more complete union should be established between our two monasteries (of Paris), and that Our Lord should have made use of you as the bond of union, for they themselves recognize this and write of it to me. God be blessed! This story deserves to be recorded for posterity. But if it is possible I should be glad to know every circumstance of it in detail, for from certain things that have been written to me, it seems as if this man took the money to invest it for the benefit of our Sisters. I want to know the truth about this, and for what object it was confided to him. My Sister, the Superior of the Faubourg, tells me that on Sunday evening when I had said adieu to her, M. de Lamoignon took fifty-four thousand francs of it to buy an office for his son. I am asking Sister to write to me about this matter, for you must not trouble to do so.... We have visited our houses of Pont-Saint-Esprit, Avignon, Montpellier, Arles, Aix, and Marseilles, where certainly everything is blessed, and in all of which the observance is kept with great exactitude. It is most consoling to see on all sides how the Sisters love and esteem their vocation. All these houses have excellent Superiors. When at Aix we saw those of Digne, Draguignan, Grasse, and Forcalquier. The four are invaluable Mothers capable of putting their hands to anything in which divine Providence may employ them, and of rendering all manner of good service to God and the Institute. We also met at Aix the Superiors of Sisteron, Apt, and Toulon, humble and virtuous souls, but not possessing the useful talents of the first four. In returning from Provence I stopped at our house of Crest, where I again found very good Sisters with a young Mother of thirty, but of a capable mind, judicious and zealous. She keeps straight to the grand road of the Rule, "for fear," she says, "of going astray." She gave me great satisfaction. Now I am at Valence, where it appears to me the community is feeling somewhat the effects of having had young Superiors for eight years in succession; nevertheless they keep to the exterior observance and manifest an ardent desire to profit by our stay. I have not yet spoken with them, but I intend to do so. The Superior is good, gentle, capable, and willing, but is wanting in experience; this, please God, will come. These Sisters are in need of one who is firm and experienced. I hope, as next year will be that of their election, that God will look after them in this matter according to their needs. Pardon my bad writing, but I forget half I wish to say. We went from Marseilles to Sainte-Baume, a place of great devotion. Always your very humble, obedient, and obliged daughter, and servant in Our Lord. FOOTNOTE: