Taking the Bastile (60 page)

After the furniture and household articles had been examined, Dame Billot went on to the cattle, the lists o* which were carefully made out. Horses, oxen, and cows; heep, whether in food order, or sick; lambs, goats, fowls.

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and pifeons, all were counted and noted down. But this was merely for the sake of regularity. Of this branch of the farm business the young girl had for a long time past been the special administratrix. There was scarcely a hen in the barnyard of which she did not know the cackle; the lambs were familiar with her in a month; the pigeons knev her so well that they would frequently completely surround her in their flight ; often even they would perch upon her shoulders, after having cooed at her feet. The horses neighed when Catherine approached. She alone could make the most restive of them obey. One of them, a colt, bred upon the farm, was so vicious as to allow no one to approach him; but he would break his halter and knock down his stall to get to Catherine, putting his nose into her hand, or into her pocket, to get at the crust of bread he was always sure of finding there.

Nothing was so beautiful or so smile-inspiring as this lovely fair-haired girl, with her large blue eyes, her white neck, her round arms, her small, fat hands, when she came out with her apronful of corn to a spot near the pond, where the ground had been beaten and saltpetred to harden it for a feeding place, and on which she would throw the grain she brought by handfuls. Then would be seen all the young chickens, all the pigeons, all the young lambs, hurrying and scrambling towards the pond; the beaks of the birds soon made the flooring appear speckled, the red tongues of the young goats licked the ground, or picked up crisp buckwheat. This area, darkened by the layers of corn, in five minutes became as white ana clean as the del f-plate of the labourer when he has finished his meal.

Catherine exercised a wonderful influence on all that surrounded her; she was at once so calm and so firm, there was so much gentleness and yet so much decided will, so little mistrust, so little fear, that the animal standing near her did not feel even the temptation of an evil thought. And this extraordinary influence she, with greater reason, exercised over thinking beings. She possessed a charm that was irresistible; not a man in the whole district had ever smiled when speaking of Catherine; no young man entertained an evil thought towards her; those who loved her, wished to have her for their wife; those who did not love her, would have desired that she were their sister.

Pitou, with head cast down, his hands hanging listless

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by his side, his ideas wandering, mechanically followed the young girl and her mother while they were taking a list of the farm stock. After this, they passed in review all the male and female servants of the farm. Dame Billot made them form a half circle, in the centre of which she placed herself.

‘My children,’ said she, ‘our master is not yet coming back from Paris, but he has chosen a master for us in his place. It is my daughter Catherine, who is here she is young and strong. As to myself, I am old, and my head is weak. Our master has done rightly. Catherine is now your mistress. She is to receive and give money. As to her orders, I shall be the first to receive and execute them; any of you who may be disobedient will have to deal with her.’

Catherine did not add a single word; she tenderly embraced her mother. The effect of this kiss was greater than that of any well-rounded phrase. Dame Billot wept Pitou was much affected. All the servants received the announcement of the new reign with acclamations. Catherine immediately entered on her new functions, and allotted to all their several services. Each received her mandate, and set out immediately to execute it, with the good-will which every one demonstrates at the commencement of a reign.

Pitou was the only one remaining, and he at length, approaching Catherine, said to her, And I?’

Ah 1 you,’ replied Catherine, ‘I have no orders to give you.’

‘How 1 I am, then, to remain without having anything to do?’

‘What do you wish to do?’

‘Why, what I did before I went to Paris.’

‘Before going there, you were received into the house by my mother.

‘But you are now the mistress; therefore, point out the work I am to do.’

‘I have no work for you, Monsieur Ange.’

‘And why?’

‘Because you you are a learned man, a Parisian gentleman, to whom such rustic labours would not be suitable.’

‘Can it be possible 1’ exclaimed Pitou.

Catherine made a sign, which implied, ‘It is even so.’

‘I a learned man 1’ repeated Pitou.

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Undoubtedly.’

‘But look at my arms. Mademoiselle Catherine.’

‘That matters not.’

‘But, in short, Mademoiselle Catherine,’ said the poor lad, in despair, ‘why is it that under the pretext of my being a learned man, you would force me to die of hunger ?’

‘What would you have? as I have said before, it is even so.’

