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Chapter 07: Cognitive Processes and Academic Skills
1. Young babies (under three months) typically retain information for a week or less, while children over a year
retain it for approximately
A) 8 weeks or longer.
B) 6 weeks or longer.
C) 6 months or longer.
D) a year or longer.
QuestionID: 07-1-01
Page-Reference: 228
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
2. When Rovee-Collier and her colleagues attached a ribbon from a mobile to two- to three-month-old infants'
legs so infants learned to kick to make the mobile move, they found that when they returned to the babies' homes
several days later the babies
A) had forgotten that kicking made the mobile move.
B) would still kick to make the mobile move.
C) had lost interest in the mobile.
D) would cry when they saw the mobile.
QuestionID: 07-1-02
Page-Reference: 227-228
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
3. Rovee-Collier's experiments in which two- to three-month-old infants learned to kick to make a mobile move
showed that two- to three-month-old infants
A) are not able to remember events from the past.
B) can remember events from the past for a few days or weeks, but over time will not be able to recall the event even if
given a memory cue.
C) can remember events from the past for a few days or weeks, but over time will not be able to recall the event unless
given a memory cue.
D) can remember events from the past for months without being given a memory cue.
QuestionID: 07-1-03
Page-Reference: 227-228
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: C) can remember events from the past for a few days or weeks, but over time will not be able to recall the event
unless given a memory cue.
1
4. One day Ellie takes her two-month-old baby, Eric, to her friend's home and puts him in a rocking cradle. Eric
soon learns that if he wiggles and waves his arms the cradle will rock. Several weeks later, Ellie and Eric return
to the friend's house. How would you expect Eric to respond when he is once again placed in the cradle?
A) Eric will not remember the cradle at all from his previous visit and will behave as if it was the first time he had been in
the cradle.
B) Eric is likely to remember the cradle and start wiggling and waving his arms as soon as he is placed in the cradle.
C) Eric is likely to remember how to make the cradle move only if Ellie gives him a cue by rocking the cradle right after he
is put in it.
D) Eric is likely to remember how to make the cradle move but will no longer be interested in making it move.
QuestionID: 07-1-04
Page-Reference: 227-228
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: C) Eric is likely to remember how to make the cradle move only if Ellie gives him a cue by rocking the cradle
right after he is put in it.
5. With maturation in the _____________________ over the first 24 months, children's memory skills gradually
improve.
A) amygdala and prefrontal cortex
B) hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
C) thalamus
D) amygdala
QuestionID: 07-1-05
Page-Reference: 228
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
QuestionID: 07-1-06
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
2
QuestionID: 07-1-07
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-08
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
9. Emmie is in grade 2 and her sister Clara is in grade 6. Both are asked to remember something and to use
elaboration as a memory strategy. What is a likely result?
A) Both Emmie and Clara will be able to successfully use both verbal and visual elaboration.
B) Both Emmie and Clara will be able to successfully use verbal elaboration, but Emmie will have a harder time with visual
elaboration than Clara.
C) Both Emmie and Clara will be able to successfully use visual elaboration, but Emmie will have a harder time with
verbal elaboration than Clara.
D) Emmie will not be able to use either type of elaboration while Clara will be able to use both visual and verbal
elaboration.
QuestionID: 07-1-09
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: B) Both Emmie and Clara will be able to successfully use verbal elaboration, but Emmie will have a harder time
with visual elaboration than Clara.
10. The normal working memory capacity is approximately seven items. "Items," though, may be composed of
multiple units through
A) elaboration.
B) metacognition.
C) rehearsal.
D) chunking.
QuestionID: 07-1-10
Page-Reference: 229-230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: D) chunking.
3
11. Four-year-old Jasmine is asked to remember objects on a tray that she is shown for one minute. In the minute
during which she is shown the objects, Jasmine looks at and touches each object. Jasmine is
A) using a memory strategy.
B) using a script.
C) monitoring.
D) testing an alternate hypothesis.
QuestionID: 07-1-11
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
QuestionID: 07-1-12
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: B) Rehearsal
13. Structuring information to be remembered so that related information is placed together is a memory strategy
known as
A) organization.
B) rehearsal.
C) elaboration.
D) metacognition.
QuestionID: 07-1-13
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: A) organization.
QuestionID: 07-1-14
Page-Reference: 229
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
4
Answer: D) embellishing information to make it more memorable.
