Page:Lesbia Newman - Dalton - 1889.djvu/338



‘So you are going to be a vestal, mademoiselle,’ said Madame Pisa-Vitri, speaking in French, to our heroine as they sat together in the former’s private apartments at the Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, months after the conversation of the preceding chapter, on a raw and foggy afternoon in the beginning of December. ‘What, may I ask, will be the duties of the office?’

‘They are not onerous, madame la comtesse,’ she replied; ‘we shall have to sit as ‘orient’ above or near the altar in churches where we attend service, wearing the robe of our office and receiving by implication the reverences of all those who bow to the altar in entering or leaving church; also we shall hold the post of honour in every Catholic procession. But the office is not assumed under a vow of celibacy, like nunhood or sisterhood; it can be surrendered should a girl wish to marry, or otherwise feel that she is unfit for it. Nor does it necessarily entail abstinence from lay pursuits and distractions.’

‘How many of you are to be appointed for the Definition ceremony next week?’ asked the countess.

‘Twelve, including myself and my friend Lady Friga Hawknorbuzzard, all resident Ousians,’ answered Lesbia.