This garden, overgrown with wild briers, seemed abandoned; not a single border, not a bed; a cl.u.s.ter of elms, five or six large trees, some acacias and alders, a yellow gra.s.s-plot, walks enc.u.mbered with brambles, and bounded by a high wall. Such was the sad aspect of the garden and habitation.
To this appearance, or rather to this reality, Ferrand attached great importance. To vulgar eyes, a carelessness of comfort and prosperity pa.s.ses almost always for disinterestedness; uncleanliness for austerity.
Comparing the grand financial luxury of some notaries, or the reported toilets of their wives, to the gloomy mansion of M. Ferrand, so contemptuous of elegance and splendor, the clients felt a kind of respect, or, rather, of blind confidence for this man, who, from the number of his employers and the fortune he was supposed to possess, could have said, like many of his brethren, "My equipage, my country-house, my opera-box," etc., and who, far from that, lived with great economy; thus deposits, legacies on trust, investments, all those affairs in fine which depend upon the most tried integrity, or the most perfect good faith, flowed into the hands of Ferrand. In living as he did, the notary consulted his taste. He detested society, pomp, pleasures dearly bought; had it been otherwise, he would have, without hesitation, sacrificed his most lively wishes to the appearances which it was important to give himself. Some words on the character of this man. He was a son of the grand family of misers. Avarice is, above all, a negative, pa.s.sive pa.s.sion. Yet Jacques Ferrand risked, and risked much.
He counted on his cunning--it was extreme; on his hypocrisy--it was profound; on his understanding--it was fertile and pliable; on his audacity--it was infernal--to a.s.sure impunity to his crimes, and they were already numerous.
One single pa.s.sion, or rather appet.i.te, but most disgraceful, ign.o.ble, shameful, but almost ferocious, raised him often to frenzy--l.u.s.t.
Save this weakness, Jacques Ferrand loved but gold He loved gold for the sake of gold.
Not for the enjoyments it procured; he was stoical.
Notwithstanding his great cunning, this man had committed two or three errors which the most crafty criminals hardly ever escape from.
Forced by circ.u.mstances, it is true, he had two accomplices: this great fault, as he said himself, had been repaired in part; neither of his accomplices could betray him without betraying themselves; nor could any advantage be derived from their denouncing the notary and themselves to public vindictiveness. He was therefore on this head quite at rest.
Some words now on the personal appearance of Ferrand, and we will introduce the reader into the notary"s study, where he will find out the princ.i.p.al personages. Ferrand had pa.s.sed his fiftieth year. He did not appear more than forty; he was of medium size, round-shouldered, square-built, strong, thick-set, red-haired, s.h.a.ggy as a bear. His hair lay smooth on his temples, the top of his head was bald, his eyebrows hardly to be perceived; his bilious-looking skin was covered with large freckles; but when any lively emotion agitated it, this yellow, clayey visage filled with blood, and became a livid red.
His face was as flat as a death"s-head, his nose crushed down, his lips so thin, so imperceptible, that his mouth seemed cut in his face; when he smiled in a wicked and sinister manner, the ends of his teeth could be seen, black and decayed. Closely shaved to his temples, this man"s countenance had an expression austere, sanctified, impa.s.sible, rigid, cold and reflecting; his little black eyes--quick, piercing, restless,--were hidden by large green spectacles.
Jacques Ferrand had excellent sight, but under the shelter of his spectacles he had great advantages, observing without being observed; he knew how much a glance of the eye is often and involuntarily significant. In spite of his imperturbable audacity, he had encountered, two or three times in his life, certain powerful looks, before which he had been forced to quail. Now, in some circ.u.mstances, it is fatal to cast down your eye before the man who interrogates, accuses, or judges you. The large spectacles of Ferrand were therefore a kind of covered breastwork, from whence he could attentively examine the maneuvers of the enemy; for many such he had to encounter, because many found themselves more or less his dupes.
