.In
the
first
were
many
young
men
of
good
family
,
or
in
the
higher
ranks
of
the
bourgeoisie
,
known
to
numerous
lookers-on
;
there
was
something
inspiriting
in
their
gay
aspects
,
and
in
the
easy
carelessness
of
their
march
.
Mixed
with
this
company
,
however
,
and
forming
of
course
the
bulk
of
it
,
were
those
who
belonged
to
the
lower
classes
of
the
population
;
and
though
they
too
might
seem
gay
to
an
ordinary
observer
,
the
gaiety
was
forced
.
Many
of
them
were
evidently
not
quite
sober
;
and
there
was
a
disorderly
want
of
soldiership
in
their
mien
and
armament
which
inspired
distrust
among
such
vieux
moustaches
as
,
too
old
for
other
service
than
that
of
the
ramparts
,
mixed
here
and
there
among
the
crowd
.
But
when
De
Mauleon’s
company
passed
,
the
vieux
moustaches
impulsively
touched
each
other
.
They
recognised
the
march
of
well-drilled
men
;
the
countenances
grave
and
severe
,
the
eyes
not
looking
on
this
side
and
that
for
admiration
,
the
step
regularly
timed
;
and
conspicuous
among
these
men
the
tall
stature
and
calm
front
of
the
leader
.
“
These
fellows
will
fight
well
,
”
growled
a
vieux
moustache
,
“
where
did
they
fish
out
their
leader
?
”
“
Don’t
you
know
?
”
said
a
bourgeois
.
“
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
He
won
the
cross
in
Algeria
for
bravery
.
I
recollect
him
when
I
was
very
young
;
the
very
devil
for
women
and
fighting
.
”
“
I
wish
there
were
more
such
devils
for
fighting
and
fewer
for
women
,
”
growled
again
le
vieux
moustache
.
One
incessant
roar
of
cannon
all
the
night
of
the
29th
.
The
populace
had
learned
the
names
of
the
French
cannons
,
and
fancied
they
could
distinguish
the
several
sounds
of
their
thunder
.
“
There
spits
‘Josephine’
!
”
shouts
an
invalid
sailor
.
“
There
howls
our
own
‘Populace’
!
”
cries
a
Red
Republican
from
Belleville
.
[
The
“
Populace
”
had
been
contributed
to
the
artillery
,
sou
a
sou
,
by
the
working
class
.
]
“
There
sings
‘Le
Chatiment’
!
”
laughed
Gustave
Rameau
,
who
was
now
become
an
enthusiastic
admirer
of
the
Victor
Hugo
he
had
before
affected
to
despise
.
And
all
the
while
,
mingled
with
the
roar
of
the
cannon
,
came
,
far
and
near
from
the
streets
,
from
the
ramparts
,
the
gusts
of
song
—
song
sometimes
heroic
,
sometimes
obscene
,
more
often
carelessly
joyous
.
The
news
of
General
Vinoy’s
success
during
the
early
part
of
the
day
had
been
damped
by
the
evening
report
of
Ducrot’s
delay
in
crossing
the
swollen
Marne
.
But
the
spirits
of
the
Parisians
rallied
from
a
momentary
depression
on
the
excitement
at
night
of
that
concert
of
martial
music
.
During
that
night
,
close
under
the
guns
of
the
double
redoubt
of
Gravelle
and
La
Faisanderie
,
eight
pontoon-bridges
were
thrown
over
the
Marne
;
and
at
daybreak
the
first
column
of
the
third
army
under
Blanchard
and
Renoult
crossed
with
all
their
artillery
,
and
,
covered
by
the
fire
of
the
double
redoubts
,
of
the
forts
of
Vincennes
,
Nogent
,
Rossuey
,
and
the
batteries
of
Mont
Avron
,
had
an
hour
before
noon
carried
the
village
of
Champingy
,
and
the
first
echelon
of
the
important
plateau
of
Villiers
,
and
were
already
commencing
the
work
of
intrenchment
,
when
,
rallying
from
the
amaze
of
a
defeat
,
the
German
forces
burst
upon
them
,
sustained
by
fresh
batteries
.
The
Prussian
pieces
of
artillery
established
at
Chennevieres
and
at
Neuilly
opened
fire
with
deadly
execution
;
while
a
numerous
infantry
,
descending
from
the
intrenchments
of
Villiers
,
charged
upon
the
troops
under
Renoult
.
Among
the
French
in
that
strife
were
Enguerrand
and
the
Mobiles
of
which
he
was
in
command
.
Dismayed
by
the
unexpected
fire
,
these
Mobiles
gave
way
,
as
indeed
did
many
of
the
line
.
Enguerrand
rushed
forward
to
the
front
:
“
On
,
mes
enfans
,
on
!
What
will
our
mothers
and
wives
say
of
us
if
we
fly
?
Vive
la
France
!
—
On
!
”
Among
those
of
the
better
class
in
that
company
there
rose
a
shout
of
applause
,
but
it
found
no
sympathy
among
the
rest
.
They
wavered
,
they
turned
.
“
Will
you
suffer
me
to
go
on
alone
,
countrymen
?
”
cried
Enguerrand
;
and
alone
he
rushed
on
towards
the
Prussian
line
—
rushed
,
and
fell
,
mortally
wounded
,
by
a
musket-ball
.
“
Revenge
,
revenge
!
”
shouted
some
of
the
foremost
;
“
Revenge
!
”
shouted
those
in
the
rear
;
and
,
so
shouting
,
turned
on
their
heels
and
fled
.
But
ere
they
could
disperse
they
encountered
the
march
,
steadfast
though
rapid
,
of
the
troop
led
by
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
“
Poltroons
!
”
he
thundered
,
with
the
sonorous
depth
of
his
strong
voice
,
“
halt
and
turn
,
or
my
men
shall
fire
on
you
as
deserters
.
”
“
Va
,
citoyen
,
”
said
one
fugitive
,
an
officer-popularly
elected
,
because
he
was
the
loudest
brawler
in
the
club
of
the
Salle
Favre
,
—
we
have
seen
him
before
—
Charles
,
the
brother
of
Armand
Monnier
;
—
“
men
can’t
fight
when
they
despise
their
generals
.
It
is
our
generals
who
are
poltroons
and
fools
both
.
”
“
Carry
my
answer
to
the
ghosts
of
cowards
,
”
cried
De
Mauldon
,
and
shot
the
man
dead
.
His
followers
,
startled
and
cowed
by
the
deed
,
and
the
voice
and
the
look
of
the
death-giver
,
halted
.
The
officers
,
who
had
at
first
yielded
to
the
panic
of
their
men
,
took
fresh
courage
,
and
finally
led
the
bulk
of
the
troop
back
to
their
post
“
enlevis
a
la
baionette
,
”
to
use
the
phrase
of
a
candid
historian
of
that
day
.
Day
,
on
the
whole
,
not
inglorious
to
France
.
It
was
the
first
,
if
it
was
the
last
,
really
important
success
of
the
besieged
.
They
remained
masters
of
the
ground
,
the
Prussians
leaving
to
them
the
wounded
and
the
dead
.
That
night
what
crowds
thronged
from
Paris
to
the
top
of
the
Montmartre
heights
,
from
the
observatory
on
which
the
celebrated
inventor
Bazin
had
lighted
up
,
with
some
magical
electric
machine
,
all
the
plain
of
Gennevilliers
from
Mont
Valerien
to
the
Fort
de
la
Briche
!
The
splendour
of
the
blaze
wrapped
the
great
city
;
—
distinctly
above
the
roofs
of
the
houses
soared
the
Dome
des
Invalides
,
the
spires
of
Notre
Dame
,
the
giant
turrets
of
the
Tuileries
;
—
and
died
away
on
resting
on
the
infames
scapulos
Acroceraunia
,
the
“
thunder
crags
”
of
the
heights
occupied
by
the
invading
army
.
Lemercier
,
De
Breze
,
and
the
elder
Rameau
—
who
,
despite
his
peaceful
habits
and
grey
hairs
,
insisted
on
joining
in
the
aid
of
la
patrie
—
were
among
the
National
Guards
attached
to
the
Fort
de
la
Briche
and
the
neighbouring
eminence
,
and
they
met
in
conversation
.
