You were more indulgent, more holy, more loving! For God was not only manifesting himself without, but also within us.
And then the altars for the occasion! the flowery arbors! the triumphal arches made of green boughs! What competition among the different parishes for the erection of the resting-places where the procession was to halt! It was who should contribute the rarest and the most beautiful of his possessions! It was there I made my first sacrifice! The wreaths of flowers were arranged, the candles lighted, and the Tabernacle dressed with roses; but one was wanting fit to crown the whole! All the neighboring gardens had been ransacked.

I alone possessed a flower worthy of such a place.

It was on the rose-tree given me by my mother on my birthday.

I had watched it for several months, and there was no other bud to blow on the tree.

There it was, half open, in its mossy nest, the object of such long expectations, and of all a child's pride! I hesitated for some moments.