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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Winter Amid the Ice, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: A Winter Amid the Ice
+       and Other Thrilling Stories
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Release Date: May 1, 2009 [eBook #28657]
+[Most recently updated: February 5, 2022]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Alan Winterrowd
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WINTER AMID THE ICE ***
+
+
+
+
+A Winter Amid the Ice
+
+AND
+OTHER THRILLING STORIES
+
+by Jules Verne
+
+
+with sixty illustrations
+
+[Illustration: ]
+
+NEW YORK:
+THE WORLD PUBLISHING HOUSE
+21 ASTOR PLACE AND 142 EIGHTH ST.
+1877
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+DOCTOR OX’S EXPERIMENT
+
+CHAPTER I.
+How it is useless to seek, even on the best maps, for the small town of
+Quiquendone
+
+CHAPTER II.
+In which the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor Niklausse consult
+about the affairs of the town
+
+CHAPTER III.
+In which the Commissary Passauf enters as noisily as unexpectedly
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+In which Doctor Ox reveals himself as a physiologist of the first rank, and as
+an audacious experimentalist
+
+CHAPTER V.
+In which the burgomaster and the counsellor pay a visit to Doctor Ox, and what
+follows
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+In which Frantz Niklausse and Suzel Van Tricasse form certain projects for the
+future
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+In which the Andantes become Allegros, and the Allegros Vivaces
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+In which the ancient and solemn German waltz becomes a whirlwind
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+In which Doctor Ox and Ygène, his assistant, say a few words
+
+CHAPTER X.
+In which it will be seen that the epidemic invades the entire town, and what
+effect it produces
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+In which the Quiquendonians adopt a heroic resolution
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+In which Ygène, the assistant, gives a reasonable piece of advice, which is
+eagerly rejected by Doctor Ox
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+In which it is once more proved that by taking high ground all human
+littlenesses may be overlooked
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+In which matters go so far that the inhabitants of Quiquendone, the reader, and
+even the author, demand an immediate dénouement
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+In which the dénouement takes place
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+In which the intelligent reader sees that he has guessed correctly, despite all
+the author’s precautions
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+In which Doctor Ox’s theory is explained
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+A winter night
+
+CHAPTER II.
+The pride of science
+
+CHAPTER III.
+A strange visit
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+The Church of St. Pierre
+
+CHAPTER V.
+The hour of death
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE
+
+CHAPTER I.
+The black flag
+
+CHAPTER II.
+Jean Cornbutte’s project
+
+CHAPTER III.
+A ray of hope
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+In the passes
+
+CHAPTER V.
+Liverpool Island
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+The quaking of the ice
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+Settling for the winter
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+Plan of the explorations
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+The house of snow
+
+CHAPTER X.
+Buried alive
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+A cloud of smoke
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+The return to the ship
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+The two rivals
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+Distress
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+The white bears
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+Conclusion
+
+ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+
+[Illustration: ]
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+ She handed her father a pipe
+ The worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second husband
+ “I have just come from Dr. Ox’s”
+ “It is in the interests of science”
+ “The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are not very expeditious”
+ The young girl took the line
+ “Good-bye, Frantz,” said Suzel
+ Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in “Les Huguenots”
+ They hustle each other to get out
+ It was no longer a waltz
+ It required two persons to eat a strawberry
+ “To Virgamen! to Virgamen!”
+ “A burgomaster’s place is in the front rank”
+ The two friends, arm in arm
+ The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth
+ He would raise the trap-door constructed in the floor of his workshop
+ The young girl prayed
+ “Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence”.
+ “Father, what is the matter?”
+ Then he resumed, in an ironical tone
+ From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the house
+ This proud old man remained motionless
+ “It is there—there!”
+ “See this man,—he is Time”
+ He was dead
+ “Monsieur, I salute you”
+ “Monsieur!” cried I, in a rage
+ “He continued his observations for seven or eight hours with General Morlot”
+ “The balloon became less and less inflated”
+ “Zambecarri fell, and was killed!”
+ The madman disappeared in space
+ “Monsieur the curè,” said he, “stop a moment, if you please”
+ André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful event
+ A soft voice said in his ear, “Have good courage, uncle”
+ André Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever
+ On the 12th September the sea consisted of one solid plain
+ They found themselves in a most perilous position, for an icequake had occurred
+ Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation
+ The caravan set out
+ “Thirty-two degrees below zero!”
+ Despair and determination were struggling in his rough features for the mastery
+ It was Louis Cornbutte
+ Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians
+ Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons, but he did not reply
+ Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old Jean Cornbutte
+ The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen on the two men
+ The old curè received Louis Cornbutte and Marie
+ View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent
+ View of Bossons glacier, near the Grands-Mulets
+ Passage of the Bossons Glacier
+ Crevasse and bridge
+ View of the “Seracs”
+ View of “Seracs”
+ Passage of the “Junction”
+ Hut at the Grands-Mulets
+ View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets
+ Crossing the plateau
+ Summit of Mont Blanc
+ Grands-Mulets:—Party descending from the hut
+
+
+
+
+DOCTOR OX’S EXPERIMENT.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+HOW IT IS USELESS TO SEEK, EVEN ON THE BEST MAPS, FOR THE SMALL TOWN OF
+QUIQUENDONE.
+
+
+If you try to find, on any map of Flanders, ancient or modern, the
+small town of Quiquendone, probably you will not succeed. Is
+Quiquendone, then, one of those towns which have disappeared? No. A
+town of the future? By no means. It exists in spite of geographies, and
+has done so for some eight or nine hundred years. It even numbers two
+thousand three hundred and ninety-three souls, allowing one soul to
+each inhabitant. It is situated thirteen and a half kilometres
+north-west of Oudenarde, and fifteen and a quarter kilometres
+south-east of Bruges, in the heart of Flanders. The Vaar, a small
+tributary of the Scheldt, passes beneath its three bridges, which are
+still covered with a quaint mediæval roof, like that at Tournay. An old
+château is to be seen there, the first stone of which was laid so long
+ago as 1197, by Count Baldwin, afterwards Emperor of Constantinople;
+and there is a Town Hall, with Gothic windows, crowned by a chaplet of
+battlements, and surrounded by a turreted belfry, which rises three
+hundred and fifty-seven feet above the soil. Every hour you may hear
+there a chime of five octaves, a veritable aerial piano, the renown of
+which surpasses that of the famous chimes of Bruges. Strangers—if any
+ever come to Quiquendone—do not quit the curious old town until they
+have visited its “Stadtholder’s Hall”, adorned by a full-length
+portrait of William of Nassau, by Brandon; the loft of the Church of
+Saint Magloire, a masterpiece of sixteenth century architecture; the
+cast-iron well in the spacious Place Saint Ernuph, the admirable
+ornamentation of which is attributed to the artist-blacksmith, Quentin
+Metsys; the tomb formerly erected to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of
+Charles the Bold, who now reposes in the Church of Notre Dame at
+Bruges; and so on. The principal industry of Quiquendone is the
+manufacture of whipped creams and barley-sugar on a large scale. It has
+been governed by the Van Tricasses, from father to son, for several
+centuries. And yet Quiquendone is not on the map of Flanders! Have the
+geographers forgotten it, or is it an intentional omission? That I
+cannot tell; but Quiquendone really exists; with its narrow streets,
+its fortified walls, its Spanish-looking houses, its market, and its
+burgomaster—so much so, that it has recently been the theatre of some
+surprising phenomena, as extraordinary and incredible as they are true,
+which are to be recounted in the present narration.
+
+Surely there is nothing to be said or thought against the Flemings of
+Western Flanders. They are a well-to-do folk, wise, prudent, sociable,
+with even tempers, hospitable, perhaps a little heavy in conversation
+as in mind; but this does not explain why one of the most interesting
+towns of their district has yet to appear on modern maps.
+
+This omission is certainly to be regretted. If only history, or in
+default of history the chronicles, or in default of chronicles the
+traditions of the country, made mention of Quiquendone! But no; neither
+atlases, guides, nor itineraries speak of it. M. Joanne himself, that
+energetic hunter after small towns, says not a word of it. It might be
+readily conceived that this silence would injure the commerce, the
+industries, of the town. But let us hasten to add that Quiquendone has
+neither industry nor commerce, and that it does very well without them.
+Its barley-sugar and whipped cream are consumed on the spot; none is
+exported. In short, the Quiquendonians have no need of anybody. Their
+desires are limited, their existence is a modest one; they are calm,
+moderate, phlegmatic—in a word, they are Flemings; such as are still to
+be met with sometimes between the Scheldt and the North Sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER VAN TRICASSE AND THE COUNSELLOR NIKLAUSSE
+CONSULT ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN.
+
+
+“You think so?” asked the burgomaster.
+
+“I—think so,” replied the counsellor, after some minutes of silence.
+
+“You see, we must not act hastily,” resumed the burgomaster.
+
+“We have been talking over this grave matter for ten years,” replied
+the Counsellor Niklausse, “and I confess to you, my worthy Van
+Tricasse, that I cannot yet take it upon myself to come to a decision.”
+
+“I quite understand your hesitation,” said the burgomaster, who did not
+speak until after a good quarter of an hour of reflection, “I quite
+understand it, and I fully share it. We shall do wisely to decide upon
+nothing without a more careful examination of the question.”
+
+“It is certain,” replied Niklausse, “that this post of civil commissary
+is useless in so peaceful a town as Quiquendone.”
+
+“Our predecessor,” said Van Tricasse gravely, “our predecessor never
+said, never would have dared to say, that anything is certain. Every
+affirmation is subject to awkward qualifications.”
+
+The counsellor nodded his head slowly in token of assent; then he
+remained silent for nearly half an hour. After this lapse of time,
+during which neither the counsellor nor the burgomaster moved so much
+as a finger, Niklausse asked Van Tricasse whether his predecessor—of
+some twenty years before—had not thought of suppressing this office of
+civil commissary, which each year cost the town of Quiquendone the sum
+of thirteen hundred and seventy-five francs and some centimes.
+
+“I believe he did,” replied the burgomaster, carrying his hand with
+majestic deliberation to his ample brow; “but the worthy man died
+without having dared to make up his mind, either as to this or any
+other administrative measure. He was a sage. Why should I not do as he
+did?”
+
+Counsellor Niklausse was incapable of originating any objection to the
+burgomaster’s opinion.
+
+“The man who dies,” added Van Tricasse solemnly, “without ever having
+decided upon anything during his life, has very nearly attained to
+perfection.”
+
+This said, the burgomaster pressed a bell with the end of his little
+finger, which gave forth a muffled sound, which seemed less a sound
+than a sigh. Presently some light steps glided softly across the tile
+floor. A mouse would not have made less noise, running over a thick
+carpet. The door of the room opened, turning on its well-oiled hinges.
+A young girl, with long blonde tresses, made her appearance. It was
+Suzel Van Tricasse, the burgomaster’s only daughter. She handed her
+father a pipe, filled to the brim, and a small copper brazier, spoke
+not a word, and disappeared at once, making no more noise at her exit
+than at her entrance.
+
+
+[Illustration: She handed her father a pipe]
+
+
+The worthy burgomaster lighted his pipe, and was soon hidden in a cloud
+of bluish smoke, leaving Counsellor Niklausse plunged in the most
+absorbing thought.
+
+The room in which these two notable personages, charged with the
+government of Quiquendone, were talking, was a parlour richly adorned
+with carvings in dark wood. A lofty fireplace, in which an oak might
+have been burned or an ox roasted, occupied the whole of one of the
+sides of the room; opposite to it was a trellised window, the painted
+glass of which toned down the brightness of the sunbeams. In an antique
+frame above the chimney-piece appeared the portrait of some worthy man,
+attributed to Memling, which no doubt represented an ancestor of the
+Van Tricasses, whose authentic genealogy dates back to the fourteenth
+century, the period when the Flemings and Guy de Dampierre were engaged
+in wars with the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburgh.
+
+This parlour was the principal apartment of the burgomaster’s house,
+which was one of the pleasantest in Quiquendone. Built in the Flemish
+style, with all the abruptness, quaintness, and picturesqueness of
+Pointed architecture, it was considered one of the most curious
+monuments of the town. A Carthusian convent, or a deaf and dumb asylum,
+was not more silent than this mansion. Noise had no existence there;
+people did not walk, but glided about in it; they did not speak, they
+murmured. There was not, however, any lack of women in the house,
+which, in addition to the burgomaster Van Tricasse himself, sheltered
+his wife, Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse, his daughter, Suzel Van
+Tricasse, and his domestic, Lotchè Janshéu. We may also mention the
+burgomaster’s sister, Aunt Hermance, an elderly maiden who still bore
+the nickname of Tatanémance, which her niece Suzel had given her when a
+child. But in spite of all these elements of discord and noise, the
+burgomaster’s house was as calm as a desert.
+
+The burgomaster was some fifty years old, neither fat nor lean, neither
+short nor tall, neither rubicund nor pale, neither gay nor sad, neither
+contented nor discontented, neither energetic nor dull, neither proud
+nor humble, neither good nor bad, neither generous nor miserly, neither
+courageous nor cowardly, neither too much nor too little of anything—a
+man notably moderate in all respects, whose invariable slowness of
+motion, slightly hanging lower jaw, prominent eyebrows, massive
+forehead, smooth as a copper plate and without a wrinkle, would at once
+have betrayed to a physiognomist that the burgomaster Van Tricasse was
+phlegm personified. Never, either from anger or passion, had any
+emotion whatever hastened the beating of this man’s heart, or flushed
+his face; never had his pupils contracted under the influence of any
+irritation, however ephemeral. He invariably wore good clothes, neither
+too large nor too small, which he never seemed to wear out. He was shod
+with large square shoes with triple soles and silver buckles, which
+lasted so long that his shoemaker was in despair. Upon his head he wore
+a large hat which dated from the period when Flanders was separated
+from Holland, so that this venerable masterpiece was at least forty
+years old. But what would you have? It is the passions which wear out
+body as well as soul, the clothes as well as the body; and our worthy
+burgomaster, apathetic, indolent, indifferent, was passionate in
+nothing. He wore nothing out, not even himself, and he considered
+himself the very man to administer the affairs of Quiquendone and its
+tranquil population.
+
+The town, indeed, was not less calm than the Van Tricasse mansion. It
+was in this peaceful dwelling that the burgomaster reckoned on
+attaining the utmost limit of human existence, after having, however,
+seen the good Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse, his wife, precede him to
+the tomb, where, surely, she would not find a more profound repose than
+that she had enjoyed on earth for sixty years.
+
+This demands explanation.
+
+The Van Tricasse family might well call itself the “Jeannot family.”
+This is why:—
+
+Every one knows that the knife of this typical personage is as
+celebrated as its proprietor, and not less incapable of wearing out,
+thanks to the double operation, incessantly repeated, of replacing the
+handle when it is worn out, and the blade when it becomes worthless. A
+precisely similar operation had been going on from time immemorial in
+the Van Tricasse family, to which Nature had lent herself with more
+than usual complacency. From 1340 it had invariably happened that a Van
+Tricasse, when left a widower, had remarried a Van Tricasse younger
+than himself; who, becoming in turn a widow, had married again a Van
+Tricasse younger than herself; and so on, without a break in the
+continuity, from generation to generation. Each died in his or her turn
+with mechanical regularity. Thus the worthy Madame Brigitte Van
+Tricasse had now her second husband; and, unless she violated her every
+duty, would precede her spouse—he being ten years younger than
+herself—to the other world, to make room for a new Madame Van Tricasse.
+Upon this the burgomaster calmly counted, that the family tradition
+might not be broken. Such was this mansion, peaceful and silent, of
+which the doors never creaked, the windows never rattled, the floors
+never groaned, the chimneys never roared, the weathercocks never
+grated, the furniture never squeaked, the locks never clanked, and the
+occupants never made more noise than their shadows. The god Harpocrates
+would certainly have chosen it for the Temple of Silence.
+
+
+[Illustration: the worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her
+second husband]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+IN WHICH THE COMMISSARY PASSAUF ENTERS AS NOISILY AS UNEXPECTEDLY.
+
+
+When the interesting conversation which has been narrated began, it was
+a quarter before three in the afternoon. It was at a quarter before
+four that Van Tricasse lighted his enormous pipe, which could hold a
+quart of tobacco, and it was at thirty-five minutes past five that he
+finished smoking it.
+
+All this time the two comrades did not exchange a single word.
+
+About six o’clock the counsellor, who had a habit of speaking in a very
+summary manner, resumed in these words,—
+
+“So we decide—”
+
+“To decide nothing,” replied the burgomaster.
+
+“I think, on the whole, that you are right, Van Tricasse.”
+
+“I think so too, Niklausse. We will take steps with reference to the
+civil commissary when we have more light on the subject— later on.
+There is no need for a month yet.”
+
+“Nor even for a year,” replied Niklausse, unfolding his
+pocket-handkerchief and calmly applying it to his nose.
+
+There was another silence of nearly a quarter of an hour. Nothing
+disturbed this repeated pause in the conversation; not even the
+appearance of the house-dog Lento, who, not less phlegmatic than his
+master, came to pay his respects in the parlour. Noble dog!— a model
+for his race. Had he been made of pasteboard, with wheels on his paws,
+he would not have made less noise during his stay.
+
+Towards eight o’clock, after Lotchè had brought the antique lamp of
+polished glass, the burgomaster said to the counsellor,—
+
+“We have no other urgent matter to consider?”
+
+“No, Van Tricasse; none that I know of.”
+
+“Have I not been told, though,” asked the burgomaster, “that the tower
+of the Oudenarde gate is likely to tumble down?”
+
+“Ah!” replied the counsellor; “really, I should not be astonished if it
+fell on some passer-by any day.”
+
+“Oh! before such a misfortune happens I hope we shall have come to a
+decision on the subject of this tower.”
+
+“I hope so, Van Tricasse.”
+
+“There are more pressing matters to decide.”
+
+“No doubt; the question of the leather-market, for instance.”
+
+“What, is it still burning?”
+
+“Still burning, and has been for the last three weeks.”
+
+“Have we not decided in council to let it burn?”
+
+“Yes, Van Tricasse—on your motion.”
+
+“Was not that the surest and simplest way to deal with it?”
+
+“Without doubt.”
+
+“Well, let us wait. Is that all?”
+
+“All,” replied the counsellor, scratching his head, as if to assure
+himself that he had not forgotten anything important.
+
+“Ah!” exclaimed the burgomaster, “haven’t you also heard something of
+an escape of water which threatens to inundate the low quarter of Saint
+Jacques?”
+
+“I have. It is indeed unfortunate that this escape of water did not
+happen above the leather-market! It would naturally have checked the
+fire, and would thus have saved us a good deal of discussion.”
+
+“What can you expect, Niklausse? There is nothing so illogical as
+accidents. They are bound by no rules, and we cannot profit by one, as
+we might wish, to remedy another.”
+
+It took Van Tricasse’s companion some time to digest this fine
+observation.
+
+“Well, but,” resumed the Counsellor Niklausse, after the lapse of some
+moments, “we have not spoken of our great affair!”
+
+“What great affair? Have we, then, a great affair?” asked the
+burgomaster.
+
+“No doubt. About lighting the town.”
+
+“O yes. If my memory serves me, you are referring to the lighting plan
+of Doctor Ox.”
+
+“Precisely.”
+
+“It is going on, Niklausse,” replied the burgomaster. “They are already
+laying the pipes, and the works are entirely completed.”
+
+“Perhaps we have hurried a little in this matter,” said the counsellor,
+shaking his head.
+
+“Perhaps. But our excuse is, that Doctor Ox bears the whole expense of
+his experiment. It will not cost us a sou.”
+
+“That, true enough, is our excuse. Moreover, we must advance with the
+age. If the experiment succeeds, Quiquendone will be the first town in
+Flanders to be lighted with the oxy—What is the gas called?”
+
+“Oxyhydric gas.”
+
+“Well, oxyhydric gas, then.”
+
+At this moment the door opened, and Lotchè came in to tell the
+burgomaster that his supper was ready.
+
+Counsellor Niklausse rose to take leave of Van Tricasse, whose appetite
+had been stimulated by so many affairs discussed and decisions taken;
+and it was agreed that the council of notables should be convened after
+a reasonably long delay, to determine whether a decision should be
+provisionally arrived at with reference to the really urgent matter of
+the Oudenarde gate.
+
+The two worthy administrators then directed their steps towards the
+street-door, the one conducting the other. The counsellor, having
+reached the last step, lighted a little lantern to guide him through
+the obscure streets of Quiquendone, which Doctor Ox had not yet
+lighted. It was a dark October night, and a light fog overshadowed the
+town.
+
+Niklausse’s preparations for departure consumed at least a quarter of
+an hour; for, after having lighted his lantern, he had to put on his
+big cow-skin socks and his sheep-skin gloves; then he put up the furred
+collar of his overcoat, turned the brim of his felt hat down over his
+eyes, grasped his heavy crow-beaked umbrella, and got ready to start.
+
+When Lotchè, however, who was lighting her master, was about to draw
+the bars of the door, an unexpected noise arose outside.
+
+Yes! Strange as the thing seems, a noise—a real noise, such as the town
+had certainly not heard since the taking of the donjon by the Spaniards
+in 1513—terrible noise, awoke the long-dormant echoes of the venerable
+Van Tricasse mansion.
+
+Some one knocked heavily upon this door, hitherto virgin to brutal
+touch! Redoubled knocks were given with some blunt implement, probably
+a knotty stick, wielded by a vigorous arm. With the strokes were
+mingled cries and calls. These words were distinctly heard:—
+
+“Monsieur Van Tricasse! Monsieur the burgomaster! Open, open quickly!”
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, absolutely astounded, looked at
+each other speechless.
+
+This passed their comprehension. If the old culverin of the château,
+which had not been used since 1385, had been let off in the parlour,
+the dwellers in the Van Tricasse mansion would not have been more
+dumbfoundered.
+
+Meanwhile, the blows and cries were redoubled. Lotchè, recovering her
+coolness, had plucked up courage to speak.
+
+“Who is there?”
+
+“It is I! I! I!”
+
+“Who are you?”
+
+“The Commissary Passauf!”
+
+The Commissary Passauf! The very man whose office it had been
+contemplated to suppress for ten years. What had happened, then? Could
+the Burgundians have invaded Quiquendone, as they did in the fourteenth
+century? No event of less importance could have so moved Commissary
+Passauf, who in no degree yielded the palm to the burgomaster himself
+for calmness and phlegm.
+
+On a sign from Van Tricasse—for the worthy man could not have
+articulated a syllable—the bar was pushed back and the door opened.
+
+Commissary Passauf flung himself into the antechamber. One would have
+thought there was a hurricane.
+
+“What’s the matter, Monsieur the commissary?” asked Lotchè, a brave
+woman, who did not lose her head under the most trying circumstances.
+
+“What’s the matter!” replied Passauf, whose big round eyes expressed a
+genuine agitation. “The matter is that I have just come from Doctor
+Ox’s, who has been holding a reception, and that there—”
+
+
+[Illustration: I have just come from Doctor Ox’s]
+
+
+“There?”
+
+“There I have witnessed such an altercation as—Monsieur the
+burgomaster, they have been talking politics!”
+
+“Politics!” repeated Van Tricasse, running his fingers through his wig.
+
+“Politics!” resumed Commissary Passauf, “which has not been done for
+perhaps a hundred years at Quiquendone. Then the discussion got warm,
+and the advocate, André Schut, and the doctor, Dominique Custos, became
+so violent that it may be they will call each other out.”
+
+“Call each other out!” cried the counsellor. “A duel! A duel at
+Quiquendone! And what did Advocate Schut and Doctor Gustos say?”
+
+“Just this: ‘Monsieur advocate,’ said the doctor to his adversary, ‘you
+go too far, it seems to me, and you do not take sufficient care to
+control your words!’”
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse clasped his hands—the counsellor turned
+pale and let his lantern fall—the commissary shook his head. That a
+phrase so evidently irritating should be pronounced by two of the
+principal men in the country!
+
+“This Doctor Custos,” muttered Van Tricasse, “is decidedly a dangerous
+man—a hare-brained fellow! Come, gentlemen!”
+
+On this, Counsellor Niklausse and the commissary accompanied the
+burgomaster into the parlour.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX REVEALS HIMSELF AS A PHYSIOLOGIST OF THE FIRST RANK,
+AND AS AN AUDACIOUS EXPERIMENTALIST.
+
+
+Who, then, was this personage, known by the singular name of Doctor Ox?
+
+An original character for certain, but at the same time a bold savant,
+a physiologist, whose works were known and highly estimated throughout
+learned Europe, a happy rival of the Davys, the Daltons, the Bostocks,
+the Menzies, the Godwins, the Vierordts—of all those noble minds who
+have placed physiology among the highest of modern sciences.
+
+Doctor Ox was a man of medium size and height, aged—: but we cannot
+state his age, any more than his nationality. Besides, it matters
+little; let it suffice that he was a strange personage, impetuous and
+hot-blooded, a regular oddity out of one of Hoffmann’s volumes, and one
+who contrasted amusingly enough with the good people of Quiquendone. He
+had an imperturbable confidence both in himself and in his doctrines.
+Always smiling, walking with head erect and shoulders thrown back in a
+free and unconstrained manner, with a steady gaze, large open nostrils,
+a vast mouth which inhaled the air in liberal draughts, his appearance
+was far from unpleasing. He was full of animation, well proportioned in
+all parts of his bodily mechanism, with quicksilver in his veins, and a
+most elastic step. He could never stop still in one place, and relieved
+himself with impetuous words and a superabundance of gesticulations.
+
+Was Doctor Ox rich, then, that he should undertake to light a whole
+town at his expense? Probably, as he permitted himself to indulge in
+such extravagance,—and this is the only answer we can give to this
+indiscreet question.
+
+Doctor Ox had arrived at Quiquendone five months before, accompanied by
+his assistant, who answered to the name of Gédéon Ygène; a tall,
+dried-up, thin man, haughty, but not less vivacious than his master.
+
+And next, why had Doctor Ox made the proposition to light the town at
+his own expense? Why had he, of all the Flemings, selected the
+peaceable Quiquendonians, to endow their town with the benefits of an
+unheard-of system of lighting? Did he not, under this pretext, design
+to make some great physiological experiment by operating _in anima
+vili?_ In short, what was this original personage about to attempt? We
+know not, as Doctor Ox had no confidant except his assistant Ygène,
+who, moreover, obeyed him blindly.
+
+In appearance, at least, Doctor Ox had agreed to light the town, which
+had much need of it, “especially at night,” as Commissary Passauf
+wittily said. Works for producing a lighting gas had accordingly been
+established; the gasometers were ready for use, and the main pipes,
+running beneath the street pavements, would soon appear in the form of
+burners in the public edifices and the private houses of certain
+friends of progress. Van Tricasse and Niklausse, in their official
+capacity, and some other worthies, thought they ought to allow this
+modern light to be introduced into their dwellings.
+
+If the reader has not forgotten, it was said, during the long
+conversation of the counsellor and the burgomaster, that the lighting
+of the town was to be achieved, not by the combustion of common
+carburetted hydrogen, produced by distilling coal, but by the use of a
+more modern and twenty-fold more brilliant gas, oxyhydric gas, produced
+by mixing hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+The doctor, who was an able chemist as well as an ingenious
+physiologist, knew how to obtain this gas in great quantity and of good
+quality, not by using manganate of soda, according to the method of M.
+Tessié du Motay, but by the direct decomposition of slightly acidulated
+water, by means of a battery made of new elements, invented by himself.
+Thus there were no costly materials, no platinum, no retorts, no
+combustibles, no delicate machinery to produce the two gases
+separately. An electric current was sent through large basins full of
+water, and the liquid was decomposed into its two constituent parts,
+oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen passed off at one end; the hydrogen, of
+double the volume of its late associate, at the other. As a necessary
+precaution, they were collected in separate reservoirs, for their
+mixture would have produced a frightful explosion if it had become
+ignited. Thence the pipes were to convey them separately to the various
+burners, which would be so placed as to prevent all chance of
+explosion. Thus a remarkably brilliant flame would be obtained, whose
+light would rival the electric light, which, as everybody knows, is,
+according to Cassellmann’s experiments, equal to that of eleven hundred
+and seventy-one wax candles,—not one more, nor one less.
+
+It was certain that the town of Quiquendone would, by this liberal
+contrivance, gain a splendid lighting; but Doctor Ox and his assistant
+took little account of this, as will be seen in the sequel.
+
+The day after that on which Commissary Passauf had made his noisy
+entrance into the burgomaster’s parlour, Gédéon Ygène and Doctor Ox
+were talking in the laboratory which both occupied in common, on the
+ground-floor of the principal building of the gas-works.
+
+“Well, Ygène, well,” cried the doctor, rubbing his hands. “You saw, at
+my reception yesterday, the cool-bloodedness of these worthy
+Quiquendonians. For animation they are midway between sponges and
+coral! You saw them disputing and irritating each other by voice and
+gesture? They are already metamorphosed, morally and physically! And
+this is only the beginning. Wait till we treat them to a big dose!”
+
+“Indeed, master,” replied Ygène, scratching his sharp nose with the end
+of his forefinger, “the experiment begins well, and if I had not
+prudently closed the supply-tap, I know not what would have happened.”
+
+“You heard Schut, the advocate, and Custos, the doctor?” resumed Doctor
+Ox. “The phrase was by no means ill-natured in itself, but, in the
+mouth of a Quiquendonian, it is worth all the insults which the Homeric
+heroes hurled at each other before drawing their swords, Ah, these
+Flemings! You’ll see what we shall do some day!”
+
+“We shall make them ungrateful,” replied Ygène, in the tone of a man
+who esteems the human race at its just worth.
+
+“Bah!” said the doctor; “what matters it whether they think well or ill
+of us, so long as our experiment succeeds?”
+
+“Besides,” returned the assistant, smiling with a malicious expression,
+“is it not to be feared that, in producing such an excitement in their
+respiratory organs, we shall somewhat injure the lungs of these good
+people of Quiquendone?”
+
+“So much the worse for them! It is in the interests of science. What
+would you say if the dogs or frogs refused to lend themselves to the
+experiments of vivisection?”
+
+
+[Illustration: It is in the interests of Science.]
+
+
+It is probable that if the frogs and dogs were consulted, they would
+offer some objection; but Doctor Ox imagined that he had stated an
+unanswerable argument, for he heaved a great sigh of satisfaction.
+
+“After all, master, you are right,” replied Ygène, as if quite
+convinced. “We could not have hit upon better subjects than these
+people of Quiquendone for our experiment.”
+
+“We—could—not,” said the doctor, slowly articulating each word.
+
+“Have you felt the pulse of any of them?”
+
+“Some hundreds.”
+
+“And what is the average pulsation you found?”
+
+“Not fifty per minute. See—this is a town where there has not been the
+shadow of a discussion for a century, where the carmen don’t swear,
+where the coachmen don’t insult each other, where horses don’t run
+away, where the dogs don’t bite, where the cats don’t scratch,—a town
+where the police-court has nothing to do from one year’s end to
+another,—a town where people do not grow enthusiastic about anything,
+either about art or business,—a town where the gendarmes are a sort of
+myth, and in which an indictment has not been drawn up for a hundred
+years,—a town, in short, where for three centuries nobody has struck a
+blow with his fist or so much as exchanged a slap in the face! You see,
+Ygène, that this cannot last, and that we must change it all.”
+
+“Perfectly! perfectly!” cried the enthusiastic assistant; “and have you
+analyzed the air of this town, master?”
+
+“I have not failed to do so. Seventy-nine parts of azote and twenty-one
+of oxygen, carbonic acid and steam in a variable quantity. These are
+the ordinary proportions.”
+
+“Good, doctor, good!” replied Ygène. “The experiment will be made on a
+large scale, and will be decisive.”
+
+“And if it is decisive,” added Doctor Ox triumphantly, “we shall reform
+the world!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER AND THE COUNSELLOR PAY A VISIT TO DOCTOR OX,
+AND WHAT FOLLOWS.
+
+
+The Counsellor Niklausse and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse at last knew
+what it was to have an agitated night. The grave event which had taken
+place at Doctor Ox’s house actually kept them awake. What consequences
+was this affair destined to bring about? They could not imagine. Would
+it be necessary for them to come to a decision? Would the municipal
+authority, whom they represented, be compelled to interfere? Would they
+be obliged to order arrests to be made, that so great a scandal should
+not be repeated? All these doubts could not but trouble these soft
+natures; and on that evening, before separating, the two notables had
+“decided” to see each other the next day.
+
+On the next morning, then, before dinner, the Burgomaster Van Tricasse
+proceeded in person to the Counsellor Niklausse’s house. He found his
+friend more calm. He himself had recovered his equanimity.
+
+“Nothing new?” asked Van Tricasse.
+
+“Nothing new since yesterday,” replied Niklausse.
+
+“And the doctor, Dominique Custos?”
+
+“I have not heard anything, either of him or of the advocate, André
+Schut.”
+
+After an hour’s conversation, which consisted of three remarks which it
+is needless to repeat, the counsellor and the burgomaster had resolved
+to pay a visit to Doctor Ox, so as to draw from him, without seeming to
+do so, some details of the affair.
+
+Contrary to all their habits, after coming to this decision the two
+notables set about putting it into execution forthwith. They left the
+house and directed their steps towards Doctor Ox’s laboratory, which
+was situated outside the town, near the Oudenarde gate—the gate whose
+tower threatened to fall in ruins.
+
+They did not take each other’s arms, but walked side by side, with a
+slow and solemn step, which took them forward but thirteen inches per
+second. This was, indeed, the ordinary gait of the Quiquendonians, who
+had never, within the memory of man, seen any one run across the
+streets of their town.
+
+From time to time the two notables would stop at some calm and tranquil
+crossway, or at the end of a quiet street, to salute the passers-by.
+
+“Good morning, Monsieur the burgomaster,” said one.
+
+“Good morning, my friend,” responded Van Tricasse.
+
+“Anything new, Monsieur the counsellor?” asked another.
+
+“Nothing new,” answered Niklausse.
+
+But by certain agitated motions and questioning looks, it was evident
+that the altercation of the evening before was known throughout the
+town. Observing the direction taken by Van Tricasse, the most obtuse
+Quiquendonians guessed that the burgomaster was on his way to take some
+important step. The Custos and Schut affair was talked of everywhere,
+but the people had not yet come to the point of taking the part of one
+or the other. The Advocate Schut, having never had occasion to plead in
+a town where attorneys and bailiffs only existed in tradition, had,
+consequently, never lost a suit. As for the Doctor Custos, he was an
+honourable practitioner, who, after the example of his fellow-doctors,
+cured all the illnesses of his patients, except those of which they
+died—a habit unhappily acquired by all the members of all the faculties
+in whatever country they may practise.
+
+On reaching the Oudenarde gate, the counsellor and the burgomaster
+prudently made a short detour, so as not to pass within reach of the
+tower, in case it should fall; then they turned and looked at it
+attentively.
+
+“I think that it will fall,” said Van Tricasse.
+
+“I think so too,” replied Niklausse.
+
+“Unless it is propped up,” added Van Tricasse. “But must it be propped
+up? That is the question.”
+
+“That is—in fact—the question.”
+
+Some moments after, they reached the door of the gasworks.
+
+“Can we see Doctor Ox?” they asked.
+
+Doctor Ox could always be seen by the first authorities of the town,
+and they were at once introduced into the celebrated physiologist’s
+study.
+
+Perhaps the two notables waited for the doctor at least an hour; at
+least it is reasonable to suppose so, as the burgomaster—a thing that
+had never before happened in his life—betrayed a certain amount of
+impatience, from which his companion was not exempt.
+
+Doctor Ox came in at last, and began to excuse himself for having kept
+them waiting; but he had to approve a plan for the gasometer, rectify
+some of the machinery—But everything was going on well! The pipes
+intended for the oxygen were already laid. In a few months the town
+would be splendidly lighted. The two notables might even now see the
+orifices of the pipes which were laid on in the laboratory.
+
+Then the doctor begged to know to what he was indebted for the honour
+of this visit.
+
+“Only to see you, doctor; to see you,” replied Van Tricasse. “It is
+long since we have had the pleasure. We go abroad but little in our
+good town of Quiquendone. We count our steps and measure our walks. We
+are happy when nothing disturbs the uniformity of our habits.”
+
+Niklausse looked at his friend. His friend had never said so much at
+once—at least, without taking time, and giving long intervals between
+his sentences. It seemed to him that Van Tricasse expressed himself
+with a certain volubility, which was by no means common with him.
+Niklausse himself experienced a kind of irresistible desire to talk.
+
+As for Doctor Ox, he looked at the burgomaster with sly attention.
+
+Van Tricasse, who never argued until he had snugly ensconced himself in
+a spacious armchair, had risen to his feet. I know not what nervous
+excitement, quite foreign to his temperament, had taken possession of
+him. He did not gesticulate as yet, but this could not be far off. As
+for the counsellor, he rubbed his legs, and breathed with slow and long
+gasps. His look became animated little by little, and he had “decided”
+to support at all hazards, if need be, his trusty friend the
+burgomaster.
+
+Van Tricasse got up and took several steps; then he came back, and
+stood facing the doctor.
+
+“And in how many months,” he asked in a somewhat emphatic tome, “do you
+say that your work will be finished?”
+
+“In three or four months, Monsieur the burgomaster,” replied Doctor Ox.
+
+“Three or four months,—it’s a very long time!” said Van Tricasse.
+
+“Altogether too long!” added Niklausse, who, not being able to keep his
+seat, rose also.
+
+“This lapse of time is necessary to complete our work,” returned Doctor
+Ox. “The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are not
+very expeditious.”
+
+
+[Illustration: “The workmen, whom we have had to choose in
+Quiquendone, are not very expeditious.”]
+
+
+“How not expeditious?” cried the burgomaster, who seemed to take the
+remark as personally offensive.
+
+“No, Monsieur Van Tricasse,” replied Doctor Ox obstinately. “A French
+workman would do in a day what it takes ten of your workmen to do; you
+know, they are regular Flemings!”
+
+“Flemings!” cried the counsellor, whose fingers closed together. “In
+what sense, sir, do you use that word?”
+
+“Why, in the amiable sense in which everybody uses it,” replied Doctor
+Ox, smiling.
+
+“Ah, but doctor,” said the burgomaster, pacing up and down the room, “I
+don’t like these insinuations. The workmen of Quiquendone are as
+efficient as those of any other town in the world, you must know; and
+we shall go neither to Paris nor London for our models! As for your
+project, I beg you to hasten its execution. Our streets have been
+unpaved for the putting down of your conduit-pipes, and it is a
+hindrance to traffic. Our trade will begin to suffer, and I, being the
+responsible authority, do not propose to incur reproaches which will be
+but too just.”
+
+Worthy burgomaster! He spoke of trade, of traffic, and the wonder was
+that those words, to which he was quite unaccustomed, did not scorch
+his lips. What could be passing in his mind?
+
+“Besides,” added Niklausse, “the town cannot be deprived of light much
+longer.”
+
+“But,” urged Doctor Ox, “a town which has been un-lighted for eight or
+nine hundred years—”
+
+“All the more necessary is it,” replied the burgomaster, emphasizing
+his words. “Times alter, manners alter! The world advances, and we do
+not wish to remain behind. We desire our streets to be lighted within a
+month, or you must pay a large indemnity for each day of delay; and
+what would happen if, amid the darkness, some affray should take
+place?”
+
+“No doubt,” cried Niklausse. “It requires but a spark to inflame a
+Fleming! Fleming! Flame!”
+
+“Apropos of this,” said the burgomaster, interrupting his friend,
+“Commissary Passauf, our chief of police, reports to us that a
+discussion took place in your drawing-room last evening, Doctor Ox. Was
+he wrong in declaring that it was a political discussion?”
+
+“By no means, Monsieur the burgomaster,” replied Doctor Ox, who with
+difficulty repressed a sigh of satisfaction.
+
+“So an altercation did take place between Dominique Gustos and André
+Schut?”
+
+“Yes, counsellor; but the words which passed were not of grave import.”
+
+“Not of grave import!” cried the burgomaster. “Not of grave import,
+when one man tells another that he does not measure the effect of his
+words! But of what stuff are you made, monsieur? Do you not know that
+in Quiquendone nothing more is needed to bring about extremely
+disastrous results? But monsieur, if you, or any one else, presume to
+speak thus to me—”
+
+“Or to me,” added Niklausse.
+
+As they pronounced these words with a menacing air, the two notables,
+with folded arms and bristling air, confronted Doctor Ox, ready to do
+him some violence, if by a gesture, or even the expression of his eye,
+he manifested any intention of contradicting them.
+
+But the doctor did not budge.
+
+“At all events, monsieur,” resumed the burgomaster, “I propose to hold
+you responsible for what passes in your house. I am bound to insure the
+tranquillity of this town, and I do not wish it to be disturbed. The
+events of last evening must not be repeated, or I shall do my duty,
+sir! Do you hear? Then reply, sir.”
+
+The burgomaster, as he spoke, under the influence of extraordinary
+excitement, elevated his voice to the pitch of anger. He was furious,
+the worthy Van Tricasse, and might certainly be heard outside. At last,
+beside himself, and seeing that Doctor Ox did not reply to his
+challenge, “Come, Niklausse,” said he.
+
+And, slamming the door with a violence which shook the house, the
+burgomaster drew his friend after him.
+
+Little by little, when they had taken twenty steps on their road, the
+worthy notables grew more calm. Their pace slackened, their gait became
+less feverish. The flush on their faces faded away; from being crimson,
+they became rosy. A quarter of an hour after quitting the gasworks, Van
+Tricasse said softly to Niklausse, “An amiable man, Doctor Ox! It is
+always a pleasure to see him!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+IN WHICH FRANTZ NIKLAUSSE AND SUZEL VAN TRICASSE FORM CERTAIN PROJECTS
+FOR THE FUTURE.
+
+
+Our readers know that the burgomaster had a daughter, Suzel But, shrewd
+as they may be, they cannot have divined that the counsellor Niklausse
+had a son, Frantz; and had they divined this, nothing could have led
+them to imagine that Frantz was the betrothed lover of Suzel. We will
+add that these young people were made for each other, and that they
+loved each other, as folks did love at Quiquendone.
+
+It must not be thought that young hearts did not beat in this
+exceptional place; only they beat with a certain deliberation. There
+were marriages there, as in every other town in the world; but they
+took time about it. Betrothed couples, before engaging in these
+terrible bonds, wished to study each other; and these studies lasted at
+least ten years, as at college. It was rare that any one was “accepted”
+before this lapse of time.
+
+Yes, ten years! The courtships last ten years! And is it, after all,
+too long, when the being bound for life is in consideration? One
+studies ten years to become an engineer or physician, an advocate or
+attorney, and should less time be spent in acquiring the knowledge to
+make a good husband? Is it not reasonable? and, whether due to
+temperament or reason with them, the Quiquendonians seem to us to be in
+the right in thus prolonging their courtship. When marriages in other
+more lively and excitable cities are seen taking place within a few
+months, we must shrug our shoulders, and hasten to send our boys to the
+schools and our daughters to the _pensions_ of Quiquendone.
+
+For half a century but a single marriage was known to have taken place
+after the lapse of two years only of courtship, and that turned out
+badly!
+
+Frantz Niklausse, then, loved Suzel Van Tricasse, but quietly, as a man
+would love when he has ten years before him in which to obtain the
+beloved object. Once every week, at an hour agreed upon, Frantz went to
+fetch Suzel, and took a walk with her along the banks of the Vaar. He
+took good care to carry his fishing-tackle, and Suzel never forgot her
+canvas, on which her pretty hands embroidered the most unlikely
+flowers.
+
+Frantz was a young man of twenty-two, whose cheeks betrayed a soft,
+peachy down, and whose voice had scarcely a compass of one octave.
+
+As for Suzel, she was blonde and rosy. She was seventeen, and did not
+dislike fishing. A singular occupation this, however, which forces you
+to struggle craftily with a barbel. But Frantz loved it; the pastime
+was congenial to his temperament. As patient as possible, content to
+follow with his rather dreamy eye the cork which bobbed on the top of
+the water, he knew how to wait; and when, after sitting for six hours,
+a modest barbel, taking pity on him, consented at last to be caught, he
+was happy—but he knew how to control his emotion.
+
+On this day the two lovers—one might say, the two betrothed— were
+seated upon the verdant bank. The limpid Vaar murmured a few feet below
+them. Suzel quietly drew her needle across the canvas. Frantz
+automatically carried his line from left to right, then permitted it to
+descend the current from right to left. The fish made capricious rings
+in the water, which crossed each other around the cork, while the hook
+hung useless near the bottom.
+
+From time to time Frantz would say, without raising his eyes,—
+
+“I think I have a bite, Suzel.”
+
+“Do you think so, Frantz?” replied Suzel, who, abandoning her work for
+an instant, followed her lover’s line with earnest eye.
+
+“N-no,” resumed Frantz; “I thought I felt a little twitch; I was
+mistaken.”
+
+“You _will_ have a bite, Frantz,” replied Suzel, in her pure, soft
+voice. “But do not forget to strike at the right moment. You are always
+a few seconds too late, and the barbel takes advantage to escape.”
+
+“Would you like to take my line, Suzel?”
+
+“Willingly, Frantz.”
+
+“Then give me your canvas. We shall see whether I am more adroit with
+the needle than with the hook.”
+
+And the young girl took the line with trembling hand, while her swain
+plied the needle across the stitches of the embroidery. For hours
+together they thus exchanged soft words, and their hearts palpitated
+when the cork bobbed on the water. Ah, could they ever forget those
+charming hours, during which, seated side by side, they listened to the
+murmurs of the river?
+
+
+[Illustration: the young girl took the line]
+
+
+The sun was fast approaching the western horizon, and despite the
+combined skill of Suzel and Frantz, there had not been a bite. The
+barbels had not shown themselves complacent, and seemed to scoff at the
+two young people, who were too just to bear them malice.
+
+“We shall be more lucky another time, Frantz,” said Suzel, as the young
+angler put up his still virgin hook.
+
+“Let us hope so,” replied Frantz.
+
+Then walking side by side, they turned their steps towards the house,
+without exchanging a word, as mute as their shadows which stretched out
+before them. Suzel became very, very tall under the oblique rays of the
+setting sun. Frantz appeared very, very thin, like the long rod which
+he held in his hand.
+
+They reached the burgomaster’s house. Green tufts of grass bordered the
+shining pavement, and no one would have thought of tearing them away,
+for they deadened the noise made by the passers-by.
+
+As they were about to open the door, Frantz thought it his duty to say
+to Suzel,—
+
+“You know, Suzel, the great day is approaching?”
+
+“It is indeed, Frantz,” replied the young girl, with downcast eyes.
+
+“Yes,” said Frantz, “in five or six years—”
+
+“Good-bye, Frantz,” said Suzel.
+
+
+[Illustration: “Good-bye, Frantz,” said Suzel.]
+
+
+“Good-bye, Suzel,” replied Frantz.
+
+And, after the door had been closed, the young man resumed the way to
+his father’s house with a calm and equal pace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+IN WHICH THE ANDANTES BECOME ALLEGROS, AND THE ALLEGROS VIVACES.
+
+
+The agitation caused by the Schut and Custos affair had subsided. The
+affair led to no serious consequences. It appeared likely that
+Quiquendone would return to its habitual apathy, which that unexpected
+event had for a moment disturbed.
+
+Meanwhile, the laying of the pipes destined to conduct the oxyhydric
+gas into the principal edifices of the town was proceeding rapidly. The
+main pipes and branches gradually crept beneath the pavements. But the
+burners were still wanting; for, as it required delicate skill to make
+them, it was necessary that they should be fabricated abroad. Doctor Ox
+was here, there, and everywhere; neither he nor Ygène, his assistant,
+lost a moment, but they urged on the workmen, completed the delicate
+mechanism of the gasometer, fed day and night the immense piles which
+decomposed the water under the influence of a powerful electric
+current. Yes, the doctor was already making his gas, though the
+pipe-laying was not yet done; a fact which, between ourselves, might
+have seemed a little singular. But before long,—at least there was
+reason to hope so,—before long Doctor Ox would inaugurate the
+splendours of his invention in the theatre of the town.
+
+For Quiquendone possessed a theatre—a really fine edifice, in truth—the
+interior and exterior arrangement of which combined every style of
+architecture. It was at once Byzantine, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance,
+with semicircular doors, Pointed windows, Flamboyant rose-windows,
+fantastic bell-turrets,—in a word, a specimen of all sorts, half a
+Parthenon, half a Parisian Grand Café. Nor was this surprising, the
+theatre having been commenced under the burgomaster Ludwig Van
+Tricasse, in 1175, and only finished in 1837, under the burgomaster
+Natalis Van Tricasse. It had required seven hundred years to build it,
+and it had, been successively adapted to the architectural style in
+vogue in each period. But for all that it was an imposing structure;
+the Roman pillars and Byzantine arches of which would appear to
+advantage lit up by the oxyhydric gas.
+
+Pretty well everything was acted at the theatre of Quiquendone; but the
+opera and the opera comique were especially patronized. It must,
+however, be added that the composers would never have recognized their
+own works, so entirely changed were the “movements” of the music.
+
+In short, as nothing was done in a hurry at Quiquendone, the dramatic
+pieces had to be performed in harmony with the peculiar temperament of
+the Quiquendonians. Though the doors of the theatre were regularly
+thrown open at four o’clock and closed again at ten, it had never been
+known that more than two acts were played during the six intervening
+hours. “Robert le Diable,” “Les Huguenots,” or “Guillaume Tell” usually
+took up three evenings, so slow was the execution of these
+masterpieces. The _vivaces_, at the theatre of Quiquendone, lagged like
+real _adagios_. The _allegros_ were “long-drawn out” indeed. The
+demisemiquavers were scarcely equal to the ordinary semibreves of other
+countries. The most rapid runs, performed according to Quiquendonian
+taste, had the solemn march of a chant. The gayest shakes were
+languishing and measured, that they might not shock the ears of the
+_dilettanti_. To give an example, the rapid air sung by Figaro, on his
+entrance in the first act of “Le Barbiér de Séville,” lasted
+fifty-eight minutes—when the actor was particularly enthusiastic.
+
+Artists from abroad, as might be supposed, were forced to conform
+themselves to Quiquendonian fashions; but as they were well paid, they
+did not complain, and willingly obeyed the leader’s baton, which never
+beat more than eight measures to the minute in the _allegros_.
+
+But what applause greeted these artists, who enchanted without ever
+wearying the audiences of Quiquendone! All hands clapped one after
+another at tolerably long intervals, which the papers characterized as
+“frantic applause;” and sometimes nothing but the lavish prodigality
+with which mortar and stone had been used in the twelfth century saved
+the roof of the hall from falling in.
+
+Besides, the theatre had only one performance a week, that these
+enthusiastic Flemish folk might not be too much excited; and this
+enabled the actors to study their parts more thoroughly, and the
+spectators to digest more at leisure the beauties of the masterpieces
+brought out.
+
+Such had long been the drama at Quiquendone. Foreign artists were in
+the habit of making engagements with the director of the town, when
+they wanted to rest after their exertions in other scenes; and it
+seemed as if nothing could ever change these inveterate customs, when,
+a fortnight after the Schut-Custos affair, an unlooked-for incident
+occurred to throw the population into fresh agitation.
+
+It was on a Saturday, an opera day. It was not yet intended, as may
+well be supposed, to inaugurate the new illumination. No; the pipes had
+reached the hall, but, for reasons indicated above, the burners had not
+yet been placed, and the wax-candles still shed their soft light upon
+the numerous spectators who filled the theatre. The doors had been
+opened to the public at one o’clock, and by three the hall was half
+full. A queue had at one time been formed, which extended as far as the
+end of the Place Saint Ernuph, in front of the shop of Josse Lietrinck
+the apothecary. This eagerness was significant of an unusually
+attractive performance.
+
+“Are you going to the theatre this evening?” inquired the counsellor
+the same morning of the burgomaster.
+
+“I shall not fail to do so,” returned Van Tricasse, “and I shall take
+Madame Van Tricasse, as well as our daughter Suzel and our dear
+Tatanémance, who all dote on good music.”
+
+“Mademoiselle Suzel is going then?”
+
+“Certainly, Niklausse.”
+
+“Then my son Frantz will be one of the first to arrive,” said
+Niklausse.
+
+“A spirited boy, Niklausse,” replied the burgomaster sententiously;
+“but hot-headed! He will require watching!”
+
+“He loves, Van Tricasse,—he loves your charming Suzel.”
+
+“Well, Niklausse, he shall marry her. Now that we have agreed on this
+marriage, what more can he desire?”
+
+“He desires nothing, Van Tricasse, the dear boy! But, in short— we’ll
+say no more about it—he will not be the last to get his ticket at the
+box-office.”
+
+“Ah, vivacious and ardent youth!” replied the burgomaster, recalling
+his own past. “We have also been thus, my worthy counsellor! We have
+loved—we too! We have danced attendance in our day! Till to-night,
+then, till to-night! By-the-bye, do you know this Fiovaranti is a great
+artist? And what a welcome he has received among us! It will be long
+before he will forget the applause of Quiquendone!”
+
+The tenor Fiovaranti was, indeed, going to sing; Fiovaranti, who, by
+his talents as a virtuoso, his perfect method, his melodious voice,
+provoked a real enthusiasm among the lovers of music in the town.
+
+For three weeks Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in
+“Les Huguenots.” The first act, interpreted according to the taste of
+the Quiquendonians, had occupied an entire evening of the first week of
+the month.—Another evening in the second week, prolonged by infinite
+_andantes_, had elicited for the celebrated singer a real ovation. His
+success had been still more marked in the third act of Meyerbeer’s
+masterpiece. But now Fiovaranti was to appear in the fourth act, which
+was to be performed on this evening before an impatient public. Ah, the
+duet between Raoul and Valentine, that pathetic love-song for two
+voices, that strain so full of _crescendos_, _stringendos_, and _piu
+crescendos_—all this, sung slowly, compendiously, interminably! Ah, how
+delightful!
+
+
+[Illustration: Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in
+“Les Huguenots.”]
+
+
+At four o’clock the hall was full. The boxes, the orchestra, the pit,
+were overflowing. In the front stalls sat the Burgomaster Van Tricasse,
+Mademoiselle Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, and the amiable
+Tatanémance in a green bonnet; not far off were the Counsellor
+Niklausse and his family, not forgetting the amorous Frantz. The
+families of Custos the doctor, of Schut the advocate, of Honoré Syntax
+the chief judge, of Norbet Sontman the insurance director, of the
+banker Collaert, gone mad on German music, and himself somewhat of an
+amateur, and the teacher Rupp, and the master of the academy, Jerome
+Resh, and the civil commissary, and so many other notabilities of the
+town that they could not be enumerated here without wearying the
+reader’s patience, were visible in different parts of the hall.
+
+It was customary for the Quiquendonians, while awaiting the rise of the
+curtain, to sit silent, some reading the paper, others whispering low
+to each other, some making their way to their seats slowly and
+noiselessly, others casting timid looks towards the bewitching beauties
+in the galleries.
+
+But on this evening a looker-on might have observed that, even before
+the curtain rose, there was unusual animation among the audience.
+People were restless who were never known to be restless before. The
+ladies’ fans fluttered with abnormal rapidity. All appeared to be
+inhaling air of exceptional stimulating power. Every one breathed more
+freely. The eyes of some became unwontedly bright, and seemed to give
+forth a light equal to that of the candles, which themselves certainly
+threw a more brilliant light over the hall. It was evident that people
+saw more clearly, though the number of candles had not been increased.
+Ah, if Doctor Ox’s experiment were being tried! But it was not being
+tried, as yet.
+
+The musicians of the orchestra at last took their places. The first
+violin had gone to the stand to give a modest la to his colleagues. The
+stringed instruments, the wind instruments, the drums and cymbals, were
+in accord. The conductor only waited the sound of the bell to beat the
+first bar.
+
+The bell sounds. The fourth act begins. The _allegro appassionato_ of
+the inter-act is played as usual, with a majestic deliberation which
+would have made Meyerbeer frantic, and all the majesty of which was
+appreciated by the Quiquendonian dilettanti.
+
+But soon the leader perceived that he was no longer master of his
+musicians. He found it difficult to restrain them, though usually so
+obedient and calm. The wind instruments betrayed a tendency to hasten
+the movements, and it was necessary to hold them back with a firm hand,
+for they would otherwise outstrip the stringed instruments; which, from
+a musical point of view, would have been disastrous. The bassoon
+himself, the son of Josse Lietrinck the apothecary, a well-bred young
+man, seemed to lose his self-control.
+
+Meanwhile Valentine has begun her recitative, “I am alone,” etc.; but
+she hurries it.
+
+The leader and all his musicians, perhaps unconsciously, follow her in
+her _cantabile_, which should be taken deliberately, like a 12/8 as it
+is. When Raoul appears at the door at the bottom of the stage, between
+the moment when Valentine goes to him and that when she conceals
+herself in the chamber at the side, a quarter of an hour does not
+elapse; while formerly, according to the traditions of the Quiquendone
+theatre, this recitative of thirty-seven bars was wont to last just
+thirty-seven minutes.
+
+Saint Bris, Nevers, Cavannes, and the Catholic nobles have appeared,
+somewhat prematurely, perhaps, upon the scene. The composer has marked
+_allergo pomposo_ on the score. The orchestra and the lords proceed
+_allegro_ indeed, but not at all _pomposo_, and at the chorus, in the
+famous scene of the “benediction of the poniards,” they no longer keep
+to the enjoined _allegro_. Singers and musicians broke away
+impetuously. The leader does not even attempt to restrain them. Nor do
+the public protest; on the contrary, the people find themselves carried
+away, and see that they are involved in the movement, and that the
+movement responds to the impulses of their souls.
+
+“Will you, with me, deliver the land,
+From troubles increasing, an impious band?”
+
+
+They promise, they swear. Nevers has scarcely time to protest, and to
+sing that “among his ancestors were many soldiers, but never an
+assassin.” He is arrested. The police and the aldermen rush forward and
+rapidly swear “to strike all at once.” Saint Bris shouts the recitative
+which summons the Catholics to vengeance. The three monks, with white
+scarfs, hasten in by the door at the back of Nevers’s room, without
+making any account of the stage directions, which enjoin on them to
+advance slowly. Already all the artists have drawn sword or poniard,
+which the three monks bless in a trice. The soprani tenors, bassos,
+attack the _allegro furioso_ with cries of rage, and of a dramatic 6/8
+time they make it 6/8 quadrille time. Then they rush out, bellowing,—
+
+“At midnight,
+Noiselessly,
+God wills it,
+Yes,
+At midnight.”
+
+
+At this moment the audience start to their feet. Everybody is
+agitated—in the boxes, the pit, the galleries. It seems as if the
+spectators are about to rush upon the stage, the Burgomaster Van
+Tricasse at their head, to join with the conspirators and annihilate
+the Huguenots, whose religious opinions, however, they share. They
+applaud, call before the curtain, make loud acclamations! Tatanémance
+grasps her bonnet with feverish hand. The candles throw out a lurid
+glow of light.
+
+Raoul, instead of slowly raising the curtain, tears it apart with a
+superb gesture and finds himself confronting Valentine.
+
+At last! It is the grand duet, and it starts off _allegro vivace_.
+Raoul does not wait for Valentine’s pleading, and Valentine does not
+wait for Raoul’s responses.
+
+The fine passage beginning, “Danger is passing, time is flying,”
+becomes one of those rapid airs which have made Offenbach famous, when
+he composes a dance for conspirators. The _andante amoroso_, “Thou hast
+said it, aye, thou lovest me,” becomes a real _vivace furioso_, and the
+violoncello ceases to imitate the inflections of the singer’s voice, as
+indicated in the composer’s score. In vain Raoul cries, “Speak on, and
+prolong the ineffable slumber of my soul.” Valentine cannot “prolong.”
+It is evident that an unaccustomed fire devours her. Her _b’s_ and her
+_c’s_ above the stave were dreadfully shrill. He struggles, he
+gesticulates, he is all in a glow.
+
+The alarum is heard; the bell resounds; but what a panting bell! The
+bell-ringer has evidently lost his self-control. It is a frightful
+tocsin, which violently struggles against the fury of the orchestra.
+
+Finally the air which ends this magnificent act, beginning, “No more
+love, no more intoxication, O the remorse that oppresses me!” which the
+composer marks _allegro con moto_, becomes a wild _prestissimo_. You
+would say an express-train was whirling by. The alarum resounds again.
+Valentine falls fainting. Raoul precipitates himself from the window.
+
+It was high time. The orchestra, really intoxicated, could not have
+gone on. The leader’s baton is no longer anything but a broken stick on
+the prompter’s box. The violin strings are broken, and their necks
+twisted. In his fury the drummer has burst his drum. The
+counter-bassist has perched on the top of his musical monster. The
+first clarionet has swallowed the reed of his instrument, and the
+second hautboy is chewing his reed keys. The groove of the trombone is
+strained, and finally the unhappy cornist cannot withdraw his hand from
+the bell of his horn, into which he had thrust it too far.
+
+And the audience! The audience, panting, all in a heat, gesticulates
+and howls. All the faces are as red as if a fire were burning within
+their bodies. They crowd each other, hustle each other to get out—the
+men without hats, the women without mantles! They elbow each other in
+the corridors, crush between the doors, quarrel, fight! There are no
+longer any officials, any burgomaster. All are equal amid this infernal
+frenzy!
+
+
+[Illustration: They hustle each other to get out]
+
+
+Some moments after, when all have reached the street, each one resumes
+his habitual tranquillity, and peaceably enters his house, with a
+confused remembrance of what he has just experienced.
+
+The fourth act of the “Huguenots,” which formerly lasted six hours,
+began, on this evening at half-past four, and ended at twelve minutes
+before five.
+
+It had only lasted eighteen minutes!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+IN WHICH THE ANCIENT AND SOLEMN GERMAN WALTZ BECOMES A WHIRLWIND.
+
+
+But if the spectators, on leaving the theatre, resumed their customary
+calm, if they quietly regained their homes, preserving only a sort of
+passing stupefaction, they had none the less undergone a remarkable
+exaltation, and overcome and weary as if they had committed some excess
+of dissipation, they fell heavily upon their beds.
+
+The next day each Quiquendonian had a kind of recollection of what had
+occurred the evening before. One missed his hat, lost in the hubbub;
+another a coat-flap, torn in the brawl; one her delicately fashioned
+shoe, another her best mantle. Memory returned to these worthy people,
+and with it a certain shame for their unjustifiable agitation. It
+seemed to them an orgy in which they were the unconscious heroes and
+heroines. They did not speak of it; they did not wish to think of it.
+But the most astounded personage in the town was Van Tricasse the
+burgomaster.
+
+The next morning, on waking, he could not find his wig. Lotchè looked
+everywhere for it, but in vain. The wig had remained on the field of
+battle. As for having it publicly claimed by Jean Mistrol, the
+town-crier,—no, it would not do. It were better to lose the wig than to
+advertise himself thus, as he had the honour to be the first magistrate
+of Quiquendone.
+
+The worthy Van Tricasse was reflecting upon this, extended beneath his
+sheets, with bruised body, heavy head, furred tongue, and burning
+breast. He felt no desire to get up; on the contrary; and his brain
+worked more during this morning than it had probably worked before for
+forty years. The worthy magistrate recalled to his mind all the
+incidents of the incomprehensible performance. He connected them with
+the events which had taken place shortly before at Doctor Ox’s
+reception. He tried to discover the causes of the singular excitability
+which, on two occasions, had betrayed itself in the best citizens of
+the town.
+
+“What _can_ be going on?” he asked himself. “What giddy spirit has
+taken possession of my peaceable town of Quiquendone? Are we about to
+go mad, and must we make the town one vast asylum? For yesterday we
+were all there, notables, counsellors, judges, advocates, physicians,
+schoolmasters; and ail, if my memory serves me,—all of us were assailed
+by this excess of furious folly! But what was there in that infernal
+music? It is inexplicable! Yet I certainly ate or drank nothing which
+could put me into such a state. No; yesterday I had for dinner a slice
+of overdone veal, several spoonfuls of spinach with sugar, eggs, and a
+little beer and water,—that couldn’t get into my head! No! There is
+something that I cannot explain, and as, after all, I am responsible
+for the conduct of the citizens, I will have an investigation.”
+
+But the investigation, though decided upon by the municipal council,
+produced no result. If the facts were clear, the causes escaped the
+sagacity of the magistrates. Besides, tranquillity had been restored in
+the public mind, and with tranquillity, forgetfulness of the strange
+scenes of the theatre. The newspapers avoided speaking of them, and the
+account of the performance which appeared in the “Quiquendone
+Memorial,” made no allusion to this intoxication of the entire
+audience.
+
+Meanwhile, though the town resumed its habitual phlegm, and became
+apparently Flemish as before, it was observable that, at bottom, the
+character and temperament of the people changed little by little. One
+might have truly said, with Dominique Custos, the doctor, that “their
+nerves were affected.”
+
+Let us explain. This undoubted change only took place under certain
+conditions. When the Quiquendonians passed through the streets of the
+town, walked in the squares or along the Vaar, they were always the
+cold and methodical people of former days. So, too, when they remained
+at home, some working with their hands and others with their
+heads,—these doing nothing, those thinking nothing,—their private life
+was silent, inert, vegetating as before. No quarrels, no household
+squabbles, no acceleration in the beating of the heart, no excitement
+of the brain. The mean of their pulsations remained as it was of old,
+from fifty to fifty-two per minute.
+
+But, strange and inexplicable phenomenon though it was, which would
+have defied the sagacity of the most ingenious physiologists of the
+day, if the inhabitants of Quiquendone did not change in their home
+life, they were visibly changed in their civil life and in their
+relations between man and man, to which it leads.
+
+If they met together in some public edifice, it did not “work well,” as
+Commissary Passauf expressed it. On ’change, at the town-hall, in the
+amphitheatre of the academy, at the sessions of the council, as well as
+at the reunions of the _savants_, a strange excitement seized the
+assembled citizens. Their relations with each other became embarrassing
+before they had been together an hour. In two hours the discussion
+degenerated into an angry dispute. Heads became heated, and
+personalities were used. Even at church, during the sermon, the
+faithful could not listen to Van Stabel, the minister, in patience, and
+he threw himself about in the pulpit and lectured his flock with far
+more than his usual severity. At last this state of things brought
+about altercations more grave, alas! than that between Gustos and
+Schut, and if they did not require the interference of the authorities,
+it was because the antagonists, after returning home, found there, with
+its calm, forgetfulness of the offences offered and received.
+
+This peculiarity could not be observed by these minds, which were
+absolutely incapable of recognizing what was passing in them. One
+person only in the town, he whose office the council had thought of
+suppressing for thirty years, Michael Passauf, had remarked that this
+excitement, which was absent from private houses, quickly revealed
+itself in public edifices; and he asked himself, not without a certain
+anxiety, what would happen if this infection should ever develop itself
+in the family mansions, and if the epidemic—this was the word he
+used—should extend through the streets of the town. Then there would be
+no more forgetfulness of insults, no more tranquillity, no intermission
+in the delirium; but a permanent inflammation, which would inevitably
+bring the Quiquendonians into collision with each other.
+
+“What would happen then?” Commissary Passauf asked himself in terror.
+“How could these furious savages be arrested? How check these goaded
+temperaments? My office would be no longer a sinecure, and the council
+would be obliged to double my salary— unless it should arrest me
+myself, for disturbing the public peace!”
+
+These very reasonable fears began to be realized. The infection spread
+from ’change, the theatre, the church, the town-hall, the academy, the
+market, into private houses, and that in less than a fortnight after
+the terrible performance of the “Huguenots.”
+
+Its first symptoms appeared in the house of Collaert, the banker.
+
+That wealthy personage gave a ball, or at least a dancing-party, to the
+notabilities of the town. He had issued, some months before, a loan of
+thirty thousand francs, three quarters of which had been subscribed;
+and to celebrate this financial success, he had opened his
+drawing-rooms, and given a party to his fellow-citizens.
+
+Everybody knows that Flemish parties are innocent and tranquil enough,
+the principal expense of which is usually in beer and syrups. Some
+conversation on the weather, the appearance of the crops, the fine
+condition of the gardens, the care of flowers, and especially of
+tulips; a slow and measured dance, from time to time, perhaps a minuet;
+sometimes a waltz, but one of those German waltzes which achieve a turn
+and a half per minute, and during which the dancers hold each other as
+far apart as their arms will permit,—such is the usual fashion of the
+balls attended by the aristocratic society of Quiquendone. The polka,
+after being altered to four time, had tried to become accustomed to it;
+but the dancers always lagged behind the orchestra, no matter how slow
+the measure, and it had to be abandoned.
+
+These peaceable reunions, in which the youths and maidens enjoyed an
+honest and moderate pleasure, had never been attended by any outburst
+of ill-nature. Why, then, on this evening at Collaert the banker’s, did
+the syrups seem to be transformed into heady wines, into sparkling
+champagne, into heating punches? Why, towards the middle of the
+evening, did a sort of mysterious intoxication take possession of the
+guests? Why did the minuet become a jig? Why did the orchestra hurry
+with its harmonies? Why did the candles, just as at the theatre, burn
+with unwonted refulgence? What electric current invaded the banker’s
+drawing-rooms? How happened it that the couples held each other so
+closely, and clasped each other’s hands so convulsively, that the
+“cavaliers seuls” made themselves conspicuous by certain extraordinary
+steps in that figure usually so grave, so solemn, so majestic, so very
+proper?
+
+Alas! what OEdipus could have answered these unsolvable questions?
+Commissary Passauf, who was present at the party, saw the storm coming
+distinctly, but he could not control it or fly from it, and he felt a
+kind of intoxication entering his own brain. All his physical and
+emotional faculties increased in intensity. He was seen, several times,
+to throw himself upon the confectionery and devour the dishes, as if he
+had just broken a long fast.
+
+The animation of the ball was increasing all this while. A long murmur,
+like a dull buzzing, escaped from all breasts. They danced—really
+danced. The feet were agitated by increasing frenzy. The faces became
+as purple as those of Silenus. The eyes shone like carbuncles. The
+general fermentation rose to the highest pitch.
+
+And when the orchestra thundered out the waltz in “Der
+Freyschütz,”—when this waltz, so German, and with a movement so slow,
+was attacked with wild arms by the musicians,—ah! it was no longer a
+waltz, but an insensate whirlwind, a giddy rotation, a gyration worthy
+of being led by some Mephistopheles, beating the measure with a
+firebrand! Then a galop, an infernal galop, which lasted an hour
+without any one being able to stop it, whirled off, in its windings,
+across the halls, the drawing-rooms, the antechambers, by the
+staircases, from the cellar to the garret of the opulent mansion, the
+young men and young girls, the fathers and mothers, people of every
+age, of every weight, of both sexes; Collaert, the fat banker, and
+Madame Collaert, and the counsellors, and the magistrates, and the
+chief justice, and Niklausse, and Madame Van Tricasse, and the
+Burgomaster Van Tricasse, and the Commissary Passauf himself, who never
+could recall afterwards who had been his partner on that terrible
+evening.
+
+
+[Illustration: it was no longer a waltz]
+
+
+But she did not forget! And ever since that day she has seen in her
+dreams the fiery commissary, enfolding her in an impassioned embrace!
+And “she”—was the amiable Tatanémance!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX AND YGÈNE, HIS ASSISTANT, SAY A FEW WORDS.
+
+
+“Well, Ygène?”
+
+“Well, master, all is ready. The laying of the pipes is finished.”
+
+“At last! Now, then, we are going to operate on a large scale, on the
+masses!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT THE EPIDEMIC INVADES THE ENTIRE TOWN, AND
+WHAT EFFECT IT PRODUCES.
+
+
+During the following months the evil, in place of subsiding, became
+more extended. From private houses the epidemic spread into the
+streets. The town of Quiquendone was no longer to be recognized.
+
+A phenomenon yet stranger than those which had already happened, now
+appeared; not only the animal kingdom, but the vegetable kingdom
+itself, became subject to the mysterious influence.
+
+According to the ordinary course of things, epidemics are special in
+their operation. Those which attack humanity spare the animals, and
+those which attack the animals spare the vegetables. A horse was never
+inflicted with smallpox, nor a man with the cattle-plague, nor do sheep
+suffer from the potato-rot. But here all the laws of nature seemed to
+be overturned. Not only were the character, temperament, and ideas of
+the townsfolk changed, but the domestic animals—dogs and cats, horses
+and cows, asses and goats—suffered from this epidemic influence, as if
+their habitual equilibrium had been changed. The plants themselves were
+infected by a similar strange metamorphosis.
+
+In the gardens and vegetable patches and orchards very curious symptoms
+manifested themselves. Climbing plants climbed more audaciously. Tufted
+plants became more tufted than ever. Shrubs became trees. Cereals,
+scarcely sown, showed their little green heads, and gained, in the same
+length of time, as much in inches as formerly, under the most
+favourable circumstances, they had gained in fractions. Asparagus
+attained the height of several feet; the artichokes swelled to the size
+of melons, the melons to the size of pumpkins, the pumpkins to the size
+of gourds, the gourds to the size of the belfry bell, which measured,
+in truth, nine feet in diameter. The cabbages were bushes, and the
+mushrooms umbrellas.
+
+The fruits did not lag behind the vegetables. It required two persons
+to eat a strawberry, and four to consume a pear. The grapes also
+attained the enormous proportions of those so well depicted by Poussin
+in his “Return of the Envoys to the Promised Land.”
+
+
+[Illustration: It required two persons to eat a strawberry]
+
+
+It was the same with the flowers: immense violets spread the most
+penetrating perfumes through the air; exaggerated roses shone with the
+brightest colours; lilies formed, in a few days, impenetrable copses;
+geraniums, daisies, camelias, rhododendrons, invaded the garden walks,
+and stifled each other. And the tulips,—those dear liliaceous plants so
+dear to the Flemish heart, what emotion they must have caused to their
+zealous cultivators! The worthy Van Bistrom nearly fell over backwards,
+one day, on seeing in his garden an enormous “Tulipa gesneriana,” a
+gigantic monster, whose cup afforded space to a nest for a whole family
+of robins!
+
+The entire town flocked to see this floral phenomenon, and renamed it
+the “Tulipa quiquendonia”.
+
+But alas! if these plants, these fruits, these flowers, grew visibly to
+the naked eye, if all the vegetables insisted on assuming colossal
+proportions, if the brilliancy of their colours and perfume intoxicated
+the smell and the sight, they quickly withered. The air which they
+absorbed rapidly exhausted them, and they soon died, faded, and dried
+up.
+
+Such was the fate of the famous tulip, which, after several days of
+splendour, became emaciated, and fell lifeless.
+
+It was soon the same with the domestic animals, from the house-dog to
+the stable pig, from the canary in its cage to the turkey of the
+back-court. It must be said that in ordinary times these animals were
+not less phlegmatic than their masters. The dogs and cats vegetated
+rather than lived. They never betrayed a wag of pleasure nor a snarl of
+wrath. Their tails moved no more than if they had been made of bronze.
+Such a thing as a bite or scratch from any of them had not been known
+from time immemorial. As for mad dogs, they were looked upon as
+imaginary beasts, like the griffins and the rest in the menagerie of
+the apocalypse.
+
+But what a change had taken place in a few months, the smallest
+incidents of which we are trying to reproduce! Dogs and cats began to
+show teeth and claws. Several executions had taken place after
+reiterated offences. A horse was seen, for the first time, to take his
+bit in his teeth and rush through the streets of Quiquendone; an ox was
+observed to precipitate itself, with lowered horns, upon one of his
+herd; an ass was seen to turn himself ever, with his legs in the air,
+in the Place Saint Ernuph, and bray as ass never brayed before; a
+sheep, actually a sheep, defended valiantly the cutlets within him from
+the butcher’s knife.
+
+Van Tricasse, the burgomaster, was forced to make police regulations
+concerning the domestic animals, as, seized with lunacy, they rendered
+the streets of Quiquendone unsafe.
+
+But alas! if the animals were mad, the men were scarcely less so. No
+age was spared by the scourge. Babies soon became quite insupportable,
+though till now so easy to bring up; and for the first time Honoré
+Syntax, the judge, was obliged to apply the rod to his youthful
+offspring.
+
+There was a kind of insurrection at the high school, and the
+dictionaries became formidable missiles in the classes. The scholars
+would not submit to be shut in, and, besides, the infection took the
+teachers themselves, who overwhelmed the boys and girls with
+extravagant tasks and punishments.
+
+Another strange phenomenon occurred. All these Quiquendonians, so sober
+before, whose chief food had been whipped creams, committed wild
+excesses in their eating and drinking. Their usual regimen no longer
+sufficed. Each stomach was transformed into a gulf, and it became
+necessary to fill this gulf by the most energetic means. The
+consumption of the town was trebled. Instead of two repasts they had
+six. Many cases of indigestion were reported. The Counsellor Niklausse
+could not satisfy his hunger. Van Tricasse found it impossible to
+assuage his thirst, and remained in a state of rabid semi-intoxication.
+
+In short, the most alarming symptoms manifested themselves and
+increased from day to day. Drunken people staggered in the streets, and
+these were often citizens of high position.
+
+Dominique Custos, the physician, had plenty to do with the heartburns,
+inflammations, and nervous affections, which proved to what a strange
+degree the nerves of the people had been irritated.
+
+There were daily quarrels and altercations in the once deserted but now
+crowded streets of Quiquendone; for nobody could any longer stay at
+home. It was necessary to establish a new police force to control the
+disturbers of the public peace. A prison-cage was established in the
+Town Hall, and speedily became full, night and day, of refractory
+offenders. Commissary Passauf was in despair.
+
+A marriage was concluded in less than two months,—such a thing had
+never been seen before. Yes, the son of Rupp, the schoolmaster, wedded
+the daughter of Augustine de Rovere, and that fifty-seven days only
+after he had petitioned for her hand and heart!
+
+Other marriages were decided upon, which, in old times, would have
+remained in doubt and discussion for years. The burgomaster perceived
+that his own daughter, the charming Suzel, was escaping from his hands.
+
+As for dear Tatanémance, she had dared to sound Commissary Passauf on
+the subject of a union, which seemed to her to combine every element of
+happiness, fortune, honour, youth!
+
+At last,—to reach the depths of abomination,—a duel took place! Yes, a
+duel with pistols—horse-pistols—at seventy-five paces, with
+ball-cartridges. And between whom? Our readers will never believe!
+
+Between M. Frantz Niklausse, the gentle angler, and young Simon
+Collaert, the wealthy banker’s son.
+
+And the cause of this duel was the burgomaster’s daughter, for whom
+Simon discovered himself to be fired with passion, and whom he refused
+to yield to the claims of an audacious rival!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+IN WHICH THE QUIQUENDONIANS ADOPT A HEROIC RESOLUTION.
+
+
+We have seen to what a deplorable condition the people of Quiquendone
+were reduced. Their heads were in a ferment. They no longer knew or
+recognized themselves. The most peaceable citizens had become
+quarrelsome. If you looked at them askance, they would speedily send
+you a challenge. Some let their moustaches grow, and several—the most
+belligerent—curled them up at the ends.
+
+This being their condition, the administration of the town and the
+maintenance of order in the streets became difficult tasks, for the
+government had not been organized for such a state of things. The
+burgomaster—that worthy Van Tricasse whom we have seen so placid, so
+dull, so incapable of coming to any decision— the burgomaster became
+intractable. His house resounded with the sharpness of his voice. He
+made twenty decisions a day, scolding his officials, and himself
+enforcing the regulations of his administration.
+
+Ah, what a change! The amiable and tranquil mansion of the burgomaster,
+that good Flemish home—where was its former calm? What changes had
+taken place in your household economy! Madame Van Tricasse had become
+acrid, whimsical, harsh. Her husband sometimes succeeded in drowning
+her voice by talking louder than she, but could not silence her. The
+petulant humour of this worthy dame was excited by everything. Nothing
+went right. The servants offended her every moment. Tatanémance, her
+sister-in-law, who was not less irritable, replied sharply to her. M.
+Van Tricasse naturally supported Lotchè, his servant, as is the case in
+all good households; and this permanently exasperated Madame, who
+constantly disputed, discussed, and made scenes with her husband.
+
+“What on earth is the matter with us?” cried the unhappy burgomaster.
+“What is this fire that is devouring us? Are we possessed with the
+devil? Ah, Madame Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, you will end by
+making me die before you, and thus violate all the traditions of the
+family!”
+
+The reader will not have forgotten the strange custom by which M. Van
+Tricasse would become a widower and marry again, so as not to break the
+chain of descent.
+
+Meanwhile, this disposition of all minds produced other curious effects
+worthy of note. This excitement, the cause of which has so far escaped
+us, brought about unexpected physiological changes. Talents, hitherto
+unrecognized, betrayed themselves. Aptitudes were suddenly revealed.
+Artists, before common-place, displayed new ability. Politicians and
+authors arose. Orators proved themselves equal to the most arduous
+debates, and on every question inflamed audiences which were quite
+ready to be inflamed. From the sessions of the council, this movement
+spread to the public political meetings, and a club was formed at
+Quiquendone; whilst twenty newspapers, the “Quiquendone Signal,” the
+“Quiquendone Impartial,” the “Quiquendone Radical,” and so on, written
+in an inflammatory style, raised the most important questions.
+
+But what about? you will ask. Apropos of everything, and of nothing;
+apropos of the Oudenarde tower, which was falling, and which some
+wished to pull down, and others to prop up; apropos of the police
+regulations issued by the council, which some obstinate citizens
+threatened to resist; apropos of the sweeping of the gutters, repairing
+the sewers, and so on. Nor did the enraged orators confine themselves
+to the internal administration of the town. Carried on by the current
+they went further, and essayed to plunge their fellow-citizens into the
+hazards of war.
+
+Quiquendone had had for eight or nine hundred years a _casus belli_ of
+the best quality; but she had preciously laid it up like a relic, and
+there had seemed some probability that it would become effete, and no
+longer serviceable.
+
+This was what had given rise to the _casus belli_.
+
+It is not generally known that Quiquendone, in this cosy corner of
+Flanders, lies next to the little town of Virgamen. The territories of
+the two communities are contiguous.
+
+Well, in 1185, some time before Count Baldwin’s departure to the
+Crusades, a Virgamen cow—not a cow belonging to a citizen, but a cow
+which was common property, let it be observed—audaciously ventured to
+pasture on the territory of Quiquendone. This unfortunate beast had
+scarcely eaten three mouthfuls; but the offence, the abuse, the
+crime—whatever you will—was committed and duly indicted, for the
+magistrates, at that time, had already begun to know how to write.
+
+“We will take revenge at the proper moment,” said simply Natalis Van
+Tricasse, the thirty-second predecessor of the burgomaster of this
+story, “and the Virgamenians will lose nothing by waiting.”
+
+The Virgamenians were forewarned. They waited thinking, without doubt,
+that the remembrance of the offence would fade away with the lapse of
+time; and really, for several centuries, they lived on good terms with
+their neighbours of Quiquendone.
+
+But they counted without their hosts, or rather without this strange
+epidemic, which, radically changing the character of the
+Quiquendonians, aroused their dormant vengeance.
+
+It was at the club of the Rue Monstrelet that the truculent orator
+Schut, abruptly introducing the subject to his hearers, inflamed them
+with the expressions and metaphors used on such occasions. He recalled
+the offence, the injury which had been done to Quiquendone, and which a
+nation “jealous of its rights” could not admit as a precedent; he
+showed the insult to be still existing, the wound still bleeding: he
+spoke of certain special head-shakings on the part of the people of
+Virgamen, which indicated in what degree of contempt they regarded the
+people of Quiquendone; he appealed to his fellow-citizens, who,
+unconsciously perhaps, had supported this mortal insult for long
+centuries; he adjured the “children of the ancient town” to have no
+other purpose than to obtain a substantial reparation. And, lastly, he
+made an appeal to “all the living energies of the nation!”
+
+With what enthusiasm these words, so new to Quiquendonian ears, were
+greeted, may be surmised, but cannot be told. All the auditors rose,
+and with extended arms demanded war with loud cries. Never had the
+Advocate Schut achieved such a success, and it must be avowed that his
+triumphs were not few.
+
+The burgomaster, the counsellor, all the notabilities present at this
+memorable meeting, would have vainly attempted to resist the popular
+outburst. Besides, they had no desire to do so, and cried as loud, if
+not louder, than the rest,—
+
+“To the frontier! To the frontier!”
+
+As the frontier was but three kilometers from the walls of Quiquendone,
+it is certain that the Virgamenians ran a real danger, for they might
+easily be invaded without having had time to look about them.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, the worthy chemist, who alone had preserved
+his senses on this grave occasion, tried to make his fellow-citizens
+comprehend that guns, cannon, and generals were equally wanting to
+their design.
+
+They replied to him, not without many impatient gestures, that these
+generals, cannons, and guns would be improvised; that the right and
+love of country sufficed, and rendered a people irresistible.
+
+Hereupon the burgomaster himself came forward, and in a sublime
+harangue made short work of those pusillanimous people who disguise
+their fear under a veil of prudence, which veil he tore off with a
+patriotic hand.
+
+At this sally it seemed as if the hall would fall in under the
+applause.
+
+The vote was eagerly demanded, and was taken amid acclamations.
+
+The cries of “To Virgamen! to Virgamen!” redoubled.
+
+
+[Illustration: “To Virgamen! to Virgamen!”]
+
+
+The burgomaster then took it upon himself to put the armies in motion,
+and in the name of the town he promised the honours of a triumph, such
+as was given in the times of the Romans to that one of its generals who
+should return victorious.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, who was an obstinate fellow, and did not
+regard himself as beaten, though he really had been, insisted on making
+another observation. He wished to remark that the triumph was only
+accorded at Rome to those victorious generals who had killed five
+thousand of the enemy.
+
+“Well, well!” cried the meeting deliriously.
+
+“And as the population of the town of Virgamen consists of but three
+thousand five hundred and seventy-five inhabitants, it would be
+difficult, unless the same person was killed several times—”
+
+But they did not let the luckless logician finish, and he was turned
+out, hustled and bruised.
+
+“Citizens,” said Pulmacher the grocer, who usually sold groceries by
+retail, “whatever this cowardly apothecary may have said, I engage by
+myself to kill five thousand Virgamenians, if you will accept my
+services!”
+
+“Five thousand five hundred!” cried a yet more resolute patriot.
+
+“Six thousand six hundred!” retorted the grocer.
+
+“Seven thousand!” cried Jean Orbideck, the confectioner of the Rue
+Hemling, who was on the road to a fortune by making whipped creams.
+
+“Adjudged!” exclaimed the burgomaster Van Tricasse, on finding that no
+one else rose on the bid.
+
+And this was how Jean Orbideck the confectioner became general-in-chief
+of the forces of Quiquendone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+IN WHICH YGÈNE, THE ASSISTANT, GIVES A REASONABLE PIECE OF ADVICE,
+WHICH IS EAGERLY REJECTED BY DOCTOR OX.
+
+
+“Well, master,” said Ygène next day, as he poured the pails of
+sulphuric acid into the troughs of the great battery.
+
+“Well,” resumed Doctor Ox, “was I not right? See to what not only the
+physical developments of a whole nation, but its morality, its dignity,
+its talents, its political sense, have come! It is only a question of
+molecules.”
+
+“No doubt; but—”
+
+“But—”
+
+“Do you not think that matters have gone far enough, and that these
+poor devils should not be excited beyond measure?”
+
+“No, no!” cried the doctor; “no! I will go on to the end!”
+
+“As you will, master; the experiment, however, seems to me conclusive,
+and I think it time to—”
+
+“To—”
+
+“To close the valve.”
+
+“You’d better!” cried Doctor Ox. “If you attempt it, I’ll throttle
+you!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+IN WHICH IT IS ONCE MORE PROVED THAT BY TAKING HIGH GROUND ALL HUMAN
+LITTLENESSES MAY BE OVERLOOKED.
+
+
+“You say?” asked the Burgomaster Van Tricasse of the Counsellor
+Niklausse.
+
+“I say that this war is necessary,” replied Niklausse, firmly, “and
+that the time has come to avenge this insult.”
+
+“Well, I repeat to you,” replied the burgomaster, tartly, “that if the
+people of Quiquendone do not profit by this occasion to vindicate their
+rights, they will be unworthy of their name.”
+
+“And as for me, I maintain that we ought, without delay, to collect our
+forces and lead them to the front.”
+
+“Really, monsieur, really!” replied Van Tricasse. “And do you speak
+thus to _me_?”
+
+“To yourself, monsieur the burgomaster; and you shall hear the truth,
+unwelcome as it may be.”
+
+“And you shall hear it yourself, counsellor,” returned Van Tricasse in
+a passion, “for it will come better from my mouth than from yours! Yes,
+monsieur, yes, any delay would be dishonourable. The town of
+Quiquendone has waited nine hundred years for the moment to take its
+revenge, and whatever you may say, whether it pleases you or not, we
+shall march upon the enemy.”
+
+“Ah, you take it thus!” replied Niklausse harshly. “Very well,
+monsieur, we will march without you, if it does not please you to go.”
+
+“A burgomaster’s place is in the front rank, monsieur!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “A burgomaster’s place is in the front rank,
+monsieur!”]
+
+
+“And that of a counsellor also, monsieur.”
+
+“You insult me by thwarting all my wishes,” cried the burgomaster,
+whose fists seemed likely to hit out before long.
+
+“And you insult me equally by doubting my patriotism,” cried Niklausse,
+who was equally ready for a tussle.
+
+“I tell you, monsieur, that the army of Quiquendone shall be put in
+motion within two days!”
+
+“And I repeat to you, monsieur, that forty-eight hours shall not pass
+before we shall have marched upon the enemy!”
+
+It is easy to see, from this fragment of conversation, that the two
+speakers supported exactly the same idea. Both wished for hostilities;
+but as their excitement disposed them to altercation, Niklausse would
+not listen to Van Tricasse, nor Van Tricasse to Niklausse. Had they
+been of contrary opinions on this grave question, had the burgomaster
+favoured war and the counsellor insisted on peace, the quarrel would
+not have been more violent. These two old friends gazed fiercely at
+each other. By the quickened beating of their hearts, their red faces,
+their contracted pupils, the trembling of their muscles, their harsh
+voices, it might be conjectured that they were ready to come to blows.
+
+But the striking of a large clock happily checked the adversaries at
+the moment when they seemed on the point of assaulting each other.
+
+“At last the hour has come!” cried the burgomaster.
+
+“What hour?” asked the counsellor.
+
+“The hour to go to the belfry tower.”
+
+“It is true, and whether it pleases you or not, I shall go, monsieur.”
+
+“And I too.”
+
+“Let us go!”
+
+“Let us go!”
+
+It might have been supposed from these last words that a collision had
+occurred, and that the adversaries were proceeding to a duel; but it
+was not so. It had been agreed that the burgomaster and the counsellor,
+as the two principal dignitaries of the town, should repair to the Town
+Hall, and there show themselves on the high tower which overlooked
+Quiquendone; that they should examine the surrounding country, so as to
+make the best strategetic plan for the advance of their troops.
+
+Though they were in accord on this subject, they did not cease to
+quarrel bitterly as they went. Their loud voices were heard resounding
+in the streets; but all the passers-by were now accustomed to this; the
+exasperation of the dignitaries seemed quite natural, and no one took
+notice of it. Under the circumstances, a calm man would have been
+regarded as a monster.
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, having reached the porch of the
+belfry, were in a paroxysm of fury. They were no longer red, but pale.
+This terrible discussion, though they had the same idea, had produced
+internal spasms, and every one knows that paleness shows that anger has
+reached its last limits.
+
+At the foot of the narrow tower staircase there was a real explosion.
+Who should go up first? Who should first creep up the winding steps?
+Truth compels us to say that there was a tussle, and that the
+Counsellor Niklausse, forgetful of all that he owed to his superior, to
+the supreme magistrate of the town, pushed Van Tricasse violently back,
+and dashed up the staircase first.
+
+Both ascended, denouncing and raging at each other at every step. It
+was to be feared that a terrible climax would occur on the summit of
+the tower, which rose three hundred and fifty-seven feet above the
+pavement.
+
+The two enemies soon got out of breath, however, and in a little while,
+at the eightieth step, they began to move up heavily, breathing loud
+and short.
+
+Then—was it because of their being out of breath?—their wrath subsided,
+or at least only betrayed itself by a succession of unseemly epithets.
+They became silent, and, strange to say, it seemed as if their
+excitement diminished as they ascended higher above the town. A sort of
+lull took place in their minds. Their brains became cooler, and
+simmered down like a coffee-pot when taken away from the fire. Why?
+
+We cannot answer this “why;” but the truth is that, having reached a
+certain landing-stage, two hundred and sixty-six feet above ground, the
+two adversaries sat down and, really more calm, looked at each other
+without any anger in their faces.
+
+“How high it is!” said the burgomaster, passing his handkerchief over
+his rubicund face.
+
+“Very high!” returned the counsellor. “Do you know that we have gone
+fourteen feet higher than the Church of Saint Michael at Hamburg?”
+
+“I know it,” replied the burgomaster, in a tone of vanity very
+pardonable in the chief magistrate of Quiquendone.
+
+The two notabilities soon resumed their ascent, casting curious glances
+through the loopholes pierced in the tower walls. The burgomaster had
+taken the head of the procession, without any remark on the part of the
+counsellor. It even happened that at about the three hundred and fourth
+step, Van Tricasse being completely tired out, Niklausse kindly pushed
+him from behind. The burgomaster offered no resistance to this, and,
+when he reached the platform of the tower, said graciously,—
+
+“Thanks, Niklausse; I will do the same for you one day.”
+
+A little while before it had been two wild beasts, ready to tear each
+other to pieces, who had presented themselves at the foot of the tower;
+it was now two friends who reached its summit.
+
+The weather was superb. It was the month of May. The sun had absorbed
+all the vapours. What a pure and limpid atmosphere! The most minute
+objects over a broad space might be discerned. The walls of Virgamen,
+glistening in their whiteness,—its red, pointed roofs, its belfries
+shining in the sunlight—appeared a few miles off. And this was the town
+that was foredoomed to all the horrors of fire and pillage!
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor sat down beside each other on a
+small stone bench, like two worthy people whose souls were in close
+sympathy. As they recovered breath, they looked around; then, after a
+brief silence,—
+
+“How fine this is!” cried the burgomaster.
+
+“Yes, it is admirable!” replied the counsellor. “Does it not seem to
+you, my good Van Tricasse, that humanity is destined to dwell rather at
+such heights, than to crawl about on the surface of our globe?”
+
+“I agree with you, honest Niklausse,” returned the burgomaster, “I
+agree with you. You seize sentiment better when you get clear of
+nature. You breathe it in every sense! It is at such heights that
+philosophers should be formed, and that sages should live, above the
+miseries of this world!”
+
+“Shall we go around the platform?” asked the counsellor.
+
+“Let us go around the platform,” replied the burgomaster.
+
+And the two friends, arm in arm, and putting, as formerly, long pauses
+between their questions and answers, examined every point of the
+horizon.
+
+
+[Illustration: The two friends, arm in arm]
+
+
+“It is at least seventeen years since I have ascended the belfry
+tower,” said Van Tricasse.
+
+“I do not think I ever came up before,” replied Niklausse; “and I
+regret it, for the view from this height is sublime! Do you see, my
+friend, the pretty stream of the Vaar, as it winds among the trees?”
+
+“And, beyond, the heights of Saint Hermandad! How gracefully they shut
+in the horizon! Observe that border of green trees, which Nature has so
+picturesquely arranged! Ah, Nature, Nature, Niklausse! Could the hand
+of man ever hope to rival her?”
+
+“It is enchanting, my excellent friend,” replied the counsellor. “See
+the flocks and herds lying in the verdant pastures,—the oxen, the cows,
+the sheep!”
+
+“And the labourers going to the fields! You would say they were
+Arcadian shepherds; they only want a bagpipe!”
+
+“And over all this fertile country the beautiful blue sky, which no
+vapour dims! Ah, Niklausse, one might become a poet here! I do not
+understand why Saint Simeon Stylites was not one of the greatest poets
+of the world.”
+
+“It was because, perhaps, his column was not high enough,” replied the
+counsellor, with a gentle smile.
+
+At this moment the chimes of Quiquendone rang out. The clear bells
+played one of their most melodious airs. The two friends listened in
+ecstasy.
+
+Then in his calm voice, Van Tricasse said,—
+
+“But what, friend Niklausse, did we come to the top of this tower to
+do?”
+
+“In fact,” replied the counsellor, “we have permitted ourselves to be
+carried away by our reveries—”
+
+“What did we come here to do?” repeated the burgomaster.
+
+“We came,” said Niklausse, “to breathe this pure air, which human
+weaknesses have not corrupted.”
+
+“Well, shall we descend, friend Niklausse?”
+
+“Let us descend, friend Van Tricasse.”
+
+They gave a parting glance at the splendid panorama which was spread
+before their eyes; then the burgomaster passed down first, and began to
+descend with a slow and measured pace. The counsellor followed a few
+steps behind. They reached the landing-stage at which they had stopped
+on ascending. Already their cheeks began to redden. They tarried a
+moment, then resumed their descent.
+
+In a few moments Van Tricasse begged Niklausse to go more slowly, as he
+felt him on his heels, and it “worried him.” It even did more than
+worry him; for twenty steps lower down he ordered the counsellor to
+stop, that he might get on some distance ahead.
+
+The counsellor replied that he did not wish to remain with his leg in
+the air to await the good pleasure of the burgomaster, and kept on.
+
+Van Tricasse retorted with a rude expression.
+
+The counsellor responded by an insulting allusion to the burgomaster’s
+age, destined as he was, by his family traditions, to marry a second
+time.
+
+The burgomaster went down twenty steps more, and warned Niklausse that
+this should not pass thus.
+
+Niklausse replied that, at all events, he would pass down first; and,
+the space being very narrow, the two dignitaries came into collision,
+and found themselves in utter darkness. The words “blockhead” and
+“booby” were the mildest which they now applied to each other.
+
+“We shall see, stupid beast!” cried the burgomaster,—“we shall see what
+figure you will make in this war, and in what rank you will march!”
+
+“In the rank that precedes yours, you silly old fool!” replied
+Niklausse.
+
+Then there were other cries, and it seemed as if bodies were rolling
+over each other. What was going on? Why were these dispositions so
+quickly changed? Why were the gentle sheep of the tower’s summit
+metamorphosed into tigers two hundred feet below it?
+
+However this might be, the guardian of the tower, hearing the noise,
+opened the door, just at the moment when the two adversaries, bruised,
+and with protruding eyes, were in the act of tearing each other’s
+hair,—fortunately they wore wigs.
+
+“You shall give me satisfaction for this!” cried the burgomaster,
+shaking his fist under his adversary’s nose.
+
+“Whenever you please!” growled the Counsellor Niklausse, attempting to
+respond with a vigorous kick.
+
+The guardian, who was himself in a passion,—I cannot say why,— thought
+the scene a very natural one. I know not what excitement urged him to
+take part in it, but he controlled himself, and went off to announce
+throughout the neighbourhood that a hostile meeting was about to take
+place between the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor
+Niklausse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+IN WHICH MATTERS GO SO FAR THAT THE INHABITANTS OF QUIQUENDONE, THE
+READER, AND EVEN THE AUTHOR, DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE DÉNOUEMENT.
+
+
+The last incident proves to what a pitch of excitement the
+Quiquendonians had been wrought. The two oldest friends in the town,
+and the most gentle—before the advent of the epidemic, to reach this
+degree of violence! And that, too, only a few minutes after their old
+mutual sympathy, their amiable instincts, their contemplative habit,
+had been restored at the summit of the tower!
+
+On learning what was going on, Doctor Ox could not contain his joy. He
+resisted the arguments which Ygène, who saw what a serious turn affairs
+were taking, addressed to him. Besides, both of them were infected by
+the general fury. They were not less excited than the rest of the
+population, and they ended by quarrelling as violently as the
+burgomaster and the counsellor.
+
+Besides, one question eclipsed all others, and the intended duels were
+postponed to the issue of the Virgamenian difficulty. No man had the
+right to shed his blood uselessly, when it belonged, to the last drop,
+to his country in danger. The affair was, in short, a grave one, and
+there was no withdrawing from it.
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse, despite the warlike ardour with which he
+was filled, had not thought it best to throw himself upon the enemy
+without warning him. He had, therefore, through the medium of the rural
+policeman, Hottering, sent to demand reparation of the Virgamenians for
+the offence committed, in 1195, on the Quiquendonian territory.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen could not at first imagine of what the
+envoy spoke, and the latter, despite his official character, was
+conducted back to the frontier very cavalierly.
+
+Van Tricasse then sent one of the aides-de-camp of the
+confectioner-general, citizen Hildevert Shuman, a manufacturer of
+barley-sugar, a very firm and energetic man, who carried to the
+authorities of Virgamen the original minute of the indictment drawn up
+in 1195 by order of the Burgomaster Natalís Van Tricasse.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen burst out laughing, and served the
+aide-de-camp in the same manner as the rural policeman.
+
+The burgomaster then assembled the dignitaries of the town.
+
+A letter, remarkably and vigorously drawn up, was written as an
+ultimatum; the cause of quarrel was plainly stated, and a delay of
+twenty-four hours was accorded to the guilty city in which to repair
+the outrage done to Quiquendone.
+
+The letter was sent off, and returned a few hours afterwards, torn to
+bits, which made so many fresh insults. The Virgamenians knew of old
+the forbearance and equanimity of the Quiquendonians, and made sport of
+them and their demand, of their _casus belli_ and their _ultimatum_.
+
+There was only one thing left to do,—to have recourse to arms, to
+invoke the God of battles, and, after the Prussian fashion, to hurl
+themselves upon the Virgamenians before the latter could be prepared.
+
+This decision was made by the council in solemn conclave, in which
+cries, objurgations, and menacing gestures were mingled with unexampled
+violence. An assembly of idiots, a congress of madmen, a club of
+maniacs, would not have been more tumultuous.
+
+As soon as the declaration of war was known, General Jean Orbideck
+assembled his troops, perhaps two thousand three hundred and
+ninety-three combatants from a population of two thousand three hundred
+and ninety-three souls. The women, the children, the old men, were
+joined with the able-bodied males. The guns of the town had been put
+under requisition. Five had been found, two of which were without
+cocks, and these had been distributed to the advance-guard. The
+artillery was composed of the old culverin of the château, taken in
+1339 at the attack on Quesnoy, one of the first occasions of the use of
+cannon in history, and which had not been fired off for five centuries.
+Happily for those who were appointed to take it in charge there were no
+projectiles with which to load it; but such as it was, this engine
+might well impose on the enemy. As for side-arms, they had been taken
+from the museum of antiquities,—flint hatchets, helmets, Frankish
+battle-axes, javelins, halberds, rapiers, and so on; and also in those
+domestic arsenals commonly known as “cupboards” and “kitchens.” But
+courage, the right, hatred of the foreigner, the yearning for
+vengeance, were to take the place of more perfect engines, and to
+replace—at least it was hoped so—the modern mitrailleuses and
+breech-loaders.
+
+The troops were passed in review. Not a citizen failed at the
+roll-call. General Orbideck, whose seat on horseback was far from firm,
+and whose steed was a vicious beast, was thrown three times in front of
+the army; but he got up again without injury, and this was regarded as
+a favourable omen. The burgomaster, the counsellor, the civil
+commissary, the chief justice, the school-teacher, the banker, the
+rector,—in short, all the notabilities of the town,—marched at the
+head. There were no tears shed, either by mothers, sisters, or
+daughters. They urged on their husbands, fathers, brothers, to the
+combat, and even followed them and formed the rear-guard, under the
+orders of the courageous Madame Van Tricasse.
+
+The crier, Jean Mistrol, blew his trumpet; the army moved off, and
+directed itself, with ferocious cries, towards the Oudenarde gate.
+
+
+At the moment when the head of the column was about to pass the walls
+of the town, a man threw himself before it.
+
+“Stop! stop! Fools that you are!” he cried. “Suspend your blows! Let me
+shut the valve! You are not changed in nature! You are good citizens,
+quiet and peaceable! If you are so excited, it is my master, Doctor
+Ox’s, fault! It is an experiment! Under the pretext of lighting your
+streets with oxyhydric gas, he has saturated—”
+
+The assistant was beside himself; but he could not finish. At the
+instant that the doctor’s secret was about to escape his lips, Doctor
+Ox himself pounced upon the unhappy Ygène in an indescribable rage, and
+shut his mouth by blows with his fist.
+
+It was a battle. The burgomaster, the counsellor, the dignitaries, who
+had stopped short on Ygène’s sudden appearance, carried away in turn by
+their exasperation, rushed upon the two strangers, without waiting to
+hear either the one or the other.
+
+Doctor Ox and his assistant, beaten and lashed, were about to be
+dragged, by order of Van Tricasse, to the round-house, when,—
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+IN WHICH THE DÉNOUEMENT TAKES PLACE.
+
+
+When a formidable explosion resounded. All the atmosphere which
+enveloped Quiquendone seemed on fire. A flame of an intensity and
+vividness quite unwonted shot up into the heavens like a meteor. Had it
+been night, this flame would have been visible for ten leagues around.
+
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth, like an army of monks.
+Happily there were no victims; a few scratches and slight hurts were
+the only result. The confectioner, who, as chance would have it, had
+not fallen from his horse this time, had his plume singed, and escaped
+without any further injury.
+
+
+[Illustration: The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth]
+
+
+What had happened?
+
+Something very simple, as was soon learned; the gasworks had just blown
+up. During the absence of the doctor and his assistant, some careless
+mistake had no doubt been made. It is not known how or why a
+communication had been established between the reservoir which
+contained the oxygen and that which enclosed the hydrogen. An explosive
+mixture had resulted from the union of these two gases, to which fire
+had accidentally been applied.
+
+This changed everything; but when the army got upon its feet again,
+Doctor Ox and his assistant Ygène had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+IN WHICH THE INTELLIGENT READER SEES THAT HE HAS GUESSED CORRECTLY,
+DESPITE ALL THE AUTHOR’S PRECAUTIONS.
+
+
+After the explosion, Quiquendone immediately became the peaceable,
+phlegmatic, and Flemish town it formerly was.
+
+After the explosion, which indeed did not cause a very lively
+sensation, each one, without knowing why, mechanically took his way
+home, the burgomaster leaning on the counsellor’s arm, the advocate
+Schut going arm in arm with Custos the doctor, Frantz Niklausse walking
+with equal familiarity with Simon Collaert, each going tranquilly,
+noiselessly, without even being conscious of what had happened, and
+having already forgotten Virgamen and their revenge. The general
+returned to his confections, and his aide-de-camp to the barley-sugar.
+
+Thus everything had become calm again; the old existence had been
+resumed by men and beasts, beasts and plants; even by the tower of
+Oudenarde gate, which the explosion—these explosions are sometimes
+astonishing—had set upright again!
+
+And from that time never a word was spoken more loudly than another,
+never a discussion took place in the town of Quiquendone. There were no
+more politics, no more clubs, no more trials, no more policemen! The
+post of the Commissary Passauf became once more a sinecure, and if his
+salary was not reduced, it was because the burgomaster and the
+counsellor could not make up their minds to decide upon it.
+
+From time to time, indeed, Passauf flitted, without any one suspecting
+it, through the dreams of the inconsolable Tatanémance.
+
+As for Frantz’s rival, he generously abandoned the charming Suzel to
+her lover, who hastened to wed her five or six years after these
+events.
+
+And as for Madame Van Tricasse, she died ten years later, at the proper
+time, and the burgomaster married Mademoiselle Pélagie Van Tricasse,
+his cousin, under excellent conditions—for the happy mortal who should
+succeed him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX’S THEORY IS EXPLAINED.
+
+
+What, then, had this mysterious Doctor Ox done? Tried a fantastic
+experiment,—nothing more.
+
+After having laid down his gas-pipes, he had saturated, first the
+public buildings, then the private dwellings, finally the streets of
+Quiquendone, with pure oxygen, without letting in the least atom of
+hydrogen.
+
+This gas, tasteless and odorless, spread in generous quantity through
+the atmosphere, causes, when it is breathed, serious agitation to the
+human organism. One who lives in an air saturated with oxygen grows
+excited, frantic, burns!
+
+You scarcely return to the ordinary atmosphere before you return to
+your usual state. For instance, the counsellor and the burgomaster at
+the top of the belfry were themselves again, as the oxygen is kept, by
+its weight, in the lower strata of the air.
+
+But one who lives under such conditions, breathing this gas which
+transforms the body physiologically as well as the soul, dies speedily,
+like a madman.
+
+It was fortunate, then, for the Quiquendonians, that a providential
+explosion put an end to this dangerous experiment, and abolished Doctor
+Ox’s gas-works.
+
+To conclude: Are virtue, courage, talent, wit, imagination,—are all
+these qualities or faculties only a question of oxygen?
+
+Such is Doctor Ox’s theory; but we are not bound to accept it, and for
+ourselves we utterly reject it, in spite of the curious experiment of
+which the worthy old town of Quiquendone was the theatre.
+
+
+
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+A WINTER NIGHT.
+
+
+The city of Geneva lies at the west end of the lake of the same name.
+The Rhone, which passes through the town at the outlet of the lake,
+divides it into two sections, and is itself divided in the centre of
+the city by an island placed in mid-stream. A topographical feature
+like this is often found in the great depôts of commerce and industry.
+No doubt the first inhabitants were influenced by the easy means of
+transport which the swift currents of the rivers offered them—those
+“roads which walk along of their own accord,” as Pascal puts it. In the
+case of the Rhone, it would be the road that ran along.
+
+Before new and regular buildings were constructed on this island, which
+was enclosed like a Dutch galley in the middle of the river, the
+curious mass of houses, piled one on the other, presented a
+delightfully confused _coup-d’oeil_. The small area of the island had
+compelled some of the buildings to be perched, as it were, on the
+piles, which were entangled in the rough currents of the river. The
+huge beams, blackened by time, and worn by the water, seemed like the
+claws of an enormous crab, and presented a fantastic appearance. The
+little yellow streams, which were like cobwebs stretched amid this
+ancient foundation, quivered in the darkness, as if they had been the
+leaves of some old oak forest, while the river engulfed in this forest
+of piles, foamed and roared most mournfully.
+
+One of the houses of the island was striking for its curiously aged
+appearance. It was the dwelling of the old clockmaker, Master
+Zacharius, whose household consisted of his daughter Gerande, Aubert
+Thun, his apprentice, and his old servant Scholastique.
+
+There was no man in Geneva to compare in interest with this Zacharius.
+His age was past finding out. Not the oldest inhabitant of the town
+could tell for how long his thin, pointed head had shaken above his
+shoulders, nor the day when, for the first time, he had-walked through
+the streets, with his long white locks floating in the wind. The man
+did not live; he vibrated like the pendulum of his clocks. His spare
+and cadaverous figure was always clothed in dark colours. Like the
+pictures of Leonardo di Vinci, he was sketched in black.
+
+Gerande had the pleasantest room in the whole house, whence, through a
+narrow window, she had the inspiriting view of the snowy peaks of Jura;
+but the bedroom and workshop of the old man were a kind of cavern close
+on to the water, the floor of which rested on the piles.
+
+From time immemorial Master Zacharius had never come out except at meal
+times, and when he went to regulate the different clocks of the town.
+He passed the rest of his time at his bench, which was covered with
+numerous clockwork instruments, most of which he had invented himself.
+For he was a clever man; his works were valued in all France and
+Germany. The best workers in Geneva readily recognized his superiority,
+and showed that he was an honour to the town, by saying, “To him
+belongs the glory of having invented the escapement.” In fact, the
+birth of true clock-work dates from the invention which the talents of
+Zacharius had discovered not many years before.
+
+After he had worked hard for a long time, Zacharius would slowly put
+his tools away, cover up the delicate pieces that he had been adjusting
+with glasses, and stop the active wheel of his lathe; then he would
+raise a trap-door constructed in the floor of his workshop, and,
+stooping down, used to inhale for hours together the thick vapours of
+the Rhone, as it dashed along under his eyes.
+
+
+[Illustration: he would raise the trap door constructed in the floor
+of his workshop.]
+
+
+One winter’s night the old servant Scholastique served the supper,
+which, according to old custom, she and the young mechanic shared with
+their master. Master Zacharius did not eat, though the food carefully
+prepared for him was offered him in a handsome blue and white dish. He
+scarcely answered the sweet words of Gerande, who evidently noticed her
+father’s silence, and even the clatter of Scholastique herself no more
+struck his ear than the roar of the river, to which he paid no
+attention.
+
+After the silent meal, the old clockmaker left the table without
+embracing his daughter, or saying his usual “Good-night” to all. He
+left by the narrow door leading to his den, and the staircase groaned
+under his heavy footsteps as he went down.
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique sat for some minutes without
+speaking. On this evening the weather was dull; the clouds dragged
+heavily on the Alps, and threatened rain; the severe climate of
+Switzerland made one feel sad, while the south wind swept round the
+house, and whistled ominously.
+
+“My dear young lady,” said Scholastique, at last, “do you know that our
+master has been out of sorts for several days? Holy Virgin! I know he
+has had no appetite, because his words stick in his inside, and it
+would take a very clever devil to drag even one out of him.”
+
+“My father has some secret cause of trouble, that I cannot even guess,”
+replied Gerande, as a sad anxiety spread over her face.
+
+“Mademoiselle, don’t let such sadness fill your heart. You know the
+strange habits of Master Zacharius. Who can read his secret thoughts in
+his face? No doubt some fatigue has overcome him, but to-morrow he will
+have forgotten it, and be very sorry to have given his daughter pain.”
+
+It was Aubert who spoke thus, looking into Gerande’s lovely eyes.
+Aubert was the first apprentice whom Master Zacharius had ever admitted
+to the intimacy of his labours, for he appreciated his intelligence,
+discretion, and goodness of heart; and this young man had attached
+himself to Gerande with the earnest devotion natural to a noble nature.
+
+Gerande was eighteen years of age. Her oval face recalled that of the
+artless Madonnas whom veneration still displays at the street corners
+of the antique towns of Brittany. Her eyes betrayed an infinite
+simplicity. One would love her as the sweetest realization of a poet’s
+dream. Her apparel was of modest colours, and the white linen which was
+folded about her shoulders had the tint and perfume peculiar to the
+linen of the church. She led a mystical existence in Geneva, which had
+not as yet been delivered over to the dryness of Calvinism.
+
+While, night and morning, she read her Latin prayers in her
+iron-clasped missal, Gerande had also discovered a hidden sentiment in
+Aubert Thun’s heart, and comprehended what a profound devotion the
+young workman had for her. Indeed, the whole world in his eyes was
+condensed into this old clockmaker’s house, and he passed all his time
+near the young girl, when he left her father’s workshop, after his work
+was over.
+
+Old Scholastique saw all this, but said nothing. Her loquacity
+exhausted itself in preference on the evils of the times, and the
+little worries of the household. Nobody tried to stop its course. It
+was with her as with the musical snuff-boxes which they made at Geneva;
+once wound up, you must break them before you will prevent their
+playing all their airs through.
+
+Finding Gerande absorbed in a melancholy silence, Scholastique left her
+old wooden chair, fixed a taper on the end of a candlestick, lit it,
+and placed it near a small waxen Virgin, sheltered in her niche of
+stone. It was the family custom to kneel before this protecting Madonna
+of the domestic hearth, and to beg her kindly watchfulness during the
+coming night; but on this evening Gerande remained silent in her seat.
+
+“Well, well, dear demoiselle,” said the astonished Scholastique,
+“supper is over, and it is time to go to bed. Why do you tire your eyes
+by sitting up late? Ah, Holy Virgin! It’s much better to sleep, and to
+get a little comfort from happy dreams! In these detestable times in
+which we live, who can promise herself a fortunate day?”
+
+“Ought we not to send for a doctor for my father?” asked Gerande.
+
+“A doctor!” cried the old domestic. “Has Master Zacharius ever listened
+to their fancies and pompous sayings? He might accept medicines for the
+watches, but not for the body!”
+
+“What shall we do?” murmured Gerande. “Has he gone to work, or to
+rest?”
+
+“Gerande,” answered Aubert softly, “some mental trouble annoys your
+father, that is all.”
+
+“Do you know what it is, Aubert?”
+
+“Perhaps, Gerande”
+
+“Tell us, then,” cried Scholastique eagerly, economically extinguishing
+her taper.
+
+“For several days, Gerande,” said the young apprentice, “something
+absolutely incomprehensible has been going on. All the watches which
+your father has made and sold for some years have suddenly stopped.
+Very many of them have been brought back to him. He has carefully taken
+them to pieces; the springs were in good condition, and the wheels well
+set. He has put them together yet more carefully; but, despite his
+skill, they will not go.”
+
+“The devil’s in it!” cried Scholastique.
+
+“Why say you so?” asked Gerande. “It seems very natural to me. Nothing
+lasts for ever in this world. The infinite cannot be fashioned by the
+hands of men.”
+
+“It is none the less true,” returned Aubert, “that there is in this
+something very mysterious and extraordinary. I have myself been helping
+Master Zacharius to search for the cause of this derangement of his
+watches; but I have not been able to find it, and more than once I have
+let my tools fall from my hands in despair.”
+
+“But why undertake so vain a task?” resumed Scholastique. “Is it
+natural that a little copper instrument should go of itself, and mark
+the hours? We ought to have kept to the sun-dial!”
+
+“You will not talk thus, Scholastique,” said Aubert, “when you learn
+that the sun-dial was invented by Cain.”
+
+“Good heavens! what are you telling me?”
+
+“Do you think,” asked Gerande simply, “that we might pray to God to
+give life to my father’s watches?”
+
+“Without doubt,” replied Aubert.
+
+“Good! They will be useless prayers,” muttered the old servant, “but
+Heaven will pardon them for their good intent.”
+
+The taper was relighted. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert knelt down
+together upon the tiles of the room. The young girl prayed for her
+mother’s soul, for a blessing for the night, for travellers and
+prisoners, for the good and the wicked, and more earnestly than all for
+the unknown misfortunes of her father.
+
+
+[Illustration: The young girl prayed]
+
+
+Then the three devout souls rose with some confidence in their hearts,
+because they had laid their sorrow on the bosom of God.
+
+Aubert repaired to his own room; Gerande sat pensively by the window,
+whilst the last lights were disappearing from the city streets; and
+Scholastique, having poured a little water on the flickering embers,
+and shut the two enormous bolts on the door, threw herself upon her
+bed, where she was soon dreaming that she was dying of fright.
+
+Meanwhile the terrors of this winter’s night had increased. Sometimes,
+with the whirlpools of the river, the wind engulfed itself among the
+piles, and the whole house shivered and shook; but the young girl,
+absorbed in her sadness, thought only of her father. After hearing what
+Aubert told her, the malady of Master Zacharius took fantastic
+proportions in her mind; and it seemed to her as if his existence, so
+dear to her, having become purely mechanical, no longer moved on its
+worn-out pivots without effort.
+
+Suddenly the pent-house shutter, shaken by the squall, struck against
+the window of the room. Gerande shuddered and started up without
+understanding the cause of the noise which thus disturbed her reverie.
+When she became a little calmer she opened the sash. The clouds had
+burst, and a torrent-like rain pattered on the surrounding roofs. The
+young girl leaned out of the window to draw to the shutter shaken by
+the wind, but she feared to do so. It seemed to her that the rain and
+the river, confounding their tumultuous waters, were submerging the
+frail house, the planks of which creaked in every direction. She would
+have flown from her chamber, but she saw below the flickering of a
+light which appeared to come from Master Zacharius’s retreat, and in
+one of those momentary calms during which the elements keep a sudden
+silence, her ear caught plaintive sounds. She tried to shut her window,
+but could not. The wind violently repelled her, like a thief who was
+breaking into a dwelling.
+
+Gerande thought she would go mad with terror. What was her father
+doing? She opened the door, and it escaped from her hands, and slammed
+loudly with the force of the tempest. Gerande then found herself in the
+dark supper-room, succeeded in gaining, on tiptoe, the staircase which
+led to her father’s shop, and pale and fainting, glided down.
+
+The old watchmaker was upright in the middle of the room, which
+resounded with the roaring of the river. His bristling hair gave him a
+sinister aspect. He was talking and gesticulating, without seeing or
+hearing anything. Gerande stood still on the threshold.
+
+“It is death!” said Master Zacharius, in a hollow voice; “it is death!
+Why should I live longer, now that I have dispersed my existence over
+the earth? For I, Master, Zacharius, am really the creator of all the
+watches that I have fashioned! It is a part of my very soul that I have
+shut up in each of these cases of iron, silver, or gold! Every time
+that one of these accursed watches stops, I feel my heart cease
+beating, for I have regulated them with its pulsations!”
+
+As he spoke in this strange way, the old man cast his eyes on his
+bench. There lay all the pieces of a watch that he had carefully taken
+apart. He took up a sort of hollow cylinder, called a barrel, in which
+the spring is enclosed, and removed the steel spiral, but instead of
+relaxing itself, according to the laws of its elasticity, it remained
+coiled on itself like a sleeping viper. It seemed knotted, like
+impotent old men whose blood has long been congealed. Master Zacharius
+vainly essayed to uncoil it with his thin fingers, the outlines of
+which were exaggerated on the wall; but he tried in vain, and soon,
+with a terrible cry of anguish and rage, he threw it through the
+trap-door into the boiling Rhone.
+
+Gerande, her feet riveted to the floor, stood breathless and
+motionless. She wished to approach her father, but could not. Giddy
+hallucinations took possession of her. Suddenly she heard, in the
+shade, a voice murmur in her ears,—
+
+“Gerande, dear Gerande! grief still keeps you awake. Go in again, I beg
+of you; the night is cold.”
+
+“Aubert!” whispered the young girl. “You!”
+
+“Ought I not to be troubled by what troubles you?”
+
+These soft words sent the blood back into the young girl’s heart. She
+leaned on Aubert’s arm, and said to him,—
+
+“My father is very ill, Aubert! You alone can cure him, for this
+disorder of the mind would not yield to his daughter’s consolings. His
+mind is attacked by a very natural delusion, and in working with him,
+repairing the watches, you will bring him back to reason. Aubert,” she
+continued, “it is not true, is it, that his life is mixed up with that
+of his watches?”
+
+Aubert did not reply.
+
+“But is my father’s a trade condemned by God?” asked Gerande,
+trembling.
+
+“I know not,” returned the apprentice, warming the cold hands of the
+girl with his own. “But go back to your room, my poor Gerande, and with
+sleep recover hope!”
+
+Gerande slowly returned to her chamber, and remained there till
+daylight, without sleep closing her eyelids. Meanwhile, Master
+Zacharius, always mute and motionless, gazed at the river as it rolled
+turbulently at his feet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE.
+
+
+The severity of the Geneva merchant in business matters has become
+proverbial. He is rigidly honourable, and excessively just. What must,
+then, have been the shame of Master Zacharius, when he saw these
+watches, which he had so carefully constructed, returning to him from
+every direction?
+
+It was certain that these watches had suddenly stopped, and without any
+apparent reason. The wheels were in a good condition and firmly fixed,
+but the springs had lost all elasticity. Vainly did the watchmaker try
+to replace them; the wheels remained motionless. These unaccountable
+derangements were greatly to the old man’s discredit. His noble
+inventions had many times brought upon him suspicions of sorcery, which
+now seemed confirmed. These rumours reached Gerande, and she often
+trembled for her father, when she saw malicious glances directed
+towards him.
+
+Yet on the morning after this night of anguish, Master Zacharius seemed
+to resume work with some confidence. The morning sun inspired him with
+some courage. Aubert hastened to join him in the shop, and received an
+affable “Good-day.”
+
+“I am better,” said the old man. “I don’t know what strange pains in
+the head attacked me yesterday, but the sun has quite chased them away,
+with the clouds of the night.”
+
+“In faith, master,” returned Aubert, “I don’t like the night for either
+of us!”
+
+“And thou art right, Aubert. If you ever become a great man, you will
+understand that day is as necessary to you as food. A great savant
+should be always ready to receive the homage of his fellow-men.”
+
+“Master, it seems to me that the pride of science has possessed you.”
+
+“Pride, Aubert! Destroy my past, annihilate my present, dissipate my
+future, and then it will be permitted to me to live in obscurity! Poor
+boy, who comprehends not the sublime things to which my art is wholly
+devoted! Art thou not but a tool in my hands?”
+
+“Yet. Master Zacharius,” resumed Aubert, “I have more than once merited
+your praise for the manner in which I adjusted the most delicate parts
+of your watches and clocks.”
+
+“No doubt, Aubert; thou art a good workman, such as I love; but when
+thou workest, thou thinkest thou hast in thy hands but copper, silver,
+gold; thou dost not perceive these metals, which my genius animates,
+palpitating like living flesh! So that thou wilt not die, with the
+death of thy works!”
+
+Master Zacharius remained silent after these words; but Aubert essayed
+to keep up the conversation.
+
+“Indeed, master,” said he, “I love to see you work so unceasingly! You
+will be ready for the festival of our corporation, for I see that the
+work on this crystal watch is going forward famously.”
+
+“No doubt, Aubert,” cried the old watchmaker, “and it will be no slight
+honour for me to have been able to cut and shape the crystal to the
+durability of a diamond! Ah, Louis Berghem did well to perfect the art
+of diamond-cutting, which has enabled me to polish and pierce the
+hardest stones!”
+
+Master Zacharius was holding several small watch pieces of cut crystal,
+and of exquisite workmanship. The wheels, pivots, and case of the watch
+were of the same material, and he had employed remarkable skill in this
+very difficult task.
+
+“Would it not be fine,” said he, his face flushing, “to see this watch
+palpitating beneath its transparent envelope, and to be able to count
+the beatings of its heart?”
+
+“I will wager, sir,” replied the young apprentice, “that it will not
+vary a second in a year.”
+
+“And you would wager on a certainty! Have I not imparted to it all that
+is purest of myself? And does my heart vary? My heart, I say?”
+
+Aubert did not dare to lift his eyes to his master’s face.
+
+“Tell me frankly,” said the old man sadly. “Have you never taken me for
+a madman? Do you not think me sometimes subject to dangerous folly?
+Yes; is it not so? In my daughter’s eyes and yours, I have often read
+my condemnation. Oh!” he cried, as if in pain, “to be misunderstood by
+those whom one most loves in the world! But I will prove victoriously
+to thee, Aubert, that I am right! Do not shake thy head, for thou wilt
+be astounded. The day on which thou understandest how to listen to and
+comprehend me, thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of
+existence, the secrets of the mysterious union of the soul with the
+body!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of
+existence.”]
+
+
+As he spoke thus, Master Zacharius appeared superb in his vanity. His
+eyes glittered with a supernatural fire, and his pride illumined every
+feature. And truly, if ever vanity was excusable, it was that of Master
+Zacharius!
+
+The watchmaking art, indeed, down to his time, had remained almost in
+its infancy. From the day when Plato, four centuries before the
+Christian era, invented the night watch, a sort of clepsydra which
+indicated the hours of the night by the sound and playing of a flute,
+the science had continued nearly stationary. The masters paid more
+attention to the arts than to mechanics, and it was the period of
+beautiful watches of iron, copper, wood, silver, which were richly
+engraved, like one of Cellini’s ewers. They made a masterpiece of
+chasing, which measured time imperfectly, but was still a masterpiece.
+When the artist’s imagination was not directed to the perfection of
+modelling, it set to work to create clocks with moving figures and
+melodious sounds, whose appearance took all attention. Besides, who
+troubled himself, in those days, with regulating the advance of time?
+The delays of the law were not as yet invented; the physical and
+astronomical sciences had not as yet established their calculations on
+scrupulously exact measurements; there were neither establishments
+which were shut at a given hour, nor trains which departed at a precise
+moment. In the evening the curfew bell sounded; and at night the hours
+were cried amid the universal silence. Certainly people did not live so
+long, if existence is measured by the amount of business done; but they
+lived better. The mind was enriched with the noble sentiments born of
+the contemplation of chefs-d’oeuvré. They built a church in two
+centuries, a painter painted but few pictures in the course of his
+life, a poet only composed one great work; but these were so many
+masterpieces for after-ages to appreciate.
+
+When the exact sciences began at last to make some progress, watch and
+clock making followed in their path, though it was always arrested by
+an insurmountable difficulty,—the regular and continuous measurement of
+time.
+
+It was in the midst of this stagnation that Master Zacharius invented
+the escapement, which enabled him to obtain a mathematical regularity
+by submitting the movement of the pendulum to a sustained force. This
+invention had turned the old man’s head. Pride, swelling in his heart,
+like mercury in the thermometer, had attained the height of
+transcendent folly. By analogy he had allowed himself to be drawn to
+materialistic conclusions, and as he constructed his watches, he
+fancied that he had discovered the secrets of the union of the soul
+with the body.
+
+Thus, on this day, perceiving that Aubert listened to him attentively,
+he said to him in a tone of simple conviction,—
+
+“Dost thou know what life is, my child? Hast thou comprehended the
+action of those springs which produce existence? Hast thou examined
+thyself? No. And yet, with the eyes of science, thou mightest have seen
+the intimate relation which exists between God’s work and my own; for
+it is from his creature that I have copied the combinations of the
+wheels of my clocks.”
+
+“Master,” replied Aubert eagerly, “can you compare a copper or steel
+machine with that breath of God which is called the soul, which
+animates our bodies as the breeze stirs the flowers? What mechanism
+could be so adjusted as to inspire us with thought?”
+
+“That is not the question,” responded Master Zacharius gently, but with
+all the obstinacy of a blind man walking towards an abyss. “In order to
+understand me, thou must recall the purpose of the escapement which I
+have invented. When I saw the irregular working of clocks, I understood
+that the movements shut up in them did not suffice, and that it was
+necessary to submit them to the regularity of some independent force. I
+then thought that the balance-wheel might accomplish this, and I
+succeeded in regulating the movement! Now, was it not a sublime idea
+that came to me, to return to it its lost force by the action of the
+clock itself, which it was charged with regulating?”
+
+Aubert made a sign of assent.
+
+“Now, Aubert,” continued the old man, growing animated, “cast thine
+eyes upon thyself! Dost thou not understand that there are two distinct
+forces in us, that of the soul and that of the body—that is, a movement
+and a regulator? The soul is the principle of life; that is, then, the
+movement. Whether it is produced by a weight, by a spring, or by an
+immaterial influence, it is none the less in the heart. But without the
+body this movement would be unequal, irregular, impossible! Thus the
+body regulates the soul, and, like the balance-wheel, it is submitted
+to regular oscillations. And this is so true, that one falls ill when
+one’s drink, food, sleep—in a word, the functions of the body—are not
+properly regulated; just as in my watches the soul renders to the body
+the force lost by its oscillations. Well, what produces this intimate
+union between soul and body, if not a marvellous escapement, by which
+the wheels of the one work into the wheels of the other? This is what I
+have discovered and applied; and there are no longer any secrets for me
+in this life, which is, after all, only an ingenious mechanism!”
+
+Master Zacharius looked sublime in this hallucination, which carried
+him to the ultimate mysteries of the Infinite. But his daughter
+Gerande, standing on the threshold of the door, had heard all. She
+rushed into her father’s arms, and he pressed her convulsively to his
+breast.
+
+“What is the matter with thee, my daughter?” he asked.
+
+“If I had only a spring here,” said she, putting her hand on her heart,
+“I would not love you as I do, father.”
+
+Master Zacharius looked intently at Gerande, and did not reply.
+Suddenly he uttered a cry, carried his hand eagerly to his heart, and
+fell fainting on his old leathern chair.
+
+“Father, what is the matter?”
+
+
+[Illustration: “Father, what is the matter?”]
+
+
+“Help!” cried Aubert. “Scholastique!”
+
+But Scholastique did not come at once. Some one was knocking at the
+front door; she had gone to open it, and when she returned to the shop,
+before she could open her mouth, the old watchmaker, having recovered
+his senses, spoke:—
+
+“I divine, my old Scholastique, that you bring me still another of
+those accursed watches which have stopped.”
+
+“Lord, it is true enough!” replied Scholastique, handing a watch to
+Aubert.
+
+“My heart could not be mistaken!” said the old man, with a sigh.
+
+Meanwhile Aubert carefully wound up the watch, but it would not go.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+A STRANGE VISIT.
+
+
+Poor Gerande would have lost her life with that of her father, had it
+not been for the thought of Aubert, who still attached her to the
+world.
+
+The old watchmaker was, little by little, passing away. His faculties
+evidently grew more feeble, as he concentrated them on a single
+thought. By a sad association of ideas, he referred everything to his
+monomania, and a human existence seemed to have departed from him, to
+give place to the extra-natural existence of the intermediate powers.
+Moreover, certain malicious rivals revived the sinister rumours which
+had spread concerning his labours.
+
+The news of the strange derangements which his watches betrayed had a
+prodigious effect upon the master clockmakers of Geneva. What signified
+this sudden paralysis of their wheels, and why these strange relations
+which they seemed to have with the old man’s life? These were the kind
+of mysteries which people never contemplate without a secret terror. In
+the various classes of the town, from the apprentice to the great lord
+who used the watches of the old horologist, there was no one who could
+not himself judge of the singularity of the fact. The citizens wished,
+but in vain, to get to see Master Zacharius. He fell very ill; and this
+enabled his daughter to withdraw him from those incessant visits which
+had degenerated into reproaches and recriminations.
+
+Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of this organic
+wasting away, the cause of which could not be discovered. It sometimes
+seemed as if the old man’s heart had ceased to beat; then the
+pulsations were resumed with an alarming irregularity.
+
+A custom existed in those days of publicly exhibiting the works of the
+masters. The heads of the various corporations sought to distinguish
+themselves by the novelty or the perfection of their productions; and
+it was among these that the condition of Master Zacharius excited the
+most lively, because most interested, commiseration. His rivals pitied
+him the more willingly because they feared him the less. They never
+forgot the old man’s success, when he exhibited his magnificent clocks
+with moving figures, his repeaters, which provoked general admiration,
+and commanded such high prices in the cities of France, Switzerland,
+and Germany.
+
+Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of Gerande and
+Aubert, his strength seemed to return a little; and in the tranquillity
+in which his convalescence left him, he succeeded in detaching himself
+from the thoughts which had absorbed him. As soon as he could walk, his
+daughter lured him away from the house, which was still besieged with
+dissatisfied customers. Aubert remained in the shop, vainly adjusting
+and readjusting the rebel watches; and the poor boy, completely
+mystified, sometimes covered his face with his hands, fearful that he,
+like his master, might go mad.
+
+Gerande led her father towards the more pleasant promenades of the
+town. With his arm resting on hers, she conducted him sometimes through
+the quarter of Saint Antoine, the view from which extends towards the
+Cologny hill, and over the lake; on fine mornings they caught sight of
+the gigantic peaks of Mount Buet against the horizon. Gerande pointed
+out these spots to her father, who had well-nigh forgotten even their
+names. His memory wandered; and he took a childish interest in learning
+anew what had passed from his mind. Master Zacharius leaned upon his
+daughter; and the two heads, one white as snow and the other covered
+with rich golden tresses, met in the same ray of sunlight.
+
+So it came about that the old watchmaker at last perceived that he was
+not alone in the world. As he looked upon his young and lovely
+daughter, and on himself old and broken, he reflected that after his
+death she would be left alone without support. Many of the young
+mechanics of Geneva had already sought to win Gerande’s love; but none
+of them had succeeded in gaining access to the impenetrable retreat of
+the watchmaker’s household. It was natural, then, that during this
+lucid interval, the old man’s choice should fall on Aubert Thun. Once
+struck with this thought, he remarked to himself that this young couple
+had been brought up with the same ideas and the same beliefs; and the
+oscillations of their hearts seemed to him, as he said one day to
+Scholastique, “isochronous.”
+
+The old servant, literally delighted with the word, though she did not
+understand it, swore by her holy patron saint that the whole town
+should hear it within a quarter of an hour. Master Zacharius found it
+difficult to calm her; but made her promise to keep on this subject a
+silence which she never was known to observe.
+
+So, though Gerande and Aubert were ignorant of it, all Geneva was soon
+talking of their speedy union. But it happened also that, while the
+worthy folk were gossiping, a strange chuckle was often heard, and a
+voice saying, “Gerande will not wed Aubert.”
+
+If the talkers turned round, they found themselves facing a little old
+man who was quite a stranger to them.
+
+How old was this singular being? No one could have told. People
+conjectured that he must have existed for several centuries, and that
+was all. His big flat head rested upon shoulders the width of which was
+equal to the height of his body; this was not above three feet. This
+personage would have made a good figure to support a pendulum, for the
+dial would have naturally been placed on his face, and the
+balance-wheel would have oscillated at its ease in his chest. His nose
+might readily have been taken for the style of a sun-dial, for it was
+narrow and sharp; his teeth, far apart, resembled the cogs of a wheel,
+and ground themselves between his lips; his voice had the metallic
+sound of a bell, and you could hear his heart beat like the tick of a
+clock. This little man, whose arms moved like the hands on a dial,
+walked with jerks, without ever turning round. If any one followed him,
+it was found that he walked a league an hour, and that his course was
+nearly circular.
+
+This strange being had not long been seen wandering, or rather
+circulating, around the town; but it had already been observed that,
+every day, at the moment when the sun passed the meridian, he stopped
+before the Cathedral of Saint Pierre, and resumed his course after the
+twelve strokes of noon had sounded. Excepting at this precise moment,
+he seemed to become a part of all the conversations in which the old
+watchmaker was talked of; and people asked each other, in terror, what
+relation could exist between him and Master Zacharius. It was remarked,
+too, that he never lost sight of the old man and his daughter while
+they were taking their promenades.
+
+One day Gerande perceived this monster looking at her with a hideous
+smile. She clung to her father with a frightened motion.
+
+“What is the matter, my Gerande?” asked Master Zacharius.
+
+“I do not know,” replied the young girl.
+
+“But thou art changed, my child. Art thou going to fall ill in thy
+turn? Ah, well,” he added, with a sad smile, “then I must take care of
+thee, and I will do it tenderly.”
+
+“O father, it will be nothing. I am cold, and I imagine that it is—”
+
+“What, Gerande?”
+
+“The presence of that man, who always follows us,” she replied in a low
+tone.
+
+Master Zacharius turned towards the little old man.
+
+“Faith, he goes well,” said he, with a satisfied air, “for it is just
+four o’clock. Fear nothing, my child; it is not a man, it is a clock!”
+
+Gerande looked at her father in terror. How could Master Zacharius read
+the hour on this strange creature’s visage?
+
+“By-the-bye,” continued the old watchmaker, paying no further attention
+to the matter, “I have not seen Aubert for several days.”
+
+“He has not left us, however, father,” said Gerande, whose thoughts
+turned into a gentler channel.
+
+“What is he doing then?”
+
+“He is working.”
+
+“Ah!” cried the old man. “He is at work repairing my watches, is he
+not? But he will never succeed; for it is not repair they need, but a
+resurrection!”
+
+Gerande remained silent.
+
+“I must know,” added the old man, “if they have brought back any more
+of those accursed watches upon which the Devil has sent this epidemic!”
+
+After these words Master Zacharius fell into complete silence, till he
+knocked at the door of his house, and for the first time since his
+convalescence descended to his shop, while Gerande sadly repaired to
+her chamber.
+
+Just as Master Zacharius crossed the threshold of his shop, one of the
+many clocks suspended on the wall struck five o’clock. Usually the
+bells of these clocks—admirably regulated as they were—struck
+simultaneously, and this rejoiced the old man’s heart; but on this day
+the bells struck one after another, so that for a quarter of an hour
+the ear was deafened by the successive noises. Master Zacharius
+suffered acutely; he could not remain still, but went from one clock to
+the other, and beat the time to them, like a conductor who no longer
+has control over his musicians.
+
+When the last had ceased striking, the door of the shop opened, and
+Master Zacharius shuddered from head to foot to see before him the
+little old man, who looked fixedly at him and said,—
+
+“Master, may I not speak with you a few moments?”
+
+“Who are you?” asked the watchmaker abruptly.
+
+“A colleague. It is my business to regulate the sun.”
+
+“Ah, you regulate the sun?” replied Master Zacharius eagerly, without
+wincing. “I can scarcely compliment you upon it. Your sun goes badly,
+and in order to make ourselves agree with it, we have to keep putting
+our clocks forward so much or back so much.”
+
+“And by the cloven foot,” cried this weird personage, “you are right,
+my master! My sun does not always mark noon at the same moment as your
+clocks; but some day it will be known that this is because of the
+inequality of the earth’s transfer, and a mean noon will be invented
+which will regulate this irregularity!”
+
+“Shall I live till then?” asked the old man, with glistening eyes.
+
+“Without doubt,” replied the little old man, laughing. “Can you believe
+that you will ever die?”
+
+“Alas! I am very ill now.”
+
+“Ah, let us talk of that. By Beelzebub! that will lead to just what I
+wish to speak to you about.”
+
+Saying this, the strange being leaped upon the old leather chair, and
+carried his legs one under the other, after the fashion of the bones
+which the painters of funeral hangings cross beneath death’s heads.
+Then he resumed, in an ironical tone,—
+
+
+[Illustration: Then he resumed, in an ironical tone]
+
+
+“Let us see, Master Zacharius, what is going on in this good town of
+Geneva? They say that your health is failing, that your watches have
+need of a doctor!”
+
+“Ah, do you believe that there is an intimate relation between their
+existence and mine?” cried Master Zacharius.
+
+“Why, I imagine that these watches have faults, even vices. If these
+wantons do not preserve a regular conduct, it is right that they should
+bear the consequences of their irregularity. It seems to me that they
+have need of reforming a little!”
+
+“What do you call faults?” asked Master Zacharius, reddening at the
+sarcastic tone in which these words were uttered. “Have they not a
+right to be proud of their origin?”
+
+“Not too proud, not too proud,” replied the little old man. “They bear
+a celebrated name, and an illustrious signature is graven on their
+cases, it is true, and theirs is the exclusive privilege of being
+introduced among the noblest families; but for some time they have got
+out of order, and you can do nothing in the matter, Master Zacharius;
+and the stupidest apprentice in Geneva could prove it to you!”
+
+“To me, to me,—Master Zacharius!” cried the old man, with a flush of
+outraged pride.
+
+“To you, Master Zacharius,—you, who cannot restore life to your
+watches!”
+
+“But it is because I have a fever, and so have they also!” replied the
+old man, as a cold sweat broke out upon him.
+
+“Very well, they will die with you, since you cannot impart a little
+elasticity to their springs.”
+
+“Die! No, for you yourself have said it! I cannot die,—I, the first
+watchmaker in the world; I, who, by means of these pieces and diverse
+wheels, have been able to regulate the movement with absolute
+precision! Have I not subjected time to exact laws, and can I not
+dispose of it like a despot? Before a sublime genius had arranged these
+wandering hours regularly, in what vast uncertainty was human destiny
+plunged? At what certain moment could the acts of life be connected
+with each other? But you, man or devil, whatever you may be, have never
+considered the magnificence of my art, which calls every science to its
+aid! No, no! I, Master Zacharius, cannot die, for, as I have regulated
+time, time would end with me! It would return to the infinite, whence
+my genius has rescued it, and it would lose itself irreparably in the
+abyss of nothingness! No, I can no more die than the Creator of this
+universe, that submitted to His laws! I have become His equal, and I
+have partaken of His power! If God has created eternity, Master
+Zacharius has created time!”
+
+The old watchmaker now resembled the fallen angel, defiant in the
+presence of the Creator. The little old man gazed at him, and even
+seemed to breathe into him this impious transport.
+
+“Well said, master,” he replied. “Beelzebub had less right than you to
+compare himself with God! Your glory must not perish! So your servant
+here desires to give you the method of controlling these rebellious
+watches.”
+
+“What is it? what is it?” cried Master Zacharius.
+
+“You shall know on the day after that on which you have given me your
+daughter’s hand.”
+
+“My Gerande?”
+
+“Herself!”
+
+“My daughter’s heart is not free,” replied Master Zacharius, who seemed
+neither astonished nor shocked at the strange demand.
+
+“Bah! She is not the least beautiful of watches; but she will end by
+stopping also—”
+
+“My daughter,—my Gerande! No!”
+
+“Well, return to your watches, Master Zacharius. Adjust and readjust
+them. Get ready the marriage of your daughter and your apprentice.
+Temper your springs with your best steel. Bless Aubert and the pretty
+Gerande.  But remember, your watches will never go, and Gerande will
+not wed Aubert!”
+
+Thereupon the little old man disappeared, but not so quickly that
+Master Zacharius could not hear six o’clock strike in his breast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+THE CHURCH OF SAINT PIERRE.
+
+
+Meanwhile Master Zacharius became more feeble in mind and body every
+day. An unusual excitement, indeed, impelled him to continue his work
+more eagerly than ever, nor could his daughter entice him from it.
+
+His pride was still more aroused after the crisis to which his strange
+visitor had hurried him so treacherously, and he resolved to overcome,
+by the force of genius, the malign influence which weighed upon his
+work and himself. He first repaired to the various clocks of the town
+which were confided to his care. He made sure, by a scrupulous
+examination, that the wheels were in good condition, the pivots firm,
+the weights exactly balanced. Every part, even to the bells, was
+examined with the minute attention of a physician studying the breast
+of a patient. Nothing indicated that these clocks were on the point of
+being affected by inactivity.
+
+Gerande and Aubert often accompanied the old man on these visits. He
+would no doubt have been pleased to see them eager to go with him, and
+certainly he would not have been so much absorbed in his approaching
+end, had he thought that his existence was to be prolonged by that of
+these cherished ones, and had he understood that something of the life
+of a father always remains in his children.
+
+The old watchmaker, on returning home, resumed his labours with
+feverish zeal. Though persuaded that he would not succeed, it yet
+seemed to him impossible that this could be so, and he unceasingly took
+to pieces the watches which were brought to his shop, and put them
+together again.
+
+Aubert tortured his mind in vain to discover the causes of the evil.
+
+“Master,” said he, “this can only come from the wear of the pivots and
+gearing.”
+
+“Do you want, then, to kill me, little by little?” replied Master
+Zacharius passionately. “Are these watches child’s work? Was it lest I
+should hurt my fingers that I worked the surface of these copper pieces
+in the lathe? Have I not forged these pieces of copper myself, so as to
+obtain a greater strength? Are not these springs tempered to a rare
+perfection? Could anybody have used finer oils than mine? You must
+yourself agree that it is impossible, and you avow, in short, that the
+devil is in it!”
+
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the house, and
+they got access to the old watchmaker himself, who knew not which of
+them to listen to.
+
+
+[Illustration: From morning till night discontented purchasers
+besieged the house]
+
+
+“This watch loses, and I cannot succeed in regulating it,” said one.
+
+“This,” said another, “is absolutely obstinate, and stands still, as
+did Joshua’s sun.”
+
+“If it is true,” said most of them, “that your health has an influence
+on that of your watches, Master Zacharius, get well as soon as
+possible.”
+
+The old man gazed at these people with haggard eyes, and only replied
+by shaking his head, or by a few sad words,—
+
+“Wait till the first fine weather, my friends. The season is coming
+which revives existence in wearied bodies. We want the sun to warm us
+all!”
+
+“A fine thing, if my watches are to be ill through the winter!” said
+one of the most angry. “Do you know, Master Zacharius, that your name
+is inscribed in full on their faces? By the Virgin, you do little
+honour to your signature!”
+
+It happened at last that the old man, abashed by these reproaches, took
+some pieces of gold from his old trunk, and began to buy back the
+damaged watches. At news of this, the customers came in a crowd, and
+the poor watchmaker’s money fast melted away; but his honesty remained
+intact. Gerande warmly praised his delicacy, which was leading him
+straight towards ruin; and Aubert soon offered his own savings to his
+master.
+
+“What will become of my daughter?” said Master Zacharius, clinging now
+and then in the shipwreck to his paternal love.
+
+Aubert dared not answer that he was full of hope for the future, and of
+deep devotion to Gerande. Master Zacharius would have that day called
+him his son-in-law, and thus refuted the sad prophecy, which still
+buzzed in his ears,—
+
+“Gerande will not wed Aubert.”
+
+By this plan the watchmaker at last succeeded in entirely despoiling
+himself. His antique vases passed into the hands of strangers; he
+deprived himself of the richly-carved panels which adorned the walls of
+his house; some primitive pictures of the early Flemish painters soon
+ceased to please his daughter’s eyes, and everything, even the precious
+tools that his genius had invented, were sold to indemnify the
+clamorous customers.
+
+Scholastique alone refused to listen to reason on the subject; but her
+efforts failed to prevent the unwelcome visitors from reaching her
+master, and from soon departing with some valuable object. Then her
+chattering was heard in all the streets of the neighbourhood, where she
+had long been known. She eagerly denied the rumours of sorcery and
+magic on the part of Master Zacharius, which gained currency; but as at
+bottom she was persuaded of their truth, she said her prayers over and
+over again to redeem her pious falsehoods.
+
+It had been noticed that for some time the old watchmaker had neglected
+his religious duties. Time was, when he had accompanied Gerande to
+church, and had seemed to find in prayer the intellectual charm which
+it imparts to thoughtful minds, since it is the most sublime exercise
+of the imagination. This voluntary neglect of holy practices, added to
+the secret habits of his life, had in some sort confirmed the
+accusations levelled against his labours. So, with the double purpose
+of drawing her father back to God, and to the world, Gerande resolved
+to call religion to her aid. She thought that it might give some
+vitality to his dying soul; but the dogmas of faith and humility had to
+combat, in the soul of Master Zacharius, an insurmountable pride, and
+came into collision with that vanity of science which connects
+everything with itself, without rising to the infinite source whence
+first principles flow.
+
+It was under these circumstances that the young girl undertook her
+father’s conversion; and her influence was so effective that the old
+watchmaker promised to attend high mass at the cathedral on the
+following Sunday. Gerande was in an ecstasy, as if heaven had opened to
+her view. Old Scholastique could not contain her joy, and at last found
+irrefutable arguments’ against the gossiping tongues which accused her
+master of impiety. She spoke of it to her neighbours, her friends, her
+enemies, to those whom she knew not as well as to those whom she knew.
+
+“In faith, we scarcely believe what you tell us, dame Scholastique,”
+they replied; “Master Zacharius has always acted in concert with the
+devil!”
+
+“You haven’t counted, then,” replied the old servant, “the fine bells
+which strike for my master’s clocks? How many times they have struck
+the hours of prayer and the mass!”
+
+“No doubt,” they would reply. “But has he not invented machines which
+go all by themselves, and which actually do the work of a real man?”
+
+“Could a child of the devil,” exclaimed dame Scholastique wrathfully,
+“have executed the fine iron clock of the château of Andernatt, which
+the town of Geneva was not rich enough to buy? A pious motto appeared
+at each hour, and a Christian who obeyed them, would have gone straight
+to Paradise! Is that the work of the devil?”
+
+This masterpiece, made twenty years before, had carried Master
+Zacharius’s fame to its acme; but even then there had been accusations
+of sorcery against him. But at least the old man’s visit to the
+Cathedral ought to reduce malicious tongues to silence.
+
+Master Zacharius, having doubtless forgotten the promise made to his
+daughter, had returned to his shop. After being convinced of his
+powerlessness to give life to his watches, he resolved to try if he
+could not make some new ones. He abandoned all those useless works, and
+devoted himself to the completion of the crystal watch, which he
+intended to be his masterpiece; but in vain did he use his most perfect
+tools, and employ rubies and diamonds for resisting friction. The watch
+fell from his hands the first time that he attempted to wind it up!
+
+The old man concealed this circumstance from every one, even from his
+daughter; but from that time his health rapidly declined. There were
+only the last oscillations of a pendulum, which goes slower when
+nothing restores its original force. It seemed as if the laws of
+gravity, acting directly upon him, were dragging him irresistibly down
+to the grave.
+
+The Sunday so ardently anticipated by Gerande at last arrived. The
+weather was fine, and the temperature inspiriting. The people of Geneva
+were passing quietly through the streets, gaily chatting about the
+return of spring. Gerande, tenderly taking the old man’s arm, directed
+her steps towards the cathedral, while Scholastique followed behind
+with the prayer-books. People looked curiously at them as they passed.
+The old watchmaker permitted himself to be led like a child, or rather
+like a blind man. The faithful of Saint Pierre were almost frightened
+when they saw him cross the threshold, and shrank back at his approach.
+
+The chants of high mass were already resounding through the church.
+Gerande went to her accustomed bench, and kneeled with profound and
+simple reverence. Master Zacharius remained standing upright beside
+her.
+
+The ceremonies continued with the majestic solemnity of that faithful
+age, but the old man had no faith. He did not implore the pity of
+Heaven with cries of anguish of the “Kyrie;” he did not, with the
+“Gloria in Excelsis,” sing the splendours of the heavenly heights; the
+reading of the Testament did not draw him from his materialistic
+reverie, and he forgot to join in the homage of the “Credo.” This proud
+old man remained motionless, as insensible and silent as a stone
+statue; and even at the solemn moment when the bell announced the
+miracle of transubstantiation, he did not bow his head, but gazed
+directly at the sacred host which the priest raised above the heads of
+the faithful. Gerande looked at her father, and a flood of tears
+moistened her missal. At this moment the clock of Saint Pierre struck
+half-past eleven. Master Zacharius turned quickly towards this ancient
+clock which still spoke. It seemed to him as if its face was gazing
+steadily at him; the figures of the hours shone as if they had been
+engraved in lines of fire, and the hands shot forth electric sparks
+from their sharp points.
+
+
+[Illustration: This proud old man remained motionless]
+
+
+The mass ended. It was customary for the “Angelus” to be said at noon,
+and the priests, before leaving the altar, waited for the clock to
+strike the hour of twelve. In a few moments this prayer would ascend to
+the feet of the Virgin.
+
+But suddenly a harsh noise was heard. Master Zacharius uttered a
+piercing cry.
+
+The large hand of the clock, having reached twelve, had abruptly
+stopped, and the clock did not strike the hour.
+
+Gerande hastened to her father’s aid. He had fallen down motionless,
+and they carried him outside the church.
+
+“It is the death-blow!” murmured Gerande, sobbing.
+
+When he had been borne home, Master Zacharius lay upon his bed utterly
+crushed. Life seemed only to still exist on the surface of his body,
+like the last whiffs of smoke about a lamp just extinguished. When he
+came to his senses, Aubert and Gerande were leaning over him. In these
+last moments the future took in his eyes the shape of the present. He
+saw his daughter alone, without a protector.
+
+“My son,” said he to Aubert, “I give my daughter to thee.”
+
+So saying, he stretched out his hands towards his two children, who
+were thus united at his death-bed.
+
+But soon Master Zacharius lifted himself up in a paroxysm of rage. The
+words of the little old man recurred to his mind.
+
+“I do not wish to die!” he cried; “I cannot die! I, Master Zacharius,
+ought not to die! My books—my accounts!—”
+
+With these words he sprang from his bed towards a book in which the
+names of his customers and the articles which had been sold to them
+were inscribed. He seized it and rapidly turned over its leaves, and
+his emaciated finger fixed itself on one of the pages.
+
+“There!” he cried, “there! this old iron clock, sold to Pittonaccio! It
+is the only one that has not been returned to me! It still exists—it
+goes—it lives! Ah, I wish for it—I must find it! I will take such care
+of it that death will no longer seek me!”
+
+And he fainted away.
+
+Aubert and Gerande knelt by the old man’s bed-side and prayed together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+THE HOUR OF DEATH.
+
+
+Several days passed, and Master Zacharius, though almost dead, rose
+from his bed and returned to active life under a supernatural
+excitement. He lived by pride. But Gerande did not deceive herself; her
+father’s body and soul were for ever lost.
+
+The old man got together his last remaining resources, without thought
+of those who were dependent upon him. He betrayed an incredible energy,
+walking, ferreting about, and mumbling strange, incomprehensible words.
+
+One morning Gerande went down to his shop. Master Zacharius was not
+there. She waited for him all day. Master Zacharius did not return.
+
+Gerande wept bitterly, but her father did not reappear.
+
+Aubert searched everywhere through the town, and soon came to the sad
+conviction that the old man had left it.
+
+“Let us find my father!” cried Gerande, when the young apprentice told
+her this sad news.
+
+“Where can he be?” Aubert asked himself.
+
+An inspiration suddenly came to his mind. He remembered the last words
+which Master Zacharius had spoken. The old man only lived now in the
+old iron clock that had not been returned! Master Zacharius must have
+gone in search of it.
+
+Aubert spoke of this to Gerande.
+
+“Let us look at my father’s book,” she replied.
+
+They descended to the shop. The book was open on the bench. All the
+watches or clocks made by the old man, and which had been returned to
+him because they were out of order, were stricken out excepting one:—
+
+“Sold to M. Pittonaccio, an iron clock, with bell and moving figures;
+sent to his château at Andernatt.”
+
+It was this “moral” clock of which Scholastique had spoken with so much
+enthusiasm.
+
+“My father is there!” cried Gerande.
+
+“Let us hasten thither,” replied Aubert. “We may still save him!”
+
+“Not for this life,” murmured Gerande, “but at least for the other.”
+
+“By the mercy of God, Gerande! The château of Andernatt stands in the
+gorge of the ‘Dents-du-Midi’ twenty hours from Geneva. Let us go!”
+
+That very evening Aubert and Gerande, followed by the old servant, set
+out on foot by the road which skirts Lake Leman. They accomplished five
+leagues during the night, stopping neither at Bessinge nor at Ermance,
+where rises the famous château of the Mayors. They with difficulty
+forded the torrent of the Dranse, and everywhere they went they
+inquired for Master Zacharius, and were soon convinced that they were
+on his track.
+
+The next morning, at daybreak, having passed Thonon, they reached
+Evian, whence the Swiss territory may be seen extended over twelve
+leagues. But the two betrothed did not even perceive the enchanting
+prospect. They went straight forward, urged on by a supernatural force.
+Aubert, leaning on a knotty stick, offered his arm alternately to
+Gerande and to Scholastique, and he made the greatest efforts to
+sustain his companions. All three talked of their sorrow, of their
+hopes, and thus passed along the beautiful road by the water-side, and
+across the narrow plateau which unites the borders of the lake with the
+heights of the Chalais. They soon reached Bouveret, where the Rhone
+enters the Lake of Geneva.
+
+On leaving this town they diverged from the lake, and their weariness
+increased amid these mountain districts. Vionnaz, Chesset, Collombay,
+half lost villages, were soon left behind. Meanwhile their knees shook,
+their feet were lacerated by the sharp points which covered the ground
+like a brushwood of granite;—but no trace of Master Zacharius!
+
+He must be found, however, and the two young people did not seek repose
+either in the isolated hamlets or at the château of Monthay, which,
+with its dependencies, formed the appanage of Margaret of Savoy. At
+last, late in the day, and half dead with fatigue, they reached the
+hermitage of Notre-Dame-du-Sex, which is situated at the base of the
+Dents-du-Midi, six hundred feet above the Rhone.
+
+The hermit received the three wanderers as night was falling. They
+could not have gone another step, and here they must needs rest.
+
+The hermit could give them no news of Master Zacharius. They could
+scarcely hope to find him still living amid these sad solitudes. The
+night was dark, the wind howled amid the mountains, and the avalanches
+roared down from the summits of the broken crags.
+
+Aubert and Gerande, crouching before the hermit’s hearth, told him
+their melancholy tale. Their mantles, covered with snow, were drying in
+a corner; and without, the hermit’s dog barked lugubriously, and
+mingled his voice with that of the tempest.
+
+“Pride,” said the hermit to his guests, “has destroyed an angel created
+for good. It is the stumbling-block against which the destinies of man
+strike. You cannot reason with pride, the principal of all the vices,
+since, by its very nature, the proud man refuses to listen to it. It
+only remains, then, to pray for your father!”
+
+All four knelt down, when the barking of the dog redoubled, and some
+one knocked at the door of the hermitage.
+
+“Open, in the devil’s name!”
+
+The door yielded under the blows, and a dishevelled, haggard,
+ill-clothed man appeared.
+
+“My father!” cried Gerande.
+
+It was Master Zacharius.
+
+“Where am I?” said he. “In eternity! Time is ended—the hours no longer
+strike—the hands have stopped!”
+
+“Father!” returned Gerande, with so piteous an emotion that the old man
+seemed to return to the world of the living.
+
+“Thou here, Gerande?” he cried; “and thou, Aubert? Ah, my dear
+betrothed ones, you are going to be married in our old church!”
+
+“Father,” said Gerande, seizing him by the arm, “come home to
+Geneva,—come with us!”
+
+The old man tore away from his daughter’s embrace and hurried towards
+the door, on the threshold of which the snow was falling in large
+flakes.
+
+“Do not abandon your children!” cried Aubert.
+
+“Why return,” replied the old man sadly, “to those places which my life
+has already quitted, and where a part of myself is for ever buried?”
+
+“Your soul is not dead,” said the hermit solemnly.
+
+“My soul? O no,—its wheels are good! I perceive it beating regularly—”
+
+“Your soul is immaterial,—your soul is immortal!” replied the hermit
+sternly.
+
+“Yes—like my glory! But it is shut up in the château of Andernatt, and
+I wish to see it again!”
+
+The hermit crossed himself; Scholastique became almost inanimate.
+Aubert held Gerande in his arms.
+
+“The château of Andernatt is inhabited by one who is lost,” said the
+hermit, “one who does not salute the cross of my hermitage.”
+
+“My father, go not thither!”
+
+“I want my soul! My soul is mine—”
+
+“Hold him! Hold my father!” cried Gerande.
+
+But the old man had leaped across the threshold, and plunged into the
+night, crying, “Mine, mine, my soul!”
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique hastened after him. They went by
+difficult paths, across which Master Zacharius sped like a tempest,
+urged by an irresistible force. The snow raged around them, and mingled
+its white flakes with the froth of the swollen torrents.
+
+As they passed the chapel erected in memory of the massacre of the
+Theban legion, they hurriedly crossed themselves. Master Zacharius was
+not to be seen.
+
+At last the village of Evionnaz appeared in the midst of this sterile
+region. The hardest heart would have been moved to see this hamlet,
+lost among these horrible solitudes. The old man sped on, and plunged
+into the deepest gorge of the Dents-du-Midi, which pierce the sky with
+their sharp peaks.
+
+Soon a ruin, old and gloomy as the rocks at its base, rose before him.
+
+“It is there—there!” he cried, hastening his pace still more
+frantically.
+
+
+[Illustration: “It is there—there!”]
+
+
+The château of Andernatt was a ruin even then. A thick, crumbling tower
+rose above it, and seemed to menace with its downfall the old gables
+which reared themselves below. The vast piles of jagged stones were
+gloomy to look on. Several dark halls appeared amid the debris, with
+caved-in ceilings, now become the abode of vipers.
+
+A low and narrow postern, opening upon a ditch choked with rubbish,
+gave access to the château. Who had dwelt there none knew. No doubt
+some margrave, half lord, half brigand, had sojourned in it; to the
+margrave had succeeded bandits or counterfeit coiners, who had been
+hanged on the scene of their crime. The legend went that, on winter
+nights, Satan came to lead his diabolical dances on the slope of the
+deep gorges in which the shadow of these ruins was engulfed.
+
+But Master Zacharius was not dismayed by their sinister aspect. He
+reached the postern. No one forbade him to pass. A spacious and gloomy
+court presented itself to his eyes; no one forbade him to cross it. He
+passed along the kind of inclined plane which conducted to one of the
+long corridors, whose arches seemed to banish daylight from beneath
+their heavy springings. His advance was unresisted. Gerande, Aubert,
+and Scholastique closely followed him.
+
+Master Zacharius, as if guided by an irresistible hand, seemed sure of
+his way, and strode along with rapid step. He reached an old worm-eaten
+door, which fell before his blows, whilst the bats described oblique
+circles around his head.
+
+An immense hall, better preserved than the rest, was soon reached. High
+sculptured panels, on which serpents, ghouls, and other strange figures
+seemed to disport themselves confusedly, covered its walls. Several
+long and narrow windows, like loopholes, shivered beneath the bursts of
+the tempest.
+
+Master Zacharius, on reaching the middle of this hall, uttered a cry of
+joy.
+
+On an iron support, fastened to the wall, stood the clock in which now
+resided his entire life. This unequalled masterpiece represented an
+ancient Roman church, with buttresses of wrought iron, with its heavy
+bell-tower, where there was a complete chime for the anthem of the day,
+the “Angelus,” the mass, vespers, compline, and the benediction. Above
+the church door, which opened at the hour of the services, was placed a
+“rose,” in the centre of which two hands moved, and the archivault of
+which reproduced the twelve hours of the face sculptured in relief.
+Between the door and the rose, just as Scholastique had said, a maxim,
+relative to the employment of every moment of the day, appeared on a
+copper plate. Master Zacharius had once regulated this succession of
+devices with a really Christian solicitude; the hours of prayer, of
+work, of repast, of recreation, and of repose, followed each other
+according to the religious discipline, and were to infallibly insure
+salvation to him who scrupulously observed their commands.
+
+Master Zacharius, intoxicated with joy, went forward to take possession
+of the clock, when a frightful roar of laughter resounded behind him.
+
+He turned, and by the light of a smoky lamp recognized the little old
+man of Geneva.
+
+“You here?” cried he.
+
+Gerande was afraid. She drew closer to Aubert.
+
+“Good-day, Master Zacharius,” said the monster.
+
+“Who are you?”
+
+“Signor Pittonaccio, at your service! You have come to give me your
+daughter! You have remembered my words, ‘Gerande will not wed Aubert.’”
+
+The young apprentice rushed upon Pittonaccio, who escaped from him like
+a shadow.
+
+“Stop, Aubert!” cried Master Zacharius.
+
+“Good-night,” said Pittonaccio, and he disappeared.
+
+“My father, let us fly from this hateful place!” cried Gerande. “My
+father!”
+
+Master Zacharius was no longer there. He was pursuing the phantom of
+Pittonaccio across the rickety corridors. Scholastique, Gerande, and
+Aubert remained, speechless and fainting, in the large gloomy hall. The
+young girl had fallen upon a stone seat; the old servant knelt beside
+her, and prayed; Aubert remained erect, watching his betrothed. Pale
+lights wandered in the darkness, and the silence was only broken by the
+movements of the little animals which live in old wood, and the noise
+of which marks the hours of “death watch.”
+
+When daylight came, they ventured upon the endless staircase which
+wound beneath these ruined masses; for two hours they wandered thus
+without meeting a living soul, and hearing only a far-off echo
+responding to their cries. Sometimes they found themselves buried a
+hundred feet below the ground, and sometimes they reached places whence
+they could overlook the wild mountains.
+
+Chance brought them at last back again to the vast hall, which had
+sheltered them during this night of anguish. It was no longer empty.
+Master Zacharius and Pittonaccio were talking there together, the one
+upright and rigid as a corpse, the other crouching over a marble table.
+
+Master Zacharius, when he perceived Gerande, went forward and took her
+by the hand, and led her towards Pittonaccio, saying, “Behold your lord
+and master, my daughter. Gerande, behold your husband!”
+
+Gerande shuddered from head to foot.
+
+“Never!” cried Aubert, “for she is my betrothed.”
+
+“Never!” responded Gerande, like a plaintive echo.
+
+Pittonaccio began to laugh.
+
+“You wish me to die, then!” exclaimed the old man. “There, in that
+clock, the last which goes of all which have gone from my hands, my
+life is shut up; and this man tells me, ‘When I have thy daughter, this
+clock shall belong to thee.’ And this man will not rewind it. He can
+break it, and plunge me into chaos. Ah, my daughter, you no longer love
+me!”
+
+“My father!” murmured Gerande, recovering consciousness.
+
+“If you knew what I have suffered, far away from this principle of my
+existence!” resumed the old man. “Perhaps no one looked after this
+timepiece. Perhaps its springs were left to wear out, its wheels to get
+clogged. But now, in my own hands, I can nourish this health so dear,
+for I must not die,—I, the great watchmaker of Geneva. Look, my
+daughter, how these hands advance with certain step. See, five o’clock
+is about to strike. Listen well, and look at the maxim which is about
+to be revealed.”
+
+Five o’clock struck with a noise which resounded sadly in Gerande’s
+soul, and these words appeared in red letters:
+
+“YOU MUST EAT OF THE FRUITS OF THE TREE OF SCIENCE.”
+
+
+Aubert and Gerande looked at each other stupefied. These were no longer
+the pious sayings of the Catholic watchmaker. The breath of Satan must
+have passed over it. But Zacharius paid no attention to this, and
+resumed—
+
+“Dost thou hear, my Gerande? I live, I still live! Listen to my
+breathing,—see the blood circulating in my veins! No, thou wouldst not
+kill thy father, and thou wilt accept this man for thy husband, so that
+I may become immortal, and at last attain the power of God!”
+
+At these blasphemous words old Scholastique crossed herself, and
+Pittonaccio laughed aloud with joy.
+
+“And then, Gerande, thou wilt be happy with him. See this man,—he is
+Time! Thy existence will be regulated with absolute precision. Gerande,
+since I gave thee life, give life to thy father!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “See this man,—he is Time!”]
+
+
+“Gerande,” murmured Aubert, “I am thy betrothed.”
+
+“He is my father!” replied Gerande, fainting.
+
+“She is thine!” said Master Zacharius. “Pittonaccio, them wilt keep thy
+promise!”
+
+“Here is the key of the clock,” replied the horrible man.
+
+Master Zacharius seized the long key, which resembled an uncoiled
+snake, and ran to the clock, which he hastened to wind up with
+fantastic rapidity. The creaking of the spring jarred upon the nerves.
+The old watchmaker wound and wound the key, without stopping a moment,
+and it seemed as if the movement were beyond his control. He wound more
+and more quickly, with strange contortions, until he fell from sheer
+weariness.
+
+“There, it is wound up for a century!” he cried.
+
+Aubert rushed from the hall as if he were mad. After long wandering, he
+found the outlet of the hateful château, and hastened into the open
+air. He returned to the hermitage of Notre-Dame-du-Sex, and talked so
+despairingly to the holy recluse, that the latter consented to return
+with him to the château of Andernatt.
+
+If, during these hours of anguish, Gerande had not wept, it was because
+her tears were exhausted.
+
+Master Zacharius had not left the hall. He ran every moment to listen
+to the regular beating of the old clock.
+
+Meanwhile the clock had struck, and to Scholastique’s great terror,
+these words had appeared on the silver face:—
+
+“MAN OUGHT TO BECOME THE EQUAL OF GOD.”
+
+
+The old man had not only not been shocked by these impious maxims, but
+read them deliriously, and flattered himself with thoughts of pride,
+whilst Pittonaccio kept close by him.
+
+The marriage-contract was to be signed at midnight. Gerande, almost
+unconscious, saw or heard nothing. The silence was only broken by the
+old man’s words, and the chuckling of Pittonaccio.
+
+Eleven o’clock struck. Master Zacharius shuddered, and read in a loud
+voice:—
+
+“MAN SHOULD BE THE SLAVE OF SCIENCE, AND SACRIFICE TO IT RELATIVES AND
+FAMILY.”
+
+
+“Yes!” he cried, “there is nothing but science in this world!”
+
+The hands slipped over the face of the clock with the hiss of a
+serpent, and the pendulum beat with accelerated strokes.
+
+Master Zacharius no longer spoke. He had fallen to the floor, his
+throat rattled, and from his oppressed bosom came only these
+half-broken words: “Life—science!”
+
+The scene had now two new witnesses, the hermit and Aubert. Master
+Zacharius lay upon the floor; Gerande was praying beside him, more dead
+than alive.
+
+Of a sudden a dry, hard noise was heard, which preceded the strike.
+
+Master Zacharius sprang up.
+
+“Midnight!” he cried.
+
+The hermit stretched out his hand towards the old clock,—and midnight
+did not sound.
+
+Master Zacharius uttered a terrible cry, which must have been heard in
+hell, when these words appeared:—
+
+“WHO EVER SHALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF GOD, SHALL BE FOR
+EVER DAMNED!”
+
+
+The old clock burst with a noise like thunder, and the spring,
+escaping, leaped across the hall with a thousand fantastic contortions;
+the old man rose, ran after it, trying in vain to seize it, and
+exclaiming, “My soul,—my soul!”
+
+The spring bounded before him, first on one side, then on the other,
+and he could not reach it.
+
+At last Pittonaccio seized it, and, uttering a horrible blasphemy,
+ingulfed himself in the earth.
+
+Master Zacharius fell backwards. He was dead.
+
+
+[Illustration: He was dead.]
+
+
+The old watchmaker was buried in the midst of the peaks of Andernatt.
+
+Then Aubert and Gerande returned to Geneva, and during the long life
+which God accorded to them, they made it a duty to redeem by prayer the
+soul of the castaway of science.
+
+
+
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR.
+
+
+In the month of September, 185—, I arrived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine.
+My passage through the principal German cities had been brilliantly
+marked by balloon ascents; but as yet no German had accompanied me in
+my car, and the fine experiments made at Paris by MM. Green, Eugene
+Godard, and Poitevin had not tempted the grave Teutons to essay aerial
+voyages.
+
+But scarcely had the news of my approaching ascent spread through
+Frankfort, than three of the principal citizens begged the favour of
+being allowed to ascend with me. Two days afterwards we were to start
+from the Place de la Comédie. I began at once to get my balloon ready.
+It was of silk, prepared with gutta percha, a substance impermeable by
+acids or gasses; and its volume, which was three thousand cubic yards,
+enabled it to ascend to the loftiest heights.
+
+The day of the ascent was that of the great September fair, which
+attracts so many people to Frankfort. Lighting gas, of a perfect
+quality and of great lifting power, had been furnished to me in
+excellent condition, and about eleven o’clock the balloon was filled;
+but only three-quarters filled,—an indispensable precaution, for, as
+one rises, the atmosphere diminishes in density, and the fluid enclosed
+within the balloon, acquiring more elasticity, might burst its sides.
+My calculations had furnished me with exactly the quantity of gas
+necessary to carry up my companions and myself.
+
+We were to start at noon. The impatient crowd which pressed around the
+enclosed space, filling the enclosed square, overflowing into the
+contiguous streets, and covering the houses from the ground-floor to
+the slated gables, presented a striking scene. The high winds of the
+preceding days had subsided. An oppressive heat fell from the cloudless
+sky. Scarcely a breath animated the atmosphere. In such weather, one
+might descend again upon the very spot whence he had risen.
+
+I carried three hundred pounds of ballast in bags; the car, quite
+round, four feet in diameter, was comfortably arranged; the hempen
+cords which supported it stretched symmetrically over the upper
+hemisphere of the balloon; the compass was in place, the barometer
+suspended in the circle which united the supporting cords, and the
+anchor carefully put in order. All was now ready for the ascent.
+
+Among those who pressed around the enclosure, I remarked a young man
+with a pale face and agitated features. The sight of him impressed me.
+He was an eager spectator of my ascents, whom I had already met in
+several German cities. With an uneasy air, he closely watched the
+curious machine, as it lay motionless a few feet above the ground; and
+he remained silent among those about him.
+
+Twelve o’clock came. The moment had arrived, but my travelling
+companions did not appear.
+
+I sent to their houses, and learnt that one had left for Hamburg,
+another for Vienna, and the third for London. Their courage had failed
+them at the moment of undertaking one of those excursions which, thanks
+to the ability of living aeronauts, are free from all danger. As they
+formed, in some sort, a part of the programme of the day, the fear had
+seized them that they might be forced to execute it faithfully, and
+they had fled far from the scene at the instant when the balloon was
+being filled. Their courage was evidently the inverse ratio of their
+speed—in decamping.
+
+The multitude, half deceived, showed not a little ill-humour. I did not
+hesitate to ascend alone. In order to re-establish the equilibrium
+between the specific gravity of the balloon and the weight which had
+thus proved wanting, I replaced my companions by more sacks of sand,
+and got into the car. The twelve men who held the balloon by twelve
+cords fastened to the equatorial circle, let them slip a little between
+their fingers, and the balloon rose several feet higher. There was not
+a breath of wind, and the atmosphere was so leaden that it seemed to
+forbid the ascent.
