“No,” she said; “the child has not a strong chest, and she would always be in a draught. I will not let her sit there.”
My father agreed with my mother, and insisted on a change being made. It was therefore decided that I should sit at the end of the room, and the promise given was faithfully kept.
When mamma saw the wide staircase leading to the dormitories she was aghast. It was very, very wide, and the steps were low and easy to mount, but there were so many of them before one reached the first floor. For a few seconds mamma hesitated and stood there gazing at them, her arms hanging down in despair.
“Stay down here, Youle,” said my aunt, “and I will go up.”
“No, no,” replied my mother in a sorrowful voice. “I must see where the child is to sleep—she is so delicate.”
My father helped her, and indeed almost carried her up, and we then went into one of the immense dormitories. It was very much like the dormitory at Madame Fressard’s, but a great deal larger, and there was a tiled floor without any carpet.
THE GRAND CHAMP CONVENT, FROM THE GARDEN
“Oh, this is quite impossible!” exclaimed mamma. “The child cannot sleep here; it is too cold; it would kill her.”
The Mother Superior, St. Sophie, gave my mother a chair and tried to soothe her. She was pale, for her heart was already very much affected.