ere
not latticed, and the ladies who occupied the apartments were at liberty
to look out upon the small square of land, their view of the street
beyond being cut off however by a wall in which there was one iron gate
for the convenience of the gardeners, who were thus not obliged to pass
through the main entrance of the convent in order to reach their work.
Within the rooms all opened out upon a broad vaulted corridor, lighted
in the day-time by a huge arched window looking upon an inner court, and
at night by a single lamp suspended in the middle of the passage by a
strong iron chain. The pavement of this passage was of broad stones,
once smooth and even but now worn and made irregular by long use. The
rooms for the guests were carpeted with sober colours and warmed by high
stoves built up of glazed white tiles. The furniture, as has been said,
was simple, but afforded all that was strictly necessary for ordinary
comfort, each apartment consisting of a bedroom and sitting-room, small
in lateral dimensions but relatively very high. The walls were thick
and not easily penetrated by any sounds from without, and, as in many
religious houses, the entrances from the corridor were all closed by
double doors, the outer one of strong oak with a lock and a solid bolt,
the inner one of lighter material, but thickly padded to exclude sound
as well as currents of cold air. Each sitting-room contained a table,
a sofa, three or four chairs, a small book-shelf, and a praying-stool
provided with a hard and well-worn cushion for the knees. Over this a
brown wooden crucifix was hung upon the gray wall.

In the majority of convents it is not usual, nor even permissible, for
ladies in retreat to descend to the nuns' refectory. When there are many
guests they are usually served by lay sisters in a hall set apart for
the purpose; when there are few, their simple meals are brought to them
in their rooms. Moreover they of course put on no religious robe, though
they dress themselves in black. In the church, or chapel, as the case
may be, they do not take places within the latticed choir with the
sisters, but either sit in the body of the building, or occupy a side
chapel reserved for their use, or else perform their devotions kneeling
at high windows above the choir, which communicate within with rooms
accessible from the convent. It is usual for them to attend Mass,
Vespers, the Benediction and Complines, but when there are midnight
services