"Oh, child, you do not understand. There must be convents in this new world for the training of girls. They must be taught to pray that God's will may be done, not their own."
"How would I know it was God's will?" asked the irreverent child, decisively, yet with a certain sweetness.
"The good Father would tell you."
"How would he know?"
"He lives a holy life in communion with God."
"What is the convent like?" suddenly changing her thoughts.
"It is a large house full of little ones, the sisters' cells, the novices' cells——"
"There are some at the post. They put criminals in them. They are filthy and dark," with a kind of protesting vehemence.
"These are clean, because they are whitewashed, and you scrub the floor twice a week. There is a little pallet on which you sleep, a prie-dieu——"
"What is that?" interrupted the child.