to meet the ttMrtlinf 
 inteiltgence that awaited him. Qiviag his horse to the Rroom «i 
 the door, he entered the hall; hastily nnlockio^ a small bojt, 
 which was placed there for the parpose of receiTiog whatever 
 documeuts mis<ht be intended for him, in his abseooe from home* 
 he took out of it several letters and notes, and hastened to hi| 
 cabinet. Here, throwing these upon the tab]e, and helpinf^ hiiil* 
 ■elf to some flue old French brandy, which he kept in a hqaoi* 
 case, he sat himself down to their perusal ; for, elevated in dig* 
 nity as was the office which he held, it was no sinecure : andt 
 whether at home or abroad, his lot was to laboni^ labour, iaboof 
 incessantly, save when at his meals, or during the five honn^ 
 9leep, which was all the time he could allow even to this neeea- 
 ■ary parpose, and from which he was aroused every morning by 
 an alarum clock, placed upon the mantel-piece in his chamber, 
 and tisea at the early hour of four o'clock, winter and summer; 
 he knew cot what rest was. How great the pity that his truly 
 splendid talents and indefatigable industry had not been applied 
 to a more valuable and laudable purpose than in promoting the 
 machinations of Jesuitism ! 
 
 Having read several latters before him, he took up one of Iht 
 notes, which read as follows : 
 
 ■ "New York, Thursday, 9 o'eZoci. 
 
 *' Mosi Bbvebend Sib— 
 
 <( I have just called to inform you that a Mr. Prentiss, from 
 Louisiana, is now conversing, at my house, with Miss Emilie de 
 Vere, in reference to her father's estate ; and, finding you from 
 home, your servant not being able to tell me where, I write this 
 note to let you know about it. I will call again at twelve o'dook. 
 
 ''Your very humble servant, 
 
 "Wm. WtiMCft,** 
 
 Putting this down, he took up another, whose address was in 
 fhe same hand-writing, and which read thus : 
 
 '* Thuradajf, 12 o'dook, 
 
 ** Mom Bbvbbbnb Fathxb— 
 
 '*Ihavecal)3d aeain, according tc m;^ promise, but still find 
 ou absent. Mr. Prentiss and Miss Emilie had a long interviei*^ 
 
 is morning ; but what was tho result of it I know not, aa I had 
 no opportunity oi listening, nuu I cannot make much of her looks ; 
 though I can see a manifest charge in theift, and suppose their 
 conversation must have been of an agreeable character to her. I 
 will call again, this afteruoon. 
 
 " Your devoted servant, 
 
 " Wm. wiukxp,'* 
 
 A third note remuned upon the table, whose contents were as 
 follows: 
 
 " Friday Morning, 8 <fdoeJk. 
 
 " Most "Retsbsstd Fatheb Genxbal, &o,— 
 ** Reverend and Dear Sir — I know not what to say, or what to do. 
 *I know that you will be angrjr with me ; but I assure you, most 
 solemnly, that I am in no wise to blame. O, that you were at 
 home ! But I must tell you, at once, *that Emilie de vere has left 
 my house, and gone, I know not where. As she did not come 
 down to breakfast, this morning, at the usual hour, we sent up to 
 j^a rooip, and were astonis^ied to leftm that she had not spent tli9 
 
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 t 
 
 i 
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 V 
 
 t 
 
ttr«« 
 nnc, 
 
 lidi. 
 aor* 
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 MystflrtOB of ft OoiLYeaiitt 
 
 m 
 
 [by 
 
 Der; 
 
 ruly 
 
 »Ueci 
 
 the 
 
 tht 
 
 rOBB 
 
 I de 
 rom 
 this 
 Mk. 
 
 I in 
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 lad 
 
 Bir 
 
 u 
 
 h 
 
 >. 
 It 
 
 it 
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 9 
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 sight at home ; at leMt. then wm no appeaianoe of the bed ha'.. 
 lag been need, which ene oommonly oooupief. Her trunk ii ia 
 IMT room, unopened aa yet, and everything is in order ; while not 
 .ttM least trace oan be found of where she may be, If I knew 
 where yOtt were, I should immediately despatch a messenger for 
 yoa; but, in the, mean time, I will spare no pains to find ner, if 
 Aa is in the cit^. When I called at your residence, I asked, in 
 
 I onr absence, for your private secretary; but was informed that 
 a waa not at home, and had not been siooe last night. Whether 
 his abaence has any thing to do with that of the missina gii^, I 
 aannot tell. Of one thing I am sure, however, that neither my* 
 lalf or family gave Miss Emilie any cause of dissatisfaction ; and 
 ttiiaonly makes the whole affair the more mysterious. 
 ** Awaiting your orders, I remain, with the greatest respect, 
 
 " Your faithful servant, 
 
 "Wk. WnjfOT." 
 The Father (general had read this last note with profound as- 
 tonishment, increasing at every fresh line, until, almost beside 
 himself with anxiety and rage, he was about to seize his hat, and 
 hasten to see Mr. Wilmot, when his eye rested, for an instant, 
 npon another note. lying upon the table, in the superscription of 
 which he immediately reco^sed the hand-writing of the secre* 
 tary. Seizing this, and teanug it open^ with an earnestness which 
 indicated the feverish excitement of his soul, ha read the follow- 
 ing astounding intelligence : 
 
 •'-y«o Fark, Thursday Night, 11 o'doek. 
 *<To the Father (General of the order of Jesuits in the United 
 Stotea. 
 
 " Bevebemd Szb, 
 ** Before this letter will have reached yon, the writer will have 
 been placed at a distance from th'e dty, which will effectually 
 
 Ereveut the possibility of his being overtaken by you. Where 
 e is gone to, or what his business, will perhaps but little inte- 
 rest you, when he informs you that he has for ever renounced 
 Bomanism, and embraced the cause of Protestant Christianity. 
 Tour past kindness to me would not permit me to leave you, 
 without bidding you farewell, and expressing for you, personally, 
 my warm wishes for your future health aud happiness. 
 
 In the first drawer of the table in the library, you will find the 
 instrument of my conversion to Protestaniiism ; and the best 
 pledge I could give you of my sincerity in wishing you well, is 
 the request that you will reaa that blessed volume, as I have 
 done, until you "shall know the truth, aud the truth shall make 
 you free," as it has 7ne. * 
 
 "Very respectfully yours, 
 
 '' FiBIBO DX LoBKm." 
 It would be impossible to portray, iu language, the state of ex- 
 citement into which the Father General was thrown by the per- 
 «sal of tills note. There he stood, pale with rage,— his eyesfiash- 
 ing fire, his teeth dose set together; while the breath came thick 
 and fast, hissing through his expanded nostrils. Presently, dash- 
 ing the note to the fioor, he stamped upon it, as though it had 
 been the cause of his wrath, instead of being the mere vehicle 
 through which the enraging information had reached him. 
 
 ** Purgatory and perdition I'' at length exclaimed the iufuriat* 
 •dJflMiits^WhatisaUUuBr Is the whole herd of inferoalifl- 
 
 
m 
 
 i^jrsterieB ail a GonTeiit 
 
 site Mloofle upon BMf WhAtaezI, I wonder f This niiii,tti|t 
 I httTe broaglit all tiM way from Canada, in older to plaj eo ln|« 
 portant a part in the great game for a fortune f<Hr our tma«ar#; 
 —■he, too, I snppoM, will be fonnd to have embraoed that rail- 
 gion of foola—Proteitantism— and to have eloped with this pioito 
 leeretary of mine, who. iuatead of attending to my busiueas, hfi 
 been rBMinglA«^i&2«/ St. Ignatius grant me patience! The 
 Tile hypocrite seduces the nua from her allegiance to Hearen and 
 to the Chureh — runs off with her — and then, with froaen impud- 
 •noe, prates to me of * the instrument of his conversion to Protes- 
 tantism 1* — Oouyersion to infamy, he should have said:— and 
 ieHs me— aye i trtis the supreme head of the Jesuits in America I 
 —to * read ihat Biaaanro volume !'— Curses upon it, and upon tha 
 brasen-faoed knave ! — * as he has done, until I shall know the 
 truth' — which his iufamous conduct has proved to be falsehood— 
 * and the truth shall make me free, as it has him /—yes, he meanau 
 rik9ll make me as great a scoundrel as himself. Holy Virgin ! 
 how can I bear such insolence as this F— But why stand I here 
 thus, when every moment is precioua— when they already have 
 fowr days start of me P I will away, and take instant measures 
 for ttieir apprehension and return to New York ; if, indeed, this 
 Is not all pretence about their having gone from the city. Who 
 knows but they are now skulking in some vile hole in this very 
 lAaee ; while 'this precious villain seeks to cover their retreat by 
 throwing me upon the wrong scent P I will put my blood-houndS 
 upon their track, be they where they may ; and it shall not be 
 my f anlt if they are undiscovered within twenty-four homrs, if 
 they have not left the city. If they have, I swear, by all th« 
 Saints in Heaven, to pursue them to the death. Ah ! they little 
 know my power, if tney imagine that they can find a mdiog- 
 place from my fury, in any spot on this green earth. Thanks to 
 the Patron Saint of our order, we are spread all over the wide 
 world ; and our agents are everywhere. Let me but get them 
 once in my power, and they shall realize the f earfulness of my 
 wrath, which they have so boldly provoked, and set at deflance.** 
 So saying, the enraged priest descended to the street, and, in a 
 few minutes, was at the dwelling of Mr. Wilmot, and seated in 
 hit parlour, waiting his return from some business errand. 
 
