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[Illustration: Frontispiece]
_THE MILKMAID'S WEDDING_
_Denise, beaming with love and happiness, embellishing by her charms and
her grace the modest costume she had selected, was led to the altar by
the man she loved._
_All the people of the village assembled to see the little milkmaid
married._
NOVELS
BY
Paul de Kock
VOLUME XX
THE MILKMAID
OF
MONTFERMEIL
PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH
GEORGE BARRIE'S SONS
THE JEFFERSON PRESS
BOSTON NEW YORK
_Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. & Sons._
THE MILKMAID OF MONTFERMEIL
I
A CONVERSATION IN A CABRIOLET
"For you can't go on like this forever, lieutenant--you must agree to
that. The great Turenne didn't fight ten battles at once and didn't
carry on six intrigues on the same day."
"No, my dear Bertrand, but Cæsar dictated four letters at once in four
different languages, and Pico de la Mirandola boasted that he was
familiar with and could talk _de omni re scibili_----"
"I beg pardon, lieutenant, I don't know Latin."
"That means that he claimed to know all languages, to have gone to the
bottom of all the sciences, to be able to refute all creeds and
reconcile theologians of all breeds."
"As I don't think that you're so conceited as that, lieutenant, I won't
compare you with this Monsieur de la Mirandola, who claimed to know
everything. As for Cæsar, I've heard him spoken of as a very great man,
but I'm sure he didn't have as many mistresses as you."
"You're mistaken, Bertrand; the great men of antiquity had a great many
female slaves, concubines, and often cast off their wives and took new
ones. Love and Pleasure had temples in Greece; and those high and
mighty Romans, who are represented to us as so strait-laced, weren't
ashamed to indulge in the wildest debauchery, to crown themselves with
myrtle and roses, and sometimes to appear at their banquets in the
costumes of our first parents."
"For God's sake, lieutenant, let's drop the Romans, with whom I never
exchanged a shot, and go back to what we were talking about."
"I propose to prove to you, my dear Bertrand, that we are very far from
surpassing preceding generations in folly, and are in fact much more
virtuous."
"Is that why you have four mistresses?"
"I love women, I admit; I will say more--I am proud of it; it is a
natural inclination. I cannot see an attractive face, a fine pair of
eyes, without feeling a pleasant thrill, an agitation, an I don't know
what, in short, that proves my extreme susceptibility. Is it a crime,
pray, to be susceptible in an age when selfishness is carried to such
lengths; when self-interest is the mainspring of almost all human
actions; when we see authors prefer cash to renown, and men in office
forgetful of everything except retaining their offices, instead of
meditating on the good they might do; when we see artists begging for
the patronage of people they despise, and asking alms from stupidity
when it is in power; when we see men of letters carefully block a
confrère's path when they detect in him a talent that might outshine
theirs; when, in short, every door is closed to obscure merit, and
thrown wide open to impudence and conceit when accompanied by wealth? If
selfishness had not wormed its way into all classes of society, if love
of money had not replaced love of one's neighbor, would it be thus? And
you berate me for my susceptibility! You reproach me for being unable to
listen unmoved to the story of a noble deed, or of pathetic misfortune;
for giving money to people who deceive me; for allowing myself to be
gulled like an ass by the palaver of a child who tells me that he is
begging for his mother, or of a poor laboring man who swears that he has
no work and nothing to eat! Well, my dear Bertrand, I prefer my
susceptibility to their icy selfishness, and I find in my heart sources
of enjoyment which their indifferent hearts will never know."
This conversation took place in a stylish cabriolet, drawn by a prancing
horse, which was bowling along the lovely road from Raincy to
Montfermeil. A small groom of some twelve or fourteen years was perched
behind the carriage, in which Bertrand was seated beside a young man,
dressed in the latest fashion, who, as he conversed, touched
occasionally with his whip the spirited steed he was driving.
Bertrand had partly turned his face away toward the end of his master's
speech; and to cloak the emotion which was beginning to be too much for
him, he blew his nose and took a huge pinch of snuff. Somewhat composed
thereby, he said in a voice slightly tremulous with emotion:
"God forbid, lieutenant, that I should blame you for being
tender-hearted! I know your kind heart; I know how willing and ready to
help you are! And I could mention a thousand things you've done that
many men would have bragged about; whereas you are very careful to
conceal them."
"People who boast of the good they do are like the ones who offer you a
thing in such a way that you can't accept it: both give regretfully."
"We needn't look very far, lieutenant; haven't you heaped presents on
me? didn't you take me in, and give me board and lodging?"
"You're an idiot, Bertrand; don't you act as my steward, factotum,
confidential man of business,--yes, and as my friend, which is better
than all the rest, and for which one cannot pay?"
At that, Bertrand turned his head altogether, and blew his nose again,
because a great tear had dropped from his eyes. He took two pinches of
snuff, and having warmly grasped the hand that his master offered him,
he said in a quavering voice:
"Yes, monsieur, you are the best of men; you have a thousand good
qualities! and no one had better say anything different in my hearing!
Morbleu! my sword isn't rusty yet."
"Oho! so now you're going to flatter me, are you? Remember, Bertrand,
that you began this conversation for the purpose of scolding me."
"Scolding you! no, indeed, lieutenant, but simply to point out to you
that it would be more reasonable to love one woman at once; with full
liberty to change as soon as you see another one that you like better."
"Look you, Bertrand, I'll draw a comparison for you, that you'll see the
justice of at once."