“
What
a
victory
we
have
had
!
”
said
the
old
Rameau
.
“
Rather
mortifying
to
your
son
,
M
.
Rameau
,
”
said
LeMercier
.
“
Mortifying
to
my
son
,
sir
!
—
the
victory
of
his
countrymen
.
What
do
you
mean
?
”
“
I
had
the
honour
to
hear
M
.
Gustave
the
other
night
at
the
club
de
la
Vengeance
.
”
“
Bon
Dieu
!
do
you
frequent
those
tragic
reunions
?
”
asked
De
Breze
.
“
They
are
not
at
all
tragic
:
they
are
the
only
comedies
left
us
,
as
one
must
amuse
one’s
self
somewhere
,
and
the
club
de
la
Vengeance
is
the
prettiest
thing
of
the
sort
going
.
I
quite
understand
why
it
should
fascinate
a
poet
like
your
son
,
M
.
Rameau
.
It
is
held
in
a
salle
de
cafe
chantant
—
style
Louis
Quinze
—
decorated
with
a
pastoral
scene
from
Watteau
.
I
and
my
dog
Fox
drop
in
.
We
hear
your
son
haranguing
.
In
what
poetical
sentences
he
despaired
of
the
Republic
!
The
Government
(
he
called
them
les
charlatans
de
l’Hotel
de
Ville
)
were
imbeciles
.
They
pretended
to
inaugurate
a
revolution
,
and
did
not
employ
the
most
obvious
of
revolutionary
means
.
There
Fox
and
I
pricked
up
our
ears
:
what
were
those
means
?
Your
son
proceeded
to
explain
:
‘All
mankind
were
to
be
appealed
to
against
individual
interests
.
The
commerce
of
luxury
was
to
be
abolished
.
Clearly
luxury
was
not
at
the
command
of
all
mankind
.
Cafes
and
theatres
were
to
be
closed
for
ever
—
all
mankind
could
not
go
to
cafes
and
theatres
.
It
was
idle
to
expect
the
masses
to
combine
for
anything
in
which
the
masses
had
not
an
interest
in
common
.
The
masses
had
no
interest
in
any
property
that
did
not
belong
to
the
masses
.
Programmes
of
the
society
to
be
founded
,
called
the
Ligue
Cosmopolite
Democratique
,
should
be
sent
at
once
into
all
the
States
of
the
civilised
world
—
how
?
by
balloons
.
Money
corrupts
the
world
as
now
composed
:
but
the
money
at
the
command
of
the
masses
could
buy
all
the
monarchs
and
courtiers
and
priests
of
the
universe.’
At
that
sentiment
,
vehemently
delivered
,
the
applauses
were
frantic
,
and
Fox
in
his
excitement
began
to
bark
.
At
the
sound
of
his
bark
one
man
cried
out
,
‘That’s
a
Prussian
!
’
another
,
‘Down
with
the
spy
!
’
another
,
‘There’s
an
aristo
present
—
he
keeps
alive
a
dog
which
would
be
a
week’s
meal
for
a
family
!
’
I
snatch
up
Fox
at
the
last
cry
,
and
clasp
him
to
a
bosom
protected
by
the
uniform
of
the
National
Guard
.
“
When
the
hubbub
had
subsided
,
your
son
,
M
.
Rameau
,
proceeded
,
quitting
mankind
in
general
,
and
arriving
at
the
question
in
particular
most
interesting
to
his
audience
—
the
mobilisation
of
the
National
Guard
;
that
is
,
the
call
upon
men
who
like
talking
and
hate
fighting
to
talk
less
and
fight
more
.
‘It
was
the
sheerest
tyranny
to
select
a
certain
number
of
free
citizens
to
be
butchered
.
If
the
fight
was
for
the
mass
,
there
ought
to
be
la
levee
en
masse
.
If
one
did
not
compel
everybody
to
fight
,
why
should
anybody
fight
?
’
Here
the
applause
again
became
vehement
,
and
Fox
again
became
indiscreet
.
I
subdued
Fox’s
bark
into
a
squeak
by
pulling
his
ears
.
‘What
!
’
cries
your
poet-son
,
‘la
levee
en
masse
gives
us
fifteen
millions
of
soldiers
,
with
which
we
could
crush
,
not
Prussia
alone
,
but
the
whole
of
Europe
.
(
Immense
sensation
.
)
Let
us
,
then
,
resolve
that
the
charlatans
of
the
Hotel
de
Ville
are
incapable
of
delivering
us
from
the
Prussians
;
that
they
are
deposed
;
that
the
Ligue
of
the
Democratie
Cosmopolite
is
installed
;
that
meanwhile
the
Commune
shall
be
voted
the
Provisional
Government
,
and
shall
order
the
Prussians
to
retire
within
three
days
from
the
soil
of
Paris.’
“
Pardon
me
this
long
description
,
my
dear
M
.
Rameau
,
but
I
trust
I
have
satisfactorily
explained
why
victory
obtained
in
the
teeth
of
his
eloquent
opinions
,
if
gratifying
to
him
as
a
Frenchman
,
must
be
mortifying
to
him
as
a
politician
.
”
The
old
Rameau
sighed
,
hung
his
head
,
and
crept
away
.
While
,
amid
this
holiday
illumination
,
the
Parisians
enjoyed
the
panorama
before
them
,
the
Freres
Chretiens
and
the
attendants
of
the
various
ambulances
were
moving
along
the
battle-plains
;
the
first
in
their
large-brimmed
hats
and
sable
garbs
,
the
last
in
strange
motley
costume
,
many
of
them
in
glittering
uniform
—
all
alike
in
their
serene
indifference
to
danger
;
often
pausing
to
pick
up
among
the
dead
their
own
brethren
who
had
been
slaughtered
in
the
midst
of
their
task
.
Now
and
then
they
came
on
sinister
forms
apparently
engaged
in
the
same
duty
of
tending
the
wounded
and
dead
,
but
in
truth
murderous
plunderers
,
to
whom
the
dead
and
the
dying
were
equal
harvests
.
Did
the
wounded
man
attempt
to
resist
the
foul
hands
searching
for
their
spoil
,
they
added
another
wound
more
immediately
mortal
,
grinning
as
they
completed
on
the
dead
the
robbery
they
had
commenced
on
the
dying
.
Raoul
de
Vandemar
had
been
all
the
earlier
part
of
the
day
with
the
assistants
of
the
ambulance
over
which
he
presided
,
attached
to
the
battalions
of
the
National
Guard
in
a
quarter
remote
from
that
in
which
his
brother
had
fought
and
fallen
.
When
those
troops
,
later
in
the
day
,
were
driven
from
the
Montmedy
plateau
,
which
they
had
at
first
carried
,
Raoul
repassed
towards
the
plateau
at
Villiers
,
on
which
the
dead
lay
thickest
.
On
the
way
he
heard
a
vague
report
of
the
panic
which
had
dispersed
the
Mobiles
of
whom
Enguerrand
was
in
command
,
and
of
Enguerrand’s
vain
attempt
to
inspirit
them
.
But
his
fate
was
not
known
.
There
,
at
midnight
,
Raoul
is
still
searching
among
the
ghastly
heaps
and
pools
of
blood
,
lighted
from
afar
by
the
blaze
from
the
observatory
of
Montmartre
,
and
more
near
at
hand
by
the
bivouac
fires
extended
along
the
banks
to
the
left
of
the
Marne
,
while
everywhere
about
the
field
flitted
the
lanterns
of
the
Frere
Chretiens
.
Suddenly
,
in
the
dimness
of
a
spot
cast
into
shadow
by
an
incompleted
earthwork
,
he
observed
a
small
sinister
figure
perched
on
the
breast
of
some
wounded
soldier
,
evidently
not
to
succour
.
He
sprang
forward
and
seized
a
hideous-looking
urchin
,
scarcely
twelve
years
old
,
who
held
in
one
hand
a
small
crystal
locket
,
set
in
filigree
gold
,
torn
from
the
soldier’s
breast
,
and
lifted
high
in
the
other
a
long
case-knife
.
