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GIFT OF 
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',1 GEORGE SAND 
 
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 NEW YORK AND BOSTON .*» ^ 
 

 Copyright^ 1894 
 BY George H. Richmond & Co. 
 
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PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 Francois le Champi, a pretty idyl that tells of 
 homely affections, self-devotion, *' humble cares and 
 delicate fears," opens a little vista into that Arcadia 
 to which, the poet says, we were all born. It offers 
 many difficulties to the translator. It is a rustic tale, 
 put into the mouths of peasants, who relate it with a 
 primitive simplicity, sweet and full of sentiment in the 
 French, but prone to degenerate into mawkishness 
 and monotony when turned into English. Great care 
 has been taken to keep the English of this version 
 simple and idiomatic, and yet religiously to avoid any 
 breach of faith toward the author. It is hoped that, 
 though the original pure and limpid waters have 
 necessarily contracted some stain by being forced into 
 another channel, they may yet yield refreshment to 
 those thirsty souls who cannot seek them at the 
 fountain-head. 
 
 J. M. S. 
 
 Stockhridge, January, 1894. 
 
 M9562J 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/francoiswaifOOsandrich 
 
PREFACE 
 
 FRANCOIS LE CH AMPI appeared for the first time 
 in the feuilleton of the ** Journal des Debats." 
 Just as the plot of my story was reaching its develop- 
 ment, another more serious development was an- 
 nounced in the first column of the same newspaper. 
 It was the final downfall of the July Monarchy, in 
 the last days of February, 1848. 
 
 This catastrophe was naturally very prejudicial to 
 my story, the publication of which was interrupted 
 and delayed, and not finally completed, if I remem- 
 ber correctly, until the end of a month. For those 
 of my readers who are artists either by profession or 
 instinct, and are interested in the details of the con- 
 struction of works of art, I shall add to my intro- 
 duction that, some days before the conversation of 
 which that introduction is the outcome, I took a 
 walk through the Chemin aux Napes. The word 
 nape^ which, in the figurative language of that part 
 of the country, designates the beautiful plant called 
 nSnufar^ or nymphcea, is happily descriptive of the 
 broad leaves that lie upon the surface of the water, 
 7 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 as a cloth {nappe) upon a table ; but I prefer to write 
 it with a single p, and to trace its derivation from 
 iiapSe, thus leaving unchanged its mythological origin. 
 
 The Chemin aux Nape^s^ which probably none of 
 you, my dear readers, will ever see, as it leads to 
 nothing that can repay you for the trouble of passing 
 through so much mire, is a break-neck path, skirting 
 along a ditch where, in the muddy water, grow the 
 most beautiful nymphaeae in the world, more fragrant 
 than lilies, whiter than camellias, purer than the ves- 
 ture of virgins, in the midst of the lizards and other 
 reptiles that crawl about the mud and flowers, while 
 the kingfisher darts like living lightning along the 
 banks, and skims with a fiery track the rank and 
 luxuriant vegetation of the sewer. 
 
 A child six or seven years old, mounted bare-back 
 upon a loose horse, made the animal leap the hedge 
 behind me, and then, letting himself slide to the 
 ground, left his shaggy colt in the pasture, and re- 
 turned to try jumping over the barrier which he had 
 so lightly crossed on horseback a minute before. It 
 was not such an easy task for his little legs; I helped 
 him, and had with him a conversation similar to that 
 between the miller's wife and the foundling, related 
 in the beginning of ^'The Waif." When I ques- 
 8 
 
PREFACE 
 
 tioned him about his age, which he did not know, he 
 literally delivered himself of the brilliant reply that he 
 was two years old. He knew neither his own name, 
 nor that of his parents, nor of the place he lived in; 
 all that he knew was to cling on an unbroken colt, 
 as a bird clings to a branch shaken by the storm. 
 
 I have had educated several foundlings of both 
 sexes, who have turned out well physically and 
 morally. It is no less certain, however, that these 
 forlorn children are apt, in rural districts, to become 
 bandits, owing to their utter lack of education. In- 
 trusted to the care of the poorest people, because of 
 the insufficient pittance assigned to them, they often 
 practise, for the benefit of their adopted parents, the 
 shameful calling of beggars. Would it not be pos- 
 sible to increase this pittance on condition that the 
 foundlings shall never beg, even at the doors of their 
 neighbors and friends ? 
 
 I have also learned by experience that nothing is 
 more difficult than to teach self-respect and the love 
 of work to children who have already begun under- 
 standingly to live upon alms. 
 
 GEORGE SAND. 
 
 N oh ant, May 20, 18^2, 
 
THE • WAIF >; 
 
 'Lw>rR'x:<D,L':cTi&?^: *, : 
 
 ^*** AND I were coming home from our walk 
 by the light of the moon which faintly sil- 
 vered the dusky country lanes. It was a mild au- 
 tumn evening, and the sky was slightly overcast; we 
 observed the resonance of the air peculiar to the sea- 
 son, and a certain mystery spread over the face of 
 nature. At the approach of the long winter sleep, it 
 seems as if every creature and thing stealthily agreed 
 to enjoy what is left of life and animation before the 
 deadly torpor of the frost; and as if the whole crea- 
 tion, in order to cheat the march of time, and to avoid 
 being detected and interrupted in the last frolics of 
 its festival, advanced without sound or apparent 
 motion toward its orgies in the night. The birds 
 give out stifled cries instead of their joyous summer 
 II 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 warblings. The cricket of the fields sometimes 
 chirps inadvertently; but it soon stops again, and 
 carries elsewhere its song or its wail. The plants 
 hastily breathe out their last perfume, which is all the 
 sweeter for being more delicate and less profuse. 
 The yelloJA^jng leaves bev/' lio ! longer rustle in the 
 breeze, and the flocks ani herds' graze in silence with- 
 oi\t.crlesl of lav^eW' CQiiibat. ; y, ' '^ 
 
 My Wend hn'd I' 'walked 'cfilietly aiong, and our in- 
 voluntary thoughtfulness made us silent and attentive 
 to the softened beauty of nature, and to the enchant- 
 ing harmony of her last chords, which were dying 
 riway in an imperceptible pianissimo. Autumn is a 
 sad and sweet andante, which makes an admirable 
 preparation for the solemn adagio of winter. 
 
 *' It is all so peaceful," said my friend at last, for, in 
 spite of our silence, he had followed my thoughts as 
 I followed his; "everything seems absorbed in a 
 reverie so foreign and so indifferent to the labors, 
 cares, and preoccupations of man, that I wonder what 
 expression, what color, and what form of art and 
 poetry human intelligence could give at this moment 
 to the face of nature. In order to explain better to 
 you the end of my inquiry, I may compare the 
 • evening, the sky, and the landscape, dimmed, and 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 yet harmonious and complete, to the soul of a wise 
 and religious peasant, who labors and profits by his 
 toil, who rejoices in the possession of the life to 
 which he is born, without the need, the longing, or 
 the means of revealing and expressing his inner life. 
 I try to place myself in the heart of the mystery of 
 this natural rustic life — I, who am civilized, who 
 cannot enjoy by instinct alone, and who am always 
 tormented by the desire of giving an account of my 
 contemplation, or of my meditation, to myself and to 
 others. 
 
 '' Then, too," continued my friend, 'M am trying 
 to find out what relation can be established between 
 •my intelligence, which is too active, and that of the 
 peasant, which is not active enough; just as I was 
 considering a moment ago what painting, music, 
 description, the interpretation of art, in short, could 
 add to the beauty of this autumnal night which is 
 revealed to me in its mysterious silence, and affects 
 me in some magical and unknown way." 
 
 ** Let us see," said I, " how your question is put. 
 This October night, this colorless sky, this music 
 without any distinct or connected melody, this calm 
 of nature, and this peasant who by his very sim- 
 plicity is more able than we to enjoy and understand 
 
 n 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 it, though he cannot portray it — let us put all this 
 together and call it primitive life, with relation to our 
 own highly developed and complicated life, which I 
 shall call artificial life. You are asking what possi- 
 ble connection or direct link can there be betweerr. 
 these two opposite conditions in the existence of per- 
 sons and things; between the palace and the cottage^ 
 between the artist and the universe, between the- 
 poet and the laborer." 
 
 "Yes," he answered, "and let us be exact: be- 
 tween the language spoken by nature, primitive life,, 
 and instinct, and that spoken by art, science, — in a 
 word, by 'knowledge.^'' 
 
 " To answer in the language you have adopted, I 
 sho'uld say that the link between knowledge and 
 sensation \s feeling^ 
 
 "It is about the definition of feeling that I am 
 going to question you and myself, for its mission is 
 the interpretation which is troubling me. It is the 
 art or artist, if you prefer, empowered to translate 
 the purity, grace, and charm of the primitive life to 
 those who only live the artificial life, and who are, 
 if you will allow me to say so, the greatest fools in 
 the world in the presence of nature and her divine 
 secrets." 
 
 H 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ** You are asking nothing less than the secret of 
 art, and you must look for it in the breast of God. 
 No artist can reveal it, for he does not know it him- 
 self, and cannot give an account of the sources of his 
 own inspiration or his own weakness. How shall 
 one attempt to express beauty, simplicity, and truth ? 
 Do I know? And can anybody teach us ? No, not 
 even the greatest artists, because if they tried to 
 do so they would cease to be artists, and would be- 
 come critics; and criticism — " 
 
 "And criticism," rejoined my friend, "has been re- 
 volving for centuries about the mystery without un- 
 derstanding it. But, excuse me, that is not exactly 
 what I meant. I am still more radical at this mo- 
 ment, and call the power of art in question. I despise 
 it, I annihilate it, I declare that art is not born, that 
 it does not exist; or, if it has been, its time is past. 
 It is exhausted, it has no more expression, no more 
 breath of life, no more means to sing of the beauty 
 of truth. Nature is a work of art, but God is the 
 only artist that exists, and man is but an arranger 
 in bad taste. Nature is beautiful, and breathes feel- 
 ing from all her pores; love, youth, beauty are in 
 her imperishable. But man has but foolish means 
 :and miserable faculties for feeling and expressing them. 
 15 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 He had better keep aloof, silent and absorbed in con- 
 templation. Come, what have you to say? " 
 
 " I agree, and am quite satisfied with your opin- 
 ion," I answered. 
 
 ** Ah! " he cried, '* you are going too far, and em- 
 brace my paradox too warmly. I am only pleading, 
 and want you to reply." 
 
 " I reply, then, that a sonnet of Petrarch has its 
 relative beauty, which is equivalent to the beauty of 
 the water of Vaucluse; that a fine landscape of 
 Ruysdael has a charm which equals that of this 
 evening; that Mozart sings in the language of men 
 as well as Philomel in that of birds ; that Shakspere 
 delineates passions, emotions, and instincts as vividly 
 as the actual primitive man can experience them. 
 This is art and its relativeness — in short, feeling." 
 
 "Yes, it is all a work of transformation! But 
 suppose that it does not satisfy me? Even if 
 you were a thousand times in the right according to 
 the decrees of taste and esthetics, what if I think 
 Petrarch's verses less harmonious than the roar of the 
 waterfall, and so on ? If I maintain that there is in 
 this evening a charm that no one could reveal to me 
 unless I had felt it myself; and that all Shakspere's 
 passion is cold in comparison with that I see gleam- 
 16 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ing in the eyes of a jealous peasant who beats his 
 wife, what should you have to say ? You must con- 
 vince my feeling. And if it eludes your examples 
 and resists your proofs? Art is not an invincible 
 demonstrator, and feeling not always satisfied by the 
 best definition." 
 
 *' I have really nothing to answer except that art 
 is a demonstration of which nature is the proof; that 
 the preexisting fact of the proof is always present to 
 justify or contradict the demonstration, which nobody 
 can make successfully unless he examine the proof 
 with religious love." 
 
 *' So the demonstration could not do without the 
 proof; but could the proof do without the demon- 
 stration?" 
 
 "No doubt God could do without it; but, al- 
 though you are talking as if you did not belong to 
 us, I am willing to wager that you would understand 
 nothing of the proof if you had not found the demon- 
 stration under a thousand forms in the tradition of 
 art, and if you were not yourself a demonstration 
 constantly acting upon the proof." 
 
 " That is just what I am complaining of. I should 
 like to rid myself of this eternal irritating demonstra- 
 tion; to erase from my memory the teachings and 
 17 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 the forms of art; never to think of painting when I 
 look at a landscape, of music when I listen to the 
 wind, or of poetry when I admire and take delight 
 in both together. I should like to enjoy everything 
 instinctively, because I think that the cricket which 
 is singing just now is more joyous and ecstatic 
 than I." 
 
 " You complain, then, of being a man? " 
 
 "No; I complain of being no longer a primitive 
 man." 
 
 " It remains to be known whether he was capable 
 of enjoying what he could not understand." 
 
 *M do not suppose that he was similar to the 
 brutes, for as soon as he became a man he thought 
 and felt differently from them. But I cannot form an 
 exact idea of his emotions, and that is what bothers 
 me. I should like to be what the existing state of 
 society allows a great number of men to be from the 
 cradle to the grave — I should like to be a peasant; a 
 peasant who does not know how to read, whom God 
 has endowed with good instincts, a serene organiza- 
 tion, and an upright conscience; and I fancy that in 
 the sluggishness of my useless faculties, and in the 
 ignorance of depraved tastes, I should be as happy 
 as the primitive man of Jean-Jacques's dreams." 
 i8 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 '* I, too, have had this same dream; who has not? 
 But, even so, your reasoning is not conclusive, for the 
 imost simple and ingenuous peasant may still be an 
 artist; and I believe even that his art is superior to ours. 
 The form is different, but it appeals more strongly to 
 me than all the forms which belong to civilization. 
 Songs, ballads, and rustic tales say in a few words 
 what our literature can only amplify and disguise." 
 
 "I may triumph, then? "resumed my friend. **The 
 peasant's art is the best, because it is more directly 
 inspired by nature by being in closer contact with her. 
 I confess I went to extremes in saying that art was 
 good for nothing; but I meant that I should like to 
 feel after the fashion of the peasant, and I do not 
 contradict myself now. There are certain Breton 
 laments, made by beggars, which in three couplets 
 are worth all Goethe and Byron put together, and 
 which prove that appreciation of truth and beauty 
 was more spontaneous and complete in such simple 
 souls than in our most distinguished poets. And 
 music, too! Is not our country full of lovely melo- 
 dies ? And though they do not possess painting as 
 an art, they have it in their speech, which is a hun- 
 dred times more expressive, forcible, and logical than 
 our literary language." 
 
 19 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ** I agree with you," said I, '* especially as to this 
 last point. It drives me to despair that I am obliged 
 to write in the language of the Academy, when I am 
 much more familiar with another tongue infinitely 
 more fitted for expressing a whole order of emotions, 
 thoughts, and feelings." 
 
 ''Oh, yes!" said he, "that fresh and unknown 
 world is closed to modern art, and no study can help 
 you to express it even to yourself, with all your 
 sympathies for the peasant, if you try to introduce it 
 into the domain of civilized art and the intellectual 
 intercourse of artificial life." 
 
 "Alas! " I answered, "this thought has often dis- 
 turbed me. I have myself seen and felt, in common 
 with all civilized beings, that primitive life was the 
 dream and ideal of all men and all times. From 
 the shepherds of Longus down to those of Trianon, 
 pastoral life has been a perfumed Eden, where souls 
 wearied and harassed by the tumult of the world 
 have sought a refuge. Art, which has always flat- 
 tered and fawned upon the too fortunate among 
 mankind, has passed through an unbroken series of 
 pastorals. And under the title of ' The History of 
 Pastorals ' I have often wished to write a learned and 
 critical work, in which to review all the different rural 
 
 20 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 dreams to which the upper classes have so fondly 
 clung. 
 
 ' ' I should follow their modifications, which are al- 
 ways in inverse relation to the depravity of morals, 
 for they become innocent and sentimental in propor- 
 tion as society is shameless and corrupt. I should 
 like to order this book of a writer better qualified 
 than I to accomplish it, and then I should read it 
 with delight. It should be a complete treatise on 
 art; for music, painting, architecture, literature in all 
 its forms, the theater, poetry, romances, eclogues, 
 songs, fashions, gardens, and even dress, have been 
 influenced by the infatuation for the pastoral dream. 
 All the types of the golden age, the shepherdesses of 
 Astrcea, who are first nymphs and then marchionesses, 
 and who pass through the Lignon of Florian, wear 
 satin and powder under Louis XV., and are put into 
 sabots by Sedaine at the end of the monarchy, aie 
 all more or less false, and seem to us to-day con- 
 temptible and ridiculous. We have done with them, 
 and see only their ghosts at the opera ; and yet they 
 once reigned at court and were the delight of kings, 
 who borrowed from them the shepherd's crook and 
 scrip. 
 
 ** I have often wondered why there are no more 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 shepherds, for we are not so much in love with the 
 truth lately that art and literature can afford to de- 
 spise the old conventional types rather than those 
 introduced by the present mode. To-day we are de- 
 voted to force and brutality, and on the background 
 of these passions we embroider decorations horrible 
 enough to make our hair stand on end if we could 
 take them seriously." 
 
 *' If we have no more shepherds," rejoined my 
 friend, "and if literature has changed one false ideal 
 for another, is it not an involuntary attempt of art to 
 bring itself down to the level of the intelligence of 
 all classes? Does not the dream of equality afloat 
 in society impel art to a fierce brutality in order to 
 awaken those instincts and passions common to all 
 men, of whatever rank they may be? Nobody has 
 as yet reached the truth. It exists no more in a hid- 
 eous realism than in an embellished idealism ; but 
 there is plainly a search for it, and if the search is in 
 the wrong direction, the eagerness of the pursuit is 
 only quickened. Let us see: the drama, poetry, and 
 the novel have thrown away the shepherd's crook for 
 the dagger, and when rustic life appears on the scene 
 it has a stamp of reality which was wanting in the 
 old pastorals. But there is no more poetry in it, I 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 am sorry to say; and I do not yet see the means of 
 reinstating the pastoral ideal without making it 
 either too gaudy or too somber. You have often 
 thought of doing it, I know; but can you hope for 
 success ? " 
 
 '' No," I answered, '* for there is no form for me to 
 adopt, and there is no language in which to express 
 my conception of rustic simplicity. If I made the 
 laborer of the fields speak as he does speak, it would 
 be necessary to have a translation on the opposite 
 page for the civilized reader; and if I made him 
 speak as we do, I should create an impossible being, 
 in whom it would be necessary to suppose an order 
 of ideas which he does not possess." 
 
 " Even if you made him speak as he does speak,* 
 your own language would constantly make a dis- 
 agreeable contrast ; and in my opinion you cannot 
 escape this criticism. You describe a peasant girl, 
 call her Jeanne, and put into her mouth words which 
 she might possibly use. But you, who are the writer 
 of the novel, and are anxious to make your readers 
 understand your fondness for painting this kind of 
 type — you compare her to a druidess, to a Jeanne 
 d'Arc, and so on. Your opinions and language make 
 an incongruous effect with hers, like the clashing of 
 23 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 harsh colors in a picture; and this is not the way 
 fully to enter into nature, even if you idealize her. 
 Since then you have made a better and more truth- 
 ful study in 'The Devil's Pool.' Still, 1 am not yet 
 satisfied ; the tip of the author's fmger is apparent 
 from time to time ; and there are some author's 
 words, as they are called by Henri Mounier, an artist 
 who has succeeded in being true in caricature, and 
 who has consequently solved the problem he had set 
 for himself. I know that your own problem is no 
 easier to solve. But you must still try, although you 
 are sure of not succeeding ; masterpieces are only 
 lucky attempts. You may console yourself for not 
 achieving masterpieces, provided that your attempts 
 are conscientious." 
 
 " I am consoled beforehand," I answered, ''and I 
 am willing to begin again whenever you wish; please 
 give me your advice." 
 
 " For example," said he, "we were present last 
 evening at a rustic gathering at the farm, and the 
 hemp-dresser told a story until two o'clock in the 
 morning. The priest's servant helped him with his 
 tale, and resumed it when he stopped; she was a 
 peasant-woman of some slight education ; he was 
 uneducated, but happily gifted by nature and en- 
 24 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 dowed with a certain rude eloquence. Between them 
 they related a true story, which was rather long, 
 and like a simple kind of novel. Can you remem- 
 ber it?" 
 
 " Perfectly, and I could repeat it word for word in 
 their language." 
 
 *' But their language would require a translation; 
 you must write in your own, without using a single 
 word unintelligible enough to necessitate a foot- 
 note for the reader." 
 
 " I see that you are setting an impossible task for 
 me — a task into which I have never plunged without 
 emerging dissatisfied with myself, and overcome with 
 a sense of my own weakness." 
 
 '' No matter, you must plunge in again, for I un- 
 derstand you artists ; you need obstacles to rouse 
 your enthusiasm, and you never do well what is 
 plain and easy to you. Come, begin, tell me the 
 story of the * Waif,' but not in the way that you and 
 I heard it last night. That was a masterly piece of 
 narrative for you and me who are children of the soil. 
 But tell it to me as if you had on your right hand a 
 Parisian speaking the modern tongue, and on your 
 left a peasant before whom you were unwilling to 
 utter a word or phrase which he could not under- 
 25 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 stand. You must speak clearly for the Parisian, and 
 simply for the peasant. One will accuse you of a 
 lack of local color, and the other of a lack of ele- 
 gance. But I shall be listening too, and I am trying 
 to discover by what means art, without ceasing to 
 be universal, can penetrate the mystery of primitive 
 simplicity, and interpret the charm of nature to the 
 mind." 
 
 " This, then, is a study which we are going to 
 undertake together? " 
 
 '^ Yes, for I shall interrupt you when you stumble." 
 
 '' Very well, let us sit down on this bank covered 
 with wild thyme. I will begin ; but first allow me 
 to clear my voice with a few scales." 
 
 " What do you mean? I did not know that you 
 could sing." 
 
 'M am only speaking metaphorically. Before be- 
 ginning a work of art, I think it is well to call to 
 mind some theme or other to serve as a type, 
 and to induce the desired frame of mind. So, in order 
 to prepare myself for what you ask, I must recite the 
 story of the dog of Brisquet, which is short, and 
 which I know by heart." 
 
 " What is it? I cannot recall it." 
 
 'Mt is an exercise for my voice, written by Charles 
 26 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Nodier, who tried his in all possible keys ; a great 
 artist, to my thinking, and one who has never re- 
 ceived all the applause he deserved, because, among 
 all his varied attempts, he failed more often than he 
 succeeded. But when a man has achieved two or 
 three masterpieces, no matter how short they may be, 
 he should be crowned, and his mistakes should be 
 forgotten. Here is the dog of Brisquet. You must 
 listen." 
 
 Then I repeated to my friend the story of the 
 *'Bichonne," which moved him to tears, and which 
 he declared to be a masterpiece of style. 
 
 '' I should be discouraged in what I am going to 
 attempt," said I, ''for this Odyssey of the poor dog 
 of Brisquet, which did not take five minutes to recite, 
 has no stain or blot ; it is a diamond cut by the first 
 lapidary in the world — for Nodier is essentially a lapi- 
 dary in literature. I am not scientific, and must call 
 sentiment to my aid. Then, too, I cannot promise 
 to be brief, for I know beforehand that my study will 
 fail in the first of all requisites, that of being short 
 and good at the same time." 
 
 " Go on, nevertheless," said my friend, bored by 
 tny preliminaries. 
 
 " This, then, is the history of ' Francois the 
 ^1 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Champij^^^ I resumed, "and I shall try to remember 
 the first part without any alteration. It was Mo- 
 nique, the old servant of the priest, who began." 
 
 " One moment," said my severe auditor, *' I must 
 object to your title. Champi is not French." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," I answered. ** The diction- 
 ary says it is obsolete, but Montaigne uses it, and I 
 do not wish to be more French than the great 
 writers who have created the language. So I shall 
 not call my story ' Francois the Foundling,' nor ' Fran- 
 cois the Bastard,' but ' Francois the Champi,^ — that 
 is to say, the Waif, the forsaken child of the fields, 
 as he was once called in the great world, and is still 
 called in our part of the country." 
 
 28 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 ONE morning, when Madeleine Blanchet, the 
 young wife of the miller of Cormouer, 
 went down to the end of her meadow to wash her 
 linen in the fountain, she found a little child sitting 
 in front of her washing-board playing with the 
 straw she used as a cushion for her knees. Madeleine 
 Blanchet looked at the child, and was surprised not 
 to recognize him, for the road which runs near by 
 is unfrequented, and few strangers are to be met 
 with in the neighborhood. 
 
 ''Who are you, my boy?" said she to the little 
 boy, who turned confidingly toward her, but did not 
 seem to understand her question. ''What is your 
 name?" Madeleine Blanchet went on, as she made 
 him sit down beside her, and knelt down to begtn 
 to wash. 
 
 " Francois," answered the child. 
 
 " Francois who?" 
 
 29 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '' Who ? " said the child stupidly. 
 
 ** Whose son are you ? " 
 
 '* I don't know." 
 
 *' You don't know your father's name? " 
 
 " I have no father." 
 
 '* Is he dead then?" 
 
 'M don't know." 
 
 " And your mother ? " 
 
 ** She is over there," said the child, pointing to a 
 poor little hovel which stood at the distance of two 
 gunshots from the mill, and the thatched roof of 
 which could be seen through the willows. 
 
 ''Oh! I know," said Madeleine. "Is she the 
 woman who has come to live here, and who moved 
 in last evening ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the child. 
 
 " And you used to live at Mers ? " 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 * ' You are not a wise child. Do you know your 
 mother's name, at least ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is Zabelle." 
 
 " Isabelle who? Don't you know her other 
 name?" 
 
 "No, of course not." 
 
 '* What you know will not wear your brains out,'* 
 30 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 said Madeleine, smiling and beginning to beat her 
 linen. 
 
 ''What do you say?" asked little Francois. 
 
 Madeleine looked at him again; he was a fine 
 child, and had magnificent eyes. 'Mt is a pity," she 
 thought, "that he seems to be so idiotic. How old 
 are you?" she continued. ''Perhaps you do not 
 know that either." 
 
 The truth is that he knew no more about this than 
 about the rest. He tried his best to answer, ashamed 
 to have the miller's wife think him so foolish, and 
 delivered himself of this brilliant reply: 
 
 "Two years old." 
 
 " Indeed?" said Madeleine, wringing out her linen, 
 without looking at him any more, ' ' you are a real 
 little simpleton, and nobody has taken the trouble to 
 teach you, my poor child. You are tall enough to 
 be six years old, but you have not the sense of a 
 child of two." 
 
 "Perhaps," answered Francois. Then^ making 
 another effort, as if to shake off the lethargy from his 
 poor little mind, he said : 
 
 "Were you asking for my name? It is Francois 
 the Waif." 
 
 "Oh! I understand now," said Madeleine, looking 
 3' 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 at him compassionately; and she was no longer 
 astonished that he was so dirty, ragged, and stupid. 
 
 "You have not clothes enough," said she, ''and 
 the weather is chill ; I am sure that you must be 
 cold." 
 
 " I do not know," answered the poor waif, who 
 was so accustomed to suffering that he was no 
 longer conscious of it. 
 
 Madeleine sighed. She thought of her little Jeannie, 
 who was only a year old^ and was sleeping com- 
 fortably in his cradle watched over by his grand- 
 mother, while this poor little waif was shivering all 
 alone at the fountain's brink, preserved from drown- 
 ing only by the mercy of Providence, for he was too 
 foolish to know that he would die if he fell into 
 the water. 
 
 Madeleine, whose heart was full of kindness, felt 
 the child's arm and found it warm, although he 
 shook from time to time, and his pretty face was 
 very pale. 
 
 ** Have you any fever ? " she asked. 
 
 '* I don't know," answered the child, who was 
 always feverish. 
 
 Madeleine Blanchet loosened the woolen shawl 
 from her shoulders and wrapped it round the waif, 
 32 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 who let her have her way without showing either 
 surprise or pleasure. She picked up all the straw 
 from under his knees and made a bed for him, on 
 which he soon fell asleep; then she made haste to 
 finish washing her little Jeannie's clothes, for she 
 nursed her baby and was anxious to return to him. 
 
 When her task was completed, the wet linen was 
 twice as heavy as before, and she could not carry 
 it all. She took home what she could, and left the 
 rest with her wooden beater beside the water, intend- 
 ing to come back immediately and wake up the waif 
 Madeleine Blanchet was neither tall nor strong. She 
 was a very pretty woman, with a fearless spirit and 
 a reputation for sense and sweetness. 
 
 As she opened the door of her house she heard the 
 clattering of sabots running after her over the little 
 bridge above the mill-dam, and, turning round, she 
 saw the waif, who had caught up with her, and was 
 bringing her her beater, her soap, the rest of the 
 linen, and her shawl. 
 
 " Oh! " said she, laying her hand on his shoulder, 
 *'you are not so foolish as I thought, for you are 
 obliging, and nobody who has a good heart can be 
 stupid. Come in, my child, come in and rest. Look 
 at this poor little boy! He is carrying a load heavier 
 3 33 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 than himself! Here," said she to the miller's old 
 mother, who handed her her baby, rosy and smiling, 
 '' here is a poor sick-looking waif. You understand 
 fevers, and we must try to cure him." 
 
 *' Ah ! that is the fever of poverty ! " replied the 
 old woman, as she looked at Francois. ** He could 
 cure it with good soup, but he cannot get that. He 
 is the little waif that belongs to the woman who 
 moved in yesterday. She is your husband's tenant, 
 Madeleine. She looks very wretched, and I am 
 afraid that she will not pay regularly." 
 
 Madeleine did not answer. She knew that her 
 husband and her mother-in-law were not charita- 
 ble, and that they loved their money more than their 
 neighbor. She nursed her baby, and when the old 
 woman had gone out to drive home the geese, she 
 took Francois by the hand, and, holding Jeannie on 
 her arm, went with them to Zabelle's. 
 
 Zabelle, whose real name was Isabelle Bigot, was 
 an old maid of fifty, as disinterested as a woman 
 can be when she has nothing to live on, and is in 
 constant dread of starvation. She had taken Francois 
 after he was weaned, from a dying woman, and had 
 brought him up ever since, for the sake of the 
 monthly payment of a few pieces of silver, and with 
 34 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 the expectation of making a little servant out of him. 
 She had lost her sheep, and was forced to buy others 
 on credit, whenever she could obtain it ; for she had 
 no other means of support than her little flock, and 
 a dozen hens, which lived at the expense of the 
 parish. She meant Franfois to tend this poor flock 
 along the roadsides, until he should be old enough to 
 make his first communion, after which she expected 
 to hire him out as best she could, either as a little 
 swineherd or a plowboy, and she was sure that 
 if his heart were good he would give part of his 
 wages to his adopted mother. 
 
 Zabelle had come from Mers, the day after the 
 feast of Saint Martin, leaving her last goat behind 
 her in payment of what she owed on her rent, and 
 had taken possession of the little cottage belonging 
 to the mill of Cormouer, without being able to offer 
 any security beside her pallet-bed, two chairs, a 
 chest, and a few earthen vessels. The house was so 
 poor, so ill-protected from the weather, and of such 
 trifling value, that the miller was obliged to incur 
 the risk of letting it to a poor tenant, or to leave it 
 unoccupied. 
 