+
+“Is everything ready?” I cried.
+
+The men put themselves in readiness. A last glance told me that I might
+go.
+
+“Attention!”
+
+There was a movement in the crowd, which seemed to be invading the
+enclosure.
+
+“Let go!”
+
+The balloon rose slowly, but I experienced a shock which threw me to
+the bottom of the car.
+
+When I got up, I found myself face to face with an unexpected
+fellow-voyager,—the pale young man.
+
+“Monsieur, I salute you,” said he, with the utmost coolness.
+
+
+[Illustration: “Monsieur, I salute you,”]
+
+
+“By what right—”
+
+“Am I here? By the right which the impossibility of your getting rid of
+me confers.”
+
+I was amazed! His calmness put me out of countenance, and I had nothing
+to reply. I looked at the intruder, but he took no notice of my
+astonishment.
+
+“Does my weight disarrange your equilibrium, monsieur?” he asked. “You
+will permit me—”
+
+And without waiting for my consent, he relieved the balloon of two
+bags, which he threw into space.
+
+“Monsieur,” said I, taking the only course now possible, “you have
+come; very well, you will remain; but to me alone belongs the
+management of the balloon.”
+
+“Monsieur,” said he, “your urbanity is French all over: it comes from
+my own country. I morally press the hand you refuse me. Make all
+precautions, and act as seems best to you. I will wait till you have
+done—”
+
+“For what?”
+
+“To talk with you.”
+
+The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches. We were nearly six
+hundred yards above the city; but nothing betrayed the horizontal
+displacement of the balloon, for the mass of air in which it is
+enclosed goes forward with it. A sort of confused glow enveloped the
+objects spread out under us, and unfortunately obscured their outline.
+
+I examined my companion afresh.
+
+He was a man of thirty years, simply clad. The sharpness of his
+features betrayed an indomitable energy, and he seemed very muscular.
+Indifferent to the astonishment he created, he remained motionless,
+trying to distinguish the objects which were vaguely confused below us.
+
+“Miserable mist!” said he, after a few moments.
+
+I did not reply.
+
+“You owe me a grudge?” he went on. “Bah! I could not pay for my
+journey, and it was necessary to take you by surprise.”
+
+“Nobody asks you to descend, monsieur!”
+
+“Eh, do you not know, then, that the same thing happened to the Counts
+of Laurencin and Dampierre, when they ascended at Lyons, on the 15th of
+January, 1784? A young merchant, named Fontaine, scaled the gallery, at
+the risk of capsizing the machine. He accomplished the journey, and
+nobody died of it!”
+
+“Once on the ground, we will have an explanation,” replied I, piqued at
+the light tone in which he spoke.
+
+“Bah! Do not let us think of our return.”
+
+“Do you think, then, that I shall not hasten to descend?”
+
+“Descend!” said he, in surprise. “Descend? Let us begin by first
+ascending.”
+
+And before I could prevent it, two more bags had been thrown over the
+car, without even having been emptied.
+
+“Monsieur!” cried I, in a rage.
+
+
+[Illustration: “Monsieur!” cried I, in a rage.]
+
+
+“I know your ability,” replied the unknown quietly, “and your fine
+ascents are famous. But if Experience is the sister of Practice, she is
+also a cousin of Theory, and I have studied the aerial art long. It has
+got into my head!” he added sadly, falling into a silent reverie.
+
+The balloon, having risen some distance farther, now became stationary.
+The unknown consulted the barometer, and said,—
+
+“Here we are, at eight hundred yards. Men are like insects. See! I
+think we should always contemplate them from this height, to judge
+correctly of their proportions. The Place de la Comédie is transformed
+into an immense ant-hill. Observe the crowd which is gathered on the
+quays; and the mountains also get smaller and smaller. We are over the
+Cathedral. The Main is only a line, cutting the city in two, and the
+bridge seems a thread thrown between the two banks of the river.”
+
+The atmosphere became somewhat chilly.
+
+“There is nothing I would not do for you, my host,” said the unknown.
+“If you are cold, I will take off my coat and lend it to you.”
+
+“Thanks,” said I dryly.
+
+“Bah! Necessity makes law. Give me your hand. I am your
+fellow-countryman; you will learn something in my company, and my
+conversation will indemnify you for the trouble I have given you.”
+
+I sat down, without replying, at the opposite extremity of the car. The
+young man had taken a voluminous manuscript from his great-coat. It was
+an essay on ballooning.
+
+“I possess,” said he, “the most curious collection of engravings and
+caricatures extant concerning aerial manias. How people admired and
+scoffed at the same time at this precious discovery! We are happily no
+longer in the age in which Montgolfier tried to make artificial clouds
+with steam, or a gas having electrical properties, produced by the
+combustion of moist straw and chopped-up wool.”
+
+“Do you wish to depreciate the talent of the inventors?” I asked, for I
+had resolved to enter into the adventure. “Was it not good to have
+proved by experience the possibility of rising in the air?”
+
+“Ah, monsieur, who denies the glory of the first aerial navigators? It
+required immense courage to rise by means of those frail envelopes
+which only contained heated air. But I ask you, has the aerial science
+made great progress since Blanchard’s ascensions, that is, since nearly
+a century ago? Look here, monsieur.”
+
+The unknown took an engraving from his portfolio.
+
+“Here,” said he, “is the first aerial voyage undertaken by Pilâtre des
+Rosiers and the Marquis d’Arlandes, four months after the discovery of
+balloons. Louis XVI. refused to consent to the venture, and two men who
+were condemned to death were the first to attempt the aerial ascent.
+Pilâtre des Rosiers became indignant at this injustice, and, by means
+of intrigues, obtained permission to make the experiment. The car,
+which renders the management easy, had not then been invented, and a
+circular gallery was placed around the lower and contracted part of the
+Montgolfier balloon. The two aeronauts must then remain motionless at
+each extremity of this gallery, for the moist straw which filled it
+forbade them all motion. A chafing-dish with fire was suspended below
+the orifice of the balloon; when the aeronauts wished to rise, they
+threw straw upon this brazier, at the risk of setting fire to the
+balloon, and the air, more heated, gave it fresh ascending power. The
+two bold travellers rose, on the 21st of November, 1783, from the
+Muette Gardens, which the dauphin had put at their disposal. The
+balloon went up majestically, passed over the Isle of Swans, crossed
+the Seine at the Conference barrier, and, drifting between the dome of
+the Invalides and the Military School, approached the Church of Saint
+Sulpice. Then the aeronauts added to the fire, crossed the Boulevard,
+and descended beyond the Enfer barrier. As it touched the soil, the
+balloon collapsed, and for a few moments buried Pilâtre des Rosiers
+under its folds.”
+
+“Unlucky augury,” I said, interested in the story, which affected me
+nearly.
+
+“An augury of the catastrophe which was later to cost this unfortunate
+man his life,” replied the unknown sadly. “Have you never experienced
+anything like it?”
+
+“Never,”
+
+“Bah! Misfortunes sometimes occur unforeshadowed!” added my companion.
+
+He then remained silent.
+
+Meanwhile we were advancing southward, and Frankfort had already passed
+from beneath us.
+
+“Perhaps we shall have a storm,” said the young man.
+
+“We shall descend before that,” I replied.
+
+“Indeed! It is better to ascend. We shall escape it more surely.”
+
+And two more bags of sand were hurled into space.
+
+The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred yards. I became
+colder; and yet the sun’s rays, falling upon the surface, expanded the
+gas within, and gave it a greater ascending force.
+
+“Fear nothing,” said the unknown. “We have still three thousand five
+hundred fathoms of breathing air. Besides, do not trouble yourself
+about what I do.”
+
+I would have risen, but a vigorous hand held me to my seat.
+
+“Your name?” I asked.
+
+“My name? What matters it to you?”
+
+“I demand your name!”
+
+“My name is Erostratus or Empedocles, whichever you choose!”
+
+This reply was far from reassuring.
+
+The unknown, besides, talked with such strange coolness that I
+anxiously asked myself whom I had to deal with.
+
+“Monsieur,” he continued, “nothing original has been imagined since the
+physicist Charles. Four months after the discovery of balloons, this
+able man had invented the valve, which permits the gas to escape when
+the balloon is too full, or when you wish to descend; the car, which
+aids the management of the machine; the netting, which holds the
+envelope of the balloon, and divides the weight over its whole surface;
+the ballast, which enables you to ascend, and to choose the place of
+your landing; the india-rubber coating, which renders the tissue
+impermeable; the barometer, which shows the height attained. Lastly,
+Charles used hydrogen, which, fourteen times lighter than air, permits
+you to penetrate to the highest atmospheric regions, and does not
+expose you to the dangers of a combustion in the air. On the 1st of
+December, 1783, three hundred thousand spectators were crowded around
+the Tuileries. Charles rose, and the soldiers presented arms to him. He
+travelled nine leagues in the air, conducting his balloon with an
+ability not surpassed by modern aeronauts. The king awarded him a
+pension of two thousand livres; for then they encouraged new
+inventions.”
+
+The unknown now seemed to be under the influence of considerable
+agitation.
+
+“Monsieur,” he resumed, “I have studied this, and I am convinced that
+the first aeronauts guided their balloons. Without speaking of
+Blanchard, whose assertions may be received with doubt,
+Guyton-Morveaux, by the aid of oars and rudder, made his machine answer
+to the helm, and take the direction he determined on. More recently, M.
+Julien, a watchmaker, made some convincing experiments at the
+Hippodrome, in Paris; for, by a special mechanism, his aerial
+apparatus, oblong in form, went visibly against the wind. It occurred
+to M. Petin to place four hydrogen balloons together; and, by means of
+sails hung horizontally and partly folded, he hopes to be able to
+disturb the equilibrium, and, thus inclining the apparatus, to convey
+it in an oblique direction. They speak, also, of forces to overcome the
+resistance of currents,—for instance, the screw; but the screw, working
+on a moveable centre, will give no result. I, monsieur, have discovered
+the only means of guiding balloons; and no academy has come to my aid,
+no city has filled up subscriptions for me, no government has thought
+fit to listen to me! It is infamous!”
+
+The unknown gesticulated fiercely, and the car underwent violent
+oscillations. I had much trouble in calming him.
+
+Meanwhile the balloon had entered a more rapid current, and we advanced
+south, at fifteen hundred yards above the earth.
+
+“See, there is Darmstadt,” said my companion, leaning over the car. “Do
+you perceive the château? Not very distinctly, eh? What would you have?
+The heat of the storm makes the outline of objects waver, and you must
+have a skilled eye to recognize localities.”
+
+“Are you certain it is Darmstadt?” I asked.
+
+“I am sure of it. We are now six leagues from Frankfort.”
+
+“Then we must descend.”
+
+“Descend! You would not go down, on the steeples,” said the unknown,
+with a chuckle.
+
+“No, but in the suburbs of the city.”
+
+“Well, let us avoid the steeples!”
+
+So speaking, my companion seized some bags of ballast. I hastened to
+prevent him; but he overthrew me with one hand, and the unballasted
+balloon ascended to two thousand yards.
+
+“Rest easy,” said he, “and do not forget that Brioschi, Biot,
+Gay-Lussac, Bixio, and Barral ascended to still greater heights to make
+their scientific experiments.”
+
+“Monsieur, we must descend,” I resumed, trying to persuade him by
+gentleness. “The storm is gathering around us. It would be more
+prudent—”
+
+“Bah! We will mount higher than the storm, and then we shall no longer
+fear it!” cried my companion. “What is nobler than to overlook the
+clouds which oppress the earth? Is it not an honour thus to navigate on
+aerial billows? The greatest men have travelled as we are doing. The
+Marchioness and Countess de Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas,
+Mademoiselle la Garde, the Marquis de Montalembert, rose from the
+Faubourg Saint-Antoine for these unknown regions, and the Duke de
+Chartres exhibited much skill and presence of mind in his ascent on the
+15th of July, 1784. At Lyons, the Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre; at
+Nantes, M. de Luynes; at Bordeaux, D’Arbelet des Granges; in Italy, the
+Chevalier Andreani; in our own time, the Duke of Brunswick,—have all
+left the traces of their glory in the air. To equal these great
+personages, we must penetrate still higher than they into the celestial
+depths! To approach the infinite is to comprehend it!”
+
+The rarefaction of the air was fast expanding the hydrogen in the
+balloon, and I saw its lower part, purposely left empty, swell out, so
+that it was absolutely necessary to open the valve; but my companion
+did not seem to intend that I should manage the balloon as I wished. I
+then resolved to pull the valve cord secretly, as he was excitedly
+talking; for I feared to guess with whom I had to deal. It would have
+been too horrible! It was nearly a quarter before one. We had been gone
+forty minutes from Frankfort; heavy clouds were coming against the wind
+from the south, and seemed about to burst upon us.
+
+“Have you lost all hope of succeeding in your project?” I asked with
+anxious interest.
+
+“All hope!” exclaimed the unknown in a low voice. “Wounded by slights
+and caricatures, these asses’ kicks have finished me! It is the eternal
+punishment reserved for innovators! Look at these caricatures of all
+periods, of which my portfolio is full.”
+
+While my companion was fumbling with his papers, I had seized the
+valve-cord without his perceiving it. I feared, however, that he might
+hear the hissing noise, like a water-course, which the gas makes in
+escaping.
+
+“How many jokes were made about the Abbé Miolan!” said he. “He was to
+go up with Janninet and Bredin. During the filling their balloon caught
+fire, and the ignorant populace tore it in pieces! Then this caricature
+of ‘curious animals’ appeared, giving each of them a punning nickname.”
+
+I pulled the valve-cord, and the barometer began to ascend. It was
+time. Some far-off rumblings were heard in the south.
+
+“Here is another engraving,” resumed the unknown, not suspecting what I
+was doing. “It is an immense balloon carrying a ship, strong castles,
+houses, and so on. The caricaturists did not suspect that their follies
+would one day become truths. It is complete, this large vessel. On the
+left is its helm, with the pilot’s box; at the prow are
+pleasure-houses, an immense organ, and a cannon to call the attention
+of the inhabitants of the earth or the moon; above the poop there are
+the observatory and the balloon long-boat; in the equatorial circle,
+the army barrack; on the left, the funnel; then the upper galleries for
+promenading, sails, pinions; below, the cafés and general storehouse.
+Observe this pompous announcement: ‘Invented for the happiness of the
+human race, this globe will depart at once for the ports of the Levant,
+and on its return the programme of its voyages to the two poles and the
+extreme west will be announced. No one need furnish himself with
+anything; everything is foreseen, and all will prosper. There will be a
+uniform price for all places of destination, but it will be the same
+for the most distant countries of our hemisphere—that is to say, a
+thousand louis for one of any of the said journeys. And it must be
+confessed that this sum is very moderate, when the speed, comfort, and
+arrangements which will be enjoyed on the balloon are
+considered—arrangements which are not to be found on land, while on the
+balloon each passenger may consult his own habits and tastes. This is
+so true that in the same place some will be dancing, others standing;
+some will be enjoying delicacies; others fasting. Whoever desires the
+society of wits may satisfy himself; whoever is stupid may find stupid
+people to keep him company. Thus pleasure will be the soul of the
+aerial company.’ All this provoked laughter; but before long, if I am
+not cut off, they will see it all realized.”
+
+We were visibly descending. He did not perceive it!
+
+“This kind of ‘game at balloons,’” he resumed, spreading out before me
+some of the engravings of his valuable collection, “this game contains
+the entire history of the aerostatic art. It is used by elevated minds,
+and is played with dice and counters, with whatever stakes you like, to
+be paid or received according to where the player arrives.”
+
+“Why,” said I, “you seem to have studied the science of aerostation
+profoundly.”
+
+“Yes, monsieur, yes! From Phaethon, Icarus, Architas, I have searched
+for, examined, learnt everything. I could render immense services to
+the world in this art, if God granted me life. But that will not be!”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Because my name is Empedocles, or Erostratus.”
+
+Meanwhile, the balloon was happily approaching the earth; but when one
+is falling, the danger is as great at a hundred feet as at five
+thousand.
+
+“Do you recall the battle of Fleurus?” resumed my companion, whose face
+became more and more animated. “It was at that battle that Contello, by
+order of the Government, organized a company of balloonists. At the
+siege of Manbenge General Jourdan derived so much service from this new
+method of observation that Contello ascended twice a day with the
+general himself. The communications between the aeronaut and his agents
+who held the balloon were made by means of small white, red, and yellow
+flags. Often the gun and cannon shot were directed upon the balloon
+when he ascended, but without result. When General Jourdan was
+preparing to invest Charleroi, Contello went into the vicinity,
+ascended from the plain of Jumet, and continued his observations for
+seven or eight hours with General Morlot, and this no doubt aided in
+giving us the victory of Fleurus. General Jourdan publicly acknowledged
+the help which the aeronautical observations had afforded him. Well,
+despite the services rendered on that occasion and during the Belgian
+campaign, the year which had seen the beginning of the military career
+of balloons saw also its end. The school of Meudon, founded by the
+Government, was closed by Buonaparte on his return from Egypt. And now,
+what can you expect from the new-born infant? as Franklin said. The
+infant was born alive; it should not be stifled!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “He continued his observations for seven or eight
+hours with General Morlot”]
+
+
+The unknown bowed his head in his hands, and reflected for some
+moments; then raising his head, he said,—
+
+“Despite my prohibition, monsieur, you have opened the valve.”
+
+I dropped the cord.
+
+“Happily,” he resumed, “we have still three hundred pounds of ballast.”
+
+“What is your purpose?” said I.
+
+“Have you ever crossed the seas?” he asked.
+
+I turned pale.
+
+“It is unfortunate,” he went on, “that we are being driven towards the
+Adriatic. That is only a stream; but higher up we may find other
+currents.”
+
+And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over several bags of
+sand; then, in a menacing voice, he said,—
+
+“I let you open the valve because the expansion of the gas threatened
+to burst the balloon; but do not do it again!”
+
+Then he went on as follows:—
+
+“You remember the voyage of Blanchard and Jeffries from Dover to
+Calais? It was magnificent! On the 7th of January, 1785, there being a
+north-west wind, their balloon was inflated with gas on the Dover
+coast. A mistake of equilibrium, just as they were ascending, forced
+them to throw out their ballast so that they might not go down again,
+and they only kept thirty pounds. It was too little; for, as the wind
+did not freshen, they only advanced very slowly towards the French
+coast. Besides, the permeability of the tissue served to reduce the
+inflation little by little, and in an hour and a half the aeronauts
+perceived that they were descending.
+
+“‘What shall we do?’ said Jeffries.
+
+“‘We are only one quarter of the way over,’ replied Blanchard, ‘and
+very low down. On rising, we shall perhaps meet more favourable winds.’
+
+“‘Let us throw out the rest of the sand.’
+
+“The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon began to
+descend again. Towards the middle of the transit the aeronauts threw
+over their books and tools. A quarter of an hour after, Blanchard said
+to Jeffries,—
+
+“‘The barometer?’
+
+“‘It is going up! We are lost, and yet there is the French coast.’
+
+“A loud noise was heard.
+
+“‘Has the balloon burst?’ asked Jeffries.
+
+“‘No. The loss of the gas has reduced the inflation of the lower part
+of the balloon. But we are still descending. We are lost! Out with
+everything useless!’
+
+“Provisions, oars, and rudder were thrown into the sea. The aeronauts
+were only one hundred yards high.
+
+“‘We are going up again,’ said the doctor.
+
+“‘No. It is the spurt caused by the diminution of the weight, and not a
+ship in sight, not a bark on the horizon! To the sea with our
+clothing!’
+
+“The unfortunates stripped themselves, but the balloon continued to
+descend.
+
+“‘Blanchard,’ said Jeffries, ‘you should have made this voyage alone;
+you consented to take me; I will sacrifice myself! I am going to throw
+myself into the water, and the balloon, relieved of my weight, will
+mount again.’
+
+“‘No, no! It is frightful!’
+
+“The balloon became less and less inflated, and as it doubled up its
+concavity pressed the gas against the sides, and hastened its downward
+course.
+
+
+[Illustration: The balloon became less and less inflated]
+
+
+“‘Adieu, my friend,” said the doctor. ‘God preserve you!’
+
+“He was about to throw himself over, when Blanchard held him back.
+
+“‘There is one more chance,’ said he. ‘We can cut the cords which hold
+the car, and cling to the net! Perhaps the balloon will rise. Let us
+hold ourselves ready. But—the barometer is going down! The wind is
+freshening! We are saved!’
+
+“The aeronauts perceived Calais. Their joy was delirious. A few moments
+more, and they had fallen in the forest of Guines. I do not doubt,”
+added the unknown, “that, under similar circumstances, you would have
+followed Doctor Jeffries’ example!”
+
+The clouds rolled in glittering masses beneath us. The balloon threw
+large shadows on this heap of clouds, and was surrounded as by an
+aureola. The thunder rumbled below the car. All this was terrifying.
+
+“Let us descend!” I cried.
+
+“Descend, when the sun is up there, waiting for us? Out with more
+bags!”
+
+And more than fifty pounds of ballast were cast over.
+
+At a height of three thousand five hundred yards we remained
+stationary.
+
+The unknown talked unceasingly. I was in a state of complete
+prostration, while he seemed to be in his element.
+
+“With a good wind, we shall go far,” he cried. “In the Antilles there
+are currents of air which have a speed of a hundred leagues an hour.
+When Napoleon was crowned, Garnerin sent up a balloon with coloured
+lamps, at eleven o’clock at night. The wind was blowing
+north-north-west. The next morning, at daybreak, the inhabitants of
+Rome greeted its passage over the dome of St. Peter’s. We shall go
+farther and higher!”
+
+I scarcely heard him. Everything whirled around me. An opening appeared
+in the clouds.
+
+“See that city,” said the unknown. “It is Spires!”
+
+I leaned over the car and perceived a small blackish mass. It was
+Spires. The Rhine, which is so large, seemed an unrolled ribbon. The
+sky was a deep blue over our heads. The birds had long abandoned us,
+for in that rarefied air they could not have flown. We were alone in
+space, and I in presence of this unknown!
+
+“It is useless for you to know whither I am leading you,” he said, as
+he threw the compass among the clouds. “Ah! a fall is a grand thing!
+You know that but few victims of ballooning are to be reckoned, from
+Pilâtre des Rosiers to Lieutenant Gale, and that the accidents have
+always been the result of imprudence. Pilâtre des Rosiers set out with
+Romain of Boulogne, on the 13th of June, 1785. To his gas balloon he
+had affixed a Montgolfier apparatus of hot air, so as to dispense, no
+doubt, with the necessity of losing gas or throwing out ballast. It was
+putting a torch under a powder-barrel. When they had ascended four
+hundred yards, and were taken by opposing winds, they were driven over
+the open sea. Pilâtre, in order to descend, essayed to open the valve,
+but the valve-cord became entangled in the balloon, and tore it so
+badly that it became empty in an instant. It fell upon the Montgolfier
+apparatus, overturned it, and dragged down the unfortunates, who were
+soon shattered to pieces! It is frightful, is it not?”
+
+I could only reply, “For pity’s sake, let us descend!”
+
+The clouds gathered around us on every side, and dreadful detonations,
+which reverberated in the cavity of the balloon, took place beneath us.
+
+“You provoke me,” cried the unknown, “and you shall no longer know
+whether we are rising or falling!”
+
+The barometer went the way of the compass, accompanied by several more
+bags of sand. We must have been 5000 yards high. Some icicles had
+already attached themselves to the sides of the car, and a kind of fine
+snow seemed to penetrate to my very bones. Meanwhile a frightful
+tempest was raging under us, but we were above it.
+
+“Do not be afraid,” said the unknown. “It is only the imprudent who are
+lost. Olivari, who perished at Orleans, rose in a paper ‘Montgolfier;’
+his car, suspended below the chafing-dish, and ballasted with
+combustible materials, caught fire; Olivari fell, and was killed!
+Mosment rose, at Lille, on a light tray; an oscillation disturbed his
+equilibrium; Mosment fell, and was killed! Bittorf, at Mannheim, saw
+his balloon catch fire in the air; and he, too, fell, and was killed!
+Harris rose in a badly constructed balloon, the valve of which was too
+large and would not shut; Harris fell, and was killed! Sadler, deprived
+of ballast by his long sojourn in the air, was dragged over the town of
+Boston and dashed against the chimneys; Sadler fell, and was killed!
+Cokling descended with a convex parachute which he pretended to have
+perfected; Cokling fell, and was killed! Well, I love them, these
+victims of their own imprudence, and I shall die as they did. Higher!
+still higher!”
+
+All the phantoms of this necrology passed before my eyes. The
+rarefaction of the air and the sun’s rays added to the expansion of the
+gas, and the balloon continued to mount. I tried mechanically to open
+the valve, but the unknown cut the cord several feet above my head. I
+was lost!
+
+“Did you see Madame Blanchard fall?” said he. “I saw her; yes, I! I was
+at Tivoli on the 6th of July, 1819. Madame Blanchard rose in a small
+sized balloon, to avoid the expense of filling, and she was forced to
+entirely inflate it. The gas leaked out below, and left a regular train
+of hydrogen in its path. She carried with her a sort of pyrotechnic
+aureola, suspended below her car by a wire, which she was to set off in
+the air. This she had done many times before. On this day she also
+carried up a small parachute ballasted by a firework contrivance, that
+would go off in a shower of silver. She was to start this contrivance
+after having lighted it with a port-fire made on purpose. She set out;
+the night was gloomy. At the moment of lighting her fireworks she was
+so imprudent as to pass the taper under the column of hydrogen which
+was leaking from the balloon. My eyes were fixed upon her. Suddenly an
+unexpected gleam lit up the darkness. I thought she was preparing a
+surprise. The light flashed out, suddenly disappeared and reappeared,
+and gave the summit of the balloon the shape of an immense jet of
+ignited gas. This sinister glow shed itself over the Boulevard and the
+whole Montmartre quarter. Then I saw the unhappy woman rise, try twice
+to close the appendage of the balloon, so as to put out the fire, then
+sit down in her car and try to guide her descent; for she did not fall.
+The combustion of the gas lasted for several minutes. The balloon,
+becoming gradually less, continued to descend, but it was not a fall.
+The wind blew from the north-west and drove it towards Paris. There
+were then some large gardens just by the house No. 16, Rue de Provence.
+Madame Blanchard essayed to fall there without danger: but the balloon
+and the car struck on the roof of the house with a light shock. ‘Save
+me!’ cried the wretched woman. I got into the street at this moment.
+The car slid along the roof, and encountered an iron cramp. At this
+concussion, Madame Blanchard was thrown out of her car and precipitated
+upon the pavement. She was killed!”
+
+These stories froze me with horror. The unknown was standing with bare
+head, dishevelled hair, haggard eyes!
+
+There was no longer any illusion possible. I at last recognized the
+horrible truth. I was in the presence of a madman!
+
+He threw out the rest of the ballast, and we must have now reached a
+height of at least nine thousand yards. Blood spurted from my nose and
+mouth!
+
+“Who are nobler than the martyrs of science?” cried the lunatic. “They
+are canonized by posterity.”
+
+But I no longer heard him. He looked about him, and, bending down to my
+ear, muttered,—
+
+“And have you forgotten Zambecarri’s catastrophe? Listen. On the 7th of
+October, 1804, the clouds seemed to lift a little. On the preceding
+days, the wind and rain had not ceased; but the announced ascension of
+Zambecarri could not be postponed. His enemies were already bantering
+him. It was necessary to ascend, to save the science and himself from
+becoming a public jest. It was at Boulogne. No one helped him to
+inflate his balloon.
+
+“He rose at midnight, accompanied by Andreoli and Grossetti. The
+balloon mounted slowly, for it had been perforated by the rain, and the
+gas was leaking out. The three intrepid aeronauts could only observe
+the state of the barometer by aid of a dark lantern. Zambecarri had
+eaten nothing for twenty-four hours. Grossetti was also fasting.
+
+“‘My friends,’ said Zambecarri, ‘I am overcome by cold, and exhausted.
+I am dying.’
+
+“He fell inanimate in the gallery. It was the same with Grossetti.
+Andreoli alone remained conscious. After long efforts, he succeeded in
+reviving Zambecarri.
+
+“‘What news? Whither are we going? How is the wind? What time is it?’
+
+“‘It is two o’clock.’
+
+“‘Where is the compass?’
+
+“‘Upset!’
+
+“‘Great God! The lantern has gone out!’
+
+“‘It cannot burn in this rarefied air,’ said Zambecarri.
+
+“The moon had not risen, and the atmosphere was plunged in murky
+darkness.
+
+“‘I am cold, Andreoli. What shall I do?’
+
+“They slowly descended through a layer of whitish clouds.
+
+“‘Sh!’ said Andreoli. ‘Do you hear?’
+
+“‘What?’ asked Zambecarri.
+
+“‘A strange noise.’
+
+“‘You are mistaken.’
+
+“‘No.’
+
+“Consider these travellers, in the middle of the night, listening to
+that unaccountable noise! Are they going to knock against a tower? Are
+they about to be precipitated on the roofs?
+
+“‘Do you hear? One would say it was the noise of the sea.’
+
+“‘Impossible!’
+
+“‘It is the groaning of the waves!’
+
+“‘It is true.’
+
+“‘Light! light!’
+
+“After five fruitless attempts, Andreoli succeeded in obtaining light.
+It was three o’clock.
+
+“The voice of violent waves was heard. They were almost touching the
+surface of the sea!
+
+“‘We are lost!’ cried Zambecarri, seizing a large bag of sand.
+
+“‘Help!’ cried Andreoli.
+
+“The car touched the water, and the waves came up to their breasts.
+
+“‘Throw out the instruments, clothes, money!’
+
+“The aeronauts completely stripped themselves. The balloon, relieved,
+rose with frightful rapidity. Zambecarri was taken with vomiting.
+Grossetti bled profusely. The unfortunate men could not speak, so short
+was their breathing. They were taken with cold, and they were soon
+crusted over with ice. The moon looked as red as blood.
+
+“After traversing the high regions for a half-hour, the balloon again
+fell into the sea. It was four in the morning. They were half submerged
+in the water, and the balloon dragged them along, as if under sail, for
+several hours.
+
+“At daybreak they found themselves opposite Pesaro, four miles from the
+coast. They were about to reach it, when a gale blew them back into the
+open sea. They were lost! The frightened boats fled at their approach.
+Happily, a more intelligent boatman accosted them, hoisted them on
+board, and they landed at Ferrada.
+
+“A frightful journey, was it not? But Zambecarri was a brave and
+energetic man. Scarcely recovered from his sufferings, he resumed his
+ascensions. During one of them he struck against a tree; his
+spirit-lamp was broken on his clothes; he was enveloped in fire, his
+balloon began to catch the flames, and he came down half consumed.
+
+“At last, on the 21st of September, 1812, he made another ascension at
+Boulogne. The balloon clung to a tree, and his lamp again set it on
+fire. Zambecarri fell, and was killed! And in presence of these facts,
+we would still hesitate! No. The higher we go, the more glorious will
+be our death!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “Zambecarri fell, and was killed!”]
+
+
+The balloon being now entirely relieved of ballast and of all it
+contained, we were carried to an enormous height. It vibrated in the
+atmosphere. The least noise resounded in the vaults of heaven. Our
+globe, the only object which caught my view in immensity, seemed ready
+to be annihilated, and above us the depths of the starry skies were
+lost in thick darkness.
+
+I saw my companion rise up before me.
+
+“The hour is come!” he said. “We must die. We are rejected of men. They
+despise us. Let us crush them!”
+
+“Mercy!” I cried.
+
+“Let us cut these cords! Let this car be abandoned in space. The
+attractive force will change its direction, and we shall approach the
+sun!”
+
+Despair galvanized me. I threw myself upon the madman, we struggled
+together, and a terrible conflict took place. But I was thrown down,
+and while he held me under his knee, the madman was cutting the cords
+of the car.
+
+“One!” he cried.
+
+“My God!”
+
+“Two! Three!”
+
+I made a superhuman effort, rose up, and violently repulsed the madman.
+
+“Four!”
+
+The car fell, but I instinctively clung to the cords and hoisted myself
+into the meshes of the netting.
+
+The madman disappeared in space!
+
+
+[Illustration: The madman disappeared in space!]
+
+
+The balloon was raised to an immeasurable height. A horrible cracking
+was heard. The gas, too much dilated, had burst the balloon. I shut my
+eyes—
+
+Some instants after, a damp warmth revived me. I was in the midst of
+clouds on fire. The balloon turned over with dizzy velocity. Taken by
+the wind, it made a hundred leagues an hour in a horizontal course, the
+lightning flashing around it.
+
+Meanwhile my fall was not a very rapid one. When I opened my eyes, I
+saw the country. I was two miles from the sea, and the tempest was
+driving me violently towards it, when an abrupt shock forced me to
+loosen my hold. My hands opened, a cord slipped swiftly between my
+fingers, and I found myself on the solid earth!
+
+It was the cord of the anchor, which, sweeping along the surface of the
+ground, was caught in a crevice; and my balloon, unballasted for the
+last time, careered off to lose itself beyond the sea.
+
+When I came to myself, I was in bed in a peasant’s cottage, at
+Harderwick, a village of La Gueldre, fifteen leagues from Amsterdam, on
+the shores of the Zuyder-Zee.
+
+A miracle had saved my life, but my voyage had been a series of
+imprudences, committed by a lunatic, and I had not been able to prevent
+them.
+
+May this terrible narrative, though instructing those who read it, not
+discourage the explorers of the air.
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+THE BLACK FLAG
+
+
+The curé of the ancient church of Dunkirk rose at five o’clock on the
+12th of May, 18—, to perform, according to his custom, low mass for the
+benefit of a few pious sinners.
+
+Attired in his priestly robes, he was about to proceed to the altar,
+when a man entered the sacristy, at once joyous and frightened. He was
+a sailor of some sixty years, but still vigorous and sturdy, with, an
+open, honest countenance.
+
+“Monsieur the curé,” said he, “stop a moment, if you please.”
+
+
+[Illustration: “Monsieur the curé,” said he, “stop a moment, if you
+please.”]
+
+
+“What do you want so early in the morning, Jean Cornbutte?” asked the
+curé.
+
+“What do I want? Why, to embrace you in my arms, i’ faith!”
+
+“Well, after the mass at which you are going to be present—”
+
+“The mass?” returned the old sailor, laughing. “Do you think you are
+going to say your mass now, and that I will let you do so?”
+
+“And why should I not say my mass?” asked the curé. “Explain yourself.
+The third bell has sounded—”
+
+“Whether it has or not,” replied Jean Cornbutte, “it will sound many
+more times to-day, monsieur the curé, for you have promised me that you
+will bless, with your own hands, the marriage of my son Louis and my
+niece Marie!”
+
+“He has arrived, then,” said the curé “joyfully.
+
+“It is nearly the same thing,” replied Cornbutte, rubbing his hands.
+“Our brig was signalled from the look out at sunrise,—our brig, which
+you yourself christened by the good name of the ‘Jeune-Hardie’!”
+
+“I congratulate you with all my heart, Cornbutte,” said the curé,
+taking off his chasuble and stole. “I remember our agreement. The vicar
+will take my place, and I will put myself at your disposal against your
+dear son’s arrival.”
+
+“And I promise you that he will not make you fast long,” replied the
+sailor. “You have already published the banns, and you will only have
+to absolve him from the sins he may have committed between sky and
+water, in the Northern Ocean. I had a good idea, that the marriage
+should be celebrated the very day he arrived, and that my son Louis
+should leave his ship to repair at once to the church.”
+
+“Go, then, and arrange everything, Cornbutte.”
+
+“I fly, monsieur the curé. Good morning!”
+
+The sailor hastened with rapid steps to his house, which stood on the
+quay, whence could be seen the Northern Ocean, of which he seemed so
+proud.
+
+Jean Cornbutte had amassed a comfortable sum at his calling. After
+having long commanded the vessels of a rich shipowner of Havre, he had
+settled down in his native town, where he had caused the brig
+“Jeune-Hardie” to be constructed at his own expense. Several successful
+voyages had been made in the North, and the ship always found a good
+sale for its cargoes of wood, iron, and tar. Jean Cornbutte then gave
+up the command of her to his son Louis, a fine sailor of thirty, who,
+according to all the coasting captains, was the boldest mariner in
+Dunkirk.
+
+Louis Cornbutte had gone away deeply attached to Marie, his father’s
+niece, who found the time of his absence very long and weary. Marie was
+scarcely twenty. She was a pretty Flemish girl, with some Dutch blood
+in her veins. Her mother, when she was dying, had confided her to her
+brother, Jean Cornbutte. The brave old sailor loved her as a daughter,
+and saw in her proposed union with Louis a source of real and durable
+happiness.
+
+The arrival of the ship, already signalled off the coast, completed an
+important business operation, from which Jean Cornbutte expected large
+profits. The “Jeune-Hardie,” which had left three months before, came
+last from Bodoë, on the west coast of Norway, and had made a quick
+voyage thence.
+
+On returning home, Jean Cornbutte found the whole house alive. Marie,
+with radiant face, had assumed her wedding-dress.
+
+“I hope the ship will not arrive before we are ready!” she said.
+
+“Hurry, little one,” replied Jean Cornbutte, “for the wind is north,
+and she sails well, you know, when she goes freely.”
+
+“Have our friends been told, uncle?” asked Marie.
+
+“They have.”
+
+“The notary, and the curé?”
+
+“Rest easy. You alone are keeping us waiting.”
+
+At this moment Clerbaut, an old crony, came in.
+
+“Well, old Cornbutte,” cried he, “here’s luck! Your ship has arrived at
+the very moment that the government has decided to contract for a large
+quantity of wood for the navy!”
+
+“What is that to me?” replied Jean Cornbutte. “What care I for the
+government?”
+
+“You see, Monsieur Clerbaut,” said Marie, “one thing only absorbs
+us,—Louis’s return.”
+
+“I don’t dispute that,” replied Clerbaut. “But—in short—this purchase
+of wood—”
+
+“And you shall be at the wedding,” replied Jean Cornbutte, interrupting
+the merchant, and shaking his hand as if he would crush it.
+
+“This purchase of wood—”
+
+“And with all our friends, landsmen and seamen, Clerbaut. I have
+already informed everybody, and I shall invite the whole crew of the
+ship.”
+
+“And shall we go and await them on the pier?” asked Marie.
+
+“Indeed we will,” replied Jean Cornbutte. “We will defile, two by two,
+with the violins at the head.”
+
+Jean Cornbutte’s invited guests soon arrived. Though it was very early,
+not a single one failed to appear. All congratulated the honest old
+sailor whom they loved. Meanwhile Marie, kneeling down, changed her
+prayers to God into thanksgivings. She soon returned, lovely and decked
+out, to the company; and all the women kissed her on the check, while
+the men vigorously grasped her by the hand. Then Jean Cornbutte gave
+the signal of departure.
+
+It was a curious sight to see this joyous group taking its way, at
+sunrise, towards the sea. The news of the ship’s arrival had spread
+through the port, and many heads, in nightcaps, appeared at the windows
+and at the half-opened doors. Sincere compliments and pleasant nods
+came from every side.
+
+The party reached the pier in the midst of a concert of praise and
+blessings. The weather was magnificent, and the sun seemed to take part
+in the festivity. A fresh north wind made the waves foam; and some
+fishing-smacks, their sails trimmed for leaving port, streaked the sea
+with their rapid wakes between the breakwaters.
+
+The two piers of Dunkirk stretch far out into the sea. The
+wedding-party occupied the whole width of the northern pier, and soon
+reached a small house situated at its extremity, inhabited by the
+harbour-master. The wind freshened, and the “Jeune-Hardie” ran swiftly
+under her topsails, mizzen, brigantine, gallant, and royal. There was
+evidently rejoicing on board as well as on land. Jean Cornbutte,
+spy-glass in hand, responded merrily to the questions of his friends.
+
+“See my ship!” he cried; “clean and steady as if she had been rigged at
+Dunkirk! Not a bit of damage done,—not a rope wanting!”
+
+“Do you see your son, the captain?” asked one.
+
+“No, not yet. Why, he’s at his business!”
+
+“Why doesn’t he run up his flag?” asked Clerbaut.
+
+“I scarcely know, old friend. He has a reason for it, no doubt.”
+
+“Your spy-glass, uncle?” said Marie, taking it from him. “I want to be
+the first to see him.”
+
+“But he is my son, mademoiselle!”
+
+“He has been your son for thirty years,” answered the young girl,
+laughing, “and he has only been my betrothed for two!”
+
+The “Jeune-Hardie” was now entirely visible. Already the crew were
+preparing to cast anchor. The upper sails had been reefed. The sailors
+who were among the rigging might be recognized. But neither Marie nor
+Jean Cornbutte had yet been able to wave their hands at the captain of
+the ship.
+
+“Faith! there’s the first mate, André Vasling,” cried Clerbaut.
+
+“And there’s Fidèle Misonne, the carpenter,” said another.
+
+“And our friend Penellan,” said a third, saluting the sailor named.
+
+The “Jeune-Hardie” was only three cables’ lengths from the shore, when
+a black flag ascended to the gaff of the brigantine. There was mourning
+on board!
+
+A shudder of terror seized the party and the heart of the young girl.
+
+The ship sadly swayed into port, and an icy silence reigned on its
+deck. Soon it had passed the end of the pier. Marie, Jean Cornbutte,
+and all their friends hurried towards the quay at which she was to
+anchor, and in a moment found themselves on board.
+
+“My son!” said Jean Cornbutte, who could only articulate these words.
+
+The sailors, with uncovered heads, pointed to the mourning flag.
+
+Marie uttered a cry of anguish, and fell into old Cornbutte’s arms.
+
+André Vasling had brought back the “Jeune-Hardie,” but Louis Cornbutte,
+Marie’s betrothed, was not on board.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+JEAN CORNBUTTE’S PROJECT.
+
+
+As soon as the young girl, confided to the care of the sympathizing
+friends, had left the ship, André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean
+Cornbutte of the dreadful event which had deprived him of his son,
+narrated in the ship’s journal as follows:—
+
+
+[Illustration: André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of
+the dreadful event]
+
+
+“At the height of the Maëlstrom, on the 26th of April, the ship,
+putting for the cape, by reason of bad weather and south-west winds,
+perceived signals of distress made by a schooner to the leeward. This
+schooner, deprived of its mizzen-mast, was running towards the
+whirlpool, under bare poles. Captain Louis Cornbutte, seeing that this
+vessel was hastening into imminent danger, resolved to go on board her.
+Despite the remonstrances of his crew, he had the long-boat lowered
+into the sea, and got into it, with the sailor Courtois and the
+helmsman Pierre Nouquet. The crew watched them until they disappeared
+in the fog. Night came on. The sea became more and more boisterous. The
+“Jeune-Hardie”, drawn by the currents in those parts, was in danger of
+being engulfed by the Maëlstrom. She was obliged to fly before the
+wind. For several days she hovered near the place of the disaster, but
+in vain. The long-boat, the schooner, Captain Louis, and the two
+sailors did not reappear. André Vasling then called the crew together,
+took command of the ship, and set sail for Dunkirk.”
+
+After reading this dry narrative, Jean Cornbutte wept for a long time;
+and if he had any consolation, it was the thought that his son had died
+in attempting to save his fellow-men. Then the poor father left the
+ship, the sight of which made him wretched, and returned to his
+desolate home.
+
+The sad news soon spread throughout Dunkirk. The many friends of the
+old sailor came to bring him their cordial and sincere sympathy. Then
+the sailors of the “Jeune-Hardie” gave a more particular account of the
+event, and André Vasling told Marie, at great length, of the devotion
+of her betrothed to the last.
+
+When he ceased weeping, Jean Cornbutte thought over the matter, and the
+next day after the ship’s arrival, when Andre came to see him, said,—
+
+“Are you very sure, André, that my son has perished?”
+
+“Alas, yes, Monsieur Jean,” replied the mate.
+
+“And you made all possible search for him?”
+
+“All, Monsieur Cornbutte. But it is unhappily but too certain that he
+and the two sailors were sucked down in the whirlpool of the
+Maëlstrom.”
+
+“Would you like, André, to keep the second command of the ship?”
+
+“That will depend upon the captain, Monsieur Cornbutte.”
+
+“I shall be the captain,” replied the old sailor. “I am going to
+discharge the cargo with all speed, make up my crew, and sail in search
+of my son.”
+
+“Your son is dead!” said André obstinately.
+
+“It is possible, Andre,” replied Jean Cornbutte sharply, “but it is
+also possible that he saved himself. I am going to rummage all the
+ports of Norway whither he might have been driven, and when I am fully
+convinced that I shall never see him again, I will return here to die!”
+
+André Vasling, seeing that this decision was irrevocable, did not
+insist further, but went away.
+
+Jean Cornbutte at once apprised his niece of his intention, and he saw
+a few rays of hope glisten across her tears. It had not seemed to the
+young girl that her lover’s death might be doubtful; but scarcely had
+this new hope entered her heart, than she embraced it without reserve.
+
+The old sailor determined that the “Jeune-Hardie” should put to sea
+without delay. The solidly built ship had no need of repairs. Jean
+Cornbutte gave his sailors notice that if they wished to re-embark, no
+change in the crew would be made. He alone replaced his son in the
+command of the brig. None of the comrades of Louis Cornbutte failed to
+respond to his call, and there were hardy tars among them,—Alaine
+Turquiette, Fidèle Misonne the carpenter, Penellan the Breton, who
+replaced Pierre Nouquet as helmsman, and Gradlin, Aupic, and Gervique,
+courageous and well-tried mariners.
+
+Jean Cornbutte again offered André Vasling his old rank on board. The
+first mate was an able officer, who had proved his skill in bringing
+the “Jeune-Hardie” into port. Yet, from what motive could not be told,
+André made some difficulties and asked time for reflection.
+
+“As you will, André Vasling,” replied Cornbutte. “Only remember that if
+you accept, you will be welcome among us.”
+
+Jean had a devoted sailor in Penellan the Breton, who had long been his
+fellow-voyager. In times gone by, little Marie was wont to pass the
+long winter evenings in the helmsman’s arms, when he was on shore. He
+felt a fatherly friendship for her, and she had for him ah affection
+quite filial. Penellan hastened the fitting out of the ship with all
+his energy, all the more because, according to his opinion, André
+Vasling had not perhaps made every effort possible to find the
+castaways, although he was excusable from the responsibility which
+weighed upon him as captain.
+
+Within a week the “Jeune-Hardie” was ready to put to sea. Instead of
+merchandise, she was completely provided with salt meats, biscuits,
+barrels of flour, potatoes, pork, wine, brandy, coffee, tea, and
+tobacco.
+
+The departure was fixed for the 22nd of May. On the evening before,
+André Vasling, who had not yet given his answer to Jean Cornbutte, came
+to his house. He was still undecided, and did not know which course to
+take.
+
+Jean was not at home, though the house-door was open. André went into
+the passage, next to Marie’s chamber, where the sound of an animated
+conversation struck his ear. He listened attentively, and recognized
+the voices of Penellan and Marie.
+
+The discussion had no doubt been going on for some time, for the young
+girl seemed to be stoutly opposing what the Breton sailor said.
+
+“How old is my uncle Cornbutte?” said Marie.
+
+“Something about sixty years,” replied Penellan.
+
+“Well, is he not going to brave danger to find his son?”
+
+“Our captain is still a sturdy man,” returned the sailor. “He has a
+body of oak and muscles as hard as a spare spar. So I am not afraid to
+have him go to sea again!’”
+
+“My good Penellan,” said Marie, “one is strong when one loves! Besides,
+I have full confidence in the aid of Heaven. You understand me, and
+will help me.”
+
+“No!” said Penellan. “It is impossible, Marie. Who knows whither we
+shall drift, or what we must suffer? How many vigorous men have I seen
+lose their lives in these seas!”
+
+“Penellan,” returned the young girl, “if you refuse me, I shall believe
+that you do not love me any longer.”
+
+André Vasling understood the young girl’s resolution. He reflected a
+moment, and his course was determined on.
+
+“Jean Cornbutte,” said he, advancing towards the old sailor, who now
+entered, “I will go with you. The cause of my hesitation has
+disappeared, and you may count upon my devotion.”
+
+“I have never doubted you, André Vasling,” replied Jean Cornbutte,
+grasping him by the hand. “Marie, my child!” he added, calling in a
+loud voice.
+
+Marie and Penellan made their appearance.
+
+“We shall set sail to-morrow at daybreak, with the outgoing tide,” said
+Jean. “My poor Marie, this is the last evening that we shall pass
+together.
+
+“Uncle!” cried Marie, throwing herself into his arms.
+
+“Marie, by the help of God, I will bring your lover back to you!”
+
+“Yes, we will find Louis,” added André Vasling.
+
+“You are going with us, then?” asked Penellan quickly.
+
+“Yes, Penellan, André Vasling is to be my first mate,” answered Jean.
+
+“Oh, oh!” ejaculated the Breton, in a singular tone.
+
+“And his advice will be useful to us, for he is able and enterprising.
+
+“And yourself, captain,” said André. “You will set us all a good
+example, for you have still as much vigour as experience.”
+
+“Well, my friends, good-bye till to-morrow. Go on board and make the
+final arrangements. Good-bye, André; good-bye, Penellan.”
+
+The mate and the sailor went out together, and Jean and Marie remained
+alone. Many bitter tears were shed during that sad evening. Jean
+Cornbutte, seeing Marie so wretched, resolved to spare her the pain of
+separation by leaving the house on the morrow without her knowledge. So
+he gave her a last kiss that evening, and at three o’clock next morning
+was up and away.
+
+The departure of the brig had attracted all the old sailor’s friends to
+the pier. The curé, who was to have blessed Marie’s union with Louis,
+came to give a last benediction on the ship. Rough grasps of the hand
+were silently exchanged, and Jean went on board.
+
+The crew were all there. André Vasling gave the last orders. The sails
+were spread, and the brig rapidly passed out under a stiff north-west
+breeze, whilst the cure, upright in the midst of the kneeling
+spectators, committed the vessel to the hands of God.
+
+Whither goes this ship? She follows the perilous route upon which so
+many castaways have been lost! She has no certain destination. She must
+expect every peril, and be able to brave them without hesitating. God
+alone knows where it will be her fate to anchor. May God guide her!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+A RAY OF HOPE.
+
+
+At that time of the year the season was favourable, and the crew might
+hope promptly to reach the scene of the shipwreck.
+
+Jean Cornbutte’s plan was naturally traced out. He counted on stopping
+at the Feroë Islands, whither the north wind might have carried the
+castaways; then, if he was convinced that they had not been received in
+any of the ports of that locality, he would continue his search beyond
+the Northern Ocean, ransack the whole western coast of Norway as far as
+Bodoë, the place nearest the scene of the shipwreck; and, if necessary,
+farther still.
+
+André Vasling thought, contrary to the captain’s opinion, that the
+coast of Iceland should be explored; but Penellan observed that, at the
+time of the catastrophe, the gale came from the west; which, while it
+gave hope that the unfortunates had not been forced towards the gulf of
+the Maëlstrom, gave ground for supposing that they might have been
+thrown on the Norwegian coast.
+
+It was determined, then, that this coast should be followed as closely
+as possible, so as to recognize any traces of them that might appear.
+
+The day after sailing, Jean Cornbutte, intent upon a map, was absorbed
+in reflection, when a small hand touched his shoulder, and a soft voice
+said in his ear,—
+
+“Have good courage, uncle.”
+
+
+[Illustration: A soft voice said in his ear, “Have good courage,
+uncle.”]
+
+
+He turned, and was stupefied. Marie embraced him.
+
+“Marie, my daughter, on board!” he cried.
+
+“The wife may well go in search of her husband, when the father embarks
+to save his child.”
+
+“Unhappy Marie! How wilt thou support our fatigues! Dost thou know that
+thy presence may be injurious to our search?”
+
+“No, uncle, for I am strong.”
+
+“Who knows whither we shall be forced to go, Marie? Look at this map.
+We are approaching places dangerous even for us sailors, hardened
+though we are to the difficulties of the sea. And thou, frail child?”
+
+“But, uncle, I come from a family of sailors. I am used to stories of
+combats and tempests. I am with you and my old friend Penellan!”
+
+“Penellan! It was he who concealed you on board?”
+
+“Yes, uncle; but only when he saw that I was determined to come without
+his help.”
+
+“Penellan!” cried Jean.
+
+Penellan entered.
+
+“It is not possible to undo what you have done, Penellan; but remember
+that you are responsible for Marie’s life.”
+
+“Rest easy, captain,” replied Penellan. “The little one has force and
+courage, and will be our guardian angel. And then, captain, you know it
+is my theory, that all in this world happens for the best.”
+
+The young girl was installed in a cabin, which the sailors soon got
+ready for her, and which they made as comfortable as possible.
+
+A week later the “Jeune-Hardie” stopped at the Feroë Islands, but the
+most minute search was fruitless. No wreck, or fragments of a ship had
+come upon these coasts. Even the news of the event was quite unknown.
+The brig resumed its voyage, after a stay of ten days, about the 10th
+of June. The sea was calm, and the winds were favourable. The ship sped
+rapidly towards the Norwegian coast, which it explored without better
+result.
+
+Jean Cornbutte determined to proceed to Bodoë. Perhaps he would there
+learn the name of the shipwrecked schooner to succour which Louis and
+the sailors had sacrificed themselves.
+
+On the 30th of June the brig cast anchor in that port.
+
+The authorities of Bodoë gave Jean Cornbutte a bottle found on the
+coast, which contained a document bearing these words:—
+
+“This 26th April, on board the ‘Froöern,’ after being accosted by the
+long-boat of the ‘Jeune-Hardie,’ we were drawn by the currents towards
+the ice. God have pity on us!”
+
+Jean Cornbutte’s first impulse was to thank Heaven. He thought himself
+on his son’s track. The “Froöern” was a Norwegian sloop of which there
+had been no news, but which had evidently been drawn northward.
+
+Not a day was to be lost. The “Jeune-Hardie” was at once put in
+condition to brave the perils of the polar seas. Fidèle Misonne, the
+carpenter, carefully examined her, and assured himself that her solid
+construction might resist the shock of the ice-masses.
+
+Penellan, who had already engaged in whale-fishing in the arctic
+waters, took care that woollen and fur coverings, many sealskin
+moccassins, and wood for the making of sledges with which to cross the
+ice-fields were put on board. The amount of provisions was increased,
+and spirits and charcoal were added; for it might be that they would
+have to winter at some point on the Greenland coast. They also
+procured, with much difficulty and at a high price, a quantity of
+lemons, for preventing or curing the scurvy, that terrible disease
+which decimates crews in the icy regions. The ship’s hold was filled
+with salt meat, biscuits, brandy, etc., as the steward’s room no longer
+sufficed. They provided themselves, moreover, with a large quantity of
+“pemmican,” an Indian preparation which concentrates a great deal of
+nutrition within a small volume.
+
+By order of the captain, some saws were put on board for cutting the
+ice-fields, as well as picks and wedges for separating them. The
+captain determined to procure some dogs for drawing the sledges on the
+Greenland coast.
+
+The whole crew was engaged in these preparations, and displayed great
+activity. The sailors Aupic, Gervique, and Gradlin zealously obeyed
+Penellan’s orders; and he admonished them not to accustom themselves to
+woollen garments, though the temperature in this latitude, situated
+just beyond the polar circle, was very low.
+
+Penellan, though he said nothing, narrowly watched every action of
+André Vasling. This man was Dutch by birth, came from no one knew
+whither, but was at least a good sailor, having made two voyages on
+board the “Jeune-Hardie”. Penellan would not as yet accuse him of
+anything, unless it was that he kept near Marie too constantly, but he
+did not let him out of his sight.
+
+Thanks to the energy of the crew, the brig was equipped by the 16th of
+July, a fortnight after its arrival at Bodoë. It was then the
+favourable season for attempting explorations in the Arctic Seas. The
+thaw had been going on for two months, and the search might be carried
+farther north. The “Jeune-Hardie” set sail, and directed her way
+towards Cape Brewster, on the eastern coast of Greenland, near the 70th
+degree of latitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+IN THE PASSES.
+
+
+About the 23rd of July a reflection, raised above the sea, announced
+the presence of the first icebergs, which, emerging from Davis’
+Straits, advanced into the ocean. From this moment a vigilant watch was
+ordered to the look-out men, for it was important not to come into
+collision with these enormous masses.
+
+The crew was divided into two watches. The first was composed of Fidèle
+Misonne, Gradlin, and Gervique; and the second of Andre Vasling, Aupic,
+and Penellan. These watches were to last only two hours, for in those
+cold regions a man’s strength is diminished one-half. Though the
+“Jeune-Hardie” was not yet beyond the 63rd degree of latitude, the
+thermometer already stood at nine degrees centigrade below zero.
+
+Rain and snow often fell abundantly. On fair days, when the wind was
+not too violent, Marie remained on deck, and her eyes became accustomed
+to the uncouth scenes of the Polar Seas.
+
+On the 1st of August she was promenading aft, and talking with her
+uncle, Penellan, and André Vasling. The ship was then entering a
+channel three miles wide, across which broken masses of ice were
+rapidly descending southwards.
+
+“When shall we see land?” asked the young girl.
+
+“In three or four days at the latest,” replied Jean Cornbutte.
+
+“But shall we find there fresh traces of my poor Louis?”
+
+“Perhaps so, my daughter; but I fear that we are still far from the end
+of our voyage. It is to be feared that the ‘Froöern’ was driven farther
+northward.”
+
+“That may be,” added André Vasling, “for the squall which separated us
+from the Norwegian boat lasted three days, and in three days a ship
+makes good headway when it is no longer able to resist the wind.”
+
+“Permit me to tell you, Monsieur Vasling.” replied Penellan, “that that
+was in April, that the thaw had not then begun, and that therefore the
+‘Froöern’ must have been soon arrested by the ice.”
+
+“And no doubt dashed into a thousand pieces,” said the mate, “as her
+crew could not manage her.”
+
+“But these ice-fields,” returned Penellan, “gave her an easy means of
+reaching land, from which she could not have been far distant.”
+
+“Let us hope so,” said Jean Cornbutte, interrupting the discussion,
+which was daily renewed between the mate and the helmsman. “I think we
+shall see land before long.”
+
+“There it is!” cried Marie. “See those mountains!”
+
+“No, my child,” replied her uncle. “Those are mountains of ice, the
+first we have met with. They would shatter us like glass if we got
+entangled between them. Penellan and Vasling, overlook the men.”
+
+These floating masses, more than fifty of which now appeared at the
+horizon, came nearer and nearer to the brig. Penellan took the helm,
+and Jean Cornbutte, mounted on the gallant, indicated the route to
+take.
+
+Towards evening the brig was entirely surrounded by these moving rocks,
+the crushing force of which is irresistible. It was necessary, then, to
+cross this fleet of mountains, for prudence prompted them to keep
+straight ahead. Another difficulty was added to these perils. The
+direction of the ship could not be accurately determined, as all the
+surrounding points constantly changed position, and thus failed to
+afford a fixed perspective. The darkness soon increased with the fog.
+Marie descended to her cabin, and the whole crew, by the captain’s
+orders, remained on deck. They were armed with long boat-poles, with
+iron spikes, to preserve the ship from collision with the ice.
+
+The ship soon entered a strait so narrow that often the ends of her
+yards were grazed by the drifting mountains, and her booms seemed about
+to be driven in. They were even forced to trim the mainyard so as to
+touch the shrouds. Happily these precautions did not deprive, the
+vessel of any of its speed, for the wind could only reach the upper
+sails, and these sufficed to carry her forward rapidly. Thanks to her
+slender hull, she passed through these valleys, which were filled with
+whirlpools of rain, whilst the icebergs crushed against each other with
+sharp cracking and splitting.
+
+Jean Cornbutte returned to the deck. His eyes could not penetrate the
+surrounding darkness. It became necessary to furl the upper sails, for
+the ship threatened to ground, and if she did so she was lost.
+
+“Cursed voyage!” growled André Vasling among the sailors, who, forward,
+were avoiding the most menacing ice-blocks with their boat-hooks.
+
+“Truly, if we escape we shall owe a fine candle to Our Lady of the
+Ice!” replied Aupic.
+
+“Who knows how many floating mountains we have got to pass through
+yet?” added the mate.
+
+“And who can guess what we shall find beyond them?” replied the sailor.
+
+“Don’t talk so much, prattler,” said Gervique, “and look out on your
+side. When we have got by them, it’ll be time to grumble. Look out for
+your boat-hook!”
+
+At this moment an enormous block of ice, in the narrow strait through
+which the brig was passing, came rapidly down upon her, and it seemed
+impossible to avoid it, for it barred the whole width of the channel,
+and the brig could not heave-to.
+
+“Do you feel the tiller?” asked Cornbutte of Penellan.
+
+“No, captain. The ship does not answer the helm any longer.”
+
+“_Ohé_, boys!” cried the captain to the crew; “don’t be afraid, and
+buttress your hooks against the gunwale.”
+
+The block was nearly sixty feet high, and if it threw itself upon the
+brig she would be crushed. There was an undefinable moment of suspense,
+and the crew retreated backward, abandoning their posts despite the
+captain’s orders.
+
+But at the instant when the block was not more than half a cable’s
+length from the “Jeune-Hardie,” a dull sound was heard, and a veritable
+waterspout fell upon the bow of the vessel, which then rose on the back
+of an enormous billow.
+
+The sailors uttered a cry of terror; but when they looked before them
+the block had disappeared, the passage was free, and beyond an immense
+plain of water, illumined by the rays of the declining sun, assured
+them of an easy navigation.
+
+“All’s well!” cried Penellan. “Let’s trim our topsails and mizzen!”
+
+An incident very common in those parts had just occurred. When these
+masses are detached from one another in the thawing season, they float
+in a perfect equilibrium; but on reaching the ocean, where the water is
+relatively warmer, they are speedily undermined at the base, which
+melts little by little, and which is also shaken by the shock of other
+ice-masses. A moment comes when the centre of gravity of these masses
+is displaced, and then they are completely overturned. Only, if this
+block had turned over two minutes later, it would have fallen on the
+brig and carried her down in its fall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+LIVERPOOL ISLAND.
+
+
+The brig now sailed in a sea which was almost entirely open. At the
+horizon only, a whitish light, this time motionless, indicated the
+presence of fixed plains of ice.
+
+Jean Cornbutte now directed the “Jeune-Hardie” towards Cape Brewster.
+They were already approaching the regions where the temperature is
+excessively cold, for the sun’s rays, owing to their obliquity when
+they reach them, are very feeble.
+
+On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immoveable and united
+ice-masses. The passages were seldom more than a cable’s length in
+width, and the ship was forced to make many turnings, which sometimes
+placed her heading the wind.
+
+Penellan watched over Marie with paternal care, and, despite the cold,
+prevailed upon her to spend two or three hours every day on deck, for
+exercise had become one of the indispensable conditions of health.
+
+Marie’s courage did not falter. She even comforted the sailors with her
+cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly attached to her. André
+Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever, and seized every
+occasion to be in her company; but the young girl, with a sort of
+presentiment, accepted his services with some coldness. It may be
+easily conjectured that André’s conversation referred more to the
+future than to the present, and that he did not conceal the slight
+probability there was of saving the castaways. He was convinced that
+they were lost, and the young girl ought thenceforth to confide her
+existence to some one else.
+
+
+[Illustration: André Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever.]
+
+
+Marie had not as yet comprehended André’s designs, for, to his great
+disgust, he could never find an opportunity to talk long with her
+alone. Penellan had always an excuse for interfering, and destroying
+the effect of Andre’s words by the hopeful opinions he expressed.
+
+Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting on the helmsman’s advice,
+she set to work on her winter garments; for it was necessary that she
+should completely change her clothing. The cut of her dresses was not
+suitable for these cold latitudes. She made, therefore, a sort of
+furred pantaloons, the ends of which were lined with seal-skin; and her
+narrow skirts came only to her knees, so as not to be in contact with
+the layers of snow with which the winter would cover the ice-fields. A
+fur mantle, fitting closely to the figure and supplied with a hood,
+protected the upper part of her body.
+
+In the intervals of their work, the sailors, too, prepared clothing
+with which to shelter themselves from the cold. They made a quantity of
+high seal-skin boots, with which to cross the snow during their
+explorations. They worked thus all the time that the navigation in the
+straits lasted.
+
+André Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times brought down
+aquatic birds with his gun; innumerable flocks of these were always
+careering about the ship. A kind of eider-duck provided the crew with
+very palatable food, which relieved the monotony of the salt meat.
+
+At last the brig, after many turnings, came in sight of Cape Brewster.
+A long-boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan reached the
+coast, which was entirely deserted.
+
+The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool Island,
+discovered in 1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the crew gave a hearty
+cheer when they saw the natives running along the shore. Communication
+was speedily established with them, thanks to Penellan’s knowledge of a
+few words of their language, and some phrases which the natives
+themselves had learnt of the whalers who frequented those parts.
+
+These Greenlanders were small and squat; they were not more than four
+feet ten inches high; they had red, round faces, and low foreheads;
+their hair, flat and black, fell over their shoulders; their teeth were
+decayed, and they seemed to be affected by the sort of leprosy which is
+peculiar to ichthyophagous tribes.
+
+In exchange for pieces of iron and brass, of which they are extremely
+covetous, these poor creatures brought bear furs, the skins of
+sea-calves, sea-dogs, sea-wolves, and all the animals generally known
+as seals. Jean Cornbutte obtained these at a low price, and they were
+certain to become most useful.
+
+The captain then made the natives understand that he was in search of a
+shipwrecked vessel, and asked them if they had heard of it. One of them
+immediately drew something like a ship on the snow, and indicated that
+a vessel of that sort had been carried northward three months before:
+he also managed to make it understood that the thaw and breaking up of
+the ice-fields had prevented the Greenlanders from going in search of
+it; and, indeed, their very light canoes, which they managed with
+paddles, could not go to sea at that time.
+
+This news, though meagre, restored hope to the hearts of the sailors,
+and Jean Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuading them to advance
+farther in the polar seas.
+
+Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased a pack of six
+Esquimaux dogs, which were soon acclimatised on board. The ship weighed
+anchor on the morning of the 10th of August, and entered the northern
+straits under a brisk wind.
+
+The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, the sun, in
+these high latitudes, did not set, and reached the highest point of the
+spirals which it described above the horizon.
+
+This total absence of night was not, however, very apparent, for the
+fog, rain, and snow sometimes enveloped the ship in real darkness.
+
+Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as possible, began
+to take measures of health. The space between decks was securely
+enclosed, and every morning care was taken to ventilate it with fresh
+air. The stoves were installed, and the pipes so disposed as to yield
+as much heat as possible. The sailors were advised to wear only one
+woollen shirt over their cotton shirts, and to hermetically close their
+seal cloaks. The fires were not yet lighted, for it was important to
+reserve the wood and charcoal for the most intense cold.
+
+Warm beverages, such as coffee and tea, were regularly distributed to
+the sailors morning and evening; and as it was important to live on
+meat, they shot ducks and teal, which abounded in these parts.
+
+Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the mainmast a “crow’s
+nest,” a sort of cask staved in at one end, in which a look-out
+remained constantly, to observe the icefields.
+
+Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island the
+temperature became suddenly colder under the influence of a dry wind.
+Some indications of winter were perceived. The ship had not a moment to
+lose, for soon the way would be entirely closed to her. She advanced
+across the straits, among which lay ice-plains thirty feet thick.
+
+On the morning of the 3rd of September the “Jeune-Hardie” reached the
+head of Gaël-Hamkes Bay. Land was then thirty miles to the leeward. It
+was the first time that the brig had stopped before a mass of ice which
+offered no outlet, and which was at least a mile wide. The saws must
+now be used to cut the ice. Penellan, Aupic, Gradlin, and Turquiette
+were chosen to work the saws, which had been carried outside the ship.
+The direction of the cutting was so determined that the current might
+carry off the pieces detached from the mass. The whole crew worked at
+this task for nearly twenty hours. They found it very painful to remain
+on the ice, and were often obliged to plunge into the water up to their
+middle; their seal-skin garments protected them but imperfectly from
+the damp.
+
+Moreover all excessive toil in those high latitudes is soon followed by
+an overwhelming weariness; for the breath soon fails, and the strongest
+are forced to rest at frequent intervals.
+
+At last the navigation became free, and the brig was towed beyond the
+mass which had so long obstructed her course.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+THE QUAKING OF THE ICE.
+
+
+For several days the “Jeune-Hardie” struggled against formidable
+obstacles. The crew were almost all the time at work with the saws, and
+often powder had to be used to blow up the enormous blocks of ice which
+closed the way.
+
+On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one solid plain, without
+outlet or passage, surrounding the vessel on all sides, so that she
+could neither advance nor retreat. The temperature remained at an
+average of sixteen degrees below zero. The winter season had come on,
+with its sufferings and dangers.
+
+
+[Illustration: On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one
+solid plain.]
+
+
+The “Jeune-Hardie” was then near the 21st degree of longitude west and
+the 76th degree of latitude north, at the entrance of Gaël-Hamkes Bay.
+
+Jean Cornbutte made his preliminary preparations for wintering. He
+first searched for a creek whose position would shelter the ship from
+the wind and breaking up of the ice. Land, which was probably thirty
+miles west, could alone offer him secure shelter, and he resolved to
+attempt to reach it.
+
+He set out on the 12th of September, accompanied by André Vasling,
+Penellan, and the two sailors Gradlin and Turquiette. Each man carried
+provisions for two days, for it was not likely that their expedition
+would occupy a longer time, and they were supplied with skins on which
+to sleep.
+
+Snow had fallen in great abundance and was not yet frozen over; and
+this delayed them seriously. They often sank to their waists, and could
+only advance very cautiously, for fear of falling into crevices.
+Penellan, who walked in front, carefully sounded each depression with
+his iron-pointed staff.
+
+About five in the evening the fog began to thicken, and the little band
+were forced to stop. Penellan looked about for an iceberg which might
+shelter them from the wind, and after refreshing themselves, with
+regrets that they had no warm drink, they spread their skins on the
+snow, wrapped themselves up, lay close to each other, and soon dropped
+asleep from sheer fatigue.
+
+The next morning Jean Cornbutte and his companions were buried beneath
+a bed of snow more than a foot deep. Happily their skins, perfectly
+impermeable, had preserved them, and the snow itself had aided in
+retaining their heat, which it prevented from escaping.
+
+The captain gave the signal of departure, and about noon they at last
+descried the coast, which at first they could scarcely distinguish.
+High ledges of ice, cut perpendicularly, rose on the shore; their
+variegated summits, of all forms and shapes, reproduced on a large
+scale the phenomena of crystallization. Myriads of aquatic fowl flew
+about at the approach of the party, and the seals, lazily lying on the
+ice, plunged hurriedly into the depths.
+
+“I’ faith!” said Penellan, “we shall not want for either furs or game!”
+
+“Those animals,” returned Cornbutte, “give every evidence of having
+been already visited by men; for in places totally uninhabited they
+would not be so wild.”
+
+“None but Greenlanders frequent these parts,” said André Vasling.
+
+“I see no trace of their passage, however; neither any encampment nor
+the smallest hut,” said Penellan, who had climbed up a high peak. “O
+captain!” he continued, “come here! I see a point of land which will
+shelter us splendidly from the north-east wind.”
+
+“Come along, boys!” said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+His companions followed him, and they soon rejoined Penellan. The
+sailor had said what was true. An elevated point of land jutted out
+like a promontory, and curving towards the coast, formed a little inlet
+of a mile in width at most. Some moving ice-blocks, broken by this
+point, floated in the midst, and the sea, sheltered from the colder
+winds, was not yet entirely frozen over.
+
+This was an excellent spot for wintering, and it only remained to get
+the ship thither. Jean Cornbutte remarked that the neighbouring
+ice-field was very thick, and it seemed very difficult to cut a canal
+to bring the brig to its destination. Some other creek, then, must be
+found; it was in vain that he explored northward. The coast remained
+steep and abrupt for a long distance, and beyond the point it was
+directly exposed to the attacks of the east-wind. The circumstance
+disconcerted the captain all the more because André Vasling used strong
+arguments to show how bad the situation was. Penellan, in this dilemma,
+found it difficult to convince himself that all was for the best.
+
+But one chance remained—to seek a shelter on the southern side of the
+coast. This was to return on their path, but hesitation was useless.
+The little band returned rapidly in the direction of the ship, as their
+provisions had begun to run short. Jean Cornbutte searched for some
+practicable passage, or at least some fissure by which a canal might be
+cut across the ice-fields, all along the route, but in vain.
+
+Towards evening the sailors came to the same place where they had
+encamped over night. There had been no snow during the day, and they
+could recognize the imprint of their bodies on the ice. They again
+disposed themselves to sleep with their furs.
+
+Penellan, much disturbed by the bad success of the expedition, was
+sleeping restlessly, when, at a waking moment, his attention was
+attracted by a dull rumbling. He listened attentively, and the rumbling
+seemed so strange that he nudged Jean Cornbutte with his elbow.
+
+“What is that?” said the latter, whose mind, according to a sailor’s
+habit, was awake as soon as his body.
+
+“Listen, captain.”
+
+The noise increased, with perceptible violence.
+
+“It cannot be thunder, in so high a latitude,” said Cornbutte, rising.
+
+“I think we have come across some white bears,” replied Penellan.
+
+“The devil! We have not seen any yet.”
+
+“Sooner or later, we must have expected a visit from them. Let us give
+them a good reception.”
+
+Penellan, armed with a gun, lightly crossed the ledge which sheltered
+them. The darkness was very dense; he could discover nothing; but a new
+incident soon showed him that the cause of the noise did not proceed
+from around them.
+
+Jean Cornbutte rejoined him, and they observed with terror that this
+rumbling, which awakened their companions, came from beneath them.
+
+A new kind of peril menaced them. To the noise, which resembled peals
+of thunder, was added a distinct undulating motion of the ice-field.
+Several of the party lost their balance and fell.
+
+“Attention!” cried Penellan.
+
+“Yes!” some one responded.
+
+“Turquiette! Gradlin! where are you?”
+
+“Here I am!” responded Turquiette, shaking off the snow with which he
+was covered.
+
+“This way, Vasling,” cried Cornbutte to the mate. “And Gradlin?”
+
+“Present, captain. But we are lost!” shouted Gradlin, in fright.
+
+“No!” said Penellan. “Perhaps we are saved!”
+
+Hardly had he uttered these words when a frightful cracking noise was
+heard. The ice-field broke clear through, and the sailors were forced
+to cling to the block which was quivering just by them. Despite the
+helmsman’s words, they found themselves in a most perilous position,
+for an ice-quake had occurred. The ice masses had just “weighed
+anchor,” as the sailors say. The movement lasted nearly two minutes,
+and it was to be feared that the crevice would yawn at the very feet of
+the unhappy sailors. They anxiously awaited daylight in the midst of
+continuous shocks, for they could not, without risk of death, move a
+step, and had to remain stretched out at full length to avoid being
+engulfed.
+
+
+[Illustration: they found themselves in a most perilous position, for
+an ice-quake had occurred.]
+
+
+As soon as it was daylight a very different aspect presented itself to
+their eyes. The vast plain, a compact mass the evening before, was now
+separated in a thousand places, and the waves, raised by some submarine
+commotion, had broken the thick layer which sheltered them.
+
+The thought of his ship occurred to Jean Cornbutte’s mind.
+
+“My poor brig!” he cried. “It must have perished!”
+
+The deepest despair began to overcast the faces of his companions. The
+loss of the ship inevitably preceded their own deaths.
+
+“Courage, friends,” said Penellan. “Reflect that this night’s disaster
+has opened us a path across the ice, which will enable us to bring our
+ship to the bay for wintering! And, stop! I am not mistaken. There is
+the ‘Jeune-Hardie,’ a mile nearer to us!”
+
+All hurried forward, and so imprudently, that Turquiette slipped into a
+fissure, and would have certainly perished, had not Jean Cornbutte
+seized him by his hood. He got off with a rather cold bath.
+
+The brig was indeed floating two miles away. After infinite trouble,
+the little band reached her. She was in good condition; but her rudder,
+which they had neglected to lift, had been broken by the ice.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+SETTLING FOR THE WINTER.
+
+
+Penellan was once more right; all was for the best, and this ice-quake
+had opened a practicable channel for the ship to the bay. The sailors
+had only to make skilful use of the currents to conduct her thither.
+
+On the 19th of September the brig was at last moored in her bay for
+wintering, two cables’ lengths from the shore, securely anchored on a
+good bottom. The ice began the next day to form around her hull; it
+soon became strong enough to bear a man’s weight, and they could
+establish a communication with land.
+
+The rigging, as is customary in arctic navigation, remained as it was;
+the sails were carefully furled on the yards and covered with their
+casings, and the “crow’s-nest” remained in place, as much to enable
+them to make distant observations as to attract attention to the ship.
+
+The sun now scarcely rose above the horizon. Since the June solstice,
+the spirals which it had described descended lower and lower; and it
+would soon disappear altogether.
+
+The crew hastened to make the necessary preparations. Penellan
+supervised the whole. The ice was soon thick around the ship, and it
+was to be feared that its pressure might become dangerous; but Penellan
+waited until, by reason of the going and coming of the floating
+ice-masses and their adherence, it had reached a thickness of twenty
+feet; he then had it cut around the hull, so that it united under the
+ship, the form of which it assumed; thus enclosed in a mould, the brig
+had no longer to fear the pressure of the ice, which could make no
+movement.
+
+The sailors then elevated along the wales, to the height of the
+nettings, a snow wall five or six feet thick, which soon froze as hard
+as a rock. This envelope did not allow the interior heat to escape
+outside. A canvas tent, covered with skins and hermetically closed, was
+stretched aver the whole length of the deck, and formed a sort of walk
+for the sailors.
+
+They also constructed on the ice a storehouse of snow, in which
+articles which embarrassed the ship were stowed away. The partitions of
+the cabins were taken down, so as to form a single vast apartment
+forward, as well as aft. This single room, besides, was more easy to
+warm, as the ice and damp found fewer corners in which to take refuge.
+It was also less difficult to ventilate it, by means of canvas funnels
+which opened without.
+
+Each sailor exerted great energy in these preparations, and about the
+25th of September they were completed. André Vasling had not shown
+himself the least active in this task. He devoted himself with especial
+zeal to the young girl’s comfort, and if she, absorbed in thoughts of
+her poor Louis, did not perceive this, Jean Cornbutte did not fail soon
+to remark it. He spoke of it to Penellan; he recalled several incidents
+which completely enlightened him regarding his mate’s intentions; André
+Vasling loved Marie, and reckoned on asking her uncle for her hand, as
+soon as it was proved beyond doubt that the castaways were irrevocably
+lost; they would return then to Dunkirk, and André Vasling would be
+well satisfied to wed a rich and pretty girl, who would then be the
+sole heiress of Jean Cornbutte.
+
+But André, in his impatience, was often imprudent. He had several times
+declared that the search for the castaways was useless, when some new
+trace contradicted him, and enabled Penellan to exult over him. The
+mate, therefore, cordially detested the helmsman, who returned his
+dislike heartily. Penellan only feared that André might sow seeds of
+dissension among the crew, and persuaded Jean Cornbutte to answer him
+evasively on the first occasion.
+
+When the preparations for the winter were completed, the captain took
+measures to preserve the health of the crew. Every morning the men were
+ordered to air their berths, and carefully clean the interior walls, to
+get rid of the night’s dampness. They received boiling tea or coffee,
+which are excellent cordials to use against the cold, morning and
+evening; then they were divided into hunting-parties, who should
+procure as much fresh nourishment as possible for every day.
+
+Each one also took healthy exercise every day, so as not to expose
+himself without motion to the cold; for in a temperature thirty degrees
+below zero, some part of the body might suddenly become frozen. In such
+cases friction of the snow was used, which alone could heal the
+affected part.
+
+Penellan also strongly advised cold ablutions every morning. It
+required some courage to plunge the hands and face in the snow, which
+had to be melted within. But Penellan bravely set the example, and
+Marie was not the last to imitate him.
+
+Jean Cornbutte did not forget to have readings and prayers, for it was
+needful that the hearts of his comrades should not give way to despair
+or weariness. Nothing is more dangerous in these desolate latitudes.
+
+The sky, always gloomy, filled the soul with sadness. A thick snow,
+lashed by violent winds, added to the horrors of their situation. The
+sun would soon altogether disappear. Had the clouds not gathered in
+masses above their heads, they might have enjoyed the moonlight, which
+was about to become really their sun during the long polar night; but,
+with the west winds, the snow did not cease to fall. Every morning it
+was necessary to clear off the sides of the ship, and to cut a new
+stairway in the ice to enable them to reach the ice-field. They easily
+succeeded in doing this with snow-knives; the steps once cut, a little
+water was thrown over them, and they at once hardened.
+
+Penellan had a hole cut in the ice, not far from the ship. Every day
+the new crust which formed over its top was broken, and the water which
+was drawn thence, from a certain depth, was less cold than that at the
+surface.
+
+All these preparations occupied about three weeks. It was then time to
+go forward with the search. The ship was imprisoned for six or seven
+months, and only the next thaw could open a new route across the ice.
+It was wise, then, to profit by this delay, and extend their
+explorations northward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+PLAN OF THE EXPLORATIONS.
+
+
+On the 9th of October, Jean Cornbutte held a council to settle the plan
+of his operations, to which, that there might be union, zeal, and
+courage on the part of every one, he admitted the whole crew. Map in
+hand, he clearly explained their situation.
+
+
+[Illustration: Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation.]
+
+
+The eastern coast of Greenland advances perpendicularly northward. The
+discoveries of the navigators have given the exact boundaries of those
+parts. In the extent of five hundred leagues, which separates Greenland
+from Spitzbergen, no land has been found. An island (Shannon Island)
+lay a hundred miles north of Gaël-Hamkes Bay, where the “Jeune-Hardie”
+was wintering.
+
+If the Norwegian schooner, as was most probable, had been driven in
+this direction, supposing that she could not reach Shannon Island, it
+was here that Louis Cornbutte and his comrades must have sought for a
+winter asylum.
+
+This opinion prevailed, despite André Vasling’s opposition; and it was
+decided to direct the explorations on the side towards Shannon Island.
+
+Arrangements for this were at once begun. A sledge like that used by
+the Esquimaux had been procured on the Norwegian coast. This was
+constructed of planks curved before and behind, and was made to slide
+over the snow and ice. It was twelve feet long and four wide, and could
+therefore carry provisions, if need were, for several weeks. Fidèle
+Misonne soon put it in order, working upon it in the snow storehouse,
+whither his tools had been carried. For the first time a coal-stove was
+set up in this storehouse, without which all labour there would have
+been impossible. The pipe was carried out through one of the lateral
+walls, by a hole pierced in the snow; but a grave inconvenience
+resulted from this,—for the heat of the stove, little by little, melted
+the snow where it came in contact with it; and the opening visibly
+increased. Jean Cornbutte contrived to surround this part of the pipe
+with some metallic canvas, which is impermeable by heat. This succeeded
+completely.
+
+While Misonne was at work upon the sledge, Penellan, aided by Marie,
+was preparing the clothing necessary for the expedition. Seal-skin
+boots they had, fortunately, in plenty. Jean Cornbutte and André
+Vasling occupied themselves with the provisions. They chose a small
+barrel of spirits-of-wine for heating a portable chafing-dish; reserves
+of coffee and tea in ample quantity were packed; a small box of
+biscuits, two hundred pounds of pemmican, and some gourds of brandy
+completed the stock of viands. The guns would bring down some fresh
+game every day. A quantity of powder was divided between several bags;
+the compass, sextant, and spy-glass were put carefully out of the way
+of injury.
+
+On the 11th of October the sun no longer appeared above the horizon.
+They were obliged to keep a lighted lamp in the lodgings of the crew
+all the time. There was no time to lose; the explorations must be
+begun. For this reason: in the month of January it would become so cold
+that it would be impossible to venture out without peril of life. For
+two months at least the crew would be condemned to the most complete
+imprisonment; then the thaw would begin, and continue till the time
+when the ship should quit the ice. This thaw would, of course, prevent
+any explorations. On the other hand, if Louis Cornbutte and his
+comrades were still in existence, it was not probable that they would
+be able to resist the severities of the arctic winter. They must
+therefore be saved beforehand, or all hope would be lost. André Vasling
+knew all this better than any one. He therefore resolved to put every
+possible obstacle in the way of the expedition.
+
+The preparations for the journey were completed about the 20th of
+October. It remained to select the men who should compose the party.
+The young girl could not be deprived of the protection of Jean
+Cornbutte or of Penellan; neither of these could, on the other hand, be
+spared from the expedition.
+
+The question, then, was whether Marie could bear the fatigues of such a
+journey. She had already passed through rough experiences without
+seeming to suffer from them, for she was a sailor’s daughter, used from
+infancy to the fatigues of the sea, and even Penellan was not dismayed
+to see her struggling in the midst of this severe climate, against the
+dangers of the polar seas.
+
+It was decided, therefore, after a long discussion, that she should go
+with them, and that a place should be reserved for her, at need, on the
+sledge, on which a little wooden hut was constructed, closed in
+hermetically. As for Marie, she was delighted, for she dreaded to be
+left alone without her two protectors.
+
+The expedition was thus formed: Marie, Jean Cornbutte, Penellan, André
+Vasling, Aupic, and Fidèle Misonne were to go. Alaine Turquiette
+remained in charge of the brig, and Gervique and Gradlin stayed behind
+with him. New provisions of all kinds were carried; for Jean Cornbutte,
+in order to carry the exploration as far as possible, had resolved to
+establish depôts along the route, at each seven or eight days’ march.
+When the sledge was ready it was at once fitted up, and covered with a
+skin tent. The whole weighed some seven hundred pounds, which a pack of
+five dogs might easily carry over the ice.
+
+On the 22nd of October, as the captain had foretold, a sudden change
+took place in the temperature. The sky cleared, the stars emitted an
+extraordinary light, and the moon shone above the horizon, no longer to
+leave the heavens for a fortnight. The thermometer descended to
+twenty-five degrees below zero.
+
+The departure was fixed for the following day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+THE HOUSE OF SNOW.
+
+
+On the 23rd of October, at eleven in the morning, in a fine moonlight,
+the caravan set out. Precautions were this time taken that the journey
+might be a long one, if necessary. Jean Cornbutte followed the coast,
+and ascended northward. The steps of the travellers made no impression
+on the hard ice. Jean was forced to guide himself by points which he
+selected at a distance; sometimes he fixed upon a hill bristling with
+peaks; sometimes on a vast iceberg which pressure had raised above the
+plain.
+
+
+[Illustration: The caravan set out]
+
+
+At the first halt, after going fifteen miles, Penellan prepared to
+encamp. The tent was erected against an ice-block. Marie had not
+suffered seriously with the extreme cold, for luckily the breeze had
+subsided, and was much more bearable; but the young girl had several
+times been obliged to descend from her sledge to avert numbness from
+impeding the circulation of her blood. Otherwise, her little hut, hung
+with skins, afforded her all the comfort possible under the
+circumstances.
+
+When night, or rather sleeping-time, came, the little hut was carried
+under the tent, where it served as a bed-room for Marie. The evening
+repast was composed of fresh meat, pemmican, and hot tea. Jean
+Cornbutte, to avert danger of the scurvy, distributed to each of the
+party a few drops of lemon-juice. Then all slept under God’s
+protection.
+
+After eight hours of repose, they got ready to resume their march. A
+substantial breakfast was provided to the men and the dogs; then they
+set out. The ice, exceedingly compact, enabled these animals to draw
+the sledge easily. The party sometimes found it difficult to keep up
+with them.
+
+But the sailors soon began to suffer one discomfort—that of being
+dazzled. Ophthalmia betrayed itself in Aupic and Misonne. The moon’s
+light, striking on these vast white plains, burnt the eyesight, and
+gave the eyes insupportable pain.
+
+There was thus produced a very singular effect of refraction. As they
+walked, when they thought they were about to put foot on a hillock,
+they stepped down lower, which often occasioned falls, happily so
+little serious that Penellan made them occasions for bantering. Still,
+he told them never to take a step without sounding the ground with the
+ferruled staff with which each was equipped.
+
+About the 1st of November, ten days after they had set out, the caravan
+had gone fifty leagues to the northward. Weariness pressed heavily on
+all. Jean Cornbutte was painfully dazzled, and his sight sensibly
+changed. Aupic and Misonne had to feel their way: for their eyes,
+rimmed with red, seemed burnt by the white reflection. Marie had been
+preserved from this misfortune by remaining within her hut, to which
+she confined herself as much as possible. Penellan, sustained by an
+indomitable courage, resisted all fatigue. But it was André Vasling who
+bore himself best, and upon whom the cold and dazzling seemed to
+produce no effect. His iron frame was equal to every hardship; and he
+was secretly pleased to see the most robust of his companions becoming
+discouraged, and already foresaw the moment when they would be forced
+to retreat to the ship again.
+
+On the 1st of November it became absolutely necessary to halt for a day
+or two. As soon as the place for the encampment had been selected, they
+proceeded to arrange it. It was determined to erect a house of snow,
+which should be supported against one of the rocks of the promontory.
+Misonne at once marked out the foundations, which measured fifteen feet
+long by five wide. Penellan, Aupic, and Misonne, by aid of their
+knives, cut out great blocks of ice, which they carried to the chosen
+spot and set up, as masons would have built stone walls. The sides of
+the foundation were soon raised to a height and thickness of about five
+feet; for the materials were abundant, and the structure was intended
+to be sufficiently solid to last several days. The four walls were
+completed in eight hours; an opening had been left on the southern
+side, and the canvas of the tent, placed on these four walls, fell over
+the opening and sheltered it. It only remained to cover the whole with
+large blocks, to form the roof of this temporary structure.
+
+After three more hours of hard work, the house was done; and they all
+went into it, overcome with weariness and discouragement. Jean
+Cornbutte suffered so much that he could not walk, and André Vasling so
+skilfully aggravated his gloomy feelings, that he forced from him a
+promise not to pursue his search farther in those frightful solitudes.
+Penellan did not know which saint to invoke. He thought it unworthy and
+craven to give up his companions for reasons which had little weight,
+and tried to upset them; but in vain.
+
+Meanwhile, though it had been decided to return, rest had become so
+necessary that for three days no preparations for departure were made.
+
+On the 4th of November, Jean Cornbutte began to bury on a point of the
+coast the provisions for which there was no use. A stake indicated the
+place of the deposit, in the improbable event that new explorations
+should be made in that direction. Every day since they had set out
+similar deposits had been made, so that they were assured of ample
+sustenance on the return, without the trouble of carrying them on the
+sledge.
+
+The departure was fixed for ten in the morning, on the 5th. The most
+profound sadness filled the little band. Marie with difficulty
+restrained her tears, when she saw her uncle so completely discouraged.
+So many useless sufferings! so much labour lost! Penellan himself
+became ferocious in his ill-humour; he consigned everybody to the
+nether regions, and did not cease to wax angry at the weakness and
+cowardice of his comrades, who were more timid and tired, he said, than
+Marie, who would have gone to the end of the world without complaint.
+
+André Vasling could not disguise the pleasure which this decision gave
+him. He showed himself more attentive than ever to the young girl, to
+whom he even held out hopes that a new search should be made when the
+winter was over; knowing well that it would then be too late!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+BURIED ALIVE.
+
+
+The evening before the departure, just as they were about to take
+supper, Penellan was breaking up some empty casks for firewood, when he
+was suddenly suffocated by a thick smoke. At the same instant the
+snow-house was shaken as if by an earthquake. The party uttered a cry
+of terror, and Penellan hurried outside.
+
+It was entirely dark. A frightful tempest—for it was not a thaw—was
+raging, whirlwinds of snow careered around, and it was so exceedingly
+cold that the helmsman felt his hands rapidly freezing. He was obliged
+to go in again, after rubbing himself violently with snow.
+
+“It is a tempest,” said he. “May heaven grant that our house may
+withstand it, for, if the storm should destroy it, we should be lost!”
+
+At the same time with the gusts of wind a noise was heard beneath the
+frozen soil; icebergs, broken from the promontory, dashed away noisily,
+and fell upon one another; the wind blew with such violence that it
+seemed sometimes as if the whole house moved from its foundation;
+phosphorescent lights, inexplicable in that latitude, flashed across
+the whirlwinds of the snow.
+
+“Marie! Marie!” cried Penellan, seizing the young girl’s hands.
+
+“We are in a bad case!” said Misonne.
+
+“And I know not whether we shall escape,” replied Aupic.
+
+“Let us quit this snow-house!” said André Vasling.
+
+“Impossible!” returned Penellan. “The cold outside is terrible; perhaps
+we can bear it by staying here.”
+
+“Give me the thermometer,” demanded Vasling.
+
+Aupic handed it to him. It showed ten degrees below zero inside the
+house, though the fire was lighted. Vasling raised the canvas which
+covered the opening, and pushed it aside hastily; for he would have
+been lacerated by the fall of ice which the wind hurled around, and
+which fell in a perfect hail-storm.
+
+“Well, Vasling,” said Penellan, “will you go out, then? You see that we
+are more safe here.”
+
+“Yes,” said Jean Cornbutte; “and we must use every effort to strengthen
+the house in the interior.”
+
+“But a still more terrible danger menaces us,” said Vasling.
+
+“What?” asked Jean.
+
+“The wind is breaking the ice against which we are propped, just as it
+has that of the promontory, and we shall be either driven out or
+buried!”
+
+“That seems doubtful,” said Penellan, “for it is freezing hard enough
+to ice over all liquid surfaces. Let us see what the temperature is.”
+
+He raised the canvas so as to pass out his arm, and with difficulty
+found the thermometer again, in the midst of the snow; but he at last
+succeeded in seizing it, and, holding the lamp to it, said,—
+
+“Thirty-two degrees below zero! It is the coldest we have seen here
+yet!”
+
+
+[Illustration: “Thirty-two degrees below zero!”]
+
+
+“Ten degrees more,” said Vasling, “and the mercury will freeze!”
+
+A mournful silence followed this remark.
+
+About eight in the morning Penellan essayed a second time to go out to
+judge of their situation. It was necessary to give an escape to the
+smoke, which the wind had several times repelled into the hut. The
+sailor wrapped his cloak tightly about him, made sure of his hood by
+fastening it to his head with a handkerchief, and raised the canvas.
+
+The opening was entirely obstructed by a resisting snow. Penellan took
+his staff, and succeeded in plunging it into the compact mass; but
+terror froze his blood when he perceived that the end of the staff was
+not free, and was checked by a hard body!
+
+“Cornbutte,” said he to the captain, who had come up to him, “we are
+buried under this snow!”
+
+“What say you?” cried Jean Cornbutte.
+
+“I say that the snow is massed and frozen around us and over us, and
+that we are buried alive!”
+
+“Let us try to clear this mass of snow away,” replied the captain.
+
+The two friends buttressed themselves against the obstacle which
+obstructed the opening, but they could not move it. The snow formed an
+iceberg more than five feet thick, and had become literally a part of
+the house. Jean could not suppress a cry, which awoke Misonne and
+Vasling. An oath burst from the latter, whose features contracted. At
+this moment the smoke, thicker than ever, poured into the house, for it
+could not find an issue.
+
+“Malediction!” cried Misonne. “The pipe of the stove is sealed up by
+the ice!”
+
+Penellan resumed his staff, and took down the pipe, after throwing snow
+on the embers to extinguish them, which produced such a smoke that the
+light of the lamp could scarcely be seen; then he tried with his staff
+to clear out the orifice, but he only encountered a rock of ice! A
+frightful end, preceded by a terrible agony, seemed to be their doom!
+The smoke, penetrating the throats of the unfortunate party, caused an
+insufferable pain, and air would soon fail them altogether!
+
+Marie here rose, and her presence, which inspired Cornbutte with
+despair, imparted some courage to Penellan. He said to himself that it
+could not be that the poor girl was destined to so horrible a death.
+
+“Ah!” said she, “you have made too much fire. The room is full of
+smoke!”
+
+“Yes, yes,” stammered Penellan.
+
+“It is evident,” resumed Marie, “for it is not cold, and it is long
+since we have felt too much heat.”
+
+No one dared to tell her the truth.
+
+“See, Marie,” said Penellan bluntly, “help us get breakfast ready. It
+is too cold to go out. Here is the chafing-dish, the spirit, and the
+coffee. Come, you others, a little pemmican first, as this wretched
+storm forbids us from hunting.”
+
+These words stirred up his comrades.
+
+“Let us first eat,” added Penellan, “and then we shall see about
+getting off.”
+
+Penellan set the example and devoured his share of the breakfast. His
+comrades imitated him, and then drank a cup of boiling coffee, which
+somewhat restored their spirits. Then Jean Cornbutte decided
+energetically that they should at once set about devising means of
+safety.
+
+André Vasling now said,—
+
+“If the storm is still raging, which is probable, we must be buried ten
+feet under the ice, for we can hear no noise outside.”
+
+Penellan looked at Marie, who now understood the truth, and did not
+tremble. The helmsman first heated, by the flame of the spirit, the
+iron point of his staff, and successfully introduced it into the four
+walls of ice, but he could find no issue in either. Cornbutte then
+resolved to cut out an opening in the door itself. The ice was so hard
+that it was difficult for the knives to make the least impression on
+it. The pieces which were cut off soon encumbered the hut. After
+working hard for two hours, they had only hollowed out a space three
+feet deep.
+
+Some more rapid method, and one which was less likely to demolish the
+house, must be thought of; for the farther they advanced the more
+violent became the effort to break off the compact ice. It occurred to
+Penellan to make use of the chafing-dish to melt the ice in the
+direction they wanted. It was a hazardous method, for, if their
+imprisonment lasted long, the spirit, of which they had but little,
+would be wanting when needed to prepare the meals. Nevertheless, the
+idea was welcomed on all hands, and was put in execution. They first
+cut a hole three feet deep by one in diameter, to receive the water
+which would result from the melting of the ice; and it was well that
+they took this precaution, for the water soon dripped under the action
+of the flames, which Penellan moved about under the mass of ice. The
+opening widened little by little, but this kind of work could not be
+continued long, for the water, covering their clothes, penetrated to
+their bodies here and there. Penellan was obliged to pause in a quarter
+of an hour, and to withdraw the chafing-dish in order to dry himself.
+Misonne then took his place, and worked sturdily at the task.
+
+In two hours, though the opening was five feet deep, the points of the
+staffs could not yet find an issue without.
+
+“It is not possible,” said Jean Cornbutte, “that snow could have fallen
+in such abundance. It must have been gathered on this point by the
+wind. Perhaps we had better think of escaping in some other direction.”
+
+“I don’t know,” replied Penellan; “but if it were only for the sake of
+not discouraging our comrades, we ought to continue to pierce the wall
+where we have begun. We must find an issue ere long.”
+
+“Will not the spirit fail us?” asked the captain.
+
+“I hope not. But let us, if necessary, dispense with coffee and hot
+drinks. Besides, that is not what most alarms me.”
+
+“What is it, then, Penellan?”
+
+“Our lamp is going out, for want of oil, and we are fast exhausting our
+provisions.—At last, thank God!”
+
+Penellan went to replace André Vasling, who was vigorously working for
+the common deliverance.
+
+“Monsieur Vasling,” said he, “I am going to take your place; but look
+out well, I beg of you, for every tendency of the house to fall, so
+that we may have time to prevent it.”
+
+The time for rest had come, and when Penellan had added one more foot
+to the opening, he lay down beside his comrades.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+A CLOUD OF SMOKE.
+
+
+The next day, when the sailors awoke, they were surrounded by complete
+darkness. The lamp had gone out. Jean Cornbutte roused Penellan to ask
+him for the tinder-box, which was passed to him. Penellan rose to light
+the fire, but in getting up, his head struck against the ice ceiling.
+He was horrified, for on the evening before he could still stand
+upright. The chafing-dish being lighted up by the dim rays of the
+spirit, he perceived that the ceiling was a foot lower than before.
+
+Penellan resumed work with desperation.
+
+At this moment the young girl observed, by the light which the
+chafing-dish cast upon Penellan’s face, that despair and determination
+were struggling in his rough features for the mastery. She went to him,
+took his hands, and tenderly pressed them.
+
+
+[Illustration: despair and determination were struggling in his rough
+features for the mastery.]
+
+
+“She cannot, must not die thus!” he cried.
+
+He took his chafing-dish, and once more attacked the narrow opening. He
+plunged in his staff, and felt no resistance. Had he reached the soft
+layers of the snow? He drew out his staff, and a bright ray penetrated
+to the house of ice!
+
+“Here, my friends!” he shouted.
+
+He pushed back the snow with his hands and feet, but the exterior
+surface was not thawed, as he had thought. With the ray of light, a
+violent cold entered the cabin and seized upon everything moist, to
+freeze it in an instant. Penellan enlarged the opening with his
+cutlass, and at last was able to breathe the free air. He fell on his
+knees to thank God, and was soon joined by Marie and his comrades.
+
+A magnificent moon lit up the sky, but the cold was so extreme that
+they could not bear it. They re-entered their retreat; but Penellan
+first looked about him. The promontory was no longer there, and the hut
+was now in the midst of a vast plain of ice. Penellan thought he would
+go to the sledge, where the provisions were. The sledge had
+disappeared!
+
+The cold forced him to return. He said nothing to his companions. It
+was necessary, before all, to dry their clothing, which was done with
+the chafing-dish. The thermometer, held for an instant in the air,
+descended to thirty degrees below zero.
+
+An hour after, Vasling and Penellan resolved to venture outside. They
+wrapped themselves up in their still wet garments, and went out by the
+opening, the sides of which had become as hard as a rock.
+
+“We have been driven towards the north-east,” said Vasling, reckoning
+by the stars, which shone with wonderful brilliancy.
+
+“That would not be bad,” said Penellan, “if our sledge had come with
+us.”
+
+“Is not the sledge there?” cried Vasling. “Then we are lost!”
+
+“Let us look for it,” replied Penellan.
+
+They went around the hut, which formed a block more than fifteen feet
+high. An immense quantity of snow had fallen during the whole of the
+storm, and the wind had massed it against the only elevation which the
+plain presented. The entire block had been driven by the wind, in the
+midst of the broken icebergs, more than twenty-five miles to the
+north-east, and the prisoners had suffered the same fate as their
+floating prison. The sledge, supported by another iceberg, had been
+turned another way, for no trace of it was to be seen, and the dogs
+must have perished amid the frightful tempest.
+
+André Vasling and Penellan felt despair taking possession of them. They
+did not dare to return to their companions. They did not dare to
+announce this fatal news to their comrades in misfortune. They climbed
+upon the block of ice in which the hut was hollowed, and could perceive
+nothing but the white immensity which encompassed them on all sides.
+Already the cold was beginning to stiffen their limbs, and the damp of
+their garments was being transformed into icicles which hung about
+them.
+
+Just as Penellan was about to descend, he looked towards André. He saw
+him suddenly gaze in one direction, then shudder and turn pale.
+
+“What is the matter, Vasling?” he asked.
+
+“Nothing,” replied the other. “Let us go down and urge the captain to
+leave these parts, where we ought never to have come, at once!”
+
+Instead of obeying, Penellan ascended again, and looked in the
+direction which had drawn the mate’s attention. A very different effect
+was produced on him, for he uttered a shout of joy, and cried,—
+
+“Blessed be God!”
+
+A light smoke was rising in the north-east. There was no possibility of
+deception. It indicated the presence of human beings. Penellan’s cries
+of joy reached the rest below, and all were able to convince themselves
+with their eyes that he was not mistaken.
+
+Without thinking of their want of provisions or the severity of the
+temperature, wrapped in their hoods, they were all soon advancing
+towards the spot whence the smoke arose in the north-east. This was
+evidently five or six miles off, and it was very difficult to take
+exactly the right direction. The smoke now disappeared, and no
+elevation served as a guiding mark, for the ice-plain was one united
+level. It was important, nevertheless, not to diverge from a straight
+line.
+
+“Since we cannot guide ourselves by distant objects,” said Jean
+Cornbutte, “we must use this method. Penellan will go ahead, Vasling
+twenty steps behind him, and I twenty steps behind Vasling. I can then
+judge whether or not Penellan diverges from the straight line.”
+
+They had gone on thus for half an hour, when Penellan suddenly stopped
+and listened. The party hurried up to him.
+
+“Did you hear nothing?” he asked.
+
+“Nothing!” replied Misonne.
+
+“It is strange,” said Penellan. “It seemed to me I heard cries from
+this direction.”
+
+“Cries?” replied Marie. “Perhaps we are near our destination, then.”
+
+“That is no reason,” said André Vasling. “In these high latitudes and
+cold regions sounds may be heard to a great distance.”
+
+“However that may be,” replied Jean Cornbutte, “let us go forward, or
+we shall be frozen.”
+
+“No!” cried Penellan. “Listen!”
+
+Some feeble sounds—quite perceptible, however—were heard. They seemed
+to be cries of distress. They were twice repeated. They seemed like
+cries for help. Then all became silent again.
+
+“I was not mistaken,” said Penellan. “Forward!”
+
+He began to run in the direction whence the cries had proceeded. He
+went thus two miles, when, to his utter stupefaction, he saw a man
+lying on the ice. He went up to him, raised him, and lifted his arms to
+heaven in despair.
+
+André Vasling, who was following close behind with the rest of the
+sailors, ran up and cried,—
+
+“It is one of the castaways! It is our sailor Courtois!”
+
+“He is dead!” replied Penellan. “Frozen to death!”
+
+Jean Cornbutte and Marie came up beside the corpse, which was already
+stiffened by the ice. Despair was written on every face. The dead man
+was one of the comrades of Louis Cornbutte!
+
+“Forward!” cried Penellan.
+
+They went on for half an hour in perfect silence, and perceived an
+elevation which seemed without doubt to be land.
+
+“It is Shannon Island,” said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+A mile farther on they distinctly perceived smoke escaping from a
+snow-hut, closed by a wooden door. They shouted. Two men rushed out of
+the hut, and Penellan recognized one of them as Pierre Nouquet.
+
+“Pierre!” he cried.
+
+Pierre stood still as if stunned, and unconscious of what was going on
+around him. André Vasling looked at Pierre Nouquet’s companion with
+anxiety mingled with a cruel joy, for he did not recognize Louis
+Cornbutte in him.
+
+“Pierre! it is I!” cried Penellan. “These are all your friends!”
+
+Pierre Nouquet recovered his senses, and fell into his old comrade’s
+arms.
+
+“And my son—and Louis!” cried Jean Cornbutte, in an accent of the most
+profound despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+THE RETURN TO THE SHIP.
+
+
+At this moment a man, almost dead, dragged himself out of the hut and
+along the ice.
+
+It was Louis Cornbutte.
+
+
+[Illustration: It was Louis Cornbutte.]
+
+
+“My son!”
+
+“My beloved!”
+
+These two cries were uttered at the same time, and Louis Cornbutte fell
+fainting into the arms of his father and Marie, who drew him towards
+the hut, where their tender care soon revived him.
+
+“My father! Marie!” cried Louis; “I shall not die without having seen
+you!”
+
+“You will not die!” replied Penellan, “for all your friends are near
+you.”
+
+André Vasling must have hated Louis Cornbutte bitterly not to extend
+his hand to him, but he did not.
+
+Pierre Nouquet was wild with joy. He embraced every body; then he threw
+some wood into the stove, and soon a comfortable temperature was felt
+in the cabin.
+
+There were two men there whom neither Jean Cornbutte nor Penellan
+recognized.
+
+They were Jocki and Herming, the only two sailors of the crew of the
+Norwegian schooner who were left.
+
+“My friends, we are saved!” said Louis. “My father! Marie! You have
+exposed yourselves to so many perils!”
+
+“We do not regret it, my Louis,” replied the father. “Your brig, the
+‘Jeune-Hardie,’ is securely anchored in the ice sixty leagues from
+here. We will rejoin her all together.”
+
+“When Courtois comes back he’ll be mightily pleased,” said Pierre
+Nouquet.
+
+A mournful silence followed this, and Penellan apprised Pierre and
+Louis of their comrade’s death by cold.
+
+“My friends,” said Penellan, “we will wait here until the cold
+decreases. Have you provisions and wood?”
+
+“Yes; and we will burn what is left of the ‘Froöern.’”
+
+The “Froöern” had indeed been driven to a place forty miles from where
+Louis Cornbutte had taken up his winter quarters. There she was broken
+up by the icebergs floated by the thaw, and the castaways were carried,
+with a part of the _débris_ of their cabin, on the southern shores of
+Shannon Island.
+
+They were then five in number—Louis Cornbutte, Courtois, Pierre
+Nouquet, Jocki, and Herming. As for the rest of the Norwegian crew,
+they had been submerged with the long-boat at the moment of the wreck.
+
+When Louis Cornbutte, shut in among the ice, realized what must happen,
+he took every precaution for passing the winter. He was an energetic
+man, very active and courageous; but, despite his firmness, he had been
+subdued by this horrible climate, and when his father found him he had
+given up all hope of life. He had not only had to contend with the
+elements, but with the ugly temper of the two Norwegian sailors, who
+owed him their existence. They were like savages, almost inaccessible
+to the most natural emotions. When Louis had the opportunity to talk to
+Penellan, he advised him to watch them carefully. In return, Penellan
+told him of André Vasling’s conduct. Louis could not believe it, but
+Penellan convinced him that after his disappearance Vasling had always
+acted so as to secure Marie’s hand.
+
+The whole day was employed in rest and the pleasures of reunion.
+Misonne and Pierre Nouquet killed some sea-birds near the hut, whence
+it was not prudent to stray far. These fresh provisions and the
+replenished fire raised the spirits of the weakest. Louis Cornbutte got
+visibly better. It was the first moment of happiness these brave people
+had experienced. They celebrated it with enthusiasm in this wretched
+hut, six hundred leagues from the North Sea, in a temperature of thirty
+degrees below zero!
+
+This temperature lasted till the end of the moon, and it was not until
+about the 17th of November, a week after their meeting, that Jean
+Cornbutte and his party could think of setting out. They only had the
+light of the stars to guide them; but the cold was less extreme, and
+even some snow fell.
+
+Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor Courtois. It was a
+sad ceremony, which deeply affected his comrades. He was the first of
+them who would not again see his native land.
+
+Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, a sort of sledge
+for carrying the provisions, and the sailors drew it by turns. Jean
+Cornbutte led the expedition by the ways already traversed. Camps were
+established with great promptness when the times for repose came. Jean
+Cornbutte hoped to find his deposits of provisions again, as they had
+become well-nigh indispensable by the addition of four persons to the
+party. He was therefore very careful not to diverge from the route by
+which he had come.
+
+By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had stranded near the
+promontory where they had all run so many dangers. The dogs, after
+eating their straps to satisfy their hunger, had attacked the
+provisions in the sledge. These had sustained them, and they served to
+guide the party to the sledge, where there was a considerable quantity
+of provisions left. The little band resumed its march towards the bay.
+The dogs were harnessed to the sleigh, and no event of interest
+attended the return.
+
+It was observed that Aupic, André Vasling, and the Norwegians kept
+aloof, and did not mingle with the others; but, unbeknown to
+themselves, they were narrowly watched. This germ of dissension more
+than once aroused the fears of Louis Cornbutte and Penellan.
+
+About the 7th of December, twenty days after the discovery of the
+castaways, they perceived the bay where the “Jeune-Hardie” was lying.
+What was their astonishment to see the brig perched four yards in the
+air on blocks of ice! They hurried forward, much alarmed for their
+companions, and were received with joyous cries by Gervique,
+Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in good health, though they
+too had been subjected to formidable dangers.
+
+The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar sea. The ice had
+been broken and displaced, crushed one piece against another, and had
+seized the bed on which the ship rested. Though its specific weight
+tended to carry it under water, the ice had acquired an incalculable
+force, and the brig had been suddenly raised up out of the sea.
+
+The first moments were given up to the happiness inspired by the safe
+return. The exploring party were rejoiced to find everything in good
+condition, which assured them a supportable though it might be a rough
+winter. The ship had not been shaken by her sudden elevation, and was
+perfectly tight. When the season of thawing came, they would only have
+to slide her down an inclined plane, to launch her, in a word, in the
+once more open sea.
+
+But a bad piece of news spread gloom on the faces of Jean Cornbutte and
+his comrades. During the terrible gale the snow storehouse on the coast
+had been quite demolished; the provisions which it contained were
+scattered, and it had not been possible to save a morsel of them. When
+Jean and Louis Cornbutte learnt this, they visited the hold and
+steward’s room, to ascertain the quantity of provisions which still
+remained.
+
+The thaw would not come until May, and the brig could not leave the bay
+before that period. They had therefore five winter months before them
+to pass amid the ice, during which fourteen persons were to be fed.
+Having made his calculations, Jean Cornbutte found that he would at
+most be able to keep them alive till the time for departure, by putting
+each and all on half rations. Hunting for game became compulsory to
+procure food in larger quantity.
+
+For fear that they might again run short of provisions, it was decided
+to deposit them no longer in the ground. All of them were kept on
+board, and beds were disposed for the new comers in the common lodging.
+Turquiette, Gervique, and Gradlin, during the absence of the others,
+had hollowed out a flight of steps in the ice, which enabled them
+easily to reach the ship’s deck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+THE TWO RIVALS.
+
+
+André Vasling had been cultivating the good-will of the two Norwegian
+sailors. Aupic also made one of their band, and held himself apart,
+with loud disapproval of all the new measures taken; but Louis
+Cornbutte, to whom his father had transferred the command of the ship,
+and who had become once more master on board, would listen to no
+objections from that quarter, and in spite of Marie’s advice to act
+gently, made it known that he intended to be obeyed on all points.
+
+Nevertheless, the two Norwegians succeeded, two days after, in getting
+possession of a box of salt meat. Louis ordered them to return it to
+him on the spot, but Aupic took their part, and André Vasling declared
+that the precautions about the food could not be any longer enforced.
+
+It was useless to attempt to show these men that these measures were
+for the common interest, for they knew it well, and only sought a
+pretext to revolt.
+
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians, who drew their cutlasses;
+but, aided by Misonne and Turquiette, he succeeded in snatching the
+weapons from their hands, and gained possession of the salt meat. André
+Vasling and Aupic, seeing that matters were going against them, did not
+interfere. Louis Cornbutte, however, took the mate aside, and said to
+him,—
+
+
+[Illustration: Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians.]
+
+
+“André Vasling, you are a wretch! I know your whole conduct, and I know
+what you are aiming at, but as the safety of the whole crew is confided
+to me, if any man of you thinks of conspiring to destroy them, I will
+stab him with my own hand!”
+
+“Louis Cornbutte,” replied the mate, “it is allowable for you to act
+the master; but remember that absolute obedience does not exist here,
+and that here the strongest alone makes the law.”
+
+Marie had never trembled before the dangers of the polar seas; but she
+was terrified by this hatred, of which she was the cause, and the
+captain’s vigour hardly reassured her.
+
+Despite this declaration of war, the meals were partaken of in common
+and at the same hours. Hunting furnished some ptarmigans and white
+hares; but this resource would soon fail them, with the approach of the
+terrible cold weather. This began at the solstice, on the 22nd of
+December, on which day the thermometer fell to thirty-five degrees
+below zero. The men experienced pain in their ears, noses, and the
+extremities of their bodies. They were seized with a mortal torpor
+combined with headache, and their breathing became more and more
+difficult.
+
+In this state they had no longer any courage to go hunting or to take
+any exercise. They remained crouched around the stove, which gave them
+but a meagre heat; and when they went away from it, they perceived that
+their blood suddenly cooled.
+
+Jean Cornbutte’s health was seriously impaired, and he could no longer
+quit his lodging. Symptoms of scurvy manifested themselves in him, and
+his legs were soon covered with white spots. Marie was well, however,
+and occupied herself tending the sick ones with the zeal of a sister of
+charity. The honest fellows blessed her from the bottom of their
+hearts.
+
+The 1st of January was one of the gloomiest of these winter days. The
+wind was violent, and the cold insupportable. They could not go out,
+except at the risk of being frozen. The most courageous were fain to
+limit themselves to walking on deck, sheltered by the tent. Jean
+Cornbutte, Gervique, and Gradlin did not leave their beds. The two
+Norwegians, Aupic, and André Vasling, whose health was good, cast
+ferocious looks at their companions, whom they saw wasting away.
+
+Louis Cornbutte led Penellan on deck, and asked him how much firing was
+left.
+
+“The coal was exhausted long ago,” replied Penellan, “and we are about
+to burn our last pieces of wood.”
+
+“If we are not able to keep off this cold, we are lost,” said Louis.
+
+“There still remains a way—” said Penellan, “to burn what we can of the
+brig, from the barricading to the water-line; and we can even, if need
+be, demolish her entirely, and rebuild a smaller craft.”
+
+“That is an extreme means,” replied Louis, “which it will be full time
+to employ when our men are well. For,” he added in a low voice, “our
+force is diminishing, and that of our enemies seems to be increasing.
+That is extraordinary.”
+
+“It is true,” said Penellan; “and unless we took the precaution to
+watch night and day, I know not what would happen to us.”
+
+“Let us take our hatchets,” returned Louis, “and make our harvest of
+wood.”
+
+Despite the cold, they mounted on the forward barricading, and cut off
+all the wood which was not indispensably necessary to the ship; then
+they returned with this new provision. The fire was started afresh, and
+a man remained on guard to prevent it from going out.
+
+Meanwhile Louis Cornbutte and his friends were soon tired out. They
+could not confide any detail of the life in common to their enemies.
+Charged with all the domestic cares, their powers were soon exhausted.
+The scurvy betrayed itself in Jean Cornbutte, who suffered intolerable
+pain. Gervique and Gradlin showed symptoms of the same disease. Had it
+not been for the lemon-juice with which they were abundantly furnished,
+they would have speedily succumbed to their sufferings. This remedy was
+not spared in relieving them.
+
+But one day, the 15th of January, when Louis Cornbutte was going down
+into the steward’s room to get some lemons, he was stupefied to find
+that the barrels in which they were kept had disappeared. He hurried up
+and told Penellan of this misfortune. A theft had been committed, and
+it was easy to recognize its authors. Louis Cornbutte then understood
+why the health of his enemies continued so good! His friends were no
+longer strong enough to take the lemons away from them, though his life
+and that of his comrades depended on the fruit; and he now sank, for
+the first time, into a gloomy state of despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+DISTRESS.
+
+
+On the 20th of January most of the crew had not the strength to leave
+their beds. Each, independently of his woollen coverings, had a
+buffalo-skin to protect him against the cold; but as soon as he put his
+arms outside the clothes, he felt a pain which obliged him quickly to
+cover them again.
+
+Meanwhile, Louis having lit the stove fire, Penellan, Misonne, and
+André Vasling left their beds and crouched around it. Penellan prepared
+some boiling coffee, which gave them some strength, as well as Marie,
+who joined them in partaking of it.
+
+Louis Cornbutte approached his father’s bedside; the old man was almost
+motionless, and his limbs were helpless from disease. He muttered some
+disconnected words, which carried grief to his son’s heart.
+
+“Louis,” said he, “I am dying. O, how I suffer! Save me!”
+
+Louis took a decisive resolution. He went up to the mate, and,
+controlling himself with difficulty, said,—
+
+“Do you know where the lemons are, Vasling?”
+
+“In the steward’s room, I suppose,” returned the mate, without
+stirring.
+
+“You know they are not there, as you have stolen them!”
+
+“You are master, Louis Cornbutte, and may say and do anything.”
+
+“For pity’s sake, André Vasling, my father is dying! You can save
+him,—answer!”
+
+“I have nothing to answer,” replied André Vasling.
+
+“Wretch!” cried Penellan, throwing himself, cutlass in hand, on the
+mate.
+
+“Help, friends!” shouted Vasling, retreating.
+
+Aupic and the two Norwegian sailors jumped from their beds and placed
+themselves behind him. Turquiette, Penellan, and Louis prepared to
+defend themselves. Pierre Nouquet and Gradlin, though suffering much,
+rose to second them.
+
+“You are still too strong for us,” said Vasling. “We do not wish to
+fight on an uncertainty.”
+
+The sailors were so weak that they dared not attack the four rebels,
+for, had they failed, they would have been lost.
+
+“André Vasling!” said Louis Cornbutte, in a gloomy tone, “if my father
+dies, you will have murdered him; and I will kill you like a dog!”
+
+Vasling and his confederates retired to the other end of the cabin, and
+did not reply.
+
+It was then necessary to renew the supply of wood, and, in spite of the
+cold, Louis went on deck and began to cut away a part of the
+barricading, but was obliged to retreat in a quarter of an hour, for he
+was in danger of falling, overcome by the freezing air. As he passed,
+he cast a glance at the thermometer left outside, and saw that the
+mercury was frozen. The cold, then, exceeded forty-two degrees below
+zero. The weather was dry, and the wind blew from the north.
+
+On the 26th the wind changed to the north-east, and the thermometer
+outside stood at thirty-five degrees. Jean Cornbutte was in agony, and
+his son had searched in vain for some remedy with which to relieve his
+pain. On this day, however, throwing himself suddenly on Vasling, he
+managed to snatch a lemon from him which he was about to suck.
+
+Vasling made no attempt to recover it. He seemed to be awaiting an
+opportunity to accomplish his wicked designs.
+
+The lemon-juice somewhat relieved old Cornbutte, but it was necessary
+to continue the remedy. Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce
+the lemons, but he did not reply, and soon Penellan heard the wretch
+say to his accomplices,—
+
+
+[Illustration: Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the
+lemons, but he did not reply.]
+
+
+“The old fellow is dying. Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet are not much
+better. The others are daily losing their strength. The time is near
+when their lives will belong to us!”
+
+It was then resolved by Louis Cornbutte and his adherents not to wait,
+and to profit by the little strength which still remained to them. They
+determined to act the next night, and to kill these wretches, so as not
+to be killed by them.
+
+The temperature rose a little. Louis Cornbutte ventured to go out with
+his gun in search of some game.
+
+He proceeded some three miles from the ship, and often, deceived by the
+effects of the mirage and refraction, he went farther away than he
+intended. It was imprudent, for recent tracts of ferocious animals were
+to be seen. He did not wish, however, to return without some fresh
+meat, and continued on his route; but he then experienced a strange
+feeling, which turned his head. It was what is called “white vertigo.”
+
+The reflection of the ice hillocks and fields affected him from head to
+foot, and it seemed to him that the dazzling colour penetrated him and
+caused an irresistible nausea. His eye was attacked. His sight became
+uncertain. He thought he should go mad with the glare. Without fully
+understanding this terrible effect, he advanced on his way, and soon
+put up a ptarmigan, which he eagerly pursued. The bird soon fell, and
+in order to reach it Louis leaped from an ice-block and fell heavily;
+for the leap was at least ten feet, and the refraction made him think
+it was only two. The vertigo then seized him, and, without knowing why,
+he began to call for help, though he had not been injured by the fall.
+The cold began to take him, and he rose with pain, urged by the sense
+of self-preservation.
+
+Suddenly, without being able to account for it, he smelt an odour of
+boiling fat. As the ship was between him and the wind, he supposed that
+this odour proceeded from her, and could not imagine why they should be
+cooking fat, this being a dangerous thing to do, as it was likely to
+attract the white bears.
+
+Louis returned towards the ship, absorbed in reflections which soon
+inspired his excited mind with terror. It seemed to him as if colossal
+masses were moving on the horizon, and he asked himself if there was
+not another ice-quake. Several of these masses interposed themselves
+between him and the ship, and appeared to rise about its sides. He
+stopped to gaze at them more attentively, when to his horror he
+recognized a herd of gigantic bears.
+
+These animals had been attracted by the odour of grease which had
+surprised Lonis. He sheltered himself behind a hillock, and counted
+three, which were scaling the blocks on which the “Jeune-Hardie” was
+resting.
+
+Nothing led him to suppose that this danger was known in the interior
+of the ship, and a terrible anguish oppressed his heart. How resist
+these redoubtable enemies? Would André Vasling and his confederates
+unite with the rest on board in the common peril? Could Penellan and
+the others, half starved, benumbed with cold, resist these formidable
+animals, made wild by unassuaged hunger? Would they not be surprised by
+an unlooked-for attack?
+
+Louis made these reflections rapidly. The bears had crossed the blocks,
+and were mounting to the assault of the ship. He might then quit the
+block which protected him; he went nearer, clinging to the ice, and
+could soon see the enormous animals tearing the tent with their paws,
+and leaping on the deck. He thought of firing his gun to give his
+comrades notice; but if these came up without arms, they would
+inevitably be torn in pieces, and nothing showed as yet that they were
+even aware of their new danger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+THE WHITE BEARS.
+
+
+After Louis Cornbutte’s departure, Penellan had carefully shut the
+cabin door, which opened at the foot of the deck steps. He returned to
+the stove, which he took it upon himself to watch, whilst his
+companions regained their berths in search of a little warmth.
+
+It was then six in the evening, and Penellan set about preparing
+supper. He went down into the steward’s room for some salt meat, which
+he wished to soak in the boiling water. When he returned, he found
+André Vasling in his place, cooking some pieces of grease in a basin.
+
+“I was there before you,” said Penellan roughly; “why have you taken my
+place?”
+
+“For the same reason that you claim it,” returned Vasling: “because I
+want to cook my supper.”
+
+“You will take that off at once, or we shall see!”
+
+“We shall see nothing,” said Vasling; “my supper shall be cooked in
+spite of you.”
+
+“You shall not eat it, then,” cried Penellan, rushing upon Vasling, who
+seized his cutlass, crying,—
+
+“Help, Norwegians! Help, Aupic!”
+
+These, in the twinkling of an eye, sprang to their feet, armed with
+pistols and daggers. The crisis had come.
+
+Penellan precipitated himself upon Vasling, to whom, no doubt, was
+confided the task to fight him alone; for his accomplices rushed to the
+beds where lay Misonne, Turquiette, and Nouquet. The latter, ill and
+defenceless, was delivered over to Herming’s ferocity. The carpenter
+seized a hatchet, and, leaving his berth, hurried up to encounter
+Aupic. Turquiette and Jocki, the Norwegian, struggled fiercely.
+Gervique and Gradlin, suffering horribly, were not even conscious of
+what was passing around them.
+
+Nouquet soon received a stab in the side, and Herming turned to
+Penellan, who was fighting desperately. André Vasling had seized him
+round the body.
+
+At the beginning of the affray the basin had been upset on the stove,
+and the grease running over the burning coals, impregnated the
+atmosphere with its odour. Marie rose with cries of despair, and
+hurried to the bed of old Jean Cornbutte.
+
+
+[Illustration: Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the
+bed of old Jean Cornbutte.]
+
+
+Vasling, less strong than Penellan, soon perceived that the latter was
+getting the better of him. They were too close together to make use of
+their weapons. The mate, seeing Herming, cried out,—
+
+“Help, Herming!”
+
+“Help, Misonne!” shouted Penellan, in his turn.
+
+But Misonne was rolling on the ground with Aupic, who was trying to
+stab him with his cutlass. The carpenter’s hatchet was of little use to
+him, for he could not wield it, and it was with the greatest difficulty
+that he parried the lunges which Aupic made with his knife.
+
+Meanwhile blood flowed amid the groans and cries. Turquiette, thrown
+down by Jocki, a man of immense strength, had received a wound in the
+shoulder, and he tried in vain to clutch a pistol which hung in the
+Norwegian’s belt. The latter held him as in a vice, and it was
+impossible for him to move.
+
+At Vasling’s cry for help, who was being held by Penellan close against
+the door, Herming rushed up. As he was about to stab the Breton’s back
+with his cutlass, the latter felled him to the earth with a vigorous
+kick. His effort to do this enabled Vasling to disengage his right arm;
+but the door, against which they pressed with all their weight,
+suddenly yielded, and Vasling fell over.
+
+Of a sudden a terrible growl was heard, and a gigantic bear appeared on
+the steps. Vasling saw him first. He was not four feet away from him.
+At the same moment a shot was heard, and the bear, wounded or
+frightened, retreated. Vasling, who had succeeded in regaining his
+feet, set-out in pursuit of him, abandoning Penellan.
+
+Penellan then replaced the door, and looked around him. Misonne and
+Turquiette, tightly garrotted by their antagonists, had been thrown
+into a corner, and made vain efforts to break loose. Penellan rushed to
+their assistance, but was overturned by the two Norwegians and Aupic.
+His exhausted strength did not permit him to resist these three men,
+who so clung to him as to hold him motionless Then, at the cries of the
+mate, they hurried on deck, thinking that Louis Cornbutte was to be
+encountered.
+
+André Vasling was struggling with a bear, which he had already twice
+stabbed with his knife. The animal, beating the air with his heavy
+paws, was trying to clutch Vasling; he retiring little by little on the
+barricading, was apparently doomed, when a second shot was heard. The
+bear fell. André Vasling raised his head and saw Louis Cornbutte in the
+ratlines of the mizen-mast, his gun in his hand. Louis had shot the
+bear in the heart, and he was dead.
+
+Hate overcame gratitude in Vasling’s breast; but before satisfying it,
+he looked around him. Aupic’s head was broken by a paw-stroke, and he
+lay lifeless on deck. Jocki, hatchet in hand, was with difficulty
+parrying the blows of the second bear which had just killed Aupic. The
+animal had received two wounds, and still struggled desperately. A
+third bear was directing his way towards the ship’s prow. Vasling paid
+no attention to him, but, followed by Herming, went to the aid of
+Jocki; but Jocki, seized by the beast’s paws, was crushed, and when the
+bear fell under the shots of the other two men, he held only a corpse
+in his shaggy arms.
+
+“We are only two, now” said Vasling, with gloomy ferocity, “but if we
+yield, it will not be without vengeance!”
+
+Herming reloaded his pistol without replying. Before all, the third
+bear must be got rid of. Vasling looked forward, but did not see him.
+On raising his eyes, he perceived him erect on the barricading,
+clinging to the ratlines and trying to reach Louis. Vasling let his gun
+fall, which he had aimed at the animal, while a fierce joy glittered in
+his eyes.
+
+“Ah,” he cried, “you owe me that vengeance!”
+
+Louis took refuge in the top of the mast. The bear kept mounting, and
+was not more than six feet from Louis, when he raised his gun and
+pointed it at the animal’s heart.
+
+Vasling raised his weapon to shoot Louis if the bear fell.
+
+Louis fired, but the bear did not appear to be hit, for he leaped with
+a bound towards the top. The whole mast shook.
+
+Vasling uttered a shout of exultation.
+
+“Herming,” he cried, “go and find Marie! Go and find my betrothed!”
+
+Herming descended the cabin stairs.
+
+Meanwhile the furious beast had thrown himself upon Louis, who was
+trying to shelter himself on the other side of the mast; but at the
+moment that his enormous paw was raised to break his head, Louis,
+seizing one of the backstays, let himself slip down to the deck, not
+without danger, for a ball hissed by his ear when he was half-way down.
+Vasling had shot at him, and missed him. The two adversaries now
+confronted each other, cutlass in hand.
+
+The combat was about to become decisive. To entirely glut his
+vengeance, and to have the young girl witness her lover’s death,
+Vasling had deprived himself of Herming’s aid. He could now reckon only
+on himself.
+
+Louis and Vasling seized each other by the collar, and held each other
+with iron grip. One of them must fall. They struck each other
+violently. The blows were only half parried, for blood soon flowed from
+both. Vasling tried to clasp his adversary about the neck with his arm,
+to bring him to the ground. Louis, knowing that he who fell was lost,
+prevented him, and succeeded in grasping his two arms; but in doing
+this he let fall his cutlass.
+
+Piteous cries now assailed his ears; it was Marie’s voice. Herming was
+trying to drag her up. Louis was seized with a desperate rage. He
+stiffened himself to bend Vasling’s loins; but at this moment the
+combatants felt themselves seized in a powerful embrace. The bear,
+having descended from the mast, had fallen upon the two men. Vasling
+was pressed against the animal’s body. Louis felt his claws entering
+his flesh. The bear, was strangling both of them.
+
+
+[Illustration: The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen
+upon the two men.]
+
+
+“Help! help! Herming!” cried the mate.
+
+“Help! Penellan!” cried Louis.
+
+Steps were heard on the stairs. Penellan appeared, loaded his pistol,
+and discharged it in the bear’s ear; he roared; the pain made him relax
+his paws for a moment, and Louis, exhausted, fell motionless on the
+deck; but the bear, closing his paws tightly in a supreme agony, fell,
+dragging down the wretched Vasling, whose body was crushed under him.
+
+Penellan hurried to Louis Cornbutte’s assistance. No serious wound
+endangered his life: he had only lost his breath for a moment.
+
+“Marie!” he said, opening his eyes.
+
+“Saved!” replied Perfellan. “Herming is lying there with a knife-wound
+in his stomach.”
+
+“And the bears—”
+
+“Dead, Louis; dead, like our enemies! But for those beasts we should
+have been lost. Truly, they came to our succour. Let us thank Heaven!”
+
+Louis and Penellan descended to the cabin, and Marie fell into their
+arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+Herming, mortally wounded, had been carried to a berth by Misonne and
+Turquiette, who had succeeded in getting free. He was already at the
+last gasp of death; and the two sailors occupied themselves with
+Nouquet, whose wound was not, happily, a serious one.
+
+But a greater misfortune had overtaken Louis Cornbutte. His father no
+longer gave any signs of life. Had he died of anxiety for his son,
+delivered over to his enemies? Had he succumbed in presence of these
+terrible events? They could not tell. But the poor old sailor, broken
+by disease, had ceased to live!
+
+At this unexpected blow, Louis and Marie fell into a sad despair; then
+they knelt at the bedside and wept, as they prayed for Jean Cornbutte’s
+soul, Penellan, Misonne, and Turquiette left them alone in the cabin,
+and went on deck. The bodies of the three bears were carried forward.
+Penellan decided to keep their skins, which would be of no little use;
+but he did not think for a moment of eating their flesh. Besides, the
+number of men to feed was now much decreased. The bodies of Vasling,
+Aupic, and Jocki, thrown into a hole dug on the coast, were soon
+rejoined by that of Herming. The Norwegian died during the night,
+without repentance or remorse, foaming at the mouth with rage.
+
+The three sailors repaired the tent, which, torn in several places,
+permitted the snow to fall on the deck. The temperature was exceedingly
+cold, and kept so till the return of the sun, which did not reappear
+above the horizon till the 8th of January.
+
+Jean Cornbutte was buried on the coast. He had left his native land to
+find his son, and had died in these terrible regions! His grave was dug
+on an eminence, and the sailors placed over it a simple wooden cross.
+
+From that day, Louis Cornbutte and his comrades passed through many
+other trials; but the lemons, which they found, restored them to
+health.
+
+Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet were able to rise from their berths a
+fortnight after these terrible events, and to take a little exercise.
+
+Soon hunting for game became more easy and its results more abundant.
+The water-birds returned in large numbers. They often brought down a
+kind of wild duck which made excellent food. The hunters had no other
+deprivation to deplore than that of two dogs, which they lost in an
+expedition to reconnoitre the state of the icefields, twenty-five miles
+to the southward.
+
+The month of February was signalized by violent tempests and abundant
+snows. The mean temperature was still twenty-five degrees below zero,
+but they did not suffer in comparison with past hardships. Besides, the
+sight of the sun, which rose higher and higher above the horizon,
+rejoiced them, as it forecast the end of their torments. Heaven had
+pity on them, for warmth came sooner than usual that year. The ravens
+appeared in March, careering about the ship. Louis Cornbutte captured
+some cranes which had wandered thus far northward. Flocks of wild birds
+were also seen in the south.
+
+The return of the birds indicated a diminution of the cold; but it was
+not safe to rely upon this, for with a change of wind, or in the new or
+full moons, the temperature suddenly fell; and the sailors were forced
+to resort to their most careful precautions to protect themselves
+against it. They had already burned all the barricading, the bulkheads,
+and a large portion of the bridge. It was time, then, that their
+wintering was over. Happily, the mean temperature of March was not over
+sixteen degrees below zero. Marie occupied herself with preparing new
+clothing for the advanced season of the year.
+
+After the equinox, the sun had remained constantly above the horizon.
+The eight months of perpetual daylight had begun. This continual
+sunlight, with the increasing though still quite feeble heat, soon
+began to act upon the ice.
+
+Great precautions were necessary in launching the ship from the lofty
+layer of ice which surrounded her. She was therefore securely propped
+up, and it seemed best to await the breaking up of the ice; but the
+lower mass, resting on a bed of already warm water, detached itself
+little by little, and the ship gradually descended with it. Early in
+April she had reached her natural level.
+
+Torrents of rain came with April, which, extending in waves over the
+ice-plain, hastened still more its breaking up. The thermometer rose to
+ten degrees below zero. Some of the men took off their seal-skin
+clothes, and it was no longer necessary to keep a fire in the cabin
+stove day and night. The provision of spirit, which was not exhausted,
+was used only for cooking the food.
+
+Soon the ice began to break up rapidly, and it became imprudent to
+venture upon the plain without a staff to sound the passages; for
+fissures wound in spirals here and there. Some of the sailors fell into
+the water, with no worse result, however, than a pretty cold bath.
+
+The seals returned, and they were often hunted, and their grease
+utilized.
+
+The health of the crew was fully restored, and the time was employed in
+hunting and preparations for departure. Louis Cornbutte often examined
+the channels, and decided, in consequence of the shape of the southern
+coast, to attempt a passage in that direction. The breaking up had
+already begun here and there, and the floating ice began to pass off
+towards the high seas. On the 25th of April the ship was put in
+readiness. The sails, taken from their sheaths, were found to be
+perfectly preserved, and it was with real delight that the sailors saw
+them once more swaying in the wind. The ship gave a lurch, for she had
+found her floating line, and though she would not yet move forward, she
+lay quietly and easily in her natural element.
+
+In May the thaw became very rapid. The snow which covered the coast
+melted on every hand, and formed a thick mud, which made it well-nigh
+impossible to land. Small heathers, rosy and white, peeped out timidly
+above the lingering snow, and seemed to smile at the little heat they
+received. The thermometer at last rose above zero.
+
+Twenty miles off, the ice masses, entirely separated, floated towards
+the Atlantic Ocean. Though the sea was not quite free around the ship,
+channels opened by which Louis Cornbutte wished to profit.
+
+On the 21st of May, after a parting visit to his father’s grave, Louis
+at last set out from the bay. The hearts of the honest sailors were
+filled at once with joy and sadness, for one does not leave without
+regret a place where a friend has died. The wind blew from the north,
+and favoured their departure. The ship was often arrested by ice-banks,
+which were cut with the saws; icebergs not seldom confronted her, and
+it was necessary to blow them up with powder. For a month the way was
+full of perils, which sometimes brought the ship to the verge of
+destruction; but the crew were sturdy, and used to these dangerous
+exigencies. Penellan, Pierre Nouquet, Turquiette, Fidèle Misonne, did
+the work of ten sailors, and Marie had smiles of gratitude for each.
+
+The “Jeune-Hardie” at last passed beyond the ice in the latitude of
+Jean-Mayer Island. About the 25th of June she met ships going northward
+for seals and whales. She had been nearly a month emerging from the
+Polar Sea.
+
+On the 16th of August she came in view of Dunkirk. She had been
+signalled by the look-out, and the whole population flocked to the
+jetty. The sailors of the ship were soon clasped in the arms of their
+friends. The old curé received Louis Cornbutte and Marie with
+patriarchal arms, and of the two masses which he said on the following
+day, the first was for the repose of Jean Cornbutte’s soul, and the
+second to bless these two lovers, so long united in misfortune.
+
+
+[Illustration: The old curé received Louis Cornbutte and Marie.]
+
+
+
+
+THE FORTIETH FRENCH ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+BY PAUL VERNE.
+
+I arrived at Chamonix on the 18th of August, 1871, fully decided to
+make the ascent of Mont Blanc, cost what it might. My first attempt in
+August, 1869, was not successful. Bad weather had prevented me from
+mounting beyond the Grands-Mulets. This time circumstances seemed
+scarcely more favourable, for the weather, which had promised to be
+fine on the morning of the 18th, suddenly changed towards noon. Mont
+Blanc, as they say in its neighbourhood, “put on its cap and began to
+smoke its pipe,” which, to speak more plainly, means that it is covered
+with clouds, and that the snow, driven upon it by a south-west wind,
+formed a long crest on its summit in the direction of the unfathomable
+precipices of the Brenva glaciers. This crest betrayed to imprudent
+tourists the route they would have taken, had they had the temerity to
+venture upon the mountain.
+
+The next night was very inclement. The rain and wind were violent, and
+the barometer, below the “change,” remained stationary.
+
+Towards daybreak, however, several thunder-claps announced a change in
+the state of the atmosphere. Soon the clouds broke. The chain of the
+Brevent and the Aiguilles-Rouges betrayed itself. The wind, turning to
+the north-west, brought into view above the Col de Balme, which shuts
+in the valley of Chamonix on the north, some light, isolated, fleecy
+clouds, which I hailed as the heralds of fine weather.
+
+Despite this happy augury and a slight rise in the barometer, M.
+Balmat, chief guide of Chamonix, declared to me that I must not yet
+think of attempting the ascent.
+
+“If the barometer continues to rise,” he added, “and the weather holds
+good, I promise you guides for the day after to-morrow— perhaps for
+to-morrow. Meanwhile, have patience and stretch your legs; I will take
+you up the Brevent. The clouds are clearing away, and you will be able
+to exactly distinguish the path you will have to go over to reach the
+summit of Mont Blanc. If, in spite of this, you are determined to go,
+you may try it!”
+
+This speech, uttered in a certain tone, was not very reassuring, and
+gave food for reflection. Still, I accepted his proposition, and he
+chose as my companion the guide Edward Ravanel, a very sedate and
+devoted fellow, who perfectly knew his business.
+
+M. Donatien Levesque, an enthusiastic tourist and an intrepid
+pedestrian, who had made early in the previous year an interesting and
+difficult trip in North America, was with me. He had already visited
+the greater part of America, and was about to descend the Mississippi
+to New Orleans, when the war cut short his projects and recalled him to
+France. We had met at Aix-les-Bains, and we had determined to make an
+excursion together in Savoy and Switzerland.
+
+Donatien Levesque knew my intentions, and, as he thought that his
+health would not permit him to attempt so long a journey over the
+glaciers, it had been agreed that he should await my return from Mont
+Blanc at Chamonix, and should make the traditional visit to the
+Mer-de-Glace by the Montanvers during my absence.
+
+On learning that I was going to ascend the Brevent, my friend did not
+hesitate to accompany me thither. The ascent of the Brevent is one of
+the most interesting trips that can be made from Chamonix. This
+mountain, about seven thousand six hundred feet high, is only the
+prolongation of the chain for the Aiguilles-Rouges, which runs from the
+south-west to the north-east, parallel with that of Mont Blanc, and
+forms with it the narrow valley of Chamonix. The Brevent, by its
+central position, exactly opposite the Bossons glacier, enables one to
+watch the parties which undertake the ascent of the giant of the Alps
+nearly throughout their journey. It is therefore much frequented.
+
+We started about seven o’clock in the morning. As we went along, I
+thought of the mysterious words of the master-guide; they annoyed me a
+little. Addressing Ravanel, I said,—
+
+“Have you made the ascent of Mont Blanc?”
+
+“Yes, monsieur,” he replied, “once; and that’s enough. I am not anxious
+to do it again.”
+
+“The deuce!” said I. “I am going to try it.”
+
+“You are free, monsieur; but I shall not go with you. The mountain is
+not good this year. Several attempts have already been made; two only
+have succeeded. As for the second, the party tried the ascent twice.
+Besides, the accident last year has rather cooled the amateurs.”
+
+“An accident! What accident?”
+
+“Did not monsieur hear of it? This is how it happened. A party,
+consisting of ten guides and porters and two Englishmen, started about
+the middle of September for Mont Blanc. They were seen to reach the
+summit; then, some minutes after, they disappeared in a cloud. When the
+cloud passed over no one was visible. The two travellers, with seven
+guides and porters, had been blown off by the wind and precipitated on
+the Cormayeur side, doubtless into the Brenva glacier. Despite the most
+vigilant search, their bodies could not be found. The other three were
+found one hundred and fifty yards below the summit, near the
+Petits-Mulets. They had become blocks of ice.”
+
+“But these travellers must have been imprudent,” said I to Ravanel.
+“What folly it was to start off so late in the year on such an
+expedition! They should have gone up in August.”
+
+I vainly tried to keep up my courage; this lugubrious story would haunt
+me in spite of myself. Happily the weather soon cleared, and the rays
+of a bright sun dissipated the clouds which still veiled Mont Blanc,
+and, at the same time, those which overshadowed my thoughts.
+
+Our ascent was satisfactorily accomplished. On leaving the chalets of
+Planpraz, situated at a height of two thousand and sixty-two yards, you
+ascend, on ragged masses of rock and pools of snow, to the foot of a
+rock called “The Chimney,” which is scaled with the feet and hands.
+Twenty minutes after, you reach the summit of the Brevent, whence the
+view is very fine. The chain of Mont Blanc appears in all its majesty.
+The gigantic mountain, firmly established on its powerful strata, seems
+to defy the tempests which sweep across its icy shield without ever
+impairing it; whilst the crowd of icy needles, peaks, mountains, which
+form its cortege and rise everywhere around it, without equalling its
+noble height, carry the evident traces of a slow wasting away.
+
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent.]
+
+
+From the excellent look-out which we occupied, we could reckon, though
+still imperfectly, the distance to be gone over in order to attain the
+summit. This summit, which from Chamonix appears so near the dome of
+the Goûter, now took its true position. The various plateaus which form
+so many degrees which must be crossed, and which are not visible from
+below, appeared from the Brevent, and threw the so-much-desired summit,
+by the laws of perspective, still farther in the background. The
+Bossons glacier, in all its splendour, bristled with icy needles and
+blocks (blocks sometimes ten yards square), which seemed, like the
+waves of an angry sea, to beat against the sides of the rocks of the
+Grands-Mulets, the base of which disappeared in their midst.
+
+This marvellous spectacle was not likely to cool my impatience, and I
+more eagerly than ever promised myself to explore this hitherto unknown
+world.
+
+My companion was equally inspired by the scene, and from this moment I
+began to think that I should not have to ascend Mont Blanc alone.
+
+We descended again to Chamonix; the weather became milder every hour;
+the barometer continued to ascend; everything seemed to promise well.
+
+The next day at sunrise I hastened to the master-guide. The sky was
+cloudless; the wind, almost imperceptible, was north-east. The chain of
+Mont Blanc, the higher summits of which were gilded by the rising sun,
+seemed to invite the many tourists to ascend it. One could not, in all
+politeness, refuse so kindly an invitation.
+
+M. Balmat, after consulting his barometer, declared the ascent to be
+practicable, and promised me the two guides and the porter prescribed
+in our agreement. I left the selection of these to him. But an
+unexpected incident disturbed my preparations for departure.
+
+As I came out of M. Balmat’s office, I met Ravanel, my guide of the day
+before.
+
+“Is monsieur going to Mont Blanc?” he asked.
+
+“Yes, certainly,” said I. “Is it not a favourable time to go?”
+
+He reflected a few moments, and then said with an embarrassed air,—
+
+“Monsieur, you are my traveller; I accompanied you yesterday to the
+Brevent, so I cannot leave you now; and, since you are going up, I will
+go with you, if you will kindly accept my services. It is your right,
+for on all dangerous journeys the traveller can choose his own guides.
+Only, if you accept my offer, I ask that you will also take my brother,
+Ambrose Ravanel, and my cousin, Gaspard Simon. These are young,
+vigorous fellows; they do not like the ascent of Mont Blanc better than
+I do; but they will not shirk it, and I answer for them to you as I
+would for myself.”
+
+This young man inspired me with all confidence. I accepted his
+proposition, and hastened to apprise M. Balmat of the choice I had
+made. But M. Balmat had meanwhile been selecting guides for me
+according to their turn on his list. One only had accepted, Edward
+Simon; the answer of another, Jean Carrier, had not yet been received,
+though it was scarcely doubtful, as this man had already made the
+ascent of Mont Blanc twenty-nine times. I thus found myself in an
+embarrassing position. The guides I had chosen were all from
+Argentière, a village six kilometres from Chamonix. Those of Chamonix
+accused Ravanel of having influenced me in favour of his family, which
+was contrary to the regulations.
+
+To cut the discussion short, I took Edward Simon, who had already made
+his preparations as a third guide. He would be useless if I went up
+alone, but would become indispensable if my friend also ascended.
+
+This settled, I went to tell Donatien Levesque. I found him sleeping
+the sleep of the just, for he had walked over sixteen kilometres on a
+mountain the evening before. I had some difficulty in waking him; but
+on removing first his sheets, then his pillows, and finally his
+mattress, I obtained some result, and succeeded in making him
+understand that I was preparing for the hazardous trip.
+
+“Well,” said he, yawning, “I will go with you as far as the
+Grands-Mulets, and await your return there.”
+
+“Bravo!” I replied. “I have just one guide too many, and I will attach
+him to your person.”
+
+We bought the various articles indispensable to a journey across the
+glaciers. Iron-spiked alpenstocks, coarse cloth leggings, green
+spectacles fitting tightly to the eyes, furred gloves, green
+veils,—nothing was forgotten. We each had excellent triple-soled shoes,
+which our guides roughed for the ice. This last is an important detail,
+for there are moments in such an expedition when the least slip is
+fatal, not only to yourself, but to the whole party with you.
+
+Our preparations and those of the guides occupied nearly two hours.
+About eight o’clock our mules were brought; and we set out at last for
+the chalet of the Pierre-Pointue, situated at a height of six thousand
+five hundred feet, or three thousand above the valley of Chamonix, not
+far from eight thousand five hundred feet below the summit of Mont
+Blanc.
+
+On reaching the Pierre-Pointue, about ten o’clock, we found there a
+Spanish tourist, M. N——, accompanied by two guides and a porter. His
+principal guide, Paccard, a relative of the Doctor Paccard who made,
+with Jacques Balmat, the first ascent of Mont Blanc, had already been
+to the summit eighteen times. M. N—— was also getting himself ready for
+the ascent. He had travelled much in America, and had crossed the
+Cordilleras to Quito, passing through snow at the highest points. He
+therefore thought that he could, without great difficulty, carry
+through his new enterprise; but in this he was mistaken. He had
+reckoned without the steepness of the inclinations which he had to
+cross, and the rarefaction of the air. I hasten to add, to his honour,
+that, since he succeeded in reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, it was
+due to a rare moral energy, for his physical energies had long before
+deserted him.
+
+We breakfasted as heartily as possible at the Pierre-Pointue; this
+being a prudent precaution, as the appetite usually fails higher up
+among the ice.
+
+
+[Illustration: View Of Bossons Glacier, Near The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+
+M. N—— set out at eleven, with his guides, for the Grands-Mulets. We
+did not start until noon. The mule-road ceases at the Pierre-Pointue.
+We had then to go up a very narrow zigzag path, which follows the edge
+of the Bossons glacier, and along the base of the Aiguille-du-Midi.
+After an hour of difficult climbing in an intense heat, we reached a
+point called the Pierre-a-l’Echelle, eight thousand one hundred feet
+high. The guides and travellers were then bound together by a strong
+rope, with three or four yards between each. We were about to advance
+upon the Bossons glacier. This glacier, difficult at first, presents
+yawning and apparently bottomless crevasses on every hand. The vertical
+sides of these crevasses are of a glaucous and uncertain colour, but
+too seducing to the eye; when, approaching closely, you succeed in
+looking into their mysterious depths, you feel yourself irresistibly
+drawn towards them, and nothing seems more natural than to go down into
+them.
+
+
+[Illustration: Passage Of The Bossons Glacier.]
+
+
+You advance slowly, passing round the crevasses, or on the snow bridges
+of dubious strength. Then the rope plays its part. It is stretched out
+over these dangerous transits; if the snow bridge yields, the guide or
+traveller remains hanging over the abyss. He is drawn beyond it, and
+gets off with a few bruises. Sometimes, if the crevasse is very wide
+but not deep, he descends to the bottom and goes up on the other side.
+In this case it is necessary to cut steps in the ice, and the two
+leading guides, armed with a sort of hatchet, perform this difficult
+and perilous task. A special circumstance makes the entrance on the
+Bossons dangerous. You go upon the glacier at the base of the
+Aiguille-du-Midi, opposite a passage whence stone avalanches often
+descend. This passage is nearly six hundred feet wide. It must be
+crossed quickly, and as you pass, a guide stands on guard to avert the
+danger from you if it presents itself. In 1869 a guide was killed on
+this spot, and his body, hurled into space by a stone, was dashed to
+pieces on the rocks nine hundred feet below.
+
+
+[Illustration: Crevasse and Bridge.]
+
+
+We were warned, and hastened our steps as fast as our inexperience
+would permit; but on leaving this dangerous zone, another, not less
+dangerous, awaited us. This was the region of the “seracs,”—immense
+blocks of ice, the formation of which is not as yet explained.
+
+
+[Illustration: View of the “Seracs”.]
+
+
+These are usually situated on the edge of a plateau, and menace the
+whole valley beneath them. A slight movement of the glacier, or even a
+light vibration of the temperature, impels their fall, and occasions
+the most serious accidents.
+
+
+[Illustration: View of the “Seracs”.]
+
+
+“Messieurs, keep quiet, and let us pass over quickly.” These words,
+roughly spoken by one of the guides, checked our conversation. We went
+across rapidly and in silence. We finally reached what is called the
+“Junction” (which might more properly be called the violent
+“Separation”), by the Côte Mountain, the Bossons and Tacconay glaciers.
+At this point the scene assumes an indescribable character; crevasses
+with changing colours, ice-needles with sharp forms, seracs suspended
+and pierced with the light, little green lakes compose a chaos which
+surpasses everything that one can imagine. Added to this, the rush of
+the torrents at the foot of the glaciers, the sinister and repeated
+crackings of the blocks which detached themselves and fell in
+avalanches down the crevasses, the trembling of the ground which opened
+beneath our feet, gave a singular idea of those desolate places the
+existence of which only betrays itself by destruction and death.
+
+
+[Illustration: Passage of the “Junction”.]
+
+
+After passing the “Junction” you follow the Tacconay glacier for
+awhile, and reach the side which leads to the Grands-Mulets. This part,
+which is very sloping, is traversed in zigzags. The leading guide takes
+care to trace them at an angle of thirty degrees, when there is fresh
+snow, to avoid the avalanches.
+
+After crossing for three hours on the ice and snow, we reach the
+Grands-Mulets, rocks six hundred feet high, overlooking on one side the
+Bossons glacier, and on the other the sloping plains which extend to
+the base of the Goûter dome.
+
+
+[Illustration: Hut At The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+
+A small hut, constructed by the guides near the summit of the first
+rock, gives a shelter to travellers, and enables them to await a
+favourable moment for setting out for the summit of Mont Blanc.
+
+They dine there as well as they can, and sleep too; but the proverb,
+“He who sleeps dines,” does not apply to this elevation, for one cannot
+seriously do the one or the other.
+
+“Well,” said I to Levesque, after a pretence of a meal, “did I
+exaggerate the splendour of the landscape, and do you regret having
+come thus far?”
+
+“I regret it so little,” he replied, “that I am determined to go on to
+the summit. You may count on me.”
+
+“Very good,” said I. “But you know the worst is yet to come.”
+
+“Nonsense!” he exclaimed, “we will go to the end. Meanwhile, let us
+observe the sunset, which must be magnificent.”
+
+The heavens had remained wonderfully clear. The chain of the Brevent
+and the Aiguilles-Rouges stretched out at our feet. Beyond, the Fiz
+rocks and the Aiguille-de-Varan rose above the Sallanche Valley, and
+the whole chains of Mont Fleury and the Reposoir appeared in the
+background. More to the right we could descry the snowy summit of the
+Buet, and farther off the Dents-du-Midi, with its five tusks,
+overhanging the valley of the Rhone. Behind us were the eternal snows
+of the Goûter, Mont Maudit, and, lastly, Mont Blanc.
+
+Little by little the shadows invaded the valley of Chamonix, and
+gradually each of the summits which overlook it on the west. The chain
+of Mont Blanc alone remained luminous, and seemed encircled by a golden
+halo. Soon the shadows crept up the Goûter and Mont Maudit. They still
+respected the giant of the Alps. We watched this gradual disappearance
+of the light with admiration. It lingered awhile on the highest summit,
+and gave us the foolish hope that it would not depart thence. But in a
+few moments all was shrouded in gloom, and the livid and ghastly
+colours of death succeeded the living hues. I do not exaggerate. Those
+who love mountains will comprehend me.
+
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets.]
+
+
+After witnessing this sublime scene, we had only to await the moment of
+departure. We were to set out again at two in the morning. Now,
+therefore, we stretched ourselves upon our mattresses.
+
+It was useless to think of sleeping, much more of talking. We were
+absorbed by more or less gloomy thoughts. It was the night before the
+battle, with the difference that nothing forced us to engage in the
+struggle. Two sorts of ideas struggled in the mind. It was the ebb and
+flow of the sea, each in its turn. Objections to the venture were not
+wanting. Why run so much danger? If we succeeded, of what advantage
+would it be? If an accident happened, how we should regret it! Then the
+imagination set to work; all the mountain catastrophes rose in the
+fancy. I dreamed of snow bridges giving way under my feet, of being
+precipitated in the yawning crevasses, of hearing the terrible noises
+of the avalanches detaching themselves and burying me, of disappearing,
+of cold and death seizing upon me, and of struggling with desperate
+effort, but in vain!
+
+A sharp, horrible noise is heard at this moment
+
+“The avalanche! the avalanche!” I cry.
+
+“What is the matter with you?” asks Levesque, starting up.
+
+Alas! It is a piece of furniture which, in the struggles of my
+nightmare, I have just broken. This very prosaic avalanche recalls me
+to the reality. I laugh at my terrors, a contrary current of thought
+gets the upper hand, and with it ambitious ideas. I need only use a
+little effort to reach this summit, so seldom attained. It is a
+victory, as others are. Accidents are rare—very rare! Do they ever take
+place at all? The spectacle from the summit must be so marvellous! And
+then what satisfaction there would be in having accomplished what so
+many others dared not undertake!
+
+My courage was restored by these thoughts, and I calmly awaited the
+moment of departure.
+
+About one o’clock the steps and voices of the guides, and the noise of
+opening doors, indicated that that moment was approaching. Soon Ravanel
+came in and said, “Come, messieurs, get up; the weather is magnificent.
+By ten o’clock we shall be at the’ summit.”
+
+At these words we leaped from our beds, and hurried to make our toilet.
+Two of the guides, Ambrose Ravanel and his cousin Simon, went on ahead
+to explore the road. They were provided with a lantern, which was to
+show us the way to go, and with hatchets to make the path and cut steps
+in the very difficult spots. At two o’clock we tied ourselves one to
+another: the order of march was, Edward Ravanel before me, and at the
+head; behind me Edward Simon, then Donatien Levesque; after him our two
+porters (for we took along with us the domestic of the Grands-Mulets
+hut as a second), and M. N——’s party.
+
+The guides and porters having distributed the provisions between them,
+the signal for departure was given, and we set off in the midst of
+profound darkness, directing ourselves according to the lantern held up
+at some distance ahead.
+
+There was something solemn in this setting out. But few words were
+spoken; the vagueness of the unknown impressed us, but the new and
+strange situation excited us, and rendered us insensible to its
+dangers. The landscape around was fantastic. But few outlines were
+distinguishable. Great white confused masses, with blackish spots here
+and there, closed the horizon. The celestial vault shone with
+remarkable brilliancy. We could perceive, at an uncertain distance, the
+lantern of the guides who were ahead, and the mournful silence of the
+night was only disturbed by the dry, distant noise of the hatchet
+cutting steps in the ice.
+
+We crept slowly and cautiously over the first ascent, going towards the
+base of the Goûter. After ascending laboriously for two hours, we
+reached the first plateau, called the “Petit-Plateau,” at the foot of
+the Goûter, at a height of about eleven thousand feet. We rested a few
+moments and then proceeded, turning now to the left and going towards
+the edge which conducts to the “Grand-Plateau.”
+
+But our party had already lessened in number: M. N——, with his guides,
+had stopped; his fatigue obliged him to take a longer rest.
+
+About half-past four dawn began to whiten the horizon. At this moment
+we were ascending the slope which leads to the Grand-Plateau, which we
+soon safely reached. We were eleven thousand eight hundred feet high.
+We had well earned our breakfast. Wonderful to relate, Levesque and I
+had a good appetite. It was a good sign. We therefore installed
+ourselves on the snow, and made such a repast as we could. Our guides
+joyfully declared that success was certain. As for me, I thought they
+resumed work too quickly.
+
+M. N—— rejoined us before long. We urged him to take some nourishment.
+He peremptorily refused. He felt the contraction of the stomach which
+is so common in those parts, and was almost broken down.
+
+The Grand-Plateau deserves a special description. On the right rises
+the dome of the Goûter. Opposite it is Mont Blanc, rearing itself two
+thousand seven hundred feet above it. On the left are the “Rouges”
+rocks and Mont Maudit. This immense circle is one mass of glittering
+whiteness. On every side are vast crevasses. It was in one of these
+that three of the guides who accompanied Dr. Hamel and Colonel
+Anderson, in 1820, were swallowed up. In 1864 another guide met his
+death there.
+
+This plateau must be crossed with great caution, as the crevasses are
+often hidden by the snow; besides, it is often swept by avalanches. On
+the 13th of October, 1866, an English traveller and three of his guides
+were buried under a mass of ice that fell from Mont Blanc. After a
+perilous search, the bodies of the three guides were found. They were
+expecting every moment to find that of the Englishman, when a fresh
+avalanche fell upon the first, and forced the searchers to abandon
+their task.
+
+
+[Illustration: Crossing the Plateau.]
+
+
+Three routes presented themselves to us. The ordinary route, which
+passes entirely to the left, by the base of Mont Maudit, through a sort
+of valley called the “Corridor,” leads by gentle ascents to the top of
+the first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+
+The second, less frequented, turns to the right by the Goûter, and
+leads to the summit of Mont Blanc by the ridge which unites these two
+mountains. You must pursue for three hours a giddy path, and scale a
+height of moving ice, called the “Camel’s Hump.”
+
+The third route consists in ascending directly to the summit of the
+Corridor, crossing an ice-wall seven hundred and fifty feet high, which
+extends along the first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+
+The guides declared the first route impracticable, on account of the
+recent crevasses which entirely obstructed it; the choice between the
+two others remained. I thought the second, by the “Camel’s Hump,” the
+best; but it was regarded as too dangerous, and it was decided that we
+should attack the ice-wall conducting to the summit of the Corridor.
+
+When a decision is made, it is best to execute it without delay. We
+crossed the Grand-Plateau, and reached the foot of this really
+formidable obstacle.
+
+The nearer we approached the more nearly vertical became its slope.
+Besides, several crevasses which we had not perceived yawned at its
+base.
+
+We nevertheless began the difficult ascent. Steps were begun by the
+foremost guide, and completed by the next. We ascended two steps a
+minute. The higher we went the more the steepness increased. Our guides
+themselves discussed what route to follow; they spoke in patois, and
+did not always agree, which was not a good sign. At last the slope
+became such that our hats touched the legs of the guide just before us.
+
+A hailstorm of pieces of ice, produced by the cutting of the steps,
+blinded us, and made our progress still more difficult. Addressing one
+of the foremost guides, I said,—
+
+“Ah, it’s very well going up this way! It is not an open road, I admit:
+still, it is practicable. Only how are you going to get us down again?”
+
+“O monsieur,” replied Ambrose Ravanel, “we will take another route
+going back.”
+
+At last, after violent effort for two hours, and after having cut more
+than four hundred steps in this terrible mass, we reached the summit of
+the Corridor completely exhausted.
+
+We then crossed a slightly sloping plateau of snow, and passed along
+the side of an immense crevasse which obstructed our way. We had
+scarcely turned it when we uttered a cry of admiration. On the right,
+Piedmont and the plains of Lombardy were at our feet. On the left, the
+Pennine Alps and the Oberland, crowned with snow, raised their
+magnificent crests. Monte Rosa and the Cervin alone still rose above
+us, but soon we should overlook them in our turn.
+
+This reflection recalled us to the end of our expedition. We turned our
+gaze towards Mont Blanc, and stood stupefied.
+
+“Heavens! how far off it is still!” cried Levesque.
+
+“And how high!” I added.
+
+It was a discouraging sight. The famous wall of the ridge, so much
+feared, but which must be crossed, was before us, with its slope of
+fifty degrees. But after scaling the wall of the Corridor, it did not
+terrify us. We rested for half an hour and then continued our tramp;
+but we soon perceived that the atmospheric conditions were no longer
+the same. The sun shed his warm rays upon us; and their reflection on
+the snow added to our discomfort. The rarefaction of the air began to
+be severely felt. We advanced slowly, making frequent halts, and at
+last reached the plateau which overlooks the second escarpment of the
+Rouges rocks. We were at the foot of Mont Blanc. It rose, alone and
+majestic, at a height of six hundred feet above us. Monte Rosa itself
+had lowered its flag!
+
+Levesque and I were completely exhausted. As for M. N——, who had
+rejoined us at the summit of the Corridor, it might be said that he was
+insensible to the rarefaction of the air, for he no longer breathed, so
+to speak.
+
+We began at last to scale the last stage. We made ten steps and then
+stopped, finding it absolutely impossible to proceed. A painful
+contraction of the throat made our breathing exceedingly difficult. Our
+legs refused to carry us; and I then understood the picturesque
+expression of Jacques Balmat, when, in narrating his first ascent, he
+said that “his legs seemed only to be kept up by his trousers!” But our
+mental was superior to our physical force; and if the body faltered,
+the heart, responding “Excelsior!” stifled its desperate complaint, and
+urged forward our poor worn-out mechanism, despite itself. We thus
+passed the Petits-Mulets, and after two hours of superhuman efforts
+finally overlooked the entire chain. Mont Blanc was under our feet!
+
+
+[Illustration: Summit of Mont Blanc.]
+
+
+It was fifteen minutes after twelve.
+
+The pride of success soon dissipated our fatigue. We had at last
+conquered this formidable crest. We overlooked all the others, and the
+thoughts which Mont Blanc alone can inspire affected us with a deep
+emotion. It was ambition satisfied; and to me, at least, a dream
+realized!
+
+Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe. Several mountains in Asia
+and America are higher; but of what use would it be to attempt them,
+if, in the absolute impossibility of reaching their summit, you must be
+content to remain at a lesser height?
+
+Others, such as Mont Cervin, are more difficult of access; but we
+perceived the summit of Mont Cervin twelve hundred feet below us!
+
+And then, what a view to reward us for our troubles and dangers!
+
+The sky, still pure, had assumed a deep-blue tint. The sun, despoiled
+of a part of his rays, had lost his brilliancy, as if in a partial
+eclipse. This effect, due to the rarefaction of the air, was all the
+more apparent as the surrounding eminences and plains were inundated
+with light. No detail of the scene, therefore, escaped our notice.
+
+In the south-east, the mountains of Piedmont, and farther off the
+plains of Lombardy, shut in our horizon. Towards the west, the
+mountains of Savoy and Dauphiné; beyond, the valley of the Rhone. In
+the north-west, the Lake of Geneva and the Jura; then, descending
+towards the south, a chaos of mountains and glaciers, beyond
+description, overlooked by the masses of Monte Rosa, the
+Mischabelhoerner, the Cervin, the Weishorn—the most beautiful of
+crests, as Tyndall calls it—and farther off by the Jungfrau, the Monck,
+the Eiger, and the Finsteraarhorn.
+
+The extent of our range of vision was not less than sixty leagues. We
+therefore saw at least one hundred and twenty leagues of country.
+
+A special circumstance happened to enhance the beauty of the scene.
+Clouds formed on the Italian side and invaded the valleys of the
+Pennine Alps without veiling their summits. We soon had under our eyes
+a second sky, a lower sky, a sea of clouds, whence emerged a perfect
+archipelago of peaks and snow-wrapped mountains. There was something
+magical in it, which the greatest poets could scarcely describe.
+
+The summit of Mont Blanc forms a ridge from southwest to north-east,
+two hundred paces long and a yard wide at the culminating point. It
+seemed like a ship’s hull overturned, the keel in the air.
+
+Strangely enough, the temperature was very high—ten degrees above zero.
+The air was almost still. Sometimes we felt a light breeze.
+
+The first care of our guides was to place us all in a line on the crest
+opposite Chamonix, that we might be easily counted from below, and thus
+make it known that no one of us had been lost. Many of the tourists had
+ascended the Brevent and the Jardin to watch our ascent. They might now
+be assured of its success.
+
+But to ascend was not all; we must think also of going down. The most
+difficult, if not most wearisome, task remained; and then one quits
+with regret a summit attained at the price of so much toil. The energy
+which urges you to ascend, the need, so natural and imperious, of
+overcoming, now fails you. You go forward listlessly, often looking
+behind you!
+
+It was necessary, however, to decide, and, after a last traditional
+libation of champagne, we put ourselves in motion. We had remained on
+the summit an hour. The order of march was now changed. M. N——’s party
+led off; and, at the suggestion of his guide Paccard, we were all tied
+together with a rope. M. N——’s fatigue, which his strength, but not his
+will, betrayed, made us fear falls on his part which would require the
+help of the whole party to arrest. The event justified our foreboding.
+On descending the side of the wall, M. N—— made several false steps.
+His guides, very vigorous and skilful, were happily able to check him;
+but ours, feeling, with reason, that the whole party might be dragged
+down, wished to detach us from the rope. Levesque and I opposed this;
+and, by taking great precautions, we safely reached the base of this
+giddy ledge. There was no room for illusions. The almost bottomless
+abyss was before us, and the pieces of detached ice, which bounded by
+us with the rapidity of an arrow, clearly showed us the route which the
+party would take if a slip were made.
+
+Once this terrible gap crossed, I began to breathe again. We descended
+the gradual slopes which led to the summit of the Corridor. The snow,
+softened by the heat, yielded beneath our feet; we sank in it to the
+knees, which made our progress very fatiguing. We steadily followed the
+path by which we ascended in the morning, and I was astonished when
+Gaspard Simon, turning towards me, said,—
+
+“Monsieur, we cannot take any other road, for the Corridor is
+impracticable, and we must descend by the wall which we climbed up this
+morning.”
+
+I told Levesque this disagreeable news.
+
+“Only,” added Gaspard Simon, “I do not think we can all remain tied
+together. However, we will see how M. N—— bears it at first.”
+
+We advanced towards this terrible wall! M. N——’s party began to
+descend, and we heard Paccard talking rapidly to him. The inclination
+became so steep that we perceived neither him nor his guides, though we
+were bound together by the same rope.
+
+As soon as Gaspard Simon, who went before me, could comprehend what was
+passing, he stopped, and after exchanging some words in _patois_ with
+his comrades, declared that we must detach ourselves from M. N——’s
+party.
+
+“We are responsible for you,” he added, “but we cannot be responsible
+for others; and if they slip, they will drag us after them.”
+
+Saying this, he got loose from the rope. We were very unwilling to take
+this step; but our guides were inflexible.
+
+We then proposed to send two of them to help M. N——’s guides. They
+eagerly consented; but having no rope they could not put this plan into
+execution.
+
+We then began this terrible descent. Only one of us moved at a time,
+and when each took a step the others buttressed themselves ready to
+sustain the shock if he slipped. The foremost guide, Edward Ravanel,
+had the most perilous task; it was for him to make the steps over
+again, now more or less worn away by the ascending caravan.
+
+We progressed slowly, taking the most careful precautions. Our route
+led us in a right line to one of the crevasses which opened at the base
+of the escarpment. When we were going up we could not look at this
+crevasse, but in descending we were fascinated by its green and yawning
+sides. All the blocks of ice detached by our passage went the same way,
+and after two or three bounds, ingulfed themselves in the crevasse, as
+in the jaws of the minotaur, only the jaws of the minotaur closed after
+each morsel, while the unsatiated crevasse yawned perpetually, and
+seemed to await, before closing, a larger mouthful. It was for us to
+take care that we should not be this mouthful, and all our efforts were
+made for this end. In order to withdraw ourselves from this
+fascination, this moral giddiness, if I may so express myself, we tried
+to joke about the dangerous position in which we found ourselves, and
+which even a chamois would not have envied us. We even got so far as to
+hum one of Offenbach’s couplets; but I must confess that our jokes were
+feeble, and that we did not sing the airs correctly.
+
+I even thought I discovered Levesque obstinately setting the words of
+“Barbe-Bleue” to one of the airs in “Il Trovatore,” which rather
+indicated some grave preoccupation of the mind. In short, in order to
+keep up our spirits, we did as do those brave cowards who sing in the
+dark to forget their fright.
+
+We remained thus, suspended between life and death, for an hour, which
+seemed an eternity; at last we reached the bottom of this terrible
+escarpment. We there found M. N—— and his party, safe and sound.
+
+After resting a little while, we continued our journey.
+
+As we were approaching the Petit-Plateau, Edward Ravanel suddenly
+stopped, and, turning towards us, said,—
+
+“See what an avalanche! It has covered our tracks.”
+
+An immense avalanche of ice had indeed fallen from the Goûter, and
+entirely buried the path we had followed in the morning across the
+Petit-Plateau.
+
+I estimated that the mass of this avalanche could not comprise less
+than five hundred cubic yards. If it had fallen while we were passing,
+one more catastrophe would no doubt have been added to the list,
+already too long, of the necrology of Mont Blanc.
+
+This fresh obstacle forced us to seek a new road, or to pass around the
+foot of the avalanche. As we were much fatigued, the latter course was
+assuredly the simplest; but it involved a serious danger. A wall of ice
+more than sixty feet high, already partly detached from the Goûter, to
+which it only clung by one of its angles, overhung the path which we
+should follow. This great mass seemed to hold itself in equilibrium.
+What if our passing, by disturbing the air, should hasten its fall? Our
+guides held a consultation. Each of them examined with a spy-glass the
+fissure which had been formed between the mountain and this alarming
+ice-mass. The sharp and clear edges of the cleft betrayed a recent
+breaking off, evidently caused by the fall of the avalanche.
+
+After a brief discussion, our guides, recognizing the impossibility of
+finding another road, decided to attempt this dangerous passage.
+
+“We must walk very fast,—even run, if possible,” said they, “and we
+shall be in safety in five minutes. Come, messieurs, a last effort!”
+
+A run of five minutes is a small matter for people who are only tired;
+but for us, who were absolutely exhausted, to run even for so short a
+time on soft snow, in which we sank up to the knees, seemed an
+impossibility. Nevertheless, we made an urgent appeal to our energies,
+and after two or three tumbles, drawn forward by one, pushed by
+another, we finally reached a snow hillock, on which we fell
+breathless. We were out of danger.
+
+It required some time to recover ourselves. We stretched out on the
+snow with a feeling of comfort which every one will understand. The
+greatest difficulties had been surmounted, and though there were still
+dangers to brave, we could confront them with comparatively little
+apprehension.
+
+We prolonged our halt in the hope of witnessing the fall of the
+avalanche, but in vain. As the day was advancing, and it was not
+prudent to tarry in these icy solitudes, we decided to continue on our
+way, and about five o’clock we reached the hut of the Grands-Mulets.
+
+After a bad night, attended by fever caused by the sunstrokes
+encountered in our expedition, we made ready to return to Chamonix;
+but, before setting out, we inscribed the names of our guides and the
+principal events of our journey, according to the custom, on the
+register kept for this purpose at the Grands-Mulets.
+
+About eight o’clock we started for Chamonix. The passage of the Bossons
+was difficult, but we accomplished it without accident.
+
+
+[Illustration: Grands-Mulets.—Party Descending From The Hut.]
+
+
+Half an hour before reaching Chamonix, we met, at the chalet of the
+Dard falls, some English tourists, who seemed to be watching our
+progress. When they perceived us, they hurried up eagerly to
+congratulate us on our success. One of them presented us to his wife, a
+charming person, with a well-bred air. After we had given them a sketch
+of our perilous peregrinations, she said to us, in earnest accents,—
+
+“How much you are envied here by everybody! Let me touch your
+alpenstocks!”
