Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-03-20
NAZARETH. March I3.

NAZARETH, March Is, 1857.
MEssRs. EDITORS A friend has sent me the
Louisville Journal of the 18th inst. in which is
Article headed F" Exposition of Roman Catholic
PeYsecation of Protestant Scholar at Nazareth"
| shall forbear making any comment on the edito-
rial remarks preceding the insertion Of aeter pur-
porting to have been written by Miss Mary Miller,
who, on the 9Th of February, at O'clock P. ~,
left our institution and proceeded to Mt. Washing
ton, where she has since remained. She states in
this letter tta the of her leaving the acade
my was that the sisters endeavored force her to
the practice of the religious ObserVances of the Cath
Ollie Church, especially confession, and kept her
confined for several days, depriving her of her al
lowance of food because she would not go to con-
fessiOn. This assertion is utterly false, be
attested by all our pupils both Catholic and Prot
estant. Miss Miller was never known to JON the
Catholic pupils in any of their especial devotional
exercises and it is well known to every one in the
house that effort either by word act was made
| to induce, much less force, her thoughts
This young lady placed here in January,
! 1856 by Mr.. VIM. Miller, her ha-brother who
said he feared we would be unable to keep her, al
! she was of an unruly disposition; but he begged
that we should make the effort. Finding, upon
! trial, said young lady by no means inclined to
study and, as her brother had s-ured u.s. Of
! ruly disposition, wrote requesting him to come
for her, or remove her from the academy. The
| letters we're written to him; vet be neither wrote
nor came nor did he, after her entrance when he
paid to the Treasurer the sum Of seventy FIVE do!
ars give anything further towards the deirayng of
! her expenses.
On the very day that Miss Miller left the inst;tu
| ton, when, according 10 her statement, she
! kept all day in close confinement she took walk
with the young ladies as far the tollgate house
aud during the evening recreatons she with
Oh Ghac 81 oil If th.ar To
two who were near her: "Good night! am going
TO the nfrmary to stay tonight as the sister told
| me come, that she would give some medi-
cine" They laughed at the idea of her taking med
/ icine, as she in perfect health In the walk to
which referred, Miss Miller remarked to person
who was walking by her side, that, il her brother
| did not come for her, she would run off The it,
dividual thought nothug OF this at the time being
accustomed to hear Miss Miller use exaggeratons in
1 speech.
/ 1t is well known to sl pupils that Miss Miller
was not confined nor punished by deprvations OF
food and that one concerned herself in any way
about her religious persuasion or practice. Ne
are convinced that pupils OF the Prot
estant churches who at present under our care,
or who have returned to their homes after even
years' sojourn with US, bear ample testimony to
the fact that neither persuasion nor coercion is
er used 10 induce them to change their religious
general will do US the injustice to believe that We
have pursued or do pursue a course so opposed 70
the dictates o. common sense as well as reli siOn
but deem it due truth to state that the asser.
tons respecting punishmeuts having been used OF
means employed to force Miss Miller to embrace OF
practice the Catholic religion entirely and abso-
lutey false We are not disposed to think that bel
adopting Catholic doctrine or practices would be al
all to the benefit of the church, whatever such
course might prove to herself
10 short time after Miss Mler's departure she
was missed aud search made for her, but Witout eff
feet TIL our finally overlook her the mex
day, as he states, between ii and II o'clock, be
yond Mt Washing. He conducted her to the tav-
era there. On his reform, Immediately wrote a
letter DR.. MattiGgy, requesting him 20 60 for her
au thorizng him to take her Bsrdstown and thence
send her to Nashville Oh the stage He was kin,
enough to start Immediately, and promised Nis
Miller that he would himself accompany her, if sh,
desired it, to Nashville. But she refused to com,
with him to town. He, on leaving her, advised he
to reflect on what he had said to her, and told bel
If she chose TO come TO Bardstown when the stag,
passed that bic house would be open to her, ana h'
would attedd to her departure for Nashville, anC
even, as he had previously promised, accompany be
there himself.
Nv object in sending for her was by no means t
have herre enter the school but merely to send be
in a becoming manner to the place whence sh,
came. Her trunk sent in the morning OF the lTLt
inst 70 the Mansion House in Bardstown directed
TO Nashville.
Instead OF preventing Miss Miller from informin!
her friends Of her condition, she states, strong
" urged. upon her 10 write to az uncle who, SD,
I said, rested near Nashville to come tor her. And
myself wrote to another gentleman residing in Nash
/ vile, that che named being her uncle and il
whose family she had lived, as she said. Ny frs
letter b lug unanswered, wrote again to the sam,
gentleman, after her leaving, stating the manner o
her departure and subsequent facts. To this lette
he replied tiny irst not having been reeeived) tina
DE bad never heard OF her had she ever resideS
N his family.
Hoping that you viii give an early insertion Il
this simple statement of facts, | am respectfully
yours,
FRANCES GARDINER, Mother Superior.