 Madeleine talked with Zabelle, and soon perceived 
 that she was not a bad woman, and that she would 
 35 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 do all in her power to pay the rent. She had some 
 affection for the waif, but she was so accustomed to 
 see him suffer and to suffer herself that she was at 
 first more surprised than pleased by the pity which 
 the rich miller's wife showed for the forlorn child. 
 
 At last, after she had recovered from her astonish- 
 ment, and understood that Madeleine had not come 
 to ask anything of her, but to do her a kindness, she 
 took courage, related her story, which was like that 
 of all the unfortunate, and thanked her warmly for 
 her interest. Madeleine assured her that she would 
 do her best to help her, but begged her to tell no- 
 body, acknowledging that she was not her own 
 mistress at home, and could only afford her assis- 
 tance in secret. 
 
 She left her woolen shawl with Zabelle, and ex- 
 acted a promise from her that she would cut it into 
 a coat for the waif that same evening, and not allow 
 the pieces to be seen before they were sewed to- 
 gether. She saw, indeed, that Zabelle consented 
 reluctantly, thinking the shawl very convenient for 
 her own use, and so she was obliged to tell her that 
 she would do no more for her unless the waif were 
 warmly clothed in three days' time. 
 
 " Do you not suppose," she added, *' that my 
 36 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 mother-in-law, who is so wide-awake, would recog- 
 nize my shawl on your shoulders? Do you wish 
 to get me into trouble? You may count upon my 
 helping you in other ways if you keep your own 
 counsel. Now, listen to me : your waif has the 
 /ever, and he will die if you do not take good care 
 of him." 
 
 *' Do you think so ? " said Zabelle. " I should be 
 very sorry to lose him, because he has the best heart 
 in the world; he never complains, and is as obedient 
 as if he belonged to a respectable family. He is quite 
 different from other waifs, who are ill-tempered and 
 unruly, and always in mischief." 
 
 *' That is only because they are rebuffed and ill- 
 treated. If yours is good, it is because you have been 
 kind to him, you may be sure." 
 
 ** That is true," rejoined Zabelle; "children are 
 more grateful than people think, and though this 
 little fellow is not bright, he can be very useful at 
 times. Once, when I was ill last year, and he was 
 only five years old, he took as good care of me as 
 if he were a grown-up person." 
 
 " Listen," said the miller's wife: ** you must send 
 him to me every morning and evening, at the hour 
 when I give soup to my child. I shall make more 
 3* 37 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 than is necessary, and the waif may eat what is left; 
 nobody will pay any attention." 
 
 " Oh ! I shall not dare bring him to you, and he 
 will never have enough sense to know the right 
 time himself." 
 
 " Let us arrange it in this way. When the soup is 
 ready, I will put my distaff on the bridge over the 
 dam. Look, you can see it very well from here. 
 Then you must send the child over with a sabot in 
 his hand, as if he were coming to get a light for the 
 fire; and if he eats my soup, you will have all yours 
 to yourself. You will both be better fed." 
 
 " That will do very well," answered Zabelle. " I 
 see that you are a clever woman, and that I am 
 fortunate in coming here. I was very much afraid 
 of your husband, who has the reput^ition of being a 
 hard man, and if I could have gone elsewhere I 
 should not have taken his house, especially as it is in 
 wretched repair, and the rent is high. But I see that 
 you are kind to the poor, and will help me to bring 
 up my waif. Ah! if the soup could only cure his 
 fever! It would be a great misfortune to me to lose 
 that child! He brings me but little profit, for all 
 that I receive from the asylum goes for his support. 
 Cut I love him as if he were my own child, because 
 38 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 I know that he is good, and will be of use to n:e 
 later. Have you noticed how well-grown he is for 
 his age, and will soon be able to work ? " 
 
 Thus Fran$;ois the Waif was reared by the care and 
 kindness of Madeleine, the miller's wife. He soon 
 recovered his health, for he was strongly built, and 
 any rich man in the country might have wished for a 
 son with as handsome a face and as well-knit a 
 frame. He was as brave as a man, and swam in the 
 river like a fish, diving even under the mill-dam; he 
 feared neither fire nor water; he jumped on the 
 wildest colts and rode them without a halter into the 
 pasture, kicking them with his heels to keep them in 
 the right path, and holding on to their manes when 
 they leaped the ditches. It was singular that he did 
 all this in his quiet, easy way, without saying any- 
 thing, or changing his childlike and somewhat sleepy 
 expression. 
 
 It was on account of this expression that he 
 passed for a fool; but it is none the less true that if 
 it were a question of robbing a magpie's nest at the 
 top of a lofty poplar, or of finding a cow that had 
 strayed far from home, or of killing a thrush with a 
 stone, no child was bolder, more adroit, or more cer- 
 tain of success than he. The other children called 
 39 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 it luchj which is supposed to be the portion of a 
 waif in this hard world. So they always let him 
 take the first part in dangerous amusements. 
 
 " He will never get hurt," they said, ''because he 
 is a waif. A kernel of wheat fears the havoc of the 
 storm, but a random seed never dies." 
 
 For two years all went well. Zabelle found means 
 to buy a few sheep and goats, though no one knew 
 how. She rendered a good many small services to 
 the mill, and Cadet Blanchet, the miller, was induced 
 to make some repairs in her roof, which leaked in 
 every direction. She was enabled to dress herself 
 and her waif a little better, and looked gradually less 
 poverty-stricken than on her arrival. Madeleine's 
 mother-in-law made some harsh comments on the 
 disappearance of certain articles, and on the quantity 
 of bread consumed in the house, and once Made- 
 leine was obliged to plead guilty in order to shield 
 Zabelle from suspicion ; but, contrary to his mother's 
 expectation, Cadet Blanchet was hardly angry at all, 
 and seemed to wink at what his wife had done. 
 
 The secret of Cadet Blanchet's compliance was 
 
 that he was still very much in love with his wife. 
 
 Madeleine was pretty, and not the least of a coquette; 
 
 ' he heard her praises sung everywhere. Besides, his 
 
 40 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 affairs were prosperous, and, as he was one of those 
 men who are cruel only when they are in dread of 
 calamity, he was kinder to Madeleine than anybody 
 could have supposed possible. This roused Mother 
 Blanchet's jealousy, and she revenged herself by petty 
 annoyances, which Madeleine bore in silence, and 
 without complaining to her husband. 
 
 It was the best way of putting an end to them, 
 and no woman could be more patient and reason- 
 able in this respect than Madeleine. But they say in 
 our country that goodness avails less in the end than 
 malice, and the day came when Madeleine was re- 
 buked and called to account for her charities. 
 
 It was a year when the grain had been wasted by 
 hail, and an overflow of the river had spoiled the 
 hay. Cadet Blanchet was not in a good humor, 
 and one day, as he was coming back from market 
 with a comrade who had just married a very beauti- 
 ful girl, the latter said to him: 
 
 " You, too, were not to be pitied in four day, for 
 your Madelon used to be a very attractive girl." 
 
 "What do you mean by my day, and Madelon 
 used to he ? Do you think that she and I are old ? 
 Madeleine is not twenty yet, and I am not aware 
 that she has lost her looks." 
 41 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *'0h, no, I do not say so," replied the other. 
 *' Madeleine is certainly still good-looking; but you 
 know that when a woman marries so young you 
 cannot expect her to be pretty long. After she has 
 nursed one child, she is already worn ; and your wife 
 was never strong, for you see that she is very thin, 
 and has lost the appearance of health. Is the poor 
 thing ill ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of. Why do you ask me ? " 
 " Oh, I don't know. I think she looks sad, as if she 
 suffered or had some sorrow. A woman's bloom lasts 
 no longer than the blossom of the vine. I must ex- 
 pect to see my wife with a long face and sober ex- 
 pression. And we men are only in love with our 
 wives while we are jealous of them. They exasper- 
 ate us; we scold them and beat them sometimes; 
 they are distressed and weep; they stay at home and 
 are afraid of us; then they are bored and care no 
 more about us. But we are happy, for we are the 
 masters. And yet, one fine morning, lo and behold, 
 a man sees that if nobody wants his wife, it is be- 
 cause she has grown ugly; so he loves her no longer, 
 and goes to court his neighbor's. It is his fate. Good 
 evening, Cadet Blanchet; you kissed my wife rather 
 too warmly to-night; I took note of it, though I said 
 42 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 nothing. 1 tell you this to let you know that she and 
 I shall not quarrel over it, and that I shall try not to 
 make her as melancholy as yours, because I know my 
 own character. If I am ever jealous, I shall be cruel, 
 and when I have no more occasion for jealousy, I 
 shall be still worse perhaps." 
 
 A good disposition profits by a good lesson ; but, 
 though active and intelligent. Cadet Blanchet was 
 too arrogant to keep his self-possession. He came 
 home with his head high and his eye bloodshot. 
 He looked at Madeleine as he had not done for a 
 long time, and perceived that she was pale and al- 
 tered. He asked her if she were ill, so rudely that she 
 turned still paler, and answered in a faint voice that 
 she was quite well. He took offense, Heaven knows 
 why, and sat down to the table, desirous of seeking 
 a quarrel. He had not long to wait for an oppor- 
 tunity. They talked of the dearness of wheat, and 
 Mother Blanchet remarked, as she did every even- 
 ing, that too much bread was eaten in the house. 
 Madeleine was silent. Cadet Blanchet wanted to 
 make her responsible for the waste, and the old wo- 
 man declared that she had caught the waif carrying 
 away half a loaf that very morning. Madeleine 
 should have been indignant and held her own, but 
 43 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 she could only cry. Blanchet thought of what his 
 companion had said to him, and was still more irri- 
 tated ; and so it happened that from that day on, 
 explain it as you can, he no longer loved his wife, 
 but made her wretched. 
 
 44 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HE made her wretched, and as he had never 
 made her happy she was doubly unlucky in 
 her marriage. She had allowed herself to be married, 
 at sixteen, to this rough, red-faced man, who drank 
 deeply on Sunday, was in a fury all Monday, in bad 
 spirits on Tuesday, and worked like a horse all the 
 rest of the week to make up for lost time, for he was 
 avaricious, and had no leisure to think of his wife. 
 He was less ill-tempered on Saturday, because he had 
 finished his work, and expected to amuse himself 
 next day. But a single day of good humor in a week 
 is not enough, and Madeleine had no pleasure in 
 seeing him merry, because she knew that he would 
 be sure to come home the next evening in a passion. 
 But as she was young and pretty, and so gentle 
 that it was impossible to be angry long with her, there 
 were still intervals when he was kind and just, and 
 when he took her hands in his and said: 
 45 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '* Madeleine, you are a good wife, and I think that 
 you were made expressly for me. If I had married a 
 coquette, such as so many women are, I should kill 
 her, or I should drown myself under my own mill- 
 wheel. But I know that you are well-behaved and 
 industrious, and that you are worth your weight 
 in gold." 
 
 After four years of married life, however, his love 
 had quite gone; he had no more kind words for her, 
 and was enraged that she made no answer to his 
 abuse. What answer could she make? She knew 
 that her husband was unjust, and was unwilling to 
 reproach him for it, for she considered it her duty to 
 respect the master whom she had never been able 
 to love. 
 
 Mother Blanchet was pleased to see her son master 
 of the house again, as she said ; just as if it had ever 
 been otherwise. She hated her daughter-in-law, be- 
 cause she knew her to be better than herself. When 
 she could find no other cause of complaint, she reviled 
 her for not being strong, for coughing all winter, and 
 for having only one child. She despised her for this, 
 for knowing how to read and write, and for reading 
 prayers in a corner of the orchard, instead of gossip- 
 ing and chattering with the dames of the vicinity. 
 
 46 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Madeleine placed her soul in God's hands, and 
 thinking lamentations useless, she bore her affliction 
 as if it were her due. She withdrew her heart from 
 this earth, and often dreamed of paradise, as if she 
 wished to die. Still, she was careful of her health, 
 and armed herself with courage, because she knew 
 that her child could only be happy through her, and 
 she accepted everything for the sake of the love she 
 bore him. 
 
 Though she could not feel any great affection for 
 Zabelle, she was still fond of her, because this woman, 
 who was half good and half selfish, continued to do 
 her best for the poor waif; and Madeleine, who 
 saw how people deteriorate who think of themselves 
 alone, was inclined to esteem only those who thought 
 sometimes of others. As she was the only person in 
 the neighborhood who took no care of herself, she 
 was entirely isolated and very sorrowful, without fully 
 understanding the cause of her grief. 
 
 Little by little, however, she observed that the waif, 
 who was then ten years old, began to think as she did. 
 When I say thinh^ I mean you to understand that she 
 judged from his behavior; for there was no more sense 
 in the poor child's words than on the first day she had 
 spoken with him. He could not express himself, and 
 47 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 when people tried to make him talk they were sure 
 to interrupt him immediately, for he knew nothing 
 about anything. But if he were needed to run an 
 errand, he was always ready, and when it was an 
 errand for Madeleine, he ran before she could ask 
 him. He looked as if he had not understood the 
 commission, but he executed it so swiftly and well 
 that even she was amazed. 
 
 One day, as he was carrying little Jeannie in his 
 arms, and allowing him to pull his hair for his amuse- 
 ment, Madeleine caught the child from him with some 
 slight irritation, saying half involuntarily: 
 
 '' Francois, if you begin now by suffering all the 
 whims of other people, there is no knowing where 
 they will stop." 
 
 To her great surprise, Franpois answered: 
 " I should rather suffer evil than return it." 
 Madeleine was astonished, and gazed into the eyes 
 of the waif, where she saw something she had never 
 observed in the eyes even of the most honest persons 
 she knew ; something so kind, and yet so decided, that 
 she was quite bewildered. She sat down on the grass 
 with her child on her knees, and made the waif sit 
 on the edge of her dress, without daring to speak to 
 him. She could scarcely understand why she was 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 overcome with fear and shame that she had often 
 jested with this child for being so foolish. It is true 
 that she had always done so with extreme gentleness, 
 and perhaps she had pitied and loved him the more for 
 his stupidity; but now she fancied that he had always 
 understood her ridicule, and had been pained by it 
 without being able to say anything in return. 
 
 She soon forgot this incident, for a short time after- 
 ward her husband, who had become infatuated with 
 a disreputable woman in the neighborhood, under- 
 took to hate his wife in good earnest, and to forbid 
 her to allow Zabelle and her boy to enter the mill. 
 Madeleine fell to thinking of still more secret means 
 of aiding them, and warned Zabelle, telling her that 
 she should pretend to neglect her for a time. 
 
 Zabelle was very much in awe of the miller, and 
 had not Madeleine's power of endurance for the love 
 of others. She argued to herself that the miller was 
 the master, and could turn her out of doors, or in- 
 crease her rent, and that Madeleine would be unable 
 to prevent it. She reflected also that if she submitted 
 to Mother Blanchet, she would establish herself in the 
 good graces of the old woman, whose protection 
 would be more useful to her than that of the young 
 wife. So she went to the miller's mother, and con- 
 4 49 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 fessed that she had received help from her daughter- 
 in-law, declaring that she had done so against her 
 will, and only out of pity for the waif, whom she had 
 no means of feeding. The old woman detested the 
 waif, though for no reason except that Madeleine 
 took an interest in him. She advised Zabelle to rid 
 herself of him, and promised her at this price to ob- 
 tain six months' credit on her rent. The morrow of 
 Saint Martin's day had come round, and as the year 
 had been a hard one, Zabelle was out of money, and 
 Madeleine was so closely watched that for some time 
 she had been unable to give her any. Zabelle boldly 
 promised to take back the waif to the foundling asy- 
 lum the next day. 
 
 She had no sooner given her word than she re- 
 pented of it, and at the sight of little Franp ois sleep- 
 ing on his wretched pallet, her heart was as heavy 
 as if she were about to commit a mortal sin. She 
 could not sleep, and before dawn Mother Blanchet 
 entered the hovel. 
 
 " Come, get up, Zabeau," she said. " You gave 
 me your promise and you must keep it. It you wait 
 to speak to my daughter-in-law, you will never do 
 anything, but you must let the boy go, in her interest 
 as well as your own, you see. My son has taken a 
 50 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 dislike to him on account of his stupidity and greed- 
 iness; my daughter-in-law has pampered him too 
 much, and I am sure that he is a thief already. All 
 foundlings are thieves from their birth, and it is mere 
 folly to expect anything of such brats. This one will 
 be the cause of your being driven away from here, 
 and will ruin your reputation ; he will furnish my son 
 with a reason for beating his wife every day, and in 
 the end, when he is tall and strong, he will become 
 a highwayman, and will bring you to shame. Come, 
 come, you must start! Take him through the fields 
 as far as Corley, and there the stage-coach passes at 
 eight o'clock. Get in with him, and you will reach 
 Chateauroux, at noon, at the latest. You can come 
 back this evening; there is a piece of money for your 
 journey, and you will have enough left over to amuse 
 yourself with in town." 
 
 Zabelle woke the child, dressed him in his best, 
 made a bundle of the rest of his clothes, and, taking 
 his hand, started off with him by the light of the 
 moon. 
 
 As she walked along and the day broke, her heart 
 
 failed her; she could neither hasten her steps, nor 
 
 speak, and when she came to the highroad, she sat 
 
 down on the side of a ditch, more dead than alive. 
 
 1 1 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 The stage-coach was approaching, and they had 
 arrived only just in time. 
 
 The waif was not in the habit of worrying, and 
 thus far he had followed his mother without suspi- 
 cion; but when he saw a huge carriage bowling 
 toward him for the first time in his life, the noise it 
 made frightened him, and he tried to pull Zabelle 
 back into the meadow which they had just left to 
 join the highroad. Zabelle thought that he under- 
 stood his fate, and said: 
 
 " Come, poor Francois, you really must! " 
 Francois was still more frightened. He thought 
 that the stage-coach was an enormous animal run- 
 ning after him to devour him. He who was so bold 
 in meeting all the dangers which he knew lost his 
 head, and rushed back screaming into the meadow. 
 Zabelle ran after him ; but when she saw him pale as 
 death, her courage deserted her. She followed him 
 all across the meadow, and allowed the stage-coach 
 to go by. 
 
 52 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 ^T^HEY returned by the same road they had 
 1 come, until they had gone half the distance, 
 and then they stopped to rest. Zabelle was alarmed 
 to see that the child trembled from head to foot, and 
 his heart beat so violently as to agitate his poor old 
 shirt. She made him sit down, and attempted to 
 comfort him, but she did not know what she was 
 saying, and Franfois was not in a state to guess her 
 meaning. She drew out a bit of bread from her 
 basket and tried to persuade him to eat it; but he 
 had no desire for food, and they sat on for a long 
 time in silence. 
 
 At last, Zabelle, who was in the habit of recurring 
 to her first thoughts, was ashamed of her weakness, 
 and said to herself that she would be lost if she ap- 
 peared again at the mill with the child. Another 
 stage was to pass toward noon, and she decided to 
 stay where they were until the moment necessary 
 4* 53 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 for returning to the highroad; but as Fran9ois was 
 so terrified that he had lost the little sense he pos- 
 sessed, and as for the first time in his life he was cap- 
 able of resisting her will, she tried to tempt him 
 with the attractions of the horse's bells, the noise 
 of the wheels, and the speed of the great vehicle. 
 
 In her efforts to inspire him with confidence, she 
 said more than she intended; perhaps her repentance 
 urged her to speak, in spite of herself, or it may be 
 that when Francois woke that morning he had heard 
 certain words of Mother Blanchet, which now re- 
 turned to his mind; or else his poor wits cleared 
 suddenly at the approach of calamity; at all events, 
 he began to say, with the same expression in his 
 eyes which had once astonished and almost startled 
 Madeleine : 
 
 " Mother, you want to send me away from you ! 
 You want to take me far off from here and leave me." 
 
 Then he remembered the word asylum, spoken 
 several times in his hearing. He had no idea what 
 an asylum was, but it seemed to him more horrible 
 than the stage-coach, and he cried with a shudder: 
 
 '' You want to put me in the asylum! " 
 
 Zabelle had gone too far to retreat. She believed 
 that the child knew more of her intentions than he 
 54 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 really did, and without reflecting how easy it would 
 be to deceive him and rid herself of him by stratagem, 
 she undertook to explain the truth to him, and to 
 make him understand that he would be much happier 
 at the asylum than with her, that he would be better 
 cared for there, would learn to work, and would be 
 placed for a time in the charge of some woman less 
 poor than herself, who would be a mother to him. 
 
 This attempted consolation put the finishing touch 
 to the waifs despair. A strange and unknown future 
 inspired him with more terror than all Zabelle could 
 say of the hardships of a life with her. Besides, he 
 loved with all his might this ungrateful mother, who 
 cared less for him than for herself. He loved another, 
 too, almost as much as Zabelle, and she was Made- 
 leine; only he did not know that he loved her, and 
 did not speak of her. He threw himself sobbing on 
 the ground, tore up the grass with his hands and flung 
 it over his face, as if he had fallen in mortal agony. 
 When Zabelle, in her distress and impatience, tried to 
 make him get up by force and threats, he beat his 
 head so hard against the stones that he was covered 
 with blood, and she thought he was about to kill 
 himself. 
 
 It pleased God that Madeleine Blanchet should pass 
 55 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 by at that moment. She had heard nothing of the de- 
 parture of Zabelle and the child, and was coming home 
 from Presles, where she had carried back some wool 
 to a lady, who had given it to her to spin very fine, 
 as she was considered the best spinster far and wide. 
 She had received her payment, and was returning to 
 the mill with ten crowns in her pocket. She was go- 
 ing to cross the river on one of those little pjank 
 bridges on a level with the surface of the water, 
 which are often to be met with in that part of the 
 country, when she heard heart-piercing shrieks, 
 and recognized at once the voice of the poor waif. 
 She flew in the direction of the cries, and saw the 
 child, bathed in blood, struggling in Zabelle's arms. 
 She could not understand it at first; for it looked as 
 if Zabelle had cruelly struck him, and were trying to 
 shake him off. This seemed the more probable, as 
 Francois, on catching sight of her, rushed toward her, 
 twined his arms about her like a little snake, and 
 clung to her skirts, screaming : 
 
 '' Madame Blanchet, Madame Blanchet, save me! " 
 
 Zabelle was tall and strong, and Madeleine was 
 
 small and slight as a reed. Still, she was not afraid, 
 
 and, imagining that Zabelle had gone crazy, and was 
 
 going to murder the child, she placed herself in front 
 
 56 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 of him, resolved to protect him or to die while he 
 was making his escape. 
 
 A few words, however, sufficed for an explanation. 
 Zabelle, who was more grieved than angry, told the 
 story, and Fran<;:ois, who at last took in all the sad- 
 ness of his lot, managed this time to profit by what 
 he heard, with more cleverness than he had ever been 
 supposed to possess. After Zabelle had finished, he 
 kept fast hold of the miller's wife, saying: 
 
 ** Don't send me away, don't let me be sent 
 away." 
 
 And he went to and fro between Zabelle, who was 
 crying, and the miller's wife, who was crying still 
 harder, repeating all kinds of words and prayers, 
 which scarcely seemed to come from his lips, for 
 Ihis was the first time he had ever been able to 
 express himself. 
 
 " O my mother, my darling mother ! " said he to 
 Zabelle, " why do you want me to leave you? Do 
 you want me to die of grief and never see you again ? 
 What have I done, that you no longer love me? 
 Have I not always obeyed you? Have I done any 
 harm? I have always taken good care of our ani- 
 mals — you told me so yourself; and when you kissed 
 me every evening, you said I was your child, and you 
 57 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 never said that you were not my mother! Keep me, 
 mother, keep me; I am praying to you as I pray to 
 God! I shall always take care of you; I shall always 
 work for you; if you are not satisfied with me, you 
 may beat me, and I shall not mind; but do not send 
 me away until I have done something wrong." 
 
 Then he went to Madeleine, and said: 
 
 *' Madame Blanchet, take pity on me. Tell my 
 mother to keep me. I shall never go to your house, 
 since it is forbidden, and if you want to give me any- 
 thing, I shall know that I must not take it. I shall 
 speak to Master Cadet Blanchet, and tell him to beat 
 me and not to scold you on my account. When you 
 go into the fields, I shall always go with you to carry 
 your little boy, and amuse him all day. I shall do 
 all you tell me, and if I do any wrong, you need no 
 longer love me. But do not let me be sent away; I do 
 not want to go; I should rather jump into the river." 
 
 Poor Francois looked at the river, and ran so near 
 it, that they saw his life hung by a thread, and that 
 a single word of refusal would be enough to make 
 him drown himself. Madeleine pleaded for the child^ 
 and Zabelle was dying to listen to her. Now that she 
 was near the mill, matters looked differently. 
 
 "Well, I will keep you, you naughty child," said 
 
 58 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 she; " but I shall be on the road to-morrow, begging 
 my bread because of you. You are too stupid to 
 know it is your fault that I shall be reduced to such 
 a condition, and this is what I have gained by bur- 
 dening myself with a child who is no good to me, 
 and does not even pay for the bread he eats." 
 
 *' You have said enough, Zabelle," said the miller's 
 wife, taking the child in her arms to lift him from the 
 ground, although he was very heavy. ''There are 
 ten crowns for you to pay your rent with, or to move 
 elsewhere, if my husband persists in driving you away 
 from here. It is my own money — money that I 
 have earned myself. I know that it will be required 
 of me, but no matter. They may kill me if they 
 want ; I buy this child, he is mine, he is yours no 
 longer. You do not deserve to keep a child with 
 such a warm heart, and who loves you so much. 
 I shall be his mother, and my family must submit. I 
 am willing to suffer everything for my children. I 
 could be cut in pieces for my Jeannie, and I could 
 endure as much for this child, too. Come, poor 
 Francois, you are no longer a waif, do you hear? 
 You have a mother, and you can love her as much as 
 you choose, for she will love you with her whole 
 heart in return." 
 
 59 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Madeleine said all this without being perfectly 
 aware of what she was saying. She whose dis- 
 position was so gentle was now highly excited. Her 
 heart rebelled against Zabelle, and she was really 
 angry with her. Francois had thrown his arms 
 round the neck of the miller's wife, and clasped her 
 so tight that she lost her breath; and at the same 
 time her cap and neckerchief were stained with 
 blood, for his head was cut in several places. 
 
 Madeleine was so deeply affected, and was filled 
 with so much pity, dismay, sorrow, and determina- 
 tion at once, that she set out to walk toward the 
 mill with as much courage as a soldier advancing 
 under fire. Without considering that the child was 
 heavy, and she herself so weak that she could hardly 
 carry her small Jeannie, she attempted to cross the 
 unsteady little bridge that sank under her weight. 
 When she reached the middle, she stopped. The 
 child was so heavy that she swerved slightly, and 
 drops of perspiration started from her forehead. She 
 felt as if she should fall from weakness, when sud- 
 denly she called to mind a beautiful and marvelous 
 story that she had read the evening before in an old 
 volume of the *^ Lives of the Saints." It was the 
 story of Saint Christopher, who carried the child 
 60 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Jesus across the river, and found him so heavy that 
 he stopped in fear. She looked dow^n at the waif 
 His eyes had rolled back in his head, and his arms 
 had relaxed their hold. The poor child had either 
 undergone too much emotion, or he had lost too 
 much blood, and had fainted. 
 
 6i 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 WHEN Zabelle saw him thus, she thought he 
 was dead. All her love for him returned, 
 and with no more thought of the miller or his 
 wicked old mother, she seized the child from Made- 
 leine, and began to kiss him, with sobs and cries. 
 They sat down beside the river, and, laying him across 
 their knees, they washed his wounds and stanched 
 the blood with their handkerchiefs; but they had 
 nothing with which to bring him to. Madeleine 
 warmed his head against her bosom, and breathed 
 on his face and into his mouth as people do with 
 the drowned. This revived him, and as soon as he 
 opened his eyes and saw what care they were taking 
 of him, he kissed Madeleine and Zabelle, one after 
 the other, so passionately that they were obliged to 
 check him, fearing that he might faint again. 
 
 '* Come, come," said Zabelle, " we must go home. 
 No, I can never, never leave that child; I see now, 
 62 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and I shall never think of it again. I shall keep 
 your ten crowns, Madeleine, so I can pay my rent 
 to-night if I am forced to do so. Do not tell about 
 it; I shall go to-morrow to the lady in Presles, so 
 that she may not inform against you, and she can 
 say, in case of need, that she has not as yet given 
 you the price of your spinning. In this way we 
 shall gain time, and I shall try so hard that, even if I 
 have to beg for it, I shall succeed in paying my debt 
 to you, so that you need not suffer on my account. 
 You cannot take this child to the mill; your hus- 
 band would kill him. Leave him to me; I swear to 
 you that I shall take as good care of him as before, 
 and if we are tormented any further, we can think 
 of something else." 
 
 It came to pass that the waifs return was effected 
 without disturbance, and without exciting attention ; 
 for it happened that Mother Blanchet had just fallen 
 ill of a stroke of apoplexy, without having had an 
 opportunity of telling her son what she had exacted 
 from Zabelle about the waif, and Master Blanchet 
 sent in all haste for Zabelle to come and help in the 
 household, while Madeleine and the servant were 
 taking care of his mother. For three days every- 
 thing was in confusion at the mill. Madeleine did 
 
 63 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 not spare herself, and watched for three nights at 
 the bedside of her husband's mother, who died in 
 her arms. 
 
 This blow allayed the miller's bad temper for some 
 time. He had loved his mother as much as he was 
 capable of loving, and his vanity was concerned in 
 making as fine a funeral for her as his means allowed. 
 He forgot his mistress for the required time, and with 
 pretended generosity distributed his dead mother's 
 clothes to the poor neighbors. Zabelle had her 
 share of the alms, and the waif received a franc 
 piece, because Blanchet remembered that once, when 
 they were in urgent need of leeches for the sick 
 woman, and everybody was running futilely hither 
 and thither to look for them, the waif went off, 
 without saying a word, to fish some out of a pool 
 where he knew they were, and brought them back 
 in less time than it took the others to start out for 
 them. 
 
 So Cadet Blanchet gradually forgot his dislike, and 
 nobody at the mill knew of Zabelle's freak of send- 
 ing back the waif to the asylum. The question of 
 Madeleine's ten crowns came up later, for the miller 
 did not neglect to make Zabelle pay the rent for her 
 wretched cottage. Madeleine said that she had lost 
 
 64 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 them as she ran home through the fields, on hearing 
 of her mother-in-law's accident. Blanchet made a 
 long search for them and scolded a great deal, but 
 he never found out the use to which the money had 
 been put, and Zabelle was not suspected. 
 
