The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume 2

from Genoa to Venice, from Venice to Florence, from Florence to Rome, from Rome to Naples. Then I traveled ov

hich the camels, the gazelles, and the Arab vagabonds, roam about, where, in the rare and transp

sky made me sad. I experienced, in returning to the continent, the peculiar sensation, of an illness which I b

was in the autumn, and I wished to make, before the approach of winter,

ays I wandered about passive, ravished and enthusiastic, in that anci

eam as black as the ink called "Eau de Robec," my attention, fixed for the moment on the quaint, antique appearance of some of the h

es, in that quaint little street, overlooking that sinister stream of water, under

apes, even sacred vases, and an old gilded wooden tabernacle, where a god had hidden himself away. Oh! What singular caverns are in those lofty houses, crowded with objects of every description, wher

I went from shop to shop crossing, in two strides, the four plank

approached my wardrobe, trembling in every limb, trembling to such an extent that I dare not touch it. I put forth my hand, I hesitated. It was indeed my wardrobe, nevertheless; a unique wardrobe of the time of Louis XIII., recognizable by anyone who had only seen

anced, haltingly, quivering with emotion, but I advanced,

hes, my books, my tables, my silks, my arms, everything, excep

the floors above. I was alone, I called out, nobody answered, I was alone;

ness on one of my own chairs, for I had no desire to go aw

t and slow, I knew not where, I was unable to locate them, but bracing myself up

here?" sa

r," I r

e to enter thu

for you for more than

ome back t

I must qu

of his light, which was shining on a tapestry on which were two angels

come

r service,"

nd went to

as a little man, very short and very fat

ng hair, white and yellow, and no

ared to me to resemble a little moon, in that vast chamber, encumbered with old

large sum for them, giving him merely the number of my room at th

ducted me, with much polit

nd of the discovery I had just made. He required time to communicate by telegraph with the authorities who had originally charge of the case, for info

rt of suspicion, and smuggled away out of sight what belongs to you. Will you go and dine and return in tw

eur. I thank you wi

I could have believed. I was quite happy now; "th

the office of the police funct

e, "we have not been able to find your man

lt mysel

at least found h

now being watched and guarded until his

appe

s also a furniture broker, a queer sort of sorceress, the widow Bidoin. She has not seen him

the streets of Rouen seemed to

d a fit of nightmare every

r eager, I waited till 10 o'clock the next

t reappeared. His s

issary s

uainted with the affair. We shall go together to that shop and hav

tioned round the building; there was a locksmit

nothing of that which had furnished my house, no, nothing, although on the previous

h astonished, regarded me

ppearance of these articles of furniture coi

lau

ng for the articles which were your own propert

"is, that all the places that were occupied by

house must communicate with its neighbors. But have no fear, monsieur; I will have the affair promptly and

heart, my poor he

return. Heavens! good heavens! That man, what was

received from my gardener, now the keeper of my emp

sie

ne piece is missing-everything is in its place, up to the very smallest article. The house is now the same in every respect as it was before the robbery took place. It is enough to make one lose one's head. The thing

monsieur, whose very humble

n, Ph

, never, ah! no. I sh

er to the commi

d he. "Let us bury the hatchet. We shall,

d him, and I am afraid of him now, as though he were

er get to comprehend it. I shall not return to my former residence. What does it ma

I shall not risk it

prove that my furniture was on his premises? There is only my t

ard the secret of what I had seen. I could not continue to live like the re

r who directs this lunatic asylu

gated me for a long

monsieur, to remain

lingly, m

ve some

mons

ve isolated

mons

re to receive

m Rouen might take it into his head to

y degrees. I have no longer any fears. If the antiquary should become mad ... and if he

N'S

er in their haste to get out quickly. But instead of promptly dispersing and going home to dinner

n, the son of La Blanchotte, had, f

ic she was welcome enough, the mothers among themselves treated her with compassion of a

he river. Therefore, they loved him but little; and it was with a certain delight, mingled with considerable astonishment, that they met and that they recited to each oth

ared in his turn upon th

e was rather pale, very neat, with

eartless eyes of children bent upon playing a nasty trick, gradually surrounded him and ended by enclosing him altogether. There he stood fixed amidst them, surprised an

u name you

ered: "

?" retorted

ther bewildered,

named Simon something ... that

k of tears, replied

named

triumphantly lifted up his voice: "Yo

t contempt, until then inexplicable, of their mothers for La Blanchotte grow upon them. As for Simon, he had propped himself against a tree to avoid falling and he remained as though struck to the earth b

he?" deman

xperienced that cruel craving which animates the fowls of a farm-yard to destroy one among themselves as soon as it is wounded. Simon s

ou," he said, "no m

d the other,

he?" rejoi

at with superb dignity, "he i

ush the other one who had no papa at all. And these rogues, whose fathers were for the most part evil-doers, drunkards, thieves and ill-treaters of their w

denly put his tongue out at him wit

pa! No

ous struggle ensued between the two combatants, and Simon found himself beaten, torn, bruised, rolled on the ground in the middle of the ri

tell you

mpted for some moments to struggle against the tears which were suffocating him. He had a choking fit, and then without cries he commenced to weep with great sobs which shook him incessantly. Then a ferocio

pa! No

rushed off yelling, and so formidable did he appear that the rest became panic stricken. Cowards, as a crowd always is in the presence of an exasperated man, they broke up and fled. Left alone, the li

d no more money. Simon had been there when they had fished him out again; and the sight of the fellow, who usually seemed to him so misera

is d

eone ha

uite hap

o because he had no father, just like

he flies flying on the surface. He stopped crying in order to watch them, for their housewifery interested him vastly. But, at intervals, as in the changes of a tempest

own myself becaus

like a mirror. And Simon enjoyed some minutes the happiness of that languor which follows w

wo bars; while, its eye wide open in its round, golden circle, it beat the air with its front limbs which worked as though they were hands. It reminded him of a toy made with straight slips of wood nailed zigzag one on the other, which by a similar movement regulated the exercise of the little soldiers stuck thereon. Then he thought of his home and next of his moth

placed upon his shoulder,

uses you so much gr

and hair all curled, was staring at him good natured

because ... I ... have

an smiling, "why e

painfully amidst

I ... I h

a Blanchotte's son, and although but recently come t

boy, and come with me home to your m

e was not sorry to see this Blanchotte, who was, it was said, one of the prettiest girls of the country-side, an

t of a little and ve

aimed the child, an

ng to be done with the tall pale girl who stood austerely at her door as though to defend from one man the thresho

back your little boy who had

t his mother's neck and told

ecause the others had beaten me ... had

aced her child passionately, while the tears coursed down her face. The man, much mo

ou be m

hame, leaned herself against the wall, both her hands upon her

h it, I shall retu

matter as a jest an

I wish it

e child, "so that I may tell the othe

" answere

et the name well into his head; then he stre

Phillip, you

issed him hastily on both cheeks, and then

at the end of school when the lads were on the point of recommencing, Simon threw th

ht burst out f

What on earth is Phillip? Wher

his eye, ready to be martyred rather than fly before them. The sc

he saw her sewing near the window. She answered him civilly, always sedately, never joking with him, nor permitting him to enter her house.

remains so fragile that, in spite of the shy reserve, La Bla

evening when the day's work was done. He went regularly to school and mixed

lad who had first at

ou have not a Pap

at?" demanded Simo

bed his hands

one he would be yo

truth of this reasoning,

Papa all

the urchin with a sneer, "but that

went off dreaming in the direction of the forg

great flashes five blacksmiths, who hammered upon their anvils with a terrible din. They were standing enveloped in flame,

ned himself round. All at once the work came to a standstill and all the men looked on very at

d at La Michande has just told me,

hat?" aske

lied with all

are not my ma

dle of his hammer standing upright upon the anvil. He mused. His four companions watched him, and, quite a tiny mite amo

and stalwart and steady in spite of her misfortune, a

" remarked the

ith co

en promised marriage and I know more than one who is m

responded the th

res

ad all alone, and how much she has wept since she no l

s true," sai

which fanned the fire of the furnace. Ph

amma that I shall c

ightfall, strong, powerful, happy, like hammers satisfied. But just as the great bell of a cathedral resounds upon feast days above the jingling of the other bells, so Phillip

his Sunday blouse on, a fresh shirt, and his beard was trimmed. The yo

hus when night has f

but stammered and sto

resu

well that it will not do that I

said all

tter to me, if you

quickly; and Simon, who had gone to his bed, distinguished the sound of a kiss and some words that his mother said very softly. Then h

