CO NT E NT S

B ALL-OF- TALLOW

WIFE A ND M ISTRES S
S I M ON PA PA
’
S

T H E T H IEF

M Y LA NDLA DY
A DIVORCE CA SE
T H E R ELICS

T H E LA N CER
’
S WIFE
A NE W Y EAR GIFT
’
S

O N E EVEN I NG

FLY

T H E DEVIL

G H OS TS

T wo F RIE NDS
A H APPY LIFE

A LL OVER

TH E P RISONERS
A M EETING

FORGIVEN ES S

A N U NCOM FORTABLE

WA S IT A DREA M ?
IV C O N TE N TS

A COWARD

M ARGOT S TA PERS
’

M AG N ETI S M
F ARE WELL
 BALL O F TALLOW

OR s everal day s in succ ess ion f ragments o f a

F de feated army h ad pa ssed thro ugh the town
T hey were mere diso rgan ized bands not dis ,
.

c ip lin ed forces The men wore long dirty beards

.
,

and tattered uniforms ; they advanced in listles s

fashion without a flag without a lea der
, , Al l .

seemed exhausted worn out incapable of thought

, ,

or resolve marching onward merel y by force o f

,

h abit and dropping to the gro und with fatigue the

,

moment they halted one saw in particular man y

.
, ,

enlisted men peace f ul citizens men who lived

, ,

quietl y on their income bending beneath the weight

,

of their rifles ; and little active volunteers easil y ,

f rightened but full o f enthusiasm as eager to attack ,

as the y were read y to take to flight ; and amid

these a s p rinkling o f red breeched soldiers the piti
, ,

fu l remnant of a division cut down in a great bat

tle; sombre artillery men side b y side with nonde
,

scri p t foot soldiers ; and here and there the gleam

-
, ,

ing he lmet of a heav y footed dragoon who had di f

-

fi c u lty in keeping up with the quicker pace o f the

soldiers o f the line .

Legions o f irre g ulars with high so

‘
unding name s -

”
Avengers o f Defeat C itizens o f the Tomb
, ,
2 G U Y DE M A U PA SSA N T

B rethren in D eath —pa ssed

in th e ir turn l ook ,

ing like banditti .

Their leaders former d ra pers or gra in merchants

—
, ,

or tallow or soap handlers warriors by force o f

c ircumstance offi cers by reason o f their mustachios
—
,

or their mone y covered with weapons and fl anne l

an d braid and with lace spoke in an imp ressive
, ,

manner discussed plans o f campai gn a nd behaved

, ,

as though they alone bore the fortunes of dy in g

F rance on their braggart shoulders ; though in truth , ,

they f requentl y were afraid o f their own men

sc oundrels often brave with out limit but dishonest ,

and debauched .

R umour had it th at the P russi ans were about to

enter R ouen .

The members of the Na tional G uard who f or ,

the past two month s had been reconnoitring with

the utmost caution in the neighbo ur ing woods occa ,

sionally shooting their own sentinels and making ,

read y for fight whenever a rabbit rustled in the

u ndergrowth had now returned to their homes
, .

Their arms their uniforms all the death dealing

, ,
-

paraphernalia with which they had terrified all

the milestones along the highroad for eight miles
round had suddenly an d ma rv ellousl y disap
,

p eared .

The last o f the French soldiers had j ust c rossed

the Seine on their way to P ont Audemer through -
,

S aint Sever and Bourg Archard and in their rear

- -
,

th e vanquished general powerless to do aught with

,

the forlorn remnants o f his a rmy himsel f dismayed ,

a t the fi na l overthrow of a na tion a ccu stomed to

 B A LL OF TA LLOW 3

victory and disastrousl y beaten despite its l egen

,

dary bravery walked between two orderlies

, .

Then a p rofound calm a shudde ring silent dread , , ,

settled on the city M an y a round paunched citi

.
-

zen emasculated by years devoted to b usiness au x

, ,

iou sly awaited the conquerors trembling lest his ,

roasting j acks o r kitchen knives should be looked

-

upon as weapon s .

Life seemed to have stepp ed short ; the shops were

shut the streets deserted Now and then an inhabi
, .

tant aw ed by the silence glided swiftly b y in the

, ,

shadow o f the walls The anguish of susp ense

.

made men even d e sire the arrival of the enem y .

In the afternoon o f the day following the depart

ure of the French troops a number of uhlans com , ,

ing no one knew whence pa ssed rapidly through ,

the town A little later on a black mass descended

.
,

St Catherine s Hill whil e two other invading bodies

.
’
,

appeared r esp ectively on the Darnetal and the Bois

gu illaume roads The advan ce guards o f the three
.

corps arriv ed at precisely the same moment at the

Square o f the H otel de V ille and the G erman army ,

poured through all the adj acent streets its battalions ,

making the pavement ring with their firm measured ,

tread .

O rders sh outed in an unknown guttural tongue ,

rose to the windows o f the seemingly d ead deserted ,

houses ; while behind the fast closed shutters eage r -

—
eyes peered forth at the victor y masters now o f
“
the city its fortu n es and its lives by right o f
, ,
”
war . The inhabitants in their darkened rooms , ,

were possessed by that terror which follows in the

 G U Y DE M AU PA SSA N T

wake of catacly sms o f deadly up heavals o f the ,

earth against which all human skill and strengt h

,

are vain For the same thing happens whenever

.

the established order of things is upset when secu ,

rity no longer exists when all those rights usually ,

protected by the laws of man or of Nature are at

the mercy of unreasoning savage force The , .

earthquake crushing a whole nation under falling

roofs ; the fl ood let loose and engulfing in its swirl ,

ing depths the corpses o f drowned p easants along ,

with dead oxen and beams torn from shattered

houses ; or the army covered with glory murdering , ,

those who defend themselves making prisoners o f ,

the rest pillaging in the name o f the Sword and

, ,

—
giving thanks to G od to the thunder of cannon all
these are appalling scourges which destroy all belief ,

in eternal j ustice all that confidence we have been

,

taught to feel in the p rotection of Heaven and the

reason of man .

Small detachments of soldiers knocked at each

door and then disappeared within the houses ; for
,

th e vanqui shed saw they would have to be civil to

their conquerors .

At the end o f a short time once the first terror ,

had subsided calm was again restored In man y

,
.

h ouses the P russian officer ate at the S ame tabl e

with the family He was often well bred and out
.
-
, ,

of politeness expressed sympath y with France and

,

repu gn ance at being com p elled to take part in the

war This sentiment was received with gratitude ;
.

besides h is protection might be needful some day

,

or other By the exercise of tact the number o f

.
 B A LL OF TA LLO W 5

men quartered in one s house might be reduced ; ’

and wh y shou l d one provoke the hostility o f a per

’
son on whom one s whole welfare dep ended ? Such
conduct would savour less of bravery than o f fool
hardiness And foo l hardiness is no longer a fai l
.

ing of the c itizens o f R ouen as it was in th e days

when their c ity earned renown by its heroic de
f en ses —
Last of al l final argument based on th e
—
.

national politeness the folk of Rouen said to on e

another that it was only right to be civil in one s ’

own house p rovided there was no p ubli c exh ibi

,

tion of familiarity with the foreigner O ut of door s .

,

therefore citizen and soldier did not know each

,

other ; but in the house both chatted f reely and ,

each evening the G erman remained a little longer

warming himself at the hospitabl e hearth .

Even the town itself resumed by degrees its ordi

nary asp ect The French se ldom walked abroad
.
,

but the streets swarmed with P russian soldiers .

M oreover the offic ers of the Blue Hussars who

, ,

arrogantl y dragged their instruments of death along

the pavements seemed to hold the simple towns
,

men in but l ittle more contempt than did the French

cavalry officers who had drunk at the same café s
the year before .

B ut there was something in the air a something ,

strange and subtle an intolerable foreign atmos ,

p h e r e like a penetrating odour— the odour of inva

sion It permeated dwelli ngs and p laces of publi c
.

resort changed the taste o f food made one imagine

, ,

one s self in far distant lands amid dangerous bar

’
-
, ,

baric tribe s .
6 GUY DE M AUPA SS A NT

T he c on q ueror s e xacted mone y mu ch money , .

The inhabitants p aid what was asked ; the y w ere

rich But the wealthier a Norman tribesman be
.

comes the more he suff ers at having to p art with

anything that belongs to him at having to see an y ,

portion o f his su b stance pass into the hands o f an

other .

Nevert h eless within six or seven miles o f the

,

town along the cour se of the river as it flo ws on

,

ward to C roisset D ieppedalle and Biessart boat

, , ,

men and fishermen often hau l ed to the surfac e of

the water the body o f a G erman bloated in his uni ,

form killed by a blow from knife or club his head

, ,

crushed by a stone or perchance pushed f rom some

,

bridge into the stream below The mud o f the .

river bed swallowed up these obscure acts o f venge

-

—
ance savage yet legitimate ; these unrecor ded
,

deeds of bravery ; these silent attacks f raught with

greater danger than battles fought in broad day and ,

surrounded moreover with no halo of romance

, , .

For hatred of the foreign er ever arms a few in

trepid souls read y to die for an idea
, .

At last as the invaders though subj e c ting the

, ,

town to the strictest dis c ipline had not committed ,

an y o f the deeds o f horror with which they had

been c redited while on their triumphal march the ,

people grew bolder and the necessities o f busines s

,

again animated the breasts o f the local merchants .

S ome of these had important c ommercial interests

—
at Havre o ccu p ied at present by the French army
—and wished to attempt to reach that port by o ver
land route to D ieppe taking the boat from there
, .
 BALL OF T A LLOW 7

Th rough the in fl uence o f the Ge rm an officer s

w hose acquaintanc e the y had made the y obtained a ,

ermit to leave town f rom the genera l in c omm an d

p .

A large four horse c oach having there fore been

-
, ,

e ngaged f or the j ourney and ten passengers hav

,

ing given in their names to the p rop rietor the y ,

decided to start on a certain Tuesday morning be

fore daybreak to avoid attracting a c rowd
, .

The ground had been frozen hard for some time

past and about three o clock o n M onda y a ftern oon
,
’

large black c louds f rom the north shed their b ur

den of snow uninterruptedl y all throu gh that even
ing and night .

At half p ast four in the mo rn ing the travellers

-

met in the c ourtyard of the H otel de Normandie ,

whe re the y were to take their seats in the c oach .

They were still half asleep and shivering with ,

cold under their wraps They could see on e another

.

but indistinctl y in the darkness and the mountai n ,

o f heav y winter wraps in which each was swathed

made them look like a gathering o f obese p riests in

their long c assocks But two men recognized each
.

other a third accosted them and the three began

, ,
“
to talk . I am bringing my wi fe said one So ,
”
am I . And I too The first speaker added :
, .

We shall not return to R o u en and i f the Prus ,

”
sians ap p roa c h Havre we will cross to England .

All there it turned out had made the s ame plans

, , ,

being of similar disposition and temp erament .

S till the horses were n ot harnessed A small .

lantern carried b y a stable boy emerged now and -

t hen from one dark doorway to disa pp ear immedi

8 GUY DE M AUPA SSA N T

ately in another The stamping o f horses hoofs

.
’

dead ened by the dung and straw of the stable was ,

heard from time to time and f rom inside the build ,

ing issued a man s voice tal king to the animals and

’

swearing at them A faint tinkle o f bells showed

.

that the harness was being got ready ; this tinkle

soon developed into a continuous j ingling louder ,

o r softer according to the movements o f the horse ,

sometimes stepp ing altogether then breaking ou t ,

in a sudden peal accompanied by a pawing of the

ground by an iron shod hoof -
.

The do or suddenly closed All noise ceased The . .

frozen townsmen were silent ; they remained mo

tion less sti ff with co l d
,
.

A thick curtain o f glistening white fl akes fell

ceaselessly to the ground ; it obliterated all outlines ,

enveloped all obj ects in an icy mantle o f foam ;

nothing was to be heard throughout the length and
breadth of the silent winter bound city save the
,
-

—
vague nameless rustle of falling Snow a sensa
,

—
tion rather than a sound the gentle mingling o f
light atoms which seemed to fill all space to cover ,

the whole world .

The man reappeared with his l antern leading by ,

a rope a m elancholy looking horse evi d ently being

-
,

led o u t against his incli nation The hostler placed .

him beside the pole fastened the traces and spent

, ,

some time in walking round him to make sure that

the harness was all right ; f o r he could use only on e
hand the other being engaged in holding the lan
,

tern As he w as about to fetch the second hors e

.

he noticed the motionless group of travellers al ,

 B A LL or T A LLOW 9

ready white with snow and said to them : , Wh y

don t y ou get inside the coach ? You d b e under
’ ’

”
shelter at least , .

Th i s did n ot seem to have oc c urred to them and ,

they at once took his advice The three men seated .

thei r wives at the far end o f the coach then got in ,

th emselves ; lastly the other vague snow shrouded ,

-

forms clambered to the remaining pl aces without a

word .

The fl oor was covered with straw into which the ,

feet sank The ladies at the far end having brought

.
,

w ith them little copper foot warm e rs heated by -

m eans of a kind o f chemical fu el proceeded to light ,

these and spent some time in expatiating in low

,

t ones on their advantages saying over and over ,

again things which they had all known f or a lon g

time .

At last six horses instead of four having been

,

harnessed to the diligenc e on account o f the heav y ,

roads a voice outside asked :

,
Is every one there
To which a voice from the interior replied : Yes ,

a n d they set out .

’
The vehicle moved slowly slowly at snail s pace , ,

t h e wheels sank into the snow ; the entire body o f

the coach creaked and groaned ; the horses slipped ,
’

p u ff ed steamed
,
and the c o achman s long whip
,

c racked incessantly fly ing hi th e r and thither coilin g

, ,

u p t h en flinging o u t its length like a slender ser

,

p ent ,
as it lashed some rounded flank which in ,

s tantly grew tense as it strained in further e ff ort .

But the day g rew apace Those light fl akes which .

o n e traveller a native of R ouen had compared to

, ,
IO G UY DE M A U PA SSA N T

a rain of
cotton f ell no longer A murky light fil .

tere d through dark heavy clouds which made the

, ,

country more dazzlingly white by contrast a white ,

ness brok en sometimes by a row o f tall trees span

gled with hoarfrost or by a cottage roof hoo ded in
,

snow .

Wi thin the coach the passenger s eyed one an

other c uriously in the dim light o f dawn .

R ight at the back in the best seats of all Mon

, ,

sieur and M adame Loiseau wholesale w ine mer ,

chants o f the R u e G rand P ou t sl umbered opposite -

,

each other Formerly clerk to a merchant wh o had

.

f ailed in business Lois eau had bought his master s

,
’

interest and made a fortune for hims elf He sold

,
.

very bad wine at a very low price to the retail deal

ers in the country and had the reputation among
, ,

his f riends and acquaintances of being a cunning ,

rogue a tru e Norman full o f quips and wiles 5 0

, , .

well established was his character as a c heat that ,

in the mouths o f the citizens o f Rouen the ve ry ,

n ame o f Loiseau became a byword for sharp p rac

t ice .

Above and beyond this Loiseau was noted f or ,

h is practical j okes o f every description—his tricks ,

g ood or ill natured ; and

-
no o n e could mention his
’
n ame without adding at once He s an ext raor
—
din ary man Loiseau
”
He was undersized and
.

p ot bel l ied had a florid face with grayish whiskers

-

—
, .

His wife tall strong determined with a loud

, , ,

—
v oi c e and de c ided manner represented the spirit o f
order and ari thmeti c i n th e business house which
Loi sea u enlivened by h is j ovial activity .
 B A LL TA LLO W II

B eside them dign ifi ed in bearing belonging to

, ,

a superior caste sa t M onsieur C arré Lamadon

, a -
,

man o f considerable importance a king in the cot ,

ton trade p rop rietor o f three spinning mills ofli cer

,
-
,

o f the Legion o f Honour and member o f the G en ,

eral Council During the whole tim e the Empire

.

was in the ascendanc y h e remained the chief o f the

w ell dis posed O pposition merely in order to com
-
,

mand a higher value for his devotio n when he

should rally to the cause which he me anwhile op
p osed with courteous weapon s to use his own ,

ex pression .

M adame C arré Lamadon much younger than her

-
,

hu sband was th e consolation o f all the ofli cers o f

,

g ood fa m il y quartered at R ouen P ret ty slender .

, ,

g race f ul she
, sat O pposit e her hus b and curled u p in ,

her furs and ga z ing mou rn ful ly at t h e sorry interior

,

o f the c oach .

Her neighb ours the Comte an d Comtesse Hub e rt

,

d e B r e ville bore one of the noblest and most an

,

cient names in Normandy Th e Count a nobleman .

,

advanc ed in y ears and of aristocrati c bearing strov e ,

to enh ance by every artifice o f the toilet his natu

, ,

ral resembl ance to King Henry IV w ho according , ,

to a legend of which the fami ly were inordinatel y

p roud had been the favoured lover of a De Bré
—
,
’
vill e lad y and father of her child the frai l one s
,

husband having in recognition o f th is fac t been

, ,

made a count an d governor of a province .

A c olleague o f M onsieur Carré Lamadon in the -

G eneral Council Count Hubert represented the,

O rleanist party in his department The story of .

12 G UY DE M AUPA S SA N T

his marriage with the daughter o f a smal l shi p

ow ner at Nantes had always remained more or less
of a mystery B ut as the Countess had an air o f
.

unmistakable breeding entertained faultlessly and , ,

was even supposed to have been loved by a son of

Louis P hilippe the n obility vied with one another
-
,

in doing her honour and her drawing room t e ,

-

mained the most select in the whole country side

the onl y one which retained the old s p irit o f gal
lantry and to which access was not easy
, .

T he fortune of the Brévilles all in rea l estate , ,

amounted it was said to five hundred thousand

, ,

francs a y ear .

T hese six peop le o c cupied the f arther end o f th e

—
coach and represented Society with an income
,

the strong established society of good people with

,

religion and principle .

It happened by chan ce that all the women were

seated on the same si de ; and the Counte ss had ,

moreover as neighbours two nuns who s p ent the

, ,

time in fingering their long rosaries and murmur

ing paternosters and aves O ne of them was old .
,

and so deep l y pitted with smallpox that she looked

f o r all the world as i f she had received a charge
o f shot full in the face The other of sickl y appear
.
,

ance had a p retty but wasted countenan c e and a

, ,

narrow consumptive chest sapp ed b y that devour

, ,

ing faith whi ch is the making of mart y rs and vis

ion aries .

A man and woman sitting Opp osite the two nun s

, ,

attracted all e y es
— —
.

The man a well known ch ara c ter was Corn u

-
 B A LL OF T A LLOW I3

det the democrat the terror o f all respectab le peo

, ,

ple For the past twen ty years his big re d beard

.

had been on terms of intimate acquainta n ce with

the tankards o f all th e republican café s With the .

help o f his comrades and breth ren he had dissi ‘

pated a respectable fortun e left him by his father ,

an old established confectioner and he now impa

-
,

tien tly awaited the R epublic that he might at last ,

be reward ed with the post he h ad earn ed by his

revolu tio n a r v orgies O n the fourth o f September
.

- —
possibly as the result o f a practical j oke he was
led to believe that he had been appoi n t ed p refect ;
but when he att empted to take up the duties o f the
position the clerks in charge o f the ofli c e refused
to recogn ize his authority and he was compelled in ,

consequence to retire A good sort o f fellow in .

other re spects inoff ensiv e and obliging he had

, ,

thrown hims elf z ealously i nto the work o f mak in g

an organized def en se o f the tow n He had had pit s .

dug in the level country you n g forest trees f elled , ,

and traps set on all the roads ; then at the approach

of the en emy thoroughly satisfied wi th his prepara
,

tions he had hastily returned to the town H e

, .

thought he might now do more good at Havre ,

where n ew intrenchments would soon be n ecessary .

The woman who belo ng ed to the court esa n class

, ,

was c elebrated f or an embonpoin t u n usual f or her

age which had earn ed for her the sobriquet o f
,

Boule de Suif ! Tallow Ball ! Short an d rotund .

,

f at as a pig with pu ff y fin gers constricted at the

,

j oints looking ,
like rows of short sausages ; with a

sh in y tight stretched skin and an enormous bus t

,
-
14 GUY DE M AUPA SSA N T

fi lling the bodice o f her dress she was yet

ou t ,

a ttractive and much sought after owing to her ,

f resh an d pleasing appearance Her face was like .

a crimson apple a p eony bud j ust bursting into

,
-

b loom : she had two magnificent dark ey es fringed ,

with thick heavy lashes which cast a shadow into

, ,

their depths ; her mouth was small ripe kissable , , ,

and was furnished with the ti ni est o f white teeth .

As soon as she was recognized the respectable

matrons o f the party began to whisper amon g them
“
selves and the words hussy an d pu blic scan
,

dal were uttered so loudly that Boule de S ui f

raised her head She forthwith cast such a c hal
.

lenging bold look at her neighbours that sudden

,

s ilence fell on the compa n y and all lowered their ,

e yes with the exception o f Loiseau wh o watched

, ,

h er with evident i n terest .

B ut conversation was Soon resumed among the

t hree ladies whom the presence o f this girl had
s udde n ly draw
,

n toge ther in the bo n ds of f riendship

—o ne might almost say in those o f intimacy They .

decided that they ought to combine as it were in , ,

their dignity as wives in face o f this shameless

h ussy ; f or legitimized love always des p ises its eas y
g oi n g brother .

The three men also b rought together by a cer

, ,

t ain conservative i n stinct awakened by the p res

e n c e of Corn u det spok e of mone y matters in a ton e
,

e xpressive o f contempt for the poor Count Hubert .

r elated the losses he had sustained at the hands o f

t h e P russians spoke o f the cattle which had bee n

,

s tolen f rom him the c ro p s w hi ch had b e en ruined

, ,
16 GU Y DE M AUPA SSA N T

The men sought food in the f armhouses b eside

the road but could not fin d so much as a c rust o f
,

bread ; f or the suspicious peasant invariab ly hid his

stores f or fear of being pi l laged by the soldiers ,

who being entirely without food would tak e vio

, ,

lent possession of everything they found .

About on e o clock Loiseau announced that h e

’

positively had a big hollow in his stoma c h T hey .

had all been suff ering in the same way for som e
time and the increasing gnawings o f hunger had
,

put an end to all conversation .

Now and then some on e yawned another f ol ,

lowed his example and each in turn a ccording to , ,

his character breeding and social position y awned

, , ,

either qui etly o r noisily placing his hand be fore th e ,

gaping void whence issued breath condensed i n to

vapor .

Several times Boule de S ui f stoop ed as i f search ,

ing f or something under her petti coats She woul d .

hesitate a moment look at her neighbours and the n

, ,

quietly sit upright again All faces were p al e an d .

drawn Loiseau declared he would give a thousan d

.

francs for a knuckle of ham H is wife made an .

involuntary and quickly checked gesture of protest .

I t alway s hurt her to hear o f mone y being squan

dered and she could not even understand j oke s on
,

such a subj ect .

’
A S a matter of fact I don t feel well said , ,

th e Count Why did I not think o f bringing p ro

.

”
visions ? E ach one reproached himsel f in Simil ar
f ashion .

Corn udet how ever h ad a bottle o f rum which he

, , ,
 BALL or TA LLO W I7

o ff ered to his n e igh bours The y all c oldl y re fused .

except Loiseau who took a sip and return ed the

, ,

bot tle with thanks say ing That s good stu ff ; it

,
’

”
warms on e u p and cheats the appetit e
, T he al c o .

ho l put him in good humour and he pro p os ed they ,

should do as the sailors did in the song : eat the fat

test of the passengers This indirect allusion to .

Boule de Suif shocked the respectable m e mbers o f

the party No on e replied ; only Corn u det smile d
. .

The two good sisters had ceased to mumble thei r

rosary and with hands en folded in their wide
, ,

sl eeves sat motionless their eyes steadfastly cast

, ,

dow n doubtless o ff ering u p as a sacrifice to Heaven

,

the su ff ering it had sen t them .

At last at three o clock as the y were in the midst

,
’
,

of an apparently limitless plain with not a singl e ,

v illage in sight Boule de Suif stooped quic k ly and

, ,

dr ew from u n dern eath the seat a large basket cov

ered with a white n apkin .

From this she extracted first o f all a small earth

en ware plate an d a silver drinking cup then an ,

enormous dish con taini n g two whole c hick e n s cu t

into joints and imbedded in j elly The ba sket was .

seen to con tain oth e r good thi n gs : pi e s fruit dain , ,

tie s of all sorts—provisions in fine f or a three days , ,

’

j ourn ey ren dering their owner i n depe n dent of way

,

side inns The necks o f four bottles protrud ed from

.

among the food She took a chicken wing and . ,

bega n to eat it dai n tily together with one of thos e,

rolls called in Normandy R ége n ce .

All looks were dir ected toward her An odour .

of food filled the air causing nostrils to dilate , ,

18 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

m ouths to water and j aw s to c ontract p ain full y

, .

T he scorn of the ladies for thi s disreputable femal e

g rew po sitively f ero c ious ; the y would have lik ed to
kill her or throw her and her drinking cup her
, ,

b asket and her provisions ou t of the c oach into

, ,

th e sno w o f the road below .

B ut Loiseau s ga z e was fix ed greedil y on the dish

’

o f chicken H e said
.

Well w ell this lady had more forethought than

, ,
”
t h e rest o f us S ome peop le think o f every thing
. .

S he looked up at him .

Would you like some sir ? I t is hard to go on ,

”
f asting all day .

H e bowed .

Upon my soul I can t re fuse ; I cannot hold out

,
’

a nother minute All is fair in war time is it n ot

.
, ,

M adame ? And casting a glance on those around

, ,

h e added
At times like this it is very pleasant to me et
”
w ith obliging peo p le .

He spr ead a newspaper over his knees to avoi d

s oiling his trousers and with a pocket knife he, ,

al w ay s carried helped himsel f to a chick en le g

,

coated with j elly which he thereu pon p roc eeded to

,

devour .

Then B oule de S uif in low humble tones in v ited , , ,

t h e nuns to p artake o f her repast T he y both .

a ccepted the o ff er un h esitatingly and a fter a f ew ,

stammered words o f thanks began to eat qui c kl y ,

w ithout raising their ey es Neither did Com udet .

r efuse h is neighbour s o ff er and in combination ’

, ,

w ith the nuns a sort o f tab le was form ed by op en

,
 BALL OF TA LLOW 19

in g out the ne w spa p er ov er th e four p airs of

knee s .

M ouths kept op ening and sh utting f eroc i ou sl y ,

masticating and devouring the food Loiseau in .

,

h is co m er was hard at work and in lo w tone s urge d

, ,

his wife to follow his ex amNe She hel d out for a .

lon g time but overstrained Nature gave w ay at last

, .

H er husband assuming his politest manner asked

, ,

their charming comp anion i f he might be allowe d

to Off er M adame Loiseau a smal l helping .

”
Wh y certainl y sir she re plied with an ami
, , , ,

abl e smile holding Out the dish

, .

When the first bottle O f c l aret was Op ened some

embarrassment was caused by the fa c t that there
was only on e drinking cup but th is was passed ,

f rom one to another after being wi ped Corn u det , .

a l one doubtless in a spirit Of gallantry raised to

, ,

his own lips that p art of the rim which was stil l
moist from those o f his fair neighbour .

Then surrounded by people who were eating and

, ,

well nigh su ff ocated by the Odour O f food the

-
,

C omte and Comtesse de Brév ille and M onsieur and

M adame Carré Lamadon endured that hateful form-

o f torture which has perpetrated the name Of Tan

’
talus All at once the manu facturer s young wi fe
.

h eaved a sigh which made every one turn and look

at her ; sh e was white as the snow without ; her
e y es closed her head fell forward ; she had fainted
,
.

H er husband beside h imself imp lored the hel p O f

, ,

h is neighbours No on e seemed to know what to do

.

’
until the elder o f the two nuns raising the p atient s ,
’
head placed B oule de S ui f s drinkin g cu p to her
,
20 G U Y DE M AUPA SSA N T

li p s and made her swallow a few dro p s O f wine

, .

T he pretty i nvalid moved Op ened her eyes smiled , , ,

and declared in a f eeble voice that she was all right

again But to p revent a recurrence o f the c atas
.
,

tr oph e the nun made her dri n k a cup ful O f claret

—
, ,

adding I t s j ust hunger that s what is w rong

’ ’

with you .

T hen Boule de Sui f blushing and embarrassed , ,

stammered looking at the f our p assengers who were

,

still f asting

M on D ieu if I might O ff er these ladies and gen

,

tlemen
She stopped short fearing a snub B ut Loiseau , .

co n ti n ued
Hang it all in such a case as this we are all
,

brothers and sisters an d ought to assist each other .

Come come ladies don t stand on ceremon y f or

, , ,
’
,
’
goodness sake ! DO we even know wh ether we
shall find a house in which to pa s s the night ? At
our present rate Of going we shan t be at TOtes til l ’

midday to morrow -
.

They hesitated no on e daring to b e the fi rst to

,

accept But the Coun t settled the question He

. .

tu rned toward the abashed girl and in his most dis ,

tin g u ished manner said :

We accep t gratefull y M adame , .

As usual it was only the fi rst step that cost The

, .

R ubicon o n ce crossed they set to work with a will ,

.

The basket was emptied It still contained a pé té .

de fore g ras a lark p ie a piece o f smok ed tongue

, , ,

C rassane pears P ont Lévequ e g ingerbread fancy

,
-
,

c akes and a cu p full Of p i c kled gherkins and Onions

,
 BA LL OF T A LLOW 21

B oule de S ui f l ike all women bein g very fon d

, ,

of in digestible things .

T hey could n ot eat this girl s p rovisions with ’

out speaking to he r SO they began to talk sti ffly

.
,

at first ; then as she seemed by no m eans forward

, ,

with greater freedom M e s dam e s de Bré ville and

.

C arré Lamadon who were accomplished wom en o f

-
,

the world w e re gracious and tactful The Count

, .

ess especially displayed that amiable con de sce n sion

c haracteristic Of great ladi e s whom no contact with

baser mortals can sull y an d was ab solut ely cha rm

,

ing But the sturdy M adame Lois eau who had the
.
,

soul Of a g en darm e continued morose speaking lit

, ,

tle and eating much .

Conve rsatio n naturally turned on the war Ter .

ribl e stories w e re told about the P r u ssia n s deeds O f ,

bravery w e r e recounted O f the Fr ench ; and all thes e

p eople who w e r e fl eeing t hem selves w ere ready to
pa y homage to the courag e Of their compatriots .

P ersonal exp eri ences soon follo wed and Boule de ,

S uif related with genuin e emotio n and with that ,

warmth O f language n ot uncommon in women O f

her class and temperament how it came about that ,

she had l eft R ouen .

I thought at first that I should be abl e to stay ,

sh e said M y house was well stocked with pro

.

visions and it seemed bett e r to put up with feeding

,

a f e w soldi e rs than to banish myself goodness knows

where Bu t wh en I saw thes e P russians it was too
.

much f or me ! M y blood boiled with rage ; I wept

th e whol e da y for very shame Oh i f only I had .
,

been a man ! I look ed at them f rom m y window

22 G UY DE M A U PA SSA N T

the fat swine with their pointed helmets

,
—and m y
maid held my hands to keep me from throwing my
furniture down on them Then some Of them were .

quartered on me ; I flew at the throat O f the first on e

who entered The y are j ust as easy to strangle as
.

other men ! And I d have been the death O f that

’

one i f I hadn t been dragged away from him by

’

my hair I had to hide after that And as soon as

. .

I could get an Opportunity I l eft the plac e and here ,

I am .

S he was warml y congratulated She rose in the .

estimation O f her comp anions who had n ot been ,

so brave ; and Corn u det listened to her with the

approving and benevolent smil e O f an apost l e the ,

smile a pri e st might wear in l istening to a disci p le

p raising G od ; f or long bearded democrats O f his-

type have a monopoly Of patriotism j ust as priests ,

have a monopol y O f religion He h eld forth in .

turn with dogmatic self assurance in the style o f

,
-
,

the proclamations daily pasted on the walls Of the

town winding u p with a specimen Of stump oratory
,
“
in which he revi l ed that besotted fool of a Louis
”
Napoleon .

B ut B oule de Sui f was indign ant for she was an ,

a rdent B onapartist S he tu rned as red as a cherry

.
,
“
and stammered in her wrath I d j ust like to ’

—
have seen you in his p lac e you and your sort .

There would have been some sense in that It was .

y o u who betra y ed that man It would be im pos .

sible to l ive in France i f we were governed by suc h

”
rascal s as you !
Cornu det unmoved by th is tirade still smile d a
. ,
24 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

p ied by Boule de S ui f and Corn u det ; and Loise a u ,

p eering into the gloom fancied he saw the big

, ,

bearded democrat move hastily to on e side as i f ,

he had received a well direct ed though noiseless

-
, ,

blow in the dark .

Tiny lights glimmered ahead It was TOtes

‘

. .

The coach had b een on the road eleven hours which , ,

with the three hours allotted the horses in four

p eriods f or f eeding and breathing made fourteen , .

It entered the town and stopped before the H Otel

,

du Commerce .

The coach door Op ened ; a well known noise made -

all the travell ers start ; it was the clanging o f a

scabbard on the pavement ; th en a voice called out
som ething in G erman .

Although the coach had come to a standstill n o ,

on e g ot o u t ; it look e d as if th e y w e r e afraid Of

b e ing murde red the mom en t th ey l e ft th e i r seats .

Ther e upon the driv er appea re d holding in his hand ,

on e Of his lant e rns which cast a su dd en glow on

,

the int erior Of the coach lighting up the doubl e ,

row Of startled faces mouths agape

,
.

B eside the driver stood in the full light a G erman

o ffi cer a tall young man fair and sle n d e r tightl y
, ,

incas ed in his u n iform like a woman in he r corset ,

his flat waxed cap tilted to on e side Of his head

, ,

maki n g him look lik e an E ng lish hotel run n er His .

exaggerated mustache long and straight an d taper

,

ing to a point at e ith e r end in a single blond hair

that could hardly be seen se em ed to weigh down ,

the co rners O f his mouth and give a droop to h is

l ip s
.
 B A LL OF T A LLO W 25

I n Alsatian French he requested the trave ll ers to

a light saying st ifli y :
,

Kin dly get down ladies and gentlemen

, .

The two nuns w er e th e first to Obey mani fest ,

ing the docility Of holy women accustomed to su b

mis sion on ev e ry occasion Next appeared the
.

Cou n t an d Cou nte ss followed by the manufacturer

,

and his wife after whom came Loiseau p ushing

, ,

his larger an d bett e r half before him .

”
G ood day sir he said to the Offi cer as he put
, ,

his foot to the ground acting on an impulse born

,

o f prud ence rath e r than Of politeness The other .

,

insolent like all in authority merely stared wi thout,

r eplying .

Boul e de Suif and Co rn udet though near the ,

door wer e the last to alight grave and dign ified

, ,

b e fore the e n emy Th e stout girl tried to control

.

herself an d appear calm ; the democrat stroked his

long ru sset b eard w ith a somewhat tr embli ng hand .

Both strov e to mai n tain the ir dign ity knowing well ,

that at such a tim e each individual is always look ed

upon as more or less typical Of his n atio n ; and also , ,

res enting the complaisant attitud e Of th eir com "

panions Boule de S u if tri e d to w ear a bolder f ront

,

than her n eighbours the vi rtuous women while

, ,

he fe eling that it was incumb en t on him to set a

,

good exa mple k ept up the attitude Of re sista n ce

,

which he h ad first as sumed when he undertook to

mine the highroads round R ou en .

They en tered th e spaciou s kitc he n Of the inn and ,

the G erman h avi n g d ema n d ed th e p as sports si gned

,

b y the gene ral in command in which were men ,

26 GUY DE M AUPA SS A N T

tion ed the name d e scription and profession O f each

, ,

travell e r inspect ed them all minut ely compar ing

, ,

their appearanc e wi th the written particulars .

”
Then he said brusqu ely : All right and turned ,

on his he el .

They breathed f reely All were still hungry ; so

.

supper was ord ered Half an hour was required

.

f or its preparation and whil e two servants were

,

apparently engaged in getti n g it ready the travellers

went to look at their room s These all op ened O ff .

a long corridor at the en d Of which was a glazed

,

door with a number on it .

They were j u st about to take their seats at tabl e

wh en the innk eep e r appeared in pe rson He was .

—
a form e r horse dealer a large asthmatic indi ,

vidual always wh eezing coughing an d clearing

, , ,

his throat Follen v ie was his patronymic

. .

H e asked
M ad emois elle E l isabeth R ousset ?
B oul e de Suif start ed and turned round ,
.

”
That is my name .

M ademoi selle th e P russian Offi cer wishe s to

,
”
sp eak to y ou immediately .

”
TO me ?

Yes ; if you are M ademoiselle Eli sabe th R ou s

set .

She hesitated re fl ected a moment an d then de

, ,

c lar ed roundly :

That may be ; but I m not going ’

.

They moved restlessly around her ; every on e

w ondered and sp eculated as to the ca use o f thi s
o rder T he Count app roached
.
 BALL OF TA LLOW 27

You are wrong M adame f or y our re fu sal may

, ,

b ring trouble not onl y on y ourself but a l so on a l l ,

y our companions It never pay s to resist those in

.

a uthority Your comp liance with this request c an

.

n ot possibly be fraught with an y danger ; it has

p robably been made because some formalit y or o ther

”
w as forgotten .

All add ed their voices to that O f the Count ;

B oule de Sui f was begged urged l ectured and at , , ,

l ast convi n ced ; every one was afraid of the compli

c ations which might result from headstron g actio n

o u her part S he said finall y

.

“
I am doing it for your sakes remember that ! ,

The Count ess took her hand .

And we are grateful to you .

She l eft the room All waited f or her retu rn

.

b efor e comm encing the mea l E ach was distressed .

that he or she had not been sent f or rather than this

i mpulsive quick t emp ered gi rl and each mentall y
,
-
,

rehearsed platitudes in case of being summoned

a lso
.

But at the end o f ten minutes she reappear ed ,

breathing hard crimson with indignation

, .

O h ! the scoundrel ! the scoundrel ! she stam

mered .

All were anxious to know what had happ ened ;

but she d ecli n ed to e nlighten th em and wh en the ,

Count pressed the point she silenced him with mu ch

di gn ity saying
,

No ; the matter has nothing to do with you an d ,

”
I cannot speak Of it .

Then they took their places round a high sou p

28 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

tu reen f rom which issued an odour o f cabbage In

, .

s p it e O f this coincidence the supp er was cheerfu l

, .

T he cider was good ; the Loiseau s and the nuns

drank it from motives o f economy The others .

ordered wine ; Corn u det demanded beer He had .

his own fashion O f uncorking the bottle and making

the beer foam gazing at it as he incline d his glass
,

and then raised it to a position be tween the lam p

and his ey e that he might j udge of its colour .

When he drank his great beard which matche d the

, ,

c olour o f his favorite beverage seemed to tremble

,

with a ff ection ; his e y es positively squinted in the

endeavour not to lose sight Of the beloved glass ,

and he looked f or all the world as if he w ere f ulfill

ing the only function f o r which he was born He .

seemed to have establish ed in his mind an afli n ity

—
between the two great passion s o f his li f e pale ale
—
and revolution and assuredly he could no t taste the
one without dreaming o f th e other .

M onsieur and M adame Fo llen vie dined at the

end of the table The man wheezing like a broken
.
,

down locomotive was too short winded to talk when

,
-

he was eati n g B ut th e wife was n ot sil ent a mo

.

ment : she told how the P russians had impressed

her on their arrival what they did what they said ;
, ,

execrating them in the first place because they cost

her money and in the second because She had two
,

sons in the army She addressed herself p rinci p all y

.

to the C ountess flattered at the opp ortunit y o f tal k

,

ing to a lady of quality .

Then she lowered her voice and began to broach

,

del i ca te subj ects .H er husb and interrup ted her .

 BALL OF T A LLO W 29

You wou ld do we l l to hold you r ton gue Ma ,

dame Follen vie .

B ut she took no notice o f him an d went on ,

Yes M adame these G ermans do nothing but

, ,

eat potatoes and pork and then pork and po tatoes , .

A nd don t imagine for a moment that they ar e

’

c lean ! NO indeed ! And if only y ou saw them

,

d rilling for hours indeed for days together ; they

, ,

a ll col l e c t in a fie l d then the y do nothing but marc h

,

b ackward and forward and wheel this wa y and ,

t hat
. I f onl y they would cultivate the land or ,

r emain at home and work on their highroad s !

R eally M adame these soldi e rs are of no earthly
, ,

u se ! Poor p eople have to feed and keep them on ly ,

in order that they may learn how to kill ! True I ,

am onl y an O ld woman with no education but wh en ,

I see them wearing th em selv e s out marching abou t

from morning till n ight I say to my self : Whe n
t here are peopl e w ho make discov e rie s that are o f
u se to peopl e why sho u ld oth e rs tak e so much tro u
,

ble to do harm ? R eally now isn t it a ter rible , ,

’

thing to kill people wheth e r they are P russians or

, ,

E nglish or P oles o r Fr ench ? If we revenge ou r

, ,

selves on any on e who inj u r e s us we do wrong and ,

are pun ished f o r it ; but when ou r sons are shot

down lik e partridg e s that is all r igh t an d d ecora ,

tions are giv en to the man who kill s the most No .

,

indeed I shall n ev e r be abl e to understand it

, .

Corn u det raised his voic e

War is a barbarous proceeding wh en we attack
a p eaceful neighbour but it is a sacred duty when
,
’
un derta ken in defense of on e s country .
3 0 G UY DE M A UPA S SA N T

The O ld woman looked down .

’
Yes ; it s another matter when on e ac ts in sel f
defe n se ; but would it n o t be bette r to kill all the
kings seeing that they make war j ust to amuse
,

themselves ?
Co rn u det s eyes kindled
’
.

”
Bravo citizens ! he said
, .

M onsieur Carré Lamadon was re fl ecting p ro

-

f ou n dly Although an ard ent admirer Of gr eat g en

.

erals
’
the peasant woman s sturdy common sense
,

ma de him r efl ect on th e wealth which might accrue

to a country by the employment of so many idle
ha n ds n ow maintained at a great exp ense of so ,

much unpro ductiv e forc e if th ey w ere employed in ,

thos e gr eat in du strial enterp rises which it will take

c enturies to compl e te .

But Lois eau leaving his seat went over to the

, ,

innk eeper an d be g an chatting m a low voice The .

big man chuckle d cough ed sputter ed ; his e normous

, ,

carcas e shook with m erriment at the pleasantries Of

the oth e r ; and he end ed by buying six casks o f
c laret from Loiseau to be delivered in spring after ,

the d eparture of the P russians .

The moment supper was over every one went to

bed worn out with fatigue
,
.

But Loiseau who had been making his Observa

,

tions on the sly sent his wife to bed and amused

, ,

hims elf by p lacing firs t his ear then his eye to , ,

the bedroo m keyhole in order to discover what he

,
”
c a l led the mysteries O f the corridor .

At the end o f about an hour he heard a ru s tl ing ,

p eep ed ou t quickly and caught sight Of Boule de

.
32 G UY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Then si l ence reigned throughout the house But

—
.

soon there arose from some remote p art it might

easil y have been either cellar or attic — a stertorous ,

monotonous regular snoring a dull prolonged ru m

, , ,

bling varied by tremors like those of a boiler under

,

p ressure o f steam M onsieur Follen vie had gone to

.

sl ee p .

As the y had decided on starting at eight o c lock ’

the next morning every one was in the kitchen at

,

that ho u r ; but the coach its roof covered with snow , ,

stood by itself in the middle of the yard without ,

either horses or driver They sought the latter in .

,
—
the stables coach houses a d barns but in vain
n -
, .

S O the men o f th e party resolved to scour the coun

try f or him an d salli ed forth Th ey found th em
, .

selves in the square with the church at the farther

,

side and to right and l e ft lo w roof ed houses wh e re

,
-

there were some P russian sol diers The first sol .

dier th ey saw was pe eling potatoes The second .