+
+These words seemed to interpret the general feeling.
+
+The ascent of Mont Blanc is a very painful one. It is asserted that the
+celebrated naturalist of Geneva, De Saussure, acquired there the seeds
+of the disease of which he died in a few months after his return from
+the summit. I cannot better close this narrative than by quoting the
+words of M. Markham Sherwell:—
+
+“However it may be,” he says, in describing his ascent of Mont Blanc,
+“I would not advise any one to undertake this ascent, the rewards of
+which can never have an importance proportionate to the dangers
+encountered by the tourist, and by those who accompany him.”
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
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+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Winter Amid the Ice, by Jules Verne</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
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+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
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+</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: A Winter Amid the Ice<br />
+  and Other Thrilling Stories</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Jules Verne</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 1, 2009 [eBook #28657]<br />
+[Most recently updated: February 5, 2022]</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Alan Winterrowd</div>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WINTER AMID THE ICE ***</div>
+
+<h1>A Winter Amid the Ice</h1>
+
+<h3><small><small>AND</small></small><br/>
+OTHER THRILLING STORIES</h3>
+
+<h2 class="no-break">by Jules Verne</h2>
+
+<h4>with sixty illustrations</h4>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<img src="images/image00.jpg" width="218" height="208" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+</div>
+
+<h5>NEW YORK:<br/>
+THE WORLD PUBLISHING HOUSE<br/>
+21 ASTOR PLACE AND 142 EIGHTH ST.<br/>
+1877</h5>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2>Contents</h2>
+
+<h3>DOCTOR OX&rsquo;S EXPERIMENT</h3>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_01">CHAPTER I.</a><br/>
+How it is useless to seek, even on the best maps, for the small town of
+Quiquendone
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_02">CHAPTER II.</a><br/>
+In which the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor Niklausse consult
+about the affairs of the town
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_03">CHAPTER III.</a><br/>
+In which the Commissary Passauf enters as noisily as unexpectedly
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_04">CHAPTER IV.</a><br/>
+In which Doctor Ox reveals himself as a physiologist of the first rank, and as
+an audacious experimentalist
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_05">CHAPTER V.</a><br/>
+In which the burgomaster and the counsellor pay a visit to Doctor Ox, and what
+follows
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_06">CHAPTER VI.</a><br/>
+In which Frantz Niklausse and Suzel Van Tricasse form certain projects for the
+future
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_07">CHAPTER VII.</a><br/>
+In which the Andantes become Allegros, and the Allegros Vivaces
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_08">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br/>
+In which the ancient and solemn German waltz becomes a whirlwind
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_09">CHAPTER IX.</a><br/>
+In which Doctor Ox and Ygène, his assistant, say a few words
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_10">CHAPTER X.</a><br/>
+In which it will be seen that the epidemic invades the entire town, and what
+effect it produces
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_11">CHAPTER XI.</a><a href="#ox_11"></a><br/>
+In which the Quiquendonians adopt a heroic resolution
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_12">CHAPTER XII.</a><br/>
+In which Ygène, the assistant, gives a reasonable piece of advice, which is
+eagerly rejected by Doctor Ox
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br/>
+In which it is once more proved that by taking high ground all human
+littlenesses may be overlooked
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br/>
+In which matters go so far that the inhabitants of Quiquendone, the reader, and
+even the author, demand an immediate dénouement
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_15">CHAPTER XV.</a><br/>
+In which the dénouement takes place
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br/>
+In which the intelligent reader sees that he has guessed correctly, despite all
+the author&rsquo;s precautions
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ox_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a><br/>
+In which Doctor Ox&rsquo;s theory is explained
+</p>
+
+<h3>MASTER ZACHARIUS.</h3>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#zach_01">CHAPTER I.</a><br/>
+A winter night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#zach_02">CHAPTER II.</a><br/>
+The pride of science
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#zach_03">CHAPTER III.</a><br/>
+A strange visit
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#zach_04">CHAPTER IV.</a><br/>
+The Church of St. Pierre
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#zach_05">CHAPTER V.</a><br/>
+The hour of death
+</p>
+
+<h3><a href="#drama">A DRAMA IN THE AIR</a></h3>
+
+<h3>A WINTER AMID THE ICE</h3>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_01">CHAPTER I.</a><br/>
+The black flag
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_02">CHAPTER II.</a><br/>
+Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s project
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_03">CHAPTER III.</a><br/>
+A ray of hope
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_04">CHAPTER IV.</a><br/>
+In the passes
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_05">CHAPTER V.</a><br/>
+Liverpool Island
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_06">CHAPTER VI.</a><br/>
+The quaking of the ice
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_07">CHAPTER VII.</a><br/>
+Settling for the winter
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_08">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br/>
+Plan of the explorations
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_09">CHAPTER IX.</a><br/>
+The house of snow
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_10">CHAPTER X.</a><br/>
+Buried alive
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_11">CHAPTER XI.</a><br/>
+A cloud of smoke
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_12">CHAPTER XII.</a><br/>
+The return to the ship
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br/>
+The two rivals
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br/>
+Distress
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_15">CHAPTER XV.</a><br/>
+The white bears
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#winter_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br/>
+Conclusion
+</p>
+
+<h3><a href="#ascent">ASCENT OF MONT BLANC</a></h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<img src="images/image000.jpg" width="459" height="324" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+</div>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+<table summary="" style="">
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image01">She handed her father a pipe</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image02">The worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second husband</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image03">&ldquo;I have just come from Dr. Ox&rsquo;s&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image04">&ldquo;It is in the interests of science&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image05">&ldquo;The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are not very expeditious&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image06">The young girl took the line</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image07">&ldquo;Good-bye, Frantz,&rdquo; said Suzel</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image08">Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in &ldquo;Les Huguenots&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image09">They hustle each other to get out</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image10">It was no longer a waltz</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image11">It required two persons to eat a strawberry</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image12">&ldquo;To Virgamen! to Virgamen!&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image13">&ldquo;A burgomaster&rsquo;s place is in the front rank&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image14">The two friends, arm in arm</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image15">The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image16">He would raise the trap-door constructed in the floor of his workshop</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image17">The young girl prayed</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image18">&ldquo;Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence&rdquo;.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image19">&ldquo;Father, what is the matter?&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image20">Then he resumed, in an ironical tone</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image21">From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the house</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image22">This proud old man remained motionless</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image23">&ldquo;It is there&mdash;there!&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image24">&ldquo;See this man,&mdash;he is Time&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image25">He was dead</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image26">&ldquo;Monsieur, I salute you&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image27">&ldquo;Monsieur!&rdquo; cried I, in a rage</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image28">&ldquo;He continued his observations for seven or eight hours with General Morlot&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image29">&ldquo;The balloon became less and less inflated&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image30">&ldquo;Zambecarri fell, and was killed!&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image31">The madman disappeared in space</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image32">&ldquo;Monsieur the curè,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;stop a moment, if you please&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image33">André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful event</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image34">A soft voice said in his ear, &ldquo;Have good courage, uncle&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image35">André Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image36">On the 12th September the sea consisted of one solid plain</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image37">They found themselves in a most perilous position, for an icequake had occurred</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image38">Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image39">The caravan set out</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image40">&ldquo;Thirty-two degrees below zero!&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image41">Despair and determination were struggling in his rough features for the mastery</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image42">It was Louis Cornbutte</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image43">Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image44">Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons, but he did not reply</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image45">Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old Jean Cornbutte</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image46">The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen on the two men</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image47">The old curè received Louis Cornbutte and Marie</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image48">View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image49">View of Bossons glacier, near the Grands-Mulets</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image50">Passage of the Bossons Glacier</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image51">Crevasse and bridge</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image52">View of the &ldquo;Seracs&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image53">View of &ldquo;Seracs&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image54">Passage of the &ldquo;Junction&rdquo;</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image55">Hut at the Grands-Mulets</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image56">View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image57">Crossing the plateau</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image58">Summit of Mont Blanc</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#image59">Grands-Mulets:&mdash;Party descending from the hut</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+</table>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2>DOCTOR OX&rsquo;S EXPERIMENT.</h2>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_01"></a>CHAPTER I.<br/>
+HOW IT IS USELESS TO SEEK, EVEN ON THE BEST MAPS, FOR THE SMALL TOWN OF
+QUIQUENDONE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+If you try to find, on any map of Flanders, ancient or modern, the small town
+of Quiquendone, probably you will not succeed. Is Quiquendone, then, one of
+those towns which have disappeared? No. A town of the future? By no means. It
+exists in spite of geographies, and has done so for some eight or nine hundred
+years. It even numbers two thousand three hundred and ninety-three souls,
+allowing one soul to each inhabitant. It is situated thirteen and a half
+kilometres north-west of Oudenarde, and fifteen and a quarter kilometres
+south-east of Bruges, in the heart of Flanders. The Vaar, a small tributary of
+the Scheldt, passes beneath its three bridges, which are still covered with a
+quaint mediæval roof, like that at Tournay. An old château is to be seen there,
+the first stone of which was laid so long ago as 1197, by Count Baldwin,
+afterwards Emperor of Constantinople; and there is a Town Hall, with Gothic
+windows, crowned by a chaplet of battlements, and surrounded by a turreted
+belfry, which rises three hundred and fifty-seven feet above the soil. Every
+hour you may hear there a chime of five octaves, a veritable aerial piano, the
+renown of which surpasses that of the famous chimes of Bruges.
+Strangers&mdash;if any ever come to Quiquendone&mdash;do not quit the curious
+old town until they have visited its &ldquo;Stadtholder&rsquo;s Hall&rdquo;,
+adorned by a full-length portrait of William of Nassau, by Brandon; the loft of
+the Church of Saint Magloire, a masterpiece of sixteenth century architecture;
+the cast-iron well in the spacious Place Saint Ernuph, the admirable
+ornamentation of which is attributed to the artist-blacksmith, Quentin Metsys;
+the tomb formerly erected to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold,
+who now reposes in the Church of Notre Dame at Bruges; and so on. The principal
+industry of Quiquendone is the manufacture of whipped creams and barley-sugar
+on a large scale. It has been governed by the Van Tricasses, from father to
+son, for several centuries. And yet Quiquendone is not on the map of Flanders!
+Have the geographers forgotten it, or is it an intentional omission? That I
+cannot tell; but Quiquendone really exists; with its narrow streets, its
+fortified walls, its Spanish-looking houses, its market, and its
+burgomaster&mdash;so much so, that it has recently been the theatre of some
+surprising phenomena, as extraordinary and incredible as they are true, which
+are to be recounted in the present narration.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Surely there is nothing to be said or thought against the Flemings of Western
+Flanders. They are a well-to-do folk, wise, prudent, sociable, with even
+tempers, hospitable, perhaps a little heavy in conversation as in mind; but
+this does not explain why one of the most interesting towns of their district
+has yet to appear on modern maps.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This omission is certainly to be regretted. If only history, or in default of
+history the chronicles, or in default of chronicles the traditions of the
+country, made mention of Quiquendone! But no; neither atlases, guides, nor
+itineraries speak of it. M. Joanne himself, that energetic hunter after small
+towns, says not a word of it. It might be readily conceived that this silence
+would injure the commerce, the industries, of the town. But let us hasten to
+add that Quiquendone has neither industry nor commerce, and that it does very
+well without them. Its barley-sugar and whipped cream are consumed on the spot;
+none is exported. In short, the Quiquendonians have no need of anybody. Their
+desires are limited, their existence is a modest one; they are calm, moderate,
+phlegmatic&mdash;in a word, they are Flemings; such as are still to be met with
+sometimes between the Scheldt and the North Sea.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER VAN TRICASSE AND THE COUNSELLOR NIKLAUSSE CONSULT
+ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN.</h2>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You think so?&rdquo; asked the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&mdash;think so,&rdquo; replied the counsellor, after some minutes of
+silence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You see, we must not act hastily,&rdquo; resumed the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We have been talking over this grave matter for ten years,&rdquo;
+replied the Counsellor Niklausse, &ldquo;and I confess to you, my worthy Van
+Tricasse, that I cannot yet take it upon myself to come to a decision.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I quite understand your hesitation,&rdquo; said the burgomaster, who did
+not speak until after a good quarter of an hour of reflection, &ldquo;I quite
+understand it, and I fully share it. We shall do wisely to decide upon nothing
+without a more careful examination of the question.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is certain,&rdquo; replied Niklausse, &ldquo;that this post of civil
+commissary is useless in so peaceful a town as Quiquendone.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Our predecessor,&rdquo; said Van Tricasse gravely, &ldquo;our
+predecessor never said, never would have dared to say, that anything is
+certain. Every affirmation is subject to awkward qualifications.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The counsellor nodded his head slowly in token of assent; then he remained
+silent for nearly half an hour. After this lapse of time, during which neither
+the counsellor nor the burgomaster moved so much as a finger, Niklausse asked
+Van Tricasse whether his predecessor&mdash;of some twenty years
+before&mdash;had not thought of suppressing this office of civil commissary,
+which each year cost the town of Quiquendone the sum of thirteen hundred and
+seventy-five francs and some centimes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I believe he did,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster, carrying his hand with
+majestic deliberation to his ample brow; &ldquo;but the worthy man died without
+having dared to make up his mind, either as to this or any other administrative
+measure. He was a sage. Why should I not do as he did?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Counsellor Niklausse was incapable of originating any objection to the
+burgomaster&rsquo;s opinion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The man who dies,&rdquo; added Van Tricasse solemnly, &ldquo;without
+ever having decided upon anything during his life, has very nearly attained to
+perfection.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This said, the burgomaster pressed a bell with the end of his little finger,
+which gave forth a muffled sound, which seemed less a sound than a sigh.
+Presently some light steps glided softly across the tile floor. A mouse would
+not have made less noise, running over a thick carpet. The door of the room
+opened, turning on its well-oiled hinges. A young girl, with long blonde
+tresses, made her appearance. It was Suzel Van Tricasse, the
+burgomaster&rsquo;s only daughter. She handed her father a pipe, filled to the
+brim, and a small copper brazier, spoke not a word, and disappeared at once,
+making no more noise at her exit than at her entrance.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image01"></a>
+<img src="images/image01.jpg" width="410" height="582" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">She handed her father a pipe
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The worthy burgomaster lighted his pipe, and was soon hidden in a cloud of
+bluish smoke, leaving Counsellor Niklausse plunged in the most absorbing
+thought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The room in which these two notable personages, charged with the government of
+Quiquendone, were talking, was a parlour richly adorned with carvings in dark
+wood. A lofty fireplace, in which an oak might have been burned or an ox
+roasted, occupied the whole of one of the sides of the room; opposite to it was
+a trellised window, the painted glass of which toned down the brightness of the
+sunbeams. In an antique frame above the chimney-piece appeared the portrait of
+some worthy man, attributed to Memling, which no doubt represented an ancestor
+of the Van Tricasses, whose authentic genealogy dates back to the fourteenth
+century, the period when the Flemings and Guy de Dampierre were engaged in wars
+with the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburgh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This parlour was the principal apartment of the burgomaster&rsquo;s house,
+which was one of the pleasantest in Quiquendone. Built in the Flemish style,
+with all the abruptness, quaintness, and picturesqueness of Pointed
+architecture, it was considered one of the most curious monuments of the town.
+A Carthusian convent, or a deaf and dumb asylum, was not more silent than this
+mansion. Noise had no existence there; people did not walk, but glided about in
+it; they did not speak, they murmured. There was not, however, any lack of
+women in the house, which, in addition to the burgomaster Van Tricasse himself,
+sheltered his wife, Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse, his daughter, Suzel Van
+Tricasse, and his domestic, Lotchè Janshéu. We may also mention the
+burgomaster&rsquo;s sister, Aunt Hermance, an elderly maiden who still bore the
+nickname of Tatanémance, which her niece Suzel had given her when a child. But
+in spite of all these elements of discord and noise, the burgomaster&rsquo;s
+house was as calm as a desert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster was some fifty years old, neither fat nor lean, neither short
+nor tall, neither rubicund nor pale, neither gay nor sad, neither contented nor
+discontented, neither energetic nor dull, neither proud nor humble, neither
+good nor bad, neither generous nor miserly, neither courageous nor cowardly,
+neither too much nor too little of anything&mdash;a man notably moderate in all
+respects, whose invariable slowness of motion, slightly hanging lower jaw,
+prominent eyebrows, massive forehead, smooth as a copper plate and without a
+wrinkle, would at once have betrayed to a physiognomist that the burgomaster
+Van Tricasse was phlegm personified. Never, either from anger or passion, had
+any emotion whatever hastened the beating of this man&rsquo;s heart, or flushed
+his face; never had his pupils contracted under the influence of any
+irritation, however ephemeral. He invariably wore good clothes, neither too
+large nor too small, which he never seemed to wear out. He was shod with large
+square shoes with triple soles and silver buckles, which lasted so long that
+his shoemaker was in despair. Upon his head he wore a large hat which dated
+from the period when Flanders was separated from Holland, so that this
+venerable masterpiece was at least forty years old. But what would you have? It
+is the passions which wear out body as well as soul, the clothes as well as the
+body; and our worthy burgomaster, apathetic, indolent, indifferent, was
+passionate in nothing. He wore nothing out, not even himself, and he considered
+himself the very man to administer the affairs of Quiquendone and its tranquil
+population.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The town, indeed, was not less calm than the Van Tricasse mansion. It was in
+this peaceful dwelling that the burgomaster reckoned on attaining the utmost
+limit of human existence, after having, however, seen the good Madame Brigitte
+Van Tricasse, his wife, precede him to the tomb, where, surely, she would not
+find a more profound repose than that she had enjoyed on earth for sixty years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This demands explanation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Van Tricasse family might well call itself the &ldquo;Jeannot
+family.&rdquo; This is why:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every one knows that the knife of this typical personage is as celebrated as
+its proprietor, and not less incapable of wearing out, thanks to the double
+operation, incessantly repeated, of replacing the handle when it is worn out,
+and the blade when it becomes worthless. A precisely similar operation had been
+going on from time immemorial in the Van Tricasse family, to which Nature had
+lent herself with more than usual complacency. From 1340 it had invariably
+happened that a Van Tricasse, when left a widower, had remarried a Van Tricasse
+younger than himself; who, becoming in turn a widow, had married again a Van
+Tricasse younger than herself; and so on, without a break in the continuity,
+from generation to generation. Each died in his or her turn with mechanical
+regularity. Thus the worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second
+husband; and, unless she violated her every duty, would precede her
+spouse&mdash;he being ten years younger than herself&mdash;to the other world,
+to make room for a new Madame Van Tricasse. Upon this the burgomaster calmly
+counted, that the family tradition might not be broken. Such was this mansion,
+peaceful and silent, of which the doors never creaked, the windows never
+rattled, the floors never groaned, the chimneys never roared, the weathercocks
+never grated, the furniture never squeaked, the locks never clanked, and the
+occupants never made more noise than their shadows. The god Harpocrates would
+certainly have chosen it for the Temple of Silence.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image02"></a>
+<img src="images/image02.jpg" width="406" height="588" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">the worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second
+husband
+</p>
+</div>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE COMMISSARY PASSAUF ENTERS AS NOISILY AS UNEXPECTEDLY.</h2>
+
+<p>
+When the interesting conversation which has been narrated began, it was a
+quarter before three in the afternoon. It was at a quarter before four that Van
+Tricasse lighted his enormous pipe, which could hold a quart of tobacco, and it
+was at thirty-five minutes past five that he finished smoking it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this time the two comrades did not exchange a single word.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About six o&rsquo;clock the counsellor, who had a habit of speaking in a very
+summary manner, resumed in these words,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;So we decide&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To decide nothing,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think, on the whole, that you are right, Van Tricasse.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think so too, Niklausse. We will take steps with reference to the
+civil commissary when we have more light on the subject&mdash; later on. There
+is no need for a month yet.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nor even for a year,&rdquo; replied Niklausse, unfolding his
+pocket-handkerchief and calmly applying it to his nose.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was another silence of nearly a quarter of an hour. Nothing disturbed
+this repeated pause in the conversation; not even the appearance of the
+house-dog Lento, who, not less phlegmatic than his master, came to pay his
+respects in the parlour. Noble dog!&mdash; a model for his race. Had he been
+made of pasteboard, with wheels on his paws, he would not have made less noise
+during his stay.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Towards eight o&rsquo;clock, after Lotchè had brought the antique lamp of
+polished glass, the burgomaster said to the counsellor,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We have no other urgent matter to consider?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, Van Tricasse; none that I know of.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have I not been told, though,&rdquo; asked the burgomaster, &ldquo;that
+the tower of the Oudenarde gate is likely to tumble down?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; replied the counsellor; &ldquo;really, I should not be
+astonished if it fell on some passer-by any day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh! before such a misfortune happens I hope we shall have come to a
+decision on the subject of this tower.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I hope so, Van Tricasse.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There are more pressing matters to decide.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt; the question of the leather-market, for instance.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What, is it still burning?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Still burning, and has been for the last three weeks.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have we not decided in council to let it burn?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, Van Tricasse&mdash;on your motion.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Was not that the surest and simplest way to deal with it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Without doubt.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, let us wait. Is that all?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All,&rdquo; replied the counsellor, scratching his head, as if to assure
+himself that he had not forgotten anything important.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; exclaimed the burgomaster, &ldquo;haven&rsquo;t you also
+heard something of an escape of water which threatens to inundate the low
+quarter of Saint Jacques?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have. It is indeed unfortunate that this escape of water did not
+happen above the leather-market! It would naturally have checked the fire, and
+would thus have saved us a good deal of discussion.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What can you expect, Niklausse? There is nothing so illogical as
+accidents. They are bound by no rules, and we cannot profit by one, as we might
+wish, to remedy another.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It took Van Tricasse&rsquo;s companion some time to digest this fine
+observation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, but,&rdquo; resumed the Counsellor Niklausse, after the lapse of
+some moments, &ldquo;we have not spoken of our great affair!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What great affair? Have we, then, a great affair?&rdquo; asked the
+burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt. About lighting the town.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;O yes. If my memory serves me, you are referring to the lighting plan of
+Doctor Ox.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Precisely.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is going on, Niklausse,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster. &ldquo;They
+are already laying the pipes, and the works are entirely completed.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps we have hurried a little in this matter,&rdquo; said the
+counsellor, shaking his head.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps. But our excuse is, that Doctor Ox bears the whole expense of
+his experiment. It will not cost us a sou.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That, true enough, is our excuse. Moreover, we must advance with the
+age. If the experiment succeeds, Quiquendone will be the first town in Flanders
+to be lighted with the oxy&mdash;What is the gas called?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oxyhydric gas.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, oxyhydric gas, then.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment the door opened, and Lotchè came in to tell the burgomaster that
+his supper was ready.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Counsellor Niklausse rose to take leave of Van Tricasse, whose appetite had
+been stimulated by so many affairs discussed and decisions taken; and it was
+agreed that the council of notables should be convened after a reasonably long
+delay, to determine whether a decision should be provisionally arrived at with
+reference to the really urgent matter of the Oudenarde gate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two worthy administrators then directed their steps towards the
+street-door, the one conducting the other. The counsellor, having reached the
+last step, lighted a little lantern to guide him through the obscure streets of
+Quiquendone, which Doctor Ox had not yet lighted. It was a dark October night,
+and a light fog overshadowed the town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Niklausse&rsquo;s preparations for departure consumed at least a quarter of an
+hour; for, after having lighted his lantern, he had to put on his big cow-skin
+socks and his sheep-skin gloves; then he put up the furred collar of his
+overcoat, turned the brim of his felt hat down over his eyes, grasped his heavy
+crow-beaked umbrella, and got ready to start.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Lotchè, however, who was lighting her master, was about to draw the bars
+of the door, an unexpected noise arose outside.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yes! Strange as the thing seems, a noise&mdash;a real noise, such as the town
+had certainly not heard since the taking of the donjon by the Spaniards in
+1513&mdash;terrible noise, awoke the long-dormant echoes of the venerable Van
+Tricasse mansion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some one knocked heavily upon this door, hitherto virgin to brutal touch!
+Redoubled knocks were given with some blunt implement, probably a knotty stick,
+wielded by a vigorous arm. With the strokes were mingled cries and calls. These
+words were distinctly heard:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur Van Tricasse! Monsieur the burgomaster! Open, open
+quickly!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, absolutely astounded, looked at each other
+speechless.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This passed their comprehension. If the old culverin of the château, which had
+not been used since 1385, had been let off in the parlour, the dwellers in the
+Van Tricasse mansion would not have been more dumbfoundered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, the blows and cries were redoubled. Lotchè, recovering her coolness,
+had plucked up courage to speak.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who is there?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is I! I! I!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The Commissary Passauf!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Commissary Passauf! The very man whose office it had been contemplated to
+suppress for ten years. What had happened, then? Could the Burgundians have
+invaded Quiquendone, as they did in the fourteenth century? No event of less
+importance could have so moved Commissary Passauf, who in no degree yielded the
+palm to the burgomaster himself for calmness and phlegm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On a sign from Van Tricasse&mdash;for the worthy man could not have articulated
+a syllable&mdash;the bar was pushed back and the door opened.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Commissary Passauf flung himself into the antechamber. One would have thought
+there was a hurricane.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter, Monsieur the commissary?&rdquo; asked Lotchè, a
+brave woman, who did not lose her head under the most trying circumstances.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter!&rdquo; replied Passauf, whose big round eyes
+expressed a genuine agitation. &ldquo;The matter is that I have just come from
+Doctor Ox&rsquo;s, who has been holding a reception, and that
+there&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image03"></a>
+<img src="images/image03.jpg" width="406" height="585" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">I have just come from Doctor Ox&rsquo;s
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There I have witnessed such an altercation as&mdash;Monsieur the
+burgomaster, they have been talking politics!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Politics!&rdquo; repeated Van Tricasse, running his fingers through his
+wig.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Politics!&rdquo; resumed Commissary Passauf, &ldquo;which has not been
+done for perhaps a hundred years at Quiquendone. Then the discussion got warm,
+and the advocate, André Schut, and the doctor, Dominique Custos, became so
+violent that it may be they will call each other out.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Call each other out!&rdquo; cried the counsellor. &ldquo;A duel! A duel
+at Quiquendone! And what did Advocate Schut and Doctor Gustos say?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Just this: &lsquo;Monsieur advocate,&rsquo; said the doctor to his
+adversary, &lsquo;you go too far, it seems to me, and you do not take
+sufficient care to control your words!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse clasped his hands&mdash;the counsellor turned pale
+and let his lantern fall&mdash;the commissary shook his head. That a phrase so
+evidently irritating should be pronounced by two of the principal men in the
+country!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This Doctor Custos,&rdquo; muttered Van Tricasse, &ldquo;is decidedly a
+dangerous man&mdash;a hare-brained fellow! Come, gentlemen!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On this, Counsellor Niklausse and the commissary accompanied the burgomaster
+into the parlour.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br/>
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX REVEALS HIMSELF AS A PHYSIOLOGIST OF THE FIRST RANK, AND AS
+AN AUDACIOUS EXPERIMENTALIST.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Who, then, was this personage, known by the singular name of Doctor Ox?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An original character for certain, but at the same time a bold savant, a
+physiologist, whose works were known and highly estimated throughout learned
+Europe, a happy rival of the Davys, the Daltons, the Bostocks, the Menzies, the
+Godwins, the Vierordts&mdash;of all those noble minds who have placed
+physiology among the highest of modern sciences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doctor Ox was a man of medium size and height, aged&mdash;: but we cannot state
+his age, any more than his nationality. Besides, it matters little; let it
+suffice that he was a strange personage, impetuous and hot-blooded, a regular
+oddity out of one of Hoffmann&rsquo;s volumes, and one who contrasted amusingly
+enough with the good people of Quiquendone. He had an imperturbable confidence
+both in himself and in his doctrines. Always smiling, walking with head erect
+and shoulders thrown back in a free and unconstrained manner, with a steady
+gaze, large open nostrils, a vast mouth which inhaled the air in liberal
+draughts, his appearance was far from unpleasing. He was full of animation,
+well proportioned in all parts of his bodily mechanism, with quicksilver in his
+veins, and a most elastic step. He could never stop still in one place, and
+relieved himself with impetuous words and a superabundance of gesticulations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Was Doctor Ox rich, then, that he should undertake to light a whole town at his
+expense? Probably, as he permitted himself to indulge in such
+extravagance,&mdash;and this is the only answer we can give to this indiscreet
+question.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doctor Ox had arrived at Quiquendone five months before, accompanied by his
+assistant, who answered to the name of Gédéon Ygène; a tall, dried-up, thin
+man, haughty, but not less vivacious than his master.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And next, why had Doctor Ox made the proposition to light the town at his own
+expense? Why had he, of all the Flemings, selected the peaceable
+Quiquendonians, to endow their town with the benefits of an unheard-of system
+of lighting? Did he not, under this pretext, design to make some great
+physiological experiment by operating _in anima vili?_ In short, what was this
+original personage about to attempt? We know not, as Doctor Ox had no confidant
+except his assistant Ygène, who, moreover, obeyed him blindly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In appearance, at least, Doctor Ox had agreed to light the town, which had much
+need of it, &ldquo;especially at night,&rdquo; as Commissary Passauf wittily
+said. Works for producing a lighting gas had accordingly been established; the
+gasometers were ready for use, and the main pipes, running beneath the street
+pavements, would soon appear in the form of burners in the public edifices and
+the private houses of certain friends of progress. Van Tricasse and Niklausse,
+in their official capacity, and some other worthies, thought they ought to
+allow this modern light to be introduced into their dwellings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the reader has not forgotten, it was said, during the long conversation of
+the counsellor and the burgomaster, that the lighting of the town was to be
+achieved, not by the combustion of common carburetted hydrogen, produced by
+distilling coal, but by the use of a more modern and twenty-fold more brilliant
+gas, oxyhydric gas, produced by mixing hydrogen and oxygen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The doctor, who was an able chemist as well as an ingenious physiologist, knew
+how to obtain this gas in great quantity and of good quality, not by using
+manganate of soda, according to the method of M. Tessié du Motay, but by the
+direct decomposition of slightly acidulated water, by means of a battery made
+of new elements, invented by himself. Thus there were no costly materials, no
+platinum, no retorts, no combustibles, no delicate machinery to produce the two
+gases separately. An electric current was sent through large basins full of
+water, and the liquid was decomposed into its two constituent parts, oxygen and
+hydrogen. The oxygen passed off at one end; the hydrogen, of double the volume
+of its late associate, at the other. As a necessary precaution, they were
+collected in separate reservoirs, for their mixture would have produced a
+frightful explosion if it had become ignited. Thence the pipes were to convey
+them separately to the various burners, which would be so placed as to prevent
+all chance of explosion. Thus a remarkably brilliant flame would be obtained,
+whose light would rival the electric light, which, as everybody knows, is,
+according to Cassellmann&rsquo;s experiments, equal to that of eleven hundred
+and seventy-one wax candles,&mdash;not one more, nor one less.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was certain that the town of Quiquendone would, by this liberal contrivance,
+gain a splendid lighting; but Doctor Ox and his assistant took little account
+of this, as will be seen in the sequel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The day after that on which Commissary Passauf had made his noisy entrance into
+the burgomaster&rsquo;s parlour, Gédéon Ygène and Doctor Ox were talking in the
+laboratory which both occupied in common, on the ground-floor of the principal
+building of the gas-works.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, Ygène, well,&rdquo; cried the doctor, rubbing his hands.
+&ldquo;You saw, at my reception yesterday, the cool-bloodedness of these worthy
+Quiquendonians. For animation they are midway between sponges and coral! You
+saw them disputing and irritating each other by voice and gesture? They are
+already metamorphosed, morally and physically! And this is only the beginning.
+Wait till we treat them to a big dose!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Indeed, master,&rdquo; replied Ygène, scratching his sharp nose with the
+end of his forefinger, &ldquo;the experiment begins well, and if I had not
+prudently closed the supply-tap, I know not what would have happened.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You heard Schut, the advocate, and Custos, the doctor?&rdquo; resumed
+Doctor Ox. &ldquo;The phrase was by no means ill-natured in itself, but, in the
+mouth of a Quiquendonian, it is worth all the insults which the Homeric heroes
+hurled at each other before drawing their swords, Ah, these Flemings!
+You&rsquo;ll see what we shall do some day!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall make them ungrateful,&rdquo; replied Ygène, in the tone of a
+man who esteems the human race at its just worth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah!&rdquo; said the doctor; &ldquo;what matters it whether they think
+well or ill of us, so long as our experiment succeeds?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; returned the assistant, smiling with a malicious
+expression, &ldquo;is it not to be feared that, in producing such an excitement
+in their respiratory organs, we shall somewhat injure the lungs of these good
+people of Quiquendone?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;So much the worse for them! It is in the interests of science. What
+would you say if the dogs or frogs refused to lend themselves to the
+experiments of vivisection?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image04"></a>
+<img src="images/image04.jpg" width="418" height="584" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">It is in the interests of Science.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It is probable that if the frogs and dogs were consulted, they would offer some
+objection; but Doctor Ox imagined that he had stated an unanswerable argument,
+for he heaved a great sigh of satisfaction.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;After all, master, you are right,&rdquo; replied Ygène, as if quite
+convinced. &ldquo;We could not have hit upon better subjects than these people
+of Quiquendone for our experiment.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We&mdash;could&mdash;not,&rdquo; said the doctor, slowly articulating
+each word.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you felt the pulse of any of them?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Some hundreds.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And what is the average pulsation you found?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not fifty per minute. See&mdash;this is a town where there has not been
+the shadow of a discussion for a century, where the carmen don&rsquo;t swear,
+where the coachmen don&rsquo;t insult each other, where horses don&rsquo;t run
+away, where the dogs don&rsquo;t bite, where the cats don&rsquo;t
+scratch,&mdash;a town where the police-court has nothing to do from one
+year&rsquo;s end to another,&mdash;a town where people do not grow enthusiastic
+about anything, either about art or business,&mdash;a town where the gendarmes
+are a sort of myth, and in which an indictment has not been drawn up for a
+hundred years,&mdash;a town, in short, where for three centuries nobody has
+struck a blow with his fist or so much as exchanged a slap in the face! You
+see, Ygène, that this cannot last, and that we must change it all.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perfectly! perfectly!&rdquo; cried the enthusiastic assistant;
+&ldquo;and have you analyzed the air of this town, master?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have not failed to do so. Seventy-nine parts of azote and twenty-one
+of oxygen, carbonic acid and steam in a variable quantity. These are the
+ordinary proportions.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good, doctor, good!&rdquo; replied Ygène. &ldquo;The experiment will be
+made on a large scale, and will be decisive.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And if it is decisive,&rdquo; added Doctor Ox triumphantly, &ldquo;we
+shall reform the world!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER AND THE COUNSELLOR PAY A VISIT TO DOCTOR OX, AND
+WHAT FOLLOWS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The Counsellor Niklausse and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse at last knew what it
+was to have an agitated night. The grave event which had taken place at Doctor
+Ox&rsquo;s house actually kept them awake. What consequences was this affair
+destined to bring about? They could not imagine. Would it be necessary for them
+to come to a decision? Would the municipal authority, whom they represented, be
+compelled to interfere? Would they be obliged to order arrests to be made, that
+so great a scandal should not be repeated? All these doubts could not but
+trouble these soft natures; and on that evening, before separating, the two
+notables had &ldquo;decided&rdquo; to see each other the next day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the next morning, then, before dinner, the Burgomaster Van Tricasse
+proceeded in person to the Counsellor Niklausse&rsquo;s house. He found his
+friend more calm. He himself had recovered his equanimity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing new?&rdquo; asked Van Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing new since yesterday,&rdquo; replied Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And the doctor, Dominique Custos?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have not heard anything, either of him or of the advocate, André
+Schut.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After an hour&rsquo;s conversation, which consisted of three remarks which it
+is needless to repeat, the counsellor and the burgomaster had resolved to pay a
+visit to Doctor Ox, so as to draw from him, without seeming to do so, some
+details of the affair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Contrary to all their habits, after coming to this decision the two notables
+set about putting it into execution forthwith. They left the house and directed
+their steps towards Doctor Ox&rsquo;s laboratory, which was situated outside
+the town, near the Oudenarde gate&mdash;the gate whose tower threatened to fall
+in ruins.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They did not take each other&rsquo;s arms, but walked side by side, with a slow
+and solemn step, which took them forward but thirteen inches per second. This
+was, indeed, the ordinary gait of the Quiquendonians, who had never, within the
+memory of man, seen any one run across the streets of their town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From time to time the two notables would stop at some calm and tranquil
+crossway, or at the end of a quiet street, to salute the passers-by.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good morning, Monsieur the burgomaster,&rdquo; said one.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good morning, my friend,&rdquo; responded Van Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Anything new, Monsieur the counsellor?&rdquo; asked another.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing new,&rdquo; answered Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But by certain agitated motions and questioning looks, it was evident that the
+altercation of the evening before was known throughout the town. Observing the
+direction taken by Van Tricasse, the most obtuse Quiquendonians guessed that
+the burgomaster was on his way to take some important step. The Custos and
+Schut affair was talked of everywhere, but the people had not yet come to the
+point of taking the part of one or the other. The Advocate Schut, having never
+had occasion to plead in a town where attorneys and bailiffs only existed in
+tradition, had, consequently, never lost a suit. As for the Doctor Custos, he
+was an honourable practitioner, who, after the example of his fellow-doctors,
+cured all the illnesses of his patients, except those of which they
+died&mdash;a habit unhappily acquired by all the members of all the faculties
+in whatever country they may practise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On reaching the Oudenarde gate, the counsellor and the burgomaster prudently
+made a short detour, so as not to pass within reach of the tower, in case it
+should fall; then they turned and looked at it attentively.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think that it will fall,&rdquo; said Van Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think so too,&rdquo; replied Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Unless it is propped up,&rdquo; added Van Tricasse. &ldquo;But must it
+be propped up? That is the question.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is&mdash;in fact&mdash;the question.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some moments after, they reached the door of the gasworks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Can we see Doctor Ox?&rdquo; they asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doctor Ox could always be seen by the first authorities of the town, and they
+were at once introduced into the celebrated physiologist&rsquo;s study.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Perhaps the two notables waited for the doctor at least an hour; at least it is
+reasonable to suppose so, as the burgomaster&mdash;a thing that had never
+before happened in his life&mdash;betrayed a certain amount of impatience, from
+which his companion was not exempt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doctor Ox came in at last, and began to excuse himself for having kept them
+waiting; but he had to approve a plan for the gasometer, rectify some of the
+machinery&mdash;But everything was going on well! The pipes intended for the
+oxygen were already laid. In a few months the town would be splendidly lighted.
+The two notables might even now see the orifices of the pipes which were laid
+on in the laboratory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then the doctor begged to know to what he was indebted for the honour of this
+visit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Only to see you, doctor; to see you,&rdquo; replied Van Tricasse.
+&ldquo;It is long since we have had the pleasure. We go abroad but little in
+our good town of Quiquendone. We count our steps and measure our walks. We are
+happy when nothing disturbs the uniformity of our habits.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Niklausse looked at his friend. His friend had never said so much at
+once&mdash;at least, without taking time, and giving long intervals between his
+sentences. It seemed to him that Van Tricasse expressed himself with a certain
+volubility, which was by no means common with him. Niklausse himself
+experienced a kind of irresistible desire to talk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for Doctor Ox, he looked at the burgomaster with sly attention.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Van Tricasse, who never argued until he had snugly ensconced himself in a
+spacious armchair, had risen to his feet. I know not what nervous excitement,
+quite foreign to his temperament, had taken possession of him. He did not
+gesticulate as yet, but this could not be far off. As for the counsellor, he
+rubbed his legs, and breathed with slow and long gasps. His look became
+animated little by little, and he had &ldquo;decided&rdquo; to support at all
+hazards, if need be, his trusty friend the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Van Tricasse got up and took several steps; then he came back, and stood facing
+the doctor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And in how many months,&rdquo; he asked in a somewhat emphatic tome,
+&ldquo;do you say that your work will be finished?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In three or four months, Monsieur the burgomaster,&rdquo; replied Doctor
+Ox.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Three or four months,&mdash;it&rsquo;s a very long time!&rdquo; said Van
+Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Altogether too long!&rdquo; added Niklausse, who, not being able to keep
+his seat, rose also.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This lapse of time is necessary to complete our work,&rdquo; returned
+Doctor Ox. &ldquo;The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are
+not very expeditious.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image05"></a>
+<img src="images/image05.jpg" width="406" height="574" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;The workmen, whom we have had to choose in
+Quiquendone, are not very expeditious.&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How not expeditious?&rdquo; cried the burgomaster, who seemed to take
+the remark as personally offensive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, Monsieur Van Tricasse,&rdquo; replied Doctor Ox obstinately.
+&ldquo;A French workman would do in a day what it takes ten of your workmen to
+do; you know, they are regular Flemings!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Flemings!&rdquo; cried the counsellor, whose fingers closed together.
+&ldquo;In what sense, sir, do you use that word?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, in the amiable sense in which everybody uses it,&rdquo; replied
+Doctor Ox, smiling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, but doctor,&rdquo; said the burgomaster, pacing up and down the
+room, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like these insinuations. The workmen of Quiquendone
+are as efficient as those of any other town in the world, you must know; and we
+shall go neither to Paris nor London for our models! As for your project, I beg
+you to hasten its execution. Our streets have been unpaved for the putting down
+of your conduit-pipes, and it is a hindrance to traffic. Our trade will begin
+to suffer, and I, being the responsible authority, do not propose to incur
+reproaches which will be but too just.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Worthy burgomaster! He spoke of trade, of traffic, and the wonder was that
+those words, to which he was quite unaccustomed, did not scorch his lips. What
+could be passing in his mind?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; added Niklausse, &ldquo;the town cannot be deprived of
+light much longer.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But,&rdquo; urged Doctor Ox, &ldquo;a town which has been un-lighted for
+eight or nine hundred years&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All the more necessary is it,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster,
+emphasizing his words. &ldquo;Times alter, manners alter! The world advances,
+and we do not wish to remain behind. We desire our streets to be lighted within
+a month, or you must pay a large indemnity for each day of delay; and what
+would happen if, amid the darkness, some affray should take place?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt,&rdquo; cried Niklausse. &ldquo;It requires but a spark to
+inflame a Fleming! Fleming! Flame!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Apropos of this,&rdquo; said the burgomaster, interrupting his friend,
+&ldquo;Commissary Passauf, our chief of police, reports to us that a discussion
+took place in your drawing-room last evening, Doctor Ox. Was he wrong in
+declaring that it was a political discussion?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;By no means, Monsieur the burgomaster,&rdquo; replied Doctor Ox, who
+with difficulty repressed a sigh of satisfaction.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;So an altercation did take place between Dominique Gustos and André
+Schut?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, counsellor; but the words which passed were not of grave
+import.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not of grave import!&rdquo; cried the burgomaster. &ldquo;Not of grave
+import, when one man tells another that he does not measure the effect of his
+words! But of what stuff are you made, monsieur? Do you not know that in
+Quiquendone nothing more is needed to bring about extremely disastrous results?
+But monsieur, if you, or any one else, presume to speak thus to
+me&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Or to me,&rdquo; added Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As they pronounced these words with a menacing air, the two notables, with
+folded arms and bristling air, confronted Doctor Ox, ready to do him some
+violence, if by a gesture, or even the expression of his eye, he manifested any
+intention of contradicting them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the doctor did not budge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At all events, monsieur,&rdquo; resumed the burgomaster, &ldquo;I
+propose to hold you responsible for what passes in your house. I am bound to
+insure the tranquillity of this town, and I do not wish it to be disturbed. The
+events of last evening must not be repeated, or I shall do my duty, sir! Do you
+hear? Then reply, sir.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster, as he spoke, under the influence of extraordinary excitement,
+elevated his voice to the pitch of anger. He was furious, the worthy Van
+Tricasse, and might certainly be heard outside. At last, beside himself, and
+seeing that Doctor Ox did not reply to his challenge, &ldquo;Come,
+Niklausse,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And, slamming the door with a violence which shook the house, the burgomaster
+drew his friend after him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Little by little, when they had taken twenty steps on their road, the worthy
+notables grew more calm. Their pace slackened, their gait became less feverish.
+The flush on their faces faded away; from being crimson, they became rosy. A
+quarter of an hour after quitting the gasworks, Van Tricasse said softly to
+Niklausse, &ldquo;An amiable man, Doctor Ox! It is always a pleasure to see
+him!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_06"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br/>
+IN WHICH FRANTZ NIKLAUSSE AND SUZEL VAN TRICASSE FORM CERTAIN PROJECTS FOR
+THE FUTURE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Our readers know that the burgomaster had a daughter, Suzel But, shrewd as they
+may be, they cannot have divined that the counsellor Niklausse had a son,
+Frantz; and had they divined this, nothing could have led them to imagine that
+Frantz was the betrothed lover of Suzel. We will add that these young people
+were made for each other, and that they loved each other, as folks did love at
+Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It must not be thought that young hearts did not beat in this exceptional
+place; only they beat with a certain deliberation. There were marriages there,
+as in every other town in the world; but they took time about it. Betrothed
+couples, before engaging in these terrible bonds, wished to study each other;
+and these studies lasted at least ten years, as at college. It was rare that
+any one was &ldquo;accepted&rdquo; before this lapse of time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yes, ten years! The courtships last ten years! And is it, after all, too long,
+when the being bound for life is in consideration? One studies ten years to
+become an engineer or physician, an advocate or attorney, and should less time
+be spent in acquiring the knowledge to make a good husband? Is it not
+reasonable? and, whether due to temperament or reason with them, the
+Quiquendonians seem to us to be in the right in thus prolonging their
+courtship. When marriages in other more lively and excitable cities are seen
+taking place within a few months, we must shrug our shoulders, and hasten to
+send our boys to the schools and our daughters to the <i>pensions</i> of
+Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For half a century but a single marriage was known to have taken place after
+the lapse of two years only of courtship, and that turned out badly!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Frantz Niklausse, then, loved Suzel Van Tricasse, but quietly, as a man would
+love when he has ten years before him in which to obtain the beloved object.
+Once every week, at an hour agreed upon, Frantz went to fetch Suzel, and took a
+walk with her along the banks of the Vaar. He took good care to carry his
+fishing-tackle, and Suzel never forgot her canvas, on which her pretty hands
+embroidered the most unlikely flowers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Frantz was a young man of twenty-two, whose cheeks betrayed a soft, peachy
+down, and whose voice had scarcely a compass of one octave.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for Suzel, she was blonde and rosy. She was seventeen, and did not dislike
+fishing. A singular occupation this, however, which forces you to struggle
+craftily with a barbel. But Frantz loved it; the pastime was congenial to his
+temperament. As patient as possible, content to follow with his rather dreamy
+eye the cork which bobbed on the top of the water, he knew how to wait; and
+when, after sitting for six hours, a modest barbel, taking pity on him,
+consented at last to be caught, he was happy&mdash;but he knew how to control
+his emotion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On this day the two lovers&mdash;one might say, the two betrothed&mdash; were
+seated upon the verdant bank. The limpid Vaar murmured a few feet below them.
+Suzel quietly drew her needle across the canvas. Frantz automatically carried
+his line from left to right, then permitted it to descend the current from
+right to left. The fish made capricious rings in the water, which crossed each
+other around the cork, while the hook hung useless near the bottom.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From time to time Frantz would say, without raising his eyes,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think I have a bite, Suzel.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you think so, Frantz?&rdquo; replied Suzel, who, abandoning her work
+for an instant, followed her lover&rsquo;s line with earnest eye.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;N-no,&rdquo; resumed Frantz; &ldquo;I thought I felt a little twitch; I
+was mistaken.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You <i>will</i> have a bite, Frantz,&rdquo; replied Suzel, in her pure,
+soft voice. &ldquo;But do not forget to strike at the right moment. You are
+always a few seconds too late, and the barbel takes advantage to escape.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Would you like to take my line, Suzel?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Willingly, Frantz.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then give me your canvas. We shall see whether I am more adroit with the
+needle than with the hook.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the young girl took the line with trembling hand, while her swain plied the
+needle across the stitches of the embroidery. For hours together they thus
+exchanged soft words, and their hearts palpitated when the cork bobbed on the
+water. Ah, could they ever forget those charming hours, during which, seated
+side by side, they listened to the murmurs of the river?
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image06"></a>
+<img src="images/image06.jpg" width="406" height="580" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">the young girl took the line
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The sun was fast approaching the western horizon, and despite the combined
+skill of Suzel and Frantz, there had not been a bite. The barbels had not shown
+themselves complacent, and seemed to scoff at the two young people, who were
+too just to bear them malice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall be more lucky another time, Frantz,&rdquo; said Suzel, as the
+young angler put up his still virgin hook.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us hope so,&rdquo; replied Frantz.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then walking side by side, they turned their steps towards the house, without
+exchanging a word, as mute as their shadows which stretched out before them.
+Suzel became very, very tall under the oblique rays of the setting sun. Frantz
+appeared very, very thin, like the long rod which he held in his hand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They reached the burgomaster&rsquo;s house. Green tufts of grass bordered the
+shining pavement, and no one would have thought of tearing them away, for they
+deadened the noise made by the passers-by.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As they were about to open the door, Frantz thought it his duty to say to
+Suzel,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You know, Suzel, the great day is approaching?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is indeed, Frantz,&rdquo; replied the young girl, with downcast eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Frantz, &ldquo;in five or six years&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good-bye, Frantz,&rdquo; said Suzel.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image07"></a>
+<img src="images/image07.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Good-bye, Frantz,&rdquo; said Suzel.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good-bye, Suzel,&rdquo; replied Frantz.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And, after the door had been closed, the young man resumed the way to his
+father&rsquo;s house with a calm and equal pace.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_07"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE ANDANTES BECOME ALLEGROS, AND THE ALLEGROS VIVACES.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The agitation caused by the Schut and Custos affair had subsided. The affair
+led to no serious consequences. It appeared likely that Quiquendone would
+return to its habitual apathy, which that unexpected event had for a moment
+disturbed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, the laying of the pipes destined to conduct the oxyhydric gas into
+the principal edifices of the town was proceeding rapidly. The main pipes and
+branches gradually crept beneath the pavements. But the burners were still
+wanting; for, as it required delicate skill to make them, it was necessary that
+they should be fabricated abroad. Doctor Ox was here, there, and everywhere;
+neither he nor Ygène, his assistant, lost a moment, but they urged on the
+workmen, completed the delicate mechanism of the gasometer, fed day and night
+the immense piles which decomposed the water under the influence of a powerful
+electric current. Yes, the doctor was already making his gas, though the
+pipe-laying was not yet done; a fact which, between ourselves, might have
+seemed a little singular. But before long,&mdash;at least there was reason to
+hope so,&mdash;before long Doctor Ox would inaugurate the splendours of his
+invention in the theatre of the town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For Quiquendone possessed a theatre&mdash;a really fine edifice, in
+truth&mdash;the interior and exterior arrangement of which combined every style
+of architecture. It was at once Byzantine, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, with
+semicircular doors, Pointed windows, Flamboyant rose-windows, fantastic
+bell-turrets,&mdash;in a word, a specimen of all sorts, half a Parthenon, half
+a Parisian Grand Café. Nor was this surprising, the theatre having been
+commenced under the burgomaster Ludwig Van Tricasse, in 1175, and only finished
+in 1837, under the burgomaster Natalis Van Tricasse. It had required seven
+hundred years to build it, and it had, been successively adapted to the
+architectural style in vogue in each period. But for all that it was an
+imposing structure; the Roman pillars and Byzantine arches of which would
+appear to advantage lit up by the oxyhydric gas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pretty well everything was acted at the theatre of Quiquendone; but the opera
+and the opera comique were especially patronized. It must, however, be added
+that the composers would never have recognized their own works, so entirely
+changed were the &ldquo;movements&rdquo; of the music.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In short, as nothing was done in a hurry at Quiquendone, the dramatic pieces
+had to be performed in harmony with the peculiar temperament of the
+Quiquendonians. Though the doors of the theatre were regularly thrown open at
+four o&rsquo;clock and closed again at ten, it had never been known that more
+than two acts were played during the six intervening hours. &ldquo;Robert le
+Diable,&rdquo; &ldquo;Les Huguenots,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Guillaume Tell&rdquo;
+usually took up three evenings, so slow was the execution of these
+masterpieces. The <i>vivaces</i>, at the theatre of Quiquendone, lagged like
+real <i>adagios</i>. The <i>allegros</i> were &ldquo;long-drawn out&rdquo;
+indeed. The demisemiquavers were scarcely equal to the ordinary semibreves of
+other countries. The most rapid runs, performed according to Quiquendonian
+taste, had the solemn march of a chant. The gayest shakes were languishing and
+measured, that they might not shock the ears of the <i>dilettanti</i>. To give
+an example, the rapid air sung by Figaro, on his entrance in the first act of
+&ldquo;Le Barbiér de Séville,&rdquo; lasted fifty-eight minutes&mdash;when the
+actor was particularly enthusiastic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Artists from abroad, as might be supposed, were forced to conform themselves to
+Quiquendonian fashions; but as they were well paid, they did not complain, and
+willingly obeyed the leader&rsquo;s baton, which never beat more than eight
+measures to the minute in the <i>allegros</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But what applause greeted these artists, who enchanted without ever wearying
+the audiences of Quiquendone! All hands clapped one after another at tolerably
+long intervals, which the papers characterized as &ldquo;frantic
+applause;&rdquo; and sometimes nothing but the lavish prodigality with which
+mortar and stone had been used in the twelfth century saved the roof of the
+hall from falling in.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Besides, the theatre had only one performance a week, that these enthusiastic
+Flemish folk might not be too much excited; and this enabled the actors to
+study their parts more thoroughly, and the spectators to digest more at leisure
+the beauties of the masterpieces brought out.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such had long been the drama at Quiquendone. Foreign artists were in the habit
+of making engagements with the director of the town, when they wanted to rest
+after their exertions in other scenes; and it seemed as if nothing could ever
+change these inveterate customs, when, a fortnight after the Schut-Custos
+affair, an unlooked-for incident occurred to throw the population into fresh
+agitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was on a Saturday, an opera day. It was not yet intended, as may well be
+supposed, to inaugurate the new illumination. No; the pipes had reached the
+hall, but, for reasons indicated above, the burners had not yet been placed,
+and the wax-candles still shed their soft light upon the numerous spectators
+who filled the theatre. The doors had been opened to the public at one
+o&rsquo;clock, and by three the hall was half full. A queue had at one time
+been formed, which extended as far as the end of the Place Saint Ernuph, in
+front of the shop of Josse Lietrinck the apothecary. This eagerness was
+significant of an unusually attractive performance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Are you going to the theatre this evening?&rdquo; inquired the
+counsellor the same morning of the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I shall not fail to do so,&rdquo; returned Van Tricasse, &ldquo;and I
+shall take Madame Van Tricasse, as well as our daughter Suzel and our dear
+Tatanémance, who all dote on good music.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mademoiselle Suzel is going then?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Certainly, Niklausse.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then my son Frantz will be one of the first to arrive,&rdquo; said
+Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A spirited boy, Niklausse,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster sententiously;
+&ldquo;but hot-headed! He will require watching!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He loves, Van Tricasse,&mdash;he loves your charming Suzel.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, Niklausse, he shall marry her. Now that we have agreed on this
+marriage, what more can he desire?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He desires nothing, Van Tricasse, the dear boy! But, in short&mdash;
+we&rsquo;ll say no more about it&mdash;he will not be the last to get his
+ticket at the box-office.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, vivacious and ardent youth!&rdquo; replied the burgomaster,
+recalling his own past. &ldquo;We have also been thus, my worthy counsellor! We
+have loved&mdash;we too! We have danced attendance in our day! Till to-night,
+then, till to-night! By-the-bye, do you know this Fiovaranti is a great artist?
+And what a welcome he has received among us! It will be long before he will
+forget the applause of Quiquendone!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The tenor Fiovaranti was, indeed, going to sing; Fiovaranti, who, by his
+talents as a virtuoso, his perfect method, his melodious voice, provoked a real
+enthusiasm among the lovers of music in the town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For three weeks Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in &ldquo;Les
+Huguenots.&rdquo; The first act, interpreted according to the taste of the
+Quiquendonians, had occupied an entire evening of the first week of the
+month.&mdash;Another evening in the second week, prolonged by infinite
+<i>andantes</i>, had elicited for the celebrated singer a real ovation. His
+success had been still more marked in the third act of Meyerbeer&rsquo;s
+masterpiece. But now Fiovaranti was to appear in the fourth act, which was to
+be performed on this evening before an impatient public. Ah, the duet between
+Raoul and Valentine, that pathetic love-song for two voices, that strain so
+full of <i>crescendos</i>, <i>stringendos</i>, and <i>piu
+crescendos</i>&mdash;all this, sung slowly, compendiously, interminably! Ah,
+how delightful!
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image08"></a>
+<img src="images/image08.jpg" width="429" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in
+&ldquo;Les Huguenots.&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+At four o&rsquo;clock the hall was full. The boxes, the orchestra, the pit,
+were overflowing. In the front stalls sat the Burgomaster Van Tricasse,
+Mademoiselle Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, and the amiable Tatanémance in
+a green bonnet; not far off were the Counsellor Niklausse and his family, not
+forgetting the amorous Frantz. The families of Custos the doctor, of Schut the
+advocate, of Honoré Syntax the chief judge, of Norbet Sontman the insurance
+director, of the banker Collaert, gone mad on German music, and himself
+somewhat of an amateur, and the teacher Rupp, and the master of the academy,
+Jerome Resh, and the civil commissary, and so many other notabilities of the
+town that they could not be enumerated here without wearying the reader&rsquo;s
+patience, were visible in different parts of the hall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was customary for the Quiquendonians, while awaiting the rise of the
+curtain, to sit silent, some reading the paper, others whispering low to each
+other, some making their way to their seats slowly and noiselessly, others
+casting timid looks towards the bewitching beauties in the galleries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But on this evening a looker-on might have observed that, even before the
+curtain rose, there was unusual animation among the audience. People were
+restless who were never known to be restless before. The ladies&rsquo; fans
+fluttered with abnormal rapidity. All appeared to be inhaling air of
+exceptional stimulating power. Every one breathed more freely. The eyes of some
+became unwontedly bright, and seemed to give forth a light equal to that of the
+candles, which themselves certainly threw a more brilliant light over the hall.
+It was evident that people saw more clearly, though the number of candles had
+not been increased. Ah, if Doctor Ox&rsquo;s experiment were being tried! But
+it was not being tried, as yet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The musicians of the orchestra at last took their places. The first violin had
+gone to the stand to give a modest la to his colleagues. The stringed
+instruments, the wind instruments, the drums and cymbals, were in accord. The
+conductor only waited the sound of the bell to beat the first bar.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The bell sounds. The fourth act begins. The <i>allegro appassionato</i> of the
+inter-act is played as usual, with a majestic deliberation which would have
+made Meyerbeer frantic, and all the majesty of which was appreciated by the
+Quiquendonian dilettanti.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But soon the leader perceived that he was no longer master of his musicians. He
+found it difficult to restrain them, though usually so obedient and calm. The
+wind instruments betrayed a tendency to hasten the movements, and it was
+necessary to hold them back with a firm hand, for they would otherwise outstrip
+the stringed instruments; which, from a musical point of view, would have been
+disastrous. The bassoon himself, the son of Josse Lietrinck the apothecary, a
+well-bred young man, seemed to lose his self-control.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile Valentine has begun her recitative, &ldquo;I am alone,&rdquo; etc.;
+but she hurries it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The leader and all his musicians, perhaps unconsciously, follow her in her
+<i>cantabile</i>, which should be taken deliberately, like a 12/8 as it is.
+When Raoul appears at the door at the bottom of the stage, between the moment
+when Valentine goes to him and that when she conceals herself in the chamber at
+the side, a quarter of an hour does not elapse; while formerly, according to
+the traditions of the Quiquendone theatre, this recitative of thirty-seven bars
+was wont to last just thirty-seven minutes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Saint Bris, Nevers, Cavannes, and the Catholic nobles have appeared, somewhat
+prematurely, perhaps, upon the scene. The composer has marked <i>allergo
+pomposo</i> on the score. The orchestra and the lords proceed <i>allegro</i>
+indeed, but not at all <i>pomposo</i>, and at the chorus, in the famous scene
+of the &ldquo;benediction of the poniards,&rdquo; they no longer keep to the
+enjoined <i>allegro</i>. Singers and musicians broke away impetuously. The
+leader does not even attempt to restrain them. Nor do the public protest; on
+the contrary, the people find themselves carried away, and see that they are
+involved in the movement, and that the movement responds to the impulses of
+their souls.
+</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+&ldquo;Will you, with me, deliver the land,<br/>
+From troubles increasing, an impious band?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They promise, they swear. Nevers has scarcely time to protest, and to sing that
+&ldquo;among his ancestors were many soldiers, but never an assassin.&rdquo; He
+is arrested. The police and the aldermen rush forward and rapidly swear
+&ldquo;to strike all at once.&rdquo; Saint Bris shouts the recitative which
+summons the Catholics to vengeance. The three monks, with white scarfs, hasten
+in by the door at the back of Nevers&rsquo;s room, without making any account
+of the stage directions, which enjoin on them to advance slowly. Already all
+the artists have drawn sword or poniard, which the three monks bless in a
+trice. The soprani tenors, bassos, attack the <i>allegro furioso</i> with cries
+of rage, and of a dramatic 6/8 time they make it 6/8 quadrille time. Then they
+rush out, bellowing,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+&ldquo;At midnight,<br/>
+Noiselessly,<br/>
+God wills it,<br/>
+Yes,<br/>
+At midnight.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment the audience start to their feet. Everybody is agitated&mdash;in
+the boxes, the pit, the galleries. It seems as if the spectators are about to
+rush upon the stage, the Burgomaster Van Tricasse at their head, to join with
+the conspirators and annihilate the Huguenots, whose religious opinions,
+however, they share. They applaud, call before the curtain, make loud
+acclamations! Tatanémance grasps her bonnet with feverish hand. The candles
+throw out a lurid glow of light.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Raoul, instead of slowly raising the curtain, tears it apart with a superb
+gesture and finds himself confronting Valentine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last! It is the grand duet, and it starts off <i>allegro vivace</i>. Raoul
+does not wait for Valentine&rsquo;s pleading, and Valentine does not wait for
+Raoul&rsquo;s responses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fine passage beginning, &ldquo;Danger is passing, time is flying,&rdquo;
+becomes one of those rapid airs which have made Offenbach famous, when he
+composes a dance for conspirators. The <i>andante amoroso</i>, &ldquo;Thou hast
+said it, aye, thou lovest me,&rdquo; becomes a real <i>vivace furioso</i>, and
+the violoncello ceases to imitate the inflections of the singer&rsquo;s voice,
+as indicated in the composer&rsquo;s score. In vain Raoul cries, &ldquo;Speak
+on, and prolong the ineffable slumber of my soul.&rdquo; Valentine cannot
+&ldquo;prolong.&rdquo; It is evident that an unaccustomed fire devours her. Her
+<i>b&rsquo;s</i> and her <i>c&rsquo;s</i> above the stave were dreadfully
+shrill. He struggles, he gesticulates, he is all in a glow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The alarum is heard; the bell resounds; but what a panting bell! The
+bell-ringer has evidently lost his self-control. It is a frightful tocsin,
+which violently struggles against the fury of the orchestra.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Finally the air which ends this magnificent act, beginning, &ldquo;No more
+love, no more intoxication, O the remorse that oppresses me!&rdquo; which the
+composer marks <i>allegro con moto</i>, becomes a wild <i>prestissimo</i>. You
+would say an express-train was whirling by. The alarum resounds again.
+Valentine falls fainting. Raoul precipitates himself from the window.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was high time. The orchestra, really intoxicated, could not have gone on.
+The leader&rsquo;s baton is no longer anything but a broken stick on the
+prompter&rsquo;s box. The violin strings are broken, and their necks twisted.
+In his fury the drummer has burst his drum. The counter-bassist has perched on
+the top of his musical monster. The first clarionet has swallowed the reed of
+his instrument, and the second hautboy is chewing his reed keys. The groove of
+the trombone is strained, and finally the unhappy cornist cannot withdraw his
+hand from the bell of his horn, into which he had thrust it too far.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the audience! The audience, panting, all in a heat, gesticulates and howls.
+All the faces are as red as if a fire were burning within their bodies. They
+crowd each other, hustle each other to get out&mdash;the men without hats, the
+women without mantles! They elbow each other in the corridors, crush between
+the doors, quarrel, fight! There are no longer any officials, any burgomaster.
+All are equal amid this infernal frenzy!
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image09"></a>
+<img src="images/image09.jpg" width="425" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">They hustle each other to get out
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Some moments after, when all have reached the street, each one resumes his
+habitual tranquillity, and peaceably enters his house, with a confused
+remembrance of what he has just experienced.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fourth act of the &ldquo;Huguenots,&rdquo; which formerly lasted six hours,
+began, on this evening at half-past four, and ended at twelve minutes before
+five.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It had only lasted eighteen minutes!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE ANCIENT AND SOLEMN GERMAN WALTZ BECOMES A WHIRLWIND.</h2>
+
+<p>
+But if the spectators, on leaving the theatre, resumed their customary calm, if
+they quietly regained their homes, preserving only a sort of passing
+stupefaction, they had none the less undergone a remarkable exaltation, and
+overcome and weary as if they had committed some excess of dissipation, they
+fell heavily upon their beds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next day each Quiquendonian had a kind of recollection of what had occurred
+the evening before. One missed his hat, lost in the hubbub; another a
+coat-flap, torn in the brawl; one her delicately fashioned shoe, another her
+best mantle. Memory returned to these worthy people, and with it a certain
+shame for their unjustifiable agitation. It seemed to them an orgy in which
+they were the unconscious heroes and heroines. They did not speak of it; they
+did not wish to think of it. But the most astounded personage in the town was
+Van Tricasse the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next morning, on waking, he could not find his wig. Lotchè looked
+everywhere for it, but in vain. The wig had remained on the field of battle. As
+for having it publicly claimed by Jean Mistrol, the town-crier,&mdash;no, it
+would not do. It were better to lose the wig than to advertise himself thus, as
+he had the honour to be the first magistrate of Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The worthy Van Tricasse was reflecting upon this, extended beneath his sheets,
+with bruised body, heavy head, furred tongue, and burning breast. He felt no
+desire to get up; on the contrary; and his brain worked more during this
+morning than it had probably worked before for forty years. The worthy
+magistrate recalled to his mind all the incidents of the incomprehensible
+performance. He connected them with the events which had taken place shortly
+before at Doctor Ox&rsquo;s reception. He tried to discover the causes of the
+singular excitability which, on two occasions, had betrayed itself in the best
+citizens of the town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What <i>can</i> be going on?&rdquo; he asked himself. &ldquo;What giddy
+spirit has taken possession of my peaceable town of Quiquendone? Are we about
+to go mad, and must we make the town one vast asylum? For yesterday we were all
+there, notables, counsellors, judges, advocates, physicians, schoolmasters; and
+ail, if my memory serves me,&mdash;all of us were assailed by this excess of
+furious folly! But what was there in that infernal music? It is inexplicable!
+Yet I certainly ate or drank nothing which could put me into such a state. No;
+yesterday I had for dinner a slice of overdone veal, several spoonfuls of
+spinach with sugar, eggs, and a little beer and water,&mdash;that
+couldn&rsquo;t get into my head! No! There is something that I cannot explain,
+and as, after all, I am responsible for the conduct of the citizens, I will
+have an investigation.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the investigation, though decided upon by the municipal council, produced
+no result. If the facts were clear, the causes escaped the sagacity of the
+magistrates. Besides, tranquillity had been restored in the public mind, and
+with tranquillity, forgetfulness of the strange scenes of the theatre. The
+newspapers avoided speaking of them, and the account of the performance which
+appeared in the &ldquo;Quiquendone Memorial,&rdquo; made no allusion to this
+intoxication of the entire audience.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, though the town resumed its habitual phlegm, and became apparently
+Flemish as before, it was observable that, at bottom, the character and
+temperament of the people changed little by little. One might have truly said,
+with Dominique Custos, the doctor, that &ldquo;their nerves were
+affected.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Let us explain. This undoubted change only took place under certain conditions.
+When the Quiquendonians passed through the streets of the town, walked in the
+squares or along the Vaar, they were always the cold and methodical people of
+former days. So, too, when they remained at home, some working with their hands
+and others with their heads,&mdash;these doing nothing, those thinking
+nothing,&mdash;their private life was silent, inert, vegetating as before. No
+quarrels, no household squabbles, no acceleration in the beating of the heart,
+no excitement of the brain. The mean of their pulsations remained as it was of
+old, from fifty to fifty-two per minute.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But, strange and inexplicable phenomenon though it was, which would have defied
+the sagacity of the most ingenious physiologists of the day, if the inhabitants
+of Quiquendone did not change in their home life, they were visibly changed in
+their civil life and in their relations between man and man, to which it leads.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If they met together in some public edifice, it did not &ldquo;work
+well,&rdquo; as Commissary Passauf expressed it. On &rsquo;change, at the
+town-hall, in the amphitheatre of the academy, at the sessions of the council,
+as well as at the reunions of the <i>savants</i>, a strange excitement seized
+the assembled citizens. Their relations with each other became embarrassing
+before they had been together an hour. In two hours the discussion degenerated
+into an angry dispute. Heads became heated, and personalities were used. Even
+at church, during the sermon, the faithful could not listen to Van Stabel, the
+minister, in patience, and he threw himself about in the pulpit and lectured
+his flock with far more than his usual severity. At last this state of things
+brought about altercations more grave, alas! than that between Gustos and
+Schut, and if they did not require the interference of the authorities, it was
+because the antagonists, after returning home, found there, with its calm,
+forgetfulness of the offences offered and received.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This peculiarity could not be observed by these minds, which were absolutely
+incapable of recognizing what was passing in them. One person only in the town,
+he whose office the council had thought of suppressing for thirty years,
+Michael Passauf, had remarked that this excitement, which was absent from
+private houses, quickly revealed itself in public edifices; and he asked
+himself, not without a certain anxiety, what would happen if this infection
+should ever develop itself in the family mansions, and if the
+epidemic&mdash;this was the word he used&mdash;should extend through the
+streets of the town. Then there would be no more forgetfulness of insults, no
+more tranquillity, no intermission in the delirium; but a permanent
+inflammation, which would inevitably bring the Quiquendonians into collision
+with each other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What would happen then?&rdquo; Commissary Passauf asked himself in
+terror. &ldquo;How could these furious savages be arrested? How check these
+goaded temperaments? My office would be no longer a sinecure, and the council
+would be obliged to double my salary&mdash; unless it should arrest me myself,
+for disturbing the public peace!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These very reasonable fears began to be realized. The infection spread from
+&rsquo;change, the theatre, the church, the town-hall, the academy, the market,
+into private houses, and that in less than a fortnight after the terrible
+performance of the &ldquo;Huguenots.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Its first symptoms appeared in the house of Collaert, the banker.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That wealthy personage gave a ball, or at least a dancing-party, to the
+notabilities of the town. He had issued, some months before, a loan of thirty
+thousand francs, three quarters of which had been subscribed; and to celebrate
+this financial success, he had opened his drawing-rooms, and given a party to
+his fellow-citizens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Everybody knows that Flemish parties are innocent and tranquil enough, the
+principal expense of which is usually in beer and syrups. Some conversation on
+the weather, the appearance of the crops, the fine condition of the gardens,
+the care of flowers, and especially of tulips; a slow and measured dance, from
+time to time, perhaps a minuet; sometimes a waltz, but one of those German
+waltzes which achieve a turn and a half per minute, and during which the
+dancers hold each other as far apart as their arms will permit,&mdash;such is
+the usual fashion of the balls attended by the aristocratic society of
+Quiquendone. The polka, after being altered to four time, had tried to become
+accustomed to it; but the dancers always lagged behind the orchestra, no matter
+how slow the measure, and it had to be abandoned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These peaceable reunions, in which the youths and maidens enjoyed an honest and
+moderate pleasure, had never been attended by any outburst of ill-nature. Why,
+then, on this evening at Collaert the banker&rsquo;s, did the syrups seem to be
+transformed into heady wines, into sparkling champagne, into heating punches?
+Why, towards the middle of the evening, did a sort of mysterious intoxication
+take possession of the guests? Why did the minuet become a jig? Why did the
+orchestra hurry with its harmonies? Why did the candles, just as at the
+theatre, burn with unwonted refulgence? What electric current invaded the
+banker&rsquo;s drawing-rooms? How happened it that the couples held each other
+so closely, and clasped each other&rsquo;s hands so convulsively, that the
+&ldquo;cavaliers seuls&rdquo; made themselves conspicuous by certain
+extraordinary steps in that figure usually so grave, so solemn, so majestic, so
+very proper?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alas! what OEdipus could have answered these unsolvable questions? Commissary
+Passauf, who was present at the party, saw the storm coming distinctly, but he
+could not control it or fly from it, and he felt a kind of intoxication
+entering his own brain. All his physical and emotional faculties increased in
+intensity. He was seen, several times, to throw himself upon the confectionery
+and devour the dishes, as if he had just broken a long fast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The animation of the ball was increasing all this while. A long murmur, like a
+dull buzzing, escaped from all breasts. They danced&mdash;really danced. The
+feet were agitated by increasing frenzy. The faces became as purple as those of
+Silenus. The eyes shone like carbuncles. The general fermentation rose to the
+highest pitch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when the orchestra thundered out the waltz in &ldquo;Der
+Freyschütz,&rdquo;&mdash;when this waltz, so German, and with a movement so
+slow, was attacked with wild arms by the musicians,&mdash;ah! it was no longer
+a waltz, but an insensate whirlwind, a giddy rotation, a gyration worthy of
+being led by some Mephistopheles, beating the measure with a firebrand! Then a
+galop, an infernal galop, which lasted an hour without any one being able to
+stop it, whirled off, in its windings, across the halls, the drawing-rooms, the
+antechambers, by the staircases, from the cellar to the garret of the opulent
+mansion, the young men and young girls, the fathers and mothers, people of
+every age, of every weight, of both sexes; Collaert, the fat banker, and Madame
+Collaert, and the counsellors, and the magistrates, and the chief justice, and
+Niklausse, and Madame Van Tricasse, and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse, and the
+Commissary Passauf himself, who never could recall afterwards who had been his
+partner on that terrible evening.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image10"></a>
+<img src="images/image10.jpg" width="428" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">it was no longer a waltz
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+But she did not forget! And ever since that day she has seen in her dreams the
+fiery commissary, enfolding her in an impassioned embrace! And
+&ldquo;she&rdquo;&mdash;was the amiable Tatanémance!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_09"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br/>
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX AND YGÈNE, HIS ASSISTANT, SAY A FEW WORDS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, Ygène?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, master, all is ready. The laying of the pipes is finished.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At last! Now, then, we are going to operate on a large scale, on the
+masses!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_10"></a>CHAPTER X.<br/>
+IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT THE EPIDEMIC INVADES THE ENTIRE TOWN, AND
+WHAT EFFECT IT PRODUCES.</h2>
+
+<p>
+During the following months the evil, in place of subsiding, became more
+extended. From private houses the epidemic spread into the streets. The town of
+Quiquendone was no longer to be recognized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A phenomenon yet stranger than those which had already happened, now appeared;
+not only the animal kingdom, but the vegetable kingdom itself, became subject
+to the mysterious influence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+According to the ordinary course of things, epidemics are special in their
+operation. Those which attack humanity spare the animals, and those which
+attack the animals spare the vegetables. A horse was never inflicted with
+smallpox, nor a man with the cattle-plague, nor do sheep suffer from the
+potato-rot. But here all the laws of nature seemed to be overturned. Not only
+were the character, temperament, and ideas of the townsfolk changed, but the
+domestic animals&mdash;dogs and cats, horses and cows, asses and
+goats&mdash;suffered from this epidemic influence, as if their habitual
+equilibrium had been changed. The plants themselves were infected by a similar
+strange metamorphosis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the gardens and vegetable patches and orchards very curious symptoms
+manifested themselves. Climbing plants climbed more audaciously. Tufted plants
+became more tufted than ever. Shrubs became trees. Cereals, scarcely sown,
+showed their little green heads, and gained, in the same length of time, as
+much in inches as formerly, under the most favourable circumstances, they had
+gained in fractions. Asparagus attained the height of several feet; the
+artichokes swelled to the size of melons, the melons to the size of pumpkins,
+the pumpkins to the size of gourds, the gourds to the size of the belfry bell,
+which measured, in truth, nine feet in diameter. The cabbages were bushes, and
+the mushrooms umbrellas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fruits did not lag behind the vegetables. It required two persons to eat a
+strawberry, and four to consume a pear. The grapes also attained the enormous
+proportions of those so well depicted by Poussin in his &ldquo;Return of the
+Envoys to the Promised Land.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image11"></a>
+<img src="images/image11.jpg" width="419" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">It required two persons to eat a strawberry
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It was the same with the flowers: immense violets spread the most penetrating
+perfumes through the air; exaggerated roses shone with the brightest colours;
+lilies formed, in a few days, impenetrable copses; geraniums, daisies,
+camelias, rhododendrons, invaded the garden walks, and stifled each other. And
+the tulips,&mdash;those dear liliaceous plants so dear to the Flemish heart,
+what emotion they must have caused to their zealous cultivators! The worthy Van
+Bistrom nearly fell over backwards, one day, on seeing in his garden an
+enormous &ldquo;Tulipa gesneriana,&rdquo; a gigantic monster, whose cup
+afforded space to a nest for a whole family of robins!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The entire town flocked to see this floral phenomenon, and renamed it the
+&ldquo;Tulipa quiquendonia&rdquo;.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But alas! if these plants, these fruits, these flowers, grew visibly to the
+naked eye, if all the vegetables insisted on assuming colossal proportions, if
+the brilliancy of their colours and perfume intoxicated the smell and the
+sight, they quickly withered. The air which they absorbed rapidly exhausted
+them, and they soon died, faded, and dried up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such was the fate of the famous tulip, which, after several days of splendour,
+became emaciated, and fell lifeless.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was soon the same with the domestic animals, from the house-dog to the
+stable pig, from the canary in its cage to the turkey of the back-court. It
+must be said that in ordinary times these animals were not less phlegmatic than
+their masters. The dogs and cats vegetated rather than lived. They never
+betrayed a wag of pleasure nor a snarl of wrath. Their tails moved no more than
+if they had been made of bronze. Such a thing as a bite or scratch from any of
+them had not been known from time immemorial. As for mad dogs, they were looked
+upon as imaginary beasts, like the griffins and the rest in the menagerie of
+the apocalypse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But what a change had taken place in a few months, the smallest incidents of
+which we are trying to reproduce! Dogs and cats began to show teeth and claws.
+Several executions had taken place after reiterated offences. A horse was seen,
+for the first time, to take his bit in his teeth and rush through the streets
+of Quiquendone; an ox was observed to precipitate itself, with lowered horns,
+upon one of his herd; an ass was seen to turn himself ever, with his legs in
+the air, in the Place Saint Ernuph, and bray as ass never brayed before; a
+sheep, actually a sheep, defended valiantly the cutlets within him from the
+butcher&rsquo;s knife.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Van Tricasse, the burgomaster, was forced to make police regulations concerning
+the domestic animals, as, seized with lunacy, they rendered the streets of
+Quiquendone unsafe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But alas! if the animals were mad, the men were scarcely less so. No age was
+spared by the scourge. Babies soon became quite insupportable, though till now
+so easy to bring up; and for the first time Honoré Syntax, the judge, was
+obliged to apply the rod to his youthful offspring.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a kind of insurrection at the high school, and the dictionaries
+became formidable missiles in the classes. The scholars would not submit to be
+shut in, and, besides, the infection took the teachers themselves, who
+overwhelmed the boys and girls with extravagant tasks and punishments.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another strange phenomenon occurred. All these Quiquendonians, so sober before,
+whose chief food had been whipped creams, committed wild excesses in their
+eating and drinking. Their usual regimen no longer sufficed. Each stomach was
+transformed into a gulf, and it became necessary to fill this gulf by the most
+energetic means. The consumption of the town was trebled. Instead of two
+repasts they had six. Many cases of indigestion were reported. The Counsellor
+Niklausse could not satisfy his hunger. Van Tricasse found it impossible to
+assuage his thirst, and remained in a state of rabid semi-intoxication.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In short, the most alarming symptoms manifested themselves and increased from
+day to day. Drunken people staggered in the streets, and these were often
+citizens of high position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Dominique Custos, the physician, had plenty to do with the heartburns,
+inflammations, and nervous affections, which proved to what a strange degree
+the nerves of the people had been irritated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were daily quarrels and altercations in the once deserted but now crowded
+streets of Quiquendone; for nobody could any longer stay at home. It was
+necessary to establish a new police force to control the disturbers of the
+public peace. A prison-cage was established in the Town Hall, and speedily
+became full, night and day, of refractory offenders. Commissary Passauf was in
+despair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A marriage was concluded in less than two months,&mdash;such a thing had never
+been seen before. Yes, the son of Rupp, the schoolmaster, wedded the daughter
+of Augustine de Rovere, and that fifty-seven days only after he had petitioned
+for her hand and heart!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Other marriages were decided upon, which, in old times, would have remained in
+doubt and discussion for years. The burgomaster perceived that his own
+daughter, the charming Suzel, was escaping from his hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for dear Tatanémance, she had dared to sound Commissary Passauf on the
+subject of a union, which seemed to her to combine every element of happiness,
+fortune, honour, youth!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last,&mdash;to reach the depths of abomination,&mdash;a duel took place!
+Yes, a duel with pistols&mdash;horse-pistols&mdash;at seventy-five paces, with
+ball-cartridges. And between whom? Our readers will never believe!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Between M. Frantz Niklausse, the gentle angler, and young Simon Collaert, the
+wealthy banker&rsquo;s son.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the cause of this duel was the burgomaster&rsquo;s daughter, for whom Simon
+discovered himself to be fired with passion, and whom he refused to yield to
+the claims of an audacious rival!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_11"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE QUIQUENDONIANS ADOPT A HEROIC RESOLUTION.</h2>
+
+<p>
+We have seen to what a deplorable condition the people of Quiquendone were
+reduced. Their heads were in a ferment. They no longer knew or recognized
+themselves. The most peaceable citizens had become quarrelsome. If you looked
+at them askance, they would speedily send you a challenge. Some let their
+moustaches grow, and several&mdash;the most belligerent&mdash;curled them up at
+the ends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This being their condition, the administration of the town and the maintenance
+of order in the streets became difficult tasks, for the government had not been
+organized for such a state of things. The burgomaster&mdash;that worthy Van
+Tricasse whom we have seen so placid, so dull, so incapable of coming to any
+decision&mdash; the burgomaster became intractable. His house resounded with
+the sharpness of his voice. He made twenty decisions a day, scolding his
+officials, and himself enforcing the regulations of his administration.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ah, what a change! The amiable and tranquil mansion of the burgomaster, that
+good Flemish home&mdash;where was its former calm? What changes had taken place
+in your household economy! Madame Van Tricasse had become acrid, whimsical,
+harsh. Her husband sometimes succeeded in drowning her voice by talking louder
+than she, but could not silence her. The petulant humour of this worthy dame
+was excited by everything. Nothing went right. The servants offended her every
+moment. Tatanémance, her sister-in-law, who was not less irritable, replied
+sharply to her. M. Van Tricasse naturally supported Lotchè, his servant, as is
+the case in all good households; and this permanently exasperated Madame, who
+constantly disputed, discussed, and made scenes with her husband.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What on earth is the matter with us?&rdquo; cried the unhappy
+burgomaster. &ldquo;What is this fire that is devouring us? Are we possessed
+with the devil? Ah, Madame Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, you will end by
+making me die before you, and thus violate all the traditions of the
+family!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reader will not have forgotten the strange custom by which M. Van Tricasse
+would become a widower and marry again, so as not to break the chain of
+descent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, this disposition of all minds produced other curious effects worthy
+of note. This excitement, the cause of which has so far escaped us, brought
+about unexpected physiological changes. Talents, hitherto unrecognized,
+betrayed themselves. Aptitudes were suddenly revealed. Artists, before
+common-place, displayed new ability. Politicians and authors arose. Orators
+proved themselves equal to the most arduous debates, and on every question
+inflamed audiences which were quite ready to be inflamed. From the sessions of
+the council, this movement spread to the public political meetings, and a club
+was formed at Quiquendone; whilst twenty newspapers, the &ldquo;Quiquendone
+Signal,&rdquo; the &ldquo;Quiquendone Impartial,&rdquo; the &ldquo;Quiquendone
+Radical,&rdquo; and so on, written in an inflammatory style, raised the most
+important questions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But what about? you will ask. Apropos of everything, and of nothing; apropos of
+the Oudenarde tower, which was falling, and which some wished to pull down, and
+others to prop up; apropos of the police regulations issued by the council,
+which some obstinate citizens threatened to resist; apropos of the sweeping of
+the gutters, repairing the sewers, and so on. Nor did the enraged orators
+confine themselves to the internal administration of the town. Carried on by
+the current they went further, and essayed to plunge their fellow-citizens into
+the hazards of war.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quiquendone had had for eight or nine hundred years a <i>casus belli</i> of the
+best quality; but she had preciously laid it up like a relic, and there had
+seemed some probability that it would become effete, and no longer serviceable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was what had given rise to the <i>casus belli</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is not generally known that Quiquendone, in this cosy corner of Flanders,
+lies next to the little town of Virgamen. The territories of the two
+communities are contiguous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Well, in 1185, some time before Count Baldwin&rsquo;s departure to the
+Crusades, a Virgamen cow&mdash;not a cow belonging to a citizen, but a cow
+which was common property, let it be observed&mdash;audaciously ventured to
+pasture on the territory of Quiquendone. This unfortunate beast had scarcely
+eaten three mouthfuls; but the offence, the abuse, the crime&mdash;whatever you
+will&mdash;was committed and duly indicted, for the magistrates, at that time,
+had already begun to know how to write.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We will take revenge at the proper moment,&rdquo; said simply Natalis
+Van Tricasse, the thirty-second predecessor of the burgomaster of this story,
+&ldquo;and the Virgamenians will lose nothing by waiting.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Virgamenians were forewarned. They waited thinking, without doubt, that the
+remembrance of the offence would fade away with the lapse of time; and really,
+for several centuries, they lived on good terms with their neighbours of
+Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But they counted without their hosts, or rather without this strange epidemic,
+which, radically changing the character of the Quiquendonians, aroused their
+dormant vengeance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was at the club of the Rue Monstrelet that the truculent orator Schut,
+abruptly introducing the subject to his hearers, inflamed them with the
+expressions and metaphors used on such occasions. He recalled the offence, the
+injury which had been done to Quiquendone, and which a nation &ldquo;jealous of
+its rights&rdquo; could not admit as a precedent; he showed the insult to be
+still existing, the wound still bleeding: he spoke of certain special
+head-shakings on the part of the people of Virgamen, which indicated in what
+degree of contempt they regarded the people of Quiquendone; he appealed to his
+fellow-citizens, who, unconsciously perhaps, had supported this mortal insult
+for long centuries; he adjured the &ldquo;children of the ancient town&rdquo;
+to have no other purpose than to obtain a substantial reparation. And, lastly,
+he made an appeal to &ldquo;all the living energies of the nation!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With what enthusiasm these words, so new to Quiquendonian ears, were greeted,
+may be surmised, but cannot be told. All the auditors rose, and with extended
+arms demanded war with loud cries. Never had the Advocate Schut achieved such a
+success, and it must be avowed that his triumphs were not few.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster, the counsellor, all the notabilities present at this memorable
+meeting, would have vainly attempted to resist the popular outburst. Besides,
+they had no desire to do so, and cried as loud, if not louder, than the
+rest,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To the frontier! To the frontier!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the frontier was but three kilometers from the walls of Quiquendone, it is
+certain that the Virgamenians ran a real danger, for they might easily be
+invaded without having had time to look about them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, the worthy chemist, who alone had preserved his
+senses on this grave occasion, tried to make his fellow-citizens comprehend
+that guns, cannon, and generals were equally wanting to their design.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They replied to him, not without many impatient gestures, that these generals,
+cannons, and guns would be improvised; that the right and love of country
+sufficed, and rendered a people irresistible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hereupon the burgomaster himself came forward, and in a sublime harangue made
+short work of those pusillanimous people who disguise their fear under a veil
+of prudence, which veil he tore off with a patriotic hand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this sally it seemed as if the hall would fall in under the applause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The vote was eagerly demanded, and was taken amid acclamations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cries of &ldquo;To Virgamen! to Virgamen!&rdquo; redoubled.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image12"></a>
+<img src="images/image12.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;To Virgamen! to Virgamen!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster then took it upon himself to put the armies in motion, and in
+the name of the town he promised the honours of a triumph, such as was given in
+the times of the Romans to that one of its generals who should return
+victorious.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, who was an obstinate fellow, and did not regard
+himself as beaten, though he really had been, insisted on making another
+observation. He wished to remark that the triumph was only accorded at Rome to
+those victorious generals who had killed five thousand of the enemy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; cried the meeting deliriously.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And as the population of the town of Virgamen consists of but three
+thousand five hundred and seventy-five inhabitants, it would be difficult,
+unless the same person was killed several times&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But they did not let the luckless logician finish, and he was turned out,
+hustled and bruised.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Citizens,&rdquo; said Pulmacher the grocer, who usually sold groceries
+by retail, &ldquo;whatever this cowardly apothecary may have said, I engage by
+myself to kill five thousand Virgamenians, if you will accept my
+services!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Five thousand five hundred!&rdquo; cried a yet more resolute patriot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Six thousand six hundred!&rdquo; retorted the grocer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Seven thousand!&rdquo; cried Jean Orbideck, the confectioner of the Rue
+Hemling, who was on the road to a fortune by making whipped creams.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Adjudged!&rdquo; exclaimed the burgomaster Van Tricasse, on finding that
+no one else rose on the bid.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And this was how Jean Orbideck the confectioner became general-in-chief of the
+forces of Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_12"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br/>
+IN WHICH YGÈNE, THE ASSISTANT, GIVES A REASONABLE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHICH IS
+EAGERLY REJECTED BY DOCTOR OX.</h2>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, master,&rdquo; said Ygène next day, as he poured the pails of
+sulphuric acid into the troughs of the great battery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; resumed Doctor Ox, &ldquo;was I not right? See to what not
+only the physical developments of a whole nation, but its morality, its
+dignity, its talents, its political sense, have come! It is only a question of
+molecules.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt; but&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you not think that matters have gone far enough, and that these poor
+devils should not be excited beyond measure?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; cried the doctor; &ldquo;no! I will go on to the
+end!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;As you will, master; the experiment, however, seems to me conclusive,
+and I think it time to&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To close the valve.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;d better!&rdquo; cried Doctor Ox. &ldquo;If you attempt it,
+I&rsquo;ll throttle you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br/>
+IN WHICH IT IS ONCE MORE PROVED THAT BY TAKING HIGH GROUND ALL HUMAN
+LITTLENESSES MAY BE OVERLOOKED.</h2>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You say?&rdquo; asked the Burgomaster Van Tricasse of the Counsellor
+Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I say that this war is necessary,&rdquo; replied Niklausse, firmly,
+&ldquo;and that the time has come to avenge this insult.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, I repeat to you,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster, tartly,
+&ldquo;that if the people of Quiquendone do not profit by this occasion to
+vindicate their rights, they will be unworthy of their name.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And as for me, I maintain that we ought, without delay, to collect our
+forces and lead them to the front.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Really, monsieur, really!&rdquo; replied Van Tricasse. &ldquo;And do you
+speak thus to <i>me</i>?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To yourself, monsieur the burgomaster; and you shall hear the truth,
+unwelcome as it may be.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you shall hear it yourself, counsellor,&rdquo; returned Van Tricasse
+in a passion, &ldquo;for it will come better from my mouth than from yours!
+Yes, monsieur, yes, any delay would be dishonourable. The town of Quiquendone
+has waited nine hundred years for the moment to take its revenge, and whatever
+you may say, whether it pleases you or not, we shall march upon the
+enemy.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, you take it thus!&rdquo; replied Niklausse harshly. &ldquo;Very
+well, monsieur, we will march without you, if it does not please you to
+go.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A burgomaster&rsquo;s place is in the front rank, monsieur!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image13"></a>
+<img src="images/image13.jpg" width="419" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;A burgomaster&rsquo;s place is in the front rank,
+monsieur!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And that of a counsellor also, monsieur.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You insult me by thwarting all my wishes,&rdquo; cried the burgomaster,
+whose fists seemed likely to hit out before long.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you insult me equally by doubting my patriotism,&rdquo; cried
+Niklausse, who was equally ready for a tussle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I tell you, monsieur, that the army of Quiquendone shall be put in
+motion within two days!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And I repeat to you, monsieur, that forty-eight hours shall not pass
+before we shall have marched upon the enemy!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is easy to see, from this fragment of conversation, that the two speakers
+supported exactly the same idea. Both wished for hostilities; but as their
+excitement disposed them to altercation, Niklausse would not listen to Van
+Tricasse, nor Van Tricasse to Niklausse. Had they been of contrary opinions on
+this grave question, had the burgomaster favoured war and the counsellor
+insisted on peace, the quarrel would not have been more violent. These two old
+friends gazed fiercely at each other. By the quickened beating of their hearts,
+their red faces, their contracted pupils, the trembling of their muscles, their
+harsh voices, it might be conjectured that they were ready to come to blows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the striking of a large clock happily checked the adversaries at the moment
+when they seemed on the point of assaulting each other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At last the hour has come!&rdquo; cried the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What hour?&rdquo; asked the counsellor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The hour to go to the belfry tower.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is true, and whether it pleases you or not, I shall go,
+monsieur.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And I too.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us go!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us go!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It might have been supposed from these last words that a collision had
+occurred, and that the adversaries were proceeding to a duel; but it was not
+so. It had been agreed that the burgomaster and the counsellor, as the two
+principal dignitaries of the town, should repair to the Town Hall, and there
+show themselves on the high tower which overlooked Quiquendone; that they
+should examine the surrounding country, so as to make the best strategetic plan
+for the advance of their troops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Though they were in accord on this subject, they did not cease to quarrel
+bitterly as they went. Their loud voices were heard resounding in the streets;
+but all the passers-by were now accustomed to this; the exasperation of the
+dignitaries seemed quite natural, and no one took notice of it. Under the
+circumstances, a calm man would have been regarded as a monster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, having reached the porch of the belfry,
+were in a paroxysm of fury. They were no longer red, but pale. This terrible
+discussion, though they had the same idea, had produced internal spasms, and
+every one knows that paleness shows that anger has reached its last limits.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the foot of the narrow tower staircase there was a real explosion. Who
+should go up first? Who should first creep up the winding steps? Truth compels
+us to say that there was a tussle, and that the Counsellor Niklausse, forgetful
+of all that he owed to his superior, to the supreme magistrate of the town,
+pushed Van Tricasse violently back, and dashed up the staircase first.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Both ascended, denouncing and raging at each other at every step. It was to be
+feared that a terrible climax would occur on the summit of the tower, which
+rose three hundred and fifty-seven feet above the pavement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two enemies soon got out of breath, however, and in a little while, at the
+eightieth step, they began to move up heavily, breathing loud and short.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then&mdash;was it because of their being out of breath?&mdash;their wrath
+subsided, or at least only betrayed itself by a succession of unseemly
+epithets. They became silent, and, strange to say, it seemed as if their
+excitement diminished as they ascended higher above the town. A sort of lull
+took place in their minds. Their brains became cooler, and simmered down like a
+coffee-pot when taken away from the fire. Why?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We cannot answer this &ldquo;why;&rdquo; but the truth is that, having reached
+a certain landing-stage, two hundred and sixty-six feet above ground, the two
+adversaries sat down and, really more calm, looked at each other without any
+anger in their faces.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How high it is!&rdquo; said the burgomaster, passing his handkerchief
+over his rubicund face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very high!&rdquo; returned the counsellor. &ldquo;Do you know that we
+have gone fourteen feet higher than the Church of Saint Michael at
+Hamburg?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know it,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster, in a tone of vanity very
+pardonable in the chief magistrate of Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two notabilities soon resumed their ascent, casting curious glances through
+the loopholes pierced in the tower walls. The burgomaster had taken the head of
+the procession, without any remark on the part of the counsellor. It even
+happened that at about the three hundred and fourth step, Van Tricasse being
+completely tired out, Niklausse kindly pushed him from behind. The burgomaster
+offered no resistance to this, and, when he reached the platform of the tower,
+said graciously,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Thanks, Niklausse; I will do the same for you one day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A little while before it had been two wild beasts, ready to tear each other to
+pieces, who had presented themselves at the foot of the tower; it was now two
+friends who reached its summit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The weather was superb. It was the month of May. The sun had absorbed all the
+vapours. What a pure and limpid atmosphere! The most minute objects over a
+broad space might be discerned. The walls of Virgamen, glistening in their
+whiteness,&mdash;its red, pointed roofs, its belfries shining in the
+sunlight&mdash;appeared a few miles off. And this was the town that was
+foredoomed to all the horrors of fire and pillage!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster and the counsellor sat down beside each other on a small stone
+bench, like two worthy people whose souls were in close sympathy. As they
+recovered breath, they looked around; then, after a brief silence,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How fine this is!&rdquo; cried the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, it is admirable!&rdquo; replied the counsellor. &ldquo;Does it not
+seem to you, my good Van Tricasse, that humanity is destined to dwell rather at
+such heights, than to crawl about on the surface of our globe?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I agree with you, honest Niklausse,&rdquo; returned the burgomaster,
+&ldquo;I agree with you. You seize sentiment better when you get clear of
+nature. You breathe it in every sense! It is at such heights that philosophers
+should be formed, and that sages should live, above the miseries of this
+world!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Shall we go around the platform?&rdquo; asked the counsellor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us go around the platform,&rdquo; replied the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the two friends, arm in arm, and putting, as formerly, long pauses between
+their questions and answers, examined every point of the horizon.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image14"></a>
+<img src="images/image14.jpg" width="428" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The two friends, arm in arm
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is at least seventeen years since I have ascended the belfry
+tower,&rdquo; said Van Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I do not think I ever came up before,&rdquo; replied Niklausse;
+&ldquo;and I regret it, for the view from this height is sublime! Do you see,
+my friend, the pretty stream of the Vaar, as it winds among the trees?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And, beyond, the heights of Saint Hermandad! How gracefully they shut in
+the horizon! Observe that border of green trees, which Nature has so
+picturesquely arranged! Ah, Nature, Nature, Niklausse! Could the hand of man
+ever hope to rival her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is enchanting, my excellent friend,&rdquo; replied the counsellor.
+&ldquo;See the flocks and herds lying in the verdant pastures,&mdash;the oxen,
+the cows, the sheep!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And the labourers going to the fields! You would say they were Arcadian
+shepherds; they only want a bagpipe!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And over all this fertile country the beautiful blue sky, which no
+vapour dims! Ah, Niklausse, one might become a poet here! I do not understand
+why Saint Simeon Stylites was not one of the greatest poets of the
+world.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It was because, perhaps, his column was not high enough,&rdquo; replied
+the counsellor, with a gentle smile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment the chimes of Quiquendone rang out. The clear bells played one
+of their most melodious airs. The two friends listened in ecstasy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then in his calm voice, Van Tricasse said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But what, friend Niklausse, did we come to the top of this tower to
+do?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In fact,&rdquo; replied the counsellor, &ldquo;we have permitted
+ourselves to be carried away by our reveries&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did we come here to do?&rdquo; repeated the burgomaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We came,&rdquo; said Niklausse, &ldquo;to breathe this pure air, which
+human weaknesses have not corrupted.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, shall we descend, friend Niklausse?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us descend, friend Van Tricasse.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They gave a parting glance at the splendid panorama which was spread before
+their eyes; then the burgomaster passed down first, and began to descend with a
+slow and measured pace. The counsellor followed a few steps behind. They
+reached the landing-stage at which they had stopped on ascending. Already their
+cheeks began to redden. They tarried a moment, then resumed their descent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a few moments Van Tricasse begged Niklausse to go more slowly, as he felt
+him on his heels, and it &ldquo;worried him.&rdquo; It even did more than worry
+him; for twenty steps lower down he ordered the counsellor to stop, that he
+might get on some distance ahead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The counsellor replied that he did not wish to remain with his leg in the air
+to await the good pleasure of the burgomaster, and kept on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Van Tricasse retorted with a rude expression.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The counsellor responded by an insulting allusion to the burgomaster&rsquo;s
+age, destined as he was, by his family traditions, to marry a second time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster went down twenty steps more, and warned Niklausse that this
+should not pass thus.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Niklausse replied that, at all events, he would pass down first; and, the space
+being very narrow, the two dignitaries came into collision, and found
+themselves in utter darkness. The words &ldquo;blockhead&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;booby&rdquo; were the mildest which they now applied to each other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall see, stupid beast!&rdquo; cried the
+burgomaster,&mdash;&ldquo;we shall see what figure you will make in this war,
+and in what rank you will march!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In the rank that precedes yours, you silly old fool!&rdquo; replied
+Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then there were other cries, and it seemed as if bodies were rolling over each
+other. What was going on? Why were these dispositions so quickly changed? Why
+were the gentle sheep of the tower&rsquo;s summit metamorphosed into tigers two
+hundred feet below it?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+However this might be, the guardian of the tower, hearing the noise, opened the
+door, just at the moment when the two adversaries, bruised, and with protruding
+eyes, were in the act of tearing each other&rsquo;s hair,&mdash;fortunately
+they wore wigs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You shall give me satisfaction for this!&rdquo; cried the burgomaster,
+shaking his fist under his adversary&rsquo;s nose.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Whenever you please!&rdquo; growled the Counsellor Niklausse, attempting
+to respond with a vigorous kick.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The guardian, who was himself in a passion,&mdash;I cannot say why,&mdash;
+thought the scene a very natural one. I know not what excitement urged him to
+take part in it, but he controlled himself, and went off to announce throughout
+the neighbourhood that a hostile meeting was about to take place between the
+Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor Niklausse.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br/>
+IN WHICH MATTERS GO SO FAR THAT THE INHABITANTS OF QUIQUENDONE, THE READER,
+AND EVEN THE AUTHOR, DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE DÉNOUEMENT.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The last incident proves to what a pitch of excitement the Quiquendonians had
+been wrought. The two oldest friends in the town, and the most
+gentle&mdash;before the advent of the epidemic, to reach this degree of
+violence! And that, too, only a few minutes after their old mutual sympathy,
+their amiable instincts, their contemplative habit, had been restored at the
+summit of the tower!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On learning what was going on, Doctor Ox could not contain his joy. He resisted
+the arguments which Ygène, who saw what a serious turn affairs were taking,
+addressed to him. Besides, both of them were infected by the general fury. They
+were not less excited than the rest of the population, and they ended by
+quarrelling as violently as the burgomaster and the counsellor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Besides, one question eclipsed all others, and the intended duels were
+postponed to the issue of the Virgamenian difficulty. No man had the right to
+shed his blood uselessly, when it belonged, to the last drop, to his country in
+danger. The affair was, in short, a grave one, and there was no withdrawing
+from it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse, despite the warlike ardour with which he was
+filled, had not thought it best to throw himself upon the enemy without warning
+him. He had, therefore, through the medium of the rural policeman, Hottering,
+sent to demand reparation of the Virgamenians for the offence committed, in
+1195, on the Quiquendonian territory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The authorities of Virgamen could not at first imagine of what the envoy spoke,
+and the latter, despite his official character, was conducted back to the
+frontier very cavalierly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Van Tricasse then sent one of the aides-de-camp of the confectioner-general,
+citizen Hildevert Shuman, a manufacturer of barley-sugar, a very firm and
+energetic man, who carried to the authorities of Virgamen the original minute
+of the indictment drawn up in 1195 by order of the Burgomaster Natalís Van
+Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The authorities of Virgamen burst out laughing, and served the aide-de-camp in
+the same manner as the rural policeman.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burgomaster then assembled the dignitaries of the town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A letter, remarkably and vigorously drawn up, was written as an ultimatum; the
+cause of quarrel was plainly stated, and a delay of twenty-four hours was
+accorded to the guilty city in which to repair the outrage done to Quiquendone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The letter was sent off, and returned a few hours afterwards, torn to bits,
+which made so many fresh insults. The Virgamenians knew of old the forbearance
+and equanimity of the Quiquendonians, and made sport of them and their demand,
+of their <i>casus belli</i> and their <i>ultimatum</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was only one thing left to do,&mdash;to have recourse to arms, to invoke
+the God of battles, and, after the Prussian fashion, to hurl themselves upon
+the Virgamenians before the latter could be prepared.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This decision was made by the council in solemn conclave, in which cries,
+objurgations, and menacing gestures were mingled with unexampled violence. An
+assembly of idiots, a congress of madmen, a club of maniacs, would not have
+been more tumultuous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as the declaration of war was known, General Jean Orbideck assembled
+his troops, perhaps two thousand three hundred and ninety-three combatants from
+a population of two thousand three hundred and ninety-three souls. The women,
+the children, the old men, were joined with the able-bodied males. The guns of
+the town had been put under requisition. Five had been found, two of which were
+without cocks, and these had been distributed to the advance-guard. The
+artillery was composed of the old culverin of the château, taken in 1339 at the
+attack on Quesnoy, one of the first occasions of the use of cannon in history,
+and which had not been fired off for five centuries. Happily for those who were
+appointed to take it in charge there were no projectiles with which to load it;
+but such as it was, this engine might well impose on the enemy. As for
+side-arms, they had been taken from the museum of antiquities,&mdash;flint
+hatchets, helmets, Frankish battle-axes, javelins, halberds, rapiers, and so
+on; and also in those domestic arsenals commonly known as
+&ldquo;cupboards&rdquo; and &ldquo;kitchens.&rdquo; But courage, the right,
+hatred of the foreigner, the yearning for vengeance, were to take the place of
+more perfect engines, and to replace&mdash;at least it was hoped so&mdash;the
+modern mitrailleuses and breech-loaders.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The troops were passed in review. Not a citizen failed at the roll-call.
+General Orbideck, whose seat on horseback was far from firm, and whose steed
+was a vicious beast, was thrown three times in front of the army; but he got up
+again without injury, and this was regarded as a favourable omen. The
+burgomaster, the counsellor, the civil commissary, the chief justice, the
+school-teacher, the banker, the rector,&mdash;in short, all the notabilities of
+the town,&mdash;marched at the head. There were no tears shed, either by
+mothers, sisters, or daughters. They urged on their husbands, fathers,
+brothers, to the combat, and even followed them and formed the rear-guard,
+under the orders of the courageous Madame Van Tricasse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crier, Jean Mistrol, blew his trumpet; the army moved off, and directed
+itself, with ferocious cries, towards the Oudenarde gate.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+At the moment when the head of the column was about to pass the walls of the
+town, a man threw himself before it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Stop! stop! Fools that you are!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Suspend your
+blows! Let me shut the valve! You are not changed in nature! You are good
+citizens, quiet and peaceable! If you are so excited, it is my master, Doctor
+Ox&rsquo;s, fault! It is an experiment! Under the pretext of lighting your
+streets with oxyhydric gas, he has saturated&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The assistant was beside himself; but he could not finish. At the instant that
+the doctor&rsquo;s secret was about to escape his lips, Doctor Ox himself
+pounced upon the unhappy Ygène in an indescribable rage, and shut his mouth by
+blows with his fist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a battle. The burgomaster, the counsellor, the dignitaries, who had
+stopped short on Ygène&rsquo;s sudden appearance, carried away in turn by their
+exasperation, rushed upon the two strangers, without waiting to hear either the
+one or the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doctor Ox and his assistant, beaten and lashed, were about to be dragged, by
+order of Van Tricasse, to the round-house, when,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_15"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE DÉNOUEMENT TAKES PLACE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+When a formidable explosion resounded. All the atmosphere which enveloped
+Quiquendone seemed on fire. A flame of an intensity and vividness quite
+unwonted shot up into the heavens like a meteor. Had it been night, this flame
+would have been visible for ten leagues around.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth, like an army of monks. Happily
+there were no victims; a few scratches and slight hurts were the only result.
+The confectioner, who, as chance would have it, had not fallen from his horse
+this time, had his plume singed, and escaped without any further injury.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image15"></a>
+<img src="images/image15.jpg" width="415" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+What had happened?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Something very simple, as was soon learned; the gasworks had just blown up.
+During the absence of the doctor and his assistant, some careless mistake had
+no doubt been made. It is not known how or why a communication had been
+established between the reservoir which contained the oxygen and that which
+enclosed the hydrogen. An explosive mixture had resulted from the union of
+these two gases, to which fire had accidentally been applied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This changed everything; but when the army got upon its feet again, Doctor Ox
+and his assistant Ygène had disappeared.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br/>
+IN WHICH THE INTELLIGENT READER SEES THAT HE HAS GUESSED CORRECTLY, DESPITE
+ALL THE AUTHOR&rsquo;S PRECAUTIONS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+After the explosion, Quiquendone immediately became the peaceable, phlegmatic,
+and Flemish town it formerly was.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the explosion, which indeed did not cause a very lively sensation, each
+one, without knowing why, mechanically took his way home, the burgomaster
+leaning on the counsellor&rsquo;s arm, the advocate Schut going arm in arm with
+Custos the doctor, Frantz Niklausse walking with equal familiarity with Simon
+Collaert, each going tranquilly, noiselessly, without even being conscious of
+what had happened, and having already forgotten Virgamen and their revenge. The
+general returned to his confections, and his aide-de-camp to the barley-sugar.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus everything had become calm again; the old existence had been resumed by
+men and beasts, beasts and plants; even by the tower of Oudenarde gate, which
+the explosion&mdash;these explosions are sometimes astonishing&mdash;had set
+upright again!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And from that time never a word was spoken more loudly than another, never a
+discussion took place in the town of Quiquendone. There were no more politics,
+no more clubs, no more trials, no more policemen! The post of the Commissary
+Passauf became once more a sinecure, and if his salary was not reduced, it was
+because the burgomaster and the counsellor could not make up their minds to
+decide upon it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From time to time, indeed, Passauf flitted, without any one suspecting it,
+through the dreams of the inconsolable Tatanémance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for Frantz&rsquo;s rival, he generously abandoned the charming Suzel to her
+lover, who hastened to wed her five or six years after these events.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And as for Madame Van Tricasse, she died ten years later, at the proper time,
+and the burgomaster married Mademoiselle Pélagie Van Tricasse, his cousin,
+under excellent conditions&mdash;for the happy mortal who should succeed him.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ox_17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br/>
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX&rsquo;S THEORY IS EXPLAINED.</h2>
+
+<p>
+What, then, had this mysterious Doctor Ox done? Tried a fantastic
+experiment,&mdash;nothing more.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After having laid down his gas-pipes, he had saturated, first the public
+buildings, then the private dwellings, finally the streets of Quiquendone, with
+pure oxygen, without letting in the least atom of hydrogen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This gas, tasteless and odorless, spread in generous quantity through the
+atmosphere, causes, when it is breathed, serious agitation to the human
+organism. One who lives in an air saturated with oxygen grows excited, frantic,
+burns!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+You scarcely return to the ordinary atmosphere before you return to your usual
+state. For instance, the counsellor and the burgomaster at the top of the
+belfry were themselves again, as the oxygen is kept, by its weight, in the
+lower strata of the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But one who lives under such conditions, breathing this gas which transforms
+the body physiologically as well as the soul, dies speedily, like a madman.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was fortunate, then, for the Quiquendonians, that a providential explosion
+put an end to this dangerous experiment, and abolished Doctor Ox&rsquo;s
+gas-works.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To conclude: Are virtue, courage, talent, wit, imagination,&mdash;are all these
+qualities or faculties only a question of oxygen?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such is Doctor Ox&rsquo;s theory; but we are not bound to accept it, and for
+ourselves we utterly reject it, in spite of the curious experiment of which the
+worthy old town of Quiquendone was the theatre.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="zach_01"></a>MASTER ZACHARIUS</h2>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I.<br/>
+A WINTER NIGHT.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The city of Geneva lies at the west end of the lake of the same name. The
+Rhone, which passes through the town at the outlet of the lake, divides it into
+two sections, and is itself divided in the centre of the city by an island
+placed in mid-stream. A topographical feature like this is often found in the
+great depôts of commerce and industry. No doubt the first inhabitants were
+influenced by the easy means of transport which the swift currents of the
+rivers offered them&mdash;those &ldquo;roads which walk along of their own
+accord,&rdquo; as Pascal puts it. In the case of the Rhone, it would be the
+road that ran along.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before new and regular buildings were constructed on this island, which was
+enclosed like a Dutch galley in the middle of the river, the curious mass of
+houses, piled one on the other, presented a delightfully confused
+<i>coup-d&rsquo;oeil</i>. The small area of the island had compelled some of
+the buildings to be perched, as it were, on the piles, which were entangled in
+the rough currents of the river. The huge beams, blackened by time, and worn by
+the water, seemed like the claws of an enormous crab, and presented a fantastic
+appearance. The little yellow streams, which were like cobwebs stretched amid
+this ancient foundation, quivered in the darkness, as if they had been the
+leaves of some old oak forest, while the river engulfed in this forest of
+piles, foamed and roared most mournfully.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the houses of the island was striking for its curiously aged appearance.
+It was the dwelling of the old clockmaker, Master Zacharius, whose household
+consisted of his daughter Gerande, Aubert Thun, his apprentice, and his old
+servant Scholastique.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was no man in Geneva to compare in interest with this Zacharius. His age
+was past finding out. Not the oldest inhabitant of the town could tell for how
+long his thin, pointed head had shaken above his shoulders, nor the day when,
+for the first time, he had-walked through the streets, with his long white
+locks floating in the wind. The man did not live; he vibrated like the pendulum
+of his clocks. His spare and cadaverous figure was always clothed in dark
+colours. Like the pictures of Leonardo di Vinci, he was sketched in black.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande had the pleasantest room in the whole house, whence, through a narrow
+window, she had the inspiriting view of the snowy peaks of Jura; but the
+bedroom and workshop of the old man were a kind of cavern close on to the
+water, the floor of which rested on the piles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From time immemorial Master Zacharius had never come out except at meal times,
+and when he went to regulate the different clocks of the town. He passed the
+rest of his time at his bench, which was covered with numerous clockwork
+instruments, most of which he had invented himself. For he was a clever man;
+his works were valued in all France and Germany. The best workers in Geneva
+readily recognized his superiority, and showed that he was an honour to the
+town, by saying, &ldquo;To him belongs the glory of having invented the
+escapement.&rdquo; In fact, the birth of true clock-work dates from the
+invention which the talents of Zacharius had discovered not many years before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After he had worked hard for a long time, Zacharius would slowly put his tools
+away, cover up the delicate pieces that he had been adjusting with glasses, and
+stop the active wheel of his lathe; then he would raise a trap-door constructed
+in the floor of his workshop, and, stooping down, used to inhale for hours
+together the thick vapours of the Rhone, as it dashed along under his eyes.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image16"></a>
+<img src="images/image16.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">he would raise the trap door constructed in the floor of his
+workshop.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+One winter&rsquo;s night the old servant Scholastique served the supper, which,
+according to old custom, she and the young mechanic shared with their master.
+Master Zacharius did not eat, though the food carefully prepared for him was
+offered him in a handsome blue and white dish. He scarcely answered the sweet
+words of Gerande, who evidently noticed her father&rsquo;s silence, and even
+the clatter of Scholastique herself no more struck his ear than the roar of the
+river, to which he paid no attention.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the silent meal, the old clockmaker left the table without embracing his
+daughter, or saying his usual &ldquo;Good-night&rdquo; to all. He left by the
+narrow door leading to his den, and the staircase groaned under his heavy
+footsteps as he went down.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique sat for some minutes without speaking. On
+this evening the weather was dull; the clouds dragged heavily on the Alps, and
+threatened rain; the severe climate of Switzerland made one feel sad, while the
+south wind swept round the house, and whistled ominously.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My dear young lady,&rdquo; said Scholastique, at last, &ldquo;do you
+know that our master has been out of sorts for several days? Holy Virgin! I
+know he has had no appetite, because his words stick in his inside, and it
+would take a very clever devil to drag even one out of him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father has some secret cause of trouble, that I cannot even
+guess,&rdquo; replied Gerande, as a sad anxiety spread over her face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mademoiselle, don&rsquo;t let such sadness fill your heart. You know the
+strange habits of Master Zacharius. Who can read his secret thoughts in his
+face? No doubt some fatigue has overcome him, but to-morrow he will have
+forgotten it, and be very sorry to have given his daughter pain.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was Aubert who spoke thus, looking into Gerande&rsquo;s lovely eyes. Aubert
+was the first apprentice whom Master Zacharius had ever admitted to the
+intimacy of his labours, for he appreciated his intelligence, discretion, and
+goodness of heart; and this young man had attached himself to Gerande with the
+earnest devotion natural to a noble nature.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande was eighteen years of age. Her oval face recalled that of the artless
+Madonnas whom veneration still displays at the street corners of the antique
+towns of Brittany. Her eyes betrayed an infinite simplicity. One would love her
+as the sweetest realization of a poet&rsquo;s dream. Her apparel was of modest
+colours, and the white linen which was folded about her shoulders had the tint
+and perfume peculiar to the linen of the church. She led a mystical existence
+in Geneva, which had not as yet been delivered over to the dryness of
+Calvinism.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While, night and morning, she read her Latin prayers in her iron-clasped
+missal, Gerande had also discovered a hidden sentiment in Aubert Thun&rsquo;s
+heart, and comprehended what a profound devotion the young workman had for her.
+Indeed, the whole world in his eyes was condensed into this old
+clockmaker&rsquo;s house, and he passed all his time near the young girl, when
+he left her father&rsquo;s workshop, after his work was over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Old Scholastique saw all this, but said nothing. Her loquacity exhausted itself
+in preference on the evils of the times, and the little worries of the
+household. Nobody tried to stop its course. It was with her as with the musical
+snuff-boxes which they made at Geneva; once wound up, you must break them
+before you will prevent their playing all their airs through.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Finding Gerande absorbed in a melancholy silence, Scholastique left her old
+wooden chair, fixed a taper on the end of a candlestick, lit it, and placed it
+near a small waxen Virgin, sheltered in her niche of stone. It was the family
+custom to kneel before this protecting Madonna of the domestic hearth, and to
+beg her kindly watchfulness during the coming night; but on this evening
+Gerande remained silent in her seat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, well, dear demoiselle,&rdquo; said the astonished Scholastique,
+&ldquo;supper is over, and it is time to go to bed. Why do you tire your eyes
+by sitting up late? Ah, Holy Virgin! It&rsquo;s much better to sleep, and to
+get a little comfort from happy dreams! In these detestable times in which we
+live, who can promise herself a fortunate day?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ought we not to send for a doctor for my father?&rdquo; asked Gerande.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A doctor!&rdquo; cried the old domestic. &ldquo;Has Master Zacharius
+ever listened to their fancies and pompous sayings? He might accept medicines
+for the watches, but not for the body!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What shall we do?&rdquo; murmured Gerande. &ldquo;Has he gone to work,
+or to rest?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Gerande,&rdquo; answered Aubert softly, &ldquo;some mental trouble
+annoys your father, that is all.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know what it is, Aubert?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps, Gerande&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Tell us, then,&rdquo; cried Scholastique eagerly, economically
+extinguishing her taper.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;For several days, Gerande,&rdquo; said the young apprentice,
+&ldquo;something absolutely incomprehensible has been going on. All the watches
+which your father has made and sold for some years have suddenly stopped. Very
+many of them have been brought back to him. He has carefully taken them to
+pieces; the springs were in good condition, and the wheels well set. He has put
+them together yet more carefully; but, despite his skill, they will not
+go.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The devil&rsquo;s in it!&rdquo; cried Scholastique.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why say you so?&rdquo; asked Gerande. &ldquo;It seems very natural to
+me. Nothing lasts for ever in this world. The infinite cannot be fashioned by
+the hands of men.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is none the less true,&rdquo; returned Aubert, &ldquo;that there is
+in this something very mysterious and extraordinary. I have myself been helping
+Master Zacharius to search for the cause of this derangement of his watches;
+but I have not been able to find it, and more than once I have let my tools
+fall from my hands in despair.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But why undertake so vain a task?&rdquo; resumed Scholastique. &ldquo;Is
+it natural that a little copper instrument should go of itself, and mark the
+hours? We ought to have kept to the sun-dial!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You will not talk thus, Scholastique,&rdquo; said Aubert, &ldquo;when
+you learn that the sun-dial was invented by Cain.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good heavens! what are you telling me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you think,&rdquo; asked Gerande simply, &ldquo;that we might pray to
+God to give life to my father&rsquo;s watches?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Without doubt,&rdquo; replied Aubert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good! They will be useless prayers,&rdquo; muttered the old servant,
+&ldquo;but Heaven will pardon them for their good intent.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The taper was relighted. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert knelt down together
+upon the tiles of the room. The young girl prayed for her mother&rsquo;s soul,
+for a blessing for the night, for travellers and prisoners, for the good and
+the wicked, and more earnestly than all for the unknown misfortunes of her
+father.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image17"></a>
+<img src="images/image17.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The young girl prayed
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Then the three devout souls rose with some confidence in their hearts, because
+they had laid their sorrow on the bosom of God.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert repaired to his own room; Gerande sat pensively by the window, whilst
+the last lights were disappearing from the city streets; and Scholastique,
+having poured a little water on the flickering embers, and shut the two
+enormous bolts on the door, threw herself upon her bed, where she was soon
+dreaming that she was dying of fright.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the terrors of this winter&rsquo;s night had increased. Sometimes,
+with the whirlpools of the river, the wind engulfed itself among the piles, and
+the whole house shivered and shook; but the young girl, absorbed in her
+sadness, thought only of her father. After hearing what Aubert told her, the
+malady of Master Zacharius took fantastic proportions in her mind; and it
+seemed to her as if his existence, so dear to her, having become purely
+mechanical, no longer moved on its worn-out pivots without effort.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Suddenly the pent-house shutter, shaken by the squall, struck against the
+window of the room. Gerande shuddered and started up without understanding the
+cause of the noise which thus disturbed her reverie. When she became a little
+calmer she opened the sash. The clouds had burst, and a torrent-like rain
+pattered on the surrounding roofs. The young girl leaned out of the window to
+draw to the shutter shaken by the wind, but she feared to do so. It seemed to
+her that the rain and the river, confounding their tumultuous waters, were
+submerging the frail house, the planks of which creaked in every direction. She
+would have flown from her chamber, but she saw below the flickering of a light
+which appeared to come from Master Zacharius&rsquo;s retreat, and in one of
+those momentary calms during which the elements keep a sudden silence, her ear
+caught plaintive sounds. She tried to shut her window, but could not. The wind
+violently repelled her, like a thief who was breaking into a dwelling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande thought she would go mad with terror. What was her father doing? She
+opened the door, and it escaped from her hands, and slammed loudly with the
+force of the tempest. Gerande then found herself in the dark supper-room,
+succeeded in gaining, on tiptoe, the staircase which led to her father&rsquo;s
+shop, and pale and fainting, glided down.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old watchmaker was upright in the middle of the room, which resounded with
+the roaring of the river. His bristling hair gave him a sinister aspect. He was
+talking and gesticulating, without seeing or hearing anything. Gerande stood
+still on the threshold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is death!&rdquo; said Master Zacharius, in a hollow voice; &ldquo;it
+is death! Why should I live longer, now that I have dispersed my existence over
+the earth? For I, Master, Zacharius, am really the creator of all the watches
+that I have fashioned! It is a part of my very soul that I have shut up in each
+of these cases of iron, silver, or gold! Every time that one of these accursed
+watches stops, I feel my heart cease beating, for I have regulated them with
+its pulsations!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As he spoke in this strange way, the old man cast his eyes on his bench. There
+lay all the pieces of a watch that he had carefully taken apart. He took up a
+sort of hollow cylinder, called a barrel, in which the spring is enclosed, and
+removed the steel spiral, but instead of relaxing itself, according to the laws
+of its elasticity, it remained coiled on itself like a sleeping viper. It
+seemed knotted, like impotent old men whose blood has long been congealed.
+Master Zacharius vainly essayed to uncoil it with his thin fingers, the
+outlines of which were exaggerated on the wall; but he tried in vain, and soon,
+with a terrible cry of anguish and rage, he threw it through the trap-door into
+the boiling Rhone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande, her feet riveted to the floor, stood breathless and motionless. She
+wished to approach her father, but could not. Giddy hallucinations took
+possession of her. Suddenly she heard, in the shade, a voice murmur in her
+ears,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Gerande, dear Gerande! grief still keeps you awake. Go in again, I beg
+of you; the night is cold.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Aubert!&rdquo; whispered the young girl. &ldquo;You!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ought I not to be troubled by what troubles you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These soft words sent the blood back into the young girl&rsquo;s heart. She
+leaned on Aubert&rsquo;s arm, and said to him,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father is very ill, Aubert! You alone can cure him, for this disorder
+of the mind would not yield to his daughter&rsquo;s consolings. His mind is
+attacked by a very natural delusion, and in working with him, repairing the
+watches, you will bring him back to reason. Aubert,&rdquo; she continued,
+&ldquo;it is not true, is it, that his life is mixed up with that of his
+watches?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert did not reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But is my father&rsquo;s a trade condemned by God?&rdquo; asked Gerande,
+trembling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know not,&rdquo; returned the apprentice, warming the cold hands of
+the girl with his own. &ldquo;But go back to your room, my poor Gerande, and
+with sleep recover hope!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande slowly returned to her chamber, and remained there till daylight,
+without sleep closing her eyelids. Meanwhile, Master Zacharius, always mute and
+motionless, gazed at the river as it rolled turbulently at his feet.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="zach_02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br/>
+THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The severity of the Geneva merchant in business matters has become proverbial.
+He is rigidly honourable, and excessively just. What must, then, have been the
+shame of Master Zacharius, when he saw these watches, which he had so carefully
+constructed, returning to him from every direction?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was certain that these watches had suddenly stopped, and without any
+apparent reason. The wheels were in a good condition and firmly fixed, but the
+springs had lost all elasticity. Vainly did the watchmaker try to replace them;
+the wheels remained motionless. These unaccountable derangements were greatly
+to the old man&rsquo;s discredit. His noble inventions had many times brought
+upon him suspicions of sorcery, which now seemed confirmed. These rumours
+reached Gerande, and she often trembled for her father, when she saw malicious
+glances directed towards him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yet on the morning after this night of anguish, Master Zacharius seemed to
+resume work with some confidence. The morning sun inspired him with some
+courage. Aubert hastened to join him in the shop, and received an affable
+&ldquo;Good-day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am better,&rdquo; said the old man. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what
+strange pains in the head attacked me yesterday, but the sun has quite chased
+them away, with the clouds of the night.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In faith, master,&rdquo; returned Aubert, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like the
+night for either of us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And thou art right, Aubert. If you ever become a great man, you will
+understand that day is as necessary to you as food. A great savant should be
+always ready to receive the homage of his fellow-men.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Master, it seems to me that the pride of science has possessed
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Pride, Aubert! Destroy my past, annihilate my present, dissipate my
+future, and then it will be permitted to me to live in obscurity! Poor boy, who
+comprehends not the sublime things to which my art is wholly devoted! Art thou
+not but a tool in my hands?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yet. Master Zacharius,&rdquo; resumed Aubert, &ldquo;I have more than
+once merited your praise for the manner in which I adjusted the most delicate
+parts of your watches and clocks.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt, Aubert; thou art a good workman, such as I love; but when thou
+workest, thou thinkest thou hast in thy hands but copper, silver, gold; thou
+dost not perceive these metals, which my genius animates, palpitating like
+living flesh! So that thou wilt not die, with the death of thy works!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius remained silent after these words; but Aubert essayed to keep
+up the conversation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Indeed, master,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I love to see you work so
+unceasingly! You will be ready for the festival of our corporation, for I see
+that the work on this crystal watch is going forward famously.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt, Aubert,&rdquo; cried the old watchmaker, &ldquo;and it will be
+no slight honour for me to have been able to cut and shape the crystal to the
+durability of a diamond! Ah, Louis Berghem did well to perfect the art of
+diamond-cutting, which has enabled me to polish and pierce the hardest
+stones!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius was holding several small watch pieces of cut crystal, and of
+exquisite workmanship. The wheels, pivots, and case of the watch were of the
+same material, and he had employed remarkable skill in this very difficult
+task.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Would it not be fine,&rdquo; said he, his face flushing, &ldquo;to see
+this watch palpitating beneath its transparent envelope, and to be able to
+count the beatings of its heart?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I will wager, sir,&rdquo; replied the young apprentice, &ldquo;that it
+will not vary a second in a year.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you would wager on a certainty! Have I not imparted to it all that
+is purest of myself? And does my heart vary? My heart, I say?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert did not dare to lift his eyes to his master&rsquo;s face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Tell me frankly,&rdquo; said the old man sadly. &ldquo;Have you never
+taken me for a madman? Do you not think me sometimes subject to dangerous
+folly? Yes; is it not so? In my daughter&rsquo;s eyes and yours, I have often
+read my condemnation. Oh!&rdquo; he cried, as if in pain, &ldquo;to be
+misunderstood by those whom one most loves in the world! But I will prove
+victoriously to thee, Aubert, that I am right! Do not shake thy head, for thou
+wilt be astounded. The day on which thou understandest how to listen to and
+comprehend me, thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence,
+the secrets of the mysterious union of the soul with the body!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image18"></a>
+<img src="images/image18.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of
+existence.&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+As he spoke thus, Master Zacharius appeared superb in his vanity. His eyes
+glittered with a supernatural fire, and his pride illumined every feature. And
+truly, if ever vanity was excusable, it was that of Master Zacharius!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The watchmaking art, indeed, down to his time, had remained almost in its
+infancy. From the day when Plato, four centuries before the Christian era,
+invented the night watch, a sort of clepsydra which indicated the hours of the
+night by the sound and playing of a flute, the science had continued nearly
+stationary. The masters paid more attention to the arts than to mechanics, and
+it was the period of beautiful watches of iron, copper, wood, silver, which
+were richly engraved, like one of Cellini&rsquo;s ewers. They made a
+masterpiece of chasing, which measured time imperfectly, but was still a
+masterpiece. When the artist&rsquo;s imagination was not directed to the
+perfection of modelling, it set to work to create clocks with moving figures
+and melodious sounds, whose appearance took all attention. Besides, who
+troubled himself, in those days, with regulating the advance of time? The
+delays of the law were not as yet invented; the physical and astronomical
+sciences had not as yet established their calculations on scrupulously exact
+measurements; there were neither establishments which were shut at a given
+hour, nor trains which departed at a precise moment. In the evening the curfew
+bell sounded; and at night the hours were cried amid the universal silence.
+Certainly people did not live so long, if existence is measured by the amount
+of business done; but they lived better. The mind was enriched with the noble
+sentiments born of the contemplation of chefs-d&rsquo;oeuvré. They built a
+church in two centuries, a painter painted but few pictures in the course of
+his life, a poet only composed one great work; but these were so many
+masterpieces for after-ages to appreciate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the exact sciences began at last to make some progress, watch and clock
+making followed in their path, though it was always arrested by an
+insurmountable difficulty,&mdash;the regular and continuous measurement of
+time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was in the midst of this stagnation that Master Zacharius invented the
+escapement, which enabled him to obtain a mathematical regularity by submitting
+the movement of the pendulum to a sustained force. This invention had turned
+the old man&rsquo;s head. Pride, swelling in his heart, like mercury in the
+thermometer, had attained the height of transcendent folly. By analogy he had
+allowed himself to be drawn to materialistic conclusions, and as he constructed
+his watches, he fancied that he had discovered the secrets of the union of the
+soul with the body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus, on this day, perceiving that Aubert listened to him attentively, he said
+to him in a tone of simple conviction,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Dost thou know what life is, my child? Hast thou comprehended the action
+of those springs which produce existence? Hast thou examined thyself? No. And
+yet, with the eyes of science, thou mightest have seen the intimate relation
+which exists between God&rsquo;s work and my own; for it is from his creature
+that I have copied the combinations of the wheels of my clocks.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Master,&rdquo; replied Aubert eagerly, &ldquo;can you compare a copper
+or steel machine with that breath of God which is called the soul, which
+animates our bodies as the breeze stirs the flowers? What mechanism could be so
+adjusted as to inspire us with thought?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is not the question,&rdquo; responded Master Zacharius gently, but
+with all the obstinacy of a blind man walking towards an abyss. &ldquo;In order
+to understand me, thou must recall the purpose of the escapement which I have
+invented. When I saw the irregular working of clocks, I understood that the
+movements shut up in them did not suffice, and that it was necessary to submit
+them to the regularity of some independent force. I then thought that the
+balance-wheel might accomplish this, and I succeeded in regulating the
+movement! Now, was it not a sublime idea that came to me, to return to it its
+lost force by the action of the clock itself, which it was charged with
+regulating?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert made a sign of assent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Now, Aubert,&rdquo; continued the old man, growing animated, &ldquo;cast
+thine eyes upon thyself! Dost thou not understand that there are two distinct
+forces in us, that of the soul and that of the body&mdash;that is, a movement
+and a regulator? The soul is the principle of life; that is, then, the
+movement. Whether it is produced by a weight, by a spring, or by an immaterial
+influence, it is none the less in the heart. But without the body this movement
+would be unequal, irregular, impossible! Thus the body regulates the soul, and,
+like the balance-wheel, it is submitted to regular oscillations. And this is so
+true, that one falls ill when one&rsquo;s drink, food, sleep&mdash;in a word,
+the functions of the body&mdash;are not properly regulated; just as in my
+watches the soul renders to the body the force lost by its oscillations. Well,
+what produces this intimate union between soul and body, if not a marvellous
+escapement, by which the wheels of the one work into the wheels of the other?
+This is what I have discovered and applied; and there are no longer any secrets
+for me in this life, which is, after all, only an ingenious mechanism!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius looked sublime in this hallucination, which carried him to the
+ultimate mysteries of the Infinite. But his daughter Gerande, standing on the
+threshold of the door, had heard all. She rushed into her father&rsquo;s arms,
+and he pressed her convulsively to his breast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter with thee, my daughter?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If I had only a spring here,&rdquo; said she, putting her hand on her
+heart, &ldquo;I would not love you as I do, father.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius looked intently at Gerande, and did not reply. Suddenly he
+uttered a cry, carried his hand eagerly to his heart, and fell fainting on his
+old leathern chair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Father, what is the matter?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image19"></a>
+<img src="images/image19.jpg" width="419" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Father, what is the matter?&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help!&rdquo; cried Aubert. &ldquo;Scholastique!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Scholastique did not come at once. Some one was knocking at the front door;
+she had gone to open it, and when she returned to the shop, before she could
+open her mouth, the old watchmaker, having recovered his senses, spoke:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I divine, my old Scholastique, that you bring me still another of those
+accursed watches which have stopped.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Lord, it is true enough!&rdquo; replied Scholastique, handing a watch to
+Aubert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My heart could not be mistaken!&rdquo; said the old man, with a sigh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile Aubert carefully wound up the watch, but it would not go.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="zach_03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br/>
+A STRANGE VISIT.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Poor Gerande would have lost her life with that of her father, had it not been
+for the thought of Aubert, who still attached her to the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old watchmaker was, little by little, passing away. His faculties evidently
+grew more feeble, as he concentrated them on a single thought. By a sad
+association of ideas, he referred everything to his monomania, and a human
+existence seemed to have departed from him, to give place to the extra-natural
+existence of the intermediate powers. Moreover, certain malicious rivals
+revived the sinister rumours which had spread concerning his labours.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The news of the strange derangements which his watches betrayed had a
+prodigious effect upon the master clockmakers of Geneva. What signified this
+sudden paralysis of their wheels, and why these strange relations which they
+seemed to have with the old man&rsquo;s life? These were the kind of mysteries
+which people never contemplate without a secret terror. In the various classes
+of the town, from the apprentice to the great lord who used the watches of the
+old horologist, there was no one who could not himself judge of the singularity
+of the fact. The citizens wished, but in vain, to get to see Master Zacharius.
+He fell very ill; and this enabled his daughter to withdraw him from those
+incessant visits which had degenerated into reproaches and recriminations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of this organic wasting
+away, the cause of which could not be discovered. It sometimes seemed as if the
+old man&rsquo;s heart had ceased to beat; then the pulsations were resumed with
+an alarming irregularity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A custom existed in those days of publicly exhibiting the works of the masters.
+The heads of the various corporations sought to distinguish themselves by the
+novelty or the perfection of their productions; and it was among these that the
+condition of Master Zacharius excited the most lively, because most interested,
+commiseration. His rivals pitied him the more willingly because they feared him
+the less. They never forgot the old man&rsquo;s success, when he exhibited his
+magnificent clocks with moving figures, his repeaters, which provoked general
+admiration, and commanded such high prices in the cities of France,
+Switzerland, and Germany.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of Gerande and Aubert, his
+strength seemed to return a little; and in the tranquillity in which his
+convalescence left him, he succeeded in detaching himself from the thoughts
+which had absorbed him. As soon as he could walk, his daughter lured him away
+from the house, which was still besieged with dissatisfied customers. Aubert
+remained in the shop, vainly adjusting and readjusting the rebel watches; and
+the poor boy, completely mystified, sometimes covered his face with his hands,
+fearful that he, like his master, might go mad.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande led her father towards the more pleasant promenades of the town. With
+his arm resting on hers, she conducted him sometimes through the quarter of
+Saint Antoine, the view from which extends towards the Cologny hill, and over
+the lake; on fine mornings they caught sight of the gigantic peaks of Mount
+Buet against the horizon. Gerande pointed out these spots to her father, who
+had well-nigh forgotten even their names. His memory wandered; and he took a
+childish interest in learning anew what had passed from his mind. Master
+Zacharius leaned upon his daughter; and the two heads, one white as snow and
+the other covered with rich golden tresses, met in the same ray of sunlight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So it came about that the old watchmaker at last perceived that he was not
+alone in the world. As he looked upon his young and lovely daughter, and on
+himself old and broken, he reflected that after his death she would be left
+alone without support. Many of the young mechanics of Geneva had already sought
+to win Gerande&rsquo;s love; but none of them had succeeded in gaining access
+to the impenetrable retreat of the watchmaker&rsquo;s household. It was
+natural, then, that during this lucid interval, the old man&rsquo;s choice
+should fall on Aubert Thun. Once struck with this thought, he remarked to
+himself that this young couple had been brought up with the same ideas and the
+same beliefs; and the oscillations of their hearts seemed to him, as he said
+one day to Scholastique, &ldquo;isochronous.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old servant, literally delighted with the word, though she did not
+understand it, swore by her holy patron saint that the whole town should hear
+it within a quarter of an hour. Master Zacharius found it difficult to calm
+her; but made her promise to keep on this subject a silence which she never was
+known to observe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So, though Gerande and Aubert were ignorant of it, all Geneva was soon talking
+of their speedy union. But it happened also that, while the worthy folk were
+gossiping, a strange chuckle was often heard, and a voice saying,
+&ldquo;Gerande will not wed Aubert.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the talkers turned round, they found themselves facing a little old man who
+was quite a stranger to them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How old was this singular being? No one could have told. People conjectured
+that he must have existed for several centuries, and that was all. His big flat
+head rested upon shoulders the width of which was equal to the height of his
+body; this was not above three feet. This personage would have made a good
+figure to support a pendulum, for the dial would have naturally been placed on
+his face, and the balance-wheel would have oscillated at its ease in his chest.
+His nose might readily have been taken for the style of a sun-dial, for it was
+narrow and sharp; his teeth, far apart, resembled the cogs of a wheel, and
+ground themselves between his lips; his voice had the metallic sound of a bell,
+and you could hear his heart beat like the tick of a clock. This little man,
+whose arms moved like the hands on a dial, walked with jerks, without ever
+turning round. If any one followed him, it was found that he walked a league an
+hour, and that his course was nearly circular.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This strange being had not long been seen wandering, or rather circulating,
+around the town; but it had already been observed that, every day, at the
+moment when the sun passed the meridian, he stopped before the Cathedral of
+Saint Pierre, and resumed his course after the twelve strokes of noon had
+sounded. Excepting at this precise moment, he seemed to become a part of all
+the conversations in which the old watchmaker was talked of; and people asked
+each other, in terror, what relation could exist between him and Master
+Zacharius. It was remarked, too, that he never lost sight of the old man and
+his daughter while they were taking their promenades.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One day Gerande perceived this monster looking at her with a hideous smile. She
+clung to her father with a frightened motion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter, my Gerande?&rdquo; asked Master Zacharius.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I do not know,&rdquo; replied the young girl.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But thou art changed, my child. Art thou going to fall ill in thy turn?
+Ah, well,&rdquo; he added, with a sad smile, &ldquo;then I must take care of
+thee, and I will do it tenderly.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;O father, it will be nothing. I am cold, and I imagine that it
+is&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What, Gerande?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The presence of that man, who always follows us,&rdquo; she replied in a
+low tone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius turned towards the little old man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Faith, he goes well,&rdquo; said he, with a satisfied air, &ldquo;for it
+is just four o&rsquo;clock. Fear nothing, my child; it is not a man, it is a
+clock!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande looked at her father in terror. How could Master Zacharius read the
+hour on this strange creature&rsquo;s visage?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;By-the-bye,&rdquo; continued the old watchmaker, paying no further
+attention to the matter, &ldquo;I have not seen Aubert for several days.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He has not left us, however, father,&rdquo; said Gerande, whose thoughts
+turned into a gentler channel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is he doing then?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He is working.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried the old man. &ldquo;He is at work repairing my watches,
+is he not? But he will never succeed; for it is not repair they need, but a
+resurrection!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande remained silent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I must know,&rdquo; added the old man, &ldquo;if they have brought back
+any more of those accursed watches upon which the Devil has sent this
+epidemic!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After these words Master Zacharius fell into complete silence, till he knocked
+at the door of his house, and for the first time since his convalescence
+descended to his shop, while Gerande sadly repaired to her chamber.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just as Master Zacharius crossed the threshold of his shop, one of the many
+clocks suspended on the wall struck five o&rsquo;clock. Usually the bells of
+these clocks&mdash;admirably regulated as they were&mdash;struck
+simultaneously, and this rejoiced the old man&rsquo;s heart; but on this day
+the bells struck one after another, so that for a quarter of an hour the ear
+was deafened by the successive noises. Master Zacharius suffered acutely; he
+could not remain still, but went from one clock to the other, and beat the time
+to them, like a conductor who no longer has control over his musicians.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the last had ceased striking, the door of the shop opened, and Master
+Zacharius shuddered from head to foot to see before him the little old man, who
+looked fixedly at him and said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Master, may I not speak with you a few moments?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo; asked the watchmaker abruptly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A colleague. It is my business to regulate the sun.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, you regulate the sun?&rdquo; replied Master Zacharius eagerly,
+without wincing. &ldquo;I can scarcely compliment you upon it. Your sun goes
+badly, and in order to make ourselves agree with it, we have to keep putting
+our clocks forward so much or back so much.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And by the cloven foot,&rdquo; cried this weird personage, &ldquo;you
+are right, my master! My sun does not always mark noon at the same moment as
+your clocks; but some day it will be known that this is because of the
+inequality of the earth&rsquo;s transfer, and a mean noon will be invented
+which will regulate this irregularity!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Shall I live till then?&rdquo; asked the old man, with glistening eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Without doubt,&rdquo; replied the little old man, laughing. &ldquo;Can
+you believe that you will ever die?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Alas! I am very ill now.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, let us talk of that. By Beelzebub! that will lead to just what I
+wish to speak to you about.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Saying this, the strange being leaped upon the old leather chair, and carried
+his legs one under the other, after the fashion of the bones which the painters
+of funeral hangings cross beneath death&rsquo;s heads. Then he resumed, in an
+ironical tone,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image20"></a>
+<img src="images/image20.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Then he resumed, in an ironical tone
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us see, Master Zacharius, what is going on in this good town of
+Geneva? They say that your health is failing, that your watches have need of a
+doctor!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, do you believe that there is an intimate relation between their
+existence and mine?&rdquo; cried Master Zacharius.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, I imagine that these watches have faults, even vices. If these
+wantons do not preserve a regular conduct, it is right that they should bear
+the consequences of their irregularity. It seems to me that they have need of
+reforming a little!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you call faults?&rdquo; asked Master Zacharius, reddening at the
+sarcastic tone in which these words were uttered. &ldquo;Have they not a right
+to be proud of their origin?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not too proud, not too proud,&rdquo; replied the little old man.
+&ldquo;They bear a celebrated name, and an illustrious signature is graven on
+their cases, it is true, and theirs is the exclusive privilege of being
+introduced among the noblest families; but for some time they have got out of
+order, and you can do nothing in the matter, Master Zacharius; and the
+stupidest apprentice in Geneva could prove it to you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To me, to me,&mdash;Master Zacharius!&rdquo; cried the old man, with a
+flush of outraged pride.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To you, Master Zacharius,&mdash;you, who cannot restore life to your
+watches!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But it is because I have a fever, and so have they also!&rdquo; replied
+the old man, as a cold sweat broke out upon him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very well, they will die with you, since you cannot impart a little
+elasticity to their springs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Die! No, for you yourself have said it! I cannot die,&mdash;I, the first
+watchmaker in the world; I, who, by means of these pieces and diverse wheels,
+have been able to regulate the movement with absolute precision! Have I not
+subjected time to exact laws, and can I not dispose of it like a despot? Before
+a sublime genius had arranged these wandering hours regularly, in what vast
+uncertainty was human destiny plunged? At what certain moment could the acts of
+life be connected with each other? But you, man or devil, whatever you may be,
+have never considered the magnificence of my art, which calls every science to
+its aid! No, no! I, Master Zacharius, cannot die, for, as I have regulated
+time, time would end with me! It would return to the infinite, whence my genius
+has rescued it, and it would lose itself irreparably in the abyss of
+nothingness! No, I can no more die than the Creator of this universe, that
+submitted to His laws! I have become His equal, and I have partaken of His
+power! If God has created eternity, Master Zacharius has created time!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old watchmaker now resembled the fallen angel, defiant in the presence of
+the Creator. The little old man gazed at him, and even seemed to breathe into
+him this impious transport.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well said, master,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;Beelzebub had less right
+than you to compare himself with God! Your glory must not perish! So your
+servant here desires to give you the method of controlling these rebellious
+watches.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it? what is it?&rdquo; cried Master Zacharius.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You shall know on the day after that on which you have given me your
+daughter&rsquo;s hand.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My Gerande?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Herself!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My daughter&rsquo;s heart is not free,&rdquo; replied Master Zacharius,
+who seemed neither astonished nor shocked at the strange demand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah! She is not the least beautiful of watches; but she will end by
+stopping also&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My daughter,&mdash;my Gerande! No!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, return to your watches, Master Zacharius. Adjust and readjust
+them. Get ready the marriage of your daughter and your apprentice. Temper your
+springs with your best steel. Bless Aubert and the pretty Gerande.  But
+remember, your watches will never go, and Gerande will not wed Aubert!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thereupon the little old man disappeared, but not so quickly that Master
+Zacharius could not hear six o&rsquo;clock strike in his breast.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="zach_04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br/>
+THE CHURCH OF SAINT PIERRE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile Master Zacharius became more feeble in mind and body every day. An
+unusual excitement, indeed, impelled him to continue his work more eagerly than
+ever, nor could his daughter entice him from it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His pride was still more aroused after the crisis to which his strange visitor
+had hurried him so treacherously, and he resolved to overcome, by the force of
+genius, the malign influence which weighed upon his work and himself. He first
+repaired to the various clocks of the town which were confided to his care. He
+made sure, by a scrupulous examination, that the wheels were in good condition,
+the pivots firm, the weights exactly balanced. Every part, even to the bells,
+was examined with the minute attention of a physician studying the breast of a
+patient. Nothing indicated that these clocks were on the point of being
+affected by inactivity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande and Aubert often accompanied the old man on these visits. He would no
+doubt have been pleased to see them eager to go with him, and certainly he
+would not have been so much absorbed in his approaching end, had he thought
+that his existence was to be prolonged by that of these cherished ones, and had
+he understood that something of the life of a father always remains in his
+children.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old watchmaker, on returning home, resumed his labours with feverish zeal.
+Though persuaded that he would not succeed, it yet seemed to him impossible
+that this could be so, and he unceasingly took to pieces the watches which were
+brought to his shop, and put them together again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert tortured his mind in vain to discover the causes of the evil.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Master,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;this can only come from the wear of the
+pivots and gearing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you want, then, to kill me, little by little?&rdquo; replied Master
+Zacharius passionately. &ldquo;Are these watches child&rsquo;s work? Was it
+lest I should hurt my fingers that I worked the surface of these copper pieces
+in the lathe? Have I not forged these pieces of copper myself, so as to obtain
+a greater strength? Are not these springs tempered to a rare perfection? Could
+anybody have used finer oils than mine? You must yourself agree that it is
+impossible, and you avow, in short, that the devil is in it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the house, and they
+got access to the old watchmaker himself, who knew not which of them to listen
+to.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image21"></a>
+<img src="images/image21.jpg" width="420" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the
+house
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This watch loses, and I cannot succeed in regulating it,&rdquo; said
+one.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This,&rdquo; said another, &ldquo;is absolutely obstinate, and stands
+still, as did Joshua&rsquo;s sun.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If it is true,&rdquo; said most of them, &ldquo;that your health has an
+influence on that of your watches, Master Zacharius, get well as soon as
+possible.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man gazed at these people with haggard eyes, and only replied by
+shaking his head, or by a few sad words,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Wait till the first fine weather, my friends. The season is coming which
+revives existence in wearied bodies. We want the sun to warm us all!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A fine thing, if my watches are to be ill through the winter!&rdquo;
+said one of the most angry. &ldquo;Do you know, Master Zacharius, that your
+name is inscribed in full on their faces? By the Virgin, you do little honour
+to your signature!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It happened at last that the old man, abashed by these reproaches, took some
+pieces of gold from his old trunk, and began to buy back the damaged watches.
+At news of this, the customers came in a crowd, and the poor watchmaker&rsquo;s
+money fast melted away; but his honesty remained intact. Gerande warmly praised
+his delicacy, which was leading him straight towards ruin; and Aubert soon
+offered his own savings to his master.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What will become of my daughter?&rdquo; said Master Zacharius, clinging
+now and then in the shipwreck to his paternal love.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert dared not answer that he was full of hope for the future, and of deep
+devotion to Gerande. Master Zacharius would have that day called him his
+son-in-law, and thus refuted the sad prophecy, which still buzzed in his
+ears,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Gerande will not wed Aubert.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By this plan the watchmaker at last succeeded in entirely despoiling himself.
+His antique vases passed into the hands of strangers; he deprived himself of
+the richly-carved panels which adorned the walls of his house; some primitive
+pictures of the early Flemish painters soon ceased to please his
+daughter&rsquo;s eyes, and everything, even the precious tools that his genius
+had invented, were sold to indemnify the clamorous customers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Scholastique alone refused to listen to reason on the subject; but her efforts
+failed to prevent the unwelcome visitors from reaching her master, and from
+soon departing with some valuable object. Then her chattering was heard in all
+the streets of the neighbourhood, where she had long been known. She eagerly
+denied the rumours of sorcery and magic on the part of Master Zacharius, which
+gained currency; but as at bottom she was persuaded of their truth, she said
+her prayers over and over again to redeem her pious falsehoods.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It had been noticed that for some time the old watchmaker had neglected his
+religious duties. Time was, when he had accompanied Gerande to church, and had
+seemed to find in prayer the intellectual charm which it imparts to thoughtful
+minds, since it is the most sublime exercise of the imagination. This voluntary
+neglect of holy practices, added to the secret habits of his life, had in some
+sort confirmed the accusations levelled against his labours. So, with the
+double purpose of drawing her father back to God, and to the world, Gerande
+resolved to call religion to her aid. She thought that it might give some
+vitality to his dying soul; but the dogmas of faith and humility had to combat,
+in the soul of Master Zacharius, an insurmountable pride, and came into
+collision with that vanity of science which connects everything with itself,
+without rising to the infinite source whence first principles flow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was under these circumstances that the young girl undertook her
+father&rsquo;s conversion; and her influence was so effective that the old
+watchmaker promised to attend high mass at the cathedral on the following
+Sunday. Gerande was in an ecstasy, as if heaven had opened to her view. Old
+Scholastique could not contain her joy, and at last found irrefutable
+arguments&rsquo; against the gossiping tongues which accused her master of
+impiety. She spoke of it to her neighbours, her friends, her enemies, to those
+whom she knew not as well as to those whom she knew.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In faith, we scarcely believe what you tell us, dame
+Scholastique,&rdquo; they replied; &ldquo;Master Zacharius has always acted in
+concert with the devil!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You haven&rsquo;t counted, then,&rdquo; replied the old servant,
+&ldquo;the fine bells which strike for my master&rsquo;s clocks? How many times
+they have struck the hours of prayer and the mass!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No doubt,&rdquo; they would reply. &ldquo;But has he not invented
+machines which go all by themselves, and which actually do the work of a real
+man?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Could a child of the devil,&rdquo; exclaimed dame Scholastique
+wrathfully, &ldquo;have executed the fine iron clock of the château of
+Andernatt, which the town of Geneva was not rich enough to buy? A pious motto
+appeared at each hour, and a Christian who obeyed them, would have gone
+straight to Paradise! Is that the work of the devil?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This masterpiece, made twenty years before, had carried Master
+Zacharius&rsquo;s fame to its acme; but even then there had been accusations of
+sorcery against him. But at least the old man&rsquo;s visit to the Cathedral
+ought to reduce malicious tongues to silence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius, having doubtless forgotten the promise made to his daughter,
+had returned to his shop. After being convinced of his powerlessness to give
+life to his watches, he resolved to try if he could not make some new ones. He
+abandoned all those useless works, and devoted himself to the completion of the
+crystal watch, which he intended to be his masterpiece; but in vain did he use
+his most perfect tools, and employ rubies and diamonds for resisting friction.
+The watch fell from his hands the first time that he attempted to wind it up!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man concealed this circumstance from every one, even from his daughter;
+but from that time his health rapidly declined. There were only the last
+oscillations of a pendulum, which goes slower when nothing restores its
+original force. It seemed as if the laws of gravity, acting directly upon him,
+were dragging him irresistibly down to the grave.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Sunday so ardently anticipated by Gerande at last arrived. The weather was
+fine, and the temperature inspiriting. The people of Geneva were passing
+quietly through the streets, gaily chatting about the return of spring.
+Gerande, tenderly taking the old man&rsquo;s arm, directed her steps towards
+the cathedral, while Scholastique followed behind with the prayer-books. People
+looked curiously at them as they passed. The old watchmaker permitted himself
+to be led like a child, or rather like a blind man. The faithful of Saint
+Pierre were almost frightened when they saw him cross the threshold, and shrank
+back at his approach.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The chants of high mass were already resounding through the church. Gerande
+went to her accustomed bench, and kneeled with profound and simple reverence.
+Master Zacharius remained standing upright beside her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ceremonies continued with the majestic solemnity of that faithful age, but
+the old man had no faith. He did not implore the pity of Heaven with cries of
+anguish of the &ldquo;Kyrie;&rdquo; he did not, with the &ldquo;Gloria in
+Excelsis,&rdquo; sing the splendours of the heavenly heights; the reading of
+the Testament did not draw him from his materialistic reverie, and he forgot to
+join in the homage of the &ldquo;Credo.&rdquo; This proud old man remained
+motionless, as insensible and silent as a stone statue; and even at the solemn
+moment when the bell announced the miracle of transubstantiation, he did not
+bow his head, but gazed directly at the sacred host which the priest raised
+above the heads of the faithful. Gerande looked at her father, and a flood of
+tears moistened her missal. At this moment the clock of Saint Pierre struck
+half-past eleven. Master Zacharius turned quickly towards this ancient clock
+which still spoke. It seemed to him as if its face was gazing steadily at him;
+the figures of the hours shone as if they had been engraved in lines of fire,
+and the hands shot forth electric sparks from their sharp points.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image22"></a>
+<img src="images/image22.jpg" width="416" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">This proud old man remained motionless
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The mass ended. It was customary for the &ldquo;Angelus&rdquo; to be said at
+noon, and the priests, before leaving the altar, waited for the clock to strike
+the hour of twelve. In a few moments this prayer would ascend to the feet of
+the Virgin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But suddenly a harsh noise was heard. Master Zacharius uttered a piercing cry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The large hand of the clock, having reached twelve, had abruptly stopped, and
+the clock did not strike the hour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande hastened to her father&rsquo;s aid. He had fallen down motionless, and
+they carried him outside the church.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is the death-blow!&rdquo; murmured Gerande, sobbing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When he had been borne home, Master Zacharius lay upon his bed utterly crushed.
+Life seemed only to still exist on the surface of his body, like the last
+whiffs of smoke about a lamp just extinguished. When he came to his senses,
+Aubert and Gerande were leaning over him. In these last moments the future took
+in his eyes the shape of the present. He saw his daughter alone, without a
+protector.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My son,&rdquo; said he to Aubert, &ldquo;I give my daughter to
+thee.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So saying, he stretched out his hands towards his two children, who were thus
+united at his death-bed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But soon Master Zacharius lifted himself up in a paroxysm of rage. The words of
+the little old man recurred to his mind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I do not wish to die!&rdquo; he cried; &ldquo;I cannot die! I, Master
+Zacharius, ought not to die! My books&mdash;my accounts!&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With these words he sprang from his bed towards a book in which the names of
+his customers and the articles which had been sold to them were inscribed. He
+seized it and rapidly turned over its leaves, and his emaciated finger fixed
+itself on one of the pages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;there! this old iron clock, sold to
+Pittonaccio! It is the only one that has not been returned to me! It still
+exists&mdash;it goes&mdash;it lives! Ah, I wish for it&mdash;I must find it! I
+will take such care of it that death will no longer seek me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he fainted away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert and Gerande knelt by the old man&rsquo;s bed-side and prayed together.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="zach_05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br/>
+THE HOUR OF DEATH.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Several days passed, and Master Zacharius, though almost dead, rose from his
+bed and returned to active life under a supernatural excitement. He lived by
+pride. But Gerande did not deceive herself; her father&rsquo;s body and soul
+were for ever lost.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man got together his last remaining resources, without thought of those
+who were dependent upon him. He betrayed an incredible energy, walking,
+ferreting about, and mumbling strange, incomprehensible words.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One morning Gerande went down to his shop. Master Zacharius was not there. She
+waited for him all day. Master Zacharius did not return.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande wept bitterly, but her father did not reappear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert searched everywhere through the town, and soon came to the sad
+conviction that the old man had left it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us find my father!&rdquo; cried Gerande, when the young apprentice
+told her this sad news.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where can he be?&rdquo; Aubert asked himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An inspiration suddenly came to his mind. He remembered the last words which
+Master Zacharius had spoken. The old man only lived now in the old iron clock
+that had not been returned! Master Zacharius must have gone in search of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert spoke of this to Gerande.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us look at my father&rsquo;s book,&rdquo; she replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They descended to the shop. The book was open on the bench. All the watches or
+clocks made by the old man, and which had been returned to him because they
+were out of order, were stricken out excepting one:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Sold to M. Pittonaccio, an iron clock, with bell and moving figures;
+sent to his château at Andernatt.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was this &ldquo;moral&rdquo; clock of which Scholastique had spoken with so
+much enthusiasm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father is there!&rdquo; cried Gerande.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us hasten thither,&rdquo; replied Aubert. &ldquo;We may still save
+him!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not for this life,&rdquo; murmured Gerande, &ldquo;but at least for the
+other.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;By the mercy of God, Gerande! The château of Andernatt stands in the
+gorge of the &lsquo;Dents-du-Midi&rsquo; twenty hours from Geneva. Let us
+go!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That very evening Aubert and Gerande, followed by the old servant, set out on
+foot by the road which skirts Lake Leman. They accomplished five leagues during
+the night, stopping neither at Bessinge nor at Ermance, where rises the famous
+château of the Mayors. They with difficulty forded the torrent of the Dranse,
+and everywhere they went they inquired for Master Zacharius, and were soon
+convinced that they were on his track.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next morning, at daybreak, having passed Thonon, they reached Evian, whence
+the Swiss territory may be seen extended over twelve leagues. But the two
+betrothed did not even perceive the enchanting prospect. They went straight
+forward, urged on by a supernatural force. Aubert, leaning on a knotty stick,
+offered his arm alternately to Gerande and to Scholastique, and he made the
+greatest efforts to sustain his companions. All three talked of their sorrow,
+of their hopes, and thus passed along the beautiful road by the water-side, and
+across the narrow plateau which unites the borders of the lake with the heights
+of the Chalais. They soon reached Bouveret, where the Rhone enters the Lake of
+Geneva.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On leaving this town they diverged from the lake, and their weariness increased
+amid these mountain districts. Vionnaz, Chesset, Collombay, half lost villages,
+were soon left behind. Meanwhile their knees shook, their feet were lacerated
+by the sharp points which covered the ground like a brushwood of
+granite;&mdash;but no trace of Master Zacharius!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He must be found, however, and the two young people did not seek repose either
+in the isolated hamlets or at the château of Monthay, which, with its
+dependencies, formed the appanage of Margaret of Savoy. At last, late in the
+day, and half dead with fatigue, they reached the hermitage of
+Notre-Dame-du-Sex, which is situated at the base of the Dents-du-Midi, six
+hundred feet above the Rhone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hermit received the three wanderers as night was falling. They could not
+have gone another step, and here they must needs rest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hermit could give them no news of Master Zacharius. They could scarcely
+hope to find him still living amid these sad solitudes. The night was dark, the
+wind howled amid the mountains, and the avalanches roared down from the summits
+of the broken crags.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert and Gerande, crouching before the hermit&rsquo;s hearth, told him their
+melancholy tale. Their mantles, covered with snow, were drying in a corner; and
+without, the hermit&rsquo;s dog barked lugubriously, and mingled his voice with
+that of the tempest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Pride,&rdquo; said the hermit to his guests, &ldquo;has destroyed an
+angel created for good. It is the stumbling-block against which the destinies
+of man strike. You cannot reason with pride, the principal of all the vices,
+since, by its very nature, the proud man refuses to listen to it. It only
+remains, then, to pray for your father!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All four knelt down, when the barking of the dog redoubled, and some one
+knocked at the door of the hermitage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Open, in the devil&rsquo;s name!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The door yielded under the blows, and a dishevelled, haggard, ill-clothed man
+appeared.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father!&rdquo; cried Gerande.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was Master Zacharius.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where am I?&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;In eternity! Time is ended&mdash;the
+hours no longer strike&mdash;the hands have stopped!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Father!&rdquo; returned Gerande, with so piteous an emotion that the old
+man seemed to return to the world of the living.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Thou here, Gerande?&rdquo; he cried; &ldquo;and thou, Aubert? Ah, my
+dear betrothed ones, you are going to be married in our old church!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Father,&rdquo; said Gerande, seizing him by the arm, &ldquo;come home to
+Geneva,&mdash;come with us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man tore away from his daughter&rsquo;s embrace and hurried towards the
+door, on the threshold of which the snow was falling in large flakes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do not abandon your children!&rdquo; cried Aubert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why return,&rdquo; replied the old man sadly, &ldquo;to those places
+which my life has already quitted, and where a part of myself is for ever
+buried?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your soul is not dead,&rdquo; said the hermit solemnly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My soul? O no,&mdash;its wheels are good! I perceive it beating
+regularly&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your soul is immaterial,&mdash;your soul is immortal!&rdquo; replied the
+hermit sternly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes&mdash;like my glory! But it is shut up in the château of Andernatt,
+and I wish to see it again!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hermit crossed himself; Scholastique became almost inanimate. Aubert held
+Gerande in his arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The château of Andernatt is inhabited by one who is lost,&rdquo; said
+the hermit, &ldquo;one who does not salute the cross of my hermitage.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father, go not thither!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I want my soul! My soul is mine&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Hold him! Hold my father!&rdquo; cried Gerande.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the old man had leaped across the threshold, and plunged into the night,
+crying, &ldquo;Mine, mine, my soul!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique hastened after him. They went by difficult
+paths, across which Master Zacharius sped like a tempest, urged by an
+irresistible force. The snow raged around them, and mingled its white flakes
+with the froth of the swollen torrents.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As they passed the chapel erected in memory of the massacre of the Theban
+legion, they hurriedly crossed themselves. Master Zacharius was not to be seen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last the village of Evionnaz appeared in the midst of this sterile region.
+The hardest heart would have been moved to see this hamlet, lost among these
+horrible solitudes. The old man sped on, and plunged into the deepest gorge of
+the Dents-du-Midi, which pierce the sky with their sharp peaks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Soon a ruin, old and gloomy as the rocks at its base, rose before him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is there&mdash;there!&rdquo; he cried, hastening his pace still more
+frantically.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image23"></a>
+<img src="images/image23.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;It is there&mdash;there!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The château of Andernatt was a ruin even then. A thick, crumbling tower rose
+above it, and seemed to menace with its downfall the old gables which reared
+themselves below. The vast piles of jagged stones were gloomy to look on.
+Several dark halls appeared amid the debris, with caved-in ceilings, now become
+the abode of vipers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A low and narrow postern, opening upon a ditch choked with rubbish, gave access
+to the château. Who had dwelt there none knew. No doubt some margrave, half
+lord, half brigand, had sojourned in it; to the margrave had succeeded bandits
+or counterfeit coiners, who had been hanged on the scene of their crime. The
+legend went that, on winter nights, Satan came to lead his diabolical dances on
+the slope of the deep gorges in which the shadow of these ruins was engulfed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Master Zacharius was not dismayed by their sinister aspect. He reached the
+postern. No one forbade him to pass. A spacious and gloomy court presented
+itself to his eyes; no one forbade him to cross it. He passed along the kind of
+inclined plane which conducted to one of the long corridors, whose arches
+seemed to banish daylight from beneath their heavy springings. His advance was
+unresisted. Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique closely followed him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius, as if guided by an irresistible hand, seemed sure of his way,
+and strode along with rapid step. He reached an old worm-eaten door, which fell
+before his blows, whilst the bats described oblique circles around his head.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An immense hall, better preserved than the rest, was soon reached. High
+sculptured panels, on which serpents, ghouls, and other strange figures seemed
+to disport themselves confusedly, covered its walls. Several long and narrow
+windows, like loopholes, shivered beneath the bursts of the tempest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius, on reaching the middle of this hall, uttered a cry of joy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On an iron support, fastened to the wall, stood the clock in which now resided
+his entire life. This unequalled masterpiece represented an ancient Roman
+church, with buttresses of wrought iron, with its heavy bell-tower, where there
+was a complete chime for the anthem of the day, the &ldquo;Angelus,&rdquo; the
+mass, vespers, compline, and the benediction. Above the church door, which
+opened at the hour of the services, was placed a &ldquo;rose,&rdquo; in the
+centre of which two hands moved, and the archivault of which reproduced the
+twelve hours of the face sculptured in relief. Between the door and the rose,
+just as Scholastique had said, a maxim, relative to the employment of every
+moment of the day, appeared on a copper plate. Master Zacharius had once
+regulated this succession of devices with a really Christian solicitude; the
+hours of prayer, of work, of repast, of recreation, and of repose, followed
+each other according to the religious discipline, and were to infallibly insure
+salvation to him who scrupulously observed their commands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius, intoxicated with joy, went forward to take possession of the
+clock, when a frightful roar of laughter resounded behind him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He turned, and by the light of a smoky lamp recognized the little old man of
+Geneva.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You here?&rdquo; cried he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande was afraid. She drew closer to Aubert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good-day, Master Zacharius,&rdquo; said the monster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Signor Pittonaccio, at your service! You have come to give me your
+daughter! You have remembered my words, &lsquo;Gerande will not wed
+Aubert.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The young apprentice rushed upon Pittonaccio, who escaped from him like a
+shadow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Stop, Aubert!&rdquo; cried Master Zacharius.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good-night,&rdquo; said Pittonaccio, and he disappeared.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father, let us fly from this hateful place!&rdquo; cried Gerande.
+&ldquo;My father!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius was no longer there. He was pursuing the phantom of
+Pittonaccio across the rickety corridors. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert
+remained, speechless and fainting, in the large gloomy hall. The young girl had
+fallen upon a stone seat; the old servant knelt beside her, and prayed; Aubert
+remained erect, watching his betrothed. Pale lights wandered in the darkness,
+and the silence was only broken by the movements of the little animals which
+live in old wood, and the noise of which marks the hours of &ldquo;death
+watch.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When daylight came, they ventured upon the endless staircase which wound
+beneath these ruined masses; for two hours they wandered thus without meeting a
+living soul, and hearing only a far-off echo responding to their cries.
+Sometimes they found themselves buried a hundred feet below the ground, and
+sometimes they reached places whence they could overlook the wild mountains.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Chance brought them at last back again to the vast hall, which had sheltered
+them during this night of anguish. It was no longer empty. Master Zacharius and
+Pittonaccio were talking there together, the one upright and rigid as a corpse,
+the other crouching over a marble table.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius, when he perceived Gerande, went forward and took her by the
+hand, and led her towards Pittonaccio, saying, &ldquo;Behold your lord and
+master, my daughter. Gerande, behold your husband!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gerande shuddered from head to foot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Never!&rdquo; cried Aubert, &ldquo;for she is my betrothed.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Never!&rdquo; responded Gerande, like a plaintive echo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pittonaccio began to laugh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You wish me to die, then!&rdquo; exclaimed the old man. &ldquo;There, in
+that clock, the last which goes of all which have gone from my hands, my life
+is shut up; and this man tells me, &lsquo;When I have thy daughter, this clock
+shall belong to thee.&rsquo; And this man will not rewind it. He can break it,
+and plunge me into chaos. Ah, my daughter, you no longer love me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father!&rdquo; murmured Gerande, recovering consciousness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If you knew what I have suffered, far away from this principle of my
+existence!&rdquo; resumed the old man. &ldquo;Perhaps no one looked after this
+timepiece. Perhaps its springs were left to wear out, its wheels to get
+clogged. But now, in my own hands, I can nourish this health so dear, for I
+must not die,&mdash;I, the great watchmaker of Geneva. Look, my daughter, how
+these hands advance with certain step. See, five o&rsquo;clock is about to
+strike. Listen well, and look at the maxim which is about to be
+revealed.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Five o&rsquo;clock struck with a noise which resounded sadly in Gerande&rsquo;s
+soul, and these words appeared in red letters:
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+&ldquo;YOU MUST EAT OF THE FRUITS OF THE TREE OF SCIENCE.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert and Gerande looked at each other stupefied. These were no longer the
+pious sayings of the Catholic watchmaker. The breath of Satan must have passed
+over it. But Zacharius paid no attention to this, and resumed&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Dost thou hear, my Gerande? I live, I still live! Listen to my
+breathing,&mdash;see the blood circulating in my veins! No, thou wouldst not
+kill thy father, and thou wilt accept this man for thy husband, so that I may
+become immortal, and at last attain the power of God!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At these blasphemous words old Scholastique crossed herself, and Pittonaccio
+laughed aloud with joy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And then, Gerande, thou wilt be happy with him. See this man,&mdash;he
+is Time! Thy existence will be regulated with absolute precision. Gerande,
+since I gave thee life, give life to thy father!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image24"></a>
+<img src="images/image24.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;See this man,&mdash;he is Time!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Gerande,&rdquo; murmured Aubert, &ldquo;I am thy betrothed.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He is my father!&rdquo; replied Gerande, fainting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She is thine!&rdquo; said Master Zacharius. &ldquo;Pittonaccio, them
+wilt keep thy promise!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here is the key of the clock,&rdquo; replied the horrible man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius seized the long key, which resembled an uncoiled snake, and
+ran to the clock, which he hastened to wind up with fantastic rapidity. The
+creaking of the spring jarred upon the nerves. The old watchmaker wound and
+wound the key, without stopping a moment, and it seemed as if the movement were
+beyond his control. He wound more and more quickly, with strange contortions,
+until he fell from sheer weariness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There, it is wound up for a century!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aubert rushed from the hall as if he were mad. After long wandering, he found
+the outlet of the hateful château, and hastened into the open air. He returned
+to the hermitage of Notre-Dame-du-Sex, and talked so despairingly to the holy
+recluse, that the latter consented to return with him to the château of
+Andernatt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If, during these hours of anguish, Gerande had not wept, it was because her
+tears were exhausted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius had not left the hall. He ran every moment to listen to the
+regular beating of the old clock.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the clock had struck, and to Scholastique&rsquo;s great terror, these
+words had appeared on the silver face:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+&ldquo;MAN OUGHT TO BECOME THE EQUAL OF GOD.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man had not only not been shocked by these impious maxims, but read
+them deliriously, and flattered himself with thoughts of pride, whilst
+Pittonaccio kept close by him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The marriage-contract was to be signed at midnight. Gerande, almost
+unconscious, saw or heard nothing. The silence was only broken by the old
+man&rsquo;s words, and the chuckling of Pittonaccio.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Eleven o&rsquo;clock struck. Master Zacharius shuddered, and read in a loud
+voice:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+&ldquo;MAN SHOULD BE THE SLAVE OF SCIENCE, AND SACRIFICE TO IT RELATIVES
+AND FAMILY.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;there is nothing but science in this
+world!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hands slipped over the face of the clock with the hiss of a serpent, and
+the pendulum beat with accelerated strokes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius no longer spoke. He had fallen to the floor, his throat
+rattled, and from his oppressed bosom came only these half-broken words:
+&ldquo;Life&mdash;science!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The scene had now two new witnesses, the hermit and Aubert. Master Zacharius
+lay upon the floor; Gerande was praying beside him, more dead than alive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of a sudden a dry, hard noise was heard, which preceded the strike.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius sprang up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Midnight!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hermit stretched out his hand towards the old clock,&mdash;and midnight did
+not sound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius uttered a terrible cry, which must have been heard in hell,
+when these words appeared:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+&ldquo;WHO EVER SHALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF GOD, SHALL BE FOR
+EVER DAMNED!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old clock burst with a noise like thunder, and the spring, escaping, leaped
+across the hall with a thousand fantastic contortions; the old man rose, ran
+after it, trying in vain to seize it, and exclaiming, &ldquo;My soul,&mdash;my
+soul!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The spring bounded before him, first on one side, then on the other, and he
+could not reach it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last Pittonaccio seized it, and, uttering a horrible blasphemy, ingulfed
+himself in the earth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Master Zacharius fell backwards. He was dead.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image25"></a>
+<img src="images/image25.jpg" width="423" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">He was dead.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The old watchmaker was buried in the midst of the peaks of Andernatt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Aubert and Gerande returned to Geneva, and during the long life which God
+accorded to them, they made it a duty to redeem by prayer the soul of the
+castaway of science.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="drama"></a>A DRAMA IN THE AIR.</h2>
+
+<p>
+In the month of September, 185&mdash;, I arrived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine. My
+passage through the principal German cities had been brilliantly marked by
+balloon ascents; but as yet no German had accompanied me in my car, and the
+fine experiments made at Paris by MM. Green, Eugene Godard, and Poitevin had
+not tempted the grave Teutons to essay aerial voyages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But scarcely had the news of my approaching ascent spread through Frankfort,
+than three of the principal citizens begged the favour of being allowed to
+ascend with me. Two days afterwards we were to start from the Place de la
+Comédie. I began at once to get my balloon ready. It was of silk, prepared with
+gutta percha, a substance impermeable by acids or gasses; and its volume, which
+was three thousand cubic yards, enabled it to ascend to the loftiest heights.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The day of the ascent was that of the great September fair, which attracts so
+many people to Frankfort. Lighting gas, of a perfect quality and of great
+lifting power, had been furnished to me in excellent condition, and about
+eleven o&rsquo;clock the balloon was filled; but only three-quarters
+filled,&mdash;an indispensable precaution, for, as one rises, the atmosphere
+diminishes in density, and the fluid enclosed within the balloon, acquiring
+more elasticity, might burst its sides. My calculations had furnished me with
+exactly the quantity of gas necessary to carry up my companions and myself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were to start at noon. The impatient crowd which pressed around the enclosed
+space, filling the enclosed square, overflowing into the contiguous streets,
+and covering the houses from the ground-floor to the slated gables, presented a
+striking scene. The high winds of the preceding days had subsided. An
+oppressive heat fell from the cloudless sky. Scarcely a breath animated the
+atmosphere. In such weather, one might descend again upon the very spot whence
+he had risen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I carried three hundred pounds of ballast in bags; the car, quite round, four
+feet in diameter, was comfortably arranged; the hempen cords which supported it
+stretched symmetrically over the upper hemisphere of the balloon; the compass
+was in place, the barometer suspended in the circle which united the supporting
+cords, and the anchor carefully put in order. All was now ready for the ascent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Among those who pressed around the enclosure, I remarked a young man with a
+pale face and agitated features. The sight of him impressed me. He was an eager
+spectator of my ascents, whom I had already met in several German cities. With
+an uneasy air, he closely watched the curious machine, as it lay motionless a
+few feet above the ground; and he remained silent among those about him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Twelve o&rsquo;clock came. The moment had arrived, but my travelling companions
+did not appear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I sent to their houses, and learnt that one had left for Hamburg, another for
+Vienna, and the third for London. Their courage had failed them at the moment
+of undertaking one of those excursions which, thanks to the ability of living
+aeronauts, are free from all danger. As they formed, in some sort, a part of
+the programme of the day, the fear had seized them that they might be forced to
+execute it faithfully, and they had fled far from the scene at the instant when
+the balloon was being filled. Their courage was evidently the inverse ratio of
+their speed&mdash;in decamping.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The multitude, half deceived, showed not a little ill-humour. I did not
+hesitate to ascend alone. In order to re-establish the equilibrium between the
+specific gravity of the balloon and the weight which had thus proved wanting, I
+replaced my companions by more sacks of sand, and got into the car. The twelve
+men who held the balloon by twelve cords fastened to the equatorial circle, let
+them slip a little between their fingers, and the balloon rose several feet
+higher. There was not a breath of wind, and the atmosphere was so leaden that
+it seemed to forbid the ascent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is everything ready?&rdquo; I cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men put themselves in readiness. A last glance told me that I might go.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Attention!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a movement in the crowd, which seemed to be invading the enclosure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let go!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The balloon rose slowly, but I experienced a shock which threw me to the bottom
+of the car.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When I got up, I found myself face to face with an unexpected
+fellow-voyager,&mdash;the pale young man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur, I salute you,&rdquo; said he, with the utmost coolness.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image26"></a>
+<img src="images/image26.jpg" width="435" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Monsieur, I salute you,&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;By what right&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Am I here? By the right which the impossibility of your getting rid of
+me confers.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I was amazed! His calmness put me out of countenance, and I had nothing to
+reply. I looked at the intruder, but he took no notice of my astonishment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Does my weight disarrange your equilibrium, monsieur?&rdquo; he asked.
