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diff --git a/40618-h/40618-h.htm b/40618-h/40618-h.htm index d007bf9..8d743ae 100644 --- a/40618-h/40618-h.htm +++ b/40618-h/40618-h.htm @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> <title> The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Surprises Of Life, by Georges Clemenceau. @@ -174,47 +174,7 @@ table { </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Surprises of Life, by Georges Clemenceau - -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 Surprises of Life - -Author: Georges Clemenceau - -Translator: Grace Hall - -Release Date: August 29, 2012 [EBook #40618] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURPRISES OF LIFE *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40618 ***</div> <div class="figleft"> <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt=""/> @@ -265,7 +225,7 @@ INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN</p> <tr><td align="right">IX. </td><td><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">A Mad Thinker</span> </a></td><td align="right">113</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">X. </td><td><a href="#X"><span class="smcap">Better Than Stealing</span> </a></td><td align="right">125</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">XI. </td><td><a href="#XI"><span class="smcap">The Gray Fox</span> </a></td><td align="right">137</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XII. </td><td><a href="#XII"><span class="smcap">The Adventure of My Curé</span> </a></td><td align="right">149</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">XII. </td><td><a href="#XII"><span class="smcap">The Adventure of My Curé</span> </a></td><td align="right">149</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">XIII. </td><td><a href="#XIII"><span class="smcap">Master Baptist, Judge</span> </a></td><td align="right">161</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">XIV. </td><td><a href="#XIV"><span class="smcap">The Bullfinch and the Maker of Wooden Shoes</span> </a></td><td align="right">173</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">XV. </td><td><a href="#XV"><span class="smcap">About Nests</span> </a></td><td align="right">185</td></tr> @@ -620,20 +580,20 @@ the mark of an immoderate idealism. I remember his small, mocking green eyes, sunk behind the brush of his formidable eyebrows. The long, white side-whiskers, the carefully shaven lips that would stretch to his ears in a grin like Voltaire's, accompanied by a dry chuckle, have remained -alive in my memory, as have also his wide, incoördinate gestures, his +alive in my memory, as have also his wide, incoördinate gestures, his dry, harsh voice, and his biting, wrathful utterances.</p> <p>I should find it impossible at this distance to trace the life history -of Doctor Jean du Pouët, known over the entire Plain, from Sainte +of Doctor Jean du Pouët, known over the entire Plain, from Sainte Hermine to Fontenay-le-Comte, under the familiar yet respectful title of "The Doctor." All I can say is that the Doctor, hailing originally from -L'Aiguillon, a little port of the Vendée at the mouth of the Lay, had +L'Aiguillon, a little port of the Vendée at the mouth of the Lay, had sailed every sea, landed on every island, visited every coast of every continent, and made his studies of all nations on earth from life, which enabled him to criticise his neighbours at every turn by comparing them, disastrously for them, with heaven knows what abominable savages, in which comparison the latter were always found far superior, with regard -to the point under discussion, to the men of the Vendée, from the Plain, +to the point under discussion, to the men of the Vendée, from the Plain, the Woodland, and the Marsh, all put together.</p> <p>It was in the very heart of the Plain, in the village of Ecoulandres, @@ -650,7 +610,7 @@ to be seen, surrounded the domain. It was a thin copse, the layer of soil making but a shallow covering to the underlying limestone. This did not prevent our stern censor from taking a certain pride in his "grove," without its like to the furthermost boundary of the horizon. I must even -confess that the doctor, like any other true son of the Vendée, had a +confess that the doctor, like any other true son of the Vendée, had a very well-developed sense of landed proprietorship. Money ran through his fingers, and no outstretched palm ever sought his help in vain. But the possessive pronoun rose readily to his lips when talk turned upon @@ -700,7 +660,7 @@ from that devil of a man.</p> <p>His talk upon marriage, the family, religion, property, the judiciary, the administration itself, was directed by the blackest psychology. But -his chief victim was the <i>curé</i> of Ecoulandres, an old friend who did +his chief victim was the <i>curé</i> of Ecoulandres, an old friend who did not take abuse without virulent retaliation, which led to curious fencing bouts between the two.</p> @@ -708,28 +668,28 @@ fencing bouts between the two.</p> them were remnants of the France of the eighteenth century, both suffering from the same stab of disillusion which the Revolution and the Empire had driven into their fondest dreams. The doctor found vent in -wrath, the Abbé in resignation. Fundamentally alike in their wounded +wrath, the Abbé in resignation. Fundamentally alike in their wounded ideality, they sought each other out in the obstinate hope of agreeing, yet met only to offend, and to spend their strength in painful and useless strife, parting with bruised hearts and great oaths never to meet again, only to rush together on the following day.</p> -<p>The Abbé Jaud, like his inseparable enemy, was of more than ordinary +<p>The Abbé Jaud, like his inseparable enemy, was of more than ordinary height, and without the cassock clinging to his lean sides might at fifty paces have been taken for him. The doctor's excuse for -frequenting the Abbé was that he could talk to him without stooping. +frequenting the Abbé was that he could talk to him without stooping. When the two tall silhouettes were outlined against the horizon at the edge of the plain they might have been taken for one and the same man. They were, in truth, one man in two persons.</p> <p>In their last years death naturally formed the inexhaustible topic of their conversation. The doctor had, he used to say, determined to die -before the Abbé, in order to force him to perform an act of supreme +before the Abbé, in order to force him to perform an act of supreme hypocrisy by obliging him to bury with every formality the man who, having proclaimed himself an atheist all his days, had refused with his latest breath to put himself in order with the Church.</p> -<p>"One talks like that," said the Abbé. "When on the verge of the great +<p>"One talks like that," said the Abbé. "When on the verge of the great step, one changes one's mind."</p> <p>"Mine will not change."</p> @@ -746,11 +706,11 @@ proper passport in due form."</p> <p>"Cease blaspheming, or I must refuse to listen."</p> <p>"A fine way to dispose of a difficulty! Do you know where I wish to be -buried by your good agency, Abbé? In the unconsecrated part of the +buried by your good agency, Abbé? In the unconsecrated part of the graveyard. Once upon a time the earth as well as the skies belonged to you. You laid claims to this planet as your property, and no one had the right to rot under ground save by your leave. Six feet of sod had to be -wrested from you by main force to bury Molière! To-day, at last, we have +wrested from you by main force to bury Molière! To-day, at last, we have taken back control over our earth. We have conquered the right to a peaceful return to nothingness. And now, to foster the illusion of getting even, and to shut yourselves to the very end in your secular @@ -760,21 +720,21 @@ to select a spot to my liking, did not a fool of a peasant say to me: 'You mustn't be buried there, Doctor, that corner is reserved for those condemned to death.' To be 'condemned to death' seemed to that idiot the utmost of horror. He does not realize that he—that they—that you—that -we are all in the same case, my poor Abbé. Well, I chose my spot. I had +we are all in the same case, my poor Abbé. Well, I chose my spot. I had a great stake driven there, so that there should be no mistake. Go and -have a look at it, Abbé, for it is there that you will with pomp and +have a look at it, Abbé, for it is there that you will with pomp and ceremony, according to your rites, deposit me in unhallowed ground."</p> <p>"That will never be, my dear Doctor."</p> -<p>"That will surely be, my dear Abbé."