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Show NUNS DO THE WORK IN THIS BLACKSMITH SHOP. It beems hard to assoc lato woman's fruit phslqu with the musiulnr calling call-ing of tha blacksmith. Neverthelesa out In Capo Colony, near Kltur William's Wil-liam's Town, a blacksmith shop controlled con-trolled exclusively by women Is running run-ning at full blast. Tho sisters f St. Donilnlo are tho nrlglnntors ot thla novel phuso ot tho new woman. Their motives In Kulng to tho I'npo wcio purely missionary! to mw tho seeds of religion In a country coun-try where hitherto It had received little encouragement. Itlght from tho statt they found out that they would have to du their own plowing, na farm la-borers la-borers wero naturally unohtnlrablo In a land whero the only digging ngnged In was for gold or diamonds. Tho nuns put their hnnda lo tho plow without a murmur, and they soon found out that that was nut tha only kind of manual labor that they would havo to ierforni. When tho plowing- Implements were blunted or brnken, they found It no-cessary no-cessary to either repair them themselves them-selves or Rlvo up their good work, for no blacksmith's were to bo found In tlvit part of the country. It was then thnt they conceived tho Idea ot establishing estab-lishing a smithy. They Immediately sent to Capetown for building mate' rlnisnnd the necessary tools nnd Implo. ments, as also for a blacksmith to net as tutor. They then learned to do their own smith work, Decoinlnif prollclMU enough to do even the most dllllcult forms nf tho ork, they dlsponsed with tho services of the blaeksmllh profes-sor profes-sor nltogother The woik has made the feminine blacksmiths much moio healthy than thelt tender-handed sisters Tho toll at the fniRct and In tho Held, day after day and week after week, lias mado their faces losy and tanned, and they nro very different to the usual pale-faced pale-faced nuns, Tho smithy Is a Ioiir, nnirow building, build-ing, vvlth u strong frame, tha sides rtnpbourded and thn whole .surmounted with a red lower, vvlth slatted sides, through which tho sniolto of tho forgo drifts. Tho forgo Is of hrlclt and tho bellows of ox-hlde. All the pirnphern ilia of tho ordlnnry blacksmith's: shop Is to bo found nt this Dominican convent hummers, hoiscBhoes und pi s for unking holes In them, box s 's, pincers nnd wrenches, Tho manager of tho si the Molhir hupeilor herself, abbess Is a practical woman, nnd Is ai, expert In tho hlncksmlthliiK lino ns sho Is In her moro spiritual duties. A recent visit to tho smithy vvt d tho women wo-men blacksmiths nt wins. A nun bent over the nigh hind foot ot n hie diniight horse, with n, font rest-Inif rest-Inif in her lap. Sho vore a BtrnnR leather apron, nnd with a pair of tongs was fitting: a redhot shoo lo tho scorch-Ing scorch-Ing hoof. With tho asalstanco of another an-other sister, tho nun nailed tho shoe to Iho hoof nf tho Impatient horse, Onro or twice tho nail went In the wrong direction, on which occasions tho nun coolly withdrew It vvltlv her pincers, nnd not until her tnsk was completed did sho release tho horso's foot, Tho Job wns quite, as well dono us tho nvernso blaeksmllh would havo dono It. IIInRes, ringbolts, staples nnd similar simi-lar articles were also being mado by tho fair blntksmlllis, and In the repairing of farm machinery tho women soemeel to ho experts The Doer neighbors reguid tho work with susphlnn, although, realizing tho tellRlous chmneter of tho sisters, they do not Interfere tu any way, J he natives na-tives nro plainly puzzled, nnd may ho constantly seen wnuhlng tho work with awe and tevereneo. Needless to say, tho nuns nnd all Ihcy can do to repair their own machinery ma-chinery and to manufacture tho hurd-woro hurd-woro needed by them for use In tho convent, und do no work for thn public. pub-lic. Tho Mother Superior Is greatly gratified grati-fied vvlth the successful results so far obtained, and 11 Is safe In tiny thnt oven If main hlncksmlths could bo obtained, their Bnrvlccs would not now bo en-gnged, en-gnged, so fascinated havo tho nuns be-eomo be-eomo with their work. |