"You won't put any Greeks or Romans in it, will you, lieutenant?"
"Not one.--You like wine, don't you, Bertrand?"
"That's so, lieutenant; I admit that an old bottle--of a good
brand--there's nothing like that to liven you up!"
"Do you like beaune?"
"Very much, lieutenant."
"And bordeaux?"
"Ah, yes! it smells of violets; it has a delicious bouquet!"
"And volnay?"
"I've never been able to resist it."
"And chambertin?"
"I would go down on my knees to it, lieutenant."
"If you had a bottle of each of those wines in front of you, would you
give up three of them and drink just a single one?"
"I promise you, lieutenant, that I'd take care of all four of them, and
I wouldn't be any worse off for it either."
"Why then do you expect me, when I am surrounded by four pretty
creatures, each of whom has some peculiar charm, to give up three of
them and make love to only one?"
"Parbleu! that's true enough, lieutenant; you can't do it; you must
drink them--I mean you must love them all four; and I see now that I was
wrong."
The discussions between Bertrand and Auguste Dalville almost always
ended so. Auguste was twenty-seven and had twenty thousand francs a
year; his father died while he was in the cradle, and his mother was
taken away from him six years before our story opens. That was the date
of the beginning of Auguste's life of dissipation; he had sought
distraction from his perfectly natural grief, and had finally become
unable to resist a sex in whose company he had at first sought diversion
only.
Meanwhile, the ambition to wear a handsome uniform, and perhaps to earn
a pair of epaulets, had led Auguste to enter the army. The country was
at peace; but a young man with a good education does not remain a
private. Auguste, promoted to sub-lieutenant, delighted to listen to
Bertrand, who had served as corporal of _voltigeurs_, and had been at
Austerlitz, Eylau, and Friedland. Bertrand was only forty-four: he put
into the description of his battles the same fire and zeal that he had
displayed in the battles themselves, and Auguste never tired of
listening. The corporal's stories excited his ardor; he regretted that
he was not born a few years earlier, thinking that he might, like
Bertrand, have taken part in those triumphant campaigns which will
always be the glory of France.
About this time, Auguste was sent with his regiment to Pampeluna, to
which the French were laying siege. Bertrand found himself under the
command of the young officer, who had been made a lieutenant. But, the
war at an end, Auguste quitted the military profession, and returned to
Paris, to abandon himself afresh to his taste for pleasure. He proposed
to Bertrand to go with him; he readily obtained his discharge and
accompanied Dalville, to whom he was sincerely attached, and whom he
continued to call lieutenant, partly from habit and partly from choice.
Bertrand had a mother in Paris, very old and infirm. Auguste's first
care was to settle on the poor woman a pension which placed her beyond
fear of want, and enabled her to enjoy in her old age a multitude of
comforts which she had never known during her life of toil and
misfortune.
Thereafter Auguste was not simply a master in Bertrand's eyes; he
regarded him as his benefactor, and his affection and devotion knew no
bounds. After his mother's death, which occurred three years later,
Bertrand attached himself to Auguste's service altogether, and vowed
that he would devote his life to proving his gratitude. Bertrand had had
no education; he often made blunders in delivering the messages which
his master entrusted to him; but Auguste always forgave him, because he
was well aware of the ex-corporal's attachment and his good heart.
Bertrand, as we have seen, sometimes ventured to remonstrate with his
superior officer, because, being as yet unfamiliar with the manner of
life in high society, Auguste's follies terrified him, and he was in
constant dread that his intrigues would lead to serious complications;
but Auguste always succeeded in allaying Bertrand's fright, so that the
latter invariably ended the conversation by saying: "I was in the
wrong."
There are many more things that I might tell you concerning the two men
who have been talking together. Perhaps I ought to draw their portraits
for you, and to tell you to just what type of face Auguste Dalville's
belonged. But what would be the use? Doubtless some one of his numerous
conquests will have something to say about him; so that I should run the
risk of unnecessary repetition by sketching him at first. We can simply
presume that he was comely, as he was fortunate enough to please the
ladies. "That is no reason," you will say; "when a man has twenty
thousand francs a year, that takes the place of physical charms, and
conceals ugliness."--Oh! what an idea, my dear readers! Surely no reader
of the gentler sex would make such a reply; for I have too good an
opinion of the ladies not to feel sure that it would take something more
than twenty thousand francs to captivate them.
But the cabriolet is speeding along; we will resume our reflections at
some other time.
"Bébelle goes very well. You are warm, lieutenant; don't you want me to
take the reins?"
"No, I like to drive."
"We shall be at Monsieur Destival's by eleven o'clock."
"That is quite early enough; and from that time until five o'clock, when
we dine--But I promised a long while ago. At all events, Madame Destival
is an excellent musician, and we will try to amuse ourselves while we
are waiting for dinner."
"Why did you bring me, lieutenant? I can't play or sing, and as I don't
belong in the salon, where am I to do sentry-duty?"
"Never fear; Monsieur Destival expressly requested me to bring you. He
has become infatuated with hunting, and he wants you to teach him to
handle a gun."
"Very well, lieutenant, I'll teach him all I know; that won't take
long."
"Poor Virginie! What a rage she will be in to-night! I promised to take
her to Feydeau----"
"She has often promised you things, and then broken her word."
"How do you know that, Bertrand?"
"Because I've heard, lieutenant, that Mademoiselle Virginie's a terrible
liar."
"That is true; yes, I have had proofs of it more than once."
