Linders unfortunately seemed to
have had a talent for quarrelling with every respectable
friend and relation that he possessed; and it was with a
strong hope of finding a good and kind guardian for Madelon in
her aunt, that he had started for the convent. He wrote a few
words of explanation on his card, and this, with M. Linders'
letter, he sent in to the Lady Superior, and in return was
requested to wait in the parlour till she should come to him.
A key was handed to him, and he let himself into a large,
square room, furnished with a table, a piano, and some straw
chairs; a wooden grating shut off one end, within which were
another table and more chairs; one or two prints of sacred
subjects were on the walls, two large windows high up showed
the tops of green trees in a sunny inner courtyard,--Graham had
time to take in all these details before a door on the other
side of the grating opened and the Lady Superior appeared.
Mademoiselle Linders had doubtless displayed a wise judgment
in her choice of life; she could never under any circumstances
have shone in society, but there was something imposing in her
tall figure in its straight black draperies, and the ease and
dignity to which she could never have attained in a Paris
salon, she had acquired without difficulty in her convent
parlour.
Pages:
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262