 After his mother's death, Blanchet's disposition 
 changed little by little, though not for the better. 
 He found life still more tedious at home, was less 
 observant of what went on, and less niggardly in 
 his expenditure. He no longer earned anything, and, 
 in proportion as he grew fat, led a disorderly life, 
 and cared no more for his work. He looked to make 
 his profit by dishonest bargains and unfair dealings, 
 which would have enriched him, if he had not spent 
 on one hand what he gained on the other. His 
 mistress acquired more ascendency over him every 
 day. She took him with her to fairs and feasts, in- 
 duced him to engage in petty trickeries, and spend 
 his time at the tavern. He learned how to gamble, 
 and was often lucky; but it would have been better 
 for him to lose always than acquire this unfortunate 
 taste; for his dissipations threw him entirely off his 
 balance, and at the most trifling loss, he became furi- 
 ous with himself, and ill-tempered toward everybody 
 else. 
 
 s 65 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 While he was leading this wretched life, his wife, 
 always wise and good, governed the house and ten- 
 derly reared their only child. But she thought herself 
 doubly a mother, for she loved and watched over the 
 waif almost as much as if he were her own. As her 
 husband became more dissolute, she was less miser- 
 able and more her own mistress. In the beginning 
 of his licentious career he was still very churlish, be- 
 cause he dreaded reproaches, and wished to hold his 
 wife in a state of fear and subjection. When he saw 
 that she was by nature an enemy to strife, and showed 
 no jealousy, he made up his mind to leave her in peace. 
 As his mother was no longer there to stir him up 
 against her, he was obliged to recognize that no other 
 woman was as thrifty as Madeleine. He grew accus- 
 tomed to spend whole weeks away from home, and 
 whenever he came back in the mood for a quarrel, 
 he met with a mute patience that turned away his 
 wrath, and he was first astonished and ended by go- 
 ing to sleep. So finally he came to see his wife only 
 when he was tired and in need of rest. 
 
 Madeleine must have been a very Christian woman 
 to live thus alone with an old servant and two chil- 
 dren, and perhaps she was a still better Christian than 
 if she had been a nun. God had given her the great 
 66 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 privilege of learning to read, and of understanding 
 what she read. Yet she always read the same 
 thing, for she possessed only two books, the Holy 
 Gospel and an abbreviated copy of the ''Lives of the 
 Saints." The Gospel sanctified her, and saddened her 
 to tears, when she read alone in the evening beside 
 her son's bed. The '' Lives of the Saints" produced 
 a different effect upon her ; it was just as when idle 
 people read stories and excite themselves over dreams 
 and illusions. These beautiful tales inspired her with 
 courage and even gaiety. Sometimes, out in the fields, 
 the waif saw her smile and flush, when she had her 
 book in her lap. He wondered at it, and found it hard 
 to understand how the stories which she told him, 
 with some little alteration in order to adapt them to 
 his capacity (and also perhaps because she could not 
 perfectly grasp them from beginning to end), could 
 come from that thing which she called her book. He 
 wanted to read, too, and learned so quickly and well 
 that she was amazed, and in his turn he was able to 
 teach little Jeannie. When Francois was old enough 
 to make his first communion, Madeleine helped him 
 with his catechism, and the parish priest was de- 
 lighted with the intelligence and excellent memory 
 of this child, who had always passed for a simpleton, 
 
 67 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 because he was very shy and never had anything 
 to say. 
 
 After his first communion, and he was old enough 
 to be hired out, Zabelle was pleased to have him 
 engaged as servant at the mill ; and Master Blanchet 
 made no opposition, because it was plain to all that 
 the waif was a good boy, very industrious and oblig- 
 ing, and stronger, more alert and sensible than the 
 other children of his age. Then, too, he was satisfied 
 with ten crowns for wages, and it was an economical 
 arrangement for the miller. Francois was very happy 
 to be entirely in the service of Madeleine and the dear 
 little Jeannie he loved so much, and when he found 
 that Zabelle could pay for her farm with his earnings, 
 and thus be relieved of her most besetting care, he 
 thought himself as rich as a king. 
 
 Unfortunately, poor Zabelle could not long enjoy 
 her reward. At the beginning of the winter, she fell 
 seriously ill, and in spite of receiving every care from 
 the waif and Madeleine, she died on Candlemas Day, 
 after having so far recovered that they thought her 
 well again. Madeleine sorrowed and wept for her 
 sincerely, but she tried to comfort the poor waif, who 
 but for her would have been inconsolable. 
 
 Even after a year's time, he still thought of her 
 6S 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 every day, and almost every instant. Once he said 
 to the miller's wife : 
 
 *' I feel a kind of remorse when I pray for my poor 
 mother's soul; it is because I did not love her enough. 
 I am very sure that I always did my best to please 
 her, that I never said any but kind words to her, and 
 that I served her in all ways as I serve you ; but I 
 must confess something, Madame Blanchet, which 
 troubles me, and for which, in secret, I often ask 
 God's forgiveness. Ever since the day my poor 
 mother wanted to send me back to the asylum, and 
 you took my part, and prevented her doing so, my 
 love for her, against my will, grew less. 1 was not 
 angry with her ; I did not allow myself even to think 
 that she was wrong in trying to rid herself of me. 
 It was her right to do so; I stood in her way; she 
 was afraid of your mother-in-law, and after all she 
 did it very reluctantly; for I could see that she loved 
 me greatly. In some way or other, the idea keeps 
 recurring to my mind, and I cannot drive it away. 
 From the moment you said to me those words which 
 I shall never forget, I loved you more than her, and 
 in spite of all I could do, I thought of you more often 
 than of her. She is dead now, and I did not die of 
 grief as I should if you died! " 
 5* 69 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '^ What were the words I said, my poor child, 
 that made you love me so much? I do not remem- 
 ber them." 
 
 ''You do not remember them?" said the waif, 
 sitting down at the feet of Madeleine, who was turn- 
 ing her wheel as she listened. '* When you gave the 
 crowns to my mother, you said: ' There, I buy that 
 child of you; he is mine! ' And then you kissed me 
 and said: 'Now you are no longer a waif; you have 
 a mother who will love you as if you were her own ! * 
 Did not you say so, Madame Blanchet? " 
 
 " If I did, I said what I meant, and am still of the 
 same mind. Do you think I have failed to keep my 
 word?" 
 
 ''Oh no! only—" 
 
 "Only what?" 
 
 "No. I cannot tell you, for it is wrong to com- 
 plain and be thankless and ungrateful." 
 
 " I know that you cannot be ungrateful, and I want 
 you to say what you have on your mind. Come, in 
 what respict don't I treat you like my own child? I 
 order you to tell me, as I should order Jeannie." 
 
 " Well, it is — it is that you kiss Jeannie very often, 
 and have never kissed me since the day we were just 
 speaking of. Yet I am careful to keep my face and 
 70 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 hands very clean, because I know that you do not 
 like dirty children, and are always running after 
 Jeannie to wash and comb him. But this does not 
 make you kiss me any more, and my mother Zabelle 
 did not kiss me either. I see that other mothers caress 
 their children, and so I know that I am always a 
 waif, and that you cannot forget it." 
 
 ** Come and kiss me, Francois," said the miller's 
 wife, making the child sit on her knees and kissing 
 him with much feeling. " It is true that I did wrong 
 never to think of it, and you deserved better of me. 
 You see now that I kiss you with all my heart, and 
 you are very sure that you are not a waif, are not you ? " 
 
 The child flung his arms round Madeleine's neck, 
 and turned so pale that she was surprised, and put- 
 ting him down gently from her lap, tried to distract 
 his attention. After a minute, he left her, and ran 
 off to hide. The miller's wife felt some uneasiness, 
 and making a search for him, she finally found him 
 on his knees, in a corner of the barn, bathed in tears. 
 
 ''What does this mean, Francois?" said she, 
 raising him up. *' I don't know what is the matter 
 with you. If you are thinking of your poor mother 
 Zabelle, you had better say a prayer for her, and then 
 you will feel more at rest." 
 7^ 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *' No, no," said the child, twisting the end of 
 Madeleine's apron, and kissing it with all his might. 
 ''Are not you my mother? " 
 
 "Why are you crying then? You give me pain! " 
 " Oh, no ! oh, no ! I am not crying," answered 
 Francois, drying his eyes quickly, and looking up 
 cheerfully; " I mean, I do not know why I was cry- 
 ing. Truly, I cannot understand it, for I am as happy 
 as if I were in heaven." 
 
 72 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 FROM that day on Madeleine kissed the child, 
 morning and evening, neither more nor less 
 than if he had been her own, and the only difference 
 she made between Jeannie and Francois was that 
 the younger was the more petted and spoiled as be- 
 came his age. He was only seven, while the waif 
 was twelve, and Francois understood perfectly that 
 a big boy like him could not be caressed like a little 
 one. Besides, they were still more unlike in looks 
 than in years. Francois was so tall and strong that 
 he passed for fifteen, and Jeannie was small and 
 slender like his mother, whom he greatly resembled. 
 
 It happened one morning, when she had just re- 
 ceived Francois's greeting on her door-step, and had 
 kissed him as usual, her servant said to her: 
 
 *M mean no offense, my good mistress, but it 
 seems to me that boy is very big to let you kiss 
 him as if he were a little girl." 
 73 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *' Do you think so?" answered Madeleine, in as- 
 tonishment. " Don't you know how young he is? " 
 
 "Yes, and I should not see any harm in it, except 
 that he is a waif, and though I am only your servant, 
 I would not be hired to kiss any such riff-raff." 
 
 ''What you say is wrong, Catherine," returned 
 Madame Blanchet ; " and above all, you should not 
 say it before the poor child." 
 
 '' She may say it, and everybody else may say it, 
 too," replied Francois, boldly. '' I don't care; if I 
 am not a waif for you, Madame Blanchet, I am very 
 well satisfied." 
 
 *' Only hear him! " said the servant. " This is the 
 first time I ever knew him to talk so much at once. 
 Then you know how to put two or three words to- 
 gether, do you, Francois ? I really thought you could 
 not even understand what other people said. If I 
 had known that you were listening, I should not 
 have spoken before you as I did, for I have no idea 
 of hurting your feelings. You are a good, quiet, 
 obliging boy. Come, you must not think of it any 
 more; if it seems odd to me for our mistress to kiss 
 you, it is only because you are too big for it, and so 
 much coddling makes you look sillier than you really 
 are„" 
 
 74 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Having tried to mend matters in this way, big 
 Catherine set about making her soup, and forgot all 
 about what had passed. 
 
 The waif followed Madeleine to the place where 
 she did her washing, and sitting down beside her, 
 he spoke as he knew how to speak with her and for 
 her alone. 
 
 " Do you remember, Madame Blanchet," said he, 
 *' how I was here once, long ago, and you let me go 
 to sleep in your shawl ? " 
 
 *' Yes, my child," said she, " it was the first time 
 we ever saw each other." 
 
 *' Was it the first time? I was not certain, for I 
 cannot recollect very well; when 1 think of that 
 time, it is all like a dream. How many years ago 
 is it ? " 
 
 " It is — wait a minute — it is nearly six years, for 
 my Jeannie was fourteen months old." 
 
 *' So I was not so old then as he is now ? When 
 he has made his first communion, do you think he 
 will remember all that is happening to him now ? " 
 
 "Oh! yes, I shall be sure to remember," cried 
 Jeannie. 
 
 ** That may be so or not," said Fran<pois. "What 
 were you doing yesterday at this hour ? " 
 75 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Jeannie was startled, and opened his mouth to an- 
 swer; then he stopped short, much abashed. 
 
 ''Well! I wager that you cannot give a better 
 account of yourself, either," said the miller's wife to 
 Fran9ois. She always took pleasure in listening to 
 the prattle of the two children. 
 
 '' I ? " said the waif, embarrassed, '' wait a moment 
 — I was going to the fields, and passed by this very 
 place — I was thinking of you. Indeed, it was yes- 
 terday that the day when you wrapped me up in 
 your shawl came into my mind." 
 
 ''You have a good memory, and it is surprising 
 that you can remember so far back. Can you re- 
 member that you were ill with fever ? " 
 
 "No, indeed!" 
 
 "And that you carried home my linen without 
 my asking you ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " I have always remembered it, because that was 
 the way I found out how good your heart was." 
 
 " I have a good heart too, have n't I, mother?" 
 said little Jeannie, presenting his mother with an 
 apple which he had half eaten. 
 
 " To be sure you have, and you must try to copy 
 ^Franfois in all the good things you see him do." 
 
 76 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '' Oh, yes! " answered the child quickly, '' I shall 
 jump on the yellow colt this evening, and shall ride 
 it into pasture." 
 
 " Shall you ? " said Francois, laughing. '^ Are you, 
 too, going to climb up the great ash-tree to hunt 
 tomtits? 1 shall let you do it, my little fellow! But 
 listen, Madame Blanchet, there is something I want 
 to ask of you, but I do not know whether you will 
 tell it to me." 
 
 " Let me hear." 
 
 * ' Why do they think they hurt my feelings when 
 they call me a waif? Is there any harm in being a 
 waif? " 
 
 "No; certainly not, my child, since it is no fault of 
 yours." 
 
 "Whose fault is it?" 
 
 " It is the fault of the rich people." 
 
 "The fault of the rich people! What does that 
 mean ? " 
 
 " You are asking a great many questions to-day; 
 I shall answer you by and by." 
 
 "No, no; right away, Madame Blanchet." 
 
 " I cannot explain it to you. In the first place, do 
 you know yourself what it is to be a waif? " 
 
 "Yes; it is being put in a foundling asylum by 
 77 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 your father and mother, because they have no money 
 to feed you and bring you up." 
 
 " Yes, that is it. So you see that there are people 
 so wretched as not to be able to bring up their own 
 children, and that is the fault of the rich who do not 
 help them." 
 
 " You are right! " answered the waif very thought- 
 fully. '' Yet there are some good rich people, since 
 you are one, Madaipe Blanchet, and it is only neces- 
 sary to fall in their way." 
 
 78 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 NEVERTHELESS, the waif, who was always 
 musing and trying to find reasons for every- 
 thing since he had learned to read and had made his 
 first communion, kept pondering over what Catherine 
 had said to Madame Blanchet about him ; but it was 
 in vain that he reflected, for he could never under- 
 stand why, now that he was growing older, he 
 should no longer kiss Madeleine. He was the most 
 innocent boy in the world, and had no suspicion of 
 what boys of his age learn all too quickly in the 
 country. 
 
 His great simplicity of mind was the result of his 
 singular bringing-up. He had never felt his position 
 as a foundling to be a disgrace, but it had made him 
 very shy; for though he had not taken the title as an 
 insult, he was always surprised to find he possessed 
 a characteristic which made a difference between 
 himself and those with whom he associated. Found- 
 79 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 lings are apt to be humbled by their fate, which is 
 generally thrust upon them so harshly that they lose 
 early their self-respect as Christians. They grow up 
 full of hatred toward those who brought them into 
 the world, not to speak of those who helped them 
 to remain in it. It happened, however, that Fran- 
 cois had fallen into the hands of Zabelle, who loved 
 him and treated him with kindness, and afterward 
 he had met with Madeleine, who was the most 
 charitable and compassionate of women. She had 
 been a good mother to him, and a waif who receives 
 affection is better than other children, just as he is 
 worse when he is abused and degraded. 
 
 Francois had never known any amusement or 
 perfect content except when in the company of 
 Madeleine, and instead of running off with the other 
 shepherd-boys for his recreation, he had grown up 
 quite solitary, or tied to the apron-strings of the two 
 women who loved him. Especially when with Made- 
 leine, he was as happy as Jeannie could be, and he 
 was in no haste to play with the other children, who 
 were sure to call him a waif, and with whom he 
 soon felt himself a stranger, though he could not 
 tell why. 
 
 So he reached the age of fifteen without any 
 80 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 knowledge of wrong or conception of evil; his lips 
 had never uttered an unclean word, nor had his ears 
 taken in the meaning of one. Yet, since the day 
 that Catherine had censured his mistress for the affec- 
 tion she showed him, the child had the great good 
 sense and judgment to forego his morning kiss from 
 the miller's wife. He pretended to forget about it, or 
 perhaps to be ashamed of being coddled like a little 
 girl, as Catherine had said. But at the bottom, he 
 had no such false shame, and he would have laughed 
 at the idea, had he not guessed that the sweet wo- 
 man he loved might incur blame on his account. 
 Why should she be blamed? He could not under- 
 stand it, and though he saw that he could never find 
 it out by himself, he shrank from asking Madeleine 
 for an explanation. He knew that her strength of 
 love and kindness of heart had enabled her to endure 
 the carping of others ; for he had a good memory, 
 and recollected that Madeleine had been upbraided, 
 and had narrowly escaped blows in former years be- 
 cause of her goodness to him. 
 
 Now, owing to his good instincts, he spared her 
 
 the annoyance of being rebuked and ridiculed on his 
 
 account. He understood, and it is wonderful that 
 
 the poor child could understand, that a waif was 
 
 6 8i 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 to be loved only in secret ; and rather than cause 
 any trouble to Madeleine, he would have consented 
 to do without her love. 
 
 He was attentive to his work, and as, in propor- 
 tion as he grew older, he had more to do, it hap- 
 pened that he was less and less with Madeleine. He 
 did not grieve for this, for, as he toiled, he said to 
 himself that it was for her, and that he would have 
 his reward in seeing her at meals. In the evening, 
 when Jeannie was asleep and Catherine had gone to 
 bed, Francois still stayed up with Madeleine while 
 she worked, and read aloud to her, or talked with 
 her. Peasants do not read very fast, so that the two 
 books they had were quite sufficient for them. When 
 they read three pages in an evening they thought it 
 was a gi-eat deal, and when the book was finished, 
 so much time had passed since the beginning that 
 they could take it up again at the first page without 
 finding it too familiar. There are two ways of read- 
 ing, and it may not be amiss to say so to those per- 
 sons who think themselves well educated. Those 
 who have much time to themselves and many books, 
 devour so many of them and cram so much stuff 
 into their heads, that they are utterly confused; 
 but those who have neither leisure nor libraries are 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 happy when a good book falls into their hands. 
 They begin it over again a thousand times without 
 weariness^ and every time something strikes them 
 which they had not observed before. In the main, 
 the idea is always the same, but it is so much dwelt 
 upon, so thoroughly enjoyed and digested^ that the 
 single mind which possesses it is better fed and more 
 healthy than thirty thousand brains full of wind and 
 twaddle. What I am telling you, my children, I have 
 from the parish priest, who knows all about it. 
 
 So these two persons lived happy with what they 
 had to consume in the matter of learning; and they 
 consumed it slowly, helping each other to understand 
 and love all that makes us just and good. Thus they 
 grew in piety and courage; and they had no greater 
 joy than to feel themselves at peace with all the 
 world, and to be of one mind at all times and in all 
 places, on the subject of the truth and the desire of 
 holy living. 
 
 83 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 MASTER BLANCH ET was no longer particular 
 concerning his household expenses, because 
 he had fixed the amount of money which he gave to 
 his wife every month for her housekeeping, and made 
 it as little as possible. Madeleine could, without dis- 
 pleasing him, deprive herself of her own comfort in 
 order to give alms to the poor about her; sometimes 
 a little wood, another time part of her own dinner, 
 again some vegetables, some clothing, some eggs, 
 and so on. She spent all she had in the service of 
 her neighbors, and when her money was exhausted, 
 she did with her own hands the work of the poor, so 
 as to save the lives of those among them who were ill 
 and worn out. She was so economical, and mended 
 her old clothes so carefully, that she appeared to live 
 comfortably; and yet she was so anxious that her 
 family should not suffer for what she gave away, 
 that she accustomed herself to eat scarcely anything, 
 
 84 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 never to rest, and to sleep as little as possible. The 
 waif saw all this, and thought it quite natural ; for it 
 was in his character, as well as in the education he 
 received from Madeleine, to feel the same inclination, 
 and to be drawn toward the same duty. Sometimes, 
 only, he was troubled by the great hardships which 
 the miller's wife endured, and blamed himself for 
 sleeping and eating too much. He would gladly have 
 spent the night sewing and spinning in her place; 
 and when she tried to pay him his wages, which had 
 risen to nearly twenty crowns, he refused to take them, 
 and obliged her to keep them without the miller's 
 knowledge. 
 
 " If my mother Zabelle were alive," said he, ''this 
 money would be for her. What do you expect me to 
 do with it? I have no need of it, since you take care 
 of my clothes, and provide me with sabots. Keep it 
 for somebody more unfortunate than I am. You 
 work so hard for the poor already, and if you give 
 money to me, you must work still harder. If you 
 should fall ill and die like poor Zabelle, I should like 
 to know what good it would do me to have my 
 chest full of money. Would it bring you back 
 again, or prevent me from throwing myself in the 
 river ? " 
 
 6* 85 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '^ You do not know what you are talking about, 
 my child," said Madeleine, one day that this idea re- 
 turned to his mind, as happened from time to time. 
 'Mt is not a Christian act to kill oneself, and if I 
 should die, it would be your duty to live after me to 
 comfort and help my Jeannie. Should not you do 
 that for me ? " 
 
 '* Yes, as long as Jeannie was a child and needed 
 my love. But afterward! Do not let us speak of 
 this, Madame Blanchet. I cannot be a good Chris- 
 tian on this point. Do not tire yourself out, and do 
 not die, if you want me to live on this earth." 
 
 " You may set your mind at ease, for I have no 
 wish to die. I am well. I am hardened to work, 
 and now I am even stronger than I was in my 
 youth." 
 
 " In your youth! " exclaimed Francois in astonish- 
 ment. '' Are not you young, then ? " 
 
 And he was afraid lest she might have reached the 
 age for dying. 
 
 *' I think I never had time to be young," an- 
 swered Madeleine, laughing like one who meets mis- 
 fortune bravely. " Now I am twenty-five years old, 
 and that is a good deal for a woman of my make; 
 for I was not born strong like you, my boy, and I 
 86 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 have had sorrows which have aged me more than 
 years." 
 
 ''Sorrows! Heavens, yes! I knew it very well, 
 when Monsieur Blanchet used to speak so roughly to 
 you. God forgive me ! I am not a wicked boy, yet 
 once when he raised his hand against you as if to 
 strike you — Oh! he did well to change his mind, for 
 I had seized a flail, — nobody had noticed me, — and 
 I was going to fall upon him. But that was a long 
 time ago, Madame Blanchet, for I remember that I 
 was much shorter than he then, and now I can look 
 right over his head. And now that he scarcely 
 speaks to you any more, Madame Blanchet, you are 
 no longer unhappy, are you ? " 
 
 *'So you think I am no longer unhappy, do 
 you ? " said Madeleine rather sharply, thinking how 
 it was that there had never been any love in her 
 marriage. Then she checked herself, for what she 
 was going to say was no concern of the waifs, and 
 she had no right to put such ideas into a child's head. 
 
 *' You are right," said she; '' I am no longer un- 
 happy. I live as I please. My husband is much 
 kinder to me; my son is well and strong, and I have 
 nothing to complain of." 
 
 " Then don't I enter into your calculations? I — " 
 87 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 " You? You are well and strong, too, and that 
 pleases me." 
 
 ** Don't I please you in any other way ? " 
 
 *' Yes, you are a good boy; you are always right- 
 minded, and I am satisfied with you." 
 
 "Oh! if you were not satisfied with me, what a 
 scamp, what a good-for-nothing I should be, after 
 the way in which you have treated me! But there 
 is still something else which ought to make you 
 happy, if you think as I do." 
 
 "Very well, tell me; for I do not know what 
 puzzle you are contriving for me." 
 
 " I mean no puzzle, Madame Blanchet. I need 
 but look into my heart, and I see that even if I had 
 to suffer hunger, thirst, heat, and cold, and were to 
 be beaten half to death every day into the bargain, 
 and then had only a bundle of thorns or a heap of 
 stones to lie on — well, can you understand? " 
 
 " I think so, my dear Francois; you could be 
 happy in spite of so much evil if only your heart 
 were at peace with God." 
 
 " Of course that is true, and I need not speak of 
 it. But I meant something else." 
 
 " I cannot imagine what you are aiming at, and I 
 see that you are cleverer than I am»" 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 " No, I am not clever. I mean that I could suffer 
 all the pains that a man living mortal life can en- 
 dure, and could still be happy if I thought Madame 
 Blanchet loved me. That is the reason why I just 
 said to you that if you thought as I did, you would 
 say : ' Francois loves me, and I am content to be 
 alive.'" 
 
 "You are right, my poor dear child," answered 
 Madeleine; "and the things you say to me some- 
 times make me want to cry. Yes, truly, your af- 
 fection for me is one of the joys of my life, and 
 perhaps the greatest, after — no, I mean with my 
 Jeannie's. As you are older than he, you can under- 
 stand better what I say to you, and you can better 
 explain your thoughts to me. I assure you that I am 
 never wearied when I am with both of you, and the 
 only prayer I make to God is that we may long 
 be able to live together as we do now, without 
 separating." 
 
 "Without separating, I should think so!" said 
 Francois. " I should rather be cut into little pieces 
 than leave you. Who else would love me as you 
 have loved me? Who would run the danger of 
 being ill-treated for the sake of a poor waif, and 
 who would call me her child, her dear son ? For you 
 89 
 
 ^ 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 call me so often, almost always. You often say 
 to me when we are alone: 'Call me mother, and 
 not always Madame Blanchet.' I do not dare to do 
 so, because I am afraid of becoming accustomed to 
 it and letting it slip out before somebody." 
 
 " Well, even if you did so ? " 
 
 "Oh! you would be sure to be blamed for it, and 
 I do not like to have you tormented on my account. 
 I am not proud, and I do not care to have it known 
 that you have raised me from my orphan estate. I 
 am satisfied to know, all by myself, that I have a 
 mother and am her child. Oh! you must not die, 
 Madame Blanchet," added poor Francois, looking at 
 her sadly, for his thoughts had long been running on 
 possible calamity. 'Mf I lost you, I should have no 
 other friend on this earth; you would go straight 
 into Paradise, and I am not sure that I deserve ever 
 to receive the reward of going there with you." 
 
 Francois had a kind of foreboding of heavy mis- 
 fortune in all he said and thought, and some little 
 time afterward the misfortune fell. 
 
 He had become the servant of the mill, and it was 
 
 his duty to make the round of the customers of the 
 
 mill, to carry their corn away on his horse, and return 
 
 it to them in flour. This sometimes obliged him to 
 
 90 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 take long rides, and for this same purpose he often 
 visited Blanchet's mistress, who lived about a league 
 from the mill. He was not at all fond of this com- 
 mission, and would never linger an instant in her 
 house after her corn was weighed and measured. 
 
 At this point of the tale the narrator stopped. 
 
 ''Are you aware that I have been talking a long 
 titne?" said she to her friends, who were listening. 
 *' My lungs are not so strong as they once were, and 
 I think that the hemp-dresser, who knows the story 
 better than I, might relieve me, especially as we have 
 just come to a place that I do not remember so well." 
 
 *' I know why your memory is not so good in the 
 middle as in the beginning," answered the hemp- 
 dresser. '* It is because the waif is about to get inta 
 trouble, and you cannot stand it, because you are 
 chicken-hearted about love stories, like all other 
 pious women," 
 
 *' Is this going to turn into a love story?" asked 
 Sylvine Courtioux, who happened to be present. 
 
 " Good ! " replied the hemp-dresser. " I knew 
 that if I let out that word, all the young girls would 
 91 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 prick up their ears. But you must have patience; the 
 part of the story which I am going to take up on 
 condition that 1 may carry it to a happy close is not 
 yet what you want to hear. Where had you come 
 to, Mother Monique ? " 
 
 ^' I had come to Blanchet's mistress." 
 ^' That was it," said the hemp-dresser. The wo- 
 man was called Severe, but her name was not well 
 suited to her, for there was nothing to match it in 
 her disposition. She was very clever about hood- 
 winking people when she wanted to get money out 
 of them. She cannot be called entirely bad, for she 
 was of a joyous, careless temper; but she thought 
 only of herself, and cared not at all for the loss of 
 others, provided that she had all the finery and rec- 
 reation she wanted. She had been the fashion in the 
 country, and it was said that she had found many 
 men to her taste. She was still a very handsome, 
 buxom woman, alert though stout, and rosy as a 
 cherry. She paid but little attention to the waif, and 
 if she met him in her barn or court-yard she made 
 fun of him with some nonsense or other, but without 
 malicious intent and for the pleasure of seeing him 
 blush; for he blushed like a girl, and was ill at ease 
 whenever she spoke to him. He thought her brazen, 
 92 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and she seemed both ugly and wicked in his eyes, 
 though she was neither one nor the other; at least, 
 she was only spiteful when she was crossed in her 
 interests or her vanity, and I must even acknowledge 
 that she liked to give almost as much as to receive. 
 She was ostentatiously generous, and enjoyed being 
 thanked ; but to the mind of the waif she was a 
 devil, who reduced Madame Blanchet to want and 
 drudgery. 
 
 Nevertheless, it happened that when the waif was 
 seventeen years old, Madame Severe discovered that 
 he was a deucedly handsome fellow. He was not 
 like most country boys, who, at his age, are dumpy 
 and thick-set, and only develop into something worth 
 looking at two or three years later. He was already 
 tall and well-built ; his skin was white, even at har- 
 vest-time, and his tight curling hair was brown at the 
 roots and golden at the ends. 
 
 " Do you admire that sort of thing, Madame 
 Monique? I mean the hair, without any reference 
 to boys." 
 
 "That is no business of yours," answered the 
 priest's servant. *'Go on with your story." 
 
 He was always poorly dressed, but he loved clean- 
 liness, as Madeleine Blanchet had taught him ; and 
 93 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 such as he was, he had an air that no one else had. 
 Severe noticed this little by little^ and finally she was 
 so well aware of it that she took it into ner head to 
 thaw him out a little. She was not a woman of pre- 
 judice, and when she heard anyboay say, " What a 
 pity that such a handsome boy should be a waif!" 
 she answered, " There is every reason that waifs 
 should be handsome, for love brought them into the 
 world." 
 
 She devised the following plan for being in his 
 company. She made Blanchet drink immoderately 
 at the fair of Saint-Denis-de-Jouhet, and when she 
 saw that he was no longer able to put one foot be- 
 fore the other, she asked the friends she had in the 
 place to put him to bed. Then she said to Francois, 
 who had come with his master to drive his animals 
 to the fair : 
 
 *' My lad, I am going to leave my mare for your 
 master to return with to-morrow morning; you may 
 mount his and take me home on the crupper." 
 
 This arrangement was not at all to Fran(pois's taste. 
 He said that the mare that belonged to the mill 
 was not strong enough to carry two people, and he 
 offered to accompany Severe home, if she rode her 
 own horse and allowed him to ride Blanchet's. He 
 94 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 promised to come back immediately with a fresh 
 mount for his master, and to reach Saint-Denis-de- 
 Jouhet early the next morning; but Severe would listen 
 to him no more than the wind, and ordered him to 
 obey her. Franpois was afraid of her; for, as Blanchet 
 saw with no eyes but hers, she could have him sent 
 away from the mill if he displeased her, especially as 
 the feast of Saint-Jean was near at hand. So he took 
 her up behind him, without suspecting, poor fellow, 
 that this was not the best means of escaping his evil 
 destiny. 
 
 95 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 IT was twilight when they set out, and when they 
 passed the sluice of the pond of Rochefolle night 
 had already fallen. The moon had not yet risen above 
 the trees, and in that part of the country the roads 
 are so washed by numerous springs that they are 
 not at all good. Fran(;;ois spurred his mare on to 
 speed, for he disliked the company of Severe, and 
 longed to be with Madame Blanchet. 
 
 But Severe, who was in no haste to reach home, 
 began to play the part of a fine lady, saying that she 
 was afraid, and that the mare must not go faster 
 than a walk, because she did not lift her legs well and 
 might stumble at any minute. 
 
