The Mother Superior, Ste. Sophie, gave my mother a chair and tried to soothe her. She was pale, for her heart was already very much affected.
“We will put your little girl in this dormitory, madame,” she said, opening a door that led into a room with eight beds. The floor was of polished wood and this room, adjoining the infirmary, was the one in which delicate or convalescent children slept. Mamma was reassured on seeing this, and we then went down and inspected the grounds. There were three woods, the Little Wood, the Middle Wood, and the Big Wood, and then there was an orchard that stretched along as far as the eye could see. In this orchard was the building where the poor children lived. They were taught gratis by the nuns, and every week they helped with the laundry for the convent.
The sight of these immense woods with swings, hammocks, and a gymnasium delighted me, for I thought I should be able to roam about at pleasure there. Mother Ste. Sophie explained to us that the Little Wood was reserved for the older pupils and the Middle Wood for the little ones, while the Big Wood was for the whole convent on holidays. Then after telling us about the collecting of the chestnuts and the gathering of the acacia, Mother Ste. Sophie informed us that every child could have a small garden and that sometimes two or three of them had a larger one between them.
REAR VIEW OF GRANDCHAMPS CONVENT, VERSAILLES.
“Oh, can I have a garden of my own!” I exclaimed, “a garden all to myself?”
“Yes,” replied my mother, “one of your own.”
The Mother Superior called the gardener, Père Larcher, the only man, with the exception of the almoner, who was on the convent staff.
“Père Larcher,” said the kind woman, “here is a little girl who wants a beautiful garden. Find a nice place for it.”
“Very good, Reverend Mother,” answered the honest fellow, and I saw my father slip a coin into his hand, for which the man thanked him in an embarrassed way.