As you will have noticed, the reverend Father was at Slapton Convent during most of the time when the said apparitions took place, and he heard of the visions through the letters of the brother at Llanthony, and I believe he was the only brother at Llanthony at the time, and he was but a novice-monk.
Father Ignatius read the letters to us, and I hardly knew what to make of the matter; but at last the reverend Father returned and saw for himself the most marvellous and glorious vision, after which I very naturally—considering my state of mind at that period of my life—thought it must be true, which in a sense was fortunate for me, for on his next visit he again asked me if I believed in it, and I remember well I replied:
“Yes, certainly, dear Father, I do not doubt your word.”
He then told us that he was determined that no one should stay in monastery or convent who did not believe in it.
And now a word or two about the story of the “middle-aged lady,” otherwise the Novice-mistress, the account of whose miraculous cure I have already given in the words of Father Ignatius.
To begin with, that account differs somewhat from the one I can give; but as I am matter-of-fact in my statements, I think it best to give the facts as I know them, for I was one of the Slapton nuns at the time. Yes, I was a nun then, although life-vows had not been pronounced by me; I was what is termed a “life-vowed novice,” that is, in making my vows I made them “until the time of my profession.” But I have in a previous part of this book explained that novice-vows were to all intents and purposes well nigh as binding as those made in full profession. I merely give this explanation to show you the position I was in at that period when at Slapton. Father Ignatius, in his oration on the apparitions speaks of me as a nun, for, in touching upon the healing of the Novice-mistress in the Slapton Convent, he said:
“Next she told and showed her sister nuns the miraculous wonder”; i.e., the withered rhubarb leaf. Now, as a matter of fact, she neither told the nuns, nor showed to them this great wonder; she may have showed and told the Mother Prioress, but no one else.
The Vicar of Slapton came to celebrate, and spoke of the wondrous miracle which had taken place in our midst. (I believe this was on a Saturday, and the miracle of healing had taken place on the previous Tuesday.)
Now, certainly we had been more or less with her all this time, and yet we knew nothing about it; so when the Slapton Vicar gave his address, I was very puzzled to know what he meant.
When the celebration was over, and we had come out of the Chapel, I asked: