Letter (number unidentified). To Father Gracian, Date uncertain, ill-

Difficulty of finding postulants with all the required qualities.

.... As I have often said, your Paternity must not suppose that postulants with money and the quaUties required are always to be found. I assure you that I have been obliged to make allowances on account of the small number of candidates, so that perhaps you may not find any nun who fulfils all the conditions . . .

My Father imagines that I have rarely had to make such allowances in new foundations, but I have often done so. We cannot overcome these difficulties without suffering something. . .

The ambition of these sisters astounds me. I allude to the prioress in your neighbourhood. As no doubt she does not understand her own motives, if she performs her duties well otherwise, you should overlook her defed:s and not discourage her. . .

' These fragments are placed here because they seem to have some analogy with the preceding letter. In the Madrid edition of 177 1 they are numbered 36, 37, 39.