HOW THE AUTHOR WAS LED TO 
became a fertile text for his religious effusions. With- 
out formal phrases, and inspired by true feeling, he 
spoke to me of the goodness of God, for whom there is 
neither great nor small, but all are brothers in His eyes, 
and all are equals. 
“ Associated with my brothers in their labours, I 
also took a part in those of my mother and my sister. 
When I put aside my grammar and arithmetic, it was 
to take up the needle. 
“Happily for me, our life, naturally blending 
with that of the fields, was, whether we willed it or 
not, frequently varied by charming incidents which 
broke the chains of habit. Study has commenced; we 
apply ourselves with eagerness to our books; but what 
now? See, a storm is coming! the hay will be spoiled. 
Quick, we must gather it in! Everybody sets to 
work; the very children hasten thither; study is 
adjourned; we toil courageously, and the day goes 
by. It is a pity, for the rain does not fall; the 
storm has lingered on the Bordeaux side; it will come 
to-morrow. 
“At harvest-time we frequently diverted ourselves 
with gleaning. In those grand moments of fruition, 
at once a labour and a festival, all sedentary applica- 
tion is impossible; one’s thoughts are in the fields. 
We were constantly escaping out-of-doors, with the 
lark’s swiftness ; we disappeared among the furrows— 
we little ones concealed by the tall corn, hidden among 
the forest of ripe ears. 
“Tt was well understood that during the vintage 
there was no time to think of study: much needed 
, Be 
