The rich wine of
that place had of old impressed him with a high respect for its monastic
establishments, in one of which he quietly wore out the remnant of his
days.
The stone impressed with the mark of Father Cuddy's knees may be seen to
this day. Should any incredulous persons doubt my story, I request them to
go to Killarney, where Clough na Cuddy--so is the stone called--remains in
Lord Kenmare's park, an indisputable evidence of the fact; and Spillane,
the bugle man, will be able to point it out to them, as he did to me--
_Literary Souvenir_.
* * * * *
MY COMMON-PLACE BOOK.
No. XX.
* * * * *
CEREMONY OF A GIRL TAKING THE VEIL.
The convent of the Esperanza enclosed within its gloomy walls one of the
fairest forms that nature ever moulded. Her name was Claudia; she had just
completed her sixteenth year, and now shone forth in all the bloom of
health and beauty. Her full black eyes, and her long dark hair, which,
partly concealed by her religious dress of a pensioner, escaped in flowing
ringlets over her snowy shoulders, embellishing a countenance whence
beamed such harmony of features and enchanting delicacy of expression, as
indicated the purity and peace that reigned within. The Esperanza soon
became my favourite spot, and I felt convinced nature never formed this
angel to be immured within the walls of a convent; nor would she have been
destined to pass the remainder of her life in its obscure recesses, but
for the unnatural avarice of her parents--a custom still too prevalent, to
secure the wealth of a family to one branch.
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