diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/20040628-1940.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/20040628-1940.txt | 1120 |
1 files changed, 1120 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/20040628-1940.txt b/old/20040628-1940.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6855554 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/20040628-1940.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1120 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ in Flanders, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + + +Title: Christ in Flanders + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #1940] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST IN FLANDERS *** + + + + +Produced by Dagny, and John Bickers + + + + + CHRIST IN FLANDERS + + BY + + HONORE DE BALZAC + + + Translated by Ellen Marriage + + + + + DEDICATION + + To Marcelline Desbordes-Valmore, a daughter of Flanders, of whom + these modern days may well be proud, I dedicate this quaint legend + of old Flanders. + +DE BALZAC. + + + + + CHRIST IN FLANDERS + + + +At a dimly remote period in the history of Brabant, communication +between the Island of Cadzand and the Flemish coast was kept up by a +boat which carried passengers from one shore to the other. Middelburg, +the chief town in the island, destined to become so famous in the +annals of Protestantism, at that time only numbered some two or three +hundred hearths; and the prosperous town of Ostend was an obscure +haven, a straggling village where pirates dwelt in security among the +fishermen and the few poor merchants who lived in the place. + +But though the town of Ostend consisted altogether of some score of +houses and three hundred cottages, huts or hovels built of the +driftwood of wrecked vessels, it nevertheless rejoiced in the +possession of a governor, a garrison, a forked gibbet, a convent, and +a burgomaster, in short, in all the institutions of an advanced +civilization. + +Who reigned over Brabant and Flanders in those days? On this point +tradition is mute. Let us confess at once that this tale savors +strongly of the marvelous, the mysterious, and the vague; elements +which Flemish narrators have infused into a story retailed so often to +gatherings of workers on winter evenings, that the details vary widely +in poetic merit and incongruity of detail. It has been told by every +generation, handed down by grandames at the fireside, narrated night +and day, and the chronicle has changed its complexion somewhat in +every age. Like some great building that has suffered many +modifications of successive generations of architects, some sombre +weather-beaten pile, the delight of a poet, the story would drive the +commentator and the industrious winnower of words, facts, and dates to +despair. The narrator believes in it, as all superstitious minds in +Flanders likewise believe; and is not a whit wiser nor more credulous +than his audience. But as it would be impossible to make a harmony of +all the different renderings, here are the outlines of the story; +stripped, it may be, of its picturesque quaintness, but with all its +bold disregard of historical truth, and its moral teachings approved +by religion--a myth, the blossom of imaginative fancy; an allegory +that the wise may interpret to suit themselves. To each his own +pasturage, and the task of separating the tares from the wheat. + + + +The boat that served to carry passengers from the Island of Cadzand to +Ostend was upon the point of departure; but before the skipper loosed +the chain that secured the shallop to the little jetty, where people +embarked, he blew a horn several times, to warn late lingerers, this +being his last journey that day. Night was falling. It was scarcely +possible to see the coast of Flanders by the dying fires of the +sunset, or to make out upon the hither shore any forms of belated +passengers hurrying along the wall of the dykes that surrounded the +open country, or among the tall reeds of the marshes. The boat was +full. + +"What are you waiting for? Let us put off!" they cried. + +Just at that moment a man appeared a few paces from the jetty, to the +surprise of the skipper, who had heard no sound of footsteps. The +traveler seemed to have sprung up from the earth, like a peasant who +had laid himself down on the ground to wait till the boat should +start, and had slept till the sound of the horn awakened him. Was he a +thief? or some one belonging to the custom-house or the police? + +As soon as the man appeared on the jetty to which the boat was moored, +seven persons who were standing in the stern of the shallop hastened +to sit down on the benches, so as to leave no room for the newcomer. +It was the swift and instinctive working of the aristocratic spirit, +an impulse of exclusiveness that comes from the rich man's heart. Four +of the seven personages belonged to the most aristocratic families in +Flanders. First among them was a young knight with two beautiful +greyhounds; his long hair flowed from beneath a jeweled cap; he +clanked his gilded spurs, curled the ends of his moustache from time +to time with a swaggering grace, and looked round disdainfully on the +rest of the crew. A high-born damsel, with a falcon on her wrist, only +spoke with her mother or with a churchman of high rank, who was +evidently a relation. All these persons made a great deal of noise, +and talked among themselves as though there were no one else in the +boat; yet close beside them sat a man of great importance in the +district, a stout burgher of Bruges, wrapped about with a vast cloak. +His servant, armed to the teeth, had set down a couple of bags filled +with gold at his side. Next to the burgher came a man of learning, a +doctor of the University of Louvain, who was traveling with his clerk. +This little group of folk, who looked contemptuously at each other, +was separated from the passengers in the forward part of the boat by +the bench of rowers. + +The belated traveler glanced about him as he stepped on board, saw +that there was no room for him in the stern, and went to the bows in +quest of a seat. They were all poor people there. At first sight of +the bareheaded man in the brown camlet coat and trunk-hose, and plain +stiff linen collar, they noticed that he wore no ornaments, carried no +cap nor bonnet in his hand, and had neither sword nor purse at his +girdle, and one and all took him for a burgomaster sure of his +authority, a worthy and kindly burgomaster like so many a Fleming of +old times, whose homely features and characters have been immortalized +by Flemish painters. The poorer passengers, therefore, received him +with demonstrations of respect that provoked scornful tittering at the +other end of the boat. An old soldier, inured to toil and hardship, +gave up his place on the bench to the newcomer, and seated himself on +the edge of the vessel, keeping his balance by planting his feet +against one of those traverse beams, like the backbone of a fish, that +hold the planks of a boat together. A young mother, who bore her baby +in her arms, and seemed to belong to the working class in Ostend, +moved aside to make room for the stranger. There was neither servility +nor scorn in her manner of doing this; it was a simple sign of the +goodwill by which the poor, who know by long experience the value of a +service and the warmth that fellowship brings, give expression to the +open-heartedness and the natural impulses of their souls; so artlessly +do they reveal their good qualities and their defects. The stranger +thanked her by a gesture full of gracious dignity, and took his place +between the young mother and the old soldier. Immediately behind him +sat a peasant and his son, a boy ten years of age. A beggar woman, +old, wrinkled, and clad in rags, was crouching, with her almost empty +wallet, on a great coil of rope that lay in the prow. One of the +rowers, an old sailor, who had known her in the days of her beauty and +prosperity, had let her come in "for the love of God," in the +beautiful phrase that the common people use. + +"Thank you kindly, Thomas," the old woman had said. "I will say two +/Paters/ and two /Aves/ for you in my prayers to-night." + +The skipper blew his horn for the last time, looked along the silent +shore, flung off the chain, ran along the side of the boat, and took +up his position at the helm. He looked at the sky, and as soon as they +were out in the open sea, he shouted to the men: "Pull away, pull with +all your might! The sea is smiling at a squall, the witch! I can feel +the swell by the way the rudder works, and the storm in my wounds." + +The nautical phrases, unintelligible to ears unused to the sound of +the sea, seemed to put fresh energy into the oars; they kept time +together, the rhythm of the movement was still even and steady, but +quite unlike the previous manner of rowing; it was as if a cantering +horse had broken into a gallop. The gay company seated in the stern +amused themselves by watching the brawny arms, the tanned faces, and +sparkling eyes of the rowers, the play of the tense muscles, the +physical and mental forces that were being exerted to bring them for a +trifling toll across the channel. So far from pitying the rowers' +distress, they pointed out the men's faces to each other, and laughed +at the grotesque expressions on the faces of the crew who were +straining every muscle; but in the fore part of the boat the soldier, +the peasant, and the old beggar woman watched the sailors with the +sympathy naturally felt by toilers who live by the sweat of their brow +and know the rough struggle, the strenuous excitement of effort. These +folk, moreover, whose lives were spent in the open air, had all seen +the warnings of danger in the sky, and their faces were grave. The +young mother rocked her child, singing an old hymn of the Church for a +lullaby. + +"If we ever get there at all," the soldier remarked to the peasant, +"it will be because the Almighty is bent on keeping us alive." + +"Ah! He is the Master," said the old woman, "but I think it will be +His good pleasure to take us to Himself. Just look at that light down +there . . ." and she nodded her head as she spoke towards the sunset. + +Streaks of fiery red glared from behind the masses of crimson-flushed +brown cloud that seemed about to unloose a furious gale. There was a +smothered murmur of the sea, a moaning sound that seemed to come from +the depths, a low warning growl, such as a dog gives when he only +means mischief as yet. After all, Ostend was not far away. Perhaps +painting, like poetry, could not prolong the existence of the picture +presented by sea and sky at that moment beyond the time of its actual +duration. Art demands vehement contrasts, wherefore artists usually +seek out Nature's most striking effects, doubtless because they +despair of rendering the great and glorious charm of her daily moods; +yet the human soul is often stirred as deeply by her calm as by her +emotion, and by silence as by storm. + +For a moment no one spoke on board the boat. Every one watched that +sea and sky, either with some presentiment of danger, or because they +felt the influence of the religious melancholy that takes possession +of nearly all of us at the close of the day, the hour of prayer, when +all nature is hushed save for the voices of the bells. The sea gleamed +pale and wan, but its hues changed, and the surface took all the +colors of steel. The sky was almost overspread with livid gray, but +down in the west there were long narrow bars like streaks of blood; +while lines of bright light in the eastern sky, sharp and clean as if +drawn by the tip of a brush, were separated by folds of cloud, like +the wrinkles on an old man's brow. The whole scene made a background +of ashen grays and half-tints, in strong contrast to the bale-fires of +the sunset. If written language might borrow of spoken language some +of the bold figures of speech invented by the people, it might be said +with the soldier that "the weather has been routed," or, as the +peasant would say, "the sky glowered like an executioner." Suddenly a +wind arose from the quarter of the sunset, and the skipper, who never +took his eyes off the sea, saw the swell on the horizon line, and +cried: + +"Stop rowing!" + +The sailors stopped immediately, and let their oars lie on the water. + +"The skipper is right," said Thomas coolly. A great wave caught up the +boat, carried it high on its crest, only to plunge it, as it were, +into the trough of the sea that seemed to yawn for them. At this +mighty upheaval, this sudden outbreak of the wrath of the sea, the +company in the stern turned pale, and sent up a terrible cry. + +"We are lost!" + +"Oh, not yet!" said the skipper calmly. + +As he spoke, the clouds immediately above their heads were torn +asunder by the vehemence of the wind. The gray mass was rent and +scattered east and west with ominous speed, a dim uncertain light from +the rift in the sky fell full upon the boat, and the travelers beheld +each other's faces. All of them, the noble and the wealthy, the +sailors and the poor passengers alike, were amazed for a moment by the +appearance of the last comer. His golden hair, parted upon his calm, +serene forehead, fell in thick curls about his shoulders; and his +face, sublime in its sweetness and radiant with divine love, stood out +against the surrounding gloom. He had no contempt for death; he knew +that he should not die. But if at the first the company in the stern +forgot for a moment the implacable fury of the storm that threatened +their lives, selfishness and their habits of life soon prevailed +again. + +"How lucky that stupid burgomaster is, not to see the risks we are all +running! He is just like a dog, he will die without a struggle," said +the doctor. + +He had scarcely pronounced this highly judicious dictum when the storm +unloosed all its legions. The wind blew from every quarter of the +heavens, the boat span round like a top, and the sea broke in. + +"Oh! my poor child! my poor child! . . . Who will save my baby?" the +mother cried in a heart-rending voice. + +"You yourself will save it," the stranger said. + +The thrilling tones of that voice went to the young mother's heart and +brought hope with them; she heard the gracious words through all the +whistling of the wind and the shrieks of the passengers. + +"Holy Virgin of Good Help, who art at Antwerp, I promise thee a +thousand pounds of wax and a statue, if thou wilt rescue me from +this!" cried the burgher, kneeling upon his bags of gold. + +"The Virgin is no more at Antwerp than she is here," was the doctor's +comment on this appeal. + +"She is in heaven," said a voice that seemed to come from the sea. + +"Who said that?" + +"'Tis the devil!" exclaimed the servant. "He is scoffing at the Virgin +of Antwerp." + +"Let us have no more of your Holy Virgin at present," the skipper +cried to the passengers. "Put your hands to the scoops and bail the +water out of the boat.