A Simple Soul......................................................................................................................................................1

Gustave Flaubert......................................................................................................................................1

For half a century the housewives of Pontl'Eveque had envied Madame Aubain her servant Felicite.

For a hundred francs a year, she cooked and did the housework, washed, ironed, mended, harnessed the

horse, fattened the poultry, made the butter and remained faithful to her mistressalthough the latter was by

Madame Aubain had married a comely youth without any money, who died in the beginning of 1809, leaving

her with two young children and a number of debts. She sold all her property excepting the farm of Toucques

and the farm of Geffosses, the income of which barely amounted to 5,000 francs; then she left her house in

SaintMelaine, and moved into a less pretentious one which had belonged to her ancestors and stood back of

the marketplace. This house, with its slatecovered roof, was built between a passageway and a narrow

street that led to the river. The interior was so unevenly graded that it caused people to stumble. A narrow

hall separated the kitchen from the parlour, where Madame Aubain sat all day in a straw armchair near the

window. Eight mahogany chairs stood in a row against the white wainscoting. An old piano, standing beneath

a barometer, was covered with a pyramid of old books and boxes. On either side of the yellow marble

mantelpiece, in Louis XV. style, stood a tapestry armchair. The clock represented a temple of Vesta; and the

On the first floor was Madame's bedchamber, a large room papered in a flowered design and containing the

portrait of Monsieur dressed in the costume of a dandy. It communicated with a smaller room, in which there

were two little cribs, without any mattresses. Next, came the parlour (always closed), filled with furniture

covered with sheets. Then a hall, which led to the study, where books and papers were piled on the shelves of

a bookcase that enclosed three quarters of the big black desk. Two panels were entirely hidden under

penandink sketches, Gouache landscapes and Audran engravings, relics of better times and vanished

luxury. On the second floor, a garretwindow lighted Felicite's room, which looked out upon the meadows.

She arose at daybreak, in order to attend mass, and she worked without interruption until night; then, when

dinner was over, the dishes cleared away and the door securely locked, she would bury the log under the

ashes and fall asleep in front of the hearth with a rosary in her hand. Nobody could bargain with greater

obstinacy, and as for cleanliness, the lustre on her brass saucepans was the envy and despair of other

servants. She was most economical, and when she ate she would gather up crumbs with the tip of her finger,

so that nothing should be wasted of the loaf of bread weighing twelve pounds which was baked especially for

Summer and winter she wore a dimity kerchief fastened in the back with a pin, a cap which concealed her

hair, a red skirt, grey stockings, and an apron with a bib like those worn by hospital nurses.

Her face was thin and her voice shrill. When she was twentyfive, she looked forty. After she had passed

fifty, nobody could tell her age; erect and silent always, she resembled a wooden figure working

Like every other woman, she had had an affair of the heart. Her father, who was a mason, was killed by

falling from a scaffolding. Then her mother died and her sisters went their different ways; a farmer took her

in, and while she was quite small, let her keep cows in the fields. She was clad in miserable rags, beaten for

the slightest offence and finally dismissed for a theft of thirty sous which she did not commit. She took

service on another farm where she tended the poultry; and as she was well thought of by her master, her

One evening in August (she was then eighteen years old), they persuaded her to accompany them to the fair

at Colleville. She was immediately dazzled by the noise, the lights in the trees, the brightness of the dresses,

the laces and gold crosses, and the crowd of people all hopping at the same time. She was standing modestly

at a distance, when presently a young man of welltodo appearance, who had been leaning on the pole of a

wagon and smoking his pipe, approached her, and asked her for a dance. He treated her to cider and cake,

bought her a silk shawl, and then, thinking she had guessed his purpose, offered to see her home. When they

came to the end of a field he threw her down brutally. But she grew frightened and screamed, and he walked

One evening, on the road leading to Beaumont, she came upon a wagon loaded with hay, and when she

overtook it, she recognised Theodore. He greeted her calmly, and asked her to forget what had happened

Presently he began to speak of the harvest and of the notables of the village; his father had left Colleville and

bought the farm of Les Ecots, so that now they would be neighbours. "Ah!" she exclaimed. He then added

that his parents were looking around for a wife for him, but that he, himself, was not so anxious and preferred

to wait for a girl who suited him. She hung her head. He then asked her whether she had ever thought of

marrying. She replied, smilingly, that it was wrong of him to make fun of her. "Oh! no, I am in earnest," he

said, and put his left arm around her waist while they sauntered along. The air was soft, the stars were bright,

and the huge load of hay oscillated in front of them, drawn by four horses whose ponderous hoofs raised

clouds of dust. Without a word from their driver they turned to the right. He kissed her again and she went

They met in yards, behind walls or under isolated trees. She was not ignorant, as girls of welltodo families

arefor the animals had instructed her;but her reason and her instinct of honour kept her from falling. Her

resistance exasperated Theodore's love and so in order to satisfy it (or perchance ingenuously), he offered to

marry her. She would not believe him at first, so he made solemn promises. But, in a short time he mentioned

a difficulty; the previous year, his parents had purchased a substitute for him; but any day he might be drafted

and the prospect of serving in the army alarmed him greatly. To Felicite his cowardice appeared a proof of

his love for her, and her devotion to him grew stronger. When she met him, he would torture her with his

fears and his entreaties. At last, he announced that he was going to the prefect himself for information, and

would let her know everything on the following Sunday, between eleven o'clock and midnight.

He informed her that she would never see her sweetheart again; for, in order to escape the conscription, he

The poor girl's sorrow was frightful. She threw herself on the ground, she cried and called on the Lord, and

wandered around desolately until sunrise. Then she went back to the farm, declared her intention of leaving,

and at the end of the month, after she had received her wages, she packed all her belongings in a handkerchief

In front of the inn, she met a woman wearing widow's weeds, and upon questioning her, learned that she was

looking for a cook. The girl did not know very much, but appeared so willing and so modest in her

At first she lived in a constant anxiety that was caused by "the style of the household" and the memory of

"Monsieur," that hovered over everything. Paul and Virginia, the one aged seven, and the other barely four,

seemed made of some precious material; she carried them pigaback, and was greatly mortified when

But in spite of all this, she was happy. The comfort of her new surroundings had obliterated her sadness.

Every Thursday, friends of Madame Aubain dropped in for a game of cards, and it was Felicite's duty to

prepare the table and heat the footwarmers. They arrived at exactly eight o'clock and departed before eleven.

