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She was the youngest daughter of the Prince ***, a great Milanese

nobleman, who was among the wealthiest of the city. The

magnificent ideas he entertained of his rank, made him suppose

his wealth hardly sufficient to support it properly; he therefore

determined to preserve his riches with the greatest care. How

many children he had does not clearly appear; it is only known

that he had destined to the cloister all the youngest of both

sexes, in order to preserve his fortune for the eldest son. The

condition of the unhappy signora had been settled even before her

birth; it remained only to be decided whether she were to be a

monk or a nun. At her birth, the prince her father, wishing to

give her a name which could recall at every moment the idea of a

cloister, and which had been borne by a saint of a noble family,

called her Gertrude.