is wont to say, with
good-natured indulgence, that good hearts carve out their own
salvation by deeds of loving kindness and charity. God would know when
and how to touch her.

Till the evening of the following day Jeanne thought of nothing but
the month of Mary. She plagued her mother with questions; she dreamt
of the church adorned with a profusion of white roses, filled with
thousands of wax tapers, with the sound of angels' voices, and sweet
perfumes. And she was very anxious to go near the altar, that she
might have a good look at the Blessed Virgin's lace gown, a gown worth
a fortune, according to the Abbe. But Helene bridled her excitement
with a threat not to take her should she make herself ill beforehand.

However, the evening came at last, and they set out. The nights were
still cold, and when they reached the Rue de l'Annonciation, where the
church of Notre-Dame-de-Grace stands, the child was shivering all
over.

"The church is heated," said her mother. "We must secure a place near
a hot-air pipe."

She pushed open the padded door, and as it gently swung back to its
place they found themselves in a warm atmosphere, with brilliant
lights streaming on them, and chanting resounding in their ears. The
ceremony had commenced, and Helene, perceiving that the nave was
crowded, signified her intention of going down one of the aisles. But
there seemed insuperable obstacles in her way; she could not get near
the altar. Holding Jeanne by the hand, she for a time patiently
pressed forward, but at last, despairing of advancing any farther,
took the first unoccupied chairs she could find. A pillar hid half of
the choir from view.

"I can see nothing," said the child, grievously discontented. "This is
a very nasty place."

However, Helene signed to her to keep silent, and she lapsed into a
fit of sulks. In front of her she could only perceive the broad back
of a fat old lady. When her mother next turned towards her she was
standing upright on her chair.

"Will you come down!" said Helene in a low voice. "You are a
nuisance."

But Jeanne was stubborn.

"Hist! mamma," she said, "there's Madame Deberle. Look! she is down
there in the centre, beckoning to us."

The young woman's annoyance on hearing this made her very impatient,
and she shook her daughter, who still refused to sit down. During the
three days that had intervened since the ball, Helene had avoided any
visit to the doctor's house on the plea of hav