All sins whatever, quoth the abbess, turning casuist in the distress they were under, are held by the confessor of our convent to be either mortal or venial: there is no further division. Now a venial sin being the slightest and least of all sins--being halved--by taking either only the half of it, and leaving the rest--or, by taking it all, and amicably halving it betwixt yourself and another person--in course becomes diluted into no sin at all.

Now I see no sin in saying, bou, bou, bou, bou, bou, a hundred times together; nor is there any turpitude in pronouncing the syllable ger, ger, ger, ger, ger, were it from our matins to our vespers: Therefore, my dear daughter, continued the abbess of Andouillets--I will say bou, and thou shalt say ger; and then alternately, as there is no more sin in fou than in bou--Thou shalt say fou--and I will come in (like fa, sol, la, re, mi, ut, at our complines) with ter. And accordingly the abbess, giving the pitch note, set off thus:

Abbess,.....) Bou...bou...bou..

Margarita,..) ---ger,..ger,..ger.

Margarita,..) Fou...fou...fou..

Abbess,.....) ---ter,..ter,..ter.

The two mules acknowledged the notes by a mutual lash of their tails; but it went no further--'Twill answer by an' by, said the novice.

Abbess,.....) Bou. bou. bou. bou. bou. bou.

Margarita,..) ---ger, ger, ger, ger, ger, ger.

Quicker still, cried Margarita. Fou, fou, fou, fou, fou, fou, fou, fou, fou.

Quicker still, cried Margarita. Bou, bou, bou, bou, bou, bou, bou, bou, bou.

Quicker still--God preserve me; said the abbess--They do not understand us, cried Margarita--But the Devil does, said the abbess of Andouillets.