--And the rest of you," he went on, addressing +the sailors, "pull with all your might! Now is the time; in the name +of the devil who is leaving you in this world, be your own Providence! +Every one knows that the channel is fearfully dangerous; I have been +to and fro across it these thirty years. Am I facing a storm for the +first time to-night?" + +He stood at the helm, and looked, as before, at his boat and at the +sea and sky in turn. + +"The skipper always laughs at everything," muttered Thomas. + +"Will God leave us to perish along with those wretched creatures?" +asked the haughty damsel of the handsome cavalier. + +"No, no, noble maiden. . . . Listen!" and he caught her by the waist +and said in her ear, "I can swim, say nothing about it! I will hold +you by your fair hair and bring you safely to the shore; but I can +only save you." + +The girl looked at her aged mother. The lady was on her knees +entreating absolution of the Bishop, who did not heed her. In the +beautiful eyes the knight read a vague feeling of filial piety, and +spoke in a smothered voice. + +"Submit yourself to the will of God. If it is His pleasure to take +your mother to Himself, it will doubtless be for her happiness--in +another world," he added, and his voice dropped still lower. "And for +ours in this," he thought within himself. + +The Dame of Rupelmonde was lady of seven fiefs beside the barony of +Gavres. + +The girl felt the longing for life in her heart, and for love that +spoke through the handsome adventurer, a young miscreant who haunted +churches in search of a prize, an heiress to marry, or ready money. +The Bishop bestowed his benison on the waves, and bade them be calm; +it was all that he could do. He thought of his concubine, and of the +delicate feast with which she would welcome him; perhaps at that very +moment she was bathing, perfuming herself, robing herself in velvet, +fastening her necklace and her jeweled clasps; and the perverse +Bishop, so far from thinking of the power of Holy Church, of his duty +to comfort Christians and exhort them to trust in God, mingled worldly +regrets and lover's sighs with the holy words of the breviary. By the +dim light that shone on the pale faces of the company, it was possible +to see their differing expressions as the boat was lifted high in air +by a wave, to be cast back into the dark depths; the shallop quivered +like a fragile leaf, the plaything of the north wind in the autumn; +the hull creaked, it seemed ready to go to pieces. Fearful shrieks +went up, followed by an awful silence. + +There was a strange difference between the behavior of the folk in the +bows and that of the rich or great people at the other end of the +boat. The young mother clasped her infant tightly to her breast every +time that a great wave threatened to engulf the fragile vessel; but +she clung to the hope that the stranger's words had set in her heart. +Each time that the eyes turned to his face she drew fresh faith at the +sight, the strong faith of a helpless woman, a mother's faith. She +lived by that divine promise, the loving words from his lips; the +simple creature waited trustingly for them to be fulfilled, and +scarcely feared the danger any longer. + +The soldier, holding fast to the vessel's side, never took his eyes +off the strange visitor. He copied on his own rough and swarthy +features the imperturbability of the other's face, applying to this +task the whole strength of a will and intelligence but little +corrupted in the course of a life of mechanical and passive obedience. +So emulous was he of a calm and tranquil courage greater than his own, +that at last, perhaps unconsciously, something of that mysterious +nature passed into his own soul. His admiration became an instinctive +zeal for this man, a boundless love for and belief in him, such a love +as soldiers feel for their leader when he has the power of swaying +other men, when the halo of victories surrounds him, and the magical +fascination of genius is felt in all that he does. The poor outcast +was murmuring to herself: + +"Ah! miserable wretch that I am! Have I not suffered enough to expiate +the sins of my youth? Ah! wretched woman, why did you leave the gay +life of a frivolous Frenchwoman? why did you devour the goods of God +with churchmen, the substance of the poor with extortioners and +fleecers of the poor? Oh! I have sinned indeed!--Oh my God! my God! +let me finish my time in hell here in this world of misery." + +And again she cried, "Holy Virgin, Mother of God, have pity upon me!" + +"Be comforted, mother. God is not a Lombard usurer. I may have killed +people good and bad at random in my time, but I am not afraid of the +resurrection." + +"Ah! master Lancepesade, how happy those fair ladies are, to be so +near to a bishop, a holy man! They will get absolution for their +sins," said the old woman. "Oh! if I could only hear a priest say to +me, 'Thy sins are forgiven!' I should believe it then." + +The stranger turned towards her, and the goodness in his face made her +tremble. + +"Have faith," he said, "and you will be saved." + +"May God reward you, good sir," she answered. "If what you say is +true, I will go on pilgrimage barefooted to Our Lady of Loretto to +pray to her for you and for me." + +The two peasants, father and son, were