diff options
Diffstat (limited to '25410.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 25410.txt | 1444 |
1 files changed, 1444 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/25410.txt b/25410.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e44acdf --- /dev/null +++ b/25410.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1444 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Miracle Of The Great St. Nicolas, by Anatole France + +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.org + + +Title: The Miracle Of The Great St. Nicolas + 1920 + +Author: Anatole France + +Editor: James Lewis May And Bernard Miall + +Translator: D. B. Stewart + +Release Date: May 9, 2008 [EBook #25410] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT ST. NICOLAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE MIRACLE OF THE GREAT ST. NICOLAS + +From "The Seven Wives Of Bluebeard & Other Marvellous Tales" + +By Anatole France + +Translated by D. B. Stewart + +Edited By James Lewis May And Bernard Miall + +John Lane Company MCMXX + + +ST. NICOLAS, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, lived in the time of Constantine +the Great. The most ancient and weighty of those authors who have +mentioned him celebrate his virtues, his labours, and his worth: they +give abundant proofs of his sanctity; but none of them records the +miracle of the salting-tub. Nor is it mentioned in the Golden Legend. +This silence is important: still one does not willingly consent to throw +doubt upon a fact so widely known, which is attested by the ballad which +all the world knows: + + "There were three little children + In the fields they went to glean." + +This famous text expressly states that a cruel pork-butcher put +the innocents "like pigs into the salting-vat." That is to say, he +apparently preserved them, cut into pieces, in a bath of brine. This is, +to be sure, how pork is cured: but one is surprised to read further on +that the three little children remained seven years in pickle, whereas +it is usual to begin withdrawing the pieces of flesh from the tub, with +a wooden fork, at the end of about six weeks. The text is explicit: +according to the elegy, it was seven years after the crime that St. +Nicolas entered the accursed hostelry. He asked for supper. The landlord +offered him a piece of ham: + + "'Wilt eat of ham? Tis dainty food.' + 'I'll have no ham: it is not good. + 'Wilt cat a piece of tender veal? + 'I will not make of that my meal. + Young salted flesh I want, and that + Has lain seven years within the vat. + Wheras the butcher heard this said + Out of the door full fast he fled." + +The Man of God immediately resuscitated the tender victims by the laying +of hands on the salting-tub. + +Such is, in substance, the story of the old anonymous rhyme. It bears +the inimitable stamp of honesty and good faith. Scepticism seems +ill-inspired when it attacks the most vital memories of the popular +mind. It is not without a lively satisfaction that I have found myself +able to reconcile the authority of the ballad with the silence of the +ancient biographers of the Lycian pontiff. I am happy to proclaim the +result of my long meditations and scholastic researches. The miracle of +the salting-tub is true, in so far as essentials are concerned, but it +was not the blessed Bishop of Myra who performed it; it was another St. +Nicolas, for there were two: one, as we have already stated, Bishop +of Myra in Lycia; the other more recent, Bishop of Trinqueballe in +Vervignole. For me was reserved the task of distinguishing between them. +It was the Bishop of Trinqueballe who rescued the three little boys from +the salting-tub. I shall establish the fact by authentic documents, and +no one will have occasion to deplore the end of a legend. + +I have been fortunate enough to recover the entire history of the Bishop +Nicolas and the children whom he resuscitated. I have fashioned it +into in a narrative which will be read, I hope, with both pleasure and +profit. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +NICOLAS, a scion of an illustrious family of Vervignole, showed marks of +sanctity from his earliest childhood, and at the age of fourteen vowed +to consecrate himself to the Lord. Having embraced the ecclesiastical +profession, he was raised, while still young, by popular acclamation and +the wish of the Chapter, to the see of St. Cromadaire, the apostle of +Vervignole, and first Bishop of Trinqueballe. He exercised his pastoral +ministry with piety, governed his clergy with wisdom, taught the people, +and feared not to remind the great of Justice and Moderation. He was +liberal, profuse in almsgiving, and set aside for the poor the greater +part of his wealth. + +His castle proudly lifted its crenelated walls and pepper-pot roofs from +the summit of a hill overlooking the town. He made of it a refuge where +all who were pursued by the secular arm might find a place of refuge. In +the lower hall, the largest to be seen in all Vervignole, the table laid +for meals was so long that those who sat at one end saw it lose itself +in the distance in an indistinct point, and when the torches upon +it were lighted it recalled the tail of the comet which appeared in +Vervignole to announce the death of King Comus. The holy St. Nicolas sat +at the upper end. There he entertained the principal folk of the town +and of the kingdom, and a multitude of clergy and laymen. But on his +right there was always reserved a seat for the poor man who might come +begging for his bread at the door. + +Children, particularly, aroused the solicitude of the good St. Nicolas. +He delighted in their innocence, and he felt for them with the heart of +a father and the bowels of a mother. He had the virtues and the morals +of an apostle. Yearly, in the dress of a simple monk, with a white staff +in his hand, he would visit his flock, desirous of seeing everything +with his own eyes; and in order that no adversity or disorder should +escape his notice he would traverse, accompanied by a single priest, the +wildest parts of his diocese, crossing, in winter, the flooded rivers, +climbing mountains, and plunging into the thick forests. One day, having +ridden since dawn upon his mule, in company with the Deacon Modernus, +thorny thickets through which his mount with difficulty forced a winding +path. The Deacon Modernus followed him with much difficulty on his mule, +which carried the baggage. + +Overcome with hunger and fatigue, the man of God said to Modernus: + +"Let us halt here, my son, and if you still have a little bread and wine +we will sup here, for I feel that I hardly have the strength to proceed +further, and you, although the younger, must be nearly as tired as I." + +"Monseigneur," answered Modernus, "there remains neither a drop of wine +nor a crumb of bread; for, by your orders, I gave all to some people on +the road, who had less need of it than ourselves." + +"Without a doubt," replied the Bishop, "had there been a few scraps +left in your wallet we should have eaten them with pleasure, for it +is fitting that those who govern the Church should be nourished on the +leavings of the poor. But since you have nothing left it is because God +has desired it so, and He has surely desired it for our good and profit. +It is possible that He will for ever