condescension of great ladies whom no contact can sully, and she
was charming. On the other hand, fat Madame Loiseau, who had the
soul of a gendarme, remained distant, sullen, saying little but
eating much.

Naturally they talked about the war. They told the horrible
things done by the Prussians, the deeds of bravery of the French;
and all these people, who were fleeing, paid homage to the courage
of others. Personal experiences soon followed, and Boule de Suif,
related with unaffected emotion, with that warmth of language often
characteristic of girls of her class in expressing their natural
feelings, how she had left Rouen:--"First I thought that I could
stay," she said; "I had my house full of provisions, and I preferred
to feed a few soldiers then expatriate myself and go God knows
where. But when I saw them, the Prussians, it was too much for
me, I could not stand it. They made my blood boil with rage; and I
wept all day for very shame. Then some were billeted to my house;
I flew at the throat of the first one who entered. And I would
have fixed that one, if they had not pulled me away by the hair.
After that, I had to hide. Finally I found an opportunity to go,
I left, and here I am!"

She was warmly congratulated. She was rising in the esteem of her
traveling companions, who had not shown themselves as fearless.
And in listening to her, Cornudet had the approving and benevolent
smile of an apostle, in the same way as a priest hears a devout
person praise God, for long-bearded democrats have the monopoly
of patriotism just as the men in cassocks have the monopoly of
religion. He spoke, in his turn, with a dogmatic tone, with the
declamatory emphasis learned from proclamations daily posted on