“The Lady Abbess sent Madame de Villiers with orders to Madame de Royer to announce the news to the pupils, but we already suspected it. She came forward, when each of us had taken our places, and said: ‘Young ladies, it has pleased God to recall to Himself our beloved Madame de Rochechouart. Offer up to Him the sacrifice of your legitimate grief, and pray for the repose of her soul.’ Then we asked to be taken to the choir, where we recited the prayers for the dead. “We had been so deeply attached to the person of Madame de Rochechouart that we obtained permission not to appear in the schoolroom either that day or the next, on which she was to be buried. “The class did not follow her funeral, but passed the time in prayer. She was to have been buried in the cloister, as all the nuns are, but the family requested that the body should be placed in one of the chapels of the choir, which was accordingly done. A slab of black marble covers her tomb. Each pupil had two Masses said for her soul, and she had a magnificent funeral at the expense of her family. “It now became necessary to elect another mistress-general, but nobody wished to take the office, each one dreading the comparisons which would be made by the pupils. Some of them wished to have Madame de Royer, but she would not accept. We wanted Madame Sainte Delphine, but she was certainly not equal to the work; she was far too indolent. “At last, on the day fixed for the meeting of the Chapter to decide on the appointment, a novice came at three o’clock from the community, to tell the class that the ladies begged us to pray that the light of the Holy Ghost might guide them in the choice they were about to make of a mistress-general. We immediately all knelt down, and after a short silence sang the _Veni Creator_. “At six o’clock the Lady Abbess came to the schoolroom; we placed ourselves in our stalls, and she addressed us as follows: ‘Young ladies, I have come to express to you my grief at the loss we have sustained, and at the same time inform you that the ladies have endeavoured to retrieve it as far as in them lay. They have elected Madame de Voyers, second mistress of the novices, in the place of Madame de Rochechouart.’ We made no reply to the Lady Abbess, but merely bowed, and she left the room. “Shortly after Madame de Voyers, conducted by Madame de Royer, came in; she had a fine figure, and enjoyed much consideration in the novitiate. She was about forty years of age. She said: ‘Young ladies, I feel that my presence here can hardly be agreeable to you. I know how difficult is the task that lies before me. I pray you to make it easier by placing your confidence in me. The regrets that you rightly accord to the memory of Madame de Rochechouart are a credit both to you and to her; I cannot flatter myself that I shall worthily replace her, but I ask you to rest assured that I shall make every effort to do so.’