He affected in his dress a negligence which reached to uncleanliness, or, rather, it was naturally rusty and mean. His face, shaved but once in two or three days, his dirty bald head, his black nails, old snuff-colored-coats, greasy hats, threadbare cravats, black woolen hose, and coa.r.s.e shoes, recommended him singularly to his clients, by giving him an air of detachment from the world, and a perfume of practical philosophy, which charmed them. "To what pleasures--what pa.s.sions-- could the notary," said they, "sacrifice the confidence which was shown him? He gained, perhaps, sixty thousand francs a year, and his household was composed of a servant and an old housekeeper; his sole pleasure was to go every Sunday to ma.s.s and vespers; he knew no opera comparable to the solemn sounds of the organ, no company which could equal an evening pa.s.sed at his fireside with the parish priest, after a frugal dinner. Finally, he placed his delight in his probity, his pride in his honor, his happiness in his religion."
Such was the opinion of many concerning Jacques Ferrand, this good and excellent man.
CHAPTER VI.
THE OFFICE.
His office resembled all offices, his clerks all other clerks. It was reached by an ante-chamber, furnished with four old chairs. In the office, properly so called, surrounded by shelves furnished with paper boxes, containing doc.u.ments belonging to the clients of the notary, five young men, bending over desks of black wood, laughed, talked, or scribbled incessantly. An adjoining room, in which usually remained the head clerk, then an empty room, which, for the sake of secrecy, separated the notary"s sanctum from the other offices, such was this laboratory of all kinds and sorts. Two o"clock had just struck by an old cuckoo clock, placed between the two windows of the office; agitation seemed to reign among the clerks, which some fragments of their conversation will explain.
"Certainly, if any one had told me that Francois Germain was a thief,"
said one of the young men, "I should have answered, "You are a liar!""
"And I!"
"And I also!"
"I! It produced such an effect on me to see him arrested and taken away by the guard that I could not eat my breakfast. I was recompensed, however, for it spared me from eating the daily mess of Mother Seraphin."
"Seventeen thousand francs--it is a sum!"
"A famous sum!"
"And to think that for seventeen months, since he has been cashier, he never has been wanting a centime in his cash account!"
"As for me, I think master was wrong to arrest Germain, since the poor fellow swore that he had only taken thirteen hundred francs in gold."
"Yes. And so much the more, that he brought back the amount this morning at the moment the master had sent for the guard!"
"That is the consequence of being of such a rigid probity as master.
Such people are always without pity."
"Never mind; one ought always to think twice before ruining a poor young man who always conducted himself well until now."
"M. Ferrand would reply to that, "It was for the sake of example.""
"Example of what? It is of no use to those who are honest; and those who are not, know well enough that they are likely to be discovered if they steal."
"This house is, however, a good customer for the officer."
"How?"
"Why, this morning poor Louise; just now Germain."
"As for me, the affair of Germain don"t appear too clear."
"But he has acknowledged it!"
"He confessed that he had taken thirteen hundred francs--yes; but he maintained that he had not taken the remaining fifteen thousand francs in bank bills, and the remaining seven hundred francs that were missing."
"Exactly; since he acknowledged one thing, why not the other?"
"It is true, one is as much punished for five hundred as for fifteen thousand francs.".
"Yes; but one keeps the fifteen thousand francs, and on coming out of prison, that makes a nice little establishment, a rogue would say."
"Not so bad."
"One may well say there is something in that."
"And Germain, who always defended master when we called him a Jesuit!"
"It is nevertheless true. "Why hasn"t master a right to go to ma.s.s?"
he would say: "you have the right to stay away.""
"Stop, here is Chalomel; now he will be astonished!"
"About what! what! My good fellow, is there anything new concerning poor Louise?"
"You would have known, lazybones, if you hadn"t been absent so long."
"Hold; you think it is only a hop, skip, and a jump from here to the Rue de Chaillot."