Out of
attachment to his flock he had refused the vicariat of the diocese. If
those who were indifferent to religion thought well of him for so
doing, the faithful loved him the more for it. So, revered by his
sheep, respected by the inhabitants at large, the abbe did good
without inquiring into the religious opinions of those he benefited.
His parsonage, with scarcely furniture enough for the common needs of
life, was cold and shabby, like the lodging of a miser. Charity and
avarice manifest themselves in the same way; charity lays up a
treasure in heaven which avarice lays up on earth. The Abbe Chaperon
argued with his servant over expenses even more sharply than Gobseck
with his--if indeed that famous Jew kept a servant at all. The good
priest often sold the buckles off his shoes and his breeches to give
their value to some poor person who appealed to him at a moment when
he had not a penny. When he was seen coming out of church with the
straps of his breeches tied into the button-holes, devout women would
redeem the buckles from the clock-maker and jeweler of the town and
return them to their pastor with a lecture.
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