‘But Monsieur Billot accepted me as forming part of his household, and he has sent me back from Paris that I may still be so.’

rThat may be the case; for my father might have compelled you to undertake things which I, his daughter, would not venture to impose upon you.’

‘Do not impose them upon me, Mademoiselle Catherine.’

‘But then yon would remain in idleness, and that I could not at all allow. My father had the right to do so, he being the master, and which I could not do, being merely his agent. I have charge of his property, and I must take care that his property be productive.’

‘Let me, then, remain at the farm, and send me on your messages, if you will. You will then see whether I am a learned man and an idle fellow. Besides which, you have books to keep, accounts to put in order. Arithmetic is my particular forte.’

‘It is not, in ray opinion, sufficient occupation for a man,’ said Catherine.

‘Why, then, it would seem I am fit for nothing said Pitou.

‘Continue to live here,’ said Catherine in a gentler tone; *I will reflect upon it, and we will see.’

‘You require to reflect, in order that you may know whether you ought to keep me here. But what have I done to you, then, Mademoiselle Catherine ? Ah 1 you were not thus formerly.’

Catherine gave an almost imperceptible shrug of her shoulders. She had no good reasons to give to Pitou, and nevertheless it was evident that his pertinacity fatigued her.

‘Therefore, breaking off the conversation, ‘Enough of this, Monsieur Pitou,’ said she; ‘I am going to La Ferte-Milon.’

‘Then I will run and saddle your horse, Mademoiselle Catherine.’

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‘By no means; on the contrary, remain where you are.’ ‘You refuse, then, to allow me to accompany you?’ ‘Remain here,’ said Catherine imperatively. Catherine left Pitou where he was, went out, and ordered

me of the farm servants to saddle her horse. ‘Ah !’ murmured Pitou, ‘you think me changed,

Mademoiselle Catherine; but it is you who are so, and

much more changed than I am.’

DAMB BIIXOT, resigned without affectation to undertake the functions of an upper servant, had, without P-homour, and with good-will, resumed her occupations. Movement, which had for an instant been suspended throughout the agricultural hierarchy, soon returned, and the farm once more resembled the interior of a humming and industrious hiv* While they were getting her horse ready, Catherine re-entered the house; she cast a glance at Pitou, whose body remained motionless, but whose head turned like a weather-cock, following each movement which the young girl made until she went upstairs to her own room,

‘What was it Catherine had gone to her room for?’ aid Pitou to himself.

Poor Pitou, what had she gone there for 1 She went there to dress her hair, to put on ft clean cap and a pair of finer stockings. Then, when this supplementary toilet was completed, as she heard her horse pawing the ground beneath the window, she came down, kissed her mother, and set out.

Reduced to positive idleness, and feeling but ill-assured from a slight glance, half-indifferent, half-compassionate, which Catherine had addressed to him as she left the door, Pitou could not endure to remain in such a state of anxious perplexity. Since Pitou had once more seen Catherine, it appeared to him that the life of Catherine was absolutely necessary to him. And. besides, in the depths of his heavy and dreaming mind, something like a suspicion came and went with the regularity of the pendulum of a clock.

When Pitou had beard the horse’s footsteps at a certain distance from the Louse, Ja ran to tho door. He then

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percivd Catherine, who was going along a narrow cross-road, which led from the farm to the high road to La Ferte-Milon, and terminated at the foot of a hill, whose summit was covered by a forest. From the threshold of the door, he breathed forth an adieu to the young girl, which was replete with regret and kindly feeling. But this adieu had scarcely been expressed by his hand and heart, when Pitou reflected on one circumstance. Catherine might have forbidden him to accompany her, but she could not prevent him from following her. Pitou therefore reflected that, as he had nothing to do, there was nothing in the world to prevent him from gaining the wood and keeping along the road which Catherine was going; so that without oeing seen, he would see her from a distance through the trees. It was only a league and a half from the farm to La Ferte-Milon. A league and a half to go there, and a league and a half to return. Vhat was that to Pitou? Moreover, Catherine would get to the high road by a line which formed an angle with the forest. By taking a straight direction, Pitou would gain a quarter of a league, so that the whole distance for him would be only two leagues and a half for the whole journey.

