followed them along the dusty highways in the hot sunshine,
panting, perspiring, and tottering under the weight of a heavy basket
of provisions, which were eaten on the grass or in the woods, and
the remnants of which fell to me. Madame Greloux's brother generally
accompanied us; and his name would have lingered in my memory, even if
it had not been a peculiar one. He was called Vantrasson. He was a tall,
robust man, with eyes that made me tremble whenever he fixed them upon
me. He was a soldier; intensely proud of his uniform; a great talker,
and enchanted with himself. He evidently thought himself irresistible.
It was from that man's mouth that I heard the first coarse word at which
my unsophisticated heart took offence. It was not to be the last one.
He finally told me that he had taken a fancy to me, and I was obliged to
complain to Madame Greloux of her brother's persecutions. But she only
laughed at me, and said: 'Nonsense! He's merely talking to hear himself
talk.' Yes, that was her answer. And yet she was an honest woman, a
devoted wife, and a fond mother. Ah! if she had had a daughter. But with
a poor apprentice, who has neither father nor mother, one need not
be over-fastidious. She had made a great many promises to the lady
superior, but she fancied that the utterance of a few commonplace words
of warning relieved her of all further obligations. 'And so much the
worse for those who allow themselves to be fooled,' she always added in
conclusion.

"Fortunately, my pride, which I had so often been reproached with,
shielded me. My condition might be humble, but my spirit was lofty.
It was a blessing from God, this pride of mine, for it saved me from
temptation, while so many fell around me. I slept, with the other
apprentices, in the attic, where we were entirely beyond the control of
those who should have been our guardians. That is to say, when the day's
toil was over, and the work-shop closed, we were free--abandoned to
our own instincts, and the most pernicious influences. And neither evil
advice nor bad example was wanting. The women employed in the bindery
in nowise restrained themselves in our presence, and we heard them tell
marvellous stories that dazzled many a poor girl. They did not talk as
they did from any evil design, or out of a spirit of calculation, but
from pure thoughtlessness, and because they were quite devoid of moral
sense. And they never tired of telling us of the pleasures of life, of
fi