Part 20 (2/2)

Madame Arnauld was too much afraid of her father to raise any more objections, but she had also heard too hters to enter theh by the help of the abbe of Citeaux, and as a rule existed by which no child could be appointed abbess, the consent of the Pope was obtained by declaring each of the girls many years older than she really was Both Arnauld and Marion considered theood men, yet their consciences never troubled them about this wicked fraud

However, by the aid of the false statement all went smoothly, and the old and delicate abbess of Port Royal, an abbey situated in a reed to take Jacqueline as helper or coadjutrix, with the condition that on the death of the old lady the little girl was to succeed her, while Jeanne was made abbess of Saint-Cyr, six irls' school was to be founded a hundred years later The duties of the office were to be discharged by one of the elder nuns till Jeanne enty

It is always the custoirls or novices should spend a year in the convent they wish to enter before they take the vohich are for life During that time they can find out if they really wish to leave the world for ever, or if it was only a passing fancy; while the abbess, on the other hand, can tell whether their characters are suited to a secluded existence, or if it would only make them--and therefore other people--restless and unhappy When Jacqueline became a novice in 1599, her father invited all his friends, and a very grand cohted to feel that she was the randfather by her satisfaction at being 'first' No such fuss seems to have been made over Jeanne on a siirls were sent for eight ht be, they were still the children who had played in their father's garden only a feeeks before Jacqueline and her elder sister Catherine, the one as 'to be a, and were always quick at inventing new plays They were very sensible, too, and if one of their brothers or sisters hurt thea their mother They were all fond of each other, and never had any serious quarrels; but Jacqueline was generally the leader, and the others, especially the shy and dreamy Jeanne, let themselves be ruled by her At Saint-Cyr, Jacqueline, who felt no difference, and speedily became a favourite of the other novices, ordered her sister about as she had been accustoenerally Jeanne obeyed her meekly; but at last she rebelled and informed Jacqueline, much to her surprise, that it was _her_ abbey, and that if Jacqueline did not behave properly she o away to her own

Some months of Jacqueline's noviciate had still to run when she was sent to the abbey of Maubuisson, which belonged to the same order of nuns as Port Royal, whereas the nuns of Saint-Cyr belonged to another coelique d'Estrees, was a famous woman, and her nuns were so in the whole of France Most likely , but she could do nothing: in October 1600, Jacqueline, then nine years old, took the veil and the vows of poverty and obedience in the midst of a noble coious ceremony which had bound her for life to the cloister, and certainly nobody else--unless her ht about it either Her very naed too, and instead of 'Jacqueline' she becanes'

As soon as the little girl was a professed nun, monsieur Marion and monsieur Arnauld, ere not satisfied that the pope's consent already obtained was really sufficient, began afresh to prepare a variety of false papers, in order that when Angelique took possession of her abbey no one should be able to turn her out of it Seventy years before a law had been passed declaring that no nun could be appointed abbess under forty, and though this was constantly disregarded, the child's father and grandfather felt that it was vain to ask the Pope to nominate a child of nine to the post So in the declaration her age was stated to be seventeen; but even that Cle, and it required all the influence that ive his consent Perotiations the old abbess died suddenly, and Angelique, now ten and a half, was 'Madaood-bye to the nuns at Maubuisson, all of whom had been fond of her, herin her heart lest the custoht be as bad as in the one ruled bythe abbey far too poor to indulge in all the expensive amusements of Maubuisson, and that it contained only thirteen nuns, so that Angelique would not have so overn It was thirty years since a sermon had been preached within its walls, except on a few occasions when a novice had taken the veil, and during the carnival, just before Lent, all the in them, acted plays and had supper parties Like the Maubuisson sisters, the nuns always kept their long hair, and worewo the fashi+on, except the oldest of theelique was now nearly eleven, but hts and ways than a about the garden If it et, she read Ro of housekeeping from the prioress, who saw that all was kept in order

The abbess said carefully the short prayers appointed for certain hours of the day, and heardevery afternoon After this was over, she did as she was bidden by her superior, the abbot of Citeaux, and took all her nuns for a solemn walk on the hills outside the abbey

[Illustration: She took all her nuns for a sole abbess was full of self-ines's taunts when they were both at St

