, 1872-10-20

5~3-~ A~kA4A LII" NA4%4lA Ii ALo oA6A1 ~ ~A~~
things, formerly 80 commonplace to- her. a
! thousund confused thoughts were born IN her
soul, end gained strength there, as the sunbeams
| did without. She felt at last that impulse Of
vague, inexplicable pleasure which enyelops the
moral as cloud does the physical being. Her
reflections agreed with the details Of this singu-
lar landscape, and the harmonies Of her heart
all'ed themselves with those OF Nature. When
She sun reached side Of 8 wall whence hung
venus hairs with thick leaves, and with co1orB
as changing as the throats Of pigeons,
celestial rays of hope Lit up the future for
Engenie, who henceforth took pleasure in look
3ng at that wall, at her pallid flowers, her blue
pens, and her dropping plants, with which there
fancy. The noise which each leaf made in that
echolng court, as it fell from it's bough, gave GIL
answer to the secret questions OF the young
slrl, who might have stayed there all day With
tumultuous throbs Of the soul. She rose fre-
quently, stood before her glass, and looked at
herself, as q fair-minded author does at his work,
to critlcise it and abuse himself.
tha a tbeat not handsome % enough for him This
and fruitful in suffering. The poor girl did not
do herself justice but modesty, or rather fear,
is one Of the prime virtues of love. Eugenie be-
longed, tits true, to the type Of robustly-built
children, most Of those Of her class do, and
sembled the Venus OF Milo, her expression was
ennobled by that suayity Of Christian feeling.
which purides woman, and gives her q distinc-
tion unknown to the early scu1ptors. She had
forehead Of the Jupiter Of Phidias, and gray
eyes, to which her chaste life, concentrating it.
self there, gave food Of light. Her face had
once been fresh and rosy, but her
features had been roughened by an
marks, but which had destroyed tie velvet Of
her skin, which was still, however, so soft and
delicate that the pure kiss Of her mother left 3
slight red mark on it. Her nose was little too
large, but it harmonized with q mouth as red IS
icate lines, were full OF love and Kindness The
neck had perfect roundness. Tho swelling
bosom, carefully hidden attracted the eye and
plunged one In reyerle; certainly it lacked g
little OF that grace which the toilet gives, but,
for connoisseurs, the rigidity Of that fne bust
must be an attraction. Engenie, tall and large,
had. therefore, nothing Of that prettiness which
pleases the masses, but she was beautiful with
that beauty which is so easily recognized, and
Of which artists alone are enamored
The painter who seeks on earth q type from
the celestial purity OF Mary; who asks Of femi-
nine nature those modestly proud eyes OWNED
by Raphael; those virginia. lines, often due to
the accident Of birth, but which q Christian and
modest life alone can preserve or acquire,1that
painter, in love with . rare model, would dhsve
found at once in the face Of Eugenie that in
nate nobility which does not know itself; he
would have seen, under calm forehead, a world
Of love, and, in the shape Of the eyes and the
fashion Of the eyelids, something divine. Her
expression OF pleasure had never modified or
wearied, resembled the outlines OF the horizon
50 softly defined in the distance of tranquil lakes.
That calm face. tinted and bordered with q glin-
mering light, like pretty flower just opened,
rested the soul communicated to it the calm OF
the conscience which mirrored itself there and
held the eye. Engenie YVES yet On the verge of
life, where the illusions Of childhood flourish,
and where daisies are plucked with D pleasure
which is later unknown. So she said, as she
looked ut herself, yet ignorant Of love, II am
too home1y; be will pay no attention to me-"
Then she opened the door of her room, look
ing out upon the stairs, and stretched her neck
to hear the m noises IN the house: % he T. is not
ing cough Of Nanon, and the good girl going and
coming, sweeping out the sItting-room, lighting |
her fire.. claiming up the dog, and talking to her
beasts in the stable. Eugenie at once went |
'Nanon, my good Nanon, do make some |
cream for my cousins coffee"
But Mademoiselle, you ought to have looked !
after that yesterday said Nanon, breaking out
n great it Of laughter: II cannot make
You have not seen him in his dressing gown of |
silk and gold. saw him. Ho wears linen as |
inc as the wears surplice-"
'FNanon, make us cake, then"
"And who will give me wood for the oven, and
AN%A13
minister of Grandet, assumed, sometimes, i'm
nenEe importance in tho eyes of Eugenie and
Ter mother. ''We must not rob the master to
east your cousin. Ask him for butter, -four,
md wood; he is your fnther; lie can give them
% you. There, he is coming down now to look
liter the provisions"
Eugenie escaped into the garden, terrified Us
she heard the stairs shake under her fathers
step. She already experienced the effects Of
hat profound modesty, and that peculiar con-
~F nt,
ieve-not without cause, porhaps--that our
thoughts are printed on our foreheads, and are
open to the eyes OF others Noticing at last the
old nakedness OF her fathers house, the poor
make it accord with the elegance of her cousin.
;he felt passionate necessity for doing some
hing for him. What2 She did not know.
Naive and truthful, she yielded to her angelic
iature, without diatrusting either her impress
ions or her feelings. The mere sight Of her
ouain had awakened in her the natural inclina-
ions OF woman, and they were to develop
nth increased rapidity, since, having reached
Ter twenty-third year, she was at The full
ess OF her intelligence and her desires. For the
light OF her father, saw in him the master of
Ter fate, and believed herself guilty Of fault
n hiding from him her thoughts. She began to
'alk with hurried steps, feeling amazed at
ao1e vivifying, and at deriving from them q
loral heat, O. new life. While she was thinking
t some way to get the cakes, there occurred be-
ween Grande Nanon and Grandet one Of those
isPutes which we're as unusual with them as
18th swallows in winter. Armed with his keys,
be good man had come to measure out the pro-
isions required for the days consumption.
"Was there any bread left from yesterday?"
aid he to Nanon.
" Not crumb. sir."
Grandet took large round loaf. well Toured,
headed IN one OF those flat baskets which are
sed for bread-making in Anjou, and was about
, cut it, when Nanon said to him: ''rhere arc
We Of us to-day, SIR"
'.That is true" said Grandet, shut your loaf
eighs six pounds, and some will be left over.
esides, you will see that these young people
:om Paris do not eat bread"
'sWill they eat .t17ppe, then ?" said Nanon.
In Anjou, trippe-a word belonging to the COM |
lou speech-means the accompaniment of
read, from butter spread on biscuit, common
rippe, to apricot preserves, the most distin-
uished Of JTlppes; and all who in their child
cod have licked off the .f1ippe and LETT the
read, will understand the significance Of this
ord.
"No," said Grandet, "they eat neither t3ippe
or bread They are like marriageahle rrirla -