ur papa is Phillip Remy, the blacksmith, and that

d lessons were about to begin, little Simo

llip Remy, the blacksmith, and he has promis

ell known, was Phillip Remy, the blacksmith, and was a

S MIS

ying. In front of the door all was a tumult of cries and calls, while th

nged their dresses, while the landlord of the establishment, a mighty individual with a red beard, of renown

they did so, a gallery consisting of middle class people dressed in their Sunday clothes, of workmen and

along the river, got far away, grew smaller and finally disappeared under the other bridge, that of the railway, as they descended the stream towards La Grenouillère. One couple only remained behind. The young man, st

make haste," an

lvent. Besides which he acted as a sort of walking advertisement for the establishment, inasmuch as his father was a senator. And when a stranger would inquire: "Who on earth is that litt

er could not restrain

He is not h

e young man and his companion as "her two turtle-doves," and a

nt of embarking therein they kissed each other, which caused the public collected on

n three o'clock and the large flo

ot bridges, one of which leads into the center of this aquatic establishment, while the other unites its end wi

ing of the café and then grasping his mistress's hand assisted her out of the

enormous bodies crushing the springs, drawn by a broken down hack with hanging head and broken knees; the second, slightly built on light wheels, with horses slender and straigh

discharging its passengers on to the island. The arm of the river (named the Dead Arm) upon which this refreshment wharf lay, appeared asleep, so feeble was the current. Fleets of yawls, of skiffs, of canoes, of podoscaphs (a light boat propelled by wheels set in motion by a treadle), of gigs, o

lls, admonitions or imprecations. The boatmen exposed the bronzed and knotted flesh of their biceps to the heat of the day; and similar to strang

re seemed full of burning merriment: not a breath o

le on the right the divine slopes of Louveniennes following the bend of the river disposed themselves in a semi-ci

ers moved about beneath the giant trees which make this c

lips blood-red, laced up, rigged out in outrageous dresses-trailed the crying bad taste of their toilets over the fresh green sward; while beside them young men posture

-boat plies, bringing people unceasingly across from Croissy, the rapid branch of the ri

llerymen, is encamped upon this bank, and the soldiers s

l this crowd shouted, sang and brawled. The men, their hats at the backs of their heads, their faces red, with the brilliant eyes of drunkards, moved about vociferously in need of a row natural to brutes. The women, seeking their prey f

nds; four couples bounded through a quadrille, and some young men watched them, polished

e lowest journalists, of gentlemen in tutelage, of rotten stock-jobbers, of ill-famed debauchées, of used-up old, fast men; a doubtful crowd of suspicious characters, half-known, half gone under,

e themselves airs. There dwells an odor of love, and there one fights for a yes, or for a no, in order

andered thither. It is with good reason named La Grenonillère. At the side of the covered wharf where they drank, and quite close to the Flower Pot, people bathed. Those among the women who possessed the requisite roundness of

or round like pumpkins, gnarled like olive branches, they are bowed over in front, or thrown backwards by the size of

he traders in love is saturated and which evaporate in this furnace. But beneath all these diverse scents a slight aroma of vice-powder lingered, which now disappeared and then reappeared, which one was perpetually encountering as though some concealed hand had shaken an invisi

l speed, the friends who stayed ashore gave shouts, and all

emselves unceasingly. They came nearer and grew larger, and i

dressed as a man, with a white flannel jacket, lay upon her back at the bottom of the boat, her legs in the air, on the seat at each side of the rower, and she smoked a cigarette, while at each stroke of the oars, her ches

ed on to the tables; all in a frenzy of noise bawled: "Lesbos! Lesbos! Lesbos!" The shout rolled along, became indistinct, was no longer more than a kind of tremendous howl, and t

upon the bottom of the boat, turned her head with a careless air, as she raised herself up

ment tremble. The men took off their hats, the women waved thei

sbo

n of the corrupt, saluted a chief like the squadrons

d the women's boat, which awoke from its

t him by the arm to cause him to be quiet, and upon this occasion she looked at him with fury in her eyes. But he appeared exasperated, a

to be drowned like dogs wi

mall and shrill voice became hissing, and she s

t liberty to do what they wish since they owe nobody anyth

t her spe

rns, and I will have them march

ave a

ou

rbid you to speak to them, you un

er shoulders and gr

ot satisfied, be off, and instantly. I am not yo

ace to face, their mouths tightly

with yellow lines on her temples; the other filled out her white flannel garments with her fat, swelling out her big trousers with her buttocks; she swayed

lose to the water's edge, and they lived

r sympathy, and whispered in very low tones strange stories of dramas begotten of furious feminine jealousie

a delicate one; it was impossible, in short, to reproach these women, who did not abandon themselves to prostitution with anything. The inspector, very mu

ishment with stately steps like queens; and seemed to glory in their fame, rejoicing in th

hed them approach and in the

reached the end of the

uli

topped, continuing all the time to h

eine.... Do come and

his mistress's wrist; but she

you can be off;" he said

asant jests passed their lips, they spoke quickly; and Pauline looked

d himself and in a single bound was at their side, tremb

. "I have forbidden you to

er the better to see him. He remained dumbfounded under this downpour of filthy abuse. It appeared to him that these words, which came from that mouth and fell upon him, defiled him like dir

apid gesture as though he plucked it out, he removed wit

isons, exquisite, ideal and impassioned, and there that little bit of a woman, stupid like all girls, with an exasperating stupidity, not even pretty, thin and a spitfire, had taken him prisoner, possessing him from head to foot, body and soul. He underwent this feminine bewitchery

was brewing. Shouts of laughter cut him to the heart. W

er upon the bank opposite h

tience, he commenced to pull it out, and all the bleeding gullet of the beast, with a portion of its intestines, came out. Paul shuddered, rent himself to his heart-strings. It seemed to him that the hook

s was at his side. They did not speak to each other; and she rested, li

his own emotions; all that he was sensible of was joy at feeling her there close to him, come back again,

ome minutes, he asked he

should leave? It will

red: "Yes

ll softened, with some tears still in his eyes. Then she

at they set off on foot on the island towards Bezons, across the fields and along the high poplars which bordered the river. The long grass ready to be mowed was full of flowers. The sun, which was sinking, showed himself from beneath a she

this vague and mysterious chilliness of outspread life, with the keen and melancholy poetry which seems

ddenly tired of being silent, she sang. She sang with her shrill and false voice, something which pervaded t

ting trills, and venturing on shakes. Her smooth little brow, of which he was so fond, was at that time absolutely empty! empty! There was nothing therein but this music of a bird-organ; and the ideas w

He was moved to the quick and, extending his arms i

ed by disengaging herself, murmuring

e you well

on the neck, all the while dancing with joy. They threw themselves down panting at the edge of a thicket, lit up by the ray

y perceived on the river, the canoe manned by the four women. The large Pauline als

l to-

ine re

l to-

ddenly felt his hea

red the hous

arrived, they brought a candle inclosed in a glass globe, which lit them up with a feeble and glimmering light;

taking Madeleine's hand

g; unless you have any object

e at him, that glance of treachery which so readily appears at t

, but I have promised to go to

s with which one veils the most horrible sufferin

ind, we should rema

th her head, withou

nsis

you, my

roughly b

isfied the door is open. No one wishes to keep y

e, covered his face with his hands and

ing as usual. They set off in their v

ne said

so, and I will ask one of

l r

go!" mur

they

ne breathe more quickly, gasp a little, so thick and heavy did it seem. The boats started on their way bearing venetian lanterns at the prow. It was not possible to distinguish the craft, but only these little colored lights, swift and dancing up and do

ds draped with clusters of lights. On the Seine some great barges moved about slowly, representing domes, pyramids and elaborate erections in fires of all colors. Ill

hich stood out in pale gray and the leaves in a milky green upon the deep black of the fields and the heavens. The orchestra,

atmen, always alone, remained with some thinly scattered citizens, and some young men flanked by girls. The director and organizer of this can-can ma

companions were not ther

ost distracted manner, throwing their legs in the air, unt

ions of their frames were displayed. They kicked their feet up above their heads with astounding facility, balanced

selves, grimacing and hideous; some turned like a wheel on their hands, or, perhaps, tryi

and two waiters s

atever, to shut it in, the hare-brained dance was displayed in the

. Then something or other red appeared, grew greater, shining with a burning red, like that of hot metal upon the anvil. That gradually developed into a round body which seemed to arise from the earth; and the moon, freeing he

plation, forgetting his mistress, and when he

e, going to and fro unceasingly, inquiring after her from this one and that one. No one h