15. Your friend is having a hard time remembering the main points of his psychology textbook. If he asks you to
recommend a memory strategy, which one would you suggest?
A) Touch the sentences that contain the main points as you read them.
B) Read the sentences that contain the main points over and over.
C) Outline or write a summary of the main points.
D) Read the assigned chapter twice.
QuestionID: 07-1-15
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
QuestionID: 07-1-16
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
Answer: B) involves evaluating the effectiveness of a particular strategy for the task at hand.
QuestionID: 07-1-17
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: D) Monitoring
18. After Tina outlined a chapter in her textbook, she answered questions in her study guide to see whether
outlining was helping her learn the information in the chapter. Tina was ________ the effectiveness of her
memory strategy.
A) rehearsing
B) monitoring
C) scripting
D) distorting
5
QuestionID: 07-1-18
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: B) monitoring
19. Gene has discovered that even though he has underlined the most important information in the textbook, he
does not know any of the material very well. What should he do?
A) He should determine the parts of the textbook he is not learning, and underline more in those parts of the textbook.
B) He should underline in a different colour.
C) He should underline more selectively.
D) He should choose another memory strategy.
QuestionID: 07-1-19
Page-Reference: 230-231
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
20. As Wendy read her textbook, she wrote summaries of each section. When she met with her study group, she
was able to answer many but not all of the questions posed by her study group. What should she do next?
A) She should choose a different memory strategy.
B) She should keep using her current strategy but concentrate on summarizing parts of the textbook she knows least well.
C) She should stop studying because she used an effective memory strategy and knows most of the material already.
D) She should stop going to the study group and study by herself.
QuestionID: 07-1-20
Page-Reference: 230-231
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: B) She should keep using her current strategy but concentrate on summarizing parts of the textbook she knows
least well.
QuestionID: 07-1-21
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
6
22. A child's informal understanding of memory is called
A) metamemory.
B) metacognitive knowledge.
C) cognitive self-regulation.
D) a memory strategy.
QuestionID: 07-1-22
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: A) metamemory.
QuestionID: 07-1-23
Page-Reference: 230
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
24. Skill at identifying goals, selecting effective strategies, and monitoring accurately is known as
A) metacognitive knowledge.
B) cognitive self-regulation.
C) metamemory.
D) automatic processing.
QuestionID: 07-1-24
Page-Reference: 231
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
25. Research by Chi (1978) with child chess experts and adult chess novices has shown that
A) knowledge within a particular area does not influence memory performance.
B) adults' memories are better than children's even when children have expert knowledge in a particular area.
C) knowledge in a particular area organizes and gives meaning to new information.
D) child chess experts could not remember more chess pieces than adult chess novices.
QuestionID: 07-1-25
Page-Reference: 231-232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: C) knowledge in a particular area organizes and gives meaning to new information.
7
26. When Chi (1978) asked child chess experts and adult chess novices to remember sequences of numbers and
positions of chess pieces on a chess board, she found that
A) child chess experts remembered more number sequences and more chess piece patterns than adult chess novices
did.
B) adult chess novices remembered more number sequences and more chess piece patterns than child chess experts
did.
C) adult chess novices remembered more number sequences, but child chess experts remembered more chess piece
patterns.
D) child chess experts remembered more number sequences, but adult chess novices remembered more chess piece
patterns.
QuestionID: 07-1-26
Page-Reference: 231-232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
Answer: C) adult chess novices remembered more number sequences, but child chess experts remembered more chess
piece patterns.
27. Chi's (1978) study comparing memory in child chess experts and adult chess novices demonstrated
A) the effect of knowledge on memory.
B) how scripts influence memory.
C) the susceptibility of preschoolers' memories to suggestions.
D) the effectiveness of the rehearsal memory strategy
QuestionID: 07-1-27
Page-Reference: 231-232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
28. Jared loves dogs and knows a lot about them while his friend Joe does not. If you asked each of them to
remember a list of dog breeds and a list of unrelated words, what would you expect to find?
A) Jared would recall more dog breeds than Joe, but they would both remember about the same number of unrelated
words.
B) Jared would recall more dog breeds and more unrelated words than Joe.
C) Jared and Joe would recall about the same number of dog breeds and unrelated words.
D) Jared would recall more dog breeds than Joe, but Joe would recall more unrelated words than Jared.
QuestionID: 07-1-28
Page-Reference: 231-232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: A) Jared would recall more dog breeds than Joe, but they would both remember about the same number of
unrelated words.
8
29. Knowledge that helps organize information and give it meaning
A) decreases with age.
B) increases with age.
C) does not change with age.
D) does not influence memory.
QuestionID: 07-1-29
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
QuestionID: 07-1-30
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: D) younger children have fewer entries and fewer and weaker connecting links.
31. A memory structure used to describe the sequence in which events occur is referred to as
A) a script.
B) rehearsal.
C) monitoring.
D) repeated questioning.
QuestionID: 07-1-31
Page-Reference: 234
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: A) a script.
32. Melody has eaten at fast food restaurants many times. She remembers that first you wait in line, then you
order your food, pay for it, carry it to a table, eat, and finally, throw away your trash. Melody's knowledge about
the events that typically occur when eating at a fast food restaurant is best described as
A) a script.
B) monitoring.
C) rehearsal.
D) working memory.
QuestionID: 07-1-32
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
9
Answer: A) a script.
QuestionID: 07-1-33
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
34. Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the impact of scripts on memory?
A) In trying to recall an event that fits a script, children can retrieve the script and use it to organize recall of the event.
B) Experiences that do not conform to the script may be forgotten or distorted.
C) Children may "remember" events because they are part of the script, not because they were actually experienced.
D) Memory distortions are particularly likely when children are recounting the first experience of a new activity.
QuestionID: 07-1-34
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: D) Memory distortions are particularly likely when children are recounting the first experience of a new activity.
35. After Jake set the table, his mother asked him whether he had put napkins on the table. Even though he
hadn't, Jake replied "yes" and believed he had because he knew that putting napkins on the table was part of
what he always did when he set the table. Jake's distorted memory is best explained as
A) the result of remembering a script.
B) being due to the small capacity of his working memory.
C) a result of poorly organized knowledge.
D) intentional lying.
QuestionID: 07-1-35
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
36. ________ refers to people's memory of the significant events and experiences of their own lives.
A) Infantile amnesia
B) Sensory store
C) Automatic processing
D) Autobiographical memory
10
QuestionID: 07-1-36
Page-Reference: 232
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-37
Page-Reference: 234
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
38. Seventeen-year-old Jalen remembers the day he met his best friend in grade school, the first day of high
school, and the day he got his driver's license. This information is part of his
A) sensory store.
B) working memory.
C) autobiographical memory.
D) infantile amnesia.
QuestionID: 07-1-38
Page-Reference: 234
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
39. The inability to recall events from one's early life is referred to as
A) infantile amnesia.
B) autobiographical memory.
C) sensory store.
D) an inhibitory process.
QuestionID: 07-1-39
Page-Reference: 235
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
11
40. Infantile amnesia
A) means that adults can remember many events that occurred in their lives before the age of three years.
B) means that infants are not able to form memories.
C) may be related to the young child's well-developed sense of self.
D) may be related to an individual's changing language ability.
QuestionID: 07-1-40
Page-Reference: 235
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
41. Ten-year-old Amy was born in Minnesota, then moved to Florida when she was two years old. Although she
lived through many blizzards when in Minnesota, she can't remember ever seeing snow. What concept best
explains this situation?
A) autobiographical memory
B) a script
C) infantile amnesia
D) repeated questioning
QuestionID: 07-1-41
Page-Reference: 235
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
42. Four-year-old Heather is repeatedly questioned about an incident on the playground where a stranger
approached her. She is likely to
A) have no memory of the incident.
B) confuse what really happened with what others suggest may have happened.
C) clearly differentiate between what really happened and what others suggest may have happened.
D) believe that adult questioners are deliberately trying to confuse her when they suggest something other than what she
reported may actually have happened.
QuestionID: 07-1-42
Page-Reference: 236
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
Answer: B) confuse what really happened with what others suggest may have happened.
43. In Leichtman and Ceci's study on the effects of repeated questioning and being given a stereotype on the
accuracy of preschool children's memory of an incident, they found children were
A) not misled by either suggestive questioning or stereotypes.
B) misled by suggestive questioning but not by stereotypes.
C) misled by stereotypes but not by suggestive questioning.
D) misled by both stereotypes and suggestive questioning, especially when they were combined.
12
QuestionID: 07-1-43
Page-Reference: 236-239
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
Answer: D) misled by both stereotypes and suggestive questioning, especially when they were combined.
QuestionID: 07-1-44
Page-Reference: 238
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: C) preschoolers were more likely to be misled when stereotypes and suggestive questioning were combined.
QuestionID: 07-1-45
Page-Reference: 240
Topic: Memory
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: B) children should be warned that sometimes interviewers may try to trick them.
46. Your four-year-old daughter is going to testify in court about an event she witnessed. What could you do to
make her testimony as reliable as possible?
A) Avoid questioning her repeatedly on a single issue.
B) Encourage her to avoid saying "I don't know" in response to questions.
C) Do not give her more than one possible explanation of what happened.
D) Have her answer a lot of specific questions.
QuestionID: 07-1-46
Page-Reference: 236, 240
Topic: Memory
Skill: Applied
13
47. What is TRUE about using a structured interview format with child witnesses?
A) It increases the likelihood of coercive techniques.
B) It decreases rapport with the child.
C) It increases the reliability of the information obtained.
D) It has not yet been approved for use in the Canadian legal system.
QuestionID: 07-1-47
Page-Reference: 240
Topic: Memory
Skill: Factual
QuestionID: 07-1-48
Page-Reference: 241
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-49
Page-Reference: 242
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Factual
50. Which of the following is a factor that contributes to young children's failure to use prior planning to solve
problems?
A) Young children believe that they need an explicit plan to solve a problem.
B) Planning is hard work that young children are willing to invest in.
C) Planning requires encoding processes which young children don't possess.
D) Young children may expect parents and adults to solve complex problems for them.
QuestionID: 07-1-50
Page-Reference: 242-243
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Conceptual
14
Answer: D) Young children may expect parents and adults to solve complex problems for them.
51. Rules of thumb that do not guarantee a solution but are often useful in solving a range of problems are
known as
A) encoding processes.
B) decoding processes.
C) means-ends analysis.
D) heuristics.
QuestionID: 07-1-51
Page-Reference: 245
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Factual
Answer: D) heuristics.
52. A baby who pulls a cloth toward herself to achieve the main goal of grabbing a toy is demonstrating
A) means-ends analysis.
B) memory.
C) object permanence.
D) automatic processes.
QuestionID: 07-1-52
Page-Reference: 244
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Applied
53. When experiments are combined instead of evaluated independently so that the results are ambiguous, they
are said to be
A) valid.
B) reliable.
C) confounded.
D) longitudinal.
QuestionID: 07-1-53
Page-Reference: 247
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Factual
Answer: C) confounded.
54. Which of the following is a conspicuous fault that children have with scientific problem solving?
A) they often devise experiments in which variables are not confounded.
B) they often use automatic processes instead of encoding processes.
C) they often reach conclusions based on too much evidence.
D) they often integratetheory and data.
15
QuestionID: 07-1-54
Page-Reference: 247
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-55
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Problem Solving
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-56
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: D) comprehension.
57. When Edna saw the words "Push the red button", she pushed the red button. Edna demonstrated
A) word recognition.
B) comprehension.
C) word recognition and comprehension.
D) neither word recognition nor comprehension.
QuestionID: 07-1-57
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
58. Being able to hear the distinctive sounds made by different letters is called
A) comprehension.
B) word recognition.
C) the stable-order principle.
D) phonological awareness.
16
QuestionID: 07-1-58
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
59. Dr. Morris said the words cat, hat, dog, and bat and asked Alana which word did not rhyme with the others.
Dr. Morris appears to be interested in Alana's
A) comprehension.
B) phonological awareness.
C) word recognition.
D) propositions.
QuestionID: 07-1-59
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
QuestionID: 07-1-60
Page-Reference: 249
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Factual
61. Which of the following kindergartners will be most likely to learn to read more easily?
A) Erik, who cannot identify words that rhyme and words that don't rhyme.
B) Siu-lan, who does not know most of the letters of the alphabet.
C) Sholonda, whose parents read rhymes to her.
D) Justin, who cannot identify the first, middle, or last sounds found in short words.
QuestionID: 07-1-61
Page-Reference: 249-250
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
17
62. When parents read rhyming stories, such as those written by Dr. Seuss, to their children, their
A) children's phonological awareness decreases.
B) children usually become bored and learn to dislike reading.
C) children may enjoy it but their reading skills will not improve.
D) children learn how to read easier.
QuestionID: 07-1-62
Page-Reference: 250
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
63. Your friend is very worried that her daughter may have trouble learning to read because she had a hard time
when she was a child. What is a piece of advice that you can give her?
A) Tell her to read rhyming stories, such as those written by Dr. Seuss, to her daughter.
B) Tell her to let the teachers teach her daughter, because parents can interfere with learning.
C) Tell her to ignore word sounds as she's teaching her daughter—they only make children more confused.
D) Tell her to make sure that she's not adding any extra comments about reading-related features of the books.
QuestionID: 07-1-63
Page-Reference: 250-251
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
Answer: A) Tell her to read rhyming stories, such as those written by Dr. Seuss, to her daughter.
QuestionID: 07-1-64
Page-Reference: 251
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
QuestionID: 07-1-65
Page-Reference: 252
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
18
Answer: A) use sentence context to help them recognize words.
66. When Kelly saw the word hat, she said, "H-h-h-h-a-a-a-t-t-t!" Kelly appeared to use ________ to recognize the
word hat.
A) direct retrieval
B) context cues
C) comprehension
D) sounding out
QuestionID: 07-1-66
Page-Reference: 251
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
QuestionID: 07-1-67
Page-Reference: 251-252
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
68. A group of teachers is discussing how children read. Which of them made a TRUE statement?
A) Hester, who said beginning readers sound words out, but advanced readers always retrieve words from memory.
B) Fran, who said advanced readers sound words out and only beginning readers use memory retrieval.
C) Carolyn, who said that as readers become more skilled, they sound out fewer words and retrieve more words from
memory but will still sound out unfamiliar words.
D) Mary, who said sounding out words is quicker than retrieving words from memory.
QuestionID: 07-1-68
Page-Reference: 251-252
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
Answer: C) Carolyn, who said that as readers become more skilled, they sound out fewer words and retrieve more words
from memory but will still sound out unfamiliar words.
69. Which of the following is a factor that contributes to improved comprehension in children with more reading
experience?
A) Children with more reading experience have less working memory capacity to devote to comprehension.
B) Children with more reading experience don't know much about grammatical structure of sentences.
C) Older and better readers can store more of a sentence in memory as they try to identify the propositions it contains.
D) Older and better readers aren't good at monitoring their comprehension.
19
QuestionID: 07-1-69
Page-Reference: 252-253
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: C) Older and better readers can store more of a sentence in memory as they try to identify the propositions it
contains.
70. As Derrick read the sentence "The little girl swam in the pool", he could derive a number of ________
including "there is a girl", "the girl is little", "the girl was in the pool", and "the girl was swimming."
A) scripts
B) phonological awarenesses
C) one-to-one principles
D) propositions
QuestionID: 07-1-70
Page-Reference: 253
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Applied
Answer: D) propositions
71. Which of the following is a factor that contributes to improved reading comprehension with age?
A) Children's knowledge of their world increases so they understand more of what they read.
B) Working memory capacity decreases which makes identifying propositions more difficult.
C) Younger readers are more likely to reread passages that they find confusing or difficult.
D) Younger readers are better able to select a reading strategy that fits the material being read.
QuestionID: 07-1-71
Page-Reference: 252-253
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: A) Children's knowledge of their world increases so they understand more of what they read.
72. When writing, young children are more likely to use ________ strategies whereas adolescents more often use
________ strategies.
A) phonological; propositional
B) prepositional; phonological
C) knowledge-telling; knowledge-transforming
D) knowledge-transforming; knowledge-telling
QuestionID: 07-1-72
Page-Reference: 254
Topic: Academic Skills
Skill: Factual
20
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intérêt ; laissez-moi faire, y compris le dividende, cela pourrait bien
être du dix pour cent, et vous aurez une petite rente assurée. Est-ce
trop vous demander ? L’effort est-il trop grand ? Il y a
commencement à tout, à la fortune comme à la sagesse. Vous
devriez consentir à cette épreuve.
Et, parlant ainsi, il me faisait mille caresses pour me donner du
courage et m’appelait son cher enfant. Il me paraissait clair et certain
qu’il ne se serait pas intéressé si fort à ma vertu, s’il n’avait vu en
moi le futur fiancé de Meta. Je pris un grand parti, je courus à mon
bureau, j’en retirai les dix billets. Je ne vous cacherai pas que je les
contemplai un instant avec quelque perplexité, eux-mêmes
semblaient émus. Je les remis à M. Holdenis, qui m’en signa
aussitôt une reconnaissance. S’étant levé et fixant sur moi des
regards attendris : — C’est bien, me dit-il, je gagerais que votre
conscience est contente ; croyez-moi, c’est le vrai bonheur. — Et il
me serre dans ses bras.
