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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9167-h.zip b/9167-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed23b5c --- /dev/null +++ b/9167-h.zip diff --git a/9167-h/9167-h.htm b/9167-h/9167-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4507901 --- /dev/null +++ b/9167-h/9167-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5312 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> + +<head> + +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol 4, by Emile Zola +</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 4% } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.contents {text-indent: -3%; + margin-left: 5% } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 4em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.intro {font-size: 90% ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 4, by Emile Zola + +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 Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 4 + +Author: Emile Zola + +Translator: Ernest A. Vizetelly + +Posting Date: April 13, 2014 [EBook #9167] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 20, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE CITIES TRILOGY: PARIS VOL 4 *** + + + + +Produced by Dagny, and David Widger. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> +<br /><br /><br /> + + THE THREE CITIES<br /> +</h1> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t2"> + PARIS<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> + BY<br /> +<br /> + EMILE ZOLA<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3"> + TRANSLATED BY ERNEST A. VIZETELLY<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h2> + BOOK IV<br /> +</h2> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +I +</h3> + +<h3> +PIERRE AND MARIE +</h3> + +<p> +ON the mild March morning when Pierre left his little house at Neuilly to +accompany Guillaume to Montmartre, he was oppressed by the thought that +on returning home he would once more find himself alone with nothing to +prevent him from relapsing into negation and despair. The idea of this +had kept him from sleeping, and he still found it difficult to hide his +distress and force a smile. +</p> + +<p> +The sky was so clear and the atmosphere so mild that the brothers had +resolved to go to Montmartre on foot by way of the outer boulevards. Nine +o'clock was striking when they set out. Guillaume for his part was very +gay at the thought of the surprise he would give his family. It was as if +he were suddenly coming back from a long journey. He had not warned them +of his intentions; he had merely written to them now and again to tell +them that he was recovering, and they certainly had no idea that his +return was so near at hand. +</p> + +<p> +When Guillaume and Pierre had climbed the sunlit slopes of Montmartre, +and crossed the quiet countrified Place du Tertre, the former, by means +of a latch-key, quietly opened the door of his house, which seemed to be +asleep, so profound was the stillness both around and within it. Pierre +found it the same as on the occasion of his previous and only visit. +First came the narrow passage which ran through the ground-floor, +affording a view of all Paris at the further end. Next there was the +garden, reduced to a couple of plum-trees and a clump of lilac-bushes, +the leaves of which had now sprouted. And this time the priest perceived +three bicycles leaning against the trees. Beyond them stood the large +work-shop, so gay, and yet so peaceful, with its huge window overlooking +a sea of roofs. +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume had reached the work-shop without meeting anybody. With an +expression of much amusement he raised a finger to his lips. "Attention, +Pierre," he whispered; "you'll just see!" +</p> + +<p> +Then having noiselessly opened the door, they remained for a moment on +the threshold. +</p> + +<p> +The three sons alone were there. Near his forge stood Thomas working a +boring machine, with which he was making some holes in a small brass +plate. Then Francois and Antoine were seated on either side of their +large table, the former reading, and the latter finishing a block. The +bright sunshine streamed in, playing over all the seeming disorder of the +room, where so many callings and so many implements found place. A large +bunch of wallflowers bloomed on the women's work-table near the window; +and absorbed as the young men were in their respective tasks the only +sound was the slight hissing of the boring machine each time that the +eldest of them drilled another hole. +</p> + +<p> +However, although Guillaume did not stir, there suddenly came a quiver, +an awakening. His sons seemed to guess his presence, for they raised +their heads, each at the same moment. From each, too, came the same cry, +and a common impulse brought them first to their feet and then to his +arms. +</p> + +<p> +"Father!" +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume embraced them, feeling very happy. And that was all; there was +no long spell of emotion, no useless talk. It was as if he had merely +gone out the day before and, delayed by business, had now come back. +Still, he looked at them with his kindly smile, and they likewise smiled +with their eyes fixed on his. Those glances proclaimed everything, the +closest affection and complete self-bestowal for ever. +</p> + +<p> +"Come in, Pierre," called Guillaume; "shake hands with these young men." +</p> + +<p> +The priest had remained near the door, overcome by a singular feeling of +discomfort. When his nephews had vigorously shaken hands with him, he sat +down near the window apart from them, as if he felt out of his element +there. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, youngsters," said Guillaume, "where's Mere-Grand, and where's +Marie?" +</p> + +<p> +Their grandmother was upstairs in her room, they said; and Marie had +taken it into her head to go marketing. This, by the way, was one of her +delights. She asserted that she was the only one who knew how to buy +new-laid eggs and butter of a nutty odour. Moreover, she sometimes +brought some dainty or some flowers home, in her delight at proving +herself to be so good a housewife. +</p> + +<p> +"And so things are going on well?" resumed Guillaume. "You are all +satisfied, your work is progressing, eh?" +</p> + +<p> +He addressed brief questions to each of them, like one who, on his return +home, at once reverts to his usual habits. Thomas, with his rough face +beaming, explained in a couple of sentences that he was now sure of +perfecting his little motor; Francois, who was still preparing for his +examination, jestingly declared that he yet had to lodge a heap of +learning in his brain; and then Antoine produced the block which he was +finishing, and which depicted his little friend Lise, Jahan's sister, +reading in her garden amidst the sunshine. It was like a florescence of +that dear belated creature whose mind had been awakened by his affection. +</p> + +<p> +However, the three brothers speedily went back to their places, reverting +to their work with a natural impulse, for discipline had made them regard +work as life itself. Then Guillaume, who had glanced at what each was +doing, exclaimed: "Ah! youngsters, I schemed and prepared a lot of things +myself while I was laid up. I even made a good many notes. We walked here +from Neuilly, but my papers and the clothes which Mere-Grand sent me will +come in a cab by-and-by. . . . Ah! how pleased I am to find everything in +order here, and to be able to take up my task with you again! Ah! I shall +polish off some work now, and no mistake!" +</p> + +<p> +He had already gone to his own corner, the space reserved for him between +the window and the forge. He there had a chemical furnace, several glass +cases and shelves crowded with appliances, and a long table, one end of +which he used for writing purposes. And he once more took possession of +that little world. After glancing around with delight at seeing +everything in its place, he began to handle one object and another, eager +to be at work like his sons. +</p> + +<p> +All at once, however, Mere-Grand appeared, calm, grave and erect in her +black gown, at the top of the little staircase which conducted to the +bedrooms. "So it's you, Guillaume?" said she. "Will you come up for a +moment?" +</p> + +<p> +He immediately did so, understanding that she wished to speak to him +alone and tranquillise him. It was a question of the great secret between +them, that one thing of which his sons knew nothing, and which, after +Salvat's crime, had brought him much anguish, through his fear that it +might be divulged. When he reached Mere-Grand's room she at once took him +to the hiding-place near her bed, and showed him the cartridges of the +new explosive, and the plans of the terrible engine of warfare which he +had invented. He found them all as he had left them. Before anyone could +have reached them, she would have blown up the whole place at the risk of +perishing herself in the explosion. With her wonted air of quiet heroism, +she handed Guillaume the key which he had sent her by Pierre. +</p> + +<p> +"You were not anxious, I hope?" she said. +</p> + +<p> +He pressed her hands with a commingling of affection and respect. "My +only anxiety," he replied, "was that the police might come here and treat +you roughly. . . . You are the guardian of our secret, and it would be +for you to finish my work should I disappear." +</p> + +<p> +While Guillaume and Madame Leroi were thus engaged upstairs, Pierre, +still seated near the window below, felt his discomfort increasing. The +inmates of the house certainly regarded him with no other feeling than +one of affectionate sympathy; and so how came it that he considered them +hostile? The truth was that he asked himself what would become of him +among those workers, who were upheld by a faith of their own, whereas he +believed in nothing, and did not work. The sight of those young men, so +gaily and zealously toiling, ended by quite irritating him; and the +arrival of Marie brought his distress to a climax. +</p> + +<p> +Joyous and full of life, she came in without seeing him, a basket on her +arm. And she seemed to bring all the sunlight of the spring morning with +her, so bright was the sparkle of her youth. The whole of her pink face, +her delicate nose, her broad intelligent brow, her thick, kindly lips, +beamed beneath the heavy coils of her black hair. And her brown eyes ever +laughed with the joyousness which comes from health and strength. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah!" she exclaimed, "I have brought such a lot of things, youngsters. +Just come and see them; I wouldn't unpack the basket in the kitchen." +</p> + +<p> +It became absolutely necessary for the brothers to draw round the basket +which she had laid upon the table. "First there's the butter!" said she; +"just smell if it hasn't a nice scent of nuts! It's churned especially +for me, you know. Then here are the eggs. They were laid only yesterday, +I'll answer for it. And, in fact, that one there is this morning's. And +look at the cutlets! They're wonderful, aren't they? The butcher cuts +them carefully when he sees me. And then here's a cream cheese, real +cream, you know, it will be delicious! Ah! and here's the surprise, +something dainty, some radishes, some pretty little pink radishes. Just +fancy! radishes in March, what a luxury!" +</p> + +<p> +She triumphed like the good little housewife she was, one who had +followed a whole course of cookery and home duties at the Lycee Fenelon. +The brothers, as merry as she herself, were obliged to compliment her. +</p> + +<p> +All at once, however, she caught sight of Pierre. "What! you are there, +Monsieur l'Abbe?" she exclaimed; "I beg your pardon, but I didn't see +you. How is Guillaume? Have you brought us some news of him?" +</p> + +<p> +"But father's come home," said Thomas; "he's upstairs with Mere-Grand." +</p> + +<p> +Quite thunderstruck, she hastily placed her purchases in the basket. +"Guillaume's come back, Guillaume's come back!" said she, "and you don't +tell me of it, you let me unpack everything! Well, it's nice of me, I +must say, to go on praising my butter and eggs when Guillaume's come +back." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume, as it happened, was just coming down with Madame Leroi. Marie +gaily hastened to him and offered him her cheeks, on which he planted two +resounding kisses. Then she, resting her hands on his shoulders, gave him +a long look, while saying in a somewhat tremulous voice: "I am pleased, +very pleased to see you, Guillaume. I may confess it now, I thought I had +lost you, I was very anxious and very unhappy." +</p> + +<p> +Although she was still smiling, tears had gathered in her eyes, and he, +likewise moved, again kissed her, murmuring: "Dear Marie! How happy it +makes me to find you as beautiful and as affectionate as ever." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre, who was looking at them, deemed them cold. He had doubtless +expected more tears, and a more passionate embrace on the part of an +affianced pair, whom so grievous an accident had separated almost on the +eve of their wedding. Moreover, his feelings were hurt by the +disproportion of their respective ages. No doubt his brother still seemed +to him very sturdy and young, and his feeling of repulsion must have come +from that young woman whom, most decidedly, he did not like. Ever since +her arrival he had experienced increasing discomfort, a keener and keener +desire to go off and never return. +</p> + +<p> +So acute became his suffering at feeling like a stranger in his brother's +home, that he at last rose and sought to take his leave, under the +pretext that he had some urgent matters to attend to in town. +</p> + +<p> +"What! you won't stay to <i>dejeuner</i> with us!" exclaimed Guillaume in +perfect stupefaction. "Why, it was agreed! You surely won't distress me +like that! This house is your own, remember!" +</p> + +<p> +Then, as with genuine affection they all protested and pressed him to +stay, he was obliged to do so. However, he soon relapsed into silence and +embarrassment, seated on the same chair as before, and listening moodily +to those people who, although they were his relatives, seemed to be far +removed from him. +</p> + +<p> +As it was barely eleven o'clock they resumed work, but every now and +again there was some merry talk. On one of the servants coming for the +provisions, Marie told the girl to call her as soon as it should be time +to boil the eggs, for she prided herself on boiling them to a nicety, in +such wise as to leave the whites like creamy milk. This gave an +opportunity for a few jests from Francois, who occasionally teased her +about all the fine things she had learnt at the Lycee Fenelon, where her +father had placed her when she was twelve years old. However, she was not +afraid of him, but gave him tit for tat by chaffing him about all the +hours which he lost at the Ecole Normale over a mass of pedagogic trash. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! you big children!" she exclaimed, while still working at her +embroidery. "You are all very intelligent, and you all claim to have +broad minds, and yet—confess it now—it worries you a little that a girl +like me should have studied at college in the same way as yourselves. +It's a sexual quarrel, a question of rivalry and competition, isn't it?" +</p> + +<p> +They protested the contrary, declaring that they were in favour of girls +receiving as complete an education as possible. She was well aware of +this; however, she liked to tease them in return for the manner in which +they themselves plagued her. +</p> + +<p> +"But do you know," said she, "you are a great deal behind the times? I am +well aware of the reproaches which are levelled at girls' colleges by +so-called right-minded people. To begin, there is no religious element +whatever in the education one receives there, and this alarms many +families which consider religious education to be absolutely necessary +for girls, if only as a moral weapon of defence. Then, too, the education +at our Lycees is being democratised—girls of all positions come to them. +Thanks to the scholarships which are so liberally offered, the daughter +of the lady who rents a first floor flat often finds the daughter of her +door-keeper among her school-fellows, and some think this objectionable. +It is said also that the pupils free themselves too much from home +influence, and that too much opportunity is left for personal initiative. +As a matter of fact the extensiveness of the many courses of study, all +the learning that is required of pupils at the examinations, certainly +does tend to their emancipation, to the coming of the future woman and +future society, which you young men are all longing for, are you not?" +</p> + +<p> +"Of course we are!" exclaimed Francois; "we all agree on that point." +</p> + +<p> +She waved her hand in a pretty way, and then quietly continued: "I'm +jesting. My views are simple enough, as you well know, and I don't ask +for nearly as much as you do. As for woman's claims and rights, well, the +question is clear enough; woman is man's equal so far as nature allows +it. And the only point is to agree and love one another. At the same time +I'm well pleased to know what I do—oh! not from any spirit of pedantry +but simply because I think it has all done me good, and given me some +moral as well as physical health." +</p> + +<p> +It delighted her to recall the days she had spent at the Lycee Fenelon, +which of the five State colleges for girls opened in Paris was the only +one counting a large number of pupils. Most of these were the daughters +of officials or professors, who purposed entering the teaching +profession. In this case, they had to win their last diploma at the Ecole +Normale of Sevres, after leaving the Lycee. Marie, for her part, though +her studies had been brilliant, had felt no taste whatever for the +calling of teacher. Moreover, when Guillaume had taken charge of her +after her father's death, he had refused to let her run about giving +lessons. To provide herself with a little money, for she would accept +none as a gift, she worked at embroidery, an art in which she was most +accomplished. +</p> + +<p> +While she was talking to the young men Guillaume had listened to her +without interfering. If he had fallen in love with her it was largely on +account of her frankness and uprightness, the even balance of her nature, +which gave her so forcible a charm. She knew all; but if she lacked the +poetry of the shrinking, lamb-like girl who has been brought up in +ignorance, she had gained absolute rectitude of heart and mind, exempt +from all hypocrisy, all secret perversity such as is stimulated by what +may seem mysterious in life. And whatever she might know, she had +retained such child-like purity that in spite of her six-and-twenty +summers all the blood in her veins would occasionally rush to her cheeks +in fiery blushes, which drove her to despair. +</p> + +<p> +"My dear Marie," Guillaume now exclaimed, "you know very well that the +youngsters were simply joking. You are in the right, of course. . . . And +your boiled eggs cannot be matched in the whole world." +</p> + +<p> +He said this in so soft and affectionate a tone that the young woman +flushed purple. Then, becoming conscious of it, she coloured yet more +deeply, and as the three young men glanced at her maliciously she grew +angry with herself. "Isn't it ridiculous, Monsieur l'Abbe," she said, +turning towards Pierre, "for an old maid like myself to blush in that +fashion? People might think that I had committed a crime. It's simply to +make me blush, you know, that those children tease me. I do all I can to +prevent it, but it's stronger than my will." +</p> + +<p> +At this Mere-Grand raised her eyes from the shirt she was mending, and +remarked: "Oh! it's natural enough, my dear. It is your heart rising to +your cheeks in order that we may see it." +</p> + +<p> +The <i>dejeuner</i> hour was now at hand; and they decided to lay the table in +the work-shop, as was occasionally done when they had a guest. The +simple, cordial meal proved very enjoyable in the bright sunlight. +Marie's boiled eggs, which she herself brought from the kitchen covered +with a napkin, were found delicious. Due honour was also done to the +butter and the radishes. The only dessert that followed the cutlets was +the cream cheese, but it was a cheese such as nobody else had ever +partaken of. And, meantime, while they ate and chatted all Paris lay +below them, stretching away to the horizon with its mighty rumbling. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre had made an effort to become cheerful, but he soon relapsed into +silence. Guillaume, however, was very talkative. Having noticed the three +bicycles in the garden, he inquired of Marie how far she had gone that +morning. She answered that Francois and Antoine had accompanied her in +the direction of Orgemont. The worry of their excursions was that each +time they returned to Montmartre they had to push their machines up the +height. From the general point of view, however, the young woman was +delighted with bicycling, which had many virtues, said she. Then, seeing +Pierre glance at her in amazement, she promised that she would some day +explain her opinions on the subject to him. After this bicycling became +the one topic of conversation until the end of the meal. Thomas gave an +account of the latest improvements introduced into Grandidier's machines; +and the others talked of the excursions they had made or meant to make, +with all the exuberant delight of school children eager for the open air. +</p> + +<p> +In the midst of the chatter, Mere-Grand, who presided at table with the +serene dignity of a queen-mother, leant towards Guillaume, who sat next +to her, and spoke to him in an undertone. Pierre understood that she was +referring to his marriage, which was to have taken place in April, but +must now necessarily be deferred. This sensible marriage, which seemed +likely to ensure the happiness of the entire household, was largely the +work of Mere-Grand and the three young men, for Guillaume would never +have yielded to his heart if she whom he proposed to make his wife had +not already been a well-loved member of the family. At the present time +the last week in June seemed, for all sorts of reasons, to be a +favourable date for the wedding. +</p> + +<p> +Marie, who heard the suggestion, turned gaily towards Mere-Grand. +</p> + +<p> +"The end of June will suit very well, will it not, my dear?" said the +latter. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre expected to see a deep flush rise to the young woman's cheeks, but +she remained very calm. She felt deep affection, blended with the most +tender gratitude, for Guillaume, and was convinced that in marrying him +she would be acting wisely and well both for herself and the others. +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly, the end of June," she repeated, "that will suit very well +indeed." +</p> + +<p> +Then the sons, who likewise had heard the proposal, nodded their heads by +way of assenting also. +</p> + +<p> +When they rose from table Pierre was absolutely determined to go off. The +cordial and simple meal, the sight of that family, which had been +rendered so happy by Guillaume's return, and of that young woman who +smiled so placidly at life, had brought him keen suffering, though why he +could not tell. However, it all irritated him beyond endurance; and he +therefore again pretended that he had a number of things to see to in +Paris. He shook hands in turn with the young men, Mere-Grand and Marie; +both of the women evincing great friendliness but also some surprise at +his haste to leave the house. Guillaume, who seemed saddened and anxious, +sought to detain him, and failing in this endeavour followed him into the +little garden, where he stopped him in order to have an explanation. +</p> + +<p> +"Come," said he, "what is the matter with you, Pierre? Why are you +running off like this?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! there's nothing the matter I assure you; but I have to attend to a +few urgent affairs." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Pierre, pray put all pretence aside. Nobody here has displeased you +or hurt your feelings, I hope. They also will soon love you as I do." +</p> + +<p> +"I have no doubt of it, and I complain of nobody excepting perhaps +myself." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume's sorrow was increasing. "Ah! brother, little brother," he +resumed, "you distress me, for I can detect that you are hiding something +from me. Remember that new ties have linked us together and that we love +one another as in the old days when you were in your cradle and I used to +come to play with you. I know you well, remember. I know all your +tortures, since you have confessed them to me; and I won't have you +suffer, I want to cure you, I do!" +</p> + +<p> +Pierre's heart was full, and as he heard those words he could not +restrain his tears. "Oh! you must leave me to my sufferings," he +responded. "They are incurable. You can do nothing for me, I am beyond +the pale of nature, I am a monster." +</p> + +<p> +"What do you say! Can you not return within nature's pale even if you +<i>have</i> gone beyond it? One thing that I will not allow is that you should +go and shut yourself up in that solitary little house of yours, where you +madden yourself by brooding over the fall of your faith. Come and spend +your time with us, so that we may again give you some taste for life." +</p> + +<p> +Ah! the empty little house which awaited him! Pierre shivered at the +thought of it, at the idea that he would now find himself all alone +there, bereft of the brother with whom he had lately spent so many happy +days. Into what solitude and torment must he not now relapse after that +companionship to which he had become accustomed? However, the very +thought of the latter increased his grief, and confession suddenly gushed +from his lips: "To spend my time here, live with you, oh! no, that is an +impossibility. Why do you compel me to speak out, and tell you things +that I am ashamed of and do not even understand. Ever since this morning +you must have seen that I have been suffering here. No doubt it is +because you and your people work, whereas I do nothing, because you love +one another and believe in your efforts, whereas I no longer know how to +love or believe. I feel out of my element. I'm embarrassed here, and I +embarrass you. In fact you all irritate me, and I might end by hating +you. There remains nothing healthy in me, all natural feelings have been +spoilt and destroyed, and only envy and hatred could sprout up from such +ruins. So let me go back to my accursed hole, where death will some day +come for me. Farewell, brother!" +</p> + +<p> +But Guillaume, full of affection and compassion, caught hold of his arms +and detained him. "You shall not go, I will not allow you to go, without +a positive promise that you will come back. I don't wish to lose you +again, especially now that I know all you are worth and how dreadfully +you suffer. I will save you, if need be, in spite of yourself. I will +cure you of your torturing doubts, oh! without catechising you, without +imposing any particular faith on you, but simply by allowing life to do +its work, for life alone can give you back health and hope. So I beg you, +brother, in the name of our affection, come back here, come as often as +you can to spend a day with us. You will then see that when folks have +allotted themselves a task and work together in unison, they escape +excessive unhappiness. A task of any kind—yes, that is what is wanted, +together with some great passion and frank acceptance of life, so that it +may be lived as it should be and loved." +</p> + +<p> +"But what would be the use of my living here?" Pierre muttered bitterly. +"I've no task left me, and I no longer know how to love." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I will give you a task, and as for love, that will soon be +awakened by the breath of life. Come, brother, consent, consent!" +</p> + +<p> +Then, seeing that Pierre still remained gloomy and sorrowful, and +persisted in his determination to go away and bury himself, Guillaume +added, "Ah! I don't say that the things of this world are such as one +might wish them to be. I don't say that only joy and truth and justice +exist. For instance, the affair of that unhappy fellow Salvat fills me +with anger and revolt. Guilty he is, of course, and yet how many excuses +he had, and how I shall pity him if the crimes of all of us are laid at +his door, if the various political gangs bandy him from one to another, +and use him as a weapon in their sordid fight for power. The thought of +it all so exasperates me that at times I am as unreasonable as yourself. +But now, brother, just to please me, promise that you will come and spend +the day after to-morrow with us." +</p> + +<p> +Then, as Pierre still kept silent, Guillaume went on: "I will have it so. +It would grieve me too much to think that you were suffering from +martyrdom in your solitary nook. I want to cure and save you." +</p> + +<p> +Tears again rose to Pierre's eyes, and in a tone of infinite distress he +answered: "Don't compel me to promise. . . . All I can say is that I will +try to conquer myself." +</p> + +<p> +The week he then spent in his little, dark, empty home proved a terrible +one. Shutting himself up he brooded over his despair at having lost the +companionship of that elder brother whom he once more loved with his +whole soul. He had never before been so keenly conscious of his solitude; +and he was a score of times on the point of hastening to Montmartre, for +he vaguely felt that affection, truth and life were there. But on each +occasion he was held back by a return of the discomfort which he had +already experienced, discomfort compounded of shame and fear. Priest that +he was, cut off from love and the avocations of other men, he would +surely find nothing but hurt and suffering among creatures who were all +nature, freedom and health. While he pondered thus, however, there rose +before him the shades of his father and mother, those sad spirits that +seemed to wander through the deserted rooms lamenting and entreating him +to reconcile them in himself, as soon as he should find peace. What was +he to do,—deny their prayer, and remain weeping with them, or go yonder +in search of the cure which might at last lull them to sleep and bring +them happiness in death by the force of his own happiness in life? At +last a morning came when it seemed to him that his father enjoined him +with a smile to betake himself yonder, while his mother consented with a +glance of her big soft eyes, in which her sorrow at having made so bad a +priest of him yielded to her desire to restore him to the life of our +common humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre did not argue with himself that day: he took a cab and gave +Guillaume's address to the driver for fear lest he should be overcome on +the way and wish to turn back. And when he again found himself, as in a +dream, in the large work-shop, where Guillaume and the young men welcomed +him in a delicately affectionate way, he witnessed an unexpected scene +which both impressed and relieved him. +</p> + +<p> +Marie, who had scarcely nodded to him as he entered, sat there with a +pale and frowning face. And Mere-Grand, who was also grave, said, after +glancing at her: "You must excuse her, Monsieur l'Abbe; but she isn't +reasonable. She is in a temper with all five of us." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume began to laugh. "Ah! she's so stubborn!" he exclaimed. "You can +have no idea, Pierre, of what goes on in that little head of hers when +anybody says or does anything contrary to her ideas of justice. Such +absolute and lofty ideas they are, that they can descend to no +compromise. For instance, we were talking of that recent affair of a +father who was found guilty on his son's evidence; and she maintained +that the son had only done what was right in giving evidence against his +father, and that one ought invariably to tell the truth, no matter what +might happen. What a terrible public prosecutor she would make, eh?" +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon Marie, exasperated by Pierre's smile, which seemingly indicated +that he also thought her in the wrong, flew into quite a passion: "You +are cruel, Guillaume!" she cried; "I won't be laughed at like this." +</p> + +<p> +"But you are losing your senses, my dear," exclaimed Francois, while +Thomas and Antoine again grew merry. "We were only urging a question of +humanity, father and I, for we respect and love justice as much as you +do." +</p> + +<p> +"There's no question of humanity, but simply one of justice. What is just +and right is just and right, and you cannot alter it." +</p> + +<p> +Then, as Guillaume made a further attempt to state his views and win her +over to them, she rose trembling, in such a passion that she could +scarcely stammer: "No, no, you are all too cruel, you only want to grieve +me. I prefer to go up into my own room." +</p> + +<p> +At this Mere-Grand vainly sought to restrain her. "My child, my child!" +said she, "reflect a moment; this is very wrong, you will deeply regret +it." +</p> + +<p> +"No, no; you are not just, and I suffer too much." +</p> + +<p> +Then she wildly rushed upstairs to her room overhead. +</p> + +<p> +Consternation followed. Scenes of a similar character had occasionally +occurred before, but there had never been so serious a one. Guillaume +immediately admitted that he had done wrong in laughing at her, for she +could not bear irony. Then he told Pierre that in her childhood and youth +she had been subject to terrible attacks of passion whenever she +witnessed or heard of any act of injustice. As she herself explained, +these attacks would come upon her with irresistible force, transporting +her to such a point that she would sometimes fall upon the floor and +rave. Even nowadays she proved quarrelsome and obstinate whenever certain +subjects were touched upon. And she afterwards blushed for it all, fully +conscious that others must think her unbearable. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, a quarter of an hour later, she came downstairs again of her own +accord, and bravely acknowledged her fault. "Wasn't it ridiculous of me?" +she said. "To think I accuse others of being unkind when I behave like +that! Monsieur l'Abbe must have a very bad opinion of me." Then, after +kissing Mere-Grand, she added: "You'll forgive me, won't you? Oh! +Francois may laugh now, and so may Thomas and Antoine. They are quite +right, our differences are merely laughing matters." +</p> + +<p> +"My poor Marie," replied Guillaume, in a tone of deep affection. "You see +what it is to surrender oneself to the absolute. If you are so healthy +and reasonable it's because you regard almost everything from the +relative point of view, and only ask life for such gifts as it can +bestow. But when your absolute ideas of justice come upon you, you lose +both equilibrium and reason. At the same time, I must say that we are all +liable to err in much the same manner." +</p> + +<p> +Marie, who was still very flushed, thereupon answered in a jesting way: +"Well, it at least proves that I'm not perfect." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, certainly! And so much the better," said Guillaume, "for it makes me +love you the more." +</p> + +<p> +This was a sentiment which Pierre himself would willingly have re-echoed. +The scene had deeply stirred him. Had not his own frightful torments +originated with his desire for the absolute both in things and beings? He +had sought faith in its entirety, and despair had thrown him into +complete negation. Again, was there not some evil desire for the absolute +and some affectation of pride and voluntary blindness in the haughty +bearing which he had retained amidst the downfall of his belief, the +saintly reputation which he had accepted when he possessed no faith at +all? On hearing his brother praise Marie, because she only asked life for +such things as it could give, it had seemed to him that this was advice +for himself. It was as if a refreshing breath of nature had passed before +his face. At the same time his feelings in this respect were still vague, +and the only well-defined pleasure that he experienced came from the +young woman's fit of anger, that error of hers which brought her nearer +to him, by lowering her in some degree from her pedestal of serene +perfection. It was, perhaps, that seeming perfection which had made him +suffer; however, he was as yet unable to analyse his feelings. That day, +for the first time, he chatted with her for a little while, and when he +went off he thought her very good-hearted and very human. +</p> + +<p> +Two days later he again came to spend the afternoon in the large sunlit +work-shop overlooking Paris. Ever since he had become conscious of the +idle life he was leading, he had felt very bored when he was alone, and +only found relief among that gay, hardworking family. His brother scolded +him for not having come to <i>dejeuner</i>, and he promised to do so on the +morrow. By the time a week had elapsed, none of the discomfort and covert +hostility which had prevailed between him and Marie remained: they met +and chatted on a footing of good fellowship. Although he was a priest, +she was in no wise embarrassed by his presence. With her quiet atheism, +indeed, she had never imagined that a priest could be different from +other men. Thus her sisterly cordiality both astonished and delighted +Pierre. It was as if he wore the same garments and held the same ideas as +his big nephews, as if there were nothing whatever to distinguish him +from other men. He was still more surprised, however, by Marie's silence +on all religious questions. She seemed to live on quietly and happily, +without a thought of what might be beyond life, that terrifying realm of +mystery, which to him had brought such agony of mind. +</p> + +<p> +Now that he came every two or three days to Montmartre she noticed that +he was suffering. What could be the matter with him, she wondered. When +she questioned him in a friendly manner and only elicited evasive +replies, she guessed that he was ashamed of his sufferings, and that they +were aggravated, rendered well-nigh incurable, by the very secrecy in +which he buried them. Thereupon womanly compassion awoke within her, and +she felt increasing affection for that tall, pale fellow with feverish +eyes, who was consumed by grievous torments which he would confess to +none. No doubt she questioned Guillaume respecting her brother's sadness, +and he must have confided some of the truth to her in order that she +might help him to extricate Pierre from his sufferings, and give him back +some taste for life. The poor fellow always seemed so happy when she +treated him like a friend, a brother! +</p> + +<p> +At last, one evening, on seeing his eyes full of tears as he gazed upon +the dismal twilight falling over Paris, she herself pressed him to +confide his trouble to her. And thereupon he suddenly spoke out, +confessing all his torture and the horrible void which the loss of faith +had left within him. Ah! to be unable to believe, to be unable to love, +to be nothing but ashes, to know of nothing certain by which he might +replace the faith that had fled from him! She listened in stupefaction. +Why, he must be mad! And she plainly told him so, such was her +astonishment and revolt at hearing such a desperate cry of wretchedness. +To despair, indeed, and believe in nothing and love nothing, simply +because a religious hypothesis had crumbled! And this, too, when the +whole, vast world was spread before one, life with the duty of living it, +creatures and things to be loved and succoured, without counting the +universal labour, the task which one and all came to accomplish! +Assuredly he must be mad, mad with the gloomiest madness; still she vowed +she would cure him. +</p> + +<p> +From that time forward she felt the most compassionate affection for this +extraordinary young man, who had first embarrassed and afterwards +astonished her. She showed herself very gentle and gay with him; she +looked after him with the greatest skill and delicacy of heart and mind. +There had been certain similar features in their childhood; each had been +reared in the strictest religious views by a pious mother. But afterwards +how different had been their fates! Whilst he was struggling with his +doubts, bound by his priestly vows, she had grown up at the Lycee +Fenelon, where her father had placed her as soon as her mother died; and +there, far removed from all practice of religion, she had gradually +reached total forgetfulness of her early religious views. It was a +constant source of surprise for him to find that she had thus escaped all +distress of mind at the thought of what might come after death, whereas +that same thought had so deeply tortured him. When they chatted together +and he expressed his astonishment at it, she frankly laughed, saying that +she had never felt any fear of hell, for she was certain that no hell +existed. And she added that she lived in all quietude, without hope of +going to any heaven, her one thought being to comply in a reasonable way +with the requirements and necessities of earthly life. It was, perhaps, +in some measure a matter of temperament with her; but it was also a +matter of education. Yet, whatever that education had been, whatever +knowledge she had acquired, she had remained very womanly and very +loving. There was nothing stern or masculine about her. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah, my friend," she said one day to Pierre, "if you only knew how easy +it is for me to remain happy so long as I see those I love free from any +excessive suffering. For my own part I can always adapt myself to life. I +work and content myself no matter what may happen. Sorrow has only come +to me from others, for I can't help wishing that everybody should be +fairly happy, and there are some who won't. . . . I was for a long time +very poor, but I remained gay. I wish for nothing, except for things that +can't be purchased. Still, want is the great abomination which distresses +me. I can understand that you should have felt everything crumbling when +charity appeared to you so insufficient a remedy as to be contemptible. +Yet it does bring relief; and, moreover, it is so sweet to be able to +give. Some day, too, by dint of reason and toil, by the good and +efficient working of life itself, the reign of justice will surely come. +But now it's I that am preaching! Oh! I have little taste for it! It +would be ridiculous for me to try to heal you with big phrases. All the +same, I should like to cure you of your gloomy sufferings. To do so, all +that I ask of you is to spend as much time as you can with us. You know +that this is Guillaume's greatest desire. We will all love you so well, +you will see us all so affectionately united, and so gay over our common +work, that you will come back to truth by joining us in the school of our +good mother nature. You must live and work, and love and hope." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre smiled as he listened. He now came to Montmartre nearly every day. +She was so nice and affectionate when she preached to him in that way +with a pretty assumption of wisdom. As she had said too, life was so +delightful in that big workroom; it was so pleasant to be all together, +and to labour in common at the same work of health and truth. Ashamed as +Pierre was of doing nothing, anxious as he was to occupy his mind and +fingers, he had first taken an interest in Antoine's engraving, asking +why he should not try something of the kind himself. However, he felt +that he lacked the necessary gift for art. Then, too, he recoiled from +Francois' purely intellectual labour, for he himself had scarcely emerged +from the harrowing study of conflicting texts. Thus he was more inclined +for manual toil like that of Thomas. In mechanics he found precision and +clearness such as might help to quench his thirst for certainty. So he +placed himself at the young man's orders, pulled his bellows and held +pieces of mechanism for him. He also sometimes served as assistant to +Guillaume, tying a large blue apron over his cassock in order to help in +the experiments. From that time he formed part of the work-shop, which +simply counted a worker the more. +</p> + +<p> +One afternoon early in April, when they were all busily engaged there, +Marie, who sat embroidering at the table in front of Mere-Grand, raised +her eyes to the window and suddenly burst into a cry of admiration: "Oh! +look at Paris under that rain of sunlight!" +</p> + +<p> +Pierre drew near; the play of light was much the same as that which he +had witnessed at his first visit. The sun, sinking behind some slight +purple clouds, was throwing down a hail of rays and sparks which on all +sides rebounded and leapt over the endless stretch of roofs. It might +have been thought that some great sower, hidden amidst the glory of the +planet, was scattering handfuls of golden grain from one horizon to the +other. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre, at sight of it, put his fancy into words: "It is the sun sowing +Paris with grain for a future harvest," said he. "See how the expanse +looks like ploughed land; the brownish houses are like soil turned up, +and the streets are deep and straight like furrows." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, yes, that's true," exclaimed Marie gaily. "The sun is sowing Paris +with grain. See how it casts the seed of light and health right away to +the distant suburbs! And yet, how singular! The rich districts on the +west seem steeped in a ruddy mist, whilst the good seed falls in golden +dust over the left bank and the populous districts eastward. It is there, +is it not, that the crop will spring up?" +</p> + +<p> +They had all drawn near, and were smiling at the symbol. As Marie had +said, it seemed indeed that while the sun slowly sank behind the lacework +of clouds, the sower of eternal life scattered his flaming seed with a +rhythmical swing of the arm, ever selecting the districts of toil and +effort. One dazzling handful of grain fell over yonder on the district of +the schools; and then yet another rained down to fertilise the district +of the factories and work-shops. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! well," said Guillaume gaily. "May the crop soon sprout from the good +ground of our great Paris, which has been turned up by so many +revolutions, and enriched by the blood of so many workers! It is the only +ground in the world where Ideas can germinate and bloom. Yes, yes, Pierre +is quite right, it is the sun sowing Paris with the seed of the future +world, which can sprout only up here!" +</p> + +<p> +Then Thomas, Francois and Antoine, who stood behind their father in a +row, nodded as if to say that this was also their own conviction; whilst +Mere-Grand gazed afar with dreamy eyes as though she could already behold +the splendid future. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! but it is only a dream; centuries must elapse. We shall never see +it!" murmured Pierre with a quiver. +</p> + +<p> +"But others will!" cried Marie. "And does not that suffice?" +</p> + +<p> +Those lofty words stirred Pierre to the depths of his being. And all at +once there came to him the memory of another Marie*—the adorable Marie +of his youth, that Marie de Guersaint who had been cured at Lourdes, and +the loss of whom had left such a void in his heart. Was that new Marie +who stood there smiling at him, so tranquil and so charming in her +strength, destined to heal that old-time wound? He felt that he was +beginning to live again since she had become his friend. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> + * The heroine of M. Zola's "Lourdes." +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, there before them, the glorious sun, with the sweep of its +rays, was scattering living golden dust over Paris, still and ever sowing +the great future harvest of justice and of truth. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +II +</h3> + +<h3> +TOWARDS LIFE +</h3> + +<p> +ONE evening, at the close of a good day's work, Pierre, who was helping +Thomas, suddenly caught his foot in the skirt of his cassock and narrowly +escaped falling. At this, Marie, after raising a faint cry of anxiety, +exclaimed: "Why don't you take it off?" +</p> + +<p> +There was no malice in her inquiry. She simply looked upon the priestly +robe as something too heavy and cumbersome, particularly when one had +certain work to perform. Nevertheless, her words deeply impressed Pierre, +and he could not forget them. When he was at home in the evening and +repeated them to himself they gradually threw him into feverish +agitation. Why, indeed, had he not divested himself of that cassock, +which weighed so heavily and painfully on his shoulders? Then a frightful +struggle began within him, and he spent a terrible, sleepless night, +again a prey to all his former torments. +</p> + +<p> +At first sight it seemed a very simple matter that he should cast his +priestly gown aside, for had he not ceased to discharge any priestly +office? He had not said mass for some time past, and this surely meant +renunciation of the priesthood. Nevertheless, so long as he retained his +gown it was possible that he might some day say mass again, whereas if he +cast it aside he would, as it were, strip himself, quit the priesthood +entirely, without possibility of return. It was a terrible step to take, +one that would prove irrevocable; and thus he paced his room for hours, +in great anguish of mind. +</p> + +<p> +He had formerly indulged in a superb dream. Whilst believing nothing +himself he had resolved to watch, in all loyalty, over the belief of +others. He would not so lower himself as to forswear his vows, he would +be no base renegade, but however great the torments of the void he felt +within him he would remain the minister of man's illusions respecting the +Divinity. And it was by reason of his conduct in this respect that he had +ended by being venerated as a saint—he who denied everything, who had +become a mere empty sepulchre. For a long time his falsehood had never +disturbed him, but it now brought him acute suffering. It seemed to him +that he would be acting in the vilest manner if he delayed placing his +life in accord with his opinions. The thought of it all quite rent his +heart. +</p> + +<p> +The question was a very clear one. By what right did he remain the +minister of a religion in which he no longer believed? Did not elementary +honesty require that he should quit a Church in which he denied the +presence of the Divinity? He regarded the dogmas of that Church as +puerile errors, and yet he persisted in teaching them as if they were +eternal truths. Base work it was, that alarmed his conscience. He vainly +sought the feverish glow of charity and martyrdom which had led him to +offer himself as a sacrifice, willing to suffer all the torture of doubt +and to find his own life lost and ravaged, provided that he might yet +afford the relief of hope to the lowly. Truth and nature, no doubt, had +already regained too much ascendancy over him for those feelings to +return. The thought of such a lying apostolate now wounded him; he no +longer had the hypocritical courage to call the Divinity down upon the +believers kneeling before him, when he was convinced that the Divinity +would not descend. Thus all the past was swept away; there remained +nothing of the sublime pastoral part he would once have liked to play, +that supreme gift of himself which lay in stubborn adherence to the rules +of the Church, and such devotion to faith as to endure in silence the +torture of having lost it. +</p> + +<p> +What must Marie think of his prolonged falsehood, he wondered, and +thereupon he seemed to hear her words again: "Why not take your cassock +off?" His conscience bled as if those words were a stab. What contempt +must she not feel for him, she who was so upright, so high-minded? Every +scattered blame, every covert criticism directed against his conduct, +seemed to find embodiment in her. It now sufficed that she should condemn +him, and he at once felt guilty. At the same time she had never voiced +her disapproval to him, in all probability because she did not think she +had any right to intervene in a struggle of conscience. The superb +calmness and healthiness which she displayed still astonished him. He +himself was ever haunted and tortured by thoughts of the unknown, of what +the morrow of death might have in store for one; but although he had +studied and watched her for days together, he had never seen her give a +sign of doubt or distress. This exemption from such sufferings as his own +was due, said she, to the fact that she gave all her gaiety, all her +energy, all her sense of duty, to the task of living, in such wise that +life itself proved a sufficiency, and no time was left for mere fancies +to terrify and stultify her. Well, then, since she with her air of quiet +strength had asked him why he did not take off his cassock, he would take +it off—yes, he would divest himself of that robe which seemed to burn +and weigh him down. +</p> + +<p> +He fancied himself calmed by this decision, and towards morning threw +himself upon his bed; but all at once a stifling sensation, a renewal of +his abominable anguish, brought him to his feet again. No, no, he could +not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh. His +skin would come away with his cloth, his whole being would be lacerated! +Is not the mark of priesthood an indelible one, does it not brand the +priest for ever, and differentiate him from the flock? Even should he +tear off his gown with his skin, he would remain a priest, an object of +scandal and shame, awkward and impotent, shut off from the life of other +men. And so why tear it off, since he would still and ever remain in +prison, and a fruitful life of work in the broad sunlight was no longer +within his reach? He, indeed, fancied himself irremediably stricken with +impotence. Thus he was unable to come to any decision, and when he +returned to Montmartre two days later he had again relapsed into a state +of torment. +</p> + +<p> +Feverishness, moreover, had come upon the happy home. Guillaume was +becoming more and more annoyed about Salvat's affair, not a day elapsing +without the newspapers fanning his irritation. He had at first been +deeply touched by the dignified and reticent bearing of Salvat, who had +declared that he had no accomplices whatever. Of course the inquiry into +the crime was what is called a secret one; but magistrate Amadieu, to +whom it had been entrusted, conducted it in a very noisy way. The +newspapers, which he in some degree took into his confidence, were full +of articles and paragraphs about him and his interviews with the +prisoner. Thanks to Salvat's quiet admissions, Amadieu had been able to +retrace the history of the crime hour by hour, his only remaining doubts +having reference to the nature of the powder which had been employed, and +the making of the bomb itself. It might after all be true that Salvat had +loaded the bomb at a friend's, as he indeed asserted was the case; but he +must be lying when he added that the only explosive used was dynamite, +derived from some stolen cartridges, for all the experts now declared +that dynamite would never have produced such effects as those which had +been witnessed. This, then, was the mysterious point which protracted the +investigations. And day by day the newspapers profited by it to circulate +the wildest stories under sensational headings, which were specially +devised for the purpose of sending up their sales. +</p> + +<p> +It was all the nonsense contained in these stories that fanned +Guillaume's irritation. In spite of his contempt for Sagnier he could not +keep from buying the "Voix du Peuple." Quivering with indignation, +growing more and more exasperated, he was somehow attracted by the mire +which he found in that scurrilous journal. Moreover, the other +newspapers, including even the "Globe," which was usually so dignified, +published all sorts of statements for which no proof could be supplied, +and drew from them remarks and conclusions which, though couched in +milder language than Sagnier's, were none the less abominably unjust. It +seemed indeed as if the whole press had set itself the task of covering +Salvat with mud, so as to be able to vilify Anarchism generally. +According to the journalists the prisoner's life had simply been one long +abomination. He had already earned his living by thievery in his +childhood at the time when he had roamed the streets, an unhappy, +forsaken vagrant; and later on he had proved a bad soldier and a bad +worker. He had been punished for insubordination whilst he was in the +army, and he had been dismissed from a dozen work-shops because he +incessantly disturbed them by his Anarchical propaganda. Later still, he +had fled his country and led a suspicious life of adventure in America, +where, it was alleged, he must have committed all sorts of unknown +crimes. Moreover there was his horrible immorality, his connection with +his sister-in-law, that Madame Theodore who had taken charge of his +forsaken child in his absence, and with whom he had cohabited since his +return to France. In this wise Salvat's failings and transgressions were +pitilessly denounced and magnified without any mention of the causes +which had induced them, or of the excuses which lay in the unhappy man's +degrading environment. And so Guillaume's feelings of humanity and +justice revolted, for he knew the real Salvat,—a man of tender heart and +dreamy mind, so liable to be impassioned by fancies,—a man cast into +life when a child without weapon of defence, ever trodden down or thrust +aside, then gradually exasperated by the perpetual onslaughts of want, +and at last dreaming of reviving the golden age by destroying the old, +corrupt world. +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately for Salvat, everything had gone against him since he had +been shut up in strict confinement, at the mercy of the ambitious and +worldly Amadieu. Guillaume had learnt from his son, Thomas, that the +prisoner could count on no support whatever among his former mates at the +Grandidier works. These works were becoming prosperous once more, thanks +to their steady output of bicycles; and it was said that Grandidier was +only waiting for Thomas to perfect his little motor, in order to start +the manufacture of motor-cars on a large scale. However, the success +which he was now for the first time achieving, and which scarcely repaid +him for all his years of toil and battle, had in certain respects +rendered him prudent and even severe. He did not wish any suspicion to be +cast upon his business through the unpleasant affair of his former +workman Salvat, and so he had dismissed such of his workmen as held +Anarchist views. If he had kept the two Toussaints, one of whom was the +prisoner's brother-in-law, while the other was suspected of sympathy with +him, this was because they had belonged to the works for a score of +years, and he did not like to cast them adrift. Moreover, Toussaint, the +father, had declared that if he were called as a witness for the defence, +he should simply give such particulars of Salvat's career as related to +the prisoner's marriage with his sister. +</p> + +<p> +One evening when Thomas came home from the works, to which he returned +every now and then in order to try his little motor, he related that he +had that day seen Madame Grandidier, the poor young woman who had become +insane through an attack of puerperal fever following upon the death of a +child. Although most frightful attacks of madness occasionally came over +her, and although life beside her was extremely painful, even during the +intervals when she remained downcast and gentle as a child, her husband +had never been willing to send her to an asylum. He kept her with him in +a pavilion near the works, and as a rule the shutters of the windows +overlooking the yard remained closed. Thus Thomas had been greatly +surprised to see one of these windows open, and the young woman appear at +it amidst the bright sunshine of that early spring. True, she only +remained there for a moment, vision-like, fair and pretty, with smiling +face; for a servant who suddenly drew near closed the window, and the +pavilion then again sank into lifeless silence. At the same time it was +reported among the men employed at the works that the poor creature had +not experienced an attack for well-nigh a month past, and that this was +the reason why the "governor" looked so strong and pleased, and worked so +vigorously to help on the increasing prosperity of his business. +</p> + +<p> +"He isn't a bad fellow," added Thomas, "but with the terrible competition +that he has to encounter, he is bent on keeping his men under control. +Nowadays, says he, when so many capitalists and wage earners seem bent on +exterminating one another, the latter—if they don't want to +starve—ought to be well pleased when capital falls into the hands of an +active, fair-minded man. . . . If he shows no pity for Salvat, it is +because he really believes in the necessity of an example." +</p> + +<p> +That same day Thomas, after leaving the works and while threading his way +through the toilsome hive-like Marcadet district, had overtaken Madame +Theodore and little Celine, who were wandering on in great distress. It +appeared that they had just called upon Toussaint, who had been unable to +lend them even such a trifle as ten sous. Since Salvat's arrest, the +woman and the child had been forsaken and suspected by one and all. +Driven forth from their wretched lodging, they were without food and +wandered hither and thither dependent on chance alms. Never had greater +want and misery fallen on defenceless creatures. +</p> + +<p> +"I told them to come up here, father," said Thomas, "for I thought that +one might pay their landlord a month's rent, so that they might go home +again. . . . Ah! there's somebody coming now—it's they, no doubt." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume had felt angry with himself whilst listening to his son, for he +had not thought of the poor creatures. It was the old story: the man +disappears, and the woman and the child find themselves in the streets, +starving. Whenever Justice strikes a man her blow travels beyond him, +fells innocent beings and kills them. +</p> + +<p> +Madame Theodore came in, humble and timid, scared like a luckless +creature whom life never wearies of persecuting. She was becoming almost +blind, and little Celine had to lead her. The girl's fair, thin face wore +its wonted expression of shrewd intelligence, and even now, however +woeful her rags, it was occasionally brightened by a childish smile. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre and Marie, who were both there, felt extremely touched. Near them +was Madame Mathis, young Victor's mother, who had come to help Mere-Grand +with the mending of some house-linen. She went out by the day in this +fashion among a few families, and was thus enabled to give her son an +occasional franc or two. Guillaume alone questioned Madame Theodore. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! monsieur," she stammered, "who could ever have thought Salvat +capable of such a thing, he who's so good and so humane? Still it's true, +since he himself has admitted it to the magistrate. . . . For my part I +told everybody that he was in Belgium. I wasn't quite sure of it, still +I'm glad that he didn't come back to see us; for if he had been arrested +at our place I should have lost my senses. . . . Well, now that they have +him, they'll sentence him to death, that's certain." +</p> + +<p> +At this Celine, who had been looking around her with an air of interest, +piteously exclaimed: "Oh! no, oh! no, mamma, they won't hurt him!" +</p> + +<p> +Big tears appeared in the child's eyes as she raised this cry. Guillaume +kissed her, and then went on questioning Madame Theodore. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, monsieur," she answered, "the child's not old or big enough to +work as yet, and my eyes are done for, people won't even take me as a +charwoman. And so it's simple enough, we starve. . . . Oh! of course I'm +not without relations; I have a sister who married very well. Her husband +is a clerk, Monsieur Chretiennot, perhaps you know him. Unfortunately +he's rather proud, and as I don't want any scenes between him and my +sister, I no longer go to see her. Besides, she's in despair just now, +for she's expecting another baby, which is a terrible blow for a small +household, when one already has two girls. . . . That's why the only +person I can apply to is my brother Toussaint. His wife isn't a bad sort +by any means, but she's no longer the same since she's been living in +fear of her husband having another attack. The first one carried off all +her savings, and what would become of her if Toussaint should remain on +her hands, paralysed? Besides, she's threatened with another burden, for, +as you may know, her son Charles got keeping company with a servant at a +wine shop, who of course ran away after she had a baby, which she left +him to see to. So one can understand that the Toussaints themselves are +hard put. I don't complain of them. They've already lent me a little +money, and of course they can't go on lending for ever." +</p> + +<p> +She continued talking in this spiritless, resigned way, complaining only +on account of Celine; for, said she, it was enough to make one's heart +break to see such an intelligent child obliged to tramp the streets after +getting on so well at the Communal School. She could feel too that +everybody now kept aloof from them on account of Salvat. The Toussaints +didn't want to be compromised in any such business. There was only +Charles, who had said that he could well understand a man losing his head +and trying to blow up the <i>bourgeois</i>, because they really treated the +workers in a blackguard way. +</p> + +<p> +"For my part, monsieur," added Madame Theodore, "I say nothing, for I'm +only a woman. All the same, though, if you'd like to know what I think, +well, I think that it would have been better if Salvat hadn't done what +he did, for we two, the girl and I, are the real ones to suffer from it. +Ah! I can't get the idea into my head, that the little one should be the +daughter of a man condemned to death." +</p> + +<p> +Once more Celine interrupted her, flinging her arms around her neck: "Oh! +mamma, oh! mamma, don't say that, I beg you! It can't be true, it grieves +me too much!" +</p> + +<p> +At this Pierre and Marie exchanged compassionate glances, while +Mere-Grand rose from her chair, in order to go upstairs and search her +wardrobes for some articles of clothing which might be of use to the two +poor creatures. Guillaume, who, for his part, had been moved to tears, +and felt full of revolt against the social system which rendered such +distress possible, slipped some alms into the child's little hand, and +promised Madame Theodore that he would see her landlord so as to get her +back her room. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! Monsieur Froment!" replied the unfortunate woman. "Salvat was quite +right when he said you were a real good man! And as you employed him here +for a few days you know too that he isn't a wicked one. . . . Now that +he's been put in prison everybody calls him a brigand, and it breaks my +heart to hear them." Then, turning towards Madame Mathis, who had +continued sewing in discreet silence, like a respectable woman whom none +of these things could concern, she went on: "I know you, madame, but I'm +better acquainted with your son, Monsieur Victor, who has often come to +chat at our place. Oh! you needn't be afraid, I shan't say it, I shall +never compromise anybody; but if Monsieur Victor were free to speak, he'd +be the man to explain Salvat's ideas properly." +</p> + +<p> +Madame Mathis looked at her in stupefaction. Ignorant as she was of her +son's real life and views, she experienced a vague dread at the idea of +any connection between him and Salvat's family. Moreover, she refused to +believe it possible. "Oh! you must be mistaken," she said. "Victor told +me that he now seldom came to Montmartre, as he was always going about in +search of work." +</p> + +<p> +By the anxious quiver of the widow's voice, Madame Theodore understood +that she ought not to have mixed her up in her troubles; and so in all +humility she at once beat a retreat: "I beg your pardon, madame, I didn't +think I should hurt your feelings. Perhaps, too, I'm mistaken, as you +say." +</p> + +<p> +Madame Mathis had again turned to her sewing as to the solitude in which +she lived, that nook of decent misery where she dwelt without +companionship and almost unknown, with scarcely sufficient bread to eat. +Ah! that dear son of hers, whom she loved so well; however much he might +neglect her, she had placed her only remaining hope in him: he was her +last dream, and would some day lavish all kinds of happiness upon her! +</p> + +<p> +At that moment Mere-Grand came downstairs again, laden with a bundle of +linen and woollen clothing, and Madame Theodore and little Celine +withdrew while pouring forth their thanks. For a long time after they had +gone Guillaume, unable to resume work, continued walking to and fro in +silence, with a frown upon his face. +</p> + +<p> +When Pierre, still hesitating and still tortured by conflicting feelings, +returned to Montmartre on the following day he witnessed with much +surprise a visit of a very different kind. There was a sudden gust of +wind, a whirl of skirts and a ring of laughter as little Princess +Rosemonde swept in, followed by young Hyacinthe Duvillard, who, on his +side, retained a very frigid bearing. +</p> + +<p> +"It's I, my dear master," exclaimed the Princess. "I promised you a +visit, you remember, for I am such a great admirer of your genius. And +our young friend here has been kind enough to bring me. We have only just +returned from Norway, and my very first visit is for you." +</p> + +<p> +She turned as she spoke, and bowed in an easy and gracious way to Pierre +and Marie, Francois and Antoine, who were also there. Then she resumed: +"Oh! my dear master, you have no idea how beautifully virginal Norway is! +We all ought to go and drink at that new source of the Ideal, and we +should return purified, rejuvenated and capable of great renunciations!" +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact she had been well-nigh bored to death there. To make +one's honeymoon journey to the land of the ice and snow, instead of to +Italy, the hot land of the sun, was doubtless a very refined idea, which +showed that no base materialism formed part of one's affections. It was +the soul alone that travelled, and naturally it was fit that only kisses +of the soul should be exchanged on the journey. Unfortunately, however, +Hyacinthe had carried his symbolism so far as to exasperate Rosemonde, +and on one occasion they had come to blows over it, and then to tears +when this lover's quarrel had ended as many such quarrels do. Briefly, +they had no longer deemed themselves pure enough for the companionship of +the swans and the lakes of dreamland, and had therefore taken the first +steamer that was sailing for France. +</p> + +<p> +As it was altogether unnecessary to confess to everybody what a failure +their journey had proved, the Princess abruptly brought her rapturous +references to Norway to an end, and then explained: "By the way, do you +know what I found awaiting me on my return? Why, I found my house +pillaged, oh! completely pillaged! And in such a filthy condition, too! +We at once recognised the mark of the beast, and thought of Bergaz's +young friends." +</p> + +<p> +Already on the previous day Guillaume had read in the newspapers that a +band of young Anarchists had entered the Princess's little house by +breaking a basement window. She had left it quite deserted, unprotected +even by a caretaker; and the robbers had not merely removed everything +from the premises—including even the larger articles of furniture, but +had lived there for a couple of days, bringing provisions in from +outside, drinking all the wine in the cellars, and leaving every room in +a most filthy and disgusting condition. On discovering all this, +Rosemonde had immediately remembered the evening she had spent at the +Chamber of Horrors in the company of Bergaz and his acolytes, Rossi and +Sanfaute, who had heard her speak of her intended trip to Norway. The two +young men had therefore been arrested, but Bergaz had so far escaped. The +Princess was not greatly astonished by it all, for she had already been +warned of the presence of dangerous characters among the mixed +cosmopolitan set with which she associated. Janzen had told her in +confidence of a number of villanous affairs which were attributed to +Bergaz and his band. And now the Anarchist leader openly declared that +Bergaz had sold himself to the police like Raphanel; and that the +burglary at the Princess's residence had been planned by the police +officials, who thereby hoped to cover the Anarchist cause with mire. If +proof was wanted of this, added Janzen, it could be found in the fact +that the police had allowed Bergaz to escape. +</p> + +<p> +"I fancied that the newspapers might have exaggerated matters," said +Guillaume, when the Princess had finished her story. "They are inventing +such abominable things just now, in order to blacken the case of that +poor devil Salvat." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! they've exaggerated nothing!" Rosemonde gaily rejoined. "As a matter +of fact they have omitted a number of particulars which were too filthy +for publication. . . . For my part, I've merely had to go to an hotel. +I'm very comfortable there; I was beginning to feel bored in that house +of mine. . . . All the same, however, Anarchism is hardly a clean +business, and I no longer like to say that I have any connection with +it." +</p> + +<p> +She again laughed, and then passed to another subject, asking Guillaume +to tell her of his most recent researches, in order, no doubt, that she +might show she knew enough chemistry to understand him. He had been +rendered thoughtful, however, by the story of Bergaz and the burglary, +and would only answer her in a general way. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, Hyacinthe was renewing his acquaintance with his +school-fellows, Francois and Antoine. He had accompanied the Princess to +Montmartre against his own inclinations; but since she had taken to +whipping him he had become afraid of her. The chemist's little home +filled him with disdain, particularly as the chemist was a man of +questionable reputation. Moreover, he thought it a duty to insist on his +own superiority in the presence of those old school-fellows of his, whom +he found toiling away in the common rut, like other people. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! yes," said he to Francois, who was taking notes from a book spread +open before him, "you are at the Ecole Normale, I believe, and are +preparing for your licentiate. Well, for my part, you know, the idea of +being tied to anything horrifies me. I become quite stupid when there's +any question of examination or competition. The only possible road for +one to follow is that of the Infinite. And between ourselves what dupery +there is in science, how it narrows our horizon! It's just as well to +remain a child with eyes gazing into the invisible. A child knows more +than all your learned men." +</p> + +<p> +Francois, who occasionally indulged in irony, pretended to share his +opinion. "No doubt, no doubt," said he, "but one must have a natural +disposition to remain a child. For my part, unhappily, I'm consumed by a +desire to learn and know. It's deplorable, as I'm well aware, but I pass +my days racking my brain over books. . . . I shall never know very much, +that's certain; and perhaps that's the reason why I'm ever striving to +learn a little more. You must at all events grant that work, like +idleness, is a means of passing life, though of course it is a less +elegant and aesthetic one." +</p> + +<p> +"Less aesthetic, precisely," rejoined Hyacinthe. "Beauty lies solely in +the unexpressed, and life is simply degraded when one introduces anything +material into it." +</p> + +<p> +Simpleton though he was in spite of the enormity of his pretensions, he +doubtless detected that Francois had been speaking ironically. So he +turned to Antoine, who had remained seated in front of a block he was +engraving. It was the one which represented Lise reading in her garden, +for he was ever taking it in hand again and touching it up in his desire +to emphasise his indication of the girl's awakening to intelligence and +life. +</p> + +<p> +"So you engrave, I see," said Hyacinthe. "Well, since I renounced +versification—a little poem I had begun on the End of Woman—because +words seemed to me so gross and cumbersome, mere paving-stones as it +were, fit for labourers, I myself have had some idea of trying drawing, +and perhaps engraving too. But what drawing can portray the mystery which +lies beyond life, the only sphere that has any real existence and +importance for us? With what pencil and on what kind of plate could one +depict it? We should need something impalpable, something unheard of, +which would merely suggest the essence of things and beings." +</p> + +<p> +"But it's only by material means," Antoine somewhat roughly replied, +"that art can render the essence of things and beings, that is, their +full significance as we understand it. To transcribe life is my great +passion; and briefly life is the only mystery that there is in things and +beings. When it seems to me that an engraving of mine lives, I'm well +pleased, for I feel that I have created." +</p> + +<p> +Hyacinthe pouted by way of expressing his contempt of all fruitfulness. +Any fool might beget offspring. It was the sexless idea, existing by +itself, that was rare and exquisite. He tried to explain this, but became +confused, and fell back on the conviction which he had brought back from +Norway, that literature and art were done for in France, killed by +baseness and excess of production. +</p> + +<p> +"It's evident!" said Francois gaily by way of conclusion. "To do nothing +already shows that one has some talent!" +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, Pierre and Marie listened and gazed around them, somewhat +embarrassed by this strange visit which had set the usually grave and +peaceful workroom topsy-turvy. The little Princess, though, evinced much +amiability, and on drawing near to Marie admired the wonderful delicacy +of some embroidery she was finishing. Before leaving, moreover, Rosemonde +insisted upon Guillaume inscribing his autograph in an album which +Hyacinthe had to fetch from her carriage. The young man obeyed her with +evident boredom. It could be seen that they were already weary of one +another. Pending a fresh caprice, however, it amused Rosemonde to +terrorize her sorry victim. When she at length led him away, after +declaring to Guillaume that she should always regard that visit as a +memorable incident in her life, she made the whole household smile by +saying: "Oh! so your sons knew Hyacinthe at college. He's a good-natured +little fellow, isn't he? and he would really be quite nice if he would +only behave like other people." +</p> + +<p> +That same day Janzen and Bache came to spend the evening with Guillaume. +Once a week they now met at Montmartre, as they had formerly done at +Neuilly. Pierre, on these occasions, went home very late, for as soon as +Mere-Grand, Marie, and Guillaume's sons had retired for the night, there +were endless chats in the workroom, whence Paris could be seen spangled +with thousands of gas lights. Another visitor at these times was +Theophile Morin, but he did not arrive before ten o'clock, as he was +detained by the work of correcting his pupils' exercises or some other +wearisome labour pertaining to his profession. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as Guillaume had told the others of the Princess's visit that +afternoon, Janzen hastily exclaimed: "But she's mad, you know. When I +first met her I thought for a moment that I might perhaps utilise her for +the cause. She seemed so thoroughly convinced and bold! But I soon found +that she was the craziest of women, and simply hungered for new +emotions!" +</p> + +<p> +Janzen was at last emerging from his wonted frigidity and mysteriousness. +His cheeks were quite flushed. In all probability he had suffered from +his rupture with the woman whom he had once called 'the Queen of the +Anarchists,' and whose fortune and extensive circle of acquaintance had +seemed to him such powerful weapons of propaganda. +</p> + +<p> +"You know," said he, when he had calmed down, "it was the police who had +her house pillaged and turned into a pigstye. Yes, in view of Salvat's +trial, which is now near at hand, the idea was to damn Anarchism beyond +possibility of even the faintest sympathy on the part of the +<i>bourgeois</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, she told me so," replied Guillaume, who had become attentive. "But +I scarcely credit the story. If Bergaz had merely acted under such +influence as you suggest, he would have been arrested with the others, +just as Raphanel was taken with those whom he betrayed. Besides, I know +something of Bergaz; he's a freebooter." Guillaume made a sorrowful +gesture, and then in a saddened voice continued: "Oh, I can understand +all claims and all legitimate reprisals. But theft, cynical theft for the +purpose of profit and enjoyment, is beyond me! It lowers my hope of a +better and more equitable form of society. Yes, that burglary at the +Princess's house has greatly distressed me." +</p> + +<p> +An enigmatical smile, sharp like a knife, again played over Janzen's +lips. "Oh! it's a matter of heredity with you!" said he. "The centuries +of education and belief that lie behind you compel you to protest. All +the same, however, when people won't make restoration, things must be +taken from them. What worries me is that Bergaz should have sold himself +just now. The public prosecutor will use that farcical burglary as a +crushing argument when he asks the jury for Salvat's head." +</p> + +<p> +Such was Janzen's hatred of the police that he stubbornly clung to his +version of the affair. Perhaps, too, he had quarrelled with Bergaz, with +whom he had at one time freely associated. +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume, who understood that all discussion would be useless, contented +himself with replying: "Ah! yes, Salvat! Everything is against that +unhappy fellow, he is certain to be condemned. But you can't know, my +friends, what a passion that affair of his puts me into. All my ideas of +truth and justice revolt at the thought of it. He's a madman certainly; +but there are so many excuses to be urged for him. At bottom he is simply +a martyr who has followed the wrong track. And yet he has become the +scapegoat, laden with the crimes of the whole nation, condemned to pay +for one and all!" +</p> + +<p> +Bache and Morin nodded without replying. They both professed horror of +Anarchism; while Morin, forgetting that the word if not the thing dated +from his first master Proudhon, clung to his Comtist doctrines, in the +conviction that science alone would ensure the happiness and pacification +of the nations. Bache, for his part, old mystical humanitarian that he +was, claimed that the only solution would come from Fourier, who by +decreeing an alliance of talent, labour and capital, had mapped out the +future in a decisive manner. Nevertheless, both Bache and Morin were so +discontented with the slow-paced <i>bourgeoise</i> Republic of the present +day, and so hurt by the thought that everything was going from bad to +worse through the flouting of their own particular ideas, that they were +quite willing to wax indignant at the manner in which the conflicting +parties of the time were striving to make use of Salvat in order to +retain or acquire power. +</p> + +<p> +"When one thinks," said Bache, "that this ministerial crisis of theirs +has now been lasting for nearly three weeks! Every appetite is openly +displayed, it's a most disgusting sight! Did you see in the papers this +morning that the President has again been obliged to summon Vignon to the +Elysee?