same instant, Paul perceived the cabin-boy and the two pretty girls standing at the other end of the café, all three holding each

etraced his steps. Then he began to search the dense coppice

t him poured out their m

bird warbled some song which

g tops of the great trees. The entrancing poetry of this summer night had, in spite of himself, entered into Paul, athwart his infatuated anguish, and stirred his heart with a ferocious irony, in

over, he st

ehind that bush, some people were kissing. He ran thither; and found

ould not respond, and he had also a fright

e, the shrill squeaking of the violin, irritated his feelings, and exasperated his sufferings. Wild and li

urned! Why not? He had stupidly lost his head, without cause, carried away by

will sometimes occur in cases of the greates

es, and abruptly again found himself face to face with the three women. He must have had

were singing. At last, however, he believed he heard a little farther off a little, sharp laugh, which he recognized at once; and he

e meaning of which he did not unde

in to see her. But her likeness suddenly rushed in upon him, and he mentally pictured that moment in the morning when she would wake in their warm bed, and would press herself coaxingly against him, throwing her arms around his neck, he

from under the branches quite close to him. He advanced again, always as though in spite

tary flash of thought, he remembered the little fish whose entrails he had felt being torn out.... But Madeleine murmured to her companio

nch, which was lit up by the moon. The torrent-like current made great eddies where the light played upon it. The high bank do

seats of Croissy ranged thems

thing, understood nothing, and all things, even his very

island, towards her, and in the still air of the night, in which the faint and persistent burden of the public house band

elei

s the great silence of the sky,

, and from the place where he had disappeared a series of great circles started, enlarging their brilliant undulations, until

soul, "he has drowned himself;" and she rushe

spot. One of the men rowed, the other plunged into the water a g

doing? What

wn voice

ho has just dr

and appeared with its cadences to accompany the movements of the somber fisherman; and the river which now concealed a corpse, whirled round and round, il

ve go

red upon the surface. The other mariner left his oars, and they both uniting their

ck with horror. In the moonlight he already appeared green, with his mouth, his eyes, his nose, his clothes full of slime. His fingers closed and stiff, were hideou

now him?"

Croissy ferry

that head; but you know when like that one can

t's Mr.

aul?" inquire

rst an

on of the senator, the litt

dded, philo

w; it is a pity, all the s

to the ground. Pauline app

ndeed qu

ui

ugged their

t length of ti

e of th

e Grillon tha

better take him back there, there w

rapid current; and yet, a long time after they were out of sight, from the place wh

eleine in her arms, petted her, embrac

It is impossible to prevent men committing folly. H

lifting

he house; it is impossible for you

mbraced h

ill cure yo

on Pauline's shoulder, as though it had found a refuge in a closer and more ce

RA

usual hour, between five and a quarter past five in the

yard with a searching glance. The sun was darting his oblique rays through the beech-trees by the side of the ditch and the apple trees outside, and was making the cocks crow on the dung-hill, and the pigeons coo on

of all towards the hen-house to count the morning's eggs, for he had been afraid of

y have stolen a rabb

rab

hutch on the left;" whereupon the farmer q

t see

he became thoughtful, closed his right eye again, and scratched his nose, and after a little

armes; say I expect th

appeared in the direction of the village, which was only about five hundred yards off, he went into the house to have his morning coffee and to discuss t

s stolen the

herself sitting on the floor, and looking a

eux! Somebody has

ig gra

si

Who can ha

an, who knew all about farming, and Leca

e that fel

uddenly and said

not look for anyone else. He did

ad always been suspicious, and against the girl whom she had always suspected, showed themselves in t

ve you done?

nt for the

was supposed to have retained his habits of marauding and debauchery, from his campaigns in Africa. He did anything for a livelihood, but whether he were a mason, a n

Lecacheur's wife had detested him, and now sh

wn and told them the affair, and then they went and saw the scene of the theft, in order to verify the fact that the hutch had been broken open, and to col

you cat

e of taking him, if he was pointed out to him, but if not, he could not answer for being able

know the

with a look of Norman

should have made him eat it raw, skin and flesh, without a drop of cider to wash it down. B

een told him, accumulating insignificant and minute proofs, and then, the brigadier, who had been listening very at

of Severin's wife." At which the gen

scarcely anything besides them in the world, had nevertheless preserved the peasant's instinct for saving, at the bottom of his heart. For years and years he must have hidden in hollow trees and crevices in the rocks, all that he earned, either as sheph

nkeeper's servant. The young fellows said that the girl, knowing that he was pretty well off, had been to his

he now lived in the house which her man had bought, while he

brigadie

r for three weeks, for the thief

me make a

he shepherd

ccess of rage, of rage increased by a married

e. Go there. Ah! the

adier was qu

o'clock, as he goes and dines there every day

cheur also smiled now, for the affair of the shepherd stru

n, knocked gently three times at the door of a little lonely house, s

o. It was so quiet, that the house seemed uninhabited; but Lenient, the gendarme, who had very quick ears, said that he heard somebody moving about inside, and the

r, in the nam

had no effect,

the lock. I am the brigadier of the

ith a very red color, blowzy, with pendant breasts, a big stomach and broad hips, a sort of

On the table there was a plate, a jug of cider and a glass half full, which proved that a meal had be

good," the

was stewed rabbit," Len

ass of brandy?" the

ant the skin of the rabb

to understand, but

t ra

n a seat, and was calm

believe that you live on couch grass. What were

I swear to you. A mite

ught to have said: a mite of butter on the rabbit. By G-d, your butter smells good! It is sp

shaking with laug

old butter,

, all the gendarmes had grown fac

is your

butt

your b

the

e is the b

e it

here was a layer of rancid, salt butter, and the bri

e rabbit. Come, Lenient, open your eyes; look under the

ed to the wall, and had not been moved for more than half a century, apparently.

nt," h

brig

er the bed; I am too tall. I w

ed while his man e

lf on his stomach, and putting his face on the floor looked at

ht, here

you got?

the t

ull him out,

e was pulling with all his might, and at last a foot, shod in a thick boot, a

l! p

ng at the other leg. But it was a hard job, for the priso

the wooden bar gave way, and he came out as far as his head; but at last they got that out also, and

e arms followed the shoulders, and the hands the arms, and, in the hands the handle of a

the man; and the rabbit's skin, an overwhelming proof, was discovered under the mattress, a

was told that the shepherd Severin had been waiting for him for more than an hour, and he found him sitting on a

x;" and then he remained sta

want?" the

true that somebody stole on

quite true

ole the

ncas, the

t also true that it was

ou mean, t

it and th

erin, quite true,

d! And I suppose you know all about

bout ma

rd to one'

t ri

ights and then t

ourse

u Cacheux, has my wife the ri

an by going to

he law, and seeing that she is m

rse not, of

n, shall I have the right

why ... w

go and sleep somewhere else; but that was all, as I did not know what my rights were. This time I did not see them; I only heard of it from others. That is over, and we will not say

FRANCS OF THE

t, spider legs and his little body, his long arms and his pointe

God had certainly created him to amuse others, the poor country devils who have neither theaters nor fêtes, and he amused them conscientiously. In the café people treated him

e them laugh so. He would drag them about joking all the while, and he tickled and squee

d his red shock head, and one saw him gathering up the yellow grain and tying it into bundles with his long, thin arms; and then suddenly stopping to make a funny movement which made the laborers, who always kept their eyes on him, laugh all over the field. At night he crep

te, high road, slowly drawn by six dapple-gray horses, driven by a lad in a blouse, with a rosette in his cap, Pavilly, in the midst of the sprawling wome

g wagon, fell over it onto the wheel, and rebounded into the road. His companions jumped out, but he did not move; one eye was closed, while the other was open, and he was pale with

legs is broken," o

aid on a table and sent off a man on horseback to R

in the hospital, so that the doctor carried Pavilly off in his carriage to the h

, and fed without having anything to do except to lie on his back between the sheets, Pavilly's j

ill as they were, could not help laughing, and the Mother-Superior often came to his bedside, to be amused for a quarter of an hour, and he invented all kinds of jokes and stories for her, and as he h

of the Almighty and of Mary, in a falsetto voice, while the kind, stout sister stood by him and beat time with her finger. When he could walk, the Superior offered to keep him for some time longer to sing in chapel, to serve at Mass and to fulfill the duties of sacristan

obliged to discharge him, when he was quite cured, and the Su

, for he had not had one for a long time, and so he went into a café. He did not go into the town more than two or three times a year, and so he had a confused and intoxicating recollection of

ond of, and so longed for, which caresses, and stings, and burns the mouth, he knew that he should drink a whole bottle of it, and so he asked immedi

on as he felt that he was on the point of seeing the fireplace bow to him, he got up and went out with

postman, who directed him wrong; a baker, who began to swear and called him an old pig; and

ho wanted to turn him out again. But he made her laugh by making a grimace, showed her three francs, the usual price of

e waited. But very shortly, the door opened and a girl came in. She was tall, fat, red-faced, enormous. She

ed of yourself, at

at, Princess?"

