The Red and the Black (25 page)

the dangers besetting this poor France of ours, etc., etc., that
Julien at long last saw the subject of this visit come up. They were
already on the upstairs landing, and the poor tutor in semi-disgrace
was ushering out with all due respect the future prefect of some
fortunate département, when the latter was pleased to turn his mind to
Julien's prospects, to praise his moderation in matters of material
interest, etc., etc. At last, as M. de Maugiron was embracing him in
the most genial fashion, he came out with the proposition that Julien
leave M. de Rênal and take up employment in the household of an
official who had children to
edicate
,
^*
and who, like King Philip,
^*
would offer up thanks to heaven not so much for having given them
to him as for having ensured they were born in the vicinity of Mr
Julien. Their tutor would enjoy a salary of eight hundred francs
payable not by the month--'which is not the practice among the
nobility,' said M. de Maugiron--but quarterly and always in advance.

It was Julien's turn, after an hour and a half of waiting in boredom
for his cue to speak. His reply was perfect, and above all it was as
long as an episcopalian homily; it implied everything, and yet said
nothing directly. You would have found in it at one and the same time
respect for M. de Rênal, veneration for the public in Verrières and
gratitude towards the illustrious sub-prefect. The sub-prefect,
astonished to find a more jesuitical mind than his own, tried in vain
to get a straight answer. Julien was delighted to seize this
opportunity of practising his skills, and he began his reply all over
again in different terms. Never has an eloquent minister, wishing to
get through the end of a session when the Chamber appears to be
trying to wake up, used more words to say less. M. de Maugiron had
hardly left before Julian burst into uncontrollable laughter. To take
advantage of his jesuitical verve, he wrote a nine-page letter to M.
de Rênal, reporting to him everything that had been said to him, and
humbly asking for his advice. The rascal didn't actually tell me the
name of the person making the offer! It'll be M. Valenod, who takes my
exile in Verrières to be the effect of his anonymous letters.

Once he had sent off his despatch, Julien, feeling as contented as a sportsman who at six o'clock on a fine autumn

-144-

morning steps out on to a plain abounding in game, went off to seek
Father Chélan's advice. But before he reached the good priest's house,
heaven, who had treats in store for him, set M. Valenod in his path,
and Julien did not conceal from him that his heart was torn:

A poor lad like himself must devote himself wholeheartedly to the
calling which heaven had planted in his heart, but one's calling was
not everything here below on earth. To till the Lord's vineyard
fittingly, and not to be altogether unworthy of so many learned
co-workers, it was necessary to study; it was necessary to spend two
very costly years in the seminary at Besanqon; it was therefore
becoming indispensable to put by some savings, which was far easier on
a salary of eight hundred francs paid quarterly than with six hundred
francs that got eaten up month by month. On the other hand, did it
not seem that by putting him in close contact with the de Rênal
children, and particularly by inspiring him with a special fondness
for them, heaven was making it plain to him that this was not the
right moment to give up this education in favour of another?...

Julien reached such heights of perfection in this kind of eloquence,
which has replaced the swiftness of action found under the Empire,
that he ended up boring himself with the sound of his own words.

On returning to the house he found one of M. Valenod's valets in full
livery, who was scouring the town for him with a note inviting him to
dinner that very day.

Julien had
never set foot in the man's house; only a few days before, he could
think of nothing else but ways of giving him a sound beating without
being hauled up before a police court. Although dinner was only
announced for one o'clock, Julien thought it more respectful to
present himself at twelve-thirty in the master of the workhouse's
study. He found him oozing self-importance in the midst of a host of
files. His broad black sidewhiskers, his enormous mass of hair, his
smoking-cap sitting askew on the top of his head, his huge pipe, his
embroidered slippers, the fat gold chains criss-crossing his
chest--the entire set-up befitting a provincial financier who fancies
himself a ladies' man--did not impress Julien; he only dwelt the more
on the beating he owed him.

-145-

He asked to have the honour of being introduced to M
^me
Valenod; she was at her toilette and could not receive anyone. In
compensation, he had the benefit of being present while the master of
the workhouse attended to his own. Afterwards they went to M
^me
Valenod's suite, and she introduced the children to him with tears in
her eyes. This lady, one of the most eminent in Verrières, had the
coarse features of a man, which she had daubed with rouge for this
grand ceremony. Throughout it, she laid on a full display of maternal
pathos.

Julien's thoughts were on M
^me
de Rênal. His mistrustful nature only allowed him to be susceptible
to the kind of memories that are evoked by opposites, but he was then
deeply stirred by them. This mood was increased by the appearance of
the master's house. He was shown round it. Everything was magnificent
and brand new, and he was told the price of each piece of furniture.
But Julien felt there was something base about it which smacked of
stolen money. Even down to the servants, everyone there seemed to be
composing their faces to keep scorn at bay.

The inspector of taxes, the man in charge of indirect levies, the
officer of the law and two or three other public officials arrived
with their wives. They were followed by a few wealthy liberals. Dinner
was announced. It occurred to Julien, who was already in a hostile
frame of mind, that on the other side of the dining-room wall were
wretched prisoners whose portion of meat had perhaps been fraudulently
skimped to pay for all this luxury in poor taste that was intended to
bowl him over.

They may be hungry at
this very moment, he said to himself. He felt a lump in his throat,
and found it impossible to eat and almost even to speak. Things became
far worse a quarter of an hour later; in the distance they heard some
snatches of a popular song, rather vulgar, it must be admitted, sung
by one of the workhouse inmates. M. Valenod caught the eye of one of
his men in full livery; he disappeared, and soon the singing was
heard no more. At this moment, a valet was offering Julien some Rhine
wine in a green glass, and M
^me
Valenod was careful to point
out to him that this wine cost nine francs a bottle, purchased from
the producer. Holding out his green glass Julien said to M. Valenod:

-146-

'That indelicate song isn't being sung any more.'

'I should damn well hope not!' replied the master triumphantly. 'I had the beggars reduced to silence.'

These words were too much for Julien; he had the manners, but not yet
the heart befitting his station. In spite of all the hypocrisy which
he had practised so often, he felt a large tear rolling down his
cheek.

He tried to hide it behind the green glass, but it was absolutely impossible for him to do justice to the Rhine wine.
Stopping him singing!
he said to himself. Oh my God! and you suffer this to happen!

Fortunately no one noticed his misplaced compassion. The inspector of
taxes had struck up a royalist song. During the din of the refrain,
sung by everyone in chorus, Julien's conscience was murmuring: So
there you see the stinking riches you will acquire, and you will only
enjoy them under these conditions and in like company! You may well
get a post worth twenty thousand francs, but you will be obliged,
while gorging yourself on meat, to prevent the poor prisoner from
singing; you will host dinners on money stolen from his wretched
pittance, and throughout your dinner he will be even more unhappy! Oh
Napoleon! how sweet it was in your day to rise to fortune through the
dangers of battle; but to be a coward and increase a poor wretch's
suffering...!

I confess that the
weakness shown by Julien in this monologue gives me a very poor opinion
of him. He would be a worthy colleague for those yellow-gloved
conspirators who set out to change the entire way of life of a great
country, and do not wish to have to reproach themselves with the
slightest scratch.

Julien was
brought back to his role with a violent jolt. It wasn't to indulge in
daydreaming and sit in silence that he had been invited to dine in
such good company.

A retired
manufacturer of painted cloth, who was a corresponding member of the
Academies of Besançon and Uzès, turned to him from right down the far
end of the table to ask him whether what people said about his
astonishing achievements in the study of the New Testament was true.

There was a sudden deathly hush; a New Testament in

-147-

Latin appeared as if by magic in the hands of the learned member of
two academies. On Julien's reply, half a Latin sentence was read out
at random. He recited on: his memory served him faithfully and the
prodigious feat was admired with all the rowdy energy to be expected
at the end of a dinner. Julien looked at the glowing faces of the
ladies; several of them were quite pretty. He had singled out the wife
of the tax inspector with the fine voice.

'I am ashamed in all honesty to go on speaking Latin for so long in
front of the ladies,' he said, looking at her. 'If M. Rubigneau (he
was the member of the two academies) will be good enough to read out a
Latin sentence at random, then instead of continuing with the Latin
text, I shall try to translate it impromptu.'

This second ordeal put the crown on his reputation.

Among the company were a number of wealthy liberals who, as the happy
fathers of children in the running for scholarships, had undergone
sudden conversions since the last mission.
^*
In spite of this subtle political move, M. de Rênal had never
consented to entertain them in his house. These worthy characters, who
only knew Julien by reputation and through having seen him on
horseback on the day of the King of-----'s triumphal entry, were now
his rowdiest admirers. When will these fools grow tired of listening
to this biblical idiom which they can't make head or tail of? he
thought. But on the contrary the idiom amused them by its
unfamiliarity; it made them laugh. It was Julien who grew tired.

He rose gravely as six o'clock was striking and mentioned a chapter of Ligorio's new theology
^*
which he had to learn in order to be able to recite it to Father
Chélan on the following day. 'For my profession', he added engagingly,
'is to make others say their lessons and also to say my own.'

There was much laughter and admiration; this is what passes for wit
in Verrières. Julien was already on his feet, and everyone rose in
spite of decorum; such is the power of genius. M
^me
Valenod
kept him for a further quarter of an hour; he simply had to hear the
children saying their catechism; they got into the most comic of
muddles which he was the only one to perceive. He was careful not to
point them out. What

-148-

ignorance of the first principles of religion! he thought. At last he
made his farewells and thought he could escape; but he had to endure a
fable by La Fontaine.
^*

'This author is highly immoral,' Julien told M
^me
Valenod, 'there's one particular fable, about Messire Jean Chouart,
^*
that dares to pour ridicule on what is most worthy of veneration. It is roundly condemned by the best commentators.'

Before he left, Julien received four or five invitations to dinner.
'This young man is a credit to the département,' exclaimed a chorus of
exceedingly merry guests. They even went so far as to speak of an
allowance drawn from municipal funds to give him the wherewithal to
continue his studies in Paris.

While this rash idea was echoing round the dining-room, Julien had
made his way nimbly to the carriage entrance. 'Ah! you swine! you
swine!' he expostulated under his breath three or four times in a row,
enjoying the pleasure of breathing the fresh air.

He felt every inch the aristocrat at that moment--the very same
Julien who had been so shocked for ages at the disdainful smile and
the haughty superiority which he detected beneath all the marks of
courtesy shown to him in M. de Rênal's house. He couldn't help feeling
the immense difference. Even forgetting, he said to himself as he left,
the matter of stealing money from the poor prisoners, and stopping
them singing, what's more! Did M. de Rênal ever take it into his head
to tell his guests the price of each bottle of wine being served to
them? And when this M. Valenod starts enumerating all his properties,
which he keeps on doing, he can't speak of his house, his estate, etc.
if his wife is present without saying
your
house,
your
estate.

This lady, apparently so sensitive to the pleasure of owning
property, had just created an abominable scene at dinner when a
servant had smashed a stem glass and thus
ruined one of her sets of twelve
; and the servant had replied with the utmost insolence.

What a household! Julien said to himself. They could give me the half of all they steal, and I still wouldn't want to live

-149-