hide from us the reason of this +favour: perhaps, on the other hand, He will quickly make it manifest. +Meanwhile, I think the only thing left for us is to push on until we +find some arbutus berries and blackberries for our own nourishment, and +some grass for our mules, and, being thus refreshed, to lie down upon a +bed of leaves." + +"As you please, Monseigneur," answered Modernus, pricking his mount. + +They travelled all night, and a part of the following morning; then, +having climbed a fairly steep ascent, they suddenly found themselves at +the border of the wood, and beheld at their feet a plain covered by a +yellowish sky, and crossed by four white roads, which lost themselves +in the mist. They took that to the left, an old Roman road, formerly +frequented by merchants and pilgrims, but deserted since the war had +laid waste this part of Vervignole. Dense clouds were gathering in the +sky, across which birds were flying; a stifling atmosphere weighed down +upon the dumb, livid earth. Lightning flashed on the horizon. They urged +on their wearied mules. Suddenly a mighty wind bent the tops of the +trees, making the boughs crack and the battered foliage moan. The +thunder muttered, and heavy drops of rain began to fall. + +As they made their way through the storm, the lightning flashing about +them, along a road which had become a torrent, they perceived, by the +light of a flash, a house outside which there hung a branch of holly, +the sign of hospitality. + +The inn appeared deserted; nevertheless, the host advanced towards them, +a man fierce yet humble, with a great knife at his belt, and asked what +they wished for. + +"A lodging, and a scrap of bread, with a drop of wine," answered the +Bishop, "for we are weary and benumbed with cold." + +While the host was fetching wine from the cellar, and Modernus was +taking the mules to the stable, St. Nicolas, sitting at the hearth +beside a dying fire, cast a glance round the smoky room. Dust and dirt +covered the benches and casks; spiders spun their webs between the +worm-eaten joists, whence hung scanty bunches of onions. In a dark +corner the salting-tub displayed its iron-hooped belly. + +In those days the demons used to take a hand in domestic life in a +far more intimate fashion than they do to-day. They haunted houses, +concealed in the salt-box, the butter-tub, or some other hiding-place; +they spied upon the people of the house, and watched for the opportunity +to tempt them and lead them into evil. Then, too, the angels made more +frequent appearances among Christian folk. + +Now a devil, as big as a hazel-nut, who was hidden among the burning +logs, spoke up and said to the holy Bishop: + +"Look at that salting-tub, Father; it is well worth a look. It is the +best salting-tub in the whole of Vervignole. It is, indeed, the model +and paragon of salting-tubs. When the master here, Seigneur Garum, +received it from the hands of a skilful cooper he perfumed it with +juniper, thyme, and rosemary. Seigneur Garum has not his equal +in bleeding the meat, boning it, and cutting it up, carefully, +thoughtfully, and lovingly, and steeping it in salted liquors by which +it is preserved and embalmed. He is without a rival for seasoning, +concentrating, boiling down, skimming, straining, and decanting the +pickle. Taste his mild-cured pork, father, and you will lick your +fingers: taste his mild-cured pork, Nicolas, and you will have something +to say about it." + +But in these words, and above all in the voice that uttered them (it +grated like a saw), the holy Bishop recognized an evil spirit. He +made the sign of the Cross, whereupon the little devil exploded with a +horrible noise and a very bad smell, just like a chestnut thrown into +the fire without having had its skin split. + +And an angel from Heaven appeared, resplendent in light and said to +Nicolas: + +"Nicolas, beloved of the Lord, you must know that three little children +have been in that salting-tub for seven years; Garum, the innkeeper, +cut up these tender infants, and put them in salt and pickle. Arise, +Nicolas, and pray that they may come to life again. For, if you +intercede for them, O Pontiff, the Lord, who loves you, will restore +them to life." + +During this speech Modernus entered the room, but he did not see the +angel, nor did he hear him, for he was not sufficiently holy to be able +to communicate with the heavenly spirits. + +The angel further said: + +"Nicolas, son of God, lay your hands on the salting-tub, and the three +children will be resuscitated." + +The blessed Nicolas, filled with horror, pity, zeal, and hope, gave +thanks to God, and when the innkeeper reappeared with a jug in either +hand, the Saint said to him in a terrible voice: + +"Garum, open the salting-tub!" + +Whereupon, Garum, overcome by fear, dropped both his jugs. + +And the saintly Bishop Nicolas stretched out his hands, and said: + +"Children, arise!" + +At these words, the lid of the salting-tub was lifted up, and three +young boys emerged. + +"Children," said the Bishop, "give thanks to God, who through me, has +raised you from out the salting-tub." + +And turning towards the innkeeper, who was trembling in every limb, he +said: + +"Cruel man, recognize the three children whom you shamefully put to +death. May you loathe your crime, and repent, that God may pardon you!" + +The innkeeper, filled with terror, fled into the storm, amidst the +thunder and lightning. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +ST. NICOLAS embraced the three children and gently questioned them about +the miserable death which they had suffered. They related that Garum, +having approached them while they were gleaning in the fields, had lured +them into his inn, had made them drink wine, and had cut their throats +while they slept. + +They still wore the rags in which they had been clothed on the day of +their death, and they retained, after their resurrection, a wild +and timid air. The sturdiest of the three, Maxime, was the son of a +half-witted woman, who followed the soldiers to war, mounted on an ass. +One night he fell from the pannier in which she carried him, and was +left abandoned by the roadside. From that time forward he had lived +solely by theft. The feeblest, Robin, could hardly recall his parents, +peasants in the highlands, who being too poor or too avaricious to +support him had deserted him in the forest. The third, Sulpice, knew +nothing of his birth, but a priest had taught him his alphabet. The +storm had ceased; in the buoyant, limpid air the birds were calling +loudly to one another. The smiling earth was green. Modernus having +fetched the mules, Bishop Nicolas mounted his, and carried Maxime +wrapped in his cloak: the deacon took Sulpice and Robin upon his +crupper, and they set off toward the city of Trinqueballe. + +The road unfolded itself between fields of corn, vineyards, and meadows. +As they went along the great Saint Nicolas who already loved the +children with all his heart, examined them on subjects suitable to their +age, and asked them easy questions such as: "How much is five times +five?" or "What is God?" He obtained no satisfactory answers. But, far +from shaming them for their ignorance, he thought only of gradually +dissipating it by the application of the best pedagogic methods. + +"Modernus," he said, "we