The Voyage of the Ursulines [pp. 18-24]

'The Voyage of the Ursulines.
winds, in their attempts to get ahead. At
the end of that time, they were not three
days' sail from Lorient. Forty-nine of the
sheep, and nearly all the fowls which had
been placed on board, in order that the passengers and crew might have fresh provisions, had been drowned or smothered, and
were thrown overboard. They were reduced
to a diet of particularly bad salt provisions,
and had made so little headway that it was
evident that they had not water enough on
board to supply their wants during the passage to Louisiana.
For the purpose of renewing supplies, the
captain put into the Island of Madeira, on the
I2th of March. The news that there was a
company of nuns on board spread through
the citysoon after the "Gironde" had dropped
anchor. The Fathers of the Company of
Jesus, connected with a college in the city,
were among the first to come and pay their
respects to the Jesuit Fathers who were escorting the Ursulines to Louisiana. Presents
of fruit and fresh provisions were sent on
board, and cordial invitations were extended
the nuns to come on shore. The Ursulines
determined, however, to remain on board;
and at the end of three days, during which
the captain renewed his supply of water, they
set sail once more.
The monotony of the voyage was relieved
by a fair wind which lasted two days, when
it again drew ahead, so that they were a long
while making two hundred leagues. Here
they met a strange vessel, which they took
to be a pirate. The "Gironde" was cleared
for action. The guns were loaded, and
everybody took his station. The secular
women were dressed like men to give an appearance of greater numbers. The nuns,
armed with their beads, were shut up between
decks. Thanks to the Lord, they were not
sad. None of the company showed signs of
weakness. The officers and passengers who
had seemed ready to fight were not, however,
brought to a critical test. The hostile ship,
after having sailed about the "Gironde"
several times, evidently concluded that the
encounter was not worth while, and left them
at liberty to pursue the voyage.
On Good Friday they arrived "under the
Tropic, or the line of the Sun," but on account of the holiness of the day, the nonsense of the sailors, peculiar to the occasion,
was postponed until Saturday, after dinner.
Exemption was purchased for the Ursulines,
the Reverend Fathers, and their servants,
by payment of two pistoles. Those passengers who could not pay had several bucketfuls of water poured over them.
A few days after, they met another vessel,
apparently a corsair. Again they put themselves on the defensive, and as the vessel
hovered about for several hours, now approaching, now retiring, they kept sharp
watch all night; but no attack was made on
them.
Except the bare mention of their narrow
quarters and of the execrable character of
the food, there is no word of complaint, and
nothing to impress upon the mind of the
reader the sufferings of these delicate women,
while drifting beneath a tropical sun through
this region of calms and light winds, packed
away like sardines in their wretched little
cabin. What did trouble them, however,
was the fact that they had no chance for seclusion. There was no time nor place for
private spiritual exercises. They were in the
midst of a class of people whose every thought
was of some method of enjoyment by means
of which to while away time.
Notwithstanding this lack of seclusion and
this too close contact with the worldly,
some consolation was found in the fact that
the holy sacrifice of the mass was celebrated
every day, and they had thus the good fortune frequently to fortify themselves with the
sacred body of Jesus. They had sermons,
too, from the chaplain of the ship, and from
the Reverend Fathers, their companions.
Prayers four times a day, at four and at eight
o'clock in the morning, at five and at eight
in the evening, helped to keep them in a
comfortably religious frame of mind. Grand
mass and vespers were chanted every Sunday and on fete days. On Good Friday they
adored the cross after the passion in a very
devout manner. The Ursulines were the
first to adore the cross, with naked feet;
1886.]
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