Letter (number unidentified). To Mother Mary of St. Joseph, Prioress of Seville, Toledo, the middle of January, 1576

Father Bart ho lomé de Aguilar, The Father Provincial, A rich postulant. Comparison between Teresita and Isabel, Serge habits. Father Garci Alvarez, Jesus be with you, my daughter.

BEFORE I forget to ask, why do you never give me news of my father, Fray Bartolomé de Aguilar, the Dominican. I assure you that we are greatly indebted to him, for it was he who told me of the many drawbacks to the other house we bought, which caused us to leave it. Whenever I think of what a life we should have led there, I do not know how to thank God enough for having kept us from it. May He be praised for all things ! You may feel sure that the father is an excellent man and more experienced than other priests regarding the religious life. I do not wish you to omit sending for him from time to time, for he is a faithful friend and very prudent, and a convent loses nothing by having counsellors of that kind. I am enclosing a letter for you to send him.

In case I should forget it, I must tell you that I was very pleased with the memorandum from you noting the alms you have received and the large sum that you have earned by your work. God grant you are telling the truth, for I should be extremely pleased, but you are a fox, and I believe you are playing me some trick. I even fear you are doing so about your health, for it makes me so happy.

Our Prioress of Malagon is still in the same state. I begged our Father to let me know whether Loja water would benefit her after coming from such a distance; will you remind him of it. I sent him a letter to-day by a priest who, to my great joy, was going to see him on a matter of business, so I am not writing again. It is very charitable of you to forward his letters to you, but you may feel sure that even when you enclose none from him, your own will always be welcome, so never fear about that. I sent Doña Juana de Antisco all you

' Loja, a place with medicinal springs, eight miles from Granada. VOL. II. 15 meant for her; she has not answered yet. It is of no consequence if you spend some of the community funds on persons Uke her, especially as you are not so straitened as you were, for in that case, you would be under stridler obligations to your daughters.

Oh! how vain you must be now that you are Semi-Provincial!' I was amused at your saying so disdainfully: 1 am sending you these verses from the sisters, when they were all your own. Since, as you say, there is no one to criticise you at Seville, there would be no harm in my doing so here, lest you should become too conceited. At any rate, you do not wish to do or say anything foolish, which shows your charafter. There is no grave s-in in that: God grant that you are always bent on His service! I am amused at myself, overburdened as I am with letter-writing, scribbling such nonsense to you quite at my leisure. I shall willingly forgive your congratulating yourself on knowing how to attrad: the postulant with the gold ingots, if only you succeed, for I long to see you freed from all anxiety, though my brother is making such progress in virtue, that he would gladly help you in all your needs.

It is amusing that you will not admit that any one can compare with Teresa. Believe me, if this Bela of mine has not the natural graces and certain supernatural gifts with which God has visibly enriched Teresa, I consider that Bela surpasses her in intelligence, cleverness and gentleness: in fa¿t, one can do as one Hk.es with her. The little creature's wits are extraordinary. She has a few poor little statues of some shepherds, some nuns, and a figure of our Lady, and not a feast-day comes round but she invents some little scene with them at her hermitage or at recreation: she composes verses, and sings them to us so well and to such a pretty tune that we are astonished. There is only one thing about her that troubles me; I do not know how to manage her mouth which is very prim; she laughs very primly too, yet she is always laughing. Sometimes I tell her to open it, sometimes to shut it, and sometimes not to laugh. She says it is not her fault but the fault of her mouth, which is true. Any one who has seen Teresa, so graceful in appearance and in every other way, wishes to see her again, and the case is the same with the other, though I do not tell her so. But you would be amused to see the life I lead her about the expression of her mouth. I think it will not be so prim when she grows older, for she is not so in her manner of talking. Now I have sketched the two girls for you so that you may not think I am telling falsehoods when I say that Bela is the better. I have told you this to make you laugh. Never fear that lam going to let you off the trouble of obtaining and forwarding letters for me! I was delighted with the verses from Seville; I sent my brother the first and some of the latter, for they were not all equally good. I think you might show them to that saintly old priest and tell him how vou spend 'our recreation, for it all relates to perfeólion, and it is only fair to give some pleasure to one who gives so much to us. I am astonished at his charity.

You must know that they accuse our Father Garci Alvarez of a grave misdemeanour — they say he makes you all very proud: will you tell him so. My brother says that the sisters at Avila are afraid to write to you ; he gave them your letter to him to answer.

I must tell you that no one here wears, or has worn, the woollen serge except myself. Even now, in spite of all the frost, I can bear nothing else on account of the severe pain in my loins. But people say so much about it that I feel scrupulous, yet as our Father took away the habit of thick serge I had, I do not know what to do. God forgive them! However, considering the heat of Seville, you must wear thin petticoats. The habits must be serge, but it does not matter much about the under skirts.

Until they deliver what was sent me by my holyjprior, I do not know how to write to him, as I cannot say that I have received it. The muleteer will take my answer. O Jesu! how grateful I am forwhat he does for the sisters.

How we laughed at my Gabriela's letter and how edified we were by the efforts made by the Saints [Santos) of Seville to mortify my good Garci Alvarez! I pray for them heartily. Remember me very kindly to him and to the sisters; I am so fond of them that I should like to write a letter to each one. I certainlj/ do feel a special affedlion for them, though I do not know why. My kind messages to the mother of the Portugese and to Delgada. Why do you never mention Bernardo Lopez?

Read the enclosed letter for Paterna and corred: it if I have said anything wrong; as you are their superior, you will know best what is suitable. God reward you for what you are doing for them. I mean what I say, for you comfort me immensely. It is a pity I do not know when to leave off when I write to } ou. God grant you are not going to prove an enchanter, like our Father. May God enchant you and transport you into Himself! Amen, amen.

Your Reverence's servant,

Teresa de Jesus.

Open the enclosed letter for the Prioress of Paterna and read it; I sealed it up by mistake: also read the one direñed to the Prior of las Cuevas, as after all I decided upon writing to him, but did it so hurriedly that I cannot tell what I said. Seal it up afterwards.