Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-05-25
WORK OF NEGRO NUNS
The Only Order Of It's Kind 10 Located
In New Orleans.

In New Orleans.
In the old French quarter Of New Or.
leans with Its narrow streets, latticed
windows and jealousy guarded courts,
where the fig and orange tree grow. Is
lecture. Its central building. TIT Or
leans street. is several hundred years
old. 1t has a stately entrance. with
great pillars and old-fashioned, ornate
ly carved doors. 1t was once the old
Creole opera house and ball room OF
the early days. Now 1t is the home
Of the colored nuns.
The powdered and ringleted damsels
with hoop -distended skirts who step
ped daintily across that threshold to
scenes of gayety in bygone years have
given place to dark-robed figures whose
white ruffied caps only bring into
stronger relief the bronze and ebony OF
their skins. The very names Of the
streets here are rich in history and ro-
nance. There are Orleans and BOur-
bon. Chartress and-him Of the iron
hand and gentle heart-Tonty. Shades
of the past are jostling one another.
though In a gentle. shade-like way. at
every street corner and at nothing do
they seem to be more astonished than
at the sight of the colored nuns.
Yet, the order Is not such very moo.
ern one after all, for 1t was founded In
New Orleans over half n century ago.
Its members are now well-knOwn fig-
ures on the streets of the Crescent City.
The special object of Its institution was
the education and moral training Of
young colored girls and the care Of or
phans and aged infirm people of the
race. 1t has had the cordial support
OF such eminent churchmen as Arch
bishops Blame. Odin. Perche, Leroy and
Janssens. who successfully filed the
archepiscopal see of New Orleans. 1t
was also a novitiate where young col
ored girls are trained for the work OF
the order with the view Of extending
that work to every parish In Louisiana,
and, If possible, into every Southern
State.
One of the most interesting parts OF
the convent is the orphan asylum.
where children ranging in age from
the wee tots just beginning to walk to
girls of II and IA years are cared for.
One of the sisters In charge Of the
babies was an ex-slave. She is a real
nanny" still.
But, reverend mother, you seem to
have some white children here" said
the Northern visitor, commenting on
the fair white skin of some Of the chill
dren.
"Oh, no." said the nun, smiling bit
wistfully at the ignorance Of her visit
or; they all have coloreL blood in their
veins. Maybe they are only Quadroons,
octoroons; some Of them, indeed, have
only one-tenth colored blood, but that
one-tenth black counts more than the
nine-tenths white, and makes them be-
long forever to the colored people"
One is reminded Of some Of Cables
stories, the pathos and the tragedy
thereof.
In the orphan asylum 1876 children are
sheltered who would otherwise be
thrown upon the State. These, as well
as the sixty poor old colored men and
women, and many Of the women In the
school, are dependent upon the sisters
for their daily bread. Formerly the
sisters obtained a fair revenue by 60
ing through the streets Of New Orleans,
from door to door. and into business
houses and railroad offices. soliciting
aims for their charges. So quietly did
they labor that few outside the city
were even aware of the existence Of the
order, the only colored sisterhood In
the United States. But the yellow fever
which broke out in the South in Au-
gust caused that section to be hemmed
In by quarantine and the wheels of
commerce stopped. AS q pathetic let
ter Just received from ono a tn" sis
ters says:
"Our friends have always been
among the poor laboring classes, who
seem to feel most for US, and since this
class has suffered particularly through
lack of employment for three months
and their distress Mt present Is almost
as great as ours, we cannot in con
science apply to them for aid. Even
II we did, 1t would not be forthcoming
as they have not the means."-St Louis
Republic.