The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-10-31

The q'1fet, black-robed nuns, moving
swiftly along the streets in all parts of
hon'Aon, but chiefly in the poorer
Charters, have long ago ceased to
arouse the inquisitiveness of the
passers-by. They come and go, early
and late, sometimes heavily laden with
mysterious parcels and packages, more
often silently vending their way, their
hands hidden under the wide sleeves of
their coarse garments. They seem re-
CARELESS of their surroundings, but are
evidently bent ON some urgent errand.
Few OF all the thousands who pass by
them with eursory glance have any
but the faintest idea of what the life of
nTn really is. All that they know is
1pat she lives in convent, says a GER
tain number of Ave Marias per diem on
her rosary, energies now and then from
her mysterious dwelling-place on a
begging expedition, and returns home
according to her accustomed routine
She has entered a convent because her
bigoted parents had from her infancy
dedicated her to the Holy Virgin, or
because some great misfortune or sor-
row had fallen on her in early life, af-
tor which she retired from the evil
world to eat out her heart in unayail-
ing sorrow behind the sacred shelter of
"a convent wall or perchance she had
committed some misdeed, some crime,
for which, contrite Magdalene, she
now makes lifelong atonement.
Such is the history of the nun as she
lives in the mind of the general public.
Picturesque though this history may be
1t Is far from accurate. The simple
truth IS less romantic, and therefore
less popular. That hundreds and
thousands of women should enter a,
'slsterhood, become nuns, and for once
and all abiure the vanities of the
world in order to help and serve
their fellow-beings without even the
slightest earthly reward; that they
should leave behind them the comforts,
pleasures and friends of their former
iiVes and become poor and lowly; this
Is indeed, not easy to believe in our
days of infinite selfshness. The world
deciines to admit it, even though it
Otherwise may recognize the truth of
the law by which every great move
ment towards evil is counterpoised by
another movement towards good.
But the world, in the ordinary sense
of the term, can be no Judge where
nuns are concerned; it has neither the
opportunity nor the desire to trace the
path of the unobtrusive sisters. The
real judges of the worth and value of
nun are those outside of the great
world. the disinherited who live the
life OF poverty, of starvation and dis
ease. They know her well, and in their
eyes she is persona grata, magnihca,
for of their darkened lives she alone is
often the ministering angel, the de-
liverer from long suffering and almost
certain death. As she walks, cheer
fully and energetically, through the
sitting lanes and back streets, the
groups of ragged, untidy women gath
cred around each narrow street-doOr di-
vide for moment to let her pass, the
loud, harsh talk and laughter ceases,
and look, as pleasant as it can be
from these hard faces, follows the good
sister on her way. Where is she going
TO? What has she, who is herself but
poor, to do among the poorp The best
way to solve that problem is to accom-
pany her on her daily round. What
she does on the hot days of June she
does in the cold and dark of winter,
for such work knows no interruption,
year in or year out. In France the
Petites Seurs de l'Assomption have
been known and appreciated for their
labors among the poor for many years
past; in England they have only
commenced their work. Four years
ago the first six members of the
community came over from Paris, es-
tablished themselves in a convent"
formerly private house, near Bow.
in the East of London, and at. once
commenced their labors among the
sick and poor. No matter what might
be the religious belief of the afflicted,
the Little Sisters of the Assumption
were at the bedside as soon as they
were called, and the distrust at first
excited by their sombre garments and
their strange headgear soon gave way
to feelings of very different nature.
At present there are ten Little Sisters
living at the new convent IN yelling
ton Road, Bow. and the work begun
by the first six members-namely: the
nursing of the sick poor in their own
homes, the cleaning, cooking. and the
care of the children-is faithfully con-
tinued by the present members. Most
OF the Sisters at the Bow Convent are