Abby Rock. "Well, it's a pretty name, sure enough;
has a sound of 'Mary' in it, too, and that was my mother's name. But
what was your father's name, or your mother's, if so be your father
ain't living now?"

Marie shook her head. "I never know!" she said. "All the days I lived
with Mere Jeanne in the village, far away, oh, far, over the sea."

"Over the sea?" said Abby. "You mean the bay, don't you,--some of
those French settlements down along the shore?"

But Marie meant the sea, it appeared; for her village was in France, in
Eretagne, and there she had lived till the day when Mere Jeanne died,
and she was left alone, with no-one belonging to her. Mere Jeanne was
not her mother, no! nor yet her grandmother,--only her mother's aunt,
but good, Abby must understand, good as an angel, good as Abby herself.
And when she was dead, there was only her son, Jeannot, and he had
married a devil,--but yes!--as Abby exclaimed, and held up her hands in
reproof,--truly a devil of the worst kind; and one day, when Jeannot
was away, this wife had sold her, Marie, to another devil, Le Boss, who
made the tours in the country for to sing and to play. And he had
brought her away to this country, over very dreadful seas, where one
went down into the grave at every instant, and then up again to the
clouds, but leaving one's stomach behind one--ah, but terrible! Others
were with them, oh, yes!--This in response to Abby's question, for in
spite of her good resolutions, curiosity was taking possession of her,
and it was evidently a relief to Marie to pour out her little tale in a
sympathetic ear,--many others. La Patronne, the wife of Le Boss, who
was like a barrel, but not bad, when she could see through the fat, not
bad in every way; and there was Old Billy, who took care of the horses
and dogs, and he was her friend, and she loved him, and he had always
the good word for her even when he was very drunk, too drunk to speak
to any one else. And then there was the daughter of Le Boss, who would
in all probability never die, for she was so ugly that she would not be
admitted into the other world, where, Mere Jeanne said, even Monsieur
the Great Devil himself was good-looking, save for his expression.
Also there were the boys who tumbled and rode on the ponies,
and--and--and ozer people. And with this Mane's head dropped forward,
and she was asleep.

It seemed a pity to wake her when supper was ready, but Abby knew just
how good h