Alarming Order from the Superior--Proceed to execute it--Scene in an
upper Room--Sentence of Death, and Murder--My own distress--Reports
made to friends of St. Francis.
But I must now come to one deed, in which I had some part, and which I
look back upon with greater horror and pain, than any occurrences in
the Convent, in which I was not the principal sufferer. It is not
necessary for me to attempt to excuse myself in this or any other case.
Those who have any disposition to judge fairly, will exercise their own
judgment in making allowances for me, under the fear and force, the
commands and examples, around me. I, therefore, shall confine myself,
as usual, to the simple narrative of facts. The time was about five
months after I took the veil; the weather was cool, perhaps in
September or October. One day, the Superior sent for me and several
other nuns, to receive her commands at a particular room. We found the
Bishop and some priests with her; and speaking in an unusual tone of
fierceness and authority, she said, "Go to the room for the Examination
of Conscience, and drag Saint Francis up-stairs." Nothing more was
necessary than this unusual command, with the tone and manner which,
accompanied it, to excite in me most gloomy anticipation. It did not
strike me as strange, that St. Francis should be in the room to which
the Superior directed us. It was an apartment to which we were often
sent to prepare for the communion, and to which we voluntarily went,
whenever we felt the compunctions which our ignorance of duty, and the
misinstructions we received, inclined us to seek relief from
self-reproach. Indeed, I had seen her there a little before. What
terrified me was, first, the Superior's angry manner, second, the
expression she used, being a French term, whose [illegible] we had
learnt in the Convent, and whose meaning is rather softened when
translated into _drag_; third, the place to which we were directed to
take the interesting young nun, and the persons assembled there as I
supposed to condemn her. My fears were such, concerning the fate that
awaited her, and my horror at the idea that she was in some way to be
sacrificed, that I would have given any thing to be allowed to stay
where I was. But I feared the consequence of disobeying the Superior,
and proceeded with the rest towards the room for the examination of
conscience.
The room to which we were to proceed from that, was in the second
story, and the place of many a scene of a shameful nature. It is
sufficient for me to say, after what I have said in other parts of this
book, that things had there occurred which made me regard the place
with the greatest disgust Saint Francis had appeared melancholy for
some time. I well knew that she had cause, for she had been repeatedly
subject to trials which I need not name--our common lot. When we
reached the room where we had been bidden to seek her, I entered the
door, my companions standing behind me, as the place was so small as
hardly to hold five persons at a time. The young nun was standing alone
near the middle of the room; she was probably about twenty, with light
hair, blue eyes, and a very fair complexion. I spoke to her in a
compassionate voice, but at the same time with such a decided manner,
that she comprehended my full meaning--
"Saint Francis, we are sent for you."
Several others spoke kindly to her, but two addressed her very harshly.
The poor creature turned round with a look of meekness, and without
expressing any unwillingness or fear, without even speaking a word,
resigned herself to our hands. The tears came into my eyes. I had not a
moment's doubt that she considered her fate as sealed, and was already
beyond the fear of death. She was conducted, or rather hurried to the
staircase, which was near by, and then seized by her limbs and clothes,
and in fact almost dragged up-stairs, in the sense the Superior had
intended. I laid my own hands upon her--I took hold of her too,--more
gentle indeed than some of the rest; yet I encouraged and assisted them
in carrying her. I could not avoid it. My refusal would not have saved
her, nor prevented her being carried up; it would only have exposed me
to some severe punishment, as I believed some of my companions, would
have seized the first opportunity to complain of me.
All the way up the staircase, Saint Francis spoke not a word, nor made
the slightest resistance. When we entered with her the room to which
she was ordered, my heart sank within me. The Bishop, the Lady
Superior, and five priests, viz. Bonin, Richards, Savage, and two
others, I now ascertained, were assembled for her trial, on some charge
of great importance.
When we had brought our prisoner before them, Father Richards began to
question her, and she made ready but calm replies. I cannot pretend to
give a connected account of what ensued: my feelings were wrought up to
such a pitch, that I knew not what I did, nor what to do. I was under a
terrible apprehension that, if I betrayed my feelings which almost
overcame me, I should fall under the displeasure of the cold-blooded
persecutors of my poor innocent sister; and this fear on the one hand,
with the distress I felt for her on the other, rendered me almost
frantic. As soon as I entered the room, I had stepped into a corner, on
the left of the entrance, where I might partially support myself, by
leaning against the wall, between the door and window. This support was
all that prevented me from falling to the floor, for the confusion of
my thoughts was so great, that only a few of the words I heard spoken
on either side made any lasting impression upon me. I felt as if struck
with some insupportable blow; and death would not have been more
frightful to me. I am inclined to the belief, that Father Richards
wished to shield the poor prisoner from the severity of her fate, by
drawing from her expressions that might bear a favorable construction.
He asked her, among other things, if she was not sorry for what she had
been overheard to say, (for she had been betrayed by one of the nuns,)
and if she would not prefer confinement in the cells, to the punishment
which was threatened her. But the Bishop soon interrupted him, and it
was easy to perceive, that he considered her fate as sealed, and was
determined she should not escape. In reply to some of the questions put
to her, she was silent; to others I heard her voice reply that she did
not repent of words she had uttered, though they had been reported by
some of the nuns who had heard them; that she still wished to escape
from the Convent; and that she had firmly resolved to resist every
attempt to compel her to the commission of crimes which she detested.
