1st. The nuns' sleeping-room, or dormitory, which I have already
described. Here is an access to the projection mentioned in speaking of
the first story. The stairs by which we came up to bed are at the
farther end of the room; and near them a crucifix and font of holy
water. A door at the end of the room opens into a passage, with two
small rooms, and closets between them, containing bedclothes. Next you
enter--
2d. A small community-room, beyond which is a passage with a narrow
staircase, seldom used, which leads into the fourth community-room, in
the first story. Following the passage just mentioned, you enter by a
door--
3d. A little sitting-room, furnished in the following manner: with
chairs, a sofa, on the north side, covered with a red-figured cover and
fringe, a table in the middle, commonly bearing one or two books, an
inkstand, pens, &c. At one corner is a little projection into the room,
caused by a staircase leading from above to the floor below, without
any communication with the second story. This room has a door opening
upon a staircase leading down to the yard, on the opposite side of
which is a gate opening into the cross street. By this way the
physician is admitted, except when he comes later than usual. When he
comes in, he usually sits a little while, until a nun goes into the
adjoining nuns' sick-room, to see if all is ready, and returns to admit
him. After prescribing for the patients he goes no farther, but returns
by the way he enters; and these two are the only rooms into which he is
ever admitted, except the public hospital.
4th. The nuns' sick-room adjoins the little sitting-room on the east,
and has, I think, four windows towards the north, with beds ranged in
two rows from end to end, and a few more between them, near the
opposite extremity. The door from the sitting-room swings to the left,
and behind it is a table, while a glass case, to the right, contains a
wax figure of the infant Saviour, with several sheep. Near the
northeastern corner of this room are two doors, one of which opens into
a long and narrow passage leading to the head of the great staircase
that conducts to the cross street. By this passage the physician
sometimes finds his way to the sick-room, when he comes later than
usual. He rings the bell at the gate, which I was told had a concealed
pull, known only to him and the priests, proceeds up-stairs and through
the passage, rapping three times at the door of the sick-room, which is
opened by a nun in attendance, after she has given one rap in reply.
When he has visited his patients, and prescribed for them, he returns
by the same way.
5th. Next beyond this sick-room, is a large unoccupied apartment, half
divided by two partial partitions, which leave an open space in the
middle. Here some of the old nuns commonly sit in the day-time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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