 OHAPTEBXXVI. ' 
 
 nwitagithres arrive at Balttmore— Reside with Mr. Bamnm— A privats 
 
 wedding— Proceed in a ▼eseel for New Orleans— Pleasures of a sea 
 
 'voyage— Alarm at the appearance of a supposed pirat»~Prepamttoa 
 
 for action— Oroundless alarm— Arrival at New Orleans— Piety and 
 
 prosperity of Pletro and Alice. 
 
 Mbanwhuo, ]£r. Prentiss had reached Baltimore, with his coin* 
 panions, Pietro and Alice, aud put up, for a day or two, at the 
 Indian Queen, then the beat hotel in the place, and kept by thst 
 IHrince of landlords, since gone to his long rest, old David Bar* 
 nam. Being an old friend of Mr. Prentiss, the latter socn took 
 an opportnnity of mentioning to him, in confidence, that Pietro 
 and iJioe wen two young friends of his, who had run away for 
 the purpose of getting married ; that he woulti much oblige them 
 hv Minging to the hotel some minister, to marry them at sis 
 ^oaLtbat •veaing; but that it moat ba done in thevjstpid^ 
 

 
 fato iWMilito aiuiner, wWioiii MIfog aaj of tile isnMlM «f th« 
 lunitjr know aofftbioff aboot it Ifr. Bannim ptoniwd Mency ; 
 Bade all tbo wommurj wmmiiMtieDts ; aad, at the afqMiniad hour, 
 tbo Iwofoftitiw Ivrvnmen anited in holy nairimony, in a pri* 
 taila parlour «f tlia ftaTcra, b^ the Rot. Dr. lofflis, then psator of 
 tha Firtt Presbyterian ohareli in the city ; no other witnenea be- 
 iaajMreeent, eave Mr. Prentia* and Mr. Bsi'uaai. 
 
 The a«Kt day, it waa thouffht advisable for the newly-narried 
 aou|rfe to «eamn ai mudi in-doors as possible, and evwn for thnn 
 to take tbeir meala in their own room, to avoid all possibility of 
 •ooonnteriaff any one who might be on the look-out for them ; 
 whilst Mr. Fwntfss made the necessary arrangements for their 
 dqpaitaia in rflae ship of some three hundred toni, whieh waa to 
 leaTO lor New Orleans^ on the following dar. 
 
 At tea o'clock, ttie next morning, the anchor had been weighed, 
 Iha eails unf nrled, the passengers all on board, when the signal 
 wtaa given, the canvass filled with the freshening breese, and bid- 
 ding Mr. Bamum farewell, t>ur little party, in high spirits, aad 
 boroful of the future, were borne awav from the wharf at Fdf s 
 Pmnt^y the noble vessel on whose deck they stood. Pasrinff 
 Fort ]f<^enry, they, after a while, emerged into the beantif lu 
 waters of the CSiesapeake, and, with a smacking breeze, soon pass- 
 ed AnsapoHs, and reached the Gapes, in twenty-four hours after 
 leaving BalUmore. • Here, the pilot having been disoharged, the 
 ■hip passed out into the waters of the ocean, and soon lost sight 
 of land. 
 
 There waa nothing novel to Pietro in a sea voyage ; but to Alice 
 it was a source of wonder and delight. The wide expanse of w»> 
 ier— the upheaving waves— the blue sky reflected in the great 
 mirror beneath, where the ever changing surface broke in cease 
 leaa beauty — ^the finny monsters disporting in the briny fluid— the 
 novel characters around her, found in the weather-beaten sea- 
 aMo,— the young sailor who was making his first, vc^age,— the 
 bluff mate, and the tfranuical little captain, as he stircde the deck, 
 monarch of the kingdom, his ship, over which be re'^nod with an 
 iron rule— the strange sounds which constantly fell m'Oi. her ear— 
 ftase lUl afforded, her food for pleasurable excitement, when, in- 
 deed, she was well enough to be on deck ; for, although she had 
 escaped ssa-sickuess, to a considerable extent, yet ahe suffered a 
 
 good deal, at times, from nausea, which compelled her to lie down 
 1 her berth, for hours. 
 
 They had already passed these points so formidable to seamen, 
 Bermudaand Cape Hatteras, and.were off Bahama, already round- 
 ing into the Gulf of Mexico, between Cuba and the Florida Beefs, 
 when, one morning, at day-break, the look-out from the mast- 
 head cried, "sail— ho !" Instantly the cry was responded to on 
 deck ; and the captain, whose morning watch it was, having sent 
 for his spy-glass, swept the horizon with i^, until at last be dis- 
 covered the two topmasts of a rakish vessel, peering just above 
 the sea, while the hull, as yet, seemed buried beneath its wave? 
 When first seen, the stranger was iitanding athwart the ship, asd 
 cvossing her path in the rear ; but, as soon as tiie latter ^^ a« din- 
 covered by the former, sheohangedhercourse, and, bracing sharp' 
 br up in the wind, followed directly in the wake of the ship, with 
 
 iba manifest .intention of ovcchavling or overtakiaa h 
 
 Mon as this nu>iiflsavm waa yaxoeivad by tha oaptein, he instaaUf- 
 
in 
 
 MystedM of a Cdntoai 
 
 > , 
 
 R 
 
 ordtEtd fh* gnna, of whioh he hud wveral, to b« otoiavd lor as* 
 tkm— the faune facMi iwiTol, which itood ain£d>ahiM, to bo kNidod 
 with orapo-unot, and those at ,the sidei with oLun-shot; the 
 iwoffde and small arms to be got ready, as well as the boarding^ 
 pikes, and. in short, all hands to be called, and erery preparatioii 
 made for aefenoe. - While this was beiog doue, Mr. FrentisSi 
 who had heard the aproar, came on deck, followed, in a few mo* 
 ments, by Pietro, who had also been awakened by the unusual 
 trampiDK of the men overhead. The former immediately offered 
 hii serrioes to the captain, in any way that he might be useful ; 
 while the latter, doing the same, hastily returned to the cabin, to 
 aoquaiut Alice with what was going on, and to see that her safety 
 was provided ior, in the event of an action. Having arranged ft 
 ■o that she could retire into the hold, beneath the water line, the 
 thin not being fully laden, whet^aver the presence of danger should 
 make it necessary, and having soothed her fears as much aspomd* 
 ble. he belted upon his body a pair of large pistols with which he 
 had provided himself before leaving Baltimore, and went upon 
 the deck. 
 
 He found that the sh'-^nger was gaining rapidly upon them ; 
 for, while the direction from which the wind blew was unfavour- 
 able for the rapid progress of the shfp through the water, it wat 
 the very one most suitable to the greatest speed of the clipper 
 brig whioh was coming upon them with giant strides. Her top- 
 nasto had first been seen, then her topsails, then her lower sails, 
 and then her hull, rising black and throatoaiog, as it were from 
 the bosom of the ocean — her masts having that peculiair rakish 
 appearance, for whioh this class of vessels—^ clipper-built brigs 
 oz Baltimore— is so remarkable. Now she was within eight or 
 ten miles, " walking the water, like a thit)g of life ;" while the 
 ship seemed to creep at a snail's pace. On she caiae ; her sides 
 bristling with cannon : her deck filled with dark-lookiug men, 
 armed to the very teeth, with cutlasses and pistols stuck in their 
 belto. 
 
 " A pirate !— a pirate V* jmssed from lip to lip of the stelwart 
 erew on hoard the ship ; wbilie not a cheek blanched, nor a nerve 
 quivered, as, standing in squads by their guns, the men looked 
 each other in tho eye, and felt that they could tr.'?^- each other, 
 and make a good defence, in the hour of need. 
 
