_By Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)_
On all the roads about Goderville the peasants and their wives were
coming toward the town, for it was market day. The men walked at an
easy gait, the whole body thrown forward with every movement of their
long, crooked legs, misshapen by hard work, by the bearing down on the
plough which at the same time causes the left shoulder to rise and the
figure to slant; by the mowing of the grain, which makes one hold his
knees apart in order to obtain a firm footing; by all the slow and
laborious tasks of the fields. Their starched blue blouses, glossy as
if varnished, adorned at the neck and wrists with a bit of white
stitchwork, puffed out about their bony chests like balloons on the
point of taking flight, from which protrude a head, two arms, and two
feet.
Some of them led a cow or a calf at the end of a rope. And their wives,
walking behind the beast, lashed it with a branch still covered with
leaves, to hasten its pace. They carried on their arms great baskets,
from which heads of chickens or of ducks were thrust forth. And they
walked with a shorter and quicker step than their men, their stiff,
lean figures wrapped in scanty shawls pinned over their flat breasts,
their heads enveloped in a white linen cloth close to the hair, with a
cap over all.
Then a _char-à-bancs[2]_ passed, drawn by a jerky-paced nag, with two
men seated side by side shaking like jelly, and a woman behind, who
clung to the side of the vehicle to lessen the rough jolting.
On the square at Goderville there was a crowd, a medley of men and
beasts. The horns of the cattle, the high hats, with a long, hairy nap,
of the wealthy peasants, and the head dresses of the peasant women,
appeared on the surface of the throng. And the sharp, shrill,
high-pitched voices formed an incessant, uncivilized uproar, over which
soared at times a roar of laughter from the powerful chest of a sturdy
yokel, or the prolonged bellow of a cow fastened to the wall of a
house.
There was an all-pervading smell of the stable, of milk, of the
dunghill, of hay, and of perspiration—that acrid, disgusting odor of
man and beast peculiar to country people.
Master Hauchecorne, of Bréauté, had just arrived at Goderville, and was
walking toward the square, when he saw a bit of string on the ground.
Master Hauchecorne, economical like every true Norman, thought that it
was well to pick up everything that might be of use; and he stooped
painfully, for he suffered with rheumatism. He took the piece of
slender cord from the ground, and was about to roll it up carefully,
when he saw Master Malandain, the harness-maker, standing in his
doorway and looking at him. They had formerly had trouble on the
subject of a halter, and had remained at odds, being both inclined to
bear malice. Master Hauchecorne felt a sort of shame at being seen thus
by his enemy, fumbling in the mud for a bit of string. He hurriedly
concealed his treasure in his blouse, then in his breeches pocket; then
he pretended to look on the ground for something else, which he did not
find; and finally he went on toward the market, his head thrust
forward, bent double by his pains.
He lost himself at once in the slow-moving, shouting crowd, kept in a
state of excitement by the interminable bargaining. The peasants felt
of the cows, went away, returned, sorely perplexed, always afraid of
being cheated, never daring to make up their minds, watching the
vendor's eye, striving incessantly to detect the tricks of the man and
the defect in the beast.
The women, having placed their great baskets at their feet, took out
their fowls, which lay on the ground, their legs tied together, with
frightened eyes and scarlet combs.
They listened to offers, adhered to their prices, short of speech and
impassive of face; or else, suddenly deciding to accept the lower price
offered, they would call out to the customer as he walked slowly away:—
"All right, Mast' Anthime. You can have it."
Then, little by little, the square became empty, and when the
Angelus[3] struck midday those who lived too far away to go home betook
themselves to the various inns.
At Jourdain's the common room was full of customers, as the great yard
was full of vehicles of every sort—carts, cabriolets,[4]
_char-à-bancs_, tilburys,[5] unnamable carriages, shapeless, patched,
with, their shafts reaching heavenward like arms, or with their noses
in the ground and their tails in the air.
The vast fireplace, full of clear flame, cast an intense heat against
the backs of the row on the right of the table. Three spits were
revolving, laden with chickens, pigeons, and legs of mutton; and a
delectable odor of roast meat, and of gravy dripping from the browned
skin, came forth from the hearth, stirred the guests to merriment, and
made their mouths water.
All the aristocracy of the plough ate there, at Mast' Jourdain's, the
innkeeper and horse trader—a shrewd rascal who had money.
The dishes passed and were soon emptied, like the jugs of yellow cider.
Every one told of his affairs, his sales and his purchases. They
inquired about the crops. The weather was good for green stuffs, but a
little wet for wheat.
Suddenly a drum rolled in the yard, in front of the house. In an
instant everybody was on his feet, save a few indifferent ones; and
they all ran to the door and windows with their mouths still full and
napkins in hand.
Having finished his long tattoo, the public crier shouted in a jerky
voice, making his pauses in the wrong places:—
"The people of Goderville, and all those present at the market are
informed that between—nine and ten o'clock this morning on the
Beuzeville—road, a black leather wallet was lost, containing five
hundred—francs, and business papers. The finder is requested to carry
it to—the mayor's at once, or to Master Fortuné Huelbrèque of
Manneville. A reward of twenty francs will be paid."
Then he went away. They heard once more in the distance the muffled
roll of the drum and the indistinct voice of the crier.
Then they began to talk about the incident, reckoning Master
Houlbrèque's chance of finding or not finding his wallet.
And the meal went on.
They were finishing their coffee when the corporal of gendarmes
appeared in the doorway.