pposedly pious nuns were
profligates, the convent was a veritable den of iniquity, and Sister
Umilia was found to have several lovers who were disputing her favors.
Poisons had been sent to her by a young nobleman, Tommaso Samminiati,
that she might dispose of a certain Sister Calidonia, who had become
repentant and was threatening to reveal the secrets of their life; and
the poisons were so deadly, so the letter ran, that when once Calidonia
had swallowed a certain white powder, "if the devil does not help her,
she will pass from this life in half a night's time, and without the
slightest sign of violence." Penalties were inflicted upon all of these
offending nuns, and Umilia was imprisoned for nine years before she was
restored to liberty and allowed to wear again the convent dress.

However black this picture may appear, it is passing fair when compared
with the career of the notorious Lady of Monza. Virginia Maria de Leyva
was a lady of noble birth who had entered the convent of Santa
Margherita, at Monza, where she had taken the veil, being induced to
take this step because her cousin had in some way deprived her of her
inheritance, and without a dowry she had not found marriage easy. In the
convent, because she was well born and well connected, she became a
person of much influence and received many callers. Adjoining the
convent was the residence of young Gianpaolo Osio, a reckless, amorous
dare-devil, who was _beau comme le jour_, as the French fairy tales say.
So much of the story having been told, it is not difficult to guess what
is to come. It was a case of love at first sight, and Osio was aided in
his conquest by a number of the older and more corrupt nuns and several
other people about the convent, not excepting the father confessor, who
wrote some of Osio's love letters and seemed to smile upon the affair
and wish it all success. Virginia yielded, as might have been expected
under such circumstances; and the amour ran along smoothly for several
years, until Virginia and Osio, with the help of four obliging nuns,
felt constrained to take the life of a disgruntled serving-maid who was
threatening to reveal all to Monsignor Barca, the inspector of the
convent, at the time of his approaching visit. When once the deed was
done, the corpse was dismembered for purposes of better concealment; but
suspicion was aroused by this sudden disappearance of the maid, and Osio
took Virginia from the place, to shield her a