"She is a woman, tall and beautiful as a nymph, serious and grave as the
angel Gabriel!"

"When did you meet her?"

"One day I followed a young girl to the church of La Gypecienne, and I
entered a little garden close to it, where there is a stone seat under
some trees. Do you know this garden, Anne?"

"No; but never mind--go on."

"It began to grow dark; I had lost sight of the young girl, and in
seeking her I arrived at this seat. I saw a woman's dress, and held out
my hands. 'Pardon, monsieur,' said the voice of a man whom I had not
noticed, and he gently but firmly pushed me away."

"He dared to touch you, Henri?"

"Listen; he had his face hidden in a sort of frock, and I took him for a
monk. Besides, he impressed me also by the polite manner of his warning;
for, as he spoke, he pointed out to me the woman, whose white dress had
attracted me, and who was kneeling before the seat as though it were an
altar. It was toward the beginning of September that this happened; the
air was warm, the flowers planted by friends around the tombs scattered
their delicate perfume, and the moon, rising above the white clouds,
began to shed her silver light over all. Whether it were the place, or
her own dignity, I know not, but this woman seemed to me like a marble
statue, and impressed me with a strange respect. I looked at her
earnestly. She bent over the seat, enveloping it in her arms, placed her
lips to it, and soon I saw her shoulders heave with such sobs as you