How majestically it
spread out, what fine old leafy trees there were round that bend of the
Seine from the State Tobacco Works to the garden of the Eiffel Tower! The
river winds along with sovereign gracefulness; the avenue stretches out
under superb foliage. You can really saunter there amid delicious
quietude, instinct as it were with all the charm and power of Paris.
It was thither that Mathieu wished to take his wife and the little ones
that Sunday. But the distance was considerable, and some anxiety was felt
respecting Rose's little legs. She was intrusted to Ambroise, who,
although the youngest of the boys, was already energetic and determined.
These two opened the march; then came Blaise and Denis, the twins, the
parents bringing up the rear. Everything at first went remarkably well:
they strolled on slowly in the gay sunshine. That beautiful winter
afternoon was exquisitely pure and clear, and though it was very cold in
the shade, all seemed golden and velvety in the stretches of bright
light. There were a great many people out of doors--all the idle folks,
clad in their Sunday best, whom the faintest sunshine draws in crowds to
the promenades of Paris.
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