y, before she has even ha

have a joke

h thing as time,

no time for getting dru

he got

uzzler, and I

dru

I am

;" and she looked at him angrily, thinking that al

ve his stability he got onto the chair, made a pirouette and jump

such a blow that Pavilly lost his balance, fell and struck the foot of the bed, and making a complete somersa

cing, that everybody in the house rushed in,

legs, the peasant lost his balance again, and then began to c

r, and it happened to be the same one

t you again

, M'

he matter

oken my other le

it, old

a fe

, with their mouths still greasy from their interrupted di

at the municipal authorities look upon you with very un

aged?" the master

ack to the hospital, from which he has j

er of the house replied, "than hav

ich he had left an hour before. The Superior lifted up her hands in sorro

low, what is the m

leg is brok

ng onto another load of

onfusion, but still sly

is time. No ... no.... It was not my fault

t of him, and never knew that his rel

NUS OF

and his fear of God. The Venus of Braniza deserved that name thoroughly, for she deserved it for herself, on account of her singular beauty, and even more

voice calls out the name of his future wife, and vice versa. But just as a good father tries to get rid of his good wares out of doors, an

wife was a woman who would have done honor to any king's throne, or to the pedestal in any sculpture gallery. Tall, and with a wonderful, voluptuous figure, she carried a strikingly beautiful head,

the painter's brush, the sculptor's chisel and the poet's pen, lived the life of a rare and beautiful flower, which is shut u

iled Beauty, as the Talmudists call the Kabbalah. She paid no attention to her house, for she was rich and everything went of its own accord, just like a

he Messiah in, the Jewish Venus was sitting as usual in her comfortable easy chair, shivering in spite of her fur jacket, and was thinking, wh

will Messias, the

all the Jews have become either altogether vi

e Jews will ever become vir

to belie

e, when all the Jews

o it is said, only one man returned unscathed, and the beautiful woman at the window again looked dreamily ou

ted, and instead of returning the next morning, as he had intended, he came back the same evening with a friend, who was no less learned than himself. He got out of the carriage at his friend's

ked in a friendly manner, but wi

husband of the beautiful Jewess

mind and keep a

me previously. His wife was sitting as usual at her bed room window wrapped in her fur jacket, but her cheeks were suspiciously red, and her dark eyes had not got their usual languishing look, but now rested on her husband wi

re with you?" th

d her shoulders contempt

he Captain of Hussar

e with me?" she said, smoothing the

you out of

smile hovered round her red voluptuous lips. "But must I not also d

ORIL

omplexion, which resembled autumnal leaves, and because of her mouth wit

d a complexion like butter was one of the mysteries of atavism. One of her female ancestors must have had an intimacy with one of those travel

er dark soul, her deceitful eyes, whose depths were at times illuminated

was always slobbering with greediness, or uttering something vile. Her hair was thick and untidy, and a regular nest for vermin, to which may be added a thin, feverish body, with a

ress of every fellow in the village. She had corrupted b

and other highly respectable men, had been taken by the manners of that creature, and the reason why the rural policeman was not severe upon them, in sp

l-master said; who had himself been one of the fellows. But the most curious part of the business was that no one was jealous. They handed

body not

e even appeared to prefer paying herself after her own fashion, by stealing. All she seemed to care about as her reward was pilfering, and a crown put into her hand, gave her less pleasure than a halfpenny which she had stolen. Neith

ve been the same as wishing to have the sole right of baking th

formed the exception, and

mself, were his daily pittance; but he knew nothing about love, although he was accused of all sorts of horrible things, and therefore nobody dared abuse him to his face; in the first place, because Bru was a spare and sinewy man, who handled his shepherd's crook like a drum-major does his staff; next, becaus

lonne, naturally one day she began to think of him, and she declared that

?" he said, and s

I want? I

, "but then you must

answer, "if you thi

away from the village for a whole week. She had,

hey grew furious. Next they grew bold, and watched from behind a tree. She was still as lively as ever, but he, poor fellow, seemed to have become suddenly ill, and required the most tender

t from a distance; "fasten them

d; "I will be answerable for it that they will not hurt you;"

want?" the

plied. "He wants me and

cry, and sh

a good fo

le Bru seized his crook, seeing wh

while the other had already got his finger on the trigger to fir

ere! Prr, prr,

hands and frisked about as they followed her, wh

they are not

short and evil

my prope

, A "B

, a watery dust floated about, which enshrouded the gas jets in a transparent fog, made the pavements that passed under

yonnais, the Rue Vivienne, besides several other streets. Thereupon, I suddenly descried a large public h

e eye I had recognized a "regular toper," one of those frequenters of beer-houses, who come in the morning as soon as the place is open, and only go way in the evening when it is about to close. He was dirty, bald to about the middle of the cranium, while his long, powder and salt, gray hair, fell over the neck of his frock coat. His clothes, much too large for him, appeared to have been made for

him, this queer creature said t

es it w

and closely scanned his feat

do not re

I do

Bar

s Count Jean des Barre

bfounded that I could find nothing to sa

w goes it wi

onded p

? Just a

ted to be friendly, and

e you do

doing," he answered

e getting red

every

s his response accompanied wit

le table with a sou, to attract the a

, two '

the distanc

s, instea

more distant st

re, sir, her

rying two "bocks," which he sat down foaming on the tabl

t a single draught and replaced

is the

w, worth mentioning,

own old, for me; I

e tone of vo

does that

ean to assert? Surely

you mean

how do you p

ot a sou one can understand why one has to go to work. What is the good of working? Do you work for yourself, or for others? If you

pe into his whiskers

I let things slide, and I am growing old. In dying I have nothing to regret. If so, I should remember nothing, outside this pu

while been fetched to him, passed his to

im stupefied.

not always b

r; ever since

imple horrible. Come, you must indeed have done somethin

ut one in the morning, I return to my couch, because the place closes up. And it is this latter that embitters me more than anything. For the last

in Paris what did

oirs to the Ca

t ne

ed the water a

even take t

the Latin Quarter. The students make too much noise.

hat he was making fun

sorrow; despair in love, no doubt! It is easy to see that yo

age, but I look to b

m, a few long hairs shot straight up from the skin of doubtful cleanness. He had enormous eyelashes, a large moustache, and a thick beard. Suddenly, I ha

t age. Of a certainty you must have e

rep

ever take air. There is nothing that vitiates the

not beli

ll? One could not get as bald-headed as

his back little white things whi

always bee

ds the luster, which beat

f the gas. It is the enemy of hair. Wai

did you have your first discouragement? Your life is not n

eavy blow when I was very young, and that turned m

it come

it for five or six months during the vacations? You remember that large, gray building, in the middle of a great park, and the long avenues

ee everyone bow before them. They were in the country, Monsieur le Comte and Madame la Comtesse; while our n

ppy, satisfied with everything, as one i

enjoying myself in the mazes of the park, climbing the trees and swinging on the bra

le line of trees bent under the pressure of the wind, groaned, and seemed to utter

ion of the wind and the branches excited me, made me boun

order to surprise them, as though I had been a veritable rodent. But becoming seized with f

mother that is the question, it is you. I tell you

esponded in

guard it for him and I will not allow you to devour

seized his wife by the throat, and began to sla

t escape from them. And my father, like a madman, banged and banged. My mother rolled over on the ground, covering her face in both

presence of irreparable disasters. My boyish head whirled round, floated. I began to cry with all my might, without knowing why, a prey to terror, to grief, to a dreadful bewilderment. My father he

st, devoured by terror, eaten up by a sorrow capable of breaking for ever the heart of a poor infant. I became cold, I became hungry. At le

hunger at the foot of a tree, if the guard h

g their ordinary aspect. M

, you naughty boy; I have be

gan to weep. My father di

later I ente

strange phenomena has warped my ideas? I do not know. But I no longer have a taste for anything, a wish for anything, a love for anybody, a desire for anything whatever, nor ambition, nor hope. And I p

t a gulp. But, in taking up his pipe again, trembling

eal grief. I have had it for a month

which was now full of smoke and o

'bock'-and

GR

ut heavier and slower. M. Savel was not in good spirit. He walked from the fireplace to the window, and from the window to the fireplace. Life has its somber days. It will no longer have any but somb

