第7章
“DoctorMinoretmaybeanablephysician，ongoodtermswithdeath，butnonebutGodiseternal，“saidone。
“Pooh，he’llburyusall；hishealthisbetterthanours，“repliedanheir，hypocritically。
“Well，ifyoudon’tgetthemoneyyourselves，yourchildrenwill，unlessthatlittleUrsula——“
“Hewon’tleaveitalltoher。“
Ursula，asMadameMassinhadpredicted，wasthebetenoireoftherelations，theirswordofDamocles；andMadameCremiere’sfavoritesaying，“Well，whoeverliveswillknow，“showsthattheywishedatanyratemoreharmtoherthangood。
Thecollectorandtheclerkofthecourt，poorincomparisonwiththepostmaster，hadoftenestimated，bywayofconversation，thedoctor’sproperty。Iftheymettheirunclewalkingonthebanksofthecanaloralongtheroadtheywouldlookateachotherpiteously。
“Hemusthavegotholdofsomeelixiroflife，“saidone。
“Hehasmadeabargainwiththedevil，“repliedtheother。
“Heoughttogiveusthebulkofit；thatfatMinoretdoesn’tneedanything，“saidMassin。
“Ah！butMinorethasasonwho’llwastehissubstance，“answeredCremiere。
“Howmuchdoyoureallythinkthedoctorhas？“
“Attheendoftwelveyears，saytwelvethousandfrancssavedeachyear，thatwouldgiveonehundredandforty-fourthousandfrancs，andtheinterestbringsinatleastonehundredthousandmore。Butashemust，ifheconsultsanotaryinParis，havemadesomegoodstrokesofbusiness，andweknowthatupto1822hecouldgetsevenoreightpercentfromtheState，hemustnowhaveatleastfourhundredthousandfrancs，withoutcountingthecapitalofhisfourteenthousandayearfromthefivepercents。Ifheweretodieto-morrowwithoutleavinganythingtoUrsulaweshouldgetatleastsevenoreighthundredthousandfrancs，besidesthehouseandfurniture。“
“Well，ahundredthousandtoMinoret，andthreehundredthousandapiecetoyouandme，thatwouldbefair。“
“Ha，thatwouldmakeuscomfortable！“
“Ifhedidthat，“saidMassin，“Ishouldsellmysituationincourtandbuyanestate；I’dtrytobejudgeatFontainebleau，andgetmyselfelecteddeputy。“
“AsformeIshouldbuyabrokeragebusiness，“saidthecollector。
“Unluckily，thatgirlhehasonhisarmandtheabbehavegotroundhim。Idon’tbelievewecandoanythingwithhim。“
“Still，weknowverywellhewillneverleaveanythingtotheChurch。“
Thefrightoftheheirsatbeholdingtheiruncleonhiswaytomasswillnowbeunderstood。Thedullestpersonshavemindenoughtoforeseeadangertoself-interests。Self-interestconstitutesthemindofthepeasantaswellasthatofthediplomatist，andonthatgroundthestupidestofmenissometimesthemostpowerful。Sothefatalreasoning，“IfthatlittleUrsulahasinfluenceenoughtodraghergodfatherintothepaleoftheChurchshewillcertainlyhaveenoughtomakehimleaveherhisproperty，“wasnowstampedinlettersoffireonthebrainsofthemostobtuseheir。Thepostmasterhadforgottenabouthissoninhishurrytoreachthesquare；forifthedoctorwerereallyinthechurchhearingmassitwasaquestionoflosingtwohundredandfiftythousandfrancs。Itmustbeadmittedthatthefearsoftheserelationscamefromthestrongestandmostlegitimateofsocialfeelings，familyinterests。
“Well，MonsieurMinoret，“saidthemayor(formerlyamillerwhohadnowbecomeroyalist，namedLevrault-Cremiere)，“whenthedevilgetsoldthedevilamonkwouldbe。Youruncle，theysay，isoneofus。“
“Betterlatethannever，cousin，“respondedthepostmaster，tryingtoconcealhisannoyance。
“Howthatfellowwillgrinifwearedefrauded！Heiscapableofmarryinghissontothatdamnedgirl——maythedevilgether！“criedCremiere，shakinghisfistsatthemayorasheenteredtheporch。
“What’sCremieregrumblingabout？“saidthebutcherofthetown，aLevrault-Levraulttheelder。“Isn’thepleasedtoseehisuncleontheroadtoparadise？“
“Whowouldeverhavebelievedit！“ejaculatedMassin。
“Ha！oneshouldneversay，’Fountain，I’llnotdrinkofyourwater，’“
remarkedthenotary，who，seeingthegroupfromafar，hadlefthiswifetogotochurchwithouthim。
“Come，MonsieurDionis，“saidCremiere，takingthenotarybythearm，“whatdoyouadvisemetodounderthecircumstances？“
“Iadviseyou，“saidthenotary，addressingtheheirscollectively，“togotobedandgetupatyourusualhour；toeatyoursoupbeforeitgetscold；toputyourfeetinyourshoesandyourhatsonyourheads；inshort，tocontinueyourwaysoflifepreciselyasifnothinghadhappened。“
“Youarenotconsoling，“saidMassin。
Inspiteofhissquat，dumpyfigureandheavyface，Cremiere-Dioniswasreallyaskeenasablade。InpursuitofusuriousfortunehedidbusinesssecretlywithMassin，towhomhenodoubtpointedoutsuchpeasantsaswerehamperedinmeans，andsuchpiecesoflandascouldbeboughtforasong。Thetwomenwereinapositiontochoosetheiropportunities；nonethatweregoodescapedthem，andtheysharedtheprofitsofmortgage-usury，whichretards，thoughitdoesnotprevent，theacquirementofthesoilbythepeasantry。SoDionistookalivelyinterestinthedoctor’sinheritance，notsomuchforthepostmasterandthecollectorasforhisfriendtheclerkofthecourt；soonerorlaterMassin’sshareinthedoctor’smoneywouldswellthecapitalwithwhichthesesecretassociatesworkedthecanton。
“WemusttrytofindoutthroughMonsieurBongrandwheretheinfluencecomesfrom，“saidthenotaryinalowvoice，withasigntoMassintokeepquiet。
“Whatareyouabout，Minoret？“criedalittlewoman，suddenlydescendinguponthegroupinthemiddleofwhichstoodthepostmaster，astallandroundasatower。“Youdon’tknowwhereDesireisandthereyouare，plantedonyourtwolegs，gossipingaboutnothing，whenIthoughtyouonhorseback！——Oh，goodmorning，MessieursandMesdames。“
Thislittlewoman，thin，pale，andfair，dressedinagownofwhitecottonwithpatternoflarge，chocolate-coloredflowers，acaptrimmedwithribbonandfrilledwithlace，andwearingasmallgreenshawlonherflatshoulders，wasMinoret’swife，theterrorofpostilions，servants，andcarters；whokepttheaccountsandmanagedtheestablishment“withfingerandeye“astheysayinthoseparts。Likethetruehousekeeperthatshewas，sheworenoornaments。Shedidnotgivein(touseherownexpression)togew-gawsandtrumpery；sheheldtothesolidandthesubstantial，andwore，evenonSundays，ablackapron，inthepocketofwhichshejingledherhouseholdkeys。Herscreechingvoicewasagonytothedrumsofallears。Herrigidglance，conflictingwiththesoftblueofhereyes，wasinvisibleharmonywiththethinlipsofapinchedmouthandahigh，projecting，andveryimperiousforehead。Sharpwastheglance，sharperstillbothgestureandspeech。“Zeliebeingobligedtohaveawillfortwo，haditforthree，“saidGoupil，whopointedoutthesuccessivereignsofthreeyoungpostilions，ofneatappearance，whohadbeensetupinlifebyZelie，eachaftersevenyears’service。ThemaliciousclerknamedthemPostilionI。，PostilionII。，PostilionIII。Butthelittleinfluencetheseyoungmenhadintheestablishment，andtheirperfectobedienceprovedthatZeliewasmerelyinterestedinworthyhelpers。
Thisattemptatscandalwasagainstprobabilities。Sincethebirthofherson(nursedbyherwithoutanyevidenceofhowitwaspossibleforhertodoso)MadameMinorethadthoughtonlyofincreasingthefamilyfortuneandwaswhollygivenuptothemanagementoftheirimmenseestablishment。TostealabaleofhayorabushelofoatsorgetthebetterofZelieineventhemostcomplicatedaccountswasathingimpossible，thoughshescribbledhardlybetterthanacat，andknewnothingofarithmeticbutadditionandsubtraction。Shenevertookawalkexcepttolookatthehay，theoats，orthesecondcrops。Shesent“herman“tothemowing，andthepostilionstotiethebales，tellingthemthequantity，withinahundredpounds，eachfieldshouldbear。ThoughshewasthesoulofthatgreatbodycalledMinoret-
Levraultandledhimaboutbyhispugnose，shewasmadetofeelthefearswhichoccasionally(wearetold)assailalltamersofwildbeasts。Shethereforemadeitaruletogetintoaragebeforehedid；
thepostilionsknewverywellwhenhiswifehadbeenquarrelingwithhim，forhisangerricochetedonthem。MadameMinoretwasascleverasshewasgrasping；anditwasafavoriteremarkinthewholetown，“WherewouldMinoret-Levraultbewithouthiswife？“
“Whenyouknowwhathashappened，“repliedthepostmaster，“you’llbeoverthetracesyourself。“
“Whatisit？“
“Ursulahastakenthedoctortomass。“
Zelie’spupilsdilated；shestoodforamomentyellowwithanger，then，cryingout，“I’llseeitbeforeIbelieveit！“sherushedintothechurch。TheservicehadreachedtheElevation。ThestillnessoftheworshippersenabledhertolookalongeachrowofchairsandbenchesasshewentuptheaislebesidethechapelstoUrsula’splace，whereshesawoldMinoretstandingwithbaredhead。
IfyourecalltheheadsofBarbe-Marbois，Boissyd’Anglas，Morellet，Helvetius，orFredericktheGreat，youwillseetheexactimageofDoctorMinoret，whosegreenoldageresembledthatofthosecelebratedpersonages。Theirheadscoinedinthesamemint(foreachhadthecharacteristicsofamedal)showedasternandquasi-puritanprofile，coldtones，amathematicalbrain，acertainnarrownessaboutthefeatures，shrewdeyes，gravelips，andasomethingthatwassurelyaristocratic——lessperhapsinsentimentthaninhabit，moreintheideasthaninthecharacter。Allmenofthisstamphavehighbrowsretreatingatthesummit，thesighofatendencytomaterialism。YouwillfindtheseleadingcharacteristicsoftheheadandthesepointsofthefaceinalltheEncyclopedists，intheoratorsoftheGironde，inthemenofaperiodwhenreligiousideaswerealmostdead，menwhocalledthemselvesdeistsandwereatheists。Thedeistisanatheistluckyinclassification。