Ernest Pérochon

“ There are three worlds:—the world above which is good; the middle world—that's ours, and it's both good and evil;—and the nether world—God save our souls! It's a poisonous pit: evil rises from it like a cloud of black smoke.—There are three worlds, each one unlike the other two. We know only one; in the other two things aren't the same; nobody can understand; our eyes won't tell us, nor our ears. ”

“ Jo said, pointing aloft:
"Nêne, the moon isn't very high up, is it?"
"Nêne," said Lalie, "I can see things on the moon!"
"That's a little man you're seeing," replied Madeleine; "a wee little man, and he's very old. He's carrying a bundle of brushwood on his back to bake his bread."
"Nêne," inquired Jo, "what is behind the clouds?"
"There's Time," answered Madeleine; "that's where God lives."
"Where is Paradise, Nêne?" asked Lalie.
"My darling, we can't any of us see it while we're alive, but those of us who don't love sin go there when they die." ”

“ She paused, not knowing how to put into words the thought that welled to her heart.
"For you, there is help above: your mother is in Paradise and watching over you. She loves you—nobody can love you as she loves you—nobody!"
The children were silent and wide-eyed. Madeleine went on thinking aloud, and her words rose like a prayer.
"She's watching over you.—She'll know well enough that I love you, too. Lord, let her be of succour to me!—If I must go away, all I ask is that she keep them from forgetting me."
"But you won't go away, Nêne!" said Jo.
"Do you mean you want to die?" asked Lalie. ”