At
a
glance
Raoul
recognised
the
holy
relic
he
had
given
to
Enguerrand
,
and
,
flinging
the
precocious
murderer
to
be
seized
by
his
assistants
,
he
cast
himself
beside
his
brother
.
Enguerrand
still
breathed
,
and
his
languid
eyes
brightened
as
he
knew
the
dear
familiar
face
.
He
tried
to
speak
,
but
his
voice
failed
,
and
he
shook
his
head
sadly
,
but
still
with
a
faint
smile
on
his
lips
.
They
lifted
him
tenderly
,
and
placed
him
on
a
litter
.
The
movement
,
gentle
as
it
was
,
brought
back
pain
,
and
with
the
pain
strength
to
mutter
,
“
My
mother
—
-I
would
see
her
once
more
.
”
As
at
daybreak
the
loungers
on
Montmartre
and
the
ramparts
descended
into
the
streets
—
most
windows
in
which
were
open
,
as
they
had
been
all
night
,
with
anxious
female
faces
peering
palely
down-they
saw
the
conveyances
of
the
ambulances
coming
dismally
along
,
and
many
an
eye
turned
wistfully
towards
the
litter
on
which
lay
the
idol
of
the
pleasure-loving
Paris
,
with
the
dark
,
bareheaded
figure
walking
beside
it
,
—
onwards
,
onwards
,
till
it
reached
the
Hotel
de
Vandemar
,
and
a
woman’s
cry
was
heard
at
the
entrance
—
the
mother’s
cry
,
“
My
son
!
my
son
!
”
BOOK
XII
.
CHAPTER
I
.
The
last
book
closed
with
the
success
of
the
Parisian
sortie
on
the
30th
of
November
,
to
be
followed
by
the
terrible
engagements
no
less
honourable
to
French
valour
,
on
the
2nd
of
December
.
There
was
the
sanguine
belief
that
deliverance
was
at
hand
;
that
Trochu
would
break
through
the
circle
of
iron
,
and
effect
that
junction
with
the
army
of
Aurelles
de
Paladine
which
would
compel
the
Germans
to
raise
the
investment
;
—
belief
rudely
shaken
by
Ducrot’s
proclamation
of
the
4th
,
to
explain
the
recrossing
of
the
Marne
,
and
the
abandonment
of
the
positions
conquered
,
but
not
altogether
dispelled
till
von
Moltke’s
letter
to
Trochu
on
the
5th
announcing
the
defeat
of
the
army
of
the
Loire
and
the
recapture
of
Orleans
.
Even
then
the
Parisians
did
not
lose
hope
of
succour
;
and
even
after
the
desperate
and
fruitless
sortie
against
Le
Bourget
on
the
21st
,
it
was
not
without
witticisms
on
defeat
and
predictions
of
triumph
,
that
Winter
and
Famine
settled
sullenly
on
the
city
.
Our
narrative
reopens
with
the
last
period
of
the
siege
.
It
was
during
these
dreadful
days
,
that
if
the
vilest
and
the
most
hideous
aspects
of
the
Parisian
population
showed
themselves
at
the
worst
,
so
all
its
loveliest
,
its
noblest
,
its
holiest
characteristics
—
unnoticed
by
ordinary
observers
in
the
prosperous
days
of
the
capital
—
became
conspicuously
prominent
.
The
higher
classes
,
including
the
remnant
of
the
old
noblesse
,
had
,
during
the
whole
siege
,
exhibited
qualities
in
notable
contrast
to
those
assigned
them
by
the
enemies
of
aristocracy
.
Their
sons
had
been
foremost
among
those
soldiers
who
never
calumniated
a
leader
,
never
fled
before
a
foe
;
their
women
had
been
among
the
most
zealous
and
the
most
tender
nurses
of
the
ambulances
they
had
founded
and
served
;
their
houses
had
been
freely
opened
,
whether
to
the
families
exiled
from
the
suburbs
,
or
in
supplement
to
the
hospitals
.
The
amount
of
relief
they
afforded
unostentatiously
,
out
of
means
that
shared
the
general
failure
of
accustomed
resource
,
when
the
famine
commenced
,
would
be
scarcely
credible
if
stated
.
Admirable
,
too
,
were
the
fortitude
and
resignation
of
the
genuine
Parisian
bourgeoisie
,
—
the
thrifty
tradesfolk
and
small
rentiers
,
—
that
class
in
which
,
to
judge
of
its
timidity
when
opposed
to
a
mob
,
courage
is
not
the
most
conspicuous
virtue
.
Courage
became
so
now
—
courage
to
bear
hourly
increasing
privation
,
and
to
suppress
every
murmur
of
suffering
that
would
discredit
their
patriotism
,
and
invoke
“
peace
at
any
price
.
”
It
was
on
this
class
that
the
calamities
of
the
siege
now
pressed
the
most
heavily
.
The
stagnation
of
trade
,
and
the
stoppage
of
the
rents
,
in
which
they
had
invested
their
savings
,
reduced
many
of
them
to
actual
want
.
Those
only
of
their
number
who
obtained
the
pay
of
one-and-a-half
franc
a
day
as
National
Guards
,
could
be
sure
to
escape
from
starvation
.
But
this
pay
had
already
begun
to
demoralise
the
receivers
.
Scanty
for
supply
of
food
,
it
was
ample
for
supply
of
drink
.
And
drunkenness
,
hitherto
rare
in
that
rank
of
the
Parisians
,
became
a
prevalent
vice
,
aggravated
in
the
case
of
a
National
Guard
,
when
it
wholly
unfitted
him
for
the
duties
he
undertook
,
especially
such
National
Guards
as
were
raised
from
the
most
turbulent
democracy
of
the
working
class
.
But
of
all
that
population
;
there
were
two
sections
in
which
the
most
beautiful
elements
of
our
human
nature
were
most
touchingly
manifest
—
the
women
and
the
priesthood
,
including
in
the
latter
denomination
all
the
various
brotherhoods
and
societies
which
religion
formed
and
inspired
.
It
was
on
the
27th
of
December
that
Frederic
Lemercier
stood
gazing
wistfully
on
a
military
report
affixed
to
a
blank
wall
,
which
stated
that
“
the
enemy
,
worn
out
by
a
resistance
of
over
one
hundred
days
,
”
had
commenced
the
bombardment
.
Poor
Frederic
was
sadly
altered
;
he
had
escaped
the
Prussian’s
guns
,
but
not
the
Parisian
winter
—
the
severest
known
for
twenty
years
.
He
was
one
of
the
many
frozen
at
their
posts
—
brought
back
to
the
ambulance
with
Fox
in
his
bosom
trying
to
keep
him
warm
.
He
had
only
lately
been
sent
forth
as
convalescent
,
—
ambulances
were
too
crowded
to
retain
a
patient
longer
than
absolutely
needful
,
—
and
had
been
hunger-pinched
and
frost-pinched
ever
since
.
The
luxurious
Frederic
had
still
,
somewhere
or
other
,
a
capital
yielding
above
three
thousand
a
year
,
and
of
which
he
could
not
now
realise
a
franc
,
the
title-deeds
to
various
investments
being
in
the
hands
of
Duplessis
,
the
most
trustworthy
of
friends
,
the
most
upright
of
men
,
but
who
was
in
Bretagne
,
and
could
not
be
got
at
.
And
the
time
had
come
at
Paris
when
you
could
not
get
trust
for
a
pound
of
horse-flesh
,
or
a
daily
supply
of
fuel
.
And
Frederic
Lemercier
,
who
had
long
since
spent
the
2000
francs
borrowed
from
Alain
(
not
ignobly
,
but
somewhat
ostentatiously
,
in
feasting
any
acquaintance
who
wanted
a
feast
)
,
and
who
had
sold
to
any
one
who
could
afford
to
speculate
on
such
dainty
luxuries
,
—
clocks
,
bronzes
,
amber-mounted
pipes
,
—
all
that
had
made
the
envied
garniture
of
his
bachelor’s
apartment
—
Frederic
Lemercier
was
,
so
far
as
the
task
of
keeping
body
and
soul
together
,
worse
off
than
any
English
pauper
who
can
apply
to
the
Union
.
