Part 5
The latter, at first, made many objections; for he valued his money more than his conscience, but there was no alternative in the case. He therefore gave him the very louis d'or that Janette had paid him, and Roch and his comrade both affirmed on oath, that the shoemaker was returning home in their company, at the time that he perceived from the street the smell of the smoke then issuing from the court. They also affirmed, that during their walk, a porter had knocked against him so roughly, that his pipe was thrown out of his mouth, and that in stepping forward to gain his balance, he had trodden upon it, and crushed it. To give their assertions a greater appearance of truth, they repeated the remarks which they pretended to have made upon the occasion. The shoemaker gained his cause. Roch kept the louis, giving only twelve francs to his comrade, and entered the service of M. de la Fère, who was on the point of leaving France, where, like many others, he did not consider himself in safety; for it was the close of the year 1792. Neither his man-servant nor his wife's maid was willing to accompany them; so that being in a great hurry to leave, they were compelled to take Roch without inquiry, and upon the sole recommendation of the shoemaker, whom they believed to be an honest man. They were desirous of obtaining gold for their journey, as being more convenient than silver, and at that time the value of the louis d'or was high, for it was much in request, as many families were leaving France for the same cause as M. de la Fère. Roch therefore sold to his master the louis which he had received from the shoemaker. It thus came into the possession of M. de la Fère, and you shall see presently all that it produced. As for Roch, before his departure with M. de la Fère, he defrauded the shoemaker out of the amount of a rather heavy bill which his master had ordered him to pay. He produced a false receipt, and kept the money. The shoemaker did not become aware of his departure till several days afterwards, and thus found himself punished for recommending a rogue. We must now see what the louis produced in the hands of its new possessor.
THE WEEK.
It was at the commencement of the year 1793, that M. de la Fère, accompanied by his wife, his son Raymond, a lad of fifteen, and his daughter Juliette, who was thirteen, his servant Roch, and his wife's new maid, left France, to establish themselves in a small town in Germany. They had brought with them sufficient money to enable them, if necessary, to remain away for several years, and the more easily, as having chosen a town in which no French had as yet arrived, and where they were not acquainted with any Germans, they hoped to lead the kind of life which suited them, without being obliged to incur greater expenses than they wished. Thus they hoped, by means of a reasonable, but not inconvenient economy, to pass the period of trouble in comfort and tranquillity, attending to the education of their children, who, delighted with the change of scene, thought only of enjoying the various new objects which their journey presented to them.
Although much afflicted at leaving their country, and deeply grieved for the misfortunes which were daily occurring there, M. and Madame de la Fère would not depress the spirits of their children, by recurring to events over which they had no control; but on the contrary, they procured for them such pleasures as were compatible with their situation. They had somewhat prolonged their journey, in order to show them various interesting objects situated at a short distance from their route, and had been settled in the town in which they intended to reside only a few days, when their host, M. Fiddler, spoke of a rather curious kind of fair which was then being held at some distance from that place. They hired one of the carriages of the country, and wishing to take advantage of the opportunity which the occasion afforded of enjoying the scenery of the neighbourhood, which was very beautiful, they set out early, carrying with them sufficient provisions to enable them to pass the whole day in the fields. It was in the month of June; they prolonged their walks so much, that it was ten o'clock in the evening when they reached town. They were surprised, on arriving, to find that the servant, whom they had left in the house, did not come to assist them. They supposed that he must have gone to the fair on his own account, together with the maid, whom they also called for in vain. They were at a loss to get in, as the door of the house was locked, M. Fiddler having also gone to the fair. At last, a little boy who had been left in charge of it, and who likewise had been amusing himself, came back, opened the door, and procured a light from a neighbour, who presented to M. de la Fère a letter which had arrived during his absence. M. de la Fère stopped to read it, and then entered the house, so completely absorbed, that he did not notice the exclamations of distress which were uttered by his wife and children. At last they ran to him, spoke to him, roused him from his abstraction, and showed him all their cupboards open and emptied, the secretary forced, and their money and jewels carried off: there was nothing left. Roch and the maid, who had also been taken without sufficient inquiry, and who was an equally ill-disposed person, had several times, during their journey, given them cause for distrusting them, and it was their intention to send them back to France. They had apparently suspected this intention, and profited by their absence to rob them. This they could very easily do, as the pavilion, which was the part of the residence occupied by M. and Madame de la Fère, was separated from the rest of the house, and on one side opened upon the fields. On this side, the open doors and windows showed traces of their flight; but there was no possibility of following them at that hour, nor any hope of otherwise arresting them. The town was situated on the frontiers of two small German states, and there was no doubt that they had entered the neighbouring one, as, from several circumstances which were then recollected, it might be presumed that they had taken their precautions beforehand. However, M. de la Fère went to the magistrate of the town to lodge his complaints, and to take the necessary proceedings.
