Behind the convent was a strip of ground, which produced
cabbages and snails on one side, and apple-trees on the other;
a straight walk divided these useful productions from each
other. When Madelon was _en penitence_ she used sometimes to be
sent to walk here alone during the hour of recreation, and
would wander disconsolately enough among the apple-trees,
counting the apples by way of something to do, and getting
intimately acquainted with the snails and green caterpillars
amongst the cabbages. Our poor little Madelon! I could almost
wish that we had kept her always in that pretty green valley
where we first saw her; but I suppose in every life there come
times when cabbages, or things of no cheerfuller aspect than
cabbages, are the only prospect, and this was one of her
times. She used to feel very unhappy and very lonely as she
paced up and down, thinking of the past--ah, how far that past
already lay behind her, how separate, how different from
anything she did, or saw, or heard in these dull days! She did
not find many friends to console her in her troubles; good-
natured Soeur Lucie did indeed try to comfort her when she
found her crying, and though she was not very successful in
her efforts, Madeleine began to give her almost as much
gratitude as if she had been.
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