midday
And his eyes , as they wandered from the three pretty women to the cornflowers and the poppies in the wheat , were wet with smiling tears . They reached Orangis about nine o'clock and stopped before the inn , the _ Auberge de la Cloche _ , where the Poitrines , husband and wife , offered accommodation for man and beast . The _ citoyen _ Blaise , who had repaired any disorder in his dress , helped the _ citoyennes _ to alight . After ordering dinner for midday , they all set off , preceded by their paintboxes , drawing-boards , easels , and parasols , which were carried by a village lad , for the meadows near the confluence of the Orge and the Yvette , a charming bit of country giving a view over the verdant plain of Longjumeau and bounded by the Seine and the woods of Sainte-Geneviève . Jean Blaise , the leader of the troop of artists , was bandying funny stories with the _ ci-devant _ financier , tales that brought in without rhyme or reason Verboquet the Open-handed , Catherine Cuissot the pedlar , the demoiselles Chaudron , the fortune-teller Galichet , as well as characters of a later time like Cadet-Rousselle and Madame Angot . Évariste , inspired with a sudden love of nature , as he saw a troop of harvesters binding their sheaves , felt the tears rise to his eyes , while visions of concord and affection filled his heart . For his part , Desmahis was blowing the light down of the seeding dandelions into the _ citoyennes ' _ hair .