The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-02-13
IN A CONVENTN IN ROME.

The managers OF the Home for the Friendless
Protestant institution of this city, publish en-
tertaining little monthly journal Our Record
| which tells of the work of the home. In the cur
rent number find "A Protestant Girls Expert
| ence in a Catholic Convent in Rome" 1t is sim
| pie tale and truthful Happy months thos
| spent with the nuns in Rome. They would hay
| just enjoyable had they been spent in any con
vent in the world. These institutions are all the
same, Behind their walls is perfect peace. The
writer is Dorothy Seabury Copeland. Her stor!
follows:
A shrill whistle announces us that the omnibus
is waiting. Quick, quick! We put ON our thing
and out. 1t would not do to be slow. because
it only waits three minutes, then gives another
whistle and starts NICE quiet old lady in blacl
opens the door from the inside for us. There art
dozen or so other girls. They look up from thei1
books, give friendly nod, then resume thei1
reading Most of them reading their French
grammars, which they find difficult for they arc
mostly Italians. Ny friend and |, though general
ly look out of the windows. We have only been in
Rome for three weeks and are still curious as to its
beauties. Besides this ride for the Hotel Quirn0i
to the "Trinitu del Month is especially beautiful.
1t is early i'll the morning and the sky is dazzling in
its blucness.
Finally we come to the open place in front of
the old convent TO our left the graceful Span
ish steps, covered with beautiful flowers and with
pretty models, III bright cOors awaiting their fate
At right stands the great "Trinita del Month"
the pretty chapel with its two high towers. and
next to it the old pink convent, which would look
rather fierce if it were not for the pretty climbing
roses which peep over it 50 timdy.
We mount the old staircase to the left of the
chapel Perhaps we are all thinking of the peo-
pie who have mounted them before generation.
Some of them were very mighty and yet so small in
front of this great monument erected to God Some
of these people have even been kings nun opens
carefully and slowly the great door to let us in.
We lind ourselves III a small vestibue but pres
emily she leads into a great coister the walls
of which are covered with frescoes-nost of them
masterpieces Then I'VE pass the chapel door. We
all make a courtesy and cross ourselves. Then we
go up long. narrow, winding staircase at the top
of which another nun meets us She brings us into
q small room. where we take our hats and coats
off. There no looking glasses in front of
which may fix our disbeveled hair Looking
glasses are not permitted in a convent. Nuns may
not know what they look like. for some of them
might realize the beauty of their pure faces. The
same nun leads to the general school room,I
where we all find OWL teacher, who takes us in
the room where she teaches All these rooms have
once been cells aud still keep their baroness but we
can sec the beautiful garden from the Windows
garden thick with trees and little mystcriou.
hooks
We arc never more than fifteen minutes with
one teacher Of course, all the teachers are nuns
and how patient and quiet they arc. They never
A'ii|~ NCi11S Il
while that my Italian teacher was princcss-a
member of one of the great Roman families Wei
called her "Madrc Doria"
After each lesson VIC have a recreation of about
ten minutes. We go out in the garden and play
childish games; ball, puss in the corner skip the
rope and all sorts of simple things. nun stands
By US. and when there is any discussion it is to her
that we go.
AT luncheon all the cxterncs and the intcrncq
SIT together 1t is the only time when we are al
lowed to mix. but speaking is not permitted during
the meals. There three long tables in the room
at the middle all the younger girls sit and ii |
IS very amusing to watch all these pretty little
children of or sitting there So demure and
quiet. During luncheon Madrc de Nerlvillc walks !
up and down between the tables reading the letters
sent to the internes When a girl wishes some
thing she stands up and Madrc de Ncuyle comes
to her to satisfy her wish.
AT table every sixth girl serves the other five
The dishes and the plates are placed in front of
her If you wish anything she is to be asked But
of course every week it is somebody else so that
every serious girl has the right to be little mother
every now and then. During luncheon one. girl
sits up high pulpit and reads the Bible alou1
in French. After and before meals Madre de Neu
vile says grace.
What | like the most is Sunday. Sunday ".
only at 10 o'clock. We go right into the YES
try and put OH long white wells which cover our
faces, We look like brides. [ forgot to say that
we always wear uniforms Oh but very nice ones
Dark blue serge trimmed with velvet of the same
color. When our wells orderly fixed and our
black kid gloves buttoned we go through private
passage to the chapel. But we don't mix with ev-
erybody; we are behind the great grill which di-
vides the church in two 1t is a very pretty church
All the way up the aisles there are tiny little chap
els on each side; these are just big enough to hold
toy altar, beautiful fresco and two or three
crouching nuns There are generally several priests
to attend mass Sometimes they are even higher
than priests Sunday afternoon the nuns sing be-
hind the division And many the people who
come to hear this glorious chant For they have
heavenly voicesl
We found the "Trinita del Monti" delightful.
if that adjective may be attributed to such sa-
cred place We, being Protestants had great trou-
bic i'll entering the convent We got in through
the courtesy of a friend who knew Merry Del Val
To my astonishment the sisters never tried to