"That's very bad, after all that you've done for her! But you're so
kindhearted, you always allow yourself to be imposed on! Ten thousand
carbines! if the hussy had killed herself every time she threatened _to
perish_ because she didn't have enough to pay her rent----"
"Come, come, Monsieur Bertrand, be quiet! You have a wicked tongue.--Go
on, Bébelle; I believe you're asleep."
"And one evening, when you went out, and she told me her troubles! She
said that if she had had a weakness for you, it was because she was too
loving, but that she was determined to change her ways, not to see you
any more, and to make up with her aunt. For my part, I believed every
word of it; in fact, she had such a sincere way of saying it, that I
felt all ready to cry. But no sooner did she learn that you were at the
masked ball than she shouted: 'I'm going too, Bertrand! lend me some
clothes, I'm going to dress as a man!'--'What, mademoiselle,' says I,
'when you're talking about being good and not seeing Monsieur Auguste
any more!'--At that she began to laugh like a madwoman and called me an
old turkey-cock! Faith, lieutenant, I don't understand a woman like
that."
"I can well believe it, my poor Bertrand; even I myself don't understand
her, and I know her better than you do."
"I like that little light-haired woman better; you know, lieutenant, the
one you got acquainted with by carrying back the little poodle she'd
lost, that I found lying at our door at night."
"You mean Léonie?"
"No, I mean Madame de Saint-Edmond."
"Léonie and Saint-Edmond are the same person."
"I didn't know, lieutenant."
"But look you, Bertrand, it was your fault that I made her
acquaintance."
"The poodle's rather, lieutenant."
"Léonie lived in the same house with me, and I didn't know her."
"Parbleu, lieutenant, as if a body knew all his neighbors in Paris!
except concierges and cooks, whose business it is."
"At all events, you found the dog, and I bade you ask the concierge if
anyone in the house had lost it."
"And he told me that there was a young lady on the third floor, who had
lain awake all night for grief at losing her dog, and that her maid,
after searching from garret to cellar, had gone out to have placards
printed offering thirty francs reward to whoever brought the little
beast back. I confess that I didn't have any idea that the little
poodle, which did nothing but bite and growl, was worth more than four
months' pay for a private soldier; but I went up to the third floor in a
hurry, to have the order for the placards countermanded by giving the
little beast back to its mistress. To celebrate his return, he began by
scratching a handsome blue satin armchair and putting his paws in
madame's cup of chocolate; but that didn't prevent her calling him her
little jewel, and expressing the greatest gratitude to me. Still,
lieutenant, I don't see anything in all that to force you to fall in
love with Madame Léonie Saint-Edmond."
"You haven't told everything, Bertrand: you forget that, when you came
down from the third floor, you drew a very alluring picture of that
lady; you told me that she had a pair of eyes--and a voice--and a
certain shape!"
"Bless me, lieutenant, I should say that all women have eyes and a shape
and a voice!"
"Yes, to be sure; but still I was curious to know this young neighbor of
ours, who showed such keen sensibility."
"And it would seem, lieutenant, that you dislodged the poodle, for since
then Madame Saint-Edmond is forever at your heels; and as for me, madame
questions me and tries to make me talk; she sends for me to come up when
she's at breakfast, and as she offers me a little glass of malaga and a
biscuit, she asks me where you passed the evening before."
"And Monsieur Bertrand, melted by the malaga, recounts my actions to my
neighbor, I presume?"
"Oh! for shame, lieutenant! What do you take me for? The idea of my
betraying my master's secrets! If there had been half a dozen bottles
of malaga in front of me, I wouldn't have said a word! To be sure, I
don't like malaga."
"Bless my soul, my dear Bertrand, I am not scolding you! You know well
enough that I make no secret of my follies, even to those who might have
ground for complaint. It's a mere matter of an amourette or two, a
little fooling."
"All the same, lieutenant, I am seriously embarrassed, on my word, being
forever questioned by this one and that one. One calls me her little
Bertrand, another her true friend--and these ladies are all very
attractive----"
"Ah! monsieur le caporal has noticed that!"
"Parbleu, lieutenant, I have eyes just like other men, and if my heart
don't take fire as easily as yours, that don't mean that it's
invulnerable. And when I see one of those ladies put her handkerchief to
her eyes, when I hear your neighbor throw herself into an armchair and
say that she's going to faint; and when Mademoiselle Virginie cries that
she _will perish_,--why, I don't know where I am. I run from one to the
other, offer them salts and eau-de-vie, tear my hair, and sometimes I
even cry with them. Let me tell you that I'd rather assault a fortress
six times than be present at one of those scenes, on my honor!"
"Ha! ha! ha! Poor Bertrand!"
"Of course, you laugh; it don't make any difference to you how much you
are called traitor, perfidious villain, savage, monster, cruel wretch!"
"Those are terms of endearment; in a young woman's mouth those words
mean: 'You are charming, I love you, I adore you!'"
"Oho! so 'monster!' means 'you are charming,' does it? That makes a
difference, lieutenant; I couldn't be expected to guess that; now I
understand. But these tears that you are responsible for--do they also
mean that you are considered charming?"
"Oh! do you suppose, my old friend, that in love-affairs tears are
always sincere?"
"In a great flood, lieutenant, there may happen to be one honest one;
and it seems to me that a man ought to be sorry for the suffering he
causes a pretty girl."
