head come especially the Nuns of the Presentation Order; also those of the Sacred Heart, of Loretto, Carmelite, &c. Of the two most active and most numerous of these Orders, the Presentation Nuns and the Sisters of Mercy, there are upwards of fifty separate establishments in Ireland, viz. 30 of the former and 24 of the latter, all of which, I believe, must be regarded as perennial fountains of good to their respective neighbourhoods."

1 There has been a great increase in the number since 1852. 2Memorandums in the South of Ireland in 1852,' by Sir John Forbes, M.D. F.R.S., Physician to Her Majesty's Household. Vol. ii. p. 27.

CHAPTER XV.

SAINT MARIE'S OF THE ISLE.

Is there nothing more for me in life, nothing to be dearer to me than myself, and by its paramount preciousness to draw from me better things than I care to culture for myself only? Nothing at whose feet I can willingly lay down the whole burden of human egotism, and gloriously take up the nobler charge of labouring and living for others?-CHARLOTTE BRONTË.

THE stranger, entering Cork by the main western approach, cannot fail to observe a building in the mediæval style-of massive proportions and conventual character; and, on inquiry, he will be told that it is the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, Saint Marie's of the Isle. The ground is classic, and hallowed by venerable associations, having been occupied by religious structures, for centuries. In the Dominican annals of Saint Marie's of the Isle, we read that in the year 1229, a house was founded here for Friars Preachers, by Philip de Barri, a Welsh knight, ancestor of the Barrymore family. This house, which was suppressed under Henry VIII., was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and, from its insular site-being built on one of the great marshes of the five-isled city'-was called Saint Marie's of the Isle. In 1689, King James II. landed at Kinsale and proceeded thence to Cork. On his arrival in Cork, the King lodged at the house of the Dominican Friars, and, on the following Sunday, heard mass in the church of the Franciscans, at the North Abbey. On the accession of William III., the

1 March 12, 1689.

2 Wadding tells us that the North Abbey was founded by MacCarthy More in 1231; but Ware says, by Philip Prendergast in 1240. It was a house of such strict discipline, that it was called 'the Mirror of Ireland.' Here was a stately church, where several of the principal persons of Munster

friars fled from Saint Marie's Island, and their house became the residence of the Mayor or Governor of the city. It was called thenceforward the Great House of Saint Dominic's, and became the town mansion of Lord Inchiquin.

After an interval of one hundred and sixty years, this venerable site was again occupied by a religious community-the Sisters of Mercy, who entered their new convent in October 1852.1 As we view the building we are struck with its chaste conventual style, its correctness of architectural detail, and its admirable adaptation to the purposes for which it is intended. But our business is with the interior. Let us enter the convent, and there learn what is the life of a Sister of Mercy, and what are the daily occupations that engage the attention, and enlist the sympathies of this hard-working community of forty nuns.

The Sisters rise, winter and summer, at twenty-five minutes after five o'clock. They commence the day with prayer and meditation, hearing mass at seven. They breakfast in the refectory at eight, after which they disperse for their various

were interred; and near it was a celebrated spring, which had the reputation of curing sore eyes, through the intercession of Saint Francis. The lands of the North Abbey were granted by Queen Elizabeth to Andrew Skiddy, and were by him assigned to the Earl of Cork, by whose descendant they are now held. All traces of Abbey or Church have long since disappeared; but, even this day, in making excavations, human remains are frequently found. The Friars of the North Abbey had a house of retreat near Ardfert in the county of Kerry. This was included in the grant to Andrew Skiddy. Thus is explained the singular circumstance of the Earls of Cork owning a plot of land in the midst of the estate of Mr. Talbot Crosbie of Ardfert Abbey.

to

1 It was in the year 1837 that, at the request of the Bishop, the Right Reverend Doctor Murphy, Mrs. McAuley introduced her order into Cork. For the first fifteen years, the Sisters were lodged in a small, inconvenient, temporary convent, in Rutland Street. The Cork foundation was mainly the work of Miss Barbara Anne Goold, a lady who, living poorly and unostentatiously, devoted her life and large fortune to works of piety and charity.

2 The convent of Saint Marie's of the Isle was built after the designs of William Atkins, Esq., of Cork.

occupations of the day. Several proceed on the visitation of the sick poor, in the lanes and alleys, and outskirts of the city, middle and south-the northern district being undertaken by the Sisters of Charity. There are exact rules for the government of the Sisters on the visitation. In fact, in this, as in all their works, there is a complete system, the result of long experience, which greatly facilitates, at the same time that it very much enhances the value of, their labours.

case.

A Sister is appointed by the Mother Superior to take charge of the almonry, and manage the food, clothing, and pecuniary relief, afforded to the sick poor, and distributed by her, or the Sisters daily appointed for the visitation. This Sister keeps a list of the sick, and prepares the tickets on which severally are marked the names and dwelling places of the patients of each pair of visitors, and the amount of relief to be given in each She also keeps a book in which the streets and lanes visited are divided into districts; and, in marking the tickets, she is careful to avoid setting down on one ticket places of different districts, without necessity and conscientious attention to the distance. The Mother Superior appoints the Sisters to visit the calls, excepting those in the novitiate, who are named by the Mistress of Novices. The Sister in charge of the almonry prepares the baskets for the visitation, putting into each the relief or relief-tickets for the several cases, also money relief for each new call, which last it is optional for the Sisters visiting to give or retain as they may find necessary. No sick call is attended to unless recommended by a clergyman, except in the case of families whose children frequent the convent schools, should they require to be visited.1

The Sisters repair to the chapel to offer up a brief prayer, before going out on their visitation, and again, on their return to the convent, as enjoined by their rule. They always visit, two together. As they move through the streets, with down

This obviously is a precaution against imposition; as it is moreover a guarantee of the good character of the applicants.

cast eyes, they recite, to themselves, certain prescribed prayers. Whilst the senior Sister is engaged with the sick person, the junior instructs and exhorts the children and others whom she meets in the room. When a patient is visited for the first time, the senior Sister visiting reports to the Sister in charge of the almonry the spiritual, as well as the temporal necessities of the case, with any peculiar circumstances she may have observed, and adds any remarks she may deem it useful to make with regard to the calls intrusted to her.

Thus, we can understand, there will be, in time, in the convent book, an accurate record of the condition of the poor in the several districts, which cannot fail to be most useful to the Sisters in carrying out the work of the visitation.

Early in the forenoon of each day, may be seen eight or ten pairs of Sisters going forth on this holy work. They have just been to the chapel, and there, at the foot of the altar, have implored God's blessing on their labours, and especially on the poor they are about to visit. Once outside the convent portals, they disperse in various directions, the bearers of material relief and spiritual light and consolation to many a dark and cheerless abode of sickness and sorrow. Besides their devoted ministrations to the sick, what good do they not effect in the families they visit! Here the ignorant are instructed, the erring reclaimed, the desponding encouraged; and all are exhorted, in suffering and poverty and despondency, to turn their hearts to Him, in whom, no matter how sad their condition, how discouraging their prospects, they are told they cannot place their hopes in vain. Above all, the little children are anxiously looked after, and the parents are besought to send the girls to the convent, and the boys to the monastery schools, and all to the catechism classes in the parish church on Sundays. We may well conceive how readily the wishes of the Sisters in these respects are complied with; for the poor cannot but see that their sole motive is the glory of God, and the good of their neighbour. This work of the visitation unceas