d woman, very quietly, and desired nothing more. At last the mother died. How sad a thing is life! He has lived always alone, and now, in his turn, he, too, will soon be dead. He will disappear, and that will be the finish. There will be no more of Savel upon the earth. What a frightful thing! Other people will live, they will li

on like that, to the age of sixty-two years. He had not even taken unto himself a wife, as other men do. Why? Yes, why was it that he was not married? He might have been, for he possessed considerable means. Was it an opportunity which had failed him? Perhaps! But one can create opportuniti

abandon of love. He knew nothing of this delicious anguish of expectation, of

lips for the first time, when the grasp of four arms makes one being o

ntly, just as was characteristic of him in everything. Yes, he had loved his old friend, Madame Saudres, the wife of his old companion, Saudres. Ah! if he had known her as a young girl! But he had enco

en her, his grief on leaving her, the many nights tha

got up somewhat less amo

h

She was now fifty-two years of age. She seemed happy. Ah! if she had only loved him in days gone by; yes, if she had only

had she not seen anything, never comprehended anything? But! Then wha

things. He reviewed his whole life, seeki

t at the house of Saudres, when the la

him, the sweet intonations of her voice, the

e grass on the Sundays, for Saudres was employed at the sub-prefecture. And all at once the distant rec

emed happy. The voices of the birds sounded more joyous, and the flapping of their wings more rapid. They had lunch on the grass, under the willow trees, quite close to the water,

e broad of his back, "The best nap he ha

m of Savel, and they had starte

intoxicated." He looked at her, his heart going patty-patty. He felt himself grow pale, fearful that

and water-lilies, and she had asked him:

on his knees-she burst out laughing, a sort of discontented laughter, which she threw

and could not even ye

he day when they took place. Why had she said this to him

hady tree he had felt her ear leaning against his cheek, and he had tilted his h

"Certainly," she said, "certainly," regarding him at the same time in a curious manner.

friend. If you are t

ot that I am fatigued; but Sa

id of my husband's being awake, th

ed silent and leaned no

ask himself "why." Now he seemed to apprehe

was

, feeling thirty years younger, believing that he now

entered his soul, tortured him. Was it possible

had rubbed against such good fo

o know!" He put on his clothes quickly, dressed in hot haste. He thought: "I am sixty

arted

e street, almost directly opposite his own. He went up t

ill, Savel! Has some ac

el res

ll your mistress that I wan

ms for the winter, and she is standing in front of the

r that I wish to see her

m. He did not feel himself the least embarrassed, however. Oh! he was merely going to ask her something, as he

heeks, and a sonorous laugh. She walked with her arms away from her body, and her sleeves t

th you, my friend; you

e is of the first importance, something which is torturing my he

I am always ca

om the first day I ever saw you.

g, with something of h

you? I knew it well fr

le. He stammered out

sto

as

?...

nswe

ink?... what ... what.... W

, which made the sugar juice run off th

anything. It was not for

nced a step

s went to sleep on the grass after lunch ... when we had

ad ceased to laugh, and looke

ainly, I r

d, shiveri

en ... if I had been ... enterpris

laugh, who has nothing to regret, and respo

ve yielded,

er heels and went ba

reached the bank he turned to the right and followed it. He walked a long time, as if urged on by some instinct. His clothes were running with water, his hat was bashed in, as soft as a piece of rag, and dripping like a tha

E

RT

way back into the port of Marseilles, on the 8th of August, 1886, after an absence of four years. When she had discharged her first cargo in the

e-all the accidents, adventures, and misadventures of the sea, in short-had kept far from her country, this Norm

ere were left only five Britons and four Normans; the other Briton had died while on the way; the four Normans having disappeared under

ray rocks of the roadstead, which the setting sun covered with a golden vapor; and she entered the ancient port, in which are packed together, side by side, ships from every part of the world, pell mell, large and small, of every shape

to let this comrade slip in between them; then, when all the formalities of the custom-house and of the p

g a flavor of cooking with garlic floated over the noisy city, filled with the clam

about for some months past, proceeded along quite slowly with the hesitating steps of

ing their last sixty-six days at sea. The Normans strode on in front, led by Célestin Duclos, a tall young fellow, sturdy and waggish, who served as a captain for the others every time they set forth on land. He divine

ed over the doors projecting lanterns bearing enormous numbers on their rough colored glass. Under the narrow arches at the entrance to the houses, women wearing aprons like servants, seated on straw chairs, rose up on seeing them coming near, taking t

a black velvet corsage with edgings of gold lace. She kept calling out from her distant corner, "Will you come here, my pretty boys?" and sometimes she would go out herself to catch hold of one of them, and to drag him towards her door with all her strength, fastening on to him like a spider drawing forward an insect bigger than itself. The man, excited by the struggle, would offer a mild resistance, and the

nt on, then, more and more stimulated, from the combined effects of the coaxings and the seductions held out as baits to them by the choir of portresses of love all over the upper part of the street, and the ignoble maledictions hurled at them by the choir at the lower end-the despised choir of disappointed wenches. From time to time, they met another band-soldiers marching along

up before a house of rather attractive exteri

RT

or four hours the six sailors gorged themselves wi

ert, went about serving them, and then seated herself near them. Each man, on coming in, had selected his partner, whom he kept all the evening, for the vulgar taste is not changeable. They had drawn three tables close up to them; and, after the first bumper, the procession divided int

ink, and, after they had returned to t

brute. In the midst of them, Célestin Duclos, pressing close to him, a big damsel with red cheeks, who sat astride over his legs, gazed at her ardently. Less tipsy than the others, not that he had taken less drink, he was as yet occupi

t time-how lon

s," the gi

as if this were a proof of good cond

like thi

then in a tone

han any other kind of life. To be a servant-gir

also approved of

from this pla

merely by sha

me from a

ill without op

it you c

g, to be searching her mem

Perp

e perfectly sat

! y

turn sh

are you

my b

me from a

een countries, por

n round the w

u, twice rath

brain for something that she had forgotten, t

many ships in

e you, my

en to see the Not

huck

r than l

the blood leaving h

rue, perfe

ue as I

you are not tel

sed hi

d, I'm not

hether Célestin Duc

nd wished, before answering,

u know

distrustf

-'tis a woman who is

from th

a place no

he st

ort of

woman-a woma

to say to hi

is a country-

ne another, feeling, divining that something of

res

her there,

ld you sa

uld say to her-that I ha

ite well-

me-he is a strapp

n, trying to collect h

Notre Dame des

st to Ma

not repres

t reall

really

know D

do kno

ted; then in a v

That'

you want

will tell h

more perplexed. At last,

w him, too,

said

do you want

e landlady of the tavern presided, seized a lemon, which she tore open, and shed its juic

nk t

hy

r wine. I will talk

test, wiped his lips with the b

ght. I am list

en me, or from whom you learned what I am goi

sed hi

. I swear

ore

ore

r died, that his brother died, the whole three in one month,

ody, and for a few seconds he was so much overpowered that he could m

you s

m su

ld it t

oulders, and looking at him

ar not t

that I

his si

at name in sp

ncoi

ed by a wild feeling of terror, a sense of profound horror, sh

t is you,

red, their eyes riv

glasses, by fists, by heels keeping time to the choruses, and the

htened, his sister. Then, in a whisper, lest anyone might

I have made a nice p

eyes filled with te

at my

f a sudden

, they a

are

he mother, and

but my clothes, for I was in debt to the apothecary and the doctor and fo

oung. Then I went as a nursery-maid to the notary who debauched me also, and brought me to Havre, where he took a room for me. After a little while, he gave up coming to see me. For three days I lived without eating a morsel of

flowed over her nose, wet her che

went

ere dead, too?-m

s

such a little thing then, and here you are so b

a despairing mov

n that they all s

ith his open hands against the girl's back; and now by sheer dint of looking continually at her, he at length recognized her, the little sister left behind in the country with all those whom she had seen die, while he had been tossing on the seas. Then,

tamm

s is you, Francoise-

re knocked down and smashed. After that, he advanced three steps, staggered, stretched out his arms, and fell on his face. And he roll

s of his stared a

bit drunk,

aid another. "If he goes out,

at they could not stand upright, hoisted him up the narrow stairs to the apartment of the woman who had just been in his company, and

