Led by her, I passed from compartment to compartment, from passage to passage, of a large and irregular building; till, emerging from the total and somewhat dreary silence pervading that portion of the house we had traversed, we came upon the hum of many voices, and presently entered a wide, long room, with great deal tables, two at each end, on each of which burnt a pair of candles, and seated all round on benches, a congregation of girls of every age, from nine or ten to twenty.
Ella mi condusse di stanza in stanza, di corridoio in corridoio, attraverso una vasta casa costruita irregolarmente. Un silenzio profondo, che mi sgomentava un poco, regnava in quella parte dell'istituto, che avevamo traversato.