+&ldquo;You will permit me&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And without waiting for my consent, he relieved the balloon of two bags, which
+he threw into space.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur,&rdquo; said I, taking the only course now possible, &ldquo;you
+have come; very well, you will remain; but to me alone belongs the management
+of the balloon.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;your urbanity is French all over: it
+comes from my own country. I morally press the hand you refuse me. Make all
+precautions, and act as seems best to you. I will wait till you have
+done&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;For what?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To talk with you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches. We were nearly six hundred yards
+above the city; but nothing betrayed the horizontal displacement of the
+balloon, for the mass of air in which it is enclosed goes forward with it. A
+sort of confused glow enveloped the objects spread out under us, and
+unfortunately obscured their outline.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I examined my companion afresh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was a man of thirty years, simply clad. The sharpness of his features
+betrayed an indomitable energy, and he seemed very muscular. Indifferent to the
+astonishment he created, he remained motionless, trying to distinguish the
+objects which were vaguely confused below us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Miserable mist!&rdquo; said he, after a few moments.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I did not reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You owe me a grudge?&rdquo; he went on. &ldquo;Bah! I could not pay for
+my journey, and it was necessary to take you by surprise.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nobody asks you to descend, monsieur!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Eh, do you not know, then, that the same thing happened to the Counts of
+Laurencin and Dampierre, when they ascended at Lyons, on the 15th of January,
+1784? A young merchant, named Fontaine, scaled the gallery, at the risk of
+capsizing the machine. He accomplished the journey, and nobody died of
+it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Once on the ground, we will have an explanation,&rdquo; replied I,
+piqued at the light tone in which he spoke.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah! Do not let us think of our return.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you think, then, that I shall not hasten to descend?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Descend!&rdquo; said he, in surprise. &ldquo;Descend? Let us begin by
+first ascending.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And before I could prevent it, two more bags had been thrown over the car,
+without even having been emptied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur!&rdquo; cried I, in a rage.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image27"></a>
+<img src="images/image27.jpg" width="414" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Monsieur!&rdquo; cried I, in a rage.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know your ability,&rdquo; replied the unknown quietly, &ldquo;and your
+fine ascents are famous. But if Experience is the sister of Practice, she is
+also a cousin of Theory, and I have studied the aerial art long. It has got
+into my head!&rdquo; he added sadly, falling into a silent reverie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The balloon, having risen some distance farther, now became stationary. The
+unknown consulted the barometer, and said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here we are, at eight hundred yards. Men are like insects. See! I think
+we should always contemplate them from this height, to judge correctly of their
+proportions. The Place de la Comédie is transformed into an immense ant-hill.
+Observe the crowd which is gathered on the quays; and the mountains also get
+smaller and smaller. We are over the Cathedral. The Main is only a line,
+cutting the city in two, and the bridge seems a thread thrown between the two
+banks of the river.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The atmosphere became somewhat chilly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There is nothing I would not do for you, my host,&rdquo; said the
+unknown. &ldquo;If you are cold, I will take off my coat and lend it to
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Thanks,&rdquo; said I dryly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah! Necessity makes law. Give me your hand. I am your
+fellow-countryman; you will learn something in my company, and my conversation
+will indemnify you for the trouble I have given you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I sat down, without replying, at the opposite extremity of the car. The young
+man had taken a voluminous manuscript from his great-coat. It was an essay on
+ballooning.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I possess,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;the most curious collection of
+engravings and caricatures extant concerning aerial manias. How people admired
+and scoffed at the same time at this precious discovery! We are happily no
+longer in the age in which Montgolfier tried to make artificial clouds with
+steam, or a gas having electrical properties, produced by the combustion of
+moist straw and chopped-up wool.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you wish to depreciate the talent of the inventors?&rdquo; I asked,
+for I had resolved to enter into the adventure. &ldquo;Was it not good to have
+proved by experience the possibility of rising in the air?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, monsieur, who denies the glory of the first aerial navigators? It
+required immense courage to rise by means of those frail envelopes which only
+contained heated air. But I ask you, has the aerial science made great progress
+since Blanchard&rsquo;s ascensions, that is, since nearly a century ago? Look
+here, monsieur.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unknown took an engraving from his portfolio.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;is the first aerial voyage undertaken by
+Pilâtre des Rosiers and the Marquis d&rsquo;Arlandes, four months after the
+discovery of balloons. Louis XVI. refused to consent to the venture, and two
+men who were condemned to death were the first to attempt the aerial ascent.
+Pilâtre des Rosiers became indignant at this injustice, and, by means of
+intrigues, obtained permission to make the experiment. The car, which renders
+the management easy, had not then been invented, and a circular gallery was
+placed around the lower and contracted part of the Montgolfier balloon. The two
+aeronauts must then remain motionless at each extremity of this gallery, for
+the moist straw which filled it forbade them all motion. A chafing-dish with
+fire was suspended below the orifice of the balloon; when the aeronauts wished
+to rise, they threw straw upon this brazier, at the risk of setting fire to the
+balloon, and the air, more heated, gave it fresh ascending power. The two bold
+travellers rose, on the 21st of November, 1783, from the Muette Gardens, which
+the dauphin had put at their disposal. The balloon went up majestically, passed
+over the Isle of Swans, crossed the Seine at the Conference barrier, and,
+drifting between the dome of the Invalides and the Military School, approached
+the Church of Saint Sulpice. Then the aeronauts added to the fire, crossed the
+Boulevard, and descended beyond the Enfer barrier. As it touched the soil, the
+balloon collapsed, and for a few moments buried Pilâtre des Rosiers under its
+folds.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Unlucky augury,&rdquo; I said, interested in the story, which affected
+me nearly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;An augury of the catastrophe which was later to cost this unfortunate
+man his life,&rdquo; replied the unknown sadly. &ldquo;Have you never
+experienced anything like it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Never,&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah! Misfortunes sometimes occur unforeshadowed!&rdquo; added my
+companion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He then remained silent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile we were advancing southward, and Frankfort had already passed from
+beneath us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps we shall have a storm,&rdquo; said the young man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall descend before that,&rdquo; I replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Indeed! It is better to ascend. We shall escape it more surely.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And two more bags of sand were hurled into space.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred yards. I became colder;
+and yet the sun&rsquo;s rays, falling upon the surface, expanded the gas
+within, and gave it a greater ascending force.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Fear nothing,&rdquo; said the unknown. &ldquo;We have still three
+thousand five hundred fathoms of breathing air. Besides, do not trouble
+yourself about what I do.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I would have risen, but a vigorous hand held me to my seat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your name?&rdquo; I asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My name? What matters it to you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I demand your name!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My name is Erostratus or Empedocles, whichever you choose!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This reply was far from reassuring.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unknown, besides, talked with such strange coolness that I anxiously asked
+myself whom I had to deal with.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;nothing original has been imagined
+since the physicist Charles. Four months after the discovery of balloons, this
+able man had invented the valve, which permits the gas to escape when the
+balloon is too full, or when you wish to descend; the car, which aids the
+management of the machine; the netting, which holds the envelope of the
+balloon, and divides the weight over its whole surface; the ballast, which
+enables you to ascend, and to choose the place of your landing; the
+india-rubber coating, which renders the tissue impermeable; the barometer,
+which shows the height attained. Lastly, Charles used hydrogen, which, fourteen
+times lighter than air, permits you to penetrate to the highest atmospheric
+regions, and does not expose you to the dangers of a combustion in the air. On
+the 1st of December, 1783, three hundred thousand spectators were crowded
+around the Tuileries. Charles rose, and the soldiers presented arms to him. He
+travelled nine leagues in the air, conducting his balloon with an ability not
+surpassed by modern aeronauts. The king awarded him a pension of two thousand
+livres; for then they encouraged new inventions.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unknown now seemed to be under the influence of considerable agitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur,&rdquo; he resumed, &ldquo;I have studied this, and I am
+convinced that the first aeronauts guided their balloons. Without speaking of
+Blanchard, whose assertions may be received with doubt, Guyton-Morveaux, by the
+aid of oars and rudder, made his machine answer to the helm, and take the
+direction he determined on. More recently, M. Julien, a watchmaker, made some
+convincing experiments at the Hippodrome, in Paris; for, by a special
+mechanism, his aerial apparatus, oblong in form, went visibly against the wind.
+It occurred to M. Petin to place four hydrogen balloons together; and, by means
+of sails hung horizontally and partly folded, he hopes to be able to disturb
+the equilibrium, and, thus inclining the apparatus, to convey it in an oblique
+direction. They speak, also, of forces to overcome the resistance of
+currents,&mdash;for instance, the screw; but the screw, working on a moveable
+centre, will give no result. I, monsieur, have discovered the only means of
+guiding balloons; and no academy has come to my aid, no city has filled up
+subscriptions for me, no government has thought fit to listen to me! It is
+infamous!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unknown gesticulated fiercely, and the car underwent violent oscillations.
+I had much trouble in calming him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the balloon had entered a more rapid current, and we advanced south,
+at fifteen hundred yards above the earth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See, there is Darmstadt,&rdquo; said my companion, leaning over the car.
+&ldquo;Do you perceive the château? Not very distinctly, eh? What would you
+have? The heat of the storm makes the outline of objects waver, and you must
+have a skilled eye to recognize localities.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Are you certain it is Darmstadt?&rdquo; I asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am sure of it. We are now six leagues from Frankfort.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then we must descend.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Descend! You would not go down, on the steeples,&rdquo; said the
+unknown, with a chuckle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, but in the suburbs of the city.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, let us avoid the steeples!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So speaking, my companion seized some bags of ballast. I hastened to prevent
+him; but he overthrew me with one hand, and the unballasted balloon ascended to
+two thousand yards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Rest easy,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;and do not forget that Brioschi, Biot,
+Gay-Lussac, Bixio, and Barral ascended to still greater heights to make their
+scientific experiments.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur, we must descend,&rdquo; I resumed, trying to persuade him by
+gentleness. &ldquo;The storm is gathering around us. It would be more
+prudent&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bah! We will mount higher than the storm, and then we shall no longer
+fear it!&rdquo; cried my companion. &ldquo;What is nobler than to overlook the
+clouds which oppress the earth? Is it not an honour thus to navigate on aerial
+billows? The greatest men have travelled as we are doing. The Marchioness and
+Countess de Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas, Mademoiselle la Garde, the
+Marquis de Montalembert, rose from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine for these unknown
+regions, and the Duke de Chartres exhibited much skill and presence of mind in
+his ascent on the 15th of July, 1784. At Lyons, the Counts of Laurencin and
+Dampierre; at Nantes, M. de Luynes; at Bordeaux, D&rsquo;Arbelet des Granges;
+in Italy, the Chevalier Andreani; in our own time, the Duke of
+Brunswick,&mdash;have all left the traces of their glory in the air. To equal
+these great personages, we must penetrate still higher than they into the
+celestial depths! To approach the infinite is to comprehend it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The rarefaction of the air was fast expanding the hydrogen in the balloon, and
+I saw its lower part, purposely left empty, swell out, so that it was
+absolutely necessary to open the valve; but my companion did not seem to intend
+that I should manage the balloon as I wished. I then resolved to pull the valve
+cord secretly, as he was excitedly talking; for I feared to guess with whom I
+had to deal. It would have been too horrible! It was nearly a quarter before
+one. We had been gone forty minutes from Frankfort; heavy clouds were coming
+against the wind from the south, and seemed about to burst upon us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you lost all hope of succeeding in your project?&rdquo; I asked
+with anxious interest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All hope!&rdquo; exclaimed the unknown in a low voice. &ldquo;Wounded by
+slights and caricatures, these asses&rsquo; kicks have finished me! It is the
+eternal punishment reserved for innovators! Look at these caricatures of all
+periods, of which my portfolio is full.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While my companion was fumbling with his papers, I had seized the valve-cord
+without his perceiving it. I feared, however, that he might hear the hissing
+noise, like a water-course, which the gas makes in escaping.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How many jokes were made about the Abbé Miolan!&rdquo; said he.
+&ldquo;He was to go up with Janninet and Bredin. During the filling their
+balloon caught fire, and the ignorant populace tore it in pieces! Then this
+caricature of &lsquo;curious animals&rsquo; appeared, giving each of them a
+punning nickname.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I pulled the valve-cord, and the barometer began to ascend. It was time. Some
+far-off rumblings were heard in the south.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here is another engraving,&rdquo; resumed the unknown, not suspecting
+what I was doing. &ldquo;It is an immense balloon carrying a ship, strong
+castles, houses, and so on. The caricaturists did not suspect that their
+follies would one day become truths. It is complete, this large vessel. On the
+left is its helm, with the pilot&rsquo;s box; at the prow are pleasure-houses,
+an immense organ, and a cannon to call the attention of the inhabitants of the
+earth or the moon; above the poop there are the observatory and the balloon
+long-boat; in the equatorial circle, the army barrack; on the left, the funnel;
+then the upper galleries for promenading, sails, pinions; below, the cafés and
+general storehouse. Observe this pompous announcement: &lsquo;Invented for the
+happiness of the human race, this globe will depart at once for the ports of
+the Levant, and on its return the programme of its voyages to the two poles and
+the extreme west will be announced. No one need furnish himself with anything;
+everything is foreseen, and all will prosper. There will be a uniform price for
+all places of destination, but it will be the same for the most distant
+countries of our hemisphere&mdash;that is to say, a thousand louis for one of
+any of the said journeys. And it must be confessed that this sum is very
+moderate, when the speed, comfort, and arrangements which will be enjoyed on
+the balloon are considered&mdash;arrangements which are not to be found on
+land, while on the balloon each passenger may consult his own habits and
+tastes. This is so true that in the same place some will be dancing, others
+standing; some will be enjoying delicacies; others fasting. Whoever desires the
+society of wits may satisfy himself; whoever is stupid may find stupid people
+to keep him company. Thus pleasure will be the soul of the aerial
+company.&rsquo; All this provoked laughter; but before long, if I am not cut
+off, they will see it all realized.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were visibly descending. He did not perceive it!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This kind of &lsquo;game at balloons,&rsquo;&rdquo; he resumed,
+spreading out before me some of the engravings of his valuable collection,
+&ldquo;this game contains the entire history of the aerostatic art. It is used
+by elevated minds, and is played with dice and counters, with whatever stakes
+you like, to be paid or received according to where the player arrives.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;you seem to have studied the science of
+aerostation profoundly.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, monsieur, yes! From Phaethon, Icarus, Architas, I have searched
+for, examined, learnt everything. I could render immense services to the world
+in this art, if God granted me life. But that will not be!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Because my name is Empedocles, or Erostratus.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, the balloon was happily approaching the earth; but when one is
+falling, the danger is as great at a hundred feet as at five thousand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you recall the battle of Fleurus?&rdquo; resumed my companion, whose
+face became more and more animated. &ldquo;It was at that battle that Contello,
+by order of the Government, organized a company of balloonists. At the siege of
+Manbenge General Jourdan derived so much service from this new method of
+observation that Contello ascended twice a day with the general himself. The
+communications between the aeronaut and his agents who held the balloon were
+made by means of small white, red, and yellow flags. Often the gun and cannon
+shot were directed upon the balloon when he ascended, but without result. When
+General Jourdan was preparing to invest Charleroi, Contello went into the
+vicinity, ascended from the plain of Jumet, and continued his observations for
+seven or eight hours with General Morlot, and this no doubt aided in giving us
+the victory of Fleurus. General Jourdan publicly acknowledged the help which
+the aeronautical observations had afforded him. Well, despite the services
+rendered on that occasion and during the Belgian campaign, the year which had
+seen the beginning of the military career of balloons saw also its end. The
+school of Meudon, founded by the Government, was closed by Buonaparte on his
+return from Egypt. And now, what can you expect from the new-born infant? as
+Franklin said. The infant was born alive; it should not be stifled!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image28"></a>
+<img src="images/image28.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;He continued his observations for seven or eight
+hours with General Morlot&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The unknown bowed his head in his hands, and reflected for some moments; then
+raising his head, he said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Despite my prohibition, monsieur, you have opened the valve.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I dropped the cord.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Happily,&rdquo; he resumed, &ldquo;we have still three hundred pounds of
+ballast.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is your purpose?&rdquo; said I.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you ever crossed the seas?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I turned pale.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is unfortunate,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;that we are being driven
+towards the Adriatic. That is only a stream; but higher up we may find other
+currents.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over several bags of sand; then,
+in a menacing voice, he said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I let you open the valve because the expansion of the gas threatened to
+burst the balloon; but do not do it again!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he went on as follows:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You remember the voyage of Blanchard and Jeffries from Dover to Calais?
+It was magnificent! On the 7th of January, 1785, there being a north-west wind,
+their balloon was inflated with gas on the Dover coast. A mistake of
+equilibrium, just as they were ascending, forced them to throw out their
+ballast so that they might not go down again, and they only kept thirty pounds.
+It was too little; for, as the wind did not freshen, they only advanced very
+slowly towards the French coast. Besides, the permeability of the tissue served
+to reduce the inflation little by little, and in an hour and a half the
+aeronauts perceived that they were descending.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;What shall we do?&rsquo; said Jeffries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;We are only one quarter of the way over,&rsquo; replied
+Blanchard, &lsquo;and very low down. On rising, we shall perhaps meet more
+favourable winds.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Let us throw out the rest of the sand.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon began to descend
+again. Towards the middle of the transit the aeronauts threw over their books
+and tools. A quarter of an hour after, Blanchard said to Jeffries,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;The barometer?&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;It is going up! We are lost, and yet there is the French
+coast.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A loud noise was heard.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Has the balloon burst?&rsquo; asked Jeffries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;No. The loss of the gas has reduced the inflation of the lower
+part of the balloon. But we are still descending. We are lost! Out with
+everything useless!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Provisions, oars, and rudder were thrown into the sea. The aeronauts
+were only one hundred yards high.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;We are going up again,&rsquo; said the doctor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;No. It is the spurt caused by the diminution of the weight, and
+not a ship in sight, not a bark on the horizon! To the sea with our
+clothing!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The unfortunates stripped themselves, but the balloon continued to
+descend.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Blanchard,&rsquo; said Jeffries, &lsquo;you should have made this
+voyage alone; you consented to take me; I will sacrifice myself! I am going to
+throw myself into the water, and the balloon, relieved of my weight, will mount
+again.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;No, no! It is frightful!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The balloon became less and less inflated, and as it doubled up its
+concavity pressed the gas against the sides, and hastened its downward course.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image29"></a>
+<img src="images/image29.jpg" width="410" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The balloon became less and less inflated
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Adieu, my friend,&rdquo; said the doctor. &lsquo;God preserve
+you!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He was about to throw himself over, when Blanchard held him back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;There is one more chance,&rsquo; said he. &lsquo;We can cut the
+cords which hold the car, and cling to the net! Perhaps the balloon will rise.
+Let us hold ourselves ready. But&mdash;the barometer is going down! The wind is
+freshening! We are saved!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The aeronauts perceived Calais. Their joy was delirious. A few moments
+more, and they had fallen in the forest of Guines. I do not doubt,&rdquo; added
+the unknown, &ldquo;that, under similar circumstances, you would have followed
+Doctor Jeffries&rsquo; example!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The clouds rolled in glittering masses beneath us. The balloon threw large
+shadows on this heap of clouds, and was surrounded as by an aureola. The
+thunder rumbled below the car. All this was terrifying.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us descend!&rdquo; I cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Descend, when the sun is up there, waiting for us? Out with more
+bags!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And more than fifty pounds of ballast were cast over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At a height of three thousand five hundred yards we remained stationary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unknown talked unceasingly. I was in a state of complete prostration, while
+he seemed to be in his element.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;With a good wind, we shall go far,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;In the
+Antilles there are currents of air which have a speed of a hundred leagues an
+hour. When Napoleon was crowned, Garnerin sent up a balloon with coloured
+lamps, at eleven o&rsquo;clock at night. The wind was blowing north-north-west.
+The next morning, at daybreak, the inhabitants of Rome greeted its passage over
+the dome of St. Peter&rsquo;s. We shall go farther and higher!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I scarcely heard him. Everything whirled around me. An opening appeared in the
+clouds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See that city,&rdquo; said the unknown. &ldquo;It is Spires!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I leaned over the car and perceived a small blackish mass. It was Spires. The
+Rhine, which is so large, seemed an unrolled ribbon. The sky was a deep blue
+over our heads. The birds had long abandoned us, for in that rarefied air they
+could not have flown. We were alone in space, and I in presence of this
+unknown!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is useless for you to know whither I am leading you,&rdquo; he said,
+as he threw the compass among the clouds. &ldquo;Ah! a fall is a grand thing!
+You know that but few victims of ballooning are to be reckoned, from Pilâtre
+des Rosiers to Lieutenant Gale, and that the accidents have always been the
+result of imprudence. Pilâtre des Rosiers set out with Romain of Boulogne, on
+the 13th of June, 1785. To his gas balloon he had affixed a Montgolfier
+apparatus of hot air, so as to dispense, no doubt, with the necessity of losing
+gas or throwing out ballast. It was putting a torch under a powder-barrel. When
+they had ascended four hundred yards, and were taken by opposing winds, they
+were driven over the open sea. Pilâtre, in order to descend, essayed to open
+the valve, but the valve-cord became entangled in the balloon, and tore it so
+badly that it became empty in an instant. It fell upon the Montgolfier
+apparatus, overturned it, and dragged down the unfortunates, who were soon
+shattered to pieces! It is frightful, is it not?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I could only reply, &ldquo;For pity&rsquo;s sake, let us descend!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The clouds gathered around us on every side, and dreadful detonations, which
+reverberated in the cavity of the balloon, took place beneath us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You provoke me,&rdquo; cried the unknown, &ldquo;and you shall no longer
+know whether we are rising or falling!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The barometer went the way of the compass, accompanied by several more bags of
+sand. We must have been 5000 yards high. Some icicles had already attached
+themselves to the sides of the car, and a kind of fine snow seemed to penetrate
+to my very bones. Meanwhile a frightful tempest was raging under us, but we
+were above it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do not be afraid,&rdquo; said the unknown. &ldquo;It is only the
+imprudent who are lost. Olivari, who perished at Orleans, rose in a paper
+&lsquo;Montgolfier;&rsquo; his car, suspended below the chafing-dish, and
+ballasted with combustible materials, caught fire; Olivari fell, and was
+killed! Mosment rose, at Lille, on a light tray; an oscillation disturbed his
+equilibrium; Mosment fell, and was killed! Bittorf, at Mannheim, saw his
+balloon catch fire in the air; and he, too, fell, and was killed! Harris rose
+in a badly constructed balloon, the valve of which was too large and would not
+shut; Harris fell, and was killed! Sadler, deprived of ballast by his long
+sojourn in the air, was dragged over the town of Boston and dashed against the
+chimneys; Sadler fell, and was killed! Cokling descended with a convex
+parachute which he pretended to have perfected; Cokling fell, and was killed!
+Well, I love them, these victims of their own imprudence, and I shall die as
+they did. Higher! still higher!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All the phantoms of this necrology passed before my eyes. The rarefaction of
+the air and the sun&rsquo;s rays added to the expansion of the gas, and the
+balloon continued to mount. I tried mechanically to open the valve, but the
+unknown cut the cord several feet above my head. I was lost!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did you see Madame Blanchard fall?&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I saw her;
+yes, I! I was at Tivoli on the 6th of July, 1819. Madame Blanchard rose in a
+small sized balloon, to avoid the expense of filling, and she was forced to
+entirely inflate it. The gas leaked out below, and left a regular train of
+hydrogen in its path. She carried with her a sort of pyrotechnic aureola,
+suspended below her car by a wire, which she was to set off in the air. This
+she had done many times before. On this day she also carried up a small
+parachute ballasted by a firework contrivance, that would go off in a shower of
+silver. She was to start this contrivance after having lighted it with a
+port-fire made on purpose. She set out; the night was gloomy. At the moment of
+lighting her fireworks she was so imprudent as to pass the taper under the
+column of hydrogen which was leaking from the balloon. My eyes were fixed upon
+her. Suddenly an unexpected gleam lit up the darkness. I thought she was
+preparing a surprise. The light flashed out, suddenly disappeared and
+reappeared, and gave the summit of the balloon the shape of an immense jet of
+ignited gas. This sinister glow shed itself over the Boulevard and the whole
+Montmartre quarter. Then I saw the unhappy woman rise, try twice to close the
+appendage of the balloon, so as to put out the fire, then sit down in her car
+and try to guide her descent; for she did not fall. The combustion of the gas
+lasted for several minutes. The balloon, becoming gradually less, continued to
+descend, but it was not a fall. The wind blew from the north-west and drove it
+towards Paris. There were then some large gardens just by the house No. 16, Rue
+de Provence. Madame Blanchard essayed to fall there without danger: but the
+balloon and the car struck on the roof of the house with a light shock.
+&lsquo;Save me!&rsquo; cried the wretched woman. I got into the street at this
+moment. The car slid along the roof, and encountered an iron cramp. At this
+concussion, Madame Blanchard was thrown out of her car and precipitated upon
+the pavement. She was killed!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These stories froze me with horror. The unknown was standing with bare head,
+dishevelled hair, haggard eyes!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was no longer any illusion possible. I at last recognized the horrible
+truth. I was in the presence of a madman!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He threw out the rest of the ballast, and we must have now reached a height of
+at least nine thousand yards. Blood spurted from my nose and mouth!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who are nobler than the martyrs of science?&rdquo; cried the lunatic.
+&ldquo;They are canonized by posterity.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But I no longer heard him. He looked about him, and, bending down to my ear,
+muttered,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And have you forgotten Zambecarri&rsquo;s catastrophe? Listen. On the
+7th of October, 1804, the clouds seemed to lift a little. On the preceding
+days, the wind and rain had not ceased; but the announced ascension of
+Zambecarri could not be postponed. His enemies were already bantering him. It
+was necessary to ascend, to save the science and himself from becoming a public
+jest. It was at Boulogne. No one helped him to inflate his balloon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He rose at midnight, accompanied by Andreoli and Grossetti. The balloon
+mounted slowly, for it had been perforated by the rain, and the gas was leaking
+out. The three intrepid aeronauts could only observe the state of the barometer
+by aid of a dark lantern. Zambecarri had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours.
+Grossetti was also fasting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;My friends,&rsquo; said Zambecarri, &lsquo;I am overcome by cold,
+and exhausted. I am dying.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He fell inanimate in the gallery. It was the same with Grossetti.
+Andreoli alone remained conscious. After long efforts, he succeeded in reviving
+Zambecarri.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;What news? Whither are we going? How is the wind? What time is
+it?&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;It is two o&rsquo;clock.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Where is the compass?&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Upset!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Great God! The lantern has gone out!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;It cannot burn in this rarefied air,&rsquo; said Zambecarri.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The moon had not risen, and the atmosphere was plunged in murky
+darkness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;I am cold, Andreoli. What shall I do?&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They slowly descended through a layer of whitish clouds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Sh!&rsquo; said Andreoli. &lsquo;Do you hear?&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;What?&rsquo; asked Zambecarri.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;A strange noise.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;You are mistaken.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;No.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Consider these travellers, in the middle of the night, listening to that
+unaccountable noise! Are they going to knock against a tower? Are they about to
+be precipitated on the roofs?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Do you hear? One would say it was the noise of the sea.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Impossible!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;It is the groaning of the waves!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;It is true.&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Light! light!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;After five fruitless attempts, Andreoli succeeded in obtaining light. It
+was three o&rsquo;clock.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The voice of violent waves was heard. They were almost touching the
+surface of the sea!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;We are lost!&rsquo; cried Zambecarri, seizing a large bag of
+sand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Help!&rsquo; cried Andreoli.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The car touched the water, and the waves came up to their breasts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Throw out the instruments, clothes, money!&rsquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The aeronauts completely stripped themselves. The balloon, relieved,
+rose with frightful rapidity. Zambecarri was taken with vomiting. Grossetti
+bled profusely. The unfortunate men could not speak, so short was their
+breathing. They were taken with cold, and they were soon crusted over with ice.
+The moon looked as red as blood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;After traversing the high regions for a half-hour, the balloon again
+fell into the sea. It was four in the morning. They were half submerged in the
+water, and the balloon dragged them along, as if under sail, for several hours.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At daybreak they found themselves opposite Pesaro, four miles from the
+coast. They were about to reach it, when a gale blew them back into the open
+sea. They were lost! The frightened boats fled at their approach. Happily, a
+more intelligent boatman accosted them, hoisted them on board, and they landed
+at Ferrada.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A frightful journey, was it not? But Zambecarri was a brave and
+energetic man. Scarcely recovered from his sufferings, he resumed his
+ascensions. During one of them he struck against a tree; his spirit-lamp was
+broken on his clothes; he was enveloped in fire, his balloon began to catch the
+flames, and he came down half consumed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At last, on the 21st of September, 1812, he made another ascension at
+Boulogne. The balloon clung to a tree, and his lamp again set it on fire.
+Zambecarri fell, and was killed! And in presence of these facts, we would still
+hesitate! No. The higher we go, the more glorious will be our death!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image30"></a>
+<img src="images/image30.jpg" width="422" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Zambecarri fell, and was killed!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The balloon being now entirely relieved of ballast and of all it contained, we
+were carried to an enormous height. It vibrated in the atmosphere. The least
+noise resounded in the vaults of heaven. Our globe, the only object which
+caught my view in immensity, seemed ready to be annihilated, and above us the
+depths of the starry skies were lost in thick darkness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I saw my companion rise up before me.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The hour is come!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We must die. We are rejected of
+men. They despise us. Let us crush them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mercy!&rdquo; I cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us cut these cords! Let this car be abandoned in space. The
+attractive force will change its direction, and we shall approach the
+sun!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Despair galvanized me. I threw myself upon the madman, we struggled together,
+and a terrible conflict took place. But I was thrown down, and while he held me
+under his knee, the madman was cutting the cords of the car.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;One!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My God!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Two! Three!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I made a superhuman effort, rose up, and violently repulsed the madman.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Four!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The car fell, but I instinctively clung to the cords and hoisted myself into
+the meshes of the netting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The madman disappeared in space!
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image31"></a>
+<img src="images/image31.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The madman disappeared in space!
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The balloon was raised to an immeasurable height. A horrible cracking was
+heard. The gas, too much dilated, had burst the balloon. I shut my eyes&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some instants after, a damp warmth revived me. I was in the midst of clouds on
+fire. The balloon turned over with dizzy velocity. Taken by the wind, it made a
+hundred leagues an hour in a horizontal course, the lightning flashing around
+it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile my fall was not a very rapid one. When I opened my eyes, I saw the
+country. I was two miles from the sea, and the tempest was driving me violently
+towards it, when an abrupt shock forced me to loosen my hold. My hands opened,
+a cord slipped swiftly between my fingers, and I found myself on the solid
+earth!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the cord of the anchor, which, sweeping along the surface of the ground,
+was caught in a crevice; and my balloon, unballasted for the last time,
+careered off to lose itself beyond the sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When I came to myself, I was in bed in a peasant&rsquo;s cottage, at
+Harderwick, a village of La Gueldre, fifteen leagues from Amsterdam, on the
+shores of the Zuyder-Zee.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A miracle had saved my life, but my voyage had been a series of imprudences,
+committed by a lunatic, and I had not been able to prevent them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+May this terrible narrative, though instructing those who read it, not
+discourage the explorers of the air.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_01"></a>A WINTER AMID THE ICE</h2>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I<br/>
+THE BLACK FLAG</h2>
+
+<p>
+The curé of the ancient church of Dunkirk rose at five o&rsquo;clock on the
+12th of May, 18&mdash;, to perform, according to his custom, low mass for the
+benefit of a few pious sinners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Attired in his priestly robes, he was about to proceed to the altar, when a man
+entered the sacristy, at once joyous and frightened. He was a sailor of some
+sixty years, but still vigorous and sturdy, with, an open, honest countenance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur the curé,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;stop a moment, if you
+please.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image32"></a>
+<img src="images/image32.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Monsieur the curé,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;stop a
+moment, if you please.&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you want so early in the morning, Jean Cornbutte?&rdquo; asked
+the curé.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do I want? Why, to embrace you in my arms, i&rsquo; faith!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, after the mass at which you are going to be present&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The mass?&rdquo; returned the old sailor, laughing. &ldquo;Do you think
+you are going to say your mass now, and that I will let you do so?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And why should I not say my mass?&rdquo; asked the curé. &ldquo;Explain
+yourself. The third bell has sounded&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Whether it has or not,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte, &ldquo;it will
+sound many more times to-day, monsieur the curé, for you have promised me that
+you will bless, with your own hands, the marriage of my son Louis and my niece
+Marie!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He has arrived, then,&rdquo; said the curé &ldquo;joyfully.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is nearly the same thing,&rdquo; replied Cornbutte, rubbing his
+hands. &ldquo;Our brig was signalled from the look out at sunrise,&mdash;our
+brig, which you yourself christened by the good name of the
+&lsquo;Jeune-Hardie&rsquo;!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I congratulate you with all my heart, Cornbutte,&rdquo; said the curé,
+taking off his chasuble and stole. &ldquo;I remember our agreement. The vicar
+will take my place, and I will put myself at your disposal against your dear
+son&rsquo;s arrival.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And I promise you that he will not make you fast long,&rdquo; replied
+the sailor. &ldquo;You have already published the banns, and you will only have
+to absolve him from the sins he may have committed between sky and water, in
+the Northern Ocean. I had a good idea, that the marriage should be celebrated
+the very day he arrived, and that my son Louis should leave his ship to repair
+at once to the church.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Go, then, and arrange everything, Cornbutte.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I fly, monsieur the curé. Good morning!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sailor hastened with rapid steps to his house, which stood on the quay,
+whence could be seen the Northern Ocean, of which he seemed so proud.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte had amassed a comfortable sum at his calling. After having long
+commanded the vessels of a rich shipowner of Havre, he had settled down in his
+native town, where he had caused the brig &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; to be
+constructed at his own expense. Several successful voyages had been made in the
+North, and the ship always found a good sale for its cargoes of wood, iron, and
+tar. Jean Cornbutte then gave up the command of her to his son Louis, a fine
+sailor of thirty, who, according to all the coasting captains, was the boldest
+mariner in Dunkirk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis Cornbutte had gone away deeply attached to Marie, his father&rsquo;s
+niece, who found the time of his absence very long and weary. Marie was
+scarcely twenty. She was a pretty Flemish girl, with some Dutch blood in her
+veins. Her mother, when she was dying, had confided her to her brother, Jean
+Cornbutte. The brave old sailor loved her as a daughter, and saw in her
+proposed union with Louis a source of real and durable happiness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The arrival of the ship, already signalled off the coast, completed an
+important business operation, from which Jean Cornbutte expected large profits.
+The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rdquo; which had left three months before, came last
+from Bodoë, on the west coast of Norway, and had made a quick voyage thence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On returning home, Jean Cornbutte found the whole house alive. Marie, with
+radiant face, had assumed her wedding-dress.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I hope the ship will not arrive before we are ready!&rdquo; she said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Hurry, little one,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte, &ldquo;for the wind is
+north, and she sails well, you know, when she goes freely.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have our friends been told, uncle?&rdquo; asked Marie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They have.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The notary, and the curé?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Rest easy. You alone are keeping us waiting.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment Clerbaut, an old crony, came in.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, old Cornbutte,&rdquo; cried he, &ldquo;here&rsquo;s luck! Your
+ship has arrived at the very moment that the government has decided to contract
+for a large quantity of wood for the navy!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is that to me?&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte. &ldquo;What care I
+for the government?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You see, Monsieur Clerbaut,&rdquo; said Marie, &ldquo;one thing only
+absorbs us,&mdash;Louis&rsquo;s return.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t dispute that,&rdquo; replied Clerbaut. &ldquo;But&mdash;in
+short&mdash;this purchase of wood&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you shall be at the wedding,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte,
+interrupting the merchant, and shaking his hand as if he would crush it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This purchase of wood&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And with all our friends, landsmen and seamen, Clerbaut. I have already
+informed everybody, and I shall invite the whole crew of the ship.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And shall we go and await them on the pier?&rdquo; asked Marie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Indeed we will,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte. &ldquo;We will defile,
+two by two, with the violins at the head.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s invited guests soon arrived. Though it was very early,
+not a single one failed to appear. All congratulated the honest old sailor whom
+they loved. Meanwhile Marie, kneeling down, changed her prayers to God into
+thanksgivings. She soon returned, lovely and decked out, to the company; and
+all the women kissed her on the check, while the men vigorously grasped her by
+the hand. Then Jean Cornbutte gave the signal of departure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a curious sight to see this joyous group taking its way, at sunrise,
+towards the sea. The news of the ship&rsquo;s arrival had spread through the
+port, and many heads, in nightcaps, appeared at the windows and at the
+half-opened doors. Sincere compliments and pleasant nods came from every side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The party reached the pier in the midst of a concert of praise and blessings.
+The weather was magnificent, and the sun seemed to take part in the festivity.
+A fresh north wind made the waves foam; and some fishing-smacks, their sails
+trimmed for leaving port, streaked the sea with their rapid wakes between the
+breakwaters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two piers of Dunkirk stretch far out into the sea. The wedding-party
+occupied the whole width of the northern pier, and soon reached a small house
+situated at its extremity, inhabited by the harbour-master. The wind freshened,
+and the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; ran swiftly under her topsails, mizzen,
+brigantine, gallant, and royal. There was evidently rejoicing on board as well
+as on land. Jean Cornbutte, spy-glass in hand, responded merrily to the
+questions of his friends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See my ship!&rdquo; he cried; &ldquo;clean and steady as if she had been
+rigged at Dunkirk! Not a bit of damage done,&mdash;not a rope wanting!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you see your son, the captain?&rdquo; asked one.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, not yet. Why, he&rsquo;s at his business!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why doesn&rsquo;t he run up his flag?&rdquo; asked Clerbaut.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I scarcely know, old friend. He has a reason for it, no doubt.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your spy-glass, uncle?&rdquo; said Marie, taking it from him. &ldquo;I
+want to be the first to see him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But he is my son, mademoiselle!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He has been your son for thirty years,&rdquo; answered the young girl,
+laughing, &ldquo;and he has only been my betrothed for two!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was now entirely visible. Already the crew were
+preparing to cast anchor. The upper sails had been reefed. The sailors who were
+among the rigging might be recognized. But neither Marie nor Jean Cornbutte had
+yet been able to wave their hands at the captain of the ship.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Faith! there&rsquo;s the first mate, André Vasling,&rdquo; cried
+Clerbaut.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And there&rsquo;s Fidèle Misonne, the carpenter,&rdquo; said another.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And our friend Penellan,&rdquo; said a third, saluting the sailor named.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was only three cables&rsquo; lengths from the
+shore, when a black flag ascended to the gaff of the brigantine. There was
+mourning on board!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A shudder of terror seized the party and the heart of the young girl.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ship sadly swayed into port, and an icy silence reigned on its deck. Soon
+it had passed the end of the pier. Marie, Jean Cornbutte, and all their friends
+hurried towards the quay at which she was to anchor, and in a moment found
+themselves on board.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My son!&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte, who could only articulate these
+words.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sailors, with uncovered heads, pointed to the mourning flag.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie uttered a cry of anguish, and fell into old Cornbutte&rsquo;s arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling had brought back the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rdquo; but Louis
+Cornbutte, Marie&rsquo;s betrothed, was not on board.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br/>
+JEAN CORNBUTTE&rsquo;S PROJECT.</h2>
+
+<p>
+As soon as the young girl, confided to the care of the sympathizing friends,
+had left the ship, André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the
+dreadful event which had deprived him of his son, narrated in the ship&rsquo;s
+journal as follows:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image33"></a>
+<img src="images/image33.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">André Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the
+dreadful event
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At the height of the Maëlstrom, on the 26th of April, the ship, putting
+for the cape, by reason of bad weather and south-west winds, perceived signals
+of distress made by a schooner to the leeward. This schooner, deprived of its
+mizzen-mast, was running towards the whirlpool, under bare poles. Captain Louis
+Cornbutte, seeing that this vessel was hastening into imminent danger, resolved
+to go on board her. Despite the remonstrances of his crew, he had the long-boat
+lowered into the sea, and got into it, with the sailor Courtois and the
+helmsman Pierre Nouquet. The crew watched them until they disappeared in the
+fog. Night came on. The sea became more and more boisterous. The
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo;, drawn by the currents in those parts, was in danger
+of being engulfed by the Maëlstrom. She was obliged to fly before the wind. For
+several days she hovered near the place of the disaster, but in vain. The
+long-boat, the schooner, Captain Louis, and the two sailors did not reappear.
+André Vasling then called the crew together, took command of the ship, and set
+sail for Dunkirk.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After reading this dry narrative, Jean Cornbutte wept for a long time; and if
+he had any consolation, it was the thought that his son had died in attempting
+to save his fellow-men. Then the poor father left the ship, the sight of which
+made him wretched, and returned to his desolate home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sad news soon spread throughout Dunkirk. The many friends of the old sailor
+came to bring him their cordial and sincere sympathy. Then the sailors of the
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; gave a more particular account of the event, and
+André Vasling told Marie, at great length, of the devotion of her betrothed to
+the last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When he ceased weeping, Jean Cornbutte thought over the matter, and the next
+day after the ship&rsquo;s arrival, when Andre came to see him, said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Are you very sure, André, that my son has perished?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Alas, yes, Monsieur Jean,&rdquo; replied the mate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you made all possible search for him?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All, Monsieur Cornbutte. But it is unhappily but too certain that he and
+the two sailors were sucked down in the whirlpool of the Maëlstrom.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Would you like, André, to keep the second command of the ship?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That will depend upon the captain, Monsieur Cornbutte.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I shall be the captain,&rdquo; replied the old sailor. &ldquo;I am going
+to discharge the cargo with all speed, make up my crew, and sail in search of
+my son.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your son is dead!&rdquo; said André obstinately.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is possible, Andre,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte sharply, &ldquo;but
+it is also possible that he saved himself. I am going to rummage all the ports
+of Norway whither he might have been driven, and when I am fully convinced that
+I shall never see him again, I will return here to die!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling, seeing that this decision was irrevocable, did not insist
+further, but went away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte at once apprised his niece of his intention, and he saw a few
+rays of hope glisten across her tears. It had not seemed to the young girl that
+her lover&rsquo;s death might be doubtful; but scarcely had this new hope
+entered her heart, than she embraced it without reserve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old sailor determined that the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; should put to sea
+without delay. The solidly built ship had no need of repairs. Jean Cornbutte
+gave his sailors notice that if they wished to re-embark, no change in the crew
+would be made. He alone replaced his son in the command of the brig. None of
+the comrades of Louis Cornbutte failed to respond to his call, and there were
+hardy tars among them,&mdash;Alaine Turquiette, Fidèle Misonne the carpenter,
+Penellan the Breton, who replaced Pierre Nouquet as helmsman, and Gradlin,
+Aupic, and Gervique, courageous and well-tried mariners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte again offered André Vasling his old rank on board. The first
+mate was an able officer, who had proved his skill in bringing the
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; into port. Yet, from what motive could not be told,
+André made some difficulties and asked time for reflection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;As you will, André Vasling,&rdquo; replied Cornbutte. &ldquo;Only
+remember that if you accept, you will be welcome among us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean had a devoted sailor in Penellan the Breton, who had long been his
+fellow-voyager. In times gone by, little Marie was wont to pass the long winter
+evenings in the helmsman&rsquo;s arms, when he was on shore. He felt a fatherly
+friendship for her, and she had for him ah affection quite filial. Penellan
+hastened the fitting out of the ship with all his energy, all the more because,
+according to his opinion, André Vasling had not perhaps made every effort
+possible to find the castaways, although he was excusable from the
+responsibility which weighed upon him as captain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Within a week the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was ready to put to sea. Instead
+of merchandise, she was completely provided with salt meats, biscuits, barrels
+of flour, potatoes, pork, wine, brandy, coffee, tea, and tobacco.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The departure was fixed for the 22nd of May. On the evening before, André
+Vasling, who had not yet given his answer to Jean Cornbutte, came to his house.
+He was still undecided, and did not know which course to take.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean was not at home, though the house-door was open. André went into the
+passage, next to Marie&rsquo;s chamber, where the sound of an animated
+conversation struck his ear. He listened attentively, and recognized the voices
+of Penellan and Marie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The discussion had no doubt been going on for some time, for the young girl
+seemed to be stoutly opposing what the Breton sailor said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How old is my uncle Cornbutte?&rdquo; said Marie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Something about sixty years,&rdquo; replied Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, is he not going to brave danger to find his son?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Our captain is still a sturdy man,&rdquo; returned the sailor. &ldquo;He
+has a body of oak and muscles as hard as a spare spar. So I am not afraid to
+have him go to sea again!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My good Penellan,&rdquo; said Marie, &ldquo;one is strong when one
+loves! Besides, I have full confidence in the aid of Heaven. You understand me,
+and will help me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Penellan. &ldquo;It is impossible, Marie. Who knows
+whither we shall drift, or what we must suffer? How many vigorous men have I
+seen lose their lives in these seas!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Penellan,&rdquo; returned the young girl, &ldquo;if you refuse me, I
+shall believe that you do not love me any longer.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling understood the young girl&rsquo;s resolution. He reflected a
+moment, and his course was determined on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Jean Cornbutte,&rdquo; said he, advancing towards the old sailor, who
+now entered, &ldquo;I will go with you. The cause of my hesitation has
+disappeared, and you may count upon my devotion.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have never doubted you, André Vasling,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte,
+grasping him by the hand. &ldquo;Marie, my child!&rdquo; he added, calling in a
+loud voice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie and Penellan made their appearance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall set sail to-morrow at daybreak, with the outgoing tide,&rdquo;
+said Jean. &ldquo;My poor Marie, this is the last evening that we shall pass
+together.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Uncle!&rdquo; cried Marie, throwing herself into his arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Marie, by the help of God, I will bring your lover back to you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, we will find Louis,&rdquo; added André Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are going with us, then?&rdquo; asked Penellan quickly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, Penellan, André Vasling is to be my first mate,&rdquo; answered
+Jean.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, oh!&rdquo; ejaculated the Breton, in a singular tone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And his advice will be useful to us, for he is able and enterprising.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And yourself, captain,&rdquo; said André. &ldquo;You will set us all a
+good example, for you have still as much vigour as experience.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, my friends, good-bye till to-morrow. Go on board and make the
+final arrangements. Good-bye, André; good-bye, Penellan.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mate and the sailor went out together, and Jean and Marie remained alone.
+Many bitter tears were shed during that sad evening. Jean Cornbutte, seeing
+Marie so wretched, resolved to spare her the pain of separation by leaving the
+house on the morrow without her knowledge. So he gave her a last kiss that
+evening, and at three o&rsquo;clock next morning was up and away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The departure of the brig had attracted all the old sailor&rsquo;s friends to
+the pier. The curé, who was to have blessed Marie&rsquo;s union with Louis,
+came to give a last benediction on the ship. Rough grasps of the hand were
+silently exchanged, and Jean went on board.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crew were all there. André Vasling gave the last orders. The sails were
+spread, and the brig rapidly passed out under a stiff north-west breeze, whilst
+the cure, upright in the midst of the kneeling spectators, committed the vessel
+to the hands of God.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whither goes this ship? She follows the perilous route upon which so many
+castaways have been lost! She has no certain destination. She must expect every
+peril, and be able to brave them without hesitating. God alone knows where it
+will be her fate to anchor. May God guide her!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br/>
+A RAY OF HOPE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+At that time of the year the season was favourable, and the crew might hope
+promptly to reach the scene of the shipwreck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s plan was naturally traced out. He counted on stopping at
+the Feroë Islands, whither the north wind might have carried the castaways;
+then, if he was convinced that they had not been received in any of the ports
+of that locality, he would continue his search beyond the Northern Ocean,
+ransack the whole western coast of Norway as far as Bodoë, the place nearest
+the scene of the shipwreck; and, if necessary, farther still.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling thought, contrary to the captain&rsquo;s opinion, that the coast
+of Iceland should be explored; but Penellan observed that, at the time of the
+catastrophe, the gale came from the west; which, while it gave hope that the
+unfortunates had not been forced towards the gulf of the Maëlstrom, gave ground
+for supposing that they might have been thrown on the Norwegian coast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was determined, then, that this coast should be followed as closely as
+possible, so as to recognize any traces of them that might appear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The day after sailing, Jean Cornbutte, intent upon a map, was absorbed in
+reflection, when a small hand touched his shoulder, and a soft voice said in
+his ear,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have good courage, uncle.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image34"></a>
+<img src="images/image34.jpg" width="415" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">A soft voice said in his ear, &ldquo;Have good courage,
+uncle.&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+He turned, and was stupefied. Marie embraced him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Marie, my daughter, on board!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The wife may well go in search of her husband, when the father embarks
+to save his child.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Unhappy Marie! How wilt thou support our fatigues! Dost thou know that
+thy presence may be injurious to our search?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, uncle, for I am strong.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who knows whither we shall be forced to go, Marie? Look at this map. We
+are approaching places dangerous even for us sailors, hardened though we are to
+the difficulties of the sea. And thou, frail child?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But, uncle, I come from a family of sailors. I am used to stories of
+combats and tempests. I am with you and my old friend Penellan!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Penellan! It was he who concealed you on board?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, uncle; but only when he saw that I was determined to come without
+his help.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Penellan!&rdquo; cried Jean.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan entered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is not possible to undo what you have done, Penellan; but remember
+that you are responsible for Marie&rsquo;s life.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Rest easy, captain,&rdquo; replied Penellan. &ldquo;The little one has
+force and courage, and will be our guardian angel. And then, captain, you know
+it is my theory, that all in this world happens for the best.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The young girl was installed in a cabin, which the sailors soon got ready for
+her, and which they made as comfortable as possible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A week later the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; stopped at the Feroë Islands, but
+the most minute search was fruitless. No wreck, or fragments of a ship had come
+upon these coasts. Even the news of the event was quite unknown. The brig
+resumed its voyage, after a stay of ten days, about the 10th of June. The sea
+was calm, and the winds were favourable. The ship sped rapidly towards the
+Norwegian coast, which it explored without better result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte determined to proceed to Bodoë. Perhaps he would there learn the
+name of the shipwrecked schooner to succour which Louis and the sailors had
+sacrificed themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 30th of June the brig cast anchor in that port.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The authorities of Bodoë gave Jean Cornbutte a bottle found on the coast, which
+contained a document bearing these words:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This 26th April, on board the &lsquo;Froöern,&rsquo; after being
+accosted by the long-boat of the &lsquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rsquo; we were drawn by
+the currents towards the ice. God have pity on us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s first impulse was to thank Heaven. He thought himself on
+his son&rsquo;s track. The &ldquo;Froöern&rdquo; was a Norwegian sloop of which
+there had been no news, but which had evidently been drawn northward.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Not a day was to be lost. The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was at once put in
+condition to brave the perils of the polar seas. Fidèle Misonne, the carpenter,
+carefully examined her, and assured himself that her solid construction might
+resist the shock of the ice-masses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan, who had already engaged in whale-fishing in the arctic waters, took
+care that woollen and fur coverings, many sealskin moccassins, and wood for the
+making of sledges with which to cross the ice-fields were put on board. The
+amount of provisions was increased, and spirits and charcoal were added; for it
+might be that they would have to winter at some point on the Greenland coast.
+They also procured, with much difficulty and at a high price, a quantity of
+lemons, for preventing or curing the scurvy, that terrible disease which
+decimates crews in the icy regions. The ship&rsquo;s hold was filled with salt
+meat, biscuits, brandy, etc., as the steward&rsquo;s room no longer sufficed.
+They provided themselves, moreover, with a large quantity of
+&ldquo;pemmican,&rdquo; an Indian preparation which concentrates a great deal
+of nutrition within a small volume.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By order of the captain, some saws were put on board for cutting the
+ice-fields, as well as picks and wedges for separating them. The captain
+determined to procure some dogs for drawing the sledges on the Greenland coast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole crew was engaged in these preparations, and displayed great activity.
+The sailors Aupic, Gervique, and Gradlin zealously obeyed Penellan&rsquo;s
+orders; and he admonished them not to accustom themselves to woollen garments,
+though the temperature in this latitude, situated just beyond the polar circle,
+was very low.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan, though he said nothing, narrowly watched every action of André
+Vasling. This man was Dutch by birth, came from no one knew whither, but was at
+least a good sailor, having made two voyages on board the
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo;. Penellan would not as yet accuse him of anything,
+unless it was that he kept near Marie too constantly, but he did not let him
+out of his sight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thanks to the energy of the crew, the brig was equipped by the 16th of July, a
+fortnight after its arrival at Bodoë. It was then the favourable season for
+attempting explorations in the Arctic Seas. The thaw had been going on for two
+months, and the search might be carried farther north. The
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; set sail, and directed her way towards Cape
+Brewster, on the eastern coast of Greenland, near the 70th degree of latitude.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br/>
+IN THE PASSES.</h2>
+
+<p>
+About the 23rd of July a reflection, raised above the sea, announced the
+presence of the first icebergs, which, emerging from Davis&rsquo; Straits,
+advanced into the ocean. From this moment a vigilant watch was ordered to the
+look-out men, for it was important not to come into collision with these
+enormous masses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crew was divided into two watches. The first was composed of Fidèle
+Misonne, Gradlin, and Gervique; and the second of Andre Vasling, Aupic, and
+Penellan. These watches were to last only two hours, for in those cold regions
+a man&rsquo;s strength is diminished one-half. Though the
+&ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was not yet beyond the 63rd degree of latitude, the
+thermometer already stood at nine degrees centigrade below zero.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Rain and snow often fell abundantly. On fair days, when the wind was not too
+violent, Marie remained on deck, and her eyes became accustomed to the uncouth
+scenes of the Polar Seas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 1st of August she was promenading aft, and talking with her uncle,
+Penellan, and André Vasling. The ship was then entering a channel three miles
+wide, across which broken masses of ice were rapidly descending southwards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;When shall we see land?&rdquo; asked the young girl.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In three or four days at the latest,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But shall we find there fresh traces of my poor Louis?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps so, my daughter; but I fear that we are still far from the end
+of our voyage. It is to be feared that the &lsquo;Froöern&rsquo; was driven
+farther northward.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That may be,&rdquo; added André Vasling, &ldquo;for the squall which
+separated us from the Norwegian boat lasted three days, and in three days a
+ship makes good headway when it is no longer able to resist the wind.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Permit me to tell you, Monsieur Vasling.&rdquo; replied Penellan,
+&ldquo;that that was in April, that the thaw had not then begun, and that
+therefore the &lsquo;Froöern&rsquo; must have been soon arrested by the
+ice.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And no doubt dashed into a thousand pieces,&rdquo; said the mate,
+&ldquo;as her crew could not manage her.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But these ice-fields,&rdquo; returned Penellan, &ldquo;gave her an easy
+means of reaching land, from which she could not have been far distant.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us hope so,&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte, interrupting the discussion,
+which was daily renewed between the mate and the helmsman. &ldquo;I think we
+shall see land before long.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There it is!&rdquo; cried Marie. &ldquo;See those mountains!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, my child,&rdquo; replied her uncle. &ldquo;Those are mountains of
+ice, the first we have met with. They would shatter us like glass if we got
+entangled between them. Penellan and Vasling, overlook the men.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These floating masses, more than fifty of which now appeared at the horizon,
+came nearer and nearer to the brig. Penellan took the helm, and Jean Cornbutte,
+mounted on the gallant, indicated the route to take.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Towards evening the brig was entirely surrounded by these moving rocks, the
+crushing force of which is irresistible. It was necessary, then, to cross this
+fleet of mountains, for prudence prompted them to keep straight ahead. Another
+difficulty was added to these perils. The direction of the ship could not be
+accurately determined, as all the surrounding points constantly changed
+position, and thus failed to afford a fixed perspective. The darkness soon
+increased with the fog. Marie descended to her cabin, and the whole crew, by
+the captain&rsquo;s orders, remained on deck. They were armed with long
+boat-poles, with iron spikes, to preserve the ship from collision with the ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ship soon entered a strait so narrow that often the ends of her yards were
+grazed by the drifting mountains, and her booms seemed about to be driven in.
+They were even forced to trim the mainyard so as to touch the shrouds. Happily
+these precautions did not deprive, the vessel of any of its speed, for the wind
+could only reach the upper sails, and these sufficed to carry her forward
+rapidly. Thanks to her slender hull, she passed through these valleys, which
+were filled with whirlpools of rain, whilst the icebergs crushed against each
+other with sharp cracking and splitting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte returned to the deck. His eyes could not penetrate the
+surrounding darkness. It became necessary to furl the upper sails, for the ship
+threatened to ground, and if she did so she was lost.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Cursed voyage!&rdquo; growled André Vasling among the sailors, who,
+forward, were avoiding the most menacing ice-blocks with their boat-hooks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Truly, if we escape we shall owe a fine candle to Our Lady of the
+Ice!&rdquo; replied Aupic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who knows how many floating mountains we have got to pass through
+yet?&rdquo; added the mate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And who can guess what we shall find beyond them?&rdquo; replied the
+sailor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t talk so much, prattler,&rdquo; said Gervique, &ldquo;and
+look out on your side. When we have got by them, it&rsquo;ll be time to
+grumble. Look out for your boat-hook!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment an enormous block of ice, in the narrow strait through which the
+brig was passing, came rapidly down upon her, and it seemed impossible to avoid
+it, for it barred the whole width of the channel, and the brig could not
+heave-to.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you feel the tiller?&rdquo; asked Cornbutte of Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, captain. The ship does not answer the helm any longer.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;<i>Ohé</i>, boys!&rdquo; cried the captain to the crew;
+&ldquo;don&rsquo;t be afraid, and buttress your hooks against the
+gunwale.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The block was nearly sixty feet high, and if it threw itself upon the brig she
+would be crushed. There was an undefinable moment of suspense, and the crew
+retreated backward, abandoning their posts despite the captain&rsquo;s orders.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But at the instant when the block was not more than half a cable&rsquo;s length
+from the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rdquo; a dull sound was heard, and a veritable
+waterspout fell upon the bow of the vessel, which then rose on the back of an
+enormous billow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sailors uttered a cry of terror; but when they looked before them the block
+had disappeared, the passage was free, and beyond an immense plain of water,
+illumined by the rays of the declining sun, assured them of an easy navigation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All&rsquo;s well!&rdquo; cried Penellan. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s trim our
+topsails and mizzen!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An incident very common in those parts had just occurred. When these masses are
+detached from one another in the thawing season, they float in a perfect
+equilibrium; but on reaching the ocean, where the water is relatively warmer,
+they are speedily undermined at the base, which melts little by little, and
+which is also shaken by the shock of other ice-masses. A moment comes when the
+centre of gravity of these masses is displaced, and then they are completely
+overturned. Only, if this block had turned over two minutes later, it would
+have fallen on the brig and carried her down in its fall.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br/>
+LIVERPOOL ISLAND.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The brig now sailed in a sea which was almost entirely open. At the horizon
+only, a whitish light, this time motionless, indicated the presence of fixed
+plains of ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte now directed the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; towards Cape
+Brewster. They were already approaching the regions where the temperature is
+excessively cold, for the sun&rsquo;s rays, owing to their obliquity when they
+reach them, are very feeble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immoveable and united ice-masses. The
+passages were seldom more than a cable&rsquo;s length in width, and the ship
+was forced to make many turnings, which sometimes placed her heading the wind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan watched over Marie with paternal care, and, despite the cold,
+prevailed upon her to spend two or three hours every day on deck, for exercise
+had become one of the indispensable conditions of health.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie&rsquo;s courage did not falter. She even comforted the sailors with her
+cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly attached to her. André Vasling
+showed himself more attentive than ever, and seized every occasion to be in her
+company; but the young girl, with a sort of presentiment, accepted his services
+with some coldness. It may be easily conjectured that André&rsquo;s
+conversation referred more to the future than to the present, and that he did
+not conceal the slight probability there was of saving the castaways. He was
+convinced that they were lost, and the young girl ought thenceforth to confide
+her existence to some one else.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image35"></a>
+<img src="images/image35.jpg" width="416" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">André Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Marie had not as yet comprehended André&rsquo;s designs, for, to his great
+disgust, he could never find an opportunity to talk long with her alone.
+Penellan had always an excuse for interfering, and destroying the effect of
+Andre&rsquo;s words by the hopeful opinions he expressed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting on the helmsman&rsquo;s advice,
+she set to work on her winter garments; for it was necessary that she should
+completely change her clothing. The cut of her dresses was not suitable for
+these cold latitudes. She made, therefore, a sort of furred pantaloons, the
+ends of which were lined with seal-skin; and her narrow skirts came only to her
+knees, so as not to be in contact with the layers of snow with which the winter
+would cover the ice-fields. A fur mantle, fitting closely to the figure and
+supplied with a hood, protected the upper part of her body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the intervals of their work, the sailors, too, prepared clothing with which
+to shelter themselves from the cold. They made a quantity of high seal-skin
+boots, with which to cross the snow during their explorations. They worked thus
+all the time that the navigation in the straits lasted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times brought down aquatic
+birds with his gun; innumerable flocks of these were always careering about the
+ship. A kind of eider-duck provided the crew with very palatable food, which
+relieved the monotony of the salt meat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last the brig, after many turnings, came in sight of Cape Brewster. A
+long-boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan reached the coast, which
+was entirely deserted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool Island, discovered in
+1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the crew gave a hearty cheer when they saw the
+natives running along the shore. Communication was speedily established with
+them, thanks to Penellan&rsquo;s knowledge of a few words of their language,
+and some phrases which the natives themselves had learnt of the whalers who
+frequented those parts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These Greenlanders were small and squat; they were not more than four feet ten
+inches high; they had red, round faces, and low foreheads; their hair, flat and
+black, fell over their shoulders; their teeth were decayed, and they seemed to
+be affected by the sort of leprosy which is peculiar to ichthyophagous tribes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In exchange for pieces of iron and brass, of which they are extremely covetous,
+these poor creatures brought bear furs, the skins of sea-calves, sea-dogs,
+sea-wolves, and all the animals generally known as seals. Jean Cornbutte
+obtained these at a low price, and they were certain to become most useful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The captain then made the natives understand that he was in search of a
+shipwrecked vessel, and asked them if they had heard of it. One of them
+immediately drew something like a ship on the snow, and indicated that a vessel
+of that sort had been carried northward three months before: he also managed to
+make it understood that the thaw and breaking up of the ice-fields had
+prevented the Greenlanders from going in search of it; and, indeed, their very
+light canoes, which they managed with paddles, could not go to sea at that
+time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This news, though meagre, restored hope to the hearts of the sailors, and Jean
+Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuading them to advance farther in the polar
+seas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased a pack of six Esquimaux
+dogs, which were soon acclimatised on board. The ship weighed anchor on the
+morning of the 10th of August, and entered the northern straits under a brisk
+wind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, the sun, in these high
+latitudes, did not set, and reached the highest point of the spirals which it
+described above the horizon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This total absence of night was not, however, very apparent, for the fog, rain,
+and snow sometimes enveloped the ship in real darkness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as possible, began to take
+measures of health. The space between decks was securely enclosed, and every
+morning care was taken to ventilate it with fresh air. The stoves were
+installed, and the pipes so disposed as to yield as much heat as possible. The
+sailors were advised to wear only one woollen shirt over their cotton shirts,
+and to hermetically close their seal cloaks. The fires were not yet lighted,
+for it was important to reserve the wood and charcoal for the most intense
+cold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Warm beverages, such as coffee and tea, were regularly distributed to the
+sailors morning and evening; and as it was important to live on meat, they shot
+ducks and teal, which abounded in these parts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the mainmast a &ldquo;crow&rsquo;s
+nest,&rdquo; a sort of cask staved in at one end, in which a look-out remained
+constantly, to observe the icefields.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island the temperature
+became suddenly colder under the influence of a dry wind. Some indications of
+winter were perceived. The ship had not a moment to lose, for soon the way
+would be entirely closed to her. She advanced across the straits, among which
+lay ice-plains thirty feet thick.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning of the 3rd of September the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; reached
+the head of Gaël-Hamkes Bay. Land was then thirty miles to the leeward. It was
+the first time that the brig had stopped before a mass of ice which offered no
+outlet, and which was at least a mile wide. The saws must now be used to cut
+the ice. Penellan, Aupic, Gradlin, and Turquiette were chosen to work the saws,
+which had been carried outside the ship. The direction of the cutting was so
+determined that the current might carry off the pieces detached from the mass.
+The whole crew worked at this task for nearly twenty hours. They found it very
+painful to remain on the ice, and were often obliged to plunge into the water
+up to their middle; their seal-skin garments protected them but imperfectly
+from the damp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Moreover all excessive toil in those high latitudes is soon followed by an
+overwhelming weariness; for the breath soon fails, and the strongest are forced
+to rest at frequent intervals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last the navigation became free, and the brig was towed beyond the mass
+which had so long obstructed her course.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_06"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br/>
+THE QUAKING OF THE ICE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+For several days the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; struggled against formidable
+obstacles. The crew were almost all the time at work with the saws, and often
+powder had to be used to blow up the enormous blocks of ice which closed the
+way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one solid plain, without outlet
+or passage, surrounding the vessel on all sides, so that she could neither
+advance nor retreat. The temperature remained at an average of sixteen degrees
+below zero. The winter season had come on, with its sufferings and dangers.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image36"></a>
+<img src="images/image36.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one solid
+plain.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was then near the 21st degree of longitude west
+and the 76th degree of latitude north, at the entrance of Gaël-Hamkes Bay.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte made his preliminary preparations for wintering. He first
+searched for a creek whose position would shelter the ship from the wind and
+breaking up of the ice. Land, which was probably thirty miles west, could alone
+offer him secure shelter, and he resolved to attempt to reach it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He set out on the 12th of September, accompanied by André Vasling, Penellan,
+and the two sailors Gradlin and Turquiette. Each man carried provisions for two
+days, for it was not likely that their expedition would occupy a longer time,
+and they were supplied with skins on which to sleep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Snow had fallen in great abundance and was not yet frozen over; and this
+delayed them seriously. They often sank to their waists, and could only advance
+very cautiously, for fear of falling into crevices. Penellan, who walked in
+front, carefully sounded each depression with his iron-pointed staff.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About five in the evening the fog began to thicken, and the little band were
+forced to stop. Penellan looked about for an iceberg which might shelter them
+from the wind, and after refreshing themselves, with regrets that they had no
+warm drink, they spread their skins on the snow, wrapped themselves up, lay
+close to each other, and soon dropped asleep from sheer fatigue.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next morning Jean Cornbutte and his companions were buried beneath a bed of
+snow more than a foot deep. Happily their skins, perfectly impermeable, had
+preserved them, and the snow itself had aided in retaining their heat, which it
+prevented from escaping.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The captain gave the signal of departure, and about noon they at last descried
+the coast, which at first they could scarcely distinguish. High ledges of ice,
+cut perpendicularly, rose on the shore; their variegated summits, of all forms
+and shapes, reproduced on a large scale the phenomena of crystallization.
+Myriads of aquatic fowl flew about at the approach of the party, and the seals,
+lazily lying on the ice, plunged hurriedly into the depths.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo; faith!&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;we shall not want for
+either furs or game!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Those animals,&rdquo; returned Cornbutte, &ldquo;give every evidence of
+having been already visited by men; for in places totally uninhabited they
+would not be so wild.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;None but Greenlanders frequent these parts,&rdquo; said André Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see no trace of their passage, however; neither any encampment nor the
+smallest hut,&rdquo; said Penellan, who had climbed up a high peak. &ldquo;O
+captain!&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;come here! I see a point of land which
+will shelter us splendidly from the north-east wind.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Come along, boys!&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His companions followed him, and they soon rejoined Penellan. The sailor had
+said what was true. An elevated point of land jutted out like a promontory, and
+curving towards the coast, formed a little inlet of a mile in width at most.
+Some moving ice-blocks, broken by this point, floated in the midst, and the
+sea, sheltered from the colder winds, was not yet entirely frozen over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was an excellent spot for wintering, and it only remained to get the ship
+thither. Jean Cornbutte remarked that the neighbouring ice-field was very
+thick, and it seemed very difficult to cut a canal to bring the brig to its
+destination. Some other creek, then, must be found; it was in vain that he
+explored northward. The coast remained steep and abrupt for a long distance,
+and beyond the point it was directly exposed to the attacks of the east-wind.
+The circumstance disconcerted the captain all the more because André Vasling
+used strong arguments to show how bad the situation was. Penellan, in this
+dilemma, found it difficult to convince himself that all was for the best.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But one chance remained&mdash;to seek a shelter on the southern side of the
+coast. This was to return on their path, but hesitation was useless. The little
+band returned rapidly in the direction of the ship, as their provisions had
+begun to run short. Jean Cornbutte searched for some practicable passage, or at
+least some fissure by which a canal might be cut across the ice-fields, all
+along the route, but in vain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Towards evening the sailors came to the same place where they had encamped over
+night. There had been no snow during the day, and they could recognize the
+imprint of their bodies on the ice. They again disposed themselves to sleep
+with their furs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan, much disturbed by the bad success of the expedition, was sleeping
+restlessly, when, at a waking moment, his attention was attracted by a dull
+rumbling. He listened attentively, and the rumbling seemed so strange that he
+nudged Jean Cornbutte with his elbow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; said the latter, whose mind, according to a
+sailor&rsquo;s habit, was awake as soon as his body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Listen, captain.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The noise increased, with perceptible violence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It cannot be thunder, in so high a latitude,&rdquo; said Cornbutte,
+rising.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think we have come across some white bears,&rdquo; replied Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The devil! We have not seen any yet.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Sooner or later, we must have expected a visit from them. Let us give
+them a good reception.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan, armed with a gun, lightly crossed the ledge which sheltered them. The
+darkness was very dense; he could discover nothing; but a new incident soon
+showed him that the cause of the noise did not proceed from around them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte rejoined him, and they observed with terror that this rumbling,
+which awakened their companions, came from beneath them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A new kind of peril menaced them. To the noise, which resembled peals of
+thunder, was added a distinct undulating motion of the ice-field. Several of
+the party lost their balance and fell.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Attention!&rdquo; cried Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; some one responded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Turquiette! Gradlin! where are you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here I am!&rdquo; responded Turquiette, shaking off the snow with which
+he was covered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This way, Vasling,&rdquo; cried Cornbutte to the mate. &ldquo;And
+Gradlin?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Present, captain. But we are lost!&rdquo; shouted Gradlin, in fright.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Penellan. &ldquo;Perhaps we are saved!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hardly had he uttered these words when a frightful cracking noise was heard.
+The ice-field broke clear through, and the sailors were forced to cling to the
+block which was quivering just by them. Despite the helmsman&rsquo;s words,
+they found themselves in a most perilous position, for an ice-quake had
+occurred. The ice masses had just &ldquo;weighed anchor,&rdquo; as the sailors
+say. The movement lasted nearly two minutes, and it was to be feared that the
+crevice would yawn at the very feet of the unhappy sailors. They anxiously
+awaited daylight in the midst of continuous shocks, for they could not, without
+risk of death, move a step, and had to remain stretched out at full length to
+avoid being engulfed.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image37"></a>
+<img src="images/image37.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">they found themselves in a most perilous position, for an
+ice-quake had occurred.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+As soon as it was daylight a very different aspect presented itself to their
+eyes. The vast plain, a compact mass the evening before, was now separated in a
+thousand places, and the waves, raised by some submarine commotion, had broken
+the thick layer which sheltered them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The thought of his ship occurred to Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s mind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My poor brig!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;It must have perished!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The deepest despair began to overcast the faces of his companions. The loss of
+the ship inevitably preceded their own deaths.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Courage, friends,&rdquo; said Penellan. &ldquo;Reflect that this
+night&rsquo;s disaster has opened us a path across the ice, which will enable
+us to bring our ship to the bay for wintering! And, stop! I am not mistaken.
+There is the &lsquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rsquo; a mile nearer to us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All hurried forward, and so imprudently, that Turquiette slipped into a
+fissure, and would have certainly perished, had not Jean Cornbutte seized him
+by his hood. He got off with a rather cold bath.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The brig was indeed floating two miles away. After infinite trouble, the little
+band reached her. She was in good condition; but her rudder, which they had
+neglected to lift, had been broken by the ice.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_07"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br/>
+SETTLING FOR THE WINTER.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Penellan was once more right; all was for the best, and this ice-quake had
+opened a practicable channel for the ship to the bay. The sailors had only to
+make skilful use of the currents to conduct her thither.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 19th of September the brig was at last moored in her bay for wintering,
+two cables&rsquo; lengths from the shore, securely anchored on a good bottom.
+The ice began the next day to form around her hull; it soon became strong
+enough to bear a man&rsquo;s weight, and they could establish a communication
+with land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The rigging, as is customary in arctic navigation, remained as it was; the
+sails were carefully furled on the yards and covered with their casings, and
+the &ldquo;crow&rsquo;s-nest&rdquo; remained in place, as much to enable them
+to make distant observations as to attract attention to the ship.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sun now scarcely rose above the horizon. Since the June solstice, the
+spirals which it had described descended lower and lower; and it would soon
+disappear altogether.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crew hastened to make the necessary preparations. Penellan supervised the
+whole. The ice was soon thick around the ship, and it was to be feared that its
+pressure might become dangerous; but Penellan waited until, by reason of the
+going and coming of the floating ice-masses and their adherence, it had reached
+a thickness of twenty feet; he then had it cut around the hull, so that it
+united under the ship, the form of which it assumed; thus enclosed in a mould,
+the brig had no longer to fear the pressure of the ice, which could make no
+movement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sailors then elevated along the wales, to the height of the nettings, a
+snow wall five or six feet thick, which soon froze as hard as a rock. This
+envelope did not allow the interior heat to escape outside. A canvas tent,
+covered with skins and hermetically closed, was stretched aver the whole length
+of the deck, and formed a sort of walk for the sailors.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They also constructed on the ice a storehouse of snow, in which articles which
+embarrassed the ship were stowed away. The partitions of the cabins were taken
+down, so as to form a single vast apartment forward, as well as aft. This
+single room, besides, was more easy to warm, as the ice and damp found fewer
+corners in which to take refuge. It was also less difficult to ventilate it, by
+means of canvas funnels which opened without.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Each sailor exerted great energy in these preparations, and about the 25th of
+September they were completed. André Vasling had not shown himself the least
+active in this task. He devoted himself with especial zeal to the young
+girl&rsquo;s comfort, and if she, absorbed in thoughts of her poor Louis, did
+not perceive this, Jean Cornbutte did not fail soon to remark it. He spoke of
+it to Penellan; he recalled several incidents which completely enlightened him
+regarding his mate&rsquo;s intentions; André Vasling loved Marie, and reckoned
+on asking her uncle for her hand, as soon as it was proved beyond doubt that
+the castaways were irrevocably lost; they would return then to Dunkirk, and
+André Vasling would be well satisfied to wed a rich and pretty girl, who would
+then be the sole heiress of Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But André, in his impatience, was often imprudent. He had several times
+declared that the search for the castaways was useless, when some new trace
+contradicted him, and enabled Penellan to exult over him. The mate, therefore,
+cordially detested the helmsman, who returned his dislike heartily. Penellan
+only feared that André might sow seeds of dissension among the crew, and
+persuaded Jean Cornbutte to answer him evasively on the first occasion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the preparations for the winter were completed, the captain took measures
+to preserve the health of the crew. Every morning the men were ordered to air
+their berths, and carefully clean the interior walls, to get rid of the
+night&rsquo;s dampness. They received boiling tea or coffee, which are
+excellent cordials to use against the cold, morning and evening; then they were
+divided into hunting-parties, who should procure as much fresh nourishment as
+possible for every day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Each one also took healthy exercise every day, so as not to expose himself
+without motion to the cold; for in a temperature thirty degrees below zero,
+some part of the body might suddenly become frozen. In such cases friction of
+the snow was used, which alone could heal the affected part.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan also strongly advised cold ablutions every morning. It required some
+courage to plunge the hands and face in the snow, which had to be melted
+within. But Penellan bravely set the example, and Marie was not the last to
+imitate him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte did not forget to have readings and prayers, for it was needful
+that the hearts of his comrades should not give way to despair or weariness.
+Nothing is more dangerous in these desolate latitudes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sky, always gloomy, filled the soul with sadness. A thick snow, lashed by
+violent winds, added to the horrors of their situation. The sun would soon
+altogether disappear. Had the clouds not gathered in masses above their heads,
+they might have enjoyed the moonlight, which was about to become really their
+sun during the long polar night; but, with the west winds, the snow did not
+cease to fall. Every morning it was necessary to clear off the sides of the
+ship, and to cut a new stairway in the ice to enable them to reach the
+ice-field. They easily succeeded in doing this with snow-knives; the steps once
+cut, a little water was thrown over them, and they at once hardened.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan had a hole cut in the ice, not far from the ship. Every day the new
+crust which formed over its top was broken, and the water which was drawn
+thence, from a certain depth, was less cold than that at the surface.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All these preparations occupied about three weeks. It was then time to go
+forward with the search. The ship was imprisoned for six or seven months, and
+only the next thaw could open a new route across the ice. It was wise, then, to
+profit by this delay, and extend their explorations northward.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br/>
+PLAN OF THE EXPLORATIONS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+On the 9th of October, Jean Cornbutte held a council to settle the plan of his
+operations, to which, that there might be union, zeal, and courage on the part
+of every one, he admitted the whole crew. Map in hand, he clearly explained
+their situation.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image38"></a>
+<img src="images/image38.jpg" width="422" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The eastern coast of Greenland advances perpendicularly northward. The
+discoveries of the navigators have given the exact boundaries of those parts.
+In the extent of five hundred leagues, which separates Greenland from
+Spitzbergen, no land has been found. An island (Shannon Island) lay a hundred
+miles north of Gaël-Hamkes Bay, where the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was
+wintering.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the Norwegian schooner, as was most probable, had been driven in this
+direction, supposing that she could not reach Shannon Island, it was here that
+Louis Cornbutte and his comrades must have sought for a winter asylum.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This opinion prevailed, despite André Vasling&rsquo;s opposition; and it was
+decided to direct the explorations on the side towards Shannon Island.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Arrangements for this were at once begun. A sledge like that used by the
+Esquimaux had been procured on the Norwegian coast. This was constructed of
+planks curved before and behind, and was made to slide over the snow and ice.
+It was twelve feet long and four wide, and could therefore carry provisions, if
+need were, for several weeks. Fidèle Misonne soon put it in order, working upon
+it in the snow storehouse, whither his tools had been carried. For the first
+time a coal-stove was set up in this storehouse, without which all labour there
+would have been impossible. The pipe was carried out through one of the lateral
+walls, by a hole pierced in the snow; but a grave inconvenience resulted from
+this,&mdash;for the heat of the stove, little by little, melted the snow where
+it came in contact with it; and the opening visibly increased. Jean Cornbutte
+contrived to surround this part of the pipe with some metallic canvas, which is
+impermeable by heat. This succeeded completely.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While Misonne was at work upon the sledge, Penellan, aided by Marie, was
+preparing the clothing necessary for the expedition. Seal-skin boots they had,
+fortunately, in plenty. Jean Cornbutte and André Vasling occupied themselves
+with the provisions. They chose a small barrel of spirits-of-wine for heating a
+portable chafing-dish; reserves of coffee and tea in ample quantity were
+packed; a small box of biscuits, two hundred pounds of pemmican, and some
+gourds of brandy completed the stock of viands. The guns would bring down some
+fresh game every day. A quantity of powder was divided between several bags;
+the compass, sextant, and spy-glass were put carefully out of the way of
+injury.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 11th of October the sun no longer appeared above the horizon. They were
+obliged to keep a lighted lamp in the lodgings of the crew all the time. There
+was no time to lose; the explorations must be begun. For this reason: in the
+month of January it would become so cold that it would be impossible to venture
+out without peril of life. For two months at least the crew would be condemned
+to the most complete imprisonment; then the thaw would begin, and continue till
+the time when the ship should quit the ice. This thaw would, of course, prevent
+any explorations. On the other hand, if Louis Cornbutte and his comrades were
+still in existence, it was not probable that they would be able to resist the
+severities of the arctic winter. They must therefore be saved beforehand, or
+all hope would be lost. André Vasling knew all this better than any one. He
+therefore resolved to put every possible obstacle in the way of the expedition.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The preparations for the journey were completed about the 20th of October. It
+remained to select the men who should compose the party. The young girl could
+not be deprived of the protection of Jean Cornbutte or of Penellan; neither of
+these could, on the other hand, be spared from the expedition.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The question, then, was whether Marie could bear the fatigues of such a
+journey. She had already passed through rough experiences without seeming to
+suffer from them, for she was a sailor&rsquo;s daughter, used from infancy to
+the fatigues of the sea, and even Penellan was not dismayed to see her
+struggling in the midst of this severe climate, against the dangers of the
+polar seas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was decided, therefore, after a long discussion, that she should go with
+them, and that a place should be reserved for her, at need, on the sledge, on
+which a little wooden hut was constructed, closed in hermetically. As for
+Marie, she was delighted, for she dreaded to be left alone without her two
+protectors.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The expedition was thus formed: Marie, Jean Cornbutte, Penellan, André Vasling,
+Aupic, and Fidèle Misonne were to go. Alaine Turquiette remained in charge of
+the brig, and Gervique and Gradlin stayed behind with him. New provisions of
+all kinds were carried; for Jean Cornbutte, in order to carry the exploration
+as far as possible, had resolved to establish depôts along the route, at each
+seven or eight days&rsquo; march. When the sledge was ready it was at once
+fitted up, and covered with a skin tent. The whole weighed some seven hundred
+pounds, which a pack of five dogs might easily carry over the ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 22nd of October, as the captain had foretold, a sudden change took place
+in the temperature. The sky cleared, the stars emitted an extraordinary light,
+and the moon shone above the horizon, no longer to leave the heavens for a
+fortnight. The thermometer descended to twenty-five degrees below zero.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The departure was fixed for the following day.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_09"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br/>
+THE HOUSE OF SNOW.</h2>
+
+<p>
+On the 23rd of October, at eleven in the morning, in a fine moonlight, the
+caravan set out. Precautions were this time taken that the journey might be a
+long one, if necessary. Jean Cornbutte followed the coast, and ascended
+northward. The steps of the travellers made no impression on the hard ice. Jean
+was forced to guide himself by points which he selected at a distance;
+sometimes he fixed upon a hill bristling with peaks; sometimes on a vast
+iceberg which pressure had raised above the plain.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image39"></a>
+<img src="images/image39.jpg" width="421" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The caravan set out
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+At the first halt, after going fifteen miles, Penellan prepared to encamp. The
+tent was erected against an ice-block. Marie had not suffered seriously with
+the extreme cold, for luckily the breeze had subsided, and was much more
+bearable; but the young girl had several times been obliged to descend from her
+sledge to avert numbness from impeding the circulation of her blood. Otherwise,
+her little hut, hung with skins, afforded her all the comfort possible under
+the circumstances.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When night, or rather sleeping-time, came, the little hut was carried under the
+tent, where it served as a bed-room for Marie. The evening repast was composed
+of fresh meat, pemmican, and hot tea. Jean Cornbutte, to avert danger of the
+scurvy, distributed to each of the party a few drops of lemon-juice. Then all
+slept under God&rsquo;s protection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After eight hours of repose, they got ready to resume their march. A
+substantial breakfast was provided to the men and the dogs; then they set out.
+The ice, exceedingly compact, enabled these animals to draw the sledge easily.
+The party sometimes found it difficult to keep up with them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the sailors soon began to suffer one discomfort&mdash;that of being
+dazzled. Ophthalmia betrayed itself in Aupic and Misonne. The moon&rsquo;s
+light, striking on these vast white plains, burnt the eyesight, and gave the
+eyes insupportable pain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was thus produced a very singular effect of refraction. As they walked,
+when they thought they were about to put foot on a hillock, they stepped down
+lower, which often occasioned falls, happily so little serious that Penellan
+made them occasions for bantering. Still, he told them never to take a step
+without sounding the ground with the ferruled staff with which each was
+equipped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About the 1st of November, ten days after they had set out, the caravan had
+gone fifty leagues to the northward. Weariness pressed heavily on all. Jean
+Cornbutte was painfully dazzled, and his sight sensibly changed. Aupic and
+Misonne had to feel their way: for their eyes, rimmed with red, seemed burnt by
+the white reflection. Marie had been preserved from this misfortune by
+remaining within her hut, to which she confined herself as much as possible.
+Penellan, sustained by an indomitable courage, resisted all fatigue. But it was
+André Vasling who bore himself best, and upon whom the cold and dazzling seemed
+to produce no effect. His iron frame was equal to every hardship; and he was
+secretly pleased to see the most robust of his companions becoming discouraged,
+and already foresaw the moment when they would be forced to retreat to the ship
+again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 1st of November it became absolutely necessary to halt for a day or two.
+As soon as the place for the encampment had been selected, they proceeded to
+arrange it. It was determined to erect a house of snow, which should be
+supported against one of the rocks of the promontory. Misonne at once marked
+out the foundations, which measured fifteen feet long by five wide. Penellan,
+Aupic, and Misonne, by aid of their knives, cut out great blocks of ice, which
+they carried to the chosen spot and set up, as masons would have built stone
+walls. The sides of the foundation were soon raised to a height and thickness
+of about five feet; for the materials were abundant, and the structure was
+intended to be sufficiently solid to last several days. The four walls were
+completed in eight hours; an opening had been left on the southern side, and
+the canvas of the tent, placed on these four walls, fell over the opening and
+sheltered it. It only remained to cover the whole with large blocks, to form
+the roof of this temporary structure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After three more hours of hard work, the house was done; and they all went into
+it, overcome with weariness and discouragement. Jean Cornbutte suffered so much
+that he could not walk, and André Vasling so skilfully aggravated his gloomy
+feelings, that he forced from him a promise not to pursue his search farther in
+those frightful solitudes. Penellan did not know which saint to invoke. He
+thought it unworthy and craven to give up his companions for reasons which had
+little weight, and tried to upset them; but in vain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, though it had been decided to return, rest had become so necessary
+that for three days no preparations for departure were made.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 4th of November, Jean Cornbutte began to bury on a point of the coast
+the provisions for which there was no use. A stake indicated the place of the
+deposit, in the improbable event that new explorations should be made in that
+direction. Every day since they had set out similar deposits had been made, so
+that they were assured of ample sustenance on the return, without the trouble
+of carrying them on the sledge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The departure was fixed for ten in the morning, on the 5th. The most profound
+sadness filled the little band. Marie with difficulty restrained her tears,
+when she saw her uncle so completely discouraged. So many useless sufferings!
+so much labour lost! Penellan himself became ferocious in his ill-humour; he
+consigned everybody to the nether regions, and did not cease to wax angry at
+the weakness and cowardice of his comrades, who were more timid and tired, he
+said, than Marie, who would have gone to the end of the world without
+complaint.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling could not disguise the pleasure which this decision gave him. He
+showed himself more attentive than ever to the young girl, to whom he even held
+out hopes that a new search should be made when the winter was over; knowing
+well that it would then be too late!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_10"></a>CHAPTER X.<br/>
+BURIED ALIVE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The evening before the departure, just as they were about to take supper,
+Penellan was breaking up some empty casks for firewood, when he was suddenly
+suffocated by a thick smoke. At the same instant the snow-house was shaken as
+if by an earthquake. The party uttered a cry of terror, and Penellan hurried
+outside.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was entirely dark. A frightful tempest&mdash;for it was not a thaw&mdash;was
+raging, whirlwinds of snow careered around, and it was so exceedingly cold that
+the helmsman felt his hands rapidly freezing. He was obliged to go in again,
+after rubbing himself violently with snow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is a tempest,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;May heaven grant that our house
+may withstand it, for, if the storm should destroy it, we should be
+lost!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the same time with the gusts of wind a noise was heard beneath the frozen
+soil; icebergs, broken from the promontory, dashed away noisily, and fell upon
+one another; the wind blew with such violence that it seemed sometimes as if
+the whole house moved from its foundation; phosphorescent lights, inexplicable
+in that latitude, flashed across the whirlwinds of the snow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Marie! Marie!&rdquo; cried Penellan, seizing the young girl&rsquo;s
+hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We are in a bad case!&rdquo; said Misonne.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And I know not whether we shall escape,&rdquo; replied Aupic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us quit this snow-house!&rdquo; said André Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Impossible!&rdquo; returned Penellan. &ldquo;The cold outside is
+terrible; perhaps we can bear it by staying here.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Give me the thermometer,&rdquo; demanded Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aupic handed it to him. It showed ten degrees below zero inside the house,
+though the fire was lighted. Vasling raised the canvas which covered the
+opening, and pushed it aside hastily; for he would have been lacerated by the
+fall of ice which the wind hurled around, and which fell in a perfect
+hail-storm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, Vasling,&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;will you go out, then? You
+see that we are more safe here.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte; &ldquo;and we must use every effort to
+strengthen the house in the interior.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But a still more terrible danger menaces us,&rdquo; said Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What?&rdquo; asked Jean.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The wind is breaking the ice against which we are propped, just as it
+has that of the promontory, and we shall be either driven out or buried!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That seems doubtful,&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;for it is freezing
+hard enough to ice over all liquid surfaces. Let us see what the temperature
+is.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He raised the canvas so as to pass out his arm, and with difficulty found the
+thermometer again, in the midst of the snow; but he at last succeeded in
+seizing it, and, holding the lamp to it, said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Thirty-two degrees below zero! It is the coldest we have seen here
+yet!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image40"></a>
+<img src="images/image40.jpg" width="420" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">&ldquo;Thirty-two degrees below zero!&rdquo;
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ten degrees more,&rdquo; said Vasling, &ldquo;and the mercury will
+freeze!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A mournful silence followed this remark.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About eight in the morning Penellan essayed a second time to go out to judge of
+their situation. It was necessary to give an escape to the smoke, which the
+wind had several times repelled into the hut. The sailor wrapped his cloak
+tightly about him, made sure of his hood by fastening it to his head with a
+handkerchief, and raised the canvas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The opening was entirely obstructed by a resisting snow. Penellan took his
+staff, and succeeded in plunging it into the compact mass; but terror froze his
+blood when he perceived that the end of the staff was not free, and was checked
+by a hard body!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Cornbutte,&rdquo; said he to the captain, who had come up to him,
+&ldquo;we are buried under this snow!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What say you?&rdquo; cried Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I say that the snow is massed and frozen around us and over us, and that
+we are buried alive!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us try to clear this mass of snow away,&rdquo; replied the captain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two friends buttressed themselves against the obstacle which obstructed the
+opening, but they could not move it. The snow formed an iceberg more than five
+feet thick, and had become literally a part of the house. Jean could not
+suppress a cry, which awoke Misonne and Vasling. An oath burst from the latter,
+whose features contracted. At this moment the smoke, thicker than ever, poured
+into the house, for it could not find an issue.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Malediction!&rdquo; cried Misonne. &ldquo;The pipe of the stove is
+sealed up by the ice!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan resumed his staff, and took down the pipe, after throwing snow on the
+embers to extinguish them, which produced such a smoke that the light of the
+lamp could scarcely be seen; then he tried with his staff to clear out the
+orifice, but he only encountered a rock of ice! A frightful end, preceded by a
+terrible agony, seemed to be their doom! The smoke, penetrating the throats of
+the unfortunate party, caused an insufferable pain, and air would soon fail
+them altogether!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie here rose, and her presence, which inspired Cornbutte with despair,
+imparted some courage to Penellan. He said to himself that it could not be that
+the poor girl was destined to so horrible a death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;you have made too much fire. The room is
+full of smoke!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; stammered Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is evident,&rdquo; resumed Marie, &ldquo;for it is not cold, and it
+is long since we have felt too much heat.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No one dared to tell her the truth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See, Marie,&rdquo; said Penellan bluntly, &ldquo;help us get breakfast
+ready. It is too cold to go out. Here is the chafing-dish, the spirit, and the
+coffee. Come, you others, a little pemmican first, as this wretched storm
+forbids us from hunting.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These words stirred up his comrades.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us first eat,&rdquo; added Penellan, &ldquo;and then we shall see
+about getting off.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan set the example and devoured his share of the breakfast. His comrades
+imitated him, and then drank a cup of boiling coffee, which somewhat restored
+their spirits. Then Jean Cornbutte decided energetically that they should at
+once set about devising means of safety.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling now said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If the storm is still raging, which is probable, we must be buried ten
+feet under the ice, for we can hear no noise outside.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan looked at Marie, who now understood the truth, and did not tremble.
+The helmsman first heated, by the flame of the spirit, the iron point of his
+staff, and successfully introduced it into the four walls of ice, but he could
+find no issue in either. Cornbutte then resolved to cut out an opening in the
+door itself. The ice was so hard that it was difficult for the knives to make
+the least impression on it. The pieces which were cut off soon encumbered the
+hut. After working hard for two hours, they had only hollowed out a space three
+feet deep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some more rapid method, and one which was less likely to demolish the house,
+must be thought of; for the farther they advanced the more violent became the
+effort to break off the compact ice. It occurred to Penellan to make use of the
+chafing-dish to melt the ice in the direction they wanted. It was a hazardous
+method, for, if their imprisonment lasted long, the spirit, of which they had
+but little, would be wanting when needed to prepare the meals. Nevertheless,
+the idea was welcomed on all hands, and was put in execution. They first cut a
+hole three feet deep by one in diameter, to receive the water which would
+result from the melting of the ice; and it was well that they took this
+precaution, for the water soon dripped under the action of the flames, which
+Penellan moved about under the mass of ice. The opening widened little by
+little, but this kind of work could not be continued long, for the water,
+covering their clothes, penetrated to their bodies here and there. Penellan was
+obliged to pause in a quarter of an hour, and to withdraw the chafing-dish in
+order to dry himself. Misonne then took his place, and worked sturdily at the
+task.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In two hours, though the opening was five feet deep, the points of the staffs
+could not yet find an issue without.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is not possible,&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte, &ldquo;that snow could
+have fallen in such abundance. It must have been gathered on this point by the
+wind. Perhaps we had better think of escaping in some other direction.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied Penellan; &ldquo;but if it were only
+for the sake of not discouraging our comrades, we ought to continue to pierce
+the wall where we have begun. We must find an issue ere long.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Will not the spirit fail us?&rdquo; asked the captain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I hope not. But let us, if necessary, dispense with coffee and hot
+drinks. Besides, that is not what most alarms me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it, then, Penellan?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Our lamp is going out, for want of oil, and we are fast exhausting our
+provisions.&mdash;At last, thank God!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan went to replace André Vasling, who was vigorously working for the
+common deliverance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur Vasling,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I am going to take your place;
+but look out well, I beg of you, for every tendency of the house to fall, so
+that we may have time to prevent it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The time for rest had come, and when Penellan had added one more foot to the
+opening, he lay down beside his comrades.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_11"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br/>
+A CLOUD OF SMOKE.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The next day, when the sailors awoke, they were surrounded by complete
+darkness. The lamp had gone out. Jean Cornbutte roused Penellan to ask him for
+the tinder-box, which was passed to him. Penellan rose to light the fire, but
+in getting up, his head struck against the ice ceiling. He was horrified, for
+on the evening before he could still stand upright. The chafing-dish being
+lighted up by the dim rays of the spirit, he perceived that the ceiling was a
+foot lower than before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan resumed work with desperation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this moment the young girl observed, by the light which the chafing-dish
+cast upon Penellan&rsquo;s face, that despair and determination were struggling
+in his rough features for the mastery. She went to him, took his hands, and
+tenderly pressed them.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image41"></a>
+<img src="images/image41.jpg" width="413" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">despair and determination were struggling in his rough
+features for the mastery.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She cannot, must not die thus!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He took his chafing-dish, and once more attacked the narrow opening. He plunged
+in his staff, and felt no resistance. Had he reached the soft layers of the
+snow? He drew out his staff, and a bright ray penetrated to the house of ice!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here, my friends!&rdquo; he shouted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He pushed back the snow with his hands and feet, but the exterior surface was
+not thawed, as he had thought. With the ray of light, a violent cold entered
+the cabin and seized upon everything moist, to freeze it in an instant.
+Penellan enlarged the opening with his cutlass, and at last was able to breathe
+the free air. He fell on his knees to thank God, and was soon joined by Marie
+and his comrades.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A magnificent moon lit up the sky, but the cold was so extreme that they could
+not bear it. They re-entered their retreat; but Penellan first looked about
+him. The promontory was no longer there, and the hut was now in the midst of a
+vast plain of ice. Penellan thought he would go to the sledge, where the
+provisions were. The sledge had disappeared!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cold forced him to return. He said nothing to his companions. It was
+necessary, before all, to dry their clothing, which was done with the
+chafing-dish. The thermometer, held for an instant in the air, descended to
+thirty degrees below zero.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An hour after, Vasling and Penellan resolved to venture outside. They wrapped
+themselves up in their still wet garments, and went out by the opening, the
+sides of which had become as hard as a rock.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We have been driven towards the north-east,&rdquo; said Vasling,
+reckoning by the stars, which shone with wonderful brilliancy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That would not be bad,&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;if our sledge had
+come with us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is not the sledge there?&rdquo; cried Vasling. &ldquo;Then we are
+lost!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us look for it,&rdquo; replied Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went around the hut, which formed a block more than fifteen feet high. An
+immense quantity of snow had fallen during the whole of the storm, and the wind
+had massed it against the only elevation which the plain presented. The entire
+block had been driven by the wind, in the midst of the broken icebergs, more
+than twenty-five miles to the north-east, and the prisoners had suffered the
+same fate as their floating prison. The sledge, supported by another iceberg,
+had been turned another way, for no trace of it was to be seen, and the dogs
+must have perished amid the frightful tempest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling and Penellan felt despair taking possession of them. They did not
+dare to return to their companions. They did not dare to announce this fatal
+news to their comrades in misfortune. They climbed upon the block of ice in
+which the hut was hollowed, and could perceive nothing but the white immensity
+which encompassed them on all sides. Already the cold was beginning to stiffen
+their limbs, and the damp of their garments was being transformed into icicles
+which hung about them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just as Penellan was about to descend, he looked towards André. He saw him
+suddenly gaze in one direction, then shudder and turn pale.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter, Vasling?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;Let us go down and urge the
+captain to leave these parts, where we ought never to have come, at
+once!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Instead of obeying, Penellan ascended again, and looked in the direction which
+had drawn the mate&rsquo;s attention. A very different effect was produced on
+him, for he uttered a shout of joy, and cried,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Blessed be God!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A light smoke was rising in the north-east. There was no possibility of
+deception. It indicated the presence of human beings. Penellan&rsquo;s cries of
+joy reached the rest below, and all were able to convince themselves with their
+eyes that he was not mistaken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without thinking of their want of provisions or the severity of the
+temperature, wrapped in their hoods, they were all soon advancing towards the
+spot whence the smoke arose in the north-east. This was evidently five or six
+miles off, and it was very difficult to take exactly the right direction. The
+smoke now disappeared, and no elevation served as a guiding mark, for the
+ice-plain was one united level. It was important, nevertheless, not to diverge
+from a straight line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Since we cannot guide ourselves by distant objects,&rdquo; said Jean
+Cornbutte, &ldquo;we must use this method. Penellan will go ahead, Vasling
+twenty steps behind him, and I twenty steps behind Vasling. I can then judge
+whether or not Penellan diverges from the straight line.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had gone on thus for half an hour, when Penellan suddenly stopped and
+listened. The party hurried up to him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did you hear nothing?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing!&rdquo; replied Misonne.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is strange,&rdquo; said Penellan. &ldquo;It seemed to me I heard
+cries from this direction.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Cries?&rdquo; replied Marie. &ldquo;Perhaps we are near our destination,
+then.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is no reason,&rdquo; said André Vasling. &ldquo;In these high
+latitudes and cold regions sounds may be heard to a great distance.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;However that may be,&rdquo; replied Jean Cornbutte, &ldquo;let us go
+forward, or we shall be frozen.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No!&rdquo; cried Penellan. &ldquo;Listen!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some feeble sounds&mdash;quite perceptible, however&mdash;were heard. They
+seemed to be cries of distress. They were twice repeated. They seemed like
+cries for help. Then all became silent again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I was not mistaken,&rdquo; said Penellan. &ldquo;Forward!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He began to run in the direction whence the cries had proceeded. He went thus
+two miles, when, to his utter stupefaction, he saw a man lying on the ice. He
+went up to him, raised him, and lifted his arms to heaven in despair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling, who was following close behind with the rest of the sailors, ran
+up and cried,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is one of the castaways! It is our sailor Courtois!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He is dead!&rdquo; replied Penellan. &ldquo;Frozen to death!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte and Marie came up beside the corpse, which was already stiffened
+by the ice. Despair was written on every face. The dead man was one of the
+comrades of Louis Cornbutte!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Forward!&rdquo; cried Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went on for half an hour in perfect silence, and perceived an elevation
+which seemed without doubt to be land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is Shannon Island,&rdquo; said Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A mile farther on they distinctly perceived smoke escaping from a snow-hut,
+closed by a wooden door. They shouted. Two men rushed out of the hut, and
+Penellan recognized one of them as Pierre Nouquet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Pierre!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pierre stood still as if stunned, and unconscious of what was going on around
+him. André Vasling looked at Pierre Nouquet&rsquo;s companion with anxiety
+mingled with a cruel joy, for he did not recognize Louis Cornbutte in him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Pierre! it is I!&rdquo; cried Penellan. &ldquo;These are all your
+friends!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pierre Nouquet recovered his senses, and fell into his old comrade&rsquo;s
+arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And my son&mdash;and Louis!&rdquo; cried Jean Cornbutte, in an accent of
+the most profound despair.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_12"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br/>
+THE RETURN TO THE SHIP.</h2>
+
+<p>
+At this moment a man, almost dead, dragged himself out of the hut and along the
+ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was Louis Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image42"></a>
+<img src="images/image42.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">It was Louis Cornbutte.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My son!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My beloved!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These two cries were uttered at the same time, and Louis Cornbutte fell
+fainting into the arms of his father and Marie, who drew him towards the hut,
+where their tender care soon revived him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My father! Marie!&rdquo; cried Louis; &ldquo;I shall not die without
+having seen you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You will not die!&rdquo; replied Penellan, &ldquo;for all your friends
+are near you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling must have hated Louis Cornbutte bitterly not to extend his hand
+to him, but he did not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pierre Nouquet was wild with joy. He embraced every body; then he threw some
+wood into the stove, and soon a comfortable temperature was felt in the cabin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were two men there whom neither Jean Cornbutte nor Penellan recognized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were Jocki and Herming, the only two sailors of the crew of the Norwegian
+schooner who were left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My friends, we are saved!&rdquo; said Louis. &ldquo;My father! Marie!
+You have exposed yourselves to so many perils!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We do not regret it, my Louis,&rdquo; replied the father. &ldquo;Your
+brig, the &lsquo;Jeune-Hardie,&rsquo; is securely anchored in the ice sixty
+leagues from here. We will rejoin her all together.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;When Courtois comes back he&rsquo;ll be mightily pleased,&rdquo; said
+Pierre Nouquet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A mournful silence followed this, and Penellan apprised Pierre and Louis of
+their comrade&rsquo;s death by cold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My friends,&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;we will wait here until the
+cold decreases. Have you provisions and wood?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes; and we will burn what is left of the &lsquo;Froöern.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;Froöern&rdquo; had indeed been driven to a place forty miles from
+where Louis Cornbutte had taken up his winter quarters. There she was broken up
+by the icebergs floated by the thaw, and the castaways were carried, with a
+part of the <i>débris</i> of their cabin, on the southern shores of Shannon
+Island.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were then five in number&mdash;Louis Cornbutte, Courtois, Pierre Nouquet,
+Jocki, and Herming. As for the rest of the Norwegian crew, they had been
+submerged with the long-boat at the moment of the wreck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Louis Cornbutte, shut in among the ice, realized what must happen, he took
+every precaution for passing the winter. He was an energetic man, very active
+and courageous; but, despite his firmness, he had been subdued by this horrible
+climate, and when his father found him he had given up all hope of life. He had
+not only had to contend with the elements, but with the ugly temper of the two
+Norwegian sailors, who owed him their existence. They were like savages, almost
+inaccessible to the most natural emotions. When Louis had the opportunity to
+talk to Penellan, he advised him to watch them carefully. In return, Penellan
+told him of André Vasling&rsquo;s conduct. Louis could not believe it, but
+Penellan convinced him that after his disappearance Vasling had always acted so
+as to secure Marie&rsquo;s hand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole day was employed in rest and the pleasures of reunion. Misonne and
+Pierre Nouquet killed some sea-birds near the hut, whence it was not prudent to
+stray far. These fresh provisions and the replenished fire raised the spirits
+of the weakest. Louis Cornbutte got visibly better. It was the first moment of
+happiness these brave people had experienced. They celebrated it with
+enthusiasm in this wretched hut, six hundred leagues from the North Sea, in a
+temperature of thirty degrees below zero!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This temperature lasted till the end of the moon, and it was not until about
+the 17th of November, a week after their meeting, that Jean Cornbutte and his
+party could think of setting out. They only had the light of the stars to guide
+them; but the cold was less extreme, and even some snow fell.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor Courtois. It was a sad
+ceremony, which deeply affected his comrades. He was the first of them who
+would not again see his native land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, a sort of sledge for
+carrying the provisions, and the sailors drew it by turns. Jean Cornbutte led
+the expedition by the ways already traversed. Camps were established with great
+promptness when the times for repose came. Jean Cornbutte hoped to find his
+deposits of provisions again, as they had become well-nigh indispensable by the
+addition of four persons to the party. He was therefore very careful not to
+diverge from the route by which he had come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had stranded near the promontory
+where they had all run so many dangers. The dogs, after eating their straps to
+satisfy their hunger, had attacked the provisions in the sledge. These had
+sustained them, and they served to guide the party to the sledge, where there
+was a considerable quantity of provisions left. The little band resumed its
+march towards the bay. The dogs were harnessed to the sleigh, and no event of
+interest attended the return.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was observed that Aupic, André Vasling, and the Norwegians kept aloof, and
+did not mingle with the others; but, unbeknown to themselves, they were
+narrowly watched. This germ of dissension more than once aroused the fears of
+Louis Cornbutte and Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About the 7th of December, twenty days after the discovery of the castaways,
+they perceived the bay where the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was lying. What was
+their astonishment to see the brig perched four yards in the air on blocks of
+ice! They hurried forward, much alarmed for their companions, and were received
+with joyous cries by Gervique, Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in
+good health, though they too had been subjected to formidable dangers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar sea. The ice had been
+broken and displaced, crushed one piece against another, and had seized the bed
+on which the ship rested. Though its specific weight tended to carry it under
+water, the ice had acquired an incalculable force, and the brig had been
+suddenly raised up out of the sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first moments were given up to the happiness inspired by the safe return.
+The exploring party were rejoiced to find everything in good condition, which
+assured them a supportable though it might be a rough winter. The ship had not
+been shaken by her sudden elevation, and was perfectly tight. When the season
+of thawing came, they would only have to slide her down an inclined plane, to
+launch her, in a word, in the once more open sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But a bad piece of news spread gloom on the faces of Jean Cornbutte and his
+comrades. During the terrible gale the snow storehouse on the coast had been
+quite demolished; the provisions which it contained were scattered, and it had
+not been possible to save a morsel of them. When Jean and Louis Cornbutte
+learnt this, they visited the hold and steward&rsquo;s room, to ascertain the
+quantity of provisions which still remained.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The thaw would not come until May, and the brig could not leave the bay before
+that period. They had therefore five winter months before them to pass amid the
+ice, during which fourteen persons were to be fed. Having made his
+calculations, Jean Cornbutte found that he would at most be able to keep them
+alive till the time for departure, by putting each and all on half rations.
+Hunting for game became compulsory to procure food in larger quantity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For fear that they might again run short of provisions, it was decided to
+deposit them no longer in the ground. All of them were kept on board, and beds
+were disposed for the new comers in the common lodging. Turquiette, Gervique,
+and Gradlin, during the absence of the others, had hollowed out a flight of
+steps in the ice, which enabled them easily to reach the ship&rsquo;s deck.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br/>
+THE TWO RIVALS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling had been cultivating the good-will of the two Norwegian sailors.
+Aupic also made one of their band, and held himself apart, with loud
+disapproval of all the new measures taken; but Louis Cornbutte, to whom his
+father had transferred the command of the ship, and who had become once more
+master on board, would listen to no objections from that quarter, and in spite
+of Marie&rsquo;s advice to act gently, made it known that he intended to be
+obeyed on all points.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nevertheless, the two Norwegians succeeded, two days after, in getting
+possession of a box of salt meat. Louis ordered them to return it to him on the
+spot, but Aupic took their part, and André Vasling declared that the
+precautions about the food could not be any longer enforced.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was useless to attempt to show these men that these measures were for the
+common interest, for they knew it well, and only sought a pretext to revolt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians, who drew their cutlasses; but, aided
+by Misonne and Turquiette, he succeeded in snatching the weapons from their
+hands, and gained possession of the salt meat. André Vasling and Aupic, seeing
+that matters were going against them, did not interfere. Louis Cornbutte,
+however, took the mate aside, and said to him,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image43"></a>
+<img src="images/image43.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;André Vasling, you are a wretch! I know your whole conduct, and I know
+what you are aiming at, but as the safety of the whole crew is confided to me,
+if any man of you thinks of conspiring to destroy them, I will stab him with my
+own hand!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Louis Cornbutte,&rdquo; replied the mate, &ldquo;it is allowable for you
+to act the master; but remember that absolute obedience does not exist here,
+and that here the strongest alone makes the law.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marie had never trembled before the dangers of the polar seas; but she was
+terrified by this hatred, of which she was the cause, and the captain&rsquo;s
+vigour hardly reassured her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Despite this declaration of war, the meals were partaken of in common and at
+the same hours. Hunting furnished some ptarmigans and white hares; but this
+resource would soon fail them, with the approach of the terrible cold weather.
+This began at the solstice, on the 22nd of December, on which day the
+thermometer fell to thirty-five degrees below zero. The men experienced pain in
+their ears, noses, and the extremities of their bodies. They were seized with a
+mortal torpor combined with headache, and their breathing became more and more
+difficult.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this state they had no longer any courage to go hunting or to take any
+exercise. They remained crouched around the stove, which gave them but a meagre
+heat; and when they went away from it, they perceived that their blood suddenly
+cooled.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s health was seriously impaired, and he could no longer
+quit his lodging. Symptoms of scurvy manifested themselves in him, and his legs
+were soon covered with white spots. Marie was well, however, and occupied
+herself tending the sick ones with the zeal of a sister of charity. The honest
+fellows blessed her from the bottom of their hearts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 1st of January was one of the gloomiest of these winter days. The wind was
+violent, and the cold insupportable. They could not go out, except at the risk
+of being frozen. The most courageous were fain to limit themselves to walking
+on deck, sheltered by the tent. Jean Cornbutte, Gervique, and Gradlin did not
+leave their beds. The two Norwegians, Aupic, and André Vasling, whose health
+was good, cast ferocious looks at their companions, whom they saw wasting away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis Cornbutte led Penellan on deck, and asked him how much firing was left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The coal was exhausted long ago,&rdquo; replied Penellan, &ldquo;and we
+are about to burn our last pieces of wood.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If we are not able to keep off this cold, we are lost,&rdquo; said
+Louis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There still remains a way&mdash;&rdquo; said Penellan, &ldquo;to burn
+what we can of the brig, from the barricading to the water-line; and we can
+even, if need be, demolish her entirely, and rebuild a smaller craft.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is an extreme means,&rdquo; replied Louis, &ldquo;which it will be
+full time to employ when our men are well. For,&rdquo; he added in a low voice,
+&ldquo;our force is diminishing, and that of our enemies seems to be
+increasing. That is extraordinary.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is true,&rdquo; said Penellan; &ldquo;and unless we took the
+precaution to watch night and day, I know not what would happen to us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us take our hatchets,&rdquo; returned Louis, &ldquo;and make our
+harvest of wood.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Despite the cold, they mounted on the forward barricading, and cut off all the
+wood which was not indispensably necessary to the ship; then they returned with
+this new provision. The fire was started afresh, and a man remained on guard to
+prevent it from going out.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile Louis Cornbutte and his friends were soon tired out. They could not
+confide any detail of the life in common to their enemies. Charged with all the
+domestic cares, their powers were soon exhausted. The scurvy betrayed itself in
+Jean Cornbutte, who suffered intolerable pain. Gervique and Gradlin showed
+symptoms of the same disease. Had it not been for the lemon-juice with which
+they were abundantly furnished, they would have speedily succumbed to their
+sufferings. This remedy was not spared in relieving them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But one day, the 15th of January, when Louis Cornbutte was going down into the
+steward&rsquo;s room to get some lemons, he was stupefied to find that the
+barrels in which they were kept had disappeared. He hurried up and told
+Penellan of this misfortune. A theft had been committed, and it was easy to
+recognize its authors. Louis Cornbutte then understood why the health of his
+enemies continued so good! His friends were no longer strong enough to take the
+lemons away from them, though his life and that of his comrades depended on the
+fruit; and he now sank, for the first time, into a gloomy state of despair.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br/>
+DISTRESS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+On the 20th of January most of the crew had not the strength to leave their
+beds. Each, independently of his woollen coverings, had a buffalo-skin to
+protect him against the cold; but as soon as he put his arms outside the
+clothes, he felt a pain which obliged him quickly to cover them again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, Louis having lit the stove fire, Penellan, Misonne, and André
+Vasling left their beds and crouched around it. Penellan prepared some boiling
+coffee, which gave them some strength, as well as Marie, who joined them in
+partaking of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis Cornbutte approached his father&rsquo;s bedside; the old man was almost
+motionless, and his limbs were helpless from disease. He muttered some
+disconnected words, which carried grief to his son&rsquo;s heart.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Louis,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I am dying. O, how I suffer! Save
+me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis took a decisive resolution. He went up to the mate, and, controlling
+himself with difficulty, said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know where the lemons are, Vasling?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In the steward&rsquo;s room, I suppose,&rdquo; returned the mate,
+without stirring.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You know they are not there, as you have stolen them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are master, Louis Cornbutte, and may say and do anything.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;For pity&rsquo;s sake, André Vasling, my father is dying! You can save
+him,&mdash;answer!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have nothing to answer,&rdquo; replied André Vasling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Wretch!&rdquo; cried Penellan, throwing himself, cutlass in hand, on the
+mate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help, friends!&rdquo; shouted Vasling, retreating.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aupic and the two Norwegian sailors jumped from their beds and placed
+themselves behind him. Turquiette, Penellan, and Louis prepared to defend
+themselves. Pierre Nouquet and Gradlin, though suffering much, rose to second
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are still too strong for us,&rdquo; said Vasling. &ldquo;We do not
+wish to fight on an uncertainty.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sailors were so weak that they dared not attack the four rebels, for, had
+they failed, they would have been lost.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;André Vasling!&rdquo; said Louis Cornbutte, in a gloomy tone, &ldquo;if
+my father dies, you will have murdered him; and I will kill you like a
+dog!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vasling and his confederates retired to the other end of the cabin, and did not
+reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was then necessary to renew the supply of wood, and, in spite of the cold,
+Louis went on deck and began to cut away a part of the barricading, but was
+obliged to retreat in a quarter of an hour, for he was in danger of falling,
+overcome by the freezing air. As he passed, he cast a glance at the thermometer
+left outside, and saw that the mercury was frozen. The cold, then, exceeded
+forty-two degrees below zero. The weather was dry, and the wind blew from the
+north.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 26th the wind changed to the north-east, and the thermometer outside
+stood at thirty-five degrees. Jean Cornbutte was in agony, and his son had
+searched in vain for some remedy with which to relieve his pain. On this day,
+however, throwing himself suddenly on Vasling, he managed to snatch a lemon
+from him which he was about to suck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vasling made no attempt to recover it. He seemed to be awaiting an opportunity
+to accomplish his wicked designs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The lemon-juice somewhat relieved old Cornbutte, but it was necessary to
+continue the remedy. Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons,
+but he did not reply, and soon Penellan heard the wretch say to his
+accomplices,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image44"></a>
+<img src="images/image44.jpg" width="418" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons, but
+he did not reply.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The old fellow is dying. Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet are not much
+better. The others are daily losing their strength. The time is near when their
+lives will belong to us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was then resolved by Louis Cornbutte and his adherents not to wait, and to
+profit by the little strength which still remained to them. They determined to
+act the next night, and to kill these wretches, so as not to be killed by them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The temperature rose a little. Louis Cornbutte ventured to go out with his gun
+in search of some game.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He proceeded some three miles from the ship, and often, deceived by the effects
+of the mirage and refraction, he went farther away than he intended. It was
+imprudent, for recent tracts of ferocious animals were to be seen. He did not
+wish, however, to return without some fresh meat, and continued on his route;
+but he then experienced a strange feeling, which turned his head. It was what
+is called &ldquo;white vertigo.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reflection of the ice hillocks and fields affected him from head to foot,
+and it seemed to him that the dazzling colour penetrated him and caused an
+irresistible nausea. His eye was attacked. His sight became uncertain. He
+thought he should go mad with the glare. Without fully understanding this
+terrible effect, he advanced on his way, and soon put up a ptarmigan, which he
+eagerly pursued. The bird soon fell, and in order to reach it Louis leaped from
+an ice-block and fell heavily; for the leap was at least ten feet, and the
+refraction made him think it was only two. The vertigo then seized him, and,
+without knowing why, he began to call for help, though he had not been injured
+by the fall. The cold began to take him, and he rose with pain, urged by the
+sense of self-preservation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Suddenly, without being able to account for it, he smelt an odour of boiling
+fat. As the ship was between him and the wind, he supposed that this odour
+proceeded from her, and could not imagine why they should be cooking fat, this
+being a dangerous thing to do, as it was likely to attract the white bears.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis returned towards the ship, absorbed in reflections which soon inspired
+his excited mind with terror. It seemed to him as if colossal masses were
+moving on the horizon, and he asked himself if there was not another ice-quake.
+Several of these masses interposed themselves between him and the ship, and
+appeared to rise about its sides. He stopped to gaze at them more attentively,
+when to his horror he recognized a herd of gigantic bears.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These animals had been attracted by the odour of grease which had surprised
+Lonis. He sheltered himself behind a hillock, and counted three, which were
+scaling the blocks on which the &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; was resting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nothing led him to suppose that this danger was known in the interior of the
+ship, and a terrible anguish oppressed his heart. How resist these redoubtable
+enemies? Would André Vasling and his confederates unite with the rest on board
+in the common peril? Could Penellan and the others, half starved, benumbed with
+cold, resist these formidable animals, made wild by unassuaged hunger? Would
+they not be surprised by an unlooked-for attack?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis made these reflections rapidly. The bears had crossed the blocks, and
+were mounting to the assault of the ship. He might then quit the block which
+protected him; he went nearer, clinging to the ice, and could soon see the
+enormous animals tearing the tent with their paws, and leaping on the deck. He
+thought of firing his gun to give his comrades notice; but if these came up
+without arms, they would inevitably be torn in pieces, and nothing showed as
+yet that they were even aware of their new danger.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_15"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br/>
+THE WHITE BEARS.</h2>
+
+<p>
+After Louis Cornbutte&rsquo;s departure, Penellan had carefully shut the cabin
+door, which opened at the foot of the deck steps. He returned to the stove,
+which he took it upon himself to watch, whilst his companions regained their
+berths in search of a little warmth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was then six in the evening, and Penellan set about preparing supper. He
+went down into the steward&rsquo;s room for some salt meat, which he wished to
+soak in the boiling water. When he returned, he found André Vasling in his
+place, cooking some pieces of grease in a basin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I was there before you,&rdquo; said Penellan roughly; &ldquo;why have
+you taken my place?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;For the same reason that you claim it,&rdquo; returned Vasling:
+&ldquo;because I want to cook my supper.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You will take that off at once, or we shall see!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We shall see nothing,&rdquo; said Vasling; &ldquo;my supper shall be
+cooked in spite of you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You shall not eat it, then,&rdquo; cried Penellan, rushing upon Vasling,
+who seized his cutlass, crying,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help, Norwegians! Help, Aupic!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These, in the twinkling of an eye, sprang to their feet, armed with pistols and
+daggers. The crisis had come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan precipitated himself upon Vasling, to whom, no doubt, was confided the
+task to fight him alone; for his accomplices rushed to the beds where lay
+Misonne, Turquiette, and Nouquet. The latter, ill and defenceless, was
+delivered over to Herming&rsquo;s ferocity. The carpenter seized a hatchet,
+and, leaving his berth, hurried up to encounter Aupic. Turquiette and Jocki,
+the Norwegian, struggled fiercely. Gervique and Gradlin, suffering horribly,
+were not even conscious of what was passing around them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nouquet soon received a stab in the side, and Herming turned to Penellan, who
+was fighting desperately. André Vasling had seized him round the body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the beginning of the affray the basin had been upset on the stove, and the
+grease running over the burning coals, impregnated the atmosphere with its
+odour. Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old Jean
+Cornbutte.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image45"></a>
+<img src="images/image45.jpg" width="420" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of
+old Jean Cornbutte.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Vasling, less strong than Penellan, soon perceived that the latter was getting
+the better of him. They were too close together to make use of their weapons.
+The mate, seeing Herming, cried out,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help, Herming!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help, Misonne!&rdquo; shouted Penellan, in his turn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Misonne was rolling on the ground with Aupic, who was trying to stab him
+with his cutlass. The carpenter&rsquo;s hatchet was of little use to him, for
+he could not wield it, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he parried
+the lunges which Aupic made with his knife.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile blood flowed amid the groans and cries. Turquiette, thrown down by
+Jocki, a man of immense strength, had received a wound in the shoulder, and he
+tried in vain to clutch a pistol which hung in the Norwegian&rsquo;s belt. The
+latter held him as in a vice, and it was impossible for him to move.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At Vasling&rsquo;s cry for help, who was being held by Penellan close against
+the door, Herming rushed up. As he was about to stab the Breton&rsquo;s back
+with his cutlass, the latter felled him to the earth with a vigorous kick. His
+effort to do this enabled Vasling to disengage his right arm; but the door,
+against which they pressed with all their weight, suddenly yielded, and Vasling
+fell over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of a sudden a terrible growl was heard, and a gigantic bear appeared on the
+steps. Vasling saw him first. He was not four feet away from him. At the same
+moment a shot was heard, and the bear, wounded or frightened, retreated.
+Vasling, who had succeeded in regaining his feet, set-out in pursuit of him,
+abandoning Penellan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan then replaced the door, and looked around him. Misonne and Turquiette,
+tightly garrotted by their antagonists, had been thrown into a corner, and made
+vain efforts to break loose. Penellan rushed to their assistance, but was
+overturned by the two Norwegians and Aupic. His exhausted strength did not
+permit him to resist these three men, who so clung to him as to hold him
+motionless Then, at the cries of the mate, they hurried on deck, thinking that
+Louis Cornbutte was to be encountered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+André Vasling was struggling with a bear, which he had already twice stabbed
+with his knife. The animal, beating the air with his heavy paws, was trying to
+clutch Vasling; he retiring little by little on the barricading, was apparently
+doomed, when a second shot was heard. The bear fell. André Vasling raised his
+head and saw Louis Cornbutte in the ratlines of the mizen-mast, his gun in his
+hand. Louis had shot the bear in the heart, and he was dead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hate overcame gratitude in Vasling&rsquo;s breast; but before satisfying it, he
+looked around him. Aupic&rsquo;s head was broken by a paw-stroke, and he lay
+lifeless on deck. Jocki, hatchet in hand, was with difficulty parrying the
+blows of the second bear which had just killed Aupic. The animal had received
+two wounds, and still struggled desperately. A third bear was directing his way
+towards the ship&rsquo;s prow. Vasling paid no attention to him, but, followed
+by Herming, went to the aid of Jocki; but Jocki, seized by the beast&rsquo;s
+paws, was crushed, and when the bear fell under the shots of the other two men,
+he held only a corpse in his shaggy arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We are only two, now&rdquo; said Vasling, with gloomy ferocity,
+&ldquo;but if we yield, it will not be without vengeance!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Herming reloaded his pistol without replying. Before all, the third bear must
+be got rid of. Vasling looked forward, but did not see him. On raising his
+eyes, he perceived him erect on the barricading, clinging to the ratlines and
+trying to reach Louis. Vasling let his gun fall, which he had aimed at the
+animal, while a fierce joy glittered in his eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;you owe me that vengeance!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis took refuge in the top of the mast. The bear kept mounting, and was not
+more than six feet from Louis, when he raised his gun and pointed it at the
+animal&rsquo;s heart.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vasling raised his weapon to shoot Louis if the bear fell.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis fired, but the bear did not appear to be hit, for he leaped with a bound
+towards the top. The whole mast shook.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vasling uttered a shout of exultation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Herming,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;go and find Marie! Go and find my
+betrothed!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Herming descended the cabin stairs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the furious beast had thrown himself upon Louis, who was trying to
+shelter himself on the other side of the mast; but at the moment that his
+enormous paw was raised to break his head, Louis, seizing one of the backstays,
+let himself slip down to the deck, not without danger, for a ball hissed by his
+ear when he was half-way down. Vasling had shot at him, and missed him. The two
+adversaries now confronted each other, cutlass in hand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The combat was about to become decisive. To entirely glut his vengeance, and to
+have the young girl witness her lover&rsquo;s death, Vasling had deprived
+himself of Herming&rsquo;s aid. He could now reckon only on himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis and Vasling seized each other by the collar, and held each other with
+iron grip. One of them must fall. They struck each other violently. The blows
+were only half parried, for blood soon flowed from both. Vasling tried to clasp
+his adversary about the neck with his arm, to bring him to the ground. Louis,
+knowing that he who fell was lost, prevented him, and succeeded in grasping his
+two arms; but in doing this he let fall his cutlass.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Piteous cries now assailed his ears; it was Marie&rsquo;s voice. Herming was
+trying to drag her up. Louis was seized with a desperate rage. He stiffened
+himself to bend Vasling&rsquo;s loins; but at this moment the combatants felt
+themselves seized in a powerful embrace. The bear, having descended from the
+mast, had fallen upon the two men. Vasling was pressed against the
+animal&rsquo;s body. Louis felt his claws entering his flesh. The bear, was
+strangling both of them.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image46"></a>
+<img src="images/image46.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen upon
+the two men.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help! help! Herming!&rdquo; cried the mate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Help! Penellan!&rdquo; cried Louis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Steps were heard on the stairs. Penellan appeared, loaded his pistol, and
+discharged it in the bear&rsquo;s ear; he roared; the pain made him relax his
+paws for a moment, and Louis, exhausted, fell motionless on the deck; but the
+bear, closing his paws tightly in a supreme agony, fell, dragging down the
+wretched Vasling, whose body was crushed under him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Penellan hurried to Louis Cornbutte&rsquo;s assistance. No serious wound
+endangered his life: he had only lost his breath for a moment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Marie!&rdquo; he said, opening his eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Saved!&rdquo; replied Perfellan. &ldquo;Herming is lying there with a
+knife-wound in his stomach.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And the bears&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Dead, Louis; dead, like our enemies! But for those beasts we should have
+been lost. Truly, they came to our succour. Let us thank Heaven!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Louis and Penellan descended to the cabin, and Marie fell into their arms.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="winter_16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br/>
+CONCLUSION.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Herming, mortally wounded, had been carried to a berth by Misonne and
+Turquiette, who had succeeded in getting free. He was already at the last gasp
+of death; and the two sailors occupied themselves with Nouquet, whose wound was
+not, happily, a serious one.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But a greater misfortune had overtaken Louis Cornbutte. His father no longer
+gave any signs of life. Had he died of anxiety for his son, delivered over to
+his enemies? Had he succumbed in presence of these terrible events? They could
+not tell. But the poor old sailor, broken by disease, had ceased to live!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this unexpected blow, Louis and Marie fell into a sad despair; then they
+knelt at the bedside and wept, as they prayed for Jean Cornbutte&rsquo;s soul,
+Penellan, Misonne, and Turquiette left them alone in the cabin, and went on
+deck. The bodies of the three bears were carried forward. Penellan decided to
+keep their skins, which would be of no little use; but he did not think for a
+moment of eating their flesh. Besides, the number of men to feed was now much
+decreased. The bodies of Vasling, Aupic, and Jocki, thrown into a hole dug on
+the coast, were soon rejoined by that of Herming. The Norwegian died during the
+night, without repentance or remorse, foaming at the mouth with rage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The three sailors repaired the tent, which, torn in several places, permitted
+the snow to fall on the deck. The temperature was exceedingly cold, and kept so
+till the return of the sun, which did not reappear above the horizon till the
+8th of January.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Jean Cornbutte was buried on the coast. He had left his native land to find his
+son, and had died in these terrible regions! His grave was dug on an eminence,
+and the sailors placed over it a simple wooden cross.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From that day, Louis Cornbutte and his comrades passed through many other
+trials; but the lemons, which they found, restored them to health.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet were able to rise from their berths a fortnight
+after these terrible events, and to take a little exercise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Soon hunting for game became more easy and its results more abundant. The
+water-birds returned in large numbers. They often brought down a kind of wild
+duck which made excellent food. The hunters had no other deprivation to deplore
+than that of two dogs, which they lost in an expedition to reconnoitre the
+state of the icefields, twenty-five miles to the southward.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The month of February was signalized by violent tempests and abundant snows.
+The mean temperature was still twenty-five degrees below zero, but they did not
+suffer in comparison with past hardships. Besides, the sight of the sun, which
+rose higher and higher above the horizon, rejoiced them, as it forecast the end
+of their torments. Heaven had pity on them, for warmth came sooner than usual
+that year. The ravens appeared in March, careering about the ship. Louis
+Cornbutte captured some cranes which had wandered thus far northward. Flocks of
+wild birds were also seen in the south.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The return of the birds indicated a diminution of the cold; but it was not safe
+to rely upon this, for with a change of wind, or in the new or full moons, the
+temperature suddenly fell; and the sailors were forced to resort to their most
+careful precautions to protect themselves against it. They had already burned
+all the barricading, the bulkheads, and a large portion of the bridge. It was
+time, then, that their wintering was over. Happily, the mean temperature of
+March was not over sixteen degrees below zero. Marie occupied herself with
+preparing new clothing for the advanced season of the year.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the equinox, the sun had remained constantly above the horizon. The eight
+months of perpetual daylight had begun. This continual sunlight, with the
+increasing though still quite feeble heat, soon began to act upon the ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Great precautions were necessary in launching the ship from the lofty layer of
+ice which surrounded her. She was therefore securely propped up, and it seemed
+best to await the breaking up of the ice; but the lower mass, resting on a bed
+of already warm water, detached itself little by little, and the ship gradually
+descended with it. Early in April she had reached her natural level.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Torrents of rain came with April, which, extending in waves over the ice-plain,
+hastened still more its breaking up. The thermometer rose to ten degrees below
+zero. Some of the men took off their seal-skin clothes, and it was no longer
+necessary to keep a fire in the cabin stove day and night. The provision of
+spirit, which was not exhausted, was used only for cooking the food.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Soon the ice began to break up rapidly, and it became imprudent to venture upon
+the plain without a staff to sound the passages; for fissures wound in spirals
+here and there. Some of the sailors fell into the water, with no worse result,
+however, than a pretty cold bath.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The seals returned, and they were often hunted, and their grease utilized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The health of the crew was fully restored, and the time was employed in hunting
+and preparations for departure. Louis Cornbutte often examined the channels,
+and decided, in consequence of the shape of the southern coast, to attempt a
+passage in that direction. The breaking up had already begun here and there,
+and the floating ice began to pass off towards the high seas. On the 25th of
+April the ship was put in readiness. The sails, taken from their sheaths, were
+found to be perfectly preserved, and it was with real delight that the sailors
+saw them once more swaying in the wind. The ship gave a lurch, for she had
+found her floating line, and though she would not yet move forward, she lay
+quietly and easily in her natural element.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In May the thaw became very rapid. The snow which covered the coast melted on
+every hand, and formed a thick mud, which made it well-nigh impossible to land.
+Small heathers, rosy and white, peeped out timidly above the lingering snow,
+and seemed to smile at the little heat they received. The thermometer at last
+rose above zero.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Twenty miles off, the ice masses, entirely separated, floated towards the
+Atlantic Ocean. Though the sea was not quite free around the ship, channels
+opened by which Louis Cornbutte wished to profit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 21st of May, after a parting visit to his father&rsquo;s grave, Louis at
+last set out from the bay. The hearts of the honest sailors were filled at once
+with joy and sadness, for one does not leave without regret a place where a
+friend has died. The wind blew from the north, and favoured their departure.
+The ship was often arrested by ice-banks, which were cut with the saws;
+icebergs not seldom confronted her, and it was necessary to blow them up with
+powder. For a month the way was full of perils, which sometimes brought the
+ship to the verge of destruction; but the crew were sturdy, and used to these
+dangerous exigencies. Penellan, Pierre Nouquet, Turquiette, Fidèle Misonne, did
+the work of ten sailors, and Marie had smiles of gratitude for each.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;Jeune-Hardie&rdquo; at last passed beyond the ice in the latitude of
+Jean-Mayer Island. About the 25th of June she met ships going northward for
+seals and whales. She had been nearly a month emerging from the Polar Sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 16th of August she came in view of Dunkirk. She had been signalled by
+the look-out, and the whole population flocked to the jetty. The sailors of the
+ship were soon clasped in the arms of their friends. The old curé received
+Louis Cornbutte and Marie with patriarchal arms, and of the two masses which he
+said on the following day, the first was for the repose of Jean
+Cornbutte&rsquo;s soul, and the second to bless these two lovers, so long
+united in misfortune.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image47"></a>
+<img src="images/image47.jpg" width="416" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">The old curé received Louis Cornbutte and Marie.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="ascent"></a>THE FORTIETH FRENCH ASCENT OF MONT BLANC</h2>
+
+<h3>BY PAUL VERNE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+I arrived at Chamonix on the 18th of August, 1871, fully decided to make the
+ascent of Mont Blanc, cost what it might. My first attempt in August, 1869, was
+not successful. Bad weather had prevented me from mounting beyond the
+Grands-Mulets. This time circumstances seemed scarcely more favourable, for the
+weather, which had promised to be fine on the morning of the 18th, suddenly
+changed towards noon. Mont Blanc, as they say in its neighbourhood, &ldquo;put
+on its cap and began to smoke its pipe,&rdquo; which, to speak more plainly,
+means that it is covered with clouds, and that the snow, driven upon it by a
+south-west wind, formed a long crest on its summit in the direction of the
+unfathomable precipices of the Brenva glaciers. This crest betrayed to
+imprudent tourists the route they would have taken, had they had the temerity
+to venture upon the mountain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next night was very inclement. The rain and wind were violent, and the
+barometer, below the &ldquo;change,&rdquo; remained stationary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Towards daybreak, however, several thunder-claps announced a change in the
+state of the atmosphere. Soon the clouds broke. The chain of the Brevent and
+the Aiguilles-Rouges betrayed itself. The wind, turning to the north-west,
+brought into view above the Col de Balme, which shuts in the valley of Chamonix
+on the north, some light, isolated, fleecy clouds, which I hailed as the
+heralds of fine weather.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Despite this happy augury and a slight rise in the barometer, M. Balmat, chief
+guide of Chamonix, declared to me that I must not yet think of attempting the
+ascent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If the barometer continues to rise,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;and the
+weather holds good, I promise you guides for the day after to-morrow&mdash;
+perhaps for to-morrow. Meanwhile, have patience and stretch your legs; I will
+take you up the Brevent. The clouds are clearing away, and you will be able to
+exactly distinguish the path you will have to go over to reach the summit of
+Mont Blanc. If, in spite of this, you are determined to go, you may try
+it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This speech, uttered in a certain tone, was not very reassuring, and gave food
+for reflection. Still, I accepted his proposition, and he chose as my companion
+the guide Edward Ravanel, a very sedate and devoted fellow, who perfectly knew
+his business.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+M. Donatien Levesque, an enthusiastic tourist and an intrepid pedestrian, who
+had made early in the previous year an interesting and difficult trip in North
+America, was with me. He had already visited the greater part of America, and
+was about to descend the Mississippi to New Orleans, when the war cut short his
+projects and recalled him to France. We had met at Aix-les-Bains, and we had
+determined to make an excursion together in Savoy and Switzerland.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Donatien Levesque knew my intentions, and, as he thought that his health would
+not permit him to attempt so long a journey over the glaciers, it had been
+agreed that he should await my return from Mont Blanc at Chamonix, and should
+make the traditional visit to the Mer-de-Glace by the Montanvers during my
+absence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On learning that I was going to ascend the Brevent, my friend did not hesitate
+to accompany me thither. The ascent of the Brevent is one of the most
+interesting trips that can be made from Chamonix. This mountain, about seven
+thousand six hundred feet high, is only the prolongation of the chain for the
+Aiguilles-Rouges, which runs from the south-west to the north-east, parallel
+with that of Mont Blanc, and forms with it the narrow valley of Chamonix. The
+Brevent, by its central position, exactly opposite the Bossons glacier, enables
+one to watch the parties which undertake the ascent of the giant of the Alps
+nearly throughout their journey. It is therefore much frequented.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We started about seven o&rsquo;clock in the morning. As we went along, I
+thought of the mysterious words of the master-guide; they annoyed me a little.
+Addressing Ravanel, I said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you made the ascent of Mont Blanc?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, monsieur,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;once; and that&rsquo;s enough.
+I am not anxious to do it again.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The deuce!&rdquo; said I. &ldquo;I am going to try it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are free, monsieur; but I shall not go with you. The mountain is not
+good this year. Several attempts have already been made; two only have
+succeeded. As for the second, the party tried the ascent twice. Besides, the
+accident last year has rather cooled the amateurs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;An accident! What accident?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did not monsieur hear of it? This is how it happened. A party,
+consisting of ten guides and porters and two Englishmen, started about the
+middle of September for Mont Blanc. They were seen to reach the summit; then,
+some minutes after, they disappeared in a cloud. When the cloud passed over no
+one was visible. The two travellers, with seven guides and porters, had been
+blown off by the wind and precipitated on the Cormayeur side, doubtless into
+the Brenva glacier. Despite the most vigilant search, their bodies could not be
+found. The other three were found one hundred and fifty yards below the summit,
+near the Petits-Mulets. They had become blocks of ice.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But these travellers must have been imprudent,&rdquo; said I to Ravanel.
+&ldquo;What folly it was to start off so late in the year on such an
+expedition! They should have gone up in August.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I vainly tried to keep up my courage; this lugubrious story would haunt me in
+spite of myself. Happily the weather soon cleared, and the rays of a bright sun
+dissipated the clouds which still veiled Mont Blanc, and, at the same time,
+those which overshadowed my thoughts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our ascent was satisfactorily accomplished. On leaving the chalets of Planpraz,
+situated at a height of two thousand and sixty-two yards, you ascend, on ragged
+masses of rock and pools of snow, to the foot of a rock called &ldquo;The
+Chimney,&rdquo; which is scaled with the feet and hands. Twenty minutes after,
+you reach the summit of the Brevent, whence the view is very fine. The chain of
+Mont Blanc appears in all its majesty. The gigantic mountain, firmly
+established on its powerful strata, seems to defy the tempests which sweep
+across its icy shield without ever impairing it; whilst the crowd of icy
+needles, peaks, mountains, which form its cortege and rise everywhere around
+it, without equalling its noble height, carry the evident traces of a slow
+wasting away.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image48"></a>
+<img src="images/image48.jpg" width="374" height="368" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+From the excellent look-out which we occupied, we could reckon, though still
+imperfectly, the distance to be gone over in order to attain the summit. This
+summit, which from Chamonix appears so near the dome of the Goûter, now took
+its true position. The various plateaus which form so many degrees which must
+be crossed, and which are not visible from below, appeared from the Brevent,
+and threw the so-much-desired summit, by the laws of perspective, still farther
+in the background. The Bossons glacier, in all its splendour, bristled with icy
+needles and blocks (blocks sometimes ten yards square), which seemed, like the
+waves of an angry sea, to beat against the sides of the rocks of the
+Grands-Mulets, the base of which disappeared in their midst.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This marvellous spectacle was not likely to cool my impatience, and I more
+eagerly than ever promised myself to explore this hitherto unknown world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My companion was equally inspired by the scene, and from this moment I began to
+think that I should not have to ascend Mont Blanc alone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We descended again to Chamonix; the weather became milder every hour; the
+barometer continued to ascend; everything seemed to promise well.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next day at sunrise I hastened to the master-guide. The sky was cloudless;
+the wind, almost imperceptible, was north-east. The chain of Mont Blanc, the
+higher summits of which were gilded by the rising sun, seemed to invite the
+many tourists to ascend it. One could not, in all politeness, refuse so kindly
+an invitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+M. Balmat, after consulting his barometer, declared the ascent to be
+practicable, and promised me the two guides and the porter prescribed in our
+agreement. I left the selection of these to him. But an unexpected incident
+disturbed my preparations for departure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As I came out of M. Balmat&rsquo;s office, I met Ravanel, my guide of the day
+before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is monsieur going to Mont Blanc?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, certainly,&rdquo; said I. &ldquo;Is it not a favourable time to
+go?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He reflected a few moments, and then said with an embarrassed air,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur, you are my traveller; I accompanied you yesterday to the
+Brevent, so I cannot leave you now; and, since you are going up, I will go with
+you, if you will kindly accept my services. It is your right, for on all
+dangerous journeys the traveller can choose his own guides. Only, if you accept
+my offer, I ask that you will also take my brother, Ambrose Ravanel, and my
+cousin, Gaspard Simon. These are young, vigorous fellows; they do not like the
+ascent of Mont Blanc better than I do; but they will not shirk it, and I answer
+for them to you as I would for myself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This young man inspired me with all confidence. I accepted his proposition, and
+hastened to apprise M. Balmat of the choice I had made. But M. Balmat had
+meanwhile been selecting guides for me according to their turn on his list. One
+only had accepted, Edward Simon; the answer of another, Jean Carrier, had not
+yet been received, though it was scarcely doubtful, as this man had already
+made the ascent of Mont Blanc twenty-nine times. I thus found myself in an
+embarrassing position. The guides I had chosen were all from Argentière, a
+village six kilometres from Chamonix. Those of Chamonix accused Ravanel of
+having influenced me in favour of his family, which was contrary to the
+regulations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To cut the discussion short, I took Edward Simon, who had already made his
+preparations as a third guide. He would be useless if I went up alone, but
+would become indispensable if my friend also ascended.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This settled, I went to tell Donatien Levesque. I found him sleeping the sleep
+of the just, for he had walked over sixteen kilometres on a mountain the
+evening before. I had some difficulty in waking him; but on removing first his
+sheets, then his pillows, and finally his mattress, I obtained some result, and
+succeeded in making him understand that I was preparing for the hazardous trip.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said he, yawning, &ldquo;I will go with you as far as the
+Grands-Mulets, and await your return there.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Bravo!&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;I have just one guide too many, and I
+will attach him to your person.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We bought the various articles indispensable to a journey across the glaciers.
+Iron-spiked alpenstocks, coarse cloth leggings, green spectacles fitting
+tightly to the eyes, furred gloves, green veils,&mdash;nothing was forgotten.
+We each had excellent triple-soled shoes, which our guides roughed for the ice.
+This last is an important detail, for there are moments in such an expedition
+when the least slip is fatal, not only to yourself, but to the whole party with
+you.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our preparations and those of the guides occupied nearly two hours. About eight
+o&rsquo;clock our mules were brought; and we set out at last for the chalet of
+the Pierre-Pointue, situated at a height of six thousand five hundred feet, or
+three thousand above the valley of Chamonix, not far from eight thousand five
+hundred feet below the summit of Mont Blanc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On reaching the Pierre-Pointue, about ten o&rsquo;clock, we found there a
+Spanish tourist, M. N&mdash;&mdash;, accompanied by two guides and a porter.
+His principal guide, Paccard, a relative of the Doctor Paccard who made, with
+Jacques Balmat, the first ascent of Mont Blanc, had already been to the summit
+eighteen times. M. N&mdash;&mdash; was also getting himself ready for the
+ascent. He had travelled much in America, and had crossed the Cordilleras to
+Quito, passing through snow at the highest points. He therefore thought that he
+could, without great difficulty, carry through his new enterprise; but in this
+he was mistaken. He had reckoned without the steepness of the inclinations
+which he had to cross, and the rarefaction of the air. I hasten to add, to his
+honour, that, since he succeeded in reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, it was
+due to a rare moral energy, for his physical energies had long before deserted
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We breakfasted as heartily as possible at the Pierre-Pointue; this being a
+prudent precaution, as the appetite usually fails higher up among the ice.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image49"></a>
+<img src="images/image49.jpg" width="376" height="370" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">View Of Bossons Glacier, Near The Grands-Mulets.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+M. N&mdash;&mdash; set out at eleven, with his guides, for the Grands-Mulets.
+We did not start until noon. The mule-road ceases at the Pierre-Pointue. We had
+then to go up a very narrow zigzag path, which follows the edge of the Bossons
+glacier, and along the base of the Aiguille-du-Midi. After an hour of difficult
+climbing in an intense heat, we reached a point called the
+Pierre-a-l&rsquo;Echelle, eight thousand one hundred feet high. The guides and
+travellers were then bound together by a strong rope, with three or four yards
+between each. We were about to advance upon the Bossons glacier. This glacier,
+difficult at first, presents yawning and apparently bottomless crevasses on
+every hand. The vertical sides of these crevasses are of a glaucous and
+uncertain colour, but too seducing to the eye; when, approaching closely, you
+succeed in looking into their mysterious depths, you feel yourself irresistibly
+drawn towards them, and nothing seems more natural than to go down into them.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image50"></a>
+<img src="images/image50.jpg" width="376" height="372" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Passage Of The Bossons Glacier.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+You advance slowly, passing round the crevasses, or on the snow bridges of
+dubious strength. Then the rope plays its part. It is stretched out over these
+dangerous transits; if the snow bridge yields, the guide or traveller remains
+hanging over the abyss. He is drawn beyond it, and gets off with a few bruises.
+Sometimes, if the crevasse is very wide but not deep, he descends to the bottom
+and goes up on the other side. In this case it is necessary to cut steps in the
+ice, and the two leading guides, armed with a sort of hatchet, perform this
+difficult and perilous task. A special circumstance makes the entrance on the
+Bossons dangerous. You go upon the glacier at the base of the Aiguille-du-Midi,
+opposite a passage whence stone avalanches often descend. This passage is
+nearly six hundred feet wide. It must be crossed quickly, and as you pass, a
+guide stands on guard to avert the danger from you if it presents itself. In
+1869 a guide was killed on this spot, and his body, hurled into space by a
+stone, was dashed to pieces on the rocks nine hundred feet below.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image51"></a>
+<img src="images/image51.jpg" width="366" height="368" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Crevasse and Bridge.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+We were warned, and hastened our steps as fast as our inexperience would
+permit; but on leaving this dangerous zone, another, not less dangerous,
+awaited us. This was the region of the &ldquo;seracs,&rdquo;&mdash;immense
+blocks of ice, the formation of which is not as yet explained.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image52"></a>
+<img src="images/image52.jpg" width="378" height="364" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">View of the &ldquo;Seracs&rdquo;.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+These are usually situated on the edge of a plateau, and menace the whole
+valley beneath them. A slight movement of the glacier, or even a light
+vibration of the temperature, impels their fall, and occasions the most serious
+accidents.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image53"></a>
+<img src="images/image53.jpg" width="374" height="370" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">View of the &ldquo;Seracs&rdquo;.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Messieurs, keep quiet, and let us pass over quickly.&rdquo; These words,
+roughly spoken by one of the guides, checked our conversation. We went across
+rapidly and in silence. We finally reached what is called the
+&ldquo;Junction&rdquo; (which might more properly be called the violent
+&ldquo;Separation&rdquo;), by the Côte Mountain, the Bossons and Tacconay
+glaciers. At this point the scene assumes an indescribable character; crevasses
+with changing colours, ice-needles with sharp forms, seracs suspended and
+pierced with the light, little green lakes compose a chaos which surpasses
+everything that one can imagine. Added to this, the rush of the torrents at the
+foot of the glaciers, the sinister and repeated crackings of the blocks which
+detached themselves and fell in avalanches down the crevasses, the trembling of
+the ground which opened beneath our feet, gave a singular idea of those
+desolate places the existence of which only betrays itself by destruction and
+death.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image54"></a>
+<img src="images/image54.jpg" width="374" height="366" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Passage of the &ldquo;Junction&rdquo;.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+After passing the &ldquo;Junction&rdquo; you follow the Tacconay glacier for
+awhile, and reach the side which leads to the Grands-Mulets. This part, which
+is very sloping, is traversed in zigzags. The leading guide takes care to trace
+them at an angle of thirty degrees, when there is fresh snow, to avoid the
+avalanches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After crossing for three hours on the ice and snow, we reach the Grands-Mulets,
+rocks six hundred feet high, overlooking on one side the Bossons glacier, and
+on the other the sloping plains which extend to the base of the Goûter dome.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image55"></a>
+<img src="images/image55.jpg" width="364" height="368" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Hut At The Grands-Mulets.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+A small hut, constructed by the guides near the summit of the first rock, gives
+a shelter to travellers, and enables them to await a favourable moment for
+setting out for the summit of Mont Blanc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They dine there as well as they can, and sleep too; but the proverb, &ldquo;He
+who sleeps dines,&rdquo; does not apply to this elevation, for one cannot
+seriously do the one or the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said I to Levesque, after a pretence of a meal, &ldquo;did
+I exaggerate the splendour of the landscape, and do you regret having come thus
+far?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I regret it so little,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;that I am determined to
+go on to the summit. You may count on me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very good,&rdquo; said I. &ldquo;But you know the worst is yet to
+come.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nonsense!&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;we will go to the end. Meanwhile,
+let us observe the sunset, which must be magnificent.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The heavens had remained wonderfully clear. The chain of the Brevent and the
+Aiguilles-Rouges stretched out at our feet. Beyond, the Fiz rocks and the
+Aiguille-de-Varan rose above the Sallanche Valley, and the whole chains of Mont
+Fleury and the Reposoir appeared in the background. More to the right we could
+descry the snowy summit of the Buet, and farther off the Dents-du-Midi, with
+its five tusks, overhanging the valley of the Rhone. Behind us were the eternal
+snows of the Goûter, Mont Maudit, and, lastly, Mont Blanc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Little by little the shadows invaded the valley of Chamonix, and gradually each
+of the summits which overlook it on the west. The chain of Mont Blanc alone
+remained luminous, and seemed encircled by a golden halo. Soon the shadows
+crept up the Goûter and Mont Maudit. They still respected the giant of the
+Alps. We watched this gradual disappearance of the light with admiration. It
+lingered awhile on the highest summit, and gave us the foolish hope that it
+would not depart thence. But in a few moments all was shrouded in gloom, and
+the livid and ghastly colours of death succeeded the living hues. I do not
+exaggerate. Those who love mountains will comprehend me.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image56"></a>
+<img src="images/image56.jpg" width="370" height="368" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+After witnessing this sublime scene, we had only to await the moment of
+departure. We were to set out again at two in the morning. Now, therefore, we
+stretched ourselves upon our mattresses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was useless to think of sleeping, much more of talking. We were absorbed by
+more or less gloomy thoughts. It was the night before the battle, with the
+difference that nothing forced us to engage in the struggle. Two sorts of ideas
+struggled in the mind. It was the ebb and flow of the sea, each in its turn.
+Objections to the venture were not wanting. Why run so much danger? If we
+succeeded, of what advantage would it be? If an accident happened, how we
+should regret it! Then the imagination set to work; all the mountain
+catastrophes rose in the fancy. I dreamed of snow bridges giving way under my
+feet, of being precipitated in the yawning crevasses, of hearing the terrible
+noises of the avalanches detaching themselves and burying me, of disappearing,
+of cold and death seizing upon me, and of struggling with desperate effort, but
+in vain!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A sharp, horrible noise is heard at this moment
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The avalanche! the avalanche!&rdquo; I cry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter with you?&rdquo; asks Levesque, starting up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alas! It is a piece of furniture which, in the struggles of my nightmare, I
+have just broken. This very prosaic avalanche recalls me to the reality. I
+laugh at my terrors, a contrary current of thought gets the upper hand, and
+with it ambitious ideas. I need only use a little effort to reach this summit,
+so seldom attained. It is a victory, as others are. Accidents are
+rare&mdash;very rare! Do they ever take place at all? The spectacle from the
+summit must be so marvellous! And then what satisfaction there would be in
+having accomplished what so many others dared not undertake!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My courage was restored by these thoughts, and I calmly awaited the moment of
+departure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About one o&rsquo;clock the steps and voices of the guides, and the noise of
+opening doors, indicated that that moment was approaching. Soon Ravanel came in
+and said, &ldquo;Come, messieurs, get up; the weather is magnificent. By ten
+o&rsquo;clock we shall be at the&rsquo; summit.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At these words we leaped from our beds, and hurried to make our toilet. Two of
+the guides, Ambrose Ravanel and his cousin Simon, went on ahead to explore the
+road. They were provided with a lantern, which was to show us the way to go,
+and with hatchets to make the path and cut steps in the very difficult spots.
+At two o&rsquo;clock we tied ourselves one to another: the order of march was,
+Edward Ravanel before me, and at the head; behind me Edward Simon, then
+Donatien Levesque; after him our two porters (for we took along with us the
+domestic of the Grands-Mulets hut as a second), and M. N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s
+party.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The guides and porters having distributed the provisions between them, the
+signal for departure was given, and we set off in the midst of profound
+darkness, directing ourselves according to the lantern held up at some distance
+ahead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was something solemn in this setting out. But few words were spoken; the
+vagueness of the unknown impressed us, but the new and strange situation
+excited us, and rendered us insensible to its dangers. The landscape around was
+fantastic. But few outlines were distinguishable. Great white confused masses,
+with blackish spots here and there, closed the horizon. The celestial vault
+shone with remarkable brilliancy. We could perceive, at an uncertain distance,
+the lantern of the guides who were ahead, and the mournful silence of the night
+was only disturbed by the dry, distant noise of the hatchet cutting steps in
+the ice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We crept slowly and cautiously over the first ascent, going towards the base of
+the Goûter. After ascending laboriously for two hours, we reached the first
+plateau, called the &ldquo;Petit-Plateau,&rdquo; at the foot of the Goûter, at
+a height of about eleven thousand feet. We rested a few moments and then
+proceeded, turning now to the left and going towards the edge which conducts to
+the &ldquo;Grand-Plateau.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But our party had already lessened in number: M. N&mdash;&mdash;, with his
+guides, had stopped; his fatigue obliged him to take a longer rest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About half-past four dawn began to whiten the horizon. At this moment we were
+ascending the slope which leads to the Grand-Plateau, which we soon safely
+reached. We were eleven thousand eight hundred feet high. We had well earned
+our breakfast. Wonderful to relate, Levesque and I had a good appetite. It was
+a good sign. We therefore installed ourselves on the snow, and made such a
+repast as we could. Our guides joyfully declared that success was certain. As
+for me, I thought they resumed work too quickly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+M. N&mdash;&mdash; rejoined us before long. We urged him to take some
+nourishment. He peremptorily refused. He felt the contraction of the stomach
+which is so common in those parts, and was almost broken down.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Grand-Plateau deserves a special description. On the right rises the dome
+of the Goûter. Opposite it is Mont Blanc, rearing itself two thousand seven
+hundred feet above it. On the left are the &ldquo;Rouges&rdquo; rocks and Mont
+Maudit. This immense circle is one mass of glittering whiteness. On every side
+are vast crevasses. It was in one of these that three of the guides who
+accompanied Dr. Hamel and Colonel Anderson, in 1820, were swallowed up. In 1864
+another guide met his death there.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This plateau must be crossed with great caution, as the crevasses are often
+hidden by the snow; besides, it is often swept by avalanches. On the 13th of
+October, 1866, an English traveller and three of his guides were buried under a
+mass of ice that fell from Mont Blanc. After a perilous search, the bodies of
+the three guides were found. They were expecting every moment to find that of
+the Englishman, when a fresh avalanche fell upon the first, and forced the
+searchers to abandon their task.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image57"></a>
+<img src="images/image57.jpg" width="368" height="368" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Crossing the Plateau.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Three routes presented themselves to us. The ordinary route, which passes
+entirely to the left, by the base of Mont Maudit, through a sort of valley
+called the &ldquo;Corridor,&rdquo; leads by gentle ascents to the top of the
+first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second, less frequented, turns to the right by the Goûter, and leads to the
+summit of Mont Blanc by the ridge which unites these two mountains. You must
+pursue for three hours a giddy path, and scale a height of moving ice, called
+the &ldquo;Camel&rsquo;s Hump.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The third route consists in ascending directly to the summit of the Corridor,
+crossing an ice-wall seven hundred and fifty feet high, which extends along the
+first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The guides declared the first route impracticable, on account of the recent
+crevasses which entirely obstructed it; the choice between the two others
+remained. I thought the second, by the &ldquo;Camel&rsquo;s Hump,&rdquo; the
+best; but it was regarded as too dangerous, and it was decided that we should
+attack the ice-wall conducting to the summit of the Corridor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When a decision is made, it is best to execute it without delay. We crossed the
+Grand-Plateau, and reached the foot of this really formidable obstacle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The nearer we approached the more nearly vertical became its slope. Besides,
+several crevasses which we had not perceived yawned at its base.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We nevertheless began the difficult ascent. Steps were begun by the foremost
+guide, and completed by the next. We ascended two steps a minute. The higher we
+went the more the steepness increased. Our guides themselves discussed what
+route to follow; they spoke in patois, and did not always agree, which was not
+a good sign. At last the slope became such that our hats touched the legs of
+the guide just before us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A hailstorm of pieces of ice, produced by the cutting of the steps, blinded us,
+and made our progress still more difficult. Addressing one of the foremost
+guides, I said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, it&rsquo;s very well going up this way! It is not an open road, I
+admit: still, it is practicable. Only how are you going to get us down
+again?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;O monsieur,&rdquo; replied Ambrose Ravanel, &ldquo;we will take another
+route going back.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last, after violent effort for two hours, and after having cut more than
+four hundred steps in this terrible mass, we reached the summit of the Corridor
+completely exhausted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We then crossed a slightly sloping plateau of snow, and passed along the side
+of an immense crevasse which obstructed our way. We had scarcely turned it when
+we uttered a cry of admiration. On the right, Piedmont and the plains of
+Lombardy were at our feet. On the left, the Pennine Alps and the Oberland,
+crowned with snow, raised their magnificent crests. Monte Rosa and the Cervin
+alone still rose above us, but soon we should overlook them in our turn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This reflection recalled us to the end of our expedition. We turned our gaze
+towards Mont Blanc, and stood stupefied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Heavens! how far off it is still!&rdquo; cried Levesque.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And how high!&rdquo; I added.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a discouraging sight. The famous wall of the ridge, so much feared, but
+which must be crossed, was before us, with its slope of fifty degrees. But
+after scaling the wall of the Corridor, it did not terrify us. We rested for
+half an hour and then continued our tramp; but we soon perceived that the
+atmospheric conditions were no longer the same. The sun shed his warm rays upon
+us; and their reflection on the snow added to our discomfort. The rarefaction
+of the air began to be severely felt. We advanced slowly, making frequent
+halts, and at last reached the plateau which overlooks the second escarpment of
+the Rouges rocks. We were at the foot of Mont Blanc. It rose, alone and
+majestic, at a height of six hundred feet above us. Monte Rosa itself had
+lowered its flag!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Levesque and I were completely exhausted. As for M. N&mdash;&mdash;, who had
+rejoined us at the summit of the Corridor, it might be said that he was
+insensible to the rarefaction of the air, for he no longer breathed, so to
+speak.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We began at last to scale the last stage. We made ten steps and then stopped,
+finding it absolutely impossible to proceed. A painful contraction of the
+throat made our breathing exceedingly difficult. Our legs refused to carry us;
+and I then understood the picturesque expression of Jacques Balmat, when, in
+narrating his first ascent, he said that &ldquo;his legs seemed only to be kept
+up by his trousers!&rdquo; But our mental was superior to our physical force;
+and if the body faltered, the heart, responding &ldquo;Excelsior!&rdquo;
+stifled its desperate complaint, and urged forward our poor worn-out mechanism,
+despite itself. We thus passed the Petits-Mulets, and after two hours of
+superhuman efforts finally overlooked the entire chain. Mont Blanc was under
+our feet!
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image58"></a>
+<img src="images/image58.jpg" width="364" height="366" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Summit of Mont Blanc.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It was fifteen minutes after twelve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The pride of success soon dissipated our fatigue. We had at last conquered this
+formidable crest. We overlooked all the others, and the thoughts which Mont
+Blanc alone can inspire affected us with a deep emotion. It was ambition
+satisfied; and to me, at least, a dream realized!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe. Several mountains in Asia and
+America are higher; but of what use would it be to attempt them, if, in the
+absolute impossibility of reaching their summit, you must be content to remain
+at a lesser height?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Others, such as Mont Cervin, are more difficult of access; but we perceived the
+summit of Mont Cervin twelve hundred feet below us!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then, what a view to reward us for our troubles and dangers!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sky, still pure, had assumed a deep-blue tint. The sun, despoiled of a part
+of his rays, had lost his brilliancy, as if in a partial eclipse. This effect,
+due to the rarefaction of the air, was all the more apparent as the surrounding
+eminences and plains were inundated with light. No detail of the scene,
+therefore, escaped our notice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the south-east, the mountains of Piedmont, and farther off the plains of
+Lombardy, shut in our horizon. Towards the west, the mountains of Savoy and
+Dauphiné; beyond, the valley of the Rhone. In the north-west, the Lake of
+Geneva and the Jura; then, descending towards the south, a chaos of mountains
+and glaciers, beyond description, overlooked by the masses of Monte Rosa, the
+Mischabelhoerner, the Cervin, the Weishorn&mdash;the most beautiful of crests,
+as Tyndall calls it&mdash;and farther off by the Jungfrau, the Monck, the
+Eiger, and the Finsteraarhorn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The extent of our range of vision was not less than sixty leagues. We therefore
+saw at least one hundred and twenty leagues of country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A special circumstance happened to enhance the beauty of the scene. Clouds
+formed on the Italian side and invaded the valleys of the Pennine Alps without
+veiling their summits. We soon had under our eyes a second sky, a lower sky, a
+sea of clouds, whence emerged a perfect archipelago of peaks and snow-wrapped
+mountains. There was something magical in it, which the greatest poets could
+scarcely describe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The summit of Mont Blanc forms a ridge from southwest to north-east, two
+hundred paces long and a yard wide at the culminating point. It seemed like a
+ship&rsquo;s hull overturned, the keel in the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Strangely enough, the temperature was very high&mdash;ten degrees above zero.
+The air was almost still. Sometimes we felt a light breeze.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first care of our guides was to place us all in a line on the crest
+opposite Chamonix, that we might be easily counted from below, and thus make it
+known that no one of us had been lost. Many of the tourists had ascended the
+Brevent and the Jardin to watch our ascent. They might now be assured of its
+success.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But to ascend was not all; we must think also of going down. The most
+difficult, if not most wearisome, task remained; and then one quits with regret
+a summit attained at the price of so much toil. The energy which urges you to
+ascend, the need, so natural and imperious, of overcoming, now fails you. You
+go forward listlessly, often looking behind you!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was necessary, however, to decide, and, after a last traditional libation of
+champagne, we put ourselves in motion. We had remained on the summit an hour.
+The order of march was now changed. M. N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s party led off;
+and, at the suggestion of his guide Paccard, we were all tied together with a
+rope. M. N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s fatigue, which his strength, but not his will,
+betrayed, made us fear falls on his part which would require the help of the
+whole party to arrest. The event justified our foreboding. On descending the
+side of the wall, M. N&mdash;&mdash; made several false steps. His guides, very
+vigorous and skilful, were happily able to check him; but ours, feeling, with
+reason, that the whole party might be dragged down, wished to detach us from
+the rope. Levesque and I opposed this; and, by taking great precautions, we
+safely reached the base of this giddy ledge. There was no room for illusions.
+The almost bottomless abyss was before us, and the pieces of detached ice,
+which bounded by us with the rapidity of an arrow, clearly showed us the route
+which the party would take if a slip were made.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Once this terrible gap crossed, I began to breathe again. We descended the
+gradual slopes which led to the summit of the Corridor. The snow, softened by
+the heat, yielded beneath our feet; we sank in it to the knees, which made our
+progress very fatiguing. We steadily followed the path by which we ascended in
+the morning, and I was astonished when Gaspard Simon, turning towards me,
+said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Monsieur, we cannot take any other road, for the Corridor is
+impracticable, and we must descend by the wall which we climbed up this
+morning.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I told Levesque this disagreeable news.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Only,&rdquo; added Gaspard Simon, &ldquo;I do not think we can all
+remain tied together. However, we will see how M. N&mdash;&mdash; bears it at
+first.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We advanced towards this terrible wall! M. N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s party began
+to descend, and we heard Paccard talking rapidly to him. The inclination became
+so steep that we perceived neither him nor his guides, though we were bound
+together by the same rope.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as Gaspard Simon, who went before me, could comprehend what was
+passing, he stopped, and after exchanging some words in <i>patois</i> with his
+comrades, declared that we must detach ourselves from M.
+N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s party.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We are responsible for you,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;but we cannot be
+responsible for others; and if they slip, they will drag us after them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Saying this, he got loose from the rope. We were very unwilling to take this
+step; but our guides were inflexible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We then proposed to send two of them to help M. N&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s guides.
+They eagerly consented; but having no rope they could not put this plan into
+execution.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We then began this terrible descent. Only one of us moved at a time, and when
+each took a step the others buttressed themselves ready to sustain the shock if
+he slipped. The foremost guide, Edward Ravanel, had the most perilous task; it
+was for him to make the steps over again, now more or less worn away by the
+ascending caravan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We progressed slowly, taking the most careful precautions. Our route led us in
+a right line to one of the crevasses which opened at the base of the
+escarpment. When we were going up we could not look at this crevasse, but in
+descending we were fascinated by its green and yawning sides. All the blocks of
+ice detached by our passage went the same way, and after two or three bounds,
+ingulfed themselves in the crevasse, as in the jaws of the minotaur, only the
+jaws of the minotaur closed after each morsel, while the unsatiated crevasse
+yawned perpetually, and seemed to await, before closing, a larger mouthful. It
+was for us to take care that we should not be this mouthful, and all our
+efforts were made for this end. In order to withdraw ourselves from this
+fascination, this moral giddiness, if I may so express myself, we tried to joke
+about the dangerous position in which we found ourselves, and which even a
+chamois would not have envied us. We even got so far as to hum one of
+Offenbach&rsquo;s couplets; but I must confess that our jokes were feeble, and
+that we did not sing the airs correctly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I even thought I discovered Levesque obstinately setting the words of
+&ldquo;Barbe-Bleue&rdquo; to one of the airs in &ldquo;Il Trovatore,&rdquo;
+which rather indicated some grave preoccupation of the mind. In short, in order
+to keep up our spirits, we did as do those brave cowards who sing in the dark
+to forget their fright.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We remained thus, suspended between life and death, for an hour, which seemed
+an eternity; at last we reached the bottom of this terrible escarpment. We
+there found M. N&mdash;&mdash; and his party, safe and sound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After resting a little while, we continued our journey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we were approaching the Petit-Plateau, Edward Ravanel suddenly stopped, and,
+turning towards us, said,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See what an avalanche! It has covered our tracks.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An immense avalanche of ice had indeed fallen from the Goûter, and entirely
+buried the path we had followed in the morning across the Petit-Plateau.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I estimated that the mass of this avalanche could not comprise less than five
+hundred cubic yards. If it had fallen while we were passing, one more
+catastrophe would no doubt have been added to the list, already too long, of
+the necrology of Mont Blanc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This fresh obstacle forced us to seek a new road, or to pass around the foot of
+the avalanche. As we were much fatigued, the latter course was assuredly the
+simplest; but it involved a serious danger. A wall of ice more than sixty feet
+high, already partly detached from the Goûter, to which it only clung by one of
+its angles, overhung the path which we should follow. This great mass seemed to
+hold itself in equilibrium. What if our passing, by disturbing the air, should
+hasten its fall? Our guides held a consultation. Each of them examined with a
+spy-glass the fissure which had been formed between the mountain and this
+alarming ice-mass. The sharp and clear edges of the cleft betrayed a recent
+breaking off, evidently caused by the fall of the avalanche.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After a brief discussion, our guides, recognizing the impossibility of finding
+another road, decided to attempt this dangerous passage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We must walk very fast,&mdash;even run, if possible,&rdquo; said they,
+&ldquo;and we shall be in safety in five minutes. Come, messieurs, a last
+effort!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A run of five minutes is a small matter for people who are only tired; but for
+us, who were absolutely exhausted, to run even for so short a time on soft
+snow, in which we sank up to the knees, seemed an impossibility. Nevertheless,
+we made an urgent appeal to our energies, and after two or three tumbles, drawn
+forward by one, pushed by another, we finally reached a snow hillock, on which
+we fell breathless. We were out of danger.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It required some time to recover ourselves. We stretched out on the snow with a
+feeling of comfort which every one will understand. The greatest difficulties
+had been surmounted, and though there were still dangers to brave, we could
+confront them with comparatively little apprehension.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We prolonged our halt in the hope of witnessing the fall of the avalanche, but
+in vain. As the day was advancing, and it was not prudent to tarry in these icy
+solitudes, we decided to continue on our way, and about five o&rsquo;clock we
+reached the hut of the Grands-Mulets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After a bad night, attended by fever caused by the sunstrokes encountered in
+our expedition, we made ready to return to Chamonix; but, before setting out,
+we inscribed the names of our guides and the principal events of our journey,
+according to the custom, on the register kept for this purpose at the
+Grands-Mulets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About eight o&rsquo;clock we started for Chamonix. The passage of the Bossons
+was difficult, but we accomplished it without accident.
+</p>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:100%;">
+<a name="image59"></a>
+<img src="images/image59.jpg" width="366" height="370" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
+<p class="caption">Grands-Mulets.&mdash;Party Descending From The Hut.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Half an hour before reaching Chamonix, we met, at the chalet of the Dard falls,
+some English tourists, who seemed to be watching our progress. When they
+perceived us, they hurried up eagerly to congratulate us on our success. One of
+them presented us to his wife, a charming person, with a well-bred air. After
+we had given them a sketch of our perilous peregrinations, she said to us, in
+earnest accents,&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How much you are envied here by everybody! Let me touch your
+alpenstocks!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These words seemed to interpret the general feeling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ascent of Mont Blanc is a very painful one. It is asserted that the
+celebrated naturalist of Geneva, De Saussure, acquired there the seeds of the
+disease of which he died in a few months after his return from the summit. I
+cannot better close this narrative than by quoting the words of M. Markham
+Sherwell:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;However it may be,&rdquo; he says, in describing his ascent of Mont
+Blanc, &ldquo;I would not advise any one to undertake this ascent, the rewards
+of which can never have an importance proportionate to the dangers encountered
+by the tourist, and by those who accompany him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #28657 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28657)
diff --git a/old/28657-8.txt b/old/28657-8.txt
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Winter Amid the Ice, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Winter Amid the Ice
+       and Other Thrilling Stories
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Release Date: May 1, 2009 [EBook #28657]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WINTER AMID THE ICE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Alan Winterrowd from a text scanned and made
+available By Google Books
+
+
+
+
+
+A Winter Amid the Ice and Other Thrilling Stories
+
+By Jules Verne
+
+Published by:
+The World Publishing House
+New Yowk, 1877
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+How it is useless to seek, even on the best maps, for the small
+town of Quiquendone
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+In which the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor
+Niklausse consult about the affairs of the town
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+In which the Commissary Passauf enters as noisily as unexpectedly
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+In which Doctor Ox reveals himself as a physiologist of the first
+rank, and as an audacious experimentalist
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+In which the burgomaster and the counsellor pay a visit to Doctor
+Ox, and what follows
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+In which Frantz Niklausse and Suzel Van Tricasse form certain
+projects for the future
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+In which the Andantes become Allegros, and the Allegros Vivaces
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+In which the ancient and solemn German waltz becomes a whirlwind
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+In which Doctor Ox and Yg�ne, his assistant, say a few words
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+In which it will be seen that the epidemic invades the entire
+town, and what effect it produces
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+In which the Quiquendonians adopt a heroic resolution
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+In which Yg�ne, the assistant, gives a reasonable piece of
+advice, which is eagerly rejected by Doctor Ox
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+In which it is once more proved that by taking high ground all
+human littlenesses may be overlooked
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+In which matters go so far that the inhabitants of Quiquendone,
+the reader, and even the author, demand an immediate d�nouement
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+In which the d�nouement takes place
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+In which the intelligent reader sees that he has guessed
+correctly, despite all the author's precautions
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+In which Doctor Ox's theory is explained
+
+
+
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A winter night
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The pride of science
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A strange visit
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The Church of St. Pierre
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The hour of death
+
+
+
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The black flag
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's project
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A ray of hope
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+In the passes
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Liverpool Island
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+The quaking of the ice
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Settling for the winter
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Plan of the explorations
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The house of snow
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Buried alive
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+A cloud of smoke
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The return to the ship
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The two rivals
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Distress
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The white bears
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Conclusion
+
+
+
+
+ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+She handed her father a pipe
+
+The worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second
+husband
+
+"I have just come from Dr. Ox's"
+
+"It is in the interests of science"
+
+"The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are not
+very expeditious"
+
+The young girl took the line
+
+"Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel
+
+Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in "Les
+Huguenots"
+
+They hustle each other to get out
+
+It was no longer a waltz
+
+It required two persons to eat a strawberry
+
+"To Virgamen! to Virgamen!"
