ique articles, of the true value of which he was wholly
ignorant. He bought mignonette and put the pots on the ledge outside
her window; and he returned from many of his trips with rose trees, or
pansies, or any kind of flower which gardeners or tavern-keepers would
give him.

If Veronique could have made comparisons and known the character, past
habits, and ignorance of her parents she would have seen how much there
was of affection in these little things; but as it was, she simply loved
them from her own sweet nature and without reflection.

The girl wore the finest linen her mother could find in the shops.
Madame Sauviat left her daughter at liberty to buy what materials she
liked for her gowns and other garments; and the father and mother
were proud of her choice, which was never extravagant. Veronique was
satisfied with a blue silk gown for Sundays and fete-days, and on
working-days she wore merino in winter and striped cotton dresses in
summer. On Sundays she went to church with her father and mother, and
took a walk after vespers along the banks of the Vienne or about the
environs. On other days she stayed at home, busy in filling worsted-work
patterns, the payment for which she gave to the poor,--a life of simple,
chaste, and exemplary principles and habits. She did some reading
together with her tapestry, but never in any books except those lent to
her by the vicar of Saint-Etienne, a priest whom Soeur Marthe had first
made known to her parents.

All the rules of the Sauviat's domestic economy were suspended in favor
of Veronique. Her mother delighted in giving her dainty things to eat,
and cooked her food separately. The father and mother still ate their
nuts and dry bread, their herrings and parched peas fricasseed in salt
butter, while for Veronique nothing was thought too choice and good.

"Veronique must cost you a pretty penny," said a hatmaker who lived
opposite to the Sauviats and had designs on their daughter for his son,
estimating the fortune of the old-iron dealer at a hundred thousand
francs.

"Yes, neighbor, yes," Pere Sauviat would say; "if she asked me for ten
crowns I'd let her have them. She has all she wants; but she never asks
for anything; she is as gentle as a lamb."

Veronique was, as a matter of fact, absolutely ignorant of the value of
things. She had never wanted for anything; she never saw a piece of gold
till the day of her marriage; she had no money of her own; her mother
bou