“That man, M. Galpin, is a monster of hypocrisy and ingratitude. He
called himself Jacques’s friend; and Jacques liked him well enough
to induce us, my sister and myself, to give our consent to a marriage
between him and one of our cousins, a Lavarande. Poor child. When she
learned the sad truth, she cried, ‘Great God! God be blessed that I
escaped the disgrace of becoming the wife of such a man!’”
“Yes,” added the other old lady, “if all Sauveterre thinks Jacques
guilty, let them also say, ‘His own friend has become his judge.’”