</p> +<p>"That will surely be, my dear Abbé."</p> <p>A few months later, the doctor, after lying in wait for plovers on the Plain (it was Christmas Eve, and he was then more than eighty years old), returned home shivering with fever. A pleurisy set in on the following day, and soon death was rapidly nearing.</p> -<p>The Abbé was by his bedside, as will have been surmised. When he saw +<p>The Abbé was by his bedside, as will have been surmised. When he saw that there was no hope of recovery:</p> <p>"Come, my dear friend," he began, having sent away the bystanders, "do @@ -787,16 +747,16 @@ nothing more to say. Take the key under my pillow—open that drawer—a give me my will—the drawer on the left—hand me also a pen—I wish to add a line."</p> -<p>The Abbé did as he was requested. The trembling hand wrote a few words, +<p>The Abbé did as he was requested. The trembling hand wrote a few words, then the head fell back on the pillow. The old man was dying. An hour -later Doctor Jean du Pouët had breathed his last.</p> +later Doctor Jean du Pouët had breathed his last.</p> <p>The will when opened ran thus:</p> <p>"I die in absolute unbelief, refusing to perform any act of faith. I bequeathe my fortune, which amounts approximately to 100,000 francs, to the church of Ecoulandres, for the purchase, under the direction of M. -the Abbé Jaud, of ornaments of the cult, as sumptuous as the sum +the Abbé Jaud, of ornaments of the cult, as sumptuous as the sum permits. This in the hope that the sight of such wealth in contrast with their own poverty will awaken appropriate sentiment in the souls of my fellow citizens. I desire to be buried in the unconsecrated part @@ -814,19 +774,19 @@ activities most especially directed against superstition and mummery."</p> large, shaky handwriting, which, by the emphasis of the downward stroke told, however, of an inflexible will.</p> -<p>The Abbé Jaud's first impulse was one of haughty refusal, but his second +<p>The Abbé Jaud's first impulse was one of haughty refusal, but his second was to go and consult his bishop, who made clear to him that highest duty lay in presenting every obstacle to Free Masonry. He was obliged to obey. The doctor in his grave had the last word, his face twisted with sardonic laughter under the holy water sprinkled by the discomfited -Abbé.</p> +Abbé.</p> <p>The infants born before their time who filled in the cemetery of Ecoulandres, "the corner reserved for those condemned to death," gained this much by the event, that the earth they lay in was blessed. In that respect, at least, one of the doctor's predictions was unfulfilled.</p> -<p>But the Abbé's real revenge, although he was perhaps unaware of it, was +<p>But the Abbé's real revenge, although he was perhaps unaware of it, was that the sight of the magnificent golden chalices and monstrances ornamented with precious stones, far from arousing rebellion in the hearts of the poor, as the doctor had intended, only increased the @@ -862,7 +822,7 @@ anyhow, since they have no intention of ever stirring, and since nothing will ever happen to them? For them the past is without interest, and the future does not mar the peace of their slumbers. The present means the crops, the flocks, and the weather. For the things of Heaven -there is the <i>curé</i>, for the things of earth there are the mayor, the +there is the <i>curé</i>, for the things of earth there are the mayor, the notary, the customs officer, and the tax collector: a simplification of life.</p> @@ -931,15 +891,15 @@ Then came the fateful title "Malus vicinus," followed by a long and terribly tangled story. It was the secret of the door that was there revealed to me. A priests' quarrel, as I had fancied.</p> -<p>The Abbé Gobert and the Abbé Rousseau, both natives of Saint-Juirs, had -been ordained upon leaving the seminary of Luçon, in about 1760. The +<p>The Abbé Gobert and the Abbé Rousseau, both natives of Saint-Juirs, had +been ordained upon leaving the seminary of Luçon, in about 1760. The book contains nothing concerning their families. One may suppose them both to have been of good middle-class origin. Each manifestly had "a certain place in the sun." They were warm friends up to the time of -their ordination, which brought about inevitable separation. Abbé Gobert -was installed as vicar at Vieux Pouzauges whose <i>curé</i> was to sit in the -Constituency among the partisans of the new order; Abbé Rousseau was -sent to Mortagne-sur-Sèvres, in the heart of what was destined to be the +their ordination, which brought about inevitable separation. Abbé Gobert +was installed as vicar at Vieux Pouzauges whose <i>curé</i> was to sit in the +Constituency among the partisans of the new order; Abbé Rousseau was +sent to Mortagne-sur-Sèvres, in the heart of what was destined to be the territory of the Chouans.</p> <p>Concerning their life up to the beginning of the Revolution we know @@ -967,10 +927,10 @@ marvellous spectacle with the same indifferent eye.</p> <p>In those days, the preaching of the Gospel to peasants still stupefied from serfdom, by a clergy whose leaders prided themselves upon their unbelief, in nowise resembled the stultifying mummeries of to-day. When -Abbé Gobert and Abbé Rousseau, arm in arm, stopped at some farmhouse for +Abbé Gobert and Abbé Rousseau, arm in arm, stopped at some farmhouse for noonday rest after a frugal meal, their free speech would doubtless startle many a modern seminarist. Their views of the future were perhaps -not very different. The ardent liberalism of the good <i>curé</i> of +not very different. The ardent liberalism of the good <i>curé</i> of Pouzauges could not have been unknown to his vicar, and how could the latter, open as he was to the new ideas, have refrained from unbosoming himself to his friend?</p> @@ -980,26 +940,26 @@ Under a tranquil surface, unknown forces were gathering for the devastating tempests soon to rage. Finally the hurricane broke loose, and its tornadoes of fire and iron shook the quiet Woodland. There was no time for reflection. Everyone was swept into the conflict without a -chance to know his own mind. Abbé Rousseau, belonging to the "White -Vendée," could not refuse to follow his boys when they asked him to +chance to know his own mind. Abbé Rousseau, belonging to the "White +Vendée," could not refuse to follow his boys when they asked him to accompany them, declaring that they were "going to fight God's battle." -Abbé Gobert of the "Blue Vendée" found nothing to answer when his +Abbé Gobert of the "Blue Vendée" found nothing to answer when his compatriots told him that they refused to make common cause with the foreigner against France, and that the Revolution was nothing more or less than the fulfilment of the Gospels on earth, despite the Pharisees of the ancient order, who while invoking the name of heaven appropriated all earthly privileges.</p> -<p>The adventures of the two Abbés during the war are not set down in the -manuscript. There is mention of Abbé Rousseau being transferred to +<p>The adventures of the two Abbés during the war are not set down in the +manuscript. There is mention of Abbé Rousseau being transferred to Stofflet's army, but no comment. Further on a note of three short lines -in telegraphic style tells us that Abbé Gobert, "following his fatal +in telegraphic style tells us that Abbé Gobert, "following his fatal bent," secularized himself, took up arms, and was left for dead at the taking of Fontenay. We are not told what saved him.</p> <p>The writer of the little book now makes a jump to the Consulate, and we -learn that the "reëstablishment of the cult," at the Concordat, resulted -in the installation of Abbé Rousseau as officiating priest in his native +learn that the "reëstablishment of the cult," at the Concordat, resulted +in the installation of Abbé Rousseau as officiating priest in his native place of Saint-Juirs. Three years later, Gobert, then a "refugee in Paris," where he "was writing for the newspapers," returned to his old home, his fortune having been increased by an inheritance from his uncle @@ -1010,47 +970,47 @@ place, where they might have the opportunity for an honest searching of their consciences, for justifications, and, before the end of life, possibly, reconciliation.