Every Monday morning, the dealer in secondhand goods, who lived under the alleyway, spread out his

wares on the sidewalk. Then the city would be filled with a buzzing of voices in which the neighing of

horses, the bleating of lambs, the grunting of pigs, could be distinguished, mingled with the sharp sound of

wheels on the cobble stones. About twelve o'clock, when the market was in full swing, there appeared at the

front door a tall, middleaged peasant, with a hooked nose and a cap on the back of his head; it was Robelin,

the farmer of Geffosses. Shortly afterwards came Liebard, the farmer of Toucques, short, rotund and ruddy,

Both men brought their landlady either chickens or cheese. Felicite would invariably thwart their ruses and

At various times, Madame Aubain received a visit from the Marquis de Gremanville, one of her uncles, who

was ruined and lived at Falaise on the remainder of his estates. He always came at dinnertime and brought

an ugly poodle with him, whose paws soiled their furniture. In spite of his efforts to appear a man of breeding

(he even went so far as to raise his hat every time he said "My deceased father"), his habits got the better of

him, and he would fill his glass a little too often and relate broad stories. Felicite would show him out very

politely and say: "You have had enough for this time, Monsieur de Gremanville! Hoping to see you again!"

She opened it gladly for Monsieur Bourais, a retired lawyer. His bald head and white cravat, the ruffling of

his shirt, his flowing brown coat, the manner in which he took snuff, his whole person, in fact, produced in

her the kind of awe which we feel when we see extraordinary persons. As he managed Madame's estates, he

spent hours with her in Monsieur's study; he was in constant fear of being compromised, had a great regard

In order to facilitate the children's studies, he presented them with an engraved geography which represented

various scenes of the world; cannibals with feather headdresses, a gorilla kidnapping a young girl, Arabs in

Paul explained the pictures to Felicite. And, in fact, this was her only literary education.

The children's studies were under the direction of a poor devil employed at the townhall, who sharpened his

When the weather was fine, they went to Geffosses. The house was built in the centre of the sloping yard; and

the sea looked like a grey spot in the distance. Felicite would take slices of cold meat from the lunch basket

and they would sit down and eat in a room next to the dairy. This room was all that remained of a cottage that

had been torn down. The dilapidated wallpaper trembled in the drafts. Madame Aubain, overwhelmed by

recollections, would hang her head, while the children were afraid to open their mouths. Then, "Why don't

Paul would go to the old barn, catch birds, throw stones into the pond, or pound the trunks of the trees with a

stick till they resounded like drums. Virginia would feed the rabbits and run to pick the wild flowers in the

fields, and her flying legs would disclose her little embroidered pantalettes. One autumn evening, they struck

out for home through the meadows. The new moon illumined part of the sky and a mist hovered like a veil

over the sinuosities of the river. Oxen, lying in the pastures, gazed mildly at the passing persons. In the third

field, however, several of them got up and surrounded them. "Don't be afraid," cried Felicite; and murmuring

a sort of lament she passed her hand over the back of the nearest ox; he turned away and the others followed.

It was a bull which was hidden from them by the fog. He advanced towards the two women, and Madame

Aubain prepared to flee for her life. "No, no! not so fast," warned Felicite. Still they hurried on, for they

could hear the noisy breathing of the bull behind them. His hoofs pounded the grass like hammers, and

presently he began to gallop! Felicite turned around and threw patches of grass in his eyes. He hung his head,

shook his horns and bellowed with fury. Madame Aubain and the children, huddled at the end of the field,

were trying to jump over the ditch. Felicite continued to back before the bull, blinding him with dirt, while

Madame Aubain finally slid into the ditch, after shoving first Virginia and then Paul into it, and though she

stumbled several times she managed, by dint of courage, to climb the other side of it.

The bull had driven Felicite up against a fence; the foam from his muzzle flew in her face and in another

minute he would have disembowelled her. She had just time to slip between two bars and the huge animal,

For years, this occurrence was a topic of conversation in Pont l'Eveque. But Felicite took no credit to

Virginia occupied her thoughts solely, for the shock she had sustained gave her a nervous affection, and the

physician, M. Poupart, prescribed the saltwater bathing at Trouville. In those days, Trouville was not greatly

patronised. Madame Aubain gathered information, consulted Bourais, and made preparations as if they were

The baggage was sent the day before on Liebard's cart. On the following morning, he brought around two

horses, one of which had a woman's saddle with a velveteen back to it, while on the crupper of the other was

a rolled shawl that was to be used for a seat. Madame Aubain mounted the second horse, behind Liebard.

Felicite took charge of the little girl, and Paul rode M. Lechaptois' donkey, which had been lent for the

The road was so bad that it took two hours to cover the eight miles. The two horses sank kneedeep into the

mud and stumbled into ditches; sometimes they had to jump over them. In certain places, Liebard's mare

stopped abruptly. He waited patiently till she started again, and talked of the people whose estates bordered

the road, adding his own moral reflections to the outline of their histories. Thus, when they were passing

through Toucques, and came to some windows draped with nasturtiums, he shrugged his shoulders and said:

"There's a woman, Madame Lehoussais, who, instead of taking a young man" Felicite could not catch

what followed; the horses began to trot, the donkey to gallop, and they turned into a lane; then a gate swung

open, two farm hands appeared and they all dismounted at the very threshold of the farmhouse.

Mother Liebard, when she caught sight of her mistress, was lavish with joyful demonstrations. She got up a

lunch which comprised a leg of mutton, tripe, sausages, a chicken fricassee, sweet cider, a fruit tart and some

preserved prunes; then to all this the good woman added polite remarks about Madame, who appeared to be

in better health, Mademoiselle, who had grown to be "superb," and Paul, who had become singularly sturdy;

she spoke also of their deceased grandparents, whom the Liebards had known, for they had been in the

Like its owners, the farm had an ancient appearance. The beams of the ceiling were mouldy, the walls black

with smoke and the windows grey with dust. The oak sideboard was filled with all sorts of utensils, plates,

pitchers, tin bowls, wolftraps. The children laughed when they saw a huge syringe. There was not a tree in

the yard that did not have mushrooms growing around its foot, or a bunch of mistletoe hanging in its

branches. Several of the trees had been blown down, but they had started to grow in the middle and all were

laden with quantities of apples. The thatched roofs, which were of unequal thickness, looked like brown

velvet and could resist the fiercest gales. But the wagonshed was fast crumbling to ruins. Madame Aubain

said that she would attend to it, and then gave orders to have the horses saddled.

