Page:Novels of Honoré de Balzac Volume 23.djvu/136

 and the glass with its gray painted frame presented a remarkable harmony of tone, color and style. A big wardrobe, the doors of which were covered with landscapes made in different woods, some of which were of a green tint, and which are no longer to be found in the trade, doubtless contained her linen and dresses. In this room he breathed the fragrance of Heaven. The exact arrangement of things showed a spirit of order and a sense of harmony which would certainly have struck everybody, even a Minoret-Levrault. One could especially see how much Ursule loved the things that surrounded her, and how she delighted in a room which was bound up, so to speak, in her childhood and girlhood life. Reviewing everything according to its bearings, the guardian ascertained that it was possible to see over into Madame Portenduère’s from Ursule’s room. During the night, he had reflected on the line of conduct he ought to take with Ursule concerning the secret surprise of this growing passion. An examination would compromise him with his ward. Either he must approve or disapprove of this love; in either case, his position would be false. So he had determined to examine the respective situations of young Portenduère and Ursule to find out whether he ought to fight against this partiality before it became irresistible. An old man only could display so much wisdom. Still quivering under the blows of the truth of the magnetic facts, he kept turning round and looking at the smallest objects in the