"I promise to reform, Bertrand, to be more virtuous in the future! Is it
possible that you think that I, who adore that charming sex, I, whose
whole happiness depends on making myself attractive to the ladies--that
I set about causing them pain?"
"No, lieutenant; on the contrary, I am well aware that you would like to
give pleasure to all the young beauties you meet; but it is that very
pleasure that leads to regret and cares; and you yourself--for, as I was
saying just now, the great Turenne----"
Auguste had ceased to listen to Bertrand; he had put his head out of the
window and was watching a young peasant who had just come out of the
forest and was walking along the same road that our travellers were
following, driving before her an ass laden with baskets, in which were a
number of the tin cans in which milk is carried to the people of Paris
by the village women.
As the ass did not move as fast as Bébelle, Auguste drew in his horse
and made him walk, in order to see the girl as long as possible.
"Shall I touch Bébelle up?" asked Bertrand, surprised to find that they
continued to go at a walk.
"No, no--she's going well enough."
"Yes, lieutenant, you will be very wise to turn virtuous--virtuous for
you, I mean; if you don't, your income won't be enough to pay all your
expenses. You have appointed me your steward, so I can venture to talk
figures with you; and, although I'm not a great mathematician, I can see
plainly enough that when you're forever dipping into a cash-box, it is
soon empty. This year you don't seem to be lucky at that infernal game
you play so often--you know, lieutenant, the game in which you turn the
kings----"
"Fresh complexion--a pretty figure--lovely eyes--it's extraordinary, I
swear!"
"And then the cashmere shawls you send to one, and the milliner's bill
that you pay for another----"
"And all these charms in a milkmaid!"
"What's that? a milkmaid? Do you mean to say that you pay their bills
too, lieutenant?"
"Who in the devil said anything about bills? Just look at that sweet
child on the road yonder."
"Well! she's a milkmaid--that's the whole story!"
"You don't see how pretty she is. And that sly smile, every time her
eyes turn in our direction."
"Perhaps she wants to sell us some cream cheese?"
"Blockhead! to see nothing but cheese! I tell you that sackcloth waist,
that double linen neckerchief, so high in the neck, conceal a multitude
of treasures."
"Treasures! treasures! Parbleu! one can guess very nearly what they
conceal, although appearances are often deceitful. But such treasures
aren't scarce; is it on account of the little milkmaid that we're going
now like a load of flour?"
"No, no, it's because I am beginning to get tired of the cabriolet. The
weather is so fine; I feel that it will do me good to walk. We're only a
little way from Monsieur Destival's now. Here, Bertrand, take the reins;
I'll do the rest of the distance on foot."
"What, lieutenant, you mean to----"
Auguste had already stopped his horse; he jumped lightly to the ground
despite Bertrand's grumbling, and said:
"Go on with Tony."
"But what shall I tell Monsieur Destival?"
"That I am coming; I shall be there as soon as you."
"But----"
"Bertrand, I insist."
Bertrand said no more; but he cast an angry glance at the little
milkmaid, and lashed Bébelle, who soon left Auguste far behind.
II
THE FALL
The damsel went her way, with a branch of walnut in her hand, driving
her ass before her, apparently oblivious of the fact that the young man
had alighted from his cabriolet. She did not look back, but contented
herself with calling out from time to time: "Go on there, White Jean;"
and White Jean went none the faster.
Auguste soon overtook the milkmaid. He walked behind her a few moments,
to examine her; she was well-built, so far as one could judge of her
shape beneath the thick wrapper in which she was muffled; her foot was
certainly small, although encased in heavy shoes, and her woolen
stockings covered a shapely leg, which he could examine at his leisure,
for a milkmaid wears very short skirts.
Auguste stepped forward; the girl looked up and seemed surprised to see
the young man of the cabriolet walking by her side. But she turned her
head away, with another "go on!" to her ass, in which there was no touch
of romance.
Our young exquisite gazed closely at the girl, who wore a cap perched on
top of her head, which concealed none of her features.
"She is very pretty," he said to himself; "fine eyes, a pretty mouth, a
complexion like the rose; but nothing extraordinary, after all. Her
freshness is the freshness of a village girl; she's a mere country
beauty, and I should have done as well to stay in the carriage. However,
as I have alighted, I may as well try to gain something by it."
And the young man continued to stare at the milkmaid, with a smile on
his face; but she, apparently annoyed by the fine gentleman's scrutiny,
said to him sharply:
"Shall you soon be through looking at me?"
"Isn't it within the law to admire you?"
"No, I don't like to have anyone eye me like that."
"If you weren't so pretty, people would look at you less."
"If this is the way you talk to your ladies in Paris, you must have lots
of faces in your head! When you look at a body so close, you'll know her
again; but here among us, we don't call it decent; and you'd better not
come here to play monkey tricks like this!"
"I made a mistake in leaving the cabriolet," thought Auguste. However,
he continued to walk beside the girl, and said to her after a moment:
"Are you a milkmaid?"
"Pardi! anyone can see that. Have you just guessed it?"
"Will you sell me some milk?"
"I haven't got any."
"Do you carry it to Paris?"
"I don't go so far as that."
"Where do you come from?"
"You're very inquisitive."
The girl's tone was not encouraging, and Auguste looked along the road
to see whether he could still see his cabriolet; but it had disappeared,
for White Jean stopped very often to eat leaves or grass, despite the
blows with the switch which his mistress bestowed on him.
"Do you know," said Auguste, "you are not very agreeable, my lovely
child? You are so pretty that I thought you would be gentler, less
savage."