It took another thirty minutes to reach Trouville. The little caravan dismounted in order to pass Les Ecores, a

cliff that overhangs the bay, and a few minutes later, at the end of the dock, they entered the yard of the

During the first few days, Virginia felt stronger, owing to the change of air and the action of the seabaths.

She took them in her little chemise, as she had no bathing suit, and afterwards her nurse dressed her in the

In the afternoon, they would take the donkey and go to the Roches Noires, near Hennequeville. The path led

at first through undulating grounds, and thence to a plateau, where pastures and tilled fields alternated. At the

edge of the road, mingling with the brambles, grew holly bushes, and here and there stood large dead trees

Ordinarily, they rested in a field facing the ocean, with Deauville on their left, and Havre on their right. The

sea glittered brightly in the sun and was as smooth as a mirror, and so calm that they could scarcely

distinguish its murmur; sparrows chirped joyfully and the immense canopy of heaven spread over it all.

Madame Aubain brought out her sewing, and Virginia amused herself by braiding reeds; Felicite wove

Sometimes they crossed the Toucques in a boat, and started to hunt for seashells. The outgoing tide exposed

starfish and seaurchins, and the children tried to catch the flakes of foam which the wind blew away. The

sleepy waves lapping the sand unfurled themselves along the shore that extended as far as the eye could see,

but where land began, it was limited by the downs which separated it from the "Swamp," a large meadow

shaped like a hippodrome. When they went home that way, Trouville, on the slope of a hill below, grew

larger and larger as they advanced, and, with all its houses of unequal height, seemed to spread out before

When the heat was too oppressive, they remained in their rooms. The dazzling sunlight cast bars of light

between the shutters. Not a sound in the village, not a soul on the sidewalk. This silence intensified the

tranquility of everything. In the distance, the hammers of some calkers pounded the hull of a ship, and the

The principal diversion consisted in watching the return of the fishingsmacks. As soon as they passed the

beacons, they began to ply to windward. The sails were lowered to one third of the masts, and with their

foresails swelled up like balloons they glided over the waves and anchored in the middle of the harbour.

Then they crept up alongside of the dock and the sailors threw the quivering fish over the side of the boat; a

line of carts was waiting for them, and women with white caps sprang forward to receive the baskets and

One day, one of them spoke to Felicite, who, after a little while, returned to the house gleefully. She had

found one of her sisters, and presently Nastasie Barette, wife of Leroux, made her appearance, holding an

infant in her arms, another child by the hand, while on her left was a little cabinboy with his hands in his

They always hung around the kitchen, or approached Felicite when she and the children were out walking.

Felicite developed a great fondness for them; she bought them a stove, some shirts and a blanket; it was

evident that they exploited her. Her foolishness annoyed Madame Aubain, who, moreover did not like the

nephew's familiarity, for he called her son "thou";and, as Virginia began to cough and the season was over,

Monsieur Bourais assisted her in the choice of a college. The one at Caen was considered the best. So Paul

was sent away and bravely said goodbye to them all, for he was glad to go to live in a house where he would

Madame Aubain resigned herself to the separation from her son because it was unavoidable. Virginia

brooded less and less over it. Felicite regretted the noise he made, but soon a new occupation diverted her

mind; beginning from Christmas, she accompanied the little girl to her catechism lesson every day.

After she had made a curtsey at the threshold, she would walk up the aisle between the double lines of chairs,

Girls and boys, the former on the right, the latter on the lefthand side of the church, filled the stalls of the

choir; the priest stood beside the readingdesk; on one stained window of the sideaisle the Holy Ghost

hovered over the Virgin; on another one, Mary knelt before the Child Jesus, and behind the alter, a wooden

The priest first read a condensed lesson of sacred history. Felicite evoked Paradise, the Flood, the Tower of

Babel, the blazing cities, the dying nations, the shattered idols; and out of this she developed a great respect

for the Almighty and a great fear of His wrath. Then, when she had listened to the Passion, she wept. Why

had they crucified Him who loved little children, nourished the people, made the blind see, and who, out of

humility, had wished to be born among the poor, in a stable? The sowings, the harvests, the winepresses, all

those familiar things which the Scriptures mention, formed a part of her life; the word of God sanctified

them; and she loved the lambs with increased tenderness for the sake of the Lamb, and the doves because of

She found it hard, however, to think of the latter as a person, for was it not a bird, a flame, and sometimes

only a breath? Perhaps it is its light that at night hovers over swamps, its breath that propels the clouds, its

voice that renders churchbells harmonious. And Felicite worshipped devoutly, while enjoying the coolness

As for the dogma, she could not understand it and did not even try. The priest discoursed, the children recited,

and she went to sleep, only to awaken with a start when they were leaving the church and their wooden shoes

In this way, she learned her catechism, her religious education having been neglected in her youth; and

thenceforth she imitated all Virginia's religious practices, fasted when she did, and went to confession with

She worried in advance over Virginia's first communion. She fussed about the shoes, the rosary, the book and

During the entire ceremony, she felt anguished. Monsieur Bourais hid part of the choir from view, but

directly in front of her, the flock of maidens, wearing white wreaths over their lowered veils, formed a

snowwhite field, and she recognised her darling by the slenderness of her neck and her devout attitude. The

bell tinkled. All the heads bent and there was a silence. Then, at the peals of the organ the singers and the

worshippers struck up the Agnes Dei; the boys' procession began; behind them came the girls. With clasped

hands, they advanced step by step to the lighted altar, knelt at the first step, received one by one the Host, and

returned to their seats in the same order. When Virginia's turn came, Felicite leaned forward to watch her, and

through that imagination which springs from true affection, she at once became the child, whose face and

dress became hers, whose heart beat in her bosom, and when Virginia opened her mouth and closed her lids,

The following day, she presented herself early at the church so as to receive communion from the cure. She

took it with the proper feeling, but did not experience the same delight as on the previous day.

