showed ignorance of Mathurin's story. Her sympathy with Mathurin's
memory was real, but her pleasure at the compliment I paid her was also
real.

"Ah! It was ver' longtime ago--yes. My gran'mudder she remember dat
Mathurin ver' well. He is not ver' big man. He has a face-oh, not ver'
handsome, not so more handsome as yours--non. His clothes, dey hang on
him all loose; his hair, it is all some grey, and it blow about him head.
He is clean to de face, no beard--no, nosing like dat. But his eye--la,
M'sieu', his eye! It is like a coal which you blow in your hand, whew!
--all bright. My gran'mudder, she say, 'Voila, you can light your pipe
with de eyes of dat Mathurin!' She know. She say dat M'sieu' Mathurin's
eyes dey shine in de dark. My gran'fadder he say he not need any lights
on his cariole when Mathurin ride with him in de night.

"Ah, sure! it is ver' true what I tell you all de time. If you cut off
Mathurin at de chin, all de way up, you will say de top of him it is a
priest. All de way down from his neck, oh, he is just no better as
yoursel' or my Jean--non. He is a ver' good man. Only one bad ting he
do. Dat is why I pray for him; dat is why everybody pray for him--only
one bad ting. Sapristi!--if I have only one ting to say God-have-mercy
for, I tink dat ver' good; I do my penance happy. Well, dat Mathurin him
use to teach de school. De Cure he ver' fond of him. All de leetla
children, boys and girls, dey all say: 'C'est bon Mathurin!' He is not
ver' cross--non. He have no wife, no child; jes live by himself all
alone. But he is ver' good friends with everybody in Pontiac. When he
go 'long de street, everybody say, 'Ah, dere go de good Mathurin!' He
laugh, he tell story, he smoke leetla tabac, he take leetla white wine
behin' de door; dat is nosing--non.