copse that did not belong to the Froments, and thus beside the surging
sea of corn there rose a royal park of centenarian trees. Apart from
the question of felling portions of the wood for timber, Mathieu was not
disposed to retain the remainder for mere beauty's sake; and accordingly
avenues were devised connecting the broad clearings, and cattle were
then turned into this part of the property. The ark of life, increased
by hundreds of animals, expanded, burst through the great trees. There
was a fresh growth of fruitfulness: more and more cattle-sheds had to be
built, sheepcotes had to be created, and manure came in loads and loads
to endow the land with wondrous fertility. And now yet other children
might come, for floods of milk poured forth, and there were herds and
flocks to clothe and nourish them. Beside the ripening crops the woods
waved their greenery, quivering with the eternal seeds that germinated
in their shade, under the dazzling sun. And only one more stretch of
land, the sandy slopes on the east, remained to be conquered in order
that the kingdom might be complete. Assuredly this compensated one for
all former tears, for all the bitter anxiety of the first years of toil.

Then, while Mathieu completed his conquest, there came to Marianne
during those two years the joy of marrying one of her children even
while she was again _enceinte_, for, like our good mother the earth, she
also remained fruitful. 'Twas a delightful fete, full of infinite
hope, that wedding of Blaise and Charlotte; he a strong young fellow
of nineteen, she an adorable girl of eighteen summers, each loving
the other with a love of nosegay freshness that had budded, even in
childhood's hour, along the flowery paths of Chantebled. The eight other
children were all there: first the big brothers, Denis, Ambroise, and
Gervais, who were now finishing their studies; next Rose, the eldest
girl, now fourteen, who promised to become a woman of healthy beauty
and happy gayety of disposition; then Claire, who was still a child, and
Gregoire, who was only just going to college; without counting the very
little ones, Louise and Madeleine.

Folks came out of curiosity from the surrounding villages to see the
gay troop conduct their big brother to the municipal offices. It was
a marvellous cortege, flowery like springtide, full of felicity, which
moved every heart. Often, moreover, on ordinary holidays, when for the
sake of an outing the family repai