Give me the will!"
"Look here, mother-in-law: I have left Beaurepaire to my lawful wife."
"Otherwise," put in Picard, "in case of death, it would pass to his
heir-at-law."
"And HE would turn you all out, and that does not suit me. Now there
stands the only man who can make mademoiselle my LAWFUL wife. So quick
march, monsieur the mayor, for time and Bonaparte wait for no man."
"Stay a minute, young people," said the mayor. "We should soothe
respectable prejudices, not crush them. Madam, I am at least as old as
you, and have seen many changes. I perfectly understand your feelings."
"Ah, monsieur! oh!"
"Calm yourself, dear madam; the case is not so bad as you think. It is
perfectly true that in republican France the civil magistrate alone can
bind French citizens in lawful wedlock. But this does not annihilate the
religious ceremony. You can ask the Church's blessing on my work; and be
assured you are not the only one who retains that natural prejudice. Out
of every ten couples that I marry, four or five go to church afterwards
and perform the ancient ceremonies.
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