will teach them firstly the truths necessary +for salvation, and secondly the liberal arts, especially music, so that +they may sing the praises of the Lord. It will also be expedient to +teach them rhetoric, philosophy, and the history of men, plants, and +animals. I desire that they shall study, in their habits and their +structure, the animals, all of whose organs, in their wonderful +perfection, attest the glory of the Creator." + +Scarcely had the venerable Pontiff concluded this speech when a peasant +woman passed along the road, dragging by the halter an old mare so +heavily laden with branches cut with their leaves on that her knees were +trembling, and she stumbled at every step. + +"Alas," sighed the great St. Nicolas, "here is a poor horse carrying +more than its burden. He has unfortunately fallen into the hands of +unjust and hard-hearted masters. One should not overload any creature, +not even beasts of burden." + +At these words the three boys burst out laughing. The Bishop having +asked why they laughed so loudly: + +"Because----" said Robin. + +"That is----" said Sulpice. + +"We laughed," said Maxime, "because you mistook a mare for a horse. +Can't you see the difference? It is very plain to me. Don't you know +anything about animals?" + +"I think," said Modernus, "the first thing is to teach these children +manners." + +At every town, borough, village, hamlet or castle by which he passed, +St. Nicolas showed the people the children rescued from the salting-tub, +and related the great miracle performed by God, on his intercession; +whereupon they were all very joyful, and blessed him. Informed by +messengers and travellers of so prodigious an occurrence, the entire +population of Trinqueballe came out to meet their pastor, unrolling +precious carpets and scattering flowers in his path. The citizens, their +eyes wet with tears, gazed at the three victims who had escaped from the +salting-tub, and cried: "The Lord be praised!" But the poor children +knew no better than to laugh and stick out their tongues; this caused +further wonder and compassion, as being a palpable proof of their +innocence and misfortune. + +The saintly Bishop Nicolas had an orphan niece, Mirande by name, who had +just reached her seventh year, and was dearer to him than the light of +his eyes. A worthy widow by name Basine was rearing her in piety, good +manners, and ignorance of evil. The three miraculously saved children +were confided to the care of this lady. She was not lacking in judgment. +She quickly saw that Maxime had courage, Robin prudence, and Sulpice +the power of reflection. She devoted herself to confirming these good +qualities, which, by the corruption common to the whole human race, +tended unceasingly to become perverted and distorted; for Robin's +cautiousness turned easily into hypocrisy, and mostly hid a greedy +covetousness; Maxime was subject to fits of rage, and Sulpice frequently +and obstinately expressed false ideas in very important matters. +However, they were but mere children who went bird's-nesting, stole the +garden fruit, tied cooking-pots to dogs' tails, put ink the holy water +font, and cow-itch in Modernus' bed. + +At night, wrapped in white sheets and walking on stilts, they would go +into the gardens, and frighten into a swoon the serving-maids belated +in their lovers' arms. They would cover the seat which Madame Basine +was wont to use with bristling spikes, and when she sat down they would +delight in her sufferings, observing the confusion with which she openly +applied a heedful and comforting hand to the damaged spot, for she would +not for all the world have been lacking in modesty. + +In spite of her age and virtues, this lady inspired them with neither +love nor fear. Robin called her an old goat, Maxime an old she-ass, and +Sulpice, the ass of Balaam. They teased little Mirande in all sorts +of ways; they would dirty her pretty clothes by making her fall face +downward on the stones. Once they pushed her head right up to the neck +into a barrel of treacle. They taught her to sit astride railings, and +to climb trees, contrary to the decorum of her sex; they taught her +words and manners that smacked of the inn and the salting-tub. Following +their example, she called Madame Bassne "an old goat," and even, taking +the part for the whole, "old goat's rump." But she remained completely +innocent. The purity of her soul was unchangeable. + +"I am fortunate," said the holy Bishop Nicolas, "in that I rescued these +children from the salting-tub, to make them good Christians. They will +become faithful servants of God, and their merits will be accounted to +me." + +Now, by the third year after their resurrection, when they were already +tall and well-made, on a day of spring, as they were all playing in the +field beside the river, Maxime in a moment of facetiousness and natural +high spirits, threw the Deacon Modernus into the water. Hanging on to +the branch of a willow-tree, Modernus called for help. Robin ran up, +made as though to draw him out by the hand, took off his ring, and fled. + +Meanwhile, Sulpice, sitting motionless on the bank with his arms +crossed, said: + +"Modernus is making a bad end. I can see six devils, in the form of +flittermice, ready to seize his soul as it comes out of his mouth." + +When this serious affair was reported to him by Madame Basine and +Modernus, the holy Bishop was much afflicted and fell a-sighing. + +"These children," he said, "were reared in suffering, by unworthy +parents. The excess of their misfortunes has caused the deformity of +their characters. We must redress their wrongs by enduring patience, and +persevering kindness." + +"Monseigneur," answered Modernus, who was chattering with fever in his +dressing-gown, and sneezing under his nightcap, for his bath had given +him a cold, "it is possible that their wickedness is derived from the +wickedness of their parents. But how do you explain, father, the fact +that neglect has produced in each of them different and, so to speak, +contrary vices, and that the desertion and destitution into which +they were thrown before they were put in the salting-tub has made one +avaricious, a second violent, and the third a visionary? And in your +place, my Lord, I should feel most uneasy about the last." + +"Each of these children," answered the Bishop, "has yielded in his weak +spot. Ill-treatment has deformed their souls in those portions that +offered the least resistance. Let us straighten them out with a thousand +precautions, for fear of increasing the evil instead of diminishing it. +Mildness, clemency, and forbearance are the only means which should ever +be employed for the improvement of men, heretics of course excepted." + +"No doubt, Monseigneur, no doubt," said Modernus, sneezing three +times. "But you cannot have a good education without chastisement, nor +discipline without discipline. I know what I am about. If you do not +punish these three little ragamuffins, they will grow up worse than +Herod. I assure you I am right." + +"Modernus could not be mistaken," said Madame Basine. + +The Bishop did not answer. With the widow and the Deacon, he paced the +length of a hawthorn hedge, which breathed forth an agreeable fragrance +of honey and bitter almonds. In a slight hollow, where the soil received +the water from