,

farther on was washing ou t a barber s shop An

,
’
.

other bearded to the eyes was fondling a cryi ng

, ,

infant and dandling it on his knees to quiet it ; and

,

the stout p easant women whose men folk were f or ,

-

the most part at the war were by means O f sign s , , ,

t elling their obedient conquerors what work the y

were to do : c hOp wood prepare soup grind c o ff ee ;
, ,

one o f them even was doing the washing for his

hostess an infirm O ld grandmother
, .

The Count astonished at what he saw ques

, ,

tion ed the beadle who was coming out of the p re s

,

byt ery The old man answered

.

O h those men are not at all a bad sort ; the y

,
.
 BALL OF TA LLOW 33

are not Prussians I a m told ; they c ome f rom some

,

w here farth e r off I don t exa c tly kno w where

’
, .

A nd the y have a ll l eft wive s and c hildren behind

t hem ; the y are n ot fond o f war either you may be ,

sure ! I am sure they a re mourning f or the men

where they came from j ust a s we do here ; and the ,

war causes them j ust a s mu c h unhappines s as it

does u s As a matter of fact things are not so
.
,

v ery bad here j ust now because the soldi ers do no ,

harm and work j ust a s i f they were in their own

,

h ouses Y ou see si r poor fo lk alway s help on e

.
, ,

another ; it is the g reat ones o f this world who

make war .

Co rn u det indign ant at th e f riendly understand

,

ing established betw een conquerors and conquered ,

w ithdrew preferring to shut himself up in the inn

, .

”
They are repeop ling the country j ested Loi ,

seau .

They are undoing the harm the y have done ,

said M onsieur Carré Lamadon gravel y -

.

But they could not find the coach driver At .

l ast he was discovered in th e village café f raterniz ,

in g cordially with the o ffi cer s orderly

’
.

Were you not told to harness the horses at

”
eight o clock demanded the Count
’
? .

O h yes ; but I ve had di ff erent orders sin c e

,
’
.

”
What orders ?
Not to harness at all .

Wh o gave you such orders ? "

Why the P russian Ofli cer

,
”
.

? ”
B ut why
I don t know GO and ask him I am f orbidden
’
. .
34 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T
’
to harness the horses so I don t harness them ,
’ ”
that s all .

”
D id he tell y ou so himself ?
No sir ; the innkeep er gave me the order from
,

”
When ?
La st evening j ust as I was going to b ed, .

The three men returned in a very uneasy f rame

o f mind .

They asked f or M onsieur F ollenvie but the serv ,

an t replied that ou accoun t of his asthma he never

’

g ot up before ten o clock They were strictly for .

bidden to rouse him earlier except in case o f ,

fire .

They wished to see the Offi cer but that also was ,

impossible although he lodged in the inn M on

, .

sieur Follen vie alone was authorized to int e rvi ew

him On civil matters S o they waited The women . .

r eturned to their rooms and occupied thems elves ,

w ith trivial matters .

Corn u det settled down beside the tall kitchen fi re

pl ace before a blazing fire He had a small table
,
.

and a j 11g o f beer placed beside him and he smoked

—
.
,

his p ipe a pipe which enj oyed among democrats a

consideration almost equal to his own as though it ,

had served its country in serv ing Corn udet It was .

a fine meerschaum admirably coloured to a black ,

’
the shade of its owner s teeth but sweet smelling ,
-
,

gracefull y c urved at home in its master s hand and

,
’
,

comp leting his physiognomy And Corn u det sat .

motionless his eyes fixed now on the dancing

,

fl ames now on the froth which crowned his beer ;

,
 BALL OF TA LDOW 35

an d a fte r each draught he passed his l ong thin ,

fi ngers with an air o f satis fac tion th rou gh his l ong ,

greasy hair as h e su ck ed the foam f rom h is mus

,

tache .

Loiseau under p retence o f stret ch ing his legs

, ,

went out to see i f he c ould sell win e to the c ountry

de alers The Count and the manufacturer began to
.

talk politics The y forecast the future of France

. .

O ne beli eved in the O rleans dynasty the other in

—
,

a n un known saviour a hero who should rise up in

the last extremity : a D u G uesc lin perhaps a Joan ,

o f Arc ? or another Napoleon the First ? Ah ! i f

o nl y the P rince Imperial were not so y oung ! Cor
n u det listening to them smiled li k e a man who
, ,

holds the key s o f desti n y in his hands H is p ip e .

p erfumed the whole kitchen .

As the clock struck ten M onsieur Follenvie ap ,

p e a re d He
. was immediately surrounded and ques
tion ed but could onl y repeat three or four times in
, ,

s uccession and without variation the words

, ,
“
The O fli cer said to me j ust like this : M on ,

sieur Fo llenvie you will forbid them to ha rness up

,

the coach f or those travellers to morrow They are -

.

n o t to start without an order f rom me You hear ? .

’
That is su fli cien t .

Then they asked to see the o ffi c er The Count .

s ent him h is card on which M onsieu r C arré Lama

,
-

don also inscribed his name and titles The P rus .

s ian sent word that the two men would be admitte d

—
to see him after his luncheon that is to sa y about ,
’
one o clock .

The l adies reapp eared and they a ll ate a l itt le

, ,
3 6 GUY DE M AUPA SS A N T

in sp ite of their anx iety B oule de S ui f a pp eared

.

i l l and v ery much worried .

T hey were finishing their co ff ee when the orderly

came to fetc h the gentlemen .

Loiseau j oined the other two ; but when the y

tried to get Cornu det to accomp any them by wa y ,

of addi n g greater solemnity to the occasion he de ,

c lared p roudl y that he would never have an y thing

to do with the G ermans and resuming his seat in

, ,

the c hi mney c orner he called for another j ug of

,

b eer .

T he three men went upstairs and were ushered ,

into the best room in the inn where the O fficer re ,

c eiv ed them lolling at his c ase in an armchair h i s ,

f eet on the mantelpiece smoking a long porcelain

,

p ipe and enveloped in a gorgeous dressing gown

,
-
,

doubtless stolen from the deserted d wellin g of som e

c itizen destitute o f taste in d ress He neither rose .
,

g reeted them nor ,

even glanced in their directio n .

H e aff orded a fine example of that insolence o f

b earing whi c h seems natural to the victorious so l
dier .

After the l a p se o f a few momen ts h e said in his

h a lting Fren c h
”
What do you want ?
We wish to start on ou r j ourne y sai d the ,

Count .

NO .

”
M ay I ask the reason o f y ou r refusal ?
”
B ec ause I don t choose ’
.

I would respectfully call your attention Mon ,

sieur to the fact that your genera l in command

,
 BA LL OF TA LLOW 37

gave us a permit to p roc eed to D iepp e ; an d I do

not think we have done anyt hin g to deserv e th i s
ha rshness at your hands
I don t choose—that s all You may go
.

’ ’
. .

Th ey bowed an d reti red , .

The afternoon was wretched T he y could not .

understand the caprice o f this G erman an d the ,

strangest ideas came into their heads They all con .

g gr e at e d in the kitchen and talked the,

subj ect to
death imagini ng all kin ds of unlikel y things P er
, .

—
h aps they were to be kept as hostages but for wha t
reason or to be extradited as prisoners o f war or
? ?

po ssibl y the y were to be held for ransom ? The y

were panic struck at this last supposition
-
Th e .

richest among them were the most alarmed seein g ,

themselves forced to empty bags o f gold into th e

i nsolent sol dier s hands in order to bu y back thei r
’

l ives They racked their brains f or p lausible lie s

.

whereb y the y might conceal the fact that they were

rich and pass themselves O ff as poor—very poor
, .

Loiseau took off his watch chain and put it in his ,

p ocket The approach of night increased their ap

.

p rehensions The . lamp was lighted and as i t ,

w anted y et two hours to dinner M adame Loiseau

p ropose d a g ame o f tr en te at a n It would distract .

t heir thoughts The rest agreed and Corn u det him

.
,

s elf j oined the party first putting out his pipe

— —
.
,

T he Count sh uffl ed the card s dealt and Boule

d e S ui f had thirty on e to star t with ; soon the inter
-

est o f the game assuaged the anxiety of the pla yers .

Bu t Co rn u det notice d that Loi se a u an d his wi fe

were in l eagu e to c heat .
38 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

The y were about to sit down to dinner w h en

M onsieur Follen v ie appeared and in his g ratin g ,

v oice announced :
The P russian Ofli cer sends to ask M ademoisell e
E lisabeth R ousset if she has changed her mind
”
y et .

Boule de S uif stood still pale as death Then , .

,

suddenl y turning crimson with anger she gasp ed ,

ou t

Kindly tell that scoundrel that cur that car , ,

rion o f a P russian that I will never consent—you

,
”
u nderstand never never never !
-
, ,

The fat innke eper left the room Then B oule de .

Suif was surrounded questioned entreated on all

, ,

sides to reveal the mystery of her visit to the Officer .

She refu sed at first ; but her wrath soon g ot the

b etter O f her .

What does he want He wants to make me his

?

mistress ! she cried .

No one was shocked at the word so g reat was ,

the general indignation Corn u det broke his j ug as

.

he banged it down on the table A l oud outcry arose .

against this base soldier All were furious They . .

drew together in common resistance against the foe ,

as if some part of the sacrifice exacted of Boule de

Suif had been demand ed O f each The Count de .

c lar ed with supreme d isgust that those people be

, ,

haved like ancient barbarians The women above .

,

all man ifested a lively and tender sympathy f o r

,

B oule de Sui f The nuns who appeared only at

.
,

meals cast down their eyes and said nothing

, ,
.

T hey dined however as soon as the fi rst indig

, ,
40 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

s omethin g better to do in wandering round the ,

c oach .

Luncheon was a gloomy a ff air ; and there was a

g eneral coolness toward Boule de Suif for ni ght , ,

w hich brings counsel had somewhat modified the ,

j udg m ent Of her companions In the cold light o f .

th e morning the y almost bore a grudge against th e

gir l for not having secretly sought out the P rus
sian that the rest o f the part y might receive a j oy
,

f ul surprise when they awoke What more simple ? .

B esides who would have been the wiser ? S he

,

might have saved appearances by telling the offi cer

that she had tak en pity on their distress Such a .

step would be of so little consequence to her .

But n o one as y et con fessed to such thoughts .

In the afternoon seeing that they were all bored

,

to death the Count proposed a walk in the n eigh

,

bou rhood of the village E ach on e wrapped himsel f

.

up well and the little party set out l eaving behin d

, ,

onl y Corn u det wh o preferred to sit over the fire

, ,

an d the two nuns who were in the habit o f s p endin g

,

t h eir day in the church or at the presby tery .

T he cold which grew more intense each day al

, ,

most froze the noses and ears of the pedestrians ,

their feet began to pain them so that each step was

a pe n ance and when the y reached the O p en countr y
,

it l ooked so mournful and depressing in its l imitles s

mantle O f white that they all hastily retraced their
steps with bodies benumbed and heart s heavy
, .

The four women walked in f ront and the three ,

men followed a little in their rear .

Loiseau who saw perfectl y well how matters

,
 BA LL OF TA LLOW

stood ask ed suddenly i f that trol lop were goi ng

,

to keep them waiting much longer in this God for -

”
sak en spot The Count alway s courteous re p lied
.
, ,

that they could not exact so p ain ful a sacrifi ce f rom

any woman and that the fi rst move must c ome f rom
,

h ersel f M onsieur Carré Lamadon rema rked that

.
-

if the French as they talked o f doing made a coun

, ,

ter attack by way o f D iepp e their encounter with ,

the enemy must inevitably take plate at TOtes T hi s .

reflection made the other two anxious .

Supposing we escape on foot ? said Loisea u .

The Count shrugged his shoulders .

How can you think O f such a thing in this ,

snow ? And with our wives ? Besides we should ,

be pursued at once overtaken in ten mi n utes and

, ,

brought back as prisoners at the merc y o f the sol

”
diery.

This was true enough ; the y were silent .

The ladies talked Of dress but a certain c onstraint ,

seemed to prevail among them .

Suddenly at the end Of the street the offi cer ap

, ,

p ea r ed . His tall wasplike, uniformed figure w a s ,

o utlined against the snow which bounded the

horizon and he walked knees apart with that mo
, , ,

tion peculiar to soldiers who are always anx iou s,

not to soil their care fully polished boots .

He bowed as he passed the ladies then glanced ,

scorn fully at the men who had su flic ien t di gnity

‘
,

not to raise their h ats though Loiseau made a ,

movement to do so .

Boule de S uif flushed crimson to th e ears an d ,

th e three married women f e l t unutterabl y h umili

42 GUY DE M AU PA S SA N T

ated at being met thus by the soldier in compan y

with the girl whom he had treated with such scant
c eremon y .

The n th ey began to talk about him his figure and , ,

his f ace M adame Carré Lamadon w h o had known

.
-
,

many O ffic e rs and j udged th em as a connoisseur ,

thou g ht him n ot at all bad looki n g ; she even re

-

g r ette d that he was not a Frenchman b ecause i n ,

that case he would have made a v ery handsome hus

sar w ith whom all the wome n would assuredl y hav e
,

f allen in love .

When the y were once more withi n doors they

did n ot know what to do with themselves Sharp .

w ords even were exchanged apropo s o f the merest

t r ifl es The silent dinner was quickly over and
.
,

each one went to bed early in the hope Of sl eeping ,

and thus killing time .

They came down next morning with tired faces

and irritable tempers ; the women scarcel y spoke to
B oule de Suif .

A church bell summoned the faithful to a bap

ti sm . Boule de Suif had a child being brought up
by peasants at Yvetot She did n ot see him once a
.

y ear and never thought Of him ; but the idea Of the

,

c hild who was about to be baptized induced a sud

den wave Of tenderness f or her own and sh e in ,

sisted on being present at the ceremony .

As soon as she had gone out the rest of the com ,

pany looked at on e another and then drew their

c hairs together ; f or they realized that they mu st
decide on some course Of action Lo iseau had an .

in spiration : he propo sed that th ey should ask th e

 B A LL OF TA LLOW 43

O fli certo detai n Boule de S ui f only and to let the ,

rest depart on their way .

M onsieur Follenv ie was intrusted wi th this c om

mission but he returned to them almost immedi
,

ately The G erman who knew human nature had

.
, ,

shown him the door He inte n ded to keep all the .

travellers until his condition had been complie d

w ith .
4
Whereu pon M ad ame Loiseau s vu lgar temp era ’

ment broke bounds .

We re not going to die O f Old age here ! she

’

c ried ’
Since it s that vixen s trade to behave so ’

w ith men I don t see that she has any right to re

’

f use one more than another I may as well tel l you .

sh e took any lov e rs she could get at R —

ouen even
c oachmen ! Y es indeed M a dame the coach man
,
— ,

at the p refecture ! I know it f or a fact f o r he bu y s ,

his wine Of us And now that it is a question of

.

g etting us out Of a d i ffi culty she puts o n virtuou s

airs the drab ! For m y part I think this officer has

, ,

behaved very well Why there were three oth er s

.
,

o f us any one of whom he would undoubtedl y have

,

p referred But n o
. h e c ontents himself with the girl
,

wh o is commo n prop erty He respects marrie d .

w omen Just thi n k He is ma ster here He had

. . .

onl y to say : I wi sh it ! and he mi ght have taken

‘ ’

us b y force with the help Of his sol diers

,
.

The two other women shuddered ; the eyes o f

p retty M adame Carré Lamadon glistened and sh e -
,

g rew pale as if th e o
, ffi cer were ind eed in the a c t of
lay ing violent hands on her .

The men who had been d isc u ss in g the subj ect

,
44 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

a mong themselves drew near Loiseau in a state

, .
,

of furious resentment was f or delivering u p that

,
”
miserable woman bound hand and foot into the
, ,

enemy s power But the Count descended from

’
.
,

three gen erations of ambassadors and endowed , ,

moreover with the lineaments o f a diplomat w as in

, ,

favour of more tactful measures .

”
We must persuade her he said , .

Then th ey laid their plans .

T he women drew together ; they lowered their

voices and the discu ssion became general each giv
, ,

ing his or her o p inion But the conversation was

.

n ot in the least coar s e The ladi es in particular

.
, ,

were adepts at delicate phrases and charming sub

tleties of expression to describe the most improper
things A stranger would have un derstood n one Of
.

their allusions so guarded was the language they

,

employed But seeing that the thin veneer of mod

.
,

esty with which every woman Of the world is fur

n ish ed goes but a very little wa y below the sur face ,

they began rather to enj oy this unedifying episode ,

an d at bottom were hu g ely delighted — feeling them

selves ih their element furthering the schemes of
,

lawless love with the gusto o f a gourmand c ook who

p repares supper for another .

Their gayety returned of itsel f so amusing at last ,

did th e whole business seem to them The Count .

uttered several rather risky witticisms but so tact ,

full y were they said that his audience could not help
smiling Lois eau in turn made some considerabl y
.

broader j ok es but no on e took O ff ence ; and the

,

thought expr essed with such brutal directness by

 BALL OP TA LLOW 5

h is wi fe w as u ppermost in the m inds of all : S inc e

it s the girl s trade wh y should s h e re f use thi s man
’ ’
,

more than another ? ”

D ainty M ad ame C arré
Lamadon seemed to thi n k even th at in Bou l e de
“

S ui f s pl ace she would be less in cl ined to re fu se him

’

than another .

The bloc kade was as c are fully arranged as i f th ey

were investing a fortress Each agreed on the rOle
.

w hich he or she was to pla y the arguments to be ,

used the manoeuvres to be executed They dec ided

, .

on the p lan O f c am p aign the stratagems they w ere

,

to em pl oy and the surprise atta cks which w ere to

,

reduce this human c itadel and force it to recei ve th e

enemy within its walls .

B ut Corn u det remained apart f rom the rest tak ,

ing no share in the plot .

S o absorbed was the attention o f a ll that Bou l e de

Sui f s entrance was almost unnoticed
’
B ut the .

”
Count whispered a gentle Hush ! which made
the others look up She was there T hey suddenl y
. .

stopped talking and a vague embarrassment p re

,

vented them for a few moments from addressing

h er But the Countess more practiced than the
.
,

others in the wiles O f the drawing room asked her -

,
”
Was the baptism interesting ?
The girl still under the st ress o f emotion tol d
, ,

w hat she had seen and heard described the fac es , ,

the attitudes of those present and even the ap pear,

ance Of the church She concluded w ith th e

.

w ords
I t does one good to pray sometimes .

Unti l l unch time the ladies contented them selves

46 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

with being pleasant to her so as to mc rease her con ,

fi den c e and make her amenable to their advice .

As sOon as the y too k their seats at table the at

tack began First they opened a vague conversa
.

tio n on the subj ect O f self sac r ific e Ancient exam

-
.

ples were quoted : Judith and Holofernes ; then ir ,

rationall y enough Lucrece and Sextus ; Cl eopatra

,

and the hostile generals whom she reduced to abj ect

slavery by a surrender Of her charms Next was .

recounted an extraordinary sto ry born of the im ,

a g i n ation O f these ign orant millionaires which told ,

how the matrons of R ome seduced Hannibal his ,

lieutenants and all h is mercenaries at Capua They

, .

hel d up to admiration all those women who from

time to time have arrested the victorious progress
o f conquerors made of their bodies a fiel d o f bat
,

tle a m eans o f rulin g a weapon ; who have van

, ,

q u i sh e d by their heroic caresses hi deous o r d etested

beings and sacrificed their chastity to vengeance
,

a n d devotion .

All was said with due restraint and regard f or

p ropriet y
, the e ff ect heightened now and then b y an
o u tburst O f forced enthusiasm c a l culated to e x cite

emulation .

A listener would have thought at last that the

o ne rOle Of woman on earth was a p erp etual sacri

fi c e of her person a continual abandonment of her

,

s elf to the caprices o f a hostile soldiery .

The two nuns seemed to hear nothing and to be ,

l ost in thought Boule de Suif also was silen t

. .

During the whole afternoon she was left to her

r e fl ec tions .B ut instead of calling her M ad am e
48 GU Y DE M AUPA SS A N T

p roved herself bol d talkative bigoted She was

, , .

n ot troubled b y the ins and outs of casuistry ; her

d octrines were as iron bars ; her faith kne w no
doubt ; her conscience no scruples She looked on .

Abraham s sacrifice as natural enough f or she her

’
,

self would n ot have hesitated to kill both father and

mother i f she had received a divine order to th at
e ff ect ; and nothing in her opinion could disple as e
, ,

o u r Lord provided the motive were praiseworth y

, .

The Count ess putting to good use the consecrated

,

a uthority of her unexpected ally led her on to make ,

a lengthy and edifying paraphras e o f that axiom

enunciated by a certain school of moralists : Th e
end j u stifies the means .

”
Th en sister she asked
, , you thin k G od ac ,

c opts all methods and pardons the act when the

,
”
motive is pure ?

Undoubtedly M adame An action r ep rehen

,
.

sible in itself O ften derives merit from the though t

”
w hich inspires it .

And in this wise they talked on fathoming th e ,

w ishes Of Go d predicti n g His j udgments desc rib

, ,

ing Him as intere sted in matters which assured ly

c oncern Him but l ittle .

All was said with the utmost care and discretion ,

but every word uttered by the hol y woman in her

n un s garb weakened the indignant resistance o f the
’

c ourt esan Then the conversation drifted some

.

what and the n u n beg an to talk o f the convents o f

,

h er order Of her S uperior Of herself and O f her

, , ,

fragile little neighbour Sister St Nic éphor e They

, . .

had been sent for from Havre to nurse the hundreds

 BA LL OF TA LLOW 49

of o l dier s who were in h osp itals stricken with

s ,

small pox . S h e de sc ribed these wret c hed invalid s

and their malad y And while they themse l ves were
.
,

detained on their wa y b y the cap rices o f the P ru s

sian O ffi cer , scores of Frenchmen might be d yin g ,

w hom they wou ld otherwise have saved ! For the

3

n ursing o f so ldier s was the old nun s s pec ialt y ; she

’

had been in th e Crimea in Ital y in Austria ; and as

, ,

she told the story of her campai gn s she reveal ed

h erself as one of those holy sisters of the fi fe and

drum who seem designed by nature to follow cam p s ,

to snatch the wounded from amid the strife o f bat

tle and to quell with a word more e ff ectual ly than
, ,

any general the rough and insubordinate troopers

—a masterful woman her seamed and p itted face
,

i tself an image of the devastations of war .

NO one s poke when she had finished for fear of

spoiling the excellent eff ect Of her words .

As soon as the meal was over the travell ers re

tired to their rooms whence they emerged the fol
,

l owing day at a late hour Of the morning .

Luncheon passed O ff quietly The seed sown the .

p rece ding evening was being given time to germi

nate and bring forth f ruit .

In the afternoon the Countess proposed a walk ;

then the Count as had been arranged beforehand
, ,

took B oule de Suif s arm and walked with her at

’

som e distance behind the rest .

3

H e began talking to her in that familiar pater ,

n al slightl y contemptuous tone which men o f his

,

class adopt in speaking to women like her calling ,

her my dear chi ld and talking down to her from

”
,
50 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

the height O f his exalted soci a l position an d stain

less re p utation He came straight to the point :
.

So you prefer to leave us here exposed li ke ,

y o u rself to all the violence which would fol l ow on a

r e p ulse of the P russian troops rather than consent ,

t o surrender yourself as y ou have don e so man y ,

”
t imes in your life ?
The girl did not repl y .

H e tried kindnes s argu ment sentiment H e still

, , .

bo re himself as Count even while adopting when , ,

d e sirable an attitude of gallantry and making pret

, ,

ty—nay even tender

,
speeches He exalted the - .

s ervice she would render them S poke of their grati ,

t ude ; then suddenl y using the familiar

, thou ,
'

A n d y ou know my dear he could boast then , ,

o f having made a conquest of a pretty girl such as

”
h e won t Often find in his own country
’
.

B oule de Suif did not answer and j oined the rest ,

o f the part y .

As soon as they return ed she went to her room ,

a n d was seen no more The general anxiet y was at.

i ts he ight What would she do ? If she sti ll re

.

s isted how awkward f or them all !

,

The dinner hour struck ; the y waited for her in

v ain. At last M on sieur Follenvie entered announ ,

c ing that M ademoiselle R ousset was not well and

t hat they might sit down to table The y all p n cked .

u p their ears The Count drew near the innkee per

.
,

a n d whispered
”
Is it all right ?
”
Y es .

O ut of re gard for p rop ri ety he s a id n oth ing to

 BALL OF TA LLOW 51

h is c ompanions but merely nodded s l ightl y toward

,

them A great sigh of relief went up from all

.

breasts ; every face was lighted u p with j oy .

”
By G ad ! shouted Loiseau “
I ll stand ch am ,
’

p agne all round if there s an y to be found in this

’

”
p lace . And great was M adame Loiseau s disma y ’

when the pro p rietor came back with four bottles in

his hands They had all suddenly become talkative
.

and merry ; a lively j oy filled all hearts The Co unt .

seemed to p erceive f or the first time that M adame

Carré Lamadon was charming ; the manufacturer
-

paid compliments to the Countess The conversa .

tion was animated sprightl y witt y an d although

, , , ,

many of the j okes were in the worst p ossible taste ,

all the company were amused by them and none o f ,

—
fended indignation being dependent like o ther ,

emotions on surroundings And the menta l at

, .

mosphere had graduall y become filled with g ros s

imaginings and unclean thoughts .

At dessert even the women indulged in discreetl y

worded allusions Their glances were full o f
.

meaning ; they had drunk much The Count who .

,

even in his moments o f relaxation preserved a dig

n ifi ed demeanour hit on a much appreciated com
,
-

p arison o f the condition of things with the termina

tion o f a winter spent in the icy solitude o f the
North P ole and the j oy of shipwrecked mariner s
who at last p erceive a southward track O p ening out
before their eyes .

Loiseau fairly in his elem ent rose to his feet

, , ,

holding aloft a glass o f champa g ne .

I drink to our deliverance ! he shouted .

52 GUY DE M A UPASSA NT

All stood up and greeted the toast with a cclama

,

tion .Even the two good sisters y ielded to the so

l icitations of the ladies and c on sented to moisten ,

their lips with the foaming wine which they had ,

never before tasted The y declared it was lik e .

e ff ervescent lemonade but with a pleasanter flavour , .

“ ”
It is a pity said Loiseau , that we have no ,

p iano ; we might have had a quadrille .

Corn u det had not spoken a word or made a

movement ; he seemed plunged in serious thought ,

and now and then tugged furiously at his great

beard as if trying to add still further to its length
, .

At last toward midnight when they were about to

, ,

se p arate Loiseau wh ose gait was far from stead y

, , ,

suddenly slapped him on the back say ing thickl y ,

You re not j oll y to night ; wh y are y ou so silent

’
-
,
”
old man ?
Co rn u det threw back his head cast on e swift ,

and scornful glance over the as semblage and an ,

swered :
“
I tell yo u all you have done a n in famou s
,
”
thing !
He rose reached the door and repeating :
, In ,

famous ! disapp eared .

A chill fell on all Loiseau himself looked foo l

.

ish and disconcerted for a moment but soon recov ,

ered his aplomb and writhing with laughter ex

, , ,

cl aimed :
’ ”
R eally you re al l too green f o r an y thing !
,

P ressed for an explanation b e related the my s ,

”
f eries of the corridor whereat his listeners were ,

hugel y amused The ladies could hardl y c ontai n

.
 BALL or T A LLOW 53

their delight The Count and M onsieur Carré

.

Lamadon l aughed till they cried They could .

sc arce l y believe their ears .

What ! y ou are sure ? He wanted

I tell you I saw it with my own ey es .

And she refused ?

B eca u se the P russian was in the ne xt room!
”
S urely you are mistaken ?

I swear I m telling y ou the truth

’
.

T he Count was choking with laughter The man .

uf ac tu rer held his sides Loiseau continued

.

S O you ma y well imagine he doesn t thi nk this

’

evening s business at all a musing

’
.

And all three began to l augh again c hokin g , ,

coughing almost il l with me rr iment

, .

Then the y separated B ut M adame Loiseau who

.
,

w as nothing if not spiteful remarked to her hus ,

“
band as they were On the way to bed that that
stuck u p little minx of a Carr é Lamadon had
- -

laughed on the wrong side o f her mouth all the

”
evening .

Y ou know she said when women run after

, ,

uniforms it s all the same to them whether the men

’

w ho wear them are French or P ru s sian It s per ’

.

f ec tly sick ening !

The next morn ing the snow showed dazzlin g
white und er a clear wi n t er su n The coach ready .
,

at last wait ed befor e the door ; while a flock o f

,

white pigeons with pink ey es spott ed in the centre s

,

with black pu ff e d ou t their white feathers and

,

w alked sedately between the legs o f the six horses ,

p ic k ing at th e steami n g manure .

54 GUY DE M A UPASS A N T

The driver wrapp ed in his shee p skin coat was

, ,

smoking a p ipe on the box and all the passengers , ,

radiant with delight at their approaching departure ,

were putting up p rovisions for the remainder o f the

j ourney .

They were waiting onl y f or B oule de Suif At .

l ast she appeared .

She seemed rather shamefaced and embarrassed ,

and advanced with timid step toward her c ompan

ions who with one accord tu rned aside as if they
,

had n ot seen her The Count with much dignity

.
, ,

took his wife b y th e arm and r emoved her f rom the

,

unclean contact .

The girl stood still stu pefied with astonishment ;

,

then plucking up courage accosted the man u f ac

, ,
’
tu rer s wife with a humble Good morning M a ,
”
dame to which the other replied merely with a
,

slight and insolent nod accom p anied by a loo k of

,

outraged virtue Every on e suddenl y appeared ex

.

tremely busy an d kept as far from B oule de S ui f

,

a s if her skirts had been infected with some deadly

disease Then the y hurried to the coach followed
.
,

b y the despised courtesan who arriving last of al l

, , ,

silentl y took the place she had occu p ied durin g the
fi rst p art of the journey .

The rest seemed neither to see nor to know her

a ll save M adame Loiseau who glancing c ontemptu
, ,

ou sly in her direction remark ed ha lf aloud to h er

, , ,

husband
What a mercy I am not sittin g besid e that
”
c reature !
The lumbering vehicle sta rted on its way .
56 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

At the end of three hours Loiseau gathered up

the cards and re mark ed that he was hungr y
, .

His wife thereupon produced a parcel tied with

string from which she extracted a piece o f cold
,

vea l This she cut into neat thin slices and he

.
, ,

began to eat .

We may as well do the same said the Count ,

ess The rest agreed and sh e unpacked the p ro

.
,

visions which had been p repared f or herself the ,

Cou n t and the Carré Lamadon s In on e o f those

,
-
.

oval dishes the lids of which are decorated with an

,

earthenware hare by wa y o f showing that a game ,

pie lies wit hin was a succule n t delicacy consisting

,

of the brown flesh o f the game larded with streaks ,

o f bacon and flavoured with other meats chopped

fine A solid wedge o f G ruy e re cheese which had

.
,

been wrapped in a newspaper bore the imprint : ,

”
Items of News on its rich oily surface , , .

The two g ood sist ers brought to light a hunk of

sausage smelling stron gly o f garlic ; and Corn udet ,

p lunging bo th han ds at o nce into the capacious

p ockets o f hi s loose ov ercoat produced from on e ,

four hard boiled eggs and from the other a crust o f

-

bread He removed the shells threw them into

.
,

the straw beneath his f eet and began to devour the ,

eggs letting morsels o f the bright yellow yolk fal l

,

on his mighty beard where they looked like stars , .

Boule de Suif in the haste and confusion of her

,

departure had not thought o f anything an d stifling

, , ,

with rage she watched all the se p eople placidly eat

,

ing At first ill suppressed wrath s hook her whole

.
,
-

p erson and she opened her li p s to shriek the truth

,
 BALL OF TA LLOW 57

at them to overwhe l m them with a voll ey o f in

,

su lts ; but she could not utter a w ord so c h ok ed was ,

she with indignation .

No on e loo ked at her no one thought O f her She , .

felt herself swallowed up in the scorn o f these virtu

ou s creatures who had first sacrificed then rej ected
, ,

her as a thing useless and unclean Then she re .

membered her big basket full o f the good things

they had so greedil y devoured : the two chickens
coated in j ell y th e pies the pears the four bottles
, , ,

of claret ; and her fury broke forth like a cord t hat

is overstrained and she was on the verge o f tear s
,
.

She ma de terrible e ff orts at self control drew her -

,

self u p swallowed the sobs which choked her ; but

,

the tears ro se nevertheless shone at the brink of ,

her e y elid s and soon two heavy drops course d

,

slowly do wn her cheeks O thers followed more .

quickly like water filteri n g from a rock and fell

, , ,

one aft er a noth e r on h er rounded bosom She sat,

.

upright with a fixed express 1ou her face pale and

’

, ,

rigid hOpin g despe rately that no one saw her g ive

,

way .

But the Countess noticed that she was weeping ,

and wit h a sign drew her hu sband s attenti on to ’

t h e fact He shrugged his should ers as if to

.
,

s ay .

W ell what o f it It s n ot my fault

,
M adame ? ’
.

Loiseau chuckl ed triumphantly and murmured ,

She s weeping for shame

’
.

The two nuns had betaken themselves once more

to their pra y ers first wrapping the re mainder of
,

t h eir sausage in p ap er .
 GU Y DE M A UPA S S A N T

Then Co rn u det who was digesting his eggs

, ,

stretched his long legs under the opposite seat ,

threw himself back folded his arms smiled like a

, ,

man who has j ust thought o f a good j oke and be ,

gan to whistle th e M ar s eillaise .

The faces of his neighbours clouded ; the popular

air evidently did n ot find favour with them ; they
grew nervous and irritable and seemed ready to ,

howl as a dog does at the sound o f a barrel organ -

.

Corn u det saw the discomfort he was creating and ,

whi stled the louder ; sometimes he even hummed the

w ords :

A mou r sac r é de la pa tri e,

Con dms s ou ti ens n os bras veng eurs,
'

, ,

Li ber té, li ber té c hé r i e ,

Comba ts a vec ter def ens eu rs !

The coach progre ssed more swiftly the snow be ,

ing harder no w ; and all the way to D ieppe durin g ,

the long dreary hours o f the j ourney first in the

, ,

gathering dusk then in the t h ick darkness raisin g

, ,

his voice above the rumbling of the vehicle ; Cornu

det continued wit h fierce obstinac y his venge ance
and monotonous whistling forcing his weary and ,

exasperated hearers to follow the song from end to

end to recall every word o f ever y lin e as each was
, ,

repeated over and over again with untiring per

sistence.

A n d Boule de Suif still wept and sometimes a ,

sob she coul d n o t restrain was heard in the darknes s

between two ver ses o f the son g .

 W IF E A ND MISTR E SS

T w a s not alon e her long silk y c urls whi ch cov

, ,

ered her small fairy like head like a golden

,
-

halo nor her beautifu l complexion nor her

, ,

mouth which was like some delicate shell ; nor was

,

it her su p reme innocence shown by her sudden ,

blushes and her somewhat aw kward movements ,

n or was it her ingenuous questions which had be ,

sieged and conquered Georges d H ardermes s hea rt ’ ’

.

H e had a p eculiar disposition and any sus p icion o f ,

a bond frightened him and p ut him to fl ight imme

diately His unstable heart was ready to y ield to
.

any temp tation was incapable o f any l asting atta ch

,

ment and a succession of women had l eft no mo re

,

impression on it than on the sea sands which are -

constantly being swept by the waves .

His was not the dream of a life of a ff ec tion o f ,

p eace the need of loving and of being loved which

, ,

a fast man so often feels between thi rty and forty .

His insurmountable weariness of that circle o f

p leasure in which he had moved like a horse in a ,

circus the voids in his e x istence caused b y the mar

,

riag e o f his bachelor friends which in his selfish ,

ness he looked upon as desertion although he en ,

v ied them had at l ast induced him to listen to the

,
60 GU Y DE M A UPA SSAN T

p ray ers and a dvi c e o f his old mother an d to mar ry ,

M ademoiselle Suzanne de G ouv res B ut the vision .

t hat he had had when he saw her play ing with lit
tle children covering them with kisses and looking
, ,

at them wi th ecstas y in her lim p id eyes and in hear ,

ing her talk o f the pleasu res and the anguish that
those must feel who are mothers in the fullest sense
—
of the word the vision of a happy home where a ,

man feels that h e is living again in others o f that ,

home which is full of laughter and o f son g and ,

seems as if it were full of birds .

As a matt er O f fact he loved children as some

,

men love animals and he was interested in them as

,

i n some delightful spectacle ; the y attracted him .

He was very gentle kind and thoughtful with , ,

them invented games f or them took them on his

, ,

knees was never tired of listening to their chatter

, ,

or of watching the d evelopm ent o f their instincts o f ,

their intellect and o f their little delicate souls

, , .

He used to g o and sit in the Parc M onceau and ,

in the squares to watch them pla y ing and romping

,

an d prattling round him and one day as a j oke , , ,

somebody a j ealous sweetheart or some friends in

, ,

j oke had sent him a sp lendid wet nurse s ca p with

,
’
,

long pink ribbons .

At first he was under the influence of the charm

,

t hat S prings from the beginning of an intimac y ,

f rom the fi rst kisses and devoted himself altogether

,

to that amorous education which revealed a new l ife

to him as it were and enchanted him
, ,
.

He thought of nothing except of increasin g the

a rdent lov e th a t his wi fe bestowed on him an d ,
 W IFE A ND M ISTRESS 61

l ived in a state o f p erp etual adoration S uz ann e s .

’

fee lings the metamorphosis o f t hat virginal hea rt

, ,

w hich was beginnin g to gl ow with love and w hi ch ,

v ibrated her p assion her modesty her sensations

, , ,

w ere all delici ous surp rises to him .

H e felt that feverish p leasure o f a traveller who

h a s dis cov ered some marv ellous E den and loses his
head over it and at times with a long aff ectionate
, , ,

and p roud l ook at her which grew even wa rmer on

,
’
l ooking into Suzanne s limpid blue ey es he would ,

p ut his a rms round her waist and p ressing her to

,

him so strongl y that it hurt the y ou ng woman he ,

would exclaim
O h ! I am quite su re th at nowh ere on ea rt h
a re there two p eo pl e who lov e ea c h other a s we do ,

a nd who are as happy as you an d I are my dar ,

”
ling !
M onths o f uninterr upted pos session and enchant
ment succeeded e ach other without G eorges altering ,

a nd without a ny lassitude m ingl ing wit h the a rdour

of their love or the fi re of their a ff ec tion d ying out
, .

Then however suddenly he ceased to be happy

, , ,

and in spite of all his eff orts to hide his invincibl e

,

l owness o f spirits he became another man restless

, , ,

being irritated at not hing morose and bored at

, ,

everything and everywhere ; whimsi ca l and never ,

knowing what he wanted .

But there was certainly something that was now

p oisoning that a ff ection which had formerl y been
his delight which was coming more and more be
,

tween him an d his wife every day and which was ,

giving him a dista ste for home .

62 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

B y degrees that vague su ff ering assumed a defi

,

nite shape in his heart got implanted and fixed

“

there like a nail He had n ot attained his obj ect

,
.
,

and he felt the weight of chains understoo d that he ,

could n ever get used to such an existenc e that he ,

could not love a woman who seemed incapable o f

becoming a mother who lo wered herself to the part
,

o f a lawful mistress and who was not faithful to

,

him .

Alas ! To awake from such a dream to say to ,

him self that h e was r educe d to envy ing the good

fortune of others that he should never cover a little
, ,

curly smiling head with kisses where some striking

, ,

l ike n ess some undecided gleams of growing intel

,

lect fill a man wit h j oy but that he would be obliged

,

to take the remainder o f his j ourne y in solitude ,

heartbroken with nothing but old age around him ;

,

that n o branch would again spring from the family

tree and that on his death bed he should not have
,
-

that last consolation of pressing his dear ones for ,

whom he struggled and made so many sacri fi ces in ,

his failing arms and who were sobbing with grief

, ,

but that soon he should be the pr ey of indi ff erent

and greedy heirs who were discounting his ap
,

p ro a c h in g death like some valuable securit y !

G eorges had n ot told Suzanne the feelings whi ch
were tormenting him and took care that she shou l d
,

not see his state of unhappiness and he did not

w or ry her w
,

ith trying questions that on ly end in ,

some violent and distressing scene .

B ut she was too much of a wom an an d sh e l ov ed ,

her h u sba nd too much not to guess wh a t was mak

,
e
64 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

w ithout a l awsuit so tha t at lea st a l ittle friend

, , ,

ship ma y survive our lov e I s hal l l eav e .

P aris and go and l ive in the count ry wit h m y

mother . G od is m y witness however that , ,

I still l ov e you m y poor G eorges as much as ever

, , ,

and that I sh al l remain your wi fe whether I am ,

w ith y ou or se pa rated from you !

Georges hesitated for a few moments b e fore t e
plying w i th an uneasy sad look on his face and
, , ,

then said tu rning away his h ead

,

Yes p erhaps it will be best for both o f us !

,

They v oluntarily broke their marriage contract ,

a s she had heroically volunteered to do She kept .

her resolution exil ed herself buried herself in ob

, ,

sc u rity a cc epted the trial with calm fortitude and

, ,

was as resi gned as only faithful and devoted souls

can be .

The y wrote to each other and she deluded her ,

self p ursued the chimera that G eorges would re

,

tu rn to her wou l d call her back to his side wou l d

, ,

e sc ape from his former associates would under ,

stand of what dee p love he had voluntarily depri v e d

himsel f and wou l d love her again as he had for

,

m e rly loved her ; and she resisted all the entreatie s

and the advice of her friends to out such a false
p o siti on short and to institute a suit for divorce
,

against her husband as the issue would be certain,

‘

He at the end of a few months o f sol itude O f

, ,

evanes cen t love a ff airs when to b eguil e h is lon eli

,

n ess a m a n p ass es from the arms o f on e woman to

those of another had set up a ne w home and had

, ,

tied hims elf to a woman whom he ha d acci dentall y

 W IFE A ND M ISTRESS 65

met a t a p art y o f f riends and who had managed

, to
pl eas e him an d to am u s e him .

H is deserted wi fe was natu rally not l eft in ig

n oran c e of the fact an d sti fl in g her j ea l ous y and
,

her grief she p ut on a smile and thought that it

, ,

would be the same with thi s one a s it had been wit h

all his other ep hemeral mistres ses w hom her hus ,

band had succ essivel y got rid o f .

Was not that after all the best th ing to bring

, ,

about the issue which She l onged and ho p ed for ?

Would not that doubt ful p assion that c lose inti ,

macy ce rtainly make M onsieur d Hardermes com

,
’

p are the woman he po ssessed with the woman he

had formerly had and cause him to invoke that
,

lost p aradise and that heart f ull of forg iveness o f ,

l ove and o f goodness which ha d not forgotten him ,

but which would respond to his first app eal ?

And that confidence o f hers in a h app ier f utur e ,

which neither all the p roofs o f that connection in

which M onsieur d H ar dermes was becoming more
’

and more involved and which her friends so kindl y

,

furnished her with nor the disdainful silence with

,

which he treated all her gentle indulgent letters ,

could shake had something touching ange lic in it

, , ,

and reminded those who knew her well o f c ertain

p assages in the Liv es of the S ain ts .

At l ength howev e r the sympath y o f those who

, ,

h ad so oft e n tri ed to save the young woman to ,

cure her an d to open her eyes became exhausted

, , ,

and l eft to herself Suzanne proudly conti nued her

, ,

dream and absorbed herself in it

, .

Two inte rminabl e years ha d passed Since she had

66 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

l ived with M onsieur d Hardermes and sin c e h e h ad

’

p ut that hateful mistress in her place She had lost .

a ll trace o f them knew nothing about him and in

’

, , ,

spite of everything did n ot despair of seeing him

,

again an d r egaining her hold over him who c ould

, ,

tell when or by what miracle but surely befor e ,

those eyes which he had so loved were tired of shed

d ing tears and her fair hair which he had so often
, ,

c overed with k isses had grown white , .