</p> -<p>On the day after his arrival Gobert came face to face with Abbé Rousseau +<p>On the day after his arrival Gobert came face to face with Abbé Rousseau in the church square. He went straight to him, with hands outstretched. The other, not having had time to put himself on guard, was unable to withstand a friendly impulse. The eyes of each scrutinizingly questioned -the other, but every dangerous word was avoided. The Abbé, moreover, cut +the other, but every dangerous word was avoided. The Abbé, moreover, cut short the interview with the excuse of being expected at the bedside of a sick man. They had parted with the understanding that they should soon -see each other again, but two days later, Gobert, going up to the Abbé +see each other again, but two days later, Gobert, going up to the Abbé who was passing, received a curt bow from him, unaccompanied by a word of even perfunctory courtesy. It meant the end of friendly intercourse. The meeting between the "annointed of the Lord" and the "unfrocked priest" had created a scandal in the community of the faithful, and Master Pierre Gaborit, President of the vestry board, had called his -<i>curé</i> roundly to account. Could a chaplain of the King's armies afford +<i>curé</i> roundly to account. Could a chaplain of the King's armies afford to be seen consorting with a tool of Satan, a renegade living amid the filth of apostasy, a man who, the report ran, had danced the Carmagnole at the foot of the scaffold?</p> -<p>The disconcerted Abbé listened, shaking his head.</p> +<p>The disconcerted Abbé listened, shaking his head.</p> <p>"He was a good fellow, and a godly one, when I knew him formerly, at the seminary. He is perhaps not as guilty as they say—I hoped to bring him back into the fold——"</p> <p>"One does not bring back the Devil," replied Gaborit, violently. "You do -not wish to be a stumbling block, do you, <i>Monsieur le Curé</i>?"</p> +not wish to be a stumbling block, do you, <i>Monsieur le Curé</i>?"</p> -<p>"No—no——" replied the Abbé, who already saw himself denounced, +<p>"No—no——" replied the Abbé, who already saw himself denounced, excommunicated, damned.</p> <p>From that day onward relations between the priest and his ancient -comrade limited themselves to a mutual raising of the hat, for the Abbé +comrade limited themselves to a mutual raising of the hat, for the Abbé never found the courage to ignore "the renegade," as Gaborit would have wished him to. That is why the latter conceived the plan of forestalling any eventual relapse into weakness by fostering between the man of God and the man of the Devil every possible cause for enmity.</p> -<p>Abbé Rousseau owned the house next to Gobert's, and Gaborit had rented +<p>Abbé Rousseau owned the house next to Gobert's, and Gaborit had rented it for his newly married son. A party wall, a common well, contiguous fields and rights of way through them, were more than sufficient to give -rise to daily friction. After some resistance, Abbé Rousseau, under the +rise to daily friction. After some resistance, Abbé Rousseau, under the pretext that he could have "no dealings with Satan's emissary," let himself be convinced that he must refuse all customary "rights" to the "enemy." Gobert's remonstrances obtained no attention, and thereupon @@ -1059,7 +1019,7 @@ in his orchard were hacked with a bill hook. His hens disappeared. Investigation by a bailiff ensued, and the arrival of the police, who had first been to take instructions at the rectory. For a trifling bribe, the servant of the "accused" permitted the "revolutionary" cow to -stray into the clerical hay field. This time Abbé Rousseau could do no +stray into the clerical hay field. This time Abbé Rousseau could do no less than to denounce the crime from the pulpit. A somewhat distorted version of the entire Revolution was rehearsed.</p> @@ -1070,14 +1030,14 @@ at all these vexations. What surprised him most was to find that justice was unjust. Having become a philosopher, however, he resigned himself. Only the loss of his friend caused him grief. He ended by suspecting Gaborit's manœuvres, and several times sought opportunity for an -explanation with Abbé Rousseau himself, but was met by obstinate +explanation with Abbé Rousseau himself, but was met by obstinate silence.</p> <p>It was then that, for the sake of reaching his former fellow student in spite of everything, by a word in the language familiar to both, he had had engraved on the lintel of his door the inscription which denounced Gaborit as the cause of their common misfortune. Daily, as he came out -of his rectory, Abbé Rousseau could read the touching appeal which laid +of his rectory, Abbé Rousseau could read the touching appeal which laid his guilt upon another. But the "glory of God" never permitted him to answer, as in the depth of his heart he would have liked to do.</p> @@ -1085,7 +1045,7 @@ answer, as in the depth of his heart he would have liked to do.</p> excommunicated," followed him to the grave. On the very next day he gave orders to have the inscription removed, since it served no further purpose. The masons were soon at work, and a clumsy blow had already -split the stone, when the ex-abbé was carried off suddenly by a +split the stone, when the ex-abbé was carried off suddenly by a pernicious fever. Things remained as they may be seen at the present day. Gobert went without church ceremonies to rest in the graveyard, not far from his old friend. They are still neighbours, but good neighbours, @@ -1101,7 +1061,7 @@ now, and for a long time!</p> <p>Mademoiselle Rosalie Rigal was by unanimous admission the most important person in the village. And yet the hamlet of St. Martin-en-Pareds, in -the Woodland of the Vendée, boasts a former court notary who without +the Woodland of the Vendée, boasts a former court notary who without great difficulty was allowed to drop out of the profession, and a retired sergeant of police who keeps the tobacconist's shop. Around these dignitaries are grouped a few well-to-do farmers and a dozen or @@ -1150,7 +1110,7 @@ reputation as the most favourable spot in the entire canton for catching cold.</p> <p>In spite of these inconveniences visitors were not wanting. Foremost -among the assiduous ones were the notary and the <i>curé</i>. Monsieur +among the assiduous ones were the notary and the <i>curé</i>. Monsieur Loiseau, the retired notary, was the friend of the house. A stout man, with a florid, smooth shaven face, and a head even smoother than his chin, always in a good humour, always full of amusing stories, yet @@ -1180,11 +1140,11 @@ own rather indiscriminate good will toward all, she let herself softly float on the pleasure of being held in veneration by everyone in St. Martin, which for her represented the universe.</p> -<p>The <i>curé</i>, who lived at two kilometers' distance, could come to see her +<p>The <i>curé</i>, who lived at two kilometers' distance, could come to see her only at irregular intervals. But a lift in a carriage, or even a friendly cart, often facilitated the journey, and although Aunt Rosalie was not in the least devout, despite the saintly pictures on her walls, -the long conversations between her and the <i>curé</i>, from which the notary +the long conversations between her and the <i>curé</i>, from which the notary was excluded, gave rise to the popular belief that they had "secrets" together.</p> @@ -1330,18 +1290,18 @@ dividends, they talk of changing the rate of interest."</p> <p>"What then?"</p> <p>"Well, then, we may have to get rid of our stock. I will talk it over -with Monsieur Loiseau to-morrow, and perhaps also with the good <i>curé</i> +with Monsieur Loiseau to-morrow, and perhaps also with the good <i>curé</i> who is very well informed in these matters. Make a cross before those shares, so that I may not forget."</p> -<p>And Aunt Rosalie actually did ply notary and <i>curé</i> with questions about +<p>And Aunt Rosalie actually did ply notary and <i>curé</i> with questions about her investments, and the use to be made of her fortune after her death.</p> <p>These two had acquired a liking for the topic. On the day when Aunt Rosalie, questioned by him with regard to her direct heirs, declared that as she had seen none of the Bretauds for more than forty years she "had decided not to leave any of them a penny's worth of her property," -the <i>curé</i> began pleading for the Church, for the Pope, and for his +the <i>curé</i> began pleading for the Church, for the Pope, and for his charities. His efforts were amply rewarded, for Aunt Rosalie, though not perhaps satisfying all his demands, generously wrote him down for large sums, of which she handed him the list, with great mystery. In return @@ -1440,7 +1400,7 @@ emotional blue eyes, always looking ready to brim over, bathed his least words, whether of pity or business, with generous passions. Being an orthodox Jew, he naturally wore a long, black levitical coat which concealed his swinging woollen fringes. Where his abundant gray hair met -with his silky beard (unprofaned by shears) hung the two long <i>paillès</i>, +with his silky beard (unprofaned by shears) hung the two long <i>paillès</i>, cabalistic locks which Jehovah loves to see brushing the temples of the faithful. When the whole was topped by a tall hat, impeccably lustrous, and Gideon appeared in the Soukinitza, silence spread, as all gazed at @@ -1542,7 +1502,7 @@ Gideon grieved over what seemed to him a humiliating concession.