Letter from Mrs. Martin to her brother Isidore CF 10
July 14, 1864
I received your letter which gave me great pleasure. I am very happy that you are coming in September. You will be there for the baptism of your little niece Marie‑Hélène. That's how she was called even before she was born. It is Marie who will be godmother with a Mr. J., 45 years old.
I have my father's portrait and yours on the mantelpiece; they are perfectly successful and above all very similar. Yet Pauline does not recognize you. She says, "There's good daddy and the other one is a priest." That's what she calls you. If only it could be the truth! I would gladly give my entire share of the inheritance so that you could be a good priest, but that will never be. Finally, we have seen such great miracles, but no greater!
It seems that you are still thinking of Miss X? I think you're crazy... I have an obsession. You will break your neck, either with her or with others, for you only consider trivial things: beauty, fortune, without worrying about the qualities that make a husband happy, or the faults that cause its desolation and ruin. You know that all that glitters is not gold; the main thing is to look for a good housewife, who is not afraid to dirty her hands at work and who loves the toilet only as it should be loved, who knows how to bring up her children in work and piety . Such a woman would scare you; it's not bright enough in the eyes of the world; but sensible people would rather have her with nothing than another with fifty thousand francs in dowry and lacking in these qualities; Well, we'll talk about that later.