Madame Aubain wished to make an accomplished girl of her daughter; and as Guyot could not teach English

The child made no objection, but Felicite sighed and thought Madame was heartless. Then, she thought that

perhaps her mistress was right, as these things were beyond her sphere. Finally, one day, an old fiacre

stopped in front of the door and a nun stepped out. Felicite put Virginia's luggage on top of the carriage, gave

the coachman some instructions, and smuggled six jars of jam, a dozen pears and a bunch of violets under the

At the last minute, Virginia had a fit of sobbing; she embraced her mother again and again, while the latter

kissed her on the forehead, and said: "Now, be brave, be brave!" The step was pulled up and the fiacre

Then Madame Aubain had a fainting spell, and that evening all her friends, including the two Lormeaus,

Madame Lechaptois, the ladies Rochefeuille, Messieurs de Houppeville and Bourais, called on her and

At first the separation proved very painful to her. But her daughter wrote her three times a week and the other

days she, herself, wrote to Virginia. Then she walked in the garden, read a little, and in this way managed to

Each morning, out of habit, Felicite entered Virginia's room and gazed at the walls. She missed combing her

hair, lacing her shoes, tucking her in her bed, and the bright face and little hand when they used to go out for

a walk. In order to occupy herself she tried to make lace. But her clumsy fingers broke the threads; she had no

In order to have some distraction, she asked leave to receive the visits of her nephew Victor.

He would come on Sunday, after church, with ruddy cheeks and bared chest, bringing with him the scent of

the country. She would set the table and they would sit down opposite each other, and eat their dinner; she ate

as little as possible, herself, to avoid any extra expense, but would stuff him so with food that he would

finally go to sleep. At the first stroke of vespers, she would wake him up, brush his trousers, tie his cravat and

His parents always told him to get something out of her, either a package of brown sugar, or soap, or brandy,

and sometimes even money. He brought her his clothes to mend, and she accepted the task gladly, because it

It was vacation time and the arrival of the children consoled Felicite. But Paul was capricious, and Virginia

was growing too old to be theeandthou'd, a fact which seemed to produce a sort of embarrassment in their

Victor went successively to Morlaix, to Dunkirk, and to Brighton; whenever he returned from a trip he would

bring her a present. The first time it was a box of shells; the second, a coffeecup; the third, a big doll of

gingerbread. He was growing handsome, had a good figure, a tiny moustache, kind eyes, and a little leather

cap that sat jauntily on the back of his head. He amused his aunt by telling her stories mingled with nautical

One Monday, the 14th of July, 1819 (she never forgot the date), Victor announced that he had been engaged

on a merchantvessel and that in two days he would take the steamer at Honfleur and join his sailer, which

The prospect of his departure filled Felicite with despair, and in order to bid him farewell, on Wednesday

night, after Madame's dinner, she put on her pattens and trudged the four miles that separated Pont l'Eveque

When she reached the Calvary, instead of turning to the right, she turned to the left and lost herself in

coalyards; she had to retrace her steps; some people she spoke to advised her to hasten. She walked

helplessly around the harbour filled with vessels, and knocked against hawsers. Presently the ground sloped

abruptly, lights flitted to and fro, and she thought all at once that she had gone mad when she saw some

Others, on the edge of the dock, neighed at the sight of the ocean. A derrick pulled them up in the air, and

dumped them into a boat, where passengers were bustling about among barrels of cider, baskets of cheese and

bags of meal; chickens cackled, the captain swore and a cabinboy rested on the railing, apparently

indifferent to his surroundings. Felicite, who did not recognise him, kept shouting: "Victor!" He suddenly

raised his eyes, but while she was preparing to rush up to him, they withdrew the gangplank.

The packet, towed by singing women, glided out of the harbour. Her hull squeaked and the heavy waves beat

up against her sides. The sail had turned and nobody was visible;and on the ocean, silvered by the light of

the moon, the vessel formed a black spot that grew dimmer and dimmer, and finally disappeared.

When Felicite passed the Calvary again, she felt as if she must entrust that which was dearest to her to the

Lord; and for a long while she prayed, with uplifted eyes and a face wet with tears. The city was sleeping;

some customs officials were taking the air; and the water kept pouring through the holes of the dam with a

The parlour of the convent would not open until morning, and surely a delay would annoy Madame, so, in

spite of her desire to see the other child, she went home. The maids of the inn were just arising when she

So the poor boy would be on the ocean for months! His previous trips had not alarmed her. One can come

back from England and Brittany; but America, the colonies, the islands, were all lost in an uncertain region at

From that time on, Felicite thought solely of her nephew. On warm days she feared he would suffer from

thirst, and when it stormed, she was afraid he would be struck by lightning. When she harkened to the wind

that rattled in the chimney and dislodged the tiles on the roof, she imagined that he was being buffeted by the

same storm, perched on top of a shattered mast, with his whole body bend backward and covered with

seafoam; or,these were recollections of the engraved geography he was being devoured by savages, or

captured in a forest by apes, or dying on some lonely coast. She never mentioned her anxieties, however.

The sisters thought that Virginia was affectionate but delicate. The slightest emotion enervated her. She had

to give up her piano lessons. Her mother insisted upon regular letters from the convent. One morning, when

the postman failed to come, she grew impatient and began to pace to and fro, from her chair to the window. It

"Oh, yes, your nephew!" And shrugging her shoulders, Madame Aubain continued to pace the floor as if to

say: "I did not think of it. Besides, I do not care, a cabinboy, a pauper!but my daughterwhat a

Felicite, although she had been reared roughly, was very indignant. Then she forgot about it.

It appeared quite natural to her that one should lose one's head about Virginia.

The two children were of equal importance; they were united in her heart and their fate was to be the same.

The chemist informed her that Victor's vessel had reached Havana. He had read the information in a

Felicite imagined that Havana was a place where people did nothing but smoke, and that Victor walked

around among negroes in a cloud of tobacco. Could a person, in case of need, return by land? How far was it

from Pontl'Eveque? In order to learn these things, she questioned Monsieur Bourais. He reached for his map

and began some explanations concerning longitudes, and smiled with superiority at Felicite's bewilderment.

At last, he took a pencil and pointed out an imperceptible black point in the scallops of an oval blotch,

adding: "There it is." She bent over the map; the maze of coloured lines hurt her eyes without enlightening

her; and when Bourais asked her what puzzled her, she requested him to show her the house Victor lived in.

