RECOLLECTIONS, 1831-37. 129 



a conservative and Royalist paper. So I told her : If 

 you do not give it to me as it comes, I will get a Re- 

 publican paper. So I did, and that vexed her con- 

 siderably. I continued to be protestant in my own 

 way. 



She did not believe I was, but she had to act as if 

 she had, she had to have the appearance, and she cared 

 for me and she treated me well, and so her son did, 

 also. Once in a while we had a row about my giving 

 meat on Friday to some of her folks who were eating 

 at the same table as I did. One day I had a dish of 

 several squabs (young pigeons) when all the rest, men 

 and women were eating fricasee of beans or some- 

 thing of that sort, and cheese, etc. Among them were 

 two young men, working with me in the garden, that 

 would not object to eat some pigeons. I offered them, 

 but they hesitated, but I did not. I said : Do you 

 want any? I took one and cut it in two, and gave 

 each one one-half. They hardly began when the old 

 lady came and saw them. She did not say any thing be- 

 cause she was afraid of a storm, but sometime after she 

 came to see me in the greenhouse, and she said : Mr. 

 Gardener, or Louis, she called me so when she was of 

 good humor, and she was so notwithstanding the distri- 

 bution of pigeons, she said : I do not object you to 

 eat meat on Friday, but I do not want you to give any 



