A
lover of gayety, he was never priest in a salon. Until Doctor
Minoret's arrival, the good man kept his light under a bushel without
regret. Owning a rather fine library and an income of two thousand
francs when he came to Nemours, he now possessed, in 1829, nothing at
all, except his stipend as parish priest, nearly the whole of which he
gave away during the year. The giver of excellent counsel in delicate
matters or in great misfortunes, many persons who never went to church
to obtain consolation went to the parsonage to get advice. One little
anecdote will suffice to complete his portrait. Sometimes the
peasants,--rarely, it is true, but occasionally,--unprincipled men,
would tell him they were sued for debt, or would get themselves
threatened fictitiously to stimulate the abbe's benevolence. They
would even deceive their wives, who, believing their chattels were
threatened with an execution and their cows seized, deceived in their
turn the poor priest with their innocent tears. He would then manage
with great difficulty to provide the seven or eight hundred francs
demanded of him--with which the peasant bought himself a morsel of
land.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58