HE

led on an antique mound covered with tall trees, in the mids

ut now a vanished race. We sought to find out the moral causes, and endeavored to d

n one of our c

the coast of Corsica, fifteen or twenty kilometers away from every house. She lived there with a maid-servant. I went to see her. She had certainly been a dist

oing to relate to you h

ule in front of the summits of the Esterel; it is called in the district Snake Mountain. There

ating that it irritates you and causes you discomfort. The soil is stony, and you can see gliding over the pebbles long adders which disappear in the grass. Hence this well-deserved appellation of Snake Mountain. On certain days, the reptiles seem to spring into existence under your feet when you climb the declivity exposed to the rays of the sun. They are so num

e, that it was a temple; for I did not seek to kno

n forty years of age, though his hair was quite white; but his beard was still almost black. He was fondling a cat which had cuddled itself upon his knees, and did not seem to mind me. I took a

the distant coast of Italy with its numerous capes, facing Cannes, the Lerins Islands green and flat, which look as if they were floating,

ke innumerable eggs laid on the edge of the shore the long chaplet of villas and white villa

urm

ns, this is

sed his hea

see it every day,

nd tired himself with talkin

py. He created on me especially the impression of being bored with other people, weary

k, eight hours later, and once again in the following week,

that the moment had arrived, and I brought provi

y where every essence that perfumes the flesh and the dress of women is manufactured, one of those evenings when the breath of the innumerable

nifest pleasure. He willingly c

. He brightened up and began to talk about his past life. He had always

him ab

s funny notion of going to l

red imme

you this misfortune of mine? It will make you pity me, perhaps! And then-I have never told an

y parents had left me an income of some thousands of francs a year, and I procured as a

ke a legitimate wife, I passed at one time three months with one, at another time six months with another, then a

of doors, always without a regular home, though I was comfortably housed. I was one of those thousands of beings who let themselves float like corks, through life, for whom the walls of Paris are the walls

ind way into the soul, these long and yet hurried years, trivial and gay, when you eat, drink and laugh without knowing why, your lips stretched out towards all they can taste and all they can kiss, without having a

n order to celebrate this anniversary, I invited myself to

o my head to make a pilgrimage to the Latin quarters, where I had in former days lived as a law-student. So I made

rather a fair-haired girl, a fresh, quite fresh young creature, whom you guessed to be rosy and plump under her swelling bodice. I talked to her in that flattering and idiotic style which we always adopt with girls of this sort; and as she was truly charming, the idea suddenly occurr

may happen, or who may come into those drink-shops, or what wind may bl

, I asked myself the question whether it would not be worth my while to make a bargain with her to live with me for so

tic fashion take and choose women, as you choose a chop in a butcher

a little working-girl's lodgings in the fifth story, clean and poor, and I spent two

ed, I got a vague glimpse of a clock without a globe, two flower-vases and two photographs, one of them very old, one of those proofs on glass called daguerreo-types. I carelessly bent forward towards t

id not deceive myself-and I felt a desire to burst out lau

ask

this ge

rep

left it to me, telling me to keep it, as i

, began to lau

upon my word. I don't think

laying it down flat on the mantelpiece. On top of it I placed, without even knowing what I was

in soon-by-bye,

d her a

l Tue

rcase, which I descende

hat it was raining, and I started at a

bout a month after our rupture, that she was going to have a child by me. I had torn or burned the letter, and had forgotten all about the matter. I should

of shames, of infamies deliberate or unconscious. My daughter!... I had just perhaps possessed my own daughter! And Paris, this vast Paris, somber, mournful, dirty, sad, black, with a

aware of it, in a worse fashion than these ign

he water. I was mad! I wandered about till da

ttle girl, and to ask her under what conditions her mother had given her the portrait of him

hat this woman had designated the father of her daughter, a

sent to this child, about one hundred and forty thousand francs, of which

found this mountain, and I stopped th

k of me, and of w

extended my h

Many others would have attached les

wen

And now I am afraid of Paris, as believers are bound to be afraid of Hell. I have received a blow on the head-that is a

y. I was much distur

nt away, for I never remain in t

man was no longer on Snake Mountain; and

history of

OR

gold buttons, the shoulder-knots of the staff, the braid of the chasseurs and the hussars, passed through the midst of the tombs

er. The clergy had left; but the colonel, supported by two brother-officers, remained standing in front of the pit,

; and, three years ago, he had married the daughter of a comr

which he heroically held back, and murmuring, "No, no, a little while longer!" he persisted in remaining there, his legs bending under him, a

he arm, and dragging him from the spot almost by force sa

on the table. When he took it in his hands, he was near falling with surprise and emotion; he recognized his wife

at

y. When you receive this letter, I shall be dead and u

y want to tell the entire and complete truth, with all the since

lmost as much; and one day, while I sat on your knee, and you were kissing me, I called you 'Father' in spite of myself. It was a cry of the heart, instinctive, s

n love. Ah! I resisted long, well, nearly two years-a

h about that matter, since there were a dozen officers always a

did what any man, no matter whom, would have done in his plac

hicket, and then to remain there till nightfall, so that nobody should see him going away. I had just met him when the branches opened, and we saw Philippe, your orderly, who h

ning myself, and I came back to you expectin

wing-room where I met him: 'I am at madame's orders, if she has any letters to

-all my letters-he took them away

We had confidence in him, as yo

one, I found your orderly. This man had been waiting for me; and he informed me that he was going to reveal every

en so good to me, and whom I had deceived-fear on his account too-you would have killed him-for myself also perha

woman once falls, she always falls lower and lower. Did I know what I was doing? I unde

that I do not seek

again and again, when he wished, by terrifying me. He, too, has been my lover,

are everything. I could not do otherwise than die-nothing could have washed me clean-I was too polluted. I cou

to take my bath, and I

d without anyone knowing anything about it, he will forward it to you, accompl

ore to tell you. Do whateve

iration. His coolness; the coolness of days when he had stoo

Send in Philippe to me," said he. Th

a big soldier with red moustache, a

oked him strai

tell me the name o

my col

his revolver out of

! You know I

l-it is Captain

flame flashed between his eyes, and he fell

CH

huge street-door closed behind him he felt a shiver of intense cold run through him, one of those sudden and painful shivers which make us feel sad, as if w

n which the water kept tepid for the evening toilet simmered pleasantly under the chafing-dish heated by gas, and the bed, spacious, antique, and solemn-looking, lik

ong, lively, and gay, giving all his days to sport and all his nights to festive gatherings. Now, he had grown dull, and no longer took ple

ame witty remarks by the same lips, of the same jokes on the same themes, of the same scandals about the same women, disgusted him so much as to make him feel at times a veritable inclination to commit suic

other would not anticipate, could not make a single movement which would not be foreseen, could not have any thought or desire or opinion which would not be divined. He considered that a woman could only be agreeable to see again when you know her but slightly, when there is some

renew acquaintance with him. He had become the father of this child, while still a young man, in the midst of dramatic and to

he expense of holidays for the lad, and finally had provided an allowance for him on making a

Marseilles, that he was looked upon as intelligent and well-educated, that he had married the daughter of an

rder to form a judgment about him at first and to assure himself that he wou

setting out for the South, tantalized him like a kind of itching sensation. A strange self-regarding feeling of affection also attracted him, bringing before his mental vision this pleasant, warm abode by the seaside, where he would meet his young and pretty daughter-in-law, his grandchildren, with outstr

is fur-coat wrapped round his head. Suddenly he made up his mind. A cab was passing; he

Marseilles. We'll remain there perhaps a fortnig

ugh yellow plains, bright villages, and a wide expanse of countr

irror of his dressing-case. The glaring sun of the South showed him some wrinkles which he had not observed before-a condition of decrepitude unnoticed

ot the gloss taken off-I've

th a vague yearning, born in him for the first

e of those houses of Southern France so white, at the end of their avenues of plane-trees that they dazzle

it! this is

starting out of a shrubbery, and remained standing at the si

came ov

orrow,

t made

the next moment, suffocated by the smell of garlic with which the child se

the garde

eeded towar

-cloths, aprons, and sheets, while a row of socks, hanging from strings one above the other,

hanging in wisps and falling over her face, while her petticoat under the accumulation of stains which had soiled it ha

ask

uchoux a

of pleasure, given this name to the foundling, in order that it

vant-gi

want M.