Of
course
he
might
have
claimed
his
half-pay
of
thirty
sous
as
a
National
Guard
.
But
he
little
knows
the
true
Parisian
who
imagines
a
seigneur
of
the
Chaussee
d’Antin
,
the
oracle
of
those
with
whom
he
lived
,
and
one
who
knew
life
so
well
that
he
had
preached
prudence
to
a
seigneur
of
the
Faubourg
like
Alain
de
Rochebriant
,
stooping
to
apply
for
the
wages
of
thirty
sons
.
Rations
were
only
obtained
by
the
wonderful
patience
of
women
,
who
had
children
to
whom
they
were
both
saints
and
martyrs
.
The
hours
,
the
weary
hours
,
one
had
to
wait
before
one
could
get
one’s
place
on
the
line
for
the
distribution
of
that
atrocious
black
bread
,
defeated
men
,
—
defeated
most
wives
if
only
for
husbands
,
were
defied
only
by
mothers
and
daughters
.
Literally
speaking
,
Lemercier
was
starving
.
Alain
had
been
badly
wounded
in
the
sortie
of
the
21st
,
and
was
laid
up
in
an
ambulance
.
Even
if
he
could
have
been
got
at
,
he
had
probably
nothing
left
to
bestow
upon
Lemercier
.
Lemercier
gazed
on
the
announcement
of
the
bombardment
,
and
the
Parisian
gaiety
,
which
some
French
historian
of
the
siege
calls
douce
philosophie
,
lingering
on
him
still
,
he
said
,
audibly
,
turning
round
to
any
stranger
who
heard
:
“
Happiest
of
mortals
that
we
are
!
Under
the
present
Government
we
are
never
warned
of
anything
disagreeable
that
can
happen
;
we
are
only
told
of
it
when
it
has
happened
,
and
then
as
rather
pleasant
than
otherwise
.
I
get
up
.
I
meet
a
civil
gendarme
.
‘What
is
that
firing
?
which
of
our
provincial
armies
is
taking
Prussia
in
the
rear
?
‘Monsieur
,
’
says
the
gendarme
,
‘it
is
the
Prussian
Krupp
guns.’
I
look
at
the
proclamation
,
and
my
fears
varnish
,
—
my
heart
is
relieved
.
I
read
that
the
bombardment
is
a
sure
sign
that
the
enemy
is
worn
out
.
”
Some
of
the
men
grouped
round
Frederic
ducked
their
heads
in
terror
;
others
,
who
knew
that
the
thunderbolt
launched
from
the
plateau
of
Avron
would
not
fall
on
the
pavements
of
Paris
,
laughed
and
joked
.
But
in
front
,
with
no
sign
of
terror
,
no
sound
of
laughter
,
stretched
,
moving
inch
by
inch
,
the
female
procession
towards
the
bakery
in
which
the
morsel
of
bread
for
their
infants
was
doled
out
.
“
Hist
,
mon
ami
,
”
said
a
deep
voice
beside
Lemercier
.
“
Look
at
those
women
,
and
do
not
wound
their
ears
by
a
jest
.
”
Lemercier
,
offended
by
that
rebuke
,
though
too
susceptible
to
good
emotions
not
to
recognise
its
justice
,
tried
with
feeble
fingers
to
turn
up
his
moustache
,
and
to
turn
a
defiant
crest
upon
the
rebuker
.
He
was
rather
startled
to
see
the
tall
martial
form
at
his
side
,
and
to
recognise
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
“
Don’t
you
think
,
M
.
Lemercier
,
”
resumed
the
Vicomte
,
half
sadly
,
“
that
these
women
are
worthy
of
better
husbands
and
sons
than
are
commonly
found
among
the
soldiers
whose
uniform
we
wear
?
”
“
The
National
Guard
!
You
ought
not
to
sneer
at
them
,
Vicomte
,
—
you
whose
troop
covered
itself
with
glory
on
the
great
days
of
Villiers
and
Champigny
,
—
you
in
whose
praise
even
the
grumblers
of
Paris
became
eloquent
,
and
in
whom
a
future
Marshal
of
France
is
foretold
.
”
“
But
,
alas
!
more
than
half
of
my
poor
troop
was
left
on
the
battle-field
,
or
is
now
wrestling
for
mangled
remains
of
life
in
the
ambulances
.
And
the
new
recruits
with
which
I
took
the
field
on
the
21st
are
not
likely
to
cover
themselves
with
glory
,
or
to
insure
their
commander
the
baton
of
a
marshal
.
”
“
Ay
,
I
heard
when
I
was
in
the
hospital
that
you
had
publicly
shamed
some
of
these
recruits
,
and
declared
that
you
would
rather
resign
than
lead
them
again
to
battle
.
”
“
True
;
and
at
this
moment
,
for
so
doing
,
I
am
the
man
most
hated
by
the
rabble
who
supplied
those
recruits
.
”
The
men
,
while
thus
conversing
,
had
moved
slowly
on
,
and
were
now
in
front
of
a
large
cafe
,
from
the
interior
of
which
came
the
sound
of
loud
bravos
and
clappings
of
hands
.
Lemercier’s
curiosity
was
excited
.
“
For
what
can
be
that
applause
?
”
he
said
;
“
let
us
look
in
and
see
.
”
The
room
was
thronged
.
In
the
distance
,
on
a
small
raised
platform
,
stood
a
girl
dressed
in
faded
theatrical
finery
,
making
her
obeisance
to
the
crowd
.
“
Heavens
!
”
exclaimed
Frederic
—
“
can
I
trust
my
eyes
?
Surely
that
is
the
once
superb
Julie
:
has
she
been
dancing
here
?
”
One
of
the
loungers
,
evidently
belonging
to
the
same
world
as
Lemercier
,
overheard
the
question
and
answered
politely
:
“
No
,
Monsieur
:
she
has
been
reciting
verses
,
and
really
declaims
very
well
,
considering
it
is
not
her
vocation
.
She
has
given
us
extracts
from
Victor
Hugo
and
De
Musset
:
and
crowned
all
with
a
patriotic
hymn
by
Gustave
Rameau
,
—
her
old
lover
,
if
gossip
be
true
.
”
Meanwhile
De
Mauleon
,
who
at
first
had
glanced
over
the
scene
with
his
usual
air
of
calm
and
cold
indifference
,
became
suddenly
struck
by
the
girl’s
beautiful
face
,
and
gazed
on
it
with
a
look
of
startled
surprise
.
“
Who
and
what
did
you
say
that
poor
fair
creature
is
,
M
.
Lemercier
?
”
“
She
is
a
Mademoiselle
Julie
Caumartin
,
and
was
a
very
popular
coryphee
.
She
has
hereditary
right
to
be
a
good
dancer
,
as
the
daughter
of
a
once
more
famous
ornament
of
the
ballet
,
la
belle
Leonie
—
whom
you
must
have
seen
in
your
young
days
.
”
“
Of
course
.
Leonie
—
she
married
a
M
.
Surville
,
a
silly
bourgeois
gentilhomme
,
who
earned
the
hatred
of
Paris
by
taking
her
off
the
stage
.
So
that
is
her
daughter
I
see
no
likeness
to
her
mother
—
much
handsomer
.
Why
does
she
call
herself
Caumartin
?
”
“
Oh
,
”
said
Frederic
,
“
a
melancholy
but
trite
story
.
”
“
Leonie
was
left
a
widow
,
and
died
in
want
.
What
could
the
poor
young
daughter
do
?
She
found
a
rich
protector
,
who
had
influence
to
get
her
an
appointment
in
the
ballet
:
and
there
she
did
as
most
girls
so
circumstanced
do
—
appeared
under
an
assumed
name
,
which
she
has
since
kept
.
”
“
I
understand
,
”
said
Victor
,
compassionately
.
“
Poor
thing
!
she
has
quitted
the
platform
,
and
is
coming
this
way
,
evidently
to
speak
to
you
.
I
saw
her
eyes
brighten
as
she
caught
sight
of
your
face
.
