Madame Armand said to Clemence:
"Since madame wishes me to point out to her such of our prisoners as have by good conduct, or sincere repentance, deserved that an interest should be taken in them, I believe I can mention to her a poor girl whom I believe to be more unfortunate than culpable; for I am not deceived when I say that it is not too late to save this young girl, an unhappy creature of not more than sixteen or seventeen years of age."
"And for what is she imprisoned?"
"She is guilty of being found in the Champs Elysees in the evening. As it is prohibited to such females, under very severe penalties, to frequent, by day or night, certain public places, and as the Champs Elysees are in the number of the forbidden promenades, she was apprehended."
"And does she appear to you interesting?"
"I never saw features more regular, more ingenuous. Picture to yourself, my lady, the face of a Virgin; and what adds still more to the expression of modesty in her countenance is that, on coming here, she was dressed like a peasant girl of the environs of Paris."
"She is, then, a country girl?"
"No, my lady; the inspectors knew her again. She had lived for some weeks in a horrible abode in the Cite, from which she has been absent for two or three months; but, as she had not demanded the erasure of her name from the police registries, she comes under the power of that body, which has sent her hither."
"But, perhaps, she had quitted Paris to try and reinstate herself?"
"I think so, madame; and it is therefore I have taken such an interest in her. I have questioned her as to her past life, inquired if she came from the country, and told her to hope, as I did myself, that she might still return to a course of good life."
"And what reply did she make?"
"Lifting her full and melancholy blue eyes on me, filled with tears, she said, with angelic sweetness, "I thank you, madame, for your kindness; but I cannot say one word as to the past; I was apprehended,--I was doing wrong, and I do not therefore complain." "But where do you come from? Where have you been since you quitted the Cite? If you went into the country to seek an honest livelihood, say so, and prove it. We will write to the prefect to obtain your liberty, your name will be scratched off the police register, and you will be encouraged in your good resolutions." "I beseech you, madame, do not ask me; I cannot answer you," she replied. "But, on leaving this house, would you return again to that place of infamy?" "Oh, never!" she exclaimed. "What, then, will you do?" "G.o.d only knows!" she replied, letting her head fall on her bosom."
"Very singular! And she expresses herself--"
"In very excellent terms, madame; her deportment is timid and respectful, but without servility; nay, more, in spite of the extreme gentleness of her voice and look, there is in her accent and her att.i.tude a sort of proud sorrow which puzzles me. If she did not belong to that wretched cla.s.s of which she forms one, I should say that her haughtiness announces a soul which has a consciousness of dignity."
"But this is all a romance!" exclaimed Clemence, deeply interested, and finding, as Rodolph had told her, that nothing was more interesting than to do good. "And how does she behave with the other prisoners? If she is endowed with that dignity of soul that you imagine, she must suffer excessively in the midst of her wretched a.s.sociates."
"Madame, for me, who observe all from my position, and from habit, all about this young girl is a subject of astonishment. Although she has been here only three days, yet she already possesses a sort of influence over the other prisoners."
"In so short a time?"
"They feel for her not only interest, but almost respect."
"What! these unhappy women--"
"Have sometimes the instinct of a remarkable delicacy in recognising and detecting n.o.ble qualities in others; only, they frequently hate those persons whose superiority they are compelled to admit."
"But do they hate this poor girl?"
"Far from it, my lady; none of them knew her before she came here. They were at first struck with her appearance. Her features, although of singular beauty, are, if I may so express myself, covered with a touching and sickly paleness; and this melancholy and gentle countenance at first inspired them with more interest than jealousy. Then she is very silent, another source of surprise for these creatures, who, for the most part, always endeavour to banish thought by making a noise, talking, and moving about. In fact, although reserved and retiring, she showed herself compa.s.sionate, which prevented her companions from taking offence at her coldness of manner. This is not all: about a month since, an intractable creature, nicknamed La Louve (the she-wolf), such is her violent and brutal character, became a resident here. She is a woman of twenty years of age, tall, masculine, with good-looking but strongly marked features, and we are sometimes compelled to place her in the black-hole to subdue her violence. The day before yesterday, only, she came out of the cell, still irritated at the punishment she had undergone; it was meal-time, the poor girl of whom I speak could not eat, and said, sorrowfully, to her companions, "Who will have my bread?"
"I will!" said La Louve. "I will!" then said a creature almost deformed, called Mont Saint-Jean, who is the laughing-stock and, sometimes in spite of us, the b.u.t.t of the other prisoners, although several months advanced in pregnancy. The young girl gave her bread to this latter, to the extreme anger of La Louve. "It was I who asked you for the allowance first!" she exclaimed, furiously. "That is true; but this poor woman is about to become a mother, and wants it more than you do," replied the young girl. La Louve, notwithstanding, s.n.a.t.c.hed the bread from the hands of Mont Saint-Jean, and began to wave her knife about, and to vociferate loudly. As she is very evil-disposed and much feared, no one dared take the part of the poor Goualeuse, although all the prisoners silently sided with her."
"What do you call her name, madame?"
"La Goualeuse; it is the name, or rather the nickname, under which they brought her here who is my protegee, and will, I hope, my lady, soon be yours. Almost all of them have borrowed names."
"This is a very singular one."
"It signifies in their horrid jargon "the singer," for the young girl has, they told me, a very delightful voice; and I believe it, for her speaking tones are sweetness itself."
"But how did she escape from this wretch, La Louve?"
