Angelique was a firm believer in miracles. In her ignorance she lived
surrounded by wonders. The rising of the stars, or the opening of a
violet; each fact was a surprise to her. It would have appeared to her
simply ridiculous to have imagined the world so mechanical as to
be governed by fixed laws. There were so many things far beyond her
comprehension, she felt herself so weak and helpless in the midst of
forces whose power it was impossible to measure, that she would not even
have suspected they existed, had it not been for the great questioning
breath which at times passed over her face. So, trusting, and
as thoroughly Christian as if belonging to the primitive Church,
spiritually fed by her readings from the "Golden Legend," she gave
herself up entirely into the hands of God, with only the spot of
original sin to be cleansed from her soul. She had no liberty of action
or freedom of will; God alone could secure her salvation by giving
her the gift of His grace. That grace had been already manifested by
bringing her to the hospitable roof of the Huberts, where, under the
shadow of the Cathedral, she could lead a life of submission, of purity,
and of faith. She often heard within her soul the grumblings of heredity
tendency to evil, and asked herself what would have become of her had
she been left on her native soil. Without doubt she would have been bad;
while here, in this blessed corner of the earth, she had grown up free
from temptation, strong and healthy. Was it not grace that had given her
this home, where she was surrounded by such charming histories she had
so easily committed to memory, where she had learned such perfect faith
in the present and hope in the future, and where the invisible and
unknown, or the miracles of ages, seemed natural to her, and quite on
a level with her daily life? It had armed her for all combats, as
heretofore it had armed the martyrs. And she created an imaginary
experience for herself almost unknowingly. It was, in fact, the
inevitable result of a mind overcharged and excited by fables; it was