And now compare them together--observe that brilliancy, that
sovereign grace, beside that poor, pitiful creature--it oppresses one's
heart--ah! what a frightful lesson!"
He became silent for an instant. Saintly man that he was naturally,
altogether devoid of passions, with no keen intelligence to disturb him
in his faith, he displayed a naive admiration for beauty, wealth, and
power, which he had never envied. Nevertheless, he ventured to express a
doubt, a scruple, which troubled his usual serenity. "For my part, I
should have liked her to come here with more simplicity, without all that
surrounding of luxury, because the Blessed Virgin prefers the humble--
But I understand very well that there are certain social exigencies. And,
then, her husband and sister love her so! Remember that he has forsaken
his business and she her pleasures in order to come here with her; and so
overcome are they at the idea of losing her that their eyes are never
dry, they always have that bewildered look which you can notice.
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