And the arrival o f the postman every morning

an d evening made her start and shiver with n ew

ou sne ss .

O ne day however when she was going to Pari s

, , ,

M adame d H ardermes found herself alone in the

’

la dies carriage i n to which she had got in a hurry

’
, ,

with a pea sant woma n in her Sunday best who had ,

a child with pretty pink c heeks an d rosy lips and ,

which was like the dimpled cherubs that one sees

in pictures of the Assumption of the V irgin M ary ,

on her lap .

The nurse said a ff ectionate words to the child in a

c oax ing voice wrapped it up in the folds of her
,

large cloak sometimes gave it a noisy hearty kiss

, , ,

and it beat the air with little hands an d crowed ,

an d laughed with such pretty attractive babyish , ,

movements that Suza n ne coul d not help exclaimi n g :

”
O h ! th e pretty little thing ! and taking it into
her arms .

At fi rst the child was surp rised at th e strange

face and for a mome n t s eemed as i f it were going
,

to c ry ; but it became reassured immediately smiled ,

a t the strang er who l ooked at it so kin dl y inhal ed ,

 W IFE A ND M ISTRESS 67

the deli cate sc ent o f the iris in the bodice o f h er

dress with dilated nostrils and c uddled u p against
, ,

her .

T he two women began to talk and without , ,

knowing wh y M adame d Hardermes questioned the

,
’

nurse asked her where Sh e came from and where

, ,

she was taking the little thing to .

The other rather flattered that Suzanne admired

,

the c hild and took an interes t in it replied some , ,

what vaingloriousl y that S he lived at Bois le R oy ,

- -
,

and that her husband was a wagon er .

The child had been i n trusted to their care by some

p eople in Paris who appeared very happy and ex
,

t remely well off And the nurs e added in a draw !

.

ing voice :
P erhap s M adame you k n ow my master and
, ,

mist ess M onsieur and M adame d H ar dermes ?

r
,
’

Suzanne start ed with surprise and grief and gre w ,

as pale as if all her blood were streaming from some

wou n d an d thi n ki n g t hat S he had not heard cor

,

rec tly with a fix ed look and trembling lips she said

, , ,

S lowly as if every word hurt her throat

,

Y ou said M onsieur and M adame d H ar

,
’

dermes ?
”
Y es ; do y ou know them ?

I yes ,
formerly but it is a
long time ago .

She c ou l d scarcely sp eak and was as pale as ,

d eath ; sh e hardly knew what she was saying with ,

her eyes on this pretty child which G eorges must be ,

so fo n d o f .

S he saw them as if in a windo w which had sud,

68 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

den ly been li fted u p w h ere every th ing had been

,

dark before with their arms round each other and

, ,

radiant with happiness with that fair head tha t

, ,

divine dawn the living smiling p roo f o f their love

, , ,

between them .

The y would never leave each other ; they were

already almost as good as married and were rob ,

bing her Of the name which she had defended and

g uarded as a sacred depos it .

She would never succ e ed in breaking such bonds .

It was a shipwreck where nothing could survive ,

and where the waves did not even dri ft some shape
less waif and stray ashore .

And great tears rolled down her cheeks one by ,

one and w ett ed her veil

,
.

The train stopped at the station and the nurs e ,

scarcely lik ed to ask Suzanne f or the child who was ,

holding it agai n st her heaving bosom and kissing it ,

as if she intended to smother it and she said ,

I suppose the baby r emin ds you of one you have

lost my poor dear lady but the loss can be re
, , ,

paired at your age surely ; a second is as good as a

,

fi rst and if on e does n ot do one s sel f j us

,
’

tice
M adame d H ardermes gave her back the child
’

and hu rried out straigh t ahead of her like a hunted ,

animal and threw hersel f into the first cab th at She

,

saw .

She su ed for a divorc e and obta ined it , .

 S IM O N S PA PA
’

OO N had j ust struck Th e schoo l d oor opened

.

and the youngsters darted out j ostlin g ea ch ,

other in th eir haste to get out q ui ckly But .

instead o f p rom p tl y dispersing and goin g home to

dinner as usua l they stopped a few p aces ofi broke
, ,

up in to knots and began whispering

, .

The fact was that that morning S imon th e son ,

of La Blanchotte had for the fi rst time a ttended

, , ,

sc hoo l
.

They had al l o f them in their fami l ies heard talk

o f La Blan chotte an d although in publi c she was
,

welcome enough the mothers among themselve s

,

treated her with a somewhat disdain f u l c ompassion ,

which the c hildren had imitated with out in the leas t

kn owing w hy .

As f or S imon himself the y did not know him f or

, ,

he never went out and did not ru n about with the m

,

in the streets Of the village or along the banks of,

the ri ver And they did n ot c are f or him ; so it was

.
'

with a certain delight mingled with c onsiderabl e

,

astonishment that they met and repeated to eac h

,

other what had been said by a lad of fourteen or fi f

teen who app eared to kno w all about it so saga ,

ciously did he wi nk Y ou know

. S imon
”
w el l he has no p ap a
,
.
70 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Just then La Blanchotte s son a pp eared in the ’

doorwa y o f the school .

He wa s seven o r eight y ears Old rather pale very , ,

neat w ith a timid an d almost awkward manner

, .

He was starting home to his mother s house when ’

t he group s o f his schoolmates whisp ering and ,

watching him with the mischievous and heartless

eyes of ch ildren bent upon playing a nasty trick ,

gradually closed in around him and ended by sur

rounding him altogether There he stood in their
midst surp rised and em
.

, barrassed not understand ,

ing what they were going to do with him B ut the .

lad w ho had brought the news pu ff ed u p with the ,

success h e had met with already demanded ,

? ”
What is your name you ,
”
H e answered : Simon .

”
Simon what ? retorted the other .

The child altogether bewildered repeated

, ,
”
Simon .

The lad shouted at him : One is named Simon

something that is not a name
Simon indeed .

The child on the brink o f tears rep lied for the

, ,

third time
M y name is Simon .

The urchins began to laugh T he triumphant tor .

m entor cried You can see pl ainly that he has

”
n o pa p a .

A dee p si l ence ensued The c hildren w ere dum

.

founded by this extraordinary imp ossible mon

—
, ,

strous thing a boy who had not a p apa ; they

looked u pon him as a ph en omenon an unnatural ,

72 GUY DE M A UPASS A N T

an dcloser as though they the legitimate ones

, , ,

would smother by their p ressure on e who was ille

g itimate .

The boy who chanced to be next Simon suddenly

put his tong ue out at him with a moc king air and
shouted at him
No papa ! NO papa !
Simon seized him by the hair wi th both hands
and set to work to disable his legs with kicks whil e ,

he bit his cheek ferociously A tremendous strug .

gle ensued between the two combatants and Simon ,

fou n d himself beaten torn bru ised rolled on the

, , ,

ground in the midst o f the ring of applauding

schoolboys As he arose mechanically brushing
.
,

with his hand his little blouse all covered with dust ,

some one shout ed at him :

G o and tell your papa .

Th en he felt a great sinking at his heart They .

were stron ge r than he was they had beaten him , ,

an d he had n o answ er to give them f or he kne w ,

w ell that it was true that he had n o papa Full o f .

pride he att emp ted f or some moments to struggle

,

against the tears which were choking him He had .

a feeling of su ff ocation an d then without any sound

,

he commenced to weep with great shaking sobs A

, .

ferocious j oy broke ou t among his en emies and , ,

with on e accord j ust like savages in their fearful

,

festivals they took each other by the hand and

,

danced round him in a circle repeating as a refrain ,

“ ”
No p apa ! NO papa !
B ut sudd enly Simon ceased sobbing He became .

furious Th ere were stones under his feet ; he

.
 SI MON ’
S PA PA 73

p icked them up and with all his stren g th hurled

t hem at his tormentors Two or three were stru c k
.

a n d rushed O ff yelling and so formidable did he ap

,

p ear that the rest became panic stric ken Cowards -

.
,

a s the mob always is in presence of an e x asperated

man they broke up and fled Left alone the li ttl e

, .
,

f ellow without a father set off ru nning toward th e

fi elds f or a recollection had been awakened in him
,

which determined his soul to a great resolve He .

made up his mind to drown hims elf in the river .

He rem embered in fact that eight day s before

, ,

a poor devil who begged f o r his livelihood had

t hro wn himself into the water because he had no

more money .Simon had been there when they
fi shed him out again ; and the wretched man who ,

u sually seemed to him so miserable and ugly had ,

t h en struck him as being so peaceful with his p al e

c h e ek s his long drenched beard and his o p en e y e s
, ,

f ull o f calm The b y standers had said

.

”
He i s dead .

And some one had said

He is quite happy n ow .

A n d Simon wish ed to drown himsel f also be ,

c aus e h e had n o father j ust lik e the wretched bein g

,

who had n o money .

H e reached the water and watched it fl owing .

Some fish were sporting briskly 1n the clear stream

a n d occasionally made a li ttle bo und and ca ugh t

th e fli e s fl y ing on the sur face He sto pped c ryin g .

in order to watch them f or t h eir mance uv res inter

, .

e sted him greatly B ut at interval s as in a tempest

.
, ,

interv als o f c alm al tern at e sudd enly with treme u

74 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

dous g usts o f wind which snap O ff the trees and

,

then los e thems elves in the horizon this thought ,

would return to him with intense pain

“
I am going to drown my self because I have no
f
’
a
p p a

It was very warm fine weather The pleasant , .

sunshine warmed the grass The water shone like .

a mirror A n d Simon enj oyed some minutes o f

.

happiness of that languor which follows weeping

, ,

an d felt inclined to fall aslee p there upon the grass

in the warm sunshine .

A little green frog leapt from under his feet He .

endeavoured to catch it It escaped him He f ol . .

lowed it and lost it three times in succession At .

last he caught it b y one of its hind legs and began

to laugh as he saw the e ff orts the creature made to
escap e It gath e red itself up on its hind legs and
.

then with a violent spring suddenly stretched them

ou t as sti ff as two bars ; while it beat the air with

its front legs as though they were hands its round ,

eyes staring in their circle of yellow It reminded .

him of a toy mad e of straight slips of wood nailed

z igzag one on the other which by a similar mov e ,

ment regulated the movements o f the little sol diers

fastened thereon Then he thought of his home
.
,

an d then of his mother and overcome b y sorrow , , ,

he again began to weep A shiver passed over him . .

H e knelt down and said his prayers as before going

to bed B ut he was unable to finish them for
.
,

tumultuous violent sobs s h ook his whole frame

,
.

H e no longer thought he no longer saw an y thing ,

around him and was wholly absorbed in crying

,
.
 ’
SI M O N S PA PA 75

Suddenl y a heavy han d was placed u pon his

shoulder and a rough voi c e asked him
,

What is it that c auses you so mu c h grie f my ,

”
l ittle man ?
Simon turned ro und A tall workman with a .

beard and black c url y hair was staring at h im good

naturedly He answered with his ey es and throat
.

full of tears
They beat me bec au se I
hav e no papa no papa .

”
What ! said t h e man smiling ; wh y every , ,
”
body has one .

Th e child answered amid h is spasms of r ie f

But I I have none g .
’

Then the workman bec ame serious He had .

recog nized La Blanchotte s son and although him ’

, ,

self a new arrival in the neighbourhoo d he had a ,

vague idea of her histor y .

”
Well said he console yourself my boy and
, , , ,

c ome with me home to your mother They wil l .

”
give you a papa .

And so the y started on the way the big fellow ,

h olding the little fellow by the hand and the man ,

Smiled f or he was n ot sorry to see this Blan c hot te

, ,

who was it was said on e of the prettiest girls of

, ,

the countrysi de and perhaps he was saying to

, , ,

himself at the bottom of his heart that a lass who

, ,

had erred might very well err again .

T hey arrived in f ront of a very neat little w hite

house .

Th ere it is exclaimed the child and he c ried

, , .

M amma !
76 GUY DE M A U PA SSA N T

A woman app eared and the workman instantl y ,

left off smi l ing for he saw at on ce that there w as

,

no foo ling to be done with the tall p ale gi rl who

stood austerel y at her door as though to de fend

from one man the threshold o f that house where she

had alread y been betra y ed by another Inti midated .
,

h is cap in his hand he stammered out ,

See M adame I have brought you back your

, ,

l ittle boy who had lost himself near the river .

B ut Simon fl ung his arms about his mother s ’

n eck and told her as he again began to c ry

,

No mamma I wished to drown myself be cause

, , ,

the others had beaten me had b eaten me

because I have no papa .

A burning redness covered the young woman s ’

c heek s ; and hurt to the quick she embraced her

, ,

c hild passionatel y while the tea t s coursed down her

,

face The man much moved stood there not

.
, , ,

knowing how to get away B ut Simon suddenly .

ran to him and said

”
Will you be my papa ?

A deep silence ensued La Blanchotte dumb .

,

a nd tortu red w ith shame l eaned herself against ,

the wall both her hands upon her heart The child
, .
,

seeing that no answer was made him re plied ,

fi rml y
If you will not I shall go bac k and dro wn my
,

self .

The workman took the matter as a j es t and an

swer ed l aughing
,

Wh y yes c ertainly I will

, , .

”
What is your name w ent on the c hi l d so , ,
 SI M ON ’
S PA PA 77

that I ma y tell the others when th e y wish to know

”
y our name ?
”
P hilip answered the man
, .

Simon was silent a moment so th at he might get

the name well into his head then he stretc hed out
his arms qui te con soled as he said
, ,

Well then P hilip you are my papa

, , , .

The w orkman lifting him f rom the ground , ,

kissed him hastil y on both cheeks and then walked ,

a way very quickly with great strides .

When the child retu rned to school next day he

was received with a spiteful laugh and at the end ,
'

o f school when the lads were on the point of r e

,

commencing Simon threw these words at thei r

,
“
head s as he would have done a stone He is
”
named P hilip m y papa , .

Yells of delig ht burst out from all sides .

Philip w h o ? Philip what ? What on

earth is Philip ? Where did you pick u p yo ur
”
P hilip ?
S imon answered nothing ; and immovable in his ,

faith he defie d them with his eye rea dy to be mar

, ,

tyred rather than fly before them The school mas .

ter came to his rescue an d he returned home to his

mother .

D uring three months the tall workman Philip , , ,

f requ ently passed by La Blan chotte s house an d ’

,

som etime s he mad e bold to speak to her when he

saw h e r sewing near the window She a n swered .

him civilly always sedately never j oking with him

, , ,

n or permitting him to ent er her house Notwith .

st anding being like all men a bit of a c oxcomb he

, , , ,
7 8 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

i magi ned that she was o ften rosier than usua l w h en

s he chatted with h im .

B ut a lost reputation is so di ffi cult to regain and

a lways remains so fragile that in spite of the sh y ,

r eserve of La Blan c hotte the y alread y gossi p ed in ,

the neighbourhood .

As for Simon he loved his new pa pa very much

, ,

and walked with him nearl y every evening when

the day s work was done He went regularl y to
’
.

s c hool and mixed with great dignity with his

'

s c hoolfellows without ever answering them back .

O n e day however the lad who had first atta ck ed

, ,

h im said to him
“
Y ou have lied You h ave not a papa named
.

”
Philip .

”
Why do you say that ? demanded Simon mu ch ,

d isturbed .

Th e youth rubbed his hands He replied .

Because if you had on e he would be your

mamma s husband
’ ”
.

Simon was confused b y the truth o f this rea son

i ng nevertheless be retorted :
, ,

He is m y papa all the same , .

”
That can very well be exclaimed the urchin ,

with a sneer but that is not being your pa p a alto

,
”
g ether .

La Blan chotte s little one bowed his head and

’

w ent O ff dreaming in the direction o f the forge be

longing to O ld Loiz on where P hi li p worked , .

This forge was as though buried beneath trees .

It was very dark there ; the red glare o f a formi

d able furnac e alon e lit u p with g reat flashe s five
80 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

than one who much resp ected to d ay and who

is -
,
”
si nned every bit as much .

That is true responded the th ree men

”
, .

He resumed :
'
How hard she has toiled poo r th i ng to bring , ,

up her child all alone and how she has we p t a ll

,

these y ears she has never gone out e xc ept to c h u r ch ,

”
G od only knows .

This is also true said the oth ers , .

Then nothing was heard but the b ell ows which

f anned the fire of the furnac e P hili p hastily bent .

himself down to S imon

G O and tell y our mother that I am comi ng to
sp eak to her this evening .

Then h e pushed the child out by the Shou l ders .

H e return ed to his work and with a singl e blow the

,

fi ve hammers again fell upon their anvils Thu s .

they wrought the iron until nightfall strong po w , ,

er f u l happy like content e d hammers

, , B ut j ust as .

the great bell O f a cathedral resounds u pon feast

days above the j ingling of the other bells so Phil i p s ,
’

hammer sounding above the rest clanged sec on d

, ,

a fter second with a deafening uproar And he .

stood amid the fl y ing s park s p l ying his trade vig

orou sly .

The sky was ful l of stars as he knock ed at La

’
Blan ch otte s door He had on his Sunda y b l ouse
.
,

a c lean shirt and his beard was trimmed The

, .

young woman showed hersel f u pon the thre shold ,

and said in a grieved tone

It is ill to come thus when night has fall en M r , .

”
P hilip .
 SI M O N ’
S PA PA 8I

He wished to answer but stammered and stood ,

c onfused before her .

She resumed
You understand do you not that it wi ll not do
, ,

f or me to be talked about agai n .

Then he said all at once

What does that matter to me i f you wi ll be my ,
”
w ife !
NO voice replied to him but he be l ieved that he ,

heard in the sh adow of the room the sound of a

falling body He entered quickly ; and Simon who
.
,

had gone to his bed distinguished the sound of a ,

kis s and some words that his mother murmured

softly Then all at once he found him self lifted
.
, ,

up by the hands o f his friend who holding him at , ,

‘

the length of his herculean arms exclaimed

’

You will tell them y our schoolmates that you r , ,

pa p a is Philip R emy the blacksmith and that he , ,

”
will pull the ears of all who do you an y harm .

O n the morrow when the school was full and

,

lessons were about to begin litt le S imon stood u p , ,

quite pale with trembling lips

,

M y papa said he in a clear voice

, is P hilip ,

R emy the blacksmith and he has promised to pull

, .

”
the ears o f all who do me any harm .

Thi s tim e no on e laugh ed f or he was very wel l ,

known was Philip R emy the blacksmith and was

, , ,

a papa o f whom an y one in the world would have

been p roud .
 T H E T H IE F

HI L E app arentl y thinking o f somethin g el se,

D octor S orbier had been listening quietl y

to those amazing accounts of burglaries
a n d daring deeds that might have been taken fro m
”
t he trial of Cartouche Assuredl y he exclaimed
.
, ,

assuredl y I know of no viler fault nor an y meaner

,

a ction tha n to attack a girl s innocence to corrupt

’

h er to profit by a moment o f uncon scious weakness

,

a n d of madne ss when her heart is beating like that

,

o f a frightened fawn and her pure lips seek those

,

o f h e r tempter ; when she aban dons herself without

t hi n ki n g o f the irremediable stain nor of her fa l l

, ,

n or o f the morro w .

The man who has brought this about slo wly ,

v iciously , who can tell with what science of evil ,

and who in such a case has not steadiness and s elf

, ,

restraint enough to quench that flame by some icy

words who has not sense enough for two who can
, ,

n ot recover his self possession an d master the runa

-

way brute within him and who loses hi s head on the

,

e dge of the p recipice over which she is going to

f all is as contemptible as an y man who breaks Open

,

a lock or as an y rascal on the l ookout for a hous e

,

left defenseless and unprotected o r for some eas y

 TH E TH IEP 83

an d dishonest stroke of bu s in es s or as th at th i ef ,

w hose variou s expl oits you have j u st rel ated to u s .

I for m y p art utterl y refus e to ab sol ve him

, , ,

eve n w hen e xtenuating circumstance s p lead in his

favour ev en when he is carrying on a d angerou s
,

fl i rtation in which a man tries in vain to keep his

,

balance not to exceed the l imits of the game an y

, ,

more than at lawn tennis ; even when the parts are

inverted and a man s adversary is some precocious ’

curious seductive girl who shows you immed iate ly

, ,

that she has nothing to learn and no thing to e x

p er i en ce except the
, last chapter of love on e o f ,

those girls from whom ma y fate alway s preserve

our sons and whom a psycholo gical novel writer
,

has christened The Semi Virgins -

.
’

It is of course diflicu lt and pai n fu l for that

,
‘
,

c oarse and unfathomable vanity which is character

i stic of every man and which might be called mal
,

ism not to stir such a charm ing fire diflic u lt to act

,
‘
,

the Joseph and the foo l to turn away his ey es and , , ,

as it were to put wax into his ears like the com

, ,

panions o f U ly sses when they were attracted b y the

divine seductive songs o f the S irens difl ic u lt only
,
‘
,

to touch that prett y table covered with a perfectl y ,

new cloth at which you are invited to take a seat

,

before any one else in such a sugg estive voice and , ,

are requested to quench your thirst and to taste

that n ew wine whose fresh and strange fl avour you
,

will never forget But who wou l d hesitate to ex

.

c roise such self re straint if when he rapidl y e x

-
,

amines his conscien ce in one o f those instincti ve ,

retu rns to his sober self in which a man thinks

84 G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

cl ear ly and rec ov ers his h ead he w ere to measure ,

the gravity of his fault conside r it thin k of its , ,

c onsequences of the reprisa l s o f the un easiness

, ,

which he wou l d al ways feel in the future and whic h ,

would destroy the repose and happiness of his life ?

You may gu ess that behind all these mora l re
fl ection s such as a graybeard like my self ma y ih
,

dulg e in th ere is a story hidden and sad as it is

, , , ,

I am sure it wil l interest you on a cc ount of the

”
strange heroism that it S hows .

He was silent for a few moments as if to c lassify ,

h is recollections and with his elbows resting on the

, ,

arms of his easy chair and his eyes lookin g into

-

spa c e he continued in the slow voice of a hosp ital

,

professor who is ex plaining a case to his class o f

medical students at a bedside : ,

He was one o f those men who as our grand ,

fathers used to say never met with a c ruel woman, ,

the type o f the adventurous knight who was al ways

foraging who had something of the scamp about
,

h im but who despised danger and was bold even t o

,

ras hness He was ardent in the pursuit of p leas

.

u re and had an irresistible charm about him one

, ,

of those men in whom we excuse the greatest ex

c esses as the most natural thi n gs in the world He .

had run through all his money at gambling and

with prett y girls and SO became as it were a sol
, , ,

dier of fortune H e amused himsel f whenever and

.

however he could and was at that time quartered

,

at V ersai ll es .

I kn e w him to t h e very depths o f his chi l dlik e

h eart which was onl y too easil y penetrated and
,
 TH E TH IEP 85

so unded and I l ov ed him as som e ol d bachelo r

,

uncle l oves a n ephew who plays him tri c ks but who ,

know s how to coa x him H e had made me his .

c onfidant rather than his advise r kep t me informe d ,

of his slightest pranks though he alwa y s pretende d

,

to be sp eaking about on e o f his friends and not ,

about himself ; and I must confess that his y outhfu l

impetuosity his careless gay ety and his amorou s

, ,

a rdour sometimes distracted my thoughts and mad e

me envy the handsome vigorous y oung fell o w who

,

was so happ y at being alive that I had not the .

c ourage to check him to show him the right road

, ,

an d to call ou t to him : Take care ! as chi l dren

’
do at blind man s blu ff .

And one day after one o f those interminabl e

,

cotillons where the couples do n ot leave each oth er

,

for ho urs and can di sappear together without an y

,

bod y thi nk ing O f noticing th em the p oor fellow at ,

last discovered what love was that real love whi ch ,

t akes up its abode in the very centre of the hea rt

and in the brain and is proud o f being there an d
, ,

which rules like a soverei g n and a ty rannous mas

ter and he became desperatel y enamoured of a
,

pretty but badly brought u p girl who was as dis ,

quieti n g and wayward as sh e was pretty .

She loved him however o r rather she idolized

, ,

him despotically madly with all her enraptured

, ,

soul an d all her being Left to do as she pleased

.

by imprudent and frivolous parents su ff ering fro m ,

neurosis ; in consequen ce of the unwholesome friend

ships which she contracted at the convent schoo l ,

instructed by what she saw and heard and knew

86 G UY DE M A UPA SSA N T

was going on around her in Spite o f her deceit fu l ,

and artifi cial conduct knowing that neither her ,

father nor her mother who were very proud of their ,

race as well as avaricious would ever agree to let ,

h er marry the man whom Sh e had take n a likin g to ,

that handsome fellow who had little besides vision

ary ideas and debts and who belonged to the mid ,

dle class she laid aside all scruples thought o f noth

, ,

ing but of becomin g his no matter what might be ,

the cost .

’
By degrees the unfortunate man s strength gave
,

way his heart softened and he allowed himsel f to

, ,

be carried away by that current which bu ff eted him ,

surrounded him and left him on the shore like a

,

waif and a stray .

Th ey wrote letters full of madness to each

oth er and n ot a day passed without their meeti n g
, ,

either acciden tally as it seemed or at p arties and

, ,

balls She had yielde d her lips to him in long

.
,

ardent caresses which had sealed their c ompac t o f

,
”
mutual passion .

The doctor stopped and his ey es suddenly fi lled ,

with tears as these former troubles came back to

,

his mind ; and then in a hoarse v oice he went , ,

on, full of the horror of what he was going to

relate
Fo r months he s eal ed the garden w al l and , ,

hol ding his breath and listening for the slightest

noise like a burglar who is going to break into a
,

h ous e he went in by the servants entrance which

,
’
,

S he had left O pen slunk barefoot down a long pas

,

sa ge and up the broad st ai rcase which cre aked occa ,

88 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

demn ed and degraded and made to su ff er marty r

dom in his honour as a man and a soldier he was —
—
an offi cer he did not p rotest but went to p rison as
,

one o f those criminals whom societ y gets rid of like

noxious vermin .

“
He died there of mis ery and o f bitterness of
S p irit
, with the name o f the fair haired idol f or -
,

whom he had sacrificed himself on his lips as i f it

, ,

had been an ecstatic p rayer and he intrusted his

,

will to the priest who a dministered extreme unction

to him and requested h im to give it to me I n it
'

.
, ,

without mentio n ing a n ybody and without in the

,

l eas t lifti n g the veil he at last explained the enigma

, ,

an d cleared himself of those accusations the terrib l e

burden of which he had hom e until his l ast breath .

I have always thought myself though I do not ,

know wh y that the girl married an d had severa l

,

c harming children whom S h e brought up with the

,

austere stri c tness and in the serious p iety o f former

da y s !
 M Y LA N D LA D Y

WAS living at that time said G eorge Kerv elen

, ,
“
in the R u e des Saints P e res in a f urnished
-

room .

When m y father had made up his mind that I

should go to Paris to continue my law studies the re ,

h ad b een a long discussion about way s and me ans .

M y allowance had been fixed at two thousand fiv e

hundred fra n cs but my poor mother was so anx
,

ious that she said to my father that i f I s p ent my

money ba dly I might not take enough to eat an d ,

then my health would s u ff er ; and so it was S ettled

that a comfortable boarding house S hould be foun d
for me and that the amount shoul d be paid to the
,

p roprietor himself o r herself eve ry month

, , .

Some of ou r neighbours told us of a certai n

M adame K er g aran a native of Brittany who took
, ,

in board e rs and my fath e r arranged matters b y

,

letter with thi s respectable person at whose house ,

I and my lu gg age arrived one evening .

M adame K erg aran was a woman of about forty .

She was v e ry stout had a voice like a drill ser

,

geant and decided everythi n g in a very ab rupt

,

manner Her house was narrow with onl y on e

.
,

window Opening on to the street on each story ,

90 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

which rather gave it the appearanc e o f a ladder

of wi ndows or better p erhaps o f a s l ice o f a house
, , ,

sandwiched in between two others .

“
The landlad y lived on the first floor with h er
servant the kitchen and di n ing room were on the
,
-

second an d four boarders from Britta n y lived o n

,

the third an d fourth and I had two rooms on the

,

fi fth.

A littl e dark c orkscrew staircase led up to

these attics All day long M adame K erg aran was
.

up and down these stairs like a captain on board

ship Ten times a da y she woul d go in to each room
.
,

noisily superintending everything seeing that the ,

beds were properly made the clothes w ell brushed , ,

and if the attendan ce was all that it Should be ; in

a word she look ed after her boarders like a mother
, ,

an d better than a mother .

I soon made the acquaintance o f my four fel

low country men Two were medical and two were
.

law stu dents but all impartially endured the land

,

l ady s despotic voke They were as afraid of her

’
.

as a bo y robbing an orchard would be of a rura l

p oliceman .

I however immediately felt that I wished to

, ,

be indepe n dent ; it is my nature to rebel I declared .

at o n ce that I meant to come in at whatever time

I liked for M adame K ergaran had fixed twelv e
,

o clock at night as the limit O n hearing this she

’
.
,

looked at me for a few moments an d then said ,

It is quite impossi ble ; I can n ot have An nett e

called up at an y hour o f the night Y ou can hav e .

nothing to do ou t o f doors at such a time .

’
 MY L A NDLADY 9 1

I re p lied fi rmly that according to the l aw She

, ,

was obliged to Open the door f or me at any time .

“
‘
If y ou refuse I said
,
’
I Shal l get a polic e
,
‘

man to witn ess the fact and go and get a bed at ,

some hotel at your expense in which I shall be

, ,

f ully j ustified You will therefore be oblige d

.
, ,

either to Open the door for me or to get rid of me .

’
Do which y ou please .

I laughed in her face as I told her my condi

tions She could not speak for a moment for sur
.

p ri se ; then she tried to negotiate but I was fi rm ,

and she was obliged to yield ; and so it was agreed

that I should have a latchke y on m y solemn prom ,

ise that no one else should know it .

M y energy made such a wholesome impre ssion

on her that from that time she treated me wi th
marked favour ; she was most attentive an d ev en ,

S howed me a sort of rough tende rness which was

not at all unpleasing Sometimes when I was in a

.

j ovial mood I would kiss her by surprise if only ,

for the sake o f getting the box on the ears which

she gave me immediately afterward When I man .

aged to duck my h ead quickl y enough her hand ,

would pass over me as swiftly as a ball and I would ,

ru n away laughi ng whil e she would call aft e r me :

,
’
O h yo u wretch ! I will pay you ou t for that
,
.

However we soon becam e real friends

, .

It was n ot l on g before I made the ac qu a int

ance o f a girl who was employed in a S hop and ,

whom I constantly met Y ou k n ow what such sort.

o f love a ff airs are in P aris One fin e day going .

,

to a l ect u re y ou meet a workgirl going to work arm

,
92 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

in m with a f riend
ar Y ou look at her and feel .
,

t hat p leasant littl e shock which the e y e of som e

w omen gives you The next day at th e same time
. .
,

g o in g through th e sam e street y ou meet her again , ,

an d the n ext and the suc c eeding da y s

, At last y ou .

speak and the l ov e a ff air f ollows its c ours e j ust lik e

,

an i l lness .

“
Wel l b y the end Of three weeks I was on a
, ,

solid footing with Emma The g irl lived at home .

,

and utterly refused to go to the cafés with me I .

did not know how to manage but at last I took the ,

desperate resolve to take her to m y room some

’
n ight at about eleven o clock under the pretens e of

givin g h er a cup o f tea M adame K ergaran alway s .

went to bed at ten so that we could get in b y means

,

o f m y l atchkey without exciting attention and g o ,

down again in an hour or two in the same way .

“
After a good deal o f entreaty on my p art ,

E mma accepted my invitation .

I did not spend a very pleasant da y for I w as ,

by no means eas y in my mind I was afraid of .

complications of a catastrophe o f some scandal

, , .

At night I went into a café and drank two cups o f ,

coff ee and three or four glasses of cognac to give ,

me courage and when I heard the cloc k strike half

,

p ast ten I went slowly to the place of meeting

, ,

w her e sh e w as alrea dy waiting for me She took .

m y arm in a coaxing manner and we set off slowl y ,

toward my l odgi ngs The nearer w e got to the .

door the more nervous I got ; and I th ought to

,

mysel f : I f on ly M adam e K ergaran is in bed

’
already .
 M Y LA ND LADY 93

I said to E mma two or th ree times

’
Abov e all things don t mak e an y noise on ,

the stairs to which she replied laughin g

’
, ,

Are you a f raid of being heard ? ’

NO I said
‘
, but I am afraid o f w a kin g the
’

man who sleeps 1n the room ne xt to me who is not ,

’
at a l l wel l .

When I got near the house I fe l t as f rightened

as a man does who is going to the dentist s A ll ’
.

the windows were dark so no doubt everybod y was ,

asleep and I breathed again I opened the door as

,
.

carefully as a thief let my fair c ompanion in shut , ,

it behind me and went upstairs on tiptoe holdin g

, ,

my breath and striking candle matches le st the girl

,

should make a false step .

“ ’
As we p assed the la n dlady s door I felt my
heart beating very quickly but we reached the se c ,

ond floor then the thir d an d at l ast the fi f th and

, , ,

g o t into m y room V ictory ! .

However I only dare d to S p eak in a whisper

, ,

and took off my boots so as n o t to m ake an y noise .

The tea which I ma de over a sp irit lamp was soon

, ,

drunk and then I b ecame pr essin g till little by

, , ,

littl e as if in play I took off my companion s wraps

, ,
’
.

She yi elded while r e si sti n g blushing confused

, , ,
.

“
Just then my door su dd enly Opened and M a ,

dam e K ergaran a ppear ed w ith a candle in her hand .

I j umped away from her and remained stan d ,

ing looki ng at the tw o wom en who were l oo king

, ,

at each other What was going to happen ? .

My l andlady said in a lofty tone of v oice wh ich ,

I had never heard from her before

94 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

M onsieur K erv elen I will not hav e such ac ,

tions in my house .
’

‘
But M adame K erg aran I stammered the
, ,
’
,
‘

young la dy is a friend o f mine S he j u st came in .

to have a cup of tea .

’

R esp ectable girls don t take tea in y oung g en

’

tlemen s rooms You will please make this person

’
.

’
g o directly .

Emma in a natural state of consternation be

, ,

gan to cry and hid her face in her p etticoat and I

, ,

lost my head not knowi n g what to do o r say M y

, .

la n dlady adde d with irresistible authority

,

Take her o u t at on ce .
’

It was certai n ly the only thing I coul d do ; so

I pic k ed up h e r coat from the floor put it over her , ,

an d b egan to fast en it as best I could She helped .

me crying all the tim e hurrying and making all

, ,

s orts o f mistak e s and M adame K erg a r an st ood by

,

motion less wi th the candle in her hand looking at

, ,

us with the s everity o f a j udge .

As soon as E mma had on her wraps she ru shed ,

p ast the la n dlady and ran dow n stairs I followed .

her with m y slippers half on an d kept repeating : ,

M ademoi selle ! M ademoiselle !

I f elt I ought to say something to her but I ,

could no t find anything to say I overtook her j ust .

by the street door and tried to put my arms aroun d

,

her but she pushed me violently away saying in a

, ,

low nervous voice

,

Leave me alone leave me alone ! and so ran ,

’

o u t into the street closing the door behind her, .

When I wen t upstairs again I found that M a

 A D IV O R CE CA S E

A DA M E CH A S S EL S lawyer thus addressed

’

the court :
Your Honour and Gentlemen o f the
,

Jury : The case I am going to p resent to y ou is

rather a subj ect for the medical p rofession than
for the courts and is a question of patholog y rather
,

than ordinary law T he facts app ear very simple

.

a t first sight A very rich young man with a nobl e

.
,

a nd cultivated mind and a generous heart become s ,

enamoured o f a young lady who is the p erfection

o f beauty more than beautiful in fact ; she is ador
, ,

able and as gracious as charming as good and as

, , ,

tender as she is pretty ; and he marries her For .

some time he behaves not only as a devoted h u s

,

band but as a man full of solicitude and tendernes s

, .

Then he neglects her misuses her seems to enter

, ,

tain for her an insurmountable aversion an irre ,

sistible disgust O ne day he even strikes her n ot

.
,

o nl y without any cause but even without the faint

,

e st pretext I am not going gentlemen to dra w a

.
, ,

picture of his extraordinary actions which no on e ,

c ould com p rehend I shall n ot de p ict to you the

.

wretched life of those two beings and the horribl e

g rief o f this voung woman It will be sufli c ient to
.
 A DIVORCE A
C SE 97

convince you if I read some fragments from a jou r

nal written every day by that poo r young man by ,

that poor lunati c ! For we no w find ourselves gen ,

tlemen confronted b y a cra z y man and the case is

, ,

all the more cu rious all the more interesting seein g

, ,

that in man y points he recalls the insanity of the

, ,

unfortunate p rince who recently d ied of the witl e ss ,

k ing who rei gned platonicall y over Bavaria I sh all .

hence design ate this case poetic insani ty .

You will readil y ca ll to mind all that has been

told of that most singu lar p rince H e caused ver .

itable fai ry castles to be erected amid the most mag

n ific en t scenery in his kingdom The actual beaut y .

of the things themselves as well as of the place s , ,

did not satisfy him He invented he created in .

, ,

these fairy domains factitious landscapes obtained

, ,

by means of theatri cal artifices shifting sc ene s , ,

painted forests fabled empires in which the leaves

, ,

of the trees were p recious stones He had Al p s .

,

glaciers stepp es deserts o f sand scorched b y th e

, ,

sun ; and at n ight under the rays of the real moon

, ,

lakes lighted from below by fa n tastic electric lights .

S wans floated on the lakes on which floated canoes , ,

while an orchestra composed o f the fine st perform

,

ers in the world inebriated with poetry the soul of

,

the royal lunatic The man was cha ste the man
.
,

was a virgin H e only loved a dream his dream

.
, ,

his divine dream O ne evening he took out w ith

.

him in his boat a lady young and beautiful a great , ,

artist and he begged her to sing Intoxicated by

, .

the magnificent scenery y the soft wa rmth o f the ,

air b y the p erfume of t e fl owers and by the cc

, ,
9 8 G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

s ta sy of that young and handsome prince she sang , ,

S h e san g a s women sing who have bee n touched by

love ; then overcome trembling she fell on the

, , ,

b osom of the King B ut he threw her into the

.

lake and seizin g his oars rowed back to the shore

, , , ,

without carin g whether an y on e saved her or not .

G entl emen of the j ury we find ourselves in ,

p r e sence of a c ase similar to th i s i n every respect .

I shall say no more no w exc ept to rea d some pas

,

s age s from the j ournal which we un expectedly cam e

u pon in the drawer of an Old writing desk .

H ow
sad and ugly everything is ; alwa y s the
s ame always hateful ! How I dream o f a land
,

more beautiful more noble more varied ! H ow

, ,

p oor the imagination o f their G o d must be if their ,

G od existed or i f He had n ot created other things

, ,

elsewhere ! Alwa y s woo ds little woods ; waves ,

which resemble w aves ; p lains which resemble plains

everything is sameness and monotony And man ?
—man ! What a horribl e animal—wi cked haught y
.

, ,

an d repu g nant !

It is essential to love to love to perdition , ,

without seeing that which one loves For to see is .

t o understand and to understand is to despise

, On e .

s hould become intoxicated with love j ust as one get s

drunk with wine until one kn ows no long er what

,
 00 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

drinks in the visible life and from it p rodu c e s ,

thought It drinks in the world colour motion

.
, , ,

books pictures all that is beautiful all that is ugly

, , , ,

and weaves ideas out of them And when it beams .

on us it gives us the sensation o f a happiness that

,

is not of this earth It gives us a presentiment of .

things we shall never kn ow ; it makes us understand

that the realities o f our dreams are but c ontempt
ibl e rubbish .

I love her also f o r her walk E ven wh en

, , .

”
the bird walks one feels that it has wings as the ,

poet say s When she passes by one feels that She

.
,

i s of di ff erent race from ordinary women of a ,

r ace more ethereal and more divine I shall mar ry .

h er to morrow But I am afraid I am afraid of so

-
.
,

many th ings !

Two animals two dogs two wolves tw o , , ,

foxes cut their way through plantation and encou n

,

ter one another O n e of each is male the other

.
,

f emale They mate The y mate in consequence o f

. .

an animal instinct which forces them to continu e ,

the race their race the one th ey repr esent in their

, ,

hairy cov e ring their form their movements and

, ,

habits Th e whole animal creation does the sa me

.

without knowi n g why .

“
We hu man beings also
‘
,
 A DIVOR CE CAS E 10 1

I did the same when I married ; I obeyed that

idioti c passion whi c h attracts us to the f e male .

wife As lon g as I l oved her ideally

S he i s m y .

she was to me an unrealizable dream that was j ust

on the point of becoming a reality But from the .

very second after I held her in my arms she was

no more to me than the being whom nature had
made u se of to deceive all my hopes .

Has she disappointed them ? No And yet .

I have grown wea ry of her weary so that I cannot ,

touch her even with the ti p of m y fingers or m y ,

l ips without a sense of unutterable disgu st not

, ,

p erhaps disgu st with her but a higher greater

, , ,

more contemptuous disgu st ; the disgust in a word , ,

with carnal love so vile has it be c ome for all re fined

,

b eings a shameful thing whic h it is n ec essary to

, ,

c onceal which one never speak s of save in a whis

,

per nor without blushing

, .

I can no longer bear the idea o f m y wife com

ing near me calling me with a smile with a glanc e
, , ,

o r with her embrace ; I cannot en dure it At on e .

time I thought a kiss from her would transport me

to the seventh heaven O ne day when she was
.
,

su ff ering from one of those transient fevers I no ,

ti c ed in her breath a subtle slight almost imp er , ,

c ep tible odour of human p utrefa c tion ; I was com

p le tely u p set .

O h ! the fl esh that seduc tive and liv ing ma ss

,
1 02 G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

o f c orruption that walk s thinks speaks l ook s

, , , .

laughs in which nourishment ferments and rots

, ,

which nevertheless is rose coloured pretty tempt

, ,
-
, ,

ing deceitful as the soul itse lf

, .

Why do flowers alone smell so sweet tho se '

,

large flowers brilliant or pale whose tones and

, ,

shades make my heart tremble and trouble my e yes ?

They are so beautiful th eir structure is so delicate
, ,

so varied an d so sen su al semi op ened like human

,
-

organs more tempting than a hum an mouth an d

, ,

hollow with curling lips dentated with a delicate

,

S kin an d powdered with a living poll en that impar ts

,

to each a d i ff erent fragrance which in each giv e s ,

forth a disti n ct perfume .

Th ey reproduce themselves they alone in the , ,

world without polluting th eir inviolable race she d

, ,

ding around them the divine incense o f their lov e ,

the fragrant perfume of th eir caresses the essence ,

of their incomparable forms of those forms , ,

adorned with every gra ce with every el egance and

, ,

of every shape ; who have likewise the coquetry o f

every shade o f colour and the intoxicating seduc
tiv en ess of every variety of perfume
’
.

FRAGM E N TS W H I CH W ERE S ELECT ED S Ix M ON TH S

LAT ER .

I love flowers not as flowers but as material

, ,

a nd delicious things ; I pa ss m y day s and m y n ights

I O4 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

my favourite cha rmers Their hothouse is low su f .

,

f oc ating The humid hot air makes the skin moist

.
, ,

takes away one s breath and makes one s fingers

’
,
’

tremble They come these foreigners from a

.
, ,

marshy b urning and unhealthy land They attract

, , .

o n e as do th e sirens are as deadl y as p oison admir, ,

a bly fantastic enervating terrifying Here are

some like butterflies with enormous wings tiny feet
, , ,

, ,

a nd eyes ! For they have eyes ! The y look at me ,

t hey see me prodigi ous unreal beings fairies

, , ,

daughters o f the sacred earth o f the impalpable air , ,

a nd of ray s of the ardent light that mother of th e ,

u niverse Yes the y have wings the y hav e e y e s

.
, , ,

an d lines that no p ainter c ould imitate ; every

c harm every grace every form that one c oul d
, ,

dream of T heir corollas are hollow fragrant and

.
, ,

t ransparent ever open to love and more tem p tin g

,

than all the flesh o f women The un imag mable de .

s igns o f their little beings trans p ort the intoxicate d

soul to a p aradise of dreams and of v o lu p tuou s

ideals . They tremble upon their stems as though '

the y would fly Will they fl y ? Will they come to

.

me ? NO it is my heart that hovers o er them lik e

,
’
,

a mystic male tortured b y love .

