But suddenly the great portal under the organs was opened wide, and the sombre walls of the church were marked as if by great sheets of daylight.

It was the clear April morning, the living sun of the spring-tide, the Place du Cloitre, which was now seen with its tidy-looking, white houses; and there another crowd, still more numerous, awaited the coming of the bride and bridegroom, with a more impatient eagerness, which already showed itself by gestures and acclamations.

The candles had grown paler, and the noises of the street were drowned in the music of the organs.
With a slow step, between the double hedge of the worshippers, Angelique and Felicien turned towards the entrance-door.

After the triumphant carrying out of her dream, she was now about to enter into the reality of life.

This porch of broad sunlight opened into the world of which as yet she was entirely ignorant.