Volume I Part 53 (2/2)
A large walnut _buffet_, several chairs without seats, some stools and a table composed all the furniture of that room, which, moreover, was not very clean and presented an appearance of wretchedness that made the heart ache.
And yet that hovel sheltered a whole family: Guillot the farmer, his wife and four children, the eldest of whom was only eleven, while the youngest still lay in his mother's arms, and another, two years old, still dragged at her skirts.
Nevertheless it was in that family, whose head earned barely enough to support his own children, that Poucette was made welcome. The worthy man considered that his niece, being an orphan, was also his child; and he took her into his home.
”I will try to work a little harder,” he thought, ”and G.o.d will provide.”
If the country people are envious and evil-speaking, we also find among them such touching examples as this of humanity and kindliness: the latter should induce us to forgive the former.
When Agathe and Honorine entered the house, the farmer's wife was nursing her youngest child; another little fellow was rolling on the ground, gnawing a piece of black bread. By the fire, a girl of eight was trying to make the water boil in the kettle by blowing with her breath two or three small sticks that smouldered on the hearth. The two young women stood lost in amazement at the sight of those wretchedly-clad children in that tumble-down hovel. The picture of dest.i.tution is always more painful to look upon when it embraces children.
Guillot's wife looked up with a surprised expression at the two ladies who had entered her home; but it did not interfere with her maternal duties.
A moment later, however, Ledrux put his head in at the door and shouted, as if he were speaking to deaf people--as was his habit with everybody:
”I've brought these ladies to see you, Mere Guillot; they're the ones who've bought Monsieur Courtivaux's house, and they're coming to live in it. They're looking for a girl to do their housework and their cooking; in fact, the whole business; and I thought of Poucette, who hasn't got any place. Would it suit you to have her work for these ladies, who are bourgeoises and well off----”
Honorine interrupted the gardener.
”Madame,” she said, ”we are told that your niece is a good girl, and we will treat her so that she will be happy with us; but if she is useful to you, if you prefer to keep her with you, we will look elsewhere.”
”Oh! Poucette ain't so very necessary to us,” replied the peasant; ”because Claudine, our oldest, is old enough to look after her little brothers while I go to work in the fields.”
”Is that Claudine?” asked Honorine, looking at the child who was still blowing the sticks with all her strength.
”No, that's Mariette, our second one; Claudine's eleven; she's big and strong. As for Poucette, she's a good girl, but let me tell you, if you count on her to do your cooking, why you mustn't expect too much! Well!
she ain't very subtle about cooking.”
Honorine smiled at the word ”subtle” which the peasants are very fond of using, often without any clear idea of its meaning.
”I am not disturbed about that,” she replied. ”All I shall ask of Poucette are zeal and willingness.”
”Oh! as far as that goes, she's got plenty. And you will give her her keep?”
”Naturally.”
”And her was.h.i.+ng?”
”She will have to spend nothing but for clothes; and Agathe and I will often find something to give her among our old dresses.”
”I will give her my blue striped dress at once,” said Agathe, ”for it's too small for me. I am still growing.”
”If it's too small for you, it will be even smaller for Poucette, who's taller than you,” said Pere Ledrux, with a laugh.
”Oh! that don't make any difference,” rejoined the farmer's wife; ”dresses can be let down and pieced out; we ain't ladies, you know. How much will madame pay my niece to do her work?”
”Tell me yourself what you think it will be worth.”
<script>