 "A pirate;" said Mr. Prentiasto Pietro, while the lip of the 
 latter quivered, aud the moisture was in his eye, as he thought 
 of Alice. 
 
 *' A pirate !" said the Captain, in low tones, to the crew, while 
 his small frame seemed to ezpaud and grow larger, as, with fire- 
 flashing eye and flushed cheek, he looked proudly upon them, as 
 brave defenders of his gallant ship, aud added, '' boys— let each 
 one be true as steel. Hold your fire until I givo the order; and 
 we will blow him out of the water." 
 
 " Aye, that we will, sir,'' replied a score of voices, in tones 
 . which manifested their confidence in their commander and in 
 each other. 
 
 *' Up with the ensig^." cried the captain—" let us see what co« 
 lours he bhows." 
 
 Up went the stars and stripes, floating languidly in the broeze, 
 from the spanker gaff. This was immediately followed by the 
 exhibifcion of the aame flag from the stranger. 
 
l^nrtnies of a ftuTmi 
 
 m 
 
 ** What doM thftt maaD : " Mkod the ocptein, of th« flMto. 
 
 ^ I do not know, sir, oalen it be to deoaire ui. W« had batttr 
 keep a goo<^ look oat. or we shall hare a Iraw-ohaaer tpeakicg to 
 u^ In a few minutes. ' 
 
 " See," said the captain, " there it oomes eren now." , ~ 
 
 And, while he spake, there was a cload of smoke, a flash, a re- 
 port ; and a shot from one of the bow guns careered harmleislv 
 past the ship, and sank hissing into the water Just ahead of tM 
 good vessel. 
 
 " I do not know what he means 1" remarkeil the captain, '* un- 
 less he wishes us to heave to ; and that 1 do not mean to uo, un- 
 less he comes abreast of us." 
 
 On came the brig— she was now within a few yards of the ship ; 
 and, shootioff ahead, wheeled round her bows, and, brailing up 
 the lower sails, floated broadside to the ship, distant some one or 
 ,two hundred feet. 
 
 " What ship is that P" cried the captain of the brig. 
 
 ** The ship Mercury, of Baltimore— nine days ou^ bonnd for 
 New Orieans. What brig is that ?" 
 
 ** The privatedr Hero, of Baltimore, cruising on the coast for 
 the enemy. Have you seen anything of him P" was the response 
 of the clipper captain. 
 
 "Nothing!" answered the commander of the Mercury ; and, 
 with a hearty cheer from his crew, replied to by three times three 
 from that of the brig, both vessels filed away, each pursuing her 
 own track, and were soon out of sight of each other. 
 
 The guns on board the ship were again covered— the arms and 
 ammunition put away, while the captain invited his passengers 
 to breakfast, and, drawing forth a bottle of fine old wine, offered 
 as a toast—" Success to the privateer !" which all drank with en> 
 thusiasm. 
 
 In due time our travellers arrived at New Orleans, where Mr. 
 Prentiss procured horses for the threo, there being no better 
 means of conveyance, at that early day ; and, in the 'bourse of a 
 week, Pietro and his lovely wife were domesticated in the hospit- 
 able awelling of their kind host and his most amiable compamoU; 
 who, being apprised, by her husband, of the interesting nistorv 
 of their guests, had given them that hearty welcome for whiw 
 the South has always been so proverbial. 
 
 Here Alice soon made herself useful and beloved, as well as re- 
 markable for her simple and consistent piety as a Protestant 
 Christian, whdle Pietro, bending the energies of his powerful in- 
 tellect to the study of the law, soon mastered its intricacies, and 
 was admitted to practice as a partcer of his patron, Mr. Prentiss. 
 In the course of ten years, Pietro had become one of the most 
 prooneent lawyers in all that region of country, and was elected 
 to Congress, where he stood hi^h as an intelligent, honest, and 
 eloquent utatesman, and was distinguised for his high>toiied pat- 
 riotism. He accumulated property, as well as gathered great 
 honours in the practice of his profession ; and, when he died, left 
 an ample fortune to his two childrei), the young Pietro and Alice, 
 who were worthy scious of a noble stock. 
 
 Mr. Prentiss never regretted the trip that he had made to the 
 North, in pursuit of his ward, Emilie da Vere, nor his interview 
 with Alice Soule, which had resulted so mysteriously in the res- 
 cue of a most iuterestiug couple from the httuds of a cruit' and 
 
 I 
 
m 
 
 ttysteiies of a OonTent 
 
 Uood-fhlnty ptneeation, which would hare be«n th« mre imaAi, 
 had ihif liDgahur interpodtion of Divine FroTidenoe not beon 
 nade in their f aTour— and it wae to hiih a sonroe of high jpratifl- 
 eation to relate the particulars of ibair history to hit mende, 
 whencTcr occasion served, and tu hiaye them rocorded among his 
 papers^ as a reminiscence of events which had occurred in b(s 
 own history in a diary of his life, which he made for the use ot 
 his children. 
 
 CHAPTER ■ XXVn. 
 
 Ihs Fftther General's interview with Mr. Wilmot— An sngry dispntetlon 
 —Crimination and re-crimination— Tiie arch-plotter vows rengeance 
 against hid tool— Proceeds to put his throat in execution— Interrieir 
 with Mr. Ketchutn— The Father Oenerai's orders to him— Sconts sent 
 in all directions, in search of the fugitives — All search in vain— Mr. 
 Wilmot and his fiamily ruined, and turned out in the streets— Tidings 
 of the lost fiigitives, nom Pather Beaupres. 
 
 Waleft the Father General seated in the parlour of Mr. Wilmot| 
 awaiting his return from some business errand in town, and will 
 now look in upon the interview which occurred between tbeso 
 two worthies. 
 
 When Mr. Wilmot returned from down town, m he exiled it, 
 he found the Father General in no amiable mood ; and, nc iiooner 
 nad he opened the door of the room in which the latter was seat- 
 ed, than the General began a tirade of abuse, which was o| the 
 fieircsst character. He upbraided him, in the coarsest language, 
 for connivance at the escape of the nun, and told him, to his face, 
 that he was a liar and a scoimdrel. Mr. Wilmot, although a 
 Oatholic, and a pliant tool in thv<) hands of the Jesuits, having ac- 
 complished for them many a dirty piece of intrigue, waa yet a 
 man of some independence of feeling, as well as of verv stroag 
 and irritable temper, and could not wholly repress the risings of 
 resentment at the unreasonable conduct of the General, who, 
 borne away by disappointment at the flight of Pietro and Alice^ 
 would listen to no excuse upon the part of Mr. Wilmot, but 
 sought to wreak his vengeance upon the latter, whom he persist* 
 ed in considering as an accomplice. This the latter resented, and, 
 forgetting himself, indulged in some imprudent retorts, which 
 but incensed the priest the more ; until both were ezdted to the 
 highest pitch, and fiercely hurled at each other epithets which 
 could have only come from the lowest and most degraded con- 
 victs of our prisons and penitentiaries. At length, the General, 
 full of malice, and conrit^ced '. bis own mind, that it waa wholly 
 impossible tb&t the escape of Alice should have been without the 
 Oonnivance of Mr. Wilmot, said to him : 
 
 *' Ton shall smart for this, you scoundrel.- Yon have, for pur- 
 
 Soses of your own, and disreii^ardful of the interests of the church, 
 ared to brave my anger, and aid this girl in her escape, or at 
 least connived at it, to the great detriment of those interests— 'tis 
 well ; you shall feel the weight of my anger before forty-eiffht 
 hours nave rolled uver your head. Mark well what I say. Wil* 
 liam Wilmot, your doom is sealed I" 
 
 Bo saying, the General left the parlour, slamming to the door 
 with violence behind him, and, with his countenance flushed with 
 anger, went forth into the street and sought, with hurried steps, 
 Us own dwelling. 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■* 
 
Uysterlfls of a OonTeiit 
 
 179 
 
 Having wiiTed at homa, and aaoendad to hii oaUiMt, ha dnw 
 from the iron safe a large red pocket-book, and opening it, took 
 ont a small packet of notes of hand for Tarions amounts, and 
 fkom these, three, to which was aflzed the name of William WU- 
 mot, ail of them dated some time back, dae one day after date, 
 and amountinfr to(rether to six thousand seren hundred and flftv- 
 ' two dollars, with interest from their date ; and, hastily penning a 
 iiote, rang the bell to summon a serrant. On the appearance of 
 the latter, he handed him the note, and bade him take it to Mr. 
 Ketchum, the lawytsr, and bring back an immediate answer. 
 
