Madame Bovary - Penn State University

Madame Bovaryers in the cloth line were here—such clever chaps who told “What can I do for you, Monsieur le Curie?” asked thesuch jokes in the evening, that I fairly cried with laughing; landlady, as she reached down from the chimney one of theand he stood there like a dab fish and never said a word.” copper candlesticks placed with their candles in a row. “Will“Yes,” observed the chemist; “no imagination, no sallies, you take something? A thimbleful of Cassis*? A glass of wine?”nothing that makes the society-man.”The priest declined very politely. He had come for his umbrella,that he had forgotten the other day at the Ernemont“Yet they say he has parts,” objected the landlady.“Parts!” replied Monsieur Homais; “he, parts! In his own line convent, and after asking Madame Lefrancois to have it sentit is possible,” he added in a calmer tone. And he went on— to him at the presbytery in the evening, he left for the church,“Ah! That a merchant, who has large connections, a jurisconsult,a doctor, a chemist, should be thus absent-minded, that When the chemist no longer heard the noise of his bootsfrom which the Angelus was ringing.the should become whimsical or even peevish, I can understand;such cases are cited in history. But at least it is because very unbecoming. This refusal to take any refreshment seemedalong the square, he thought the priest’s behaviour just nowthey are thinking of something. Myself, for example, how to him the most odious hypocrisy; all priests tippled on theoften has it happened to me to look on the bureau for my sly, and were trying to bring back the days of the tithe.pen to write a label, and to find, after all, that I had put it The landlady took up the defence of her curie.behind my ear!”“Besides, he could double up four men like you over hisMadame Lefrancois just then went to the door to see if the knee.“Hirondelle” were not coming. She started. A man dressed in Last year he helped our people to bring in the straw; heblack suddenly came into the kitchen. By the last gleam of carried as many as six trusses at once, he is so strong.”the twilight one could see that his face was rubicund and his “Bravo!” said the chemist. “Now just send your daughtersform athletic.*Black currant liqueur.66