Protestant; she is twenty-one, and only the other day took the perpetual
vows."

I wondered, as I looked up at the barred windows, how long this kind of
Suttee would be permitted in happy France, or, indeed, in any other
country, and whether in the life-time of that foolish English girl the
doors would be opened and she would be compelled to live and labour in
the world like any other rational being. This dreary prison-house,
erected not in the interests of justice and society, but in order to
pacify cupidity on one side and fanaticism on the other, afforded a
painful contrast to the cheerful, active life outside.

Close to the convent is one of the most curious monuments in the entire
department of Seine et Marne, namely, the famous Merovingian Crypt,
described by French archaeologists in the "Bulletin Monumental" and
elsewhere. It is well known that during the Merovingian epoch, and under
Charlemagne, long journeys were often undertaken in order to procure
marbles and other building materials for the Christian churches. Thus
only can we account for the splendid columns of jasper, porphyry, and
other rare marbles of which this crypt is composed. The capitals of
white marble, in striking contrast to the deep reds, greens, and other
colours of the columns, are richly carved with acanthus leaves, scrolls,
and other classic patterns, without doubt the whole having originally
decorated some Pagan temple. The chapel containing the crypt is said to
have been founded in the seventh century, and speaks much for the
enthusiasm and artistic spirit animating its builders. There is
considerable elegance in these arches, also in the sculptured tombs of
different epochs, which, like the crypt, have been preserved so
wonderfully until the present time. Other archaeological treasures are
here, notably the so-called "Pierre des Sonneurs de Jouarre," or Stone