Page:Novels of Honoré de Balzac Volume 23.djvu/255

 himself as he went out, “I will squeeze them like lemons.”

By cultivating the society of the doctor, the justice of the peace, and the curé, Savinien proved the excellence of his character to them. The young man’s love for Ursule, so devoid of all selfishness, and so persistent, so keenly interested the three friends, that they no longer separated these two children in their thoughts. Before long the monotony of this patriarchal life and the certainty of the lover’s future ended by giving their affection an appearance of fraternity. The doctor often left Ursule and Savinien alone. He had well judged this charming young man, who would kiss Ursule’s hand upon arriving and would not have asked her for it when they were alone, so much was he filled with respect for the innocence and simplicity of this child, whose excessive sensitiveness, often tested, had taught him that a harsh expression, a cold look, or the alternations of gentleness and roughness might kill her. Their greatest liberties the two lovers would be guilty of in the presence of the old men, in the evening. Two years, full of secret joys, passed in this way, with no other incident than the young man’s futile attempts to obtain his mother’s consent to his marriage with Ursule. He would sometimes talk for whole mornings together, his mother listening without answering his arguments and entreaties, except by the silence of a Bretonne or by refusals. At nineteen, Ursule, graceful, an excellent musician and well-educated,