From Sister Marie-Dosithée Guérin to her sister Mme Martin.
V. + J.
From our Le Mans Monastery
octobre the 22 1868
My dear sister,
I'm going to start by scolding you very loudly; I'd rather have your children (Marie and Pauline, at boarding school since the start of the school year in October) to direct than you, they're much easier; for you, there's no way to stop yourself from tormenting yourself, when it's over on one side, you start on the other. Marie is perfectly used to it, is cheerful, happy and kind. If you don't want to believe me, ask Miss Romet (Pauline Romet, Pauline's godmother) who saw her. I think we'll make a good girl out of her, I don't find her to have a bad temper, but a melancholic mood that I hope to correct because I know how to deal with her, I've experienced it last week she was crying and wanted to see you; after caressing her a lot seeing that it didn't stop I decided to do it differently when I left the class where we were doing surveillance she came as usual to kiss me, I refused; she started screaming [1v°] I didn't give in and left I came back a few minutes later with a sheet of stationery telling her to write to you to come and get her and I had the heart so big and so sad that I started to cry in the class; this poor Marie told me shouting with all her might that she would never do it again she kept her word until last Monday when I went to see her and I seemed to still see traces of tears I asked her the reason she told me that 'she hadn't done her duty well, I still refused to kiss her, telling her that we shouldn't cry for so little, now she delights me, she's cheerful and open, tells me she's perfectly used to it, she loves her mistresses and certainly they would be very ungrateful if they did not do it because they are real mothers for them; their little companions are like little sisters, those poor little girls were so upset when they saw her sad, they did everything they could to console her; it's really a pleasure to see them when I come to class to see the eagerness they have to tell them about it and how they seem to share in their happiness; Pauline's godmother also brought her cakes and sweets. I wanted them to share the cakes with their companions. Besides, they wanted it themselves, telling me [2 r°] that their companions gave them a lot of their business. For the sweets, I keep them and distribute them according to their needs and when they are wise.
Pauline is a little jewel of a child, cheerful as a clip (sic), studious and doing everything she can. So you see, dear sister, that everything is going perfectly well and for me, I am delighted to see my two little doves in the holy ark. I hope that they will preserve the whiteness of their beautiful plumage in all its purity; it was high time for them to come there, otherwise the impure breath of the world would have quickly defiled them.
They have enough linen for a month; don't make them make white wimples, my Sr. Marie-Paul, who takes care of the lingerie, prefers black ones. I would like if you had old gloves that are no longer in good condition to send them, we would cut off the fingertips and in the winter they would put them in the classroom.
The sister in charge of combing them is accustomed now to braiding them, the combs (ornamental combs) will not be used, and their hair will not be cut, but it would have been necessary, without any doubt, that we wouldn't have brought in a wigmaker for that, but we would have done it ourselves; I repeat it if Marie were my daughter, I wouldn't hesitate to cut them short for her, she doesn't have many and still the little falls off; but the onset of winter is not favorable for this.
It is certainly Marie who writes her letters and as she hears it, the poor child was quite embarrassed (sic) how to go about it, she went to ask the mistress who kept babysitting how to do it; she was told to write as if she were talking to her mother [2v°] besides, it's very easy to see that it's her because it's funny and full of spelling mistakes .
Goodbye, dear friend, don't torment yourself, you really think that I wouldn't want to lie to console you and that if Marie wasn't used to it, I wouldn't go and tell you that she is, I would be myself. impossible to keep her if I saw her sad, I would write to you to come and fetch her.
I kiss you as well as my brother-in-law and the little ones (Leonie and Hélène, who were then five and a half and four years old).
Your loving sister.
Sr. Marie Dosithee Guérin
of the Von Ste Marie
DSB
There are enough two pockets.
Send me two little ties.
231*
