Mother Simon sat down to breakfast.

A little later, she took Loulou and holding him up to Felicite:

"Say good-bye to him, now!" she commanded.

Although he was not a corpse, he was eaten up by worms; one of his wings
was broken and the wadding was coming out of his body. But Felicite was
blind now, and she took him and laid him against her cheek. Then Mother
Simon removed him in order to set him on the altar.




CHAPTER V

The grass exhaled an odour of summer; flies buzzed in the air, the sun
shone on the river and warmed the slated roof. Old Mother Simon had
returned to Felicite and was peacefully falling asleep.

The ringing of bells woke her; the people were coming out of church.
Felicite's delirium subsided. By thinking of the procession, she was
able to see it as if she had taken part in it. All the school-children,
the singers and the firemen walked on the sidewalks, while in the middle
of the street came first the custodian of the church with his halberd,
then the beadle with a large cross, the teacher in charge of the boys
and a sister escorting the little girls; three of the smallest ones,
with curly heads, threw rose leaves into the air; the deacon with
outstretched arms conducted the music; and two incense-bearers turned
with each step they took toward the Holy Sacrament, which was carried by