attempts at carved work and gilding upon the roof, a little
stained glass, neither rich nor ancient, in the windows, and a
few tawdry pictures suspended above the altars; but the general
appearance was decidedly that of buildings which did not even aim
at beauty or grandeur. The monks we found a good-natured,
obliging set of men, very willing to give us any information in
their power; by one of whom we were fortunate enough to be
conducted through a convent of Augustine friars. Into their mode
of living it is not to be supposed that we could obtain much
insight. It seemed, however, to be less indolent than that of
some convents which we had visited in the old country, and
approached proportionably nearer to a college life among
ourselves; though it must be admitted that the fellows and
undergraduates of Oxford and Cambridge have a better notion of
both comfort and elegance than the Augustine friars of
St. Michael's. Of the nuns we of course saw nothing, excepting
through the grates. We found them full of curiosity, and eager
to know as much as they could learn of the world from which they
were excluded; but quite as fond of flirting as any set of young
ladies at a boarding-school. It was amusing to observe their
mode of begging, for all the nuns in this part of the world are
licensed beggars. The younger and fairer members of the
sisterhood came to the grate first; chatted, sung, and presented
us with artificial flowers, and then retiring, made way for the
old and the ugly, who requested a little money for the good of
our souls and their bodies. To solicitations thus expressed it
was impossible to turn a deaf ear, and the consequence was, that
we soon discovered it to be quite as expensive an amusement to
flirt with a nun, as with any other belle in London or elsewhere.