it. Quick I washed my face, I brushed my hair, and, you see these bows
of ribbons,--look, here are the marks of the tears,--I turned them.
_Hé,_ Loulou, it occurs to me, that if you examined the blue bows on
a bride's _negligée_, you might always find tears on the other side;
for do they not all have to marry whom God sends? and am I the only
one who had dreams? It is the end of dreams, marriage; and that is the
good thing about it. God lets us dream to keep us quiet, but he knows
when to wake us up, I tell you. The blue bows knew! And now, you see,
I prefer my husband to my _brun_; in fact, Loulou, I adore him, and I
am furiously jealous about him. And he is so good to Clementine and
the poor little children; and see his photograph--a blond, and not
good-looking, and small!

"But poor papa! If he had been alive, I am sure he never would have
agreed with God about my marriage."




THE MIRACLE CHAPEL


Every heart has a miracle to pray for. Every life holds that which
only a miracle can cure. To prove that there have never been, that
there can never be, miracles does not alter the matter. So long as
there is something hoped for,--that does not come in the legitimate
channel of possible events,--so long as something does come not to be
hoped or expected in the legitimate channel of possible events, just
so long will the miracle be prayed for.