 '' Bah ! " said Francois without paying any atten- 
 tion; "then it would be the first time she said her 
 prayers, for I never saw a mare so disinclined to 
 piety!" 
 
 ** You are witty, Francois," said Severe giggling, 
 06 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 as if Francois had said something very new and 
 amusing. 
 
 '' Oh, no indeed! " answered the waif, who thought 
 she was laughing at him. 
 
 " Come," said she, ''you surely cannot mean to 
 trot down-hill?" 
 
 ^' You need not fear, for we can trot perfectly 
 well." 
 
 The trot down-hill stopped the stout Severe's 
 breath, and prevented her talking. She was ex- 
 tremely vexed, as she had expected to coax the 
 young man with her soft words, but she was un- 
 willing to let him see that she was neither young 
 nor slender enough to stand fatigue, and was silent 
 for a part of the way. 
 
 When they came to a chestnut grove, she took it 
 into her head to say: 
 
 ''Stop, Francois; you must stop, dear Francois. 
 The mare has just lost a shoe," 
 
 "Even if she has lost a shoe," said Franpois, 
 *' I have neither hammer nor nails to put it on 
 with." 
 
 " But we must not lose the shoe. It is worth 
 something! Get down, I say, and look for it." 
 
 " I might look two hours for it, among these 
 7 97 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ferns, without finding it. And my eyes are not 
 lanterns." 
 
 "Oh, yes, Franpois," said Severe, half in jest 
 and half in earnest; ''your eyes shine like glow- 
 worms." 
 
 "Then you can see them through my hat, I sup- 
 pose ? " answered Francois, not at all pleased with 
 what he took for derision. 
 
 " I cannot see them just now," said Severe with a 
 sigh as big as herself; "but I have seen them at 
 other times! " 
 
 " You can never have seen anything amiss in 
 them," returned the innocent waif. " You may as 
 well leave them alone, for they have never looked 
 rudely at you and never will." 
 
 "I think," broke in at this moment the priest's 
 servant, " that you might skip this part of the story. 
 It is not very interesting to hear all the bad devices. 
 of this wicked woman, for ensnaring our waif." 
 
 "Put yourself at ease. Mother Monique," replied 
 the hemp-dresser. " I shall skip as much as is proper. 
 I know that I am speaking before young people, and 
 I shall not say a word too much." 
 
 We were just speaking of Francois's eyes, the ex- 
 
 98 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 pression of which Severe was trying to make less 
 irreproachable than he had declared it to be. 
 
 ''How old are you, Francois?" said she with 
 more politeness, so as to let him understand that 
 she was no longer going to treat him like a little 
 boy. 
 
 ''Oh, Heavens! I don't know exactly," answered 
 the waif, beginning to perceive her clumsy advances. 
 "I do not often amuse myself by reckoning my 
 years." 
 
 " I heard that you were only seventeen," she re- 
 sumed, "but I wager that you must be twenty, 
 for you are tall, and will soon have a beard on 
 your chin." 
 
 " It is all the same to me," said Franpois, yawning. 
 
 "Take care! You are going too fast, my boy. 
 There! I have just lost my purse! " 
 
 "The deuce you have! " said Francois, who had 
 not as yet discovered how sly she was. " Then I 
 suppose that you must get off and look for it, for it 
 maybe of value." 
 
 He jumped down and helped her to dismount. 
 She took pains to lean against him, and he found her 
 heavier than a sack of corn. 
 
 While she pretended to search for the purse, which 
 99 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 was all the time in her pocket, he went on five or 
 six steps, holding the mare by the bridle. 
 
 *' Are not you going to help me look for it ? " said 
 she. 
 
 "1 must hold the mare," said he, "for she is think- 
 ing of her colt, and if I let her loose she will run home. " 
 
 Severe looked under the mare's leg, close beside 
 Franfois, and from this he saw that she had lost 
 nothing except her senses. 
 
 **We had not come as far as this," said he, 
 ** when you called out that you had lost your purse. 
 So you certainly cannot find it here." 
 
 "Do you think I am shamming, you rogue?" 
 said she, trying to pull his ear; " for I really believe 
 that you are a rogue." 
 
 Francois drew back, as he was in no mood for a 
 frolic. 
 
 "No, no," said he, "if you have found your 
 money, let us go, for I should rather be asleep than 
 stay here jesting." 
 
 "Then we can talk," said Severe, when she was 
 seated again behind him; "they say that beguiles 
 the weariness of the road." 
 
 " I need no beguiling," answered the waif, "for I 
 am not weary." 
 
 ICO 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 "That is th6-fuk' Ve^t>^speec^^>0i>^ave-nia'd« 
 me^ Franfois! " 
 
 " If it is a pretty speech, I made it by accident, for 
 I do not understand that sort of thing." 
 
 Severe was exasperated, but she would not as yet 
 give in to the truth. 
 
 ** The boy must be a simpleton," said she to her- 
 self. " If 1 make him lose his way, he will have to 
 stay a little longer with me.''* 
 
 So she tried to mislead him, and to induce him to 
 turn to the left when he was going to the right. 
 
 " You are making a mistake," said she; "this is 
 the first time you have been over this road. I know 
 it better than you do. Take my advice, or you will 
 make me spend the night in the woods, young 
 man! " 
 
 When Francois had once been over a road, he 
 knew it so perfectly that he could fmd his way in it 
 at the end of a year. 
 
 "No, no," said he, "this is the right way, and I 
 am not in the least out of my head. The mare 
 knows it too, and I have no desire to spend the 
 night rambling about the woods." 
 
 Thus he reached the farm of Dollins, where Severe 
 lived, without losing a quarter of an hour and with- 
 7* I.-: I 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 cut giving an epe^{ing•as^vWde^as*th5'eye of a needle 
 to her advances. Once there, she tried to detain 
 him, insisting that the night was dark, that the 
 water had risen, and that he would have difficulty in 
 crossing the fords. The waif cared not a whit for 
 these dangers, and, bored with so many foolish words, 
 he struck the mare with his heels, galloped off with- 
 out waiting to hear the rest, and returned swiftly to 
 the mill, where Madeleine Blanchet was waiting for 
 him, grieved that he should come so late. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE waif never told Madeleine what Severe had 
 given him to understand; he would not have 
 dared, and indeed dared not even think of it himself. 
 I cannot say that I should have behaved as discreetly ^ 
 as he in such an adventure; but a little discretion 
 never does any harm, and then 1 am telling things as 
 they happened. This boy was as refined as a well- 
 brought-up girl. 
 
 As Madame Severe thought over the matter at 
 night, she became incensed against him, and per- 
 ceived that he had scorned her and was not the fool 
 she had taken him for. Chafing at this thought, her 
 spleen rose, and great projects of revenge passed 
 through her head. 
 
 So much so that when Cadet Blanchet, still half 
 
 drunk, returned to her next morning, she gave him 
 
 to understand that his mill-boy was a little upstart, 
 
 whom she had been obliged to hold in check and 
 
 103 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 cuff in the face, because he had taken it into his 
 head to make love to her and kiss her as they came 
 home together through the wood at night. 
 
 This was more than enough to disorder Blanchet's 
 wits; but she was not yet satisfied, and jeered at 
 him for leaving at home with his wife a fellow who 
 would be inclined by his age and character to be- 
 guile the dullness of her life. 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye, Blanchet was jealous 
 both of his mistress and his wife. He seized his 
 heavy stick, pulled his hat down over his eyes, like 
 an extinguisher on a candle, and rushed off to the 
 mill, without stopping for breath. 
 
 Fortunately, the waif was not there. He had gone 
 away to fell and saw up a tree that Blanchet had 
 bought from Blanchard of Guerin, and was not to 
 return till evening. Blanchet would have gone to 
 find him at his work, but he shrank from showing 
 his fury before the young millers of Guerin, lest they 
 should make sport of him for his jealousy, which 
 was unreasonable after his long neglect and con- 
 tempt of his wife. 
 
 He would have stayed to wait for his return, but he 
 thought it too wearisome to stay all day at home, 
 and he knew that the quarrel which he wished to 
 104 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 pick with his wife could not last long enough to 
 occupy him till evening. It is impossible to be 
 angry very long when the ill-temper is all on one 
 side. 
 
 In spite of this, however, he could have endured 
 all the derision and the tedium for the pleasure of 
 belaboring the poor waif; but as his walk had 
 cooled him to some degree, he reflected that this 
 cursed waif was no longer a child, and that if he 
 were old enough to think of making love, he was 
 also old enough to defend himself with blows, if 
 provoked. So he tried to gather his wits together, 
 drinking glass after glass in silence, revolving in his 
 brain what he was going to say to his wife, but did 
 not know how to begin. 
 
 He had said roughly, on entering, that he wished 
 her to listen to something; so she sat near him, as 
 usual sad, silent, and with a tinge of pride in her 
 manner, 
 
 "Madame Blanchet," said he at last, "I have a 
 command to give you, but if you were the woman 
 you pretend to be, and that you have the reputation 
 of being, you would not wait to be told." 
 
 There he halted as if to take breath, but the fact is 
 that he was almost ashamed of what he was going 
 105 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 to say, for virtue was written on his wife's face as 
 plainly as a prayer in a missal. 
 
 Madeleine would not help him to explain himself 
 She did not breathe a word, but waited for him to go 
 on, expecting him to find fault with her for some ex- 
 penditure, for she had no suspicion of what he was 
 meditating. 
 
 "You behave as if you did not understand me, 
 Madame Blanchet," continued the miller, "and yet 
 my meaning is clear. You must throw that rubbish 
 out of doors, the sooner the better, for I have had 
 enough and too much of all this sort of thing." 
 
 " Throw what? " asked Madeleine, in amazement. 
 
 "Throw what! Then you do not dare to say 
 throw wbom?^^ 
 
 " Good God! no; I know nothing about it," said 
 she. " Speak, if you want me to understand you." 
 
 " You will make me lose my temper," cried Cadet 
 Blanchet, bellowing like a bull. "I tell you that 
 waif is not wanted in my house, and if he is still 
 here by to-morrow morning, I shall turn him out of 
 doors by main force, unless he prefer to take a turn 
 under my mill-wheel." 
 
 "Your words are cruel, and your purpose is very 
 foolish, Master Blanchet," said Madeleine, who could 
 1 06 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 not help turning as white as her cap. "You will 
 ruin your business if you send the boy away; for 
 you will never find another who will work so well, 
 and be satisfied with such small wages. What has 
 the poor child done to make you want to drive him 
 away so cruelly ? " 
 
 " He makes a fool of me, I tell you, Madame Wife, 
 and I do not intend to be the laughing-stock of the 
 country. He has made himself master of my house, 
 and deserves to be paid with a cudgel for what he 
 has done." 
 
 It was some time before Madeleine could under- 
 stand what her husband meant. She had not the 
 slightest conception of it, and brought forward all 
 the reasons she could think of to appease him and 
 prevent his persisting in his caprice. 
 
 It was all labor lost, for he only grew the more 
 furious; and when he saw how grieved she was to 
 lose her good servant Francois, he had a fresh access 
 of jealousy, and spoke so brutally that his meaning 
 dawned on her at last, and she began to cry from 
 mortification, injured pride, and bitter sorrow. 
 
 This did not mend matters; Blanchet swore that 
 she was in love with this bundle of goods from the 
 asylum, that he blushed for her, and that if she did 
 107 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 not turn the waif out of doors without delay, he 
 would kill him and grind him to powder. 
 
 Thereupon she answered more haughtily than was 
 her wont, that he had the right to send away whom 
 he chose from his house, but not to wound and in- 
 sult his faithful wife, and that she would complain to 
 God and all the saints of Heaven of his cruel and 
 intolerable injustice. Thus, in spite of herself, she 
 came gradually to reproach him with his evil be- 
 havior, and confronted him with the plain fact that 
 if a man is dissatisfied with his own cap, he tries to 
 throw his neighbor's into the mud. 
 
 It went from bad to worse, and when Blanchet 
 finally perceived that he was in the wrong, anger 
 was his only resource. He threatened to shut Made- 
 leine's mouth with a blow, and would have done so, 
 if Jeannie had not heard the noise and come running 
 in between them, without understanding what the 
 matter was, but quite pale and discomfited by so 
 much wrangling. When Blanchet ordered him away, 
 the child cried, and his father took occasion to say 
 that he was ill-brought-up, a cry-baby, and a coward, 
 and that his mother would never be able to make 
 anything out of him. Then Blanchet plucked up 
 
 108 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 courage, and rose, brandishing his stick, and swear- 
 ing that he would kill the waif. 
 
 When Madeleine saw that he was mad with pas- 
 sion, she threw herself boldly in front of him, and he, 
 disconcerted and taken by surprise, allowed her her 
 way. She snatched his stick out of his hands and 
 threw it far off into the river, and then, standing her 
 ground, she said: 
 
 *' You shall not ruin yourself by obeying this 
 wicked impulse. Reflect that calamity is swift to 
 follow a man who loses his self-control, and if you 
 have no feeling for others, think of yourself and the 
 probable consequences of a single bad action. For a 
 long time you have been guiding your life amiss, my 
 husband, and now you are hastening faster and faster 
 along a dangerous road. I shall prevent you, at least 
 for to-day, from committing a worse crime, which 
 would bring its punishment both in this world and 
 the next. You shall not kill; return to where you 
 came from, rather than persevere in trying to revenge 
 yourself for an affront which was not offered. Go 
 away; I command you to do so in your own interest, 
 and this is the first time in my life that I have ever 
 commanded you to do anything. You will obey 
 me, because you will see that I still observe the def- 
 109 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 erence I owe you. I swear to you on my word and 
 honor that the waif shall not be here to-morrow, and 
 that you may come back without any fear of meet- 
 ing him." 
 
 Having said this, Madeleine opened the door of the 
 house for her husband, and Cadet Blanchet, baffled 
 by the novelty of her manner, and pleased in the 
 main to receive her submission without danger to his 
 person, clapped his hat upon his head, and without 
 another word, returned to Severe. He did not fail 
 to boast to her and to others that he had adminis- 
 tered a sound thrashing to his wife and to the waif; 
 but as this was not true, Severe's pleasure evaporated 
 in smoke. 
 
 When Madeleine Blanchet was alone again, she 
 sent Jeannie to drive the sheep and the goat to 
 pasture, and went off to a little lonely nook beside 
 the mill-dam, where the earth was much eaten away 
 by the force of the current, and the place so crowded 
 with a fresh growth of branches above the old tree- 
 stumps that you could not see two steps away from 
 you. She was in the habit of going there to pray, 
 for nobody could interrupt her, and she could be as 
 entirely concealed behind the tall weeds as a water- 
 hen in its nest of green leaves. 
 
 I 10 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 As soon as she reached there, she sank on her knees 
 to seek in prayer the relief she so needed. But though 
 she hoped this would bring great comfort, she could 
 think of nothing but the poor waif, who was to be 
 sent away, and who loved her so that he would die 
 of grief. So nothing came to her lips, except that 
 she was most unhappy to lose her only support and 
 separate herself from the child of her heart. Then 
 she cried so long and so bitterly that she was suffo- 
 cated, and, falling full length along the grass, lay 
 unconscious for more than an hour, and it is a 
 miracle that she ever came to herself. 
 
 At nightfall she made an effort to collect her 
 powers ; and when she heard Jeannie come home 
 singing with the flock, she rose with difficulty and 
 set about preparing supper. Shortly afterward, she 
 heard the noise of the return of the oxen, who were 
 drawing home the oak-tree that Blanchet had bought, 
 and Jeannie ran joyfully to meet his friend Francois, 
 whose presence he had missed all day. Poor little 
 Jeannie had been grieved for a moment by his 
 father's cruel behaviour to his dear mother, and he 
 had run off to cry in the fields, without knowing 
 what the quarrel could be. But a child's sorrow 
 lasts no longer than the dew of the morning, and he 
 1 1 1 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 had already forgotten his trouble. He took Francois 
 by the hand, and skipping as gaily as a little par- 
 tridge, brought him to Madeleine. 
 
 There was no need for the waif to look twice 
 to see that her eyes were reddened and her face 
 blanched. 
 
 '' Good God," thought he, " some misfortune has 
 happened." Then he turned pale too, and trembled, 
 fixing his eyes on Madeleine, and expecting her to 
 speak to him. She made him sit down, and set hi? 
 meal before him in silence, but he could not swallow 
 a mouthful. Jeannie eat and prattled on by himself; he 
 felt no uneasiness, for his mother kissed him from time 
 to time and encouraged him to make a good supper. 
 
 When he had gone to bed, and the servant was 
 putting the room in order, Madeleine went out, and 
 beckoned Francois to follow her. She walked through 
 the meadow as far as the fountain, and then calling 
 all her courage to her aid, she said: 
 
 "My child, misfortune has fallen upon you and 
 me, and God strikes us both a heavy blow. You see 
 how much I suffer, and out of love for me, try to 
 strengthen your own heart, for if you do not uphold 
 me, I cannot tell what will become of me." 
 
 Francois guessed nothing, although he at once 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 supposed that the trouble came from Monsieur 
 Blanchet. 
 
 *' What are you saying?" said he to Madeleine, 
 kissing her hands as if she were his mother. "How 
 can you think that I shall not have courage to com- 
 fort and sustain you? Am not I your servant for as 
 long as I have to stay upon the earth? Am not I 
 your child, who will work for you, and is now 
 strong enough to keep you from want. Leave Mon- 
 sieur Blanchet alone, let him squander his money, 
 since it is his choice. I shall feed and clothe both you 
 and our Jeannie. If I must leave you for a time, I 
 shall go and hire myself out, though not far from 
 here, so that I can see you every day, and come and 
 spend Sundays with you. I am strong enough now 
 to work and- earn all the money you need. You are 
 so careful and live on so little. Now you will not 
 be able to deny yourself so many things for others, 
 and you will be the better for it. Come, Madame 
 Blanchet, my dear mother, calm yourself and do not 
 cry, or I think I shall die of grief." 
 
 When Madeleine saw that he had not understood, 
 and that she must tell him everything, she com- 
 mended her soul to God, and made up her mind to 
 inflict this great pain upon him. 
 8 113 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 NO, FrarKpois, my son," said she, ''that is not 
 it. My husband is not yet ruined, as far 
 as I know anything of his affairs, and if it were only 
 the fear of want, you would not see me so unhappy. 
 Nobody need dread poverty who has courage to 
 work. Since you must hear why it is that I am so 
 sick at heart, let me tell you that Monsieur Blanchet 
 is in a fury against you, and will no longer endure 
 your presence in his house." 
 
 '* Is that it?" cried Francois, springing up. " He 
 may as well kill me outright, as I cannot live after 
 such a blow. Yes, let him put an end to me, for he 
 has long disliked me and longed to have me die, I 
 know. Let me see, where is he? I will go to him 
 and say, ' Tell me why you drive me away, and per- 
 haps I can prove to you that ycu are mistaken in 
 your reasons. But if you persist, say so, that — 
 that — ' I do not know what I am saying, Madeleine ; 
 114 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 truly, I do not know; I have lost my senses, and I 
 can no longer see clearly; my heart is pierced and 
 my head is turning- I am sure I shall either die or 
 go mad." 
 
 The poor waif threw himself on the ground, 
 and struck his head with his fists, as he had done 
 when Zabelle had tried to take him back to the 
 asylum. 
 
 When Madeleine saw this, her high spirit returned. 
 She took him by the hands and arms, and shaking 
 him, forced him to listen to her. 
 
 " If you have no more resignation and strength of 
 will than a child," said she, ''you do not deserve my 
 love, and you will shame me for bringing you up as 
 my son. Get up. You are a man in years, and a 
 man should not roll on the ground, as you are doing. 
 Listen, Francois, and tell me whether you love me 
 enough to go without seeing me for a time. Look, 
 my child, it is for my peace and good name, for 
 otherwise my husband will subject me to annoy- 
 ance and humiliation. So you must leave me to-day, 
 out of love, just as I have kept you, out of love, to 
 this day; for love shows itself in different ways ac- 
 cording to time and circumstance. You must leave 
 me without delay, because, in order to prevent Mon- 
 115 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 sieur Blanchet from committing a crime, I promised 
 that you should be gone to-morrow morning. To- 
 morrow is Sajnt John's day, and you must go and 
 find a place ; but not too near at hand, for if we 
 were able to see each other every day, it would be 
 all the worse in Monsieur Blanchet's mind." 
 
 " What has he in his mind, Madeleine? Of what 
 does he complain? How have 1 behaved amiss? 
 Does he think that you rob the house to help me? 
 That cannot be, because now I am one of his 
 household. I eat only enough to satisfy my hunger, 
 and I do not steal a pin from him. Perhaps he thinks 
 that I take my wages, and that I cost him too much. 
 Very well, let me follow out my purpose of going to 
 explain to him that since my poor mother Zabelle 
 died, 1 have never received a single penny ; or, if 
 you do not want me to tell him this, — and indeed 
 if he knew it, he would try to make you pay back 
 all the money due on my wages that you have spent 
 in charity — well, I will make him this proposition 
 for the next year. I will offer to remain in your ser- 
 vice for nothing. In this way he cannot think me 
 a burden, and will allow me to stay with you." 
 
 ''No, no, no, Francois," cried Madeleine, hastily, 
 ''\i is not possible; and if you said this to him, he 
 ii6 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 would fly into such a rage with you and me that 
 worse would come of it." 
 
 ^' But why? " asked Franfois; *' what is he angry 
 about? Is it only for the pleasure of making us un- 
 happy that he pretends to mistrust me ? " 
 
 " My child, do not ask the reason of his anger for 
 I cannot tell you. I should be too much ashamed, 
 and you had better not even try to guess; but I can 
 assure you that your duty toward me is to go away. 
 You are tall and strong, and can do without me; 
 and you will earn your living better elsewhere, as 
 long as you will take nothing from me. All sons 
 have to leave their mothers when they go out to 
 work, and many go far away. You must go like the 
 rest, and I shall grieve as all mothers do. I shall 
 weep for you and think of you, and pray God morn- 
 ing and evening to shield you from all ill." 
 
 '' Yes, and you will take another servant who will 
 serve you ill, who will take no care of your son or 
 your property, who will perhaps hate you, if Mon- 
 sieur Blanchet orders him not to obey you, and will 
 repeat and misrepresent to him all the kind things 
 you do. You may be unhappy, and I shall not be 
 with you to protect and comfort you. Ah! you 
 think that I have no courage because I am miser- 
 
 .8* ,,7 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 able ? You believe that I am thinking only of my- 
 self, and tell me that I shall earn more money else- 
 where! I am not thinking of myself at all. What 
 is it to me whether I gain or lose ? I do not even 
 care to know whether I shall be able to control my 
 despair. I shall live or die as may please God, and it 
 makes no difference to me, as long as I am pre- 
 vented from devoting my life to you. What gives 
 me intolerable anguish is that I see trouble ahead for 
 you. You will be trampled upon in your turn, and 
 if Monsieur Blanchet puts me out of the way, it 
 is that he may the more easily walk over your 
 rights." 
 
 ^^Even if God permits this," said Madeleine, "\ 
 must bear what I cannot help. It is wrong to make 
 one's fate worse by kicking against the pricks. You 
 know that I am very unhappy, and you may imagine 
 how much more wretched I should be if I learned 
 that you were ill, disgusted with life, and unwilling 
 to be comforted. But if I can find any consolation 
 in my affliction, it will be because I hear that you 
 are well behaved, and keep up your health and cour- 
 age out of love for me." 
 
 This last excellent reason gave Madeleine the ad- 
 vantage. The waif gave in, and promised on his 
 ii8 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 knees, as if in the confessional, that he would do his 
 best to bear his sorrow bravely. 
 
 ** Then," said he, as he wiped his eyes, '' if I must 
 go to-morrow morning, I shall say good-by to you 
 now, my mother Madeleine. Farewell, for this life, 
 perhaps; for you do not tell me if I shall ever see 
 you and talk with you again. If you do not think 
 I shall ever have such happiness, do not say so, for I 
 should lose courage to live. Let me keep the hope 
 of meeting you one day here by this clear fountain, 
 where I met you the first time nearly eleven years 
 ago. From that day to this, I have had nothing but 
 happiness; I must not forget all the joys that God 
 has given me through you, but shall keep them in 
 remembrance, so that they may help me to bear, 
 from to-morrow onward, all that time and fate may 
 bring. I carry away a heart pierced and benumbed 
 with anguish, knowing that you are unhappy, and 
 that in me you lose your best friend. You tell me 
 that your distress will be greater if I do not take 
 heart, so I shall sustain myself as best I may, by 
 thoughts of you, and I value your affection too 
 much to forfeit it by cowardice. Farewell, Madame 
 Blanchet; leave me here alone a little while; I shall 
 feel better when I have cried my fill. If any of my 
 119 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 tears fall into this fountain, you will think of me 
 whenever you come to wash here. I am going to 
 gather some of this mint to perfume my linen. I 
 must soon pack my bundle ; and as long as I smell 
 the sweet fragrance among my clothes, I shall ima- 
 gine that I am here and see you before me. Fare- 
 well, farewell, my dear mother; I shall not go back 
 with you to the house. I might kiss little Jeannie, 
 without waking him, but I have not the heart. You 
 must kiss him for me; and to keep him from crying, 
 please tell him to-morrow that I am coming back 
 soon. So, while he is expecting me, he will have 
 time to forget me a little; and then later, you must 
 talk to him of poor Franpois, so that he may not for- 
 get me too much. Give me your blessing, Made- 
 leine, as you gave it to me on the day of my first 
 communion, for it will bring with it the grace of 
 God." 
 
 The poor waif knelt down before Madeleine, en- 
 treating her to forgive him if he had ever offended 
 her against his will. 
 
 Madeleine declared that she had nothing to forgive 
 him, and that she wished her blessing could prove 
 as beneficent as that of God. 
 
 "Now," said Fran(;:ois, "that I am again a waif, 
 
 120 
 
/ FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and that nobody will ever love me any more, will 
 not you kiss me as you once kissed me, in kindness, 
 • on the day of my first communion ? I shall need to 
 remember this, so that I may be very sure that you 
 still love me in your heart, like a mother." 
 
 Madeleine kissed the waif in the same pure spirit 
 as when he was a little child. Yet anybody who 
 had seen her would have fancied there was some 
 justification for Monsieur Blanchet's anger, and would 
 have blamed this faithful woman, who had no 
 thought of ill, and whose action could not have dis- 
 pleased the Virgin Mary. 
 
 ''Nor me, either," put in the priest's servant. 
 ''And me still less," returned the hemp-dresser. 
 Then he resumed: 
 
 She returned to the house, but not to sleep. She 
 heard Francois come in and do up his bundle in the 
 next room, and she heard him go out again at day- 
 break. She did not get up till he had gone some 
 little distance, so as not to weaken his courage, but 
 when she heard his steps on the little bridge, she 
 opened the door a crack, without allowing herself to 
 be seen, so that she might catch one more last 
 
 121 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 glioipse of him. She saw him stop and look back 
 at the river and mill, as if to bid them farewell. 
 Then he strode away very rapidly, after first picking 
 a branch of poplar and putting it in his hat, as men 
 do when they go out for hire, to show that they are 
 trying to find a place. 
 
 Master Blanchet came in toward noon, but did not 
 speak till his wife said: 
 
 '' You must go out and hire another boy for your 
 mill, for Francois has gone, and you are without a 
 servant." 
 
 '* That is quite enough, wife," answered Blanchet. 
 *M shall go, but I warn you not to expect another 
 young fellow." 
 
 As these were all the thanks he gave her for her 
 submission, her feelings were so much wounded that 
 she could not help showing it. 
 
 " Cadet Blanchet," said she, *^ I have obeyed your 
 "will; 1 have sent an excellent boy away without a 
 motive, and I must confess that I did so with regret. 
 1 do not ask for your gratitude, but, in my turn, I 
 have something to command you, and that is not to 
 insult me, for I do not deserve it." 
 
 She said this in a manner so new to Blanchet, that 
 it produced its effect on him. 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ''Come, wife," said he, holding out his hand to 
 her, 'Mfet us make a truce to all this, and think na 
 more about it. Perhaps I may have been a little 
 hasty in what I said; but you see I had my own 
 reasons for not trusting the waif. The devil is the 
 father of all those children, and he is always after 
 them. They may be good in some ways, but they 
 are sure to be scamps in others. I know that it will 
 be hard for me to find another such hard worker for 
 a servant; but the devil, who is a good father, had 
 whispered wantonness into that boy's ear, and I 
 know one woman who had a complaint against 
 him." 
 
 ''That woman is not your wife," rejoined Made- 
 leine, " and she may be lying. Even if she told the 
 truth, that would be no cause for suspecting me." 
 
 " Do I suspect you?" said Blanchet, shrugging his 
 shoulders. "My grudge was only against him, and 
 now that he has gone, I have forgotten about it. If I 
 said anything displeasing to you, you must take it 
 in jest." 
 
 "Such jests are not to my taste," answered Made-^ 
 leine. " Keep them for those who like them." 
 
 123 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 MADELEINE bore her sorrow very well at first. 
 She heard from her new servant, who had met 
 with Fran(pois, that he had been hired for eighteen pis- 
 toles a year by a farmer, who had a good mill and 
 some land over toward Aigurande. She was happy 
 to know that he had found a good place, and did her 
 utmost to return to her occupations, without griev- 
 ing too much. In spite of her efforts, however, she 
 fell ill for a long time of a low fever, and pined quietly 
 away, without anybody's noticing it. Francois was 
 right when he said that in him she lost her best friend. 
 She was sad and lonely, and, having nobody to talk 
 with, she petted all the more her son Jeannie, who 
 was a very nice boy, as gentle as a lamb. 
 
 But he was too young to understand all that she 
 
 had to say of Francois, and, besides, he showed her 
 
 no such kind cares and attentions as the waif had 
 
 done at his age. Jeannie loved his mother, more even 
 
 124 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 than children ordinarily do, because she was such a 
 mother as is hard to find; but he never felt the same 
 wonder and emotion about her as Francois did. He 
 thought it quite natural to be so tenderly loved and 
 caressed. He received it as his portion, and counted 
 on it as his due, whereas the waif had never been 
 unmindful of the slightest kindness from her, and 
 made his gratitude so apparent in his behavior, his 
 words and looks, his blushes and tears, that when 
 Madeleine was with him she forgot that her home 
 was bereft of peace, love, and comfort. 
 
 When she was left again forlorn, all this evil re- 
 turned upon her, and she meditated long on the i 
 sorrows which Francois's affectionate companionship 
 had kept in abeyance. Now she had nobody to read 
 with her, to help her in caring for the poor, to pray 
 with her, or even now and then to exchange a few 
 frank, good-natured jests with her. Nothing that she 
 saw or did gave her any more pleasure, and her 
 thoughts wandered back to the time when she had 
 with her such a kind, gentle, and loving friend. 
 Whether she went into her vineyard, into her or- 
 chard, or into the mill, there was not a spot as large 
 as a pocket-handkerchief, that she had not passed 
 over ten thousand times, with this child clinging to 
 125 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 her skirts, or this faithful, zealous friend at her side. 
 It was as if she had lost a son of great worth and 
 promise; and it was in vain she heaped her affection 
 on the one who still remained, for half her heart was 
 left untenanted. 
 