NO wing of an y animal can touch them We .

a re alone th ey and I in the lighted p rison whi ch

, ,

I have had c onstructed for them I gaze at them I .

,

c ontemplate them I admire them I adore th em one

, , ,

a fter the other .

How healthy strong and rosy the y are a rosi

, ,

n ess that moistens the lips o f desire ! How I lov e

them ! The edge O f their calyx is c rin ky paler than ,
 A D IVORCE CAS E 05

the c entre where the corolla hides itsel f that my s ,

teriou s mouth sweet as sugar to the ta ste t hat

, ,

reveals and unveils the delicate admirable and , ,

sacred organs of thes e divine little creatures whi ch

have such exquisite fragran c e and do not s p eak , .

I sometimes have a p as sion for some o f them

that lasts as long as their existence which onl y ,

covers a few day s and nights I then have them .

taken away from the general hothouse and inc losed

in a p retty glass cabinet in which a thread of water ,

murmurs along a bed of tropical verdure whi ch has ,

been brought from on e O f the Pacific Islands A nd .

I stay besi de it ardent f everish and tormented

, , , ,

knowing that its d eath is near and watch it fadin g ,

a way while in thought I p ossess it aspire to its

, , , ,

love drink it in and then pluck its sho rt li fe wi th

, ,
’
an unutterable care ss .

When he had finished the readin g o f thes e f rag

ments the advocate continued :
,

D ecency gentlem en of the j u ry hinder s me

, ,

from commun icating to y ou the extraordinary avow

als o f this shamel essly idealistic lunati c The frag .

ments that I have j ust mention ed to you will be

su fli c ien t in my Opi n ion to enable y o u to appreciat e
, ,

this instan ce o f mental malady less rare tha n might ,

be supposed in our epoch O f hysterical insanity and

of c orrupt decadence .

I think then that my client is more entitled

, ,

than any other woman to claim a divorce under the

exceptional position in which she is pla c ed through
’ ”
her husband s pe c uliar form o f insanit y .
 T H E R E L ICS

E was given a grand public funeral su c h as ,

th ey give to victorious soldiers who have

added some glorious page s to the an n als of
the i r countr y who have restored courage to de
,

spon den t rulers and flung the proud S hadow of thin

fl ax over other nations like a yoke under which

those pass who are dep rived of country o r liberty .

Who knows whether tall cavalry so ldiers in their ,

cuirasses and sitting as motionless as statues on

,

their horses during an entire bright calm night , ,

when falling stars make on e think o f unknown met

amorphoses and the transmigration of souls had ,

n ot watched b y the dead man s cofli n which was

’
,

resting covered with wreaths under the p orc h o f

, ,

the heroes ever y stone of which is engraved with

,

the name o f a brave man and of a battle ?

The whole town was in mourning as if it had ,

lo st the only Obj ect that had possession o f its heart

and whic h it loved The crowd went sil ently and
.

thoughtfully down the Av enue o f the Champs Ely

sé es an d they almost fought f o r the comm emorativ e
,

medals and the common portraits which hawkers

were selling or climbed upon the stands which
,

street boys had erected here and there and wh en ce ,

108 GU Y DE M A UPASS A N T

had been c ut out with a bill hook bu t were so pow ,

er f ul and c ontained such a flame of life that one

forgot their vulgarity and ugliness ; with black eyes
u nder bushy eyebrows which dilated and fl ashed
,

lik e lightning at one moment veiled as by tears and

,

again fille d with serene mildness ; a voice which now

growled so as almost to terrify its hearers and ,

which would have filled the hall of som e working

man s club full o f the thick smoke from strong
’

pipes without being a ff ected by it and then would

, ,

b e soft coaxing persuasive and unctuous li k e that

, , , ,

of a priest who is holding out promises of Paradis e

or giving absolution f o r our S ins .

H e had had the goo d luck to be persecuted ; to be

in the eye s of the people the incarnation of that
l ying formula which appears on every publi c edi
fi ce of those three words of the G olden Age which
, ,

make those who think those wh o su ff er and those

, ,

,
—
who govern smile somewhat sadly Liberty Fra ,

tern ity E quality, Luck had been kind to him had

.
,

s ustained had pushed him on by the S houlders and

, ,

had set him up on his pedestal again when he had

fallen down as all idols do
, .

He spoke and wrote and alwa y s to announce the

,

good news to all the mul itudes who su ff ered n o

t —
matter to what grade O f society they might b elong
-
to hold o ut his hand to them and to defend them ,

—
to attack the abuses of the Code that book O f ih
—
j ustice and severity to speak the truth boldly even ,

whe n it lash ed his en emi es as if with a whip .

H is boo ks w e re like gospels which are r ea d chap ,

ter by c hapt er an d warmed the most desp airing and

,
 T H E RELICS 1 09

the most so rrow ing h eart s and b rought c om fo rt , ,

hope and dream s to each

,
.

He had lived ve ry modestly unti l the end and ,

ap peared to sp end nothin g ; and he onl y k ept one

old serv ant who s poke to him in the B as q u e dia
,

lect.

The chaste p hilosopher who had a l l his l i fe l on g ,

’
feared women s snares and wiles who had looked ,

u pon love as a luxury made only for the rich and

idle which uns ettles the brain and interferes with
,

acuteness of thought had allowed himself to be ,

—
caught like an y ordinary man late in life when ,

his hair was white and his forehead deepl y wrin

kled .

It was not however as hap p ens in the visions o f

, ,

solitary asc etics some strange queen or female ma

,

g ic i an with stars
, in her e y es and witchery in h er

voice some loose woman who held up the sym

.

bolic al lamp immodestly to light up her radiant ,

n u d ity and the pin k and white bouquet of h e r sweet

‘

- -

smelling skin some woman in search of voluptuou s

,

p leasures whose lascivious appeals it is impossibl e

,

for an y man to listen to without being excited to

the very d epths o f his being Neither a princess out .

of some fairy tale nor a frail beauty w ho was an

,

expert in the art o f awake n ing the emotions O f Old

men and o f l eading them astray nor a woman who ,

was di sgust ed with her ideals that always turned ,

out to be alike and who dreamed o f awakening the

,

soul o f on e of those men who su ff er one o f thos e ,

who have aff orded so much alleviation to human

misery who seem to be surrounded b y a halo an d
, ,
I IO G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

w ho never know a nything but the true the b eauti

,

f u l, and the goo d .

It was only a little girl of twenty who was as ,

p retty as a wild flow e r who had a ringing laugh

, ,

white teeth and a mind that was as spotless as a

,

n ew mirror in which no figure had been reflected

a s yet .

He was in exile at th e time for having given

p ublic expressio n to h i s opinions and was living in
,

an Italian village which was buri ed in chestnut

trees and on th e shores o f a lake that was so narrow

a n d transpar en t t h at it might have be en t aken for

s ome nobl eman s fish pond and looked like an em

’
,

e rald in a larg e park It consisted o f about twenty

.

r ed til e d h ou se s
-
St eep paths paved with flint led
.

u p the sid e o f the hills among the vines wh e re the ,

M a do nn a full o f grace an d good n ess exte n d ed her

, ,

in dulgence from shrines which contain ed dusty tin ,

sel no segays .

Fo r th e first time in his li fe R amel remarked ,

that there wer e some lips that were more desirable ,

more smiling than others that th ere was hair in ,

which it must be delicious to bury the fingers as in

fine silk and which it must be d elightful to kiss
, ,

and that there were ey es which contai n ed an infin

itu de o f car e s ses and he had sp elled right through
,

the eclogue which at l en g th r ev ealed true happi

,

n ess to him an d he had h ad a child a son by her

, , , .

This was th e only secret that R amel j ealou sl y

c onc ealed and which no more than tw o or thre e o f
,

his Ol dest fri en ds kn ew anything about ; and whil e

h e hesitat ed about spending fi v e centimes on him
1 12 G U Y DE M A U PA SS A N T

and adoration which she felt for Jean R amel w hom ,

S h e spo ke o f as i f he had become a demigod w hen

h e died as in Roman theogon y

, .

H e would have liked entirely to have altered the

a rrangement o f that kin d of sanctuary the draw ,

ing room where P epa kept some of her husband s

-
,
’

manuscripts the furniture that he had most f ro

,

quen tl y u sed the bed on which he had died his

, ,

p en s his clothes and his weapons And one even

, ,
.

ing not knowing how to dress himself up more

,

o ri g inall y than the rest f or a mask ed ball that stout

T oin ette Danicheff was going to give as her house
w arming without saying a word to his mother h e
, ,

t ook down th e Academician s dress the sword and

’

c ocked hat that had belonged to Jean R amel and ,

put it on as i f it had been a disguise on S hrove

T uesday .

Slightly built and with thin arms and legs the

, ,

wide clothes hung on him and he was a comi ca l ,

S ight with the embroidered skirt of his coat swee p

,

ing the carpet an d his sword knocking against hi s

,

h eels The elbows and the collar w e re shiny an d

.

greasy from wear for the M aster had w orn it until ,

it was threadbare to avoid having to buy another , ,

and had never thought of replacing it .

H e made a tremendou s hit and fair Lilin e Ab l ette ,

l aughed so at his grimaces and his disg uise tha t

that ni g ht she threw over P rince Nou r eddin f or
h im although he had paid for her house her horses
, , ,

a nd ev eryt hing else and allowed her six thousan d

—
,

f rancs a month f or extras and pock et mone y .

 T H E L A NCE R S
’
W IF E

T was a fter Bourbak i s defeat in the E ast o f ’

France The army broken up decimated and

.
, , ,

worn out had been obliged to retreat into

,

Switzerland after that terrible campaign and it was ,

only its short duration that sa ved a hundred and

fi fty thousand men f rom certain death H unger the .
,

terrible cold forced marches in the snow without

,

boots over bad mountain roads had caused us

, ,

r ancs tir eu rs esp e cially the greatest su ff erin g f or

f -
, , ,

we were without tents and almo st without food , ,

always in the v an whe n we were marching toward

Belfort and in the rear whe n return ing by the
,

Jura O f our littl e ban d that had n umbe red twelve

.

hundred men on the first of Jan uary there remai n ed ,

only twenty two pale thin ragged wretc h es wh en

-
, , ,

we at len gth succeeded in reaching Swiss territory .

There we were safe and coul d rest E v erybody

,
.

knows what sympathy was sh own to the u n fortu

n ate French army and how well it was cared f o r
,
.

We all gain ed fresh life and those who had been ,

rich and happy before the war declared that they

had never experienced a greater feeling o f comfort
than th ey did then Just think We actually had
. .
1 14 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

something to eat every day and could sleep every ,

night .

M eanwhile the war continued in the East of

,

Fra n ce which had been excluded from the armi

,

stic e B esancon still kept the en emy in check and

.
,

the latter had their revenge by ravaging Franche

Comté Sometimes we heard that th ey had ap
.

p r o ac h e d quite close to the fro n tier and we saw ,

Swiss troops who w ere to form a line o f observa

,

ti on between us and them set o u t on their ,

march .

That pai n ed us in the end and as we r egained , ,

health an d strength the longing to fight took pos

,

session o f us It was disgrac e ful an d ir rtatin g to

.

kn ow that withi n two or thre e l eagu e s o f us the

G ermans wer e victorious and i n sol ent to f eel that ,

w e were protected by our captivity an d to feel that ,

on that accou n t we w ere pow e rless against them .

O ne day o u r captai n took fi ve or six Of us aside ,

and spok e to us about it long an d furiously He, .

was a fine fellow that captain H e had been a sub

, .

lieutenant in the zouav es was tall an d thi n an d as

,

hard as ste el and duri n g the whol e campaign he

,

had cut ou t their work f or the G erman s H e fretted .

in inactivity and could n o t accustom himsel f to

,

the idea o f bei n g a prison er and of doing nothi n g .

”
Confound it ! he sai d to us do e s it not pain ,

y ou to know that ther e is a n umber o f uhlans

within two hours o f us D o es it n ot almost drive
?

you mad to k n ow that tho se begg ardly wretches are

walking abo u t as m ast er s in our mou n tai n s whe n ,

S ix deter min ed men mi g ht kill a whole spitful any

1 16 GUY DE M A U PA SSA N T

pa rt o f the co unt ry whom he kn e w was goin g to

lend him a cart and S ix suits of peasants clothe s ’
.

We could hi de under some straw at the bottom of

the wagon which would be load ed with G ruye re
,

cheese which he was sup posed to be going to sell in

,

F rance The captain told the sentinels that he was

.

taking two friends with him to p rotect his goods ,

in case an y one should try to rob him which did ,

not seem an extraordinary precaution A S wi ss .

o ff i cer seemed to look at the wagon in a knowing

manner but that was in order to impress his sol
,

diers In a word neither ofli cers nor men could

.
,

make it out .

G et up the captain said to the horses as he

, ,

cracked his whip while our three men quietl y

,

smok ed th eir pipes I was half su ff ocat ed in m y

.

box which only a dmitted the air through those holes

,

in fron t and at the same t ime I was nearly fro z e n

, ,

f or it was terribly cold .

”
G et up the captain said again and the wagon
, ,

l oaded with G ruye re cheese entered France .

Th e P russian lines were very badly guarded as ,

the enemy trusted to the watch fulness o f the S wi ss .

T he serg eant spoke North G erman while our cap ,

tain sp oke the bad G erman of the Four Cantons ,

and so they could not understand each other The .

sergeant however p retended to be ver y intelli gent

, ,

and in order to make us believe that he understood

,

u s they allowed us to continue our j ourney ; an d

, ,

after tra velling for seven hours being continua l l y ,

stopped in the sam e ma nner we arrived at a small ,

v illage of the Jura in ruins at nightfall , , .

 TH E L A N C E R S W IF E
’
1 17

What were we goi ng to do ? O ur or

w ere the captain s whip ou r uniforms ou r peas
’
arm s m
,

ants blouses and ou r food the G ruye re cheese O ur

’
, .

sole wealth consisted in our ammunition pa ckages ,

o f cartridges which we had stowed away insid e

some of the huge chees es We had about a thou .

sa n d o f th em j ust two hun dred each but we needed

, ,

rifles and they must be chasse po ts Luckily how

, .
,

ever the captain was a bold man of an inventive

,

mind and this was the plan that he hit upon :

,

While thre e o f us remained hi dden in a c ellar in

the abandoned village he continued his j ourney as ,

far as Besancon with the empty wagon and one

man The town was invested but on e can alway s
.
,

make one s way into a town among the hills b y

’

crossing the tabl eland till within about ten miles o f

th e walls and then following paths and ravines on
,

foot Th ey left their wago n at O mans among the

.
,

G ermans and e scaped o ut o f it at n ight on foot so

, ,

as to gai n the h e ights which border the R iver Doubs ;

the next day they enter ed Besan con wh ere there ,

were plenty of chass epots T h er e were n early forty .

thousand O f th em left in the arsen al and G en eral ,

R oland a brave marin e laugh ed at the captain s

’

, ,

daring proj ect but let him hav e six rifl es an d wished
,

him goo d luck Ther e he had also fou n d his

.

wife who had been through all the war with u s

,

before the campaign in the E ast and who had been ,

only prevented by illness from continuing with

B ourbaki s army She had recovered however in
’
.
, ,

spite o f the cold which was g rowing more and ,

more intense an d in spit e of the n umberless priva

,
1 18 G UY DE M A UPA SSA N T

tions that awaited her she persisted in accompany

,

ing her husband He was obliged to give wa y to

.

her and they all three the captain his wife and
, , , ,

o u r comrade started on their ex pedition

,
.

G oing was nothing in comparison to returni n g .

T hey were obliged to travel by night so as to avoid ,

meeting an ybody as the possession of six rifl es

,

would have ma de th em liabl e to susp icion B ut in .

,

spite o f everything a w eek after leaving us th e

, ,

capta in and his two men w ere back with us again .

The campaign was about to begin .

TH E first night o f his arrival he began it him

self and under the pret ext o f ex amining the sur
, ,

rounding country he w ent along the highroad

, .

I must tell y ou that the little village which

served as our fortress was a small c ollection o f
poor badly bui lt houses which had been deserted
, ,

l ong be fore It lay on a stee p slop e wh ich termi

.
,

n ated in a wooded plain The c ountry p eople S ell

.

the wood ; they s end it down the s l opes which are ,

called cou lées locally an d which l ead down to the

, ,

p lain and there they stack it into p iles which they

, ,

sell thrice a year to the wood merchants The spot .

w here this market is held is indicated by two small

houses by the side of the highroad which serve f o r ,

pu blic houses The captain

. had gone down there
b y way of on e of these c ou lees ’

He had be en gone about hal f an h our and we ,

1 20 G U Y DE M A U PA SSA N T

hi ding under the branches ; but his wi fe in s p ite o f ,

our entreatie s rushed on l eaping like a tigress

, , .

She thought that she had to avenge her husband ,

an d had fixe d the bayo n et to her rifle and we lost ,

S ight of her at the mom ent that we heard th e trum

pet again ; and a few moments later we heard he r

, ,

calling out to us
Come on ! come on ! He is alive ! It is he !
We hastened on an d saw the captain smoking his
,

p i p e at the entrance o f the village but strangely ,

enough he was on hors eback .

“ ”
Ah ! ah ! h e said to us you see that there ,

is something to be don e here H ere I am on horse .

back already ; I knocked over an uhlan y onder and ,

took his horse ; I suppose they were guarding the

wood but it was by dri n ki ng and swilling in clover
, .

O ne o f them the sentry at the door had not time

, ,

to see me before I gave him a sugarplum in his

stomach and then before th e others could come
, ,

out I j umped onto th e horse and was off like a

,

shot E ight or ten o f them followed me I think ;

.
,

but I took the crossroads through the woods I .

have got scratched and torn a bit but here I am , ,

an d now my good fellows attention and take car e !

, , ,

T hose brigands will not rest until they have caught

us, and we must rec eive them with rifle bullets .

”
Come along ; let us take up ou r posts !
We set out One o f us took up his position a
.

good way from the village of the crossro ads ; I was

po sted at the entrance of the mai n street where ,

th e roa d from th e level cou n try ent e rs th e villag e ,

while th e two oth e r s the captai n an d h is wife were

,
 TH E L A N CER S W IFE ’
12 1

in the middle o f the village near the church who se , ,

tow e r S erved for an observatory and citadel .

We had n ot been in our places lon g before we

heard a shot followed by another and then two
, , ,

then three The first was evid en tly a chassepot

.

one recogn ized it by the sharp report whic h sounds ,

—
like th e crack of a whi p while the other three came
from the lancers carbines ’
.

The c aptain was furious He had given orders .

to the outpost to let the enemy pass an d merely to

follow them at a distance if they marched toward
the villa g e an d to j oin me whe n they had gone w ell
,

betwee n the houses Th en they were to app ear

.

sudd enly take the patrol b etw een two fires and n ot
, ,

allow a single man to escape ; for posted as we ,

were the six o f us could hav e hemmed in ten P rus

,

sians i f needful
, .

“
That confounded P1edelot has roused them ,
“
the captai n said and th ey will not venture to
,

com e on bli n dfol d any lon ger A n d th en I am quite .

sure that he has manage d to et a shot i n to him

g
self som ewh er e o r oth e r for we h ear nothing of
,

him It s erv e s him right ; why did he n ot obey

.

orders ? A n d th en after a mom en t he grumbl e d

, ,

in his b ear d : After all I am sorry f or the poor

,

fellow ; h e is S O brave an d shoots so well !

,

The c aptain was right in his co n j ectures We .

wait ed u ntil ev ening without seei n g the uh lans ;

,

they had r etreate d aft er th e first attack ; but un f or

tu n ately we had n ot s een Pié delot e ither Was he , .

dead o r a pri soner ? When night came the capta in ,

propos ed t hat we sh oul d g o out and look f o r h 1m ,

1 22 G U Y DE M A U PA SSA N T

and so the three o f us started At the crossroad s .

we found a broken rifl e an d so me blood while the ,

ground was trampled down ; but we did not find

either a wounded man or a d ead body although we ,

searched ev e ry thicket and at midnight we return ed

,

without having discovered an ything o f our unf o r

t unate comrade .

It is very strange the captain growled

, The y .

must have killed him and thrown him into the

bushes som ewhere ; th ey cannot po ssibly have taken
him prisoner as he would have called out for help
,
.

”
I cannot understand it all Just as he said that
.
,

bright red flam es shot up in the direction of the

inn on th e highroad which illumi n ated the sky
, .

Scoundr els ! cowards ! he shout ed I will bet .

that they have set fire to the two houses on the

mark etplac e in order to have their r evenge and
, ,

the n th ey will scuttle off without saying a word .

Th ey will be satisfied with having kill ed a man and

set fire to two hous es All right It shall n ot pass
. .

over like that We must g o for them ; they will

.

not like to leave their illuminations in order to

”
fight .

I t would be a great stroke o f luck if we could

set Piédelot f re e a t the same time some on e said , .

The fi ve o f us set off full of rage an d h ope In

, .

twenty minutes we had g ot to the bottom o f the

c o u lée an d had n ot yet s een an y on e when we were
,

within a hu n dred yards of the in n The fire was .

be hin d the house and all we saw o f it was the

,

r efl ectio n above the roo f How ev er we were walk.

,

ing ra ther slowly as we were a fraid o f an ambush

, ,
1 24 GU Y DE M A U PA SSA N T

d red thousand P russi an s ; our thirst for venge an c e

was intense But the cowards had run away , leav
.

i ng their crime behind them Where could we find .

t hem n ow ? M eanwhile , h owever, the captain s wi fe

’

w as looking aft e r Piédelot , and dressing his wounds

as best she could , while the captain hims e lf shook

hands with him excitedly and in a few minutes he ,

came to himsel f .

G ood morning captain ; good morning all of

, ,

y o u ,he said Ah.! the scoundrel s the wretches ! ,

”
Why twenty of them came to s urp rise us
, .

”
Twenty do y ou say ?
,

Y es ; there was a whole band o f them and that ,

is why I disobeyed ord ers captai n and fired on , ,

them f or they would hav e kill ed y o u all an d I pre

, ,

f erred to stop th em That frighten e d them and

.
,

th ey did not venture to g o farth e r tha n the cross

roa ds They were such cowards F our o f them
. .

s hot at me at tw enty yards as if I had b een a tar ,

get and then they slashe d me with th e ir swords

, .

M y arm was broken so that I could on ly use my

,
”
bayonet with one hand .

”
But why did y ou n ot call f o r h elp ?
I took good care not to do that f o r y ou would ,

a ll have come ; an d you would n either have bee n

able to def end me nor yourselves being only five ,

”
against twent y .

You kn ow that we should n ot have allowed you

”
to ha v e been taken poor Old fellow , .

I preferred to die by mys elf do n t you see ! I ,

’

did not wan t to bring you there for it would have ,

”
been a mere ambush .
 T H E LA N CER S W IFE
’
1 25

Well we will not talk about it any more Do

. .

”
y ou feel rather easier ?
No I am su ff o cating
,
I kn ow that I cannot.

l ive much longer The bru tes l They tied me to a

.

t ree and beat me till I was hal f dead and then the y
, ,

s hook m y bro k e n arm ; but I did n ot make a sound .

I woul d rather have bitten my ton g ue out than have

call ed out before them Now I can tell what
.

I am su ff ering an d shed tears ; it does one good .

”
T hank you my kind friends , .

Poor Piédelot ! But we w il l avenge you you ,

may be sure !
”

Yes y es ; I want you to do that There is in

,
.
,

p articular a w oman amon g them who passes as the

,

w ife o f the lancer whom the captain killed yester

da y She is dressed like a lancer and she tortured
.
,

me the most yesterday and suggested burning me ; ,

and it was S h e who set fire to the wood O h ! the .

w retch the brute

,
Ah ! how I am su ff ering !
.

”
M y loin s my arms ! and he fell back panti n g and
,

exhausted writhi n g in h is t e rribl e agony while the

, ,
’
c aptain s wif e wip e d the pe rspiration from his fore

head and we all S hed tears o f gri e f and rage as if

, ,

w e had b een children I will no t d escr ibe the en d

.

to you ; he died half an hour later previou sly tell ,

ing us in which directio n the en emy had gone .

When he was dead we gave ourselves time to bury

him and then we set ou t in pursuit of them with
, ,

our hearts full of fury and hatred .

We will throw ourselves on the w hole P rus

”
s ian army i f it be necessary the ca p tain said ;
, ,
“
but we will avenge Piédelot We must c atch .
1 26 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

those scoundre l s Let u s swea r to die rather th an

.
,

not to find them ; and i f I am killed first these are ,

my orders : All the prisoners that y ou take are

to be shot immediately and as f o r the lancer s wife
,
’

,
”
she is to be tortured before she is put to d ea th .

S he must not be shot because she is a w o man

, ,

the captain s wife said ’

If you survive I am ,

sure that you would n ot shoot a woman Torturing .

her will be quite suffici ent ; but if you are killed in

this pursuit I want on e t hing and that is to fight
, ,

with her ; I will kill her with my own hands and ,

the oth ers can do what th ey like with her if she

”
k ills me .

We will outrage her ! We will burn her ! We

will tear her to pieces ! Pié delo t shall be avenge d !
An eye f or an ey e a tooth for a tooth !
,

TH E next morning we unexpectedly fell on an

o utpost o f uhlans four leagu es away Surprised by .

ou r sudden attack they were not able to mou nt their

,

horses n or even to defend thems elves ; and in a

,

f ew moments we had fi v e prisoners correspondin g ,

to our own number The captain questioned them

.
,

and from their answers we f elt certain that the y

were the same whom we had encounte red the p re
vio ns day Th en a very curious op eration took
.

p lace O ne Of us was told off to ascertain their

.

sex and nothing can describe our j oy when we dis

,

c overed what we were s e eking among them the ,

f emale ex ecutioner who had tortured our friend .

1 28 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

c old and we did n ot g o out much an d somebod y

, ,

had always to keep the female prisoner in S ight .

She was sullen and never said anything or els e

, ,

spoke Of her husband wh o m the capta in had killed , .

She looked at him continually with fierce eyes and ,

w e felt that she was tortured by a wild longing f or

revenge That seemed to us to be the most suitable
.

p unishment f or the terrible torments that sh e had

made Piédelot su ff er for impotent vengeance is ,

s uch intense pain !

Alas ! we who knew how to avenge our comrad e

o ught to have thought that this woman would know
h ow to avenge her husband and have been on our ,

guard It is true that on e o f us kept watch ev ery

.

night and that at first we ti ed her by a long rop e

,

to the great oak bench that was fastened to the

wall But by and by as she had never tried to
.
, ,

escape in spite o f her hatred f or us we relaxed ou r

, ,

extreme prud ence and allow ed her to sleep some,

where else except on the b en ch an d without being ,

tied What had we to fear ? She was at the end

.

of the room a man was on guard at the door and

, ,

between her and the sentin el th e captain s wife and ’

two other men used to lie She was alone and .

unarmed against four so there could be n o danger ; ,

O n e night when we were asleep and the captain ,

’
was on guard the lancer s wife was lying more
,

quietly in her corner than usual and she had even ,

smil ed f or the first time S ince Sh e had been our

priso n er during the evening Suddenly however .
, ,

in the middle of the night we were all awakened ,

by a t e r r ible cry We g ot up g roping about and

.
, ,
 TH E LA N CER S W IFE ’
1 29

at once stumbled over a f urious couple who were

rolling about and fighting on the ground It was .

’
the captain and the l an cer s wi f e We threw our .

selves on them an d separat ed them in a moment

, .

She was shouting and laughing an d he seemed to ,

have the death rattle All this took p lace in the

.

dark Two of us held her and when a light was

.
,

struck a ter rible S ight met our eyes The captai n .

was lying on the floor in a pool of blood with an ,

enormous gash in his throat and his sword bayonet , ,

that had been tak en from his rifle was sticki n g in ,

the red gaping wound A few minutes afterward

, .

he di ed without having been able to utter a word

, .

His wife did not shed a tear Her eyes wer e .

dry her throat was contracted and she looked at

, ,

the lancer s wife steadfastly an d ferociously

’
.

”
This woman belongs to me S he said to us ,

su ddenly Y ou swore to me not a week ago to let

.

me k ill her as I chose if She killed my husband ; ,

a n d y o u must k eep your oath Y o u must fasten .

h e r secu r ely to the fireplace upright against the ,

back of it an d then you can g o wh er e you like

, ,

but far from here I will take my revenge o n her

.

myself Leave the captain s bo dy an d we thr ee

.
’

, ,
”
he she and I will remain here
, , , .

We obeyed and went awa y She promised to

, .

w rite to us to G eneva .

VI
Two days lat er I received the following l ette r ,

dated the day after we h ad left and that had been ,

w ritten at an inn on the highroad

1 30 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

MY FR IE ND : I am w ritin g to y ou accor din g to my ,

p ro m i se F o r t h.e mo men t 1 a m a t t h e in n wh er e I ha v e ,

J ust h an ded my p r iso ne r ove r t o a Pr u ss ian offi c e r .

I mu st t e ll y o u my fr ien d t h at th is p oo r w o man h a s
“
, ,

l e ft t wo ch il dren in G e rmany S h e ha d foll o w e d h e r h u s

.

b an d, w ho m sh e a do red, a s sh e did n ot w ish h im to b e

e x p o se d to t h e r isk s o f wa r by h imse lf an d as h e r ch il dre n ,

w ere w ith th e ir g ran dp aren t s I h av e l ea rn ed all th is sin c e .

y e ste r day an d it h as t u rn e d my ideas o f v en g ean c e in to

,

more h uman e feel ing s A t th e v e ry moment wh en I fe l t

.

p l easu re in in su l ting t h is w oman , an d in t h r ea ten in g h e r

w ith th e most fear fu l to rments in r ec all in g Pié delot who , ,

h ad b een bu rn e d al iv e, an d in t h reaten in g h er w it h a s imi

la r death S h e looke d at me co l dl y, an d sa id :
,
‘
What h ave y o u g ot to rep roach me w ith , F ren ch
woman ? Y o u th in k t h at y ou w ill do rig h t in av en g in g
y o u r h u s b an d s d e
’
a t h ,
i s n ot t h at s o ?
’

Y es, I r ep l ied
‘ ’
.

V e ry w ell th en ; in k ill in g h im, I did w h at y o u a r e

,

goin g to do in bu rn ing me I av en g e d my h u sban d, f o r .

y o u r h u sban d k ill ed h im
’
.

Well I rep l ied, as y o u app rov e O f th is v eng ean ce,

‘ ’
,
‘

d i
’

p r e p a r e t o en u r e t .

I do n ot fear it
‘ ’
.

A n d in fac t sh e did n ot see m to h ave l o st c o u rag e H er .

face was cal m, an d she l ook ed at me w ith ou t trembl in g ,

wh il e I b ro ugh t woo d an d dried l eaves tog eth e r an d fev e r ,

ishl y th rew on to th e m t he p ow de r f rom s ome c ar tr idges,

wh“ich was to mak e h er fun eral p il e the mo r e c ru e l .

I h e sitated in my th ou g h ts o f p ersec u tion f o r a mo

ment Bu t t he cap ta in was t h ere p al e an d cov er ed w it h
.
,

b l ood, an d h e seemed to be l ook in g at me w it h h is l a rg e,

g l assy ey es, an d I app l ied my self to my w o rk ag ain a ft er
k issin g h is pal e l ip s S u dden l y h o wev er on raisin g my
.
, ,

h ead I saw t hat sh e was c ryin g, an d I fe l t rath er su r

,

p rise d .

S o y ou are f r ig h ten ed ? I said to h e r

‘ ’
.

NO , but wh en I saw y o u k iss y ou r h usband, I th ought

o f min e, o f all wh om I l ov e
’
.

S h e con tin ued to sob but stopp ing su dden l y, sh e said

“
,

to me in b rok en w o r ds an d in a low vo ic e :
H a v e y ou any ch il dren ?
‘ ’

A S h ive r ran ov er me , f or I g u essed t h at th is poo r

 A NE W Y E A R S G IFT
’

ACQU E S DE RA NDAL , having dined at home

alone told his valet he might go out and he
, ,

sat down at his tabl e to write so me letters .

He ended every year in this manner writing and ,

dreaming He reviewed the ev ents o f his life since

.

last New Y ear s D ay things that were no w all over

’
,

and dead ; and in proportion as the fac e s o f h is

,

frien ds rose up before his eyes he wrote them a ,

few lines a cordial New Y ear s greeting on the first

,
’

of January .

S o h e sat down opened a drawer took ou t of it

, ,

a woma n s photograph gazed at it a few moments

’

, ,

and kis sed it Th en havi n g laid it beside a sheet

.
,

o f not epap e r h e began :

,

M Y DEAR I RE NE :
Y ou must by th is t ime h a e re v
v
c o1 ed th e l1ttle so u v emr I sent y o u addre sse d to the maid
. o

v y
I h a e sh u t m self up th is e en in g in O r der to tell
,
v
y ou .

The pen here ceased to move Jacques r ose up .

and began walking up and down the room .

Fo r the last ten months he had had a sweethea rt ,

not like the others a woman with whom one on,

gages in a pa ssing intrigue o f the theatrica l world ,

o r th e demi mon de but a woman whom he l oved

-
,
 A N EW Y EA R S G IFT
’
1 33

and won He was n o longer a young man altho ugh

.
,

he was still comparatively y oung f or a man and he ,

looked on life seriously in a positive and p rac ti ca l

spirit
.

Accordingly he drew u p the balance sheet of his

,

passion as he drew up every y ear the balance sheet

,

of friendships that were ended or freshly c on

tracted o f circumstances and persons that had en
,

tered into his life .

H is first ardour of love having grown calmer he ,

aske d himself with the precision of a merchant mak

ing a calculation what was the state of his heart
with regard to her and he tried to form an idea
,

of what it would be in the future .

H e found there a great and deep aff ection mad e ,

up of tenderness gratitude and the thousand subtl e

, ,

ties which give birth to long and powerful attac h

ments .

A ring at the bell made him start H e hesitated . .

Should he open the door ? But he said to himsel f

that on e must always Open the door on New Y ear s ’

night to admit the Unknown wh o is passing by and

,

knocks no matt er who it may be

,
.

So he took a wax can dle p assed through the ,

antechamber drew back the bolts tu rn ed the key

, , ,

pulled the door back and saw his swe etheart stand
,

ing pal e as a corpse leaning against the wall

,
.

He s tammered
What is the matter with y ou ?
S he replied
Are vou alone ?
”
Y es .
 34 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T
”
Without servants ?
”
Y es .

”
Y ou are not going out ?
”
No .

She entered with the air of a woman who knew

the house As soo n as S he was in the drawing
.

room She sank down on the sofa and covering her

, , ,

face wi th her hands began to weep bitterly ,

.

He knelt down at her feet and tried to remov e ,

her hands from her eyes so that he might look at ,

them and exclaimed

,

Irene I rene what is the matter with you ? I

, ,

implore you to tell me what is the matter with

”
you ?
T hen amid her sobs She murmured
, ,
”
I can no longer liv e like this .

He did n ot understand .

Live like this ? What do you mean ?

Y es I can no longer live like this
. I .

have endured so much H e struck me th i s . .

”
afternoon .

Who ? Your husband ?

”
Y es mv hus band ,
.

Ah !
He was astonished having never sus p ected that
her husband could be brutal H e w
,

as a man o f the .

world of the better class a clubman a lover of

, , ,

ho r ses a theatregoer and an exp ert swordsman ;

, ,

he was known talked about appreciated every

, ,

w h ere having very courteous manners a very medi

, ,

ocre intellect an absence of education and of th e

,

real culture needed in order to think like a ll w ell

1 36 G UY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Jacque s sat down op posite to her their knees ,

touching He took her hands

.

M y dear love you are going to commit a gross

, ,

an irre parable folly If you want to leave your

.

husband p ut him in the wrong so that your po si

, ,
”
tion as a woman of the world may be saved .

S he asked as she looked at him uneasil y

,
”
Then what do y ou advise me ?
,

To go back home and to put up with your li fe

there till the day when you can Obtain eith er a '

”
separation or a divorce with the honours of war , .

I s n ot this thing which you advise me to do a

”
l ittle cowardly ?
No ; it is wise and sensible Y ou have a high .

p osition a re p utation to protect friends to preserve

, , ,

and relations to deal with You must not l ose all .

these through a mere caprice .

She rose up and said with violence

,

Well no ! I cannot stand it an y longer ! I t is

,

at an en d ! It i s at an end !
T hen placing her two hands on her lover s shou l
,
’

ders and looking him straight in th e face she

, ,

a sked
”
Do y ou love me ?
”
Y es .

”
R eall y and trul y ?
Y es .

Then take care of me .

He exclaimed :
Take care Of y ou ? In my own h ouse ? H ere ?
Why you are mad It would mean losing you f or
, .

ever losin g you bey ond recall ! Y ou are mad l

”
,
 A N Ew YEAR S ’
GI F I
'
1 37

She repl i ed slowly and seriously like a w om an

, ,

who feels the weight of her words

Listen Jacques H e has forbidden me to see
, .

you agai n and I wil l not p lay this comedy of com

,

i ng secretl y to your house You must either los e me .

”
o r take me .

M y dear Irene in that case obtain y our divorce

, , ,

and I will marry you

—
.

Y es y ou will marry me ih two y ear s at the

,

soonest . Yours is a patient love .

Look here ! R eflect ! If you remain here he ll ’

c ome to mor r ow to take y ou awa y se eing that he

-
,

i s your hus band seeing that he has right and l aw

,
”
on his side .

“
I did n ot ask you to keep me m your own
h ouse Jacques but to take me an ywhere you like
, , .

I thought you loved me enough to do that I hav e .

made a mistake G ood by .

-

S h e tu rn ed round and went toward the door so

quickly that he was onl y able to catch hold of her
wh en she was outside the room
”
Listen Irene, .

S h e struggled and would not listen to him H er

,

eyes were full of tears and she stamm ered ,

Let me alone ! let me alone ! let me alone !

He made her sit down b y force and once mor e ,

falling on his knees at her feet he now brought ,

f orward a number Of arguments and counsels to

make her un derstand the folly and terrible risk o f
her proj ect H e omitted nothing which he deeme d
.

necessary to con vince her fi n ding even in his very ,

a ff ection f o r her incen tives to persuasion .

1 38 GU Y DE M A U PA SS A N T

AS she remained S ilent and cold as ice he be g ged ,

o f her implored o f her to listen to him

, to trust ,

him, to follow his advice .

When he had finished sp eaking she only replied ,

Are you dis posed to let me g o away now

T ake a way your hand s so that I may rise to my ,
”
f eet .

Look here I ren e , .

Will you let me go ? ”

I rene is y our r esolution i rrevocabl e

”
Will you let me go ?
T ell me onl y whether thi s re so l ution thi s mad ,

resolution of y our s w h ic h you will b itt erly regr et

, ,
”
is irrevocab l e ?
“
Y es let me go !
T hen stay You know well that you are at
.

home here We S hall go a way to morro w morn

.
-

mg ”
.

She rose to her f eet in sp ite of h im and said ,

in a hard tone
No It is too late I do not wan t sac ri fice ;
. .

I do not want d evotion .

S ta y ! I have done what I ought to do ; I have

said what I ought to sa y I have no f u f th er respon
.

sibility on y our b ehalf My conscience is at peace

. .

T e l l me what you w ant me to do an d I will ,

”
obe y .

S he re sumed her seat looked at h im f or a lon g ,

time and th en asked in a very ca l m voice

, ,
”
Well then exp la in
, , .

E xplain what ? What do you wish me to ex

”
p lain ?
1 40 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

I say that i f th ey are both honou rable p erson s

, ,

th eir un ion mu st be more intimate more r eal mo re , ,

h ea lthy than if all the sac ramen ts h ad c ou se

,

c rated it .

Thi s woman ri sks eve ryt hing And it is ex .

ac tly because Sh e knows it becau se sh e g i v es ev e ry ,

t hing her heart her body her soul her honour h er

, , , , ,

life because she has foreseen all mi se ries all dan

, ,

gers all cata strophes because sh e dares to do a

, ,

bold act an intrep id act becau se she is prepared

, , ,

—
determined to brave everyt hing her husband who ,

might kill her and society which may cast her ou t

, , .

This is wh y she is worth y o f respect in the midst

o f her conj ugal in fi delity ; this is why her lover in ,

taking her Should also foresee every thing and pre

, ,

fer her to every one else whatever may happ en .

I have nothing more to say I spoke in the be gin .

ning like a sensible man whose duty it was to wa rn

y o u ; and n ow I am only a man — a man who l ov es
”
y ou Command and I O be y
.
, .

R adiant she closed his mouth with a ki ss and

, ,

said in a low tone

It is not true darling ! There is nothing the

,

matter ! M y husband does not suspect anything .

B ut I wanted to see I wanted to know what y ou

—
, ,

would do I wished for a New Y ear s gi ft the gi ft ’

—
.

o f your heart another g i ft bes ides the necklace you

sent me You have gi ven it to me Thank s !
. .

thanks ! G od be thanked f or the h appiness

you have given me !
 O N E E V E NING

HE steamboat K leber had sto pp ed I wa s , an d

enraptured with the beautiful Bay of Bou ie
g ,

that sp read out before us The Kabyl e .

M ountains were covered with forests and in the ,

distance the yellow sands formed a beach o f pow

dered gold while the sun shed its fie ry ray s on the
w hite houses o f the town .

The warm African breeze wai ted the odour o f

the dese rt the odour of the great mysterious con
, ,

tin en t into which men o f the Northern race s but

rarely p enetrate into m y face For three months I
, .

had be en wandering on the borders of that great ,

u nk nown worl d on the outskirts of that strange

,

w orld o f the ostrich the camel the gazelle the hip

, , ,

p po otam u s the
, gorilla t h e lion the,tiger an d the , ,

negro I had s ee n the Arab gallopi n g in the wi n d

.
,

l ike a waving standard an d I had slept under thos e

,

brown tents the moving habitation o f those white

,

birds o f the desert an d I felt as it were intoxicate d

, , ,

with light with imagination and with space

, ,
.

But n ow after this final excursion I should have

, ,

to leave to return to France and to P ari s that city

, ,

of useless chatter o f commonplace cares and o f

, ,

c ontin u al h an d shaking an d I should b id adie u to

-
,
1 42 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

a ll that I had grown to love all that was so n ew to,

me that I had scarcely had time to see thoroughl y

, ,

a n d tha t I should so much regret .

A fl eet o f small boats surrounded the st eam er ,

and j umping into one rowed by a neg ro lad I soon

, ,

rea c hed the q ua y near the old Sar acen gate whose ,

gray ru ins at the entrance of the Kabyle to wn

looked like an old esc utcheon O f nobility While I .

was standing by the side of my po rtmanteau loo k ,

ing a t the great steamer lying at anchor in the

roads and fil led with admiration at that uniqu e
,

c oast and that semicircle of hi l ls washed by th e

b lu e waves whi ch were more beauti f ul than N a p le s
,

an d as fine as tho se of Ajaccio or o f P orto in Cor ,

s ica a heav y hand was laid on m y S houlder and on

, ,

turning round I saw standing beside me a tall man

with a l ong beard He was dressed in white fl an
.

nels and wore a straw hat and was looking at me ,

with his blue ey es .

”
Are y ou not an old school mate o f mine ? he
”
It is ve ry possible . What is your n ame ?
”
T rémoulin .

By Jove ! You were in th e s ame c lass as I

Ah ! Old fellow I recogniz ed you immedi

,
”
a tel y .

H e seemed so pleased so ha pp y at seeing me

, ,

t hat in an outburst of f riendl y egotism I shoo k

, ,

b oth the hands of my f ormer sc hool f ello w h ea rtil y ,

a n d f el t ve ry pleased at meeti n g him thu s .