</p> <p>"Father," said Daniel, "in Russia the orthodox Jews are obliged to cut their hair, in conformity with an edict of the Czar. But even without -<i>paillès</i> Jehovah receives them in his bosom, for it is a case of +<i>paillès</i> Jehovah receives them in his bosom, for it is a case of superior force."</p> <p>"Yes, that is it, superior force," said Gideon, nodding assent. "The @@ -1698,7 +1658,7 @@ of collecting them, carefully counted in bags—making high brown, white, or yellow piles of them in coffers with intricate locks—filled him with superhuman joy. And so great is the miracle of metal, even when absent and represented only by a sheet of paper supplied with the necessary -formulæ and bearing imposing signatures along with the stamp of Cæsar, +formulæ and bearing imposing signatures along with the stamp of Cæsar, that the delight of it in that form was no less. Some, with a cultivated taste in such matters, tell us indeed that the delight is enhanced by the thought of safeguarding from the world's cupidity so great a @@ -2247,7 +2207,7 @@ either, that there are benefactors maleficent in the extreme, through the stupidity of their benefactions.</p> <p>In the distant days of my youth there flourished in the Woodland of the -Vendée a highly respected couple, who during a period of fifty years +Vendée a highly respected couple, who during a period of fifty years wearied three cantons with their "kindness."</p> <p>These excellent people were, of course, possessed of great wealth, for @@ -2257,11 +2217,11 @@ again as a matter of course, for the preacher's promise of eternal reward has killed in man the beautiful disinterestedness that is the fine flower of charity.</p> -<p>The Baron de Grillères was a small noble of large fortune. Formerly a +<p>The Baron de Grillères was a small noble of large fortune. Formerly a member of the body guard of Charles X, he had little care for "Divine -Right" or a return to the splendours of the old régime, as he proved by +Right" or a return to the splendours of the old régime, as he proved by accepting a captaincy in the militia called out by Louis Philippe to -crush the royalist attempt at an uprising in the Vendée, in which the +crush the royalist attempt at an uprising in the Vendée, in which the Duchesse de Berry so miserably failed. I have seen in the Baron's study a shining panoply in which his epaulettes of a royal guardsman eloquently fraternized with his collar piece of a captain of the @@ -2272,7 +2232,7 @@ that same legitimacy, to uphold the rights of the usurper.</p> <p>It is certain that the excellent soldier had never perceived anything contradictory in these two manifestations of a martial spirit. He had -consistently upheld established order, that is to say, the régime which +consistently upheld established order, that is to say, the régime which assured him the peaceful enjoyment of his property, and the logic of his conduct seemed to him unquestionable, for what in the world could be more sacred than that which promoted the quietness of his life? Totally @@ -2284,7 +2244,7 @@ dispensing one from any effort to think for himself.</p> <p>The Baroness, of middle-class origin, and doubtless for that reason very proud of the three gates on her escutcheon, lived solely, as she was pleased to say, "for the glory of God." Divinity, according to this -simple soul, needed the Baroness de Grillères in order to attain the +simple soul, needed the Baroness de Grillères in order to attain the fullness of glory. It is a common idea among believers that the Creator of the Universe is open to receiving from His creatures pleasant or unpleasant impressions, just as we are from our fellow-beings. These @@ -2296,7 +2256,7 @@ not often hear it said that such and such a minister or party is bent on "driving out God" from somewhere or other, and that they would in all likelihood succeed but for some paladin, ecclesiastical or military, stepping in to defend the Supreme Being, unequal, apparently, to -defending Himself? This Baroness of the Vendée, dwelling in perpetual +defending Himself? This Baroness of the Vendée, dwelling in perpetual colloquy with the Eternal, either directly or through the mediation of the divine functionaries delegated for that purpose, had taken as her special mission to "contribute to the Glory of God." In some nebulous @@ -2313,7 +2273,7 @@ virtues?</p> <p>"The virtues," when one has an income of 80,000 francs, and no personal tastes, no passion of mind or heart to satisfy, do not seem beyond human -reach. For "the glory of God" the Baroness de Grillères was in life as +reach. For "the glory of God" the Baroness de Grillères was in life as chaste as an iceberg, and at death bequeathed her wealth to the rich.</p> <p>God, the Holy Virgin, and the Saints bid us to give. More especially, @@ -2323,7 +2283,7 @@ adviser, she had dedicated her husband to Saint Joseph. The Saint and the Baron exchanged a thousand amenities. The one received statues and prayers, the other, the highest example of resignation. Wherever two avenues crossed in the park, stood a group of the Holy Family, with an -inscription showing that the Baron and Baroness de Grillères aspired to +inscription showing that the Baron and Baroness de Grillères aspired to linking their names in the public memory with those of the pair conspicuous for the greatest miracle known on earth.</p> @@ -2344,7 +2304,7 @@ fit to impose upon human beings.</p> <p>When the mayor of La Fougeraie, a notorious Free Mason, headed a subscription for setting up a public fountain in the village square, the -lord and lady of the château refused to contribute, but immediately +lord and lady of the château refused to contribute, but immediately devoted 2,000 francs to purchasing a holy water font of Carrara marble, on which might be seen a flight of angels carrying heavenward the escutcheon with the three gates.</p> @@ -2357,11 +2317,11 @@ Sunday at the tavern, one was accused of stealing potatoes, another had been mixed up in a brawl at the village festival. How could disorderly living of this sort lead to anything but mendicancy? "You ought to go to work, my good man," they would say. "Look for employment. Do you so much -as go to mass? Do you keep Lent? Go and see the <i>curé</i>. It is to him we +as go to mass? Do you keep Lent? Go and see the <i>curé</i>. It is to him we give our alms, for the whole countryside knows we keep nothing for ourselves of what the Good God has given us. It is not to the deceitful riches of this earth that we must cling, my poor friend; for heavenly -things only must we strive. Go and see the <i>curé</i>, he is so kind. He +things only must we strive. Go and see the <i>curé</i>, he is so kind. He will know how to minister to the needs of your soul."</p> <p>Sometimes the gift of a little brass medal with the image of Saint @@ -2376,7 +2336,7 @@ without hope of reward. The selfish goodness of calculating virtue sees in Christian charity the opening of a bank account with the Creator, and while making lavish gifts, forfeits the merit of giving, by the avowed exaction of a profit immeasurably greater than the amount paid. The -Baron and Baroness de Grillères basked in the delight of hearing +Baron and Baroness de Grillères basked in the delight of hearing themselves praised from the pulpit. No flattering hyperbole seemed to them excessive, for, as they sowed money on all sides, they looked for a great harvest of splendidly ostentatious veneration. All they lacked in @@ -2440,7 +2400,7 @@ he learned that he and Rose together would be chief heirs; and Rose, who had ideas of grandeur, and dreamt of nothing less than going on to the stage, lent herself with her whole heart to the comedy of love fatly remunerative. John was invited to give up his work and "live like a -gentleman," and Rose's natural tendencies coöperating, the young couple, +gentleman," and Rose's natural tendencies coöperating, the young couple, loaded down with gifts of sounding specie, spread themselves gloriously, under the happy eyes of the Baroness, in every description of silly extravagance.</p> @@ -2460,7 +2420,7 @@ secured for the dying woman.