The Flower Girl of The Château d'Eau, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XV)

Copyright 1904 by G. Barrie & Sons
VIOLETTE RESISTS JÉRICOURT
Violette’s hands were active and strong; she put one of them to her persecutor’s face and dug her nails in so far that the blood flowed freely, and the pain forced the young man to relax his hold.
THE JEFFERSON PRESS BOSTON NEW YORK
Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. & Sons.

THE FLOWER GIRL OF THE CHÂTEAU D’EAU


It was the month of May in the year 1853—you see that our subject is not lost in the night of time—it was a Monday and there was a flower market on Boulevard Saint-Martin, in front, or rather on both sides of the Château d’Eau. The booths of the dealers extended as far as Rue de Lancry, a favor which had been only recently accorded to the flower girls, but upon which the passers-by had as much reason to congratulate themselves as the dealers and the people of that portion of the quarter. Is there anything more delightful to the eye than flowers? What is there which charms the sight and pleases the sense of smell more?
Are there people who do not love flowers? If you should tell me that there were, I would not believe it.
The weather was fine, which was a rare occurrence during that spring, as you must remember as well as I. The sun had deigned to show himself, and people were very grateful to him, because the sun for the last few years had become too high and mighty a prince in France; he no longer condescended to mingle with the people, he showed himself too rarely to the inhabitants of this part of the globe. And yet, although we do not adore him on our knees, like the Incas, we take no less pleasure in seeing him, in feeling the pleasant warmth of his beams, and although we are great friends of invention and of progress, we have not yet found anything to replace the sun.