Belle-Rose — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

8 THE FALCONER’S SON. ters, had retired to this habitation, where he lived on the fruits of occasional work and on his savings. Become a widower, Pere Guillaume no longer thought of anything but his children, whom he raised as well as his means per- mitted him and the most honestly in the world. So long — as they were small, the children lived as free as butter- | flies, rolling in the grass in summer, skating upon the ice in winter, and running with heads bared to the sun, through the rain or through the wind. Then came the time for study, which consisted in reading in a great book -upon the knees of Pere Grinedal, and in writing upon a slate, all of which, however, did not prevent them from finding leisure to gather strawberries in the woods and crawfish in the streams. 7 Jacques, the oldest one of the lot, was, at seventeen or eighteen, a great fellow who appeared to be over twenty. He was not a fine conversationalist, but he acted with an extreme boldness and resolution as soon as he believed himself to beintheright. His strength made him dreaded by all the scholars of the district, while his upright character made him loved to an equal extent. He was — chosen as judge in all the children’s quarrels; Jacques rendered his decree, supported it if need be with some trenchant blows, and everybody went away pleased. When there was a dispute and battles for cherries or some German toy, the arrival of Jacques made the boldest silent and gave courage to the weaker ones; Jacques parted the combatants, questioned them as to the causes — _ of the debate, distributed advice to some, a thump on the head to others, adjudicated the matter in litigation, and — put each of them in accord by a game of nine-pins. It happened at times that he-addressed himself to those larger and stronger than he; but the fear of being beaten did not stop him. Ten times thrown to the ground, he — arose ten times; conquered the evening before, he began again the next day, and such was the power of his courage, supported by the sentiment of justice innate in him, that he always ended by being victorious. But this determined ~— fellow, who would not-have recoiled before ten of the ~ king’s gendarmes, grew troubled and stammered before a — little girl who might well be four years younger than him- - _ - self. The presence of Mademoiselle Suzanne de Malzon- villiers was sufficient to stop him in the midst of his most — violent exercises. As soon as he perceived her he de- scended from the tops of the poplars where he was rob- ‘bing the nests of some magpies, released the arm of the comicbooks.com —