"That's just it! monsieur thought he was going to turn my head with his
flattery! But I'm used to meeting young men from Paris; it's always the
same old song; they think they can make themselves welcome just by
telling me I'm pretty! Oh! you're a parcel of flatterers! but I don't
listen to you, you see!"
"I should like to hear anyone deny again that virtue has its home in the
village!" said Auguste to himself. "It is clear enough to my mind that
the country is the place where we find the pure morals of the ancient
patriarch, the models of virtue celebrated by the poets, the--That devil
of a Bertrand needn't have driven Bébelle so fast; he must have done it
from pure mischief! And when I said that we were almost there I was
lying. It's at least three-quarters of a league farther!"
To complete the young man's discomfiture, the milkmaid turned aside from
the high road into a path that led through the woods. Auguste stood for
a moment hesitating at the entrance to the path. Should he follow his
cabriolet? or should he follow the girl? The first course was the more
sensible, and that was his reason no doubt for deciding in favor of the
second.
The time that Auguste had passed in indecision had allowed the milkmaid
to get some distance ahead of him; she walked along the path, and,
thinking that the young man had followed the highroad, she sang as she
drove White Jean in front of her:
"You love me, you say,
Then prove it, I pray;
But dandies like you,
Would hoax us, I know."
"Very pretty! although the rhyme isn't first-class," said Auguste,
quickening his pace to overtake the girl. She turned, and seemed
surprised to see the young man in the path behind her.
"What! you coming this way?" said the milkmaid, in a somewhat uncertain
voice.
"To be sure; this path is lovely."
"Ain't you going to overtake your carriage?"
"I couldn't make up my mind to leave you."
"Oh! you're wasting your time, monsieur, and I promise you you'd do
better to go after your carriage."
"But I much prefer to walk by your side, although you treat me so
harshly; however, I have an idea that you're not so unkind as you choose
to appear."
"Well, you're mistaken; I ain't kind at all; ask all the young fellows
in Montfermeil how I treat them when they try to fool. Oh! Denise Fourcy
is well known hereabout, I tell you."
"Denise Fourcy? Good, now I know your name."
"Well, what then? How does that put you ahead any?"
"It will help me to find out about you easily, and to find you again
when I choose."
"Pardi! I ain't lost, and anyone can easily find me."
"Do you mean to say, Denise, that at your age, pretty as you are, you
haven't a lover?"
"Is that any of your business?"
"Oh! very much!"
"Here in the country we ain't in such a hurry as your city ladies."
"Haven't women hearts in the country as well as elsewhere?"
"Yes; but they don't take fire the way yours does; it seems to me to be
a little heart of tinder."
"Upon my word, she is really amusing!" said Auguste, laughingly.
"_She!_" repeated the milkmaid in an irritated tone; "how polite these
fine gentlemen are! _She!_ Anyone would think we had known each other a
long while."
"It depends entirely on you whether or not we shall be the best friends
in the world in a moment. And to begin with, I must give you a kiss."
"No--no, monsieur--none of that sort of thing, if you please.--Oh! look
out, or I'll scratch you."
Auguste, accustomed to defy such prohibitions, seized the little
milkmaid by the waist, and tried to put his lips to her fresh, ruddy
cheek; but she defended herself more vigorously than the city ladies do;
to be sure, a peasant is less embarrassed by her clothes, she isn't
afraid of rumpling them, and her corsets are not so tight that she
cannot move her arms; that is the reason no doubt that a kiss is much
harder to obtain from a peasant.
The kiss was taken at last; but it cost Auguste dear, for he bore below
his left eye the marks of two nails which had drawn blood from the
Parisian dandy's face. Thus each of the combatants was beaten, for each
bore a token of defeat. But the war seemed not to be at an end. Denise,
twice as red as she was before the battle, arranged her neckerchief,
glaring angrily at the young man; while he put his hand to his face,
and, finding blood there, wiped it with his handkerchief, looking at the
girl with a less sentimental expression; for those two digs with her
nails had cooled his ardor to an extraordinary degree.
"I'm glad of it," said the girl at last; "that will teach you to try to
kiss a girl against her will, monsieur."
"I certainly didn't expect to be treated so. The idea of disfiguring
me--just for a kiss!"
"If all women did the same, you wouldn't be so forward."
"Thank God, they don't all have the same ideas that you have. You hurt
me terribly!"
"Oh! what troubles you the most is that it will show; you're afraid you
won't be so pretty to look at."
"No, I assure you that that isn't what I am thinking about. I am sorry
that I really made you angry. I realize that I was wrong. Come, Denise,
let us make peace."
"No, monsieur, no, I don't listen to you any more."
And the milkmaid, thinking that the young man intended to try to kiss
her again, ran to her donkey, and, in order to fly more rapidly, leaped
on White Jean's back, and beat him with redoubled force. But it was the
animal's custom to return placidly to the village, browsing on whatever
he found by the roadside, and not to bear his young mistress on his
back. Disturbed in his daily routine by this unexpected burden, White
Jean broke into a fast trot, and entered the woods despite his
mistress's efforts to make him follow the beaten path. Auguste heard
the girl's cries as she tried in vain to hold her steed, dodging with
much difficulty the branches which brushed against her face every
instant. Forgetting the marks that Denise had left on his cheek,
Dalville followed the milkmaid's track, in order to lead the ass back
into the path; but when he heard running behind him, the infernal beast
went faster than ever and rushed heedlessly into the densest part of the
wood. Soon a stout branch barred the milkmaid's path. While her mount
ran beneath it, she was swept to the ground; and as she fell another
branch caught her skirt; so that poor Denise fell to the ground, face
downward, with her skirt over her head and consequently not where it
usually was.
