She might have said to herself, as the Germans do, "This is my ideal!" instead of which she felt herself bound from head to foot, and could only say, "Here's my affair!" Then she flew to Mariette to know if the dinner could be put back a while without loss of excellence.
"Uncle, your Monsieur de Troisville is very amiable," she said, on returning.
"Why, niece, he hasn't as yet said a word." "But you can see it in his ways, his manners, his face.

Is he a bachelor ?" "I'm sure I don't know," replied the abbe, who was thinking of a discussion on mercy, lately begun between the Abbe Couturier and himself.

"Monsieur de Troisville wrote me that he wanted to buy a house here.

If he was married, he wouldn't come alone on such an errand," added the abbe, carelessly, not conceiving the idea that his niece could be thinking of marriage.
"Is he rich ?" "He is a younger son of the younger branch," replied her uncle.

"His grandfather commanded a squadron, but the father of this young man made a bad marriage." "Young man!" exclaimed the old maid.