es

he big room drawi

. Merlin wishes

ied, in

then, if you w

e bawl

r Duchou

by the windows being half-closed, he indistinctly traced out p

ticles of every sort, a little bald man wa

s unbuttoned breeches, and his turned-up shirt-sleeves, indicated that he fe

very pronounced

e I the h

o consult you about a pur

a! ver

wards his wife, who was

a chair,

hem fresh, and preserve, till the age of fifty, the charm and beauty of the sex. With a neckerchief over her shoulders, her hair clumsily braided-though it was lovely hair, thick and black, you could see that it was badly brushed-sh

ion to the books and papers, two salads recently gathered, a wash-hand basin, a

ived this look, and

tle disorder in the room-i

s chair, in order to

for a piece of ground in th

towards the latter that odor of garlic which the pe

ane a

that I met under

es, the

ve two

nsieur; on

looked ful

on was

perfume, their nursery mu

onti

of ground near the sea, on a l

eces of ground of the kind required, at different prices and suited to different tastes.

e blood stir in his veins. She had loved him passionately, madly, for three months; then, becoming pregnant in the absence of her husband, who was a governor of a colony, she had run aw

was governor, and to which she had gone across to join him. And here, in front of him, was

ound, monsieur, i

oice, light as the touch of a gen

, we shall

ue, as he watched the round eye, also blue, but vacant, of this ridic

ment-he was like her in the way an ape is like a man; but still he was hers; he displayed a thousand ext

semblance, horrible, each instant growing stronger, exasperating,

ammer

at this piece of

orrow, if

orrow. At

o'c

rig

he avenue appeared before

ad

was no

emble. This "dada" had hit him like a bullet. It was to him that it was addressed,

perfume exhaled by her, his

aw him to

s your own?"

accident, monsieur, and I don't want to hide it; I am proud of it. I owe not

threshold, kept still exclaiming, th

ad

fit, seized with panic, fled as o

ht. "He is going to take me in his arms, and to call out t

row, mo

w, at one

olled over t

to the rail

saying: "My darling," and the other sonorous, sing-song, frightful, bawling out, "D

red the club, the Count

for the last three day

ll. I get headaches

AM

RT

stagnant evening air more thick and heavy. The peasants were still at work, scattered through the fields, waiting for the stroke of the Angelus to call them back

n with their rumps in the air, were picking sprigs of colza in the adjoining plain. With a slow continuous movement, all along the great cushions of earth which the plow had just turned up, they d

, and kissed it. Then one of the women rose up, and came across to him. She was a big, red-haired girl, with

in a resol

are, Cés

g fellow with a mela

g at all-alwa

n't ha

n't ha

you goin

ou say I o

e the

wil

at o

wil

in his arms all the time. He kissed it once more,

wn by a horse, and driven along by a man. They moved on very gentl

man we

, did your

e would no

ldn't he

st put back on the ground, then with a glance he drew

aid emph

his-this chi

er shoulders, and i

rs did the same before she married your dad! Who is it that hasn't made a slip in the country. I made a slip with Victor, because he took advantage of me while I was asleep in

n said

out the child. 'Tis only my father that opposes me.

answ

he curé

oing t

tread; while the girl, with her hands on

ulbréque, wanted to marry in spite of his father, Céleste Lévesque, who had a child b

fields, and if the laborer is thrifty, he becomes, by t

leste Lévesque. He wanted her with her child, because it was the woman he required. He could not say why: but he knew it, he was sure of it. He had only to look at her to be convinced of it, to feel h

tant profile of the man who was drivin

age. He opposed it with the obstinacy

his ear, in that ear whic

y. I tell you she's a good girl a

man re

ive, I won't se

nor of the Devil nor of Hell nor of Purgatory, of which he had no conception, but he dreaded the priest, who represented to him burial, as one might fear the doctors through horror of diseases. For the last eight days Céleste, who knew this

eeded towards the presbytery, thinking in

and never shaved, was awaiting his dinner-ho

ant entering, he asked, me

ire, what d

ve a talk with

midated, holding his cap in one

l, t

ged her feet while putting on the cover for her master's

tamm

a sort of c

saw his confused countenance, his air of constraint, his wande

minutes to your room, w

man an angry glance, a

rgyman

, spin out

wn at his wooden shoes, moved about his cap

want to marry C

what's there

er won't

r fa

my f

s your fa

she has

o whom that happened,

Lecoq, Anthione Loi

o he won't

n't ha

not a

that won't budge an inc

him yourself in orde

a good girl, and strong

him settle it. So you

You spea

I to tell y

ple in your sermons to

rder to fill the heavenly coffer. It was a kind of huge commercial establishment, of which the curés were the clerks,

sustained, but all this by means of money, in exchange for white pieces, for beautiful glittering coins, with which they paid for sacraments and ma

s man, and who never lost hi

my little story; but you, my lad

is hand in order to g

an, if you do this for m

When do you wish me to

the better-to-ni

hour, then,

lf-an-

rstood. So l

et again, Monsieur l

all, m

turned home, his heart re

l of fifteen, who made the soup, looked after the fowls, milked the cows and churned the butter, they lived hardly, though Césair

sat down on the side of a ditch, and remained there without moving for hours, vaguely pondering over the things that had engrossed his whole life, the price of eggs and corn, the sun and the rain which spoil the crops or mak

en his crooked fingers, which seemed to have kept the round form of the jar, and, winter and summer, he warmed his hands, before commencing to eat, so as to lose nothing, not even a par

below-stairs at the end of a kind of niche near the chimney-piece and the servant shut

ying a calf, the young man took the advice of his father, and making a speaking-trumpet of his two hands, he bawled out his views in

ss the purchase of a horse or a heifer, communicated to him at

e idea that his son should bring up a child which he had not begotten himself. He had thought suddenly, in one second, on the soup the little fellow would swallow before being useful in the farm. He had calc

th an usual st

lost you

worth a thousand times what the child would cost. But the old man doubted these advantages, while he could have no

l not have it! As long as

he other giving in, resuming at least once a week the same discussion, with the

advised Césaire to go and a

ther already seated at table, for he was

remained motionless in their chairs, with scarcely a glimmer of light, the little servant-girl having carried off the c

sed towards him an anxious eye full of suspicion, and, foreseeing danger, he was getting ready to cli

a talk with you,

ht. It was a moonless night, a starless night, one of those foggy nights when the air seems thick with humidity. A vague odor of apples floated through the farm-yard, for it was the season when the earliest apples were gathered, the "soon ripe" ones, as they are called in the language of the

mages generated directly by objects, thoughts of love only formulated themselves by calling up before the mi

her from infancy but never had he been so struck by her as on that morning. They had stoppe

all the same. 'Tis a pity s

inking of her, and also

ather had been driven through his mouth into his chest, and since then, every time he foun

ch did she please him. He could not have said whence cam

ting force as one of the powers of Hell. He scarcely bothered himself about her transgression

was he to do? He did not dare to think of it,

ed himself near the little gateway

n the road, and he soon distinguished although the nigh

nder him, not even venturing to s

perceived him,

lad, 'tis

e stam

, 'tisn't

ithout trouble. What an

sant re

't pos

orrow at midday in order to settle

hand. He pressed it, shook it,

on the word of an honest man, you'l

RT

was ready since eight o'clock in the morning to go and fetch his betrothed and bring her to the Mayor's office; but, it was too ea

wn earth, the earth already fertilized by the autumn savi

round apples in the trees of the enclosures seemed to be flowering,

ttering rain had disappeared, and the blue sky showed itself abov

ore him through the window,

a woman who was a neighbor. They sat down on chairs, and they remained motionless and silent, the women on one side of the kitchen, the men on the oth

t the hou

re re

ch afrai

t us start,"

to see whether his father was ready. The old man, always as a rule an early riser, had not yet made his appearance.