Auguste came up at that moment. You can imagine the sight that met his
eyes; and what the skirt no longer covered was white and plump and
fresh. But we must do the young man justice; instead of amusing himself
by contemplating so many attractive things, he ran to Denise. She
shrieked and wept and gnashed her teeth. He succeeded in rescuing her
head from her petticoats, and quickly covered--what you know.
Denise rose; but she was covered with confusion, she dared not look up
at the young man, who, far from taking advantage of her embarrassment,
inquired solicitously whether she was hurt.
"Oh, no! it ain't anything," said Denise, still blushing. "I should have
forgotten all about it before this if that cursed branch--Pardi! I must
be mighty unlucky."
"Why so? because you fell? Why, my dear child, that might happen to
anybody."
"Yes, but it's possible to fall without showing--without--Never mind,
you're the first one that ever saw it, all the same."
"Ah! I would like to be the last one, too.--Come, why this offended
expression? I promise you that I didn't see anything; I thought of
nothing but helping you. I was so afraid that you had hurt yourself! It
would have been my fault; for, if it hadn't been for my nonsense, you
would have gone your way in peace, and this wouldn't have happened."
As Denise listened to Auguste, her anger passed away, and she even
smiled as she said:
"I ain't cross with you any more. You're more decent than I thought; if
I'd fallen like that before the village fellows, they'd have laughed to
begin with, and then they'd have made a lot of silly talk, and there
wouldn't have been any end to it. Instead of that, you picked me right
up, and you looked so scared!--I'm sorry now that I scratched you. Come,
kiss me, to prove that you forgive me."
Auguste made the most of this permission. Denise was so pretty when she
smiled! and a woman who defends herself so sturdily makes the favors
that she grants seem the more precious.
So peace was made between the milkmaid and the young man. But White Jean
was no longer there; overjoyed to be rid of his burden, he had kept on
through the woods.
"Oh! I ain't worried," said Denise; "I'm sure he's gone home. Let's take
this path and we shall soon be in the village."
They walked on; the milkmaid beside Auguste, who once more considered
her a charming creature, since she had smiled upon him and had allowed
him to kiss her. In truth, Denise's face was no longer the same; an
angry expression is not becoming to a pretty face, and features that are
made to inspire love should never express wrath. But they soon emerged
from the woods and descended a hill, at the foot of which lay
Montfermeil.
"There's my village," said Denise; "and look, do you see my ass trotting
along down there? Oh! I knew he'd go right home.--Have you got business
in the neighborhood?"
"No, not exactly. I am going to Monsieur Destival's country place. Do
you know it?"
"To be sure; I carry milk to them, when Madame Destival stays there in
summer. She always tells me to be careful about her little cheeses. You
see, I make nice ones. I carried them a bigger one this morning, because
Mamzelle Julie, madame's maid, told me they expected company from
Paris."
"That being so, I probably shall have the pleasure of tasting your
cheeses."
"But if you're going to Monsieur Destival's, you mustn't go to the
village. I'll show you what road you must take."
"It will be much kinder of you to go with me and show me the way; as you
are not anxious about your ass, there is nothing to hurry you."
"Oh, no! monsieur! I see that you're all right, but you're too fond of
kissing the girls. Besides, my aunt is waiting for me. It's after noon,
and our dinner-time.--Look, monsieur, take that road that goes up the
hill yonder, then the first turn to the left, then the grass-grown road,
and you'll find yourself at the place where you're going."
"I shall never remember all that. You will be responsible for my losing
my way."
"You shouldn't have left your carriage."
"It was your lovely eyes that turned my head."
"Ah! you're going to begin again. Go along, quick, or they'll eat the
cream cheese without you."
"I should be very sorry for that, as it was you who made it."
"The road up the hill--then turn to the left--then the grass-grown road.
Adieu, monsieur."
"One more kiss, Denise."
"No, no; that sort of thing shouldn't be repeated too often; you'd soon
get tired of it."
And Denise hurried down the hill toward the village. Auguste followed
her with his eyes for a long while, saying to himself:
"She's very pretty, and she's bright too! What a pity that she doesn't
live in Paris!--What am I saying? If she were in Paris, she'd look like
all the rest; it's because she's a milkmaid that her face and her wit
have impressed me.--Well, I will follow the directions she gave me, and
arrive as soon as possible. I am sure that they are impatient for me to
come; poor Bertrand won't know what to say, and Madame Destival will
pout at me--how she will pout!--And great heaven! these scratches! how
in the devil am I to explain them? Faith, I scratched myself picking
nuts. It's a pity that nuts don't have thorns. But no matter, they may
think what they choose."
So Auguste decided to resume his journey; but he cast another glance at
Denise's village, and murmured as he walked away:
"I shall come again and make Montfermeil's acquaintance."
III
THE CHILD AND THE BOWL
Auguste followed the road that Denise had pointed out to him, his
thoughts still fixed on the little milkmaid. The most fickle of men
remembers the last woman who has succeeded in attracting him, until some
new and pleasing object, causing him to feel other desires, effaces from
his mind the charms of which he has lately dreamed.