When he returned, his family had not yet had time to recover from their consternation. Juliette was crying, and her mother, though herself overwhelmed with grief, was endeavouring to soothe her; Raymond, who understood German, was talking to M. Fiddler, who hearing of their misfortune on his return from the fair, had hastened with great kindness to offer them his assistance. All this Raymond communicated to his mother and sister. M. de la Fère also thanked him in German, for M. Fiddler did not understand French, and told him that though they had indeed experienced a most serious misfortune, he hoped, nevertheless, that they would be able to extricate themselves from it; and M. Fiddler, who was very considerate, fearing to be importunate, immediately retired.
When they were alone, assembled round a candle which M. Fiddler had lent them, M. de la Fère, after tenderly embracing his wife and children, made them sit down by him, and remained for some time silent, as if he knew not what to say to them.
At length Raymond, who had heard his father's reply to M. Fiddler, broke the silence.
"Papa," he said, "you told M. Fiddler that we should be able to extricate ourselves from our difficulties; does the letter, which you have just received, say that money will be sent to us from France?"
"On the contrary, my child."
"What! on the contrary?" exclaimed Madame de la Fère, with a movement of alarm. Her husband pressed her hand, and she restrained herself. He had accustomed her to preserve her self-command in the presence of their children, in order not to give them exaggerated ideas of what might happen to them.
"My beloved friends," continued M. de la Fère, taking his daughter on his knees, and retaining the hand of his wife within his own, "we must not rely, at least for a very long time to come, on any assistance from France; for all our property is seized, and God only knows when we shall regain possession of it."
Madame de la Fère turned pale, but said nothing. Juliette wept and trembled, and Raymond, leaning on the back of a chair, listened attentively to his father, whose calm and firm manner completely reassured him. M. de la Fère continued--
"Of all our effects there remains absolutely nothing, but what we have upon us, and a small trunk of linen, which I see in the corner there, and which they seem to have forgotten. Of all our money, there remains but this louis d'or," said he, holding it up, "which I had in my pocket."
"Good heavens," exclaimed Juliette, in a tone of despair, "what will become of us?"
Her father pressed her in his arms. "Have a little patience, sister," said Raymond, quickly. He saw that his father had something to propose, and whatever it might be, he was eager to execute it. M. de la Fère continued--
"A louis, my dears, may still become a resource, provided one knows how to turn it to account. We cannot live without work: we must, therefore, find the means of working."
Madame de la Fère replied, that she and her daughter could embroider, and that M. Fiddler would be able to recommend them in the town. "Yes," replied M. de la Fère, "but that is not sufficient. Before these recommendations have produced their effect, before we receive work, and before that work is finished, our louis d'or may very easily be spent; and my watch, which is the only thing left us that we can sell, for they have taken Raymond's, will not afford us a very considerable resource: we must, therefore, devise some plan for not exhausting too rapidly our means of existence."
Juliette said that M. Fiddler, who had so kindly offered his aid, would be able to assist them until their work afforded them the means of living.
"We must only accept assistance from others," said M. de la Fère, "when we can do absolutely nothing for ourselves. Do you feel the courage to impose upon yourselves, for one week only, the most severe privations?"
All answered "Yes!" "Even if it be to live on bread and water," said Raymond. M. de la Fère pressed his son's hand with an air of satisfaction. But Juliette turned towards her father with a somewhat terrified expression, and Madame de la Fère looked first upon her husband, and then upon her children, and could not restrain a few tears. M. de la Fère, making a great effort to preserve his firmness, said to them:
"Listen, my dears, and I hope you will agree with me, that a week's courage is a very trifling matter, if it can insure our preservation. This is my calculation. Our rent is paid three months in advance. We have in the trunk as much linen as we shall want for three weeks, without requiring anything washed; as it is summer, we shall not need any fire; the days being long, if we get up and go to bed with the sun, there will be no necessity for candles; thus, without expending anything, we are secured on all these points, from all suffering, and indeed from every real inconvenience, for more than a week. We have only our food to pay for. In limiting ourselves for a week only to what is absolutely necessary,--to bread, my dear Juliette," said he, tenderly embracing his daughter, whom he still held upon his knee, "it will be possible for us to employ a part of this louis on the purchase of materials to enable you to embroider, and myself and Raymond to paint boxes and screens, and various other things which M. Fiddler doubtless will enable us to sell. In a week we shall probably have gained something by our labour. If we are compelled to wait longer, I have still my watch, and I will answer for it, that before its price is expended, we shall be free from anxiety."
