sons of the soil-第21章
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fear men; he don't fear animals。〃
〃You are a clever fellow; Pere Fourchon;〃 said Blondet; 〃you know what
you are talking about; and there's sense in what you say。〃
〃Oh; sense? no; I left my sense at the Grand…I…Vert when I lost those
silver pieces。〃
〃How is it that a man of your capacity should have dropped so low? As
things are now; a peasant can only blame himself for his poverty; he
is a free man; and he can become a rich one。 It is not as it used to
be。 If a peasant lays by his money; he can always buy a bit of land
and become his own master。〃
〃I've seen the olden time and I've seen the new; my dear wise
gentleman;〃 said Fourchon; 〃the sign over the door has changed; that's
true; but the wine is the same;to…day is the younger brother of
yesterday; that's all。 Put that in your newspaper! Are we poor folks
free? We still belong to the same parish; and its lord is always
there;I call him Toil。 The hoe; our sole property; has never left
our hands。 Let it be the old lords or the present taxes which take the
best of our earnings; the fact remains that we sweat our lives out in
toil。〃
〃But you could undertake a business; and try to make your fortune;〃
said Blondet。
〃Try to make my fortune! And where shall I try? If I wish to leave my
own province; I must get a passport; and that costs forty sous。 Here's
forty years that I've never had a slut of a forty…sous piece jingling
against another in my pocket。 If you want to travel you need as many
crowns as there are villages; and there are mighty few Fourchons who
have enough to get to six of 'em。 It is only the draft that gives us a
chance to get away。 And what good does the army do us? The colonels
live by the solider; just as the rich folks live by the peasant; and
out of every hundred of 'em you won't find more than one of our breed。
It is just as it is the world over; one rolling in riches; for a
hundred down in the mud。 Why are we in the mud? Ask God and the
usurers。 The best we can do is to stay in our own parts; where we are
penned like sheep by the force of circumstances; as our fathers were
by the rule of the lords。 As for me; what do I care what shackles they
are that keep me here? let it be the law of public necessity or the
tyranny of the old lords; it is all the same; we are condemned to dig
the soil forever。 There; where we are born; there we dig it; that
earth! and spade it; and manure it; and delve in it; for you who are
born rich just as we are born poor。 The masses will always be what
they are; and stay what they are。 The number of us who manage to rise
is nothing like the number of you who topple down! We know that well
enough; if we have no education! You mustn't be after us with your
sheriff all the time;not if you're wise。 We let you alone; and you
must let us alone。 If not; and things get worse; you'll have to feed
us in your prisons; where we'd be much better off than in our homes。
You want to remain our masters; and we shall always be enemies; just
as we were thirty years ago。 You have everything; we have nothing; you
can't expect we should ever be friends。〃
〃That's what I call a declaration of war;〃 said the general。
〃Monseigneur;〃 retorted Fourchon; 〃when Les Aigues belonged to that
poor Madame (God keep her soul and forgive her the sins of her youth!)
we were happy。 SHE let us get our food from the fields and our fuel
from the forest; and was she any the poorer for it? And you; who are
at least as rich as she; you hunt us like wild beasts; neither more
nor less; and drag the poor before the courts。 Well; evil will come of
it! you'll be the cause of some great calamity。 Haven't I just seen
your keeper; that shuffling Vatel; half kill a poor old woman for a
stick of wood? It is such fellows as that who make you an enemy to the
poor; and the talk is very bitter against you。 They curse you every
bit as hard as they used to bless the late Madame。 The curse of the
poor; monseigneur; is a seed that grows;grows taller than your tall
oaks; and oak…wood builds the scaffold。 Nobody here tells you the
truth; and here it is; yes; the truth! I expect to die before long;
and I risk very little in telling it to you; the TRUTH! I; who play
for the peasants to dance at the great fetes at Soulanges; I heed what
the people say。 Well; they're all against you; and they'll make it
impossible for you to stay here。 If that damned Michaud of yours
doesn't change; they'll force you to change him。 There! that
information AND the otter are worth twenty francs; and more too。〃
As the old fellow uttered the last words a man's step was heard; and
the individual just threatened by Fourchon entered unannounced。 It was
easy to see from the glance he threw at the old man that the threat
had reached his ears; and all Fourchon's insolence sank in a moment。
The look produced precisely the same effect upon him that the eye of a
policeman produces on a thief。 Fourchon knew he was wrong; and that
Michaud might very well accuse him of saying these things merely to
terrify the inhabitants of Les Aigues。
〃This is the minister of war;〃 said the general to Blondet; nodding at
Michaud。
〃Pardon me; madame; for having entered without asking if you were
willing to receive me;〃 said the newcomer to the countess; 〃but I have
urgent reasons for speaking to the general at once。〃
Michaud; as he said this; took notice of Sibilet; whose expression of
keen delight in Fourchon's daring words was not seen by the four
persons seated at the table; because they were so preoccupied by the
old man; whereas Michaud; who for secret reasons watched Sibilet
constantly; was struck with his air and manner。
〃He has earned his twenty francs; Monsieur le comte;〃 said Sibilet;
〃the otter is fully worth it。〃
〃Give him twenty francs;〃 said the general to the footman。
〃Do you mean to take my otter away from me?〃 said Blondet to the
general。
〃I shall have it stuffed;〃 replied the latter。
〃Ah! but that good gentleman said I might keep the skin;〃 cried
Fourchon。
〃Well; then;〃 exclaimed the countess; hastily; 〃you shall have five
francs more for the skin; but go away now。〃
The powerful odor emitted by the pair made the dining…room so horribly
offensive that Madame de Montcornet; whose senses were very delicate;
would have been forced to leave the room if Fourchon and Mouche had
remained。 To this circumstance the old man was indebted for his
twenty…five francs。 He left the room with a timid glance at Michaud;
making him an interminable series of bows。
〃What I was saying to monseigneur; Monsieur Michaud;〃 he added; 〃was
really for your good。〃
〃Or for that of those who pay you;〃 replied Michaud; with a searching
look。
〃When you have served the coffee; leave the room;〃 said the general to
the servants; 〃and see that the doors are shut。〃
Blondet; who had not yet seen the bailiff of Les Aigues; was
conscious; as he now saw him; of a totally different impression from
that conveyed by Sibilet。 Just as the steward inspired distrust and
repulsion; so Michaud commanded respect and confidence。 The first
attraction of his presence was a happy face; of a fine oval; pure in
outline; in which the nose bore part;a regularity which is lacking
in the majority of French faces。 Though the features were correct in
drawing; they were not without expression; due; perhaps; to the
harmonious coloring of the warm brown and ochre tints; indicative of
physical health and strength。 The clear brown eyes; which were bright
and piercing; kept no reserves in the expression of his thought; they
looked straight into the eyes of others。 The broad white forehead was
thrown still further into relief by his abundant black hair。 Honesty;
decision; and a saintly serenity were the animating points of this
noble face; where a few deep lines upon the brow were the result of
the man's military career。 Doubt and suspicion could there