proud Portuguese to the half-covered native; Mussulmans, Arabs,
Hindoos, Armenians; officers and soldiers in their uniforms, all
crowded and thronged together: all was bustle and motion. Such was
the wealth, the splendour, and luxury of the proud city of Goa--the
Empress of the East at the time we are now describing.

In half an hour they forced their way through the crowd, and arrived
at the convent, where Amine was well received by the abbess; and after
a few minutes' conversation, Father Mathias took his leave: upon which
the abbess immediately set about her task of conversion. The first
thing she did was to order some dried sweetmeats--not a bad beginning,
as they were palatable; but as she happened to be very ignorant, and
unaccustomed to theological disputes, her subsequent arguments did not
go down as well as the fruit. After a rambling discourse of about an
hour, the old lady felt tired, and felt as if she had done wonders.
Amine was then introduced to the nuns, most of whom were young and all
of good family. Her dormitory was shown to her, and expressing a wish
to be alone, she was followed into her chamber by only sixteen of
them, which was about as many as the chamber could well hold.

We must pass over the two months during which Amine remained in the
convent. Father Mathias had taken every step to ascertain if her
husband had been saved upon any of the islands which were under the
Portuguese dominions, but could gain no information. Amine was soon
weary of the convent; she was persecuted by the harangues of the old
abbess, but more disgusted at the conduct and conversation of the
nuns. They all had secrets to confide to her--secrets which had been
confided to the whole convent before: such secrets, such stories, so
different from Amine's chaste ideas, such impurity of thought that
Amine was disgusted at them. But how could it be otherwise; the poor
creatures had been taken from the world in the full bloom of youth
under a ripening sun, and had been immured in this unnatural manner
to gratify the avarice and pride of their families. Its inmates being
wholly composed of the best families, the rules of this convent were
not so strict as others; licenses were given--greater licenses were
taken--and Amine, to her surprise, found that in this society, devoted
to Heaven, there were exhibited more of the bad passions of human
nature than she had before met with. Constantly watched, never allowed
a moment to hers