Raymond, animated by the manner in which his father pronounced these words, embraced his mother, and then his sister, who was still weeping a little. "Consider, Juliette," he said, "a week is so soon over!"
Hitherto, indeed, Raymond had always been much more of an epicure than his sister, and much more eager in the pursuit of what pleased him; but at the same time, he had more determination, and was better able to make a sacrifice, where any great object was to be attained. Besides, the present moment had inspired him with what a great misfortune ought always to inspire a man--an increased amount of sense and courage; whilst Juliette, on the contrary, somewhat overcome by the fatigues of the day, had not been able to recover from the surprise and terror of the first moment. Their ill-lighted room gave her melancholy impressions, everything seemed dark around her, and she felt excessively unhappy, without being exactly able to tell why. The caresses of her parents calmed her a little; her mother made her go to bed, and she soon sunk into that sound sleep which grief usually produces at her age; and on awakening the following morning, she felt entirely reanimated. Her mother had already made the purchases necessary for commencing work. It had been the fashion in France, for some time before their departure, to wear lawn handkerchiefs, embroidered in coloured silks; and this custom, though now rather antiquated, had not yet reached the town in which they were residing, although its inhabitants affected to follow the French fashions. She bought sufficient lawn for a handkerchief, silks to embroider it, and some card-board and colours for her husband and son. These cost rather less than fourteen francs; the remaining ten were carefully reserved for the maintenance of the family. Madame de la Fère felt her heart a little oppressed when she beheld this trifling sum, but the recollection of the watch gave her confidence that her children would not want for bread; and besides, accustomed to rely upon her husband, of whose courage and firmness she was well aware, so long as she saw him tranquil, she could not feel very uneasy. As M. de la Fère was returning with the bread he had purchased for the family, he met M. Fiddler, who expressed his grief for the inconveniences which he suffered, and once more offered his services. M. de la Fère again thanked him, promising that if he really stood in need of assistance, it would be to him that he would apply; and M. Fiddler, being a man of the greatest discretion, did not press the matter further.
When Juliette entered the room in which the family was assembled, she found her mother and Raymond already occupied in arranging an old embroidery-frame, which they had found in a corner of the apartment, while M. de la Fère was drawing upon the piece of lawn, the wreath with which it was to be embroidered. The sun shone brilliantly into the apartment, which looked out upon a magnificent landscape, and Juliette, forgetting the troubles of the previous evening, set herself gaily to assist her mother and brother. The wreath was soon drawn, the frame soon mounted; the tasks were distributed, and each commenced his labour. During this time, M. de la Fère began to design the ornaments for a work-box, whilst Raymond, who was tolerably adroit, cut and gummed the card-board, and even assisted his father in the less difficult ornaments. After working for some time, Juliette began to feel hungry. She was afraid to say anything as yet; Raymond, however, having asked his father if it was not time for breakfast, opened a cupboard in which the bread had been placed, and exclaimed, laughing, "Behold our week's provisions!" then he cut for his mother and sister some slices of bread, which he assured them had been selected with great care. As to himself, he separated his own into five or six pieces, calling one a cutlet, another a leg of mutton, and so on. This made them laugh, and thenceforth they constantly amused themselves, while eating their bread, with bestowing upon it the names of the most refined dishes.
Although Madame de la Fère often made Juliette leave her work and walk with her brother in the road that passed beneath their windows, yet in three days the handkerchief was embroidered, and M. de la Fère, on his part, had completed a box, the top of which, painted in bistre, represented one of the points of view to be seen from his window, while the sides were ornamented with arabesques, also in bistre. M. Fiddler, to whom M. and Madame de la Fère had communicated their determination of living by their labour, recommended them to a lady in the town, the only one who understood French. Madame de la Fère called upon her, accompanied by Juliette, who although somewhat ashamed at being presented under such circumstances, nevertheless felt a certain degree of pride, in thinking that her work should be of some consequence. The German lady, to whom M. Fiddler had related their misfortunes, received them with great kindness. She purchased the handkerchief, at the price of a louis, in the money of the country, and also the work-box for twelve francs, and told Madame de la Fère that she would enable her to sell others. They returned delighted. "Mamma," said Juliette, on their way home, "since we have been so successful, I think for to-day at least, we might have something to eat with our bread."