”
Lemercier
attempted
a
languid
air
of
modest
self-complacency
as
the
girl
now
approached
him
.
“
Bonjour
,
M
.
Frederic
!
Ah
,
mon
Dieu
!
how
thin
you
have
grown
!
You
have
been
ill
?
”
“
The
hardships
of
a
military
life
,
Mademoiselle
.
Ah
,
for
the
beaux
fours
and
the
peace
we
insisted
on
destroying
under
the
Empire
which
we
destroyed
for
listening
to
us
!
But
you
thrive
well
,
I
trust
.
I
have
seen
you
better
dressed
,
but
never
in
greater
beauty
.
”
The
girl
blushed
as
she
replied
,
“
Do
you
really
think
as
you
speak
?
”
“
I
could
not
speak
more
sincerely
if
I
lived
in
the
legendary
House
of
Glass
.
”
The
girl
clutched
his
arm
,
and
said
in
suppressed
tones
,
“
Where
is
Gustave
?
”
“
Gustave
Rameau
?
I
have
no
idea
.
Do
you
never
see
him
now
?
”
“
Never
,
—
perhaps
I
never
shall
see
him
again
;
but
when
you
do
meet
him
,
say
that
Julie
owes
to
him
her
livelihood
.
An
honest
livelihood
,
Monsieur
.
He
taught
her
to
love
verses
—
told
her
how
to
recite
them
.
I
am
engaged
at
this
cafe
—
you
will
find
me
here
the
same
hour
every
day
,
in
case
—
in
case
—
You
are
good
and
kind
,
and
will
come
and
tell
me
that
Gustave
is
well
and
happy
even
if
he
forgets
me
.
Au
revoir
!
Stop
,
you
do
look
,
my
poor
Frederic
,
as
if
—
as
if
—
pardon
me
,
Monsieur
Lemercier
,
is
there
anything
I
can
do
?
Will
you
condescend
to
borrow
from
me
?
I
am
in
funds
.
”
Lemercier
at
that
offer
was
nearly
moved
to
tears
.
Famished
though
he
was
,
he
could
not
,
however
,
have
touched
that
girl’s
earnings
.
“
You
are
an
angel
of
goodness
,
Mademoiselle
!
Ah
,
how
I
envy
Gustave
Rameau
!
No
,
I
don’t
want
aid
.
I
am
always
a
—
rentier
.
”
“
Bien
!
and
if
you
see
Gustave
,
you
will
not
forget
.
”
“
Rely
on
me
.
Come
away
,
”
he
said
to
De
Mauleon
;
“
I
don’t
want
to
hear
that
girl
repeat
the
sort
of
bombast
the
poets
indite
nowadays
.
It
is
fustian
;
and
that
girl
may
have
a
brain
of
feather
,
but
she
has
a
heart
of
gold
.
”
“
True
,
”
said
Victor
,
as
they
regained
the
street
.
“
I
overheard
what
she
said
to
you
.
What
an
incomprehensible
thing
is
a
woman
!
how
more
incomprehensible
still
is
a
woman’s
love
!
Ah
,
pardon
me
;
I
must
leave
you
.
I
see
in
the
procession
a
poor
woman
known
to
me
in
better
days
.
”
De
Mauleon
walked
towards
the
woman
he
spoke
of
—
one
of
the
long
procession
to
the
bakery
—
a
child
clinging
to
her
robe
.
A
pale
grief-worn
woman
,
still
young
,
but
with
the
weariness
of
age
on
her
face
,
and
the
shadow
of
death
on
her
child’s
.
“
I
think
I
see
Madame
Monnier
,
”
said
De
Mauleon
,
softly
.
She
turned
and
looked
at
him
drearily
.
A
year
ago
,
she
would
have
blushed
if
addressed
by
a
stranger
in
a
name
not
lawfully
hers
.
“
Well
,
”
she
said
,
in
hollow
accents
broken
by
cough
;
“
I
don’t
know
you
,
Monsieur
.
”
“
Poor
woman
!
”
he
resumed
,
walking
beside
her
as
she
moved
slowly
on
,
while
the
eyes
of
other
women
in
the
procession
stared
at
him
hungrily
.
“
And
your
child
looks
ill
too
.
It
is
your
youngest
?
”
“
My
only
one
!
The
others
are
in
Pere
la
Chaise
.
There
are
but
few
children
alive
in
my
street
now
.
God
has
been
very
merciful
,
and
taken
them
to
Himself
.
”
De
Mauleon
recalled
the
scene
of
a
neat
comfortable
apartment
,
and
the
healthful
happy
children
at
play
on
the
floor
.
The
mortality
among
the
little
ones
,
especially
in
the
quartier
occupied
by
the
working
classes
,
had
of
late
been
terrible
.
The
want
of
food
,
of
fuel
,
the
intense
severity
of
the
weather
,
had
swept
them
off
as
by
a
pestilence
.
“
And
Monnier
—
what
of
him
?
No
doubt
he
is
a
National
Guard
,
and
has
his
pay
?
”
The
woman
made
no
answer
,
but
hung
down
her
head
.
She
was
stifling
a
sob
.
Till
then
her
eyes
seemed
to
have
exhausted
the
last
source
of
tears
.
“
He
lives
still
?
”
continued
Victor
,
pityingly
:
“
he
is
not
wounded
?
”
“
No
:
he
is
well
—
in
health
;
thank
you
kindly
,
Monsieur
.
”
“
But
his
pay
is
not
enough
to
help
you
,
and
of
course
he
can
get
no
work
.
Excuse
me
if
I
stopped
you
.
It
is
because
I
owed
Armand
Monnier
a
little
debt
for
work
,
and
I
am
ashamed
to
say
that
it
quite
escaped
my
memory
in
these
terrible
events
.
Allow
me
,
Madame
,
to
pay
it
to
you
,
”
and
he
thrust
his
purse
into
her
hand
.
“
I
think
this
contains
about
the
sum
I
owed
;
if
more
or
less
,
we
will
settle
the
difference
later
.
Take
care
of
yourself
.
”
He
was
turning
away
when
the
woman
caught
hold
of
him
.
“
Stay
,
Monsieur
.
May
Heaven
bless
you
!
—
but
—
but
tell
me
what
name
I
am
to
give
to
Armand
.
I
can’t
think
of
any
one
who
owed
him
money
.
It
must
have
been
before
that
dreadful
strike
,
the
beginning
of
all
our
woes
.
Ah
,
if
it
were
allowed
to
curse
any
one
,
I
fear
my
last
breath
would
not
be
a
prayer
.
”
“
You
would
curse
the
strike
,
or
the
master
who
did
not
forgive
Armand’s
share
in
it
?
”
“
No
,
no
,
—
the
cruel
man
who
talked
him
into
it
—
into
all
that
has
changed
the
best
workman
,
the
kindest
heart
—
the
—
the
—
”
again
her
voice
died
in
sobs
.
“
And
who
was
that
man
?
”
asked
De
Mauleon
,
falteringly
.
“
His
name
was
Lebeau
.
If
you
were
a
poor
man
,
I
should
say
‘Shun
him.’
”
“
I
have
heard
of
the
name
you
mention
;
but
if
we
mean
the
same
person
,
Monnier
cannot
have
met
him
lately
.
He
has
not
been
in
Paris
since
the
siege
.
”
“
I
suppose
not
,
the
coward
!
He
ruined
us
—
us
who
were
so
happy
before
;
and
then
,
as
Armand
says
,
cast
us
away
as
instruments
he
had
done
with
.
But
—
but
if
you
do
know
him
,
and
do
see
him
again
,
tell
him
—
tell
him
not
to
complete
his
wrong
—
not
to
bring
murder
on
Armand’s
soul
.
For
Armand
isn’t
what
he
was
—
and
has
become
,
oh
,
so
violent
!
I
dare
not
take
this
money
without
saying
who
gave
it
.
He
would
not
take
money
as
alms
from
an
aristocrat
.
Hush
!
he
beat
me
for
taking
money
from
the
good
Monsieur
Raoul
de
Vandemar
—
my
poor
Armand
beat
me
!
