The record-union., 1896-03-07

StlSi III It's regular pTOpOFIlOIS-. II Sne
should eject to return to New York she
would be conspicuous for her graces in
any parlor.
1t was the fate of Victoria Morosini
to set a foolish fashion for scoachman
husbands. She would find after eleven
years seclusion another foolish fashion
the titled husband The game of mar
riage is serious enough for the society
girl at either extreme of the social lad
Ger, whether it ends in castle or cloister.
The Vermont home Of this orphan of
the world has a natural setting worthy
of any ducal palace. She can see from
her convent window Mount Killington,
1890 feet above the sea, with Pico and
Shrewsbury as its mountain outports to
the East. The Taconic Range, with
here and there outcroppings of marble,
shuts out the Champiain waters to the
west. The convent stands not far from
Otter Greek, and Victoria is frequently
seen of a pleasant day strolling with
children or nuns along the valley road.
HER DAILY LIFE. THERE.
Life at St. Joseph's Convent is sim
pie and somewhat rigorous routine of
work and prayer, extending from day
break until 9:30 o'clock in the evening,
when all lights in the building are put
out The nuns rise at $50 a. M, go to
prayers at o'clock, mass at o'clock
and breakfast at Z 80 o'clock. Those
boarders who are of age, or old enough
to take care of themselves, do not eat
with the nuns, unless they choose to-
They can have private tables and such
food as they may order. Victoria has a
table by herself, but she often dimes
with the Mother Superior.
The nuns do chamber work from 7:30
o'clock to $50 O'Clock, and the time un-
til 9 o'clock is spent in preparations for
school, which continues from $ o'clock
until noon. The dinner hour is from u
o'clock to 1 o'clock, and school again
from 1 o'clock until either o'clock or
4 o'clock, when all the nuns walk out
with the children They sometimes
take boarders or children out shopping;
the smaller ones play on the convent
lawn; the older ones walk, in pleasant
weather, along the Otter Greek road
from Center Rutland to Haven's Boil
ing Springs.
The evening schedule is not quite as
barren of relieving incident. After sup
per, at o'clock, and prayers in the
chapel, at o'clock, comes, usually, a
play hour for the children, when music
and games are in order. Victoria is
often at the piano in the evening, and
shows a marked fondness for children.
At $50 o'clock the convent is dark and
quiet.
A dull life to be sure, for a young
woman of so many accomplishments.
More to her liking, the world might
say, would be that pleasing picture of
Father Morosini and his daughter Julia
at the Horse Show, which attracted the
attention of the throng few days ago.
But the world is wrong. Victoria, to
all appearances, is where she is the hap
piest.
The real mystery about Victoria Mo-
rosini Schilling is not so much her
whereabouts as the motive that keeps
her in retirement. The facts, as the
world viws them, do not call for per-
manent isolation. She would drop out
of mind quicker If seen oftener. Her
retirement provokes curiosity.
WHAT IS HER MOTIVE?
1t did not take many days to discover
that Victoria had at least one visiting
place in Rutland. This was on Wales
street, where a Catholic family lives.
A young woman connected with this
family has taken the vows of nun,
and was for a time in a South Boston
convent, but removed to the Rutland
institution shortly after the death of
her mother, in December, 1892.
Victorias mother died in December,
1893, and the Wales-street nun, who
TO
at st. Josephs Convent, entered that
institution about the time that Victoria
did. If the truth were known Victoria
would be found tobe not quite stranger
to the convent in South Boston In
deed, the friends and relatives of the
Wales-street sister and Victoria should
be kept in mind in any speculation as
to the Morosini mystery.
At the Wales-street house Victoria is
often entertained Sunday evening, and
the two motherless women, one having
renounced the world forever and the
other living with her back to the world,
as it were, appear to have much in COM
mon, although their family antecedents
are as different as hill and valley.
Victoria is no stranger to the local
Conservatives and flower stores, and
at times SIle DGdIS OIL DIS DIILtS TIE
choicest flowers day after day A Wis
itor in Rutland chanced to meet the
handsome woman in black at one of
these Conservatives, and returned sew
eral mornings in order to catch, if he
could, a glimpse of her face with col
ored glasses off. His wish was not
gratified, but the curiosity of the
stranger had the effect of keeping her
away from the conservatory.
After all that has been said about
the persistent retirement of Victoria
Morosini Schilling, there still remains
a doubt as to the real cause of it. To
be sure, a convent was a natural refuge
after her two years career in the hum
BILE apartments of her husband and on
the stage. Her family are devout Cath
olics and for years have been patrons
of the Sisters of Charity. The mother
was a French Canadian; the father is
an italian and connected with an an
cient Venetian family. He had his
schooling in revolutionary times.
HER ITALIAN FATHER.
Cadet in the Austrian navy, volun-
teer in the patriotic army when Italy
rose in 1S4S, a refugee after the fall Of
Venice, a common sailor. companion of
Garibaldi when running his candle fac
tory on Staten Island, hero in street
fracas in which he rescued from a
crowd of roughs the son of Nathaniel
Marsh, an Erie Railroad official, clerk
in the employ of that corporation, Jay
Gould's confidential man and finally
his partner in business, a millionaire,
a connoisseur in art, genial, a good
story teller, linguist beyond the ordi
nary, an accomplished boxer and fencer,
Giovanni P Morosini is perhaps the