The Argosy — page 371: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

350 Irish Convent Life. ladies,” laughed the mistress of the house. “I know that Protestants are terribly afraid of being locked up in some of our cells, and of never being released again.” We smiled and bowed as we followed our conductress. She led us up a wide, handsome staircase, adorned, here and there, by statues, placed in niches prepared in the wall for their reception, and by scrolls, appropriate to the subjects represented, painted overhead. Two lay Sisters stood aside to let us pass. ‘Their duty, for the time, consisted in clanging a bell incessantly. As they rang they summoned some particular,nun, according to the number of strokes sounded, to do some special task allotted to her. We asked our guide how many recluses lived here, but she said she did not know. ‘I should at least have to count them up one by one, to be able to answer you correctly,” she observed quietly. The cells or sleeping apartments in this part of the house all opened offa long, pleasant, airy and sunshiny corridor or lobby. Each of them contained a small bed draped with green hangings, a table, chair and crucifix. We were not allowed to enter any of these, being only permitted to-stand outside and look in. We were taken, afterwards, into the Noviciate. This was a beautiful room, full of sunbeams and freshness. A long covered table ran up nearly the whole length of the chamber, and on it stood very many desks. Twoof these were occupied, one by a girl wearing a white veil, the other by a lady whose face was shrouded from us by a black covering. We lingered here for some time, but neither of them looked. up, even for an instant, nor did*they by- any motion betray conscious- ness of our presence. Both were writing busily, the novice being em- ployed, as we saw, in copying some old manuscript. We then turned into a more spacious saloon. It was beautifully, tastefully, and artistically furnished, and a long wide balcony stretched” before the windows and overlooked the garden, in which two black- robed figures were promenading, reading as they walked in the shade of some tall trees. The nuns’ burial-ground, with its stone crosses, was pointed out to us, and we were shown a couple of green fields, which we were informed belonged also to the convent. Within the limits of this small demesne alone might the Sisters take exercise, except on those occasions when they were sent on errands of mercy. After this we went through several school-rooms. In the first of these, where needlework only was the order of the day, a naughty child had been made to stand on a pedestal in a corner, with her head enveloped in a large paper bag, as a punishment for some breach of discipline. Visitors did not come to the house every day, and this little girl was so very anxious to catch a glimpse of the strange faces that she tore a hole in her mask, and peeped out at us through it. It was only courteous to make some small purchase here, and I therefore — bought a lace collar. Fortunately for the demand made on my purse, comicbooks-com