a neighbouring spring, he stopped before a bush, whose +twisted, close-packed branches were covered with gleaming, clean-cut +leaves and white clusters of flowers. + +"Look," he said, "at this leafy, fragrant shrub, this lovely may, this +noble thorn-bush, so strong and vigorous. Observe that it is in more +abundant leaf, and more glorious with bloom, than all the other thorns +in the hedge. But notice also that the pale bark of its branches bears +only a few thorns, which are weak and soft and blunt. What is the reason +of this? It is because, growing in a rich, moist soil, quiet and secure +in the wealth which sustains its life, it has utilized all the juices +of the earth to augment its power and its glory, and being too strong +to dream of arming against its feeble enemies, it has devoted itself +entirely to the joys of its magnificent and delicious fertility. Now +come a few steps up this rising path, and look at this other hawthorn, +which having with difficulty issued from a dry, stony soil, languishes, +deficient in both wood and leaves, and has had no other thought during +its hard life than to defend itself against the innumerable enemies that +threaten the weal. It is nothing but a bundle of thorns. It has employed +the little sap which it received in fashioning innumerable spears, broad +at the base, hard and sharp, which but ill restore confidence to +its apprehensive weakness. It has nothing left over for fruitful and +fragrant blossom. My friends, we are like the hawthorns. The care given +to our childhood makes us better. Too harsh an up bringing hardens us." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WHEN Maxime was approaching his seventeenth year he filled the holy +Bishop Nicolas with grief and the diocese with scandal by forming and +training a company of rogues of his own age, with a view to kidnapping +the girls of a village called Grosses-Nates, situated at a distance +of four leagues from Trinqueballe. The expedition was marvellously +successful. The ravishers entered the village by night, clasping to +their bosoms the dishevelled virgins, who vainly uplifted to heaven +their burning eyes and imploring hands. But when the fathers, brothers, +and betrothed of these ravished maidens sought them out, they refused to +return to the place of their birth, alleging that they felt too deeply +shamed, and preferred to hide their dishonour in _the_ arms that +had caused it. Maxime, who, for his share, had taken the three most +beautiful, was living in their company in a little manor dependent upon +the episcopal See. In the absence of their ravisher, the Deacon Modernus +arrived, by order of the Bishop, to knock at their door, answering that +he came to set them free. They refused to open; and when he represented +to them the abomination of their lives they dropped upon his head +a crockful of dishwater, with the crock, by which his skull was +fractured. + +Armed with a gentle severity, the holy Bishop reproached Maxime for this +violence and disorder: + +"Alas," he said, "did I draw you from out of the salting-box to the ruin +of the virgins of Vervignole?" + +And he reproached him with the magnitude of his offence. But Maxime +shrugged his shoulders, and turned his back, without making any reply. + +At that moment King Berlu, in the fourteenth year of his reign, was +assembling a powerful army to fight the Mambournians, the determined +enemies of his kingdom, who, having entered Vervignole, were ravaging +and depopulating the richest provinces of that great country. + +Maxime left Trinqueballe without saying goodbye to a soul. When he was +some leagues distant from the town, seeing in a field a mare of moderate +quality, except that she was blind in one eye and lame, he jumped on her +back and galloped off. On the following morning, accidentally meeting +a farm lad who was taking a great plough horse to water, he immediately +dismounted, bestrode the great horse, and ordered the lad to mount the +blind mare, and to follow him, saying that he would take him for his +squire should he prove satisfactory. Thus equipped Maxime presented +himself to King Berlu, who accepted his services. He became in a very +short time one of Vervignole's greatest captains. + +Meanwhile, Sulpice was giving the holy Bishop cause for perhaps more +cruel, and certainly more momentous, uneasiness; for if Maxime sinned +grievously, he sinned without malice, and offending God without thought, +and, so to speak, unknowingly. But Sulpice set himself to do evil with a +greater and more unusual malignity. Being destined from early youth for +the Church he assiduously studied letters, both sacred and profane; but +his soul was a corrupted vessel, wherein Truth was turned into Error. +He sinned in spirit; he erred in matters of faith with surprising +precocity. At an age when people have as yet no ideas at all, he +overflowed with wrong ones. A thought occurred to him which was +doubtless suggested by the devil. In a field belonging to the Bishop he +gathered a multitude of boys and girls of his own age and, climbing into +a tree, he exhorted them to leave their fathers and mothers to follow +Jesus Christ, and to go in, parties through the country-side, burning +priories and presbyteries in order to lead the Church back into +evangelical poverty. This youthful mob, led away by emotion, followed +the sinner along the roads of Vervignole, singing canticles, burning +barns, pillaging chapels, and devastating the ecclesiastical lands. Many +of these crazy creatures perished of fatigue, hunger, and cold, or were +killed by villagers. The episcopal palace re-echoed with the complaints +of the priesthood and the lamentations of mothers. + +The pious Bishop Nicolas sent for the originator of these disorders. +With extreme mildness, and infinite sadness, he reproached him for +having misused the Word for the misleading of souls, and reminded him +that God had not picked him out of the salting-tub in order that he +should attack the property of our Holy Mother, the Church. + +"Consider, my son," he said, "the greatness of your offence. You appear +before your pastor charged with turmoil, sedition, and murder." + +But young Sulpice, maintaining a horrid calm, answered with a voice full +of assurance, that he had not sinned, neither had he offended God; but, +on the contrary, he had acted in accordance with the bidding of Heaven, +for the good of the Church. And he professed before the dismayed Bishop +the false doctrines of the Manicheans, the Arians, the Nestorians, the +Sabellians, the Vaudois, the Albigenses, and the Begards. So eager +was he to embrace these monstrous errors that he did not see how they +contradicted one another, and were mutually devoured in the bosom that +cherished and revived them. + +The pious Bishop endeavoured to lead Sulpice back into the right path, +but he failed to overcome the unhappy lad's obstinacy. + +Having dismissed him, he knelt and prayed. + +"I thank thee, O Lord, for having sent me this young man, as a whetstone +on which to sharpen my patience and my charity." + +While two of the children he had rescued from the salting-tub were +causing him so much pain, St. Nicolas was obtaining some consolation +from the third. Robin showed himself neither violent in his actions nor +arrogant in his thoughts. He had not the sturdy, ruddy