Suddenly the sound of tears and lamentations roused the young man from
his reverie. He looked about and spied, some ten yards away, by a large
tree, a little boy of six years at most, dressed like a peasant's child,
in a little jacket, trousers torn in several places, no stockings, and
heavy wooden shoes; his head was bare, protected only by a forest of
fair hair.
Auguste walked toward the little fellow, who wept lustily, and gazed
with an air of stupefaction at the fragments of an earthen vessel at his
feet, the former contents of which were spilled on the road. The child
did not turn to look at the person who spoke to him, all his thoughts
being concentrated on the broken vessel; he could do nothing but weep,
raising to his head and eyes from time to time a pair of very grimy
little hands, which, being wet by his tears, smeared his chubby face
with mud.
"Why, what makes you cry so, my boy?" asked Auguste, stooping in order
to be nearer the child.
The little fellow raised for an instant a pair of light-blue eyes, about
which his little hands had drawn circles of black; then turned them
again upon the pieces of broken crockery, muttering:
"I've broke the bowl--hi! hi! and papa's soup was in it--hi! hi! I'll
get a licking, like I did before--hi! hi!"
"The deuce! that would be a misfortune, and no mistake! But stop crying,
my boy, perhaps we can fix it all right. You say that you were carrying
soup to your father?"
"Yes, and I broke the bowl."
"So I see. But why do they make you carry such a big bowl? You're too
small as yet. How old are you, my boy?"
"Six and a half--and I broke the bowl, and papa's soup----"
"Yes, yes, it's on the ground; you mustn't think any more about it."
"It was cabbage soup--hi! hi!"
"Oh! I can smell it. But don't cry any more. I promise you that you
shan't be whipped."
"Yes, I shall; I broke the bowl, and grandma told me to be very
careful."
"Come, listen to me: what's your name?"
"Coco--and I've broke the bowl."
"Well, my little Coco, I'll give you money to buy another bowl, and to
have three times as much cabbage soup made. I hope you won't cry any
more now."
As he spoke, Auguste took a five-franc piece from his pocket and put it
in the child's hand; but Coco stared at the coin with his big blue eyes
open wider than ever, and continued none the less to sob bitterly,
saying:
"Papa'll lick me, and so will grandma too."
"What! when you give them that money?"
"Papa's waiting for the soup for his dinner; and when he sees me without
the bowl--"
"Well," thought Auguste, "I see that I must take it on myself to arrange
this matter. It will make me still later; but this little fellow is so
pretty! and they are quite capable of beating him, despite the
five-franc piece. I wasted one hour making love to a milkmaid, I can
afford to sacrifice a second to save this child a thrashing.--Come,
Coco; off we go, my boy! Take me to your father; I'll tell him that it
was I who knocked the bowl out of your hands as I passed, and I'll
promise that you won't be beaten."
Coco looked at Auguste, then turned his eyes on the remains of the
vessel, from which he was very reluctant to part. But Dalville took his
hand, and the child concluded at last to start. On the way Auguste tried
to make him talk, to divert him from his terror.
"What does your father do, my boy?"
"He works in the fields."
"And his name?"
"Papa Calleux."
"Papa Calleux evidently is not very pleasant, as you're so afraid of
him. And your mother?"
"She's dead."
"Then it's your grandmother who makes the cabbage soup?"
"Yes, and she told me to be very careful and not break the bowl, like I
did the other time."
"Aha! so you've broken one before, have you?"
"Yes, and there wasn't anything in it; but they licked me."
"You don't seem to be lucky with bowls. But the idea of whipping such a
little fellow! These peasants must be very hardhearted. Poor boy! he is
still sobbing; and he isn't seven years old! So there's no age at which
we haven't our troubles."
The boy led Auguste across several fields, through the middle of which
ran narrow paths. It took Auguste still farther from Monsieur
Destival's; but he did not choose to leave the child until he saw that
he was happy. At last they reached a field of potatoes, and Coco stopped
and grasped his companion's arm with a trembling hand.
"There's papa," he said.
Some forty yards away Auguste saw a peasant plying the spade. He dropped
the child's hand and walked toward the peasant, who kept at his work,
bent double over the ground.
"Père Calleux, I have come to make amends for a slight accident," said
Auguste, raising his voice.
The peasant raised his head and displayed a face covered with blotches,
a huge nose, great eyes level with the face, a half-open mouth, and
teeth that recalled those of Little Red Riding Hood's enemy. That
extraordinary countenance expressed profound amazement at hearing a
fashionably-dressed gentleman call him by name.
"I imagine that Père Calleux is as fond of wine as of cabbage soup,"
said Auguste to himself as he scrutinized the peasant.
"What can I do for you, monsieur?" asked the latter.
"I met your son Coco on the road----"
"Ah! where is he, I'd like to know? He was going to bring me my
dinner.--Coco! what are you doing there?"
"Wait until I tell you the whole story; as I was looking at a fine view,
I ran into the child, and I knocked the bowl he was carrying out of his
hands; it broke, and----"
"You'll pay for it, that's all; for you're to blame for my having no
dinner."
"Oh! that's but fair; that's why I came to speak to you. How much do I
owe you? Name the price."
"Well, monsieur, it was a good soup-bowl; it was worth all of thirty
sous; and there was twelve sous' worth of soup in it; for pork's dear
round here----"
"See, here's five francs; are you satisfied?"
"Oh, yes! monsieur; that's fair enough; I haven't got anything to say."
"Then I hope that you won't scold your son; and, if you take my advice
you won't make a child of that age carry such heavy loads any more."
