The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-08-02
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
Sending Daughters to Roman Catholic
Schools.
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO PROTESTANT
LADIES.

consecrate yourself and your children to God, to be
trained for him, l hope the report which heard
is not true.
Mrs. H.-Mrs. A., much as It may surprise you,
| must condidly tell you it is true that am pre-
pairing to send my daughters The nunnery. l
believe for girls at their age it is the very best
place | can send them. Ihey are becoming very
fond of society," and it distracts their thoughts from
their books to go into society. 1t is almost i'm
possible for me- situated as | am, to keep them out
Of society, or in other words to keep them from
having beaux, and the nuns, you know, are very
strict on that point, and never allow young gentle
men on their premises. So thought would send
them to the nunnery as the very best place for
them until they complete their education and get
old enough to Judge for themselves.
Mrs. A.-Cant you find Protestant school that
is strict enough for you on that point2 l think
could point you to dozen excellent Protestant
schools, where they are strict enough to satisfy
any reasonable parent Oh that point. Besides, are
you sure it is best to exclude them entirely from
all society of the other sex, whilst they getting
their education? They will have to mingle ao,th
men as soon as they get out Of school. Why shut
them out where they will never see man whilst
at school, unless it be priest or bishop?
Mrs. H-They are so devoted to society that if
you allow them to have any beaux at all, they will
think about nothing else.
Mrs. Al am not arguing that you shall send
them where they will have what you call beaan.
Those believe. none or at least very few, of the
Protestant schools allow to their pupils during term
time What am arguing is, is it best to send
your daughters where, for months, the only speci-
mems of men whom they will see, will be priests
and bishops?
Mrs. H-Oh, l don't expect them to have any
thing to do with the priests and bishops. They
will be taught altogether by nuns
Mrs. A.-Yes, but don't the priests and bishops
have access to them to instruct them on the sub
ject of religion?
Mrs. H-Not unless the priest allows it; and as
am Protestant, l do not expect to allow my
daughters to have anything to do with them.
Mrs. A.-Wal not your daughters be required
to attend mass on Sabbath mornings, and other
religious ceremonies on the innumerable holidays
which the ROmiSh Church has established? But
suppose that they do not attend. viii they not
spend their Sabbaths IN sheer tdleness, or in mis-
chief of some kindP If they don't go to mass on
Sabbath, they must go some where else, and be
7ed in some other way They will never DC
led to go to Protesta. church GA the Sab
bath, or hear Protestant Sermon or see Pro.
testant minister of your own church, all the time
they are at school, They will be cut off from all
Protestant books and newspapers. They may be
allowed to take their Protestant Bibles with them,
but venture to say they will be locked up in their
trunks and will not see the light of day dozen
times until they return home. You profess, my
dear sister, to be training your daughters for both
worlds, earth and heaven. Iput it to your own con
science, is this the way we train them for heaven?
to place them where, for ten long months, they
will never hear a sermon or prayer, except it may
be prayer to the Virgin Mary, or a sermon vii
ifying the faith which you profess, and laudng
that against which you protest, if you be what you
profess, Protestant indeed
Mrs. H-Oh [ am not one of your straight.
laced, hide-bound, narrow-minded Christians, who
believe that all religion is confined to our own lit
all churches, in the Roman Catholic as we'll as the
Protestant
Mrs. A.-Your creed on that point may all be
very correct there may be, and doubtless there
are, good people In the Roman Catholic Church.
They may be very sincere and devout and all that
But the question is, is their religion right, not are
they sincere, devout people? If they are right
why are you Protestant? You surely ought not
to protest against aohat IS right IF they are right
you are wrong, and you ought to go at once into
the bosom of their church, with its nfalible Pope
Plus as your guide Besides they are not so liberal
as you. They hold that out Of their church there
IS no ordinary salvation, and will teach your
daughters so They regard you as miserable
hereto, exposed to eternal death for your errors
They are none of your liberal minded, expanded
charitable Christians, whom you seem to admire
so much Not bit of it. With them it is "you
must be good Catholic or be damned" Now, |
ask you, are they the sort of teachers to entrust
your daughters to the keeping Of at the age when
their minds are soft and mpressible; will you shut
them out from all Protestant influences, and ex
pose them for months and months to such teach
ings as these?
Mrs. H-Oh, l will charge my daughters not
to receive their teachings, and will write to them,
warning them against their errors. Besides the
nuns promise me solemnIy not to interfere with
their religious views
Mrs. A.-But what will your charge be worth,
or your letters either, They teach them eight hours
a dag, and you ten minutes IN sUeek Which is
most likely to prevail in forming the children
views, you or they? As to their promise not to
interfere with your child views, they could not do
it if they would. They will be teaching them most
effectually when they may be unconscious of it
themselves. 1t is not the direct teaching that does
the most harm, but the indirect. venture one
prediction if you put your daughters under their
charge, for two or three years, they will come back
to you either confirmed Papists, or they will be in
different to all religion and wholly devoted to the
world. For my part, l would as soon they would
be in one state of mind as the other. l would |
rather they were devout Roman Catholics than in.
fdels or wholly Indifferent to all religion. Their
eternal interests in either case are blighted
Mrs. H. confess, my dear Mrs. A., that what
you have said has rather staggered me. never
thought of the subject in that light before But
are their schools not cheaper than our Protestant
schools generally
Mrs. A.-Upon that point am persuaded there
IS a general error abroad in the country They
nave uay cheap schools for one class of patrons,
where the living is poor and the fare rough, and
lear ones for another class of patrons, where the
are better. 1t is true that they
could afford to teach at cheaper rates than Pro.