forehead, and said: "Now, be brave, be brave!" The step was pulled
up and the _fiacre_ rumbled off.

Then Madame Aubain had a fainting spell, and that evening all her
friends, including the two Lormeaus, Madame Lechaptois, the ladies
Rochefeuille, Messieurs de Houppeville and Bourais, called on her
and tendered their sympathy.

At first the separation proved very painful to her. But her
daughter wrote her three times a week and the other days she,
herself, wrote to Virginia. Then she walked in the garden, read a
little, and in this way managed to fill out the emptiness of the
hours.

Each morning, out of habit, Félicité entered Virginia's room and
gazed at the walls. She missed combing her hair, lacing her shoes,
tucking her in her bed, and the bright face and little hand when
they used to go out for a walk. In order to occupy herself she
tried to make lace. But her clumsy fingers broke the threads; she
had no heart for anything, lost her sleep and "wasted away," as
she put it.

In order to have some distraction, she asked leave to receive the
visits of her nephew Victor.

He would come on Sunday, after church, with ruddy cheeks and bared
chest, bringing with him the scent of the country. She would set
the table and they would sit down opposite each other, and eat
their dinner; she ate as little as possible, herself, to avoid any
extra expense, but would stuff him so with food that he would