She was a girl about twenty-six years
of age, fair, with a pretty figure and the sort of complexion, fresh
and white and well-fed, which characterizes the women of Valognes,
Bayeux, and the environs of Alencon. Her blue eyes showed no great
intelligence, but a certain firmness mingled with tender feeling. She
wore a gown of some common woollen stuff. The fashion of her hair,
done up closely under a Norman cap, without any pretension, gave a
charming simplicity to her face. Her attitude, without, of course,
having any of the conventional nobility of society, was not without
the natural dignity of a modest young girl, who can look back upon her
past life without a single cause for repentance. Merle knew her at a
glance for one of those wild flowers which are sometimes taken from
their native fields to Parisian hot-houses, where so many blasting
rays are concentrated, without ever losing the purity of their color
or their rustic simplicity. The naive attitude of the girl and her
modest glance showed Merle very plainly that she did not wish a
listener. In fact, no sooner had he withdrawn than the two women began
a conversation in so low a tone that only a murmur of it reached his
ear.
"You came away in such a hurry," said the country-girl, "that you
hardly took time to dress. A pretty-looking sight you are now! If we
are going beyond Alencon, you must really make your toilet.
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