Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-05-29
NUNNERY IN THE UNITED STATES
Georgetown, D. c. March lsta 1860

Georgetown, D. c. March l:h 1850
called, to-day, at the Nuunery or@ Mon,
terry of Visitation" in Georgetown. I.,r.s:
sed wish TO the Nun who received n
view such parts Of the interior as s,,,nn..'
are ever allowed TO visit. The Nun smiled :.
sent.
The site Of this Monastery is the po,,h,,,.
part Of The town. Ii stands upon the bords..
Of +" tine heights" and oyeriooks the body =,
the town below. II commands oleasan, v;0,'
OF tine Potomac. as it rolls it still water; ,w."
to the southeast, and also the cultivated 6s,I'
and lawns ON its western bark. The enco,n,.
embraces about one acre. On the north ,;d.
is the Academy conducted by the Nuns, con'
sisting Of a long range Of buildings, ,hr-. s,a
rics high. In the middle Of the Fl OF, Or e,s,...
side stands The chapel On the left Of the cha
ell is the room of the Father Confessot. and Il.
so the private apartments Of the Nuns, ir,o
which no unhallowed tread OF the worIty and
profane is ever admitted.
had not waited long, when the Lady Al.
be>s, and Nun OF the newly initiated 10 III.
mysteries of the Llack veil, about IS or %
years Of age, whose conntenauce seemed the =.
bodr Of an unusual degree Of intelligent,
thought and meaning, came into the hail
Was introduced 10 The Lady Abbess and t.,
Young aud beautiful attendant. 1--WE will b.
your conduc,reases," said the Lady Abbsss !,
the same time leading the way and inviting n.
~ follow.
The Academy or High School for Ladies, !.
the most interesting appendage Of the convent
1t contains boarding school Of upwards u
one hundred pupiis-and free or charity
school of a much larger number Of day schc.
ars. What strikes the visi;,r with mos, plea,
sure, is The perfec, system aud order, viii
which every thing is done Al is perfect clock.
work. The young Misses who compose The
school, are regularly and RICHLY trained 10 4.
every thing on plan and method
We frs, entered long passage. Here were
fixtures prepared for the clpaks, bonneIs &C. Of
the pupils, each numbered from one to 49, and
each pupil has her particul number The
next room We visited was another long p.i,
sage, adjoining the dormilories. In this vas
an extend, d range Of wash stands, reaching
ihro ugh its length. Here he pupils commence
their morning toilette. Each Stand is furuisa
&C with bowl, pitcher, napkin, soap, com5,
| brushes SC. and each numbered. The SAN:
is true Of The beds or couches in The dOrmio
ries-of the departments or divisions Of heI,
common wardrobe-of their seats in the dining
and study halls, and even the repositories Of
their shoes, SC. Each pupil has the sane
| number throughout the establishment.
The Seminary is divided into four classes
The hall of the first class contains an extensive
cabinet Of minerals, to which many rare aut
| H., kaa ntaH hu
officers of our Navy, and by Catholics Of h:
Eastern world II has also many rich sPseI' |
mems of arr-the contributions OF wealthy an!
powerful patrons of the church. The SWORD
sheath and belt Of I,urbide, the hero oil Souh /
| AmerIca-two OF whose daughters are uuv il
this convent-were recently presented to ths
cabinet by Commodore Rodgers.
Alter visiting the other rooms, my conduc
| tresses led me to the domestic apartments
where the culinary operations Of this greal "a
mily are performed. This is KEEP, with greet
care; every thing was neat, bright and eIss;
and but for the implements ofhouswifery, Care
fully arranged about the room, one might have
mistaken il for a drawing room.
One feature in the training Of these young
ladies was wonderfully pleased with It's
t"lSs wv VI tnStu tdhcu WIN
ration, and placed in this parlor.kilchen, where.
under the instruction Of one OF thr ss,ernood,
they perform all the operation, Of hou'e"llsry
for the week. They make The bread aud bake
il, The buildings, .arts, pies, cakes, &e' lh'!
roast the beef aud fowls, and, in short, perform
the whole labor of housekeeping, except 'M
drudgery. At the end Of the week they fe'''n
to their study, and two others takr their p't"
This is as il should be. Domestic rdutai0
is almost wholly overlooked with Us. lou'S
ladies are trained up. as ito charm, and pleas
and grace the drawing room, were to be The s%
business Of their lives. They are taught to sl'9
dance, (this is indispensibI.) to play the pl'"
and guitar, 10 read bad French, and write "0I''
English. to ,riAe gracefully, (aII of winch a. e,
knowledge ike very we'll il backed Oy ~"
aud now and then one, 10 '"'n
profoundly; bu, not one in ten, on arriving "
The proper age for ,aking charge OF la'n.?
knows how TO make a pudding or pH ''''
would be ea,able, unless she were 10 maA'
by book"
The number of Nuns in this Convent J.
present, is about sixty. Among them 'tN
'oendanls of several rich and powerful 'a,H'
les. Their employment consists IN ton'''
ions, vigils, fas's, penanees, reading ana ~"
,ious exercises, il teaching, 10 domestic eT.
erns, and in making fine needle work Tor sax
he Charity School embraces about TWO hs sn
4 aHl