ght was Argenteuil with its bell tower, and
above it rose the hills of Sannois and the mill of Orgemont, while on
the left the aqueduct of Marly stood out against the clear morning sky,
and in the distance they could see the terrace of Saint-Germain; and
opposite them, at the end of a low chain of hills, the new fort of
Cormeilles. Quite in the distance; a very long way off, beyond the
plains and village, one could see the sombre green of the forests.

The sun was beginning to burn their faces, the dust got into their eyes,
and on either side of the road there stretched an interminable tract of
bare, ugly country with an unpleasant odor. One might have thought
that it had been ravaged by a pestilence, which had even attacked the
buildings, for skeletons of dilapidated and deserted houses, or
small cottages, which were left in an unfinished state, because the
contractors had not been paid, reared their four roofless walls on each
side.

Here and there tall factory chimneys rose up from the barren soil. The
only vegetation on that putrid land, where the spring breezes wafted
an odor of petroleum and slate, blended with another odor that was even
less agreeable. At last, however, they crossed the Seine a second time,
and the bridge was a delight. The river sparkled in the sun, and they
had a feeling of quiet enjoyment, felt refreshed as they drank in the
purer air that was not impregnated by the black smoke of factories nor
by the miasma from the deposits of night soil. A man whom they met told
them that the name of the place was Bezons. Monsieur Dufour pulled up
and read the attractive announcement outside an eating house: Restaurant
Poulin, matelottes and fried fish, private rooms, arbors, and swings.

"Well, Madame Dufour, will this suit you? Will you make up your mind at
last?"

She read the announcement in her turn and then looked at the house for
some time.

It was a white country inn, built by the roadside, and through the open
door she could see the bright zinc of the counter, at which sat two
workmen in their Sunday clothes. At last she made up her mind and said:

"Yes, this will do; and, besides, there is a view."

They drove into a large field behind the inn, separated from the river
by the towing path, and dismounted. The husband sprang out first and
then held out his arms for his wife, and as the step was very high
Madame Dufour, in order to reach him, had to show the lower part of her
limbs, whose for