Sabine Baring-Gould

“ When poor Gracieuse entered, and had been introduced to the baroness, the curé asked Alphonse to come out round the garden with him, he wished to show him a tool-house he had erected, and a potting-table of his own invention. When they were alone together, ‘Well, now!’ said the curé, ‘how does your mother treat your wife?’
Alphonse shrugged his shoulders.
‘My friend, we must make allowances for the prejudices of old people. I, myself, maybe, am not without my prejudices; but—the young baroness is charming. ”

“ It is a matter of time. You must be particularly attentive to the young lady, she will find the chateau dull, and she has only you to look to to enliven it. Come, you have seen my potting-table, let us return to the salon.’
In the meantime Jacquetta had approached the object of her visit.
‘Mademoiselle,’ she said with her broken French, which had a certain charm and sweetness in it when proceeding from her mouth, accompanied by her pleasant smile, ‘I have come to you with a petition. Time hangs heavy on my hands. In winter there is not much I can do in my garden. ”

“ The salle had no carpet of any sort in it, and the walls were adorned with a couple of coarse sacred pictures, a portrait of Pius IX, and a statuette of Notre Dame de la Salette. The curé dined on Sundays, at least once a month, at the chateau, so that Jacquetta knew him; but she had never been to the parsonage before. She was aware that he had strongly disapproved of the baron’s engagement; he and the two old ladies had discussed it together; but she did not know that when the marriage had taken place he had given the dowager sensible advice, ‘Allons! it is done. ”