She added, that she would rather die than cause the murder of harmless
babes.
"That is enough, finish her!" said the Bishop.
Two nuns instantly fell upon the young woman, and in obedience to
directions, given by the Superior, prepared to execute her sentence.
She still maintained all the calmness and submission of a lamb. Some of
those who took part in this transaction, I believe, were as unwilling
as myself; but of others I can safely say, that I believe they
delighted in it. Their conduct certainly exhibited a most blood-thirsty
spirit. But, above all others present, and above all human fiends I
ever saw, I think Sainte Hypolite was the most diabolical. She engaged
in the horrid task with all alacrity, and assumed from choice the most
revolting parts to be performed. She seized a gag, forced it into the
mouth of the poor nun, and when it was fixed between her extended jaws,
so as to keep them open at their greatest possible distance, took hold
of the straps fastened at each end of the stick, crossed them behind
the helpless head of the victim, and drew them tight through the loop
prepared, as a fastening.
The bed which had always stood in one part of the room, still remained
there; though the screen, which had usually been placed before it, and
was made of thick muslin, with only a crevice through which a person
behind might look out, had been folded up on its hinges in the form of
a W, and placed in a corner. On the bed the prisoner was laid with her
face upward, and then bound with cords, so that she could not move. In
an instant another bed was thrown upon her. One of the priests, named
Bonin, sprung like a fury first upon it, and stamped upon it, with all
his force. He was speedily followed by the nuns, until there were as
many upon the bed as could find room, and all did what they could, not
only to smother, but to bruise her. Some stood up and jumped upon the
poor girl with their feet, some with their knees, and others in
different ways seemed to seek how they might best beat the breath out
of her body, and mangle it, without coming in direct contact with it,
or seeing the effects of their violence. During this time, my feelings
were almost too strong to be endured. I felt stupefied, and was
scarcely conscious of what I did. Still, fear for myself remained in a
sufficient degree to induce me to some exertion, and I attempted to
talk to those who stood next, partly that I might have an excuse for
turning away from the dreadful scene.
After the lapse of fifteen or twenty minutes, and when it was presumed
that the sufferer had been smothered, and crushed to death, Father
Bonin and the nuns ceased to trample upon her, and stepped from the
bed. All was motionless and silent beneath it.
They then began to laugh at such inhuman thoughts as occurred to some
of them, rallying each other in the most unfeeling manner, and
ridiculing me for the feelings which I in vain endeavoured to conceal.
They alluded to the resignation of our murdered companion, and one of
them tauntingly said, "She would have made a good Catholic martyr."
After spending some moments in such conversation, one of them asked if
the corpse should be removed. The Superior said it had better remain a
little while. After waiting a short time longer, the feather-bed was
taken off, the cords unloosed, and the body taken by the nuns and
dragged down stairs. I was informed that it was taken into the cellar,
and thrown unceremoniously into the hole which I have already
described, covered with a great quantity of lime, and afterwards
sprinkled with a liquid, of the properties and name of which I am
ignorant. This liquid I have seen poured into the hole from large
bottles, after the necks were broken off, and have heard that it is
used in France to prevent the effluvia rising from cemeteries.
I did not soon recover from the shock caused by this scene; indeed it
still recurs to me, with most gloomy impressions. The next day there
was a melancholy aspect over everything, and recreation time passed in
the dullest manner; scarcely anything was said above a whisper.
I never heard much said afterward about Saint Francis.
I spoke with one of the nuns, a few words, one day, but we were all
cautioned not to expose ourselves very far, and could not place much
reliance in each other. The murdered nun had been brought to her
shocking end through the treachery of one of our number, in whom she
confided.
I never knew with certainty who had reported her remarks to the
Superior, but suspicion fastened on one, and I never could regard her
but with detestation.
I was more inclined to blame her than some of those employed in the
execution; for there could have been no necessity for the betrayal of
her feelings. We all knew how to avoid exposing each other.
I was often sent by the Superior to overhear what was said by novices
and nuns: when they seemed to shun her, she would say, "Go and listen,
they are speaking English;" and though I obeyed her, I never informed
her against them. If I wished to clear my conscience, I would go to a
priest, and confess, knowing that he dared not communicate what I said
to any person, and that he would not impose as heavy penances as the
Superior.
We were always at liberty to choose another confessor when we had any
sin to confess, which we were unwilling to tell one to whom we should
otherwise have gone.
Not long after the murder just related, a young woman came to the
nunnery, and asked for permission to see Saint Francis. It was my
former friend, with whom I had been an assistant teacher, Miss Louise
Bousquet, of St. Denis. From this, I supposed the murdered nun might
have come from that town, or its vicinity. The only answer returned to
the inquiry was, that Saint Francis was dead.
Some time afterward, some of St. Francis' friends called to inquire
after her, and they were told that she had died a glorious death; and
further told, that she made some heavenly expressions, which were
repeated in order to satisfy her friends.