had my mind occupied in thinking of what I was to do next, and what I
must avoid.

I soon learned the rules and ceremonies we had to regard, which were
many; and we had to be very particular in their observance. We were
employed in different kinds of work while I was a novice. The most
beautiful specimen of the nuns' manufacture which I saw was a rich
carpet made of fine worsted, which had been begun before my acquaintance
with the Convent, and was finished while I was there. This was sent as a
present to the King of England, as an expression of gratitude for the
money annually received from the government. It was about forty yards in
length, and very handsome. We were ignorant of the amount of money thus
received. The Convent of Grey Nuns has also received funds from the
government, though on some account or other, had not for several years.

I was sitting by a window at one time, with a girl named Jane M'Coy,
when one of the old nuns cams up and spoke to us in a tone of liveliness
and kindness which seemed strange, in a place where everything seemed so
cold and reserved. Some remark which she made was evidently intended to
cheer and encourage me, and made me think that she felt some interest in
me. I do not recollect what she said, but I remember it gave me
pleasure. I also remember that her manner struck me singularly. She was
rather old for a nun, that is, probably thirty; her figure large, her
face wrinkled, and her dress careless. She seemed also to be under less
restraint than the others, and this, I afterward found, was the case.
She sometimes even set the rules at defiance. She would speak aloud when
silence was required, and sometimes walk about when she ought to have
kept her place: she would even say and do things on purpose to make us
laugh; and although often blamed for her conduct, had her offences
frequently passed over, when others would have been punished with