</p> country. An income of 10,000 francs signified poverty for them. They fled to Paris, where in less than a year John lost down to his last penny in speculations. After that they went their respective ways, Rose -to sing in a café-concert of the Faubourg St. Martin, John to take +to sing in a café-concert of the Faubourg St. Martin, John to take employment with a booking agency for the races. He has as yet only been sentenced to one month's imprisonment for a swindling card-game.</p> @@ -2483,7 +2443,7 @@ beings are kept behind bolts and triple locks, for the incoherence of their syllogisms, while fellow mortals no more mentally stable are allowed to do their raving out on the world's stage.</p> -<p>For one whole year in my youth I dwelt among the lunatics of Bicêtre. I +<p>For one whole year in my youth I dwelt among the lunatics of Bicêtre. I had many interviews with "impulsives," whom a sudden disturbance of the organism had made dangerously violent, and who talked pathetically about their "illness," believing it cured, whereas it was not. I held @@ -2551,7 +2511,7 @@ their conflicts, their often contradictory efforts to better their fate. Had he lived in the midst of the Siberian steppes, or on some Malay Island, he would not have been more entirely cut off from the surrounding social life. The Franco-Prussian war and the Commune were as -remote from him in the depths of the Vendée as Alexander's expedition to +remote from him in the depths of the Vendée as Alexander's expedition to the Indies. When one of the farmers once tried to recall that period to his mind: "Yes, yes, I remember," he answered, "all the fruit was frozen that year." It was the only vestige in his memory of those terrific @@ -2572,7 +2532,7 @@ For he had taken every precaution to ensure the author's name remaining absolutely unknown when his great work should be published. In order to avert suspicion, the book was first to be printed in a foreign tongue.</p> -<p>If the Abbé was mad—the peasants still called him by his ecclesiastical +<p>If the Abbé was mad—the peasants still called him by his ecclesiastical title, either from old habit, or respect for his mysterious investigations—his madness was certainly not a mania for self-aggrandizement. Disinterested truth, truth with no other reward @@ -2590,7 +2550,7 @@ the madman of to-day will in future ages be a prodigy of luminous intellect? Find the boundary line between reason and unreason in this inextricable tangle!</p> -<p>But to return to our excellent "Abbé," with whom, by a curious chance, I +<p>But to return to our excellent "Abbé," with whom, by a curious chance, I became intimately acquainted, a few months before his death, I must say that he never troubled himself with these considerations, to him inane. He did not deny that there were maladies of the mind, but he professed @@ -2611,7 +2571,7 @@ as a seeker, have you never, alone with your conscience, and stripped of all personal interest, asked yourself whether you were sure, after all, entirely sure, of possessing this total and absolute truth?"</p> -<p>The Abbé's little gray eyes twinkled. He answered with a melancholy +<p>The Abbé's little gray eyes twinkled. He answered with a melancholy smile: "The final and irreparable failure of my religious faith was a fearful blow to me. I no longer believed. What had appeared to me good evidence on the day before looked to me from that day onward like the @@ -2678,7 +2638,7 @@ shall have made the great journey, from reason that seeks to folly that finds, and from folly that knows to reason which, very wisely, still doubts."</p> -<p>The Abbé died six months later, leaving all he had to the poor. Besides +<p>The Abbé died six months later, leaving all he had to the poor. Besides his will, not a single page of writing was found among his belongings.</p> <p>The village priest came to see him in his last hour. He spoke to him of @@ -2756,13 +2716,13 @@ steadfastly on the ground, he scents out the wild creatures and knows the art of capturing them.</p> <p>How often, in the days of my youth, have I accompanied the redoubtable -Janière on his Sunday expeditions, when he would ostensibly leave the +Janière on his Sunday expeditions, when he would ostensibly leave the village by the highroad, his hands in his pockets, then dash into the fields, and miraculously find his gun hidden in a bush, a few feet from a rabbit hole. Nor man nor beast was ever known to get the better of him. He was an old Chouan of 1815 who, having been a poacher all his days, and a marauder now and then, died without ever having had a writ -served on him. The entire district took pride in Janière. When he left +served on him. The entire district took pride in Janière. When he left us for a better world: "He never once went to prison," said the peasants by way of funeral oration. What that man could deduce from a blade of grass lying over on one side or the other at the edge of a thicket @@ -2771,7 +2731,7 @@ and would construct for me the train of reasoning which must have brought the hare to the precise spot where we invariably found him. His accommodating gun made no more noise than the cracking of a whip. The victim, hidden in the hollow of a pollard, would at nightfall find its -way under Janière's blouse.</p> +way under Janière's blouse.</p> <p>But whither have I let myself wander? It was of the water poacher that I meant to speak. He, one might say, is the enemy of no man on earth. @@ -2788,7 +2748,7 @@ landed. Simon Grelu, besides fishing at once for profit and the love of it, gave freely of his catch, whence came the universal good-will accompanying him on his nightly or daily expeditions.</p> -<p>Our river in the Vendée, the Lay, wends its leisurely way amid reeds and +<p>Our river in the Vendée, the Lay, wends its leisurely way amid reeds and waterlilies, sometimes narrowing between rocks covered with broom and furze and oak trees, sometimes widening under overarching alders, onward to the meadows, where it attracts the flocks. Everywhere are @@ -3183,10 +3143,10 @@ bidden to leave his basket at home.</p> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII</h2> -<h3>THE ADVENTURE OF MY CURÉ</h3> +<h3>THE ADVENTURE OF MY CURÉ</h3> -<p>I have had no very consecutive relations with the <i>curé</i> of my village. +<p>I have had no very consecutive relations with the <i>curé</i> of my village. Many things stand between us. Our age, our occupations, our ideas. He follows one path, I another. Which does not prevent our occasionally meeting out in the country, or at the cross roads. We exchange greetings @@ -3212,7 +3172,7 @@ say. To his last day he will undoubtedly regard me as an agent of the Devil. And on my side I can only silently sympathize with his sorrow in the recesses of my mind.</p> -<p>Abbé Mignot is a tall, robust, florid Burgundian, whose muscular frame +<p>Abbé Mignot is a tall, robust, florid Burgundian, whose muscular frame seems better suited to field labour than to the unctuous gestures of the sacred ministry. The son of a vintner, he had begun life as a plowboy, when an aged singer, who had been a great sinner while she trod the @@ -3255,19 +3215,19 @@ had no liking for "skullcaps," as he called priests, and a double argument had to be used: one bag of money to repay him for his "pecuniary loss," and a second bag to allay the scruples of anticlericalism, aggravated by the circumstances. And this is what was -called "The vocation of Arsène Mignot."</p> +called "The vocation of Arsène Mignot."</p> -<p>More than twenty years later, Abbé Mignot came to us with the remnants +<p>More than twenty years later, Abbé Mignot came to us with the remnants of his family: a widowed sister and three nephews without means of support. As I am telling nothing but what is strictly true, I have to -admit that he met with a chilly reception. The old <i>curé</i>, whom we had +admit that he met with a chilly reception. The old <i>curé</i>, whom we had just lost, had had enough to do to guard his eighty years from the heat and the cold, and to quaver out his masses. Our peasants are not fond of being too closely questioned. When they saw this new man, still under forty, carrying his need for action into their very houses, breaking, from one day to the next, the happy-go-lucky traditions which had made his predecessor popular, they silently assumed the attitude of -self-defence. But the <i>curé</i>, being a peasant, knew his peasants. When +self-defence. But the <i>curé</i>, being a peasant, knew his peasants. When he discovered his mistake, he had the sense to change his course, and to win back the discontented, one by one, without noise or waste of words.