The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1893-07-15
less passer-oy sees and knows ,.nuya,
o the household and lis fairies.

U.S. PusScr-Dy sees anu knows luu1ht
the household and lis fairies.
we discuss question of exclusive
ness or seriudedness, S our ca,ris ge
rum oles its way over the cobble stones
W! en- y now, we have reached, there
te ng TN agreeable lack of
uniformity OF the street paw
! ,n9 as IN The populat on # this
pressed old city, and our cicerone tells
US OF charming bevy of girls whose
presence grac one of the mo It aristo-
.rat'c reside ices we have passsd-how
tneir rather, st.unch old gentle nan
| OF olde time and WAYS. absolutely pc
iuses 10 allow their names to apruar
in society's do;ngs, and how the nun.
tlals OF one of them, in tead of being
perpetrated with pomp and cir
Gums ance at church, was solemn
lied most IMPLY in the privacy
OF home with only near and dear ones
TO gaze upon the sweet face of the fair
pride. No Jenkins there to write up
the lingerie and pretty belongings
and no lists OF wedding gifts and their
cards.
Pondering these things, not the east
among the surprises in this sleepy old
town, we at last reach the picturesque
old convent, secluded as is the Romish
fashion behind high walls. We drive
within around broad graveled road,
anu are ushered into a cool, lofty hall,
where twilight prevails, and our own
100 steps sound loud and profane and
we talk in whispers Presently we go
down corridor, turn an angled corner
anG are as close 10 those we are to visit
us is permitted. A grating of iron
oars extends from floor to ceiling: on
the inside are the pupils; outside the
visitors can be seated
The gentle little maid some of us
know, cad in pale blue, the convent
uniform because it is the Virgins
color, made in severely plain style,
with not frill or furbelow visible,
comes to the grating and we exchange
greetings through the bars, Her soft
brown hair is bundled Madonna wise
n bove the brow and hangs in girlish
plaits down her back.
Around her neck white ribbon
carries silver GRO S. her only orna-
ment. She sits down behind the graf
ing-we SIT in front, and the conversa-
tion is-naturally -su tdued in tone.
Presently one Of the pupilsa tall, grace
full maid, with magn liz complexion
and lustrous eyes. goes to n piano and
sings, quite simply and without self
consciousness, to show her admiring
mother her advancement IN music.
And what 90 you think she sings?
Not an Ave Maria, or sweet flower
song, or any gentle love-ditty, but the
Misere from ii Trovatore: that cry of
tortured soul, 'Dieu, Que Ma Voix
Imp, ore" she sings in her fresh young
voice, with no more conception of
Maurico's passion and misery than has
baby of the deadly poison lurking
behind the SENT Hating tongue of the
poisonous reptile. The scene is inn
pressive: the wide windows, high up
and barred, are opened to let in the
sweet, cool air, and the light, falling
from such height, shines in faint
glow upon the balf-hundred or so
visitors assembled outside the grating;
and then, shattered by the bars falls
in slanting rays upon the demure
mai dens in their soft dresses of pale
blue sitting just within.
Girls are placed In the converts at
an rly age, and are generally
through the courses while very young;
the creole maiden being usually
tiancee at Il. Early marriages are the
rule in this tropica. cline, and it is a
v
four and twenty with her bevy of
babies from six months old to as many
years.
Soon our hour is over and we say
goodby, noting the wistful look in the
soft, brown eyes of the sweet girl to
whom our visit gave so much pleasure
Nor has her hamper been forgotten,
but all that is allowed has been left
for her delight.
Truly, we agree, as we drive back
through the still, golden afternoon
with the slanting rays reminding us
that the sun is low in the Western sky,
visiting New Orleans is like going
abroad; we see so many OF the quaint,
foreign customs perpetuated by the
descendants of that fleeing aristocracy,I
who love the slow, conservative SOUTH
ern city as though it were indeed
transplanted bodily from lands where
their ancestors lived and loved in years
agone. EMMA l. NIL 20 AN