As Étienne left the house he saw Rasseneur, seated before the metal stove and looking very pale, while his wife, in her everlasting black dress, was abusing him in polite and cutting terms.
Comme Étienne sortait par l'allée de la maison, il aperçut Rasseneur assis devant la cheminée de fonte, tres pâle, tandis que sa femme, grandie dans son éternelle robe noire, l'invectivait en paroles tranchantes et polies.