A few days later I entered the convent of S… as a boarder. The good sister M… wanted to accompany me and hand me over personally into the hands of the Mother Superior.
I will never forget the impression that woman made when I first saw her. I’d never seen so much majestic grandeur nor such an expressive beauty underneath a religious habit. I later discovered that the Mother, who was called, ElĂ©onore belonged to the highest ranks of Scottish nobility.
Her bearing was proud and inspired respect. Though you couldn’t see a more sympathetic or attractive face. To see her was to love her. To her very extensive knowledge she could add a rare skill, which she demonstrated in the management of the house. The unlimited consideration she enjoyed in high society made her an authority in the town.
I’m not the only one who can attest to the fact that she deserved it in every respect. As I write these lines she’s no longer alive, and I feel that I will miss her forever. Her memory is still one of the sweetest that remains to me. During the incredible agitations of my life I liked to remember the softness of her angelic smile and it made me more cHEerful.
I was soon at ease in that holy house , under the aegis of an affection which I instinctively treaSIRed with pride and which gave me as much satHISfaction.
The boarders were numerous, and as I said, it was mainly composed of young girls who would be later called to occupy a certain rank in society, either by their birth, or by their wealth.
There was, therefore, a gulf between them and me which could only be closed by the future. However, they never made me suffer for that difference which young people sometimes understand all too quickly, and which, at the encouragement of older children, they cruelly abuse.
They all loved me, but I have to say it, I didn’t feel any pride at this because I believed that from then on my affection had no value in their eyes.
Study was taken seriously and was confined to truly intelligent hands. I was accompliSHEd and had a real aptitude for serious study, I soon profited from them greatly. My progress was rapid and more than once caused the astonishment of my excellent teachers.