Page:Maud Howe - Atlanta in the South.djvu/229

 carriage beside M. Bienveillance, with a child on either knee.

"I was on my way to seek the Father," explained Robert.

"I am in luck to have met you, then, for he dines with us to-night."

"And there 's going to be such a big jelly-cake," whispered the little six-year-old.

"He is well? it is many months since I have seen him," said Feuardent.

"Yes, well as ever," replied M. Bienveillance; "though how he endures such discomforts at his age, amazes me. A wonderful man, sir, and the best human being I have ever known. My wife says his sainthood has begun on this side of eternity."

By this time the sure-footed horses had struggled up the incline which led to the bayou, and the carriage was on firm ground again. The road before them led through a thick swampy country, rich with the luxuriance of an almost tropical vegetation. The broad shining leaves of the palmetto overshadowed a thousand smaller plants not less beautiful than itself. In a cleared space, where the ground was high, a group of cattle ceased munching the herbage and turned their great eyes wonderingly at the carriage as it rolled by. A flock of sheep, whose long fleecy wool had left traces on the low underbrush, were