Abbe Mouret's Transgression

slightly dazed, was at last about to move away, when the big black dog sprang, barking violently, towards the iron gate of the little graveyard on the left of the church. At the same

ly by the ear. The lad was suspended, as it were, over a ravine skirting the graveyard, at the bottom of

y called the priest, as if

ver, did not rele

ing his nose into the graveyard. I don't know what he can be up to here. I ought to

his cunning eyes tight shu

hangias,' continued the

lped Vincent to s

you doing there?' he asked. 'You m

way, fearfully, from the Brother, to pla

t's nest in the brambles there, under that rock. For over ten days I've been watching i

imed Brother Archangias.

the brambles. But he missed the nest. Another clod, however, more skilfully throw

that soiled them, 'you won't come roaming here any more, like a heathen;

dive into the stream, looked round him and s

d,' he said. 'Dead

ed in the centre of the ground. Save this, all around there were only broken fragments of crosses, withered tufts of box, and old slabs split and moss-eaten. There were not two burials a year. Death seemed to make no dwelling in that waste spot, whither La Teuse cam

t, looking at the cracks of the chur

roceeded to call the priest's attention to the dilapidated state of the gate, wh

o be repair

who was romping with the dog: 'I say, my boy,' he asked,

red, pointing towards the left. 'But Voriau will show your reverence the way. He's sur

Brother Archangias followed him, chatting. A hundred yards further Vincent surreptitiously bolted, and again glided up towards the church, keeping a watchful eye upon them, a

acks broken, to make them pleasing to God. They grow up in irreligion, like their fathers. Fifteen years have I been here, and not one Christian have I been able to turn out. The minute they quit my hands, good-bye! They

ath, he added with a te

en enough to poison the whole district. They cling on, they multiply, they live in spite

,' said Abbe Mouret, all inward pea

I had to sweep, pare vegetables, do all the heavy work. It's not their toilsome labour I find fault with. On the contrary, for God prefers the lowly. But the Artauds live like beasts! T

ping and moving on again as soon as

s things going on,' said Abbe Mou

rom Normandy owing to some disreputable affair. Once here, his so

d; but I must own that his efforts were all but

ing his tall bony frame, which looked as if it had been roughly fashioned with a hatc

ost double your age, I know this part, and therefore I feel justified in telling you that you will gain nothing b

lgent. It was respected when it spoke out like an unforgiving mistress. I really don't know what they can teach you now in the seminaries. The new priests w

with which the Brother so roughly sought to

But haven't you something to tell me? You cam

ive like pigs. Only yesterday I learned that Rosalie, old Bambousse's eldest daughter, is in the family wa

speak to him about it; it is desirable that they should be married as soon as possible. The chi

chit of eleven, who seems likely to become even worse than her elder. One comes across her in every corner with that little scamp, Vincent. It's no good, you may pull their ears till they ble

who had been listening to him with unmoved countenance, smiled at last at h

y young devils, who play the truant under pretence of going to help their parents among the vines! You may be certain that jad

d him swoop down into the midst of the children, who scattered like frightened sparrows. But he succeeded in seizing Catherine and one bo

retted that he was not ugly, unclean, covered with vermin like some of the saints. Whenever the Brother had wounded him by some words of excessive coarseness, or by some over-hasty churlishness, he would blame himself for his refinement, his innate shrinking, as if these were really faults. Ought he not to be dead to all the weaknesses of this world? And this time also he smiled sadly as