For four y ears T rémou lin had b een one o f m

y
144 G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

Th e matter is settled .

A n d he said to the young negro who was w atch

”
ing our movements : Take tha t home Ali , .

The lad put my portmanteau on his shoulder and

set off,
raisi n g the dust with his black f eet whi l e ,

Trémo ulin took my arm and led me off F irst of .

all he asked me about my j ourn ey an d what im

,

pressions it had made on me and seeing how en , ,

t hu siastic I was about it he seem e d to like me better

,

than ever He lived in an old M oorish house with

.
,

an interior courtyard without any windows look i n g

,

into the street and commande d by a terrace which

, , ,

in its turn commanded those of the neighbouring

,

houses as well as the bay and the forests the hill

, ,

a nd the open sea and I could not help exclaiming

,

Ah ! This is what I like ; the whole of the E ast

lays hold o f me in this place Y ou are indeed luck y .

to be living here ! What nights you must S pend

”
u pon that terrace ! D o y ou sle ep ther e ?

Y es in the summ er We will go u p to it thi s

, .

”
ev ening . Are you fon d of fishing ?
”
What kind o f fishing ?
”
Fishing by torchlight .

Y es I am particularl y f ond of it
, .

V ery well then we will g o after dinner an d

, , ,
”
then come back an d drink sherbet on my roof .

After I had had a bath he took me to see the ,

c harming Kabyle town a veritable c ascad e of white

,

houses toppling down to the sea and as it grew ,

dusk we went in and after a delicious dinner we n t

, ,

down to the qua y Nothing was to be seen but th e

.

lights in the streets and the stars thos e l arge , ,

 O N E EVE N IN G 145

bright sc in ti l lating Afric an sta rs

, A boat was .

waiting f or us and as soon as we got in a man

, ,

whose fac e I c ould not distinguish be gan to row ,

while my friend was getting read y the braz ier

which he would light later and he said to me ,

You know I am an expert in spea ring fish ; no

”
o n e und e rstands it better than I .

Allow me to c ompliment you on your skill .

We had row ed round a kind of mole and now we ,

were in a small bay full of high rocks whose shad ,

ows looked like towers built in the wate r and I ,

sudde n ly perceived that the sea was phosphoresc ent ,

and as the oars moved gentl y they seemed to light ,

up, a weird movi n g flame that followe d in our ,

wake and then di e d ou t

, I leaned over the side
.

o f the boat an d watched it ; as we glided over that

glimmer in the darkn ess .

W here were we going to ? I could n ot see m y

n ei g hbours 1n fact I c ould see nothing but the
,

lumi n ous r 1pple and the spark s of wat e r dropping

from the oar s ; it was hot very hot and the dark , ,

ness seemed as hot as a furnace and this my steri ,

o u s voyage with these tw o men in that silent boat

had a peculiar e ff ect upon me .

Suddenly the rower stopp ed Where were we ? .

I hear d a slight scratching soun d close to me and ,

saw a hand nothing but a hand applying a lighted

, ,

mat ch to the iron grati n g fastening in the bows of

the boat which was covered with wood as i f it had
, ,

been a fl oating funeral pyre and which soon was ,

bla z ing brightl y and lighting up the boat and the

two men an old thin p ale wrinkled sailor wit h
, , , , ,
1 46 GU Y DE M A UPASS AN T

a p ock et handkerc hief tied round his head instea d

-
,

o f a c ap an d Tr emoulin whose fair beard g l i st en e d

, ,

i n the light .

G o on he said and the other began to row

, ,

a gain while Trémou lin kept throwing wood on the

,

bra z ier wh i c h burned red and brightl y I leaned

, .

over the side again and could see the bottom an d a

, ,

f ew feet below us there was that strange c ountr y

o f the water which gives life to plants an d animals
, ,

j ust as the air of heaven does T rémou li n who was .

,

s tanding in the bows with his bod y bent forward ,

and holding the sharp pointed trident c alled a -

s pearing hoo k in his hand was on the lookout with , ,

t he ardent ga z e o f a beast o f prey wat c hing f or its

s poil ,
and suddenly with a swift movement he
, , ,

darted his weapon into the sea so vigorously th at

i t secured a large fish swimming near the bottom .

It was a conger eel which managed to wriggle hal f

, ,

d ead as it was into a puddl e of the bra c kish w ater

,

in the boat .

Trémou lin again threw his s p ear and wh en h e ,

p u ll ed it up I sa w a g reat
, lump of r e d flesh whi c h
p al p itated moved rolled and u nrolled long strong
, , , ,

so ft feelers round the handle of the trident It was .

an o c topus and T rémou lin opened his kn i f e an d

, ,

with a swi ft movement plunged it between the eyes ,

and killed it And so our fishing continued unti l

.
,

t he wood began to run short When there was not .

e nough left to k eep Up the fire Tré mou lin dippe d ,

t he braziers into the sea an d we wer e ag ain b u ri ed

,

i n darkn ess .

Th e old sai lor began to row agai n slo wly and ,

1 48 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

H e was standin g in f ront o f me w rap ped in his ,

b urnous and his voice had such a mournful ring

,

that it almost made me shiver a fter a moment s ’

silence however he continued :

, ,

I will tell you what my sorrow was ; p erh ap s

”
it will do me good to s p eak about it .

Let me hear it .

”
DO y ou reall y w ish it ?
”
Yes .

V ery well then Y ou remember me at c olle ge

, .
,
’
a sort of poet brought up in a Chemist s S hop I
, .

dreamed of writing books and tried it after taking , ,

my degree but I did n ot succeed

, I published a .

v olume o f verse and then a novel and n either o f , ,

them sold an d then I w rote a play w hic h was

. ,

n ever acted .

Next I lost my heart b ut I will not give you an

, ,

a c count o f my passion Next door to my father s .

’

shop there was a tailor wh o had a daughter wit h , ,

whom I fell in love She was very c lever and had .

,

obtained her diplomas for higher studies and her ,

mind was bright and active quite in keeping indeed ,

with her body She might have been taken for fi f

.

teen a lthough Sh e was two and twenty She was

,
- -
.

v ery small with delicate f eatures outlines and

, ,

tints j ust like some beauti ful water colour Her

,
-
.

n ose her mouth

, her blue e yes her light hair her
, , ,

smile her waist her h ands all looked as i f the y

, , ,

were fit for a stained glass window and n ot f or -

,

everyday life but she was lively supple and in

, , ,

cre dibly active and I was very much in love with

,

her I remember two or three walks in the Lu x em

.
 O N E EVE N I NG 1 49

bourg G arden n ea r the Médic i fountain which

, ,

were c e rtainl y the hap piest hours of m y l i fe I .

s up p ose y ou hav e kn own that strange c onditi on of

t ender madness which causes us to think of noth

ing but of acts of adoration ! O ne really be come s
p ossessed haunted
, by a woman and nothing e x ists ,

for us ex c ep t herself .

We soon became engaged and I told her my ,

p roj ects for the future of which she did not ap ,

p rove She did not believe that I was either a poet

.
,

a novelist or a dramatic author and thought a

, ,

p rosp erous busin ess could a ff ord perfect happiness .

So I gave u p the id ea o f writing books and re ,

sign ed my self to selli n g th em and I bought a ,

bookseller s business at M arseilles the owner o f

’
,

w hich had j ust died .

I had three v e ry pros p erous years We had .

made our shop i n to a sort of literary drawi n g room -

,

where all the men of letters in the tow n used to

come and c hat They came in as if it had been a
.
,

c lub an d exchanged ideas on books on poets and

, , ,

esp ecially on politics M y wife who took a very.

,

active part in the business e n j oyed quite a reputa ,

tion in the town but as f o r me while they were

, , ,

all talki n g downstairs I was worki n g in my studio

,

u pstairs ,
which communicated with the shop b y a
w inding staircase I could hear their voices their
.
,

l aughter and their di scussions and sometim es I

, ,

l eft Off writing in order to listen I kep t in my own .

r oom to write a novel — which I never finished .

The most regular frequenters o f the S hop were

M onsieur M ou tina a man o f good p rivate mea n s
, ,
1 50 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

a tall handsome man such as one meets in the

, ,

S outh of France with an olive skin and dark e x

, ,

p ressi ve ey es ; M onsieur Barbet a magistrate ; two ,

merchants who were partners M essrs Faucil and

, , .

Labar rég u e and G eneral the M arquis de la Fléc he

, ,

the head of the R oyalist party the principal man in

.
,

the whole district an old fellow of sixty six

,
-
.

My business prospered and I was happy v ery , ,

happy O ne day however about three o clock

.
, ,
’
,

when I was ou t on business as I was going thro ugh ,

th e R ue Sai n t F er réol I suddenl y saw coming out

-
,

of a house a woman whose figure and appearanc e

were so much like my wife s that I should have said ’

to my sel f : It is she ! if I had not left her in the

’

shop half an hour before su ff ering from a head ,

ache She was walking quickly on before me with

.
,

out turning round and in spite o f my sel f I fol

, , ,

lowed her as I felt surprised and uneasy I said to

, .

“
myself It is she ; no it is quite impossible as , ,

she has a sick headache An d then what could sh e .

,
’
have to do in that house ? Howeve r as I wished ,

to have the matter c leared up I hurried after her ,

.

I do not know whether she felt or guessed that I

was behind her or whether she recogni z ed my ste p
, ,

but she turned round suddenl y It was she ! When .

she saw me she grew very red and stopped and

, ,
’
then with a smile she said : O h ! H ere you a re !
, ,

I felt choking .

Yes ; so you h ave c om e out ? A nd how is

’
your headache ?
’
It is bette r a nd I have been out on a n erran d
,
.

Where ?
1 52 GUY DE M A UPASS A N T

my h ea rt to h er without any reserv e be caus e I ,

lov ed her She was p art of my life the gr eat er

.
,

p art and all my hap pine ss and in her small hand s

, ,

she held my trusting faithful hea rt captive

, .

D uring the first day s those days o f doubt and , ,

before my susp icions inc reased and assumed a

shape I felt as depressed and chilly as on e d o es be
,

fore bec oming seriously ill I was continually cold .

,

really cold and could neither eat n or sleep Why

, .

had she told me a l e What was sh e doing in that

i ?

house ? I went there to try and find out some ,

thing but could discover nothing The man who

,
.

rented the first fl oor an d who was an upholsterer

, ,

had told me all about his neighbours but withou t ,

hel p ing me the least A midwife lived on the sec

.

ond floor a dressmaker and a manicure an d chi rop

,

o dist on the third and two coachmen and thei r

,

families in the attics .

Why had she told me a lie ? It would have been

so easy f or her to have said that she had been to

th e dressmaker or the chiropodist O h how I .

,

l onged to question them also ! I did n ot say so for, ,

fear that she might guess my suspicions One .

thing however was certain ; she had been into that

, ,

house and had c oncealed the fact from me so ther e

, ,

was some mystery in it But what ? At on e mo .

ment I thought there might be some laudable pur

pose in it some charitable de e d that she wished to
,

hide some information which she wished to obtain

, ,

and I found fault with m yself f or sus p e c ting her .

Have n ot al l of u s the right to our little inno c ent ,

s ecrets a kind of sec ond interior life for w hi ch

, , ,
 O N E E VE N IN G 1 53

w e are not responsible to anybody ? Can a man ,

because he has taken a girl to be his companion

through life demand that she shall neithe r think
,

n o r do anything without telling him in a dvan c e or ,

afterward ? Does the word marriage mean re

n ou n c in g all li berty and independ ence ? Was it not
quite possible that she was going to the dress
mak er s without telling me or that she was going
’

to aid the famil y of one of the coachmen ? O r she

might have thought that I w o uld c riticise her visit
to the house without blaming her She kn ew me .

thoroughly all my slightest peculiarities an d per

, ,

haps S he feared a discussion even if she did not

,

think that I should find fault with her She had .

ver y pretty hands and I ended by supposing that

,

S he was havi n g them secretly attended to b y the

manicure in the house which I suspected and that ,

sh e did n ot tell me o f it f o r fear that I should think

,

her extravagant . She was very methodical and

economical and looked after all her hou sehold du
,

ties most carefully and no doubt she thought that

,

she should lower hersel f in my eyes were she to

confess that slight pi ece of feminine extravag ance .

Wom en have so many subtleties and innate tricks in

their soul !
But none of my reasoni n g reassured me I was .

j ealous ; my suspicions were aff ecting me terribly

I was becoming a prey to them I cherished secret .

grief and anguish ; a thought as yet veiled w hich I ,

dare d n ot unc over for beneath it I should find a

,

terrible doubt A lover ! Had she not a lover ? It

.

w as unli kely impossible

, and yet ?
1 54 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

I continuall y saw M on tin a s fac e before m y ’

e yes I saw the tall silly looking handsome man

.
,
-
, ,

w it h his bright hair smiling into her face and I

, ,

said to m y self : It is he ‘
I concocted a story of
.
’

their intrigues They had talked a book over to

.

gether had dis c ussed the love adventures it c on

,

tain ed had found something in it that res embl ed

,

them an d had turned that analogy into reality A n d

, .

so I w atched th em a prey to the most terrible suf

,

f erin g s that a man can endure I bought shoes .

with rub ber so les so that I might be able to move

,

a bout the house nois elessly and I spent half m y ,

t ime in going u p an d down m y litt l e spiral stair c as e ,

in the h Ope of su rprising them but I al way s fo und ,

that the clerk was with them .

I lived in a state o f continual su ff ering I .

c ould no longer work nor attend to m y business .

Wh en I went out as soon as I had wa lked a hun

,

d re d ya rds along th e street I said to my self : He,

is there ! When I fo und he was not there I went ,

out again but retu rned almost immediately thin k

, ,

in g : He is there now ! and th a t went on every

day .

At
night it was still worse for I fel t her by ,

my side in bed asleep or pretending to be asl eep !

,

Was She really sleeping ? NO most likely not Was , .

that another lie ?

I remain ed moti onless on m y back burning ,

from the warmth of her body tormented br eathin g , ,

h ard O h ! how intensely I longed to get up to g et

.
,

a hammer and split her head open so as to look in ,

s ide it ! I knew that I should see noth ing but what

1 56 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

he did I hated and detested her an d wou l d wi ll

, ,

in g ly have burned her fingers and made her con

fess .

P resently he continued more c almly I do not

know why I have told you all this for I have nev e r ,

men tion ed it to any on e but th en I have not s e en,

an ybod y or spoken to a n ybody f o r two years ! A n d

i t was seethi n g in my h eart like ferm en ti n g wine .

I have rid myself o f it an d so much t he worse f o r

,

you Well I had ma de a mi stake but it was wors e

.
, ,

than I thought much worse Just listen I em

,
. .

ploy ed the mean s a man always employs u n d er such

circumstances and preten de d that I was goi n g to
,

be away from home When ever I did this m y wife

.

wen t out to lun cheon I n eed n ot tell you how I

.

bribed a waiter in the restaurant to which they used

to go so that I might surprise them
, .

He was to open the door o f th eir private room

for me and I arrived at the appointed time wit h
, ,

the fixed determination of killi n g them both I .

c ould imagine the whole scene j ust as if it had al ,

read y occurred ! I could see myself g oi n g in A .

small table covered with glasses bottles and plates , ,

s eparated her from M ou ti n a and they would be so ,

surprised when they saw me that they would n ot

even attempt to move ; and without a word I , ,

should bring down the loaded stick which I had in

my hand on the man s head Killed by one blow he
’
.
,

woul d fall with his head face downward on th e

table Then tur n i n g toward her I should g ive her
—
.
, ,

—
time a few moments to understa n d it all and to
stret c h out her arms toward me mad with terror , ,
 O N E EVE N I NG 1 57

b e fore d y in g in her turn O h ! I w as ready strong

.
, ,

determine d and p leased madl y pleased at the idea

, , .

The idea of her terrified look at the sight o f my

raised stick o f her hands stretched out imploringl y
, ,

o f her strangled cry of her face suddenl y livid and

, ,

convulsed avenged me beforehand I would not

, .

kill her at one blow ! You will think me cruel I ,

dare say ; but you do not know what a man su ff ers .

To th ink that a woman one loves whether she be ,

wife or sweetheart gives herself to another y ields

, ,

herself up to him as she does to you and receive s ,

kisses from his lips as she does from yours ! It is a

terrible an atrocious thing to think o f When one
, .

feels that torture on e is ready f or anything I onl y

,
.

wonder that more women are not mur dered for ,

every man who has be en deceived longs to commit

m u rder has dreamed o f it in the solitude of his own
, ‘

room or on a lonely road an d has been haunted b y ,

the one fixed idea of satisfi ed ve ngeance .

I arrived at the re staura n t and asked whether

they w ere th ere Th e waiter whom I had bribed
.

replied : Y es M onsi eur and taking me upstairs

, ,
’
,

he poi n ted to a do o r and sai d : That is the room !

,

I grasped my stick as if my fingers had be e n m ad e

,

o f iron an d w en t in
, I had chose n a mo st appro
.

r iat e mom ent f o r th ey w e re kis si n g mo st lov ingl y

p ,
.

But it was not M on tin a it was G e n eral de la ,

Fl e che who was six ty six years O ld and I had so

,
-
,

f ully ma de up my mind that I should fin d the other

on e there that I was motion less from astonishment .

“
And then an d then I reall y do not ,

quite kno w what w as in my mind no I re al ly do , ,

1 58 G UY DE M A UPA SSA N T

not k n ow If I had found my self face to face with

.

the other I should have been conv u lsed with rage ;

,

but on seeing this old man with a prominent ,

stomach and flabby cheeks I was nearly choked ,

with disgu st She who did not look fifteen small

.
, ,

and Slim as she was had given herself to this big

,

man who was almost paralyzed because he was a

, ,

M arquis and a general the fri end and repres en ta ,

ti v e o f dethroned k ings No I do not know what I .

,

felt nor what I thought I could n ot have lifted

, .

m y hand against this old man ; it would have dis

graced me ! And I no longer felt inclined to kill
my wife but all women who could be gu ilty of such
,

things ! I was no longer j ealous ; I was dismay ed ,

as i f I had seen the horror o f horrors !

Let people say what the y like of men they are ,

n ot so vile as that ! If a man is known to have

given himself up to an Old woman in that fashion ,

people poi n t their fi nger at him The husb an d or .

lover of an Old woman is more despised than a thief .

We men are a decent lot as a rule but women , , ,

many women are absolutely bad They will gi v e

, .

themselves to all men old or young from the most

, ,

c ontemptible and diff eren t motives because it is ,

their profession their vocation and their functi on

, , .

They are the eternal conscienceless and seren e , ,

p rostitutes who give up their bodies because th ey

, ,

are the merchandise of love which they sell o r , ,

g ive to,the old man who f re q uents the pavement s

w ith mon ey in his pocket or else for glory to a , ,

lecherous Old king or to a celebrated and disgu st

,

in g Old man .
1 60 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

bin ation s o f event

s —w ithout its be ing evi d ent on
the surface a greater amount o f the sec ret quin
-

te ssenc e o f life than is s p read ov er whol e da y s of

ordinary l i fe
.
 RECOLLEC IO T NS OF A BOA T M A N

SAW some very strange things and som e very

”
strange women when I was a boatman he ,

said,
and was oft en temp ted to write a book
c alled On the S eine telling about that careles s
, ,

me r ry robust though needy li fe that I lived from

,

the age of twenty to thirty .

I was a mere stripling without a p enn y and ,

no w I am a man who has made his mone y who has ,

sp ent large sums on a momentar y capri c e In m y .

heart I had th en a thousand modest and u n realiz a

ble desires which gil ded my existence with imagi
nary hopes though no w I really do not know that
,

any fancy whatsoever would make me g et out of the

armc hair wh e re I am dozi n g H o w simple and nice
.

and good it is to live like this betw een my O fli c e in

,

P aris and the river at Argenteuil F o r ten years .

the Seine was my only my one absorbing passion

,
.

Ah ! that beautiful calm diversified and ill smel l

, ,
-

ing river full of mu d an d filth I think I loved it so

, .

much because it seemed to give me a sense o f li fe .

O h ! what walks I had along the grassy banks ,

where my friends the frogs were dreami n g on the

, ,

l eaf Of a nenup har and where th e c oquettish and

,
1 62 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

delicate water lilies suddenly opened to me behind ,

a willo w like a leaf out of a Japanese alb um and

, ,

Where the kingfisher flashed past me like a blue

fl ame ! How I loved it all with the insti n ctive l ove
,

o f nature Whi ch seemed to be expressed by m y

w hole bod y and filled me with a profound j oy .

Just as other men retain the recoll ection o f

sweet an d tender nights so I remember sunrises in
,

the morning mist floating wande r ing vapours

, , ,

w hich were as pale as death before the sun rose ,

a n d then at its first rays g lided over the m e adows ,

lighted up with a ro sy tint which delighted the ,

h eart . And then again I have recoll ections of the

,

m oon silveri n g the running trembling water with ,

a brightn e ss which made the fou n dation for dream s .

And all this the symbol o f et e rnal illusions rose up

, ,

i n me on that turbid water which was car rying al l ,

t h e filth of Paris toward the sea .

And then what a merry li fe it was with m y

,

c ompanions ! —
There were five of u s a band o f
s erious men we are now As we were all p oor we
.
,

h ad founded an inexpressible colony in a horrible

ea ting house at Argenteuil which possessed onl y ,

o n e bedroom where I have certainl y spent some o f

,

the madd e st nights of my life We cared for noth .

ing ex c ept for amusing ourselves and rowing for ,

we all worshiped th e oar with one except i on I re

, .

member such singular adventures such unli kel y ,

t r i c ks invented b y those five rascals that no one ,

w ould believe them at present P eople do not liv e .

like that any longer even on the Seine for the mad
, ,

a ntics we kept up have died out now .

1 64 GU Y D E M A UPA SS A N T

b rought us a littl e thin lively j umping chatterin g

, , ,

girl full o f drollery o f that droller y which is the

, ,

substitu te for wit among the youthful male and f e

male workpeo ple who have developed in the streets
o f P aris Sh e was ni c e look ing without being
.
-

p retty the outline o f a woman who had a little o f

,

e verything one o f those silhouettes which draughts

,

men draw in three strokes on the table in a ca fé

after dinner be tween a gl a ss o f brandy and a ciga
,

rette Nature is like that sometime s

.
, .

The first evening she surp rised us amused us , ,

and we could not form an y Opinion about her so ,

unexp ectedly had she com e among us ; but having

fallen into thi s nest of men who were all ready for ,

any folly she was soon mistress of the situation

, ,

and the ver y next day She had made a conquest o f

each one of us She was quite cracked into the
.
,

bargain and must have been born with a glass o f

,

absinth in her stomach which her mo th er had ,

drunk at the moment she was born and she never ,

grew sober since f or her wet n urse so she said

, , ,

recruited her strength with draughts o f rum and she ,

n ever c alled the bottles which were standin g in a

l ine at the back of the wine merchant s S hOp an y ’

thing but my holy family .

’

I do not know which o f us gave her the n ame

of Fl y nor wh y it was given her but it suited her
, ,

very well and stuc k to her and ou r yawl ever y

, ,

week carried fiv e merry strong young fellows on ,

the Seine between Asni e res an d M aison La ffitte ,

who were rul ed from un der a parasol o f coloured

paper by a liv ely and madcap youn g perso n who ,
 FLY 1 65

t rea ted us like S laves whose business it was to row

her about and of whom we w ere all very fond
, .

We w e re all liked by her for a thousand re a ,

sons at first but f or only one afterward

, I n the .

stern o f our boat She was a kind o f small word mill ,

chatt er i n g to the wi n d which blew across the water .

She chattered ceaselessl y with that slight continu , ,

ous noi se o f tho se m echanical winged contrivances

which turn in the bre eze and she thoughtlessly said ,

the most un expected the funniest the most aston

, ,

i sh ing things In her min d all the parts o f which

.
,

seem ed dissimilar like rags o f all kinds and o f

,

every colour n ot sewn but merely tacked together

, , ,

there appeared to be as much imagination as in a

fairy tale a good deal of coarseness indecency im
, , ,

p rudence an d of the unexpected and as mu c h

‘

, ,

bre ezin ess an d perspective as in a balloon voyage .

We put questions to her in order to call forth

answers which She found no one could tell where ,

and the on e with which we teased her most f re

quently was : Wh y are you called Fly ?
‘
She ’

gave us such unlikely reasons that we left o ff row

ing in order to laugh But she pleased us also as.

a woman ; and La Toque who never rowed an d , ,

who sat b y her side at the tiller the whole day lon g ,

once replied to the usual q uestion : Why are y ou

called Fly ? Because she is a little Spanish
’

fly
Y es a little buzzing teasing fly not the clas
, , , ,

sical poisonous brilliant and mantled S p anish fl y

, , , ,

but a little Spanish fly with red wings wh ich began ,

to disturb th e whole crew o f Th e Ov er tu rn ed Leaf .

 66 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

And what stupid j okes were also made about thi s

l eaf where this fl y had alighted !
Since the arrival of Fly on our boat O nly One -

Eye had taken a leading superior part among us , ,

the part of a g entl eman who has a wi fe toward

four others who have not got one and he abused
’

th at privilege so far as to kiss Fly in ou r presen ce ,

when he took her on his kn ee after meals and by ,

other p rerogatives which were as humi l iating as

,

they were irritating .

They had been isolated in the sl eepin g room by -

means of a curtain but I soon p erceived that my

,

companions and I had the same arguments in our

‘
minds in our solitude :
,
Why and in virtue of ,

what law of exc eption or of what unacceptable,

pri n ciple should Fly who does not a ppear trou

, ,

bled by an y prej udices remain faithful to her lover

, ,

while ladies o f society are n ot faithful to their hus

’
bands ?
“
O ur reflections were quite in order and we ,

were soon convinced of it and we ought to have ,

‘

made them sooner so as not to have needed to t e

,

gret any lost time f o r Fly deceived O nl y O ne Ey e

,
- -

with all the others of the crew of The Over tu rn ed

Leaf and she deceived him without making an y
,

difli cu lties without any resistance the first time any

, ,

of us asked her
O f c ourse m
.

odest peop le will be terribl y

,

S h oc k ed ! B ut why ? What courtesan who happ en s

to be in th e fashion but has a dozen lovers and ,

which o f those l ov ers is stup id enough not to know

it ? Is it not the correct thing to have an evening at
1 68 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

triump hant look o f a man who was satisfied and ,

who S itting by the steerswoman seemed to squeeze

, ,

himself rather too close to her in ou r estimation , ,

stopped the rowi n g by calling ou t : S tOp !

“
The four oars were drawn out of the water ,

and then tu rning to his neighbour he said to her

, ,

Wh y were y ou calle d Fly ? But b e fore she could ’

r e p ly the voice o f O nly O ne Ey e who was sitting - -

,

in the bows said dry ly : Because she settles on

,

all the carrion .

’

There was a dead S ilence and an emb arrassed

p ause which was followed by an inclination to
,

l augh while Fly herself looked very much con

,

f used an d La Toque gave the order

, R ow on ,

all ! and the boat st art ed again The 1nc 1den t was
’
.

closed an d light let in upon the subj ect and that

, ,

little adventure made no di ff erence in ou r habits ,

but it only reestablish ed cor diality between Onl y

O ne Ey e and us He once more became the hon
-
.

ou red proprietor Of the Fly from Saturday night

until M on day morning as his superiority ov er all o f ,

us had be en thoroughl y established by that defini

tion which moreover closed one o f the questions
, , ,

about the word Fly For the future we were satis .

fi ed to p la y the secondary part of grat eful and po

l ite friends who profited discr eetly by the week
day s without an y contention o f any kind among
,

ourselves .

“
That answered very well f o r about three
months but then suddenly Fly assumed a strange
,

attitu de toward us She was less merry nervous .

, ,

u neasy and almost irritable an d we frequentl y

, ,
 F LY 1 69

’
ask ed her : What is the matter with you ? And
she replie d : Nothing ; leav e me alon e
’
.

O n ly O ne Ey e told us what was the ma tter with

- -

her on e Saturday evening We h ad j ust sat down

,
.

to table in th e little dining room which our eating -

house k eeper Barbic hon reserved for us at his inn

, , ,

and the soup b eing finished we w ere waiti n g for

, ,

the fried fish wh en ou r friend who also appeared

,
l
,

thoughtful took Fly s hand and said :

,
My dear
’
.

comrades I have a very grave communication to

,

make to y ou and on e that may perhaps give rise

, , ,

to a prolonged discussion but we shall have to ,

argue between the courses Poor Fly has an .

n oun ced a piece of disastrous news to me and at ,

the same time has asked me to tell it to you : She

i s pregnant and I will only add two words
, Thi s .

is n ot the mome n t to abandon her and it is for ,

bidde n to try and find ou t who is the

At first we were stu p efied and felt as i f som e ,

disaster had befallen us and we looked at each ,

other with the lo n gi n g to accuse some one but ,

w h om ? O h ! Which o f us ? I have never felt as

I did at that moment the perfi dy o f that cruel j oke
of nature which never allows a man to know f or a
certainty whe ther he is the father o f his child .

Then however by degrees a sort o f fe eli n g o f c on

, ,

solation came ov er us and g ave us comfo r t which ,

spra n g from a confused idea o f j oi n t responsibility .

Tomahawk who spoke but little formul ated a

, ,

!
La r ec her c h e d e la pa ter n i té . c el ebrated cl au se in the
A
Co de Nap o l eon , wh er eby a man can n ot be made chargeabl e
f or a bastard ! T r an s
. l ato r ! .
1 70 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

begi nni n g of rea ssurance by thes e w ords : Well ,

so much the worse by Jove Un ion is strength , .

,

howev er At that moment a scullion brought in th e

.
’

frie d gu dg eons but thev did not fall on them as

,

they generall y did f o r they all had the same trouble

,

on their mind and O nly O n e Ey e continu e d : Un

,
- -

der these circumstances she has had the delicacy to ,

confess eve ry thing to me M y friends we are all .

,

equally guilty so let us shake hands and adopt the

,

c hild .
’

That was decided upon un anixn ou sly ; they all

raised their hands to the dish o f fried fish an d
’
swore : We will adopt it Then whe n she was .
,

thus suddenly saved and delivered from the wei g ht

,

o f the terrible anx iety that had been tormentin g he r

f or a month this pretty craz y poor child of love
, , , ,

Fly e x claimed :
, O h ! my friends ! my friends !
Y ou have kind good hearts , good hearts .

Thank you all o f you ! And she shed

,
’

tears for the first time be fore us al l .

From that time on we spoke in the boat about

the c hild as if it were alread y born and each o f us
, ,

took an exaggerated interest because of our share ,

in the matter in the slow and regular development

,

o f our mistress s waist and we would stop rowing

’
,
’
in order to say : Fly ! Here I am she replied , .

‘
Boy or girl ? B oy What will he be when
’
.
’

he grows up ?
’

Th en she indul ged in the most fantasti c flights

o f fanc y They were interminable storie s astound
.
,

in g inventions from the day o f his birth until his

,

fi nal triumph In the u n SOphisticated pas sionate

.
, ,
172 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

and at v ery moment when we were passing u p

the
alongside she rose to her f eet took a sp ring an d
, , ,

tried to j ump on to the l anding stag e She was .

not strong enou gh however and only j ust touched , ,

the stones with her foot struck the s harp angle ,

w ith her stomach uttered a c ry and disappeared in, ,

the water .

We all five p lunged in at the same moment and

p ulled out the poor fainting woman who was as , ,

pale as death and was already su ff eri n g terrible

,

pain and we carried her as quickly as possible to

,

the nearest inn and sen t f o r a medical man For

, .

the si x hours that h er miscarriage lasted She suf ,

f ered the most terrible pain with the courage o f a

heroine wh ile we were grieving round her fever
, ,

ish with anxiety and f ear Then she was delivered .

of a dead child and f o r some days we were in the

,

g rea test fear for her life ; at last however the doc , ,

tor said to us one morning : I think her li fe is

sa ved That girl is mad e of steel and we all o f ’
.
,

us went into her room with radia n t h earts and , ,

O nl y O ne Ey e as spokesman for us all said to her :

- -
, ,

The danger is all over little Fly and we are all , ,

hap py again .
’

Then for the second time she w ept in our pres

ence and with her e yes full of tears she said
, , ,
“ ‘
O h ! I f you only knew if you only kne w ,

what a grief it is what a grief it

"
is to me I shall n ever get ov er it O ver
what little Fly ?
.

, O v er having kille d it f or I did ,

kill it ! Oh ! Without intending to ! O h ! how

grieve d I am !
 FLY 1 73

She was so bb ing and we stood round deeply

, ,

touched but without kn owin g w h at to say and she

, ,
’
went on : Have y ou seen it ? A n d we re pl ie d
‘
Y es It w as a boy was it ’
with one voice : .
,
’
not ?’
Y es B eautifu l was it not ? We hesi
.
,
’

tated a good deal but P etit Bl eu who was les s

,
-
,

sc rupulous than the rest o f us made u p his min d to ,

a ffi rm it and said : Very beauti ful

, .
’

He committed a mista ke howev er for she be , ,

gan to sob and almost to s c ream w ith grief and ,

O n ly O n e Ey e who p erhaps l oved her more t han

- -
, , ,

the rest of us did had a ha ppy thought

, Ki ssing .

her eyes that were dimmed with tears he said :

, ,

Console y oursel f little Fl y console y ou rself we

, ,

w i ll make another for you .

’

H er innate sense of the ridiculous was sudden ly

e xc ited and half convinced and hal f j oking sti l l
, , ,

tear ful and her heart sore with gri e f she s a id look , ,

ing at us al l :
’
D o y ou really mea n it ? And we re pl i ed al l at

We really mean it .
 T H E D E V IL

H E p ea sa nt and the doctor stood on pp osite O

sides of the bed beside the old dying , ,

woman She was calm and resign ed and her

.

mind quite clear as she looked at them and listened

to th eir conversation She was going to die and
.
,

she did n ot rebel at it for her time was come as she

, ,

w as ninety two -
.

T h e July sun streamed in at the window and the

open doo r and cast its hot flames on th e uneven
b rown clay floor which had been stamp ed down b y
‘

f our ge n erations of clodhoppers The smell of the .

fi elds came in also driven by the sharp wind and

,

p arched by the noonti d e heat The grassho p

. per s

c hi rped themselves hoarse and filled the country

,

w ith thei r shrill noise which was like that o f the

,

w ooden toys which are sold to children at fair time .

The doctor raised his voice and said Honoré ,

y o u cannot leave y our moth e r in this state ; she ma y

”
d ie at any moment And the peasant in great
.
,

d istress r eplied :
,
B ut I must get in my wheat ,

f or it has been lying on the ground a long time and ,

the weather is j ust right for it ; what do you say

”
a bo ut it mother ?
, And the dyin g old woman stil l ,

t ormented b y her Norman avariciousness rep lied ,

1 76 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

h ood , an d then as soon as she had sewn her c us

,

tomer s into that linen cloth from which the y w ou l d

e merge no more she we n t and took up her iron to
,

smooth out the line n o f the living Wrink led l ike .

a last yea r s ap ple spiteful envious av a ricious with

’
, , ,

a phenomenal avarice bent double as i f she had , ,

been broken in half across the loins by the constan t

motion of p assing the iron over the linen one might ,

h ave said that she had a kind o f abnorma l and

c ynical love of a death st ruggle She never s poke .

o f anything but o f the people she had seen die o f ,

the various kinds of deaths at which She had be en

p resent and
, she related with the greatest minute
n ess details which were always similar j ust as a ,

s po rtsman recounts his luck .

When Honoré Bontemps entered her cottage he ,

found her preparing the starch f or the collars o f

th e women villagers and he said : G ood evening
,

I hope y ou are pretty w ell M other R ap et ? ,

She turned her head round to look at him an d ,

”
s aid : As usual as usual and you ?
, O h ! as
,

for me I am as well as I could wish but my mothe r

, ,
” ”
is not well Your mother ?
. Y es my ,
’
mother ! What s the matter with her ? S he
is going to turn u p her toes that s wh a t s the mat ,
’ ’

”
ter with her !
The Old woman took her hands out of the w ate r
a nd asked with sudden sympath y : Is she as bad
”
as all that ? The doctor say s she wi ll not last
t i ll morning .Then she certainl y is v e ry bad !
Honoré hesitated for he wanted to make a f ew
,

p re p aratory remarks before c oming to his pro po si

 TH E D EVIL 1 77

tion ; but as he cou l d hit upon nothing he ma de up ,

h is mind suddenl y .

How much wi ll y ou ask to stay with her till the

end ? You kn ow that I am not rich and I ca nnot ,

even a ff ord to keep a serv ant girl I t is j ust that .

which has brought my poor mot h er to th is state

too much worry and fatigue ! S he did the w ork o f
ten in s p ite of her ninety two years You don t
,
-
.
’

fi nd any made o f that stu ff now adays !

La R apet answered gravel y There are two
p rices : Fo rty sous by day and three francs by
n ight for the rich and twenty sous by da y and fort y
,

by night for the others You shal l pay me the .

”
t wenty and forty But the peasant reflected for
.
,

he knew his mother well He knew how tenacious .

of life how vigorous and unyielding she was and

, ,
’
she might last another wee k in spite of the doctor s,

O pinion ; and so he said resolutely No I would '

rather you would fix a price for the whole time u n

til the end I will take my chance on e way or the
.
,

other The doctor says she will die very soon I f

. .

that happens so much the better for you and so

, ,

much the worse for her but if she holds ou t till to

,

morrow o r longer so much the better for her and

,
”
so much the wors e f or you !
The nurse looked at the man in astonishment for ,

she had never treated a death as a speculatio n and ,

she hesitated temp ted by the idea of the possible

,

gai n but she suspected that he wanted to play her a

,
“
trick . I can say nothing until I have seen your
mother she replied , .

Then come with me and see her .

1 78 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

Sh e washe d her han d s , an d went with him imme

d iately .

They did not speak on the road ; she walked with

s hort hasty steps while he strode on with his lon g
, ,

legs as if he were crossing a brook at every st ep

, .

The cows lying down in the fields overcome by ,

the heat raised their heads heavil y and lowed feebl y

,

at the two passers by as i f to ask them for some

-
,

g reen g rass .

When the y got near the house H onoré B on ,

”
temps murmu red : Suppose it is all over ? And
t he unconscious wish which he had that it might be
s o showed itself in the sound of his voice .

B ut the Old woman was not dead She was ly .

i ng on her back on her wretched bed her hands

, ,

c overed with a purple cotton counterpane horribl y ,

t hin k n otty ha n ds like the claws of strange ani

, ,

m als like crabs half closed by rheumatism fatigue

, , , ,

a n d the work of nearl y a centu ry which She had

a ccomplished .

La R apet went u p to the bed and looked at the

dying woman felt her pulse tapped her on the chest
, , ,

l istened to her breathing and asked her questions , ,

s o as to hear her speak ; an d then having looked at ,

h er f or some time she went out of the room fol

, ,

l owed by Honoré Her decided opinion was that the

.

o ld woman would not last out till night He asked .

”
Well ? And the sick nurse replied : Well she -
,

may last two day s perhaps three Y ou will have , .

”
t o give me six francs ever y thing included , .

Six francs ! six francs ! he shou ted A re .

y ou o u t of y our min d ? I tell you that S h e cannot

 80 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

behind some farm build ings ; the w omen who w ere

making up the sheaves stood up to make the S i gn
o f the cross ; the frightened black hens ran away

along the d itch until they reached a well know n -

hole through whi ch they suddenl y disappeared

, ,

w hile a foal which was tied in a meadow took

f right at the sight of the surplice and began to gal
l op round and round kicking out every now and,

then . The acolyte in his red cassock walked

, ,

quickly and the priest with his head inclined

, ,

toward one shoulder and his square biretta on his

head followed him muttering some prayers ; whil e
, ,

l ast o f all came la R apet bent almost double as i f ,

sh e wished to prostrate herself as she walke d w ith ,

folded hands as they do in church .

Honor é saw th em pass in the distance and he ,

”
asked Where is our priest going ? His man ,

who was more int elligent replied He is t aking ,

t h e sacrament to y our mother of course ! ,

The peasant was not surpris ed and said : Tha t ,

”
may be and went on with his work
, .

M other Bontem p s confessed received abs olution ,

and communion and the priest took his d eparture

, ,

l eaving the two women alone in the su ff ocating

room while la R apet began to look at the dying
,

woman and to ask herself whether it could last

,

much longer .

The day was on the wane and gu sts of coo l er ,

air began to blow causing a view of E pinal which

, ,

was fastened to the wa ll by two pins to flap up and ,

down ; th e sca n ty wind ow curtains which had for ,

merly been white but were now yellow an d covere d

,
 TH E DEVIL I
'

w ith fl y specks l ooked as i f they were going to fl y

-
,

O ff
, as if the y were struggling to get away l ike th e ,
’
O ld woman s soul .

Lying motionless with her eyes open She seemed

, ,

to await with indi ff erence that d eath which was so

n ear and which y et delayed its coming Her short .

breathing whistled in her constricted throat It .

would stop altogether soon and there would be one ,

woman less in the world ; n o on e would regret her .

At nightfall Honoré returned and when he w ent ,

up to the bed and saw that his mother was still

”
alive he asked
, How is she ? j u st as he had
done formerly when she had been ailing and the n ,

he sent la R apet away saying to her To mor,

-

row morning at fiv e o clock without fail And she

’
, .

”
replied : To morrow at five o clock
-
,
’
.

She came at daybreak and found Honoré eatin g ,

his soup which he had ma de himself before going

,

to work and the sick nurse asked him :

, Well is
-
,
”
your mother dea d ? She is rather better on ,
”
the contrary he r eplied with a sly look out o f the
, ,

corner of his eyes And he wen t out . .

La R apet seized with anxiety went u p to the

, ,

dying woman who remained in the same state

, ,

lethargic and impassive with her eyes open and her ,

hands clutching th e cou n terpane The nurse per .

c eiv ed that this might go on thus for two days four ,

days eight days an d her avaricious mind was

, ,

seized w ith fear while she was furious at the sl y

,

fellow who had tricked her and at the woman who ,

would not die .

Neverthe l ess she be gan to w ork a nd w aited

, , ,
182 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

lo oking intently at th e wrink led fac e o f M other

Bontemps When Honoré returned to breakfast he
.

seemed quite satisfied and ev en in a bantering

humour He was decidedly getting in his wheat
.

under very favourable circumstances .

La Rapet was becoming exasperated ; every min

ute now seemed to her so much time and mone y
stolen from her She felt a mad inclination to take
.

this old woman this headstrong old fool this oh

, ,

stin at e o ld wretch and to stop that short rapid

, ,

br eath which was robbing her o f her ti me and

,

money by squeezing her throat a little But then

,
.

she reflected on the dang er o f doing so and other ,

thoughts came into her head ; so she went up to

“
the bed an d said : Have you ever seen the
De vil ? M other Bontemps murmured No .

Then the sick nurse b egan to talk and to tel l her

-

tales which were lik ely to te rrify the weak mind

o f the dying woman Some minutes before one dies .

the D evil appears she said to all wh o are in the

, ,

death throes He has a broom in his hand a sauce

.
,

p an ou his he ad and he utters loud cries When

, .

anybody sees him all is over and that person has

, ,

only a few moments longer to Hire She then en u .

merated all those to whom the D evil had appeared

that year : Jos ephine Loisel E ulalie R atier S Ophie , ,

Padakn au S é raph ine G rosp i ed

,
.

M other Bont emps wh o had at last become dis ,

tu rbe d in mind moved about wrung her hands an d

, , ,

tried to turn her hea d to look toward the end of the

room Sudde n ly la R apet disappeared at the foot
.

o f the bed S he took a sheet out o f the cupboar d

.
 G H OST S

H E C oncordat was j ust in its most fl ou rishin g

condition when a young man who belonged ,

to a wealth y and highly res p ected middle

class family went to the Offi ce of the he ad of the
,

police at P to ask for help and advic e w hich ,

was at once promised him .

