A Woodland Queen ('Reine des Bois') - Volume 3

eet, washed away whirlpools of withered leaves that the swollen streams tossed noisily into the ravines; sharp, cutting winds from the north, bleak

e layers of snowdrifts. Only here and there, occasionally, did a thin line of blue smoke, rising from one of the white roofs, give evidence of any latent life among the inhabitants. The Chateau de Buxieres stood in the midst of a vast carpet of

h his material surroundings had become more congenial, he still felt around him the chill of intellectual solitude. The days also seemed longer since Claudet had taken upon himself the management of all details. Julien found that re-reading his favorite books was not sufficient occupation for t

y toward the duties of daily life than toward meditation or contemplative studies. The ideal did not worry him in the least; and when he had said his mass, read his breviary, confessed the devout sinners and visited the sick, he gave the rest of his time to profane but respectable amusements. He was of robust temperament,

his pious calling: nets for catching larks, hoops and other nets for fishing, stuffed birds, and a collection of coleopterx. At the other end of the room stood a dusty bookcase, containing about

James says: 'The bow can not be always bent.' I am preparing some lime-twigs, which I shall place in the Bois des Ronces as soon as the snow is melted. I

time on your hands, then?" inq

alth, thank God! and they live to be very old. I have barely two or three marriages in a year, and as many burials, so that, you see, one must

as to the mental thirst that was drying up his faculties, but a certain instinct warned him that the Abbe was not a m

, a pretty fair collection of historical and religious

You remember what is said in the Imitation: 'Si scires totam Bibliam exterius et omnium philosophorum dicta, quid totum prodesset sine caritate D

he one nor

be always reading, and when the fine weather comes you will yield to the temptation; all the more likely because you have Claudet Sejournant with you. A jolly fellow he is

to suspect that this conversation was not one of

onceivable negligence of the deceased Claude de Buxieres. Then, on the other hand, Claudet deserves what you have done for him. He is a good fellow, a little too qu

timidly, rising to go, "my deceased cousin Clau

! What a wonderful huntsman! Notwithstanding his backslidings, there was a great deal of

iency. He allows himself certain indulgences which are to be regretted, and his mind is becoming clogged by continual association w

heart became heavy at the thought, whether, in course of time, he also would undergo this stultification,

t Julien looked upon as secondary. And besides, Reine was a woman, and he was afraid of women. He believed with Ecclesiastes the preacher, that "they are more bitter than death... and whoso

uts of beaters-up and the barking of the hounds. From Auberive, Praslay and Grancey, rendezvous were made in the woods of Charbonniere or Maigrefontaine; nothing was thought of but the exploits of certain marksmen, the number of pieces bagged, and the joyous outdoor breakfasts which preceded each occasion. One evening, as Julien, more moody than usua

h poring all day long over your books, and the worst of it is, they do not take the frowns out of your face. Take my word for it, you must c

, Claudet?" demanded Jul

ve the life that every one else leads. The de Buxieres, your ancestors, followed the same plan,

not remake one's self. The wolves themselves would discover t

s, and holding him with the end of your gun! You have no idea what an appetite one gets with such exercise, nor how jolly it is to breakfast afterward, all together, seated round some favorite old beech-tree. Enjoy your

the exa

ere to-morrow, for the gentlemen of Auberive; there will be some people you know-Destourbet, justice of the Peace, the clerk Seurrot, Maitre Arbillot and the tax-collector, Boucheseiche. Hutinet went

coming in contact as representing the administration of justice and various affairs in the canton. He urged so well that young de Buxieres ended by giving his consent. Manette received

bristling with impatience. They started. There had been a sharp frost during the night; some hail had fallen, and the roads were thinly coated with a white dust, called by the country people, in their picturesque language, "a sugarfrost" of snow. A thick fog hung over the forest, so that they had to guess their way; but Cla

ndezvous for huntsmen, and had provided a table and some stone benches, which, thirty years ago, were still in existence. The enclosure, which had been chosen for the breakfast on the present occasion, was irradiated by a huge log-fire; a very respectable display of bottles, bread, a

the height and slimness of the country magistrate. By his side, the registrar Seurrot, his legs encased in blue linen spatterdashes, his back bent, his hands crossed comfortably over his "corporation," sat roasting himself at the flame, while grumblin

e fun; as I passed by the Abbe Pernot's this

st of the communication, at the close of which his small black eyes twinkled

d he; "it will be a good

ward one of the trenches, wher

on Julien de Buxieres, and was putting him through a course of hunting lore. Justin Boucheseiche was

d to be a great authority on all matters relating to the chase, although he was, in fact, the worst shot in the whole canton; and when he had the good luck to meet with a newcomer, h

resent at a conversation similar to the one at the time of the raising of the seals, the coarseness of which had so astonished and shocked him. After the anecdotes of the chase were exhausted, the guests began to relate their experiences among the fair sex, losing nothing of the point from the effect of the numerous empty bottles around. All the scandalous cases in the courts of justice, all the coarse jokes and adventures of the district, were related over again. Each tried to surpass his neighbor. To hear these men of position boast of their gallantries with all clas

