"Who this M. Louis Richard is?"
"That is no secret, monsieur. M. Louis is the clerk of a notary whose office is in the same building as the shop in which I work. It was in this way that we became acquainted on the sixth of May, just one year ago to-day."
"Ah! I understand now why you laid such stress upon that date in your letter."
"Yes, monsieur."
"And you love each other, I suppose,—don't blush so, child,—and expect to marry some day, probably?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"And M. Louis's family consents to the marriage?"
"M. Louis has no one but his father to consult, and we hope he will not refuse his consent."
"And the young man's father, what kind of a person is he?"
"The best of fathers, M. Louis says, and bears his present poverty with great courage and cheerfulness, though he used to be very well off. M. Louis and his father are as poor now, though, as my godmother and I are. That makes us hope that he will not oppose our marriage."