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! the papers," muttered Morin in his weary way, "I no longer read +them! What's the use of doing so? They are so badly written, and they all +lie!" +</p> + +<p> +As Bache had said, the ministerial crisis was still dragging on. The +President of the Republic, taking as his guide the debate in the Chamber +of Deputies, by which the Barroux administration had been overthrown, had +very properly sent for Vignon, the victor on that occasion, and entrusted +him with the formation of a new ministry. It had seemed that this would +be an easy task, susceptible of accomplishment in two or three days at +the utmost, for the names of the friends whom the young leader of the +Radical party would bring to power with him had been freely mentioned for +months past. But all sorts of difficulties had suddenly arisen. For ten +days or so Vignon had struggled on amidst inextricable obstacles. Then, +disheartened and disgusted, fearing, too, that he might use himself up +and shut off the future if he persisted in his endeavours, he had been +obliged to tell the President that he renounced the task. Forthwith the +President had summoned other deputies, and questioned them until he had +found one brave enough to make an attempt on his own account; whereupon +incidents similar to those which had marked Vignon's endeavours had once +more occurred. At the outset a list was drawn up with every prospect of +being ratified within a few hours, but all at once hesitation arose, some +pulled one way, some another; every effort was slowly paralysed till +absolute failure resulted. It seemed as though the mysterious manoeuvres +which had hampered Vignon had begun again; it was as if some band of +invisible plotters was, for some unknown purpose, doing its utmost to +wreck every combination. A thousand hindrances arose with increasing +force from every side—jealousy, dislike, and even betrayal were secretly +prompted by expert agents, who employed every form of pressure, whether +threats or promises, besides fanning and casting rival passions and +interests into collision. Thus the President, greatly embarrassed by this +posture of affairs, had again found it necessary to summon Vignon, who, +after reflection and negotiation, now had an almost complete list in his +pocket, and seemed likely to perfect a new administration within the next +forty-eight hours. +</p> + +<p> +"Still it isn't settled," resumed Bache. "Well-informed people assert +that Vignon will fail again as he did the first time. For my part I can't +get rid of the idea that Duvillard's gang is pulling the strings, though +for whose benefit is a mystery. You may be quite sure, however, that its +chief purpose is to stifle the African Railways affair. If Monferrand +were not so badly compromised I should almost suspect some trick on his +part. Have you noticed that the 'Globe,' after throwing Barroux overboard +in all haste, now refers to Monferrand every day with the most respectful +sympathy? That's a grave sign; for it isn't Fonsegue's habit to show any +solicitude for the vanquished. But what can one expect from that wretched +Chamber! The only point certain is that something dirty is being plotted +there." +</p> + +<p> +"And that big dunderhead Mege who works for every party except his own!" +exclaimed Morin; "what a dupe he is with that idea that he need merely +overthrow first one cabinet and then another, in order to become the +leader of one himself!" +</p> + +<p> +The mention of Mege brought them all to agreement, for they unanimously +hated him. Bache, although his views coincided on many points with those +of the apostle of State Collectivism, judged each of his speeches, each +of his actions, with pitiless severity. Janzen, for his part, treated the +Collectivist leader as a mere reactionary <i>bourgeois</i>, who ought to be +swept away one of the first. This hatred of Mege was indeed the common +passion of Guillaume's friends. They could occasionally show some justice +for men who in no wise shared their ideas; but in their estimation it was +an unpardonable crime for anybody to hold much the same views as +themselves, without being absolutely in agreement with them on every +possible point. +</p> + +<p> +Their discussion continued, their various theories mingling or clashing +till they passed from politics to the press, and grew excited over the +denunciations which poured each morning from Sagnier's newspaper, like +filth from the mouth of a sewer. Thereupon Guillaume, who had become +absorbed in reverie while pacing to and fro according to his habit, +suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! what dirty work it is that Sagnier does! Before +long there won't be a single person, a single thing left on which he +hasn't vomited! You think he's on your side, and suddenly he splashes you +with mire! . . . By the way, he related yesterday that skeleton keys and +stolen purses were found on Salvat when he was arrested in the Bois de +Boulogne! It's always Salvat! He's the inexhaustible subject for +articles. The mere mention of him suffices to send up a paper's sales! +The bribe-takers of the African Railways shout 'Salvat!' to create a +diversion. And the battles which wreck ministers are waged round his +name. One and all set upon him and make use of him and beat him down!" +</p> + +<p> +With that cry of revolt and compassion, the friends separated for the +night. Pierre, who sat near the open window, overlooking the sparkling +immensity of Paris, had listened to the others without speaking a word. +He had once more been mastered by his doubts, the terrible struggle of +his heart and mind; and no solution, no appeasement had come to him from +all the contradictory views he had heard—the views of men who only +united in predicting the disappearance of the old world, and could make +no joint brotherly effort to rear the future world of truth and justice. +In that vast city of Paris stretching below him, spangled with stars, +glittering like the sky of a summer's night, Pierre also found a great +enigma. It was like chaos, like a dim expanse of ashes dotted with sparks +whence the coming aurora would arise. What future was being forged there, +he wondered, what decisive word of salvation and happiness would come +with the dawn, and wing its flight to every point of the horizon? +</p> + +<p> +When Pierre, in his turn, was about to retire, Guillaume laid his hands +upon his shoulders, and with much emotion gave him a long look. "Ah! my +poor fellow," said he, "you've been suffering too for some days past, I +have noticed it. But you are the master of your sufferings, for the +struggle you have to overcome is simply in yourself, and you can subdue +it; whereas one cannot subdue the world, when it is the world, its +cruelty and injustice that make one suffer! Good night, be brave, act as +your reason tells you, even if it makes you weep, and you will find peace +surely enough." +</p> + +<p> +Later on, when Pierre again found himself alone in his little house at +Neuilly, where none now visited him save the shades of his father and +mother, he was long kept awake by a supreme internal combat. He had never +before felt so disgusted with the falsehood of his life, that cassock +which he had persisted in wearing, though he was a priest in name only. +Perhaps it was all that he had beheld and heard at his brother's, the +want and wretchedness of some, the wild, futile agitation of others, the +need of improvement among mankind which remained paramount amidst every +contradiction and form of weakness, that had made him more deeply +conscious of the necessity of living in loyal and normal fashion in the +broad daylight. He could no longer think of his former dream of leading +the solitary life of a saintly priest when he was nothing of the kind, +without a shiver of shame at having lied so long. And now it was quite +decided, he would lie no longer, not even from feelings of compassion in +order that others might retain their religious illusions. And yet how +painful it was to have to divest himself of that gown which seemed to +cling to his skin, and how heartrending the thought that if he did remove +it he would be skinless, lacerated, infirm, unable, do what he might, to +become like other men! +</p> + +<p> +It was this recurring thought which again tortured him throughout that +terrible night. Would life yet allow him to enter its fold? Had he not +been branded with a mark which for ever condemned him to dwell apart? He +thought he could feel his priestly vows burning his very flesh like +red-hot iron. What use would it be for him to dress as men dress, if in +reality he was never to be a man? He had hitherto lived in such a +quivering state, in a sphere of renunciation and dreams! To know manhood +never, to be too late for it, that thought filled him with terror. And +when at last he made up his mind to fling aside his cassock, he did so +from a simple sense of rectitude, for all his anguish remained. +</p> + +<p> +When he returned to Montmartre on the following day, he wore a jacket and +trousers of a dark colour. Neither an exclamation nor a glance that might +have embarrassed him came from Mere-Grand or the three young men. Was not +the change a natural one? They greeted him therefore in the quiet way +that was usual with them; perhaps, with some increase of affection, as if +to set him the more at his ease. Guillaume, however, ventured to smile +good-naturedly. In that change he detected his own work. Cure was coming, +as he had hoped it would come, by him and in his own home, amid the full +sunlight, the life which ever streamed in through yonder window. +</p> + +<p> +Marie, who on her side raised her eyes and looked at Pierre, knew nothing +of the sufferings which he had endured through her simple and logical +inquiry: "Why not take your cassock off?" She merely felt that by +removing it he would be more at ease for his work. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Pierre, just come and look!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I have been +amusing myself with watching all the smoke which the wind is laying +yonder over Paris. One might take it to be a huge fleet of ships shining +in the sunlight. Yes, yes, golden ships, thousands of golden ships, +setting forth from the ocean of Paris to enlighten and pacify the world!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +III +</h3> + +<h3> +THE DAWN OF LOVE +</h3> + +<p> +A COUPLE of days afterwards, when Pierre was already growing accustomed +to his new attire, and no longer gave it a thought, it so happened that +on reaching Montmartre he encountered Abbe Rose outside the basilica of +the Sacred Heart. The old priest, who at first was quite thunderstruck +and scarcely able to recognise him, ended by taking hold of his hands and +giving him a long look. Then with his eyes full of tears he exclaimed: +"Oh! my son, so you have fallen into the awful state I feared! I never +mentioned it, but I felt that God had withdrawn from you. Ah! nothing +could wound my heart so cruelly as this." +</p> + +<p> +Then, still trembling, he began to lead Pierre away as if to hide such a +scandal from the few people who passed by; and at last, his strength +failing him, he sank upon a heap of bricks lying on the grass of one of +the adjoining work-yards. +</p> + +<p> +The sincere grief which his old and affectionate friend displayed upset +Pierre far more than any angry reproaches or curses would have done. +Tears had come to his own eyes, so acute was the suffering he experienced +at this meeting, which he ought, however, to have foreseen. There was yet +another wrenching, and one which made the best of their blood flow, in +that rupture between Pierre and the saintly man whose charitable dreams +and hopes of salvation he had so long shared. There had been so many +divine illusions, so many struggles for the relief of the masses, so much +renunciation and forgiveness practised in common between them in their +desire to hasten the harvest of the future! And now they were parting; +he, Pierre, still young in years, was returning to life, leaving his aged +companion to his vain waiting and his dreams. +</p> + +<p> +In his turn, taking hold of Abbe Rose's hands, he gave expression to his +sorrow. "Ah, my friend, my father," said he, "it is you alone that I +regret losing, now that I am leaving my frightful torments behind. I +thought that I was cured of them, but it has been sufficient for me to +meet you, and my heart is rent again. . . . Don't weep for me, I pray +you, don't reproach me for what I have done. It was necessary that I +should do it. If I had consulted you, you would yourself have told me +that it was better to renounce the priesthood than to remain a priest +without faith or honour." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, yes," Abbe Rose gently responded, "you no longer had any faith +left. I suspected it. And your rigidity and saintliness of life, in which +I detected such great despair, made me anxious for you. How many hours +did I not spend at times in striving to calm you! And you must listen to +me again, you must still let me save you. I am not a sufficiently learned +theologian to lead you back by discussing texts and dogmas; but in the +name of Charity, my child, yes, in the name of Charity alone, reflect and +take up your task of consolation and hope once more." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre had sat down beside Abbe Rose, in that deserted nook, at the very +foot of the basilica. "Charity! charity!" he replied in passionate +accents; "why, it is its nothingness and bankruptcy that have killed the +priest there was in me. How can you believe that benevolence is +sufficient, when you have spent your whole life in practising it without +any other result than that of seeing want perpetuated and even increased, +and without any possibility of naming the day when such abomination shall +cease? . . . You think of the reward after death, do you not? The justice +that is to reign in heaven? But that is not justice, it is dupery—dupery +that has brought the world nothing but suffering for centuries past." +</p> + +<p> +Then he reminded the old priest of their life in the Charonne district, +when they had gone about together succouring children in the streets and +parents in their hovels; the whole of those admirable efforts which, so +far as Abbe Rose was concerned, had simply ended in blame from his +superiors, and removal from proximity to his poor, under penalty of more +severe punishment should he persist in compromising religion by the +practice of blind benevolence without reason or object. And now, was he +not, so to say, submerged beneath the ever-rising tide of want, aware +that he would never, never be able to give enough even should he dispose +of millions, and that he could only prolong the agony of the poor, who, +even should they eat today, would starve again on the morrow? Thus he was +powerless. The wound which he tried to dress and heal, immediately +reopened and spread, in such wise that all society would at last be +stricken and carried off by it. +</p> + +<p> +Quivering as he listened, and slowly shaking his white head, the old +priest ended by replying: "that does that matter, my child? what does +that matter? One must give, always give, give in spite of everything! +There is no other joy on earth. . . . If dogmas worry you, content +yourself with the Gospel, and even of that retain merely the promise of +salvation through charity." +</p> + +<p> +But at this Pierre's feelings revolted. He forgot that he was speaking to +one of simple mind, who was all love and nothing else, and could +therefore not follow him. "The trial has been made," he answered, "human +salvation cannot be effected by charity, nothing but justice can +accomplish it. That is the gathering cry which is going up from every +nation. For nearly two thousand years now the Gospel has proved a +failure. There has been no redemption; the sufferings of mankind are +every whit as great and unjust as they were when Jesus came. And thus the +Gospel is now but an abolished code, from which society can only draw +things that are troublous and hurtful. Men must free themselves from it." +</p> + +<p> +This was his final conviction. How strange the idea, thought he, of +choosing as the world's social legislator one who lived, as Jesus lived, +amidst a social system absolutely different from that of nowadays. The +age was different, the very world was different. And if it were merely a +question of retaining only such of the moral teaching of Jesus as seemed +human and eternal, was there not again a danger in applying immutable +principles to the society of every age? No society could live under the +strict law of the Gospel. Was not all order, all labour, all life +destroyed by the teaching of Jesus? Did He not deny woman, the earth, +eternal nature and the eternal fruitfulness of things and beings? +Moreover, Catholicism had reared upon His primitive teaching such a +frightful edifice of terror and oppression. The theory of original sin, +that terrible heredity reviving with each creature born into the world, +made no allowance as Science does for the corrective influences of +education, circumstances and environment. There could be no more +pessimist conception of man than this one which devotes him to the Devil +from the instant of his birth, and pictures him as struggling against +himself until the instant of his death. An impossible and absurd +struggle, for it is a question of changing man in his entirety, killing +the flesh, killing reason, destroying some guilty energy in each and +every passion, and of pursuing the Devil to the very depths of the +waters, mountains and forests, there to annihilate him with the very sap +of the world. If this theory is accepted the world is but sin, a mere +Hell of temptation and suffering, through which one must pass in order to +merit Heaven. Ah! what an admirable instrument for absolute despotism is +that religion of death, which the principle of charity alone has enabled +men to tolerate, but which the need of justice will perforce sweep away. +The poor man, who is the wretched dupe of it all, no longer believes in +Paradise, but requires that each and all should be rewarded according to +their deserts upon this earth; and thus eternal life becomes the good +goddess, and desire and labour the very laws of the world, while the +fruitfulness of woman is again honoured, and the idiotic nightmare of +Hell is replaced by glorious Nature whose travail knows no end. Leaning +upon modern Science, clear Latin reason sweeps away the ancient Semitic +conception of the Gospel. +</p> + +<p> +"For eighteen hundred years," concluded Pierre, "Christianity has been +hampering the march of mankind towards truth and justice. And mankind +will only resume its evolution on the day when it abolishes Christianity, +and places the Gospel among the works of the wise, without taking it any +longer as its absolute and final law." +</p> + +<p> +But Abbe Rose raised his trembling hands: "Be quiet, be quiet, my child!" +he cried; "you are blaspheming! I knew that doubt distracted you; but I +thought you so patient, so able to bear suffering, that I relied on your +spirit of renunciation and resignation. What can have happened to make +you leave the Church in this abrupt and violent fashion? I no longer +recognise you. Sudden passion has sprung up in you, an invincible force +seems to carry you away. What is it? Who has changed you, tell me?" +</p> + +<p> +Pierre listened in astonishment. "No," said he, "I assure you, I am such +as you have known me, and in all this there is but an inevitable result +and finish. Who could have influenced me, since nobody has entered my +life? What new feeling could transform me, since I find none in me? I am +the same as before, the same assuredly." +</p> + +<p> +Still there was a touch of hesitation in his voice. Was it really true +that there had been no change within him? He again questioned himself, +and there came no clear answer; decidedly, he would find nothing. It was +all but a delightful awakening, an overpowering desire for life, a +longing to open his arms widely enough to embrace everyone and +everything indeed, a breeze of joy seemed to raise him from the ground +and carry him along. +</p> + +<p> +Although Abbe Rose was too innocent of heart to understand things +clearly, he again shook his head and thought of the snares which the +Devil is ever setting for men. He was quite overwhelmed by Pierre's +defection. Continuing his efforts to win him back, he made the mistake of +advising him to consult Monseigneur Martha, for he hoped that a prelate +of such high authority would find the words necessary to restore him to +his faith. Pierre, however, boldly replied that if he was leaving the +Church it was partly because it comprised such a man as Martha, such an +artisan of deception and despotism, one who turned religion into corrupt +diplomacy, and dreamt of winning men back to God by dint of ruses. +Thereupon Abbe Rose, rising to his feet, could find no other argument in +his despair than that of pointing to the basilica which stood beside +them, square, huge and massive, and still waiting for its dome. +</p> + +<p> +"That is God's abode, my child," said he, "the edifice of expiation and +triumph, of penitence and forgiveness. You have said mass in it, and now +you are leaving it sacrilegiously and forswearing yourself!" +</p> + +<p> +But Pierre also had risen; and buoyed up by a sudden rush of health and +strength he answered: "No, no! I am leaving it willingly, as one leaves a +dark vault, to return into the open air and the broad sunlight. God does +not dwell there; the only purpose of that huge edifice is to defy reason, +truth and justice; it has been erected on the highest spot that could be +found, like a citadel of error that dominates, insults and threatens +Paris!" +</p> + +<p> +Then seeing that the old priest's eyes were again filling with tears, and +feeling on his own side so pained by their rupture that he began to sob, +Pierre wished to go away. "Farewell! farewell!" he stammered. +</p> + +<p> +But Abbe Rose caught him in his arms and kissed him, as if he were a +rebellious son who yet had remained the dearest. "No, not farewell, not +farewell, my child," he answered; "say rather till we meet again. Promise +me that we shall see each other again, at least among those who starve +and weep. It is all very well for you to think that charity has become +bankrupt, but shall we not always love one another in loving our poor?" +</p> + +<p> +Then they parted. +</p> + +<p> +On becoming the companion of his three big nephews, Pierre had in a few +lessons learnt from them how to ride a bicycle, in order that he might +occasionally accompany them on their morning excursions. He went twice +with them and Marie along the somewhat roughly paved roads in the +direction of the Lake of Enghien. Then one morning when the young woman +had promised to take him and Antoine as far as the forest of +Saint-Germain, it was found at the last moment that Antoine could not +come. Marie was already dressed in a chemisette of fawn-coloured silk, +and a little jacket and "rationals" of black serge, and it was such a +warm, bright April day that she was not inclined to renounce her trip. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, so much the worse!" she gaily said to Pierre, "I shall take you +with me, there will only be the pair of us. I really want you to see how +delightful it is to bowl over a good road between the beautiful trees." +</p> + +<p> +However, as Pierre was not yet a very expert rider, they decided that +they would take the train as far as Maisons-Laffitte, whence they would +proceed on their bicycles to the forest, cross it in the direction of +Saint-Germain, and afterwards return to Paris by train. +</p> + +<p> +"You will be here for <i>dejeuner</i>, won't you?" asked Guillaume, whom this +freak amused, and who looked with a smile at his brother. The latter, +like Marie, was in black: jacket, breeches and stockings all of the same +hue. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, certainly!" replied Marie. "It's now barely eight o'clock, so we +have plenty of time. Still you need not wait for us, you know, we shall +always find our way back." +</p> + +<p> +It was a delightful morning. When they started, Pierre could fancy +himself with a friend of his own sex, so that this trip together through +the warm sunlight seemed quite natural. Doubtless their costumes, which +were so much alike, conduced to the gay brotherly feeling he experienced. +But beyond all this there was the healthfulness of the open air, the +delight which exercise brings, the pleasure of roaming in all freedom +through the midst of nature. +</p> + +<p> +On taking the train they found themselves alone in a compartment, and +Marie once more began to talk of her college days. "Ah! you've no idea," +said she, "what fine games at baseball we used to have at Fenelon! We +used to tie up our skirts with string so as to run the better, for we +were not allowed to wear rationals like I'm wearing now. And there were +shrieks, and rushes, and pushes, till our hair waved about and we were +quite red with exercise and excitement. Still that didn't prevent us from +working in the class-rooms. On the contrary! Directly we were at study we +fought again, each striving to learn the most and reach the top of the +class!" +</p> + +<p> +She laughed gaily as she thus recalled her school life, and Pierre +glanced at her with candid admiration, so pink and healthy did she look +under her little hat of black felt, which a long silver pin kept in +position. Her fine dark hair was caught up behind, showing her neck, +which looked as fresh and delicate as a child's. And never before had she +seemed to him so supple and so strong. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah," she continued in a jesting way, "there is nothing like rationals, +you know! To think that some women are foolish and obstinate enough to +wear skirts when they go out cycling!" +</p> + +<p> +Then, as he declared—just by way of speaking the truth, and without the +faintest idea of gallantry—that she looked very nice indeed in her +costume, she responded: "Oh! I don't count. I'm not a beauty. I simply +enjoy good health. . . . But can you understand it? To think that women +have an unique opportunity of putting themselves at their ease, and +releasing their limbs from prison, and yet they won't do so! If they +think that they look the prettier in short skirts like schoolgirls they +are vastly mistaken! And as for any question of modesty, well, it seems +to me that it is infinitely less objectionable for women to wear +rationals than to bare their bosoms at balls and theatres and dinners as +society ladies do." Then, with a gesture of girlish impulsiveness, she +added: "Besides, does one think of such things when one's rolling along? +. . . Yes, rationals are the only things, skirts are rank heresy!" +</p> + +<p> +In her turn, she was now looking at him, and was struck by the +extraordinary change which had come over him since the day when he had +first appeared to her, so sombre in his long cassock, with his face +emaciated, livid, almost distorted by anguish. It was like a +resurrection, for now his countenance was bright, his lofty brow had all +the serenity of hope, while his eyes and lips once more showed some of +the confident tenderness which sprang from his everlasting thirst for +love, self-bestowal and life. All mark of the priesthood had already left +him, save that where he had been tonsured his hair still remained rather +short. +</p> + +<p> +"Why are you looking at me?" he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I was noticing how much good has been done you by work and the open +air," she frankly answered; "I much prefer you as you are. You used to +look so poorly. I thought you really ill." +</p> + +<p> +"So I was," said he. +</p> + +<p> +The train, however, was now stopping at Maisons-Laffitte. They alighted +from it, and at once took the road to the forest. This road rises gently +till it reaches the Maisons gate, and on market days it is often crowded +with carts. +</p> + +<p> +"I shall go first, eh?" said Marie gaily, "for vehicles still alarm you." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon she started ahead, but every now and again she turned with a +smile to see if he were following her. And every time they overtook and +passed a cart she spoke to him of the merits of their machines, which +both came from the Grandidier works. They were "Lisettes," examples of +those popular bicycles which Thomas had helped to perfect, and which the +Bon Marche now sold in large numbers for 250 francs apiece. Perhaps they +were rather heavy in appearance, but on the other hand their strength was +beyond question. They were just the machines for a long journey, so Marie +declared. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! here's the forest," she at last exclaimed. "We have now reached the +end of the rise; and you will see what splendid avenues there are. One +can bowl along them as on a velvet carpet." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre had already joined her, and they rode on side by side along the +broad straight avenue fringed with magnificent trees. +</p> + +<p> +"I am all right now," said Pierre; "your pupil will end by doing you +honour, I hope." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! I've no doubt of it. You already have a very good seat, and before +long you'll leave me behind, for a woman is never a man's equal in a +matter like this. At the same time, however, what a capital education +cycling is for women!" +</p> + +<p> +"In what way?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! I've certain ideas of my own on the subject; and if ever I have a +daughter I shall put her on a bicycle as soon as she's ten years old, +just to teach her how to conduct herself in life." +</p> + +<p> +"Education by experience, eh?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, why not? Look at the big girls who are brought up hanging to their +mothers' apron strings. Their parents frighten them with everything, they +are allowed no initiative, no exercise of judgment or decision, so that +at times they hardly know how to cross a street, to such a degree does +the traffic alarm them. Well, I say that a girl ought to be set on a +bicycle in her childhood, and allowed to follow the roads. She will then +learn to open her eyes, to look out for stones and avoid them, and to +turn in the right direction at every bend or crossway. If a vehicle comes +up at a gallop or any other danger presents itself, she'll have to make +up her mind on the instant, and steer her course firmly and properly if +she does not wish to lose a limb. Briefly, doesn't all this supply proper +apprenticeship for one's will, and teach one how to conduct and defend +oneself?" +</p> + +<p> +Pierre had begun to laugh. "You will all be too healthy," he remarked. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, one must be healthy if one wants to be happy. But what I wish to +convey is that those who learn to avoid stones and to turn properly along +the highways will know how to overcome difficulties, and take the best +decisions in after life. The whole of education lies in knowledge and +energy." +</p> + +<p> +"So women are to be emancipated by cycling?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, why not? It may seem a droll idea; but see what progress has been +made already. By wearing rationals women free their limbs from prison; +then the facilities which cycling affords people for going out together +tend to greater intercourse and equality between the sexes; the wife and +the children can follow the husband everywhere, and friends like +ourselves are at liberty to roam hither and thither without astonishing +anybody. In this lies the greatest advantage of all: one takes a bath of +air and sunshine, one goes back to nature, to the earth, our common +mother, from whom one derives fresh strength and gaiety of heart! Just +look how delightful this forest is. And how healthful the breeze that +inflates our lungs! Yes, it all purifies, calms and encourages one." +</p> + +<p> +The forest, which was quite deserted on week days, stretched out in +quietude on either hand, with sunlight filtering between its deep bands +of trees. At that hour the rays only illumined one side of the avenue, +there gilding the lofty drapery of verdure; on the other, the shady side, +the greenery seemed almost black. It was truly delightful to skim, +swallow-like, over that royal avenue in the fresh atmosphere, amidst the +waving of grass and foliage, whose powerful scent swept against one's +face. Pierre and Marie scarcely touched the soil: it was as if wings had +come to them, and were carrying them on with a regular flight, through +alternate patches of shade and sunshine, and all the scattered vitality +of the far-reaching, quivering forest, with its mosses, its sources, its +animal and its insect life. +</p> + +<p> +Marie would not stop when they reached the crossway of the Croix de +Noailles, a spot where people congregate on Sundays, for she was +acquainted with secluded nooks which were far more charming +resting-places. When they reached the slope going down towards Poissy, +she roused Pierre, and they let their machines rush on. Then came all the +joyous intoxication of speed, the rapturous feeling of darting along +breathlessly while the grey road flees beneath one, and the trees on +either hand turn like the opening folds of a fan. The breeze blows +tempestuously, and one fancies that one is journeying yonder towards the +horizon, the infinite, which ever and ever recedes. It is like boundless +hope, delivery from every shackle, absolute freedom of motion through +space. And nothing can inspirit one more gloriously—one's heart leaps as +if one were in the very heavens. +</p> + +<p> +"We are not going to Poissy, you know!" Marie suddenly cried; "we have to +turn to the left." +</p> + +<p> +They took the road from Acheres to the Loges, which ascends and +contracts, thus bringing one closer together in the shade. Gradually +slowing down, they began to exert themselves in order to make their way +up the incline. This road was not so good as the others, it had been +gullied by the recent heavy rains, and sand and gravel lay about. But +then is there not even a pleasure in effort? +</p> + +<p> +"You will get used to it," said Marie to Pierre; "it's amusing to +overcome obstacles. For my part I don't like roads which are invariably +smooth. A little ascent which does not try one's limbs too much rouses +and inspirits one. And it is so agreeable to find oneself strong, and +able to go on and on in spite of rain, or wind, or hills." +</p> + +<p> +Her bright humour and courage quite charmed Pierre. "And so," said he, +"we are off for a journey round France?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, no, we've arrived. You won't dislike a little rest, eh? And now, +tell me, wasn't it worth our while to come on here and rest in such a +nice fresh, quiet spot." +</p> + +<p> +She nimbly sprang off her machine and, bidding him follow her, turned +into a path, along which she went some fifty paces. They placed their +bicycles against some trees, and then found themselves in a little +clearing, the most exquisite, leafy nest that one could dream of. The +forest here assumed an aspect of secluded sovereign beauty. The +springtide had endowed it with youth, the foliage was light and virginal, +like delicate green lace flecked with gold by the sun-rays. And from the +herbage and the surrounding thickets arose a breath of life, laden with +all the powerful aroma of the earth. +</p> + +<p> +"It's not too warm as yet, fortunately," exclaimed Marie, as she seated +herself at the foot of a young oak-tree, against which she leant. "In +July ladies get rather red by the time they reach this spot, and all the +powder comes off their faces. However, one can't always be beautiful." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I'm not cold by any means," replied Pierre, as he sat at her feet +wiping his forehead. +</p> + +<p> +She laughed, and answered that she had never before seen him with such a +colour. Then they began to talk like children, like two young friends, +finding a source of gaiety in the most puerile things. She was somewhat +anxious about his health, however, and would not allow him to remain in +the cool shade, as he felt so very warm. In order to tranquillise her, he +had to change his place and seat himself with his back to the sun. Then a +little later he saved her from a large black spider, which had caught +itself in the wavy hair on the nape of her neck. At this all her womanly +nature reappeared, and she shrieked with terror. "How stupid it was to be +afraid of a spider!" she exclaimed a moment afterwards; yet, in spite of +her efforts to master herself, she remained pale and trembling. +</p> + +<p> +Silence at last fell between them, and they looked at one another with a +smile. In the midst of that delicate greenery they felt drawn together by +frank affection—the affection of brother and sister, so it seemed to +them. It made Marie very happy to think that she had taken an interest in +Pierre, and that his return to health was largely her own work. However, +their eyes never fell, their hands never met, even as they sat there +toying with the grass, for they were as pure, as unconscious of all evil, +as were the lofty oaks around them. +</p> + +<p> +At last Marie noticed that time was flying. "You know that they expect us +back to lunch," she exclaimed. "We ought to be off." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon they rose, wheeled their bicycles back to the highway, and +starting off again at a good pace passed the Loges and reached +Saint-Germain by the fine avenue which conducts to the chateau. It +charmed them to take their course again side by side, like birds of equal +flight. Their little bells jingled, their chains rustled lightly, and a +fresh breeze swept past them as they resumed their talk, quite at ease, +and so linked together by friendship that they seemed far removed from +all the rest of the world. +</p> + +<p> +They took the train from Saint-Germain to Paris, and on the journey +Pierre suddenly noticed that Marie's cheeks were purpling. There were two +ladies with them in the compartment. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah!" said he, "so you feel warm in your turn now?" +</p> + +<p> +But she protested the contrary, her face glowing more and more brightly +as she spoke, as if some sudden feeling of shame quite upset her. "No, +I'm not warm," said she; "just feel my hands. . . . But how ridiculous it +is to blush like this without any reason for it!" +</p> + +<p> +He understood her. This was one of those involuntary blushing fits which +so distressed her, and which, as Mere-Grand had remarked, brought her +heart to her very cheeks. There was no cause for it, as she herself said. +After slumbering in all innocence in the solitude of the forest her heart +had begun to beat, despite herself. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, over yonder at Montmartre, Guillaume had spent his morning in +preparing some of that mysterious powder, the cartridges of which he +concealed upstairs in Mere-Grand's bedroom. Great danger attended this +manufacture. The slightest forgetfulness while he was manipulating the +ingredients, any delay, too, in turning off a tap, might lead to a +terrible explosion, which would annihilate the building and all who might +be in it. For this reason he preferred to work when he was alone, so that +on the one hand there might be no danger for others, and on the other +less likelihood of his own attention being diverted from his task. That +morning, as it happened, his three sons were working in the room, and +Mere-Grand sat sewing near the furnace. Truth to tell, she did not count, +for she scarcely ever left her place, feeling quite at ease there, +however great might be the peril. Indeed, she had become so well +acquainted with the various phases of Guillaume's delicate operations, +and their terrible possibilities, that she would occasionally give him a +helping hand. +</p> + +<p> +That morning, as she sat there mending some house linen,—her eyesight +still being so keen that in spite of her seventy years she wore no +spectacles,—she now and again glanced at Guillaume as if to make sure +that he forgot nothing. Then feeling satisfied, she would once more bend +over her work. She remained very strong and active. Her hair was only +just turning white, and she had kept all her teeth, while her face still +looked refined, though it was slowly withering with age and had acquired +an expression of some severity. As a rule she was a woman of few words; +her life was one of activity and good management. When she opened her +lips it was usually to give advice, to counsel reason, energy and +courage. For some time past she had been growing more taciturn than ever, +as if all her attention were claimed by the household matters which were +in her sole charge; still, her fine eyes would rest thoughtfully on those +about her, on the three young men, and on Guillaume, Marie and Pierre, +who all obeyed her as if she were their acknowledged queen. If she looked +at them in that pensive way, was it that she foresaw certain changes, and +noticed certain incidents of which the others remained unconscious? +Perhaps so. At all events she became even graver, and more attentive than +in the past. It was as if she were waiting for some hour to strike when +all her wisdom and authority would be required. +</p> + +<p> +"Be careful, Guillaume," she at last remarked, as she once more looked up +from her sewing. "You seem absent-minded this morning. Is anything +worrying you?" +</p> + +<p> +He glanced at her with a smile. "No, nothing, I assure you," he replied. +"But I was thinking of our dear Marie, who was so glad to go off to the +forest in this bright sunshine." +</p> + +<p> +Antoine, who heard the remark, raised his head, while his brothers +remained absorbed in their work. "What a pity it is that I had this block +to finish," said he; "I would willingly have gone with her." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no matter," his father quietly rejoined. "Pierre is with her, and he +is very cautious." +</p> + +<p> +For another moment Mere-Grand continued scrutinising Guillaume; then she +once more reverted to her sewing. +</p> + +<p> +If she exercised such sway over the home and all its inmates, it was by +reason of her long devotion, her intelligence, and the kindliness with +which she ruled. Uninfluenced by any religious faith, and disregarding +all social conventionalities, her guiding principle in everything was the +theory of human justice which she had arrived at after suffering so +grievously from the injustice that had killed her husband. She put her +views into practice with wonderful courage, knowing nothing of any +prejudices, but accomplishing her duty, such as she understood it, to the +very end. And in the same way as she had first devoted herself to her +husband, and next to her daughter Marguerite, so at present she devoted +herself to Guillaume and his sons. Pierre, whom she had first studied +with some anxiety, had now, too, become a member of her family, a dweller +in the little realm of happiness which she ruled. She had doubtless found +him worthy of admission into it, though she did not reveal the reason +why. After days and days of silence she had simply said, one evening, to +Guillaume, that he had done well in bringing his brother to live among +them. +</p> + +<p> +Time flew by as she sat sewing and thinking. Towards noon Guillaume, who +was still at work, suddenly remarked to her: "As Marie and Pierre haven't +come back, we had better let the lunch wait a little while. Besides, I +should like to finish what I'm about." +</p> + +<p> +Another quarter of an hour then elapsed. Finally, the three young men +rose from their work, and went to wash their hands at a tap in the +garden. +</p> + +<p> +"Marie is very late," now remarked Mere-Grand. "We must hope that nothing +has happened to her." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! she rides so well," replied Guillaume. "I'm more anxious on account +of Pierre." +</p> + +<p> +At this the old lady again fixed her eyes on him, and said: "But Marie +will have guided Pierre; they already ride very well together." +</p> + +<p> +"No doubt; still I should be better pleased if they were back home." +</p> + +<p> +Then all at once, fancying that he heard the ring of a bicycle bell, he +called out: "There they are!" And forgetting everything else in his +satisfaction, he quitted his furnace and hastened into the garden in +order to meet them. +</p> + +<p> +Mere-Grand, left to herself, quietly continued sewing, without a thought +that the manufacture of Guillaume's powder was drawing to an end in an +apparatus near her. A couple of minutes later, however, when Guillaume +came back, saying that he had made a mistake, his eyes suddenly rested on +his furnace, and he turned quite livid. Brief as had been his absence the +exact moment when it was necessary to turn off a tap in order that no +danger might attend the preparation of his powder had already gone by; +and now, unless someone should dare to approach that terrible tap, and +boldly turn it, a fearful explosion might take place. Doubtless it was +too late already, and whoever might have the bravery to attempt the feat +would be blown to pieces. +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume himself had often run a similar risk of death with perfect +composure. But on this occasion he remained as if rooted to the floor, +unable to take a step, paralysed by the dread of annihilation. He +shuddered and stammered in momentary expectation of a catastrophe which +would hurl the work-shop to the heavens. +</p> + +<p> +"Mere-Grand, Mere-Grand," he stammered. "The apparatus, the tap . . . it +is all over, all over!" +</p> + +<p> +The old woman had raised her head without as yet understanding him. "Eh, +what?" said she; "what is the matter with you?" Then, on seeing how +distorted were his features, how he recoiled as if mad with terror, she +glanced at the furnace and realised the danger. "Well, but it's simple +enough," said she; "it's only necessary to turn off the tap, eh?" +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon, without any semblance of haste, in the most easy and natural +manner possible, she deposited her needlework on a little table, rose +from her chair, and turned off the tap with a light but firm hand. +"There! it's done," said she. "But why didn't you do it yourself, my +friend?" +</p> + +<p> +He had watched her in bewilderment, chilled to the bones, as if touched +by the hand of death. And when some colour at last returned to his +cheeks, and he found himself still alive in front of the apparatus whence +no harm could now come, he heaved a deep sigh and again shuddered. "Why +did I not turn it off?" he repeated. "It was because I felt afraid." +</p> + +<p> +At that very moment Marie and Pierre came into the work-shop all chatter +and laughter, delighted with their excursion, and bringing with them the +bright joyousness of the sunlight. The three brothers, Thomas, Francis +and Antoine, were jesting with them, and trying to make them confess that +Pierre had at least fought a battle with a cow on the high road, and +ridden into a cornfield. All at once, however, they became quite anxious, +for they noticed that their father looked terribly upset. +</p> + +<p> +"My lads," said he, "I've just been a coward. Ah! it's a curious feeling, +I had never experienced it before." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon he recounted his fears of an accident, and how quietly +Mere-Grand had saved them all from certain death. She waved her hand, +however, as if to say that there was nothing particularly heroic in +turning off a tap. The young men's eyes nevertheless filled with tears, +and one after the other they went to kiss her with a fervour instinct +with all the gratitude and worship they felt for her. She had been +devoting herself to them ever since their infancy, she had now just given +them a new lease of life. Marie also threw herself into her arms, kissing +her with gratitude and emotion. Mere-Grand herself was the only one who +did not shed tears. She strove to calm them, begging them to exaggerate +nothing and to remain sensible. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you must at all events let me kiss you as the others have done," +Guillaume said to her, as he recovered his self-possession. "I at least +owe you that. And Pierre, too, shall kiss you, for you are now as good +for him as you have always been for us." +</p> + +<p> +At table, when it was at last possible for them to lunch, he reverted to +that attack of fear which had left him both surprised and ashamed. He who +for years had never once thought of death had for some time past found +ideas of caution in his mind. On two occasions recently he had shuddered +at the possibility of a catastrophe. How was it that a longing for life +had come to him in his decline? Why was it that he now wished to live? At +last with a touch of tender affection in his gaiety, he remarked: "Do you +know, Marie, I think it is my thoughts of you that make me a coward. If +I've lost my bravery it's because I risk something precious when any +danger arises. Happiness has been entrusted to my charge. Just now when I +fancied that we were all going to die, I thought I could see you, and my +fear of losing you froze and paralysed me." +</p> + +<p> +Marie indulged in a pretty laugh. Allusions to her coming marriage were +seldom made; however, she invariably greeted them with an air of happy +affection. +</p> + +<p> +"Another six weeks!" she simply said. +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon Mere-Grand, who had been looking at them, turned her eyes +towards Pierre. He, however, like the others was listening with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +"That's true," said the old lady, "you are to be married in six weeks' +time. So I did right to prevent the house from being blown up." +</p> + +<p> +At this the young men made merry; and the repast came to an end in very +joyous fashion. +</p> + +<p> +During the afternoon, however, Pierre's heart gradually grew heavy. +Marie's words constantly returned to him: "Another six weeks!" Yes, it +was indeed true, she would then be married. But it seemed to him that he +had never previously known it, never for a moment thought of it. And +later on, in the evening, when he was alone in his room at Neuilly, his +heart-pain became intolerable. Those words tortured him. Why was it that +they had not caused him any suffering when they were spoken, why had he +greeted them with a smile? And why had such cruel anguish slowly +followed? All at once an idea sprang up in his mind, and became an +overwhelming certainty. He loved Marie, he loved her as a lover, with a +love so intense that he might die from it. +</p> + +<p> +With this sudden consciousness of his passion everything became clear and +plain. He had been going perforce towards that love ever since he had +first met Marie. The emotion into which the young woman had originally +thrown him had seemed to him a feeling of repulsion, but afterwards he +had been slowly conquered, all his torments and struggles ending in this +love for her. It was indeed through her that he had at last found +quietude. And the delightful morning which he had spent with her that +day, appeared to him like a betrothal morning, in the depths of the happy +forest. Nature had resumed her sway over him, delivered him from his +sufferings, made him strong and healthy once more, and given him to the +woman he adored. The quiver he had experienced, the happiness he had +felt, his communion with the trees, the heavens, and every living +creature—all those things which he had been unable to explain, now +acquired a clear meaning which transported him. In Marie alone lay his +cure, his hope, his conviction that he would be born anew and at last +find happiness. In her company he had already forgotten all those +distressing problems which had formerly haunted him and bowed him down. +For a week past he had not once thought of death, which had so long been +the companion of his every hour. All the conflict of faith and doubt, the +distress roused by the idea of nihility, the anger he had felt at the +unjust sufferings of mankind, had been swept away by her fresh cool +hands. She was so healthy herself, so glad to live, that she had imparted +a taste for life even to him. Yes, it was simply that: she was making him +a man, a worker, a lover once more. +</p> + +<p> +Then he suddenly remembered Abbe Rose and his painful conversation with +that saintly man. The old priest, whose heart was so ingenuous, and who +knew nothing of love and passion, was nevertheless the only one who had +understood the truth. He had told Pierre that he was changed, that there +was another man in him. And he, Pierre, had foolishly and stubbornly +declared that he was the same as he had always been; whereas Marie had +already transformed him, bringing all nature back to his breast—all +nature, with its sunlit countrysides, its fructifying breezes, and its +vast heavens, whose glow ripens its crops. That indeed was why he had +felt so exasperated with Catholicism, that religion of death; that was +why he had shouted that the Gospel was useless, and that the world +awaited another law—a law of terrestrial happiness, human justice and +living love and fruitfulness! +</p> + +<p> +Ah, but Guillaume? Then a vision of his brother rose before Pierre, that +brother who loved him so fondly, and who had carried him to his home of +toil, quietude and affection, in order to cure him of his sufferings. If +he knew Marie it was simply because Guillaume had chosen that he should +know her. And again Marie's words recurred to him: "Another six weeks!" +Yes, in six weeks his brother would marry the young woman. This thought +was like a stab in Pierre's heart. Still, he did not for one moment +hesitate: if he must die of his love, he would die of it, but none should +ever know it, he would conquer himself, he would flee to the ends of the +earth should he ever feel the faintest cowardice. Rather than bring a +moment's pain to that brother who had striven to resuscitate him, who was +the artisan of the passion now consuming him, who had given him his whole +heart and all he had—he would condemn himself to perpetual torture. And +indeed, torture was coming back; for in losing Marie he could but sink +into the distress born of the consciousness of his nothingness. As he lay +in bed, unable to sleep, he already experienced a return of his +abominable torments—the negation of everything, the feeling that +everything was useless, that the world had no significance, and that life +was only worthy of being cursed and denied. And then the shudder born of +the thought of death returned to him. Ah! to die, to die without even +having lived! +</p> + +<p> +The struggle was a frightful one. Until daybreak he sobbed in martyrdom. +Why had he taken off his cassock? He had done so at a word from Marie; +and now another word from her gave him the despairing idea of donning it +once more. One could not escape from so fast a prison. That black gown +still clung to his skin. He fancied that he had divested himself of it, +and yet it was still weighing on his shoulders, and his wisest course +would be to bury himself in it for ever. By donning it again he would at +least wear mourning for his manhood. +</p> + +<p> +All at once, however, a fresh thought upset him. Why should he struggle +in that fashion? Marie did not love him. There had been nothing between +them to indicate that she cared for him otherwise than as a charming, +tender-hearted sister. It was Guillaume that she loved, no doubt. Then he +pressed his face to his pillow to stifle his sobs, and once more swore +that he would conquer himself and turn a smiling face upon their +happiness. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +IV +</h3> + +<h3> +TRIAL AND SENTENCE +</h3> + +<p> +HAVING returned to Montmartre on the morrow Pierre suffered so grievously +that he did not show himself there on the two following days. He +preferred to remain at home where there was nobody to notice his +feverishness. On the third morning, however, whilst he was still in bed, +strengthless and full of despair, he was both surprised and embarrassed +by a visit from Guillaume. +</p> + +<p> +"I must needs come to you," said the latter, "since you forsake us. I've +come to fetch you to attend Salvat's trial, which takes place to-day. I +had no end of trouble to secure two places. Come, get up, we'll have +<i>dejeuner</i> in town, so as to reach the court early." +</p> + +<p> +Then, while Pierre was hastily dressing, Guillaume, who on his side +seemed thoughtful and worried that morning, began to question him: "Have +you anything to reproach us with?" he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"No, nothing. What an idea!" was Pierre's reply. +</p> + +<p> +"Then why have you been staying away? We had got into the habit of seeing +you every day, but all at once you disappear." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre vainly sought a falsehood, and all his composure fled. "I had some +work to do here," said he, "and then, too, my gloomy ideas cane back to +me, and I didn't want to go and sadden you all." +</p> + +<p> +At this Guillaume hastily waved his hand. "If you fancy that your absence +enlivens us you're mistaken," he replied. "Marie, who is usually so well +and happy, had such a bad headache on the day before yesterday that she +was obliged to keep her room. And she was ill at ease and nervous and +silent again yesterday. We spent a very unpleasant day." +</p> + +<p> +As he spoke Guillaume looked Pierre well in the face, his frank loyal +eyes clearly revealing the suspicions which had come to him, but which he +would not express in words. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre, quite dismayed by the news of Marie's indisposition, and +frightened by the idea of betraying his secret, thereupon managed to tell +a lie. "Yes, she wasn't very well on the day when we went cycling," he +quietly responded. "But I assure you that I have had a lot to do here. +When you came in just now I was about to get up and go to your house as +usual." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume kept his eyes on him for a moment longer. Then, either +believing him or deciding to postpone his search for the truth to some +future time, he began speaking affectionately on other subjects. With his +keen brotherly love, however, there was blended such a quiver of +impending distress, of unconfessed sorrow, which possibly he did not yet +realise, that Pierre in his turn began to question him. "And you," said +he, "are you ill? You seem to me to have lost your usual serenity." +</p> + +<p> +"I? Oh! I'm not ill. Only I can't very well retain my composure; Salvat's +affair distresses me exceedingly, as you must know. They will all end by +driving me mad with the monstrous injustice they show towards that +unhappy fellow." +</p> + +<p> +Thenceforward Guillaume went on talking of Salvat in a stubborn +passionate way, as if he wished to find an explanation of all his pain +and unrest in that affair. While he and Pierre were partaking of +<i>dejeuner</i> at a little restaurant on the Boulevard du Palais he related +how deeply touched he was by the silence which Salvat had preserved with +regard both to the nature of the explosive employed in the bomb and the +few days' work which he had once done at his house. It was, thanks to +this silence, that he, Guillaume, had not been worried or even summoned +as a witness. Then, in his emotion, he reverted to his invention, that +formidable engine which would ensure omnipotence to France, as the great +initiatory and liberative power of the world. The results of the +researches which had occupied him for ten years past were now out of +danger and in all readiness, so that if occasion required they might at +once be delivered to the French government. And, apart from certain +scruples which came to him at the thought of the unworthiness of French +financial and political society; he was simply delaying any further steps +in the matter until his marriage with Marie, in order that he might +associate her with the gift of universal peace which he imagined he was +about to bestow upon the world. +</p> + +<p> +It was through Bertheroy and with great difficulty that Guillaume had +managed to secure two seats in court for Salvat's trial. When he and +Pierre presented themselves for admission at eleven o'clock, they fancied +that they would never be able to enter. The large gates of the Palace of +Justice were kept closed, several passages were fenced off, and terror +seemed to reign in the deserted building, as if indeed the judges feared +some sudden invasion of bomb-laden Anarchists. Each door and barrier, +too, was guarded by soldiers, with whom the brothers had to parley. When +they at last entered the Assize Court they found it already crowded with +people, who were apparently quite willing to suffocate there for an hour +before the arrival of the judges, and to remain motionless for some seven +or eight hours afterwards, since it was reported that the authorities +wished to get the case over in a single sitting. In the small space +allotted to the standing public there was a serried mass of sightseers +who had come up from the streets, a few companions and friends of Salvat +having managed to slip in among them. In the other compartment, where +witnesses are generally huddled together on oak benches, were those +spectators who had been allowed admittance by favour, and these were so +numerous and so closely packed that here and there they almost sat upon +one another's knees. Then, in the well of the court and behind the bench, +were rows of chairs set out as for some theatrical performance, and +occupied by privileged members of society, politicians, leading +journalists, and ladies. And meantime a number of gowned advocates sought +refuge wherever chance offered, crowding into every vacant spot, every +available corner. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre had never before visited the Assize Court, and its appearance +surprised him. He had expected much pomp and majesty, whereas this temple +of human justice seemed to him small and dismal and of doubtful +cleanliness. The bench was so low that he could scarcely see the +armchairs of the presiding judge and his two assessors. Then he was +struck by the profusion of old oak panels, balustrades and benches, which +helped to darken the apartment, whose wall hangings were of olive green, +while a further display of oak panelling appeared on the ceiling above. +From the seven narrow and high-set windows with scanty little white +curtains there fell a pale light which sharply divided the court. On one +hand one saw the dock and the defending counsel's seat steeped in frigid +light, while, on the other, was the little, isolated jury box in the +shade. This contrast seemed symbolical of justice, impersonal and +uncertain, face to face with the accused, whom the light stripped bare, +probed as it were to his very soul. Then, through a kind of grey mist +above the bench, in the depths of the stern and gloomy scene, one could +vaguely distinguish the heavy painting of "Christ Crucified." A white +bust of the Republic alone showed forth clearly against the dark wall +above the dock where Salvat would presently appear. The only remaining +seats that Guillaume and Pierre could find were on the last bench of the +witnesses' compartment, against the partition which separated the latter +from the space allotted to the standing public. Just as Guillaume was +seating himself, he saw among the latter little Victor Mathis, who stood +there with his elbows leaning on the partition, while his chin rested on +his crossed hands. The young man's eyes were glowing in his pale face +with thin, compressed lips. Although they recognised one another, Victor +did not move, and Guillaume on his side understood that it was not safe +to exchange greetings in such a place. From that moment, however, he +remained conscious that Victor was there, just above him, never stirring, +but waiting silently, fiercely and with flaming eyes, for what was going +to happen. +</p> + +<p> +Pierre, meantime, had recognised that most amiable deputy Duthil, and +little Princess Rosemonde, seated just in front of him. Amidst the hubbub +of the throng which chatted and laughed to while away the time, their +voices were the gayest to be heard, and plainly showed how delighted they +were to find themselves at a spectacle to which so many desired +admittance. Duthil was explaining all the arrangements to Rosemonde, +telling her to whom or to what purpose each bench and wooden box was +allotted: there was the jury-box, the prisoner's dock, the seats assigned +to counsel for the defence, the public prosecutor, and the clerk of the +court, without forgetting the table on which material evidence was +deposited and the bar to which witnesses were summoned. There was nobody +as yet in any of these places; one merely saw an attendant giving a last +look round, and advocates passing rapidly. One might indeed have thought +oneself in a theatre, the stage of which remained deserted, while the +spectators crowded the auditorium waiting for the play to begin. To fill +up the interval the little Princess ended by looking about her for +persons of her acquaintance among the close-pressed crowd of sight-seers +whose eager faces were already reddening. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! isn't that Monsieur Fonsegue over there behind the bench, near that +stout lady in yellow?" she exclaimed. "Our friend General de Bozonnet is +on the other side, I see. But isn't Baron Duvillard here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! no," replied Duthil; "he could hardly come; it would look as if he +were here to ask for vengeance." Then, in his turn questioning Rosemonde, +the deputy went on: "Do you happen to have quarrelled with your handsome +friend Hyacinthe? Is that the reason why you've given me the pleasure of +acting as your escort to-day?" +</p> + +<p> +With a slight shrug of her shoulders, the Princess replied that poets +were beginning to bore her. A fresh caprice, indeed, was drawing her into +politics. For a week past she had found amusement in the surroundings of +the ministerial crisis, into which the young deputy for Angouleme had +initiated her. "They are all a little bit crazy at the Duvillards', my +dear fellow," said she. "It's decided, you know, that Gerard is to marry +Camille. The Baroness has resigned herself to it, and I've heard from a +most reliable quarter that Madame de Quinsac, the young man's mother, has +given her consent." +</p> + +<p> +At this Duthil became quite merry. He also seemed to be well informed on +the subject. "Yes, yes, I know," said he. "The wedding is to take place +shortly, at the Madeleine. It will be a magnificent affair, no doubt. And +after all, what would you have? There couldn't be a better finish to the +affair. The Baroness is really kindness personified, and I said all along +that she would sacrifice herself in order to ensure the happiness of her +daughter and Gerard. In point of fact that marriage will settle +everything, put everything in proper order again." +</p> + +<p> +"And what does the Baron say?" asked Rosemonde. +</p> + +<p> +"The Baron? Why, he's delighted," replied Duthil in a bantering way. "You +read no doubt this morning that Dauvergne is given the department of +Public Instruction in the new Ministry. This means that Silviane's +engagement at the Comedic is a certainty. Dauvergne was chosen simply on +that account." +</p> + +<p> +At this moment the conversation was interrupted by little Massot, who, +after a dispute with one of the ushers some distance away, had perceived +a vacant place by the side of the Princess. He thereupon made her a +questioning sign, and she beckoned to him to approach. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah!" said he, as he installed himself beside her, "I have not got here +without trouble. One's crushed to death on the press bench, and I've an +article to write. You are the kindest of women, Princess, to make a +little room for your faithful admirer, myself." Then, after shaking hands +with Duthil, he continued without any transition: "And so there's a new +ministry at last, Monsieur le Depute. You have all taken your time about +it, but it's really a very fine ministry, which everybody regards with +surprise and admiration." +</p> + +<p> +The decrees appointing the new ministers had appeared in the "Journal +Officiel" that very morning. After a long deadlock, after Vignon had for +the second time seen his plans fail through ever-recurring obstacles, +Monferrand, as a last resource, had suddenly been summoned to the Elysee, +and in four-and-twenty hours he had found the colleagues he wanted and +secured the acceptance of his list, in such wise that he now triumphantly +re-ascended to power after falling from it with Barroux in such wretched +fashion. He had also chosen a new post for himself, relinquishing the +department of the Interior for that of Finances, with the Presidency of +the Council, which had long been his secret ambition. His stealthy +labour, the masterly fashion in which he had saved himself while others +sank, now appeared in its full beauty. First had come Salvat's arrest, +and the use he had made of it, then the wonderful subterranean campaign +which he had carried on against Vignon, the thousand obstacles which he +had twice set across his path, and finally the sudden <i>denouement</i> with +that list he held in readiness, that formation of a ministry in a single +day as soon as his services were solicited. +</p> + +<p> +"It is fine work, I must compliment you on it," added little Massot by +way of a jest. +</p> + +<p> +"But I've had nothing to do with it," Duthil modestly replied. +</p> + +<p> +"Nothing to do with it! Oh! yes you have, my dear sir, everybody says +so." +</p> + +<p> +The deputy felt flattered and smiled, while the other rattled on with his +insinuations, which were put in such a humorous way that nothing he said +could be resented. He talked of Monferrand's followers who had so +powerfully helped him on to victory. How heartily had Fonsegue finished +off his old friend Barroux in the "Globe"! Every morning for a month past +the paper had published an article belabouring Barroux, annihilating +Vignon, and preparing the public for the return of a saviour of society +who was not named. Then, too, Duvillard's millions had waged a secret +warfare, all the Baron's numerous creatures had fought like an army for +the good cause. Duthil himself had played the pipe and beaten the drum, +while Chaigneux resigned himself to the baser duties which others would +not undertake. And so the triumphant Monferrand would certainly begin by +stifling that scandalous and embarrassing affair of the African Railways, +and appointing a Committee of Inquiry to bury it. +</p> + +<p> +By this time Duthil had assumed an important air. "Well, my dear fellow," +said he, "at serious moments when society is in peril, certain +strong-handed men, real men of government, become absolutely necessary. +Monferrand had no need of our friendship, his presence in office was +imperiously required by the situation. His hand is the only one that can +save us!" +</p> + +<p> +"I know," replied Massot scoffingly. "I've even been told that if +everything was settled straight off so that the decrees might be +published this morning, it was in order to instil confidence into the +judges and jurymen here, in such wise that knowing Monferrand's fist to +be behind them they would have the courage to pronounce sentence of death +this evening." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, public safety requires a sentence of death, and those who have to +ensure that safety must not be left ignorant of the fact that the +government is with them, and will know how to protect them, if need be." +</p> + +<p> +At this moment a merry laugh from the Princess broke in upon the +conversation. "Oh! just look over there!" said she; "isn't that Silviane +who has just sat down beside Monsieur Fonsegue?" +</p> + +<p> +"The Silviane ministry!" muttered Massot in a jesting way. "Well, there +will be no boredom at Dauvergne's if he ingratiates himself with +actresses." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume and Pierre heard this chatter, however little they cared to +listen to it. Such a deluge of society tittle-tattle and political +indiscretion brought the former a keen heart-pang. So Salvat was +sentenced to death even before he had appeared in court. He was to pay +for the transgressions of one and all, his crime was simply a favourable +opportunity for the triumph of a band of ambitious people bent on power +and enjoyment! Ah! what terrible social rottenness there was in it all; +money corrupting one and another, families sinking to filth, politics +turned into a mere treacherous struggle between individuals, and power +becoming the prey of the crafty and the impudent! Must not everything +surely crumble? Was not this solemn assize of human justice a derisive +parody, since all that one found there was an assembly of happy and +privileged people defending the shaky edifice which sheltered them, and +making use of all the forces they yet retained, to crush a fly—that +unhappy devil of uncertain sanity who had been led to that court by his +violent and cloudy dream of another, superior and avenging justice? +</p> + +<p> +Such were Guillaume's thoughts, when all at once everybody around him +started. Noon was now striking, and the jurymen trooped into court in +straggling fashion and took their seats in their box. Among them one saw +fat fellows clad in their Sunday best and with the faces of simpletons, +and thin fellows who had bright eyes and sly expressions. Some of them +were bearded and some were bald. However, they all remained rather +indistinct, as their side of the court was steeped in shade. After them +came the judges, headed by M. de Larombiere, one of the Vice-Presidents +of the Appeal Court, who in assuming the perilous honour of conducting +the trial had sought to increase the majesty of his long, slender, white +face, which looked the more austere as both his assessors, one dark and +the other fair, had highly coloured countenances. The public prosecutor's +seat was already occupied by one of the most skilful of the +advocates-general, M. Lehmann, a broad-shouldered Alsatian Israelite, +with cunning eyes, whose presence showed that the case was deemed +exceptionally important. At last, amidst the heavy tread of gendarmes, +Salvat was brought in, at once rousing such ardent curiosity that all the +spectators rose to look at him. He still wore the cap and loose overcoat +procured for him by Victor Mathis, and everybody was surprised to see his +emaciated, sorrowful, gentle face, crowned by scanty reddish hair, which +was turning grey. His soft, glowing, dreamy blue eyes glanced around, and +he smiled at someone whom he recognised, probably Victor, but perhaps +Guillaume. After that he remained quite motionless. +</p> + +<p> +The presiding judge waited for silence to fall, and then came the +formalities which attend the opening of a court of law, followed by the +perusal of the lengthy indictment, which a subordinate official read in a +shrill voice. The scene had now changed, and the spectators listened +wearily and somewhat impatiently, as, for weeks past, the newspapers had +related all that the indictment set forth. At present not a corner of the +court remained unoccupied, there was scarcely space enough for the +witnesses to stand in front of the bench. The closely packed throng was +one of divers hues, the light gowns of ladies alternating with the black +gowns of advocates, while the red robes of the judges disappeared from +view, the bench being so low that the presiding judge's long face +scarcely rose above the sea of heads. Many of those present became +interested in the jurors, and strove to scrutinise their shadowy +countenances. Others, who did not take their eyes off the prisoner, +marvelled at his apparent weariness and indifference, which were so great +that he scarcely answered the whispered questions of his counsel, a young +advocate with a wide-awake look, who was nervously awaiting the +opportunity to achieve fame. Most curiosity, however, centred in the +table set apart for the material evidence. Here were to be seen all sorts +of fragments, some of the woodwork torn away from the carriage-door of +the Duvillard mansion, some plaster that had fallen from the ceiling, a +paving-stone which the violence of the explosion had split in halves, and +other blackened remnants. The more moving sights, however, were the +milliner's bonnet-box, which had remained uninjured, and a glass jar in +which something white and vague was preserved in spirits of wine. This +was one of the poor errand girl's little hands, which had been severed at +the wrist. The authorities had been unable to place her poor ripped body +on the table, and so they had brought that hand! +</p> + +<p> +At last Salvat rose, and the presiding judge began to interrogate him. +The contrast in the aspect of the court then acquired tragic force: in +the shrouding shade upon one hand were the jurors, their minds already +made up beneath the pressure of public terror, while in the full, vivid +light on the other side was the prisoner, alone and woeful, charged with +all the crimes of his race. Four gendarmes watched over him. He was +addressed by M. de Larombiere in a tone of contempt and disgust. The +judge was not deficient in rectitude; he was indeed one of the last +representatives of the old, scrupulous, upright French magistracy; but he +understood nothing of the new times, and he treated prisoners with the +severity of a Biblical Jehovah. Moreover, the infirmity which was the +worry of his life, the childish lisp which, in his opinion, had alone +prevented him from shining as a public prosecutor, made him ferociously +ill-tempered, incapable of any intelligent indulgence. There were smiles, +which he divined, as soon as he raised his sharp, shrill little voice, to +ask his first questions. That droll voice of his took away whatever +majesty might have remained attached to these proceedings, in which a +man's life was being fought for in a hall full of inquisitive, stifling +and perspiring folks, who fanned themselves and jested. Salvat answered +the judge's earlier questions with his wonted weariness and politeness. +While the judge did everything to vilify him, harshly reproaching him +with his wretched childhood and youth, magnifying every stain and every +transgression in his career, referring to the promiscuity of his life +between Madame Theodore and little Celine as something bestial, he, the +prisoner, quietly said yes or no, like a man who has nothing to hide and +accepts the full responsibility of his actions. He had already made a +complete confession of his crime, and he calmly repeated it without +changing a word. He explained that if he had deposited his bomb at the +entrance of the Duvillard mansion it was to give his deed its true +significance, that of summoning the wealthy, the money-mongers who had so +scandalously enriched themselves by dint of theft and falsehood, to +restore that part of the common wealth which they had appropriated, to +the poor, the working classes, their children and their wives, who +perished of starvation. It was only at this moment that he grew excited; +all the misery that he had endured or witnessed rose to his clouded, +semi-educated brain, in which claims and theories and exasperated ideas +of absolute justice and universal happiness had gathered confusedly. And +from that moment he appeared such as he really was, a sentimentalist, a +dreamer transported by suffering, proud and stubborn, and bent on +changing the world in accordance with his sectarian logic. +</p> + +<p> +"But you fled!" cried the judge in a voice such as would have befitted a +grasshopper. "You must not say that you gave your life to your cause and +were ready for martyrdom!" +</p> + +<p> +Salvat's most poignant regret was that he had yielded in the Bois de +Boulogne to the dismay and rage which come upon a tracked and hunted man +and impel him to do all he can to escape capture. And on being thus +taunted by the judge he became quite angry. "I don't fear death, you'll +see that," he replied. "If all had the same courage as I have, your +rotten society would be swept away to-morrow, and happiness would at last +dawn." +</p> + +<p> +Then the interrogatory dealt at great length with the composition and +manufacture of the bomb. The judge, rightly enough, pointed out that this +was the only obscure point of the affair. "And so," he remarked, "you +persist in saying that dynamite was the explosive you employed? Well, you +will presently hear the experts, who, it is true, differ on certain +points, but are all of opinion that you employed some other explosive, +though they cannot say precisely what it was. Why not speak out on the +point, as you glory in saying everything?" +</p> + +<p> +Salvat, however, had suddenly calmed down, giving only cautious +monosyllabic replies. "Well, seek for whatever you like if you don't +believe me," he now answered. "I made my bomb by myself, and under +circumstances which I've already related a score of times. You surely +don't expect me to reveal names and compromise comrades?" +</p> + +<p> +From this declaration he would not depart. It was only towards the end of +the interrogatory that irresistible emotion overcame him on the judge +again referring to the unhappy victim of his crime, the little errand +girl, so pretty and fair and gentle, whom ferocious destiny had brought +to the spot to meet such an awful death. "It was one of your own class +whom you struck," said M. de Larombiere; "your victim was a work girl, a +poor child who, with the few pence she earned, helped to support her aged +grandmother." +</p> + +<p> +Salvat's voice became very husky as he answered: "That's really the only +thing I regret. . . . My bomb certainly wasn't meant for her; and may all +the workers, all the starvelings, remember that she gave her blood as I'm +going to give mine!" +</p> + +<p> +In this wise the interrogatory ended amidst profound agitation. Pierre +had felt Guillaume shuddering beside him, whilst the prisoner quietly and +obstinately refused to say a word respecting the explosive that had been +employed, preferring as he did to assume full responsibility for the deed +which was about to cost him his life. Moreover, Guillaume, on turning +round, in compliance with an irresistible impulse, had perceived Victor +Mathis still motionless behind him: his elbows ever leaning on the rail +of the partition, and his chin still resting on his hands, whilst he +listened with silent, concentrated passion. His face had become yet paler +than before, and his eyes glowed as with an avenging fire, whose flames +would never more be extinguished. +</p> + +<p> +The interrogatory of the prisoner was followed by a brief commotion in +court. +</p> + +<p> +"That Salvat looks quite nice, he has such soft eyes," declared the +Princess, whom the proceedings greatly amused. "Oh! don't speak ill of +him, my dear deputy. You know that I have Anarchist ideas myself." +</p> + +<p> +"I speak no ill of him," gaily replied Duthil. "Nor has our friend +Amadieu any right to speak ill of him. For you know that this affair has +set Amadieu on a pinnacle. He was never before talked about to such an +extent as he is now; and he delights in being talked about, you know! He +has become quite a social celebrity, the most illustrious of our +investigating magistrates, and will soon be able to do or become whatever +he pleases." +</p> + +<p> +Then Massot, with his sarcastic impudence, summed up the situation. "When +Anarchism flourishes, everything flourishes, eh? That bomb has helped on +the affairs of a good many fine fellows that I know. Do you think that my +governor Fonsegue, who's so attentive to Silviane yonder, complains of +it? And doesn't Sagnier, who's spreading himself out behind the presiding +judge, and whose proper place would be between the four +gendarmes—doesn't he owe a debt to Salvat for all the abominable +advertisements he has been able to give his paper by using the wretched +fellow's back as a big drum? And I need not mention the politicians or +the financiers or all those who fish in troubled waters." +</p> + +<p> +"But I say," interrupted Duthil, "it seems to me that you yourself made +good use of the affair. Your interview with the little girl Celine +brought you in a pot of money." +</p> + +<p> +Massot, as it happened, had been struck with the idea of ferreting out +Madame Theodore and the child, and of relating his visit to them in the +"Globe," with an abundance of curious and touching particulars. The +article had met with prodigious success, Celine's pretty answers +respecting her imprisoned father having such an effect on ladies with +sensitive hearts that they had driven to Montmartre in their carriages in +order to see the two poor creatures. Thus alms had come to them from all +sides; and strangely enough the very people who demanded the father's +head were the most eager to sympathise with the child. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I don't complain of my little profits," said the journalist in +answer to Duthil. "We all earn what we can, you know." +</p> + +<p> +At this moment Rosemonde, while glancing round her, recognised Guillaume +and Pierre, but she was so amazed to see the latter in ordinary civilian +garb that she did not dare to speak to him. Leaning forward she +acquainted Duthil and Massot with her surprise, and they both turned +round to look. From motives of discretion, however, they pretended that +they did not recognise the Froments. +</p> + +<p> +The heat in court was now becoming quite unbearable, and one lady had +already fainted. At last the presiding judge again raised his lisping +voice, and managed to restore silence. Salvat, who had remained standing, +now held a few sheets of paper, and with some difficulty he made the +judge understand that he desired to complete his interrogatory by reading +a declaration, which he had drawn up in prison, and in which he explained +his reasons for his crime. For a moment M. de Larombiere hesitated, all +surprise and indignation at such a request; but he was aware that he +could not legally impose silence on the prisoner, and so he signified his +consent with a gesture of mingled irritation and disdain. Thereupon +Salvat began his perusal much after the fashion of a schoolboy, hemming +and hawing here and there, occasionally becoming confused, and then +bringing out certain words with wonderful emphasis, which evidently +pleased him. This declaration of his was the usual cry of suffering and +revolt already raised by so many disinherited ones. It referred to all +the frightful want of the lower spheres; the toiler unable to find a +livelihood in his toil; a whole class, the most numerous and worthy of +the classes, dying of starvation; whilst, on the other hand, were the +privileged ones, gorged with wealth, and wallowing in satiety, yet +refusing to part with even the crumbs from their tables, determined as +they were to restore nothing whatever of the wealth which they had +stolen. And so it became necessary to take everything away from them, to +rouse them from their egotism by terrible warnings, and to proclaim to +them even with the crash of bombs that the day of justice had come. The +unhappy man spoke that word "justice" in a ringing voice which seemed to +fill the whole court. But the emotion of those who heard him reached its +highest pitch when, after declaring that he laid down his life for the +cause, and expected nothing but a verdict of death from the jury, he +added, as if prophetically, that his blood would assuredly give birth to +other martyrs. They might send him to the scaffold, said he, but he knew +that his example would bear fruit. After him would come another avenger, +and yet another, and others still, until the old and rotten social system +should have crumbled away so as to make room for the society of justice +and happiness of which he was one of the apostles. +</p> + +<p> +The presiding judge, in his impatience and agitation, twice endeavoured +to interrupt Salvat. But the other read on and on with the imperturbable +conscientiousness of one who fears that he may not give proper utterance +to his most important words. He must have been thinking of that perusal +ever since he had been in prison. It was the decisive act of his suicide, +the act by which he proclaimed that he gave his life for the glory of +dying in the cause of mankind. And when he had finished he sat down +between the gendarmes with glowing eyes and flushed cheeks, as if he +inwardly experienced some deep joy. +</p> + +<p> +To destroy the effect which the declaration had produced—a commingling +of fear and compassion—the judge at once wished to proceed with the +hearing of the witnesses. Of these there was an interminable procession; +though little interest attached to their evidence, for none of them had +any revelations to make. Most attention perhaps was paid to the measured +statements of Grandidier, who had been obliged to dismiss Salvat from his +employ on account of the Anarchist propaganda he had carried on. Then the +prisoner's brother-in-law, Toussaint, the mechanician, also seemed a very +worthy fellow if one might judge him by the manner in which he strove to +put things favourably for Salvat, without in any way departing from the +truth. After Toussaint's evidence considerable time was taken up by the +discussions between the experts, who disagreed in public as much as they +had disagreed in their reports. Although they were all of opinion that +dynamite could not have been the explosive employed in the bomb, they +indulged in the most extraordinary and contradictory suppositions as to +this explosive's real nature. Eventually a written opinion given by the +illustrious <i>savant</i> Bertheroy was read; and this, after clearly setting +forth the known facts, concluded that one found oneself in presence of a +new explosive of prodigious power, the formula of which he himself was +unable to specify. +</p> + +<p> +Then detective Mondesir and commissary Dupot came in turn to relate the +various phases of the man hunt in the Bois de Boulogne. In Mondesir +centred all the gaiety of the proceedings, thanks to the guardroom +sallies with which he enlivened his narrative. And in like way the +greatest grief, a perfect shudder of revolt and compassion, was roused by +the errand girl's grandmother, a poor, bent, withered old woman, whom the +prosecution had cruelly constrained to attend the court, and who wept and +looked quite dismayed, unable as she was to understand what was wanted of +her. When she had withdrawn, the only remaining witnesses were those for +the defence, a procession of foremen and comrades, who all declared that +they had known Salvat as a very worthy fellow, an intelligent and zealous +workman, who did not drink, but was extremely fond of his daughter, and +incapable of an act of dishonesty or cruelty. +</p> + +<p> +It was already four o'clock when the evidence of the witnesses came to an +end. The atmosphere in court was now quite stifling, feverish fatigue +flushed every face, and a kind of ruddy dust obscured the waning light +which fell from the windows. Women were fanning themselves and men were +mopping their foreheads. However, the passion roused by the scene still +brought a glow of cruel delight to every eye. And no one stirred. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah!" sighed Rosemonde all at once, "to think that I hoped to drink a cup +of tea at a friend's at five o'clock. I shall die of thirst and +starvation here." +</p> + +<p> +"We shall certainly be kept till seven," replied Massot. "I can't offer +to go and fetch you a roll, for I shouldn't be readmitted." +</p> + +<p> +Then Duthil, who had not ceased shrugging his shoulders while Salvat read +his declaration, exclaimed: "What childish things he said, didn't he? And +to think that the fool is going to die for all that! Rich and poor, +indeed! Why, there will always be rich and poor. And it's equally certain +that when a man is poor his one great desire is to become rich. If that +fellow is in the dock to-day it's simply because he failed to make +money." +</p> + +<p> +While the others were thus conversing, Pierre for his part was feeling +extremely anxious about his brother, who sat beside him in silence, pale +and utterly upset. Pierre sought his hand and covertly pressed it. Then +in a low voice he inquired: "Do you feel ill? Shall we go away?" +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume answered him by discreetly and affectionately returning his +handshake. He was all right, he would remain till the end, however much +he might be stirred by exasperation. +</p> + +<p> +It was now Monsieur Lehmann, the public prosecutor, who rose to address +the court. He had a large, stern mouth, and was squarely built, with a +stubborn Jewish face. Nevertheless he was known to be a man of dexterous, +supple nature, one who had a foot in every political camp, and invariably +contrived to be on good terms with the powers that were. This explained +his rapid rise in life, and the constant favour he enjoyed. In the very +first words he spoke he alluded to the new ministry gazetted that +morning, referring pointedly to the strong-handed man who had undertaken +the task of reassuring peaceable citizens and making evil-doers tremble. +Then he fell upon the wretched Salvat with extraordinary vehemence, +recounting the whole of his life, and exhibiting him as a bandit +expressly born for the perpetration of crime, a monster who was bound to +end by committing some abominable and cowardly outrage. Next he +flagellated Anarchism and its partisans. The Anarchists were a mere herd +of vagabonds and thieves, said he. That had been shown by the recent +robbery at the Princess de Harn's house. The ignoble gang that had been +arrested for that affair had given the apostles of the Anarchist doctrine +as their references! And that was what the application of Anarchist +theories resulted in—burglary and filth, pending a favourable hour for +wholesale pillage and murder! For nearly a couple of hours the public +prosecutor continued in this fashion, throwing truth and logic to the +winds, and exclusively striving to alarm his hearers. He made all +possible use of the terror which had reigned in Paris, and figuratively +brandished the corpse of the poor little victim, the pretty errand girl, +as if it were a blood-red flag, before pointing to the pale hand, +preserved in spirits of wine, with a gesture of compassionate horror +which sent a shudder through his audience. And he ended, as he had begun, +by inspiriting the jurors, and telling them that they might fearlessly do +their duty now that those at the head of the State were firmly resolved +to give no heed to threats. +</p> + +<p> +Then the young advocate entrusted with the defence in his turn spoke. And +he really said what there was to say with great clearness and precision. +He was of a different school from that of the public prosecutor: his +eloquence was very simple and smooth, his only passion seemed to be zeal +for truth. Moreover, it was sufficient for him to show Salvat's career in +its proper light, to depict him pursued by social fatalities since his +childhood, and to explain the final action of his career by all that he +had suffered and all that had sprung up in his dreamy brain. Was not his +crime the crime of one and all? Who was there that did not feel, if only +in a small degree, responsible for that bomb which a penniless, starving +workman had deposited on the threshold of a wealthy man's abode—a +wealthy man whose name bespoke the injustice of the social system: so +much enjoyment on the one hand and so much privation on the other! If one +of us happened to lose his head, and felt impelled to hasten the advent +of happiness by violence in such troublous times, when so many burning +problems claimed solution, ought he to be deprived of his life in the +name of justice, when none could swear that they had not in some measure +contributed to his madness? Following up this question, Salvat's counsel +dwelt at length on the period that witnessed the crime, a period of so +many scandals and collapses, when the old world was giving birth to a new +one amidst the most terrible struggles and pangs. And he concluded by +begging the jury to show themselves humane, to resist all passion and +terror, and to pacify the rival classes by a wise verdict, instead of +prolonging social warfare by giving the starvelings yet another martyr to +avenge. +</p> + +<p> +It was past six o'clock when M. de Larombiere began to sum up in a +partial and flowery fashion, in which one detected how grieved and angry +he was at having such a shrill little voice. Then the judges and the +jurors withdrew, and the prisoner was led away, leaving the spectators +waiting amidst an uproar of feverish impatience. Some more ladies had +fainted, and it had even been necessary to carry out a gentleman who had +been overcome by the cruel heat. However, the others stubbornly remained +there, not one of them quitting his place. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah! it won't take long now," said Massot. "The jurors brought their +verdict all ready in their pockets. I was looking at them while that +little advocate was telling them such sensible things. They all looked as +if they were comfortably asleep in the gloom." +</p> + +<p> +Then Duthil turned to the Princess and asked her, "Are you still hungry?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! I'm starving," she replied. "I shall never be able to wait till I +get home. You will have to take me to eat a biscuit somewhere. . . . All +the same, however, it's very exciting to see a man's life staked on a yes +or a no." +</p> + +<p> +Meantime Pierre, finding Guillaume still more feverish and grieved, had +once again taken hold of his hand. Neither of them spoke, so great was +the distress that they experienced for many reasons which they themselves +could not have precisely defined. It seemed to them, however, that all +human misery—inclusive of their own, the affections, the hopes, the +griefs which brought them suffering—was sobbing and quivering in that +buzzing hall. Twilight had gradually fallen there, but as the end was now +so near it had doubtless been thought unnecessary to light the +chandeliers. And thus large vague shadows, dimming and shrouding the +serried throng, now hovered about in the last gleams of the day. The +ladies in light gowns yonder, behind the bench, looked like pale phantoms +with all-devouring eyes, whilst the numerous groups of black-robed +advocates formed large sombre patches which gradually spread everywhere. +The greyish painting of the Christ had already vanished, and on the walls +one only saw the glaring white bust of the Republic, which resembled some +frigid death's head starting forth from the darkness. +</p> + +<p> +"Ah!" Massot once more exclaimed, "I knew that it wouldn't take long!" +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the jurors were returning after less than a quarter of an hour's +absence. Then the judges likewise came back and took their seats. +Increased emotion stirred the throng, a great gust seemed to sweep +through the court, a gust of anxiety, which made every head sway. Some +people had risen to their feet, and others gave vent to involuntary +exclamations. The foreman of the jury, a gentleman with a broad red face, +had to wait a moment before speaking. At last in a sharp but somewhat +sputtering voice he declared: "On my honour and my conscience, before God +and before man, the verdict of the jury is: on the question of Murder, +yes, by a majority of votes."* +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> + * English readers may be reminded that in France the verdict of + a majority of the jury suffices for conviction or acquittal. + If the jury is evenly divided the prisoner is acquitted.—Trans. +</p> + +<p> +The night had almost completely fallen when Salvat was once more brought +in. In front of the jurors, who faded away in the gloom, he stood forth, +erect, with a last ray from the windows lighting up his face. The judges +themselves almost disappeared from view, their red robes seemed to have +turned black. And how phantom-like looked the prisoner's emaciated face +as he stood there listening, with dreamy eyes, while the clerk of the +court read the verdict to him. +</p> + +<p> +When silence fell and no mention was made of extenuating circumstances, +he understood everything. His face, which had retained a childish +expression, suddenly brightened. "That means death. Thank you, +gentlemen," he said. +</p> + +<p> +Then he turned towards the public, and amidst the growing darkness +searched for the friendly faces which he knew were there; and this time +Guillaume became fully conscious that he had recognised him, and was +again expressing affectionate and grateful thanks for the crust he had +received from him on a day of want. He must have also bidden farewell to +Victor Mathis, for as Guillaume glanced at the young man, who had not +moved, he saw that his eyes were staring wildly, and that a terrible +expression rested on his lips. +</p> + +<p> +As for the rest of the proceedings, the last questions addressed to the +jury and the counsel, the deliberations of the judges and the delivery of +sentence—these were all lost amidst the buzzing and surging of the +crowd. A little compassion was unconsciously manifested; and some stupor +was mingled with the satisfaction that greeted the sentence of death. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had Salvat been condemned, however, than he drew himself up to +his full height, and as the guards led him away he shouted in a +stentorian voice: "Long live Anarchy!" +</p> + +<p> +Nobody seemed angered by the cry. The crowd went off quietly, as if +weariness had lulled all its passions. The proceedings had really lasted +too long and fatigued one too much. It was quite pleasant to inhale the +fresh air on emerging from such a nightmare. +</p> + +<p> +In the large waiting hall, Pierre and Guillaume passed Duthil and the +Princess, whom General de Bozonnet had stopped while chatting with +Fonsegue. All four of them were talking in very loud voices, complaining +of the heat and their hunger, and agreeing that the affair had not been a +particularly interesting one. Yet, all was well that ended well. As +Fonsegue remarked, the condemnation of Salvat to death was a political +and social necessity. +</p> + +<p> +When Pierre and Guillaume reached the Pont Neuf, the latter for a moment +rested his elbows on the parapet of the bridge. His brother, standing +beside him, also gazed at the grey waters of the Seine, which here and +there were fired by the reflections of the gas lamps. A fresh breeze +ascended from the river; it was the delightful hour when night steals +gently over resting Paris. Then, as the brothers stood there breathing +that atmosphere which usually brings relief and comfort, Pierre on his +side again became conscious of his heart-wound, and remembered his +promise to return to Montmartre, a promise that he must keep in spite of +the torture there awaiting him; whilst Guillaume on the other hand +experienced a revival of the suspicion and disquietude that had come to +him on seeing Marie so feverish, changed as it were by some new feeling, +of which she herself was ignorant. Were further sufferings, struggles, +and obstacles to happiness yet in store for those brothers who loved one +another so dearly? At all events their hearts bled once more with all the +sorrow into which they had been cast by the scene they had just +witnessed: that assize of justice at which a wretched man had been +condemned to pay with his head for the crimes of one and all. +</p> + +<p> +Then, as they turned along the quay, Guillaume recognised young Victor +going off alone in the gloom, just in front of them. The chemist stopped +him and spoke to him of his mother. But the young man did not hear; his +thin lips parted, and in a voice as trenchant as a knife-thrust he +exclaimed: "Ah! so it's blood they want. Well, they may cut off his head, +but he will be avenged!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +V +</h3> + +<h3> +SACRIFICE +</h3> + +<p> +THE days which followed Salvat's trial seemed gloomy ones up yonder in +Guillaume's workroom, which was usually so bright and gay. Sadness and +silence filled the place. The three young men were no longer there. +Thomas betook himself to the Grandidier works early every morning in +order to perfect his little motor; Francois was so busy preparing for his +examination that he scarcely left the Ecole Normale; while Antoine was +doing some work at Jahan's, where he delighted to linger and watch his +little friend Lise awakening to life. Thus Guillaume's sole companion was +Mere-Grand, who sat near the window busy with her needlework; for Marie +was ever going about the house, and only stayed in the workroom for any +length of time when Pierre happened to be there. +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume's gloom was generally attributed to the feelings of anger and +revolt into which the condemnation of Salvat had thrown him. He had flown +into a passion on his return from the Palace of Justice, declaring that +the execution of the unhappy man would simply be social murder, +deliberate provocation of class warfare. And the others had bowed on +hearing that pain-fraught violent cry, without attempting to discuss the +point. Guillaume's sons respectfully left him to the thoughts which kept +him silent for hours, with his face pale and a dreamy expression in his +eyes. His chemical furnace remained unlighted, and his only occupation +from morn till night was to examine the plans and documents connected +with his invention, that new explosive and that terrible engine of war, +which he had so long dreamt of presenting to France in order that she +might impose the reign of truth and justice upon all the nations. +However, during the long hours which he spent before the papers scattered +over his table, often without seeing them, for his eyes wandered far +away, a multitude of vague thoughts came to him—doubts respecting the +wisdom of his project, and fears lest his desire to pacify the nations +should simply throw them into an endless war of extermination. Although +he really believed that great city of Paris to be the world's brain, +entrusted with the task of preparing the future, he could not disguise +from himself that with all its folly and shame and injustice it still +presented a shocking spectacle. Was it really ripe enough for the work of +human salvation which he thought of entrusting to it? Then, on trying to +re-peruse his notes and verify his formulas, he only recovered his former +energetic determination on thinking of his marriage, whereupon the idea +came to him that it was now too late for him to upset his life by +changing such long-settled plans. +</p> + +<p> +His marriage! Was it not the thought of this which haunted Guillaume and +disturbed him far more powerfully than his scientific work or his +humanitarian passion? Beneath all the worries that he acknowledged, there +was another which he did not confess even to himself, and which filled +him with anguish. He repeated day by day that he would reveal his +invention to the Minister of War as soon as he should be married to +Marie, whom he wished to associate with his glory. Married to Marie! Each +time he thought of it, burning fever and secret disquietude came over +him. If he now remained so silent and had lost his quiet cheerfulness, it +was because he had felt new life, as it were, emanating from her. She was +certainly no longer the same woman as formerly; she was becoming more and +more changed and distant. He had watched her and Pierre when the latter +happened to be there, which was now but seldom. He, too, appeared +embarrassed, and different from what he had been. On the days when he +came, however, Marie seemed transformed; it was as if new life animated +the house. Certainly the intercourse between her and Pierre was quite +innocent, sisterly on the one hand, brotherly on the other. They simply +seemed to be a pair of good friends. And yet a radiance, a vibration, +emanated from them, something more subtle even than a sun-ray or a +perfume. After the lapse of a few days Guillaume found himself unable to +doubt the truth any longer. And his heart bled, he was utterly upset by +it. He had not found them in fault in any way, but he was convinced that +these two children, as he so paternally called them, really adored one +another. +</p> + +<p> +One lovely morning when he happened to be alone with Mere-Grand, face to +face with sunlit Paris, he fell into a yet more dolorous reverie than +usual. He seemed to be gazing fixedly at the old lady, as, seated in her +usual place, she continued sewing with an air of queenly serenity. +Perhaps, however, he did not see her. For her part she occasionally +raised her eyes and glanced at him, as if expecting a confession which +did not come. At last, finding such silence unbearable, she made up her +mind to address him: "What has been the matter with you, Guillaume, for +some time past? Why don't you tell me what you have to tell me?" +</p> + +<p> +He descended from the clouds, as it were, and answered in astonishment: +"What I have to tell you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I know it as well as you do, and I thought you would speak to me of +it, since it pleases you to do nothing here without consulting me." +</p> + +<p> +At this he turned very pale and shuddered. So he had not been mistaken in +the matter, even Mere-Grand knew all about it. To talk of it, however, +was to give shape to his suspicions, to transform what, hitherto, might +merely have been a fancy on his part into something real and definite. +</p> + +<p> +"It was inevitable, my dear son," said Mere-Grand. "I foresaw it from the +outset. And if I did not warn you of it, it was because I believed in +some deep design on your part. Since I have seen you suffering, however, +I have realised that I was mistaken." Then, as he still looked at her +quivering and distracted, she continued: "Yes, I fancied that you might +have wished it, that in bringing your brother here you wished to know if +Marie loved you otherwise than as a father. There was good reason for +testing her—for instance, the great difference between your ages, for +your life is drawing to a close, whilst hers is only beginning. And I +need not mention the question of your work, the mission which I have +always dreamt of for you." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon, with his hands raised in prayerful fashion, Guillaume drew +near to the old lady and exclaimed: "Oh! speak out clearly, tell me what +you think. I don't understand, my poor heart is so lacerated; and yet I +should so much like to know everything, so as to be able to act and take +a decision. To think that you whom I love, you whom I venerate as much as +if you were my real mother, you whose profound good sense I know so well +that I have always followed your advice—to think that you should have +foreseen this frightful thing and have allowed it to happen at the risk +of its killing me! . . . Why have you done so, tell me, why?" +</p> + +<p> +Mere-Grand was not fond of talking. Absolute mistress of the house as she +was, managing everything, accountable to nobody for her actions, she +never gave expression to all that she thought or all that she desired. +Indeed, there was no occasion for it, as Guillaume, like the children, +relied upon her completely, with full confidence in her wisdom. And her +somewhat enigmatical ways even helped to raise her in their estimation. +</p> + +<p> +"What is the use of words, when things themselves speak?" she now gently +answered, while still plying her needle. "It is quite true that I +approved of the plan of a marriage between you and Marie, for I saw that +it was necessary that she should be married if she was to stay here. And +then, too, there were many other reasons which I needn't speak of. +However, Pierre's arrival here has changed everything, and placed things +in their natural order. Is not that preferable?" +</p> + +<p> +He still lacked the courage to understand her. "Preferable! When I'm in +agony? When my life is wrecked?" +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon she rose and came to him, tall and rigid in her thin black +gown, and with an expression of austerity and energy on her pale face. +"My son," she said, "you know that I love you, and that I wish you to be +very noble and lofty. Only the other morning, you had an attack of +fright, the house narrowly escaped being blown up. Then, for some days +now you have been sitting over those documents and plans in an +absent-minded, distracted state, like a man who feels weak, and doubts, +and no longer knows his way. Believe me, you are following a dangerous +path; it is better that Pierre should marry Marie, both for their sakes +and for your own." +</p> + +<p> +"For my sake? No, no! What will become of me!" +</p> + +<p> +"You will calm yourself and reflect, my son. You have such serious duties +before you. You are on the eve of making your invention known. It seems +to me that something has bedimmed your sight, and that you will perhaps +act wrongly in this respect, through failing to take due account of the +problem before you. Perhaps there is something better to be done. . . . +At all events, suffer if it be necessary, but remain faithful to your +ideal." +</p> + +<p> +Then, quitting him with a maternal smile, she sought to soften her +somewhat stern words by adding: "You have compelled me to speak +unnecessarily, for I am quite at ease; with your superior mind, whatever +be in question, you can but do the one right thing that none other would +do." +</p> + +<p> +On finding himself alone Guillaume fell into feverish uncertainty. What +was the meaning of Mere-Grand's enigmatical words? He knew that she was +on the side of whatever might be good, natural, and necessary. But she +seemed to be urging him to some lofty heroism; and indeed what she had +said threw a ray of light upon the unrest which had come to him in +connection with his old plan of going to confide his secret to some +Minister of War or other, whatever one might happen to be in office at +the time. Growing hesitation and repugnance stirred him as he fancied he +could again hear her saying that perhaps there might be some better +course, that would require search and reflection. But all at once a +vision of Marie rose before him, and his heart was rent by the thought +that he was asked to renounce her. To lose her, to give her to another! +No, no, that was beyond his strength. He would never have the frightful +courage that was needed to pass by the last promised raptures of love +with disdain! +</p> + +<p> +For a couple of days Guillaume struggled on. He seemed to be again living +the six years which the young woman had already spent beside him in that +happy little house. She had been at first like an adopted daughter there; +and later on, when the idea of their marriage had sprung up, he had +viewed it with quiet delight in the hope that it would ensure the +happiness of all around him. If he had previously abstained from marrying +again it was from the fear of placing a strange mother over his children; +and if he yielded to the charm of loving yet once more, and no longer +leading a solitary life, it was because he had found at his very hearth +one of such sensible views, who, in the flower of youth, was willing to +become his wife despite the difference in their ages. Then months had +gone by, and serious occurrences had compelled them to postpone the +wedding, though without undue suffering on his part. Indeed, the +certainty that she was waiting for him had sufficed him, for his life of +hard work had rendered him patient. Now, however, all at once, at the +threat of losing her, his hitherto tranquil heart ached and bled. He +would never have thought the tie so close a one. But he was now almost +fifty, and it was as if love and woman were being wrenched away from him, +the last woman that he could love and desire, one too who was the more +desirable, as she was the incarnation of youth from which he must ever be +severed, should he indeed lose her. Passionate desire, mingled with rage, +flared up within him at the thought that someone should have come to take +her from him. +</p> + +<p> +One night, alone in his room, he suffered perfect martyrdom. In order +that he might not rouse the house he buried his face in his pillow so as +to stifle his sobs. After all, it was a simple matter; Marie had given +him her promise, and he would compel her to keep it. She would be his, +and his alone, and none would be able to steal her from him. Then, +however, there rose before him a vision of his brother, the +long-forgotten one, whom, from feelings of affection, he had compelled to +join his family. But his sufferings were now so acute that he would have +driven that brother away had he been before him. He was enraged, +maddened, by the thought of him. His brother—his little brother! So all +their love was over; hatred and violence were about to poison their +lives. For hours Guillaume continued complaining deliriously, and seeking +how he might so rid himself of Pierre that what had happened should be +blotted out. Now and again, when he recovered self-control, he marvelled +at the tempest within him; for was he not a <i>savant</i> guided by lofty +reason, a toiler to whom long experience had brought serenity? But the +truth was that this tempest had not sprung up in his mind, it was raging +in the child-like soul that he had retained, the nook of affection and +dreaminess which remained within him side by side with his principles of +pitiless logic and his belief in proven phenomena only. His very genius +came from the duality of his nature: behind the chemist was a social +dreamer, hungering for justice and capable of the greatest love. And now +passion was transporting him, and he was weeping for the loss of Marie as +he would have wept over the downfall of that dream of his, the +destruction of war <i>by</i> war, that scheme for the salvation of mankind at +which he had been working for ten years past. +</p> + +<p> +At last, amidst his weariness, a sudden resolution calmed him. He began +to feel ashamed of despairing in this wise when he had no certain grounds +to go upon. He must know everything, he would question the young woman; +she was loyal enough to answer him frankly. Was not this a solution +worthy of them both? An explanation in all sincerity, after which they +would be able to take a decision. Then he fell asleep; and, tired though +he felt when he rose in the morning, he was calmer. It was as if some +secret work had gone on in his heart during his few hours of repose after +that terrible storm. +</p> + +<p> +As it happened Marie was very gay that morning. On the previous day she +had gone with Pierre and Antoine on a cycling excursion over frightful +roads in the direction of Montmorency, whence they had returned in a +state of mingled anger and delight. When Guillaume stopped her in the +little garden, he found her humming a song while returning bare-armed +from the scullery, where some washing was going on. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you want to speak to me?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, my dear child, it's necessary for us to talk of some serious +matters." +</p> + +<p> +She at once understood that their marriage was in question, and became +grave. She had formerly consented to that marriage because she regarded +it as the only sensible course she could take, and this with full +knowledge of the duties which she would assume. No doubt her husband +would be some twenty years older than herself, but this circumstance was +one of somewhat frequent occurrence, and as a rule such marriages turned +out well, rather than otherwise. Moreover, she was in love with nobody, +and was free to consent. And she had consented with an impulse of +gratitude and affection which seemed so sweet that she thought it the +sweetness of love itself. Everybody around her, too, appeared so pleased +at the prospect of this marriage, which would draw the family yet more +closely together. And, on her side, she had been as it were intoxicated +by the idea of making others happy. +</p> + +<p> +"What is the matter?" she now asked Guillaume in a somewhat anxious +voice. "No bad news, I hope?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, no," he answered. "I've simply something to say to you." +</p> + +<p> +Then he led her under the plum-trees to the only green nook left in the +garden. An old worm-eaten bench still stood there against the +lilac-bushes. And in front of them Paris spread out its sea of roofs, +looking light and fresh in the morning sunlight. +</p> + +<p> +They both sat down. But at the moment of speaking and questioning Marie, +Guillaume experienced sudden embarrassment, while his heart beat +violently at seeing her beside him, so young and adorable with her bare +arms. +</p> + +<p> +"Our wedding-day is drawing near," he ended by saying. And then as she +turned somewhat pale, perhaps unconsciously, he himself suddenly felt +cold. Had not her lips twitched as if with pain? Had not a shadow passed +over her fresh, clear eyes? +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! we still have some time before us," she replied. +</p> + +<p> +Then, slowly and very affectionately, he resumed: "No doubt; still it is +necessary to attend to the formalities. And it is as well, perhaps, that +I should speak of those worries to-day, so that I may not have to bother +you about them again." +</p> + +<p> +Then he gently went on telling her all that would have to be done, +keeping his eyes on her whilst he spoke, watching for such signs of +emotion as the thought of her promise's early fulfilment might bring to +her face. She sat there in silence, with her hands on her lap, and her +features quite still, thus giving no certain sign of any regret or +trouble. Still she seemed rather dejected, compliant, as it were, but in +no wise joyous. +</p> + +<p> +"You say nothing, my dear Marie," Guillaume at last exclaimed. "Does +anything of all this displease you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Displease me? Oh, no!" +</p> + +<p> +"You must speak out frankly, if it does, you know. We will wait a little +longer if you have any personal reasons for wishing to postpone the date +again." +</p> + +<p> +"But I've no reasons, my friend. What reasons could I have? I leave you +quite free to settle everything as you yourself may desire." +</p> + +<p> +Silence fell. While answering, she had looked him frankly in the face; +but a little quiver stirred her lips, and gloom, for which she could not +account, seemed to rise and darken her face, usually as bright and gay as +spring water. In former times would she not have laughed and sung at the +mere announcement of that coming wedding? +</p> + +<p> +Then Guillaume, with an effort which made his voice tremble, dared to +speak out: "You must forgive me for asking you a question, my dear Marie. +There is still time for you to cancel your promise. Are you quite certain +that you love me?" +</p> + +<p> +At this she looked at him in genuine stupefaction, utterly failing to +understand what he could be aiming at. And—as she seemed to be deferring +her reply, he added: "Consult your heart. Is it really your old friend or +is it another that you love?" +</p> + +<p> +"I? I, Guillaume? Why do you say that to me? What can I have done to give +you occasion to say such a thing!" +</p> + +<p> +All her frank nature revolted as she spoke, and her beautiful eyes, +glowing with sincerity, gazed fixedly on his. +</p> + +<p> +"I love Pierre! I do, I? . . . Well, yes, I love him, as I love you all; +I love him because he has become one of us, because he shares our life +and our joys! I'm happy when he's here, certainly; and I should like him +to be always here. I'm always pleased to see him and hear him and go out +with him. I was very much grieved recently when he seemed to be relapsing +into his gloomy ideas. But all that is natural, is it not? And I think +that I have only done what you desired I should do, and I cannot +understand how my affection for Pierre can in any way exercise an +influence respecting our marriage." +</p> + +<p> +These words, in her estimation, ought to have convinced Guillaume that +she was not in love with his brother; but in lieu thereof they brought +him painful enlightenment by the very ardour with which she denied the +love imputed to her. +</p> + +<p> +"But you unfortunate girl!" he cried. "You are betraying yourself without +knowing it. . . . It is quite certain you do not love me, you love my +brother!" +</p> + +<p> +He had caught hold of her wrists and was pressing them with despairing +affection as if to compel her to read her heart. And she continued +struggling. A most loving and tragic contest went on between them, he +seeking to convince her by the evidence of facts, and she resisting him, +stubbornly refusing to open her eyes. In vain did he recount what had +happened since the first day, explaining the feelings which had followed +one upon another in her heart and mind: first covert hostility, next +curiosity regarding that extraordinary young priest, and then sympathy +and affection when she had found him so wretched and had gradually cured +him of his sufferings. They were both young and mother Nature had done +the rest. However, at each fresh proof and certainty which he put before +her, Marie only experienced growing emotion, trembling at last from head +to foot, but still unwilling to question herself. +</p> + +<p> +"No, no," said she, "I do not love him. If I loved him I should know it +and would acknowledge it to you; for you are well aware that I cannot +tell an untruth." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume, however, had the cruelty to insist on the point, like some +heroic surgeon cutting into his own flesh even more than into that of +others, in order that the truth might appear and everyone be saved. +"Marie," said he, "it is not I whom you love. All that you feel for me is +respect and gratitude and daughterly affection. Remember what your +feelings were at the time when our marriage was decided upon. You were +then in love with nobody, and you accepted the offer like a sensible +girl, feeling certain that I should render you happy, and that the union +was a right and satisfactory one. . . . But since then my brother has +come here; love has sprung up in your heart in quite a natural way; and +it is Pierre, Pierre alone, whom you love as a lover and a husband should +be loved." +</p> + +<p> +Exhausted though she was, utterly distracted, too, by the light which, +despite herself, was dawning within her, Marie still stubbornly and +desperately protested. +</p> + +<p> +"But why do you struggle like this against the truth, my child?" said +Guillaume; "I do not reproach you. It was I who chose that this should +happen, like the old madman I am. What was bound to come has come, and +doubtless it is for the best. I only wanted to learn the truth from you +in order that I might take a decision and act uprightly." +</p> + +<p> +These words vanquished her, and her tears gushed forth. It seemed as +though something had been rent asunder within her; and she felt quite +overcome, as if by the weight of a new truth of which she had hitherto +been ignorant. "Ah! it was cruel of you," she said, "to do me such +violence so as to make me read my heart. I swear to you again that I did +not know I loved Pierre in the way you say. But you have opened my heart, +and roused what was quietly slumbering in it. . . . And it is true, I do +love Pierre, I love him now as you have said. And so here we are, all +three of us supremely wretched through your doing!" +</p> + +<p> +She sobbed, and with a sudden feeling of modesty freed her wrists from +his grasp. He noticed, however, that no blush rose to her face. Truth to +tell, her virginal loyalty was not in question; she had no cause to +reproach herself with any betrayal; it was he alone, perforce, who had +awakened her to love. For a moment they looked at one another through +their tears: she so strong and healthy, her bosom heaving at each +heart-beat, and her white arms—arms that could both charm and +sustain—bare almost to her shoulders; and he still vigorous, with his +thick fleece of white hair and his black moustaches, which gave his +countenance such an expression of energetic youth. But it was all over, +the irreparable had swept by, and utterly changed their lives. +</p> + +<p> +"Marie," he nobly said, "you do not love me, I give you back your +promise." +</p> + +<p> +But with equal nobility she refused to take it back. "Never will I do +so," she replied. "I gave it to you frankly, freely and joyfully, and my +affection and admiration for you have never changed." +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless, with more firmness in his hitherto broken voice, Guillaume +retorted: "You love Pierre, and it is Pierre whom you ought to marry." +</p> + +<p> +"No," she again insisted, "I belong to you. A tie which years have +tightened cannot be undone in an hour. Once again, if I love Pierre I +swear to you that I was ignorant of it this morning. And let us leave the +matter as it is; do not torture me any more, it would be too cruel of +you." +</p> + +<p> +Then, quivering like a woman who suddenly perceives that she is bare, in +a stranger's presence, she hastily pulled down her sleeves, and even drew +them over her hands as if to leave naught of her person visible. And +afterwards she rose and walked away without adding a single word. +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume remained alone on the bench in that leafy corner, in front of +Paris, to which the light morning sunshine lent the aspect of some +quivering, soaring city of dreamland. A great weight oppressed him, and +it seemed to him as if he would never be able to rise from the seat. That +which brought him most suffering was Marie's assurance that she had till +that morning been ignorant of the fact that she was in love with Pierre. +She had been ignorant of it, and it was he, Guillaume, who had brought it +to her knowledge, compelled her to confess it! He had now firmly planted +it in her heart, and perhaps increased it by revealing it to her. Ah! how +cruel the thought—to be the artisan of one's own torment! Of one thing +he was now quite certain: there would be no more love in his life. At the +idea of this, his poor, loving heart sank and bled. And yet amidst the +disaster, amidst his grief at realising that he was an old man, and that +renunciation was imperative, he experienced a bitter joy at having +brought the truth to light. This was very harsh consolation, fit only for +one of heroic soul, yet he found lofty satisfaction in it, and from that +moment the thought of sacrifice imposed itself upon him with +extraordinary force. He must marry his children; there lay the path of +duty, the only wise and just course, the only certain means of ensuring +the happiness of the household. And when his revolting heart yet leapt +and shrieked with anguish, he carried his vigorous hands to his chest in +order to still it. +</p> + +<p> +On the morrow came the supreme explanation between Guillaume and Pierre, +not in the little garden, however, but in the spacious workroom. And here +again one beheld the vast panorama of Paris, a nation as it were at work, +a huge vat in which the wine of the future was fermenting. Guillaume had +arranged things so that he might be alone with his brother; and no sooner +had the latter entered than he attacked him, going straight to the point +without any of the precautions which he had previously taken with Marie. +</p> + +<p> +"Haven't you something to say to me, Pierre?" he inquired. "Why won't you +confide in me?" +</p> + +<p> +The other immediately understood him, and began to tremble, unable to +find a word, but confessing everything by the distracted, entreating +expression of his face. +</p> + +<p> +"You love Marie," continued Guillaume, "why did you not loyally come and +tell me of your love?" +</p> + +<p> +At this Pierre recovered self-possession and defended himself vehemently: +"I love Marie, it's true, and I felt that I could not conceal it, that +you yourself would notice it at last. But there was no occasion for me to +tell you of it, for I was sure of myself, and would have fled rather than +have allowed a single word to cross my lips. I suffered in silence and +alone, and you cannot know how great my torture was! It is even cruel on +your part to speak to me of it; for now I am absolutely compelled to +leave you. . . . I have already, on several occasions, thought of doing +so. If I have come back here, it was doubtless through weakness, but also +on account of my affection for you all. And what mattered my presence +here? Marie ran no risk. She does not love me." +</p> + +<p> +"She does love you!" Guillaume answered. "I questioned her yesterday, and +she had to confess that she loved you." +</p> + +<p> +At this Pierre, utterly distracted, caught Guillaume by the shoulders and +gazed into his eyes. "Oh! brother, brother! what is this you say? Why say +a thing which would mean terrible misfortune for us all? Even if it were +true, my grief would far exceed my joy, for I will not have you suffer. +Marie belongs to you. To me she is as sacred as a sister. And if there be +only my madness to part you, it will pass by, I shall know how to conquer +it." +</p> + +<p> +"Marie loves you," repeated Guillaume in his gentle, obstinate way. "I +don't reproach you with anything. I well know that you have struggled, +and have never betrayed yourself to her either by word or glance. +Yesterday she herself was still ignorant that she loved you, and I had to +open her eyes. . . . What would you have? I simply state a fact: she +loves you." +</p> + +<p> +This time Pierre, still quivering, made a gesture of mingled rapture and +terror, as if some divine and long-desired blessing were falling upon him +from heaven and crushing him beneath its weight. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, then," he said, after a brief pause, "it is all over. . . . Let us +kiss one another for the last time, and then I'll go." +</p> + +<p> +"Go? Why? You must stay with us. Nothing could be more simple: you love +Marie and she loves you. I give her to you." +</p> + +<p> +A loud cry came from Pierre, who wildly raised his hands again with a +gesture of fright and rapture. "You give me Marie?" he replied. "You, who +adore her, who have been waiting for her for months? No, no, it would +overcome me, it would terrify me, as if you gave me your very heart after +tearing it from your breast. No, no! I will not accept your sacrifice!" +</p> + +<p> +"But as it is only gratitude and affection that Marie feels for me," said +Guillaume, "as it is you whom she really loves, am I to take a mean +advantage of the engagements which she entered into unconsciously, and +force her to a marriage when I know that she would never be wholly mine? +Besides, I have made a mistake, it isn't I who give her to you, she has +already given herself, and I do not consider that I have any right to +prevent her from doing so." +</p> + +<p> +"No, no! I will never accept, I will never bring such grief upon you. . . +Kiss me, brother, and let me go." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon Guillaume caught hold of Pierre and compelled him to sit down +by his side on an old sofa near the window. And he began to scold him +almost angrily while still retaining a smile, in which suffering and +kindliness were blended. "Come," said he, "we are surely not going to +fight over it. You won't force me to tie you up so as to keep you here? I +know what I'm about. I thought it all over before I spoke to you. No +doubt, I can't tell you that it gladdens me. I thought at first that I +was going to die; I should have liked to hide myself in the very depths +of the earth. And then, well, it was necessary to be reasonable, and I +understood that things had arranged themselves for the best, in their +natural order." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre, unable to resist any further, had begun to weep with both hands +raised to his face. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't grieve, brother, either for yourself or for me," said Guillaume. +"Do you remember the happy days we lately spent together at Neuilly after +we had found one another again? All our old affection revived within us, +and we remained for hours, hand in hand, recalling the past and loving +one another. And what a terrible confession you made to me one night, the +confession of your loss of faith, your torture, the void in which you +were rolling! When I heard of it my one great wish was to cure you. I +advised you to work, love, and believe in life, convinced as I was that +life alone could restore you to peace and health. . . . And for that +reason I afterwards brought you here. You fought against it, and it was I +who forced you to come. I was so happy when I found that you again took +an interest in life, and had once more become a man and a worker! I would +have given some of my blood if necessary to complete your cure. . . . +Well, it's done now, I have given you all I had, since Marie herself has +become necessary to you, and she alone can save you." +</p> + +<p> +Then as Pierre again attempted to protest, he resumed: "Don't deny it. It +is so true indeed, that if she does not complete the work I have begun, +all my efforts will have been vain, you will fall back into your misery +and negation, into all the torments of a spoilt life. She is necessary to +you, I say. And do you think that I no longer know how to love you? Would +you have me refuse you the very breath of life that will truly make you a +man, after all my fervent wishes for your return to life? I have enough +affection for you both to consent to your loving one another. . . . +Besides, I repeat it, nature knows what she does. Instinct is a sure +guide, it always tends to what is useful and trite. I should have been a +sorry husband, and it is best that I should keep to my work as an old +<i>savant</i>; whereas you are young and represent the future, all fruitful +and happy life." +</p> + +<p> +Pierre shuddered as he heard this, for his old fears returned to him. Had +not the priesthood for ever cut him off from life, had not his long years +of chaste celibacy robbed him of his manhood? "Fruitful and happy life!" +he muttered, "ah! if you only knew how distressed I feel at the idea that +I do not perhaps deserve the gift you so lovingly offer me! You are worth +more than I am; you would have given her a larger heart, a firmer brain, +and perhaps, too, you are really a younger man than myself. . . . There +is still time, brother, keep her, if with you she is likely to be happier +and more truly and completely loved. For my part I am full of doubts. Her +happiness is the only thing of consequence. Let her belong to the one who +will love her best!" +</p> + +<p> +Indescribable emotion had now come over both men. As Guillaume heard his +brother's broken words, the cry of a love that trembled at the thought of +possible weakness, he did for a moment waver. With a dreadful heart-pang +he stammered despairingly: "Ah! Marie, whom I love so much! Marie, whom I +would have rendered so happy!" +</p> + +<p> +At this Pierre could not restrain himself; he rose and cried: "Ah! you +see that you love her still and cannot renounce her. . . . So let me go! +let me go!" +</p> + +<p> +But Guillaume had already caught him around the body, clasping him with +an intensity of brotherly love which was increased by the renunciation he +was resolved upon: "Stay!" said he. "It wasn't I that spoke, it was the +other man that was in me, he who is about to die, who is already dead! By +the memory of our mother and our father I swear to you that the sacrifice +is consummated, and that if you two refuse to accept happiness from me +you will but make me suffer." +</p> + +<p> +For a moment the weeping men remained in one another's arms. They had +often embraced before, but never had their hearts met and mingled as they +did now. It was a delightful moment, which seemed an eternity. All the +grief and misery of the world had disappeared from before them; there +remained naught save their glowing love, whence sprang an eternity of +love even as light comes from the sun. And that moment was compensation +for all their past and future tears, whilst yonder, on the horizon before +them, Paris still spread and rumbled, ever preparing the unknown future. +</p> + +<p> +Just then Marie herself came in. And the rest proved very simple. +Guillaume freed himself from his brother's clasp, led him forward and +compelled him and Marie to take each other by the hand. At first she made +yet another gesture of refusal in her stubborn resolve that she would not +take her promise back. But what could she say face to face with those two +tearful men, whom she had found in one another's arms, mingling together +in such close brotherliness? Did not those tears and that embrace sweep +away all ordinary reasons, all such arguments as she held in reserve? +Even the embarrassment of the situation disappeared, it seemed as if she +had already had a long explanation with Pierre, and that he and she were +of one mind to accept that gift of love which Guillaume offered them with +so much heroism. A gust of the sublime passed through the room, and +nothing could have appeared more natural to them than this extraordinary +scene. Nevertheless, Marie remained silent, she dared not give her +answer, but looked at them both with her big soft eyes, which, like their +own, were full of tears. +</p> + +<p> +And it was Guillaume who, with sudden inspiration, ran to the little +staircase conducting to the rooms overhead, and called: "Mere-Grand! +Mere-Grand! Come down at once, you are wanted." +</p> + +<p> +Then, as soon as she was there, looking slim and pale in her black gown, +and showing the wise air of a queen-mother whom all obeyed, he said: +"Tell these two children that they can do nothing better than marry one +another. Tell them that we have talked it over, you and I, and that it is +your desire, your will that they should do so." +</p> + +<p> +She quietly nodded her assent, and then said: "That is true, it will be +by far the most sensible course." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon Marie flung herself into her arms, consenting, yielding to the +superior forces, the powers of life, that had thus changed the course of +her existence. Guillaume immediately desired that the date of the wedding +should be fixed, and accommodation provided for the young couple in the +rooms overhead. And as Pierre glanced at him with some remaining anxiety +and spoke of travelling, for he feared that his wound was not yet healed, +and that their presence might bring him suffering, Guillaume responded: +"No, no, I mean to keep you. If I'm marrying you, it is to have you both +here. Don't worry about me. I have so much work to do, I shall work." +</p> + +<p> +In the evening when Thomas and Francois came home and learnt the news, +they did not seem particularly surprised by it. They had doubtless felt +that things would end like this. And they bowed to the <i>denouement</i>, not +venturing to say a word, since it was their father himself who announced +the decision which had been taken, with his usual air of composure. As +for Antoine, who on his own side quivered with love for Lise, he gazed +with doubting, anxious eyes at his father, who had thus had the courage +to pluck out his heart. Could he really survive such a sacrifice, must it +not kill him? Then Antoine kissed his father passionately, and the elder +brothers in their turn embraced him with all their hearts. Guillaume +smiled and his eyes became moist. After his victory over his horrible +torments nothing could have been sweeter to him than the embraces of his +three big sons. +</p> + +<p> +There was, however, further emotion in store for him that evening. Just +as the daylight was departing, and he was sitting at his large table near +the window, again checking and classifying the documents and plans +connected with his invention, he was surprised to see his old master and +friend Bertheroy enter the workroom. The illustrious chemist called on +him in this fashion at long intervals, and Guillaume felt the honour thus +conferred on him by this old man to whom eminence and fame had brought so +many titles, offices and decorations. Moreover, Bertheroy, with his +position as an official <i>savant</i> and member of the Institute, showed some +courage in thus venturing to call on one whom so-called respectable folks +regarded with contumely. And on this occasion, Guillaume at once +understood that it was some feeling of curiosity that had brought him. +And so he was greatly embarrassed, for he hardly dared to remove the +papers and plans which were lying on the table. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, don't be frightened," gaily exclaimed Bertheroy, who, despite his +careless and abrupt ways, was really very shrewd. "I haven't come to pry +into your secrets. . . . Leave your papers there, I promise you that I +won't read anything." +</p> + +<p> +Then, in all frankness, he turned the conversation on the subject of +explosives, which he was still studying, he said, with passionate +interest. He had made some new discoveries which he did not conceal. +Incidentally, too, he spoke of the opinion he had given in Salvat's +affair. His dream was to discover some explosive of great power, which +one might attempt to domesticate and reduce to complete obedience. And +with a smile he pointedly concluded: "I don't know where that madman +found the formula of his powder. But if you should ever discover it, +remember that the future perhaps lies in the employment of explosives as +motive power." +</p> + +<p> +Then, all at once, he added: "By the way, that fellow Salvat will be +executed on the day after to-morrow. A friend of mine at the Ministry of +Justice has just told me so." +</p> + +<p> +Guillaume had hitherto listened to him with an air of mingled distrust +and amusement. But this announcement of Salvat's execution stirred him to +anger and revolt, though for some days past he had known it to be +inevitable, in spite of the sympathy which the condemned man was now +rousing in many quarters. +</p> + +<p> +"It will be a murder!" he cried vehemently. +</p> + +<p> +Bertheroy waved his hand: "What would you have?" he answered: "there's a +social system and it defends itself when it is attacked. Besides, those +Anarchists are really too foolish in imagining that they will transform +the world with their squibs and crackers! In my opinion, you know, +science is the only revolutionist. Science will not only bring us truth +but justice also, if indeed justice ever be possible on this earth. And +that is why I lead so calm a life and am so tolerant." +</p> + +<p> +Once again Bertheroy appeared to Guillaume as a revolutionist, one who +was convinced that he helped on the ruin of the ancient abominable +society of today, with its dogmas and laws, even whilst he was working in +the depths of his laboratory. He was, however, too desirous of repose, +and had too great a contempt for futilities to mingle with the events of +the day, and he preferred to live in quietude, liberally paid and +rewarded, and at peace with the government whatever it might be, whilst +at the same time foreseeing and preparing for the formidable parturition +of the future. +</p> + +<p> +He waved his hand towards Paris, over which a sun of victory was setting, +and then again spoke: "Do you hear the rumble? It is we who are the +stokers, we who are ever flinging fresh fuel under the boiler. Science +does not pause in her work for a single hour, and she is the artisan of +Paris, which—let us hope it—will be the artisan of the future. All the +rest is of no account." +</p> + +<p> +But Guillaume was no longer listening to him. He was thinking of Salvat +and the terrible engine of war he had invented, that engine which before +long would shatter cities. And a new idea was dawning and growing in his +mind. He had just freed himself of his last tie, he had created all the +happiness he could create around him. Ah! to recover his courage, to be +master of himself once more, and, at any rate, derive from the sacrifice +of his heart the lofty delight of being free, of being able to lay down +even his life, should he some day deem it necessary! +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 4, by +Emile Zola + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE CITIES TRILOGY: PARIS VOL 4 *** + +***** This file should be named 9167-h.htm or 9167-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/1/6/9167/ + +Produced by Dagny, and David Widger. 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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 Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 4 + +Author: Emile Zola + +Translator: Ernest A. Vizetelly + +Posting Date: April 13, 2014 [EBook #9167] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 20, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE CITIES TRILOGY: PARIS VOL 4 *** + + + + +Produced by Dagny, and David Widger. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + THE THREE CITIES + + + + PARIS + + + + BY + + EMILE ZOLA + + + + TRANSLATED BY ERNEST A. VIZETELLY + + + + BOOK IV + + + +I + +PIERRE AND MARIE + +ON the mild March morning when Pierre left his little house at Neuilly to +accompany Guillaume to Montmartre, he was oppressed by the thought that +on returning home he would once more find himself alone with nothing to +prevent him from relapsing into negation and despair. The idea of this +had kept him from sleeping, and he still found it difficult to hide his +distress and force a smile. + +The sky was so clear and the atmosphere so mild that the brothers had +resolved to go to Montmartre on foot by way of the outer boulevards. Nine +o'clock was striking when they set out. Guillaume for his part was very +gay at the thought of the surprise he would give his family. It was as if +he were suddenly coming back from a long journey. He had not warned them +of his intentions; he had merely written to them now and again to tell +them that he was recovering, and they certainly had no idea that his +return was so near at hand. + +When Guillaume and Pierre had climbed the sunlit slopes of Montmartre, +and crossed the quiet countrified Place du Tertre, the former, by means +of a latch-key, quietly opened the door of his house, which seemed to be +asleep, so profound was the stillness both around and within it. Pierre +found it the same as on the occasion of his previous and only visit. +First came the narrow passage which ran through the ground-floor, +affording a view of all Paris at the further end. Next there was the +garden, reduced to a couple of plum-trees and a clump of lilac-bushes, +the leaves of which had now sprouted. And this time the priest perceived +three bicycles leaning against the trees. Beyond them stood the large +work-shop, so gay, and yet so peaceful, with its huge window overlooking +a sea of roofs. + +Guillaume had reached the work-shop without meeting anybody. With an +expression of much amusement he raised a finger to his lips. "Attention, +Pierre," he whispered; "you'll just see!" + +Then having noiselessly opened the door, they remained for a moment on +the threshold. + +The three sons alone were there. Near his forge stood Thomas working a +boring machine, with which he was making some holes in a small brass +plate. Then Francois and Antoine were seated on either side of their +large table, the former reading, and the latter finishing a block. The +bright sunshine streamed in, playing over all the seeming disorder of the +room, where so many callings and so many implements found place. A large +bunch of wallflowers bloomed on the women's work-table near the window; +and absorbed as the young men were in their respective tasks the only +sound was the slight hissing of the boring machine each time that the +eldest of them drilled another hole. + +However, although Guillaume did not stir, there suddenly came a quiver, +an awakening. His sons seemed to guess his presence, for they raised +their heads, each at the same moment. From each, too, came the same cry, +and a common impulse brought them first to their feet and then to his +arms. + +"Father!" + +Guillaume embraced them, feeling very happy. And that was all; there was +no long spell of emotion, no useless talk. It was as if he had merely +gone out the day before and, delayed by business, had now come back. +Still, he looked at them with his kindly smile, and they likewise smiled +with their eyes fixed on his. Those glances proclaimed everything, the +closest affection and complete self-bestowal for ever. + +"Come in, Pierre," called Guillaume; "shake hands with these young men." + +The priest had remained near the door, overcome by a singular feeling of +discomfort. When his nephews had vigorously shaken hands with him, he sat +down near the window apart from them, as if he felt out of his element +there. + +"Well, youngsters," said Guillaume, "where's Mere-Grand, and where's +Marie?" + +Their grandmother was upstairs in her room, they said; and Marie had +taken it into her head to go marketing. This, by the way, was one of her +delights. She asserted that she was the only one who knew how to buy +new-laid eggs and butter of a nutty odour. Moreover, she sometimes +brought some dainty or some flowers home, in her delight at proving +herself to be so good a housewife. + +"And so things are going on well?" resumed Guillaume. "You are all +satisfied, your work is progressing, eh?" + +He addressed brief questions to each of them, like one who, on his return +home, at once reverts to his usual habits. Thomas, with his rough face +beaming, explained in a couple of sentences that he was now sure of +perfecting his little motor; Francois, who was still preparing for his +examination, jestingly declared that he yet had to lodge a heap of +learning in his brain; and then Antoine produced the block which he was +finishing, and which depicted his little friend Lise, Jahan's sister, +reading in her garden amidst the sunshine. It was like a florescence of +that dear belated creature whose mind had been awakened by his affection. + +However, the three brothers speedily went back to their places, reverting +to their work with a natural impulse, for discipline had made them regard +work as life itself. Then Guillaume, who had glanced at what each was +doing, exclaimed: "Ah! youngsters, I schemed and prepared a lot of things +myself while I was laid up. I even made a good many notes. We walked here +from Neuilly, but my papers and the clothes which Mere-Grand sent me will +come in a cab by-and-by. . . . Ah! how pleased I am to find everything in +order here, and to be able to take up my task with you again! Ah! I shall +polish off some work now, and no mistake!" + +He had already gone to his own corner, the space reserved for him between +the window and the forge. He there had a chemical furnace, several glass +cases and shelves crowded with appliances, and a long table, one end of +which he used for writing purposes. And he once more took possession of +that little world. After glancing around with delight at seeing +everything in its place, he began to handle one object and another, eager +to be at work like his sons. + +All at once, however, Mere-Grand appeared, calm, grave and erect in her +black gown, at the top of the little staircase which conducted to the +bedrooms. "So it's you, Guillaume?" said she. "Will you come up for a +moment?" + +He immediately did so, understanding that she wished to speak to him +alone and tranquillise him. It was a question of the great secret between +them, that one thing of which his sons knew nothing, and which, after +Salvat's crime, had brought him much anguish, through his fear that it +might be divulged. When he reached Mere-Grand's room she at once took him +to the hiding-place near her bed, and showed him the cartridges of the +new explosive, and the plans of the terrible engine of warfare which he +had invented. He found them all as he had left them. Before anyone could +have reached them, she would have blown up the whole place at the risk of +perishing herself in the explosion. With her wonted air of quiet heroism, +she handed Guillaume the key which he had sent her by Pierre. + +"You were not anxious, I hope?" she said. + +He pressed her hands with a commingling of affection and respect. "My +only anxiety," he replied, "was that the police might come here and treat +you roughly. . . . You are the guardian of our secret, and it would be +for you to finish my work should I disappear." + +While Guillaume and Madame Leroi were thus engaged upstairs, Pierre, +still seated near the window below, felt his discomfort increasing. The +inmates of the house certainly regarded him with no other feeling than +one of affectionate sympathy; and so how came it that he considered them +hostile? The truth was that he asked himself what would become of him +among those workers, who were upheld by a faith of their own, whereas he +believed in nothing, and did not work. The sight of those young men, so +gaily and zealously toiling, ended by quite irritating him; and the +arrival of Marie brought his distress to a climax. + +Joyous and full of life, she came in without seeing him, a basket on her +arm. And she seemed to bring all the sunlight of the spring morning with +her, so bright was the sparkle of her youth. The whole of her pink face, +her delicate nose, her broad intelligent brow, her thick, kindly lips, +beamed beneath the heavy coils of her black hair. And her brown eyes ever +laughed with the joyousness which comes from health and strength. + +"Ah!" she exclaimed, "I have brought such a lot of things, youngsters. +Just come and see them; I wouldn't unpack the basket in the kitchen." + +It became absolutely necessary for the brothers to draw round the basket +which she had laid upon the table. "First there's the butter!" said she; +"just smell if it hasn't a nice scent of nuts! It's churned especially +for me, you know. Then here are the eggs. They were laid only yesterday, +I'll answer for it. And, in fact, that one there is this morning's. And +look at the cutlets! They're wonderful, aren't they? The butcher cuts +them carefully when he sees me. And then here's a cream cheese, real +cream, you know, it will be delicious! Ah! and here's the surprise, +something dainty, some radishes, some pretty little pink radishes. Just +fancy! radishes in March, what a luxury!" + +She triumphed like the good little housewife she was, one who had +followed a whole course of cookery and home duties at the Lycee Fenelon. +The brothers, as merry as she herself, were obliged to compliment her. + +All at once, however, she caught sight of Pierre. "What! you are there, +Monsieur l'Abbe?" she exclaimed; "I beg your pardon, but I didn't see +you. How is Guillaume? Have you brought us some news of him?" + +"But father's come home," said Thomas; "he's upstairs with Mere-Grand." + +Quite thunderstruck, she hastily placed her purchases in the basket. +"Guillaume's come back, Guillaume's come back!" said she, "and you don't +tell me of it, you let me unpack everything! Well, it's nice of me, I +must say, to go on praising my butter and eggs when Guillaume's come +back." + +Guillaume, as it happened, was just coming down with Madame Leroi. Marie +gaily hastened to him and offered him her cheeks, on which he planted two +resounding kisses. Then she, resting her hands on his shoulders, gave him +a long look, while saying in a somewhat tremulous voice: "I am pleased, +very pleased to see you, Guillaume. I may confess it now, I thought I had +lost you, I was very anxious and very unhappy." + +Although she was still smiling, tears had gathered in her eyes, and he, +likewise moved, again kissed her, murmuring: "Dear Marie! How happy it +makes me to find you as beautiful and as affectionate as ever." + +Pierre, who was looking at them, deemed them cold. He had doubtless +expected more tears, and a more passionate embrace on the part of an +affianced pair, whom so grievous an accident had separated almost on the +eve of their wedding. Moreover, his feelings were hurt by the +disproportion of their respective ages. No doubt his brother still seemed +to him very sturdy and young, and his feeling of repulsion must have come +from that young woman whom, most decidedly, he did not like. Ever since +her arrival he had experienced increasing discomfort, a keener and keener +desire to go off and never return. + +So acute became his suffering at feeling like a stranger in his brother's +home, that he at last rose and sought to take his leave, under the +pretext that he had some urgent matters to attend to in town. + +"What! you won't stay to _dejeuner_ with us!" exclaimed Guillaume in +perfect stupefaction. "Why, it was agreed! You surely won't distress me +like that! This house is your own, remember!" + +Then, as with genuine affection they all protested and pressed him to +stay, he was obliged to do so. However, he soon relapsed into silence and +embarrassment, seated on the same chair as before, and listening moodily +to those people who, although they were his relatives, seemed to be far +removed from him. + +As it was barely eleven o'clock they resumed work, but every now and +again there was some merry talk. On one of the servants coming for the +provisions, Marie told the girl to call her as soon as it should be time +to boil the eggs, for she prided herself on boiling them to a nicety, in +such wise as to leave the whites like creamy milk. This gave an +opportunity for a few jests from Francois, who occasionally teased her +about all the fine things she had learnt at the Lycee Fenelon, where her +father had placed her when she was twelve years old. However, she was not +afraid of him, but gave him tit for tat by chaffing him about all the +hours which he lost at the Ecole Normale over a mass of pedagogic trash. + +"Ah! you big children!" she exclaimed, while still working at her +embroidery. "You are all very intelligent, and you all claim to have +broad minds, and yet--confess it now--it worries you a little that a girl +like me should have studied at college in the same way as yourselves. +It's a sexual quarrel, a question of rivalry and competition, isn't it?" + +They protested the contrary, declaring that they were in favour of girls +receiving as complete an education as possible. She was well aware of +this; however, she liked to tease them in return for the manner in which +they themselves plagued her. + +"But do you know," said she, "you are a great deal behind the times? I am +well aware of the reproaches which are levelled at girls' colleges by +so-called right-minded people. To begin, there is no religious element +whatever in the education one receives there, and this alarms many +families which consider religious education to be absolutely necessary +for girls, if only as a moral weapon of defence. Then, too, the education +at our Lycees is being democratised--girls of all positions come to them. +Thanks to the scholarships which are so liberally offered, the daughter +of the lady who rents a first floor flat often finds the daughter of her +door-keeper among her school-fellows, and some think this objectionable. +It is said also that the pupils free themselves too much from home +influence, and that too much opportunity is left for personal initiative. +As a matter of fact the extensiveness of the many courses of study, all +the learning that is required of pupils at the examinations, certainly +does tend to their emancipation, to the coming of the future woman and +future society, which you young men are all longing for, are you not?" + +"Of course we are!" exclaimed Francois; "we all agree on that point." + +She waved her hand in a pretty way, and then quietly continued: "I'm +jesting. My views are simple enough, as you well know, and I don't ask +for nearly as much as you do. As for woman's claims and rights, well, the +question is clear enough; woman is man's equal so far as nature allows +it. And the only point is to agree and love one another. At the same time +I'm well pleased to know what I do--oh! not from any spirit of pedantry +but simply because I think it has all done me good, and given me some +moral as well as physical health." + +It delighted her to recall the days she had spent at the Lycee Fenelon, +which of the five State colleges for girls opened in Paris was the only +one counting a large number of pupils. Most of these were the daughters +of officials or professors, who purposed entering the teaching +profession. In this case, they had to win their last diploma at the Ecole +Normale of Sevres, after leaving the Lycee. Marie, for her part, though +her studies had been brilliant, had felt no taste whatever for the +calling of teacher. Moreover, when Guillaume had taken charge of her +after her father's death, he had refused to let her run about giving +lessons. To provide herself with a little money, for she would accept +none as a gift, she worked at embroidery, an art in which she was most +accomplished. + +While she was talking to the young men Guillaume had listened to her +without interfering. If he had fallen in love with her it was largely on +account of her frankness and uprightness, the even balance of her nature, +which gave her so forcible a charm. She knew all; but if she lacked the +poetry of the shrinking, lamb-like girl who has been brought up in +ignorance, she had gained absolute rectitude of heart and mind, exempt +from all hypocrisy, all secret perversity such as is stimulated by what +may seem mysterious in life. And whatever she might know, she had +retained such child-like purity that in spite of her six-and-twenty +summers all the blood in her veins would occasionally rush to her cheeks +in fiery blushes, which drove her to despair. + +"My dear Marie," Guillaume now exclaimed, "you know very well that the +youngsters were simply joking. You are in the right, of course. . . . And +your boiled eggs cannot be matched in the whole world." + +He said this in so soft and affectionate a tone that the young woman +flushed purple. Then, becoming conscious of it, she coloured yet more +deeply, and as the three young men glanced at her maliciously she grew +angry with herself. "Isn't it ridiculous, Monsieur l'Abbe," she said, +turning towards Pierre, "for an old maid like myself to blush in that +fashion? People might think that I had committed a crime. It's simply to +make me blush, you know, that those children tease me. I do all I can to +prevent it, but it's stronger than my will." + +At this Mere-Grand raised her eyes from the shirt she was mending, and +remarked: "Oh! it's natural enough, my dear. It is your heart rising to +your cheeks in order that we may see it." + +The _dejeuner_ hour was now at hand; and they decided to lay the table in +the work-shop, as was occasionally done when they had a guest. The +simple, cordial meal proved very enjoyable in the bright sunlight. +Marie's boiled eggs, which she herself brought from the kitchen covered +with a napkin, were found delicious. Due honour was also done to the +butter and the radishes. The only dessert that followed the cutlets was +the cream cheese, but it was a cheese such as nobody else had ever +partaken of. And, meantime, while they ate and chatted all Paris lay +below them, stretching away to the horizon with its mighty rumbling. + +Pierre had made an effort to become cheerful, but he soon relapsed into +silence. Guillaume, however, was very talkative. Having noticed the three +bicycles in the garden, he inquired of Marie how far she had gone that +morning. She answered that Francois and Antoine had accompanied her in +the direction of Orgemont. The worry of their excursions was that each +time they returned to Montmartre they had to push their machines up the +height. From the general point of view, however, the young woman was +delighted with bicycling, which had many virtues, said she. Then, seeing +Pierre glance at her in amazement, she promised that she would some day +explain her opinions on the subject to him. After this bicycling became +the one topic of conversation until the end of the meal. Thomas gave an +account of the latest improvements introduced into Grandidier's machines; +and the others talked of the excursions they had made or meant to make, +with all the exuberant delight of school children eager for the open air. + +In the midst of the chatter, Mere-Grand, who presided at table with the +serene dignity of a queen-mother, leant towards Guillaume, who sat next +to her, and spoke to him in an undertone. Pierre understood that she was +referring to his marriage, which was to have taken place in April, but +must now necessarily be deferred. This sensible marriage, which seemed +likely to ensure the happiness of the entire household, was largely the +work of Mere-Grand and the three young men, for Guillaume would never +have yielded to his heart if she whom he proposed to make his wife had +not already been a well-loved member of the family. At the present time +the last week in June seemed, for all sorts of reasons, to be a +favourable date for the wedding. + +Marie, who heard the suggestion, turned gaily towards Mere-Grand. + +"The end of June will suit very well, will it not, my dear?" said the +latter. + +Pierre expected to see a deep flush rise to the young woman's cheeks, but +she remained very calm. She felt deep affection, blended with the most +tender gratitude, for Guillaume, and was convinced that in marrying him +she would be acting wisely and well both for herself and the others. + +"Certainly, the end of June," she repeated, "that will suit very well +indeed." + +Then the sons, who likewise had heard the proposal, nodded their heads by +way of assenting also. + +When they rose from table Pierre was absolutely determined to go off. The +cordial and simple meal, the sight of that family, which had been +rendered so happy by Guillaume's return, and of that young woman who +smiled so placidly at life, had brought him keen suffering, though why he +could not tell. However, it all irritated him beyond endurance; and he +therefore again pretended that he had a number of things to see to in +Paris. He shook hands in turn with the young men, Mere-Grand and Marie; +both of the women evincing great friendliness but also some surprise at +his haste to leave the house. Guillaume, who seemed saddened and anxious, +sought