+
+"A burgomaster's place is in the front rank"
+
+The two friends, arm in arm
+
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth
+
+He would raise the trap-door constructed in the floor of his
+workshop
+
+The young girl prayed
+
+"Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence".
+
+"Father, what is the matter?"
+
+Then he resumed, in an ironical tone
+
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the
+house
+
+This proud old man remained motionless
+
+"It is there--there!"
+
+"See this man,--he is Time"
+
+He was dead
+
+"Monsieur, I salute you"
+
+"Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage
+
+"He continued his observations for seven or eight hours with
+General Morlot"
+
+"The balloon became less and less inflated"
+
+"Zambecarri fell, and was killed!"
+
+The madman disappeared in space
+
+"Monsieur the cur�," said he, "stop a moment, if you please"
+
+Andr� Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful
+event
+
+A soft voice said in his ear, "Have good courage, uncle"
+
+Andr� Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever
+
+On the 12th September the sea consisted of one solid plain
+
+They found themselves in a most perilous position, for an
+icequake had occurred
+
+Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation
+
+The caravan set out
+
+"Thirty-two degrees below zero!"
+
+Despair and determination were struggling in his rough features
+for the mastery
+
+It was Louis Cornbutte
+
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians
+
+Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons, but he
+did not reply
+
+Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old
+Jean Cornbutte
+
+The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen on the two
+men
+
+The old cur� received Louis Cornbutte and Marie
+
+View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent
+
+View of Bossons glacier, near the Grands-Mulets
+
+Passage of the Bossons Glacier
+
+Crevasse and bridge
+
+View of the "Seracs"
+
+View of "Seracs"
+
+Passage of the "Junction"
+
+Hut at the Grands-Mulets
+
+View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets
+
+Crossing the plateau
+
+Summit of Mont Blanc
+
+Grands-Mulets:--Party descending from the hut
+
+
+
+
+DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HOW IT IS USELESS TO SEEK, EVEN ON THE BEST MAPS, FOR THE SMALL TOWN
+OF QUIQUENDONE.
+
+
+If you try to find, on any map of Flanders, ancient or modern,
+the small town of Quiquendone, probably you will not succeed. Is
+Quiquendone, then, one of those towns which have disappeared? No.
+A town of the future? By no means. It exists in spite of
+geographies, and has done so for some eight or nine hundred
+years. It even numbers two thousand three hundred and ninety-three
+souls, allowing one soul to each inhabitant. It is situated
+thirteen and a half kilometres north-west of Oudenarde, and
+fifteen and a quarter kilometres south-east of Bruges, in the
+heart of Flanders. The Vaar, a small tributary of the Scheldt,
+passes beneath its three bridges, which are still covered with a
+quaint medi�val roof, like that at Tournay. An old ch�teau is to
+be seen there, the first stone of which was laid so long ago as
+1197, by Count Baldwin, afterwards Emperor of Constantinople; and
+there is a Town Hall, with Gothic windows, crowned by a chaplet
+of battlements, and surrounded by a turreted belfry, which rises
+three hundred and fifty-seven feet above the soil. Every hour you
+may hear there a chime of five octaves, a veritable aerial piano,
+the renown of which surpasses that of the famous chimes of
+Bruges. Strangers--if any ever come to Quiquendone--do not quit
+the curious old town until they have visited its "Stadtholder's
+Hall", adorned by a full-length portrait of William of Nassau, by
+Brandon; the loft of the Church of Saint Magloire, a masterpiece
+of sixteenth century architecture; the cast-iron well in the
+spacious Place Saint Ernuph, the admirable ornamentation of which
+is attributed to the artist-blacksmith, Quentin Metsys; the tomb
+formerly erected to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the
+Bold, who now reposes in the Church of Notre Dame at Bruges; and
+so on. The principal industry of Quiquendone is the manufacture
+of whipped creams and barley-sugar on a large scale. It has been
+governed by the Van Tricasses, from father to son, for several
+centuries. And yet Quiquendone is not on the map of Flanders!
+Have the geographers forgotten it, or is it an intentional
+omission? That I cannot tell; but Quiquendone really exists; with
+its narrow streets, its fortified walls, its Spanish-looking
+houses, its market, and its burgomaster--so much so, that it has
+recently been the theatre of some surprising phenomena, as
+extraordinary and incredible as they are true, which are to be
+recounted in the present narration.
+
+Surely there is nothing to be said or thought against the
+Flemings of Western Flanders. They are a well-to-do folk, wise,
+prudent, sociable, with even tempers, hospitable, perhaps a
+little heavy in conversation as in mind; but this does not
+explain why one of the most interesting towns of their district
+has yet to appear on modern maps.
+
+This omission is certainly to be regretted. If only history, or
+in default of history the chronicles, or in default of chronicles
+the traditions of the country, made mention of Quiquendone! But
+no; neither atlases, guides, nor itineraries speak of it. M.
+Joanne himself, that energetic hunter after small towns, says not
+a word of it. It might be readily conceived that this silence
+would injure the commerce, the industries, of the town. But let
+us hasten to add that Quiquendone has neither industry nor
+commerce, and that it does very well without them. Its barley-sugar
+and whipped cream are consumed on the spot; none is exported. In
+short, the Quiquendonians have no need of anybody. Their desires are
+limited, their existence is a modest one; they are calm, moderate,
+phlegmatic--in a word, they are Flemings; such as are still to be
+met with sometimes between the Scheldt and the North Sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER VAN TRICASSE AND THE COUNSELLOR NIKLAUSSE
+CONSULT ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN.
+
+
+"You think so?" asked the burgomaster.
+
+"I--think so," replied the counsellor, after some minutes of
+silence.
+
+"You see, we must not act hastily," resumed the burgomaster.
+
+"We have been talking over this grave matter for ten years,"
+replied the Counsellor Niklausse, "and I confess to you, my
+worthy Van Tricasse, that I cannot yet take it upon myself to
+come to a decision."
+
+"I quite understand your hesitation," said the burgomaster, who
+did not speak until after a good quarter of an hour of reflection,
+"I quite understand it, and I fully share it. We shall do wisely to
+decide upon nothing without a more careful examination of the
+question."
+
+"It is certain," replied Niklausse, "that this post of civil
+commissary is useless in so peaceful a town as Quiquendone."
+
+"Our predecessor," said Van Tricasse gravely, "our predecessor
+never said, never would have dared to say, that anything is
+certain. Every affirmation is subject to awkward qualifications."
+
+The counsellor nodded his head slowly in token of assent; then he
+remained silent for nearly half an hour. After this lapse of
+time, during which neither the counsellor nor the burgomaster
+moved so much as a finger, Niklausse asked Van Tricasse whether
+his predecessor--of some twenty years before--had not thought of
+suppressing this office of civil commissary, which each year cost
+the town of Quiquendone the sum of thirteen hundred and seventy-five
+francs and some centimes.
+
+"I believe he did," replied the burgomaster, carrying his hand
+with majestic deliberation to his ample brow; "but the worthy man
+died without having dared to make up his mind, either as to this
+or any other administrative measure. He was a sage. Why should I
+not do as he did?"
+
+Counsellor Niklausse was incapable of originating any objection
+to the burgomaster's opinion.
+
+"The man who dies," added Van Tricasse solemnly, "without ever
+having decided upon anything during his life, has very nearly
+attained to perfection."
+
+This said, the burgomaster pressed a bell with the end of his
+little finger, which gave forth a muffled sound, which seemed
+less a sound than a sigh. Presently some light steps glided
+softly across the tile floor. A mouse would not have made less
+noise, running over a thick carpet. The door of the room opened,
+turning on its well-oiled hinges. A young girl, with long blonde
+tresses, made her appearance. It was Suzel Van Tricasse, the
+burgomaster's only daughter. She handed her father a pipe, filled
+to the brim, and a small copper brazier, spoke not a word, and
+disappeared at once, making no more noise at her exit than at her
+entrance.
+
+[Illustration: She handed her father a pipe]
+
+The worthy burgomaster lighted his pipe, and was soon hidden in a
+cloud of bluish smoke, leaving Counsellor Niklausse plunged in
+the most absorbing thought.
+
+The room in which these two notable personages, charged with the
+government of Quiquendone, were talking, was a parlour richly
+adorned with carvings in dark wood. A lofty fireplace, in which
+an oak might have been burned or an ox roasted, occupied the
+whole of one of the sides of the room; opposite to it was a
+trellised window, the painted glass of which toned down the
+brightness of the sunbeams. In an antique frame above the
+chimney-piece appeared the portrait of some worthy man,
+attributed to Memling, which no doubt represented an ancestor of
+the Van Tricasses, whose authentic genealogy dates back to the
+fourteenth century, the period when the Flemings and Guy de
+Dampierre were engaged in wars with the Emperor Rudolph of
+Hapsburgh.
+
+This parlour was the principal apartment of the burgomaster's
+house, which was one of the pleasantest in Quiquendone. Built in
+the Flemish style, with all the abruptness, quaintness, and
+picturesqueness of Pointed architecture, it was considered one of
+the most curious monuments of the town. A Carthusian convent, or
+a deaf and dumb asylum, was not more silent than this mansion.
+Noise had no existence there; people did not walk, but glided
+about in it; they did not speak, they murmured. There was not,
+however, any lack of women in the house, which, in addition to
+the burgomaster Van Tricasse himself, sheltered his wife, Madame
+Brigitte Van Tricasse, his daughter, Suzel Van Tricasse, and his
+domestic, Lotch� Jansh�u. We may also mention the burgomaster's
+sister, Aunt Hermance, an elderly maiden who still bore the
+nickname of Tatan�mance, which her niece Suzel had given her when
+a child. But in spite of all these elements of discord and noise,
+the burgomaster's house was as calm as a desert.
+
+The burgomaster was some fifty years old, neither fat nor lean,
+neither short nor tall, neither rubicund nor pale, neither gay
+nor sad, neither contented nor discontented, neither energetic
+nor dull, neither proud nor humble, neither good nor bad, neither
+generous nor miserly, neither courageous nor cowardly, neither
+too much nor too little of anything--a man notably moderate in
+all respects, whose invariable slowness of motion, slightly
+hanging lower jaw, prominent eyebrows, massive forehead, smooth
+as a copper plate and without a wrinkle, would at once have
+betrayed to a physiognomist that the burgomaster Van Tricasse was
+phlegm personified. Never, either from anger or passion, had any
+emotion whatever hastened the beating of this man's heart, or
+flushed his face; never had his pupils contracted under the
+influence of any irritation, however ephemeral. He invariably
+wore good clothes, neither too large nor too small, which he
+never seemed to wear out. He was shod with large square shoes
+with triple soles and silver buckles, which lasted so long that
+his shoemaker was in despair. Upon his head he wore a large hat
+which dated from the period when Flanders was separated from
+Holland, so that this venerable masterpiece was at least forty
+years old. But what would you have? It is the passions which wear
+out body as well as soul, the clothes as well as the body; and
+our worthy burgomaster, apathetic, indolent, indifferent, was
+passionate in nothing. He wore nothing out, not even himself, and
+he considered himself the very man to administer the affairs of
+Quiquendone and its tranquil population.
+
+The town, indeed, was not less calm than the Van Tricasse
+mansion. It was in this peaceful dwelling that the burgomaster
+reckoned on attaining the utmost limit of human existence, after
+having, however, seen the good Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse, his
+wife, precede him to the tomb, where, surely, she would not find
+a more profound repose than that she had enjoyed on earth for
+sixty years.
+
+This demands explanation.
+
+The Van Tricasse family might well call itself the "Jeannot
+family." This is why:--
+
+Every one knows that the knife of this typical personage is as
+celebrated as its proprietor, and not less incapable of wearing
+out, thanks to the double operation, incessantly repeated, of
+replacing the handle when it is worn out, and the blade when it
+becomes worthless. A precisely similar operation had been going
+on from time immemorial in the Van Tricasse family, to which
+Nature had lent herself with more than usual complacency. From
+1340 it had invariably happened that a Van Tricasse, when left a
+widower, had remarried a Van Tricasse younger than himself; who,
+becoming in turn a widow, had married again a Van Tricasse
+younger than herself; and so on, without a break in the
+continuity, from generation to generation. Each died in his or
+her turn with mechanical regularity. Thus the worthy Madame
+Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second husband; and, unless she
+violated her every duty, would precede her spouse--he being ten
+years younger than herself--to the other world, to make room for
+a new Madame Van Tricasse. Upon this the burgomaster calmly
+counted, that the family tradition might not be broken. Such was
+this mansion, peaceful and silent, of which the doors never
+creaked, the windows never rattled, the floors never groaned, the
+chimneys never roared, the weathercocks never grated, the
+furniture never squeaked, the locks never clanked, and the
+occupants never made more noise than their shadows. The god
+Harpocrates would certainly have chosen it for the Temple of
+Silence.
+
+[Illustration: the worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now
+her second husband]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+IN WHICH THE COMMISSARY PASSAUF ENTERS AS NOISILY AS UNEXPECTEDLY.
+
+
+When the interesting conversation which has been narrated began,
+it was a quarter before three in the afternoon. It was at a
+quarter before four that Van Tricasse lighted his enormous pipe,
+which could hold a quart of tobacco, and it was at thirty-five
+minutes past five that he finished smoking it.
+
+All this time the two comrades did not exchange a single word.
+
+About six o'clock the counsellor, who had a habit of speaking in
+a very summary manner, resumed in these words,--
+
+"So we decide--"
+
+"To decide nothing," replied the burgomaster.
+
+"I think, on the whole, that you are right, Van Tricasse."
+
+"I think so too, Niklausse. We will take steps with reference to
+the civil commissary when we have more light on the subject--
+later on. There is no need for a month yet."
+
+"Nor even for a year," replied Niklausse, unfolding his
+pocket-handkerchief and calmly applying it to his nose.
+
+There was another silence of nearly a quarter of an hour. Nothing
+disturbed this repeated pause in the conversation; not even the
+appearance of the house-dog Lento, who, not less phlegmatic than
+his master, came to pay his respects in the parlour. Noble dog!--
+a model for his race. Had he been made of pasteboard, with wheels
+on his paws, he would not have made less noise during his stay.
+
+Towards eight o'clock, after Lotch� had brought the antique lamp
+of polished glass, the burgomaster said to the counsellor,--
+
+"We have no other urgent matter to consider?"
+
+"No, Van Tricasse; none that I know of."
+
+"Have I not been told, though," asked the burgomaster, "that the
+tower of the Oudenarde gate is likely to tumble down?"
+
+"Ah!" replied the counsellor; "really, I should not be astonished
+if it fell on some passer-by any day."
+
+"Oh! before such a misfortune happens I hope we shall have come
+to a decision on the subject of this tower."
+
+"I hope so, Van Tricasse."
+
+"There are more pressing matters to decide."
+
+"No doubt; the question of the leather-market, for instance."
+
+"What, is it still burning?"
+
+"Still burning, and has been for the last three weeks."
+
+"Have we not decided in council to let it burn?"
+
+"Yes, Van Tricasse--on your motion."
+
+"Was not that the surest and simplest way to deal with it?"
+
+"Without doubt."
+
+"Well, let us wait. Is that all?"
+
+"All," replied the counsellor, scratching his head, as if to
+assure himself that he had not forgotten anything important.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the burgomaster, "haven't you also heard
+something of an escape of water which threatens to inundate the
+low quarter of Saint Jacques?"
+
+"I have. It is indeed unfortunate that this escape of water did
+not happen above the leather-market! It would naturally have
+checked the fire, and would thus have saved us a good deal of
+discussion."
+
+"What can you expect, Niklausse? There is nothing so illogical as
+accidents. They are bound by no rules, and we cannot profit by
+one, as we might wish, to remedy another."
+
+It took Van Tricasse's companion some time to digest this fine
+observation.
+
+"Well, but," resumed the Counsellor Niklausse, after the lapse of
+some moments, "we have not spoken of our great affair!"
+
+"What great affair? Have we, then, a great affair?" asked the
+burgomaster.
+
+"No doubt. About lighting the town."
+
+"O yes. If my memory serves me, you are referring to the lighting
+plan of Doctor Ox."
+
+"Precisely."
+
+"It is going on, Niklausse," replied the burgomaster. "They are
+already laying the pipes, and the works are entirely completed."
+
+"Perhaps we have hurried a little in this matter," said the
+counsellor, shaking his head.
+
+"Perhaps. But our excuse is, that Doctor Ox bears the whole
+expense of his experiment. It will not cost us a sou."
+
+"That, true enough, is our excuse. Moreover, we must advance with
+the age. If the experiment succeeds, Quiquendone will be the
+first town in Flanders to be lighted with the oxy--What is the
+gas called?"
+
+"Oxyhydric gas."
+
+"Well, oxyhydric gas, then."
+
+At this moment the door opened, and Lotch� came in to tell the
+burgomaster that his supper was ready.
+
+Counsellor Niklausse rose to take leave of Van Tricasse, whose
+appetite had been stimulated by so many affairs discussed and
+decisions taken; and it was agreed that the council of notables
+should be convened after a reasonably long delay, to determine
+whether a decision should be provisionally arrived at with
+reference to the really urgent matter of the Oudenarde gate.
+
+The two worthy administrators then directed their steps towards
+the street-door, the one conducting the other. The counsellor,
+having reached the last step, lighted a little lantern to guide
+him through the obscure streets of Quiquendone, which Doctor Ox
+had not yet lighted. It was a dark October night, and a light fog
+overshadowed the town.
+
+Niklausse's preparations for departure consumed at least a
+quarter of an hour; for, after having lighted his lantern, he had
+to put on his big cow-skin socks and his sheep-skin gloves; then
+he put up the furred collar of his overcoat, turned the brim of
+his felt hat down over his eyes, grasped his heavy crow-beaked
+umbrella, and got ready to start.
+
+When Lotch�, however, who was lighting her master, was about to
+draw the bars of the door, an unexpected noise arose outside.
+
+Yes! Strange as the thing seems, a noise--a real noise, such as
+the town had certainly not heard since the taking of the donjon
+by the Spaniards in 1513--terrible noise, awoke the long-dormant
+echoes of the venerable Van Tricasse mansion.
+
+Some one knocked heavily upon this door, hitherto virgin to
+brutal touch! Redoubled knocks were given with some blunt
+implement, probably a knotty stick, wielded by a vigorous arm.
+With the strokes were mingled cries and calls. These words were
+distinctly heard:--
+
+"Monsieur Van Tricasse! Monsieur the burgomaster! Open, open
+quickly!"
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, absolutely astounded, looked
+at each other speechless.
+
+This passed their comprehension. If the old culverin of the
+ch�teau, which had not been used since 1385, had been let off in
+the parlour, the dwellers in the Van Tricasse mansion would not
+have been more dumbfoundered.
+
+Meanwhile, the blows and cries were redoubled. Lotch�, recovering
+her coolness, had plucked up courage to speak.
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"It is I! I! I!"
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"The Commissary Passauf!"
+
+The Commissary Passauf! The very man whose office it had been
+contemplated to suppress for ten years. What had happened, then?
+Could the Burgundians have invaded Quiquendone, as they did in
+the fourteenth century? No event of less importance could have so
+moved Commissary Passauf, who in no degree yielded the palm to
+the burgomaster himself for calmness and phlegm.
+
+On a sign from Van Tricasse--for the worthy man could not have
+articulated a syllable--the bar was pushed back and the door
+opened.
+
+Commissary Passauf flung himself into the antechamber. One would
+have thought there was a hurricane.
+
+"What's the matter, Monsieur the commissary?" asked Lotch�, a
+brave woman, who did not lose her head under the most trying
+circumstances.
+
+"What's the matter!" replied Passauf, whose big round eyes
+expressed a genuine agitation. "The matter is that I have just
+come from Doctor Ox's, who has been holding a reception, and that
+there--"
+
+[Illustration: I have just come from Doctor Ox's]
+
+"There?"
+
+"There I have witnessed such an altercation as--Monsieur the
+burgomaster, they have been talking politics!"
+
+"Politics!" repeated Van Tricasse, running his fingers through
+his wig.
+
+"Politics!" resumed Commissary Passauf, "which has not been done
+for perhaps a hundred years at Quiquendone. Then the discussion
+got warm, and the advocate, Andr� Schut, and the doctor,
+Dominique Custos, became so violent that it may be they will call
+each other out."
+
+"Call each other out!" cried the counsellor. "A duel! A duel at
+Quiquendone! And what did Advocate Schut and Doctor Gustos say?"
+
+"Just this: 'Monsieur advocate,' said the doctor to his
+adversary, 'you go too far, it seems to me, and you do not take
+sufficient care to control your words!'"
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse clasped his hands--the counsellor
+turned pale and let his lantern fall--the commissary shook his
+head. That a phrase so evidently irritating should be pronounced
+by two of the principal men in the country!
+
+"This Doctor Custos," muttered Van Tricasse, "is decidedly a
+dangerous man--a hare-brained fellow! Come, gentlemen!"
+
+On this, Counsellor Niklausse and the commissary accompanied the
+burgomaster into the parlour.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX REVEALS HIMSELF AS A PHYSIOLOGIST OF THE FIRST
+RANK, AND AS AN AUDACIOUS EXPERIMENTALIST.
+
+
+Who, then, was this personage, known by the singular name of
+Doctor Ox?
+
+An original character for certain, but at the same time a bold
+savant, a physiologist, whose works were known and highly
+estimated throughout learned Europe, a happy rival of the Davys,
+the Daltons, the Bostocks, the Menzies, the Godwins, the
+Vierordts--of all those noble minds who have placed physiology
+among the highest of modern sciences.
+
+Doctor Ox was a man of medium size and height, aged--: but we
+cannot state his age, any more than his nationality. Besides, it
+matters little; let it suffice that he was a strange personage,
+impetuous and hot-blooded, a regular oddity out of one of
+Hoffmann's volumes, and one who contrasted amusingly enough with
+the good people of Quiquendone. He had an imperturbable
+confidence both in himself and in his doctrines. Always smiling,
+walking with head erect and shoulders thrown back in a free and
+unconstrained manner, with a steady gaze, large open nostrils, a
+vast mouth which inhaled the air in liberal draughts, his
+appearance was far from unpleasing. He was full of animation,
+well proportioned in all parts of his bodily mechanism, with
+quicksilver in his veins, and a most elastic step. He could never
+stop still in one place, and relieved himself with impetuous
+words and a superabundance of gesticulations.
+
+Was Doctor Ox rich, then, that he should undertake to light a
+whole town at his expense? Probably, as he permitted himself to
+indulge in such extravagance,--and this is the only answer we can
+give to this indiscreet question.
+
+Doctor Ox had arrived at Quiquendone five months before,
+accompanied by his assistant, who answered to the name of G�d�on
+Yg�ne; a tall, dried-up, thin man, haughty, but not less
+vivacious than his master.
+
+And next, why had Doctor Ox made the proposition to light the
+town at his own expense? Why had he, of all the Flemings,
+selected the peaceable Quiquendonians, to endow their town with
+the benefits of an unheard-of system of lighting? Did he not,
+under this pretext, design to make some great physiological
+experiment by operating _in anima vili?_ In short, what was this
+original personage about to attempt? We know not, as Doctor Ox
+had no confidant except his assistant Yg�ne, who, moreover,
+obeyed him blindly.
+
+In appearance, at least, Doctor Ox had agreed to light the town,
+which had much need of it, "especially at night," as Commissary
+Passauf wittily said. Works for producing a lighting gas had
+accordingly been established; the gasometers were ready for use,
+and the main pipes, running beneath the street pavements, would
+soon appear in the form of burners in the public edifices and the
+private houses of certain friends of progress. Van Tricasse and
+Niklausse, in their official capacity, and some other worthies,
+thought they ought to allow this modern light to be introduced
+into their dwellings.
+
+If the reader has not forgotten, it was said, during the long
+conversation of the counsellor and the burgomaster, that the
+lighting of the town was to be achieved, not by the combustion of
+common carburetted hydrogen, produced by distilling coal, but by
+the use of a more modern and twenty-fold more brilliant gas,
+oxyhydric gas, produced by mixing hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+The doctor, who was an able chemist as well as an ingenious
+physiologist, knew how to obtain this gas in great quantity and
+of good quality, not by using manganate of soda, according to the
+method of M. Tessi� du Motay, but by the direct decomposition of
+slightly acidulated water, by means of a battery made of new
+elements, invented by himself. Thus there were no costly
+materials, no platinum, no retorts, no combustibles, no delicate
+machinery to produce the two gases separately. An electric
+current was sent through large basins full of water, and the
+liquid was decomposed into its two constituent parts, oxygen and
+hydrogen. The oxygen passed off at one end; the hydrogen, of
+double the volume of its late associate, at the other. As a
+necessary precaution, they were collected in separate reservoirs,
+for their mixture would have produced a frightful explosion if it
+had become ignited. Thence the pipes were to convey them
+separately to the various burners, which would be so placed as to
+prevent all chance of explosion. Thus a remarkably brilliant
+flame would be obtained, whose light would rival the electric
+light, which, as everybody knows, is, according to Cassellmann's
+experiments, equal to that of eleven hundred and seventy-one wax
+candles,--not one more, nor one less.
+
+It was certain that the town of Quiquendone would, by this
+liberal contrivance, gain a splendid lighting; but Doctor Ox and
+his assistant took little account of this, as will be seen in the
+sequel.
+
+The day after that on which Commissary Passauf had made his noisy
+entrance into the burgomaster's parlour, G�d�on Yg�ne and Doctor
+Ox were talking in the laboratory which both occupied in common,
+on the ground-floor of the principal building of the gas-works.
+
+"Well, Yg�ne, well," cried the doctor, rubbing his hands. "You
+saw, at my reception yesterday, the cool-bloodedness of these
+worthy Quiquendonians. For animation they are midway between
+sponges and coral! You saw them disputing and irritating each
+other by voice and gesture? They are already metamorphosed,
+morally and physically! And this is only the beginning. Wait till
+we treat them to a big dose!"
+
+"Indeed, master," replied Yg�ne, scratching his sharp nose with
+the end of his forefinger, "the experiment begins well, and if I
+had not prudently closed the supply-tap, I know not what would
+have happened."
+
+"You heard Schut, the advocate, and Custos, the doctor?" resumed
+Doctor Ox. "The phrase was by no means ill-natured in itself,
+but, in the mouth of a Quiquendonian, it is worth all the insults
+which the Homeric heroes hurled at each other before drawing
+their swords, Ah, these Flemings! You'll see what we shall do
+some day!"
+
+"We shall make them ungrateful," replied Yg�ne, in the tone of a
+man who esteems the human race at its just worth.
+
+"Bah!" said the doctor; "what matters it whether they think well
+or ill of us, so long as our experiment succeeds?"
+
+"Besides," returned the assistant, smiling with a malicious
+expression, "is it not to be feared that, in producing such an
+excitement in their respiratory organs, we shall somewhat injure
+the lungs of these good people of Quiquendone?"
+
+"So much the worse for them! It is in the interests of science.
+What would you say if the dogs or frogs refused to lend
+themselves to the experiments of vivisection?"
+
+[Illustration: It is in the interests of Science.]
+
+It is probable that if the frogs and dogs were consulted, they
+would offer some objection; but Doctor Ox imagined that he had
+stated an unanswerable argument, for he heaved a great sigh of
+satisfaction.
+
+"After all, master, you are right," replied Yg�ne, as if quite
+convinced. "We could not have hit upon better subjects than these
+people of Quiquendone for our experiment."
+
+"We--could--not," said the doctor, slowly articulating each word.
+
+"Have you felt the pulse of any of them?"
+
+"Some hundreds."
+
+"And what is the average pulsation you found?"
+
+"Not fifty per minute. See--this is a town where there has not
+been the shadow of a discussion for a century, where the carmen
+don't swear, where the coachmen don't insult each other, where
+horses don't run away, where the dogs don't bite, where the cats
+don't scratch,--a town where the police-court has nothing to do
+from one year's end to another,--a town where people do not grow
+enthusiastic about anything, either about art or business,--a
+town where the gendarmes are a sort of myth, and in which an
+indictment has not been drawn up for a hundred years,--a town, in
+short, where for three centuries nobody has struck a blow with
+his fist or so much as exchanged a slap in the face! You see,
+Yg�ne, that this cannot last, and that we must change it all."
+
+"Perfectly! perfectly!" cried the enthusiastic assistant; "and
+have you analyzed the air of this town, master?"
+
+"I have not failed to do so. Seventy-nine parts of azote and
+twenty-one of oxygen, carbonic acid and steam in a variable
+quantity. These are the ordinary proportions."
+
+"Good, doctor, good!" replied Yg�ne. "The experiment will be made
+on a large scale, and will be decisive."
+
+"And if it is decisive," added Doctor Ox triumphantly, "we shall
+reform the world!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER AND THE COUNSELLOR PAY A VISIT TO DOCTOR
+OX, AND WHAT FOLLOWS.
+
+The Counsellor Niklausse and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse at last
+knew what it was to have an agitated night. The grave event which
+had taken place at Doctor Ox's house actually kept them awake.
+What consequences was this affair destined to bring about? They
+could not imagine. Would it be necessary for them to come to a
+decision? Would the municipal authority, whom they represented,
+be compelled to interfere? Would they be obliged to order arrests
+to be made, that so great a scandal should not be repeated? All
+these doubts could not but trouble these soft natures; and on
+that evening, before separating, the two notables had "decided"
+to see each other the next day.
+
+On the next morning, then, before dinner, the Burgomaster Van
+Tricasse proceeded in person to the Counsellor Niklausse's house.
+He found his friend more calm. He himself had recovered his
+equanimity.
+
+"Nothing new?" asked Van Tricasse.
+
+"Nothing new since yesterday," replied Niklausse.
+
+"And the doctor, Dominique Custos?"
+
+"I have not heard anything, either of him or of the advocate,
+Andr� Schut."
+
+After an hour's conversation, which consisted of three remarks
+which it is needless to repeat, the counsellor and the burgomaster
+had resolved to pay a visit to Doctor Ox, so as to draw from him,
+without seeming to do so, some details of the affair.
+
+Contrary to all their habits, after coming to this decision the
+two notables set about putting it into execution forthwith. They
+left the house and directed their steps towards Doctor Ox's
+laboratory, which was situated outside the town, near the
+Oudenarde gate--the gate whose tower threatened to fall in ruins.
+
+They did not take each other's arms, but walked side by side,
+with a slow and solemn step, which took them forward but thirteen
+inches per second. This was, indeed, the ordinary gait of the
+Quiquendonians, who had never, within the memory of man, seen any
+one run across the streets of their town.
+
+From time to time the two notables would stop at some calm and
+tranquil crossway, or at the end of a quiet street, to salute the
+passers-by.
+
+"Good morning, Monsieur the burgomaster," said one.
+
+"Good morning, my friend," responded Van Tricasse.
+
+"Anything new, Monsieur the counsellor?" asked another.
+
+"Nothing new," answered Niklausse.
+
+But by certain agitated motions and questioning looks, it was
+evident that the altercation of the evening before was known
+throughout the town. Observing the direction taken by Van
+Tricasse, the most obtuse Quiquendonians guessed that the
+burgomaster was on his way to take some important step. The
+Custos and Schut affair was talked of everywhere, but the people
+had not yet come to the point of taking the part of one or the
+other. The Advocate Schut, having never had occasion to plead in
+a town where attorneys and bailiffs only existed in tradition,
+had, consequently, never lost a suit. As for the Doctor Custos,
+he was an honourable practitioner, who, after the example of his
+fellow-doctors, cured all the illnesses of his patients, except
+those of which they died--a habit unhappily acquired by all the
+members of all the faculties in whatever country they may
+practise.
+
+On reaching the Oudenarde gate, the counsellor and the
+burgomaster prudently made a short detour, so as not to pass
+within reach of the tower, in case it should fall; then they
+turned and looked at it attentively.
+
+"I think that it will fall," said Van Tricasse.
+
+"I think so too," replied Niklausse.
+
+"Unless it is propped up," added Van Tricasse. "But must it be
+propped up? That is the question."
+
+"That is--in fact--the question."
+
+Some moments after, they reached the door of the gasworks.
+
+"Can we see Doctor Ox?" they asked.
+
+Doctor Ox could always be seen by the first authorities of the
+town, and they were at once introduced into the celebrated
+physiologist's study.
+
+Perhaps the two notables waited for the doctor at least an hour;
+at least it is reasonable to suppose so, as the burgomaster--a
+thing that had never before happened in his life--betrayed a
+certain amount of impatience, from which his companion was not
+exempt.
+
+Doctor Ox came in at last, and began to excuse himself for having
+kept them waiting; but he had to approve a plan for the
+gasometer, rectify some of the machinery--But everything was
+going on well! The pipes intended for the oxygen were already
+laid. In a few months the town would be splendidly lighted. The
+two notables might even now see the orifices of the pipes which
+were laid on in the laboratory.
+
+Then the doctor begged to know to what he was indebted for the
+honour of this visit.
+
+"Only to see you, doctor; to see you," replied Van Tricasse. "It
+is long since we have had the pleasure. We go abroad but little
+in our good town of Quiquendone. We count our steps and measure
+our walks. We are happy when nothing disturbs the uniformity of
+our habits."
+
+Niklausse looked at his friend. His friend had never said so much
+at once--at least, without taking time, and giving long intervals
+between his sentences. It seemed to him that Van Tricasse
+expressed himself with a certain volubility, which was by no
+means common with him. Niklausse himself experienced a kind of
+irresistible desire to talk.
+
+As for Doctor Ox, he looked at the burgomaster with sly
+attention.
+
+Van Tricasse, who never argued until he had snugly ensconced
+himself in a spacious armchair, had risen to his feet. I know not
+what nervous excitement, quite foreign to his temperament, had
+taken possession of him. He did not gesticulate as yet, but this
+could not be far off. As for the counsellor, he rubbed his legs,
+and breathed with slow and long gasps. His look became animated
+little by little, and he had "decided" to support at all hazards,
+if need be, his trusty friend the burgomaster.
+
+Van Tricasse got up and took several steps; then he came back,
+and stood facing the doctor.
+
+"And in how many months," he asked in a somewhat emphatic tome,
+"do you say that your work will be finished?"
+
+"In three or four months, Monsieur the burgomaster," replied
+Doctor Ox.
+
+"Three or four months,--it's a very long time!" said Van
+Tricasse.
+
+"Altogether too long!" added Niklausse, who, not being able to
+keep his seat, rose also.
+
+"This lapse of time is necessary to complete our work," returned
+Doctor Ox. "The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone,
+are not very expeditious."
+
+[Illustration: "The workmen, whom we have had to choose in
+Quiquendone, are not very expeditious."]
+
+"How not expeditious?" cried the burgomaster, who seemed to take
+the remark as personally offensive.
+
+"No, Monsieur Van Tricasse," replied Doctor Ox obstinately. "A
+French workman would do in a day what it takes ten of your
+workmen to do; you know, they are regular Flemings!"
+
+"Flemings!" cried the counsellor, whose fingers closed together.
+"In what sense, sir, do you use that word?"
+
+"Why, in the amiable sense in which everybody uses it," replied
+Doctor Ox, smiling.
+
+"Ah, but doctor," said the burgomaster, pacing up and down the
+room, "I don't like these insinuations. The workmen of Quiquendone
+are as efficient as those of any other town in the world, you must
+know; and we shall go neither to Paris nor London for our models!
+As for your project, I beg you to hasten its execution. Our streets
+have been unpaved for the putting down of your conduit-pipes, and it
+is a hindrance to traffic. Our trade will begin to suffer, and I,
+being the responsible authority, do not propose to incur reproaches
+which will be but too just."
+
+Worthy burgomaster! He spoke of trade, of traffic, and the wonder
+was that those words, to which he was quite unaccustomed, did not
+scorch his lips. What could be passing in his mind?
+
+"Besides," added Niklausse, "the town cannot be deprived of light
+much longer."
+
+"But," urged Doctor Ox, "a town which has been un-lighted for
+eight or nine hundred years--"
+
+"All the more necessary is it," replied the burgomaster,
+emphasizing his words. "Times alter, manners alter! The world
+advances, and we do not wish to remain behind. We desire our
+streets to be lighted within a month, or you must pay a large
+indemnity for each day of delay; and what would happen if, amid
+the darkness, some affray should take place?"
+
+"No doubt," cried Niklausse. "It requires but a spark to inflame
+a Fleming! Fleming! Flame!"
+
+"Apropos of this," said the burgomaster, interrupting his friend,
+"Commissary Passauf, our chief of police, reports to us that a
+discussion took place in your drawing-room last evening, Doctor
+Ox. Was he wrong in declaring that it was a political discussion?"
+
+"By no means, Monsieur the burgomaster," replied Doctor Ox, who
+with difficulty repressed a sigh of satisfaction.
+
+"So an altercation did take place between Dominique Gustos and
+Andr� Schut?"
+
+"Yes, counsellor; but the words which passed were not of grave
+import."
+
+"Not of grave import!" cried the burgomaster. "Not of grave
+import, when one man tells another that he does not measure the
+effect of his words! But of what stuff are you made, monsieur? Do
+you not know that in Quiquendone nothing more is needed to bring
+about extremely disastrous results? But monsieur, if you, or any
+one else, presume to speak thus to me--"
+
+"Or to me," added Niklausse.
+
+As they pronounced these words with a menacing air, the two
+notables, with folded arms and bristling air, confronted Doctor
+Ox, ready to do him some violence, if by a gesture, or even the
+expression of his eye, he manifested any intention of contradicting
+them.
+
+But the doctor did not budge.
+
+"At all events, monsieur," resumed the burgomaster, "I propose to
+hold you responsible for what passes in your house. I am bound to
+insure the tranquillity of this town, and I do not wish it to be
+disturbed. The events of last evening must not be repeated, or I
+shall do my duty, sir! Do you hear? Then reply, sir."
+
+The burgomaster, as he spoke, under the influence of
+extraordinary excitement, elevated his voice to the pitch of
+anger. He was furious, the worthy Van Tricasse, and might
+certainly be heard outside. At last, beside himself, and seeing
+that Doctor Ox did not reply to his challenge, "Come, Niklausse,"
+said he.
+
+And, slamming the door with a violence which shook the house, the
+burgomaster drew his friend after him.
+
+Little by little, when they had taken twenty steps on their road,
+the worthy notables grew more calm. Their pace slackened, their
+gait became less feverish. The flush on their faces faded away;
+from being crimson, they became rosy. A quarter of an hour after
+quitting the gasworks, Van Tricasse said softly to Niklausse, "An
+amiable man, Doctor Ox! It is always a pleasure to see him!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+IN WHICH FRANTZ NIKLAUSSE AND SUZEL VAN TRICASSE FORM CERTAIN
+PROJECTS FOR THE FUTURE.
+
+
+Our readers know that the burgomaster had a daughter, Suzel But,
+shrewd as they may be, they cannot have divined that the
+counsellor Niklausse had a son, Frantz; and had they divined
+this, nothing could have led them to imagine that Frantz was the
+betrothed lover of Suzel. We will add that these young people
+were made for each other, and that they loved each other, as
+folks did love at Quiquendone.
+
+It must not be thought that young hearts did not beat in this
+exceptional place; only they beat with a certain deliberation.
+There were marriages there, as in every other town in the world;
+but they took time about it. Betrothed couples, before engaging
+in these terrible bonds, wished to study each other; and these
+studies lasted at least ten years, as at college. It was rare
+that any one was "accepted" before this lapse of time.
+
+Yes, ten years! The courtships last ten years! And is it, after
+all, too long, when the being bound for life is in consideration?
+One studies ten years to become an engineer or physician, an
+advocate or attorney, and should less time be spent in acquiring
+the knowledge to make a good husband? Is it not reasonable? and,
+whether due to temperament or reason with them, the Quiquendonians
+seem to us to be in the right in thus prolonging their courtship.
+When marriages in other more lively and excitable cities are seen
+taking place within a few months, we must shrug our shoulders,
+and hasten to send our boys to the schools and our daughters to the
+_pensions_ of Quiquendone.
+
+For half a century but a single marriage was known to have taken
+place after the lapse of two years only of courtship, and that
+turned out badly!
+
+Frantz Niklausse, then, loved Suzel Van Tricasse, but quietly, as
+a man would love when he has ten years before him in which to
+obtain the beloved object. Once every week, at an hour agreed
+upon, Frantz went to fetch Suzel, and took a walk with her along
+the banks of the Vaar. He took good care to carry his fishing-tackle,
+and Suzel never forgot her canvas, on which her pretty hands
+embroidered the most unlikely flowers.
+
+Frantz was a young man of twenty-two, whose cheeks betrayed a
+soft, peachy down, and whose voice had scarcely a compass of one
+octave.
+
+As for Suzel, she was blonde and rosy. She was seventeen, and did
+not dislike fishing. A singular occupation this, however, which
+forces you to struggle craftily with a barbel. But Frantz loved
+it; the pastime was congenial to his temperament. As patient as
+possible, content to follow with his rather dreamy eye the cork
+which bobbed on the top of the water, he knew how to wait; and
+when, after sitting for six hours, a modest barbel, taking pity
+on him, consented at last to be caught, he was happy--but he knew
+how to control his emotion.
+
+On this day the two lovers--one might say, the two betrothed--
+were seated upon the verdant bank. The limpid Vaar murmured a few
+feet below them. Suzel quietly drew her needle across the canvas.
+Frantz automatically carried his line from left to right, then
+permitted it to descend the current from right to left. The fish
+made capricious rings in the water, which crossed each other
+around the cork, while the hook hung useless near the bottom.
+
+From time to time Frantz would say, without raising his eyes,--
+
+"I think I have a bite, Suzel."
+
+"Do you think so, Frantz?" replied Suzel, who, abandoning her
+work for an instant, followed her lover's line with earnest eye.
+
+"N-no," resumed Frantz; "I thought I felt a little twitch; I was
+mistaken."
+
+"You _will_ have a bite, Frantz," replied Suzel, in her pure,
+soft voice. "But do not forget to strike at the right moment. You
+are always a few seconds too late, and the barbel takes advantage
+to escape."
+
+"Would you like to take my line, Suzel?"
+
+"Willingly, Frantz."
+
+"Then give me your canvas. We shall see whether I am more adroit
+with the needle than with the hook."
+
+And the young girl took the line with trembling hand, while her
+swain plied the needle across the stitches of the embroidery. For
+hours together they thus exchanged soft words, and their hearts
+palpitated when the cork bobbed on the water. Ah, could they ever
+forget those charming hours, during which, seated side by side,
+they listened to the murmurs of the river?
+
+[Illustration: the young girl took the line]
+
+The sun was fast approaching the western horizon, and despite the
+combined skill of Suzel and Frantz, there had not been a bite.
+The barbels had not shown themselves complacent, and seemed to
+scoff at the two young people, who were too just to bear them
+malice.
+
+"We shall be more lucky another time, Frantz," said Suzel, as the
+young angler put up his still virgin hook.
+
+"Let us hope so," replied Frantz.
+
+Then walking side by side, they turned their steps towards the
+house, without exchanging a word, as mute as their shadows which
+stretched out before them. Suzel became very, very tall under the
+oblique rays of the setting sun. Frantz appeared very, very thin,
+like the long rod which he held in his hand.
+
+They reached the burgomaster's house. Green tufts of grass
+bordered the shining pavement, and no one would have thought of
+tearing them away, for they deadened the noise made by the
+passers-by.
+
+As they were about to open the door, Frantz thought it his duty
+to say to Suzel,--
+
+"You know, Suzel, the great day is approaching?"
+
+"It is indeed, Frantz," replied the young girl, with downcast
+eyes.
+
+"Yes," said Frantz, "in five or six years--"
+
+"Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel.
+
+[Illustration: "Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel.]
+
+"Good-bye, Suzel," replied Frantz.
+
+And, after the door had been closed, the young man resumed the
+way to his father's house with a calm and equal pace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+IN WHICH THE ANDANTES BECOME ALLEGROS, AND THE ALLEGROS VIVACES.
+
+
+The agitation caused by the Schut and Custos affair had subsided.
+The affair led to no serious consequences. It appeared likely
+that Quiquendone would return to its habitual apathy, which that
+unexpected event had for a moment disturbed.
+
+Meanwhile, the laying of the pipes destined to conduct the
+oxyhydric gas into the principal edifices of the town was
+proceeding rapidly. The main pipes and branches gradually crept
+beneath the pavements. But the burners were still wanting; for,
+as it required delicate skill to make them, it was necessary that
+they should be fabricated abroad. Doctor Ox was here, there, and
+everywhere; neither he nor Yg�ne, his assistant, lost a moment,
+but they urged on the workmen, completed the delicate mechanism
+of the gasometer, fed day and night the immense piles which
+decomposed the water under the influence of a powerful electric
+current. Yes, the doctor was already making his gas, though the
+pipe-laying was not yet done; a fact which, between ourselves,
+might have seemed a little singular. But before long,--at least
+there was reason to hope so,--before long Doctor Ox would
+inaugurate the splendours of his invention in the theatre of the
+town.
+
+For Quiquendone possessed a theatre--a really fine edifice, in
+truth--the interior and exterior arrangement of which combined
+every style of architecture. It was at once Byzantine, Roman,
+Gothic, Renaissance, with semicircular doors, Pointed windows,
+Flamboyant rose-windows, fantastic bell-turrets,--in a word, a
+specimen of all sorts, half a Parthenon, half a Parisian Grand
+Caf�. Nor was this surprising, the theatre having been commenced
+under the burgomaster Ludwig Van Tricasse, in 1175, and only
+finished in 1837, under the burgomaster Natalis Van Tricasse. It
+had required seven hundred years to build it, and it had, been
+successively adapted to the architectural style in vogue in each
+period. But for all that it was an imposing structure; the Roman
+pillars and Byzantine arches of which would appear to advantage
+lit up by the oxyhydric gas.
+
+Pretty well everything was acted at the theatre of Quiquendone;
+but the opera and the opera comique were especially patronized.
+It must, however, be added that the composers would never have
+recognized their own works, so entirely changed were the
+"movements" of the music.
+
+In short, as nothing was done in a hurry at Quiquendone, the
+dramatic pieces had to be performed in harmony with the peculiar
+temperament of the Quiquendonians. Though the doors of the
+theatre were regularly thrown open at four o'clock and closed
+again at ten, it had never been known that more than two acts
+were played during the six intervening hours. "Robert le Diable,"
+"Les Huguenots," or "Guillaume Tell" usually took up three
+evenings, so slow was the execution of these masterpieces. The
+_vivaces_, at the theatre of Quiquendone, lagged like real
+_adagios_. The _allegros_ were "long-drawn out" indeed. The
+demisemiquavers were scarcely equal to the ordinary semibreves of
+other countries. The most rapid runs, performed according to
+Quiquendonian taste, had the solemn march of a chant. The gayest
+shakes were languishing and measured, that they might not shock
+the ears of the _dilettanti_. To give an example, the rapid air
+sung by Figaro, on his entrance in the first act of "Le Barbi�r
+de S�ville," lasted fifty-eight minutes--when the actor was
+particularly enthusiastic.
+
+Artists from abroad, as might be supposed, were forced to conform
+themselves to Quiquendonian fashions; but as they were well paid,
+they did not complain, and willingly obeyed the leader's baton,
+which never beat more than eight measures to the minute in the
+_allegros_.
+
+But what applause greeted these artists, who enchanted without
+ever wearying the audiences of Quiquendone! All hands clapped one
+after another at tolerably long intervals, which the papers
+characterized as "frantic applause;" and sometimes nothing but
+the lavish prodigality with which mortar and stone had been used
+in the twelfth century saved the roof of the hall from falling
+in.
+
+Besides, the theatre had only one performance a week, that these
+enthusiastic Flemish folk might not be too much excited; and this
+enabled the actors to study their parts more thoroughly, and the
+spectators to digest more at leisure the beauties of the
+masterpieces brought out.
+
+Such had long been the drama at Quiquendone. Foreign artists were
+in the habit of making engagements with the director of the town,
+when they wanted to rest after their exertions in other scenes;
+and it seemed as if nothing could ever change these inveterate
+customs, when, a fortnight after the Schut-Custos affair, an
+unlooked-for incident occurred to throw the population into fresh
+agitation.
+
+It was on a Saturday, an opera day. It was not yet intended, as
+may well be supposed, to inaugurate the new illumination. No; the
+pipes had reached the hall, but, for reasons indicated above, the
+burners had not yet been placed, and the wax-candles still shed
+their soft light upon the numerous spectators who filled the
+theatre. The doors had been opened to the public at one o'clock,
+and by three the hall was half full. A queue had at one time been
+formed, which extended as far as the end of the Place Saint
+Ernuph, in front of the shop of Josse Lietrinck the apothecary.
+This eagerness was significant of an unusually attractive
+performance.
+
+"Are you going to the theatre this evening?" inquired the
+counsellor the same morning of the burgomaster.
+
+"I shall not fail to do so," returned Van Tricasse, "and I shall
+take Madame Van Tricasse, as well as our daughter Suzel and our
+dear Tatan�mance, who all dote on good music."
+
+"Mademoiselle Suzel is going then?"
+
+"Certainly, Niklausse."
+
+"Then my son Frantz will be one of the first to arrive," said
+Niklausse.
+
+"A spirited boy, Niklausse," replied the burgomaster
+sententiously; "but hot-headed! He will require watching!"
+
+"He loves, Van Tricasse,--he loves your charming Suzel."
+
+"Well, Niklausse, he shall marry her. Now that we have agreed on
+this marriage, what more can he desire?"
+
+"He desires nothing, Van Tricasse, the dear boy! But, in short--
+we'll say no more about it--he will not be the last to get his
+ticket at the box-office."
+
+"Ah, vivacious and ardent youth!" replied the burgomaster,
+recalling his own past. "We have also been thus, my worthy
+counsellor! We have loved--we too! We have danced attendance in
+our day! Till to-night, then, till to-night! By-the-bye, do you
+know this Fiovaranti is a great artist? And what a welcome he has
+received among us! It will be long before he will forget the
+applause of Quiquendone!"
+
+The tenor Fiovaranti was, indeed, going to sing; Fiovaranti, who,
+by his talents as a virtuoso, his perfect method, his melodious
+voice, provoked a real enthusiasm among the lovers of music in
+the town.
+
+For three weeks Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success
+in "Les Huguenots." The first act, interpreted according to the
+taste of the Quiquendonians, had occupied an entire evening of
+the first week of the month.--Another evening in the second week,
+prolonged by infinite _andantes_, had elicited for the celebrated
+singer a real ovation. His success had been still more marked in
+the third act of Meyerbeer's masterpiece. But now Fiovaranti was
+to appear in the fourth act, which was to be performed on this
+evening before an impatient public. Ah, the duet between Raoul
+and Valentine, that pathetic love-song for two voices, that
+strain so full of _crescendos_, _stringendos_, and _piu
+crescendos_--all this, sung slowly, compendiously, interminably!
+Ah, how delightful!
+
+[Illustration: Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success
+in "Les Huguenots."]
+
+At four o'clock the hall was full. The boxes, the orchestra, the
+pit, were overflowing. In the front stalls sat the Burgomaster
+Van Tricasse, Mademoiselle Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, and
+the amiable Tatan�mance in a green bonnet; not far off were the
+Counsellor Niklausse and his family, not forgetting the amorous
+Frantz. The families of Custos the doctor, of Schut the advocate,
+of Honor� Syntax the chief judge, of Norbet Sontman the insurance
+director, of the banker Collaert, gone mad on German music, and
+himself somewhat of an amateur, and the teacher Rupp, and the
+master of the academy, Jerome Resh, and the civil commissary, and
+so many other notabilities of the town that they could not be
+enumerated here without wearying the reader's patience, were
+visible in different parts of the hall.
+
+It was customary for the Quiquendonians, while awaiting the rise
+of the curtain, to sit silent, some reading the paper, others
+whispering low to each other, some making their way to their
+seats slowly and noiselessly, others casting timid looks towards
+the bewitching beauties in the galleries.
+
+But on this evening a looker-on might have observed that, even
+before the curtain rose, there was unusual animation among the
+audience. People were restless who were never known to be
+restless before. The ladies' fans fluttered with abnormal
+rapidity. All appeared to be inhaling air of exceptional
+stimulating power. Every one breathed more freely. The eyes of
+some became unwontedly bright, and seemed to give forth a light
+equal to that of the candles, which themselves certainly threw a
+more brilliant light over the hall. It was evident that people
+saw more clearly, though the number of candles had not been
+increased. Ah, if Doctor Ox's experiment were being tried! But it
+was not being tried, as yet.
+
+The musicians of the orchestra at last took their places. The
+first violin had gone to the stand to give a modest la to his
+colleagues. The stringed instruments, the wind instruments, the
+drums and cymbals, were in accord. The conductor only waited the
+sound of the bell to beat the first bar.
+
+The bell sounds. The fourth act begins. The _allegro
+appassionato_ of the inter-act is played as usual, with a
+majestic deliberation which would have made Meyerbeer frantic,
+and all the majesty of which was appreciated by the Quiquendonian
+_dilettanti_.
+
+But soon the leader perceived that he was no longer master of his
+musicians. He found it difficult to restrain them, though usually
+so obedient and calm. The wind instruments betrayed a tendency to
+hasten the movements, and it was necessary to hold them back with
+a firm hand, for they would otherwise outstrip the stringed
+instruments; which, from a musical point of view, would have been
+disastrous. The bassoon himself, the son of Josse Lietrinck the
+apothecary, a well-bred young man, seemed to lose his self-control.
+
+Meanwhile Valentine has begun her recitative, "I am alone," &c.;
+but she hurries it.
+
+The leader and all his musicians, perhaps unconsciously, follow
+her in her _cantabile_, which should be taken deliberately, like
+a 12/8 as it is. When Raoul appears at the door at the bottom of
+the stage, between the moment when Valentine goes to him and that
+when she conceals herself in the chamber at the side, a quarter
+of an hour does not elapse; while formerly, according to the
+traditions of the Quiquendone theatre, this recitative of
+thirty-seven bars was wont to last just thirty-seven minutes.
+
+Saint Bris, Nevers, Cavannes, and the Catholic nobles have
+appeared, somewhat prematurely, perhaps, upon the scene. The
+composer has marked _allergo pomposo_ on the score. The orchestra
+and the lords proceed _allegro_ indeed, but not at all _pomposo_,
+and at the chorus, in the famous scene of the "benediction of the
+poniards," they no longer keep to the enjoined _allegro_. Singers
+and musicians broke away impetuously. The leader does not even
+attempt to restrain them. Nor do the public protest; on the
+contrary, the people find themselves carried away, and see that
+they are involved in the movement, and that the movement responds
+to the impulses of their souls.
+
+"Will you, with me, deliver the land,
+ From troubles increasing, an impious band?"
+
+They promise, they swear. Nevers has scarcely time to protest,
+and to sing that "among his ancestors were many soldiers, but
+never an assassin." He is arrested. The police and the aldermen
+rush forward and rapidly swear "to strike all at once." Saint
+Bris shouts the recitative which summons the Catholics to
+vengeance. The three monks, with white scarfs, hasten in by the
+door at the back of Nevers's room, without making any account of
+the stage directions, which enjoin on them to advance slowly.
+Already all the artists have drawn sword or poniard, which the
+three monks bless in a trice. The soprani tenors, bassos, attack
+the _allegro furioso_ with cries of rage, and of a dramatic 6/8
+time they make it 6/8 quadrille time. Then they rush out,
+bellowing,--
+
+"At midnight,
+ Noiselessly,
+ God wills it,
+    Yes,
+ At midnight."
+
+At this moment the audience start to their feet. Everybody is
+agitated--in the boxes, the pit, the galleries. It seems as if
+the spectators are about to rush upon the stage, the Burgomaster
+Van Tricasse at their head, to join with the conspirators and
+annihilate the Huguenots, whose religious opinions, however, they
+share. They applaud, call before the curtain, make loud
+acclamations! Tatan�mance grasps her bonnet with feverish hand.
+The candles throw out a lurid glow of light.
+
+Raoul, instead of slowly raising the curtain, tears it apart with
+a superb gesture and finds himself confronting Valentine.
+
+At last! It is the grand duet, and it starts off _allegro
+vivace_. Raoul does not wait for Valentine's pleading, and
+Valentine does not wait for Raoul's responses.
+
+The fine passage beginning, "Danger is passing, time is flying,"
+becomes one of those rapid airs which have made Offenbach famous,
+when he composes a dance for conspirators. The _andante amoroso_,
+"Thou hast said it, aye, thou lovest me," becomes a real _vivace
+furioso_, and the violoncello ceases to imitate the inflections
+of the singer's voice, as indicated in the composer's score. In
+vain Raoul cries, "Speak on, and prolong the ineffable slumber of
+my soul." Valentine cannot "prolong." It is evident that an
+unaccustomed fire devours her. Her _b's_ and her _c's_ above the
+stave were dreadfully shrill. He struggles, he gesticulates, he
+is all in a glow.
+
+The alarum is heard; the bell resounds; but what a panting bell!
+The bell-ringer has evidently lost his self-control. It is a
+frightful tocsin, which violently struggles against the fury of
+the orchestra.
+
+Finally the air which ends this magnificent act, beginning, "No
+more love, no more intoxication, O the remorse that oppresses
+me!" which the composer marks _allegro con moto_, becomes a wild
+_prestissimo_. You would say an express-train was whirling by.
+The alarum resounds again. Valentine falls fainting. Raoul
+precipitates himself from the window.
+
+It was high time. The orchestra, really intoxicated, could not
+have gone on. The leader's baton is no longer anything but a
+broken stick on the prompter's box. The violin strings are
+broken, and their necks twisted. In his fury the drummer has
+burst his drum. The counter-bassist has perched on the top of his
+musical monster. The first clarionet has swallowed the reed of
+his instrument, and the second hautboy is chewing his reed keys.
+The groove of the trombone is strained, and finally the unhappy
+cornist cannot withdraw his hand from the bell of his horn, into
+which he had thrust it too far.
+
+And the audience! The audience, panting, all in a heat,
+gesticulates and howls. All the faces are as red as if a fire
+were burning within their bodies. They crowd each other, hustle
+each other to get out--the men without hats, the women without
+mantles! They elbow each other in the corridors, crush between
+the doors, quarrel, fight! There are no longer any officials, any
+burgomaster. All are equal amid this infernal frenzy!
+
+[Illustration: They hustle each other to get out]
+
+Some moments after, when all have reached the street, each one
+resumes his habitual tranquillity, and peaceably enters his
+house, with a confused remembrance of what he has just experienced.
+
+The fourth act of the "Huguenots," which formerly lasted six
+hours, began, on this evening at half-past four, and ended at
+twelve minutes before five.
+
+It had only lasted eighteen minutes!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+IN WHICH THE ANCIENT AND SOLEMN GERMAN WALTZ BECOMES A WHIRLWIND.
+
+
+But if the spectators, on leaving the theatre, resumed their
+customary calm, if they quietly regained their homes, preserving
+only a sort of passing stupefaction, they had none the less
+undergone a remarkable exaltation, and overcome and weary as if
+they had committed some excess of dissipation, they fell heavily
+upon their beds.
+
+The next day each Quiquendonian had a kind of recollection of
+what had occurred the evening before. One missed his hat, lost in
+the hubbub; another a coat-flap, torn in the brawl; one her
+delicately fashioned shoe, another her best mantle. Memory
+returned to these worthy people, and with it a certain shame for
+their unjustifiable agitation. It seemed to them an orgy in which
+they were the unconscious heroes and heroines. They did not speak
+of it; they did not wish to think of it. But the most astounded
+personage in the town was Van Tricasse the burgomaster.
+
+The next morning, on waking, he could not find his wig. Lotch�
+looked everywhere for it, but in vain. The wig had remained on
+the field of battle. As for having it publicly claimed by Jean
+Mistrol, the town-crier,--no, it would not do. It were better to
+lose the wig than to advertise himself thus, as he had the honour
+to be the first magistrate of Quiquendone.
+
+The worthy Van Tricasse was reflecting upon this, extended
+beneath his sheets, with bruised body, heavy head, furred tongue,
+and burning breast. He felt no desire to get up; on the contrary;
+and his brain worked more during this morning than it had
+probably worked before for forty years. The worthy magistrate
+recalled to his mind all the incidents of the incomprehensible
+performance. He connected them with the events which had taken
+place shortly before at Doctor Ox's reception. He tried to
+discover the causes of the singular excitability which, on two
+occasions, had betrayed itself in the best citizens of the town.
+
+"What _can_ be going on?" he asked himself. "What giddy spirit
+has taken possession of my peaceable town of Quiquendone? Are we
+about to go mad, and must we make the town one vast asylum? For
+yesterday we were all there, notables, counsellors, judges,
+advocates, physicians, schoolmasters; and ail, if my memory
+serves me,--all of us were assailed by this excess of furious
+folly! But what was there in that infernal music? It is
+inexplicable! Yet I certainly ate or drank nothing which could
+put me into such a state. No; yesterday I had for dinner a slice
+of overdone veal, several spoonfuls of spinach with sugar, eggs,
+and a little beer and water,--that couldn't get into my head! No!
+There is something that I cannot explain, and as, after all, I am
+responsible for the conduct of the citizens, I will have an
+investigation."
+
+But the investigation, though decided upon by the municipal
+council, produced no result. If the facts were clear, the causes
+escaped the sagacity of the magistrates. Besides, tranquillity
+had been restored in the public mind, and with tranquillity,
+forgetfulness of the strange scenes of the theatre. The
+newspapers avoided speaking of them, and the account of the
+performance which appeared in the "Quiquendone Memorial," made no
+allusion to this intoxication of the entire audience.
+
+Meanwhile, though the town resumed its habitual phlegm, and
+became apparently Flemish as before, it was observable that, at
+bottom, the character and temperament of the people changed
+little by little. One might have truly said, with Dominique
+Custos, the doctor, that "their nerves were affected."
+
+Let us explain. This undoubted change only took place under
+certain conditions. When the Quiquendonians passed through the
+streets of the town, walked in the squares or along the Vaar,
+they were always the cold and methodical people of former days.
+So, too, when they remained at home, some working with their
+hands and others with their heads,--these doing nothing, those
+thinking nothing,--their private life was silent, inert,
+vegetating as before. No quarrels, no household squabbles, no
+acceleration in the beating of the heart, no excitement of the
+brain. The mean of their pulsations remained as it was of old,
+from fifty to fifty-two per minute.
+
+But, strange and inexplicable phenomenon though it was, which
+would have defied the sagacity of the most ingenious physiologists
+of the day, if the inhabitants of Quiquendone did not change in
+their home life, they were visibly changed in their civil life
+and in their relations between man and man, to which it leads.
+
+If they met together in some public edifice, it did not "work
+well," as Commissary Passauf expressed it. On 'change, at the
+town-hall, in the amphitheatre of the academy, at the sessions of
+the council, as well as at the reunions of the _savants_, a
+strange excitement seized the assembled citizens. Their relations
+with each other became embarrassing before they had been together
+an hour. In two hours the discussion degenerated into an angry
+dispute. Heads became heated, and personalities were used. Even
+at church, during the sermon, the faithful could not listen to
+Van Stabel, the minister, in patience, and he threw himself about
+in the pulpit and lectured his flock with far more than his usual
+severity. At last this state of things brought about altercations
+more grave, alas! than that between Gustos and Schut, and if they
+did not require the interference of the authorities, it was
+because the antagonists, after returning home, found there, with
+its calm, forgetfulness of the offences offered and received.
+
+This peculiarity could not be observed by these minds, which were
+absolutely incapable of recognizing what was passing in them. One
+person only in the town, he whose office the council had thought
+of suppressing for thirty years, Michael Passauf, had remarked
+that this excitement, which was absent from private houses,
+quickly revealed itself in public edifices; and he asked himself,
+not without a certain anxiety, what would happen if this
+infection should ever develop itself in the family mansions, and
+if the epidemic--this was the word he used--should extend
+through the streets of the town. Then there would be no more
+forgetfulness of insults, no more tranquillity, no intermission
+in the delirium; but a permanent inflammation, which would
+inevitably bring the Quiquendonians into collision with each
+other.
+
+"What would happen then?" Commissary Passauf asked himself in
+terror. "How could these furious savages be arrested? How check
+these goaded temperaments? My office would be no longer a
+sinecure, and the council would be obliged to double my salary--
+unless it should arrest me myself, for disturbing the public
+peace!"
+
+These very reasonable fears began to be realized. The infection
+spread from 'change, the theatre, the church, the town-hall, the
+academy, the market, into private houses, and that in less than a
+fortnight after the terrible performance of the "Huguenots."
+
+Its first symptoms appeared in the house of Collaert, the banker.
+
+That wealthy personage gave a ball, or at least a dancing-party,
+to the notabilities of the town. He had issued, some months
+before, a loan of thirty thousand francs, three quarters of which
+had been subscribed; and to celebrate this financial success, he
+had opened his drawing-rooms, and given a party to his fellow-citizens.
+
+Everybody knows that Flemish parties are innocent and tranquil
+enough, the principal expense of which is usually in beer and
+syrups. Some conversation on the weather, the appearance of the
+crops, the fine condition of the gardens, the care of flowers,
+and especially of tulips; a slow and measured dance, from time to
+time, perhaps a minuet; sometimes a waltz, but one of those
+German waltzes which achieve a turn and a half per minute, and
+during which the dancers hold each other as far apart as their
+arms will permit,--such is the usual fashion of the balls
+attended by the aristocratic society of Quiquendone. The polka,
+after being altered to four time, had tried to become accustomed
+to it; but the dancers always lagged behind the orchestra, no
+matter how slow the measure, and it had to be abandoned.
+
+These peaceable reunions, in which the youths and maidens enjoyed
+an honest and moderate pleasure, had never been attended by any
+outburst of ill-nature. Why, then, on this evening at Collaert
+the banker's, did the syrups seem to be transformed into heady
+wines, into sparkling champagne, into heating punches? Why,
+towards the middle of the evening, did a sort of mysterious
+intoxication take possession of the guests? Why did the minuet
+become a jig? Why did the orchestra hurry with its harmonies? Why
+did the candles, just as at the theatre, burn with unwonted
+refulgence? What electric current invaded the banker's drawing-rooms?
+How happened it that the couples held each other so closely, and
+clasped each other's hands so convulsively, that the "cavaliers seuls"
+made themselves conspicuous by certain extraordinary steps in that
+figure usually so grave, so solemn, so majestic, so very proper?
+
+Alas! what OEdipus could have answered these unsolvable
+questions? Commissary Passauf, who was present at the party, saw
+the storm coming distinctly, but he could not control it or fly
+from it, and he felt a kind of intoxication entering his own
+brain. All his physical and emotional faculties increased in
+intensity. He was seen, several times, to throw himself upon the
+confectionery and devour the dishes, as if he had just broken a
+long fast.
+
+The animation of the ball was increasing all this while. A long
+murmur, like a dull buzzing, escaped from all breasts. They
+danced--really danced. The feet were agitated by increasing
+frenzy. The faces became as purple as those of Silenus. The eyes
+shone like carbuncles. The general fermentation rose to the
+highest pitch.
+
+And when the orchestra thundered out the waltz in "Der
+Freysch�tz,"--when this waltz, so German, and with a movement so
+slow, was attacked with wild arms by the musicians,--ah! it was
+no longer a waltz, but an insensate whirlwind, a giddy rotation,
+a gyration worthy of being led by some Mephistopheles, beating
+the measure with a firebrand! Then a galop, an infernal galop,
+which lasted an hour without any one being able to stop it,
+whirled off, in its windings, across the halls, the drawing-rooms,
+the antechambers, by the staircases, from the cellar to the garret of
+the opulent mansion, the young men and young girls, the fathers and
+mothers, people of every age, of every weight, of both sexes;
+Collaert, the fat banker, and Madame Collaert, and the counsellors,
+and the magistrates, and the chief justice, and Niklausse, and Madame
+Van Tricasse, and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse, and the Commissary
+Passauf himself, who never could recall afterwards who had been his
+partner on that terrible evening.
+
+[Illustration: it was no longer a waltz]
+
+But she did not forget! And ever since that day she has seen in
+her dreams the fiery commissary, enfolding her in an impassioned
+embrace! And "she"--was the amiable Tatan�mance!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX AND YG�NE, HIS ASSISTANT, SAY A FEW WORDS.
+
+
+"Well, Yg�ne?"
+
+"Well, master, all is ready. The laying of the pipes is
+finished."
+
+"At last! Now, then, we are going to operate on a large scale, on
+the masses!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT THE EPIDEMIC INVADES THE ENTIRE TOWN,
+AND WHAT EFFECT IT PRODUCES.
+
+During the following months the evil, in place of subsiding,
+became more extended. From private houses the epidemic spread
+into the streets. The town of Quiquendone was no longer to be
+recognized.
+
+A phenomenon yet stranger than those which had already happened,
+now appeared; not only the animal kingdom, but the vegetable
+kingdom itself, became subject to the mysterious influence.
+
+According to the ordinary course of things, epidemics are special
+in their operation. Those which attack humanity spare the
+animals, and those which attack the animals spare the vegetables.
+A horse was never inflicted with smallpox, nor a man with the
+cattle-plague, nor do sheep suffer from the potato-rot. But here
+all the laws of nature seemed to be overturned. Not only were the
+character, temperament, and ideas of the townsfolk changed, but
+the domestic animals--dogs and cats, horses and cows, asses and
+goats--suffered from this epidemic influence, as if their
+habitual equilibrium had been changed. The plants themselves were
+infected by a similar strange metamorphosis.
+
+In the gardens and vegetable patches and orchards very curious
+symptoms manifested themselves. Climbing plants climbed more
+audaciously. Tufted plants became more tufted than ever. Shrubs
+became trees. Cereals, scarcely sown, showed their little green
+heads, and gained, in the same length of time, as much in inches
+as formerly, under the most favourable circumstances, they had
+gained in fractions. Asparagus attained the height of several
+feet; the artichokes swelled to the size of melons, the melons to
+the size of pumpkins, the pumpkins to the size of gourds, the
+gourds to the size of the belfry bell, which measured, in truth,
+nine feet in diameter. The cabbages were bushes, and the
+mushrooms umbrellas.
+
+The fruits did not lag behind the vegetables. It required two
+persons to eat a strawberry, and four to consume a pear. The
+grapes also attained the enormous proportions of those so well
+depicted by Poussin in his "Return of the Envoys to the Promised
+Land."
+
+[Illustration: It required two persons to eat a strawberry]
+
+It was the same with the flowers: immense violets spread the most
+penetrating perfumes through the air; exaggerated roses shone
+with the brightest colours; lilies formed, in a few days,
+impenetrable copses; geraniums, daisies, camelias, rhododendrons,
+invaded the garden walks, and stifled each other. And the
+tulips,--those dear liliaceous plants so dear to the Flemish
+heart, what emotion they must have caused to their zealous
+cultivators! The worthy Van Bistrom nearly fell over backwards,
+one day, on seeing in his garden an enormous "Tulipa gesneriana,"
+a gigantic monster, whose cup afforded space to a nest for a
+whole family of robins!
+
+The entire town flocked to see this floral phenomenon, and
+renamed it the "Tulipa quiquendonia".
+
+But alas! if these plants, these fruits, these flowers, grew
+visibly to the naked eye, if all the vegetables insisted on
+assuming colossal proportions, if the brilliancy of their colours
+and perfume intoxicated the smell and the sight, they quickly
+withered. The air which they absorbed rapidly exhausted them, and
+they soon died, faded, and dried up.
+
+Such was the fate of the famous tulip, which, after several days
+of splendour, became emaciated, and fell lifeless.
+
+It was soon the same with the domestic animals, from the house-dog
+to the stable pig, from the canary in its cage to the turkey
+of the back-court. It must be said that in ordinary times these
+animals were not less phlegmatic than their masters. The dogs and
+cats vegetated rather than lived. They never betrayed a wag of
+pleasure nor a snarl of wrath. Their tails moved no more than if
+they had been made of bronze. Such a thing as a bite or scratch
+from any of them had not been known from time immemorial. As for
+mad dogs, they were looked upon as imaginary beasts, like the
+griffins and the rest in the menagerie of the apocalypse.
+
+But what a change had taken place in a few months, the smallest
+incidents of which we are trying to reproduce! Dogs and cats
+began to show teeth and claws. Several executions had taken place
+after reiterated offences. A horse was seen, for the first time,
+to take his bit in his teeth and rush through the streets of
+Quiquendone; an ox was observed to precipitate itself, with
+lowered horns, upon one of his herd; an ass was seen to turn
+himself ever, with his legs in the air, in the Place Saint
+Ernuph, and bray as ass never brayed before; a sheep, actually a
+sheep, defended valiantly the cutlets within him from the
+butcher's knife.
+
+Van Tricasse, the burgomaster, was forced to make police
+regulations concerning the domestic animals, as, seized with
+lunacy, they rendered the streets of Quiquendone unsafe.
+
+But alas! if the animals were mad, the men were scarcely less so.
+No age was spared by the scourge. Babies soon became quite
+insupportable, though till now so easy to bring up; and for the
+first time Honor� Syntax, the judge, was obliged to apply the rod
+to his youthful offspring.
+
+There was a kind of insurrection at the high school, and the
+dictionaries became formidable missiles in the classes. The
+scholars would not submit to be shut in, and, besides, the
+infection took the teachers themselves, who overwhelmed the boys
+and girls with extravagant tasks and punishments.
+
+Another strange phenomenon occurred. All these Quiquendonians, so
+sober before, whose chief food had been whipped creams, committed
+wild excesses in their eating and drinking. Their usual regimen
+no longer sufficed. Each stomach was transformed into a gulf, and
+it became necessary to fill this gulf by the most energetic
+means. The consumption of the town was trebled. Instead of two
+repasts they had six. Many cases of indigestion were reported.
+The Counsellor Niklausse could not satisfy his hunger. Van
+Tricasse found it impossible to assuage his thirst, and remained
+in a state of rabid semi-intoxication.
+
+In short, the most alarming symptoms manifested themselves and
+increased from day to day. Drunken people staggered in the
+streets, and these were often citizens of high position.
+
+Dominique Custos, the physician, had plenty to do with the
+heartburns, inflammations, and nervous affections, which proved
+to what a strange degree the nerves of the people had been
+irritated.
+
+There were daily quarrels and altercations in the once deserted
+but now crowded streets of Quiquendone; for nobody could any
+longer stay at home. It was necessary to establish a new police
+force to control the disturbers of the public peace. A prison-cage
+was established in the Town Hall, and speedily became full,
+night and day, of refractory offenders. Commissary Passauf was in
+despair.
+
+A marriage was concluded in less than two months,--such a thing
+had never been seen before. Yes, the son of Rupp, the schoolmaster,
+wedded the daughter of Augustine de Rovere, and that fifty-seven
+days only after he had petitioned for her hand and heart!
+
+Other marriages were decided upon, which, in old times, would
+have remained in doubt and discussion for years. The burgomaster
+perceived that his own daughter, the charming Suzel, was escaping
+from his hands.
+
+As for dear Tatan�mance, she had dared to sound Commissary
+Passauf on the subject of a union, which seemed to her to combine
+every element of happiness, fortune, honour, youth!
+
+At last,--to reach the depths of abomination,--a duel took place!
+Yes, a duel with pistols--horse-pistols--at seventy-five paces,
+with ball-cartridges. And between whom? Our readers will never
+believe!
+
+Between M. Frantz Niklausse, the gentle angler, and young Simon
+Collaert, the wealthy banker's son.
+
+And the cause of this duel was the burgomaster's daughter, for
+whom Simon discovered himself to be fired with passion, and whom
+he refused to yield to the claims of an audacious rival!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+IN WHICH THE QUIQUENDONIANS ADOPT A HEROIC RESOLUTION.
+
+
+We have seen to what a deplorable condition the people of
+Quiquendone were reduced. Their heads were in a ferment. They no
+longer knew or recognized themselves. The most peaceable citizens
+had become quarrelsome. If you looked at them askance, they would
+speedily send you a challenge. Some let their moustaches grow,
+and several--the most belligerent--curled them up at the ends.
+
+This being their condition, the administration of the town and
+the maintenance of order in the streets became difficult tasks,
+for the government had not been organized for such a state of
+things. The burgomaster--that worthy Van Tricasse whom we have
+seen so placid, so dull, so incapable of coming to any decision--
+the burgomaster became intractable. His house resounded with the
+sharpness of his voice. He made twenty decisions a day, scolding
+his officials, and himself enforcing the regulations of his
+administration.
+
+Ah, what a change! The amiable and tranquil mansion of the
+burgomaster, that good Flemish home--where was its former calm?
+What changes had taken place in your household economy! Madame
+Van Tricasse had become acrid, whimsical, harsh. Her husband
+sometimes succeeded in drowning her voice by talking louder than
+she, but could not silence her. The petulant humour of this
+worthy dame was excited by everything. Nothing went right. The
+servants offended her every moment. Tatan�mance, her sister-in-law,
+who was not less irritable, replied sharply to her. M. Van
+Tricasse naturally supported Lotch�, his servant, as is the case
+in all good households; and this permanently exasperated Madame,
+who constantly disputed, discussed, and made scenes with her
+husband.
+
+"What on earth is the matter with us?" cried the unhappy
+burgomaster. "What is this fire that is devouring us? Are we
+possessed with the devil? Ah, Madame Van Tricasse, Madame Van
+Tricasse, you will end by making me die before you, and thus
+violate all the traditions of the family!"
+
+The reader will not have forgotten the strange custom by which M.
+Van Tricasse would become a widower and marry again, so as not to
+break the chain of descent.
+
+Meanwhile, this disposition of all minds produced other curious
+effects worthy of note. This excitement, the cause of which has
+so far escaped us, brought about unexpected physiological
+changes. Talents, hitherto unrecognized, betrayed themselves.
+Aptitudes were suddenly revealed. Artists, before common-place,
+displayed new ability. Politicians and authors arose. Orators
+proved themselves equal to the most arduous debates, and on every
+question inflamed audiences which were quite ready to be
+inflamed. From the sessions of the council, this movement spread
+to the public political meetings, and a club was formed at
+Quiquendone; whilst twenty newspapers, the "Quiquendone Signal,"
+the "Quiquendone Impartial," the "Quiquendone Radical," and so
+on, written in an inflammatory style, raised the most important
+questions.
+
+But what about? you will ask. Apropos of everything, and of
+nothing; apropos of the Oudenarde tower, which was falling, and
+which some wished to pull down, and others to prop up; apropos of
+the police regulations issued by the council, which some
+obstinate citizens threatened to resist; apropos of the sweeping
+of the gutters, repairing the sewers, and so on. Nor did the
+enraged orators confine themselves to the internal administration
+of the town. Carried on by the current they went further, and
+essayed to plunge their fellow-citizens into the hazards of war.
+
+Quiquendone had had for eight or nine hundred years a _casus
+belli_ of the best quality; but she had preciously laid it up
+like a relic, and there had seemed some probability that it would
+become effete, and no longer serviceable.
+
+This was what had given rise to the _casus belli_.
+
+It is not generally known that Quiquendone, in this cosy corner
+of Flanders, lies next to the little town of Virgamen. The
+territories of the two communities are contiguous.
+
+Well, in 1185, some time before Count Baldwin's departure to the
+Crusades, a Virgamen cow--not a cow belonging to a citizen, but a
+cow which was common property, let it be observed--audaciously
+ventured to pasture on the territory of Quiquendone. This
+unfortunate beast had scarcely eaten three mouthfuls; but the
+offence, the abuse, the crime--whatever you will--was committed
+and duly indicted, for the magistrates, at that time, had already
+begun to know how to write.
+
+"We will take revenge at the proper moment," said simply Natalis
+Van Tricasse, the thirty-second predecessor of the burgomaster of
+this story, "and the Virgamenians will lose nothing by waiting."
+
+The Virgamenians were forewarned. They waited thinking, without
+doubt, that the remembrance of the offence would fade away with
+the lapse of time; and really, for several centuries, they lived
+on good terms with their neighbours of Quiquendone.
+
+But they counted without their hosts, or rather without this
+strange epidemic, which, radically changing the character of the
+Quiquendonians, aroused their dormant vengeance.
+
+It was at the club of the Rue Monstrelet that the truculent
+orator Schut, abruptly introducing the subject to his hearers,
+inflamed them with the expressions and metaphors used on such
+occasions. He recalled the offence, the injury which had been
+done to Quiquendone, and which a nation "jealous of its rights"
+could not admit as a precedent; he showed the insult to be still
+existing, the wound still bleeding: he spoke of certain special
+head-shakings on the part of the people of Virgamen, which
+indicated in what degree of contempt they regarded the people of
+Quiquendone; he appealed to his fellow-citizens, who, unconsciously
+perhaps, had supported this mortal insult for long centuries; he
+adjured the "children of the ancient town" to have no other purpose
+than to obtain a substantial reparation. And, lastly, he made an
+appeal to "all the living energies of the nation!"
+
+With what enthusiasm these words, so new to Quiquendonian ears,
+were greeted, may be surmised, but cannot be told. All the
+auditors rose, and with extended arms demanded war with loud
+cries. Never had the Advocate Schut achieved such a success, and
+it must be avowed that his triumphs were not few.
+
+The burgomaster, the counsellor, all the notabilities present at
+this memorable meeting, would have vainly attempted to resist the
+popular outburst. Besides, they had no desire to do so, and cried
+as loud, if not louder, than the rest,--
+
+"To the frontier! To the frontier!"
+
+As the frontier was but three kilometers from the walls of
+Quiquendone, it is certain that the Virgamenians ran a real
+danger, for they might easily be invaded without having had time
+to look about them.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, the worthy chemist, who alone had
+preserved his senses on this grave occasion, tried to make his
+fellow-citizens comprehend that guns, cannon, and generals were
+equally wanting to their design.
+
+They replied to him, not without many impatient gestures, that
+these generals, cannons, and guns would be improvised; that the
+right and love of country sufficed, and rendered a people
+irresistible.
+
+Hereupon the burgomaster himself came forward, and in a sublime
+harangue made short work of those pusillanimous people who
+disguise their fear under a veil of prudence, which veil he tore
+off with a patriotic hand.
+
+At this sally it seemed as if the hall would fall in under the
+applause.
+
+The vote was eagerly demanded, and was taken amid acclamations.
+
+The cries of "To Virgamen! to Virgamen!" redoubled.
+
+[Illustration: "To Virgamen! to Virgamen!"]
+
+The burgomaster then took it upon himself to put the armies in
+motion, and in the name of the town he promised the honours of a
+triumph, such as was given in the times of the Romans to that one
+of its generals who should return victorious.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, who was an obstinate fellow, and did
+not regard himself as beaten, though he really had been, insisted
+on making another observation. He wished to remark that the
+triumph was only accorded at Rome to those victorious generals
+who had killed five thousand of the enemy.
+
+"Well, well!" cried the meeting deliriously.
+
+"And as the population of the town of Virgamen consists of but
+three thousand five hundred and seventy-five inhabitants, it
+would be difficult, unless the same person was killed several
+times--"
+
+But they did not let the luckless logician finish, and he was
+turned out, hustled and bruised.
+
+"Citizens," said Pulmacher the grocer, who usually sold groceries
+by retail, "whatever this cowardly apothecary may have said, I
+engage by myself to kill five thousand Virgamenians, if you will
+accept my services!"
+
+"Five thousand five hundred!" cried a yet more resolute patriot.
+
+"Six thousand six hundred!" retorted the grocer.
+
+"Seven thousand!" cried Jean Orbideck, the confectioner of the
+Rue Hemling, who was on the road to a fortune by making whipped
+creams.
+
+"Adjudged!" exclaimed the burgomaster Van Tricasse, on finding
+that no one else rose on the bid.
+
+And this was how Jean Orbideck the confectioner became
+general-in-chief of the forces of Quiquendone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+IN WHICH YG�NE, THE ASSISTANT, GIVES A REASONABLE PIECE OF ADVICE,
+WHICH IS EAGERLY REJECTED BY DOCTOR OX.
+
+
+"Well, master," said Yg�ne next day, as he poured the pails of
+sulphuric acid into the troughs of the great battery.
+
+"Well," resumed Doctor Ox, "was I not right? See to what not only
+the physical developments of a whole nation, but its morality,
+its dignity, its talents, its political sense, have come! It is
+only a question of molecules."
+
+"No doubt; but--"
+
+"But--"
+
+"Do you not think that matters have gone far enough, and that
+these poor devils should not be excited beyond measure?"
+
+"No, no!" cried the doctor; "no! I will go on to the end!"
+
+"As you will, master; the experiment, however, seems to me
+conclusive, and I think it time to--"
+
+"To--"
+
+"To close the valve."
+
+"You'd better!" cried Doctor Ox. "If you attempt it, I'll
+throttle you!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+IN WHICH IT IS ONCE MORE PROVED THAT BY TAKING HIGH GROUND ALL HUMAN
+LITTLENESSES MAY BE OVERLOOKED.
+
+
+"You say?" asked the Burgomaster Van Tricasse of the Counsellor
+Niklausse.
+
+"I say that this war is necessary," replied Niklausse, firmly,
+"and that the time has come to avenge this insult."
+
+"Well, I repeat to you," replied the burgomaster, tartly, "that
+if the people of Quiquendone do not profit by this occasion to
+vindicate their rights, they will be unworthy of their name."
+
+"And as for me, I maintain that we ought, without delay, to
+collect our forces and lead them to the front."
+
+"Really, monsieur, really!" replied Van Tricasse. "And do you
+speak thus to _me_?"
+
+"To yourself, monsieur the burgomaster; and you shall hear the
+truth, unwelcome as it may be."
+
+"And you shall hear it yourself, counsellor," returned Van
+Tricasse in a passion, "for it will come better from my mouth
+than from yours! Yes, monsieur, yes, any delay would be
+dishonourable. The town of Quiquendone has waited nine hundred
+years for the moment to take its revenge, and whatever you may
+say, whether it pleases you or not, we shall march upon the
+enemy."
+
+"Ah, you take it thus!" replied Niklausse harshly. "Very well,
+monsieur, we will march without you, if it does not please you to
+go."
+
+"A burgomaster's place is in the front rank, monsieur!"
+
+[Illustration: "A burgomaster's place is in the front rank,
+monsieur!"]
+
+"And that of a counsellor also, monsieur."
+
+"You insult me by thwarting all my wishes," cried the
+burgomaster, whose fists seemed likely to hit out before long.
+
+"And you insult me equally by doubting my patriotism," cried
+Niklausse, who was equally ready for a tussle.
+
+"I tell you, monsieur, that the army of Quiquendone shall be put
+in motion within two days!"
+
+"And I repeat to you, monsieur, that forty-eight hours shall not
+pass before we shall have marched upon the enemy!"
+
+It is easy to see, from this fragment of conversation, that the
+two speakers supported exactly the same idea. Both wished for
+hostilities; but as their excitement disposed them to altercation,
+Niklausse would not listen to Van Tricasse, nor Van Tricasse to
+Niklausse. Had they been of contrary opinions on this grave
+question, had the burgomaster favoured war and the counsellor
+insisted on peace, the quarrel would not have been more violent.
+These two old friends gazed fiercely at each other. By the
+quickened beating of their hearts, their red faces, their
+contracted pupils, the trembling of their muscles, their harsh
+voices, it might be conjectured that they were ready to come to
+blows.
+
+But the striking of a large clock happily checked the adversaries
+at the moment when they seemed on the point of assaulting each
+other.
+
+"At last the hour has come!" cried the burgomaster.
+
+"What hour?" asked the counsellor.
+
+"The hour to go to the belfry tower."
+
+"It is true, and whether it pleases you or not, I shall go,
+monsieur."
+
+"And I too."
+
+"Let us go!"
+
+"Let us go!"
+
+It might have been supposed from these last words that a
+collision had occurred, and that the adversaries were proceeding
+to a duel; but it was not so. It had been agreed that the
+burgomaster and the counsellor, as the two principal dignitaries
+of the town, should repair to the Town Hall, and there show
+themselves on the high tower which overlooked Quiquendone; that
+they should examine the surrounding country, so as to make the
+best strategetic plan for the advance of their troops.
+
+Though they were in accord on this subject, they did not cease to
+quarrel bitterly as they went. Their loud voices were heard
+resounding in the streets; but all the passers-by were now
+accustomed to this; the exasperation of the dignitaries seemed
+quite natural, and no one took notice of it. Under the circumstances,
+a calm man would have been regarded as a monster.
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, having reached the porch of
+the belfry, were in a paroxysm of fury. They were no longer red,
+but pale. This terrible discussion, though they had the same
+idea, had produced internal spasms, and every one knows that
+paleness shows that anger has reached its last limits.
+
+At the foot of the narrow tower staircase there was a real
+explosion. Who should go up first? Who should first creep up the
+winding steps? Truth compels us to say that there was a tussle,
+and that the Counsellor Niklausse, forgetful of all that he owed
+to his superior, to the supreme magistrate of the town, pushed
+Van Tricasse violently back, and dashed up the staircase first.
+
+Both ascended, denouncing and raging at each other at every step.
+It was to be feared that a terrible climax would occur on the
+summit of the tower, which rose three hundred and fifty-seven
+feet above the pavement.
+
+The two enemies soon got out of breath, however, and in a little
+while, at the eightieth step, they began to move up heavily,
+breathing loud and short.
+
+Then--was it because of their being out of breath?--their wrath
+subsided, or at least only betrayed itself by a succession of
+unseemly epithets. They became silent, and, strange to say, it
+seemed as if their excitement diminished as they ascended higher
+above the town. A sort of lull took place in their minds. Their
+brains became cooler, and simmered down like a coffee-pot when
+taken away from the fire. Why?
+
+We cannot answer this "why;" but the truth is that, having
+reached a certain landing-stage, two hundred and sixty-six feet
+above ground, the two adversaries sat down and, really more calm,
+looked at each other without any anger in their faces.
+
+"How high it is!" said the burgomaster, passing his handkerchief
+over his rubicund face.
+
+"Very high!" returned the counsellor. "Do you know that we have
+gone fourteen feet higher than the Church of Saint Michael at
+Hamburg?"
+
+"I know it," replied the burgomaster, in a tone of vanity very
+pardonable in the chief magistrate of Quiquendone.
+
+The two notabilities soon resumed their ascent, casting curious
+glances through the loopholes pierced in the tower walls. The
+burgomaster had taken the head of the procession, without any
+remark on the part of the counsellor. It even happened that at
+about the three hundred and fourth step, Van Tricasse being
+completely tired out, Niklausse kindly pushed him from behind.
+The burgomaster offered no resistance to this, and, when he
+reached the platform of the tower, said graciously,--
+
+"Thanks, Niklausse; I will do the same for you one day."
+
+A little while before it had been two wild beasts, ready to tear
+each other to pieces, who had presented themselves at the foot of
+the tower; it was now two friends who reached its summit.
+
+The weather was superb. It was the month of May. The sun had
+absorbed all the vapours. What a pure and limpid atmosphere! The
+most minute objects over a broad space might be discerned. The
+walls of Virgamen, glistening in their whiteness,--its red,
+pointed roofs, its belfries shining in the sunlight--appeared a
+few miles off. And this was the town that was foredoomed to all
+the horrors of fire and pillage!
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor sat down beside each other on
+a small stone bench, like two worthy people whose souls were in
+close sympathy. As they recovered breath, they looked around;
+then, after a brief silence,--
+
+"How fine this is!" cried the burgomaster.
+
+"Yes, it is admirable!" replied the counsellor. "Does it not
+seem to you, my good Van Tricasse, that humanity is destined to
+dwell rather at such heights, than to crawl about on the surface
+of our globe?"
+
+"I agree with you, honest Niklausse," returned the burgomaster,
+"I agree with you. You seize sentiment better when you get clear
+of nature. You breathe it in every sense! It is at such heights
+that philosophers should be formed, and that sages should live,
+above the miseries of this world!"
+
+"Shall we go around the platform?" asked the counsellor.
+
+"Let us go around the platform," replied the burgomaster.
+
+And the two friends, arm in arm, and putting, as formerly, long
+pauses between their questions and answers, examined every point
+of the horizon.
+
+[Illustration: The two friends, arm in arm]
+
+"It is at least seventeen years since I have ascended the belfry
+tower," said Van Tricasse.
+
+"I do not think I ever came up before," replied Niklausse; "and I
+regret it, for the view from this height is sublime! Do you see,
+my friend, the pretty stream of the Vaar, as it winds among the
+trees?"
+
+"And, beyond, the heights of Saint Hermandad! How gracefully they
+shut in the horizon! Observe that border of green trees, which
+Nature has so picturesquely arranged! Ah, Nature, Nature,
+Niklausse! Could the hand of man ever hope to rival her?"
+
+"It is enchanting, my excellent friend," replied the counsellor.
+"See the flocks and herds lying in the verdant pastures,--the
+oxen, the cows, the sheep!"
+
+"And the labourers going to the fields! You would say they were
+Arcadian shepherds; they only want a bagpipe!"
+
+"And over all this fertile country the beautiful blue sky, which
+no vapour dims! Ah, Niklausse, one might become a poet here! I do
+not understand why Saint Simeon Stylites was not one of the
+greatest poets of the world."
+
+"It was because, perhaps, his column was not high enough,"
+replied the counsellor, with a gentle smile.
+
+At this moment the chimes of Quiquendone rang out. The clear
+bells played one of their most melodious airs. The two friends
+listened in ecstasy.
+
+Then in his calm voice, Van Tricasse said,--
+
+"But what, friend Niklausse, did we come to the top of this tower
+to do?"
+
+"In fact," replied the counsellor, "we have permitted ourselves
+to be carried away by our reveries--"
+
+"What did we come here to do?" repeated the burgomaster.
+
+"We came," said Niklausse, "to breathe this pure air, which human
+weaknesses have not corrupted."
+
+"Well, shall we descend, friend Niklausse?"
+
+"Let us descend, friend Van Tricasse."
+
+They gave a parting glance at the splendid panorama which was
+spread before their eyes; then the burgomaster passed down first,
+and began to descend with a slow and measured pace. The
+counsellor followed a few steps behind. They reached the landing-stage
+at which they had stopped on ascending. Already their cheeks began to
+redden. They tarried a moment, then resumed their descent.
+
+In a few moments Van Tricasse begged Niklausse to go more slowly,
+as he felt him on his heels, and it "worried him." It even did
+more than worry him; for twenty steps lower down he ordered the
+counsellor to stop, that he might get on some distance ahead.
+
+The counsellor replied that he did not wish to remain with his
+leg in the air to await the good pleasure of the burgomaster, and
+kept on.
+
+Van Tricasse retorted with a rude expression.
+
+The counsellor responded by an insulting allusion to the
+burgomaster's age, destined as he was, by his family traditions,
+to marry a second time.
+
+The burgomaster went down twenty steps more, and warned Niklausse
+that this should not pass thus.
+
+Niklausse replied that, at all events, he would pass down first;
+and, the space being very narrow, the two dignitaries came into
+collision, and found themselves in utter darkness. The words
+"blockhead" and "booby" were the mildest which they now applied
+to each other.
+
+"We shall see, stupid beast!" cried the burgomaster,--"we shall
+see what figure you will make in this war, and in what rank you
+will march!"
+
+"In the rank that precedes yours, you silly old fool!" replied
+Niklausse.
+
+Then there were other cries, and it seemed as if bodies were
+rolling over each other. What was going on? Why were these
+dispositions so quickly changed? Why were the gentle sheep of the
+tower's summit metamorphosed into tigers two hundred feet below
+it?
+
+However this might be, the guardian of the tower, hearing the
+noise, opened the door, just at the moment when the two
+adversaries, bruised, and with protruding eyes, were in the act
+of tearing each other's hair,--fortunately they wore wigs.
+
+"You shall give me satisfaction for this!" cried the burgomaster,
+shaking his fist under his adversary's nose.
+
+"Whenever you please!" growled the Counsellor Niklausse,
+attempting to respond with a vigorous kick.
+
+The guardian, who was himself in a passion,--I cannot say why,--
+thought the scene a very natural one. I know not what excitement
+urged him to take part in it, but he controlled himself, and went
+off to announce throughout the neighbourhood that a hostile
+meeting was about to take place between the Burgomaster Van
+Tricasse and the Counsellor Niklausse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+IN WHICH MATTERS GO SO FAR THAT THE INHABITANTS OF QUIQUENDONE,
+THE READER, AND EVEN THE AUTHOR, DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE D�NOUEMENT.
+
+
+The last incident proves to what a pitch of excitement the
+Quiquendonians had been wrought. The two oldest friends in the
+town, and the most gentle--before the advent of the epidemic, to
+reach this degree of violence! And that, too, only a few minutes
+after their old mutual sympathy, their amiable instincts, their
+contemplative habit, had been restored at the summit of the
+tower!
+
+On learning what was going on, Doctor Ox could not contain his
+joy. He resisted the arguments which Yg�ne, who saw what a
+serious turn affairs were taking, addressed to him. Besides, both
+of them were infected by the general fury. They were not less
+excited than the rest of the population, and they ended by
+quarrelling as violently as the burgomaster and the counsellor.
+
+Besides, one question eclipsed all others, and the intended duels
+were postponed to the issue of the Virgamenian difficulty. No man
+had the right to shed his blood uselessly, when it belonged, to
+the last drop, to his country in danger. The affair was, in
+short, a grave one, and there was no withdrawing from it.
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse, despite the warlike ardour with
+which he was filled, had not thought it best to throw himself
+upon the enemy without warning him. He had, therefore, through
+the medium of the rural policeman, Hottering, sent to demand
+reparation of the Virgamenians for the offence committed, in
+1195, on the Quiquendonian territory.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen could not at first imagine of what
+the envoy spoke, and the latter, despite his official character,
+was conducted back to the frontier very cavalierly.
+
+Van Tricasse then sent one of the aides-de-camp of the
+confectioner-general, citizen Hildevert Shuman, a manufacturer of
+barley-sugar, a very firm and energetic man, who carried to the
+authorities of Virgamen the original minute of the indictment
+drawn up in 1195 by order of the Burgomaster Natal�s Van
+Tricasse.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen burst out laughing, and served the
+aide-de-camp in the same manner as the rural policeman.
+
+The burgomaster then assembled the dignitaries of the town.
+
+A letter, remarkably and vigorously drawn up, was written as an
+ultimatum; the cause of quarrel was plainly stated, and a delay
+of twenty-four hours was accorded to the guilty city in which to
+repair the outrage done to Quiquendone.
+
+The letter was sent off, and returned a few hours afterwards,
+torn to bits, which made so many fresh insults. The Virgamenians
+knew of old the forbearance and equanimity of the Quiquendonians,
+and made sport of them and their demand, of their _casus belli_
+and their _ultimatum_.
+
+There was only one thing left to do,--to have recourse to arms,
+to invoke the God of battles, and, after the Prussian fashion, to
+hurl themselves upon the Virgamenians before the latter could be
+prepared.
+
+This decision was made by the council in solemn conclave, in
+which cries, objurgations, and menacing gestures were mingled
+with unexampled violence. An assembly of idiots, a congress of
+madmen, a club of maniacs, would not have been more tumultuous.
+
+As soon as the declaration of war was known, General Jean
+Orbideck assembled his troops, perhaps two thousand three hundred
+and ninety-three combatants from a population of two thousand
+three hundred and ninety-three souls. The women, the children,
+the old men, were joined with the able-bodied males. The guns of
+the town had been put under requisition. Five had been found, two
+of which were without cocks, and these had been distributed to
+the advance-guard. The artillery was composed of the old culverin
+of the ch�teau, taken in 1339 at the attack on Quesnoy, one of
+the first occasions of the use of cannon in history, and which
+had not been fired off for five centuries. Happily for those who
+were appointed to take it in charge there were no projectiles
+with which to load it; but such as it was, this engine might well
+impose on the enemy. As for side-arms, they had been taken from
+the museum of antiquities,--flint hatchets, helmets, Frankish
+battle-axes, javelins, halberds, rapiers, and so on; and also in
+those domestic arsenals commonly known as "cupboards" and
+"kitchens." But courage, the right, hatred of the foreigner, the
+yearning for vengeance, were to take the place of more perfect
+engines, and to replace--at least it was hoped so--the modern
+mitrailleuses and breech-loaders.
+
+The troops were passed in review. Not a citizen failed at the
+roll-call. General Orbideck, whose seat on horseback was far from
+firm, and whose steed was a vicious beast, was thrown three times
+in front of the army; but he got up again without injury, and
+this was regarded as a favourable omen. The burgomaster, the
+counsellor, the civil commissary, the chief justice, the
+school-teacher, the banker, the rector,--in short, all the
+notabilities of the town,--marched at the head. There were no tears
+shed, either by mothers, sisters, or daughters. They urged on their
+husbands, fathers, brothers, to the combat, and even followed
+them and formed the rear-guard, under the orders of the
+courageous Madame Van Tricasse.
+
+The crier, Jean Mistrol, blew his trumpet; the army moved off,
+and directed itself, with ferocious cries, towards the Oudenarde
+gate.
+
+******
+
+At the moment when the head of the column was about to pass the
+walls of the town, a man threw himself before it.
+
+"Stop! stop! Fools that you are!" he cried. "Suspend your blows!
+Let me shut the valve! You are not changed in nature! You are
+good citizens, quiet and peaceable! If you are so excited, it is
+my master, Doctor Ox's, fault! It is an experiment! Under the
+pretext of lighting your streets with oxyhydric gas, he has
+saturated--"
+
+The assistant was beside himself; but he could not finish. At the
+instant that the doctor's secret was about to escape his lips,
+Doctor Ox himself pounced upon the unhappy Yg�ne in an indescribable
+rage, and shut his mouth by blows with his fist.
+
+It was a battle. The burgomaster, the counsellor, the
+dignitaries, who had stopped short on Yg�ne's sudden appearance,
+carried away in turn by their exasperation, rushed upon the two
+strangers, without waiting to hear either the one or the other.
+
+Doctor Ox and his assistant, beaten and lashed, were about to be
+dragged, by order of Van Tricasse, to the round-house, when,--
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+IN WHICH THE D�NOUEMENT TAKES PLACE.
+
+
+When a formidable explosion resounded. All the atmosphere which
+enveloped Quiquendone seemed on fire. A flame of an intensity and
+vividness quite unwonted shot up into the heavens like a meteor.
+Had it been night, this flame would have been visible for ten
+leagues around.
+
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth, like an army of
+monks. Happily there were no victims; a few scratches and slight
+hurts were the only result. The confectioner, who, as chance
+would have it, had not fallen from his horse this time, had his
+plume singed, and escaped without any further injury.
+
+[Illustration: The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth]
+
+What had happened?
+
+Something very simple, as was soon learned; the gasworks had just
+blown up. During the absence of the doctor and his assistant,
+some careless mistake had no doubt been made. It is not known how
+or why a communication had been established between the reservoir
+which contained the oxygen and that which enclosed the hydrogen.
+An explosive mixture had resulted from the union of these two
+gases, to which fire had accidentally been applied.
+
+This changed everything; but when the army got upon its feet
+again, Doctor Ox and his assistant Yg�ne had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+IN WHICH THE INTELLIGENT READER SEES THAT HE HAS GUESSED CORRECTLY,
+DESPITE ALL THE AUTHOR'S PRECAUTIONS.
+
+
+After the explosion, Quiquendone immediately became the peaceable,
+phlegmatic, and Flemish town it formerly was.
+
+After the explosion, which indeed did not cause a very lively
+sensation, each one, without knowing why, mechanically took his
+way home, the burgomaster leaning on the counsellor's arm, the
+advocate Schut going arm in arm with Custos the doctor, Frantz
+Niklausse walking with equal familiarity with Simon Collaert,
+each going tranquilly, noiselessly, without even being conscious
+of what had happened, and having already forgotten Virgamen and
+their revenge. The general returned to his confections, and his
+aide-de-camp to the barley-sugar.
+
+Thus everything had become calm again; the old existence had been
+resumed by men and beasts, beasts and plants; even by the tower
+of Oudenarde gate, which the explosion--these explosions are
+sometimes astonishing--had set upright again!
+
+And from that time never a word was spoken more loudly than
+another, never a discussion took place in the town of Quiquendone.
+There were no more politics, no more clubs, no more trials, no
+more policemen! The post of the Commissary Passauf became once
+more a sinecure, and if his salary was not reduced, it was because
+the burgomaster and the counsellor could not make up their minds
+to decide upon it.
+
+From time to time, indeed, Passauf flitted, without any one
+suspecting it, through the dreams of the inconsolable Tatan�mance.
+
+As for Frantz's rival, he generously abandoned the charming Suzel
+to her lover, who hastened to wed her five or six years after
+these events.
+
+And as for Madame Van Tricasse, she died ten years later, at the
+proper time, and the burgomaster married Mademoiselle P�lagie Van
+Tricasse, his cousin, under excellent conditions--for the happy
+mortal who should succeed him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX'S THEORY IS EXPLAINED.
+
+
+What, then, had this mysterious Doctor Ox done? Tried a fantastic
+experiment,--nothing more.
+
+After having laid down his gas-pipes, he had saturated, first the
+public buildings, then the private dwellings, finally the streets
+of Quiquendone, with pure oxygen, without letting in the least
+atom of hydrogen.
+
+This gas, tasteless and odorless, spread in generous quantity
+through the atmosphere, causes, when it is breathed, serious
+agitation to the human organism. One who lives in an air
+saturated with oxygen grows excited, frantic, burns!
+
+You scarcely return to the ordinary atmosphere before you return
+to your usual state. For instance, the counsellor and the
+burgomaster at the top of the belfry were themselves again, as
+the oxygen is kept, by its weight, in the lower strata of the
+air.
+
+But one who lives under such conditions, breathing this gas which
+transforms the body physiologically as well as the soul, dies
+speedily, like a madman.
+
+It was fortunate, then, for the Quiquendonians, that a
+providential explosion put an end to this dangerous experiment,
+and abolished Doctor Ox's gas-works.
+
+To conclude: Are virtue, courage, talent, wit, imagination,--are
+all these qualities or faculties only a question of oxygen?
+
+Such is Doctor Ox's theory; but we are not bound to accept it,
+and for ourselves we utterly reject it, in spite of the curious
+experiment of which the worthy old town of Quiquendone was the
+theatre.
+
+
+
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A WINTER NIGHT.
+
+
+The city of Geneva lies at the west end of the lake of the same
+name. The Rhone, which passes through the town at the outlet of
+the lake, divides it into two sections, and is itself divided in
+the centre of the city by an island placed in mid-stream. A
+topographical feature like this is often found in the great
+dep�ts of commerce and industry. No doubt the first inhabitants
+were influenced by the easy means of transport which the swift
+currents of the rivers offered them--those "roads which walk
+along of their own accord," as Pascal puts it. In the case of the
+Rhone, it would be the road that ran along.
+
+Before new and regular buildings were constructed on this island,
+which was enclosed like a Dutch galley in the middle of the
+river, the curious mass of houses, piled one on the other,
+presented a delightfully confused _coup-d'oeil_. The small area
+of the island had compelled some of the buildings to be perched,
+as it were, on the piles, which were entangled in the rough
+currents of the river. The huge beams, blackened by time, and
+worn by the water, seemed like the claws of an enormous crab, and
+presented a fantastic appearance. The little yellow streams,
+which were like cobwebs stretched amid this ancient foundation,
+quivered in the darkness, as if they had been the leaves of some
+old oak forest, while the river engulfed in this forest of piles,
+foamed and roared most mournfully.
+
+One of the houses of the island was striking for its curiously
+aged appearance. It was the dwelling of the old clockmaker,
+Master Zacharius, whose household consisted of his daughter
+Gerande, Aubert Thun, his apprentice, and his old servant
+Scholastique.
+
+There was no man in Geneva to compare in interest with this
+Zacharius. His age was past finding out. Not the oldest
+inhabitant of the town could tell for how long his thin, pointed
+head had shaken above his shoulders, nor the day when, for the
+first time, he had-walked through the streets, with his long
+white locks floating in the wind. The man did not live; he
+vibrated like the pendulum of his clocks. His spare and
+cadaverous figure was always clothed in dark colours. Like the
+pictures of Leonardo di Vinci, he was sketched in black.
+
+Gerande had the pleasantest room in the whole house, whence,
+through a narrow window, she had the inspiriting view of the
+snowy peaks of Jura; but the bedroom and workshop of the old man
+were a kind of cavern close on to the water, the floor of which
+rested on the piles.
+
+From time immemorial Master Zacharius had never come out except
+at meal times, and when he went to regulate the different clocks
+of the town. He passed the rest of his time at his bench, which
+was covered with numerous clockwork instruments, most of which he
+had invented himself. For he was a clever man; his works were
+valued in all France and Germany. The best workers in Geneva
+readily recognized his superiority, and showed that he was an
+honour to the town, by saying, "To him belongs the glory of
+having invented the escapement." In fact, the birth of true
+clock-work dates from the invention which the talents of
+Zacharius had discovered not many years before.
+
+After he had worked hard for a long time, Zacharius would slowly
+put his tools away, cover up the delicate pieces that he had been
+adjusting with glasses, and stop the active wheel of his lathe;
+then he would raise a trap-door constructed in the floor of his
+workshop, and, stooping down, used to inhale for hours together
+the thick vapours of the Rhone, as it dashed along under his
+eyes.
+
+[Illustration: he would raise the trap door constructed in the
+floor of his workshop.]
+
+One winter's night the old servant Scholastique served the
+supper, which, according to old custom, she and the young
+mechanic shared with their master. Master Zacharius did not eat,
+though the food carefully prepared for him was offered him in a
+handsome blue and white dish. He scarcely answered the sweet
+words of Gerande, who evidently noticed her father's silence, and
+even the clatter of Scholastique herself no more struck his ear
+than the roar of the river, to which he paid no attention.
+
+After the silent meal, the old clockmaker left the table without
+embracing his daughter, or saying his usual "Good-night" to all.
+He left by the narrow door leading to his den, and the staircase
+groaned under his heavy footsteps as he went down.
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique sat for some minutes without
+speaking. On this evening the weather was dull; the clouds
+dragged heavily on the Alps, and threatened rain; the severe
+climate of Switzerland made one feel sad, while the south wind
+swept round the house, and whistled ominously.
+
+"My dear young lady," said Scholastique, at last, "do you know
+that our master has been out of sorts for several days? Holy
+Virgin! I know he has had no appetite, because his words stick in
+his inside, and it would take a very clever devil to drag even
+one out of him."
+
+"My father has some secret cause of trouble, that I cannot even
+guess," replied Gerande, as a sad anxiety spread over her face.
+
+"Mademoiselle, don't let such sadness fill your heart. You know
+the strange habits of Master Zacharius. Who can read his secret
+thoughts in his face? No doubt some fatigue has overcome him, but
+to-morrow he will have forgotten it, and be very sorry to have
+given his daughter pain."
+
+It was Aubert who spoke thus, looking into Gerande's lovely eyes.
+Aubert was the first apprentice whom Master Zacharius had ever
+admitted to the intimacy of his labours, for he appreciated his
+intelligence, discretion, and goodness of heart; and this young
+man had attached himself to Gerande with the earnest devotion
+natural to a noble nature.
+
+Gerande was eighteen years of age. Her oval face recalled that of
+the artless Madonnas whom veneration still displays at the street
+corners of the antique towns of Brittany. Her eyes betrayed an
+infinite simplicity. One would love her as the sweetest
+realization of a poet's dream. Her apparel was of modest colours,
+and the white linen which was folded about her shoulders had the
+tint and perfume peculiar to the linen of the church. She led a
+mystical existence in Geneva, which had not as yet been delivered
+over to the dryness of Calvinism.
+
+While, night and morning, she read her Latin prayers in her
+iron-clasped missal, Gerande had also discovered a hidden sentiment in
+Aubert Thun's heart, and comprehended what a profound devotion
+the young workman had for her. Indeed, the whole world in his
+eyes was condensed into this old clockmaker's house, and he
+passed all his time near the young girl, when he left her
+father's workshop, after his work was over.
+
+Old Scholastique saw all this, but said nothing. Her loquacity
+exhausted itself in preference on the evils of the times, and the
+little worries of the household. Nobody tried to stop its course.
+It was with her as with the musical snuff-boxes which they made
+at Geneva; once wound up, you must break them before you will
+prevent their playing all their airs through.
+
+Finding Gerande absorbed in a melancholy silence, Scholastique
+left her old wooden chair, fixed a taper on the end of a
+candlestick, lit it, and placed it near a small waxen Virgin,
+sheltered in her niche of stone. It was the family custom to
+kneel before this protecting Madonna of the domestic hearth, and
+to beg her kindly watchfulness during the coming night; but on
+this evening Gerande remained silent in her seat.
+
+"Well, well, dear demoiselle," said the astonished Scholastique,
+"supper is over, and it is time to go to bed. Why do you tire your
+eyes by sitting up late? Ah, Holy Virgin! It's much better to
+sleep, and to get a little comfort from happy dreams! In these
+detestable times in which we live, who can promise herself a
+fortunate day?"
+
+"Ought we not to send for a doctor for my father?" asked Gerande.
+
+"A doctor!" cried the old domestic. "Has Master Zacharius ever
+listened to their fancies and pompous sayings? He might accept
+medicines for the watches, but not for the body!"
+
+"What shall we do?" murmured Gerande. "Has he gone to work, or to
+rest?"
+
+"Gerande," answered Aubert softly, "some mental trouble annoys
+your father, that is all."
+
+"Do you know what it is, Aubert?"
+
+"Perhaps, Gerande"
+
+"Tell us, then," cried Scholastique eagerly, economically
+extinguishing her taper.
+
+"For several days, Gerande," said the young apprentice,
+"something absolutely incomprehensible has been going on. All the
+watches which your father has made and sold for some years have
+suddenly stopped. Very many of them have been brought back to
+him. He has carefully taken them to pieces; the springs were in
+good condition, and the wheels well set. He has put them together
+yet more carefully; but, despite his skill, they will not go."
+
+"The devil's in it!" cried Scholastique.
+
+"Why say you so?" asked Gerande. "It seems very natural to me.
+Nothing lasts for ever in this world. The infinite cannot be
+fashioned by the hands of men."
+
+"It is none the less true," returned Aubert, "that there is in
+this something very mysterious and extraordinary. I have myself
+been helping Master Zacharius to search for the cause of this
+derangement of his watches; but I have not been able to find it,
+and more than once I have let my tools fall from my hands in
+despair."
+
+"But why undertake so vain a task?" resumed Scholastique. "Is it
+natural that a little copper instrument should go of itself, and
+mark the hours? We ought to have kept to the sun-dial!"
+
+"You will not talk thus, Scholastique," said Aubert, "when you
+learn that the sun-dial was invented by Cain.''
+
+"Good heavens! what are you telling me?"
+
+"Do you think," asked Gerande simply, "that we might pray to God
+to give life to my father's watches?"
+
+"Without doubt," replied Aubert.
+
+"Good! They will be useless prayers," muttered the old servant,
+"but Heaven will pardon them for their good intent."
+
+The taper was relighted. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert knelt
+down together upon the tiles of the room. The young girl prayed
+for her mother's soul, for a blessing for the night, for
+travellers and prisoners, for the good and the wicked, and more
+earnestly than all for the unknown misfortunes of her father.
+
+[Illustration: The young girl prayed]
+
+Then the three devout souls rose with some confidence in their
+hearts, because they had laid their sorrow on the bosom of God.
+
+Aubert repaired to his own room; Gerande sat pensively by the
+window, whilst the last lights were disappearing from the city
+streets; and Scholastique, having poured a little water on the
+flickering embers, and shut the two enormous bolts on the door,
+threw herself upon her bed, where she was soon dreaming that she
+was dying of fright.
+
+Meanwhile the terrors of this winter's night had increased.
+Sometimes, with the whirlpools of the river, the wind engulfed
+itself among the piles, and the whole house shivered and shook;
+but the young girl, absorbed in her sadness, thought only of her
+father. After hearing what Aubert told her, the malady of Master
+Zacharius took fantastic proportions in her mind; and it seemed
+to her as if his existence, so dear to her, having become purely
+mechanical, no longer moved on its worn-out pivots without
+effort.
+
+Suddenly the pent-house shutter, shaken by the squall, struck
+against the window of the room. Gerande shuddered and started up
+without understanding the cause of the noise which thus disturbed
+her reverie. When she became a little calmer she opened the sash.
+The clouds had burst, and a torrent-like rain pattered on the
+surrounding roofs. The young girl leaned out of the window to
+draw to the shutter shaken by the wind, but she feared to do so.
+It seemed to her that the rain and the river, confounding their
+tumultuous waters, were submerging the frail house, the planks of
+which creaked in every direction. She would have flown from her
+chamber, but she saw below the flickering of a light which
+appeared to come from Master Zacharius's retreat, and in one of
+those momentary calms during which the elements keep a sudden
+silence, her ear caught plaintive sounds. She tried to shut her
+window, but could not. The wind violently repelled her, like a
+thief who was breaking into a dwelling.
+
+Gerande thought she would go mad with terror. What was her father
+doing? She opened the door, and it escaped from her hands, and
+slammed loudly with the force of the tempest. Gerande then found
+herself in the dark supper-room, succeeded in gaining, on tiptoe,
+the staircase which led to her father's shop, and pale and
+fainting, glided down.
+
+The old watchmaker was upright in the middle of the room, which
+resounded with the roaring of the river. His bristling hair gave
+him a sinister aspect. He was talking and gesticulating, without
+seeing or hearing anything. Gerande stood still on the threshold.
+
+"It is death!" said Master Zacharius, in a hollow voice; "it is
+death! Why should I live longer, now that I have dispersed my
+existence over the earth? For I, Master, Zacharius, am really the
+creator of all the watches that I have fashioned! It is a part of
+my very soul that I have shut up in each of these cases of iron,
+silver, or gold! Every time that one of these accursed watches
+stops, I feel my heart cease beating, for I have regulated them
+with its pulsations!"
+
+As he spoke in this strange way, the old man cast his eyes on his
+bench. There lay all the pieces of a watch that he had carefully
+taken apart. He took up a sort of hollow cylinder, called a
+barrel, in which the spring is enclosed, and removed the steel
+spiral, but instead of relaxing itself, according to the laws of
+its elasticity, it remained coiled on itself like a sleeping
+viper. It seemed knotted, like impotent old men whose blood has
+long been congealed. Master Zacharius vainly essayed to uncoil it
+with his thin fingers, the outlines of which were exaggerated on
+the wall; but he tried in vain, and soon, with a terrible cry of
+anguish and rage, he threw it through the trap-door into the
+boiling Rhone.
+
+Gerande, her feet riveted to the floor, stood breathless and
+motionless. She wished to approach her father, but could not.
+Giddy hallucinations took possession of her. Suddenly she heard,
+in the shade, a voice murmur in her ears,--
+
+"Gerande, dear Gerande! grief still keeps you awake. Go in again,
+I beg of you; the night is cold."
+
+"Aubert!" whispered the young girl. "You!"
+
+"Ought I not to be troubled by what troubles you?"
+
+These soft words sent the blood back into the young girl's heart.
+She leaned on Aubert's arm, and said to him,--
+
+"My father is very ill, Aubert! You alone can cure him, for this
+disorder of the mind would not yield to his daughter's consolings.
+His mind is attacked by a very natural delusion, and in working with
+him, repairing the watches, you will bring him back to reason.
+Aubert," she continued, "it is not true, is it, that his life is
+mixed up with that of his watches?"
+
+Aubert did not reply.
+
+"But is my father's a trade condemned by God?" asked Gerande,
+trembling.
+
+"I know not," returned the apprentice, warming the cold hands of
+the girl with his own. "But go back to your room, my poor
+Gerande, and with sleep recover hope!"
+
+Gerande slowly returned to her chamber, and remained there till
+daylight, without sleep closing her eyelids. Meanwhile, Master
+Zacharius, always mute and motionless, gazed at the river as it
+rolled turbulently at his feet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE.
+
+
+The severity of the Geneva merchant in business matters has
+become proverbial. He is rigidly honourable, and excessively
+just. What must, then, have been the shame of Master Zacharius,
+when he saw these watches, which he had so carefully constructed,
+returning to him from every direction?
+
+It was certain that these watches had suddenly stopped, and
+without any apparent reason. The wheels were in a good condition
+and firmly fixed, but the springs had lost all elasticity. Vainly
+did the watchmaker try to replace them; the wheels remained
+motionless. These unaccountable derangements were greatly to the
+old man's discredit. His noble inventions had many times brought
+upon him suspicions of sorcery, which now seemed confirmed. These
+rumours reached Gerande, and she often trembled for her father,
+when she saw malicious glances directed towards him.
+
+Yet on the morning after this night of anguish, Master Zacharius
+seemed to resume work with some confidence. The morning sun
+inspired him with some courage. Aubert hastened to join him in
+the shop, and received an affable "Good-day."
+
+"I am better," said the old man. "I don't know what strange pains
+in the head attacked me yesterday, but the sun has quite chased
+them away, with the clouds of the night."
+
+"In faith, master," returned Aubert, "I don't like the night for
+either of us!"
+
+"And thou art right, Aubert. If you ever become a great man, you
+will understand that day is as necessary to you as food. A great
+savant should be always ready to receive the homage of his
+fellow-men."
+
+"Master, it seems to me that the pride of science has possessed
+you."
+
+"Pride, Aubert! Destroy my past, annihilate my present, dissipate
+my future, and then it will be permitted to me to live in
+obscurity! Poor boy, who comprehends not the sublime things to
+which my art is wholly devoted! Art thou not but a tool in my
+hands?"
+
+"Yet. Master Zacharius," resumed Aubert, "I have more than once
+merited your praise for the manner in which I adjusted the most
+delicate parts of your watches and clocks."
+
+"No doubt, Aubert; thou art a good workman, such as I love; but
+when thou workest, thou thinkest thou hast in thy hands but
+copper, silver, gold; thou dost not perceive these metals, which
+my genius animates, palpitating like living flesh! So that thou
+wilt not die, with the death of thy works!"
+
+Master Zacharius remained silent after these words; but Aubert
+essayed to keep up the conversation.
+
+"Indeed, master," said he, "I love to see you work so
+unceasingly! You will be ready for the festival of our
+corporation, for I see that the work on this crystal watch is
+going forward famously."
+
+"No doubt, Aubert," cried the old watchmaker, "and it will be no
+slight honour for me to have been able to cut and shape the
+crystal to the durability of a diamond! Ah, Louis Berghem did
+well to perfect the art of diamond-cutting, which has enabled me
+to polish and pierce the hardest stones!"
+
+Master Zacharius was holding several small watch pieces of cut
+crystal, and of exquisite workmanship. The wheels, pivots, and
+case of the watch were of the same material, and he had employed
+remarkable skill in this very difficult task.
+
+"Would it not be fine," said he, his face flushing, "to see this
+watch palpitating beneath its transparent envelope, and to be
+able to count the beatings of its heart?"
+
+"I will wager, sir," replied the young apprentice, "that it will
+not vary a second in a year."
+
+"And you would wager on a certainty! Have I not imparted to it
+all that is purest of myself? And does my heart vary? My heart, I
+say?"
+
+Aubert did not dare to lift his eyes to his master's face.
+
+"Tell me frankly," said the old man sadly. "Have you never taken
+me for a madman? Do you not think me sometimes subject to
+dangerous folly? Yes; is it not so? In my daughter's eyes and
+yours, I have often read my condemnation. Oh!" he cried, as if in
+pain, "to be misunderstood by those whom one most loves in the
+world! But I will prove victoriously to thee, Aubert, that I am
+right! Do not shake thy head, for thou wilt be astounded. The day
+on which thou understandest how to listen to and comprehend me,
+thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence,
+the secrets of the mysterious union of the soul with the body!"
+
+[Illustration: "Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets
+of existence."]
+
+As he spoke thus, Master Zacharius appeared superb in his vanity.
+His eyes glittered with a supernatural fire, and his pride
+illumined every feature. And truly, if ever vanity was excusable,
+it was that of Master Zacharius!
+
+The watchmaking art, indeed, down to his time, had remained
+almost in its infancy. From the day when Plato, four centuries
+before the Christian era, invented the night watch, a sort of
+clepsydra which indicated the hours of the night by the sound and
+playing of a flute, the science had continued nearly stationary.
+The masters paid more attention to the arts than to mechanics,
+and it was the period of beautiful watches of iron, copper, wood,
+silver, which were richly engraved, like one of Cellini's ewers.
+They made a masterpiece of chasing, which measured time
+imperfectly, but was still a masterpiece. When the artist's
+imagination was not directed to the perfection of modelling, it
+set to work to create clocks with moving figures and melodious
+sounds, whose appearance took all attention. Besides, who
+troubled himself, in those days, with regulating the advance of
+time? The delays of the law were not as yet invented; the
+physical and astronomical sciences had not as yet established
+their calculations on scrupulously exact measurements; there were
+neither establishments which were shut at a given hour, nor
+trains which departed at a precise moment. In the evening the
+curfew bell sounded; and at night the hours were cried amid the
+universal silence. Certainly people did not live so long, if
+existence is measured by the amount of business done; but they
+lived better. The mind was enriched with the noble sentiments
+born of the contemplation of chefs-d'oeuvr�. They built a church
+in two centuries, a painter painted but few pictures in the
+course of his life, a poet only composed one great work; but
+these were so many masterpieces for after-ages to appreciate.
+
+When the exact sciences began at last to make some progress,
+watch and clock making followed in their path, though it was
+always arrested by an insurmountable difficulty,--the regular and
+continuous measurement of time.
+
+It was in the midst of this stagnation that Master Zacharius
+invented the escapement, which enabled him to obtain a mathematical
+regularity by submitting the movement of the pendulum to a sustained
+force. This invention had turned the old man's head. Pride, swelling
+in his heart, like mercury in the thermometer, had attained the
+height of transcendent folly. By analogy he had allowed himself to
+be drawn to materialistic conclusions, and as he constructed his
+watches, he fancied that he had discovered the secrets of the union
+of the soul with the body.
+
+Thus, on this day, perceiving that Aubert listened to him
+attentively, he said to him in a tone of simple conviction,--
+
+"Dost thou know what life is, my child? Hast thou comprehended
+the action of those springs which produce existence? Hast thou
+examined thyself? No. And yet, with the eyes of science, thou
+mightest have seen the intimate relation which exists between
+God's work and my own; for it is from his creature that I have
+copied the combinations of the wheels of my clocks."
+
+"Master," replied Aubert eagerly, "can you compare a copper or
+steel machine with that breath of God which is called the soul,
+which animates our bodies as the breeze stirs the flowers? What
+mechanism could be so adjusted as to inspire us with thought?"
+
+"That is not the question," responded Master Zacharius gently,
+but with all the obstinacy of a blind man walking towards an
+abyss. "In order to understand me, thou must recall the purpose
+of the escapement which I have invented. When I saw the irregular
+working of clocks, I understood that the movements shut up in
+them did not suffice, and that it was necessary to submit them to
+the regularity of some independent force. I then thought that the
+balance-wheel might accomplish this, and I succeeded in
+regulating the movement! Now, was it not a sublime idea that came
+to me, to return to it its lost force by the action of the clock
+itself, which it was charged with regulating?"
+
+Aubert made a sign of assent.
+
+"Now, Aubert," continued the old man, growing animated, "cast
+thine eyes upon thyself! Dost thou not understand that there are
+two distinct forces in us, that of the soul and that of the
+body--that is, a movement and a regulator? The soul is the
+principle of life; that is, then, the movement. Whether it is
+produced by a weight, by a spring, or by an immaterial influence,
+it is none the less in the heart. But without the body this
+movement would be unequal, irregular, impossible! Thus the body
+regulates the soul, and, like the balance-wheel, it is submitted
+to regular oscillations. And this is so true, that one falls ill
+when one's drink, food, sleep--in a word, the functions of the
+body--are not properly regulated; just as in my watches the soul
+renders to the body the force lost by its oscillations. Well, what
+produces this intimate union between soul and body, if not a
+marvellous escapement, by which the wheels of the one work into the
+wheels of the other? This is what I have discovered and applied;
+and there are no longer any secrets for me in this life, which is,
+after all, only an ingenious mechanism!"
+
+Master Zacharius looked sublime in this hallucination, which
+carried him to the ultimate mysteries of the Infinite. But his
+daughter Gerande, standing on the threshold of the door, had
+heard all. She rushed into her father's arms, and he pressed her
+convulsively to his breast.
+
+"What is the matter with thee, my daughter?" he asked.
+
+"If I had only a spring here," said she, putting her hand on her
+heart, "I would not love you as I do, father."
+
+Master Zacharius looked intently at Gerande, and did not reply.
+Suddenly he uttered a cry, carried his hand eagerly to his heart,
+and fell fainting on his old leathern chair.
+
+"Father, what is the matter?"
+
+[Illustration: "Father, what is the matter?"]
+
+"Help!" cried Aubert. "Scholastique!"
+
+But Scholastique did not come at once. Some one was knocking at
+the front door; she had gone to open it, and when she returned to
+the shop, before she could open her mouth, the old watchmaker,
+having recovered his senses, spoke:--
+
+"I divine, my old Scholastique, that you bring me still another
+of those accursed watches which have stopped."
+
+"Lord, it is true enough!" replied Scholastique, handing a watch
+to Aubert.
+
+"My heart could not be mistaken!" said the old man, with a sigh.
+
+Meanwhile Aubert carefully wound up the watch, but it would not
+go.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A STRANGE VISIT.
+
+
+Poor Gerande would have lost her life with that of her father,
+had it not been for the thought of Aubert, who still attached her
+to the world.
+
+The old watchmaker was, little by little, passing away. His
+faculties evidently grew more feeble, as he concentrated them on
+a single thought. By a sad association of ideas, he referred
+everything to his monomania, and a human existence seemed to have
+departed from him, to give place to the extra-natural existence
+of the intermediate powers. Moreover, certain malicious rivals
+revived the sinister rumours which had spread concerning his
+labours.
+
+The news of the strange derangements which his watches betrayed
+had a prodigious effect upon the master clockmakers of Geneva.
+What signified this sudden paralysis of their wheels, and why
+these strange relations which they seemed to have with the old
+man's life? These were the kind of mysteries which people never
+contemplate without a secret terror. In the various classes of
+the town, from the apprentice to the great lord who used the
+watches of the old horologist, there was no one who could not
+himself judge of the singularity of the fact. The citizens
+wished, but in vain, to get to see Master Zacharius. He fell very
+ill; and this enabled his daughter to withdraw him from those
+incessant visits which had degenerated into reproaches and
+recriminations.
+
+Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of this
+organic wasting away, the cause of which could not be discovered.
+It sometimes seemed as if the old man's heart had ceased to beat;
+then the pulsations were resumed with an alarming irregularity.
+
+A custom existed in those days of publicly exhibiting the works
+of the masters. The heads of the various corporations sought to
+distinguish themselves by the novelty or the perfection of their
+productions; and it was among these that the condition of Master
+Zacharius excited the most lively, because most interested,
+commiseration. His rivals pitied him the more willingly because
+they feared him the less. They never forgot the old man's
+success, when he exhibited his magnificent clocks with moving
+figures, his repeaters, which provoked general admiration, and
+commanded such high prices in the cities of France, Switzerland,
+and Germany.
+
+Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of Gerande and
+Aubert, his strength seemed to return a little; and in the
+tranquillity in which his convalescence left him, he succeeded in
+detaching himself from the thoughts which had absorbed him. As
+soon as he could walk, his daughter lured him away from the
+house, which was still besieged with dissatisfied customers.
+Aubert remained in the shop, vainly adjusting and readjusting the
+rebel watches; and the poor boy, completely mystified, sometimes
+covered his face with his hands, fearful that he, like his
+master, might go mad.
+
+Gerande led her father towards the more pleasant promenades of
+the town. With his arm resting on hers, she conducted him
+sometimes through the quarter of Saint Antoine, the view from
+which extends towards the Cologny hill, and over the lake; on
+fine mornings they caught sight of the gigantic peaks of Mount
+Buet against the horizon. Gerande pointed out these spots to her
+father, who had well-nigh forgotten even their names. His memory
+wandered; and he took a childish interest in learning anew what
+had passed from his mind. Master Zacharius leaned upon his
+daughter; and the two heads, one white as snow and the other
+covered with rich golden tresses, met in the same ray of
+sunlight.
+
+So it came about that the old watchmaker at last perceived that
+he was not alone in the world. As he looked upon his young and
+lovely daughter, and on himself old and broken, he reflected that
+after his death she would be left alone without support. Many of
+the young mechanics of Geneva had already sought to win Gerande's
+love; but none of them had succeeded in gaining access to the
+impenetrable retreat of the watchmaker's household. It was
+natural, then, that during this lucid interval, the old man's
+choice should fall on Aubert Thun. Once struck with this thought,
+he remarked to himself that this young couple had been brought up
+with the same ideas and the same beliefs; and the oscillations of
+their hearts seemed to him, as he said one day to Scholastique,
+"isochronous."
+
+The old servant, literally delighted with the word, though she
+did not understand it, swore by her holy patron saint that the
+whole town should hear it within a quarter of an hour. Master
+Zacharius found it difficult to calm her; but made her promise to
+keep on this subject a silence which she never was known to
+observe.
+
+So, though Gerande and Aubert were ignorant of it, all Geneva was
+soon talking of their speedy union. But it happened also that,
+while the worthy folk were gossiping, a strange chuckle was often
+heard, and a voice saying, "Gerande will not wed Aubert."
+
+If the talkers turned round, they found themselves facing a
+little old man who was quite a stranger to them.
+
+How old was this singular being? No one could have told. People
+conjectured that he must have existed for several centuries, and
+that was all. His big flat head rested upon shoulders the width
+of which was equal to the height of his body; this was not above
+three feet. This personage would have made a good figure to
+support a pendulum, for the dial would have naturally been placed
+on his face, and the balance-wheel would have oscillated at its
+ease in his chest. His nose might readily have been taken for the
+style of a sun-dial, for it was narrow and sharp; his teeth, far
+apart, resembled the cogs of a wheel, and ground themselves
+between his lips; his voice had the metallic sound of a bell, and
+you could hear his heart beat like the tick of a clock. This
+little man, whose arms moved like the hands on a dial, walked
+with jerks, without ever turning round. If any one followed him,
+it was found that he walked a league an hour, and that his course
+was nearly circular.
+
+This strange being had not long been seen wandering, or rather
+circulating, around the town; but it had already been observed
+that, every day, at the moment when the sun passed the meridian,
+he stopped before the Cathedral of Saint Pierre, and resumed his
+course after the twelve strokes of noon had sounded. Excepting at
+this precise moment, he seemed to become a part of all the
+conversations in which the old watchmaker was talked of; and
+people asked each other, in terror, what relation could exist
+between him and Master Zacharius. It was remarked, too, that he
+never lost sight of the old man and his daughter while they were
+taking their promenades.
+
+One day Gerande perceived this monster looking at her with a
+hideous smile. She clung to her father with a frightened motion.
+
+"What is the matter, my Gerande?" asked Master Zacharius.
+
+"I do not know," replied the young girl.
+
+"But thou art changed, my child. Art thou going to fall ill in
+thy turn? Ah, well," he added, with a sad smile, "then I must
+take care of thee, and I will do it tenderly."
+
+"O father, it will be nothing. I am cold, and I imagine that it
+is--"
+
+"What, Gerande?"
+
+"The presence of that man, who always follows us," she replied in
+a low tone.
+
+Master Zacharius turned towards the little old man.
+
+"Faith, he goes well," said he, with a satisfied air, "for it is
+just four o'clock. Fear nothing, my child; it is not a man, it
+is a clock!"
+
+Gerande looked at her father in terror. How could Master
+Zacharius read the hour on this strange creature's visage?
+
+"By-the-bye," continued the old watchmaker, paying no further
+attention to the matter, "I have not seen Aubert for several
+days."
+
+"He has not left us, however, father," said Gerande, whose
+thoughts turned into a gentler channel.
+
+"What is he doing then?"
+
+"He is working."
+
+"Ah!" cried the old man. "He is at work repairing my watches, is
+he not? But he will never succeed; for it is not repair they
+need, but a resurrection!"
+
+Gerande remained silent.
+
+"I must know," added the old man, "if they have brought back any
+more of those accursed watches upon which the Devil has sent this
+epidemic!"
+
+After these words Master Zacharius fell into complete silence,
+till he knocked at the door of his house, and for the first time
+since his convalescence descended to his shop, while Gerande
+sadly repaired to her chamber.
+
+Just as Master Zacharius crossed the threshold of his shop, one
+of the many clocks suspended on the wall struck five o'clock.
+Usually the bells of these clocks--admirably regulated as they
+were--struck simultaneously, and this rejoiced the old man's
+heart; but on this day the bells struck one after another, so
+that for a quarter of an hour the ear was deafened by the
+successive noises. Master Zacharius suffered acutely; he could
+not remain still, but went from one clock to the other, and beat
+the time to them, like a conductor who no longer has control over
+his musicians.
+
+When the last had ceased striking, the door of the shop opened,
+and Master Zacharius shuddered from head to foot to see before
+him the little old man, who looked fixedly at him and said,--
+
+"Master, may I not speak with you a few moments?"
+
+"Who are you?" asked the watchmaker abruptly.
+
+"A colleague. It is my business to regulate the sun."
+
+"Ah, you regulate the sun?" replied Master Zacharius eagerly,
+without wincing. "I can scarcely compliment you upon it. Your sun
+goes badly, and in order to make ourselves agree with it, we have
+to keep putting our clocks forward so much or back so much."
+
+"And by the cloven foot," cried this weird personage, "you are
+right, my master! My sun does not always mark noon at the same
+moment as your clocks; but some day it will be known that this is
+because of the inequality of the earth's transfer, and a mean
+noon will be invented which will regulate this irregularity!"
+
+"Shall I live till then?" asked the old man, with glistening
+eyes.
+
+"Without doubt," replied the little old man, laughing. "Can you
+believe that you will ever die?"
+
+"Alas! I am very ill now."
+
+"Ah, let us talk of that. By Beelzebub! that will lead to just
+what I wish to speak to you about."
+
+Saying this, the strange being leaped upon the old leather chair,
+and carried his legs one under the other, after the fashion of
+the bones which the painters of funeral hangings cross beneath
+death's heads. Then he resumed, in an ironical tone,--
+
+[Illustration: Then he resumed, in an ironical tone]
+
+"Let us see, Master Zacharius, what is going on in this good town
+of Geneva? They say that your health is failing, that your
+watches have need of a doctor!"
+
+"Ah, do you believe that there is an intimate relation between
+their existence and mine?" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"Why, I imagine that these watches have faults, even vices. If
+these wantons do not preserve a regular conduct, it is right that
+they should bear the consequences of their irregularity. It seems
+to me that they have need of reforming a little!"
+
+"What do you call faults?" asked Master Zacharius, reddening at
+the sarcastic tone in which these words were uttered. "Have they
+not a right to be proud of their origin?"
+
+"Not too proud, not too proud," replied the little old man. "They
+bear a celebrated name, and an illustrious signature is graven on
+their cases, it is true, and theirs is the exclusive privilege of
+being introduced among the noblest families; but for some time
+they have got out of order, and you can do nothing in the matter,
+Master Zacharius; and the stupidest apprentice in Geneva could
+prove it to you!"
+
+"To me, to me,--Master Zacharius!" cried the old man, with a
+flush of outraged pride.
+
+"To you, Master Zacharius,--you, who cannot restore life to your
+watches!"
+
+"But it is because I have a fever, and so have they also!"
+replied the old man, as a cold sweat broke out upon him.
+
+"Very well, they will die with you, since you cannot impart a
+little elasticity to their springs."
+
+"Die! No, for you yourself have said it! I cannot die,--I, the
+first watchmaker in the world; I, who, by means of these pieces
+and diverse wheels, have been able to regulate the movement with
+absolute precision! Have I not subjected time to exact laws, and
+can I not dispose of it like a despot? Before a sublime genius
+had arranged these wandering hours regularly, in what vast
+uncertainty was human destiny plunged? At what certain moment
+could the acts of life be connected with each other? But you, man
+or devil, whatever you may be, have never considered the
+magnificence of my art, which calls every science to its aid! No,
+no! I, Master Zacharius, cannot die, for, as I have regulated
+time, time would end with me! It would return to the infinite,
+whence my genius has rescued it, and it would lose itself
+irreparably in the abyss of nothingness! No, I can no more die
+than the Creator of this universe, that submitted to His laws! I
+have become His equal, and I have partaken of His power! If God
+has created eternity, Master Zacharius has created time!"
+
+The old watchmaker now resembled the fallen angel, defiant in the
+presence of the Creator. The little old man gazed at him, and
+even seemed to breathe into him this impious transport.
+
+"Well said, master," he replied. "Beelzebub had less right than
+you to compare himself with God! Your glory must not perish! So
+your servant here desires to give you the method of controlling
+these rebellious watches."
+
+"What is it? what is it?" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"You shall know on the day after that on which you have given me
+your daughter's hand."
+
+"My Gerande?"
+
+"Herself!"
+
+"My daughter's heart is not free," replied Master Zacharius, who
+seemed neither astonished nor shocked at the strange demand.
+
+"Bah! She is not the least beautiful of watches; but she will end
+by stopping also--"
+
+"My daughter,--my Gerande! No!"
+
+"Well, return to your watches, Master Zacharius. Adjust and
+readjust them. Get ready the marriage of your daughter and your
+apprentice. Temper your springs with your best steel. Bless
+Aubert and the pretty Gerande.  But remember, your watches will
+never go, and Gerande will not wed Aubert!"
+
+Thereupon the little old man disappeared, but not so quickly that
+Master Zacharius could not hear six o'clock strike in his breast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE CHURCH OF SAINT PIERRE.
+
+
+Meanwhile Master Zacharius became more feeble in mind and body
+every day. An unusual excitement, indeed, impelled him to
+continue his work more eagerly than ever, nor could his daughter
+entice him from it.
+
+His pride was still more aroused after the crisis to which his
+strange visitor had hurried him so treacherously, and he resolved
+to overcome, by the force of genius, the malign influence which
+weighed upon his work and himself. He first repaired to the
+various clocks of the town which were confided to his care. He
+made sure, by a scrupulous examination, that the wheels were in
+good condition, the pivots firm, the weights exactly balanced.
+Every part, even to the bells, was examined with the minute
+attention of a physician studying the breast of a patient.
+Nothing indicated that these clocks were on the point of being
+affected by inactivity.
+
+Gerande and Aubert often accompanied the old man on these visits.
+He would no doubt have been pleased to see them eager to go with
+him, and certainly he would not have been so much absorbed in his
+approaching end, had he thought that his existence was to be
+prolonged by that of these cherished ones, and had he understood
+that something of the life of a father always remains in his
+children.
+
+The old watchmaker, on returning home, resumed his labours with
+feverish zeal. Though persuaded that he would not succeed, it yet
+seemed to him impossible that this could be so, and he unceasingly
+took to pieces the watches which were brought to his shop, and put
+them together again.
+
+Aubert tortured his mind in vain to discover the causes of the
+evil.
+
+"Master," said he, "this can only come from the wear of the
+pivots and gearing."
+
+"Do you want, then, to kill me, little by little?" replied Master
+Zacharius passionately. "Are these watches child's work? Was it
+lest I should hurt my fingers that I worked the surface of these
+copper pieces in the lathe? Have I not forged these pieces of
+copper myself, so as to obtain a greater strength? Are not these
+springs tempered to a rare perfection? Could anybody have used
+finer oils than mine? You must yourself agree that it is
+impossible, and you avow, in short, that the devil is in it!"
+
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the
+house, and they got access to the old watchmaker himself, who
+knew not which of them to listen to.
+
+[Illustration: From morning till night discontented purchasers
+besieged the house]
+
+"This watch loses, and I cannot succeed in regulating it," said
+one.
+
+"This," said another, "is absolutely obstinate, and stands still,
+as did Joshua's sun."
+
+"If it is true," said most of them, "that your health has an
+influence on that of your watches, Master Zacharius, get well as
+soon as possible."
+
+The old man gazed at these people with haggard eyes, and only
+replied by shaking his head, or by a few sad words,--
+
+"Wait till the first fine weather, my friends. The season is
+coming which revives existence in wearied bodies. We want the sun
+to warm us all!"
+
+"A fine thing, if my watches are to be ill through the winter!"
+said one of the most angry. "Do you know, Master Zacharius, that
+your name is inscribed in full on their faces? By the Virgin, you
+do little honour to your signature!"
+
+It happened at last that the old man, abashed by these
+reproaches, took some pieces of gold from his old trunk, and
+began to buy back the damaged watches. At news of this, the
+customers came in a crowd, and the poor watchmaker's money fast
+melted away; but his honesty remained intact. Gerande warmly
+praised his delicacy, which was leading him straight towards
+ruin; and Aubert soon offered his own savings to his master.
+
+"What will become of my daughter?" said Master Zacharius,
+clinging now and then in the shipwreck to his paternal love.
+
+Aubert dared not answer that he was full of hope for the future,
+and of deep devotion to Gerande. Master Zacharius would have that
+day called him his son-in-law, and thus refuted the sad prophecy,
+which still buzzed in his ears,--
+
+"Gerande will not wed Aubert."
+
+By this plan the watchmaker at last succeeded in entirely
+despoiling himself. His antique vases passed into the hands of
+strangers; he deprived himself of the richly-carved panels which
+adorned the walls of his house; some primitive pictures of the
+early Flemish painters soon ceased to please his daughter's eyes,
+and everything, even the precious tools that his genius had
+invented, were sold to indemnify the clamorous customers.
+
+Scholastique alone refused to listen to reason on the subject;
+but her efforts failed to prevent the unwelcome visitors from
+reaching her master, and from soon departing with some valuable
+object. Then her chattering was heard in all the streets of the
+neighbourhood, where she had long been known. She eagerly denied
+the rumours of sorcery and magic on the part of Master Zacharius,
+which gained currency; but as at bottom she was persuaded of
+their truth, she said her prayers over and over again to redeem
+her pious falsehoods.
+
+It had been noticed that for some time the old watchmaker had
+neglected his religious duties. Time was, when he had accompanied
+Gerande to church, and had seemed to find in prayer the
+intellectual charm which it imparts to thoughtful minds, since it
+is the most sublime exercise of the imagination. This voluntary
+neglect of holy practices, added to the secret habits of his
+life, had in some sort confirmed the accusations levelled against
+his labours. So, with the double purpose of drawing her father
+back to God, and to the world, Gerande resolved to call religion
+to her aid. She thought that it might give some vitality to his
+dying soul; but the dogmas of faith and humility had to combat,
+in the soul of Master Zacharius, an insurmountable pride, and
+came into collision with that vanity of science which connects
+everything with itself, without rising to the infinite source
+whence first principles flow.
+
+It was under these circumstances that the young girl undertook
+her father's conversion; and her influence was so effective that
+the old watchmaker promised to attend high mass at the cathedral
+on the following Sunday. Gerande was in an ecstasy, as if heaven
+had opened to her view. Old Scholastique could not contain her
+joy, and at last found irrefutable arguments' against the
+gossiping tongues which accused her master of impiety. She spoke
+of it to her neighbours, her friends, her enemies, to those whom
+she knew not as well as to those whom she knew.
+
+"In faith, we scarcely believe what you tell us, dame
+Scholastique," they replied; "Master Zacharius has always acted
+in concert with the devil!"
+
+"You haven't counted, then," replied the old servant, "the fine
+bells which strike for my master's clocks? How many times they
+have struck the hours of prayer and the mass!"
+
+"No doubt," they would reply. "But has he not invented machines
+which go all by themselves, and which actually do the work of a
+real man?"
+
+"Could a child of the devil," exclaimed dame Scholastique
+wrathfully, "have executed the fine iron clock of the ch�teau of
+Andernatt, which the town of Geneva was not rich enough to buy? A
+pious motto appeared at each hour, and a Christian who obeyed
+them, would have gone straight to Paradise! Is that the work of
+the devil?"
+
+This masterpiece, made twenty years before, had carried Master
+Zacharius's fame to its acme; but even then there had been
+accusations of sorcery against him. But at least the old man's
+visit to the Cathedral ought to reduce malicious tongues to
+silence.
+
+Master Zacharius, having doubtless forgotten the promise made to
+his daughter, had returned to his shop. After being convinced of
+his powerlessness to give life to his watches, he resolved to try
+if he could not make some new ones. He abandoned all those
+useless works, and devoted himself to the completion of the
+crystal watch, which he intended to be his masterpiece; but in
+vain did he use his most perfect tools, and employ rubies and
+diamonds for resisting friction. The watch fell from his hands
+the first time that he attempted to wind it up!
+
+The old man concealed this circumstance from every one, even from
+his daughter; but from that time his health rapidly declined.
+There were only the last oscillations of a pendulum, which goes
+slower when nothing restores its original force. It seemed as if
+the laws of gravity, acting directly upon him, were dragging him
+irresistibly down to the grave.
+
+The Sunday so ardently anticipated by Gerande at last arrived.
+The weather was fine, and the temperature inspiriting. The people
+of Geneva were passing quietly through the streets, gaily
+chatting about the return of spring. Gerande, tenderly taking the
+old man's arm, directed her steps towards the cathedral, while
+Scholastique followed behind with the prayer-books. People looked
+curiously at them as they passed. The old watchmaker permitted
+himself to be led like a child, or rather like a blind man. The
+faithful of Saint Pierre were almost frightened when they saw him
+cross the threshold, and shrank back at his approach.
+
+The chants of high mass were already resounding through the
+church. Gerande went to her accustomed bench, and kneeled with
+profound and simple reverence. Master Zacharius remained standing
+upright beside her.
+
+The ceremonies continued with the majestic solemnity of that
+faithful age, but the old man had no faith. He did not implore
+the pity of Heaven with cries of anguish of the "Kyrie;" he did
+not, with the "Gloria in Excelsis," sing the splendours of the
+heavenly heights; the reading of the Testament did not draw him
+from his materialistic reverie, and he forgot to join in the
+homage of the "Credo." This proud old man remained motionless, as
+insensible and silent as a stone statue; and even at the solemn
+moment when the bell announced the miracle of transubstantiation,
+he did not bow his head, but gazed directly at the sacred host
+which the priest raised above the heads of the faithful. Gerande
+looked at her father, and a flood of tears moistened her missal.
+At this moment the clock of Saint Pierre struck half-past eleven.
+Master Zacharius turned quickly towards this ancient clock which
+still spoke. It seemed to him as if its face was gazing steadily
+at him; the figures of the hours shone as if they had been
+engraved in lines of fire, and the hands shot forth electric
+sparks from their sharp points.
+
+[Illustration: This proud old man remained motionless]
+
+The mass ended. It was customary for the "Angelus" to be said at
+noon, and the priests, before leaving the altar, waited for the
+clock to strike the hour of twelve. In a few moments this prayer
+would ascend to the feet of the Virgin.
+
+But suddenly a harsh noise was heard. Master Zacharius uttered a
+piercing cry.
+
+The large hand of the clock, having reached twelve, had abruptly
+stopped, and the clock did not strike the hour.
+
+Gerande hastened to her father's aid. He had fallen down
+motionless, and they carried him outside the church.
+
+"It is the death-blow!" murmured Gerande, sobbing.
+
+When he had been borne home, Master Zacharius lay upon his bed
+utterly crushed. Life seemed only to still exist on the surface
+of his body, like the last whiffs of smoke about a lamp just
+extinguished. When he came to his senses, Aubert and Gerande were
+leaning over him. In these last moments the future took in his
+eyes the shape of the present. He saw his daughter alone, without
+a protector.
+
+"My son," said he to Aubert, "I give my daughter to thee."
+
+So saying, he stretched out his hands towards his two children,
+who were thus united at his death-bed.
+
+But soon Master Zacharius lifted himself up in a paroxysm of
+rage. The words of the little old man recurred to his mind.
+
+"I do not wish to die!" he cried; "I cannot die! I, Master
+Zacharius, ought not to die! My books--my accounts!--"
+
+With these words he sprang from his bed towards a book in which
+the names of his customers and the articles which had been sold
+to them were inscribed. He seized it and rapidly turned over its
+leaves, and his emaciated finger fixed itself on one of the
+pages.
+
+"There!" he cried, "there! this old iron clock, sold to
+Pittonaccio! It is the only one that has not been returned to me!
+It still exists--it goes--it lives! Ah, I wish for it--I must
+find it! I will take such care of it that death will no longer
+seek me!"
+
+And he fainted away.
+
+Aubert and Gerande knelt by the old man's bed-side and prayed
+together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE HOUR OF DEATH.
+
+
+Several days passed, and Master Zacharius, though almost dead,
+rose from his bed and returned to active life under a supernatural
+excitement. He lived by pride. But Gerande did not deceive
+herself; her father's body and soul were for ever lost.
+
+The old man got together his last remaining resources, without
+thought of those who were dependent upon him. He betrayed an
+incredible energy, walking, ferreting about, and mumbling
+strange, incomprehensible words.
+
+One morning Gerande went down to his shop. Master Zacharius was
+not there. She waited for him all day. Master Zacharius did not
+return.
+
+Gerande wept bitterly, but her father did not reappear.
+
+Aubert searched everywhere through the town, and soon came to the
+sad conviction that the old man had left it.
+
+"Let us find my father!" cried Gerande, when the young apprentice
+told her this sad news.
+
+"Where can he be?" Aubert asked himself.
+
+An inspiration suddenly came to his mind. He remembered the last
+words which Master Zacharius had spoken. The old man only lived
+now in the old iron clock that had not been returned! Master
+Zacharius must have gone in search of it.
+
+Aubert spoke of this to Gerande.
+
+"Let us look at my father's book," she replied.
+
+They descended to the shop. The book was open on the bench. All
+the watches or clocks made by the old man, and which had been
+returned to him because they were out of order, were stricken out
+excepting one:--
+
+"Sold to M. Pittonaccio, an iron clock, with bell and moving
+figures; sent to his ch�teau at Andernatt."
+
+It was this "moral" clock of which Scholastique had spoken with
+so much enthusiasm.
+
+"My father is there!" cried Gerande.
+
+"Let us hasten thither," replied Aubert. "We may still save him!"
+
+"Not for this life," murmured Gerande, "but at least for the
+other."
+
+"By the mercy of God, Gerande! The ch�teau of Andernatt stands in
+the gorge of the 'Dents-du-Midi' twenty hours from Geneva. Let us
+go!"
+
+That very evening Aubert and Gerande, followed by the old
+servant, set out on foot by the road which skirts Lake Leman.
+They accomplished five leagues during the night, stopping neither
+at Bessinge nor at Ermance, where rises the famous ch�teau of the
+Mayors. They with difficulty forded the torrent of the Dranse,
+and everywhere they went they inquired for Master Zacharius, and
+were soon convinced that they were on his track.
+
+The next morning, at daybreak, having passed Thonon, they reached
+Evian, whence the Swiss territory may be seen extended over
+twelve leagues. But the two betrothed did not even perceive the
+enchanting prospect. They went straight forward, urged on by a
+supernatural force. Aubert, leaning on a knotty stick, offered
+his arm alternately to Gerande and to Scholastique, and he made
+the greatest efforts to sustain his companions. All three talked
+of their sorrow, of their hopes, and thus passed along the
+beautiful road by the water-side, and across the narrow plateau
+which unites the borders of the lake with the heights of the
+Chalais. They soon reached Bouveret, where the Rhone enters the
+Lake of Geneva.
+
+On leaving this town they diverged from the lake, and their
+weariness increased amid these mountain districts. Vionnaz,
+Chesset, Collombay, half lost villages, were soon left behind.
+Meanwhile their knees shook, their feet were lacerated by the
+sharp points which covered the ground like a brushwood of
+granite;--but no trace of Master Zacharius!
+
+He must be found, however, and the two young people did not seek
+repose either in the isolated hamlets or at the ch�teau of
+Monthay, which, with its dependencies, formed the appanage of
+Margaret of Savoy. At last, late in the day, and half dead with
+fatigue, they reached the hermitage of Notre-Dame-du-Sex, which
+is situated at the base of the Dents-du-Midi, six hundred feet
+above the Rhone.
+
+The hermit received the three wanderers as night was falling.
+They could not have gone another step, and here they must needs
+rest.
+
+The hermit could give them no news of Master Zacharius. They
+could scarcely hope to find him still living amid these sad
+solitudes. The night was dark, the wind howled amid the
+mountains, and the avalanches roared down from the summits of the
+broken crags.
+
+Aubert and Gerande, crouching before the hermit's hearth, told
+him their melancholy tale. Their mantles, covered with snow, were
+drying in a corner; and without, the hermit's dog barked
+lugubriously, and mingled his voice with that of the tempest.
+
+"Pride," said the hermit to his guests, "has destroyed an angel
+created for good. It is the stumbling-block against which the
+destinies of man strike. You cannot reason with pride, the
+principal of all the vices, since, by its very nature, the proud
+man refuses to listen to it. It only remains, then, to pray for
+your father!"
+
+All four knelt down, when the barking of the dog redoubled, and
+some one knocked at the door of the hermitage.
+
+"Open, in the devil's name!"
+
+The door yielded under the blows, and a dishevelled, haggard,
+ill-clothed man appeared.
+
+"My father!" cried Gerande.
+
+It was Master Zacharius.
+
+"Where am I?" said he. "In eternity! Time is ended--the hours no
+longer strike--the hands have stopped!"
+
+"Father!" returned Gerande, with so piteous an emotion that the
+old man seemed to return to the world of the living.
+
+"Thou here, Gerande?" he cried; "and thou, Aubert? Ah, my dear
+betrothed ones, you are going to be married in our old church!"
+
+"Father," said Gerande, seizing him by the arm, "come home to
+Geneva,--come with us!"
+
+The old man tore away from his daughter's embrace and hurried
+towards the door, on the threshold of which the snow was falling
+in large flakes.
+
+"Do not abandon your children!" cried Aubert.
+
+"Why return," replied the old man sadly, "to those places which
+my life has already quitted, and where a part of myself is for
+ever buried?"
+
+"Your soul is not dead," said the hermit solemnly.
+
+"My soul? O no,--its wheels are good! I perceive it beating
+regularly--"
+
+"Your soul is immaterial,--your soul is immortal!" replied the
+hermit sternly.
+
+"Yes--like my glory! But it is shut up in the ch�teau of
+Andernatt, and I wish to see it again!"
+
+The hermit crossed himself; Scholastique became almost inanimate.
+Aubert held Gerande in his arms.
+
+"The ch�teau of Andernatt is inhabited by one who is lost," said
+the hermit, "one who does not salute the cross of my hermitage."
+
+"My father, go not thither!"
+
+"I want my soul! My soul is mine--"
+
+"Hold him! Hold my father!" cried Gerande.
+
+But the old man had leaped across the threshold, and plunged into
+the night, crying, "Mine, mine, my soul!"
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique hastened after him. They went
+by difficult paths, across which Master Zacharius sped like a
+tempest, urged by an irresistible force. The snow raged around
+them, and mingled its white flakes with the froth of the swollen
+torrents.
+
+As they passed the chapel erected in memory of the massacre of
+the Theban legion, they hurriedly crossed themselves. Master
+Zacharius was not to be seen.
+
+At last the village of Evionnaz appeared in the midst of this
+sterile region. The hardest heart would have been moved to see
+this hamlet, lost among these horrible solitudes. The old man
+sped on, and plunged into the deepest gorge of the Dents-du-Midi,
+which pierce the sky with their sharp peaks.
+
+Soon a ruin, old and gloomy as the rocks at its base, rose before
+him.
+
+"It is there--there!" he cried, hastening his pace still more
+frantically.
+
+[Illustration: "It is there--there!"]
+
+The ch�teau of Andernatt was a ruin even then. A thick, crumbling
+tower rose above it, and seemed to menace with its downfall the
+old gables which reared themselves below. The vast piles of
+jagged stones were gloomy to look on. Several dark halls appeared
+amid the debris, with caved-in ceilings, now become the abode of
+vipers.
+
+A low and narrow postern, opening upon a ditch choked with
+rubbish, gave access to the ch�teau. Who had dwelt there none
+knew. No doubt some margrave, half lord, half brigand, had
+sojourned in it; to the margrave had succeeded bandits or
+counterfeit coiners, who had been hanged on the scene of their
+crime. The legend went that, on winter nights, Satan came to lead
+his diabolical dances on the slope of the deep gorges in which
+the shadow of these ruins was engulfed.
+
+But Master Zacharius was not dismayed by their sinister aspect.
+He reached the postern. No one forbade him to pass. A spacious
+and gloomy court presented itself to his eyes; no one forbade him
+to cross it. He passed along the kind of inclined plane which
+conducted to one of the long corridors, whose arches seemed to
+banish daylight from beneath their heavy springings. His advance
+was unresisted. Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique closely
+followed him.
+
+Master Zacharius, as if guided by an irresistible hand, seemed
+sure of his way, and strode along with rapid step. He reached an
+old worm-eaten door, which fell before his blows, whilst the bats
+described oblique circles around his head.
+
+An immense hall, better preserved than the rest, was soon
+reached. High sculptured panels, on which serpents, ghouls, and
+other strange figures seemed to disport themselves confusedly,
+covered its walls. Several long and narrow windows, like
+loopholes, shivered beneath the bursts of the tempest.
+
+Master Zacharius, on reaching the middle of this hall, uttered a
+cry of joy.
+
+On an iron support, fastened to the wall, stood the clock in
+which now resided his entire life. This unequalled masterpiece
+represented an ancient Roman church, with buttresses of wrought
+iron, with its heavy bell-tower, where there was a complete chime
+for the anthem of the day, the "Angelus," the mass, vespers,
+compline, and the benediction. Above the church door, which
+opened at the hour of the services, was placed a "rose," in the
+centre of which two hands moved, and the archivault of which
+reproduced the twelve hours of the face sculptured in relief.
+Between the door and the rose, just as Scholastique had said, a
+maxim, relative to the employment of every moment of the day,
+appeared on a copper plate. Master Zacharius had once regulated
+this succession of devices with a really Christian solicitude;
+the hours of prayer, of work, of repast, of recreation, and of
+repose, followed each other according to the religious discipline,
+and were to infallibly insure salvation to him who scrupulously
+observed their commands.
+
+Master Zacharius, intoxicated with joy, went forward to take
+possession of the clock, when a frightful roar of laughter
+resounded behind him.
+
+He turned, and by the light of a smoky lamp recognized the little
+old man of Geneva.
+
+"You here?" cried he.
+
+Gerande was afraid. She drew closer to Aubert.
+
+"Good-day, Master Zacharius," said the monster.
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"Signor Pittonaccio, at your service! You have come to give me
+your daughter! You have remembered my words, 'Gerande will not
+wed Aubert.'"
+
+The young apprentice rushed upon Pittonaccio, who escaped from
+him like a shadow.
+
+"Stop, Aubert!" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"Good-night," said Pittonaccio, and he disappeared.
+
+"My father, let us fly from this hateful place!" cried Gerande.
+"My father!"
+
+Master Zacharius was no longer there. He was pursuing the phantom
+of Pittonaccio across the rickety corridors. Scholastique,
+Gerande, and Aubert remained, speechless and fainting, in the
+large gloomy hall. The young girl had fallen upon a stone seat;
+the old servant knelt beside her, and prayed; Aubert remained
+erect, watching his betrothed. Pale lights wandered in the
+darkness, and the silence was only broken by the movements of the
+little animals which live in old wood, and the noise of which
+marks the hours of "death watch."
+
+When daylight came, they ventured upon the endless staircase
+which wound beneath these ruined masses; for two hours they
+wandered thus without meeting a living soul, and hearing only a
+far-off echo responding to their cries. Sometimes they found
+themselves buried a hundred feet below the ground, and sometimes
+they reached places whence they could overlook the wild
+mountains.
+
+Chance brought them at last back again to the vast hall, which
+had sheltered them during this night of anguish. It was no longer
+empty. Master Zacharius and Pittonaccio were talking there
+together, the one upright and rigid as a corpse, the other
+crouching over a marble table.
+
+Master Zacharius, when he perceived Gerande, went forward and
+took her by the hand, and led her towards Pittonaccio, saying,
+"Behold your lord and master, my daughter. Gerande, behold your
+husband!"
+
+Gerande shuddered from head to foot.
+
+"Never!" cried Aubert, "for she is my betrothed."
+
+"Never!" responded Gerande, like a plaintive echo.
+
+Pittonaccio began to laugh.
+
+"You wish me to die, then!" exclaimed the old man. "There, in
+that clock, the last which goes of all which have gone from my
+hands, my life is shut up; and this man tells me, 'When I have
+thy daughter, this clock shall belong to thee.' And this man will
+not rewind it. He can break it, and plunge me into chaos. Ah, my
+daughter, you no longer love me!"
+
+"My father!" murmured Gerande, recovering consciousness.
+
+"If you knew what I have suffered, far away from this principle
+of my existence!" resumed the old man. "Perhaps no one looked
+after this timepiece. Perhaps its springs were left to wear out,
+its wheels to get clogged. But now, in my own hands, I can
+nourish this health so dear, for I must not die,--I, the great
+watchmaker of Geneva. Look, my daughter, how these hands advance
+with certain step. See, five o'clock is about to strike. Listen
+well, and look at the maxim which is about to be revealed."
+
+Five o'clock struck with a noise which resounded sadly in
+Gerande's soul, and these words appeared in red letters:
+
+"YOU MUST EAT OF THE FRUITS OF THE TREE OF SCIENCE."
+
+Aubert and Gerande looked at each other stupefied. These were no
+longer the pious sayings of the Catholic watchmaker. The breath
+of Satan must have passed over it. But Zacharius paid no
+attention to this, and resumed--
+
+"Dost thou hear, my Gerande? I live, I still live! Listen to my
+breathing,--see the blood circulating in my veins! No, thou
+wouldst not kill thy father, and thou wilt accept this man for
+thy husband, so that I may become immortal, and at last attain
+the power of God!"
+
+At these blasphemous words old Scholastique crossed herself, and
+Pittonaccio laughed aloud with joy.
+
+"And then, Gerande, thou wilt be happy with him. See this man,--he
+is Time! Thy existence will be regulated with absolute
+precision. Gerande, since I gave thee life, give life to thy
+father!"
+
+[Illustration: "See this man,--he is Time!"]
+
+"Gerande," murmured Aubert, "I am thy betrothed."
+
+"He is my father!" replied Gerande, fainting.
+
+"She is thine!" said Master Zacharius. "Pittonaccio, them wilt
+keep thy promise!"
+
+"Here is the key of the clock," replied the horrible man.
+
+Master Zacharius seized the long key, which resembled an uncoiled
+snake, and ran to the clock, which he hastened to wind up with
+fantastic rapidity. The creaking of the spring jarred upon the
+nerves. The old watchmaker wound and wound the key, without
+stopping a moment, and it seemed as if the movement were beyond
+his control. He wound more and more quickly, with strange
+contortions, until he fell from sheer weariness.
+
+"There, it is wound up for a century!" he cried.
+
+Aubert rushed from the hall as if he were mad. After long
+wandering, he found the outlet of the hateful ch�teau, and
+hastened into the open air. He returned to the hermitage of
+Notre-Dame-du-Sex, and talked so despairingly to the holy
+recluse, that the latter consented to return with him to the
+ch�teau of Andernatt.
+
+If, during these hours of anguish, Gerande had not wept, it was
+because her tears were exhausted.
+
+Master Zacharius had not left the hall. He ran every moment to
+listen to the regular beating of the old clock.
+
+Meanwhile the clock had struck, and to Scholastique's great
+terror, these words had appeared on the silver face:--"MAN OUGHT
+TO BECOME THE EQUAL OF GOD."
+
+The old man had not only not been shocked by these impious
+maxims, but read them deliriously, and flattered himself with
+thoughts of pride, whilst Pittonaccio kept close by him.
+
+The marriage-contract was to be signed at midnight. Gerande,
+almost unconscious, saw or heard nothing. The silence was only
+broken by the old man's words, and the chuckling of Pittonaccio.
+
+Eleven o'clock struck. Master Zacharius shuddered, and read in a
+loud voice:--
+
+"MAN SHOULD BE THE SLAVE OF SCIENCE, AND
+ SACRIFICE TO IT RELATIVES AND FAMILY."
+
+"Yes!" he cried, "there is nothing but science in this world!"
+
+The hands slipped over the face of the clock with the hiss of a
+serpent, and the pendulum beat with accelerated strokes.
+
+Master Zacharius no longer spoke. He had fallen to the floor, his
+throat rattled, and from his oppressed bosom came only these
+half-broken words: "Life--science!"
+
+The scene had now two new witnesses, the hermit and Aubert.
+Master Zacharius lay upon the floor; Gerande was praying beside
+him, more dead than alive.
+
+Of a sudden a dry, hard noise was heard, which preceded the
+strike.
+
+Master Zacharius sprang up.
+
+"Midnight!" he cried.
+
+The hermit stretched out his hand towards the old clock,--and
+midnight did not sound.
+
+Master Zacharius uttered a terrible cry, which must have been
+heard in hell, when these words appeared:--
+
+"WHO EVER SHALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF GOD, SHALL
+BE FOR EVER DAMNED!"
+
+The old clock burst with a noise like thunder, and the spring,
+escaping, leaped across the hall with a thousand fantastic
+contortions; the old man rose, ran after it, trying in vain to
+seize it, and exclaiming, "My soul,--my soul!"
+
+The spring bounded before him, first on one side, then on the
+other, and he could not reach it.
+
+At last Pittonaccio seized it, and, uttering a horrible
+blasphemy, ingulfed himself in the earth.
+
+Master Zacharius fell backwards. He was dead.
+
+[Illustration: He was dead.]
+
+The old watchmaker was buried in the midst of the peaks of
+Andernatt.
+
+Then Aubert and Gerande returned to Geneva, and during the long
+life which God accorded to them, they made it a duty to redeem by
+prayer the soul of the castaway of science.
+
+
+
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR.
+
+
+In the month of September, 185--, I arrived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine.
+My passage through the principal German cities had been brilliantly
+marked by balloon ascents; but as yet no German had accompanied me in
+my car, and the fine experiments made at Paris by MM. Green, Eugene
+Godard, and Poitevin had not tempted the grave Teutons to essay
+aerial voyages.
+
+But scarcely had the news of my approaching ascent spread through
+Frankfort, than three of the principal citizens begged the favour
+of being allowed to ascend with me. Two days afterwards we were
+to start from the Place de la Com�die. I began at once to get my
+balloon ready. It was of silk, prepared with gutta percha, a
+substance impermeable by acids or gasses; and its volume, which
+was three thousand cubic yards, enabled it to ascend to the
+loftiest heights.
+
+The day of the ascent was that of the great September fair, which
+attracts so many people to Frankfort. Lighting gas, of a perfect
+quality and of great lifting power, had been furnished to me in
+excellent condition, and about eleven o'clock the balloon was
+filled; but only three-quarters filled,--an indispensable
+precaution, for, as one rises, the atmosphere diminishes in
+density, and the fluid enclosed within the balloon, acquiring
+more elasticity, might burst its sides. My calculations had
+furnished me with exactly the quantity of gas necessary to carry
+up my companions and myself.
+
+We were to start at noon. The impatient crowd which pressed
+around the enclosed space, filling the enclosed square,
+overflowing into the contiguous streets, and covering the houses
+from the ground-floor to the slated gables, presented a striking
+scene. The high winds of the preceding days had subsided. An
+oppressive heat fell from the cloudless sky. Scarcely a breath
+animated the atmosphere. In such weather, one might descend again
+upon the very spot whence he had risen.
+
+I carried three hundred pounds of ballast in bags; the car, quite
+round, four feet in diameter, was comfortably arranged; the
+hempen cords which supported it stretched symmetrically over the
+upper hemisphere of the balloon; the compass was in place, the
+barometer suspended in the circle which united the supporting
+cords, and the anchor carefully put in order. All was now ready
+for the ascent.
+
+Among those who pressed around the enclosure, I remarked a young
+man with a pale face and agitated features. The sight of him
+impressed me. He was an eager spectator of my ascents, whom I had
+already met in several German cities. With an uneasy air, he
+closely watched the curious machine, as it lay motionless a few
+feet above the ground; and he remained silent among those about
+him.
+
+Twelve o'clock came. The moment had arrived, but my travelling
+companions did not appear.
+
+I sent to their houses, and learnt that one had left for Hamburg,
+another for Vienna, and the third for London. Their courage had
+failed them at the moment of undertaking one of those excursions
+which, thanks to the ability of living aeronauts, are free from
+all danger. As they formed, in some sort, a part of the programme
+of the day, the fear had seized them that they might be forced to
+execute it faithfully, and they had fled far from the scene at
+the instant when the balloon was being filled. Their courage was
+evidently the inverse ratio of their speed--in decamping.
+
+The multitude, half deceived, showed not a little ill-humour. I
+did not hesitate to ascend alone. In order to re-establish the
+equilibrium between the specific gravity of the balloon and the
+weight which had thus proved wanting, I replaced my companions by
+more sacks of sand, and got into the car. The twelve men who held
+the balloon by twelve cords fastened to the equatorial circle,
+let them slip a little between their fingers, and the balloon
+rose several feet higher. There was not a breath of wind, and the
+atmosphere was so leaden that it seemed to forbid the ascent.
+
+"Is everything ready?" I cried.
+
+The men put themselves in readiness. A last glance told me that I
+might go.
+
+"Attention!"
+
+There was a movement in the crowd, which seemed to be invading
+the enclosure.
+
+"Let go!"
+
+The balloon rose slowly, but I experienced a shock which threw me
+to the bottom of the car.
+
+When I got up, I found myself face to face with an unexpected
+fellow-voyager,--the pale young man.
+
+"Monsieur, I salute you," said he, with the utmost coolness.
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur, I salute you,"]
+
+"By what right--"
+
+"Am I here? By the right which the impossibility of your getting
+rid of me confers."
+
+I was amazed! His calmness put me out of countenance, and I had
+nothing to reply. I looked at the intruder, but he took no notice
+of my astonishment.
+
+"Does my weight disarrange your equilibrium, monsieur?" he asked.
+"You will permit me--"
+
+And without waiting for my consent, he relieved the balloon of
+two bags, which he threw into space.
+
+"Monsieur," said I, taking the only course now possible, "you
+have come; very well, you will remain; but to me alone belongs
+the management of the balloon."
+
+"Monsieur," said he, "your urbanity is French all over: it comes
+from my own country. I morally press the hand you refuse me. Make
+all precautions, and act as seems best to you. I will wait till
+you have done--"
+
+"For what?"
+
+"To talk with you."
+
+The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches. We were nearly six
+hundred yards above the city; but nothing betrayed the horizontal
+displacement of the balloon, for the mass of air in which it is
+enclosed goes forward with it. A sort of confused glow enveloped
+the objects spread out under us, and unfortunately obscured their
+outline.
+
+I examined my companion afresh.