 Her husband saw that she was wearing away, and 
 felt some pity for her languid, melancholy looks. He 
 feared lest she might fall seriously ill, and was loath 
 to lose her, as she was a skilful manager, and saved 
 on her side as much as he wasted on his. As Severe 
 would not allow him to attend to his mill, he knew 
 that his business would go to pieces if Madeleine no 
 longer had the charge of it, and though he continued 
 to upbraid her from habit, and complained of her 
 lack of care, he knew that nobody else would serve 
 him better. 
 
 He exerted himself to contrive some means of cur- 
 ing her of her sickness and sorrow, and just at this 
 juncture it happened that his uncle died. His 
 youngest sister had been under this uncle's guar- 
 dianship, and now she fell into his own care. He 
 thought, at first, of sending the girl to live with 
 Severe, but his other relations made him ashamed of 
 this project ; and, besides, when Severe found that 
 the girl was only just fifteen, and promised to be as 
 126 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 fair as the day, she had no further desire to be in- 
 trusted with such a charge, and told Blanchet that 
 she was afraid of the risks attendant on the care of 
 a young girl. 
 
 So Blanchet — who saw that he should gain some- 
 thing by being his sister's guardian, as the uncle, 
 who had brought her up, had left her money in his 
 will; and who was unwilling to place her with any 
 of his other relations — brought her home to his mill, 
 and requested his wife to treat her as a sister and 
 companion, to teach her to work, and let her share 
 in the household labors, and yet to make the task so 
 easy that she should have no desire to go elsewhere. 
 
 Madeleine acquiesced gladly in this family arrange- 
 ment. She liked Mariette Blanchet from the first for 
 the sake of her beauty, the very cause for which 
 Severe had disliked her. She believed, too, that a 
 sweet disposition and a good heart always go with 
 a pretty face, and she received the young girl not so 
 much as a sister as a daughter, who might perhaps 
 take the place of poor Franpois. 
 
 During all this time poor Francois bore his trouble 
 
 with as much patience as he had, and this was none 
 
 at all; for never was man nor boy visited with so 
 
 heavy an affliction. He fell ill, in the first place, and 
 
 127 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ^ this was almost fortunate for him, for it proved the 
 kindness of his master's family, who would not 
 allow him to be sent to the hospital, but kept him 
 at home, and tended him carefully. The miller, his 
 present master, was most unlike Cadet Blanchet, and 
 his daughter, who was about thirty years old, and 
 not yet married, had a reputation for her charities 
 and good conduct. 
 
 These good people plainly saw, too, in spite of the 
 waifs illness, that they had found a treasure in him. 
 
 He was so strong and well-built that he threw 
 off his disease more quickly than most people, and 
 though he set to work before he was cured, he had 
 no relapse. His conscience spurred him on to make 
 up for lost time and repay his master and mistress for 
 their kindness. He still felt ill for more than two 
 months, and every morning, when he began his 
 work, he was as giddy as if he had just fallen from 
 the roof of a house, but little by little he warmed 
 up to it, and never told the trouble it cost him to 
 begin. The miller and his daughter were so well 
 pleased with him that they intrusted him with the 
 management of many things which were far above 
 his position. When they found that he could read 
 and write, they made him keep the accounts, which 
 128 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 had never been kept before, and the need of which 
 had often involved the mill in difficulties. In short, 
 he was as well off as was compatible with his mis- 
 fortune; and as he had the prudence to refrain from 
 saying that he was a foundling, nobody reproached 
 him with his origin. 
 
 But neither the kind treatment he received, nor his 
 work, nor his illness, could make him forget Made- 
 leine, his dear mill at Cormouer, his little Jeannie, 
 and the graveyard where Zabelle was lying. His 
 heart was always far away, and on Sundays he 
 did nothing but brood, and so had no rest from the 
 labors of the week. He was at such a distance from 
 his home, which was more than six leagues off, that 
 no news from it ever reached him. He thought at 
 first that he would become used to this, but he was 
 consumed with anxiety, and tried to invent means 
 of finding out about Madeleine, at least twice a 
 year. He went to the fairs for the purpose of meet- 
 ing some acquaintance from the old place, and if he 
 saw one, he made inquiries about all his friends, be- 
 ginning prudently with those for whom he cared 
 least, and leading up to Madeleine, who interested 
 him most; and thus he had some tidings of her and 
 her family. 
 
 9 129 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '^ But it is growing late, my friends, and I am 
 going to sleep in the middle of my story. I shall go 
 on with it to-morrow, if you care to hear it. Good 
 night, all." 
 
 The hemp-dresser went off to bed, and the farmer 
 lit his lantern and took Mother Monique back to the 
 parsonage, for she was an old woman, and could not 
 see her way clearly. 
 
 130 
 
T 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 HE next evening we all met again at the 
 farm, and the hemp-dresser resumed his story : 
 
 Franpois had been living about three years in the 
 country of Aigurande, near Villechiron, in a hand- 
 some mill which is called Haut-Champault, or Bas- 
 Champault, or Frechampault, for Champault is as 
 common a name in that country as in our own. I 
 have been twice into those parts, and know what a 
 fine country it is. The peasants there are richer, and 
 better lodged and fed; there is more business there, 
 and though the earth is less fertile, it is more pro- 
 ductive. The land is more broken ; it is pierced by 
 rocks and washed by torrents, but it is fair and pleas- 
 ant to the eye. The trees are marvelously beautiful, 
 and two streams, clear as crystal, rush noisily along 
 through their deep-cut channels. 
 
 The mills there are more considerable than ours, 
 131 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and the one where Francois lived was among the 
 richest and best. One winter day, his master, by 
 name Jean Vertaud, said to him: 
 
 " Francois, my servant and friend, I have some- 
 thing to ^say to you, and I ask for your attention. 
 
 ** You and I have known each other for some 
 little time. I have done very well in my business, 
 and my mill has prospered; I have succeeded better 
 than others of my trade; in short, my fortune has in- 
 creased, and I do not conceal from myself that I owe 
 it all to you. You have served me not as a servant, 
 but as a friend and relation. You have devoted 
 yourself to my interests as if they were your own. 
 You have managed my property better than I knew 
 how to do myself, and have shown yourself pos- 
 sessed of more knowledge and intelligence than I. 
 I am not suspicious by nature, and I should have 
 been often cheated if you had not kept watch of all 
 the people and things about me. Those who were 
 in the habit of abusing my good nature, complained, 
 and you bore the brunt boldly, though more than 
 once you exposed yourself to dangers, which you 
 escaped only by your courage and gentleness. What 
 1 like most about you is that your heart is as good 
 as your head and hand. You love order^ but not 
 »32 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 avarice. You do not allow yourself to be duped, as 
 I do, and yet you are as fond of helping your neigh- 
 bor as I can be. You were the first to advise me to 
 be generous in real cases of need, but you were 
 quick to hold me back from giving to those who 
 were merely making a pretense of distress. You 
 have sense and originality. The ideas you put into 
 practice are always successful, and whatever you 
 touch turns to good account. 
 
 'M am well pleased with you, and I should like, 
 on my part, to do something for you. Tell me 
 frankly what you want, for I shall refuse you 
 nothing." 
 
 'M do not know why you say this," answered 
 Francois. '* You must think, Master Vertaud, that I 
 am dissatisfied with you, but it is not so. You may 
 be sure of that." 
 
 'M do not say that you are dissatisfied, but you 
 do not generally look like a happy man. Your 
 spirits are not good. You never laugh and jest, nor 
 take any amusement. You are as sober as if you 
 were in mourning for somebody." 
 
 *^Do you blame me for this, master? I shall 
 never be able to please you in this respect, for I am 
 fond neither of the bottle nor of the dance; I go 
 9* 133 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 neither to the tavern nor to balls; I know no funny 
 stories nor nonsense. I care for nothing which 
 might distract me from my duty." 
 
 '' You deserve to be held in high esteem for this, 
 my boy, and I am not going to blame you for it. I 
 mention it, because I believe that there is something 
 on your mind. Perhaps you think that you are tak- 
 ing a great deal of trouble on behalf of other people, 
 and are but poorly paid for it." 
 
 ' ^ You are wrong in thinking so, Master Vertaud. 
 My reward is as great as I could wish, and perhaps I 
 could never have found elsewhere the high wages 
 which you are willing to allow me, of your own free 
 will, and without any urging from me. You have 
 increased them, too, every year, and, on Saint John's 
 day last, you fixed them at a hundred crowns, which 
 is a very large price for you to pay. If you suffer 
 any inconvenience from it, I assure you that I should 
 gladly relinquish it." 
 
 134 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 *' /^^OME, come, Franfois, we do not understand 
 
 V^ each other," returned Master Jean Vertaud; 
 '* and I do not know how to take you. You are no 
 fool, and I think my hints have been broad enough; 
 but you are so shy that I will help you out still 
 further. Are not you in love with some girl about 
 here?" 
 
 '' No, master," was the waifs honest answer. 
 
 ''Truly?" 
 
 '' I give you my word." 
 
 '' Don't you know one who might please you, if 
 you were able to pay your court to her ? " 
 
 " I have no desire to marry." 
 
 ''What an idea! You are too young to answer 
 for that. What 's your reason ? " 
 
 "My reason? Do you really care to know, 
 master?" 
 
 " Yes, because I feel an interest in you." 
 ^}5 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 '' Then I will tell you; there is no occasion for me 
 to hide it: I have never known father or mother. 
 And there is something I have never told you; I was 
 not obliged to do so; but if you had asked me, I 
 should have told you the truth: I am a waif; I 
 come from the foundling asylum." 
 
 'Ms it possible?" exclaimed Jean Vertaud, some- 
 what taken aback by this confession. " I should 
 never have thought it." 
 
 " Why should you never have thought it? You do 
 not answer, Master Vertaud. Very well, I shall an- 
 swer for you. You saw that I was a good fellow, 
 and you could not believe that a waif could be like 
 that. It is true, then, that nobody has confidence in 
 waifs, and that there is a prejudice against them. It 
 is not just or humane; but since such a prejudice 
 exists, everybody must conform to it, and the best 
 people are not exempt, since you yourself — " 
 
 " No, no," said Master Vertaud, with a revulsion 
 of feeling, for he was a just man, and always ready 
 to abjure a false notion; " I do not wish to fail in 
 justice, and if I forgot myself for a moment, you 
 must forgive me, for that is all past now. So, you 
 think you cannot marry, because you were born a 
 waif? " 
 
 136 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ''Not at all, master; I do not consider that an ob- 
 stacle. There are all sorts of women, and some of 
 them are so kind-hearted that my misfortune might 
 prove an inducement." 
 
 " That is true," cried Jean Vertaud. " Women are 
 better than we are. Yet," he continued, with a 
 laugh, '' a fine handsome fellow like you, in the 
 flower of youth, and without any defect of body or 
 mind, might very well add a zest to the pleasure of 
 being charitable. But come, give me your reason." 
 
 '' Listen," said Francois. 'M was taken from the 
 asylum and nursed by a woman whom I never 
 knew. At her death I was intrusted to another 
 woman, who received me for the sake of the slen- 
 der pittance granted by the government to those of 
 my kind ; but she was good to me, and when I was 
 so unfortunate as to lose her, I should never have 
 been comforted but for the help of another woman, 
 who was the best of the three, and whom I still love 
 so much, that I am unwilling to live for any other 
 woman but her. I have left her, and perhaps I may 
 never see her again, for she is well off, and may 
 never have need of me. Still, her husband has had 
 many secret expenses, and I have heard that he has 
 been ill since autumn, so it may be that he will die 
 '37 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 before long, and leave her with more debts than 
 property. If this happened, master, I do not deny 
 that I should return to the place she lives in, and 
 that my only care and desire would be to assist her 
 and her son, and keep them from poverty by my toil. 
 That is my reason for not undertaking any engage- 
 ment which would bind me elsewhere. You employ 
 me by the year, but if I married, I should be tied for 
 life. I should be assuming too many duties at once. 
 If I had a wife and children, it is not to be supposed 
 that I could earn enough bread for two families; 
 neither is it to be supposed, if, by extraordinary luck, 
 I found a wife with some money of her own, that I 
 should have the right to deprive my house of its 
 comforts, to bestow them upon another's. Thus I 
 expect to remain a bachelor. I am young, and have 
 time enough before me; but if some fancy for a girl 
 should enter my head, I should try to get rid of it; 
 because, do you see, there is but one woman in the 
 world for me, and that is my mother Madeleine, who 
 never despised me for being a waif, but brought me 
 up as her own child." 
 
 " Is that it? " answered Jean Vert^ud. '' My dear 
 fellow, what you tell me only increases my esteem 
 for you. Nothing is so ugly as ingratitude, and 
 
 .38 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 nothing so beautiful as the memory of benefits re- 
 ceived. 1 may have some good reasons for showing 
 you that you could marry a young woman of the 
 same mind as yourself, who would join you in aid- 
 ing your old friend, but they are reasons which I 
 must think over, and I must ask somebody else's 
 opinion." 
 
 No great cleverness was necessary to guess that 
 Jean Vertaud, with his honest heart and sound judg- 
 ment, had conceived of a marriage between his 
 daughter and Francois. His daughter was comely, 
 and though she was somewhat older than Francois, 
 she had money enough to make up the difference. 
 She was an only child, and a fine match, but up to 
 this time, to her father's great vexation, she had 
 refused to marry. He had observed lately that she 
 thought a great deal of Francois, and had questioned 
 her about him, but as she was a very reserved per- 
 son, he had some difficulty in extorting any con- 
 fession from her. Finally, without giving a positive 
 answer, she consented to allow her father to sound 
 Franfois on the subject of marriage, and awaited 
 the result with more uneasiness than she cared to 
 show. 
 
 Jean Vertaud was disappointed that he had not a 
 ^39 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 more satisfactory answer to carry to her; first, be- 
 cause he was so anxious to have her married, and 
 next, because he could not wish for a better son-in- 
 law than Francois. Besides the affection he felt for 
 him, he saw clearly that the poor boy who had 
 come to him was worth his weight in gold, on ac- 
 count of his intelligence, his quickness at his work, 
 and his good conduct. 
 
 The young woman was a little pained to hear that 
 Franfois was a foundling. She was a trifle proud, 
 but she made up her mind quickly, and her liking 
 became more pronounced when she learned that 
 Francois was backward in love. Women go by con- 
 traries, and if Fran9ois had schemed to obtain indul- 
 gence for the irregularity of his birth, he could have 
 contrived no more artful device that that of showing 
 a distaste toward marriage. 
 
 So it happened that Jean Vertaud's daughter de- 
 cided in Francois's favor, that day, for the first time. 
 
 ^' Is that all? " said she to her father. '' Does n't 
 he think that we should have both the desire and 
 the means to aid an old woman and find a situation 
 for her son? He cannot have understood your hints, 
 father, for if he knew it was a question of entering 
 our family, he would have felt no such anxiety." 
 140 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 That evening, when they were at work, Jean- 
 nette_yert^ud said to Francois : 
 
 " I have always had a high opinion of you, Fran- 
 cois ; but it is still higher now that my father has 
 told me of your affection for the woman who 
 brought you up, and for whom you wish to work 
 all your life. It is right for you to feel so. I should 
 like to know the woman, so that I might serve her 
 in case of need, because you have always been so 
 fond of her. She must be a fine woman." 
 
 ^'Oh! yes," said Francois, who was pleased to 
 talk of Madeleine, '' she is a woman with a good 
 heart, a woman with a heart like yours." 
 
 Jeannette Vertaud was delighted at this, and, think- 
 ing herself sure of what she wanted, went on : 
 
 " If she should turn out as unfortunate as you fear, 
 I wish she could come and live with us. I should 
 help you take care of her, for I suppose that she is 
 no longer young. Is not she infirm? " 
 
 "Infirm? No," said Francois; "she is not old 
 enough to be infirm." 
 
 "Then is she still young?" asked Jeannette Ver- 
 taud, beginning to prick up her ears. 
 
 "Oh ! no, she is not young," answered Francois, 
 simply. " I do not remember how old she is now. 
 141 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 She was a mother to me, and I never thought of 
 her age." 
 
 ''Was she attractive?" asked Jeannette, after hesi- 
 tating a moment before putting the question. 
 
 " Attractive ? " said Francois, with some surprise ; 
 "do you mean to ask if she is a pretty woman? 
 She is pretty enough for me just as she is ; but to 
 tell the truth, I never thought of that. What differ- 
 ence can it make in my affection for her ? She might 
 be as ugly as the devil, without my finding it out." 
 
 " But cannot you tell me about how old she is?" 
 
 "Wait a minute. Her son was five years younger 
 than I. Well ! She is not old, but she is not very 
 young; she is about like — " 
 
 "Like me?" said Jeannette, making a slight effort, 
 to laugh. "In that case, if she becomes a widow, it 
 will be too late for her to marry again, will it not ? " 
 
 "That depends on circumstances," replied Fran^ 
 pois. " If her husband has not wasted all the prop- 
 erty, she would have plenty of suitors. There are- 
 fellows, who would marry their great-aunts as will- 
 ingly as their great-nieces, for money." 
 
 " Then you have no esteem for those who marry 
 for money ? " 
 
 " I could not do it," answered Franpois. 'i 
 
 142 ^l 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Simple-hearted as the waif was, he was no such 
 simpleton as not to understand the insinuations 
 which had been made him, and he did not speak 
 without meaning. But Jeannette would not take 
 the hint, and fell still deeper in love with him. She 
 had had many admirers, without paying attention to 
 any of them, and now the only one who pleased 
 her, turned his back on her. Such is the logical 
 temper of a woman's mind. 
 
 Francois observed during the following days that 
 she had something on her mind, for she ate scarcely 
 anything, and her eyes were always fixed on him, 
 whenever she thought he was not looking. Her at- 
 tachment pained him. He respected this good wo- 
 man, and saw that the more indifferent he appeared, 
 'the more she cared about him ; but he had no fancy 
 for her, and if he had tried to cultivate such a feeling, 
 •it would have been the result of duty and principle 
 irather than of spontaneous affection. 
 
 He reflected that he could not stay much longer 
 with Jean Vertaud, because he knew that, sooner or 
 later, such a condition of affairs must necessarily give 
 irise to some unfortunate difference. 
 
 Just at this time, however, an incident befell which 
 changed the current of his thoughts. 
 »43 
 
\ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ONE morning the parish priest of Aigurande 
 came strolling" over to Jean Vertaud's mill, 
 and wandered round the place for some time before 
 espying Francois, whom he found at last in a corner 
 of the garden. He assumed a very confidential air, 
 and asked him if he were indeed Francois, surnamed 
 Strawberry, a name that had been given him in the 
 civil register — where he had been inscribed as a 
 foundling — on account of a certain mark on his left 
 arm. The priest then inquired concerning his exact 
 age, the name of the woman who had nursed him, 
 the places in which he had lived ; in short, all that 
 he knew of his birth and life. 
 
 Francois produced his papers, and the priest seemed 
 to be entirely satisfied. 
 
 ''Very well," said he, ''you may come this 
 evening or to-morrow morning to the parsonage ; 
 but you must not let anybody know what I am 
 144 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 going to tell you, for I am forbidden to make 
 it public, and it is a matter of conscience with 
 me." 
 
 When Francois went to the parsonage, the priest 
 carefully shut the doors of the room, and drawing 
 four little bits of thin paper from his desk, said : 
 t ''Francois Strawberry, there are four thousand 
 I francs that your mother sends you. I am forbidden 
 jto tell you her name, where she lives, or whether 
 [she is alive or dead at the present moment. A pious 
 thought has induced her to remember you, and it 
 appears that she always intended to do so, since she 
 knew where you were to be found, although you 
 lived at such a distance. She knew that your char- 
 acter was good, and gives you enough to establish 
 yourself with in life, on condition that for six months 
 you never mention this gift, unless it be to the wo- 
 man you want to marry. She enjoins me to consult 
 with you on the investment or the safe deposit of 
 this money, and begs me to lend my name, in case 
 it is necessary, in order to keep the affair secret. I 
 shall do as you like in this respect ; but I am ordered 
 to deliver you the money, only in exchange for your 
 word of honor that you will neither say nor do any- 
 thing that might divulge the secret. I know that I 
 lo 145 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 may count upon your good faith ; will you pledge 
 it to me?" 
 
 Francois gave his oath and left the money in the 
 priest's charge, begging him to lay it out to the best 
 advantage, for he knew this priest to be a good 
 man; and some priests are like some women, either 
 all good or all bad. 
 
 The waif returned home rather sad than glad. He 
 thought of his mother, and would have been glad to 
 give up the four thousand francs for the privilege of 
 seeing and embracing her. He imagined, too, that 
 perhaps she had just died, and that her gift was the 
 result of one of those impulses which come to people 
 at the point of death; and it made him still more mel- 
 ancholy to be unable to bear mourning for her and 
 have masses said for her soul. Whether she were dead 
 or alive, he prayed God to forgive her for forsaking 
 her child, as her child forgave her with his whole heart, 
 and prayed to be forgiven his sins in like manner. 
 
 He tried to appear the same as usual ; but for more 
 than a fortnight, he was so absorbed in a reverie at 
 meal-times that the attention of the Vertauds was 
 excited. 
 
 " That young man does not confide in us," ob- 
 served the miller. " He must be in love." 
 1^6 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ** Perhaps it is with me," thought the daughter, 
 ** and he is too modest to confess it. He is afraid 
 that I shall think him more attracted by my money 
 than my person, so he is trying to prevent our guess- 
 ing what is on his mind." 
 
 Thereupon, she set to work to cure him of his shy- 
 ness, and encouraged him so frankly and sweetly in 
 her words and looks, that he was a little touched in 
 spite of his preoccupation. 
 
 Occasionally, he said to himself that he was rich 
 enough to help Madeleine in case of need, and that 
 he could well afford to marry a girl who laid no 
 claim to his fortune. He was not in love with any 
 woman, but he saw Jeannette Vertaud's good quali- 
 ties, and was afraid of being hard-hearted if he did 
 not respond to her advances. At times he pitied her, 
 and was almost ready to console her. 
 
 But all at once, on a journey which he made to 
 Oevant on his master's business, he met a forester 
 from Presles, who told him of Cadet Blanchet's death, 
 adding that he had left his affairs in great disorder, 
 And that nobody knew whether his widow would be 
 able to right them. 
 
 Francois had no cause to love or regret Master 
 Blanchet, yet his heart was so tender that when he 
 M7 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 heard the news his eyes were moist and his head 
 heavy, as if he were about to weep; he knew that 
 Madeleine was weeping for her husband at that very 
 moment, that she forgave him everything, and re- 
 membered only that he was the father of her child. 
 The thought of Madeleine's grief awoke his own, 
 and obliged him to weep with her over the sorrow 
 which he was sure was hers. 
 
 His first impulse was to leap upon his horse and 
 hasten to her side ; but he reflected that it was his 
 duty to ask permission of his master. 
 
 148 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 MASTER," said he to Jean Vertaud, *' I must 
 leave you for a time; how long 1 cannot 
 tell. I have something to attend to near my old 
 home, and I request you to let me go with a good 
 will ; for, to tell the tf uth, if you refuse to give your 
 permission, I shall not be able to obey you, but shall 
 go in spite of you. Forgive me for stating the case 
 plainly. I should be very sorry to vex you, and that 
 is why I ask you as a reward for all the services that 
 I may have been able to render you, not to take my 
 behavior amiss, but to forgive the offense of which I 
 am guilty, in leaving your work so suddenly. I may 
 return at the end of a week, if I am not needed in 
 the place where I am going; but I may not come 
 back till late in the year, or not at all, for I am un- 
 willing to deceive you. However, I shall do my best 
 to come to your assistance if you need me, or if any- 
 thing were to occur which you cannot manage with- 
 149 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 out me. Before I go, I shall find you a good work- 
 man to take my place, and, if necessary, offer him as an 
 inducement all that is due on my wages since Saint 
 John's day last. Thus I can arrange matters without 
 loss to you, and you must shake hands to wish me 
 good luck, and to ease my mind of some of the regret 
 I feel at parting with you." 
 
 Jean Vertaud knew that the waif seldom asked for 
 anything, but that when he did, his will was so firm 
 that neither God nor the devil could bend it. 
 
 ^' Do as you please, my boy," said he, shaking 
 hands with him. " I should not tell the truth if I 
 said I did not care; but rather than have a quarrel 
 with you, I should consent to anything." 
 
 Francois spent the next day in looking up a ser- 
 vant to take his place in the mill, and he met with a 
 zealous, upright man who was returning from the 
 army, and was happy to find work and good wages 
 under a good master; for Jean Vertaud was recog- 
 nized as such, and was known never to have wronged 
 anybody. 
 
 Before setting out, as he intended to do at day- 
 break the next day, Franpois wished to take leave 
 of Jeannette Vertaud at supper-time. She was sit- 
 ting at the barn door, saying that her head ached 
 150 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and that she could not eat. He observed that she 
 had been weeping, and felt much troubled in mind. 
 He did not know how to thank her for her kindness, 
 and yet tell her that he was to leave her in spite of it. 
 He sat down beside her on the stump of an alder- 
 tree, which happened to be there, and struggled to 
 speak, without being able to think of a single word 
 to say. She saw all this, without looking up, and 
 pressed her handkerchief to her eyes. He made a 
 motion to take her hand in his and comfort her, but 
 drew back as it occurred to him that he could not 
 conscientiously tell her what she wanted to hear. 
 When poor Jeannette found that he remained silent, 
 she was ashamed of her own sorrow, and rising 
 quietly without showing any bitterness of feeling, 
 she went into the barn to weep unrestrained. 
 
 She lingered there a little while, in the hope that 
 he would make up his mind to follow her and say a 
 kind word, but he forbore, and went to his supper, 
 which he ate in melancholy silence. 
 
 It would be false to say that he had felt nothing 
 for Jeannette when he saw her in tears. His heart 
 was a little fluttered, as he reflected how happy he 
 might be with a person of so excellent a disposition, 
 who was so fond of him, and who was not person- 
 151 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ally disagreeable to him. But he shook off all these 
 ideas when it returned to his mind that Madeleine 
 might stand in need of a friend, adviser, and servant, 
 and that when he was but a poor, forsaken child, 
 wasted with fever, she had endured, worked, and 
 braved more for him than anybody else in the 
 world. 
 
 '* Come," said he to himself, when he woke next 
 morning before the dawn ; '' you must not think of 
 a love-affair or your own happiness and tranquillity. 
 You would gladly forget that you are a waif, and 
 would throw your past to the winds, as so many 
 others do, who seize the moment as it flies, without 
 looking behind them. Yes, but think of Madeleine 
 Blanchet, who entreats you not to forget her, but to 
 remember what she did for you. Forward, then ; 
 and Jeannette, may God help you to a more gallant 
 lover than your humble servant." 
 
 Such were his reflections as he passed beneath the 
 window of his kind mistress, and if the season had 
 been propitious, he would have left a leaf or flower 
 against her casement, in token of farewell ; but it 
 was the day after the feast of the Epiphany ; the 
 ground was covered with snow, and there was not 
 a leaf on the trees nor a violet in the grass. 
 152 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 He thought of knotting into the corner of a white 
 handkerchief the bean which he had won the even- 
 ing before in the Twelfth-night cake, and of tying 
 the handkerchief to the bars of Jeannette's window, 
 to show her that he would have chosen her for his 
 queen, if she had deigned to appear at supper. 
 
 "A bean is a very little thing," thought he, *'but 
 it is a slight mark of courtesy and friendship, and 
 will make my excuses for not having said good-by 
 to her." 
 
 But a still, small voice within counseled him 
 against making this offering, and pointed out to him 
 that a man should not follow the example of those 
 young girls who try to make men love, remember, 
 and regret them, when they have not the slightest 
 idea of giving anything in return. 
 
 "No, no, Francois," said he, putting back his 
 pledge into his pocket, and hastening his step; "a 
 man's will must be firm, and he must allow himself 
 to be forgotten when he has made up his mind to 
 forget himself." 
 
 Thereupon, he strode rapidly away, and before he 
 
 had gone two gunshots from Jean Vertaud's mill he 
 
 fancied that he saw Madeleine's image before him, 
 
 and heard a faint little voice calling to him for help. 
 
 153 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 This dream drew him on, and he seemed to see al- 
 ready the great ash-tree, the fountain, the meadow 
 of the Blanchets, the mill-dam, the little bridge, and 
 Jeannie running to meet him ; and in the midst of 
 all this, the memory of Jeannette Vertaud was pow- 
 erless to hold him back an inch. 
 
 He walked so fast that he felt neither cold nor 
 hunger nor thirst, nor did he stop to take breath 
 till he left the highroad and reached the cross of 
 Plessys, which stands at the beginning of the path 
 which leads to Presles. 
 
 When there, he flung himself on his knees and 
 kissed the wood of the cross with the ardor of a 
 good Christian who meets again with a good friend. 
 Then he began to descend the great track, which is 
 like a road, except that it is as broad as a field. It 
 is the finest common in the world, and is blessed 
 with a beautiful view, fresh air, and extended hori- 
 zon. It slopes so, rapidly that in frosty weather a 
 man could go post-haste even in an ox-cart and 
 take an unexpected plunge in the river, which runs 
 silently below. 
 
 Francois mistrusted this; he took off his sabots 
 more than once, and reached the bridge without a 
 tumble. He passed by Montipouret on the left, not 
 154 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 without sending a loving salute to the tall old clock- 
 tower, which is everybody's friend; for it is the first 
 to greet the eyes of those who are returning home, 
 and shows them the right road, if they have gone 
 astray. 
 
 As to the roads, I have no fault to find with them 
 in summer-time, when they are green, smiling, and 
 pleasant to look upon. You may walk through 
 some of them with no fear of a sunstroke; but those 
 are the most treacherous of all, because they may 
 lead you to Rome, when you think you are going to 
 Angibault. Happily, the good clock-tower of Monti- 
 pouret is not chary of showing itself, and through 
 every clearing you may catch a glimpse of its glitter- 
 ing steeple, that tells you whether you are going 
 north or northwest. 
 
 The waif, however, needed no such beacon to 
 guide him. He was so familiar with all the wooded 
 paths and byways, all the shady lanes, all the 
 hunters' trails, and even the very hedge-rows along 
 the roads, that in the middle of the night he could 
 take the shortest cut, and go as straight as a pigeon 
 flies through the sky. 
 
 It was toward noon when he first caught sight of 
 the mill of Cormouer through the leafless branches, 
 •55 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and he was happy to see curling up from the roof 
 a faint blue smoke, which assured him that the 
 house was not abandoned to the rats. 
 
 For greater speed he crossed the upper part of the 
 Blanchet meadow, and thus did not pass close by 
 the fountain; but as the trees and bushes were stript 
 of their leaves, he could still see sparkling in the 
 sunlight the open water, that never freezes, because 
 it bubbles up from a spring. The approach to the 
 mill, on the contrary, was icy and so slippery that 
 much caution was required to step safely over the 
 stones, and along the bank of the river. He saw 
 the old mill-wheel, black with age and damp, 
 covered with long icicles, sharp as needles, that 
 hung from the bars. 
 