to detain him, and failing in this endeavour followed him into the +little garden, where he stopped him in order to have an explanation. + +"Come," said he, "what is the matter with you, Pierre? Why are you +running off like this?" + +"Oh! there's nothing the matter I assure you; but I have to attend to a +few urgent affairs." + +"Oh, Pierre, pray put all pretence aside. Nobody here has displeased you +or hurt your feelings, I hope. They also will soon love you as I do." + +"I have no doubt of it, and I complain of nobody excepting perhaps +myself." + +Guillaume's sorrow was increasing. "Ah! brother, little brother," he +resumed, "you distress me, for I can detect that you are hiding something +from me. Remember that new ties have linked us together and that we love +one another as in the old days when you were in your cradle and I used to +come to play with you. I know you well, remember. I know all your +tortures, since you have confessed them to me; and I won't have you +suffer, I want to cure you, I do!" + +Pierre's heart was full, and as he heard those words he could not +restrain his tears. "Oh! you must leave me to my sufferings," he +responded. "They are incurable. You can do nothing for me, I am beyond +the pale of nature, I am a monster." + +"What do you say! Can you not return within nature's pale even if you +_have_ gone beyond it? One thing that I will not allow is that you should +go and shut yourself up in that solitary little house of yours, where you +madden yourself by brooding over the fall of your faith. Come and spend +your time with us, so that we may again give you some taste for life." + +Ah! the empty little house which awaited him! Pierre shivered at the +thought of it, at the idea that he would now find himself all alone +there, bereft of the brother with whom he had lately spent so many happy +days. Into what solitude and torment must he not now relapse after that +companionship to which he had become accustomed? However, the very +thought of the latter increased his grief, and confession suddenly gushed +from his lips: "To spend my time here, live with you, oh! no, that is an +impossibility. Why do you compel me to speak out, and tell you things +that I am ashamed of and do not even understand. Ever since this morning +you must have seen that I have been suffering here. No doubt it is +because you and your people work, whereas I do nothing, because you love +one another and believe in your efforts, whereas I no longer know how to +love or believe. I feel out of my element. I'm embarrassed here, and I +embarrass you. In fact you all irritate me, and I might end by hating +you. There remains nothing healthy in me, all natural feelings have been +spoilt and destroyed, and only envy and hatred could sprout up from such +ruins. So let me go back to my accursed hole, where death will some day +come for me. Farewell, brother!" + +But Guillaume, full of affection and compassion, caught hold of his arms +and detained him. "You shall not go, I will not allow you to go, without +a positive promise that you will come back. I don't wish to lose you +again, especially now that I know all you are worth and how dreadfully +you suffer. I will save you, if need be, in spite of yourself. I will +cure you of your torturing doubts, oh! without catechising you, without +imposing any particular faith on you, but simply by allowing life to do +its work, for life alone can give you back health and hope. So I beg you, +brother, in the name of our affection, come back here, come as often as +you can to spend a day with us. You will then see that when folks have +allotted themselves a task and work together in unison, they escape +excessive unhappiness. A task of any kind--yes, that is what is wanted, +together with some great passion and frank acceptance of life, so that it +may be lived as it should be and loved." + +"But what would be the use of my living here?" Pierre muttered bitterly. +"I've no task left me, and I no longer know how to love." + +"Well, I will give you a task, and as for love, that will soon be +awakened by the breath of life. Come, brother, consent, consent!" + +Then, seeing that Pierre still remained gloomy and sorrowful, and +persisted in his determination to go away and bury himself, Guillaume +added, "Ah! I don't say that the things of this world are such as one +might wish them to be. I don't say that only joy and truth and justice +exist. For instance, the affair of that unhappy fellow Salvat fills me +with anger and revolt. Guilty he is, of course, and yet how many excuses +he had, and how I shall pity him if the crimes of all of us are laid at +his door, if the various political gangs bandy him from one to another, +and use him as a weapon in their sordid fight for power. The thought of +it all so exasperates me that at times I am as unreasonable as yourself. +But now, brother, just to please me, promise that you will come and spend +the day after to-morrow with us." + +Then, as Pierre still kept silent, Guillaume went on: "I will have it so. +It would grieve me too much to think that you were suffering from +martyrdom in your solitary nook. I want to cure and save you." + +Tears again rose to Pierre's eyes, and in a tone of infinite distress he +answered: "Don't compel me to promise. . . . All I can say is that I will +try to conquer myself." + +The week he then spent in his little, dark, empty home proved a terrible +one. Shutting himself up he brooded over his despair at having lost the +companionship of that elder brother whom he once more loved with his +whole soul. He had never before been so keenly conscious of his solitude; +and he was a score of times on the point of hastening to Montmartre, for +he vaguely felt that affection, truth and life were there. But on each +occasion he was held back by a return of the discomfort which he had +already experienced, discomfort compounded of shame and fear. Priest that +he was, cut off from love and the avocations of other men, he would +surely find nothing but hurt and suffering among creatures who were all +nature, freedom and health. While he pondered thus, however, there rose +before him the shades of his father and mother, those sad spirits that +seemed to wander through the deserted rooms lamenting and entreating him +to reconcile them in himself, as soon as he should find peace. What was +he to do,--deny their prayer, and remain weeping with them, or go yonder +in search of the cure which might at last lull them to sleep and bring +them happiness in death by the force of his own happiness in life? At +last a morning came when it seemed to him that his father enjoined him +with a smile to betake himself yonder, while his mother consented with a +glance of her big soft eyes, in which her sorrow at having made so bad a +priest of him yielded to her desire to restore him to the life of our +common humanity. + +Pierre did not argue with himself that day: he took a cab and gave +Guillaume's address to the driver for fear lest he should be overcome on +the way and wish to turn back. And when he again found himself, as in a +dream, in the large work-shop, where Guillaume and the young men welcomed +him in a delicately affectionate way, he witnessed an unexpected scene +which both impressed and relieved him. + +Marie, who had scarcely nodded to him as he entered, sat there with a +pale and frowning face. And Mere-Grand, who was also grave, said, after +glancing at her: "You must excuse her, Monsieur l'Abbe; but she isn't +reasonable. She is in a temper with all five of us." + +Guillaume began to laugh. "Ah! she's so stubborn!" he exclaimed. "You can +have no idea, Pierre, of what goes on in that little head of hers when +anybody says or does anything contrary to her ideas of justice. Such +absolute and lofty ideas they are, that they can descend to no +compromise. For instance, we were talking of that recent affair of a +father who was found guilty on his son's evidence; and she maintained +that the son had only done what was right in giving evidence against his +father, and that one ought invariably to tell the truth, no matter what +might happen. What a terrible public prosecutor she would make, eh?" + +Thereupon Marie, exasperated by Pierre's smile, which seemingly indicated +that he also thought her in the wrong, flew into quite a passion: "You +are cruel, Guillaume!" she cried; "I won't be laughed at like this." + +"But you are losing your senses, my dear," exclaimed Francois, while +Thomas and Antoine again grew merry. "We were only urging a question of +humanity, father and I, for we respect and love justice as much as you +do." + +"There's no question of humanity, but simply one of justice. What is just +and right is just and right, and you cannot alter it." + +Then, as Guillaume made a further attempt to state his views and win her +over to them, she rose trembling, in such a passion that she could +scarcely stammer: "No, no, you are all too cruel, you only want to grieve +me. I prefer to go up into my own room." + +At this Mere-Grand vainly sought to restrain her. "My child, my child!" +said she, "reflect a moment; this is very wrong, you will deeply regret +it." + +"No, no; you are not just, and I suffer too much." + +Then she wildly rushed upstairs to her room overhead. + +Consternation followed. Scenes of a similar character had occasionally +occurred before, but there had never been so serious a one. Guillaume +immediately admitted that he had done wrong in laughing at her, for she +could not bear irony. Then he told Pierre that in her childhood and youth +she had been subject to terrible attacks of passion whenever she +witnessed or heard of any act of injustice. As she herself explained, +these attacks would come upon her with irresistible force, transporting +her to such a point that she would sometimes fall upon the floor and +rave. Even nowadays she proved quarrelsome and obstinate whenever certain +subjects were touched upon. And she afterwards blushed for it all, fully +conscious that others must think her unbearable. + +Indeed, a quarter of an hour later, she came downstairs again of her own +accord, and bravely acknowledged her fault. "Wasn't it ridiculous of me?" +she said. "To think I accuse others of being unkind when I behave like +that! Monsieur l'Abbe must have a very bad opinion of me." Then, after +kissing Mere-Grand, she added: "You'll forgive me, won't you? Oh! +Francois may laugh now, and so may Thomas and Antoine. They are quite +right, our differences are merely laughing matters." + +"My poor Marie," replied Guillaume, in a tone of deep affection. "You see +what it is to surrender oneself to the absolute. If you are so healthy +and reasonable it's because you regard almost everything from the +relative point of view, and only ask life for such gifts as it can +bestow. But when your absolute ideas of justice come upon you, you lose +both equilibrium and reason. At the same time, I must say that we are all +liable to err in much the same manner." + +Marie, who was still very flushed, thereupon answered in a jesting way: +"Well, it at least proves that I'm not perfect." + +"Oh, certainly! And so much the better," said Guillaume, "for it makes me +love you the more." + +This was a sentiment which Pierre himself would willingly have re-echoed. +The scene had deeply stirred him. Had not his own frightful torments +originated with his desire for the absolute both in things and beings? He +had sought faith in its entirety, and despair had thrown him into +complete negation. Again, was there not some evil desire for the absolute +and some affectation of pride and voluntary blindness in the haughty +bearing which he had retained amidst the downfall of his belief, the +saintly reputation which he had accepted when he possessed no faith at +all? On hearing his brother praise Marie, because she only asked life for +such things as it could give, it had seemed to him that this was advice +for himself. It was as if a refreshing breath of nature had passed before +his face. At the same time his feelings in this respect were still vague, +and the only well-defined pleasure that he experienced came from the +young woman's fit of anger, that error of hers which brought her nearer +to him, by lowering her in some degree from her pedestal of serene +perfection. It was, perhaps, that seeming perfection which had made him +suffer; however, he was as yet unable to analyse his feelings. That day, +for the first time, he chatted with her for a little while, and when he +went off he thought her very good-hearted and very human. + +Two days later he again came to spend the afternoon in the large sunlit +work-shop overlooking Paris. Ever since he had become conscious of the +idle life he was leading, he had felt very bored when he was alone, and +only found relief among that gay, hardworking family. His brother scolded +him for not having come to _dejeuner_, and he promised to do so on the +morrow. By the time a week had elapsed, none of the discomfort and covert +hostility which had prevailed between him and Marie remained: they met +and chatted on a footing of good fellowship. Although he was a priest, +she was in no wise embarrassed by his presence. With her quiet atheism, +indeed, she had never imagined that a priest could be different from +other men. Thus her sisterly cordiality both astonished and delighted +Pierre. It was as if he wore the same garments and held the same ideas as +his big nephews, as if there were nothing whatever to distinguish him +from other men. He was still more surprised, however, by Marie's silence +on all religious questions. She seemed to live on quietly and happily, +without a thought of what might be beyond life, that terrifying realm of +mystery, which to him had brought such agony of mind. + +Now that he came every two or three days to Montmartre she noticed that +he was suffering. What could be the matter with him, she wondered. When +she questioned him in a friendly manner and only elicited evasive +replies, she guessed that he was ashamed of his sufferings, and that they +were aggravated, rendered well-nigh incurable, by the very secrecy in +which he buried them. Thereupon womanly compassion awoke within her, and +she felt increasing affection for that tall, pale fellow with feverish +eyes, who was consumed by grievous torments which he would confess to +none. No doubt she questioned Guillaume respecting her brother's sadness, +and he must have confided some of the truth to her in order that she +might help him to extricate Pierre from his sufferings, and give him back +some taste for life. The poor fellow always seemed so happy when she +treated him like a friend, a brother! + +At last, one evening, on seeing his eyes full of tears as he gazed upon +the dismal twilight falling over Paris, she herself pressed him to +confide his trouble to her. And thereupon he suddenly spoke out, +confessing all his torture and the horrible void which the loss of faith +had left within him. Ah! to be unable to believe, to be unable to love, +to be nothing but ashes, to know of nothing certain by which he might +replace the faith that had fled from him! She listened in stupefaction. +Why, he must be mad! And she plainly told him so, such was her +astonishment and revolt at hearing such a desperate cry of wretchedness. +To despair, indeed, and believe in nothing and love nothing, simply +because a religious hypothesis had crumbled! And this, too, when the +whole, vast world was spread before one, life with the duty of living it, +creatures and things to be loved and succoured, without counting the +universal labour, the task which one and all came to accomplish! +Assuredly he must be mad, mad with the gloomiest madness; still she vowed +she would cure him. + +From that time forward she felt the most compassionate affection for this +extraordinary young man, who had first embarrassed and afterwards +astonished her. She showed herself very gentle and gay with him; she +looked after him with the greatest skill and delicacy of heart and mind. +There had been certain similar features in their childhood; each had been +reared in the strictest religious views by a pious mother. But afterwards +how different had been their fates! Whilst he was struggling with his +doubts, bound by his priestly vows, she had grown up at the Lycee +Fenelon, where her father had placed her as soon as her mother died; and +there, far removed from all practice of religion, she had gradually +reached total forgetfulness of her early religious views. It was a +constant source of surprise for him to find that she had thus escaped all +distress of mind at the thought of what might come after death, whereas +that same thought had so deeply tortured him. When they chatted together +and he expressed his astonishment at it, she frankly laughed, saying that +she had never felt any fear of hell, for she was certain that no hell +existed. And she added that she lived in all quietude, without hope of +going to any heaven, her one thought being to comply in a reasonable way +with the requirements and necessities of earthly life. It was, perhaps, +in some measure a matter of temperament with her; but it was also a +matter of education. Yet, whatever that education had been, whatever +knowledge she had acquired, she had remained very womanly and very +loving. There was nothing stern or masculine about her. + +"Ah, my friend," she said one day to Pierre, "if you only knew how easy +it is for me to remain happy so long as I see those I love free from any +excessive suffering. For my own part I can always adapt myself to life. I +work and content myself no matter what may happen. Sorrow has only come +to me from others, for I can't help wishing that everybody should be +fairly happy, and there are some who won't. . . . I was for a long time +very poor, but I remained gay. I wish for nothing, except for things that +can't be purchased. Still, want is the great abomination which distresses +me. I can understand that you should have felt everything crumbling when +charity appeared to you so insufficient a remedy as to be contemptible. +Yet it does bring relief; and, moreover, it is so sweet to be able to +give. Some day, too, by dint of reason and toil, by the good and +efficient working of life itself, the reign of justice will surely come. +But now it's I that am preaching! Oh! I have little taste for it! It +would be ridiculous for me to try to heal you with big phrases. All the +same, I should like to cure you of your gloomy sufferings. To do so, all +that I ask of you is to spend as much time as you can with us. You know +that this is Guillaume's greatest desire. We will all love you so well, +you will see us all so affectionately united, and so gay over our common +work, that you will come back to truth by joining us in the school of our +good mother nature. You must live and work, and love and hope." + +Pierre smiled as he listened. He now came to Montmartre nearly every day. +She was so nice and affectionate when she preached to him in that way +with a pretty assumption of wisdom. As she had said too, life was so +delightful in that big workroom; it was so pleasant to be all together, +and to labour in common at the same work of health and truth. Ashamed as +Pierre was of doing nothing, anxious as he was to occupy his mind and +fingers, he had first taken an interest in Antoine's engraving, asking +why he should not try something of the kind himself. However, he felt +that he lacked the necessary gift for art. Then, too, he recoiled from +Francois' purely intellectual labour, for he himself had scarcely emerged +from the harrowing study of conflicting texts. Thus he was more inclined +for manual toil like that of Thomas. In mechanics he found precision and +clearness such as might help to quench his thirst for certainty. So he +placed himself at the young man's orders, pulled his bellows and held +pieces of mechanism for him. He also sometimes served as assistant to +Guillaume, tying a large blue apron over his cassock in order to help in +the experiments. From that time he formed part of the work-shop, which +simply counted a worker the more. + +One afternoon early in April, when they were all busily engaged there, +Marie, who sat embroidering at the table in front of Mere-Grand, raised +her eyes to the window and suddenly burst into a cry of admiration: "Oh! +look at Paris under that rain of sunlight!" + +Pierre drew near; the play of light was much the same as that which he +had witnessed at his first visit. The sun, sinking behind some slight +purple clouds, was throwing down a hail of rays and sparks which on all +sides rebounded and leapt over the endless stretch of roofs. It might +have been thought that some great sower, hidden amidst the glory of the +planet, was scattering handfuls of golden grain from one horizon to the +other. + +Pierre, at sight of it, put his fancy into words: "It is the sun sowing +Paris with grain for a future harvest," said he. "See how the expanse +looks like ploughed land; the brownish houses are like soil turned up, +and the streets are deep and straight like furrows." + +"Yes, yes, that's true," exclaimed Marie gaily. "The sun is sowing Paris +with grain. See how it casts the seed of light and health right away to +the distant suburbs! And yet, how singular! The rich districts on the +west seem steeped in a ruddy mist, whilst the good seed falls in golden +dust over the left bank and the populous districts eastward. It is there, +is it not, that the crop will spring up?" + +They had all drawn near, and were smiling at the symbol. As Marie had +said, it seemed indeed that while the sun slowly sank behind the lacework +of clouds, the sower of eternal life scattered his flaming seed with a +rhythmical swing of the arm, ever selecting the districts of toil and +effort. One dazzling handful of grain fell over yonder on the district of +the schools; and then yet another rained down to fertilise the district +of the factories and work-shops. + +"Ah! well," said Guillaume gaily. "May the crop soon sprout from the good +ground of our great Paris, which has been turned up by so many +revolutions, and enriched by the blood of so many workers! It is the only +ground in the world where Ideas can germinate and bloom. Yes, yes, Pierre +is quite right, it is the sun sowing Paris with the seed of the future +world, which can sprout only up here!" + +Then Thomas, Francois and Antoine, who stood behind their father in a +row, nodded as if to say that this was also their own conviction; whilst +Mere-Grand gazed afar with dreamy eyes as though she could already behold +the splendid future. + +"Ah! but it is only a dream; centuries must elapse. We shall never see +it!" murmured Pierre with a quiver. + +"But others will!" cried Marie. "And does not that suffice?" + +Those lofty words stirred Pierre to the depths of his being. And all at +once there came to him the memory of another Marie*--the adorable Marie +of his youth, that Marie de Guersaint who had been cured at Lourdes, and +the loss of whom had left such a void in his heart. Was that new Marie +who stood there smiling at him, so tranquil and so charming in her +strength, destined to heal that old-time wound? He felt that he was +beginning to live again since she had become his friend. + + * The heroine of M. Zola's "Lourdes." + +Meantime, there before them, the glorious sun, with the sweep of its +rays, was scattering living golden dust over Paris, still and ever sowing +the great future harvest of justice and of truth. + + + +II + +TOWARDS LIFE + +ONE evening, at the close of a good day's work, Pierre, who was helping +Thomas, suddenly caught his foot in the skirt of his cassock and narrowly +escaped falling. At this, Marie, after raising a faint cry of anxiety, +exclaimed: "Why don't you take it off?" + +There was no malice in her inquiry. She simply looked upon the priestly +robe as something too heavy and cumbersome, particularly when one had +certain work to perform. Nevertheless, her words deeply impressed Pierre, +and he could not forget them. When he was at home in the evening and +repeated them to himself they gradually threw him into feverish +agitation. Why, indeed, had he not divested himself of that cassock, +which weighed so heavily and painfully on his shoulders? Then a frightful +struggle began within him, and he spent a terrible, sleepless night, +again a prey to all his former torments. + +At first sight it seemed a very simple matter that he should cast his +priestly gown aside, for had he not ceased to discharge any priestly +office? He had not said mass for some time past, and this surely meant +renunciation of the priesthood. Nevertheless, so long as he retained his +gown it was possible that he might some day say mass again, whereas if he +cast it aside he would, as it were, strip himself, quit the priesthood +entirely, without possibility of return. It was a terrible step to take, +one that would prove irrevocable; and thus he paced his room for hours, +in great anguish of mind. + +He had formerly indulged in a superb dream. Whilst believing nothing +himself he had resolved to watch, in all loyalty, over the belief of +others. He would not so lower himself as to forswear his vows, he would +be no base renegade, but however great the torments of the void he felt +within him he would remain the minister of man's illusions respecting the +Divinity. And it was by reason of his conduct in this respect that he had +ended by being venerated as a saint--he who denied everything, who had +become a mere empty sepulchre. For a long time his falsehood had never +disturbed him, but it now brought him acute suffering. It seemed to him +that he would be acting in the vilest manner if he delayed placing his +life in accord with his opinions. The thought of it all quite rent his +heart. + +The question was a very clear one. By what right did he remain the +minister of a religion in which he no longer believed? Did not elementary +honesty require that he should quit a Church in which he denied the +presence of the Divinity? He regarded the dogmas of that Church as +puerile errors, and yet he persisted in teaching them as if they were +eternal truths. Base work it was, that alarmed his conscience. He vainly +sought the feverish glow of charity and martyrdom which had led him to +offer himself as a sacrifice, willing to suffer all the torture of doubt +and to find his own life lost and ravaged, provided that he might yet +afford the relief of hope to the lowly. Truth and nature, no doubt, had +already regained too much ascendancy over him for those feelings to +return. The thought of such a lying apostolate now wounded him; he no +longer had the hypocritical courage to call the Divinity down upon the +believers kneeling before him, when he was convinced that the Divinity +would not descend. Thus all the past was swept away; there remained +nothing of the sublime pastoral part he would once have liked to play, +that supreme gift of himself which lay in stubborn adherence to the rules +of the Church, and such devotion to faith as to endure in silence the +torture of having lost it. + +What must Marie think of his prolonged falsehood, he wondered, and +thereupon he seemed to hear her words again: "Why not take your cassock +off?" His conscience bled as if those words were a stab. What contempt +must she not feel for him, she who was so upright, so high-minded? Every +scattered blame, every covert criticism directed against his conduct, +seemed to find embodiment in her. It now sufficed that she should condemn +him, and he at once felt guilty. At the same time she had never voiced +her disapproval to him, in all probability because she did not think she +had any right to intervene in a struggle of conscience. The superb +calmness and healthiness which she displayed still astonished him. He +himself was ever haunted and tortured by thoughts of the unknown, of what +the morrow of death might have in store for one; but although he had +studied and watched her for days together, he had never seen her give a +sign of doubt or distress. This exemption from such sufferings as his own +was due, said she, to the fact that she gave all her gaiety, all her +energy, all her sense of duty, to the task of living, in such wise that +life itself proved a sufficiency, and no time was left for mere fancies +to terrify and stultify her. Well, then, since she with her air of quiet +strength had asked him why he did not take off his cassock, he would take +it off--yes, he would divest himself of that robe which seemed to burn +and weigh him down. + +He fancied himself calmed by this decision, and towards morning threw +himself upon his bed; but all at once a stifling sensation, a renewal of +his abominable anguish, brought him to his feet again. No, no, he could +not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh. His +skin would come away with his cloth, his whole being would be lacerated! +Is not the mark of priesthood an indelible one, does it not brand the +priest for ever, and differentiate him from the flock? Even should he +tear off his gown with his skin, he would remain a priest, an object of +scandal and shame, awkward and impotent, shut off from the life of other +men. And so why tear it off, since he would still and ever remain in +prison, and a fruitful life of work in the broad sunlight was no longer +within his reach? He, indeed, fancied himself irremediably stricken with +impotence. Thus he was unable to come to any decision, and when he +returned to Montmartre two days later he had again relapsed into a state +of torment. + +Feverishness, moreover, had come upon the happy home. Guillaume was +becoming more and more annoyed about Salvat's affair, not a day elapsing +without the newspapers fanning his irritation. He had at first been +deeply touched by the dignified and reticent bearing of Salvat, who had +declared that he had no accomplices whatever. Of course the inquiry into +the crime was what is called a secret one; but magistrate Amadieu, to +whom it had been entrusted, conducted it in a very noisy way. The +newspapers, which he in some degree took into his confidence, were full +of articles and paragraphs about him and his interviews with the +prisoner. Thanks to Salvat's quiet admissions, Amadieu had been able to +retrace the history of the crime hour by hour, his only remaining doubts +having reference to the nature of the powder which had been employed, and +the making of the bomb itself. It might after all be true that Salvat had +loaded the bomb at a friend's, as he indeed asserted was the case; but he +must be lying when he added that the only explosive used was dynamite, +derived from some stolen cartridges, for all the experts now declared +that dynamite would never have produced such effects as those which had +been witnessed. This, then, was the mysterious point which protracted the +investigations. And day by day the newspapers profited by it to circulate +the wildest stories under sensational headings, which were specially +devised for the purpose of sending up their sales. + +It was all the nonsense contained in these stories that fanned +Guillaume's irritation. In spite of his contempt for Sagnier he could not +keep from buying the "Voix du Peuple." Quivering with indignation, +growing more and more exasperated, he was somehow attracted by the mire +which he found in that scurrilous journal. Moreover, the other +newspapers, including even the "Globe," which was usually so dignified, +published all sorts of statements for which no proof could be supplied, +and drew from them remarks and conclusions which, though couched in +milder language than Sagnier's, were none the less abominably unjust. It +seemed indeed as if the whole press had set itself the task of covering +Salvat with mud, so as to be able to vilify Anarchism generally. +According to the journalists the prisoner's life had simply been one long +abomination. He had already earned his living by thievery in his +childhood at the time when he had roamed the streets, an unhappy, +forsaken vagrant; and later on he had proved a bad soldier and a bad +worker. He had been punished for insubordination whilst he was in the +army, and he had been dismissed from a dozen work-shops because he +incessantly disturbed them by his Anarchical propaganda. Later still, he +had fled his country and led a suspicious life of adventure in America, +where, it was alleged, he must have committed all sorts of unknown +crimes. Moreover there was his horrible immorality, his connection with +his sister-in-law, that Madame Theodore who had taken charge of his +forsaken child in his absence, and with whom he had cohabited since his +return to France. In this wise Salvat's failings and transgressions were +pitilessly denounced and magnified without any mention of the causes +which had induced them, or of the excuses which lay in the unhappy man's +degrading environment. And so Guillaume's feelings of humanity and +justice revolted, for he knew the real Salvat,--a man of tender heart and +dreamy mind, so liable to be impassioned by fancies,--a man cast into +life when a child without weapon of defence, ever trodden down or thrust +aside, then gradually exasperated by the perpetual onslaughts of want, +and at last dreaming of reviving the golden age by destroying the old, +corrupt world. + +Unfortunately for Salvat, everything had gone against him since he had +been shut up in strict confinement, at the mercy of the ambitious and +worldly Amadieu. Guillaume had learnt from his son, Thomas, that the +prisoner could count on no support whatever among his former mates at the +Grandidier works. These works were becoming prosperous once more, thanks +to their steady output of bicycles; and it was said that Grandidier was +only waiting for Thomas to perfect his little motor, in order to start +the manufacture of motor-cars on a large scale. However, the success +which he was now for the first time achieving, and which scarcely repaid +him for all his years of toil and battle, had in certain respects +rendered him prudent and even severe. He did not wish any suspicion to be +cast upon his business through the unpleasant affair of his former +workman Salvat, and so he had dismissed such of his workmen as held +Anarchist views. If he had kept the two Toussaints, one of whom was the +prisoner's brother-in-law, while the other was suspected of sympathy with +him, this was because they had belonged to the works for a score of +years, and he did not like to cast them adrift. Moreover, Toussaint, the +father, had declared that if he were called as a witness for the defence, +he should simply give such particulars of Salvat's career as related to +the prisoner's marriage with his sister. + +One evening when Thomas came home from the works, to which he returned +every now and then in order to try his little motor, he related that he +had that day seen Madame Grandidier, the poor young woman who had become +insane through an attack of puerperal fever following upon the death of a +child. Although most frightful attacks of madness occasionally came over +her, and although life beside her was extremely painful, even during the +intervals when she remained downcast and gentle as a child, her husband +had never been willing to send her to an asylum. He kept her with him in +a pavilion near the works, and as a rule the shutters of the windows +overlooking the yard remained closed. Thus Thomas had been greatly +surprised to see one of these windows open, and the young woman appear at +it amidst the bright sunshine of that early spring. True, she only +remained there for a moment, vision-like, fair and pretty, with smiling +face; for a servant who suddenly drew near closed the window, and the +pavilion then again sank into lifeless silence. At the same time it was +reported among the men employed at the works that the poor creature had +not experienced an attack for well-nigh a month past, and that this was +the reason why the "governor" looked so strong and pleased, and worked so +vigorously to help on the increasing prosperity of his business. + +"He isn't a bad fellow," added Thomas, "but with the terrible competition +that he has to encounter, he is bent on keeping his men under control. +Nowadays, says he, when so many capitalists and wage earners seem bent on +exterminating one another, the latter--if they don't want to +starve--ought to be well pleased when capital falls into the hands of an +active, fair-minded man. . . . If he shows no pity for Salvat, it is +because he really believes in the necessity of an example." + +That same day Thomas, after leaving the works and while threading his way +through the toilsome hive-like Marcadet district, had overtaken Madame +Theodore and little Celine, who were wandering on in great distress. It +appeared that they had just called upon Toussaint, who had been unable to +lend them even such a trifle as ten sous. Since Salvat's arrest, the +woman and the child had been forsaken and suspected by one and all. +Driven forth from their wretched lodging, they were without food and +wandered hither and thither dependent on chance alms. Never had greater +want and misery fallen on defenceless creatures. + +"I told them to come up here, father," said Thomas, "for I thought that +one might pay their landlord a month's rent, so that they might go home +again. . . . Ah! there's somebody coming now--it's they, no doubt." + +Guillaume had felt angry with himself whilst listening to his son, for he +had not thought of the poor creatures. It was the old story: the man +disappears, and the woman and the child find themselves in the streets, +starving. Whenever Justice strikes a man her blow travels beyond him, +fells innocent beings and kills them. + +Madame Theodore came in, humble and timid, scared like a luckless +creature whom life never wearies of persecuting. She was becoming almost +blind, and little Celine had to lead her. The girl's fair, thin face wore +its wonted expression of shrewd intelligence, and even now, however +woeful her rags, it was occasionally brightened by a childish smile. + +Pierre and Marie, who were both there, felt extremely touched. Near them +was Madame Mathis, young Victor's mother, who had come to help Mere-Grand +with the mending of some house-linen. She went out by the day in this +fashion among a few families, and was thus enabled to give her son an +occasional franc or two. Guillaume alone questioned Madame Theodore. + +"Ah! monsieur," she stammered, "who could ever have thought Salvat +capable of such a thing, he who's so good and so humane? Still it's true, +since he himself has admitted it to the magistrate. . . . For my part I +told everybody that he was in Belgium. I wasn't quite sure of it, still +I'm glad that he didn't come back to see us; for if he had been arrested +at our place I should have lost my senses. . . . Well, now that they have +him, they'll sentence him to death, that's certain." + +At this Celine, who had been looking around her with an air of interest, +piteously exclaimed: "Oh! no, oh! no, mamma, they won't hurt him!" + +Big tears appeared in the child's eyes as she raised this cry. Guillaume +kissed her, and then went on questioning Madame Theodore. + +"Well, monsieur," she answered, "the child's not old or big enough to +work as yet, and my eyes are done for, people won't even take me as a +charwoman. And so it's simple enough, we starve. . . . Oh! of course I'm +not without relations; I have a sister who married very well. Her husband +is a clerk, Monsieur Chretiennot, perhaps you know him. Unfortunately +he's rather proud, and as I don't want any scenes between him and my +sister, I no longer go to see her. Besides, she's in despair just now, +for she's expecting another baby, which is a terrible blow for a small +household, when one already has two girls. . . . That's why the only +person I can apply to is my brother Toussaint. His wife isn't a bad sort +by any means, but she's no longer the same since she's been living in +fear of her husband having another attack. The first one carried off all +her savings, and what would become of her if Toussaint should remain on +her hands, paralysed? Besides, she's threatened with another burden, for, +as you may know, her son Charles got keeping company with a servant at a +wine shop, who of course ran away after she had a baby, which she left +him to see to. So one can understand that the Toussaints themselves are +hard put. I don't complain of them. They've already lent me a little +money, and of course they can't go on lending for ever." + +She continued talking in this spiritless, resigned way, complaining only +on account of Celine; for, said she, it was enough to make one's heart +break to see such an intelligent child obliged to tramp the streets after +getting on so well at the Communal School. She could feel too that +everybody now kept aloof from them on account of Salvat. The Toussaints +didn't want to be compromised in any such business. There was only +Charles, who had said that he could well understand a man losing his head +and trying to blow up the _bourgeois_, because they really treated the +workers in a blackguard way. + +"For my part, monsieur," added Madame Theodore, "I say nothing, for I'm +only a woman. All the same, though, if you'd like to know what I think, +well, I think that it would have been better if Salvat hadn't done what +he did, for we two, the girl and I, are the real ones to suffer from it. +Ah! I can't get the idea into my head, that the little one should be the +daughter of a man condemned to death." + +Once more Celine interrupted her, flinging her arms around her neck: "Oh! +mamma, oh! mamma, don't say that, I beg you! It can't be true, it grieves +me too much!" + +At this Pierre and Marie exchanged compassionate glances, while +Mere-Grand rose from her chair, in order to go upstairs and search her +wardrobes for some articles of clothing which might be of use to the two +poor creatures. Guillaume, who, for his part, had been moved to tears, +and felt full of revolt against the social system which rendered such +distress possible, slipped some alms into the child's little hand, and +promised Madame Theodore that he would see her landlord so as to get her +back her room. + +"Ah! Monsieur Froment!" replied the unfortunate woman. "Salvat was quite +right when he said you were a real good man! And as you employed him here +for a few days you know too that he isn't a wicked one. . . . Now that +he's been put in prison everybody calls him a brigand, and it breaks my +heart to hear them." Then, turning towards Madame Mathis, who had +continued sewing in discreet silence, like a respectable woman whom none +of these things could concern, she went on: "I know you, madame, but I'm +better acquainted with your son, Monsieur Victor, who has often come to +chat at our place. Oh! you needn't be afraid, I shan't say it, I shall +never compromise anybody; but if Monsieur Victor were free to speak, he'd +be the man to explain Salvat's ideas properly." + +Madame Mathis looked at her in stupefaction. Ignorant as she was of her +son's real life and views, she experienced a vague dread at the idea of +any connection between him and Salvat's family. Moreover, she refused to +believe it possible. "Oh! you must be mistaken," she said. "Victor told +me that he now seldom came to Montmartre, as he was always going about in +search of work." + +By the anxious quiver of the widow's voice, Madame Theodore understood +that she ought not to have mixed her up in her troubles; and so in all +humility she at once beat a retreat: "I beg your pardon, madame, I didn't +think I should hurt your feelings. Perhaps, too, I'm mistaken, as you +say." + +Madame Mathis had again turned to her sewing as to the solitude in which +she lived, that nook of decent misery where she dwelt without +companionship and almost unknown, with scarcely sufficient bread to eat. +Ah! that dear son of hers, whom she loved so well; however much he might +neglect her, she had placed her only remaining hope in him: he was her +last dream, and would some day lavish all kinds of happiness upon her! + +At that moment Mere-Grand came downstairs again, laden with a bundle of +linen and woollen clothing, and Madame Theodore and little Celine +withdrew while pouring forth their thanks. For a long time after they had +gone Guillaume, unable to resume work, continued walking to and fro in +silence, with a frown upon his face. + +When Pierre, still hesitating and still tortured by conflicting feelings, +returned to Montmartre on the following day he witnessed with much +surprise a visit of a very different kind. There was a sudden gust of +wind, a whirl of skirts and a ring of laughter as little Princess +Rosemonde swept in, followed by young Hyacinthe Duvillard, who, on his +side, retained a very frigid bearing. + +"It's I, my dear master," exclaimed the Princess. "I promised you a +visit, you remember, for I am such a great admirer of your genius. And +our young friend here has been kind enough to bring me. We have only just +returned from Norway, and my very first visit is for you." + +She turned as she spoke, and bowed in an easy and gracious way to Pierre +and Marie, Francois and Antoine, who were also there. Then she resumed: +"Oh! my dear master, you have no idea how beautifully virginal Norway is! +We all ought to go and drink at that new source of the Ideal, and we +should return purified, rejuvenated and capable of great renunciations!" + +As a matter of fact she had been well-nigh bored to death there. To make +one's honeymoon journey to the land of the ice and snow, instead of to +Italy, the hot land of the sun, was doubtless a very refined idea, which +showed that no base materialism formed part of one's affections. It was +the soul alone that travelled, and naturally it was fit that only kisses +of the soul should be exchanged on the journey. Unfortunately, however, +Hyacinthe had carried his symbolism so far as to exasperate Rosemonde, +and on one occasion they had come to blows over it, and then to tears +when this lover's quarrel had ended as many such quarrels do. Briefly, +they had no longer deemed themselves pure enough for the companionship of +the swans and the lakes of dreamland, and had therefore taken the first +steamer that was sailing for France. + +As it was altogether unnecessary to confess to everybody what a failure +their journey had proved, the Princess abruptly brought her rapturous +references to Norway to an end, and then explained: "By the way, do you +know what I found awaiting me on my return? Why, I found my house +pillaged, oh! completely pillaged! And in such a filthy condition, too! +We at once recognised the mark of the beast, and thought of Bergaz's +young friends." + +Already on the previous day Guillaume had read in the newspapers that a +band of young Anarchists had entered the Princess's little house by +breaking a basement window. She had left it quite deserted, unprotected +even by a caretaker; and the robbers had not merely removed everything +from the premises--including even the larger articles of furniture, but +had lived there for a couple of days, bringing provisions in from +outside, drinking all the wine in the cellars, and leaving every room in +a most filthy and disgusting condition. On discovering all this, +Rosemonde had immediately remembered the evening she had spent at the +Chamber of Horrors in the company of Bergaz and his acolytes, Rossi and +Sanfaute, who had heard her speak of her intended trip to Norway. The two +young men had therefore been arrested, but Bergaz had so far escaped. The +Princess was not greatly astonished by it all, for she had already been +warned of the presence of dangerous characters among the mixed +cosmopolitan set with which she associated. Janzen had told her in +confidence of a number of villanous affairs which were attributed to +Bergaz and his band. And now the Anarchist leader openly declared that +Bergaz had sold himself to the police like Raphanel; and that the +burglary at the Princess's residence had been planned by the police +officials, who thereby hoped to cover the Anarchist cause with mire. If +proof was wanted of this, added Janzen, it could be found in the fact +that the police had allowed Bergaz to escape. + +"I fancied that the newspapers might have exaggerated matters," said +Guillaume, when the Princess had finished her story. "They are inventing +such abominable things just now, in order to blacken the case of that +poor devil Salvat." + +"Oh! they've exaggerated nothing!" Rosemonde gaily rejoined. "As a matter +of fact they have omitted a number of particulars which were too filthy +for publication. . . . For my part, I've merely had to go to an hotel. +I'm very comfortable there; I was beginning to feel bored in that house +of mine. . . . All the same, however, Anarchism is hardly a clean +business, and I no longer like to say that I have any connection with +it." + +She again laughed, and then passed to another subject, asking Guillaume +to tell her of his most recent researches, in order, no doubt, that she +might show she knew enough chemistry to understand him. He had been +rendered thoughtful, however, by the story of Bergaz and the burglary, +and would only answer her in a general way. + +Meantime, Hyacinthe was renewing his acquaintance with his +school-fellows, Francois and Antoine. He had accompanied the Princess to +Montmartre against his own inclinations; but since she had taken to +whipping him he had become afraid of her. The chemist's little home +filled him with disdain, particularly as the chemist was a man of +questionable reputation. Moreover, he thought it a duty to insist on his +own superiority in the presence of those old school-fellows of his, whom +he found toiling away in the common rut, like other people. + +"Ah! yes," said he to Francois, who was taking notes from a book spread +open before him, "you are at the Ecole Normale, I believe, and are +preparing for your licentiate. Well, for my part, you know, the idea of +being tied to anything horrifies me. I become quite stupid when there's +any question of examination or competition. The only possible road for +one to follow is that of the Infinite. And between ourselves what dupery +there is in science, how it narrows our horizon! It's just as well to +remain a child with eyes gazing into the invisible. A child knows more +than all your learned men." + +Francois, who occasionally indulged in irony, pretended to share his +opinion. "No doubt, no doubt," said he, "but one must have a natural +disposition to remain a child. For my part, unhappily, I'm consumed by a +desire to learn and know. It's deplorable, as I'm well aware, but I pass +my days racking my brain over books. . . . I shall never know very much, +that's certain; and perhaps that's the reason why I'm ever striving to +learn a little more. You must at all events grant that work, like +idleness, is a means of passing life, though of course it is a less +elegant and aesthetic one." + +"Less aesthetic, precisely," rejoined Hyacinthe. "Beauty lies solely in +the unexpressed, and life is simply degraded when one introduces anything +material into it." + +Simpleton though he was in spite of the enormity of his pretensions, he +doubtless detected that Francois had been speaking ironically. So he +turned to Antoine, who had remained seated in front of a block he was +engraving. It was the one which represented Lise reading in her garden, +for he was ever taking it in hand again and touching it up in his desire +to emphasise his indication of the girl's awakening to intelligence and +life. + +"So you engrave, I see," said Hyacinthe. "Well, since I renounced +versification--a little poem I had begun on the End of Woman--because +words seemed to me so gross and cumbersome, mere paving-stones as it +were, fit for labourers, I myself have had some idea of trying drawing, +and perhaps engraving too. But what drawing can portray the mystery which +lies beyond life, the only sphere that has any real existence and +importance for us? With what pencil and on what kind of plate could one +depict it? We should need something impalpable, something unheard of, +which would merely suggest the essence of things and beings." + +"But it's only by material means," Antoine somewhat roughly replied, +"that art can render the essence of things and beings, that is, their +full significance as we understand it. To transcribe life is my great +passion; and briefly life is the only mystery that there is in things and +beings. When it seems to me that an engraving of mine lives, I'm well +pleased, for I feel that I have created." + +Hyacinthe pouted by way of expressing his contempt of all fruitfulness. +Any fool might beget offspring. It was the sexless idea, existing by +itself, that was rare and exquisite. He tried to explain this, but became +confused, and fell back on the conviction which he had brought back from +Norway, that literature and art were done for in France, killed by +baseness and excess of production. + +"It's evident!" said Francois gaily by way of conclusion. "To do nothing +already shows that one has some talent!" + +Meantime, Pierre and Marie listened and gazed around them, somewhat +embarrassed by this strange visit which had set the usually grave and +peaceful workroom topsy-turvy. The little Princess, though, evinced much +amiability, and on drawing near to Marie admired the wonderful delicacy +of some embroidery she was finishing. Before leaving, moreover, Rosemonde +insisted upon Guillaume inscribing his autograph in an album which +Hyacinthe had to fetch from her carriage. The young man obeyed her with +evident boredom. It could be seen that they were already weary of one +another. Pending a fresh caprice, however, it amused Rosemonde to +terrorize her sorry victim. When she at length led him away, after +declaring to Guillaume that she should always regard that visit as a +memorable incident in her life, she made the whole household smile by +saying: "Oh! so your sons knew Hyacinthe at college. He's a good-natured +little fellow, isn't he? and he would really be quite nice if he would +only behave like other people." + +That same day Janzen and Bache came to spend the evening with Guillaume. +Once a week they now met at Montmartre, as they had formerly done at +Neuilly. Pierre, on these occasions, went home very late, for as soon as +Mere-Grand, Marie, and Guillaume's sons had retired for the night, there +were endless chats in the workroom, whence Paris could be seen spangled +with thousands of gas lights. Another visitor at these times was +Theophile Morin, but he did not arrive before ten o'clock, as he was +detained by the work of correcting his pupils' exercises or some other +wearisome labour pertaining to his profession. + +As soon as Guillaume had told the others of the Princess's visit that +afternoon, Janzen hastily exclaimed: "But she's mad, you know. When I +first met her I thought for a moment that I might perhaps utilise her for +the cause. She seemed so thoroughly convinced and bold! But I soon found +that she was the craziest of women, and simply hungered for new +emotions!" + +Janzen was at last emerging from his wonted frigidity and mysteriousness. +His cheeks were quite flushed. In all probability he had suffered from +his rupture with the woman whom he had once called 'the Queen of the +Anarchists,' and whose fortune and extensive circle of acquaintance had +seemed to him such powerful weapons of propaganda. + +"You know," said he, when he had calmed down, "it was the police who had +her house pillaged and turned into a pigstye. Yes, in view of Salvat's +trial, which is now near at hand, the idea was to damn Anarchism beyond +possibility of even the faintest sympathy on the part of the +_bourgeois_." + +"Yes, she told me so," replied Guillaume, who had become attentive. "But +I scarcely credit the story. If Bergaz had merely acted under such +influence as you suggest, he would have been arrested with the others, +just as Raphanel was taken with those whom he betrayed. Besides, I know +something of Bergaz; he's a freebooter." Guillaume made a sorrowful +gesture, and then in a saddened voice continued: "Oh, I can understand +all claims and all legitimate reprisals. But theft, cynical theft for the +purpose of profit and enjoyment, is beyond me! It lowers my hope of a +better and more equitable form of society. Yes, that burglary at the +Princess's house has greatly distressed me." + +An enigmatical smile, sharp like a knife, again played over Janzen's +lips. "Oh! it's a matter of heredity with you!" said he. "The centuries +of education and belief that lie behind you compel you to protest. All +the same, however, when people won't make restoration, things must be +taken from them. What worries me is that Bergaz should have sold himself +just now. The public prosecutor will use that farcical burglary as a +crushing argument when he asks the jury for Salvat's head." + +Such was Janzen's hatred of the police that he stubbornly clung to his +version of the affair. Perhaps, too, he had quarrelled with Bergaz, with +whom he had at one time freely associated. + +Guillaume, who understood that all discussion would be useless, contented +himself with replying: "Ah! yes, Salvat! Everything is against that +unhappy fellow, he is certain to be condemned. But you can't know, my +friends, what a passion that affair of his puts me into. All my ideas of +truth and justice revolt at the thought of it. He's a madman certainly; +but there are so many excuses to be urged for him. At bottom he is simply +a martyr who has followed the wrong track. And yet he has become the +scapegoat, laden with the crimes of the whole nation, condemned to pay +for one and all!" + +Bache and Morin nodded without replying. They both professed horror of +Anarchism; while Morin, forgetting that the word if not the thing dated +from his first master Proudhon, clung to his Comtist doctrines, in the +conviction that science alone would ensure the happiness and pacification +of the nations. Bache, for his part, old mystical humanitarian that he +was, claimed that the only solution would come from Fourier, who by +decreeing an alliance of talent, labour and capital, had mapped out the +future in a decisive manner. Nevertheless, both Bache and Morin were so +discontented with the slow-paced _bourgeoise_ Republic of the present +day, and so hurt by the thought that everything was going from bad to +worse through the flouting of their own particular ideas, that they were +quite willing to wax indignant at the manner in which the conflicting +parties of the time were striving to make use of Salvat in order to +retain or acquire power. + +"When one thinks," said Bache, "that this ministerial crisis of theirs +has now been lasting for nearly three weeks! Every appetite is openly +displayed, it's a most disgusting sight! Did you see in the papers this +morning that the President has again been obliged to summon Vignon to the +Elysee?" + +"Oh! the papers," muttered Morin in his weary way, "I no longer read +them! What's the use of doing so? They are so badly written, and they all +lie!" + +As Bache had said, the ministerial crisis was still dragging on. The +President of the Republic, taking as his guide the debate in the Chamber +of Deputies, by which the Barroux administration had been overthrown, had +very properly sent for Vignon, the victor on that occasion, and entrusted +him with the formation of a new ministry. It had seemed that this would +be an easy task, susceptible of accomplishment in two or three days at +the utmost, for the names of the friends whom the young leader of the +Radical party would bring to power with him had been freely mentioned for +months past. But all sorts of difficulties had suddenly arisen. For ten +days or so Vignon had struggled on amidst inextricable obstacles. Then, +disheartened and disgusted, fearing, too, that he might use himself up +and shut off the future if he persisted in his endeavours, he had been +obliged to tell the President that he renounced the task. Forthwith the +President had summoned other deputies, and questioned them until he had +found one brave enough to make an attempt on his own account; whereupon +incidents similar to those which had marked Vignon's endeavours had once +more occurred. At the outset a list was drawn up with every prospect of +being ratified within a few hours, but all at once hesitation arose, some +pulled one way, some another; every effort was slowly paralysed till +absolute failure resulted. It seemed as though the mysterious manoeuvres +which had hampered Vignon had begun again; it was as if some band of +invisible plotters was, for some unknown purpose, doing its utmost to +wreck every combination. A thousand hindrances arose with increasing +force from every side--jealousy, dislike, and even betrayal were secretly +prompted by expert agents, who employed every form of pressure, whether +threats or promises, besides fanning and casting rival passions and +interests into collision. Thus the President, greatly embarrassed by this +posture of affairs, had again found it necessary to summon Vignon, who, +after reflection and negotiation, now had an almost complete list in his +pocket, and seemed likely to perfect a new administration within the next +forty-eight hours. + +"Still it isn't settled," resumed Bache. "Well-informed people assert +that Vignon will fail again as he did the first time. For my part I can't +get rid of the idea that Duvillard's gang is pulling the strings, though +for whose benefit is a mystery. You may be quite sure, however, that its +chief purpose is to stifle the African Railways affair. If Monferrand +were not so badly compromised I should almost suspect some trick on his +part. Have you noticed that the 'Globe,' after throwing Barroux overboard +in all haste, now refers to Monferrand every day with the most respectful +sympathy? That's a grave sign; for it isn't Fonsegue's habit to show any +solicitude for the vanquished. But what can one expect from that wretched +Chamber! The only point certain is that something dirty is being plotted +there." + +"And that big dunderhead Mege who works for every party except his own!" +exclaimed Morin; "what a dupe he is with that idea that he need merely +overthrow first one cabinet and then another, in order to become the +leader of one himself!" + +The mention of Mege brought them all to agreement, for they unanimously +hated him. Bache, although his views coincided on many points with those +of the apostle of State Collectivism, judged each of his speeches, each +of his actions, with pitiless severity. Janzen, for his part, treated the +Collectivist leader as a mere reactionary _bourgeois_, who ought to be +swept away one of the first. This hatred of Mege was indeed the common +passion of Guillaume's friends. They could occasionally show some justice +for men who in no wise shared their ideas; but in their estimation it was +an unpardonable crime for anybody to hold much the same views as +themselves, without being absolutely in agreement with them on every +possible point. + +Their discussion continued, their various theories mingling or clashing +till they passed from politics to the press, and grew excited over the +denunciations which poured each morning from Sagnier's newspaper, like +filth from the mouth of a sewer. Thereupon Guillaume, who had become +absorbed in reverie while pacing to and fro according to his habit, +suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! what dirty work it is that Sagnier does! Before +long there won't be a single person, a single thing left on which he +hasn't vomited! You think he's on your side, and suddenly he splashes you +with mire! . . . By the way, he related yesterday that skeleton keys and +stolen purses were found on Salvat when he was arrested in the Bois de +Boulogne! It's always Salvat! He's the inexhaustible subject for +articles. The mere mention of him suffices to send up a paper's sales! +The bribe-takers of the African Railways shout 'Salvat!' to create a +diversion. And the battles which wreck ministers are waged round his +name. One and all set upon him and make use of him and beat him down!" + +With that cry of revolt and compassion, the friends separated for the +night. Pierre, who sat near the open window, overlooking the sparkling +immensity of Paris, had listened to the others without speaking a word. +He had once more been mastered by his doubts, the terrible struggle of +his heart and mind; and no solution, no appeasement had come to him from +all the contradictory views he had heard--the views of men who only +united in predicting the disappearance of the old world, and could make +no joint brotherly effort to rear the future world of truth and justice. +In that vast city of Paris stretching below him, spangled with stars, +glittering like the sky of a summer's night, Pierre also found a great +enigma. It was like chaos, like a dim expanse of ashes dotted with sparks +whence the coming aurora would arise. What future was being forged there, +he wondered, what decisive word of salvation and happiness would come +with the dawn, and wing its flight to every point of the horizon? + +When Pierre, in his turn, was about to retire, Guillaume laid his hands +upon his shoulders, and with much emotion gave him a long look. "Ah! my +poor fellow," said he, "you've been suffering too for some days past, I +have noticed it. But you are the master of your sufferings, for the +struggle you have to overcome is simply in yourself, and you can subdue +it; whereas one cannot subdue the world, when it is the world, its +cruelty and injustice that make one suffer! Good night, be brave, act as +your reason tells you, even if it makes you weep, and you will find peace +surely enough." + +Later on, when Pierre again found himself alone in his little house at +Neuilly, where none now visited him save the shades of his father and +mother, he was long kept awake by a supreme internal combat. He had never +before felt so disgusted with the falsehood of his life, that cassock +which he had persisted in wearing, though he was a priest in name only. +Perhaps it was all that he had beheld and heard at his brother's, the +want and wretchedness of some, the wild, futile agitation of others, the +need of improvement among mankind which remained paramount amidst every +contradiction and form of weakness, that had made him more deeply +conscious of the necessity of living in loyal and normal fashion in the +broad daylight. He could no longer think of his former dream of leading +the solitary life of a saintly priest when he was nothing of the kind, +without a shiver of shame at having lied so long. And now it was quite +decided, he would lie no longer, not even from feelings of compassion in +order that others might retain their religious illusions. And yet how +painful it was to have to divest himself of that gown which seemed to +cling to his skin, and how heartrending the thought that if he did remove +it he would be skinless, lacerated, infirm, unable, do what he might, to +become like other men! + +It was this recurring thought which again tortured him throughout that +terrible night. Would life yet allow him to enter its fold? Had he not +been branded with a mark which for ever condemned him to dwell apart? He +thought he could feel his priestly vows burning his very flesh like +red-hot iron. What use would it be for him to dress as men dress, if in +reality he was never to be a man? He had hitherto lived in such a +quivering state, in a sphere of renunciation and dreams! To know manhood +never, to be too late for it, that thought filled him with terror. And +when at last he made up his mind to fling aside his cassock, he did so +from a simple sense of rectitude, for all his anguish remained. + +When he returned to Montmartre on the following day, he wore a jacket and +trousers of a dark colour. Neither an exclamation nor a glance that might +have embarrassed him came from Mere-Grand or the three young men. Was not +the change a natural one? They greeted him therefore in the quiet way +that was usual with them; perhaps, with some increase of affection, as if +to set him the more at his ease. Guillaume, however, ventured to smile +good-naturedly. In that change he detected his own work. Cure was coming, +as he had hoped it would come, by him and in his own home, amid the full +sunlight, the life which ever streamed in through yonder window. + +Marie, who on her side raised her eyes and looked at Pierre, knew nothing +of the sufferings which he had endured through her simple and logical +inquiry: "Why not take your cassock off?" She merely felt that by +removing it he would be more at ease for his work. + +"Oh, Pierre, just come and look!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I have been +amusing myself with watching all the smoke which the wind is laying +yonder over Paris. One might take it to be a huge fleet of ships shining +in the sunlight. Yes, yes, golden ships, thousands of golden ships, +setting forth from the ocean of Paris to enlighten and pacify the world!" + + + +III + +THE DAWN OF LOVE + +A COUPLE of days afterwards, when Pierre was already growing accustomed +to his new attire, and no longer gave it a thought, it so happened that +on reaching Montmartre he encountered Abbe Rose outside the basilica of +the Sacred Heart. The old priest, who at first was quite thunderstruck +and scarcely able to recognise him, ended by taking hold of his hands and +giving him a long look. Then with his eyes full of tears he exclaimed: +"Oh! my son, so you have fallen into the awful state I feared! I never +mentioned it, but I felt that God had withdrawn from you. Ah! nothing +could wound my heart so cruelly as this." + +Then, still trembling, he began to lead Pierre away as if to hide such a +scandal from the few people who passed by; and at last, his strength +failing him, he sank upon a heap of bricks lying on the grass of one of +the adjoining work-yards. + +The sincere grief which his old and affectionate friend displayed upset +Pierre far more than any angry reproaches or curses would have done. +Tears had come to his own eyes, so acute was the suffering he experienced +at this meeting, which he ought, however, to have foreseen. There was yet +another wrenching, and one which made the best of their blood flow, in +that rupture between Pierre and the saintly man whose charitable dreams +and hopes of salvation he had so long shared. There had been so many +divine illusions, so many struggles for the relief of the masses, so much +renunciation and forgiveness practised in common between them in their +desire to hasten the harvest of the future! And now they were parting; +he, Pierre, still young in years, was returning to life, leaving his aged +companion to his vain waiting and his dreams. + +In his turn, taking hold of Abbe Rose's hands, he gave expression to his +sorrow. "Ah, my friend, my father," said he, "it is you alone that I +regret losing, now that I am leaving my frightful torments behind. I +thought that I was cured of them, but it has been sufficient for me to +meet you, and my heart is rent again. . . . Don't weep for me, I pray +you, don't reproach me for what I have done. It was necessary that I +should do it. If I had consulted you, you would yourself have told me +that it was better to renounce the priesthood than to remain a priest +without faith or honour." + +"Yes, yes," Abbe Rose gently responded, "you no longer had any faith +left. I suspected it. And your rigidity and saintliness of life, in which +I detected such great despair, made me anxious for you. How many hours +did I not spend at times in striving to calm you! And you must listen to +me again, you must still let me save you. I am not a sufficiently learned +theologian to lead you back by discussing texts and dogmas; but in the +name of Charity, my child, yes, in the name of Charity alone, reflect and +take up your task of consolation and hope once more." + +Pierre had sat down beside Abbe Rose, in that deserted nook, at the very +foot of the basilica. "Charity! charity!" he replied in passionate +accents; "why, it is its nothingness and bankruptcy that have killed the +priest there was in me. How can you believe that benevolence is +sufficient, when you have spent your whole life in practising it without +any other result than that of seeing want perpetuated and even increased, +and without any possibility of naming the day when such abomination shall +cease? . . . You think of the reward after death, do you not? The justice +that is to reign in heaven? But that is not justice, it is dupery--dupery +that has brought the world nothing but suffering for centuries past." + +Then he reminded the old priest of their life in the Charonne district, +when they had gone about together succouring children in the streets and +parents in their hovels; the whole of those admirable efforts which, so +far as Abbe Rose was concerned, had simply ended in blame from his +superiors, and removal from proximity to his poor, under penalty of more +severe punishment should he persist in compromising religion by the +practice of blind benevolence without reason or object. And now, was he +not, so to say, submerged beneath the ever-rising tide of want, aware +that he would never, never be able to give enough even should he dispose +of millions, and that he could only prolong the agony of the poor, who, +even should they eat today, would starve again on the morrow? Thus he was +powerless. The wound which he tried to dress and heal, immediately +reopened and spread, in such wise that all society would at last be +stricken and carried off by it. + +Quivering as he listened, and slowly shaking his white head, the old +priest ended by replying: "that does that matter, my child? what does +that matter? One must give, always give, give in spite of everything! +There is no other joy on earth. . . . If dogmas worry you, content +yourself with the Gospel, and even of that retain merely the promise of +salvation through charity." + +But at this Pierre's feelings revolted. He forgot that he was speaking to +one of simple mind, who was all love and nothing else, and could +therefore not follow him. "The trial has been made," he answered, "human +salvation cannot be effected by charity, nothing but justice can +accomplish it. That is the gathering cry which is going up from every +nation. For nearly two thousand years now the Gospel has proved a +failure. There has been no redemption; the sufferings of mankind are +every whit as great and unjust as they were when Jesus came. And thus the +Gospel is now but an abolished code, from which society can only draw +things that are troublous and hurtful. Men must free themselves from it." + +This was his final conviction. How strange the idea, thought he, of +choosing as the world's social legislator one who lived, as Jesus lived, +amidst a social system absolutely different from that of nowadays. The +age was different, the very world was different. And if it were merely a +question of retaining only such of the moral teaching of Jesus as seemed +human and eternal, was there not again a danger in applying immutable +principles to the society of every age? No society could live under the +strict law of the Gospel. Was not all order, all labour, all life +destroyed by the teaching of Jesus? Did He not deny woman, the earth, +eternal nature and the eternal fruitfulness of things and beings? +Moreover, Catholicism had reared upon His primitive teaching such a +frightful edifice of terror and oppression. The theory of original sin, +that terrible heredity reviving with each creature born into the world, +made no allowance as Science does for the corrective influences of +education, circumstances and environment. There could be no more +pessimist conception of man than this one which devotes him to the Devil +from the instant of his birth, and pictures him as struggling against +himself until the instant of his death. An impossible and absurd +struggle, for it is a question of changing man in his entirety, killing +the flesh, killing reason, destroying some guilty energy in each and +every passion, and of pursuing the Devil to the very depths of the +waters, mountains and forests, there to annihilate him with the very sap +of the world. If this theory is accepted the world is but sin, a mere +Hell of temptation and suffering, through which one must pass in order to +merit Heaven. Ah! what an admirable instrument for absolute despotism is +that religion of death, which the principle of charity alone has enabled +men to tolerate, but which the need of justice will perforce sweep away. +The poor man, who is the wretched dupe of it all, no longer believes in +Paradise, but requires that each and all should be rewarded according to +their deserts upon this earth; and thus eternal life becomes the good +goddess, and desire and labour the very laws of the world, while the +fruitfulness of woman is again honoured, and the idiotic nightmare of +Hell is replaced by glorious Nature whose travail knows no end. Leaning +upon modern Science, clear Latin reason sweeps away the ancient Semitic +conception of the Gospel. + +"For eighteen hundred years," concluded Pierre, "Christianity has been +hampering the march of mankind towards truth and justice. And mankind +will only resume its evolution on the day when it abolishes Christianity, +and places the Gospel among the works of the wise, without taking it any +longer as its absolute and final law." + +But Abbe Rose raised his trembling hands: "Be quiet, be quiet, my child!" +he cried; "you are blaspheming! I knew that doubt distracted you; but I +thought you so patient, so able to bear suffering, that I relied on your +spirit of renunciation and resignation. What can have happened to make +you leave the Church in this abrupt and violent fashion? I no longer +recognise you. Sudden passion has sprung up in you, an invincible force +seems to carry you away. What is it? Who has changed you, tell me?" + +Pierre listened in astonishment. "No," said he, "I assure you, I am such +as you have known me, and in all this there is but an inevitable result +and finish. Who could have influenced me, since nobody has entered my +life? What new feeling could transform me, since I find none in me? I am +the same as before, the same assuredly." + +Still there was a touch of hesitation in his voice. Was it really true +that there had been no change within him? He again questioned himself, +and there came no clear answer; decidedly, he would find nothing. It was +all but a delightful awakening, an overpowering desire for life, a +longing to open his arms widely enough to embrace everyone and +everything indeed, a breeze of joy seemed to raise him from the ground +and carry him along. + +Although Abbe Rose was too innocent of heart to understand things +clearly, he again shook his head and thought of the snares which the +Devil is ever setting for men. He was quite overwhelmed by Pierre's +defection. Continuing his efforts to win him back, he made the mistake of +advising him to consult Monseigneur Martha, for he hoped that a prelate +of such high authority would find the words necessary to restore him to +his faith. Pierre, however, boldly replied that if he was leaving the +Church it was partly because it comprised such a man as Martha, such an +artisan of deception and despotism, one who turned religion into corrupt +diplomacy, and dreamt of winning men back to God by dint of ruses. +Thereupon Abbe Rose, rising to his feet, could find no other argument in +his despair than that of pointing to the basilica which stood beside +them, square, huge and massive, and still waiting for its dome. + +"That is God's abode, my child," said he, "the edifice of expiation and +triumph, of penitence and forgiveness. You have said mass in it, and now +you are leaving it sacrilegiously and forswearing yourself!" + +But Pierre also had risen; and buoyed up by a sudden rush of health and +strength he answered: "No, no! I am leaving it willingly, as one leaves a +dark vault, to return into the open air and the broad sunlight. God does +not dwell there; the only purpose of that huge edifice is to defy reason, +truth and justice; it has been erected on the highest spot that could be +found, like a citadel of error that dominates, insults and threatens +Paris!" + +Then seeing that the old priest's eyes were again filling with tears, and +feeling on his own side so pained by their rupture that he began to sob, +Pierre wished to go away. "Farewell! farewell!" he stammered. + +But Abbe Rose caught him in his arms and kissed him, as if he were a +rebellious son who yet had remained the dearest. "No, not farewell, not +farewell, my child," he answered; "say rather till we meet again. Promise +me that we shall see each other again, at least among those who starve +and weep. It is all very well for you to think that charity has become +bankrupt, but shall we not always love one another in loving our poor?" + +Then they parted. + +On becoming the companion of his three big nephews, Pierre had in a few +lessons learnt from them how to ride a bicycle, in order that he might +occasionally accompany them on their morning excursions. He went twice +with them and Marie along the somewhat roughly paved roads in the +direction of the Lake of Enghien. Then one morning when the young woman +had promised to take him and Antoine as far as the forest of +Saint-Germain, it was found at the last moment that Antoine could not +come. Marie was already dressed in a chemisette of fawn-coloured silk, +and a little jacket and "rationals" of black serge, and it was such a +warm, bright April day that she was not inclined to renounce her trip. + +"Well, so much the worse!" she gaily said to Pierre, "I shall take you +with me, there will only be the pair of us. I really want you to see how +delightful it is to bowl over a good road between the beautiful trees." + +However, as Pierre was not yet a very expert rider, they decided that +they would take the train as far as Maisons-Laffitte, whence they would +proceed on their bicycles to the forest, cross it in the direction of +Saint-Germain, and afterwards return to Paris by train. + +"You will be here for _dejeuner_, won't you?" asked Guillaume, whom this +freak amused, and who looked with a smile at his brother. The latter, +like Marie, was in black: jacket, breeches and stockings all of the same +hue. + +"Oh, certainly!" replied Marie. "It's now barely eight o'clock, so we +have plenty of time. Still you need not wait for us, you know, we shall +always find our way back." + +It was a delightful morning. When they started, Pierre could fancy +himself with a friend of his own sex, so that this trip together through +the warm sunlight seemed quite natural. Doubtless their costumes, which +were so much alike, conduced to the gay brotherly feeling he experienced. +But beyond all this there was the healthfulness of the open air, the +delight which exercise brings, the pleasure of roaming in all freedom +through the midst of nature. + +On taking the train they found themselves alone in a compartment, and +Marie once more began to talk of her college days. "Ah! you've no idea," +said she, "what fine games at baseball we used to have at Fenelon! We +used to tie up our skirts with string so as to run the better, for we +were not allowed to wear rationals like I'm wearing now. And there were +shrieks, and rushes, and pushes, till our hair waved about and we were +quite red with exercise and excitement. Still that didn't prevent us from +working in the class-rooms. On the contrary! Directly we were at study we +fought again, each striving to learn the most and reach the top of the +class!" + +She laughed gaily as she thus recalled her school life, and Pierre +glanced at her with candid admiration, so pink and healthy did she look +under her little hat of black felt, which a long silver pin kept in +position. Her fine dark hair was caught up behind, showing her neck, +which looked as fresh and delicate as a child's. And never before had she +seemed to him so supple and so strong. + +"Ah," she continued in a jesting way, "there is nothing like rationals, +you know! To think that some women are foolish and obstinate enough to +wear skirts when they go out cycling!" + +Then, as he declared--just by way of speaking the truth, and without the +faintest idea of gallantry--that she looked very nice indeed in her +costume, she responded: "Oh! I don't count. I'm not a beauty. I simply +enjoy good health. . . . But can you understand it? To think that women +have an unique opportunity of putting themselves at their ease, and +releasing their limbs from prison, and yet they won't do so! If they +think that they look the prettier in short skirts like schoolgirls they +are vastly mistaken! And as for any question of modesty, well, it seems +to me that it is infinitely less objectionable for women to wear +rationals than to bare their bosoms at balls and theatres and dinners as +society ladies do." Then, with a gesture of girlish impulsiveness, she +added: "Besides, does one think of such things when one's rolling along? +. . . Yes, rationals are the only things, skirts are rank heresy!" + +In her turn, she was now looking at him, and was struck by the +extraordinary change which had come over him since the day when he had +first appeared to her, so sombre in his long cassock, with his face +emaciated, livid, almost distorted by anguish. It was like a +resurrection, for now his countenance was bright, his lofty brow had all +the serenity of hope, while his eyes and lips once more showed some of +the confident tenderness which sprang from his everlasting thirst