”
De
Mauleon
shuddered
.
“
Say
that
it
is
from
a
customer
whose
rooms
he
decorated
in
his
spare
hours
on
his
own
account
before
the
strike
,
—
Monsieur
—
—
—
—
;
”
here
he
uttered
indistinctly
some
unpronounceable
name
and
hurried
off
,
soon
lost
as
the
streets
grew
darker
.
Amid
groups
of
a
higher
order
of
men-military
men
,
nobles
,
ci-devant
deputies
—
among
such
ones
his
name
stood
very
high
.
Not
only
his
bravery
in
the
recent
sorties
had
been
signal
,
but
a
strong
belief
in
his
military
talents
had
become
prevalent
;
and
conjoined
with
the
name
he
had
before
established
as
a
political
writer
,
and
the
remembrance
of
the
vigour
and
sagacity
with
which
he
had
opposed
the
war
,
he
seemed
certain
,
when
peace
and
order
became
established
,
of
a
brilliant
position
and
career
in
a
future
administration
:
not
less
because
he
had
steadfastly
kept
aloof
from
the
existing
Government
,
which
it
was
rumoured
,
rightly
or
erroneously
,
that
he
had
been
solicited
to
join
;
and
from
every
combination
of
the
various
democratic
or
discontented
factions
.
Quitting
these
more
distinguished
associates
,
he
took
his
way
alone
towards
the
ramparts
.
The
day
was
closing
;
the
thunders
of
the
cannon
were
dying
down
.
He
passed
by
a
wine-shop
round
which
were
gathered
many
of
the
worse
specimens
of
the
Moblots
and
National
Guards
,
mostly
drunk
,
and
loudly
talking
in
vehement
abuse
of
generals
and
officers
and
commissariat
.
By
one
of
the
men
,
as
he
came
under
the
glare
of
a
petroleum
lamp
(
there
was
gas
no
longer
in
the
dismal
city
)
,
he
was
recognised
as
the
commander
who
had
dared
to
insist
on
discipline
,
and
disgrace
honest
patriots
who
claimed
to
themselves
the
sole
option
between
fight
and
flight
.
The
man
was
one
of
those
patriots
—
one
of
the
new
recruits
whom
Victor
had
shamed
and
dismissed
for
mutiny
and
cowardice
.
He
made
a
drunken
plunge
at
his
former
chief
,
shouting
,
“
A
bas
Pai-isto
!
Comrades
,
this
is
the
coquin
De
Mauleon
who
is
paid
by
the
Prussians
for
getting
us
killed
:
a
la
lanterne
!
”
“
A
la
lanterne
!
”
stammered
and
hiccupped
others
of
the
group
;
but
they
did
not
stir
to
execute
their
threat
.
Dimly
seen
as
the
stern
face
and
sinewy
form
of
the
threatened
man
was
by
their
drowsied
eyes
,
the
name
of
De
Mauleon
,
the
man
without
fear
of
a
foe
,
and
without
ruth
for
a
mutineer
,
sufficed
to
protect
him
from
outrage
;
and
with
a
slight
movement
of
his
arm
that
sent
his
denouncer
reeling
against
the
lamp-post
,
De
Mauleon
passed
on
:
—
when
another
man
,
in
the
uniform
of
a
National
Guard
,
bounded
from
the
door
of
the
tavern
,
crying
with
a
loud
voice
,
“
Who
said
De
Mauleon
?
—
let
me
look
on
him
:
”
and
Victor
,
who
had
strode
on
with
slow
lion-like
steps
,
cleaving
the
crowd
,
turned
,
and
saw
before
him
in
the
gleaming
light
a
face
,
in
which
the
bold
frank
,
intelligent
aspect
of
former
days
was
lost
in
a
wild
,
reckless
,
savage
expression
—
the
face
of
Armand
Monnier
.
“
Ha
!
are
you
really
Victor
de
Mauleon
?
”
asked
Monnier
,
not
fiercely
,
but
under
his
breath
,
—
in
that
sort
of
stage
whisper
which
is
the
natural
utterance
of
excited
men
under
the
mingled
influence
of
potent
drink
and
hoarded
rage
.
“
Certainly
;
I
am
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
”
“
And
you
were
in
command
of
the
—
company
of
the
National
Guard
on
the
30th
of
November
at
Champigny
and
Villiers
?
”
“
I
was
.
”
“
And
you
shot
with
your
own
hand
an
officer
belonging
to
another
company
who
refused
to
join
yours
?
”
“
I
shot
a
cowardly
soldier
who
ran
away
from
the
enemy
,
and
seemed
a
ringleader
of
other
runaways
;
and
in
so
doing
,
I
saved
from
dishonour
the
best
part
of
his
comrades
.
”
“
The
man
was
no
coward
.
He
was
an
enlightened
Frenchman
,
and
worth
fifty
of
such
aristos
as
you
;
and
he
knew
better
than
his
officers
that
he
was
to
be
led
to
an
idle
slaughter
.
Idle
—
I
say
idle
.
What
was
France
the
better
,
how
was
Paris
the
safer
,
for
the
senseless
butchery
of
that
day
?
You
mutinied
against
a
wiser
general
than
Saint
Trochu
when
you
murdered
that
mutineer
.
”
“
Armand
Monnier
,
you
are
not
quite
sober
to-night
,
or
I
would
argue
with
you
that
question
.
But
you
no
doubt
are
brave
:
how
and
why
do
you
take
the
part
of
a
runaway
?
”
“
How
and
why
?
He
was
my
brother
,
and
you
own
you
murdered
him
:
my
brother
—
the
sagest
head
in
Paris
.
If
I
had
listened
to
him
,
I
should
not
be
,
—
bah
!
—
no
matter
now
what
I
am
.
”
“
I
could
not
know
he
was
your
brother
;
but
if
he
had
been
mine
I
would
have
done
the
same
.
”
Here
Victor’s
lip
quivered
,
for
Monnier
griped
him
by
the
arm
,
and
looked
him
in
the
face
with
wild
stony
eyes
.
“
I
recollect
that
voice
!
Yet
—
yet
—
you
say
you
are
a
noble
,
a
Vicomte
—
Victor
de
Mauleon
,
and
you
shot
my
brother
!
”
Here
he
passed
his
left
hand
rapidly
over
his
forehead
.
The
fumes
of
wine
still
clouded
his
mind
,
but
rays
of
intelligence
broke
through
the
cloud
.
Suddenly
he
said
in
a
loud
,
and
calm
,
and
natural
voice
:
“
Mons
.
le
Vicomte
,
you
accost
me
as
Armand
Monnier
—
pray
how
do
you
know
my
name
?
”
“
How
should
I
not
know
it
?
I
have
looked
into
the
meetings
of
the
‘Clubs
rouges.’
I
have
heard
you
speak
,
and
naturally
asked
your
name
.
Bon
soir
M
.
Monnier
!
When
you
reflect
in
cooler
moments
,
you
will
see
that
if
patriots
excuse
Brutus
for
first
dishonouring
and
then
executing
his
own
son
,
an
officer
charged
to
defend
his
country
may
be
surely
pardoned
for
slaying
a
runaway
to
whom
he
was
no
relation
,
when
in
slaying
he
saved
the
man’s
name
and
kindred
from
dishonour
—
unless
,
indeed
,
you
insist
on
telling
the
world
why
he
was
slain
.
”
“
I
know
your
voice
—
I
know
it
.
Every
sound
becomes
clearer
to
my
ear
.
And
if
—
”
But
while
Monnier
thus
spoke
,
De
Mauleon
had
hastened
on
.
Monnier
looked
round
,
saw
him
gone
,
but
did
not
pursue
.
He
was
just
intoxicated
enough
to
know
that
his
footsteps
were
not
steady
,
and
he
turned
back
to
the
wine-shop
and
asked
surlily
for
more
wine
.
Could
you
have
seen
him
then
as
he
leant
swinging
himself
to
and
fro
against
the
wall
,
—
had
you
known
the
man
two
years
ago
,
you
would
have
been
a
brute
if
you
felt
disgust
.
