l) of the Virgin was quite charming, all dressed with greens and
white flowers, our tall Italian candles making a grand show.

The La Ferte contingent had arrived. They had much difficulty in getting
the omnibus up to the church, as it was heavy with the harmonium on top;
however, everybody got out and walked up the hill, and all went off
well. The Abbe was robing, with his two choir children, in the minute
sacristy, and the two good Sisters were standing at the gate with all
their little flock--about ten girls, I should think. There were people
in every direction, of all sizes and ages--some women carrying a baby in
their arms and pushing one or two others in a cart, some wretched old
people so bent and wrinkled one couldn't imagine how they could crawl
from one room to another. A miserable old man bent double, really,
leaning on a child and walking with two canes, was pointed out to me as
the "pere Colin," who makes the "margottins" (bundles of little dry
sticks used for making the fires) for the chateau. However, they were
all streaming up the slippery hillside, quite unmindful of cold or
fatigue. We walked up, too, and I went first to the school-house to see
if our provisions had come. Food was also a vexed question, as tea and
buns, which would seem natural to us, were unknown in these parts. After
many consultations with the women about us--lessiveuses (washerwomen),
keepers' wives, etc.--we decided upon hot wine and brioches. The Mayor
undertook to supply the wine and the glasses, and we ordered the
brioches from the Hotel du Sauvage at La Ferte; the son of the house is
a very good patissier. It is a funny, old-fashioned little hotel, not
very clean, but has an excellent cuisine, also a wonderful sign board--a
bright red naked savage, with feathers in his hair and a club in his
hand--rather like the primitive pictures of North American Indians in
our school-books.

Everything was there, and the children just forming the procession to
walk to the church. Some of the farmers' wives were also waiting for us
at the school-house, so I only had a moment to go into the big
class-room to see if the Tree looked all right. It was quite ready, and
we agreed that the two big boys with the keeper should begin to light it
as soon as the service was over. Madame Isidore (the school-mistress)
was rather unhappy about the quantity of people. There were many more
than thirty children, but Henrietta and Pauline had made up a bundle