"Come, daddy, get up. 'Tis

murmured in a

f cold over me that freez

ed, stared at him, guess

we must forc

e! I'll h

f his blanket, caught him by the arm and lift

My back is stiffened up. 'Tis the wind that

ing a spread at Polyte's inn. This will

n set out for his destination, acco

woolen stockings, and their bony shanks resembling broomsticks. And they all moved forward balancing themselves on their legs, one behind the other without utter

rocession went on without stopping, and wound its way forward, following the invisible outlines of the

om. When he appeared they gave him a loud greeting; and presently, Céleste came forth from her room, clad

one asked

her?" he replied

ove on account

their heads with an inc

asant woman carried Victor's child, as if it were going to be baptized; and the male peasants,

ood God. He blessed their couplement by promising them fruitfulness, then he preached to them on the matrimonial virtues, the simple and healthful

d jets of smoke; then a head could be seen gazing at the procession. It was Victor Lecoq celebrating the marriage of his old sweetheart, wishing her happiness and sending her his go

, and the big leg of mutton turning before the spit, the fowl browned under their own gravy, the chitterling roasting over t

e faces already had brightened up; mouths opened to utter loud jokes, and eyes wer

ks, whining at every step to indicate his suffering. The sight of him caused great annoyance; but suddenly, his neighbor, Daddy Malivoire, a bi

ood nose on you to be able to smell P

he throats of those present. Malivo

a chitterling poultice! It keeps your be

in as if they were each working a pump. The women clucked like hens, while the servants wriggled, standing against the

fell into his stomach, with each mouthful of bread or meat crushed under his gums, with each glass of cider or wine that flowed through his gullet, he thought he was regaining something of his own property, getting back a little of his money

ent on eating, with his glance riveted on the youngster, into whose mouth the woman who minded him every now and then put a little stuffing

l evening. Then eve

aised up

we must go h

man's two stic

, and even more malicious under the influence of drink, persisted in not going on. Several times he even sat down with the object of making hi

e newly wedded pair could not sleep immediately, they heard the old man for a long time moving about on his bed of straw, and he even talked loudly several times, whether it

morning, he saw his daughter-in-l

ed out

urry on! Here's

seized the hot jar, warmed his hands with it in his customary fashion; and, as it was very cold, even pressed it against his brea

vered with ice, till it was time for dinner, for he had

he seemed not to belong to it any longer, to be no longer interested in anything, to look upon thos

ed by. It was l

borious ants, passed their days in the fields, toiling from morning till night, under the wi

vy. There were no slow frosts, and the apples bursting into bloom let fall into

d left off work late, in order to

aid to him

ourself ill in

rep

not. I'm a

spite of his fast on the previous night, and he had to come back to the house in the middle of the afternoon in order to go to bed again. In the course of the

, next morning, the doctor had to be sent for, and pro

to see him, to give his medicine, and to apply cupping-glasses, it was necessary to bring a candle towards the entrance. Then one could see his narrow head with his long m

waving up and down the house, while the old Amable remained at the side of his loft, watching at a distance the gloomy

n two loose bundles of straw, was going to see whether her man was better, she no longe

what sort of a

flesh on his face felt cold as ice. She uttered a great cry,

ly descended, felt in his turn the flesh of his son, and suddenly realizing what had happened, went to shut the door from th

on a chair by the

dow, and jumped into the room. Others followed. The door was opened again, and Céleste reappeared, all in tears, wit

ceremony, the father-in-law and the daughter-in-law f

ed the plated on the table, while the old man sat on the chair waiting without

end of the table, emptied his pot, masticated his bread and bu

enjoyable days when life ferments, palpita

nt on at his customary pace, dragging his legs after him in a limping fashion. And, as he was all alone in the plain, all alone under the blue sky, in the midst of

he little birds that came there to drink; then, as the night was falling, he r

Nothing was changed, except that hi

morning and evening, watching with an eye of rage, the little boy also taking soup, right opposite him, at the other side of the table. Then he went out, prowled about the fields

ltivator, a master, who would know the business and have the care of the farm. A lone woman could not manage the farming, watch the price of corn, and direct the sale and purchase of cattle. Then ideas came into her

ng and well acquainted with farming business; with a little money in his pocket, he would make an excel

ung, she went out to meet him. When he perceived her, he drew up hi

r-are you quite wel

rep

the same as ever-

I'm alone in the house, which bot

then lifted up his cap to scratch his forehead, and began thinking, while she, with flushed cheeks, went on talk

t can b

e a countryman clinchin

t agr

her outstre

s ag

then, for S

ed for Su

od mornin

ng, Madame

RT

l, the annual festival in honor of the patron

ery managers, keepers of shooting galleries, and other forms of amusement or exhibitors of curiosities, which t

s, drew up one after the other, in the green fronting the Mayor's office. Then a tent was erected in front of each traveling abode, and ins

dors of glass or porcelain; and the peasants on their way to mass, regarded already with looks

they oscillated like cradles. They unyoked at their friends' houses, and the farm-yards were filled with strange looking traps, gray, high, lean, crooked, like long clawed creatures from the depths of the sea. And each family,

sound like that of cloth being torn, and every moment the crack of the rifle could be heard. And the slowly moving throng passed on quietly in front of the

out songs; the young men followed them making jokes, with their caps over their

s there-masters, laboring

een frock-coat, had wished to see the assembly,

shots, and interested himself specially in a very simple game, which consisted in thro

his shoulder. It was Dadd

e and have a gl

the table of a rustic i

nt of the lotteries, in front of the wooden horses, and especially in front of the killing game. He remained there a long time, filled with delight when he saw a holidaymaker knocking down the gend

home late for t

e. A soft shadow, the warm shadow of a spri

the house. He stopped, much surprised, then he went in, and he saw Victor Lecoq seated at the table, wit

he wanted to go away. The night was very dark

s some good stew to finis

watching in turn the man, the woman and the child.

nd kissed him. And Céleste again served him with food, poured out drink for him, and appeared content w

he feel his heart wrung) he rose up, and in place of ascending to his loft

, Céleste, a lit

he goin

ed in an ind

elf. He'll come bac

ble, while the man quietly took off his clothes. Then he slipped

s in search of Victor Lecoq. As he did not see him, he took the candle off the table, and approached the dark niche in which his son had died. In the interior of i

is bed, arranged everything, and waited her father-in

, without moving her hands, and

he murmured in a tone of

d man will burn four sous

her from under

. We'd want to see whether he fell a

decl

oing t

nt out, making a shade of her hand

on the bench, nothing on the dung pit, where t

towards the big apple tree, which sheltered the entrance to the farm house, and sud

ed terrib

Victor!

word, and turning round her head, so as not to see, s

find out, and in the midst of the foliage lit up from below, he

ed at the trunk

, and cut the halter. But the old man was already cold, an

NET

of brandy, amidst the smoke and the torpid warmth of digestion and the slight confusion of he

, incredible things which nevertheless had really happened, they contended, falling back into superstitions, beliefs, clinging to these last remnants of the marvelous, becoming devotees of this mystery of magnetism, defending it in the name of science. Ther

ted with

oe, who end by going mad through constantly reflecting on queer cases of insanity. He has set forth some nervous phenomena, which are unexplained and inexplicable; he makes his way into that unknown region which men explore every d

to with a kind of pity, as if he had blasp

e gentlemen

s were performed

deny it. Why cannot they

g with each other across space, or some case of secret influences produced by one being or another. And they asse

humbug!

n his pockets, said: "Well, I, too, am going to relate to you

e up exclaiming that his father was drowned. A month later the news came that his father had, in fact, been swept off the deck of his smack by a billow. The widow then remembered how her son had wakened up and spoken of his father's death. Everyone said it was a miracle, a

eller stopp

had heard him, much affect

you expla

ve ended, by dint of questioning all the wives of the absent seamen, in convincing myself that not a week passed without one of themselves or their children dreaming and declaring when they woke up that the father was drowned. The horrible and continual fear of this accident makes them always talk about it. Now, if one of these frequent predictions coincides, by a very simple chance, with the death of the person referred to, people at once declare

e smokers

t enough; but what ab

, and so I don't place any great value on my own view of the matter. One is never a g

whom I had never bestowed a thought, whom I had never even loo

ossess eyes, a nose, a mouth, some sort of hair-just a colorless type of countenance. She was one of those beings on wh

dder of the heart, and immediately, without reason, without any logical connection of thought, I saw distinctly, saw as If I touched her, saw from head to foot, uncovered, this young woman for whom I had never cared save in the most superficial manner when her name happened to recur to my mind. And all of a su

asters of the impossible, which open to you doors that ca

occupied? And have you ever noticed what superhuman delight these good fortunes of dreams bestow upon us? Into what mad intoxication they cast you! with what passionate spasms they shake y

he odor of her skin remained in my brain, the taste of her kisses remained on my lips, the sound of her voice lingered in my ears, the touch of her

same night I had a

nted my brain and my flesh to such an extent that I

nt up the stairs to her apartment, I was so much overcome by emotion that I tre

ent she heard my name pronounced; and suddenl

at d

, abruptly, I flung myself upon her; seizing her with both arms; and my entire dream was accomplished so quickly, so eas

do you draw from

ller seemed

tell? Perhaps it was some glance of hers which I had not noticed and which came back that night to me-one of those mysterious an

ons, when the story was finished, "but if you don't believe in m

]

￡6

n France, whether a religious cere

olden

t ￡500,

en near relations, lovers, very intimate fr

he Knight who should ride round the parapet of the Castle, and many perished in the attempt. At last one of them succeeded in performing the feat, but he

specially in Paris, at which black puddi

]

The Guard dies, but does not surrender. But according to Victor Hugo, in Les Miserables, he

ompulsory, though frequently follow

lack G

mitation of Ger