silent, patient, and submissive +to the will of God, like folk whose wont it is to fall in +instinctively with the ways of Nature like cattle. At the one end of +the boat stood riches, pride, learning, debauchery, and crime--human +society, such as art and thought and education and worldly interests +and laws have made it; and at this end there was terror and wailing, +innumerable different impulses all repressed by hideous doubts--at +this end, and at this only, the agony of fear. + +Above all these human lives stood a strong man, the skipper; no doubts +assailed him, the chief, the king, the fatalist among them. He was +trusting in himself rather than in Providence, crying, "Bail away!" +instead of "Holy Virgin," defying the storm, in fact, and struggling +with the sea like a wrestler. + +But the helpless poor at the other end of the wherry! The mother +rocking on her bosom the little one who smiled at the storm; the woman +once so frivolous and gay, and now tormented with bitter remorse; the +old soldier covered with scars, a mutilated life the sole reward of +his unflagging loyalty and faithfulness. This veteran could scarcely +count on the morsel of bread soaked in tears to keep the life in him, +yet he was always ready to laugh, and went his way merrily, happy when +he could drown his glory in the depths of a pot of beer, or could tell +tales of the wars to the children who admired him, leaving his future +with a light heart in the hands of God. Lastly, there were the two +peasants, used to hardships and toil, labor incarnate, the labor by +which the world lives. These simple folk were indifferent to thought +and its treasures, ready to sink them all in a belief; and their faith +was but so much the more vigorous because they had never disputed +about it nor analyzed it. Such a nature is a virgin soil, conscience +has not been tampered with, feeling is deep and strong; repentance, +trouble, love, and work have developed, purified, concentrated, and +increased their force of will a hundred times, the will--the one thing +in man that resembles what learned doctors call the Soul. + +The boat, guided by the well-nigh miraculous skill of the steersman, +came almost within sight of Ostend, when, not fifty paces from the +shore, she was suddenly struck by a heavy sea and capsized. The +stranger with the light about his head spoke to this little world of +drowning creatures: + +"Those who have faith shall be saved; let them follow me!" + +He stood upright, and walked with a firm step upon the waves. The +young mother at once took her child in her arms, and followed at his +side across the sea. The soldier too sprang up, saying in his homely +fashion, "Ah! /nom d'un pipe/! I would follow /you/ to the devil;" and +without seeming astonished by it, he walked on the water. The worn-out +sinner, believing in the omnipotence of God, also followed the +stranger. + +The two peasants said to each other, "If they are walking on the sea, +why should we not do as they do?" and they also arose and hastened +after the others. Thomas tried to follow, but his faith tottered; he +sank in the sea more than once, and rose again, but the third time he +also walked on the sea. The bold steersman clung like a remora to the +wreck of his boat. The miser had had faith, and had risen to go, but +he tried to take his gold with him, and it was his gold that dragged +him down to the bottom. The learned man had scoffed at the charlatan +and at the fools who listened to him; and when he heard the mysterious +stranger propose to the passengers that they should walk on the waves, +he began to laugh, and the ocean swallowed him. The girl was dragged +down into the depths by her lover. The Bishop and the older lady went +to the bottom, heavily laden with sins, it may be, but still more +heavily laden with incredulity and confidence in idols, weighted down +by devotion, into which alms-deeds and true religion entered but +little. + +The faithful flock, who walked with a firm step high and dry above the +surge, heard all about them the dreadful whistling of the blast; great +billows broke across their path, but an irresistible force cleft a way +for them through the sea. These believing ones saw through the spray a +dim speck of light flickering in the window of a fisherman's hut on +the shore, and each one, as he pushed on bravely towards the light, +seemed to hear the voice of his fellow crying, "Courage!" through all +the roaring of the surf; yet no one had spoken a word--so absorbed was +each by his own peril. In this way they reached the shore. + +When they were all seated near the fisherman's fire, they looked round +in vain for their guide with the light about him. The sea washed up +the steersman at the base of the cliff on which the cottage stood; he +was clinging with might and main to the plank as a sailor can cling +when death stares him in the face; the MAN went down and rescued the +almost exhausted seaman; then he said, as he held out a succoring hand +above the man's head: + +"Good, for this once; but do not try it again; the example would be +too bad." + +He