ct anger, Mathieu continued: "To think of it; people
who had everything needful to be happy! How can one be so stupid? How
can one seek wretchedness for oneself with such obstinacy? As for that
idea of theirs of an only son, and their vanity in wanting to make a
gentleman of him, ah! well, they have succeeded finely! They must be
extremely pleased to-day! It is just like Lepailleur's hatred of the
earth, his old-fashioned system of cultivation, his obstinacy in leaving
his bit of moorland barren and refusing to sell it to me, no doubt
by way of protesting against our success! Can you imagine anything so
stupid? And it's just like his mill; all folly and idleness he stands
still, looking at it fall into ruins. He at least had a reason for that
in former times; he used to say that as the region had almost renounced
corn-growing, the peasants did not bring him enough grain to set his
mill-stones working. But nowadays when, thanks to us, corn overflows on
all sides, surely he ought to have pulled down his old wheel and have
replaced it by a good engine. Ah! if I were in his place I would already
have a new and bigger mill there, making all use of the water of the
Yeuse, and connecting it with Janville railway station by a line of
rails, which would not cost so much to lay down."

Gregoire stood listening, well pleased that the storm should fall on
another than himself. And Marianne, seeing that her three daughters were
still greatly grieved at having no white roses, consoled them, saying:
"Well, for the table to-morrow morning you must gather those which are
the lightest in color--the pale pink ones; they will do very well."

Thereupon Mathieu, calming down, made the children laugh, by adding
gayly: "Gather the red ones too, the reddest you find. They will
symbolize the blood of life!"

Marianne and Charlotte were still lingering there talking of all the
preparations, when other little feet came tripping through the grass.
Nicolas, quite proud of his seven years, was leading his niece Berthe,
a big girl of six. They agreed very well together. That day they had
remained indoors playing at "fathers and mothers" near the cradle
occupied by Benjamin and Guillaume, whom they called their babies.
But all at once the infants had awoke, clamoring for nourishment. And
Nicolas and Berthe, quite alarmed, had thereupon run off to fetch the
two mothers.

"Mamma!" called Nicolas, "Benjamin's asking for you. He's thirsty."

"Mamma, m