girl, a "rosier" for a "rosiere," troubled her, worried her a little, and
she resolved to consult Abbe Malon.

The abbe responded:

"What do you desire to reward, madame? It is virtue, is it not, and
nothing but virtue? What does it matter to you, therefore, if it is
masculine or feminine? Virtue is eternal; it has neither sex nor country;
it is 'Virtue.'"

Thus encouraged, Mme. Husson went to see the mayor.

He approved heartily.

"We will have a fine ceremony," he said. "And another year if we can find
a girl as worthy as Isidore we will give the reward to her. It will even
be a good example that we shall set to Nanterre. Let us not be exclusive;
let us welcome all merit."

Isidore, who had been told about this, blushed deeply and seemed happy.

The ceremony was fixed for the 15th of August, the festival of the Virgin
Mary and of the Emperor Napoleon. The municipality had decided to make an
imposing ceremony and had built the platform on the couronneaux, a
delightful extension of the ramparts of the old citadel where I will take
you presently.

With the natural revulsion of public feeling, the virtue of Isidore,
ridiculed hitherto, had suddenly become respected and envied, as it would
bring him in five hundred francs besides a savings bank book, a mountain