My father threate n s to disinherit me the ,

young man then began although I have never

,

o ff ended agai n st the laws o f the State of morality ,

or of his pat ernal authority but merely because I

,

do n ot share his blind reverence for the Catholic

Church and her ministers O n that account he look s
.

upon me not merely as a l atitudinarian but as a

, ,

pe r fect atheist and a faithful Old manserv ant o f

,

ours who is much attached to me and who acci

, ,

denta l l y saw my father s wil l told me in confidence

’
,

that he had l eft all his property to the Jesuits I .

thi nk this is highly suspicious an d I fear that the ,

p riests h ave been malign ing me to my father U n .

til les s than a year ago we used to live very quietl y

,

and happ ily together but ever since he has had so

,

much to do with the cle rgy our domestic p eace and

happiness are at an end .

What you have told me the ofli c ial repl ied

‘
, ,
 GH OSTS 18 5

1s as l ikel y as it is reg rettable but I fai l to see ,

how I can interfere in th e matter Your father is .

in full p ossession Of al l his mental fac ulties and can ,

dispose of all hi s property exactly as he pleases I .

also think that your protest is premature ; you must

wait until his will takes legal e ff ec t and then you ,

can invoke the aid of j ustice ; I am sor ry to say

”
t hat I can do nothing for y o u .

I think you will be able to do so the y oung ,

man replied ; for I believ e that a ve ry cle ver piec e

”
of deceit is being carried on here .

How ? Cannot y ou explain your sel f more

”
clearly ?
When I remonstrated with him y esterday
eveni ng he referred to my dead mother and at last
, ,

assured me in a voice of the deepest conviction

, ,

th at she had fr equently appeared to him and had

threaten ed him with all the torments of the damned
if he did n ot disinherit his son who had fallen ,

away from G od and leave all his property to the

,

Church Now I do not believe in ghosts

.
, .

Neither do I the police dir ector replied ; but

,

I cannot well do anything on this dangerous

grou n d i f I have nothing but suppositions to go
,

upon You know how the Church rules all our a f

.

fairs since the Concordat with R ome and if I in ,

v estig ate this matter and obtain no results I am ,

ri sking my post It would be very di ff erent if you

.

could adduce any proofs for your suspicions I do .

n ot deny that I should like to see the clerical p a rty ,

which wil l I fear be the ruin of Austria receive a

, , ,

staggering blow ; try therefore to get to the bot

, ,
186 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

tom o f this business and then we will talk it ove r ,

again .

About a month passed without the young lati

tu din arian being hear d of but th en he s uddenl y
came on e evening evid ently in a great state of ex
,

c itemen t and told the chief of police that he was in

,

a position to expose the priestl y d eceit which h e

.

h ad mentioned i f the authorities would assist h im

, .

The police director asked for further informa

tion .

I have obtained a number o f important clues ,

t h e y ou ng man said In the first place my fath er.

,

confessed to me that my mother did n ot appear to

him in our house but in the churc hyard where she
,

is buri ed My mother was consumptive for man y

.

years and a few weeks before her death she went

,

to the village of S where she died and was

buri ed In addition to this I found out from our
.
,

footman that my father has already left the hous e

twice late at night in company of K
, the Jesuit
,

priest and that on both occasions he did not return

,

till morning Each time he was remarkably u n

.

easy and low spirited after his return and had

-
,

three masses said f or my dead mother He also told .

me j ust now that he has to leave home this evening

on business but immediately he told me that ou r
,

footman saw the Jesuit go out of the house We .

may therefore assume that he inten d s t h is even

, ,

ing to consult the spirit o f my d ead mother again ,

an d this would be an excellent O pportunity for get

ting ou the track of th e matter if y ou do not obj e ct ,

to Opposing the most powerful force in the Emp i re

1 88 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

Everything was as still as death , and n ot a soul

was to be seen The sexton was evidently sitting
.

in th e p ublic house , for they found the door o f his

c ottage l oc ked as well as the door of the little
,

c ha pel that stood in the middle o f the churchyard .

” ’
Where is your mother s grave ? the police di
rector asked ; but as th ere were only a few stars
v isible it was not easy to find it However at last
, .
,

th ey managed it and the police o fficer looked abou t

,

in the neighbourhood o f it .

The position is not a very f avourable one for

“
us ,
he said at last ; there is nothi n g here not ,

e ven a sh ru b behind which we could hide

, .

But j ust then the policeman said that he had tried

to get into the sexton s hut through the door or th e
’

w indow and that at last he had succeeded in do

,

in g so by breaki n g open a square in a windo w ,

which had been m ended with paper and that he had ,

O p ened it and obtained p ossession o f the ke y whi ch

he brought to the police chief .

His plans were very quickly settled He had the .

c hapel Opened and went in with th e y oung latitu

din ar ian ; then he told the police sergeant to lock

the doo r b ehi n d him and to p ut the key back wher e
he had found it and to Shut the window of the sex
,

ton s cottage carefully Lastly he made arrange

’
.
,

ments as to what they were to do in case anything

u nforeseen sho u ld occur whereu p on the sergean t
,

an d the constable left the church y ard and lay dow n

in a ditch at some distance f rom the ga te but op ,

p o si te to it .

Almost as soon as the clock struck hal f p as t -

 G H OSTS 189

eleven they heard step s near the ch a pe l whereu pon

, ,

the p ol ice chief and the young l atitudinarian went

to the window in order to watch the beginning o f
,

the exorcism and as the chape l was in total dark

,

n ess they thought that the y should be able to see

, ,

w ithout bei n g seen but matt ers tu rned ou t di ff er

entl y from what the y ex pected .

Suddenly the k ey turned in the l ock and they ,

b are ly had time to c onceal themse lves behind the

altar before two men came in one of whom was ,

c arry in g a dark lantern O ne was the young man s .

’

f ather an elderl y man Of the middle class who

, ,

seemed very unhappy and depressed th e other the ,

Jesuit father K a tall thin big boned man , ,

-
,

with a thin biliou s face in whi c h two large gray

, ,

ey es shone restlessl y under their bushy black ey e

bro w s H e lit the tap ers which were standing on

.

the altar and then began to say a re q uiem mas s ;

,

w hi l e the Old man knelt on the a l ta r step s and

serv ed him .

When it was over the Jesuit t ook the book o f the

G osp els an d the holy water sp rinkler and wen t
slowl y out o f the chapel while the O ld man followed
,

h im with the holy water basin in one hand and a

,

ta p er in the other Then the police director left his

.

h iding place and stooping down so as not to be

-
, ,

seen he crept to the cha p el window wh e re he cow

, ,

ered down car e fully and the young man followed,

his exampl e They were now looking straight on

.

h i s mother s grave
’
.

The Jesuit followed by the superstitious old man

, ,

wal ked t h ree times round the gra ve then he t e ,

1 90 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

mained standing before it and by the light o f the ,

taper he read a f ew passages from the Gospel ;

,

then he dipped the holy water sprinkler three times

into the holy water basi n and sprinkled the grav e ,

thre e tim es ; th en both return ed to the Chapel knel t

'
,

down outsid e it with their faces toward the grave ,

an d b egan to pray aloud u n til at last the Jesuit

,

sprang up in a species of wild ecstasy and cried

, ,

E xs urg e ! Ex s ur g e ! E xs u r g e !
Scarcely had the last exorcism diedwor d Of the
away when thick blue smoke rose ou t of the grave ,

which rapidly grew into a cloud and began to as ,

sume the outlines o f a human body until at last a ,

tall white figure stood behind the grave and beck

on e d with its hand .

Who art thou ? ”

the Jesuit asked solemnly ,

whil e the old man began to cry .

“
When I was alive I was called Anna M aria
the ghost replied in a hollow voice , .

”
Will you answer all my questions ? the p riest
c ontinu ed .

As far as I can .

Have you n ot yet been delivered from p u rga

tory by ou r prayers and all the masses for you r
,
”
soul which we have said f or you ?

Not yet but soon soon I shall be

, , .

”
When ?
As soon as that blasphemer my son has been , ,
”
p unished .

Has that not already happened ? Has not yo u r

husband disinh erited his lost son an d made the ,
”
Churc h his heir in his p lac e ?
,
1 92 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

in ghis imp ri sonment in a monastery in a p art o f

,

t hecountry which abounde d with g ame and trout .

The only va l uable result o f the a mus ing ghost

story was that it brought abo u t a recon ci liation be

tween father and son and the former as a matt er

, ,

of fact felt such deep respect f or p riests and their

,

ghosts in consequence o f the app arition that a short

time after his wife had left purgatory for the las t
—
time in order to talk with him he t urn ed P rotest
ant .
 T W O F RIE NDS

ES IEG ED P aris was in the th roes of famine .

E ven the s p arr ows on the roofs and th e rat s

in the sewers were g rowing s carce P eo pl e .

were eating any thing they c ou l d get .

As M onsieur Morissot watchmaker b y pro f es

,

sion and idler for the nonce was strolling along the
,

boulevard one bright January morni n g his hands ,

in his trousers poc ket and stomach empty he sud ,

denly came f ace to face with an acquaintance

M onsieur Sauvage a fi shing chum , .

Before the war broke out M orissot had b een in

the habit every S undav mo rni ng o f setti ng fo rth
, ,

with a bamboo rod in h 1s hand and a tin box on his

back He too k the Argenteui l train got out at
.
,

Colombes and walked thence to the I le M arante

, .

The moment he arrived at this place of his dreams

he began fishing and fish ed till nightfall
,
.

Every Sunday he met in this very spot M onsieur

Sauvage a stout j olly little man a draper in the
, , ,

R u e Notre D ame de Lorett e and also an ardent

,

fisherman They often spent hal f the day side by

.

side rod in hand and feet dangling over the water

, ,

and a warm f riendshi p had sp rung up between the

two .
1 94 GUY DE M A U PAS SA N T

Some days they did n ot sp eak ; at other times ‘

they chatted ; but the y understood each other per

f ec tly witho ut the aid of words havi n g similar ,

tastes and feelings

In the spri n g about ten o clock in the morning
,
’
,

w hen the earl y sun caused a light mist to float on

t he wat e r and gently warmed the backs of the two
e nthusiastic anglers M orissot would occa sionall y
,

r emark to his neighbour :

M y but it s pleasant here

,
’
.

To which the other would reply

I can t imagi n e anything better !
’

A n d the se few words su fficed to make them un

derstan d and appreciate each other .

In the autumn toward the close o f day when the

, ,

setting sun shed a blood red glow over the western

-

sk y an d the refl ection o f t he crimson clouds tinge d

,

the whole river with red flush ed the faces of the ,

t wo friends an d gilded the tr ees whose leav e s were

, ,

a lready turni n g at the first chill touch of winter ,

M onsieur Sauvage would sometimes smile at

M orissot and say :
,
”
What a glorious spectacle !
And M orissot would answer without taking his ,

ey es from his float

This is muc h better than the boulevard isn t ,

’

”
it ?
As soon as they recognized each other they shook
hands cordially a ff ected at the thought o f meeting
,

u nder such cha n g ed circ u msta n ces .

M on si eur Sauvage with a sigh murmured, ,

These are sad times !

 96 G UY DE M A UPA SS AN T

V ery wel l I agree

. .

An d they se parated , to f etch the ir rod s and l ines .

An hour l ater the y were walking side b y side on

the highroad P resentl y they reached the villa oc
.

c u p ied by the co l onel He smiled at their reques t

.
,

an d gr anted it They resumed their walk f ur

.
,

n ished with a p assword .

Soon the y left the outposts behind them ma de ,

their way through deserted Colombes and found ,

themselves on the outskirts of the sm all vineyard s

which border the Seine It w a s about eleven
.

o clock
’
.

Before them lay the village o f Argente uil ap ,

p a f en t ly l i feless The heights

. o f O r g em en t an d
San nois dominated the landscape The great plain .
,

extending as far as Nan terre was empty q uite

—
, ,

empty a waste of dun coloured soi l and ba re -

cherry trees .

M onsieur Sauvage pointing to the h eight s mur

, ,

mured
The P russians are up yonder !
And the sight of the deserted country filled the
two friends with vague misgivings .

The P russians ! They had never seen them as

yet but they h a d felt their presence in the neigh
,

bou rhood of P aris f or months p ast ruining —

France p ill aging mas sacring starving them And
, , , .

a kind o f superstitious terror mingled with the

hatred they alreadv felt toward this unknown vic ,

t o r io u s nation .

Suppose we were to meet any o f them sa id

M orissot .
 Two FRIENDS 1 97

We d o ff er them some fi sh repl ied M onsieu r

’
,

Sauvage with that Parisian light heartedness which

,
-

nothing can wholly quench .

Still the y hesitated to Show themselves in the

,

Op en country O verawed b y the utter silence wh ich

,

reign ed around them .

At l ast M onsieur Sauvage said boldly

Come we l l make a s tart ; only let us be care
,
’

f ul !
And the y made their wa y through one of th e
v ineyards bent double creeping along beneath the
, ,

c over a ff orded by the vines with eye and ear ale rt , .

A strip of bare grou n d remained to be crossed

before they could gain the river bank They ran .

across this and as soon as they were at the water s

, ,
’

edge concealed themselves among the dry reeds

, .

M o rissot placed his ear to the ground to asc ot ,

tain i f p ossible whether footsteps were coming

, ,

their way H e heard nothing The y seemed to be

. .

u tterly alone .

Their confidence was restored and they began ,

to fish .

Before them the d eserted Ile M arante hid them

f rom the farther shore The little restaurant was .

closed and looke d as i f it had been deserted for

,

years .

M onsieur Sauvage caught the fi rst gudgeon ,

M onsieur M orissot the second and almost every ,

moment one o r other raised his line with a little ,

glittering silvery fish wriggling at the end : they

,

w ere having excellent sport .

They slipped their catch gently into a c lose woven -

1 98 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

net lying at their feet ; they were filled with j oy

the j o y o f onc e more indulging in a p astime o f
which they had long been deprived .

The sun p oured its rays on their backs ; the y n o

longer heard an ything or thought of any thing .

They ign ored the rest of the world ; they were fi sh

mg .

But suddenly a rumbling sound which seemed to ,

come from the bowels of the earth shook th e ,

ground beneath them : the cannon were resum ing

their thunder .

M orissot turned his head and could see towar d

the left beyond the bank s of the river the for
, ,

midable outline of M ont Valé rien from whose sum -

,

mit arose a white pu ff o f smoke .

The next instant a second pu ff followed the first ,

and in a few moments a fresh detonation mad e th e

earth tremble .

O thers followed and minute by minute the mo un

,

tain gave forth its deadly breath and a mi lky

vap o ur which rose S lowly into the peaceful heaven
,

and fl oated cloud like above the summit o f th e

,
-
,

c li ff .

M onsieur Sauvage shrugged his shou l ders .

They are at it again ! he said .

M orissot who was anxiousl y watching his fl o at

,

bobbing up and down was suddenly seized with ,

the angry impatience of a peace f ul man toward the

madmen who were fi ring thus and remarked in ,

dig n an tly
What fools they are to kill one another l i ke
”
t h at !
200 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

In the sp ace o f a few seconds the y were seized ,

bound thrown into a boat and taken across to the

, ,

Ile M arante .

And behind the house they had thought deserted

were about a score o f G erman soldi ers .

A s haggy looking giant who was bestriding a

-
,

Chair and smoking a long clay pipe addressed the m ,

in excellen t Fren ch with the words

Well gentlemen have you had good luck with
, ,
”
y our fishi n g ?

Then a soldier deposited at the Offi cers feet the ’

net full of fish which he had taken care to bring

,

a w ay The P russian smiled

. .

Not ba d I see But we have something else to

, .

talk about Listen to me and don t be alarmed

.
,
’

You must know that in my eyes you are two , ,

S pies sent to reconnoitre me and my movements .

N aturally I capture y ou an d I shoot you

, Y ou .

pretende d to be fishing the better to disguise your

,

real errand Y o u have fallen into my hands and

.
,

must take the consequences Suc h is war . .

But as you came here through the outpo st s you

must hav e a password f or your return T ell me .

”
that pas sword and I will let you go .

The two frien ds pale as death stood silently

, ,

side by side a slight fluttering of the hands alone

,

betrayi ng their emotion .

No on e will ever k n ow continued the o ffi cer , .

Y ou w ill return peacefully to your homes and ,

the secret will di sappear with you If you refuse .

,

—
it means death instant death Choose f or your .

”
selves !
 T WO FRIENDS 201

They stood motionless and did not open thei r

,

lip s
.

The P russian per fectly cal m w ent on w ith h and

, , ,

o utstretched tow ard the river :

“
Just think that in five minutes you wi ll be at
t h e bottom o f that water In five minutes ! Y ou
.

”
h a ve relations I p resume ?
,

M ont Valé rien sti ll thundered

-
.

T he two fishermen remained si l ent Th e G er .

m an turned and gave an order in his own lan guage .

Then he moved his chair a littl e wa y o ff that he ,

m ight n ot be so near the pri soners and a doz en ,

men stepped forward rifle in hand and took up a

, ,

osition twent y paces ff

‘

p o .

I give y ou one minute said the offi cer ;

,
”
a second longer .

Then he rose q uickl y went over to the two

,

Frenchmen took Mo rissot b y the arm l ed h im a

, ,

s hort distance o ff and said in a l ow voice

,

Q uick ! the password ! Y our friend wil l kn o w

”
n othing . I will pretend to re l ent .

M o ri ssot answered not a word .

Then the P ru ssian took M onsieur Sauvage aside

i n l i k e manner and made him the same p roposa l
,
.

M onsieur Sauvage made no reply .

Again they stood side b y side .

T he o ffi cer issued his orders ; the soldiers raised ‘

t heir ri fl es.

Then b y chance Morissot s ey es fell on the n et ’

full o f gudgeon s ly ing in the grass a few feet f rom

h im.

A ray of sunlight made the sti ll quivering fi sh

'

.
202 G U Y DE M A UPA S SA N T

glisten like silve r And M orissot s heart sank De

.
’
.

spite his e ff orts at self con trol hi s ey es filled wi th -

tears .

G ood by M onsieur Sauvage he faltered

-
, , .

G ood by M onsieur M orissot replied Sauvage

-
,
”
, .

The y shook hands trembling from head to foot ,

with a drea d beyond their maste ry .

The ofli cer cried :

Fire !
The twelve shots were as one .

M onsieur Sauvage fell f or vard instantaneously . .

Mor issot being the taller swayed slightl y and fel l

, ,

across his friend with face tu rne d S kyward and

blood oozing from a rent in the breast of his coat .

The G erman issued fresh orders .

His men dispersed and presently returned with ,

ropes and large stones which they attached to the ,

feet of the two friends ; then they carried them to

the river bank .

M ont Valérien its summit now enshrouded in

-
,

smoke still continued to thunder

, .

Two soldiers took M orissot by th e head and the

feet ; two others did the same with Sauvage The .

bodies swung lustil y by strong hands were cast to

, ,

a distance and desc ribing a c urve f e ll f eet fore

, , ,

most into the stream .

The water sp lashed high foamed eddied then , , ,

g rew calm ; tiny waves l apped the shore .

A fe w streak s o f blood fl eeked the sur fa c e o f the

r 1ver .

The offi cer , c a lm throughout , r ema rked , w ith

g r im h u mour :
 A HA PPY L IF E

T was te a —
time theh our be fore the l amp s w ere
b rought in The villa overlooked the sea ; the
.

sun had disapp eared an d l eft in its wake a

c rim son sky fl ecked with gold ; and the M editer
ran ean not a ripp le disturbing its smoo th gleamin g
, ,

surface looked like a polished and limit l ess sheet o f

,

metal .

To the right in the far distance j agged moun

, ,

tain peaks reared their dusky outline a gainst the

ten der purp le of the sunset
—
.

The comp n y were talking o f love th at old old

a
—
,

theme and were saying for the hundredth time

thin gs well known to them all The gentl e mel .

an c holy of twi l ight made their words slow and so ft ,

th eir hearts more easil y moved than usual ; an d the

”
word l ove p ronounced now in a man s fi rm
,
’

’
voice now in a woman s musical tones he l d an un
, ,

wonted glamour for them a ll It seemed to fill the .

l ittle drawing room to flutter birdlike through the

-
, , ,

air to hover like a s p irit above thei r h ea ds

, .

”
Can one s love last f or yea rs ?
’

Yes a ffi rmed some .

No , said others .

Cases were quoted examples cited ; an d al l the

,
 A H A PPY LI EF 205

guests men and women full of rec olle ctions the y

, ,

could not reveal which arose insistentl y in their

,

minds seemed profoundly moved and Spoke with

, ,

hushed Voices o f that mystic p otent bond which ,

unites man and woman f o r good or ill .

B ut suddenly some one who had been gazing o ut

into the distance cried
' ”
Oh look ! look What is that ?
,

Above the sea there rose on the h ori zon a large , , ,

gra y ish indeterminate mass

,
.

The women stood up and looked wonde ingl y at ,

r

this unexp e c ted obj ect whi ch the y had never be

,

f ore seen .

Some one said

That is Corsica ! It is visible li ke that onl y two
or three times in the year un der c ertain excep ,

tion al atmospheric con ditions when the air bein g , ,

absolutel y clear does not conceal it behind thos e

,
”
c urtains of sea mist which usual ly veil the horizon .

The Corsican mountains were vague ly distin

g u ish able ; the gazers fa n cied the y could even se e
the snow on their p eaks And al l were surprised .
,

moved well nigh alarmed at this sudden apparition

,
-
,

o f a world rising pha n tom like ou t of the sea

,
-
,
.

P erhaps they sa w stran ge visions like those which ,

a ppeared to Columbus from beyond the unexplored ,

the unknown ocean , .

P resently an old man who had not y et s poken

sa id
Stay ! I n that very island which a ppears be
fore us n ow as i f to answer our question by re
,

c alling to my mind a long banished memory I onc e -

,
206 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

k new a wonderful example of constant love of an ,

e nduring and su p remely happy love I will tell the .

s tory

Five years ago I went on a trip through C or

sica This semi barbarous island 13 less known to
.
-

us and is in reality farther from us than America ;

, ,

although as is the case to day it can sometimes be

,
-
,

seen from the French coast .

P icture to yourself a still chaotic wor l d a wil ,

derness of mountai n s separat ed from on e an other

by narrow valley s through which rush swirling tor
,

rents ; no plain on ly immense waves o f granite and

,

huge un dulation s of the earth clothed with shrubs

o r with forests of lofty chestnut trees and pines .

T h e soil is a virgin one untilled neglected though

, , ,

here and there on e com es across a village looking ,

like a pile o f rocks at the summit o f a hill The

, .

island boasts n either agriculture industry nor art , ,

.

N ever does one see a pi ece of carved wo od or a

block o f sculptured stone or any testimon y what ,

e ver to artistic taste on the part o f the aborigine s .

I t is j u st this which strik es one most in this superb

y et u ngracious land ; hereditary indi ff erence toward
that striving after the beautiful in form which we
c all art .

Italy where every place full o f works o f art

, , ,

is its elf a work of art ; wh er e marble wood bronze , , ,

i ron metals and ston e s all testify to the genius of

, ,

man ; where the smallest obj ect lyi n g in a n cient

h ouses reveals a divine regard for gr ace o f form
Italy is for us the well beloved an d sacred coun
-

t ry because she shows us and proves to us the

,
208 GU Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

were as two da rk walls Shutting in th i s cheerless

r a v in e.

R ound the c otta ge were a f e w vines a sma ll ,

garden an d one or two large che stnut trees H ere

were th e means of subsistence at al l events—al
.
,

most a fortune indeed in this poverty stric ken land

, ,
-
.

The woman w ho received me was o l d of aus

— —
,

tere as p ec t and wonder f ul to relate very clean

, .

The man sittin g on a rush bottomed c hair rose in

,
-
,

sign of we lcome and then sat down again without ,

a word .

He s
’
P lea se e xcuse him said his companion , .
’

q uite dea f H e s eighty tw o years old

.
’
-
.
’

She s poke the French o f Fran c e I was su r .

p rised .

’
You do not belong to Corsi ca ? I ask ed .

No she said ; we are from the Continent ;

’
,

but we have l ived here for the last fi fty years .

’

I Shuddered at the thought o f fi fty y ears s pent

in this God forsaken spot far from the haunts o f
-
,

men An old shepherd j oined us and w e al l sat

.
,

down to the single dish of whi c h the dinner c on

sisted — a thi ck soup in which p otatoes bacon and , ,

cabbage h ad been boiled together .

When the brie f meal was over I went and sat

be fore the door a p rey to that melan c hol y whi c h
,

sometime s sei z es travellers in c ertain l one l y plac e s

or on c ertain l one ly evenings At such times one .

—
f eel s that e verything is at an end one s li fe the ’
,

v ery univ erse One gets a sudden fear fu l glimpse

.
,

of the abj ec t m isery o f li fe ; the iso lation of every

h uman bein g from his fe llows ; the b l ack hope less ,
 A HA PPY LI E F 209

s ol itude o f the heart which neverthel es s c hea t s

, , ,

itse l f with dreams unti l the day of death .

The Old woman j oined me and pos sessed with , ,

that c uriosity which survives in even the most pla

cid and resigned o f mortals said ,

So you come f rom France ? ’

Yes I am on a pleasure t rip

. .
’

Y o u are f rom P aris perha p s ? ,

’

No ; I am f rom N ancy
’

—
.

It seemed to me but how o r wh y I c annot tel l

—that some strange emotion worked in her She .

r epeated sl owl y
‘
You are f rom Nan c y ? ’

At this j uncture the man im passible l ike all ,

deaf peo pl e app eared in the doo rway S he con

, .

tin u ed :
Never mind
’ ’
h im ; he c an t hear .

’
Then a fter a f ew moment s pause
,

D O you know the Nancy p eopl e ?

’

’
Y es ; nearl y everybody .

’
The Sainte A llaiz e famil y ?
-

Yes very well ; the y are f riends o f m y

, fa

’
Wh at is your name ?
I tol d her Sh e looked at me fi xedl y then
. ,

murmured in a pensive tone occ asi oned b y the ,

stirring o f long forgotten memories

-

Y es y es ; I remember wel l And wh at has

,
.

bec ome of the Brismares ?

’
The y are all dead .

A h l And did you know the S irmonts ?

’
Yes ; the l ast o f them is a gener al .
2 10 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

Then she said trembling with emotion and ,

moved by an irresistible impulse to confess to tell ,

a ll to speak o f those things which had hitherto r e

,

maine d locked in her own bosom and of those peo ,

p le whose name a ff ected her be y ond words :

‘
Y es ; Henri de S irmon t I know him ; he is .

my b rother
’
.

I r aised my eyes to her speechless with as ,

t on i sh men t A n d sudd en ly I remembe r e d

. .

There had long ag o b een a great scandal in

t h e S irmon t family Suzanne de S irmon t young
.
, ,

b eautifu l an d rich eloped with a n o n commissioned

, ,
-

o fli c e r in the regiment o f hussars her father com

man ded .

He was a handsom e man o f p easant birth a ,

—
man who look ed w ell in his un form this soldier
i
’
w ho had seduce d his colon el s daughter She had .
,

n o doubt seen him singled him ou t and fallen in

, , ,

l ove with him when watchi n g her father s squad

’
,

r on s file b y But how had she g ot speech with him ?

.

H ow had they man aged to see each other and come

t o an understa n d i g
n ? NO on e ever knew .

Such a catastrophe had never been dreamed

of One eveni n g the soldier disappear ed with her
. .

Search was ma de but the pair were never discov

,

e red No n ews o f them was ever received and S u

.
,

z anne de S irmon t was looked upon as dead .

And now I had discovered her in this gl oomy

v alley !

Then I asked in my turn

Yes ; I remember You are M ademoisel l e Su .

z anne ?
2 12 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

the worl d and al l th ose who had b rough t her up

,

and loved her She had come alone w ith him to

.
, ,

th i s de solate va ll ey And he had been every thin g

—
.

to her her hopes her dreams her desires

, He , .

had filled her whole existence with contentment .

S he could not have been happier .

And al l night l ong listening to the harsh breath

,

ing of the old so l dier extended on h is p allet be

,

side her who had followed him so far I thought o f ,

their stor y strange in its simplicity ; of the i r hap

,
”
p in e,
ss so com p lete yet made
, up of so l ittle .

The narrator was silent A woman said .

But she h a d too lowl y an ideal Her need s .

w ere too simple her instincts too primitiv e She

, .

”
must have been a weak sort of creature .

Another said slowly :

What matter ! She was happy .

And on the far off horizon Corsi c a mel ted into

-

the gray night was slowly swa llowed up by the sea

, ,

w ithdrew that shadowy outline whi c h had risen u p

a s i f to tel l the story of the two humb l e l overs its
ru gged s h ores h ad sheltered .
 THE FA RM E R S
’
W IF E

A ID the Baron R ené du Treilles to me

Will you come and open the hunting sea
son with me at my farm at M arin v ille ? I
shall be d elighted if you will m y dear boy In the
, .

first place I am all alone I t is rather a difli cu lt

,
.

ground to get at and the place I live in is so primi

,
”
tive that I can invite onl y my most intimate friends .

I accepted his invitation and on Saturday we set

,

out on the tra in going to Normandy We alighted .

a t a station called A lmiv are an d Baron R ené point

, ,

ing to a count ry wagonette drawn by a timid horse

and driven by a big countryman with white hair ,

said

H ere is our equipage my dear boy

, .

The driver extended his hand to his l andlord ,

a nd the Baron pressed it warmly asking ,

”
Well M aitre Lebru ment how are you ?
, ,
”
Always the same M sieu le Baron
,
’
.

We j ump ed in to this swinging hencoop perched

on two enormous wheels and the y oung horse af
, ,

ter a violent swerve started into a gallop p itching

, ,

us i n to the air like bal l s E very fall bac kward on

.

the wooden bench gave me the most dreadful

p a in
.
 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

The peasant kep t rep eatin g in h is c al m monot ,

On ou s voice
There there ! All right all right M outard , , ,

all right !
But M outard scarcely heard and kept capering ,

along like a goat .

O ur two dogs behind us in the empty part o f ,

the hencoo p were standing up an d sni ffi ng the air

,

of the plains where they scented game

,
.

The Baron gazed with a sad e y e into the dis

tance at the vast Norman landscape undulating and ,

melancholy like an immense English park wher e

, ,

the farmyards surrou n d ed by two or four rows o f

,

trees and full of dwarfed apple trees which hid the

houses gave a vista as far as the e ye could see of
,

forest trees copses and shrubbery such as land

, ,

scape gard eners look f or in lay ing out the boun

dari c s o f princely estates .

And R en é du Treilles suddenl y exclaimed

I love this soil ; I have my very roots in it .

He was a p ure Norman tall and stron g with a

, ,

s l ight p aunch and of the old race o f adventurers

,

who went to found kingdoms on the shores of every

ocean He was about fi fty years o f age ten years
.
,

l ess p erhap s than the farmer who was driving

us.

The latter was a l ean p easant all skin and bone , ,

on e o f those men who live a hundred years .

A f ter two hours travelling over stony roads

’
,

a cross that green and monotonous plain the vehicle ,

ente r e d on e o f those orchard farmyards and dre w

up before an old stru c ture f alling into deca y where ,
2 16 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

V eules ! had c alved in the midd l e o f June The .

c ider had not been fi rst class l ast year Apricot s -

.

were a lmost disappearing from the country .

Then we had dinner It was a good rustic meal .

,

S imple and abundant long and tranquil , And while .

we were dining I noticed the special kind of friendly

familiarity which had struck me f rom the start be
tween the B aron an d the peasant .

O utside the beeches continued sighing in the

,

n ight wind and our two dogs shut u p in a shed

, , ,

were whining and howling in an uncann y fashion .

The fire was dying out in the big fireplace The .

maid serv ant had gone to bed M aitre Lebrument

-
.

said in his turn

If you don t mind M sieu le B aron I m go
’
,
’
,
’

”
in g to bed I am n ot used to stay ing u p late
. .

The B aron extended his hand toward him and

”
said : G o my friend in so cordial a tone that I
, ,

s aid as soon as the man had disappeared

,
”
He is devoted to you this f armer ? ,

B etter than that m y dear fellow ! It is a

,

drama an old drama simple and very sad that at

, , ,

tache s him to me Here is the story .

You know that my father was a colonel in a

cavalry regiment His orderl y was thi s young fel
.

low now an Old man the son of a farmer When

, , .

my father retired from the army he took this for

mer soldier then about forty as his servant I was
’

, , .

at that time about thi rty We were livi n g in our .

old chateau of Valrenn e near Caudebec en Caux ,

- -
.

At this period my moth er s chambermaid was ’

one of the prettiest girls y ou could see fair haired ,

-
,
 TH E FA RM ER S W I FE
’
2 17

l nder and sprightl y in manner a genuin e sou

s e , ,

brette of the old type that no longer exists To day .

-

these creatures spring up into hussies before their

time . P aris with the aid of the railway s attracts
, ,

them calls them takes hold of them as soon as

, , ,

they are budding into womanhood t hese little sluts ,

who in old times remained simple maid servants -

.

E very man passing by as recruiting s ergeants did ,

form erly looking f or recruits with conscripts en

, , ,

— —
tic es and ru ins them these foolish lassies and we
have n ow only the sc um o f the female sex f o r ser
vant maid s all that is dull nasty common and ill
, , , ,

form ed too ugly even f or galla n try

, .

“
Well this girl was charming and I often gave
, ,

her a kiss in dark corners ; nothing more I swear ,

to you ! She was virtuous besides ; and I had some ,

respect f o r my mother s house which is more than ’

,

can be said o f the blackguards of the present day .

Now it happened that my man servant the

,
-
,

ex soldier the old farmer you have j ust seen fell

-
, ,

madly in l ove with this girl perfectly daft The , .

fi rst thing we noticed was that he forgot ever y

thing he paid no attention to an ything
, .

M y father said incessantly

’
See here Jean what s the matter with you ?
, ,

Are y ou ill ? ’

He replied
No no M sieu le B aron
’
, T here s nothing
, .
’

’
the matter with me .

He grew thin ; he broke glasses and let plates

f all when waiting on the table We thought he .

must have been attacked by some nervous aff ec

2 18 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

tion an d sent for th e doctor who thought he coul d

, ,

detect symptoms of sp inal disease Then my f a .

ther full of anxiety about his faithful man se rvant

,
-
,

decided to place him in a private hospital When .

the poor fellow heard of my father s intentions he ’

made a clean breast of it .

M sieu le Baron
’

Wel l my bo y ?
,
’

You see the thing I want is not p h y sic

, .
’

’
H a ! what is it then ?
’
It s marriage !
M y father turned round and stared a t him in
astonishment .

’
What s that you say eh ?
’

,
’ ’
It s marriage .

So then y ou j ackass you re in

’
M arriage , , ,

That s how it is M sieu lo Baron

’
,
’
.
’

A n d my father began to laugh so immoder

ate ly that my mother c a lled out through the wall

o f the ne x t room
What in th e worl d is the ma tter wit h you ,

Gontran ?
H e replied
C ome here Catherine , .
’

And when she came in he told her w ith tear s ,

in his e y es f rom she er laughter that his id iot of a ,

serv ant man was lovesick .

But m y mother instead of laughing was d eeply

, ,

a ff ected .

Who is it that you have fall en in l ove w i th ,

my poor fellow ? she asked ’

.
220 GU Y D E M A UPA SSA N T

hea r the rain battering at the roo f the walls an d , ,

the windows fl owing in a p er f ect deluge into the

,

farmyard ; an d my dog was howling in the S h ed

W here the other dogs are howlin g to ni ght -
.

All o f a sudden when the se rvant maid had ,

gone to bed the man said in a timid v oi ce :

,

M sieu lo B aron
’
.
’

’
What is it my dear Jean ? ,
’
I have som ething to tell you .

’
T ell it my dear Jean
,
.

’
You remember Louise my wi fe , .

’
C ertainl y I remember her , .

’
Well she left me a message for you
, .

’
What was it ?

— —
A a well it was W hat y ou mi ght call a,

c onfession .
’

’
Ha and w h at was it about ?
— —
It was t was I d rather al l the same te ll
i
’

—
,

—
,

i
y ou nothing about t but I must I must Well
—
.
,
’
it s this it wasn t consumption she died of at all ’

—
.

I t was grie f well that s the long and short of it ,

’
.

A s soon as she came to live here a fter we were mar

ried she grew thin ; she changed so that y ou
,

woul dn t know her M sieu le B aron She was j u st

’
,
’
.

a s I was be fore I married her but it was j ust the ,

Opp osite j ust the opposite

, .

I sent for the doctor H e said it was her .

—
l iver that was a ff ected he said it w as w hat he
—
cal led a he p atic c omplaint I don t kn ow these ’

big words M sieu le Baron Th en I bought m edi

,
’
.

cine for her hea p s on heaps o f bottles that cost

,

about three hundred francs B ut she d take none of .

’
 ’
TH E FARM ER S W IFE 21

’
th em ; she
wou l dn t have them ; she said : It s no ’

u se my poor Jean ; it wouldn t do me any good

’ ’
.
,

I saw well that she had some hidden trouble ; and

th en I found her one time crying and I didn t know
’

,
’
w hat to do no I didn t k n ow what to do I bough t
, , .

h er c aps an d dresses and hair oil and earrings

, , , .

N othing did her any good And I saw that she was .

oing to di e And so one night at the end o f No

‘

g .

v ember one snowy night a fter she had been in be d

, ,

t h e whole day she told me to send f or the curé

, .

So I went f or him As soon as he came .

“ ”
Jean she said I am going to make a
, ,

c onfession to you I owe it to y ou Jean I hav e .

, .

never been false to you never ! never b efore or , ,

after you married me M sieu le Curé is there and .

’
,

c an tell you so ; he knows my soul Well listen .

, ,

Jean If I am dying it is b ecause I was n ot able

.
,

to console myself f or leav in g the ch at eau becaus e ,

I was too fond of the young Baron M on sieur R ené , ,

too fond of him mi n d y o u J ean there was n o harm

, , ,

in it ! This is the thi n g that s killing me When I ’

.

could see him n o more I f elt that I should die I f .

I could only have seen him I might have liv ed onl y , ,

seen him no thi n g more I wish you d tell him

, .
’

some day by an d by w h en I am n o longer here

, , .

You will t ell h im e 1 1 —

s w ar y ou W 1 J ean swear it ,

in th e prese n ce o f M sieu lo Cure ! It will console

’

me to kn ow that he will k n ow it on e day that t hi s ,

”
was the cause of my death ! Swear it !
Well I gave her m y promise M S 1eu le
, ,

B aron an d on the faith o f an honest man I have

,
‘

’
k e p t my w ord .
222 G U Y DE M A U PA SSA N T

And then he c eased speaking his ey es fill in g ,

with tears .

G ood G od ! my dear bo y you can t fo rm any ,

’

idea of the emotion that filled me when I heard this

p oor devil whose wife I had killed without suspect
ing it t elling me this story on that wet night in thi s
very kitchen .

“ ‘
I exclaimed : Ah ! my p oor Jean ! m y p oo r
Jean !
He murmured Well that s all M sieu le ,
’
,
’

B aron I could not help it one way o r the other

.
,

a n d now it s al l over !
’ ’

I caught his hand across the table and I bega n ,

to weep .

He asked Will you come and see her grave ?

,
’

I nodd ed assent for I couldn t speak He ro se

,
’
.
,

l ighted a lantern and we walked through the blind

,

ing rain by the l ight o f the lantern .

H e Opened a gate and I saw some crosses o f ,

black wood .

Sudden l y he stopped before a marble slab an d

s aid : Th ere it is an d he flashed the lantern c lose
,
’

to it SO that I cou l d read the inscription

To LOU IS E H ORTE N SE MAR IN ET ,

Wife of J ean F ran cois L ebr u men t F ar mer

-
, .

S H E WA S A FAITH FU L W IFE GOD RES T H ER SOU L . .

’

We f ell on our knees in the damp gra ss , he

a nd I with the lantern between us and I saw
, , the
 A LL O V E R

O MT E D E LO R M E R IN had j ust finish ed

dressing H e cast a parting glan ce at the
.

l arge mirror which occupied an entire panel

in his dressing room and smiled
-
.

H e was r eall y a fin e looking man sti l l although

-
,

q uite gray Tal

. l slight elegant
, with no, S ign of a ,

p aunch ,with a small m oustache of doubtful shade ,

w hich might be called fair he had a walk a no , ,

”
bili f y a chic in short that indescribable some
, , ,

t hing which establishes a greater di ff erence be

t ween two men than would millions of mone y H e .

murmured :
”
Lo rme rin is still alive !
And he went into the drawing room where his -

c orrespo n dence awaited him .

O n his table where every thing had its p la c e

, ,

the work table of the gentleman who never works ,

t here were a dozen letters lying beside three news

papers o f di ff erent Opinions With a singl e tou ch .

h e spread out all these letters l ike a gambler giving ,

t he choice of a card ; and he s c anned the handwrit

i ng a thing he did each morning before o pening th e
,

e nvelopes .

It was for him a moment o f delight ful expec

 A LL OVE R 225

tan ey o f inquiry and vag ue anxiet y What did

, .

these sealed my sterious letters bring him ? Wh at

did the y contain of pleasure of happiness or o f , ,

grief ? H e surveyed them with a rapid swee p of

the ey e recognizing the writing selecting them
, , ,

making two or three lots according to what he ex ,

p ec t e d from them Here . friends ; there,persons to ,

whom he was indi ff erent ; further on strangers , .

T he last kind alway s gave him a little uneasiness .

What did the y want from him ? What hand had

traced those curious c haracters full of thou ghts ,

p romises or threats
,
?

This day one l etter in particular caught his eye .

It was simple nevertheless without seeming to re

, ,

v eal anything ; but he looked at it uneasily with a ,

sort of chi !! at his heart He thought .From

w hom can it be ? I certainly know this w riting and ,
”
y et I can t identify it
’
.

He raised it to a level with his face holding it ,

'

delicately between two fi n gers s triving to read ,

through the envelope without making up his min d

,

to Open it .

Then he smelled it and snatched u p from the

,

table a little magnifyi n g glass which he used in

studying all the niceties o f h an dwri ti n g He sud .

“
den ly felt unnerved Whom is it from ? Thi s
.

hand is familiar to me very familiar I must have

, .

O ften read it s tracings y e s ver y often

,
But this , .

must have been a long long time ago Whom the , .

deuce can it be from ? P ooh ! it s only so mebody ’

”
asking f or money .

And he tore op en the l etter Th en he read .

2 26 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

MY D EAR FRIE ND : forgotten Y ou h ave w ithout , doubt,

me f or it is n ow tw en ty five y ears s in c e w e saw each
,
-

o th e r I was y o ung ; I am old

. Wh en I bade y ou fare .

w ell I l e ft Paris in order to follow in to th e p ro v in c es

,

my h usban d my old h u sband wh om y o u used to c all my ‘

, ,

h osp ital Do y ou remember h im ? H e died fi ve years ago

.
’
,

and now I am ret u rn in g to Par is to g et my daug h ter

marr ied f or I hav e a daugh ter a beaut i fu l girl o f e ighteen
, , ,

whom y ou have nev er seen I in formed y o u of h er birth .

,

b u t y ou certain l y did not p ay mu ch atten t ion to so t r ifl ing

an e v ent .

Y ou are still th e h an dsome Lo rme rin ; so I h ave been

“

tol d . Well , if y ou still recoll ect l itt l e Lise, whom y ou

u sed t o c all Li son, c ome an d din e w ith h e r t h is e v en in g,
w ith th e e l derl y Baronn e de V an c e y ou r ev er faithfu l ,

f rien d, wh o, w ith some emot ion al th ough h ap p y, re ach es ,

o u t t o y o u a de v oted h an d, wh ich y ou mu st cl asp , b ut n o

longer k iss my p o o r J aq uelet LI S E DE V A N CE
”
.
, .

Lormerin heart began to throb He remained ’

s .

s unk in his armchair with the letter on his knees ,

s taring straight b e fore him ov e rcome by a poignant ,

e motion that mad e the tears mount up to his eyes !