 Many trees were missing around the house, and 
 the place was much changed. Cadet Blanchet's debts 
 had called the ax into play, and here and there were 
 to be seen the stumps of great alders, freshly cut, as 
 red as blood. The house seemed to be in bad repair; 
 the roof was ill-protected, and the oven had cracked 
 half open by the action of the frost. 
 
 What was still more melancholy was that there 
 was no sound to be heard of man or beast; only a 
 brindled black-and-white dog, a poor country mon- 
 
 156 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 grel, jumped up from the door-step and ran bark- 
 ing toward Franpois; then he suddenly ceased, and 
 came crawling up to him and lay at his feet. 
 
 " Is it you, Labriche, and do you know me?" said 
 Francois. 'M did not recognize you, for you are so 
 old and miserable; your ribs stick out, and your 
 whiskers are quite white." 
 
 Francois talked thus to the dog, because he was 
 distressed, and wanted to gain a little time before 
 entering the house. He had been in great haste up 
 to this moment, but now he was alarmed, because 
 he feared that he should never see Madeleine again, 
 that she might be absent or dead instead of her hus- 
 band, or that the report of the miller's death might 
 prove false; in short, he was a prey to all those fan- 
 cies which beset the mind of a man who has just 
 reached the goal of all his desires. 
 
 '57 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 FINALLY Francois drew the latch of the door, 
 and beheld, instead of Madeleine, a lovely young 
 girl, rosy as a May morning, and lively as a linnet. 
 She said to him, with an engaging manner: " What 
 is it you want, young man ? " 
 
 Though she was so fair to see, Francois did not 
 waste time in looking at her, but cast his eyes round 
 the room in search of Madeleine. He saw nothing 
 but the closed curtains of her bed, and he was sure 
 that she was in it. He did not wait to answer the 
 pretty girl, who was Mariette Blanchet, the miller's 
 youngest sister, but without a word walked up to 
 the yellow bed and pulled the curtains noiselessly 
 aside; there he saw Madeleine Blanchet lying asleep, 
 pale and wasted with fever. 
 
 He looked at her long and fixedly, without moving 
 or speaking; and in spite of his grief at her illness, 
 and his fear of her dying, he was yet happy to have 
 
 .58 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 her face before him, and to be able to say: *' I see 
 Madeleine." 
 
 Mariette Blanchet pushed him gently away from 
 the bed, drew the curtains together, and beckoned 
 to him to follow her to the fireside. 
 
 ** Now, young man," said she, ''who are you, and 
 what do you want? I do not know you, and you 
 are a stranger in the neighborhood. Tell me how I 
 may oblige you." 
 
 Franpois did not listen to her, and instead of an- 
 swering her, he began to ask questions about how 
 long Madame Blanchet had been ill, whether she were 
 in any danger, and whether she were well cared for. 
 
 Mariette answered that Madeleine had been ill since 
 her husband's death, because she had overexerted 
 herself in nursing him, and watching at his bedside, 
 day and night; that they had not as yet sent for the 
 doctor, but that they would do so in case she was 
 worse; and as to her being well cared for, Mariette 
 declared that she knew her duty and did not spare 
 herself. 
 
 At these words, the waif looked the girl full in the 
 
 face, and had no need to ask her name, for besides 
 
 knowing that soon after he had left the mill, Master 
 
 Blanchet had placed his sister in his wife's charge, he 
 
 159 . 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 detected in the pretty face of this pretty girl a strik- 
 ing resemblance to the sinister face of the dead miller. 
 There are many fine and delicate faces which have 
 an inexplicable likeness to ugly ones ; and though 
 Mariette Blanchet's appearance was as charming as 
 that of her brother had been disagreeable, she still 
 had an unmistakable family look. Only the miller's 
 expression had been surly and irascible, while Mari- 
 ette's was mocking rather than resentful, and fearless 
 instead of threatening. 
 
 So it was that Francois was neither altogether dis- 
 turbed nor altogether at ease concerning the atten- 
 tion Madeleine might receive from this young girl. 
 Her cap was of fine linen, neatly folded and pinned; 
 her hair, which she wore somewhat after the fashion 
 of town-bred girls, was very lustrous, and carefully 
 combed and parted ; and both her hands and her 
 apron were very white for a sick-nurse. In short, she 
 was much too young, fresh, and gay to spend the 
 day and night in helping a person who was unable 
 to help herself. 
 
 Francois asked no more questions, but sat down 
 in the chimney-corner, determined not to leave the 
 place until he saw whether his dear Madeleine's ill- 
 ness turned for the better or worse. 
 160 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Marietta was astonished to see him take possession 
 of the fire so cavalierly, just as if he were in his own 
 house. He stared into the blaze, and as he seemed in 
 no humor for talking, she dared inquire no further 
 who he was and what was his business. After a 
 moment, Catherine, who had been the house-servant 
 for eighteen or twenty years, came into the room. 
 She paid no attention to him, but approached the bed 
 of her mistress, looked at her cautiously, and then 
 turned to the fireplace, to see after the potion which 
 Mariette was concocting. Her behavior showed an 
 intense interest for Madeleine, and Franpois, who 
 took in the truth of the matter in a throb, was on 
 the point of addressing her with a friendly greeting ; 
 but— 
 
 '^But," said the priest's servant, interrupting the 
 hemp-dresser, "you are using an unsuitable word. 
 A throb does not express a moment, or a minute." 
 
 *M tell you," retorted the hemp-dresser, ''that a 
 moment means nothing at all, and a minute is 
 longer than it takes for an idea to rush into the 
 head. I do not know how many millions of things 
 you can think of in a minute, whereas you only 
 need a throb of time to see and hear some one thing 
 31 i6i 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 that is happening. I will say a little throb, if you 
 please." 
 
 *' But a throb of time! " objected the old purist. 
 
 ''Ah! A throb of time! Does that worry you, 
 Mother Monique? Does not everything go by 
 throbs? Does not the sun, when you see it rising 
 in the clouds of flames, and it makes your eyes blink 
 to look at it? And the blood that beats in your 
 veins; the church clock that sifts your time particle 
 by particle, as a bolting-machine does the grain; 
 your rosary when you tell it; your heart when the 
 priest is delayed in coming home; the rain falling drop 
 by drop, and the earth that turns round, as they say^ 
 like a mill-wheel ? Neither you nor I feel the motion, 
 the machine is too well oiled for that ; but there 
 must be some throbbing about it, since it accom- 
 plishes its period in twenty-four hours. As to that, 
 too, we use the word period when we speak of a 
 certain length of time. So I say a throb, and I shall 
 not unsay it. Do not interrupt me any more, unless 
 you wish to tell the story." 
 
 "No, no; your machine is too well oiled, too,'* 
 answered the old woman. ''Now let your tongue 
 throb a little longer." 
 
 162 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 1WAS saying that Fran9ois was tempted to speak 
 to big old Catherine, and make himself known 
 to her; but as in the same throb of time he was on 
 the point of crying, he did not wish to behave like a 
 fool, and did not even raise his head. As Catherine 
 stooped over the ashes, she caught sight of his long 
 legs and drew back in alarm. 
 
 *^ What is all that? " whispered she to Mariette in 
 the other corner of the room. ''Where does that 
 man come from ? " 
 
 " Do you ask me? " said the girl; *' how should I 
 know? I never saw him before. He came in here, 
 as if he were at an inn, without a good-morning or 
 good-evening. He asked after the health of my 
 sister-in-law as if he were a near relation, or her 
 heir; and there he is sitting by the fire, as you see. 
 You may speak to him, for I do not care to do so. 
 He may be a disreputable person." 
 
 163 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *'What? Do you think he is crazy? He does 
 not look wicked, as far as I can see, for he seems to 
 be hiding his face." 
 
 ^' Suppose he has come for some bad purpose ? " 
 
 ^' Do not be afraid, Mariette, for I am near to keep 
 him in check. If he alarms you, I shall pour a kettle 
 of boiling water over his legs, and throw an andiron 
 at his head." 
 
 While they were chattering thus, Franfois was 
 thinking of Madeleine. 
 
 ''That poor dear woman," said he to himself, 
 "who has never had anything but vexation and 
 unkindness from her husband, is now lying ill be- 
 cause she nursed and helped him to the end. Here 
 is this young girl, who was the miller's pet sister, as 
 I have heard say, and her face bears no traces of 
 sorrow. She shows no signs of fatigue or tears, for 
 her eyes are as clear and bright as the sun." 
 
 He could not help looking at her from under the 
 brim of his hat, for never until then had he seen 
 such fresh and joyous beauty. Still, though his eyes 
 were charmed, his heart remained untouched. 
 
 " Come," continued Catherine, in a whisper to her 
 young mistress, " \ am going to speak to him. I 
 must find out his business here." 
 164 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ''Speak to him politely," said Mariette. ''We 
 must not irritate him ; we are all alone in the house, 
 and Jeannie may be too far away to hear our cries." 
 
 "Jeannie !" exclaimed Franfois, who caught no- 
 thing from all their prattle, except the name of his 
 old friend. "Where is Jeannie, and why don't I see 
 him? Has he grown tall, strong, and handsome?" 
 
 "There," thought Catherine, "he asks this be- 
 cause he has some evil intention. Who is the man, 
 for Heaven's sake ? I know neither his voice nor his 
 figure ; I must satisfy myself and look at his face." 
 
 She was strong as a laborer and bold as a soldier, 
 and would not have quailed before the devil himself, 
 so she stalked up to Francois, determined either to 
 make him take off his hat, or to knock it off herself, 
 so that she might see whether he were a monster or 
 a Christian man. She approached the waif, without 
 suspecting that it was he ; for being as little given 
 to thinking of the past as of the future, she had long 
 forgotten all about Francois, and, moreover, he had 
 improved so much and was now such a handsome 
 fellow that she might well have looked at him sev- 
 eral times before recalling him to mind ; but just as 
 she was about to accost him rather roughly, Made- 
 leine awoke, and called Catherine, saying in a faint, 
 "* 165 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 almost inaudible voice that she was burning with 
 thirst. 
 
 Francois sprang up, and would have been the first 
 to reach her but for the fear of exciting her too 
 much, which held him back. He quickly handed 
 the draught to Catherine, who hastened with it to 
 her mistress, forgetting everything for the moment 
 but the sick woman's condition. 
 
 Mariette, too, did her share, by raising Madeleine 
 in her arms, to help her drink, and this was no hard 
 task, for Madeleine was so thin and wasted that it 
 was heartbreaking to see her. 
 
 " How do you feel, sister? " asked Mariette. 
 
 ** Very well, my child," answered Madeleine in the 
 tone of one about to die. She never complained, to 
 avoid distressing the others. 
 
 *' That is not Jeannie over there," she said, as she 
 caught sight of the waif '^Am I dreaming, my 
 child, or who is that tall man standing by the fire ? " 
 
 Catherine answered : 
 
 **We do not know, dear mistress; he says no- 
 thing, and behaves like an idiot." 
 
 The waif, at this moment, made a little motion to 
 go toward Madeleine, but restrained himself, for 
 though he was dying to speak to her, he was afraid 
 166 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 of taking her by surprise. Catherine now saw his 
 face, but he had changed so much in the past three 
 years that she did not recognize him, and thinking 
 that Madeleine was frightened, she said : 
 
 " Do not worry, dear mistress ; I was just going 
 to turn him out, when you called me." 
 
 '' Don't turn him out," said Madeleine, in a 
 stronger voice, pulling aside the curtain of her bed ; 
 '' I know him, and he has done right in coming to 
 see me. Come nearer, my son ; I have been pray- 
 ing God every day to permit me the grace of giving 
 you my blessing," 
 
 The waif ran to her, and threw himself on his 
 knees beside her bed, shedding tears of joy and sor- 
 row that nearly suffocated him. Madeleine touched 
 his hands, and then his head; and said, as she kissed 
 him: 
 
 *' Call Jeannie; Catherine, call Jeannie, that he may 
 share this happiness with us. Ah! I thank God, 
 Francois, and I am ready to die now, if such is his 
 will, for both my children are grown, and I may bid 
 them farewell in peace." 
 
 167 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 CATHERINE rushed off in pursuit of Jeannie, and 
 Mariette was so anxious to know what it all 
 meant, that she followed to ask questions. Francois 
 was left alone with Madeleine, who kissed him 
 again, and burst into tears; then she closed her eyes, 
 looking still more weak and exhausted than she had 
 been before. Franpois saw that she had fainted, and 
 knew not how to revive her; he was beside himself, 
 and could only hold her in his arms, calling her his 
 dear mother, his dearest friend, and imploring her, as 
 if it lay within her power, not to die so soon, with- 
 out hearing what he had to say. 
 
 So, by his tender words, devoted care, and fond 
 endearments, he restored her to consciousness, and 
 she began again to see and hear him. He told her 
 that he had guessed she needed him, that he had 
 left all, and had come to stay as long as she wanted 
 him, and that, if she would take him for her servant, 
 1 68 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 he would ask nothing but the pleasure of working 
 for her, and the solace of spending his life in her 
 service. 
 
 '* Do not answer," he continued; '' do not speak, 
 my dear mother; you are too weak, and must not 
 say a word. Only look at me, if you are pleased to 
 see me again, and I shall understand that you accept 
 my friendship and help." 
 
 Madeleine looked at him so serenely, and was so 
 much comforted by what he said, that they were 
 contented and happy together, notwithstanding the 
 misfortune of her illness. 
 
 Jeannie, who came in answer to Catherine's loud 
 cries, arrived to take his share of their joy. He had 
 grown into a handsome boy between fourteen and 
 fifteen, and though not strong, he was delightfully 
 active, and so well brought up that he was always 
 friendly and polite. 
 
 **0h! How glad I am to see you like this, Jean- 
 nie," said Francois. '' You are not very tall and 
 strong, but I am satisfied, because I think you will 
 need my help in climbing trees and crossing the river. 
 I see that you are delicate, though you are not ill, 
 is n't it so ? Well, you shall be my child, still a little 
 while longer, if you do not mind. Yes, yes; you 
 169 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 will find me necessary to you; and you will make 
 me carry out your wishes, just as it was long ago." 
 
 *' Yes," said Jeannie; '' my four hundred wishes, as 
 you used to call them." 
 
 ''Oho! What a good memory you have! How 
 nice it was of you, Jeannie, not to forget Francois! 
 But have we still four hundred wishes a day ? " 
 
 "Oh, no," said Madeleine; "he has grown very 
 reasonable; he has no more than two hundred now." 
 
 " No more nor less ? " asked Francois. 
 
 "Just as you like," answered Jeannie; "since my 
 darling mother is beginning to smile again, I am 
 ready to agree to anything. I am even willing to 
 say that I wish more than five hundred times a day 
 to see her well again." 
 
 " That is right, Jeannie," said Francois. "See how 
 nicely he talks! Yes, my boy, God will grant those 
 five hundred wishes of yours. We shall take such 
 good care of your darling mother, and shall cheer 
 and gladden her little by little, until she forgets her 
 weariness." 
 
 Catherine stood at the threshold, and was most 
 anxious to come in, to see and speak to Francois, 
 but Mariette held her by the sleeve, and would not 
 leave off asking questions. 
 170 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ** What," said she, " is he a foundling? He looks 
 so respectable." 
 
 She was looking through the crack in the door, 
 which she held ajar. 
 
 **How comes it that he and Madeleine are such 
 friends ? " 
 
 " I tell you that she brought him up, and that he 
 was always a very good boy." 
 
 ''She has never spoken of him to me, nor have 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, goodness, no! I never thought of it; he 
 was away; and I almost forgot him; then, I knew, 
 too, that my mistress had been in trouble on his 
 account, and I did not wish to recall it to her mind." 
 
 ' ' Trouble ! What kind of trouble ? " 
 
 ''Oh! because she was so fond of him; she could 
 not help liking him, he had such a good heart, poor 
 child. Your brother would not allow him in the 
 house, and you know your brother was not always 
 very gentle ! " 
 
 "We must not say that, now that he is dead, 
 Catherine." 
 
 " Yes, yes; you are right; I was not thinking. 
 Dear me, how short my memory is! And yet it is 
 only two weeks since he died! But let me go in, 
 171 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 my young lady; I want to give the boy some dinner, 
 for I think he must be hungry." 
 
 She shook herself loose, ran up to Francois, and 
 kissed him. He was so handsome that she no longer 
 remembered having once said that she would rather 
 kiss her sabot than a foundling. 
 
 ''Oh, poor Francois," said she, *'how glad I am 
 to see you! I was afraid that you would never come 
 back. See, my dear mistress, how changed he is! I 
 wonder that you were able to recognize him at once. 
 If you had not told me who he was, I should not 
 have known him for ages. How handsome he is, 
 is n't he? His beard is beginning to grow; yes, you 
 cannot see it much, but you can feel it. It did not 
 prick when you went away, Fran(;:ois, but now it 
 pricks a little. And how strong you are, my friend! 
 What hands and arms and legs you have ! A work- 
 man like you is worth three. What wages are you 
 getting now ? " 
 
 Madeleine laughed softly to see Catherine so 
 pleased with Francois, and was overjoyed that he 
 was so strong and vigorous. She wished that her 
 Jeannie might grow up to be like him. Mariette 
 was ashamed to have Catherine look so boldly in a 
 man's face, and blushed involuntarily. But the more 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 she tried not to look at him, the more her eyes 
 strayed toward him; she saw that Catherine was 
 right ; he was certainly remarkably handsome, tall 
 and erect as a young oak. 
 
 Then, without stopping to think, she began to 
 serve him very politely, pouring out the best wine 
 of that year's vintage, and recalling his attention 
 when it wandered to Madeleine and Jeannie, and 
 he forgot to eat. 
 
 ''You must eat more," said she; ''you scarcely 
 take anything. You should have more appetite 
 after so long a journey." 
 
 "Pay no attention to me, young lady," answered 
 Francois, at last; "I am too happy to be here to 
 care about eating and drinking. Come now," 
 continued he, turning to Catherine, when the 
 room was put to rights, "show me round the mill 
 and the house, for everything looks neglected, and I 
 want to talk to you about it." 
 
 When they were outside, he questioned her intel- 
 ligently on the state of things, with the air of a man 
 determined to know the whole truth. 
 
 "Oh, Francois," said Catherine, bursting into 
 tears, "everything is going to grief, and if nobody 
 comes to the assistance of my poor mistress, I be- 
 173 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 lieve that wicked woman will turn her out of doors, 
 and make her spend all she owns in lawsuits." 
 
 ''Do not cry," said Francois, ''for if you do, I 
 cannot understand what you say; try to speak more 
 clearly. What wicked woman do you mean ? Is it 
 Severe?" 
 
 "Oh! yes, to be sure. She is not content with 
 having ruined our master, but now lays claim to 
 everything he left. She is trying to prosecute us in 
 . fifty different ways; she says that Cadet Blanchet 
 ; gave her promissory notes, and that even if she sold 
 \ everything over our heads, she would not be paid. 
 She sends us bailiffs every day, and the expenses are 
 already considerable. Our mistress has paid all she 
 could, in trying to pacify her, and I am very much 
 afraid that she will die of this worry, on top of all 
 the fatigue she underwent during her husband's ill- 
 ness. At this rate, we shall soon be without food 
 and fire. The servant of the mill has left us, be- 
 cause he was owed two years' wages, and could not 
 be paid. The mill has stopped running, and if this 
 goes on, we shall lose our customers. The horses 
 and crops have been attached, and are to be sold; 
 the trees are to be cut down. Oh, Francois, it is 
 ruin ! " 
 
 '74 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Her tears began to flow afresh. 
 
 ''And how about you, Catherine?" asked Fran- 
 cois; ''are you a creditor, too? Have your wages 
 been paid ? " 
 
 "I, a creditor?" said Catherine, changing her wail 
 into a roar; "never, never! It is nobody's business 
 whether my wages are paid or not! " 
 
 "Good for you, Catherine; you show the right 
 spirit!" said Francois. "Keep on taking care of 
 your mistress, and do not bother about the rest. I 
 have earned a little money in my last place, and I 
 have enough with me to save the horses, the crops, 
 and the trees. I am going to pay a little visit to the 
 mill, and if I find it in disorder, I shall not need a 
 wheelwright to set it going again. Jeannie is as 
 swift as a little bird, and he must set out immedi- 
 ately and run all day, and then begin again to-mor- 
 row morning, so as to let all the customers know 
 that the mill is creaking like ten thousand devils, 
 and that the miller is waiting to grind the corn." 
 
 "Shall we send for a doctor for our mistress?" 
 
 "I have been thinking about it; but I am going 
 to wait and watch her all day, before making up my 
 mind. 
 
 " Do vou see, Catherine, I believe that doctors are 
 175 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 useful when the sick cannot do without them; but 
 if the disease is not violent, it is easier to recover 
 with God's help, than with their drugs: not taking 
 into consideration that the mere presence of a doc- 
 tor, which cures the rich, often kills the poor. He 
 cheers and amuses those who live in luxury, but he 
 scares and oppresses those who never see him ex- 
 cept in the day of danger. It seems to me that 
 Madame Blanchet will recover very soon, if her 
 affairs are straightened. 
 
 **And before we finish this conversation, Cathe- 
 rine, tell me one thing more; I ask the truth of you, 
 and you must not scruple to tell it to me. It will 
 go no further; I have not changed, and if you 
 remember me, you must know that a secret is safe 
 in the waifs bosom." 
 
 ''Yes, yes, I know," said Catherine; ''but why 
 do you consider yourself a waif? Nobody will call 
 you any more by that name, for you do not deserve 
 it, Francois." 
 
 "Never mind that. I shall always be what I am, 
 and I am not in the habit of plaguing myself about 
 it. Tell me what you thirak of your young mistress, 
 Mariette Blanchet." 
 
 "Oh, she! She is a pretty girl. Have you al- 
 176 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ready taken it into your head to marry her? She 
 has some money of her own ; her brother could not 
 touch her property, because she was a minor, and 
 unless you have fallen heir to an estate, Master 
 Francois — " 
 
 ''Waifs never inherit anything," said Francois, 
 ''and as to marrying, I have as much time to think 
 of it as the chestnut in the fire. What I want to 
 hear from you is whether this girl is better than her 
 brother, and whether she will prove a source of 
 comfort or trouble to Madeleine, if she stays on 
 here." 
 
 "Heaven knows," said Catherine, "for I do not. 
 Until now, she has been thoughtless and innocent 
 enough. She likes dress, caps trimmed with lace, 
 and dancing. She is not very selfish, but she has 
 been so well-treated and spoiled by Madeleine, that 
 she has never had occasion to show whether she 
 could bite or not. She has never had anything to 
 suffer, so we cannot tell what she may be." 
 
 " Was she very fond of her brother? " 
 
 " Not very, except when he took her to balls, and 
 
 our mistress tried to convince him that it was not 
 
 proper to take a respectable girl in Severe's company. 
 
 Then the little girl, who thought of nothing but her 
 
 177 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 own pleasure, overwhelmed her brother with atten- 
 tions, and turned up her nose at Madeleine, who 
 was obliged to yield. So Mariette does not dislike 
 Severe as much as I should wish to have her, but 
 I cannot say that she is not good-natured and nice 
 to her sister-in-law." 
 
 "That will do, Catherine; I ask nothing further. 
 Only I forbid you to tell the young girl anything of 
 what we have been talking about." 
 
 Francois accomplished successfully all that he had 
 promised Catherine. By evening, owing to Jeannie's 
 diligence, corn arrived to be ground, and the mill 
 too was in working order; the ice was broken and 
 melted about the wheel, the machinery was oiled, 
 and the woodwork repaired, wherever it was broken. 
 The energetic Francois worked till two in the morn- 
 ing, and at four he was up again. He stepped 
 noiselessly into Madeleine's room, and finding the 
 faithful Catherine on guard, he asked how the pa- 
 tient was. She had slept well, happy in the arrival 
 of her beloved servant, and in the efficient aid he 
 brought. Catherine refused to leave her mistress 
 before Mariette appeared, and Francois asked at 
 what hour the beauty of Cormouer was in the habit 
 of rising. 
 
 178 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *'Not before daylight," said Catherine. 
 
 "What? Then you have two more hours to 
 wait, and you will get no sleep at all." 
 
 ** I sleep a little in the daytime, in my chair, or on 
 the straw in the barn, while the cows are feeding." 
 
 " Very well, go to bed now," said Francois, " and 
 I shall wait here to show the young lady that some 
 people go to bed later than she, and get up earlier 
 in the morning. I shall busy myself with examining 
 the miller's papers and those which the bailiffs have 
 brought since his death. Where are they?" 
 
 " There, in Madeleine's chest," said Catherine. 
 '* I am going to light the lamp, Francois. Come, 
 courage, and try your best to make things straight, 
 as you seem to understand law-papers." 
 
 She went to bed, obeying the commands of the 
 waif as if he were the master of the house; for true 
 it is that he who has a good head and good heart 
 rules by his own right. 
 
 179 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 BEFORE setting to work, Francois, as soon as 
 he was left alone with Madeleine and Jeannie 
 (for the young child always slept in the room with 
 his mother), went to take a look at the sleeping 
 woman, and thought her appearance better than 
 when he had first arrived. He was happy to think 
 that she would have no need of a doctor, and that 
 he alone, by the comfort he brought, would preserve 
 her health and fortune. 
 
 He began to look over the papers, and was soon 
 fully acquainted with Severe's claims and the amount 
 of property that Madeleine still possessed with which 
 to satisfy them. Besides all that Severe had already 
 made Cadet Blanchet squander upon her, she de- 
 clared that she was still a creditor for two hundred 
 pistoles, and Madeleine had scarcely anything of her 
 own property left in addition to the inheritance that 
 Blanchet had bequeathed to Jeannie — an inheritance 
 1 80 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 now reduced to the mill and its immediate belong- 
 ings — that is, the courtyard, the meadow, the out- 
 buildings, the garden, the hemp-field, and a bit of 
 planted ground; for the broad fields and acres had 
 melted like snow in the hands of Cadet Blanchet. 
 
 *^ Thank God ! " thought Francois, *' I have four 
 hundred pistoles in the charge of the priest of Aigu- 
 rande, and in case I can do no better, Madeleine can 
 still have her house, the income of her mill, and 
 what remains of her dowry. But I think we can get 
 off more easily than that. In the first place, I must 
 find out whether the notes signed by Blanchet to 
 Severe were not extorted by strategem and undue 
 influence, and then I must do a stroke of business 
 on the lands he sold. I understand how such affairs 
 are managed, and knowing the names of the pur- 
 chasers, I will put my hand in the fire if I cannot 
 bring this to a successful issue." 
 
 The fact was that Blanchet, two or three years 
 before his death, straightened for money and over 
 head and ears in debt to Severe, had sold his land 
 at a low price to whomsoever wanted to buy, and 
 turned all his claims for it over to Severe, thus ex- 
 pecting to rid himself of her and of her comrades 
 who had helped her to ruin him. But, as usually 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 happens in such sales, almost all those who has- 
 tened to buy, attracted by the sweet fragrance of 
 the fertile lands, had not a penny with which to pay 
 for them, and only discharged the interest with great 
 difficulty. This state of things might last from ten 
 to twenty years ; it was an investment for Severe 
 and her friends, but a bad investment, and she com- 
 plained loudly of Cadet Blanchet's rashness, and 
 feared that she would never be paid. So she said, 
 at least ; but the speculation was really a reasonably 
 good one. The peasant, even if he has to lie on 
 straw, pays his interest, so unwilling is he to let go 
 the bit of land he holds, which his creditor may 
 seize if he is not satisfied. 
 
 We all know this, my good friends, and we often 
 try to grow rich the wrong way, by buying fine 
 property at a low price. However low it may be, it 
 is always too high for us. Our covetousness is more 
 capacious than our purse, and we take no end of 
 trouble to cultivate a field the produce of which does 
 not cover half the interest exacted by the seller. 
 
 When we have delved and sweated all our poor 
 
 lives, we find ourselves ruined, and the earth alone 
 
 is enriched by our pains and toil. Just as we have 
 
 doubled its value, we are obliged to sell it. If we 
 
 182 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 could sell it advantageously, we should be safe ; but 
 this is never possible. We have been so drained 
 by the interest we have had to pay, that we must 
 sell in haste, and for anything we can get. If we 
 rebel, we are forced into it by the law-courts, and 
 the man who first sold the land gets back his prop- 
 erty in the condition in which he finds it; that means 
 that for long years he has placed his land in our hands 
 at eight or ten per cent., and when he resumes pos- 
 session of it, it is by our labors, twice as valuable, in 
 consequence of a careful cultivation which has cost 
 him neither trouble nor expense, and also by the 
 lapse of time which always increases the value of 
 property. Thus we poor little minnows are to be 
 continually devoured by the big fish which pursue 
 us; punished always for our love of gain, and just as 
 foolish as we were before. 
 
 Severe's money was thus profitably invested in a 
 mortgage at a high interest, but at the same time 
 she had a firm hold of Cadet Blanchet's estate, be- 
 cause she had managed him so cleverly that he had 
 pledged himself for the purchasers of his land, and 
 had gone surety for their payment. 
 
 Fran<;:ois saw all this intrigue, and meditated some 
 possible means of buying back the land at a low 
 
 .83 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 price, without ruining anybody, and of playing a 
 fine trick upon Severe and her clan, by causing the 
 failure of their speculation. 
 
 It was no easy matter. He had enough money 
 to buy back almost everything at the price of the 
 original sale, and neither Severe nor anybody else 
 could refuse to be reimbursed. The buyers would 
 find it to their profit to sell again in all haste, in 
 order to escape approaching ruin ; for I tell you 
 all, young ana old, if you buy land on credit, you 
 take out a patent for beggary in your old age. It is 
 useless for me to tell you this, for you will have the 
 buying mania no whit the less. Nobody can see a 
 plowed furrow smoking in the sun, without being 
 in a fever to possess it, and it was the peasant's mad 
 fever to hold on to his own piece of soil that caused 
 Francois's uneasiness. 
 
 Do you know what the soil is, my children? Once 
 upon a time, everybody in our parishes was talking 
 about it. They said that the old nobles had attached 
 us to the soil to make us drudge and die, but the 
 Revolution had burst our bonds, and that we no 
 longer drew our master's cart like oxen. The truth 
 is that we have bound ourselves to our own acres, 
 and we drudge and die no less than before. 
 184 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 The city people tell us that our only remedy 
 would be to have no wants or desires. Only last 
 Sunday, I answered a man who was preaching this 
 doctrine very eloquently, that if we poor peasants 
 could only be sensible enough never to eat or sleep, 
 to work all the time, and to drink nothing but fresh 
 Clearwater, provided the frogs had no objection, we 
 might succeed in saving a goodly hoard, and in re- 
 ceiving a shower of compliments for our wisdom and 
 discretion. 
 
 Following this same train of thought, Francois 
 cudgeled his brains to find some means of induc- 
 ing the purchasers of the land to sell it back again. 
 He finally hit upon the plan of whispering in their 
 ears the little falsehood, that though Severe had the 
 reputation of being fabulously rich, she had really as 
 many debts as a sieve has holes, and that some fine 
 morning her creditors would lay hands upon all her 
 claims, as well as upon all her property. He meant 
 to tell them this confidentially, and when they were 
 thoroughly alarmed, he expected to buy back Made- 
 leine Blanchet's lands at the original price, with his 
 own money. 
 