Bourais threw up his hands, sneezed, and then laughed uproariously; such ignorance delighted his soul; but

Felicite failed to understand the cause of his mirth, she whose intelligence was so limited that she perhaps

It was two weeks later that Liebard came into the kitchen at market time, and handed her a letter from her

Madame Aubain, who was counting the stitches of her knitting, laid her work down beside her, opened the

letter, started, and in a low tone and with a searching look said: "They tell you of amisfortune. Your

Felicite dropped on a chair, leaned her head against the back, and closed her lids; presently they grew pink.

Then, with drooping head, inert hands and staring eyes she repeated at intervals:

Her head fell forward again, and from time to time, mechanically, she toyed with the long knittingneedles

When she saw them through the window, she suddenly remembered her own wash; as she had soaked it the

Her tub and her board were on the bank of the Toucques. She threw a heap of clothes on the ground, rolled up

her sleeves and grasped her bat; and her loud pounding could be heard in the neighbouring gardens. The

meadows were empty, the breeze wrinkled the stream, at the bottom of which were long grasses that looked

like the hair of corpses floating in the water. She restrained her sorrow and was very brave until night; but,

when she had gone to her own room, she gave way to it, burying her face in the pillow and pressing her two

A long while afterward, she learned through Victor's captain, the circumstances which surrounded his death.

At the hospital they had bled him too much, treating him for yellow fever. Four doctors held him at one time.

His parents had always treated him barbarously; she preferred not to see them again, and they made no

A cough, continual fever, oppressive breathing and spots on her cheeks indicated some serious trouble.

Monsieur Popart had advised a sojourn in Provence. Madame Aubain decided that they would go, and she

would have had her daughter come home at once, had it not been for the climate of Pontl'Eveque.

She made an arrangement with a liverystable man who drove her over to the convent every Tuesday. In the

garden there was a terrace, from which the view extends to the Seine. Virginia walked in it, leaning on her

mother's arm and treading the dead vine leaves. Sometimes the sun, shining through the clouds, made her

blink her lids, when she gazed at the sails in the distance, and let her eyes roam over the horizon from the

chateau of Tancarville to the lighthouses of Havre. Then they rested on the arbour. Her mother had bought a

little cask of fine Malaga wine, and Virginia, laughing at the idea of becoming intoxicated, would drink a few

Her strength returned. Autumn passed. Felicite began to reassure Madame Aubain. But, one evening, when

she returned home after an errand, she met M. Boupart's coach in front of the door; M. Boupart himself was

standing in the vestibule and Madame Aubain was tying the strings of her bonnet. "Give me my

"Not yet," said the physician, and both got into the carriage, while the snow fell in thick flakes. It was almost

Felicite rushed to the church to light a candle. Then she ran after the coach which she overtook after an hour's

chase, sprang up behind and held on to the straps. But suddenly a thought crossed her mind: "The yard had

The next morning, at daybreak, she called at the doctor's. He had been home, but had left again. Then she

waited at the inn, thinking that strangers might bring her a letter. At last, at daylight she took the diligence for

The convent was at the end of a steep and narrow street. When she arrived about at the middle of it, she heard

strange noises, a funeral knell. "It must be for some one else," thought she; and she pulled the knocker

After several minutes had elapsed, she heard footsteps, the door was half opened and a nun appeared. The

good sister, with an air of compunction, told her that "she had just passed away." And at the same time the

Felicite reached the second floor. Already at the threshold, she caught sight of Virginia lying on her back,

with clasped hands, her mouth open and her head thrown back, beneath a black crucifix inclined toward her,

and stiff curtains which were less white than her face. Madame Aubain lay at the foot of the couch, clasping

it with her arms and uttering groans of agony. The Mother Superior was standing on the right side of the bed.

The three candles on the bureau made red blurs, and the windows were dimmed by the fog outside. The nuns

For two nights, Felicite never left the corpse. She would repeat the same prayers, sprinkle holy water over the

sheets, get up, come back to the bed and contemplate the body. At the end of the first vigil, she noticed that

the face had taken on a yellow tinge, the lips grew blue, the nose grew pinched, the eyes were sunken. She

kissed them several times and would not have been greatly astonished had Virginia opened them; to souls

like this the supernatural is always quite simple. She washed her, wrapped her in a shroud, put her into the

casket, laid a wreath of flowers on her head and arranged her curls. They were blond and of an extraordinary

length for her age. Felicite cut off a big lock and put half of it into her bosom, resolving never to part with it.

The body was taken to Pontl'Eveque, according to Madame Aubain's wishes; she followed the hearse in a

After the ceremony it took three quarters of an hour to reach the cemetery. Paul, sobbing, headed the

procession; Monsieur Bourais followed, and then came the principle inhabitants of the town, the women

covered with black capes, and Felicite. The memory of her nephew, and the thought that she had not been

able to render him these honours, made her doubly unhappy, and she felt as if he were being buried with

Madame Aubain's grief was uncontrollable. At first she rebelled against God, thinking that he was unjust to

have taken away her child she who had never done anything wrong, and whose conscience was so pure!

But no! she ought to have taken her South. Other doctors would have saved her. She accused herself, prayed

to be able to join her child, and cried in the midst of her dreams. Of the latter, one more especially haunted

her. Her husband, dressed like a sailor, had come back from a long voyage, and with tears in his eyes told her

that he had received the order to take Virginia away. Then they both consulted about a hidingplace.

Once she came in from the garden, all upset. A moment before (and she showed the place), the father and

daughter had appeared to her, one after the other; they did nothing but look at her.

During several months she remained inert in her room. Felicite scolded her gently; she must keep up for her

"Her memory!" replied Madame Aubain, as if she were just awakening, "Oh! yes, yes, you do not forget her!"

This was an allusion to the cemetery where she had been expressly forbidden to go

But Felicite went there every day. At four o'clock exactly, she would go through the town, climb the hill,

open the gate and arrive at Virginia's tomb. It was a small column of pink marble with a flat stone at its base,

and it was surrounded by a little plot enclosed by chains. The flowerbeds were bright with blossoms.

Felicite watered their leaves, renewed the gravel, and knelt on the ground in order to till the earth properly.

When Madame Aubain was able to visit the cemetery she felt very much relieved and consoled.