"Oh! monsieur, it gets them used to being strong. We poor folks can't
bring children up on lollipops.--Well, Coco, come here."
The child approached timidly, and, when he reached his father's side,
began to whimper again, saying:
"I broke the bowl."
"Yes, yes, I know what happened; monsieur told me all about it. Go back
to the house now, and tell Mère Madeleine to get me some dinner, and to
be sure to have some wine. But no, I'd rather go to dinner at Claude's
cabaret. Go home, Coco, and don't wait supper for me; I've got business
in the town."
Auguste guessed that Père Calleux's business consisted in drinking up
the five-franc piece to the last sou; but, satisfied to see that his
young protégé was in high spirits, he bade the peasant adieu, and
followed the child, who retraced the steps they had just taken; but this
time he leaped and gambolled about his companion. His great grief was
forgotten already! And they say that we are great children: it is true
as concerns our foibles, but not as concerns happiness.
Auguste, happy in the little fellow's joy, took pleasure in watching
him. Laughter sits so well upon a little face of six years! A person
who is fond of children cannot conceive how anyone can look with
indifference on their tears. And yet there are people for whom a dog's
yelping has more charm than the laughter of a child! It speaks well for
their depth of feeling!
As they went along, Coco sang and ran and played about Auguste, playing
little tricks on him, for they were great friends already; at six years
and a half one gives one's friendship as quickly as at twenty one gives
one's heart. Auguste ran and played with the child; he chased him,
caught him, and rolled with him on the grass, heedless of the fact that
it stained his clothes, because the boy's laughter was so frank and true
that it was often shared by his elegant companion.
What! you will say, a dandy, a lady-killer, a butterfly of fashion,
amuse himself playing in the fields with a little peasant boy? Why not,
pray? Happy the man who, as he grows old, retains his taste for the
simple pleasures of his youth! Henri IV walked about his room on all
fours, carrying his children on his back. When surprised in that
position by the ambassador of a foreign power, he asked him, without
rising, if he were a father, and, upon his answer in the affirmative,
rejoined: "In that case, I'll just trot round the room."
When they reached the place where he had first met the child, Auguste
would have bade him adieu and have gone his way; but Coco held his hand
and refused to release it.
"Come home with me," he said, "please come; Mamma Madeleine will give
you some nice butter. Come and you can see Jacqueleine; she's awful
pretty, I tell you."
"Who is Jacqueleine, my boy?"
"She's our goat; she sleeps by me."
"And is your home far away?"
"No, it's right over there."
Auguste submitted to be led away. Coco repeating: "It's right over
there," gave his companion another half-hour's walk. At last they came
in sight of a wretched hovel, the thatched roof of which had fallen in
in several places, standing on a crossroad, and Coco shouted: "Here we
are; do you see our house?" Then he pulled his companion's sleeve, to
make him run with him.
An old woman sat in front of the hovel; she was thin and bent, and her
complexion reminded one of an Egyptian mummy. But a strong, shrill voice
emerged from her fragile body.
"So here you are at last, lazybones!" she said to the child; "what have
you been doing so long? Where's the bowl?"
Coco looked at Auguste, whom he was already accustomed to look upon as
his protector; Auguste told Mère Madeleine the same fable that he had
told Père Calleux, reinforced once more by the five-franc piece, which
was the irresistible argument. At that the old woman tried to soften her
voice, and urged Auguste to come in for a drink of goat's milk and some
fresh butter, which were all that she could offer him. The young dandy
entered the cabin. His heart sickened at the sight of that wretched
habitation. The home of the Calleux family consisted of a single room.
It was a large room, but the daylight lighted only a small part of it.
The bare earth formed the floor; the walls, half whitewashed, had
nothing upon them to conceal their nakedness; the thatched roof
threatened disaster. Two cot beds, in the darkest corner, had no
curtains to shelter them from the wind which entered on all sides. An
old buffet, a chest, a table and a few chairs were the only other
furniture.
"Where on earth do you sleep?" Auguste asked the child. He led him to a
corner of the room, where it was almost impossible to see anything, and
pointed out a small straw bed on the floor, with a dilapidated woolen
coverlet thrown over it. Close beside it was a goat, lying in some straw
that was spread on the ground.
"There's my bed," said Coco. "Oh! I'm all right, you see; Jacqueleine
keeps me warm in winter. Jacqueleine loves me, she does!"
And the child threw his arms round the goat's neck, and patted her,
rolling over and over on the straw with her. But he was obliged to leave
his faithful companion, for his grandmother called him.
"Come, come, good-for-nothing! You can play by-and-by. Come and put the
bread on the table and give me a cup. The little scamp ain't good for
nothing."
"You treat your grandson very harshly," said Auguste, taking his place
at the table and tasting the rye bread and the milk.
"If I'd let him have his way, monsieur, he'd play all day long."
"But you must love the child dearly, as he's the only one your daughter
left you."
"Oh! yes, I love him enough! But when a body's poor, it's just as well
not to have none at all."
Auguste looked once more at the old peasant woman, and her extreme
ugliness no longer surprised him so much. He took Coco on his knee, gave
him milk to drink, and bread and butter to eat, and enjoyed looking at
his pretty face and lovely fair hair. The old woman seemed astounded by
the endearments which the fine gentleman lavished on the child, and
muttered between her teeth:
"Oh! you'll spoil him! 'taint no use in doing that!"
"Is he learning to read and write?"