for +love, self-bestowal and life. All mark of the priesthood had already left +him, save that where he had been tonsured his hair still remained rather +short. + +"Why are you looking at me?" he asked. + +"I was noticing how much good has been done you by work and the open +air," she frankly answered; "I much prefer you as you are. You used to +look so poorly. I thought you really ill." + +"So I was," said he. + +The train, however, was now stopping at Maisons-Laffitte. They alighted +from it, and at once took the road to the forest. This road rises gently +till it reaches the Maisons gate, and on market days it is often crowded +with carts. + +"I shall go first, eh?" said Marie gaily, "for vehicles still alarm you." + +Thereupon she started ahead, but every now and again she turned with a +smile to see if he were following her. And every time they overtook and +passed a cart she spoke to him of the merits of their machines, which +both came from the Grandidier works. They were "Lisettes," examples of +those popular bicycles which Thomas had helped to perfect, and which the +Bon Marche now sold in large numbers for 250 francs apiece. Perhaps they +were rather heavy in appearance, but on the other hand their strength was +beyond question. They were just the machines for a long journey, so Marie +declared. + +"Ah! here's the forest," she at last exclaimed. "We have now reached the +end of the rise; and you will see what splendid avenues there are. One +can bowl along them as on a velvet carpet." + +Pierre had already joined her, and they rode on side by side along the +broad straight avenue fringed with magnificent trees. + +"I am all right now," said Pierre; "your pupil will end by doing you +honour, I hope." + +"Oh! I've no doubt of it. You already have a very good seat, and before +long you'll leave me behind, for a woman is never a man's equal in a +matter like this. At the same time, however, what a capital education +cycling is for women!" + +"In what way?" + +"Oh! I've certain ideas of my own on the subject; and if ever I have a +daughter I shall put her on a bicycle as soon as she's ten years old, +just to teach her how to conduct herself in life." + +"Education by experience, eh?" + +"Yes, why not? Look at the big girls who are brought up hanging to their +mothers' apron strings. Their parents frighten them with everything, they +are allowed no initiative, no exercise of judgment or decision, so that +at times they hardly know how to cross a street, to such a degree does +the traffic alarm them. Well, I say that a girl ought to be set on a +bicycle in her childhood, and allowed to follow the roads. She will then +learn to open her eyes, to look out for stones and avoid them, and to +turn in the right direction at every bend or crossway. If a vehicle comes +up at a gallop or any other danger presents itself, she'll have to make +up her mind on the instant, and steer her course firmly and properly if +she does not wish to lose a limb. Briefly, doesn't all this supply proper +apprenticeship for one's will, and teach one how to conduct and defend +oneself?" + +Pierre had begun to laugh. "You will all be too healthy," he remarked. + +"Oh, one must be healthy if one wants to be happy. But what I wish to +convey is that those who learn to avoid stones and to turn properly along +the highways will know how to overcome difficulties, and take the best +decisions in after life. The whole of education lies in knowledge and +energy." + +"So women are to be emancipated by cycling?" + +"Well, why not? It may seem a droll idea; but see what progress has been +made already. By wearing rationals women free their limbs from prison; +then the facilities which cycling affords people for going out together +tend to greater intercourse and equality between the sexes; the wife and +the children can follow the husband everywhere, and friends like +ourselves are at liberty to roam hither and thither without astonishing +anybody. In this lies the greatest advantage of all: one takes a bath of +air and sunshine, one goes back to nature, to the earth, our common +mother, from whom one derives fresh strength and gaiety of heart! Just +look how delightful this forest is. And how healthful the breeze that +inflates our lungs! Yes, it all purifies, calms and encourages one." + +The forest, which was quite deserted on week days, stretched out in +quietude on either hand, with sunlight filtering between its deep bands +of trees. At that hour the rays only illumined one side of the avenue, +there gilding the lofty drapery of verdure; on the other, the shady side, +the greenery seemed almost black. It was truly delightful to skim, +swallow-like, over that royal avenue in the fresh atmosphere, amidst the +waving of grass and foliage, whose powerful scent swept against one's +face. Pierre and Marie scarcely touched the soil: it was as if wings had +come to them, and were carrying them on with a regular flight, through +alternate patches of shade and sunshine, and all the scattered vitality +of the far-reaching, quivering forest, with its mosses, its sources, its +animal and its insect life. + +Marie would not stop when they reached the crossway of the Croix de +Noailles, a spot where people congregate on Sundays, for she was +acquainted with secluded nooks which were far more charming +resting-places. When they reached the slope going down towards Poissy, +she roused Pierre, and they let their machines rush on. Then came all the +joyous intoxication of speed, the rapturous feeling of darting along +breathlessly while the grey road flees beneath one, and the trees on +either hand turn like the opening folds of a fan. The breeze blows +tempestuously, and one fancies that one is journeying yonder towards the +horizon, the infinite, which ever and ever recedes. It is like boundless +hope, delivery from every shackle, absolute freedom of motion through +space. And nothing can inspirit one more gloriously--one's heart leaps as +if one were in the very heavens. + +"We are not going to Poissy, you know!" Marie suddenly cried; "we have to +turn to the left." + +They took the road from Acheres to the Loges, which ascends and +contracts, thus bringing one closer together in the shade. Gradually +slowing down, they began to exert themselves in order to make their way +up the incline. This road was not so good as the others, it had been +gullied by the recent heavy rains, and sand and gravel lay about. But +then is there not even a pleasure in effort? + +"You will get used to it," said Marie to Pierre; "it's amusing to +overcome obstacles. For my part I don't like roads which are invariably +smooth. A little ascent which does not try one's limbs too much rouses +and inspirits one. And it is so agreeable to find oneself strong, and +able to go on and on in spite of rain, or wind, or hills." + +Her bright humour and courage quite charmed Pierre. "And so," said he, +"we are off for a journey round France?" + +"No, no, we've arrived. You won't dislike a little rest, eh? And now, +tell me, wasn't it worth our while to come on here and rest in such a +nice fresh, quiet spot." + +She nimbly sprang off her machine and, bidding him follow her, turned +into a path, along which she went some fifty paces. They placed their +bicycles against some trees, and then found themselves in a little +clearing, the most exquisite, leafy nest that one could dream of. The +forest here assumed an aspect of secluded sovereign beauty. The +springtide had endowed it with youth, the foliage was light and virginal, +like delicate green lace flecked with gold by the sun-rays. And from the +herbage and the surrounding thickets arose a breath of life, laden with +all the powerful aroma of the earth. + +"It's not too warm as yet, fortunately," exclaimed Marie, as she seated +herself at the foot of a young oak-tree, against which she leant. "In +July ladies get rather red by the time they reach this spot, and all the +powder comes off their faces. However, one can't always be beautiful." + +"Well, I'm not cold by any means," replied Pierre, as he sat at her feet +wiping his forehead. + +She laughed, and answered that she had never before seen him with such a +colour. Then they began to talk like children, like two young friends, +finding a source of gaiety in the most puerile things. She was somewhat +anxious about his health, however, and would not allow him to remain in +the cool shade, as he felt so very warm. In order to tranquillise her, he +had to change his place and seat himself with his back to the sun. Then a +little later he saved her from a large black spider, which had caught +itself in the wavy hair on the nape of her neck. At this all her womanly +nature reappeared, and she shrieked with terror. "How stupid it was to be +afraid of a spider!" she exclaimed a moment afterwards; yet, in spite of +her efforts to master herself, she remained pale and trembling. + +Silence at last fell between them, and they looked at one another with a +smile. In the midst of that delicate greenery they felt drawn together by +frank affection--the affection of brother and sister, so it seemed to +them. It made Marie very happy to think that she had taken an interest in +Pierre, and that his return to health was largely her own work. However, +their eyes never fell, their hands never met, even as they sat there +toying with the grass, for they were as pure, as unconscious of all evil, +as were the lofty oaks around them. + +At last Marie noticed that time was flying. "You know that they expect us +back to lunch," she exclaimed. "We ought to be off." + +Thereupon they rose, wheeled their bicycles back to the highway, and +starting off again at a good pace passed the Loges and reached +Saint-Germain by the fine avenue which conducts to the chateau. It +charmed them to take their course again side by side, like birds of equal +flight. Their little bells jingled, their chains rustled lightly, and a +fresh breeze swept past them as they resumed their talk, quite at ease, +and so linked together by friendship that they seemed far removed from +all the rest of the world. + +They took the train from Saint-Germain to Paris, and on the journey +Pierre suddenly noticed that Marie's cheeks were purpling. There were two +ladies with them in the compartment. + +"Ah!" said he, "so you feel warm in your turn now?" + +But she protested the contrary, her face glowing more and more brightly +as she spoke, as if some sudden feeling of shame quite upset her. "No, +I'm not warm," said she; "just feel my hands. . . . But how ridiculous it +is to blush like this without any reason for it!" + +He understood her. This was one of those involuntary blushing fits which +so distressed her, and which, as Mere-Grand had remarked, brought her +heart to her very cheeks. There was no cause for it, as she herself said. +After slumbering in all innocence in the solitude of the forest her heart +had begun to beat, despite herself. + +Meantime, over yonder at Montmartre, Guillaume had spent his morning in +preparing some of that mysterious powder, the cartridges of which he +concealed upstairs in Mere-Grand's bedroom. Great danger attended this +manufacture. The slightest forgetfulness while he was manipulating the +ingredients, any delay, too, in turning off a tap, might lead to a +terrible explosion, which would annihilate the building and all who might +be in it. For this reason he preferred to work when he was alone, so that +on the one hand there might be no danger for others, and on the other +less likelihood of his own attention being diverted from his task. That +morning, as it happened, his three sons were working in the room, and +Mere-Grand sat sewing near the furnace. Truth to tell, she did not count, +for she scarcely ever left her place, feeling quite at ease there, +however great might be the peril. Indeed, she had become so well +acquainted with the various phases of Guillaume's delicate operations, +and their terrible possibilities, that she would occasionally give him a +helping hand. + +That morning, as she sat there mending some house linen,--her eyesight +still being so keen that in spite of her seventy years she wore no +spectacles,--she now and again glanced at Guillaume as if to make sure +that he forgot nothing. Then feeling satisfied, she would once more bend +over her work. She remained very strong and active. Her hair was only +just turning white, and she had kept all her teeth, while her face still +looked refined, though it was slowly withering with age and had acquired +an expression of some severity. As a rule she was a woman of few words; +her life was one of activity and good management. When she opened her +lips it was usually to give advice, to counsel reason, energy and +courage. For some time past she had been growing more taciturn than ever, +as if all her attention were claimed by the household matters which were +in her sole charge; still, her fine eyes would rest thoughtfully on those +about her, on the three young men, and on Guillaume, Marie and Pierre, +who all obeyed her as if she were their acknowledged queen. If she looked +at them in that pensive way, was it that she foresaw certain changes, and +noticed certain incidents of which the others remained unconscious? +Perhaps so. At all events she became even graver, and more attentive than +in the past. It was as if she were waiting for some hour to strike when +all her wisdom and authority would be required. + +"Be careful, Guillaume," she at last remarked, as she once more looked up +from her sewing. "You seem absent-minded this morning. Is anything +worrying you?" + +He glanced at her with a smile. "No, nothing, I assure you," he replied. +"But I was thinking of our dear Marie, who was so glad to go off to the +forest in this bright sunshine." + +Antoine, who heard the remark, raised his head, while his brothers +remained absorbed in their work. "What a pity it is that I had this block +to finish," said he; "I would willingly have gone with her." + +"Oh, no matter," his father quietly rejoined. "Pierre is with her, and he +is very cautious." + +For another moment Mere-Grand continued scrutinising Guillaume; then she +once more reverted to her sewing. + +If she exercised such sway over the home and all its inmates, it was by +reason of her long devotion, her intelligence, and the kindliness with +which she ruled. Uninfluenced by any religious faith, and disregarding +all social conventionalities, her guiding principle in everything was the +theory of human justice which she had arrived at after suffering so +grievously from the injustice that had killed her husband. She put her +views into practice with wonderful courage, knowing nothing of any +prejudices, but accomplishing her duty, such as she understood it, to the +very end. And in the same way as she had first devoted herself to her +husband, and next to her daughter Marguerite, so at present she devoted +herself to Guillaume and his sons. Pierre, whom she had first studied +with some anxiety, had now, too, become a member of her family, a dweller +in the little realm of happiness which she ruled. She had doubtless found +him worthy of admission into it, though she did not reveal the reason +why. After days and days of silence she had simply said, one evening, to +Guillaume, that he had done well in bringing his brother to live among +them. + +Time flew by as she sat sewing and thinking. Towards noon Guillaume, who +was still at work, suddenly remarked to her: "As Marie and Pierre haven't +come back, we had better let the lunch wait a little while. Besides, I +should like to finish what I'm about." + +Another quarter of an hour then elapsed. Finally, the three young men +rose from their work, and went to wash their hands at a tap in the +garden. + +"Marie is very late," now remarked Mere-Grand. "We must hope that nothing +has happened to her." + +"Oh! she rides so well," replied Guillaume. "I'm more anxious on account +of Pierre." + +At this the old lady again fixed her eyes on him, and said: "But Marie +will have guided Pierre; they already ride very well together." + +"No doubt; still I should be better pleased if they were back home." + +Then all at once, fancying that he heard the ring of a bicycle bell, he +called out: "There they are!" And forgetting everything else in his +satisfaction, he quitted his furnace and hastened into the garden in +order to meet them. + +Mere-Grand, left to herself, quietly continued sewing, without a thought +that the manufacture of Guillaume's powder was drawing to an end in an +apparatus near her. A couple of minutes later, however, when Guillaume +came back, saying that he had made a mistake, his eyes suddenly rested on +his furnace, and he turned quite livid. Brief as had been his absence the +exact moment when it was necessary to turn off a tap in order that no +danger might attend the preparation of his powder had already gone by; +and now, unless someone should dare to approach that terrible tap, and +boldly turn it, a fearful explosion might take place. Doubtless it was +too late already, and whoever might have the bravery to attempt the feat +would be blown to pieces. + +Guillaume himself had often run a similar risk of death with perfect +composure. But on this occasion he remained as if rooted to the floor, +unable to take a step, paralysed by the dread of annihilation. He +shuddered and stammered in momentary expectation of a catastrophe which +would hurl the work-shop to the heavens. + +"Mere-Grand, Mere-Grand," he stammered. "The apparatus, the tap . . . it +is all over, all over!" + +The old woman had raised her head without as yet understanding him. "Eh, +what?" said she; "what is the matter with you?" Then, on seeing how +distorted were his features, how he recoiled as if mad with terror, she +glanced at the furnace and realised the danger. "Well, but it's simple +enough," said she; "it's only necessary to turn off the tap, eh?" + +Thereupon, without any semblance of haste, in the most easy and natural +manner possible, she deposited her needlework on a little table, rose +from her chair, and turned off the tap with a light but firm hand. +"There! it's done," said she. "But why didn't you do it yourself, my +friend?" + +He had watched her in bewilderment, chilled to the bones, as if touched +by the hand of death. And when some colour at last returned to his +cheeks, and he found himself still alive in front of the apparatus whence +no harm could now come, he heaved a deep sigh and again shuddered. "Why +did I not turn it off?" he repeated. "It was because I felt afraid." + +At that very moment Marie and Pierre came into the work-shop all chatter +and laughter, delighted with their excursion, and bringing with them the +bright joyousness of the sunlight. The three brothers, Thomas, Francis +and Antoine, were jesting with them, and trying to make them confess that +Pierre had at least fought a battle with a cow on the high road, and +ridden into a cornfield. All at once, however, they became quite anxious, +for they noticed that their father looked terribly upset. + +"My lads," said he, "I've just been a coward. Ah! it's a curious feeling, +I had never experienced it before." + +Thereupon he recounted his fears of an accident, and how quietly +Mere-Grand had saved them all from certain death. She waved her hand, +however, as if to say that there was nothing particularly heroic in +turning off a tap. The young men's eyes nevertheless filled with tears, +and one after the other they went to kiss her with a fervour instinct +with all the gratitude and worship they felt for her. She had been +devoting herself to them ever since their infancy, she had now just given +them a new lease of life. Marie also threw herself into her arms, kissing +her with gratitude and emotion. Mere-Grand herself was the only one who +did not shed tears. She strove to calm them, begging them to exaggerate +nothing and to remain sensible. + +"Well, you must at all events let me kiss you as the others have done," +Guillaume said to her, as he recovered his self-possession. "I at least +owe you that. And Pierre, too, shall kiss you, for you are now as good +for him as you have always been for us." + +At table, when it was at last possible for them to lunch, he reverted to +that attack of fear which had left him both surprised and ashamed. He who +for years had never once thought of death had for some time past found +ideas of caution in his mind. On two occasions recently he had shuddered +at the possibility of a catastrophe. How was it that a longing for life +had come to him in his decline? Why was it that he now wished to live? At +last with a touch of tender affection in his gaiety, he remarked: "Do you +know, Marie, I think it is my thoughts of you that make me a coward. If +I've lost my bravery it's because I risk something precious when any +danger arises. Happiness has been entrusted to my charge. Just now when I +fancied that we were all going to die, I thought I could see you, and my +fear of losing you froze and paralysed me." + +Marie indulged in a pretty laugh. Allusions to her coming marriage were +seldom made; however, she invariably greeted them with an air of happy +affection. + +"Another six weeks!" she simply said. + +Thereupon Mere-Grand, who had been looking at them, turned her eyes +towards Pierre. He, however, like the others was listening with a smile. + +"That's true," said the old lady, "you are to be married in six weeks' +time. So I did right to prevent the house from being blown up." + +At this the young men made merry; and the repast came to an end in very +joyous fashion. + +During the afternoon, however, Pierre's heart gradually grew heavy. +Marie's words constantly returned to him: "Another six weeks!" Yes, it +was indeed true, she would then be married. But it seemed to him that he +had never previously known it, never for a moment thought of it. And +later on, in the evening, when he was alone in his room at Neuilly, his +heart-pain became intolerable. Those words tortured him. Why was it that +they had not caused him any suffering when they were spoken, why had he +greeted them with a smile? And why had such cruel anguish slowly +followed? All at once an idea sprang up in his mind, and became an +overwhelming certainty. He loved Marie, he loved her as a lover, with a +love so intense that he might die from it. + +With this sudden consciousness of his passion everything became clear and +plain. He had been going perforce towards that love ever since he had +first met Marie. The emotion into which the young woman had originally +thrown him had seemed to him a feeling of repulsion, but afterwards he +had been slowly conquered, all his torments and struggles ending in this +love for her. It was indeed through her that he had at last found +quietude. And the delightful morning which he had spent with her that +day, appeared to him like a betrothal morning, in the depths of the happy +forest. Nature had resumed her sway over him, delivered him from his +sufferings, made him strong and healthy once more, and given him to the +woman he adored. The quiver he had experienced, the happiness he had +felt, his communion with the trees, the heavens, and every living +creature--all those things which he had been unable to explain, now +acquired a clear meaning which transported him. In Marie alone lay his +cure, his hope, his conviction that he would be born anew and at last +find happiness. In her company he had already forgotten all those +distressing problems which had formerly haunted him and bowed him down. +For a week past he had not once thought of death, which had so long been +the companion of his every hour. All the conflict of faith and doubt, the +distress roused by the idea of nihility, the anger he had felt at the +unjust sufferings of mankind, had been swept away by her fresh cool +hands. She was so healthy herself, so glad to live, that she had imparted +a taste for life even to him. Yes, it was simply that: she was making him +a man, a worker, a lover once more. + +Then he suddenly remembered Abbe Rose and his painful conversation with +that saintly man. The old priest, whose heart was so ingenuous, and who +knew nothing of love and passion, was nevertheless the only one who had +understood the truth. He had told Pierre that he was changed, that there +was another man in him. And he, Pierre, had foolishly and stubbornly +declared that he was the same as he had always been; whereas Marie had +already transformed him, bringing all nature back to his breast--all +nature, with its sunlit countrysides, its fructifying breezes, and its +vast heavens, whose glow ripens its crops. That indeed was why he had +felt so exasperated with Catholicism, that religion of death; that was +why he had shouted that the Gospel was useless, and that the world +awaited another law--a law of terrestrial happiness, human justice and +living love and fruitfulness! + +Ah, but Guillaume? Then a vision of his brother rose before Pierre, that +brother who loved him so fondly, and who had carried him to his home of +toil, quietude and affection, in order to cure him of his sufferings. If +he knew Marie it was simply because Guillaume had chosen that he should +know her. And again Marie's words recurred to him: "Another six weeks!" +Yes, in six weeks his brother would marry the young woman. This thought +was like a stab in Pierre's heart. Still, he did not for one moment +hesitate: if he must die of his love, he would die of it, but none should +ever know it, he would conquer himself, he would flee to the ends of the +earth should he ever feel the faintest cowardice. Rather than bring a +moment's pain to that brother who had striven to resuscitate him, who was +the artisan of the passion now consuming him, who had given him his whole +heart and all he had--he would condemn himself to perpetual torture. And +indeed, torture was coming back; for in losing Marie he could but sink +into the distress born of the consciousness of his nothingness. As he lay +in bed, unable to sleep, he already experienced a return of his +abominable torments--the negation of everything, the feeling that +everything was useless, that the world had no significance, and that life +was only worthy of being cursed and denied. And then the shudder born of +the thought of death returned to him. Ah! to die, to die without even +having lived! + +The struggle was a frightful one. Until daybreak he sobbed in martyrdom. +Why had he taken off his cassock? He had done so at a word from Marie; +and now another word from her gave him the despairing idea of donning it +once more. One could not escape from so fast a prison. That black gown +still clung to his skin. He fancied that he had divested himself of it, +and yet it was still weighing on his shoulders, and his wisest course +would be to bury himself in it for ever. By donning it again he would at +least wear mourning for his manhood. + +All at once, however, a fresh thought upset him. Why should he struggle +in that fashion? Marie did not love him. There had been nothing between +them to indicate that she cared for him otherwise than as a charming, +tender-hearted sister. It was Guillaume that she loved, no doubt. Then he +pressed his face to his pillow to stifle his sobs, and once more swore +that he would conquer himself and turn a smiling face upon their +happiness. + + + +IV + +TRIAL AND SENTENCE + +HAVING returned to Montmartre on the morrow Pierre suffered so grievously +that he did not show himself there on the two following days. He +preferred to remain at home where there was nobody to notice his +feverishness. On the third morning, however, whilst he was still in bed, +strengthless and full of despair, he was both surprised and embarrassed +by a visit from Guillaume. + +"I must needs come to you," said the latter, "since you forsake us. I've +come to fetch you to attend Salvat's trial, which takes place to-day. I +had no end of trouble to secure two places. Come, get up, we'll have +_dejeuner_ in town, so as to reach the court early." + +Then, while Pierre was hastily dressing, Guillaume, who on his side +seemed thoughtful and worried that morning, began to question him: "Have +you anything to reproach us with?" he asked. + +"No, nothing. What an idea!" was Pierre's reply. + +"Then why have you been staying away? We had got into the habit of seeing +you every day, but all at once you disappear." + +Pierre vainly sought a falsehood, and all his composure fled. "I had some +work to do here," said he, "and then, too, my gloomy ideas cane back to +me, and I didn't want to go and sadden you all." + +At this Guillaume hastily waved his hand. "If you fancy that your absence +enlivens us you're mistaken," he replied. "Marie, who is usually so well +and happy, had such a bad headache on the day before yesterday that she +was obliged to keep her room. And she was ill at ease and nervous and +silent again yesterday. We spent a very unpleasant day." + +As he spoke Guillaume looked Pierre well in the face, his frank loyal +eyes clearly revealing the suspicions which had come to him, but which he +would not express in words. + +Pierre, quite dismayed by the news of Marie's indisposition, and +frightened by the idea of betraying his secret, thereupon managed to tell +a lie. "Yes, she wasn't very well on the day when we went cycling," he +quietly responded. "But I assure you that I have had a lot to do here. +When you came in just now I was about to get up and go to your house as +usual." + +Guillaume kept his eyes on him for a moment longer. Then, either +believing him or deciding to postpone his search for the truth to some +future time, he began speaking affectionately on other subjects. With his +keen brotherly love, however, there was blended such a quiver of +impending distress, of unconfessed sorrow, which possibly he did not yet +realise, that Pierre in his turn began to question him. "And you," said +he, "are you ill? You seem to me to have lost your usual serenity." + +"I? Oh! I'm not ill. Only I can't very well retain my composure; Salvat's +affair distresses me exceedingly, as you must know. They will all end by +driving me mad with the monstrous injustice they show towards that +unhappy fellow." + +Thenceforward Guillaume went on talking of Salvat in a stubborn +passionate way, as if he wished to find an explanation of all his pain +and unrest in that affair. While he and Pierre were partaking of +_dejeuner_ at a little restaurant on the Boulevard du Palais he related +how deeply touched he was by the silence which Salvat had preserved with +regard both to the nature of the explosive employed in the bomb and the +few days' work which he had once done at his house. It was, thanks to +this silence, that he, Guillaume, had not been worried or even summoned +as a witness. Then, in his emotion, he reverted to his invention, that +formidable engine which would ensure omnipotence to France, as the great +initiatory and liberative power of the world. The results of the +researches which had occupied him for ten years past were now out of +danger and in all readiness, so that if occasion required they might at +once be delivered to the French government. And, apart from certain +scruples which came to him at the thought of the unworthiness of French +financial and political society; he was simply delaying any further steps +in the matter until his marriage with Marie, in order that he might +associate her with the gift of universal peace which he imagined he was +about to bestow upon the world. + +It was through Bertheroy and with great difficulty that Guillaume had +managed to secure two seats in court for Salvat's trial. When he and +Pierre presented themselves for admission at eleven o'clock, they fancied +that they would never be able to enter. The large gates of the Palace of +Justice were kept closed, several passages were fenced off, and terror +seemed to reign in the deserted building, as if indeed the judges feared +some sudden invasion of bomb-laden Anarchists. Each door and barrier, +too, was guarded by soldiers, with whom the brothers had to parley. When +they at last entered the Assize Court they found it already crowded with +people, who were apparently quite willing to suffocate there for an hour +before the arrival of the judges, and to remain motionless for some seven +or eight hours afterwards, since it was reported that the authorities +wished to get the case over in a single sitting. In the small space +allotted to the standing public there was a serried mass of sightseers +who had come up from the streets, a few companions and friends of Salvat +having managed to slip in among them. In the other compartment, where +witnesses are generally huddled together on oak benches, were those +spectators who had been allowed admittance by favour, and these were so +numerous and so closely packed that here and there they almost sat upon +one another's knees. Then, in the well of the court and behind the bench, +were rows of chairs set out as for some theatrical performance, and +occupied by privileged members of society, politicians, leading +journalists, and ladies. And meantime a number of gowned advocates sought +refuge wherever chance offered, crowding into every vacant spot, every +available corner. + +Pierre had never before visited the Assize Court, and its appearance +surprised him. He had expected much pomp and majesty, whereas this temple +of human justice seemed to him small and dismal and of doubtful +cleanliness. The bench was so low that he could scarcely see the +armchairs of the presiding judge and his two assessors. Then he was +struck by the profusion of old oak panels, balustrades and benches, which +helped to darken the apartment, whose wall hangings were of olive green, +while a further display of oak panelling appeared on the ceiling above. +From the seven narrow and high-set windows with scanty little white +curtains there fell a pale light which sharply divided the court. On one +hand one saw the dock and the defending counsel's seat steeped in frigid +light, while, on the other, was the little, isolated jury box in the +shade. This contrast seemed symbolical of justice, impersonal and +uncertain, face to face with the accused, whom the light stripped bare, +probed as it were to his very soul. Then, through a kind of grey mist +above the bench, in the depths of the stern and gloomy scene, one could +vaguely distinguish the heavy painting of "Christ Crucified." A white +bust of the Republic alone showed forth clearly against the dark wall +above the dock where Salvat would presently appear. The only remaining +seats that Guillaume and Pierre could find were on the last bench of the +witnesses' compartment, against the partition which separated the latter +from the space allotted to the standing public. Just as Guillaume was +seating himself, he saw among the latter little Victor Mathis, who stood +there with his elbows leaning on the partition, while his chin rested on +his crossed hands. The young man's eyes were glowing in his pale face +with thin, compressed lips. Although they recognised one another, Victor +did not move, and Guillaume on his side understood that it was not safe +to exchange greetings in such a place. From that moment, however, he +remained conscious that Victor was there, just above him, never stirring, +but waiting silently, fiercely and with flaming eyes, for what was going +to happen. + +Pierre, meantime, had recognised that most amiable deputy Duthil, and +little Princess Rosemonde, seated just in front of him. Amidst the hubbub +of the throng which chatted and laughed to while away the time, their +voices were the gayest to be heard, and plainly showed how delighted they +were to find themselves at a spectacle to which so many desired +admittance. Duthil was explaining all the arrangements to Rosemonde, +telling her to whom or to what purpose each bench and wooden box was +allotted: there was the jury-box, the prisoner's dock, the seats assigned +to counsel for the defence, the public prosecutor, and the clerk of the +court, without forgetting the table on which material evidence was +deposited and the bar to which witnesses were summoned. There was nobody +as yet in any of these places; one merely saw an attendant giving a last +look round, and advocates passing rapidly. One might indeed have thought +oneself in a theatre, the stage of which remained deserted, while the +spectators crowded the auditorium waiting for the play to begin. To fill +up the interval the little Princess ended by looking about her for +persons of her acquaintance among the close-pressed crowd of sight-seers +whose eager faces were already reddening. + +"Oh! isn't that Monsieur Fonsegue over there behind the bench, near that +stout lady in yellow?" she exclaimed. "Our friend General de Bozonnet is +on the other side, I see. But isn't Baron Duvillard here?" + +"Oh! no," replied Duthil; "he could hardly come; it would look as if he +were here to ask for vengeance." Then, in his turn questioning Rosemonde, +the deputy went on: "Do you happen to have quarrelled with your handsome +friend Hyacinthe? Is that the reason why you've given me the pleasure of +acting as your escort to-day?" + +With a slight shrug of her shoulders, the Princess replied that poets +were beginning to bore her. A fresh caprice, indeed, was drawing her into +politics. For a week past she had found amusement in the surroundings of +the ministerial crisis, into which the young deputy for Angouleme had +initiated her. "They are all a little bit crazy at the Duvillards', my +dear fellow," said she. "It's decided, you know, that Gerard is to marry +Camille. The Baroness has resigned herself to it, and I've heard from a +most reliable quarter that Madame de Quinsac, the young man's mother, has +given her consent." + +At this Duthil became quite merry. He also seemed to be well informed on +the subject. "Yes, yes, I know," said he. "The wedding is to take place +shortly, at the Madeleine. It will be a magnificent affair, no doubt. And +after all, what would you have? There couldn't be a better finish to the +affair. The Baroness is really kindness personified, and I said all along +that she would sacrifice herself in order to ensure the happiness of her +daughter and Gerard. In point of fact that marriage will settle +everything, put everything in proper order again." + +"And what does the Baron say?" asked Rosemonde. + +"The Baron? Why, he's delighted," replied Duthil in a bantering way. "You +read no doubt this morning that Dauvergne is given the department of +Public Instruction in the new Ministry. This means that Silviane's +engagement at the Comedic is a certainty. Dauvergne was chosen simply on +that account." + +At this moment the conversation was interrupted by little Massot, who, +after a dispute with one of the ushers some distance away, had perceived +a vacant place by the side of the Princess. He thereupon made her a +questioning sign, and she beckoned to him to approach. + +"Ah!" said he, as he installed himself beside her, "I have not got here +without trouble. One's crushed to death on the press bench, and I've an +article to write. You are the kindest of women, Princess, to make a +little room for your faithful admirer, myself." Then, after shaking hands +with Duthil, he continued without any transition: "And so there's a new +ministry at last, Monsieur le Depute. You have all taken your time about +it, but it's really a very fine ministry, which everybody regards with +surprise and admiration." + +The decrees appointing the new ministers had appeared in the "Journal +Officiel" that very morning. After a long deadlock, after Vignon had for +the second time seen his plans fail through ever-recurring obstacles, +Monferrand, as a last resource, had suddenly been summoned to the Elysee, +and in four-and-twenty hours he had found the colleagues he wanted and +secured the acceptance of his list, in such wise that he now triumphantly +re-ascended to power after falling from it with Barroux in such wretched +fashion. He had also chosen a new post for himself, relinquishing the +department of the Interior for that of Finances, with the Presidency of +the Council, which had long been his secret ambition. His stealthy +labour, the masterly fashion in which he had saved himself while others +sank, now appeared in its full beauty. First had come Salvat's arrest, +and the use he had made of it, then the wonderful subterranean campaign +which he had carried on against Vignon, the thousand obstacles which he +had twice set across his path, and finally the sudden _denouement_ with +that list he held in readiness, that formation of a ministry in a single +day as soon as his services were solicited. + +"It is fine work, I must compliment you on it," added little Massot by +way of a jest. + +"But I've had nothing to do with it," Duthil modestly replied. + +"Nothing to do with it! Oh! yes you have, my dear sir, everybody says +so." + +The deputy felt flattered and smiled, while the other rattled on with his +insinuations, which were put in such a humorous way that nothing he said +could be resented. He talked of Monferrand's followers who had so +powerfully helped him on to victory. How heartily had Fonsegue finished +off his old friend Barroux in the "Globe"! Every morning for a month past +the paper had published an article belabouring Barroux, annihilating +Vignon, and preparing the public for the return of a saviour of society +who was not named. Then, too, Duvillard's millions had waged a secret +warfare, all the Baron's numerous creatures had fought like an army for +the good cause. Duthil himself had played the pipe and beaten the drum, +while Chaigneux resigned himself to the baser duties which others would +not undertake. And so the triumphant Monferrand would certainly begin by +stifling that scandalous and embarrassing affair of the African Railways, +and appointing a Committee of Inquiry to bury it. + +By this time Duthil had assumed an important air. "Well, my dear fellow," +said he, "at serious moments when society is in peril, certain +strong-handed men, real men of government, become absolutely necessary. +Monferrand had no need of our friendship, his presence in office was +imperiously required by the situation. His hand is the only one that can +save us!" + +"I know," replied Massot scoffingly. "I've even been told that if +everything was settled straight off so that the decrees might be +published this morning, it was in order to instil confidence into the +judges and jurymen here, in such wise that knowing Monferrand's fist to +be behind them they would have the courage to pronounce sentence of death +this evening." + +"Well, public safety requires a sentence of death, and those who have to +ensure that safety must not be left ignorant of the fact that the +government is with them, and will know how to protect them, if need be." + +At this moment a merry laugh from the Princess broke in upon the +conversation. "Oh! just look over there!" said she; "isn't that Silviane +who has just sat down beside Monsieur Fonsegue?" + +"The Silviane ministry!" muttered Massot in a jesting way. "Well, there +will be no boredom at Dauvergne's if he ingratiates himself with +actresses." + +Guillaume and Pierre heard this chatter, however little they cared to +listen to it. Such a deluge of society tittle-tattle and political +indiscretion brought the former a keen heart-pang. So Salvat was +sentenced to death even before he had appeared in court. He was to pay +for the transgressions of one and all, his crime was simply a favourable +opportunity for the triumph of a band of ambitious people bent on power +and enjoyment! Ah! what terrible social rottenness there was in it all; +money corrupting one and another, families sinking to filth, politics +turned into a mere treacherous struggle between individuals, and power +becoming the prey of the crafty and the impudent! Must not everything +surely crumble? Was not this solemn assize of human justice a derisive +parody, since all that one found there was an assembly of happy and +privileged people defending the shaky edifice which sheltered them, and +making use of all the forces they yet retained, to crush a fly--that +unhappy devil of uncertain sanity who had been led to that court by his +violent and cloudy dream of another, superior and avenging justice? + +Such were Guillaume's thoughts, when all at once everybody around him +started. Noon was now striking, and the jurymen trooped into court in +straggling fashion and took their seats in their box. Among them one saw +fat fellows clad in their Sunday best and with the faces of simpletons, +and thin fellows who had bright eyes and sly expressions. Some of them +were bearded and some were bald. However, they all remained rather +indistinct, as their side of the court was steeped in shade. After them +came the judges, headed by M. de Larombiere, one of the Vice-Presidents +of the Appeal Court, who in assuming the perilous honour of conducting +the trial had sought to increase the majesty of his long, slender, white +face, which looked the more austere as both his assessors, one dark and +the other fair, had highly coloured countenances. The public prosecutor's +seat was already occupied by one of the most skilful of the +advocates-general, M. Lehmann, a broad-shouldered Alsatian Israelite, +with cunning eyes, whose presence showed that the case was deemed +exceptionally important. At last, amidst the heavy tread of gendarmes, +Salvat was brought in, at once rousing such ardent curiosity that all the +spectators rose to look at him. He still wore the cap and loose overcoat +procured for him by Victor Mathis, and everybody was surprised to see his +emaciated, sorrowful, gentle face, crowned by scanty reddish hair, which +was turning grey. His soft, glowing, dreamy blue eyes glanced around, and +he smiled at someone whom he recognised, probably Victor, but perhaps +Guillaume. After that he remained quite motionless. + +The presiding judge waited for silence to fall, and then came the +formalities which attend the opening of a court of law, followed by the +perusal of the lengthy indictment, which a subordinate official read in a +shrill voice. The scene had now changed, and the spectators listened +wearily and somewhat impatiently, as, for weeks past, the newspapers had +related all that the indictment set forth. At present not a corner of the +court remained unoccupied, there was scarcely space enough for the +witnesses to stand in front of the bench. The closely packed throng was +one of divers hues, the light gowns of ladies alternating with the black +gowns of advocates, while the red robes of the judges disappeared from +view, the bench being so low that the presiding judge's long face +scarcely rose above the sea of heads. Many of those present became +interested in the jurors, and strove to scrutinise their shadowy +countenances. Others, who did not take their eyes off the prisoner, +marvelled at his apparent weariness and indifference, which were so great +that he scarcely answered the whispered questions of his counsel, a young +advocate with a wide-awake look, who was nervously awaiting the +opportunity to achieve fame. Most curiosity, however, centred in the +table set apart for the material evidence. Here were to be seen all sorts +of fragments, some of the woodwork torn away from the carriage-door of +the Duvillard mansion, some plaster that had fallen from the ceiling, a +paving-stone which the violence of the explosion had split in halves, and +other blackened remnants. The more moving sights, however, were the +milliner's bonnet-box, which had remained uninjured, and a glass jar in +which something white and vague was preserved in spirits of wine. This +was one of the poor errand girl's little hands, which had been severed at +the wrist. The authorities had been unable to place her poor ripped body +on the table, and so they had brought that hand! + +At last Salvat rose, and the presiding judge began to interrogate him. +The contrast in the aspect of the court then acquired tragic force: in +the shrouding shade upon one hand were the jurors, their minds already +made up beneath the pressure of public terror, while in the full, vivid +light on the other side was the prisoner, alone and woeful, charged with +all the crimes of his race. Four gendarmes watched over him. He was +addressed by M. de Larombiere in a tone of contempt and disgust. The +judge was not deficient in rectitude; he was indeed one of the last +representatives of the old, scrupulous, upright French magistracy; but he +understood nothing of the new times, and he treated prisoners with the +severity of a Biblical Jehovah. Moreover, the infirmity which was the +worry of his life, the childish lisp which, in his opinion, had alone +prevented him from shining as a public prosecutor, made him ferociously +ill-tempered, incapable of any intelligent indulgence. There were smiles, +which he divined, as soon as he raised his sharp, shrill little voice, to +ask his first questions. That droll voice of his took away whatever +majesty might have remained attached to these proceedings, in which a +man's life was being fought for in a hall full of inquisitive, stifling +and perspiring folks, who fanned themselves and jested. Salvat answered +the judge's earlier questions with his wonted weariness and politeness. +While the judge did everything to vilify him, harshly reproaching him +with his wretched childhood and youth, magnifying every stain and every +transgression in his career, referring to the promiscuity of his life +between Madame Theodore and little Celine as something bestial, he, the +prisoner, quietly said yes or no, like a man who has nothing to hide and +accepts the full responsibility of his actions. He had already made a +complete confession of his crime, and he calmly repeated it without +changing a word. He explained that if he had deposited his bomb at the +entrance of the Duvillard mansion it was to give his deed its true +significance, that of summoning the wealthy, the money-mongers who had so +scandalously enriched themselves by dint of theft and falsehood, to +restore that part of the common wealth which they had appropriated, to +the poor, the working classes, their children and their wives, who +perished of starvation. It was only at this moment that he grew excited; +all the misery that he had endured or witnessed rose to his clouded, +semi-educated brain, in which claims and theories and exasperated ideas +of absolute justice and universal happiness had gathered confusedly. And +from that moment he appeared such as he really was, a sentimentalist, a +dreamer transported by suffering, proud and stubborn, and bent on +changing the world in accordance with his sectarian logic. + +"But you fled!" cried the judge in a voice such as would have befitted a +grasshopper. "You must not say that you gave your life to your cause and +were ready for martyrdom!" + +Salvat's most poignant regret was that he had yielded in the Bois de +Boulogne to the dismay and rage which come upon a tracked and hunted man +and impel him to do all he can to escape capture. And on being thus +taunted by the judge he became quite angry. "I don't fear death, you'll +see that," he replied. "If all had the same courage as I have, your +rotten society would be swept away to-morrow, and happiness would at last +dawn." + +Then the interrogatory dealt at great length with the composition and +manufacture of the bomb. The judge, rightly enough, pointed out that this +was the only obscure point of the affair. "And so," he remarked, "you +persist in saying that dynamite was the explosive you employed? Well, you +will presently hear the experts, who, it is true, differ on certain +points, but are all of opinion that you employed some other explosive, +though they cannot say precisely what it was. Why not speak out on the +point, as you glory in saying everything?" + +Salvat, however, had suddenly calmed down, giving only cautious +monosyllabic replies. "Well, seek for whatever you like if you don't +believe me," he now answered. "I made my bomb by myself, and under +circumstances which I've already related a score of times. You surely +don't expect me to reveal names and compromise comrades?" + +From this declaration he would not depart. It was only towards the end of +the interrogatory that irresistible emotion overcame him on the judge +again referring to the unhappy victim of his crime, the little errand +girl, so pretty and fair and gentle, whom ferocious destiny had brought +to the spot to meet such an awful death. "It was one of your own class +whom you struck," said M. de Larombiere; "your victim was a work girl, a +poor child who, with the few pence she earned, helped to support her aged +grandmother." + +Salvat's voice became very husky as he answered: "That's really the only +thing I regret. . . . My bomb certainly wasn't meant for her; and may all +the workers, all the starvelings, remember that she gave her blood as I'm +going to give mine!" + +In this wise the interrogatory ended amidst profound agitation. Pierre +had felt Guillaume shuddering beside him, whilst the prisoner quietly and +obstinately refused to say a word respecting the explosive that had been +employed, preferring as he did to assume full responsibility for the deed +which was about to cost him his life. Moreover, Guillaume, on turning +round, in compliance with an irresistible impulse, had perceived Victor +Mathis still motionless behind him: his elbows ever leaning on the rail +of the partition, and his chin still resting on his hands, whilst he +listened with silent, concentrated passion. His face had become yet paler +than before, and his eyes glowed as with an avenging fire, whose flames +would never more be extinguished. + +The interrogatory of the prisoner was followed by a brief commotion in +court. + +"That Salvat looks quite nice, he has such soft eyes," declared the +Princess, whom the proceedings greatly amused. "Oh! don't speak ill of +him, my dear deputy. You know that I have Anarchist ideas myself." + +"I speak no ill of him," gaily replied Duthil. "Nor has our friend +Amadieu any right to speak ill of him. For you know that this affair has +set Amadieu on a pinnacle. He was never before talked about to such an +extent as he is now; and he delights in being talked about, you know! He +has become quite a social celebrity, the most illustrious of our +investigating magistrates, and will soon be able to do or become whatever +he pleases." + +Then Massot, with his sarcastic impudence, summed up the situation. "When +Anarchism flourishes, everything flourishes, eh? That bomb has helped on +the affairs of a good many fine fellows that I know. Do you think that my +governor Fonsegue, who's so attentive to Silviane yonder, complains of +it? And doesn't Sagnier, who's spreading himself out behind the presiding +judge, and whose proper place would be between the four +gendarmes--doesn't he owe a debt to Salvat for all the abominable +advertisements he has been able to give his paper by using the wretched +fellow's back as a big drum? And I need not mention the politicians or +the financiers or all those who fish in troubled waters." + +"But I say," interrupted Duthil, "it seems to me that you yourself made +good use of the affair. Your interview with the little girl Celine +brought you in a pot of money." + +Massot, as it happened, had been struck with the idea of ferreting out +Madame Theodore and the child, and of relating his visit to them in the +"Globe," with an abundance of curious and touching particulars. The +article had met with prodigious success, Celine's pretty answers +respecting her imprisoned father having such an effect on ladies with +sensitive hearts that they had driven to Montmartre in their carriages in +order to see the two poor creatures. Thus alms had come to them from all +sides; and strangely enough the very people who demanded the father's +head were the most eager to sympathise with the child. + +"Well, I don't complain of my little profits," said the journalist in +answer to Duthil. "We all earn what we can, you know." + +At this moment Rosemonde, while glancing round her, recognised Guillaume +and Pierre, but she was so amazed to see the latter in ordinary civilian +garb that she did not dare to speak to him. Leaning forward she +acquainted Duthil and Massot with her surprise, and they both turned +round to look. From motives of discretion, however, they pretended that +they did not recognise the Froments. + +The heat in court was now becoming quite unbearable, and one lady had +already fainted. At last the presiding judge again raised his lisping +voice, and managed to restore silence. Salvat, who had remained standing, +now held a few sheets of paper, and with some difficulty he made the +judge understand that he desired to complete his interrogatory by reading +a declaration, which he had drawn up in prison, and in which he explained +his reasons for his crime. For a moment M. de Larombiere hesitated, all +surprise and indignation at such a request; but he was aware that he +could not legally impose silence on the prisoner, and so he signified his +consent with a gesture of mingled irritation and disdain. Thereupon +Salvat began his perusal much after the fashion of a schoolboy, hemming +and hawing here and there, occasionally becoming confused, and then +bringing out certain words with wonderful emphasis, which evidently +pleased him. This declaration of his was the usual cry of suffering and +revolt already raised by so many disinherited ones. It referred to all +the frightful want of the lower spheres; the toiler unable to find a +livelihood in his toil; a whole class, the most numerous and worthy of +the classes, dying of starvation; whilst, on the other hand, were the +privileged ones, gorged with wealth, and wallowing in satiety, yet +refusing to part with even the crumbs from their tables, determined as +they were to restore nothing whatever of the wealth which they had +stolen. And so it became necessary to take everything away from them, to +rouse them from their egotism by terrible warnings, and to proclaim to +them even with the crash of bombs that the day of justice had come. The +unhappy man spoke that word "justice" in a ringing voice which seemed to +fill the whole court. But the emotion of those who heard him reached its +highest pitch when, after declaring that he laid down his life for the +cause, and expected nothing but a verdict of death from the jury, he +added, as if prophetically, that his blood would assuredly give birth to +other martyrs. They might send him to the scaffold, said he, but he knew +that his example would bear fruit. After him would come another avenger, +and yet another, and others still, until the old and rotten social system +should have crumbled away so as to make room for the society of justice +and happiness of which he was one of the apostles. + +The presiding judge, in his impatience and agitation, twice endeavoured +to interrupt Salvat. But the other read on and on with the imperturbable +conscientiousness of one who fears that he may not give proper utterance +to his most important words. He must have been thinking of that perusal +ever since he had been in prison. It was the decisive act of his suicide, +the act by which he proclaimed that he gave his life for the glory of +dying in the cause of mankind. And when he had finished he sat down +between the gendarmes with glowing eyes and flushed cheeks, as if he +inwardly experienced some deep joy. + +To destroy the effect which the declaration had produced--a commingling +of fear and compassion--the judge at once wished to proceed with the +hearing of the witnesses. Of these there was an interminable procession; +though little interest attached to their evidence, for none of them had +any revelations to make. Most attention perhaps was paid to the measured +statements of Grandidier, who had been obliged to dismiss Salvat from his +employ on account of the Anarchist propaganda he had carried on. Then the +prisoner's brother-in-law, Toussaint, the mechanician, also seemed a very +worthy fellow if one might judge him by the manner in which he strove to +put things favourably for Salvat, without in any way departing from the +truth. After Toussaint's evidence considerable time was taken up by the +discussions between the experts, who disagreed in public as much as they +had disagreed in their reports. Although they were all of opinion that +dynamite could not have been the explosive employed in the bomb, they +indulged in the most extraordinary and contradictory suppositions as to +this explosive's real nature. Eventually a written opinion given by the +illustrious _savant_ Bertheroy was read; and this, after clearly setting +forth the known facts, concluded that one found oneself in presence of a +new explosive of prodigious power, the formula of which he himself was +unable to specify. + +Then detective Mondesir and commissary Dupot came in turn to relate the +various phases of the man hunt in the Bois de Boulogne. In Mondesir +centred all the gaiety of the proceedings, thanks to the guardroom +sallies with which he enlivened his narrative. And in like way the +greatest grief, a perfect shudder of revolt and compassion, was roused by +the errand girl's grandmother, a poor, bent, withered old woman, whom the +prosecution had cruelly constrained to attend the court, and who wept and +looked quite dismayed, unable as she was to understand what was wanted of +her. When she had withdrawn, the only remaining witnesses were those for +the defence, a procession of foremen and comrades, who all declared that +they had known Salvat as a very worthy fellow, an intelligent and zealous +workman, who did not drink, but was extremely fond of his daughter, and +incapable of an act of dishonesty or cruelty. + +It was already four o'clock when the evidence of the witnesses came to an +end. The atmosphere in court was now quite stifling, feverish fatigue +flushed every face, and a kind of ruddy dust obscured the waning light +which fell from the windows. Women were fanning themselves and men were +mopping their foreheads. However, the passion roused by the scene still +brought a glow of cruel delight to every eye. And no one stirred. + +"Ah!" sighed Rosemonde all at once, "to think that I hoped to drink a cup +of tea at a friend's at five o'clock. I shall die of thirst and +starvation here." + +"We shall certainly be kept till seven," replied Massot. "I can't offer +to go and fetch you a roll, for I shouldn't be readmitted." + +Then Duthil, who had not ceased shrugging his shoulders while Salvat read +his declaration, exclaimed: "What childish things he said, didn't he? And +to think that the fool is going to die for all that! Rich and poor, +indeed! Why, there will always be rich and poor. And it's equally certain +that when a man is poor his one great desire is to become rich. If that +fellow is in the dock to-day it's simply because he failed to make +money." + +While the others were thus conversing, Pierre for his part was feeling +extremely anxious about his brother, who sat beside him in silence, pale +and utterly upset. Pierre sought his hand and covertly pressed it. Then +in a low voice he inquired: "Do you feel ill? Shall we go away?" + +Guillaume answered him by discreetly and affectionately returning his +handshake. He was all right, he would remain till the end, however much +he might be stirred by exasperation. + +It was now Monsieur Lehmann, the public prosecutor, who rose to address +the court. He had a large, stern mouth, and was squarely built, with a +stubborn Jewish face. Nevertheless he was known to be a man of dexterous, +supple nature, one who had a foot in every political camp, and invariably +contrived to be on good terms with the powers that were. This explained +his rapid rise in life, and the constant favour he enjoyed. In the very +first words he spoke he alluded to the new ministry gazetted that +morning, referring pointedly to the strong-handed man who had undertaken +the task of reassuring peaceable citizens and making evil-doers tremble. +Then he fell upon the wretched Salvat with extraordinary vehemence, +recounting the whole of his life, and exhibiting him as a bandit +expressly born for the perpetration of crime, a monster who was bound to +end by committing some abominable and cowardly outrage. Next he +flagellated Anarchism and its partisans. The Anarchists were a mere herd +of vagabonds and thieves, said he. That had been shown by the recent +robbery at the Princess de Harn's house. The ignoble gang that had been +arrested for that affair had given the apostles of the Anarchist doctrine +as their references! And that was what the application of Anarchist +theories resulted in--burglary and filth, pending a favourable hour for +wholesale pillage and murder! For nearly a couple of hours the public +prosecutor continued in this fashion, throwing truth and logic to the +winds, and exclusively striving to alarm his hearers. He made all +possible use of the terror which had reigned in Paris, and figuratively +brandished the corpse of the poor little victim, the pretty errand girl, +as if it were a blood-red flag, before pointing to the pale hand, +preserved in spirits of wine, with a gesture of compassionate horror +which sent a shudder through his audience. And he ended, as he had begun, +by inspiriting the jurors, and telling them that they might fearlessly do +their duty now that those at the head of the State were firmly resolved +to give no heed to threats. + +Then the young advocate entrusted with the defence in his turn spoke. And +he really said what there was to say with great clearness and precision. +He was of a different school from that of the public prosecutor: his +eloquence was very simple and smooth, his only passion seemed to be zeal +for truth. Moreover, it was sufficient for him to show Salvat's career in +its proper light, to depict him pursued by social fatalities since his +childhood, and to explain the final action of his career by all that he +had suffered and all that had sprung up in his dreamy brain. Was not his +crime the crime of one and all? Who was there that did not feel, if only +in a small degree, responsible for that bomb which a penniless, starving +workman had deposited on the threshold of a wealthy man's abode--a +wealthy man whose name bespoke the injustice of the social system: so +much enjoyment on the one hand and so much privation on the other! If one +of us happened to lose his head, and felt impelled to hasten the advent +of happiness by violence in such troublous times, when so many burning +problems claimed solution, ought he to be deprived of his life in the +name of justice, when none could swear that they had not in some measure +contributed to his madness? Following up this question, Salvat's counsel +dwelt at length on the period that witnessed the crime, a period of so +many scandals and collapses, when the old world was giving birth to a new +one amidst the most terrible struggles and pangs. And he concluded by +begging the jury to show themselves humane, to resist all passion and +terror, and to pacify the rival classes by a wise verdict, instead of +prolonging social warfare by giving the starvelings yet another martyr to +avenge. + +It was past six o'clock when M. de Larombiere began to sum up in a +partial and flowery fashion, in which one detected how grieved and angry +he was at having such a shrill little voice. Then the judges and the +jurors withdrew, and the prisoner was led away, leaving the spectators +waiting amidst an uproar of feverish impatience. Some more ladies had +fainted, and it had even been necessary to carry out a gentleman who had +been overcome by the cruel heat. However, the others stubbornly remained +there, not one of them quitting his place. + +"Ah! it won't take long now," said Massot. "The jurors brought their +verdict all ready in their pockets. I was looking at them while that +little advocate was telling them such sensible things. They all looked as +if they were comfortably asleep in the gloom." + +Then Duthil turned to the Princess and asked her, "Are you still hungry?" + +"Oh! I'm starving," she replied. "I shall never be able to wait till I +get home. You will have to take me to eat a biscuit somewhere. . . . All +the same, however, it's very exciting to see a man's life staked on a yes +or a no." + +Meantime Pierre, finding Guillaume still more feverish and grieved, had +once again taken hold of his hand. Neither of them spoke, so great was +the distress that they experienced for many reasons which they themselves +could not have precisely defined. It seemed to them, however, that all +human misery--inclusive of their own, the affections, the hopes, the +griefs which brought them suffering--was sobbing and quivering in that +buzzing hall. Twilight had gradually fallen there, but as the end was now +so near it had doubtless been thought unnecessary to light the +chandeliers. And thus large vague shadows, dimming and shrouding the +serried throng, now hovered about in the last gleams of the day. The +ladies in light gowns yonder, behind the bench, looked like pale phantoms +with all-devouring eyes, whilst the numerous groups of black-robed +advocates formed large sombre patches which gradually spread everywhere. +The greyish painting of the Christ had already vanished, and on the walls +one only saw the glaring white bust of the Republic, which resembled some +frigid death's head starting forth from the darkness. + +"Ah!" Massot once more exclaimed, "I knew that it wouldn't take long!" + +Indeed, the jurors were returning after less than a quarter of an hour's +absence. Then the judges likewise came back and took their seats. +Increased emotion stirred the throng, a great gust seemed to sweep +through the court, a gust of anxiety, which made every head sway. Some +people had risen to their feet, and others gave vent to involuntary +exclamations. The foreman of the jury, a gentleman with a broad red face, +had to wait a moment before speaking. At last in a sharp but somewhat +sputtering voice he declared: "On my honour and my conscience, before God +and before man, the verdict of the jury is: on the question of Murder, +yes, by a majority of votes."* + + * English readers may be reminded that in France the verdict of + a majority of the jury suffices for conviction or acquittal. + If the jury is evenly divided the prisoner is acquitted.--Trans. + +The night had almost completely fallen when Salvat was once more brought +in. In front of the jurors, who faded away in the gloom, he stood forth, +erect, with a last ray from the windows lighting up his face. The judges +themselves almost disappeared from view, their red robes seemed to have +turned black. And how phantom-like looked the prisoner's emaciated face +as he stood there listening, with dreamy eyes, while the clerk of the +court read the verdict to him. + +When silence fell and no mention was made of extenuating circumstances, +he understood everything. His face, which had retained a childish +expression, suddenly brightened. "That means death. Thank you, +gentlemen," he said. + +Then he turned towards the public, and amidst the growing darkness +searched for the friendly faces which he knew were there; and this time +Guillaume became fully conscious that he had recognised him, and was +again expressing affectionate and grateful thanks for the crust he had +received from him on a day of want. He must have also bidden farewell to +Victor Mathis, for as Guillaume glanced at the young man, who had not +moved, he saw that his eyes were staring wildly, and that a terrible +expression rested on his lips. + +As for the rest of the proceedings, the last questions addressed to the +jury and the counsel, the deliberations of the judges and the delivery of +sentence--these were all lost amidst the buzzing and surging of the +crowd. A little compassion was unconsciously manifested; and some stupor +was mingled with the satisfaction that greeted the sentence of death. + +No sooner had Salvat been condemned, however, than he drew himself up to +his full height, and as the guards led him away he shouted in a +stentorian voice: "Long live Anarchy!" + +Nobody seemed angered by the cry. The crowd went off quietly, as if +weariness had lulled all its passions. The proceedings had really lasted +too long and fatigued one too much. It was quite pleasant to inhale the +fresh air on emerging from such a nightmare. + +In the large waiting hall, Pierre and Guillaume passed Duthil and the +Princess, whom General de Bozonnet had stopped while chatting with +Fonsegue. All four of them were talking in very loud voices, complaining +of the heat and their hunger, and agreeing that the affair had not been a +particularly interesting one. Yet, all was well that ended well. As +Fonsegue remarked, the condemnation of Salvat to death was a political +and social necessity. + +When Pierre and Guillaume reached the Pont Neuf, the latter for a moment +rested his elbows on the parapet of the bridge. His brother, standing +beside him, also gazed at the grey waters of the Seine, which here and +there were fired by the reflections of the gas lamps. A fresh breeze +ascended from the river; it was the delightful hour when night steals +gently over resting Paris. Then, as the brothers stood there breathing +that atmosphere which usually brings relief and comfort, Pierre on his +side again became conscious of his heart-wound, and remembered his +promise to return to Montmartre, a promise that he must keep in spite of +the torture there awaiting him; whilst Guillaume on the other hand +experienced a revival of the suspicion and disquietude that had come to +him on seeing Marie so feverish, changed as it were by some new feeling, +of which she herself was ignorant. Were further sufferings, struggles, +and obstacles to happiness yet in store for those brothers who loved one +another so dearly? At all events their hearts bled once more with all the +sorrow into which they had been cast by the scene they had just +witnessed: that assize of justice at which a wretched man had been +condemned to pay with his head for the crimes of one and all. + +Then, as they turned along the quay, Guillaume recognised young Victor +going off alone in the gloom, just in front of them. The chemist stopped +him and spoke to him of his mother. But the young man did not hear; his +thin lips parted, and in a voice as trenchant as a knife-thrust he +exclaimed: "Ah! so it's blood they want. Well, they may cut off his head, +but he will be avenged!" + + + +V + +SACRIFICE + +THE days which followed Salvat's trial seemed gloomy ones up yonder in +Guillaume's workroom, which was usually so bright and gay. Sadness and +silence filled the place. The three young men were no longer there. +Thomas betook himself to the Grandidier works early every morning in +order to perfect his little motor; Francois was so busy preparing for his +examination that he scarcely left the Ecole Normale; while Antoine was +doing some work at Jahan's, where he delighted to linger and watch his +little friend Lise awakening to life. Thus Guillaume's sole companion was +Mere-Grand, who sat near the window busy with her needlework; for Marie +was ever going about the house, and only stayed in the workroom for any +length of time when Pierre happened to be there. + +Guillaume's gloom was generally attributed to the feelings of anger and +revolt into which the condemnation of Salvat had thrown him. He had flown +into a passion on his return from the Palace of Justice, declaring that +the execution of the unhappy man would simply be social murder, +deliberate provocation of class warfare. And the others had bowed on +hearing that pain-fraught violent cry, without attempting to discuss the +point. Guillaume's sons respectfully left him to the thoughts which kept +him silent for hours, with his face pale and a dreamy expression in his +eyes. His chemical furnace remained unlighted, and his only occupation +from morn till night was to examine the plans and documents connected +with his invention, that new explosive and that terrible engine of war, +which he had so long dreamt of presenting to France in order that she +might impose the reign of truth and justice upon all the nations. +However, during the long hours which he spent before the papers scattered +over his table, often without seeing them, for his eyes wandered far +away, a multitude of vague thoughts came to him--doubts respecting the +wisdom of his project, and fears lest his desire to pacify the nations +should simply throw them into an endless war of extermination. Although +he really believed that great city of Paris to be the world's brain, +entrusted with the task of preparing the future, he could not disguise +from himself that with all its folly and shame and injustice it still +presented a shocking spectacle. Was it really ripe enough for the work of +human salvation which he thought of entrusting to it? Then, on trying to +re-peruse his notes and verify his formulas, he only recovered his former +energetic determination on thinking of his marriage, whereupon the idea +came to him that it was now too late for him to upset his life by +changing such long-settled plans. + +His marriage! Was it not the thought of this which haunted Guillaume and +disturbed him far more powerfully than his scientific work or his +humanitarian passion? Beneath all the worries that he acknowledged, there +was another which he did not confess even to himself, and which filled +him with anguish. He repeated day by day that he would reveal his +invention to the Minister of War as soon as he should be married to +Marie, whom he wished to associate with his glory. Married to Marie! Each +time he thought of it, burning fever and secret disquietude came over +him. If he now remained so silent and had lost his quiet cheerfulness, it +was because he had felt new life, as it were, emanating from her. She was +certainly no longer the same woman as formerly; she was becoming more and +more changed and distant. He had watched her and Pierre when the latter +happened to be there, which was now but seldom. He, too, appeared +embarrassed, and different from what he had been. On the days when he +came, however, Marie seemed transformed; it was as if new life animated +the house. Certainly the intercourse between her and Pierre was quite +innocent, sisterly on the one hand, brotherly on the other. They simply +seemed to be a pair of good friends. And yet a radiance, a vibration, +emanated from them, something more subtle even than a sun-ray or a +perfume. After the lapse of a few days Guillaume found himself unable to +doubt the truth any longer. And his heart bled, he was utterly upset by +it. He had not found them in fault in any way, but he was convinced that +these two children, as he so paternally called them, really adored one +another. + +One lovely morning when he happened to be alone with Mere-Grand, face to +face with sunlit Paris, he fell into a yet more dolorous reverie than +usual. He seemed to be gazing fixedly at the old lady, as, seated in her +usual place, she continued sewing with an air of queenly serenity. +Perhaps, however, he did not see her. For her part she occasionally +raised her eyes and glanced at him, as if expecting a confession which +did not come. At last, finding such silence unbearable, she made up her +mind to address him: "What has been the matter with you, Guillaume, for +some time past? Why don't you tell me what you have to tell me?" + +He descended from the clouds, as it were, and answered in astonishment: +"What I have to tell you?" + +"Yes, I know it as well as you do, and I thought you would speak to me of +it, since it pleases you to do nothing here without consulting me." + +At this he turned very pale and shuddered. So he had not been mistaken in +the matter, even Mere-Grand knew all about it. To talk of it, however, +was to give shape to his suspicions, to transform what, hitherto, might +merely have been a fancy on his part into something real and definite. + +"It was inevitable, my dear son," said Mere-Grand. "I foresaw it from the +outset. And if I did not warn you of it, it was because I believed in +some deep design on your part. Since I have seen you suffering, however, +I have realised that I was mistaken." Then, as he still looked at her +quivering and distracted, she continued: "Yes, I fancied that you might +have wished it, that in bringing your brother here you wished to know if +Marie loved you otherwise than as a father. There was good reason for +testing her--for instance, the great difference between your ages, for +your life is drawing to a close, whilst hers is only beginning. And I +need not mention the question of your work, the mission which I have +always dreamt of for you." + +Thereupon, with his hands raised in prayerful fashion, Guillaume drew +near to the old lady and exclaimed: "Oh! speak out clearly, tell me what +you think. I don't understand, my poor heart is so lacerated; and yet I +should so much like to know everything, so as to be able to act and take +a decision. To think that you whom I love, you whom I venerate as much as +if you were my real mother, you whose profound good sense I know so well +that I have always followed your advice--to think that you should have +foreseen this frightful thing and have allowed it to happen at the risk +of its killing me! . . . Why have you done so, tell me, why?" + +Mere-Grand was not fond of talking. Absolute mistress of the house as she +was, managing everything, accountable to nobody for her actions, she +never gave expression to all that she thought or all that she desired. +Indeed, there was no occasion for it, as Guillaume, like the children, +relied upon her completely, with full confidence in her wisdom. And her +somewhat enigmatical ways even helped to raise her in their estimation. + +"What is the use of words, when things themselves speak?" she now gently +answered, while still plying her needle. "It is quite true that I +approved of the plan of a marriage between you and Marie, for I saw that +it was necessary that she should be married if she was to stay here. And +then, too, there were many other reasons which I needn't speak of. +However, Pierre's arrival here has changed everything, and placed things +in their natural order. Is not that preferable?" + +He still lacked the courage to understand her. "Preferable! When I'm in +agony? When my life is wrecked?" + +Thereupon she rose and came to him, tall and rigid in her thin black +gown, and with an expression of austerity and energy on her pale face. +"My son," she said, "you know that I love you, and that I wish you to be +very noble and lofty. Only the other morning, you had an attack of +fright, the house narrowly escaped being blown up. Then, for some days +now you have been sitting over those documents and plans in an +absent-minded, distracted state, like a man who feels weak, and doubts, +and no longer knows his way. Believe me, you are following a dangerous +path; it is better that Pierre should marry Marie, both for their sakes +and for your own." + +"For my sake? No, no! What will become of me!" + +"You will calm yourself and reflect, my son. You have such serious duties +before you. You are on the eve of making your invention known. It seems +to me that something has bedimmed your sight, and that you will perhaps +act wrongly in this respect, through failing to take due account of the +problem before you. Perhaps there is something better to be done. . . . +At all events, suffer if it be necessary, but remain faithful to your +ideal." + +Then, quitting him with a maternal smile, she sought to soften her +somewhat stern words by adding: "You have compelled me to speak +unnecessarily, for I am quite at ease; with your superior mind, whatever +be in question, you can but do the one right thing that none other would +do." + +On finding himself alone Guillaume fell into feverish uncertainty. What +was the meaning of Mere-Grand's enigmatical words? He knew that she was +on the side of whatever might be good, natural, and necessary. But she +seemed to be urging him to some lofty heroism; and indeed what she had +said threw a ray of light upon the unrest which had come to him in +connection with his old plan of going to confide his secret to some +Minister of War or other, whatever one might happen to be in office at +the time. Growing hesitation and repugnance stirred him as he fancied he +could again hear her saying that perhaps there might be some better +course, that would require search and reflection. But all at once a +vision of Marie rose before him, and his heart was rent by the thought +that he was asked to renounce her. To lose her, to give her to another! +No, no, that was beyond his strength. He would never have the frightful +courage that was needed to pass by the last promised raptures of love +with disdain! + +For a couple of days Guillaume struggled on. He seemed to be again living +the six years which the young woman had already spent beside him in that +happy little house. She had been at first like an adopted daughter there; +and later on, when the idea of their marriage had sprung up, he had +viewed it with quiet delight in the hope that it would ensure the +happiness of all around him. If he had previously abstained from marrying +again it was from the fear of placing a strange mother over his children; +and if he yielded to the charm of loving yet once more, and no longer +leading a solitary life, it was because he had found at his very hearth +one of such sensible views, who, in the flower of youth, was willing to +become his wife despite the difference in their ages. Then months had +gone by, and serious