Years passed, all alike and marked by no other events than the return of the great church holidays: Easter,

Assumption, All Saints' Day. Household happenings constituted the only data to which in later years they

often referred. Thus, in 1825, workmen painted the vestibule; in 1827, a portion of the roof almost killed a

man by falling into the yard. In the summer of 1828, it was Madame's turn to offer the hallowed bread; at that

time, Bourais disappeared mysteriously; and the old acquaintances, Guyot, Liebard, Madame Lechaptois,

Robelin, old Gremanville, paralysed since a long time, passed away one by one. One night, the driver of the

mail in Pontl'Eveque announced the Revolution of July. A few days afterward a new subprefect was

nominated, the Baron de Larsonniere, exconsul in America, who, besides his wife, had his sisterinlaw

and her three grown daughters with him. They were often seen on their lawn, dressed in loose blouses, and

they had a parrot and a negro servant. Madame Aubain received a call, which she returned promptly. As soon

as she caught sight of them, Felicite would run and notify her mistress. But only one thing was capable of

He could not follow any profession as he was absorbed in drinking. His mother paid his debts and he made

fresh ones; and the sighs that she heaved while she knitted at the window reached the ears of Felicite who

They walked in the garden together, always speaking of Virginia, and asking each other if such and such a

thing would have pleased her, and what she would probably have said on this or that occasion.

All her little belongings were put away in a closet of the room which held the two little beds. But Madame

Aubain looked them over as little as possible. One summer day, however, she resigned herself to the task and

Virginia's frocks were hung under a shelf where there were three dolls, some hoops, a dollhouse, and a basic

which she had used. Felicite and Madame Aubain also took out the skirts, the handkerchiefs, and the

stockings and spread them on the beds, before putting them away again. The sun fell on the piteous things,

disclosing their spots and the creases formed by the motions of the body. The atmosphere was warm and

blue, and a blackbird trilled in the garden; everything seemed to live in happiness. They found a little hat of

soft brown plush, but it was entirely motheaten. Felicite asked for it. Their eyes met and filled with tears; at

last the mistress opened her arms and the servant threw herself against her breast and they hugged each other

It was the first time that this had ever happened, for Madame Aubain was not of an expansive nature. Felicite

was as grateful for it as if it had been some favour, and thenceforth loved her with animallike devotion and a

Her kindheartedness developed. When she heard the drums of a marching regiment passing through the

street, she would stand in the doorway with a jug of cider and give the soldiers a drink. She nursed cholera

victims. She protected Polish refugees, and one of them even declared that he wished to marry her. But they

quarrelled, for one morning when she returned from the Angelus she found him in the kitchen coolly eating a

After the Polish refugees, came Colmiche, an old man who was credited with having committed frightful

misdeeds in '93. He lived near the river in the ruins of a pigsty. The urchins peeped at him through the

cracks in the walls and threw stones that fell on his miserable bed, where he lay gasping with catarrh, with

She got him some linen, tried to clean his hovel and dreamed of installing him in the bakehouse without his

being in Madame's way. When the cancer broke, she dressed it every day; sometimes she brought him some

cake and placed him in the sun on a bundle of hay; and the poor old creature, trembling and drooling, would

thank her in his broken voice, and put out his hands whenever she left him. Finally he died; and she had a

That day a great joy came to her: at dinnertime, Madame de Larsonniere's servant called with the parrot, the

cage, and the perch and chain and lock. A note from the baroness told Madame Aubain that as her husband

had been promoted to a prefecture, they were leaving that night, and she begged her to accept the bird as a

Since a long time the parrot had been on Felicite's mind, because he came from America, which reminded her

The man had repeated this remark to his mistress who, not being able to keep the bird, took this means of

He was called Loulou. His body was green, his head blue, the tips of his wings were pink and his breast was

But he had the tiresome tricks of biting his perch, pulling his feathers out, scattering refuse and spilling the

water of his bath. Madame Aubain grew tired of him and gave him to Felicite for good.

She undertook his education, and soon he was able to repeat: "Pretty boy! Your servant, sir! I salute you,

Marie!" His perch was placed near the door and several persons were astonished that he did not answer to the

name of "Jacquot," for every parrot is called Jacquot. They called him a goose and a log, and these taunts

were like so many dagger thrusts to Felicite. Strange stubbornness of the bird which would not talk when

Nevertheless, he sought society; for on Sunday, when the ladies Rochefeuille, Monsieur de Houppeville and

the new habitues, Onfroy, the chemist, Monsieur Varin and Captain Mathieu, dropped in for their game of

cards, he struck the windowpanes with his wings and made such a racket that it was impossible to talk.

Bourais' face must have appeared very funny to Loulou. As soon as he saw him he would begin to roar. His

voice reechoed in the yard, and the neighbours would come to the windows and begin to laugh, too; and in

order that the parrot might not see him, Monsieur Bourais edged along the wall, pushed his hat over his eyes

to hide his profile, and entered by the garden door, and the looks he gave the bird lacked affection. Loulou,

having thrust his head into the butcherboy's basket, received a slap, and from that time he always tried to nip

his enemy. Fabu threatened to ring his neck, although he was not cruelly inclined, notwithstanding his big

whiskers and tattooings. On the contrary, he rather liked the bird, and, out of devilry, tried to teach him oaths.

Felicite, whom his manner alarmed, put Loulou in the kitchen, took off his chain and let him walk all over the

When he went downstairs, he rested his beak on the steps, lifted his right foot and then his left one; but his

mistress feared that such feats would give him vertigo. He became ill and was unable to eat. There was a

small growth under his tongue like those chickens are sometimes afflicted with. Felicite pulled it off with her

nails and cured him. One day, Paul was imprudent enough to blow the smoke of his cigar in his face; another

time, Madame Lormeau was teasing him with the tip of her umbrella and he swallowed the tip. Finally he got

She had put him on the grass to cool him and went away only for a second; when she returned, she found no

parrot! She hunted among the bushes, on the bank of the river, and on the roofs, without paying any attention

to Madame Aubain who screamed at her: "Take care! you must be insane!" Then she searched every garden

in Pontl'Eveque and stopped the passersby to inquire of them: "Haven't you perhaps seen my parrot?" To

those who had never seen the parrot, she described him minutely. Suddenly she thought she saw something

green fluttering behind the mills at the foot of the hill. But when she was at the top of the hill she could not

see it. A hodcarrier told her that he had just seen the bird in SaintMelaine, in Mother Simon's store. She

rushed to the place. The people did not know what she was talking about. At last she came home, exhausted,

with her slippers worn to shreds, and despair in her heart. She sat down on the bench near Madame and was

telling of her search when presently a light weight dropped on her shoulderLoulou! What the deuce had he

