The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-20

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 cry night it is secretly revOlved by out
 side hands. (presumably by those who
 have unacknowledged children within,
 and pun ses are put in labelled for the 1 support of the infants received on such aid such date. No questions are ever
 asked, and no efforts made to trace the parentage of the waifs. On certain | days of the week the institution is open ! 10 visitors, and the children may be adopted by whoever desires them, thus ! giving the unknown parents an oppor- l tunity of secretly seeing their cast l aWays, and of eventually repossessing
 them without fear of discovery-unless,
 as sometimes happens, nature is oto | too powerful to be overcome by guile | and unfortunate babies develop a
 marked resemblance to the authors of
 their being.
 1 The, outer walls of the quaint old
 building are four feet thick and ram l ble around three inner courtyards, each
 of which has its central fountain and | tangle of flowers and passion vines, and
 clump of olive or fig trees shading the | shrine of a Christ, a Virgin or Saint.
 These courts are surrounded by corri- l dors, whose tiled arches are upheld by long lines of qneerly carved pillars, now streaked with mold and crumbling un- ! der ''the insidious tooth of time" Ira
 versing their mOss-grown pavements, l We found the path Obstructed by sever al donkeys that had been driven to the inner doors with supplies of fuel, milk and vegetables; and the blue -gowned
 matron-her round, benevolent face
 shining like full-blown peony in the
 sun, with rosery, crucifix and bunch of
 keys jngling at her side, and the flaps
 of her wide, white bonnet standing out i like sails-failng to budge the animals l by the usual 'st-th- th-th!'' put her 1 strong, fat shoulder to each ones trump
 and quietly pushed it out of the way. l Such immaculate cleanness prevails ev-
 anywhere that one might eat off from
 every inch og flooring, whether of wood. l tile or adobe; and such absolute silence
 reigned that we found it difficult to be- lieve there were actually a great num- | Der of children quartered under the
 roof. No muddy little footprints, nor
 marks of careless fingers, nor shouts of | childless glee proclaimed their exist ence. A glimpse of the perfect disci pline needed in such a crowded institu- l tion is anywhere enough to give one a | heartache with the knowledge that the
 rescued waifs, though comfortably fed and clothed, must become hardly more
 than automatons-rising and retiring,
 eating, sleeping, playing and praying
 by memorable rule led by the nod and beck of their keepers. The good Sister I hood, by the way, being all maiden la | dies of certain age. are scarcely the
 natural guardians of childhood, having
 voluntarily foregone the development of
 the maternal instinct and being com- | pelled by their VOWS to sternly repress
 the most tender sentiments of the heart. Worthy women though they un- l doubtedly are, searched every counte- l'nance in vain for one trace of that un- 1 deffnahle yet unnistakab1e sweetness of expression indicative of completed womanhood, that comes only to the faces of those who have loved.
 l In this asylum the children are care- | fully trained in the tenets of the church and educated to moderate extent in | the lore of books, while each is taught some useful trade which he or she may practice for future support. Thus.
 while the boys learn shoemaking. sad l dlery, poncho- weaving, eabinet-work etc., the girls manufacture artificial | flowers, fancy boxes. lace and embroi- | dery, and are trained for domestic ser- l vice. If not adopted, and if self-sup- porting, they may remain here perma- nently, should they choose to do so; or at the age of eighteen they may go forth to shift for themselves. There
 are a number of "orphans'' here, both
 male and female, reared in the institu- | tion and now nearing middle age. who
 prefer to work hard all their days for
 the general good, rather than leave the
 shelter of the only home they have ever | known. The young men earn consider able funds at their various occupations, l and the girls take in fine sewing, em- | broidery and laundry work. They have I also a model bakery in the house. and 1 the very best bread that is sold in the | city, and the most of it, comes from l those ovens. At present there are four l dild L"CIltS SLlllulSll llA
 the asylum. The smallest of these able
 to be out of the nursery Ca class of for
 ty-stven between the ages of two and
 five years), were put through their best
 paces for our edifcation, with little
 songs and parrot-like dialogues, each
 setting forth their religiun faith and the goodness of their protectors. All were neatly though poorly clad-the girls in
 blue gingham gowns, the boys in jean jackets and trousers. both sexes wear ing aprons exactly alike, of the same
 coarse blue cloth that the Sisters wear for dresses. with woolen hose knit by
 the larger girls end begged shoes made
 by the boys. Each little apron had a
 square pocket patched on in front, into
 which was thrust calico handkerchief but the usual lamenta ble neglect pe-
 culiar to childhood's use of the latter
 article prevailed.
 FANNIE B. WARD.