</p> @@ -3286,7 +3246,7 @@ that hospital care might there be obtained.</p> <p>Concerning the Sisters themselves there is nothing to say. They taught the catechism, sang off the key at mass, and made a great show of zeal toward the one they called "Mother." Their chief entertainment was -luncheon at the <i>curé's</i> on Sunday after church. A sweet dish and a +luncheon at the <i>curé's</i> on Sunday after church. A sweet dish and a little glass of Chartreuse crowned this extravagance. Then there would be much puerile chatter on topics drawn chiefly from the <i>Religious Weekly</i>. New recruits were proudly enumerated, eyes were rolled @@ -3295,7 +3255,7 @@ in minutest detail. A touch of politics occasionally spiced the heroic resolution to brave martyrdom. At parting, all were in a state of edification.</p> -<p>The trouble was that Abbé Mignot, without income, had four mouths to +<p>The trouble was that Abbé Mignot, without income, had four mouths to feed. The cost of the luncheon could not be brought within the limits of his budget. He made a frank confession of this to the "Mother," who answered haughtily that privation was the luxury of her estate, and that @@ -3309,10 +3269,10 @@ whose beautiful eyes, gentle speech, and affable manners, created a sensation in the countryside.</p> <p>Mother Rosalie was gifted with a beautiful soprano voice, which proved -to be a source of divine refreshment to Abbé Mignot, who was fond of +to be a source of divine refreshment to Abbé Mignot, who was fond of playing the organ. There can be no music without work. Work at their -music threw the Mother and the <i>curé</i> together. And as one study leads -to another, the visits of Mother Rosalie to Abbé Mignot came to be +music threw the Mother and the <i>curé</i> together. And as one study leads +to another, the visits of Mother Rosalie to Abbé Mignot came to be fairly frequent. Presently there was gossip, and after a time what had at first been a playful buzzing became rumblings of scandal. Is it credible? The first threat of a storm came from the three Sisters at the @@ -3327,7 +3287,7 @@ beating against the very walls of the sacred edifice.</p> <p>Nothing can be hidden in a village. Life is carried on in broad daylight. The ditches, the stones, the bushes have eyes. Everyone knew -very well that Abbé Mignot and "the pretty Mother," as she was currently +very well that Abbé Mignot and "the pretty Mother," as she was currently called, had never met anywhere but in the church, the door of which was open to all. The pealing of the organ and the pure voice rising to the rafters ought, it would seem, to have counteracted the poison of @@ -3343,12 +3303,12 @@ This was all that any one could find to say against them. I did my best to defend them, when occasion arose, but the only effect of my pleading, I fear, was to give more importance to the spiteful words.</p> -<p>Meanwhile, Abbé Mignot and Mother Rosalie continued happy in their music +<p>Meanwhile, Abbé Mignot and Mother Rosalie continued happy in their music and their friendship. I never knew Mother Rosalie, and will not invent a psychology for her. We exchanged a few words on several occasions, and I received the impression of a remarkably refined nature. Whatever I might say beyond this would be drawn from my imagination. With regard to the -Abbé, the reader is as well qualified to judge him as I. Bound over to +Abbé, the reader is as well qualified to judge him as I. Bound over to continence by an adept in the reverse, he resigned himself to inevitable fate, the cruelty of which he had recognized when it was too late. Heaven, chance, or destiny had thrown a friendly soul in his path, a @@ -3381,10 +3341,10 @@ grave, and in it were mingled the tragedy of the man and of the God.</p> <p>There was but one word at the end of mass:</p> -<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i> made the pretty Mother sing too much. She has gone +<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i> made the pretty Mother sing too much. She has gone away to rest."</p> -<p>Last month I met Abbé Mignot out among the rocks of Deux Fontaines. He +<p>Last month I met Abbé Mignot out among the rocks of Deux Fontaines. He sat with knitted brows at the foot of a bush, and nervously turned the pages of his breviary. He was evidently making a desperate effort to fasten down his wandering attention. He did not notice me, and had not @@ -3395,7 +3355,7 @@ in friendship, and this time I would gladly have stopped for a talk had I not seemed to read in his eyes an entreaty to pass on without speaking. I obeyed the silent appeal. But yielding to an obscure need—</p> -<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i>," I said, "you ought to be careful. There are snakes +<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i>," I said, "you ought to be careful. There are snakes among those stones. You must have been warned before?"</p> <p>"Yes, I know," he answered in a muffled voice. "This place is infested @@ -3479,7 +3439,7 @@ inspiration.</p> <p>I once knew, long, long ago, alas, one of these improvised Solomons, whose reputation for legal knowledge had spread from parish to parish -over a considerable area of the Woodland of the Vendée. Baptist Merian, +over a considerable area of the Woodland of the Vendée. Baptist Merian, better known by the name of Master Baptist, was a peasant of uncouth appearance, who personally looked after the property apportioned to him by heaven and the inheritance laws. He was a big fellow whose @@ -3729,7 +3689,7 @@ tenderly had no remotest expectation of reward beside the pleasure of living and telling their love, each in his own language at first, and later, each, as far as he could, in the language of the other. I have forgotten the shoemaker's name, but I could go blindfold to his house on -the main street of the village in the Vendée where I used yearly to +the main street of the village in the Vendée where I used yearly to spend a happy month of vacation. I can see his white sign board with a magnificent yellow wooden shoe agreeably surrounded by decorative additions. I can see the little door with glass panes, giving access to @@ -4507,7 +4467,7 @@ of human kind.</p> <p>Flower o' the Wheat was the prettiest girl in my village. Tall, well set up, stepping along with a fine self-confidence, she brightened by her -clear laughter the fields, the woods, the deep road cuts of the Vendée. +clear laughter the fields, the woods, the deep road cuts of the Vendée. With the first warm days of spring the milky whiteness of her skin would be dotted over with a constellation of freckles.</p> @@ -4616,7 +4576,7 @@ hampered by the more or less fantastic social conventions, which undertake to regulate the human relations between two young creatures hungering and thirsting for each other.</p> -<p>A special sort of cake called "<i>échaudé</i>" is the chief industrial +<p>A special sort of cake called "<i>échaudé</i>" is the chief industrial product of my village: a cake made of flour and eggs, very delectable when fresh from the oven, but heavy, and cause of a formidable thirstiness, by the time it has travelled through the bracken as far as @@ -4632,7 +4592,7 @@ is increased by the jolts that throw people one against the other. Wherefore resist, since one must finally surrender?</p> <p>Flower o' the Wheat, who was in the service of a rich dealer in -<i>échaudés</i>, one fine day married her "master," after having given him, +<i>échaudés</i>, one fine day married her "master," after having given him, to the surprise of no one, two unequivocal proofs of her aptitude for the joys as well as duties of maternity. Her neighbours in the country will tell you that there was nothing out of the ordinary in her life. @@ -4701,7 +4661,7 @@ beads. It is funny, is it not?"</p> <p>And she tried to smile.</p> -<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i> scolds me," she took up again. "He wishes me to say +<p>"<i>Monsieur le curé</i> scolds me," she took up again. "He wishes me to say my prayers. But I have no sooner started on the prayers than back come the songs. I cannot help it. You remember, don't you, 'The King's Son?' Oh, the 'King's Son!' And the 'Nightingale?' And the 'Rose?' I want to @@ -4760,7 +4720,7 @@ has even a dim conception of things in general. I do not believe he asks himself any troublesome questions concerning the universe. But how many inhabitants of cities are like him in that respect? Schools have remained a place where words are taught. Barracks teach obedience and -discourage thought, agreeing in this with <i>Monsieur le Curé</i>, who exacts +discourage thought, agreeing in this with <i>Monsieur le Curé</i>, who exacts blind faith, to the detriment of reason, that instrument of the devil. Finally, the right to vote, which makes of men with such poor preparation the sovereign arbiters of the most important social and @@ -4895,17 +4855,17 @@ obliging the "heir" with bargains in his wares.