appearance of +Maxime; nor the grave, audacious manner of Sulpice. Small, thin, yellow, +lined, and shrunken, of humble, obsequious and reverential bearing, he +devoted himself to assisting the Bishop and clergy, helping the clerks +to keep the accounts of the episcopal revenues, and making complicated +calculations with the assistance of balls threaded on rods; he even +multiplied and divided numbers in his head, without the use of slate or +pencil, with a rapidity and accuracy that would have been admired even +in a past master of money and finance. For him it was a pleasure to keep +the books of the Deacon Modernus, who, growing old, used to muddle the +figures and fall asleep at his desk. To oblige the Bishop, and obtain +money for him, he spared neither trouble nor fatigue. From the Lombards, +he learnt how to calculate both the simple and compound interest on a +sum of money for a day, week, month, or year; he feared not to visit +the filthy Jews in the black lanes of the Ghetto, in order to learn, +by mingling with them, the standard of metals, the price of precious +stones, and the art of clipping coin. Ultimately, with a little store +which he had accumulated by marvellous industry in Vervignole, in +Mondousiana, and even in Mambournia, he attended the fairs, tournaments, +pardons, and jubilees, to which people of all conditions flocked from +all parts of Christendom: peasants, burghers, clerics, and _seigneurs_; +there he changed their money, and every time he returned a little richer +than he had departed. Robin did not spend the money he had made, but +brought it to the Bishop. + +St. Nicolas was extremely hospitable, and very liberal in almsgiving. +He spent all his property and that of the Church in making gifts to +pilgrims and assisting the unfortunate. Thus he continually found +himself short of money; and he was much obliged to Robin for the skill +and energy with which the young treasurer obtained the sums which he +required. The condition of penury in which the holy Bishop had placed +himself owing to his magnificence and liberality was greatly aggravated +by the condition of the times. The war which was ravaging Vervignole +also ruined the Church in Trinqueballe. The soldiery who were +fighting in the country-side about the town pillaged the farms, levied +contributions on the peasantry, drove out the religious orders, and +burned the castles and abbeys. + +The clergy and the faithful could no longer contribute to the expenses +of their creed, and thousands of peasants, fleeing from the free-booters +came daily to beg their bread at the door of the episcopal palace. For +their sakes, the good St. Nicolas felt the poverty which he had never +felt for his own. Fortunately, Robin was always ready to lend him money, +which the holy pontiff naturally agreed to return in more prosperous +times. + +Alas, the war was now raging throughout the kingdom, from north to +south, from east to west, attended by its two inseparable companions, +famine and pestilence. The peasantry turned robbers, and the monks +followed the armies. The inhabitants of Trinqueballe, having neither +wood for firing, nor bread to eat, died like flies at the approach of +winter. Wolves entered the outlying parts of the town, devouring little +children. At this sad juncture, Robin came to inform the Bishop that not +only was he unable to provide any further sum of money, however small, +but that being unable to obtain anything from his debtors, and being +pressed by his creditors, he had been compelled to hand over all his +assets to the Jews. + +He brought this distressing news to his benefactor with the obsequious +politeness which was usual to him; but he appeared a great deal less +afflicted than he might have been in this grevions extremity. As a +matter of fact, he was hard put to it to conceal, under a long face, his +joyous feelings and his lively satisfaction. The parchment of his dry, +humble, yellow eyelids ill concealed the light of joy which shone from +his sharp eyes. + +Sadly stricken, St. Nicolas remained quiet and serene under the blow. + +"God will soon re-establish our declining affairs," he said. "He will +not permit the house which He has built to be overthrown." + +"That is true," said Modernus, "but you may be sure that Robin, whom you +drew out of the salting-tub, has made an arrangement with the Lombards +of Pont-Vieux and the Jews of the Ghetto to despoil you, and that he is +retaining the lion's share of the plunder." + +Modernus spoke the truth. Robin had lost no money. He was richer than +ever, and had just been appointed treasurer to the King. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +AT this time Mirande was nearing the close of her seventeenth year. +She was beautiful, and well grown. An air of purity, innocence, and +artlessness hung round her like a veil. The length of her eyelashes, +which barred her blue eyes, and the childlike smallness of her mouth, +gave the impression that evil could never find means to enter into her. +Her ears were so tiny, so fine, so finished and so delicate, that the +least modest of men could never have dared to breathe into them any but +the most innocent of speeches. In the whole of Ver-vigbole no virgin +inspired so much respect, and none had greater need to do so, for she +was marvellously simple, credulous, and defenceless. + +The pious Bishop Nicolas, her uncle, cherished her more dearly every +day, and was more deeply attached to her than one should be to any of +God's creatures. He loved her, undoubtedly, in God; but he also loved +her for herself; he took great delight in her, and he loved to love her; +it was his only weakness. The Saints themselves are not always able to +cut through all the ties of the flesh. + +St. Nicolas loved his niece, with a pure love, but not without +gratification of the senses. On the day following that on which he had +learned of Robin's bankruptcy, he went to see Mirande in order to hold +pious converse with her, as was his duty, for he stood in the place of a +father to her, and had taken charge of her education. + +She lived in the upper town, near the Cathedral in a house called "The +House of the Musicians," because there were to be seen on its front men +and animals playing on divers instruments. There were, notably, an ass +playing a flute, and a philosopher, recognizable by his long beard and +ink-horn, clashing cymbals. Every one explained these figures according +to his fancy. It was the finest dwelling-house in the town. + +The Bishop found his niece crouching on the floor, with dishevelled +hair, her eyes glittering with tears, by the side of an empty, open +coffer, in a room full of confusion. + +He inquired of her the reason of this affliction, and of the disorder +that prevailed around her. Turning upon him her despairing gaze, she +told him with a thousand sighs that Robin, the Robin who had escaped +from the salting-tub, the darling Robin, having many a time told her +that if she ever wanted a dress, an ornament or a jewel, he would gladly +lend her the money wherewith to buy it, she had frequently had recourse +to his kindness, which appeared inexhaustible; but that very morning a +Jew called Seligmann had come to her with four sheriff's officers, had +presented the notes, signed by herself, which she had given Robin, and +as she had