rted, and the marking of t

ry stopped suddenly at the foot of an ash-tree, and took th

see that fellow up there, on the fork o

ut halfway up the tree. The animal's tail stood up behind like a plume, his ea

mediately falling into the snare; "let no one touc

were exchanging sly glances. The collector loaded his gu

iumphantly, as soon as

the branch, head first, but, someh

f something," said th

iche, beside himself with excitement, and the next moment he s

the same position. Then

inate!" remarked

ely at the tree, then at the laughing cro

said Claudet, in an insinuating mann

climber. He called a youngster,

said he; "to mount that tr

nkling of an eye he threw his arms around the tree, and

ollector; impatient

uirrel is fastened by a wire." Then the laugh

u making fun of me?" shouted Bouc

throwing himself down with the squirrel

t that the squirrel was a stuffed

s the miscreant that has

hing. Then ironical cheers

t's a kind of game one d

l see any more

Boucheseiche

Boucheseiche, while all the others clapped their hands and capered in front of the coll

what vulgar gayety: he was aware that his melancholy countenance, his black clothes, his want of sympathy jarred unpleasantly on the other jovial guests. He did not intend any longer to play the part of a killjoy. Without saying

g of this foliage, once so full of life, now withered and rendered brittle by the frost, seemed to repre

, he was less young and less really alive than all these country squires, although all, except Claudet, had passed their fortieth year. Having missed his seas

ed his heart to them? Nothing made any powerful impression on him; everything that happened seemed

e air and which almost hid the trenches with its thin bluish veil, made it impossible to discover his bearings. At last he reached the border of some pastureland, which he crossed, and then he perceived, not many steps away, some buildings with ti

l. All these little creatures were of species which do not emigrate, but pass the winter in the shelter of the wooded dells. There were blackbirds with yellow bills, who advanced boldly over the snow up to the very feet of the distributing fairy; robin redbreasts, nearly as tame, hopping gayly over the stones, bobbing their heads and puffing out their red breasts; and tomt

first fall of snow, I have been distributing grain to them once a day. I think they must tell one another under the trees there, for every day their number increases. But I don't complain of that. Just think, these are not birds of passage; they do not leave us at t

d conversing with the birds, and he felt an increase of sympathy for this singular young girl. He would have liked to find a pretext for remaining longer with her, but his nat

Ronces woods, in order to speak to the men who are cultivating the little lot that we ha

e," he repli

t to develop. It will not be time lost, for it will be a good thing for the pe

e should be happy to

e, "wait for me here. I s

aring a white hood with a cape, and a

howing a path that led

fog, which had hung over the forest, became converted into needles of ice. Each tree was powdered over with frozen

careful and reserved behavior which should be maintained between the sexes, and his intercourse with the world had been too infrequent for the idea to have been modified in any appreciable degree. It was natural, therefore, that this walk across the fields in the company of Reine should assume an exaggerated importance in his eyes. He felt himself tr

go more to your liking now? You have acted most ge

poken to

ike bad, flies fast, and all the v

simple and just thi

hardest to do. And according as they are done well or

me then, Mademoiselle Vincart,"

pleased with yourself-that is more essential. I am sure

bearable,

nfines of the farm they heard distant barking, and then the

Society is following the hounds, and Claudet must be

confess that that kind of amusement is not very tempting to me. At the

aggrieved, for they are very sensitive. You see, when one has to live with p

actly what Claudet

et was

an not feel any interest in the butchery of miserable

ke; but the ride in the open air, in the open forest? Our forests a

he brushwood, the frosty leaves quivered like diamonds, while a milky cloud enveloped the parts left in shadow. Now and then, a slight breeze stirred the branches

ve caused me to notice it for the first time. But," continued he, "as the sun rises higher, all this phantasmagoria will melt and v

at him with

une, when the foliage is at its fulness. Flowers everywhere-yellow, blue, crimson! Music also everywhere-the song of birds, the murmuring of waters, and the balmy scents in the air. Then there are the lime-trees, the wild cherry, and the hedges red with strawberries-it is intoxicating. And, whatever you may say, Monsieu

eir slender branches forming a dark network overhead, and their lofty proportions lessening in the distance, until lost in the solemn gloom

ne's self in a cathedral! Oh! how I love the forest; a feeling of awe

med a verdant train, giving her the appearance of the high-priestess of some mysterious temple of Nature. At this moment, she identified herself so perfectly with her nickname, "queen of the woods," that Julien, already powerfully affected by her peculiar and striking style of beauty, began to experience a superstitious dread of her influence. His Catholic scruples, or the remembrance of certain pious lectures administered in his childhood, rendered him distrustful, and he reproached himself for the interest he took i

in cords, forming dark heaps on the frosty ground. Here and there were allotments of chosen trees and poles, among which a thin spiral of smoke indicated the encampment of the cutters. Reine made straight for them, and immediately presented the new owner of the chateau

es, if you will come this way with me, you will see that there is no idling; we are just now going to fell an oa

el had made the bark, the sapwood, and even the core of the tree, fly in shivers; but the oak had resumed its impassive attitude, and bore stoically the assaults of the workmen. Looking upward, as it reared its proud and stately head, one would have affirmed that it never could fa

g the monarch oak lying prostrate on the ground. Rein

; "this death of a tree affects me

nion was at a loss to resume the conversation; so they journeyed along together quietly unt

hill to reach your home," said she, bri

he saw that she slackened her speed and went dr