At the present moment, no corset could restore a pair of hips to the poor lady, who seemed to have been cast in a single mould.

The youthful harmony of her bosom existed no longer; and its excessive amplitude made the spectator fear that if she stooped its heavy masses might topple her over.

But nature had provided against this by giving her a natural counterpoise, which rendered needless the deceitful adjunct of a bustle; in Rose Cormon everything was genuine.

Her chin, as it doubled, reduced the length of her neck, and hindered the easy carriage of her head.

Rose had no wrinkles, but she had folds of flesh; and jesters declared that to save chafing she powdered her skin as they do an infant's.
This ample person offered to a young man full of ardent desires like Athanase an attraction to which he had succumbed.