 In about twenty minutes, the servant returned, and informed 
 his master that Mr. Ketcbiim awaited his pleasure, in the draw 
 ing-room below. 
 ^ ** Show him up," was the response of the Father General, who 
 was deeply engaged in the examination of soma papers which 
 Wdre lying upon the table before him. 
 
 Mr. Xetchum, meanwhile, was introduced into the cabinet) 
 within whose walls he was, by the way, quite intimate, having 
 frequently visited them before ; and being seated, the Geueral pro- 
 ceeded to tell him, as much as ho deemed necessary of the arrival 
 Mid subsequent flight of the nun, requesting Mr. Ketchnm to 
 take immediate steps for the quiet siiaroh, throughout the city, 
 for the fugitives ; telling him that he would give him one thou- 
 sand dollars, if successful, and pav all the expenses incurred. 
 The lawver, having received from the General a written descrip- 
 tion of the personal appearance of the fugitives, was about to re- 
 tire, for the purpose of instituting search after them, when the 
 Father detained him, for a moment to say that he wished him to 
 take the three notes which he handed to him, present them for 
 -immediate payment, a^d if not paid at sight, to bring suit upon 
 them, and get the m^ v 'mmediately. 
 
 The lawyer, who was a nominal member of the Baptist church, 
 but really a Jesuit in disguise, bowed low, and, promising to com- 
 ply with the instructions of the General, and to lose no time, 
 withdrew to carry them into effect. In the course of two honrS| 
 not less than thirty men were exploring the city, in every direc- 
 tion, in pursuit of the runaways, and inquiring at every probable 
 -^r possible source for information, but in vain ; while so quietly 
 was this investigation mads, and so systemized, as to the district 
 or quarter of the dty in which each of the agents pushed his in- 
 quiries, that not one of these thirty agents knew anything of the 
 rest, nr that tiiere were others besides himself engaged in the 
 pursuit. 
 
 Meanwhile, an officer appeared at the store of Mr. Wilmot, and, 
 taking him to one side, presented the three notes for payment, 
 informing; him that, if they were not paid iustantly, suit would 
 be brought upon them, and the money made, without regard to 
 the consequences. 
 
 Mr. Wilmot turned deadly pale, aud told the officer that he 
 could not possibly, at so short notice, raise such an amount ; but 
 that, if he could have four or five days iu which to do it, he 
 thought he might possibly save himself from ruiu, by procuring 
 assistatice from some of bis friends. Tlie officer informed him 
 that his orders were peremptory, aud on his being told that Mr. 
 Wilmot had not the money, and could .i>ot pay the notes, he 
 served a writ upon bim, and took the legal steps necessary to se- 
 cnre the property iu the establishment from being made away with. 
 
 .Jl^ 
 
180 
 
 Mysteries of a Gonyent 
 
 In ten dayi from fhftt tim«» the itore of Mr. Wilmof^ with all 
 tta eontente and the fomitoreof his dwelling, were eoldnndeir 
 execution, and himeelf and family turned into the itreete, beg^ 
 gated. The Pather Qeneral was aveuKed. 
 
 No efforts, howerer, that he could put forth, by means of 
 agents, bj writing letters abroad, or otherwise, could procure any 
 tidings of the fugitives, until at length a letter came from the 
 Father Beaupres, at B&ton Rouge, informing him of the arriYi^t at 
 that place, of Mr. Prentiss, together with a young man ani his 
 wife, both of foreign features, who were Protestants, howerer, 
 and inmates of his familyj but about whom he could learn no- 
 thing. From the description given of their persons, nevertheless, 
 the Father General became convinced that they were the fugi- 
 tives, and immediately wrote to his correspondent at B&ton Bouge, 
 stating his conviction on the subject, and repairing the priest 
 there to give him constant information of their movements, and 
 to learn all he could about them. Such, however, was the high 
 xeepectability of their protector, and his and their own vigilance, 
 as they knew that they would be watched, and their lives be in 
 Jeopardy, that neither the Qeneral nor his subordinate ever dared 
 to do aught against them, or to their injury. 
 
 M CHAPTER XXVllI. 
 
 Qrowlng abuse of power by the Mother Superior— The Father Genet. ^ re- 
 solves to remove her by a violent death— The Mother Superior deiuT- 
 mineson a similat' fate for him— Double-dealing of Sister Martina— 
 By her exasgerated reports of the Father Oeneral'B intrigues with the 
 nuns, the Mother Superior wrought up to. a state of freDzr— Fiendish, 
 exultation of Martina at thb success of her scheme— The instrument! 
 of death— Soliloquy and prayer of the Mother Superior— Change lit 
 her deportment. 
 
 Mbaitwhile, the Mother Frances was becoming more and asor^ 
 involved in difficulty as regarded the administration of rule in 
 the Oonvent of Annunciation. The nuns were turbulent and re« 
 bellious. The Father General received, from his private agents 
 in the establishment, accounts of the tyranny and oppiiassion of 
 the Mother Superior ; but, as yet, nothing had been done by her, 
 which would alKord him the opportunity for which he had so long 
 waited— nothing that would justify her removal or degradation. 
 At length, wearied out, and his patience exhausted, for he was 
 frequently called upon to visit the convent, and to interpose his 
 authority for the adjustment of the difficulties which daily arose 
 between the ruler and the ruled, he at last determined to take 
 the matter into his own hands, and to adopt a course which 
 would accomplish the desired end, without leaving any possibil- 
 ity of disagreeable consequences to himself. In short, he deter- 
 mined to hasten the departure of the good Mother from the scene 
 of her tribulation and trial, and to place her in a situation to be 
 canonized as a saint ; rightly believing that the nuns of the Con-, 
 vent of the Annunciation would much rather worship her as a 
 taint, enrolled among the deyeurted worthies whose names are so 
 numerous among the devoteee of the Catho^ church, than ob(^ 
 her as a tyrant on earth ; and that once out of the way, no par- 
 ticular inquiry would be made bv the inmates of the convent, as 
 to the mode of her death ; while her friends and admirers abroad 
 oould be put off with any plausible tale. Having aixiTed at fthii 
 
MyiterieB uf a Oo&TBiii 
 
 181 
 
 Mriabl««OBo1iirfon, theOenaBBlonlj awaited a fitting opporta- 
 ai^; and for this ha did not wait Tery long. 
 
 The Mother Superior, on her part, however, had strangely 
 enough arrived at a determination, not lest full of good intention 
 and of canonization for the Father General, than his for her. She 
 had beoome apprized, in due time, not only of what had taken 
 place between the General and the deceased Sister Theresa ; bnt 
 through Sister Martina, whom the former had unwittingly of- 
 fended, and who, at once, to avenge herself upon the General, 
 and to mortify and annoy the Mother Superior, concealed notiiing 
 of what she knew to have transpired, for years past, in the hig> 
 torv.of his connection with the nuns of the convent, the Superior 
 had learned all ahout his intrigues and coquettiugs with the fair 
 sisterhood. Nor had the statement made to her been one of plain, 
 unvarnished facts, but had been greatly exaggerated. 
 
 Sister Martina told her that the Father General never visited 
 the convent, without spending a portion of his time in the room 
 of this or of that nuu ; that he sometimes met them iu the garden, 
 and sometimes received visits from them in his own room ; that 
 she had more than once gone to the door of the latter, when she 
 knew that he had a nun with him, and, putting her ear to the 
 key-hole, had listened to their whispering conversation, and had 
 overheard remarks made about her, that were of the most offen- 
 sive character. Indeed, the Sister Martina, iu these conversa- 
 tions with the Mother Superior, spared not hnr imagination, but 
 deliphted to draw largely upon it, while she rejoiced iu her very 
 heart at the writhings of her listener, as the poison of jealousy 
 and hatred diffused itself through her dark and malignant soul. 
 With all the self -possession of the Mother Superior, the workings 
 of her mind would betray themselves— would speak out from her 
 oountenance, as the blood boiled in her veins, and thoughts and 
 purposes of vengeance sprang up, clamorous for execution. 
 