took the skipper on his shoulders, and carried him to the +fisherman's door; knocked for admittance for the exhausted man; then, +when the door of the humble refuge opened, the Saviour disappeared. + +The Convent of Mercy was built for sailors on this spot, where for +long afterwards (so it was said) the footprints of Jesus Christ could +be seen in the sand; but in 1793, at the time of the French invasion, +the monks carried away this precious relic, that bore witness to the +Saviour's last visit to earth. + + + +There at the convent I found myself shortly after the Revolution of +1830. I was weary of life. If you had asked me the reason of my +despair, I should have found it almost impossible to give it, so +languid had grown the soul that was melted within me. The west wind +had slackened the springs of my intelligence. A cold gray light poured +down from the heavens, and the murky clouds that passed overhead gave +a boding look to the land; all these things, together with the +immensity of the sea, said to me, "Die to-day or die to-morrow, still +must we not die?" And then--I wandered on, musing on the doubtful +future, on my blighted hopes. Gnawed by these gloomy thoughts, I +turned mechanically into the convent church, with the gray towers that +loomed like ghosts though the sea mists. I looked round with no +kindling of the imagination at the forest of columns, at the slender +arches set aloft upon the leafy capitals, a delicate labyrinth of +sculpture. I walked with careless eyes along the side aisles that +opened out before me like vast portals, ever turning upon their +hinges. It was scarcely possible to see, by the dim light of the +autumn day, the sculptured groinings of the roof, the delicate and +clean-cut lines of the mouldings of the graceful pointed arches. The +organ pipes were mute. There was no sound save the noise of my own +footsteps to awaken the mournful echoes lurking in the dark chapels. I +sat down at the base of one of the four pillars that supported the +tower, near the choir. Thence I could see the whole of the building. I +gazed, and no ideas connected with it arose in my mind. I saw without +seeing the mighty maze of pillars, the great rose windows that hung +like a network suspended as by a miracle in air above the vast +doorways. I saw the doors at the end of the side aisles, the aerial +galleries, the stained glass windows framed in archways, divided by +slender columns, fretted into flower forms and trefoil by fine +filigree work of carved stone. A dome of glass at the end of the choir +sparkled as if it had been built of precious stones set cunningly. In +contrast to the roof with its alternating spaces of whiteness and +color, the two aisles lay to right and left in shadow so deep that the +faint gray outlines of their hundred shafts were scarcely visible in +the gloom. I gazed at the marvelous arcades, the scroll-work, the +garlands, the curving lines, and arabesques interwoven and interlaced, +and strangely lighted, until by sheer dint of gazing my perceptions +became confused, and I stood upon the borderland between illusion and +reality, taken in the snare set for the eyes, and almost light-headed +by reason of the multitudinous changes of the shapes about me. + +Imperceptibly a mist gathered about the carven stonework, and I only +beheld it through a haze of fine golden dust, like the motes that +hover in the bars of sunlight slanting through the air of a chamber. +Suddenly the stone lacework of the rose windows gleamed through this +vapor that had made all forms so shadowy. Every moulding, the edges of +every carving, the least detail of the sculpture was dipped in silver. +The sunlight kindled fires in the stained windows, their rich colors +sent out glowing sparks of light. The shafts began to tremble, the +capitals were gently shaken. A light shudder as of delight ran through +the building, the stones were loosened in their setting, the +wall-spaces swayed with graceful caution. Here and there a ponderous +pier moved as solemnly as a dowager when she condescends to complete a +quadrille at the close of a ball. A few slender and graceful columns, +their heads adorned with wreaths of trefoil, began to laugh and dance +here and there. Some of the pointed arches dashed at the tall lancet +windows, who, like ladies of the Middle Ages, wore the armorial +bearings of their houses emblazoned on their golden robes. The dance +of the mitred arcades with the slender windows became like a fray at a +tourney. + +In another moment every stone in the church vibrated, without leaving +its place; for the organ-pipes spoke, and I heard divine music +mingling with the songs of angels, and unearthly harmony, accompanied +by the deep notes of the bells, that boomed as the giant towers rocked +and swayed on their square bases. This strange Sabbath seemed to me +the most natural thing in the world; and I, who had seen Charles X. +hurled from his throne, was no longer amazed by anything. Nay, I +myself was gently swaying with a see-saw movement that influenced my +nerves pleasurably in a manner of which it