</p> <p>Jean Piot shook his head, with gracious thanks. That was not what he wanted.</p> -<p>Presently it was <i>Monsieur le curé's</i> turn.</p> +<p>Presently it was <i>Monsieur le curé's</i> turn.</p> <p>"Jean Piot, do you ever give thought to your soul?"</p> -<p>"Why, of course, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, I am a good Christian, I think of +<p>"Why, of course, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, I am a good Christian, I think of nothing else."</p> <p>"Well, and what do you do to save your soul from the mighty blaze of hell? I never even see you at mass."</p> -<p>"That is no fault of mine, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, I have to earn my living. +<p>"That is no fault of mine, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, I have to earn my living. You know very well that I go to the church door. On Sundays people are readier to give alms than on week days."</p> @@ -4925,7 +4885,7 @@ then, did he not give me money to give him?"</p> <p>"Hush—wretched man——! You blaspheme! Have you not just inherited?"</p> -<p>"Ah, you mean those five hundred francs? Wait a bit, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, +<p>"Ah, you mean those five hundred francs? Wait a bit, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, you shall have your share."</p> <p>"You will have masses said?"</p> @@ -4934,11 +4894,11 @@ you shall have your share."</p> <p>"But for the small sum of twenty francs, I will say——"</p> -<p>"Impossible, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, it is impossible."</p> +<p>"Impossible, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>, it is impossible."</p> <p>"You grieve me, Jean Piot. You will die like a heathen."</p> -<p>"I wish you a good day, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>."</p> +<p>"I wish you a good day, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>."</p> <p>When this conversation was retailed, everyone wondered. What! not even twenty francs to the Church? Jean Piot surely had some plan. What was he @@ -4964,7 +4924,7 @@ as you liked."</p> <p>Amazement! Exclamations! Certainly Jean Piot was an extraordinary man. It was perhaps unwise to spend all that money at once, when he must necessarily be penniless on the day after. But who was there to blame -him, when everybody was taking his share of the feast? Only the <i>curé</i> +him, when everybody was taking his share of the feast? Only the <i>curé</i> shook his head, regretting his masses. But public opinion was set in Jean Piot's favour, and not even the Church could swim against the stream.</p> @@ -4983,7 +4943,7 @@ the muffled crunching of jaws, the gurgling of jugs and bottles, mingled with laughter and shouts and songs. Women, children, old people—everyone gorged himself immoderately. When evening came, young and old danced to the music of fiddles. The church, alas, was empty on -Sunday, and when the <i>curé</i> came to fetch his flock—God forgive +Sunday, and when the <i>curé</i> came to fetch his flock—God forgive me!—they made him drink, and he, enkindled and set up, pressed Jean Piot's two hands warmly to his heart. All the mean emotions of daily life were forgotten, wiped away from the soul by this great human @@ -5011,27 +4971,27 @@ inevitable.</p> <p>For days and days he remained stretched on his straw, quiet, even happy, it seemed, but without anything to eat. He starved, it is said.</p> -<p>Two days before his death, the <i>curé</i> had come to see him.</p> +<p>Two days before his death, the <i>curé</i> had come to see him.</p> <p>"Well, Jean Piot, my friend, do you repent of your sins?"</p> -<p>"Oh, yes, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>!"</p> +<p>"Oh, yes, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>!"</p> <p>"You remember when I proposed to say masses for you? If you had listened to me, you would not to-day be suffering remorse."</p> -<p>"And why should I suffer remorse, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>? I have done no +<p>"And why should I suffer remorse, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>? I have done no harm to anybody. You see, I quite believe that the next world is beautiful, as you say it is, but I wanted my share of this world. And I had it. Rich people have theirs. It would not have been fair otherwise. Ah, I can say that I was as happy as any rich man, not for so long, that is all. And what does that matter, since it must end sometime anyhow? Do you remember? You drank a glass, and you took both my hands, just as if -I had been a rich man, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>. We were like two brothers. If +I had been a rich man, <i>Monsieur le curé</i>. We were like two brothers. If you cannot say a mass for me without money, surely you will remember me in your prayers, will you not?"</p> -<p>"I promise to, Jean Piot," said the <i>curé</i>, who had grown +<p>"I promise to, Jean Piot," said the <i>curé</i>, who had grown thoughtful.</p> @@ -5069,10 +5029,10 @@ at odds in a fierce struggle for life, the results of which seem uncommensurate with the effort expended? They have no idea. Man comes into collision with brutal fact, and can see nothing beyond a conflict of interests. Three persons there are, having a direct action upon him: -the <i>curé</i>, the mayor, and the rural guard, whose injunction will bring +the <i>curé</i>, the mayor, and the rural guard, whose injunction will bring him to court.</p> -<p>The <i>curé</i> is the purveyor of ideals appointed by the government. His +<p>The <i>curé</i> is the purveyor of ideals appointed by the government. His church, with its pictures, its gilded candlesticks, its tapers, and its anthems, constitutes the only manifestation of art furnished by the powers. It provides, in addition, a body of doctrine, texts, and @@ -5085,8 +5045,8 @@ terms with the Master of the Beyond. With regard to the common events of life, Lourdes and St. Anthony of Padua will attend to them for a consideration.</p> -<p>As the <i>curé</i> fills the office of God's mayor on earth, so the mayor and -the rural guard are the <i>curés</i> of that far-away terrestrial divinity +<p>As the <i>curé</i> fills the office of God's mayor on earth, so the mayor and +the rural guard are the <i>curés</i> of that far-away terrestrial divinity called: "the Government." What, exactly, that word means, no one has the necessary learning to explain. All that is known (and nothing further is required), is that it is a mysterious power, as implacable as the Other, @@ -5118,7 +5078,7 @@ receipts and tobacconist shops.</p> <p>It will be admitted, I fancy, that the spiritual condition of St. Bartholemew, as shown in all this, does not greatly differentiate it from the rural communities known to each one of us. The special -attribute of the place, aside from its excellent <i>curé</i>, and no less +attribute of the place, aside from its excellent <i>curé</i>, and no less excellent mayor, was that it boasted a "fool." To be sure, St. Bartholemew's was not the usual village fool. He was not one of those fantastic creatures in novels, who, happening on the scene at the right @@ -5400,12 +5360,12 @@ hard road that led them from crime to perfect conjugal felicity. I am not attempting to prove any theory. I am telling what I have known and seen.</p> -<p>Adèle was a handsome girl according to country esthetics. Large, strong, +<p>Adèle was a handsome girl according to country esthetics. Large, strong, of brilliant colouring, with a mop of tangled red hair and iron-gray eyes which never dropped before those of any man. She helped her father, Girard the fishmonger, to carry on his business. In a lamentable old broken-down cart, behind a small, knock-kneed horse, who knew no gait -but a walk, Girard would set out at nightfall for Luçon, the large town, +but a walk, Girard would set out at nightfall for Luçon, the large town, and come back in time to sell his fish before midday. Immediately upon arrival, the fishmonger, his wife and their children, each loaded with a basket of shell fish, mullet, sole, and whiting, packed under sticky @@ -5413,7 +5373,7 @@ seaweed, would disperse over the village, the outlying hamlets, the farms, and peddle their wares.