 He scrupled, however, to tell this untruth, until it 
 occurred to him that he could give a small bonus to 
 
 .85 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 all the poor purchasers, to make them amends for 
 the interest they had already paid. In this manner 
 Madeleine could be restored to her rights and pos- 
 sessions without loss or injury to the purchasers. 
 
 The discredit in which Severe would be involved 
 by his plan caused him no scruple whatever. It is 
 right for the hen to pull out a feather from the cruel 
 bird that has plucked her chickens. 
 
 When Francois had reached this conclusion, Jean- 
 nie awoke, and arose softly, to avoid disturbing his 
 mother's slumbers ; then, after a good-morning to 
 Francois, he lost no time in going off to announce to 
 the rest of their customers that the mill was in good 
 order, and that a strong young miller stood in readi- 
 ness to grind the corn. 
 
 186 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 IT was already broad daylight when Mariette Blan- 
 chet emerged from her nest, carefully attired in 
 her mourning, which was so very black and so very 
 white that she looked as spick and span as a little 
 magpie. The poor child had one great care, and that 
 was that her mourning would long prevent her going 
 to dances, and that all her admirers would be missing 
 her. Her heart was so good that she pitied them 
 greatly. 
 
 *' How is this? " said she, as she saw Francois ar- 
 ranging the papers in Madeleine's room. '* You attend 
 to everything here, Master Miller! You make flour, 
 you settle the business, you mix the medicines; soon 
 we shall see you sewing and spinning." 
 
 '' And you, my young lady," said Francois, who 
 saw that she regarded him favorably, although she 
 slashed him with her tongue, " I have never as yet 
 seen you sewing or spinning; I think we shall soon 
 
 187 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 find you sleeping till noon, and it will do you good, 
 and keep your cheeks rosy ! " 
 
 *'Oho ! Master Francois, you are already begin- 
 ning to tell me truths about myself. You had better 
 take care of that little game ; I can tell you some- 
 thing in return." 
 
 '' I await your pleasure, my young lady." 
 
 " It will soon come; do not be afraid, Master Mil- 
 ler. Have the kindness to tell me where Catherine 
 is, and why you are here watching beside our patient. 
 Should you like a hood and gown ? " 
 
 " Are you going to ask, in your turn, for a cap and 
 blouse, so that you may go to the mill ? As I see 
 you do no woman's work, which would be nursing 
 your sister for a little while, I suppose you would 
 like to sift out the chaff, and turn the grindstone. 
 At your service. Let us change clothes." 
 
 *' It looks as if you were trying to give me a les- 
 son." 
 
 "No ; you gave me one first, and I am only re- 
 turning, out of politeness, what you lent me." 
 
 ' ' Good ! You like to laugh and tease, but you have 
 chosen the wrong time. We are not merry here, 
 and it is only a short time ago that we had to go to 
 the graveyard. If you chatter so much, you will 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 prevent my sister-in-law from getting the sleep she 
 needs so greatly." 
 
 " On that very account, you should not raise your 
 voice so much, my young lady; for I am speaking 
 very low, and you are not speaking, just now, as 
 you should in a sick-room." 
 
 " Enough, if you please, Master Francois," said 
 Mariette, lowering her tone, and flushing angrily. 
 " Be so good as to see if Catherine is at hand, and 
 tell me why she leaves my sister-in-law in your 
 charge." 
 
 " Excuse me, my young lady," said Francois, with 
 no sign of temper. '' She could not leave her in your 
 charge, because you are too fond of sleeping, so she 
 was obliged to intrust her to mine. I shall not call 
 her, because the poor woman is jaded with fatigue. 
 Without meaning to offend you, I must say that she 
 has been sitting up every night for two weeks. I sent 
 her off to bed, and, until noon, I mean to do her 
 work and mine too, for it is only right for us all to 
 help one another." 
 
 '* Listen, Master Francois," said the young girl, 
 
 with a sudden change of tone ; * ' you appear to hint 
 
 that I think only of myself and leave all the work to 
 
 others. Perhaps I should have sat up in my turn, if 
 
 189 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Catherine had told me that she was tired; but she 
 insisted that she was not at all tired, and I did not 
 understand that my sister was so seriously ill. You 
 think that I have a bad heart, but I cannot imagine 
 where you have learned it. You never knew me 
 before yesterday, and we are not, as yet, intimate 
 enough for you to scold me as you do. You behave 
 exactly as if you were the head of the family, and 
 yet — " 
 
 ''Come, out with it, beautiful Mariette, say what 
 you have on the tip of your tongue. And yet I was 
 taken in and brought up out of charity, is not it so? 
 And I cannot belong to the family, because I have 
 no family; I have no right to it, as I am a foundling! 
 Is that all you wanted to say ? " 
 
 As Franpois gave Mariette this straightforward 
 answer, he looked at her in a way that made her 
 blush up to the roots of her hair, for she saw that his 
 expression was that of a stern and serious person, 
 although he appeared so serene and gentle that it 
 was impossible to irritate him, or to make him think 
 or say anything unjust. 
 
 The poor child, who was ordinarily so ready with 
 her tongue, was overawed for a moment, but al- 
 though she was a little frightened, she still felt a 
 190 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 desire to please this handsome fellow, who spoke so 
 decidedly and looked her so frankly in the eyes. 
 She was so confused and embarrassed, that it was 
 with difficulty she restrained her tears, and she 
 turned her face quickly the other way, to hide her 
 emotion. 
 
 He observed it, however, and said very kindly: 
 
 *M am not angry, Mariette, and you have no 
 cause to be, on your part. I think no ill of you; I 
 see only that you are young, that there is misfortune 
 in the house, and that you are thoughtless. I must 
 tell you what I think about it." 
 
 ''What do you think about it?" asked she; ''tell 
 me at once, that I may know whether you are my 
 friend or my enemy." 
 
 "I think that you are not fond of the care and 
 pains people take for those whom they love, who 
 are in trouble. You like to have your time to your- 
 self, to turn everything into sport, to think about 
 your dress, your lovers, and your marriage by and 
 by, and you do not mind having others do your 
 share. If you have any heart, my pretty child, if 
 you really love your sister-in-law, and your dear 
 little nephew, and even the poor, faithful servant 
 who is capable of dying in harness like a good horse, 
 191 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 you must wake up a little earlier in the morning, 
 you must care for Madeleine, comfort Jeannie, relieve 
 Catherine, and, above all, shut your ears to the 
 enemy of the family, Madame Severe, w^ho is, I 
 assure you, a very bad woman. Now you know 
 what I think, neither more nor less." 
 
 '/ 1 am glad to hear it," said Mariette, rather dryly; 
 '' and now please tell me by what right you wish to 
 make me think as you do." 
 
 ''Oh! This is the way you take it, is it?" an- 
 swered Francois. ''My right is the waifs right, and 
 to tell you the whole truth, the right of the child 
 who was taken in and brought up by Madame 
 Blanchet; for this, it is my duty to love her as my 
 mother, and my right to try to requite her for her 
 kindness." 
 
 "I have no fault to find," returned Mariette, 
 " and I see that I cannot do better than give you 
 my respect at once, and my friendship as time goes 
 on." 
 
 " I like that," said Francois; " shake hands with 
 me on it." 
 
 He strode toward her, holding out his great hand, 
 without the slightest awkwardness; but the little 
 Mariette was suddenly stung by the fly of coquetry, 
 192 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and, withdrawing her hand, she announced that it 
 was not proper to shake hands so familiarly with a 
 young man. 
 
 Francois laughed and left her, seeing plainly that 
 she was not frank, and that her first object was to 
 entangle him in a flirtation. 
 
 '^Now, my pretty girl," thought he, "you are 
 much mistaken in me, and we shall not be friends 
 in the way you mean." 
 
 He went up to Madeleine, who had just waked, 
 and who said to him, taking both his hands in hers: 
 
 " I have slept well, my son, and God is gracious 
 to let me see your face first of all, on waking. How 
 is it that Jeannie is not with you?" 
 
 Then, after hearing his explanation, she spoke 
 some kind words to Mariette, telling the young girl 
 how sorry she was to have her sit up all night, and 
 assuring her that she needed no such great care. 
 Mariette expected Francois to say that she had risen 
 very late; but Francois said nothing and left her 
 alone with Madeleine, who had no more fever and 
 wanted to try to get up. 
 
 After three days, she was so much better that she 
 was able to talk over business affairs with Francois. 
 
 '^ You may put yourself at ease, my dear mother," 
 ^3 193 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 said he. "I sharpened my wits when I was away 
 from here, and I understand business pretty well. I 
 mean to see you through these straits, and I shall 
 succeed. Let me have my way; please do not con- 
 tradict anything I say, and sign all the papers I shall 
 bring you. Now, that my mind is at ease on the 
 score of your health, I am going to town to consult 
 some lawyers. It is market-day, and I shall find 
 some people there whom I want to see, and I do not 
 think my time will be wasted." 
 
 He did as he said; and after receiving instructions 
 and advice from the lawyers, he saw clearly that the 
 last promissory notes which Blanchet had given 
 Severe would be a good subject for a lawsuit ; for 
 he had signed them when he was beside himself 
 with drink, fever, and infatuation. Severe believed 
 that Madeleine would not dare to go to law, on ac- 
 count of the expense. Fran(;:ois was unwilling to 
 advise Madame Blanchet to embark in a lawsuit, 
 but he thought there was a reasonable chance of 
 bringing the matter to an amicable close, if he began 
 by putting a bold face on it ; and as he needed 
 somebody to carry a message into the enemy's 
 camp, he bethought himself of a plan which suc- 
 ceeded perfectly. 
 
 194 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 For several days he had watched little Mariette, 
 and assured himself that she took a daily walk in 
 the direction of Dollins, where Severe lived, and that 
 she was on more friendly terms with this woman 
 than he could wish, chiefly because she met at her 
 house all her young acquaintances, and some men 
 from town who made love to her. She did not 
 listen to them, for she was still an innocent girl, and 
 had no idea that the wolf was so near the sheep- 
 fold, but she loved flattery, and was as thirsty for 
 it as a fly for milk. She kept her walks secret from 
 Madeleine ; and as Madeleine never gossiped with 
 the other women, and had not as yet left her sick- 
 room, she guessed nothing, and suspected no evil. 
 Big Catherine was the last person in the world to 
 notice anything, so that the little girl cocked her cap 
 over her ear, and, under the pretext of driving the 
 sheep to pasture, she soon left them in charge of 
 some little shepherd-boy, and was off to play the 
 fine lady in poor company. 
 
 Franfois, however, who was going continually 
 to and fro on the affairs of the mill, took note of 
 what the girl was doing. He never mentioned it 
 at home, but turned it to account, as you shall 
 hear. 
 
 >95 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 HE planted himself directly in her way at the 
 river-crossing ; and just as she stepped on 
 the foot-bridge which leads to Dollins, she beheld 
 the waif, astride of the plank, a leg dangling on each 
 side above the water, and on his face the expression 
 of a man who has all the time in the world to 
 spare. She blushed *as red as a cherry, and if she 
 had not been taken so by surprise, she would have 
 swerved aside, and pretended to be passing by 
 accident. 
 
 But the approach to the bridge was obstructed 
 by branches, and she did not see the wolf till she 
 felt his teeth. His face was turned toward her, so 
 she had no means of advancing or retreating, with- 
 out being observed. 
 
 ''Master Miller," she began, saucily, *' can't you 
 move a hairbreadth to let anybody pass? " 
 
 '*No, my young lady," replied Francois, ''for I 
 196 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 am the guardian of this bridge till evening, and I 
 claim the right to collect toll of everybody." 
 
 "Are you mad, Francois? Nobody pays toll in 
 our country, and you have no right on any bridge, 
 or foot-bridge, or whatever you may call it in your 
 country of Aigurande. You may say what you like, 
 but take yourself off from here, as quickly as you 
 can; this is not the place for jesting; you will make 
 me tumble into the water." 
 
 " Then," said Francois, without moving, and fold- 
 ing his arms in front of him, ''you think that I want 
 to laugh and joke with you, and that my right of 
 toll is that of paying you my court ? Pray get rid 
 of that idea, my young lady; I wish to speak sensi- 
 bly to you, and I will allow you to pass if you give 
 me permission to accompany you for a short part of 
 your way." 
 
 " That would not be at all proper," said Mariette, 
 somewhat flustered by her notion of what Francois 
 was thinking. ** What would they say of me here- 
 abouts, if anybody met me out walking alone with 
 a man to whom I am not betrothed ? " 
 
 ''You are right," said Francois; " as Severe is not 
 here to protect you, people would talk of you; that 
 is why you are going to her house, so that you may 
 13* 197 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 walk about in her garden with all your admirers. 
 Very well, so as not to embarrass you, I shall speak 
 to you here, and briefly, for my business is pressing, 
 and this it is. You are a good girl; you love your 
 sister-in-law Madeleine; you see that she is in diffi- 
 culties, and you must want to help her out of them." 
 
 "If that is what you want to say," returned 
 Mariette, *' I shall listen to you, for you are speaking 
 the truth." 
 
 '' Very well, my dear young lady," said Francois, 
 rising and leaning beside her, against the bank beside 
 the little bridge, "you can do a great service to 
 Madame Blanchet. Since it is for her good and in- 
 terest, as I fondly believe, that you are so friendly 
 with Severe, you must make that woman agree to a 
 compromise. Severe is trying to attain two objects 
 which are incompatible : she wants to make Master 
 Blanchet's estate security for the payment of the land 
 he sold for the purpose of paying his debts to her; 
 and in the second place, she means to exact payment 
 of the notes which he signed in her favor. She may 
 go to law, if she likes, and wrangle about this poor 
 little estate, but she cannot succeed in getting more 
 out of it than there is. Make her understand that if 
 she does not insist upon our guaranteeing the pay- 
 198 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ment of the land, we can pay her notes; but if she 
 does not allow us to get rid of one debt, we shall not 
 have funds enough to pay the other, and if she makes 
 us drain ourselves with expenses which bring her no 
 profit, she runs the risk of losing everything." 
 
 " That is true," said Mariette; ** although I under- 
 stand very little about business, I think I can under- 
 stand as much as that. If I am able, by any chance, 
 to influence her, which would be better: for my sis- 
 ter-in-law to pay the notes, or to be obliged to re- 
 deem the security ? " 
 
 ** It would be worse for her to pay the notes, for 
 it would be more unjust. We could contest the notes 
 and go to law about them; but the law requires 
 money, and you know that there is none, and never 
 will be any, at the mill. So, it is all one to your 
 sister, whether her little all goes in a lawsuit or in 
 paying Severe ; whereas it is better for Severe to be 
 paid, without having a lawsuit. 
 
 "As Madeleine is sure to be ruined in either case, she 
 prefers to have all her possessions seized at once, than 
 to drag on after this under a heavy burden of debt, 
 which may last all her lifetime; for the purchasers of 
 Cadet Blanchet's land are not able to pay for it. 
 Severe knows this well, and will be forced, some fine 
 199 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 day, to take back her land; but this idea is not at all 
 distressing to her, as it will be a profitable specula- 
 tion for her to receive the land in an improved condi- 
 tion, having long drawn a heavy rate of interest from 
 it. Thus, Severe risks nothing in setting us free, and 
 assures the payment of her notes." 
 
 " I shall do as you say," said Mariette ; " and if I 
 fail, you may think as ill of me as you choose." 
 
 '' Then, good luck, Mariette, and a pleasant walk 
 to you," said Francois, stepping out of her way. 
 
 Little Mariette started off to Dollins, well pleased 
 to have such a fine excuse for going there, for staying 
 a long time, and for returning often during the next 
 few days. Severe pretended to like what she heard, 
 but she really determined to be in no haste. She had 
 always hated Madeleine Blanchet, because of the in- 
 voluntary respect her husband had felt for her. She 
 thought she held her safely in her claws for the whole 
 of her lifetime, and preferred to give up the notes, 
 which she knew to be of no great value, rather than 
 renounce the pleasure of harassing her with the bur- 
 den of an endless debt. 
 
 Francois understood all this perfectly, and was 
 anxious to induce her to exact the payment of this 
 debt, so that he might have an opportunity to buy 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 back Jeannie's broad fields from those who had pur- 
 chased them for a song. When Mariette returned 
 with her answer, he saw that they were trying to 
 mislead him with words; that, on one hand, the 
 young girl was glad to have her errands last for a 
 long time to come, and that, on the other hand, 
 Severe had not reached the point of being more de- 
 sirous for Madeleine's ruin than for the payment of 
 her notes. 
 
 To clinch matters, he took Mariette aside, two 
 days afterward. 
 
 " My dear young lady," said he, ''you must not 
 go to Dollins to-day. Your sister has learned, though 
 I do not know how, that you go there more than 
 once a day, and she says it is no place for a respect- 
 able girl. I have tried to make her understand that 
 it is for her interest that you are so friendly with 
 Severe ; but she blamed me as well as you. She says 
 that she would rather be ruined than have you lose 
 your reputation, that you are under her guardianship, 
 and that she has authority over you. If you do not 
 obey of your own free will, you will be prevented 
 from going by main force. If you do as she says, 
 she will not mention this to you, as she wishes to 
 avoid giving you pain, but she is very much dis- 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 pleased with you, and it would be well for you to 
 beg her pardon." 
 
 Francois had no sooner unleashed the dog than it 
 began to bark and bite. He was correct in his esti- 
 mate of little Mariette's temper, which was as hasty 
 and inflammable as her brother's had been, 
 
 ''Indeed, indeed!" she exclaimed; "do you ex- 
 pect me to obey my sister-in-law, as if I were a 
 child of three ? You talk as if she were my mother, 
 and I owed her submission! What makes her think 
 that I may lose my reputation ? Tell her that it is 
 quite as well buckled on as her own, and perhaps 
 better. Why does she imagine that Severe is not 
 so good as other people ? Is it wicked not to spend 
 the whole day sewing, spinning, and praying ? My 
 sister-in-law is unjust because she has a quarrel with 
 her about money, and she thinks she can treat her 
 ;as she pleases. It is very imprudent of her, for if 
 Severe wished she coiild turn her out of the house 
 -she lives in ; and as Severe is patient, and does not 
 make use of her advantage, she is certainly better 
 than she is said to be. And this is the way in 
 which you thank me, who have been obliging 
 enough to take part in these disputes, which are no 
 concern of mine ! I can tell you, Francois, that the 
 
 202 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 most respectable people are not always the most 
 prudish, and when I go to Severe's I do no more 
 mischief than if I stayed at home." 
 
 *' I don't know about that," said Francois, who 
 was determined to make all the scum of the vat 
 mount to the surface; ''perhaps your sister was 
 right in thinking that you are in some mischief 
 there. Look here, Mariette, I see that you like to 
 go there too well. It is not natural. You have de- 
 livered your message about Madeleine's affairs, and 
 since Severe has sent no answer, it is evident that 
 she means to give none. Do not go back there any 
 more, or I shall think, with Madeleine, that you go 
 with no good intention." 
 
 **Then, Master Francois," cried Mariette, in a 
 fiiry, ''you think you are going to dictate to me? 
 Do you mean to take my brother's place at home, 
 and make yourself master there? You have not 
 enough beard on your chin to give me such a lec- 
 ture, and I advise you to leave me alone. Your 
 humble servant," she added, adjusting her coif; " if 
 my sister-in-law asks where I am, tell her that I am 
 at Severe's, and if she sends you after me, you will 
 see how you are received." 
 
 She burst the door open violently, and flew off 
 203 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 with a light foot toward Dollins ; but as FrarKpois 
 was afraid that her anger would cool on the way, 
 especially as the weather was frosty, he allowed her 
 a little start. He waited until he thought she had 
 nearly reached Severe's house, and then putting his 
 long legs in motion he ran like a horse let loose, and 
 caught up with her, to make her believe that Made- 
 leine had sent him in pursuit of her. 
 
 He was so provoking that she raised her hand 
 against him. He dodged her every time, being well 
 aware that anger evaporates with blows, and that a 
 woman's temper improves when she has relieved 
 herself by striking. Then he ran away, and as 
 soon as Mariette arrived at Severe's house she made 
 a great explosion. The poor child had really no 
 bad designs ; but in the first flame of her anger she 
 disclosed everything, and put Severe into such a 
 towering passion that Francois, who was retreating 
 noiselessly through the lane, heard them at the 
 other end of the hemp-field, hissing and crackling 
 like fire in a barn full of hay. 
 
 204 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 HIS plan succeeded admirably, and he was so 
 sure of it that he went over to Aigurande 
 next day, took his money from the priest, and re- 
 turned at night, carrying the four little notes of thin 
 paper, which were of such great value, and yet 
 made no more noise in his pocket than a crumb of 
 bread in a cap. After a week's time, Severe made 
 herself heard. All the purchasers of Blanchet's 
 land were summoned to pay up, and as not one 
 was able to do it, Severe threatened to make Made- 
 leine pay instead. 
 
 Madeleine was much alarmed when she heard the 
 news, for she had received no hint from Francois of 
 what was coming. 
 
 ** Good ! " said he to her, rubbing his hands; " a 
 
 trader cannot always gain, nor a thief always rob. 
 
 Madame Severe is going to make a bad bargain and 
 
 you a good one. All the same, my dear mother, 
 
 205 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 you must behave as if you thought you were ru- 
 ined. The sadder you are, the gladder she will be ta 
 do what she thinks is to your harm. But that harm» 
 is your salvation, for when you pay Severe you wilB 
 buy back your son's inheritance." 
 
 ''What do you expect me to pay her with, my 
 child?" 
 
 "With the money I have in my pocket, and* 
 which belongs to you." 
 
 Madeleine tried to dissuade him; but the waif was 
 headstrong, as he said himself, and no one could 
 loose what he had bound. He hastened to deposit 
 two hundred pistoles with the notary, in the widow 
 Blanchet's name, and Severe was paid in full, will- 
 ingly or unwillingly, and also all the other creditors, 
 of the estate, who had made common cause with-, 
 her. 
 
 Moreover, after Francois had indemnified all the 
 poor purchasers of the land for their losses, he had 
 still enough money with which to go to law, and 
 he let Severe know that he was about to embark in. 
 a lawsuit on the subject of the promissory notes, 
 which she had wrongfully and fraudulently extracted, 
 from the miller. He set afloat a report which spread 
 far and wide through the land. He pretended that 
 206 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 in fumbling about an old wall of the mill which he 
 was trying to prop up, he had found old Mother 
 Blanchet's money-box, filled with gold coins of an 
 ancient stamp, and that by this means Madeleine 
 was richer than she had ever been. Weary of war- 
 fare, Severe consented to a compromise, hoping also 
 that Franfois would be lavish of the crowns which 
 he had so opportunely discovered, and that she 
 could wheedle from him more than he gave her to 
 'expect. She got nothing for her pains, however, 
 and he was so hard with her that she was forced to 
 return the notes in exchange for a hundred crowns. 
 
 To revenge herself, she worked upon little Mari- 
 ette, telling her that the money-box of old Mother 
 Blanchet, who was the girl's grandmother, should 
 have been divided between her and Jeannie, that 
 she had a right to her share, and should go to law 
 against her sister. 
 
 Then the waif was forced to tell the true source 
 ■of the money he had provided, and the priest of 
 Aigurande sent him the proofs, in case of there 
 being a lawsuit. 
 
 He began by showing these proofs to Mariette, 
 begging her to make no unnecessary disclosures, 
 ^nd making it clear to her that she had better keep 
 207 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 quiet. But Mariette would not keep at all quiet; 
 her little brain was excited by the confusion in the 
 family, and the devil tempted the poor child. In 
 spite of all the kindness she had received from 
 Madeleine, who had treated her as a daughter and 
 indulged all her whims, she felt a dislike and jeal- 
 ousy of her sister-in-law, although her pride pre- 
 vented her from acknowledging it. The truth is 
 that in the midst of her tantrums and quarrels with 
 Francois, she had inadvertently fallen in love with 
 him, and never suspected the trap which the devil' 
 had set for her. The more Francois upbraided her 
 for her faults and vagaries, the more crazy she was 
 to please him. 
 
 She was not the kind of girl to pine and consume 
 away in grief and tears ; but it robbed her of her 
 peace to think that Francois was so handsome, rich, 
 and upright, so kind to everybody, and so clever and 
 brave; that he was a man to shed his last drop of 
 blood for the woman he loved, and yet that none 
 of this was for her, although she was the prettiest 
 and richest girl in the neighborhood, and counted 
 her lovers by the dozen. 
 
 One day she opened her heart to her false friend. 
 Severe. It was in the pasture at the end of the road 
 208 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 of the water-lilies, underneath an old apple-tree that 
 was then in blossom. While all these things were 
 happening, the month of May had come, and Severe 
 strolled out under the apple-blossoms, to chat with 
 Mariette, who was tending her flock beside the river. 
 
 It pleased God that Francois, who was near by, 
 should overhear their conversation. He had seen 
 Severe enter the pasture, and at once suspected her 
 of meditating some intrigue against Madeleine; and 
 as the river was low, he walked noiselessly along the 
 bank, beneath the bushes which are so tall just 
 there that a hay-cart could pass under their shade. 
 When he came within hearing distance, he sat down 
 on the ground, without making a sound, and opened 
 his ears very wide. 
 
 The two women plied their tongues busily. In 
 the first place, Mariette confessed to not caring for a 
 single one of her suitors, for the sake of a young 
 miller, who was not at all courteous to her, and the 
 thought of whom kept her awake at night. Severe, 
 on the other hand, wanted to unite her to a young 
 man of her acquaintance, who was so much in love 
 with the girl, that he had promised a handsome 
 wedding -present to Severe, if she succeeded in 
 marrying him to Mariette Blanchet. It appeared 
 ^4 209 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 also that Severe had exacted a gratuity beforehand 
 from him and from several others; so she naturally 
 did all in her power to put Mariette out of conceit 
 with Fran9ois. 
 
 **A plague take the waif!" she exclaimed. 
 "What, Mariette, a girl in your position marry a 
 foundling! You would be called Madame Straw- 
 berry, for he has no other name. 1 should be 
 ashamed for you, my poor darling. Then you have 
 no chance; you would be obliged to fight for him 
 with your sister-in-law, for he is her lover, as true 
 as I live." 
 
 ''Severe," cried Mariette, ''you have hinted this 
 to me more than once; but I cannot believe you; 
 my sister-in-law is too old." 
 
 "No, no, Mariette; your sister-in-law is not old 
 enough to do without this sort of thing; she is only 
 thirty, and when the waif was but a boy, your 
 brother discovered that he was too familiar with his 
 wife. That is why he gave him a sound thrashing 
 with the butt of his whip, and turned him out of 
 doors." 
 
 Franpois felt a lively desire to spring out of the 
 bushes and tell Severe that she lied; but he re- 
 strained himself, and sat motionless. 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Severe continued to ring the changes on this sub- 
 ject, and told so many shocking lies that Fran(;:ois's 
 face burned, and it was with great difficulty that he 
 :kept his patience. 
 
 "Then," said Mariette, "he probably means to 
 tnarry her now that she is a widow; he has already 
 given her a good -part of his fortune, and he must 
 "Wish to have a share in the property which he has 
 bought back." 
 
 "Somebody else will outbid him," said the other; 
 ** for now that Madeleine has plundered him, she 
 will be on the lookout for a richer suitor, and will 
 be sure to fmd one. She must take a husband to 
 manage her property, but while she is trying to fmd 
 him, she keeps this great simpleton with her, who 
 serves her for nothing, and amuses her solitude." 
 
 "If she is going along at that pace," said Mari- 
 ette, much vexed, "I am in a most disreputable 
 house, in which I run too many dangers ! Do you 
 consider, my dear Severe, that I am very ill-lodged, 
 and that people will talk against me ? Indeed, I can- 
 not stay where I am ; I must leave. Oh ! yes, these 
 pious women criticize everybody else, because they 
 themselves are shameless only in God's sight ! I 
 .should like to hear her say anything against you 
 
 211 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 and me now ! Very well ! I am going to say good- 
 by to her, and I am coming to live with you; if 
 she is angry, I shall answer her; if she tries to bring 
 me back by force, to live with her, I shall go to law; 
 and I shall let people know what she is — do you 
 hear?" 
 
 ** A better remedy for you, Mariette, is to get mar- 
 ried as soon as possible. She will not refuse her con- 
 sent, because I am sure she is anxious to rid herself 
 of you. You stand in the way of her relations with 
 the handsome waif. You must not delay, cannot 
 you understand, for people will say that he belongs to 
 both of you, and then nobody will marry you. Go 
 and get married, then, and take the man I advise." 
 
 "Agreed," said Mariette, breaking her shepherd's 
 crook violently, against the old apple-tree. " I give 
 you my word. Go and tell him. Severe; let him 
 come to my house this evening, to ask for my hand, 
 and let our banns be published next Sunday," 
 
 212 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 FRANCOIS was never sadder than when he 
 emerged from the river-bank where he had hid- 
 den himself to listen to the women's talk. His heart 
 was as heavy as lead, and when he had gone half- 
 way home he lost courage to return, and, stepping 
 aside into the path of the water-lilies, he sat down 
 in the little grove of oaks, at the end of the meadow. 
 
 Once there, by himself, he wept like a child, and 
 his heart was bursting with sorrow and shame; for 
 he was ashamed to hear of what he was accused, 
 and to think that his poor dear friend Madeleine, 
 whom, through all his life, he had loved so purely 
 and constantly, reaped nothing but insult and slan- 
 der from his devotion and fidelity. 
 
 *' Oh ! my God, my God ! " said he to himself, 
 ** how can it be that the world is so wicked and that 
 a woman like Severe can have the insolence to mea- 
 sure the honor of a woman like my dear mother, by 
 14* 213 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 her own standard ? And that little Mariette, who 
 should naturally be inclined to innocence and truth, 
 a child as she is, who does not as yet know the 
 meaning of evil, even she listens to this infernal 
 calumny, and believes in it, as if she knew how it 
 stung ! Since this is so, others will believe it too; 
 as the larger part of people living mortal life are old 
 in evil, almost everybody will think that because I 
 love Madame Blanchet, and she loves me, there must 
 be something dishonorable in it." 
 
 Then poor Francois undertook a careful examina- 
 tion of his conscience, and searched his memory to 
 see whether, by any fault of his, he were responsible 
 for Severe's wicked gossip ; whether he had behaved 
 wisely in all respects, or whether, by a lack of pru- 
 dence and discretion, he had involuntarily given rise 
 to evil thinking. But it was in vain that he reflected, 
 for he could not believe that he had appeared guilty 
 of what had never even crossed his mind. 
 