If he had ever loved a woman in his life it was

this on e little Lise Li se de Vance whom he called
, , ,
”
Cin der Flower on account of the strange colou r
-
,

of her hair and the pale gray of her eyes O h ! .

what a fine prett y charming cr eature she was this

, , ,

frai l B aronne the wife o f that gouty pimply , ,

B aron who had abruptly carried her off to th e

, ,

p rovi n ces shut her up kept her in seclusion through

, ,

j ealousy j ealousy o f the handsome Lormerin

, .

Yes he had loved her and he believed that he

, , ,

too had been truly lov ed She familiarly gave him

, .

the na me o f Jaquelet and would pronounce that ,

w ord i n a delicious fashion .

A thousan d forgotten memori es came back to

228 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

heart f or he had loved her alone ! H e as su red him

,

s el f now that this was so .

H e rose and said aloud :

, Certainly I wil l go ,

an d dine with her this evening !

And instinctivel y he turned toward the mirror

to inspe c t himself from head to foot He re fl ect ed .

”
Sh e must l ook very old older than I look , And .

he f elt gratified at the thought of showing himsel f

to her still handsome stil l fresh o f astonishing her
, , ,

p erhaps of fi l l ing her with emotion and making her ,

r egret those bygone day s so far far distant ! ,

He turned his attention to the other letters Th ey .

w ere of no impo rtance .

The whole day he kept thi nking of thi s ghost o f

other days What was she like now ? How stran ge
.

it was to meet in this way after twent y fiv e y ears ! -

B ut would he recognize her ?

He made his toilet with feminine coquetry put ,

on a white waistcoat which suited him better with

,

the coat than a black one sent for the hairdresse r ,

to give him a finishing touch with the curling iron ,

f or he had preserved his hair and sta rted ve ry ,

ear l y in order to S how his ea g erne ss to see her .

T he first thing he saw on entering a pretty

draw ing room newly furnished was his own por
-

trait an old faded photograph dating from the da ys

, ,

when he was a beau hanging on the wall in an

,

antique s ilk frame .

He sat down an d waited A door op ened be .

hind him He rose up abruptly and tu rning round

.
, , ,

b eh el d an old woman with white hair who e xten ded

both hands toward him .
 A LL OVER 229

H e sei zed them kissed them one afte r the other

,

several times ; then lifting up his head he ga z ed , ,

at the woman he had loved .

Y es it was an o l d lady an o l d lady whom he did

, ,

not re c ognize and who whi l e she smi l ed seemed

, , ,

ready to weep .

H e could not abstain from murmurin g

”
Is it you Lise ?
,

Sh e re p lied
Yes it is I ; it is I indeed You wou l d not
, , .

have known me wou l d you I have had so much

?
,

so rrow — so much sorrow S orrow has consumed

my life Look at me now—o r rather don t look
.

’
.
, ,

at me ! But how ha dsome you have kept an d

n —
young ! If I had by chance met you in the street
I wou l d have exclaimed : J q
a u elet ! N ow sit ,

down an d let us first of al l have a chat And then

, ,
.

I wil l call my daughter my grown u p daughter -

—
.
,
’
You ll see how she resembles me or rather how I
—
, ,

resembled her no it is not quite that ; she is j ust

—
,

like the me of former days you shal l see ! But

I w anted to be alone with you fi rst I f eared that .

there woul d be some emotion on my side at the ,

fi rst mom ent Now it is all over ; it is past P ra y

. .

be seated my friend , .

He sat down besi de her holding her hand ; but ,

he did not know what to say ; he did not know this

—
w oman it seemed to him that he had never seen
her before Wh y had he come to this house ? Wh at
.

c ould he talk abo ut ? O f the long ago ? What was

th ere in common between him and her ? He could
n o l onge r re c all an ything in presence o f this g rand
230 GU Y D E M A UPA S S A N T

motherly f ace coul d no longer recall all the

. He
nice ,
tender thi n gs so sweet so bitter that had , , ,

come to his min d that morning when he thought o f

the other of little Lise o f the dainty Cinder Flower
, ,
-
.

What then had become o f her th e former one the

, , , ,

one he had loved ? That woman of far o ff dreams -

,

the blonde with gray ey es the you n g girl who u sed ,

”
to call him J q
a u ele t so pr e ttily ?

They remained side by side motionless both con , ,

strained troubled profoundly ill at ease

, , .

As th ey talk ed on ly commonplaces awkwardl y ,

and spasmodically an d slowly she rose and pressed ,

the button of the b ell .

”
I am going to call R enée she said , .

Th ere was a tap at the door then the rustle of ,

a dr es s ; then a young voic e exclaimed

”
H ere I am mama ! ,

Lo rmer in remained bewildered as at the sigh t

of an apparition .

He stammered
G ood day M ademoiselle , .

Then turning toward the mother

,
”
O h ! it is y ou !
In fact it was she she whom he had known in
, ,

bygone days the Lise who had vanished and come

,

back ! In her he found the woman he had won

twenty fi v e years before This one was even young
-
.

er fresher more childlike

, , .

He felt a wild desire to Open his arms to cla sp ,

her to his h eart again mu rmuring in her ear ,

G oo d morning Lison ! ,

A man se rvant announced -

232 GUY DE M A UPA S SA N T

B ut in his heart t ouched with emotion he fe l t

, ,

h is old love springing to life once more lik e an ,

a wakened wi l d beast ready to bite him .

The young girl went on chattering and every ,

now and then some familiar intonation some ex ,

’
p ression of her mother s a certain styl e of speak ,

ing and thinking that resemblance of mind an d

,

manner which people acquire by living together ,

shook Lormerin from head to foot All these .

things p enetrated him making the reopened woun d ,

o f his passion b l eed anew .

He got away early and took a turn along the ,

b oulevard But the image of thi s young girl pur

.

sued him haunt ed him quickened his heart in

, , ,

flamed his blood Apart from the two women he

.
,

now saw only on e a y ou n g on e the old on e com e

, , .

back o u t of the past and he lov ed her as he had

,

loved her in bygone years He l oved her with .

greater ardour after an interv al of twenty fiv e

,
-

y ears .

He went home to reflect on this strange an d ter

rib l e t hing and to think what he should do
, .

But as he was passing with a wax candle in his

, ,

hand b efore the glass the large glass in which he

, ,

h ad contemplated himself and admired himself be

fore he start ed he saw refl ect ed there an elderly
, ,

gray hair ed man ; and suddenly he recollected wh a t

-

he had been in olden days in the days of little Lise , .

H e saw himself charming and handsom e as he h ad ,

been when he was loved ! Then drawing the light ,

nearer he loo ked at himself more closely as one

, ,

i nsp ects a strange thing with a m agn ifyi n g glass ,

 ALL OVER 233

t ra c ingthe wrinkles discovering th ose f right fu l

,

ra vages which he had not perceived till now

, .

And he sat down crushed at the sight o f h im

,

self a t the sight o f his l am en tab l e im age mu rmur

, ,

mg
All o ver , Lormerin !
 T H E PR I S O N E R S

H ER E w a s not a sound in the forest save the

indistinct flutte ring sound of the snow fall
,

ing on the trees It had been snowing sinc e

.

noon ; a little fine snow that covered the bran ches,

a s with f rozen moss and spread a silve ry covering

,

over the dead l eaves in the ditches and covered ,

the roads with a white yie l ding carpet and made , ,

stil l more intense the bo un dless si l ence o f this

ocean o f trees .

’
Before the door o f the forester s dwelling a young
woman her arms bare to the e lbow was chopping
, ,

wood with a hatchet on a block o f stone S he was .

, ,
—
tall s l ender strong a tru e girl o f th e w oods ,

daughter and wife o f a forester .

A voice ca ll ed f rom within the house

We are alone to night Berthine ; you must-
,

c ome in It is getting dark and there may be

.
,
”
P russians or wolves about .

“
I ve j ust finished mother replied the youn g
’
, ,

woman splitting as she spoke an immense log of

,

wood with strong de ft blows which expande d her

, ,

c hest each time she raised her a rms to st rike .

H ere I am ; there s no need to be afraid ; it s

’ ’

q uite light still .

236 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

grocers butchers lawy ers carp enters booksellers

—
, , , , ,

Chemists took their turn at military trai n ing at ,

regular hours of the day under the auspic e s o f ,

M onsieur Lavigne a former noncommissioned ofli ,

‘

cer in the dragoons n ow a draper having married , ,

the daughter and inherited the business of M onsieur

Rav au dan Senior , .

He had taken the rank o f c ommanding officer

in R ethe l and seeing that all the young men had
, ,

gone o ff to the war he had enlisted all the others ,

who were in favour of resisting an attack Fat men .

now invariably walked the streets at a rapid pace ,

to reduce their weight and improve th eir breathing ,

and weak men carried wei ghts to strengthen their

muscles .

And th ey awaited the P russians But the P rus .

sians did not appear They were not far o ff how .

,

ever f or twice already their scouts had p enetrated

,

as far as the forest dwelling o f N icolas P ichon ,

c alled Long l egs -

.

Th e old k e eper who could run like a fox had , ,

com e and warned the town The guns had been got .

ready but the enemy had not shown them

,

selves .

Long le g s dwelling served as an outp ost in th e

’
-

Aveline forest Twice a we ek the old man went t o

.

the town for provisions an d brought the citiz en s

news o f the outlying district .

O n this particular day he had gon e to annou n ce

the fact that a small detachment o f G e rman in
f an try had halt ed at his ho u s e the day b efore about ,

two o clock in the afternoon an d h ad l e ft a g ain

’

,
 R
TH E P ISO N ERS 237

a l most immediate ly The non commissioned officer

.

in charge s poke French .

When the old man set out l ike th i s h e took w ith

—
him his dog s two powerful animal s with the j aw s
—
o f lion S as a safeguard again st th e wolv es whi ch ,

were beginnin g to get fi erce and he left dire c tion s

,

with the two women to barri c ade themselves se

c urely within their dwelling as soon as nigh t f el l .

The younger feared nothing but her mother was ,

always apprehensive , and repeat ed c ont inuall y :

We ll come to grief one o f these days Y ou
’
.

”
see if we don t ! ’

This evening she was i f possibl e more n e rvous

, ,

than ever .

Do y ou know wh a t time your father will be

”
b ack ? she asked .

O h not before eleven for c ertain Wh en he

, , .

”
dines with the commandant he s always late ’
.

And Berth in e was hangi n g her pot ov er the fire

to warm the soup w h en she suddenly stood still ,

listening att entively to a sound that had rea che d

her through the chimney .

There ar e p eople walking in the wood she ,

“ ”
sa id ; seven o r eight men at least .

Th e terrified old woman stopped her spinning

whe el and gasped :
,

O h my G o d ! And your father not here !

,

S he had scarcely finished speaking wh en a suc

c ession o f violent blows shook the door .

As the woman made no rep ly a loud guttural , ,

v oi c e shouted
O pen the door !
2 38 GUY DE M A U PA SSA NT

After a brief silen c e th e same voice rep eated

”
O pen the door o r I ll break it down ! ’

Berthin e took the heav y r evolver from its hook ,

s lipped it into the pocket o f her skirt and putt in g , ,

h er ear to the door asked ,

Wh o are y ou ? ”

The detachment that cam e here the o the r

da y replied the voice
, .

”
What do y ou want ? demanded the young
w oman .

M y men and I have lost our way in the forest

s inc e mo rning O pen the door or I ll break it
.
’

”
down !
Th e forester s daughter had no choice ; she shot
’

b ack the heavy bolts threw Open the ponderous ,

shutt e r and perceived in the wan light of the snow

,

s ix men six P russian soldiers the same who had

, ,

v i sited the hous e the day before .

“
W hat are you doing here at this time o f
”
n ight ? sh e asked dauntlessly .

“
I lost my bearings replied the offi cer ; lost ,

t hem completely Then I recogn ized this house

. .

I ve eaten nothing sin c e morning n or my men

’
,
”
e ither .

B ut I m q uite alone with m y mother this even

’

in g , said Berthin e .

”
Never mind replied the soldier who seeme d
, ,
’
a decent sort o f fellow We won t do you an y .

harm but you must give us something to eat We

, .

”
a r e nearly dead with hunger and fati g ue .

Th en the girl moved aside .

”
C ome in she said , .
240 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

The in c redulous man wanted to see with h is own

e yes and as soon as the door was opened he p er
,

c eiv ed two large grayish animals disappea rin g with

long swinging trot into the darkness
,

H e return ed to his s eat muttering ,

”
I wouldn t have bel ieved it !
’

And he waited quietl y till su pper was re ady .

Th e men d evoured their meal voraciousl y wi th ,

mouths stretched to their ears that they might swal

low the mor e Their round e yes opened at the same
.

time as their j aws and as the soup coursed down

,

their throats it made a noise like the gurgling o f

water in a rain pipe .

The two women watched in si l en c e the move

ments o f the big red beard s The potatoes seemed .

to be engu lfed in these moving fleeces .

’
B ut as they were thirsty the forester s daugh
, ,

ter went down to the cellar to draw them some

cider She was gone some time The cellar was
. .

small with an arched ceiling and had served so

, , ,

p eople said both as p rison and as hiding place dur

,
-

ing the R evoluti on It was approached by means

.

of a narrow winding staircase c losed by a t rap

, ,

doo r at the farth e r end o f the kitchen .

When Berthin e returned she was smiling my s

teriou sly to herself She gave the G ermans her j ug
.

o f cider .

Then sh e and her mother supped apart a t the ,

other en d of the kitchen .

The soldiers had finished eating and were all six ,

f alling asle ep as they sat round the table Ev er y .

n o w an d then a forehead fell with a thud on the

 TH E PRISON ERS 24 1

board and the man awakened suddenly sat up

, , ,

right again .

Berth in e said to the oflic er

‘

Go and lie down all o f you round the fire

, , .

There s lots of room for si x I m going u p to m y

’
.
’

”
room with m y mother .

And the two women went upstairs They c ould .

be heard locking the door and walking about over

head f o r a time ; then they were silent .

The P russians lay down on the floor with their ,

feet to the fire and their heads resting on their

rolled up cloaks Soon all six snored loudly and
-
.

uninterruptedly in six di ff erent key s .

They had been sleeping f or some time when a

shot rang ou t so loudly that it seemed directed
against the very walls of the house The soldiers .

— —
rose hastily Two then three more shots were
.

fired.

The door opened hastily and Berthin e appeared , ,

barefooted and onl y half dressed with her candle ,

in her hand and a scared look on her face .

”
Th e re are the French she stammered ; a t ,

least two hundred of them If they find you here .

they ll burn the house down For G od s sak e hu rry

’
.
’
,

down into the cellar and don t make a sou n d what

,
’
,
”
ever y o u do I f you make any noise we are lost
. .

”
We l l go we ll g o replied the terrified officer
’
,
’
, .

”
Which is the way ?
The young woman hurriedly raised the small ,

s quare trap door and th e six men disappeared one

-
,

after another down th e narrow winding stairca se , ,

feeling their way as they went .

242 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

B ut as soon as th e spike o f the last hel met was

o u t of sight Berth in e lowered the heavy oa k en lid
-
thick as a wal l hard as stee l furn ished with the
, ,

—
h inges and bo lts of a prison cell shot the two
h eavy bolts an d beg an to l augh lon g and silent ly
, ,

possessed with a mad longing to dance above the

h eads of he r p risoners .

The y made no sound inclosed in the ce ll ar as in

,

a strong box obtaining air on ly from a sm all iron

, ,

b arred ve nt hole-
.

Ber th ine lighted her fi re again hun g the pot over ,

i t and prepa re d more soup sa y ing to herself

, ,
”
Fathe r will b e tired to n ight -
.

Then sh e sat and waited The heav y pendulum

.

o f the c lock swun g to and f ro with a monotonous

t ick .

E very now an d then the young woman cast an

—
i mpatient glance at the dial a glance which seemed
t o say
’ ”
I wish he d be quick !
But soon there was a sound of voices beneath her
f eet . Low confused words reached her through
,

t he masonr y which roofed the cellar The P rus .

sians were beginning to susp ect the trick she had

p layed them and, p resentl y the o ffi cer c ame up
t he narrow stairc ase and knoc ked at the trap
d oor .

Op en the door ! he cried .

What do you want ? she said risin g f rom her

”
,

s eat and approaching the cell a rwa y .

“ ”
Open the door !
’
I won t do an y such th in g !
244 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

S udde nly the man

’
s tall figure c ould be seen to
the l e ft standin g between two tree trunk s
, .

”
P ru ssians in the cellar ? he asked anx iousl y .

”
Wha t are they doing ?
The young woman laughed .

The y are the same as were here y esterda y .

They lost their way and I ve given them f ree lodg

’
,
”
ings in the c el lar .

She tol d the story of how she had alarmed them

bv firin g the revol ver and had shu t th em up in the ,

cellar .

The man stil l serious asked

, ,

But w hat am I to do with them at this ti me o f

”
night ?
G o and fetch M onsieur Lavigne with his men ,
’
S h e replied He ll take them p rison ers H e ll be
. .
’

delighted .

H er father smiled
—
.

So he will delighted .

’
Here s some soup for you said his daugh ,
”
ter‘

. Eat it q uick and then be off , .

The old keep er sat down at the tabl e and began ,

to eat his soup having first filled two p l ates and put
,

them on the fl oor for the dogs .

The P russians hearing voices were silent

, , .

Long legs set off a q uarter o f an hour l ater

-
,

and Berthin e with her head between her han ds

, ,

waited .

The prisoners beg an to make themselves heard

again The y shouted c alled and beat furiousl y
.
, ,

with the butts of their muskets against the rigid

t rap door of the cellar
-
.
 TH E PR ISO N ERS 245

Then they fired shots through the vent hole ho p -

,

ing no doubt to be heard by an y German detach

, ,

men t which chanced to be passing that way .

The forester s daught e r did not stir but the

’
,

n oise irritated and unnerve d her B l ind anger ros e .

in her heart a ga inst the prisoners ; she would hav e

been only too gla d to kill them all and so silen c e ,

them .

Then as her impatience grew she watched the

, ,

cloc k counting the minutes as they passed

, .

H er father had been gone an hour and a half .

H e must have reached the town b y now She con .

j ured up a vi sion of him telling the story to M on

sieur Lavigne who grew pale with emotion and
, ,

rang for his se rvant to bring him his arms and uni
form She fancied she could hear the drum as it
.

sounded the call to arms Frightened faces ap .

p ea r e d at the W indows The citizen soldiers .

-

emerged from their houses half dressed out o f ,

b reath buckling on their belts and h urry ing to the

, ,

commandant s house ’
.

Then the troop o f soldiers with Long legs at ,

-

its head set forth through the night and the snow
,

toward the forest .

She looked at the clock They may be here .

”
in an hour .

A nervous impatience p ossessed her The min .

u tes seemed interminable Would the time never .

c ome ?

At last th e clock marked the moment she ha d

fi xed on for their arrival .

And she opened the door to l isten for their ap

246 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

p roach She perceived a Shadowy f orm creeping

.

toward the house She was afraid and cried out

.
, .

B ut it was her father .

They have sen t me he said to see i f there

, ,
”
is an y change in the state of aff airs
—
.

”
No none .

Then he gave a shrill whistle Soon a dark .

mass loomed up under the trees : the advance guard ,

composed of ten men .

Don t g o in fron t o f the vent hole ! repeated

’
-

Long legs at i n tervals

-
.

And the first arrivals pointed ou t the much

dreaded v en t hole to those who came after
-
.

At last the main bo dy o f the troop arrived in all ,

two hu n dred men each carryi n g two hundred cart

,

ridges .

M on sieur La vigne in a stat e o f intense excite

,

me n t posted th em in such a fashion as to surroun d

,

the whole house save f o r a large space left vacan t

,

in fron t of the little hole on a lev el with the ground ,

through which the cellar derived its supply of air .

M onsi eur Lavigne stru ck the trap door a b l ow -

with his foot and called ,

I wish to sp eak to the P russian o ffi cer !

The G erman did n ot reply .

The P russian Offi cer ! again shouted the c om

man dant .

Still n o response F or the space of twent y min

.

utes M onsi eur Lavigne called on this silent o ffi c e r

to surr end er with bag and baggag e promising him ,

that all liv es should be spared and that he and his ,

men should be accorded military honours Bu t he .

248 GUY DE M A UPA SSAN T

B ravo bravo M aloison

, they shouted for h is
,

encouragement .

He had accomplished about two thirds of his -

j ourney when a lo n g crimson flame sh ot forth from

,

the vent hole A loud report followed an d the fat

-
.
,

baker fell face forward to the ground uttering a ,

frightful scream .

No one went to his assistance Then he was .

seen to drag himself groaning on all fours through, ,

-

the snow until he was beyond danger when he ,

fainted .

He was shot in the upper part of th e thigh .

After the first surprise a nd fright w ere ove r

they laughed at him ag ain .

B ut M onsieur Lavigne appeared on the thresh

old of the forester s dw elling He had formed his
’
.

plan of attack He calle d in a loud voice

.

I want Plan ch u t the plumber and his work , ,

men .

Three men approached .

Take the eavestroughs from th e roo f .

I n a quarter o f an h our they brought the com

ma n dan t thirty yards of pipes .

Next with i n fin ite precaution he had a sma l l

, ,

r oun d hole drill e d in the trap do o r ; then making a -

,

conduit with the troughs from the pump to thi s

O peni n g he said with an air of extreme satis f ac
, ,

tion
Now we ll give thes e G e rm an gentlemen some
’

thi n g to drink .

A shout o f frenzied admirati on mi n gled with up ,

roar io u s laught e r burst from his followers An d

, .
 TH E PRISO N ERS 249

the commandant organized relays o f men who were ,

to relieve one an oth er ev ery five minutes Then he .

commanded :
Pump !
6‘ 11

And the p ump handle having been set in motion

, ,

a stream of water trickled throughout the length of

the piping and flowed from step to step down the
,

cellar stairs with a gentle g urgling sound , .

The y waited .

An hour passed then two then three

, , .

The comma n dant in a state of feverish a gita

,

tion walked up an d down the kitchen putting his

, ,

ear to the groun d every now and then to discover ,

if possible what the enemy were doing an d wheth er

,

they would capitulate .

The en emy were astir now They could be .

heard movin g the casks about talking splashing , ,

through th e wat e r .

’
Th en after e ight o clock in the morning a voic e
, ,

said from the vent hole -

I wan t to sp eak to the French ofli c e r

’

Lavigne repli ed from the window taking ca re ,

n ot to put his h ea d o ut too far

Do you surre n de r ?
”
I surrender .

Th en put your rifles outside .

A rifle imme diat ely protru ded from the hole and ,

f ell i n to the snow then another and another unti l

, ,

all were disp osed o f And the voice whic h had .

spoken before said

I have n o more Be quick ! I am drowned
. .

”
Stop pumpi ng ! ordered the comma n dant .
250 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

And the pump handle hung motionless .

Then having fill ed the kitchen with armed and

,

waiting soldiers he slowly raised the oaken trap

,

door .

Four heads appeared soaking wet four fair

, ,

heads with long sandy hair and one after another

—
, ,

the six Germans emerged scared shivering and , ,

drippi n g from head to foot .

They were seized and bo und Th en as the

.
,

French feared a surprise the y set off at onc e in two

,

convoys one in charge of the prisoners an d the

, ,

other conducting M aloison on a mattress b o rn e on

p oles.

They made a triumphal entry into R ethel .

M onsieur Lavigne was decorated as a reward f or

having captu red a P russian adv ance g uard and th e ,

fat baker received the military medal f or Wo unds

receiv ed at the hand s of the en emy .
2 52 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

something a ppeared in
the looking gl a ss as i f the -
,

phantoms which he had evoked had risen up before

him A man an d a woman who had been S itt ing on
.

a low couch concealed in the shadow had arisen and ,

the polished surface refl ecting their figures showed

, ,

that they were kissing each oth e r before separating .

B aron d Etraille recognized his wife and the M ar

’

q uis de Cerv ign é He turned and went away like

.

a man who is fully master of himself and waited ,

till it was day before taking away the Baroness ; but

he had no lon ger any thoughts of sleepi ng .

As soon as they were alone he said

M a dame I saw you j ust now in P rincesse de
,

R ay nes s room ; I need say no more an d I am not

’
,

fond either o f reproaches acts of violen ce or o f

, ,

r idicule As I wish to avoid all such things we

.
,

S hall s eparate without an y scandal O ur lawyers .

w ill settle your position according to my orders .

You will be free to live as y ou please when you are

no longer under my roof ; but as y ou will continue ,

to bear my name I must warn you that sh ould an y

,
”
s candal arise I shall S how myself inflexible .

She tried to speak but he stopped her bowe d

, , ,

a nd left the room .

He was more astonished and sad than unhappy .

He had loved her dearly during th e first period of

their married life ; but his ardour had cooled and ,

now he often amused himself elsewhere either in a ,

theatre or in society though he always p re serv e d

,

a c ertain liking for the Baroness .

She was very you n g hardly four and twenty - -

— —
,

small slight too slight and very fair She was

, .
 A M EETI NG 2 53

a true P a ri sian doll : cl ever s po i l ed

l g nt c oq uet , , e e a ,

ti sh witt y w ith mor e ch arm than re al beaut y

, ,
He .

u s ed to say fami l iarl y to his brother w h en s p e ak in g ,

of her :
M y wi fe is
harming attrac tive c is , ,
—
but there
n oth in g t o lay hold o f She is like a glass of ch am .

pagn e that is all f roth ; when you get to the wine it

is very good bu t there is too little o f it un f ortu
, ,
”
natel y .

He walked up and down the room in gre at agita

tion thinking of a thousand things At one mo
, .

m ent he was furious and felt incli ned to give the ,

M arquis a good thrashi n g or to slap his face p ub ,

lic ly in the club But h e deci ded that would not do

, .
,

it would not be good form ; he would be laughed at ,

and not his rival and this t hou ght wounded his van
,

ity So he went to bed but could not sleep Pari s

.
, .

k n ew in a few days that the Baron and Barones s

’
d Etra ille had agreed to an amicable separation on
accou n t o f i n compatibility o f t emper NO o n e sus .

p e c t ed anything n o o n e laughed and

, n o o n e w a s ,

astonished .

The Baron h owever to avoid meeting his wife

, , ,

trav elled f o r a year then spent the summer at th e

,

seaside and the autumn in shooting return ing to

, ,

Paris for the winter He did not meet the Barones s .

once .

He did not even know what people said about

her In any case she took care to save ap pearances
.
, ,

an d that was all he ask ed for

‘

He became dreadfully bored travelled again re , ,

stored his O ld castle o f Villebosc which took him ,

 54 GUY DE M A U PASSA N T

t wo y ears ; then for over a y ear he entertained

friends there till at last tired of all these so c alled
, ,
-

p leasures he returned to
, his m ansion in the R u e

d e V ill e j ust si x y ears after the separation

, .

He was now for ty fi v e with a good crop o f gra y

-
,

hair rather stout and with that melanchol y look

, ,

characteristic o f those who have been handsome ,

s ought after and liked but who are deteriorating

, ,

dail y .

A month a fter his return to P aris he took cold

on comi n g out o f his club and had such a bad ,

cough that his medical man ordered him to Ni c e f or

the rest o f the winter .

H e reached the station onl y a few minutes be

f ore the d eparture O f the train on M on day evening ,

a n d had barely time to get into a carriage with ,

o nl y on e other occu p ant w ho was sitti n g in a c o r ,

n er so wrapped in furs and cloaks that he could

n ot even make out wheth e r it was a man or a

w oman as nothin g o f the figure could be seen

, .

When he perceived that he could n ot find out he

’

p u t on his travelling cap rolled hims elf up in his ,

rugs and stretched out comfortably to sleep

, .

He did not wake until the day was breaking and ,

looked at once at his fellow travel ler who had not -

,

stirred all night and seemed still to be sound asleep

, .

M d Etraille made use o f the Opportunity to

.
’

b rush his hair and his beard and to try and freshen ,

himself up a little gen erally f or a n ight s trave l ,

’

does n ot improve one s appearan ce when one has ’

attai n e d a certain age .

A gr eat poet has sai d

2 56 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

tu rned an d looked at h im again ca lmly in difi er , ,

en tl y as i f she scarcely saw h im and then l ooked

, ,

o ut of the window again .

He was upset and dread f ully perpl exed and kept ,

lookin g at her sid ew ay s .

Y es ; it was surely his wife How could he pos .

sibly have doubted ? There could ce rtai nl y not be

two no ses like t hat an d a thousand recollections
,

fl ashed throug h his mind He felt the old fee lin g of

.

the in to x i cation of love stealing over him and he ,

called to mind the sweet odour of her skin her smile ,

when she p ut her arms onto his shoulders the soft ,

i ntonations o f her voice all h er g r ace ful coax ing

, ,

ways .

B ut how she had changed an d improved ! I t was

s he and yet not she She seemed riper more de
.
,

v elop ed more of a woman

, more seductiv e more , ,

d esirable adorably desirable

, .

And this strange u n known woman whom he had

, ,

a ccidentall y met in a railwa y carriag e belonged to -

,

him ; he had only to say to her

”
I insist u pon it .

H e had formerly sle p t in her arms existed on l y ,

in her love and now he had found her ag ain cer

,

tainly but so changed that he scarcel y knew her

, It .

w as anoth er and y et it was she h erself

,
It was .

some one who had been bo rn and had formed and

g rown since he had le ft her I t was she indeed ; .
,
’

she whom he had loved but who was now altered , .

w ith a more assured smile an d grea ter sel f posses -

s ion . There were two women in on e mingling a ,

g reat p art of wh a t was new and unknown with

 A M EET I NG 2 57

man y weet rec ol l ections of the past There was

s .

something S ingu lar disturbing exciting about it

, ,

a kind o f mystery of love in which there floate d

a delicious confu sion It was his wife in a new
.

body and in n ew flesh which lips had never pressed .

And he thought that in a few years nearly every

thing changes in us ; only the outline can be recog
n iz ed and sometimes even that disappears
, .

The blood the hair the skin all changes and is

, , ,

renewe d and when p eople have not seen each other

,

f or a long tim e when the y meet they find each other

,

totally di ff erent being s althou gh they are the same

,

and bear the same name .

And the heart also c an change Ideas may be .

modified and ren ewed so that in forty y ears of life

,

we may by g radual and constant transformations

, ,

become four or five totally new and di ff erent

beings .

He dwelt on this thought till it trou bled him

it had first taken possession of him when he sur
prised her in the P rincess s room He was not the ’
.

least angr y ; it was n ot the same woman that h e

—
was looking at that thin excitable littl e doll of ,

those days .

What wa s he to do ? How should he addres s

her and what could he say to her ? Had she recog
?

niz ed him ?
Th e train stopped a gain H e got up bowed and.
, ,

said : Bertha do you want anythin g I c ould bring

,

you ?
She looked at him from head to foot and .
, an

swered without showing the slightest su rp rise

, ,
or
2 58 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

c onfusion or anger bu t with the most p er fe ct i ndi i

, ,

f eren c e :
—
I do not want any thing thank y ou .

He got out and walk ed u p and down the p lat

f orm a little in order to r ec over himself and as it , ,

w ere to recover his senses after a fall What

, .

s hould he do now ? If he got into anoth er c arriage

it would l ook as i f he were running away Should .

h e be p olite or im p ortunate ? T ha t would look as

i f he were asking for forgiveness Should he speak .

a s i f he were her master ? He would look lik e a

f ool and besides he really had no right to do so
, , , .

He got in again and took his place .

During his absence she had hastily arranged her

d ress and ha ir and was now lyi n g stretched out on
,

the seat radi ant and without show ing any emotion
, , .

He turned to her and said My dear Bertha

, ,

s i n ce this singu lar chance has brought us together

—
a fter a separation of six year s a quite friendly
—
separation are we to continue to look upon each
o ther as irreconcilable e n emies ? We are shut up
together té ta a tete which is so much the be tter or
,
- -
,

s o much the wors e I am not going to get into

.

a nother carriage so don t y ou think it is preferabl e

’
,
”
t o talk as friends till the end o f o u r j ourney ?
She answered quite calmly again ,
”
Just as you please .

Th en he suddenly stopped reall y not knowin g ,

w hat to sa y ; but as he had p len ty of assurance he

, ,

s at down on th e mi ddle seat and said ,

W ell I see I must pay m y court to you ; so

,

m uch the better It is however reall y a pleasure

.
, , ,
260 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

She made a little movement of surp ri se .

Bitterness ? I don t feel any ; you are a com ’

p lete stranger to me ; I am only tr y ing to k ee p u p

”
a di ffi cult conversation .

He was still looking at her fascinated in s p ite of

her harshness and he felt se1z ed with a brutal de
,

sire the desire o f t he master

,
.

P erceivin g th at she had hurt his feelings she ,

said :

How o l d are y ou now ? I th ought you were

”
younger than you look .

“
I am forty fiv e ; and then he add ed
-
I
forgot to ask after P rincesse de R aynes Are y ou .

”
still intimate with her ?
She looke d at him as i f she hated him
Y es I certainly am She is very well thank
, .
,

you .

They remained sitting side by side a gi tated and ,

irritated Su dd en ly he said :
.

My dear B ertha I have changed my mind Y ou

, .

are my wife a nd I expect you to come with me to

,

day You have I think improv ed both morally and

.
, ,

p hysicall y and I am goi n g to take you back again

, .

”
I am your husband and it is my right to do so
, .

She was stup efied an d looked at him trying to

, ,

divine his thoughts ; but his face was resolute and

impenetrable .

I am ve ry sorry sh e sa id but I have made

, ,
”
other engagement s .

S O much the wo rse for y ou was his reply , .

The law gives me the power and I mean to use ,

 A M EETI N G 26 1

They were nearing M arseil l es and the train ,

whistled and slackened speed The Baroness rose .

,

carefully rolled up her wrap s and then turn ing to , ,

her husband said : ,

M y dear R aymond do not make a bad u se of

,

this tete a té te which I had carefully prepared I

- -
.

wished to take precaution s according to your ad ,

vice so that I might have nothing to fear from you

,

or from other people whatever might happen Y ou

, .

”
are going to Nice are you not ?
,

I shall go wherever you go .

Not at all ; j ust listen to me and I am sure that ,

y ou will leave me in peace In a few m oments.

,

when we get to the station you will see the P rin ,

c esse de R aynes and Comtesse Hermit waiting f or

me with their husbands I wished them to see us
.
,

and to know that we had spent the night together

in the railway carriage Don t be ala rmed ; t hey
.
’

will tell it everywhere as a most surp rising fact .

I told you j ust now that I had most c ar efu ll y

followed your advice and saved appearances Any .

thing else doe s not matter does it ? Wel l in order

, ,

to do so I wished to be seen with you Y ou told

, .

me carefully to avoi d an y scandal and I am avoid ,

,
r ,
—
ing it f o I am afraid I am afraid
She waited till the train had quite stopped and ,

as her friends ran up to Open the c arriage door she ,

said :
“
I am afraid —hesitating that there is an
— '

other reason i a srt1s en c ein te .

The P rincess stretched out her arms to e mbrac e

her and the Baroness said pointing to the Baron
, , ,
262 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

who was dumb with astonishment and was try ing ,

to get at the truth

“
You do not recogni z e R aymond ? He has cer
tain ly changed a good deal and he agreed to come
,

with me so that I might not travel alone We take .

little trips like this occasionally like good friends

,

who cannot live together We are going to sep

.

”
a rate here ; he has had enough of me already .

She p ut out her hand which he took mechanically

, ,

and then Sh e j umped out on to the platform amon g

her friends who were waiting for her
, .

The B aron hastily shut the carriage door for he ,

was too much disturbed to say a word o r come to

’
an y determination He heard his wife s voice and
.
,

their merry laughter as they went away .

He never saw her again nor did he ever disc over

,

whether She had told him a lie or was s p eaking the

truth .
264 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Who would have dreamed o f such a thin g ?

”
It s dread ful
’
.

The children suspect nothing and ar rive in their ,

turn at years of di scretion with eyes and mind

blindfolded ign orant of the more real side o f life
, ,

not knowing that peop le do not think as th ey s peak ,

an d do not s p eak as they act ; or aware that they ,

should live at war or at all events in a state of

,
~

armed peace with the rest of mankind ; n ot suspect

,

in g the fact that the simple are always deceived the ,

S incere made sport o f the good maltreated ,

.

Some g o on till the day o f their death in this

blind probity and loyalty and honour so p ure ,

minded that nothing c an op en their eyes .

O ther s undeceive d but without fully understan d

,

ing make mi stakes are dismayed an d becom e des

, , ,

pe rate believing themselves the playthings o f a

,

cruel fate the wretched V ictims of a dverse circum

,

stances and exceptionally wicke d men

, .

The Sav ignols marri ed th eir daughter Bertha at

the age of eighteen She wed ded a young Parisian.
,

G eorge Baron by name who had dealings on the ,

S tock E xchange He was handsome well man

.
,
-

n ored and apparently all that could be desired But

,
.

in the depths of his heart he somewhat despised

his old fashioned parents in law whom he spoke o f
- - -
,
”
among his intimates as my dear Old fossils .

H e belonged to a good family and the girl was ,

rich They settled down in P aris

. .

She became one of those provincial Parisians

whose name is legion She remained in complete .

ign orance of the great city of its social side its , ,

 FORGIVE N ESS 26 5

pleas res and its

u —
customs j ust as she remained
ignorant also o f life , its p erfi dy and its my s
teries .

D evoted to her hou se she knew scarcel y anything

,

beyond her own street ; and when she vent u red into
another part of Paris it seemed to her that she had
accomplished a long and arduous j ourney into some
unknown unex p lored city She would then say to
, .

her husband in the evening

“
I have been through the boulevards to day -
.

Two o r three times a year her husband took her

to the theatre These were events the remembrance
.

of which never grew dim ; they provided subj ects o f

conversation for long afterward .

Sometimes three months afterward S he would

suddenly burst into laughter and exclai m ,

Do y ou remember that actor dressed Up as a

”
g ener al who crowed like a cock ?
,

Her fri ends were limit ed to two families related

to her o wn She spoke o f them as the M artinet s
.

“ ”
and the M ichelins .

Her husband lived as he pleased coming home ,

h —
wh en it suited im sometimes not until dawn al -

leg in g busine ss but n ot putting himsel f out ov er

,

much to account f or his movements well aware that ,

no suspicion would ever enter his wife s guileless ’

soul .

But one morning she received an anonymous l et

ter.

—
She was thunderstruck too Simple minded to -

und erstand the infamy o f unsigned information and

to despise th e letter the w riter of which de cl ared
,
266 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

himself inspired by interest in her ha pp iness h atre d ,

of evil and love o f truth

, .

This missive told her that her husband had had ,

for two years past a sweetheart a young wi do w

, ,

named M adame R osset with whom he spe n t all hi s

,

evenings .

Bertha knew neither how to dissemble her grief

nor how to spy on her husband Wh en he came .

in f o r lunch she threw the l etter down before him ,

burst into tears an d fled to her room

, .

He had time to take in the situation and to p re

pare his reply He knock ed at his wife s door She
.
’
.

opened it at once but dar ed not look at him He

,
.

smiled sat down drew her to his knee and in a

, , ,

tone o f light raillery began

M y dear child as a matter Of fact I have a
, ,

friend named M adame R osset whom I have known ,

f or the last ten years an d o f whom I have a very

,

high Opinion I may add that I know scores of

.

other people whose names I have never mentioned

to you seeing that you do not ca re for society or
, ,

fresh acquaintances or functions of any sort But

, .
,

to make S hort work o f such vile accusations as this ,

I want you to p ut on y our things afte r l unch a nd ,

we l l go together and call on this lad y who will

’

very soon become a friend of yours too I am q uite ,

”
su re .

S he emb raced her husband warm ly and moved , ,

by that f eminine s p irit o f c urio sity which will not

b e l ulled once it is arou sed consented to go and ,

see this un kn own w idow of w hom she was , in ,

S p ite of everything j ust the l east bit j ealous

, S he .
268 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

without a cloud a friendship of heart and mind

,

a b solute tender devoted

,
Bertha could hardl y
, .

Speak without bringing in Julie s name To her ’

.

M adame R osset rep resented p er fection .

She was utterl y happy calm and contented , , .

But M adame R oss et fell ill Bertha hardly l eft .

her side She spent her nights with her distracted

.
,

with grief ; even her husband seemed inconsolable .

One morning the doctor after leaving the in ,

v alid s bed side took G eorge and his wif e aside and
’
, ,

told them that he c onsider ed Julie s condition very ’

grave .

As soon as he had gone the grief stricken hus -

band and wife sat down opposite each other and

gave wa y to tears That night they both sat up.

with the pati ent Bertha tenderly kissed her friend

.

from time to time while G eorge stood at the foot

,

o f the bed his e yes obstinately fixed on the inval id s

,
’

face .

The n ex t day she was worse .

But toward evening she declared she felt better ,

and insist ed that her friends should go back to their

own apartment to dinner .

The y were sitting sadly in the dining room -

,

scarcely even attem pting to eat when the maid gav e ,

G eorge a not e H e opened it turned pale as death

.
, ,

and rising from the table said to his wife in a

, ,
.

constrained voice
Wait f o r me I must leave you a moment I
. .

shall b e back in ten minutes D on t go awa y on a n y .

account .

And he hurried to his room to get his h at .

 FORG IVE N ES S 269

B ertha waited for him a prey to f resh an x iety , .

But docile in everything she wou l d not go bac k to

, ,

her friend till he returned .

At l engt h as he did not rea ppea r it occurred to

, ,

her to visit his room and See i f he had taken his

gloves Th is would Show whether or not he had
.

had a cal l to make .

She saw them at the first glance B eside t hem .

lay a cru mpled paper evidently thrown do wn in ,

haste .

S he recogn i z ed it at once as the note G eorge had

rec eived .

And a burning temptation the fi rs t that had eve r ,

assailed her urged her to read it and discover the

,

c au se of her husband s abrupt departure Her re ’

.

belliou s consc ience protested but a devouring and ,

fearful curiosity prevailed She sei z ed the paper .

,

smoothed it out recognized the tremulous pen c il l ed

, ,
’
writing as Julie s and read : ,

Come alone and kiss me my poor dear I am , .

”
dying .

At first she did not understan d the idea o f Julie s ,

’

death being her uppermost thought But all at once .

the true meaning o f what she read burst in a fla sh

upon her ; this pe ncilled note threw a lurid light
upon her whole existence revealed the whole ih ,

famous truth all the treachery and perfi dy of which

,

she had b een the v ictim She understood the long .

years o f deceit the way in which she had been made

,

their puppet She saw them again sittin g side by

.
,

side in the evening reading out o f the same book , ,

glancing at each ot her at the end of each page .

270 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

And her poor indignant su ff ering bleeding heart

, , ,

was cast into the depths o f a desp air which kne w

no bounds .

Footsteps drew near ; she fl ed a nd shut herse lf in ,

her own room .

P resentl y her h usband called her

Come quickl y ! M adame R osset is dying .

B ertha appeared at her door and with tremb l in g ,

l i p s replied :
G o back to her alone ; she does not need me .

H e looked at her stupidly dazed with grief a nd , ,

repeated

Come at once ! She s dy ing I te ll you !

’
,

B ertha answered
Y ou would rather it were I .

Then at last he u nderstood and returned a lon e ,

to the dying woman s bedsi de ’

.

H e mourned her Openl y shamel essly indiff erent

, ,

to the sorrow of the wife who no longer spoke to

him n o longer looked at him ; who p assed her life
,

in solitud e hedged round w ith disgust with in dig

, ,

nant anger and p ray i n g night and day to God

, .

They still lived in the same house however and , ,

sat opposite each other at table in silence and de ,

spair .

G radually h is Sorrow grew l ess acute ; but She did

not forgive him .

And so their li f e went on hard and bitter for ,

them both .

F o r a whole year they remained as comp l ete

strangers to each other as i f the y had never met ,

Bertha n early lost her reason .

 A N U NCO M F O R T A B LE B E D

NE
autumn I went to s p end the hunting sea
son with some f riends in a chateau in
P icardy .

