618 



FRANCE. 



establisiiments.* The Catholic church costs the government annually 7,000,000 dollars. In 

 Paris, there are 30,000 Protestants, and in France upwards of 2,000,000. They have 96 

 consistories, 438 churches, and 305 pastors, paid by government. The Protestant church 

 costs the government annually 200,000 dollars. 



The marriages are contracted early, and among the higher classes too often by the parents. 

 The bride brings a truly liberal portion of all the various kinds of clothing, &c., called the 

 trousseau, and it is the province of the bridegroom to furnish the jewels. No people are so 

 poor that they have not ornaments of gold. Divorces are not common ; but there are many 

 separations, which are settled by contract. The funerals and cemeteries in France are worthy 

 of imitation. The dead are not laid in a dismal, and " neglected spot " ; but their place of 

 rest is adorned with classic monuments, shaded with trees, and planted with flowers. In an 

 English or American burying-ground, a person is seldom seen unless at burials ; but in France 

 many of the graves are daily strewed with fresh flowers, by surviving friends ; and family, and 

 other groups, are often seen among them. The cemetery of Pcre la Chaise, at Paris, is one 

 of the most remarkable and interesting objects attached to the capital. 



* There are now few monasteries in France ; but 

 scarcely a town of any note, wliere there are not one or 

 more convents for nuns. Sometimes these convents are 

 attached to the liospital, and the time of the nuns is e.x- 

 clusively devoted to attendance upon the sicit. In this 

 case, they ore not cloistered, as their duty frequently calls 

 them to different parts of the town or countrj' upon er- 

 rands of charity. They merely wear a peculiar dress, 

 divide their time between acts of benevolence and reli- 

 gious duties, and do not mix in society ; such are the Sixnrs 

 dc la Clinril6, and the Sieurs dc la Providence, of whom there 

 are societies all over the continent of Europe, and who 

 may be seen with their downcast looks and folded arms 

 gliding along the streets of the populous cities, apparently 

 unconscious of all that is passing around them. Still 

 more frequently, they devote themselves exclusively to 

 the education of girls, and almost all the ladies both of 

 France and 'taly are brought up in these Pensionnals. 

 There are also convents, where the nuns employ them- 

 selves both in attending the sick, and in the education 

 nf youth ; such, for example, is the Convent of Lcs Saurs 

 Hospttalicres at Bayeux, a town which has now dwindled 

 into comparative insiffnificance, but which is still the res- 

 idence of a bishop, and remarkable for the elegance of its 

 cathedral. 



The streets of Bayeux are mean and dirty, and on ar- 

 riving at the convent gates, the mind is totally unprepar- 

 ed for the quiet and beautiful scene of seclusion which 

 the interior presents ; and which is rendered doubly 

 striking from its existing in the very heart of a manufac- 

 turing town. Upon ringing at the gale, the door is open- 

 ed by the portress, and after passing through a long stone 

 passage, the stranger is conducted into a small parlor, 

 advancing from tlie building with an iron grating in front, 

 a few chairs, and a stone floor. Behind the grating is a 

 dark-red curtain, which, by its air of mystery, excites a 

 degree of impatient curiosity for its removal. In a few 

 minutes, the curtain is drawn aside, and one of the nuns, 

 probably a Swur Si/piriciire, dressed in the habit of the 

 order, and distinguished by the large bunch of keys hang- 

 ing at her girdle, appears at the prating and_ enters into 

 conversation with the vi.siters. No gentleman can be 

 admitted into the interior, but an order from the superior 

 can be obtained for the admission of ladies, who wish to 

 view the establishment. In the mean time, nothing can 

 be more striking, than the scene which is visible through 

 the gratinnr, which seems like a glimpse into a world 

 totally distinct from that which we have left behind us. 

 In the large and beautiful garden, tastefully diversified 

 with trees and flowers of every h.ue and variety, groups 

 of nuns, with long black veils, mav be seen gliding 

 iimong the trees and through the winding alleys. Some 

 are employed in teaching the pcvsinvnaires, some are em- 

 broidering under the shade of the trees. All seem cheer- 

 ful and contented ; all are occupied, and pursuing their 

 various tasks with assiduity. When the order for admis- 

 sion is obtained, the inner gates are opened, and the .W^re 

 Supirintre, a venerable old lady, leaning on a staff", re- 



ceives the strangers, and conducts them into the garden, 

 where a nearer view of the inmates tends to dissipate still 

 more efft'ctually those ideas of gloom, which seem con- 

 nected with a conventual life. 



The convent is a large stone building of great antiqui- 

 ty, and formerly one of the wealthiest in France. It con- 

 tains upwards of two hundred nuns, governed by a supe- 

 rior, chosen from among their body ; and at whose elec- 

 tion is a solemn religious ceremony. The superior is 

 appointed for a certain number of years, but at the end of 

 that period, the same is usually reelected. Of these 

 nuns, the greater part are cloistered, but there are some 

 lay-sisteis, and numerous novices. Though there are 

 many of their numljer belonging to the oldest families in 

 France, and some of a much lower rank, there are no dis- 

 tinctions of that nature among them. By turns they 

 make the beds, sweep the floors, and attend upon the 

 others at table. Nothing is more deserving of attention 

 than the hospitals which form part of the building. They 

 consist of two large and airy apartments ; the one destin- 

 ed for the reception of men, the other for that of women. 

 There are a hundred beds in each, and the scrupulous 

 neatness and cleanliness which reigns throughout; the 

 kindness with which the nuns talk to the invalids; the 

 pleasure which their visit seems to afford to these poor 

 people ; and the lespect and gratitude with which they 

 are regarded ; cannot fail to impress the stranger with a 

 favorable idea of the establishment. Two small labora- 

 tories are attached to these rooms ; in each of which a 

 nun is in constant attendance, to mix up medicines, and 

 have in readiness all that may be wanted for the invalids. 

 They are very skilful, both in surgery and medicine ; and 

 dress the wounds of their patients with their own hands, 

 watch by them all night, and spare neither trouble nor 

 fatigue in their service. Persons with malignant diseases, 

 such as small-pox or typhus fever are not admitted, on 

 account of Xhe pensionnaires, who would thus be exposed 

 to infection. 



The dormitory for the pensionnnires is a noble apart- 

 ment, a hundred feet in length, having two long ranges 

 of small beds, with curtains as white as snow. A large 

 lamp hangs fiom the roof, and is kept burning all night. 

 Two nuns sleep in the apartment, to fake charge of the 

 boarders. The other nuns sleep in separate cells, small 

 rooms with no other furniture than a bed, a chair, a cru- 

 cifix, and a few prints of saints or Madonnas. A hand- 

 some chapel belongs to the convent, where the Bishop of 

 Bayeux officiates upon great occasions. The hours of 

 prayer are numerous. At 12 o'clock, when the augelus 

 is rung, they meet in the chn|)el; also in the afternoon, 

 for vespers. At all hours of the day some of the nuns 

 may be seen in the chapel, kneeling on the floor, like 

 motionless figures of stone, muttering their jirayers before 

 the altar. A confessor beloncs to the convent, chosen by 

 the bishop, and admitted at all hours Occasionally, the 

 superior receives the visits of other priests, and permits 

 the nuns to see him, according to her discretion. The 

 lay-sisters are permitted to walk with the boarders, and 



