Letter (number unidentified). To Don Jeronimo Reynoso, Canon of Palencia, Palencia, the end of January, 1581

About purchasing a house for the convent.

JESUS! May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with your Honour. | BEG of you to tell the bearer of this letter whether you passed a good night and are very tired this morning. I am not fatigued, but extremely happy. The more I think about the house WE saw, the more convinced I feel that the other is unsuj table. The court-yard alone of the former would be most useful, and if we could purchase the other small building as well, the nuns could live there in comfort for years. I beg you to take steps about purchasing the latter at once, Supposing that they would not sell it, they might allow us to rent it for a few years, as we should require it for the woman who attends on us,

You might tell Tamayo that if we only take his house, we can give more for it, but that if we have the two, we could not pay so much at present. If your Honour thinks well, it might be better that he should not know we are dissatisfied with his house: he could be left to suppose that we might buy it later on. As one of the sisters wittily said, they must make friends in Holy Week, so we had better settle the bargain at once. The nuns and Mother Prioress kiss your hands for having found them so suitable a dwelling. They are much pleased with it, as well they may be for it is everything we want, besides having the great advantage of our being able to enlarge it by buying more land. It would be a good thing if, as soon as Easter is over, they began to pull down the walls. May our Lord dire& the matter and watch over you, as I and my daughters beg of Him.

Your Honour’s unworthy servant,’ Teresa de Jesus.