Note 60 — A GIRL’S LIFE EIGHTY YEARS AGO (continued 3)
Reading edition
Bethlehem. This is a place originally settled by a religious sect called Moravians. They were famous for their schools,—one for boys kept by the Brothers, and a girls’ school kept by the Sisters. Young ladies were sent to Bethlehem from New York, Philadelphia, and distant parts of the country, to receive their education at this place. In a letter from John Adams to his daughter, dated Monday, Feb. 10th, 1823, he speaks of it: “I have seen a remarkable institution for the education of young ladies at Bethlehem. About 120 of them live under the same roof. They sleep all together in the same garret. I saw 120 beds in two long rows in the same room. The beds and bedclothes were all of excellent quality and extraordinary neat. How should you like to live in such a nunnery?”