M y friends w ere fond of practi c al j okes I do .

not care to know peopl e who are not .

When I arrived they gave me a prin c el y rec e p

,

tion which at once awakened suspicion in my mind

, .

They fired o ff rifles embraced me made much o f

, ,

me as if they expected to have great f un at mv ex

,

p ense .

I said to myself
Look out old f erret ! They have some th ing in
,
”
store for you .

Du ring the dinner the mirth was e xc e ssive e x ,

agg erated in fa c t
, I thought .Here are people
who have more than their share of amusement and ,

apparentl y without reason They must have .

planned some good j oke Assuredly I am to be .

”
the victim o f the j oke Attention ! .

D uring the entire evening every one l aughed in

an exaggerated fashion I s cented a pra cti cal j oke
.

in the air as a dog scents game B ut w hat was it ?

, .

I was watchful restless I did not let a word or

, .
,

a meaning or a ge sture escape me Every one

, .
 A N UN COM FORTAB LE BED 273

seemed to me an obj ect o f suspicion and I even ,

looked distrustfully at the faces o f the servants .

The hour stru ck for retiring and the whole ,

household came to escort me to my room Wh y ? .

”
They called to me : G ood n ight I entered the .

apartment Shut the door and remained standing

, , ,

without moving a Single step holding the wax can ,

dle in my hand .

I heard laughter and whispering in the corridor .

Without doubt they were spy ing on me I cast a .

glance around the wall s the fu rniture the ceiling

, , ,

the hangings the floor I saw nothing to j ustify

, .

s u spicion I heard persons movi n g about outside

.

my doo r I had no doubt they were looking through

.

the ke yhole .

An idea came into my head My candle may

”
su ddenly go out and leave me in darkness .

Then I went across to the mantelpiece and li ghted

all the wax candles that were on it After th at I .

cast another gla nce around me without discovering

anything I advan c ed with S hort steps carefully
.
,

examining the apartment Nothing I inspect ed . .

every article on e aft er the other Still nothing I

, . .

went over to the win dow The shutters large .

,

wooden shutters were Open I shut them with

, .

great care and then drew the c urtains enormous

, ,

velvet curtains and placed a chair in front o f them

, ,

so as to have nothing to fear from outside .

Then I cautiously sat down The armchair was .

solid I did n ot venture to get into the bed H ow

. .

ever the night was advancing ; and I ended by co m

,

ing to the conclusion that I was foolish If they .

274 GUY DE M A UPAS S A N T

w ere spying on me as I supp osed th ey mu s t w h ile

, , ,

waiting for the su c ces s o f the j oke they had been

p rep a ring for me have been lau gh ing immode rat e ly
,

a t m y terror So I ma de up my mi n d to go to bed
. .

Bu t the bed was pa rti c u l arly s u s p i cio u s looking I -

.

p u ll ed at the curta in s They seemed to be sec u r e

. .

Al l the same there was d anger I was going per

,
.

hap s to rec eive a co l d shower bath from overhea d

o r pe rhap s the m
,

, oment I stretched mys elf ou t to ,

fin d m y self sinking to the fl oor with my mattres s .

I searched in my memory for al l the p ra c ti ca l j okes

o f which I ever had experien c e And I did not w an t .

to be caught Ah ! certainl y not ! certainly n ot !

.

Then I suddenl y bethought myself of a precaution

which I considered insured safety I caught hol d .

o f the side o f the mattres s g ingerly and very slow l y ,

d rew it toward me It came away followed by th e

.
,

S heet and the rest of the bed c lothes I dragged a ll .

these obj ects into the very middle of the roo m ,

facing the entran c e door I made my bed ov e r .

a gain as best I could at some distance from the sus

p ec ted bedstead and the corner w hich had fi lled me

with such an xiet y Then I exti n g uished al l th e
.

candles and groping m y wa y I slip p ed under the

, , ,

bedclothes .

Fo r at least another hour I remained awake ,

s tarting at the slightest sound Everything seeme d .

q uiet in the ch ateau I fell asleep . .

I must have b een in a deep sleep for a l ong ti me ,

b ut all of a sudden I was awakened with a start

by the fall o f a h eavy body tumbling right on top
o f my own an d at the same time I received on m
, , y ,
 WAS IT A D R EA M ?

LO VED her madly ! Why does one love ? Wh y

does one love ? How strange it is to see b u t
one being in the world to have but one though t ,

in one s mind one desire in the heart an d o n e

’
, ,

name on the lips ; a n ame that comes up continuall y ,

rising from the depths of the soul like water in a

spring and which on e repeats over and over agai n
, .

and murmurs ceasele ssl y everywhere like a praye r , .

I am n ot goi n g to t ell you o u r story Love is .

always the same I met her an d love d h er ; that i s

.

all And f o r a whole y ear I liv ed in her te n dernes s

.
,

her car e ss es in her a rms hung o n her word s a n d

, ,

looks loved her dresses was so completel y wrappe d

, ,

up bound impri so ned in everything that pertain e d

, ,

to her that I n o longer knew wheth e r it was day o r

night if I was dead or alive on this old earth o f
, ,

ours o r elsewhere .

And then she died H ow ? I do n ot know ; I .

n o longer know But on e evening she came ho me

.

wet f or it was raini n g heavily an d the ne x t da y

, ,

she coughed an d she cough ed f o r about a week

, ,

and took to her bed What happened I do not r e .

member n ow ; but doctors came wrote presc ription s , ,

and w ent away M edicines were brought and a

.
,
 wa s IT A DREA M ? 277

woman made her drink them H er hands were hot .

,

her forehead was burning and her ey es bright and

,

sad When I s poke to her she an swered me but I

.
,

do not remember w hat we said I hav e forgotten .

everything every thing ev erything ! She died and

,

—
, ,

I very well remember her l ittle faint sigh her last .

The nurse said : Ah ! and I understood I und er ,

stood !
I kn ew n othing more nothin g I saw a p ri est
, .
,

who said : Y our sweetheart ? and it seemed to

me as if he w ere insulting her A s she was dead .
,

nobody had the right to know our relationshi p and ,

I tu rned him out Another came who was very

.

kind and tender and I shed t ears when he s poke

,

to me about her .

“
The y consulted me about the fun eral but I do ,

not remember anything that the y said th ough I ,

distinctly re call the coffi n and the strokes of the

hammer as the y nai led her down in it O h ! G od .
,

G od !
She was buried ! B uried ! Sh e ! I n that hole !
—
S ome p eop le came female fri ends I made my .

escape and ran away ; I ran and then I walked

, , ,

through the streets and finall y went home The

, .

nex t day I started on a j ourney .

Y esterday I retu rned to Paris and when I saw ,

—
my room again ou r room o u r bed our fu rniture
, , ,

e very thing that remains of the life o f a h uman be

—
ing a fter death I was seized b y such a vio l ent te

c urrenc e of grief that I came very n ear Opening the

278 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

win do w and th rowing my self out into the street .

A s I could no longer remain in the midst of these

th in g s , bet ween these walls which had inclosed and
s heltered her and which retained a thousand atom s
,

o f h er o f her skin and o f her breath in their im

, ,

p erce p tible crevices I took up m y hat to mak e m y

,

es cape an d j ust as I r eached the door I passed the

,

l arge glass in the hall which she had p ut there so

,

that she could look at herse l f every da y from hea d

to foot as she went out to see if her toilet was in ,

order and was c orrect and p retty from her little

, ,

boots to her hat .

And I stopp ed short in front of that looking

glass in which she had so often been refl ected so —
often so often that it also must have retained her
,

reflection I was standing there trembling with

.
, ,

—
my eyes fixed on the glas s ou that fl at profound
—
, ,
‘

empty glas s which had contained her entirely and ,

had possessed her as much as I had as m y pas ,

sion ate looks had I fe l t as if I loved that glass I

. .

touched it ; it was co l d Oh the recollection ! Sor

.
,

row f ul mirror burning mirror live mirror h o rrible

, , ,

mirror which mak es us su ff e r such torment s !

,

H appy are the men whose h eart is l ik e a mirror

wh er e images glid e and pass away ; that forgets all
it has c ontained reflected all that have basked in
, ,

its love and a ff ection ! But I how I suff er ! ,

I went out and without knowing it withou t

, ,

wishing it wa lked to the c emetery I found her

, .

simple grave a whit e marbl e cross with thes e f ew

, ,

words
S h e lov ed, was belov ed an d died
’
.
,
280 G U Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

to the trunk as a shi p wrecked man does to a

,

p lank .

“
When it was quite dark I left m y refuge and
began to walk softl y slowly noiselessly through , ,

that ground full o f dead people and I wandered ,

a bout for a long time but could not find her aga in
, .

I went on with extend ed arms knocking against the ,

tombs with my hands my feet my kn ees my chest , , , ,

even with my head without being able to find her

, .

I touched and felt about like a blind man groping

his way I felt the stones the crosses the iro n rail
.
, ,

ings the m etal wreaths and the wreaths o f faded

, ,

fl owers ! I read the n ames with my fingers by ,

p assing them over the letters What a night ! .

What a night ! I could not find her again !

There was no moon What a night ! I was .

afraid horribly afraid in th ese narrow paths be

, ,

twe en two rows of graves G rav es ! graves ! g rave s ! .

nothing but graves ! O n my r ight on my left in , ,

front of me around me ev e rywhere th e re were

, ,

graves ! I sat down on on e of them for I could ,

n ot walk any lo n ger my kne e s were so weak , I .

c ould hear my heart beat ! A n d I co uld hear some

thing else as well What ? A c o n fused nameles s
.
,

noise Was the noise in my hea d in the impene

.
,

t rable night or b en eath th e mysteriou s earth the

, ,

earth sown with human corpses ? I looked about

me but I ca n not say how lon g I remained there ; I
,

was paralyzed with terror drunk with fright read y , ,

to shout ou t rea dy to die

,
.

Su dden ly it seemed to me as if the slab of mar

ble on whi c h I was sit ti n g was moving Certainly .
,
 WA s IT A DREA M ? 28 1

it was moving as if it were being rais ed With a

, .

bound I sp rang on to the neighbouring tom b and I ,

saw yes I distinctly saw the stone which I had

, ,

j ust left standing upright and the dead p erson ap ,

p eare d a naked
, skeleton that was pushing the stone ,

back with its bent back I saw it quite clear ly al.

,

tho u gh the night was so dark O n the c ross I .

coul d read
H ar e lies J ac ques O li vant wh o di ed at th e ag e '
,

of fif ty on e -
H e lov ed his family was kind and
.
,

h on ou r able an d di ed in the peac e of the L ord

’
.
,

The dead man al so read what was inscribed on

his tombstone ; then he p icked up a stone off the
path a little pointed stone and began to scrape the
, , ,

letters carefully He slowl y efl ac ed them alto

.

gether and with the hollows of his eyes he looked

,

at the places where they had been engraved and , ,

with the tip of the bone that had been his forefinger
h e wrot e in lumi n ous letter s like those lines which ,

on e traces on walls with the tip o f a lucifer match :

H er e p J
reac q u O
os es
es li v a n t w h o d i ed a t th e ,

ag e of fif ty on e H e has ten ed h is fath er s death by

’
-
.

h is u n kin dn ess, as he wi sh ed to in heri t his for tu n e ;

h e tor tu r ed his w ife, tor men ted his childr en, de
c eiv ed his n eig h bours, r obbed ev er o n h e c o ld
y e u ,

and di ed wr etc h ed
’
.

When he had fi n ished writing the dead man .

stood motionless looking at his work and on turn

, ,

ing round I saw that all the graves were Open that ,

all the dead bodies had emerged from them and ,

that all had efl aced the lies inscribed on the grave

stones by th eir relations and had substituted the ,
282 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

tru th instea d And I saw that all had been the tor
.

—
mentors of thei r neighbour s malicious dishonest , ,

hy pocrites liars rogues calumniators envi ous ;

, , , ,

that the y had sto l en deceived p erfo rmed every dis

, ,

grace ful every abominabl e a c tion these good

, ,

fathers these faith ful wives these devoted sons

, , ,

these ch aste young girls these honest tradesme n , ,

these men and women who were cal l ed irr ep roach

able An d they were all writing at the same time
.
,

on th e thresh old of their eternal abode the truth the , ,

c ruel terribl e and ho ly truth which every one on

, ,

earth is ignorant of or pretends to ig nore, .

I thought that she also must have written some

thing ou her tombstone and now running without , ,

any fear a mong the half open coffi ns among the -

,

cor p ses and skeletons I went toward her sure that

"

, ,

I should find her immediatel y I recogn ized her at .

once without seeing her fac e w hich was covered

, ,

by the winding sheet and on the marble cross , ,

where sh ortl y before I had read : S he loved was ‘

,

belov ed and died I now read :

, , H aving g one ou t
’

one day, in order to deceiv e her lover, sh e cau h t

g
cold i n th e rain an d di ed
’
.

It app ea rs th at they found me at dayb reak lyin g

”
on the grave uncons c ious .
28 4 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

a fter the pe r formance The y had been seated a f ew .

minutes in th e restaurant when S ignoles notic ed

that a man was stari ng persistentl y at on e of th e
ladies S he seemed annoyed and lowered her ey es
.
, .

At last sh e said to her husband :

’
There s a man over there looking at me I .

”
don t know him ; do you ?
’

The husban d who had noticed nothing glan c ed

, ,

across at the off ender and said : ,

”
No ; not in the least .

His wife conti nued hal f smiling hal f angry , ,

“
It s very tiresome ! He quite sp oi l s my ic e
’

”
cream .

The husband shrugged his shoulders .

Nonsense ! D on t tak e any notice o f him If

’
.

we were to bother ou r heads about all the ill man -

n ered peop le we should have no time f or anything

el se .

But the Viscount abruptly left his seat He could .

not allow this insolent fellow to spoil an ice for a

guest o f his It was f or him to take cogn izance of
.

the o ff ense since it was through him that his

,

friends had come to the restaurant He went across .

to the man and said

Sir you are staring at those ladies in a manner
,

I cannot permit I must ask you to desist f ro m

.

”
your rudeness .

The other replied

Let me alon e will you ! ,
”
Take care sir said the Vis count between h is
, ,
”
teeth or you wil l force me to extreme measures
—
.
,

The man repl ied with a single word a fou l word ,

 A CO WARD 28 5

w hi ch cou l d be h eard from one en d of th e resta n

rant to th e other and which startled eve ry o ne
,

there All those w hose backs w ere tow ard the two
.

dis p uta nts turn ed round ; all the others rais ed their
h eads ; three waiters sp un round on their hee l s like
t0ps the two lad y cashier s jumped a s if shot then , ,

t u rn ed their bodies simultaneously like two au tom ,

ata w o rked by the same sp ring .

There was dead silence Then sudden ly a sharp .

,

crisp so und The Viscount had slapped his adver

.

sa t y s face Every one ros e to i n ter fere Ca rd s

’
. .

w ere exchanged .

W h en the Vis c ount reached home h e wa lked rap

idl y up an d down his room for some minutes He .

w as in a state o f too great agitation to think con

n ec t edly O ne idea alone possessed h im : a duel
. .

B ut this idea aroused in him as yet no emotion o f

an y kind He had done what he wa s bound to do ;
.

he had proved himself to be what he ought to be .

H e would be talked about app roved c ongratul ated , , .

H e repeated aloud sp eaking as one does when u n

,

der the stress of great mental disturban c e !

”
What a brute of a man !
Then he sat down and began to reflect He .

would have to find seconds as soon as morni n g

c ame Whom should he choose ? He bethought
.

himsel f o f the most influential and best known men -

of his acquaintance His choice fell at last on the

.
~

M arquis de la Tour Noire and Colone l Bourdi n -

a nobleman and a soldier That would be j ust the .

thing Their names would carry weight in the

.

newspapers H e was thirsty and drank three

.
,
286 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

g la sses o f water one a fter another ; th en h e wa l ked

,

u p and down again If he showed himself brave

.
,

determined prepared to face a duel in deadly ear

,

n est his adversary would p robabl y draw bac k an d

,

p ro ff er excuses .

He picked up the card he had taken from his

p ocket and thrown on a table He read it again .
,

as he had already read it first at a glance in the ,

r estaurant and a fterward on the way home in the

,

light of each gas lamp : G eorges Lamil 51 R u e ,

”
M oncey . That was all .

He examined closely this collection o f l etters ,

which seemed to him mysterious fraught with man y ,

meanings G eorges Lam ! Who was the man

. il ?

What was his profession ? Why had he stared so

at the woman ? Was it not monstrous that a stran
’
ger an unknown should thus all at once upset one s
, ,

whole life simply because it had pleased him to

,

stare rudely at a wom an ? And the Viscount once

more repeated aloud
What a brute !
Then he stood motionless thinking his eyes still , ,

fi xed on the card Anger rose in his heart against

.

—
this scrap o f paper a re sentful anger mingled wit h ,

a strange sense o f uneasiness It was a stupid busi .

n ess altogether ! He took up a penknife which lay

O pen w ithin reach and deliberately stuck it into the
,

middle of the p rinted n ame as i f he were sta bbing ,

s ome one .

S o he would have to fight ! S hould h e choose

s word s o r pistols — f o r he considered himself as the
insult ed party With the sword he would risk less
.
,
288 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

He began to reason with himse lf on the p o ssi

bility of such a thing :
”
Could I b y an y chanc e be a f raid ?
No indeed ; he could not be a f raid since he w as
, ,

resolved to proc eed to t he last e xtremity since h e ,

was irrevocably determin ed to fight without fl in c h

ing And y et he was so p ertu rbe d in mind an d
.

bo dy that he asked him sel f

Is it possible to be a fraid in s p ite o f one s sel f ? ’

And this dou bt this fear f ul question took pos

, ,

session of him If an irresistible p ower stronger

.
,

than his own wi ll were to q uell his courage what

,

would ha pp en ? H e would certainly go to the p lac e

appointed ; his will would force him that far Bu t .

suppo si ng when there he were to tremble or faint ?

, ,

And he thought o f his soc ial standing his rep uta ,

tion his name

, .

And he suddenl y determined to get up and look

at himself in the glass He lighted his candl e . .

When he saw his face re fl ected in the mirror h e

scarc ely rec ognized it He seemed to see before
.

him a man whom he did not know His eyes looked .

dispropo rtionate l y large and he was very pal e

, .

He remained standing before the mirror He put .

ou t his tongue as i f to e xamine the state o f his

,

health and all at once the thought fl ash ed into h is

,

mind :
“
At this time the day after to morrow I may be -

”
dead .

And his heart throbbed pain fully .

At this time the day after to morrow I may -

be dea d This person in front of me this I who m

.
,
 A CO WARD 28 9

I see in the glass will p erhaps be no more What !

, .

H ere I am I look a t mysel f I feel myself to be

, ,

alive and yet in twenty four hours I may be ly

- -

ing on that bed wit h closed e yes dead col d i nani

, , , ,
”
mate .

H e tu rned round and c ould see h imsel f di stinctly

,

l yi ng on his back on the couch he had j ust quitted .

He had the hollow fa c e and the limp hands of death .

Then he became afraid of his b ed and to avoid ,

seeing it went to his smoking room He mechanic -

.

ally took a cigar lighted it an d began walking bac k

, ,

and forth He was cold ; he took a step toward the

.

bel l to wake his valet but stopped with hand raised

, ,

toward the bell rope .

”
He would see th at I am afraid !
And inst ead o f ringing he made a fire himse lf
, , .

His hands quivered nervously as they touched vari

ous obj ects His head grew dizzy his thoughts con
.
,

fused disj ointed painful ; a numbness seized his

, ,

spirit as if he had been drinking

, .

And all the ti me he kept on saying

”
What shall I do ? What will become o f me ?
His whole body trembled spasmodically ; h e rose , ,

and going to th e window drew back the curtains

, , .

— —
The day a summer day was breaking The .

pin k sky cast a glow on the city its roofs and its , ,

walls A flush of light enveloped the awakened

.

world like a caress from the rising sun and the

, ,

glimmer of dawn kindled new hop e in the breast o f

the Viscount What a fool he was to l et himself
.

succumb to fear before an yt hing was decided be —

fore his seconds h ad interviewed those o f G eorges
290 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Lamil, before he even knew whether he would ha v e

to fight or not !
He made his toilet dressed an d left the hou s e , ,

with a firm step .

H e re peated as h e went
—
I must be fi rm very fi rm I mu st s how th at I .

am not af raid .

His s econd s the marq uis and the c olonel pla c ed

, ,

themsel ves at his disposal an d having shak en him , ,

warml y b y the hand began to discuss details , .

Y ou want a serious duel ? asked the colonel

—
.

”
Y es q uite serious repl ied the Visc ount , .

”
You insist on p istols ? p ut in the M arquis .

”
Yes .

Do you leave al l the other arra n gements in ou r

”
hands ?
With a dry j erky voice the Viscount answered
—
,

Twenty p aces a t a given si g aln — the arm to

—
be raised not lowered shots to be exchanged unti l
,
”
one or other is seriously wounded .

”
E xce llent conditions declared the colonel in a ,

satisfied tone Y ou are a good shot ; all the

.

”
chances are in your favour .

And they parted The Viscount returned home .

to wait for them H is agitati on on ly temporarily

.
,

allayed now increased momentarily He felt in

,
.
,

, ,
—
arms l egs and chest a sort o f trembling a contin ,

n ous vibration ; he could not stay still either sitting ,

or standing H is mouth was parched and he made

.
,

every now and then a clicki ng movement o f the

tong ue as if to deta c h it from his palate
,
.

H e att empted to take luncheon but could not eat , .

 G U Y DE M A UPA S SA N T

The V isc ount articulated for the se c ond time

Thank you .

’ ”
You re a l l ri ght ? asked the c ol onel Q uit e .

”
c alm ?

Per fec t ly c al m thank you , .

The two men withdrew .

When he wa s once more alone he fel t as though

he shoul d go mad His servant having l ighted the
.

lamps he sat down at his table to write some let

,

ters When he had traced at the top o f a sheet o f

.

paper the words : This is my last will and testa

ment he started from his seat feeling himsel f
, ,

incapab l e o f connected thought of de c ision in re ,

gard to any thing .

So he was going to fight ! He could no longe r

avoid it What then possessed him ? He wished
.
, ,

to fight he was fully determined to fight and yet

, , ,

in spite o f all his mental e ff ort in spite o f the exer ,

tion o f all his will power he fel t that he could not ,

even preserve the strength necessary to carry him

through the ordeal He tried to conj ure up a pic
.

ture o f the duel his own attitude and that of his

, ,

enemy .

E very now and then his teeth chattered audibl y .

He thought he would r ea d and took down Ch atea u ,

villard s R u les of D u elli ng Then he said

’
.

“
Is the other man practiced in the use of the
pistol ? Is he well k own n ? How can I find

men and searc hed it from end to end G eorges La

, .

mil was not mention e d And yet if he were not an .

,
 A CO WA RD 293

adept woul d he hav e accepted without demur such

,

a dan g erous weapon and su c h deadly condi

tions ?
He opened a case of G astinne R en ettes which
stood on a small tab l e and took from it a p istol
, .

Next he stood in the correct attitude for firing and ,

raised his arm But he was trembling f rom head

.

to foot and the weapon shoo k in his gras p

, .

Then he said to himsel f :

”
It is impossible I cannot fight like this
. .

H e looked at the little black death spitting hole ,

-

at the end of the pistol ; he thought o f dishonour of ,

the whispers at the clubs the smi l es in h is friends

,
’

drawi n g rooms the c ontempt o f women the veiled

-
, ,

sneers o f the newspapers the insults that would be

,

hurled at him by cowards .

He still looked at the weapon and raising the , ,

hammer saw the glitter o f the p riming be l ow it

, .

The pistol had been l eft loaded by some chance ,

some over sight And the discovery rej o iced him

.
,

he kne w not wh y .

If he did not maintain in p resence o f his op

,

ponent the stead fast bearing which was so n ec es

,

sary to his honour he would be ruin ed for ever He

,
.

would be brand ed stigmatized as a coward hound

, ,

ed out o f society ! And he f elt he knew that he , ,

could not maintain that calm; unmoved demeanour .

—
And yet he was brave since the thought that fol
,

lowed was not even rounded to a finish in his mind ;

but opening his mouth wide he suddenl y pl unged
, ,

the b arrel of the pistol as far bac k a s his throat and ,

p ressed the trigger .

294 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

When the valet ala rmed at the report ru shed

, ,

into the room he found his master l ying dead upon

hi s back
. A sp urt o f blood had splashed the white
p aper on the table and had made a gr eat c rim son
,

stain beneath the w ords

This is my l ast wi l l and testament .

296 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

tion o f which alway s remains un p rinted on th e

’
—
mind s eye the first time that he saw her in he r
father s mill where he had gone to ask f o r w or k
’
, .

She stood out all rosy f rom the warmth o f the day ,

amid the imp alp able clouds of flour which di ff u se d ,

an indistinct whiteness through the air With he r .

hair hangi ng about her in untidy c urls as if sh e ,

had j ust awakened from a profound sleep s h e ,

stretched herself lazil y her bare arms clasped be

,

hind her head and yawned so as to show her whit e

,

teeth which glistened like those o f a young w ol f

, ,

and her fair bosom appeared beneath her u n bu t

toned bodice with innocent immodesty He told he r .

that he thought her adorable in such an awk w a r d

manner that she made fun of him and scourged him
with her cruel laughter ; and from that da y he spe n t
his life in M argot s shadow He might have bee n
’
.

tak en f o r one o f those wild beasts ardent wit h de ,

sire which ceaselessl y utter maddened cries to th e

,

stars on nights when the constellati ons bath e th e

dark covert s in warm light M argot met h im w h e r .

ever she went and seized with pity and by degre e s

, ,

agitated by his sobs by his dumb entreaties b y t h e

, ,

burning looks which flashed from his large ey e s ,

she had returned his love ; she had dreamed re st

lessl y that during a whole night she had been in h is
vigorous arms which press ed her like corn that is
,

being crushed in the mill that sh e was obeying a ,

man who had subdued her and learn ing stran g e ,

things which the other girls talked about in a lo w

voice wh en they were drawing water at the w e ll .

She had how ever b een obliged to wait u n ti l

, ,
 M ARGor s
’
T A P ERS 297

M idsummer Day for the mill er watched over his

,

heiress very carefully .

The two lovers told each other al l this as the y

were going along the dark road and innoc entl y ,

giving utterance to words o f happiness which rise ,

to the li p s like the forgotten refrain of a song At .

times the y were silent not knowing what more to

,

say and n ot daring to embrace each other an y

,

more The night was soft and warm the warmth

.
,

of a hal f closed alcove in a bedroom whi c h had the

-
,

e ff ect o f a tumbler of new wine .

The leaves were sleeping motionless and in su ,

p reme peac e and in the distance they could hear

,

the monotonous sound of the brooks as t hey flowed

over the stone s Amid the dull noise o f insects
.
,

the nightingales we re answering each other f rom

tree to tree and every thing seemed alive with hid
,

den li fe and the sk y was bright with such a sh o wer

,

o f falling stars that the y might have been taken f or

white forms wandering among the dark trunks o f

the trees .

”
Wh y h av e we come ? M argot asked in a p ant ,

ing voice Do y ou want me an y more T ienn ou

.
?
,
” “
Alas ! I dare not he replied ,
Listen : you .

know that I was picked up on the highroad t hat I ,

have nothing in the world except my two arms and ,

that M ill er F resquy l will never let his daughter

”
mar ry a poor devil like me .

She interrupted him with a pain ful gesture and ,

putting her lips to his she said ,

What does that matter ? I love you and I ,

”
want you Take me . .
298 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

And it was thus , on St John s night M argo t

.
’

Fresq uy l for the first time yi elded to the morta l sin

o f love .

D ID the mi ller guess his daughter s secret w hen ’

,

he heard her singing merrily from da wn till dusk ,

and saw her sitting dreaming at her window in

h
stead o f sewing as s e was in the habit o f doing
,
?

D id he see it when she threw ardent kisses from

the tips of her fingers to her lover at a distance ?

H owever that might have b een he shut poo r ,

M argot in the mill as if it had been a p rison N o .

more love or p leasure no more meetings at night at

,

the edge o f the wood W hen she chatted with the

.

p assers by when she tried furtivel y to open the

-
,

gate of the inclosure and to mak e her escape h e r ,

father beat her as if she had been som e disobedient

animal until she f ell on her knees on the fl oor with
,

clasped hands scarcel y able to move and her w ho le

, ,

bod y c overed with p urp le bru ises .

S he pretended to obey him but s h e rev ol te d in ,

h er whole being and the string o f bitter i n sults

,

which h e heap ed u pon her rang in her head With .

clin c hed h ands and a gesture of terrible hatred she ,

c ursed him f or standing in the way of her love an d ,

at night s h e rolled about on her bed bit the sheets , ,

moaned stretched hersel f out for imaginary em

,

b ra c es maddened by the sensual heat with whi c h

,

her body was still p alpitating She called out Tie n .

300 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

Th e l lag e was bu r ning in th e da rk ni g ht an d

vi ,

the fl ames fanned by the wind rose up l ik e sin is t e r

, ,

torche s Th e t ha tch ed roof s the r icks o f co rn th e

.
, ,

haystacks and the barns f ell in and crackl ed l ike

,

roc k ets w hil e the sky look ed as if it w ere illumi

,

h ated by an au r ora bor ealis F resquy l s mill was

’
.

smoking and its bu rned ruins were reflec ted on th e

,

de ep water The sheep and cows were r unning

.

about the fi el ds in terror d ogs were howling an d , ,

w omen were sitting on the broken furniture an d

were c ry ing and wringing their hands ; an d durin g
all this time M argot was abandoning herself to h er
lover s ardent caresses and with her a rms rou n d
’
,

his neck she said to him tenderly ,

Y ou see th at I have kept my promise .

I set fi re to the mi ll so that I might be able to g et

out So muc h the worse if all have su ff ered B ut
. .

I do not care as long as y ou are happ y in hav in g

”
me and love me !
,

And pointing to the fire which was still burn ing

, ,

fi erc el y in the distan c e she added with a burst of

,

sa vage l aughte r :
Tiennou we shall not have such bea uti f ul
,

tap ers at our wedding mass when you c ome ba ck

from your regiment !
And th us it was that for the second time M argot
F resquyl y ie l ded to th e mortal sin o f l ov e .
 M A G N E T IS M

T was a men s dinne r part y and they were sit

’
,

ting over their cigars and brandy and d iscuss

ing magnetism D onato s tricks and Charcot s
,
’ ’

experi ments . P resen tly the skeptical easy go ing ,

-

men who cared nothing for religion of any sort

, ,

began telling stories o f strange occurre n ces in ,

credible thi n gs which neverth eles s had really oc

, ,

curred so the y said falling back into sup erstitious

, ,
‘

beliefs clinging to these last remnants of the mar

,

v ell on s becomi n g devotees o f this mystery o f mag

,

n etism defending it in the name o f science

,
There .

w as o n ly on e p e rson who smiled a vigorous young ,

’
fello w a great ladi es man who was so in c redu
, ,

lous that he Would not even enter upon a discussion

o f such matters .

H e r epeated with a sneer

Humbug ! humbug ! hu mbug ! We need not
discuss Do nato w ho is merely a very smart j u g
,

g le.r As for M onsieur C harcot w h o is said t o be ,

a gr eat man o f science he produces o n me the e ff ect

,

o f those story tell ers o f the school o f E dgar Po e

-
,

w ho end by going mad through constantly refl ec t

ing o n queer cases o f insanity He has au th en ti .

c ated some cases o f unexplain e d and i n explicable

nervous phenomena ; he mak e s his way into that

unknow n reg ion which men are exploring every
day and unable always to un derstand what h e sees
, ,
3 02 GU Y DE M A UPA SS A N T

he recal l s perhaps the ecclesiastical interpretation

, ,

of these mysteries I should like to hear what h e

.

”
says himsel f .

Th e words o f the unbeliever were listened t o

with a kind o f p ity as if he had b l as phemed in an
,

assembl y o f monks .

O ne o f these gentlemen exclaimed

And y et miracles were performed in ol den
”
times .

I deny it replied the other

,
Why cannot .

”
they be performed no w ?

Then each mentioned some fa c t some fantasti c ,

presentiment some instan ce o f sou l s commu nic at

,

ing with e a ch other across spa c e or some ca s e o f ,

the s ec ret in fl uenc e of one being over another .

They asserted and maintained that these things h ad

actually oc curred while the ske ptic re p eated :
,

Humbug ! humbug ! h umbug !

At l ast he rose threw away his cigar and with
, ,

his hands in his pockets said : Well I also have , ,

two stories to tell you which I will afterward ex

,

p lain H ere they are

.

In the l ittle village of E treta t the men who , ,

are al l seafaring folk go every year to Newfound

,

land to fish for cod O ne night the litt l e son of o ne

.

o f these fishermen woke up with a start cr y ing out ,

that his father was dead The child was quieted .

,

and again he woke up exclaiming that his fathe r

was drowned A month later the news came that
.

his father had in fact been swep t o ff the de ck o f

, ,

his smack b y a billow The widow then remem .

'

bered how her son had wak ed up and s poken o f his

 0
3 4 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

cases where the persons who made the predi c tio n

forgot all about it a week afte rwards But if the .
,

man happened to die then the recollection o f the ,

thing is immediately revived and peo ple are ready ,

to believe in the intervention of God according to ,

”
some and magnetism according to others
, , .

O ne o f the smokers remarked :

What y ou say is right enough ; but what about
”
your second story ?

Oh ! m y second story is a very delicate matte r

to relate I t happ ened to mysel f and so I don t
.
,
’

place any great value on m y own view of the mat

ter An interested pa rty can never give an impar
.

tial opinion However here it is .

,

Among my acquaintances was a young woman

on whom I had never bestowed a thought whom I ,

had never even looked at attentively never taken ,

any notice o f .

I classed her among the women of no impor

’

tance though she was not bad looking ; she ap

,
-

p e ar ed in fact,to possess eyes a nose a

, mouth , , ,

—
,

some so rt o f hair j ust a colourless ty pe of cou nte

nance She was one of those beings who awaken
.

only a c hance p assing thought , .

Well one night as I was writing some letters

, ,
‘

by m y fireside be fore goi ng to bed I was conscious , ,

in the midst of that train o f sensuous visions that

sometimes pass through o n e s brain in moments o f ’

idle reverie o f a kind o f a light breath passin g

,

through me a little flutter o f the hea rt and imme

, ,

d iately without any cause without any logical con

, ,

n ect io n of thought I saw distinctl y as if I w ere

, ,
,
 M A GN ET IS M 3 5
0

touching her saw f rom head to foot and disrobed

, , ,

this young woman to whom I had never given more

’
tha n three seconds thought at a time I suddenl y .

discovered in her a number of qualiti es which I had

never before observed a sweet charm a lang uorou s
, ,

fascination ; she awake n ed in me that sort of re st

le s s emotion that causes on e to pursue a woman .

But I did n ot think of her long I went to bed an d .

was soo n asleep An d I dreamed . .

Y o u hav e all had these strange drea m s which

make yo u overcome the i mpossible which op en to ,

y o u doubl e locked -
doors unexpected j oys tightly
, ,

folde d arms ?

Which o f us in these troubled exciti n g breath , ,

le ss slumbers has not hel d clasp ed embraced with , ,

rapture the woman who occupied his tho ughts ?

,

And have y ou ev er n oticed what superhuman de

light these happy dreams give u s I n to what mad
?

i n toxication they cast you ! with what passionate

spasms th ey shak e y ou ! and with what infi n ite ,

caressing penetrati n g tenderness they fill your

,

heart f or her whom yo u hold clasped in your arm s

in that adorable illusion that is so like r eality !
All this I felt with u n forgettable violence .

This woman was mine so much mi n e that the

‘

pleasant warmth o f her skin remai n ed in my fi n

gers the odo ur of her skin in my brain the tast e o f
, ,
‘

her kisses on m y lips the sound of h er voice lin

,

e r d in my ears the touch o f her clasp still clung

g e ,

to me and the burning charm o f h er tenderness still

,

gratified my senses lo n g after the delight but dis

illusion o f m y awakeni n g .
3 06 GUY DE M A UPA SS A N T

And three times that n ight I had the same

d ream .

When day dawn ed she haunted me pos sessed ,

me filled my s en ses to su ch an extent th at I was

,

no t on e second withou t t h inki ng o f her .

At last not knowin g what to do I dressed my

, ,

s el f and wen t to c a ll on her A s I wen t u p stairs .

to her apartm en t I was so overcome by emotio n

,

that I trembled and my heart beat rap id ly

, .

I entered the a partment S he rose the moment .

she hea rd my name pronounced and suddenly o u r ,

e y es met in a p e c uliar fixed g aze .

I sat down I stammered out some commo n

.

p laces which she seemed not to hear I did not .

know what to say or do Then abruptly clasping .

, ,

my arms round her my dream was realized so sud

,

den ly that I began to doubt whether I was really

awake We were friends after this for two y ears
. .

What conclusion do you draw from it ? said ”

a voice
—
.

The conclusion I draw from it well b y Jove , ,

the conclusion is that it was j ust a coincidence !

—
A n d the n who can tell ? P erhaps it was som e
glance of hers which I had n ot noticed and which
c ame back that night to me through o n e o f those

mysterious and u n conscious recollections that often

bring before us thi n gs i gnored by our o wn co n
”
sc io u sn ess unperceived by our minds !
,
”
What ever you like to call it said one o f his ,
’
table compan io n s when the story was fin ished
, ,

“
if y ou don t believe in magn etism after that m y
’
,
”
d ear boy y ou are an ungrateful fellow !
,
308 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

tions which time p roduces In order to app reciate .

them one would hav e to remain six months without

’
—
seeing one s o wn face then oh what a shock ! , ,

And the women m y friend how I pity the p oo r

, ,

beings ! All their j oy all their power all their life, , ,

lies in their beauty which l asts t en years

, .

As I said I aged without noticing it ; I thought

,

myself practical ly a youth when I was almost fifty ,

y ears old Not feeling the slightest infirmity I

.
,

went about happy and peaceful

, .

The reve l ation o f my decline came to me in a

simple and terrible man ner which ov e rwhelmed me ,

—
for almost six months then I became resigned .

Like all men I have o ften been in l ove but

, ,

most especially once .

“
I met her at the s eashore at Etretat about , ,

twelve years ago shortly after the war There is

,
.

nothing prettier than thi s beach durin g the morning

bathing hour It is s mall shap ed like a horseshoe
-
.
, ,

framed by high whit e cli ff s which are pierced b y

, ,

strange holes called the Portes one stretching o u t ,

’

into the ocean like the leg o f a gia n t the other ,

short and dum py The women gather on the n ar

.

row strip o f sand in this frame of high rocks which ,

the y make into a gorgeous garden o f beautiful

gowns The sun beats down on the shores on the
.
,

mu l ticolored paraso ls on the blue green sea ; an d ,

-

all is gay delightful smili n g Y ou sit down at the

, ,
.

edge o f the water and you watch the bathers The .

women come down wrapped in long bathing ,

gowns which they throw off dai n tily when they

,
:

reach the foamy edge o f the choppy waves ; and

 FA R EW ELL 3 9
0

th ey run into the wat e r with a rapid little step ,

stopping from time to ti me for a delightful little

thrill from the cold water a short su ff ocation , .

Very few s tand the test o f the bath It is .

there that they can be j udged from the ankle to the ,

throat E specially on leaving the water are the de

.

feets rev ealed although water is a powerful aid to

,

flabby ski n .

The first time that I saw this young woman in

the water I was delighted en tra n ced She stood
, , .

the t est w ell There are faces whose charms appeal

.

to y ou at first glance and d elight y ou instantly .

Y o u seem to have found the woman whom you

w e re born to love I had that feeling and that
.

shock .

I was introduced and was so on smitten worse

,

than I had ever been before M y heart longed for .

her It is a terrible yet d elightful thi n g thus to be

.

dominat ed by a young woman It is almost tor .

ture an d yet infin ite delight Her look her smile

, .
, ,

her hair fluttering in the wind the little li n es of ,

her face the slight est movemen t o f her features

, ,

delighted me upset me entran ced me She had

, , .

captured me body and soul by her gestures her , ,

mann ers even by he r clothes whic h seemed to take

, ,

on a peculiar charm as so on as she wore them I .

grew tender at the sight of her veil o n some piece

of fur n iture her glov e s thrown on a chair Her
,
.

gowns seemed to me inimitabl e Nobod y had hats .

like hers .

She was married but her husband only came

,

ev ery Saturday and left o n M onday I didn t con .

’
3 I O G U Y DE M A UPA SSA N T

m m y sel f about him anyhow

’
ce I wasn t j ealous
, .

’
of him I don t know why ; never did a creatu re
,

seem to me to be of less importance in life attract ,

my attention l e ss than this man .

But she ! how I loved her ! How beautiful ,

graceful and young she was ! She was youth ele ,

gance freshness itself ! Never before had I felt

,

so strongly what a p r etty neat distin g uished deli, , ,

cate charming graceful being woman is Never

, , .

before had I appreciated the seductiv; beauty to be

found in the curve of a c heck the movemen t o f a ,

lip the pi n kn ess o f an ear the sha p e of that foolis h

, ,

organ calle d the nose .

This lasted three months ; then I left for Amer

ica overwhelmed with sadness But her memory
, .

remained in me persistent triumphant From far

, , .

away I was as much hers as I had been when sh e

was near me Y ears passed b y and I did n ot for
.
,

get her The charming image of her p erson was

.

ever before m y e y es and in my hea rt And my .

love remained true to her a quiet tenderness still , ,

something like the beloved memory o f the most

beauti ful and the most enchanting thing I ha d met
in m y life .

Twelve years are n ot much in a life time ! O ne -

does not feel them slip by The years follow eac h .

oth e r gently and quickly slowl y y et rapidly each

, ,

o n e is lo n g and yet so soon over ! They add up so

rapi dly th ey leave so few traces behind th em they
, ,
3 1 2 GUY DE M A UPA SSA N T

Never had I rec eiv ed su ch a shoc kIn a sec .

o n d it seemed to me as tho ugh all wer e over wit h

me ! I fe l t tha t a veil had been torn from my e y es

and that I w as going to make a horri bl e and heart
rending disc overy .

So that was she ! That big f at commo n , ,

woman she ! S he had hatc hed these four gi r ls

,

since I had l ast seen her And these little beings .

surprised me as much as their mother They came .

from her ; they were big an d a l read y had a place ,

in life Whereas she no longer c ounted she that

.
, ,

ma rvel of dainty and charming grace fulness It .

seemed to me that I had seen her but yeste rday ,

and this is how I found her again ! Was it possi
ble ? A poignant grief seiz ed my heart an d also ,

a r evolt against nature hersel f an un reasoning in , ,

dign ation against this brutal in famous act o f de ,

struction .

I looked at her bewildered Then I took her

, .

hand in mine and tears came to my eyes I wept

, .

f or her l ost y outh Fo r I did not kn ow this f at

.

lad y .

She was also excited an d stammered ,

I am greatly chan ged am I not ? What can

—
,

you expec t everything has its time ! Y ou see I ,

have become a mother n othing but a good mother ,

.

Farewell to the rest that is over O h ! I never

exp ected y ou to recogn ize me if we were to meet
.
,

Y ou too have changed It took me quite a whil eto .

be sure that I was not mistaken Your hair is all .

white Just think ! Twelve y ears ago ! Twelve

.

y ears ! M y oldest gi rl is already ten .

’
 FA R E W ELL 3 3
1

I looked at the child And I recognized in her

.

’
something of her mother s old charm but some ,

thing as y et unformed so mething which promised

,

f or th e futur e And life se emed to me as swift as

.

a passing train .

We had reached M aisons Laffi tte I kissed my -

.

’
old friend s hand I had found nothing but the
.

most commonplace r emarks to sa y to her I was .

too much upset to talk .

At night alone at home I stood in f ront o f

, , ,

the mirror f or a long time a very long time And , .

I finall y remembered what I had b een by seeing in

my mind s eye my brown moustache my bla ck hair
’
,

and the youthful expression of my face Now I .

”
was o ld Farewell !
.
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