occurrences had compelled them to postpone the +wedding, though without undue suffering on his part. Indeed, the +certainty that she was waiting for him had sufficed him, for his life of +hard work had rendered him patient. Now, however, all at once, at the +threat of losing her, his hitherto tranquil heart ached and bled. He +would never have thought the tie so close a one. But he was now almost +fifty, and it was as if love and woman were being wrenched away from him, +the last woman that he could love and desire, one too who was the more +desirable, as she was the incarnation of youth from which he must ever be +severed, should he indeed lose her. Passionate desire, mingled with rage, +flared up within him at the thought that someone should have come to take +her from him. + +One night, alone in his room, he suffered perfect martyrdom. In order +that he might not rouse the house he buried his face in his pillow so as +to stifle his sobs. After all, it was a simple matter; Marie had given +him her promise, and he would compel her to keep it. She would be his, +and his alone, and none would be able to steal her from him. Then, +however, there rose before him a vision of his brother, the +long-forgotten one, whom, from feelings of affection, he had compelled to +join his family. But his sufferings were now so acute that he would have +driven that brother away had he been before him. He was enraged, +maddened, by the thought of him. His brother--his little brother! So all +their love was over; hatred and violence were about to poison their +lives. For hours Guillaume continued complaining deliriously, and seeking +how he might so rid himself of Pierre that what had happened should be +blotted out. Now and again, when he recovered self-control, he marvelled +at the tempest within him; for was he not a _savant_ guided by lofty +reason, a toiler to whom long experience had brought serenity? But the +truth was that this tempest had not sprung up in his mind, it was raging +in the child-like soul that he had retained, the nook of affection and +dreaminess which remained within him side by side with his principles of +pitiless logic and his belief in proven phenomena only. His very genius +came from the duality of his nature: behind the chemist was a social +dreamer, hungering for justice and capable of the greatest love. And now +passion was transporting him, and he was weeping for the loss of Marie as +he would have wept over the downfall of that dream of his, the +destruction of war _by_ war, that scheme for the salvation of mankind at +which he had been working for ten years past. + +At last, amidst his weariness, a sudden resolution calmed him. He began +to feel ashamed of despairing in this wise when he had no certain grounds +to go upon. He must know everything, he would question the young woman; +she was loyal enough to answer him frankly. Was not this a solution +worthy of them both? An explanation in all sincerity, after which they +would be able to take a decision. Then he fell asleep; and, tired though +he felt when he rose in the morning, he was calmer. It was as if some +secret work had gone on in his heart during his few hours of repose after +that terrible storm. + +As it happened Marie was very gay that morning. On the previous day she +had gone with Pierre and Antoine on a cycling excursion over frightful +roads in the direction of Montmorency, whence they had returned in a +state of mingled anger and delight. When Guillaume stopped her in the +little garden, he found her humming a song while returning bare-armed +from the scullery, where some washing was going on. + +"Do you want to speak to me?" she asked. + +"Yes, my dear child, it's necessary for us to talk of some serious +matters." + +She at once understood that their marriage was in question, and became +grave. She had formerly consented to that marriage because she regarded +it as the only sensible course she could take, and this with full +knowledge of the duties which she would assume. No doubt her husband +would be some twenty years older than herself, but this circumstance was +one of somewhat frequent occurrence, and as a rule such marriages turned +out well, rather than otherwise. Moreover, she was in love with nobody, +and was free to consent. And she had consented with an impulse of +gratitude and affection which seemed so sweet that she thought it the +sweetness of love itself. Everybody around her, too, appeared so pleased +at the prospect of this marriage, which would draw the family yet more +closely together. And, on her side, she had been as it were intoxicated +by the idea of making others happy. + +"What is the matter?" she now asked Guillaume in a somewhat anxious +voice. "No bad news, I hope?" + +"No, no," he answered. "I've simply something to say to you." + +Then he led her under the plum-trees to the only green nook left in the +garden. An old worm-eaten bench still stood there against the +lilac-bushes. And in front of them Paris spread out its sea of roofs, +looking light and fresh in the morning sunlight. + +They both sat down. But at the moment of speaking and questioning Marie, +Guillaume experienced sudden embarrassment, while his heart beat +violently at seeing her beside him, so young and adorable with her bare +arms. + +"Our wedding-day is drawing near," he ended by saying. And then as she +turned somewhat pale, perhaps unconsciously, he himself suddenly felt +cold. Had not her lips twitched as if with pain? Had not a shadow passed +over her fresh, clear eyes? + +"Oh! we still have some time before us," she replied. + +Then, slowly and very affectionately, he resumed: "No doubt; still it is +necessary to attend to the formalities. And it is as well, perhaps, that +I should speak of those worries to-day, so that I may not have to bother +you about them again." + +Then he gently went on telling her all that would have to be done, +keeping his eyes on her whilst he spoke, watching for such signs of +emotion as the thought of her promise's early fulfilment might bring to +her face. She sat there in silence, with her hands on her lap, and her +features quite still, thus giving no certain sign of any regret or +trouble. Still she seemed rather dejected, compliant, as it were, but in +no wise joyous. + +"You say nothing, my dear Marie," Guillaume at last exclaimed. "Does +anything of all this displease you?" + +"Displease me? Oh, no!" + +"You must speak out frankly, if it does, you know. We will wait a little +longer if you have any personal reasons for wishing to postpone the date +again." + +"But I've no reasons, my friend. What reasons could I have? I leave you +quite free to settle everything as you yourself may desire." + +Silence fell. While answering, she had looked him frankly in the face; +but a little quiver stirred her lips, and gloom, for which she could not +account, seemed to rise and darken her face, usually as bright and gay as +spring water. In former times would she not have laughed and sung at the +mere announcement of that coming wedding? + +Then Guillaume, with an effort which made his voice tremble, dared to +speak out: "You must forgive me for asking you a question, my dear Marie. +There is still time for you to cancel your promise. Are you quite certain +that you love me?" + +At this she looked at him in genuine stupefaction, utterly failing to +understand what he could be aiming at. And--as she seemed to be deferring +her reply, he added: "Consult your heart. Is it really your old friend or +is it another that you love?" + +"I? I, Guillaume? Why do you say that to me? What can I have done to give +you occasion to say such a thing!" + +All her frank nature revolted as she spoke, and her beautiful eyes, +glowing with sincerity, gazed fixedly on his. + +"I love Pierre! I do, I? . . . Well, yes, I love him, as I love you all; +I love him because he has become one of us, because he shares our life +and our joys! I'm happy when he's here, certainly; and I should like him +to be always here. I'm always pleased to see him and hear him and go out +with him. I was very much grieved recently when he seemed to be relapsing +into his gloomy ideas. But all that is natural, is it not? And I think +that I have only done what you desired I should do, and I cannot +understand how my affection for Pierre can in any way exercise an +influence respecting our marriage." + +These words, in her estimation, ought to have convinced Guillaume that +she was not in love with his brother; but in lieu thereof they brought +him painful enlightenment by the very ardour with which she denied the +love imputed to her. + +"But you unfortunate girl!" he cried. "You are betraying yourself without +knowing it. . . . It is quite certain you do not love me, you love my +brother!" + +He had caught hold of her wrists and was pressing them with despairing +affection as if to compel her to read her heart. And she continued +struggling. A most loving and tragic contest went on between them, he +seeking to convince her by the evidence of facts, and she resisting him, +stubbornly refusing to open her eyes. In vain did he recount what had +happened since the first day, explaining the feelings which had followed +one upon another in her heart and mind: first covert hostility, next +curiosity regarding that extraordinary young priest, and then sympathy +and affection when she had found him so wretched and had gradually cured +him of his sufferings. They were both young and mother Nature had done +the rest. However, at each fresh proof and certainty which he put before +her, Marie only experienced growing emotion, trembling at last from head +to foot, but still unwilling to question herself. + +"No, no," said she, "I do not love him. If I loved him I should know it +and would acknowledge it to you; for you are well aware that I cannot +tell an untruth." + +Guillaume, however, had the cruelty to insist on the point, like some +heroic surgeon cutting into his own flesh even more than into that of +others, in order that the truth might appear and everyone be saved. +"Marie," said he, "it is not I whom you love. All that you feel for me is +respect and gratitude and daughterly affection. Remember what your +feelings were at the time when our marriage was decided upon. You were +then in love with nobody, and you accepted the offer like a sensible +girl, feeling certain that I should render you happy, and that the union +was a right and satisfactory one. . . . But since then my brother has +come here; love has sprung up in your heart in quite a natural way; and +it is Pierre, Pierre alone, whom you love as a lover and a husband should +be loved." + +Exhausted though she was, utterly distracted, too, by the light which, +despite herself, was dawning within her, Marie still stubbornly and +desperately protested. + +"But why do you struggle like this against the truth, my child?" said +Guillaume; "I do not reproach you. It was I who chose that this should +happen, like the old madman I am. What was bound to come has come, and +doubtless it is for the best. I only wanted to learn the truth from you +in order that I might take a decision and act uprightly." + +These words vanquished her, and her tears gushed forth. It seemed as +though something had been rent asunder within her; and she felt quite +overcome, as if by the weight of a new truth of which she had hitherto +been ignorant. "Ah! it was cruel of you," she said, "to do me such +violence so as to make me read my heart. I swear to you again that I did +not know I loved Pierre in the way you say. But you have opened my heart, +and roused what was quietly slumbering in it. . . . And it is true, I do +love Pierre, I love him now as you have said. And so here we are, all +three of us supremely wretched through your doing!" + +She sobbed, and with a sudden feeling of modesty freed her wrists from +his grasp. He noticed, however, that no blush rose to her face. Truth to +tell, her virginal loyalty was not in question; she had no cause to +reproach herself with any betrayal; it was he alone, perforce, who had +awakened her to love. For a moment they looked at one another through +their tears: she so strong and healthy, her bosom heaving at each +heart-beat, and her white arms--arms that could both charm and +sustain--bare almost to her shoulders; and he still vigorous, with his +thick fleece of white hair and his black moustaches, which gave his +countenance such an expression of energetic youth. But it was all over, +the irreparable had swept by, and utterly changed their lives. + +"Marie," he nobly said, "you do not love me, I give you back your +promise." + +But with equal nobility she refused to take it back. "Never will I do +so," she replied. "I gave it to you frankly, freely and joyfully, and my +affection and admiration for you have never changed." + +Nevertheless, with more firmness in his hitherto broken voice, Guillaume +retorted: "You love Pierre, and it is Pierre whom you ought to marry." + +"No," she again insisted, "I belong to you. A tie which years have +tightened cannot be undone in an hour. Once again, if I love Pierre I +swear to you that I was ignorant of it this morning. And let us leave the +matter as it is; do not torture me any more, it would be too cruel of +you." + +Then, quivering like a woman who suddenly perceives that she is bare, in +a stranger's presence, she hastily pulled down her sleeves, and even drew +them over her hands as if to leave naught of her person visible. And +afterwards she rose and walked away without adding a single word. + +Guillaume remained alone on the bench in that leafy corner, in front of +Paris, to which the light morning sunshine lent the aspect of some +quivering, soaring city of dreamland. A great weight oppressed him, and +it seemed to him as if he would never be able to rise from the seat. That +which brought him most suffering was Marie's assurance that she had till +that morning been ignorant of the fact that she was in love with Pierre. +She had been ignorant of it, and it was he, Guillaume, who had brought it +to her knowledge, compelled her to confess it! He had now firmly planted +it in her heart, and perhaps increased it by revealing it to her. Ah! how +cruel the thought--to be the artisan of one's own torment! Of one thing +he was now quite certain: there would be no more love in his life. At the +idea of this, his poor, loving heart sank and bled. And yet amidst the +disaster, amidst his grief at realising that he was an old man, and that +renunciation was imperative, he experienced a bitter joy at having +brought the truth to light. This was very harsh consolation, fit only for +one of heroic soul, yet he found lofty satisfaction in it, and from that +moment the thought of sacrifice imposed itself upon him with +extraordinary force. He must marry his children; there lay the path of +duty, the only wise and just course, the only certain means of ensuring +the happiness of the household. And when his revolting heart yet leapt +and shrieked with anguish, he carried his vigorous hands to his chest in +order to still it. + +On the morrow came the supreme explanation between Guillaume and Pierre, +not in the little garden, however, but in the spacious workroom. And here +again one beheld the vast panorama of Paris, a nation as it were at work, +a huge vat in which the wine of the future was fermenting. Guillaume had +arranged things so that he might be alone with his brother; and no sooner +had the latter entered than he attacked him, going straight to the point +without any of the precautions which he had previously taken with Marie. + +"Haven't you something to say to me, Pierre?" he inquired. "Why won't you +confide in me?" + +The other immediately understood him, and began to tremble, unable to +find a word, but confessing everything by the distracted, entreating +expression of his face. + +"You love Marie," continued Guillaume, "why did you not loyally come and +tell me of your love?" + +At this Pierre recovered self-possession and defended himself vehemently: +"I love Marie, it's true, and I felt that I could not conceal it, that +you yourself would notice it at last. But there was no occasion for me to +tell you of it, for I was sure of myself, and would have fled rather than +have allowed a single word to cross my lips. I suffered in silence and +alone, and you cannot know how great my torture was! It is even cruel on +your part to speak to me of it; for now I am absolutely compelled to +leave you. . . . I have already, on several occasions, thought of doing +so. If I have come back here, it was doubtless through weakness, but also +on account of my affection for you all. And what mattered my presence +here? Marie ran no risk. She does not love me." + +"She does love you!" Guillaume answered. "I questioned her yesterday, and +she had to confess that she loved you." + +At this Pierre, utterly distracted, caught Guillaume by the shoulders and +gazed into his eyes. "Oh! brother, brother! what is this you say? Why say +a thing which would mean terrible misfortune for us all? Even if it were +true, my grief would far exceed my joy, for I will not have you suffer. +Marie belongs to you. To me she is as sacred as a sister. And if there be +only my madness to part you, it will pass by, I shall know how to conquer +it." + +"Marie loves you," repeated Guillaume in his gentle, obstinate way. "I +don't reproach you with anything. I well know that you have struggled, +and have never betrayed yourself to her either by word or glance. +Yesterday she herself was still ignorant that she loved you, and I had to +open her eyes. . . . What would you have? I simply state a fact: she +loves you." + +This time Pierre, still quivering, made a gesture of mingled rapture and +terror, as if some divine and long-desired blessing were falling upon him +from heaven and crushing him beneath its weight. + +"Well, then," he said, after a brief pause, "it is all over. . . . Let us +kiss one another for the last time, and then I'll go." + +"Go? Why? You must stay with us. Nothing could be more simple: you love +Marie and she loves you. I give her to you." + +A loud cry came from Pierre, who wildly raised his hands again with a +gesture of fright and rapture. "You give me Marie?" he replied. "You, who +adore her, who have been waiting for her for months? No, no, it would +overcome me, it would terrify me, as if you gave me your very heart after +tearing it from your breast. No, no! I will not accept your sacrifice!" + +"But as it is only gratitude and affection that Marie feels for me," said +Guillaume, "as it is you whom she really loves, am I to take a mean +advantage of the engagements which she entered into unconsciously, and +force her to a marriage when I know that she would never be wholly mine? +Besides, I have made a mistake, it isn't I who give her to you, she has +already given herself, and I do not consider that I have any right to +prevent her from doing so." + +"No, no! I will never accept, I will never bring such grief upon you. . . +Kiss me, brother, and let me go." + +Thereupon Guillaume caught hold of Pierre and compelled him to sit down +by his side on an old sofa near the window. And he began to scold him +almost angrily while still retaining a smile, in which suffering and +kindliness were blended. "Come," said he, "we are surely not going to +fight over it. You won't force me to tie you up so as to keep you here? I +know what I'm about. I thought it all over before I spoke to you. No +doubt, I can't tell you that it gladdens me. I thought at first that I +was going to die; I should have liked to hide myself in the very depths +of the earth. And then, well, it was necessary to be reasonable, and I +understood that things had arranged themselves for the best, in their +natural order." + +Pierre, unable to resist any further, had begun to weep with both hands +raised to his face. + +"Don't grieve, brother, either for yourself or for me," said Guillaume. +"Do you remember the happy days we lately spent together at Neuilly after +we had found one another again? All our old affection revived within us, +and we remained for hours, hand in hand, recalling the past and loving +one another. And what a terrible confession you made to me one night, the +confession of your loss of faith, your torture, the void in which you +were rolling! When I heard of it my one great wish was to cure you. I +advised you to work, love, and believe in life, convinced as I was that +life alone could restore you to peace and health. . . . And for that +reason I afterwards brought you here. You fought against it, and it was I +who forced you to come. I was so happy when I found that you again took +an interest in life, and had once more become a man and a worker! I would +have given some of my blood if necessary to complete your cure. . . . +Well, it's done now, I have given you all I had, since Marie herself has +become necessary to you, and she alone can save you." + +Then as Pierre again attempted to protest, he resumed: "Don't deny it. It +is so true indeed, that if she does not complete the work I have begun, +all my efforts will have been vain, you will fall back into your misery +and negation, into all the torments of a spoilt life. She is necessary to +you, I say. And do you think that I no longer know how to love you? Would +you have me refuse you the very breath of life that will truly make you a +man, after all my fervent wishes for your return to life? I have enough +affection for you both to consent to your loving one another. . . . +Besides, I repeat it, nature knows what she does. Instinct is a sure +guide, it always tends to what is useful and trite. I should have been a +sorry husband, and it is best that I should keep to my work as an old +_savant_; whereas you are young and represent the future, all fruitful +and happy life." + +Pierre shuddered as he heard this, for his old fears returned to him. Had +not the priesthood for ever cut him off from life, had not his long years +of chaste celibacy robbed him of his manhood? "Fruitful and happy life!" +he muttered, "ah! if you only knew how distressed I feel at the idea that +I do not perhaps deserve the gift you so lovingly offer me! You are worth +more than I am; you would have given her a larger heart, a firmer brain, +and perhaps, too, you are really a younger man than myself. . . . There +is still time, brother, keep her, if with you she is likely to be happier +and more truly and completely loved. For my part I am full of doubts. Her +happiness is the only thing of consequence. Let her belong to the one who +will love her best!" + +Indescribable emotion had now come over both men. As Guillaume heard his +brother's broken words, the cry of a love that trembled at the thought of +possible weakness, he did for a moment waver. With a dreadful heart-pang +he stammered despairingly: "Ah! Marie, whom I love so much! Marie, whom I +would have rendered so happy!" + +At this Pierre could not restrain himself; he rose and cried: "Ah! you +see that you love her still and cannot renounce her. . . . So let me go! +let me go!" + +But Guillaume had already caught him around the body, clasping him with +an intensity of brotherly love which was increased by the renunciation he +was resolved upon: "Stay!" said he. "It wasn't I that spoke, it was the +other man that was in me, he who is about to die, who is already dead! By +the memory of our mother and our father I swear to you that the sacrifice +is consummated, and that if you two refuse to accept happiness from me +you will but make me suffer." + +For a moment the weeping men remained in one another's arms. They had +often embraced before, but never had their hearts met and mingled as they +did now. It was a delightful moment, which seemed an eternity. All the +grief and misery of the world had disappeared from before them; there +remained naught save their glowing love, whence sprang an eternity of +love even as light comes from the sun. And that moment was compensation +for all their past and future tears, whilst yonder, on the horizon before +them, Paris still spread and rumbled, ever preparing the unknown future. + +Just then Marie herself came in. And the rest proved very simple. +Guillaume freed himself from his brother's clasp, led him forward and +compelled him and Marie to take each other by the hand. At first she made +yet another gesture of refusal in her stubborn resolve that she would not +take her promise back. But what could she say face to face with those two +tearful men, whom she had found in one another's arms, mingling together +in such close brotherliness? Did not those tears and that embrace sweep +away all ordinary reasons, all such arguments as she held in reserve? +Even the embarrassment of the situation disappeared, it seemed as if she +had already had a long explanation with Pierre, and that he and she were +of one mind to accept that gift of love which Guillaume offered them with +so much heroism. A gust of the sublime passed through the room, and +nothing could have appeared more natural to them than this extraordinary +scene. Nevertheless, Marie remained silent, she dared not give her +answer, but looked at them both with her big soft eyes, which, like their +own, were full of tears. + +And it was Guillaume who, with sudden inspiration, ran to the little +staircase conducting to the rooms overhead, and called: "Mere-Grand! +Mere-Grand! Come down at once, you are wanted." + +Then, as soon as she was there, looking slim and pale in her black gown, +and showing the wise air of a queen-mother whom all obeyed, he said: +"Tell these two children that they can do nothing better than marry one +another. Tell them that we have talked it over, you and I, and that it is +your desire, your will that they should do so." + +She quietly nodded her assent, and then said: "That is true, it will be +by far the most sensible course." + +Thereupon Marie flung herself into her arms, consenting, yielding to the +superior forces, the powers of life, that had thus changed the course of +her existence. Guillaume immediately desired that the date of the wedding +should be fixed, and accommodation provided for the young couple in the +rooms overhead. And as Pierre glanced at him with some remaining anxiety +and spoke of travelling, for he feared that his wound was not yet healed, +and that their presence might bring him suffering, Guillaume responded: +"No, no, I mean to keep you. If I'm marrying you, it is to have you both +here. Don't worry about me. I have so much work to do, I shall work." + +In the evening when Thomas and Francois came home and learnt the news, +they did not seem particularly surprised by it. They had doubtless felt +that things would end like this. And they bowed to the _denouement_, not +venturing to say a word, since it was their father himself who announced +the decision which had been taken, with his usual air of composure. As +for Antoine, who on his own side quivered with love for Lise, he gazed +with doubting, anxious eyes at his father, who had thus had the courage +to pluck out his heart. Could he really survive such a sacrifice, must it +not kill him? Then Antoine kissed his father passionately, and the elder +brothers in their turn embraced him with all their hearts. Guillaume +smiled and his eyes became moist. After his victory over his horrible +torments nothing could have been sweeter to him than the embraces of his +three big sons. + +There was, however, further emotion in store for him that evening. Just +as the daylight was departing, and he was sitting at his large table near +the window, again checking and classifying the documents and plans +connected with his invention, he was surprised to see his old master and +friend Bertheroy enter the workroom. The illustrious chemist called on +him in this fashion at long intervals, and Guillaume felt the honour thus +conferred on him by this old man to whom eminence and fame had brought so +many titles, offices and decorations. Moreover, Bertheroy, with his +position as an official _savant_ and member of the Institute, showed some +courage in thus venturing to call on one whom so-called respectable folks +regarded with contumely. And on this occasion, Guillaume at once +understood that it was some feeling of curiosity that had brought him. +And so he was greatly embarrassed, for he hardly dared to remove the +papers and plans which were lying on the table. + +"Oh, don't be frightened," gaily exclaimed Bertheroy, who, despite his +careless and abrupt ways, was really very shrewd. "I haven't come to pry +into your secrets. . . . Leave your papers there, I promise you that I +won't read anything." + +Then, in all frankness, he turned the conversation on the subject of +explosives, which he was still studying, he said, with passionate +interest. He had made some new discoveries which he did not conceal. +Incidentally, too, he spoke of the opinion he had given in Salvat's +affair. His dream was to discover some explosive of great power, which +one might attempt to domesticate and reduce to complete obedience. And +with a smile he pointedly concluded: "I don't know where that madman +found the formula of his powder. But if you should ever discover it, +remember that the future perhaps lies in the employment of explosives as +motive power." + +Then, all at once, he added: "By the way, that fellow Salvat will be +executed on the day after to-morrow. A friend of mine at the Ministry of +Justice has just told me so." + +Guillaume had hitherto listened to him with an air of mingled distrust +and amusement. But this announcement of Salvat's execution stirred him to +anger and revolt, though for some days past he had known it to be +inevitable, in spite of the sympathy which the condemned man was now +rousing in many quarters. + +"It will be a murder!" he cried vehemently. + +Bertheroy waved his hand: "What would you have?" he answered: "there's a +social system and it defends itself when it is attacked. Besides, those +Anarchists are really too foolish in imagining that they will transform +the world with their squibs and crackers! In my opinion, you know, +science is the only revolutionist. Science will not only bring us truth +but justice also, if indeed justice ever be possible on this earth. And +that is why I lead so calm a life and am so tolerant." + +Once again Bertheroy appeared to Guillaume as a revolutionist, one who +was convinced that he helped on the ruin of the ancient abominable +society of today, with its dogmas and laws, even whilst he was working in +the depths of his laboratory. He was, however, too desirous of repose, +and had too great a contempt for futilities to mingle with the events of +the day, and he preferred to live in quietude, liberally paid and +rewarded, and at peace with the government whatever it might be, whilst +at the same time foreseeing and preparing for the formidable parturition +of the future. + +He waved his hand towards Paris, over which a sun of victory was setting, +and then again spoke: "Do you hear the rumble? It is we who are the +stokers, we who are ever flinging fresh fuel under the boiler. Science +does not pause in her work for a single hour, and she is the artisan of +Paris, which--let us hope it--will be the artisan of the future. All the +rest is of no account." + +But Guillaume was no longer listening to him. He was thinking of Salvat +and the terrible engine of war he had invented, that engine which before +long would shatter cities. And a new idea was dawning and growing in his +mind. He had just freed himself of his last tie, he had created all the +happiness he could create around him. Ah! to recover his courage, to be +master of himself once more, and, at any rate, derive from the sacrifice +of his heart the lofty delight of being free, of being able to lay down +even his life, should he some day deem it necessary! + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 4, by +Emile Zola + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE CITIES TRILOGY: PARIS VOL 4 *** + +***** This file should be named 9167.txt or 9167.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/1/6/9167/ + +Produced by Dagny, and David Widger. 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VIZETELLY + + + + BOOK IV + + + +I + +PIERRE AND MARIE + +ON the mild March morning when Pierre left his little house at Neuilly to +accompany Guillaume to Montmartre, he was oppressed by the thought that +on returning home he would once more find himself alone with nothing to +prevent him from relapsing into negation and despair. The idea of this +had kept him from sleeping, and he still found it difficult to hide his +distress and force a smile. + +The sky was so clear and the atmosphere so mild that the brothers had +resolved to go to Montmartre on foot by way of the outer boulevards. Nine +o'clock was striking when they set out. Guillaume for his part was very +gay at the thought of the surprise he would give his family. It was as if +he were suddenly coming back from a long journey. He had not warned them +of his intentions; he had merely written to them now and again to tell +them that he was recovering, and they certainly had no idea that his +return was so near at hand. + +When Guillaume and Pierre had climbed the sunlit slopes of Montmartre, +and crossed the quiet countrified Place du Tertre, the former, by means +of a latch-key, quietly opened the door of his house, which seemed to be +asleep, so profound was the stillness both around and within it. Pierre +found it the same as on the occasion of his previous and only visit. +First came the narrow passage which ran through the ground-floor, +affording a view of all Paris at the further end. Next there was the +garden, reduced to a couple of plum-trees and a clump of lilac-bushes, +the leaves of which had now sprouted. And this time the priest perceived +three bicycles leaning against the trees. Beyond them stood the large +work-shop, so gay, and yet so peaceful, with its huge window overlooking +a sea of roofs. + +Guillaume had reached the work-shop without meeting anybody. With an +expression of much amusement he raised a finger to his lips. "Attention, +Pierre," he whispered; "you'll just see!" + +Then having noiselessly opened the door, they remained for a moment on +the threshold. + +The three sons alone were there. Near his forge stood Thomas working a +boring machine, with which he was making some holes in a small brass +plate. Then Francois and Antoine were seated on either side of their +large table, the former reading, and the latter finishing a block. The +bright sunshine streamed in, playing over all the seeming disorder of the +room, where so many callings and so many implements found place. A large +bunch of wallflowers bloomed on the women's work-table near the window; +and absorbed as the young men were in their respective tasks the only +sound was the slight hissing of the boring machine each time that the +eldest of them drilled another hole. + +However, although Guillaume did not stir, there suddenly came a quiver, +an awakening. His sons seemed to guess his presence, for they raised +their heads, each at the same moment. From each, too, came the same cry, +and a common impulse brought them first to their feet and then to his +arms. + +"Father!" + +Guillaume embraced them, feeling very happy. And that was all; there was +no long spell of emotion, no useless talk. It was as if he had merely +gone out the day before and, delayed by business, had now come back. +Still, he looked at them with his kindly smile, and they likewise smiled +with their eyes fixed on his. Those glances proclaimed everything, the +closest affection and complete self-bestowal for ever. + +"Come in, Pierre," called Guillaume; "shake hands with these young men." + +The priest had remained near the door, overcome by a singular feeling of +discomfort. When his nephews had vigorously shaken hands with him, he sat +down near the window apart from them, as if he felt out of his element +there. + +"Well, youngsters," said Guillaume, "where's Mere-Grand, and where's +Marie?" + +Their grandmother was upstairs in her room, they said; and Marie had +taken it into her head to go marketing. This, by the way, was one of her +delights. She asserted that she was the only one who knew how to buy +new-laid eggs and butter of a nutty odour. Moreover, she sometimes +brought some dainty or some flowers home, in her delight at proving +herself to be so good a housewife. + +"And so things are going on well?" resumed Guillaume. "You are all +satisfied, your work is progressing, eh?" + +He addressed brief questions to each of them, like one who, on his return +home, at once reverts to his usual habits. Thomas, with his rough face +beaming, explained in a couple of sentences that he was now sure of +perfecting his little motor; Francois, who was still preparing for his +examination, jestingly declared that he yet had to lodge a heap of +learning in his brain; and then Antoine produced the block which he was +finishing, and which depicted his little friend Lise, Jahan's sister, +reading in her garden amidst the sunshine. It was like a florescence of +that dear belated creature whose mind had been awakened by his affection. + +However, the three brothers speedily went back to their places, reverting +to their work with a natural impulse, for discipline had made them regard +work as life itself. Then Guillaume, who had glanced at what each was +doing, exclaimed: "Ah! youngsters, I schemed and prepared a lot of things +myself while I was laid up. I even made a good many notes. We walked here +from Neuilly, but my papers and the clothes which Mere-Grand sent me will +come in a cab by-and-by. . . . Ah! how pleased I am to find everything in +order here, and to be able to take up my task with you again! Ah! I shall +polish off some work now, and no mistake!" + +He had already gone to his own corner, the space reserved for him between +the window and the forge. He there had a chemical furnace, several glass +cases and shelves crowded with appliances, and a long table, one end of +which he used for writing purposes. And he once more took possession of +that little world. After glancing around with delight at seeing +everything in its place, he began to handle one object and another, eager +to be at work like his sons. + +All at once, however, Mere-Grand appeared, calm, grave and erect in her +black gown, at the top of the little staircase which conducted to the +bedrooms. "So it's you, Guillaume?" said she. "Will you come up for a +moment?" + +He immediately did so, understanding that she wished to speak to him +alone and tranquillise him. It was a question of the great secret between +them, that one thing of which his sons knew nothing, and which, after +Salvat's crime, had brought him much anguish, through his fear that it +might be divulged. When he reached Mere-Grand's room she at once took him +to the hiding-place near her bed, and showed him the cartridges of the +new explosive, and the plans of the terrible engine of warfare which he +had invented. He found them all as he had left them. Before anyone could +have reached them, she would have blown up the whole place at the risk of +perishing herself in the explosion. With her wonted air of quiet heroism, +she handed Guillaume the key which he had sent her by Pierre. + +"You were not anxious, I hope?" she said. + +He pressed her hands with a commingling of affection and respect. "My +only anxiety," he replied, "was that the police might come here and treat +you roughly. . . . You are the guardian of our secret, and it would be +for you to finish my work should I disappear." + +While Guillaume and Madame Leroi were thus engaged upstairs, Pierre, +still seated near the window below, felt his discomfort increasing. The +inmates of the house certainly regarded him with no other feeling than +one of affectionate sympathy; and so how came it that he considered them +hostile? The truth was that he asked himself what would become of him +among those workers, who were upheld by a faith of their own, whereas he +believed in nothing, and did not work. The sight of those young men, so +gaily and zealously toiling, ended by quite irritating him; and the +arrival of Marie brought his distress to a climax. + +Joyous and full of life, she came in without seeing him, a basket on her +arm. And she seemed to bring all the sunlight of the spring morning with +her, so bright was the sparkle of her youth. The whole of her pink face, +her delicate nose, her broad intelligent brow, her thick, kindly lips, +beamed beneath the heavy coils of her black hair. And her brown eyes ever +laughed with the joyousness which comes from health and strength. + +"Ah!" she exclaimed, "I have brought such a lot of things, youngsters. +Just come and see them; I wouldn't unpack the basket in the kitchen." + +It became absolutely necessary for the brothers to draw round the basket +which she had laid upon the table. "First there's the butter!" said she; +"just smell if it hasn't a nice scent of nuts! It's churned especially +for me, you know. Then here are the eggs. They were laid only yesterday, +I'll answer for it. And, in fact, that one there is this morning's. And +look at the cutlets! They're wonderful, aren't they? The butcher cuts +them carefully when he sees me. And then here's a cream cheese, real +cream, you know, it will be delicious! Ah! and here's the surprise, +something dainty, some radishes, some pretty little pink radishes. Just +fancy! radishes in March, what a luxury!" + +She triumphed like the good little housewife she was, one who had +followed a whole course of cookery and home duties at the Lycee Fenelon. +The brothers, as merry as she herself, were obliged to compliment her. + +All at once, however, she caught sight of Pierre. "What! you are there, +Monsieur l'Abbe?" she exclaimed; "I beg your pardon, but I didn't see +you. How is Guillaume? Have you brought us some news of him?" + +"But father's come home," said Thomas; "he's upstairs with Mere-Grand." + +Quite thunderstruck, she hastily placed her purchases in the basket. +"Guillaume's come back, Guillaume's come back!" said she, "and you don't +tell me of it, you let me unpack everything! Well, it's nice of me, I +must say, to go on praising my butter and eggs when Guillaume's come +back." + +Guillaume, as it happened, was just coming down with Madame Leroi. Marie +gaily hastened to him and offered him her cheeks, on which he planted two +resounding kisses. Then she, resting her hands on his shoulders, gave him +a long look, while saying in a somewhat tremulous voice: "I am pleased, +very pleased to see you, Guillaume. I may confess it now, I thought I had +lost you, I was very anxious and very unhappy." + +Although she was still smiling, tears had gathered in her eyes, and he, +likewise moved, again kissed her, murmuring: "Dear Marie! How happy it +makes me to find you as beautiful and as affectionate as ever." + +Pierre, who was looking at them, deemed them cold. He had doubtless +expected more tears, and a more passionate embrace on the part of an +affianced pair, whom so grievous an accident had separated almost on the +eve of their wedding. Moreover, his feelings were hurt by the +disproportion of their respective ages. No doubt his brother still seemed +to him very sturdy and young, and his feeling of repulsion must have come +from that young woman whom, most decidedly, he did not like. Ever since +her arrival he had experienced increasing discomfort, a keener and keener +desire to go off and never return. + +So acute became his suffering at feeling like a stranger in his brother's +home, that he at last rose and sought to take his leave, under the +pretext that he had some urgent matters to attend to in town. + +"What! you won't stay to /dejeuner/ with us!" exclaimed Guillaume in +perfect stupefaction. "Why, it was agreed! You surely won't distress me +like that! This house is your own, remember!" + +Then, as with genuine affection they all protested and pressed him to +stay, he was obliged to do so. However, he soon relapsed into silence and +embarrassment, seated on the same chair as before, and listening moodily +to those people who, although they were his relatives, seemed to be far +removed from him. + +As it was barely eleven o'clock they resumed work, but every now and +again there was some merry talk. On one of the servants coming for the +provisions, Marie told the girl to call her as soon as it should be time +to boil the eggs, for she prided herself on boiling them to a nicety, in +such wise as to leave the whites like creamy milk. This gave an +opportunity for a few jests from Francois, who occasionally teased her +about all the fine things she had learnt at the Lycee Fenelon, where her +father had placed her when she was twelve years old. However, she was not +afraid of him, but gave him tit for tat by chaffing him about all the +hours which he lost at the Ecole Normale over a mass of pedagogic trash. + +"Ah! you big children!" she exclaimed, while still working at her +embroidery. "You are all very intelligent, and you all claim to have +broad minds, and yet--confess it now--it worries you a little that a girl +like me should have studied at college in the same way as yourselves. +It's a sexual quarrel, a question of rivalry and competition, isn't it?" + +They protested the contrary, declaring that they were in favour of girls +receiving as complete an education as possible. She was well aware of +this; however, she liked to tease them in return for the manner in which +they themselves plagued her. + +"But do you know," said she, "you are a great deal behind the times? I am +well aware of the reproaches which are levelled at girls' colleges by +so-called right-minded people. To begin, there is no religious element +whatever in the education one receives there, and this alarms many +families which consider religious education to be absolutely necessary +for girls, if only as a moral weapon of defence. Then, too, the education +at our Lycees is being democratised--girls of all positions come to them. +Thanks to the scholarships which are so liberally offered, the daughter +of the lady who rents a first floor flat often finds the daughter of her +door-keeper among her school-fellows, and some think this objectionable. +It is said also that the pupils free themselves too much from home +influence, and that too much opportunity is left for personal initiative. +As a matter of fact the extensiveness of the many courses of study, all +the learning that is required of pupils at the examinations, certainly +does tend to their emancipation, to the coming of the future woman and +future society, which you young men are all longing for, are you not?" + +"Of course we are!" exclaimed Francois; "we all agree on that point." + +She waved her hand in a pretty way, and then quietly continued: "I'm +jesting. My views are simple enough, as you well know, and I don't ask +for nearly as much as you do. As for woman's claims and rights, well, the +question is clear enough; woman is man's equal so far as nature allows +it. And the only point is to agree and love one another. At the same time +I'm well pleased to know what I do--oh! not from any spirit of pedantry +but simply because I think it has all done me good, and given me some +moral as well as physical health." + +It delighted her to recall the days she had spent at the Lycee Fenelon, +which of the five State colleges for girls opened in Paris was the only +one counting a large number of pupils. Most of these were the daughters +of officials or professors, who purposed entering the teaching +profession. In this case, they had to win their last diploma at the Ecole +Normale of Sevres, after leaving the Lycee. Marie, for her part, though +her studies had been brilliant, had felt no taste whatever for the +calling of teacher. Moreover, when Guillaume had taken charge of her +after her father's death, he had refused to let her run about giving +lessons. To provide herself with a little money, for she would accept +none as a gift, she worked at embroidery, an art in which she was most +accomplished. + +While she was talking to the young men Guillaume had listened to her +without interfering. If he had fallen in love with her it was largely on +account of her frankness and uprightness, the even balance of her nature, +which gave her so forcible a charm. She knew all; but if she lacked the +poetry of the shrinking, lamb-like girl who has been brought up in +ignorance, she had gained absolute rectitude of heart and mind, exempt +from all hypocrisy, all secret perversity such as is stimulated by what +may seem mysterious in life. And whatever she might know, she had +retained such child-like purity that in spite of her six-and-twenty +summers all the blood in her veins would occasionally rush to her cheeks +in fiery blushes, which drove her to despair. + +"My dear Marie," Guillaume now exclaimed, "you know very well that the +youngsters were simply joking. You are in the right, of course. . . . And +your boiled eggs cannot be matched in the whole world." + +He said this in so soft and affectionate a tone that the young woman +flushed purple. Then, becoming conscious of it, she coloured yet more +deeply, and as the three young men glanced at her maliciously she grew +angry with herself. "Isn't it ridiculous, Monsieur l'Abbe," she said, +turning towards Pierre, "for an old maid like myself to blush in that +fashion? People might think that I had committed a crime. It's simply to +make me blush, you know, that those children tease me. I do all I can to +prevent it, but it's stronger than my will." + +At this Mere-Grand raised her eyes from the shirt she was mending, and +remarked: "Oh! it's natural enough, my dear. It is your heart rising to +your cheeks in order that we may see it." + +The /dejeuner/ hour was now at hand; and they decided to lay the table in +the work-shop, as was occasionally done when they had a guest. The +simple, cordial meal proved very enjoyable in the bright sunlight. +Marie's boiled eggs, which she herself brought from the kitchen covered +with a napkin, were found delicious. Due honour was also done to the +butter and the radishes. The only dessert that followed the cutlets was +the cream cheese, but it was a cheese such as nobody else had ever +partaken of. And, meantime, while they ate and chatted all Paris lay +below them, stretching away to the horizon with its mighty rumbling. + +Pierre had made an effort to become cheerful, but he soon relapsed into +silence. Guillaume, however, was very talkative. Having noticed the three +bicycles in the garden, he inquired of Marie how far she had gone that +morning. She answered that Francois and Antoine had accompanied her in +the direction of Orgemont. The worry of their excursions was that each +time they returned to Montmartre they had to push their machines up the +height. From the general point of view, however, the young woman was +delighted with bicycling, which had many virtues, said she. Then, seeing +Pierre glance at her in amazement, she promised that she would some day +explain her opinions on the subject to him. After this bicycling became +the one topic of conversation until the end of the meal. Thomas gave an +account of the latest improvements introduced into Grandidier's machines; +and the others talked of the excursions they had made or meant to make, +with all the exuberant delight of school children eager for the open air. + +In the midst of the chatter, Mere-Grand, who presided at table with the +serene dignity of a queen-mother, leant towards Guillaume, who sat next +to her, and spoke to him in an undertone. Pierre understood that she was +referring to his marriage, which was to have taken place in April, but +must now necessarily be deferred. This sensible marriage, which seemed +likely to ensure the happiness of the entire household, was largely the +work of Mere-Grand and the three young men, for Guillaume would never +have yielded to his heart if she whom he proposed to make his wife had +not already been a well-loved member of the family. At the present time +the last week in June seemed, for all sorts of reasons, to be a +favourable date for the wedding. + +Marie, who heard the suggestion, turned gaily towards Mere-Grand. + +"The end of June will suit very well, will it not, my dear?" said the +latter. + +Pierre expected to see a deep flush rise to the young woman's cheeks, but +she remained very calm. She felt deep affection, blended with the most +tender gratitude, for Guillaume, and was convinced that in marrying him +she would be acting wisely and well both for herself and the others. + +"Certainly, the end of June," she repeated, "that will suit very well +indeed." + +Then the sons, who likewise had heard the proposal, nodded their heads by +way of assenting also. + +When they rose from table Pierre was absolutely determined to go off. The +cordial and simple meal, the sight of that family, which had been +rendered so happy by Guillaume's return, and of that young woman who +smiled so placidly at life, had brought him keen suffering, though why he +could not tell. However, it all irritated him beyond endurance; and he +therefore again pretended that he had a number of things to see to in +Paris. He shook hands in turn with the young men, Mere-Grand and Marie; +both of the women evincing great friendliness but also some surprise at +his haste to leave the house. Guillaume, who seemed saddened and anxious, +sought to detain him, and failing in this endeavour followed him into the +little garden, where he stopped him in order to have an explanation. + +"Come," said he, "what is the matter with you, Pierre? Why are you +running off like this?" + +"Oh! there's nothing the matter I assure you; but I have to attend to a +few urgent affairs." + +"Oh, Pierre, pray put all pretence aside. Nobody here has displeased you +or hurt your feelings, I hope. They also will soon love you as I do." + +"I have no doubt of it, and I complain of nobody excepting perhaps +myself." + +Guillaume's sorrow was increasing. "Ah! brother, little brother," he +resumed, "you distress me, for I can detect that you are hiding something +from me. Remember that new ties have linked us together and that we love +one another as in the old days when you were in your cradle and I used to +come to play with you. I know you well, remember. I know all your +tortures, since you have confessed them to me; and I won't have you +suffer, I want to cure you, I do!" + +Pierre's heart was full, and as he heard those words he could not +restrain his tears. "Oh! you must leave me to my sufferings," he +responded. "They are incurable. You can do nothing for me, I am beyond +the pale of nature, I am a monster." + +"What do you say! Can you not return within nature's pale even if you +/have/ gone beyond it? One thing that I will not allow is that you should +go and shut yourself up in that solitary little house of yours, where you +madden yourself by brooding over the fall of your faith. Come and spend +your time with us, so that we may again give you some taste for life." + +Ah! the empty little house which awaited him! Pierre shivered at the +thought of it, at the idea that he would now find himself all alone +there, bereft of the brother with whom he had lately spent so many happy +days. Into what solitude and torment must he not now relapse after that +companionship to which he had become accustomed? However, the very +thought of the latter increased his grief, and confession suddenly gushed +from his lips: "To spend my time here, live with you, oh! no, that is an +impossibility. Why do you compel me to speak out, and tell you things +that I am ashamed of and do not even understand. Ever since this morning +you must have seen that I have been suffering here. No doubt it is +because you and your people work, whereas I do nothing, because you love +one another and believe in your efforts, whereas I no longer know how to +love or believe. I feel out of my element. I'm embarrassed here, and I +embarrass you. In fact you all irritate me, and I might end by hating +you. There remains nothing healthy in me, all natural feelings have been +spoilt and destroyed, and only envy and hatred could sprout up from such +ruins. So let me go back to my accursed hole, where death will some day +come for me. Farewell, brother!" + +But Guillaume, full of affection and compassion, caught hold of his arms +and detained him. "You shall not go, I will not allow you to go, without +a positive promise that you will come back. I don't wish to lose you +again, especially now that I know all you are worth and how dreadfully +you suffer. I will save you, if need be, in spite of yourself. I will +cure you of your torturing doubts, oh! without catechising you, without +imposing any particular faith on you, but simply by allowing life to do +its work, for life alone can give you back health and hope. So I beg you, +brother, in the name of our affection, come back here, come as often as +you can to spend a day with us. You will then see that when folks have +allotted themselves a task and work together in unison, they escape +excessive unhappiness. A task of any kind--yes, that is what is wanted, +together with some great passion and frank acceptance of life, so that it +may be lived as it should be and loved." + +"But what would be the use of my living here?" Pierre muttered bitterly. +"I've no task left me, and I no longer know how to love." + +"Well, I will give you a task, and as for love, that will soon be +awakened by the breath of life. Come, brother, consent, consent!" + +Then, seeing that Pierre still remained gloomy and sorrowful, and +persisted in his determination to go away and bury himself, Guillaume +added, "Ah! I don't say that the things of this world are such as one +might wish them to be. I don't say that only joy and truth and justice +exist. For instance, the affair of that unhappy fellow Salvat fills me +with anger and revolt. Guilty he is, of course, and yet how many excuses +he had, and how I shall pity him if the crimes of all of us are laid at +his door, if the various political gangs bandy him from one to another, +and use him as a weapon in their sordid fight for power. The thought of +it all so exasperates me that at times I am as unreasonable as yourself. +But now, brother, just to please me, promise that you will come and spend +the day after to-morrow with us." + +Then, as Pierre still kept silent, Guillaume went on: "I will have it so. +It would grieve me too much to think that you were suffering from +martyrdom in your solitary nook. I want to cure and save you." + +Tears again rose to Pierre's eyes, and in a tone of infinite distress he +answered: "Don't compel me to promise. . . . All I can say is that I will +try to conquer myself." + +The week he then spent in his little, dark, empty home proved a terrible +one. Shutting himself up he brooded over his despair at having lost the +companionship of that elder brother whom he once more loved with his +whole soul. He had never before been so keenly conscious of his solitude; +and he was a score of times on the point of hastening to Montmartre, for +he vaguely felt that affection, truth and life were there. But on each +occasion he was held back by a return of the discomfort which he had +already experienced, discomfort compounded of shame and fear. Priest that +he was, cut off from love and the avocations of other men, he would +surely find nothing but hurt and suffering among creatures who were all +nature, freedom and health. While he pondered thus, however, there rose +before him the shades of his father and mother, those sad spirits that +seemed to wander through the deserted rooms lamenting and entreating him +to reconcile them in himself, as soon as he should find peace. What was +he to do,--deny their prayer, and remain weeping with them, or go yonder +in search of the cure which might at last lull them to sleep and bring +them happiness in death by the force of his own happiness in life? At +last a morning came when it seemed to him that his father enjoined him +with a smile to betake himself yonder, while his mother consented with a +glance of her big soft eyes, in which her sorrow at having made so bad a +priest of him yielded to her desire to restore him to the life of our +common humanity. + +Pierre did not argue with himself that day: he took a cab and gave +Guillaume's address to the driver for fear lest he should be overcome on +the way and wish to turn back. And when he again found himself, as in a +dream, in the large work-shop, where Guillaume and the young men welcomed +him in a delicately affectionate way, he witnessed an unexpected scene +which both impressed and relieved him. + +Marie, who had scarcely nodded to him as he entered, sat there with a +pale and frowning face. And Mere-Grand, who was also grave, said, after +glancing at her: "You must excuse her, Monsieur l'Abbe; but she isn't +reasonable. She is in a temper with all five of us." + +Guillaume began to laugh. "Ah! she's so stubborn!" he exclaimed. "You can +have no idea, Pierre, of what goes on in that little head of hers when +anybody says or does anything contrary to her ideas of justice. Such +absolute and lofty ideas they are, that they can descend to no +compromise. For instance, we were talking of that recent affair of a +father who was found guilty on his son's evidence; and she maintained +that the son had only done what was right in giving evidence against his +father, and that one ought invariably to tell the truth, no matter what +might happen. What a terrible public prosecutor she would make, eh?" + +Thereupon Marie, exasperated by Pierre's smile, which seemingly indicated +that he also thought her in the wrong, flew into quite a passion: "You +are cruel, Guillaume!" she cried; "I won't be laughed at like this." + +"But you are losing your senses, my dear," exclaimed Francois, while +Thomas and Antoine again grew merry. "We were only urging a question of +humanity, father and I, for we respect and love justice as much as you +do." + +"There's no question of humanity, but simply one of justice. What is just +and right is just and right, and you cannot alter it." + +Then, as Guillaume made a further attempt to state his views and win her +over to them, she rose trembling, in such a passion that she could +scarcely stammer: "No, no, you are all too cruel, you only want to grieve +me. I prefer to go up into my own room." + +At this Mere-Grand vainly sought to restrain her. "My child, my child!" +said she, "reflect a moment; this is very wrong, you will deeply regret +it." + +"No, no; you are not just, and I suffer too much." + +Then she wildly rushed upstairs to her room overhead. + +Consternation followed. Scenes of a similar character had occasionally +occurred before, but there had never been so serious a one. Guillaume +immediately admitted that he had done wrong in laughing at her, for she +could not bear irony. Then he told Pierre that in her childhood and youth +she had been subject to terrible attacks of passion whenever she +witnessed or heard of any act of injustice. As she herself explained, +these attacks would come upon her with irresistible force, transporting +her to such a point that she would sometimes fall upon the floor and +rave. Even nowadays she proved quarrelsome and obstinate whenever certain +subjects were touched upon. And she afterwards blushed for it all, fully +conscious that others must think her unbearable. + +Indeed, a quarter of an hour later, she came downstairs again of her own +accord, and bravely acknowledged her fault. "Wasn't it ridiculous of me?" +she said. "To think I accuse others of being unkind when I behave like +that! Monsieur l'Abbe must have a very bad opinion of me." Then, after +kissing Mere-Grand, she added: "You'll forgive me, won't you? Oh! +Francois may laugh now, and so may Thomas and Antoine. They are quite +right, our differences are merely laughing matters." + +"My poor Marie," replied Guillaume, in a tone of deep affection. "You see +what it is to surrender oneself to the absolute. If you are so healthy +and reasonable it's because you regard almost everything from the +relative point of view, and only ask life for such gifts as it can +bestow. But when your absolute ideas of justice come upon you, you lose +both equilibrium and reason. At the same time, I must say that we are all +liable to err in much the same manner." + +Marie, who was still very flushed, thereupon answered in a jesting way: +"Well, it at least proves that I'm not perfect." + +"Oh, certainly! And so much the better," said Guillaume, "for it makes me +love you the more." + +This was a sentiment which Pierre himself would willingly have re-echoed. +The scene had deeply stirred him. Had not his own frightful torments +originated with his desire for the absolute both in things and beings? He +had sought faith in its entirety, and despair had thrown him into +complete negation. Again, was there not some evil desire for the absolute +and some affectation of pride and voluntary blindness in the haughty +bearing which he had retained amidst the downfall of his belief, the +saintly reputation which he had accepted when he possessed no faith at +all? On hearing his brother praise Marie, because she only asked life for +such things as it could give, it had seemed to him that this was advice +for himself. It was as if a refreshing breath of nature had passed before +his face. At the same time his feelings in this respect were still vague, +and the only well-defined pleasure that he experienced came from the +young woman's fit of anger, that error of hers which brought her nearer +to him, by lowering her in some degree from her pedestal of serene +perfection. It was, perhaps, that seeming perfection which had made him +suffer; however, he was as yet unable to analyse his feelings. That day, +for the first time, he chatted with her for a little while, and when he +went off he thought her very good-hearted and very human. + +Two days later he again came to spend the afternoon in the large sunlit +work-shop overlooking Paris. Ever since he had become conscious of the +idle life he was leading, he had felt very bored when he was alone, and +only found relief among that gay, hardworking family. His brother scolded +him for not having come to /dejeuner/, and he promised to do so on the +morrow. By the time a week had elapsed, none of the discomfort and covert +hostility which had prevailed between him and Marie remained: they met +and chatted on a footing of good fellowship. Although he was a priest, +she was in no wise embarrassed by his presence. With her quiet atheism, +indeed, she had never imagined that a priest could be different from +other men. Thus her sisterly cordiality both astonished and delighted +Pierre. It was as if he wore the same garments and held the same ideas as +his big nephews, as if there were nothing whatever to distinguish him +from other men. He was still more surprised, however, by Marie's silence +on all religious questions. She seemed to live on quietly and happily, +without a thought of what might be beyond life, that terrifying realm of +mystery, which to him had brought such agony of mind. + +Now that he came every two or three days to Montmartre she noticed that +he was suffering. What could be the matter with him, she wondered. When +she questioned him in a friendly manner and only elicited evasive +replies, she guessed that he was ashamed of his sufferings, and that they +were aggravated, rendered well-nigh incurable, by the very secrecy in +which he buried them. Thereupon womanly compassion awoke within her, and +she felt increasing affection for that tall, pale fellow with feverish +eyes, who was consumed by grievous torments which he would confess to +none. No doubt she questioned Guillaume respecting her brother's sadness, +and he must have confided some of the truth to her in order that she +might help him to extricate Pierre from his sufferings, and give him back +some taste for life. The poor fellow always seemed so happy when she +treated him like a friend, a brother! + +At last, one evening, on seeing his eyes full of tears as he gazed upon +the dismal twilight falling over Paris, she herself pressed him to +confide his trouble to her. And thereupon he suddenly spoke out, +confessing all his torture and the horrible void which the loss of faith +had left within him. Ah! to be unable to believe, to be unable to love, +to be nothing but ashes, to know of nothing certain by which he might +replace the faith that had fled from him! She listened in stupefaction. +Why, he must be mad! And she plainly told him so, such was her +astonishment and revolt at hearing such a desperate cry of wretchedness. +To despair, indeed, and believe in nothing and love nothing, simply +because a religious hypothesis had crumbled! And this, too, when the +whole, vast world was spread before one, life with the duty of living it, +creatures and things to be loved and succoured, without counting the +universal labour, the task which one and all came to accomplish! +Assuredly he must be mad, mad with the gloomiest madness; still she vowed +she would cure him. + +From that time forward she felt the most compassionate affection for this +extraordinary young man, who had first embarrassed and afterwards +astonished her. She showed herself very gentle and gay with him; she +looked after him with the greatest skill and delicacy of heart and mind. +There had been certain similar features in their childhood; each had been +reared in the strictest religious views by a pious mother. But afterwards +how different had been their fates! Whilst he was struggling with his +doubts, bound by his priestly vows, she had grown up at the Lycee +Fenelon, where her father had placed her as soon as her mother died; and +there, far removed from all practice of religion, she had gradually +reached total forgetfulness of her early religious views. It was a +constant source of surprise for him to find that she had thus escaped all +distress of mind at the thought of what might come after death, whereas +that same thought had so deeply tortured him. When they chatted together +and he expressed his astonishment at it, she frankly laughed, saying that +she had never felt any fear of hell, for she was certain that no hell +existed. And she added that she lived in all quietude, without hope of +going to any heaven, her one thought being to comply in a reasonable way +with the requirements and necessities of earthly life. It was, perhaps, +in some measure a matter of temperament with her; but it was also a +matter of education. Yet, whatever that education had been, whatever +knowledge she had acquired, she had remained very womanly and very +loving. There was nothing stern or masculine about her. + +"Ah, my friend," she said one day to Pierre, "if you only knew how easy +it is for me to remain happy so long as I see those I love free from any +excessive suffering. For my own part I can always adapt myself to life. I +work and content myself no matter what may happen. Sorrow has only come +to me from others, for I can't help wishing that everybody should be +fairly happy, and there are some who won't. . . . I was for a long time +very poor, but I remained gay. I wish for nothing, except for things that +can't be purchased. Still, want is the great abomination which distresses +me. I can understand that you should have felt everything crumbling when +charity appeared to you so insufficient a remedy as to be contemptible. +Yet it does bring relief; and, moreover, it is so sweet to be able to +give. Some day, too, by dint of reason and toil, by the good and +efficient working of life itself, the reign of justice will surely come. +But now it's I that am preaching! Oh! I have little taste for it! It +would be ridiculous for me to try to heal you with big phrases. All the +same, I should like to cure you of your gloomy sufferings. To do so, all +that I ask of you is to spend as much time as you can with us. You know +that this is Guillaume's greatest desire. We will all love you so well, +you will see us all so affectionately united, and so gay over our common +work, that you will come back to truth by joining us in the school of our +good mother nature. You must live and work, and love and hope." + +Pierre smiled as he listened. He now came to Montmartre nearly every day. +She was so nice and affectionate when she preached to him in that way +with a pretty assumption of wisdom. As she had said too, life was so +delightful in that big workroom; it was so pleasant to be all together, +and to labour in common at the same work of health and truth. Ashamed as +Pierre was of doing nothing, anxious as he was to occupy his mind and +fingers, he had first taken an interest in Antoine's engraving, asking +why he should not try something of the kind himself. However, he felt +that he lacked the necessary gift for art. Then, too, he recoiled from +Francois' purely intellectual labour, for he himself had scarcely emerged +from the harrowing study of conflicting texts. Thus he was more inclined +for manual toil like that of Thomas. In mechanics he found precision and +clearness such as might help to quench his thirst for certainty. So he +placed himself at the young man's orders, pulled his bellows and held +pieces of mechanism for him. He also sometimes served as assistant to +Guillaume, tying a large blue apron over his cassock in order to help in +the experiments. From that time he formed part of the work-shop, which +simply counted a worker the more. + +One afternoon early in April, when they were all busily engaged there, +Marie, who sat embroidering at the table in front of Mere-Grand, raised +her eyes to the window and suddenly burst into a cry of admiration: "Oh! +look at Paris under that rain of sunlight!" + +Pierre drew near; the play of light was much the same as that which he +had witnessed at his first visit. The sun, sinking behind some slight +purple clouds, was throwing down a hail of rays and sparks which on all +sides rebounded and leapt over the endless stretch of roofs. It might +have been thought that some great sower, hidden amidst the glory of the +planet, was scattering handfuls of golden grain from one horizon to the +other. + +Pierre, at sight of it, put his fancy into words: "It is the sun sowing +Paris with grain for a future harvest," said he. "See how the expanse +looks like ploughed land; the brownish houses are like soil turned up, +and the streets are deep and straight like furrows." + +"Yes, yes, that's true," exclaimed Marie gaily. "The sun is sowing Paris +with grain. See how it casts the seed of light and health right away to +the distant suburbs! And yet, how singular! The rich districts on the +west seem steeped in a ruddy mist, whilst the good seed falls in golden +dust over the left bank and the populous districts eastward. It is there, +is it not, that the crop will spring up?" + +They had all drawn near, and were smiling at the symbol. As Marie had +said, it seemed indeed that while the sun slowly sank behind the lacework +of clouds, the sower of eternal life scattered his flaming seed with a +rhythmical swing of the arm, ever selecting the districts of toil and +effort. One dazzling handful of grain fell over yonder on the district of +the schools; and then yet another rained down to fertilise the district +of the factories and work-shops. + +"Ah! well," said Guillaume gaily. "May the crop soon sprout from the good +ground of our great Paris, which has been turned up by so many +revolutions, and enriched by the blood of so many workers! It is the only +ground in the world where Ideas can germinate and bloom. Yes, yes, Pierre +is quite right, it is the sun sowing Paris with the seed of the future +world, which can sprout only up here!" + +Then Thomas, Francois and Antoine, who stood behind their father in a +row, nodded as if to say that this was also their own conviction; whilst +Mere-Grand gazed afar with dreamy eyes as though she could already behold +the splendid future. + +"Ah! but it is only a dream; centuries must elapse. We shall never see +it!" murmured Pierre with a quiver. + +"But others will!" cried Marie. "And does not that suffice?" + +Those lofty words stirred Pierre to the depths of his being. And all at +once there came to him the memory of another Marie*--the adorable Marie +of his youth, that Marie de Guersaint who had been cured at Lourdes, and +the loss of whom had left such a void in his heart. Was that new Marie +who stood there smiling at him, so tranquil and so charming in her +strength, destined to heal that old-time wound? He felt that he was +beginning to live again since she had become his friend. + + * The heroine of M. Zola's "Lourdes." + +Meantime, there before them, the glorious sun, with the sweep of its +rays, was scattering living golden dust over Paris, still and ever sowing +the great future harvest of justice and of truth. + + + +II + +TOWARDS LIFE + +ONE evening, at the close of a good day's work, Pierre, who was helping +Thomas, suddenly caught his foot in the skirt of his cassock and narrowly +escaped falling. At this, Marie, after raising a faint cry of anxiety, +exclaimed: "Why don't you take it off?" + +There was no malice in her inquiry. She simply looked upon the priestly +robe as something too heavy and cumbersome, particularly when one had +certain work to perform. Nevertheless, her words deeply impressed Pierre, +and he could not forget them. When he was at home in the evening and +repeated them to himself they gradually threw him into feverish +agitation. Why, indeed, had he not divested himself of that cassock, +which weighed so heavily and painfully on his shoulders? Then a frightful +struggle began within him, and he spent a terrible, sleepless night, +again a prey to all his former torments. + +At first sight it seemed a very simple matter that he should cast his +priestly gown aside, for had he not ceased to discharge any priestly +office? He had not said mass for some time past, and this surely meant +renunciation of the priesthood. Nevertheless, so long as he retained his +gown it was possible that he might some day say mass again, whereas if he +cast it aside he would, as it were, strip himself, quit the priesthood +entirely, without possibility of return. It was a terrible step to take, +one that would prove irrevocable; and thus he paced his room for hours, +in great anguish of mind. + +He had formerly indulged in a superb dream. Whilst believing nothing +himself he had resolved to watch, in all loyalty, over the belief of +others. He would not so lower himself as to forswear his vows, he would +be no base renegade, but however great the torments of the void he felt +within him he would remain the minister of man's illusions respecting the +Divinity. And it was by reason of his conduct in this respect that he had +ended by being venerated as a saint--he who denied everything, who had +become a mere empty sepulchre. For a long time his falsehood had never +disturbed him, but it now brought him acute suffering. It seemed to him +that he would be acting in the vilest manner if he delayed placing his +life in accord with his opinions. The thought of it all quite rent his +heart. + +The question was a very clear one. By what right did he remain the +minister of a religion in which he no longer believed? Did not elementary +honesty require that he should quit a Church in which he denied the +presence of the Divinity? He regarded the dogmas of that Church as +puerile errors, and yet he persisted in teaching them as if they were +eternal truths. Base work it was, that alarmed his conscience. He vainly +sought the feverish glow of charity and martyrdom which had led him to +offer himself as a sacrifice, willing to suffer all the torture of doubt +and to find his own life lost and ravaged, provided that he might yet +afford the relief of hope to the lowly. Truth and nature, no doubt, had +already regained too much ascendancy over him for those feelings to +return. The thought of such a lying apostolate now wounded him; he no +longer had the hypocritical courage to call the Divinity down upon the +believers kneeling before him, when he was convinced that the Divinity +would not descend. Thus all the past was swept away; there remained +nothing of the sublime pastoral part he would once have liked to play, +that supreme gift of himself which lay in stubborn adherence to the rules +of the Church, and such devotion to faith as to endure in silence the +torture of having lost it. + +What must Marie think of his prolonged falsehood, he wondered, and +thereupon he seemed to hear her words again: "Why not take your cassock +off?" His conscience bled as if those words were a stab. What contempt +must she not feel for him, she who was so upright, so high-minded? Every +scattered blame, every covert criticism directed against his conduct, +seemed to find embodiment in her. It now sufficed that she should condemn +him, and he at once felt guilty. At the same time she had never voiced +her disapproval to him, in all probability because she did not think she +had any right to intervene in a struggle of conscience. The superb +calmness and healthiness which she displayed still astonished him. He +himself was ever haunted and tortured by thoughts of the unknown, of what +the morrow of death might have in store for one; but although he had +studied and watched her for days together, he had never seen her give a +sign of doubt or distress. This exemption from such sufferings as his own +was due, said she, to the fact that she gave all her gaiety, all her +energy, all her sense of duty, to the task of living, in such wise that +life itself proved a sufficiency, and no time was left for mere fancies +to terrify and stultify her. Well, then, since she with her air of quiet +strength had asked him why he did not take off his cassock, he would take +it off--yes, he would divest himself of that robe which seemed to burn +and weigh him down. + +He fancied himself calmed by this decision, and towards morning threw +himself upon his bed; but all at once a stifling sensation, a renewal of +his abominable anguish, brought him to his feet again. No, no, he could +not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh. His +skin would come away with his cloth, his whole being would be lacerated! +Is not the mark of priesthood an indelible one, does it not brand the +priest for ever, and differentiate him from the flock? Even should he +tear off his gown with his skin, he would remain a priest, an object of +scandal and shame, awkward and impotent, shut off from the life of other +men. And so why tear it off, since he would still and ever remain in +prison, and a fruitful life of work in the broad sunlight was no longer +within his reach? He, indeed, fancied himself irremediably stricken with +impotence. Thus he was unable to come to any decision, and when he +returned to Montmartre two days later he had again relapsed into a state +of torment. + +Feverishness, moreover, had come upon the happy home. Guillaume was +becoming more and more annoyed about Salvat's affair, not a day elapsing +without the newspapers fanning his irritation. He had at first been +deeply touched by the dignified and reticent bearing of Salvat, who had +declared that he had no accomplices whatever. Of course the inquiry into +the crime was what is called a secret one; but magistrate Amadieu, to +whom it had been entrusted, conducted it in a very noisy way. The +newspapers, which he in some degree took into his confidence, were full +of articles and paragraphs about him and his interviews with the +prisoner. Thanks to Salvat's quiet admissions, Amadieu had been able to +retrace the history of the crime hour by hour, his only remaining doubts +having reference to the nature of the powder which had been employed, and +the making of the bomb itself. It might after all be true that Salvat had +loaded the bomb at a friend's, as he indeed asserted was the case; but he +must be lying when he added that the only explosive used was dynamite, +derived from some stolen cartridges, for all the experts now declared +that dynamite would never have produced such effects as those which had +been witnessed. This, then, was the mysterious point which protracted the +investigations. And day by day the newspapers profited by it to circulate +the wildest stories under sensational headings, which were specially +devised for the purpose of sending up their sales. + +It was all the nonsense contained in these stories that fanned +Guillaume's irritation. In spite of his contempt for Sagnier he could not +keep from buying the "Voix du Peuple." Quivering with indignation, +growing more and more exasperated, he was somehow attracted by the mire +which he found in that scurrilous journal. Moreover, the other +newspapers, including even the "Globe," which was usually so dignified, +published all sorts of statements for which no proof could be supplied, +and drew from them remarks and conclusions which, though couched in +milder language than Sagnier's, were none the less abominably unjust. It +seemed indeed as if the whole press had set itself the task of covering +Salvat with mud, so as to be able to vilify Anarchism generally. +According to the journalists the prisoner's life had simply been one long +abomination. He had already earned his living by thievery in his +childhood at the time when he had roamed the streets, an unhappy, +forsaken vagrant; and later on he had proved a bad soldier and a bad +worker. He had been punished for insubordination whilst he was in the +army, and he had been dismissed from a dozen work-shops because he +incessantly disturbed them by his Anarchical propaganda. Later still, he +had fled his country and led a