Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1868-04-24

Cledn, puG oalO, empty pdSodSeS anu
apartments Of the interior, with doors
locked or bolted, near each of which
sat sister, with keys fastened to her
girdle. The lower windows, toward
the street were barred, a thick iron
cross forming portion of the bars,
as if that blessed emblem were a tok-
en- Of captivity instead Of liberty. But
in my attic in the roof, where | felt
sure should be locked up at night,
the easement opened wide, like doors,
letting in the full freedom oflight and
air. | soon grew reconciled to the
locking up, and the everlasting sound
of the keys ceased to CRATE upon my
ear. | became used to the confinement
also, and felt that it was adventurous
enough to stand at my open window
and look out upon the beauties Of the
tFF6ds taFd af aWfRlSf e ec6uadn anE gegt ttlf tlff6 6 Rf
vivants, in the queer little slums and
alleys of the town, which my high po-
sition commanded.
The sisters, with the exception Of
the Superieure and one other, were as
uninterestmg a set of women as you
can imagine, They were the ordinary
Dorcas ladies, and tract distributors
and district visitors of our protestant
churches, playing at religion, as nuns
in convent. Taking them as a mass
they were narrow minded, self-satis-
fed women, mostly middle-aged, fond
of gossip and inclined to nurse their
little ailments, though they could not
have the luxury of a doctor unless
they were dangerously i'll. The Su-
perieure was a lady by birth, intensely
proud and ambitious, covetous to an
excess, but admirably qualified for
managing her large and Troublesome
family. | saw but little Of her, for
she had no time to give to an insig-
nificant person like me.
But was there no ideal nun among
them? Certainly: a slender graceful
woman, about thirty, with the traces
Of great beauty left in her faded face.
She moved solitary and sad, amidst
the self.satisfed and stupid sisterhood
surrounding her. My education was
committed chiefly to her, and my con-
version as | learned later. There
were a good many other boarder5, but
all French and all Catholic, and con,
sequently, less interesting than an
English hereto. Sister Catherine
attached herself to me. At first our
conversations were necessarily limited
but | made rapid progress in the Ian
guage; and though | could not ex-
pound and defend our protestant doc
trines, | could soon perfectly compre-
hend all that was said to me, and |
listened with a laudable attention, uu-
III Sister Cathnr.i,,e r~~,-~ ! = j
that | was near conversion. The i'm
preston at once increased her attach
ment to me, and at the same time
threw the Superieure off her guard as
to the nature of the confidential init
macy which was established between
the sister and me.
It vas at two or three different
times that learned the history of
Sister Catherine, which is simply as
true as that | am now writing it. Whe1
only girl OF fifteen she had beer
sought in marriage by a cousin Of hel
own, to whom her parents sole ,ob
lection arose from an old quarrel ex
isting between them and his father
1t was the old story Of the feud be
tween the MontagueS and Capulets
with the added bitnerness of blood
relationship. The cousin had prevail
ed upon Hortense-her baptisma
name-to fly from her home with hin
and as it is simply impossible to con
tract secret marriage iii France, hC
had brought her to this convent, ;
hundred leagues from her father
house, and placed her in it as a board
er, until she was of age to serve he
parents with legal notice that sh,
intended to unite herself in marriag
with her cousin, Pierre de Forville
The Superieure was made the conf
dante and as there was still six year
to wait, Pierre, to mislead the Wig
lance Of the parents, as well as Of th
police, resolved upon filling up tn
| long interval with foreign travel, whicI
would enable him to correspond wit
! Hortense without danger Of discovery
This correspondence made happ,
the life Of the clustered girl, who wa
not fretted by convent rules as | was
and who had, moreover, her religion
duties to occupy her time. But a
laSt-it is an old stOry-Pierries let
ters ceased to come, and one only,
brief note, written by a strange ply
Sician in an Italian city announce,
his death by cholera. The heart o
Hortense was broken, and her healtl
failed her. For four years she re
mained in her chamber, much invalid
ed in mind and body, during whic
time her father died, and she cam
into the inheritance of third porto
of his property, amounting to nearl
, seven thousand pounds. By his deaf
she became one of the wealthiest il
mates of the convent, and befor
long her mind, weak and waverins
became impressed with the duty o
). taking the VOWS among the sisterhood
t | could fancy easily the shrewd, ,subtl
and covetous spirit of Madame la 81
s perieure pressing towards the ric
prize of seven thousand pounds, an
: the small chance that the enfeeble
Y and disconsolate girl would hav