Madame de la Fère replied that that must depend upon her father; but when, after relating their success, Juliette renewed her proposition; "My dears," said M. de la Fère, looking at his children, for Raymond had listened to his sister's proposition with great attention, "if we break our fast to-day, it will be more difficult to keep it to-morrow, and if we do not maintain it until the end of the week, the fruit of our courage will be lost, for we shall still be inconvenienced to purchase the materials necessary for continuing our labours; whereas our having a little in advance will make us quite comfortable."
"Come," said Raymond, running to the cupboard, and cutting a large slice of bread, "here is my sturgeon pasty for this day."
"My dear Juliette," said M. de la Fère to his daughter, who seemed a little sad, "it is merely an advice which I have given you. The money which we possess is in part gained by your labour, and it would be unjust to prevent you from spending it according to your fancy; if you wish; we will give you your share, and you can do what you please with it." Juliette threw her arms round her father's neck, and told him that she always wished to do as he did, and whatever he pleased; and the money was immediately employed in purchasing new materials.
If Juliette had rather more difficulty, on this day, and the following ones, in eating her bread, to which her brother in vain gave the most tempting names, she consoled herself by calculating with her mother, the number of hours, of minutes even, which must intervene before the close of the last day; and then how many minutes were required to work a flower. This shortened the time; for when Juliette had not finished her task in the period which she had allotted to it, she found the time pass much too quickly. She was greatly delighted that the watch had not been sold, and felt a certain pride in thinking that they might be able to preserve it by their industry.
As constant work suggests methods of abridging labour, they this time finished, in five days, two handkerchiefs and three boxes, and to complete their happiness, on the evening of the eighth day, the German lady sent to inquire if any more were ready. She had given a party on the previous evening; her handkerchief had been admired; she had shown her box also, and several of her friends expressed a wish to purchase similar articles of both kinds. When Madame de la Fère and her daughter called upon her the following morning, she not only took all that were finished, but gave orders for a fresh supply. Juliette could not contain her joy. She had eaten her dry bread very cheerfully before starting, thinking that, according to all appearances, they would have a better dinner; and now on their return, she assisted her mother in preparing it; she could never have believed it possible for her to have experienced so much pleasure as she now felt, in peeling onions, touching greasy spoons, or broiling herself in skimming saucepans, on a hot summer's day. Her mother wished that, for this day, she should entirely lay aside all other work. Raymond and she, therefore, passed the morning in laughing till tears came into their eyes, at the thousand absurdities which their joy prompted them to utter; and M. and Madame de la Fère, delighted at seeing them so happy, forgot for a time that they had ever experienced sorrow.
With what delight Juliette helped her brother to set the table, to lay the cloth, to place the covers and plates lent them by M. Fiddler. Just at the moment that she was about to serve up the dinner, she heard exclamations of joy from Raymond, who came running to tell her that the Chevalier de Villon, an old friend of his father, whom they had not seen for several years, as he had left France a long time before them, had just arrived in the town, and was coming to dine with them. "How fortunate!" said Raymond, "that he did not come yesterday;" and he ran out to rejoin the chevalier.
"He comes to diminish our dinner," said Juliette, in a tone of ill temper, which she was not able to control; for it seemed to her that the least alteration must interfere with the happiness she anticipated.
"Juliette," said her mother, "if during the past week you had found a friend, who was willing to share his dinner with you, you would have been very glad, even though you thought that he would thereby deprive himself of something."
"It is because I think M. de Villon does not stand in need of it," said Juliette, completely ashamed of what she had said. At this moment the chevalier entered, his clothes in rags, and himself so pale and so thin, that Madame de la Fère, on beholding him, could not suppress a cry of grief; as for him, with his Gascon vivacity, he ran to embrace her.
"You see," said he, "to what I am reduced. This is _now_ the uniform of a French gentleman, my dear Madame. Why I am not sure that I have eaten anything these two days."