She did not easily forget her scare; in fact, she never got over it. In consequence of a cold, she caught a sore

throat; and some time later she had an earache. Three years later she was stone deaf, and spoke in a very loud

voice even in church. Although her sins might have been proclaimed throughout the diocese without any

shame to herself, or ill effects to the community, the cure thought it advisable to receive her confession in the

Imaginary buzzings also added to her bewilderment. Her mistress often said to her: "My goodness, how

The narrow circle of her ideas grew more restricted than it already was; the bellowing of the oxen, the chime

of the bells no longer reached her intelligence. All things moved silently, like ghosts. Only one noise

As if to divert her mind, he reproduced for her the ticktack of the spit in the kitchen, the shrill cry of the

fishvendors, the saw of the carpenter who had a shop opposite, and when the doorbell rang, he would

They held conversations together, Loulou repeating the three phrases of his repertory over and over, Felicite

replying by words that had no greater meaning, but in which she poured out her feelings. In her isolation, the

parrot was almost a son, a love. He climbed upon her fingers, pecked at her lips, clung to her shawl, and

when she rocked her head to and fro like a nurse, the big wings of her cap and the wings of the bird flapped in

unison. When clouds gathered on the horizon and the thunder rumbled, Loulou would scream, perhaps

because he remembered the storms in his native forests. The dripping of the rain would excite him to frenzy;

he flapped around, struck the ceiling with his wings, upset everything, and would finally fly into the garden

to play. Then he would come back into the room, light on one of the andirons, and hop around in order to get

One morning during the terrible winter of 1837, when she had put him in front of the fireplace on account of

the cold, she found him dead in his cage, hanging to the wire bars with his head down. He had probably died

of congestion. But she believed that he had been poisoned, and although she had no proofs whatever, her

He wrote to Havre for her. A certain man named Fellacher consented to do the work. But, as the diligence

driver often lost parcels entrusted to him, Felicite resolved to take her pet to Honfleur herself.

Leafless appletrees lined the edges of the road. The ditches were covered with ice. The dogs on the

neighbouring farms barked; and Felicite, with her hands beneath her cape, her little black sabots and her

basket, trotted along nimbly in the middle of the sidewalk. She crossed the forest, passed by the HautChene,

Behind her, in a cloud of dust and impelled by the steep incline, a mailcoach drawn by galloping horses

advanced like a whirlwind. When he saw a woman in the middle of the road, who did not get out of the way,

the driver stood up in his seat and shouted to her and so did the postilion, while the four horses, which he

could not hold back, accelerated their pace; the two leaders were almost upon her; with a jerk of the reins he

threw them to one side, but, furious at the incident, he lifted his big whip and lashed her from her head to her

Her first thought, when she recovered her senses, was to open the basket. Loulou was unharmed. She felt a

sting on her right cheek; when she took her hand away it was red, for the blood was flowing.

She sat down on a pile of stones, and sopped her cheek with her handkerchief; then she ate a crust of bread

Arriving at the top of Ecquemanville, she saw the lights of Honfleur shining in the distance like so many

stars; further on, the ocean spread out in a confused mass. Then a weakness came over her; the misery of her

childhood, the disappointment of her first love, the departure of her nephew, the death of Virginia; all these

things came back to her at once, and, rising like a swelling tide in her throat, almost choked her.

Then she wished to speak to the captain of the vessel, and without stating what she was sending, she gave

Fellacher kept the parrot a long time. He always promised that it would be ready for the following week; after

six months he announced the shipment of a case, and that was the end of it. Really, it seemed as if Loulou

Finally he arrived, sitting bold upright on a branch which could be screwed into a mahogany pedestal, with

his foot in the air, his head on one side, and in his beak a nut which the naturalist, from love of the

This place, to which only a chosen few were admitted, looked like a chapel and a secondhand shop, so filled

was it with devotional and heterogeneous things. The door could not be opened easily on account of the

presence of a large wardrobe. Opposite the window that looked out into the garden, a bull'seye opened on

the yard; a table was placed by the cot and held a washbasin, two combs, and a piece of blue soap in a

broken saucer. On the walls were rosaries, medals, a number of Holy Virgins, and a holywater basin made

out of a cocoanut; on the bureau, which was covered with a napkin like an altar, stood the box of shells that

Victor had given her; also a wateringcan and a balloon, writingbooks, the engraved geography and a pair

of shoes; on the nail which held the mirror, hung Virginia's little plush hat! Felicite carried this sort of respect

so far that she even kept one of Monsieur's old coats. All the things which Madame Aubain discarded,

Felicite begged for her own room. Thus, she had artificial flowers on the edge of the bureau, and the picture

of the Comte d'Artois in the recess of the window. By means of a board, Loulou was set on a portion of the

chimney which advanced into the room. Every morning when she awoke, she saw him in the dim light of

dawn and recalled bygone days and the smallest details of insignificant actions, without any sense of

As she was unable to communicate with people, she lived in a sort of somnambulistic torpor. The processions

of CorpusChristi Day seemed to wake her up. She visited the neighbours to beg for candlesticks and mats so

In church, she always gazed at the Holy Ghost, and noticed that there was something about it that resembled a

parrot. The likenesses appeared even more striking on a coloured picture by Espinal, representing the baptism

of our Saviour. With his scarlet wings and emerald body, it was really the image of Loulou. Having bought

the picture, she hung it near the one of the Comte d'Artois so that she could take them in at one glance.

They associated in her mind, the parrot becoming sanctified through the neighbourhood of the Holy Ghost,

and the latter becoming more lifelike in her eyes, and more comprehensible. In all probability the Father had

never chosen as messenger a dove, as the latter has no voice, but rather one of Loulou's ancestors. And

Felicite said her prayers in front of the coloured picture, though from time to time she turned slightly towards

She desired very much to enter in the ranks of the "Daughters of the Virgin." But Madame Aubain dissuaded

After being first a notary's clerk, then in business, then in the customs, and a tax collector, and having even

applied for a position in the administration of woods and forests, he had at last, when he was thirtysix years

old, by a divine inspiration, found his vocation: registrature! and he displayed such a high ability that an

But she looked down upon the customs of Pontl'Eveque, put on airs, and hurt Felicite's feelings. Madame

The following week they learned of Monsieur Bourais' death in an inn. There were rumours of suicide, which

were confirmed; doubts concerning his integrity arose. Madame Aubain looked over her accounts and soon

discovered his numerous embezzlements; sales of wood which had been concealed from her, false receipts,

etc. Furthermore, he had an illegitimate child, and entertained a friendship for "a person in Dozule."