is impossible to give any +idea. Yet in the midst of this heated riot, the cathedral choir felt +cold as if it were a winter day, and I became aware of a multitude of +women, robed in white, silent, and impassive, sitting there. The sweet +incense smoke that arose from the censers was grateful to my soul. The +tall wax candles flickered. The lectern, gay as a chanter undone by +the treachery of wine, was skipping about like a peal of Chinese +bells. + +Then I knew that the whole cathedral was whirling round so fast that +everything appeared to be undisturbed. The colossal Figure on the +crucifix above the altar smiled upon me with a mingled malice and +benevolence that frightened me; I turned my eyes away, and marveled at +the bluish vapor that slid across the pillars, lending to them an +indescribable charm. Then some graceful women's forms began to stir on +the friezes. The cherubs who upheld the heavy columns shook out their +wings. I felt myself uplifted by some divine power that steeped me in +infinite joy, in a sweet and languid rapture. I would have given my +life, I think, to have prolonged these phantasmagoria for a little, +but suddenly a shrill voice clamored in my ears: + +"Awake and follow me!" + +A withered woman took my hand in hers; its icy coldness crept through +every nerve. The bones of her face showed plainly through the sallow, +almost olive-tinted wrinkles of the skin. The shrunken, ice-cold old +woman wore a black robe, which she trailed in the dust, and at her +throat there was something white, which I dared not examine. I could +scarcely see her wan and colorless eyes, for they were fixed in a +stare upon the heavens. She drew me after her along the aisles, +leaving a trace of her presence in the ashes that she shook from her +dress. Her bones rattled as she walked, like the bones of a skeleton; +and as we went I heard behind me the tinkling of a little bell, a +thin, sharp sound that rang through my head like the notes of a +harmonica. + +"Suffer!" she cried, "suffer! So it must be!" + +We came out of the church; we went through the dirtiest streets of the +town, till we came at last to a dingy dwelling, and she bade me enter +in. She dragged me with her, calling to me in a harsh, tuneless voice +like a cracked bell: + +"Defend me! defend me!" + +Together we went up a winding staircase. She knocked at a door in the +darkness, and a mute, like some familiar of the Inquisition, opened to +her. In another moment we stood in a room hung with ancient, ragged +tapestry, amid piles of old linen, crumpled muslin, and gilded brass. + +"Behold the wealth that shall endure for ever!" said she. + +I shuddered with horror; for just then, by the light of a tall torch +and two altar candles, I saw distinctly that this woman was fresh from +the graveyard. She had no hair. I turned to fly. She raised her +fleshless arm and encircled me with a band of iron set with spikes, +and as she raised it a cry went up all about us, the cry of millions +of voices--the shouting of the dead! + +"It is my purpose to make thee happy for ever," she said. "Thou art my +son." + +We were sitting before the hearth, the ashes lay cold upon it; the old +shrunken woman grasped my hand so tightly in hers that I could not +choose but stay. I looked fixedly at her, striving to read the story +of her life from the things among which she was crouching. Had she +indeed any life in her? It was a mystery. Yet I saw plainly that once +she must have been young and beautiful; fair, with all the charm of +simplicity, perfect as some Greek statue, with the brow of a vestal. + +"Ah! ah!" I cried, "now I know thee! Miserable woman, why hast thou +prostituted thyself? In the age of thy passions, in the time of thy +prosperity, the grace and purity of thy youth were forgotten. +Forgetful of thy heroic devotion, thy pure life, thy abundant faith, +thou didst resign thy primitive power and thy spiritual supremacy for +fleshly power. Thy linen vestments, thy couch of moss, the cell in the +rock, bright with rays of the Light Divine, was forsaken; thou hast +sparkled with diamonds, and shone with the glitter of luxury and +pride. Then, grown bold and insolent, seizing and overturning all +things in thy course like a courtesan eager for pleasure in her days +of splendor, thou hast steeped thyself in blood like some queen +stupefied by empery. Dost thou not remember to have been dull and +heavy at times, and the sudden marvelous lucidity of other moments; as +when Art emerges from an orgy? Oh! poet, painter, and singer, lover of +splendid ceremonies and protector of the arts, was thy friendship for +art perchance a caprice, that so thou shouldst sleep beneath +magnificent canopies? Was there not a day when, in thy fantastic +pride, though chastity and humility were prescribed to thee, thou +hadst brought all things beneath thy feet, and set thy foot on the +necks of princes; when earthly dominion, and wealth, and the mind of +man bore thy yoke? Exulting in the abasement of humanity, joying to +witness the uttermost lengths to which man's folly would go, thou hast +bidden