Cyr--oh, _long_ ago now!--it was delightful to be able to send her _own_ carriage for her, and play at the old hoarden But by-and-by the novelty wore off, and she became very tired of her life, which was always the same, day after day, and would never, never be different If only she could be back at Andilly with the rest! and then she would shut her eyes very tight so that no tears h she was, she was not accustos to others, and did her best to thrust her longing for freedogle, and at last there ca as the matter, hinted that as she had taken her vows before she was old enough to do so by law, it would be easy to get absolved froelique, but, put into words, the idea filled her with horror, for deep down in her h her profession had been thrust upon her before she knehat she was doing, she would feel asharaded all her life if she broke her vows Still, she wanted to forget it all if she could, and in order to distract her thoughts she began to receive and pay visits in the neighbourhood, to the great grief of her ht balls of Maubuisson

Angelique was far too tender-hearted to withstand herthe ti Plutarch's 'Lives' and other books about ancient history, and pretending to herself that she was each of the heroes in turn But even Plutarch was a poor substitute for ho near she began to wonder if she _could_ stand it any longer

'I considered,' she says herself, 'if it would be possible for etmy father or mother, for the yoke had becoo to La Rochelle, where soh she had no wish to change her own religion, yet she was sure they would protect her As to the difficulties of a young abbess travelling through France alone, they did not even occur to her, and she see the good ladies of their expected visitor

The day Angelique had fixed for her flight had almost come when she fell very ill of a sort of nervous fever, chiefly the result of the trouble of h the unhealthyto do with her illness Monsieur and madame Arnauld at once sent a litter drawn by horses to fetch her to Paris, where the best doctors awaited her Her elique was at rest, feeling nothing except that she was at home, and that the old disrew stronger her perplexities carief on her parents, who loved her so ht of her aunts in their beautiful dresses with long pointed bodices, and the pretty hoods that covered their hair when they cas for the aain she kept silence, but secretly induced one of the ure'

It ht of the corsets which causedescaped, to take alarht a paper, so ill-written that it could hardly be read, and thrust it with a pen into Angelique's hand, saying, 'Sign this, irl did not dare to refuse, or even to question her father, though she did e to make out a word or thich showed her that the paper contained a renewal of the vows she so bitterly regretted

Though custohtforward nature ry at the way her father had tried to trick her, and she seelad to return to her abbey The nuns were delighted to have her back again, and as she rereat deal indoors, too tired to do anything but rest, and read now and then a little book of iven her

Just at this tielique's life

A Capuchin , and asked the abbess's leave to preach At first she refused, saying it was too late; then she changed herserave her so very striking about this one, but when it was ended 'I found elique, 'happier to knowone, and that there was nothing in the whole world that I would not do for God'

Now Angelique's inward struggles took a different turn; she no longer desired to be free of her vows, but rather to carry them out to the utmost of her power, and to persuade her nuns to do so likewise For soement Another friar of the order of the Capuchins, to whom she opened her heart when he came to preach on Whit Sunday, was a ed such severe and instant reforhtened Then the prioress, whoelique also consulted, told her that she was not well, and excited, and that in three months' time she would think quite differently; all of which would have been true of a great elique Thus disappointed in both her counsellors, the abbess longed to resign her post, and to become a simple nun in some distant convent; but she dared not disobey her neakened conscience, which told her to stay where she was and do her work

It is to be noted that, unlike an at the right end--naain we see that when she made a new rule or revived an old one she practised it secretly herself long before she asked any of her nuns to adopt it At this time she was torn between the advice of two of the Capuchin ed her to lay down her burden and to enter as a sister in some other convent; while the other, the father Bernard, who had alarmed the nuns by his zeal, at last seeelique, and told her that, having put her hand to the plough, she reat trouble of s in the way of penances which she afterwards looked on with disapproval, for she never encouraged her nuns to hurt their bodies so as to injure their minds Indeed, her character was too practical for her to adopt the follies which were the fashi+on in soiven over to worldly pleasures

She had no wish to become famous or to be considered a saint when she kne far she was fro one, and prayed earnestly and sensibly never to be allowed to see visions--the visions which she ell aere often the result first of fasting, and next the cause of vanity, with its root in the praise of men