The Milkmaid of Montfermeil (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XX)

"He thinks that my only feeling for him is friendship; he is very much mistaken; what I feel for him is love! Mon Dieu! why did I believe Monsieur Bertrand at that time? Why did...

"No, aunt, I don't want to marry. Leave me at liberty to think of him and to consult the flowers, and I promise you that I won't cry any more."

The girl's tone was not encouraging, and Auguste looked along the road to see whether he could still see his cabriolet; but it had disappeared, for White Jean stopped very often...

The concierge, like all of her class, loved to talk, and very soon all the lodgers who stopped at her lodge knew that there was on the sixth floor a young man with a very distin...

"However, the proof that Monsieur Auguste's a fine young man is that, when he reflects, he don't make a fool of himself. For instance, he found you to his taste; well, he didn't...

"That may be; but if I can enjoy the company of a pretty woman, and at the same time reduce my expenses, it seems to me, Bertrand, that you can't object to that."

"In the fields! oh, yes! in the fields indeed! He's at Claude's wine-shop. He took all there was left of the money that gentleman give me, and told me he was going to put it int...

Auguste continued to seek distraction in society, and as distraction is ordinarily expensive, he spent much more than he should have done, although he had determined to be virtu...

Having listened to Auguste's rendition of a nocturne, he informed his cousin that he sang divinely and that he would be delighted to do something for him. When he said this, the...

"See, close by us, where the window is open. We can look right into her room, which is very convenient. And there's the girl I saw just now. She has evidently noticed that she h...

"I didn't order any cheeses of you; in fact, yours are bitter, and I don't want any more of them. As for your milk, you put water in it, and I propose to take mine of somebody e...

"Why, what did you see, monsieur? May not a woman dine with a man at a restaurant without having the slightest preference for him? And you yourself, monsieur--what were you doin...

"I don't know; we will talk about all those things later; go out and take a turn in the garden. I am going to find out if they have any idea of giving us some luncheon."

"I should say rather that she made you lose it by telling you fairy tales, and arousing your pity by adventures that never happened, I'll wager. Besides, monsieur, a woman who t...

"Ah, yes! I understand; it is probably some old flame of monsieur who's in yonder room. Well! what then? Do you think that you ought to think about any other woman when you're w...

"While she was breakfasting, your neighbor, Madame Saint-Edmond, came to ask me if I'd seen her poodle; she wanted also to speak to monsieur about a matter that she said was imp...

The winter days were very long, especially to the village girl, who no longer took any pleasure in the evening reunions, who listened without interest to the jokes of the young...

"That don't prove anything, my dear girl; in the first place, as he was leaving Paris, he didn't need any furniture; and then there are people who prefer to live in furnished lo...

"Well!" said Athalie, noticing that the swing moved more slowly, "what are you doing, monsieur? You are not pushing, you are letting me stop; and I don't want that. Are you tire...

"For you can't go on like this forever, lieutenant--you must agree to that. The great Turenne didn't fight ten battles at once and didn't carry on six intrigues on the same day."

And the child threw his arms round the goat's neck, and patted her, rolling over and over on the straw with her. But he was obliged to leave his faithful companion, for his gran...

Night came, and the regular party-goers, who had arranged to meet at Mère Fourcy's on that evening, began to arrive. One old woman brought her spinning-wheel, another her knitti...

"I tell you, my dear, that men ain't worth a pirouette," said Virginie, putting four eggs into her reticule; then she followed Denise, who left the room with the child, refusing...

"Not just in Paris, but in the outskirts. So, as he took his charmer's fancy, he brought her back with him, and he's going to marry her. That's why I'd like to have you come to...

"Bah! what does that amount to, messieurs?" said La Thomassinière; "if you played for handfuls of gold as I do, it would be all very well; that's what you can call gambling! I a...

Monin, terrified by that threat, retreated behind the chair and took three pinches in rapid succession. But Domingo announced again that dinner was served, and they all repaired...

"It's a fine thing to be generous, certainly, and we shouldn't regret the money we give to do good. Still, monsieur, it seems to me that three thousand francs is a good deal jus...

"Monsieur Bertrand, you ought to have told me--to have spared me--But I absolutely insist on speaking to Monsieur Dalville. Let him know that I have just a word to say to him. T...

Monsieur de la Thomassinière appeared with a man of mature years, but dressed in the latest fashion, whose gait and manners, and even his voice, were affected. He had a distingu...

A young poet, who had written some verses for Madame de la Thomassinière, and who was exceedingly annoyed because Mère Thomas's arrival, by causing Athalie to swoon and putting...

At last they reached the house in which Virginie lived; as they went upstairs Bertrand was as excited as if he were going to see a long lost son; and Virginie said to him: