,,an 8,,attic0 ,,philosopher 7,un ,philosophe sous les ,toits7 ,by ,,emile ,,souvestre ,with a ,preface by ,,joseph ,,bertrand1 of the ,french ,academy ,,emile ,,souvestre ,no one succeeds in obtaining a prominent place in literature1 or in surrounding himself with a faithful and steady circle of admirers drawn from the fickle masses of the public1 unless he possesses originality1 constant variety1 and a distinct personality4 ,it is quite possible to gain for a moment a few readers by imitating some original feature in another2 but these soon vanish and the writer remains alone and forgotten4 ,others1 again1 without belonging to any distinct group of authors1 having found their standard in themselves1 moralists and educators at the same time1 have obtained undying recognition4 ,of the latter class1 though little known outside of ,france1 is ,emile ,souvestre1 who was born in ,morlaix1 ,april #ae1 #ahjf1 and died at ,paris ,july #e1 #ahed4 ,he was the son of a civil engineer1 was educated at the college of ,pontivy1 and intended to follow his father's career by entering the ,polytechnic ,school4 ,his father1 however1 died in #ahbc1 and ,souvestre matriculated as a law-student at ,rennes4 ,but the young student soon devoted himself entirely to literature4 ,his first essay1 a tragedy1 #8,le ,siege de ,missolonghi' 7#ahbh71 was a pronounced failure4 ,disheartened and disgusted he left ,paris and established himself first as a lawyer in ,morlaix4 ,then he became proprietor of a newspaper1 and was afterward appointed a professor in ,brest and in ,mulhouse4 ,in #ahcf he contributed to the #8,revue des ,deux ,mondes' some sketches of life in ,brittany1 which obtained a brilliant success4 ,souvestre was soon made editor of ,la ,revue de ,paris1 and in consequence early found a publisher for his first novel1 #8,l',echelle de ,femmes'1 which1 as was the case with his second work1 ,riche et ,pauvre'1 met with a very favorable reception4 ,his reputation was now made1 and between this period and his death he gave to ,france about sixty volumes--tales1 novels1 essays1 history1 and drama4 ,a double purpose was always very conspicuous in his books3 he aspired to the role of a moralist and educator1 and was likewise a most impressive painter of the life1 character1 and morals of the inhabitants of ,brittany4 ,the most significant of his books are perhaps #8,les ,derniers ,bretons 7#ahce-ahcg1 #d vols471 ,pierre ,landais 7#ahdc1 #b vols471 ,le ,foyer ,breton 7#ahdd1 #b vols471 ,un ,philosophe sons les ,toits1 crowned by the ,academy 7#ahej71 ,confessions d'un ,ouvrier 7#ahea71 ,recits et ,souvenirs 7#ahec71 ,souvenirs d'un ,vieillard 7#ahed72 also ,la ,bretagne ,pittoresque 7#ahde71 and1 finally1 ,causeries ,historiques et ,litteraires 7#ahed1 #b vols47'4 ,his comedies deserve honorable mention3 #8,henri ,hamelin1 ,l',oncle ,baptiste 7#ahdb71 ,la ,parisienne1 ,le ,mousse1 etc'4 ,in #ahdh1 ,souvestre was appointed professor of the newly created school of administration1 mostly devoted to popular lectures4 ,he held this post till #ahec1 lecturing partly in ,paris1 partly in ,switzerland4 ,his death1 when comparatively young1 left a distinct gap in the literary world4 ,a life like his could not be extinguished without general sorrow4 ,although he was unduly modest1 and never aspired to the role of a beacon-light in literature1 always seeking to remain in obscurity1 the works of ,emile ,souvestre must be placed in the first rank by their morality and by their instructive character4 ,they will always command the entire respect and applause of mankind4 ,and thus it happens that1 like many others1 he was only fully appreciated after his death4 ,even those of his #8confreres' who did not seem to esteem him1 when alive1 suddenly found out that they had experienced a great loss in his demise4 ,they expressed it in emotional panegyrcs2 contemporaneous literature discovered that virtue had flown from its bosom1 and the ,french ,academy1 which had at its proper time crowned his #8,philosophe sons les ,toits' as a work contributing supremely to morals1 kept his memory green by bestowing on his widow the 8,prix ,lambert10 designed for the 8families of authors who by their integrity1 and by the probity of their efforts have well deserved this token from the ,republique des ,lettres40 ,,joseph ,,bertrand de #8,academie ,francaise4 ,,an 8,,attic0 ,,philosopher ,,book #a4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,new-,,year',s ,,gifts ,january #ast ,the day of the month came into my mind as soon as ,i awoke4 ,another year is separated from the chain of ages1 and drops into the gulf of the past6 ,the crowd hasten to welcome her young sister4 ,but while all looks are turned toward the future1 mine revert to the past4 ,everyone smiles upon the new queen2 but1 in spite of myself1 ,i think of her whom time has just wrapped in her winding-sheet4 ,the past year6--at least ,i know what she was1 and what she has given me2 while this one comes surrounded by all the forebodings of the unknown4 ,what does she hide in the clouds that mantle her8 ,is it the storm or the sunshine8 ,just now it rains1 and ,i feel my mind as gloomy as the sky4 ,i have a holiday today2 but what can one do on a rainy day8 ,i walk up and down my attic out of temper1 and ,i determine to light my fire4 ,unfortunately the matches are bad1 the chimney smokes1 the wood goes out6 ,i throw down my bellows in disgust1 and sink into my old armchair4 ,in truth1 why should ,i rejoice to see the birth of a new year8 ,all those who are already in the streets1 with holiday looks and smiling faces--do they understand what makes them so gay8 ,do they even know what is the meaning of this holiday1 or whence comes the custom of ,new-,year's gifts8 ,here my mind pauses to prove to itself its superiority over that of the vulgar4 ,i make a parenthesis in my ill-temper in favor of my vanity1 and ,i bring together all the evidence which my knowledge can produce4 7,the old ,romans divided the year into ten months only2 it was ,numa ,pompilius who added ,january and ,february4 ,the former took its name from ,janus1 to whom it was dedicated4 ,as it opened the new year1 they surrounded its beginning with good omens1 and thence came the custom of visits between neighbors1 of wishing happiness1 and of ,new-,year's gifts4 ,the presents given by the ,romans were symbolic4 ,they consisted of dry figs1 dates1 honeycomb1 as emblems of 8the sweetness of the auspices under which the year should begin its course10 and a small piece of money called stips1 which foreboded riches47 ,here ,i close the parenthesis1 and return to my ill-humor4 ,the little speech ,i have just addressed to myself has restored me my self-satisfaction1 but made me more dissatisfied with others4 ,i could now enjoy my breakfast2 but the portress has forgotten my morning's milk1 and the pot of preserves is empty6 ,anyone else would have been vexed3 as for me1 ,i affect the most supreme indifference4 ,there remains a hard crust1 which ,i break by main strength1 and which ,i carelessly nibble1 as a man far above the vanities of the world and of fresh rolls4 ,however1 ,i do not know why my thoughts should grow more gloomy by reason of the difficulties of mastication4 ,i once read the story of an ,englishman who hanged himself because they had brought him his tea without sugar4 ,there are hours in life when the most trifling cross takes the form of a calamity4 ,our tempers are like an opera-glass1 which makes the object small or great according to the end you look through4 ,usually1 the prospect that opens out before my window delights me4 ,it is a mountain-range of roofs1 with ridges crossing1 interlacing1 and piled on one another1 and upon which tall chimneys raise their peaks4 ,it was but yesterday that they had an ,alpine aspect to me1 and ,i waited for the first snowstorm to see glaciers among them2 to-day1 ,i only see tiles and stone flues4 ,the pigeons1 which assisted my rural illusions1 seem no more than miserable birds which have mistaken the roof for the back yard2 the smoke1 which rises in light clouds1 instead of making me dream of the panting of ,vesuvius1 reminds me of kitchen preparations and dishwater2 and lastly1 the telegraph1 that ,i see far off on the old tower of ,montmartre1 has the effect of a vile gallows stretching its arms over the city4 ,my eyes1 thus hurt by all they meet1 fall upon the great man's house which faces my attic4 ,the influence of ,new-,year's ,day is visible there4 ,the servants have an air of eagerness proportioned to the value of their ,new-,year's gifts1 received or expected4 ,i see the master of the house crossing the court with the morose look of a man who is forced to be generous2 and the visitors increase1 followed by shop porters who carry flowers1 bandboxes1 or toys4 ,suddenly the great gates are opened1 and a new carriage1 drawn by thoroughbred horses1 draws up before the doorsteps4 ,they are1 without doubt1 the ,new-,year's gift presented to the mistress of the house by her husband2 for she comes herself to look at the new equipage4 ,very soon she gets into it with a little girl1 all streaming with laces1 feathers and velvets1 and loaded with parcels which she goes to distribute as ,new-,year's gifts4 ,the door is shut1 the windows are drawn up1 the carriage sets off4 ,thus all the world are exchanging good wishes and presents to-day4 ,i alone have nothing to give or to receive4 ,poor ,solitary6 ,i do not even know one chosen being for whom ,i might offer a prayer4 ,then let my wishes for a happy ,new ,year go and seek out all my unknown friends--lost in the multitude which murmurs like the ocean at my feet6 ,to you first1 hermits in cities1 for whom death and poverty have created a solitude in the midst of the crowd6 unhappy laborers1 who are condemned to toil in melancholy1 and eat your daily bread in silence and desertion1 and whom ,god has withdrawn from the intoxicating pangs of love and friendship6 ,to you1 fond dreamers1 who pass through life with your eyes turned toward some polar star1 while you tread with indifference over the rich harvests of reality6 ,to you1 honest fathers1 who lengthen out the evening to maintain your families6 to you1 poor widows1 weeping and working by a cradle6 to you1 young men1 resolutely set to open for yourselves a path in life1 large enough to lead through it the wife of your choice6 to you1 all brave soldiers of work and of self-sacrifice6 ,to you1 lastly1 whatever your title and your name1 who love good1 who pity the suffering2 who walk through the world like the symbolical ,virgin of ,byzantium1 with both arms open to the human race6 ,here ,i am suddenly interrupted by loud and increasing chirpings4 ,i look about me3 my window is surrounded with sparrows picking up the crumbs of bread which in my brown study ,i had just scattered on the roof4 ,at this sight a flash of light broke upon my saddened heart4 ,i deceived myself just now1 when ,i complained that ,i had nothing to give3 thanks to me1 the sparrows of this part of the town will have their ,new-,year's gifts6 ,twelve o'clock4--,a knock at my door2 a poor girl comes in1 and greets me by name4 ,at first ,i do not recollect her2 but she looks at me1 and smiles4 ,ah6 it is ,paulette6 ,but it is almost a year since ,i have seen her1 and ,paulette is no longer the same3 the other day she was a child1 now she is almost a young woman4 ,paulette is thin1 pale1 and miserably clad2 but she has always the same open and straightforward look--the same mouth1 smiling at every word1 as if to court your sympathy--the same voice1 somewhat timid1 yet expressing fondness4 ,paulette is not pretty--she is even thought plain2 as for me1 ,i think her charming4 ,perhaps that is not on her account1 but on my own4 ,paulette appears to me as one of my happiest recollections4 ,it was the evening of a public holiday4 ,our principal buildings were illuminated with festoons of fire1 a thousand flags waved in the night winds1 and the fireworks had just shot forth their spouts of flame into the midst of the ,champ de ,mars4 ,suddenly1 one of those unaccountable alarms which strike a multitude with panic fell upon the dense crowd3 they cry out1 they rush on headlong2 the weaker ones fall1 and the frightened crowd tramples them down in its convulsive struggles4 ,i escaped from the confusion by a miracle1 and was hastening away1 when the cries of a perishing child arrested me3 ,i reentered that human chaos1 and1 after unheard-of exertions1 ,i brought ,paulette out of it at the peril of my life4 ,that was two years ago3 since then ,i had not seen the child again but at long intervals1 and ,i had almost forgotten her2 but ,paulette's memory was that of a grateful heart1 and she came at the beginning of the year to offer me her wishes for my happiness4 ,she brought me1 besides1 a wallflower in full bloom2 she herself had planted and reared it3 it was something that belonged wholly to herself2 for it was by her care1 her perseverance1 and her patience1 that she had obtained it4 ,the wallflower had grown in a common pot2 but ,paulette1 who is a bandbox-maker1 had put it into a case of varnished paper1 ornamented with arabesques4 ,these might have been in better taste1 but ,i did not feel the attention and good-will the less4 ,this unexpected present1 the little girl's modest blushes1 the compliments she stammered out1 dispelled1 as by a sunbeam1 the kind of mist which had gathered round my mind2 my thoughts suddenly changed from the leaden tints of evening to the brightest colors of dawn4 ,i made ,paulette sit down1 and questioned her with a light heart4 ,at first the little girl replied in monosyllables2 but very soon the tables were turned1 and it was ,i who interrupted with short interjections her long and confidential talk4 ,the poor child leads a hard life4 ,she was left an orphan long since1 with a brother and sister1 and lives with an old grandmother1 who has 8brought them up to poverty10 as she always calls it4 ,however1 ,paulette now helps her to make bandboxes1 her little sister ,perrine begins to use the needle1 and her brother ,henry is apprentice to a printer4 ,all would go well if it were not for losses and want of work--if it were not for clothes which wear out1 for appetites which grow larger1 and for the winter1 when you cannot get sunshine for nothing4 ,paulette complains that her candles go too quickly1 and that her wood costs too much4 ,the fireplace in their garret is so large that a fagot makes no more show in it than a match2 it is so near the roof that the wind blows the rain down it1 and in winter it hails upon the hearth2 so they have left off using it4 ,henceforth they must be content with an earthen chafing-dish1 upon which they cook their meals4 ,the grandmother had often spoken of a stove that was for sale at the broker's close by2 but he asked seven francs for it1 and the times are too hard for such an expense3 the family1 therefore1 resign themselves to cold for economy6 ,as ,paulette spoke1 ,i felt more and more that ,i was losing my fretfulness and low spirits4 ,the first disclosures of the little bandbox-maker created within me a wish that soon became a plan4 ,i questioned her about her daily occupations1 and she informed me that on leaving me she must go1 with her brother1 her sister1 and grandmother1 to the different people for whom they work4 ,my plan was immediately settled4 ,i told the child that ,i would go to see her in the evening1 and ,i sent her away with fresh thanks4 ,i placed the wallflower in the open window1 where a ray of sunshine bid it welcome2 the birds were singing around1 the sky had cleared up1 and the day1 which began so loweringly1 had become bright4 ,i sang as ,i moved about my room1 and1 having hastily put on my hat and coat1 ,i went out4 ,three o'clock4--,all is settled with my neighbor1 the chimney-doctor2 he will repair my old stove1 and answers for its being as good as new4 ,at five o'clock we are to set out1 and put it up in ,paulette's grandmother's room4 ,midnight4--,all has gone off well4 ,at the hour agreed upon1 ,i was at the old bandbox-maker's2 she was still out4 ,my ,piedmontese ,in ,paris a chimney-sweeper is named 8,piedmontese0 or 8,savoyard10 as they usually come from that country4 fixed the stove1 while ,i arranged a dozen logs in the great fireplace1 taken from my winter stock4 ,i shall make up for them by warming myself with walking1 or by going to bed earlier4 ,my heart beat at every step that was heard on the staircase2 ,i trembled lest they should interrupt me in my preparations1 and should thus spoil my intended surprise4 ,but no6--see everything ready3 the lighted stove murmurs gently1 the little lamp burns upon the table1 and a bottle of oil for it is provided on the shelf4 ,the chimney-doctor is gone4 ,now my fear lest they should come is changed into impatience at their not coming4 ,at last ,i hear children's voices2 here they are3 they push open the door and rush in--but they all stop in astonishment4 ,at the sight of the lamp1 the stove1 and the visitor1 who stands there like a magician in the midst of these wonders1 they draw back almost frightened4 ,paulette is the first to comprehend it1 and the arrival of the grandmother1 who is more slowly mounting the stairs1 finishes the explanation4 ,then come tears1 ecstasies1 thanks6 ,but the wonders are not yet ended4 ,the little sister opens the oven1 and discovers some chestnuts just roasted2 the grandmother puts her hand on the bottles of cider arranged on the dresser2 and ,i draw forth from the basket that ,i have hidden a cold tongue1 a pot of butter1 and some fresh rolls4 ,now their wonder turns into admiration2 the little family have never seen such a feast6 ,they lay the cloth1 they sit down1 they eat2 it is a complete banquet for all1 and each contributes his share to it4 ,i had brought only the supper3 and the bandbox-maker and her children supplied the enjoyment4 ,what bursts of laughter at nothing6 ,what a hubbub of questions which waited for no reply1 of replies which answered no question6 ,the old woman herself shared in the wild merriment of the little ones6 ,i have always been struck at the ease with which the poor forget their wretchedness4 ,being used to live only for the present1 they make a gain of every pleasure as soon as it offers itself4 ,but the surfeited rich are more difficult to satisfy3 they require time and everything to suit before they will consent to be happy4 ,the evening has passed like a moment4 ,the old woman told me the history of her life1 sometimes smiling1 sometimes drying her eyes4 ,perrine sang an old ballad with her fresh young voice4 ,henry told us what he knows of the great writers of the day1 to whom he has to carry their proofs4 ,at last we were obliged to separate1 not without fresh thanks on the part of the happy family4 ,i have come home slowly1 ruminating with a full heart1 and pure enjoyment1 on the simple events of my evening4 ,it has given me much comfort and much instruction4 ,now1 no ,new-,year's ,day will come amiss to me2 ,i know that no one is so unhappy as to have nothing to give and nothing to receive4 ,as ,i came in1 ,i met my rich neighbor's new equipage4 ,she1 too1 had just returned from her evening's party2 and1 as she sprang from the carriage-step with feverish impatience1 ,i heard her murmur 8,at last60 ,i1 when ,i left ,paulette's family1 said 8,so soon60 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,carnival ,february #bjth ,what a noise out of doors6 ,what is the meaning of these shouts and cries8 ,ah6 ,i recollect3 this is the last day of the ,carnival1 and the maskers are passing4 ,christianity has not been able to abolish the noisy bacchanalian festivals of the pagan times1 but it has changed the names4 ,that which it has given to these 8days of liberty0 announces the ending of the feasts1 and the month of fasting which should follow2 carn-ival means1 literally1 8farewell to flesh60 ,it is a forty days' farewell to the 8blessed pullets and fat hams10 so celebrated by ,pantagruel's minstrel4 ,man prepares for privation by satiety1 and finishes his sin thoroughly before he begins to repent4 ,why1 in all ages and among every people1 do we meet with some one of these mad festivals8 ,must we believe that it requires such an effort for men to be reasonable1 that the weaker ones have need of rest at intervals8 ,the monks of ,la ,trappe1 who are condemned to silence by their rule1 are allowed to speak once in a month1 and on this day they all talk at once from the rising to the setting of the sun4 ,perhaps it is the same in the world4 ,as we are obliged all the year to be decent1 orderly1 and reasonable1 we make up for such a long restraint during the ,carnival4 ,it is a door opened to the incongruous fancies and wishes that have hitherto been crowded back into a corner of our brain4 ,for a moment the slaves become the masters1 as in the days of the ,saturnalia1 and all is given up to the 8fools of the family40 ,the shouts in the square redouble2 the troops of masks increase--on foot1 in carriages1 and on horseback4 ,it is now who can attract the most attention by making a figure for a few hours1 or by exciting curiosity or envy2 to-morrow they will all return1 dull and exhausted1 to the employments and troubles of yesterday4 ,alas6 thought ,i with vexation1 each of us is like these masqueraders2 our whole life is often but an unsightly ,carnival6 ,and yet man has need of holidays1 to relax his mind1 rest his body1 and open his heart4 ,can he not have them1 then1 with these coarse pleasures8 ,economists have been long inquiring what is the best disposal of the industry of the human race4 ,ah6 if ,i could only discover the best disposal of its leisure6 ,it is easy enough to find it work2 but who will find it relaxation8 ,work supplies the daily bread2 but it is cheerfulness that gives it a relish4 ,o philosophers6 go in quest of pleasure6 find us amusements without brutality1 enjoyments without selfishness2 in a word1 invent a ,carnival that will please everybody1 and bring shame to no one4 ,three o'clock4--,i have just shut my window1 and stirred up my fire4 ,as this is a holiday for everybody1 ,i will make it one for myself1 too4 ,so ,i light the little lamp over which1 on grand occasions1 ,i make a cup of the coffee that my portress's son brought from the ,levant1 and ,i look in my bookcase for one of my favorite authors4 ,first1 here is the amusing parson of ,meudon2 but his characters are too fond of talking slang3--,voltaire2 but he disheartens men by always bantering them3--,moliere2 but he hinders one's laughter by making one think3--,lesage2 let us stop at him4 ,being profound rather than grave1 he preaches virtue while ridiculing vice2 if bitterness is sometimes to be found in his writings1 it is always in the garb of mirth3 he sees the miseries of the world without despising it1 and knows its cowardly tricks without hating it4 ,let us call up all the heroes of his book4444 ,gil ,blas1 ,fabrice1 ,sangrado1 the ,archbishop of ,granada1 the ,duke of ,lerma1 ,aurora1 ,scipio6 ,ye gay or graceful figures1 rise before my eyes1 people my solitude2 bring hither for my amusement the world-carnival1 of which you are the brilliant maskers6 ,unfortunately1 at the very moment ,i made this invocation1 ,i recollected ,i had a letter to write which could not be put off4 ,one of my attic neighbors came yesterday to ask me to do it4 ,he is a cheerful old man1 and has a passion for pictures and prints4 ,he comes home almost every day with a drawing or painting--probably of little value2 for ,i know he lives penuriously1 and even the letter that ,i am to write for him shows his poverty4 ,his only son1 who was married in ,england1 is just dead1 and his widow--left without any means1 and with an old mother and a child--had written to beg for a home4 ,m4 ,antoine asked me first to translate the letter1 and then to write a refusal4 ,i had promised that he should have this answer to-day3 before everything1 let us fulfil our promises4 ,the sheet of 8,bath0 paper is before me1 ,i have dipped my pen into the ink1 and ,i rub my forehead to invite forth a sally of ideas1 when ,i perceive that ,i have not my dictionary4 ,now1 a ,parisian who would speak ,english without a dictionary is like a child without leading-strings2 the ground trembles under him1 and he stumbles at the first step4 ,i run then to the bookbinder's1 where ,i left my ,johnson1 who lives close by in the square4 ,the door is half open2 ,i hear low groans2 ,i enter without knocking1 and ,i see the bookbinder by the bedside of his fellow-lodger4 ,this latter has a violent fever and delirium4 ,pierre looks at him perplexed and out of humor4 ,i learn from him that his comrade was not able to get up in the morning1 and that since then he has become worse every hour4 ,i ask whether they have sent for a doctor4 8,oh1 yes1 indeed60 replied ,pierre1 roughly2 8one must have money in one's pocket for that1 and this fellow has only debts instead of savings40 8,but you10 said ,i1 rather astonished2 8are you not his friend80 8,friend60 interrupted the bookbinder4 8,yes1 as much as the shaft-horse is friend to the leader--on condition that each will take his share of the draught1 and eat his feed by himself40 8,you do not intend1 however1 to leave him without any help80 8,bah6 he may keep in his bed till to-morrow1 as ,i'm going to the ball40 8,you mean to leave him alone80 8,well6 must ,i miss a party of pleasure at ,courtville--,a ,parisian summer resort4--because this fellow is lightheaded80 asked ,pierre1 sharply4 8,i have promised to meet some friends at old ,desnoyer's4 ,those who are sick may take their broth2 my physic is white wine40 ,so saying1 he untied a bundle1 out of which he took the fancy costume of a waterman1 and proceeded to dress himself in it4 ,in vain ,i tried to awaken some fellow-feeling for the unfortunate man who lay groaning there close by him2 being entirely taken up with the thoughts of his expected pleasure1 ,pierre would hardly so much as hear me4 ,at last his coarse selfishness provoked me4 ,i began reproaching instead of remonstrating with him1 and ,i declared him responsible for the consequences which such a desertion must bring upon the sick man4 ,at this the bookbinder1 who was just going1 stopped with an oath1 and stamped his foot4 8,am ,i to spend my ,carnival in heating water for footbaths1 pray80 8,you must not leave your comrade to die without help60 ,i replied4 8,let him go to the hospital1 then60 8,how can he by himself80 ,pierre seemed to make up his mind4 8,well1 ,i'm going to take him10 resumed he2 8besides1 ,i shall get rid of him sooner4 ,come1 get up1 comrade60 ,he shook his comrade1 who had not taken off his clothes4 ,i observed that he was too weak to walk1 but the bookbinder would not listen3 he made him get up1 and half dragged1 half supported him to the lodge of the porter1 who ran for a hackney carriage4 ,i saw the sick man get into it1 almost fainting1 with the impatient waterman2 and they both set off1 one perhaps to die1 the other to dine at ,courtville ,gardens6 ,six o'clock4--,i have been to knock at my neighbor's door1 who opened it himself2 and ,i have given him his letter1 finished at last1 and directed to his son's widow4 ,m4 ,antoine thanked me gratefully1 and made me sit down4 ,it was the first time ,i had been into the attic of the old amateur4 ,curtains stained with damp and hanging down in rags1 a cold stove1 a bed of straw1 two broken chairs1 composed all the furniture4 ,at the end of the room were a great number of prints in a heap1 and paintings without frames turned against the wall4 ,at the moment ,i came in1 the old man was making his dinner on some hard crusts of bread1 which he was soaking in a glass of #8eau sucree'4 ,he perceived that my eyes fell upon his hermit fare1 and he looked a little ashamed4 8,there is nothing to tempt you in my supper1 neighbor10 said he1 with a smile4 ,i replied that at least ,i thought it a very philosophical one for the ,carnival4 ,m4 ,antoine shook his head1 and went on again with his supper4 8,every one keeps his holidays in his own way10 resumed he1 beginning again to dip a crust into his glass4 8,there are several sorts of epicures1 and not all feasts are meant to regale the palate2 there are some also for the ears and the eyes40 ,i looked involuntarily round me1 as if to seek for the invisible banquet which could make up to him for such a supper4 ,without doubt he understood me2 for he got up slowly1 and1 with the magisterial air of a man confident in what he is about to do1 he rummaged behind several picture frames1 drew forth a painting1 over which he passed his hand1 and silently placed it under the light of the lamp4 ,it represented a fine-looking old man1 seated at table with his wife1 his daughter1 and his children1 and singing to the accompaniment of musicians who appeared in the background4 ,at first sight ,i recognized the subject1 which ,i had often admired at the ,louvre1 and ,i declared it to be a splendid copy of ,jordaens4 8,a copy60 cried ,m4 ,antoine2 8say an original1 neighbor1 and an original retouched by ,rubens6 ,look closer at the head of the old man1 the dress of the young woman1 and the accessories4 ,one can count the pencil-strokes of the ,hercules of painters4 ,it is not only a masterpiece1 sir2 it is a treasure--a relic6 ,the picture at the ,louvre may be a pearl1 this is a diamond60 ,and resting it against the stove1 so as to place it in the best light1 he fell again to soaking his crusts1 without taking his eyes off the wonderful picture4 ,one would have said that the sight of it gave the crusts an unexpected relish1 for he chewed them slowly1 and emptied his glass by little sips4 ,his shrivelled features became smooth1 his nostrils expanded2 it was indeed1 as he said himself1 8a feast for the eyes40 8,you see that ,i also have my treat10 he resumed1 nodding his head with an air of triumph4 8,others may run after dinners and balls2 as for me1 this is the pleasure ,i give myself for my ,carnival40 8,but if this painting is really so precious10 replied ,i1 8it ought to be worth a high price40 8,eh6 eh60 said ,m4 ,antoine1 with an air of proud indifference4 8,in good times1 a good judge might value it at somewhere about twenty thousand francs40 ,i started back4 8,and you have bought it80 cried ,i4 8,for nothing10 replied he1 lowering his voice4 8,these brokers are asses2 mine mistook this for a student's copy2 he let me have it for fifty louis1 ready money6 ,this morning ,i took them to him1 and now he wishes to be off the bargain40 8,this morning60 repeated ,i1 involuntarily casting my eyes on the letter containing the refusal that ,m4 ,antoine had made me write to his son's widow1 which was still on the little table4 ,he took no notice of my exclamation1 and went on contemplating the work of ,jordaens in an ecstasy4 8,what a knowledge of chiaroscuro60 he murmured1 biting his last crust in delight4 8,what relief6 what fire6 ,where can one find such transparency of color6 such magical lights6 such force6 such nature60 ,as ,i was listening to him in silence1 he mistook my astonishment for admiration1 and clapped me on the shoulder4 8,you are dazzled10 said he merrily2 8you did not expect such a treasure6 ,what do you say to the bargain ,i have made80 8,pardon me10 replied ,i1 gravely2 8but ,i think you might have done better40 ,m4 ,antoine raised his head4 8,how60 cried he2 8do you take me for a man likely to be deceived about the merit or value of a painting80 8,i neither doubt your taste nor your skill2 but ,i cannot help thinking that1 for the price of this picture of a family party1 you might have had--0 8,what then80 8,the family itself1 sir40 ,the old amateur cast a look at me1 not of anger1 but of contempt4 ,in his eyes ,i had evidently just proved myself a barbarian1 incapable of understanding the arts1 and unworthy of enjoying them4 ,he got up without answering me1 hastily took up the ,jordaens1 and replaced it in its hiding-place behind the prints4 ,it was a sort of dismissal2 ,i took leave of him1 and went away4 ,seven o'clock4--,when ,i come in again1 ,i find my water boiling over my lamp1 and ,i busy myself in grinding my ,mocha1 and setting out my coffee-things4 ,the getting coffee ready is the most delicate and most attractive of domestic operations to one who lives alone3 it is the grand work of a bachelor's housekeeping4 ,coffee is1 so to say1 just the mid-point between bodily and spiritual nourishment4 ,it acts agreeably1 and at the same time1 upon the senses and the thoughts4 ,its very fragrance gives a sort of delightful activity to the wits2 it is a genius that lends wings to our fancy1 and transports it to the land of the ,arabian ,nights4 ,when ,i am buried in my old easy-chair1 my feet on the fender before a blazing fire1 my ear soothed by the singing of the coffee-pot1 which seems to gossip with my fire-irons1 the sense of smell gently excited by the aroma of the ,arabian bean1 and my eyes shaded by my cap pulled down over them1 it often seems as if each cloud of the fragrant steam took a distinct form4 ,as in the mirages of the desert1 in each as it rises1 ,i see some image of which my mind had been longing for the reality4 ,at first the vapor increases1 and its color deepens4 ,i see a cottage on a hillside3 behind is a garden shut in by a whitethorn hedge1 and through the garden runs a brook1 on the banks of which ,i hear the bees humming4 ,then the view opens still more4 ,see those fields planted with apple-trees1 in which ,i can distinguish a plough and horses waiting for their master6 ,farther on1 in a part of the wood which rings with the sound of the axe1 ,i perceive the woodsman's hut1 roofed with turf and branches2 and1 in the midst of all these rural pictures1 ,i seem to see a figure of myself gliding about4 ,it is my ghost walking in my dream6 ,the bubbling of the water1 ready to boil over1 compels me to break off my meditations1 in order to fill up the coffee-pot4 ,i then remember that ,i have no cream2 ,i take my tin can off the hook and go down to the milkwoman's4 ,mother ,denis is a hale countrywoman from ,savoy1 which she left when quite young2 and1 contrary to the custom of the ,savoyards1 she has not gone back to it again4 ,she has neither husband nor child1 notwithstanding the title they give her2 but her kindness1 which never sleeps1 makes her worthy of the name of mother4 ,a brave creature6 ,left by herself in the battle of life1 she makes good her humble place in it by working1 singing1 helping others1 and leaving the rest to ,god4 ,at the door of the milk-shop ,i hear loud bursts of laughter4 ,in one of the corners of the shop three children are sitting on the ground4 ,they wear the sooty dress of ,savoyard boys1 and in their hands they hold large slices of bread and cheese4 ,the youngest is besmeared up to the eyes with his1 and that is the reason of their mirth4 ,mother ,denis points them out to me4 8,look at the little lambs1 how they enjoy themselves60 said she1 putting her hand on the head of the little glutton4 8,he has had no breakfast10 puts in one of the others by way of excuse4 8,poor little thing10 said the milkwoman2 8he is left alone in the streets of ,paris1 where he can find no other father than the ,all-good ,god60 8,and that is why you make yourself a mother to them80 ,i replied1 gently4 8,what ,i do is little enough10 said ,mother ,denis1 measuring out my milk2 8but every day ,i get some of them together out of the street1 that for once they may have enough to eat4 ,dear children6 their mothers will make up for it in heaven4 ,not to mention that they recall my native mountains to me3 when they sing and dance1 ,i seem to see our old father again40 ,here her eyes filled with tears4 8,so you are repaid by your recollections for the good you do them80 resumed ,i4 8,yes6 yes60 said she1 8and by their happiness1 too6 ,the laughter of these little ones1 sir1 is like a bird's song2 it makes you gay1 and gives you heart to live40 ,as she spoke she cut some fresh slices of bread and cheese1 and added some apples and a handful of nuts to them4 8,come1 my little dears10 she cried1 8put these into your pockets against to-morrow40 ,then1 turning to me3 8,to-day ,i am ruining myself10 added she2 8but we must all have our ,carnival40 ,i came away without saying a word3 ,i was too much affected4 ,at last ,i have discovered what true pleasure is4 ,after beholding the egotism of sensuality and of intellect1 ,i have found the happy self-sacrifice of goodness4 ,pierre1 ,m4 ,antoine1 and ,mother ,denis had all kept their ,carnival2 but for the first two1 it was only a feast for the senses or the mind2 while for the third1 it was a feast for the heart4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,what ,,we ,,may ,,learn ,,by ,,looking ,,out ,,of ,,window ,march #c;d ,a poet has said that life is the dream of a shadow3 he would better have compared it to a night of fever6 ,what alternate fits of restlessness and sleep6 what discomfort6 what sudden starts6 what ever-returning thirst6 what a chaos of mournful and confused fancies6 ,we can neither sleep nor wake2 we seek in vain for repose1 and we stop short on the brink of action4 ,two thirds of human existence are wasted in hesitation1 and the last third in repenting4 ,when ,i say human existence1 ,i mean my own6 ,we are so made that each of us regards himself as the mirror of the community3 what passes in our minds infallibly seems to us a history of the universe4 ,every man is like the drunkard who reports an earthquake1 because he feels himself staggering4 ,and why am ,i uncertain and restless--,i1 a poor day-laborer in the world--who fill an obscure station in a corner of it1 and whose work it avails itself of1 without heeding the workman8 ,i will tell you1 my unseen friend1 for whom these lines are written2 my unknown brother1 on whom the solitary call in sorrow2 my imaginary confidant1 to whom all monologues are addressed and who is but the shadow of our own conscience4 ,a great event has happened in my life6 ,a crossroad has suddenly opened in the middle of the monotonous way along which ,i was travelling quietly1 and without thinking of it4 ,two roads present themselves1 and ,i must choose between them4 ,one is only the continuation of that ,i have followed till now2 the other is wider1 and exhibits wondrous prospects4 ,on the first there is nothing to fear1 but also little to hope2 on the other are great dangers and great fortune4 ,briefly1 the question is1 whether ,i shall give up the humble office in which ,i thought to die1 for one of those bold speculations in which chance alone is banker6 ,ever since yesterday ,i have consulted with myself2 ,i have compared the two and ,i remain undecided4 ,where shall ,i find light--who will advise me8 ,sunday1 #dth4--,see the sun coming out from the thick fogs of winter6 ,spring announces its approach2 a soft breeze skims over the roofs1 and my wallflower begins to blow again4 ,we are near that sweet season of fresh green1 of which the poets of the sixteenth century sang with so much feeling3 ,now the gladsome month of ,may ,all things newly doth array2 ,fairest lady1 let me too ,in thy love my life renew4 ,the chirping of the sparrows calls me3 they claim the crumbs ,i scatter to them every morning4 ,i open my window1 and the prospect of roofs opens out before me in all its splendor4 ,he who has lived only on a first floor has no idea of the picturesque variety of such a view4 ,he has never contemplated these tile-colored heights which intersect each other2 he has not followed with his eyes these gutter-valleys1 where the fresh verdure of the attic gardens waves1 the deep shadows which evening spreads over the slated slopes1 and the sparkling of windows which the setting sun has kindled to a blaze of fire4 ,he has not studied the flora of these ,alps of civilization1 carpeted by lichens and mosses2 he is not acquainted with the myriad inhabitants that people them1 from the microscopic insect to the domestic cat--that reynard of the roofs who is always on the prowl1 or in ambush2 he has not witnessed the thousand aspects of a clear or a cloudy sky2 nor the thousand effects of light1 that make these upper regions a theatre with ever-changing scenes6 ,how many times have my days of leisure passed away in contemplating this wonderful sight2 in discovering its darker or brighter episodes2 in seeking1 in short1 in this unknown world for the impressions of travel that wealthy tourists look for lower6 ,nine o'clock4--,but why1 then1 have not my winged neighbors picked up the crumbs ,i have scattered for them before my window8 ,i see them fly away1 come back1 perch upon the ledges of the windows1 and chirp at the sight of the feast they are usually so ready to devour6 ,it is not my presence that frightens them2 ,i have accustomed them to eat out of my hand4 ,then1 why this fearful suspense8 ,in vain ,i look around3 the roof is clear1 the windows near are closed4 ,i crumble the bread that remains from my breakfast to attract them by an ampler feast4 ,their chirpings increase1 they bend down their heads1 the boldest approach upon the wing1 but without daring to alight4 ,come1 come1 my sparrows are the victims of one of the foolish panics which make the funds fall at the ,bourse6 ,it is plain that birds are not more reasonable than men6 ,with this reflection ,i was about to shut my window1 when suddenly ,i perceived1 in a spot of sunshine on my right1 the shadow of two pricked-up ears2 then a paw advanced1 then the head of a tabby-cat showed itself at the corner of the gutter4 ,the cunning fellow was lying there in wait1 hoping the crumbs would bring him some game4 ,and ,i had accused my guests of cowardice6 ,i was so sure that no danger could menace them6 ,i thought ,i had looked well everywhere6 ,i had only forgotten the corner behind me6 ,in life1 as on the roofs1 how many misfortunes come from having forgotten a single corner6 ,ten o'clock4--,i cannot leave my window2 the rain and the cold have kept it shut so long that ,i must reconnoitre all the environs to be able to take possession of them again4 ,my eyes search in succession all the points of the jumbled and confused prospect1 passing on or stopping according to what they light upon4 ,ah6 see the windows upon which they formerly loved to rest2 they are those of two unknown neighbors1 whose different habits they have long remarked4 ,one is a poor work-woman1 who rises before sunrise1 and whose profile is shadowed upon her little muslin window-curtain far into the evening2 the other is a young songstress1 whose vocal flourishes sometimes reach my attic by snatches4 ,when their windows are open1 that of the work-woman discovers a humble but decent abode2 the other1 an elegantly furnished room4 ,but to-day a crowd of tradespeople throng the latter3 they take down the silk hangings and carry off the furniture1 and ,i now remember that the young singer passed under my window this morning with her veil down1 and walking with the hasty step of one who suffers some inward trouble4 ,ah6 ,i guess it all4 ,her means are exhausted in elegant fancies1 or have been taken away by some unexpected misfortune1 and now she has fallen from luxury to indigence4 ,while the work-woman manages not only to keep her little room1 but also to furnish it with decent comfort by her steady toil1 that of the singer is become the property of brokers4 ,the one sparkled for a moment on the wave of prosperity2 the other sails slowly but safely along the coast of a humble and laborious industry4 ,alas6 is there not here a lesson for us all8 ,is it really in hazardous experiments1 at the end of which we shall meet with wealth or ruin1 that the wise man should employ his years of strength and freedom8 ,ought he to consider life as a regular employment which brings its daily wages1 or as a game in which the future is determined by a few throws8 ,why seek the risk of extreme chances8 ,for what end hasten to riches by dangerous roads8 ,is it really certain that happiness is the prize of brilliant successes1 rather than of a wisely accepted poverty8 ,ah6 if men but knew in what a small dwelling joy can live1 and how little it costs to furnish it6 ,twelve o'clock4--,i have been walking up and down my attic for a long time1 with my arms folded and my eyes on the ground6 ,my doubts increase1 like shadows encroaching more and more on some bright space2 my fears multiply2 and the uncertainty becomes every moment more painful to me6 ,it is necessary for me to decide to-day1 and before the evening6 ,i hold the dice of my future fate in my hands1 and ,i dare not throw them4 ,three o'clock4--,the sky has become cloudy1 and a cold wind begins to blow from the west2 all the windows which were opened to the sunshine of a beautiful day are shut again4 ,only on the opposite side of the street1 the lodger on the last story has not yet left his balcony4 ,one knows him to be a soldier by his regular walk1 his gray moustaches1 and the ribbon that decorates his buttonhole4 ,indeed1 one might have guessed as much from the care he takes of the little garden which is the ornament of his balcony in mid-air2 for there are two things especially loved by all old soldiers--flowers and children4 ,they have been so long1 obliged to look upon the earth as a field of battle1 and so long cut off from the peaceful pleasures of a quiet lot1 that they seem to begin life at an age when others end it4 ,the tastes of their early years1 which were arrested by the stern duties of war1 suddenly break out again with their white hairs1 and are like the savings of youth which they spend again in old age4 ,besides1 they have been condemned to be destroyers for so long that perhaps they feel a secret pleasure in creating1 and seeing life spring up again3 the beauty of weakness has a grace and an attraction the more for those who have been the agents of unbending force2 and the watching over the frail germs of life has all the charms of novelty for these old workmen of death4 ,therefore the cold wind has not driven my neighbor from his balcony4 ,he is digging up the earth in his green boxes1 and carefully sowing the seeds of the scarlet nasturtium1 convolvulus1 and sweet-pea4 ,henceforth he will come every day to watch for their first sprouting1 to protect the young shoots from weeds or insects1 to arrange the strings for the tendrils to climb on1 and carefully to regulate their supply of water and heat6 ,how much labor to bring in the desired harvest6 ,for that1 how many times shall ,i see him brave cold or heat1 wind or sun1 as he does to-day6 ,but then1 in the hot summer days1 when the blinding dust whirls in clouds through our streets1 when the eye1 dazzled by the glare of white stucco1 knows not where to rest1 and the glowing roofs reflect their heat upon us to burning1 the old soldier will sit in his arbor and perceive nothing but green leaves and flowers around him1 and the breeze will come cool and fresh to him through these perfumed shades4 ,his assiduous care will be rewarded at last4 ,we must sow the seeds1 and tend the growth1 if we would enjoy the flower4 ,four o'clock4--,the clouds that have been gathering in the horizon for a long time are become darker2 it thunders loudly1 and the rain pours down6 ,those who are caught in it fly in every direction1 some laughing and some crying4 ,i always find particular amusement in these helter-skelters1 caused by a sudden storm4 ,it seems as if each one1 when thus taken by surprise1 loses the factitious character that the world or habit has given him1 and appears in his true colors4 ,see1 for example1 that big man with deliberate step1 who suddenly forgets his indifference1 made to order1 and runs like a schoolboy6 ,he is a thrifty city gentleman1 who1 with all his fashionable airs1 is afraid to spoil his hat4 ,that pretty woman yonder1 on the contrary1 whose looks are so modest1 and whose dress is so elaborate1 slackens her pace with the increasing storm4 ,she seems to find pleasure in braving it1 and does not think of her velvet cloak spotted by the hail6 ,she is evidently a lioness in sheep's clothing4 ,here1 a young man1 who was passing1 stops to catch some of the hailstones in his hand1 and examines them4 ,by his quick and business-like walk just now1 you would have taken him for a tax-gatherer on his rounds1 when he is a young philosopher1 studying the effects of electricity4 ,and those schoolboys who leave their ranks to run after the sudden gusts of a ,march whirlwind2 those girls1 just now so demure1 but who now fly with bursts of laughter2 those national guards1 who quit the martial attitude of their days of duty to take refuge under a porch6 ,the storm has caused all these transformations4 ,see1 it increases6 ,the hardiest are obliged to seek shelter4 ,i see every one rushing toward the shop in front of my window1 which a bill announces is to let4 ,it is for the fourth time within a few months4 ,a year ago all the skill of the joiner and the art of the painter were employed in beautifying it1 but their works are already destroyed by the leaving of so many tenants2 the cornices of the front are disfigured by mud2 the arabesques on the doorway are spoiled by bills posted upon them to announce the sale of the effects4 ,the splendid shop has lost some of its embellishments with each change of the tenant4 ,see it now empty1 and left open to the passersby4 ,how much does its fate resemble that of so many who1 like it1 only change their occupation to hasten the faster to ruin6 ,i am struck by this last reflection3 since the morning everything seems to speak to me1 and with the same warning tone4 ,everything says3 8,take care6 be content with your happy1 though humble lot2 happiness can be retained only by constancy2 do not forsake your old patrons for the protection of those who are unknown60 ,are they the outward objects which speak thus1 or does the warning come from within8 ,is it not ,i myself who give this language to all that surrounds me8 ,the world is but an instrument1 to which we give sound at will4 ,but what does it signify if it teaches us wisdom8 ,the low voice that speaks in our breasts is always a friendly voice1 for it tells us what we are1 that is to say1 what is our capability4 ,bad conduct results1 for the most part1 from mistaking our calling4 ,there are so many fools and knaves1 because there are so few men who know themselves4 ,the question is not to discover what will suit us1 but for what we are suited6 ,what should ,i do among these many experienced financial speculators8 ,i am only a poor sparrow1 born among the housetops1 and should always fear the enemy crouching in the dark corner2 ,i am a prudent workman1 and should think of the business of my neighbors who so suddenly disappeared2 ,i am a timid observer1 and should call to mind the flowers so slowly raised by the old soldier1 or the shop brought to ruin by constant change of masters4 ,away from me1 ye banquets1 over which hangs the sword of ,damocles6 ,i am a country mouse4 ,give me my nuts and hollow tree1 and ,i ask nothing besides--except security4 ,and why this insatiable craving for riches8 ,does a man drink more when he drinks from a large glass8 ,whence comes that universal dread of mediocrity1 the fruitful mother of peace and liberty8 ,ah6 there is the evil which1 above every other1 it should be the aim of both public and private education to anticipate6 ,if that were got rid of1 what treasons would be spared1 what baseness avoided1 what a chain of excess and crime would be forever broken6 ,we award the palm to charity1 and to self-sacrifice2 but1 above all1 let us award it to moderation1 for it is the great social virtue4 ,even when it does not create the others1 it stands instead of them4 ,six o'clock4--,i have written a letter of thanks to the promoters of the new speculation1 and have declined their offer6 ,this decision has restored my peace of mind4 ,i stopped singing1 like the cobbler1 as long as ,i entertained the hope of riches3 it is gone1 and happiness is come back6 ,o beloved and gentle ,poverty6 pardon me for having for a moment wished to fly from thee1 as ,i would from ,want4 ,stay here forever with thy charming sisters1 ,pity1 ,patience1 ,sobriety1 and ,solitude2 be ye my queens and my instructors2 teach me the stern duties of life2 remove far from my abode the weakness of heart and giddiness of head which follow prosperity4 ,holy ,poverty6 teach me to endure without complaining1 to impart without grudging1 to seek the end of life higher than in pleasure1 farther off than in power4 ,thou givest the body strength1 thou makest the mind more firm2 and1 thanks to thee1 this life1 to which the rich attach themselves as to a rock1 becomes a bark of which death may cut the cable without awakening all our fears4 ,continue to sustain me1 ,o thou whom ,christ hath called ,blessed6 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,let ,,us ,,love ,,one ,,another ,april #ith ,the fine evenings are come back2 the trees begin to put forth their shoots2 hyacinths1 jonquils1 violets1 and lilacs perfume the baskets of the flower-girls--all the world have begun their walks again on the quays and boulevards4 ,after dinner1 ,i1 too1 descend from my attic to breathe the evening air4 ,it is the hour when ,paris is seen in all its beauty4 ,during the day the plaster fronts of the houses weary the eye by their monotonous whiteness2 heavily laden carts make the streets shake under their huge wheels2 the eager crowd1 taken up by the one fear of losing a moment from business1 cross and jostle one another2 the aspect of the city altogether has something harsh1 restless1 and flurried about it4 ,but1 as soon as the stars appear1 everything is changed2 the glare of the white houses is quenched in the gathering shades2 you hear no more any rolling but that of the carriages on their way to some party of pleasure2 you see only the lounger or the light-hearted passing by2 work has given place to leisure4 ,now each one may breathe after the fierce race through the business of the day1 and whatever strength remains to him he gives to pleasure6 ,see the ballrooms lighted up1 the theatres open1 the eating-shops along the walks set out with dainties1 and the twinkling lanterns of the newspaper criers4 ,decidedly ,paris has laid aside the pen1 the ruler1 and the apron2 after the day spent in work1 it must have the evening for enjoyment2 like the masters of ,thebes1 it has put off all serious matter till tomorrow4 ,i love to take part in this happy hour2 not to mix in the general gayety1 but to contemplate it4 ,if the enjoyments of others embitter jealous minds1 they strengthen the humble spirit2 they are the beams of sunshine1 which open the two beautiful flowers called trust and hope4 ,although alone in the midst of the smiling multitude1 ,i do not feel myself isolated from it1 for its gayety is reflected upon me3 it is my own kind1 my own family1 who are enjoying life1 and ,i take a brother's share in their happiness4 ,we are all fellow-soldiers in this earthly battle1 and what does it matter on whom the honors of the victory fall8 ,if ,fortune passes by without seeing us1 and pours her favors on others1 let us console ourselves1 like the friend of ,parmenio1 by saying1 8,those1 too1 are ,alexanders40 ,while making these reflections1 ,i was going on as chance took me4 ,i crossed from one pavement to another1 ,i retraced my steps1 ,i stopped before the shops or to read the handbills4 ,how many things there are to learn in the streets of ,paris6 ,what a museum it is6 ,unknown fruits1 foreign arms1 furniture of old times or other lands1 animals of all climates1 statues of great men1 costumes of distant nations6 ,it is the world seen in samples6 ,let us then look at this people1 whose knowledge is gained from the shop-windows and the tradesman's display of goods4 ,nothing has been taught them1 but they have a rude notion of everything4 ,they have seen pineapples at ,chevet's1 a palm-tree in the ,jardin des ,plantes1 sugar-canes selling on the ,pont-,neuf4 ,the ,redskins1 exhibited in the ,valentine ,hall1 have taught them to mimic the dance of the bison1 and to smoke the calumet of peace2 they have seen ,carter's lions fed2 they know the principal national costumes contained in ,babin's collection2 ,goupil's display of prints has placed the tiger-hunts of ,africa and the sittings of the ,english ,parliament before their eyes2 they have become acquainted with ,queen ,victoria1 the ,emperor of ,austria1 and ,kossuth1 at the office-door of the ,illustrated ,news4 ,we can certainly instruct them1 but not astonish them2 for nothing is completely new to them4 ,you may take the ,paris ragamuffin through the five quarters of the world1 and at every wonder with which you think to surprise him1 he will settle the matter with that favorite and conclusive answer of his class--8,i know40 ,but this variety of exhibitions1 which makes ,paris the fair of the world1 does not offer merely a means of instruction to him who walks through it2 it is a continual spur for rousing the imagination1 a first step of the ladder always set up before us in a vision4 ,when we see them1 how many voyages do we take in imagination1 what adventures do we dream of1 what pictures do we sketch6 ,i never look at that shop near the ,chinese baths1 with its tapestry hangings of ,florida jessamine1 and filled with magnolias1 without seeing the forest glades of the ,new ,world1 described by the author of ,atala1 opening themselves out before me4 ,then1 when this study of things and this discourse of reason begin to tire you1 look around you6 ,what contrasts of figures and faces you see in the crowd6 ,what a vast field for the exercise of meditation6 ,a half-seen glance1 or a few words caught as the speaker passes by1 open a thousand vistas to your imagination4 ,you wish to comprehend what these imperfect disclosures mean1 and1 as the antiquary endeavors to decipher the mutilated inscription on some old monument1 you build up a history on a gesture or on a word6 ,these are the stirring sports of the mind1 which finds in fiction a relief from the wearisome dullness of the actual4 ,alas6 as ,i was just now passing by the carriage-entrance of a great house1 ,i noticed a sad subject for one of these histories4 ,a man was sitting in the darkest corner1 with his head bare1 and holding out his hat for the charity of those who passed4 ,his threadbare coat had that look of neatness which marks that destitution has been met by a long struggle4 ,he had carefully buttoned it up to hide the want of a shirt4 ,his face was half hid under his gray hair1 and his eyes were closed1 as if he wished to escape the sight of his own humiliation1 and he remained mute and motionless4 ,those who passed him took no notice of the beggar1 who sat in silence and darkness6 ,they had been so lucky as to escape complaints and importunities1 and were glad to turn away their eyes too4 ,suddenly the great gate turned on its hinges2 and a very low carriage1 lighted with silver lamps and drawn by two black horses1 came slowly out1 and took the road toward the ,faubourg ,st4 ,germain4 ,i could just distinguish1 within1 the sparkling diamonds and the flowers of a ball-dress2 the glare of the lamps passed like a bloody streak over the pale face of the beggar1 and showed his look as his eyes opened and followed the rich man's equipage until it disappeared in the night4 ,i dropped a small piece of money into the hat he was holding out1 and passed on quickly4 ,i had just fallen unexpectedly upon the two saddest secrets of the disease which troubles the age we live in3 the envious hatred of him who suffers want1 and the selfish forgetfulness of him who lives in affluence4 ,all the enjoyment of my walk was gone2 ,i left off looking about me1 and retired into my own heart4 ,the animated and moving sight in the streets gave place to inward meditation upon all the painful problems which have been written for the last four thousand years at the bottom of each human struggle1 but which are propounded more clearly than ever in our days4 ,i pondered on the uselessness of so many contests1 in which defeat and victory only displace each other by turns1 and on the mistaken zealots who have repeated from generation to generation the bloody history of ,cain and ,abel2 and1 saddened with these mournful reflections1 ,i walked on as chance took me1 until the silence all around insensibly drew me out from my own thoughts4 ,i had reached one of the remote streets1 in which those who would live in comfort and without ostentation1 and who love serious reflection1 delight to find a home4 ,there were no shops along the dimly lighted street2 one heard no sounds but of distant carriages1 and of the steps of some of the inhabitants returning quietly home4 ,i instantly recognized the street1 though ,i had been there only once before4 ,that was two years ago4 ,i was walking at the time by the side of the ,seine1 to which the lights on the quays and bridges gave the aspect of a lake surrounded by a garland of stars2 and ,i had reached the ,louvre1 when ,i was stopped by a crowd collected near the parapet they had gathered round a child of about six1 who was crying1 and ,i asked the cause of his tears4 8,it seems that he was sent to walk in the ,tuileries10 said a mason1 who was returning from his work with his trowel in his hand2 8the servant who took care of him met with some friends there1 and told the child to wait for him while he went to get a drink2 but ,i suppose the drink made him more thirsty1 for he has not come back1 and the child cannot find his way home40 8,why do they not ask him his name1 and where he lives80 8,they have been doing it for the last hour2 but all he can say is1 that he is called ,charles1 and that his father is ,monsieur ,duval--there are twelve hundred ,duvals in ,paris40 8,then he does not know in what part of the town he lives80 8,i should not think1 indeed6 ,don't you see that he is a gentleman's child8 ,he has never gone out except in a carriage or with a servant2 he does not know what to do by himself40 ,here the mason was interrupted by some of the voices rising above the others4 8,we cannot leave him in the street10 said some4 8,the child-stealers would carry him off10 continued others4 8,we must take him to the overseer40 8,or to the police-office40 8,that's the thing4 ,come1 little one60 ,but the child1 frightened by these suggestions of danger1 and at the names of police and overseer1 cried louder1 and drew back toward the parapet4 ,in vain they tried to persuade him2 his fears made him resist the more1 and the most eager began to get weary1 when the voice of a little boy was heard through the confusion4 8,i know him well--,i do10 said he1 looking at the lost child2 8he belongs in our part of the town40 8,what part is it80 8,yonder1 on the other side of the ,boulevards--,rue des ,magasins40 8,and you have seen him before80 8,yes1 yes6 he belongs to the great house at the end of the street1 where there is an iron gate with gilt points40 ,the child quickly raised his head1 and stopped crying4 ,the little boy answered all the questions that were put to him1 and gave such details as left no room for doubt4 ,the other child understood him1 for he went up to him as if to put himself under his protection4 8,then you can take him to his parents80 asked the mason1 who had listened with real interest to the little boy's account4 8,i don't care if ,i do10 replied he2 8it's the way ,i'm going40 8,then you will take charge of him80 8,he has only to come with me40 ,and1 taking up the basket he had put down on the pavement1 he set off toward the postern-gate of the ,louvre4 ,the lost child followed him4 8,i hope he will take him right10 said ,i1 when ,i saw them go away4 8,never fear10 replied the mason2 8the little one in the blouse is the same age as the other2 but1 as the saying is1 he knows black from white2' poverty1 you see1 is a famous schoolmistress60 ,the crowd dispersed4 ,for my part1 ,i went toward the ,louvre2 the thought came into my head to follow the two children1 so as to guard against any mistake4 ,i was not long in overtaking them2 they were walking side by side1 talking1 and already quite familiar with each other4 ,the contrast in their dress then struck me4 ,little ,duval wore one of those fanciful children's dresses which are expensive as well as in good taste2 his coat was skilfully fitted to his figure1 his trousers came down in plaits from his waist to his boots of polished leather with mother-of-pearl buttons1 and his ringlets were half hid by a velvet cap4 ,the appearance of his guide1 on the contrary1 was that of the class who dwell on the extreme borders of poverty1 but who there maintain their ground with no surrender4 ,his old blouse1 patched with pieces of different shades1 indicated the perseverance of an industrious mother struggling against the wear and tear of time2 his trousers were become too short1 and showed his stockings darned over and over again2 and it was evident that his shoes were not made for him4 ,the countenances of the two children were not less different than their dress4 ,that of the first was delicate and refined2 his clear blue eye1 his fair skin1 and his smiling mouth gave him a charming look of innocence and happiness4 ,the features of the other1 on the contrary1 had something rough in them2 his eye was quick and lively1 his complexion dark1 his smile less merry than shrewd2 all showed a mind sharpened by too early experience2 he walked boldly through the middle of the streets thronged by carriages1 and followed their countless turnings without hesitation4 ,i found1 on asking him1 that every day he carried dinner to his father1 who was then working on the left bank of the ,seine2 and this responsible duty had made him careful and prudent4 ,he had learned those hard but forcible lessons of necessity which nothing can equal or supply the place of4 ,unfortunately1 the wants of his poor family had kept him from school1 and he seemed to feel the loss2 for he often stopped before the printshops1 and asked his companion to read him the names of the engravings4 ,in this way we reached the ,boulevard ,bonne ,nouvelle1 which the little wanderer seemed to know again4 ,notwithstanding his fatigue1 he hurried on2 he was agitated by mixed feelings2 at the sight of his house he uttered a cry1 and ran toward the iron gate with the gilt points2 a lady who was standing at the entrance received him in her arms1 and from the exclamations of joy1 and the sound of kisses1 ,i soon perceived she was his mother4 ,not seeing either the servant or child return1 she had sent in search of them in every direction1 and was waiting for them in intense anxiety4 ,i explained to her in a few words what had happened4 ,she thanked me warmly1 and looked round for the little boy who had recognized and brought back her son2 but while we were talking1 he had disappeared4 ,it was for the first time since then that ,i had come into this part of ,paris4 ,did the mother continue grateful8 ,had the children met again1 and had the happy chance of their first meeting lowered between them that barrier which may mark the different ranks of men1 but should not divide them8 ,while putting these questions to myself1 ,i slackened my pace1 and fixed my eyes on the great gate1 which ,i just perceived4 ,suddenly ,i saw it open1 and two children appeared at the entrance4 ,although much grown1 ,i recognized them at first sight2 they were the child who was found near the parapet of the ,louvre1 and his young guide4 ,but the dress of the latter was greatly changed3 his blouse of gray cloth was neat1 and even spruce1 and was fastened round the waist by a polished leather belt2 he wore strong shoes1 but made for his feet1 and had on a new cloth cap4 ,just at the moment ,i saw him1 he held in his two hands an enormous bunch of lilacs1 to which his companion was trying to add narcissuses and primroses2 the two children laughed1 and parted with a friendly good-by4 ,m4 ,duval's son did not go in till he had seen the other turn the corner of the street4 ,then ,i accosted the latter1 and reminded him of our former meeting2 he looked at me for a moment1 and then seemed to recollect me4 8,forgive me if ,i do not make you a bow10 said he1 merrily1 8but ,i want both my hands for the nosegay ,monsieur ,charles has given me40 8,you are1 then1 become great friends80 said ,i4 8,oh6 ,i should think so10 said the child2 8and now my father is rich too60 8,how's that80 8,monsieur ,duval lent him some money2 he has taken a shop1 where he works on his own account2 and1 as for me1 ,i go to school40 8,yes10 replied ,i1 remarking for the first time the cross that decorated his little coat2 8and ,i see that you are head-boy60 8,monsieur ,charles helps me to learn1 and so ,i am come to be the first in the class40 8,are you now going to your lessons80 8,yes1 and he has given me some lilacs2 for he has a garden where we play together1 and where my mother can always have flowers40 8,then it is the same as if it were partly your own40 8,so it is6 ,ah6 they are good neighbors indeed4 ,but here ,i am2 good-by1 sir40 ,he nodded to me with a smile1 and disappeared4 ,i went on with my walk1 still pensive1 but with a feeling of relief4 ,if ,i had elsewhere witnessed the painful contrast between affluence and want1 here ,i had found the true union of riches and poverty4 ,hearty good-will had smoothed down the more rugged inequalities on both sides1 and had opened a road of true neighborhood and fellowship between the humble workshop and the stately mansion4 ,instead of hearkening to the voice of interest1 they had both listened to that of self-sacrifice1 and there was no place left for contempt or envy4 ,thus1 instead of the beggar in rags1 that ,i had seen at the other door cursing the rich man1 ,i had found here the happy child of the laborer loaded with flowers and blessing him6 ,the problem1 so difficult and so dangerous to examine into with no regard but for the rights of it1 ,i had just seen solved by love4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,compensation ,sunday1 ,may #bgth ,capital cities have one thing peculiar to them3 their days of rest seem to be the signal for a general dispersion and flight4 ,like birds that are just restored to liberty1 the people come out of their stone cages1 and joyfully fly toward the country4 ,it is who shall find a green hillock for a seat1 or the shade of a wood for a shelter2 they gather ,may flowers1 they run about the fields2 the town is forgotten until the evening1 when they return with sprigs of blooming hawthorn in their hats1 and their hearts gladdened by pleasant thoughts and recollections of the past day2 the next day they return again to their harness and to work4 ,these rural adventures are most remarkable at ,paris4 ,when the fine weather comes1 clerks1 shop keepers1 and workingmen look forward impatiently for the ,sunday as the day for trying a few hours of this pastoral life2 they walk through six miles of grocers' shops and public-houses in the faubourgs1 in the sole hope of finding a real turnip-field4 ,the father of a family begins the practical education of his son by showing him wheat which has not taken the form of a loaf1 and cabbage 8in its wild state40 ,heaven only knows the encounters1 the discoveries1 the adventures that are met with6 ,what ,parisian has not had his ,odyssey in an excursion through the suburbs1 and would not be able to write a companion to the famous ,travels by ,land and by ,sea from ,paris to ,st4 ,cloud8 ,we do not now speak of that floating population from all parts1 for whom our ,french ,babylon is the caravansary of ,europe3 a phalanx of thinkers1 artists1 men of business1 and travellers1 who1 like ,homer's hero1 have arrived in their intellectual country after beholding 8many peoples and cities20 but of the settled ,parisian1 who keeps his appointed place1 and lives on his own floor like the oyster on his rock1 a curious vestige of the credulity1 the slowness1 and the simplicity of bygone ages4 ,for one of the singularities of ,paris is1 that it unites twenty populations completely different in character and manners4 ,by the side of the gypsies of commerce and of art1 who wander through all the several stages of fortune or fancy1 live a quiet race of people with an independence1 or with regular work1 whose existence resembles the dial of a clock1 on which the same hand points by turns to the same hours4 ,if no other city can show more brilliant and more stirring forms of life1 no other contains more obscure and more tranquil ones4 ,great cities are like the sea3 storms agitate only the surface2 if you go to the bottom1 you find a region inaccessible to the tumult and the noise4 ,for my part1 ,i have settled on the verge of this region1 but do not actually live in it4 ,i am removed from the turmoil of the world1 and live in the shelter of solitude1 but without being able to disconnect my thoughts from the struggle going on4 ,i follow at a distance all its events of happiness or grief2 ,i join the feasts and the funerals2 for how can he who looks on1 and knows what passes1 do other than take part8 ,ignorance alone can keep us strangers to the life around us3 selfishness itself will not suffice for that4 ,these reflections ,i made to myself in my attic1 in the intervals of the various household works to which a bachelor is forced when he has no other servant than his own ready will4 ,while ,i was pursuing my deductions1 ,i had blacked my boots1 brushed my coat1 and tied my cravat2 ,i had at last arrived at the important moment when we pronounce complacently that all is finished1 and that well4 ,a grand resolve had just decided me to depart from my usual habits4 ,the evening before1 ,i had seen by the advertisements that the next day was a holiday at ,sevres1 and that the china manufactory would be open to the public4 ,i was tempted by the beauty of the morning1 and suddenly decided to go there4 ,on my arrival at the station on the left bank1 ,i noticed the crowd hurrying on in the fear of being late4 ,railroads1 besides many other advantages1 possess that of teaching the ,french punctuality4 ,they will submit to the clock when they are convinced that it is their master2 they will learn to wait when they find they will not be waited for4 ,social virtues1 are1 in a great degree1 good habits4 ,how many great qualities are grafted into nations by their geographical position1 by political necessity1 and by institutions6 ,avarice was destroyed for a time among the ,lacedaemonians by the creation of an iron coinage1 too heavy and too bulky to be conveniently hoarded4 ,i found myself in a carriage with two middle-aged women belonging to the domestic and retired class of ,parisians ,i have spoken of above4 ,a few civilities were sufficient to gain me their confidence1 and after some minutes ,i was acquainted with their whole history4 ,they were two poor sisters1 left orphans at fifteen1 and had lived ever since1 as those who work for their livelihood must live1 by economy and privation4 ,for the last twenty or thirty years they had worked in jewelry in the same house2 they had seen ten masters succeed one another1 and make their fortunes in it1 without any change in their own lot4 ,they had always lived in the same room1 at the end of one of the passages in the ,rue ,st4 ,denis1 where the air and the sun are unknown4 ,they began their work before daylight1 went on with it till after nightfall1 and saw year succeed to year without their lives being marked by any other events than the ,sunday service1 a walk1 or an illness4 ,the younger of these worthy work-women was forty1 and obeyed her sister as she did when a child4 ,the elder looked after her1 took care of her1 and scolded her with a mother's tenderness4 ,at first it was amusing2 afterward one could not help seeing something affecting in these two gray-haired children1 one unable to leave off the habit of obeying1 the other that of protecting4 ,and it was not in that alone that my two companions seemed younger than their years2 they knew so little that their wonder never ceased4 ,we had hardly arrived at ,clamart before they involuntarily exclaimed1 like the king in the children's game1 that they 8did not think the world was so great06 ,it was the first time they had trusted themselves on a railroad1 and it was amusing to see their sudden shocks1 their alarms1 and their courageous determinations3 everything was a marvel to them6 ,they had remains of youth within them1 which made them sensible to things which usually only strike us in childhood4 ,poor creatures6 they had still the feelings of another age1 though they had lost its charms4 ,but was there not something holy in this simplicity1 which had been preserved to them by abstinence from all the joys of life8 ,ah6 accursed be he who first had the bad courage to attach ridicule to that name of 8old maid10 which recalls so many images of grievous deception1 of dreariness1 and of abandonment6 ,accursed be he who can find a subject for sarcasm in involuntary misfortune1 and who can crown gray hairs with thorns6 ,the two sisters were called ,frances and ,madeleine4 ,this day's journey was a feat of courage without example in their lives4 ,the fever of the times had infected them unawares4 ,yesterday ,madeleine had suddenly proposed the idea of the expedition1 and ,frances had accepted it immediately4 ,perhaps it would have been better not to yield to the great temptation offered by her younger sister2 but 8we have our follies at all ages10 as the prudent ,frances philosophically remarked4 ,as for ,madeleine1 there are no regrets or doubts for her2 she is the life-guardsman of the establishment4 8,we really must amuse ourselves10 said she2 8we live but once40 ,and the elder sister smiled at this ,epicurean maxim4 ,it was evident that the fever of independence was at its crisis in both of them4 ,and in truth it would have been a great pity if any scruple had interfered with their happiness1 it was so frank and genial6 ,the sight of the trees1 which seemed to fly on both sides of the road1 caused them unceasing admiration4 ,the meeting a train passing in the contrary direction1 with the noise and rapidity of a thunderbolt1 made them shut their eyes and utter a cry2 but it had already disappeared6 ,they look around1 take courage again1 and express themselves full of astonishment at the marvel4 ,madeleine declares that such a sight is worth the expense of the journey1 and ,frances would have agreed with her if she had not recollected1 with some little alarm1 the deficit which such an expense must make in their budget4 ,the three francs spent upon this single expedition were the savings of a whole week of work4 ,thus the joy of the elder of the two sisters was mixed with remorse2 the prodigal child now and then turned its eyes toward the back street of ,st4 ,denis4 ,but the motion and the succession of objects distract her4 ,see the bridge of the ,val surrounded by its lovely landscape3 on the right1 ,paris with its grand monuments1 which rise through the fog1 or sparkle in the sun2 on the left1 ,meudon1 with its villas1 its woods1 its vines1 and its royal castle6 ,the two work-women look from one window to the other with exclamations of delight4 ,one fellow-passenger laughs at their childish wonder2 but to me it is deeply touching1 for ,i see in it the sign of a long and monotonous seclusion3 they are the prisoners of work1 who have recovered liberty and fresh air for a few hours4 ,at last the train stops1 and we get out4 ,i show the two sisters the path that leads to ,sevres1 between the railway and the gardens1 and they go on before1 while ,i inquire about the time of returning4 ,i soon join them again at the next station1 where they have stopped at the little garden belonging to the gatekeeper2 both are already in deep conversation with him while he digs his garden-borders1 and marks out the places for flower-seeds4 ,he informs them that it is the time for hoeing out weeds1 for making grafts and layers1 for sowing annuals1 and for destroying the insects on the rose-trees4 ,madeleine has on the sill of her window two wooden boxes1 in which1 for want of air and sun1 she has never been able to make anything grow but mustard and cress2 but she persuades herself that1 thanks to this information1 all other plants may henceforth thrive in them4 ,at last the gatekeeper1 who is sowing a border with mignonette1 gives her the rest of the seeds which he does not want1 and the old maid goes off delighted1 and begins to act over again the dream of ,paired and her can of milk1 with these flowers of her imagination4 ,on reaching the grove of acacias1 where the fair was going on1 ,i lost sight of the two sisters4 ,i went alone among the sights3 there were lotteries going on1 mountebank shows1 places for eating and drinking1 and for shooting with the cross-bow4 ,i have always been struck by the spirit of these out-of-door festivities4 ,in drawing-room entertainments1 people are cold1 grave1 often listless1 and most of those who go there are brought together by habit or the obligations of society2 in the country assemblies1 on the contrary1 you only find those who are attracted by the hope of enjoyment4 ,there1 it is a forced conscription2 here1 they are volunteers for gayety6 ,then1 how easily they are pleased6 ,how far this crowd of people is yet from knowing that to be pleased with nothing1 and to look down on everything1 is the height of fashion and good taste6 ,doubtless their amusements are often coarse2 elegance and refinement are wanting in them2 but at least they have heartiness4 ,oh1 that the hearty enjoyments of these merry-makings could be retained in union with less vulgar feeling6 ,formerly religion stamped its holy character on the celebration of country festivals1 and purified the pleasures without depriving them of their simplicity4 ,the hour arrives at which the doors of the porcelain manufactory and the museum of pottery are open to the public4 ,i meet ,frances and ,madeleine again in the first room4 ,frightened at finding themselves in the midst of such regal magnificence1 they hardly dare walk2 they speak in a low tone1 as if they were in a church4 8,we are in the king's house10 said the eldest sister1 forgetting that there is no longer a king in ,france4 ,i encourage them to go on2 ,i walk first1 and they make up their minds to follow me4 ,what wonders are brought together in this collection6 ,here we see clay moulded into every shape1 tinted with every color1 and combined with every sort of substance6 ,earth and wood are the first substances worked upon by man1 and seem more particularly meant for his use4 ,they1 like the domestic animals1 are the essential accessories of his life2 therefore there must be a more intimate connection between them and us4 ,stone and metals require long preparations2 they resist our first efforts1 and belong less to the individual than to communities4 ,earth and wood are1 on the contrary1 the principal instruments of the isolated being who must feed and shelter himself4 ,this1 doubtless1 makes me feel so much interested in the collection ,i am examining4 ,these cups1 so roughly modelled by the savage1 admit me to a knowledge of some of his habits2 these elegant yet incorrectly formed vases of the ,indian tell me of a declining intelligence1--in which still glimmers the twilight of what was once bright sunshine2 these jars1 loaded with arabesques1 show the fancy of the ,arab rudely and ignorantly copied by the ,spaniard6 ,we find here the stamp of every race1 every country1 and every age4 ,my companions seemed little interested in these historical associations2 they looked at all with that credulous admiration which leaves no room for examination or discussion4 ,madeleine read the name written under every piece of workmanship1 and her sister answered with an exclamation of wonder4 ,in this way we reached a little courtyard1 where they had thrown away the fragments of some broken china4 ,frances perceived a colored saucer almost whole1 of which she took possession as a record of the visit she was making2 henceforth she would have a specimen of the ,sevres china1 8which is only made for kings60 ,i would not undeceive her by telling her that the products of the manufactory are sold all over the world1 and that her saucer1 before it was cracked1 was the same as those that are bought at the shops for sixpence6 ,why should ,i destroy the illusions of her humble existence8 ,are we to break down the hedge-flowers that perfume our paths8 ,things are oftenest nothing in themselves2 the thoughts we attach to them alone give them value4 ,to rectify innocent mistakes1 in order to recover some useless reality1 is to be like those learned men who will see nothing in a plant but the chemical elements of which it is composed4 ,on leaving the manufactory1 the two sisters1 who had taken possession of me with the freedom of artlessness1 invited me to share the luncheon they had brought with them4 ,i declined at first1 but they insisted with so much good-nature1 that ,i feared to pain them1 and with some awkwardness gave way4 ,we had only to look for a convenient spot4 ,i led them up the hill1 and we found a plot of grass enamelled with daisies1 and shaded by two walnut-trees4 ,madeleine could not contain herself for joy4 ,all her life she had dreamed of a dinner out on the grass6 ,while helping her sister to take the provisions from the basket1 she tells me of all her expeditions into the country that had been planned1 and put off4 ,frances1 on the other hand1 was brought up at ,montmorency1 and before she became an orphan she had often gone back to her nurse's house4 ,that which had the attraction of novelty for her sister1 had for her the charm of recollection4 ,she told of the vintage harvests to which her parents had taken her2 the rides on ,mother ,luret's donkey1 that they could not make go to the right without pulling him to the left2 the cherry-gathering2 and the sails on the lake in the innkeeper's boat4 ,these recollections have all the charm and freshness of childhood4 ,frances recalls to herself less what she has seen than what she has felt4 ,while she is talking the cloth is laid1 and we sit down under a tree4 ,before us winds the valley of ,sevres1 its many-storied houses abutting upon the gardens and the slopes of the hill2 on the other side spreads out the park of ,st4 ,cloud1 with its magnificent clumps of trees interspersed with meadows2 above stretch the heavens like an immense ocean1 in which the clouds are sailing6 ,i look at this beautiful country1 and ,i listen to these good old maids2 ,i admire1 and ,i am interested2 and time passes gently on without my perceiving it4 ,at last the sun sets1 and we have to think of returning4 ,while ,madeleine and ,frances clear away the dinner1 ,i walk down to the manufactory to ask the hour4 ,the merrymaking is at its height2 the blasts of the trombones resound from the band under the acacias4 ,for a few moments ,i forget myself with looking about2 but ,i have promised the two sisters to take them back to the ,bellevue station2 the train cannot wait1 and ,i make haste to climb the path again which leads to the walnut-trees4 ,just before ,i reached them1 ,i heard voices on the other side of the hedge4 ,madeleine and ,frances were speaking to a poor girl whose clothes were burned1 her hands blackened1 and her face tied up with bloodstained bandages4 ,i saw that she was one of the girls employed at the gunpowder mills1 which are built further up on the common4 ,an explosion had taken place a few days before2 the girl's mother and elder sister were killed2 she herself escaped by a miracle1 and was now left without any means of support4 ,she told all this with the resigned and unhopeful manner of one who has always been accustomed to suffer4 ,the two sisters were much affected2 ,i saw them consulting with each other in a low tone3 then ,frances took thirty sous out of a little coarse silk purse1 which was all they had left1 and gave them to the poor girl4 ,i hastened on to that side of the hedge2 but1 before ,i reached it1 ,i met the two old sisters1 who called out to me that they would not return by the railway1 but on foot6 ,i then understood that the money they had meant for the journey had just been given to the beggar6 ,good1 like evil1 is contagious3 ,i run to the poor wounded girl1 give her the sum that was to pay for my own place1 and return to ,frances and ,madeleine1 and tell them ,i will walk with them4 44444444444444444444444444 ,i am just come back from taking them home2 and have left them delighted with their day1 the recollection of which will long make them happy4 ,this morning ,i was pitying those whose lives are obscure and joyless2 now1 ,i understand that ,god has provided a compensation with every trial4 ,the smallest pleasure derives from rarity a relish otherwise unknown4 ,enjoyment is only what we feel to be such1 and the luxurious man feels no longer3 satiety has destroyed his appetite1 while privation preserves to the other that first of earthly blessings3 the being easily made happy4 ,oh1 that ,i could persuade every one of this6 that so the rich might not abuse their riches1 and that the poor might have patience4 ,if happiness is the rarest of blessings1 it is because the reception of it is the rarest of virtues4 ,madeleine and ,frances6 ye poor old maids whose courage1 resignation1 and generous hearts are your only wealth1 pray for the wretched who give themselves up to despair2 for the unhappy who hate and envy2 and for the unfeeling into whose enjoyments no pity enters4 ,,book #b4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,uncle ,,maurice ,june #gth1 ,four ,o'clock ,a4,m4 ,i am not surprised at hearing1 when ,i awake1 the birds singing so joyfully outside my window2 it is only by living1 as they and ,i do1 in a top story1 that one comes to know how cheerful the mornings really are up among the roofs4 ,it is there that the sun sends his first rays1 and the breeze comes with the fragrance of the gardens and woods2 there that a wandering butterfly sometimes ventures among the flowers of the attic1 and that the songs of the industrious work-woman welcome the dawn of day4 ,the lower stories are still deep in sleep1 silence1 and shadow1 while here labor1 light1 and song already reign4 ,what life is around me6 ,see the swallow returning from her search for food1 with her beak full of insects for her young ones2 the sparrows shake the dew from their wings while they chase one another in the sunshine2 and my neighbors throw open their windows1 and welcome the morning with their fresh faces6 ,delightful hour of waking1 when everything returns to feeling and to motion2 when the first light of day strikes upon creation1 and brings it to life again1 as the magic wand struck the palace of the ,sleeping ,beauty in the wood6 ,it is a moment of rest from every misery2 the sufferings of the sick are allayed1 and a breath of hope enters into the hearts of the despairing4 ,but1 alas6 it is but a short respite6 ,everything will soon resume its wonted course3 the great human machine1 with its long strains1 its deep gasps1 its collisions1 and its crashes1 will be again put in motion4 ,the tranquillity of this first morning hour reminds me of that of our first years of life4 ,then1 too1 the sun shines brightly1 the air is fragrant1 and the illusions of youth-those birds of our life's morning-sing around us4 ,why do they fly away when we are older8 ,where do this sadness and this solitude1 which gradually steal upon us1 come from8 ,the course seems to be the same with individuals and with communities3 at starting1 so readily made happy1 so easily enchanted2 and at the goal1 the bitter disappointment or reality6 ,the road1 which began among hawthorns and primroses1 ends speedily in deserts or in precipices6 ,why is there so much confidence at first1 so much doubt at last8 ,has1 then1 the knowledge of life no other end but to make it unfit for happiness8 ,must we condemn ourselves to ignorance if we would preserve hope8 ,is the world and is the individual man intended1 after all1 to find rest only in an eternal childhood8 ,how many times have ,i asked myself these questions6 ,solitude has the advantage or the danger of making us continually search more deeply into the same ideas4 ,as our discourse is only with ourself1 we always give the same direction to the conversation2 we are not called to turn it to the subject which occupies another mind1 or interests another's feelings2 and so an involuntary inclination makes us return forever to knock at the same doors6 ,i interrupted my reflections to put my attic in order4 ,i hate the look of disorder1 because it shows either a contempt for details or an unaptness for spiritual life4 ,to arrange the things among which we have to live1 is to establish the relation of property and of use between them and us3 it is to lay the foundation of those habits without which man tends to the savage state4 ,what1 in fact1 is social organization but a series of habits1 settled in accordance with the dispositions of our nature8 ,i distrust both the intellect and the morality of those people to whom disorder is of no consequence--who can live at ease in an ,augean stable4 ,what surrounds us1 reflects more or less that which is within us4 ,the mind is like one of those dark lanterns which1 in spite of everything1 still throw some light around4 ,if our tastes did not reveal our character1 they would be no longer tastes1 but instincts4 ,while ,i was arranging everything in my attic1 my eyes rested on the little almanac hanging over my chimney-piece4 ,i looked for the day of the month1 and ,i saw these words written in large letters3 8,,fete ,,dieu60 ,it is to-day6 ,in this great city1 where there are no longer any public religious solemnities1 there is nothing to remind us of it2 but it is1 in truth1 the period so happily chosen by the primitive church4 8,the day kept in honor of the ,creator10 says ,chateaubriand1 8happens at a time when the heaven and the earth declare ,his power1 when the woods and fields are full of new life1 and all are united by the happiest ties2 there is not a single widowed plant in the fields40 ,what recollections these words have just awakened6 ,i left off what ,i was about1 ,i leaned my elbows on the windowsill1 and1 with my head between my two hands1 ,i went back in thought to the little town where the first days of my childhood were passed4 ,the #8,fete ,dieu' was then one of the great events of my life6 ,it was necessary to be diligent and obedient a long time beforehand1 to deserve to share in it4 ,i still recollect with what raptures of expectation ,i got up on the morning of the day4 ,there was a holy joy in the air4 ,the neighbors1 up earlier than usual1 hung cloths with flowers or figures1 worked in tapestry1 along the streets4 ,i went from one to another1 by turns admiring religious scenes of the ,middle ,ages1 mythological compositions of the ,renaissance1 old battles in the style of ,louis ,,xiv1 and the ,arcadias of ,madame de ,pompadour4 ,all this world of phantoms seemed to be coming forth from the dust of past ages1 to assist--silent and motionless--at the holy ceremony4 ,i looked1 alternately in fear and wonder1 at those terrible warriors with their swords always raised1 those beautiful huntresses shooting the arrow which never left the bow1 and those shepherds in satin breeches always playing the flute at the feet of the perpetually smiling shepherdess4 ,sometimes1 when the wind blew behind these hanging pictures1 it seemed to me that the figures themselves moved1 and ,i watched to see them detach themselves from the wall1 and take their places in the procession6 ,but these impressions were vague and transitory4 ,the feeling that predominated over every other was that of an overflowing yet quiet joy4 ,in the midst of all the floating draperies1 the scattered flowers1 the voices of the maidens1 and the gladness which1 like a perfume1 exhaled from everything1 you felt transported in spite of yourself4 ,the joyful sounds of the festival were repeated in your heart1 in a thousand melodious echoes4 ,you were more indulgent1 more holy1 more loving6 ,for ,god was not only manifesting himself without1 but also within us4 ,and then the altars for the occasion6 the flowery arbors6 the triumphal arches made of green boughs6 ,what competition among the different parishes for the erection of the resting-places where the procession was to halt6 ,it was who should contribute the rarest and the most beautiful of his possessions6 ,it was there ,i made my first sacrifice6 ,the wreaths of flowers were arranged1 the candles lighted1 and the ,tabernacle dressed with roses2 but one was wanting fit to crown the whole6 ,all the neighboring gardens had been ransacked4 ,i alone possessed a flower worthy of such a place4 ,it was on the rose-tree given me by my mother on my birthday4 ,i had watched it for several months1 and there was no other bud to blow on the tree4 ,there it was1 half open1 in its mossy nest1 the object of such long expectations1 and of all a child's pride6 ,i hesitated for some moments4 ,no one had asked me for it2 ,i might easily avoid losing it4 ,i should hear no reproaches1 but one rose noiselessly within me4 ,when every one else had given all they had1 ought ,i alone to keep back my treasure8 ,ought ,i to grudge to ,god one of the gifts which1 like all the rest1 ,i had received from him8 ,at this last thought ,i plucked the flower from the stem1 and took it to put at the top of the ,tabernacle4 ,ah6 why does the recollection of this sacrifice1 which was so hard and yet so sweet to me1 now make me smile8 ,is it so certain that the value of a gift is in itself1 rather than in the intention8 ,if the cup of cold water in the gospel is remembered to the poor man1 why should not the flower be remembered to the child8 ,let us not look down upon the child's simple act of generosity2 it is these which accustom the soul to self-denial and to sympathy4 ,i cherished this moss-rose a long time as a sacred talisman2 ,i had reason to cherish it always1 as the record of the first victory won over myself4 ,it is now many years since ,i witnessed the celebration of the #8,fete ,dieu'2 but should ,i again feel in it the happy sensations of former days8 ,i still remember how1 when the procession had passed1 ,i walked through the streets strewed with flowers and shaded with green boughs4 ,i felt intoxicated by the lingering perfumes of the incense1 mixed with the fragrance of syringas1 jessamine1 and roses1 and ,i seemed no longer to touch the ground as ,i went along4 ,i smiled at everything2 the whole world was ,paradise in my eyes1 and it seemed to me that ,god was floating in the air6 ,moreover1 this feeling was not the excitement of the moment3 it might be more intense on certain days1 but at the same time it continued through the ordinary course of my life4 ,many years thus passed for me in an expansion of heart1 and a trustfulness which prevented sorrow1 if not from coming1 at least from staying with me4 ,sure of not being alone1 ,i soon took heart again1 like the child who recovers its courage1 because it hears its mother's voice close by4 ,why have ,i lost that confidence of my childhood8 ,shall ,i never feel again so deeply that ,god is here8 ,how strange the association of our thoughts6 ,a day of the month recalls my infancy1 and see1 all the recollections of my former years are growing up around me6 ,why was ,i so happy then8 ,i consider well1 and nothing is sensibly changed in my condition4 ,i possess1 as ,i did then1 health and my daily bread2 the only difference is1 that ,i am now responsible for myself6 ,as a child1 ,i accepted life when it came2 another cared and provided for me4 ,so long as ,i fulfilled my present duties ,i was at peace within1 and ,i left the future to the prudence of my father6 ,my destiny was a ship1 in the directing of which ,i had no share1 and in which ,i sailed as a common passenger4 ,there was the whole secret of childhood's happy security4 ,since then worldly wisdom has deprived me of it4 ,when my lot was intrusted to my own and sole keeping1 ,i thought to make myself master of it by means of a long insight into the future4 ,i have filled the present hour with anxieties1 by occupying my thoughts with the future2 ,i have put my judgment in the place of ,providence1 and the happy child is changed into the anxious man4 ,a melancholy course1 yet perhaps an important lesson4 ,who knows that1 if ,i had trusted more to ,him who rules the world1 ,i should not have been spared all this anxiety8 ,it may be that happiness is not possible here below1 except on condition of living like a child1 giving ourselves up to the duties of each day as it comes1 and trusting in the goodness of our heavenly ,father for all besides4 ,this reminds me of my ,uncle ,maurice6 ,whenever ,i have need to strengthen myself in all that is good1 ,i turn my thoughts to him2 ,i see again the gentle expression of his half-smiling1 half-mournful face2 ,i hear his voice1 always soft and soothing as a breath of summer6 ,the remembrance of him protects my life1 and gives it light4 ,he1 too1 was a saint and martyr here below4 ,others have pointed out the path of heaven2 he has taught us to see those of earth aright4 ,but1 except the angels1 who are charged with noting down the sacrifices performed in secret1 and the virtues which are never known1 who has ever heard of my ,uncle ,maurice8 ,perhaps ,i alone remember his name1 and still recall his history4 ,well6 ,i will write it1 not for others1 but for myself6 ,they say that1 at the sight of the ,apollo1 the body erects itself and assumes a more dignified attitude3 in the same way1 the soul should feel itself raised and ennobled by the recollection of a good man's life6 ,a ray of the rising sun lights up the little table on which ,i write2 the breeze brings me in the scent of the mignonette1 and the swallows wheel about my window with joyful twitterings4 ,the image of my ,uncle ,maurice will be in its proper place amid the songs1 the sunshine1 and the fragrance4 ,seven o'clock4--,it is with men's lives as with days3 some dawn radiant with a thousand colors1 others dark with gloomy clouds4 ,that of my ,uncle ,maurice was one of the latter4 ,he was so sickly1 when he came into the world1 that they thought he must die2 but notwithstanding these anticipations1 which might be called hopes1 he continued to live1 suffering and deformed4 ,he was deprived of all joys as well as of all the attractions of childhood4 ,he was oppressed because he was weak1 and laughed at for his deformity4 ,in vain the little hunchback opened his arms to the world3 the world scoffed at him1 and went its way4 ,however1 he still had his mother1 and it was to her that the child directed all the feelings of a heart repelled by others4 ,with her he found shelter1 and was happy1 till he reached the age when a man must take his place in life2 and ,maurice had to content himself with that which others had refused with contempt4 ,his education would have qualified him for any course of life2 and he became an octroi-clerk--,the octroi is the tax on provisions levied at the entrance of the town--in one of the little toll-houses at the entrance of his native town4 ,he was always shut up in this dwelling of a few feet square1 with no relaxation from the office accounts but reading and his mother's visits4 ,on fine summer days she came to work at the door of his hut1 under the shade of a clematis planted by ,maurice4 ,and1 even when she was silent1 her presence was a pleasant change for the hunchback2 he heard the clinking of her long knitting-needles2 he saw her mild and mournful profile1 which reminded him of so many courageously-borne trials2 he could every now and then rest his hand affectionately on that bowed neck1 and exchange a smile with her6 ,this comfort was soon to be taken from him4 ,his old mother fell sick1 and at the end of a few days he had to give up all hope4 ,maurice was overcome at the idea of a separation which would henceforth leave him alone on earth1 and abandoned himself to boundless grief4 ,he knelt by the bedside of the dying woman1 he called her by the fondest names1 he pressed her in his arms1 as if he could so keep her in life4 ,his mother tried to return his caresses1 and to answer him2 but her hands were cold1 her voice was already gone4 ,she could only press her lips against the forehead of her son1 heave a sigh1 and close her eyes forever6 ,they tried to take ,maurice away1 but he resisted them and threw himself on that now motionless form4 8,dead60 cried he2 8dead6 ,she who had never left me1 she who was the only one in the world who loved me6 ,you1 my mother1 dead6 ,what then remains for me here below80 ,a stifled voice replied3 8,god60 ,maurice1 startled1 raised himself6 ,was that a last sigh from the dead1 or his own conscience1 that had answered him8 ,he did not seek to know1 but he understood the answer1 and accepted it4 ,it was then that ,i first knew him4 ,i often went to see him in his little toll-house4 ,he joined in my childish games1 told me his finest stories1 and let me gather his flowers4 ,deprived as he was of all external attractiveness1 he showed himself full of kindness to all who came to him1 and1 though he never would put himself forward1 he had a welcome for everyone4 ,deserted1 despised1 he submitted to everything with a gentle patience2 and while he was thus stretched on the cross of life1 amid the insults of his executioners1 he repeated with ,christ1 8,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do40 ,no other clerk showed so much honesty1 zeal1 and intelligence2 but those who otherwise might have promoted him as his services deserved were repelled by his deformity4 ,as he had no patrons1 he found his claims were always disregarded4 ,they preferred before him those who were better able to make themselves agreeable1 and seemed to be granting him a favor when letting him keep the humble office which enabled him to live4 ,uncle ,maurice bore injustice as he had borne contempt2 unfairly treated by men1 he raised his eyes higher1 and trusted in the justice of ,him who cannot be deceived4 ,he lived in an old house in the suburb1 where many work-people1 as poor but not as forlorn as he1 also lodged4 ,among these neighbors there was a single woman1 who lived by herself in a little garret1 into which came both wind and rain4 ,she was a young girl1 pale1 silent1 and with nothing to recommend her but her wretchedness and her resignation to it4 ,she was never seen speaking to any other woman1 and no song cheered her garret4 ,she worked without interest and without relaxation2 a depressing gloom seemed to envelop her like a shroud4 ,her dejection affected ,maurice2 he attempted to speak to her2 she replied mildly1 but in few words4 ,it was easy to see that she preferred her silence and her solitude to the little hunchback's good-will2 he perceived it1 and said no more4 ,but ,toinette's needle was hardly sufficient for her support1 and presently work failed her6 ,maurice learned that the poor girl was in want of everything1 and that the tradesmen refused to give her credit4 ,he immediately went to them privately and engaged to pay them for what they supplied ,toinette with4 ,things went on in this way for several months4 ,the young dressmaker continued out of work1 until she was at last frightened at the bills she had contracted with the shopkeepers4 ,when she came to an explanation with them1 everything was discovered4 ,her first impulse was to run to ,uncle ,maurice1 and thank him on her knees4 ,her habitual reserve had given way to a burst of deepest feeling4 ,it seemed as if gratitude had melted all the ice of that numbed heart4 ,being now no longer embarrassed with a secret1 the little hunchback could give greater efficacy to his good offices4 ,toinette became to him a sister1 for whose wants he had a right to provide4 ,it was the first time since the death of his mother that he had been able to share his life with another4 ,the young woman received his attentions with feeling1 but with reserve4 ,all ,maurice's efforts were insufficient to dispel her gloom3 she seemed touched by his kindness1 and sometimes expressed her sense of it with warmth2 but there she stopped4 ,her heart was a closed book1 which the little hunchback might bend over1 but could not read4 ,in truth he cared little to do so2 he gave himself up to the happiness of being no longer alone1 and took ,toinette such as her long trials had made her2 he loved her as she was1 and wished for nothing else but still to enjoy her company4 ,this thought insensibly took possession of his mind1 to the exclusion of all besides4 ,the poor girl was as forlorn as himself2 she had become accustomed to the deformity of the hunchback1 and she seemed to look on him with an affectionate sympathy6 ,what more could he wish for8 ,until then1 the hopes of making himself acceptable to a helpmate had been repelled by ,maurice as a dream2 but chance seemed willing to make it a reality4 ,after much hesitation he took courage1 and decided to speak to her4 ,it was evening2 the little hunchback1 in much agitation1 directed his steps toward the work-woman's garret just as he was about to enter1 he thought he heard a strange voice pronouncing the maiden's name4 ,he quickly pushed open the door1 and perceived ,toinette weeping1 and leaning on the shoulder of a young man in the dress of a sailor4 ,at the sight of my uncle1 she disengaged herself quickly1 and ran to him1 crying out3 8,ah6 come in--come in6 ,it is he that ,i thought was dead3 it is ,julien2 it is my betrothed60 ,maurice tottered1 and drew back4 ,a single word had told him all6 ,it seemed to him as if the ground shook and his heart was about to break2 but the same voice that he had heard by his mother's deathbed again sounded in his ears1 and he soon recovered himself4 ,god was still his friend6 ,he himself accompanied the newly-married pair on the road when they left the town1 and1 after wishing them all the happiness which was denied to him1 he returned with resignation to the old house in the suburb4 ,it was there that he ended his life1 forsaken by men1 but not as he said by the ,father which is in heaven4 ,he felt ,his presence everywhere2 it was to him in the place of all else4 ,when he died1 it was with a smile1 and like an exile setting out for his own country4 ,he who had consoled him in poverty and ill-health1 when he was suffering from injustice and forsaken by all1 had made death a gain and blessing to him4 ,eight o'clock4--,all ,i have just written has pained me6 ,till now ,i have looked into life for instruction how to live4 ,is it then true that human maxims are not always sufficient8 that beyond goodness1 prudence1 moderation1 humility1 self-sacrifice itself1 there is one great truth1 which alone can face great misfortunes8 and that1 if man has need of virtues for others1 he has need of religion for himself8 ,when1 in youth1 we drink our wine with a merry heart1 as the ,scripture expresses it1 we think we are sufficient for ourselves2 strong1 happy1 and beloved1 we believe1 like ,ajax1 we shall be able to escape every storm in spite of the gods4 ,but later in life1 when the back is bowed1 when happiness proves a fading flower1 and the affections grow chill-then1 in fear of the void and the darkness1 we stretch out our arms1 like the child overtaken by night1 and we call for help to ,him who is everywhere4 ,i was asking this morning why this growing confusion alike for society and for the individual8 ,in vain does human reason from hour to hour light some new torch on the roadside3 the night continues to grow ever darker6 ,is it not because we are content to withdraw farther and farther from ,god1 the ,sun of spirits8 ,but what do these hermit's reveries signify to the world8 ,the inward turmoils of most men are stifled by the outward ones2 life does not give them time to question themselves4 ,have they time to know what they are1 and what they should be1 whose whole thoughts are in the next lease or the last price of stock8 ,heaven is very high1 and wise men look only at the earth4 ,but ,i--poor savage amid all this civilization1 who seek neither power nor riches1 and who have found in my own thoughts the home and shelter of my spirit--,i can go back with impunity to these recollections of my childhood2 and1 if this our great city no longer honors the name of ,god with a festival1 ,i will strive still to keep the feast to ,him in my heart4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,price ,,of ,,power ,,and ,,the ,,worth ,,of ,,fame ,sunday1 ,july #ast ,yesterday the month dedicated to ,juno 7,junius1 ,june7 by the ,romans ended4 ,to-day we enter on ,july4 ,in ancient ,rome this latter month was called ,quintiles 7the fifth71 because the year1 which was then divided into only ten parts1 began in ,march4 ,when ,numa ,pompilius divided it into twelve months this name of ,quintiles was preserved1 as well as those that followed--,sexteles1 ,september1 ,october1 ,november1 ,december--although these designations did not accord with the newly arranged order of the months4 ,at last1 after a time the month ,quintiles1 in which ,julius ,caesar was born1 was called ,julius1 whence we have ,july4 ,thus this name1 placed in the calendar1 is become the imperishable record of a great man2 it is an immortal epitaph on ,time's highway1 engraved by the admiration of man4 ,how many similar inscriptions are there6 ,seas1 continents1 mountains1 stars1 and monuments1 have all in succession served the same purpose6 ,we have turned the whole world into a ,golden ,book1 like that in which the state of ,venice used to enroll its illustrious names and its great deeds4 ,it seems that mankind feels a necessity for honoring itself in its elect ones1 and that it raises itself in its own eyes by choosing heroes from among its own race4 ,the human family love to preserve the memory2 of the parvenus of glory1 as we cherish that of a great ancestor1 or of a benefactor4 ,in fact1 the talents granted to a single individual do not benefit himself alone1 but are gifts to the world2 everyone shares them1 for everyone suffers or benefits by his actions4 ,genius is a lighthouse1 meant to give light from afar2 the man who bears it is but the rock upon which this lighthouse is built4 ,i love to dwell upon these thoughts2 they explain to me in what consists our admiration for glory4 ,when glory has benefited men1 that admiration is gratitude2 when it is only remarkable in itself1 it is the pride of race2 as men1 we love to immortalize the most shining examples of humanity4 ,who knows whether we do not obey the same instinct in submitting to the hand of power8 ,apart from the requirements of a gradation of ranks1 or the consequences of a conquest1 the multitude delight to surround their chiefs with privileges--whether it be that their vanity makes them thus to aggrandize one of their own creations1 or whether they try to conceal the humiliation of subjection by exaggerating the importance of those who rule them4 ,they wish to honor themselves through their master2 they elevate him on their shoulders as on a pedestal2 they surround him with a halo of light1 in order that some of it may be reflected upon themselves4 ,it is still the fable of the dog who contents himself with the chain and collar1 so that they are of gold4 ,this servile vanity is not less natural or less common than the vanity of dominion4 ,whoever feels himself incapable of command1 at least desires to obey a powerful chief4 ,serfs have been known to consider themselves dishonored when they became the property of a mere count after having been that of a prince1 and ,saint-,simon mentions a valet who would only wait upon marquises4 ,july #gth1 seven o'clock ,p4 ,m4--,i have just now been up the ,boulevards2 it was the opera night1 and there was a crowd of carriages in the ,rue ,lepelletier4 ,the foot-passengers who were stopped at a crossing recognized the persons in some of these as we went by1 and mentioned their names2 they were those of celebrated or powerful men1 the successful ones of the day4 ,near me there was a man looking on with hollow cheeks and eager eyes1 whose thin black coat was threadbare4 ,he followed with envious looks these possessors of the privileges of power or of fame1 and ,i read on his lips1 which curled with a bitter smile1 all that passed in his mind4 8,look at them1 the lucky fellows60 thought he2 8all the pleasures of wealth1 all the enjoyments of pride1 are theirs4 ,their names are renowned1 all their wishes fulfilled2 they are the sovereigns of the world1 either by their intellect or their power2 and while ,i1 poor and unknown1 toil painfully along the road below1 they wing their way over the mountain-tops gilded by the broad sunshine of prosperity40 ,i have come home in deep thought4 ,is it true that there are these inequalities1 ,i do not say in the fortunes1 but in the happiness of men8 ,do genius and authority really wear life as a crown1 while the greater part of mankind receive it as a yoke8 ,is the difference of rank but a different use of men's dispositions and talents1 or a real inequality in their destinies8 ,a solemn question1 as it regards the verification of ,god's impartiality4 ,july #hth1 noon4--,i went this morning to call upon a friend from the same province as myself1 who is the first usher-in-waiting to one of our ministers4 ,i took him some letters from his family1 left for him by a traveller just come from ,brittany4 ,he wished me to stay4 8,to-day10 said he1 8the ,minister gives no audience3 he takes a day of rest with his family4 ,his younger sisters are arrived2 he will take them this morning to ,st4 ,cloud1 and in the evening he has invited his friends to a private ball4 ,i shall be dismissed directly for the rest of the day4 ,we can dine together2 read the news while you are waiting for me40 ,i sat down at a table covered with newspapers1 all of which ,i looked over by turns4 ,most of them contained severe criticisms on the last political acts of the minister2 some of them added suspicions as to the honor of the minister himself4 ,just as ,i had finished reading1 a secretary came for them to take them to his master4 ,he was then about to read these accusations1 to suffer silently the abuse of all those tongues which were holding him up to indignation or to scorn6 ,like the ,roman victor in his triumph1 he had to endure the insults of him who followed his car1 relating to the crowd his follies1 his ignorance1 or his vices4 ,but1 among the arrows shot at him from every side1 would no one be found poisoned8 ,would not one reach some spot in his heart where the wound would be incurable8 ,what is the worth of a life exposed to the attacks of envious hatred or furious conviction8 ,the ,christians yielded only the fragments of their flesh to the beasts of the amphitheatres2 the man in power gives up his peace1 his affections1 his honor1 to the cruel bites of the pen4 ,while ,i was musing upon these dangers of greatness1 the usher entered hastily4 ,important news had been received3 the minister is just summoned to the council2 he will not be able to take his sisters to ,st4 ,cloud4 ,i saw1 through the windows1 the young ladies1 who were waiting at the door1 sorrowfully go upstairs again1 while their brother went off to the council4 ,the carriage1 which should have gone filled with so much family happiness1 is just out of sight1 carrying only the cares of a statesman in it4 ,the usher came back discontented and disappointed4 ,the more or less of liberty which he is allowed to enjoy1 is his barometer of the political atmosphere4 ,if he gets leave1 all goes well2 if he is kept at his post1 the country is in danger4 ,his opinion on public affairs is but a calculation of his own interest4 ,my friend is almost a statesman4 ,i had some conversation with him1 and he told me several curious particulars of public life4 ,the new minister has old friends whose opinions he opposes1 though he still retains his personal regard for them4 ,though separated from them by the colors he fights under1 they remain united by old associations2 but the exigencies of party forbid him to meet them4 ,if their intercourse continued1 it would awaken suspicion2 people would imagine that some dishonorable bargain was going on2 his friends would be held to be traitors desirous to sell themselves1 and he the corrupt minister prepared to buy them4 ,he has1 therefore1 been obliged to break off friendships of twenty years' standing1 and to sacrifice attachments which had become a second nature4 ,sometimes1 however1 the minister still gives way to his old feelings2 he receives or visits his friends privately2 he shuts himself up with them1 and talks of the times when they could be open friends4 ,by dint of precautions they have hitherto succeeded in concealing this blot of friendship against policy2 but sooner or later the newspapers will be informed of it1 and will denounce him to the country as an object of distrust4 ,for whether hatred be honest or dishonest1 it never shrinks from any accusation4 ,sometimes it even proceeds to crime4 ,the usher assured me that several warnings had been given the minister which had made him fear the vengeance of an assassin1 and that he no longer ventured out on foot4 ,then1 from one thing to another1 ,i learned what temptations came in to mislead or overcome his judgment2 how he found himself fatally led into obliquities which he could not but deplore4 ,misled by passion1 over-persuaded by entreaties1 or compelled for reputation's sake1 he has many times held the balance with an unsteady hand4 ,how sad the condition of him who is in authority6 ,not only are the miseries of power imposed upon him1 but its vices also1 which1 not content with torturing1 succeed in corrupting him4 ,we prolonged our conversation till it was interrupted by the minister's return4 ,he threw himself out of the carriage with a handful of papers1 and with an anxious manner went into his own room4 ,an instant afterward his bell was heard2 his secretary was called to send off notices to all those invited for the evening2 the ball would not take place2 they spoke mysteriously of bad news transmitted by the telegraph1 and in such circumstances an entertainment would seem to insult the public sorrow4 ,i took leave of my friend1 and here ,i am at home4 ,what ,i have just seen is an answer to my doubts the other day4 ,now ,i know with what pangs men pay for their dignities2 now ,i understand ,that ,fortune sells what we believe she gives4 ,this explains to me the reason why ,charles ,v4 aspired to the repose of the cloister4 ,and yet ,i have only glanced at some of the sufferings attached to power4 ,what shall ,i say of the falls in which its possessors are precipitated from the heights of heaven to the very depths of the earth8 of that path of pain along which they must forever bear the burden of their responsibility8 of that chain of decorums and ennuis which encompasses every act of their lives1 and leaves them so little liberty8 ,the partisans of despotism adhere with reason to forms and ceremonies4 ,if men wish to give unlimited power to their fellow-man1 they must keep him separated from ordinary humanity2 they must surround him with a continual worship1 and1 by a constant ceremonial1 keep up for him the superhuman part they have granted him4 ,our masters cannot remain absolute1 except on condition of being treated as idols4 ,but1 after all1 these idols are men1 and1 if the exclusive life they must lead is an insult to the dignity of others1 it is also a torment to themselves4 ,everyone knows the law of the ,spanish court1 which used to regulate1 hour by hour1 the actions of the king and queen2 8so that10 says ,voltaire1 8by reading it one can tell all that the sovereigns of ,spain have done1 or will do1 from ,philip ,,ii to the day of judgment40 ,it was by this law that ,philip ,,iii1 when sick1 was obliged to endure such an excess of heat that he died in consequence1 because the ,duke of ,uzeda1 who alone had the right to put out the fire in the royal chamber1 happened to be absent4 ,when the wife of ,charles ,,ii was run away with on a spirited horse1 she was about to perish before anyone dared to save her1 because etiquette forbade them to touch the queen4 ,two young officers endangered their lives for her by stopping the horse4 ,the prayers and tears of her whom they had just snatched from death were necessary to obtain pardon for their crime4 ,every one knows the anecdote related by ,madame ,campan of ,marie ,antoinette1 wife of ,louis ,,xvi4 ,one day1 being at her toilet1 when the chemise was about to be presented to her by one of the assistants1 a lady of very ancient family entered and claimed the honor1 as she had the right by etiquette2 but1 at the moment she was about to fulfil her duty1 a lady of higher rank appeared1 and in her turn took the garment she was about to offer to the queen2 when a third lady of still higher title came in her turn1 and was followed by a fourth1 who was no other than the king's sister4 ,the chemise was in this manner passed from hand to hand1 with ceremonies1 courtesies1 and compliments1 before it came to the queen1 who1 half naked and quite ashamed1 was shivering with cold for the great honor of etiquette4 #abth1 seven o'clock1 ,p4,m4--,on coming home this evening1 ,i saw1 standing at the door of a house1 an old man1 whose appearance and features reminded me of my father4 ,there was the same beautiful smile1 the same deep and penetrating eye1 the same noble bearing of the head1 and the same careless attitude4 ,i began living over again the first years of my life1 and recalling to myself the conversations of that guide whom ,god in his mercy had given me1 and whom in his severity he had too soon withdrawn4 ,when my father spoke1 it was not only to bring our two minds together by an interchange of thought1 but his words always contained instruction4 ,not that he endeavored to make me feel it so3 my father feared everything that had the appearance of a lesson4 ,he used to say that virtue could make herself devoted friends1 but she did not take pupils3 therefore he was not desirous to teach goodness2 he contented himself with sowing the seeds of it1 certain that experience would make them grow4 ,how often has good grain fallen thus into a corner of the heart1 and1 when it has been long forgotten1 all at once put forth the blade and come into ear6 ,it is a treasure laid aside in a time of ignorance1 and we do not know its value till we find ourselves in need of it4 ,among the stories with which he enlivened our walks or our evenings1 there is one which now returns to my memory1 doubtless because the time is come to derive its lesson from it4 ,my father1 who was apprenticed at the age of twelve to one of those trading collectors who call themselves naturalists1 because they put all creation under glasses that they may sell it by retail1 had always led a life of poverty and labor4 ,obliged to rise before daybreak1 by turns shop-boy1 clerk1 and laborer1 he was made to bear alone all the work of a trade of which his master reaped all the profits4 ,in truth1 this latter had a peculiar talent for making the most of the labor of other people4 ,though unfit himself for the execution of any kind of work1 no one knew better how to sell it4 ,his words were a net1 in which people found themselves taken before they were aware4 ,and since he was devoted to himself alone1 and looked on the producer as his enemy1 and the buyer as prey1 he used them both with that obstinate perseverance which avarice teaches4 ,my father was a slave all the week1 and could call himself his own only on ,sunday4 ,the master naturalist1 who used to spend the day at the house of an old female relative1 then gave him his liberty on condition that he dined out1 and at his own expense4 ,but my father used secretly to take with him a crust of bread1 which he hid in his botanizing-box1 and1 leaving ,paris as soon as it was day1 he would wander far into the valley of ,montmorency1 the wood of ,meudon1 or among the windings of the ,marne4 ,excited by the fresh air1 the penetrating perfume of the growing vegetation1 or the fragrance of the honeysuckles1 he would walk on until hunger or fatigue made itself felt4 ,then he would sit under a hedge1 or by the side of a stream1 and would make a rustic feast1 by turns on watercresses1 wood strawberries1 and blackberries picked from the hedges2 he would gather a few plants1 read a few pages of ,florian1 then in greatest vogue1 of ,gessner1 who was just translated1 or of ,jean ,jacques1 of whom he possessed three old volumes4 ,the day was thus passed alternately in activity and rest1 in pursuit and meditation1 until the declining sun warned him to take again the road to ,paris1 where he would arrive1 his feet torn and dusty1 but his mind invigorated for a whole week4 ,one day1 as he was going toward the wood of ,viroflay1 he met1 close to it1 a stranger who was occupied in botanizing and in sorting the plants he had just gathered4 ,he was an elderly man with an honest face2 but his eyes1 which were rather deep-set under his eyebrows1 had a somewhat uneasy and timid expression4 ,he was dressed in a brown cloth coat1 a gray waistcoat1 black breeches1 and worsted stockings1 and held an ivory-headed cane under his arm4 ,his appearance was that of a small retired tradesman who was living on his means1 and rather below the golden mean of ,horace4 ,my father1 who had great respect for age1 civilly raised his hat to him as he passed4 ,in doing so1 a plant he held fell from his hand2 the stranger stooped to take it up1 and recognized it4 8,it is a ,deutaria heptaphyllos10 said he2 8,i have not yet seen any of them in these woods2 did you find it near here1 sir80 ,my father replied that it was to be found in abundance on the top of the hill1 toward ,sevres1 as well as the great ,laserpitium4 8,that1 too60 repeated the old man more briskly4 8,ah6 ,i shall go and look for them2 ,i have gathered them formerly on the hillside of ,robaila40 ,my father proposed to take him4 ,the stranger accepted his proposal with thanks1 and hastened to collect together the plants he had gathered2 but all of a sudden he appeared seized with a scruple4 ,he observed to his companion that the road he was going was halfway up the hill1 and led in the direction of the castle of the ,dames ,royales at ,bellevue2 that by going to the top he would consequently turn out of his road1 and that it was not right he should take this trouble for a stranger4 ,my father insisted upon it with his habitual good-nature2 but1 the more eagerness he showed1 the more obstinately the old man refused2 it even seemed to my father that his good intention at last excited his suspicion4 ,he therefore contented himself with pointing out the road to the stranger1 whom he saluted1 and he soon lost sight of him4 ,many hours passed by1 and he thought no more of the meeting4 ,he had reached the copses of ,chaville1 where1 stretched on the ground in a mossy glade1 he read once more the last volume of ,emile4 ,the delight of reading it had so completely absorbed him that he had ceased to see or hear anything around him4 ,with his cheeks flushed and his eyes moist1 he repeated aloud a passage which had particularly affected him4 ,an exclamation uttered close by him awoke him from his ecstasy2 he raised his head1 and perceived the tradesman-looking person he had met before on the crossroad at ,viroflay4 ,he was loaded with plants1 the collection of which seemed to have put him into high good-humor4 8,a thousand thanks1 sir10 said he to my father4 8,i have found all that you told me of1 and ,i am indebted to you for a charming walk40 ,my father respectfully rose1 and made a civil reply4 ,the stranger had grown quite familiar1 and even asked if his young 8brother botanist0 did not think of returning to ,paris4 ,my father replied in the affirmative1 and opened his tin box to put his book back in it4 ,the stranger asked him with a smile if he might without impertinence ask the name of it4 ,my father answered that it was ,rousseau's ,emile4 ,the stranger immediately became grave4 ,they walked for some time side by side1 my father expressing1 with the warmth of a heart still throbbing with emotion1 all that this work had made him feel2 his companion remaining cold and silent4 ,the former extolled the glory of the great ,genevese writer1 whose genius had made him a citizen of the world2 he expatiated on this privilege of great thinkers1 who reign in spite of time and space1 and gather together a people of willing subjects out of all nations2 but the stranger suddenly interrupted him3 8,and how do you know10 said he1 mildly1 8whether ,jean ,jacques would not exchange the reputation which you seem to envy for the life of one of the wood-cutters whose chimneys' smoke we see8 ,what has fame brought him except persecution8 ,the unknown friends whom his books may have made for him content themselves with blessing him in their hearts1 while the declared enemies that they have drawn upon him pursue him with violence and calumny6 ,his pride has been flattered by success3 how many times has it been wounded by satire8 ,and be assured that human pride is like the ,sybarite who was prevented from sleeping by a crease in a roseleaf4 ,the activity of a vigorous mind1 by which the world profits1 almost always turns against him who possesses it4 ,he expects more from it as he grows older2 the ideal he pursues continually disgusts him with the actual2 he is like a man who1 with a too-refined sight1 discerns spots and blemishes in the most beautiful face4 ,i will not speak of stronger temptations and of deeper downfalls4 ,genius1 you have said1 is a kingdom2 but what virtuous man is not afraid of being a king8 ,he who feels only his great powers1 is--with the weaknesses and passions of our nature--preparing for great failures4 ,believe me1 sir1 the unhappy man who wrote this book is no object of admiration or of envy2 but1 if you have a feeling heart1 pity him60 ,my father1 astonished at the excitement with which his companion pronounced these last words1 did not know what to answer4 ,just then they reached the paved road which led from ,meudon ,castle to that of ,versailles2 a carriage was passing4 ,the ladies who were in it perceived the old man1 uttered an exclamation of surprise1 and leaning out of the window repeated3 8,there is ,jean ,jacques--there is ,rousseau60 ,then the carriage disappeared in the distance4 ,my father remained motionless1 confounded1 and amazed1 his eyes wide open1 and his hands clasped4 ,rousseau1 who had shuddered on hearing his name spoken1 turned toward him3 8,you see10 said he1 with the bitter misanthropy which his later misfortunes had produced in him1 8,jean ,jacques cannot even hide himself3 he is an object of curiosity to some1 of malignity to others1 and to all he is a public thing1 at which they point the finger4 ,it would signify less if he had only to submit to the impertinence of the idle2 but1 as soon as a man has had the misfortune to make himself a name1 he becomes public property4 ,every one rakes into his life1 relates his most trivial actions1 and insults his feelings2 he becomes like those walls1 which every passer-by may deface with some abusive writing4 ,perhaps you will say that ,i have myself encouraged this curiosity by publishing my ,confessions4 ,but the world forced me to it4 ,they looked into my house through the blinds1 and they slandered me2 ,i have opened the doors and windows1 so that they should at least know me such as ,i am4 ,adieu1 sir4 ,whenever you wish to know the worth of fame1 remember that you have seen ,rousseau40 ,nine o'clock4--,ah6 now ,i understand my father's story6 ,it contains the answer to one of the questions ,i asked myself a week ago4 ,yes1 ,i now feel that fame and power are gifts that are dearly bought2 and that1 when they dazzle the soul1 both are oftenest1 as ,madame de ,stael says1 but #8un deuil eclatant de bonheur6 #8,tis better to be lowly born1 ,and range with humble livers in content1 ,than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief1 ,and wear a golden sorrow4 ,henry ,,viii41 ,act ,,ii41 ,scene #c4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,misanthropy ,,and ,,repentance ,august #c;d1 ,nine ,o'clock ,p4,m4 ,there are days when everything appears gloomy to us2 the world1 like the sky1 is covered by a dark fog4 ,nothing seems in its place2 we see only misery1 improvidence1 and cruelty2 the world seems without ,god1 and given up to all the evils of chance4 ,yesterday ,i was in this unhappy humor4 ,after a long walk in the faubourgs1 ,i returned home1 sad and dispirited4 ,everything ,i had seen seemed to accuse the civilization of which we are so proud6 ,i had wandered into a little by-street1 with which ,i was not acquainted1 and ,i found myself suddenly in the middle of those dreadful abodes where the poor are born1 to languish and die4 ,i looked at those decaying walls1 which time has covered with a foul leprosy2 those windows1 from which dirty rags hang out to dry2 those fetid gutters1 which coil along the fronts of the houses like venomous reptiles6 ,i felt oppressed with grief1 and hastened on4 ,a little farther on ,i was stopped by the hearse of a hospital2 a dead man1 nailed down in his deal coffin1 was going to his last abode1 without funeral pomp or ceremony1 and without followers4 ,there was not here even that last friend of the outcast--the dog1 which a painter has introduced as the sole attendant at the pauper's burial6 ,he whom they were preparing to commit to the earth was going to the tomb1 as he had lived1 alone2 doubtless no one would be aware of his end4 ,in this battle of society1 what signifies a soldier the less8 ,but what1 then1 is this human society1 if one of its members can thus disappear like a leaf carried away by the wind8 ,the hospital was near a barrack1 at the entrance of which old men1 women1 and children were quarrelling for the remains of the coarse bread which the soldiers had given them in charity6 ,thus1 beings like ourselves daily wait in destitution on our compassion till we give them leave to live6 ,whole troops of outcasts1 in addition to the trials imposed on all ,god's children1 have to endure the pangs of cold1 hunger1 and humiliation4 ,unhappy human commonwealth6 ,where man is in a worse condition than the bee in its hive1 or the ant in its subterranean city6 ,ah6 what then avails our reason8 ,what is the use of so many high faculties1 if we are neither the wiser nor the happier for them8 ,which of us would not exchange his life of labor and trouble with that of the birds of the air1 to whom the whole world is a life of joy8 ,how well ,i understand the complaint of ,mao1 in the popular tales of the #8,foyer ,breton' who1 when dying of hunger and thirst1 says1 as he looks at the bullfinches rifling the fruit-trees3 8,alas6 those birds are happier than ,christians2 they have no need of inns1 or butchers1 or bakers1 or gardeners4 ,god's heaven belongs to them1 and earth spreads a continual feast before them6 ,the tiny flies are their game1 ripe grass their cornfields1 and hips and haws their store of fruit4 ,they have the right of taking everywhere1 without paying or asking leave3 thus comes it that the little birds are happy1 and sing all the livelong day60 ,but the life of man in a natural state is like that of the birds2 he equally enjoys nature4 8,the earth spreads a continual feast before him40 ,what1 then1 has he gained by that selfish and imperfect association which forms a nation8 ,would it not be better for every one to turn again to the fertile bosom of nature1 and live there upon her bounty in peace and liberty8 ,august #bjth1 four o'clock ,a4,m4--,the dawn casts a red glow on my bed-curtains2 the breeze brings in the fragrance of the gardens below4 ,here ,i am again leaning on my elbows by the windows1 inhaling the freshness and gladness of this first wakening of the day4 ,my eye always passes over the roofs filled with flowers1 warbling1 and sunlight1 with the same pleasure2 but to-day it stops at the end of a buttress which separates our house from the next4 ,the storms have stripped the top of its plaster covering1 and dust carried by the wind has collected in the crevices1 and1 being fixed there by the rain1 has formed a sort of aerial terrace1 where some green grass has sprung up4 ,among it rises a stalk of wheat1 which to-day is surmounted by a sickly ear that droops its yellow head4 ,this poor stray crop on the roofs1 the harvest of which will fall to the neighboring sparrows1 has carried my thoughts to the rich crops which are now falling beneath the sickle2 it has recalled to me the beautiful walks ,i took as a child through my native province1 when the threshing-floors at the farmhouses resounded from every part with the sound of a flail1 and when the carts1 loaded with golden sheaves1 came in by all the roads4 ,i still remember the songs of the maidens1 the cheerfulness of the old men1 the open-hearted merriment of the laborers4 ,there was1 at that time1 something in their looks both of pride and feeling4 ,the latter came from thankfulness to ,god1 the former from the sight of the harvest1 the reward of their labor4 ,they felt indistinctly the grandeur and the holiness of their part in the general work of the world2 they looked with pride upon their mountains of corn-sheaves1 and they seemed to say1 ,next to ,god1 it is we who feed the world6 ,what a wonderful order there is in all human labor6 ,while the husbandman furrows his land1 and prepares for every one his daily bread1 the town artizan1 far away1 weaves the stuff in which he is to be clothed2 the miner seeks underground the iron for his plow2 the soldier defends him against the invader2 the judge takes care that the law protects his fields2 the tax-comptroller adjusts his private interests with those of the public2 the merchant occupies himself in exchanging his products with those of distant countries2 the men of science and of art add every day a few horses to this ideal team1 which draws along the material world1 as steam impels the gigantic trains of our iron roads6 ,thus all unite together1 all help one another2 the toil of each one benefits himself and all the world2 the work has been apportioned among the different members of the whole of society by a tacit agreement4 ,if1 in this apportionment1 errors are committed1 if certain individuals have not been employed according to their capacities1 those defects of detail diminish in the sublime conception of the whole4 ,the poorest man included in this association has his place1 his work1 his reason for being there2 each is something in the whole4 ,there is nothing like this for man in the state of nature4 ,as he depends only upon himself1 it is necessary that he be sufficient for everything4 ,all creation is his property2 but he finds in it as many hindrances as helps4 ,he must surmount these obstacles with the single strength that ,god has given him2 he cannot reckon on any other aid than chance and opportunity4 ,no one reaps1 manufactures1 fights1 or thinks for him2 he is nothing to any one4 ,he is a unit multiplied by the cipher of his own single powers2 while the civilized man is a unit multiplied by the whole of society4 ,but1 notwithstanding this1 the other day1 disgusted by the sight of some vices in detail1 ,i cursed the latter1 and almost envied the life of the savage4 ,one of the infirmities of our nature is always to mistake feeling for evidence1 and to judge of the season by a cloud or a ray of sunshine4 ,was the misery1 the sight of which made me regret a savage life1 really the effect of civilization8 ,must we accuse society of having created these evils1 or acknowledge1 on the contrary1 that it has alleviated them8 ,could the women and children1 who were receiving the coarse bread from the soldier1 hope in the desert for more help or pity8 ,that dead man1 whose forsaken state ,i deplored1 had he not found1 by the cares of a hospital1 a coffin and the humble grave where he was about to rest8 ,alone1 and far from men1 he would have died like the wild beast in his den1 and would now be serving as food for vultures6 ,these benefits of human society are shared1 then1 by the most destitute4 ,whoever eats the bread that another has reaped and kneaded1 is under an obligation to his brother1 and cannot say he owes him nothing in return4 ,the poorest of us has received from society much more than his own single strength would have permitted him to wrest from nature4 ,but cannot society give us more8 ,who doubts it8 ,errors have been committed in this distribution of tasks and workers4 ,time will diminish the number of them2 with new lights a better division will arise2 the elements of society go on toward perfection1 like everything else4 ,the difficulty is to know how to adapt ourselves to the slow step of time1 whose progress can never be forced on without danger4 ,august #adth1 six o'clock ,a4,m4--,my garret window rises upon the roof like a massive watch-tower4 ,the corners are covered by large sheets of lead1 which run into the tiles2 the successive action of cold and heat has made them rise1 and so a crevice has been formed in an angle on the right side4 ,there a sparrow has built her nest4 ,i have followed the progress of this aerial habitation from the first day4 ,i have seen the bird successively bring the straw1 moss1 and wool designed for the construction of her abode2 and ,i have admired the persevering skill she expended in this difficult work4 ,at first1 my new neighbor spent her days in fluttering over the poplar in the garden1 and in chirping along the gutters2 a fine lady's life seemed the only one to suit her4 ,then all of a sudden1 the necessity of preparing a shelter for her brood transformed our idler into a worker2 she no longer gave herself either rest or relaxation4 ,i saw her always either flying1 fetching1 or carrying2 neither rain nor sun stopped her4 ,a striking example of the power of necessity6 ,we are indebted to it not only for most of our talents1 but for many of our virtues6 ,is it not necessity that has given the people of less favored climates that constant activity which has placed them so quickly at the head of nations8 ,as they are deprived of most of the gifts of nature1 they have supplied them by their industry2 necessity has sharpened their understanding1 endurance awakened their foresight4 ,while elsewhere man1 warmed by an ever brilliant sun1 and loaded with the bounties of the earth1 was remaining poor1 ignorant1 and naked1 in the midst of gifts he did not attempt to explore1 here he was forced by necessity to wrest his food from the ground1 to build habitations to defend himself from the intemperance of the weather1 and to warm his body by clothing himself with the wool of animals4 ,work makes him both more intelligent and more robust3 disciplined by it1 he seems to mount higher on the ladder of creation1 while those more favored by nature remain on the step nearest to the brutes4 ,i made these reflections while looking at the bird1 whose instinct seemed to have become more acute since she had been occupied in work4 ,at last the nest was finished2 she set up her household there1 and ,i followed her through all the phases of her new existence4 ,when she had sat on the eggs1 and the young ones were hatched1 she fed them with the most attentive care4 ,the corner of my window had become a stage of moral action1 which fathers and mothers might come to take lessons from4 ,the little ones soon became large1 and this morning ,i have seen them take their first flight4 ,one of them1 weaker than the others1 was not able to clear the edge of the roof1 and fell into the gutter4 ,i caught him with some difficulty1 and placed him again on the tile in front of his house1 but the mother has not noticed him4 ,once freed from the cares of a family1 she has resumed her wandering life among the trees and along the roofs4 ,in vain ,i have kept away from my window1 to take from her every excuse for fear2 in vain the feeble little bird has called to her with plaintive cries2 his bad mother has passed by1 singing and fluttering with a thousand airs and graces4 ,once only the father came near2 he looked at his offspring with contempt1 and then disappeared1 never to return6 ,i crumbled some bread before the little orphan1 but he did not know how to peck it with his bill4 ,i tried to catch him1 but he escaped into the forsaken nest4 ,what will become of him there1 if his mother does not come back6 ,august #aeth1 six o'clock4--,this morning1 on opening my window1 ,i found the little bird dying upon the tiles2 his wounds showed me that he had been driven from the nest by his unworthy mother4 ,i tried in vain to warm him again with my breath2 ,i felt the last pulsations of life2 his eyes were already closed1 and his wings hung down6 ,i placed him on the roof in a ray of sunshine1 and ,i closed my window4 ,the struggle of life against death has always something gloomy in it3 it is a warning to us4 ,happily ,i hear some one in the passage2 without doubt it is my old neighbor2 his conversation will distract my thoughts4 ,it was my portress4 ,excellent woman6 ,she wished me to read a letter from her son the sailor1 and begged me to answer it for her4 ,i kept it1 to copy it in my journal4 ,here it is3 8,,dear ,,mother3 ,this is to tell you that ,i have been very well ever since the last time1 except that last week ,i was nearly drowned with the boat1 which would have been a great loss1 as there is not a better craft anywhere4 8,a gust of wind capsized us2 and just as ,i came up above water1 ,i saw the captain sinking4 ,i went after him1 as was my duty1 and1 after diving three times1 ,i brought him to the surface1 which pleased him much2 for when we were hoisted on board1 and he had recovered his senses1 he threw his arms round my neck1 as he would have done to an officer4 8,i do not hide from you1 dear mother1 that this has delighted me4 ,but it isn't all2 it seems that fishing up the captain has reminded them that ,i had a good character1 and they have just told me that ,i am promoted to be a sailor of the first class6 ,directly ,i knew it1 ,i cried out1 #8,my mother shall have coffee twice a day6' ,and really1 dear mother1 there is nothing now to hinder you1 as ,i shall now have a larger allowance to send you4 8,i include by begging you to take care of yourself if you wish to do me good2 for nothing makes me feel so well as to think that you want for nothing4 8,your son1 from the bottom of my heart1 8,,jacques40 ,this is the answer that the portress dictated to me3 8,,my ,,good ,,jacquot3 ,it makes me very happy to see that your heart is still as true as ever1 and that you will never shame those who have brought you up4 ,i need not tell you to take care of your life1 because you know it is the same as my own1 and that without you1 dear child1 ,i should wish for nothing but the grave2 but we are not bound to live1 while we are bound to do our duty4 8,do not fear for my health1 good ,jacques2 ,i was never better6 ,i do not grow old at all1 for fear of making you unhappy4 ,i want nothing1 and ,i live like a lady4 ,i even had some money over this year1 and as my drawers shut very badly1 ,i put it into the savings' bank1 where ,i have opened an account in your name4 ,so1 when you come back1 you will find yourself with an income4 ,i have also furnished your chest with new linen1 and ,i have knitted you three new sea-jackets4 8,all your friends are well4 ,your cousin is just dead1 leaving his widow in difficulties4 ,i gave her your thirty francs' remittance and said that you had sent it her2 and the poor woman remembers you day and night in her prayers4 ,so1 you see1 ,i have put that money in another sort of savings' bank2 but there it is our hearts that get the interest4 8,good-bye1 dear ,jacquot4 ,write to me often1 and always remember the good ,god1 and your old mother1 8,,phrosine ,,millot40 ,good son1 and worthy mother6 how such examples bring us back to a love for the human race6 ,in a fit of fanciful misanthropy1 we may envy the fate of the savage1 and prefer that of the bird to such as he2 but impartial observation soon does justice to such paradoxes4 ,we find1 on examination1 that in the mixed good and evil of human nature1 the good so far abounds that we are not in the habit of noticing it1 while the evil strikes us precisely on account of its being the exception4 ,if nothing is perfect1 nothing is so bad as to be without its compensation or its remedy4 ,what spiritual riches are there in the midst of the evils of society6 how much does the moral world redeem the material6 ,that which will ever distinguish man from the rest of creation1 is his power of deliberate affection and of enduring self-sacrifice4 ,the mother who took care of her brood in the corner of my window devoted to them the necessary time for accomplishing the laws which insure the preservation of her kind2 but she obeyed an instinct1 and not a rational choice4 ,when she had accomplished the mission appointed her by ,providence1 she cast off the duty as we get rid of a burden1 and she returned again to her selfish liberty4 ,the other mother1 on the contrary1 will go on with her task as long as ,god shall leave her here below3 the life of her son will still remain1 so to speak1 joined to her own2 and when she disappears from the earth1 she will leave there that part of herself4 ,thus1 the affections make for our species an existence separate from all the rest of creation4 ,thanks to them1 we enjoy a sort of terrestrial immortality2 and if other beings succeed one another1 man alone perpetuates himself4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,family ,,of ,,michael ,,arout ,september #aeth1 ,eight ,o'clock ,this morning1 while ,i was arranging my books1 ,mother ,genevieve came in1 and brought me the basket of fruit ,i buy of her every ,sunday4 ,for the nearly twenty years that ,i have lived in this quarter1 ,i have dealt in her little fruit-shop4 ,perhaps ,i should be better served elsewhere1 but ,mother ,genevieve has but little custom2 to leave her would do her harm1 and cause her unnecessary pain4 ,it seems to me that the length of our acquaintance has made me incur a sort of tacit obligation to her2 my patronage has become her property4 ,she has put the basket upon my table1 and as ,i want her husband1 who is a joiner1 to add some shelves to my bookcase1 she has gone downstairs again immediately to send him to me4 ,at first ,i did not notice either her looks or the sound of her voice3 but1 now that ,i recall them1 it seems to me that she was not as jovial as usual4 ,can ,mother ,genevieve be in trouble about anything8 ,poor woman6 ,all her best years were subject to such bitter trials1 that she might think she had received her full share already4 ,were ,i to live a hundred years1 ,i should never forget the circumstances which made her known to me1 and which obtained for her my respect4 ,it was at the time of my first settling in the faubourg4 ,i had noticed her empty fruit-shop1 which nobody came into1 and1 being attracted by its forsaken appearance1 ,i made my little purchases in it4 ,i have always instinctively preferred the poor shops2 there is less choice in them1 but it seems to me that my purchase is a sign of sympathy with a brother in poverty4 ,these little dealings are almost always an anchor of hope to those whose very existence is in peril--the only means by which some orphan gains a livelihood4 ,there the aim of the tradesman is not to enrich himself1 but to live6 ,the purchase you make of him is more than an exchange--it is a good action4 ,mother ,genevieve at that time was still young1 but had already lost that fresh bloom of youth which suffering causes to wither so soon among the poor4 ,her husband1 a clever joiner1 gradually left off working to become1 according to the picturesque expression of the workshops1 a worshipper of ,saint ,monday4 ,the wages of the week1 which was always reduced to two or three working days1 were completely dedicated by him to the worship of this god of the ,barriers1--,the cheap wine shops are outside the ,barriers1 to avoid the octroi1 or municipal excise4--and ,genevieve was obliged herself to provide for all the wants of the household4 ,one evening1 when ,i went to make some trifling purchases of her1 ,i heard a sound of quarrelling in the back shop4 ,there were the voices of several women1 among which ,i distinguished that of ,genevieve1 broken by sobs4 ,on looking farther in1 ,i perceived the fruit-woman holding a child in her arms1 and kissing it1 while a country nurse seemed to be claiming her wages from her4 ,the poor woman1 who without doubt had exhausted every explanation and every excuse1 was crying in silence1 and one of her neighbors was trying in vain to appease the countrywoman4 ,excited by that love of money which the evils of a hard peasant life but too well excuse1 and disappointed by the refusal of her expected wages1 the nurse was launching forth in recriminations1 threats1 and abuse4 ,in spite of myself1 ,i listened to the quarrel1 not daring to interfere1 and not thinking of going away1 when ,michael ,arout appeared at the shop-door4 ,the joiner had just come from the ,barriers1 where he had passed part of the day at a public-house4 ,his blouse1 without a belt1 and untied at the throat1 showed none of the noble stains of work3 in his hand he held his cap1 which he had just picked up out of the mud2 his hair was in disorder1 his eye fixed1 and the pallor of drunkenness in his face4 ,he came reeling in1 looked wildly around him1 and called ,genevieve4 ,she heard his voice1 gave a start1 and rushed into the shop2 but at the sight of the miserable man1 who was trying in vain to steady himself1 she pressed the child in her arms1 and bent over it with tears4 ,the countrywoman and the neighbor had followed her4 8,come6 come60 cried the former in a rage1 8do you intend to pay me1 after all80 8,ask the master for the money10 ironically answered the woman from the next door1 pointing to the joiner1 who had just fallen against the counter4 ,the countrywoman looked at him4 8,ah6 he is the father10 returned she4 8,well1 what idle beggars6 not to have a penny to pay honest people2 and get tipsy with wine in that way40 ,the drunkard raised his head4 8,what6 what60 stammered he2 8who is it that talks of wine8 ,i've had nothing but brandy6 ,but ,i am going back again to get some wine6 ,wife1 give me your money2 there are some friends waiting for me at the #8,pere la ,tuille'40 ,genevieve did not answer3 he went round the counter1 opened the till1 and began to rummage in it4 8,you see where the money of the house goes60 observed the neighbor to the countrywoman2 8how can the poor unhappy woman pay you when he takes all80 8,is that my fault80 replied the nurse1 angrily4 8,they owe to me1 and somehow or other they must pay me60 ,and letting loose her tongue1 as these women out of the country do1 she began relating at length all the care she had taken of the child1 and all the expense it had been to her4 ,in proportion as she recalled all she had done1 her words seemed to convince her more than ever of her rights1 and to increase her anger4 ,the poor mother1 who no doubt feared that her violence would frighten the child1 returned into the back shop1 and put it into its cradle4 ,whether it is that the countrywoman saw in this act a determination to escape her claims1 or that she was blinded by passion1 ,i cannot say2 but she rushed into the next room1 where ,i heard the sounds of quarrelling1 with which the cries of the child were soon mingled4 ,the joiner1 who was still rummaging in the till1 was startled1 and raised his head4 ,at the same moment ,genevieve appeared at the door1 holding in her arms the baby that the countrywoman was trying to tear from her4 ,she ran toward the counter1 and throwing herself behind her husband1 cried3 8,michael1 defend your son60 ,the drunken man quickly stood up erect1 like one who awakes with a start4 8,my son60 stammered he2 8what son80 ,his looks fell upon the child2 a vague ray of intelligence passed over his features4 8,robert10 resumed he2 8it is ,robert60 ,he tried to steady himself on his feet1 that he might take the baby1 but he tottered4 ,the nurse approached him in a rage4 8,my money1 or ,i shall take the child away60 cried she4 8,it is ,i who have fed and brought it up3 if you don't pay me for what has made it live1 it ought to be the same to you as if it were dead4 ,i shall not go until ,i have my due1 or the baby40 8,and what would you do with him80 murmured ,genevieve1 pressing ,robert against her bosom4 8,take it to the ,foundling60 replied the countrywoman1 harshly2 8the hospital is a better mother than you are1 for it pays for the food of its little ones40 ,at the word 8,foundling10 ,genevieve had exclaimed aloud in horror4 ,with her arms wound round her son1 whose head she hid in her bosom1 and her two hands spread over him1 she had retreated to the wall1 and remained with her back against it1 like a lioness defending her young4 ,the neighbor and ,i contemplated this scene1 without knowing how we could interfere4 ,as for ,michael1 he looked at us by turns1 making a visible effort to comprehend it all4 ,when his eye rested upon ,genevieve and the child1 it lit up with a gleam of pleasure2 but when he turned toward us1 he again became stupid and hesitating4 ,at last1 apparently making a prodigious effort1 he cried out1 8,wait60 ,and going to a tub filled with water1 he plunged his face into it several times4 ,every eye was turned upon him2 the countrywoman herself seemed astonished4 ,at length he raised his dripping head4 ,this ablution had partly dispelled his drunkenness2 he looked at us for a moment1 then he turned to ,genevieve1 and his face brightened up4 8,robert60 cried he1 going up to the child1 and taking him in his arms4 8,ah6 give him me1 wife2 ,i must look at him40 ,the mother seemed to give up his son to him with reluctance1 and stayed before him with her arms extended1 as if she feared the child would have a fall4 ,the nurse began again in her turn to speak1 and renewed her claims1 this time threatening to appeal to law4 ,at first ,michael listened to her attentively1 and when he comprehended her meaning1 he gave the child back to its mother4 8,how much do we owe you80 asked he4 ,the countrywoman began to reckon up the different expenses1 which amounted to nearly thirty francs4 ,the joiner felt to the bottom of his pockets1 but could find nothing4 ,his forehead became contracted by frowns2 low curses began to escape him4 ,all of a sudden he rummaged in his breast1 drew forth a large watch1 and holding it up above his head3 8,here it is--here's your money60 cried he with a joyful laugh2 8a watch1 a good one6 ,i always said it would keep for a drink on a dry day2 but it is not ,i who will drink it1 but the young one4 ,ah6 ah6 ah6 go and sell it for me1 neighbor1 and if that is not enough1 ,i have my earrings4 ,eh6 ,genevieve1 take them off for me2 the earrings will square all6 ,they shall not say you have been disgraced on account of the child--no1 not even if ,i must pledge a bit of my flesh6 ,my watch1 my earrings1 and my ring--get rid of all of them for me at the goldsmith's2 pay the woman1 and let the little fool go to sleep4 ,give him me1 ,genevieve2 ,i will put him to bed40 ,and1 taking the baby from the arms of his mother1 he carried him with a firm step to his cradle4 ,it was easy to perceive the change which took place in ,michael from this day4 ,he cut all his old drinking acquaintances4 ,he went early every morning to his work1 and returned regularly in the evening to finish the day with ,genevieve and ,robert4 ,very soon he would not leave them at all1 and he hired a place near the fruit-shop1 and worked in it on his own account4 ,they would soon have been able to live in comfort1 had it not been for the expenses which the child required4 ,everything was given up to his education4 ,he had gone through the regular school training1 had studied mathematics1 drawing1 and the carpenter's trade1 and had only begun to work a few months ago4 ,till now1 they had been exhausting every resource which their laborious industry could provide to push him forward in his business2 and1 happily1 all these exertions had not proved useless3 the seed had brought forth fruit1 and the days of harvest were close by4 ,while ,i was thus recalling these remembrances to my mind1 ,michael had come in1 and was occupied in fixing shelves where they were wanted4 ,during the time ,i was writing the notes of my journal1 ,i was also scrutinizing the joiner4 ,the excesses of his youth and the labor of his manhood have deeply marked his face2 his hair is thin and gray1 his shoulders stoop1 his legs are shrunken and slightly bent4 ,there seems a sort of weight in his whole being4 ,his very features have an expression of sorrow and despondency4 ,he answers my questions by monosyllables1 and like a man who wishes to avoid conversation4 ,whence comes this dejection1 when one would think he had all he could wish for8 ,i should like to know6 ,ten o'clock4--,michael is just gone downstairs to look for a tool he has forgotten4 ,i have at last succeeded in drawing from him the secret of his and ,genevieve's sorrow4 ,their son ,robert is the cause of it6 ,not that he has turned out ill after all their care--not that he is idle or dissipated2 but both were in hopes he would never leave them any more4 ,the presence of the young man was to have renewed and made glad their lives once more2 his mother counted the days1 his father prepared everything to receive their dear associate in their toils2 and at the moment when they were thus about to be repaid for all their sacrifices1 ,robert had suddenly informed them that he had just engaged himself to a contractor at ,versailles4 ,every remonstrance and every prayer were useless2 he brought forward the necessity of initiating himself into all the details of an important contract1 the facilities he should have in his new position of improving himself in his trade1 and the hopes he had of turning his knowledge to advantage4 ,at1 last1 when his mother1 having come to the end of her arguments1 began to cry1 he hastily kissed her1 and went away that he might avoid any further remonstrances4 ,he had been absent a year1 and there was nothing to give them hopes of his return4 ,his parents hardly saw him once a month1 and then he only stayed a few moments with them4 8,i have been punished where ,i had hoped to be rewarded10 ,michael said to me just now4 8,i had wished for a saving and industrious son1 and ,god has given me an ambitious and avaricious one6 ,i had always said to myself that when once he was grown up we should have him always with us1 to recall our youth and to enliven our hearts4 ,his mother was always thinking of getting him married1 and having children again to care for4 ,you know women always will busy themselves about others4 ,as for me1 ,i thought of him working near my bench1 and singing his new songs2 for he has learnt music1 and is one of the best singers at the ,orpheon4 8,a dream1 sir1 truly6 ,directly the bird was fledged1 he took to flight1 and remembers neither father nor mother4 ,yesterday1 for instance1 was the day we expected him2 he should have come to supper with us4 ,no ,robert to-day1 either6 ,he has had some plan to finish1 or some bargain to arrange1 and his old parents are put down last in the accounts1 after the customers and the joiner's work4 ,ah6 if ,i could have guessed how it would have turned out6 ,fool6 to have sacrificed my likings and my money1 for nearly twenty years1 to the education of a thankless son6 ,was it for this ,i took the trouble to cure myself of drinking1 to break with my friends1 to become an example to the neighborhood8 ,the jovial good fellow has made a goose of himself4 ,oh6 if ,i had to begin again6 ,no1 no6 you see women and children are our bane4 ,they soften our hearts2 they lead us a life of hope and affection2 we pass a quarter of our lives in fostering the growth of a grain of corn which is to be everything to us in our old age1 and when the harvest-time comes--good-night1 the ear is empty60 ,while he was speaking1 ,michael's voice became hoarse1 his eyes fierce1 and his lips quivered4 ,i wished to answer him1 but ,i could only think of commonplace consolations1 and ,i remained silent4 ,the joiner pretended he needed a tool1 and left me4 ,poor father6 ,ah6 ,i know those moments of temptation when virtue has failed to reward us1 and we regret having obeyed her6 ,who has not felt this weakness in hours of trial1 and who has not uttered1 at least once1 the mournful exclamation of ,brutus8 ,but if virtue is only a word1 what is there then in life that is true and real8 ,no1 ,i will not believe that goodness is in vain6 ,it does not always give the happiness we had hoped for1 but it brings some other4 ,in the world everything is ruled by order1 and has its proper and necessary consequences1 and virtue cannot be the sole exception to the general law4 ,if it had been prejudicial to those who practised it1 experience would have avenged them2 but experience has1 on the contrary1 made it more universal and more holy4 ,we only accuse it of being a faithless debtor because we demand an immediate payment1 and one apparent to our senses4 ,we always consider life as a fairytale1 in which every good action must be rewarded by a visible wonder4 ,we do not accept as payment a peaceful conscience1 self-content1 or a good name among men--treasures that are more precious than any other1 but the value of which we do not feel till after we have lost them6 ,michael is come back1 and has returned to his work4 ,his son has not yet arrived4 ,by telling me of his hopes and his grievous disappointments1 he became excited2 he unceasingly went over again the same subject1 always adding something to his griefs4 ,he had just wound up his confidential discourse by speaking to me of a joiner's business which he had hoped to buy1 and work to good account with ,robert's help4 ,the present owner had made a fortune by it1 and1 after thirty years of business1 he was thinking of retiring to one of the ornamental cottages in the outskirts of the city1 a usual retreat for the frugal and successful workingman4 ,michael had not indeed the two thousand francs which must be paid down2 but perhaps he could have persuaded ,master ,benoit to wait4 ,robert's presence would have been a security for him1 for the young man could not fail to insure the prosperity of a workshop2 besides science and skill1 he had the power of invention and bringing to perfection4 ,his father had discovered among his drawings a new plan for a staircase1 which had occupied his thoughts for a long time2 and he even suspected him of having engaged himself to the ,versailles contractor for the very purpose of executing it4 ,the youth was tormented by this spirit of invention1 which took possession of all his thoughts1 and1 while devoting his mind to study1 he had no time to listen to his feelings4 ,michael told me all this with a mixed feeling of pride and vexation4 ,i saw he was proud of the son he was abusing1 and that his very pride made him more sensitive to that son's neglect4 ,six o'clock ,p4,m4--,i have just finished a happy day4 ,how many events have happened within a few hours1 and what a change for ,genevieve and ,michael6 ,he had just finished fixing the shelves1 and telling me of his son1 while ,i laid the cloth for my breakfast4 ,suddenly we heard hurried steps in the passage1 the door opened1 and ,genevieve entered with ,robert4 ,the joiner gave a start of joyful surprise1 but he repressed it immediately1 as if he wished to keep up the appearance of displeasure4 ,the young man did not appear to notice it1 but threw himself into his arms in an open-hearted manner1 which surprised me4 ,genevieve1 whose face shone with happiness1 seemed to wish to speak1 and to restrain herself with difficulty4 ,i told ,robert ,i was glad to see him1 and he answered me with ease and civility4 8,i expected you yesterday10 said ,michael ,arout1 rather dryly4 8,forgive me1 father10 replied the young workman1 8but ,i had business at ,st4 ,germain's4 ,i was not able to come back till it was very late1 and then the master kept me40 ,the joiner looked at his son sidewise1 and then took up his hammer again4 8,all right10 muttered he1 in a grumbling tone2 8when we are with other people we must do as they wish2 but there are some who would like better to eat brown bread with their own knife than partridges with the silver fork of a master40 8,and ,i am one of those1 father10 replied ,robert1 merrily1 8but1 as the proverb says1 #8you must shell the peas before you can eat them4' ,it was necessary that ,i should first work in a great workshop--0 8,to go on with your plan of the staircase10 interrupted ,michael1 ironically4 8,you must now say ,monsieur ,raymond's plan1 father10 replied ,robert1 smiling4 8,why80 8,because ,i have sold it to him40 ,the joiner1 who was planing a board1 turned round quickly4 8,sold it60 cried he1 with sparkling eyes4 8,for the reason that ,i was not rich enough to give it him40 ,michael threw down the board and tool4 8,there he is again60 resumed he1 angrily2 8his good genius puts an idea into his head which would have made him known1 and he goes and sells it to a rich man1 who will take the honor of it himself40 8,well1 what harm is there done80 asked ,genevieve4 8,what harm60 cried the joiner1 in a passion4 8,you understand nothing about it--you are a woman2 but he--he knows well that a true workman never gives up his own inventions for money1 no more than a soldier would give up his cross4 ,that is his glory2 he is bound to keep it for the honor it does him6 ,ah1 thunder6 if ,i had ever made a discovery1 rather than put it up at auction ,i would have sold one of my eyes6 ,don't you see that a new invention is like a child to a workman8 ,he takes care of it1 he brings it up1 he makes a way for it in the world1 and it is only a poor creature who sells it40 ,robert colored a little4 8,you will think differently1 father10 said he1 8when you know why ,i sold my plan40 8,yes1 and you will thank him for it10 added ,genevieve1 who could no longer keep silence4 8,never60 replied ,michael4 8,but1 wretched man60 cried she1 8he sold it only for our sakes60 ,the joiner looked at his wife and son with astonishment4 ,it was necessary to come to an explanation4 ,the latter related how he had entered into a negotiation with ,master ,benoit1 who had positively refused to sell his business unless one half of the two thousand francs were first paid down4 ,it was in the hopes of obtaining this sum that he had gone to work with the contractor at ,versailles2 he had had an opportunity of trying his invention1 and of finding a purchaser4 ,thanks to the money he received for it1 he had just concluded the bargain with ,benoit1 and had brought his father the key of the new work-yard4 ,this explanation was given by the young workman with so much modesty and simplicity that ,i was quite affected by it4 ,genevieve cried2 ,michael pressed his son to his heart1 and in a long embrace he seemed to ask his pardon for having unjustly accused him4 ,all was now explained with honor to ,robert4 ,the conduct which his parents had ascribed to indifference really sprang from affection2 he had neither obeyed the voice of ambition nor of avarice1 nor even the nobler inspiration of inventive genius3 his whole motive and single aim had been the happiness of ,genevieve and ,michael4 ,the day for proving his gratitude had come1 and he had returned them sacrifice for sacrifice6 ,after the explanations and exclamations of joy were over1 all three were about to leave me2 but1 the cloth being laid1 ,i added three more places1 and kept them to breakfast4 ,the meal was prolonged3 the fare was only tolerable2 but the over-flowings of affection made it delicious4 ,never had ,i better understood the unspeakable charm of family love4 ,what calm enjoyment in that happiness which is always shared with others2 in that community of interests which unites such various feelings2 in that association of existences which forms one single being of so many6 ,what is man without those home affections1 which1 like so many roots1 fix him firmly in the earth1 and permit him to imbibe all the juices of life8 ,energy1 happiness--do not all these come from them8 ,without family life where would man learn to love1 to associate1 to deny himself8 ,a community in little1 is it not this which teaches us how to live in the great one8 ,such is the holiness of home1 that1 to express our relation with ,god1 we have been obliged to borrow the words invented for our family life4 ,men have named themselves the sons of a heavenly ,father6 ,ah6 let us carefully preserve these chains of domestic union4 ,do not let us unbind the human sheaf1 and scatter its ears to all the caprices of chance and of the winds2 but let us rather enlarge this holy law2 let us carry the principles and the habits of home beyond set bounds2 and1 if it may be1 let us realize the prayer of the ,apostle of the ,gentiles when he exclaimed to the newborn children of ,christ3 8,be ye like-minded1 having the same love1 being of one accord1 of one mind40 ,,book #c4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,our ,,country ,october #abth1 ,seven ,o'clock ,a4,m4 ,the nights are already become cold and long2 the sun1 shining through my curtains1 no more wakens me long before the hour for work2 and even when my eyes are open1 the pleasant warmth of the bed keeps me fast under my counterpane4 ,every morning there begins a long argument between my activity and my indolence2 and1 snugly wrapped up to the eyes1 ,i wait like the ,gascon1 until they have succeeded in coming to an agreement4 ,this morning1 however1 a light1 which shone from my door upon my pillow1 awoke me earlier than usual4 ,in vain ,i turned on my side2 the persevering light1 like a victorious enemy1 pursued me into every position4 ,at last1 quite out of patience1 ,i sat up and hurled my nightcap to the foot of the bed6 7,i will observe1 by way of parenthesis1 that the various evolutions of this pacific headgear seem to have been1 from the remotest time1 symbols of the vehement emotions of the mind2 for our language has borrowed its most common images from them47 ,but be this as it may1 ,i got up in a very bad humor1 grumbling at my new neighbor1 who took it into his head to be wakeful when ,i wished to sleep4 ,we are all made thus2 we do not understand that others may live on their own account4 ,each one of us is like the earth1 according to the old system of ,ptolemy1 and thinks he can have the whole universe revolve around himself4 ,on this point1 to make use of the metaphor alluded to3 #8,tous les hommes ont la tete dans le meme bonnet'4 ,i had for the time being1 as ,i have already said1 thrown mine to the other end of my bed2 and ,i slowly disengaged my legs from the warm bedclothes1 while making a host of evil reflections upon the inconvenience of having neighbors4 ,for more than a month ,i had not had to complain of those whom chance had given me2 most of them only came in to sleep1 and went away again on rising4 ,i was almost always alone on this top story--alone with the clouds and the sparrows6 ,but at ,paris nothing lasts2 the current of life carries us along1 like the seaweed torn from the rock2 the houses are vessels which take mere passengers4 ,how many different faces have ,i already seen pass along the landing-place belonging to our attics6 ,how many companions of a few days have disappeared forever6 ,some are lost in that medley of the living which whirls continually under the scourge of necessity1 and others in that resting-place of the dead1 who sleep under the hand of ,god6 ,peter the bookbinder is one of these last4 ,wrapped up in selfishness1 he lived alone and friendless1 and he died as he had lived4 ,his loss was neither mourned by any one1 nor disarranged anything in the world2 there was merely a ditch filled up in the graveyard1 and an attic emptied in our house4 ,it is the same which my new neighbor has inhabited for the last few days4 ,to say truly 7now that ,i am quite awake1 and my ill humor is gone with my nightcap7--to say truly1 this new neighbor1 although rising earlier than suits my idleness1 is not the less a very good man3 he carries his misfortunes1 as few know how to carry their good fortunes1 with cheerfulness and moderation4 ,but fate has cruelly tried him4 ,father ,chaufour is but the wreck of a man4 ,in the place of one of his arms hangs an empty sleeve2 his left leg is made by the turner1 and he drags the right along with difficulty2 but above these ruins rises a calm and happy face4 ,while looking upon his countenance1 radiant with a serene energy1 while listening to his voice1 the tone of which has1 so to speak1 the accent of goodness1 we see that the soul has remained entire in the half-destroyed covering4 ,the fortress is a little damaged1 as ,father ,chaufour says1 but the garrison is quite hearty4 ,decidedly1 the more ,i think of this excellent man1 the more ,i reproach myself for the sort of malediction ,i bestowed on him when ,i awoke4 ,we are generally too indulgent in our secret wrongs toward our neighbor4 ,all ill-will which does not pass the region of thought seems innocent to us1 and1 with our clumsy justice1 we excuse without examination the sin which does not betray itself by action6 ,but are we then bound to others only by the enforcement of laws8 ,besides these external relations1 is there not a real relation of feeling between men8 ,do we not owe to all those who live under the same heaven as ourselves the aid not only of our acts but of our purposes8 ,ought not every human life to be to us like a vessel that we accompany with our prayers for a happy voyage8 ,it is not enough that men do not harm one another2 they must also help and love one another6 ,the papal benediction1 #8,urbi et orbi'6 should be the constant cry from all hearts4 ,to condemn him who does not deserve it1 even in the mind1 even by a passing thought1 is to break the great law1 that which has established the union of souls here below1 and to which ,christ has given the sweet name of charity4 ,these thoughts came into my mind as ,i finished dressing1 and ,i said to myself that ,father ,chaufour had a right to reparation from me4 ,to make amends for the feeling of ill-will ,i had against him just now1 ,i owed him some explicit proof of sympathy4 ,i heard him humming a tune in his room2 he was at work1 and ,i determined that ,i would make the first neighborly call4 ,eight o'clock ,p4,m4--,i found ,father ,chaufour at a table lighted by a little smoky lamp1 without a fire1 although it is already cold1 and making large pasteboard boxes2 he was humming a popular song in a low tone4 ,i had hardly entered the room when he uttered an exclamation of surprise and pleasure4 8,eh6 is it you1 neighbor8 ,come in1 then6 ,i did not think you got up so early1 so ,i put a damper on my music2 ,i was afraid of waking you40 ,excellent man6 while ,i was sending him to the devil he was putting himself out of his way for me6 ,this thought touched me1 and ,i paid my compliments on his having become my neighbor with a warmth which opened his heart4 8,faith6 you seem to me to have the look of a good ,christian10 said he in a voice of soldierlike cordiality1 and shaking me by the hand4 8,i do not like those people who look on a landing-place as a frontier line1 and treat their neighbors as if they were ,cossacks4 ,when men snuff the same air1 and speak the same lingo1 they are not meant to turn their backs to each other4 ,sit down there1 neighbor2 ,i don't mean to order you2 only take care of the stool2 it has but three legs1 and we must put good-will in place of the fourth40 8,it seems that that is a treasure which there is no want of here10 ,i observed4 8,good-will60 repeated ,chaufour2 8that is all my mother left me1 and ,i take it no son has received a better inheritance4 ,therefore they used to call me ,monsieur ,content in the batteries40 8,you are a soldier1 then80 8,i served in the ,third ,artillery under the ,republic1 and afterward in the ,guard1 through all the commotions4 ,i was at ,jemappes and at ,waterloo2 so ,i was at the christening and at the burial of our glory1 as one may say60 ,i looked at him with astonishment4 8,and how old were you then1 at ,jemappes80 asked ,i4 8,somewhere about fifteen10 said he4 8,how came you to think of being a soldier so early80 8,i did not really think about it4 ,i then worked at toy-making1 and never dreamed that ,france would ask me for anything else than to make her draught-boards1 shuttlecocks1 and cups and balls4 ,but ,i had an old uncle at ,vincennes whom ,i went to see from time to time--a ,fontenoy veteran in the same rank of life as myself1 but with ability enough to have risen to that of a marshal4 ,unluckily1 in those days there was no way for common people to get on4 ,my uncle1 whose services would have got him made a prince under the other1 had then retired with the mere rank of sub-lieutenant4 ,but you should have seen him in his uniform1 his cross of ,st4 ,louis1 his wooden leg1 his white moustaches1 and his noble countenance4 ,you would have said he was a portrait of one of those old heroes in powdered hair which are at ,versailles6 8,every time ,i visited him1 he said something which remained fixed in my memory4 ,but one day ,i found him quite grave4 8#8,jerome1' said he1 #8do you know what is going on on the frontier8' 8#8,no1 lieutenant1' replied ,i4 8#8,well1' resumed he1 #8our country is in danger6' 8,i did not well understand him1 and yet it seemed something to me4 8#8,perhaps you have never thought what your country means1' continued he1 placing his hand on my shoulder2 it is all that surrounds you1 all that has brought you up and fed you1 all that you have loved6 ,this ground that you see1 these houses1 these trees1 those girls who go along there laughing--this is your country6 ,the laws which protect you1 the bread which pays for your work1 the words you interchange with others1 the joy and grief which come to you from the men and things among which you live--this is your country6 ,the little room where you used to see your mother1 the remembrances she has left you1 the earth where she rests--this is your country6 ,you see it1 you breathe it1 everywhere6 ,think to yourself1 my son1 of your rights and your duties1 your affections and your wants1 your past and your present blessings2 write them all under a single name--and that name will be your country6' 8,i was trembling with emotion1 and great tears were in my eyes4 8#8,ah6 ,i understand1' cried ,i2 #8it is our home in large2 it is that part of the world where ,god has placed our body and our soul4' 8#8,you are right1 ,jerome1' continued the old soldier2 #8so you comprehend also what we owe it4' 8#8,truly1' resumed ,i1 #8we owe it all that we are2 it is a question of love4' 8#8,and of honesty1 my son1' concluded he4 #8,the member of a family who does not contribute his share of work and of happiness fails in his duty1 and is a bad kinsman2 the member of a partnership who does not enrich it with all his might1 with all his courage1 and with all his heart1 defrauds it of what belongs to it1 and is a dishonest man4 ,it is the same with him who enjoys the advantages of having a country1 and does not accept the burdens of it2 he forfeits his honor1 and is a bad citizen6' 8#8,and what must one do1 lieutenant1 to be a good citizen8' asked ,i4 8#8,do for your country what you would do for your father and mother1' said he4 8,i did not answer at the moment2 my heart was swelling1 and the blood boiling in my veins2 but on returning along the road1 my uncle's words were1 so to speak1 written up before my eyes4 ,i repeated1 #8,do for your country what you would do for your father and mother4' ,and my country is in danger2 an enemy attacks it1 while ,i--,i turn cups and balls6 8,this thought tormented me so much all night that the next day ,i returned to ,vincennes to announce to the lieutenant that ,i had just enlisted1 and was going off to the frontier4 ,the brave man pressed upon me his cross of ,st4 ,louis1 and ,i went away as proud as an ambassador4 8,that is how1 neighbor1 ,i became a volunteer under the ,republic before ,i had cut my wisdom teeth40 ,all this was told quietly1 and in the cheerful spirit of him who looks upon an accomplished duty neither as a merit nor a grievance4 ,while he spoke1 ,father ,chaufour grew animated1 not on account of himself1 but of the general subject4 ,evidently that which occupied him in the drama of life was not his own part1 but the drama itself4 ,this sort of disinterestedness touched me4 ,i prolonged my visit1 and showed myself as frank as possible1 in order to win his confidence in return4 ,in an hour's time he knew my position and my habits2 ,i was on the footing of an old acquaintance4 ,i even confessed the ill-humor the light of his lamp put me into a short time before4 ,he took what ,i said with the touching cheerfulness which comes from a heart in the right place1 and which looks upon everything on the good side4 ,he neither spoke to me of the necessity which obliged him to work while ,i could sleep1 nor of the deprivations of the old soldier compared to the luxury of the young clerk2 he only struck his forehead1 accused himself of thoughtlessness1 and promised to put list round his door6 ,o great and beautiful soul6 with whom nothing turns to bitterness1 and who art peremptory only in duty and benevolence6 ,october #aeth4--,this morning ,i was looking at a little engraving ,i had framed myself1 and hung over my writing-table2 it is a design of ,gavarni's2 in which1 in a grave mood1 he has represented a veteran and a conscript4 ,by often contemplating these two figures1 so different in expression1 and so true to life1 both have become living in my eyes2 ,i have seen them move1 ,i have heard them speak2 the picture has become a real scene1 at which ,i am present as spectator4 ,the veteran advances slowly1 his hand leaning on the shoulder of the young soldier4 ,his eyes1 closed for ever1 no longer perceive the sun shining through the flowering chestnut-trees4 ,in the place of his right arm hangs an empty sleeve1 and he walks with a wooden leg1 the sound of which on the pavement makes those who pass turn to look4 ,at the sight of this ancient wreck from our patriotic wars1 the greater number shake their heads in pity1 and ,i seem to hear a sigh or an imprecation4 8,see the worth of glory60 says a portly merchant1 turning away his eyes in horror4 8,what a deplorable use of human life60 rejoins a young man who carries a volume of philosophy under his arm4 8,the trooper would better not have left his plow10 adds a countryman1 with a cunning air4 8,poor old man60 murmurs a woman1 almost crying4 ,the veteran has heard1 and he knits his brow2 for it seems to him that his guide has grown thoughtful4 ,the latter1 attracted by what he hears around him1 hardly answers the old man's questions1 and his eyes1 vaguely lost in space1 seem to be seeking there for the solution of some problem4 ,i seem to see a twitching in the gray moustaches of the veteran2 he stops abruptly1 and1 holding back his guide with his remaining arm3 8,they all pity me10 says he1 8because they do not understand it2 but if ,i were to answer them--0 8,what would you say to them1 father80 asks the young man1 with curiosity4 8,i should say first to the woman who weeps when she looks at me1 to keep her tears for other misfortunes2 for each of my wounds calls to mind some struggle for my colors4 ,there is room for doubting how some men have done their duty2 with me it is visible4 ,i carry the account of my services1 written with the enemy's steel and lead1 on myself2 to pity me for having done my duty is to suppose ,i would better have been false to it40 8,and what would you say to the countryman1 father80 8,i should tell him that1 to drive the plow in peace1 we must first secure the country itself2 and that1 as long as there are foreigners ready to eat our harvest1 there must be arms to defend it40 8,but the young student1 too1 shook his head when he lamented such a use of life40 8,because he does not know what self-sacrifice and suffering can teach4 ,the books that he studies we have put in practice1 though we never read them3 the principles he applauds we have defended with powder and bayonet40 8,and at the price of your limbs and your blood4 ,the merchant said1 when he saw your maimed body1 #8,see the worth of glory60' 8,do not believe him1 my son3 the true glory is the bread of the soul2 it is this which nourishes self-sacrifice1 patience1 and courage4 ,the ,master of all has bestowed it as a tie the more between men4 ,when we desire to be distinguished by our brethren1 do we not thus prove our esteem and our sympathy for them8 ,the longing for admiration is but one side of love4 ,no1 no2 the true glory can never be too dearly paid for6 ,that which we should deplore1 child1 is not the infirmities which prove a generous self-sacrifice1 but those which our vices or our imprudence have called forth4 ,ah6 if ,i could speak aloud to those who1 when passing1 cast looks of pity upon me1 ,i should say to the young man whose excesses have dimmed his sight before he is old1 #8,what have you done with your eyes8' ,to the slothful man1 who with difficulty drags along his enervated mass of flesh1 #8,what have you done with your feet8' ,to the old man1 who is punished for his intemperance by the gout1 #8,what have you done with your hands8' ,to all1 #8,what have you done with the days ,god granted you1 with the faculties you should have employed for the good of your brethren8' ,if you cannot answer1 bestow no more of your pity upon the old soldier maimed in his country's cause2 for he--he at least--can show his scars without shame40 ,october #afth4--,the little engraving has made me comprehend better the merits of ,father ,chaufour1 and ,i therefore esteem him all the more4 ,he has just now left my attic4 ,there no longer passes a single day without his coming to work by my fire1 or my going to sit and talk by his board4 ,the old artilleryman has seen much1 and likes to tell of it4 ,for twenty years he was an armed traveller throughout ,europe1 and he fought without hatred1 for he was possessed by a single thought--the honor of the national flag6 ,it might have been his superstition1 if you will2 but it was1 at the same time1 his safeguard4 ,the word ,,france1 which was then resounding so gloriously through the world1 served as a talisman to him against all sorts of temptation4 ,to have to support a great name may seem a burden to vulgar minds1 but it is an encouragement to vigorous ones4 8,i1 too1 have had many moments10 said he to me the other day1 8when ,i have been tempted to make friends with the devil4 ,war is not precisely the school for rural virtues4 ,by dint of burning1 destroying1 and killing1 you grow a little tough as regards your feelings2 #8and1 when the bayonet has made you king1 the notions of an autocrat come into your head a little strongly4 ,but at these moments ,i called to mind that country which the lieutenant spoke of to me1 and ,i whispered to myself the well-known phrase1 #8,toujours ,francais6 ,it has been laughed at since4 ,people who would make a joke of the death of their mother have turned it into ridicule1 as if the name of our country was not also a noble and a binding thing4 ,for my part1 ,i shall never forget from how many follies the title of ,frenchman has kept me4 ,when1 overcome with fatigue1 ,i have found myself in the rear of the colors1 and when the musketry was rattling in the front ranks1 many a time ,i heard a voice1 which whispered in my ear1 #8,leave the others to fight1 and for today take care of your own hide6' ,but then1 that word ,francais6 murmured within me1 and ,i pressed forward to help my comrades4 ,at other times1 when1 irritated by hunger1 cold1 and wounds1 ,i have arrived at the hovel of some ,meinherr1 ,i have been seized by an itching to break the master's back1 and to burn his hut2 but ,i whispered to myself1 ,francais6 and this name would not rhyme with either incendiary or murderer4 ,i have1 in this way1 passed through kingdoms from east to west1 and from north to south1 always determined not to bring disgrace upon my country's flag4 ,the lieutenant1 you see1 had taught me a magic word--,my country6 ,not only must we defend it1 but we must also make it great and loved40 ,october #agth4--,to-day ,i have paid my neighbor a long visit4 ,a chance expression led the way to his telling me more of himself than he had yet done4 ,i asked him whether both his limbs had been lost in the same battle4 8,no1 no60 replied he2 8the cannon only took my leg2 it was the ,clamart quarries that my arm went to feed40 ,and when ,i asked him for the particulars-- 8,that's as easy as to say good-morning10 continued he4 8,after the great break-up at ,waterloo1 ,i stayed three months in the camp hospital to give my wooden leg time to grow4 ,as soon as ,i was able to hobble a little1 ,i took leave of headquarters1 and took the road to ,paris1 where ,i hoped to find some relative or friend2 but no--all were gone1 or underground4 ,i should have found myself less strange at ,vienna1 ,madrid1 or ,berlin4 ,and although ,i had a leg the less to provide for1 ,i was none the better off2 my appetite had come back1 and my last sous were taking flight4 8,i had indeed met my old colonel1 who recollected that ,i had helped him out of the skirmish at ,montereau by giving him my horse1 and he had offered me bed and board at his house4 ,i knew that the year before he had married a castle and no few farms1 so that ,i might become permanent coat-brusher to a millionaire1 which was not without its temptations4 ,it remained to see if ,i had not anything better to do4 ,one evening ,i set myself to reflect upon it4 8#8,let us see1 ,chaufour1' said ,i to myself2 #8the question is to act like a man4 ,the colonel's place suits you1 but cannot you do anything better8 ,your body is still in good condition1 and your arms strong2 do you not owe all your strength to your country1 as your ,vincennes uncle said8 ,why not leave some old soldier1 more cut up than you are1 to get his hospital at the colonel's8 ,come1 trooper1 you are still fit for another stout charge or two6 ,you must not lay up before your time4' 8,whereupon ,i went to thank the colonel1 and to offer my services to an old artilleryman1 who had gone back to his home at ,clamart1 and who had taken up the quarryman's pick again4 8,for the first few months ,i played the conscript's part--that is to say1 there was more stir than work2 but with a good will one gets the better of stones1 as of everything else4 ,i did not become1 so to speak1 the leader of a column1 but ,i brought up the rank among the good workmen1 and ,i ate my bread with a good appetite1 seeing ,i had earned it with a good will4 ,for even underground1 you see1 ,i still kept my pride4 ,the thought that ,i was working to do my part in changing rocks into houses pleased my heart4 ,i said to myself1 #8,courage1 ,chaufour1 my old boy2 you are helping to beautify your country4' ,and that kept up my spirit4 8,unfortunately1 some of my companions were rather too sensible to the charms of the brandy-bottle2 so much so1 that one day one of them1 who could hardly distinguish his right hand from his left1 thought proper to strike a light close to a charged mine4 ,the mine exploded suddenly1 and sent a shower of stone grape among us1 which killed three men1 and carried away the arm of which ,i have now only the sleeve40 8,so you were again without means of living80 said ,i to the old soldier4 8,that is to say1 ,i had to change them10 replied he1 quietly4 8,the difficulty was to find one which would do with five fingers instead of ten2 ,i found it1 however40 8,how was that80 8,among the ,paris street-sweepers40 8,what6 you have been one--0 8,of the pioneers of the health force for a while1 neighbor1 and that was not my worst time either4 ,the corps of sweepers is not so low as it is dirty1 ,i can tell you6 ,there are old actresses in it who could never learn to save their money1 and ruined merchants from the exchange2 we even had a professor of classics1 who for a little drink would recite ,latin to you1 or ,greek tragedies1 as you chose4 ,they could not have competed for the ,monthyon prize2 but we excused faults on account of poverty1 and cheered our poverty by our good-humor and jokes4 ,i was as ragged and as cheerful as the rest1 while trying to be something better4 ,even in the mire of the gutter ,i preserved my faith that nothing is dishonorable which is useful to our country4 8#8,chaufour1' said ,i to myself with a smile1 #8after the sword1 the hammer2 after the hammer1 the broom2 you are going downstairs1 my old boy1 but you are still serving your country4'0 8#8,however1 you ended by leaving your new profession8' said ,i40 8,a reform was required1 neighbor4 ,the street-sweepers seldom have their feet dry1 and the damp at last made the wounds in my good leg open again4 ,i could no longer follow the regiment1 and it was necessary to lay down my arms4 ,it is now two months since ,i left off working in the sanitary department of ,paris4 8,at the first moment ,i was daunted4 ,of my four limbs1 ,i had now only my right hand1 and even that had lost its strength2 so it was necessary to find some gentlemanly occupation for it4 ,after trying a little of everything1 ,i fell upon card-box making1 and here ,i am at cases for the lace and buttons of the national guard2 it is work of little profit1 but it is within the capacity of all4 ,by getting up at four and working till eight1 ,i earn sixty-five centimes2 my lodging and bowl of soup take fifty of them1 and there are three sous over for luxuries4 ,so ,i am richer than ,france herself1 for ,i have no deficit in my budget2 and ,i continue to serve her1 as ,i save her lace and buttons40 ,at these words ,father ,chaufour looked at me with a smile1 and with his great scissors began cutting the green paper again for his cardboard cases4 ,my heart was touched1 and ,i remained lost in thought4 ,here is still another member of that sacred phalanx who1 in the battle of life1 always march in front for the example and the salvation of the world6 ,each of these brave soldiers has his war-cry2 for this one it is 8,country10 for that 8,home10 for a third 8,mankind20 but they all follow the same standard--that of duty2 for all the same divine law reigns--that of self-sacrifice4 ,to love something more than one's self--that is the secret of all that is great2 to know how to live for others--that is the aim of all noble souls4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,moral ,,use ,,of ,,inventories ,november #acth1 ,nine ,o'clock ,p4,m4 ,i had well stopped up the chinks of my window2 my little carpet was nailed down in its place2 my lamp1 provided with its shade1 cast a subdued light around1 and my stove made a low1 murmuring sound1 as if some live creature was sharing my hearth with me4 ,all was silent around me4 ,but1 out of doors the snow and rain swept the roofs1 and with a low1 rushing sound ran along the gurgling gutters2 sometimes a gust of wind forced itself beneath the tiles1 which rattled together like castanets1 and afterward it was lost in the empty corridor4 ,then a slight and pleasurable shiver thrilled through my veins3 ,i drew the flaps of my old wadded dressing-gown around me1 ,i pulled my threadbare velvet cap over my eyes1 and1 letting myself sink deeper into my easy-chair1 while my feet basked in the heat and light which shone through the door of the stove1 ,i gave myself up to a sensation of enjoyment1 made more lively by the consciousness of the storm which raged without4 ,my eyes1 swimming in a sort of mist1 wandered over all the details of my peaceful abode2 they passed from my prints to my bookcase1 resting upon the little chintz sofa1 the white curtains of the iron bedstead1 and the portfolio of loose papers--those archives of the attics2 and then1 returning to the book ,i held in my hand1 they attempted to seize once more the thread of the reading which had been thus interrupted4 ,in fact1 this book1 the subject of which had at first interested me1 had become painful to me4 ,i had come to the conclusion that the pictures of the writer were too sombre4 ,his description of the miseries of the world appeared exaggerated to me2 ,i could not believe in such excess of poverty and of suffering2 neither ,god nor man could show themselves so harsh toward the sons of ,adam4 ,the author had yielded to an artistic temptation3 he was making a show of the sufferings of humanity1 as ,nero burned ,rome for the sake of the picturesque4 ,taken altogether1 this poor human house1 so often repaired1 so much criticised1 is still a pretty good abode2 we may find enough in it to satisfy our wants1 if we know how to set bounds to them2 the happiness of the wise man costs but little1 and asks but little space4 ,these consoling reflections became more and more confused4 ,at last my book fell on the ground without my having the resolution to stoop and take it up again2 and insensibly overcome by the luxury of the silence1 the subdued light1 and the warmth1 ,i fell asleep4 ,i remained for some time lost in the sort of insensibility belonging to a first sleep2 at last some vague and broken sensations came over me4 ,it seemed to me that the day grew darker1 that the air became colder4 ,i half perceived bushes covered with the scarlet berries which foretell the coming of winter4 ,i walked on a dreary road1 bordered here and there with juniper-trees white with frost4 ,then the scene suddenly changed4 ,i was in the diligence2 the cold wind shook the doors and windows2 the trees1 loaded with snow1 passed by like ghosts2 in vain ,i thrust my benumbed feet into the crushed straw4 ,at last the carriage stopped1 and1 by one of those stage effects so common in sleep1 ,i found myself alone in a barn1 without a fireplace1 and open to the winds on all sides4 ,i saw again my mother's gentle face1 known only to me in my early childhood1 the noble and stern countenance of my father1 the little fair head of my sister1 who was taken from us at ten years old2 all my dead family lived again around me2 they were there1 exposed to the bitings of the cold and to the pangs of hunger4 ,my mother prayed by the resigned old man1 and my sister1 rolled up on some rags of which they had made her a bed1 wept in silence1 and held her naked feet in her little blue hands4 ,it was a page from the book ,i had just read transferred into my own existence4 ,my heart was oppressed with inexpressible anguish4 ,crouched in a corner1 with my eyes fixed upon this dismal picture1 ,i felt the cold slowly creeping upon me1 and ,i said to myself with bitterness3 8,let us die1 since poverty is a dungeon guarded by suspicion1 apathy1 and contempt1 and from which it is vain to try to escape2 let us die1 since there is no place for us at the banquet of the living60 ,and ,i tried to rise to join my mother again1 and to wait at her feet for the hour of release4 ,this effort dispelled my dream1 and ,i awoke with a start4 ,i looked around me2 my lamp was expiring1 the fire in my stove extinguished1 and my half-opened door was letting in an icy wind4 ,i got up1 with a shiver1 to shut and double-lock it2 then ,i made for the alcove1 and went to bed in haste4 ,but the cold kept me awake a long time1 and my thoughts continued the interrupted dream4 ,the pictures ,i had lately accused of exaggeration now seemed but a too faithful representation of reality2 and ,i went to sleep without being able to recover my optimism--or my warmth4 ,thus did a cold stove and a badly closed door alter my point of view4 ,all went well when my blood circulated properly2 all looked gloomy when the cold laid hold on me4 ,this reminds me of the story of the duchess who was obliged to pay a visit to the neighboring convent on a winter's day4 ,the convent was poor1 there was no wood1 and the monks had nothing but their discipline and the ardor of their prayers to keep out the cold4 ,the duchess1 who was shivering with cold1 returned home1 greatly pitying the poor monks4 ,while the servants were taking off her cloak and adding two more logs to her fire1 she called her steward1 whom she ordered to send some wood to the convent immediately4 ,she then had her couch moved close to the fireside1 the warmth of which soon revived her4 ,the recollection of what she had just suffered was speedily lost in her present comfort1 when the steward came in again to ask how many loads of wood he was to send4 8,oh6 you may wait10 said the great lady carelessly2 8the weather is very much milder40 ,thus1 man's judgments are formed less from reason than from sensation2 and as sensation comes to him from the outward world1 so he finds himself more or less under its influence2 by little and little he imbibes a portion of his habits and feelings from it4 ,it is not1 then1 without cause that1 when we wish to judge of a stranger beforehand1 we look for indications of his character in the circumstances which surround him4 ,the things among which we live are necessarily made to take our image1 and we unconsciously leave in them a thousand impressions of our minds4 ,as we can judge by an empty bed of the height and attitude of him who has slept in it1 so the abode of every man discovers to a close observer the extent of his intelligence and the feelings of his heart4 ,bernardin de ,st4-,pierre has related the story of a young girl who refused a suitor because he would never have flowers or domestic animals in his house4 ,perhaps the sentence was severe1 but not without reason4 ,we may presume that a man insensible to beauty and to humble affection must be ill prepared to feel the enjoyments of a happy marriage4 #adth1 seven o'clock ,p4,m4--,this morning1 as ,i was opening my journal to write1 ,i had a visit from our old cashier4 ,his sight is not so good as it was1 his hand begins to shake1 and the work he was able to do formerly is now becoming somewhat laborious to him4 ,i had undertaken to write out some of his papers1 and he came for those ,i had finished4 ,we conversed a long time by the stove1 while he was drinking a cup of coffee which ,i made him take4 ,m4 ,rateau is a sensible man1 who has observed much and speaks little2 so that he has always something to say4 ,while looking over the accounts ,i had prepared for him1 his look fell upon my journal1 and ,i was obliged to acknowledge that in this way ,i wrote a diary of my actions and thoughts every evening for private use4 ,from one thing to another1 ,i began speaking to him of my dream the day before1 and my reflections about the influence of outward objects upon our ordinary sentiments4 ,he smiled4 8,ah6 you1 too1 have my superstitions10 he said1 quietly4 8,i have always believed1 like you1 that you may know the game by the lair3 it is only necessary to have tact and experience2 but without them we commit ourselves to many rash judgments4 ,for my part4 ,i have been guilty of this more than once1 but sometimes ,i have also drawn a right conclusion4 ,i recollect especially an adventure which goes as far back as the first years of my youth--0 ,he stopped4 ,i looked at him as if ,i waited for his story1 and he told it me at once4 ,at this time he was still but third clerk to an attorney at ,orleans4 ,his master had sent him to ,montargis on different affairs1 and he intended to return in the diligence the same evening1 after having received the amount of a bill at a neighboring town2 but they kept him at the debtor's house1 and when he was able to set out the day had already closed4 ,fearing not to be able to reach ,montargis in good time1 he took a crossroad they pointed out to him4 ,unfortunately the fog increased1 no star was visible in the heavens1 and the darkness became so great that he lost his road4 ,he tried to retrace his steps1 passed twenty footpaths1 and at last was completely astray4 ,after the vexation of losing his place in the diligence1 came the feeling of uneasiness as to his situation4 ,he was alone1 on foot1 lost in a forest1 without any means of finding his right road again1 and with a considerable sum of money about him1 for which he was responsible4 ,his anxiety was increased by his inexperience4 ,the idea of a forest was connected in his mind with so many adventures of robbery and murder1 that he expected some fatal encounter every instant4 ,to say the truth1 his situation was not encouraging4 ,the place was not considered safe1 and for some time past there had been rumors of the sudden disappearance of several horse-dealers1 though there was no trace of any crime having been committed4 ,our young traveller1 with his eyes staring forward1 and his ears listening1 followed a footpath which he supposed might take him to some house or road2 but woods always succeeded to woods4 ,at last he perceived a light at a distance1 and in a quarter of an hour he reached the highroad4 ,a single house1 the light from which had attracted him1 appeared at a little distance4 ,he was going toward the entrance gate of the courtyard1 when the trot of a horse made him turn his head4 ,a man on horseback had just appeared at the turning of the road1 and in an instant was close to him4 ,the first words he addressed to the young man showed him to be the farmer himself4 ,he related how he had lost himself1 and learned from the countryman that he was on the road to ,pithiviers4 ,montargis was three leagues behind him4 ,the fog had insensibly changed into a drizzling rain1 which was beginning to wet the young clerk through2 he seemed afraid of the distance he had still to go1 and the horseman1 who saw his hesitation1 invited him to come into the farmhouse4 ,it had something of the look of a fortress4 ,surrounded by a pretty high wall1 it could not be seen except through the bars of the great gate1 which was carefully closed4 ,the farmer1 who had got off his horse1 did not go near it1 but1 turning to the right1 reached another entrance closed in the same way1 but of which he had the key4 ,hardly had he passed the threshold when a terrible barking resounded from each end of the yard4 ,the farmer told his guest to fear nothing1 and showed him the dogs chained up to their kennels2 both were of an extraordinary size1 and so savage that the sight of their master himself could not quiet them4 ,a boy1 attracted by their barking1 came out of the house and took the farmer's horse4 ,the latter began questioning him about some orders he had given before he left the house1 and went toward the stable to see that they had been executed4 ,thus left alone1 our clerk looked about him4 ,a lantern which the boy had placed on the ground cast a dim light over the courtyard4 ,all around seemed empty and deserted4 ,not a trace was visible of the disorder often seen in a country farmyard1 and which shows a temporary cessation of the work which is soon to be resumed again4 ,neither a cart forgotten where the horses had been unharnessed1 nor sheaves of corn heaped up ready for threshing1 nor a plow overturned in a corner and half hidden under the freshly-cut clover4 ,the yard was swept1 the barns shut up and padlocked4 ,not a single vine creeping up the walls2 everywhere stone1 wood1 and iron6 ,he took up the lantern and went up to the corner of the house4 ,behind was a second yard1 where he heard the barking of a third dog1 and a covered wall was built in the middle of it4 ,our traveller looked in vain for the little farm garden1 where pumpkins of different sorts creep along the ground1 or where the bees from the hives hum under the hedges of honeysuckle and elder4 ,verdure and flowers were nowhere to be seen4 ,he did not even perceive the sight of a poultry-yard or pigeon-house4 ,the habitation of his host was everywhere wanting in that which makes the grace and the life of the country4 ,the young man thought that his host must be of a very careless or a very calculating disposition1 to concede so little to domestic enjoyments and the pleasures of the eye2 and judging1 in spite of himself1 by what he saw1 he could not help feeling a distrust of his character4 ,in the mean time the farmer returned from the stables1 and made him enter the house4 ,the inside of the farmhouse corresponded to its outside4 ,the whitewashed walls had no other ornament than a row of guns of all sizes2 the massive furniture hardly redeemed its clumsy appearance by its great solidity4 ,the cleanliness was doubtful1 and the absence of all minor conveniences proved that a woman's care was wanting in the household concerns4 ,the young clerk learned that the farmer1 in fact1 lived here with no one but his two sons4 ,of this1 indeed1 the signs were plain enough4 ,a table with the cloth laid1 that no one had taken the trouble to clear away1 was left near the window4 ,the plates and dishes were scattered upon it without any order1 and loaded with potato-parings and half-picked bones4 ,several empty bottles emitted an odor of brandy1 mixed with the pungent smell of tobacco-smoke4 ,after seating his guest1 the farmer lighted his pipe1 and his two sons resumed their work by the fireside4 ,now and then the silence was just broken by a short remark1 answered by a word or an exclamation2 and then all became as mute as before4 8,from my childhood10 said the old cashier1 8,i had been very sensible to the impression of outward objects2 later in life1 reflection had taught me to study the causes of these impressions rather than to drive them away4 ,i set myself1 then1 to examine everything around me with great attention4 8,below the guns1 ,i had remarked on entering1 some wolftraps were suspended1 and to one of them still hung the mangled remains of a wolf's paw1 which they had not yet taken off from the iron teeth4 ,the blackened chimneypiece was ornamented by an owl and a raven nailed on the wall1 their wings extended1 and their throats with a huge nail through each2 a fox's skin1 freshly flayed1 was spread before the window2 and a larder hook1 fixed into the principal beam1 held a headless goose1 whose body swayed about over our heads4 8,my eyes were offended by all these details1 and ,i turned them again upon my hosts4 ,the father1 who sat opposite to me1 only interrupted his smoking to pour out his drink1 or address some reprimand to his sons4 ,the eldest of these was scraping a deep bucket1 and the bloody scrapings1 which he threw into the fire every instant1 filled the room with a disagreeable fetid smell2 the second son was sharpening some butcher's knives4 ,i learned from a word dropped from the father that they were preparing to kill a pig the next day4 8,these occupations and the whole aspect of things inside the house told of such habitual coarseness in their way of living as seemed to explain1 while it formed the fitting counterpart of1 the forbidding gloominess of the outside4 ,my astonishment by degrees changed into disgust1 and my disgust into uneasiness4 ,i cannot detail the whole chain of ideas which succeeded one another in my imagination2 but1 yielding to an impulse ,i could not overcome1 ,i got up1 declaring ,i would go on my road again4 8,the farmer made some effort to keep me2 he spoke of the rain1 of the darkness1 and of the length of the way4 ,i replied to all by the absolute necessity there was for my being at ,montargis that very night2 and thanking him for his brief hospitality1 ,i set off again in a haste which might well have confirmed the truth of my words to him4 8,however1 the freshness of the night and the exercise of walking did not fail to change the directions of my thoughts4 ,when away from the objects which had awakened such lively disgust in me1 ,i felt it gradually diminishing4 ,i began to smile at the susceptibility of my feelings1 and then1 in proportion as the rain became heavier and colder1 these strictures on myself assumed a tone of ill-temper4 ,i silently accused myself of the absurdity of mistaking sensation for admonitions of my reason4 ,after all1 were not the farmer and his sons free to live alone1 to hunt1 to keep dogs1 and to kill a pig8 ,where was the crime of it8 ,with less nervous susceptibility1 ,i should have accepted the shelter they offered me1 and ,i should now be sleeping snugly on a truss of straw1 instead of walking with difficulty through the cold and drizzling rain4 ,i thus continued to reproach myself1 until1 toward morning1 ,i arrived at ,montargis1 jaded and benumbed with cold4 8,when1 however1 ,i got up refreshed1 toward the middle of the next day1 ,i instinctively returned to my first opinion4 ,the appearance of the farmhouse presented itself to me under the same repulsive colors which the evening before had determined me to make my escape from it4 ,reason itself remained silent when reviewing all those coarse details1 and was forced to recognize in them the indications of a low nature1 or else the presence of some baleful influence4 8,i went away the next day without being able to learn anything concerning the farmer or his sons2 but the recollection of my adventure remained deeply fixed in my memory4 8,ten years afterward ,i was travelling in the diligence through the department of the ,loiret2 ,i was leaning from the window1 and looking at some coppice ground now for the first time brought under cultivation1 and the mode of clearing which one of my travelling companions was explaining to me1 when my eyes fell upon a walled inclosure1 with an iron-barred gate4 ,inside it ,i perceived a house with all the blinds closed1 and which ,i immediately recollected2 it was the farmhouse where ,i had been sheltered4 ,i eagerly pointed it out to my companion1 and asked who lived in it4 8#8,nobody just now1' replied he4 8#8,but was it not kept1 some years ago1 by a farmer and his two sons8' 8#8,the ,turreaus2' said my travelling companion1 looking at me2 #8did you know them8' 8#8,i saw them once4' 8,he shook his head4 8#8,yes1 yes6' resumed he2 #8for many years they lived there like wolves in their den2 they merely knew how to till land1 kill game1 and drink4 ,the father managed the house1 but men living alone1 without women to love them1 without children to soften them1 and without ,god to make them think of heaven1 always turn into wild beasts1 you see2 so one morning the eldest son1 who had been drinking too much brandy1 would not harness the plow-horses2 his father struck him with his whip1 and the son1 who was mad drunk1 shot him dead with his gun4'0 #afth1 ,p4,m4--,i have been thinking of the story of the old cashier these two days2 it came so opportunely upon the reflections my dream had suggested to me4 ,have ,i not an important lesson to learn from all this8 ,if our sensations have an incontestable influence upon our judgments1 how comes it that we are so little careful of those things which awaken or modify these sensations8 ,the external world is always reflected in us as in a mirror1 and fills our minds with pictures which1 unconsciously to ourselves1 become the germs of our opinions and of our rules of conduct4 ,all the objects which surround us are then1 in reality1 so many talismans whence good and evil influences are emitted1 and it is for us to choose them wisely1 so as to create a healthy atmosphere for our minds4 ,feeling convinced of this truth1 ,i set about making a survey of my attic4 ,the first object on which my eyes rest is an old map of the history of the principal monastery in my native province4 ,i had unrolled it with much satisfaction1 and placed it on the most conspicuous part of the wall4 ,why had ,i given it this place8 ,ought this sheet of old worm-eaten parchment to be of so much value to me1 who am neither an antiquary nor a scholar8 ,is not its real importance in my sight that one of the abbots who founded it bore my name1 and that ,i shall1 perchance1 be able to make myself a genealogical tree of it for the edification of my visitors8 ,while writing this1 ,i feel my own blushes4 ,come1 down with the map6 let us banish it into my deepest drawer4 ,as ,i passed my glass1 ,i perceived several visiting cards complacently displayed in the frame4 ,by what chance is it that there are only names that make a show among them8 ,here is a ,polish count--a retired colonel--the deputy of my department4 ,quick1 quick1 into the fire with these proofs of vanity6 and let us put this card in the handwriting of our office-boy1 this direction for cheap dinners1 and the receipt of the broker where ,i bought my last armchair1 in their place4 ,these indications of my poverty will serve1 as ,montaigne says1 #8mater ma superbe'1 and will always make me recollect the modesty in which the dignity of the lowly consists4 ,i have stopped before the prints hanging upon the wall4 ,this large and smiling ,pomona1 seated on sheaves of corn1 and whose basket is overflowing with fruit1 only produces thoughts of joy and plenty2 ,i was looking at her the other day1 when ,i fell asleep denying such a thing as misery4 ,let us give her as companion this picture of ,winter1 in which everything tells of sorrow and suffering3 one picture will modify the other4 ,and this ,happy ,family of ,greuze's6 ,what joy in the children's eyes6 ,what sweet repose in the young woman's face6 ,what religious feeling in the grandfather's countenance6 ,may ,god preserve their happiness to them6 but let us hang by its side the picture of this mother1 who weeps over an empty cradle4 ,human life has two faces1 both of which we must dare to contemplate in their turn4 ,let me hide1 too1 these ridiculous monsters which ornament my chimneypiece4 ,plato has said that 8the beautiful is nothing else than the visible form of the good40 ,if it is so1 the ugly should be the visible form of the evil1 and1 by constantly beholding it1 the mind insensibly deteriorates4 ,but above all1 in order to cherish the feelings of kindness and pity1 let me hang at the foot of my bed this affecting picture of the ,last ,sleep6 ,never have ,i been able to look at it without feeling my heart touched4 ,an old woman1 clothed in rags1 is lying by a roadside2 her stick is at her feet1 and her head rests upon a stone2 she has fallen asleep2 her hands are clasped2 murmuring a prayer of her childhood1 she sleeps her last sleep1 she dreams her last dream6 ,she sees herself1 again a strong and happy child1 keeping the sheep on the common1 gathering the berries from the hedges1 singing1 curtsying to passers-by1 and making the sign of the cross when the first star appears in the heavens6 ,happy time1 filled with fragrance and sunshine6 ,she wants nothing yet1 for she is ignorant of what there is to wish for4 ,but see her grown up2 the time is come for working bravely3 she must cut the corn1 thresh the wheat1 carry the bundles of flowering clover or branches of withered leaves to the farm4 ,if her toil is hard1 hope shines like a sun over everything and it wipes the drops of sweat away4 ,the growing girl already sees that life is a task1 but she still sings as she fulfills it4 ,by-and-bye the burden becomes heavier2 she is a wife1 she is a mother6 ,she must economize the bread of to-day1 have her eye upon the morrow1 take care of the sick1 and sustain the feeble2 she must act1 in short1 that part of an earthly ,providence1 so easy when ,god gives us his aid1 so hard when he forsakes us4 ,she is still strong1 but she is anxious2 she sings no longer6 ,yet a few years1 and all is overcast4 ,the husband's health is broken2 his wife sees him pine away by the now fireless hearth2 cold and hunger finish what sickness had begun2 he dies1 and his widow sits on the ground by the coffin provided by the charity of others1 pressing her two half-naked little ones in her arms4 ,she dreads the future1 she weeps1 and she droops her head4 ,at last the future has come2 the children are grown up1 but they are no longer with her4 ,her son is fighting under his country's flag1 and his sister is gone4 ,both have been lost to her for a long time--perhaps forever2 and the strong girl1 the brave wife1 the courageous mother1 is henceforth only a poor old beggar-woman1 without a family1 and without a home6 ,she weeps no more1 sorrow has subdued her2 she surrenders1 and waits for death4 ,death1 that faithful friend of the wretched1 is come3 not hideous and with mockery1 as superstition represents1 but beautiful1 smiling1 and crowned with stars6 ,the gentle phantom stoops to the beggar2 its pale lips murmur a few airy words1 which announce to her the end of her labors2 a peaceful joy comes over the aged beggarwoman1 and1 leaning on the shoulder of the great ,deliverer1 she has passed unconsciously from her last earthly sleep to her eternal rest4 ,lie there1 thou poor way-wearied woman6 ,the leaves will serve thee for a winding-sheet4 ,night will shed her tears of dew over thee1 and the birds will sing sweetly by thy remains4 ,thy visit here below will not have left more trace than their flight through the air2 thy name is already forgotten1 and the only legacy thou hast to leave is the hawthorn stick lying forgotten at thy feet6 ,well6 some one will take it up--some soldier of that great human host which is scattered abroad by misery or by vice2 for thou art not an exception1 thou art an instance2 and under the same sun which shines so pleasantly upon all1 in the midst of these flowering vineyards1 this ripe corn1 and these wealthy cities1 entire generations suffer1 succeed each other1 and still bequeath to each the beggar's stick6 ,the sight of this sad picture shall make me more grateful for what ,god has given me1 and more compassionate for those whom he has treated with less indulgence2 it shall be a lesson and a subject for reflection for me4 ,ah6 if we would watch for everything that might improve and instruct us2 if the arrangements of our daily life were so disposed as to be a constant school for our minds6 but oftenest we take no heed of them4 ,man is an eternal mystery to himself2 his own person is a house into which he never enters1 and of which he studies the outside alone4 ,each of us need have continually before him the famous inscription which once instructed ,socrates1 and which was engraved on the walls of ,delphi by an unknown hand3 ,,know ,,thyself4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,year ,december #cjth1 ,p4,m4 ,i was in bed1 and hardly recovered from the delirious fever which had kept me for so long between life and death4 ,my weakened brain was making efforts to recover its activity2 my thoughts1 like rays of light struggling through the clouds1 were still confused and imperfect2 at times ,i felt a return of the dizziness which made a chaos of all my ideas1 and ,i floated1 so to speak1 between alternate fits of mental wandering and consciousness4 ,sometimes everything seemed plain to me1 like the prospect which1 from the top of some high mountain1 opens before us in clear weather4 ,we distinguish water1 woods1 villages1 cattle1 even the cottage perched on the edge of the ravine2 then suddenly there comes a gust of wind laden with mist1 and all is confused and indistinct4 ,thus1 yielding to the oscillations of a half-recovered reason1 ,i allowed my mind to follow its various impulses without troubling myself to separate the real from the imaginary2 ,i glided softly from one to the other1 and my dreams and waking thoughts succeeded closely upon one another4 ,now1 while my mind is wandering in this unsettled state1 see1 underneath the clock which measures the hours with its loud ticking1 a female figure appears before me6 ,at first sight ,i saw enough to satisfy me that she was not a daughter of ,eve4 ,in her eye was the last flash of an expiring star1 and her face had the pallor of an heroic death-struggle4 ,she was dressed in a drapery of a thousand changing colors of the brightest and the most sombre hues1 and held a withered garland in her hand4 ,after having contemplated her for some moments1 ,i asked her name1 and what brought her into my attic4 ,her eyes1 which were following the movements of the clock1 turned toward me1 and she replied3 8,you see in me the year which is just drawing to its end2 ,i come to receive your thanks and your farewell40 ,i raised myself on my elbow in surprise1 which soon gave place to bitter resentment4 8,ah6 you want thanks10 cried ,i2 8but first let me know what for8 8,when ,i welcomed your coming1 ,i was still young and vigorous3 you have taken from me each day some little of my strength1 and you have ended by inflicting an illness upon me2 already1 thanks to you1 my blood is less warm1 my muscles less firm1 and my feet less agile than before6 ,you have planted the germs of infirmity in my bosom2 there1 where the summer flowers of life were growing1 you have wickedly sown the nettles of old age6 8,and1 as if it were not enough to weaken my body1 you have also diminished the powers of my soul2 you have extinguished her enthusiasm2 she is become more sluggish and more timid4 ,formerly her eyes took in the whole of mankind in their generous survey2 but you have made her nearsighted1 and now she hardly sees beyond herself6 ,that is what you have done for my spiritual being3 then as to my outward existence1 see to what grief1 neglect1 and misery you have reduced it6 ,for the many days that the fever has kept me chained to this bed1 who has taken care of this home in which ,i placed all my joy8 ,shall ,i not find my closets empty1 my bookcase1 stripped1 all my poor treasures lost through negligence or dishonesty8 ,where are the plants ,i cultivated1 the birds ,i fed8 ,all are gone6 my attic is despoiled1 silent and solitary6 ,as it is only for the last few moments that ,i have returned to a consciousness of what surrounds me1 ,i am even ignorant who has nursed me during my long illness6 ,doubtless some hireling1 who will leave when all my means of recompense are exhausted6 ,and what will my masters1 for whom ,i am bound to work1 have said to my absence8 ,at this time of the year1 when business is most pressing1 can they have done without me1 will they even have tried to do so8 ,perhaps ,i am already superseded in the humble situation by which ,i earned my daily bread6 ,and it is thou-thou alone1 wicked daughter of ,time--who hast brought all these misfortunes upon me3 strength1 health1 comfort1 work--thou hast taken all from me4 ,i have only received outrage and loss from thee1 and yet thou darest to claim my gratitude60 8,ah6 die then1 since thy day is come2 but die despised and cursed2 and may ,i write on thy tomb the epitaph the ,arabian poet inscribed upon that of a king3 8#8,rejoice1 thou passer-by3 he whom we have buried here cannot live again4'0 44444444444444444444444 ,i was wakened by a hand taking mine2 and opening my eyes1 ,i recognized the doctor4 ,after having felt my pulse1 he nodded his head1 sat down at the foot of the bed1 and looked at me1 rubbing his nose with his snuffbox4 ,i have since learned that this was a sign of satisfaction with the doctor4 8,well6 so we wanted old snub-nose to carry us off80 said ,m4 ,lambert1 in his half-joking1 half-scolding way4 8,what the deuce of a hurry we were in6 ,it was necessary to hold you back with both arms at least60 8,then you had given me up1 doctor80 asked ,i1 rather alarmed4 8,not at all10 replied the old physician4 8,we can't give up what we have not got2 and ,i make it a rule never to have any hope4 ,we are but instruments in the hands of ,providence1 and each of us should say1 with ,ambroise ,pare3 #8,i tend him1 ,god cures him60' 8,may ,he be blessed then1 as well as you10 cried ,i2 8and may my health come back with the new year60 ,m4 ,lambert shrugged his shoulders4 8,begin by asking yourself for it10 resumed he1 bluntly4 8,god has given it you1 and it is your own sense1 and not chance1 that must keep it for you4 ,one would think1 to hear people talk1 that sickness comes upon us like the rain or the sunshine1 without one having a word to say in the matter4 ,before we complain of being ill we should prove that we deserve to be well40 ,i was about to smile1 but the doctor looked angry4 8,ah6 you think that ,i am joking10 resumed he1 raising his voice2 8but tell me1 then1 which of us gives his health the same attention that he gives to his business8 ,do you economize your strength as you economize your money8 ,do you avoid excess and imprudence in the one case with the same care as extravagance or foolish speculations in the other8 ,do you keep as regular accounts of your mode of living as you do of your income8 ,do you consider every evening what has been wholesome or unwholesome for you1 with the same care that you bring to the examination of your expenditure8 ,you may smile2 but have you not brought this illness on yourself by a thousand indiscretions80 ,i began to protest against this1 and asked him to point out these indiscretions4 ,the old doctor spread out his fingers1 and began to reckon upon them one by one4 8,primo10 cried he1 8want of exercise4 ,you live here like a mouse in a cheese1 without air1 motion1 or change4 ,consequently1 the blood circulates badly1 the fluids thicken1 the muscles1 being inactive1 do not claim their share of nutrition1 the stomach flags1 and the brain grows weary4 8,secundo4 ,irregular food4 ,caprice is your cook2 your stomach a slave who must accept what you give it1 but who presently takes a sullen revenge1 like all slaves4 8,tertio4 ,sitting up late4 ,instead of using the night for sleep1 you spend it in reading2 your bedstead is a bookcase1 your pillows a desk6 ,at the time when the wearied brain asks for rest1 you lead it through these nocturnal orgies1 and you are surprised to find it the worse for them the next day4 8,quarto4 ,luxurious habits4 ,shut up in your attic1 you insensibly surround yourself with a thousand effeminate indulgences4 ,you must have list for your door1 a blind for your window1 a carpet for your feet1 an easy-chair stuffed with wool for your back1 your fire lit at the first sign of cold1 and a shade to your lamp2 and thanks to all these precautions1 the least draught makes you catch cold1 common chairs give you no rest1 and you must wear spectacles to support the light of day4 ,you have thought you were acquiring comforts1 and you have only contracted infirmities4 8,quinto0 8,ah6 enough1 enough1 doctor60 cried ,i4 8,pray1 do not carry your examination farther2 do not attach a sense of remorse to each of my pleasures40 ,the old doctor rubbed his nose with his snuffbox4 8,you see10 said he1 more gently1 and rising at the same time1 8you would escape from the truth4 ,you shrink from inquiry--a proof that you are guilty4 #8,habemus confitentem reum'6 ,but at least1 my friend1 do not go on laying the blame on ,time1 like an old woman40 ,thereupon he again felt my pulse1 and took his leave1 declaring that his function was at an end1 and that the rest depended upon myself4 ,when the doctor was gone1 ,i set about reflecting upon what he had said4 ,although his words were too sweeping1 they were not the less true in the main4 ,how often we accuse chance of an illness1 the origin of which we should seek in ourselves6 ,perhaps it would have been wiser to let him finish the examination he had begun4 ,but is there not another of more importance--that which concerns the health of the soul8 ,am ,i so sure of having neglected no means of preserving that during the year which is now ending8 ,have ,i1 as one of ,god's soldiers upon earth1 kept my courage and my arms efficient8 ,shall ,i be ready for the great review of souls which must pass before ,him ,,who ,,is in the dark valley of ,jehoshaphat8 ,darest thou examine thyself1 ,o my soul6 and see how often thou hast erred8 ,first1 thou hast erred through pride6 for ,i have not duly valued the lowly4 ,i have drunk too deeply of the intoxicating wines of genius1 and have found no relish in pure water4 ,i have disdained those words which had no other beauty than their sincerity2 ,i have ceased to love men solely because they are men--,i have loved them for their endowments2 ,i have contracted the world within the narrow compass of a pantheon1 and my sympathy has been awakened by admiration only4 ,the vulgar crowd1 which ,i ought to have followed with a friendly eye because it is composed of my brothers in hope or grief1 ,i have let pass by with as much indifference as if it were a flock of sheep4 ,i am indignant with him who rolls in riches and despises the man poor in worldly wealth2 and yet1 vain of my trifling knowledge1 ,i despise him who is poor in mind--,i scorn the poverty of intellect as others do that of dress2 ,i take credit for a gift which ,i did not bestow on myself1 and turn the favor of fortune into a weapon with which to attack others4 ,ah6 if1 in the worst days of revolutions1 ignorance has revolted and raised a cry of hatred against genius1 the fault is not alone in the envious malice of ignorance1 but comes in part1 too1 from the contemptuous pride of knowledge4 ,alas6 ,i have too completely forgotten the fable of the two sons of the magician of ,bagdad4 ,one of them1 struck by an irrevocable decree of destiny1 was born blind1 while the other enjoyed all the delights of sight4 ,the latter1 proud of his own advantages1 laughed at his brother's blindness1 and disdained him as a companion4 ,one morning the blind boy wished to go out with him4 8,to what purpose10 said he1 8since the gods have put nothing in common between us8 ,for me creation is a stage1 where a thousand charming scenes and wonderful actors appear in succession2 for you it is only an obscure abyss1 at the bottom of which you hear the confused murmur of an invisible world4 ,continue then alone in your darkness1 and leave the pleasures of light to those upon whom the day-star shines40 ,with these words he went away1 and his brother1 left alone1 began to cry bitterly4 ,his father1 who heard him1 immediately ran to him1 and tried to console him by promising to give him whatever he desired4 8,can you give me sight80 asked the child4 8,fate does not permit it10 said the magician4 8,then10 cried the blind boy1 eagerly1 8,i ask you to put out the sun60 ,who knows whether my pride has not provoked the same wish on the part of some one of my brothers who does not see8 ,but how much oftener have ,i erred through levity and want of thought6 ,how many resolutions have ,i taken at random6 how many judgments have ,i pronounced for the sake of a witticism6 how many mischiefs have ,i not done without any sense of my responsibility6 ,the greater part of men harm one another for the sake of doing something4 ,we laugh at the honor of one1 and compromise the reputation of another1 like an idle man who saunters along a hedgerow1 breaking the young branches and destroying the most beautiful flowers4 ,and1 nevertheless1 it is by this very thoughtlessness that the fame of some men is created4 ,it rises gradually1 like one of those mysterious mounds in barbarous countries1 to which a stone is added by every passerby2 each one brings something at random1 and adds it as he passes1 without being able himself to see whether he is raising a pedestal or a gibbet4 ,who will dare look behind him1 to see his rash judgments held up there to view8 ,some time ago ,i was walking along the edge of the green mound on which the ,montmartre telegraph stands4 ,below me1 along one of the zigzag paths which wind up the hill1 a man and a girl were coming up1 and arrested my attention4 ,the man wore a shaggy coat1 which gave him some resemblance to a wild beast2 and he held a thick stick in his hand1 with which he described various strange figures in the air4 ,he spoke very loud1 and in a voice which seemed to me convulsed with passion4 ,he raised his eyes every now and then with an expression of savage harshness1 and it appeared to me that he was reproaching and threatening the girl1 and that she was listening to him with a submissiveness which touched my heart4 ,two or three times she ventured a few words1 doubtless in the attempt to justify herself2 but the man in the greatcoat began again immediately with his loud and angry voice1 his savage looks1 and his threatening evolutions in the air4 ,i followed him with my eyes1 vainly endeavoring to catch a word as he passed1 until he disappeared behind the hill4 ,i had evidently just seen one of those domestic tyrants whose sullen tempers are excited by the patience of their victims1 and who1 though they have the power to become the beneficent gods of a family1 choose rather to be their tormentors4 ,i cursed the unknown savage in my heart1 and ,i felt indignant that these crimes against the sacred peace of home could not be punished as they deserve1 when ,i heard his voice approaching nearer4 ,he had turned the path1 and soon appeared before me at the top of the slope4 ,the first glance1 and his first words1 explained everything to me3 in place of what ,i had taken for the furious tones and terrible looks of an angry man1 and the attitude of a frightened victim1 ,i had before me only an honest citizen1 who squinted and stuttered1 but who was explaining the management of silkworms to his attentive daughter4 ,i turned homeward1 smiling at my mistake2 but before ,i reached my faubourg ,i saw a crowd running1 ,i heard calls for help1 and every finger pointed in the same direction to a distant column of flame4 ,a manufactory had taken fire1 and everybody was rushing forward to assist in extinguishing it4 ,i hesitated4 ,night was coming on2 ,i felt tired2 a favorite book was awaiting me2 ,i thought there would be no want of help1 and ,i went on my way4 ,just before ,i had erred from want of consideration2 now it was from selfishness and cowardice4 ,but what6 have ,i not on a thousand other occasions forgotten the duties which bind us to our fellowmen8 ,is this the first time ,i have avoided paying society what ,i owe it8 ,have ,i not always behaved to my companions with injustice1 and like the lion8 ,have ,i not claimed successively every share8 ,if any one is so ill-advised as to ask me to return some little portion1 ,i get provoked1 ,i am angry1 ,i try to escape from it by every means4 ,how many times1 when ,i have perceived a beggar sitting huddled up at the end of the street1 have ,i not gone out of my way1 for fear that compassion would impoverish me by forcing me to be charitable6 ,how often have ,i doubted the misfortunes of others1 that ,i might with justice harden my heart against them4 ,with what satisfaction have ,i sometimes verified the vices of the poor man1 in order to show that his misery is the punishment he deserves6 ,oh6 let us not go farther--let us not go farther6 ,i interrupted the doctor's examination1 but how much sadder is this one6 ,we pity the diseases of the body2 we shudder at those of the soul4 ,i was happily disturbed in my reverie by my neighbor1 the old soldier4 ,now ,i think of it1 ,i seem always to have seen1 during my fever1 the figure of this good old man1 sometimes leaning against my bed1 and sometimes sitting at his table1 surrounded by his sheets of pasteboard4 ,he has just come in with his glue-pot1 his quire of green paper1 and his great scissors4 ,i called him by his name2 he uttered a joyful exclamation1 and came near me4 8,well6 so the bullet is found again60 cried he1 taking my two hands into the maimed one which was left him2 8it has not been without trouble1 ,i can tell you2 the campaign has been long enough to win two clasps in4 ,i have seen no few fellows with the fever batter windmills during my hospital days3 at ,leipsic1 ,i had a neighbor who fancied a chimney was on fire in his stomach1 and who was always calling for the fire-engines2 but the third day it all went out of itself4 ,but with you it has lasted twenty-eight days--as long as one of the ,little ,corporal's campaigns40 8,i am not mistaken then2 you were near me80 8,well6 ,i had only to cross the passage4 ,this left hand has not made you a bad nurse for want of the right2 but1 bah6 you did not know what hand gave you drink1 and it did not prevent that beggar of a fever from being drowned--for all the world like ,poniatowski in the ,elster40 ,the old soldier began to laugh1 and ,i1 feeling too much affected to speak1 pressed his hand against my breast4 ,he saw my emotion1 and hastened to put an end to it4 8,by-the-bye1 you know that from to-day you have a right to draw your rations again10 resumed he gayly2 8four meals1 like the ,german meinherrs--nothing more6 ,the doctor is your house steward40 8,we must find the cook1 too10 replied ,i1 with a smile4 8,she is found10 said the veteran4 8,who is she80 8,genevieve40 8,the fruit-woman80 8,while ,i am talking she is cooking for you1 neighbor2 and do not fear her sparing either butter or trouble4 ,as long as life and death were fighting for you1 the honest woman passed her time in going up and down stairs to learn which way the battle went4 ,and1 stay1 ,i am sure this is she40 ,in fact we heard steps in the passage1 and he went to open the door4 8,oh1 well60 continued he1 8it is ,mother ,millot1 our portress1 another of your good friends1 neighbor1 and whose poultices ,i recommend to you4 ,come in1 ,mother ,millot--come in2 we are quite bonny boys this morning1 and ready to step a minuet if we had our dancing-shoes40 ,the portress came in1 quite delighted4 ,she brought my linen1 washed and mended by herself1 with a little bottle of ,spanish wine1 the gift of her sailor son1 and kept for great occasions4 ,i would have thanked her1 but the good woman imposed silence upon me1 under the pretext that the doctor had forbidden me to speak4 ,i saw her arrange everything in my drawers1 the neat appearance of which struck me2 an attentive hand had evidently been there1 and day by day put straight the unavoidable disorder consequent on sickness4 ,as she finished1 ,genevieve arrived with my dinner2 she was followed by ,mother ,denis1 the milk-woman over the way1 who had learned1 at the same time1 the danger ,i had been in1 and that ,i was now beginning to be convalescent4 ,the good ,savoyard brought me a new-laid egg1 which she herself wished to see me eat4 ,it was necessary to relate minutely all my illness to her4 ,at every detail she uttered loud exclamations2 then1 when the portress warned her to be less noisy1 she excused herself in a whisper4 ,they made a circle around me to see me eat my dinner2 each mouthful ,i took was accompanied by their expressions of satisfaction and thankfulness4 ,never had the ,king of ,france1 when he dined in public1 excited such admiration among the spectators4 ,as they were taking the dinner away1 my colleague1 the old cashier1 entered in his turn4 ,i could not prevent my heart beating as ,i recognized him4 ,how would the heads of the firm look upon my absence1 and what did he come to tell me8 ,i waited with inexpressible anxiety for him to speak2 but he sat down by me1 took my hand1 and began rejoicing over my recovery1 without saying a word about our masters4 ,i could not endure this uncertainty any longer4 8,and the ,messieurs ,durmer10 asked ,i1 hesitatingly1 8how have they taken--the interruption to my work80 8,there has been no interruption10 replied the old clerk1 quietly4 8,what do you mean80 8,each one in the office took a share of your duty2 all has gone on as usual1 and the ,messieurs ,durmer have perceived no difference40 ,this was too much4 ,after so many instances of affection1 this filled up the measure4 ,i could not restrain my tears4 ,thus the few services ,i had been able to do for others had been acknowledged by them a hundredfold6 ,i had sown a little seed1 and every grain had fallen on good ground1 and brought forth a whole sheaf4 ,ah6 this completes the lesson the doctor gave me4 ,if it is true that the diseases1 whether of the mind or body1 are the fruit of our follies and our vices1 sympathy and affection are also the rewards of our having done our duty4 ,every one of us1 with ,god's help1 and within the narrow limits of human capability1 himself makes his own disposition1 character1 and permanent condition4 ,everybody is gone2 the old soldier has brought me back my flowers and my birds1 and they are my only companions4 ,the setting sun reddens my half-closed curtains with its last rays4 ,my brain is clear1 and my heart lighter4 ,a thin mist floats before my eyes1 and ,i feel myself in that happy state which precedes a refreshing sleep4 ,yonder1 opposite the bed1 the pale goddess in her drapery of a thousand changing colors1 and with her withered garland1 again appears before me2 but this time ,i hold out my hand to her with a grateful smile4 8,adieu1 beloved year6 whom ,i but now unjustly accused4 ,that which ,i have suffered must not be laid to thee2 for thou wast but a tract through which ,god had marked out my road--a ground where ,i had reaped the harvest ,i had sown4 ,i will love thee1 thou wayside shelter1 for those hours of happiness thou hast seen me enjoy2 ,i will love thee even for the suffering thou hast seen me endure4 ,neither happiness nor suffering came from thee2 but thou hast been the scene for them4 ,descend again then1 in peace1 into eternity1 and be blest1 thou who hast left me experience in the place of youth1 sweet memories instead of past time1 and gratitude as payment for good offices40 ,,etext ,,editor',s ,,bookmarks3 ,always to mistake feeling for evidence ,ambroise ,pare3 #8,i tend him1 ,god cures him6' ,are we then bound to others only by the enforcement of laws ,attach a sense of remorse to each of my pleasures ,brought them up to poverty ,but above these ruins rises a calm and happy face ,carn-ival means1 literally1 8farewell to flesh60 ,coffee is the grand work of a bachelor's housekeeping ,contemptuous pride of knowledge ,death1 that faithful friend of the wretched ,defeat and victory only displace each other by turns ,did not think the world was so great ,do they understand what makes them so gay8 ,each of us regards himself as the mirror of the community ,ease with which the poor forget their wretchedness ,every one keeps his holidays in his own way ,fame and power are gifts that are dearly bought ,favorite and conclusive answer of his class--8,i know0 ,fear of losing a moment from business ,finishes his sin thoroughly before he begins to repent ,fortune sells what we believe she gives ,her kindness1 which never sleeps ,houses are vessels which take mere passengers ,hubbub of questions which waited for no reply ,i make it a rule never to have any hope ,ignorant of what there is to wish for ,looks on an accomplished duty neither as a merit nor a grievance ,make himself a name3 he becomes public property ,moderation is the great social virtue ,more stir than work ,my patronage has become her property ,no one is so unhappy as to have nothing to give ,not desirous to teach goodness ,nothing is dishonorable which is useful ,our tempers are like an opera-glass ,poverty1 you see1 is a famous schoolmistress ,power of necessity ,prisoners of work ,progress can never be forced on without danger ,question is not to discover what will suit us ,richer than ,france herself1 for ,i have no deficit in my budget ,ruining myself1 but we must all have our ,carnival ,satisfy our wants1 if we know how to set bounds to them ,sensible man1 who has observed much and speaks little ,so much confidence at first1 so much doubt at las ,sullen tempers are excited by the patience of their victims ,the happiness of the wise man costs but little ,the man in power gives up his peace ,two thirds of human existence are wasted in hesitation ,virtue made friends1 but she did not take pupils ,we do not understand that others may live on their own account ,we are not bound to live1 while we are bound to do our duty ,what have you done with the days ,god granted you ,what a small dwelling joy can live ,you may know the game by the lair