 Sister Martina had, by her address, wormed herself into the 
 ooufldeuce of thd Father General, and had made herself necessary 
 to his purposes. She was, in fact, at that very time, carrying on 
 for him an intrigue with a young and handsome nun in the con- 
 vent, who had but recently taken the vows of the order, and who 
 was one of the converts from Protestantism, made out of the fa- 
 mily of boarding pupils. This intrigue she did not hesitate to 
 communicate to the Mother Superior— and to apprise her that, 
 on that day week; Sister Paulina had consented to see the Father 
 General, in the garden of the convent, in a pretty little summer- 
 house that had been erected about a year before, and was now 
 covered tliickly with clematis and other prettv vines iu full bloom; 
 the hour of their meeting to be midnight. Thanking her for the 
 informntion, the Mother Superior kissed the Sister Martina, with 
 preat-a]>parent affection^ and, bidding her be discreet, and say no- 
 thing to the General about the conversation that had taken place 
 between them, dismissed her, for the present, saying that she 
 would resume it at another time. 
 
 Sister Martina turned away with an expression of high satis- 
 faction upon her wrinkled and ugly features ; while her deform- 
 ed person receded from the presence of her Superior, with the 
 stealthy tread and almost tortuous windings of a serpent ; and, 
 when she had reached her room, she exclaimed witn a laugh, 
 which was like that of a fiend who has acoompUahed aome infei^ 
 nal purpose. 
 
182 
 
 llystdTies of a Gonyent 
 
 ** Eft 1 ha I how th« poiioQ works I How iho writhod la mf 
 hands, m I 1st looss the sooqiions of jsalousy and rass in hsv 
 Boal I How pals sho bet rns, and thsa how tluihsd I Ha I ha I 
 It doss-ms ffood to sse her thus tortured. I kuow how to Uf 
 with her feelioffs, aud my reTeage for all the insults and in j ud>'-'i 
 she has bsapsd upon me, shall be to take her in my hara a« £ 
 would a poor earth-worm, and my soul shall late itself with ven« 
 geanoe, as I see hers writhin;; iu a^ony before me. Thus, too» 
 will I haye satisfaction for the insult offered to me by the Father 
 General. He called me the dwarfish Tirgin, did he, when talk- 
 ing with Sister Paulina, and laughed at the idea of my ne?er 
 having had * an offer of matrimony K "Tin well, I will goad this 
 Mother Superior until, driven to desperation, she shalt oommiii 
 some deed of violence ; and then will I be revenged on both." 
 
 The Mother Superior had retired to her oratory, and there was 
 engaged in walking up aud down the small room ; her counten- 
 ance now deadly pale, as though she were suffering mortal agony, 
 aud now suffused with crimson, as though the feverish blood 
 would burst the veins, and leap forth impatient of restraint. Vio- 
 lently agitated, she gesticulated angrily, while she at times mut- 
 tered to herself words of angry resolution and of dark and bloodv 
 Eurpose. At length, she puused for a few moments, and, with 
 er fore-finger and thumb supporting her chin as it rested upon 
 them, her arms folded upon her bosom, she stood sternly think- 
 ing ; then, approaching the escritoire, she unlocked it, and draw 
 forth a short dagger, enclosed in a silver sheath, and, taking it 
 from the scabbard, felt its point, with great care, as if she wpuld 
 assure herself of its sharpness aud readiness for use. Apparently 
 satisfied, she replsc j'J it, aud then, approaching a small table on 
 one itidft of the room, npon which stood a beautiful work>box, in- 
 laid with mother of pearl— the gift of the Father (General in other 
 aays— sh3 uuiock#d it, and drew forth a small, white paper, neat- 
 ly folded, which, on being opened, was found to contain a whitidi 
 powder. This she looked at, for a moment, with a mingled ex- 
 pression of joy and saduess, and, putting it back iuto its recepta« 
 ole, resumed her walk, from time to time, audibly 9xpressing nisr- 
 self thus : 
 
 ** 'Tis a life of toil, and care, and anxiety, at best : why should 
 I wish to live P 
 
 '* He, whom alone I have loved in all the world, has ceased long 
 since to care for me— has long deceived me— and now, lovei 
 another— he must atone for his infi>'1elity to me. 
 
 " His vile paramour shalt perish iu Lis arms. 
 
 " I will be avenged !'* 
 
 Thus, communing with her own thoughts, she spent an hour or 
 more, and theu, throwing herself upon her kuees before the cru- 
 cifix, bent her head in prayer to the Virgin, while she implored 
 '* the Mother of Gud" to aid her in the purposes which she had 
 formed. Thus do the self-deluded devotees to a soul-destroying 
 superstition, insult high Heaven, by imploring their objects c« 
 worship to assist them iu the accomplishment of the most diabo* 
 lical of crimes. - 
 
 Having completed her orisons, she arose, calm and tranijuil, and 
 went forth from the oratory, with firm determination j^ritten up- 
 on her brow, and with a plaoidness of manner whioh did not fail 
 to attract the attention ox the inmates of the family, and was ra- 
 
 w 
 
 01 
 
 li 
 h 
 k 
 
 t( 
 
 a 
 U 
 
 < • 
 
Kyiteries of a Gonyant 
 
 1B8 
 
 f«cted to bj mort than on* of thtni af tor the oooiimno«of •tmiIi 
 wUoh tnuupind within th« nast t«n days, and whoM ndtal wfll 
 oorapy tha anrainff ohaptar. Indacd, mora than ono*, during tida 
 hitarral, tha attention of tha nuns was attraotad to thaTarjrpaoa- 
 Uar daportmant of the Mothar Saparior, who saamsd, at times, to 
 be (rreatly abstracted in thought, yet to have suddenly grown 
 kinder in the treatment of those around her, and Toluntarily to 
 to commend herself to their rofiard, by the reformation of soma 
 abuses, and the institution of soma regulationi wliiob oonducad 
 to their comfort 
 
 ras 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Father General's Tislt to the cotiTeiit— Hie eov 
 ception— The Mother Superior Huddenly <'hnf) 
 aocuaes him of inconstancy — He solemnl d> 
 reiterates the charge, and requests liini to iw 
 is false, ere she will believe him— She Htabu li 
 
 18 and affliblere* 
 
 H(*' iieanour, and 
 
 sation— »he 
 
 i-gin, that it 
 
 ing the oath 
 
 . by the Mo* 
 
 —Paulina, another victim to her giiiltv pn;; 
 
 ther Superior, in the arbour— Destroys uerHel' y puuoa. 
 
 SoMX eiffht days after the time of the last conversation which oc- 
 curred between the Mother Superior and Sister Martina, asrelat* 
 ed in the preceding chapter, the Father General paid a visit to tha 
 Convent of the Annunciation. 
 
 He was received, by the Superior, with an unusual degree of 
 kindness and affability ; an unusual manifestation of gratifica- 
 tion at his arrival, which did not fail to attract his notice ; and 
 when, on inquiry of several of he nuns, in private, they inform- 
 ed him that, for a W3ek past, a remarkable change seemed to have 
 eome over the spirit of their ruler ; that, in short, she had spoken 
 to them in tones of kindliness— had made several important 
 changes in the establisliment, of her own accord ; and had, dur- 
 ing that time, been very much reserved, it is true, and had worn 
 a very pensive countenance, yet had given no fresh occasion for 
 complaint— the General was surprised, yet pleased, and began to 
 imagine that, at length, without any effort on his part, the Mo- 
 ther Superior had determined to change her policy ; while ha 
 was not a little grati6ed to think that he would not be compels 
 led, after all, to resort to a mode of redress which was really ra- 
 pugnaut, even to his feelings, unscrupulous as he was in regard 
 to the adoption of means for the accomplishment of his ends : 
 ever acting upon the prime motto of the order, that ** tha ana 
 seinctifies the means." 
 
 He was introduced into the parlour of the Convent, where tha 
 nuuB and boarding pupils were assembled to greet him. The 
 Mother Superior exerted herself to entertain him ; her noble con- 
 Tersational powers appearing to be taxed to their utmost, to make 
 the visit a most agreeable one. The tea-table was supplied with 
 several unwonted delicacies, which were freely shared in by all 
 
 Jiresent. Happiness and coateutmeut sat, for the time, on all 
 aces, while uone seemed to enjoy the occasion more than the Sn- 
 perior. The Father General was surprised, yet deceived— and 
 sought in vain to read the couotenauce of the Superior. She met 
 bis eye without quailing, and appeared to look upon him with 
 unusual affection. Whatever were her real feelings, they wera 
 ao completely disguised as to be beyond the reach of detection. 
 Ko one for a moment dreamed of the possible ooourranoe of any* 
 

 IMAGE EVALUATION 
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 WEBSTIR,N.Y. MSSO 
 
 (716) S72-4S03 
 
 
m 
 
 Hystorles of & OonTontt 
 
 thing. In tbe ooone of a few houn, whioh would fill erary nliid 
 with horror, and cause even the dark*hearted Martioato tremMa 
 with affright. It was a sceue of masterly acting on the part of 
 the Superior ; only fluding its ooanterpart in that which took 
 place in her private parlour and in her oratory ; within the t#o 
 or three hours immediately succeeding the pleasant interview of 
 the members of this numerous family around the tea*tabla— or in 
 ttiose in which, at different periods in the history of the Jesuits-^ 
 their brightest geniuses have exhibited the most perfect coutrol 
 over every thought and feeling, as well as over every physical or> 
 can which could outwardly cOuvey an idea of what was passing 
 interoally, and in which tbe mantle of fairest hypoorisv has been 
 thrown over the darkest and most damnable intents ana purpose!. 
 
