36 THE FLOWERS

baptism and the supper of the Lord ;* and
the jest of Mademoiselle Victoire was every-
thing but innocent, therefore Madame should
not have so designated it.

Early the next morning, it was signified
to me that Madame Bulé desired to speak
with me; and when I had obeyed her sum-
mons, the amiable woman opened her mind
to me, to the following effect: “My dear
Father Raffré,” she said, “my mind has
lately been much troubled respecting my
pupils; the time was, as you well know,
when we enjoyed a degree of peace which
is now utterly foreign to our household. I
was then,” she added, and the tear was in
her eye when she spoke, “more alert and
active than I now am, and better able to
endure the fatigues of my situation. It was
then,” she continued, “that every hour
brought its pleasures, and every change its
delights ; my children came with cheerful-
ness to their lessons, and left them with glee

* The church of Rome considers that there are seven
sacraments, adding to the two mentioned in the New
Testament five others, namely, penance, confession,
orders, matrimony, and extreme unction.