menu_book Chapter 66

Section 66 of Complete Original Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Tatiana Chachilla, Columbus, Ohio. Section 66. The Father. He was a clerk in the Bureau of Public Education and lived at Batignol.

He took the omnibus to Paris every morning and always sat opposite a girl with whom he fell in love. She was employed in a shop and went in at the same time every day. She was a little brunette, one of those girls whose eyes are so dark that they look like black spots on a complexion like ivory. He always saw her coming at the corner of the same street, and she generally had to run to catch the heavy vehicle, and sprang upon the steps before the horses had quite stopped.

Then she got inside, out of breath, and sitting down, looked round her. The first time that he saw her, Francois Tessier liked the face. One sometimes meets a woman whom one longs to clasp in one's arms without even knowing her. That girl seemed to respond to some chord in his being, to that sort of ideal of love which one cherishes in the depths of the heart without knowing it.

He looked at her intently, not meaning to be rude, and she became embarrassed and blushed. He noticed it and tried to turn away his eyes, but he involuntarily fixed them upon her again every moment, although he tried to look in another direction, and, in a few days, they seemed to know each other without having spoken.

He gave up his place to her when the omnibus was full and got outside, although he was very sorry to do it. by this time she had got so far as to greet him with a little smile and although she always dropped her eyes under his looks which she felt were too ardent yet she did not appear offended at being looked at in such a manner they ended by speaking a kind of rapid friendship had become established between them a daily freemasonry of half an hour and that was certainly one of the most charming half-hours of his life to him he thought of her all the rest of the day saw her image continually during the long office hours He was haunted and bewitched by that floating and yet tenacious recollection which the form of a beloved woman leaves in us, and it seemed to him that if he could win that little person it would be maddening happiness to him, almost above human realization.

Every morning she now shook hands with him, and he perceived the sense of that touch and the recollection of the gentle pressure of her little fingers until the next day, and he almost fancied that he preserved the imprint on his palm. He anxiously waited for this short omnibus ride, while Sunday seemed to him heartbreaking days. However, there was no doubt that she loved him, for one Saturday in spring, she promised to go and lunch with him at Maison Lafitte the next day. She was at the railway station first, which surprised him, but she said,

Before going, I want to speak to you. I have twenty minutes, and that is more than I shall take for what I have to say. She trembled as she hung on his arm and looked down, her cheeks pale, as she continued, I do not want you to be deceived in me, and I shall not go there with you unless you promise, unless you swear not to do not to do anything that is at all improper she had suddenly become

as red as a poppy and said no more he did not know what to reply for he was happy and disappointed at the same time he should love her less certainly if he knew that her conduct was light but then it would be so charming so delicious to have a little flirtation as he did not say anything she began to speak again in an agitated voice and with tears in her eyes if you do not promise to respect me altogether, I shall return home. And so he squeezed her arm tenderly and replied,

I promise you shall only do what you like. She appeared relieved in mind, and asked with a smile, Do you really mean it? And he looked into her eyes and replied, I swear it. Now you may take the ticket, she said. During the journey they could hardly speak, as the carriage was full, and when they reached Maison Lafitte they went toward the Seine. The sun, which shone full on the river, on the leaves and the grass, seemed to be reflected in their hearts, and they went hand

in hand along the bank, looking at the shoals of little fish swimming near the bank, and they walked on, brimming over with happiness, as if they were walking on air. At last she said, How foolish you must think me! Why, he asked, to come out like this all alone with you? Certainly not, it is quite natural.

No, no, it is not natural for me, because I do not wish to commit a fault, and yet this is how girls fall. But if you only knew how wretched it is, every day the same thing, every day in the month, and every month in the year, I live quite alone with Mama, and, as she said, I was has had a great deal of trouble, she is not very cheerful. I do the best I can, and try

to laugh in spite of everything, but I do not always succeed. But all the same, it was wrong in me to come, though you, at any rate, will not be sorry." By way of an answer he kissed her ardently on the ear that was nearest him, but she moved from him with an abrupt movement, and getting suddenly angry exclaimed, "'Oh, Monsieur Francois, after what you swore me!' and they went back to Maison Lafitte.

They had lunch at the Petit Tavre, a low house buried under four enormous poplar trees by the side of the river. The air, the heat, the weak white wine, and the sensation of being so close together had made them silent. Their faces were flushed, and they had a feeling of oppression.

But after the coffee they regained their high spirits, and, having crossed the Seine, started off along the bank, toward the village of Lafrette. Suddenly he asked, What is your name? Louise.

Louise, he repeated, and said nothing more. The girl picked daisies and made them into a great bunch while he sang vigorously, as unrestrained as a colt that has been turned into a meadow. On their left, a vine-covered slope followed the river. Francois stopped motionless with astonishment.

Oh, look there, he said. The vines had come to an end, and the whole slope was covered with lilac bushes and flower. It was a purple wood, a kind of great carpet of flowers stretched over the earth, reaching as far as the village more than two miles off. She also stood, surprised and delighted, and murmured,

Oh, how pretty! And crossing a meadow, they ran toward that curious low hill, which, every year, furnishes all the lilac that is drawn through Paris on the carts of the flower vendors. There was a narrow path beneath the trees, so they took it, and when they came to a small clearing, sat down. Swarms of flies were buzzing around them and making a continuous gentle sound,

and the sun, the bright sun of a perfectly still day, shone over the bright slopes, and from that forest of blossoms a powerful fragrance is borne toward them, a breath of perfume, the breath of the flowers. A church clock struck in the distance, and they embraced gently, then, without the knowledge of anything but that kiss, lay down on the grass.

But as soon as she came to herself with a feeling of great misfortune, and began to cry and sob with grief, with her face buried in her hands, he tried to console her, but she wanted to start to return and to go home immediately, and she kept saying, as she walked along quickly, Good heavens! Good heavens!

He said to her, Louise! Louise! Please let us stop here! But now her cheeks were red and her eyes hollow, and as soon as they got to the railway station in Paris she left him without even saying good-bye. When he met her in the omnibus next day she appeared to him to be changed and thinner,

and she said to him, I want to speak to you, we will get down at the boulevard. As soon as they were on the pavement she said, We must bid each other good-bye, I cannot meet you again. But why? he asked. Because I cannot, I have been culpable, and I will not be so again. Then he implored her, tortured by his love, but she replied firmly, no, I cannot, I cannot. He, however, only grew all the more excited and promised to marry her,

but she said again no and left him. For a week he did not see her. He could not manage to meet her, and, as he did not know her address, he thought he had lost her altogether. On the ninth day, however, there was a ring at his bell, and when he opened the door she was there. She threw herself into his arms and did not resist any longer, and for three months they were close friends. He was beginning to grow tired of her when she whispered something to him,

and then he had one idea and wish, to break with her at any price. As, however, he could not do that, not knowing how to begin or what to say, full of anxiety through fear of the consequences of his rash and discretion, he took a decisive step. One night he changed his lodgings and disappeared. The blow was so heavy that she did not look, for the man who had abandoned her, but threw herself at her mother's knees and confessed her misfortune, and, some months after,

gave birth to a boy. Years passed, and Francois Tessier grew old, without there having been any alteration in his life. He led the dull, monotonous life of an office clerk, without hope and without expectation. Every day he got up at the same time, went through the same streets, went through the same door, passed the same porter, went into the same office, sat in the same chair, and did the same work. He was alone in the world, alone during the day in the midst of his different colleagues,

and alone at night in his bachelor's lodgings, and he laid by a hundred francs a month against old age. every sunday he went to the champs elysees to watch the elegant people the carriages and the pretty women and the next day he used to say to one of his colleagues the return of the carriages from the bois de boulogne was very brilliant yesterday one fine sunday morning however he went to the parc monceau where the mothers and nurses sitting on the sides of the walks watched the children playing and suddenly francois tessier started a woman passed by holding two children by the hand a little boy of about ten and a girl of four it was she He walked a hundred yards and then fell into a chair, choking with emotion. She had not recognized him, and so he came back, wishing to see her again.

She was sitting down now, and the boy was standing by her side very quietly, while the little girl was making sandcastles. It was she, it was certainly she, but she had the reserved appearance of a lady, and was dressed simply, looking self-possessed and dignified. He looked at her from a distance, for he did not venture to go near,

but the little boy raised his head, and Francois Tessier felt himself tremble. It was his own son, there could be no doubt of that, and as he looked at him he thought he could recognize himself as he appeared in an old photograph taken years ago. He remained hidden behind a tree, waiting for her to go that he might follow her. He did not sleep that night. The idea of the child especially tormented him. His son! Oh, if he could have only known, have been sure. But what could he have done?

However, he went to the house where she lived and asked about her. He was told that a neighbor, an honorable man of strict morals, had been touched by her distress and had married her. He knew the fault she had committed and had married her, and had even recognized the child, his, Francois Tessier's child, as his own. He returned to the Parc-Molceau every Sunday, for then he always saw her, and each time he was seized with a mad and irresistible longing to take his son into his arms, to cover him with kisses, and to steal him, to carry him off. he suffered horribly in his wretched isolation as an old bachelor with nobody to care for him

and he also suffered atrocious mental torture torn by paternal tenderness springing from remorse longing and jealousy and from that need of loving one's own children which nature has implanted in all at last he determined to make a despairing attempt and going up to her as she entered the park he said standing in the middle of the path pale and with trembling lips you do not recognize me. She raised her eyes, looked at him, uttered an exclamation of horror, of terror, and, taking the

two children by the hand, she rushed away, dragging them after her, while he went home and wept inconsolably. Months passed without his seeing her again, but he suffered day and night, for he was a prey to his paternal love. He would gladly have died if he could only have kissed his son. He would have committed murder, performed any task, braved any danger, ventured anything. He wrote to her, but she did not reply, and, after writing some twenty letters, he saw

that there was no hope of altering her determination, and then he formed the desperate resolution of writing to her husband, being quite prepared to receive a bullet from a revolver, if need be. His letter only consisted of a few lines, as follows. Monsieur, you must have a perfect horror of my name, but I am so wretched, so overcome

by misery, that my only hope is in you, and therefore I venture to request you to grant me an interview of only five minutes. I have the honor, etc. The next day he received the reply, Monsieur, I shall expect you tomorrow, Tuesday, at five o'clock. As he went up the staircase, Francois Tessier's heart beat so violently that he had to stop several times. There was a dull and violent thumping noise in his

breast, as of some animal galloping, and he could breathe only with difficulty, and had to hold on to the banisters in order not to fall. He rang the bell on the third floor, and when a maid-servant had opened the door, he asked, Does Monsieur Flamel live here? Yes, Monsieur, kindly come in. He was shown into the drawing-room. He was alone and waited, feeling bewildered as in the midst of a catastrophe, until a door opened and a man came in. He was tall, serious, and rather stout,

and wore a black frock coat, and pointed to a chair with his hand. Francois Tessier sat down, and then said, with choking breath, Monsieur, Monsieur, I do not know whether you know my name, whether you know monsieur flamel interrupted him you need not tell it me monsieur i know it my wife has spoken to me about you he spoke in the dignified tone of voice of a good man who wishes to be severe and with the commonplace stateliness of an honorable man and francois tessier continued

well monsieur i want to say this i am dying of grief of remorse of shame and i would like once only once to kiss the child monsieur flamel got up and rang the bell and when the servant came in he said, Would you bring Louis here? When she had gone out, they remained face to face without speaking, as they had nothing more to say to each other, and waited. Then suddenly a little boy of ten rushed into the room and ran up to the man whom he believed to be his father, but he stopped

when he saw the stranger, and Monsieur Flamel kissed him and said, Now, go kiss that gentleman, my dear. And the child went up to the stranger and looked at him. Francois Tessier had risen. He let his hat fall and was ready to fall himself as he looked at his son, while Monsieur Flamel had turned away from a feeling of delicacy, and was looking out of the window. The child waited in surprise, but he picked up the hat and gave it to the stranger. Then Francois, taking the child up

in his arms, began to kiss him wildly all over the face, on his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth, his hair, and the youngster, frightened, tried to avoid them, turned away his head, and pushed the man's face with his hands. But suddenly Francois Tessier put him down and cried, "'Good-bye! Good-bye!' and he rushed out of the room as if he had been a thief.