It was for each of his children that he conquered
a fresh expanse of land. That estate would remain their home, their
source of nourishment, the tie linking them together, even if they became
dispersed through the world in a variety of social positions. And thus
how decisive was that growth of the property, the acquisition of that
last lot of marshland which allowed the whole plateau to be cultivated!
There might now come yet another child, for there would be food for him;
wheat would grow to provide him with daily bread. And when the work was
finished, when the last springs were captured, and the land had been
drained and cleared, how prodigious was the scene at springtide!--with
the whole expanse, as far as eye could see, one mass of greenery, full of
the promise of harvest. Therein was compensation for every tear, every
worry and anxiety of the earlier days of labor.
Meantime Mathieu, amid his creative work, received Marianne's gay and
courageous assistance. And she was not merely a skilful helpmate, taking
a share in the general management, keeping the accounts, and watching
over the home. She remained both a loving and well-loved spouse, and a
mother who nursed, reared, and educated her little ones in order to give
them some of her own sense and heart.
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