130 Augufi 1749. 



Gaulthier, a man of great knowledge m 

 phyfic and botany, was at prefent the 

 royal phyfician here, and accompanied me 

 to the convent. We firfl faw the hofpital, 

 which I (hall prefently defcribe, and then 

 entered the convent, which forms a part 

 of the hofpita). It is a great building of 

 flone, three ftories high, divided in the 

 infide into long galleries, on both fides of 

 which are cells, halls, and rooms. The 

 cells of the nuns are in the higheft flory, 

 on both fides of the gallery; they are but 

 fmall i not painted in the infide, but hung 

 with paper picflures of faints, and of our 

 Saviour on the crofs. A bed with cur- 

 tains, and good bed-clothes, a little nar- 

 row defk, and a chair or two, is the whole 

 furniture of a cell. They have no fires 

 in winter, and the nuns are forced to ly 

 in the cold cells. On the gallery is a 

 flove, which is heated in winter, and as 

 .all the rooms are left open, fome warmth 

 can by this means come into them. In 

 the middle ftory are the rooms where they , 

 pafs the day together. One of thefe is 

 the room, where they are at work 3 this is 

 large, finely painted and adorned, and has 

 an iron ftove. Here they were at their 

 needle-work, embroidering, gilding, and 

 making flowers of filk, which bear a great 



fimi- 



