Little Rose, feeling warm and gay, drew herself
up as if to show the people that she was a big girl. She crossed the
whole extent of the Champ de Mars without asking to be carried. And her
three brothers strode along making the frozen pavement resound beneath
their steps. Promenaders were ever turning round to watch them. In other
cities of Europe the sight of a young married couple preceded by four
children would have excited no comment, but here in Paris the spectacle
was so unusual that remarks of astonishment, sarcasm, and even compassion
were exchanged. Mathieu and Marianne divined, even if they did not
actually hear, these comments, but they cared nothing for them. They
bravely went their way, smiling at one another, and feeling convinced
that the course they had taken in life was the right one, whatever other
folks might think or say.
It was three o'clock when they turned their steps homeward; and Marianne,
feeling rather tired, then took a little rest on a sofa in the
drawing-room, where Zoe had previously lighted a good fire. The children,
quieted by fatigue, were sitting round a little table, listening to a
tale which Denis read from a story-book, when a visitor was announced.
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