You
could
only
have
felt
that
profound
compassion
with
which
we
gaze
on
a
great
royalty
fallen
.
For
the
grandest
of
all
royalties
is
that
which
takes
its
crown
from
Nature
,
needing
no
accident
of
birth
.
And
Nature
made
the
mind
of
Armand
Monnier
king-like
;
endowed
it
with
lofty
scorn
of
meanness
and
falsehood
and
dishonour
,
with
warmth
and
tenderness
of
heart
which
had
glow
enough
to
spare
from
ties
of
kindred
and
hearth
and
home
,
to
extend
to
those
distant
circles
of
humanity
over
which
royal
natures
would
fain
extend
the
shadow
of
their
sceptre
.
How
had
the
royalty
of
the
man’s
nature
fallen
thus
?
Royalty
rarely
falls
from
its
own
constitutional
faults
.
It
falls
when
,
ceasing
to
be
royal
,
it
becomes
subservient
to
bad
advisers
.
And
what
bad
advisers
,
always
appealing
to
his
better
qualities
and
so
enlisting
his
worser
,
had
discrowned
this
mechanic
?
“
A
little
knowledge
is
a
dangerous
thing
,
”
says
the
old-fashioned
poet
.
“
Not
so
,
”
says
the
modern
philosopher
;
“
a
little
knowledge
;
is
safer
than
no
knowledge
.
”
Possibly
,
as
all
individuals
and
all
communities
must
go
through
the
stage
of
a
little
knowledge
before
they
can
arrive
at
that
of
much
knowledge
,
the
philosopher’s
assertion
may
be
right
in
the
long-run
,
and
applied
to
humankind
in
general
.
But
there
is
a
period
,
as
there
is
a
class
,
in
which
a
little
knowledge
tends
to
terrible
demoralisation
.
And
Armand
Monnier
lived
in
that
period
and
was
one
of
that
class
.
The
little
knowledge
that
his
mind
,
impulsive
and
ardent
,
had
picked
up
out
of
books
that
warred
with
the
great
foundations
of
existing
society
,
had
originated
in
ill
advices
.
A
man
stored
with
much
knowledge
would
never
have
let
Madame
de
Grantmesnil’s
denunciations
of
marriage
rites
,
or
Louis
Blane’s
vindication
of
Robespierre
as
the
representative
of
the
working
against
the
middle
class
,
influence
his
practical
life
.
He
would
have
assessed
such
opinions
at
their
real
worth
;
and
whatever
that
worth
might
seem
to
him
,
would
not
to
such
opinions
have
committed
the
conduct
of
his
life
.
Opinion
is
not
fateful
:
conduct
is
.
A
little
knowledge
crazes
an
earnest
,
warm-blooded
,
powerful
creature
like
Armand
Monnier
into
a
fanatic
.
He
takes
an
opinion
which
pleases
him
as
a
revelation
from
the
gods
;
that
opinion
shapes
his
conduct
;
that
conduct
is
his
fate
.
Woe
to
the
philosopher
who
serenely
flings
before
the
little
knowledge
of
the
artisan
dogmas
as
harmless
as
the
Atlantis
of
Plato
if
only
to
be
discussed
by
philosophers
,
and
deadly
as
the
torches
of
Ate
if
seized
as
articles
of
a
creed
by
fanatics
!
But
thrice
woe
to
the
artisan
who
makes
himself
the
zealot
of
the
Dogma
!
Poor
Armand
acts
on
the
opinions
he
adopts
;
proves
his
contempt
for
the
marriage
state
by
living
with
the
wife
of
another
;
resents
,
as
natures
so
inherently
manly
must
do
,
the
Society
that
visits
on
her
his
defiance
of
its
laws
;
throws
himself
,
head
foremost
,
against
that
society
altogether
;
necessarily
joins
all
who
have
other
reasons
for
hostility
to
Society
;
he
himself
having
every
inducement
not
to
join
indiscriminate
strikes
—
high
wages
,
a
liberal
employer
,
ample
savings
,
the
certainty
of
soon
becoming
employer
himself
.
No
;
that
is
not
enough
to
the
fanatic
:
he
persists
on
being
dupe
and
victim
.
He
,
this
great
king
of
labour
,
crowned
by
Nature
,
and
cursed
with
that
degree
of
little
knowledge
which
does
not
comprehend
how
much
more
is
required
before
a
schoolboy
would
admit
it
to
be
knowledge
at
all
,
—
he
rushes
into
the
maddest
of
all
speculations
—
that
of
the
artisan
with
little
knowledge
and
enormous
faith
—
that
which
intrusts
the
safety
and
repose
and
dignity
of
life
to
some
ambitious
adventurer
,
who
uses
his
warm
heart
for
the
adventurer’s
frigid
purpose
,
much
as
the
lawyer-government
of
September
used
the
Communists
,
—
much
as
,
in
every
revolution
of
France
,
a
Bertrand
has
used
a
Raton
—
much
as
,
till
the
sound
of
the
last
trumpet
,
men
very
much
worse
than
Victor
de
Mauleon
will
use
men
very
much
better
than
Armand
Monnier
,
if
the
Armand
Monniers
disdain
the
modesty
of
an
Isaac
Newton
on
hearing
that
a
theorem
to
which
he
had
given
all
the
strength
of
his
patient
intellect
was
disputed
:
“
It
may
be
so
;
”
meaning
,
I
suppose
,
that
it
requires
a
large
amount
of
experience
ascertained
before
a
man
of
much
knowledge
becomes
that
which
a
man
of
little
knowledge
is
at
a
jump-the
fanatic
of
an
experiment
untried
.
CHAPTER
II
.
Scarcely
had
De
Mauleon
quitted
Lemercier
before
the
latter
was
joined
by
two
loungers
scarcely
less
famished
than
himself
—
Savarin
and
De
Breze
.
Like
himself
,
too
,
both
had
been
sufferers
from
illness
,
though
not
of
a
nature
to
be
consigned
to
an
hospital
.
All
manner
of
diseases
then
had
combined
to
form
the
pestilence
which
filled
the
streets
with
unregarded
hearses
—
bronchitis
,
pneumonia
,
smallpox
,
a
strange
sort
of
spurious
dysentery
much
more
speedily
fatal
than
the
genuine
.
The
three
men
,
a
year
before
so
sleek
,
looked
like
ghosts
under
the
withering
sky
;
yet
all
three
retained
embers
of
the
native
Parisian
humour
,
which
their
very
breath
on
meeting
sufficed
to
kindle
up
into
jubilant
sparks
or
rapid
flashes
.
“
There
are
two
consolations
,
”
said
Savarin
,
as
the
friends
strolled
or
rather
crawled
towards
the
Boulevards
—
“
two
consolations
for
the
gourmet
and
for
the
proprietor
in
these
days
of
trial
for
the
gourmand
,
because
the
price
of
truffles
is
come
down
.
”
“
Truffles
!
”
gasped
De
Breze
,
with
watering
mouth
;
“
impossible
!
They
are
gone
with
the
age
of
gold
.
”
“
Not
so
.
I
speak
on
the
best
authority
—
my
laundress
;
for
she
attends
the
succursale
in
the
Rue
de
Chateaudun
;
and
if
the
poor
woman
,
being
,
luckily
for
me
,
a
childless
widow
,
gets
a
morsel
she
can
spare
,
she
sells
it
to
me
.
”
“
Sells
it
!
”
feebly
exclaimed
Lemercier
.
“
Croesus
!
you
have
money
then
,
and
can
buy
?
”
“
Sells
it
—
on
credit
!
I
am
to
pension
her
for
life
if
I
live
to
have
money
again
.
Don’t
interrupt
me
.
This
honest
woman
goes
this
morning
to
the
succursale
.
I
promise
myself
a
delicious
bifteck
of
horse
.
She
gains
the
succursale
,
and
the
employee
informs
her
that
there
is
nothing
left
in
his
store
except
—
truffles
.
A
glut
of
those
in
the
market
allows
him
to
offer
her
a
bargain-seven
francs
la
boite
.
Send
me
seven
francs
,
De
Breze
,
and
you
shall
share
the
banquet
.
