Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 01.pdf/387

346 such pleasant faces that Victoire stopped and spoke to them. In the course of the conversation the fact that she was seeking for a situation was mentioned.

"Ah!" exclaimed the woman, "I know just the place for you, my dear. The Huet-Duparcs were just asking me if I knew of any one. Go to their house and say I sent you."

"Those Duparcs," interrupted her husband, "are always changing. Do you know, they have had five servants within two weeks."

"Bah!" replied his wife, "they are excellent people, and you will have a good place, ma mie. There will be hard work enough, it is true, and plenty of masters, but you will get your living."

Victoire was not afraid of work. She obtained the place and entered upon her duties at once.

The Duclos had not exaggerated when they told Victoire that she would find no lack of masters in the Duparcs' house. There were seven. First, an old man named Beaulieu, the father of Madame Duparc, aged eighty-nine; he was in his second childhood, and more difficult to take care of than an infant. Then there was his wife, who was also very old; the two Huet-Duparcs, husband and wife, aged the one fifty-three and the other forty-six years; their children, the oldest, Jacques Huet, a bad subject of twenty-one years, a daughter of sixteen, and the youngest child aged eleven. To this list should be added three other children absent at different schools, who only put in an appearance during their vacation.

In this family they employed only one servant, who, in addition to the household duties, was also expected to take care of a horse.

It was to this hard task that Victoire Salmon engaged herself, and for which she was to receive the sum of fifty livres a year.

Installed in the house of her new masters, Madame Duparc enumerated to her her daily duties. The first thing in the morning she was to go out for the day's provisions, and among other things was to procure two liards' worth of milk to make gruel for the old Beaulieu, a gruel without salt. Madame Duparc insisted upon this point, and it must be ready at precisely seven o'clock. The gruel being prepared, she must accompany the old wife of Beaulieu to Mass at seven o'clock. On her return all the various household duties were to be attended to. She must be sure to feed the horse the first thing in the morning.

"We will lend you a hand, my daughter and I," added Madame Duparc, fearing that the young girl might be frightened by this formidable array of duties.

The next day, the 2d of August, was Thursday. Madame Duparc showed Victoire how to prepare the gruel without salt. Friday and Saturday all went on well.

Saturday, while going for the milk, she bought of a shopkeeper named Lefevre enough calico to make a petticoat, and a piece of orange-colored cloth for an apron. This small purchase amounted to 21 livres 7 sous, which she paid except a small balance of 2 sous 6 deniers.

Sunday, the 5th, Victoire put on her best clothes; she laid aside her old pair of dark blue pockets, trimmed with white and yellow, and put on a fresher pair of cotton, trimmed with blue and white. She hung the pair she did not wear over the back of a chair in the little room where she slept, on the ground floor near the dining-room.

Monday morning, the 6th, Victoire went out as usual about six o'clock to get the milk for Beaulieu's gruel; but the milkman had not yet arrived, so she returned to the house. She was about to go out again and seek for him when Madame Duparc said to her that she would go and get it herself. In fact, she went out and returned with it. Victoire scoured the saucepan, and received from the hand of Madame Duparc the earthen jar which contained the farina. She added water to the farina, and cooked it under the eyes of her mistress.