If the shepherd's goats invaded their gardens and destroyed the
onions and the beet-root crops, they applied to me. Of course I advised
them to "fence their gardens," and they went away satisfied, but did not
carry out the suggestion so in due time their crops were devoured. They
now told me that THEY ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY WITH WOMEN! This new theory
startled me almost as much as the novelty of the old monks' stories.
They explained that YOUNG WOMEN WOULDN'T WORK, AND OLD WOMEN COULDN'T
WORK. It had not occurred to them that a middle-aged woman might have
combined all that they desired. Knowing their strict moral principles, I
had suggested an "old woman" as the successor of Christina; as I
explained to them that, to be in harmony with the establishment, a woman
of a "certain age" as general servant would not detract from the
religious character of the place. However I might argue, the old monk
hesitated; but while the monk wavered, Christina's "monkey was up," and,
taking her child in her arms, she started off without giving a "month's
notice," and fairly left the monastery, with monks, priests, deacons,
servants and the dogs all aghast and barking. There was nobody to wash
the linen, to bake the bread, to sweep the rooms, to cook the dinner, to
mend the clothes! Christina was gone, and the gentle sex was no longer
represented in the monastery of Trooditissa.
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