not the money to pay them he had taken away all the clothes, +head-dresses and jewels which she possessed. + +"He has taken," she sobbed, "my bodices and petticoats of velvet, +brocade and lace; my diamonds, my emeralds, my sapphires, my jacinths, +my amethysts, my rubies, my garnets, and my turquoises; he has taken my +great diamond cross, with angels' heads in enamel, my large necklace, +consisting of two table diamonds, three cabochons, and six knots each +of four pearls; he has taken my great collar of thirteen table diamonds, +and twenty hanging pearls!" + +And without saying more she wept bitterly into her handkerchief. + +"My daughter," answered the saintly Bishop, "a Christian virgin is +sufficiently adorned when she wears modesty for a necklace, and chastity +for a girdle. None the less, as the scion of a most noble and most +illustrious family it was right that you should wear diamonds and +pearls. Your jewels were the treasury of the poor, and I deplore the +fact that they should have been snatched from you." + +He assured her that she would certainly recover them, either in this +world or the next; he said everything possible to assuage her regret, +and soothe her sorrow, and he comforted her. For she had a tender +soul, which longed for consolation. But he himself left her full of +affliction. + +On the following day, as he was about to celebrate Mass in the +cathedral, the holy Bishop saw coming towards him, in the sacristy, the +three Jews, Seligmann, Issachar, and Meyer, who, wearing green hats and +fillets upon their shoulders, very humbly presented him the notes which +Robin had made over to them. As the venerable pontiff could not pay +diem, they called up twenty porters, with baskets, sacks, picklocks, +carts, cords, and ladders, and commenced to pick the locks of the +wardrobes, coffers, and tabernacles. The holy man cast on them a look +which would have destroyed three Christians. He threatened them with the +penalties of sacrilege, both in this world and the next, he pointed +out that their mere presence in the house of the God, whom they had +crucified, called down the fire of heaven upon their heads. They +listened with the calm of people for whom anathema, reprobation, +malediction, and execration were their daily bread. He then prayed to +them, besought them, and promised to pay as soon as he could, twofold, +threefold, tenfold, a hundredfold, the debt which they had acquired. +They excused themselves politely for being unable to postpone the little +transaction. The Bishop threatened to sound the tocsin, to rouse against +them the people who would kill them like dogs for profaning, violating, +and stealing the miraculous images and holy relics. They smilingly +pointed to the sheriff's officers, who were guarding them. They were +protected by King Berln, for they lent him money. At this sight the holy +Bishop, recognizing that resistance would be rebellion, and remembering +Him who replaced the ear of Malchus, remained inert and speechless, and +bitter tears dropped from his eyes. Seligmann, Issachar, and Meyer +took away the golden shrines enriched with precious stones, enamels and +cabochons, the reliquaries in the form of chalices, lanterns, naves, and +towers, the portable altars of alabaster encased in gold and silver, the +coffers enamelled by the skilful craftsmen of Limoges and the Rhine, the +altar-crosses, the Gospels bound in carved ivory and antique cameos, +the desks ornamented with festoons of trailing vines, the consular +registers, the pyxes, the candelabra and candlesticks, the lamp, of +which they blew out the sacred flame, and spilt the blessed oil on the +tiles, the chandeliers like enormous crowns, the duplets with beads of +pearl and amber, the eucharistie doves, the ciboria, the chalices, the +patens, the kisses of peace, incense boxes and flagons, the innumerable +ex-votos--hands, arms, legs, eyes, mouths, and hearts, all of +silver--the nose of King Sidoc, the breast of Queen Blandine, and the +head in solid gold of Saint Cromadaire, the first apostle of Vervignole, +and the blessed patron of Trinqueballe. They even carried off the +miraculous image of St. Gibbosine, whom the people of Vervignole had +never invoked in vain in time of pestilence, famine, or war. This very +ancient and venerable image was made of leaves of beaten gold nailed +upon a core of cedar-wood, and was covered with precious stones of the +bigness of ducks' eggs, which emitted fiery rays of red, blue, yellow +and violet and white. For the past three hundred years her enamelled +eyes, wide open in her golden face, had compelled such respect from the +inhabitants of Trinqueballe that they saw her in their dreams, splendid +and terrible, threatening them with the direst penalties if they +failed to supply her with sufficient quantities of virgin- wax and +crown-pieces. St. Gibbosine groaned, trembled, and tottered on her +pedestal, and allowed herself to be carried away without resistance, +out of the basilica to which, from time immemorial, she had drawn +innumerable pilgrims. + +After the departure of these sacrilegious thieves the holy Bishop +Nicolas ascended the steps of the despoiled altar, and consecrated the +blood of our Lord in an old silver chalice, of German origin, thin and +deeply dented. He prayed for the afflicted, and in particular for Robin, +whom, by the will of God, he had rescued from the salting-box. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +SHORTLY after this, King Berlu defeated the Mambournians in a great +battle. He was, at first, unaware of the fact, for armed conflicts +always present a great confusion, and during the last two hundred years +the Vervignolians had lost the habit of victory. But the precipitate +and disordered flight of the Mambournians informed him of his advantage. +Instead of fighting a rear-guard action he pursued the enemy, and +regained half his kingdom. The victorious army entered the city of +Trinqueballe, all beflagged and beflowered in its honour, and in that +illustrious capital of Vervignole it committed a great number of rapes, +thefts, murders, and other cruelties, burnt several houses, sacked the +churches, and took from the cathedral all that the Jews had left there, +which, truth to tell, was not much. + +Maxime, who having become a knight and commander of eighty lances, had +largely contributed to the victory, was one of the first to enter the +city, and repaired straightway to the House of the Musicians, where +dwelt the beautiful Mirande, whom he had not seen since his departure +for the war. He found her in her bower, plying her distaff, and fell +upon her with such impetuosity that the young lady lost her innocence +without, so to speak, realizing that she had done so. And when, having +recovered from her surprise, she exclaimed: "Is it you, Seigneur Maxime? +What are you doing here?" and was preparing as in duty bound to resist +her aggressor, he was quietly walking down the street, readjusting his +armour and ogling the girls. + +Possibly she would have entirely overlooked this offence, had it not +been that some time later she found that she was about to become a +mother. Captain Maxime was then fighting in Mambournia. All the town +knew her shame: she confided it to the great St. Nicolas, who, on +learning this astonishing news, lifted his eyes to