Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 15, No. 4, April, 1886 — John Shaqi
Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 15, No. 4, April, 1886Various
Religion
Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 15, No. 4, April, 1886
Various
Periodicals
mood in general, the Mediterranean is sure to take its own distinctive
color--sapphire.
The convent is built in the shape of the letter S, with the new building
recently added for the pupils--a long line of class-rooms and music
closets below and the dormitories above admirably arranged so that each
girl is enclosed in a kind of cell, or cabin, numbered on the door
outside, with a general ceiling. It is original and much better than the
old system, by which twenty or thirty girls felt themselves in a general
bedroom. This building has proved the most expensive of all, and the
undertaking leaves the community considerably in debt and if any of my
readers feel sufficiently impressed by the endurance, courage, and
self-sacrifice I have indicated in this short sketch to desire to be of
any help in a most deserving cause, donations to enable the convent to
pay off its debt will be very gratefully received by the superior. Their
charities and hospitalities are necessarily great, and their isolated
position precludes them from the enjoyment of those resources and
assistances which the communities in Catholic countries may justly rely
upon.
The features of the island of Tenos gather beauty with familiarity, and
the inhabitants are as simple and pure and primitive as the old ideal of
Arcadia without, however, the picturesque shepherd costume and crook.
They have the greatest respect for the French nuns, teach their little
brown-faced babies to salute them by kissing their hand, and with the
untutored courtesy of their peasant race are willing and anxious to
render the sisters whatever service lies within their power. They wonder
greatly at the taste and artistic beauty of the convent grounds; at the
perfect neatness and cleanliness of all the domestic details, and those
who have come under the personal influence of the nuns are already
endeavoring to beautify their own homes. A servant man who had worked in
the convent has gradually turned his pig-sty home into a charming little
cottage, with a neat terrace covered with trellised vines, the poles
which support it wreathed in fragrant basilica. He is quite proud when
you stop in the dirty village to admire the incongruous effect of his
pretty house, and tells you frankly that he owes his taste to "_la Mère
Assistante_."
The influence of these ladies throughout the primitive island is
remarkable, and by the simple-minded peasants who have benefited so
greatly by their charity and labors, are gratefully recognized as the
one oasis of civilization in their midst. Unfortunately they are not
rich enough to give any more practical evidence of gratitude than
sincere love and devotion.
HANNAH LYNCH.
* * * * *
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