than a cretin. And no woman — so suddenly did it
occur. And then to die like any stray bitch who must
have her litter of pups in the gutter. . . .'
Amazing it was to hear his tongue wag, to hear him
revealing undreamed of emotions: the fear he had felt
at the sight of the corpse, the resentment he had felt
at the sight of the baby: cSo I sent her away to some
peasants in the hills,, and afterwards to the sisters at
Aries. Houi, it all seems like only last week, and yet
^Eliana is nearly twenty.' And then he must start to
excuse himself: 'What would you, Marie, my wife
was dead — there was no one, and I could not dandle
an infant! Moreover the sisters are excellent souls,
even nuns may sometimes have practical uses. Then
again, I paid well, I have always paid well, even
nuns are not averse from good money. I said: "You
may do as you please with this bundle, you may
teach it to play with beads if you wish, or to bob up
and down like a Jack-in-the-box; it is really all one,
I care nothing;" I said, "only do not expect me to
come here again; I am not an expert in colic or
croup, and moreover I am terribly frightened of
measles.9' Santouno, but the Reverend Mother
looked shocked! However, I promptly opened my
purse for I knew that its contents would soothe her
feelings.9
In this vein Eusebe would ramble on while Marie
busied herself with her cooking. Half indignant, half
sorry for him she would feel as he rubbed his eye with
a grimy hand that could certainly not improve its
condition.
'Tell me, what does ^Eliana look like?' she once asked,
for she knew that he had been to Aries to see her.
'She resembles Ceres,' Eusebe replied, so that
naturally Marie was none the wiser.
Then one evening he said: cShe has been learning to
dress-make, and next week she will take a situation
39*