suspicious life of adventure in America, +where, it was alleged, he must have committed all sorts of unknown +crimes. Moreover there was his horrible immorality, his connection with +his sister-in-law, that Madame Theodore who had taken charge of his +forsaken child in his absence, and with whom he had cohabited since his +return to France. In this wise Salvat's failings and transgressions were +pitilessly denounced and magnified without any mention of the causes +which had induced them, or of the excuses which lay in the unhappy man's +degrading environment. And so Guillaume's feelings of humanity and +justice revolted, for he knew the real Salvat,--a man of tender heart and +dreamy mind, so liable to be impassioned by fancies,--a man cast into +life when a child without weapon of defence, ever trodden down or thrust +aside, then gradually exasperated by the perpetual onslaughts of want, +and at last dreaming of reviving the golden age by destroying the old, +corrupt world. + +Unfortunately for Salvat, everything had gone against him since he had +been shut up in strict confinement, at the mercy of the ambitious and +worldly Amadieu. Guillaume had learnt from his son, Thomas, that the +prisoner could count on no support whatever among his former mates at the +Grandidier works. These works were becoming prosperous once more, thanks +to their steady output of bicycles; and it was said that Grandidier was +only waiting for Thomas to perfect his little motor, in order to start +the manufacture of motor-cars on a large scale. However, the success +which he was now for the first time achieving, and which scarcely repaid +him for all his years of toil and battle, had in certain respects +rendered him prudent and even severe. He did not wish any suspicion to be +cast upon his business through the unpleasant affair of his former +workman Salvat, and so he had dismissed such of his workmen as held +Anarchist views. If he had kept the two Toussaints, one of whom was the +prisoner's brother-in-law, while the other was suspected of sympathy with +him, this was because they had belonged to the works for a score of +years, and he did not like to cast them adrift. Moreover, Toussaint, the +father, had declared that if he were called as a witness for the defence, +he should simply give such particulars of Salvat's career as related to +the prisoner's marriage with his sister. + +One evening when Thomas came home from the works, to which he returned +every now and then in order to try his little motor, he related that he +had that day seen Madame Grandidier, the poor young woman who had become +insane through an attack of puerperal fever following upon the death of a +child. Although most frightful attacks of madness occasionally came over +her, and although life beside her was extremely painful, even during the +intervals when she remained downcast and gentle as a child, her husband +had never been willing to send her to an asylum. He kept her with him in +a pavilion near the works, and as a rule the shutters of the windows +overlooking the yard remained closed. Thus Thomas had been greatly +surprised to see one of these windows open, and the young woman appear at +it amidst the bright sunshine of that early spring. True, she only +remained there for a moment, vision-like, fair and pretty, with smiling +face; for a servant who suddenly drew near closed the window, and the +pavilion then again sank into lifeless silence. At the same time it was +reported among the men employed at the works that the poor creature had +not experienced an attack for well-nigh a month past, and that this was +the reason why the "governor" looked so strong and pleased, and worked so +vigorously to help on the increasing prosperity of his business. + +"He isn't a bad fellow," added Thomas, "but with the terrible competition +that he has to encounter, he is bent on keeping his men under control. +Nowadays, says he, when so many capitalists and wage earners seem bent on +exterminating one another, the latter--if they don't want to +starve--ought to be well pleased when capital falls into the hands of an +active, fair-minded man. . . . If he shows no pity for Salvat, it is +because he really believes in the necessity of an example." + +That same day Thomas, after leaving the works and while threading his way +through the toilsome hive-like Marcadet district, had overtaken Madame +Theodore and little Celine, who were wandering on in great distress. It +appeared that they had just called upon Toussaint, who had been unable to +lend them even such a trifle as ten sous. Since Salvat's arrest, the +woman and the child had been forsaken and suspected by one and all. +Driven forth from their wretched lodging, they were without food and +wandered hither and thither dependent on chance alms. Never had greater +want and misery fallen on defenceless creatures. + +"I told them to come up here, father," said Thomas, "for I thought that +one might pay their landlord a month's rent, so that they might go home +again. . . . Ah! there's somebody coming now--it's they, no doubt." + +Guillaume had felt angry with himself whilst listening to his son, for he +had not thought of the poor creatures. It was the old story: the man +disappears, and the woman and the child find themselves in the streets, +starving. Whenever Justice strikes a man her blow travels beyond him, +fells innocent beings and kills them. + +Madame Theodore came in, humble and timid, scared like a luckless +creature whom life never wearies of persecuting. She was becoming almost +blind, and little Celine had to lead her. The girl's fair, thin face wore +its wonted expression of shrewd intelligence, and even now, however +woeful her rags, it was occasionally brightened by a childish smile. + +Pierre and Marie, who were both there, felt extremely touched. Near them +was Madame Mathis, young Victor's mother, who had come to help Mere-Grand +with the mending of some house-linen. She went out by the day in this +fashion among a few families, and was thus enabled to give her son an +occasional franc or two. Guillaume alone questioned Madame Theodore. + +"Ah! monsieur," she stammered, "who could ever have thought Salvat +capable of such a thing, he who's so good and so humane? Still it's true, +since he himself has admitted it to the magistrate. . . . For my part I +told everybody that he was in Belgium. I wasn't quite sure of it, still +I'm glad that he didn't come back to see us; for if he had been arrested +at our place I should have lost my senses. . . . Well, now that they have +him, they'll sentence him to death, that's certain." + +At this Celine, who had been looking around her with an air of interest, +piteously exclaimed: "Oh! no, oh! no, mamma, they won't hurt him!" + +Big tears appeared in the child's eyes as she raised this cry. Guillaume +kissed her, and then went on questioning Madame Theodore. + +"Well, monsieur," she answered, "the child's not old or big enough to +work as yet, and my eyes are done for, people won't even take me as a +charwoman. And so it's simple enough, we starve. . . . Oh! of course I'm +not without relations; I have a sister who married very well. Her husband +is a clerk, Monsieur Chretiennot, perhaps you know him. Unfortunately +he's rather proud, and as I don't want any scenes between him and my +sister, I no longer go to see her. Besides, she's in despair just now, +for she's expecting another baby, which is a terrible blow for a small +household, when one already has two girls. . . . That's why the only +person I can apply to is my brother Toussaint. His wife isn't a bad sort +by any means, but she's no longer the same since she's been living in +fear of her husband having another attack. The first one carried off all +her savings, and what would become of her if Toussaint should remain on +her hands, paralysed? Besides, she's threatened with another burden, for, +as you may know, her son Charles got keeping company with a servant at a +wine shop, who of course ran away after she had a baby, which she left +him to see to. So one can understand that the Toussaints themselves are +hard put. I don't complain of them. They've already lent me a little +money, and of course they can't go on lending for ever." + +She continued talking in this spiritless, resigned way, complaining only +on account of Celine; for, said she, it was enough to make one's heart +break to see such an intelligent child obliged to tramp the streets after +getting on so well at the Communal School. She could feel too that +everybody now kept aloof from them on account of Salvat. The Toussaints +didn't want to be compromised in any such business. There was only +Charles, who had said that he could well understand a man losing his head +and trying to blow up the /bourgeois/, because they really treated the +workers in a blackguard way. + +"For my part, monsieur," added Madame Theodore, "I say nothing, for I'm +only a woman. All the same, though, if you'd like to know what I think, +well, I think that it would have been better if Salvat hadn't done what +he did, for we two, the girl and I, are the real ones to suffer from it. +Ah! I can't get the idea into my head, that the little one should be the +daughter of a man condemned to death." + +Once more Celine interrupted her, flinging her arms around her neck: "Oh! +mamma, oh! mamma, don't say that, I beg you! It can't be true, it grieves +me too much!" + +At this Pierre and Marie exchanged compassionate glances, while +Mere-Grand rose from her chair, in order to go upstairs and search her +wardrobes for some articles of clothing which might be of use to the two +poor creatures. Guillaume, who, for his part, had been moved to tears, +and felt full of revolt against the social system which rendered such +distress possible, slipped some alms into the child's little hand, and +promised Madame Theodore that he would see her landlord so as to get her +back her room. + +"Ah! Monsieur Froment!" replied the unfortunate woman. "Salvat was quite +right when he said you were a real good man! And as you employed him here +for a few days you know too that he isn't a wicked one. . . . Now that +he's been put in prison everybody calls him a brigand, and it breaks my +heart to hear them." Then, turning towards Madame Mathis, who had +continued sewing in discreet silence, like a respectable woman whom none +of these things could concern, she went on: "I know you, madame, but I'm +better acquainted with your son, Monsieur Victor, who has often come to +chat at our place. Oh! you needn't be afraid, I shan't say it, I shall +never compromise anybody; but if Monsieur Victor were free to speak, he'd +be the man to explain Salvat's ideas properly." + +Madame Mathis looked at her in stupefaction. Ignorant as she was of her +son's real life and views, she experienced a vague dread at the idea of +any connection between him and Salvat's family. Moreover, she refused to +believe it possible. "Oh! you must be mistaken," she said. "Victor told +me that he now seldom came to Montmartre, as he was always going about in +search of work." + +By the anxious quiver of the widow's voice, Madame Theodore understood +that she ought not to have mixed her up in her troubles; and so in all +humility she at once beat a retreat: "I beg your pardon, madame, I didn't +think I should hurt your feelings. Perhaps, too, I'm mistaken, as you +say." + +Madame Mathis had again turned to her sewing as to the solitude in which +she lived, that nook of decent misery where she dwelt without +companionship and almost unknown, with scarcely sufficient bread to eat. +Ah! that dear son of hers, whom she loved so well; however much he might +neglect her, she had placed her only remaining hope in him: he was her +last dream, and would some day lavish all kinds of happiness upon her! + +At that moment Mere-Grand came downstairs again, laden with a bundle of +linen and woollen clothing, and Madame Theodore and little Celine +withdrew while pouring forth their thanks. For a long time after they had +gone Guillaume, unable to resume work, continued walking to and fro in +silence, with a frown upon his face. + +When Pierre, still hesitating and still tortured by conflicting feelings, +returned to Montmartre on the following day he witnessed with much +surprise a visit of a very different kind. There was a sudden gust of +wind, a whirl of skirts and a ring of laughter as little Princess +Rosemonde swept in, followed by young Hyacinthe Duvillard, who, on his +side, retained a very frigid bearing. + +"It's I, my dear master," exclaimed the Princess. "I promised you a +visit, you remember, for I am such a great admirer of your genius. And +our young friend here has been kind enough to bring me. We have only just +returned from Norway, and my very first visit is for you." + +She turned as she spoke, and bowed in an easy and gracious way to Pierre +and Marie, Francois and Antoine, who were also there. Then she resumed: +"Oh! my dear master, you have no idea how beautifully virginal Norway is! +We all ought to go and drink at that new source of the Ideal, and we +should return purified, rejuvenated and capable of great renunciations!" + +As a matter of fact she had been well-nigh bored to death there. To make +one's honeymoon journey to the land of the ice and snow, instead of to +Italy, the hot land of the sun, was doubtless a very refined idea, which +showed that no base materialism formed part of one's affections. It was +the soul alone that travelled, and naturally it was fit that only kisses +of the soul should be exchanged on the journey. Unfortunately, however, +Hyacinthe had carried his symbolism so far as to exasperate Rosemonde, +and on one occasion they had come to blows over it, and then to tears +when this lover's quarrel had ended as many such quarrels do. Briefly, +they had no longer deemed themselves pure enough for the companionship of +the swans and the lakes of dreamland, and had therefore taken the first +steamer that was sailing for France. + +As it was altogether unnecessary to confess to everybody what a failure +their journey had proved, the Princess abruptly brought her rapturous +references to Norway to an end, and then explained: "By the way, do you +know what I found awaiting me on my return? Why, I found my house +pillaged, oh! completely pillaged! And in such a filthy condition, too! +We at once recognised the mark of the beast, and thought of Bergaz's +young friends." + +Already on the previous day Guillaume had read in the newspapers that a +band of young Anarchists had entered the Princess's little house by +breaking a basement window. She had left it quite deserted, unprotected +even by a caretaker; and the robbers had not merely removed everything +from the premises--including even the larger articles of furniture, but +had lived there for a couple of days, bringing provisions in from +outside, drinking all the wine in the cellars, and leaving every room in +a most filthy and disgusting condition. On discovering all this, +Rosemonde had immediately remembered the evening she had spent at the +Chamber of Horrors in the company of Bergaz and his acolytes, Rossi and +Sanfaute, who had heard her speak of her intended trip to Norway. The two +young men had therefore been arrested, but Bergaz had so far escaped. The +Princess was not greatly astonished by it all, for she had already been +warned of the presence of dangerous characters among the mixed +cosmopolitan set with which she associated. Janzen had told her in +confidence of a number of villanous affairs which were attributed to +Bergaz and his band. And now the Anarchist leader openly declared that +Bergaz had sold himself to the police like Raphanel; and that the +burglary at the Princess's residence had been planned by the police +officials, who thereby hoped to cover the Anarchist cause with mire. If +proof was wanted of this, added Janzen, it could be found in the fact +that the police had allowed Bergaz to escape. + +"I fancied that the newspapers might have exaggerated matters," said +Guillaume, when the Princess had finished her story. "They are inventing +such abominable things just now, in order to blacken the case of that +poor devil Salvat." + +"Oh! they've exaggerated nothing!" Rosemonde gaily rejoined. "As a matter +of fact they have omitted a number of particulars which were too filthy +for publication. . . . For my part, I've merely had to go to an hotel. +I'm very comfortable there; I was beginning to feel bored in that house +of mine. . . . All the same, however, Anarchism is hardly a clean +business, and I no longer like to say that I have any connection with +it." + +She again laughed, and then passed to another subject, asking Guillaume +to tell her of his most recent researches, in order, no doubt, that she +might show she knew enough chemistry to understand him. He had been +rendered thoughtful, however, by the story of Bergaz and the burglary, +and would only answer her in a general way. + +Meantime, Hyacinthe was renewing his acquaintance with his +school-fellows, Francois and Antoine. He had accompanied the Princess to +Montmartre against his own inclinations; but since she had taken to +whipping him he had become afraid of her. The chemist's little home +filled him with disdain, particularly as the chemist was a man of +questionable reputation. Moreover, he thought it a duty to insist on his +own superiority in the presence of those old school-fellows of his, whom +he found toiling away in the common rut, like other people. + +"Ah! yes," said he to Francois, who was taking notes from a book spread +open before him, "you are at the Ecole Normale, I believe, and are +preparing for your licentiate. Well, for my part, you know, the idea of +being tied to anything horrifies me. I become quite stupid when there's +any question of examination or competition. The only possible road for +one to follow is that of the Infinite. And between ourselves what dupery +there is in science, how it narrows our horizon! It's just as well to +remain a child with eyes gazing into the invisible. A child knows more +than all your learned men." + +Francois, who occasionally indulged in irony, pretended to share his +opinion. "No doubt, no doubt," said he, "but one must have a natural +disposition to remain a child. For my part, unhappily, I'm consumed by a +desire to learn and know. It's deplorable, as I'm well aware, but I pass +my days racking my brain over books. . . . I shall never know very much, +that's certain; and perhaps that's the reason why I'm ever striving to +learn a little more. You must at all events grant that work, like +idleness, is a means of passing life, though of course it is a less +elegant and aesthetic one." + +"Less aesthetic, precisely," rejoined Hyacinthe. "Beauty lies solely in +the unexpressed, and life is simply degraded when one introduces anything +material into it." + +Simpleton though he was in spite of the enormity of his pretensions, he +doubtless detected that Francois had been speaking ironically. So he +turned to Antoine, who had remained seated in front of a block he was +engraving. It was the one which represented Lise reading in her garden, +for he was ever taking it in hand again and touching it up in his desire +to emphasise his indication of the girl's awakening to intelligence and +life. + +"So you engrave, I see," said Hyacinthe. "Well, since I renounced +versification--a little poem I had begun on the End of Woman--because +words seemed to me so gross and cumbersome, mere paving-stones as it +were, fit for labourers, I myself have had some idea of trying drawing, +and perhaps engraving too. But what drawing can portray the mystery which +lies beyond life, the only sphere that has any real existence and +importance for us? With what pencil and on what kind of plate could one +depict it? We should need something impalpable, something unheard of, +which would merely suggest the essence of things and beings." + +"But it's only by material means," Antoine somewhat roughly replied, +"that art can render the essence of things and beings, that is, their +full significance as we understand it. To transcribe life is my great +passion; and briefly life is the only mystery that there is in things and +beings. When it seems to me that an engraving of mine lives, I'm well +pleased, for I feel that I have created." + +Hyacinthe pouted by way of expressing his contempt of all fruitfulness. +Any fool might beget offspring. It was the sexless idea, existing by +itself, that was rare and exquisite. He tried to explain this, but became +confused, and fell back on the conviction which he had brought back from +Norway, that literature and art were done for in France, killed by +baseness and excess of production. + +"It's evident!" said Francois gaily by way of conclusion. "To do nothing +already shows that one has some talent!" + +Meantime, Pierre and Marie listened and gazed around them, somewhat +embarrassed by this strange visit which had set the usually grave and +peaceful workroom topsy-turvy. The little Princess, though, evinced much +amiability, and on drawing near to Marie admired the wonderful delicacy +of some embroidery she was finishing. Before leaving, moreover, Rosemonde +insisted upon Guillaume inscribing his autograph in an album which +Hyacinthe had to fetch from her carriage. The young man obeyed her with +evident boredom. It could be seen that they were already weary of one +another. Pending a fresh caprice, however, it amused Rosemonde to +terrorize her sorry victim. When she at length led him away, after +declaring to Guillaume that she should always regard that visit as a +memorable incident in her life, she made the whole household smile by +saying: "Oh! so your sons knew Hyacinthe at college. He's a good-natured +little fellow, isn't he? and he would really be quite nice if he would +only behave like other people." + +That same day Janzen and Bache came to spend the evening with Guillaume. +Once a week they now met at Montmartre, as they had formerly done at +Neuilly. Pierre, on these occasions, went home very late, for as soon as +Mere-Grand, Marie, and Guillaume's sons had retired for the night, there +were endless chats in the workroom, whence Paris could be seen spangled +with thousands of gas lights. Another visitor at these times was +Theophile Morin, but he did not arrive before ten o'clock, as he was +detained by the work of correcting his pupils' exercises or some other +wearisome labour pertaining to his profession. + +As soon as Guillaume had told the others of the Princess's visit that +afternoon, Janzen hastily exclaimed: "But she's mad, you know. When I +first met her I thought for a moment that I might perhaps utilise her for +the cause. She seemed so thoroughly convinced and bold! But I soon found +that she was the craziest of women, and simply hungered for new +emotions!" + +Janzen was at last emerging from his wonted frigidity and mysteriousness. +His cheeks were quite flushed. In all probability he had suffered from +his rupture with the woman whom he had once called 'the Queen of the +Anarchists,' and whose fortune and extensive circle of acquaintance had +seemed to him such powerful weapons of propaganda. + +"You know," said he, when he had calmed down, "it was the police who had +her house pillaged and turned into a pigstye. Yes, in view of Salvat's +trial, which is now near at hand, the idea was to damn Anarchism beyond +possibility of even the faintest sympathy on the part of the +/bourgeois/." + +"Yes, she told me so," replied Guillaume, who had become attentive. "But +I scarcely credit the story. If Bergaz had merely acted under such +influence as you suggest, he would have been arrested with the others, +just as Raphanel was taken with those whom he betrayed. Besides, I know +something of Bergaz; he's a freebooter." Guillaume made a sorrowful +gesture, and then in a saddened voice continued: "Oh, I can understand +all claims and all legitimate reprisals. But theft, cynical theft for the +purpose of profit and enjoyment, is beyond me! It lowers my hope of a +better and more equitable form of society. Yes, that burglary at the +Princess's house has greatly distressed me." + +An enigmatical smile, sharp like a knife, again played over Janzen's +lips. "Oh! it's a matter of heredity with you!" said he. "The centuries +of education and belief that lie behind you compel you to protest. All +the same, however, when people won't make restoration, things must be +taken from them. What worries me is that Bergaz should have sold himself +just now. The public prosecutor will use that farcical burglary as a +crushing argument when he asks the jury for Salvat's head." + +Such was Janzen's hatred of the police that he stubbornly clung to his +version of the affair. Perhaps, too, he had quarrelled with Bergaz, with +whom he had at one time freely associated. + +Guillaume, who understood that all discussion would be useless, contented +himself with replying: "Ah! yes, Salvat! Everything is against that +unhappy fellow, he is certain to be condemned. But you can't know, my +friends, what a passion that affair of his puts me into. All my ideas of +truth and justice revolt at the thought of it. He's a madman certainly; +but there are so many excuses to be urged for him. At bottom he is simply +a martyr who has followed the wrong track. And yet he has become the +scapegoat, laden with the crimes of the whole nation, condemned to pay +for one and all!" + +Bache and Morin nodded without replying. They both professed horror of +Anarchism; while Morin, forgetting that the word if not the thing dated +from his first master Proudhon, clung to his Comtist doctrines, in the +conviction that science alone would ensure the happiness and pacification +of the nations. Bache, for his part, old mystical humanitarian that he +was, claimed that the only solution would come from Fourier, who by +decreeing an alliance of talent, labour and capital, had mapped out the +future in a decisive manner. Nevertheless, both Bache and Morin were so +discontented with the slow-paced /bourgeoise/ Republic of the present +day, and so hurt by the thought that everything was going from bad to +worse through the flouting of their own particular ideas, that they were +quite willing to wax indignant at the manner in which the conflicting +parties of the time were striving to make use of Salvat in order to +retain or acquire power. + +"When one thinks," said Bache, "that this ministerial crisis of theirs +has now been lasting for nearly three weeks! Every appetite is openly +displayed, it's a most disgusting sight! Did you see in the papers this +morning that the President has again been obliged to summon Vignon to the +Elysee?" + +"Oh! the papers," muttered Morin in his weary way, "I no longer read +them! What's the use of doing so? They are so badly written, and they all +lie!" + +As Bache had said, the ministerial crisis was still dragging on. The +President of the Republic, taking as his guide the debate in the Chamber +of Deputies, by which the Barroux administration had been overthrown, had +very properly sent for Vignon, the victor on that occasion, and entrusted +him with the formation of a new ministry. It had seemed that this would +be an easy task, susceptible of accomplishment in two or three days at +the utmost, for the names of the friends whom the young leader of the +Radical party would bring to power with him had been freely mentioned for +months past. But all sorts of difficulties had suddenly arisen. For ten +days or so Vignon had struggled on amidst inextricable obstacles. Then, +disheartened and disgusted, fearing, too, that he might use himself up +and shut off the future if he persisted in his endeavours, he had been +obliged to tell the President that he renounced the task. Forthwith the +President had summoned other deputies, and questioned them until he had +found one brave enough to make an attempt on his own account; whereupon +incidents similar to those which had marked Vignon's endeavours had once +more occurred. At the outset a list was drawn up with every prospect of +being ratified within a few hours, but all at once hesitation arose, some +pulled one way, some another; every effort was slowly paralysed till +absolute failure resulted. It seemed as though the mysterious manoeuvres +which had hampered Vignon had begun again; it was as if some band of +invisible plotters was, for some unknown purpose, doing its utmost to +wreck every combination. A thousand hindrances arose with increasing +force from every side--jealousy, dislike, and even betrayal were secretly +prompted by expert agents, who employed every form of pressure, whether +threats or promises, besides fanning and casting rival passions and +interests into collision. Thus the President, greatly embarrassed by this +posture of affairs, had again found it necessary to summon Vignon, who, +after reflection and negotiation, now had an almost complete list in his +pocket, and seemed likely to perfect a new administration within the next +forty-eight hours. + +"Still it isn't settled," resumed Bache. "Well-informed people assert +that Vignon will fail again as he did the first time. For my part I can't +get rid of the idea that Duvillard's gang is pulling the strings, though +for whose benefit is a mystery. You may be quite sure, however, that its +chief purpose is to stifle the African Railways affair. If Monferrand +were not so badly compromised I should almost suspect some trick on his +part. Have you noticed that the 'Globe,' after throwing Barroux overboard +in all haste, now refers to Monferrand every day with the most respectful +sympathy? That's a grave sign; for it isn't Fonsegue's habit to show any +solicitude for the vanquished. But what can one expect from that wretched +Chamber! The only point certain is that something dirty is being plotted +there." + +"And that big dunderhead Mege who works for every party except his own!" +exclaimed Morin; "what a dupe he is with that idea that he need merely +overthrow first one cabinet and then another, in order to become the +leader of one himself!" + +The mention of Mege brought them all to agreement, for they unanimously +hated him. Bache, although his views coincided on many points with those +of the apostle of State Collectivism, judged each of his speeches, each +of his actions, with pitiless severity. Janzen, for his part, treated the +Collectivist leader as a mere reactionary /bourgeois/, who ought to be +swept away one of the first. This hatred of Mege was indeed the common +passion of Guillaume's friends. They could occasionally show some justice +for men who in no wise shared their ideas; but in their estimation it was +an unpardonable crime for anybody to hold much the same views as +themselves, without being absolutely in agreement with them on every +possible point. + +Their discussion continued, their various theories mingling or clashing +till they passed from politics to the press, and grew excited over the +denunciations which poured each morning from Sagnier's newspaper, like +filth from the mouth of a sewer. Thereupon Guillaume, who had become +absorbed in reverie while pacing to and fro according to his habit, +suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! what dirty work it is that Sagnier does! Before +long there won't be a single person, a single thing left on which he +hasn't vomited! You think he's on your side, and suddenly he splashes you +with mire! . . . By the way, he related yesterday that skeleton keys and +stolen purses were found on Salvat when he was arrested in the Bois de +Boulogne! It's always Salvat! He's the inexhaustible subject for +articles. The mere mention of him suffices to send up a paper's sales! +The bribe-takers of the African Railways shout 'Salvat!' to create a +diversion. And the battles which wreck ministers are waged round his +name. One and all set upon him and make use of him and beat him down!" + +With that cry of revolt and compassion, the friends separated for the +night. Pierre, who sat near the open window, overlooking the sparkling +immensity of Paris, had listened to the others without speaking a word. +He had once more been mastered by his doubts, the terrible struggle of +his heart and mind; and no solution, no appeasement had come to him from +all the contradictory views he had heard--the views of men who only +united in predicting the disappearance of the old world, and could make +no joint brotherly effort to rear the future world of truth and justice. +In that vast city of Paris stretching below him, spangled with stars, +glittering like the sky of a summer's night, Pierre also found a great +enigma. It was like chaos, like a dim expanse of ashes dotted with sparks +whence the coming aurora would arise. What future was being forged there, +he wondered, what decisive word of salvation and happiness would come +with the dawn, and wing its flight to every point of the horizon? + +When Pierre, in his turn, was about to retire, Guillaume laid his hands +upon his shoulders, and with much emotion gave him a long look. "Ah! my +poor fellow," said he, "you've been suffering too for some days past, I +have noticed it. But you are the master of your sufferings, for the +struggle you have to overcome is simply in yourself, and you can subdue +it; whereas one cannot subdue the world, when it is the world, its +cruelty and injustice that make one suffer! Good night, be brave, act as +your reason tells you, even if it makes you weep, and you will find peace +surely enough." + +Later on, when Pierre again found himself alone in his little house at +Neuilly, where none now visited him save the shades of his father and +mother, he was long kept awake by a supreme internal combat. He had never +before felt so disgusted with the falsehood of his life, that cassock +which he had persisted in wearing, though he was a priest in name only. +Perhaps it was all that he had beheld and heard at his brother's, the +want and wretchedness of some, the wild, futile agitation of others, the +need of improvement among mankind which remained paramount amidst every +contradiction and form of weakness, that had made him more deeply +conscious of the necessity of living in loyal and normal fashion in the +broad daylight. He could no longer think of his former dream of leading +the solitary life of a saintly priest when he was nothing of the kind, +without a shiver of shame at having lied so long. And now it was quite +decided, he would lie no longer, not even from feelings of compassion in +order that others might retain their religious illusions. And yet how +painful it was to have to divest himself of that gown which seemed to +cling to his skin, and how heartrending the thought that if he did remove +it he would be skinless, lacerated, infirm, unable, do what he might, to +become like other men! + +It was this recurring thought which again tortured him throughout that +terrible night. Would life yet allow him to enter its fold? Had he not +been branded with a mark which for ever condemned him to dwell apart? He +thought he could feel his priestly vows burning his very flesh like +red-hot iron. What use would it be for him to dress as men dress, if in +reality he was never to be a man? He had hitherto lived in such a +quivering state, in a sphere of renunciation and dreams! To know manhood +never, to be too late for it, that thought filled him with terror. And +when at last he made up his mind to fling aside his cassock, he did so +from a simple sense of rectitude, for all his anguish remained. + +When he returned to Montmartre on the following day, he wore a jacket and +trousers of a dark colour. Neither an exclamation nor a glance that might +have embarrassed him came from Mere-Grand or the three young men. Was not +the change a natural one? They greeted him therefore in the quiet way +that was usual with them; perhaps, with some increase of affection, as if +to set him the more at his ease. Guillaume, however, ventured to smile +good-naturedly. In that change he detected his own work. Cure was coming, +as he had hoped it would come, by him and in his own home, amid the full +sunlight, the life which ever streamed in through yonder window. + +Marie, who on her side raised her eyes and looked at Pierre, knew nothing +of the sufferings which he had endured through her simple and logical +inquiry: "Why not take your cassock off?" She merely felt that by +removing it he would be more at ease for his work. + +"Oh, Pierre, just come and look!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I have been +amusing myself with watching all the smoke which the wind is laying +yonder over Paris. One might take it to be a huge fleet of ships shining +in the sunlight. Yes, yes, golden ships, thousands of golden ships, +setting forth from the ocean of Paris to enlighten and pacify the world!" + + + +III + +THE DAWN OF LOVE + +A COUPLE of days afterwards, when Pierre was already growing accustomed +to his new attire, and no longer gave it a thought, it so happened that +on reaching Montmartre he encountered Abbe Rose outside the basilica of +the Sacred Heart. The old priest, who at first was quite thunderstruck +and scarcely able to recognise him, ended by taking hold of his hands and +giving him a long look. Then with his eyes full of tears he exclaimed: +"Oh! my son, so you have fallen into the awful state I feared! I never +mentioned it, but I felt that God had withdrawn from you. Ah! nothing +could wound my heart so cruelly as this." + +Then, still trembling, he began to lead Pierre away as if to hide such a +scandal from the few people who passed by; and at last, his strength +failing him, he sank upon a heap of bricks lying on the grass of one of +the adjoining work-yards. + +The sincere grief which his old and affectionate friend displayed upset +Pierre far more than any angry reproaches or curses would have done. +Tears had come to his own eyes, so acute was the suffering he experienced +at this meeting, which he ought, however, to have foreseen. There was yet +another wrenching, and one which made the best of their blood flow, in +that rupture between Pierre and the saintly man whose charitable dreams +and hopes of salvation he had so long shared. There had been so many +divine illusions, so many struggles for the relief of the masses, so much +renunciation and forgiveness practised in common between them in their +desire to hasten the harvest of the future! And now they were parting; +he, Pierre, still young in years, was returning to life, leaving his aged +companion to his vain waiting and his dreams. + +In his turn, taking hold of Abbe Rose's hands, he gave expression to his +sorrow. "Ah, my friend, my father," said he, "it is you alone that I +regret losing, now that I am leaving my frightful torments behind. I +thought that I was cured of them, but it has been sufficient for me to +meet you, and my heart is rent again. . . . Don't weep for me, I pray +you, don't reproach me for what I have done. It was necessary that I +should do it. If I had consulted you, you would yourself have told me +that it was better to renounce the priesthood than to remain a priest +without faith or honour." + +"Yes, yes," Abbe Rose gently responded, "you no longer had any faith +left. I suspected it. And your rigidity and saintliness of life, in which +I detected such great despair, made me anxious for you. How many hours +did I not spend at times in striving to calm you! And you must listen to +me again, you must still let me save you. I am not a sufficiently learned +theologian to lead you back by discussing texts and dogmas; but in the +name of Charity, my child, yes, in the name of Charity alone, reflect and +take up your task of consolation and hope once more." + +Pierre had sat down beside Abbe Rose, in that deserted nook, at the very +foot of the basilica. "Charity! charity!" he replied in passionate +accents; "why, it is its nothingness and bankruptcy that have killed the +priest there was in me. How can you believe that benevolence is +sufficient, when you have spent your whole life in practising it without +any other result than that of seeing want perpetuated and even increased, +and without any possibility of naming the day when such abomination shall +cease? . . . You think of the reward after death, do you not? The justice +that is to reign in heaven? But that is not justice, it is dupery--dupery +that has brought the world nothing but suffering for centuries past." + +Then he reminded the old priest of their life in the Charonne district, +when they had gone about together succouring children in the streets and +parents in their hovels; the whole of those admirable efforts which, so +far as Abbe Rose was concerned, had simply ended in blame from his +superiors, and removal from proximity to his poor, under penalty of more +severe punishment should he persist in compromising religion by the +practice of blind benevolence without reason or object. And now, was he +not, so to say, submerged beneath the ever-rising tide of want, aware +that he would never, never be able to give enough even should he dispose +of millions, and that he could only prolong the agony of the poor, who, +even should they eat today, would starve again on the morrow? Thus he was +powerless. The wound which he tried to dress and heal, immediately +reopened and spread, in such wise that all society would at last be +stricken and carried off by it. + +Quivering as he listened, and slowly shaking his white head, the old +priest ended by replying: "that does that matter, my child? what does +that matter? One must give, always give, give in spite of everything! +There is no other joy on earth. . . . If dogmas worry you, content +yourself with the Gospel, and even of that retain merely the promise of +salvation through charity." + +But at this Pierre's feelings revolted. He forgot that he was speaking to +one of simple mind, who was all love and nothing else, and could +therefore not follow him. "The trial has been made," he answered, "human +salvation cannot be effected by charity, nothing but justice can +accomplish it. That is the gathering cry which is going up from every +nation. For nearly two thousand years now the Gospel has proved a +failure. There has been no redemption; the sufferings of mankind are +every whit as great and unjust as they were when Jesus came. And thus the +Gospel is now but an abolished code, from which society can only draw +things that are troublous and hurtful. Men must free themselves from it." + +This was his final conviction. How strange the idea, thought he, of +choosing as the world's social legislator one who lived, as Jesus lived, +amidst a social system absolutely different from that of nowadays. The +age was different, the very world was different. And if it were merely a +question of retaining only such of the moral teaching of Jesus as seemed +human and eternal, was there not again a danger in applying immutable +principles to the society of every age? No society could live under the +strict law of the Gospel. Was not all order, all labour, all life +destroyed by the teaching of Jesus? Did He not deny woman, the earth, +eternal nature and the eternal fruitfulness of things and beings? +Moreover, Catholicism had reared upon His primitive teaching such a +frightful edifice of terror and oppression. The theory of original sin, +that terrible heredity reviving with each creature born into the world, +made no allowance as Science does for the corrective influences of +education, circumstances and environment. There could be no more +pessimist conception of man than this one which devotes him to the Devil +from the instant of his birth, and pictures him as struggling against +himself until the instant of his death. An impossible and absurd +struggle, for it is a question of changing man in his entirety, killing +the flesh, killing reason, destroying some guilty energy in each and +every passion, and of pursuing the Devil to the very depths of the +waters, mountains and forests, there to annihilate him with the very sap +of the world. If this theory is accepted the world is but sin, a mere +Hell of temptation and suffering, through which one must pass in order to +merit Heaven. Ah! what an admirable instrument for absolute despotism is +that religion of death, which the principle of charity alone has enabled +men to tolerate, but which the need of justice will perforce sweep away. +The poor man, who is the wretched dupe of it all, no longer believes in +Paradise, but requires that each and all should be rewarded according to +their deserts upon this earth; and thus eternal life becomes the good +goddess, and desire and labour the very laws of the world, while the +fruitfulness of woman is again honoured, and the idiotic nightmare of +Hell is replaced by glorious Nature whose travail knows no end. Leaning +upon modern Science, clear Latin reason sweeps away the ancient Semitic +conception of the Gospel. + +"For eighteen hundred years," concluded Pierre, "Christianity has been +hampering the march of mankind towards truth and justice. And mankind +will only resume its evolution on the day when it abolishes Christianity, +and places the Gospel among the works of the wise, without taking it any +longer as its absolute and final law." + +But Abbe Rose raised his trembling hands: "Be quiet, be quiet, my child!" +he cried; "you are blaspheming! I knew that doubt distracted you; but I +thought you so patient, so able to bear suffering, that I relied on your +spirit of renunciation and resignation. What can have happened to make +you leave the Church in this abrupt and violent fashion? I no longer +recognise you. Sudden passion has sprung up in you, an invincible force +seems to carry you away. What is it? Who has changed you, tell me?" + +Pierre listened in astonishment. "No," said he, "I assure you, I am such +as you have known me, and in all this there is but an inevitable result +and finish. Who could have influenced me, since nobody has entered my +life? What new feeling could transform me, since I find none in me? I am +the same as before, the same assuredly." + +Still there was a touch of hesitation in his voice. Was it really true +that there had been no change within him? He again questioned himself, +and there came no clear answer; decidedly, he would find nothing. It was +all but a delightful awakening, an overpowering desire for life, a +longing to open his arms widely enough to embrace everyone and +everything indeed, a breeze of joy seemed to raise him from the ground +and carry him along. + +Although Abbe Rose was too innocent of heart to understand things +clearly, he again shook his head and thought of the snares which the +Devil is ever setting for men. He was quite overwhelmed by Pierre's +defection. Continuing his efforts to win him back, he made the mistake of +advising him to consult Monseigneur Martha, for he hoped that a prelate +of such high authority would find the words necessary to restore him to +his faith. Pierre, however, boldly replied that if he was leaving the +Church it was partly because it comprised such a man as Martha, such an +artisan of deception and despotism, one who turned religion into corrupt +diplomacy, and dreamt of winning men back to God by dint of ruses. +Thereupon Abbe Rose, rising to his feet, could find no other argument in +his despair than that of pointing to the basilica which stood beside +them, square, huge and massive, and still waiting for its dome. + +"That is God's abode, my child," said he, "the edifice of expiation and +triumph, of penitence and forgiveness. You have said mass in it, and now +you are leaving it sacrilegiously and forswearing yourself!" + +But Pierre also had risen; and buoyed up by a sudden rush of health and +strength he answered: "No, no! I am leaving it willingly, as one leaves a +dark vault, to return into the open air and the broad sunlight. God does +not dwell there; the only purpose of that huge edifice is to defy reason, +truth and justice; it has been erected on the highest spot that could be +found, like a citadel of error that dominates, insults and threatens +Paris!" + +Then seeing that the old priest's eyes were again filling with tears, and +feeling on his own side so pained by their rupture that he began to sob, +Pierre wished to go away. "Farewell! farewell!" he stammered. + +But Abbe Rose caught him in his arms and kissed him, as if he were a +rebellious son who yet had remained the dearest. "No, not farewell, not +farewell, my child," he answered; "say rather till we meet again. Promise +me that we shall see each other again, at least among those who starve +and weep. It is all very well for you to think that charity has become +bankrupt, but shall we not always love one another in loving our poor?" + +Then they parted. + +On becoming the companion of his three big nephews, Pierre had in a few +lessons learnt from them how to ride a bicycle, in order that he might +occasionally accompany them on their morning excursions. He went twice +with them and Marie along the somewhat roughly paved roads in the +direction of the Lake of Enghien. Then one morning when the young woman +had promised to take him and Antoine as far as the forest of +Saint-Germain, it was found at the last moment that Antoine could not +come. Marie was already dressed in a chemisette of fawn-coloured silk, +and a little jacket and "rationals" of black serge, and it was such a +warm, bright April day that she was not inclined to renounce her trip. + +"Well, so much the worse!" she gaily said to Pierre, "I shall take you +with me, there will only be the pair of us. I really want you to see how +delightful it is to bowl over a good road between the beautiful trees." + +However, as Pierre was not yet a very expert rider, they decided that +they would take the train as far as Maisons-Laffitte, whence they would +proceed on their bicycles to the forest, cross it in the direction of +Saint-Germain, and afterwards return to Paris by train. + +"You will be here for /dejeuner/, won't you?" asked Guillaume, whom this +freak amused, and who looked with a smile at his brother. The latter, +like Marie, was in black: jacket, breeches and stockings all of the same +hue. + +"Oh, certainly!" replied Marie. "It's now barely eight o'clock, so we +have plenty of time. Still you need not wait for us, you know, we shall +always find our way back." + +It was a delightful morning. When they started, Pierre could fancy +himself with a friend of his own sex, so that this trip together through +the warm sunlight seemed quite natural. Doubtless their costumes, which +were so much alike, conduced to the gay brotherly feeling he experienced. +But beyond all this there was the healthfulness of the open air, the +delight which exercise brings, the pleasure of roaming in all freedom +through the midst of nature. + +On taking the train they found themselves alone in a compartment, and +Marie once more began to talk of her college days. "Ah! you've no idea," +said she, "what fine games at baseball we used to have at Fenelon! We +used to tie up our skirts with string so as to run the better, for we +were not allowed to wear rationals like I'm wearing now. And there were +shrieks, and rushes, and pushes, till our hair waved about and we were +quite red with exercise and excitement. Still that didn't prevent us from +working in the class-rooms. On the contrary! Directly we were at study we +fought again, each striving to learn the most and reach the top of the +class!" + +She laughed gaily as she thus recalled her school life, and Pierre +glanced at her with candid admiration, so pink and healthy did she look +under her little hat of black felt, which a long silver pin kept in +position. Her fine dark hair was caught up behind, showing her neck, +which looked as fresh and delicate as a child's. And never before had she +seemed to him so supple and so strong. + +"Ah," she continued in a jesting way, "there is nothing like rationals, +you know! To think that some women are foolish and obstinate enough to +wear skirts when they go out cycling!" + +Then, as he declared--just by way of speaking the truth, and without the +faintest idea of gallantry--that she looked very nice indeed in her +costume, she responded: "Oh! I don't count. I'm not a beauty. I simply +enjoy good health. . . . But can you understand it? To think that women +have an unique opportunity of putting themselves at their ease, and +releasing their limbs from prison, and yet they won't do so! If they +think that they look the prettier in short skirts like schoolgirls they +are vastly mistaken! And as for any question of modesty, well, it seems +to me that it is infinitely less objectionable for women to wear +rationals than to bare their bosoms at balls and theatres and dinners as +society ladies do." Then, with a gesture of girlish impulsiveness, she +added: "Besides, does one think of such things when one's rolling along? +. . . Yes, rationals are the only things, skirts are rank heresy!" + +In her turn, she was now looking at him, and was struck by the +extraordinary change which had come over him since the day when he had +first appeared to her, so sombre in his long cassock, with his face +emaciated, livid, almost distorted by anguish. It was like a +resurrection, for now his countenance was bright, his lofty brow had all +the serenity of hope, while his eyes and lips once more showed some of +the confident tenderness which sprang from his everlasting thirst for +love, self-bestowal and life. All mark of the priesthood had already left +him, save that where he had been tonsured his hair still remained rather +short. + +"Why are you looking at me?" he asked. + +"I was noticing how much good has been done you by work and the open +air," she frankly answered; "I much prefer you as you are. You used to +look so poorly. I thought you really ill." + +"So I was," said he. + +The train, however, was now stopping at Maisons-Laffitte. They alighted +from it, and at once took the road to the forest. This road rises gently +till it reaches the Maisons gate, and on market days it is often crowded +with carts. + +"I shall go first, eh?" said Marie gaily, "for vehicles still alarm you." + +Thereupon she started ahead, but every now and again she turned with a +smile to see if he were following her. And every time they overtook and +passed a cart she spoke to him of the merits of their machines, which +both came from the Grandidier works. They were "Lisettes," examples of +those popular bicycles which Thomas had helped to perfect, and which the +Bon Marche now sold in large numbers for 250 francs apiece. Perhaps they +were rather heavy in appearance, but on the other hand their strength was +beyond question. They were just the machines for a long journey, so Marie +declared. + +"Ah! here's the forest," she at last exclaimed. "We have now reached the +end of the rise; and you will see what splendid avenues there are. One +can bowl along them as on a velvet carpet." + +Pierre had already joined her, and they rode on side by side along the +broad straight avenue fringed with magnificent trees. + +"I am all right now," said Pierre; "your pupil will end by doing you +honour, I hope." + +"Oh! I've no doubt of it. You already have a very good seat, and before +long you'll leave me behind, for a woman is never a man's equal in a +matter like this. At the same time, however, what a capital education +cycling is for women!" + +In what way?" + +"Oh! I've certain ideas of my own on the subject; and if ever I have a +daughter I shall put her on a bicycle as soon as she's ten years old, +just to teach her how to conduct herself in life." + +"Education by experience, eh?" + +"Yes, why not? Look at the big girls who are brought up hanging to their +mothers' apron strings. Their parents frighten them with everything, they +are allowed no initiative, no exercise of judgment or decision, so that +at times they hardly know how to cross a street, to such a degree does +the traffic alarm them. Well, I say that a girl ought to be set on a +bicycle in her childhood, and allowed to follow the roads. She will then +learn to open her eyes, to look out for stones and avoid them, and to +turn in the right direction at every bend or crossway. If a vehicle comes +up at a gallop or any other danger presents itself, she'll have to make +up her mind on the instant, and steer her course firmly and properly if +she does not wish to lose a limb. Briefly, doesn't all this supply proper +apprenticeship for one's will, and teach one how to conduct and defend +oneself?" + +Pierre had begun to laugh. "You will all be too healthy," he remarked. + +"Oh, one must be healthy if one wants to be happy. But what I wish to +convey is that those who learn to avoid stones and to turn properly along +the highways will know how to overcome difficulties, and take the best +decisions in after life. The whole of education lies in knowledge and +energy." + +"So women are to be emancipated by cycling?" + +"Well, why not? It may seem a droll idea; but see what progress has been +made already. By wearing rationals women free their limbs from prison; +then the facilities which cycling affords people for going out together +tend to greater intercourse and equality between the sexes; the wife and +the children can follow the husband everywhere, and friends like +ourselves are at liberty to roam hither and thither without astonishing +anybody. In this lies the greatest advantage of all: one takes a bath of +air and sunshine, one goes back to nature, to the earth, our common +mother, from whom one derives fresh strength and gaiety of heart! Just +look how delightful this forest is. And how healthful the breeze that +inflates our lungs! Yes, it all purifies, calms and encourages one." + +The forest, which was quite deserted on week days, stretched out in +quietude on either hand, with sunlight filtering between its deep bands +of trees. At that hour the rays only illumined one side of the avenue, +there gilding the lofty drapery of verdure; on the other, the shady side, +the greenery seemed almost black. It was truly delightful to skim, +swallow-like, over that royal avenue in the fresh atmosphere, amidst the +waving of grass and foliage, whose powerful scent swept against one's +face. Pierre and Marie scarcely touched the soil: it was as if wings had +come to them, and were carrying them on with a regular flight, through +alternate patches of shade and sunshine, and all the scattered vitality +of the far-reaching, quivering forest, with its mosses, its sources, its +animal and its insect life. + +Marie would not stop when they reached the crossway of the Croix de +Noailles, a spot where people congregate on Sundays, for she was +acquainted with secluded nooks which were far more charming +resting-places. When they reached the slope going down towards Poissy, +she roused Pierre, and they let their machines rush on. Then came all the +joyous intoxication of speed, the rapturous feeling of darting along +breathlessly while the grey road flees beneath one, and the trees on +either hand turn like the opening folds of a fan. The breeze blows +tempestuously, and one fancies that one is journeying yonder towards the +horizon, the infinite, which ever and ever recedes. It is like boundless +hope, delivery from every shackle, absolute freedom of motion through +space. And nothing can inspirit one more gloriously--one's heart leaps as +if one were in the very heavens. + +"We are not going to Poissy, you know!" Marie suddenly cried; "we have to +turn to the left." + +They took the road from Acheres to the Loges, which ascends and +contracts, thus bringing one closer together in the shade. Gradually +slowing down, they began to exert themselves in order to make their way +up the incline. This road was not so good as the others, it had been +gullied by the recent heavy rains, and sand and gravel lay about. But +then is there not even a pleasure in effort? + +"You will get used to it," said Marie to Pierre; "it's amusing to +overcome obstacles. For my part I don't like roads which are invariably +smooth. A little ascent which does not try one's limbs too much rouses +and inspirits one. And it is so agreeable to find oneself strong, and +able to go on and on in spite of rain, or wind, or hills." + +Her bright humour and courage quite charmed Pierre. "And so," said he, +"we are off for a journey round France?" + +"No, no, we've arrived. You won't dislike a little rest, eh? And now, +tell me, wasn't it worth our while to come on here and rest in such a +nice fresh, quiet spot." + +She nimbly sprang off her machine and, bidding him follow her, turned +into a path, along which she went some fifty paces. They placed their +bicycles against some trees, and then found themselves in a little +clearing, the most exquisite, leafy nest that one could dream of. The +forest here assumed an aspect of secluded sovereign beauty. The +springtide had endowed it with youth, the foliage was light and virginal, +like delicate green lace flecked with gold by the sun-rays. And from the +herbage and the surrounding thickets arose a breath of life, laden with +all the powerful aroma of the earth. + +"It's not too warm as yet, fortunately," exclaimed Marie, as she seated +herself at the foot of a young oak-tree, against which she leant. "In +July ladies get rather red by the time they reach this spot, and all the +powder comes off their faces. However, one can't always be beautiful." + +"Well, I'm not cold by any means," replied Pierre, as he sat at her feet +wiping his forehead. + +She laughed, and answered that she had never before seen him with such a +colour. Then they began to talk like children, like two young friends, +finding a source of gaiety in the most puerile things. She was somewhat +anxious about his health, however, and would not allow him to remain in +the cool shade, as he felt so very warm. In order to tranquillise her, he +had to change his place and seat himself with his back to the sun. Then a +little later he saved her from a large black spider, which had caught +itself in the wavy hair on the nape of her neck. At this all her womanly +nature reappeared, and she shrieked with terror. "How stupid it was to be +afraid of a spider!" she exclaimed a moment afterwards; yet, in spite of +her efforts to master herself, she remained pale and trembling. + +Silence at last fell between them, and they looked at one another with a +smile. In the midst of that delicate greenery they felt drawn together by +frank affection--the affection of brother and sister, so it seemed to +them. It made Marie very happy to think that she had taken an interest in +Pierre, and that his return to health was largely her own work. However, +their eyes never fell, their hands never met, even as they sat there +toying with the grass, for they were as pure, as unconscious of all evil, +as were the lofty oaks around them. + +At last Marie noticed that time was flying. "You know that they expect us +back to lunch," she exclaimed. "We ought to be off." + +Thereupon they rose, wheeled their bicycles back to the highway, and +starting off again at a good pace passed the Loges and reached +Saint-Germain by the fine avenue which conducts to the chateau. It +charmed them to take their course again side by side, like birds of equal +flight. Their little bells jingled, their chains rustled lightly, and a +fresh breeze swept past them as they resumed their talk, quite at ease, +and so linked together by friendship that they seemed far removed from +all the rest of the world. + +They took the train from Saint-Germain to Paris, and on the journey +Pierre suddenly noticed that Marie's cheeks were purpling. There were two +ladies with them in the compartment. + +"Ah!" said he, "so you feel warm in your turn now?" + +But she protested the contrary, her face glowing more and more brightly +as she spoke, as if some sudden feeling of shame quite upset her. "No, +I'm not warm," said she; "just feel my hands. . . . But how ridiculous it +is to blush like this without any reason for it!" + +He understood her. This was one of those involuntary blushing fits which +so distressed her, and which, as Mere-Grand had remarked, brought her +heart to her very cheeks. There was no cause for it, as she herself said. +After slumbering in all innocence in the solitude of the forest her heart +had begun to beat, despite herself. + +Meantime, over yonder at Montmartre, Guillaume had spent his morning in +preparing some of that mysterious powder, the cartridges of which he +concealed upstairs in Mere-Grand's bedroom. Great danger attended this +manufacture. The slightest forgetfulness while he was manipulating the +ingredients, any delay, too, in turning off a tap, might lead to a +terrible explosion, which would annihilate the building and all who might +be in it. For this reason he preferred to work when he was alone, so that +on the one hand there might be no danger for others, and on the other +less likelihood of his own attention being diverted from his task. That +morning, as it happened, his three sons were working in the room, and +Mere-Grand sat sewing near the furnace. Truth to tell, she did not count, +for she scarcely ever left her place, feeling quite at ease there, +however great might be the peril. Indeed, she had become so well +acquainted with the various phases of Guillaume's delicate operations, +and their terrible possibilities, that she would occasionally give him a +helping hand. + +That morning, as she sat there mending some house linen,--her eyesight +still being so keen that in spite of her seventy years she wore no +spectacles,--she now and again glanced at Guillaume as if to make sure +that he forgot nothing. Then feeling satisfied, she would once more bend +over her work. She remained very strong and active. Her hair was only +just turning white, and she had kept all her teeth, while her face still +looked refined, though it was slowly withering with age and had acquired +an expression of some severity. As a rule she was a woman of few words; +her life was one of activity and good management. When she opened her +lips it was usually to give advice, to counsel reason, energy and +courage. For some time past she had been growing more taciturn than ever, +as if all her attention were claimed by the household matters which were +in her sole charge; still, her fine eyes would rest thoughtfully on those +about her, on the three young men, and on Guillaume, Marie and Pierre, +who all obeyed her as if she were their acknowledged queen. If she looked +at them in that pensive way, was it that she foresaw certain changes, and +noticed certain incidents of which the others remained unconscious? +Perhaps so. At all events she became even graver, and more attentive than +in the past. It was as if she were waiting for some hour to strike when +all her wisdom and authority would be required. + +"Be careful, Guillaume," she at last remarked, as she once more looked up +from her sewing. "You seem absent-minded this morning. Is anything +worrying you?" + +He glanced at her with a smile. "No, nothing, I assure you," he replied. +"But I was thinking of our dear Marie, who was so glad to go off to the +forest in this bright sunshine." + +Antoine, who heard the remark, raised his head, while his brothers +remained absorbed in their work. "What a pity it is that I had this block +to finish," said he; "I would willingly have gone with her." + +"Oh, no matter," his father quietly rejoined. "Pierre is with her, and he +is very cautious." + +For another moment Mere-Grand continued scrutinising Guillaume; then she +once more reverted to her sewing. + +If she exercised such sway over the home and all its inmates, it was by +reason of her long devotion, her intelligence, and the kindliness with +which she ruled. Uninfluenced by any religious faith, and disregarding +all social conventionalities, her guiding principle in everything was the +theory of human justice which she had arrived at after suffering so +grievously from the injustice that had killed her husband. She put her +views into practice with wonderful courage, knowing nothing of any +prejudices, but accomplishing her duty, such as she understood it, to the +very end. And in the same way as she had first devoted herself to her +husband, and next to her daughter Marguerite, so at present she devoted +herself to Guillaume and his sons. Pierre, whom she had first studied +with some anxiety, had now, too, become a member of her family, a dweller +in the little realm of happiness which she ruled. She had doubtless found +him worthy of admission into it, though she did not reveal the reason +why. After days and days of silence she had simply said, one evening, to +Guillaume, that he had done well in bringing his brother to live among +them. + +Time flew by as she sat sewing and thinking. Towards noon Guillaume, who +was still at work, suddenly remarked to her: "As Marie and Pierre haven't +come back, we had better let the lunch wait a little while. Besides, I +should like to finish what I'm about." + +Another quarter of an hour then elapsed. Finally, the three young men +rose from their work, and went to wash their hands at a tap in the +garden. + +"Marie is very late," now remarked Mere-Grand. "We must hope that nothing +has happened to her." + +"Oh! she rides so well," replied Guillaume. "I'm more anxious on account +of Pierre." + +At this the old lady again fixed her eyes on him, and said: "But Marie +will have guided Pierre; they already ride very well together." + +"No doubt; still I should be better pleased if they were back home." + +Then all at once, fancying that he heard the ring of a bicycle bell, he +called out: "There they are!" And forgetting everything else in his +satisfaction, he quitted his furnace and hastened into the garden in +order to meet them. + +Mere-Grand, left to herself, quietly continued sewing, without a thought +that the manufacture of Guillaume's powder was drawing to an end in an +apparatus near her. A couple of minutes later, however, when Guillaume +came back, saying that he had made a mistake, his eyes suddenly rested on +his furnace, and he turned quite livid. Brief as had been his absence the +exact moment when it was necessary to turn off a tap in order that no +danger might attend the preparation of his powder had already gone by; +and now, unless someone should dare to approach that terrible tap, and +boldly turn it, a fearful explosion might take place. Doubtless it was +too late already, and whoever might have the bravery to attempt the feat +would be blown to pieces. + +Guillaume himself had often run a similar risk of death with perfect +composure. But on this occasion he remained as if rooted to the floor, +unable to take a step, paralysed by the dread of annihilation. He +shuddered and stammered in momentary expectation of a catastrophe which +would hurl the work-shop to the heavens. + +"Mere-Grand, Mere-Grand," he stammered. "The apparatus, the tap . . . it +is all over, all over!" + +The old woman had raised her head without as yet understanding him. "Eh, +what?" said she; "what is the matter with you?" Then, on seeing how +distorted were his features, how he recoiled as if mad with terror, she +glanced at the furnace and realised the danger. "Well, but it's simple +enough," said she; "it's only necessary to turn off the tap, eh?" + +Thereupon, without any semblance of haste, in the most easy and natural +manner possible, she deposited her needlework on a little table, rose +from her chair, and turned off the tap with a light but firm hand. +"There! it's done," said she. "But why didn't you do it yourself, my +friend?" + +He had watched her in bewilderment, chilled to the bones, as if touched +by the hand of death. And when some colour at last returned to his +cheeks, and he found himself still alive in front of the apparatus whence +no harm could now come, he heaved a deep sigh and again shuddered. "Why +did I not turn it off?" he repeated. "It was because I felt afraid." + +At that very moment Marie and Pierre came into the work-shop all chatter +and laughter, delighted with their excursion, and bringing with them the +bright joyousness of the sunlight. The three brothers, Thomas, Francis +and Antoine, were jesting with them, and trying to make them confess that +Pierre had at least fought a battle with a cow on the high road, and +ridden into a cornfield. All at once, however, they became quite anxious, +for they noticed that their father looked terribly upset. + +"My lads," said he, "I've just been a coward. Ah! it's a curious feeling, +I had never experienced it before." + +Thereupon he recounted his fears of an accident, and how quietly +Mere-Grand had saved them all from certain death. She waved her hand, +however, as if to say that there was nothing particularly heroic in +turning off a tap. The young men's eyes nevertheless filled with tears, +and one after the other they went to kiss her with a fervour instinct +with all the gratitude and worship they felt for her. She had been +devoting herself to them ever since their infancy, she had now just given +them a new lease of life. Marie also threw herself into her arms, kissing +her with gratitude and emotion. Mere-Grand herself was the only one who +did not shed tears. She strove to calm them, begging them to exaggerate +nothing and to remain sensible. + +"Well, you must at all events let me kiss you as the others have done," +Guillaume said to her, as he recovered his self-possession. "I at least +owe you that. And Pierre, too, shall kiss you, for you are now as good +for him as you have always been for us." + +At table, when it was at last possible for them to lunch, he reverted to +that attack of fear which had left him both surprised and ashamed. He who +for years had never once thought of death had for some time past found +ideas of caution in his mind. On two occasions recently he had shuddered +at the possibility of a catastrophe. How was it that a longing for life +had come to him in his decline? Why was it that he now wished to live? At +last with a touch of tender affection in his gaiety, he remarked: "Do you +know, Marie, I think it is my thoughts of you that make me a coward. If +I've lost my bravery it's because I risk something precious when any +danger arises. Happiness has been entrusted to my charge. Just now when I +fancied that we were all going to die, I thought I could see you, and my +fear of losing you froze and paralysed me." + +Marie indulged in a pretty laugh. Allusions to her coming marriage were +seldom made; however, she invariably greeted them with an air of happy +affection. + +"Another six weeks!" she simply said. + +Thereupon Mere-Grand, who had been looking at them, turned her eyes +towards Pierre. He, however, like the others was listening with a smile. + +"That's true," said the old lady, "you are to be married in six weeks' +time. So I did right to prevent the house from being blown up." + +At this the young men made merry; and the repast came to an end in very +joyous fashion. + +During the afternoon, however, Pierre's heart gradually grew heavy. +Marie's words constantly returned to him: "Another six weeks!" Yes, it +was indeed true, she would then be married. But it seemed to him that he +had never previously known it, never for a moment thought of it. And +later on, in the evening, when he was alone in his room at Neuilly, his +heart-pain became intolerable. Those words tortured him. Why was it that +they had not caused him any suffering when they were spoken, why had he +greeted them with a smile? And why had such cruel anguish slowly +followed? All at once an idea sprang up in his mind, and became an +overwhelming certainty. He loved Marie, he loved her as a lover, with a +love so intense that he might die from it. + +With this sudden consciousness of his passion everything became clear and +plain. He had been going perforce towards that love ever since he had +first met Marie. The emotion into which the young woman had originally +thrown him had seemed to him a feeling of repulsion, but afterwards he +had been slowly conquered, all his torments and struggles ending in this +love for her. It was indeed through her that he had at last found +quietude. And the delightful morning which he had spent with her that +day, appeared to him like a betrothal morning, in the depths of the happy +forest. Nature had resumed her sway over him, delivered him from his +sufferings, made him strong and healthy once more, and given him to the +woman he adored. The quiver he had experienced, the happiness he had +felt, his communion with the trees, the heavens, and every living +creature--all those things which he had been unable to explain, now +acquired a clear meaning which transported him. In Marie alone lay his +cure, his hope, his conviction that he would be born anew and at last +find happiness. In her company he had already forgotten all those +distressing problems which had formerly haunted him and bowed him down. +For a week past he had not once thought of death, which had so long been +the companion of his every hour. All the conflict of faith and doubt, the +distress roused by the idea of nihility, the anger he had felt at the +unjust sufferings of mankind, had been swept away by her fresh cool +hands. She was so healthy herself, so glad to live, that she had imparted +a taste for life even to him. Yes, it was simply that: she was making him +a man, a worker, a lover once more. + +Then he suddenly remembered Abbe Rose and his painful conversation with +that saintly man. The old priest, whose heart was so ingenuous, and who +knew nothing of love and passion, was nevertheless the only one who had +understood the truth. He had told Pierre that he was changed, that there +was another man in him. And he, Pierre, had foolishly and stubbornly +declared that he was the same as he had always been; whereas Marie had +already transformed him, bringing all nature back to his breast--all +nature, with its sunlit countrysides, its fructifying breezes, and its +vast heavens, whose glow ripens its crops. That indeed was why he had +felt so exasperated with Catholicism, that religion of death; that was +why he had shouted that the Gospel was useless, and that the world +awaited another law--a law of terrestrial happiness, human justice and +living love and fruitfulness! + +Ah, but Guillaume? Then a vision of his brother rose before Pierre, that +brother who loved him so fondly, and who had carried him to his home of +toil, quietude and affection, in order to cure him of his sufferings. If +he knew Marie it was simply because Guillaume had chosen that he should +know her. And again Marie's words recurred to him: "Another six weeks!" +Yes, in six weeks his brother would marry the young woman. This thought +was like a stab in Pierre's heart. Still, he did not for one moment +hesitate: if he must die of his love, he would die of it, but none should +ever know it, he would conquer himself, he would flee to the ends of the +earth should he ever feel the faintest cowardice. Rather than bring a +moment's pain to that brother who had striven to resuscitate him, who was +the artisan of the passion now consuming him, who had given him his whole +heart and all he had--he would condemn himself to perpetual torture. And +indeed, torture was coming back; for in losing Marie he could but sink +into the distress born of the consciousness of his nothingness. As he lay +in bed, unable to sleep, he already experienced a return of his +abominable torments--the negation of everything, the feeling that +everything was useless, that the world had no significance, and that life +was only worthy of being cursed and denied. And then the shudder born of +the thought of death returned to him. Ah! to die, to die without even +having lived! + +The struggle was a frightful one. Until daybreak he sobbed in martyrdom. +Why had he taken off his cassock? He had done so at a word from Marie; +and now another word from her gave him the despairing idea of donning it +once more. One could not escape from so fast a prison. That black gown +still clung to his skin. He fancied that he had divested himself of it, +and yet it was still weighing on his shoulders, and his wisest course +would be to bury himself in it for ever. By donning it again he would at +least wear mourning for his manhood. + +All at once, however, a fresh thought upset him. Why should he struggle +in that fashion? Marie did not love him. There had been nothing between +them to indicate that she cared for him otherwise than as a charming, +tender-hearted sister. It was Guillaume that she loved, no doubt. Then he +pressed his face to his pillow to stifle his sobs, and once more swore +that he would conquer himself and turn a smiling face upon their +happiness. + + + +IV + +TRIAL AND SENTENCE + +HAVING returned to Montmartre on the morrow Pierre suffered so grievously +that he did not show himself there on the two following days. He +preferred to remain at home where there was nobody to notice his +feverishness. On the third morning, however, whilst he was still in bed, +strengthless and full of despair, he was both surprised and embarrassed +by a visit from Guillaume. + +"I must needs come to you," said the latter, "since you forsake us. I've +come to fetch you to attend Salvat's trial, which takes place to-day. I +had no end of trouble to secure two places. Come, get up, we'll have +/dejeuner/ in town, so as to reach the court early." + +Then, while Pierre was hastily dressing, Guillaume, who on his side +seemed thoughtful and worried that morning, began to question him: "Have +you anything to reproach us with?" he asked. + +"No, nothing. What an idea!" was Pierre's reply. + +"Then why have you been staying away? We had got into the habit of seeing +you every day, but all at once you disappear." + +Pierre vainly sought a falsehood, and all his composure fled. "I had some +work to do here," said he, "and then, too, my gloomy ideas cane back to +me, and I didn't want to go and sadden you all." + +At this Guillaume hastily waved his hand. "If you fancy that your absence +enlivens us you're mistaken," he replied. "Marie, who is usually so well +and happy, had such a bad headache on the day before yesterday that she +was obliged to keep her room. And she was ill at ease and nervous and +silent again yesterday. We spent a very unpleasant day." + +As he spoke Guillaume looked Pierre well in the face, his frank loyal +eyes clearly revealing the suspicions which had come to him, but which he +would not express in words. + +Pierre, quite dismayed by the news of Marie's indisposition, and +frightened by the idea of betraying his secret, thereupon managed to tell +a lie. "Yes, she wasn't very well on the day when we went cycling," he +quietly responded. "But I assure you that I have had a lot to do here. +When you came in just now I was about to get up and go to your house as +usual." + +Guillaume kept his eyes on him for a moment longer. Then, either +believing him or deciding to postpone his search for the truth to some +future time, he began speaking affectionately on other subjects. With his +keen brotherly love, however, there was blended such a quiver of +impending distress, of unconfessed sorrow, which possibly he did not yet +realise, that Pierre in his turn began to question him. "And you," said +he, "are you ill? You seem to me to have lost your usual serenity." + +"I? Oh! I'm not ill. Only I can't very well retain my composure; Salvat's +affair distresses me exceedingly, as you must know. They will all end by +driving me mad with the monstrous injustice they show towards that +unhappy fellow." + +Thenceforward Guillaume went on talking of Salvat in a stubborn +passionate way, as if he wished to find an explanation of all his pain +and unrest in that affair. While he and Pierre were partaking of +/dejeuner/ at a little restaurant on the Boulevard du Palais he related +how deeply touched he was by the silence which Salvat had preserved with +regard both to the nature of the explosive employed in the bomb and the +few days' work which he had once done at his house. It was, thanks to +this silence, that he, Guillaume, had not been worried or even summoned +as a witness. Then, in his emotion, he reverted to his invention, that +formidable engine which would ensure omnipotence to France, as the great +initiatory and liberative power of the world. The results of the +researches which had occupied him for ten years past were now out of +danger and in all readiness, so that if occasion required they might at +once be delivered to the French government. And, apart from certain +scruples which came to him at the thought of the unworthiness of French +financial and political society; he was simply delaying any further steps +in the matter until his marriage with Marie, in order that he might +associate her with the gift of universal peace which he imagined he was +about to bestow upon the world. + +It was through Bertheroy and with great difficulty that Guillaume had +managed to secure two seats in court for Salvat's trial. When he and +Pierre presented themselves for admission at eleven o'clock, they fancied +that they would never be able to enter. The large gates of the Palace of +Justice were kept closed, several passages were fenced off, and terror +seemed to reign in the deserted building, as if indeed the judges feared +some sudden invasion of bomb-laden Anarchists. Each door and barrier, +too, was guarded by soldiers, with whom the brothers had to parley. When +they at last entered the Assize Court they found it already crowded with +people, who were apparently quite willing to suffocate there for an hour +before the arrival of the judges, and to remain motionless for some seven +or eight hours afterwards, since it was reported that