His impiety didn’t bother me, and my mother, who was very pious, seemed to find it normal. A man as superior as Papa necessarily had more complicated dealings with God than women and little girls did. Monsieur Gallard, on the other hand, took Communion every Sunday with his family, wore a long beard and pince-nez, and during his free time performed charitable works. His silky hair and Christian virtue feminised him, and lowered him in my estimation.