 Bisioff from the tea-table, the Mother Superior, with her moat 
 graceful and winning manner, invited the Father General to tha 
 private parlonr, for conference, as she said, upon the affairs of 
 the convent, and, preceding him, led the way to that room whidh 
 had witnessed so many curious interviews between theae two ia« 
 markable characters. 
 
 Having entered this retired apartment, where no prying ^a 
 oould reach them, the Superior, naving fastened the door, as ua 
 nsnally did when die had any very important communication to 
 make, most courteously invited the Gkmeral to be seated, and, 
 placing herself by his side upon the sofa, took his hand in bars, 
 and, in tones of. ^he softest note, recalled images of the past, 
 scenes which haa long gone by, and, while the tear stood in her 
 aye^ lingered upon reminiscences of endearment and of fondness 
 which were common to them both, and vhith, while they east a 
 sadness upon her features, touched his heart, and melted it into 
 an unwonted mood, covered over as it was with the cmst of sei- 
 ' flshness, and indurated by the feelings and dark purposes whidi 
 had so long dwelt there. He joined freoly in the conversation, 
 and seemed to take pleasure m gratifying the state of mind into 
 which the Superior had fallen. 
 
 Thus passed away an hour, when the Superior arose, and, push- 
 ing aside the sliding panel which separated the private parlour ia 
 which they were seated, from tbe bed-chamber, invited the Glen- 
 era! to visit her oratory, where she had, she said, something to 
 show him. Passing through the chamber, they soon stood in tto 
 room beyond, whercj opening a small cabinet, she showed him the 
 various presents which she had received from him, from time to 
 time, arranged together upon the shelves. Here was the pretty 
 work'box inlaid with mother of pearl ; a richly bound breviary, 
 with golden clasps; a beautiful crucifix in ivory ; a variety of or- 
 naments in gold, gemmed with rich jewels ; several volumes in 
 eleirant bindings ; and many articles of price and vertu ; all of 
 which she seemed to have treasured up with great care, and to 
 have presei'ved as tokens of affection. Putting her arm around 
 him, and reclining her head upon his shoulder, while she pointed 
 to these gifts thus arranged in their beautiful receptacle, she said 
 to him, in accents which fell upon his ear with peculiar signifi- 
 cance, and which caused him to tremble, he knew not why, yetao 
 as to be evident both to her and to himself,— 
 
 '* Francois, once you loved me ; but now you love me not. Tha 
 evidences of vour former affection I have gathered together hare^ 
 and hare dangfated to look upon them. It is pleasant fodktao 
 
 1 
 
]|jBt8ll6B of ft OoUffiUti 
 
 186 
 
 •inLallliovsIt fhat aireetioii ii now tnunfomd to Miotliiu', and 
 IMM Daen ahand with othan, while I fondly thought it wai all 
 mj own." 
 
 ** Ton wrong me, Louiw, indeed you do," replied the General. 
 . ''Nay, Fraucoie, do not attempt any longer to deceive me, nor 
 , yonnelf. You love me not. Another, now in this boilding, hai 
 jour affactibnt— you know it— Gh>d knows it." 
 
 *"Tis false as midnight is remote from noon-day!" oried the 
 Jesuit. 
 
 ** Aud yet at midnight— but two hours hence— you are to meet 
 Paulina in the arbour in the garden. Is it not so r" 
 
 ''It is not so," replied the General. *« Paulina! Paulina!" he 
 added, suddenly assuming a thonghtf ul attitude, as if endeavour- 
 ing to call some one to bis mind whom he bad forgotten~" Pau- 
 lina— I know no one of that name— who is she i^' 
 
 "The young nun who but recently took the veil." 
 
 ** Ah ! I recollect her now," responded the General—" I reool- 
 leot her now, but have never seen her since the dayupon which, 
 in the chapeL she assumed the religious habit. Who can have 
 told you that I was to meet her in the garden to-night P" 
 
 " ao matter who told me," said the Mother Superior, " if it be 
 not so. You know how I loved you— with what rare affection. 
 It is no ifTondw that I should be Jealous, when I am oonsoious 
 that I grow old, aud that my attractions are not what they once 
 iprere. But no matter— if you are sincere in what you have just 
 said— if you really are not pledged to meet Paulina in the arbour 
 to-night, at midnight, place your hand upon that crucifix, and 
 svrear, by tiie Virgin, that it is not so ; and I will believe you, and 
 love you with all my heart's deepest love." 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation, the Jesuit approached the orn- 
 dfix, and, standing with his back towards the Mother Superior, 
 
 {>la0Bd his baud upon the symbol of his faith, and made the so* 
 emn declaration of his undivided attachment to, and affection 
 for, ber. 
 
 Meanwhile, as he had advanced to the crucifix, and while his 
 hand was placed upon it, the Superior had drawn forth, frott'her 
 bosom, the dagger whose point she had examined with such caro 
 a few days before, aud, stepping up quietly behind him, just as 
 he pronounced the words— 
 
 ** I call upon thee, most Holy Mother of Gk>d, to witness tiiat I 
 love Louise, and Louise on earth — ** 
 
 She plunged the daj^ger to his heart, crying, as she did so— 
 
 " Perjured wretch ! di^^'and go to perdition, with the damning 
 falsehood yet trembling upon thy lip. Go, reap the abuudans 
 harvest of your falsehood and treachery, in the regions of eternal 
 faifamy and woe !" 
 
 With a cry of mortal agony, the Father General fell to the 
 floor, suddenly turning half round, as the weapon penetrated bis 
 vitals, so as to fall not upon his face, but upon his side ; and the 
 blow, having been but too fatally aimed at his heart, a convulsive 
 throe or two ensued, and Louise stood alone, there iu her ontory, 
 with the dead body of Francois Jubert lying at the foot of the 
 dmcifls, upon which he had but the moment befori perjvred 
 himself. 
 
 Louise, the Mother Superior, drew from her podket a handksK- 
 ohief, with which she carefully wiped the Made td tha daggar; 
 
 ^^c. 
 
iS6 
 
 HjMim of a Gnarat 
 
 m4 lhel^ itplMiiiff Iht lattar in ifti diMtl^ Mid thiowittg 
 keraliiaf upon tlM floor, di* itood idr • few momoiti with hk 
 ftrmsfold«a,lookiiiffdownnpon ihedMdbody.andthaiozoUiimtd— • 
 
 ** If thon be an honaitM', Fnuiods Jubeurt, yoa are now in per* , 
 dition, and I am avenged lor the wrongs joa haTO done me^ Two 
 hbure more, and ehe, whom yoa woula have rained, this nighty .^ 
 aa you have ruiued me, will oe in eternity too 1 I, too;thaUqttiet« 4 
 ly follow. The morning's sua will arise to see os pale and gnast-' 
 ly, and to tell to the world the story of woman's love, of woman's 
 reTeuge I Francois, I will soon be with yoa." 
 
 80 sayiag, she turned away, looking the door of the oratory be- 
 hind her, as she entered the bed*chamber, i|fnd throwing herself 
 lipon the bed, remaiaed quietly there until the oonyent olook told 
 the hour of midnight. 
 
 Arising from her oouch, she threw a cloak around her, and, 
 drawing the hood over hat head, passed through the priyate par* 
 lour, carefully lockins the door, and groping her way along the 
 corridor, and down the great stairway uutil reaching the back 
 door, she went out into the dark night, and stealthily advanced 
 to the garden. Here she found the sate closed ; and, rightly sup* 
 poring that no one as yet had passed before her, she entered, and 
 hastened to the arbour. Here, listening for a moment to ascertain 
 U any one were there, she entered, aira, taking her seat, awaited' 
 the ooming of the Sister Paulina. 
 
 The arbour waS boustruoted of lattice work, with large interral^ 
 bnt was so thickly overgrown with clematis and other running 
 vines, as that whatever little light was emitted from the stars was 
 entirely excluded, and all was darkness within. Yet, as the ^n- 
 trancee were at either end, one seated within could very distinctly 
 recognize the person of him or her who should seek to enter. 
 