heaven, and said: + +"Lord, did you rescue this man from the salting-tub only as a ravening +wolf to devour my sheep? Your wisdom is adorable; but your ways are +dark, and your designs mysterious." + +And in that same year, on the Sunday of Mid-Lent, Sulpice threw himself +at the feet of the holy Bishop, saying: + +"From my earliest youth, my keenest wish has been to consecrate myself +to the Lord. Allow me, father, to embrace the monastic state, and +to make my profession in the monastery of the mendicant friars of +Trinqueballe." + +"My son," answered the good St. Nikolas, "there is no worthier condition +than that of the monk. Happy is he who in the shade of the cloister +takes shelter from the tempests of the age. But of what avail to flee +the storm if the storm is within oneself? Of what avail to affect an +outward show of humility, if one's bosom contains a heart full of pride? +What shall you profit by donning the livery of obedience if your soul +be in revolt? I have seen you, my son, fall into more errors than +Sabellius, Alius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Manes, Pelagius, and Pachosius +combined, and revive, before your twentieth year, twelve centuries of +peculiar opinions. It is true that you have not been very obstinate +in any of them, but your successive recantations appear to betray less +submission to our Holy Mother the Church than eagerness to rush from one +error to another, to leap from Manicheeism to Sabellianism, and from +the crime of the Albigenses to the ignominies of the Vaudois." + +Sulpice listened to this discourse with a contrite heart, a simplicity +of mind and submissiveness, that drew tears from the great St. Nicolas. + +"I deplore, repudiate, condemn, reprove, detest, execrate, and abominate +my errors, past, present, and future," he said. "I submit myself to the +Church fully and entirely, totally and generally, purely and simply; and +I have no belief but her belief, no faith but her faith, no knowledge +but her knowledge: I neither see, hear, nor feel, save only through her. +She might tell me that the fly which has but now settled on the nose +of the Deacon Modernus was a camel, and I should incontinently, without +dispute, contest, murmur, resistance, hesitation or doubt, believe, +declare, proclaim, and confess, under torture and unto death, that it +was a camel that settled on the nose of the Deacon Modernus. For the +Church is the Fountain of Truth, and I am nought by myself but a vile +receptacle of Error." + +"Take care, my father," said Modernus. "Sulpice is capable of overdoing +submission to the Church even to the point of Heresy. Do you not see +that he submits with frenzy, in transports and swooning? Is wallowing in +submission a good way of submitting? He is annihilating himself; he is +committing suicide." + +But the Bishop reprimanded his deacon for holding such ideas, which +were contrary to charity, and sent the postulant to the noviciate of the +mendicant friars of Trinqueballe. + +Alas, at the end of a year those priests, till then so quiet and humble, +were torn by frightful schisms, plunged into a thousand errors against +the Catholic truth, their days filled with disorder, and their souls +with sedition! Sulpice inspired the brothers with this poison. He +sustained against his superiors that there was no longer any true Pope, +since miracles no longer accompanied the elections of the Sovereign +Pontiffs; nor, rightly speaking, any Church, since Christians had ceased +to live the life of the apostles and the first of the faithful; that +there was no purgatory; that it was not necessary to confess to a priest +if one confessed to God; that men do wrong in making use of moneys +of gold and silver, for they should share in common the fruits of +the earth. These abominable maxims, which he forcibly sustained, were +combated by some, and adopted by others, causing horrible scandals. +A little later Sulpice taught the doctrine of perfect purity, which +nothing can soil, and the good brothers' monastery became like a cage of +monkeys. This pestilence did not remain confined within the walls of a +monastery. Sulpice went preaching through the city; his eloquence, the +internal fire by which he was consumed, the simplicity of his life, and +his unshakable courage touched all hearts. + +On hearing the voice of the reformer, the ancient city, evangelized by +St. Cromadaire, and enlightened by St. Gibbosine, fell into disorder and +dissolution; every sort of extravagance and impiety was committed there, +by day and by night. In vain did the great St. Nicolas warn his flock by +exhortations, threats, and fulminations. The evil increased unchecked, +and it was sad to see the contagion spreading itself among the +well-to-do townsfolk, the lords, and the clergy, as much as and more +than among the poor artisans and the small tradesfolk. + +One day when the man of God was lamenting the deplorable state of the +church of Vervignole in the cloister of the cathedral, his meditations +were disturbed by strange shrieks, and he saw a woman, stark naked, +walking on all fours, with a peacock's feather for a tail. As she came +nearer, she barked, sniffed, and licked the ground. Her fair head +was covered with mud, and her whole body was a mass of filth. In this +unhappy creature the holy Bishop Nicolas recognized his niece Mirande. + +"What do you there, my daughter?" he cried. "Why are you naked, and +wherefore do you walk on your hands and knees? Have you no shame?" + +"No, uncle, I am not ashamed," sweetly replied Mirande. "I should, on +the contrary, be ashamed of any other gesture, or method of progression. +If one wishes to please God, it is thus that one should behave. The holy +Brother Sulpice taught me to conduct myself thus, in order to resemble +the beasts, who are nearer to God than is Man, in that they have not +sinned. So long as I am in the state in which you see me, there will be +no danger of my sinning. I have come, uncle, to beg you in all love and +charity to do likewise; for unless you do you cannot be saved. Remove, +I beg, your clothes, and adopt the posture of the animals, in whom God +joyfully sees His image which has not been distorted by sin. I give you +this advice by order of the holy brother Sulpice, and consequently by +order of God Himself, for the holy brother is in the Lord's secrets. +Strip yourself naked, uncle, and come with me, so that we may show +ourselves to the people for their edification." + +"Can I believe my eyes and ears?" gasped the holy Bishop, whose voice +was stifled by sobs. "I had a niece blooming in beauty, virtue, and +piety; the three children whom I rescued from the salting-tub have +reduced her to the miserable condition in which I now see her. The first +has despoiled her of all her property, an abundant source of alms, and +the patrimony of the poor; the second has robbed her of her honour, and +the third has turned her into a heretic." + +He threw himself on the flagstones, embracing his niece, begging her to +renounce so evil a way of life, and adjuring her to reclothe herself, +and walk on her feet like a human being, ransomed by the blood of Jesus +Christ. + +But she replied only by sharp yelps and lamentable shrieks. + +Before long the town of Trinqueballe was filled with naked men and +women, walking on all fours and