we protest before the nation, in the face of heaven and of earth, that it is not in the power of any being to shake our fidelity to our vows, which vows we renew with still more ardor than when we first pronounced them."[2245] Many of the communities have no means of subsistence other than the work of their own hands and the small dowries the nuns have brought with them on entering the convent.

So great, however is their frugality and economy, that the total expenditure of each nun does not surpass 250 livres a year.

The Annonciades of Saint-Amour say, "We, thirty-three nuns, both choristers and those of the white veil, live on 4,400 livres net income, without being a charge to our families or to the public.

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