orous, than that in which
the Baroni family figured on the morrow, when they went to pay their
respects to their patron. The girls were in clean white frocks with
little black silk jackets, their hair beautifully tied and plaited, and
their heads uncovered, according to the fashion of the country: not an
ornament or symptom of tawdry taste was visible; not even a necklace,
although they necessarily passed their lives in fanciful or grotesque
attire; the boys, in foraging caps all of the same fashion, were dressed
in blouses of holland, with bands and buckles, their broad shirt collars
thrown over their shoulders. It is astonishing, as Baroni said, what
order and discipline will do; but how that wonderful house upon wheels
contrived to contain all these articles of dress, from the uniform of
the marshal of France to the diminutive blouse of little Michel, and how
their wearers always managed to issue from it as if they came forth
from the most commodious and amply-furnished mansion, was truly yet
pleasingly perplexing. Sidonia took them all in a large landau to see a
famous chateau a few miles off, full of pictures and rich old furniture,
and built in famous gardens. This excursion would have been delightful
to them, if only from its novelty, but, as a substitute for their daily
progress through the town, it offered an additional gratification.

The behaviour of these children greatly interested and pleased Sidonia.
Their conduct to each other was invariably tender and affectionate:
their carriage to him, though full of respect, never constrained, and
touched by an engaging simplicity. Above all, in whatever they did or
said, there was grace. They did nothing awkwardly; their voices were
musical; they were merry without noise, and their hearts sparkled in
their eyes.

'I begin to suspect that these youthful vagabonds, struggling for life,
have received a perfect education,' thought the ever-musing Sidonia, as
he leaned back in the landau, and watched the group that he had made
so happy. 'A sublime religious principle sustains their souls; a tender
morality regulates their lives; and with the heart and the spirit thus
developed, they are brought up in the pursuit and production of the
beautiful. It is the complete culture of philosophic dreams!'

IV.

The children had never sat down before to a regular dinner, and they
told Sidonia 50. Their confession added a zest to the repast. He
gave them occasional instructions