barking; they called themselves the +Edenites, and their ambition was to lead back the world to the times of +perfect innocence, before the unfortunate creation of Adam and Eve. + +The Reverend Father Gilles Caquerole, a Dominican, inquisitor of +the faith in the city, university, and ecclesiastical province of +Trinqueballe, became uneasy concerning this novelty, and proceeded to +look into it minutely. In the most urgent fashion, by letters under his +seal, he invited the Bishop Nicolas, in co-operation with himself, to +arrest, imprison, interrogate, and sentence these enemies of God, and +especially their principal leaders, the Franciscan monk, Sulpice, and +a dissolute woman named Mirande. The great St. Nicolas burned with an +ardent zeal for the unity of the Church and the destruction of heresy, +but he dearly loved his niece. He hid her in the episcopal palace, and +refused to hand her over to the inquisitor Caquerole, who denounced him +to the Pope as an abettor of disorder and the propagator of a new and +very detestable heresy. The Pope enjoined Nicolas to no longer +withhold the guilty one from her legitimate judges. Nicolas eluded +the injunction, protested his obedience, and did not obey. The Pope +fulminated against him in the Bull _Maleficus pastor_, in which the +venerable pontiff was accused of being a disobedient member of the +Church, a heretic, or one smelling of heresy, a keeper of concubines, +a committer of incest, a corrupter of the people, an old woman and a +meddling old fool, and was passionately admonished. + +In this way the Bishop did himself a great deal of harm without any +benefit to his beloved niece. King Berlu, having been threatened with +excommunication if he did not lend his secular arm to the Church in +pursuit of the Edenites, sent some men-at-arms to the episcopal palace +of Trinqueballe. + +They tore Mirande from her asylum: she was brought before the inquisitor +Caquerole, thrown into a deep dungeon, and fed upon bread which the +jailers' dogs had refused; but what afflicted her most was that she was +forcibly compelled to don an old frock and a hood, and that she could no +longer be certain of not sinning. + +The monk Sulpice escaped the investigations of the Holy Office and +succeeded in reaching Mambournia, and found an asylum in a monastery of +that kingdom, where he established new sects even more pernicious than +the previous one. + +Nevertheless, heresy, fortified by persecution, and exulting in danger, +now spread its ravages over the whole of Vervignole. All over the +kingdom there were seen in the fields thousands of naked men and women, +nibbling the grass, bleating, lowing, roaring, neighing, and contending +at night with sheep, cattle, and horses for the use of stable and +manger. The inquisitor informed the Holy Father of these horrible +scandals, and warned him that so long as the Protector of the Edenites, +the odious Nicolas, remained seated on the throne of St. Cromadaire, the +evil could only continue to increase. Conformably with this advice the +Pope hurled against the Bishop, like a thunderbolt, the Bull _Deterrima +quondam_, by which he deprived him of all his ecclesiastical functions, +and cut him off from the communion of the faithful. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CRUSHED by the Vicar of Jesus Christ, steeped in bitterness, overwhelmed +by affliction, the holy Nicolas stepped down without regret from his +illustrious seat, and departed, no more to return thither, from the city +of Trinqueballe, which for thirty years had witnessed his pontifical +virtues and apostolic labours. There is in western Vervignole a lofty +mountain, whose peals are covered with perpetual snow; from its flanks +there descend, in spring, the foaming sonorous cascades that fill the +valley torrents with a water as blue as the sky. There, in a region +where grow the larch, the arbutus, and the hazel, some hermits supported +themselves on berries and milk. This mountain is called that of the +Saviour. It was here that St. Nicolas resolved to take refuge, and, far +from the world, to weep for his sins and those of man. + +As he was climbing the mountain in search of some wild spot where he +might establish his habitation, having emerged above the clouds which +are almost always gathered about the flanks of the peak, he saw upon the +threshold of a hut an old man sharing his bread with a tame hind. His +hair fell over his forehead, and nothing could be perceived of his face +but the tip of his nose and a long white beard. + +The holy Nicolas greeted him with these words: + +"Peace be with you, brother." + +"It delights to dwell upon this mountain," answered the recluse. + +"I also," replied the holy Nicolas, "have come hither to end, in calm, +days which have been disturbed by the tumult of the times and the +malignity of men." + +As he was speaking in this wise, the hermit gazed at him attentively. + +"Are you not," he said at length, "the Bishop of Trinqueballe, that +Nicolas whose work and virtues are extolled by men?" + +When, by a sign, the holy pontiff admitted that he was that man, the +hermit threw himself at his feet. + +"Monseigneur, to you I owe the saving of my soul, if, as I hope, my soul +is saved." + +Nicolas raised him with kindness, and asked him: + +"My brother, how have I had the happiness to work for your salvation?" + +"Twenty years ago," replied the recluse, "when I was an innkeeper at +the edge of a wood, on a deserted road, I saw one day, in a field, three +little children gleaning. I lured them to my house, gave them wine to +drink, cut their throats in their sleep, cut them up into small pieces, +and salted them. On seeing them emerge from the salting-tub I was frozen +with terror; owing to your exhortations my heart melted; I experienced +a salutary repentance, and, fleeing from men, I came to this mountain, +where I consecrated my days to God. He bestowed His peace upon me." + +"What," cried the holy Bishop, "you are that cruel Garum, guilty of so +heinous a crime! I praise God that he has accorded you a peaceful +heart, after the horrible murder of three children, whom you put in the +salting-tub like pigs; but as for me, alas! for having drawn them out +of it my life has been filled with tribulation, my soul steeped in +bitterness, and my Bishopric laid wholly desolate. I have been deposed, +excommunicated by the common Father of the Faithful. Why have I been so +cruelly punished for what I did?" + +"Let us worship God," said Garum, "and let us not ask His motives." + +The great St. Nicolas, with his own hands, built a hut near that of +Garum, and there, in prayer and penitence, he ended his days. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Miracle Of The Great St. Nicolas, by +Anatole France + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT ST. NICOLAS *** + +***** This file should be named 25410.txt or 25410.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/4/1/25410/ + +Produced by David Widger + +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.org/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.org + +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.org), +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 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.org + +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. |