Je ne sais si ma conscience était contente, je ne pris pas la peine
de l’interroger. Je me trouvais, quant à moi, très-heureux du marché
que je venais de conclure. J’avais troqué mes dix mille francs contre
une permission en règle d’ouvrir mon cœur à Meta. Restait à saisir
une occasion favorable ; je la guettai plusieurs jours sans la trouver.
L’insupportable baron Grüneck ne démarrait pas de la place. Enfin,
grâces soient rendues à son rhumatisme, qui le contraignit de garder
la chambre, je l’obtins, ce cher tête-à-tête que j’attendais. Ce soir-là,
Meta portait un nœud de ruban cerise dans ses cheveux, une
ceinture de la même couleur, et une jolie robe blanche dont les
manches très-évasées laissaient voir à nu la beauté de ses bras.
C’était un de ses jours de gravité ; elle berçait dans sa tête je ne sais
quel rêve, qui par intervalles apparaissait au fond de ses yeux et se
dérobait aussitôt comme un fantôme qu’effarouche la lumière.
Après le dîner, elle s’en fut toute seule dans le jardin. Je l’y suivis
et la trouvai assise sur un banc où je pris place à côté d’elle. La nuit
était tiède, le le rossignol chantait. Le crépuscule avait laissé à
l’horizon une vague lueur qui s’effaçait d’instant en instant ; les
étoiles s’allumaient l’une après l’autre, et Meta, qui savait tout, me
disait leur nom à mesure qu’elles émergeaient de l’ombre. Elle en
vint à parler de l’autre monde, de l’éternité ; elle me dit que pour elle
le paradis était un endroit où l’âme respire Dieu sans plus d’effort
que les plantes ne respirent l’air ici-bas. Après l’avoir écoutée
longtemps : — Mon paradis à moi, lui dis-je à l’oreille, c’est le banc
que voici et les yeux que voilà. — A ces mots, enlaçant mon bras
autour de sa taille, je soulevai le sien à la hauteur de mes lèvres, et
j’y déposai un long baiser. Elle se dégagea lentement, sans colère,
et avant de retirer sa main de la mienne elle lui permit, je crois, de se
presser un peu contre ma bouche ; cette main était brûlante. Tout à
coup on l’appela ; elle s’enfuit, et je me vis forcé de remettre à une
autre fois la conclusion de mon discours.
Je dormis cette nuit d’un sommeil d’empereur ; mes rêves furent
délicieux, mon réveil le fut davantage encore. On ne m’attendait à
Florissant que dans l’après-midi ; j’y courus dès le matin, tant pesait
à mes lèvres le mot que je n’avais pu dire, tant j’avais hâte de me
lier par un irrévocable serment ! J’entrai sans sonner, et ne trouvai
personne au salon. Comme j’allais me retirer, j’avisai Meta assise
sous la vérandah. Elle me tournait le dos, je l’appelai ; un jet d’eau
qui menait grand bruit ne lui permit pas de m’entendre. J’avançai sur
la pointe des pieds. Elle était accoudée sur une table ronde, devant
une grande feuille de papier, et paraissait plongée dans une sorte
d’extase. J’allongeai le cou ; sur ce papier, elle avait dessiné à la
plume une couronne de violettes et de vergissmeinnicht, et au milieu
elle avait écrit en lettres majuscules ces quatre mots : « Madame la
baronne Grüneck. »
Voilà ce qu’elle contemplait dans un béat recueillement.
Avez-vous jamais pris, madame, une douche écossaise ? Savez-
vous ce qu’éprouve l’infortuné baigneur qu’on vient d’inonder d’eau
chaude et qui soudain sent ruisseler sur ses épaules les premières
gouttes d’une eau glacée ? C’est une surprise de ce genre
qu’éprouva en cet instant mon amoureux délire. Je m’éloignai à pas
de loup, avant de sortir du salon, je me glissai jusqu’au chevalet sur
lequel était posé le portrait presque achevé de Maüschen ; j’écrivis
au crayon sur le cadre : « Elle adorait les étoiles et le baron
Grüneck. » Et je détalai comme un voleur.
Je fus cinq jours sans remettre les pieds à Mon-Nid ; je les
employai à faire avec Harris un voyage en chaloupe sur le lac. Le
lendemain de notre retour à Genève, je le vis entrer dans ma
chambre comme un coup de canon.
— Savez-vous la nouvelle du jour ? me cria-t-il. Un
commissionnaire la contait tout à l’heure au portier de l’hôtel. La
maison du vertueux Holdenis a suspendu ses paiements, on a mis
les scellés chez lui, et une poursuite est commencée. Le digne
homme jouait à la bourse et n’a pas été heureux dans ses
spéculations. L’affaire est très-véreuse ; on parle d’un découvert
énorme, et on assure que les créanciers ne toucheront pas le dix
pour cent de leur argent. Heureusement vous n’en êtes pas ; où il n’y
a rien, le diable ne trouve rien à prendre.
A ce discours je demeurai muet comme un marbre, et sûrement
j’en avais la pâleur. Il recula de deux pas : — Eh quoi ! Tony, mon
fils, reprit-il, doux enfant de la Bourgogne, cet onctueux aigrefin
aurait-il trouvé le secret d’exploiter votre indigence ? — Il partit d’un
prodigieux éclat de rire, et se roulant sur le parquet : — Candeur
primitive, s’écriait-il, union intime des cœurs, sentiment poétique des
choses, royaume du bleu, je vous adore ! O vertu des patriarches ;
voilà de vos traits !
Il en aurait dit davantage ; mais j’étais déjà au bas de l’escalier,
courant à toutes jambes. La rage au cœur, tout en cheminant, je
comptais et recomptais dans ma tête les délicieux plaisirs qu’on peut
se procurer pour deux mille écus, et je jetais des regards furibonds
aux passants.
J’arrivai hors d’haleine à Mon-Nid ; je m’élançai dans le cabinet
de M. Holdenis. Il y était seul, sa grande Bible in-folio ouverte devant
lui ; posant sa main sur le saint livre : — Voilà, me cria-t-il, le grand,
l’unique consolateur.
Madame, quand les Bourguignons sont en colère, ils n’ont pas
l’habitude de mâcher leurs mots. — Il est possible, lui repartis-je
d’une voix essoufflée, mais tonnante, que les fripons trouvent des
consolations dans la Bible. Je vous prie, qui se chargera de consoler
les dupes ?
Il ne se fâcha point, il se contenta de lever les yeux au ciel
comme pour lui demander pardon de mon blasphème, qui n’était
irrespectueux que pour sa tartuferie. Venant à moi, malgré ma
résistance il s’empara de mes deux mains. A mes reproches, à mes
invectives, il répondait par de filandreuses, doucereuses et
larmoyantes explications. Il attesta les quatre évangélistes qu’en
m’empruntant dix mille francs il n’avait songé qu’à mon bien et à
mettre mes écus en sûreté ; il convint toutefois qu’accessoirement il
s’en était servi pour payer une échéance pressante ; il me parut très-
versé dans la casuistique, très-ferré en matière de direction
d’intention. Puis il entama un verbeux et obscur récit de ce qu’il
appelait son malheur : de mystérieux ennemis avaient tramé sa
perte, il s’était laissé berner par un chevalier d’industrie, un débiteur
insolvable avait consommé sa ruine, — après quoi il se répandit en
lamentations sur le sort de sa sainte femme et de ses pauvres
enfants. J’entendis des sanglots dans la pièce voisine ; je crus
reconnaître la voix de Meta, de celle qui n’était plus pour moi que la
baronne Grüneck.
Je tirai de ma poche la reconnaissance que M. Holdenis m’avait
signée, je la déchirai en quatre, j’en jetai les morceaux sur le
plancher. — Je ne veux pas ajouter à vos embarras, m’écriai-je sur
un ton d’ironie amère. Vous n’avez plus envers moi qu’une dette
d’honneur ; ou, si vous l’aimez mieux ainsi, vous ne me devez plus
rien. Votre conscience et l’Évangile en décideront.
A ces mots, je sortis du sanctuaire de la vertu, bien décidé à n’y
jamais rentrer. Quelques heures plus tard, j’avais réglé ma dépense
à l’hôtel et je partais pour Bâle.
Comme le train se mettait en mouvement, un petit homme, qui
marchait tout d’une pièce, parut sur le quai de la gare, et malgré les
objections des employés s’élança dans un compartiment voisin du
mien ; il est des cas où les rhumatismes ont des ailes. Ce petit
homme était le baron Grüneck. On a beau ne pas s’aimer, on se
rencontre quelquefois dans la même pensée et dans le même
wagon.
II