Madame Bovary - Penn State University

FlaubertBengal lights is seen the shadow of the chemist leaning over the gate. The keeper, who is at once gravedigger and churchhis desk. His house from top to bottom is placarded with beadle (thus making a double profit out of the parish corpses),inscriptions written in large hand, round hand, printed hand: has taken advantage of the unused plot of ground to plant“Vichy, Seltzer, Barege waters, blood purifiers, Raspail patent potatoes there. From year to year, however, his small fieldmedicine, Arabian racahout, Darcet lozenges, Regnault paste, grows smaller, and when there is an epidemic, he does nottrusses, baths, hygienic chocolate,” etc. And the signboard, know whether to rejoice at the deaths or regret the burials.which takes up all the breadth of the shop, bears in gold letters,“Homais, Chemist.” Then at the back of the shop, be-to him one day. This grim remark made him reflect; it checked“You live on the dead, Lestiboudois!” the curie at last saidhind the great scales fixed to the counter, the word “Laboratory”appears on a scroll above a glass door, which about halftionof his little tubers, and even maintains stoutly that theyhim for some time; but to this day he carries on the cultivawayup once more repeats “Homais” in gold letters on a black grow naturally.ground.Since the events about to be narrated, nothing in fact hasBeyond this there is nothing to see at Yonville. The street changed at Yonville. The tin tricolour flag still swings at the(the only one) a gunshot in length and flanked by a few shops top of the church-steeple; the two chintz streamers still flutterin the wind from the linen-draper’s; the chemist’s fetuses,on either side stops short at the turn of the highroad. If it isleft on the right hand and the foot of the Saint-Jean hills like lumps of white amadou, rot more and more in their turbidalcohol, and above the big door of the inn the old goldenfollowed the cemetery is soon reached.At the time of the cholera, in order to enlarge this, a piece lion, faded by rain, still shows passers-by its poodle mane.of wall was pulled down, and three acres of land by its side On the evening when the Bovarys were to arrive at Yonville,purchased; but all the new portion is almost tenantless; the Widow Lefrancois, the landlady of this inn, was so very busytombs, as heretofore, continue to crowd together towards that she sweated great drops as she moved her saucepans. To-63