”
De
Breze
shook
his
head
expressively
.
“
But
,
”
resumed
Savarin
,
“
though
credit
exists
no
more
except
with
my
laundress
,
upon
terms
of
which
the
usury
is
necessarily
proportioned
to
the
risk
,
yet
,
as
I
had
the
honour
before
to
observe
,
there
is
comfort
for
the
proprietor
.
The
instinct
of
property
is
imperishable
.
”
“
Not
in
the
house
where
I
lodge
,
”
said
Lemercier
.
“
Two
soldiers
were
billeted
there
;
and
during
my
stay
in
the
ambulance
they
enter
my
rooms
,
and
cart
away
all
of
the
little
furniture
left
there
,
except
a
bed
and
a
table
.
Brought
before
a
court-martial
,
they
defend
themselves
by
saying
,
‘The
rooms
were
abandoned.’
The
excuse
was
held
valid
.
They
were
let
off
with
a
reprimand
and
a
promise
to
restore
what
was
not
already
disposed
of
.
They
have
restored
me
another
table
and
four
chairs
.
”
“
Nevertheless
,
they
had
the
instinct
of
property
,
though
erroneously
developed
,
otherwise
they
would
not
have
deemed
any
excuse
for
their
act
necessary
.
Now
for
my
instance
of
the
inherent
tenacity
of
that
instinct
.
A
worthy
citizen
in
want
of
fuel
sees
a
door
in
a
garden
wall
,
and
naturally
carries
off
the
door
.
He
is
apprehended
by
a
gendarme
who
sees
the
act
.
‘Voleur
,
’
he
cries
to
the
gendarme
,
‘do
you
want
to
rob
me
of
my
property
?
’
‘That
door
your
property
?
I
saw
you
take
it
away.’
‘You
confess
,
’
cries
the
citizen
,
triumphantly
—
‘you
confess
that
it
is
my
property
;
for
you
saw
me
appropriate
it.’
Thus
you
see
how
imperishable
is
the
instinct
of
property
.
No
sooner
does
it
disappear
as
yours
than
it
reappears
as
mine
.
”
“
I
would
laugh
if
I
could
,
”
said
Lemercier
,
“
but
such
a
convulsion
would
be
fatal
.
Dieu
des
dieux
,
how
empty
I
am
!
”
He
reeled
as
he
spoke
,
and
clung
to
De
Breze
for
support
.
De
Breze
had
the
reputation
of
being
the
most
selfish
of
men
.
But
at
that
moment
,
when
a
generous
man
might
be
excused
for
being
selfish
enough
to
desire
to
keep
the
little
that
he
had
for
his
own
reprieve
from
starvation
,
this
egotist
became
superb
.
“
Friends
,
”
he
cried
,
with
enthusiasm
,
“
I
have
something
yet
in
my
pocket
;
we
will
dine
,
all
three
of
us
.
”
“
Dine
!
”
faltered
Lemercier
.
“
Dine
!
I
have
not
dined
since
I
left
the
hospital
.
I
breakfasted
yesterday
—
on
two
mice
upon
toast
.
Dainty
,
but
not
nutritious
.
And
I
shared
them
with
Fox
.
”
“
Fox
!
Fox
lives
still
,
then
?
”
cried
De
Breze
,
startled
.
“
In
a
sort
of
way
he
does
.
But
one
mouse
since
yesterday
morning
is
not
much
;
and
he
can’t
expect
that
every
day
.
”
“
Why
don’t
you
take
him
out
?
”
asked
Savarin
.
“
Give
him
a
chance
of
picking
up
a
bone
somewhere
.
”
“
I
dare
not
;
he
would
be
picked
up
himself
.
Dogs
are
getting
very
valuable
:
they
sell
for
50
francs
apiece
.
Come
,
De
Breze
,
where
are
we
to
dine
?
”
“
I
and
Savarin
can
dine
at
the
London
Tavern
upon
rat
pate
or
jugged
cat
.
But
it
would
be
impertinence
to
invite
a
satrap
like
yourself
who
has
a
whole
dog
in
his
larder
—
a
dish
of
50
francs
—
a
dish
for
a
king
.
Adieu
,
my
dear
Frederic
.
Allons
,
Savarin
.
”
“
I
feasted
you
on
better
meats
than
dog
when
I
could
afford
it
,
”
said
Frederic
,
plaintively
;
“
and
the
first
time
you
invite
me
you
retract
the
invitation
.
Be
it
so
.
Bon
appetit
.
”
“
Bah
!
”
said
De
Breze
,
catching
Frederic’s
arm
as
he
turned
to
depart
.
“
Of
course
I
was
but
jesting
.
Only
another
day
,
when
my
pockets
will
be
empty
,
do
think
what
an
excellent
thing
a
roasted
dog
is
,
and
make
up
your
mind
while
Fox
has
still
some
little
flesh
on
his
bones
.
”
“
Flesh
!
”
said
Savarin
,
detaining
them
.
“
Look
!
See
how
right
Voltaire
was
in
saying
,
‘Amusement
is
the
first
necessity
of
civilised
man.’
Paris
can
do
without
bread
Paris
still
retains
Polichinello
.
”
He
pointed
to
the
puppet-show
,
round
which
a
crowd
,
not
of
children
alone
,
but
of
men-middle-aged
and
old-were
collected
;
while
sous
were
dropped
into
the
tin
handed
round
by
a
squalid
boy
.
“
And
,
mon
ami
,
”
whispered
De
Breze
to
Lemercier
,
with
the
voice
of
a
tempting
fiend
,
“
observe
how
Punch
is
without
his
dog
.
”
It
was
true
.
The
dog
was
gone
,
—
its
place
supplied
by
a
melancholy
emaciated
cat
.
Frederic
crawled
towards
the
squalid
boy
.
“
What
has
become
of
Punch’s
dog
?
”
“
We
ate
him
last
Sunday
.
Next
Sunday
we
shall
have
the
cat
in
a
pie
,
”
said
the
urchin
,
with
a
sensual
smack
of
the
lips
.
“
O
Fox
!
Fox
!
”
murmured
Frederic
,
as
the
three
men
went
slowly
down
through
the
darkening
streets
—
the
roar
of
the
Prussian
guns
heard
afar
,
while
distinct
and
near
rang
the
laugh
of
the
idlers
round
the
Punch
without
a
dog
.
CHAPTER
III
.
While
De
Breze
and
his
friends
were
feasting
at
the
cafe
Anglais
,
and
faring
better
than
the
host
had
promised
—
for
the
bill
of
fare
comprised
such
luxuries
as
ass
,
mule
,
peas
,
fried
potatoes
,
and
champagne
(
champagne
in
some
mysterious
way
was
inexhaustible
during
the
time
of
famine
)
—
a
very
different
group
had
assembled
in
the
rooms
of
Isaura
Cicogna
.
She
and
the
Venosta
had
hitherto
escaped
the
extreme
destitution
to
which
many
richer
persons
had
been
reduced
.
It
is
true
that
Isaura’s
fortune
placed
in
the
hands
of
the
absent
Louvier
,
and
invested
in
the
new
street
that
was
to
have
been
,
brought
no
return
.
It
was
true
that
in
that
street
the
Venosta
,
dreaming
of
cent
.
per
cent
.
,
had
invested
all
her
savings
.
But
the
Venosta
,
at
the
first
announcement
of
war
,
had
insisted
on
retaining
in
hand
a
small
sum
from
the
amount
Isaura
had
received
from
her
“
roman
,
”
that
might
suffice
for
current
expenses
,
and
with
yet
more
acute
foresight
had
laid
in
stores
of
provisions
and
fuel
immediately
after
the
probability
of
a
siege
became
apparent
.
But
even
the
provident
mind
of
the
Venosta
had
never
foreseen
that
the
siege
would
endure
so
long
,
or
that
the
prices
of
all
articles
of
necessity
would
rise
so
high
.
And
meanwhile
all
resources
—
money
,
fuel
,
provisions
—
had
been
largely
drawn
upon
by
the
charity
and
benevolence
of
Isaura
,
without
much
remonstrance
on
the
part
of