 The Superior had not been long seated before a light step was 
 heard advancing towards the arbour ; and presently she cuatin- 
 gttished the figure of the Sister Paulina peering into the dark- 
 ness, as if endeavouring to ascertain if any one were there. 
 
 f* I will seat myself for a while," she said, " until he comes. He 
 will be here presently." 
 
 So saying, she entered, and seated herself directly oppodte to 
 the Superior, who, having previously drawn forth the same dag- 
 ger which she had used, a short time before, for the destruction 
 of the Father Gtooeral, suddenly sprang forward, and, seizing the 
 trembling girl, before she had time to scream or to make the least 
 resistance, plunged the weapon into her bosom, exclaiming, as she 
 did so— 
 
 ** Die, base wanton ; I am the Mother Superior." 
 
 The poor girl was not instantly killed ; and the Superior, find- 
 ing this to be the case, gave her two sucoesrive stabs with the 
 sharp instrument, before signs of life ceased to be exhibited; then, 
 throwing down the weapon, by the side of the dead body, she Ufl 
 the arbour, and, regaining the building, went up stairs to her cham- 
 ber ; leaving the door, leading directly into it, unlocked. Gk>ing 
 to a tsble upon which stood a deoanteor of water aud a goblet,* sb« 
 took from her bosom the folded paper, which she had looked at 
 in her oratory, a few days before ; and pouring its contents into 
 the water, die drank the poisoned liquid, without pausing or he- 
 dtatton. Then, lying down upon her conch, she oompoasd her 
 Umbi dMtntly, and wmi fell into ft lethacgy^ nom the effeotsof 
 
M^ysterifl! of a Gonyeni 
 
 W 
 
 )^ 
 
 4 
 
 Um polKmoiif drag the had •mdlowed. Anon th« potion btgon 
 to work iti deadly offioe ; and, ere the light of morning dawned 
 on the conTent, the Mother Superior, burdened with all her orimai^ 
 was summouea into the presence of her Maker. 
 
 Thna nerished, by her own handj this extraordinary woman, 
 who, haa she been earlv trained up in the priuoiples of » pure and 
 holy religious life, mi^ht haTO become an omameut to her sez.. 
 Deprived, in early life, of the care and attention of her mother, 
 ana subjected to the stem and almost nnparental temper and die- 
 poaition of her father, she, no doubt, earlV imbibed ome of those 
 Incipient traits of character which so <awf ully marked her future 
 nilty career. And tbeo, another important adjunct in smother- 
 uig her better feelings was, the circumstance of her being sub- 
 jected, in the days of her youtb, to be a sufferer from the direful 
 events which overspread her unhappy country, during the reign 
 of terror that marked the French revolution. But the great 
 source from whence sprung the turbid streams which blackened 
 and defiled her future life, was unquestiouably to be traced to the 
 soul-destroying dogmas and vile superstition which so peooliarly 
 characterize the Bomish system. She was undoubtedly a woman 
 of strong passions ; and, for the accomplishment of her purposes^ 
 and the attainment of any object she had bent her mind upon, 
 no obstacle appeared too difficult for her to surmount, nor any 
 orime too heinous for her to perpetrate, so that, bv so doing, she 
 might be enabled to gratify her pride, her lust, and her ambition. 
 To rule and domineer over others was her darling object ; and 
 woe be to that daring individual who called in question, or en- 
 deavoured to thwart, her authority ! No subtlety or cunning 
 could circumvent her vigilance. She was a thorough Jesuit ; and 
 duplicity and subterfuge were allies which she had ever rei^y at 
 command, to assist her in any nefarious project on which her 
 mind was bent. In short, she was a fit instrument to carry oat 
 the great object which Popery has ever aimed to accomplish,' 
 namely, to increase the number of its deluded victims, however 
 base and dishonourable the means employed to accomplish that 
 object, and to destroy heretics, and every other obstacle that op- 
 posed the succdss of this unholy design. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Alarm and consternation in the convent— Discovery of the deaclbodle»~ 
 The bodies of the Mother Superior and Sister Paulina laid in the same 
 grave— All effor s to elucidate tlie mystery in vain— The offices of Fa- 
 ther Oeneral and Mother Superior lilUd up— Partial revelations and 
 suspicions of the dying Sisier Martma— Closing remarks. 
 
 Gbeat was the consternation, the next morning, in the o;>nvent, 
 when, after matins, from which the nuns missed both the Father 
 General and the Mother Superioi^ias well as the Sister Paulina— 
 a servant went to the room of the Superior, and found her, after 
 iueflPectually knocking at the door, stretched lifeless upon her bed ; 
 her very handsome features wearing a very slight indication of a 
 momentary pang of pain. 
 
 The servant was norror-struok at what she beheld, and soon 
 raised the idarm, by her cries, when the room was quickly throng* 
 ad by the astonished and terror-stricken nuns, who, gazing at 
 ttia corpse, and then in one another's faces, seemed to aw <^ eadi 
 
M 
 
 l^rsterlflB of a CronTent 
 
 olbtr tlM qvaMaHOf-'** Who hat doiM thin F" No aatpmr. hoiT' 
 ever, wu returned : and ail was enTeloped in myiteiy, ;,jerpMsify, 
 and Tear. 
 
 A* soon as the ezoitement respeotinf the deceased Mother So* 
 perior was somewhat abated, the attention of the nuns was di- 
 rected to the misuuK Father General. Search was made for him, 
 thouKhout the convent, iu every room to which they could gaik 
 access, but be was nowhere to be found ; and they gave over 
 their eudeavours to find him, under the impression that ha had 
 left the oonveut. 
 
 The anxiety of the nuns, on account of the non>appearanoe of 
 the Sister Fauiina amongst them, was liot so great; as they ima* 
 gioed she might be detained in hor cell, through indisposition. 
 Great, however, was the consteruation and dismay of the whole 
 sisterhood, when, an hour or two after finding the body of the 
 Mother Superior, two or three of the nuns, who were walking in 
 the gardeu, entered the arbour, and there found the dead body of 
 Sister Paulina, stabbed in three places, and surrounded by a pool 
 of blood. They were almost petrified with astonishment and 
 dread, and looked around, expecting that some assassin was lurk- 
 ing rear, and that they might probably be the next victims. Be- 
 covering, however, from their stupor, they summoned assis t an c e, 
 and had the body conveyed into the house. 
 
 At length, on the afternoon of the second day, after they bad 
 interred the Motner Superior and the Sister Paulina, an<r that 
 most strangely too, in the very same grave, it occurred to some of 
 the nuus that they had not looked iuto the oratory. This they 
 found locked; but, on breaking into the room, how they were 
 shocked to discover the lifeless form of the Father General upon 
 the floor, lying at the foot of tiie beautiful crucifix. Everything 
 in this room, as in the bed*chamber and iu the private parlour, 
 wore an air of intense repose. There were no sigos of violence, 
 or of mortal struggle between contending parties. Who could 
 have perpetrated the dark deeds which met the gaze, of the^uns, 
 and of the priests who had been summoned to their aid, in the 
 oratory; the bed>ohamber, and the arbuur iu the garden f 
 
 It was a mystery which none could uuravel. And, taking into 
 consideration the high position of at loast two of the parties — 
 the head of the order of Jesuits in the United States — the Supe- 
 rior of the Convent of Annunciation— there was a daring attaih- • 
 ed to the perpetrator of the deed, which showed that the assassin 
 was of no common order. * 
 
 Every uun, every iumate of the family, was carefully and most 
 rigidly scrutinized, questioned, and cross-questioned, but all in 
 vun ; nobodv knew au^ht about it, save those who had been ac- 
 tors in that dreadfully tragedy, and they were past being ques* 
 tinned. Sadness and gloom fell upon the inhabitauts of the con- 
 vent. The suite of rooms, hitherto appropriated to the Mother 
 Superior, were carefully locked up — every tning remaining just at 
 she left it, and continued so for years. 
 
 The place vacated by the death of the Father General was duly 
 filled— >that of the Mother Superior was also supplied<-the dead 
 had been buried and well-nigh forgotten, when, at length, the 
 Sitter Martina came to lie upon her death-bed ; and, consoienoe 
 prompting her, she tent for the then Superior of the convent, and 
 itlattd to htr the «TtQti» in the life of her predecessor, with whioh 
 
 m 
 
 

 Arteries ofa Gonyeni 
 
 flw ^jring Bun itood In anywiit eonneotodj the wnTamtioiui 
 whio&liad token pkoe between lihe Mother Franoet and henelf : 
 her jeelooey and writhings under the feelinge which the eondaot 
 of the Father General had awakened in her boiom ; and the ms- 
 fiieione that were arouied in the mind of Sister Martina, on the 
 diaooTery of the dead bodies* that the Mother Frances herself was 
 the murdered of the Qeoeral,of the nun, and then had taken poi- 
 son to destroy her own life. 
 
