All the responsibilities of maternity were thrustthrustupon me suddenly ; to perfect the profession of motherhood requires precisely as many years as the child has lived , like the man who started to carry the calf and ended by walking along with the bull on his shoulders .
He carried in his hand a long alpenstock , the sharp point of which he thrustthrustinto everything that he approached -- the flowerbeds , the garden benches , the trains of the ladies ’ dresses .