+
+He was a man of thirty years, simply clad. The sharpness of his
+features betrayed an indomitable energy, and he seemed very
+muscular. Indifferent to the astonishment he created, he remained
+motionless, trying to distinguish the objects which were vaguely
+confused below us.
+
+"Miserable mist!" said he, after a few moments.
+
+I did not reply.
+
+"You owe me a grudge?" he went on. "Bah! I could not pay for my
+journey, and it was necessary to take you by surprise."
+
+"Nobody asks you to descend, monsieur!"
+
+"Eh, do you not know, then, that the same thing happened to the
+Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre, when they ascended at Lyons,
+on the 15th of January, 1784? A young merchant, named Fontaine,
+scaled the gallery, at the risk of capsizing the machine. He
+accomplished the journey, and nobody died of it!"
+
+"Once on the ground, we will have an explanation," replied I,
+piqued at the light tone in which he spoke.
+
+"Bah! Do not let us think of our return."
+
+"Do you think, then, that I shall not hasten to descend?"
+
+"Descend!" said he, in surprise. "Descend? Let us begin by first
+ascending."
+
+And before I could prevent it, two more bags had been thrown over
+the car, without even having been emptied.
+
+"Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage.
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage.]
+
+"I know your ability," replied the unknown quietly, "and your
+fine ascents are famous. But if Experience is the sister of
+Practice, she is also a cousin of Theory, and I have studied the
+aerial art long. It has got into my head!" he added sadly,
+falling into a silent reverie.
+
+The balloon, having risen some distance farther, now became
+stationary. The unknown consulted the barometer, and said,--
+
+"Here we are, at eight hundred yards. Men are like insects. See!
+I think we should always contemplate them from this height, to
+judge correctly of their proportions. The Place de la Com�die is
+transformed into an immense ant-hill. Observe the crowd which is
+gathered on the quays; and the mountains also get smaller and
+smaller. We are over the Cathedral. The Main is only a line,
+cutting the city in two, and the bridge seems a thread thrown
+between the two banks of the river."
+
+The atmosphere became somewhat chilly.
+
+"There is nothing I would not do for you, my host," said the
+unknown. "If you are cold, I will take off my coat and lend it to
+you."
+
+"Thanks," said I dryly.
+
+"Bah! Necessity makes law. Give me your hand. I am your
+fellow-countryman; you will learn something in my company, and my
+conversation will indemnify you for the trouble I have given
+you."
+
+I sat down, without replying, at the opposite extremity of the
+car. The young man had taken a voluminous manuscript from his
+great-coat. It was an essay on ballooning.
+
+"I possess," said he, "the most curious collection of engravings
+and caricatures extant concerning aerial manias. How people
+admired and scoffed at the same time at this precious discovery!
+We are happily no longer in the age in which Montgolfier tried to
+make artificial clouds with steam, or a gas having electrical
+properties, produced by the combustion of moist straw and
+chopped-up wool."
+
+"Do you wish to depreciate the talent of the inventors?" I asked,
+for I had resolved to enter into the adventure. "Was it not good
+to have proved by experience the possibility of rising in the
+air?"
+
+"Ah, monsieur, who denies the glory of the first aerial
+navigators? It required immense courage to rise by means of those
+frail envelopes which only contained heated air. But I ask you,
+has the aerial science made great progress since Blanchard's
+ascensions, that is, since nearly a century ago? Look here,
+monsieur."
+
+The unknown took an engraving from his portfolio.
+
+"Here," said he, "is the first aerial voyage undertaken by
+Pil�tre des Rosiers and the Marquis d'Arlandes, four months after
+the discovery of balloons. Louis XVI. refused to consent to the
+venture, and two men who were condemned to death were the first
+to attempt the aerial ascent. Pil�tre des Rosiers became
+indignant at this injustice, and, by means of intrigues, obtained
+permission to make the experiment. The car, which renders the
+management easy, had not then been invented, and a circular
+gallery was placed around the lower and contracted part of the
+Montgolfier balloon. The two aeronauts must then remain
+motionless at each extremity of this gallery, for the moist straw
+which filled it forbade them all motion. A chafing-dish with fire
+was suspended below the orifice of the balloon; when the
+aeronauts wished to rise, they threw straw upon this brazier, at
+the risk of setting fire to the balloon, and the air, more
+heated, gave it fresh ascending power. The two bold travellers
+rose, on the 21st of November, 1783, from the Muette Gardens,
+which the dauphin had put at their disposal. The balloon went up
+majestically, passed over the Isle of Swans, crossed the Seine at
+the Conference barrier, and, drifting between the dome of the
+Invalides and the Military School, approached the Church of Saint
+Sulpice. Then the aeronauts added to the fire, crossed the
+Boulevard, and descended beyond the Enfer barrier. As it touched
+the soil, the balloon collapsed, and for a few moments buried
+Pil�tre des Rosiers under its folds."
+
+"Unlucky augury," I said, interested in the story, which affected
+me nearly.
+
+"An augury of the catastrophe which was later to cost this
+unfortunate man his life," replied the unknown sadly. "Have you
+never experienced anything like it?"
+
+"Never,"
+
+"Bah! Misfortunes sometimes occur unforeshadowed!" added my
+companion.
+
+He then remained silent.
+
+Meanwhile we were advancing southward, and Frankfort had already
+passed from beneath us.
+
+"Perhaps we shall have a storm," said the young man.
+
+"We shall descend before that," I replied.
+
+"Indeed! It is better to ascend. We shall escape it more surely."
+
+And two more bags of sand were hurled into space.
+
+The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred yards. I
+became colder; and yet the sun's rays, falling upon the surface,
+expanded the gas within, and gave it a greater ascending force.
+
+"Fear nothing," said the unknown. "We have still three thousand
+five hundred fathoms of breathing air. Besides, do not trouble
+yourself about what I do."
+
+I would have risen, but a vigorous hand held me to my seat.
+
+"Your name?" I asked.
+
+"My name? What matters it to you?"
+
+"I demand your name!"
+
+"My name is Erostratus or Empedocles, whichever you choose!"
+
+This reply was far from reassuring.
+
+The unknown, besides, talked with such strange coolness that I
+anxiously asked myself whom I had to deal with.
+
+"Monsieur," he continued, "nothing original has been imagined
+since the physicist Charles. Four months after the discovery of
+balloons, this able man had invented the valve, which permits the
+gas to escape when the balloon is too full, or when you wish to
+descend; the car, which aids the management of the machine; the
+netting, which holds the envelope of the balloon, and divides the
+weight over its whole surface; the ballast, which enables you to
+ascend, and to choose the place of your landing; the india-rubber
+coating, which renders the tissue impermeable; the barometer,
+which shows the height attained. Lastly, Charles used hydrogen,
+which, fourteen times lighter than air, permits you to penetrate
+to the highest atmospheric regions, and does not expose you to
+the dangers of a combustion in the air. On the 1st of December,
+1783, three hundred thousand spectators were crowded around the
+Tuileries. Charles rose, and the soldiers presented arms to him.
+He travelled nine leagues in the air, conducting his balloon with
+an ability not surpassed by modern aeronauts. The king awarded
+him a pension of two thousand livres; for then they encouraged
+new inventions."
+
+The unknown now seemed to be under the influence of considerable
+agitation.
+
+"Monsieur," he resumed, "I have studied this, and I am convinced
+that the first aeronauts guided their balloons. Without speaking
+of Blanchard, whose assertions may be received with doubt,
+Guyton-Morveaux, by the aid of oars and rudder, made his machine
+answer to the helm, and take the direction he determined on. More
+recently, M. Julien, a watchmaker, made some convincing
+experiments at the Hippodrome, in Paris; for, by a special
+mechanism, his aerial apparatus, oblong in form, went visibly
+against the wind. It occurred to M. Petin to place four hydrogen
+balloons together; and, by means of sails hung horizontally and
+partly folded, he hopes to be able to disturb the equilibrium,
+and, thus inclining the apparatus, to convey it in an oblique
+direction. They speak, also, of forces to overcome the resistance
+of currents,--for instance, the screw; but the screw, working on
+a moveable centre, will give no result. I, monsieur, have
+discovered the only means of guiding balloons; and no academy has
+come to my aid, no city has filled up subscriptions for me, no
+government has thought fit to listen to me! It is infamous!"
+
+The unknown gesticulated fiercely, and the car underwent violent
+oscillations. I had much trouble in calming him.
+
+Meanwhile the balloon had entered a more rapid current, and we
+advanced south, at fifteen hundred yards above the earth.
+
+"See, there is Darmstadt," said my companion, leaning over the
+car. "Do you perceive the ch�teau? Not very distinctly, eh? What
+would you have? The heat of the storm makes the outline of
+objects waver, and you must have a skilled eye to recognize
+localities."
+
+"Are you certain it is Darmstadt?" I asked.
+
+"I am sure of it. We are now six leagues from Frankfort."
+
+"Then we must descend."
+
+"Descend! You would not go down, on the steeples," said the
+unknown, with a chuckle.
+
+"No, but in the suburbs of the city."
+
+"Well, let us avoid the steeples!"
+
+So speaking, my companion seized some bags of ballast. I hastened
+to prevent him; but he overthrew me with one hand, and the
+unballasted balloon ascended to two thousand yards.
+
+"Rest easy," said he, "and do not forget that Brioschi, Biot,
+Gay-Lussac, Bixio, and Barral ascended to still greater heights
+to make their scientific experiments."
+
+"Monsieur, we must descend," I resumed, trying to persuade him by
+gentleness. "The storm is gathering around us. It would be more
+prudent--"
+
+"Bah! We will mount higher than the storm, and then we shall no
+longer fear it!" cried my companion. "What is nobler than to
+overlook the clouds which oppress the earth? Is it not an honour
+thus to navigate on aerial billows? The greatest men have
+travelled as we are doing. The Marchioness and Countess de
+Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas, Mademoiselle la Garde, the
+Marquis de Montalembert, rose from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine for
+these unknown regions, and the Duke de Chartres exhibited much
+skill and presence of mind in his ascent on the 15th of July,
+1784. At Lyons, the Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre; at Nantes,
+M. de Luynes; at Bordeaux, D'Arbelet des Granges; in Italy, the
+Chevalier Andreani; in our own time, the Duke of Brunswick,--have
+all left the traces of their glory in the air. To equal these
+great personages, we must penetrate still higher than they into
+the celestial depths! To approach the infinite is to comprehend
+it!"
+
+The rarefaction of the air was fast expanding the hydrogen in the
+balloon, and I saw its lower part, purposely left empty, swell
+out, so that it was absolutely necessary to open the valve; but
+my companion did not seem to intend that I should manage the
+balloon as I wished. I then resolved to pull the valve cord
+secretly, as he was excitedly talking; for I feared to guess with
+whom I had to deal. It would have been too horrible! It was
+nearly a quarter before one. We had been gone forty minutes from
+Frankfort; heavy clouds were coming against the wind from the
+south, and seemed about to burst upon us.
+
+"Have you lost all hope of succeeding in your project?" I asked
+with anxious interest.
+
+"All hope!" exclaimed the unknown in a low voice. "Wounded by
+slights and caricatures, these asses' kicks have finished me! It
+is the eternal punishment reserved for innovators! Look at these
+caricatures of all periods, of which my portfolio is full."
+
+While my companion was fumbling with his papers, I had seized the
+valve-cord without his perceiving it. I feared, however, that he
+might hear the hissing noise, like a water-course, which the gas
+makes in escaping.
+
+"How many jokes were made about the Abb� Miolan!" said he. "He
+was to go up with Janninet and Bredin. During the filling their
+balloon caught fire, and the ignorant populace tore it in pieces!
+Then this caricature of 'curious animals' appeared, giving each
+of them a punning nickname."
+
+I pulled the valve-cord, and the barometer began to ascend. It
+was time. Some far-off rumblings were heard in the south.
+
+"Here is another engraving," resumed the unknown, not suspecting
+what I was doing. "It is an immense balloon carrying a ship,
+strong castles, houses, and so on. The caricaturists did not
+suspect that their follies would one day become truths. It is
+complete, this large vessel. On the left is its helm, with the
+pilot's box; at the prow are pleasure-houses, an immense organ,
+and a cannon to call the attention of the inhabitants of the
+earth or the moon; above the poop there are the observatory and
+the balloon long-boat; in the equatorial circle, the army
+barrack; on the left, the funnel; then the upper galleries for
+promenading, sails, pinions; below, the caf�s and general
+storehouse. Observe this pompous announcement: 'Invented for the
+happiness of the human race, this globe will depart at once for
+the ports of the Levant, and on its return the programme of its
+voyages to the two poles and the extreme west will be announced.
+No one need furnish himself with anything; everything is
+foreseen, and all will prosper. There will be a uniform price for
+all places of destination, but it will be the same for the most
+distant countries of our hemisphere--that is to say, a thousand
+louis for one of any of the said journeys. And it must be
+confessed that this sum is very moderate, when the speed,
+comfort, and arrangements which will be enjoyed on the balloon
+are considered--arrangements which are not to be found on land,
+while on the balloon each passenger may consult his own habits
+and tastes. This is so true that in the same place some will be
+dancing, others standing; some will be enjoying delicacies;
+others fasting. Whoever desires the society of wits may satisfy
+himself; whoever is stupid may find stupid people to keep him
+company. Thus pleasure will be the soul of the aerial company.'
+All this provoked laughter; but before long, if I am not cut off,
+they will see it all realized."
+
+We were visibly descending. He did not perceive it!
+
+"This kind of 'game at balloons,'" he resumed, spreading out
+before me some of the engravings of his valuable collection,
+"this game contains the entire history of the aerostatic art. It
+is used by elevated minds, and is played with dice and counters,
+with whatever stakes you like, to be paid or received according
+to where the player arrives."
+
+"Why," said I, "you seem to have studied the science of
+aerostation profoundly."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes! From Phaethon, Icarus, Architas, I have
+searched for, examined, learnt everything. I could render immense
+services to the world in this art, if God granted me life. But
+that will not be!"
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because my name is Empedocles, or Erostratus."
+
+Meanwhile, the balloon was happily approaching the earth; but
+when one is falling, the danger is as great at a hundred feet as
+at five thousand.
+
+"Do you recall the battle of Fleurus?" resumed my companion,
+whose face became more and more animated. "It was at that battle
+that Contello, by order of the Government, organized a company of
+balloonists. At the siege of Manbenge General Jourdan derived so
+much service from this new method of observation that Contello
+ascended twice a day with the general himself. The communications
+between the aeronaut and his agents who held the balloon were
+made by means of small white, red, and yellow flags. Often the
+gun and cannon shot were directed upon the balloon when he
+ascended, but without result. When General Jourdan was preparing
+to invest Charleroi, Contello went into the vicinity, ascended
+from the plain of Jumet, and continued his observations for seven
+or eight hours with General Morlot, and this no doubt aided in
+giving us the victory of Fleurus. General Jourdan publicly
+acknowledged the help which the aeronautical observations had
+afforded him. Well, despite the services rendered on that
+occasion and during the Belgian campaign, the year which had seen
+the beginning of the military career of balloons saw also its
+end. The school of Meudon, founded by the Government, was closed
+by Buonaparte on his return from Egypt. And now, what can you
+expect from the new-born infant? as Franklin said. The infant was
+born alive; it should not be stifled!"
+
+[Illustration: "He continued his observations for seven or eight
+hours with General Morlot"]
+
+The unknown bowed his head in his hands, and reflected for some
+moments; then raising his head, he said,--
+
+"Despite my prohibition, monsieur, you have opened the valve."
+
+I dropped the cord.
+
+"Happily," he resumed, "we have still three hundred pounds of
+ballast."
+
+"What is your purpose?" said I.
+
+"Have you ever crossed the seas?" he asked.
+
+I turned pale.
+
+"It is unfortunate," he went on, "that we are being driven
+towards the Adriatic. That is only a stream; but higher up we may
+find other currents."
+
+And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over several bags
+of sand; then, in a menacing voice, he said,--
+
+"I let you open the valve because the expansion of the gas
+threatened to burst the balloon; but do not do it again!"
+
+Then he went on as follows:--
+
+"You remember the voyage of Blanchard and Jeffries from Dover to
+Calais? It was magnificent! On the 7th of January, 1785, there
+being a north-west wind, their balloon was inflated with gas on
+the Dover coast. A mistake of equilibrium, just as they were
+ascending, forced them to throw out their ballast so that they
+might not go down again, and they only kept thirty pounds. It was
+too little; for, as the wind did not freshen, they only advanced
+very slowly towards the French coast. Besides, the permeability
+of the tissue served to reduce the inflation little by little,
+and in an hour and a half the aeronauts perceived that they were
+descending.
+
+"'What shall we do?' said Jeffries.
+
+"'We are only one quarter of the way over,' replied Blanchard,
+'and very low down. On rising, we shall perhaps meet more
+favourable winds.'
+
+"'Let us throw out the rest of the sand.'
+
+"The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon began to
+descend again. Towards the middle of the transit the aeronauts
+threw over their books and tools. A quarter of an hour after,
+Blanchard said to Jeffries,--
+
+"'The barometer?'
+
+"'It is going up! We are lost, and yet there is the French
+coast.'
+
+"A loud noise was heard.
+
+"'Has the balloon burst?' asked Jeffries.
+
+"'No. The loss of the gas has reduced the inflation of the lower
+part of the balloon. But we are still descending. We are lost!
+Out with everything useless!'
+
+"Provisions, oars, and rudder were thrown into the sea. The
+aeronauts were only one hundred yards high.
+
+"'We are going up again,' said the doctor.
+
+"'No. It is the spurt caused by the diminution of the weight, and
+not a ship in sight, not a bark on the horizon! To the sea with
+our clothing!'
+
+"The unfortunates stripped themselves, but the balloon continued
+to descend.
+
+"'Blanchard,' said Jeffries, 'you should have made this voyage
+alone; you consented to take me; I will sacrifice myself! I am
+going to throw myself into the water, and the balloon, relieved
+of my weight, will mount again.'
+
+"'No, no! It is frightful!'
+
+"The balloon became less and less inflated, and as it doubled up
+its concavity pressed the gas against the sides, and hastened its
+downward course.
+
+[Illustration: The balloon became less and less inflated]
+
+"'Adieu, my friend," said the doctor. 'God preserve you!'
+
+"He was about to throw himself over, when Blanchard held him
+back.
+
+"'There is one more chance,' said he. 'We can cut the cords which
+hold the car, and cling to the net! Perhaps the balloon will
+rise. Let us hold ourselves ready. But--the barometer is going
+down! The wind is freshening! We are saved!'
+
+"The aeronauts perceived Calais. Their joy was delirious. A few
+moments more, and they had fallen in the forest of Guines. I do
+not doubt," added the unknown, "that, under similar circumstances,
+you would have followed Doctor Jeffries' example!"
+
+The clouds rolled in glittering masses beneath us. The balloon
+threw large shadows on this heap of clouds, and was surrounded as
+by an aureola. The thunder rumbled below the car. All this was
+terrifying.
+
+"Let us descend!" I cried.
+
+"Descend, when the sun is up there, waiting for us? Out with more
+bags!"
+
+And more than fifty pounds of ballast were cast over.
+
+At a height of three thousand five hundred yards we remained
+stationary.
+
+The unknown talked unceasingly. I was in a state of complete
+prostration, while he seemed to be in his element.
+
+"With a good wind, we shall go far," he cried. "In the Antilles
+there are currents of air which have a speed of a hundred leagues
+an hour. When Napoleon was crowned, Garnerin sent up a balloon
+with coloured lamps, at eleven o'clock at night. The wind was
+blowing north-north-west. The next morning, at daybreak, the
+inhabitants of Rome greeted its passage over the dome of St.
+Peter's. We shall go farther and higher!"
+
+I scarcely heard him. Everything whirled around me. An opening
+appeared in the clouds.
+
+"See that city," said the unknown. "It is Spires!"
+
+I leaned over the car and perceived a small blackish mass. It was
+Spires. The Rhine, which is so large, seemed an unrolled ribbon.
+The sky was a deep blue over our heads. The birds had long
+abandoned us, for in that rarefied air they could not have flown.
+We were alone in space, and I in presence of this unknown!
+
+"It is useless for you to know whither I am leading you," he
+said, as he threw the compass among the clouds. "Ah! a fall is a
+grand thing! You know that but few victims of ballooning are to
+be reckoned, from Pil�tre des Rosiers to Lieutenant Gale, and
+that the accidents have always been the result of imprudence.
+Pil�tre des Rosiers set out with Romain of Boulogne, on the 13th
+of June, 1785. To his gas balloon he had affixed a Montgolfier
+apparatus of hot air, so as to dispense, no doubt, with the
+necessity of losing gas or throwing out ballast. It was putting a
+torch under a powder-barrel. When they had ascended four hundred
+yards, and were taken by opposing winds, they were driven over
+the open sea. Pil�tre, in order to descend, essayed to open the
+valve, but the valve-cord became entangled in the balloon, and
+tore it so badly that it became empty in an instant. It fell upon
+the Montgolfier apparatus, overturned it, and dragged down the
+unfortunates, who were soon shattered to pieces! It is frightful,
+is it not?"
+
+I could only reply, "For pity's sake, let us descend!"
+
+The clouds gathered around us on every side, and dreadful
+detonations, which reverberated in the cavity of the balloon,
+took place beneath us.
+
+"You provoke me," cried the unknown, "and you shall no longer
+know whether we are rising or falling!"
+
+The barometer went the way of the compass, accompanied by several
+more bags of sand. We must have been 5000 yards high. Some
+icicles had already attached themselves to the sides of the car,
+and a kind of fine snow seemed to penetrate to my very bones.
+Meanwhile a frightful tempest was raging under us, but we were
+above it.
+
+"Do not be afraid," said the unknown. "It is only the imprudent
+who are lost. Olivari, who perished at Orleans, rose in a paper
+'Montgolfier;' his car, suspended below the chafing-dish, and
+ballasted with combustible materials, caught fire; Olivari fell,
+and was killed! Mosment rose, at Lille, on a light tray; an
+oscillation disturbed his equilibrium; Mosment fell, and was
+killed! Bittorf, at Mannheim, saw his balloon catch fire in the
+air; and he, too, fell, and was killed! Harris rose in a badly
+constructed balloon, the valve of which was too large and would
+not shut; Harris fell, and was killed! Sadler, deprived of
+ballast by his long sojourn in the air, was dragged over the town
+of Boston and dashed against the chimneys; Sadler fell, and was
+killed! Cokling descended with a convex parachute which he
+pretended to have perfected; Cokling fell, and was killed! Well,
+I love them, these victims of their own imprudence, and I shall
+die as they did. Higher! still higher!"
+
+All the phantoms of this necrology passed before my eyes. The
+rarefaction of the air and the sun's rays added to the expansion
+of the gas, and the balloon continued to mount. I tried
+mechanically to open the valve, but the unknown cut the cord
+several feet above my head. I was lost!
+
+"Did you see Madame Blanchard fall?" said he. "I saw her; yes, I!
+I was at Tivoli on the 6th of July, 1819. Madame Blanchard rose
+in a small sized balloon, to avoid the expense of filling, and
+she was forced to entirely inflate it. The gas leaked out below,
+and left a regular train of hydrogen in its path. She carried
+with her a sort of pyrotechnic aureola, suspended below her car
+by a wire, which she was to set off in the air. This she had done
+many times before. On this day she also carried up a small
+parachute ballasted by a firework contrivance, that would go off
+in a shower of silver. She was to start this contrivance after
+having lighted it with a port-fire made on purpose. She set out;
+the night was gloomy. At the moment of lighting her fireworks she
+was so imprudent as to pass the taper under the column of
+hydrogen which was leaking from the balloon. My eyes were fixed
+upon her. Suddenly an unexpected gleam lit up the darkness. I
+thought she was preparing a surprise. The light flashed out,
+suddenly disappeared and reappeared, and gave the summit of the
+balloon the shape of an immense jet of ignited gas. This sinister
+glow shed itself over the Boulevard and the whole Montmartre
+quarter. Then I saw the unhappy woman rise, try twice to close
+the appendage of the balloon, so as to put out the fire, then sit
+down in her car and try to guide her descent; for she did not
+fall. The combustion of the gas lasted for several minutes. The
+balloon, becoming gradually less, continued to descend, but it
+was not a fall. The wind blew from the north-west and drove it
+towards Paris. There were then some large gardens just by the
+house No. 16, Rue de Provence. Madame Blanchard essayed to fall
+there without danger: but the balloon and the car struck on the
+roof of the house with a light shock. 'Save me!' cried the
+wretched woman. I got into the street at this moment. The car
+slid along the roof, and encountered an iron cramp. At this
+concussion, Madame Blanchard was thrown out of her car and
+precipitated upon the pavement. She was killed!"
+
+These stories froze me with horror. The unknown was standing with
+bare head, dishevelled hair, haggard eyes!
+
+There was no longer any illusion possible. I at last recognized
+the horrible truth. I was in the presence of a madman!
+
+He threw out the rest of the ballast, and we must have now
+reached a height of at least nine thousand yards. Blood spurted
+from my nose and mouth!
+
+"Who are nobler than the martyrs of science?" cried the lunatic.
+"They are canonized by posterity."
+
+But I no longer heard him. He looked about him, and, bending down
+to my ear, muttered,--
+
+"And have you forgotten Zambecarri's catastrophe? Listen. On the
+7th of October, 1804, the clouds seemed to lift a little. On the
+preceding days, the wind and rain had not ceased; but the
+announced ascension of Zambecarri could not be postponed. His
+enemies were already bantering him. It was necessary to ascend,
+to save the science and himself from becoming a public jest. It
+was at Boulogne. No one helped him to inflate his balloon.
+
+"He rose at midnight, accompanied by Andreoli and Grossetti. The
+balloon mounted slowly, for it had been perforated by the rain,
+and the gas was leaking out. The three intrepid aeronauts could
+only observe the state of the barometer by aid of a dark lantern.
+Zambecarri had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours. Grossetti was
+also fasting.
+
+"'My friends,' said Zambecarri, 'I am overcome by cold, and
+exhausted. I am dying.'
+
+"He fell inanimate in the gallery. It was the same with
+Grossetti. Andreoli alone remained conscious. After long efforts,
+he succeeded in reviving Zambecarri.
+
+"'What news? Whither are we going? How is the wind? What time is
+it?'
+
+"'It is two o'clock.'
+
+"'Where is the compass?'
+
+"'Upset!'
+
+"'Great God! The lantern has gone out!'
+
+"'It cannot burn in this rarefied air,' said Zambecarri.
+
+"The moon had not risen, and the atmosphere was plunged in murky
+darkness.
+
+"'I am cold, Andreoli. What shall I do?'
+
+"They slowly descended through a layer of whitish clouds.
+
+"'Sh!' said Andreoli. 'Do you hear?'
+
+"'What?' asked Zambecarri.
+
+"'A strange noise.'
+
+"'You are mistaken.'
+
+"'No.'
+
+"Consider these travellers, in the middle of the night, listening
+to that unaccountable noise! Are they going to knock against a
+tower? Are they about to be precipitated on the roofs?
+
+"'Do you hear? One would say it was the noise of the sea.'
+
+"'Impossible!'
+
+"'It is the groaning of the waves!'
+
+"'It is true.'
+
+"'Light! light!'
+
+"After five fruitless attempts, Andreoli succeeded in obtaining
+light. It was three o'clock.
+
+"The voice of violent waves was heard. They were almost touching
+the surface of the sea!
+
+"'We are lost!' cried Zambecarri, seizing a large bag of sand.
+
+"'Help!' cried Andreoli.
+
+"The car touched the water, and the waves came up to their
+breasts.
+
+"'Throw out the instruments, clothes, money!'
+
+"The aeronauts completely stripped themselves. The balloon,
+relieved, rose with frightful rapidity. Zambecarri was taken with
+vomiting. Grossetti bled profusely. The unfortunate men could not
+speak, so short was their breathing. They were taken with cold,
+and they were soon crusted over with ice. The moon looked as red
+as blood.
+
+"After traversing the high regions for a half-hour, the balloon
+again fell into the sea. It was four in the morning. They were
+half submerged in the water, and the balloon dragged them along,
+as if under sail, for several hours.
+
+"At daybreak they found themselves opposite Pesaro, four miles
+from the coast. They were about to reach it, when a gale blew
+them back into the open sea. They were lost! The frightened boats
+fled at their approach. Happily, a more intelligent boatman
+accosted them, hoisted them on board, and they landed at Ferrada.
+
+"A frightful journey, was it not? But Zambecarri was a brave and
+energetic man. Scarcely recovered from his sufferings, he resumed
+his ascensions. During one of them he struck against a tree; his
+spirit-lamp was broken on his clothes; he was enveloped in fire,
+his balloon began to catch the flames, and he came down half
+consumed.
+
+"At last, on the 21st of September, 1812, he made another
+ascension at Boulogne. The balloon clung to a tree, and his lamp
+again set it on fire. Zambecarri fell, and was killed! And in
+presence of these facts, we would still hesitate! No. The higher
+we go, the more glorious will be our death!"
+
+[Illustration: "Zambecarri fell, and was killed!"]
+
+The balloon being now entirely relieved of ballast and of all it
+contained, we were carried to an enormous height. It vibrated in
+the atmosphere. The least noise resounded in the vaults of
+heaven. Our globe, the only object which caught my view in
+immensity, seemed ready to be annihilated, and above us the
+depths of the starry skies were lost in thick darkness.
+
+I saw my companion rise up before me.
+
+"The hour is come!" he said. "We must die. We are rejected of
+men. They despise us. Let us crush them!"
+
+"Mercy!" I cried.
+
+"Let us cut these cords! Let this car be abandoned in space. The
+attractive force will change its direction, and we shall approach
+the sun!"
+
+Despair galvanized me. I threw myself upon the madman, we
+struggled together, and a terrible conflict took place. But I was
+thrown down, and while he held me under his knee, the madman was
+cutting the cords of the car.
+
+"One!" he cried.
+
+"My God!"
+
+"Two! Three!"
+
+I made a superhuman effort, rose up, and violently repulsed the
+madman.
+
+"Four!"
+
+The car fell, but I instinctively clung to the cords and hoisted
+myself into the meshes of the netting.
+
+The madman disappeared in space!
+
+[Illustration: The madman disappeared in space!]
+
+The balloon was raised to an immeasurable height. A horrible
+cracking was heard. The gas, too much dilated, had burst the
+balloon. I shut my eyes--
+
+Some instants after, a damp warmth revived me. I was in the midst
+of clouds on fire. The balloon turned over with dizzy velocity.
+Taken by the wind, it made a hundred leagues an hour in a
+horizontal course, the lightning flashing around it.
+
+Meanwhile my fall was not a very rapid one. When I opened my
+eyes, I saw the country. I was two miles from the sea, and the
+tempest was driving me violently towards it, when an abrupt shock
+forced me to loosen my hold. My hands opened, a cord slipped
+swiftly between my fingers, and I found myself on the solid
+earth!
+
+It was the cord of the anchor, which, sweeping along the surface
+of the ground, was caught in a crevice; and my balloon,
+unballasted for the last time, careered off to lose itself beyond
+the sea.
+
+When I came to myself, I was in bed in a peasant's cottage, at
+Harderwick, a village of La Gueldre, fifteen leagues from
+Amsterdam, on the shores of the Zuyder-Zee.
+
+A miracle had saved my life, but my voyage had been a series of
+imprudences, committed by a lunatic, and I had not been able to
+prevent them.
+
+May this terrible narrative, though instructing those who read
+it, not discourage the explorers of the air.
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE BLACK FLAG.
+
+
+The cur� of the ancient church of Dunkirk rose at five o'clock on
+the 12th of May, 18--, to perform, according to his custom, low
+mass for the benefit of a few pious sinners.
+
+Attired in his priestly robes, he was about to proceed to the
+altar, when a man entered the sacristy, at once joyous and
+frightened. He was a sailor of some sixty years, but still
+vigorous and sturdy, with, an open, honest countenance.
+
+"Monsieur the cur�," said he, "stop a moment, if you please."
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur the cur�," said he, "stop a moment, if
+you please."]
+
+"What do you want so early in the morning, Jean Cornbutte?" asked
+the cur�.
+
+"What do I want? Why, to embrace you in my arms, i' faith!"
+
+"Well, after the mass at which you are going to be present--"
+
+"The mass?" returned the old sailor, laughing. "Do you think you
+are going to say your mass now, and that I will let you do so?"
+
+"And why should I not say my mass?" asked the cur�. "Explain
+yourself. The third bell has sounded--"
+
+"Whether it has or not," replied Jean Cornbutte, "it will sound
+many more times to-day, monsieur the cur�, for you have promised
+me that you will bless, with your own hands, the marriage of my
+son Louis and my niece Marie!"
+
+"He has arrived, then," said the cur� "joyfully.
+
+"It is nearly the same thing," replied Cornbutte, rubbing his
+hands. "Our brig was signalled from the look out at sunrise,--our
+brig, which you yourself christened by the good name of the
+'Jeune-Hardie'!"
+
+"I congratulate you with all my heart, Cornbutte," said the cur�,
+taking off his chasuble and stole. "I remember our agreement. The
+vicar will take my place, and I will put myself at your disposal
+against your dear son's arrival."
+
+"And I promise you that he will not make you fast long," replied
+the sailor. "You have already published the banns, and you will
+only have to absolve him from the sins he may have committed
+between sky and water, in the Northern Ocean. I had a good idea,
+that the marriage should be celebrated the very day he arrived,
+and that my son Louis should leave his ship to repair at once to
+the church."
+
+"Go, then, and arrange everything, Cornbutte."
+
+"I fly, monsieur the cur�. Good morning!"
+
+The sailor hastened with rapid steps to his house, which stood on
+the quay, whence could be seen the Northern Ocean, of which he
+seemed so proud.
+
+Jean Cornbutte had amassed a comfortable sum at his calling.
+After having long commanded the vessels of a rich shipowner of
+Havre, he had settled down in his native town, where he had
+caused the brig "Jeune-Hardie" to be constructed at his own
+expense. Several successful voyages had been made in the North,
+and the ship always found a good sale for its cargoes of wood,
+iron, and tar. Jean Cornbutte then gave up the command of her to
+his son Louis, a fine sailor of thirty, who, according to all the
+coasting captains, was the boldest mariner in Dunkirk.
+
+Louis Cornbutte had gone away deeply attached to Marie, his
+father's niece, who found the time of his absence very long and
+weary. Marie was scarcely twenty. She was a pretty Flemish girl,
+with some Dutch blood in her veins. Her mother, when she was
+dying, had confided her to her brother, Jean Cornbutte. The brave
+old sailor loved her as a daughter, and saw in her proposed union
+with Louis a source of real and durable happiness.
+
+The arrival of the ship, already signalled off the coast,
+completed an important business operation, from which Jean
+Cornbutte expected large profits. The "Jeune-Hardie," which had
+left three months before, came last from Bodo�, on the west coast
+of Norway, and had made a quick voyage thence.
+
+On returning home, Jean Cornbutte found the whole house alive.
+Marie, with radiant face, had assumed her wedding-dress.
+
+"I hope the ship will not arrive before we are ready!" she said.
+
+"Hurry, little one," replied Jean Cornbutte, "for the wind is
+north, and she sails well, you know, when she goes freely."
+
+"Have our friends been told, uncle?" asked Marie.
+
+"They have."
+
+"The notary, and the cur�?"
+
+"Rest easy. You alone are keeping us waiting."
+
+At this moment Clerbaut, an old crony, came in.
+
+"Well, old Cornbutte," cried he, "here's luck! Your ship has
+arrived at the very moment that the government has decided to
+contract for a large quantity of wood for the navy!"
+
+"What is that to me?" replied Jean Cornbutte. "What care I for
+the government?"
+
+"You see, Monsieur Clerbaut," said Marie, "one thing only absorbs
+us,--Louis's return."
+
+"I don't dispute that," replied Clerbaut. "But--in short--this
+purchase of wood--"
+
+"And you shall be at the wedding," replied Jean Cornbutte,
+interrupting the merchant, and shaking his hand as if he would
+crush it.
+
+"This purchase of wood--"
+
+"And with all our friends, landsmen and seamen, Clerbaut. I have
+already informed everybody, and I shall invite the whole crew of
+the ship."
+
+"And shall we go and await them on the pier?" asked Marie.
+
+"Indeed we will," replied Jean Cornbutte. "We will defile, two by
+two, with the violins at the head."
+
+Jean Cornbutte's invited guests soon arrived. Though it was very
+early, not a single one failed to appear. All congratulated the
+honest old sailor whom they loved. Meanwhile Marie, kneeling
+down, changed her prayers to God into thanksgivings. She soon
+returned, lovely and decked out, to the company; and all the
+women kissed her on the check, while the men vigorously grasped
+her by the hand. Then Jean Cornbutte gave the signal of
+departure.
+
+It was a curious sight to see this joyous group taking its way,
+at sunrise, towards the sea. The news of the ship's arrival had
+spread through the port, and many heads, in nightcaps, appeared
+at the windows and at the half-opened doors. Sincere compliments
+and pleasant nods came from every side.
+
+The party reached the pier in the midst of a concert of praise
+and blessings. The weather was magnificent, and the sun seemed to
+take part in the festivity. A fresh north wind made the waves
+foam; and some fishing-smacks, their sails trimmed for leaving
+port, streaked the sea with their rapid wakes between the
+breakwaters.
+
+The two piers of Dunkirk stretch far out into the sea. The
+wedding-party occupied the whole width of the northern pier, and
+soon reached a small house situated at its extremity, inhabited
+by the harbour-master. The wind freshened, and the "Jeune-Hardie"
+ran swiftly under her topsails, mizzen, brigantine, gallant, and
+royal. There was evidently rejoicing on board as well as on land.
+Jean Cornbutte, spy-glass in hand, responded merrily to the
+questions of his friends.
+
+"See my ship!" he cried; "clean and steady as if she had been
+rigged at Dunkirk! Not a bit of damage done,--not a rope
+wanting!"
+
+"Do you see your son, the captain?" asked one.
+
+"No, not yet. Why, he's at his business!"
+
+"Why doesn't he run up his flag?" asked Clerbaut.
+
+"I scarcely know, old friend. He has a reason for it, no doubt."
+
+"Your spy-glass, uncle?" said Marie, taking it from him. "I want
+to be the first to see him."
+
+"But he is my son, mademoiselle!"
+
+"He has been your son for thirty years," answered the young girl,
+laughing, "and he has only been my betrothed for two!"
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was now entirely visible. Already the crew
+were preparing to cast anchor. The upper sails had been reefed.
+The sailors who were among the rigging might be recognized. But
+neither Marie nor Jean Cornbutte had yet been able to wave their
+hands at the captain of the ship.
+
+"Faith! there's the first mate, Andr� Vasling," cried Clerbaut.
+
+"And there's Fid�le Misonne, the carpenter," said another.
+
+"And our friend Penellan," said a third, saluting the sailor
+named.
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was only three cables' lengths from the shore,
+when a black flag ascended to the gaff of the brigantine. There
+was mourning on board!
+
+A shudder of terror seized the party and the heart of the young
+girl.
+
+The ship sadly swayed into port, and an icy silence reigned on
+its deck. Soon it had passed the end of the pier. Marie, Jean
+Cornbutte, and all their friends hurried towards the quay at
+which she was to anchor, and in a moment found themselves on
+board.
+
+"My son!" said Jean Cornbutte, who could only articulate these
+words.
+
+The sailors, with uncovered heads, pointed to the mourning flag.
+
+Marie uttered a cry of anguish, and fell into old Cornbutte's
+arms.
+
+Andr� Vasling had brought back the "Jeune-Hardie," but Louis
+Cornbutte, Marie's betrothed, was not on board.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's Project.
+
+
+As soon as the young girl, confided to the care of the
+sympathizing friends, had left the ship, Andr� Vasling, the mate,
+apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful event which had deprived
+him of his son, narrated in the ship's journal as follows:--
+
+[Illustration: Andr� Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte
+of the dreadful event]
+
+"At the height of the Ma�lstrom, on the 26th of April, the ship,
+putting for the cape, by reason of bad weather and south-west
+winds, perceived signals of distress made by a schooner to the
+leeward. This schooner, deprived of its mizzen-mast, was running
+towards the whirlpool, under bare poles. Captain Louis Cornbutte,
+seeing that this vessel was hastening into imminent danger,
+resolved to go on board her. Despite the remonstrances of his
+crew, he had the long-boat lowered into the sea, and got into it,
+with the sailor Courtois and the helmsman Pierre Nouquet. The
+crew watched them until they disappeared in the fog. Night came
+on. The sea became more and more boisterous. The "Jeune-Hardie",
+drawn by the currents in those parts, was in danger of being
+engulfed by the Ma�lstrom. She was obliged to fly before the
+wind. For several days she hovered near the place of the
+disaster, but in vain. The long-boat, the schooner, Captain
+Louis, and the two sailors did not reappear. Andr� Vasling then
+called the crew together, took command of the ship, and set sail
+for Dunkirk."
+
+After reading this dry narrative, Jean Cornbutte wept for a long
+time; and if he had any consolation, it was the thought that his
+son had died in attempting to save his fellow-men. Then the poor
+father left the ship, the sight of which made him wretched, and
+returned to his desolate home.
+
+The sad news soon spread throughout Dunkirk. The many friends of
+the old sailor came to bring him their cordial and sincere
+sympathy. Then the sailors of the "Jeune-Hardie" gave a more
+particular account of the event, and Andr� Vasling told Marie, at
+great length, of the devotion of her betrothed to the last.
+
+When he ceased weeping, Jean Cornbutte thought over the matter,
+and the next day after the ship's arrival, when Andre came to see
+him, said,--
+
+"Are you very sure, Andr�, that my son has perished?"
+
+"Alas, yes, Monsieur Jean," replied the mate.
+
+"And you made all possible search for him?"
+
+"All, Monsieur Cornbutte. But it is unhappily but too certain
+that he and the two sailors were sucked down in the whirlpool of
+the Ma�lstrom."
+
+"Would you like, Andr�, to keep the second command of the ship?"
+
+"That will depend upon the captain, Monsieur Cornbutte."
+
+"I shall be the captain," replied the old sailor. "I am going to
+discharge the cargo with all speed, make up my crew, and sail in
+search of my son."
+
+"Your son is dead!" said Andr� obstinately.
+
+"It is possible, Andre," replied Jean Cornbutte sharply, "but it
+is also possible that he saved himself. I am going to rummage all
+the ports of Norway whither he might have been driven, and when I
+am fully convinced that I shall never see him again, I will
+return here to die!"
+
+Andr� Vasling, seeing that this decision was irrevocable, did not
+insist further, but went away.
+
+Jean Cornbutte at once apprised his niece of his intention, and
+he saw a few rays of hope glisten across her tears. It had not
+seemed to the young girl that her lover's death might be
+doubtful; but scarcely had this new hope entered her heart, than
+she embraced it without reserve.
+
+The old sailor determined that the "Jeune-Hardie" should put to
+sea without delay. The solidly built ship had no need of repairs.
+Jean Cornbutte gave his sailors notice that if they wished to
+re-embark, no change in the crew would be made. He alone replaced
+his son in the command of the brig. None of the comrades of Louis
+Cornbutte failed to respond to his call, and there were hardy
+tars among them,--Alaine Turquiette, Fid�le Misonne the
+carpenter, Penellan the Breton, who replaced Pierre Nouquet as
+helmsman, and Gradlin, Aupic, and Gervique, courageous and well-tried
+mariners.
+
+Jean Cornbutte again offered Andr� Vasling his old rank on board.
+The first mate was an able officer, who had proved his skill in
+bringing the "Jeune-Hardie" into port. Yet, from what motive
+could not be told, Andr� made some difficulties and asked time
+for reflection.
+
+"As you will, Andr� Vasling," replied Cornbutte. "Only remember
+that if you accept, you will be welcome among us."
+
+Jean had a devoted sailor in Penellan the Breton, who had long
+been his fellow-voyager. In times gone by, little Marie was wont
+to pass the long winter evenings in the helmsman's arms, when he
+was on shore. He felt a fatherly friendship for her, and she had
+for him ah affection quite filial. Penellan hastened the fitting
+out of the ship with all his energy, all the more because,
+according to his opinion, Andr� Vasling had not perhaps made
+every effort possible to find the castaways, although he was
+excusable from the responsibility which weighed upon him as
+captain.
+
+Within a week the "Jeune-Hardie" was ready to put to sea. Instead
+of merchandise, she was completely provided with salt meats,
+biscuits, barrels of flour, potatoes, pork, wine, brandy, coffee,
+tea, and tobacco.
+
+The departure was fixed for the 22nd of May. On the evening
+before, Andr� Vasling, who had not yet given his answer to Jean
+Cornbutte, came to his house. He was still undecided, and did not
+know which course to take.
+
+Jean was not at home, though the house-door was open. Andr� went
+into the passage, next to Marie's chamber, where the sound of an
+animated conversation struck his ear. He listened attentively,
+and recognized the voices of Penellan and Marie.
+
+The discussion had no doubt been going on for some time, for the
+young girl seemed to be stoutly opposing what the Breton sailor
+said.
+
+"How old is my uncle Cornbutte?" said Marie.
+
+"Something about sixty years," replied Penellan.
+
+"Well, is he not going to brave danger to find his son?"
+
+"Our captain is still a sturdy man," returned the sailor. "He has
+a body of oak and muscles as hard as a spare spar. So I am not
+afraid to have him go to sea again!'"
+
+"My good Penellan," said Marie, "one is strong when one loves!
+Besides, I have full confidence in the aid of Heaven. You
+understand me, and will help me."
+
+"No!" said Penellan. "It is impossible, Marie. Who knows whither
+we shall drift, or what we must suffer? How many vigorous men
+have I seen lose their lives in these seas!"
+
+"Penellan," returned the young girl, "if you refuse me, I shall
+believe that you do not love me any longer."
+
+Andr� Vasling understood the young girl's resolution. He
+reflected a moment, and his course was determined on.
+
+"Jean Cornbutte," said he, advancing towards the old sailor, who
+now entered, "I will go with you. The cause of my hesitation has
+disappeared, and you may count upon my devotion."
+
+"I have never doubted you, Andr� Vasling," replied Jean
+Cornbutte, grasping him by the hand. "Marie, my child!" he added,
+calling in a loud voice.
+
+Marie and Penellan made their appearance.
+
+"We shall set sail to-morrow at daybreak, with the outgoing
+tide," said Jean. "My poor Marie, this is the last evening that
+we shall pass together.
+
+"Uncle!" cried Marie, throwing herself into his arms.
+
+"Marie, by the help of God, I will bring your lover back to you!"
+
+"Yes, we will find Louis," added Andr� Vasling.
+
+"You are going with us, then?" asked Penellan quickly.
+
+"Yes, Penellan, Andr� Vasling is to be my first mate," answered
+Jean.
+
+"Oh, oh!" ejaculated the Breton, in a singular tone.
+
+"And his advice will be useful to us, for he is able and
+enterprising.
+
+"And yourself, captain," said Andr�. "You will set us all a good
+example, for you have still as much vigour as experience."
+
+"Well, my friends, good-bye till to-morrow. Go on board and make
+the final arrangements. Good-bye, Andr�; good-bye, Penellan."
+
+The mate and the sailor went out together, and Jean and Marie
+remained alone. Many bitter tears were shed during that sad
+evening. Jean Cornbutte, seeing Marie so wretched, resolved to
+spare her the pain of separation by leaving the house on the
+morrow without her knowledge. So he gave her a last kiss that
+evening, and at three o'clock next morning was up and away.
+
+The departure of the brig had attracted all the old sailor's
+friends to the pier. The cur�, who was to have blessed Marie's
+union with Louis, came to give a last benediction on the ship.
+Rough grasps of the hand were silently exchanged, and Jean went
+on board.
+
+The crew were all there. Andr� Vasling gave the last orders. The
+sails were spread, and the brig rapidly passed out under a stiff
+north-west breeze, whilst the cure, upright in the midst of the
+kneeling spectators, committed the vessel to the hands of God.
+
+Whither goes this ship? She follows the perilous route upon which
+so many castaways have been lost! She has no certain destination.
+She must expect every peril, and be able to brave them without
+hesitating. God alone knows where it will be her fate to anchor.
+May God guide her!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A RAY OF HOPE.
+
+
+At that time of the year the season was favourable, and the crew
+might hope promptly to reach the scene of the shipwreck.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's plan was naturally traced out. He counted on
+stopping at the Fero� Islands, whither the north wind might have
+carried the castaways; then, if he was convinced that they had
+not been received in any of the ports of that locality, he would
+continue his search beyond the Northern Ocean, ransack the whole
+western coast of Norway as far as Bodo�, the place nearest the
+scene of the shipwreck; and, if necessary, farther still.
+
+Andr� Vasling thought, contrary to the captain's opinion, that
+the coast of Iceland should be explored; but Penellan observed
+that, at the time of the catastrophe, the gale came from the
+west; which, while it gave hope that the unfortunates had not
+been forced towards the gulf of the Ma�lstrom, gave ground for
+supposing that they might have been thrown on the Norwegian
+coast.
+
+It was determined, then, that this coast should be followed as
+closely as possible, so as to recognize any traces of them that
+might appear.
+
+The day after sailing, Jean Cornbutte, intent upon a map, was
+absorbed in reflection, when a small hand touched his shoulder,
+and a soft voice said in his ear,--
+
+"Have good courage, uncle."
+
+[Illustration: A soft voice said in his ear, "Have good courage,
+uncle."]
+
+He turned, and was stupefied. Marie embraced him.
+
+"Marie, my daughter, on board!" he cried.
+
+"The wife may well go in search of her husband, when the father
+embarks to save his child."
+
+"Unhappy Marie! How wilt thou support our fatigues! Dost thou
+know that thy presence may be injurious to our search?"
+
+"No, uncle, for I am strong."
+
+"Who knows whither we shall be forced to go, Marie? Look at this
+map. We are approaching places dangerous even for us sailors,
+hardened though we are to the difficulties of the sea. And thou,
+frail child?"
+
+"But, uncle, I come from a family of sailors. I am used to
+stories of combats and tempests. I am with you and my old friend
+Penellan!"
+
+"Penellan! It was he who concealed you on board?"
+
+"Yes, uncle; but only when he saw that I was determined to come
+without his help."
+
+"Penellan!" cried Jean.
+
+Penellan entered.
+
+"It is not possible to undo what you have done, Penellan; but
+remember that you are responsible for Marie's life."
+
+"Rest easy, captain," replied Penellan. "The little one has force
+and courage, and will be our guardian angel. And then, captain,
+you know it is my theory, that all in this world happens for the
+best."
+
+The young girl was installed in a cabin, which the sailors soon
+got ready for her, and which they made as comfortable as
+possible.
+
+A week later the "Jeune-Hardie" stopped at the Fero� Islands, but
+the most minute search was fruitless. No wreck, or fragments of a
+ship had come upon these coasts. Even the news of the event was
+quite unknown. The brig resumed its voyage, after a stay of ten
+days, about the 10th of June. The sea was calm, and the winds
+were favourable. The ship sped rapidly towards the Norwegian
+coast, which it explored without better result.
+
+Jean Cornbutte determined to proceed to Bodo�. Perhaps he would
+there learn the name of the shipwrecked schooner to succour which
+Louis and the sailors had sacrificed themselves.
+
+On the 30th of June the brig cast anchor in that port.
+
+The authorities of Bodo� gave Jean Cornbutte a bottle found on
+the coast, which contained a document bearing these words:--
+
+"This 26th April, on board the 'Fro�ern,' after being accosted by
+the long-boat of the 'Jeune-Hardie,' we were drawn by the
+currents towards the ice. God have pity on us!"
+
+Jean Cornbutte's first impulse was to thank Heaven. He thought
+himself on his son's track. The "Fro�ern" was a Norwegian sloop
+of which there had been no news, but which had evidently been
+drawn northward.
+
+Not a day was to be lost. The "Jeune-Hardie" was at once put in
+condition to brave the perils of the polar seas. Fid�le Misonne,
+the carpenter, carefully examined her, and assured himself that
+her solid construction might resist the shock of the ice-masses.
+
+Penellan, who had already engaged in whale-fishing in the arctic
+waters, took care that woollen and fur coverings, many sealskin
+moccassins, and wood for the making of sledges with which to
+cross the ice-fields were put on board. The amount of provisions
+was increased, and spirits and charcoal were added; for it might
+be that they would have to winter at some point on the Greenland
+coast. They also procured, with much difficulty and at a high
+price, a quantity of lemons, for preventing or curing the scurvy,
+that terrible disease which decimates crews in the icy regions.
+The ship's hold was filled with salt meat, biscuits, brandy, &c.,
+as the steward's room no longer sufficed. They provided
+themselves, moreover, with a large quantity of "pemmican," an
+Indian preparation which concentrates a great deal of nutrition
+within a small volume.
+
+By order of the captain, some saws were put on board for cutting
+the ice-fields, as well as picks and wedges for separating them.
+The captain determined to procure some dogs for drawing the
+sledges on the Greenland coast.
+
+The whole crew was engaged in these preparations, and displayed
+great activity. The sailors Aupic, Gervique, and Gradlin
+zealously obeyed Penellan's orders; and he admonished them not to
+accustom themselves to woollen garments, though the temperature
+in this latitude, situated just beyond the polar circle, was very
+low.
+
+Penellan, though he said nothing, narrowly watched every action
+of Andr� Vasling. This man was Dutch by birth, came from no one
+knew whither, but was at least a good sailor, having made two
+voyages on board the "Jeune-Hardie". Penellan would not as yet
+accuse him of anything, unless it was that he kept near Marie too
+constantly, but he did not let him out of his sight.
+
+Thanks to the energy of the crew, the brig was equipped by the
+16th of July, a fortnight after its arrival at Bodo�. It was then
+the favourable season for attempting explorations in the Arctic
+Seas. The thaw had been going on for two months, and the search
+might be carried farther north. The "Jeune-Hardie" set sail, and
+directed her way towards Cape Brewster, on the eastern coast of
+Greenland, near the 70th degree of latitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN THE PASSES.
+
+
+About the 23rd of July a reflection, raised above the sea,
+announced the presence of the first icebergs, which, emerging
+from Davis' Straits, advanced into the ocean. From this moment a
+vigilant watch was ordered to the look-out men, for it was
+important not to come into collision with these enormous masses.
+
+The crew was divided into two watches. The first was composed of
+Fid�le Misonne, Gradlin, and Gervique; and the second of Andre
+Vasling, Aupic, and Penellan. These watches were to last only two
+hours, for in those cold regions a man's strength is diminished
+one-half. Though the "Jeune-Hardie" was not yet beyond the 63rd
+degree of latitude, the thermometer already stood at nine degrees
+centigrade below zero.
+
+Rain and snow often fell abundantly. On fair days, when the wind
+was not too violent, Marie remained on deck, and her eyes became
+accustomed to the uncouth scenes of the Polar Seas.
+
+On the 1st of August she was promenading aft, and talking with
+her uncle, Penellan, and Andr� Vasling. The ship was then
+entering a channel three miles wide, across which broken masses
+of ice were rapidly descending southwards.
+
+"When shall we see land?" asked the young girl.
+
+"In three or four days at the latest," replied Jean Cornbutte.
+
+"But shall we find there fresh traces of my poor Louis?"
+
+"Perhaps so, my daughter; but I fear that we are still far from
+the end of our voyage. It is to be feared that the 'Fro�ern' was
+driven farther northward."
+
+"That may be," added Andr� Vasling, "for the squall which
+separated us from the Norwegian boat lasted three days, and in
+three days a ship makes good headway when it is no longer able to
+resist the wind."
+
+"Permit me to tell you, Monsieur Vasling." replied Penellan,
+"that that was in April, that the thaw had not then begun, and
+that therefore the 'Fro�ern' must have been soon arrested by the
+ice."
+
+"And no doubt dashed into a thousand pieces," said the mate, "as
+her crew could not manage her."
+
+"But these ice-fields," returned Penellan, "gave her an easy
+means of reaching land, from which she could not have been far
+distant."
+
+"Let us hope so," said Jean Cornbutte, interrupting the
+discussion, which was daily renewed between the mate and the
+helmsman. "I think we shall see land before long."
+
+"There it is!" cried Marie. "See those mountains!"
+
+"No, my child," replied her uncle. "Those are mountains of ice,
+the first we have met with. They would shatter us like glass if
+we got entangled between them. Penellan and Vasling, overlook the
+men."
+
+These floating masses, more than fifty of which now appeared at
+the horizon, came nearer and nearer to the brig. Penellan took
+the helm, and Jean Cornbutte, mounted on the gallant, indicated
+the route to take.
+
+Towards evening the brig was entirely surrounded by these moving
+rocks, the crushing force of which is irresistible. It was
+necessary, then, to cross this fleet of mountains, for prudence
+prompted them to keep straight ahead. Another difficulty was
+added to these perils. The direction of the ship could not be
+accurately determined, as all the surrounding points constantly
+changed position, and thus failed to afford a fixed perspective.
+The darkness soon increased with the fog. Marie descended to her
+cabin, and the whole crew, by the captain's orders, remained on
+deck. They were armed with long boat-poles, with iron spikes, to
+preserve the ship from collision with the ice.
+
+The ship soon entered a strait so narrow that often the ends of
+her yards were grazed by the drifting mountains, and her booms
+seemed about to be driven in. They were even forced to trim the
+mainyard so as to touch the shrouds. Happily these precautions
+did not deprive, the vessel of any of its speed, for the wind
+could only reach the upper sails, and these sufficed to carry her
+forward rapidly. Thanks to her slender hull, she passed through
+these valleys, which were filled with whirlpools of rain, whilst
+the icebergs crushed against each other with sharp cracking and
+splitting.
+
+Jean Cornbutte returned to the deck. His eyes could not penetrate
+the surrounding darkness. It became necessary to furl the upper
+sails, for the ship threatened to ground, and if she did so she
+was lost.
+
+"Cursed voyage!" growled Andr� Vasling among the sailors, who,
+forward, were avoiding the most menacing ice-blocks with their
+boat-hooks.
+
+"Truly, if we escape we shall owe a fine candle to Our Lady of
+the Ice!" replied Aupic.
+
+"Who knows how many floating mountains we have got to pass
+through yet?" added the mate.
+
+"And who can guess what we shall find beyond them?" replied the
+sailor.
+
+"Don't talk so much, prattler," said Gervique, "and look out on
+your side. When we have got by them, it'll be time to grumble.
+Look out for your boat-hook!"
+
+At this moment an enormous block of ice, in the narrow strait
+through which the brig was passing, came rapidly down upon her,
+and it seemed impossible to avoid it, for it barred the whole
+width of the channel, and the brig could not heave-to.
+
+"Do you feel the tiller?" asked Cornbutte of Penellan.
+
+"No, captain. The ship does not answer the helm any longer."
+
+"_Oh�_, boys!" cried the captain to the crew; "don't be afraid,
+and buttress your hooks against the gunwale."
+
+The block was nearly sixty feet high, and if it threw itself upon
+the brig she would be crushed. There was an undefinable moment of
+suspense, and the crew retreated backward, abandoning their posts
+despite the captain's orders.
+
+But at the instant when the block was not more than half a
+cable's length from the "Jeune-Hardie," a dull sound was heard,
+and a veritable waterspout fell upon the bow of the vessel, which
+then rose on the back of an enormous billow.
+
+The sailors uttered a cry of terror; but when they looked before
+them the block had disappeared, the passage was free, and beyond
+an immense plain of water, illumined by the rays of the declining
+sun, assured them of an easy navigation.
+
+"All's well!" cried Penellan. "Let's trim our topsails and
+mizzen!"
+
+An incident very common in those parts had just occurred. When
+these masses are detached from one another in the thawing season,
+they float in a perfect equilibrium; but on reaching the ocean,
+where the water is relatively warmer, they are speedily
+undermined at the base, which melts little by little, and which
+is also shaken by the shock of other ice-masses. A moment comes
+when the centre of gravity of these masses is displaced, and then
+they are completely overturned. Only, if this block had turned
+over two minutes later, it would have fallen on the brig and
+carried her down in its fall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+LIVERPOOL ISLAND.
+
+
+The brig now sailed in a sea which was almost entirely open. At
+the horizon only, a whitish light, this time motionless,
+indicated the presence of fixed plains of ice.
+
+Jean Cornbutte now directed the "Jeune-Hardie" towards Cape
+Brewster. They were already approaching the regions where the
+temperature is excessively cold, for the sun's rays, owing to
+their obliquity when they reach them, are very feeble.
+
+On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immoveable and united
+ice-masses. The passages were seldom more than a cable's length
+in width, and the ship was forced to make many turnings, which
+sometimes placed her heading the wind.
+
+Penellan watched over Marie with paternal care, and, despite the
+cold, prevailed upon her to spend two or three hours every day on
+deck, for exercise had become one of the indispensable conditions
+of health.
+
+Marie's courage did not falter. She even comforted the sailors
+with her cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly attached to
+her. Andr� Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever, and
+seized every occasion to be in her company; but the young girl,
+with a sort of presentiment, accepted his services with some
+coldness. It may be easily conjectured that Andr�'s conversation
+referred more to the future than to the present, and that he did
+not conceal the slight probability there was of saving the
+castaways. He was convinced that they were lost, and the young
+girl ought thenceforth to confide her existence to some one else.
+
+[Illustration: Andr� Vasling showed himself more attentive than
+ever.]
+
+Marie had not as yet comprehended Andr�'s designs, for, to his
+great disgust, he could never find an opportunity to talk long
+with her alone. Penellan had always an excuse for interfering,
+and destroying the effect of Andre's words by the hopeful
+opinions he expressed.
+
+Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting on the helmsman's
+advice, she set to work on her winter garments; for it was
+necessary that she should completely change her clothing. The cut
+of her dresses was not suitable for these cold latitudes. She
+made, therefore, a sort of furred pantaloons, the ends of which
+were lined with seal-skin; and her narrow skirts came only to her
+knees, so as not to be in contact with the layers of snow with
+which the winter would cover the ice-fields. A fur mantle,
+fitting closely to the figure and supplied with a hood, protected
+the upper part of her body.
+
+In the intervals of their work, the sailors, too, prepared
+clothing with which to shelter themselves from the cold. They
+made a quantity of high seal-skin boots, with which to cross the
+snow during their explorations. They worked thus all the time
+that the navigation in the straits lasted.
+
+Andr� Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times brought
+down aquatic birds with his gun; innumerable flocks of these were
+always careering about the ship. A kind of eider-duck provided
+the crew with very palatable food, which relieved the monotony of
+the salt meat.
+
+At last the brig, after many turnings, came in sight of Cape
+Brewster. A long-boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan
+reached the coast, which was entirely deserted.
+
+The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool Island,
+discovered in 1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the crew gave a
+hearty cheer when they saw the natives running along the shore.
+Communication was speedily established with them, thanks to
+Penellan's knowledge of a few words of their language, and some
+phrases which the natives themselves had learnt of the whalers who
+frequented those parts.
+
+These Greenlanders were small and squat; they were not more than
+four feet ten inches high; they had red, round faces, and low
+foreheads; their hair, flat and black, fell over their shoulders;
+their teeth were decayed, and they seemed to be affected by the
+sort of leprosy which is peculiar to ichthyophagous tribes.
+
+In exchange for pieces of iron and brass, of which they are
+extremely covetous, these poor creatures brought bear furs, the
+skins of sea-calves, sea-dogs, sea-wolves, and all the animals
+generally known as seals. Jean Cornbutte obtained these at a low
+price, and they were certain to become most useful.
+
+The captain then made the natives understand that he was in
+search of a shipwrecked vessel, and asked them if they had heard
+of it. One of them immediately drew something like a ship on the
+snow, and indicated that a vessel of that sort had been carried
+northward three months before: he also managed to make it
+understood that the thaw and breaking up of the ice-fields had
+prevented the Greenlanders from going in search of it; and,
+indeed, their very light canoes, which they managed with paddles,
+could not go to sea at that time.
+
+This news, though meagre, restored hope to the hearts of the
+sailors, and Jean Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuading them
+to advance farther in the polar seas.
+
+Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased a pack of
+six Esquimaux dogs, which were soon acclimatised on board. The
+ship weighed anchor on the morning of the 10th of August, and
+entered the northern straits under a brisk wind.
+
+The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, the sun,
+in these high latitudes, did not set, and reached the highest
+point of the spirals which it described above the horizon.
+
+This total absence of night was not, however, very apparent, for
+the fog, rain, and snow sometimes enveloped the ship in real
+darkness.
+
+Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as possible,
+began to take measures of health. The space between decks was
+securely enclosed, and every morning care was taken to ventilate
+it with fresh air. The stoves were installed, and the pipes so
+disposed as to yield as much heat as possible. The sailors were
+advised to wear only one woollen shirt over their cotton shirts,
+and to hermetically close their seal cloaks. The fires were not
+yet lighted, for it was important to reserve the wood and
+charcoal for the most intense cold.
+
+Warm beverages, such as coffee and tea, were regularly
+distributed to the sailors morning and evening; and as it was
+important to live on meat, they shot ducks and teal, which
+abounded in these parts.
+
+Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the mainmast a
+"crow's nest," a sort of cask staved in at one end, in which a
+look-out remained constantly, to observe the icefields.
+
+Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island the
+temperature became suddenly colder under the influence of a dry
+wind. Some indications of winter were perceived. The ship had not
+a moment to lose, for soon the way would be entirely closed to
+her. She advanced across the straits, among which lay ice-plains
+thirty feet thick.
+
+On the morning of the 3rd of September the "Jeune-Hardie" reached
+the head of Ga�l-Hamkes Bay. Land was then thirty miles to the
+leeward. It was the first time that the brig had stopped before a
+mass of ice which offered no outlet, and which was at least a
+mile wide. The saws must now be used to cut the ice. Penellan,
+Aupic, Gradlin, and Turquiette were chosen to work the saws,
+which had been carried outside the ship. The direction of the
+cutting was so determined that the current might carry off the
+pieces detached from the mass. The whole crew worked at this task
+for nearly twenty hours. They found it very painful to remain on
+the ice, and were often obliged to plunge into the water up to
+their middle; their seal-skin garments protected them but
+imperfectly from the damp.
+
+Moreover all excessive toil in those high latitudes is soon
+followed by an overwhelming weariness; for the breath soon fails,
+and the strongest are forced to rest at frequent intervals.
+
+At last the navigation became free, and the brig was towed beyond
+the mass which had so long obstructed her course.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE QUAKING OF THE ICE.
+
+
+For several days the "Jeune-Hardie" struggled against formidable
+obstacles. The crew were almost all the time at work with the
+saws, and often powder had to be used to blow up the enormous
+blocks of ice which closed the way.
+
+On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one solid plain,
+without outlet or passage, surrounding the vessel on all sides,
+so that she could neither advance nor retreat. The temperature
+remained at an average of sixteen degrees below zero. The winter
+season had come on, with its sufferings and dangers.
+
+[Illustration: On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one
+solid plain.]
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was then near the 21st degree of longitude
+west and the 76th degree of latitude north, at the entrance of
+Ga�l-Hamkes Bay.
+
+Jean Cornbutte made his preliminary preparations for wintering.
+He first searched for a creek whose position would shelter the
+ship from the wind and breaking up of the ice. Land, which was
+probably thirty miles west, could alone offer him secure shelter,
+and he resolved to attempt to reach it.
+
+He set out on the 12th of September, accompanied by Andr�
+Vasling, Penellan, and the two sailors Gradlin and Turquiette.
+Each man carried provisions for two days, for it was not likely
+that their expedition would occupy a longer time, and they were
+supplied with skins on which to sleep.
+
+Snow had fallen in great abundance and was not yet frozen over;
+and this delayed them seriously. They often sank to their waists,
+and could only advance very cautiously, for fear of falling into
+crevices. Penellan, who walked in front, carefully sounded each
+depression with his iron-pointed staff.
+
+About five in the evening the fog began to thicken, and the
+little band were forced to stop. Penellan looked about for an
+iceberg which might shelter them from the wind, and after
+refreshing themselves, with regrets that they had no warm drink,
+they spread their skins on the snow, wrapped themselves up, lay
+close to each other, and soon dropped asleep from sheer fatigue.
+
+The next morning Jean Cornbutte and his companions were buried
+beneath a bed of snow more than a foot deep. Happily their skins,
+perfectly impermeable, had preserved them, and the snow itself
+had aided in retaining their heat, which it prevented from
+escaping.
+
+The captain gave the signal of departure, and about noon they at
+last descried the coast, which at first they could scarcely
+distinguish. High ledges of ice, cut perpendicularly, rose on the
+shore; their variegated summits, of all forms and shapes,
+reproduced on a large scale the phenomena of crystallization.
+Myriads of aquatic fowl flew about at the approach of the party,
+and the seals, lazily lying on the ice, plunged hurriedly into
+the depths.
+
+"I' faith!" said Penellan, "we shall not want for either furs or
+game!"
+
+"Those animals," returned Cornbutte, "give every evidence of
+having been already visited by men; for in places totally
+uninhabited they would not be so wild."
+
+"None but Greenlanders frequent these parts," said Andr� Vasling.
+
+"I see no trace of their passage, however; neither any encampment
+nor the smallest hut," said Penellan, who had climbed up a high
+peak. "O captain!" he continued, "come here! I see a point of
+land which will shelter us splendidly from the north-east wind."
+
+"Come along, boys!" said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+His companions followed him, and they soon rejoined Penellan. The
+sailor had said what was true. An elevated point of land jutted
+out like a promontory, and curving towards the coast, formed a
+little inlet of a mile in width at most. Some moving ice-blocks,
+broken by this point, floated in the midst, and the sea,
+sheltered from the colder winds, was not yet entirely frozen
+over.
+
+This was an excellent spot for wintering, and it only remained to
+get the ship thither. Jean Cornbutte remarked that the neighbouring
+ice-field was very thick, and it seemed very difficult to cut a canal
+to bring the brig to its destination. Some other creek, then, must be
+found; it was in vain that he explored northward. The coast remained
+steep and abrupt for a long distance, and beyond the point it was
+directly exposed to the attacks of the east-wind. The circumstance
+disconcerted the captain all the more because Andr� Vasling used
+strong arguments to show how bad the situation was. Penellan, in
+this dilemma, found it difficult to convince himself that all was
+for the best.
+
+But one chance remained--to seek a shelter on the southern side
+of the coast. This was to return on their path, but hesitation
+was useless. The little band returned rapidly in the direction of
+the ship, as their provisions had begun to run short. Jean
+Cornbutte searched for some practicable passage, or at least some
+fissure by which a canal might be cut across the ice-fields, all
+along the route, but in vain.
+
+Towards evening the sailors came to the same place where they had
+encamped over night. There had been no snow during the day, and
+they could recognize the imprint of their bodies on the ice. They
+again disposed themselves to sleep with their furs.
+
+Penellan, much disturbed by the bad success of the expedition,
+was sleeping restlessly, when, at a waking moment, his attention
+was attracted by a dull rumbling. He listened attentively, and
+the rumbling seemed so strange that he nudged Jean Cornbutte with
+his elbow.
+
+"What is that?" said the latter, whose mind, according to a
+sailor's habit, was awake as soon as his body.
+
+"Listen, captain."
+
+The noise increased, with perceptible violence.
+
+"It cannot be thunder, in so high a latitude," said Cornbutte,
+rising.
+
+"I think we have come across some white bears," replied Penellan.
+
+"The devil! We have not seen any yet."
+
+"Sooner or later, we must have expected a visit from them. Let us
+give them a good reception."
+
+Penellan, armed with a gun, lightly crossed the ledge which
+sheltered them. The darkness was very dense; he could discover
+nothing; but a new incident soon showed him that the cause of the
+noise did not proceed from around them.
+
+Jean Cornbutte rejoined him, and they observed with terror that
+this rumbling, which awakened their companions, came from beneath
+them.
+
+A new kind of peril menaced them. To the noise, which resembled
+peals of thunder, was added a distinct undulating motion of the
+ice-field. Several of the party lost their balance and fell.
+
+"Attention!" cried Penellan.
+
+"Yes!" some one responded.
+
+"Turquiette! Gradlin! where are you?"
+
+"Here I am!" responded Turquiette, shaking off the snow with
+which he was covered.
+
+"This way, Vasling," cried Cornbutte to the mate. "And Gradlin?"
+
+"Present, captain. But we are lost!" shouted Gradlin, in fright.
+
+"No!" said Penellan. "Perhaps we are saved!"
+
+Hardly had he uttered these words when a frightful cracking noise
+was heard. The ice-field broke clear through, and the sailors
+were forced to cling to the block which was quivering just by
+them. Despite the helmsman's words, they found themselves in a
+most perilous position, for an ice-quake had occurred. The ice
+masses had just "weighed anchor," as the sailors say. The
+movement lasted nearly two minutes, and it was to be feared that
+the crevice would yawn at the very feet of the unhappy sailors.
+They anxiously awaited daylight in the midst of continuous
+shocks, for they could not, without risk of death, move a step,
+and had to remain stretched out at full length to avoid being
+engulfed.
+
+[Illustration: they found themselves in a most perilous position,
+for an ice-quake had occurred.]
+
+As soon as it was daylight a very different aspect presented
+itself to their eyes. The vast plain, a compact mass the evening
+before, was now separated in a thousand places, and the waves,
+raised by some submarine commotion, had broken the thick layer
+which sheltered them.
+
+The thought of his ship occurred to Jean Cornbutte's mind.
+
+"My poor brig!" he cried. "It must have perished!"
+
+The deepest despair began to overcast the faces of his
+companions. The loss of the ship inevitably preceded their own
+deaths.
+
+"Courage, friends," said Penellan. "Reflect that this night's
+disaster has opened us a path across the ice, which will enable
+us to bring our ship to the bay for wintering! And, stop! I am
+not mistaken. There is the 'Jeune-Hardie,' a mile nearer to us!"
+
+All hurried forward, and so imprudently, that Turquiette slipped
+into a fissure, and would have certainly perished, had not Jean
+Cornbutte seized him by his hood. He got off with a rather cold
+bath.
+
+The brig was indeed floating two miles away. After infinite
+trouble, the little band reached her. She was in good condition;
+but her rudder, which they had neglected to lift, had been broken
+by the ice.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+SETTLING FOR THE WINTER.
+
+
+Penellan was once more right; all was for the best, and this ice-quake
+had opened a practicable channel for the ship to the bay.
+The sailors had only to make skilful use of the currents to
+conduct her thither.
+
+On the 19th of September the brig was at last moored in her bay
+for wintering, two cables' lengths from the shore, securely
+anchored on a good bottom. The ice began the next day to form
+around her hull; it soon became strong enough to bear a man's
+weight, and they could establish a communication with land.
+
+The rigging, as is customary in arctic navigation, remained as it
+was; the sails were carefully furled on the yards and covered
+with their casings, and the "crow's-nest" remained in place, as
+much to enable them to make distant observations as to attract
+attention to the ship.
+
+The sun now scarcely rose above the horizon. Since the June
+solstice, the spirals which it had described descended lower and
+lower; and it would soon disappear altogether.
+
+The crew hastened to make the necessary preparations. Penellan
+supervised the whole. The ice was soon thick around the ship, and
+it was to be feared that its pressure might become dangerous; but
+Penellan waited until, by reason of the going and coming of the
+floating ice-masses and their adherence, it had reached a
+thickness of twenty feet; he then had it cut around the hull, so
+that it united under the ship, the form of which it assumed;
+thus enclosed in a mould, the brig had no longer to fear the
+pressure of the ice, which could make no movement.
+
+The sailors then elevated along the wales, to the height of the
+nettings, a snow wall five or six feet thick, which soon froze as
+hard as a rock. This envelope did not allow the interior heat to
+escape outside. A canvas tent, covered with skins and hermetically
+closed, was stretched aver the whole length of the deck, and formed
+a sort of walk for the sailors.
+
+They also constructed on the ice a storehouse of snow, in which
+articles which embarrassed the ship were stowed away. The
+partitions of the cabins were taken down, so as to form a single
+vast apartment forward, as well as aft. This single room,
+besides, was more easy to warm, as the ice and damp found fewer
+corners in which to take refuge. It was also less difficult to
+ventilate it, by means of canvas funnels which opened without.
+
+Each sailor exerted great energy in these preparations, and about
+the 25th of September they were completed. Andr� Vasling had not
+shown himself the least active in this task. He devoted himself
+with especial zeal to the young girl's comfort, and if she,
+absorbed in thoughts of her poor Louis, did not perceive this,
+Jean Cornbutte did not fail soon to remark it. He spoke of it to
+Penellan; he recalled several incidents which completely
+enlightened him regarding his mate's intentions; Andr� Vasling
+loved Marie, and reckoned on asking her uncle for her hand, as
+soon as it was proved beyond doubt that the castaways were
+irrevocably lost; they would return then to Dunkirk, and Andr�
+Vasling would be well satisfied to wed a rich and pretty girl,
+who would then be the sole heiress of Jean Cornbutte.
+
+
+But Andr�, in his impatience, was often imprudent. He had several
+times declared that the search for the castaways was useless,
+when some new trace contradicted him, and enabled Penellan to
+exult over him. The mate, therefore, cordially detested the
+helmsman, who returned his dislike heartily. Penellan only feared
+that Andr� might sow seeds of dissension among the crew, and
+persuaded Jean Cornbutte to answer him evasively on the first
+occasion.
+
+When the preparations for the winter were completed, the captain
+took measures to preserve the health of the crew. Every morning
+the men were ordered to air their berths, and carefully clean the
+interior walls, to get rid of the night's dampness. They received
+boiling tea or coffee, which are excellent cordials to use
+against the cold, morning and evening; then they were divided
+into hunting-parties, who should procure as much fresh nourishment
+as possible for every day.
+
+Each one also took healthy exercise every day, so as not to
+expose himself without motion to the cold; for in a temperature
+thirty degrees below zero, some part of the body might suddenly
+become frozen. In such cases friction of the snow was used, which
+alone could heal the affected part.
+
+Penellan also strongly advised cold ablutions every morning. It
+required some courage to plunge the hands and face in the snow,
+which had to be melted within. But Penellan bravely set the
+example, and Marie was not the last to imitate him.
+
+Jean Cornbutte did not forget to have readings and prayers, for
+it was needful that the hearts of his comrades should not give
+way to despair or weariness. Nothing is more dangerous in these
+desolate latitudes.
+
+The sky, always gloomy, filled the soul with sadness. A thick
+snow, lashed by violent winds, added to the horrors of their
+situation. The sun would soon altogether disappear. Had the
+clouds not gathered in masses above their heads, they might have
+enjoyed the moonlight, which was about to become really their sun
+during the long polar night; but, with the west winds, the snow
+did not cease to fall. Every morning it was necessary to clear
+off the sides of the ship, and to cut a new stairway in the ice
+to enable them to reach the ice-field. They easily succeeded in
+doing this with snow-knives; the steps once cut, a little water
+was thrown over them, and they at once hardened.
+
+Penellan had a hole cut in the ice, not far from the ship. Every
+day the new crust which formed over its top was broken, and the
+water which was drawn thence, from a certain depth, was less cold
+than that at the surface.
+
+All these preparations occupied about three weeks. It was then
+time to go forward with the search. The ship was imprisoned for
+six or seven months, and only the next thaw could open a new
+route across the ice. It was wise, then, to profit by this delay,
+and extend their explorations northward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+PLAN OF THE EXPLORATIONS.
+
+
+On the 9th of October, Jean Cornbutte held a council to settle
+the plan of his operations, to which, that there might be union,
+zeal, and courage on the part of every one, he admitted the whole
+crew. Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation.
+
+[Illustration: Map in hand, he clearly explained their
+situation.]
+
+The eastern coast of Greenland advances perpendicularly
+northward. The discoveries of the navigators have given the exact
+boundaries of those parts. In the extent of five hundred leagues,
+which separates Greenland from Spitzbergen, no land has been
+found. An island (Shannon Island) lay a hundred miles north of
+Ga�l-Hamkes Bay, where the "Jeune-Hardie" was wintering.
+
+If the Norwegian schooner, as was most probable, had been driven
+in this direction, supposing that she could not reach Shannon
+Island, it was here that Louis Cornbutte and his comrades must
+have sought for a winter asylum.
+
+This opinion prevailed, despite Andr� Vasling's opposition; and
+it was decided to direct the explorations on the side towards
+Shannon Island.
+
+Arrangements for this were at once begun. A sledge like that used
+by the Esquimaux had been procured on the Norwegian coast. This
+was constructed of planks curved before and behind, and was made
+to slide over the snow and ice. It was twelve feet long and four
+wide, and could therefore carry provisions, if need were, for
+several weeks. Fid�le Misonne soon put it in order, working upon
+it in the snow storehouse, whither his tools had been carried.
+For the first time a coal-stove was set up in this storehouse,
+without which all labour there would have been impossible. The
+pipe was carried out through one of the lateral walls, by a hole
+pierced in the snow; but a grave inconvenience resulted from
+this,--for the heat of the stove, little by little, melted the
+snow where it came in contact with it; and the opening visibly
+increased. Jean Cornbutte contrived to surround this part of the
+pipe with some metallic canvas, which is impermeable by heat.
+This succeeded completely.
+
+While Misonne was at work upon the sledge, Penellan, aided by
+Marie, was preparing the clothing necessary for the expedition.
+Seal-skin boots they had, fortunately, in plenty. Jean Cornbutte
+and Andr� Vasling occupied themselves with the provisions. They
+chose a small barrel of spirits-of-wine for heating a portable
+chafing-dish; reserves of coffee and tea in ample quantity were
+packed; a small box of biscuits, two hundred pounds of pemmican,
+and some gourds of brandy completed the stock of viands. The guns
+would bring down some fresh game every day. A quantity of powder
+was divided between several bags; the compass, sextant, and spy-glass
+were put carefully out of the way of injury.
+
+On the 11th of October the sun no longer appeared above the
+horizon. They were obliged to keep a lighted lamp in the lodgings
+of the crew all the time. There was no time to lose; the
+explorations must be begun. For this reason: in the month of
+January it would become so cold that it would be impossible to
+venture out without peril of life. For two months at least the
+crew would be condemned to the most complete imprisonment; then
+the thaw would begin, and continue till the time when the ship
+should quit the ice. This thaw would, of course, prevent any
+explorations. On the other hand, if Louis Cornbutte and his
+comrades were still in existence, it was not probable that they
+would be able to resist the severities of the arctic winter. They
+must therefore be saved beforehand, or all hope would be lost.
+Andr� Vasling knew all this better than any one. He therefore
+resolved to put every possible obstacle in the way of the
+expedition.
+
+The preparations for the journey were completed about the 20th of
+October. It remained to select the men who should compose the
+party. The young girl could not be deprived of the protection of
+Jean Cornbutte or of Penellan; neither of these could, on the
+other hand, be spared from the expedition.
+
+The question, then, was whether Marie could bear the fatigues of
+such a journey. She had already passed through rough experiences
+without seeming to suffer from them, for she was a sailor's
+daughter, used from infancy to the fatigues of the sea, and even
+Penellan was not dismayed to see her struggling in the midst of
+this severe climate, against the dangers of the polar seas.
+
+It was decided, therefore, after a long discussion, that she
+should go with them, and that a place should be reserved for her,
+at need, on the sledge, on which a little wooden hut was
+constructed, closed in hermetically. As for Marie, she was
+delighted, for she dreaded to be left alone without her two
+protectors.
+
+The expedition was thus formed: Marie, Jean Cornbutte, Penellan,
+Andr� Vasling, Aupic, and Fid�le Misonne were to go. Alaine
+Turquiette remained in charge of the brig, and Gervique and
+Gradlin stayed behind with him. New provisions of all kinds were
+carried; for Jean Cornbutte, in order to carry the exploration as
+far as possible, had resolved to establish dep�ts along the
+route, at each seven or eight days' march. When the sledge was
+ready it was at once fitted up, and covered with a skin tent. The
+whole weighed some seven hundred pounds, which a pack of five
+dogs might easily carry over the ice.
+
+On the 22nd of October, as the captain had foretold, a sudden
+change took place in the temperature. The sky cleared, the stars
+emitted an extraordinary light, and the moon shone above the
+horizon, no longer to leave the heavens for a fortnight. The
+thermometer descended to twenty-five degrees below zero.
+
+The departure was fixed for the following day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE HOUSE OF SNOW.
+
+
+On the 23rd of October, at eleven in the morning, in a fine
+moonlight, the caravan set out. Precautions were this time taken
+that the journey might be a long one, if necessary. Jean
+Cornbutte followed the coast, and ascended northward. The steps
+of the travellers made no impression on the hard ice. Jean was
+forced to guide himself by points which he selected at a
+distance; sometimes he fixed upon a hill bristling with peaks;
+sometimes on a vast iceberg which pressure had raised above the
+plain.
+
+[Illustration: The caravan set out]
+
+At the first halt, after going fifteen miles, Penellan prepared
+to encamp. The tent was erected against an ice-block. Marie had
+not suffered seriously with the extreme cold, for luckily the
+breeze had subsided, and was much more bearable; but the young
+girl had several times been obliged to descend from her sledge to
+avert numbness from impeding the circulation of her blood.
+Otherwise, her little hut, hung with skins, afforded her all the
+comfort possible under the circumstances.
+
+When night, or rather sleeping-time, came, the little hut was
+carried under the tent, where it served as a bed-room for Marie.
+The evening repast was composed of fresh meat, pemmican, and hot
+tea. Jean Cornbutte, to avert danger of the scurvy, distributed
+to each of the party a few drops of lemon-juice. Then all slept
+under God's protection.
+
+After eight hours of repose, they got ready to resume their
+march. A substantial breakfast was provided to the men and the
+dogs; then they set out. The ice, exceedingly compact, enabled
+these animals to draw the sledge easily. The party sometimes
+found it difficult to keep up with them.
+
+But the sailors soon began to suffer one discomfort--that of
+being dazzled. Ophthalmia betrayed itself in Aupic and Misonne.
+The moon's light, striking on these vast white plains, burnt the
+eyesight, and gave the eyes insupportable pain.
+
+There was thus produced a very singular effect of refraction. As
+they walked, when they thought they were about to put foot on a
+hillock, they stepped down lower, which often occasioned falls,
+happily so little serious that Penellan made them occasions for
+bantering. Still, he told them never to take a step without
+sounding the ground with the ferruled staff with which each was
+equipped.
+
+About the 1st of November, ten days after they had set out, the
+caravan had gone fifty leagues to the northward. Weariness
+pressed heavily on all. Jean Cornbutte was painfully dazzled, and
+his sight sensibly changed. Aupic and Misonne had to feel their
+way: for their eyes, rimmed with red, seemed burnt by the white
+reflection. Marie had been preserved from this misfortune by
+remaining within her hut, to which she confined herself as much
+as possible. Penellan, sustained by an indomitable courage,
+resisted all fatigue. But it was Andr� Vasling who bore himself
+best, and upon whom the cold and dazzling seemed to produce no
+effect. His iron frame was equal to every hardship; and he was
+secretly pleased to see the most robust of his companions
+becoming discouraged, and already foresaw the moment when they
+would be forced to retreat to the ship again.
+
+On the 1st of November it became absolutely necessary to halt for
+a day or two. As soon as the place for the encampment had been
+selected, they proceeded to arrange it. It was determined to
+erect a house of snow, which should be supported against one of
+the rocks of the promontory. Misonne at once marked out the
+foundations, which measured fifteen feet long by five wide.
+Penellan, Aupic, and Misonne, by aid of their knives, cut out
+great blocks of ice, which they carried to the chosen spot and
+set up, as masons would have built stone walls. The sides of the
+foundation were soon raised to a height and thickness of about
+five feet; for the materials were abundant, and the structure was
+intended to be sufficiently solid to last several days. The four
+walls were completed in eight hours; an opening had been left on
+the southern side, and the canvas of the tent, placed on these
+four walls, fell over the opening and sheltered it. It only
+remained to cover the whole with large blocks, to form the roof
+of this temporary structure.
+
+After three more hours of hard work, the house was done; and they
+all went into it, overcome with weariness and discouragement.
+Jean Cornbutte suffered so much that he could not walk, and Andr�
+Vasling so skilfully aggravated his gloomy feelings, that he
+forced from him a promise not to pursue his search farther in
+those frightful solitudes. Penellan did not know which saint to
+invoke. He thought it unworthy and craven to give up his
+companions for reasons which had little weight, and tried to
+upset them; but in vain.
+
+Meanwhile, though it had been decided to return, rest had become
+so necessary that for three days no preparations for departure
+were made.
+
+On the 4th of November, Jean Cornbutte began to bury on a point
+of the coast the provisions for which there was no use. A stake
+indicated the place of the deposit, in the improbable event that
+new explorations should be made in that direction. Every day
+since they had set out similar deposits had been made, so that
+they were assured of ample sustenance on the return, without the
+trouble of carrying them on the sledge.
+
+The departure was fixed for ten in the morning, on the 5th. The
+most profound sadness filled the little band. Marie with
+difficulty restrained her tears, when she saw her uncle so
+completely discouraged. So many useless sufferings! so much
+labour lost! Penellan himself became ferocious in his ill-humour;
+he consigned everybody to the nether regions, and did not cease
+to wax angry at the weakness and cowardice of his comrades, who
+were more timid and tired, he said, than Marie, who would have
+gone to the end of the world without complaint.
+
+Andr� Vasling could not disguise the pleasure which this decision
+gave him. He showed himself more attentive than ever to the young
+girl, to whom he even held out hopes that a new search should be
+made when the winter was over; knowing well that it would then be
+too late!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+BURIED ALIVE.
+
+
+The evening before the departure, just as they were about to take
+supper, Penellan was breaking up some empty casks for firewood,
+when he was suddenly suffocated by a thick smoke. At the same
+instant the snow-house was shaken as if by an earthquake. The
+party uttered a cry of terror, and Penellan hurried outside.
+
+It was entirely dark. A frightful tempest--for it was not a
+thaw--was raging, whirlwinds of snow careered around, and it was
+so exceedingly cold that the helmsman felt his hands rapidly
+freezing. He was obliged to go in again, after rubbing himself
+violently with snow.
+
+"It is a tempest," said he. "May heaven grant that our house may
+withstand it, for, if the storm should destroy it, we should be
+lost!"
+
+At the same time with the gusts of wind a noise was heard beneath
+the frozen soil; icebergs, broken from the promontory, dashed
+away noisily, and fell upon one another; the wind blew with such
+violence that it seemed sometimes as if the whole house moved
+from its foundation; phosphorescent lights, inexplicable in that
+latitude, flashed across the whirlwinds of the snow.
+
+"Marie! Marie!" cried Penellan, seizing the young girl's hands.
+
+"We are in a bad case!" said Misonne.
+
+"And I know not whether we shall escape," replied Aupic.
+
+"Let us quit this snow-house!" said Andr� Vasling.
+
+"Impossible!" returned Penellan. "The cold outside is terrible;
+perhaps we can bear it by staying here."
+
+"Give me the thermometer," demanded Vasling.
+
+Aupic handed it to him. It showed ten degrees below zero inside
+the house, though the fire was lighted. Vasling raised the canvas
+which covered the opening, and pushed it aside hastily; for he
+would have been lacerated by the fall of ice which the wind
+hurled around, and which fell in a perfect hail-storm.
+
+"Well, Vasling," said Penellan, "will you go out, then? You see
+that we are more safe here."
+
+"Yes," said Jean Cornbutte; "and we must use every effort to
+strengthen the house in the interior."
+
+"But a still more terrible danger menaces us," said Vasling.
+
+"What?" asked Jean.
+
+"The wind is breaking the ice against which we are propped, just
+as it has that of the promontory, and we shall be either driven
+out or buried!"
+
+"That seems doubtful," said Penellan, "for it is freezing hard
+enough to ice over all liquid surfaces. Let us see what the
+temperature is."
+
+He raised the canvas so as to pass out his arm, and with
+difficulty found the thermometer again, in the midst of the snow;
+but he at last succeeded in seizing it, and, holding the lamp to
+it, said,--
+
+"Thirty-two degrees below zero! It is the coldest we have seen
+here yet!"
+
+[Illustration: "Thirty-two degrees below zero!"]
+
+"Ten degrees more," said Vasling, "and the mercury will freeze!"
+
+A mournful silence followed this remark.
+
+About eight in the morning Penellan essayed a second time to go
+out to judge of their situation. It was necessary to give an
+escape to the smoke, which the wind had several times repelled
+into the hut. The sailor wrapped his cloak tightly about him,
+made sure of his hood by fastening it to his head with a
+handkerchief, and raised the canvas.
+
+The opening was entirely obstructed by a resisting snow. Penellan
+took his staff, and succeeded in plunging it into the compact
+mass; but terror froze his blood when he perceived that the end
+of the staff was not free, and was checked by a hard body!
+
+"Cornbutte," said he to the captain, who had come up to him, "we
+are buried under this snow!"
+
+"What say you?" cried Jean Cornbutte.
+
+"I say that the snow is massed and frozen around us and over us,
+and that we are buried alive!"
+
+"Let us try to clear this mass of snow away," replied the
+captain.
+
+The two friends buttressed themselves against the obstacle which
+obstructed the opening, but they could not move it. The snow
+formed an iceberg more than five feet thick, and had become
+literally a part of the house. Jean could not suppress a cry,
+which awoke Misonne and Vasling. An oath burst from the latter,
+whose features contracted. At this moment the smoke, thicker than
+ever, poured into the house, for it could not find an issue.
+
+"Malediction!" cried Misonne. "The pipe of the stove is sealed up
+by the ice!"
+
+Penellan resumed his staff, and took down the pipe, after
+throwing snow on the embers to extinguish them, which produced
+such a smoke that the light of the lamp could scarcely be seen;
+then he tried with his staff to clear out the orifice, but he
+only encountered a rock of ice! A frightful end, preceded by a
+terrible agony, seemed to be their doom! The smoke, penetrating
+the throats of the unfortunate party, caused an insufferable
+pain, and air would soon fail them altogether!
+
+Marie here rose, and her presence, which inspired Cornbutte with
+despair, imparted some courage to Penellan. He said to himself
+that it could not be that the poor girl was destined to so
+horrible a death.
+
+"Ah!" said she, "you have made too much fire. The room is full of
+smoke!"
+
+"Yes, yes," stammered Penellan.
+
+"It is evident," resumed Marie, "for it is not cold, and it is
+long since we have felt too much heat."
+
+No one dared to tell her the truth.
+
+"See, Marie," said Penellan bluntly, "help us get breakfast
+ready. It is too cold to go out. Here is the chafing-dish, the
+spirit, and the coffee. Come, you others, a little pemmican
+first, as this wretched storm forbids us from hunting."
+
+These words stirred up his comrades.
+
+"Let us first eat," added Penellan, "and then we shall see about
+getting off."
+
+Penellan set the example and devoured his share of the breakfast.
+His comrades imitated him, and then drank a cup of boiling
+coffee, which somewhat restored their spirits. Then Jean
+Cornbutte decided energetically that they should at once set
+about devising means of safety.
+
+Andr� Vasling now said,--
+
+"If the storm is still raging, which is probable, we must be
+buried ten feet under the ice, for we can hear no noise outside."
+
+Penellan looked at Marie, who now understood the truth, and did
+not tremble. The helmsman first heated, by the flame of the
+spirit, the iron point of his staff, and successfully introduced
+it into the four walls of ice, but he could find no issue in
+either. Cornbutte then resolved to cut out an opening in the door
+itself. The ice was so hard that it was difficult for the knives
+to make the least impression on it. The pieces which were cut off
+soon encumbered the hut. After working hard for two hours, they
+had only hollowed out a space three feet deep.
+
+Some more rapid method, and one which was less likely to demolish
+the house, must be thought of; for the farther they advanced the
+more violent became the effort to break off the compact ice. It
+occurred to Penellan to make use of the chafing-dish to melt the
+ice in the direction they wanted. It was a hazardous method, for,
+if their imprisonment lasted long, the spirit, of which they had
+but little, would be wanting when needed to prepare the meals.
+Nevertheless, the idea was welcomed on all hands, and was put in
+execution. They first cut a hole three feet deep by one in
+diameter, to receive the water which would result from the
+melting of the ice; and it was well that they took this
+precaution, for the water soon dripped under the action of the
+flames, which Penellan moved about under the mass of ice. The
+opening widened little by little, but this kind of work could not
+be continued long, for the water, covering their clothes,
+penetrated to their bodies here and there. Penellan was obliged
+to pause in a quarter of an hour, and to withdraw the chafing-dish
+in order to dry himself. Misonne then took his place, and worked
+sturdily at the task.
+
+In two hours, though the opening was five feet deep, the points
+of the staffs could not yet find an issue without.
+
+"It is not possible," said Jean Cornbutte, "that snow could have
+fallen in such abundance. It must have been gathered on this
+point by the wind. Perhaps we had better think of escaping in
+some other direction."
+
+"I don't know," replied Penellan; "but if it were only for the
+sake of not discouraging our comrades, we ought to continue to
+pierce the wall where we have begun. We must find an issue ere
+long."
+
+"Will not the spirit fail us?" asked the captain.
+
+"I hope not. But let us, if necessary, dispense with coffee and
+hot drinks. Besides, that is not what most alarms me."
+
+"What is it, then, Penellan?"
+
+"Our lamp is going out, for want of oil, and we are fast
+exhausting our provisions.--At last, thank God!"
+
+Penellan went to replace Andr� Vasling, who was vigorously
+working for the common deliverance.
+
+"Monsieur Vasling," said he, "I am going to take your place; but
+look out well, I beg of you, for every tendency of the house to
+fall, so that we may have time to prevent it."
+
+The time for rest had come, and when Penellan had added one more
+foot to the opening, he lay down beside his comrades.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+A CLOUD OF SMOKE.
+
+
+The next day, when the sailors awoke, they were surrounded by
+complete darkness. The lamp had gone out. Jean Cornbutte roused
+Penellan to ask him for the tinder-box, which was passed to him.
+Penellan rose to light the fire, but in getting up, his head
+struck against the ice ceiling. He was horrified, for on the
+evening before he could still stand upright. The chafing-dish
+being lighted up by the dim rays of the spirit, he perceived that
+the ceiling was a foot lower than before.
+
+Penellan resumed work with desperation.
+
+At this moment the young girl observed, by the light which the
+chafing-dish cast upon Penellan's face, that despair and
+determination were struggling in his rough features for the
+mastery. She went to him, took his hands, and tenderly pressed
+them.
+
+[Illustration: despair and determination were struggling in his
+rough features for the mastery.]
+
+"She cannot, must not die thus!" he cried.
+
+He took his chafing-dish, and once more attacked the narrow
+opening. He plunged in his staff, and felt no resistance. Had he
+reached the soft layers of the snow? He drew out his staff, and a
+bright ray penetrated to the house of ice!
+
+"Here, my friends!" he shouted.
+
+He pushed back the snow with his hands and feet, but the exterior
+surface was not thawed, as he had thought. With the ray of light,
+a violent cold entered the cabin and seized upon everything
+moist, to freeze it in an instant. Penellan enlarged the opening
+with his cutlass, and at last was able to breathe the free air.
+He fell on his knees to thank God, and was soon joined by Marie
+and his comrades.
+
+A magnificent moon lit up the sky, but the cold was so extreme
+that they could not bear it. They re-entered their retreat; but
+Penellan first looked about him. The promontory was no longer
+there, and the hut was now in the midst of a vast plain of ice.
+Penellan thought he would go to the sledge, where the provisions
+were. The sledge had disappeared!
+
+The cold forced him to return. He said nothing to his companions.
+It was necessary, before all, to dry their clothing, which was
+done with the chafing-dish. The thermometer, held for an instant
+in the air, descended to thirty degrees below zero.
+
+An hour after, Vasling and Penellan resolved to venture outside.
+They wrapped themselves up in their still wet garments, and went
+out by the opening, the sides of which had become as hard as a
+rock.
+
+"We have been driven towards the north-east," said Vasling,
+reckoning by the stars, which shone with wonderful brilliancy.
+
+"That would not be bad," said Penellan, "if our sledge had come
+with us."
+
+"Is not the sledge there?" cried Vasling. "Then we are lost!"
+
+"Let us look for it," replied Penellan.
+
+They went around the hut, which formed a block more than fifteen
+feet high. An immense quantity of snow had fallen during the
+whole of the storm, and the wind had massed it against the only
+elevation which the plain presented. The entire block had been
+driven by the wind, in the midst of the broken icebergs, more
+than twenty-five miles to the north-east, and the prisoners had
+suffered the same fate as their floating prison. The sledge,
+supported by another iceberg, had been turned another way, for no
+trace of it was to be seen, and the dogs must have perished amid
+the frightful tempest.
+
+Andr� Vasling and Penellan felt despair taking possession of
+them. They did not dare to return to their companions. They did
+not dare to announce this fatal news to their comrades in
+misfortune. They climbed upon the block of ice in which the hut
+was hollowed, and could perceive nothing but the white immensity
+which encompassed them on all sides. Already the cold was
+beginning to stiffen their limbs, and the damp of their garments
+was being transformed into icicles which hung about them.
+
+Just as Penellan was about to descend, he looked towards Andr�.
+He saw him suddenly gaze in one direction, then shudder and turn
+pale.
+
+"What is the matter, Vasling?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing," replied the other. "Let us go down and urge the
+captain to leave these parts, where we ought never to have come,
+at once!"
+
+Instead of obeying, Penellan ascended again, and looked in the
+direction which had drawn the mate's attention. A very different
+effect was produced on him, for he uttered a shout of joy, and
+cried,--
+
+"Blessed be God!"
+
+A light smoke was rising in the north-east. There was no
+possibility of deception. It indicated the presence of human
+beings. Penellan's cries of joy reached the rest below, and all
+were able to convince themselves with their eyes that he was not
+mistaken.
+
+Without thinking of their want of provisions or the severity of
+the temperature, wrapped in their hoods, they were all soon
+advancing towards the spot whence the smoke arose in the north-east.
+This was evidently five or six miles off, and it was very
+difficult to take exactly the right direction. The smoke now
+disappeared, and no elevation served as a guiding mark, for the
+ice-plain was one united level. It was important, nevertheless,
+not to diverge from a straight line.
+
+"Since we cannot guide ourselves by distant objects," said Jean
+Cornbutte, "we must use this method. Penellan will go ahead,
+Vasling twenty steps behind him, and I twenty steps behind
+Vasling. I can then judge whether or not Penellan diverges from
+the straight line."
+
+They had gone on thus for half an hour, when Penellan suddenly
+stopped and listened. The party hurried up to him.
+
+"Did you hear nothing?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing!" replied Misonne.
+
+"It is strange," said Penellan. "It seemed to me I heard cries
+from this direction."
+
+"Cries?" replied Marie. "Perhaps we are near our destination,
+then."
+
+"That is no reason," said Andr� Vasling. "In these high latitudes
+and cold regions sounds may be heard to a great distance."
+
+"However that may be," replied Jean Cornbutte, "let us go
+forward, or we shall be frozen."
+
+"No!" cried Penellan. "Listen!"
+
+Some feeble sounds--quite perceptible, however--were heard. They
+seemed to be cries of distress. They were twice repeated. They
+seemed like cries for help. Then all became silent again.
+
+"I was not mistaken," said Penellan. "Forward!"
+
+He began to run in the direction whence the cries had proceeded.
+He went thus two miles, when, to his utter stupefaction, he saw a
+man lying on the ice. He went up to him, raised him, and lifted
+his arms to heaven in despair.
+
+Andr� Vasling, who was following close behind with the rest of
+the sailors, ran up and cried,--
+
+"It is one of the castaways! It is our sailor Courtois!"
+
+"He is dead!" replied Penellan. "Frozen to death!"
+
+Jean Cornbutte and Marie came up beside the corpse, which was
+already stiffened by the ice. Despair was written on every face.
+The dead man was one of the comrades of Louis Cornbutte!
+
+"Forward!" cried Penellan.
+
+They went on for half an hour in perfect silence, and perceived
+an elevation which seemed without doubt to be land.
+
+"It is Shannon Island," said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+A mile farther on they distinctly perceived smoke escaping from a
+snow-hut, closed by a wooden door. They shouted. Two men rushed
+out of the hut, and Penellan recognized one of them as Pierre
+Nouquet.
+
+"Pierre!" he cried.
+
+Pierre stood still as if stunned, and unconscious of what was
+going on around him. Andr� Vasling looked at Pierre Nouquet's
+companion with anxiety mingled with a cruel joy, for he did not
+recognize Louis Cornbutte in him.
+
+"Pierre! it is I!" cried Penellan. "These are all your friends!"
+
+Pierre Nouquet recovered his senses, and fell into his old
+comrade's arms.
+
+"And my son--and Louis!" cried Jean Cornbutte, in an accent of the
+most profound despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE RETURN TO THE SHIP.
+
+
+At this moment a man, almost dead, dragged himself out of the hut
+and along the ice.
+
+It was Louis Cornbutte.
+
+[Illustration: It was Louis Cornbutte.]
+
+"My son!"
+
+"My beloved!"
+
+These two cries were uttered at the same time, and Louis
+Cornbutte fell fainting into the arms of his father and Marie,
+who drew him towards the hut, where their tender care soon
+revived him.
+
+"My father! Marie!" cried Louis; "I shall not die without having
+seen you!"
+
+"You will not die!" replied Penellan, "for all your friends are
+near you."
+
+Andr� Vasling must have hated Louis Cornbutte bitterly not to
+extend his hand to him, but he did not.
+
+Pierre Nouquet was wild with joy. He embraced every body; then he
+threw some wood into the stove, and soon a comfortable temperature
+was felt in the cabin.
+
+There were two men there whom neither Jean Cornbutte nor Penellan
+recognized.
+
+They were Jocki and Herming, the only two sailors of the crew of
+the Norwegian schooner who were left.
+
+"My friends, we are saved!" said Louis. "My father! Marie! You
+have exposed yourselves to so many perils!"
+
+"We do not regret it, my Louis," replied the father. "Your brig,
+the 'Jeune-Hardie,' is securely anchored in the ice sixty leagues
+from here. We will rejoin her all together."
+
+"When Courtois comes back he'll be mightily pleased," said Pierre
+Nouquet.
+
+A mournful silence followed this, and Penellan apprised Pierre
+and Louis of their comrade's death by cold.
+
+"My friends," said Penellan, "we will wait here until the cold
+decreases. Have you provisions and wood?"
+
+"Yes; and we will burn what is left of the 'Fro�ern.'"
+
+The "Fro�ern" had indeed been driven to a place forty miles from
+where Louis Cornbutte had taken up his winter quarters. There she
+was broken up by the icebergs floated by the thaw, and the
+castaways were carried, with a part of the _d�bris_ of their
+cabin, on the southern shores of Shannon Island.
+
+They were then five in number--Louis Cornbutte, Courtois, Pierre
+Nouquet, Jocki, and Herming. As for the rest of the Norwegian
+crew, they had been submerged with the long-boat at the moment of
+the wreck.
+
+When Louis Cornbutte, shut in among the ice, realized what must
+happen, he took every precaution for passing the winter. He was
+an energetic man, very active and courageous; but, despite his
+firmness, he had been subdued by this horrible climate, and when
+his father found him he had given up all hope of life. He had not
+only had to contend with the elements, but with the ugly temper
+of the two Norwegian sailors, who owed him their existence. They
+were like savages, almost inaccessible to the most natural
+emotions. When Louis had the opportunity to talk to Penellan, he
+advised him to watch them carefully. In return, Penellan told him
+of Andr� Vasling's conduct. Louis could not believe it, but
+Penellan convinced him that after his disappearance Vasling had
+always acted so as to secure Marie's hand.
+
+The whole day was employed in rest and the pleasures of reunion.
+Misonne and Pierre Nouquet killed some sea-birds near the hut,
+whence it was not prudent to stray far. These fresh provisions
+and the replenished fire raised the spirits of the weakest. Louis
+Cornbutte got visibly better. It was the first moment of
+happiness these brave people had experienced. They celebrated it
+with enthusiasm in this wretched hut, six hundred leagues from
+the North Sea, in a temperature of thirty degrees below zero!
+
+This temperature lasted till the end of the moon, and it was not
+until about the 17th of November, a week after their meeting,
+that Jean Cornbutte and his party could think of setting out.
+They only had the light of the stars to guide them; but the cold
+was less extreme, and even some snow fell.
+
+Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor Courtois. It
+was a sad ceremony, which deeply affected his comrades. He was
+the first of them who would not again see his native land.
+
+Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, a sort of
+sledge for carrying the provisions, and the sailors drew it by
+turns. Jean Cornbutte led the expedition by the ways already
+traversed. Camps were established with great promptness when the
+times for repose came. Jean Cornbutte hoped to find his deposits
+of provisions again, as they had become well-nigh indispensable
+by the addition of four persons to the party. He was therefore
+very careful not to diverge from the route by which he had come.
+
+By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had stranded near
+the promontory where they had all run so many dangers. The dogs,
+after eating their straps to satisfy their hunger, had attacked
+the provisions in the sledge. These had sustained them, and they
+served to guide the party to the sledge, where there was a
+considerable quantity of provisions left. The little band resumed
+its march towards the bay. The dogs were harnessed to the sleigh,
+and no event of interest attended the return.
+
+It was observed that Aupic, Andr� Vasling, and the Norwegians
+kept aloof, and did not mingle with the others; but, unbeknown to
+themselves, they were narrowly watched. This germ of dissension
+more than once aroused the fears of Louis Cornbutte and Penellan.
+
+About the 7th of December, twenty days after the discovery of the
+castaways, they perceived the bay where the "Jeune-Hardie" was
+lying. What was their astonishment to see the brig perched four
+yards in the air on blocks of ice! They hurried forward, much
+alarmed for their companions, and were received with joyous cries
+by Gervique, Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in good
+health, though they too had been subjected to formidable dangers.
+
+The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar sea. The
+ice had been broken and displaced, crushed one piece against
+another, and had seized the bed on which the ship rested. Though
+its specific weight tended to carry it under water, the ice had
+acquired an incalculable force, and the brig had been suddenly
+raised up out of the sea.
+
+The first moments were given up to the happiness inspired by the
+safe return. The exploring party were rejoiced to find everything
+in good condition, which assured them a supportable though it
+might be a rough winter. The ship had not been shaken by her
+sudden elevation, and was perfectly tight. When the season of
+thawing came, they would only have to slide her down an inclined
+plane, to launch her, in a word, in the once more open sea.
+
+But a bad piece of news spread gloom on the faces of Jean
+Cornbutte and his comrades. During the terrible gale the snow
+storehouse on the coast had been quite demolished; the provisions
+which it contained were scattered, and it had not been possible
+to save a morsel of them. When Jean and Louis Cornbutte learnt
+this, they visited the hold and steward's room, to ascertain the
+quantity of provisions which still remained.
+
+The thaw would not come until May, and the brig could not leave
+the bay before that period. They had therefore five winter months
+before them to pass amid the ice, during which fourteen persons
+were to be fed. Having made his calculations, Jean Cornbutte
+found that he would at most be able to keep them alive till the
+time for departure, by putting each and all on half rations.
+Hunting for game became compulsory to procure food in larger
+quantity.
+
+For fear that they might again run short of provisions, it was
+decided to deposit them no longer in the ground. All of them were
+kept on board, and beds were disposed for the new comers in the
+common lodging. Turquiette, Gervique, and Gradlin, during the
+absence of the others, had hollowed out a flight of steps in the
+ice, which enabled them easily to reach the ship's deck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE TWO RIVALS.
+
+
+Andr� Vasling had been cultivating the good-will of the two
+Norwegian sailors. Aupic also made one of their band, and held
+himself apart, with loud disapproval of all the new measures
+taken; but Louis Cornbutte, to whom his father had transferred
+the command of the ship, and who had become once more master on
+board, would listen to no objections from that quarter, and in
+spite of Marie's advice to act gently, made it known that he
+intended to be obeyed on all points.
+
+Nevertheless, the two Norwegians succeeded, two days after, in
+getting possession of a box of salt meat. Louis ordered them to
+return it to him on the spot, but Aupic took their part, and
+Andr� Vasling declared that the precautions about the food could
+not be any longer enforced.
+
+It was useless to attempt to show these men that these measures
+were for the common interest, for they knew it well, and only
+sought a pretext to revolt.
+
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians, who drew their
+cutlasses; but, aided by Misonne and Turquiette, he succeeded in
+snatching the weapons from their hands, and gained possession of
+the salt meat. Andr� Vasling and Aupic, seeing that matters were
+going against them, did not interfere. Louis Cornbutte, however,
+took the mate aside, and said to him,--
+
+[Illustration: Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians.]
+
+"Andr� Vasling, you are a wretch! I know your whole conduct, and
+I know what you are aiming at, but as the safety of the whole
+crew is confided to me, if any man of you thinks of conspiring to
+destroy them, I will stab him with my own hand!"
+
+"Louis Cornbutte," replied the mate, "it is allowable for you to
+act the master; but remember that absolute obedience does not
+exist here, and that here the strongest alone makes the law."
+
+Marie had never trembled before the dangers of the polar seas;
+but she was terrified by this hatred, of which she was the cause,
+and the captain's vigour hardly reassured her.
+
+Despite this declaration of war, the meals were partaken of in
+common and at the same hours. Hunting furnished some ptarmigans
+and white hares; but this resource would soon fail them, with the
+approach of the terrible cold weather. This began at the
+solstice, on the 22nd of December, on which day the thermometer
+fell to thirty-five degrees below zero. The men experienced pain
+in their ears, noses, and the extremities of their bodies. They
+were seized with a mortal torpor combined with headache, and
+their breathing became more and more difficult.
+
+In this state they had no longer any courage to go hunting or to
+take any exercise. They remained crouched around the stove, which
+gave them but a meagre heat; and when they went away from it,
+they perceived that their blood suddenly cooled.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's health was seriously impaired, and he could no
+longer quit his lodging. Symptoms of scurvy manifested themselves
+in him, and his legs were soon covered with white spots. Marie
+was well, however, and occupied herself tending the sick ones
+with the zeal of a sister of charity. The honest fellows blessed
+her from the bottom of their hearts.
+
+The 1st of January was one of the gloomiest of these winter days.
+The wind was violent, and the cold insupportable. They could not
+go out, except at the risk of being frozen. The most courageous
+were fain to limit themselves to walking on deck, sheltered by
+the tent. Jean Cornbutte, Gervique, and Gradlin did not leave
+their beds. The two Norwegians, Aupic, and Andr� Vasling, whose
+health was good, cast ferocious looks at their companions, whom
+they saw wasting away.
+
+Louis Cornbutte led Penellan on deck, and asked him how much
+firing was left.
+
+"The coal was exhausted long ago," replied Penellan, "and we are
+about to burn our last pieces of wood."
+
+"If we are not able to keep off this cold, we are lost," said
+Louis.
+
+"There still remains a way--" said Penellan, "to burn what we can
+of the brig, from the barricading to the water-line; and we can
+even, if need be, demolish her entirely, and rebuild a smaller
+craft."
+
+"That is an extreme means," replied Louis, "which it will be full
+time to employ when our men are well. For," he added in a low
+voice, "our force is diminishing, and that of our enemies seems
+to be increasing. That is extraordinary."
+
+"It is true," said Penellan; "and unless we took the precaution
+to watch night and day, I know not what would happen to us."
+
+"Let us take our hatchets," returned Louis, "and make our harvest
+of wood."
+
+Despite the cold, they mounted on the forward barricading, and
+cut off all the wood which was not indispensably necessary to the
+ship; then they returned with this new provision. The fire was
+started afresh, and a man remained on guard to prevent it from
+going out.
+
+Meanwhile Louis Cornbutte and his friends were soon tired out.
+They could not confide any detail of the life in common to their
+enemies. Charged with all the domestic cares, their powers were
+soon exhausted. The scurvy betrayed itself in Jean Cornbutte, who
+suffered intolerable pain. Gervique and Gradlin showed symptoms
+of the same disease. Had it not been for the lemon-juice with
+which they were abundantly furnished, they would have speedily
+succumbed to their sufferings. This remedy was not spared in
+relieving them.
+
+But one day, the 15th of January, when Louis Cornbutte was going
+down into the steward's room to get some lemons, he was stupefied
+to find that the barrels in which they were kept had disappeared.
+He hurried up and told Penellan of this misfortune. A theft had
+been committed, and it was easy to recognize its authors. Louis
+Cornbutte then understood why the health of his enemies continued
+so good! His friends were no longer strong enough to take the
+lemons away from them, though his life and that of his comrades
+depended on the fruit; and he now sank, for the first time, into
+a gloomy state of despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DISTRESS.
+
+
+On the 20th of January most of the crew had not the strength to
+leave their beds. Each, independently of his woollen coverings,
+had a buffalo-skin to protect him against the cold; but as soon
+as he put his arms outside the clothes, he felt a pain which
+obliged him quickly to cover them again.
+
+Meanwhile, Louis having lit the stove fire, Penellan, Misonne,
+and Andr� Vasling left their beds and crouched around it.
+Penellan prepared some boiling coffee, which gave them some
+strength, as well as Marie, who joined them in partaking of it.
+
+Louis Cornbutte approached his father's bedside; the old man was
+almost motionless, and his limbs were helpless from disease. He
+muttered some disconnected words, which carried grief to his
+son's heart.
+
+"Louis," said he, "I am dying. O, how I suffer! Save me!"
+
+Louis took a decisive resolution. He went up to the mate, and,
+controlling himself with difficulty, said,--
+
+"Do you know where the lemons are, Vasling?"
+
+"In the steward's room, I suppose," returned the mate, without
+stirring.
+
+"You know they are not there, as you have stolen them!"
+
+"You are master, Louis Cornbutte, and may say and do anything."
+
+"For pity's sake, Andr� Vasling, my father is dying! You can save
+him,--answer!"
+
+"I have nothing to answer," replied Andr� Vasling.
+
+"Wretch!" cried Penellan, throwing himself, cutlass in hand, on
+the mate.
+
+"Help, friends!" shouted Vasling, retreating.
+
+Aupic and the two Norwegian sailors jumped from their beds and
+placed themselves behind him. Turquiette, Penellan, and Louis
+prepared to defend themselves. Pierre Nouquet and Gradlin, though
+suffering much, rose to second them.
+
+"You are still too strong for us," said Vasling. "We do not wish
+to fight on an uncertainty."
+
+The sailors were so weak that they dared not attack the four
+rebels, for, had they failed, they would have been lost.
+
+"Andr� Vasling!" said Louis Cornbutte, in a gloomy tone, "if my
+father dies, you will have murdered him; and I will kill you like
+a dog!"
+
+Vasling and his confederates retired to the other end of the
+cabin, and did not reply.
+
+It was then necessary to renew the supply of wood, and, in spite
+of the cold, Louis went on deck and began to cut away a part of
+the barricading, but was obliged to retreat in a quarter of an
+hour, for he was in danger of falling, overcome by the freezing
+air. As he passed, he cast a glance at the thermometer left
+outside, and saw that the mercury was frozen. The cold, then,
+exceeded forty-two degrees below zero. The weather was dry, and
+the wind blew from the north.
+
+On the 26th the wind changed to the north-east, and the
+thermometer outside stood at thirty-five degrees. Jean Cornbutte
+was in agony, and his son had searched in vain for some remedy
+with which to relieve his pain. On this day, however, throwing
+himself suddenly on Vasling, he managed to snatch a lemon from
+him which he was about to suck.
+
+Vasling made no attempt to recover it. He seemed to be awaiting
+an opportunity to accomplish his wicked designs.
+
+The lemon-juice somewhat relieved old Cornbutte, but it was
+necessary to continue the remedy. Marie begged Vasling on her
+knees to produce the lemons, but he did not reply, and soon
+Penellan heard the wretch say to his accomplices,--
+
+[Illustration: Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the
+lemons, but he did not reply.]
+
+"The old fellow is dying. Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet are not
+much better. The others are daily losing their strength. The time
+is near when their lives will belong to us!"
+
+It was then resolved by Louis Cornbutte and his adherents not to
+wait, and to profit by the little strength which still remained
+to them. They determined to act the next night, and to kill these
+wretches, so as not to be killed by them.
+
+The temperature rose a little. Louis Cornbutte ventured to go out
+with his gun in search of some game.
+
+He proceeded some three miles from the ship, and often, deceived
+by the effects of the mirage and refraction, he went farther away
+than he intended. It was imprudent, for recent tracts of
+ferocious animals were to be seen. He did not wish, however, to
+return without some fresh meat, and continued on his route; but
+he then experienced a strange feeling, which turned his head. It
+was what is called "white vertigo."
+
+The reflection of the ice hillocks and fields affected him from
+head to foot, and it seemed to him that the dazzling colour
+penetrated him and caused an irresistible nausea. His eye was
+attacked. His sight became uncertain. He thought he should go mad
+with the glare. Without fully understanding this terrible effect,
+he advanced on his way, and soon put up a ptarmigan, which he
+eagerly pursued. The bird soon fell, and in order to reach it
+Louis leaped from an ice-block and fell heavily; for the leap was
+at least ten feet, and the refraction made him think it was only
+two. The vertigo then seized him, and, without knowing why, he
+began to call for help, though he had not been injured by the
+fall. The cold began to take him, and he rose with pain, urged by
+the sense of self-preservation.
+
+Suddenly, without being able to account for it, he smelt an odour
+of boiling fat. As the ship was between him and the wind, he
+supposed that this odour proceeded from her, and could not
+imagine why they should be cooking fat, this being a dangerous
+thing to do, as it was likely to attract the white bears.
+
+Louis returned towards the ship, absorbed in reflections which
+soon inspired his excited mind with terror. It seemed to him as
+if colossal masses were moving on the horizon, and he asked
+himself if there was not another ice-quake. Several of these
+masses interposed themselves between him and the ship, and
+appeared to rise about its sides. He stopped to gaze at them more
+attentively, when to his horror he recognized a herd of gigantic
+bears.
+
+These animals had been attracted by the odour of grease which had
+surprised Lonis. He sheltered himself behind a hillock, and
+counted three, which were scaling the blocks on which the
+"Jeune-Hardie" was resting.
+
+Nothing led him to suppose that this danger was known in the
+interior of the ship, and a terrible anguish oppressed his heart.
+How resist these redoubtable enemies? Would Andr� Vasling and his
+confederates unite with the rest on board in the common peril?
+Could Penellan and the others, half starved, benumbed with cold,
+resist these formidable animals, made wild by unassuaged hunger?
+Would they not be surprised by an unlooked-for attack?
+
+Louis made these reflections rapidly. The bears had crossed the
+blocks, and were mounting to the assault of the ship. He might
+then quit the block which protected him; he went nearer, clinging
+to the ice, and could soon see the enormous animals tearing the
+tent with their paws, and leaping on the deck. He thought of
+firing his gun to give his comrades notice; but if these came up
+without arms, they would inevitably be torn in pieces, and
+nothing showed as yet that they were even aware of their new
+danger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE WHITE BEARS.
+
+
+After Louis Cornbutte's departure, Penellan had carefully shut
+the cabin door, which opened at the foot of the deck steps. He
+returned to the stove, which he took it upon himself to watch,
+whilst his companions regained their berths in search of a little
+warmth.
+
+It was then six in the evening, and Penellan set about preparing
+supper. He went down into the steward's room for some salt meat,
+which he wished to soak in the boiling water. When he returned,
+he found Andr� Vasling in his place, cooking some pieces of
+grease in a basin.
+
+"I was there before you," said Penellan roughly; "why have you
+taken my place?"
+
+"For the same reason that you claim it," returned Vasling:
+"because I want to cook my supper."
+
+"You will take that off at once, or we shall see!"
+
+"We shall see nothing," said Vasling; "my supper shall be cooked
+in spite of you."
+
+"You shall not eat it, then," cried Penellan, rushing upon
+Vasling, who seized his cutlass, crying,--
+
+"Help, Norwegians! Help, Aupic!"
+
+These, in the twinkling of an eye, sprang to their feet, armed
+with pistols and daggers. The crisis had come.
+
+Penellan precipitated himself upon Vasling, to whom, no doubt,
+was confided the task to fight him alone; for his accomplices
+rushed to the beds where lay Misonne, Turquiette, and Nouquet.
+The latter, ill and defenceless, was delivered over to Herming's
+ferocity. The carpenter seized a hatchet, and, leaving his berth,
+hurried up to encounter Aupic. Turquiette and Jocki, the
+Norwegian, struggled fiercely. Gervique and Gradlin, suffering
+horribly, were not even conscious of what was passing around
+them.
+
+Nouquet soon received a stab in the side, and Herming turned to
+Penellan, who was fighting desperately. Andr� Vasling had seized
+him round the body.
+
+At the beginning of the affray the basin had been upset on the
+stove, and the grease running over the burning coals, impregnated
+the atmosphere with its odour. Marie rose with cries of despair,
+and hurried to the bed of old Jean Cornbutte.
+
+[Illustration: Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to
+the bed of old Jean Cornbutte.]
+
+Vasling, less strong than Penellan, soon perceived that the
+latter was getting the better of him. They were too close
+together to make use of their weapons. The mate, seeing Herming,
+cried out,--
+
+"Help, Herming!"
+
+"Help, Misonne!" shouted Penellan, in his turn.
+
+But Misonne was rolling on the ground with Aupic, who was trying
+to stab him with his cutlass. The carpenter's hatchet was of
+little use to him, for he could not wield it, and it was with the
+greatest difficulty that he parried the lunges which Aupic made
+with his knife.
+
+Meanwhile blood flowed amid the groans and cries. Turquiette,
+thrown down by Jocki, a man of immense strength, had received a
+wound in the shoulder, and he tried in vain to clutch a pistol
+which hung in the Norwegian's belt. The latter held him as in a
+vice, and it was impossible for him to move.
+
+At Vasling's cry for help, who was being held by Penellan close
+against the door, Herming rushed up. As he was about to stab the
+Breton's back with his cutlass, the latter felled him to the
+earth with a vigorous kick. His effort to do this enabled Vasling
+to disengage his right arm; but the door, against which they
+pressed with all their weight, suddenly yielded, and Vasling fell
+over.
+
+Of a sudden a terrible growl was heard, and a gigantic bear
+appeared on the steps. Vasling saw him first. He was not four
+feet away from him. At the same moment a shot was heard, and the
+bear, wounded or frightened, retreated. Vasling, who had
+succeeded in regaining his feet, set-out in pursuit of him,
+abandoning Penellan.
+
+Penellan then replaced the door, and looked around him. Misonne
+and Turquiette, tightly garrotted by their antagonists, had been
+thrown into a corner, and made vain efforts to break loose.
+Penellan rushed to their assistance, but was overturned by the
+two Norwegians and Aupic. His exhausted strength did not permit
+him to resist these three men, who so clung to him as to hold him
+motionless Then, at the cries of the mate, they hurried on deck,
+thinking that Louis Cornbutte was to be encountered.
+
+Andr� Vasling was struggling with a bear, which he had already
+twice stabbed with his knife. The animal, beating the air with
+his heavy paws, was trying to clutch Vasling; he retiring little
+by little on the barricading, was apparently doomed, when a
+second shot was heard. The bear fell. Andr� Vasling raised his
+head and saw Louis Cornbutte in the ratlines of the mizen-mast,
+his gun in his hand. Louis had shot the bear in the heart, and he
+was dead.
+
+Hate overcame gratitude in Vasling's breast; but before
+satisfying it, he looked around him. Aupic's head was broken by a
+paw-stroke, and he lay lifeless on deck. Jocki, hatchet in hand,
+was with difficulty parrying the blows of the second bear which
+had just killed Aupic. The animal had received two wounds, and
+still struggled desperately. A third bear was directing his way
+towards the ship's prow. Vasling paid no attention to him, but,
+followed by Herming, went to the aid of Jocki; but Jocki, seized
+by the beast's paws, was crushed, and when the bear fell under
+the shots of the other two men, he held only a corpse in his
+shaggy arms.
+
+"We are only two, now" said Vasling, with gloomy ferocity, "but
+if we yield, it will not be without vengeance!"
+
+Herming reloaded his pistol without replying. Before all, the
+third bear must be got rid of. Vasling looked forward, but did
+not see him. On raising his eyes, he perceived him erect on the
+barricading, clinging to the ratlines and trying to reach Louis.
+Vasling let his gun fall, which he had aimed at the animal, while
+a fierce joy glittered in his eyes.
+
+"Ah," he cried, "you owe me that vengeance!"
+
+Louis took refuge in the top of the mast. The bear kept mounting,
+and was not more than six feet from Louis, when he raised his gun
+and pointed it at the animal's heart.
+
+Vasling raised his weapon to shoot Louis if the bear fell.
+
+Louis fired, but the bear did not appear to be hit, for he leaped
+with a bound towards the top. The whole mast shook.
+
+Vasling uttered a shout of exultation.
+
+"Herming," he cried, "go and find Marie! Go and find my
+betrothed!"
+
+Herming descended the cabin stairs.
+
+Meanwhile the furious beast had thrown himself upon Louis, who
+was trying to shelter himself on the other side of the mast; but
+at the moment that his enormous paw was raised to break his head,
+Louis, seizing one of the backstays, let himself slip down to the
+deck, not without danger, for a ball hissed by his ear when he
+was half-way down. Vasling had shot at him, and missed him. The
+two adversaries now confronted each other, cutlass in hand.
+
+The combat was about to become decisive. To entirely glut his
+vengeance, and to have the young girl witness her lover's death,
+Vasling had deprived himself of Herming's aid. He could now
+reckon only on himself.
+
+Louis and Vasling seized each other by the collar, and held each
+other with iron grip. One of them must fall. They struck each
+other violently. The blows were only half parried, for blood soon
+flowed from both. Vasling tried to clasp his adversary about the
+neck with his arm, to bring him to the ground. Louis, knowing
+that he who fell was lost, prevented him, and succeeded in
+grasping his two arms; but in doing this he let fall his cutlass.
+
+Piteous cries now assailed his ears; it was Marie's voice.
+Herming was trying to drag her up. Louis was seized with a
+desperate rage. He stiffened himself to bend Vasling's loins; but
+at this moment the combatants felt themselves seized in a
+powerful embrace. The bear, having descended from the mast, had
+fallen upon the two men. Vasling was pressed against the animal's
+body. Louis felt his claws entering his flesh. The bear, was
+strangling both of them.
+
+[Illustration: The bear, having descended from the mast, had
+fallen upon the two men.]
+
+"Help! help! Herming!" cried the mate.
+
+"Help! Penellan!" cried Louis.
+
+Steps were heard on the stairs. Penellan appeared, loaded his
+pistol, and discharged it in the bear's ear; he roared; the pain
+made him relax his paws for a moment, and Louis, exhausted, fell
+motionless on the deck; but the bear, closing his paws tightly
+in a supreme agony, fell, dragging down the wretched Vasling,
+whose body was crushed under him.
+
+Penellan hurried to Louis Cornbutte's assistance. No serious
+wound endangered his life: he had only lost his breath for a
+moment.
+
+"Marie!" he said, opening his eyes.
+
+"Saved!" replied Perfellan. "Herming is lying there with a knife-wound
+in his stomach."
+
+"And the bears--"
+
+"Dead, Louis; dead, like our enemies! But for those beasts we
+should have been lost. Truly, they came to our succour. Let us
+thank Heaven!"
+
+Louis and Penellan descended to the cabin, and Marie fell into
+their arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+Herming, mortally wounded, had been carried to a berth by Misonne
+and Turquiette, who had succeeded in getting free. He was already
+at the last gasp of death; and the two sailors occupied themselves
+with Nouquet, whose wound was not, happily, a serious one.
+
+But a greater misfortune had overtaken Louis Cornbutte. His
+father no longer gave any signs of life. Had he died of anxiety
+for his son, delivered over to his enemies? Had he succumbed in
+presence of these terrible events? They could not tell. But the
+poor old sailor, broken by disease, had ceased to live!
+
+At this unexpected blow, Louis and Marie fell into a sad despair;
+then they knelt at the bedside and wept, as they prayed for Jean
+Cornbutte's soul, Penellan, Misonne, and Turquiette left them
+alone in the cabin, and went on deck. The bodies of the three
+bears were carried forward. Penellan decided to keep their skins,
+which would be of no little use; but he did not think for a
+moment of eating their flesh. Besides, the number of men to feed
+was now much decreased. The bodies of Vasling, Aupic, and Jocki,
+thrown into a hole dug on the coast, were soon rejoined by that
+of Herming. The Norwegian died during the night, without
+repentance or remorse, foaming at the mouth with rage.
+
+The three sailors repaired the tent, which, torn in several
+places, permitted the snow to fall on the deck. The temperature
+was exceedingly cold, and kept so till the return of the sun,
+which did not reappear above the horizon till the 8th of January.
+
+Jean Cornbutte was buried on the coast. He had left his native
+land to find his son, and had died in these terrible regions! His
+grave was dug on an eminence, and the sailors placed over it a
+simple wooden cross.
+
+From that day, Louis Cornbutte and his comrades passed through
+many other trials; but the lemons, which they found, restored
+them to health.
+
+Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet were able to rise from their
+berths a fortnight after these terrible events, and to take a
+little exercise.
+
+Soon hunting for game became more easy and its results more
+abundant. The water-birds returned in large numbers. They often
+brought down a kind of wild duck which made excellent food. The
+hunters had no other deprivation to deplore than that of two
+dogs, which they lost in an expedition to reconnoitre the state
+of the icefields, twenty-five miles to the southward.
+
+The month of February was signalized by violent tempests and
+abundant snows. The mean temperature was still twenty-five
+degrees below zero, but they did not suffer in comparison with
+past hardships. Besides, the sight of the sun, which rose higher
+and higher above the horizon, rejoiced them, as it forecast the
+end of their torments. Heaven had pity on them, for warmth came
+sooner than usual that year. The ravens appeared in March,
+careering about the ship. Louis Cornbutte captured some cranes
+which had wandered thus far northward. Flocks of wild birds were
+also seen in the south.
+
+The return of the birds indicated a diminution of the cold; but
+it was not safe to rely upon this, for with a change of wind, or
+in the new or full moons, the temperature suddenly fell; and the
+sailors were forced to resort to their most careful precautions
+to protect themselves against it. They had already burned all the
+barricading, the bulkheads, and a large portion of the bridge. It
+was time, then, that their wintering was over. Happily, the mean
+temperature of March was not over sixteen degrees below zero.
+Marie occupied herself with preparing new clothing for the
+advanced season of the year.
+
+After the equinox, the sun had remained constantly above the
+horizon. The eight months of perpetual daylight had begun. This
+continual sunlight, with the increasing though still quite feeble
+heat, soon began to act upon the ice.
+
+Great precautions were necessary in launching the ship from the
+lofty layer of ice which surrounded her. She was therefore
+securely propped up, and it seemed best to await the breaking up
+of the ice; but the lower mass, resting on a bed of already warm
+water, detached itself little by little, and the ship gradually
+descended with it. Early in April she had reached her natural
+level.
+
+Torrents of rain came with April, which, extending in waves over
+the ice-plain, hastened still more its breaking up. The
+thermometer rose to ten degrees below zero. Some of the men took
+off their seal-skin clothes, and it was no longer necessary to
+keep a fire in the cabin stove day and night. The provision of
+spirit, which was not exhausted, was used only for cooking the
+food.
+
+Soon the ice began to break up rapidly, and it became imprudent
+to venture upon the plain without a staff to sound the passages;
+for fissures wound in spirals here and there. Some of the sailors
+fell into the water, with no worse result, however, than a pretty
+cold bath.
+
+The seals returned, and they were often hunted, and their grease
+utilized.
+
+The health of the crew was fully restored, and the time was
+employed in hunting and preparations for departure. Louis Cornbutte
+often examined the channels, and decided, in consequence of the shape
+of the southern coast, to attempt a passage in that direction. The
+breaking up had already begun here and there, and the floating ice
+began to pass off towards the high seas. On the 25th of April the
+ship was put in readiness. The sails, taken from their sheaths, were
+found to be perfectly preserved, and it was with real delight that
+the sailors saw them once more swaying in the wind. The ship gave a
+lurch, for she had found her floating line, and though she would not
+yet move forward, she lay quietly and easily in her natural element.
+
+In May the thaw became very rapid. The snow which covered the
+coast melted on every hand, and formed a thick mud, which made it
+well-nigh impossible to land. Small heathers, rosy and white,
+peeped out timidly above the lingering snow, and seemed to smile
+at the little heat they received. The thermometer at last rose
+above zero.
+
+Twenty miles off, the ice masses, entirely separated, floated
+towards the Atlantic Ocean. Though the sea was not quite free
+around the ship, channels opened by which Louis Cornbutte wished
+to profit.
+
+On the 21st of May, after a parting visit to his father's grave,
+Louis at last set out from the bay. The hearts of the honest
+sailors were filled at once with joy and sadness, for one does
+not leave without regret a place where a friend has died. The
+wind blew from the north, and favoured their departure. The ship
+was often arrested by ice-banks, which were cut with the saws;
+icebergs not seldom confronted her, and it was necessary to blow
+them up with powder. For a month the way was full of perils,
+which sometimes brought the ship to the verge of destruction; but
+the crew were sturdy, and used to these dangerous exigencies.
+Penellan, Pierre Nouquet, Turquiette, Fid�le Misonne, did the
+work of ten sailors, and Marie had smiles of gratitude for each.
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" at last passed beyond the ice in the latitude
+of Jean-Mayer Island. About the 25th of June she met ships going
+northward for seals and whales. She had been nearly a month
+emerging from the Polar Sea.
+
+On the 16th of August she came in view of Dunkirk. She had been
+signalled by the look-out, and the whole population flocked to
+the jetty. The sailors of the ship were soon clasped in the arms
+of their friends. The old cur� received Louis Cornbutte and Marie
+with patriarchal arms, and of the two masses which he said on the
+following day, the first was for the repose of Jean Cornbutte's
+soul, and the second to bless these two lovers, so long united in
+misfortune.
+
+[Illustration: The old cur� received Louis Cornbutte and Marie.]
+
+
+
+
+THE FORTIETH FRENCH ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+BY PAUL VERNE.
+
+
+I arrived at Chamonix on the 18th of August, 1871, fully decided
+to make the ascent of Mont Blanc, cost what it might. My first
+attempt in August, 1869, was not successful. Bad weather had
+prevented me from mounting beyond the Grands-Mulets. This time
+circumstances seemed scarcely more favourable, for the weather,
+which had promised to be fine on the morning of the 18th,
+suddenly changed towards noon. Mont Blanc, as they say in its
+neighbourhood, "put on its cap and began to smoke its pipe,"
+which, to speak more plainly, means that it is covered with
+clouds, and that the snow, driven upon it by a south-west wind,
+formed a long crest on its summit in the direction of the
+unfathomable precipices of the Brenva glaciers. This crest
+betrayed to imprudent tourists the route they would have taken,
+had they had the temerity to venture upon the mountain.
+
+The next night was very inclement. The rain and wind were
+violent, and the barometer, below the "change," remained
+stationary.
+
+Towards daybreak, however, several thunder-claps announced a
+change in the state of the atmosphere. Soon the clouds broke. The
+chain of the Brevent and the Aiguilles-Rouges betrayed itself.
+The wind, turning to the north-west, brought into view above the
+Col de Balme, which shuts in the valley of Chamonix on the north,
+some light, isolated, fleecy clouds, which I hailed as the
+heralds of fine weather.
+
+Despite this happy augury and a slight rise in the barometer, M.
+Balmat, chief guide of Chamonix, declared to me that I must not
+yet think of attempting the ascent.
+
+"If the barometer continues to rise," he added, "and the weather
+holds good, I promise you guides for the day after to-morrow--
+perhaps for to-morrow. Meanwhile, have patience and stretch your
+legs; I will take you up the Brevent. The clouds are clearing
+away, and you will be able to exactly distinguish the path you
+will have to go over to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. If, in
+spite of this, you are determined to go, you may try it!"
+
+This speech, uttered in a certain tone, was not very reassuring,
+and gave food for reflection. Still, I accepted his proposition,
+and he chose as my companion the guide Edward Ravanel, a very
+sedate and devoted fellow, who perfectly knew his business.
+
+M. Donatien Levesque, an enthusiastic tourist and an intrepid
+pedestrian, who had made early in the previous year an interesting
+and difficult trip in North America, was with me. He had already
+visited the greater part of America, and was about to descend the
+Mississippi to New Orleans, when the war cut short his projects and
+recalled him to France. We had met at Aix-les-Bains, and we had
+determined to make an excursion together in Savoy and Switzerland.
+
+Donatien Levesque knew my intentions, and, as he thought that his
+health would not permit him to attempt so long a journey over the
+glaciers, it had been agreed that he should await my return from
+Mont Blanc at Chamonix, and should make the traditional visit to
+the Mer-de-Glace by the Montanvers during my absence.
+
+On learning that I was going to ascend the Brevent, my friend did
+not hesitate to accompany me thither. The ascent of the Brevent
+is one of the most interesting trips that can be made from
+Chamonix. This mountain, about seven thousand six hundred feet
+high, is only the prolongation of the chain for the Aiguilles-Rouges,
+which runs from the south-west to the north-east, parallel with that
+of Mont Blanc, and forms with it the narrow valley of Chamonix. The
+Brevent, by its central position, exactly opposite the Bossons
+glacier, enables one to watch the parties which undertake the ascent
+of the giant of the Alps nearly throughout their journey. It is
+therefore much frequented.
+
+We started about seven o'clock in the morning. As we went along,
+I thought of the mysterious words of the master-guide; they
+annoyed me a little. Addressing Ravanel, I said,--
+
+"Have you made the ascent of Mont Blanc?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he replied, "once; and that's enough. I am not
+anxious to do it again."
+
+"The deuce!" said I. "I am going to try it."
+
+"You are free, monsieur; but I shall not go with you. The
+mountain is not good this year. Several attempts have already
+been made; two only have succeeded. As for the second, the party
+tried the ascent twice. Besides, the accident last year has
+rather cooled the amateurs."
+
+"An accident! What accident?"
+
+"Did not monsieur hear of it? This is how it happened. A party,
+consisting of ten guides and porters and two Englishmen, started
+about the middle of September for Mont Blanc. They were seen to
+reach the summit; then, some minutes after, they disappeared in a
+cloud. When the cloud passed over no one was visible. The two
+travellers, with seven guides and porters, had been blown off by
+the wind and precipitated on the Cormayeur side, doubtless into
+the Brenva glacier. Despite the most vigilant search, their
+bodies could not be found. The other three were found one hundred
+and fifty yards below the summit, near the Petits-Mulets. They
+had become blocks of ice."
+
+"But these travellers must have been imprudent," said I to
+Ravanel. "What folly it was to start off so late in the year on
+such an expedition! They should have gone up in August."
+
+I vainly tried to keep up my courage; this lugubrious story would
+haunt me in spite of myself. Happily the weather soon cleared,
+and the rays of a bright sun dissipated the clouds which still
+veiled Mont Blanc, and, at the same time, those which overshadowed
+my thoughts.
+
+Our ascent was satisfactorily accomplished. On leaving the
+chalets of Planpraz, situated at a height of two thousand and
+sixty-two yards, you ascend, on ragged masses of rock and pools
+of snow, to the foot of a rock called "The Chimney," which is
+scaled with the feet and hands. Twenty minutes after, you reach
+the summit of the Brevent, whence the view is very fine. The
+chain of Mont Blanc appears in all its majesty. The gigantic
+mountain, firmly established on its powerful strata, seems to
+defy the tempests which sweep across its icy shield without ever
+impairing it; whilst the crowd of icy needles, peaks, mountains,
+which form its cortege and rise everywhere around it, without
+equalling its noble height, carry the evident traces of a slow
+wasting away.
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent.]
+
+From the excellent look-out which we occupied, we could reckon,
+though still imperfectly, the distance to be gone over in order
+to attain the summit. This summit, which from Chamonix appears so
+near the dome of the Go�ter, now took its true position. The
+various plateaus which form so many degrees which must be
+crossed, and which are not visible from below, appeared from the
+Brevent, and threw the so-much-desired summit, by the laws of
+perspective, still farther in the background. The Bossons
+glacier, in all its splendour, bristled with icy needles and
+blocks (blocks sometimes ten yards square), which seemed, like
+the waves of an angry sea, to beat against the sides of the rocks
+of the Grands-Mulets, the base of which disappeared in their
+midst.
+
+This marvellous spectacle was not likely to cool my impatience,
+and I more eagerly than ever promised myself to explore this
+hitherto unknown world.
+
+My companion was equally inspired by the scene, and from this
+moment I began to think that I should not have to ascend Mont
+Blanc alone.
+
+We descended again to Chamonix; the weather became milder every
+hour; the barometer continued to ascend; everything seemed to
+promise well.
+
+The next day at sunrise I hastened to the master-guide. The sky
+was cloudless; the wind, almost imperceptible, was north-east.
+The chain of Mont Blanc, the higher summits of which were gilded
+by the rising sun, seemed to invite the many tourists to ascend
+it. One could not, in all politeness, refuse so kindly an
+invitation.
+
+M. Balmat, after consulting his barometer, declared the ascent to
+be practicable, and promised me the two guides and the porter
+prescribed in our agreement. I left the selection of these to
+him. But an unexpected incident disturbed my preparations for
+departure.
+
+As I came out of M. Balmat's office, I met Ravanel, my guide of
+the day before.
+
+"Is monsieur going to Mont Blanc?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, certainly," said I. "Is it not a favourable time to go?"
+
+He reflected a few moments, and then said with an embarrassed
+air,--
+
+"Monsieur, you are my traveller; I accompanied you yesterday to
+the Brevent, so I cannot leave you now; and, since you are going
+up, I will go with you, if you will kindly accept my services. It
+is your right, for on all dangerous journeys the traveller can
+choose his own guides. Only, if you accept my offer, I ask that
+you will also take my brother, Ambrose Ravanel, and my cousin,
+Gaspard Simon. These are young, vigorous fellows; they do not
+like the ascent of Mont Blanc better than I do; but they will not
+shirk it, and I answer for them to you as I would for myself."
+
+This young man inspired me with all confidence. I accepted his
+proposition, and hastened to apprise M. Balmat of the choice I
+had made. But M. Balmat had meanwhile been selecting guides for
+me according to their turn on his list. One only had accepted,
+Edward Simon; the answer of another, Jean Carrier, had not yet
+been received, though it was scarcely doubtful, as this man had
+already made the ascent of Mont Blanc twenty-nine times. I thus
+found myself in an embarrassing position. The guides I had chosen
+were all from Argenti�re, a village six kilometres from Chamonix.
+Those of Chamonix accused Ravanel of having influenced me in
+favour of his family, which was contrary to the regulations.
+
+To cut the discussion short, I took Edward Simon, who had already
+made his preparations as a third guide. He would be useless if I
+went up alone, but would become indispensable if my friend also
+ascended.
+
+This settled, I went to tell Donatien Levesque. I found him
+sleeping the sleep of the just, for he had walked over sixteen
+kilometres on a mountain the evening before. I had some
+difficulty in waking him; but on removing first his sheets, then
+his pillows, and finally his mattress, I obtained some result,
+and succeeded in making him understand that I was preparing for
+the hazardous trip.
+
+"Well," said he, yawning, "I will go with you as far as the
+Grands-Mulets, and await your return there."
+
+"Bravo!" I replied. "I have just one guide too many, and I will
+attach him to your person."
+
+We bought the various articles indispensable to a journey across
+the glaciers. Iron-spiked alpenstocks, coarse cloth leggings,
+green spectacles fitting tightly to the eyes, furred gloves,
+green veils,--nothing was forgotten. We each had excellent
+triple-soled shoes, which our guides roughed for the ice. This
+last is an important detail, for there are moments in such an
+expedition when the least slip is fatal, not only to yourself,
+but to the whole party with you.
+
+Our preparations and those of the guides occupied nearly two
+hours. About eight o'clock our mules were brought; and we set out
+at last for the chalet of the Pierre-Pointue, situated at a
+height of six thousand five hundred feet, or three thousand above
+the valley of Chamonix, not far from eight thousand five hundred
+feet below the summit of Mont Blanc.
+
+On reaching the Pierre-Pointue, about ten o'clock, we found there
+a Spanish tourist, M. N----, accompanied by two guides and a
+porter. His principal guide, Paccard, a relative of the Doctor
+Paccard who made, with Jacques Balmat, the first ascent of Mont
+Blanc, had already been to the summit eighteen times. M. N----
+was also getting himself ready for the ascent. He had travelled
+much in America, and had crossed the Cordilleras to Quito,
+passing through snow at the highest points. He therefore thought
+that he could, without great difficulty, carry through his new
+enterprise; but in this he was mistaken. He had reckoned without
+the steepness of the inclinations which he had to cross, and the
+rarefaction of the air. I hasten to add, to his honour, that,
+since he succeeded in reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, it was
+due to a rare moral energy, for his physical energies had long
+before deserted him.
+
+We breakfasted as heartily as possible at the Pierre-Pointue;
+this being a prudent precaution, as the appetite usually fails
+higher up among the ice.
+
+[Illustration: View Of Bossons Glacier, Near The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+M. N---- set out at eleven, with his guides, for the Grands-Mulets.
+We did not start until noon. The mule-road ceases at the
+Pierre-Pointue. We had then to go up a very narrow zigzag path,
+which follows the edge of the Bossons glacier, and along the base
+of the Aiguille-du-Midi. After an hour of difficult climbing in
+an intense heat, we reached a point called the Pierre-a-l'Echelle,
+eight thousand one hundred feet high. The guides and travellers
+were then bound together by a strong rope, with three or four yards
+between each. We were about to advance upon the Bossons glacier.
+This glacier, difficult at first, presents yawning and apparently
+bottomless crevasses on every hand. The vertical sides of these
+crevasses are of a glaucous and uncertain colour, but too seducing
+to the eye; when, approaching closely, you succeed in looking into
+their mysterious depths, you feel yourself irresistibly drawn
+towards them, and nothing seems more natural than to go down into
+them.
+
+[Illustration: Passage Of The Bossons Glacier.]
+
+You advance slowly, passing round the crevasses, or on the snow
+bridges of dubious strength. Then the rope plays its part. It is
+stretched out over these dangerous transits; if the snow bridge
+yields, the guide or traveller remains hanging over the abyss. He
+is drawn beyond it, and gets off with a few bruises. Sometimes,
+if the crevasse is very wide but not deep, he descends to the
+bottom and goes up on the other side. In this case it is
+necessary to cut steps in the ice, and the two leading guides,
+armed with a sort of hatchet, perform this difficult and perilous
+task. A special circumstance makes the entrance on the Bossons
+dangerous. You go upon the glacier at the base of the
+Aiguille-du-Midi, opposite a passage whence stone avalanches often
+descend. This passage is nearly six hundred feet wide. It must be
+crossed quickly, and as you pass, a guide stands on guard to
+avert the danger from you if it presents itself. In 1869 a guide
+was killed on this spot, and his body, hurled into space by a
+stone, was dashed to pieces on the rocks nine hundred feet below.
+
+[Illustration: Crevasse and Bridge.]
+
+We were warned, and hastened our steps as fast as our
+inexperience would permit; but on leaving this dangerous zone,
+another, not less dangerous, awaited us. This was the region of
+the "seracs,"--immense blocks of ice, the formation of which is
+not as yet explained.
+
+[Illustration: View of the "Seracs".]
+
+These are usually situated on the edge of a plateau, and menace
+the whole valley beneath them. A slight movement of the glacier,
+or even a light vibration of the temperature, impels their fall,
+and occasions the most serious accidents.
+
+[Illustration: View of the "Seracs".]
+
+"Messieurs, keep quiet, and let us pass over quickly." These
+words, roughly spoken by one of the guides, checked our conversation.
+We went across rapidly and in silence. We finally reached what is
+called the "Junction" (which might more properly be called the
+violent "Separation"), by the C�te Mountain, the Bossons and
+Tacconay glaciers. At this point the scene assumes an indescribable
+character; crevasses with changing colours, ice-needles with sharp
+forms, seracs suspended and pierced with the light, little green
+lakes compose a chaos which surpasses everything that one can
+imagine. Added to this, the rush of the torrents at the foot of the
+glaciers, the sinister and repeated crackings of the blocks which
+detached themselves and fell in avalanches down the crevasses, the
+trembling of the ground which opened beneath our feet, gave a
+singular idea of those desolate places the existence of which only
+betrays itself by destruction and death.
+
+[Illustration: Passage of the "Junction".]
+
+After passing the "Junction" you follow the Tacconay glacier for
+awhile, and reach the side which leads to the Grands-Mulets. This
+part, which is very sloping, is traversed in zigzags. The leading
+guide takes care to trace them at an angle of thirty degrees,
+when there is fresh snow, to avoid the avalanches.
+
+After crossing for three hours on the ice and snow, we reach the
+Grands-Mulets, rocks six hundred feet high, overlooking on one
+side the Bossons glacier, and on the other the sloping plains
+which extend to the base of the Go�ter dome.
+
+[Illustration: Hut At The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+A small hut, constructed by the guides near the summit of the
+first rock, gives a shelter to travellers, and enables them to
+await a favourable moment for setting out for the summit of Mont
+Blanc.
+
+They dine there as well as they can, and sleep too; but the
+proverb, "He who sleeps dines," does not apply to this elevation,
+for one cannot seriously do the one or the other.
+
+"Well," said I to Levesque, after a pretence of a meal, "did I
+exaggerate the splendour of the landscape, and do you regret
+having come thus far?"
+
+"I regret it so little," he replied, "that I am determined to go
+on to the summit. You may count on me."
+
+"Very good," said I. "But you know the worst is yet to come."
+
+"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, "we will go to the end. Meanwhile, let
+us observe the sunset, which must be magnificent."
+
+The heavens had remained wonderfully clear. The chain of the
+Brevent and the Aiguilles-Rouges stretched out at our feet.
+Beyond, the Fiz rocks and the Aiguille-de-Varan rose above the
+Sallanche Valley, and the whole chains of Mont Fleury and the
+Reposoir appeared in the background. More to the right we could
+descry the snowy summit of the Buet, and farther off the
+Dents-du-Midi, with its five tusks, overhanging the valley of the
+Rhone. Behind us were the eternal snows of the Go�ter, Mont
+Maudit, and, lastly, Mont Blanc.
+
+Little by little the shadows invaded the valley of Chamonix, and
+gradually each of the summits which overlook it on the west. The
+chain of Mont Blanc alone remained luminous, and seemed encircled
+by a golden halo. Soon the shadows crept up the Go�ter and Mont
+Maudit. They still respected the giant of the Alps. We watched
+this gradual disappearance of the light with admiration. It
+lingered awhile on the highest summit, and gave us the foolish
+hope that it would not depart thence. But in a few moments all
+was shrouded in gloom, and the livid and ghastly colours of death
+succeeded the living hues. I do not exaggerate. Those who love
+mountains will comprehend me.
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets.]
+
+After witnessing this sublime scene, we had only to await the
+moment of departure. We were to set out again at two in the
+morning. Now, therefore, we stretched ourselves upon our
+mattresses.
+
+It was useless to think of sleeping, much more of talking. We
+were absorbed by more or less gloomy thoughts. It was the night
+before the battle, with the difference that nothing forced us to
+engage in the struggle. Two sorts of ideas struggled in the mind.
+It was the ebb and flow of the sea, each in its turn. Objections
+to the venture were not wanting. Why run so much danger? If we
+succeeded, of what advantage would it be? If an accident
+happened, how we should regret it! Then the imagination set to
+work; all the mountain catastrophes rose in the fancy. I dreamed
+of snow bridges giving way under my feet, of being precipitated
+in the yawning crevasses, of hearing the terrible noises of the
+avalanches detaching themselves and burying me, of disappearing,
+of cold and death seizing upon me, and of struggling with
+desperate effort, but in vain!
+
+A sharp, horrible noise is heard at this moment
+
+"The avalanche! the avalanche!" I cry.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" asks Levesque, starting up.
+
+Alas! It is a piece of furniture which, in the struggles of my
+nightmare, I have just broken. This very prosaic avalanche
+recalls me to the reality. I laugh at my terrors, a contrary
+current of thought gets the upper hand, and with it ambitious
+ideas. I need only use a little effort to reach this summit, so
+seldom attained. It is a victory, as others are. Accidents are
+rare--very rare! Do they ever take place at all? The spectacle
+from the summit must be so marvellous! And then what satisfaction
+there would be in having accomplished what so many others dared
+not undertake!
+
+My courage was restored by these thoughts, and I calmly awaited
+the moment of departure.
+
+About one o'clock the steps and voices of the guides, and the
+noise of opening doors, indicated that that moment was approaching.
+Soon Ravanel came in and said, "Come, messieurs, get up; the weather
+is magnificent. By ten o'clock we shall be at the summit."
+
+At these words we leaped from our beds, and hurried to make our
+toilet. Two of the guides, Ambrose Ravanel and his cousin Simon,
+went on ahead to explore the road. They were provided with a
+lantern, which was to show us the way to go, and with hatchets to
+make the path and cut steps in the very difficult spots. At two
+o'clock we tied ourselves one to another: the order of march was,
+Edward Ravanel before me, and at the head; behind me Edward
+Simon, then Donatien Levesque; after him our two porters (for we
+took along with us the domestic of the Grands-Mulets hut as a
+second), and M. N----'s party.
+
+The guides and porters having distributed the provisions between
+them, the signal for departure was given, and we set off in the
+midst of profound darkness, directing ourselves according to the
+lantern held up at some distance ahead.
+
+There was something solemn in this setting out. But few words
+were spoken; the vagueness of the unknown impressed us, but the
+new and strange situation excited us, and rendered us insensible
+to its dangers. The landscape around was fantastic. But few
+outlines were distinguishable. Great white confused masses, with
+blackish spots here and there, closed the horizon. The celestial
+vault shone with remarkable brilliancy. We could perceive, at an
+uncertain distance, the lantern of the guides who were ahead, and
+the mournful silence of the night was only disturbed by the dry,
+distant noise of the hatchet cutting steps in the ice.
+
+We crept slowly and cautiously over the first ascent, going
+towards the base of the Go�ter. After ascending laboriously for
+two hours, we reached the first plateau, called the "Petit-Plateau,"
+at the foot of the Go�ter, at a height of about eleven thousand feet.
+We rested a few moments and then proceeded, turning now to the left
+and going towards the edge which conducts to the "Grand-Plateau."
+
+But our party had already lessened in number: M. N----, with his
+guides, had stopped; his fatigue obliged him to take a longer
+rest.
+
+About half-past four dawn began to whiten the horizon. At this
+moment we were ascending the slope which leads to the Grand-Plateau,
+which we soon safely reached. We were eleven thousand eight hundred
+feet high. We had well earned our breakfast. Wonderful to relate,
+Levesque and I had a good appetite. It was a good sign. We therefore
+installed ourselves on the snow, and made such a repast as we could.
+Our guides joyfully declared that success was certain. As for me, I
+thought they resumed work too quickly.
+
+M. N---- rejoined us before long. We urged him to take some
+nourishment. He peremptorily refused. He felt the contraction of
+the stomach which is so common in those parts, and was almost
+broken down.
+
+The Grand-Plateau deserves a special description. On the right
+rises the dome of the Go�ter. Opposite it is Mont Blanc, rearing
+itself two thousand seven hundred feet above it. On the left are
+the "Rouges" rocks and Mont Maudit. This immense circle is one
+mass of glittering whiteness. On every side are vast crevasses.
+It was in one of these that three of the guides who accompanied
+Dr. Hamel and Colonel Anderson, in 1820, were swallowed up. In
+1864 another guide met his death there.
+
+This plateau must be crossed with great caution, as the crevasses
+are often hidden by the snow; besides, it is often swept by
+avalanches. On the 13th of October, 1866, an English traveller
+and three of his guides were buried under a mass of ice that fell
+from Mont Blanc. After a perilous search, the bodies of the three
+guides were found. They were expecting every moment to find that
+of the Englishman, when a fresh avalanche fell upon the first,
+and forced the searchers to abandon their task.
+
+[Illustration: Crossing the Plateau.]
+
+Three routes presented themselves to us. The ordinary route,
+which passes entirely to the left, by the base of Mont Maudit,
+through a sort of valley called the "Corridor," leads by gentle
+ascents to the top of the first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+
+The second, less frequented, turns to the right by the Go�ter,
+and leads to the summit of Mont Blanc by the ridge which unites
+these two mountains. You must pursue for three hours a giddy
+path, and scale a height of moving ice, called the "Camel's
+Hump."
+
+The third route consists in ascending directly to the summit of
+the Corridor, crossing an ice-wall seven hundred and fifty feet
+high, which extends along the first escarpment of the Rouges
+rocks.
+
+The guides declared the first route impracticable, on account of
+the recent crevasses which entirely obstructed it; the choice
+between the two others remained. I thought the second, by the
+"Camel's Hump," the best; but it was regarded as too dangerous,
+and it was decided that we should attack the ice-wall conducting
+to the summit of the Corridor.
+
+When a decision is made, it is best to execute it without delay.
+We crossed the Grand-Plateau, and reached the foot of this really
+formidable obstacle.
+
+The nearer we approached the more nearly vertical became its
+slope. Besides, several crevasses which we had not perceived
+yawned at its base.
+
+We nevertheless began the difficult ascent. Steps were begun by
+the foremost guide, and completed by the next. We ascended two
+steps a minute. The higher we went the more the steepness
+increased. Our guides themselves discussed what route to follow;
+they spoke in patois, and did not always agree, which was not a
+good sign. At last the slope became such that our hats touched
+the legs of the guide just before us.
+
+A hailstorm of pieces of ice, produced by the cutting of the
+steps, blinded us, and made our progress still more difficult.
+Addressing one of the foremost guides, I said,--
+
+"Ah, it's very well going up this way! It is not an open road, I
+admit: still, it is practicable. Only how are you going to get us
+down again?"
+
+"O monsieur," replied Ambrose Ravanel, "we will take another
+route going back."
+
+At last, after violent effort for two hours, and after having cut
+more than four hundred steps in this terrible mass, we reached
+the summit of the Corridor completely exhausted.
+
+We then crossed a slightly sloping plateau of snow, and passed
+along the side of an immense crevasse which obstructed our way.
+We had scarcely turned it when we uttered a cry of admiration. On
+the right, Piedmont and the plains of Lombardy were at our feet.
+On the left, the Pennine Alps and the Oberland, crowned with
+snow, raised their magnificent crests. Monte Rosa and the Cervin
+alone still rose above us, but soon we should overlook them in
+our turn.
+
+This reflection recalled us to the end of our expedition. We
+turned our gaze towards Mont Blanc, and stood stupefied.
+
+"Heavens! how far off it is still!" cried Levesque.
+
+"And how high!" I added.
+
+It was a discouraging sight. The famous wall of the ridge, so
+much feared, but which must be crossed, was before us, with its
+slope of fifty degrees. But after scaling the wall of the
+Corridor, it did not terrify us. We rested for half an hour and
+then continued our tramp; but we soon perceived that the
+atmospheric conditions were no longer the same. The sun shed his
+warm rays upon us; and their reflection on the snow added to our
+discomfort. The rarefaction of the air began to be severely felt.
+We advanced slowly, making frequent halts, and at last reached
+the plateau which overlooks the second escarpment of the Rouges
+rocks. We were at the foot of Mont Blanc. It rose, alone and
+majestic, at a height of six hundred feet above us. Monte Rosa
+itself had lowered its flag!
+
+Levesque and I were completely exhausted. As for M. N----, who
+had rejoined us at the summit of the Corridor, it might be said
+that he was insensible to the rarefaction of the air, for he no
+longer breathed, so to speak.
+
+We began at last to scale the last stage. We made ten steps and
+then stopped, finding it absolutely impossible to proceed. A
+painful contraction of the throat made our breathing exceedingly
+difficult. Our legs refused to carry us; and I then understood
+the picturesque expression of Jacques Balmat, when, in narrating
+his first ascent, he said that "his legs seemed only to be kept
+up by his trousers!" But our mental was superior to our physical
+force; and if the body faltered, the heart, responding "Excelsior!"
+stifled its desperate complaint, and urged forward our poor worn-out
+mechanism, despite itself. We thus passed the Petits-Mulets, and
+after two hours of superhuman efforts finally overlooked the entire
+chain. Mont Blanc was under our feet!
+
+[Illustration: Summit of Mont Blanc.]
+
+It was fifteen minutes after twelve.
+
+The pride of success soon dissipated our fatigue. We had at last
+conquered this formidable crest. We overlooked all the others,
+and the thoughts which Mont Blanc alone can inspire affected us
+with a deep emotion. It was ambition satisfied; and to me, at
+least, a dream realized!
+
+Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe. Several mountains
+in Asia and America are higher; but of what use would it be to
+attempt them, if, in the absolute impossibility of reaching their
+summit, you must be content to remain at a lesser height?
+
+Others, such as Mont Cervin, are more difficult of access; but we
+perceived the summit of Mont Cervin twelve hundred feet below us!
+
+And then, what a view to reward us for our troubles and dangers!
+
+The sky, still pure, had assumed a deep-blue tint. The sun,
+despoiled of a part of his rays, had lost his brilliancy, as if
+in a partial eclipse. This effect, due to the rarefaction of the
+air, was all the more apparent as the surrounding eminences and
+plains were inundated with light. No detail of the scene,
+therefore, escaped our notice.
+
+In the south-east, the mountains of Piedmont, and farther off the
+plains of Lombardy, shut in our horizon. Towards the west, the
+mountains of Savoy and Dauphin�; beyond, the valley of the Rhone.
+In the north-west, the Lake of Geneva and the Jura; then,
+descending towards the south, a chaos of mountains and glaciers,
+beyond description, overlooked by the masses of Monte Rosa, the
+Mischabelhoerner, the Cervin, the Weishorn--the most beautiful of
+crests, as Tyndall calls it--and farther off by the Jungfrau, the
+Monck, the Eiger, and the Finsteraarhorn.
+
+The extent of our range of vision was not less than sixty
+leagues. We therefore saw at least one hundred and twenty leagues
+of country.
+
+A special circumstance happened to enhance the beauty of the
+scene. Clouds formed on the Italian side and invaded the valleys
+of the Pennine Alps without veiling their summits. We soon had
+under our eyes a second sky, a lower sky, a sea of clouds, whence
+emerged a perfect archipelago of peaks and snow-wrapped
+mountains. There was something magical in it, which the greatest
+poets could scarcely describe.
+
+The summit of Mont Blanc forms a ridge from southwest to north-east,
+two hundred paces long and a yard wide at the culminating
+point. It seemed like a ship's hull overturned, the keel in the
+air.
+
+Strangely enough, the temperature was very high--ten degrees above
+zero. The air was almost still. Sometimes we felt a light breeze.
+
+The first care of our guides was to place us all in a line on the
+crest opposite Chamonix, that we might be easily counted from
+below, and thus make it known that no one of us had been lost.
+Many of the tourists had ascended the Brevent and the Jardin to
+watch our ascent. They might now be assured of its success.
+
+But to ascend was not all; we must think also of going down. The
+most difficult, if not most wearisome, task remained; and then
+one quits with regret a summit attained at the price of so much
+toil. The energy which urges you to ascend, the need, so natural
+and imperious, of overcoming, now fails you. You go forward
+listlessly, often looking behind you!
+
+It was necessary, however, to decide, and, after a last
+traditional libation of champagne, we put ourselves in motion. We
+had remained on the summit an hour. The order of march was now
+changed. M. N----'s party led off; and, at the suggestion of his
+guide Paccard, we were all tied together with a rope. M. N----'s
+fatigue, which his strength, but not his will, betrayed, made us
+fear falls on his part which would require the help of the whole
+party to arrest. The event justified our foreboding. On
+descending the side of the wall, M. N---- made several false
+steps. His guides, very vigorous and skilful, were happily able
+to check him; but ours, feeling, with reason, that the whole
+party might be dragged down, wished to detach us from the rope.
+Levesque and I opposed this; and, by taking great precautions, we
+safely reached the base of this giddy ledge. There was no room
+for illusions. The almost bottomless abyss was before us, and the
+pieces of detached ice, which bounded by us with the rapidity of
+an arrow, clearly showed us the route which the party would take
+if a slip were made.
+
+Once this terrible gap crossed, I began to breathe again. We
+descended the gradual slopes which led to the summit of the
+Corridor. The snow, softened by the heat, yielded beneath our
+feet; we sank in it to the knees, which made our progress very
+fatiguing. We steadily followed the path by which we ascended in
+the morning, and I was astonished when Gaspard Simon, turning
+towards me, said,--
+
+"Monsieur, we cannot take any other road, for the Corridor is
+impracticable, and we must descend by the wall which we climbed
+up this morning."
+
+I told Levesque this disagreeable news.
+
+"Only," added Gaspard Simon, "I do not think we can all remain
+tied together. However, we will see how M. N---- bears it at
+first."
+
+We advanced towards this terrible wall! M. N----'s party began to
+descend, and we heard Paccard talking rapidly to him. The
+inclination became so steep that we perceived neither him nor his
+guides, though we were bound together by the same rope.
+
+As soon as Gaspard Simon, who went before me, could comprehend
+what was passing, he stopped, and after exchanging' some words in
+_patois_ with his comrades, declared that we must detach
+ourselves from M. N----'s party.
+
+"We are responsible for you," he added, "but we cannot be
+responsible for others; and if they slip, they will drag us after
+them."
+
+Saying this, he got loose from the rope. We were very unwilling
+to take this step; but our guides were inflexible.
+
+We then proposed to send two of them to help M. N----'s guides.
+They eagerly consented; but having no rope they could not put
+this plan into execution.
+
+We then began this terrible descent. Only one of us moved at a
+time, and when each took a step the others buttressed themselves
+ready to sustain the shock if he slipped. The foremost guide,
+Edward Ravanel, had the most perilous task; it was for him to
+make the steps over again, now more or less worn away by the
+ascending caravan.
+
+We progressed slowly, taking the most careful precautions. Our
+route led us in a right line to one of the crevasses which opened
+at the base of the escarpment. When we were going up we could not
+look at this crevasse, but in descending we were fascinated by
+its green and yawning sides. All the blocks of ice detached by
+our passage went the same way, and after two or three bounds,
+ingulfed themselves in the crevasse, as in the jaws of the
+minotaur, only the jaws of the minotaur closed after each morsel,
+while the unsatiated crevasse yawned perpetually, and seemed to
+await, before closing, a larger mouthful. It was for us to take
+care that we should not be this mouthful, and all our efforts
+were made for this end. In order to withdraw ourselves from this
+fascination, this moral giddiness, if I may so express myself, we
+tried to joke about the dangerous position in which we found
+ourselves, and which even a chamois would not have envied us. We
+even got so far as to hum one of Offenbach's couplets; but I must
+confess that our jokes were feeble, and that we did not sing the
+airs correctly.
+
+I even thought I discovered Levesque obstinately setting the
+words of "Barbe-Bleue" to one of the airs in "Il Trovatore,"
+which rather indicated some grave preoccupation of the mind. In
+short, in order to keep up our spirits, we did as do those brave
+cowards who sing in the dark to forget their fright.
+
+We remained thus, suspended between life and death, for an hour,
+which seemed an eternity; at last we reached the bottom of this
+terrible escarpment. We there found M. N---- and his party, safe
+and sound.
+
+After resting a little while, we continued our journey.
+
+As we were approaching the Petit-Plateau, Edward Ravanel suddenly
+stopped, and, turning towards us, said,--
+
+"See what an avalanche! It has covered our tracks."
+
+An immense avalanche of ice had indeed fallen from the Go�ter,
+and entirely buried the path we had followed in the morning
+across the Petit-Plateau.
+
+I estimated that the mass of this avalanche could not comprise
+less than five hundred cubic yards. If it had fallen while we
+were passing, one more catastrophe would no doubt have been added
+to the list, already too long, of the necrology of Mont Blanc.
+
+This fresh obstacle forced us to seek a new road, or to pass
+around the foot of the avalanche. As we were much fatigued, the
+latter course was assuredly the simplest; but it involved a
+serious danger. A wall of ice more than sixty feet high, already
+partly detached from the Go�ter, to which it only clung by one of
+its angles, overhung the path which we should follow. This great
+mass seemed to hold itself in equilibrium. What if our passing,
+by disturbing the air, should hasten its fall? Our guides held a
+consultation. Each of them examined with a spy-glass the fissure
+which had been formed between the mountain and this alarming ice-mass.
+The sharp and clear edges of the cleft betrayed a recent breaking off,
+evidently caused by the fall of the avalanche.
+
+After a brief discussion, our guides, recognizing the
+impossibility of finding another road, decided to attempt this
+dangerous passage.
+
+"We must walk very fast,--even run, if possible," said they, "and
+we shall be in safety in five minutes. Come, messieurs, a last
+effort!"
+
+A run of five minutes is a small matter for people who are only
+tired; but for us, who were absolutely exhausted, to run even for
+so short a time on soft snow, in which we sank up to the knees,
+seemed an impossibility. Nevertheless, we made an urgent appeal
+to our energies, and after two or three tumbles, drawn forward by
+one, pushed by another, we finally reached a snow hillock, on
+which we fell breathless. We were out of danger.
+
+It required some time to recover ourselves. We stretched out on
+the snow with a feeling of comfort which every one will
+understand. The greatest difficulties had been surmounted, and
+though there were still dangers to brave, we could confront them
+with comparatively little apprehension.
+
+We prolonged our halt in the hope of witnessing the fall of the
+avalanche, but in vain. As the day was advancing, and it was not
+prudent to tarry in these icy solitudes, we decided to continue
+on our way, and about five o'clock we reached the hut of the
+Grands-Mulets.
+
+After a bad night, attended by fever caused by the sunstrokes
+encountered in our expedition, we made ready to return to
+Chamonix; but, before setting out, we inscribed the names of our
+guides and the principal events of our journey, according to the
+custom, on the register kept for this purpose at the Grands-Mulets.
+
+About eight o'clock we started for Chamonix. The passage of the
+Bossons was difficult, but we accomplished it without accident.
+
+[Illustration: Grands-Mulets.--Party Descending From The Hut.]
+
+Half an hour before reaching Chamonix, we met, at the chalet of
+the Dard falls, some English tourists, who seemed to be watching
+our progress. When they perceived us, they hurried up eagerly to
+congratulate us on our success. One of them presented us to his
+wife, a charming person, with a well-bred air. After we had given
+them a sketch of our perilous peregrinations, she said to us, in
+earnest accents,--
+
+"How much you are envied here by everybody! Let me touch your
+alpenstocks!"
+
+These words seemed to interpret the general feeling.
+
+The ascent of Mont Blanc is a very painful one. It is asserted
+that the celebrated naturalist of Geneva, De Saussure, acquired
+there the seeds of the disease of which he died in a few months
+after his return from the summit. I cannot better close this
+narrative than by quoting the words of M. Markham Sherwell:--
+
+"However it may be," he says, in describing his ascent of Mont
+Blanc, "I would not advise any one to undertake this ascent, the
+rewards of which can never have an importance proportionate to
+the dangers encountered by the tourist, and by those who
+accompany him."
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Winter Amid the Ice, by Jules Verne
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Winter Amid the Ice, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Winter Amid the Ice
+       and Other Thrilling Stories
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Release Date: May 1, 2009 [EBook #28657]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WINTER AMID THE ICE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Alan Winterrowd from a text scanned and made
+available By Google Books
+
+
+
+
+
+A Winter Amid the Ice and Other Thrilling Stories
+
+By Jules Verne
+
+Published by:
+The World Publishing House
+New Yowk, 1877
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+How it is useless to seek, even on the best maps, for the small
+town of Quiquendone
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+In which the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and the Counsellor
+Niklausse consult about the affairs of the town
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+In which the Commissary Passauf enters as noisily as unexpectedly
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+In which Doctor Ox reveals himself as a physiologist of the first
+rank, and as an audacious experimentalist
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+In which the burgomaster and the counsellor pay a visit to Doctor
+Ox, and what follows
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+In which Frantz Niklausse and Suzel Van Tricasse form certain
+projects for the future
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+In which the Andantes become Allegros, and the Allegros Vivaces
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+In which the ancient and solemn German waltz becomes a whirlwind
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+In which Doctor Ox and Ygene, his assistant, say a few words
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+In which it will be seen that the epidemic invades the entire
+town, and what effect it produces
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+In which the Quiquendonians adopt a heroic resolution
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+In which Ygene, the assistant, gives a reasonable piece of
+advice, which is eagerly rejected by Doctor Ox
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+In which it is once more proved that by taking high ground all
+human littlenesses may be overlooked
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+In which matters go so far that the inhabitants of Quiquendone,
+the reader, and even the author, demand an immediate denouement
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+In which the denouement takes place
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+In which the intelligent reader sees that he has guessed
+correctly, despite all the author's precautions
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+In which Doctor Ox's theory is explained
+
+
+
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A winter night
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The pride of science
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A strange visit
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The Church of St. Pierre
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The hour of death
+
+
+
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The black flag
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's project
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A ray of hope
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+In the passes
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Liverpool Island
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+The quaking of the ice
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Settling for the winter
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Plan of the explorations
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The house of snow
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Buried alive
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+A cloud of smoke
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The return to the ship
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The two rivals
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Distress
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The white bears
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Conclusion
+
+
+
+
+ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+She handed her father a pipe
+
+The worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second
+husband
+
+"I have just come from Dr. Ox's"
+
+"It is in the interests of science"
+
+"The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone, are not
+very expeditious"
+
+The young girl took the line
+
+"Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel
+
+Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success in "Les
+Huguenots"
+
+They hustle each other to get out
+
+It was no longer a waltz
+
+It required two persons to eat a strawberry
+
+"To Virgamen! to Virgamen!"
+
+"A burgomaster's place is in the front rank"
+
+The two friends, arm in arm
+
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth
+
+He would raise the trap-door constructed in the floor of his
+workshop
+
+The young girl prayed
+
+"Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence".
+
+"Father, what is the matter?"
+
+Then he resumed, in an ironical tone
+
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the
+house
+
+This proud old man remained motionless
+
+"It is there--there!"
+
+"See this man,--he is Time"
+
+He was dead
+
+"Monsieur, I salute you"
+
+"Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage
+
+"He continued his observations for seven or eight hours with
+General Morlot"
+
+"The balloon became less and less inflated"
+
+"Zambecarri fell, and was killed!"
+
+The madman disappeared in space
+
+"Monsieur the cure," said he, "stop a moment, if you please"
+
+Andre Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful
+event
+
+A soft voice said in his ear, "Have good courage, uncle"
+
+Andre Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever
+
+On the 12th September the sea consisted of one solid plain
+
+They found themselves in a most perilous position, for an
+icequake had occurred
+
+Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation
+
+The caravan set out
+
+"Thirty-two degrees below zero!"
+
+Despair and determination were struggling in his rough features
+for the mastery
+
+It was Louis Cornbutte
+
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians
+
+Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the lemons, but he
+did not reply
+
+Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old
+Jean Cornbutte
+
+The bear, having descended from the mast, had fallen on the two
+men
+
+The old cure received Louis Cornbutte and Marie
+
+View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent
+
+View of Bossons glacier, near the Grands-Mulets
+
+Passage of the Bossons Glacier
+
+Crevasse and bridge
+
+View of the "Seracs"
+
+View of "Seracs"
+
+Passage of the "Junction"
+
+Hut at the Grands-Mulets
+
+View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets
+
+Crossing the plateau
+
+Summit of Mont Blanc
+
+Grands-Mulets:--Party descending from the hut
+
+
+
+
+DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HOW IT IS USELESS TO SEEK, EVEN ON THE BEST MAPS, FOR THE SMALL TOWN
+OF QUIQUENDONE.
+
+
+If you try to find, on any map of Flanders, ancient or modern,
+the small town of Quiquendone, probably you will not succeed. Is
+Quiquendone, then, one of those towns which have disappeared? No.
+A town of the future? By no means. It exists in spite of
+geographies, and has done so for some eight or nine hundred
+years. It even numbers two thousand three hundred and ninety-three
+souls, allowing one soul to each inhabitant. It is situated
+thirteen and a half kilometres north-west of Oudenarde, and
+fifteen and a quarter kilometres south-east of Bruges, in the
+heart of Flanders. The Vaar, a small tributary of the Scheldt,
+passes beneath its three bridges, which are still covered with a
+quaint mediaeval roof, like that at Tournay. An old chateau is to
+be seen there, the first stone of which was laid so long ago as
+1197, by Count Baldwin, afterwards Emperor of Constantinople; and
+there is a Town Hall, with Gothic windows, crowned by a chaplet
+of battlements, and surrounded by a turreted belfry, which rises
+three hundred and fifty-seven feet above the soil. Every hour you
+may hear there a chime of five octaves, a veritable aerial piano,
+the renown of which surpasses that of the famous chimes of
+Bruges. Strangers--if any ever come to Quiquendone--do not quit
+the curious old town until they have visited its "Stadtholder's
+Hall", adorned by a full-length portrait of William of Nassau, by
+Brandon; the loft of the Church of Saint Magloire, a masterpiece
+of sixteenth century architecture; the cast-iron well in the
+spacious Place Saint Ernuph, the admirable ornamentation of which
+is attributed to the artist-blacksmith, Quentin Metsys; the tomb
+formerly erected to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the
+Bold, who now reposes in the Church of Notre Dame at Bruges; and
+so on. The principal industry of Quiquendone is the manufacture
+of whipped creams and barley-sugar on a large scale. It has been
+governed by the Van Tricasses, from father to son, for several
+centuries. And yet Quiquendone is not on the map of Flanders!
+Have the geographers forgotten it, or is it an intentional
+omission? That I cannot tell; but Quiquendone really exists; with
+its narrow streets, its fortified walls, its Spanish-looking
+houses, its market, and its burgomaster--so much so, that it has
+recently been the theatre of some surprising phenomena, as
+extraordinary and incredible as they are true, which are to be
+recounted in the present narration.
+
+Surely there is nothing to be said or thought against the
+Flemings of Western Flanders. They are a well-to-do folk, wise,
+prudent, sociable, with even tempers, hospitable, perhaps a
+little heavy in conversation as in mind; but this does not
+explain why one of the most interesting towns of their district
+has yet to appear on modern maps.
+
+This omission is certainly to be regretted. If only history, or
+in default of history the chronicles, or in default of chronicles
+the traditions of the country, made mention of Quiquendone! But
+no; neither atlases, guides, nor itineraries speak of it. M.
+Joanne himself, that energetic hunter after small towns, says not
+a word of it. It might be readily conceived that this silence
+would injure the commerce, the industries, of the town. But let
+us hasten to add that Quiquendone has neither industry nor
+commerce, and that it does very well without them. Its barley-sugar
+and whipped cream are consumed on the spot; none is exported. In
+short, the Quiquendonians have no need of anybody. Their desires are
+limited, their existence is a modest one; they are calm, moderate,
+phlegmatic--in a word, they are Flemings; such as are still to be
+met with sometimes between the Scheldt and the North Sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER VAN TRICASSE AND THE COUNSELLOR NIKLAUSSE
+CONSULT ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN.
+
+
+"You think so?" asked the burgomaster.
+
+"I--think so," replied the counsellor, after some minutes of
+silence.
+
+"You see, we must not act hastily," resumed the burgomaster.
+
+"We have been talking over this grave matter for ten years,"
+replied the Counsellor Niklausse, "and I confess to you, my
+worthy Van Tricasse, that I cannot yet take it upon myself to
+come to a decision."
+
+"I quite understand your hesitation," said the burgomaster, who
+did not speak until after a good quarter of an hour of reflection,
+"I quite understand it, and I fully share it. We shall do wisely to
+decide upon nothing without a more careful examination of the
+question."
+
+"It is certain," replied Niklausse, "that this post of civil
+commissary is useless in so peaceful a town as Quiquendone."
+
+"Our predecessor," said Van Tricasse gravely, "our predecessor
+never said, never would have dared to say, that anything is
+certain. Every affirmation is subject to awkward qualifications."
+
+The counsellor nodded his head slowly in token of assent; then he
+remained silent for nearly half an hour. After this lapse of
+time, during which neither the counsellor nor the burgomaster
+moved so much as a finger, Niklausse asked Van Tricasse whether
+his predecessor--of some twenty years before--had not thought of
+suppressing this office of civil commissary, which each year cost
+the town of Quiquendone the sum of thirteen hundred and seventy-five
+francs and some centimes.
+
+"I believe he did," replied the burgomaster, carrying his hand
+with majestic deliberation to his ample brow; "but the worthy man
+died without having dared to make up his mind, either as to this
+or any other administrative measure. He was a sage. Why should I
+not do as he did?"
+
+Counsellor Niklausse was incapable of originating any objection
+to the burgomaster's opinion.
+
+"The man who dies," added Van Tricasse solemnly, "without ever
+having decided upon anything during his life, has very nearly
+attained to perfection."
+
+This said, the burgomaster pressed a bell with the end of his
+little finger, which gave forth a muffled sound, which seemed
+less a sound than a sigh. Presently some light steps glided
+softly across the tile floor. A mouse would not have made less
+noise, running over a thick carpet. The door of the room opened,
+turning on its well-oiled hinges. A young girl, with long blonde
+tresses, made her appearance. It was Suzel Van Tricasse, the
+burgomaster's only daughter. She handed her father a pipe, filled
+to the brim, and a small copper brazier, spoke not a word, and
+disappeared at once, making no more noise at her exit than at her
+entrance.
+
+[Illustration: She handed her father a pipe]
+
+The worthy burgomaster lighted his pipe, and was soon hidden in a
+cloud of bluish smoke, leaving Counsellor Niklausse plunged in
+the most absorbing thought.
+
+The room in which these two notable personages, charged with the
+government of Quiquendone, were talking, was a parlour richly
+adorned with carvings in dark wood. A lofty fireplace, in which
+an oak might have been burned or an ox roasted, occupied the
+whole of one of the sides of the room; opposite to it was a
+trellised window, the painted glass of which toned down the
+brightness of the sunbeams. In an antique frame above the
+chimney-piece appeared the portrait of some worthy man,
+attributed to Memling, which no doubt represented an ancestor of
+the Van Tricasses, whose authentic genealogy dates back to the
+fourteenth century, the period when the Flemings and Guy de
+Dampierre were engaged in wars with the Emperor Rudolph of
+Hapsburgh.
+
+This parlour was the principal apartment of the burgomaster's
+house, which was one of the pleasantest in Quiquendone. Built in
+the Flemish style, with all the abruptness, quaintness, and
+picturesqueness of Pointed architecture, it was considered one of
+the most curious monuments of the town. A Carthusian convent, or
+a deaf and dumb asylum, was not more silent than this mansion.
+Noise had no existence there; people did not walk, but glided
+about in it; they did not speak, they murmured. There was not,
+however, any lack of women in the house, which, in addition to
+the burgomaster Van Tricasse himself, sheltered his wife, Madame
+Brigitte Van Tricasse, his daughter, Suzel Van Tricasse, and his
+domestic, Lotche Jansheu. We may also mention the burgomaster's
+sister, Aunt Hermance, an elderly maiden who still bore the
+nickname of Tatanemance, which her niece Suzel had given her when
+a child. But in spite of all these elements of discord and noise,
+the burgomaster's house was as calm as a desert.
+
+The burgomaster was some fifty years old, neither fat nor lean,
+neither short nor tall, neither rubicund nor pale, neither gay
+nor sad, neither contented nor discontented, neither energetic
+nor dull, neither proud nor humble, neither good nor bad, neither
+generous nor miserly, neither courageous nor cowardly, neither
+too much nor too little of anything--a man notably moderate in
+all respects, whose invariable slowness of motion, slightly
+hanging lower jaw, prominent eyebrows, massive forehead, smooth
+as a copper plate and without a wrinkle, would at once have
+betrayed to a physiognomist that the burgomaster Van Tricasse was
+phlegm personified. Never, either from anger or passion, had any
+emotion whatever hastened the beating of this man's heart, or
+flushed his face; never had his pupils contracted under the
+influence of any irritation, however ephemeral. He invariably
+wore good clothes, neither too large nor too small, which he
+never seemed to wear out. He was shod with large square shoes
+with triple soles and silver buckles, which lasted so long that
+his shoemaker was in despair. Upon his head he wore a large hat
+which dated from the period when Flanders was separated from
+Holland, so that this venerable masterpiece was at least forty
+years old. But what would you have? It is the passions which wear
+out body as well as soul, the clothes as well as the body; and
+our worthy burgomaster, apathetic, indolent, indifferent, was
+passionate in nothing. He wore nothing out, not even himself, and
+he considered himself the very man to administer the affairs of
+Quiquendone and its tranquil population.
+
+The town, indeed, was not less calm than the Van Tricasse
+mansion. It was in this peaceful dwelling that the burgomaster
+reckoned on attaining the utmost limit of human existence, after
+having, however, seen the good Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse, his
+wife, precede him to the tomb, where, surely, she would not find
+a more profound repose than that she had enjoyed on earth for
+sixty years.
+
+This demands explanation.
+
+The Van Tricasse family might well call itself the "Jeannot
+family." This is why:--
+
+Every one knows that the knife of this typical personage is as
+celebrated as its proprietor, and not less incapable of wearing
+out, thanks to the double operation, incessantly repeated, of
+replacing the handle when it is worn out, and the blade when it
+becomes worthless. A precisely similar operation had been going
+on from time immemorial in the Van Tricasse family, to which
+Nature had lent herself with more than usual complacency. From
+1340 it had invariably happened that a Van Tricasse, when left a
+widower, had remarried a Van Tricasse younger than himself; who,
+becoming in turn a widow, had married again a Van Tricasse
+younger than herself; and so on, without a break in the
+continuity, from generation to generation. Each died in his or
+her turn with mechanical regularity. Thus the worthy Madame
+Brigitte Van Tricasse had now her second husband; and, unless she
+violated her every duty, would precede her spouse--he being ten
+years younger than herself--to the other world, to make room for
+a new Madame Van Tricasse. Upon this the burgomaster calmly
+counted, that the family tradition might not be broken. Such was
+this mansion, peaceful and silent, of which the doors never
+creaked, the windows never rattled, the floors never groaned, the
+chimneys never roared, the weathercocks never grated, the
+furniture never squeaked, the locks never clanked, and the
+occupants never made more noise than their shadows. The god
+Harpocrates would certainly have chosen it for the Temple of
+Silence.
+
+[Illustration: the worthy Madame Brigitte Van Tricasse had now
+her second husband]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+IN WHICH THE COMMISSARY PASSAUF ENTERS AS NOISILY AS UNEXPECTEDLY.
+
+
+When the interesting conversation which has been narrated began,
+it was a quarter before three in the afternoon. It was at a
+quarter before four that Van Tricasse lighted his enormous pipe,
+which could hold a quart of tobacco, and it was at thirty-five
+minutes past five that he finished smoking it.
+
+All this time the two comrades did not exchange a single word.
+
+About six o'clock the counsellor, who had a habit of speaking in
+a very summary manner, resumed in these words,--
+
+"So we decide--"
+
+"To decide nothing," replied the burgomaster.
+
+"I think, on the whole, that you are right, Van Tricasse."
+
+"I think so too, Niklausse. We will take steps with reference to
+the civil commissary when we have more light on the subject--
+later on. There is no need for a month yet."
+
+"Nor even for a year," replied Niklausse, unfolding his
+pocket-handkerchief and calmly applying it to his nose.
+
+There was another silence of nearly a quarter of an hour. Nothing
+disturbed this repeated pause in the conversation; not even the
+appearance of the house-dog Lento, who, not less phlegmatic than
+his master, came to pay his respects in the parlour. Noble dog!--
+a model for his race. Had he been made of pasteboard, with wheels
+on his paws, he would not have made less noise during his stay.
+
+Towards eight o'clock, after Lotche had brought the antique lamp
+of polished glass, the burgomaster said to the counsellor,--
+
+"We have no other urgent matter to consider?"
+
+"No, Van Tricasse; none that I know of."
+
+"Have I not been told, though," asked the burgomaster, "that the
+tower of the Oudenarde gate is likely to tumble down?"
+
+"Ah!" replied the counsellor; "really, I should not be astonished
+if it fell on some passer-by any day."
+
+"Oh! before such a misfortune happens I hope we shall have come
+to a decision on the subject of this tower."
+
+"I hope so, Van Tricasse."
+
+"There are more pressing matters to decide."
+
+"No doubt; the question of the leather-market, for instance."
+
+"What, is it still burning?"
+
+"Still burning, and has been for the last three weeks."
+
+"Have we not decided in council to let it burn?"
+
+"Yes, Van Tricasse--on your motion."
+
+"Was not that the surest and simplest way to deal with it?"
+
+"Without doubt."
+
+"Well, let us wait. Is that all?"
+
+"All," replied the counsellor, scratching his head, as if to
+assure himself that he had not forgotten anything important.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the burgomaster, "haven't you also heard
+something of an escape of water which threatens to inundate the
+low quarter of Saint Jacques?"
+
+"I have. It is indeed unfortunate that this escape of water did
+not happen above the leather-market! It would naturally have
+checked the fire, and would thus have saved us a good deal of
+discussion."
+
+"What can you expect, Niklausse? There is nothing so illogical as
+accidents. They are bound by no rules, and we cannot profit by
+one, as we might wish, to remedy another."
+
+It took Van Tricasse's companion some time to digest this fine
+observation.
+
+"Well, but," resumed the Counsellor Niklausse, after the lapse of
+some moments, "we have not spoken of our great affair!"
+
+"What great affair? Have we, then, a great affair?" asked the
+burgomaster.
+
+"No doubt. About lighting the town."
+
+"O yes. If my memory serves me, you are referring to the lighting
+plan of Doctor Ox."
+
+"Precisely."
+
+"It is going on, Niklausse," replied the burgomaster. "They are
+already laying the pipes, and the works are entirely completed."
+
+"Perhaps we have hurried a little in this matter," said the
+counsellor, shaking his head.
+
+"Perhaps. But our excuse is, that Doctor Ox bears the whole
+expense of his experiment. It will not cost us a sou."
+
+"That, true enough, is our excuse. Moreover, we must advance with
+the age. If the experiment succeeds, Quiquendone will be the
+first town in Flanders to be lighted with the oxy--What is the
+gas called?"
+
+"Oxyhydric gas."
+
+"Well, oxyhydric gas, then."
+
+At this moment the door opened, and Lotche came in to tell the
+burgomaster that his supper was ready.
+
+Counsellor Niklausse rose to take leave of Van Tricasse, whose
+appetite had been stimulated by so many affairs discussed and
+decisions taken; and it was agreed that the council of notables
+should be convened after a reasonably long delay, to determine
+whether a decision should be provisionally arrived at with
+reference to the really urgent matter of the Oudenarde gate.
+
+The two worthy administrators then directed their steps towards
+the street-door, the one conducting the other. The counsellor,
+having reached the last step, lighted a little lantern to guide
+him through the obscure streets of Quiquendone, which Doctor Ox
+had not yet lighted. It was a dark October night, and a light fog
+overshadowed the town.
+
+Niklausse's preparations for departure consumed at least a
+quarter of an hour; for, after having lighted his lantern, he had
+to put on his big cow-skin socks and his sheep-skin gloves; then
+he put up the furred collar of his overcoat, turned the brim of
+his felt hat down over his eyes, grasped his heavy crow-beaked
+umbrella, and got ready to start.
+
+When Lotche, however, who was lighting her master, was about to
+draw the bars of the door, an unexpected noise arose outside.
+
+Yes! Strange as the thing seems, a noise--a real noise, such as
+the town had certainly not heard since the taking of the donjon
+by the Spaniards in 1513--terrible noise, awoke the long-dormant
+echoes of the venerable Van Tricasse mansion.
+
+Some one knocked heavily upon this door, hitherto virgin to
+brutal touch! Redoubled knocks were given with some blunt
+implement, probably a knotty stick, wielded by a vigorous arm.
+With the strokes were mingled cries and calls. These words were
+distinctly heard:--
+
+"Monsieur Van Tricasse! Monsieur the burgomaster! Open, open
+quickly!"
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, absolutely astounded, looked
+at each other speechless.
+
+This passed their comprehension. If the old culverin of the
+chateau, which had not been used since 1385, had been let off in
+the parlour, the dwellers in the Van Tricasse mansion would not
+have been more dumbfoundered.
+
+Meanwhile, the blows and cries were redoubled. Lotche, recovering
+her coolness, had plucked up courage to speak.
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"It is I! I! I!"
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"The Commissary Passauf!"
+
+The Commissary Passauf! The very man whose office it had been
+contemplated to suppress for ten years. What had happened, then?
+Could the Burgundians have invaded Quiquendone, as they did in
+the fourteenth century? No event of less importance could have so
+moved Commissary Passauf, who in no degree yielded the palm to
+the burgomaster himself for calmness and phlegm.
+
+On a sign from Van Tricasse--for the worthy man could not have
+articulated a syllable--the bar was pushed back and the door
+opened.
+
+Commissary Passauf flung himself into the antechamber. One would
+have thought there was a hurricane.
+
+"What's the matter, Monsieur the commissary?" asked Lotche, a
+brave woman, who did not lose her head under the most trying
+circumstances.
+
+"What's the matter!" replied Passauf, whose big round eyes
+expressed a genuine agitation. "The matter is that I have just
+come from Doctor Ox's, who has been holding a reception, and that
+there--"
+
+[Illustration: I have just come from Doctor Ox's]
+
+"There?"
+
+"There I have witnessed such an altercation as--Monsieur the
+burgomaster, they have been talking politics!"
+
+"Politics!" repeated Van Tricasse, running his fingers through
+his wig.
+
+"Politics!" resumed Commissary Passauf, "which has not been done
+for perhaps a hundred years at Quiquendone. Then the discussion
+got warm, and the advocate, Andre Schut, and the doctor,
+Dominique Custos, became so violent that it may be they will call
+each other out."
+
+"Call each other out!" cried the counsellor. "A duel! A duel at
+Quiquendone! And what did Advocate Schut and Doctor Gustos say?"
+
+"Just this: 'Monsieur advocate,' said the doctor to his
+adversary, 'you go too far, it seems to me, and you do not take
+sufficient care to control your words!'"
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse clasped his hands--the counsellor
+turned pale and let his lantern fall--the commissary shook his
+head. That a phrase so evidently irritating should be pronounced
+by two of the principal men in the country!
+
+"This Doctor Custos," muttered Van Tricasse, "is decidedly a
+dangerous man--a hare-brained fellow! Come, gentlemen!"
+
+On this, Counsellor Niklausse and the commissary accompanied the
+burgomaster into the parlour.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX REVEALS HIMSELF AS A PHYSIOLOGIST OF THE FIRST
+RANK, AND AS AN AUDACIOUS EXPERIMENTALIST.
+
+
+Who, then, was this personage, known by the singular name of
+Doctor Ox?
+
+An original character for certain, but at the same time a bold
+savant, a physiologist, whose works were known and highly
+estimated throughout learned Europe, a happy rival of the Davys,
+the Daltons, the Bostocks, the Menzies, the Godwins, the
+Vierordts--of all those noble minds who have placed physiology
+among the highest of modern sciences.
+
+Doctor Ox was a man of medium size and height, aged--: but we
+cannot state his age, any more than his nationality. Besides, it
+matters little; let it suffice that he was a strange personage,
+impetuous and hot-blooded, a regular oddity out of one of
+Hoffmann's volumes, and one who contrasted amusingly enough with
+the good people of Quiquendone. He had an imperturbable
+confidence both in himself and in his doctrines. Always smiling,
+walking with head erect and shoulders thrown back in a free and
+unconstrained manner, with a steady gaze, large open nostrils, a
+vast mouth which inhaled the air in liberal draughts, his
+appearance was far from unpleasing. He was full of animation,
+well proportioned in all parts of his bodily mechanism, with
+quicksilver in his veins, and a most elastic step. He could never
+stop still in one place, and relieved himself with impetuous
+words and a superabundance of gesticulations.
+
+Was Doctor Ox rich, then, that he should undertake to light a
+whole town at his expense? Probably, as he permitted himself to
+indulge in such extravagance,--and this is the only answer we can
+give to this indiscreet question.
+
+Doctor Ox had arrived at Quiquendone five months before,
+accompanied by his assistant, who answered to the name of Gedeon
+Ygene; a tall, dried-up, thin man, haughty, but not less
+vivacious than his master.
+
+And next, why had Doctor Ox made the proposition to light the
+town at his own expense? Why had he, of all the Flemings,
+selected the peaceable Quiquendonians, to endow their town with
+the benefits of an unheard-of system of lighting? Did he not,
+under this pretext, design to make some great physiological
+experiment by operating _in anima vili?_ In short, what was this
+original personage about to attempt? We know not, as Doctor Ox
+had no confidant except his assistant Ygene, who, moreover,
+obeyed him blindly.
+
+In appearance, at least, Doctor Ox had agreed to light the town,
+which had much need of it, "especially at night," as Commissary
+Passauf wittily said. Works for producing a lighting gas had
+accordingly been established; the gasometers were ready for use,
+and the main pipes, running beneath the street pavements, would
+soon appear in the form of burners in the public edifices and the
+private houses of certain friends of progress. Van Tricasse and
+Niklausse, in their official capacity, and some other worthies,
+thought they ought to allow this modern light to be introduced
+into their dwellings.
+
+If the reader has not forgotten, it was said, during the long
+conversation of the counsellor and the burgomaster, that the
+lighting of the town was to be achieved, not by the combustion of
+common carburetted hydrogen, produced by distilling coal, but by
+the use of a more modern and twenty-fold more brilliant gas,
+oxyhydric gas, produced by mixing hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+The doctor, who was an able chemist as well as an ingenious
+physiologist, knew how to obtain this gas in great quantity and
+of good quality, not by using manganate of soda, according to the
+method of M. Tessie du Motay, but by the direct decomposition of
+slightly acidulated water, by means of a battery made of new
+elements, invented by himself. Thus there were no costly
+materials, no platinum, no retorts, no combustibles, no delicate
+machinery to produce the two gases separately. An electric
+current was sent through large basins full of water, and the
+liquid was decomposed into its two constituent parts, oxygen and
+hydrogen. The oxygen passed off at one end; the hydrogen, of
+double the volume of its late associate, at the other. As a
+necessary precaution, they were collected in separate reservoirs,
+for their mixture would have produced a frightful explosion if it
+had become ignited. Thence the pipes were to convey them
+separately to the various burners, which would be so placed as to
+prevent all chance of explosion. Thus a remarkably brilliant
+flame would be obtained, whose light would rival the electric
+light, which, as everybody knows, is, according to Cassellmann's
+experiments, equal to that of eleven hundred and seventy-one wax
+candles,--not one more, nor one less.
+
+It was certain that the town of Quiquendone would, by this
+liberal contrivance, gain a splendid lighting; but Doctor Ox and
+his assistant took little account of this, as will be seen in the
+sequel.
+
+The day after that on which Commissary Passauf had made his noisy
+entrance into the burgomaster's parlour, Gedeon Ygene and Doctor
+Ox were talking in the laboratory which both occupied in common,
+on the ground-floor of the principal building of the gas-works.
+
+"Well, Ygene, well," cried the doctor, rubbing his hands. "You
+saw, at my reception yesterday, the cool-bloodedness of these
+worthy Quiquendonians. For animation they are midway between
+sponges and coral! You saw them disputing and irritating each
+other by voice and gesture? They are already metamorphosed,
+morally and physically! And this is only the beginning. Wait till
+we treat them to a big dose!"
+
+"Indeed, master," replied Ygene, scratching his sharp nose with
+the end of his forefinger, "the experiment begins well, and if I
+had not prudently closed the supply-tap, I know not what would
+have happened."
+
+"You heard Schut, the advocate, and Custos, the doctor?" resumed
+Doctor Ox. "The phrase was by no means ill-natured in itself,
+but, in the mouth of a Quiquendonian, it is worth all the insults
+which the Homeric heroes hurled at each other before drawing
+their swords, Ah, these Flemings! You'll see what we shall do
+some day!"
+
+"We shall make them ungrateful," replied Ygene, in the tone of a
+man who esteems the human race at its just worth.
+
+"Bah!" said the doctor; "what matters it whether they think well
+or ill of us, so long as our experiment succeeds?"
+
+"Besides," returned the assistant, smiling with a malicious
+expression, "is it not to be feared that, in producing such an
+excitement in their respiratory organs, we shall somewhat injure
+the lungs of these good people of Quiquendone?"
+
+"So much the worse for them! It is in the interests of science.
+What would you say if the dogs or frogs refused to lend
+themselves to the experiments of vivisection?"
+
+[Illustration: It is in the interests of Science.]
+
+It is probable that if the frogs and dogs were consulted, they
+would offer some objection; but Doctor Ox imagined that he had
+stated an unanswerable argument, for he heaved a great sigh of
+satisfaction.
+
+"After all, master, you are right," replied Ygene, as if quite
+convinced. "We could not have hit upon better subjects than these
+people of Quiquendone for our experiment."
+
+"We--could--not," said the doctor, slowly articulating each word.
+
+"Have you felt the pulse of any of them?"
+
+"Some hundreds."
+
+"And what is the average pulsation you found?"
+
+"Not fifty per minute. See--this is a town where there has not
+been the shadow of a discussion for a century, where the carmen
+don't swear, where the coachmen don't insult each other, where
+horses don't run away, where the dogs don't bite, where the cats
+don't scratch,--a town where the police-court has nothing to do
+from one year's end to another,--a town where people do not grow
+enthusiastic about anything, either about art or business,--a
+town where the gendarmes are a sort of myth, and in which an
+indictment has not been drawn up for a hundred years,--a town, in
+short, where for three centuries nobody has struck a blow with
+his fist or so much as exchanged a slap in the face! You see,
+Ygene, that this cannot last, and that we must change it all."
+
+"Perfectly! perfectly!" cried the enthusiastic assistant; "and
+have you analyzed the air of this town, master?"
+
+"I have not failed to do so. Seventy-nine parts of azote and
+twenty-one of oxygen, carbonic acid and steam in a variable
+quantity. These are the ordinary proportions."
+
+"Good, doctor, good!" replied Ygene. "The experiment will be made
+on a large scale, and will be decisive."
+
+"And if it is decisive," added Doctor Ox triumphantly, "we shall
+reform the world!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+IN WHICH THE BURGOMASTER AND THE COUNSELLOR PAY A VISIT TO DOCTOR
+OX, AND WHAT FOLLOWS.
+
+The Counsellor Niklausse and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse at last
+knew what it was to have an agitated night. The grave event which
+had taken place at Doctor Ox's house actually kept them awake.
+What consequences was this affair destined to bring about? They
+could not imagine. Would it be necessary for them to come to a
+decision? Would the municipal authority, whom they represented,
+be compelled to interfere? Would they be obliged to order arrests
+to be made, that so great a scandal should not be repeated? All
+these doubts could not but trouble these soft natures; and on
+that evening, before separating, the two notables had "decided"
+to see each other the next day.
+
+On the next morning, then, before dinner, the Burgomaster Van
+Tricasse proceeded in person to the Counsellor Niklausse's house.
+He found his friend more calm. He himself had recovered his
+equanimity.
+
+"Nothing new?" asked Van Tricasse.
+
+"Nothing new since yesterday," replied Niklausse.
+
+"And the doctor, Dominique Custos?"
+
+"I have not heard anything, either of him or of the advocate,
+Andre Schut."
+
+After an hour's conversation, which consisted of three remarks
+which it is needless to repeat, the counsellor and the burgomaster
+had resolved to pay a visit to Doctor Ox, so as to draw from him,
+without seeming to do so, some details of the affair.
+
+Contrary to all their habits, after coming to this decision the
+two notables set about putting it into execution forthwith. They
+left the house and directed their steps towards Doctor Ox's
+laboratory, which was situated outside the town, near the
+Oudenarde gate--the gate whose tower threatened to fall in ruins.
+
+They did not take each other's arms, but walked side by side,
+with a slow and solemn step, which took them forward but thirteen
+inches per second. This was, indeed, the ordinary gait of the
+Quiquendonians, who had never, within the memory of man, seen any
+one run across the streets of their town.
+
+From time to time the two notables would stop at some calm and
+tranquil crossway, or at the end of a quiet street, to salute the
+passers-by.
+
+"Good morning, Monsieur the burgomaster," said one.
+
+"Good morning, my friend," responded Van Tricasse.
+
+"Anything new, Monsieur the counsellor?" asked another.
+
+"Nothing new," answered Niklausse.
+
+But by certain agitated motions and questioning looks, it was
+evident that the altercation of the evening before was known
+throughout the town. Observing the direction taken by Van
+Tricasse, the most obtuse Quiquendonians guessed that the
+burgomaster was on his way to take some important step. The
+Custos and Schut affair was talked of everywhere, but the people
+had not yet come to the point of taking the part of one or the
+other. The Advocate Schut, having never had occasion to plead in
+a town where attorneys and bailiffs only existed in tradition,
+had, consequently, never lost a suit. As for the Doctor Custos,
+he was an honourable practitioner, who, after the example of his
+fellow-doctors, cured all the illnesses of his patients, except
+those of which they died--a habit unhappily acquired by all the
+members of all the faculties in whatever country they may
+practise.
+
+On reaching the Oudenarde gate, the counsellor and the
+burgomaster prudently made a short detour, so as not to pass
+within reach of the tower, in case it should fall; then they
+turned and looked at it attentively.
+
+"I think that it will fall," said Van Tricasse.
+
+"I think so too," replied Niklausse.
+
+"Unless it is propped up," added Van Tricasse. "But must it be
+propped up? That is the question."
+
+"That is--in fact--the question."
+
+Some moments after, they reached the door of the gasworks.
+
+"Can we see Doctor Ox?" they asked.
+
+Doctor Ox could always be seen by the first authorities of the
+town, and they were at once introduced into the celebrated
+physiologist's study.
+
+Perhaps the two notables waited for the doctor at least an hour;
+at least it is reasonable to suppose so, as the burgomaster--a
+thing that had never before happened in his life--betrayed a
+certain amount of impatience, from which his companion was not
+exempt.
+
+Doctor Ox came in at last, and began to excuse himself for having
+kept them waiting; but he had to approve a plan for the
+gasometer, rectify some of the machinery--But everything was
+going on well! The pipes intended for the oxygen were already
+laid. In a few months the town would be splendidly lighted. The
+two notables might even now see the orifices of the pipes which
+were laid on in the laboratory.
+
+Then the doctor begged to know to what he was indebted for the
+honour of this visit.
+
+"Only to see you, doctor; to see you," replied Van Tricasse. "It
+is long since we have had the pleasure. We go abroad but little
+in our good town of Quiquendone. We count our steps and measure
+our walks. We are happy when nothing disturbs the uniformity of
+our habits."
+
+Niklausse looked at his friend. His friend had never said so much
+at once--at least, without taking time, and giving long intervals
+between his sentences. It seemed to him that Van Tricasse
+expressed himself with a certain volubility, which was by no
+means common with him. Niklausse himself experienced a kind of
+irresistible desire to talk.
+
+As for Doctor Ox, he looked at the burgomaster with sly
+attention.
+
+Van Tricasse, who never argued until he had snugly ensconced
+himself in a spacious armchair, had risen to his feet. I know not
+what nervous excitement, quite foreign to his temperament, had
+taken possession of him. He did not gesticulate as yet, but this
+could not be far off. As for the counsellor, he rubbed his legs,
+and breathed with slow and long gasps. His look became animated
+little by little, and he had "decided" to support at all hazards,
+if need be, his trusty friend the burgomaster.
+
+Van Tricasse got up and took several steps; then he came back,
+and stood facing the doctor.
+
+"And in how many months," he asked in a somewhat emphatic tome,
+"do you say that your work will be finished?"
+
+"In three or four months, Monsieur the burgomaster," replied
+Doctor Ox.
+
+"Three or four months,--it's a very long time!" said Van
+Tricasse.
+
+"Altogether too long!" added Niklausse, who, not being able to
+keep his seat, rose also.
+
+"This lapse of time is necessary to complete our work," returned
+Doctor Ox. "The workmen, whom we have had to choose in Quiquendone,
+are not very expeditious."
+
+[Illustration: "The workmen, whom we have had to choose in
+Quiquendone, are not very expeditious."]
+
+"How not expeditious?" cried the burgomaster, who seemed to take
+the remark as personally offensive.
+
+"No, Monsieur Van Tricasse," replied Doctor Ox obstinately. "A
+French workman would do in a day what it takes ten of your
+workmen to do; you know, they are regular Flemings!"
+
+"Flemings!" cried the counsellor, whose fingers closed together.
+"In what sense, sir, do you use that word?"
+
+"Why, in the amiable sense in which everybody uses it," replied
+Doctor Ox, smiling.
+
+"Ah, but doctor," said the burgomaster, pacing up and down the
+room, "I don't like these insinuations. The workmen of Quiquendone
+are as efficient as those of any other town in the world, you must
+know; and we shall go neither to Paris nor London for our models!
+As for your project, I beg you to hasten its execution. Our streets
+have been unpaved for the putting down of your conduit-pipes, and it
+is a hindrance to traffic. Our trade will begin to suffer, and I,
+being the responsible authority, do not propose to incur reproaches
+which will be but too just."
+
+Worthy burgomaster! He spoke of trade, of traffic, and the wonder
+was that those words, to which he was quite unaccustomed, did not
+scorch his lips. What could be passing in his mind?
+
+"Besides," added Niklausse, "the town cannot be deprived of light
+much longer."
+
+"But," urged Doctor Ox, "a town which has been un-lighted for
+eight or nine hundred years--"
+
+"All the more necessary is it," replied the burgomaster,
+emphasizing his words. "Times alter, manners alter! The world
+advances, and we do not wish to remain behind. We desire our
+streets to be lighted within a month, or you must pay a large
+indemnity for each day of delay; and what would happen if, amid
+the darkness, some affray should take place?"
+
+"No doubt," cried Niklausse. "It requires but a spark to inflame
+a Fleming! Fleming! Flame!"
+
+"Apropos of this," said the burgomaster, interrupting his friend,
+"Commissary Passauf, our chief of police, reports to us that a
+discussion took place in your drawing-room last evening, Doctor
+Ox. Was he wrong in declaring that it was a political discussion?"
+
+"By no means, Monsieur the burgomaster," replied Doctor Ox, who
+with difficulty repressed a sigh of satisfaction.
+
+"So an altercation did take place between Dominique Gustos and
+Andre Schut?"
+
+"Yes, counsellor; but the words which passed were not of grave
+import."
+
+"Not of grave import!" cried the burgomaster. "Not of grave
+import, when one man tells another that he does not measure the
+effect of his words! But of what stuff are you made, monsieur? Do
+you not know that in Quiquendone nothing more is needed to bring
+about extremely disastrous results? But monsieur, if you, or any
+one else, presume to speak thus to me--"
+
+"Or to me," added Niklausse.
+
+As they pronounced these words with a menacing air, the two
+notables, with folded arms and bristling air, confronted Doctor
+Ox, ready to do him some violence, if by a gesture, or even the
+expression of his eye, he manifested any intention of contradicting
+them.
+
+But the doctor did not budge.
+
+"At all events, monsieur," resumed the burgomaster, "I propose to
+hold you responsible for what passes in your house. I am bound to
+insure the tranquillity of this town, and I do not wish it to be
+disturbed. The events of last evening must not be repeated, or I
+shall do my duty, sir! Do you hear? Then reply, sir."
+
+The burgomaster, as he spoke, under the influence of
+extraordinary excitement, elevated his voice to the pitch of
+anger. He was furious, the worthy Van Tricasse, and might
+certainly be heard outside. At last, beside himself, and seeing
+that Doctor Ox did not reply to his challenge, "Come, Niklausse,"
+said he.
+
+And, slamming the door with a violence which shook the house, the
+burgomaster drew his friend after him.
+
+Little by little, when they had taken twenty steps on their road,
+the worthy notables grew more calm. Their pace slackened, their
+gait became less feverish. The flush on their faces faded away;
+from being crimson, they became rosy. A quarter of an hour after
+quitting the gasworks, Van Tricasse said softly to Niklausse, "An
+amiable man, Doctor Ox! It is always a pleasure to see him!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+IN WHICH FRANTZ NIKLAUSSE AND SUZEL VAN TRICASSE FORM CERTAIN
+PROJECTS FOR THE FUTURE.
+
+
+Our readers know that the burgomaster had a daughter, Suzel But,
+shrewd as they may be, they cannot have divined that the
+counsellor Niklausse had a son, Frantz; and had they divined
+this, nothing could have led them to imagine that Frantz was the
+betrothed lover of Suzel. We will add that these young people
+were made for each other, and that they loved each other, as
+folks did love at Quiquendone.
+
+It must not be thought that young hearts did not beat in this
+exceptional place; only they beat with a certain deliberation.
+There were marriages there, as in every other town in the world;
+but they took time about it. Betrothed couples, before engaging
+in these terrible bonds, wished to study each other; and these
+studies lasted at least ten years, as at college. It was rare
+that any one was "accepted" before this lapse of time.
+
+Yes, ten years! The courtships last ten years! And is it, after
+all, too long, when the being bound for life is in consideration?
+One studies ten years to become an engineer or physician, an
+advocate or attorney, and should less time be spent in acquiring
+the knowledge to make a good husband? Is it not reasonable? and,
+whether due to temperament or reason with them, the Quiquendonians
+seem to us to be in the right in thus prolonging their courtship.
+When marriages in other more lively and excitable cities are seen
+taking place within a few months, we must shrug our shoulders,
+and hasten to send our boys to the schools and our daughters to the
+_pensions_ of Quiquendone.
+
+For half a century but a single marriage was known to have taken
+place after the lapse of two years only of courtship, and that
+turned out badly!
+
+Frantz Niklausse, then, loved Suzel Van Tricasse, but quietly, as
+a man would love when he has ten years before him in which to
+obtain the beloved object. Once every week, at an hour agreed
+upon, Frantz went to fetch Suzel, and took a walk with her along
+the banks of the Vaar. He took good care to carry his fishing-tackle,
+and Suzel never forgot her canvas, on which her pretty hands
+embroidered the most unlikely flowers.
+
+Frantz was a young man of twenty-two, whose cheeks betrayed a
+soft, peachy down, and whose voice had scarcely a compass of one
+octave.
+
+As for Suzel, she was blonde and rosy. She was seventeen, and did
+not dislike fishing. A singular occupation this, however, which
+forces you to struggle craftily with a barbel. But Frantz loved
+it; the pastime was congenial to his temperament. As patient as
+possible, content to follow with his rather dreamy eye the cork
+which bobbed on the top of the water, he knew how to wait; and
+when, after sitting for six hours, a modest barbel, taking pity
+on him, consented at last to be caught, he was happy--but he knew
+how to control his emotion.
+
+On this day the two lovers--one might say, the two betrothed--
+were seated upon the verdant bank. The limpid Vaar murmured a few
+feet below them. Suzel quietly drew her needle across the canvas.
+Frantz automatically carried his line from left to right, then
+permitted it to descend the current from right to left. The fish
+made capricious rings in the water, which crossed each other
+around the cork, while the hook hung useless near the bottom.
+
+From time to time Frantz would say, without raising his eyes,--
+
+"I think I have a bite, Suzel."
+
+"Do you think so, Frantz?" replied Suzel, who, abandoning her
+work for an instant, followed her lover's line with earnest eye.
+
+"N-no," resumed Frantz; "I thought I felt a little twitch; I was
+mistaken."
+
+"You _will_ have a bite, Frantz," replied Suzel, in her pure,
+soft voice. "But do not forget to strike at the right moment. You
+are always a few seconds too late, and the barbel takes advantage
+to escape."
+
+"Would you like to take my line, Suzel?"
+
+"Willingly, Frantz."
+
+"Then give me your canvas. We shall see whether I am more adroit
+with the needle than with the hook."
+
+And the young girl took the line with trembling hand, while her
+swain plied the needle across the stitches of the embroidery. For
+hours together they thus exchanged soft words, and their hearts
+palpitated when the cork bobbed on the water. Ah, could they ever
+forget those charming hours, during which, seated side by side,
+they listened to the murmurs of the river?
+
+[Illustration: the young girl took the line]
+
+The sun was fast approaching the western horizon, and despite the
+combined skill of Suzel and Frantz, there had not been a bite.
+The barbels had not shown themselves complacent, and seemed to
+scoff at the two young people, who were too just to bear them
+malice.
+
+"We shall be more lucky another time, Frantz," said Suzel, as the
+young angler put up his still virgin hook.
+
+"Let us hope so," replied Frantz.
+
+Then walking side by side, they turned their steps towards the
+house, without exchanging a word, as mute as their shadows which
+stretched out before them. Suzel became very, very tall under the
+oblique rays of the setting sun. Frantz appeared very, very thin,
+like the long rod which he held in his hand.
+
+They reached the burgomaster's house. Green tufts of grass
+bordered the shining pavement, and no one would have thought of
+tearing them away, for they deadened the noise made by the
+passers-by.
+
+As they were about to open the door, Frantz thought it his duty
+to say to Suzel,--
+
+"You know, Suzel, the great day is approaching?"
+
+"It is indeed, Frantz," replied the young girl, with downcast
+eyes.
+
+"Yes," said Frantz, "in five or six years--"
+
+"Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel.
+
+[Illustration: "Good-bye, Frantz," said Suzel.]
+
+"Good-bye, Suzel," replied Frantz.
+
+And, after the door had been closed, the young man resumed the
+way to his father's house with a calm and equal pace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+IN WHICH THE ANDANTES BECOME ALLEGROS, AND THE ALLEGROS VIVACES.
+
+
+The agitation caused by the Schut and Custos affair had subsided.
+The affair led to no serious consequences. It appeared likely
+that Quiquendone would return to its habitual apathy, which that
+unexpected event had for a moment disturbed.
+
+Meanwhile, the laying of the pipes destined to conduct the
+oxyhydric gas into the principal edifices of the town was
+proceeding rapidly. The main pipes and branches gradually crept
+beneath the pavements. But the burners were still wanting; for,
+as it required delicate skill to make them, it was necessary that
+they should be fabricated abroad. Doctor Ox was here, there, and
+everywhere; neither he nor Ygene, his assistant, lost a moment,
+but they urged on the workmen, completed the delicate mechanism
+of the gasometer, fed day and night the immense piles which
+decomposed the water under the influence of a powerful electric
+current. Yes, the doctor was already making his gas, though the
+pipe-laying was not yet done; a fact which, between ourselves,
+might have seemed a little singular. But before long,--at least
+there was reason to hope so,--before long Doctor Ox would
+inaugurate the splendours of his invention in the theatre of the
+town.
+
+For Quiquendone possessed a theatre--a really fine edifice, in
+truth--the interior and exterior arrangement of which combined
+every style of architecture. It was at once Byzantine, Roman,
+Gothic, Renaissance, with semicircular doors, Pointed windows,
+Flamboyant rose-windows, fantastic bell-turrets,--in a word, a
+specimen of all sorts, half a Parthenon, half a Parisian Grand
+Cafe. Nor was this surprising, the theatre having been commenced
+under the burgomaster Ludwig Van Tricasse, in 1175, and only
+finished in 1837, under the burgomaster Natalis Van Tricasse. It
+had required seven hundred years to build it, and it had, been
+successively adapted to the architectural style in vogue in each
+period. But for all that it was an imposing structure; the Roman
+pillars and Byzantine arches of which would appear to advantage
+lit up by the oxyhydric gas.
+
+Pretty well everything was acted at the theatre of Quiquendone;
+but the opera and the opera comique were especially patronized.
+It must, however, be added that the composers would never have
+recognized their own works, so entirely changed were the
+"movements" of the music.
+
+In short, as nothing was done in a hurry at Quiquendone, the
+dramatic pieces had to be performed in harmony with the peculiar
+temperament of the Quiquendonians. Though the doors of the
+theatre were regularly thrown open at four o'clock and closed
+again at ten, it had never been known that more than two acts
+were played during the six intervening hours. "Robert le Diable,"
+"Les Huguenots," or "Guillaume Tell" usually took up three
+evenings, so slow was the execution of these masterpieces. The
+_vivaces_, at the theatre of Quiquendone, lagged like real
+_adagios_. The _allegros_ were "long-drawn out" indeed. The
+demisemiquavers were scarcely equal to the ordinary semibreves of
+other countries. The most rapid runs, performed according to
+Quiquendonian taste, had the solemn march of a chant. The gayest
+shakes were languishing and measured, that they might not shock
+the ears of the _dilettanti_. To give an example, the rapid air
+sung by Figaro, on his entrance in the first act of "Le Barbier
+de Seville," lasted fifty-eight minutes--when the actor was
+particularly enthusiastic.
+
+Artists from abroad, as might be supposed, were forced to conform
+themselves to Quiquendonian fashions; but as they were well paid,
+they did not complain, and willingly obeyed the leader's baton,
+which never beat more than eight measures to the minute in the
+_allegros_.
+
+But what applause greeted these artists, who enchanted without
+ever wearying the audiences of Quiquendone! All hands clapped one
+after another at tolerably long intervals, which the papers
+characterized as "frantic applause;" and sometimes nothing but
+the lavish prodigality with which mortar and stone had been used
+in the twelfth century saved the roof of the hall from falling
+in.
+
+Besides, the theatre had only one performance a week, that these
+enthusiastic Flemish folk might not be too much excited; and this
+enabled the actors to study their parts more thoroughly, and the
+spectators to digest more at leisure the beauties of the
+masterpieces brought out.
+
+Such had long been the drama at Quiquendone. Foreign artists were
+in the habit of making engagements with the director of the town,
+when they wanted to rest after their exertions in other scenes;
+and it seemed as if nothing could ever change these inveterate
+customs, when, a fortnight after the Schut-Custos affair, an
+unlooked-for incident occurred to throw the population into fresh
+agitation.
+
+It was on a Saturday, an opera day. It was not yet intended, as
+may well be supposed, to inaugurate the new illumination. No; the
+pipes had reached the hall, but, for reasons indicated above, the
+burners had not yet been placed, and the wax-candles still shed
+their soft light upon the numerous spectators who filled the
+theatre. The doors had been opened to the public at one o'clock,
+and by three the hall was half full. A queue had at one time been
+formed, which extended as far as the end of the Place Saint
+Ernuph, in front of the shop of Josse Lietrinck the apothecary.
+This eagerness was significant of an unusually attractive
+performance.
+
+"Are you going to the theatre this evening?" inquired the
+counsellor the same morning of the burgomaster.
+
+"I shall not fail to do so," returned Van Tricasse, "and I shall
+take Madame Van Tricasse, as well as our daughter Suzel and our
+dear Tatanemance, who all dote on good music."
+
+"Mademoiselle Suzel is going then?"
+
+"Certainly, Niklausse."
+
+"Then my son Frantz will be one of the first to arrive," said
+Niklausse.
+
+"A spirited boy, Niklausse," replied the burgomaster
+sententiously; "but hot-headed! He will require watching!"
+
+"He loves, Van Tricasse,--he loves your charming Suzel."
+
+"Well, Niklausse, he shall marry her. Now that we have agreed on
+this marriage, what more can he desire?"
+
+"He desires nothing, Van Tricasse, the dear boy! But, in short--
+we'll say no more about it--he will not be the last to get his
+ticket at the box-office."
+
+"Ah, vivacious and ardent youth!" replied the burgomaster,
+recalling his own past. "We have also been thus, my worthy
+counsellor! We have loved--we too! We have danced attendance in
+our day! Till to-night, then, till to-night! By-the-bye, do you
+know this Fiovaranti is a great artist? And what a welcome he has
+received among us! It will be long before he will forget the
+applause of Quiquendone!"
+
+The tenor Fiovaranti was, indeed, going to sing; Fiovaranti, who,
+by his talents as a virtuoso, his perfect method, his melodious
+voice, provoked a real enthusiasm among the lovers of music in
+the town.
+
+For three weeks Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success
+in "Les Huguenots." The first act, interpreted according to the
+taste of the Quiquendonians, had occupied an entire evening of
+the first week of the month.--Another evening in the second week,
+prolonged by infinite _andantes_, had elicited for the celebrated
+singer a real ovation. His success had been still more marked in
+the third act of Meyerbeer's masterpiece. But now Fiovaranti was
+to appear in the fourth act, which was to be performed on this
+evening before an impatient public. Ah, the duet between Raoul
+and Valentine, that pathetic love-song for two voices, that
+strain so full of _crescendos_, _stringendos_, and _piu
+crescendos_--all this, sung slowly, compendiously, interminably!
+Ah, how delightful!
+
+[Illustration: Fiovaranti had been achieving a brilliant success
+in "Les Huguenots."]
+
+At four o'clock the hall was full. The boxes, the orchestra, the
+pit, were overflowing. In the front stalls sat the Burgomaster
+Van Tricasse, Mademoiselle Van Tricasse, Madame Van Tricasse, and
+the amiable Tatanemance in a green bonnet; not far off were the
+Counsellor Niklausse and his family, not forgetting the amorous
+Frantz. The families of Custos the doctor, of Schut the advocate,
+of Honore Syntax the chief judge, of Norbet Sontman the insurance
+director, of the banker Collaert, gone mad on German music, and
+himself somewhat of an amateur, and the teacher Rupp, and the
+master of the academy, Jerome Resh, and the civil commissary, and
+so many other notabilities of the town that they could not be
+enumerated here without wearying the reader's patience, were
+visible in different parts of the hall.
+
+It was customary for the Quiquendonians, while awaiting the rise
+of the curtain, to sit silent, some reading the paper, others
+whispering low to each other, some making their way to their
+seats slowly and noiselessly, others casting timid looks towards
+the bewitching beauties in the galleries.
+
+But on this evening a looker-on might have observed that, even
+before the curtain rose, there was unusual animation among the
+audience. People were restless who were never known to be
+restless before. The ladies' fans fluttered with abnormal
+rapidity. All appeared to be inhaling air of exceptional
+stimulating power. Every one breathed more freely. The eyes of
+some became unwontedly bright, and seemed to give forth a light
+equal to that of the candles, which themselves certainly threw a
+more brilliant light over the hall. It was evident that people
+saw more clearly, though the number of candles had not been
+increased. Ah, if Doctor Ox's experiment were being tried! But it
+was not being tried, as yet.
+
+The musicians of the orchestra at last took their places. The
+first violin had gone to the stand to give a modest la to his
+colleagues. The stringed instruments, the wind instruments, the
+drums and cymbals, were in accord. The conductor only waited the
+sound of the bell to beat the first bar.
+
+The bell sounds. The fourth act begins. The _allegro
+appassionato_ of the inter-act is played as usual, with a
+majestic deliberation which would have made Meyerbeer frantic,
+and all the majesty of which was appreciated by the Quiquendonian
+_dilettanti_.
+
+But soon the leader perceived that he was no longer master of his
+musicians. He found it difficult to restrain them, though usually
+so obedient and calm. The wind instruments betrayed a tendency to
+hasten the movements, and it was necessary to hold them back with
+a firm hand, for they would otherwise outstrip the stringed
+instruments; which, from a musical point of view, would have been
+disastrous. The bassoon himself, the son of Josse Lietrinck the
+apothecary, a well-bred young man, seemed to lose his self-control.
+
+Meanwhile Valentine has begun her recitative, "I am alone," &c.;
+but she hurries it.
+
+The leader and all his musicians, perhaps unconsciously, follow
+her in her _cantabile_, which should be taken deliberately, like
+a 12/8 as it is. When Raoul appears at the door at the bottom of
+the stage, between the moment when Valentine goes to him and that
+when she conceals herself in the chamber at the side, a quarter
+of an hour does not elapse; while formerly, according to the
+traditions of the Quiquendone theatre, this recitative of
+thirty-seven bars was wont to last just thirty-seven minutes.
+
+Saint Bris, Nevers, Cavannes, and the Catholic nobles have
+appeared, somewhat prematurely, perhaps, upon the scene. The
+composer has marked _allergo pomposo_ on the score. The orchestra
+and the lords proceed _allegro_ indeed, but not at all _pomposo_,
+and at the chorus, in the famous scene of the "benediction of the
+poniards," they no longer keep to the enjoined _allegro_. Singers
+and musicians broke away impetuously. The leader does not even
+attempt to restrain them. Nor do the public protest; on the
+contrary, the people find themselves carried away, and see that
+they are involved in the movement, and that the movement responds
+to the impulses of their souls.
+
+"Will you, with me, deliver the land,
+ From troubles increasing, an impious band?"
+
+They promise, they swear. Nevers has scarcely time to protest,
+and to sing that "among his ancestors were many soldiers, but
+never an assassin." He is arrested. The police and the aldermen
+rush forward and rapidly swear "to strike all at once." Saint
+Bris shouts the recitative which summons the Catholics to
+vengeance. The three monks, with white scarfs, hasten in by the
+door at the back of Nevers's room, without making any account of
+the stage directions, which enjoin on them to advance slowly.
+Already all the artists have drawn sword or poniard, which the
+three monks bless in a trice. The soprani tenors, bassos, attack
+the _allegro furioso_ with cries of rage, and of a dramatic 6/8
+time they make it 6/8 quadrille time. Then they rush out,
+bellowing,--
+
+"At midnight,
+ Noiselessly,
+ God wills it,
+    Yes,
+ At midnight."
+
+At this moment the audience start to their feet. Everybody is
+agitated--in the boxes, the pit, the galleries. It seems as if
+the spectators are about to rush upon the stage, the Burgomaster
+Van Tricasse at their head, to join with the conspirators and
+annihilate the Huguenots, whose religious opinions, however, they
+share. They applaud, call before the curtain, make loud
+acclamations! Tatanemance grasps her bonnet with feverish hand.
+The candles throw out a lurid glow of light.
+
+Raoul, instead of slowly raising the curtain, tears it apart with
+a superb gesture and finds himself confronting Valentine.
+
+At last! It is the grand duet, and it starts off _allegro
+vivace_. Raoul does not wait for Valentine's pleading, and
+Valentine does not wait for Raoul's responses.
+
+The fine passage beginning, "Danger is passing, time is flying,"
+becomes one of those rapid airs which have made Offenbach famous,
+when he composes a dance for conspirators. The _andante amoroso_,
+"Thou hast said it, aye, thou lovest me," becomes a real _vivace
+furioso_, and the violoncello ceases to imitate the inflections
+of the singer's voice, as indicated in the composer's score. In
+vain Raoul cries, "Speak on, and prolong the ineffable slumber of
+my soul." Valentine cannot "prolong." It is evident that an
+unaccustomed fire devours her. Her _b's_ and her _c's_ above the
+stave were dreadfully shrill. He struggles, he gesticulates, he
+is all in a glow.
+
+The alarum is heard; the bell resounds; but what a panting bell!
+The bell-ringer has evidently lost his self-control. It is a
+frightful tocsin, which violently struggles against the fury of
+the orchestra.
+
+Finally the air which ends this magnificent act, beginning, "No
+more love, no more intoxication, O the remorse that oppresses
+me!" which the composer marks _allegro con moto_, becomes a wild
+_prestissimo_. You would say an express-train was whirling by.
+The alarum resounds again. Valentine falls fainting. Raoul
+precipitates himself from the window.
+
+It was high time. The orchestra, really intoxicated, could not
+have gone on. The leader's baton is no longer anything but a
+broken stick on the prompter's box. The violin strings are
+broken, and their necks twisted. In his fury the drummer has
+burst his drum. The counter-bassist has perched on the top of his
+musical monster. The first clarionet has swallowed the reed of
+his instrument, and the second hautboy is chewing his reed keys.
+The groove of the trombone is strained, and finally the unhappy
+cornist cannot withdraw his hand from the bell of his horn, into
+which he had thrust it too far.
+
+And the audience! The audience, panting, all in a heat,
+gesticulates and howls. All the faces are as red as if a fire
+were burning within their bodies. They crowd each other, hustle
+each other to get out--the men without hats, the women without
+mantles! They elbow each other in the corridors, crush between
+the doors, quarrel, fight! There are no longer any officials, any
+burgomaster. All are equal amid this infernal frenzy!
+
+[Illustration: They hustle each other to get out]
+
+Some moments after, when all have reached the street, each one
+resumes his habitual tranquillity, and peaceably enters his
+house, with a confused remembrance of what he has just experienced.
+
+The fourth act of the "Huguenots," which formerly lasted six
+hours, began, on this evening at half-past four, and ended at
+twelve minutes before five.
+
+It had only lasted eighteen minutes!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+IN WHICH THE ANCIENT AND SOLEMN GERMAN WALTZ BECOMES A WHIRLWIND.
+
+
+But if the spectators, on leaving the theatre, resumed their
+customary calm, if they quietly regained their homes, preserving
+only a sort of passing stupefaction, they had none the less
+undergone a remarkable exaltation, and overcome and weary as if
+they had committed some excess of dissipation, they fell heavily
+upon their beds.
+
+The next day each Quiquendonian had a kind of recollection of
+what had occurred the evening before. One missed his hat, lost in
+the hubbub; another a coat-flap, torn in the brawl; one her
+delicately fashioned shoe, another her best mantle. Memory
+returned to these worthy people, and with it a certain shame for
+their unjustifiable agitation. It seemed to them an orgy in which
+they were the unconscious heroes and heroines. They did not speak
+of it; they did not wish to think of it. But the most astounded
+personage in the town was Van Tricasse the burgomaster.
+
+The next morning, on waking, he could not find his wig. Lotche
+looked everywhere for it, but in vain. The wig had remained on
+the field of battle. As for having it publicly claimed by Jean
+Mistrol, the town-crier,--no, it would not do. It were better to
+lose the wig than to advertise himself thus, as he had the honour
+to be the first magistrate of Quiquendone.
+
+The worthy Van Tricasse was reflecting upon this, extended
+beneath his sheets, with bruised body, heavy head, furred tongue,
+and burning breast. He felt no desire to get up; on the contrary;
+and his brain worked more during this morning than it had
+probably worked before for forty years. The worthy magistrate
+recalled to his mind all the incidents of the incomprehensible
+performance. He connected them with the events which had taken
+place shortly before at Doctor Ox's reception. He tried to
+discover the causes of the singular excitability which, on two
+occasions, had betrayed itself in the best citizens of the town.
+
+"What _can_ be going on?" he asked himself. "What giddy spirit
+has taken possession of my peaceable town of Quiquendone? Are we
+about to go mad, and must we make the town one vast asylum? For
+yesterday we were all there, notables, counsellors, judges,
+advocates, physicians, schoolmasters; and ail, if my memory
+serves me,--all of us were assailed by this excess of furious
+folly! But what was there in that infernal music? It is
+inexplicable! Yet I certainly ate or drank nothing which could
+put me into such a state. No; yesterday I had for dinner a slice
+of overdone veal, several spoonfuls of spinach with sugar, eggs,
+and a little beer and water,--that couldn't get into my head! No!
+There is something that I cannot explain, and as, after all, I am
+responsible for the conduct of the citizens, I will have an
+investigation."
+
+But the investigation, though decided upon by the municipal
+council, produced no result. If the facts were clear, the causes
+escaped the sagacity of the magistrates. Besides, tranquillity
+had been restored in the public mind, and with tranquillity,
+forgetfulness of the strange scenes of the theatre. The
+newspapers avoided speaking of them, and the account of the
+performance which appeared in the "Quiquendone Memorial," made no
+allusion to this intoxication of the entire audience.
+
+Meanwhile, though the town resumed its habitual phlegm, and
+became apparently Flemish as before, it was observable that, at
+bottom, the character and temperament of the people changed
+little by little. One might have truly said, with Dominique
+Custos, the doctor, that "their nerves were affected."
+
+Let us explain. This undoubted change only took place under
+certain conditions. When the Quiquendonians passed through the
+streets of the town, walked in the squares or along the Vaar,
+they were always the cold and methodical people of former days.
+So, too, when they remained at home, some working with their
+hands and others with their heads,--these doing nothing, those
+thinking nothing,--their private life was silent, inert,
+vegetating as before. No quarrels, no household squabbles, no
+acceleration in the beating of the heart, no excitement of the
+brain. The mean of their pulsations remained as it was of old,
+from fifty to fifty-two per minute.
+
+But, strange and inexplicable phenomenon though it was, which
+would have defied the sagacity of the most ingenious physiologists
+of the day, if the inhabitants of Quiquendone did not change in
+their home life, they were visibly changed in their civil life
+and in their relations between man and man, to which it leads.
+
+If they met together in some public edifice, it did not "work
+well," as Commissary Passauf expressed it. On 'change, at the
+town-hall, in the amphitheatre of the academy, at the sessions of
+the council, as well as at the reunions of the _savants_, a
+strange excitement seized the assembled citizens. Their relations
+with each other became embarrassing before they had been together
+an hour. In two hours the discussion degenerated into an angry
+dispute. Heads became heated, and personalities were used. Even
+at church, during the sermon, the faithful could not listen to
+Van Stabel, the minister, in patience, and he threw himself about
+in the pulpit and lectured his flock with far more than his usual
+severity. At last this state of things brought about altercations
+more grave, alas! than that between Gustos and Schut, and if they
+did not require the interference of the authorities, it was
+because the antagonists, after returning home, found there, with
+its calm, forgetfulness of the offences offered and received.
+
+This peculiarity could not be observed by these minds, which were
+absolutely incapable of recognizing what was passing in them. One
+person only in the town, he whose office the council had thought
+of suppressing for thirty years, Michael Passauf, had remarked
+that this excitement, which was absent from private houses,
+quickly revealed itself in public edifices; and he asked himself,
+not without a certain anxiety, what would happen if this
+infection should ever develop itself in the family mansions, and
+if the epidemic--this was the word he used--should extend
+through the streets of the town. Then there would be no more
+forgetfulness of insults, no more tranquillity, no intermission
+in the delirium; but a permanent inflammation, which would
+inevitably bring the Quiquendonians into collision with each
+other.
+
+"What would happen then?" Commissary Passauf asked himself in
+terror. "How could these furious savages be arrested? How check
+these goaded temperaments? My office would be no longer a
+sinecure, and the council would be obliged to double my salary--
+unless it should arrest me myself, for disturbing the public
+peace!"
+
+These very reasonable fears began to be realized. The infection
+spread from 'change, the theatre, the church, the town-hall, the
+academy, the market, into private houses, and that in less than a
+fortnight after the terrible performance of the "Huguenots."
+
+Its first symptoms appeared in the house of Collaert, the banker.
+
+That wealthy personage gave a ball, or at least a dancing-party,
+to the notabilities of the town. He had issued, some months
+before, a loan of thirty thousand francs, three quarters of which
+had been subscribed; and to celebrate this financial success, he
+had opened his drawing-rooms, and given a party to his fellow-citizens.
+
+Everybody knows that Flemish parties are innocent and tranquil
+enough, the principal expense of which is usually in beer and
+syrups. Some conversation on the weather, the appearance of the
+crops, the fine condition of the gardens, the care of flowers,
+and especially of tulips; a slow and measured dance, from time to
+time, perhaps a minuet; sometimes a waltz, but one of those
+German waltzes which achieve a turn and a half per minute, and
+during which the dancers hold each other as far apart as their
+arms will permit,--such is the usual fashion of the balls
+attended by the aristocratic society of Quiquendone. The polka,
+after being altered to four time, had tried to become accustomed
+to it; but the dancers always lagged behind the orchestra, no
+matter how slow the measure, and it had to be abandoned.
+
+These peaceable reunions, in which the youths and maidens enjoyed
+an honest and moderate pleasure, had never been attended by any
+outburst of ill-nature. Why, then, on this evening at Collaert
+the banker's, did the syrups seem to be transformed into heady
+wines, into sparkling champagne, into heating punches? Why,
+towards the middle of the evening, did a sort of mysterious
+intoxication take possession of the guests? Why did the minuet
+become a jig? Why did the orchestra hurry with its harmonies? Why
+did the candles, just as at the theatre, burn with unwonted
+refulgence? What electric current invaded the banker's drawing-rooms?
+How happened it that the couples held each other so closely, and
+clasped each other's hands so convulsively, that the "cavaliers seuls"
+made themselves conspicuous by certain extraordinary steps in that
+figure usually so grave, so solemn, so majestic, so very proper?
+
+Alas! what OEdipus could have answered these unsolvable
+questions? Commissary Passauf, who was present at the party, saw
+the storm coming distinctly, but he could not control it or fly
+from it, and he felt a kind of intoxication entering his own
+brain. All his physical and emotional faculties increased in
+intensity. He was seen, several times, to throw himself upon the
+confectionery and devour the dishes, as if he had just broken a
+long fast.
+
+The animation of the ball was increasing all this while. A long
+murmur, like a dull buzzing, escaped from all breasts. They
+danced--really danced. The feet were agitated by increasing
+frenzy. The faces became as purple as those of Silenus. The eyes
+shone like carbuncles. The general fermentation rose to the
+highest pitch.
+
+And when the orchestra thundered out the waltz in "Der
+Freyschuetz,"--when this waltz, so German, and with a movement so
+slow, was attacked with wild arms by the musicians,--ah! it was
+no longer a waltz, but an insensate whirlwind, a giddy rotation,
+a gyration worthy of being led by some Mephistopheles, beating
+the measure with a firebrand! Then a galop, an infernal galop,
+which lasted an hour without any one being able to stop it,
+whirled off, in its windings, across the halls, the drawing-rooms,
+the antechambers, by the staircases, from the cellar to the garret of
+the opulent mansion, the young men and young girls, the fathers and
+mothers, people of every age, of every weight, of both sexes;
+Collaert, the fat banker, and Madame Collaert, and the counsellors,
+and the magistrates, and the chief justice, and Niklausse, and Madame
+Van Tricasse, and the Burgomaster Van Tricasse, and the Commissary
+Passauf himself, who never could recall afterwards who had been his
+partner on that terrible evening.
+
+[Illustration: it was no longer a waltz]
+
+But she did not forget! And ever since that day she has seen in
+her dreams the fiery commissary, enfolding her in an impassioned
+embrace! And "she"--was the amiable Tatanemance!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX AND YGENE, HIS ASSISTANT, SAY A FEW WORDS.
+
+
+"Well, Ygene?"
+
+"Well, master, all is ready. The laying of the pipes is
+finished."
+
+"At last! Now, then, we are going to operate on a large scale, on
+the masses!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT THE EPIDEMIC INVADES THE ENTIRE TOWN,
+AND WHAT EFFECT IT PRODUCES.
+
+During the following months the evil, in place of subsiding,
+became more extended. From private houses the epidemic spread
+into the streets. The town of Quiquendone was no longer to be
+recognized.
+
+A phenomenon yet stranger than those which had already happened,
+now appeared; not only the animal kingdom, but the vegetable
+kingdom itself, became subject to the mysterious influence.
+
+According to the ordinary course of things, epidemics are special
+in their operation. Those which attack humanity spare the
+animals, and those which attack the animals spare the vegetables.
+A horse was never inflicted with smallpox, nor a man with the
+cattle-plague, nor do sheep suffer from the potato-rot. But here
+all the laws of nature seemed to be overturned. Not only were the
+character, temperament, and ideas of the townsfolk changed, but
+the domestic animals--dogs and cats, horses and cows, asses and
+goats--suffered from this epidemic influence, as if their
+habitual equilibrium had been changed. The plants themselves were
+infected by a similar strange metamorphosis.
+
+In the gardens and vegetable patches and orchards very curious
+symptoms manifested themselves. Climbing plants climbed more
+audaciously. Tufted plants became more tufted than ever. Shrubs
+became trees. Cereals, scarcely sown, showed their little green
+heads, and gained, in the same length of time, as much in inches
+as formerly, under the most favourable circumstances, they had
+gained in fractions. Asparagus attained the height of several
+feet; the artichokes swelled to the size of melons, the melons to
+the size of pumpkins, the pumpkins to the size of gourds, the
+gourds to the size of the belfry bell, which measured, in truth,
+nine feet in diameter. The cabbages were bushes, and the
+mushrooms umbrellas.
+
+The fruits did not lag behind the vegetables. It required two
+persons to eat a strawberry, and four to consume a pear. The
+grapes also attained the enormous proportions of those so well
+depicted by Poussin in his "Return of the Envoys to the Promised
+Land."
+
+[Illustration: It required two persons to eat a strawberry]
+
+It was the same with the flowers: immense violets spread the most
+penetrating perfumes through the air; exaggerated roses shone
+with the brightest colours; lilies formed, in a few days,
+impenetrable copses; geraniums, daisies, camelias, rhododendrons,
+invaded the garden walks, and stifled each other. And the
+tulips,--those dear liliaceous plants so dear to the Flemish
+heart, what emotion they must have caused to their zealous
+cultivators! The worthy Van Bistrom nearly fell over backwards,
+one day, on seeing in his garden an enormous "Tulipa gesneriana,"
+a gigantic monster, whose cup afforded space to a nest for a
+whole family of robins!
+
+The entire town flocked to see this floral phenomenon, and
+renamed it the "Tulipa quiquendonia".
+
+But alas! if these plants, these fruits, these flowers, grew
+visibly to the naked eye, if all the vegetables insisted on
+assuming colossal proportions, if the brilliancy of their colours
+and perfume intoxicated the smell and the sight, they quickly
+withered. The air which they absorbed rapidly exhausted them, and
+they soon died, faded, and dried up.
+
+Such was the fate of the famous tulip, which, after several days
+of splendour, became emaciated, and fell lifeless.
+
+It was soon the same with the domestic animals, from the house-dog
+to the stable pig, from the canary in its cage to the turkey
+of the back-court. It must be said that in ordinary times these
+animals were not less phlegmatic than their masters. The dogs and
+cats vegetated rather than lived. They never betrayed a wag of
+pleasure nor a snarl of wrath. Their tails moved no more than if
+they had been made of bronze. Such a thing as a bite or scratch
+from any of them had not been known from time immemorial. As for
+mad dogs, they were looked upon as imaginary beasts, like the
+griffins and the rest in the menagerie of the apocalypse.
+
+But what a change had taken place in a few months, the smallest
+incidents of which we are trying to reproduce! Dogs and cats
+began to show teeth and claws. Several executions had taken place
+after reiterated offences. A horse was seen, for the first time,
+to take his bit in his teeth and rush through the streets of
+Quiquendone; an ox was observed to precipitate itself, with
+lowered horns, upon one of his herd; an ass was seen to turn
+himself ever, with his legs in the air, in the Place Saint
+Ernuph, and bray as ass never brayed before; a sheep, actually a
+sheep, defended valiantly the cutlets within him from the
+butcher's knife.
+
+Van Tricasse, the burgomaster, was forced to make police
+regulations concerning the domestic animals, as, seized with
+lunacy, they rendered the streets of Quiquendone unsafe.
+
+But alas! if the animals were mad, the men were scarcely less so.
+No age was spared by the scourge. Babies soon became quite
+insupportable, though till now so easy to bring up; and for the
+first time Honore Syntax, the judge, was obliged to apply the rod
+to his youthful offspring.
+
+There was a kind of insurrection at the high school, and the
+dictionaries became formidable missiles in the classes. The
+scholars would not submit to be shut in, and, besides, the
+infection took the teachers themselves, who overwhelmed the boys
+and girls with extravagant tasks and punishments.
+
+Another strange phenomenon occurred. All these Quiquendonians, so
+sober before, whose chief food had been whipped creams, committed
+wild excesses in their eating and drinking. Their usual regimen
+no longer sufficed. Each stomach was transformed into a gulf, and
+it became necessary to fill this gulf by the most energetic
+means. The consumption of the town was trebled. Instead of two
+repasts they had six. Many cases of indigestion were reported.
+The Counsellor Niklausse could not satisfy his hunger. Van
+Tricasse found it impossible to assuage his thirst, and remained
+in a state of rabid semi-intoxication.
+
+In short, the most alarming symptoms manifested themselves and
+increased from day to day. Drunken people staggered in the
+streets, and these were often citizens of high position.
+
+Dominique Custos, the physician, had plenty to do with the
+heartburns, inflammations, and nervous affections, which proved
+to what a strange degree the nerves of the people had been
+irritated.
+
+There were daily quarrels and altercations in the once deserted
+but now crowded streets of Quiquendone; for nobody could any
+longer stay at home. It was necessary to establish a new police
+force to control the disturbers of the public peace. A prison-cage
+was established in the Town Hall, and speedily became full,
+night and day, of refractory offenders. Commissary Passauf was in
+despair.
+
+A marriage was concluded in less than two months,--such a thing
+had never been seen before. Yes, the son of Rupp, the schoolmaster,
+wedded the daughter of Augustine de Rovere, and that fifty-seven
+days only after he had petitioned for her hand and heart!
+
+Other marriages were decided upon, which, in old times, would
+have remained in doubt and discussion for years. The burgomaster
+perceived that his own daughter, the charming Suzel, was escaping
+from his hands.
+
+As for dear Tatanemance, she had dared to sound Commissary
+Passauf on the subject of a union, which seemed to her to combine
+every element of happiness, fortune, honour, youth!
+
+At last,--to reach the depths of abomination,--a duel took place!
+Yes, a duel with pistols--horse-pistols--at seventy-five paces,
+with ball-cartridges. And between whom? Our readers will never
+believe!
+
+Between M. Frantz Niklausse, the gentle angler, and young Simon
+Collaert, the wealthy banker's son.
+
+And the cause of this duel was the burgomaster's daughter, for
+whom Simon discovered himself to be fired with passion, and whom
+he refused to yield to the claims of an audacious rival!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+IN WHICH THE QUIQUENDONIANS ADOPT A HEROIC RESOLUTION.
+
+
+We have seen to what a deplorable condition the people of
+Quiquendone were reduced. Their heads were in a ferment. They no
+longer knew or recognized themselves. The most peaceable citizens
+had become quarrelsome. If you looked at them askance, they would
+speedily send you a challenge. Some let their moustaches grow,
+and several--the most belligerent--curled them up at the ends.
+
+This being their condition, the administration of the town and
+the maintenance of order in the streets became difficult tasks,
+for the government had not been organized for such a state of
+things. The burgomaster--that worthy Van Tricasse whom we have
+seen so placid, so dull, so incapable of coming to any decision--
+the burgomaster became intractable. His house resounded with the
+sharpness of his voice. He made twenty decisions a day, scolding
+his officials, and himself enforcing the regulations of his
+administration.
+
+Ah, what a change! The amiable and tranquil mansion of the
+burgomaster, that good Flemish home--where was its former calm?
+What changes had taken place in your household economy! Madame
+Van Tricasse had become acrid, whimsical, harsh. Her husband
+sometimes succeeded in drowning her voice by talking louder than
+she, but could not silence her. The petulant humour of this
+worthy dame was excited by everything. Nothing went right. The
+servants offended her every moment. Tatanemance, her sister-in-law,
+who was not less irritable, replied sharply to her. M. Van
+Tricasse naturally supported Lotche, his servant, as is the case
+in all good households; and this permanently exasperated Madame,
+who constantly disputed, discussed, and made scenes with her
+husband.
+
+"What on earth is the matter with us?" cried the unhappy
+burgomaster. "What is this fire that is devouring us? Are we
+possessed with the devil? Ah, Madame Van Tricasse, Madame Van
+Tricasse, you will end by making me die before you, and thus
+violate all the traditions of the family!"
+
+The reader will not have forgotten the strange custom by which M.
+Van Tricasse would become a widower and marry again, so as not to
+break the chain of descent.
+
+Meanwhile, this disposition of all minds produced other curious
+effects worthy of note. This excitement, the cause of which has
+so far escaped us, brought about unexpected physiological
+changes. Talents, hitherto unrecognized, betrayed themselves.
+Aptitudes were suddenly revealed. Artists, before common-place,
+displayed new ability. Politicians and authors arose. Orators
+proved themselves equal to the most arduous debates, and on every
+question inflamed audiences which were quite ready to be
+inflamed. From the sessions of the council, this movement spread
+to the public political meetings, and a club was formed at
+Quiquendone; whilst twenty newspapers, the "Quiquendone Signal,"
+the "Quiquendone Impartial," the "Quiquendone Radical," and so
+on, written in an inflammatory style, raised the most important
+questions.
+
+But what about? you will ask. Apropos of everything, and of
+nothing; apropos of the Oudenarde tower, which was falling, and
+which some wished to pull down, and others to prop up; apropos of
+the police regulations issued by the council, which some
+obstinate citizens threatened to resist; apropos of the sweeping
+of the gutters, repairing the sewers, and so on. Nor did the
+enraged orators confine themselves to the internal administration
+of the town. Carried on by the current they went further, and
+essayed to plunge their fellow-citizens into the hazards of war.
+
+Quiquendone had had for eight or nine hundred years a _casus
+belli_ of the best quality; but she had preciously laid it up
+like a relic, and there had seemed some probability that it would
+become effete, and no longer serviceable.
+
+This was what had given rise to the _casus belli_.
+
+It is not generally known that Quiquendone, in this cosy corner
+of Flanders, lies next to the little town of Virgamen. The
+territories of the two communities are contiguous.
+
+Well, in 1185, some time before Count Baldwin's departure to the
+Crusades, a Virgamen cow--not a cow belonging to a citizen, but a
+cow which was common property, let it be observed--audaciously
+ventured to pasture on the territory of Quiquendone. This
+unfortunate beast had scarcely eaten three mouthfuls; but the
+offence, the abuse, the crime--whatever you will--was committed
+and duly indicted, for the magistrates, at that time, had already
+begun to know how to write.
+
+"We will take revenge at the proper moment," said simply Natalis
+Van Tricasse, the thirty-second predecessor of the burgomaster of
+this story, "and the Virgamenians will lose nothing by waiting."
+
+The Virgamenians were forewarned. They waited thinking, without
+doubt, that the remembrance of the offence would fade away with
+the lapse of time; and really, for several centuries, they lived
+on good terms with their neighbours of Quiquendone.
+
+But they counted without their hosts, or rather without this
+strange epidemic, which, radically changing the character of the
+Quiquendonians, aroused their dormant vengeance.
+
+It was at the club of the Rue Monstrelet that the truculent
+orator Schut, abruptly introducing the subject to his hearers,
+inflamed them with the expressions and metaphors used on such
+occasions. He recalled the offence, the injury which had been
+done to Quiquendone, and which a nation "jealous of its rights"
+could not admit as a precedent; he showed the insult to be still
+existing, the wound still bleeding: he spoke of certain special
+head-shakings on the part of the people of Virgamen, which
+indicated in what degree of contempt they regarded the people of
+Quiquendone; he appealed to his fellow-citizens, who, unconsciously
+perhaps, had supported this mortal insult for long centuries; he
+adjured the "children of the ancient town" to have no other purpose
+than to obtain a substantial reparation. And, lastly, he made an
+appeal to "all the living energies of the nation!"
+
+With what enthusiasm these words, so new to Quiquendonian ears,
+were greeted, may be surmised, but cannot be told. All the
+auditors rose, and with extended arms demanded war with loud
+cries. Never had the Advocate Schut achieved such a success, and
+it must be avowed that his triumphs were not few.
+
+The burgomaster, the counsellor, all the notabilities present at
+this memorable meeting, would have vainly attempted to resist the
+popular outburst. Besides, they had no desire to do so, and cried
+as loud, if not louder, than the rest,--
+
+"To the frontier! To the frontier!"
+
+As the frontier was but three kilometers from the walls of
+Quiquendone, it is certain that the Virgamenians ran a real
+danger, for they might easily be invaded without having had time
+to look about them.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, the worthy chemist, who alone had
+preserved his senses on this grave occasion, tried to make his
+fellow-citizens comprehend that guns, cannon, and generals were
+equally wanting to their design.
+
+They replied to him, not without many impatient gestures, that
+these generals, cannons, and guns would be improvised; that the
+right and love of country sufficed, and rendered a people
+irresistible.
+
+Hereupon the burgomaster himself came forward, and in a sublime
+harangue made short work of those pusillanimous people who
+disguise their fear under a veil of prudence, which veil he tore
+off with a patriotic hand.
+
+At this sally it seemed as if the hall would fall in under the
+applause.
+
+The vote was eagerly demanded, and was taken amid acclamations.
+
+The cries of "To Virgamen! to Virgamen!" redoubled.
+
+[Illustration: "To Virgamen! to Virgamen!"]
+
+The burgomaster then took it upon himself to put the armies in
+motion, and in the name of the town he promised the honours of a
+triumph, such as was given in the times of the Romans to that one
+of its generals who should return victorious.
+
+Meanwhile, Josse Liefrinck, who was an obstinate fellow, and did
+not regard himself as beaten, though he really had been, insisted
+on making another observation. He wished to remark that the
+triumph was only accorded at Rome to those victorious generals
+who had killed five thousand of the enemy.
+
+"Well, well!" cried the meeting deliriously.
+
+"And as the population of the town of Virgamen consists of but
+three thousand five hundred and seventy-five inhabitants, it
+would be difficult, unless the same person was killed several
+times--"
+
+But they did not let the luckless logician finish, and he was
+turned out, hustled and bruised.
+
+"Citizens," said Pulmacher the grocer, who usually sold groceries
+by retail, "whatever this cowardly apothecary may have said, I
+engage by myself to kill five thousand Virgamenians, if you will
+accept my services!"
+
+"Five thousand five hundred!" cried a yet more resolute patriot.
+
+"Six thousand six hundred!" retorted the grocer.
+
+"Seven thousand!" cried Jean Orbideck, the confectioner of the
+Rue Hemling, who was on the road to a fortune by making whipped
+creams.
+
+"Adjudged!" exclaimed the burgomaster Van Tricasse, on finding
+that no one else rose on the bid.
+
+And this was how Jean Orbideck the confectioner became
+general-in-chief of the forces of Quiquendone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+IN WHICH YGENE, THE ASSISTANT, GIVES A REASONABLE PIECE OF ADVICE,
+WHICH IS EAGERLY REJECTED BY DOCTOR OX.
+
+
+"Well, master," said Ygene next day, as he poured the pails of
+sulphuric acid into the troughs of the great battery.
+
+"Well," resumed Doctor Ox, "was I not right? See to what not only
+the physical developments of a whole nation, but its morality,
+its dignity, its talents, its political sense, have come! It is
+only a question of molecules."
+
+"No doubt; but--"
+
+"But--"
+
+"Do you not think that matters have gone far enough, and that
+these poor devils should not be excited beyond measure?"
+
+"No, no!" cried the doctor; "no! I will go on to the end!"
+
+"As you will, master; the experiment, however, seems to me
+conclusive, and I think it time to--"
+
+"To--"
+
+"To close the valve."
+
+"You'd better!" cried Doctor Ox. "If you attempt it, I'll
+throttle you!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+IN WHICH IT IS ONCE MORE PROVED THAT BY TAKING HIGH GROUND ALL HUMAN
+LITTLENESSES MAY BE OVERLOOKED.
+
+
+"You say?" asked the Burgomaster Van Tricasse of the Counsellor
+Niklausse.
+
+"I say that this war is necessary," replied Niklausse, firmly,
+"and that the time has come to avenge this insult."
+
+"Well, I repeat to you," replied the burgomaster, tartly, "that
+if the people of Quiquendone do not profit by this occasion to
+vindicate their rights, they will be unworthy of their name."
+
+"And as for me, I maintain that we ought, without delay, to
+collect our forces and lead them to the front."
+
+"Really, monsieur, really!" replied Van Tricasse. "And do you
+speak thus to _me_?"
+
+"To yourself, monsieur the burgomaster; and you shall hear the
+truth, unwelcome as it may be."
+
+"And you shall hear it yourself, counsellor," returned Van
+Tricasse in a passion, "for it will come better from my mouth
+than from yours! Yes, monsieur, yes, any delay would be
+dishonourable. The town of Quiquendone has waited nine hundred
+years for the moment to take its revenge, and whatever you may
+say, whether it pleases you or not, we shall march upon the
+enemy."
+
+"Ah, you take it thus!" replied Niklausse harshly. "Very well,
+monsieur, we will march without you, if it does not please you to
+go."
+
+"A burgomaster's place is in the front rank, monsieur!"
+
+[Illustration: "A burgomaster's place is in the front rank,
+monsieur!"]
+
+"And that of a counsellor also, monsieur."
+
+"You insult me by thwarting all my wishes," cried the
+burgomaster, whose fists seemed likely to hit out before long.
+
+"And you insult me equally by doubting my patriotism," cried
+Niklausse, who was equally ready for a tussle.
+
+"I tell you, monsieur, that the army of Quiquendone shall be put
+in motion within two days!"
+
+"And I repeat to you, monsieur, that forty-eight hours shall not
+pass before we shall have marched upon the enemy!"
+
+It is easy to see, from this fragment of conversation, that the
+two speakers supported exactly the same idea. Both wished for
+hostilities; but as their excitement disposed them to altercation,
+Niklausse would not listen to Van Tricasse, nor Van Tricasse to
+Niklausse. Had they been of contrary opinions on this grave
+question, had the burgomaster favoured war and the counsellor
+insisted on peace, the quarrel would not have been more violent.
+These two old friends gazed fiercely at each other. By the
+quickened beating of their hearts, their red faces, their
+contracted pupils, the trembling of their muscles, their harsh
+voices, it might be conjectured that they were ready to come to
+blows.
+
+But the striking of a large clock happily checked the adversaries
+at the moment when they seemed on the point of assaulting each
+other.
+
+"At last the hour has come!" cried the burgomaster.
+
+"What hour?" asked the counsellor.
+
+"The hour to go to the belfry tower."
+
+"It is true, and whether it pleases you or not, I shall go,
+monsieur."
+
+"And I too."
+
+"Let us go!"
+
+"Let us go!"
+
+It might have been supposed from these last words that a
+collision had occurred, and that the adversaries were proceeding
+to a duel; but it was not so. It had been agreed that the
+burgomaster and the counsellor, as the two principal dignitaries
+of the town, should repair to the Town Hall, and there show
+themselves on the high tower which overlooked Quiquendone; that
+they should examine the surrounding country, so as to make the
+best strategetic plan for the advance of their troops.
+
+Though they were in accord on this subject, they did not cease to
+quarrel bitterly as they went. Their loud voices were heard
+resounding in the streets; but all the passers-by were now
+accustomed to this; the exasperation of the dignitaries seemed
+quite natural, and no one took notice of it. Under the circumstances,
+a calm man would have been regarded as a monster.
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor, having reached the porch of
+the belfry, were in a paroxysm of fury. They were no longer red,
+but pale. This terrible discussion, though they had the same
+idea, had produced internal spasms, and every one knows that
+paleness shows that anger has reached its last limits.
+
+At the foot of the narrow tower staircase there was a real
+explosion. Who should go up first? Who should first creep up the
+winding steps? Truth compels us to say that there was a tussle,
+and that the Counsellor Niklausse, forgetful of all that he owed
+to his superior, to the supreme magistrate of the town, pushed
+Van Tricasse violently back, and dashed up the staircase first.
+
+Both ascended, denouncing and raging at each other at every step.
+It was to be feared that a terrible climax would occur on the
+summit of the tower, which rose three hundred and fifty-seven
+feet above the pavement.
+
+The two enemies soon got out of breath, however, and in a little
+while, at the eightieth step, they began to move up heavily,
+breathing loud and short.
+
+Then--was it because of their being out of breath?--their wrath
+subsided, or at least only betrayed itself by a succession of
+unseemly epithets. They became silent, and, strange to say, it
+seemed as if their excitement diminished as they ascended higher
+above the town. A sort of lull took place in their minds. Their
+brains became cooler, and simmered down like a coffee-pot when
+taken away from the fire. Why?
+
+We cannot answer this "why;" but the truth is that, having
+reached a certain landing-stage, two hundred and sixty-six feet
+above ground, the two adversaries sat down and, really more calm,
+looked at each other without any anger in their faces.
+
+"How high it is!" said the burgomaster, passing his handkerchief
+over his rubicund face.
+
+"Very high!" returned the counsellor. "Do you know that we have
+gone fourteen feet higher than the Church of Saint Michael at
+Hamburg?"
+
+"I know it," replied the burgomaster, in a tone of vanity very
+pardonable in the chief magistrate of Quiquendone.
+
+The two notabilities soon resumed their ascent, casting curious
+glances through the loopholes pierced in the tower walls. The
+burgomaster had taken the head of the procession, without any
+remark on the part of the counsellor. It even happened that at
+about the three hundred and fourth step, Van Tricasse being
+completely tired out, Niklausse kindly pushed him from behind.
+The burgomaster offered no resistance to this, and, when he
+reached the platform of the tower, said graciously,--
+
+"Thanks, Niklausse; I will do the same for you one day."
+
+A little while before it had been two wild beasts, ready to tear
+each other to pieces, who had presented themselves at the foot of
+the tower; it was now two friends who reached its summit.
+
+The weather was superb. It was the month of May. The sun had
+absorbed all the vapours. What a pure and limpid atmosphere! The
+most minute objects over a broad space might be discerned. The
+walls of Virgamen, glistening in their whiteness,--its red,
+pointed roofs, its belfries shining in the sunlight--appeared a
+few miles off. And this was the town that was foredoomed to all
+the horrors of fire and pillage!
+
+The burgomaster and the counsellor sat down beside each other on
+a small stone bench, like two worthy people whose souls were in
+close sympathy. As they recovered breath, they looked around;
+then, after a brief silence,--
+
+"How fine this is!" cried the burgomaster.
+
+"Yes, it is admirable!" replied the counsellor. "Does it not
+seem to you, my good Van Tricasse, that humanity is destined to
+dwell rather at such heights, than to crawl about on the surface
+of our globe?"
+
+"I agree with you, honest Niklausse," returned the burgomaster,
+"I agree with you. You seize sentiment better when you get clear
+of nature. You breathe it in every sense! It is at such heights
+that philosophers should be formed, and that sages should live,
+above the miseries of this world!"
+
+"Shall we go around the platform?" asked the counsellor.
+
+"Let us go around the platform," replied the burgomaster.
+
+And the two friends, arm in arm, and putting, as formerly, long
+pauses between their questions and answers, examined every point
+of the horizon.
+
+[Illustration: The two friends, arm in arm]
+
+"It is at least seventeen years since I have ascended the belfry
+tower," said Van Tricasse.
+
+"I do not think I ever came up before," replied Niklausse; "and I
+regret it, for the view from this height is sublime! Do you see,
+my friend, the pretty stream of the Vaar, as it winds among the
+trees?"
+
+"And, beyond, the heights of Saint Hermandad! How gracefully they
+shut in the horizon! Observe that border of green trees, which
+Nature has so picturesquely arranged! Ah, Nature, Nature,
+Niklausse! Could the hand of man ever hope to rival her?"
+
+"It is enchanting, my excellent friend," replied the counsellor.
+"See the flocks and herds lying in the verdant pastures,--the
+oxen, the cows, the sheep!"
+
+"And the labourers going to the fields! You would say they were
+Arcadian shepherds; they only want a bagpipe!"
+
+"And over all this fertile country the beautiful blue sky, which
+no vapour dims! Ah, Niklausse, one might become a poet here! I do
+not understand why Saint Simeon Stylites was not one of the
+greatest poets of the world."
+
+"It was because, perhaps, his column was not high enough,"
+replied the counsellor, with a gentle smile.
+
+At this moment the chimes of Quiquendone rang out. The clear
+bells played one of their most melodious airs. The two friends
+listened in ecstasy.
+
+Then in his calm voice, Van Tricasse said,--
+
+"But what, friend Niklausse, did we come to the top of this tower
+to do?"
+
+"In fact," replied the counsellor, "we have permitted ourselves
+to be carried away by our reveries--"
+
+"What did we come here to do?" repeated the burgomaster.
+
+"We came," said Niklausse, "to breathe this pure air, which human
+weaknesses have not corrupted."
+
+"Well, shall we descend, friend Niklausse?"
+
+"Let us descend, friend Van Tricasse."
+
+They gave a parting glance at the splendid panorama which was
+spread before their eyes; then the burgomaster passed down first,
+and began to descend with a slow and measured pace. The
+counsellor followed a few steps behind. They reached the landing-stage
+at which they had stopped on ascending. Already their cheeks began to
+redden. They tarried a moment, then resumed their descent.
+
+In a few moments Van Tricasse begged Niklausse to go more slowly,
+as he felt him on his heels, and it "worried him." It even did
+more than worry him; for twenty steps lower down he ordered the
+counsellor to stop, that he might get on some distance ahead.
+
+The counsellor replied that he did not wish to remain with his
+leg in the air to await the good pleasure of the burgomaster, and
+kept on.
+
+Van Tricasse retorted with a rude expression.
+
+The counsellor responded by an insulting allusion to the
+burgomaster's age, destined as he was, by his family traditions,
+to marry a second time.
+
+The burgomaster went down twenty steps more, and warned Niklausse
+that this should not pass thus.
+
+Niklausse replied that, at all events, he would pass down first;
+and, the space being very narrow, the two dignitaries came into
+collision, and found themselves in utter darkness. The words
+"blockhead" and "booby" were the mildest which they now applied
+to each other.
+
+"We shall see, stupid beast!" cried the burgomaster,--"we shall
+see what figure you will make in this war, and in what rank you
+will march!"
+
+"In the rank that precedes yours, you silly old fool!" replied
+Niklausse.
+
+Then there were other cries, and it seemed as if bodies were
+rolling over each other. What was going on? Why were these
+dispositions so quickly changed? Why were the gentle sheep of the
+tower's summit metamorphosed into tigers two hundred feet below
+it?
+
+However this might be, the guardian of the tower, hearing the
+noise, opened the door, just at the moment when the two
+adversaries, bruised, and with protruding eyes, were in the act
+of tearing each other's hair,--fortunately they wore wigs.
+
+"You shall give me satisfaction for this!" cried the burgomaster,
+shaking his fist under his adversary's nose.
+
+"Whenever you please!" growled the Counsellor Niklausse,
+attempting to respond with a vigorous kick.
+
+The guardian, who was himself in a passion,--I cannot say why,--
+thought the scene a very natural one. I know not what excitement
+urged him to take part in it, but he controlled himself, and went
+off to announce throughout the neighbourhood that a hostile
+meeting was about to take place between the Burgomaster Van
+Tricasse and the Counsellor Niklausse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+IN WHICH MATTERS GO SO FAR THAT THE INHABITANTS OF QUIQUENDONE,
+THE READER, AND EVEN THE AUTHOR, DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE DENOUEMENT.
+
+
+The last incident proves to what a pitch of excitement the
+Quiquendonians had been wrought. The two oldest friends in the
+town, and the most gentle--before the advent of the epidemic, to
+reach this degree of violence! And that, too, only a few minutes
+after their old mutual sympathy, their amiable instincts, their
+contemplative habit, had been restored at the summit of the
+tower!
+
+On learning what was going on, Doctor Ox could not contain his
+joy. He resisted the arguments which Ygene, who saw what a
+serious turn affairs were taking, addressed to him. Besides, both
+of them were infected by the general fury. They were not less
+excited than the rest of the population, and they ended by
+quarrelling as violently as the burgomaster and the counsellor.
+
+Besides, one question eclipsed all others, and the intended duels
+were postponed to the issue of the Virgamenian difficulty. No man
+had the right to shed his blood uselessly, when it belonged, to
+the last drop, to his country in danger. The affair was, in
+short, a grave one, and there was no withdrawing from it.
+
+The Burgomaster Van Tricasse, despite the warlike ardour with
+which he was filled, had not thought it best to throw himself
+upon the enemy without warning him. He had, therefore, through
+the medium of the rural policeman, Hottering, sent to demand
+reparation of the Virgamenians for the offence committed, in
+1195, on the Quiquendonian territory.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen could not at first imagine of what
+the envoy spoke, and the latter, despite his official character,
+was conducted back to the frontier very cavalierly.
+
+Van Tricasse then sent one of the aides-de-camp of the
+confectioner-general, citizen Hildevert Shuman, a manufacturer of
+barley-sugar, a very firm and energetic man, who carried to the
+authorities of Virgamen the original minute of the indictment
+drawn up in 1195 by order of the Burgomaster Natalis Van
+Tricasse.
+
+The authorities of Virgamen burst out laughing, and served the
+aide-de-camp in the same manner as the rural policeman.
+
+The burgomaster then assembled the dignitaries of the town.
+
+A letter, remarkably and vigorously drawn up, was written as an
+ultimatum; the cause of quarrel was plainly stated, and a delay
+of twenty-four hours was accorded to the guilty city in which to
+repair the outrage done to Quiquendone.
+
+The letter was sent off, and returned a few hours afterwards,
+torn to bits, which made so many fresh insults. The Virgamenians
+knew of old the forbearance and equanimity of the Quiquendonians,
+and made sport of them and their demand, of their _casus belli_
+and their _ultimatum_.
+
+There was only one thing left to do,--to have recourse to arms,
+to invoke the God of battles, and, after the Prussian fashion, to
+hurl themselves upon the Virgamenians before the latter could be
+prepared.
+
+This decision was made by the council in solemn conclave, in
+which cries, objurgations, and menacing gestures were mingled
+with unexampled violence. An assembly of idiots, a congress of
+madmen, a club of maniacs, would not have been more tumultuous.
+
+As soon as the declaration of war was known, General Jean
+Orbideck assembled his troops, perhaps two thousand three hundred
+and ninety-three combatants from a population of two thousand
+three hundred and ninety-three souls. The women, the children,
+the old men, were joined with the able-bodied males. The guns of
+the town had been put under requisition. Five had been found, two
+of which were without cocks, and these had been distributed to
+the advance-guard. The artillery was composed of the old culverin
+of the chateau, taken in 1339 at the attack on Quesnoy, one of
+the first occasions of the use of cannon in history, and which
+had not been fired off for five centuries. Happily for those who
+were appointed to take it in charge there were no projectiles
+with which to load it; but such as it was, this engine might well
+impose on the enemy. As for side-arms, they had been taken from
+the museum of antiquities,--flint hatchets, helmets, Frankish
+battle-axes, javelins, halberds, rapiers, and so on; and also in
+those domestic arsenals commonly known as "cupboards" and
+"kitchens." But courage, the right, hatred of the foreigner, the
+yearning for vengeance, were to take the place of more perfect
+engines, and to replace--at least it was hoped so--the modern
+mitrailleuses and breech-loaders.
+
+The troops were passed in review. Not a citizen failed at the
+roll-call. General Orbideck, whose seat on horseback was far from
+firm, and whose steed was a vicious beast, was thrown three times
+in front of the army; but he got up again without injury, and
+this was regarded as a favourable omen. The burgomaster, the
+counsellor, the civil commissary, the chief justice, the
+school-teacher, the banker, the rector,--in short, all the
+notabilities of the town,--marched at the head. There were no tears
+shed, either by mothers, sisters, or daughters. They urged on their
+husbands, fathers, brothers, to the combat, and even followed
+them and formed the rear-guard, under the orders of the
+courageous Madame Van Tricasse.
+
+The crier, Jean Mistrol, blew his trumpet; the army moved off,
+and directed itself, with ferocious cries, towards the Oudenarde
+gate.
+
+******
+
+At the moment when the head of the column was about to pass the
+walls of the town, a man threw himself before it.
+
+"Stop! stop! Fools that you are!" he cried. "Suspend your blows!
+Let me shut the valve! You are not changed in nature! You are
+good citizens, quiet and peaceable! If you are so excited, it is
+my master, Doctor Ox's, fault! It is an experiment! Under the
+pretext of lighting your streets with oxyhydric gas, he has
+saturated--"
+
+The assistant was beside himself; but he could not finish. At the
+instant that the doctor's secret was about to escape his lips,
+Doctor Ox himself pounced upon the unhappy Ygene in an indescribable
+rage, and shut his mouth by blows with his fist.
+
+It was a battle. The burgomaster, the counsellor, the
+dignitaries, who had stopped short on Ygene's sudden appearance,
+carried away in turn by their exasperation, rushed upon the two
+strangers, without waiting to hear either the one or the other.
+
+Doctor Ox and his assistant, beaten and lashed, were about to be
+dragged, by order of Van Tricasse, to the round-house, when,--
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+IN WHICH THE DENOUEMENT TAKES PLACE.
+
+
+When a formidable explosion resounded. All the atmosphere which
+enveloped Quiquendone seemed on fire. A flame of an intensity and
+vividness quite unwonted shot up into the heavens like a meteor.
+Had it been night, this flame would have been visible for ten
+leagues around.
+
+The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth, like an army of
+monks. Happily there were no victims; a few scratches and slight
+hurts were the only result. The confectioner, who, as chance
+would have it, had not fallen from his horse this time, had his
+plume singed, and escaped without any further injury.
+
+[Illustration: The whole army of Quiquendone fell to the earth]
+
+What had happened?
+
+Something very simple, as was soon learned; the gasworks had just
+blown up. During the absence of the doctor and his assistant,
+some careless mistake had no doubt been made. It is not known how
+or why a communication had been established between the reservoir
+which contained the oxygen and that which enclosed the hydrogen.
+An explosive mixture had resulted from the union of these two
+gases, to which fire had accidentally been applied.
+
+This changed everything; but when the army got upon its feet
+again, Doctor Ox and his assistant Ygene had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+IN WHICH THE INTELLIGENT READER SEES THAT HE HAS GUESSED CORRECTLY,
+DESPITE ALL THE AUTHOR'S PRECAUTIONS.
+
+
+After the explosion, Quiquendone immediately became the peaceable,
+phlegmatic, and Flemish town it formerly was.
+
+After the explosion, which indeed did not cause a very lively
+sensation, each one, without knowing why, mechanically took his
+way home, the burgomaster leaning on the counsellor's arm, the
+advocate Schut going arm in arm with Custos the doctor, Frantz
+Niklausse walking with equal familiarity with Simon Collaert,
+each going tranquilly, noiselessly, without even being conscious
+of what had happened, and having already forgotten Virgamen and
+their revenge. The general returned to his confections, and his
+aide-de-camp to the barley-sugar.
+
+Thus everything had become calm again; the old existence had been
+resumed by men and beasts, beasts and plants; even by the tower
+of Oudenarde gate, which the explosion--these explosions are
+sometimes astonishing--had set upright again!
+
+And from that time never a word was spoken more loudly than
+another, never a discussion took place in the town of Quiquendone.
+There were no more politics, no more clubs, no more trials, no
+more policemen! The post of the Commissary Passauf became once
+more a sinecure, and if his salary was not reduced, it was because
+the burgomaster and the counsellor could not make up their minds
+to decide upon it.
+
+From time to time, indeed, Passauf flitted, without any one
+suspecting it, through the dreams of the inconsolable Tatanemance.
+
+As for Frantz's rival, he generously abandoned the charming Suzel
+to her lover, who hastened to wed her five or six years after
+these events.
+
+And as for Madame Van Tricasse, she died ten years later, at the
+proper time, and the burgomaster married Mademoiselle Pelagie Van
+Tricasse, his cousin, under excellent conditions--for the happy
+mortal who should succeed him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+IN WHICH DOCTOR OX'S THEORY IS EXPLAINED.
+
+
+What, then, had this mysterious Doctor Ox done? Tried a fantastic
+experiment,--nothing more.
+
+After having laid down his gas-pipes, he had saturated, first the
+public buildings, then the private dwellings, finally the streets
+of Quiquendone, with pure oxygen, without letting in the least
+atom of hydrogen.
+
+This gas, tasteless and odorless, spread in generous quantity
+through the atmosphere, causes, when it is breathed, serious
+agitation to the human organism. One who lives in an air
+saturated with oxygen grows excited, frantic, burns!
+
+You scarcely return to the ordinary atmosphere before you return
+to your usual state. For instance, the counsellor and the
+burgomaster at the top of the belfry were themselves again, as
+the oxygen is kept, by its weight, in the lower strata of the
+air.
+
+But one who lives under such conditions, breathing this gas which
+transforms the body physiologically as well as the soul, dies
+speedily, like a madman.
+
+It was fortunate, then, for the Quiquendonians, that a
+providential explosion put an end to this dangerous experiment,
+and abolished Doctor Ox's gas-works.
+
+To conclude: Are virtue, courage, talent, wit, imagination,--are
+all these qualities or faculties only a question of oxygen?
+
+Such is Doctor Ox's theory; but we are not bound to accept it,
+and for ourselves we utterly reject it, in spite of the curious
+experiment of which the worthy old town of Quiquendone was the
+theatre.
+
+
+
+
+MASTER ZACHARIUS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A WINTER NIGHT.
+
+
+The city of Geneva lies at the west end of the lake of the same
+name. The Rhone, which passes through the town at the outlet of
+the lake, divides it into two sections, and is itself divided in
+the centre of the city by an island placed in mid-stream. A
+topographical feature like this is often found in the great
+depots of commerce and industry. No doubt the first inhabitants
+were influenced by the easy means of transport which the swift
+currents of the rivers offered them--those "roads which walk
+along of their own accord," as Pascal puts it. In the case of the
+Rhone, it would be the road that ran along.
+
+Before new and regular buildings were constructed on this island,
+which was enclosed like a Dutch galley in the middle of the
+river, the curious mass of houses, piled one on the other,
+presented a delightfully confused _coup-d'oeil_. The small area
+of the island had compelled some of the buildings to be perched,
+as it were, on the piles, which were entangled in the rough
+currents of the river. The huge beams, blackened by time, and
+worn by the water, seemed like the claws of an enormous crab, and
+presented a fantastic appearance. The little yellow streams,
+which were like cobwebs stretched amid this ancient foundation,
+quivered in the darkness, as if they had been the leaves of some
+old oak forest, while the river engulfed in this forest of piles,
+foamed and roared most mournfully.
+
+One of the houses of the island was striking for its curiously
+aged appearance. It was the dwelling of the old clockmaker,
+Master Zacharius, whose household consisted of his daughter
+Gerande, Aubert Thun, his apprentice, and his old servant
+Scholastique.
+
+There was no man in Geneva to compare in interest with this
+Zacharius. His age was past finding out. Not the oldest
+inhabitant of the town could tell for how long his thin, pointed
+head had shaken above his shoulders, nor the day when, for the
+first time, he had-walked through the streets, with his long
+white locks floating in the wind. The man did not live; he
+vibrated like the pendulum of his clocks. His spare and
+cadaverous figure was always clothed in dark colours. Like the
+pictures of Leonardo di Vinci, he was sketched in black.
+
+Gerande had the pleasantest room in the whole house, whence,
+through a narrow window, she had the inspiriting view of the
+snowy peaks of Jura; but the bedroom and workshop of the old man
+were a kind of cavern close on to the water, the floor of which
+rested on the piles.
+
+From time immemorial Master Zacharius had never come out except
+at meal times, and when he went to regulate the different clocks
+of the town. He passed the rest of his time at his bench, which
+was covered with numerous clockwork instruments, most of which he
+had invented himself. For he was a clever man; his works were
+valued in all France and Germany. The best workers in Geneva
+readily recognized his superiority, and showed that he was an
+honour to the town, by saying, "To him belongs the glory of
+having invented the escapement." In fact, the birth of true
+clock-work dates from the invention which the talents of
+Zacharius had discovered not many years before.
+
+After he had worked hard for a long time, Zacharius would slowly
+put his tools away, cover up the delicate pieces that he had been
+adjusting with glasses, and stop the active wheel of his lathe;
+then he would raise a trap-door constructed in the floor of his
+workshop, and, stooping down, used to inhale for hours together
+the thick vapours of the Rhone, as it dashed along under his
+eyes.
+
+[Illustration: he would raise the trap door constructed in the
+floor of his workshop.]
+
+One winter's night the old servant Scholastique served the
+supper, which, according to old custom, she and the young
+mechanic shared with their master. Master Zacharius did not eat,
+though the food carefully prepared for him was offered him in a
+handsome blue and white dish. He scarcely answered the sweet
+words of Gerande, who evidently noticed her father's silence, and
+even the clatter of Scholastique herself no more struck his ear
+than the roar of the river, to which he paid no attention.
+
+After the silent meal, the old clockmaker left the table without
+embracing his daughter, or saying his usual "Good-night" to all.
+He left by the narrow door leading to his den, and the staircase
+groaned under his heavy footsteps as he went down.
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique sat for some minutes without
+speaking. On this evening the weather was dull; the clouds
+dragged heavily on the Alps, and threatened rain; the severe
+climate of Switzerland made one feel sad, while the south wind
+swept round the house, and whistled ominously.
+
+"My dear young lady," said Scholastique, at last, "do you know
+that our master has been out of sorts for several days? Holy
+Virgin! I know he has had no appetite, because his words stick in
+his inside, and it would take a very clever devil to drag even
+one out of him."
+
+"My father has some secret cause of trouble, that I cannot even
+guess," replied Gerande, as a sad anxiety spread over her face.
+
+"Mademoiselle, don't let such sadness fill your heart. You know
+the strange habits of Master Zacharius. Who can read his secret
+thoughts in his face? No doubt some fatigue has overcome him, but
+to-morrow he will have forgotten it, and be very sorry to have
+given his daughter pain."
+
+It was Aubert who spoke thus, looking into Gerande's lovely eyes.
+Aubert was the first apprentice whom Master Zacharius had ever
+admitted to the intimacy of his labours, for he appreciated his
+intelligence, discretion, and goodness of heart; and this young
+man had attached himself to Gerande with the earnest devotion
+natural to a noble nature.
+
+Gerande was eighteen years of age. Her oval face recalled that of
+the artless Madonnas whom veneration still displays at the street
+corners of the antique towns of Brittany. Her eyes betrayed an
+infinite simplicity. One would love her as the sweetest
+realization of a poet's dream. Her apparel was of modest colours,
+and the white linen which was folded about her shoulders had the
+tint and perfume peculiar to the linen of the church. She led a
+mystical existence in Geneva, which had not as yet been delivered
+over to the dryness of Calvinism.
+
+While, night and morning, she read her Latin prayers in her
+iron-clasped missal, Gerande had also discovered a hidden sentiment in
+Aubert Thun's heart, and comprehended what a profound devotion
+the young workman had for her. Indeed, the whole world in his
+eyes was condensed into this old clockmaker's house, and he
+passed all his time near the young girl, when he left her
+father's workshop, after his work was over.
+
+Old Scholastique saw all this, but said nothing. Her loquacity
+exhausted itself in preference on the evils of the times, and the
+little worries of the household. Nobody tried to stop its course.
+It was with her as with the musical snuff-boxes which they made
+at Geneva; once wound up, you must break them before you will
+prevent their playing all their airs through.
+
+Finding Gerande absorbed in a melancholy silence, Scholastique
+left her old wooden chair, fixed a taper on the end of a
+candlestick, lit it, and placed it near a small waxen Virgin,
+sheltered in her niche of stone. It was the family custom to
+kneel before this protecting Madonna of the domestic hearth, and
+to beg her kindly watchfulness during the coming night; but on
+this evening Gerande remained silent in her seat.
+
+"Well, well, dear demoiselle," said the astonished Scholastique,
+"supper is over, and it is time to go to bed. Why do you tire your
+eyes by sitting up late? Ah, Holy Virgin! It's much better to
+sleep, and to get a little comfort from happy dreams! In these
+detestable times in which we live, who can promise herself a
+fortunate day?"
+
+"Ought we not to send for a doctor for my father?" asked Gerande.
+
+"A doctor!" cried the old domestic. "Has Master Zacharius ever
+listened to their fancies and pompous sayings? He might accept
+medicines for the watches, but not for the body!"
+
+"What shall we do?" murmured Gerande. "Has he gone to work, or to
+rest?"
+
+"Gerande," answered Aubert softly, "some mental trouble annoys
+your father, that is all."
+
+"Do you know what it is, Aubert?"
+
+"Perhaps, Gerande"
+
+"Tell us, then," cried Scholastique eagerly, economically
+extinguishing her taper.
+
+"For several days, Gerande," said the young apprentice,
+"something absolutely incomprehensible has been going on. All the
+watches which your father has made and sold for some years have
+suddenly stopped. Very many of them have been brought back to
+him. He has carefully taken them to pieces; the springs were in
+good condition, and the wheels well set. He has put them together
+yet more carefully; but, despite his skill, they will not go."
+
+"The devil's in it!" cried Scholastique.
+
+"Why say you so?" asked Gerande. "It seems very natural to me.
+Nothing lasts for ever in this world. The infinite cannot be
+fashioned by the hands of men."
+
+"It is none the less true," returned Aubert, "that there is in
+this something very mysterious and extraordinary. I have myself
+been helping Master Zacharius to search for the cause of this
+derangement of his watches; but I have not been able to find it,
+and more than once I have let my tools fall from my hands in
+despair."
+
+"But why undertake so vain a task?" resumed Scholastique. "Is it
+natural that a little copper instrument should go of itself, and
+mark the hours? We ought to have kept to the sun-dial!"
+
+"You will not talk thus, Scholastique," said Aubert, "when you
+learn that the sun-dial was invented by Cain.''
+
+"Good heavens! what are you telling me?"
+
+"Do you think," asked Gerande simply, "that we might pray to God
+to give life to my father's watches?"
+
+"Without doubt," replied Aubert.
+
+"Good! They will be useless prayers," muttered the old servant,
+"but Heaven will pardon them for their good intent."
+
+The taper was relighted. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert knelt
+down together upon the tiles of the room. The young girl prayed
+for her mother's soul, for a blessing for the night, for
+travellers and prisoners, for the good and the wicked, and more
+earnestly than all for the unknown misfortunes of her father.
+
+[Illustration: The young girl prayed]
+
+Then the three devout souls rose with some confidence in their
+hearts, because they had laid their sorrow on the bosom of God.
+
+Aubert repaired to his own room; Gerande sat pensively by the
+window, whilst the last lights were disappearing from the city
+streets; and Scholastique, having poured a little water on the
+flickering embers, and shut the two enormous bolts on the door,
+threw herself upon her bed, where she was soon dreaming that she
+was dying of fright.
+
+Meanwhile the terrors of this winter's night had increased.
+Sometimes, with the whirlpools of the river, the wind engulfed
+itself among the piles, and the whole house shivered and shook;
+but the young girl, absorbed in her sadness, thought only of her
+father. After hearing what Aubert told her, the malady of Master
+Zacharius took fantastic proportions in her mind; and it seemed
+to her as if his existence, so dear to her, having become purely
+mechanical, no longer moved on its worn-out pivots without
+effort.
+
+Suddenly the pent-house shutter, shaken by the squall, struck
+against the window of the room. Gerande shuddered and started up
+without understanding the cause of the noise which thus disturbed
+her reverie. When she became a little calmer she opened the sash.
+The clouds had burst, and a torrent-like rain pattered on the
+surrounding roofs. The young girl leaned out of the window to
+draw to the shutter shaken by the wind, but she feared to do so.
+It seemed to her that the rain and the river, confounding their
+tumultuous waters, were submerging the frail house, the planks of
+which creaked in every direction. She would have flown from her
+chamber, but she saw below the flickering of a light which
+appeared to come from Master Zacharius's retreat, and in one of
+those momentary calms during which the elements keep a sudden
+silence, her ear caught plaintive sounds. She tried to shut her
+window, but could not. The wind violently repelled her, like a
+thief who was breaking into a dwelling.
+
+Gerande thought she would go mad with terror. What was her father
+doing? She opened the door, and it escaped from her hands, and
+slammed loudly with the force of the tempest. Gerande then found
+herself in the dark supper-room, succeeded in gaining, on tiptoe,
+the staircase which led to her father's shop, and pale and
+fainting, glided down.
+
+The old watchmaker was upright in the middle of the room, which
+resounded with the roaring of the river. His bristling hair gave
+him a sinister aspect. He was talking and gesticulating, without
+seeing or hearing anything. Gerande stood still on the threshold.
+
+"It is death!" said Master Zacharius, in a hollow voice; "it is
+death! Why should I live longer, now that I have dispersed my
+existence over the earth? For I, Master, Zacharius, am really the
+creator of all the watches that I have fashioned! It is a part of
+my very soul that I have shut up in each of these cases of iron,
+silver, or gold! Every time that one of these accursed watches
+stops, I feel my heart cease beating, for I have regulated them
+with its pulsations!"
+
+As he spoke in this strange way, the old man cast his eyes on his
+bench. There lay all the pieces of a watch that he had carefully
+taken apart. He took up a sort of hollow cylinder, called a
+barrel, in which the spring is enclosed, and removed the steel
+spiral, but instead of relaxing itself, according to the laws of
+its elasticity, it remained coiled on itself like a sleeping
+viper. It seemed knotted, like impotent old men whose blood has
+long been congealed. Master Zacharius vainly essayed to uncoil it
+with his thin fingers, the outlines of which were exaggerated on
+the wall; but he tried in vain, and soon, with a terrible cry of
+anguish and rage, he threw it through the trap-door into the
+boiling Rhone.
+
+Gerande, her feet riveted to the floor, stood breathless and
+motionless. She wished to approach her father, but could not.
+Giddy hallucinations took possession of her. Suddenly she heard,
+in the shade, a voice murmur in her ears,--
+
+"Gerande, dear Gerande! grief still keeps you awake. Go in again,
+I beg of you; the night is cold."
+
+"Aubert!" whispered the young girl. "You!"
+
+"Ought I not to be troubled by what troubles you?"
+
+These soft words sent the blood back into the young girl's heart.
+She leaned on Aubert's arm, and said to him,--
+
+"My father is very ill, Aubert! You alone can cure him, for this
+disorder of the mind would not yield to his daughter's consolings.
+His mind is attacked by a very natural delusion, and in working with
+him, repairing the watches, you will bring him back to reason.
+Aubert," she continued, "it is not true, is it, that his life is
+mixed up with that of his watches?"
+
+Aubert did not reply.
+
+"But is my father's a trade condemned by God?" asked Gerande,
+trembling.
+
+"I know not," returned the apprentice, warming the cold hands of
+the girl with his own. "But go back to your room, my poor
+Gerande, and with sleep recover hope!"
+
+Gerande slowly returned to her chamber, and remained there till
+daylight, without sleep closing her eyelids. Meanwhile, Master
+Zacharius, always mute and motionless, gazed at the river as it
+rolled turbulently at his feet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE.
+
+
+The severity of the Geneva merchant in business matters has
+become proverbial. He is rigidly honourable, and excessively
+just. What must, then, have been the shame of Master Zacharius,
+when he saw these watches, which he had so carefully constructed,
+returning to him from every direction?
+
+It was certain that these watches had suddenly stopped, and
+without any apparent reason. The wheels were in a good condition
+and firmly fixed, but the springs had lost all elasticity. Vainly
+did the watchmaker try to replace them; the wheels remained
+motionless. These unaccountable derangements were greatly to the
+old man's discredit. His noble inventions had many times brought
+upon him suspicions of sorcery, which now seemed confirmed. These
+rumours reached Gerande, and she often trembled for her father,
+when she saw malicious glances directed towards him.
+
+Yet on the morning after this night of anguish, Master Zacharius
+seemed to resume work with some confidence. The morning sun
+inspired him with some courage. Aubert hastened to join him in
+the shop, and received an affable "Good-day."
+
+"I am better," said the old man. "I don't know what strange pains
+in the head attacked me yesterday, but the sun has quite chased
+them away, with the clouds of the night."
+
+"In faith, master," returned Aubert, "I don't like the night for
+either of us!"
+
+"And thou art right, Aubert. If you ever become a great man, you
+will understand that day is as necessary to you as food. A great
+savant should be always ready to receive the homage of his
+fellow-men."
+
+"Master, it seems to me that the pride of science has possessed
+you."
+
+"Pride, Aubert! Destroy my past, annihilate my present, dissipate
+my future, and then it will be permitted to me to live in
+obscurity! Poor boy, who comprehends not the sublime things to
+which my art is wholly devoted! Art thou not but a tool in my
+hands?"
+
+"Yet. Master Zacharius," resumed Aubert, "I have more than once
+merited your praise for the manner in which I adjusted the most
+delicate parts of your watches and clocks."
+
+"No doubt, Aubert; thou art a good workman, such as I love; but
+when thou workest, thou thinkest thou hast in thy hands but
+copper, silver, gold; thou dost not perceive these metals, which
+my genius animates, palpitating like living flesh! So that thou
+wilt not die, with the death of thy works!"
+
+Master Zacharius remained silent after these words; but Aubert
+essayed to keep up the conversation.
+
+"Indeed, master," said he, "I love to see you work so
+unceasingly! You will be ready for the festival of our
+corporation, for I see that the work on this crystal watch is
+going forward famously."
+
+"No doubt, Aubert," cried the old watchmaker, "and it will be no
+slight honour for me to have been able to cut and shape the
+crystal to the durability of a diamond! Ah, Louis Berghem did
+well to perfect the art of diamond-cutting, which has enabled me
+to polish and pierce the hardest stones!"
+
+Master Zacharius was holding several small watch pieces of cut
+crystal, and of exquisite workmanship. The wheels, pivots, and
+case of the watch were of the same material, and he had employed
+remarkable skill in this very difficult task.
+
+"Would it not be fine," said he, his face flushing, "to see this
+watch palpitating beneath its transparent envelope, and to be
+able to count the beatings of its heart?"
+
+"I will wager, sir," replied the young apprentice, "that it will
+not vary a second in a year."
+
+"And you would wager on a certainty! Have I not imparted to it
+all that is purest of myself? And does my heart vary? My heart, I
+say?"
+
+Aubert did not dare to lift his eyes to his master's face.
+
+"Tell me frankly," said the old man sadly. "Have you never taken
+me for a madman? Do you not think me sometimes subject to
+dangerous folly? Yes; is it not so? In my daughter's eyes and
+yours, I have often read my condemnation. Oh!" he cried, as if in
+pain, "to be misunderstood by those whom one most loves in the
+world! But I will prove victoriously to thee, Aubert, that I am
+right! Do not shake thy head, for thou wilt be astounded. The day
+on which thou understandest how to listen to and comprehend me,
+thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets of existence,
+the secrets of the mysterious union of the soul with the body!"
+
+[Illustration: "Thou wilt see that I have discovered the secrets
+of existence."]
+
+As he spoke thus, Master Zacharius appeared superb in his vanity.
+His eyes glittered with a supernatural fire, and his pride
+illumined every feature. And truly, if ever vanity was excusable,
+it was that of Master Zacharius!
+
+The watchmaking art, indeed, down to his time, had remained
+almost in its infancy. From the day when Plato, four centuries
+before the Christian era, invented the night watch, a sort of
+clepsydra which indicated the hours of the night by the sound and
+playing of a flute, the science had continued nearly stationary.
+The masters paid more attention to the arts than to mechanics,
+and it was the period of beautiful watches of iron, copper, wood,
+silver, which were richly engraved, like one of Cellini's ewers.
+They made a masterpiece of chasing, which measured time
+imperfectly, but was still a masterpiece. When the artist's
+imagination was not directed to the perfection of modelling, it
+set to work to create clocks with moving figures and melodious
+sounds, whose appearance took all attention. Besides, who
+troubled himself, in those days, with regulating the advance of
+time? The delays of the law were not as yet invented; the
+physical and astronomical sciences had not as yet established
+their calculations on scrupulously exact measurements; there were
+neither establishments which were shut at a given hour, nor
+trains which departed at a precise moment. In the evening the
+curfew bell sounded; and at night the hours were cried amid the
+universal silence. Certainly people did not live so long, if
+existence is measured by the amount of business done; but they
+lived better. The mind was enriched with the noble sentiments
+born of the contemplation of chefs-d'oeuvre. They built a church
+in two centuries, a painter painted but few pictures in the
+course of his life, a poet only composed one great work; but
+these were so many masterpieces for after-ages to appreciate.
+
+When the exact sciences began at last to make some progress,
+watch and clock making followed in their path, though it was
+always arrested by an insurmountable difficulty,--the regular and
+continuous measurement of time.
+
+It was in the midst of this stagnation that Master Zacharius
+invented the escapement, which enabled him to obtain a mathematical
+regularity by submitting the movement of the pendulum to a sustained
+force. This invention had turned the old man's head. Pride, swelling
+in his heart, like mercury in the thermometer, had attained the
+height of transcendent folly. By analogy he had allowed himself to
+be drawn to materialistic conclusions, and as he constructed his
+watches, he fancied that he had discovered the secrets of the union
+of the soul with the body.
+
+Thus, on this day, perceiving that Aubert listened to him
+attentively, he said to him in a tone of simple conviction,--
+
+"Dost thou know what life is, my child? Hast thou comprehended
+the action of those springs which produce existence? Hast thou
+examined thyself? No. And yet, with the eyes of science, thou
+mightest have seen the intimate relation which exists between
+God's work and my own; for it is from his creature that I have
+copied the combinations of the wheels of my clocks."
+
+"Master," replied Aubert eagerly, "can you compare a copper or
+steel machine with that breath of God which is called the soul,
+which animates our bodies as the breeze stirs the flowers? What
+mechanism could be so adjusted as to inspire us with thought?"
+
+"That is not the question," responded Master Zacharius gently,
+but with all the obstinacy of a blind man walking towards an
+abyss. "In order to understand me, thou must recall the purpose
+of the escapement which I have invented. When I saw the irregular
+working of clocks, I understood that the movements shut up in
+them did not suffice, and that it was necessary to submit them to
+the regularity of some independent force. I then thought that the
+balance-wheel might accomplish this, and I succeeded in
+regulating the movement! Now, was it not a sublime idea that came
+to me, to return to it its lost force by the action of the clock
+itself, which it was charged with regulating?"
+
+Aubert made a sign of assent.
+
+"Now, Aubert," continued the old man, growing animated, "cast
+thine eyes upon thyself! Dost thou not understand that there are
+two distinct forces in us, that of the soul and that of the
+body--that is, a movement and a regulator? The soul is the
+principle of life; that is, then, the movement. Whether it is
+produced by a weight, by a spring, or by an immaterial influence,
+it is none the less in the heart. But without the body this
+movement would be unequal, irregular, impossible! Thus the body
+regulates the soul, and, like the balance-wheel, it is submitted
+to regular oscillations. And this is so true, that one falls ill
+when one's drink, food, sleep--in a word, the functions of the
+body--are not properly regulated; just as in my watches the soul
+renders to the body the force lost by its oscillations. Well, what
+produces this intimate union between soul and body, if not a
+marvellous escapement, by which the wheels of the one work into the
+wheels of the other? This is what I have discovered and applied;
+and there are no longer any secrets for me in this life, which is,
+after all, only an ingenious mechanism!"
+
+Master Zacharius looked sublime in this hallucination, which
+carried him to the ultimate mysteries of the Infinite. But his
+daughter Gerande, standing on the threshold of the door, had
+heard all. She rushed into her father's arms, and he pressed her
+convulsively to his breast.
+
+"What is the matter with thee, my daughter?" he asked.
+
+"If I had only a spring here," said she, putting her hand on her
+heart, "I would not love you as I do, father."
+
+Master Zacharius looked intently at Gerande, and did not reply.
+Suddenly he uttered a cry, carried his hand eagerly to his heart,
+and fell fainting on his old leathern chair.
+
+"Father, what is the matter?"
+
+[Illustration: "Father, what is the matter?"]
+
+"Help!" cried Aubert. "Scholastique!"
+
+But Scholastique did not come at once. Some one was knocking at
+the front door; she had gone to open it, and when she returned to
+the shop, before she could open her mouth, the old watchmaker,
+having recovered his senses, spoke:--
+
+"I divine, my old Scholastique, that you bring me still another
+of those accursed watches which have stopped."
+
+"Lord, it is true enough!" replied Scholastique, handing a watch
+to Aubert.
+
+"My heart could not be mistaken!" said the old man, with a sigh.
+
+Meanwhile Aubert carefully wound up the watch, but it would not
+go.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A STRANGE VISIT.
+
+
+Poor Gerande would have lost her life with that of her father,
+had it not been for the thought of Aubert, who still attached her
+to the world.
+
+The old watchmaker was, little by little, passing away. His
+faculties evidently grew more feeble, as he concentrated them on
+a single thought. By a sad association of ideas, he referred
+everything to his monomania, and a human existence seemed to have
+departed from him, to give place to the extra-natural existence
+of the intermediate powers. Moreover, certain malicious rivals
+revived the sinister rumours which had spread concerning his
+labours.
+
+The news of the strange derangements which his watches betrayed
+had a prodigious effect upon the master clockmakers of Geneva.
+What signified this sudden paralysis of their wheels, and why
+these strange relations which they seemed to have with the old
+man's life? These were the kind of mysteries which people never
+contemplate without a secret terror. In the various classes of
+the town, from the apprentice to the great lord who used the
+watches of the old horologist, there was no one who could not
+himself judge of the singularity of the fact. The citizens
+wished, but in vain, to get to see Master Zacharius. He fell very
+ill; and this enabled his daughter to withdraw him from those
+incessant visits which had degenerated into reproaches and
+recriminations.
+
+Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of this
+organic wasting away, the cause of which could not be discovered.
+It sometimes seemed as if the old man's heart had ceased to beat;
+then the pulsations were resumed with an alarming irregularity.
+
+A custom existed in those days of publicly exhibiting the works
+of the masters. The heads of the various corporations sought to
+distinguish themselves by the novelty or the perfection of their
+productions; and it was among these that the condition of Master
+Zacharius excited the most lively, because most interested,
+commiseration. His rivals pitied him the more willingly because
+they feared him the less. They never forgot the old man's
+success, when he exhibited his magnificent clocks with moving
+figures, his repeaters, which provoked general admiration, and
+commanded such high prices in the cities of France, Switzerland,
+and Germany.
+
+Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of Gerande and
+Aubert, his strength seemed to return a little; and in the
+tranquillity in which his convalescence left him, he succeeded in
+detaching himself from the thoughts which had absorbed him. As
+soon as he could walk, his daughter lured him away from the
+house, which was still besieged with dissatisfied customers.
+Aubert remained in the shop, vainly adjusting and readjusting the
+rebel watches; and the poor boy, completely mystified, sometimes
+covered his face with his hands, fearful that he, like his
+master, might go mad.
+
+Gerande led her father towards the more pleasant promenades of
+the town. With his arm resting on hers, she conducted him
+sometimes through the quarter of Saint Antoine, the view from
+which extends towards the Cologny hill, and over the lake; on
+fine mornings they caught sight of the gigantic peaks of Mount
+Buet against the horizon. Gerande pointed out these spots to her
+father, who had well-nigh forgotten even their names. His memory
+wandered; and he took a childish interest in learning anew what
+had passed from his mind. Master Zacharius leaned upon his
+daughter; and the two heads, one white as snow and the other
+covered with rich golden tresses, met in the same ray of
+sunlight.
+
+So it came about that the old watchmaker at last perceived that
+he was not alone in the world. As he looked upon his young and
+lovely daughter, and on himself old and broken, he reflected that
+after his death she would be left alone without support. Many of
+the young mechanics of Geneva had already sought to win Gerande's
+love; but none of them had succeeded in gaining access to the
+impenetrable retreat of the watchmaker's household. It was
+natural, then, that during this lucid interval, the old man's
+choice should fall on Aubert Thun. Once struck with this thought,
+he remarked to himself that this young couple had been brought up
+with the same ideas and the same beliefs; and the oscillations of
+their hearts seemed to him, as he said one day to Scholastique,
+"isochronous."
+
+The old servant, literally delighted with the word, though she
+did not understand it, swore by her holy patron saint that the
+whole town should hear it within a quarter of an hour. Master
+Zacharius found it difficult to calm her; but made her promise to
+keep on this subject a silence which she never was known to
+observe.
+
+So, though Gerande and Aubert were ignorant of it, all Geneva was
+soon talking of their speedy union. But it happened also that,
+while the worthy folk were gossiping, a strange chuckle was often
+heard, and a voice saying, "Gerande will not wed Aubert."
+
+If the talkers turned round, they found themselves facing a
+little old man who was quite a stranger to them.
+
+How old was this singular being? No one could have told. People
+conjectured that he must have existed for several centuries, and
+that was all. His big flat head rested upon shoulders the width
+of which was equal to the height of his body; this was not above
+three feet. This personage would have made a good figure to
+support a pendulum, for the dial would have naturally been placed
+on his face, and the balance-wheel would have oscillated at its
+ease in his chest. His nose might readily have been taken for the
+style of a sun-dial, for it was narrow and sharp; his teeth, far
+apart, resembled the cogs of a wheel, and ground themselves
+between his lips; his voice had the metallic sound of a bell, and
+you could hear his heart beat like the tick of a clock. This
+little man, whose arms moved like the hands on a dial, walked
+with jerks, without ever turning round. If any one followed him,
+it was found that he walked a league an hour, and that his course
+was nearly circular.
+
+This strange being had not long been seen wandering, or rather
+circulating, around the town; but it had already been observed
+that, every day, at the moment when the sun passed the meridian,
+he stopped before the Cathedral of Saint Pierre, and resumed his
+course after the twelve strokes of noon had sounded. Excepting at
+this precise moment, he seemed to become a part of all the
+conversations in which the old watchmaker was talked of; and
+people asked each other, in terror, what relation could exist
+between him and Master Zacharius. It was remarked, too, that he
+never lost sight of the old man and his daughter while they were
+taking their promenades.
+
+One day Gerande perceived this monster looking at her with a
+hideous smile. She clung to her father with a frightened motion.
+
+"What is the matter, my Gerande?" asked Master Zacharius.
+
+"I do not know," replied the young girl.
+
+"But thou art changed, my child. Art thou going to fall ill in
+thy turn? Ah, well," he added, with a sad smile, "then I must
+take care of thee, and I will do it tenderly."
+
+"O father, it will be nothing. I am cold, and I imagine that it
+is--"
+
+"What, Gerande?"
+
+"The presence of that man, who always follows us," she replied in
+a low tone.
+
+Master Zacharius turned towards the little old man.
+
+"Faith, he goes well," said he, with a satisfied air, "for it is
+just four o'clock. Fear nothing, my child; it is not a man, it
+is a clock!"
+
+Gerande looked at her father in terror. How could Master
+Zacharius read the hour on this strange creature's visage?
+
+"By-the-bye," continued the old watchmaker, paying no further
+attention to the matter, "I have not seen Aubert for several
+days."
+
+"He has not left us, however, father," said Gerande, whose
+thoughts turned into a gentler channel.
+
+"What is he doing then?"
+
+"He is working."
+
+"Ah!" cried the old man. "He is at work repairing my watches, is
+he not? But he will never succeed; for it is not repair they
+need, but a resurrection!"
+
+Gerande remained silent.
+
+"I must know," added the old man, "if they have brought back any
+more of those accursed watches upon which the Devil has sent this
+epidemic!"
+
+After these words Master Zacharius fell into complete silence,
+till he knocked at the door of his house, and for the first time
+since his convalescence descended to his shop, while Gerande
+sadly repaired to her chamber.
+
+Just as Master Zacharius crossed the threshold of his shop, one
+of the many clocks suspended on the wall struck five o'clock.
+Usually the bells of these clocks--admirably regulated as they
+were--struck simultaneously, and this rejoiced the old man's
+heart; but on this day the bells struck one after another, so
+that for a quarter of an hour the ear was deafened by the
+successive noises. Master Zacharius suffered acutely; he could
+not remain still, but went from one clock to the other, and beat
+the time to them, like a conductor who no longer has control over
+his musicians.
+
+When the last had ceased striking, the door of the shop opened,
+and Master Zacharius shuddered from head to foot to see before
+him the little old man, who looked fixedly at him and said,--
+
+"Master, may I not speak with you a few moments?"
+
+"Who are you?" asked the watchmaker abruptly.
+
+"A colleague. It is my business to regulate the sun."
+
+"Ah, you regulate the sun?" replied Master Zacharius eagerly,
+without wincing. "I can scarcely compliment you upon it. Your sun
+goes badly, and in order to make ourselves agree with it, we have
+to keep putting our clocks forward so much or back so much."
+
+"And by the cloven foot," cried this weird personage, "you are
+right, my master! My sun does not always mark noon at the same
+moment as your clocks; but some day it will be known that this is
+because of the inequality of the earth's transfer, and a mean
+noon will be invented which will regulate this irregularity!"
+
+"Shall I live till then?" asked the old man, with glistening
+eyes.
+
+"Without doubt," replied the little old man, laughing. "Can you
+believe that you will ever die?"
+
+"Alas! I am very ill now."
+
+"Ah, let us talk of that. By Beelzebub! that will lead to just
+what I wish to speak to you about."
+
+Saying this, the strange being leaped upon the old leather chair,
+and carried his legs one under the other, after the fashion of
+the bones which the painters of funeral hangings cross beneath
+death's heads. Then he resumed, in an ironical tone,--
+
+[Illustration: Then he resumed, in an ironical tone]
+
+"Let us see, Master Zacharius, what is going on in this good town
+of Geneva? They say that your health is failing, that your
+watches have need of a doctor!"
+
+"Ah, do you believe that there is an intimate relation between
+their existence and mine?" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"Why, I imagine that these watches have faults, even vices. If
+these wantons do not preserve a regular conduct, it is right that
+they should bear the consequences of their irregularity. It seems
+to me that they have need of reforming a little!"
+
+"What do you call faults?" asked Master Zacharius, reddening at
+the sarcastic tone in which these words were uttered. "Have they
+not a right to be proud of their origin?"
+
+"Not too proud, not too proud," replied the little old man. "They
+bear a celebrated name, and an illustrious signature is graven on
+their cases, it is true, and theirs is the exclusive privilege of
+being introduced among the noblest families; but for some time
+they have got out of order, and you can do nothing in the matter,
+Master Zacharius; and the stupidest apprentice in Geneva could
+prove it to you!"
+
+"To me, to me,--Master Zacharius!" cried the old man, with a
+flush of outraged pride.
+
+"To you, Master Zacharius,--you, who cannot restore life to your
+watches!"
+
+"But it is because I have a fever, and so have they also!"
+replied the old man, as a cold sweat broke out upon him.
+
+"Very well, they will die with you, since you cannot impart a
+little elasticity to their springs."
+
+"Die! No, for you yourself have said it! I cannot die,--I, the
+first watchmaker in the world; I, who, by means of these pieces
+and diverse wheels, have been able to regulate the movement with
+absolute precision! Have I not subjected time to exact laws, and
+can I not dispose of it like a despot? Before a sublime genius
+had arranged these wandering hours regularly, in what vast
+uncertainty was human destiny plunged? At what certain moment
+could the acts of life be connected with each other? But you, man
+or devil, whatever you may be, have never considered the
+magnificence of my art, which calls every science to its aid! No,
+no! I, Master Zacharius, cannot die, for, as I have regulated
+time, time would end with me! It would return to the infinite,
+whence my genius has rescued it, and it would lose itself
+irreparably in the abyss of nothingness! No, I can no more die
+than the Creator of this universe, that submitted to His laws! I
+have become His equal, and I have partaken of His power! If God
+has created eternity, Master Zacharius has created time!"
+
+The old watchmaker now resembled the fallen angel, defiant in the
+presence of the Creator. The little old man gazed at him, and
+even seemed to breathe into him this impious transport.
+
+"Well said, master," he replied. "Beelzebub had less right than
+you to compare himself with God! Your glory must not perish! So
+your servant here desires to give you the method of controlling
+these rebellious watches."
+
+"What is it? what is it?" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"You shall know on the day after that on which you have given me
+your daughter's hand."
+
+"My Gerande?"
+
+"Herself!"
+
+"My daughter's heart is not free," replied Master Zacharius, who
+seemed neither astonished nor shocked at the strange demand.
+
+"Bah! She is not the least beautiful of watches; but she will end
+by stopping also--"
+
+"My daughter,--my Gerande! No!"
+
+"Well, return to your watches, Master Zacharius. Adjust and
+readjust them. Get ready the marriage of your daughter and your
+apprentice. Temper your springs with your best steel. Bless
+Aubert and the pretty Gerande.  But remember, your watches will
+never go, and Gerande will not wed Aubert!"
+
+Thereupon the little old man disappeared, but not so quickly that
+Master Zacharius could not hear six o'clock strike in his breast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE CHURCH OF SAINT PIERRE.
+
+
+Meanwhile Master Zacharius became more feeble in mind and body
+every day. An unusual excitement, indeed, impelled him to
+continue his work more eagerly than ever, nor could his daughter
+entice him from it.
+
+His pride was still more aroused after the crisis to which his
+strange visitor had hurried him so treacherously, and he resolved
+to overcome, by the force of genius, the malign influence which
+weighed upon his work and himself. He first repaired to the
+various clocks of the town which were confided to his care. He
+made sure, by a scrupulous examination, that the wheels were in
+good condition, the pivots firm, the weights exactly balanced.
+Every part, even to the bells, was examined with the minute
+attention of a physician studying the breast of a patient.
+Nothing indicated that these clocks were on the point of being
+affected by inactivity.
+
+Gerande and Aubert often accompanied the old man on these visits.
+He would no doubt have been pleased to see them eager to go with
+him, and certainly he would not have been so much absorbed in his
+approaching end, had he thought that his existence was to be
+prolonged by that of these cherished ones, and had he understood
+that something of the life of a father always remains in his
+children.
+
+The old watchmaker, on returning home, resumed his labours with
+feverish zeal. Though persuaded that he would not succeed, it yet
+seemed to him impossible that this could be so, and he unceasingly
+took to pieces the watches which were brought to his shop, and put
+them together again.
+
+Aubert tortured his mind in vain to discover the causes of the
+evil.
+
+"Master," said he, "this can only come from the wear of the
+pivots and gearing."
+
+"Do you want, then, to kill me, little by little?" replied Master
+Zacharius passionately. "Are these watches child's work? Was it
+lest I should hurt my fingers that I worked the surface of these
+copper pieces in the lathe? Have I not forged these pieces of
+copper myself, so as to obtain a greater strength? Are not these
+springs tempered to a rare perfection? Could anybody have used
+finer oils than mine? You must yourself agree that it is
+impossible, and you avow, in short, that the devil is in it!"
+
+From morning till night discontented purchasers besieged the
+house, and they got access to the old watchmaker himself, who
+knew not which of them to listen to.
+
+[Illustration: From morning till night discontented purchasers
+besieged the house]
+
+"This watch loses, and I cannot succeed in regulating it," said
+one.
+
+"This," said another, "is absolutely obstinate, and stands still,
+as did Joshua's sun."
+
+"If it is true," said most of them, "that your health has an
+influence on that of your watches, Master Zacharius, get well as
+soon as possible."
+
+The old man gazed at these people with haggard eyes, and only
+replied by shaking his head, or by a few sad words,--
+
+"Wait till the first fine weather, my friends. The season is
+coming which revives existence in wearied bodies. We want the sun
+to warm us all!"
+
+"A fine thing, if my watches are to be ill through the winter!"
+said one of the most angry. "Do you know, Master Zacharius, that
+your name is inscribed in full on their faces? By the Virgin, you
+do little honour to your signature!"
+
+It happened at last that the old man, abashed by these
+reproaches, took some pieces of gold from his old trunk, and
+began to buy back the damaged watches. At news of this, the
+customers came in a crowd, and the poor watchmaker's money fast
+melted away; but his honesty remained intact. Gerande warmly
+praised his delicacy, which was leading him straight towards
+ruin; and Aubert soon offered his own savings to his master.
+
+"What will become of my daughter?" said Master Zacharius,
+clinging now and then in the shipwreck to his paternal love.
+
+Aubert dared not answer that he was full of hope for the future,
+and of deep devotion to Gerande. Master Zacharius would have that
+day called him his son-in-law, and thus refuted the sad prophecy,
+which still buzzed in his ears,--
+
+"Gerande will not wed Aubert."
+
+By this plan the watchmaker at last succeeded in entirely
+despoiling himself. His antique vases passed into the hands of
+strangers; he deprived himself of the richly-carved panels which
+adorned the walls of his house; some primitive pictures of the
+early Flemish painters soon ceased to please his daughter's eyes,
+and everything, even the precious tools that his genius had
+invented, were sold to indemnify the clamorous customers.
+
+Scholastique alone refused to listen to reason on the subject;
+but her efforts failed to prevent the unwelcome visitors from
+reaching her master, and from soon departing with some valuable
+object. Then her chattering was heard in all the streets of the
+neighbourhood, where she had long been known. She eagerly denied
+the rumours of sorcery and magic on the part of Master Zacharius,
+which gained currency; but as at bottom she was persuaded of
+their truth, she said her prayers over and over again to redeem
+her pious falsehoods.
+
+It had been noticed that for some time the old watchmaker had
+neglected his religious duties. Time was, when he had accompanied
+Gerande to church, and had seemed to find in prayer the
+intellectual charm which it imparts to thoughtful minds, since it
+is the most sublime exercise of the imagination. This voluntary
+neglect of holy practices, added to the secret habits of his
+life, had in some sort confirmed the accusations levelled against
+his labours. So, with the double purpose of drawing her father
+back to God, and to the world, Gerande resolved to call religion
+to her aid. She thought that it might give some vitality to his
+dying soul; but the dogmas of faith and humility had to combat,
+in the soul of Master Zacharius, an insurmountable pride, and
+came into collision with that vanity of science which connects
+everything with itself, without rising to the infinite source
+whence first principles flow.
+
+It was under these circumstances that the young girl undertook
+her father's conversion; and her influence was so effective that
+the old watchmaker promised to attend high mass at the cathedral
+on the following Sunday. Gerande was in an ecstasy, as if heaven
+had opened to her view. Old Scholastique could not contain her
+joy, and at last found irrefutable arguments' against the
+gossiping tongues which accused her master of impiety. She spoke
+of it to her neighbours, her friends, her enemies, to those whom
+she knew not as well as to those whom she knew.
+
+"In faith, we scarcely believe what you tell us, dame
+Scholastique," they replied; "Master Zacharius has always acted
+in concert with the devil!"
+
+"You haven't counted, then," replied the old servant, "the fine
+bells which strike for my master's clocks? How many times they
+have struck the hours of prayer and the mass!"
+
+"No doubt," they would reply. "But has he not invented machines
+which go all by themselves, and which actually do the work of a
+real man?"
+
+"Could a child of the devil," exclaimed dame Scholastique
+wrathfully, "have executed the fine iron clock of the chateau of
+Andernatt, which the town of Geneva was not rich enough to buy? A
+pious motto appeared at each hour, and a Christian who obeyed
+them, would have gone straight to Paradise! Is that the work of
+the devil?"
+
+This masterpiece, made twenty years before, had carried Master
+Zacharius's fame to its acme; but even then there had been
+accusations of sorcery against him. But at least the old man's
+visit to the Cathedral ought to reduce malicious tongues to
+silence.
+
+Master Zacharius, having doubtless forgotten the promise made to
+his daughter, had returned to his shop. After being convinced of
+his powerlessness to give life to his watches, he resolved to try
+if he could not make some new ones. He abandoned all those
+useless works, and devoted himself to the completion of the
+crystal watch, which he intended to be his masterpiece; but in
+vain did he use his most perfect tools, and employ rubies and
+diamonds for resisting friction. The watch fell from his hands
+the first time that he attempted to wind it up!
+
+The old man concealed this circumstance from every one, even from
+his daughter; but from that time his health rapidly declined.
+There were only the last oscillations of a pendulum, which goes
+slower when nothing restores its original force. It seemed as if
+the laws of gravity, acting directly upon him, were dragging him
+irresistibly down to the grave.
+
+The Sunday so ardently anticipated by Gerande at last arrived.
+The weather was fine, and the temperature inspiriting. The people
+of Geneva were passing quietly through the streets, gaily
+chatting about the return of spring. Gerande, tenderly taking the
+old man's arm, directed her steps towards the cathedral, while
+Scholastique followed behind with the prayer-books. People looked
+curiously at them as they passed. The old watchmaker permitted
+himself to be led like a child, or rather like a blind man. The
+faithful of Saint Pierre were almost frightened when they saw him
+cross the threshold, and shrank back at his approach.
+
+The chants of high mass were already resounding through the
+church. Gerande went to her accustomed bench, and kneeled with
+profound and simple reverence. Master Zacharius remained standing
+upright beside her.
+
+The ceremonies continued with the majestic solemnity of that
+faithful age, but the old man had no faith. He did not implore
+the pity of Heaven with cries of anguish of the "Kyrie;" he did
+not, with the "Gloria in Excelsis," sing the splendours of the
+heavenly heights; the reading of the Testament did not draw him
+from his materialistic reverie, and he forgot to join in the
+homage of the "Credo." This proud old man remained motionless, as
+insensible and silent as a stone statue; and even at the solemn
+moment when the bell announced the miracle of transubstantiation,
+he did not bow his head, but gazed directly at the sacred host
+which the priest raised above the heads of the faithful. Gerande
+looked at her father, and a flood of tears moistened her missal.
+At this moment the clock of Saint Pierre struck half-past eleven.
+Master Zacharius turned quickly towards this ancient clock which
+still spoke. It seemed to him as if its face was gazing steadily
+at him; the figures of the hours shone as if they had been
+engraved in lines of fire, and the hands shot forth electric
+sparks from their sharp points.
+
+[Illustration: This proud old man remained motionless]
+
+The mass ended. It was customary for the "Angelus" to be said at
+noon, and the priests, before leaving the altar, waited for the
+clock to strike the hour of twelve. In a few moments this prayer
+would ascend to the feet of the Virgin.
+
+But suddenly a harsh noise was heard. Master Zacharius uttered a
+piercing cry.
+
+The large hand of the clock, having reached twelve, had abruptly
+stopped, and the clock did not strike the hour.
+
+Gerande hastened to her father's aid. He had fallen down
+motionless, and they carried him outside the church.
+
+"It is the death-blow!" murmured Gerande, sobbing.
+
+When he had been borne home, Master Zacharius lay upon his bed
+utterly crushed. Life seemed only to still exist on the surface
+of his body, like the last whiffs of smoke about a lamp just
+extinguished. When he came to his senses, Aubert and Gerande were
+leaning over him. In these last moments the future took in his
+eyes the shape of the present. He saw his daughter alone, without
+a protector.
+
+"My son," said he to Aubert, "I give my daughter to thee."
+
+So saying, he stretched out his hands towards his two children,
+who were thus united at his death-bed.
+
+But soon Master Zacharius lifted himself up in a paroxysm of
+rage. The words of the little old man recurred to his mind.
+
+"I do not wish to die!" he cried; "I cannot die! I, Master
+Zacharius, ought not to die! My books--my accounts!--"
+
+With these words he sprang from his bed towards a book in which
+the names of his customers and the articles which had been sold
+to them were inscribed. He seized it and rapidly turned over its
+leaves, and his emaciated finger fixed itself on one of the
+pages.
+
+"There!" he cried, "there! this old iron clock, sold to
+Pittonaccio! It is the only one that has not been returned to me!
+It still exists--it goes--it lives! Ah, I wish for it--I must
+find it! I will take such care of it that death will no longer
+seek me!"
+
+And he fainted away.
+
+Aubert and Gerande knelt by the old man's bed-side and prayed
+together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE HOUR OF DEATH.
+
+
+Several days passed, and Master Zacharius, though almost dead,
+rose from his bed and returned to active life under a supernatural
+excitement. He lived by pride. But Gerande did not deceive
+herself; her father's body and soul were for ever lost.
+
+The old man got together his last remaining resources, without
+thought of those who were dependent upon him. He betrayed an
+incredible energy, walking, ferreting about, and mumbling
+strange, incomprehensible words.
+
+One morning Gerande went down to his shop. Master Zacharius was
+not there. She waited for him all day. Master Zacharius did not
+return.
+
+Gerande wept bitterly, but her father did not reappear.
+
+Aubert searched everywhere through the town, and soon came to the
+sad conviction that the old man had left it.
+
+"Let us find my father!" cried Gerande, when the young apprentice
+told her this sad news.
+
+"Where can he be?" Aubert asked himself.
+
+An inspiration suddenly came to his mind. He remembered the last
+words which Master Zacharius had spoken. The old man only lived
+now in the old iron clock that had not been returned! Master
+Zacharius must have gone in search of it.
+
+Aubert spoke of this to Gerande.
+
+"Let us look at my father's book," she replied.
+
+They descended to the shop. The book was open on the bench. All
+the watches or clocks made by the old man, and which had been
+returned to him because they were out of order, were stricken out
+excepting one:--
+
+"Sold to M. Pittonaccio, an iron clock, with bell and moving
+figures; sent to his chateau at Andernatt."
+
+It was this "moral" clock of which Scholastique had spoken with
+so much enthusiasm.
+
+"My father is there!" cried Gerande.
+
+"Let us hasten thither," replied Aubert. "We may still save him!"
+
+"Not for this life," murmured Gerande, "but at least for the
+other."
+
+"By the mercy of God, Gerande! The chateau of Andernatt stands in
+the gorge of the 'Dents-du-Midi' twenty hours from Geneva. Let us
+go!"
+
+That very evening Aubert and Gerande, followed by the old
+servant, set out on foot by the road which skirts Lake Leman.
+They accomplished five leagues during the night, stopping neither
+at Bessinge nor at Ermance, where rises the famous chateau of the
+Mayors. They with difficulty forded the torrent of the Dranse,
+and everywhere they went they inquired for Master Zacharius, and
+were soon convinced that they were on his track.
+
+The next morning, at daybreak, having passed Thonon, they reached
+Evian, whence the Swiss territory may be seen extended over
+twelve leagues. But the two betrothed did not even perceive the
+enchanting prospect. They went straight forward, urged on by a
+supernatural force. Aubert, leaning on a knotty stick, offered
+his arm alternately to Gerande and to Scholastique, and he made
+the greatest efforts to sustain his companions. All three talked
+of their sorrow, of their hopes, and thus passed along the
+beautiful road by the water-side, and across the narrow plateau
+which unites the borders of the lake with the heights of the
+Chalais. They soon reached Bouveret, where the Rhone enters the
+Lake of Geneva.
+
+On leaving this town they diverged from the lake, and their
+weariness increased amid these mountain districts. Vionnaz,
+Chesset, Collombay, half lost villages, were soon left behind.
+Meanwhile their knees shook, their feet were lacerated by the
+sharp points which covered the ground like a brushwood of
+granite;--but no trace of Master Zacharius!
+
+He must be found, however, and the two young people did not seek
+repose either in the isolated hamlets or at the chateau of
+Monthay, which, with its dependencies, formed the appanage of
+Margaret of Savoy. At last, late in the day, and half dead with
+fatigue, they reached the hermitage of Notre-Dame-du-Sex, which
+is situated at the base of the Dents-du-Midi, six hundred feet
+above the Rhone.
+
+The hermit received the three wanderers as night was falling.
+They could not have gone another step, and here they must needs
+rest.
+
+The hermit could give them no news of Master Zacharius. They
+could scarcely hope to find him still living amid these sad
+solitudes. The night was dark, the wind howled amid the
+mountains, and the avalanches roared down from the summits of the
+broken crags.
+
+Aubert and Gerande, crouching before the hermit's hearth, told
+him their melancholy tale. Their mantles, covered with snow, were
+drying in a corner; and without, the hermit's dog barked
+lugubriously, and mingled his voice with that of the tempest.
+
+"Pride," said the hermit to his guests, "has destroyed an angel
+created for good. It is the stumbling-block against which the
+destinies of man strike. You cannot reason with pride, the
+principal of all the vices, since, by its very nature, the proud
+man refuses to listen to it. It only remains, then, to pray for
+your father!"
+
+All four knelt down, when the barking of the dog redoubled, and
+some one knocked at the door of the hermitage.
+
+"Open, in the devil's name!"
+
+The door yielded under the blows, and a dishevelled, haggard,
+ill-clothed man appeared.
+
+"My father!" cried Gerande.
+
+It was Master Zacharius.
+
+"Where am I?" said he. "In eternity! Time is ended--the hours no
+longer strike--the hands have stopped!"
+
+"Father!" returned Gerande, with so piteous an emotion that the
+old man seemed to return to the world of the living.
+
+"Thou here, Gerande?" he cried; "and thou, Aubert? Ah, my dear
+betrothed ones, you are going to be married in our old church!"
+
+"Father," said Gerande, seizing him by the arm, "come home to
+Geneva,--come with us!"
+
+The old man tore away from his daughter's embrace and hurried
+towards the door, on the threshold of which the snow was falling
+in large flakes.
+
+"Do not abandon your children!" cried Aubert.
+
+"Why return," replied the old man sadly, "to those places which
+my life has already quitted, and where a part of myself is for
+ever buried?"
+
+"Your soul is not dead," said the hermit solemnly.
+
+"My soul? O no,--its wheels are good! I perceive it beating
+regularly--"
+
+"Your soul is immaterial,--your soul is immortal!" replied the
+hermit sternly.
+
+"Yes--like my glory! But it is shut up in the chateau of
+Andernatt, and I wish to see it again!"
+
+The hermit crossed himself; Scholastique became almost inanimate.
+Aubert held Gerande in his arms.
+
+"The chateau of Andernatt is inhabited by one who is lost," said
+the hermit, "one who does not salute the cross of my hermitage."
+
+"My father, go not thither!"
+
+"I want my soul! My soul is mine--"
+
+"Hold him! Hold my father!" cried Gerande.
+
+But the old man had leaped across the threshold, and plunged into
+the night, crying, "Mine, mine, my soul!"
+
+Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique hastened after him. They went
+by difficult paths, across which Master Zacharius sped like a
+tempest, urged by an irresistible force. The snow raged around
+them, and mingled its white flakes with the froth of the swollen
+torrents.
+
+As they passed the chapel erected in memory of the massacre of
+the Theban legion, they hurriedly crossed themselves. Master
+Zacharius was not to be seen.
+
+At last the village of Evionnaz appeared in the midst of this
+sterile region. The hardest heart would have been moved to see
+this hamlet, lost among these horrible solitudes. The old man
+sped on, and plunged into the deepest gorge of the Dents-du-Midi,
+which pierce the sky with their sharp peaks.
+
+Soon a ruin, old and gloomy as the rocks at its base, rose before
+him.
+
+"It is there--there!" he cried, hastening his pace still more
+frantically.
+
+[Illustration: "It is there--there!"]
+
+The chateau of Andernatt was a ruin even then. A thick, crumbling
+tower rose above it, and seemed to menace with its downfall the
+old gables which reared themselves below. The vast piles of
+jagged stones were gloomy to look on. Several dark halls appeared
+amid the debris, with caved-in ceilings, now become the abode of
+vipers.
+
+A low and narrow postern, opening upon a ditch choked with
+rubbish, gave access to the chateau. Who had dwelt there none
+knew. No doubt some margrave, half lord, half brigand, had
+sojourned in it; to the margrave had succeeded bandits or
+counterfeit coiners, who had been hanged on the scene of their
+crime. The legend went that, on winter nights, Satan came to lead
+his diabolical dances on the slope of the deep gorges in which
+the shadow of these ruins was engulfed.
+
+But Master Zacharius was not dismayed by their sinister aspect.
+He reached the postern. No one forbade him to pass. A spacious
+and gloomy court presented itself to his eyes; no one forbade him
+to cross it. He passed along the kind of inclined plane which
+conducted to one of the long corridors, whose arches seemed to
+banish daylight from beneath their heavy springings. His advance
+was unresisted. Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique closely
+followed him.
+
+Master Zacharius, as if guided by an irresistible hand, seemed
+sure of his way, and strode along with rapid step. He reached an
+old worm-eaten door, which fell before his blows, whilst the bats
+described oblique circles around his head.
+
+An immense hall, better preserved than the rest, was soon
+reached. High sculptured panels, on which serpents, ghouls, and
+other strange figures seemed to disport themselves confusedly,
+covered its walls. Several long and narrow windows, like
+loopholes, shivered beneath the bursts of the tempest.
+
+Master Zacharius, on reaching the middle of this hall, uttered a
+cry of joy.
+
+On an iron support, fastened to the wall, stood the clock in
+which now resided his entire life. This unequalled masterpiece
+represented an ancient Roman church, with buttresses of wrought
+iron, with its heavy bell-tower, where there was a complete chime
+for the anthem of the day, the "Angelus," the mass, vespers,
+compline, and the benediction. Above the church door, which
+opened at the hour of the services, was placed a "rose," in the
+centre of which two hands moved, and the archivault of which
+reproduced the twelve hours of the face sculptured in relief.
+Between the door and the rose, just as Scholastique had said, a
+maxim, relative to the employment of every moment of the day,
+appeared on a copper plate. Master Zacharius had once regulated
+this succession of devices with a really Christian solicitude;
+the hours of prayer, of work, of repast, of recreation, and of
+repose, followed each other according to the religious discipline,
+and were to infallibly insure salvation to him who scrupulously
+observed their commands.
+
+Master Zacharius, intoxicated with joy, went forward to take
+possession of the clock, when a frightful roar of laughter
+resounded behind him.
+
+He turned, and by the light of a smoky lamp recognized the little
+old man of Geneva.
+
+"You here?" cried he.
+
+Gerande was afraid. She drew closer to Aubert.
+
+"Good-day, Master Zacharius," said the monster.
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"Signor Pittonaccio, at your service! You have come to give me
+your daughter! You have remembered my words, 'Gerande will not
+wed Aubert.'"
+
+The young apprentice rushed upon Pittonaccio, who escaped from
+him like a shadow.
+
+"Stop, Aubert!" cried Master Zacharius.
+
+"Good-night," said Pittonaccio, and he disappeared.
+
+"My father, let us fly from this hateful place!" cried Gerande.
+"My father!"
+
+Master Zacharius was no longer there. He was pursuing the phantom
+of Pittonaccio across the rickety corridors. Scholastique,
+Gerande, and Aubert remained, speechless and fainting, in the
+large gloomy hall. The young girl had fallen upon a stone seat;
+the old servant knelt beside her, and prayed; Aubert remained
+erect, watching his betrothed. Pale lights wandered in the
+darkness, and the silence was only broken by the movements of the
+little animals which live in old wood, and the noise of which
+marks the hours of "death watch."
+
+When daylight came, they ventured upon the endless staircase
+which wound beneath these ruined masses; for two hours they
+wandered thus without meeting a living soul, and hearing only a
+far-off echo responding to their cries. Sometimes they found
+themselves buried a hundred feet below the ground, and sometimes
+they reached places whence they could overlook the wild
+mountains.
+
+Chance brought them at last back again to the vast hall, which
+had sheltered them during this night of anguish. It was no longer
+empty. Master Zacharius and Pittonaccio were talking there
+together, the one upright and rigid as a corpse, the other
+crouching over a marble table.
+
+Master Zacharius, when he perceived Gerande, went forward and
+took her by the hand, and led her towards Pittonaccio, saying,
+"Behold your lord and master, my daughter. Gerande, behold your
+husband!"
+
+Gerande shuddered from head to foot.
+
+"Never!" cried Aubert, "for she is my betrothed."
+
+"Never!" responded Gerande, like a plaintive echo.
+
+Pittonaccio began to laugh.
+
+"You wish me to die, then!" exclaimed the old man. "There, in
+that clock, the last which goes of all which have gone from my
+hands, my life is shut up; and this man tells me, 'When I have
+thy daughter, this clock shall belong to thee.' And this man will
+not rewind it. He can break it, and plunge me into chaos. Ah, my
+daughter, you no longer love me!"
+
+"My father!" murmured Gerande, recovering consciousness.
+
+"If you knew what I have suffered, far away from this principle
+of my existence!" resumed the old man. "Perhaps no one looked
+after this timepiece. Perhaps its springs were left to wear out,
+its wheels to get clogged. But now, in my own hands, I can
+nourish this health so dear, for I must not die,--I, the great
+watchmaker of Geneva. Look, my daughter, how these hands advance
+with certain step. See, five o'clock is about to strike. Listen
+well, and look at the maxim which is about to be revealed."
+
+Five o'clock struck with a noise which resounded sadly in
+Gerande's soul, and these words appeared in red letters:
+
+"YOU MUST EAT OF THE FRUITS OF THE TREE OF SCIENCE."
+
+Aubert and Gerande looked at each other stupefied. These were no
+longer the pious sayings of the Catholic watchmaker. The breath
+of Satan must have passed over it. But Zacharius paid no
+attention to this, and resumed--
+
+"Dost thou hear, my Gerande? I live, I still live! Listen to my
+breathing,--see the blood circulating in my veins! No, thou
+wouldst not kill thy father, and thou wilt accept this man for
+thy husband, so that I may become immortal, and at last attain
+the power of God!"
+
+At these blasphemous words old Scholastique crossed herself, and
+Pittonaccio laughed aloud with joy.
+
+"And then, Gerande, thou wilt be happy with him. See this man,--he
+is Time! Thy existence will be regulated with absolute
+precision. Gerande, since I gave thee life, give life to thy
+father!"
+
+[Illustration: "See this man,--he is Time!"]
+
+"Gerande," murmured Aubert, "I am thy betrothed."
+
+"He is my father!" replied Gerande, fainting.
+
+"She is thine!" said Master Zacharius. "Pittonaccio, them wilt
+keep thy promise!"
+
+"Here is the key of the clock," replied the horrible man.
+
+Master Zacharius seized the long key, which resembled an uncoiled
+snake, and ran to the clock, which he hastened to wind up with
+fantastic rapidity. The creaking of the spring jarred upon the
+nerves. The old watchmaker wound and wound the key, without
+stopping a moment, and it seemed as if the movement were beyond
+his control. He wound more and more quickly, with strange
+contortions, until he fell from sheer weariness.
+
+"There, it is wound up for a century!" he cried.
+
+Aubert rushed from the hall as if he were mad. After long
+wandering, he found the outlet of the hateful chateau, and
+hastened into the open air. He returned to the hermitage of
+Notre-Dame-du-Sex, and talked so despairingly to the holy
+recluse, that the latter consented to return with him to the
+chateau of Andernatt.
+
+If, during these hours of anguish, Gerande had not wept, it was
+because her tears were exhausted.
+
+Master Zacharius had not left the hall. He ran every moment to
+listen to the regular beating of the old clock.
+
+Meanwhile the clock had struck, and to Scholastique's great
+terror, these words had appeared on the silver face:--"MAN OUGHT
+TO BECOME THE EQUAL OF GOD."
+
+The old man had not only not been shocked by these impious
+maxims, but read them deliriously, and flattered himself with
+thoughts of pride, whilst Pittonaccio kept close by him.
+
+The marriage-contract was to be signed at midnight. Gerande,
+almost unconscious, saw or heard nothing. The silence was only
+broken by the old man's words, and the chuckling of Pittonaccio.
+
+Eleven o'clock struck. Master Zacharius shuddered, and read in a
+loud voice:--
+
+"MAN SHOULD BE THE SLAVE OF SCIENCE, AND
+ SACRIFICE TO IT RELATIVES AND FAMILY."
+
+"Yes!" he cried, "there is nothing but science in this world!"
+
+The hands slipped over the face of the clock with the hiss of a
+serpent, and the pendulum beat with accelerated strokes.
+
+Master Zacharius no longer spoke. He had fallen to the floor, his
+throat rattled, and from his oppressed bosom came only these
+half-broken words: "Life--science!"
+
+The scene had now two new witnesses, the hermit and Aubert.
+Master Zacharius lay upon the floor; Gerande was praying beside
+him, more dead than alive.
+
+Of a sudden a dry, hard noise was heard, which preceded the
+strike.
+
+Master Zacharius sprang up.
+
+"Midnight!" he cried.
+
+The hermit stretched out his hand towards the old clock,--and
+midnight did not sound.
+
+Master Zacharius uttered a terrible cry, which must have been
+heard in hell, when these words appeared:--
+
+"WHO EVER SHALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF GOD, SHALL
+BE FOR EVER DAMNED!"
+
+The old clock burst with a noise like thunder, and the spring,
+escaping, leaped across the hall with a thousand fantastic
+contortions; the old man rose, ran after it, trying in vain to
+seize it, and exclaiming, "My soul,--my soul!"
+
+The spring bounded before him, first on one side, then on the
+other, and he could not reach it.
+
+At last Pittonaccio seized it, and, uttering a horrible
+blasphemy, ingulfed himself in the earth.
+
+Master Zacharius fell backwards. He was dead.
+
+[Illustration: He was dead.]
+
+The old watchmaker was buried in the midst of the peaks of
+Andernatt.
+
+Then Aubert and Gerande returned to Geneva, and during the long
+life which God accorded to them, they made it a duty to redeem by
+prayer the soul of the castaway of science.
+
+
+
+
+A DRAMA IN THE AIR.
+
+
+In the month of September, 185--, I arrived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine.
+My passage through the principal German cities had been brilliantly
+marked by balloon ascents; but as yet no German had accompanied me in
+my car, and the fine experiments made at Paris by MM. Green, Eugene
+Godard, and Poitevin had not tempted the grave Teutons to essay
+aerial voyages.
+
+But scarcely had the news of my approaching ascent spread through
+Frankfort, than three of the principal citizens begged the favour
+of being allowed to ascend with me. Two days afterwards we were
+to start from the Place de la Comedie. I began at once to get my
+balloon ready. It was of silk, prepared with gutta percha, a
+substance impermeable by acids or gasses; and its volume, which
+was three thousand cubic yards, enabled it to ascend to the
+loftiest heights.
+
+The day of the ascent was that of the great September fair, which
+attracts so many people to Frankfort. Lighting gas, of a perfect
+quality and of great lifting power, had been furnished to me in
+excellent condition, and about eleven o'clock the balloon was
+filled; but only three-quarters filled,--an indispensable
+precaution, for, as one rises, the atmosphere diminishes in
+density, and the fluid enclosed within the balloon, acquiring
+more elasticity, might burst its sides. My calculations had
+furnished me with exactly the quantity of gas necessary to carry
+up my companions and myself.
+
+We were to start at noon. The impatient crowd which pressed
+around the enclosed space, filling the enclosed square,
+overflowing into the contiguous streets, and covering the houses
+from the ground-floor to the slated gables, presented a striking
+scene. The high winds of the preceding days had subsided. An
+oppressive heat fell from the cloudless sky. Scarcely a breath
+animated the atmosphere. In such weather, one might descend again
+upon the very spot whence he had risen.
+
+I carried three hundred pounds of ballast in bags; the car, quite
+round, four feet in diameter, was comfortably arranged; the
+hempen cords which supported it stretched symmetrically over the
+upper hemisphere of the balloon; the compass was in place, the
+barometer suspended in the circle which united the supporting
+cords, and the anchor carefully put in order. All was now ready
+for the ascent.
+
+Among those who pressed around the enclosure, I remarked a young
+man with a pale face and agitated features. The sight of him
+impressed me. He was an eager spectator of my ascents, whom I had
+already met in several German cities. With an uneasy air, he
+closely watched the curious machine, as it lay motionless a few
+feet above the ground; and he remained silent among those about
+him.
+
+Twelve o'clock came. The moment had arrived, but my travelling
+companions did not appear.
+
+I sent to their houses, and learnt that one had left for Hamburg,
+another for Vienna, and the third for London. Their courage had
+failed them at the moment of undertaking one of those excursions
+which, thanks to the ability of living aeronauts, are free from
+all danger. As they formed, in some sort, a part of the programme
+of the day, the fear had seized them that they might be forced to
+execute it faithfully, and they had fled far from the scene at
+the instant when the balloon was being filled. Their courage was
+evidently the inverse ratio of their speed--in decamping.
+
+The multitude, half deceived, showed not a little ill-humour. I
+did not hesitate to ascend alone. In order to re-establish the
+equilibrium between the specific gravity of the balloon and the
+weight which had thus proved wanting, I replaced my companions by
+more sacks of sand, and got into the car. The twelve men who held
+the balloon by twelve cords fastened to the equatorial circle,
+let them slip a little between their fingers, and the balloon
+rose several feet higher. There was not a breath of wind, and the
+atmosphere was so leaden that it seemed to forbid the ascent.
+
+"Is everything ready?" I cried.
+
+The men put themselves in readiness. A last glance told me that I
+might go.
+
+"Attention!"
+
+There was a movement in the crowd, which seemed to be invading
+the enclosure.
+
+"Let go!"
+
+The balloon rose slowly, but I experienced a shock which threw me
+to the bottom of the car.
+
+When I got up, I found myself face to face with an unexpected
+fellow-voyager,--the pale young man.
+
+"Monsieur, I salute you," said he, with the utmost coolness.
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur, I salute you,"]
+
+"By what right--"
+
+"Am I here? By the right which the impossibility of your getting
+rid of me confers."
+
+I was amazed! His calmness put me out of countenance, and I had
+nothing to reply. I looked at the intruder, but he took no notice
+of my astonishment.
+
+"Does my weight disarrange your equilibrium, monsieur?" he asked.
+"You will permit me--"
+
+And without waiting for my consent, he relieved the balloon of
+two bags, which he threw into space.
+
+"Monsieur," said I, taking the only course now possible, "you
+have come; very well, you will remain; but to me alone belongs
+the management of the balloon."
+
+"Monsieur," said he, "your urbanity is French all over: it comes
+from my own country. I morally press the hand you refuse me. Make
+all precautions, and act as seems best to you. I will wait till
+you have done--"
+
+"For what?"
+
+"To talk with you."
+
+The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches. We were nearly six
+hundred yards above the city; but nothing betrayed the horizontal
+displacement of the balloon, for the mass of air in which it is
+enclosed goes forward with it. A sort of confused glow enveloped
+the objects spread out under us, and unfortunately obscured their
+outline.
+
+I examined my companion afresh.
+
+He was a man of thirty years, simply clad. The sharpness of his
+features betrayed an indomitable energy, and he seemed very
+muscular. Indifferent to the astonishment he created, he remained
+motionless, trying to distinguish the objects which were vaguely
+confused below us.
+
+"Miserable mist!" said he, after a few moments.
+
+I did not reply.
+
+"You owe me a grudge?" he went on. "Bah! I could not pay for my
+journey, and it was necessary to take you by surprise."
+
+"Nobody asks you to descend, monsieur!"
+
+"Eh, do you not know, then, that the same thing happened to the
+Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre, when they ascended at Lyons,
+on the 15th of January, 1784? A young merchant, named Fontaine,
+scaled the gallery, at the risk of capsizing the machine. He
+accomplished the journey, and nobody died of it!"
+
+"Once on the ground, we will have an explanation," replied I,
+piqued at the light tone in which he spoke.
+
+"Bah! Do not let us think of our return."
+
+"Do you think, then, that I shall not hasten to descend?"
+
+"Descend!" said he, in surprise. "Descend? Let us begin by first
+ascending."
+
+And before I could prevent it, two more bags had been thrown over
+the car, without even having been emptied.
+
+"Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage.
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur!" cried I, in a rage.]
+
+"I know your ability," replied the unknown quietly, "and your
+fine ascents are famous. But if Experience is the sister of
+Practice, she is also a cousin of Theory, and I have studied the
+aerial art long. It has got into my head!" he added sadly,
+falling into a silent reverie.
+
+The balloon, having risen some distance farther, now became
+stationary. The unknown consulted the barometer, and said,--
+
+"Here we are, at eight hundred yards. Men are like insects. See!
+I think we should always contemplate them from this height, to
+judge correctly of their proportions. The Place de la Comedie is
+transformed into an immense ant-hill. Observe the crowd which is
+gathered on the quays; and the mountains also get smaller and
+smaller. We are over the Cathedral. The Main is only a line,
+cutting the city in two, and the bridge seems a thread thrown
+between the two banks of the river."
+
+The atmosphere became somewhat chilly.
+
+"There is nothing I would not do for you, my host," said the
+unknown. "If you are cold, I will take off my coat and lend it to
+you."
+
+"Thanks," said I dryly.
+
+"Bah! Necessity makes law. Give me your hand. I am your
+fellow-countryman; you will learn something in my company, and my
+conversation will indemnify you for the trouble I have given
+you."
+
+I sat down, without replying, at the opposite extremity of the
+car. The young man had taken a voluminous manuscript from his
+great-coat. It was an essay on ballooning.
+
+"I possess," said he, "the most curious collection of engravings
+and caricatures extant concerning aerial manias. How people
+admired and scoffed at the same time at this precious discovery!
+We are happily no longer in the age in which Montgolfier tried to
+make artificial clouds with steam, or a gas having electrical
+properties, produced by the combustion of moist straw and
+chopped-up wool."
+
+"Do you wish to depreciate the talent of the inventors?" I asked,
+for I had resolved to enter into the adventure. "Was it not good
+to have proved by experience the possibility of rising in the
+air?"
+
+"Ah, monsieur, who denies the glory of the first aerial
+navigators? It required immense courage to rise by means of those
+frail envelopes which only contained heated air. But I ask you,
+has the aerial science made great progress since Blanchard's
+ascensions, that is, since nearly a century ago? Look here,
+monsieur."
+
+The unknown took an engraving from his portfolio.
+
+"Here," said he, "is the first aerial voyage undertaken by
+Pilatre des Rosiers and the Marquis d'Arlandes, four months after
+the discovery of balloons. Louis XVI. refused to consent to the
+venture, and two men who were condemned to death were the first
+to attempt the aerial ascent. Pilatre des Rosiers became
+indignant at this injustice, and, by means of intrigues, obtained
+permission to make the experiment. The car, which renders the
+management easy, had not then been invented, and a circular
+gallery was placed around the lower and contracted part of the
+Montgolfier balloon. The two aeronauts must then remain
+motionless at each extremity of this gallery, for the moist straw
+which filled it forbade them all motion. A chafing-dish with fire
+was suspended below the orifice of the balloon; when the
+aeronauts wished to rise, they threw straw upon this brazier, at
+the risk of setting fire to the balloon, and the air, more
+heated, gave it fresh ascending power. The two bold travellers
+rose, on the 21st of November, 1783, from the Muette Gardens,
+which the dauphin had put at their disposal. The balloon went up
+majestically, passed over the Isle of Swans, crossed the Seine at
+the Conference barrier, and, drifting between the dome of the
+Invalides and the Military School, approached the Church of Saint
+Sulpice. Then the aeronauts added to the fire, crossed the
+Boulevard, and descended beyond the Enfer barrier. As it touched
+the soil, the balloon collapsed, and for a few moments buried
+Pilatre des Rosiers under its folds."
+
+"Unlucky augury," I said, interested in the story, which affected
+me nearly.
+
+"An augury of the catastrophe which was later to cost this
+unfortunate man his life," replied the unknown sadly. "Have you
+never experienced anything like it?"
+
+"Never,"
+
+"Bah! Misfortunes sometimes occur unforeshadowed!" added my
+companion.
+
+He then remained silent.
+
+Meanwhile we were advancing southward, and Frankfort had already
+passed from beneath us.
+
+"Perhaps we shall have a storm," said the young man.
+
+"We shall descend before that," I replied.
+
+"Indeed! It is better to ascend. We shall escape it more surely."
+
+And two more bags of sand were hurled into space.
+
+The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred yards. I
+became colder; and yet the sun's rays, falling upon the surface,
+expanded the gas within, and gave it a greater ascending force.
+
+"Fear nothing," said the unknown. "We have still three thousand
+five hundred fathoms of breathing air. Besides, do not trouble
+yourself about what I do."
+
+I would have risen, but a vigorous hand held me to my seat.
+
+"Your name?" I asked.
+
+"My name? What matters it to you?"
+
+"I demand your name!"
+
+"My name is Erostratus or Empedocles, whichever you choose!"
+
+This reply was far from reassuring.
+
+The unknown, besides, talked with such strange coolness that I
+anxiously asked myself whom I had to deal with.
+
+"Monsieur," he continued, "nothing original has been imagined
+since the physicist Charles. Four months after the discovery of
+balloons, this able man had invented the valve, which permits the
+gas to escape when the balloon is too full, or when you wish to
+descend; the car, which aids the management of the machine; the
+netting, which holds the envelope of the balloon, and divides the
+weight over its whole surface; the ballast, which enables you to
+ascend, and to choose the place of your landing; the india-rubber
+coating, which renders the tissue impermeable; the barometer,
+which shows the height attained. Lastly, Charles used hydrogen,
+which, fourteen times lighter than air, permits you to penetrate
+to the highest atmospheric regions, and does not expose you to
+the dangers of a combustion in the air. On the 1st of December,
+1783, three hundred thousand spectators were crowded around the
+Tuileries. Charles rose, and the soldiers presented arms to him.
+He travelled nine leagues in the air, conducting his balloon with
+an ability not surpassed by modern aeronauts. The king awarded
+him a pension of two thousand livres; for then they encouraged
+new inventions."
+
+The unknown now seemed to be under the influence of considerable
+agitation.
+
+"Monsieur," he resumed, "I have studied this, and I am convinced
+that the first aeronauts guided their balloons. Without speaking
+of Blanchard, whose assertions may be received with doubt,
+Guyton-Morveaux, by the aid of oars and rudder, made his machine
+answer to the helm, and take the direction he determined on. More
+recently, M. Julien, a watchmaker, made some convincing
+experiments at the Hippodrome, in Paris; for, by a special
+mechanism, his aerial apparatus, oblong in form, went visibly
+against the wind. It occurred to M. Petin to place four hydrogen
+balloons together; and, by means of sails hung horizontally and
+partly folded, he hopes to be able to disturb the equilibrium,
+and, thus inclining the apparatus, to convey it in an oblique
+direction. They speak, also, of forces to overcome the resistance
+of currents,--for instance, the screw; but the screw, working on
+a moveable centre, will give no result. I, monsieur, have
+discovered the only means of guiding balloons; and no academy has
+come to my aid, no city has filled up subscriptions for me, no
+government has thought fit to listen to me! It is infamous!"
+
+The unknown gesticulated fiercely, and the car underwent violent
+oscillations. I had much trouble in calming him.
+
+Meanwhile the balloon had entered a more rapid current, and we
+advanced south, at fifteen hundred yards above the earth.
+
+"See, there is Darmstadt," said my companion, leaning over the
+car. "Do you perceive the chateau? Not very distinctly, eh? What
+would you have? The heat of the storm makes the outline of
+objects waver, and you must have a skilled eye to recognize
+localities."
+
+"Are you certain it is Darmstadt?" I asked.
+
+"I am sure of it. We are now six leagues from Frankfort."
+
+"Then we must descend."
+
+"Descend! You would not go down, on the steeples," said the
+unknown, with a chuckle.
+
+"No, but in the suburbs of the city."
+
+"Well, let us avoid the steeples!"
+
+So speaking, my companion seized some bags of ballast. I hastened
+to prevent him; but he overthrew me with one hand, and the
+unballasted balloon ascended to two thousand yards.
+
+"Rest easy," said he, "and do not forget that Brioschi, Biot,
+Gay-Lussac, Bixio, and Barral ascended to still greater heights
+to make their scientific experiments."
+
+"Monsieur, we must descend," I resumed, trying to persuade him by
+gentleness. "The storm is gathering around us. It would be more
+prudent--"
+
+"Bah! We will mount higher than the storm, and then we shall no
+longer fear it!" cried my companion. "What is nobler than to
+overlook the clouds which oppress the earth? Is it not an honour
+thus to navigate on aerial billows? The greatest men have
+travelled as we are doing. The Marchioness and Countess de
+Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas, Mademoiselle la Garde, the
+Marquis de Montalembert, rose from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine for
+these unknown regions, and the Duke de Chartres exhibited much
+skill and presence of mind in his ascent on the 15th of July,
+1784. At Lyons, the Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre; at Nantes,
+M. de Luynes; at Bordeaux, D'Arbelet des Granges; in Italy, the
+Chevalier Andreani; in our own time, the Duke of Brunswick,--have
+all left the traces of their glory in the air. To equal these
+great personages, we must penetrate still higher than they into
+the celestial depths! To approach the infinite is to comprehend
+it!"
+
+The rarefaction of the air was fast expanding the hydrogen in the
+balloon, and I saw its lower part, purposely left empty, swell
+out, so that it was absolutely necessary to open the valve; but
+my companion did not seem to intend that I should manage the
+balloon as I wished. I then resolved to pull the valve cord
+secretly, as he was excitedly talking; for I feared to guess with
+whom I had to deal. It would have been too horrible! It was
+nearly a quarter before one. We had been gone forty minutes from
+Frankfort; heavy clouds were coming against the wind from the
+south, and seemed about to burst upon us.
+
+"Have you lost all hope of succeeding in your project?" I asked
+with anxious interest.
+
+"All hope!" exclaimed the unknown in a low voice. "Wounded by
+slights and caricatures, these asses' kicks have finished me! It
+is the eternal punishment reserved for innovators! Look at these
+caricatures of all periods, of which my portfolio is full."
+
+While my companion was fumbling with his papers, I had seized the
+valve-cord without his perceiving it. I feared, however, that he
+might hear the hissing noise, like a water-course, which the gas
+makes in escaping.
+
+"How many jokes were made about the Abbe Miolan!" said he. "He
+was to go up with Janninet and Bredin. During the filling their
+balloon caught fire, and the ignorant populace tore it in pieces!
+Then this caricature of 'curious animals' appeared, giving each
+of them a punning nickname."
+
+I pulled the valve-cord, and the barometer began to ascend. It
+was time. Some far-off rumblings were heard in the south.
+
+"Here is another engraving," resumed the unknown, not suspecting
+what I was doing. "It is an immense balloon carrying a ship,
+strong castles, houses, and so on. The caricaturists did not
+suspect that their follies would one day become truths. It is
+complete, this large vessel. On the left is its helm, with the
+pilot's box; at the prow are pleasure-houses, an immense organ,
+and a cannon to call the attention of the inhabitants of the
+earth or the moon; above the poop there are the observatory and
+the balloon long-boat; in the equatorial circle, the army
+barrack; on the left, the funnel; then the upper galleries for
+promenading, sails, pinions; below, the cafes and general
+storehouse. Observe this pompous announcement: 'Invented for the
+happiness of the human race, this globe will depart at once for
+the ports of the Levant, and on its return the programme of its
+voyages to the two poles and the extreme west will be announced.
+No one need furnish himself with anything; everything is
+foreseen, and all will prosper. There will be a uniform price for
+all places of destination, but it will be the same for the most
+distant countries of our hemisphere--that is to say, a thousand
+louis for one of any of the said journeys. And it must be
+confessed that this sum is very moderate, when the speed,
+comfort, and arrangements which will be enjoyed on the balloon
+are considered--arrangements which are not to be found on land,
+while on the balloon each passenger may consult his own habits
+and tastes. This is so true that in the same place some will be
+dancing, others standing; some will be enjoying delicacies;
+others fasting. Whoever desires the society of wits may satisfy
+himself; whoever is stupid may find stupid people to keep him
+company. Thus pleasure will be the soul of the aerial company.'
+All this provoked laughter; but before long, if I am not cut off,
+they will see it all realized."
+
+We were visibly descending. He did not perceive it!
+
+"This kind of 'game at balloons,'" he resumed, spreading out
+before me some of the engravings of his valuable collection,
+"this game contains the entire history of the aerostatic art. It
+is used by elevated minds, and is played with dice and counters,
+with whatever stakes you like, to be paid or received according
+to where the player arrives."
+
+"Why," said I, "you seem to have studied the science of
+aerostation profoundly."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes! From Phaethon, Icarus, Architas, I have
+searched for, examined, learnt everything. I could render immense
+services to the world in this art, if God granted me life. But
+that will not be!"
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because my name is Empedocles, or Erostratus."
+
+Meanwhile, the balloon was happily approaching the earth; but
+when one is falling, the danger is as great at a hundred feet as
+at five thousand.
+
+"Do you recall the battle of Fleurus?" resumed my companion,
+whose face became more and more animated. "It was at that battle
+that Contello, by order of the Government, organized a company of
+balloonists. At the siege of Manbenge General Jourdan derived so
+much service from this new method of observation that Contello
+ascended twice a day with the general himself. The communications
+between the aeronaut and his agents who held the balloon were
+made by means of small white, red, and yellow flags. Often the
+gun and cannon shot were directed upon the balloon when he
+ascended, but without result. When General Jourdan was preparing
+to invest Charleroi, Contello went into the vicinity, ascended
+from the plain of Jumet, and continued his observations for seven
+or eight hours with General Morlot, and this no doubt aided in
+giving us the victory of Fleurus. General Jourdan publicly
+acknowledged the help which the aeronautical observations had
+afforded him. Well, despite the services rendered on that
+occasion and during the Belgian campaign, the year which had seen
+the beginning of the military career of balloons saw also its
+end. The school of Meudon, founded by the Government, was closed
+by Buonaparte on his return from Egypt. And now, what can you
+expect from the new-born infant? as Franklin said. The infant was
+born alive; it should not be stifled!"
+
+[Illustration: "He continued his observations for seven or eight
+hours with General Morlot"]
+
+The unknown bowed his head in his hands, and reflected for some
+moments; then raising his head, he said,--
+
+"Despite my prohibition, monsieur, you have opened the valve."
+
+I dropped the cord.
+
+"Happily," he resumed, "we have still three hundred pounds of
+ballast."
+
+"What is your purpose?" said I.
+
+"Have you ever crossed the seas?" he asked.
+
+I turned pale.
+
+"It is unfortunate," he went on, "that we are being driven
+towards the Adriatic. That is only a stream; but higher up we may
+find other currents."
+
+And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over several bags
+of sand; then, in a menacing voice, he said,--
+
+"I let you open the valve because the expansion of the gas
+threatened to burst the balloon; but do not do it again!"
+
+Then he went on as follows:--
+
+"You remember the voyage of Blanchard and Jeffries from Dover to
+Calais? It was magnificent! On the 7th of January, 1785, there
+being a north-west wind, their balloon was inflated with gas on
+the Dover coast. A mistake of equilibrium, just as they were
+ascending, forced them to throw out their ballast so that they
+might not go down again, and they only kept thirty pounds. It was
+too little; for, as the wind did not freshen, they only advanced
+very slowly towards the French coast. Besides, the permeability
+of the tissue served to reduce the inflation little by little,
+and in an hour and a half the aeronauts perceived that they were
+descending.
+
+"'What shall we do?' said Jeffries.
+
+"'We are only one quarter of the way over,' replied Blanchard,
+'and very low down. On rising, we shall perhaps meet more
+favourable winds.'
+
+"'Let us throw out the rest of the sand.'
+
+"The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon began to
+descend again. Towards the middle of the transit the aeronauts
+threw over their books and tools. A quarter of an hour after,
+Blanchard said to Jeffries,--
+
+"'The barometer?'
+
+"'It is going up! We are lost, and yet there is the French
+coast.'
+
+"A loud noise was heard.
+
+"'Has the balloon burst?' asked Jeffries.
+
+"'No. The loss of the gas has reduced the inflation of the lower
+part of the balloon. But we are still descending. We are lost!
+Out with everything useless!'
+
+"Provisions, oars, and rudder were thrown into the sea. The
+aeronauts were only one hundred yards high.
+
+"'We are going up again,' said the doctor.
+
+"'No. It is the spurt caused by the diminution of the weight, and
+not a ship in sight, not a bark on the horizon! To the sea with
+our clothing!'
+
+"The unfortunates stripped themselves, but the balloon continued
+to descend.
+
+"'Blanchard,' said Jeffries, 'you should have made this voyage
+alone; you consented to take me; I will sacrifice myself! I am
+going to throw myself into the water, and the balloon, relieved
+of my weight, will mount again.'
+
+"'No, no! It is frightful!'
+
+"The balloon became less and less inflated, and as it doubled up
+its concavity pressed the gas against the sides, and hastened its
+downward course.
+
+[Illustration: The balloon became less and less inflated]
+
+"'Adieu, my friend," said the doctor. 'God preserve you!'
+
+"He was about to throw himself over, when Blanchard held him
+back.
+
+"'There is one more chance,' said he. 'We can cut the cords which
+hold the car, and cling to the net! Perhaps the balloon will
+rise. Let us hold ourselves ready. But--the barometer is going
+down! The wind is freshening! We are saved!'
+
+"The aeronauts perceived Calais. Their joy was delirious. A few
+moments more, and they had fallen in the forest of Guines. I do
+not doubt," added the unknown, "that, under similar circumstances,
+you would have followed Doctor Jeffries' example!"
+
+The clouds rolled in glittering masses beneath us. The balloon
+threw large shadows on this heap of clouds, and was surrounded as
+by an aureola. The thunder rumbled below the car. All this was
+terrifying.
+
+"Let us descend!" I cried.
+
+"Descend, when the sun is up there, waiting for us? Out with more
+bags!"
+
+And more than fifty pounds of ballast were cast over.
+
+At a height of three thousand five hundred yards we remained
+stationary.
+
+The unknown talked unceasingly. I was in a state of complete
+prostration, while he seemed to be in his element.
+
+"With a good wind, we shall go far," he cried. "In the Antilles
+there are currents of air which have a speed of a hundred leagues
+an hour. When Napoleon was crowned, Garnerin sent up a balloon
+with coloured lamps, at eleven o'clock at night. The wind was
+blowing north-north-west. The next morning, at daybreak, the
+inhabitants of Rome greeted its passage over the dome of St.
+Peter's. We shall go farther and higher!"
+
+I scarcely heard him. Everything whirled around me. An opening
+appeared in the clouds.
+
+"See that city," said the unknown. "It is Spires!"
+
+I leaned over the car and perceived a small blackish mass. It was
+Spires. The Rhine, which is so large, seemed an unrolled ribbon.
+The sky was a deep blue over our heads. The birds had long
+abandoned us, for in that rarefied air they could not have flown.
+We were alone in space, and I in presence of this unknown!
+
+"It is useless for you to know whither I am leading you," he
+said, as he threw the compass among the clouds. "Ah! a fall is a
+grand thing! You know that but few victims of ballooning are to
+be reckoned, from Pilatre des Rosiers to Lieutenant Gale, and
+that the accidents have always been the result of imprudence.
+Pilatre des Rosiers set out with Romain of Boulogne, on the 13th
+of June, 1785. To his gas balloon he had affixed a Montgolfier
+apparatus of hot air, so as to dispense, no doubt, with the
+necessity of losing gas or throwing out ballast. It was putting a
+torch under a powder-barrel. When they had ascended four hundred
+yards, and were taken by opposing winds, they were driven over
+the open sea. Pilatre, in order to descend, essayed to open the
+valve, but the valve-cord became entangled in the balloon, and
+tore it so badly that it became empty in an instant. It fell upon
+the Montgolfier apparatus, overturned it, and dragged down the
+unfortunates, who were soon shattered to pieces! It is frightful,
+is it not?"
+
+I could only reply, "For pity's sake, let us descend!"
+
+The clouds gathered around us on every side, and dreadful
+detonations, which reverberated in the cavity of the balloon,
+took place beneath us.
+
+"You provoke me," cried the unknown, "and you shall no longer
+know whether we are rising or falling!"
+
+The barometer went the way of the compass, accompanied by several
+more bags of sand. We must have been 5000 yards high. Some
+icicles had already attached themselves to the sides of the car,
+and a kind of fine snow seemed to penetrate to my very bones.
+Meanwhile a frightful tempest was raging under us, but we were
+above it.
+
+"Do not be afraid," said the unknown. "It is only the imprudent
+who are lost. Olivari, who perished at Orleans, rose in a paper
+'Montgolfier;' his car, suspended below the chafing-dish, and
+ballasted with combustible materials, caught fire; Olivari fell,
+and was killed! Mosment rose, at Lille, on a light tray; an
+oscillation disturbed his equilibrium; Mosment fell, and was
+killed! Bittorf, at Mannheim, saw his balloon catch fire in the
+air; and he, too, fell, and was killed! Harris rose in a badly
+constructed balloon, the valve of which was too large and would
+not shut; Harris fell, and was killed! Sadler, deprived of
+ballast by his long sojourn in the air, was dragged over the town
+of Boston and dashed against the chimneys; Sadler fell, and was
+killed! Cokling descended with a convex parachute which he
+pretended to have perfected; Cokling fell, and was killed! Well,
+I love them, these victims of their own imprudence, and I shall
+die as they did. Higher! still higher!"
+
+All the phantoms of this necrology passed before my eyes. The
+rarefaction of the air and the sun's rays added to the expansion
+of the gas, and the balloon continued to mount. I tried
+mechanically to open the valve, but the unknown cut the cord
+several feet above my head. I was lost!
+
+"Did you see Madame Blanchard fall?" said he. "I saw her; yes, I!
+I was at Tivoli on the 6th of July, 1819. Madame Blanchard rose
+in a small sized balloon, to avoid the expense of filling, and
+she was forced to entirely inflate it. The gas leaked out below,
+and left a regular train of hydrogen in its path. She carried
+with her a sort of pyrotechnic aureola, suspended below her car
+by a wire, which she was to set off in the air. This she had done
+many times before. On this day she also carried up a small
+parachute ballasted by a firework contrivance, that would go off
+in a shower of silver. She was to start this contrivance after
+having lighted it with a port-fire made on purpose. She set out;
+the night was gloomy. At the moment of lighting her fireworks she
+was so imprudent as to pass the taper under the column of
+hydrogen which was leaking from the balloon. My eyes were fixed
+upon her. Suddenly an unexpected gleam lit up the darkness. I
+thought she was preparing a surprise. The light flashed out,
+suddenly disappeared and reappeared, and gave the summit of the
+balloon the shape of an immense jet of ignited gas. This sinister
+glow shed itself over the Boulevard and the whole Montmartre
+quarter. Then I saw the unhappy woman rise, try twice to close
+the appendage of the balloon, so as to put out the fire, then sit
+down in her car and try to guide her descent; for she did not
+fall. The combustion of the gas lasted for several minutes. The
+balloon, becoming gradually less, continued to descend, but it
+was not a fall. The wind blew from the north-west and drove it
+towards Paris. There were then some large gardens just by the
+house No. 16, Rue de Provence. Madame Blanchard essayed to fall
+there without danger: but the balloon and the car struck on the
+roof of the house with a light shock. 'Save me!' cried the
+wretched woman. I got into the street at this moment. The car
+slid along the roof, and encountered an iron cramp. At this
+concussion, Madame Blanchard was thrown out of her car and
+precipitated upon the pavement. She was killed!"
+
+These stories froze me with horror. The unknown was standing with
+bare head, dishevelled hair, haggard eyes!
+
+There was no longer any illusion possible. I at last recognized
+the horrible truth. I was in the presence of a madman!
+
+He threw out the rest of the ballast, and we must have now
+reached a height of at least nine thousand yards. Blood spurted
+from my nose and mouth!
+
+"Who are nobler than the martyrs of science?" cried the lunatic.
+"They are canonized by posterity."
+
+But I no longer heard him. He looked about him, and, bending down
+to my ear, muttered,--
+
+"And have you forgotten Zambecarri's catastrophe? Listen. On the
+7th of October, 1804, the clouds seemed to lift a little. On the
+preceding days, the wind and rain had not ceased; but the
+announced ascension of Zambecarri could not be postponed. His
+enemies were already bantering him. It was necessary to ascend,
+to save the science and himself from becoming a public jest. It
+was at Boulogne. No one helped him to inflate his balloon.
+
+"He rose at midnight, accompanied by Andreoli and Grossetti. The
+balloon mounted slowly, for it had been perforated by the rain,
+and the gas was leaking out. The three intrepid aeronauts could
+only observe the state of the barometer by aid of a dark lantern.
+Zambecarri had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours. Grossetti was
+also fasting.
+
+"'My friends,' said Zambecarri, 'I am overcome by cold, and
+exhausted. I am dying.'
+
+"He fell inanimate in the gallery. It was the same with
+Grossetti. Andreoli alone remained conscious. After long efforts,
+he succeeded in reviving Zambecarri.
+
+"'What news? Whither are we going? How is the wind? What time is
+it?'
+
+"'It is two o'clock.'
+
+"'Where is the compass?'
+
+"'Upset!'
+
+"'Great God! The lantern has gone out!'
+
+"'It cannot burn in this rarefied air,' said Zambecarri.
+
+"The moon had not risen, and the atmosphere was plunged in murky
+darkness.
+
+"'I am cold, Andreoli. What shall I do?'
+
+"They slowly descended through a layer of whitish clouds.
+
+"'Sh!' said Andreoli. 'Do you hear?'
+
+"'What?' asked Zambecarri.
+
+"'A strange noise.'
+
+"'You are mistaken.'
+
+"'No.'
+
+"Consider these travellers, in the middle of the night, listening
+to that unaccountable noise! Are they going to knock against a
+tower? Are they about to be precipitated on the roofs?
+
+"'Do you hear? One would say it was the noise of the sea.'
+
+"'Impossible!'
+
+"'It is the groaning of the waves!'
+
+"'It is true.'
+
+"'Light! light!'
+
+"After five fruitless attempts, Andreoli succeeded in obtaining
+light. It was three o'clock.
+
+"The voice of violent waves was heard. They were almost touching
+the surface of the sea!
+
+"'We are lost!' cried Zambecarri, seizing a large bag of sand.
+
+"'Help!' cried Andreoli.
+
+"The car touched the water, and the waves came up to their
+breasts.
+
+"'Throw out the instruments, clothes, money!'
+
+"The aeronauts completely stripped themselves. The balloon,
+relieved, rose with frightful rapidity. Zambecarri was taken with
+vomiting. Grossetti bled profusely. The unfortunate men could not
+speak, so short was their breathing. They were taken with cold,
+and they were soon crusted over with ice. The moon looked as red
+as blood.
+
+"After traversing the high regions for a half-hour, the balloon
+again fell into the sea. It was four in the morning. They were
+half submerged in the water, and the balloon dragged them along,
+as if under sail, for several hours.
+
+"At daybreak they found themselves opposite Pesaro, four miles
+from the coast. They were about to reach it, when a gale blew
+them back into the open sea. They were lost! The frightened boats
+fled at their approach. Happily, a more intelligent boatman
+accosted them, hoisted them on board, and they landed at Ferrada.
+
+"A frightful journey, was it not? But Zambecarri was a brave and
+energetic man. Scarcely recovered from his sufferings, he resumed
+his ascensions. During one of them he struck against a tree; his
+spirit-lamp was broken on his clothes; he was enveloped in fire,
+his balloon began to catch the flames, and he came down half
+consumed.
+
+"At last, on the 21st of September, 1812, he made another
+ascension at Boulogne. The balloon clung to a tree, and his lamp
+again set it on fire. Zambecarri fell, and was killed! And in
+presence of these facts, we would still hesitate! No. The higher
+we go, the more glorious will be our death!"
+
+[Illustration: "Zambecarri fell, and was killed!"]
+
+The balloon being now entirely relieved of ballast and of all it
+contained, we were carried to an enormous height. It vibrated in
+the atmosphere. The least noise resounded in the vaults of
+heaven. Our globe, the only object which caught my view in
+immensity, seemed ready to be annihilated, and above us the
+depths of the starry skies were lost in thick darkness.
+
+I saw my companion rise up before me.
+
+"The hour is come!" he said. "We must die. We are rejected of
+men. They despise us. Let us crush them!"
+
+"Mercy!" I cried.
+
+"Let us cut these cords! Let this car be abandoned in space. The
+attractive force will change its direction, and we shall approach
+the sun!"
+
+Despair galvanized me. I threw myself upon the madman, we
+struggled together, and a terrible conflict took place. But I was
+thrown down, and while he held me under his knee, the madman was
+cutting the cords of the car.
+
+"One!" he cried.
+
+"My God!"
+
+"Two! Three!"
+
+I made a superhuman effort, rose up, and violently repulsed the
+madman.
+
+"Four!"
+
+The car fell, but I instinctively clung to the cords and hoisted
+myself into the meshes of the netting.
+
+The madman disappeared in space!
+
+[Illustration: The madman disappeared in space!]
+
+The balloon was raised to an immeasurable height. A horrible
+cracking was heard. The gas, too much dilated, had burst the
+balloon. I shut my eyes--
+
+Some instants after, a damp warmth revived me. I was in the midst
+of clouds on fire. The balloon turned over with dizzy velocity.
+Taken by the wind, it made a hundred leagues an hour in a
+horizontal course, the lightning flashing around it.
+
+Meanwhile my fall was not a very rapid one. When I opened my
+eyes, I saw the country. I was two miles from the sea, and the
+tempest was driving me violently towards it, when an abrupt shock
+forced me to loosen my hold. My hands opened, a cord slipped
+swiftly between my fingers, and I found myself on the solid
+earth!
+
+It was the cord of the anchor, which, sweeping along the surface
+of the ground, was caught in a crevice; and my balloon,
+unballasted for the last time, careered off to lose itself beyond
+the sea.
+
+When I came to myself, I was in bed in a peasant's cottage, at
+Harderwick, a village of La Gueldre, fifteen leagues from
+Amsterdam, on the shores of the Zuyder-Zee.
+
+A miracle had saved my life, but my voyage had been a series of
+imprudences, committed by a lunatic, and I had not been able to
+prevent them.
+
+May this terrible narrative, though instructing those who read
+it, not discourage the explorers of the air.
+
+
+
+
+A WINTER AMID THE ICE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE BLACK FLAG.
+
+
+The cure of the ancient church of Dunkirk rose at five o'clock on
+the 12th of May, 18--, to perform, according to his custom, low
+mass for the benefit of a few pious sinners.
+
+Attired in his priestly robes, he was about to proceed to the
+altar, when a man entered the sacristy, at once joyous and
+frightened. He was a sailor of some sixty years, but still
+vigorous and sturdy, with, an open, honest countenance.
+
+"Monsieur the cure," said he, "stop a moment, if you please."
+
+[Illustration: "Monsieur the cure," said he, "stop a moment, if
+you please."]
+
+"What do you want so early in the morning, Jean Cornbutte?" asked
+the cure.
+
+"What do I want? Why, to embrace you in my arms, i' faith!"
+
+"Well, after the mass at which you are going to be present--"
+
+"The mass?" returned the old sailor, laughing. "Do you think you
+are going to say your mass now, and that I will let you do so?"
+
+"And why should I not say my mass?" asked the cure. "Explain
+yourself. The third bell has sounded--"
+
+"Whether it has or not," replied Jean Cornbutte, "it will sound
+many more times to-day, monsieur the cure, for you have promised
+me that you will bless, with your own hands, the marriage of my
+son Louis and my niece Marie!"
+
+"He has arrived, then," said the cure "joyfully.
+
+"It is nearly the same thing," replied Cornbutte, rubbing his
+hands. "Our brig was signalled from the look out at sunrise,--our
+brig, which you yourself christened by the good name of the
+'Jeune-Hardie'!"
+
+"I congratulate you with all my heart, Cornbutte," said the cure,
+taking off his chasuble and stole. "I remember our agreement. The
+vicar will take my place, and I will put myself at your disposal
+against your dear son's arrival."
+
+"And I promise you that he will not make you fast long," replied
+the sailor. "You have already published the banns, and you will
+only have to absolve him from the sins he may have committed
+between sky and water, in the Northern Ocean. I had a good idea,
+that the marriage should be celebrated the very day he arrived,
+and that my son Louis should leave his ship to repair at once to
+the church."
+
+"Go, then, and arrange everything, Cornbutte."
+
+"I fly, monsieur the cure. Good morning!"
+
+The sailor hastened with rapid steps to his house, which stood on
+the quay, whence could be seen the Northern Ocean, of which he
+seemed so proud.
+
+Jean Cornbutte had amassed a comfortable sum at his calling.
+After having long commanded the vessels of a rich shipowner of
+Havre, he had settled down in his native town, where he had
+caused the brig "Jeune-Hardie" to be constructed at his own
+expense. Several successful voyages had been made in the North,
+and the ship always found a good sale for its cargoes of wood,
+iron, and tar. Jean Cornbutte then gave up the command of her to
+his son Louis, a fine sailor of thirty, who, according to all the
+coasting captains, was the boldest mariner in Dunkirk.
+
+Louis Cornbutte had gone away deeply attached to Marie, his
+father's niece, who found the time of his absence very long and
+weary. Marie was scarcely twenty. She was a pretty Flemish girl,
+with some Dutch blood in her veins. Her mother, when she was
+dying, had confided her to her brother, Jean Cornbutte. The brave
+old sailor loved her as a daughter, and saw in her proposed union
+with Louis a source of real and durable happiness.
+
+The arrival of the ship, already signalled off the coast,
+completed an important business operation, from which Jean
+Cornbutte expected large profits. The "Jeune-Hardie," which had
+left three months before, came last from Bodoe, on the west coast
+of Norway, and had made a quick voyage thence.
+
+On returning home, Jean Cornbutte found the whole house alive.
+Marie, with radiant face, had assumed her wedding-dress.
+
+"I hope the ship will not arrive before we are ready!" she said.
+
+"Hurry, little one," replied Jean Cornbutte, "for the wind is
+north, and she sails well, you know, when she goes freely."
+
+"Have our friends been told, uncle?" asked Marie.
+
+"They have."
+
+"The notary, and the cure?"
+
+"Rest easy. You alone are keeping us waiting."
+
+At this moment Clerbaut, an old crony, came in.
+
+"Well, old Cornbutte," cried he, "here's luck! Your ship has
+arrived at the very moment that the government has decided to
+contract for a large quantity of wood for the navy!"
+
+"What is that to me?" replied Jean Cornbutte. "What care I for
+the government?"
+
+"You see, Monsieur Clerbaut," said Marie, "one thing only absorbs
+us,--Louis's return."
+
+"I don't dispute that," replied Clerbaut. "But--in short--this
+purchase of wood--"
+
+"And you shall be at the wedding," replied Jean Cornbutte,
+interrupting the merchant, and shaking his hand as if he would
+crush it.
+
+"This purchase of wood--"
+
+"And with all our friends, landsmen and seamen, Clerbaut. I have
+already informed everybody, and I shall invite the whole crew of
+the ship."
+
+"And shall we go and await them on the pier?" asked Marie.
+
+"Indeed we will," replied Jean Cornbutte. "We will defile, two by
+two, with the violins at the head."
+
+Jean Cornbutte's invited guests soon arrived. Though it was very
+early, not a single one failed to appear. All congratulated the
+honest old sailor whom they loved. Meanwhile Marie, kneeling
+down, changed her prayers to God into thanksgivings. She soon
+returned, lovely and decked out, to the company; and all the
+women kissed her on the check, while the men vigorously grasped
+her by the hand. Then Jean Cornbutte gave the signal of
+departure.
+
+It was a curious sight to see this joyous group taking its way,
+at sunrise, towards the sea. The news of the ship's arrival had
+spread through the port, and many heads, in nightcaps, appeared
+at the windows and at the half-opened doors. Sincere compliments
+and pleasant nods came from every side.
+
+The party reached the pier in the midst of a concert of praise
+and blessings. The weather was magnificent, and the sun seemed to
+take part in the festivity. A fresh north wind made the waves
+foam; and some fishing-smacks, their sails trimmed for leaving
+port, streaked the sea with their rapid wakes between the
+breakwaters.
+
+The two piers of Dunkirk stretch far out into the sea. The
+wedding-party occupied the whole width of the northern pier, and
+soon reached a small house situated at its extremity, inhabited
+by the harbour-master. The wind freshened, and the "Jeune-Hardie"
+ran swiftly under her topsails, mizzen, brigantine, gallant, and
+royal. There was evidently rejoicing on board as well as on land.
+Jean Cornbutte, spy-glass in hand, responded merrily to the
+questions of his friends.
+
+"See my ship!" he cried; "clean and steady as if she had been
+rigged at Dunkirk! Not a bit of damage done,--not a rope
+wanting!"
+
+"Do you see your son, the captain?" asked one.
+
+"No, not yet. Why, he's at his business!"
+
+"Why doesn't he run up his flag?" asked Clerbaut.
+
+"I scarcely know, old friend. He has a reason for it, no doubt."
+
+"Your spy-glass, uncle?" said Marie, taking it from him. "I want
+to be the first to see him."
+
+"But he is my son, mademoiselle!"
+
+"He has been your son for thirty years," answered the young girl,
+laughing, "and he has only been my betrothed for two!"
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was now entirely visible. Already the crew
+were preparing to cast anchor. The upper sails had been reefed.
+The sailors who were among the rigging might be recognized. But
+neither Marie nor Jean Cornbutte had yet been able to wave their
+hands at the captain of the ship.
+
+"Faith! there's the first mate, Andre Vasling," cried Clerbaut.
+
+"And there's Fidele Misonne, the carpenter," said another.
+
+"And our friend Penellan," said a third, saluting the sailor
+named.
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was only three cables' lengths from the shore,
+when a black flag ascended to the gaff of the brigantine. There
+was mourning on board!
+
+A shudder of terror seized the party and the heart of the young
+girl.
+
+The ship sadly swayed into port, and an icy silence reigned on
+its deck. Soon it had passed the end of the pier. Marie, Jean
+Cornbutte, and all their friends hurried towards the quay at
+which she was to anchor, and in a moment found themselves on
+board.
+
+"My son!" said Jean Cornbutte, who could only articulate these
+words.
+
+The sailors, with uncovered heads, pointed to the mourning flag.
+
+Marie uttered a cry of anguish, and fell into old Cornbutte's
+arms.
+
+Andre Vasling had brought back the "Jeune-Hardie," but Louis
+Cornbutte, Marie's betrothed, was not on board.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's Project.
+
+
+As soon as the young girl, confided to the care of the
+sympathizing friends, had left the ship, Andre Vasling, the mate,
+apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful event which had deprived
+him of his son, narrated in the ship's journal as follows:--
+
+[Illustration: Andre Vasling, the mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte
+of the dreadful event]
+
+"At the height of the Maelstrom, on the 26th of April, the ship,
+putting for the cape, by reason of bad weather and south-west
+winds, perceived signals of distress made by a schooner to the
+leeward. This schooner, deprived of its mizzen-mast, was running
+towards the whirlpool, under bare poles. Captain Louis Cornbutte,
+seeing that this vessel was hastening into imminent danger,
+resolved to go on board her. Despite the remonstrances of his
+crew, he had the long-boat lowered into the sea, and got into it,
+with the sailor Courtois and the helmsman Pierre Nouquet. The
+crew watched them until they disappeared in the fog. Night came
+on. The sea became more and more boisterous. The "Jeune-Hardie",
+drawn by the currents in those parts, was in danger of being
+engulfed by the Maelstrom. She was obliged to fly before the
+wind. For several days she hovered near the place of the
+disaster, but in vain. The long-boat, the schooner, Captain
+Louis, and the two sailors did not reappear. Andre Vasling then
+called the crew together, took command of the ship, and set sail
+for Dunkirk."
+
+After reading this dry narrative, Jean Cornbutte wept for a long
+time; and if he had any consolation, it was the thought that his
+son had died in attempting to save his fellow-men. Then the poor
+father left the ship, the sight of which made him wretched, and
+returned to his desolate home.
+
+The sad news soon spread throughout Dunkirk. The many friends of
+the old sailor came to bring him their cordial and sincere
+sympathy. Then the sailors of the "Jeune-Hardie" gave a more
+particular account of the event, and Andre Vasling told Marie, at
+great length, of the devotion of her betrothed to the last.
+
+When he ceased weeping, Jean Cornbutte thought over the matter,
+and the next day after the ship's arrival, when Andre came to see
+him, said,--
+
+"Are you very sure, Andre, that my son has perished?"
+
+"Alas, yes, Monsieur Jean," replied the mate.
+
+"And you made all possible search for him?"
+
+"All, Monsieur Cornbutte. But it is unhappily but too certain
+that he and the two sailors were sucked down in the whirlpool of
+the Maelstrom."
+
+"Would you like, Andre, to keep the second command of the ship?"
+
+"That will depend upon the captain, Monsieur Cornbutte."
+
+"I shall be the captain," replied the old sailor. "I am going to
+discharge the cargo with all speed, make up my crew, and sail in
+search of my son."
+
+"Your son is dead!" said Andre obstinately.
+
+"It is possible, Andre," replied Jean Cornbutte sharply, "but it
+is also possible that he saved himself. I am going to rummage all
+the ports of Norway whither he might have been driven, and when I
+am fully convinced that I shall never see him again, I will
+return here to die!"
+
+Andre Vasling, seeing that this decision was irrevocable, did not
+insist further, but went away.
+
+Jean Cornbutte at once apprised his niece of his intention, and
+he saw a few rays of hope glisten across her tears. It had not
+seemed to the young girl that her lover's death might be
+doubtful; but scarcely had this new hope entered her heart, than
+she embraced it without reserve.
+
+The old sailor determined that the "Jeune-Hardie" should put to
+sea without delay. The solidly built ship had no need of repairs.
+Jean Cornbutte gave his sailors notice that if they wished to
+re-embark, no change in the crew would be made. He alone replaced
+his son in the command of the brig. None of the comrades of Louis
+Cornbutte failed to respond to his call, and there were hardy
+tars among them,--Alaine Turquiette, Fidele Misonne the
+carpenter, Penellan the Breton, who replaced Pierre Nouquet as
+helmsman, and Gradlin, Aupic, and Gervique, courageous and well-tried
+mariners.
+
+Jean Cornbutte again offered Andre Vasling his old rank on board.
+The first mate was an able officer, who had proved his skill in
+bringing the "Jeune-Hardie" into port. Yet, from what motive
+could not be told, Andre made some difficulties and asked time
+for reflection.
+
+"As you will, Andre Vasling," replied Cornbutte. "Only remember
+that if you accept, you will be welcome among us."
+
+Jean had a devoted sailor in Penellan the Breton, who had long
+been his fellow-voyager. In times gone by, little Marie was wont
+to pass the long winter evenings in the helmsman's arms, when he
+was on shore. He felt a fatherly friendship for her, and she had
+for him ah affection quite filial. Penellan hastened the fitting
+out of the ship with all his energy, all the more because,
+according to his opinion, Andre Vasling had not perhaps made
+every effort possible to find the castaways, although he was
+excusable from the responsibility which weighed upon him as
+captain.
+
+Within a week the "Jeune-Hardie" was ready to put to sea. Instead
+of merchandise, she was completely provided with salt meats,
+biscuits, barrels of flour, potatoes, pork, wine, brandy, coffee,
+tea, and tobacco.
+
+The departure was fixed for the 22nd of May. On the evening
+before, Andre Vasling, who had not yet given his answer to Jean
+Cornbutte, came to his house. He was still undecided, and did not
+know which course to take.
+
+Jean was not at home, though the house-door was open. Andre went
+into the passage, next to Marie's chamber, where the sound of an
+animated conversation struck his ear. He listened attentively,
+and recognized the voices of Penellan and Marie.
+
+The discussion had no doubt been going on for some time, for the
+young girl seemed to be stoutly opposing what the Breton sailor
+said.
+
+"How old is my uncle Cornbutte?" said Marie.
+
+"Something about sixty years," replied Penellan.
+
+"Well, is he not going to brave danger to find his son?"
+
+"Our captain is still a sturdy man," returned the sailor. "He has
+a body of oak and muscles as hard as a spare spar. So I am not
+afraid to have him go to sea again!'"
+
+"My good Penellan," said Marie, "one is strong when one loves!
+Besides, I have full confidence in the aid of Heaven. You
+understand me, and will help me."
+
+"No!" said Penellan. "It is impossible, Marie. Who knows whither
+we shall drift, or what we must suffer? How many vigorous men
+have I seen lose their lives in these seas!"
+
+"Penellan," returned the young girl, "if you refuse me, I shall
+believe that you do not love me any longer."
+
+Andre Vasling understood the young girl's resolution. He
+reflected a moment, and his course was determined on.
+
+"Jean Cornbutte," said he, advancing towards the old sailor, who
+now entered, "I will go with you. The cause of my hesitation has
+disappeared, and you may count upon my devotion."
+
+"I have never doubted you, Andre Vasling," replied Jean
+Cornbutte, grasping him by the hand. "Marie, my child!" he added,
+calling in a loud voice.
+
+Marie and Penellan made their appearance.
+
+"We shall set sail to-morrow at daybreak, with the outgoing
+tide," said Jean. "My poor Marie, this is the last evening that
+we shall pass together.
+
+"Uncle!" cried Marie, throwing herself into his arms.
+
+"Marie, by the help of God, I will bring your lover back to you!"
+
+"Yes, we will find Louis," added Andre Vasling.
+
+"You are going with us, then?" asked Penellan quickly.
+
+"Yes, Penellan, Andre Vasling is to be my first mate," answered
+Jean.
+
+"Oh, oh!" ejaculated the Breton, in a singular tone.
+
+"And his advice will be useful to us, for he is able and
+enterprising.
+
+"And yourself, captain," said Andre. "You will set us all a good
+example, for you have still as much vigour as experience."
+
+"Well, my friends, good-bye till to-morrow. Go on board and make
+the final arrangements. Good-bye, Andre; good-bye, Penellan."
+
+The mate and the sailor went out together, and Jean and Marie
+remained alone. Many bitter tears were shed during that sad
+evening. Jean Cornbutte, seeing Marie so wretched, resolved to
+spare her the pain of separation by leaving the house on the
+morrow without her knowledge. So he gave her a last kiss that
+evening, and at three o'clock next morning was up and away.
+
+The departure of the brig had attracted all the old sailor's
+friends to the pier. The cure, who was to have blessed Marie's
+union with Louis, came to give a last benediction on the ship.
+Rough grasps of the hand were silently exchanged, and Jean went
+on board.
+
+The crew were all there. Andre Vasling gave the last orders. The
+sails were spread, and the brig rapidly passed out under a stiff
+north-west breeze, whilst the cure, upright in the midst of the
+kneeling spectators, committed the vessel to the hands of God.
+
+Whither goes this ship? She follows the perilous route upon which
+so many castaways have been lost! She has no certain destination.
+She must expect every peril, and be able to brave them without
+hesitating. God alone knows where it will be her fate to anchor.
+May God guide her!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A RAY OF HOPE.
+
+
+At that time of the year the season was favourable, and the crew
+might hope promptly to reach the scene of the shipwreck.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's plan was naturally traced out. He counted on
+stopping at the Feroe Islands, whither the north wind might have
+carried the castaways; then, if he was convinced that they had
+not been received in any of the ports of that locality, he would
+continue his search beyond the Northern Ocean, ransack the whole
+western coast of Norway as far as Bodoe, the place nearest the
+scene of the shipwreck; and, if necessary, farther still.
+
+Andre Vasling thought, contrary to the captain's opinion, that
+the coast of Iceland should be explored; but Penellan observed
+that, at the time of the catastrophe, the gale came from the
+west; which, while it gave hope that the unfortunates had not
+been forced towards the gulf of the Maelstrom, gave ground for
+supposing that they might have been thrown on the Norwegian
+coast.
+
+It was determined, then, that this coast should be followed as
+closely as possible, so as to recognize any traces of them that
+might appear.
+
+The day after sailing, Jean Cornbutte, intent upon a map, was
+absorbed in reflection, when a small hand touched his shoulder,
+and a soft voice said in his ear,--
+
+"Have good courage, uncle."
+
+[Illustration: A soft voice said in his ear, "Have good courage,
+uncle."]
+
+He turned, and was stupefied. Marie embraced him.
+
+"Marie, my daughter, on board!" he cried.
+
+"The wife may well go in search of her husband, when the father
+embarks to save his child."
+
+"Unhappy Marie! How wilt thou support our fatigues! Dost thou
+know that thy presence may be injurious to our search?"
+
+"No, uncle, for I am strong."
+
+"Who knows whither we shall be forced to go, Marie? Look at this
+map. We are approaching places dangerous even for us sailors,
+hardened though we are to the difficulties of the sea. And thou,
+frail child?"
+
+"But, uncle, I come from a family of sailors. I am used to
+stories of combats and tempests. I am with you and my old friend
+Penellan!"
+
+"Penellan! It was he who concealed you on board?"
+
+"Yes, uncle; but only when he saw that I was determined to come
+without his help."
+
+"Penellan!" cried Jean.
+
+Penellan entered.
+
+"It is not possible to undo what you have done, Penellan; but
+remember that you are responsible for Marie's life."
+
+"Rest easy, captain," replied Penellan. "The little one has force
+and courage, and will be our guardian angel. And then, captain,
+you know it is my theory, that all in this world happens for the
+best."
+
+The young girl was installed in a cabin, which the sailors soon
+got ready for her, and which they made as comfortable as
+possible.
+
+A week later the "Jeune-Hardie" stopped at the Feroe Islands, but
+the most minute search was fruitless. No wreck, or fragments of a
+ship had come upon these coasts. Even the news of the event was
+quite unknown. The brig resumed its voyage, after a stay of ten
+days, about the 10th of June. The sea was calm, and the winds
+were favourable. The ship sped rapidly towards the Norwegian
+coast, which it explored without better result.
+
+Jean Cornbutte determined to proceed to Bodoe. Perhaps he would
+there learn the name of the shipwrecked schooner to succour which
+Louis and the sailors had sacrificed themselves.
+
+On the 30th of June the brig cast anchor in that port.
+
+The authorities of Bodoe gave Jean Cornbutte a bottle found on
+the coast, which contained a document bearing these words:--
+
+"This 26th April, on board the 'Frooeern,' after being accosted by
+the long-boat of the 'Jeune-Hardie,' we were drawn by the
+currents towards the ice. God have pity on us!"
+
+Jean Cornbutte's first impulse was to thank Heaven. He thought
+himself on his son's track. The "Frooeern" was a Norwegian sloop
+of which there had been no news, but which had evidently been
+drawn northward.
+
+Not a day was to be lost. The "Jeune-Hardie" was at once put in
+condition to brave the perils of the polar seas. Fidele Misonne,
+the carpenter, carefully examined her, and assured himself that
+her solid construction might resist the shock of the ice-masses.
+
+Penellan, who had already engaged in whale-fishing in the arctic
+waters, took care that woollen and fur coverings, many sealskin
+moccassins, and wood for the making of sledges with which to
+cross the ice-fields were put on board. The amount of provisions
+was increased, and spirits and charcoal were added; for it might
+be that they would have to winter at some point on the Greenland
+coast. They also procured, with much difficulty and at a high
+price, a quantity of lemons, for preventing or curing the scurvy,
+that terrible disease which decimates crews in the icy regions.
+The ship's hold was filled with salt meat, biscuits, brandy, &c.,
+as the steward's room no longer sufficed. They provided
+themselves, moreover, with a large quantity of "pemmican," an
+Indian preparation which concentrates a great deal of nutrition
+within a small volume.
+
+By order of the captain, some saws were put on board for cutting
+the ice-fields, as well as picks and wedges for separating them.
+The captain determined to procure some dogs for drawing the
+sledges on the Greenland coast.
+
+The whole crew was engaged in these preparations, and displayed
+great activity. The sailors Aupic, Gervique, and Gradlin
+zealously obeyed Penellan's orders; and he admonished them not to
+accustom themselves to woollen garments, though the temperature
+in this latitude, situated just beyond the polar circle, was very
+low.
+
+Penellan, though he said nothing, narrowly watched every action
+of Andre Vasling. This man was Dutch by birth, came from no one
+knew whither, but was at least a good sailor, having made two
+voyages on board the "Jeune-Hardie". Penellan would not as yet
+accuse him of anything, unless it was that he kept near Marie too
+constantly, but he did not let him out of his sight.
+
+Thanks to the energy of the crew, the brig was equipped by the
+16th of July, a fortnight after its arrival at Bodoe. It was then
+the favourable season for attempting explorations in the Arctic
+Seas. The thaw had been going on for two months, and the search
+might be carried farther north. The "Jeune-Hardie" set sail, and
+directed her way towards Cape Brewster, on the eastern coast of
+Greenland, near the 70th degree of latitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN THE PASSES.
+
+
+About the 23rd of July a reflection, raised above the sea,
+announced the presence of the first icebergs, which, emerging
+from Davis' Straits, advanced into the ocean. From this moment a
+vigilant watch was ordered to the look-out men, for it was
+important not to come into collision with these enormous masses.
+
+The crew was divided into two watches. The first was composed of
+Fidele Misonne, Gradlin, and Gervique; and the second of Andre
+Vasling, Aupic, and Penellan. These watches were to last only two
+hours, for in those cold regions a man's strength is diminished
+one-half. Though the "Jeune-Hardie" was not yet beyond the 63rd
+degree of latitude, the thermometer already stood at nine degrees
+centigrade below zero.
+
+Rain and snow often fell abundantly. On fair days, when the wind
+was not too violent, Marie remained on deck, and her eyes became
+accustomed to the uncouth scenes of the Polar Seas.
+
+On the 1st of August she was promenading aft, and talking with
+her uncle, Penellan, and Andre Vasling. The ship was then
+entering a channel three miles wide, across which broken masses
+of ice were rapidly descending southwards.
+
+"When shall we see land?" asked the young girl.
+
+"In three or four days at the latest," replied Jean Cornbutte.
+
+"But shall we find there fresh traces of my poor Louis?"
+
+"Perhaps so, my daughter; but I fear that we are still far from
+the end of our voyage. It is to be feared that the 'Frooeern' was
+driven farther northward."
+
+"That may be," added Andre Vasling, "for the squall which
+separated us from the Norwegian boat lasted three days, and in
+three days a ship makes good headway when it is no longer able to
+resist the wind."
+
+"Permit me to tell you, Monsieur Vasling." replied Penellan,
+"that that was in April, that the thaw had not then begun, and
+that therefore the 'Frooeern' must have been soon arrested by the
+ice."
+
+"And no doubt dashed into a thousand pieces," said the mate, "as
+her crew could not manage her."
+
+"But these ice-fields," returned Penellan, "gave her an easy
+means of reaching land, from which she could not have been far
+distant."
+
+"Let us hope so," said Jean Cornbutte, interrupting the
+discussion, which was daily renewed between the mate and the
+helmsman. "I think we shall see land before long."
+
+"There it is!" cried Marie. "See those mountains!"
+
+"No, my child," replied her uncle. "Those are mountains of ice,
+the first we have met with. They would shatter us like glass if
+we got entangled between them. Penellan and Vasling, overlook the
+men."
+
+These floating masses, more than fifty of which now appeared at
+the horizon, came nearer and nearer to the brig. Penellan took
+the helm, and Jean Cornbutte, mounted on the gallant, indicated
+the route to take.
+
+Towards evening the brig was entirely surrounded by these moving
+rocks, the crushing force of which is irresistible. It was
+necessary, then, to cross this fleet of mountains, for prudence
+prompted them to keep straight ahead. Another difficulty was
+added to these perils. The direction of the ship could not be
+accurately determined, as all the surrounding points constantly
+changed position, and thus failed to afford a fixed perspective.
+The darkness soon increased with the fog. Marie descended to her
+cabin, and the whole crew, by the captain's orders, remained on
+deck. They were armed with long boat-poles, with iron spikes, to
+preserve the ship from collision with the ice.
+
+The ship soon entered a strait so narrow that often the ends of
+her yards were grazed by the drifting mountains, and her booms
+seemed about to be driven in. They were even forced to trim the
+mainyard so as to touch the shrouds. Happily these precautions
+did not deprive, the vessel of any of its speed, for the wind
+could only reach the upper sails, and these sufficed to carry her
+forward rapidly. Thanks to her slender hull, she passed through
+these valleys, which were filled with whirlpools of rain, whilst
+the icebergs crushed against each other with sharp cracking and
+splitting.
+
+Jean Cornbutte returned to the deck. His eyes could not penetrate
+the surrounding darkness. It became necessary to furl the upper
+sails, for the ship threatened to ground, and if she did so she
+was lost.
+
+"Cursed voyage!" growled Andre Vasling among the sailors, who,
+forward, were avoiding the most menacing ice-blocks with their
+boat-hooks.
+
+"Truly, if we escape we shall owe a fine candle to Our Lady of
+the Ice!" replied Aupic.
+
+"Who knows how many floating mountains we have got to pass
+through yet?" added the mate.
+
+"And who can guess what we shall find beyond them?" replied the
+sailor.
+
+"Don't talk so much, prattler," said Gervique, "and look out on
+your side. When we have got by them, it'll be time to grumble.
+Look out for your boat-hook!"
+
+At this moment an enormous block of ice, in the narrow strait
+through which the brig was passing, came rapidly down upon her,
+and it seemed impossible to avoid it, for it barred the whole
+width of the channel, and the brig could not heave-to.
+
+"Do you feel the tiller?" asked Cornbutte of Penellan.
+
+"No, captain. The ship does not answer the helm any longer."
+
+"_Ohe_, boys!" cried the captain to the crew; "don't be afraid,
+and buttress your hooks against the gunwale."
+
+The block was nearly sixty feet high, and if it threw itself upon
+the brig she would be crushed. There was an undefinable moment of
+suspense, and the crew retreated backward, abandoning their posts
+despite the captain's orders.
+
+But at the instant when the block was not more than half a
+cable's length from the "Jeune-Hardie," a dull sound was heard,
+and a veritable waterspout fell upon the bow of the vessel, which
+then rose on the back of an enormous billow.
+
+The sailors uttered a cry of terror; but when they looked before
+them the block had disappeared, the passage was free, and beyond
+an immense plain of water, illumined by the rays of the declining
+sun, assured them of an easy navigation.
+
+"All's well!" cried Penellan. "Let's trim our topsails and
+mizzen!"
+
+An incident very common in those parts had just occurred. When
+these masses are detached from one another in the thawing season,
+they float in a perfect equilibrium; but on reaching the ocean,
+where the water is relatively warmer, they are speedily
+undermined at the base, which melts little by little, and which
+is also shaken by the shock of other ice-masses. A moment comes
+when the centre of gravity of these masses is displaced, and then
+they are completely overturned. Only, if this block had turned
+over two minutes later, it would have fallen on the brig and
+carried her down in its fall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+LIVERPOOL ISLAND.
+
+
+The brig now sailed in a sea which was almost entirely open. At
+the horizon only, a whitish light, this time motionless,
+indicated the presence of fixed plains of ice.
+
+Jean Cornbutte now directed the "Jeune-Hardie" towards Cape
+Brewster. They were already approaching the regions where the
+temperature is excessively cold, for the sun's rays, owing to
+their obliquity when they reach them, are very feeble.
+
+On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immoveable and united
+ice-masses. The passages were seldom more than a cable's length
+in width, and the ship was forced to make many turnings, which
+sometimes placed her heading the wind.
+
+Penellan watched over Marie with paternal care, and, despite the
+cold, prevailed upon her to spend two or three hours every day on
+deck, for exercise had become one of the indispensable conditions
+of health.
+
+Marie's courage did not falter. She even comforted the sailors
+with her cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly attached to
+her. Andre Vasling showed himself more attentive than ever, and
+seized every occasion to be in her company; but the young girl,
+with a sort of presentiment, accepted his services with some
+coldness. It may be easily conjectured that Andre's conversation
+referred more to the future than to the present, and that he did
+not conceal the slight probability there was of saving the
+castaways. He was convinced that they were lost, and the young
+girl ought thenceforth to confide her existence to some one else.
+
+[Illustration: Andre Vasling showed himself more attentive than
+ever.]
+
+Marie had not as yet comprehended Andre's designs, for, to his
+great disgust, he could never find an opportunity to talk long
+with her alone. Penellan had always an excuse for interfering,
+and destroying the effect of Andre's words by the hopeful
+opinions he expressed.
+
+Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting on the helmsman's
+advice, she set to work on her winter garments; for it was
+necessary that she should completely change her clothing. The cut
+of her dresses was not suitable for these cold latitudes. She
+made, therefore, a sort of furred pantaloons, the ends of which
+were lined with seal-skin; and her narrow skirts came only to her
+knees, so as not to be in contact with the layers of snow with
+which the winter would cover the ice-fields. A fur mantle,
+fitting closely to the figure and supplied with a hood, protected
+the upper part of her body.
+
+In the intervals of their work, the sailors, too, prepared
+clothing with which to shelter themselves from the cold. They
+made a quantity of high seal-skin boots, with which to cross the
+snow during their explorations. They worked thus all the time
+that the navigation in the straits lasted.
+
+Andre Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times brought
+down aquatic birds with his gun; innumerable flocks of these were
+always careering about the ship. A kind of eider-duck provided
+the crew with very palatable food, which relieved the monotony of
+the salt meat.
+
+At last the brig, after many turnings, came in sight of Cape
+Brewster. A long-boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan
+reached the coast, which was entirely deserted.
+
+The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool Island,
+discovered in 1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the crew gave a
+hearty cheer when they saw the natives running along the shore.
+Communication was speedily established with them, thanks to
+Penellan's knowledge of a few words of their language, and some
+phrases which the natives themselves had learnt of the whalers who
+frequented those parts.
+
+These Greenlanders were small and squat; they were not more than
+four feet ten inches high; they had red, round faces, and low
+foreheads; their hair, flat and black, fell over their shoulders;
+their teeth were decayed, and they seemed to be affected by the
+sort of leprosy which is peculiar to ichthyophagous tribes.
+
+In exchange for pieces of iron and brass, of which they are
+extremely covetous, these poor creatures brought bear furs, the
+skins of sea-calves, sea-dogs, sea-wolves, and all the animals
+generally known as seals. Jean Cornbutte obtained these at a low
+price, and they were certain to become most useful.
+
+The captain then made the natives understand that he was in
+search of a shipwrecked vessel, and asked them if they had heard
+of it. One of them immediately drew something like a ship on the
+snow, and indicated that a vessel of that sort had been carried
+northward three months before: he also managed to make it
+understood that the thaw and breaking up of the ice-fields had
+prevented the Greenlanders from going in search of it; and,
+indeed, their very light canoes, which they managed with paddles,
+could not go to sea at that time.
+
+This news, though meagre, restored hope to the hearts of the
+sailors, and Jean Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuading them
+to advance farther in the polar seas.
+
+Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased a pack of
+six Esquimaux dogs, which were soon acclimatised on board. The
+ship weighed anchor on the morning of the 10th of August, and
+entered the northern straits under a brisk wind.
+
+The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, the sun,
+in these high latitudes, did not set, and reached the highest
+point of the spirals which it described above the horizon.
+
+This total absence of night was not, however, very apparent, for
+the fog, rain, and snow sometimes enveloped the ship in real
+darkness.
+
+Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as possible,
+began to take measures of health. The space between decks was
+securely enclosed, and every morning care was taken to ventilate
+it with fresh air. The stoves were installed, and the pipes so
+disposed as to yield as much heat as possible. The sailors were
+advised to wear only one woollen shirt over their cotton shirts,
+and to hermetically close their seal cloaks. The fires were not
+yet lighted, for it was important to reserve the wood and
+charcoal for the most intense cold.
+
+Warm beverages, such as coffee and tea, were regularly
+distributed to the sailors morning and evening; and as it was
+important to live on meat, they shot ducks and teal, which
+abounded in these parts.
+
+Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the mainmast a
+"crow's nest," a sort of cask staved in at one end, in which a
+look-out remained constantly, to observe the icefields.
+
+Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island the
+temperature became suddenly colder under the influence of a dry
+wind. Some indications of winter were perceived. The ship had not
+a moment to lose, for soon the way would be entirely closed to
+her. She advanced across the straits, among which lay ice-plains
+thirty feet thick.
+
+On the morning of the 3rd of September the "Jeune-Hardie" reached
+the head of Gael-Hamkes Bay. Land was then thirty miles to the
+leeward. It was the first time that the brig had stopped before a
+mass of ice which offered no outlet, and which was at least a
+mile wide. The saws must now be used to cut the ice. Penellan,
+Aupic, Gradlin, and Turquiette were chosen to work the saws,
+which had been carried outside the ship. The direction of the
+cutting was so determined that the current might carry off the
+pieces detached from the mass. The whole crew worked at this task
+for nearly twenty hours. They found it very painful to remain on
+the ice, and were often obliged to plunge into the water up to
+their middle; their seal-skin garments protected them but
+imperfectly from the damp.
+
+Moreover all excessive toil in those high latitudes is soon
+followed by an overwhelming weariness; for the breath soon fails,
+and the strongest are forced to rest at frequent intervals.
+
+At last the navigation became free, and the brig was towed beyond
+the mass which had so long obstructed her course.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE QUAKING OF THE ICE.
+
+
+For several days the "Jeune-Hardie" struggled against formidable
+obstacles. The crew were almost all the time at work with the
+saws, and often powder had to be used to blow up the enormous
+blocks of ice which closed the way.
+
+On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one solid plain,
+without outlet or passage, surrounding the vessel on all sides,
+so that she could neither advance nor retreat. The temperature
+remained at an average of sixteen degrees below zero. The winter
+season had come on, with its sufferings and dangers.
+
+[Illustration: On the 12th of September the sea consisted of one
+solid plain.]
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" was then near the 21st degree of longitude
+west and the 76th degree of latitude north, at the entrance of
+Gael-Hamkes Bay.
+
+Jean Cornbutte made his preliminary preparations for wintering.
+He first searched for a creek whose position would shelter the
+ship from the wind and breaking up of the ice. Land, which was
+probably thirty miles west, could alone offer him secure shelter,
+and he resolved to attempt to reach it.
+
+He set out on the 12th of September, accompanied by Andre
+Vasling, Penellan, and the two sailors Gradlin and Turquiette.
+Each man carried provisions for two days, for it was not likely
+that their expedition would occupy a longer time, and they were
+supplied with skins on which to sleep.
+
+Snow had fallen in great abundance and was not yet frozen over;
+and this delayed them seriously. They often sank to their waists,
+and could only advance very cautiously, for fear of falling into
+crevices. Penellan, who walked in front, carefully sounded each
+depression with his iron-pointed staff.
+
+About five in the evening the fog began to thicken, and the
+little band were forced to stop. Penellan looked about for an
+iceberg which might shelter them from the wind, and after
+refreshing themselves, with regrets that they had no warm drink,
+they spread their skins on the snow, wrapped themselves up, lay
+close to each other, and soon dropped asleep from sheer fatigue.
+
+The next morning Jean Cornbutte and his companions were buried
+beneath a bed of snow more than a foot deep. Happily their skins,
+perfectly impermeable, had preserved them, and the snow itself
+had aided in retaining their heat, which it prevented from
+escaping.
+
+The captain gave the signal of departure, and about noon they at
+last descried the coast, which at first they could scarcely
+distinguish. High ledges of ice, cut perpendicularly, rose on the
+shore; their variegated summits, of all forms and shapes,
+reproduced on a large scale the phenomena of crystallization.
+Myriads of aquatic fowl flew about at the approach of the party,
+and the seals, lazily lying on the ice, plunged hurriedly into
+the depths.
+
+"I' faith!" said Penellan, "we shall not want for either furs or
+game!"
+
+"Those animals," returned Cornbutte, "give every evidence of
+having been already visited by men; for in places totally
+uninhabited they would not be so wild."
+
+"None but Greenlanders frequent these parts," said Andre Vasling.
+
+"I see no trace of their passage, however; neither any encampment
+nor the smallest hut," said Penellan, who had climbed up a high
+peak. "O captain!" he continued, "come here! I see a point of
+land which will shelter us splendidly from the north-east wind."
+
+"Come along, boys!" said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+His companions followed him, and they soon rejoined Penellan. The
+sailor had said what was true. An elevated point of land jutted
+out like a promontory, and curving towards the coast, formed a
+little inlet of a mile in width at most. Some moving ice-blocks,
+broken by this point, floated in the midst, and the sea,
+sheltered from the colder winds, was not yet entirely frozen
+over.
+
+This was an excellent spot for wintering, and it only remained to
+get the ship thither. Jean Cornbutte remarked that the neighbouring
+ice-field was very thick, and it seemed very difficult to cut a canal
+to bring the brig to its destination. Some other creek, then, must be
+found; it was in vain that he explored northward. The coast remained
+steep and abrupt for a long distance, and beyond the point it was
+directly exposed to the attacks of the east-wind. The circumstance
+disconcerted the captain all the more because Andre Vasling used
+strong arguments to show how bad the situation was. Penellan, in
+this dilemma, found it difficult to convince himself that all was
+for the best.
+
+But one chance remained--to seek a shelter on the southern side
+of the coast. This was to return on their path, but hesitation
+was useless. The little band returned rapidly in the direction of
+the ship, as their provisions had begun to run short. Jean
+Cornbutte searched for some practicable passage, or at least some
+fissure by which a canal might be cut across the ice-fields, all
+along the route, but in vain.
+
+Towards evening the sailors came to the same place where they had
+encamped over night. There had been no snow during the day, and
+they could recognize the imprint of their bodies on the ice. They
+again disposed themselves to sleep with their furs.
+
+Penellan, much disturbed by the bad success of the expedition,
+was sleeping restlessly, when, at a waking moment, his attention
+was attracted by a dull rumbling. He listened attentively, and
+the rumbling seemed so strange that he nudged Jean Cornbutte with
+his elbow.
+
+"What is that?" said the latter, whose mind, according to a
+sailor's habit, was awake as soon as his body.
+
+"Listen, captain."
+
+The noise increased, with perceptible violence.
+
+"It cannot be thunder, in so high a latitude," said Cornbutte,
+rising.
+
+"I think we have come across some white bears," replied Penellan.
+
+"The devil! We have not seen any yet."
+
+"Sooner or later, we must have expected a visit from them. Let us
+give them a good reception."
+
+Penellan, armed with a gun, lightly crossed the ledge which
+sheltered them. The darkness was very dense; he could discover
+nothing; but a new incident soon showed him that the cause of the
+noise did not proceed from around them.
+
+Jean Cornbutte rejoined him, and they observed with terror that
+this rumbling, which awakened their companions, came from beneath
+them.
+
+A new kind of peril menaced them. To the noise, which resembled
+peals of thunder, was added a distinct undulating motion of the
+ice-field. Several of the party lost their balance and fell.
+
+"Attention!" cried Penellan.
+
+"Yes!" some one responded.
+
+"Turquiette! Gradlin! where are you?"
+
+"Here I am!" responded Turquiette, shaking off the snow with
+which he was covered.
+
+"This way, Vasling," cried Cornbutte to the mate. "And Gradlin?"
+
+"Present, captain. But we are lost!" shouted Gradlin, in fright.
+
+"No!" said Penellan. "Perhaps we are saved!"
+
+Hardly had he uttered these words when a frightful cracking noise
+was heard. The ice-field broke clear through, and the sailors
+were forced to cling to the block which was quivering just by
+them. Despite the helmsman's words, they found themselves in a
+most perilous position, for an ice-quake had occurred. The ice
+masses had just "weighed anchor," as the sailors say. The
+movement lasted nearly two minutes, and it was to be feared that
+the crevice would yawn at the very feet of the unhappy sailors.
+They anxiously awaited daylight in the midst of continuous
+shocks, for they could not, without risk of death, move a step,
+and had to remain stretched out at full length to avoid being
+engulfed.
+
+[Illustration: they found themselves in a most perilous position,
+for an ice-quake had occurred.]
+
+As soon as it was daylight a very different aspect presented
+itself to their eyes. The vast plain, a compact mass the evening
+before, was now separated in a thousand places, and the waves,
+raised by some submarine commotion, had broken the thick layer
+which sheltered them.
+
+The thought of his ship occurred to Jean Cornbutte's mind.
+
+"My poor brig!" he cried. "It must have perished!"
+
+The deepest despair began to overcast the faces of his
+companions. The loss of the ship inevitably preceded their own
+deaths.
+
+"Courage, friends," said Penellan. "Reflect that this night's
+disaster has opened us a path across the ice, which will enable
+us to bring our ship to the bay for wintering! And, stop! I am
+not mistaken. There is the 'Jeune-Hardie,' a mile nearer to us!"
+
+All hurried forward, and so imprudently, that Turquiette slipped
+into a fissure, and would have certainly perished, had not Jean
+Cornbutte seized him by his hood. He got off with a rather cold
+bath.
+
+The brig was indeed floating two miles away. After infinite
+trouble, the little band reached her. She was in good condition;
+but her rudder, which they had neglected to lift, had been broken
+by the ice.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+SETTLING FOR THE WINTER.
+
+
+Penellan was once more right; all was for the best, and this ice-quake
+had opened a practicable channel for the ship to the bay.
+The sailors had only to make skilful use of the currents to
+conduct her thither.
+
+On the 19th of September the brig was at last moored in her bay
+for wintering, two cables' lengths from the shore, securely
+anchored on a good bottom. The ice began the next day to form
+around her hull; it soon became strong enough to bear a man's
+weight, and they could establish a communication with land.
+
+The rigging, as is customary in arctic navigation, remained as it
+was; the sails were carefully furled on the yards and covered
+with their casings, and the "crow's-nest" remained in place, as
+much to enable them to make distant observations as to attract
+attention to the ship.
+
+The sun now scarcely rose above the horizon. Since the June
+solstice, the spirals which it had described descended lower and
+lower; and it would soon disappear altogether.
+
+The crew hastened to make the necessary preparations. Penellan
+supervised the whole. The ice was soon thick around the ship, and
+it was to be feared that its pressure might become dangerous; but
+Penellan waited until, by reason of the going and coming of the
+floating ice-masses and their adherence, it had reached a
+thickness of twenty feet; he then had it cut around the hull, so
+that it united under the ship, the form of which it assumed;
+thus enclosed in a mould, the brig had no longer to fear the
+pressure of the ice, which could make no movement.
+
+The sailors then elevated along the wales, to the height of the
+nettings, a snow wall five or six feet thick, which soon froze as
+hard as a rock. This envelope did not allow the interior heat to
+escape outside. A canvas tent, covered with skins and hermetically
+closed, was stretched aver the whole length of the deck, and formed
+a sort of walk for the sailors.
+
+They also constructed on the ice a storehouse of snow, in which
+articles which embarrassed the ship were stowed away. The
+partitions of the cabins were taken down, so as to form a single
+vast apartment forward, as well as aft. This single room,
+besides, was more easy to warm, as the ice and damp found fewer
+corners in which to take refuge. It was also less difficult to
+ventilate it, by means of canvas funnels which opened without.
+
+Each sailor exerted great energy in these preparations, and about
+the 25th of September they were completed. Andre Vasling had not
+shown himself the least active in this task. He devoted himself
+with especial zeal to the young girl's comfort, and if she,
+absorbed in thoughts of her poor Louis, did not perceive this,
+Jean Cornbutte did not fail soon to remark it. He spoke of it to
+Penellan; he recalled several incidents which completely
+enlightened him regarding his mate's intentions; Andre Vasling
+loved Marie, and reckoned on asking her uncle for her hand, as
+soon as it was proved beyond doubt that the castaways were
+irrevocably lost; they would return then to Dunkirk, and Andre
+Vasling would be well satisfied to wed a rich and pretty girl,
+who would then be the sole heiress of Jean Cornbutte.
+
+
+But Andre, in his impatience, was often imprudent. He had several
+times declared that the search for the castaways was useless,
+when some new trace contradicted him, and enabled Penellan to
+exult over him. The mate, therefore, cordially detested the
+helmsman, who returned his dislike heartily. Penellan only feared
+that Andre might sow seeds of dissension among the crew, and
+persuaded Jean Cornbutte to answer him evasively on the first
+occasion.
+
+When the preparations for the winter were completed, the captain
+took measures to preserve the health of the crew. Every morning
+the men were ordered to air their berths, and carefully clean the
+interior walls, to get rid of the night's dampness. They received
+boiling tea or coffee, which are excellent cordials to use
+against the cold, morning and evening; then they were divided
+into hunting-parties, who should procure as much fresh nourishment
+as possible for every day.
+
+Each one also took healthy exercise every day, so as not to
+expose himself without motion to the cold; for in a temperature
+thirty degrees below zero, some part of the body might suddenly
+become frozen. In such cases friction of the snow was used, which
+alone could heal the affected part.
+
+Penellan also strongly advised cold ablutions every morning. It
+required some courage to plunge the hands and face in the snow,
+which had to be melted within. But Penellan bravely set the
+example, and Marie was not the last to imitate him.
+
+Jean Cornbutte did not forget to have readings and prayers, for
+it was needful that the hearts of his comrades should not give
+way to despair or weariness. Nothing is more dangerous in these
+desolate latitudes.
+
+The sky, always gloomy, filled the soul with sadness. A thick
+snow, lashed by violent winds, added to the horrors of their
+situation. The sun would soon altogether disappear. Had the
+clouds not gathered in masses above their heads, they might have
+enjoyed the moonlight, which was about to become really their sun
+during the long polar night; but, with the west winds, the snow
+did not cease to fall. Every morning it was necessary to clear
+off the sides of the ship, and to cut a new stairway in the ice
+to enable them to reach the ice-field. They easily succeeded in
+doing this with snow-knives; the steps once cut, a little water
+was thrown over them, and they at once hardened.
+
+Penellan had a hole cut in the ice, not far from the ship. Every
+day the new crust which formed over its top was broken, and the
+water which was drawn thence, from a certain depth, was less cold
+than that at the surface.
+
+All these preparations occupied about three weeks. It was then
+time to go forward with the search. The ship was imprisoned for
+six or seven months, and only the next thaw could open a new
+route across the ice. It was wise, then, to profit by this delay,
+and extend their explorations northward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+PLAN OF THE EXPLORATIONS.
+
+
+On the 9th of October, Jean Cornbutte held a council to settle
+the plan of his operations, to which, that there might be union,
+zeal, and courage on the part of every one, he admitted the whole
+crew. Map in hand, he clearly explained their situation.
+
+[Illustration: Map in hand, he clearly explained their
+situation.]
+
+The eastern coast of Greenland advances perpendicularly
+northward. The discoveries of the navigators have given the exact
+boundaries of those parts. In the extent of five hundred leagues,
+which separates Greenland from Spitzbergen, no land has been
+found. An island (Shannon Island) lay a hundred miles north of
+Gael-Hamkes Bay, where the "Jeune-Hardie" was wintering.
+
+If the Norwegian schooner, as was most probable, had been driven
+in this direction, supposing that she could not reach Shannon
+Island, it was here that Louis Cornbutte and his comrades must
+have sought for a winter asylum.
+
+This opinion prevailed, despite Andre Vasling's opposition; and
+it was decided to direct the explorations on the side towards
+Shannon Island.
+
+Arrangements for this were at once begun. A sledge like that used
+by the Esquimaux had been procured on the Norwegian coast. This
+was constructed of planks curved before and behind, and was made
+to slide over the snow and ice. It was twelve feet long and four
+wide, and could therefore carry provisions, if need were, for
+several weeks. Fidele Misonne soon put it in order, working upon
+it in the snow storehouse, whither his tools had been carried.
+For the first time a coal-stove was set up in this storehouse,
+without which all labour there would have been impossible. The
+pipe was carried out through one of the lateral walls, by a hole
+pierced in the snow; but a grave inconvenience resulted from
+this,--for the heat of the stove, little by little, melted the
+snow where it came in contact with it; and the opening visibly
+increased. Jean Cornbutte contrived to surround this part of the
+pipe with some metallic canvas, which is impermeable by heat.
+This succeeded completely.
+
+While Misonne was at work upon the sledge, Penellan, aided by
+Marie, was preparing the clothing necessary for the expedition.
+Seal-skin boots they had, fortunately, in plenty. Jean Cornbutte
+and Andre Vasling occupied themselves with the provisions. They
+chose a small barrel of spirits-of-wine for heating a portable
+chafing-dish; reserves of coffee and tea in ample quantity were
+packed; a small box of biscuits, two hundred pounds of pemmican,
+and some gourds of brandy completed the stock of viands. The guns
+would bring down some fresh game every day. A quantity of powder
+was divided between several bags; the compass, sextant, and spy-glass
+were put carefully out of the way of injury.
+
+On the 11th of October the sun no longer appeared above the
+horizon. They were obliged to keep a lighted lamp in the lodgings
+of the crew all the time. There was no time to lose; the
+explorations must be begun. For this reason: in the month of
+January it would become so cold that it would be impossible to
+venture out without peril of life. For two months at least the
+crew would be condemned to the most complete imprisonment; then
+the thaw would begin, and continue till the time when the ship
+should quit the ice. This thaw would, of course, prevent any
+explorations. On the other hand, if Louis Cornbutte and his
+comrades were still in existence, it was not probable that they
+would be able to resist the severities of the arctic winter. They
+must therefore be saved beforehand, or all hope would be lost.
+Andre Vasling knew all this better than any one. He therefore
+resolved to put every possible obstacle in the way of the
+expedition.
+
+The preparations for the journey were completed about the 20th of
+October. It remained to select the men who should compose the
+party. The young girl could not be deprived of the protection of
+Jean Cornbutte or of Penellan; neither of these could, on the
+other hand, be spared from the expedition.
+
+The question, then, was whether Marie could bear the fatigues of
+such a journey. She had already passed through rough experiences
+without seeming to suffer from them, for she was a sailor's
+daughter, used from infancy to the fatigues of the sea, and even
+Penellan was not dismayed to see her struggling in the midst of
+this severe climate, against the dangers of the polar seas.
+
+It was decided, therefore, after a long discussion, that she
+should go with them, and that a place should be reserved for her,
+at need, on the sledge, on which a little wooden hut was
+constructed, closed in hermetically. As for Marie, she was
+delighted, for she dreaded to be left alone without her two
+protectors.
+
+The expedition was thus formed: Marie, Jean Cornbutte, Penellan,
+Andre Vasling, Aupic, and Fidele Misonne were to go. Alaine
+Turquiette remained in charge of the brig, and Gervique and
+Gradlin stayed behind with him. New provisions of all kinds were
+carried; for Jean Cornbutte, in order to carry the exploration as
+far as possible, had resolved to establish depots along the
+route, at each seven or eight days' march. When the sledge was
+ready it was at once fitted up, and covered with a skin tent. The
+whole weighed some seven hundred pounds, which a pack of five
+dogs might easily carry over the ice.
+
+On the 22nd of October, as the captain had foretold, a sudden
+change took place in the temperature. The sky cleared, the stars
+emitted an extraordinary light, and the moon shone above the
+horizon, no longer to leave the heavens for a fortnight. The
+thermometer descended to twenty-five degrees below zero.
+
+The departure was fixed for the following day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE HOUSE OF SNOW.
+
+
+On the 23rd of October, at eleven in the morning, in a fine
+moonlight, the caravan set out. Precautions were this time taken
+that the journey might be a long one, if necessary. Jean
+Cornbutte followed the coast, and ascended northward. The steps
+of the travellers made no impression on the hard ice. Jean was
+forced to guide himself by points which he selected at a
+distance; sometimes he fixed upon a hill bristling with peaks;
+sometimes on a vast iceberg which pressure had raised above the
+plain.
+
+[Illustration: The caravan set out]
+
+At the first halt, after going fifteen miles, Penellan prepared
+to encamp. The tent was erected against an ice-block. Marie had
+not suffered seriously with the extreme cold, for luckily the
+breeze had subsided, and was much more bearable; but the young
+girl had several times been obliged to descend from her sledge to
+avert numbness from impeding the circulation of her blood.
+Otherwise, her little hut, hung with skins, afforded her all the
+comfort possible under the circumstances.
+
+When night, or rather sleeping-time, came, the little hut was
+carried under the tent, where it served as a bed-room for Marie.
+The evening repast was composed of fresh meat, pemmican, and hot
+tea. Jean Cornbutte, to avert danger of the scurvy, distributed
+to each of the party a few drops of lemon-juice. Then all slept
+under God's protection.
+
+After eight hours of repose, they got ready to resume their
+march. A substantial breakfast was provided to the men and the
+dogs; then they set out. The ice, exceedingly compact, enabled
+these animals to draw the sledge easily. The party sometimes
+found it difficult to keep up with them.
+
+But the sailors soon began to suffer one discomfort--that of
+being dazzled. Ophthalmia betrayed itself in Aupic and Misonne.
+The moon's light, striking on these vast white plains, burnt the
+eyesight, and gave the eyes insupportable pain.
+
+There was thus produced a very singular effect of refraction. As
+they walked, when they thought they were about to put foot on a
+hillock, they stepped down lower, which often occasioned falls,
+happily so little serious that Penellan made them occasions for
+bantering. Still, he told them never to take a step without
+sounding the ground with the ferruled staff with which each was
+equipped.
+
+About the 1st of November, ten days after they had set out, the
+caravan had gone fifty leagues to the northward. Weariness
+pressed heavily on all. Jean Cornbutte was painfully dazzled, and
+his sight sensibly changed. Aupic and Misonne had to feel their
+way: for their eyes, rimmed with red, seemed burnt by the white
+reflection. Marie had been preserved from this misfortune by
+remaining within her hut, to which she confined herself as much
+as possible. Penellan, sustained by an indomitable courage,
+resisted all fatigue. But it was Andre Vasling who bore himself
+best, and upon whom the cold and dazzling seemed to produce no
+effect. His iron frame was equal to every hardship; and he was
+secretly pleased to see the most robust of his companions
+becoming discouraged, and already foresaw the moment when they
+would be forced to retreat to the ship again.
+
+On the 1st of November it became absolutely necessary to halt for
+a day or two. As soon as the place for the encampment had been
+selected, they proceeded to arrange it. It was determined to
+erect a house of snow, which should be supported against one of
+the rocks of the promontory. Misonne at once marked out the
+foundations, which measured fifteen feet long by five wide.
+Penellan, Aupic, and Misonne, by aid of their knives, cut out
+great blocks of ice, which they carried to the chosen spot and
+set up, as masons would have built stone walls. The sides of the
+foundation were soon raised to a height and thickness of about
+five feet; for the materials were abundant, and the structure was
+intended to be sufficiently solid to last several days. The four
+walls were completed in eight hours; an opening had been left on
+the southern side, and the canvas of the tent, placed on these
+four walls, fell over the opening and sheltered it. It only
+remained to cover the whole with large blocks, to form the roof
+of this temporary structure.
+
+After three more hours of hard work, the house was done; and they
+all went into it, overcome with weariness and discouragement.
+Jean Cornbutte suffered so much that he could not walk, and Andre
+Vasling so skilfully aggravated his gloomy feelings, that he
+forced from him a promise not to pursue his search farther in
+those frightful solitudes. Penellan did not know which saint to
+invoke. He thought it unworthy and craven to give up his
+companions for reasons which had little weight, and tried to
+upset them; but in vain.
+
+Meanwhile, though it had been decided to return, rest had become
+so necessary that for three days no preparations for departure
+were made.
+
+On the 4th of November, Jean Cornbutte began to bury on a point
+of the coast the provisions for which there was no use. A stake
+indicated the place of the deposit, in the improbable event that
+new explorations should be made in that direction. Every day
+since they had set out similar deposits had been made, so that
+they were assured of ample sustenance on the return, without the
+trouble of carrying them on the sledge.
+
+The departure was fixed for ten in the morning, on the 5th. The
+most profound sadness filled the little band. Marie with
+difficulty restrained her tears, when she saw her uncle so
+completely discouraged. So many useless sufferings! so much
+labour lost! Penellan himself became ferocious in his ill-humour;
+he consigned everybody to the nether regions, and did not cease
+to wax angry at the weakness and cowardice of his comrades, who
+were more timid and tired, he said, than Marie, who would have
+gone to the end of the world without complaint.
+
+Andre Vasling could not disguise the pleasure which this decision
+gave him. He showed himself more attentive than ever to the young
+girl, to whom he even held out hopes that a new search should be
+made when the winter was over; knowing well that it would then be
+too late!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+BURIED ALIVE.
+
+
+The evening before the departure, just as they were about to take
+supper, Penellan was breaking up some empty casks for firewood,
+when he was suddenly suffocated by a thick smoke. At the same
+instant the snow-house was shaken as if by an earthquake. The
+party uttered a cry of terror, and Penellan hurried outside.
+
+It was entirely dark. A frightful tempest--for it was not a
+thaw--was raging, whirlwinds of snow careered around, and it was
+so exceedingly cold that the helmsman felt his hands rapidly
+freezing. He was obliged to go in again, after rubbing himself
+violently with snow.
+
+"It is a tempest," said he. "May heaven grant that our house may
+withstand it, for, if the storm should destroy it, we should be
+lost!"
+
+At the same time with the gusts of wind a noise was heard beneath
+the frozen soil; icebergs, broken from the promontory, dashed
+away noisily, and fell upon one another; the wind blew with such
+violence that it seemed sometimes as if the whole house moved
+from its foundation; phosphorescent lights, inexplicable in that
+latitude, flashed across the whirlwinds of the snow.
+
+"Marie! Marie!" cried Penellan, seizing the young girl's hands.
+
+"We are in a bad case!" said Misonne.
+
+"And I know not whether we shall escape," replied Aupic.
+
+"Let us quit this snow-house!" said Andre Vasling.
+
+"Impossible!" returned Penellan. "The cold outside is terrible;
+perhaps we can bear it by staying here."
+
+"Give me the thermometer," demanded Vasling.
+
+Aupic handed it to him. It showed ten degrees below zero inside
+the house, though the fire was lighted. Vasling raised the canvas
+which covered the opening, and pushed it aside hastily; for he
+would have been lacerated by the fall of ice which the wind
+hurled around, and which fell in a perfect hail-storm.
+
+"Well, Vasling," said Penellan, "will you go out, then? You see
+that we are more safe here."
+
+"Yes," said Jean Cornbutte; "and we must use every effort to
+strengthen the house in the interior."
+
+"But a still more terrible danger menaces us," said Vasling.
+
+"What?" asked Jean.
+
+"The wind is breaking the ice against which we are propped, just
+as it has that of the promontory, and we shall be either driven
+out or buried!"
+
+"That seems doubtful," said Penellan, "for it is freezing hard
+enough to ice over all liquid surfaces. Let us see what the
+temperature is."
+
+He raised the canvas so as to pass out his arm, and with
+difficulty found the thermometer again, in the midst of the snow;
+but he at last succeeded in seizing it, and, holding the lamp to
+it, said,--
+
+"Thirty-two degrees below zero! It is the coldest we have seen
+here yet!"
+
+[Illustration: "Thirty-two degrees below zero!"]
+
+"Ten degrees more," said Vasling, "and the mercury will freeze!"
+
+A mournful silence followed this remark.
+
+About eight in the morning Penellan essayed a second time to go
+out to judge of their situation. It was necessary to give an
+escape to the smoke, which the wind had several times repelled
+into the hut. The sailor wrapped his cloak tightly about him,
+made sure of his hood by fastening it to his head with a
+handkerchief, and raised the canvas.
+
+The opening was entirely obstructed by a resisting snow. Penellan
+took his staff, and succeeded in plunging it into the compact
+mass; but terror froze his blood when he perceived that the end
+of the staff was not free, and was checked by a hard body!
+
+"Cornbutte," said he to the captain, who had come up to him, "we
+are buried under this snow!"
+
+"What say you?" cried Jean Cornbutte.
+
+"I say that the snow is massed and frozen around us and over us,
+and that we are buried alive!"
+
+"Let us try to clear this mass of snow away," replied the
+captain.
+
+The two friends buttressed themselves against the obstacle which
+obstructed the opening, but they could not move it. The snow
+formed an iceberg more than five feet thick, and had become
+literally a part of the house. Jean could not suppress a cry,
+which awoke Misonne and Vasling. An oath burst from the latter,
+whose features contracted. At this moment the smoke, thicker than
+ever, poured into the house, for it could not find an issue.
+
+"Malediction!" cried Misonne. "The pipe of the stove is sealed up
+by the ice!"
+
+Penellan resumed his staff, and took down the pipe, after
+throwing snow on the embers to extinguish them, which produced
+such a smoke that the light of the lamp could scarcely be seen;
+then he tried with his staff to clear out the orifice, but he
+only encountered a rock of ice! A frightful end, preceded by a
+terrible agony, seemed to be their doom! The smoke, penetrating
+the throats of the unfortunate party, caused an insufferable
+pain, and air would soon fail them altogether!
+
+Marie here rose, and her presence, which inspired Cornbutte with
+despair, imparted some courage to Penellan. He said to himself
+that it could not be that the poor girl was destined to so
+horrible a death.
+
+"Ah!" said she, "you have made too much fire. The room is full of
+smoke!"
+
+"Yes, yes," stammered Penellan.
+
+"It is evident," resumed Marie, "for it is not cold, and it is
+long since we have felt too much heat."
+
+No one dared to tell her the truth.
+
+"See, Marie," said Penellan bluntly, "help us get breakfast
+ready. It is too cold to go out. Here is the chafing-dish, the
+spirit, and the coffee. Come, you others, a little pemmican
+first, as this wretched storm forbids us from hunting."
+
+These words stirred up his comrades.
+
+"Let us first eat," added Penellan, "and then we shall see about
+getting off."
+
+Penellan set the example and devoured his share of the breakfast.
+His comrades imitated him, and then drank a cup of boiling
+coffee, which somewhat restored their spirits. Then Jean
+Cornbutte decided energetically that they should at once set
+about devising means of safety.
+
+Andre Vasling now said,--
+
+"If the storm is still raging, which is probable, we must be
+buried ten feet under the ice, for we can hear no noise outside."
+
+Penellan looked at Marie, who now understood the truth, and did
+not tremble. The helmsman first heated, by the flame of the
+spirit, the iron point of his staff, and successfully introduced
+it into the four walls of ice, but he could find no issue in
+either. Cornbutte then resolved to cut out an opening in the door
+itself. The ice was so hard that it was difficult for the knives
+to make the least impression on it. The pieces which were cut off
+soon encumbered the hut. After working hard for two hours, they
+had only hollowed out a space three feet deep.
+
+Some more rapid method, and one which was less likely to demolish
+the house, must be thought of; for the farther they advanced the
+more violent became the effort to break off the compact ice. It
+occurred to Penellan to make use of the chafing-dish to melt the
+ice in the direction they wanted. It was a hazardous method, for,
+if their imprisonment lasted long, the spirit, of which they had
+but little, would be wanting when needed to prepare the meals.
+Nevertheless, the idea was welcomed on all hands, and was put in
+execution. They first cut a hole three feet deep by one in
+diameter, to receive the water which would result from the
+melting of the ice; and it was well that they took this
+precaution, for the water soon dripped under the action of the
+flames, which Penellan moved about under the mass of ice. The
+opening widened little by little, but this kind of work could not
+be continued long, for the water, covering their clothes,
+penetrated to their bodies here and there. Penellan was obliged
+to pause in a quarter of an hour, and to withdraw the chafing-dish
+in order to dry himself. Misonne then took his place, and worked
+sturdily at the task.
+
+In two hours, though the opening was five feet deep, the points
+of the staffs could not yet find an issue without.
+
+"It is not possible," said Jean Cornbutte, "that snow could have
+fallen in such abundance. It must have been gathered on this
+point by the wind. Perhaps we had better think of escaping in
+some other direction."
+
+"I don't know," replied Penellan; "but if it were only for the
+sake of not discouraging our comrades, we ought to continue to
+pierce the wall where we have begun. We must find an issue ere
+long."
+
+"Will not the spirit fail us?" asked the captain.
+
+"I hope not. But let us, if necessary, dispense with coffee and
+hot drinks. Besides, that is not what most alarms me."
+
+"What is it, then, Penellan?"
+
+"Our lamp is going out, for want of oil, and we are fast
+exhausting our provisions.--At last, thank God!"
+
+Penellan went to replace Andre Vasling, who was vigorously
+working for the common deliverance.
+
+"Monsieur Vasling," said he, "I am going to take your place; but
+look out well, I beg of you, for every tendency of the house to
+fall, so that we may have time to prevent it."
+
+The time for rest had come, and when Penellan had added one more
+foot to the opening, he lay down beside his comrades.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+A CLOUD OF SMOKE.
+
+
+The next day, when the sailors awoke, they were surrounded by
+complete darkness. The lamp had gone out. Jean Cornbutte roused
+Penellan to ask him for the tinder-box, which was passed to him.
+Penellan rose to light the fire, but in getting up, his head
+struck against the ice ceiling. He was horrified, for on the
+evening before he could still stand upright. The chafing-dish
+being lighted up by the dim rays of the spirit, he perceived that
+the ceiling was a foot lower than before.
+
+Penellan resumed work with desperation.
+
+At this moment the young girl observed, by the light which the
+chafing-dish cast upon Penellan's face, that despair and
+determination were struggling in his rough features for the
+mastery. She went to him, took his hands, and tenderly pressed
+them.
+
+[Illustration: despair and determination were struggling in his
+rough features for the mastery.]
+
+"She cannot, must not die thus!" he cried.
+
+He took his chafing-dish, and once more attacked the narrow
+opening. He plunged in his staff, and felt no resistance. Had he
+reached the soft layers of the snow? He drew out his staff, and a
+bright ray penetrated to the house of ice!
+
+"Here, my friends!" he shouted.
+
+He pushed back the snow with his hands and feet, but the exterior
+surface was not thawed, as he had thought. With the ray of light,
+a violent cold entered the cabin and seized upon everything
+moist, to freeze it in an instant. Penellan enlarged the opening
+with his cutlass, and at last was able to breathe the free air.
+He fell on his knees to thank God, and was soon joined by Marie
+and his comrades.
+
+A magnificent moon lit up the sky, but the cold was so extreme
+that they could not bear it. They re-entered their retreat; but
+Penellan first looked about him. The promontory was no longer
+there, and the hut was now in the midst of a vast plain of ice.
+Penellan thought he would go to the sledge, where the provisions
+were. The sledge had disappeared!
+
+The cold forced him to return. He said nothing to his companions.
+It was necessary, before all, to dry their clothing, which was
+done with the chafing-dish. The thermometer, held for an instant
+in the air, descended to thirty degrees below zero.
+
+An hour after, Vasling and Penellan resolved to venture outside.
+They wrapped themselves up in their still wet garments, and went
+out by the opening, the sides of which had become as hard as a
+rock.
+
+"We have been driven towards the north-east," said Vasling,
+reckoning by the stars, which shone with wonderful brilliancy.
+
+"That would not be bad," said Penellan, "if our sledge had come
+with us."
+
+"Is not the sledge there?" cried Vasling. "Then we are lost!"
+
+"Let us look for it," replied Penellan.
+
+They went around the hut, which formed a block more than fifteen
+feet high. An immense quantity of snow had fallen during the
+whole of the storm, and the wind had massed it against the only
+elevation which the plain presented. The entire block had been
+driven by the wind, in the midst of the broken icebergs, more
+than twenty-five miles to the north-east, and the prisoners had
+suffered the same fate as their floating prison. The sledge,
+supported by another iceberg, had been turned another way, for no
+trace of it was to be seen, and the dogs must have perished amid
+the frightful tempest.
+
+Andre Vasling and Penellan felt despair taking possession of
+them. They did not dare to return to their companions. They did
+not dare to announce this fatal news to their comrades in
+misfortune. They climbed upon the block of ice in which the hut
+was hollowed, and could perceive nothing but the white immensity
+which encompassed them on all sides. Already the cold was
+beginning to stiffen their limbs, and the damp of their garments
+was being transformed into icicles which hung about them.
+
+Just as Penellan was about to descend, he looked towards Andre.
+He saw him suddenly gaze in one direction, then shudder and turn
+pale.
+
+"What is the matter, Vasling?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing," replied the other. "Let us go down and urge the
+captain to leave these parts, where we ought never to have come,
+at once!"
+
+Instead of obeying, Penellan ascended again, and looked in the
+direction which had drawn the mate's attention. A very different
+effect was produced on him, for he uttered a shout of joy, and
+cried,--
+
+"Blessed be God!"
+
+A light smoke was rising in the north-east. There was no
+possibility of deception. It indicated the presence of human
+beings. Penellan's cries of joy reached the rest below, and all
+were able to convince themselves with their eyes that he was not
+mistaken.
+
+Without thinking of their want of provisions or the severity of
+the temperature, wrapped in their hoods, they were all soon
+advancing towards the spot whence the smoke arose in the north-east.
+This was evidently five or six miles off, and it was very
+difficult to take exactly the right direction. The smoke now
+disappeared, and no elevation served as a guiding mark, for the
+ice-plain was one united level. It was important, nevertheless,
+not to diverge from a straight line.
+
+"Since we cannot guide ourselves by distant objects," said Jean
+Cornbutte, "we must use this method. Penellan will go ahead,
+Vasling twenty steps behind him, and I twenty steps behind
+Vasling. I can then judge whether or not Penellan diverges from
+the straight line."
+
+They had gone on thus for half an hour, when Penellan suddenly
+stopped and listened. The party hurried up to him.
+
+"Did you hear nothing?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing!" replied Misonne.
+
+"It is strange," said Penellan. "It seemed to me I heard cries
+from this direction."
+
+"Cries?" replied Marie. "Perhaps we are near our destination,
+then."
+
+"That is no reason," said Andre Vasling. "In these high latitudes
+and cold regions sounds may be heard to a great distance."
+
+"However that may be," replied Jean Cornbutte, "let us go
+forward, or we shall be frozen."
+
+"No!" cried Penellan. "Listen!"
+
+Some feeble sounds--quite perceptible, however--were heard. They
+seemed to be cries of distress. They were twice repeated. They
+seemed like cries for help. Then all became silent again.
+
+"I was not mistaken," said Penellan. "Forward!"
+
+He began to run in the direction whence the cries had proceeded.
+He went thus two miles, when, to his utter stupefaction, he saw a
+man lying on the ice. He went up to him, raised him, and lifted
+his arms to heaven in despair.
+
+Andre Vasling, who was following close behind with the rest of
+the sailors, ran up and cried,--
+
+"It is one of the castaways! It is our sailor Courtois!"
+
+"He is dead!" replied Penellan. "Frozen to death!"
+
+Jean Cornbutte and Marie came up beside the corpse, which was
+already stiffened by the ice. Despair was written on every face.
+The dead man was one of the comrades of Louis Cornbutte!
+
+"Forward!" cried Penellan.
+
+They went on for half an hour in perfect silence, and perceived
+an elevation which seemed without doubt to be land.
+
+"It is Shannon Island," said Jean Cornbutte.
+
+A mile farther on they distinctly perceived smoke escaping from a
+snow-hut, closed by a wooden door. They shouted. Two men rushed
+out of the hut, and Penellan recognized one of them as Pierre
+Nouquet.
+
+"Pierre!" he cried.
+
+Pierre stood still as if stunned, and unconscious of what was
+going on around him. Andre Vasling looked at Pierre Nouquet's
+companion with anxiety mingled with a cruel joy, for he did not
+recognize Louis Cornbutte in him.
+
+"Pierre! it is I!" cried Penellan. "These are all your friends!"
+
+Pierre Nouquet recovered his senses, and fell into his old
+comrade's arms.
+
+"And my son--and Louis!" cried Jean Cornbutte, in an accent of the
+most profound despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE RETURN TO THE SHIP.
+
+
+At this moment a man, almost dead, dragged himself out of the hut
+and along the ice.
+
+It was Louis Cornbutte.
+
+[Illustration: It was Louis Cornbutte.]
+
+"My son!"
+
+"My beloved!"
+
+These two cries were uttered at the same time, and Louis
+Cornbutte fell fainting into the arms of his father and Marie,
+who drew him towards the hut, where their tender care soon
+revived him.
+
+"My father! Marie!" cried Louis; "I shall not die without having
+seen you!"
+
+"You will not die!" replied Penellan, "for all your friends are
+near you."
+
+Andre Vasling must have hated Louis Cornbutte bitterly not to
+extend his hand to him, but he did not.
+
+Pierre Nouquet was wild with joy. He embraced every body; then he
+threw some wood into the stove, and soon a comfortable temperature
+was felt in the cabin.
+
+There were two men there whom neither Jean Cornbutte nor Penellan
+recognized.
+
+They were Jocki and Herming, the only two sailors of the crew of
+the Norwegian schooner who were left.
+
+"My friends, we are saved!" said Louis. "My father! Marie! You
+have exposed yourselves to so many perils!"
+
+"We do not regret it, my Louis," replied the father. "Your brig,
+the 'Jeune-Hardie,' is securely anchored in the ice sixty leagues
+from here. We will rejoin her all together."
+
+"When Courtois comes back he'll be mightily pleased," said Pierre
+Nouquet.
+
+A mournful silence followed this, and Penellan apprised Pierre
+and Louis of their comrade's death by cold.
+
+"My friends," said Penellan, "we will wait here until the cold
+decreases. Have you provisions and wood?"
+
+"Yes; and we will burn what is left of the 'Frooeern.'"
+
+The "Frooeern" had indeed been driven to a place forty miles from
+where Louis Cornbutte had taken up his winter quarters. There she
+was broken up by the icebergs floated by the thaw, and the
+castaways were carried, with a part of the _debris_ of their
+cabin, on the southern shores of Shannon Island.
+
+They were then five in number--Louis Cornbutte, Courtois, Pierre
+Nouquet, Jocki, and Herming. As for the rest of the Norwegian
+crew, they had been submerged with the long-boat at the moment of
+the wreck.
+
+When Louis Cornbutte, shut in among the ice, realized what must
+happen, he took every precaution for passing the winter. He was
+an energetic man, very active and courageous; but, despite his
+firmness, he had been subdued by this horrible climate, and when
+his father found him he had given up all hope of life. He had not
+only had to contend with the elements, but with the ugly temper
+of the two Norwegian sailors, who owed him their existence. They
+were like savages, almost inaccessible to the most natural
+emotions. When Louis had the opportunity to talk to Penellan, he
+advised him to watch them carefully. In return, Penellan told him
+of Andre Vasling's conduct. Louis could not believe it, but
+Penellan convinced him that after his disappearance Vasling had
+always acted so as to secure Marie's hand.
+
+The whole day was employed in rest and the pleasures of reunion.
+Misonne and Pierre Nouquet killed some sea-birds near the hut,
+whence it was not prudent to stray far. These fresh provisions
+and the replenished fire raised the spirits of the weakest. Louis
+Cornbutte got visibly better. It was the first moment of
+happiness these brave people had experienced. They celebrated it
+with enthusiasm in this wretched hut, six hundred leagues from
+the North Sea, in a temperature of thirty degrees below zero!
+
+This temperature lasted till the end of the moon, and it was not
+until about the 17th of November, a week after their meeting,
+that Jean Cornbutte and his party could think of setting out.
+They only had the light of the stars to guide them; but the cold
+was less extreme, and even some snow fell.
+
+Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor Courtois. It
+was a sad ceremony, which deeply affected his comrades. He was
+the first of them who would not again see his native land.
+
+Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, a sort of
+sledge for carrying the provisions, and the sailors drew it by
+turns. Jean Cornbutte led the expedition by the ways already
+traversed. Camps were established with great promptness when the
+times for repose came. Jean Cornbutte hoped to find his deposits
+of provisions again, as they had become well-nigh indispensable
+by the addition of four persons to the party. He was therefore
+very careful not to diverge from the route by which he had come.
+
+By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had stranded near
+the promontory where they had all run so many dangers. The dogs,
+after eating their straps to satisfy their hunger, had attacked
+the provisions in the sledge. These had sustained them, and they
+served to guide the party to the sledge, where there was a
+considerable quantity of provisions left. The little band resumed
+its march towards the bay. The dogs were harnessed to the sleigh,
+and no event of interest attended the return.
+
+It was observed that Aupic, Andre Vasling, and the Norwegians
+kept aloof, and did not mingle with the others; but, unbeknown to
+themselves, they were narrowly watched. This germ of dissension
+more than once aroused the fears of Louis Cornbutte and Penellan.
+
+About the 7th of December, twenty days after the discovery of the
+castaways, they perceived the bay where the "Jeune-Hardie" was
+lying. What was their astonishment to see the brig perched four
+yards in the air on blocks of ice! They hurried forward, much
+alarmed for their companions, and were received with joyous cries
+by Gervique, Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in good
+health, though they too had been subjected to formidable dangers.
+
+The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar sea. The
+ice had been broken and displaced, crushed one piece against
+another, and had seized the bed on which the ship rested. Though
+its specific weight tended to carry it under water, the ice had
+acquired an incalculable force, and the brig had been suddenly
+raised up out of the sea.
+
+The first moments were given up to the happiness inspired by the
+safe return. The exploring party were rejoiced to find everything
+in good condition, which assured them a supportable though it
+might be a rough winter. The ship had not been shaken by her
+sudden elevation, and was perfectly tight. When the season of
+thawing came, they would only have to slide her down an inclined
+plane, to launch her, in a word, in the once more open sea.
+
+But a bad piece of news spread gloom on the faces of Jean
+Cornbutte and his comrades. During the terrible gale the snow
+storehouse on the coast had been quite demolished; the provisions
+which it contained were scattered, and it had not been possible
+to save a morsel of them. When Jean and Louis Cornbutte learnt
+this, they visited the hold and steward's room, to ascertain the
+quantity of provisions which still remained.
+
+The thaw would not come until May, and the brig could not leave
+the bay before that period. They had therefore five winter months
+before them to pass amid the ice, during which fourteen persons
+were to be fed. Having made his calculations, Jean Cornbutte
+found that he would at most be able to keep them alive till the
+time for departure, by putting each and all on half rations.
+Hunting for game became compulsory to procure food in larger
+quantity.
+
+For fear that they might again run short of provisions, it was
+decided to deposit them no longer in the ground. All of them were
+kept on board, and beds were disposed for the new comers in the
+common lodging. Turquiette, Gervique, and Gradlin, during the
+absence of the others, had hollowed out a flight of steps in the
+ice, which enabled them easily to reach the ship's deck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE TWO RIVALS.
+
+
+Andre Vasling had been cultivating the good-will of the two
+Norwegian sailors. Aupic also made one of their band, and held
+himself apart, with loud disapproval of all the new measures
+taken; but Louis Cornbutte, to whom his father had transferred
+the command of the ship, and who had become once more master on
+board, would listen to no objections from that quarter, and in
+spite of Marie's advice to act gently, made it known that he
+intended to be obeyed on all points.
+
+Nevertheless, the two Norwegians succeeded, two days after, in
+getting possession of a box of salt meat. Louis ordered them to
+return it to him on the spot, but Aupic took their part, and
+Andre Vasling declared that the precautions about the food could
+not be any longer enforced.
+
+It was useless to attempt to show these men that these measures
+were for the common interest, for they knew it well, and only
+sought a pretext to revolt.
+
+Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians, who drew their
+cutlasses; but, aided by Misonne and Turquiette, he succeeded in
+snatching the weapons from their hands, and gained possession of
+the salt meat. Andre Vasling and Aupic, seeing that matters were
+going against them, did not interfere. Louis Cornbutte, however,
+took the mate aside, and said to him,--
+
+[Illustration: Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians.]
+
+"Andre Vasling, you are a wretch! I know your whole conduct, and
+I know what you are aiming at, but as the safety of the whole
+crew is confided to me, if any man of you thinks of conspiring to
+destroy them, I will stab him with my own hand!"
+
+"Louis Cornbutte," replied the mate, "it is allowable for you to
+act the master; but remember that absolute obedience does not
+exist here, and that here the strongest alone makes the law."
+
+Marie had never trembled before the dangers of the polar seas;
+but she was terrified by this hatred, of which she was the cause,
+and the captain's vigour hardly reassured her.
+
+Despite this declaration of war, the meals were partaken of in
+common and at the same hours. Hunting furnished some ptarmigans
+and white hares; but this resource would soon fail them, with the
+approach of the terrible cold weather. This began at the
+solstice, on the 22nd of December, on which day the thermometer
+fell to thirty-five degrees below zero. The men experienced pain
+in their ears, noses, and the extremities of their bodies. They
+were seized with a mortal torpor combined with headache, and
+their breathing became more and more difficult.
+
+In this state they had no longer any courage to go hunting or to
+take any exercise. They remained crouched around the stove, which
+gave them but a meagre heat; and when they went away from it,
+they perceived that their blood suddenly cooled.
+
+Jean Cornbutte's health was seriously impaired, and he could no
+longer quit his lodging. Symptoms of scurvy manifested themselves
+in him, and his legs were soon covered with white spots. Marie
+was well, however, and occupied herself tending the sick ones
+with the zeal of a sister of charity. The honest fellows blessed
+her from the bottom of their hearts.
+
+The 1st of January was one of the gloomiest of these winter days.
+The wind was violent, and the cold insupportable. They could not
+go out, except at the risk of being frozen. The most courageous
+were fain to limit themselves to walking on deck, sheltered by
+the tent. Jean Cornbutte, Gervique, and Gradlin did not leave
+their beds. The two Norwegians, Aupic, and Andre Vasling, whose
+health was good, cast ferocious looks at their companions, whom
+they saw wasting away.
+
+Louis Cornbutte led Penellan on deck, and asked him how much
+firing was left.
+
+"The coal was exhausted long ago," replied Penellan, "and we are
+about to burn our last pieces of wood."
+
+"If we are not able to keep off this cold, we are lost," said
+Louis.
+
+"There still remains a way--" said Penellan, "to burn what we can
+of the brig, from the barricading to the water-line; and we can
+even, if need be, demolish her entirely, and rebuild a smaller
+craft."
+
+"That is an extreme means," replied Louis, "which it will be full
+time to employ when our men are well. For," he added in a low
+voice, "our force is diminishing, and that of our enemies seems
+to be increasing. That is extraordinary."
+
+"It is true," said Penellan; "and unless we took the precaution
+to watch night and day, I know not what would happen to us."
+
+"Let us take our hatchets," returned Louis, "and make our harvest
+of wood."
+
+Despite the cold, they mounted on the forward barricading, and
+cut off all the wood which was not indispensably necessary to the
+ship; then they returned with this new provision. The fire was
+started afresh, and a man remained on guard to prevent it from
+going out.
+
+Meanwhile Louis Cornbutte and his friends were soon tired out.
+They could not confide any detail of the life in common to their
+enemies. Charged with all the domestic cares, their powers were
+soon exhausted. The scurvy betrayed itself in Jean Cornbutte, who
+suffered intolerable pain. Gervique and Gradlin showed symptoms
+of the same disease. Had it not been for the lemon-juice with
+which they were abundantly furnished, they would have speedily
+succumbed to their sufferings. This remedy was not spared in
+relieving them.
+
+But one day, the 15th of January, when Louis Cornbutte was going
+down into the steward's room to get some lemons, he was stupefied
+to find that the barrels in which they were kept had disappeared.
+He hurried up and told Penellan of this misfortune. A theft had
+been committed, and it was easy to recognize its authors. Louis
+Cornbutte then understood why the health of his enemies continued
+so good! His friends were no longer strong enough to take the
+lemons away from them, though his life and that of his comrades
+depended on the fruit; and he now sank, for the first time, into
+a gloomy state of despair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DISTRESS.
+
+
+On the 20th of January most of the crew had not the strength to
+leave their beds. Each, independently of his woollen coverings,
+had a buffalo-skin to protect him against the cold; but as soon
+as he put his arms outside the clothes, he felt a pain which
+obliged him quickly to cover them again.
+
+Meanwhile, Louis having lit the stove fire, Penellan, Misonne,
+and Andre Vasling left their beds and crouched around it.
+Penellan prepared some boiling coffee, which gave them some
+strength, as well as Marie, who joined them in partaking of it.
+
+Louis Cornbutte approached his father's bedside; the old man was
+almost motionless, and his limbs were helpless from disease. He
+muttered some disconnected words, which carried grief to his
+son's heart.
+
+"Louis," said he, "I am dying. O, how I suffer! Save me!"
+
+Louis took a decisive resolution. He went up to the mate, and,
+controlling himself with difficulty, said,--
+
+"Do you know where the lemons are, Vasling?"
+
+"In the steward's room, I suppose," returned the mate, without
+stirring.
+
+"You know they are not there, as you have stolen them!"
+
+"You are master, Louis Cornbutte, and may say and do anything."
+
+"For pity's sake, Andre Vasling, my father is dying! You can save
+him,--answer!"
+
+"I have nothing to answer," replied Andre Vasling.
+
+"Wretch!" cried Penellan, throwing himself, cutlass in hand, on
+the mate.
+
+"Help, friends!" shouted Vasling, retreating.
+
+Aupic and the two Norwegian sailors jumped from their beds and
+placed themselves behind him. Turquiette, Penellan, and Louis
+prepared to defend themselves. Pierre Nouquet and Gradlin, though
+suffering much, rose to second them.
+
+"You are still too strong for us," said Vasling. "We do not wish
+to fight on an uncertainty."
+
+The sailors were so weak that they dared not attack the four
+rebels, for, had they failed, they would have been lost.
+
+"Andre Vasling!" said Louis Cornbutte, in a gloomy tone, "if my
+father dies, you will have murdered him; and I will kill you like
+a dog!"
+
+Vasling and his confederates retired to the other end of the
+cabin, and did not reply.
+
+It was then necessary to renew the supply of wood, and, in spite
+of the cold, Louis went on deck and began to cut away a part of
+the barricading, but was obliged to retreat in a quarter of an
+hour, for he was in danger of falling, overcome by the freezing
+air. As he passed, he cast a glance at the thermometer left
+outside, and saw that the mercury was frozen. The cold, then,
+exceeded forty-two degrees below zero. The weather was dry, and
+the wind blew from the north.
+
+On the 26th the wind changed to the north-east, and the
+thermometer outside stood at thirty-five degrees. Jean Cornbutte
+was in agony, and his son had searched in vain for some remedy
+with which to relieve his pain. On this day, however, throwing
+himself suddenly on Vasling, he managed to snatch a lemon from
+him which he was about to suck.
+
+Vasling made no attempt to recover it. He seemed to be awaiting
+an opportunity to accomplish his wicked designs.
+
+The lemon-juice somewhat relieved old Cornbutte, but it was
+necessary to continue the remedy. Marie begged Vasling on her
+knees to produce the lemons, but he did not reply, and soon
+Penellan heard the wretch say to his accomplices,--
+
+[Illustration: Marie begged Vasling on her knees to produce the
+lemons, but he did not reply.]
+
+"The old fellow is dying. Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet are not
+much better. The others are daily losing their strength. The time
+is near when their lives will belong to us!"
+
+It was then resolved by Louis Cornbutte and his adherents not to
+wait, and to profit by the little strength which still remained
+to them. They determined to act the next night, and to kill these
+wretches, so as not to be killed by them.
+
+The temperature rose a little. Louis Cornbutte ventured to go out
+with his gun in search of some game.
+
+He proceeded some three miles from the ship, and often, deceived
+by the effects of the mirage and refraction, he went farther away
+than he intended. It was imprudent, for recent tracts of
+ferocious animals were to be seen. He did not wish, however, to
+return without some fresh meat, and continued on his route; but
+he then experienced a strange feeling, which turned his head. It
+was what is called "white vertigo."
+
+The reflection of the ice hillocks and fields affected him from
+head to foot, and it seemed to him that the dazzling colour
+penetrated him and caused an irresistible nausea. His eye was
+attacked. His sight became uncertain. He thought he should go mad
+with the glare. Without fully understanding this terrible effect,
+he advanced on his way, and soon put up a ptarmigan, which he
+eagerly pursued. The bird soon fell, and in order to reach it
+Louis leaped from an ice-block and fell heavily; for the leap was
+at least ten feet, and the refraction made him think it was only
+two. The vertigo then seized him, and, without knowing why, he
+began to call for help, though he had not been injured by the
+fall. The cold began to take him, and he rose with pain, urged by
+the sense of self-preservation.
+
+Suddenly, without being able to account for it, he smelt an odour
+of boiling fat. As the ship was between him and the wind, he
+supposed that this odour proceeded from her, and could not
+imagine why they should be cooking fat, this being a dangerous
+thing to do, as it was likely to attract the white bears.
+
+Louis returned towards the ship, absorbed in reflections which
+soon inspired his excited mind with terror. It seemed to him as
+if colossal masses were moving on the horizon, and he asked
+himself if there was not another ice-quake. Several of these
+masses interposed themselves between him and the ship, and
+appeared to rise about its sides. He stopped to gaze at them more
+attentively, when to his horror he recognized a herd of gigantic
+bears.
+
+These animals had been attracted by the odour of grease which had
+surprised Lonis. He sheltered himself behind a hillock, and
+counted three, which were scaling the blocks on which the
+"Jeune-Hardie" was resting.
+
+Nothing led him to suppose that this danger was known in the
+interior of the ship, and a terrible anguish oppressed his heart.
+How resist these redoubtable enemies? Would Andre Vasling and his
+confederates unite with the rest on board in the common peril?
+Could Penellan and the others, half starved, benumbed with cold,
+resist these formidable animals, made wild by unassuaged hunger?
+Would they not be surprised by an unlooked-for attack?
+
+Louis made these reflections rapidly. The bears had crossed the
+blocks, and were mounting to the assault of the ship. He might
+then quit the block which protected him; he went nearer, clinging
+to the ice, and could soon see the enormous animals tearing the
+tent with their paws, and leaping on the deck. He thought of
+firing his gun to give his comrades notice; but if these came up
+without arms, they would inevitably be torn in pieces, and
+nothing showed as yet that they were even aware of their new
+danger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE WHITE BEARS.
+
+
+After Louis Cornbutte's departure, Penellan had carefully shut
+the cabin door, which opened at the foot of the deck steps. He
+returned to the stove, which he took it upon himself to watch,
+whilst his companions regained their berths in search of a little
+warmth.
+
+It was then six in the evening, and Penellan set about preparing
+supper. He went down into the steward's room for some salt meat,
+which he wished to soak in the boiling water. When he returned,
+he found Andre Vasling in his place, cooking some pieces of
+grease in a basin.
+
+"I was there before you," said Penellan roughly; "why have you
+taken my place?"
+
+"For the same reason that you claim it," returned Vasling:
+"because I want to cook my supper."
+
+"You will take that off at once, or we shall see!"
+
+"We shall see nothing," said Vasling; "my supper shall be cooked
+in spite of you."
+
+"You shall not eat it, then," cried Penellan, rushing upon
+Vasling, who seized his cutlass, crying,--
+
+"Help, Norwegians! Help, Aupic!"
+
+These, in the twinkling of an eye, sprang to their feet, armed
+with pistols and daggers. The crisis had come.
+
+Penellan precipitated himself upon Vasling, to whom, no doubt,
+was confided the task to fight him alone; for his accomplices
+rushed to the beds where lay Misonne, Turquiette, and Nouquet.
+The latter, ill and defenceless, was delivered over to Herming's
+ferocity. The carpenter seized a hatchet, and, leaving his berth,
+hurried up to encounter Aupic. Turquiette and Jocki, the
+Norwegian, struggled fiercely. Gervique and Gradlin, suffering
+horribly, were not even conscious of what was passing around
+them.
+
+Nouquet soon received a stab in the side, and Herming turned to
+Penellan, who was fighting desperately. Andre Vasling had seized
+him round the body.
+
+At the beginning of the affray the basin had been upset on the
+stove, and the grease running over the burning coals, impregnated
+the atmosphere with its odour. Marie rose with cries of despair,
+and hurried to the bed of old Jean Cornbutte.
+
+[Illustration: Marie rose with cries of despair, and hurried to
+the bed of old Jean Cornbutte.]
+
+Vasling, less strong than Penellan, soon perceived that the
+latter was getting the better of him. They were too close
+together to make use of their weapons. The mate, seeing Herming,
+cried out,--
+
+"Help, Herming!"
+
+"Help, Misonne!" shouted Penellan, in his turn.
+
+But Misonne was rolling on the ground with Aupic, who was trying
+to stab him with his cutlass. The carpenter's hatchet was of
+little use to him, for he could not wield it, and it was with the
+greatest difficulty that he parried the lunges which Aupic made
+with his knife.
+
+Meanwhile blood flowed amid the groans and cries. Turquiette,
+thrown down by Jocki, a man of immense strength, had received a
+wound in the shoulder, and he tried in vain to clutch a pistol
+which hung in the Norwegian's belt. The latter held him as in a
+vice, and it was impossible for him to move.
+
+At Vasling's cry for help, who was being held by Penellan close
+against the door, Herming rushed up. As he was about to stab the
+Breton's back with his cutlass, the latter felled him to the
+earth with a vigorous kick. His effort to do this enabled Vasling
+to disengage his right arm; but the door, against which they
+pressed with all their weight, suddenly yielded, and Vasling fell
+over.
+
+Of a sudden a terrible growl was heard, and a gigantic bear
+appeared on the steps. Vasling saw him first. He was not four
+feet away from him. At the same moment a shot was heard, and the
+bear, wounded or frightened, retreated. Vasling, who had
+succeeded in regaining his feet, set-out in pursuit of him,
+abandoning Penellan.
+
+Penellan then replaced the door, and looked around him. Misonne
+and Turquiette, tightly garrotted by their antagonists, had been
+thrown into a corner, and made vain efforts to break loose.
+Penellan rushed to their assistance, but was overturned by the
+two Norwegians and Aupic. His exhausted strength did not permit
+him to resist these three men, who so clung to him as to hold him
+motionless Then, at the cries of the mate, they hurried on deck,
+thinking that Louis Cornbutte was to be encountered.
+
+Andre Vasling was struggling with a bear, which he had already
+twice stabbed with his knife. The animal, beating the air with
+his heavy paws, was trying to clutch Vasling; he retiring little
+by little on the barricading, was apparently doomed, when a
+second shot was heard. The bear fell. Andre Vasling raised his
+head and saw Louis Cornbutte in the ratlines of the mizen-mast,
+his gun in his hand. Louis had shot the bear in the heart, and he
+was dead.
+
+Hate overcame gratitude in Vasling's breast; but before
+satisfying it, he looked around him. Aupic's head was broken by a
+paw-stroke, and he lay lifeless on deck. Jocki, hatchet in hand,
+was with difficulty parrying the blows of the second bear which
+had just killed Aupic. The animal had received two wounds, and
+still struggled desperately. A third bear was directing his way
+towards the ship's prow. Vasling paid no attention to him, but,
+followed by Herming, went to the aid of Jocki; but Jocki, seized
+by the beast's paws, was crushed, and when the bear fell under
+the shots of the other two men, he held only a corpse in his
+shaggy arms.
+
+"We are only two, now" said Vasling, with gloomy ferocity, "but
+if we yield, it will not be without vengeance!"
+
+Herming reloaded his pistol without replying. Before all, the
+third bear must be got rid of. Vasling looked forward, but did
+not see him. On raising his eyes, he perceived him erect on the
+barricading, clinging to the ratlines and trying to reach Louis.
+Vasling let his gun fall, which he had aimed at the animal, while
+a fierce joy glittered in his eyes.
+
+"Ah," he cried, "you owe me that vengeance!"
+
+Louis took refuge in the top of the mast. The bear kept mounting,
+and was not more than six feet from Louis, when he raised his gun
+and pointed it at the animal's heart.
+
+Vasling raised his weapon to shoot Louis if the bear fell.
+
+Louis fired, but the bear did not appear to be hit, for he leaped
+with a bound towards the top. The whole mast shook.
+
+Vasling uttered a shout of exultation.
+
+"Herming," he cried, "go and find Marie! Go and find my
+betrothed!"
+
+Herming descended the cabin stairs.
+
+Meanwhile the furious beast had thrown himself upon Louis, who
+was trying to shelter himself on the other side of the mast; but
+at the moment that his enormous paw was raised to break his head,
+Louis, seizing one of the backstays, let himself slip down to the
+deck, not without danger, for a ball hissed by his ear when he
+was half-way down. Vasling had shot at him, and missed him. The
+two adversaries now confronted each other, cutlass in hand.
+
+The combat was about to become decisive. To entirely glut his
+vengeance, and to have the young girl witness her lover's death,
+Vasling had deprived himself of Herming's aid. He could now
+reckon only on himself.
+
+Louis and Vasling seized each other by the collar, and held each
+other with iron grip. One of them must fall. They struck each
+other violently. The blows were only half parried, for blood soon
+flowed from both. Vasling tried to clasp his adversary about the
+neck with his arm, to bring him to the ground. Louis, knowing
+that he who fell was lost, prevented him, and succeeded in
+grasping his two arms; but in doing this he let fall his cutlass.
+
+Piteous cries now assailed his ears; it was Marie's voice.
+Herming was trying to drag her up. Louis was seized with a
+desperate rage. He stiffened himself to bend Vasling's loins; but
+at this moment the combatants felt themselves seized in a
+powerful embrace. The bear, having descended from the mast, had
+fallen upon the two men. Vasling was pressed against the animal's
+body. Louis felt his claws entering his flesh. The bear, was
+strangling both of them.
+
+[Illustration: The bear, having descended from the mast, had
+fallen upon the two men.]
+
+"Help! help! Herming!" cried the mate.
+
+"Help! Penellan!" cried Louis.
+
+Steps were heard on the stairs. Penellan appeared, loaded his
+pistol, and discharged it in the bear's ear; he roared; the pain
+made him relax his paws for a moment, and Louis, exhausted, fell
+motionless on the deck; but the bear, closing his paws tightly
+in a supreme agony, fell, dragging down the wretched Vasling,
+whose body was crushed under him.
+
+Penellan hurried to Louis Cornbutte's assistance. No serious
+wound endangered his life: he had only lost his breath for a
+moment.
+
+"Marie!" he said, opening his eyes.
+
+"Saved!" replied Perfellan. "Herming is lying there with a knife-wound
+in his stomach."
+
+"And the bears--"
+
+"Dead, Louis; dead, like our enemies! But for those beasts we
+should have been lost. Truly, they came to our succour. Let us
+thank Heaven!"
+
+Louis and Penellan descended to the cabin, and Marie fell into
+their arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+Herming, mortally wounded, had been carried to a berth by Misonne
+and Turquiette, who had succeeded in getting free. He was already
+at the last gasp of death; and the two sailors occupied themselves
+with Nouquet, whose wound was not, happily, a serious one.
+
+But a greater misfortune had overtaken Louis Cornbutte. His
+father no longer gave any signs of life. Had he died of anxiety
+for his son, delivered over to his enemies? Had he succumbed in
+presence of these terrible events? They could not tell. But the
+poor old sailor, broken by disease, had ceased to live!
+
+At this unexpected blow, Louis and Marie fell into a sad despair;
+then they knelt at the bedside and wept, as they prayed for Jean
+Cornbutte's soul, Penellan, Misonne, and Turquiette left them
+alone in the cabin, and went on deck. The bodies of the three
+bears were carried forward. Penellan decided to keep their skins,
+which would be of no little use; but he did not think for a
+moment of eating their flesh. Besides, the number of men to feed
+was now much decreased. The bodies of Vasling, Aupic, and Jocki,
+thrown into a hole dug on the coast, were soon rejoined by that
+of Herming. The Norwegian died during the night, without
+repentance or remorse, foaming at the mouth with rage.
+
+The three sailors repaired the tent, which, torn in several
+places, permitted the snow to fall on the deck. The temperature
+was exceedingly cold, and kept so till the return of the sun,
+which did not reappear above the horizon till the 8th of January.
+
+Jean Cornbutte was buried on the coast. He had left his native
+land to find his son, and had died in these terrible regions! His
+grave was dug on an eminence, and the sailors placed over it a
+simple wooden cross.
+
+From that day, Louis Cornbutte and his comrades passed through
+many other trials; but the lemons, which they found, restored
+them to health.
+
+Gervique, Gradlin, and Nouquet were able to rise from their
+berths a fortnight after these terrible events, and to take a
+little exercise.
+
+Soon hunting for game became more easy and its results more
+abundant. The water-birds returned in large numbers. They often
+brought down a kind of wild duck which made excellent food. The
+hunters had no other deprivation to deplore than that of two
+dogs, which they lost in an expedition to reconnoitre the state
+of the icefields, twenty-five miles to the southward.
+
+The month of February was signalized by violent tempests and
+abundant snows. The mean temperature was still twenty-five
+degrees below zero, but they did not suffer in comparison with
+past hardships. Besides, the sight of the sun, which rose higher
+and higher above the horizon, rejoiced them, as it forecast the
+end of their torments. Heaven had pity on them, for warmth came
+sooner than usual that year. The ravens appeared in March,
+careering about the ship. Louis Cornbutte captured some cranes
+which had wandered thus far northward. Flocks of wild birds were
+also seen in the south.
+
+The return of the birds indicated a diminution of the cold; but
+it was not safe to rely upon this, for with a change of wind, or
+in the new or full moons, the temperature suddenly fell; and the
+sailors were forced to resort to their most careful precautions
+to protect themselves against it. They had already burned all the
+barricading, the bulkheads, and a large portion of the bridge. It
+was time, then, that their wintering was over. Happily, the mean
+temperature of March was not over sixteen degrees below zero.
+Marie occupied herself with preparing new clothing for the
+advanced season of the year.
+
+After the equinox, the sun had remained constantly above the
+horizon. The eight months of perpetual daylight had begun. This
+continual sunlight, with the increasing though still quite feeble
+heat, soon began to act upon the ice.
+
+Great precautions were necessary in launching the ship from the
+lofty layer of ice which surrounded her. She was therefore
+securely propped up, and it seemed best to await the breaking up
+of the ice; but the lower mass, resting on a bed of already warm
+water, detached itself little by little, and the ship gradually
+descended with it. Early in April she had reached her natural
+level.
+
+Torrents of rain came with April, which, extending in waves over
+the ice-plain, hastened still more its breaking up. The
+thermometer rose to ten degrees below zero. Some of the men took
+off their seal-skin clothes, and it was no longer necessary to
+keep a fire in the cabin stove day and night. The provision of
+spirit, which was not exhausted, was used only for cooking the
+food.
+
+Soon the ice began to break up rapidly, and it became imprudent
+to venture upon the plain without a staff to sound the passages;
+for fissures wound in spirals here and there. Some of the sailors
+fell into the water, with no worse result, however, than a pretty
+cold bath.
+
+The seals returned, and they were often hunted, and their grease
+utilized.
+
+The health of the crew was fully restored, and the time was
+employed in hunting and preparations for departure. Louis Cornbutte
+often examined the channels, and decided, in consequence of the shape
+of the southern coast, to attempt a passage in that direction. The
+breaking up had already begun here and there, and the floating ice
+began to pass off towards the high seas. On the 25th of April the
+ship was put in readiness. The sails, taken from their sheaths, were
+found to be perfectly preserved, and it was with real delight that
+the sailors saw them once more swaying in the wind. The ship gave a
+lurch, for she had found her floating line, and though she would not
+yet move forward, she lay quietly and easily in her natural element.
+
+In May the thaw became very rapid. The snow which covered the
+coast melted on every hand, and formed a thick mud, which made it
+well-nigh impossible to land. Small heathers, rosy and white,
+peeped out timidly above the lingering snow, and seemed to smile
+at the little heat they received. The thermometer at last rose
+above zero.
+
+Twenty miles off, the ice masses, entirely separated, floated
+towards the Atlantic Ocean. Though the sea was not quite free
+around the ship, channels opened by which Louis Cornbutte wished
+to profit.
+
+On the 21st of May, after a parting visit to his father's grave,
+Louis at last set out from the bay. The hearts of the honest
+sailors were filled at once with joy and sadness, for one does
+not leave without regret a place where a friend has died. The
+wind blew from the north, and favoured their departure. The ship
+was often arrested by ice-banks, which were cut with the saws;
+icebergs not seldom confronted her, and it was necessary to blow
+them up with powder. For a month the way was full of perils,
+which sometimes brought the ship to the verge of destruction; but
+the crew were sturdy, and used to these dangerous exigencies.
+Penellan, Pierre Nouquet, Turquiette, Fidele Misonne, did the
+work of ten sailors, and Marie had smiles of gratitude for each.
+
+The "Jeune-Hardie" at last passed beyond the ice in the latitude
+of Jean-Mayer Island. About the 25th of June she met ships going
+northward for seals and whales. She had been nearly a month
+emerging from the Polar Sea.
+
+On the 16th of August she came in view of Dunkirk. She had been
+signalled by the look-out, and the whole population flocked to
+the jetty. The sailors of the ship were soon clasped in the arms
+of their friends. The old cure received Louis Cornbutte and Marie
+with patriarchal arms, and of the two masses which he said on the
+following day, the first was for the repose of Jean Cornbutte's
+soul, and the second to bless these two lovers, so long united in
+misfortune.
+
+[Illustration: The old cure received Louis Cornbutte and Marie.]
+
+
+
+
+THE FORTIETH FRENCH ASCENT OF MONT BLANC
+
+BY PAUL VERNE.
+
+
+I arrived at Chamonix on the 18th of August, 1871, fully decided
+to make the ascent of Mont Blanc, cost what it might. My first
+attempt in August, 1869, was not successful. Bad weather had
+prevented me from mounting beyond the Grands-Mulets. This time
+circumstances seemed scarcely more favourable, for the weather,
+which had promised to be fine on the morning of the 18th,
+suddenly changed towards noon. Mont Blanc, as they say in its
+neighbourhood, "put on its cap and began to smoke its pipe,"
+which, to speak more plainly, means that it is covered with
+clouds, and that the snow, driven upon it by a south-west wind,
+formed a long crest on its summit in the direction of the
+unfathomable precipices of the Brenva glaciers. This crest
+betrayed to imprudent tourists the route they would have taken,
+had they had the temerity to venture upon the mountain.
+
+The next night was very inclement. The rain and wind were
+violent, and the barometer, below the "change," remained
+stationary.
+
+Towards daybreak, however, several thunder-claps announced a
+change in the state of the atmosphere. Soon the clouds broke. The
+chain of the Brevent and the Aiguilles-Rouges betrayed itself.
+The wind, turning to the north-west, brought into view above the
+Col de Balme, which shuts in the valley of Chamonix on the north,
+some light, isolated, fleecy clouds, which I hailed as the
+heralds of fine weather.
+
+Despite this happy augury and a slight rise in the barometer, M.
+Balmat, chief guide of Chamonix, declared to me that I must not
+yet think of attempting the ascent.
+
+"If the barometer continues to rise," he added, "and the weather
+holds good, I promise you guides for the day after to-morrow--
+perhaps for to-morrow. Meanwhile, have patience and stretch your
+legs; I will take you up the Brevent. The clouds are clearing
+away, and you will be able to exactly distinguish the path you
+will have to go over to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. If, in
+spite of this, you are determined to go, you may try it!"
+
+This speech, uttered in a certain tone, was not very reassuring,
+and gave food for reflection. Still, I accepted his proposition,
+and he chose as my companion the guide Edward Ravanel, a very
+sedate and devoted fellow, who perfectly knew his business.
+
+M. Donatien Levesque, an enthusiastic tourist and an intrepid
+pedestrian, who had made early in the previous year an interesting
+and difficult trip in North America, was with me. He had already
+visited the greater part of America, and was about to descend the
+Mississippi to New Orleans, when the war cut short his projects and
+recalled him to France. We had met at Aix-les-Bains, and we had
+determined to make an excursion together in Savoy and Switzerland.
+
+Donatien Levesque knew my intentions, and, as he thought that his
+health would not permit him to attempt so long a journey over the
+glaciers, it had been agreed that he should await my return from
+Mont Blanc at Chamonix, and should make the traditional visit to
+the Mer-de-Glace by the Montanvers during my absence.
+
+On learning that I was going to ascend the Brevent, my friend did
+not hesitate to accompany me thither. The ascent of the Brevent
+is one of the most interesting trips that can be made from
+Chamonix. This mountain, about seven thousand six hundred feet
+high, is only the prolongation of the chain for the Aiguilles-Rouges,
+which runs from the south-west to the north-east, parallel with that
+of Mont Blanc, and forms with it the narrow valley of Chamonix. The
+Brevent, by its central position, exactly opposite the Bossons
+glacier, enables one to watch the parties which undertake the ascent
+of the giant of the Alps nearly throughout their journey. It is
+therefore much frequented.
+
+We started about seven o'clock in the morning. As we went along,
+I thought of the mysterious words of the master-guide; they
+annoyed me a little. Addressing Ravanel, I said,--
+
+"Have you made the ascent of Mont Blanc?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he replied, "once; and that's enough. I am not
+anxious to do it again."
+
+"The deuce!" said I. "I am going to try it."
+
+"You are free, monsieur; but I shall not go with you. The
+mountain is not good this year. Several attempts have already
+been made; two only have succeeded. As for the second, the party
+tried the ascent twice. Besides, the accident last year has
+rather cooled the amateurs."
+
+"An accident! What accident?"
+
+"Did not monsieur hear of it? This is how it happened. A party,
+consisting of ten guides and porters and two Englishmen, started
+about the middle of September for Mont Blanc. They were seen to
+reach the summit; then, some minutes after, they disappeared in a
+cloud. When the cloud passed over no one was visible. The two
+travellers, with seven guides and porters, had been blown off by
+the wind and precipitated on the Cormayeur side, doubtless into
+the Brenva glacier. Despite the most vigilant search, their
+bodies could not be found. The other three were found one hundred
+and fifty yards below the summit, near the Petits-Mulets. They
+had become blocks of ice."
+
+"But these travellers must have been imprudent," said I to
+Ravanel. "What folly it was to start off so late in the year on
+such an expedition! They should have gone up in August."
+
+I vainly tried to keep up my courage; this lugubrious story would
+haunt me in spite of myself. Happily the weather soon cleared,
+and the rays of a bright sun dissipated the clouds which still
+veiled Mont Blanc, and, at the same time, those which overshadowed
+my thoughts.
+
+Our ascent was satisfactorily accomplished. On leaving the
+chalets of Planpraz, situated at a height of two thousand and
+sixty-two yards, you ascend, on ragged masses of rock and pools
+of snow, to the foot of a rock called "The Chimney," which is
+scaled with the feet and hands. Twenty minutes after, you reach
+the summit of the Brevent, whence the view is very fine. The
+chain of Mont Blanc appears in all its majesty. The gigantic
+mountain, firmly established on its powerful strata, seems to
+defy the tempests which sweep across its icy shield without ever
+impairing it; whilst the crowd of icy needles, peaks, mountains,
+which form its cortege and rise everywhere around it, without
+equalling its noble height, carry the evident traces of a slow
+wasting away.
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from the Brevent.]
+
+From the excellent look-out which we occupied, we could reckon,
+though still imperfectly, the distance to be gone over in order
+to attain the summit. This summit, which from Chamonix appears so
+near the dome of the Gouter, now took its true position. The
+various plateaus which form so many degrees which must be
+crossed, and which are not visible from below, appeared from the
+Brevent, and threw the so-much-desired summit, by the laws of
+perspective, still farther in the background. The Bossons
+glacier, in all its splendour, bristled with icy needles and
+blocks (blocks sometimes ten yards square), which seemed, like
+the waves of an angry sea, to beat against the sides of the rocks
+of the Grands-Mulets, the base of which disappeared in their
+midst.
+
+This marvellous spectacle was not likely to cool my impatience,
+and I more eagerly than ever promised myself to explore this
+hitherto unknown world.
+
+My companion was equally inspired by the scene, and from this
+moment I began to think that I should not have to ascend Mont
+Blanc alone.
+
+We descended again to Chamonix; the weather became milder every
+hour; the barometer continued to ascend; everything seemed to
+promise well.
+
+The next day at sunrise I hastened to the master-guide. The sky
+was cloudless; the wind, almost imperceptible, was north-east.
+The chain of Mont Blanc, the higher summits of which were gilded
+by the rising sun, seemed to invite the many tourists to ascend
+it. One could not, in all politeness, refuse so kindly an
+invitation.
+
+M. Balmat, after consulting his barometer, declared the ascent to
+be practicable, and promised me the two guides and the porter
+prescribed in our agreement. I left the selection of these to
+him. But an unexpected incident disturbed my preparations for
+departure.
+
+As I came out of M. Balmat's office, I met Ravanel, my guide of
+the day before.
+
+"Is monsieur going to Mont Blanc?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, certainly," said I. "Is it not a favourable time to go?"
+
+He reflected a few moments, and then said with an embarrassed
+air,--
+
+"Monsieur, you are my traveller; I accompanied you yesterday to
+the Brevent, so I cannot leave you now; and, since you are going
+up, I will go with you, if you will kindly accept my services. It
+is your right, for on all dangerous journeys the traveller can
+choose his own guides. Only, if you accept my offer, I ask that
+you will also take my brother, Ambrose Ravanel, and my cousin,
+Gaspard Simon. These are young, vigorous fellows; they do not
+like the ascent of Mont Blanc better than I do; but they will not
+shirk it, and I answer for them to you as I would for myself."
+
+This young man inspired me with all confidence. I accepted his
+proposition, and hastened to apprise M. Balmat of the choice I
+had made. But M. Balmat had meanwhile been selecting guides for
+me according to their turn on his list. One only had accepted,
+Edward Simon; the answer of another, Jean Carrier, had not yet
+been received, though it was scarcely doubtful, as this man had
+already made the ascent of Mont Blanc twenty-nine times. I thus
+found myself in an embarrassing position. The guides I had chosen
+were all from Argentiere, a village six kilometres from Chamonix.
+Those of Chamonix accused Ravanel of having influenced me in
+favour of his family, which was contrary to the regulations.
+
+To cut the discussion short, I took Edward Simon, who had already
+made his preparations as a third guide. He would be useless if I
+went up alone, but would become indispensable if my friend also
+ascended.
+
+This settled, I went to tell Donatien Levesque. I found him
+sleeping the sleep of the just, for he had walked over sixteen
+kilometres on a mountain the evening before. I had some
+difficulty in waking him; but on removing first his sheets, then
+his pillows, and finally his mattress, I obtained some result,
+and succeeded in making him understand that I was preparing for
+the hazardous trip.
+
+"Well," said he, yawning, "I will go with you as far as the
+Grands-Mulets, and await your return there."
+
+"Bravo!" I replied. "I have just one guide too many, and I will
+attach him to your person."
+
+We bought the various articles indispensable to a journey across
+the glaciers. Iron-spiked alpenstocks, coarse cloth leggings,
+green spectacles fitting tightly to the eyes, furred gloves,
+green veils,--nothing was forgotten. We each had excellent
+triple-soled shoes, which our guides roughed for the ice. This
+last is an important detail, for there are moments in such an
+expedition when the least slip is fatal, not only to yourself,
+but to the whole party with you.
+
+Our preparations and those of the guides occupied nearly two
+hours. About eight o'clock our mules were brought; and we set out
+at last for the chalet of the Pierre-Pointue, situated at a
+height of six thousand five hundred feet, or three thousand above
+the valley of Chamonix, not far from eight thousand five hundred
+feet below the summit of Mont Blanc.
+
+On reaching the Pierre-Pointue, about ten o'clock, we found there
+a Spanish tourist, M. N----, accompanied by two guides and a
+porter. His principal guide, Paccard, a relative of the Doctor
+Paccard who made, with Jacques Balmat, the first ascent of Mont
+Blanc, had already been to the summit eighteen times. M. N----
+was also getting himself ready for the ascent. He had travelled
+much in America, and had crossed the Cordilleras to Quito,
+passing through snow at the highest points. He therefore thought
+that he could, without great difficulty, carry through his new
+enterprise; but in this he was mistaken. He had reckoned without
+the steepness of the inclinations which he had to cross, and the
+rarefaction of the air. I hasten to add, to his honour, that,
+since he succeeded in reaching the summit of Mont Blanc, it was
+due to a rare moral energy, for his physical energies had long
+before deserted him.
+
+We breakfasted as heartily as possible at the Pierre-Pointue;
+this being a prudent precaution, as the appetite usually fails
+higher up among the ice.
+
+[Illustration: View Of Bossons Glacier, Near The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+M. N---- set out at eleven, with his guides, for the Grands-Mulets.
+We did not start until noon. The mule-road ceases at the
+Pierre-Pointue. We had then to go up a very narrow zigzag path,
+which follows the edge of the Bossons glacier, and along the base
+of the Aiguille-du-Midi. After an hour of difficult climbing in
+an intense heat, we reached a point called the Pierre-a-l'Echelle,
+eight thousand one hundred feet high. The guides and travellers
+were then bound together by a strong rope, with three or four yards
+between each. We were about to advance upon the Bossons glacier.
+This glacier, difficult at first, presents yawning and apparently
+bottomless crevasses on every hand. The vertical sides of these
+crevasses are of a glaucous and uncertain colour, but too seducing
+to the eye; when, approaching closely, you succeed in looking into
+their mysterious depths, you feel yourself irresistibly drawn
+towards them, and nothing seems more natural than to go down into
+them.
+
+[Illustration: Passage Of The Bossons Glacier.]
+
+You advance slowly, passing round the crevasses, or on the snow
+bridges of dubious strength. Then the rope plays its part. It is
+stretched out over these dangerous transits; if the snow bridge
+yields, the guide or traveller remains hanging over the abyss. He
+is drawn beyond it, and gets off with a few bruises. Sometimes,
+if the crevasse is very wide but not deep, he descends to the
+bottom and goes up on the other side. In this case it is
+necessary to cut steps in the ice, and the two leading guides,
+armed with a sort of hatchet, perform this difficult and perilous
+task. A special circumstance makes the entrance on the Bossons
+dangerous. You go upon the glacier at the base of the
+Aiguille-du-Midi, opposite a passage whence stone avalanches often
+descend. This passage is nearly six hundred feet wide. It must be
+crossed quickly, and as you pass, a guide stands on guard to
+avert the danger from you if it presents itself. In 1869 a guide
+was killed on this spot, and his body, hurled into space by a
+stone, was dashed to pieces on the rocks nine hundred feet below.
+
+[Illustration: Crevasse and Bridge.]
+
+We were warned, and hastened our steps as fast as our
+inexperience would permit; but on leaving this dangerous zone,
+another, not less dangerous, awaited us. This was the region of
+the "seracs,"--immense blocks of ice, the formation of which is
+not as yet explained.
+
+[Illustration: View of the "Seracs".]
+
+These are usually situated on the edge of a plateau, and menace
+the whole valley beneath them. A slight movement of the glacier,
+or even a light vibration of the temperature, impels their fall,
+and occasions the most serious accidents.
+
+[Illustration: View of the "Seracs".]
+
+"Messieurs, keep quiet, and let us pass over quickly." These
+words, roughly spoken by one of the guides, checked our conversation.
+We went across rapidly and in silence. We finally reached what is
+called the "Junction" (which might more properly be called the
+violent "Separation"), by the Cote Mountain, the Bossons and
+Tacconay glaciers. At this point the scene assumes an indescribable
+character; crevasses with changing colours, ice-needles with sharp
+forms, seracs suspended and pierced with the light, little green
+lakes compose a chaos which surpasses everything that one can
+imagine. Added to this, the rush of the torrents at the foot of the
+glaciers, the sinister and repeated crackings of the blocks which
+detached themselves and fell in avalanches down the crevasses, the
+trembling of the ground which opened beneath our feet, gave a
+singular idea of those desolate places the existence of which only
+betrays itself by destruction and death.
+
+[Illustration: Passage of the "Junction".]
+
+After passing the "Junction" you follow the Tacconay glacier for
+awhile, and reach the side which leads to the Grands-Mulets. This
+part, which is very sloping, is traversed in zigzags. The leading
+guide takes care to trace them at an angle of thirty degrees,
+when there is fresh snow, to avoid the avalanches.
+
+After crossing for three hours on the ice and snow, we reach the
+Grands-Mulets, rocks six hundred feet high, overlooking on one
+side the Bossons glacier, and on the other the sloping plains
+which extend to the base of the Gouter dome.
+
+[Illustration: Hut At The Grands-Mulets.]
+
+A small hut, constructed by the guides near the summit of the
+first rock, gives a shelter to travellers, and enables them to
+await a favourable moment for setting out for the summit of Mont
+Blanc.
+
+They dine there as well as they can, and sleep too; but the
+proverb, "He who sleeps dines," does not apply to this elevation,
+for one cannot seriously do the one or the other.
+
+"Well," said I to Levesque, after a pretence of a meal, "did I
+exaggerate the splendour of the landscape, and do you regret
+having come thus far?"
+
+"I regret it so little," he replied, "that I am determined to go
+on to the summit. You may count on me."
+
+"Very good," said I. "But you know the worst is yet to come."
+
+"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, "we will go to the end. Meanwhile, let
+us observe the sunset, which must be magnificent."
+
+The heavens had remained wonderfully clear. The chain of the
+Brevent and the Aiguilles-Rouges stretched out at our feet.
+Beyond, the Fiz rocks and the Aiguille-de-Varan rose above the
+Sallanche Valley, and the whole chains of Mont Fleury and the
+Reposoir appeared in the background. More to the right we could
+descry the snowy summit of the Buet, and farther off the
+Dents-du-Midi, with its five tusks, overhanging the valley of the
+Rhone. Behind us were the eternal snows of the Gouter, Mont
+Maudit, and, lastly, Mont Blanc.
+
+Little by little the shadows invaded the valley of Chamonix, and
+gradually each of the summits which overlook it on the west. The
+chain of Mont Blanc alone remained luminous, and seemed encircled
+by a golden halo. Soon the shadows crept up the Gouter and Mont
+Maudit. They still respected the giant of the Alps. We watched
+this gradual disappearance of the light with admiration. It
+lingered awhile on the highest summit, and gave us the foolish
+hope that it would not depart thence. But in a few moments all
+was shrouded in gloom, and the livid and ghastly colours of death
+succeeded the living hues. I do not exaggerate. Those who love
+mountains will comprehend me.
+
+[Illustration: View of Mont Blanc from Grands-Mulets.]
+
+After witnessing this sublime scene, we had only to await the
+moment of departure. We were to set out again at two in the
+morning. Now, therefore, we stretched ourselves upon our
+mattresses.
+
+It was useless to think of sleeping, much more of talking. We
+were absorbed by more or less gloomy thoughts. It was the night
+before the battle, with the difference that nothing forced us to
+engage in the struggle. Two sorts of ideas struggled in the mind.
+It was the ebb and flow of the sea, each in its turn. Objections
+to the venture were not wanting. Why run so much danger? If we
+succeeded, of what advantage would it be? If an accident
+happened, how we should regret it! Then the imagination set to
+work; all the mountain catastrophes rose in the fancy. I dreamed
+of snow bridges giving way under my feet, of being precipitated
+in the yawning crevasses, of hearing the terrible noises of the
+avalanches detaching themselves and burying me, of disappearing,
+of cold and death seizing upon me, and of struggling with
+desperate effort, but in vain!
+
+A sharp, horrible noise is heard at this moment
+
+"The avalanche! the avalanche!" I cry.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" asks Levesque, starting up.
+
+Alas! It is a piece of furniture which, in the struggles of my
+nightmare, I have just broken. This very prosaic avalanche
+recalls me to the reality. I laugh at my terrors, a contrary
+current of thought gets the upper hand, and with it ambitious
+ideas. I need only use a little effort to reach this summit, so
+seldom attained. It is a victory, as others are. Accidents are
+rare--very rare! Do they ever take place at all? The spectacle
+from the summit must be so marvellous! And then what satisfaction
+there would be in having accomplished what so many others dared
+not undertake!
+
+My courage was restored by these thoughts, and I calmly awaited
+the moment of departure.
+
+About one o'clock the steps and voices of the guides, and the
+noise of opening doors, indicated that that moment was approaching.
+Soon Ravanel came in and said, "Come, messieurs, get up; the weather
+is magnificent. By ten o'clock we shall be at the summit."
+
+At these words we leaped from our beds, and hurried to make our
+toilet. Two of the guides, Ambrose Ravanel and his cousin Simon,
+went on ahead to explore the road. They were provided with a
+lantern, which was to show us the way to go, and with hatchets to
+make the path and cut steps in the very difficult spots. At two
+o'clock we tied ourselves one to another: the order of march was,
+Edward Ravanel before me, and at the head; behind me Edward
+Simon, then Donatien Levesque; after him our two porters (for we
+took along with us the domestic of the Grands-Mulets hut as a
+second), and M. N----'s party.
+
+The guides and porters having distributed the provisions between
+them, the signal for departure was given, and we set off in the
+midst of profound darkness, directing ourselves according to the
+lantern held up at some distance ahead.
+
+There was something solemn in this setting out. But few words
+were spoken; the vagueness of the unknown impressed us, but the
+new and strange situation excited us, and rendered us insensible
+to its dangers. The landscape around was fantastic. But few
+outlines were distinguishable. Great white confused masses, with
+blackish spots here and there, closed the horizon. The celestial
+vault shone with remarkable brilliancy. We could perceive, at an
+uncertain distance, the lantern of the guides who were ahead, and
+the mournful silence of the night was only disturbed by the dry,
+distant noise of the hatchet cutting steps in the ice.
+
+We crept slowly and cautiously over the first ascent, going
+towards the base of the Gouter. After ascending laboriously for
+two hours, we reached the first plateau, called the "Petit-Plateau,"
+at the foot of the Gouter, at a height of about eleven thousand feet.
+We rested a few moments and then proceeded, turning now to the left
+and going towards the edge which conducts to the "Grand-Plateau."
+
+But our party had already lessened in number: M. N----, with his
+guides, had stopped; his fatigue obliged him to take a longer
+rest.
+
+About half-past four dawn began to whiten the horizon. At this
+moment we were ascending the slope which leads to the Grand-Plateau,
+which we soon safely reached. We were eleven thousand eight hundred
+feet high. We had well earned our breakfast. Wonderful to relate,
+Levesque and I had a good appetite. It was a good sign. We therefore
+installed ourselves on the snow, and made such a repast as we could.
+Our guides joyfully declared that success was certain. As for me, I
+thought they resumed work too quickly.
+
+M. N---- rejoined us before long. We urged him to take some
+nourishment. He peremptorily refused. He felt the contraction of
+the stomach which is so common in those parts, and was almost
+broken down.
+
+The Grand-Plateau deserves a special description. On the right
+rises the dome of the Gouter. Opposite it is Mont Blanc, rearing
+itself two thousand seven hundred feet above it. On the left are
+the "Rouges" rocks and Mont Maudit. This immense circle is one
+mass of glittering whiteness. On every side are vast crevasses.
+It was in one of these that three of the guides who accompanied
+Dr. Hamel and Colonel Anderson, in 1820, were swallowed up. In
+1864 another guide met his death there.
+
+This plateau must be crossed with great caution, as the crevasses
+are often hidden by the snow; besides, it is often swept by
+avalanches. On the 13th of October, 1866, an English traveller
+and three of his guides were buried under a mass of ice that fell
+from Mont Blanc. After a perilous search, the bodies of the three
+guides were found. They were expecting every moment to find that
+of the Englishman, when a fresh avalanche fell upon the first,
+and forced the searchers to abandon their task.
+
+[Illustration: Crossing the Plateau.]
+
+Three routes presented themselves to us. The ordinary route,
+which passes entirely to the left, by the base of Mont Maudit,
+through a sort of valley called the "Corridor," leads by gentle
+ascents to the top of the first escarpment of the Rouges rocks.
+
+The second, less frequented, turns to the right by the Gouter,
+and leads to the summit of Mont Blanc by the ridge which unites
+these two mountains. You must pursue for three hours a giddy
+path, and scale a height of moving ice, called the "Camel's
+Hump."
+
+The third route consists in ascending directly to the summit of
+the Corridor, crossing an ice-wall seven hundred and fifty feet
+high, which extends along the first escarpment of the Rouges
+rocks.
+
+The guides declared the first route impracticable, on account of
+the recent crevasses which entirely obstructed it; the choice
+between the two others remained. I thought the second, by the
+"Camel's Hump," the best; but it was regarded as too dangerous,
+and it was decided that we should attack the ice-wall conducting
+to the summit of the Corridor.
+
+When a decision is made, it is best to execute it without delay.
+We crossed the Grand-Plateau, and reached the foot of this really
+formidable obstacle.
+
+The nearer we approached the more nearly vertical became its
+slope. Besides, several crevasses which we had not perceived
+yawned at its base.
+
+We nevertheless began the difficult ascent. Steps were begun by
+the foremost guide, and completed by the next. We ascended two
+steps a minute. The higher we went the more the steepness
+increased. Our guides themselves discussed what route to follow;
+they spoke in patois, and did not always agree, which was not a
+good sign. At last the slope became such that our hats touched
+the legs of the guide just before us.
+
+A hailstorm of pieces of ice, produced by the cutting of the
+steps, blinded us, and made our progress still more difficult.
+Addressing one of the foremost guides, I said,--
+
+"Ah, it's very well going up this way! It is not an open road, I
+admit: still, it is practicable. Only how are you going to get us
+down again?"
+
+"O monsieur," replied Ambrose Ravanel, "we will take another
+route going back."
+
+At last, after violent effort for two hours, and after having cut
+more than four hundred steps in this terrible mass, we reached
+the summit of the Corridor completely exhausted.
+
+We then crossed a slightly sloping plateau of snow, and passed
+along the side of an immense crevasse which obstructed our way.
+We had scarcely turned it when we uttered a cry of admiration. On
+the right, Piedmont and the plains of Lombardy were at our feet.
+On the left, the Pennine Alps and the Oberland, crowned with
+snow, raised their magnificent crests. Monte Rosa and the Cervin
+alone still rose above us, but soon we should overlook them in
+our turn.
+
+This reflection recalled us to the end of our expedition. We
+turned our gaze towards Mont Blanc, and stood stupefied.
+
+"Heavens! how far off it is still!" cried Levesque.
+
+"And how high!" I added.
+
+It was a discouraging sight. The famous wall of the ridge, so
+much feared, but which must be crossed, was before us, with its
+slope of fifty degrees. But after scaling the wall of the
+Corridor, it did not terrify us. We rested for half an hour and
+then continued our tramp; but we soon perceived that the
+atmospheric conditions were no longer the same. The sun shed his
+warm rays upon us; and their reflection on the snow added to our
+discomfort. The rarefaction of the air began to be severely felt.
+We advanced slowly, making frequent halts, and at last reached
+the plateau which overlooks the second escarpment of the Rouges
+rocks. We were at the foot of Mont Blanc. It rose, alone and
+majestic, at a height of six hundred feet above us. Monte Rosa
+itself had lowered its flag!
+
+Levesque and I were completely exhausted. As for M. N----, who
+had rejoined us at the summit of the Corridor, it might be said
+that he was insensible to the rarefaction of the air, for he no
+longer breathed, so to speak.
+
+We began at last to scale the last stage. We made ten steps and
+then stopped, finding it absolutely impossible to proceed. A
+painful contraction of the throat made our breathing exceedingly
+difficult. Our legs refused to carry us; and I then understood
+the picturesque expression of Jacques Balmat, when, in narrating
+his first ascent, he said that "his legs seemed only to be kept
+up by his trousers!" But our mental was superior to our physical
+force; and if the body faltered, the heart, responding "Excelsior!"
+stifled its desperate complaint, and urged forward our poor worn-out
+mechanism, despite itself. We thus passed the Petits-Mulets, and
+after two hours of superhuman efforts finally overlooked the entire
+chain. Mont Blanc was under our feet!
+
+[Illustration: Summit of Mont Blanc.]
+
+It was fifteen minutes after twelve.
+
+The pride of success soon dissipated our fatigue. We had at last
+conquered this formidable crest. We overlooked all the others,
+and the thoughts which Mont Blanc alone can inspire affected us
+with a deep emotion. It was ambition satisfied; and to me, at
+least, a dream realized!
+
+Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe. Several mountains
+in Asia and America are higher; but of what use would it be to
+attempt them, if, in the absolute impossibility of reaching their
+summit, you must be content to remain at a lesser height?
+
+Others, such as Mont Cervin, are more difficult of access; but we
+perceived the summit of Mont Cervin twelve hundred feet below us!
+
+And then, what a view to reward us for our troubles and dangers!
+
+The sky, still pure, had assumed a deep-blue tint. The sun,
+despoiled of a part of his rays, had lost his brilliancy, as if
+in a partial eclipse. This effect, due to the rarefaction of the
+air, was all the more apparent as the surrounding eminences and
+plains were inundated with light. No detail of the scene,
+therefore, escaped our notice.
+
+In the south-east, the mountains of Piedmont, and farther off the
+plains of Lombardy, shut in our horizon. Towards the west, the
+mountains of Savoy and Dauphine; beyond, the valley of the Rhone.
+In the north-west, the Lake of Geneva and the Jura; then,
+descending towards the south, a chaos of mountains and glaciers,
+beyond description, overlooked by the masses of Monte Rosa, the
+Mischabelhoerner, the Cervin, the Weishorn--the most beautiful of
+crests, as Tyndall calls it--and farther off by the Jungfrau, the
+Monck, the Eiger, and the Finsteraarhorn.
+
+The extent of our range of vision was not less than sixty
+leagues. We therefore saw at least one hundred and twenty leagues
+of country.
+
+A special circumstance happened to enhance the beauty of the
+scene. Clouds formed on the Italian side and invaded the valleys
+of the Pennine Alps without veiling their summits. We soon had
+under our eyes a second sky, a lower sky, a sea of clouds, whence
+emerged a perfect archipelago of peaks and snow-wrapped
+mountains. There was something magical in it, which the greatest
+poets could scarcely describe.
+
+The summit of Mont Blanc forms a ridge from southwest to north-east,
+two hundred paces long and a yard wide at the culminating
+point. It seemed like a ship's hull overturned, the keel in the
+air.
+
+Strangely enough, the temperature was very high--ten degrees above
+zero. The air was almost still. Sometimes we felt a light breeze.
+
+The first care of our guides was to place us all in a line on the
+crest opposite Chamonix, that we might be easily counted from
+below, and thus make it known that no one of us had been lost.
+Many of the tourists had ascended the Brevent and the Jardin to
+watch our ascent. They might now be assured of its success.
+
+But to ascend was not all; we must think also of going down. The
+most difficult, if not most wearisome, task remained; and then
+one quits with regret a summit attained at the price of so much
+toil. The energy which urges you to ascend, the need, so natural
+and imperious, of overcoming, now fails you. You go forward
+listlessly, often looking behind you!
+
+It was necessary, however, to decide, and, after a last
+traditional libation of champagne, we put ourselves in motion. We
+had remained on the summit an hour. The order of march was now
+changed. M. N----'s party led off; and, at the suggestion of his
+guide Paccard, we were all tied together with a rope. M. N----'s
+fatigue, which his strength, but not his will, betrayed, made us
+fear falls on his part which would require the help of the whole
+party to arrest. The event justified our foreboding. On
+descending the side of the wall, M. N---- made several false
+steps. His guides, very vigorous and skilful, were happily able
+to check him; but ours, feeling, with reason, that the whole
+party might be dragged down, wished to detach us from the rope.
+Levesque and I opposed this; and, by taking great precautions, we
+safely reached the base of this giddy ledge. There was no room
+for illusions. The almost bottomless abyss was before us, and the
+pieces of detached ice, which bounded by us with the rapidity of
+an arrow, clearly showed us the route which the party would take
+if a slip were made.
+
+Once this terrible gap crossed, I began to breathe again. We
+descended the gradual slopes which led to the summit of the
+Corridor. The snow, softened by the heat, yielded beneath our
+feet; we sank in it to the knees, which made our progress very
+fatiguing. We steadily followed the path by which we ascended in
+the morning, and I was astonished when Gaspard Simon, turning
+towards me, said,--
+
+"Monsieur, we cannot take any other road, for the Corridor is
+impracticable, and we must descend by the wall which we climbed
+up this morning."
+
+I told Levesque this disagreeable news.
+
+"Only," added Gaspard Simon, "I do not think we can all remain
+tied together. However, we will see how M. N---- bears it at
+first."
+
+We advanced towards this terrible wall! M. N----'s party began to
+descend, and we heard Paccard talking rapidly to him. The
+inclination became so steep that we perceived neither him nor his
+guides, though we were bound together by the same rope.
+
+As soon as Gaspard Simon, who went before me, could comprehend
+what was passing, he stopped, and after exchanging' some words in
+_patois_ with his comrades, declared that we must detach
+ourselves from M. N----'s party.
+
+"We are responsible for you," he added, "but we cannot be
+responsible for others; and if they slip, they will drag us after
+them."
+
+Saying this, he got loose from the rope. We were very unwilling
+to take this step; but our guides were inflexible.
+
+We then proposed to send two of them to help M. N----'s guides.
+They eagerly consented; but having no rope they could not put
+this plan into execution.
+
+We then began this terrible descent. Only one of us moved at a
+time, and when each took a step the others buttressed themselves
+ready to sustain the shock if he slipped. The foremost guide,
+Edward Ravanel, had the most perilous task; it was for him to
+make the steps over again, now more or less worn away by the
+ascending caravan.
+
+We progressed slowly, taking the most careful precautions. Our
+route led us in a right line to one of the crevasses which opened
+at the base of the escarpment. When we were going up we could not
+look at this crevasse, but in descending we were fascinated by
+its green and yawning sides. All the blocks of ice detached by
+our passage went the same way, and after two or three bounds,
+ingulfed themselves in the crevasse, as in the jaws of the
+minotaur, only the jaws of the minotaur closed after each morsel,
+while the unsatiated crevasse yawned perpetually, and seemed to
+await, before closing, a larger mouthful. It was for us to take
+care that we should not be this mouthful, and all our efforts
+were made for this end. In order to withdraw ourselves from this
+fascination, this moral giddiness, if I may so express myself, we
+tried to joke about the dangerous position in which we found
+ourselves, and which even a chamois would not have envied us. We
+even got so far as to hum one of Offenbach's couplets; but I must
+confess that our jokes were feeble, and that we did not sing the
+airs correctly.
+
+I even thought I discovered Levesque obstinately setting the
+words of "Barbe-Bleue" to one of the airs in "Il Trovatore,"
+which rather indicated some grave preoccupation of the mind. In
+short, in order to keep up our spirits, we did as do those brave
+cowards who sing in the dark to forget their fright.
+
+We remained thus, suspended between life and death, for an hour,
+which seemed an eternity; at last we reached the bottom of this
+terrible escarpment. We there found M. N---- and his party, safe
+and sound.
+
+After resting a little while, we continued our journey.
+
+As we were approaching the Petit-Plateau, Edward Ravanel suddenly
+stopped, and, turning towards us, said,--
+
+"See what an avalanche! It has covered our tracks."
+
+An immense avalanche of ice had indeed fallen from the Gouter,
+and entirely buried the path we had followed in the morning
+across the Petit-Plateau.
+
+I estimated that the mass of this avalanche could not comprise
+less than five hundred cubic yards. If it had fallen while we
+were passing, one more catastrophe would no doubt have been added
+to the list, already too long, of the necrology of Mont Blanc.
+
+This fresh obstacle forced us to seek a new road, or to pass
+around the foot of the avalanche. As we were much fatigued, the
+latter course was assuredly the simplest; but it involved a
+serious danger. A wall of ice more than sixty feet high, already
+partly detached from the Gouter, to which it only clung by one of
+its angles, overhung the path which we should follow. This great
+mass seemed to hold itself in equilibrium. What if our passing,
+by disturbing the air, should hasten its fall? Our guides held a
+consultation. Each of them examined with a spy-glass the fissure
+which had been formed between the mountain and this alarming ice-mass.
+The sharp and clear edges of the cleft betrayed a recent breaking off,
+evidently caused by the fall of the avalanche.
+
+After a brief discussion, our guides, recognizing the
+impossibility of finding another road, decided to attempt this
+dangerous passage.
+
+"We must walk very fast,--even run, if possible," said they, "and
+we shall be in safety in five minutes. Come, messieurs, a last
+effort!"
+
+A run of five minutes is a small matter for people who are only
+tired; but for us, who were absolutely exhausted, to run even for
+so short a time on soft snow, in which we sank up to the knees,
+seemed an impossibility. Nevertheless, we made an urgent appeal
+to our energies, and after two or three tumbles, drawn forward by
+one, pushed by another, we finally reached a snow hillock, on
+which we fell breathless. We were out of danger.
+
+It required some time to recover ourselves. We stretched out on
+the snow with a feeling of comfort which every one will
+understand. The greatest difficulties had been surmounted, and
+though there were still dangers to brave, we could confront them
+with comparatively little apprehension.
+
+We prolonged our halt in the hope of witnessing the fall of the
+avalanche, but in vain. As the day was advancing, and it was not
+prudent to tarry in these icy solitudes, we decided to continue
+on our way, and about five o'clock we reached the hut of the
+Grands-Mulets.
+
+After a bad night, attended by fever caused by the sunstrokes
+encountered in our expedition, we made ready to return to
+Chamonix; but, before setting out, we inscribed the names of our
+guides and the principal events of our journey, according to the
+custom, on the register kept for this purpose at the Grands-Mulets.
+
+About eight o'clock we started for Chamonix. The passage of the
+Bossons was difficult, but we accomplished it without accident.
+
+[Illustration: Grands-Mulets.--Party Descending From The Hut.]
+
+Half an hour before reaching Chamonix, we met, at the chalet of
+the Dard falls, some English tourists, who seemed to be watching
+our progress. When they perceived us, they hurried up eagerly to
+congratulate us on our success. One of them presented us to his
+wife, a charming person, with a well-bred air. After we had given
+them a sketch of our perilous peregrinations, she said to us, in
+earnest accents,--
+
+"How much you are envied here by everybody! Let me touch your
+alpenstocks!"
+
+These words seemed to interpret the general feeling.
+
+The ascent of Mont Blanc is a very painful one. It is asserted
+that the celebrated naturalist of Geneva, De Saussure, acquired
+there the seeds of the disease of which he died in a few months
+after his return from the summit. I cannot better close this
+narrative than by quoting the words of M. Markham Sherwell:--
+
+"However it may be," he says, in describing his ascent of Mont
+Blanc, "I would not advise any one to undertake this ascent, the
+rewards of which can never have an importance proportionate to
+the dangers encountered by the tourist, and by those who
+accompany him."
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
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