Delair, Miss M., Lourdes, France, to Archbishop Napoleon Joseph Perché, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1880 December 19

She is still at Lourdes and asks him to pray for her as life is very hard. She has written three letters to Mother Louise Stephanie, C.S.J. without receiving any reply. She fears that the silence means bad news and she asks him to tell her want it is. She asks him to have the community Sisters of St. Joseph pray for her. She told him her entire situation at the time of his trip to Lourdes. She has taken a small apartment, but, not wishing to cause any commotion, she will have from the world only those who know her and her situation. Instead of recommending her to missionaries of the diocese of New Orleans, she asks him to recommend her to other bishops and priests who will know her only through him. For the moment, she has no bread and still owes for half her meager furnishings. P.S. She told him that she would accept only frank and clear offers, seeking to unite her with others, be it for a work or for material business, provided that they hold no danger from the point of view of religion and that they are only temporary. That kind of frankness does nor seem to exist any more. Signed also as: Sister Theresa, C.S.J. :: VI-3-b A.L.S. French 4pp. 12mo.