I was still weak, so weak that I could hardly walk when they obliged me
to go into the kitchen to clean vegetables and do other light work, and
as soon as I had sufficient strength, to milk the cows, and take the
care of the milk. They punished me every day, in accordance with the
Bishop's order, and sometimes, I thought, more than he intended. I wore
thorns on my head, and peas in my shoes, was whipped and pinched, burnt
with hot irons, and made to crawl through the underground passage I
have before described. In short, I was tortured and punished in every
possible way, until I was weary of my life. Still they were careful not
to go so far as to disable me from work. They did not care how much I
suffered, if I only performed my daily task.
There was an underground passage leading from the nunnery to a place
which they called, "Providence," in the south part of the city. I do not
know whether it is a school, or a convent, or what it is, but I think it
must be some distance, from what I heard said about it. The priest often
spoke of sending me there, but for some reason, he did not make me
go. Still the frequent reference to what I so much dreaded, kept me
in constant apprehension and alarm. I have heard the priest say that
underground passages extended from the convent in every direction, for
a distance of five miles; and I have reason to believe the statement is
true. But these reasons I may not attempt to give. There are things that
may not even be alluded to, and if it were possible to speak of them,
who would believe the story?
CHAPTER XXIV.
RESOLVES TO ESCAPE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account