understand her case. She had learned, when living among poor peasants,
to hide the wonderful gifts which God had bestowed on her; but the case
was altered now that she was in familiar intercourse with a large
number of nuns, who, though certainly good and pious, were filled with
ever-increasing feelings of curiosity, and even of spiritual jealousy
in her regard. Then, the contracted ideas of the community, and the
complete ignorance of the nuns concerning all those exterior phenomena
by which the interior life manifests itself, gave her much to endure,
the more so, as these phenomena displayed themselves in the most
unusual and astonishing manner. She heard everything that was said
against her, even when the speakers were at on end of the convent and
she at the other, and her heart was most deeply wounded as if by
poisoned arrows. Yet she bore all patiently a lovingly without showing
that she knew what was said of her. More than once charity impelled her
to cast herself at the feet of some nun who was particularly prejudiced
against her, and ask her pardon with tears. Then, she was suspected of
listening at the doors, for the private feelings of dislike entertained
against her became known, no one knew how, and the nuns felt
uncomfortable and uneasy, in spite of themselves, when in her company.

Whenever the rule (the minutest point of which was sacred in her
eyes) was neglected in the slightest degree, she beheld in spirit each
infringement, and at times was inspired to fly to the spot where the
rule was being broken by some infringement of the vow of poverty, or
disregards of the hours of silence, and she would then repeat suitable
passages from the rule, without having ever learned them. She thus
became an object of aversion to all those religious who broke the rule;
and her sudden appearance among them had almost the effect of
apparitions. God had bestowed upon her the gift of tears to so great an
extent, that she often passed whole hours in the church weeping over