Our Catlwlic Heritage in T ezas
of those days possessed that of teaching Spanish, English and French, not only by theory, but by practice; the pupils were required to converse in these languages in the respective classes. The publisher of the San Antonio Ledger wrote an editorial on March 17, 1853, after a visit to the Academy, that furnishes a good idea of the school in its early days. "We had the pleasure of visiting during the past week, accompanied by the Reverend Mr. Dubuis, the Academy for young ladies in this city under the direction of the Ursulines. We must confess that we were surprised to find so large and admirably conducted a school in our midst. The number of pupils at present is 80, and the course of study pursued in the institution is [as] extensive and thorough as that of any like school in the country of which we have any knowledge." He then added, "The buildings are large, airy and beautifully located on the banks of the San Antonio River. To our own citizens we say there can no longer be an excuse for sending your daughters from home for an educa- tion; and to those abroad, desiring to avail themselves of the advantages of a good English and Classical School, we can say that we know of no better institution than that of the Ursulines in this city." 16 Mother Joseph Aubert, a young Ursuline from Brignoles, France, from where many volunteers came to work in Texas, wrote her former Superior in France in 1857, that the community had eighteen members and that the boarding school was daily growing, students coming from the best Spanish, German, French and British families. "The Day School," she explained, "is also numerous and consists mainly of Mexicans who are now loyal American Citizens. I love all these children," she added, "they are so · affectionate and responsive to kindness." Conversions were being made, too. Within two years ten students were baptized in the Chapel. The French Sister confided to her former Mother Superior that she had been amply rewarded for the pains taken in learning Spanish in the Academy of Brignoles, 11 The unfounded fantasies of the non-Catholic were dispelled in part when Father P. F. Parisot became temporary Chaplain of the Ursulines in 1857. He relates how a group of biased, curious persons asked him if they could visit the Academy and Convent. To their apparent surprise, he assured them they could visit it and inspect every inch. The doubting group was conducted through the establishment the next day and allowed
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16San Antonio Ledger, March 17, 1853. 17Cited in Sister M. A. Ursulina, "Excerpts," C. A. T.
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