 Still absorbed in thought and reverie, he went on 
 saying to himself: 
 
 ''Suppose that my liking had turned to loving, 
 
 what harm would it be in God's sight, now that she 
 
 is a widow and her own mistress? I have given a 
 
 good part of my fortune to her and Jeannie, but I 
 
 214 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 still have a considerable share left, and she would not 
 wrong her child if she married me. It would not be 
 self-seeking on my part to desire this, and nobody 
 could make her believe that my love for her is self- 
 interested. I am a foundling, but she does not care 
 for that. She has loved me with a mother's love, 
 which is the strongest of all affections, and now she 
 might love me in another way. I see that her enemies 
 will force me to leave her if I do not marry her, and 
 I should rather die than leave her a second time. Be- 
 sides, she needs my help, and I should be a coward to 
 leave her affairs in such disorder when I have strength 
 as well as money with which to serve her. Yes, all 
 I have should belong to her, and as she often talks to 
 me about paying me back in the end, I must put that 
 idea out of her head, by sharing all things in com- 
 mon with her, in accordance with the permission of 
 God and the law. She must keep her good name for 
 her son's sake, and she can save it only by marrying 
 me. How is it that I never thought of this before, 
 and that I needed to hear it suggested by a serpent's 
 tongue? I was too simple-minded and unsuspect- 
 ing; and my poor mother is too charitable to others 
 to take to heart the injuries which are done her. 
 Everything tends toward good, by the will of 
 215 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Heaven; and Madame Severe, who was plotting 
 mischief, has done me the service of teaching me 
 my duty." 
 
 Without indulging any longer in meditation or 
 wonder, Francois set off on his way home, deter- 
 mined to speak of his plan to Madame Blanchet 
 without loss of time, and on his knees to entreat her 
 to accept him as her protector, in the name of God, 
 and for eternal life. 
 
 When he reached Cormouer, he saw Madeleine 
 spinning on her doorstep, and for the first time in his 
 life her face had the effect of making him timid and 
 confused. He was in the habit of walking straight 
 up to her, looking her full in the face to ask her 
 how she did; but this time he paused on the little 
 bridge as if he were examining the mill-dam, and 
 only looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. 
 
 When she turned toward him, he moved farther 
 away, not understanding himself what his trouble 
 was, or why a matter which, a few minutes ago, had 
 seemed to him so natural and opportune, should sud- 
 denly become so awkward to confess. 
 
 Madeleine called him. 
 
 " Come here to me," said she, "for I have some- 
 thing to say to you, dear Francois. We are alone, 
 216 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 so come and sit down beside me, and open your 
 heart to me, as if I were your father-confessor, for I 
 want to hear the truth from you." 
 
 Francois was reassured by Madeleine's words, and 
 he sat down beside her. 
 
 " I promise, my dear mother," said he, "to open 
 my heart to you as I do to God, and to give you a 
 true confession." 
 
 He fancied that something had come to her ears 
 which had brought her to the same conclusion as 
 himself ; he was delighted, and waited to hear what 
 she had to say. 
 
 ** Francois," she went on, "you are in your 
 twenty-first year, and it is time for you to think 
 of marrying; you are not opposed to it, I hope?" 
 
 "No, I am not opposed to anything you wish," 
 answered Francois, blushing with pleasure; "go on, 
 my dear Madeleine." 
 
 " Good! " said she. " I expected this, and I have 
 guessed the right thing. Since you wish it, I wish 
 it too, and perhaps I thought of it before you did. 
 \ was waiting to see whether the person in question 
 cared for you, and I think that if she does not as 
 yet, she will, very soon. Don't you think so, too, 
 and shall I tell you where you stand? Why do 
 217 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 you look at me with such a puzzled expression? 
 Don't I speak clearly enough ? I see that you are 
 shy about it, and I must help you out. Well, the 
 poor child pouted all the morning because you 
 teased her a little yesterday, and I dare say she 
 thinks you do not love her. But I know that you 
 do love her, and if you scold her sometimes for her 
 little caprices it is because you are a trifle jealous. 
 You must not hold back for that^ Francois. She is 
 young and pretty; but though there is some danger 
 in this, if she truly loves you she will willingly sub- 
 mit herself to you." 
 
 "I should like," said Francois, much disappointed, 
 *'to know whom you are talking of, my dear 
 mother, for I am wholly at a loss." 
 
 "Really!" said Madeleine; ''don't you know 
 what I mean? Am I dreaming, or are you trying 
 to keep a secret from me ? " 
 
 *' A secret from you! " said Franpois, taking Made- 
 leine's hand. He soon dropped it, and took up in- 
 stead the corner of her apron, which he crumpled as 
 if he were provoked, then lifted toward his lips as 
 if about to kiss it, and finally let go just as he had 
 done with her hand. He was first inclined to cry; 
 then he felt angry, and then giddy, all in succession. 
 218 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Madeleine was amazed. 
 
 *' You are in trouble, my child," she cried, " and 
 this means that you are in love — that all does not 
 go as you wish. I can assure you that Mariette has 
 a good heart; she, too, is distressed, and if you 
 speak openly with her she will tell you, in return, 
 that she thinks of no one but you." 
 
 Francois sprang up, and walked up and down 
 the courtyard for some time in silence ; then he 
 returned to Madeleine's side. 
 
 " I am very much surprised to hear what you 
 have in your mind, Madame Blanchet; this never 
 once occurred to me, and I am well aware that 
 Mariette has no liking for me, and that I am not to 
 her taste." 
 
 '*0h, come!" said Madeleine; ''you are speaking 
 petulantly, my child! Don't you think I noticed 
 how often you talked with her? Though I could 
 not catch the meaning of what you said, it was 
 evident that she understood very well, for her face 
 glowed like a burning coal. Do you think I do not 
 know that she runs away from the pasture every 
 day, leaving her flock in charge of the first person 
 she meets? Her sheep flourish at the expense of 
 our wheat; but I do not want to cross her, or talk 
 219 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 to her of sheep, when her head is full of nothing 
 but love and marriage. The poor child is just of 
 an age to guard her sheep ill, and her heart still 
 worse. But it is great good luck for her, Francois, 
 that instead of falling in love with one of those bad 
 fellows whom I was so much afraid of her meeting 
 at Severe's, she had the good sense to think of you. 
 It makes me, too, very happy to think that, when 
 you are married to my sister-in-law, who is almost 
 the same as a daughter to me, you will live with 
 me and make part of my family, and that I may 
 harbor you in my house, work with you, bring up 
 your children, and thus repay your kindness to me. 
 So, do not let your childish notions interfere with 
 all the joys I have planned. Try to see clearly, 
 and forget your jealousy. If Mariette is fond of 
 dress, it is because she is anxious to please you. If 
 she has been rather idle lately, it is only because 
 she is thinking too much of you; and if she answers 
 me sometimes rather sharply, she does so because 
 she is vexed with your reprimands, and does not 
 know whom to blame for them. The proof that 
 she is good and desirous of mending her ways, is 
 that she has recognized your goodness and wisdom, 
 and wants you for her husband." 
 
 220 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *' You are good, my dear mother," said FrarK^^ois, 
 quite crestfallen. ''Yes, it is you who are good, 
 for you believe in the goodness of others and de- 
 ceive yourself. I can tell you that, if Mariette is 
 good, too, and I will not say she is not, lest I should 
 injure her in your opinion, it is in a way very dif- 
 ferent from yours, and, consequently, very displeasing 
 to me. Do not say anything more to me about her. 
 I swear to you on my word and honor, on my heart 
 and soul, that I am no more in love with her than 
 I am with old Catherine, and if she has any regard 
 for me, it is her own misfortune, because I cannot 
 return it. Do not try to make her say she loves me; 
 your tact would be at fault, and you would make 
 her my enemy. It is quite the contrary; hear what 
 she will say to you to-night, and let her marry Jean 
 Aubard, whom she has made up her mind to accept. 
 Let her marry as soon as possible, for she is out of 
 place in your house. She is not happy there, and 
 will not be a source of comfort to you." 
 
 ''Jean Aubard ! " exclaimed Madeleine; " he is not 
 a proper person for her; he is a fool, and she is too 
 clever to submit herself to a stupid man." 
 
 " He is rich, and she will not submit to him. She 
 will manage him, and he is just the man for her. 
 
 221 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 Will you not trust in your friend, my dear mother? 
 You know that, up to this time, I have never given 
 you any bad advice. Let the young girl go ; she 
 does not love you as she ought, and she does not 
 know your worth." 
 
 "You say this because your feelings are hurt, 
 Francois," said Madeleine, laying her hand on his 
 head and moving it gently up and down, as if she 
 were trying to shake the truth out of it. Francois 
 was exasperated that she would not believe him, 
 and it was the first time in his life that there had 
 been any dispute between them. He withdrew, say- 
 ing in a dissatisfied tone of voice : 
 
 "Madame Blanchet, you are not just to me. I 
 tell you that girl does not love you. You force me 
 to say this, against my will; for I did not come here 
 tb bring distrust and strife. So, if I tell it to you, 
 you may know that I am sure of it; and do you 
 think I can love her after that? You cannot love rne 
 any more, if you will not believe me." 
 
 Wild with grief, Fran$:ois rushed off to weep all 
 alone by the fountain. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 MADELEINE was still more perplexed than Fran- 
 cois, and was on the point of following him 
 with questions and words of encouragement; but 
 she was held back by the sudden appearance of 
 Mariette, who, with a strange expression on her face, 
 announced the offer of marriage she had received 
 from Jean Aubard. Madeleine, who was unable to 
 disabuse herself of the idea that the whole affair was 
 the result of a lovers' quarrel, attempted to speak to 
 the girl of Francois; but Mariette answered in a tone 
 which gave her great pain, and was utterly incom- 
 prehensible to her: 
 
 *' Those people who care for foundlings may keep 
 them for their own amusement; I am an honest girl, 
 and shall not allow my good name to suffer because 
 my poor brother is dead. I am perfectly indepen- 
 dent, Madeleine; and if I am forced by law to ask 
 your advice, I am not forced to take it when it is not 
 223 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 for my good. So please do not stand in my way, or 
 I may stand in yours hereafter." 
 
 " I cannot imagine what is the matter with you, 
 my dear child," said Madeleine, very sweetly and 
 sadly. '* You speak to me as if you had neither re- 
 spect nor affection for me. I think you must be in 
 some distress which has confused your mind; so I 
 entreat you to take three or four days, in which to 
 decide. I shall tell Jean Aubard to come back, and 
 if you are of the same opinion after a little quiet re- 
 flection, I shall give you free leave to marry him, as 
 he is a respectable man, and comfortably off. But 
 you are in such an excited condition, just now, that 
 you cannot know your own mind, and you shut 
 your heart against my affection. You grieve me very 
 much, but as I see that you are grieved too, I for- 
 give you." 
 
 Mariette tossed her head, to show how much she 
 despised that sort of forgiveness, and ran away to 
 put on her silk apron and prepare for the reception of 
 Jean Aubard, who arrived, an hour later, with big 
 Severe in gala dress. 
 
 This time, at last, Madeleine was convinced of 
 Mariette's ill-will toward her, since the girl had 
 brought into her house, on a family matter, a woman 
 224 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 who was her enemy, and whom she blushed to see. 
 Notwithstanding this, she advanced very politely to 
 meet Severe, and served her with refreshments, with- 
 out any appearance of anger or dislike; for she feared 
 that if Mariette were opposed, she would prove un- 
 manageable. So Madeleine said that she made no 
 objection to her sister-in-law's desire, but requested 
 three days' grace before giving her answer. 
 
 Thereupon Severe said, insolently, that was a very 
 long time to wait. Madeleine answered quietly that 
 it was a very short time. 
 
 Jean Aubard then left, looking like a blockhead, 
 and giggling like a booby, for he was sure that Mar- 
 iette was madly in love with him. He had paid well 
 for this illusion, and Severe gave him his money's 
 worth. 
 
 As Severe left the house, she said to Mariette that 
 she had ordered a cake and some sweets at home for 
 the betrothal, and even if Madame Blanchet delayed 
 the preliminaries, they must sit down to the feast. 
 Madeleine objected that it was not proper for a young 
 girl to go off in the company of a man who had not 
 as yet received his answer from her family. 
 
 " If that is so, I shall not go," said Mariette. in a 
 huff. 
 
 »5 225 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 *'0h, yes, yes; you must come," Severe insisted; 
 *' are not you your own mistress ? " 
 
 ^* No, indeed," returned Mariette; "you see my sis- 
 ter-in-law forbids me to go." 
 
 She went into her room and slammed the door; 
 but she merely passed through the house, went out 
 by the back door, and caught up with Severe and 
 her suitor at the end of the meadow, laughing and 
 jeering at Madeleine's expense. 
 
 Poor Madeleine could not restrain her tears when 
 she saw how things were going. 
 
 " Francois was right," thought she; '' the girl does 
 not love me, and she is ungrateful at heart. She 
 will not believe that I am acting for her good, that I 
 am most anxious for her happiness, and wish only to 
 prevent her doing something which she will regret 
 hereafter. She has taken evil counsel, and I am con- 
 demned to see that wretched Severe stirring up trou- 
 ble and strife in my family. I have not deserved all 
 these troubles, and I must submit to God's will. 
 Fortunately, poor Francois was more clear-sighted 
 than I. How. much he would suffer with such a 
 wife ! " 
 
 She went to look for him, to let him know what 
 she thought; but when she found him in tears be- 
 226 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 side the fountain, she supposed he was grieving for 
 the loss of Mariette, and attempted to comfort him. 
 The more she said the more pained he was, for it be- 
 came clear to him that she refused to understand the 
 truth, and that her heart could never feel for him in 
 the way he had hoped. 
 
 In the evening, when Jeannie was in bed and 
 asleep^ Francois sat with Madeleine, and sought to 
 explain himself. 
 
 He began by saying that Mariette was jealous of 
 her, and that Severe had slandered her infamously; 
 but Madeleine never dreamed of his meaning. 
 
 *' What can she say against me? " said she, sim- 
 ply; '* and what jealousy can she put into poor silly 
 little Mariette's head? You are mistaken, Franpois; 
 something else is at stake, some interested reason 
 which we shall hear later. It is not possible that 
 she should be jealous; I am too old to give any 
 anxiety to a young and pretty girl. I am almost 
 thirty, and for a peasant woman who has under- 
 gone a great deal of trouble and fatigue, that is old 
 enough to be your mother. The devil only could 
 say that I think of you in any way but as my son, 
 and Mariette must know I longed to have you both 
 marry. No, no; never believe that she has any 
 227 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 such evil thought, or, at least, do not mention it to 
 me, for I should be too much pained and mortified." 
 
 '' And yet," said Francois, making a great effort 
 to speak, and bending low over the fire to hide his 
 confusion from Madeleine, " Monsieur Blanchet had 
 some such evil thought when he turned me out of 
 doors!" 
 
 "What! Do you know that now, Francois?" 
 exclaimed Madeleine. " How is it that you know 
 it ? I never told you, and I never should have told 
 you. If Catherine spoke of it to you, she did 
 wrong. Such an idea must shock and pain you as 
 much as it does me, but we must try not to think 
 of it any more and to forgive my husband, now 
 that he is dead. All the obloquy of it falls upon 
 Severe; but now Severe can be no longer jealous of 
 me. I have no husband, and I am as old and ugly 
 as she could ever have wished, though I am not in 
 the least sorry for it, for I have gained the right of 
 being respected, of treating you as a son, and of 
 finding you a pretty young wife, who will live hap- 
 pily with me and love me as a mother. This is my 
 only wish, Franpois, and you must not distress 
 yourself, for we shall find her. So much the worse 
 for Mariette if she despises the happiness I had in 
 228 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 store for her. Now, go to bed, my child, and take 
 courage. If I thought I were any obstacle to your 
 marrying, I should send you away at once; but you 
 may be sure that nobody worries about me, or 
 imagines what is absolutely impossible." 
 
 As Fran(;:ois listened to Madeleine^ he was con- 
 vinced that she was right, so accustomed was he 
 to believe all that she said. He rose to bid her 
 good night, but, as he took her hand, it happened 
 that, for the first time in his life, he looked at her 
 with the intention of finding out whether she were 
 old and ugly; and the truth is, she had long been 
 so sad and serious that she deceived herself, and 
 was still as pretty a woman as she had ever been. 
 
 So when Francois saw all at once that she was 
 still young and as beautiful as the blessed Virgin, 
 his heart gave a great bound, as if he had climbed 
 to the pinnacle of a tower. He went back for the 
 night to the mill, where his bed was neatly spread 
 in a square of boards among the sacks of flour.. 
 Once there, and by himself, he shivered and gasped 
 as if he had a fever; but it was only the fever of 
 love, for he who had all his life warmed himself 
 comfortably in front of the ashes, had suddenly 
 been scorched by a great burst of flame. 
 ^5* 229 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 FROM that time on, the waif was so melancholy 
 that it made one's heart ache to see him. He 
 worked like a horse, but he found no more joy or 
 peace, and Madeleine could not induce him to say 
 what was the matter with him. It was in vain he 
 swore that he neither loved nor regretted Mariette, 
 for Madeleine would not believe him, and could assign 
 no other cause for his depression. She was grieved 
 that he should be in distress and yet no longer con- 
 fide in her, and she was amazed that his trouble 
 should make him so proud and self-willed. 
 
 As it was not in her nature to be tormenting, she 
 made up her mind to say nothing further to him on 
 the subject. She attempted to make Mariette reverse 
 her decision, but her overtures were so ill-received 
 that she lost courage, and was silent. Though her 
 heart was full of anguish, she kept it to herself, lest 
 she should add to the burden of others. 
 230 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 Francois worked for her, and served her with the 
 same zeal and devotion as before. As in the old 
 time, he stayed as much as possible in her company, 
 but he no longer spoke as he used. He was always 
 embarrassed with her, and turned first red as fire, 
 and then white as a sheet in the same minute. She 
 was afraid he was ill, and once took his hand to see 
 if he were feverish; but he drew back from her as if 
 her touch hurt him, and sometimes he reproached 
 her in words which she could not understand. 
 
 The trouble between them grew from day to day. 
 During all this time, great preparations were being 
 made for Mariette's marriage to Jean Aubard, and the 
 day which was to end her mourning was fixed as 
 that of the wedding. 
 
 Madeleine looked forward to that day with dread; 
 she feared that Francois would go crazy, and was 
 anxious to send him to spend a little time at Aigu- 
 rande, with his old master Jean Vertaud, so as to dis- 
 tract his mind. Francois, however, was unwilling 
 to let Mariette believe what Madeleine insisted upon 
 thinking. He showed no vexation before her, was 
 on friendly relations with her lover, and jested with 
 Severe, when he met her along the road, to let her 
 see that he had nothing to fear from her. He was 
 231 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 present at the wedding; and as he was really de- 
 lighted to have the house rid of the girl, and Made- 
 leine freed from her false friendship, it never crossed 
 anybody's mind that he had been in love with her. 
 The truth began to dawn even on Madeleine, or at 
 least she was inclined to believe that he had consoled 
 himself. She received Mariette's farewell with her 
 accustomed warmth of heart ; but as the young girl 
 still cherished a grudge against her on account of the 
 waif, Madeleine could not help seeing that her sister- 
 in-law left her without love or regret. Inured as she 
 was to sorrow, Madeleine wept over the girl's hard- 
 ness of heart, and prayed God to forgive her. 
 
 After a week had passed, Franfois unexpectedly 
 told her that he had some business at Aigurande 
 that would call him there for the space of five or 
 six days. She was not surprised, and hoped it would 
 be for the good of his health, for she believed that he 
 had stifled his grief, and was ill in consequence. 
 
 But that grief, which she thought he had over- 
 come, increased with him day by day. He could 
 think of nothing else, and whether asleep or awake, 
 far or near, Madeleine was always in his heart and 
 before his eyes. It is true that all his life had been 
 spent in loving her and thinking of her, but until 
 232 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 lately these thoughts of her had been his happiness 
 and consolation, whereas they were now his despair 
 and his undoing. As long as he was content to be her 
 son and friend, he wished for no better lot op earth ; 
 but now his love had changed its character, and he 
 was exquisitely unhappy. He fancied that she could 
 never change as he had done. He kept repeating to 
 himself that he was too young, that she had known 
 him as a forlorn and wretched child, that he could be 
 only an object of care and compassion to her, and 
 never of pride. In short, he believed her to be so 
 lovely and so attractive, so far above him, and so 
 much to be desired, that when she said she was no 
 longer young and pretty, he thought she was adopt- 
 ing a role to scare away her suitors. 
 
 In the mean time, Severe, Mariette, and their clan 
 were slandering her openly on his account, and he 
 was in terror lest some of the scandal should come 
 to her ears, and she should be displeased and long 
 for his departure. He knew she was too kind to ask 
 him to go, but he dreaded being again a cause of 
 annoyance to her, as he had been once before, and 
 it occurred to him to go to ask the advice of the 
 priest of Aigurande, whom he had found to be a 
 just and God-fearing man. 
 233 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 He went, but with no success, as the priest was 
 absent on a visit to his bishop ; so Francois returned 
 to the mill of Jean Vertaud, who had invited him 
 for a few days' visit, while waiting for the priest's 
 return. 
 
 He found his kind master as true a man and as 
 faithful a friend as he had left him, and his good 
 daughter Jeannette on the brink of marriage with a 
 very respectable man whom she had accepted from 
 motives of prudence rather than of enthusiasm, but 
 for whom she fortunately felt more liking than dis- 
 taste. This put Francois more at his ease with her 
 than he had ever been, and the next day being Sun- 
 day, he had a long talk with her, and confided in 
 her Madame Blanchet's many difficulties, and his 
 satisfaction in rescuing her from them. 
 
 Jeannette was quick-witted, and from one thing 
 and another she guessed that the waif was more 
 agitated by his attachment to Madeleine than he 
 would confess. She laid her hand on his arm, and 
 said to him abruptly: 
 
 *' Francois, you must hide nothing from me. I 
 
 have come to my senses now, and you see that I 
 
 am not ashamed to tell you that I once thought 
 
 more of you than you did of me. You knew my 
 
 234 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 feelings, and you could not return them, but you 
 would not deceive me, and no selfish interest led 
 you to do what many others would have done in 
 your place. I respect you both for your behavior 
 toward me and for your constancy to the woman 
 you loved best in the world; and instead of disown- 
 ing my regard for you, I am glad to remember it. I 
 expect you to think the better of me for acknow- 
 ledging it, and to do me the justice to observe that 
 I bear no grudge or malice toward you for your 
 coolness. I mean to give you the greatest possible 
 token of my esteem. You love Madeleine Blanchet, 
 not indeed as a mother, but as a young and attrac- 
 tive woman, whom you wish for your wife." 
 
 '* Oh! "said Francois, blushing like a girl, 'M 
 love her as a mother, and my heart is full of respect 
 for her." 
 
 '* I have no doubt of it," answered Jeannette; 
 "but you love her in two ways, for your face says 
 one thing and your words another. Very well, 
 Fran<;:ois; you dare not tell her what you dare not 
 even confess to me, and you do not know whether 
 she can answer your two ways of loving." 
 
 Jeannette Vertaud spoke with so much sense and 
 sweetness, and showed Francois such true friend- 
 235 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 ship, that he had not the courage to deceive her, 
 and pressing her hand, he told her that she was like 
 a sister to him, and the only person in the world to 
 whom he had the heart to disclose his secret. 
 
 Jeannette asked him several questions, which he 
 answered tiuly and openly. 
 
 *' Francois, my friend," said she, " I understand it 
 all. It is impossible for me to know what Made- 
 leine Blanchet will think about it; but I see that 
 you might be for years in her company without 
 having the boldness to tell her what you have on 
 your mind. No matter. I shall find out for you, and 
 shall let you know. My father and you and I shall 
 set out to-morrow for a friendly visit to Cormouer, 
 as if we went to make the acquaintance of the kind 
 woman who brought up our friend Francois; you 
 must take my father to walk about the place, under 
 pretext of asking his advice, and I shall spend the 
 time talking with Madeleine. I shall use a great 
 deal of tact, and shall not tell what your feelings 
 are until I am certain of hers." 
 
 Francois was so grateful to Jeannette that he was 
 ready to fall on his knees before her; and Jean Ver- 
 taud, who, with the waifs permission, was in- 
 formed of the situation, gave his consent to the 
 236 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 plan. Next day they set out; Jeannette rode on the 
 croup behind her father, and Franfpis started an 
 hour earlier than they to prepare Madeleine for the 
 visit she was to receive. 
 
 The sun was setting as Francois approached Cor- 
 mouer. A storm came up during his ride, and he 
 was drenched to the skin; but he never murmured, 
 for he had good hope in Jeannette's friendly offices, 
 and his heart was lighter than when he had left 
 home. The water was dripping from the bushes, 
 and the blackbirds were singing like mad in thank- 
 fulness for a last gleam from the sun before it sank 
 behind the hill of Grand-Corlay. Great flocks of 
 birds fluttered from branch to branch around Fran- 
 cois, and their joyous chattering cheered his spirits. 
 He thought of the time when he was little, and 
 roamed about the meadows, whistling to attract the 
 birds, absorbed in his childish dreams and fancies. 
 Just then a handsome bullfinch hovered round his 
 head, like a harbinger of good luck and good tid- 
 ings, and his thoughts wandered back to his Mother 
 Zabelle and the quaint songs of the olden time, with 
 which she used to sing him to sleep. 
 
 Madeleine did not expect him so soon. She had 
 even feared that he would never come back at all, 
 237 
 
FRANgOlS THE WAIF 
 
 and when she caught sight of him, she could not help 
 running to kiss him, and was surprised to see how 
 much it made him blush. He announced the ap- 
 proaching visit, and apparently as much afraid of hav- 
 ing her guess his feelings as he was grieved to have her 
 ignore them, in order to prevent her suspecting any- 
 thing, he told her that Jean Vertaud thought of buy- 
 ing some land in the neigborhood. 
 
 Then Madeleine bestirred herself to prepare the 
 best entertainment she could offer to Francois's 
 friends. 
 
 Jeannette was the first to enter the house, while her 
 father was putting up their horse in the stable ; and 
 as s«on as she saw Madeleine, she took a great lik- 
 ing for her, a liking which the other woman fully re- 
 turned. They began by shaking hands, but they 
 soon fell to kissing each other for the sake of their 
 common love for Francois, and they spoke together 
 freely, as if they had had a long and intimate ac- 
 quaintance. The truth is they were both excellent 
 women, and made such a pair as is hard to find. 
 Jeannette could not help a pang on seeing Made- 
 leine, whom she knew to be idolized by the man for 
 whom she herself still cherished a lingering fondness; 
 but she felt no jealousy, and tried to forget her grief in 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 the good action on which she was bent. On the other 
 hand, when Madeleine saw the young woman's sweet 
 face and graceful figure, she supposed that it was she 
 whom Francois had loved and pined for, that they 
 were now betrothed, and that Jeannette had come to 
 bring the news in person; but neither did she feel 
 any jealousy, for she had never thought of Francois 
 save as her own child. 
 
 In the evening, after supper, Father Vertaud, who 
 was tired by his ride, went to bed; and Jeannette 
 took Madeleine out into the garden with her, after 
 first instructing Francois to keep a little aloof with 
 Jeannie, but still near enough to see her let down the 
 corner of her apron, which she wore tucked up on 
 one side, for this was to be the signal for him to join 
 them. She then fulfilled her mission conscientiously, 
 and so skilfully that Madeleine had no time to ex- 
 claim, although beyond measure astonished, as the 
 matter was unfolded to her. At first she thought it 
 but another proof of Francois's goodness of heart, 
 that he wished to put a stop to all evil gossip, and 
 to devote his life to her service; and she would have 
 refused, thinking it too great a sacrifice on the part 
 of so young a man to marry a woman older than 
 himself She feared he would repent later, and could 
 239 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 not long keep his faith to her, without vexation and 
 regret; but Jeannette gave her to understand that 
 the waif was in love with her, heart and soul, and 
 that he was losing his health and peace of mind 
 because of her. 
 
 This was inconceivable to Madeleine. She had 
 lived such a sober and retired life, never adorning 
 her person, never appearing in public, nor listening 
 to flattery, that she had no longer any idea of the 
 impression she might make upon a man. 
 
 ''Then," said Jeannette, ''since he loves you so 
 much, and will die if you refuse him, will you per- 
 sist in closing your eyes and ears to what I say to 
 you? If you do, it must be because you dislike the 
 poor young fellow, and would be sorry to make him 
 happy." 
 
 " Do not say that, jeannette," answered Made- 
 leine; 'M love him almost, if not quite, as much as 
 my Jeannie, and if I had ever suspected that he 
 thought of me in another light, it is quite possible 
 that my affection for him would have been more 
 passionate. But what can you expect? I never 
 dreamed of this, and I am still so dazed that I do not 
 know how to answer. I ask for time to think of it 
 and to talk it over with him, so that I may find out 
 240 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 whether he does this from a whim or out of mere 
 pique, or whether, perhaps, he thinks it is a duty he 
 owes me. This I am afraid of most of all, and I 
 think he has repaid me fully for the care I took of 
 him, and it would be too much for him to give me 
 his liberty and himself, at least unless he loves me 
 as you think he does." 
 
 When Jeannette heard these words, she let down 
 the corner of her apron, and Francois, who was 
 waiting near at hand with his eyes fixed upon her, 
 was beside them in an instant. The clever Jean- 
 nette asked Jeannie to show her the fountain, and 
 they strolled off together, leaving Madeleine and 
 Fran(;:ois together. 
 
 But Madeleine, who had expected to put her ques- 
 tions to the waif, in perfect calmness, was suddenly 
 covered with shyness and confusion, like a young 
 girl ; for confusion such as hers, so sweet and pleas- 
 ant to see, belongs to no age, but is bred of inno- 
 cence of mind and purity of life. When Francois 
 saw that his dear mother blushed and trembled as he 
 did, he received it as a more favorable token than 
 if she had kept her usual serene manner. He took 
 her hand and arm, but he could not speak. Tremb- 
 ling all the while, she tried to shake herself loose and 
 ^6 . 241 
 
FRANgOIS THE WAIF 
 
 to follow Jeannie and Jeannette, but he held her fast, 
 and made her turn back with him. When Made- 
 leine saw his boldness in opposing his will to hers, 
 she understood, better than if he had spoken, that it 
 was no longer her child, the waif, but her lover, 
 Francois, that walked by her side. 
 
 After they had gone a little distance, silent, but 
 linked arm in arm, as vine is interlaced with vine, 
 Francois said: 
 
 ** Let us go to the fountain ; perhaps I may find my 
 tongue there." 
 
 They did not find Jeannie and Jeannette beside 
 the fountain, for they had gone home ; but Francois 
 found courage to speak, remembering that it was 
 there he had seen Madeleine for the first time, and 
 there, too, he had bidden her farewell, eleven years 
 afterward. We must believe that he spoke very 
 fluently, and that Madeleine did not gainsay him, 
 for they were still there at midnight. She was cry- 
 ing for joy, and he was on his knees before her, 
 thanking her for accepting him for her husband. 
 
 '' There ends the story," said the hemp-dresser, 
 "for it would take too long to tell you about the 
 wedding. I was present, myself, and the same day 
 242 
 
FRANCOIS THE WAIF 
 
 the waif married Madeleine in the parish of Mers, 
 Jeannette was married in the parish of Aigurande. 
 Je^n Vertaud insisted that Francois and his wife, 
 and Jeannie, who was happy as a king, with their 
 friends, relations, and acquaintances, should come to 
 his house for the wedding-feast, which was finer, 
 grander, and more delightful than anything I have 
 ever seen since." 
 
 **Is the story true in all points?" asked Sylvinc 
 Courtioux. 
 
 "If it is not, it might be," answered the hemp- 
 dresser. " If you do not believe me, go and see for 
 yourself." 
 
 243 
 
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