"Rendered still more furious by the composure of La Goualeuse, she rushed towards her, uttering menaces, and with her uplifted knife in her hand. All the prisoners cried out with fear; La Goualeuse alone, looking at this fierce creature without alarm, smiled at her bitterly and said, in her sweet voice, "Oh, kill me! Kill me! I am willing to die. But do not make me suffer too great pain!" These words, they told me, were uttered with a simplicity so affecting, that almost all the prisoners burst into tears."
"I can imagine so," said Madame d"Harville, deeply moved.
"The worst characters," continued the inspectress, "have, fortunately, occasional good feelings. When she heard these words, bearing the stamp of such painful resignation, La Louve, touched (as she afterwards declared) to her inmost core, threw her knife on the ground, fell at her feet and exclaimed, "It was wrong--shameful to threaten you, Goualeuse, for I am stronger than you! You are not afraid of my knife; you are bold--brave! I like brave people; and now, from this day forth, if any dare to molest you, let them beware, for I will defend you.""
"What a singular being!"
"This incident strengthened La Goualeuse"s influence still more and more. A thing almost unexampled here, none of the prisoners accost her familiarly. The majority are respectful to her, and even proffer to do for her all the little services that prisoners can render to one another. I spoke to some of the women of her dormitory, to learn the reason of this deference which was evinced towards her. "It is hardly explicable to ourselves," they replied; "but it is easy to perceive she is not one of us." "But who told you so?" "No one told us; it is easy to discover it." "By what?" "By a thousand things. In the first place, before she goes to bed, she goes down on her knees and says her prayers; and if she pray, as La Louve says, why, she must have a right to do so.""
"What a strange observation!"
"These unhappy creatures have no religious feeling, and still they never utter here an impious or irreligious word. You will see, madame, in all our rooms small altars, where the statue of the Virgin is surrounded with offerings and ornaments which they have made. Every Sunday they burn a quant.i.ty of wax candles before them in _ex-voto_. Those who attend the chapel behave remarkably well; but generally the very sight of holy places frightens them. To return to La Goualeuse; her companions said to me, "We see that she is not one of us, by her gentle ways, her sadness, and the manner in which she talks." "And then," added La Louve (who was present at this conversation), abruptly, "it is quite certain that she is not one of us, for this morning, in the dormitory, without knowing why, we were all ashamed of dressing ourselves before her.""
"What remarkable delicacy in the midst of so much degradation!"
exclaimed Madame d"Harville.
"Yes, madame, in the presence of men, and amongst themselves, modesty is unknown to them, and yet they are painfully confused at being seen half dressed by us or the charitable visitors who come, like your ladyship, to the prison. Thus the profound instinct of modesty, which G.o.d has implanted in us, reveals itself even in these fallen creatures, at the sight of those persons whom they can respect."
"It is at least consolatory to find some good and natural feelings, which are stronger even than depravity."
"a.s.suredly it is; and these women are capable of devoted attachments which, were they worthily placed, would be most honourable. There is also another sacred feeling with them, who respect nothing, fear nothing, and that is maternity. They honour it, rejoice at it; and they are admirable mothers, considering nothing a sacrifice to keep their children near them. They will undergo any trouble, difficulty, or danger that they may bring them up; for, as they say, these little beings are the only ones who do not despise them."
"Have they, then, so deep a sense of their abject condition?"
"They are not half so much despised by others as they despise themselves. With those who sincerely repent, the original blot of sin is ineffaceable in their own eyes, even if they should find themselves in a better position; others go mad, so irremediably is this idea imprinted in their minds; and I should not be surprised, madame, if the heartfelt grief of La Goualeuse is attributable to something of this nature."
"If so, how she must suffer!--a remorse which nothing can soothe!"
"Fortunately, madame, this remorse is more frequent than is commonly believed. The avenging conscience is never completely lulled to sleep; or, rather, strange as it may appear, sometimes it would seem that the soul is awake whilst the body is in a stupor; and this remark I again made last night in reference to my protegee."
"What! La Goualeuse?"
"Yes, madame."
"In what way?"
"Frequently, when the prisoners are asleep, I walk through the dormitories. You would scarcely believe, my lady, how the countenances of these women differ in expression whilst they are slumbering. A good number of them, whom I have seen during the day, saucy, careless, bold, insolent, have appeared entirely changed when sleep has removed from their features all exaggeration of bravado; for, alas, vice has its pride! Oh, madame, what sad revelations on those dejected, mournful, and gloomy faces! What painful sighs, involuntarily elicited by some dream.
I was speaking to your ladyship just now of the girl they call La Louve,--an untamed, untamable creature. It is but a fortnight since that she abused me in the vilest terms before all the prisoners. I shrugged up my shoulders, and my indifference whetted her rage. Then, in order to offend me more sorely, she began to say all sorts of disgraceful things of my mother, whom she had often seen come here to visit me."
"What a shameful creature!"
"I confess that, although this attack was not worth minding, yet it made me feel uncomfortable. La Louve perceived this, and rejoiced in it. The same night, about midnight, I went to inspect the dormitories; I went to La Louve"s bedside (she was not to be put in the dark cell until next day) and I was struck with her calmness,--I might say the sweetness of her countenance,--compared with the harsh and daring expression which is habitual to it. Her features seemed suppliant, filled with regret and contrition; her lips were half open, her breast seemed oppressed, and--what appeared to me incredible, for I thought it impossible--two tears, two large tears, were in the eyes of this woman, whose disposition was of iron! I looked at her in silence for several minutes, when I heard her say, "Pardon! Pardon! Her mother!" I listened more attentively, but all I could catch, in the midst of a murmur scarcely intelligible, was my name, "Madame Armand," uttered with a sigh."