 There seemed, to the Mothef Superior, to whom this relation 
 was made, but too much nound to belicTe that it was as the dy- 
 ing nun saspected ; but, beyond these suspicions, there was bat 
 little positive evidence of any kind. ' 
 
 The threats uttered against Julia Moreton, as recorded in ano« 
 fher portion of this work, and their fulfilment, will, together with 
 the erents transpiring in the life of Pietro di Lod'etti and his wife, 
 subsequent to their settlement in Louisiana, ailord material for a 
 oontinuation of the story, should the reception of that which is 
 now given to the public, be such as to iodiice the writer to ven- 
 ture upon a second application of his pen to a sort of composition 
 to which it has been hitherto a stranger. He does not pretend 
 to My that any of the personages of this drama are zeal, nor any 
 of the events which he has recorded are true ', but he does believe 
 that events, not wholly dissimilar, have occurred, and may occur 
 again. He does believe that the true spirit of Jesuitism has been 
 
 Krtrayed; and that dark, and forbidding, and abhorrent, as may 
 the picture, it but too faithfully depicts the principles ma 
 practices of an order which requires vows* of poverty, chastity, 
 and obedience, only in order to wealth, to impunity, and to sen- 
 sioal indulgencr — to the subversion of civil, religious, and intel- 
 lectual liberty, and to the substitution of an iron oppression and 
 a bloody superstition. He has, in short, written his story in as 
 strong terms as he was capable of, in order to qrmboliae that 
 which cannot be too darkly or too strongly coloured, and in re- 
 ference to which, after all that has or can be imagined of it^ it 
 may stUl be affirmed that tnUh is itruHger themjtction. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 8ii8ima|[y--Le88ons to be gained from a right uie of the namttve^Thd 
 duty of parents— Oantions to young persons— Ccnnectlon between Po- 
 pery and infidelity— Sure downfall of enror and superstition— Eamast 
 
 "^ entreaty to embrace the truth. 
 
 Iir reviewing the foregoing narrative, the reader may perceive 
 some very important lessons. The first is, that, when we sustain 
 the responsible office of parents, we should be very careful in the 
 training and culture of the minds of the children committed to 
 Qur care. The second, that the impressions we imbibe in the days 
 of onr childhood and youth, have much to do with our career in 
 after-life. The third, that we should be very cautious how we 
 give ear to those who are ever ready to instil uto our minds er- 
 roneous and pernicious principles and tenets, which, if fostered 
 and cherishea, may, eventually, peril the safety of our never-dy- 
 ing souls. There are other important lessons to be gained by 
 the caieful perusal and diligent study of this narrative; bi^ 
 fhese, for the present, shall saffioo lor the purj^oM of m short 
 oonuDo&t* 
 
190 
 
 li^fitadfli of ft OoniQllti 
 
 'IbtMtMfiwputttltValiridkfhatMBMnlMid •Umalwtf- 
 ftft of thdr o<h|>siiif ; and jH, how oflin uit fli» wn th a l , fraw 
 A BiiUkfii polior w WMit of nroiMr Judgmont, tho eouM thoy* 
 teko lor tbo attainnMnt of throbjoot tb«T hvn «l hMit, to tbi; 
 OM diamotrUNiUy oppoMd to tho MMomplUbntont of thdr wiahot. 
 Tbb hat boon «i«np:^llad in w&wtnl intitnoM in tho oouni of tkif^ 
 BtmtiTo. Pumits, who had a oooMitDtioas dread of tha anf*. 
 of Popaty, yat without i^riontly reflaoting on tha stap thay was! 
 taking, hava plaoad their ohildran in the very Tortez of tba afilt 
 fhey moat dreaded. Beware, then, I aay agtdn, parante, how jon. 
 Mt in regard to tha training and enlture of those who are daa# 
 to yon. 
 
 But what ehall X lay to those who are in tha momint of life T 
 —whose prospcets are bright and glowing with fanded happinesi 
 in store for their future j^f t Tou have not yat begun to es- 
 nerienoe the realities of life '; but, be assursd, those realities wiU 
 M dark and troublesome, or briRht and cheering, aooording aa 
 yon oommenoe your oarser in life's Journey. Tou are surround- 
 ed by temptationa ; and one false step may be produotiTe of in* 
 aaleulaMa misery in this world, and aTerlastinff woe in another. 
 Store, then, your youthful uiinds with the truths of Ood*s word; 
 these will guide and direot you in tha devioua path whidh you 
 may hava to tread; and will preTont you from listening: with a 
 willing ear, to tlf a wily sophinry of those who would endeaTOur 
 to lead you astray from tiie path of reetitude and truth, into tha 
 wvr that ends in destruction, misery, and eternal death. 
 
 The present age is peculiarly remarkable for the strenvous 
 
 Sortious which uie enemies of the pure and unadulterated reli- 
 n of Jesus Christ are making to mring discredit upon its diTine 
 itrines and precepta. InflMlity (and I Consider the Bomish 
 superstitions as nearly assimilated to infidelity as any false sys- 
 tem can be) is openly and unblushingly adTocated in the ears of 
 congregated thonsanda of our fellow-creaturea. There are Je- 
 iuito,— not belonging to the Bomidi aystom only, — going about 
 tha length and breadth of our land, striying to propagate their 
 ionl-destroyin(|[ principles, and imbue the minda of the ignorant 
 and unwary with error, superstition, and unbelief. But what 
 avail f iul their puny elforte will be abortiTO, and will recoil 
 upon their own heads. 
 
 Who, thathaTcread tha foregoing pages, but must shudder at 
 Uia harrowing aeenes and the dreadful acts thenin prtrayad P— 
 AfiA these an the consequences of the blind implicit faith in a 
 
 Srstam npugnant to tha genius of OhristianiW. Boman Catho- 
 dsm, aa it ja belieTcd and practised in most of the monasteriea 
 and oonrants, is a system that Is fmught with tha grossest delu- 
 sions, and pregnant with the most calamitous results to those who 
 belteta in na fallacious doctrines. Many who hare held high 
 plaoee in the Catholic chorch^n past ages, have been tained with 
 the blackest crimes ; and, eTJsn in the present d%y, then aro dig- 
 niteriea in that church, on the continent of Europe, whose liTca 
 and oonduct an as diiferant from the lives and oonduot of tha 
 ^ Apoatles, aa light is from darkness. I would not be unoharitoble^ 
 and denounce all who an connected with that denomination. 
 Then an good men to be found aibongst that body; but, token 
 •a a whole, the great majority an designiog, base, hypocritical, 
 and treacherous. Butitiatha ijstem— nOiigiott it can searoflj 
 
 <> 
 
l^ritlriM of ft OBBTflllt 
 
 m 
 
 %■ «IUd-^wliiA X dtnooiMt : It it dotdy eonnteltd with laidtl- 
 fkf, aad if tlM MUM of moMoriBM and ■Dfftrliig flwti tny oUmt 
 i(jfNMB Ihit pffsrills UDMigtl auakind. ** OooM onl of haft IhM, 
 ■nrpoopI«^Midb«T«MpMat«;toiioliiiott]MimolMii thing, IMI 
 j/lpKiUod." . 
 Thotiin«iaa|i|noftdiinf, whan Popnj, and otmy othor fkiM 
 Bi of wonbip, thall givo pUoo to tho gonuino and vnadnltam- 
 worahip of tha trua and liTiog Ood, and of hit 8oa. Jaana 
 'I :— whan tha miita of ignoranoa and ■npantition ahall bt 
 1 away br tha light of tha lifa^giving baama of tha Word of 
 TnOi, . Tai, Babylon must fall ; tha Mothar of Harlota mutt ba 
 bfonghtloW; andimagaaand oroeiflzaa, and avary otbar idol) 
 ■hallDa eaat away ; and paoplaa and nations shall Sand tha knaa 
 to Jaana, and aekuowladga him Lord over all, blasaad for avar- 
 Bora ! May all who raad thasa pagas, ba instmmantal, throngh 
 tha blassinff of Almighty Ood, in nastaning that gloiioaa tinu^ 
 whan tha kingdoms of ihia world ' " ' 
 
 Ood, and of Ua Ohrist 
 
 shall baooma tha kingdomaof