omes, and Monsieur Duchesne withdrew his daughter from her convent,
which was soon converted into a prison, and went to reside with his
family in the Chateau of Granne, situated in a retired part of the
country. By this time all her sisters were married, except the youngest,
a child in her 'teens; and when her mother was overtaken by her last
illness, she it was who cared for her with devoted affection, and
finally closed her eyes in death. After this the family possessions were
divided among the children, and Philippine surrendered her share to the
others, reserving only a small pension, barely sufficient for her needs.

This business being settled, she removed to a modest apartment in
Grenoble, in order to be able to devote herself to works of mercy. Her
ardent charity and intrepid energy found a wide field of action in those
calamitous times. She visited and succored the unfortunate victims
doomed to the guillotine, with whom the prisons were crowded. She
ministered to the sick, and sought in their hiding places, the devoted
priests who would not abandon their posts, to bring them to the bedside
of the dying. She did all this at the constant risk of her life, often
hearing sounds and witnessing sights that made her shudder with horror.
As soon as the revolutionary storm had spent its fury somewhat, she was
enabled to turn her attention to the neglected boys she found in the
streets, assembling them in her own lodgings to teach them to read and
write, and above all, to prepare them for the Sacraments.

At last, when the advent of Napoleon to power restored political and
social order, Philippine Duchesne who, during all these years, had
considered herself as irrevocably consecrated to the service of God,
observing the rules and customs of the Visitation as closely as the
adverse circumstances of the time would permit, resolved to reestablish
in their old home the surviving members of the community of Sainte Marie
d'en Haut, and resume a religious life with them. She obtained
possession of the convent through the influence of her cousins, the
Perriers, but her attempt to reorganize the community was not
successful. In the meantime, however, several companions had gathered
around her, forming a little community with the title of "Daughters of
Faith," under the direction of the Vicar General of Grenoble, the Abbe
Rivet. This was in 1803 and the following year.

In the meantime, Madame Duchesne had heard, through the Abbe