The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-04-28
The SILENT SISTERS.
-, word Is spoken In This c,oo,,,,,
hrenoh Convent Near p,a..,. "oa's

'aereu ON 4 convent of thesilent won
e", 'he s@urs silencieuses
wate 1tere' not far from the soundin,
dias Tas7rs ~ o, Of the bay of Biscay, 81 Ia
's f. . u olrth and breeding have see,
na. ~ ~ imm''re themselves in what /
WuU.n'ns Ws less than living tomb
. moihan $ tongue has, Justly or nm
'ls' tho peen centuried byword. We
'he seurs silencieuses yolpntar;,,
resign their right to speak and sem
.ence themselves for the rest q
,neir natural lives to absolute I'M
broken silence. ~
Ihe convent, which is modelled or
tn fnas lor men at La Trappe, was
1eunued ~ AZ, many years ago by lady
u 'he French court who, in com.
pany with some friends, sought this
sol'ude and gave her life to God
"no she was, her very identity. il
IN dispute. Indeed it was her own
wlsh that the authorities of the
Catnollc church should preserve her
name secret, and all the women
VINO have followed her into seclu.
sion here have likewise endeavored
10 sink their identity.
A league from Biarritz, in the di-
rection of the Pyrenees, one turns
aside from the direct road and en-.
ters narrow ravine stretching 70.
ward Mauleon. Through woods of
beech and wild olive an i'll kent
deeply rutted lane leads to a biph
walled Enclosure. Over the walls
there is glimpse of yew trees, and
II the visitor be a man that is all
ne can see of the silent sisters
nome. Even women travellers are
rarely admitted past the heavy
wooden gates, with their lunettes
Tor lay sisters to peer through.
The convent walk is laid out in
long, straight walks, planted on
each side by yew trees. Each nun
has walk to herself. 1t is allotted
her when she enters, and she PAGES
1t until her death. Up and down
the walk she goes, with silent tread
never raising her eyes, save in
prayer, and never exchanging a syl. /
liable with mortal being.
A recent visitor to the convent
thus describes what she saw:
The lay sister who received us
LAY sisters do all the household and I
garden work and are allowed to
talk would not allow us to ap-
proach near enough to the nuns to
get even "a glimpse of their down
cast faces We saw, however, that
hey wore long black oowls, with
great white crosses between the
shoulders and reaching to the hem
If the gown Save for the crosses,
hey were arrayed wholly in black,
md black wells draped their faces.
As we watched the chapel bell
oiled out, and the seurs silencieuses
moved toward its open door. We
we're admitted to the gauery and
aw them kneeling in the half light
lelow as A man s voice was read
ng prayers, but no man could we
ee. Afterward we learned that he
poke from behind a screen. He
'as admitted to the convent chapel
y an underground passageway
sading beyond the walls
"At present the chaplain is a rev.
rend abbe of nearly so years of
g, who enjoys a reputation for
scetic sanctity throughout Ma
ARE. The only time the nuns see
i'm is when he celebrates mass.
"In chapel they bend almost to
le floor, their hands crossed upon /,
leir breasts They eat only vege
bles and drink only water In the
ltire history of the order, it is
id, there was but one nun who
lied to obey the rules of silence
ID submission. The poor women
& their own graves, and, when l
ey are buried, no cross or monu- /
ent of any kind marks their rest .
& place. =
1T is very wholesome for the gay )
lies of Biarritz and Pau to visit =
o snurs silencieuses and their con-
mt occasionally. Our party could
It get the remembrance out of
cir heads for weeks after. 1t pur- =