</p> <p>This trade entails much travelling about and seeing many people. Bold, -and pleasant to the eye, Adèle was welcomed everywhere. No speech or +and pleasant to the eye, Adèle was welcomed everywhere. No speech or behaviour from the country lads was likely to fluster her. Peasants, who are no more obtuse than city men, have long since recognized the value in business of an agreeable young person to attract trade. Any country @@ -5422,7 +5382,7 @@ There is everywhere a demand for beauty. For lack of anything better, men will philosophically fall back upon ugliness. Life takes upon itself to accommodate almost everybody.</p> -<p>Adèle, not being one of those young women who are only chosen when there +<p>Adèle, not being one of those young women who are only chosen when there is scarcity, early became the blessing of her family. The fish in her basket seemed to leap of its own accord into the frying pan, although the pretty wheedler took pride in selling it at a high price. Any chance @@ -5440,7 +5400,7 @@ scandal about them.</p> <p>"When they are done tattling, they will stop," she used to say.</p> <p>Which proved true. So that one day, when there was nothing else that -Adèle could do to astonish people, the report spread that she was about +Adèle could do to astonish people, the report spread that she was about to become the legitimate wife of Hippolyte Morin, the shoemaker. I must add that the event was accepted by all as a decent ending to a tempestuous youth.</p> @@ -5454,16 +5414,16 @@ at the sallow and weakly though choleric shoemaker.</p> <p>Public approval was therefore unanimous. The circumstances of the marriage were simple. Girard owed Morin 500 francs, and could not even manage to pay the interest on them. Seeing his creditor prowling with -smouldering eyes about the stalwart Adèle, he had proposed to him to +smouldering eyes about the stalwart Adèle, he had proposed to him to marry the girl and give a receipted bill, and the shoemaker, overjoyed at the thought of possessing such a marvel all to himself, had gladly -closed the bargain. As for Adèle, she had said yes without difficulty, +closed the bargain. As for Adèle, she had said yes without difficulty, as she had to so many others. Hippolyte owned land. He was a good match.</p> <p>They had a fine wedding, and for a full half year happiness appeared to reign in the new establishment. Six months of fidelity were surely, for -Adèle, a sufficient concession to <i>Monsieur le Maire's</i> injunctions. -Presently lovers reappeared, to Morin's lively displeasure. Adèle was +Adèle, a sufficient concession to <i>Monsieur le Maire's</i> injunctions. +Presently lovers reappeared, to Morin's lively displeasure. Adèle was thrashed, as the public had foreseen. The muscular young swains none the less made game of the husband, at best a puny adversary, as public opinion had equally foretold. The worst of it was that the @@ -5473,7 +5433,7 @@ whetstone. No one in a village is afraid of kicks and blows. But no one likes the thought of steel coming into play. And so, when the belief was established that Morin would some day "do something desperate," the ardour of the followers began to abate. They gradually dropped away, and -it was Adèle's turn to experience the fiercest resentment against her +it was Adèle's turn to experience the fiercest resentment against her sullen lord.</p> <p>Three years passed in quarrels, in hourly battles. There were no @@ -5481,15 +5441,15 @@ children. Grass does not grow on the high road, as Michelet observes. One morning the news ran that Morin was seriously ill, then that he was dead. On the day before, he had been playing bowls without any sign of ill health. The doctor who had been sent for, shook his head gravely, -and asked to speak to Adèle in private. At the end of the interview the -bystanders noticed that Adèle kept out of sight, while the doctor, +and asked to speak to Adèle in private. At the end of the interview the +bystanders noticed that Adèle kept out of sight, while the doctor, without a word, poured the contents of the soup tureen into a jug, and carried it away in his gig. That evening, two gendarmes came to arrest "Hippolyte Morin's wife," accused of poisoning her husband. Conversations in the village were not dull that evening.</p> <p>The inquiry was brief. Bits of the blue shards of cantharides floating -among the bread and potatoes in the soup permitted no denial. Adèle +among the bread and potatoes in the soup permitted no denial. Adèle confessed that passing under an ash tree, and seeing some of those insects lying dead in the grass, she picked them up, "to play a joke on her husband." Later on, after she had been instructed by her lawyer, @@ -5511,21 +5471,21 @@ that she had told me."</p> revolver in the direction of their wives, always shows itself resolutely hostile to women who attempt to rid themselves of their legitimate master. Two years' imprisonment were considered by the representatives -of social order a just retribution for Adèle, as well as a practical +of social order a just retribution for Adèle, as well as a practical incentive to virtue in the home.</p> <p>Morin returned to his shoes, grieving over his long separation from -Adèle.</p> +Adèle.</p> <p>"All that was our own affair," he said. "What business was it of the judge's?"</p> -<p>And many shared his opinion. A lot of noise about a "joke!" Adèle was +<p>And many shared his opinion. A lot of noise about a "joke!" Adèle was too good hearted a girl to have aroused any deep hatreds. As long as Morin defended her, why should others hurl obloquy? Husbands looking at their wives, and wives at their husbands, mostly refrained from comment. Morin, furthermore, sure, now, of his wife's fidelity for at least two -years, poured himself out in eulogies of the great Adèle, and declared +years, poured himself out in eulogies of the great Adèle, and declared that he had often been in the wrong.</p> <p>"To whom did she ever do any harm?" he would ask everyone that came @@ -5545,7 +5505,7 @@ sense!"</p> <p>"Two years, that is not so much," answered Morin, who was counting the days.</p> -<p>Meanwhile Adèle was silently sewing shirts, and vaguely dreaming. It +<p>Meanwhile Adèle was silently sewing shirts, and vaguely dreaming. It would never have occurred to her to complain. She even found a certain contentment in this quiet after the agitations of her youth. She tranquilly awaited the release which would take her back to her friendly @@ -5562,21 +5522,21 @@ not be ailing when I come out of jail."</p> <p>Finally the day of liberation came. Morin, as you would know, was on the spot to fetch his wife. They flew to each other's arms, laughing aloud, -for lack of words to express their joy. It was Sunday. Adèle and her +for lack of words to express their joy. It was Sunday. Adèle and her husband reached home just as mass was over. In a twinkling they were surrounded by the crowd, and acclaimed like conquerors. There was mutual embracing and shedding of happy tears, and asking of a thousand absurd questions from sheer need to talk and show how glad they were to see one -another again. Upon arrival at her house Adèle found the table spread; +another again. Upon arrival at her house Adèle found the table spread; at this, twenty guests sat down to celebrate her return with proper ceremony. A grand feast, which lasted until daylight. At dessert, friends came in, and merest acquaintances, too, swept along by the current of universal sympathy. Bottle after bottle was emptied. There was a great clinking of glasses. The women kissed Morin, and the men -Adèle. Never in their lives was there a more wonderful day.</p> +Adèle. Never in their lives was there a more wonderful day.</p> <p>And yet, from that time forward, good days followed one another without -break. Adèle remained gay, easy, and approachable, quick in the uptake +break. Adèle remained gay, easy, and approachable, quick in the uptake of broad jests, but Morin had her heart, and never was word or deed charged to her account which could have given umbrage to the most suspicious husband. Her spouse, proud of his conquest, tasted the joys @@ -6740,383 +6700,6 @@ LE GRAND PAN<br /> AU FIL DES JOURS<br /> ETC.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Surprises of Life, by Georges Clemenceau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURPRISES OF LIFE *** - -***** This file should be named 40618-h.htm or 40618-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/6/1/40618/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -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. 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