These base actions affected her very much. In March, 1853, she developed a pain in her chest; her tongue

looked as if it were coated with smoke, and the leeches they applied did not relieve her oppression; and on the

People thought that she was younger, because her hair, which she wore in bands framing her pale face, was

brown. Few friends regretted her loss, for her manner was so haughty that she did not attract them. Felicite

mourned for her as servants seldom mourn for their masters. The fact that Madame should die before herself

perplexed her mind and seemed contrary to the order of things, and absolutely monstrous and inadmissible.

Ten days later (the time to journey from Besancon), the heirs arrived. Her daughterinlaw ransacked the

drawers, kept some of the furniture, and sold the rest; then they went back to their own home.

Madame's armchair, footwarmer, worktable, the eight chairs, everything was gone! The places occupied

by the pictures formed yellow squares on the walls. They had taken the two little beds, and the wardrobe had

been emptied of Virginia's belongings! Felicite went upstairs, overcome with grief.

The following day a sign was posted on the door; the chemist screamed in her ear that the house was for sale.

What hurt her most was to give up her room,so nice for poor Loulou! She looked at him in despair and

implored the Holy Ghost, and it was this way that she contracted the idolatrous habit of saying her prayers

kneeling in front of the bird. Sometimes the sun fell through the window on his glass eye, and lighted a spark

Her mistress had left her an income of three hundred and eighty francs. The garden supplied her with

vegetables. As for clothes, she had enough to last her till the end of her days, and she economised on the light

She rarely went out, in order to avoid passing in front of the second hand dealer's shop where there was

some of the old furniture. Since her fainting spell, she dragged her leg, and as her strength was failing rapidly,

old Mother Simon, who had lost her money in the grocery business, came very morning to chop the wood

Her eyesight grew dim. She did not open the shutters after that. Many years passed. But the house did not sell

or rent. Fearing that she would be put out, Felicite did not ask for repairs. The laths of the roof were rotting

away, and during one whole winter her bolster was wet. After Easter she spit blood.

Then Mother Simon went for a doctor. Felicite wished to know what her complaint was. But, being too deaf

to hear, she caught only one word: "Pneumonia." She was familiar with it and gently answered:"Ah! like

The first one was always erected at the foot of the hill, the second in front of the postoffice, and the third in

the middle of the street. This position occasioned some rivalry among the women and they finally decided

Felicite's fever grew worse. She was sorry that she could not do anything for the altar. If she could, at least,

have contributed something towards it! Then she thought of the parrot. Her neighbours objected that it would

not be proper. But the cure gave his consent and she was so grateful for it that she begged him to accept after

her death, her only treasure, Loulou. From Tuesday until Saturday, the day before the event, she coughed

more frequently. In the evening her face was contracted, her lips stuck to her gums and she began to vomit;

Three neighbours surrounded her when the dominie administered the Extreme Unction. Afterwards she said

He arrived in his Sunday clothes, very ill at ease among the funereal surroundings.

"Forgive me," she said, making an effort to extend her arm, "I believed it was you who killed him!"

What did such accusations mean? Suspect a man like him of murder! And Fabu became excited and was

From time to time Felicite spoke to shadows. The women left her and Mother Simon sat down to breakfast.

Although he was not a corpse, he was eaten up by worms; one of his wings was broken and the wadding was

coming out of his body. But Felicite was blind now, and she took him and laid him against her cheek. Then

The grass exhaled an odour of summer; flies buzzed in the air, the sun shone on the river and warmed the

slated roof. Old Mother Simon had returned to Felicite and was peacefully falling asleep.

The ringing of bells woke her; the people were coming out of church. Felicite's delirium subsided. By

thinking of the procession, she was able to see it as if she had taken part in it. All the school children, the

singers and the firemen walked on the sidewalks, while in the middle of the street came first the custodian of

the church with his halberd, then the beadle with a large cross, the teacher in charge of the boys and a sister

escorting the little girls; three of the smallest ones, with curly heads, threw rose leaves into the air; the deacon

with outstretched arms conducted the music; and two incensebearers turned with each step they took toward

the Holy Sacrament, which was carried by M. le Cure, attired in his handsome chasuble and walking under a

canopy of red velvet supported by four men. A crowd of people followed, jammed between the walls of the

houses hung with white sheets; at last the procession arrived at the foot of the hill.

A cold sweat broke out on Felicite's forehead. Mother Simon wiped it away with a cloth, saying inwardly that

The murmur of the crowd grew louder, was very distinct for a moment and then died away. A volley of

musketry shook the windowpanes. It was the postilions saluting the Sacrament. Felicite rolled her eyes, and

Her death agony began. A rattle that grew more and more rapid shook her body. Froth appeared at the corners

of her mouth, and her whole frame trembled. In a little while could be heard the music of the bass horns, the

clear voices of the children and the men's deeper notes. At intervals all was still, and their shoes sounded like

The clergy appeared in the yard. Mother Simon climbed on a chair to reach the bull'seye, and in this manner

could see the altar. It was covered with a lace cloth and draped with green wreaths. In the middle stood a little

frame containing relics; at the corners were two little orangetrees, and all along the edge were silver

candlesticks, porcelain vases containing sunflowers, lilies, peonies, and tufts of hydrangeas. This mount of

bright colours descended diagonally from the first floor to the carpet that covered the sidewalk. Rare objects

arrested one's eye. A golden sugarbowl was crowned with violets, earrings set with Alencon stones were

displayed on green moss, and two Chinese screens with their bright landscapes were near by. Loulou, hidden

beneath roses, showed nothing but his blue head which looked like a piece of lapislazuli.

The singers, the canopybearers and the children lined up against the sides of the yard. Slowly the priest

ascended the steps and placed his shining sun on the lace cloth. Everybody knelt. There was deep silence; and

the censers slipping on their chains were swung high in the air. A blue vapour rose in Felicite's room. She

opened her nostrils and inhaled with a mystic sensuousness; then she closed her lids. Her lips smiled. The

beats of her heart grew fainter and fainter, and vaguer, like a fountain giving out, like an echo dying

away;and when she exhaled her last breath, she thought she saw in the halfopened heavens a gigantic