thy lovers walk on all fours, and required of them their lands +and wealth, nay, even their wives if they were worth aught to thee. +Thou hast devoured millions of men without a cause; thou hast flung +away lives like sand blown by the wind from West to East. Thou hast +come down from the heights of thought to sit among the kings of men. +Woman! instead of comforting men, thou hast tormented and afflicted +them! Knowing that thou couldst ask and have, thou hast demanded +--blood! A little flour surely should have contented thee, accustomed +as thou hast been to live on bread and to mingle water with thy wine. +Unlike all others in all things, formerly thou wouldst bid thy lovers +fast, and they obeyed. Why should thy fancies have led thee to require +things impossible? Why, like a courtesan spoiled by her lovers, hast +thou doted on follies, and left those undeceived who sought to explain +and justify all thy errors? Then came the days of thy later passions, +terrible like the love of a woman of forty years, with a fierce cry +thou hast sought to clasp the whole universe in one last embrace--and +thy universe recoiled from thee! + +"Then old men succeeded to thy young lovers; decrepitude came to thy +feet and made thee hideous. Yet, even then, men with the eagle power +of vision said to thee in a glance, 'Thou shalt perish ingloriously, +because thou hast fallen away, because thou hast broken the vows of +thy maidenhood. The angel with peace written on her forehead, who +should have shed light and joy along her path, has been a Messalina, +delighting in the circus, in debauchery, and abuse of power. The days +of thy virginity cannot return; henceforward thou shalt be subject to +a master. Thy hour has come; the hand of death is upon thee. Thy heirs +believe that thou art rich; they will kill thee and find nothing. Yet +try at least to fling away this raiment no longer in fashion; be once +more as in the days of old!--Nay, thou art dead, and by thy own deed!' + +"Is not this thy story?" so I ended. "Decrepit, toothless, shivering +crone, now forgotten, going thy ways without so much as a glance from +passers-by! Why art thou still alive? What doest thou in that beggar's +garb, uncomely and desired of none? Where are thy riches?--for what +were they spent? Where are thy treasures?--what great deeds hast thou +done?" + +At this demand, the shriveled woman raised her bony form, flung off +her rags, and grew tall and radiant, smiling as she broke forth from +the dark chrysalid sheath. Then like a butterfly, this diaphanous +creature emerged, fair and youthful, clothed in white linen, an Indian +from creation issuing her palms. Her golden hair rippled over her +shoulders, her eyes glowed, a bright mist clung about her, a ring of +gold hovered above her head, she shook the flaming blade of a sword +towards the spaces of heaven. + +"See and believe!" she cried. + +And suddenly I saw, afar off, many thousands of cathedrals like the +one that I had just quitted; but these were covered with pictures and +with frescoes, and I heard them echo with entrancing music. Myriads of +human creatures flocked to these great buildings, swarming about them +like ants on an ant-heap. Some were eager to rescue books from +oblivion or to copy manuscripts, others were helping the poor, but +nearly all were studying. Up above this countless multitude rose giant +statues that they had erected in their midst, and by the gleams of a +strange light from some luminary as powerful as the sun, I read the +inscriptions on the bases of the statues--Science, History, +Literature. + +The light died out. Again I faced the young girl. Gradually she +slipped into the dreary sheath, into the ragged cere-cloths, and +became an aged woman again. Her familiar brought her a little dust, +and she stirred it into the ashes of her chafing-dish, for the weather +was cold and stormy; and then he lighted for her, whose palaces had +been lit with thousands of wax-tapers, a little cresset, that she +might see to read her prayers through the hours of night. + +"There is no faith left in the earth! . . ." she said. + +In such a perilous plight did I behold the fairest and the greatest, +the truest and most life-giving of all Powers. + + + +"Wake up, sir, the doors are just about to be shut," said a hoarse +voice. I turned and beheld the beadle's ugly countenance; the man was +shaking me by the arm, and the cathedral lay wrapped in shadows as a +man is wrapped in his cloak. + +"Belief," I said to myself, "is Life! I have just witnessed the +funeral of a monarchy, now we must defend the church." + + + +PARIS, February 183l. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ in Flanders, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST IN FLANDERS *** + +***** This file should be named 1940.txt or 1940.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.net/1/9/4/1940/ + +Produced by Dagny, and John Bickers + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.net/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.net + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |