Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE QUEEN OF THE VILLAGE. 1 T OVVEVER, when Germain had removed the marks of - – travel from his dress and the trappings of his horse, when he had mounted the gray and the road to Fourche had been pointed out to him, he thought that it was impossible to draw back now, and that he must forget this night of agitation like a dangerous dream. He found Father Leonard at the threshold of his white house, seated upon a handsome wooden bench painted a spinach-green. There were six stone steps before the door, which showed that the house had a cellar. The wall of the garden and of the hemp-yard was grouted with lime and sand. It was a handsome dwelling, and might almost have been mistaken for the house of a townsman. The future father-in-law came to meet Germain, and after asking him for five minutes news of all his family, added the phrase consecrated to questioning politely those whom one meets about the object of their journey:
You have come for a little turn in our neighborhood?

I came to see you, replied the farmer,
and to make you this little present of game on the part of my father- in-law, and to say to you also, from him, that you must know with what intentions I have come to see you.

Ah, ha!
said Father Leonard, laughing and tapping his ample belly,
I see, I understand, I have it. And he added, winking:
You will not be the only one to pay your compliments, young man. There are already three in the house who are waiting like you. I never send any one away, and I should be greatly embarrassed to give the preference to any one, for they are all good matches. Nevertheless, for the sake of Father Maurice, and of the quality of the lands which you farm, I should prefer it to be you. But my daughter is of age, and mistress of her own fortune; she…