the authorities +wished to get the case over in a single sitting. In the small space +allotted to the standing public there was a serried mass of sightseers +who had come up from the streets, a few companions and friends of Salvat +having managed to slip in among them. In the other compartment, where +witnesses are generally huddled together on oak benches, were those +spectators who had been allowed admittance by favour, and these were so +numerous and so closely packed that here and there they almost sat upon +one another's knees. Then, in the well of the court and behind the bench, +were rows of chairs set out as for some theatrical performance, and +occupied by privileged members of society, politicians, leading +journalists, and ladies. And meantime a number of gowned advocates sought +refuge wherever chance offered, crowding into every vacant spot, every +available corner. + +Pierre had never before visited the Assize Court, and its appearance +surprised him. He had expected much pomp and majesty, whereas this temple +of human justice seemed to him small and dismal and of doubtful +cleanliness. The bench was so low that he could scarcely see the +armchairs of the presiding judge and his two assessors. Then he was +struck by the profusion of old oak panels, balustrades and benches, which +helped to darken the apartment, whose wall hangings were of olive green, +while a further display of oak panelling appeared on the ceiling above. +From the seven narrow and high-set windows with scanty little white +curtains there fell a pale light which sharply divided the court. On one +hand one saw the dock and the defending counsel's seat steeped in frigid +light, while, on the other, was the little, isolated jury box in the +shade. This contrast seemed symbolical of justice, impersonal and +uncertain, face to face with the accused, whom the light stripped bare, +probed as it were to his very soul. Then, through a kind of grey mist +above the bench, in the depths of the stern and gloomy scene, one could +vaguely distinguish the heavy painting of "Christ Crucified." A white +bust of the Republic alone showed forth clearly against the dark wall +above the dock where Salvat would presently appear. The only remaining +seats that Guillaume and Pierre could find were on the last bench of the +witnesses' compartment, against the partition which separated the latter +from the space allotted to the standing public. Just as Guillaume was +seating himself, he saw among the latter little Victor Mathis, who stood +there with his elbows leaning on the partition, while his chin rested on +his crossed hands. The young man's eyes were glowing in his pale face +with thin, compressed lips. Although they recognised one another, Victor +did not move, and Guillaume on his side understood that it was not safe +to exchange greetings in such a place. From that moment, however, he +remained conscious that Victor was there, just above him, never stirring, +but waiting silently, fiercely and with flaming eyes, for what was going +to happen. + +Pierre, meantime, had recognised that most amiable deputy Duthil, and +little Princess Rosemonde, seated just in front of him. Amidst the hubbub +of the throng which chatted and laughed to while away the time, their +voices were the gayest to be heard, and plainly showed how delighted they +were to find themselves at a spectacle to which so many desired +admittance. Duthil was explaining all the arrangements to Rosemonde, +telling her to whom or to what purpose each bench and wooden box was +allotted: there was the jury-box, the prisoner's dock, the seats assigned +to counsel for the defence, the public prosecutor, and the clerk of the +court, without forgetting the table on which material evidence was +deposited and the bar to which witnesses were summoned. There was nobody +as yet in any of these places; one merely saw an attendant giving a last +look round, and advocates passing rapidly. One might indeed have thought +oneself in a theatre, the stage of which remained deserted, while the +spectators crowded the auditorium waiting for the play to begin. To fill +up the interval the little Princess ended by looking about her for +persons of her acquaintance among the close-pressed crowd of sight-seers +whose eager faces were already reddening. + +"Oh! isn't that Monsieur Fonsegue over there behind the bench, near that +stout lady in yellow?" she exclaimed. "Our friend General de Bozonnet is +on the other side, I see. But isn't Baron Duvillard here?" + +"Oh! no," replied Duthil; "he could hardly come; it would look as if he +were here to ask for vengeance." Then, in his turn questioning Rosemonde, +the deputy went on: "Do you happen to have quarrelled with your handsome +friend Hyacinthe? Is that the reason why you've given me the pleasure of +acting as your escort to-day?" + +With a slight shrug of her shoulders, the Princess replied that poets +were beginning to bore her. A fresh caprice, indeed, was drawing her into +politics. For a week past she had found amusement in the surroundings of +the ministerial crisis, into which the young deputy for Angouleme had +initiated her. "They are all a little bit crazy at the Duvillards', my +dear fellow," said she. "It's decided, you know, that Gerard is to marry +Camille. The Baroness has resigned herself to it, and I've heard from a +most reliable quarter that Madame de Quinsac, the young man's mother, has +given her consent." + +At this Duthil became quite merry. He also seemed to be well informed on +the subject. "Yes, yes, I know," said he. "The wedding is to take place +shortly, at the Madeleine. It will be a magnificent affair, no doubt. And +after all, what would you have? There couldn't be a better finish to the +affair. The Baroness is really kindness personified, and I said all along +that she would sacrifice herself in order to ensure the happiness of her +daughter and Gerard. In point of fact that marriage will settle +everything, put everything in proper order again." + +"And what does the Baron say?" asked Rosemonde. + +"The Baron? Why, he's delighted," replied Duthil in a bantering way. "You +read no doubt this morning that Dauvergne is given the department of +Public Instruction in the new Ministry. This means that Silviane's +engagement at the Comedic is a certainty. Dauvergne was chosen simply on +that account." + +At this moment the conversation was interrupted by little Massot, who, +after a dispute with one of the ushers some distance away, had perceived +a vacant place by the side of the Princess. He thereupon made her a +questioning sign, and she beckoned to him to approach. + +"Ah!" said he, as he installed himself beside her, "I have not got here +without trouble. One's crushed to death on the press bench, and I've an +article to write. You are the kindest of women, Princess, to make a +little room for your faithful admirer, myself." Then, after shaking hands +with Duthil, he continued without any transition: "And so there's a new +ministry at last, Monsieur le Depute. You have all taken your time about +it, but it's really a very fine ministry, which everybody regards with +surprise and admiration." + +The decrees appointing the new ministers had appeared in the "Journal +Officiel" that very morning. After a long deadlock, after Vignon had for +the second time seen his plans fail through ever-recurring obstacles, +Monferrand, as a last resource, had suddenly been summoned to the Elysee, +and in four-and-twenty hours he had found the colleagues he wanted and +secured the acceptance of his list, in such wise that he now triumphantly +re-ascended to power after falling from it with Barroux in such wretched +fashion. He had also chosen a new post for himself, relinquishing the +department of the Interior for that of Finances, with the Presidency of +the Council, which had long been his secret ambition. His stealthy +labour, the masterly fashion in which he had saved himself while others +sank, now appeared in its full beauty. First had come Salvat's arrest, +and the use he had made of it, then the wonderful subterranean campaign +which he had carried on against Vignon, the thousand obstacles which he +had twice set across his path, and finally the sudden /denouement/ with +that list he held in readiness, that formation of a ministry in a single +day as soon as his services were solicited. + +"It is fine work, I must compliment you on it," added little Massot by +way of a jest. + +"But I've had nothing to do with it," Duthil modestly replied. + +"Nothing to do with it! Oh! yes you have, my dear sir, everybody says +so." + +The deputy felt flattered and smiled, while the other rattled on with his +insinuations, which were put in such a humorous way that nothing he said +could be resented. He talked of Monferrand's followers who had so +powerfully helped him on to victory. How heartily had Fonsegue finished +off his old friend Barroux in the "Globe"! Every morning for a month past +the paper had published an article belabouring Barroux, annihilating +Vignon, and preparing the public for the return of a saviour of society +who was not named. Then, too, Duvillard's millions had waged a secret +warfare, all the Baron's numerous creatures had fought like an army for +the good cause. Duthil himself had played the pipe and beaten the drum, +while Chaigneux resigned himself to the baser duties which others would +not undertake. And so the triumphant Monferrand would certainly begin by +stifling that scandalous and embarrassing affair of the African Railways, +and appointing a Committee of Inquiry to bury it. + +By this time Duthil had assumed an important air. "Well, my dear fellow," +said he, "at serious moments when society is in peril, certain +strong-handed men, real men of government, become absolutely necessary. +Monferrand had no need of our friendship, his presence in office was +imperiously required by the situation. His hand is the only one that can +save us!" + +"I know," replied Massot scoffingly. "I've even been told that if +everything was settled straight off so that the decrees might be +published this morning, it was in order to instil confidence into the +judges and jurymen here, in such wise that knowing Monferrand's fist to +be behind them they would have the courage to pronounce sentence of death +this evening." + +"Well, public safety requires a sentence of death, and those who have to +ensure that safety must not be left ignorant of the fact that the +government is with them, and will know how to protect them, if need be." + +At this moment a merry laugh from the Princess broke in upon the +conversation. "Oh! just look over there!" said she; "isn't that Silviane +who has just sat down beside Monsieur Fonsegue?" + +"The Silviane ministry!" muttered Massot in a jesting way. "Well, there +will be no boredom at Dauvergne's if he ingratiates himself with +actresses." + +Guillaume and Pierre heard this chatter, however little they cared to +listen to it. Such a deluge of society tittle-tattle and political +indiscretion brought the former a keen heart-pang. So Salvat was +sentenced to death even before he had appeared in court. He was to pay +for the transgressions of one and all, his crime was simply a favourable +opportunity for the triumph of a band of ambitious people bent on power +and enjoyment! Ah! what terrible social rottenness there was in it all; +money corrupting one and another, families sinking to filth, politics +turned into a mere treacherous struggle between individuals, and power +becoming the prey of the crafty and the impudent! Must not everything +surely crumble? Was not this solemn assize of human justice a derisive +parody, since all that one found there was an assembly of happy and +privileged people defending the shaky edifice which sheltered them, and +making use of all the forces they yet retained, to crush a fly--that +unhappy devil of uncertain sanity who had been led to that court by his +violent and cloudy dream of another, superior and avenging justice? + +Such were Guillaume's thoughts, when all at once everybody around him +started. Noon was now striking, and the jurymen trooped into court in +straggling fashion and took their seats in their box. Among them one saw +fat fellows clad in their Sunday best and with the faces of simpletons, +and thin fellows who had bright eyes and sly expressions. Some of them +were bearded and some were bald. However, they all remained rather +indistinct, as their side of the court was steeped in shade. After them +came the judges, headed by M. de Larombiere, one of the Vice-Presidents +of the Appeal Court, who in assuming the perilous honour of conducting +the trial had sought to increase the majesty of his long, slender, white +face, which looked the more austere as both his assessors, one dark and +the other fair, had highly coloured countenances. The public prosecutor's +seat was already occupied by one of the most skilful of the +advocates-general, M. Lehmann, a broad-shouldered Alsatian Israelite, +with cunning eyes, whose presence showed that the case was deemed +exceptionally important. At last, amidst the heavy tread of gendarmes, +Salvat was brought in, at once rousing such ardent curiosity that all the +spectators rose to look at him. He still wore the cap and loose overcoat +procured for him by Victor Mathis, and everybody was surprised to see his +emaciated, sorrowful, gentle face, crowned by scanty reddish hair, which +was turning grey. His soft, glowing, dreamy blue eyes glanced around, and +he smiled at someone whom he recognised, probably Victor, but perhaps +Guillaume. After that he remained quite motionless. + +The presiding judge waited for silence to fall, and then came the +formalities which attend the opening of a court of law, followed by the +perusal of the lengthy indictment, which a subordinate official read in a +shrill voice. The scene had now changed, and the spectators listened +wearily and somewhat impatiently, as, for weeks past, the newspapers had +related all that the indictment set forth. At present not a corner of the +court remained unoccupied, there was scarcely space enough for the +witnesses to stand in front of the bench. The closely packed throng was +one of divers hues, the light gowns of ladies alternating with the black +gowns of advocates, while the red robes of the judges disappeared from +view, the bench being so low that the presiding judge's long face +scarcely rose above the sea of heads. Many of those present became +interested in the jurors, and strove to scrutinise their shadowy +countenances. Others, who did not take their eyes off the prisoner, +marvelled at his apparent weariness and indifference, which were so great +that he scarcely answered the whispered questions of his counsel, a young +advocate with a wide-awake look, who was nervously awaiting the +opportunity to achieve fame. Most curiosity, however, centred in the +table set apart for the material evidence. Here were to be seen all sorts +of fragments, some of the woodwork torn away from the carriage-door of +the Duvillard mansion, some plaster that had fallen from the ceiling, a +paving-stone which the violence of the explosion had split in halves, and +other blackened remnants. The more moving sights, however, were the +milliner's bonnet-box, which had remained uninjured, and a glass jar in +which something white and vague was preserved in spirits of wine. This +was one of the poor errand girl's little hands, which had been severed at +the wrist. The authorities had been unable to place her poor ripped body +on the table, and so they had brought that hand! + +At last Salvat rose, and the presiding judge began to interrogate him. +The contrast in the aspect of the court then acquired tragic force: in +the shrouding shade upon one hand were the jurors, their minds already +made up beneath the pressure of public terror, while in the full, vivid +light on the other side was the prisoner, alone and woeful, charged with +all the crimes of his race. Four gendarmes watched over him. He was +addressed by M. de Larombiere in a tone of contempt and disgust. The +judge was not deficient in rectitude; he was indeed one of the last +representatives of the old, scrupulous, upright French magistracy; but he +understood nothing of the new times, and he treated prisoners with the +severity of a Biblical Jehovah. Moreover, the infirmity which was the +worry of his life, the childish lisp which, in his opinion, had alone +prevented him from shining as a public prosecutor, made him ferociously +ill-tempered, incapable of any intelligent indulgence. There were smiles, +which he divined, as soon as he raised his sharp, shrill little voice, to +ask his first questions. That droll voice of his took away whatever +majesty might have remained attached to these proceedings, in which a +man's life was being fought for in a hall full of inquisitive, stifling +and perspiring folks, who fanned themselves and jested. Salvat answered +the judge's earlier questions with his wonted weariness and politeness. +While the judge did everything to vilify him, harshly reproaching him +with his wretched childhood and youth, magnifying every stain and every +transgression in his career, referring to the promiscuity of his life +between Madame Theodore and little Celine as something bestial, he, the +prisoner, quietly said yes or no, like a man who has nothing to hide and +accepts the full responsibility of his actions. He had already made a +complete confession of his crime, and he calmly repeated it without +changing a word. He explained that if he had deposited his bomb at the +entrance of the Duvillard mansion it was to give his deed its true +significance, that of summoning the wealthy, the money-mongers who had so +scandalously enriched themselves by dint of theft and falsehood, to +restore that part of the common wealth which they had appropriated, to +the poor, the working classes, their children and their wives, who +perished of starvation. It was only at this moment that he grew excited; +all the misery that he had endured or witnessed rose to his clouded, +semi-educated brain, in which claims and theories and exasperated ideas +of absolute justice and universal happiness had gathered confusedly. And +from that moment he appeared such as he really was, a sentimentalist, a +dreamer transported by suffering, proud and stubborn, and bent on +changing the world in accordance with his sectarian logic. + +"But you fled!" cried the judge in a voice such as would have befitted a +grasshopper. "You must not say that you gave your life to your cause and +were ready for martyrdom!" + +Salvat's most poignant regret was that he had yielded in the Bois de +Boulogne to the dismay and rage which come upon a tracked and hunted man +and impel him to do all he can to escape capture. And on being thus +taunted by the judge he became quite angry. "I don't fear death, you'll +see that," he replied. "If all had the same courage as I have, your +rotten society would be swept away to-morrow, and happiness would at last +dawn." + +Then the interrogatory dealt at great length with the composition and +manufacture of the bomb. The judge, rightly enough, pointed out that this +was the only obscure point of the affair. "And so," he remarked, "you +persist in saying that dynamite was the explosive you employed? Well, you +will presently hear the experts, who, it is true, differ on certain +points, but are all of opinion that you employed some other explosive, +though they cannot say precisely what it was. Why not speak out on the +point, as you glory in saying everything?" + +Salvat, however, had suddenly calmed down, giving only cautious +monosyllabic replies. "Well, seek for whatever you like if you don't +believe me," he now answered. "I made my bomb by myself, and under +circumstances which I've already related a score of times. You surely +don't expect me to reveal names and compromise comrades?" + +From this declaration he would not depart. It was only towards the end of +the interrogatory that irresistible emotion overcame him on the judge +again referring to the unhappy victim of his crime, the little errand +girl, so pretty and fair and gentle, whom ferocious destiny had brought +to the spot to meet such an awful death. "It was one of your own class +whom you struck," said M. de Larombiere; "your victim was a work girl, a +poor child who, with the few pence she earned, helped to support her aged +grandmother." + +Salvat's voice became very husky as he answered: "That's really the only +thing I regret. . . . My bomb certainly wasn't meant for her; and may all +the workers, all the starvelings, remember that she gave her blood as I'm +going to give mine!" + +In this wise the interrogatory ended amidst profound agitation. Pierre +had felt Guillaume shuddering beside him, whilst the prisoner quietly and +obstinately refused to say a word respecting the explosive that had been +employed, preferring as he did to assume full responsibility for the deed +which was about to cost him his life. Moreover, Guillaume, on turning +round, in compliance with an irresistible impulse, had perceived Victor +Mathis still motionless behind him: his elbows ever leaning on the rail +of the partition, and his chin still resting on his hands, whilst he +listened with silent, concentrated passion. His face had become yet paler +than before, and his eyes glowed as with an avenging fire, whose flames +would never more be extinguished. + +The interrogatory of the prisoner was followed by a brief commotion in +court. + +"That Salvat looks quite nice, he has such soft eyes," declared the +Princess, whom the proceedings greatly amused. "Oh! don't speak ill of +him, my dear deputy. You know that I have Anarchist ideas myself." + +"I speak no ill of him," gaily replied Duthil. "Nor has our friend +Amadieu any right to speak ill of him. For you know that this affair has +set Amadieu on a pinnacle. He was never before talked about to such an +extent as he is now; and he delights in being talked about, you know! He +has become quite a social celebrity, the most illustrious of our +investigating magistrates, and will soon be able to do or become whatever +he pleases." + +Then Massot, with his sarcastic impudence, summed up the situation. "When +Anarchism flourishes, everything flourishes, eh? That bomb has helped on +the affairs of a good many fine fellows that I know. Do you think that my +governor Fonsegue, who's so attentive to Silviane yonder, complains of +it? And doesn't Sagnier, who's spreading himself out behind the presiding +judge, and whose proper place would be between the four +gendarmes--doesn't he owe a debt to Salvat for all the abominable +advertisements he has been able to give his paper by using the wretched +fellow's back as a big drum? And I need not mention the politicians or +the financiers or all those who fish in troubled waters." + +"But I say," interrupted Duthil, "it seems to me that you yourself made +good use of the affair. Your interview with the little girl Celine +brought you in a pot of money." + +Massot, as it happened, had been struck with the idea of ferreting out +Madame Theodore and the child, and of relating his visit to them in the +"Globe," with an abundance of curious and touching particulars. The +article had met with prodigious success, Celine's pretty answers +respecting her imprisoned father having such an effect on ladies with +sensitive hearts that they had driven to Montmartre in their carriages in +order to see the two poor creatures. Thus alms had come to them from all +sides; and strangely enough the very people who demanded the father's +head were the most eager to sympathise with the child. + +"Well, I don't complain of my little profits," said the journalist in +answer to Duthil. "We all earn what we can, you know." + +At this moment Rosemonde, while glancing round her, recognised Guillaume +and Pierre, but she was so amazed to see the latter in ordinary civilian +garb that she did not dare to speak to him. Leaning forward she +acquainted Duthil and Massot with her surprise, and they both turned +round to look. From motives of discretion, however, they pretended that +they did not recognise the Froments. + +The heat in court was now becoming quite unbearable, and one lady had +already fainted. At last the presiding judge again raised his lisping +voice, and managed to restore silence. Salvat, who had remained standing, +now held a few sheets of paper, and with some difficulty he made the +judge understand that he desired to complete his interrogatory by reading +a declaration, which he had drawn up in prison, and in which he explained +his reasons for his crime. For a moment M. de Larombiere hesitated, all +surprise and indignation at such a request; but he was aware that he +could not legally impose silence on the prisoner, and so he signified his +consent with a gesture of mingled irritation and disdain. Thereupon +Salvat began his perusal much after the fashion of a schoolboy, hemming +and hawing here and there, occasionally becoming confused, and then +bringing out certain words with wonderful emphasis, which evidently +pleased him. This declaration of his was the usual cry of suffering and +revolt already raised by so many disinherited ones. It referred to all +the frightful want of the lower spheres; the toiler unable to find a +livelihood in his toil; a whole class, the most numerous and worthy of +the classes, dying of starvation; whilst, on the other hand, were the +privileged ones, gorged with wealth, and wallowing in satiety, yet +refusing to part with even the crumbs from their tables, determined as +they were to restore nothing whatever of the wealth which they had +stolen. And so it became necessary to take everything away from them, to +rouse them from their egotism by terrible warnings, and to proclaim to +them even with the crash of bombs that the day of justice had come. The +unhappy man spoke that word "justice" in a ringing voice which seemed to +fill the whole court. But the emotion of those who heard him reached its +highest pitch when, after declaring that he laid down his life for the +cause, and expected nothing but a verdict of death from the jury, he +added, as if prophetically, that his blood would assuredly give birth to +other martyrs. They might send him to the scaffold, said he, but he knew +that his example would bear fruit. After him would come another avenger, +and yet another, and others still, until the old and rotten social system +should have crumbled away so as to make room for the society of justice +and happiness of which he was one of the apostles. + +The presiding judge, in his impatience and agitation, twice endeavoured +to interrupt Salvat. But the other read on and on with the imperturbable +conscientiousness of one who fears that he may not give proper utterance +to his most important words. He must have been thinking of that perusal +ever since he had been in prison. It was the decisive act of his suicide, +the act by which he proclaimed that he gave his life for the glory of +dying in the cause of mankind. And when he had finished he sat down +between the gendarmes with glowing eyes and flushed cheeks, as if he +inwardly experienced some deep joy. + +To destroy the effect which the declaration had produced--a commingling +of fear and compassion--the judge at once wished to proceed with the +hearing of the witnesses. Of these there was an interminable procession; +though little interest attached to their evidence, for none of them had +any revelations to make. Most attention perhaps was paid to the measured +statements of Grandidier, who had been obliged to dismiss Salvat from his +employ on account of the Anarchist propaganda he had carried on. Then the +prisoner's brother-in-law, Toussaint, the mechanician, also seemed a very +worthy fellow if one might judge him by the manner in which he strove to +put things favourably for Salvat, without in any way departing from the +truth. After Toussaint's evidence considerable time was taken up by the +discussions between the experts, who disagreed in public as much as they +had disagreed in their reports. Although they were all of opinion that +dynamite could not have been the explosive employed in the bomb, they +indulged in the most extraordinary and contradictory suppositions as to +this explosive's real nature. Eventually a written opinion given by the +illustrious /savant/ Bertheroy was read; and this, after clearly setting +forth the known facts, concluded that one found oneself in presence of a +new explosive of prodigious power, the formula of which he himself was +unable to specify. + +Then detective Mondesir and commissary Dupot came in turn to relate the +various phases of the man hunt in the Bois de Boulogne. In Mondesir +centred all the gaiety of the proceedings, thanks to the guardroom +sallies with which he enlivened his narrative. And in like way the +greatest grief, a perfect shudder of revolt and compassion, was roused by +the errand girl's grandmother, a poor, bent, withered old woman, whom the +prosecution had cruelly constrained to attend the court, and who wept and +looked quite dismayed, unable as she was to understand what was wanted of +her. When she had withdrawn, the only remaining witnesses were those for +the defence, a procession of foremen and comrades, who all declared that +they had known Salvat as a very worthy fellow, an intelligent and zealous +workman, who did not drink, but was extremely fond of his daughter, and +incapable of an act of dishonesty or cruelty. + +It was already four o'clock when the evidence of the witnesses came to an +end. The atmosphere in court was now quite stifling, feverish fatigue +flushed every face, and a kind of ruddy dust obscured the waning light +which fell from the windows. Women were fanning themselves and men were +mopping their foreheads. However, the passion roused by the scene still +brought a glow of cruel delight to every eye. And no one stirred. + +"Ah!" sighed Rosemonde all at once, "to think that I hoped to drink a cup +of tea at a friend's at five o'clock. I shall die of thirst and +starvation here." + +"We shall certainly be kept till seven," replied Massot. "I can't offer +to go and fetch you a roll, for I shouldn't be readmitted." + +Then Duthil, who had not ceased shrugging his shoulders while Salvat read +his declaration, exclaimed: "What childish things he said, didn't he? And +to think that the fool is going to die for all that! Rich and poor, +indeed! Why, there will always be rich and poor. And it's equally certain +that when a man is poor his one great desire is to become rich. If that +fellow is in the dock to-day it's simply because he failed to make +money." + +While the others were thus conversing, Pierre for his part was feeling +extremely anxious about his brother, who sat beside him in silence, pale +and utterly upset. Pierre sought his hand and covertly pressed it. Then +in a low voice he inquired: "Do you feel ill? Shall we go away?" + +Guillaume answered him by discreetly and affectionately returning his +handshake. He was all right, he would remain till the end, however much +he might be stirred by exasperation. + +It was now Monsieur Lehmann, the public prosecutor, who rose to address +the court. He had a large, stern mouth, and was squarely built, with a +stubborn Jewish face. Nevertheless he was known to be a man of dexterous, +supple nature, one who had a foot in every political camp, and invariably +contrived to be on good terms with the powers that were. This explained +his rapid rise in life, and the constant favour he enjoyed. In the very +first words he spoke he alluded to the new ministry gazetted that +morning, referring pointedly to the strong-handed man who had undertaken +the task of reassuring peaceable citizens and making evil-doers tremble. +Then he fell upon the wretched Salvat with extraordinary vehemence, +recounting the whole of his life, and exhibiting him as a bandit +expressly born for the perpetration of crime, a monster who was bound to +end by committing some abominable and cowardly outrage. Next he +flagellated Anarchism and its partisans. The Anarchists were a mere herd +of vagabonds and thieves, said he. That had been shown by the recent +robbery at the Princess de Harn's house. The ignoble gang that had been +arrested for that affair had given the apostles of the Anarchist doctrine +as their references! And that was what the application of Anarchist +theories resulted in--burglary and filth, pending a favourable hour for +wholesale pillage and murder! For nearly a couple of hours the public +prosecutor continued in this fashion, throwing truth and logic to the +winds, and exclusively striving to alarm his hearers. He made all +possible use of the terror which had reigned in Paris, and figuratively +brandished the corpse of the poor little victim, the pretty errand girl, +as if it were a blood-red flag, before pointing to the pale hand, +preserved in spirits of wine, with a gesture of compassionate horror +which sent a shudder through his audience. And he ended, as he had begun, +by inspiriting the jurors, and telling them that they might fearlessly do +their duty now that those at the head of the State were firmly resolved +to give no heed to threats. + +Then the young advocate entrusted with the defence in his turn spoke. And +he really said what there was to say with great clearness and precision. +He was of a different school from that of the public prosecutor: his +eloquence was very simple and smooth, his only passion seemed to be zeal +for truth. Moreover, it was sufficient for him to show Salvat's career in +its proper light, to depict him pursued by social fatalities since his +childhood, and to explain the final action of his career by all that he +had suffered and all that had sprung up in his dreamy brain. Was not his +crime the crime of one and all? Who was there that did not feel, if only +in a small degree, responsible for that bomb which a penniless, starving +workman had deposited on the threshold of a wealthy man's abode--a +wealthy man whose name bespoke the injustice of the social system: so +much enjoyment on the one hand and so much privation on the other! If one +of us happened to lose his head, and felt impelled to hasten the advent +of happiness by violence in such troublous times, when so many burning +problems claimed solution, ought he to be deprived of his life in the +name of justice, when none could swear that they had not in some measure +contributed to his madness? Following up this question, Salvat's counsel +dwelt at length on the period that witnessed the crime, a period of so +many scandals and collapses, when the old world was giving birth to a new +one amidst the most terrible struggles and pangs. And he concluded by +begging the jury to show themselves humane, to resist all passion and +terror, and to pacify the rival classes by a wise verdict, instead of +prolonging social warfare by giving the starvelings yet another martyr to +avenge. + +It was past six o'clock when M. de Larombiere began to sum up in a +partial and flowery fashion, in which one detected how grieved and angry +he was at having such a shrill little voice. Then the judges and the +jurors withdrew, and the prisoner was led away, leaving the spectators +waiting amidst an uproar of feverish impatience. Some more ladies had +fainted, and it had even been necessary to carry out a gentleman who had +been overcome by the cruel heat. However, the others stubbornly remained +there, not one of them quitting his place. + +"Ah! it won't take long now," said Massot. "The jurors brought their +verdict all ready in their pockets. I was looking at them while that +little advocate was telling them such sensible things. They all looked as +if they were comfortably asleep in the gloom." + +Then Duthil turned to the Princess and asked her, "Are you still hungry?" + +"Oh! I'm starving," she replied. "I shall never be able to wait till I +get home. You will have to take me to eat a biscuit somewhere. . . . All +the same, however, it's very exciting to see a man's life staked on a yes +or a no." + +Meantime Pierre, finding Guillaume still more feverish and grieved, had +once again taken hold of his hand. Neither of them spoke, so great was +the distress that they experienced for many reasons which they themselves +could not have precisely defined. It seemed to them, however, that all +human misery--inclusive of their own, the affections, the hopes, the +griefs which brought them suffering--was sobbing and quivering in that +buzzing hall. Twilight had gradually fallen there, but as the end was now +so near it had doubtless been thought unnecessary to light the +chandeliers. And thus large vague shadows, dimming and shrouding the +serried throng, now hovered about in the last gleams of the day. The +ladies in light gowns yonder, behind the bench, looked like pale phantoms +with all-devouring eyes, whilst the numerous groups of black-robed +advocates formed large sombre patches which gradually spread everywhere. +The greyish painting of the Christ had already vanished, and on the walls +one only saw the glaring white bust of the Republic, which resembled some +frigid death's head starting forth from the darkness. + +"Ah!" Massot once more exclaimed, "I knew that it wouldn't take long!" + +Indeed, the jurors were returning after less than a quarter of an hour's +absence. Then the judges likewise came back and took their seats. +Increased emotion stirred the throng, a great gust seemed to sweep +through the court, a gust of anxiety, which made every head sway. Some +people had risen to their feet, and others gave vent to involuntary +exclamations. The foreman of the jury, a gentleman with a broad red face, +had to wait a moment before speaking. At last in a sharp but somewhat +sputtering voice he declared: "On my honour and my conscience, before God +and before man, the verdict of the jury is: on the question of Murder, +yes, by a majority of votes."* + + * English readers may be reminded that in France the verdict of + a majority of the jury suffices for conviction or acquittal. + If the jury is evenly divided the prisoner is acquitted.--Trans. + +The night had almost completely fallen when Salvat was once more brought +in. In front of the jurors, who faded away in the gloom, he stood forth, +erect, with a last ray from the windows lighting up his face. The judges +themselves almost disappeared from view, their red robes seemed to have +turned black. And how phantom-like looked the prisoner's emaciated face +as he stood there listening, with dreamy eyes, while the clerk of the +court read the verdict to him. + +When silence fell and no mention was made of extenuating circumstances, +he understood everything. His face, which had retained a childish +expression, suddenly brightened. "That means death. Thank you, +gentlemen," he said. + +Then he turned towards the public, and amidst the growing darkness +searched for the friendly faces which he knew were there; and this time +Guillaume became fully conscious that he had recognised him, and was +again expressing affectionate and grateful thanks for the crust he had +received from him on a day of want. He must have also bidden farewell to +Victor Mathis, for as Guillaume glanced at the young man, who had not +moved, he saw that his eyes were staring wildly, and that a terrible +expression rested on his lips. + +As for the rest of the proceedings, the last questions addressed to the +jury and the counsel, the deliberations of the judges and the delivery of +sentence--these were all lost amidst the buzzing and surging of the +crowd. A little compassion was unconsciously manifested; and some stupor +was mingled with the satisfaction that greeted the sentence of death. + +No sooner had Salvat been condemned, however, than he drew himself up to +his full height, and as the guards led him away he shouted in a +stentorian voice: "Long live Anarchy!" + +Nobody seemed angered by the cry. The crowd went off quietly, as if +weariness had lulled all its passions. The proceedings had really lasted +too long and fatigued one too much. It was quite pleasant to inhale the +fresh air on emerging from such a nightmare. + +In the large waiting hall, Pierre and Guillaume passed Duthil and the +Princess, whom General de Bozonnet had stopped while chatting with +Fonsegue. All four of them were talking in very loud voices, complaining +of the heat and their hunger, and agreeing that the affair had not been a +particularly interesting one. Yet, all was well that ended well. As +Fonsegue remarked, the condemnation of Salvat to death was a political +and social necessity. + +When Pierre and Guillaume reached the Pont Neuf, the latter for a moment +rested his elbows on the parapet of the bridge. His brother, standing +beside him, also gazed at the grey waters of the Seine, which here and +there were fired by the reflections of the gas lamps. A fresh breeze +ascended from the river; it was the delightful hour when night steals +gently over resting Paris. Then, as the brothers stood there breathing +that atmosphere which usually brings relief and comfort, Pierre on his +side again became conscious of his heart-wound, and remembered his +promise to return to Montmartre, a promise that he must keep in spite of +the torture there awaiting him; whilst Guillaume on the other hand +experienced a revival of the suspicion and disquietude that had come to +him on seeing Marie so feverish, changed as it were by some new feeling, +of which she herself was ignorant. Were further sufferings, struggles, +and obstacles to happiness yet in store for those brothers who loved one +another so dearly? At all events their hearts bled once more with all the +sorrow into which they had been cast by the scene they had just +witnessed: that assize of justice at which a wretched man had been +condemned to pay with his head for the crimes of one and all. + +Then, as they turned along the quay, Guillaume recognised young Victor +going off alone in the gloom, just in front of them. The chemist stopped +him and spoke to him of his mother. But the young man did not hear; his +thin lips parted, and in a voice as trenchant as a knife-thrust he +exclaimed: "Ah! so it's blood they want. Well, they may cut off his head, +but he will be avenged!" + + + +V + +SACRIFICE + +THE days which followed Salvat's trial seemed gloomy ones up yonder in +Guillaume's workroom, which was usually so bright and gay. Sadness and +silence filled the place. The three young men were no longer there. +Thomas betook himself to the Grandidier works early every morning in +order to perfect his little motor; Francois was so busy preparing for his +examination that he scarcely left the Ecole Normale; while Antoine was +doing some work at Jahan's, where he delighted to linger and watch his +little friend Lise awakening to life. Thus Guillaume's sole companion was +Mere-Grand, who sat near the window busy with her needlework; for Marie +was ever going about the house, and only stayed in the workroom for any +length of time when Pierre happened to be there. + +Guillaume's gloom was generally attributed to the feelings of anger and +revolt into which the condemnation of Salvat had thrown him. He had flown +into a passion on his return from the Palace of Justice, declaring that +the execution of the unhappy man would simply be social murder, +deliberate provocation of class warfare. And the others had bowed on +hearing that pain-fraught violent cry, without attempting to discuss the +point. Guillaume's sons respectfully left him to the thoughts which kept +him silent for hours, with his face pale and a dreamy expression in his +eyes. His chemical furnace remained unlighted, and his only occupation +from morn till night was to examine the plans and documents connected +with his invention, that new explosive and that terrible engine of war, +which he had so long dreamt of presenting to France in order that she +might impose the reign of truth and justice upon all the nations. +However, during the long hours which he spent before the papers scattered +over his table, often without seeing them, for his eyes wandered far +away, a multitude of vague thoughts came to him--doubts respecting the +wisdom of his project, and fears lest his desire to pacify the nations +should simply throw them into an endless war of extermination. Although +he really believed that great city of Paris to be the world's brain, +entrusted with the task of preparing the future, he could not disguise +from himself that with all its folly and shame and injustice it still +presented a shocking spectacle. Was it really ripe enough for the work of +human salvation which he thought of entrusting to it? Then, on trying to +re-peruse his notes and verify his formulas, he only recovered his former +energetic determination on thinking of his marriage, whereupon the idea +came to him that it was now too late for him to upset his life by +changing such long-settled plans. + +His marriage! Was it not the thought of this which haunted Guillaume and +disturbed him far more powerfully than his scientific work or his +humanitarian passion? Beneath all the worries that he acknowledged, there +was another which he did not confess even to himself, and which filled +him with anguish. He repeated day by day that he would reveal his +invention to the Minister of War as soon as he should be married to +Marie, whom he wished to associate with his glory. Married to Marie! Each +time he thought of it, burning fever and secret disquietude came over +him. If he now remained so silent and had lost his quiet cheerfulness, it +was because he had felt new life, as it were, emanating from her. She was +certainly no longer the same woman as formerly; she was becoming more and +more changed and distant. He had watched her and Pierre when the latter +happened to be there, which was now but seldom. He, too, appeared +embarrassed, and different from what he had been. On the days when he +came, however, Marie seemed transformed; it was as if new life animated +the house. Certainly the intercourse between her and Pierre was quite +innocent, sisterly on the one hand, brotherly on the other. They simply +seemed to be a pair of good friends. And yet a radiance, a vibration, +emanated from them, something more subtle even than a sun-ray or a +perfume. After the lapse of a few days Guillaume found himself unable to +doubt the truth any longer. And his heart bled, he was utterly upset by +it. He had not found them in fault in any way, but he was convinced that +these two children, as he so paternally called them, really adored one +another. + +One lovely morning when he happened to be alone with Mere-Grand, face to +face with sunlit Paris, he fell into a yet more dolorous reverie than +usual. He seemed to be gazing fixedly at the old lady, as, seated in her +usual place, she continued sewing with an air of queenly serenity. +Perhaps, however, he did not see her. For her part she occasionally +raised her eyes and glanced at him, as if expecting a confession which +did not come. At last, finding such silence unbearable, she made up her +mind to address him: "What has been the matter with you, Guillaume, for +some time past? Why don't you tell me what you have to tell me?" + +He descended from the clouds, as it were, and answered in astonishment: +"What I have to tell you?" + +"Yes, I know it as well as you do, and I thought you would speak to me of +it, since it pleases you to do nothing here without consulting me." + +At this he turned very pale and shuddered. So he had not been mistaken in +the matter, even Mere-Grand knew all about it. To talk of it, however, +was to give shape to his suspicions, to transform what, hitherto, might +merely have been a fancy on his part into something real and definite. + +"It was inevitable, my dear son," said Mere-Grand. "I foresaw it from the +outset. And if I did not warn you of it, it was because I believed in +some deep design on your part. Since I have seen you suffering, however, +I have realised that I was mistaken." Then, as he still looked at her +quivering and distracted, she continued: "Yes, I fancied that you might +have wished it, that in bringing your brother here you wished to know if +Marie loved you otherwise than as a father. There was good reason for +testing her--for instance, the great difference between your ages, for +your life is drawing to a close, whilst hers is only beginning. And I +need not mention the question of your work, the mission which I have +always dreamt of for you." + +Thereupon, with his hands raised in prayerful fashion, Guillaume drew +near to the old lady and exclaimed: "Oh! speak out clearly, tell me what +you think. I don't understand, my poor heart is so lacerated; and yet I +should so much like to know everything, so as to be able to act and take +a decision. To think that you whom I love, you whom I venerate as much as +if you were my real mother, you whose profound good sense I know so well +that I have always followed your advice--to think that you should have +foreseen this frightful thing and have allowed it to happen at the risk +of its killing me! . . . Why have you done so, tell me, why?" + +Mere-Grand was not fond of talking. Absolute mistress of the house as she +was, managing everything, accountable to nobody for her actions, she +never gave expression to all that she thought or all that she desired. +Indeed, there was no occasion for it, as Guillaume, like the children, +relied upon her completely, with full confidence in her wisdom. And her +somewhat enigmatical ways even helped to raise her in their estimation. + +"What is the use of words, when things themselves speak?" she now gently +answered, while still plying her needle. "It is quite true that I +approved of the plan of a marriage between you and Marie, for I saw that +it was necessary that she should be married if she was to stay here. And +then, too, there were many other reasons which I needn't speak of. +However, Pierre's arrival here has changed everything, and placed things +in their natural order. Is not that preferable?" + +He still lacked the courage to understand her. "Preferable! When I'm in +agony? When my life is wrecked?" + +Thereupon she rose and came to him, tall and rigid in her thin black +gown, and with an expression of austerity and energy on her pale face. +"My son," she said, "you know that I love you, and that I wish you to be +very noble and lofty. Only the other morning, you had an attack of +fright, the house narrowly escaped being blown up. Then, for some days +now you have been sitting over those documents and plans in an +absent-minded, distracted state, like a man who feels weak, and doubts, +and no longer knows his way. Believe me, you are following a dangerous +path; it is better that Pierre should marry Marie, both for their sakes +and for your own." + +"For my sake? No, no! What will become of me!" + +"You will calm yourself and reflect, my son. You have such serious duties +before you. You are on the eve of making your invention known. It seems +to me that something has bedimmed your sight, and that you will perhaps +act wrongly in this respect, through failing to take due account of the +problem before you. Perhaps there is something better to be done. . . . +At all events, suffer if it be necessary, but remain faithful to your +ideal." + +Then, quitting him with a maternal smile, she sought to soften her +somewhat stern words by adding: "You have compelled me to speak +unnecessarily, for I am quite at ease; with your superior mind, whatever +be in question, you can but do the one right thing that none other would +do." + +On finding himself alone Guillaume fell into feverish uncertainty. What +was the meaning of Mere-Grand's enigmatical words? He knew that she was +on the side of whatever might be good, natural, and necessary. But she +seemed to be urging him to some lofty heroism; and indeed what she had +said threw a ray of light upon the unrest which had come to him in +connection with his old plan of going to confide his secret to some +Minister of War or other, whatever one might happen to be in office at +the time. Growing hesitation and repugnance stirred him as he fancied he +could again hear her saying that perhaps there might be some better +course, that would require search and reflection. But all at once a +vision of Marie rose before him, and his heart was rent by the thought +that he was asked to renounce her. To lose her, to give her to another! +No, no, that was beyond his strength. He would never have the frightful +courage that was needed to pass by the last promised raptures of love +with disdain! + +For a couple of days Guillaume struggled on. He seemed to be again living +the six years which the young woman had already spent beside him in that +happy little house. She had been at first like an adopted daughter there; +and later on, when the idea of their marriage had sprung up, he had +viewed it with quiet delight in the hope that it would ensure the +happiness of all around him. If he had previously abstained from marrying +again it was from the fear of placing a strange mother over his children; +and if he yielded to the charm of loving yet once more, and no longer +leading a solitary life, it was because he had found at his very hearth +one of such sensible views, who, in the flower of youth, was willing to +become his wife despite the difference in their ages. Then months had +gone by, and serious occurrences had compelled them to postpone the +wedding, though without undue suffering on his part. Indeed, the +certainty that she was waiting for him had sufficed him, for his life of +hard work had rendered him patient. Now, however, all at once, at the +threat of losing her, his hitherto tranquil heart ached and bled. He +would never have thought the tie so close a one. But he was now almost +fifty, and it was as if love and woman were being wrenched away from him, +the last woman that he could love and desire, one too who was the more +desirable, as she was the incarnation of youth from which he must ever be +severed, should he indeed lose her. Passionate desire, mingled with rage, +flared up within him at the thought that someone should have come to take +her from him. + +One night, alone in his room, he suffered perfect martyrdom. In order +that he might not rouse the house he buried his face in his pillow so as +to stifle his sobs. After all, it was a simple matter; Marie had given +him her promise, and he would compel her to keep it. She would be his, +and his alone, and none would be able to steal her from him. Then, +however, there rose before him a vision of his brother, the +long-forgotten one, whom, from feelings of affection, he had compelled to +join his family. But his sufferings were now so acute that he would have +driven that brother away had he been before him. He was enraged, +maddened, by the thought of him. His brother--his little brother! So all +their love was over; hatred and violence were about to poison their +lives. For hours Guillaume continued complaining deliriously, and seeking +how he might so rid himself of Pierre that what had happened should be +blotted out. Now and again, when he recovered self-control, he marvelled +at the tempest within him; for was he not a /savant/ guided by lofty +reason, a toiler to whom long experience had brought serenity? But the +truth was that this tempest had not sprung up in his mind, it was raging +in the child-like soul that he had retained, the nook of affection and +dreaminess which remained within him side by side with his principles of +pitiless logic and his belief in proven phenomena only. His very genius +came from the duality of his nature: behind the chemist was a social +dreamer, hungering for justice and capable of the greatest love. And now +passion was transporting him, and he was weeping for the loss of Marie as +he would have wept over the downfall of that dream of his, the +destruction of war /by/ war, that scheme for the salvation of mankind at +which he had been working for ten years past. + +At last, amidst his weariness, a sudden resolution calmed him. He began +to feel ashamed of despairing in this wise when he had no certain grounds +to go upon. He must know everything, he would question the young woman; +she was loyal enough to answer him frankly. Was not this a solution +worthy of them both? An explanation in all sincerity, after which they +would be able to take a decision. Then he fell asleep; and, tired though +he felt when he rose in the morning, he was calmer. It was as if some +secret work had gone on in his heart during his few hours of repose after +that terrible storm. + +As it happened Marie was very gay that morning. On the previous day she +had gone with Pierre and Antoine on a cycling excursion over frightful +roads in the direction of Montmorency, whence they had returned in a +state of mingled anger and delight. When Guillaume stopped her in the +little garden, he found her humming a song while returning bare-armed +from the scullery, where some washing was going on. + +"Do you want to speak to me?" she asked. + +"Yes, my dear child, it's necessary for us to talk of some serious +matters." + +She at once understood that their marriage was in question, and became +grave. She had formerly consented to that marriage because she regarded +it as the only sensible course she could take, and this with full +knowledge of the duties which she would assume. No doubt her husband +would be some twenty years older than herself, but this circumstance was +one of somewhat frequent occurrence, and as a rule such marriages turned +out well, rather than otherwise. Moreover, she was in love with nobody, +and was free to consent. And she had consented with an impulse of +gratitude and affection which seemed so sweet that she thought it the +sweetness of love itself. Everybody around her, too, appeared so pleased +at the prospect of this marriage, which would draw the family yet more +closely together. And, on her side, she had been as it were intoxicated +by the idea of making others happy. + +"What is the matter?" she now asked Guillaume in a somewhat anxious +voice. "No bad news, I hope?" + +"No, no," he answered. "I've simply something to say to you." + +Then he led her under the plum-trees to the only green nook left in the +garden. An old worm-eaten bench still stood there against the +lilac-bushes. And in front of them Paris spread out its sea of roofs, +looking light and fresh in the morning sunlight. + +They both sat down. But at the moment of speaking and questioning Marie, +Guillaume experienced sudden embarrassment, while his heart beat +violently at seeing her beside him, so young and adorable with her bare +arms. + +"Our wedding-day is drawing near," he ended by saying. And then as she +turned somewhat pale, perhaps unconsciously, he himself suddenly felt +cold. Had not her lips twitched as if with pain? Had not a shadow passed +over her fresh, clear eyes? + +"Oh! we still have some time before us," she replied. + +Then, slowly and very affectionately, he resumed: "No doubt; still it is +necessary to attend to the formalities. And it is as well, perhaps, that +I should speak of those worries to-day, so that I may not have to bother +you about them again." + +Then he gently went on telling her all that would have to be done, +keeping his eyes on her whilst he spoke, watching for such signs of +emotion as the thought of her promise's early fulfilment might bring to +her face. She sat there in silence, with her hands on her lap, and her +features quite still, thus giving no certain sign of any regret or +trouble. Still she seemed rather dejected, compliant, as it were, but in +no wise joyous. + +"You say nothing, my dear Marie," Guillaume at last exclaimed. "Does +anything of all this displease you?" + +"Displease me? Oh, no!" + +"You must speak out frankly, if it does, you know. We will wait a little +longer if you have any personal reasons for wishing to postpone the date +again." + +"But I've no reasons, my friend. What reasons could I have? I leave you +quite free to settle everything as you yourself may desire." + +Silence fell. While answering, she had looked him frankly in the face; +but a little quiver stirred her lips, and gloom, for which she could not +account, seemed to rise and darken her face, usually as bright and gay as +spring water. In former times would she not have laughed and sung at the +mere announcement of that coming wedding? + +Then Guillaume, with an effort which made his voice tremble, dared to +speak out: "You must forgive me for asking you a question, my dear Marie. +There is still time for you to cancel your promise. Are you quite certain +that you love me?" + +At this she looked at him in genuine stupefaction, utterly failing to +understand what he could be aiming at. And--as she seemed to be deferring +her reply, he added: "Consult your heart. Is it really your old friend or +is it another that you love?" + +"I? I, Guillaume? Why do you say that to me? What can I have done to give +you occasion to say such a thing!" + +All her frank nature revolted as she spoke, and her beautiful eyes, +glowing with sincerity, gazed fixedly on his. + +"I love Pierre! I do, I? . . . Well, yes, I love him, as I love you all; +I love him because he has become one of us, because he shares our life +and our joys! I'm happy when he's here, certainly; and I should like him +to be always here. I'm always pleased to see him and hear him and go out +with him. I was very much grieved recently when he seemed to be relapsing +into his gloomy ideas. But all that is natural, is it not? And I think +that I have only done what you desired I should do, and I cannot +understand how my affection for Pierre can in any way exercise an +influence respecting our marriage." + +These words, in her estimation, ought to have convinced Guillaume that +she was not in love with his brother; but in lieu thereof they brought +him painful enlightenment by the very ardour with which she denied the +love imputed to her. + +"But you unfortunate girl!" he cried. "You are betraying yourself without +knowing it. . . . It is quite certain you do not love me, you love my +brother!" + +He had caught hold of her wrists and was pressing them with despairing +affection as if to compel her to read her heart. And she continued +struggling. A most loving and tragic contest went on between them, he +seeking to convince her by the evidence of facts, and she resisting him, +stubbornly refusing to open her eyes. In vain did he recount what had +happened since the first day, explaining the feelings which had followed +one upon another in her heart and mind: first covert hostility, next +curiosity regarding that extraordinary young priest, and then sympathy +and affection when she had found him so wretched and had gradually cured +him of his sufferings. They were both young and mother Nature had done +the rest. However, at each fresh proof and certainty which he put before +her, Marie only experienced growing emotion, trembling at last from head +to foot, but still unwilling to question herself. + +"No, no," said she, "I do not love him. If I loved him I should know it +and would acknowledge it to you; for you are well aware that I cannot +tell an untruth." + +Guillaume, however, had the cruelty to insist on the point, like some +heroic surgeon cutting into his own flesh even more than into that of +others, in order that the truth might appear and everyone be saved. +"Marie," said he, "it is not I whom you love. All that you feel for me is +respect and gratitude and daughterly affection. Remember what your +feelings were at the time when our marriage was decided upon. You were +then in love with nobody, and you accepted the offer like a sensible +girl, feeling certain that I should render you happy, and that the union +was a right and satisfactory one. . . . But since then my brother has +come here; love has sprung up in your heart in quite a natural way; and +it is Pierre, Pierre alone, whom you love as a lover and a husband should +be loved." + +Exhausted though she was, utterly distracted, too, by the light which, +despite herself, was dawning within her, Marie still stubbornly and +desperately protested. + +"But why do you struggle like this against the truth, my child?" said +Guillaume; "I do not reproach you. It was I who chose that this should +happen, like the old madman I am. What was bound to come has come, and +doubtless it is for the best. I only wanted to learn the truth from you +in order that I might take a decision and act uprightly." + +These words vanquished her, and her tears gushed forth. It seemed as +though something had been rent asunder within her; and she felt quite +overcome, as if by the weight of a new truth of which she had hitherto +been ignorant. "Ah! it was cruel of you," she said, "to do me such +violence so as to make me read my heart. I swear to you again that I did +not know I loved Pierre in the way you say. But you have opened my heart, +and roused what was quietly slumbering in it. . . . And it is true, I do +love Pierre, I love him now as you have said. And so here we are, all +three of us supremely wretched through your doing!" + +She sobbed, and with a sudden feeling of modesty freed her wrists from +his grasp. He noticed, however, that no blush rose to her face. Truth to +tell, her virginal loyalty was not in question; she had no cause to +reproach herself with any betrayal; it was he alone, perforce, who had +awakened her to love. For a moment they looked at one another through +their tears: she so strong and healthy, her bosom heaving at each +heart-beat, and her white arms--arms that could both charm and +sustain--bare almost to her shoulders; and he still vigorous, with his +thick fleece of white hair and his black moustaches, which gave his +countenance such an expression of energetic youth. But it was all over, +the irreparable had swept by, and utterly changed their lives. + +"Marie," he nobly said, "you do not love me, I give you back your +promise." + +But with equal nobility she refused to take it back. "Never will I do +so," she replied. "I gave it to you frankly, freely and joyfully, and my +affection and admiration for you have never changed." + +Nevertheless, with more firmness in his hitherto broken voice, Guillaume +retorted: "You love Pierre, and it is Pierre whom you ought to marry." + +"No," she again insisted, "I belong to you. A tie which years have +tightened cannot be undone in an hour. Once again, if I love Pierre I +swear to you that I was ignorant of it this morning. And let us leave the +matter as it is; do not torture me any more, it would be too cruel of +you." + +Then, quivering like a woman who suddenly perceives that she is bare, in +a stranger's presence, she hastily pulled down her sleeves, and even drew +them over her hands as if to leave naught of her person visible. And +afterwards she rose and walked away without adding a single word. + +Guillaume remained alone on the bench in that leafy corner, in front of +Paris, to which the light morning sunshine lent the aspect of some +quivering, soaring city of dreamland. A great weight oppressed him, and +it seemed to him as if he would never be able to rise from the seat. That +which brought him most suffering was Marie's assurance that she had till +that morning been ignorant of the fact that she was in love with Pierre. +She had been ignorant of it, and it was he, Guillaume, who had brought it +to her knowledge, compelled her to confess it! He had now firmly planted +it in her heart, and perhaps increased it by revealing it to her. Ah! how +cruel the thought--to be the artisan of one's own torment! Of one thing +he was now quite certain: there would be no more love in his life. At the +idea of this, his poor, loving heart sank and bled. And yet amidst the +disaster, amidst his grief at realising that he was an old man, and that +renunciation was imperative, he experienced a bitter joy at having +brought the truth to light. This was very harsh consolation, fit only for +one of heroic soul, yet he found lofty satisfaction in it, and from that +moment the thought of sacrifice imposed itself upon him with +extraordinary force. He must marry his children; there lay the path of +duty, the only wise and just course, the only certain means of ensuring +the happiness of the household. And when his revolting heart yet leapt +and shrieked with anguish, he carried his vigorous hands to his chest in +order to still it. + +On the morrow came the supreme explanation between Guillaume and Pierre, +not in the little garden, however, but in the spacious workroom. And here +again one beheld the vast panorama of Paris, a nation as it were at work, +a huge vat in which the wine of the future was fermenting. Guillaume had +arranged things so that he might be alone with his brother; and no sooner +had the latter entered than he attacked him, going straight to the point +without any of the precautions which he had previously taken with Marie. + +"Haven't you something to say to me, Pierre?" he inquired. "Why won't you +confide in me?" + +The other immediately understood him, and began to tremble, unable to +find a word, but confessing everything by the distracted, entreating +expression of his face. + +"You love Marie," continued Guillaume, "why did you not loyally come and +tell me of your love?" + +At this Pierre recovered self-possession and defended himself vehemently: +"I love Marie, it's true, and I felt that I could not conceal it, that +you yourself would notice it at last. But there was no occasion for me to +tell you of it, for I was sure of myself, and would have fled rather than +have allowed a single word to cross my lips. I suffered in silence and +alone, and you cannot know how great my torture was! It is even cruel on +your part to speak to me of it; for now I am absolutely compelled to +leave you. . . . I have already, on several occasions, thought of doing +so. If I have come back here, it was doubtless through weakness, but also +on account of my affection for you all. And what mattered my presence +here? Marie ran no risk. She does not love me." + +"She does love you!" Guillaume answered. "I questioned her yesterday, and +she had to confess that she loved you." + +At this Pierre, utterly distracted, caught Guillaume by the shoulders and +gazed into his eyes. "Oh! brother, brother! what is this you say? Why say +a thing which would mean terrible misfortune for us all? Even if it were +true, my grief would far exceed my joy, for I will not have you suffer. +Marie belongs to you. To me she is as sacred as a sister. And if there be +only my madness to part you, it will pass by, I shall know how to conquer +it." + +"Marie loves you," repeated Guillaume in his gentle, obstinate way. "I +don't reproach you with anything. I well know that you have struggled, +and have never betrayed yourself to her either by word or glance. +Yesterday she herself was still ignorant that she loved you, and I had to +open her eyes. . . . What would you have? I simply state a fact: she +loves you." + +This time Pierre, still quivering, made a gesture of mingled rapture and +terror, as if some divine and long-desired blessing were falling upon him +from heaven and crushing him beneath its weight. + +"Well, then," he said, after a brief pause, "it is all over. . . . Let us +kiss one another for the last time, and then I'll go." + +"Go? Why? You must stay with us. Nothing could be more simple: you love +Marie and she loves you. I give her to you." + +A loud cry came from Pierre, who wildly raised his hands again with a +gesture of fright and rapture. "You give me Marie?" he replied. "You, who +adore her, who have been waiting for her for months? No, no, it would +overcome me, it would terrify me, as if you gave me your very heart after +tearing it from your breast. No, no! I will not accept your sacrifice!" + +"But as it is only gratitude and affection that Marie feels for me," said +Guillaume, "as it is you whom she really loves, am I to take a mean +advantage of the engagements which she entered into unconsciously, and +force her to a marriage when I know that she would never be wholly mine? +Besides, I have made a mistake, it isn't I who give her to you, she has +already given herself, and I do not consider that I have any right to +prevent her from doing so." + +"No, no! I will never accept, I will never bring such grief upon you. . . +Kiss me, brother, and let me go." + +Thereupon Guillaume caught hold of Pierre and compelled him to sit down +by his side on an old sofa near the window. And he began to scold him +almost angrily while still retaining a smile, in which suffering and +kindliness were blended. "Come," said he, "we are surely not going to +fight over it. You won't force me to tie you up so as to keep you here? I +know what I'm about. I thought it all over before I spoke to you. No +doubt, I can't tell you that it gladdens me. I thought at first that I +was going to die; I should have liked to hide myself in the very depths +of the earth. And then, well, it was necessary to be reasonable, and I +understood that things had arranged themselves for the best, in their +natural order." + +Pierre, unable to resist any further, had begun to weep with both hands +raised to his face. + +"Don't grieve, brother, either for yourself or for me," said Guillaume. +"Do you remember the happy days we lately spent together at Neuilly after +we had found one another again? All our old affection revived within us, +and we remained for hours, hand in hand, recalling the past and loving +one another. And what a terrible confession you made to me one night, the +confession of your loss of faith, your torture, the void in which you +were rolling! When I heard of it my one great wish was to cure you. I +advised you to work, love, and believe in life, convinced as I was that +life alone could restore you to peace and health. . . . And for that +reason I afterwards brought you here. You fought against it, and it was I +who forced you to come. I was so happy when I found that you again took +an interest in life, and had once more become a man and a worker! I would +have given some of my blood if necessary to complete your cure. . . . +Well, it's done now, I have given you all I had, since Marie herself has +become necessary to you, and she alone can save you." + +Then as Pierre again attempted to protest, he resumed: "Don't deny it. It +is so true indeed, that if she does not complete the work I have begun, +all my efforts will have been vain, you will fall back into your misery +and negation, into all the torments of a spoilt life. She is necessary to +you, I say. And do you think that I no longer know how to love you? Would +you have me refuse you the very breath of life that will truly make you a +man, after all my fervent wishes for your return to life? I have enough +affection for you both to consent to your loving one another. . . . +Besides, I repeat it, nature knows what she does. Instinct is a sure +guide, it always tends to what is useful and trite. I should have been a +sorry husband, and it is best that I should keep to my work as an old +/savant/; whereas you are young and represent the future, all fruitful +and happy life." + +Pierre shuddered as he heard this, for his old fears returned to him. Had +not the priesthood for ever cut him off from life, had not his long years +of chaste celibacy robbed him of his manhood? "Fruitful and happy life!" +he muttered, "ah! if you only knew how distressed I feel at the idea that +I do not perhaps deserve the gift you so lovingly offer me! You are worth +more than I am; you would have given her a larger heart, a firmer brain, +and perhaps, too, you are really a younger man than myself. . . . There +is still time, brother, keep her, if with you she is likely to be happier +and more truly and completely loved. For my part I am full of doubts. Her +happiness is the only thing of consequence. Let her belong to the one who +will love her best!" + +Indescribable emotion had now come over both men. As Guillaume heard his +brother's broken words, the cry of a love that trembled at the thought of +possible weakness, he did for a moment waver. With a dreadful heart-pang +he stammered despairingly: "Ah! Marie, whom I love so much! Marie, whom I +would have rendered so happy!" + +At this Pierre could not restrain himself; he rose and cried: "Ah! you +see that you love her still and cannot renounce her. . . . So let me go! +let me go!" + +But Guillaume had already caught him around the body, clasping him with +an intensity of brotherly love which was increased by the renunciation he +was resolved upon: "Stay!" said he. "It wasn't I that spoke, it was the +other man that was in me, he who is about to die, who is already dead! By +the memory of our mother and our father I swear to you that the sacrifice +is consummated, and that if you two refuse to accept happiness from me +you will but make me suffer." + +For a moment the weeping men remained in one another's arms. They had +often embraced before, but never had their hearts met and mingled as they +did now. It was a delightful moment, which seemed an eternity. All the +grief and misery of the world had disappeared from before them; there +remained naught save their glowing love, whence sprang an eternity of +love even as light comes from the sun. And that moment was compensation +for all their past and future tears, whilst yonder, on the horizon before +them, Paris still spread and rumbled, ever preparing the unknown future. + +Just then Marie herself came in. And the rest proved very simple. +Guillaume freed himself from his brother's clasp, led him forward and +compelled him and Marie to take each other by the hand. At first she made +yet another gesture of refusal in her stubborn resolve that she would not +take her promise back. But what could she say face to face with those two +tearful men, whom she had found in one another's arms, mingling together +in such close brotherliness? Did not those tears and that embrace sweep +away all ordinary reasons, all such arguments as she held in reserve? +Even the embarrassment of the situation disappeared, it seemed as if she +had already had a long explanation with Pierre, and that he and she were +of one mind to accept that gift of love which Guillaume offered them with +so much heroism. A gust of the sublime passed through the room, and +nothing could have appeared more natural to them than this extraordinary +scene. Nevertheless, Marie remained silent, she dared not give her +answer, but looked at them both with her big soft eyes, which, like their +own, were full of tears. + +And it was Guillaume who, with sudden inspiration, ran to the little +staircase conducting to the rooms overhead, and called: "Mere-Grand! +Mere-Grand! Come down at once, you are wanted." + +Then, as soon as she was there, looking slim and pale in her black gown, +and showing the wise air of a queen-mother whom all obeyed, he said: +"Tell these two children that they can do nothing better than marry one +another. Tell them that we have talked it over, you and I, and that it is +your desire, your will that they should do so." + +She quietly nodded her assent, and then said: "That is true, it will be +by far the most sensible course." + +Thereupon Marie flung herself into her arms, consenting, yielding to the +superior forces, the powers of life, that had thus changed the course of +her existence. Guillaume immediately desired that the date of the wedding +should be fixed, and accommodation provided for the young couple in the +rooms overhead. And as Pierre glanced at him with some remaining anxiety +and spoke of travelling, for he feared that his wound was not yet healed, +and that their presence might bring him suffering, Guillaume responded: +"No, no, I mean to keep you. If I'm marrying you, it is to have you both +here. Don't worry about me. I have so much work to do, I shall work." + +In the evening when Thomas and Francois came home and learnt the news, +they did not seem particularly surprised by it. They had doubtless felt +that things would end like this. And they bowed to the /denouement/, not +venturing to say a word, since it was their father himself who announced +the decision which had been taken, with his usual air of composure. As +for Antoine, who on his own side quivered with love for Lise, he gazed +with doubting, anxious eyes at his father, who had thus had the courage +to pluck out his heart. Could he really survive such a sacrifice, must it +not kill him? Then Antoine kissed his father passionately, and the elder +brothers in their turn embraced him with all their hearts. Guillaume +smiled and his eyes became moist. After his victory over his horrible +torments nothing could have been sweeter to him than the embraces of his +three big sons. + +There was, however, further emotion in store for him that evening. Just +as the daylight was departing, and he was sitting at his large table near +the window, again checking and classifying the documents and plans +connected with his invention, he was surprised to see his old master and +friend Bertheroy enter the workroom. The illustrious chemist called on +him in this fashion at long intervals, and Guillaume felt the honour thus +conferred on him by this old man to whom eminence and fame had brought so +many titles, offices and decorations. Moreover, Bertheroy, with his +position as an official /savant/ and member of the Institute, showed some +courage in thus venturing to call on one whom so-called respectable folks +regarded with contumely. And on this occasion, Guillaume at once +understood that it was some feeling of curiosity that had brought him. +And so he was greatly embarrassed, for he hardly dared to remove the +papers and plans which were lying on the table. + +"Oh, don't be frightened," gaily exclaimed Bertheroy, who, despite his +careless and abrupt ways, was really very shrewd. "I haven't come to pry +into your secrets. . . . Leave your papers there, I promise you that I +won't read anything." + +Then, in all frankness, he turned the conversation on the subject of +explosives, which he was still studying, he said, with passionate +interest. He had made some new discoveries which he did not conceal. +Incidentally, too, he spoke of the opinion he had given in Salvat's +affair. His dream was to discover some explosive of great power, which +one might attempt to domesticate and reduce to complete obedience. And +with a smile he pointedly concluded: "I don't know where that madman +found the formula of his powder. But if you should ever discover it, +remember that the future perhaps lies in the employment of explosives as +motive power." + +Then, all at once, he added: "By the way, that fellow Salvat will be +executed on the day after to-morrow. A friend of mine at the Ministry of +Justice has just told me so." + +Guillaume had hitherto listened to him with an air of mingled distrust +and amusement. But this announcement of Salvat's execution stirred him to +anger and revolt, though for some days past he had known it to be +inevitable, in spite of the sympathy which the condemned man was now +rousing in many quarters. + +"It will be a murder!" he cried vehemently. + +Bertheroy waved his hand: "What would you have?" he answered: "there's a +social system and it defends itself when it is attacked. Besides, those +Anarchists are really too foolish in imagining that they will transform +the world with their squibs and crackers! In my opinion, you know, +science is the only revolutionist. Science will not only bring us truth +but justice also, if indeed justice ever be possible on this earth. And +that is why I lead so calm a life and am so tolerant." + +Once again Bertheroy appeared to Guillaume as a revolutionist, one who +was convinced that he helped on the ruin of the ancient abominable +society of today, with its dogmas and laws, even whilst he was working in +the depths of his laboratory. He was, however, too desirous of repose, +and had too great a contempt for futilities to mingle with the events of +the day, and he preferred to live in quietude, liberally paid and +rewarded, and at peace with the government whatever it might be, whilst +at the same time foreseeing and preparing for the formidable parturition +of the future. + +He waved his hand towards Paris, over which a sun of victory was setting, +and then again spoke: "Do you hear the rumble? It is we who are the +stokers, we who are ever flinging fresh fuel under the boiler. Science +does not pause in her work for a single hour, and she is the artisan of +Paris, which--let us hope it--will be the artisan of the future. All the +rest is of no account." + +But Guillaume was no longer listening to him. He was thinking of Salvat +and the terrible engine of war he had invented, that engine which before +long would shatter cities. And a new idea was dawning and growing in his +mind. He had just freed himself of his last tie, he had created all the +happiness he could create around him. Ah! to recover his courage, to be +master of himself once more, and, at any rate, derive from the sacrifice +of his heart the lofty delight of being free, of being able to lay down +even his life, should he some day deem it necessary! + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, +Vol. 4, by Emile Zola + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE CITIES: PARIS, VOL. 4 *** + +This file should be named pari410.txt or pari410.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, pari411.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, pari410a.txt + +Produced by Dagny [dagnypg@yahoo.com] +and David Widger [widger@cecomet.net] + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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