The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-11

Since that time the nuns have never owned property and have subsisted who'll ly upon aims.
 St Theresa's example is ever held be- fore the Carmelite nuns, and they emu late her in their religious duties. They pray and fast and beat their tender flesh with knotted cords, scarify their brows with crowns of thorns. and even submit to the constant torture of hareloth, known as the height of penanee
 On account of the secrecy which sur rounds the order, it is impossible to give the full details of the ceremonies which attend the entrance of a novice into the order and her daily life until her face is uncovered for the first time in death, but some facts are known.
 Imagine a young and beautiful girl, with her hand upon the door of the con vent on Russian hill locking for the last time upon the world. When she steps in- side she is to take her final vows and is done with the world forever. All she will ever know is what is conveyed to her in the changing of the bells of the Hyde street cars passing the house and the prattle of the children on the street.
 Couch Decorated With Flowers.
 When the novice enters her narrow nuns cell she finds her couch decorated with flowers like deathbed. To her it is
 
 allowed to mediate for a while in her cell until her spirit is attuned to her sur roundings, and then her silent sisters come bearing more flowers and decorate the bed anew. At the same time there is laid before her the nuns garb. It is all of spotless linen, coarse and durable. The outer clothing is still coarser It is meager outlay, and does not attract tho eye through it's cut or texture, and as this is practically the allowance of cloth ing during the nuns lifetime, if she is fond of pretty things, not the least pen ance must be the wearing and washing and alarming of these clothes for years and years and years
 When she has donned the attire for the l first time and has incased her dainty feet in clumsy, roughly made shoes, she is led i from her bare cell to the bare chapel, where a robe of white Is thrown about l her and for the last time she views the i Calvary, while, the other nuns circle about l her. chanting prayers. Then the girl lies 1 flat upon the floor before the Calvary, i and while the nuns pray the abbess sprin- lSles her with holy water. At last she i lifts herself from the floor and is taken to the choir of the chapel where the 1 sisters l1neeing about her holding light l ed candles, she takes her vows and re- nounces the world.
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 To show her faith, she Is required to i spend days in fasting, prayer and pen- ! ance, and then begins the daily round of duties that Is to know not the slightest ] variation until she dies. Long before dawn in the morning she is on her knees on the cold floor praying, and when the light of day begins to creep into her cell, when here in San Francisco the whole l happy life of the city awakes to another 1ot of bop fx-tp cha ta tha factory or dining hall, where she has a simple meal, barely enough to sustain l life. Bread and water and little dried fruit, and now and then, as a special l treat, an apple, is all she is allowed. At each meal, which the sisters eat to- gether, one nun refrains from food and reads prayers aloud. Her face Is covered i and each face about her is also hidden. But her voice, probably well trained be- | fore she renounced the world reads the. prayers in low and monotonous tones. l The only change that ever comes to the i lives of these women is in the form of self-infiicted punishment, such as the saints practiced In the Dark Ages. For a mere fleeting worldly desire the sisters ! not only fast, but subject themselves to i tortures. Retiring to their cells. they l hagellate themselves, bind their brows l tightly with thorns until the blood runs from the deep wounds, and punish their ! skins to an unbelievable extent with tha 1 haircloth garments.
 Penance for Great Offenses.
 For a really great offense such as break 1 ing some slight rule of the order the nuns will hide themselves for days without l food and, holding skulls high aloft with ! their hands, pray until their arms be- come numb with the strain and they fall l fainting with fatigue. Another favorite i form of punishment Is to strap a yoke of lead to the shoulders. a heavy load for the slender body, and stand for hours praying before the face of the Christ in the chapel
 It is the practice to decorate the walls of the Carmelite convents with skulls as a reminder to the nuns of the death for which they are preparing themselves. Fire for warmth is never used except to prevent death from exposure. It must be very cold to necesstate a fire. There never will be such a day in San Fran cisco.
 The picture as drawn is dark and ter rible, and yet it does not seem so to the zealous young women who embrace the order. They gladly veil their faces from all eyes and remain voluntary prisoners within walls just beyond which are all the joys of life.