it beside my tiny
thimble, then, filling both with water, she asked me which seemed
the fuller. I replied that one was as full as the other--it was
impossible to pour more water into either of them, for they could
not hold it. In this way Pauline made it clear to me that in
Heaven the least of the Blessed does not envy the happiness of the
greatest; and so, by bringing the highest mysteries down to the
level of my understanding, she gave my soul the food it needed.

Joyfully each year I welcomed the prize day. Though I was the only
competitor, justice was none the less strictly observed, and I
never received rewards unless they were well merited. My heart
used to beat with excitement when I heard the decisions, and in
presence of the whole family received prizes from Papa's hands. It
was to me like a picture of the Judgment Day!

Seeing Papa so cheerful, no suspicion of the terrible trials which
awaited him crossed my mind; but one day God showed me, in an
extraordinary vision, a vivid picture of the trouble to come. My
Father was away on a journey, and could not return as early as
usual. It was about two or three o'clock in the afternoon; the sun
was shining brightly, and all the world seemed gay. I was alone at
the window, looking on to the kitchen garden, my mind full of
cheerful thoughts, when I saw before me, in front of the
wash-house, a man dressed exactly like Papa, of the same height
and appearance, but more bent and aged. I say _aged,_ to describe
his general appearance, for I did not see his face as his head was
covered with a thick veil. He advanced slowly, with measured step,
along my little garden; at that instant a feeling of supernatural
fear seized me, and I called out loudly in a trembling voice:
"Papa, Papa!" The mysterious person seemed not to hear, he
continued his walk without even turning, and went towards a clump
of firs which grew in the middle of the garden. I expected to see
him reappear at the other side of the big trees, but the prophetic
vision had vanished.

It was all over in a moment, but it was a moment which impressed
itself so deeply on my memory that even now, after so many years,
the remembrance of it is as vivid as the vision itself.

My sisters were all together in an adjoining room. Hearing me call
"Papa!" they were frightened themselves, but Marie, hiding her
feelings, ran to me and said: "Why are you calling Papa, when he
is at Alencon?" I told her what I had seen, and t