While most of us would not be surprised to discover that a lady would knock a few years off her age, you might be surprised to find that even nuns lie about their age!
I thought they were above telling lies and, in particular, having such vanity 🙂
It was back in 1832 when The Lady Abbess of Lanherne convent, St Mawgan, near Newquay, Cornwall passed away on 9 August. But the nuns who lived with her wanted a permanent memorial of the lie she told. The Gentleman’s Magazine reported her death in their pages, I wonder if Mother Mary would be amused or mortified by what they published:
Her coffin lid was thus inscribed:
IHS Mother Mary, Sister of Angels, aged 79, professed 60, departed this life Aug 9 1832. RIP
Of course we’ll never know whether the inscription was factual, or was intended as an “insider joke” because maybe that was the Lady Abbess’ little joke among the sisters, that, having reached 60 she’d continually say she was 60 with a smile and a wink 🙂