Pitou had scarcely imagined this project before he put it into execution. While Catherine was going towards the high road, he, Pitou, stooping down behind the high waving corn, stole across to the forest. In an instant he had reached the border of the wood; and once there, he jumped across the wide ditch which bounded it, then rushed beneath the trees, less graceful, but as rapid as a terrified deer. He ran for a quarter of an hour in this way, and at the end of that time he perceived the wood becoming lighter, for he had nearly reached the opposite edge near the road. There he stopped, leaning against an enormous oak, which completely concealed him behind its knotted trunk. He felt perfectly sure that he had got ahead of Catherine.

He waited ten minutes even a quarter of an hour but saw no one. Had she forgotten something, that she should have taken with her, at the farm? This was possible. With the greatest possible precaution, Pitou crept near the road, stretched out his head from behind a great beech tree, which grew upon the very edge of the ditch, belonging, as it were, half to the road, half to the forest. From this he had a good view of the plain, and could have perceived anything that was moving upon it; he, however,

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could discern nothing. He felt assured, therefore, that Catherine must have returned to the farm. Pitou retraced his steps. Either she had not yet reached the farm, and he would see her return to it, or she had reached it, and he would see her come out again. He ran along the sandy part of the road, which was softer to his feet, when he suddenly paused. Pitou had raised his eyes, and at the opposite end of the road he saw at a great distance, blend-ing as it were with the blue horizon of the forest, the white horse and the red jacket of Catherine. The pace of Catherine’s horse was an amble. The horse, ambling along, had left the high road, having turned into a bridle path, at the entrance of which was a direction post, bearing the following inscription :

‘Path leading from the road La Fertt-Milon to Boursonne.’

It was, as we have said, from a great distance that Pitou perceived this, but we know that distance was of no consequence to Pitou.

‘Ah !’ cried he, again darting into the forest, ‘it is not, then, to La Fert6-Milon that she was going, but to Boursonne 1 And yet, I am not mistaken; she said La Ferte-Milon more than ten times; she had a commission given to her to make purchases at La Ferte-Milon. Dame Billot herself spoke of La Ferte-Milon.’

And while saying these words, Pitou continued running. Pitou ran faster and faster stilL Pitou ran like a madman. Arms, legs, head, all were in motion, all were turning, all seemed to be flying. Pitou had more than half a league to run when he perceived Catherine; he did not give her time enough to go a quarter of a league, while he was running twice that distance.

At length he came to a line with the object of his pursuit. The extremity of the forest was then not more than five hundred paces from him. He could see the light more clearly through the trees, and just beyond them was the estate of Boursonne. Catherine pulled up her horse. Pitou instantly stopped. It was no longer merely for the purpose of seeing Catherine that Pitou followed her it was to watch her. She had spoken that which was false. What could be her object?

Pitou threw himself head foremost into the underwood and thorns, breaking through them with his helmet, and using his sabre to clear the way when it was necessary. However, as Catherine was now only moving on at a

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walk, from time to time the crackling noise of a branch being broken reached her ear, which made both the horse and the mistress prick up their ears. Then Pitou, whose eyes never for a moment tost sight of Catherine, stopped, which was of some advantage to him, as it enabled him to recover his breath, and it destroyed at the same time anv suspicion that Catherine might entertain.

This, however, could not last long, nor did it. Pitou suddenly heard Catherine’s horse neigh, and this neighing was replied to by the neighing of another horse. The latter could not yet be seen.

But however this might be, Catherine gave hers a smart cut with her holly switch; and the animal, which had blown for a few moments, set off again in full trot. In about nvo minutes thanks to this increase of speed she had coma up with a horseman, who had hastened towards her with as much eagerness as she had shown to reach him. Catherine’s movement had been so rapid and unexpected, that poor Pitou had remained motionless, standing in the same place, only raising himself on the tops of His toes that he might see as far as possible. The distance was too great to enable him to see clearly. But if he did not see, what Pitou felt, as if it had been an electric shock, was the delight and the blushing of the young girL It was the sudden start which agitated her whole body. It was the sparkling of her eyes, usually so gentle, but which then became absolutely flashing.