Les Misérables Page 14

  CHAPTER VII--CRAVATTE

  It is here that a fact falls naturally into place, which we must notomit, because it is one of the sort which show us best what sort of aman the Bishop of D---- was.

  After the destruction of the band of Gaspard Bès, who had infested thegorges of Ollioules, one of his lieutenants, Cravatte, took refuge inthe mountains. He concealed himself for some time with his bandits, theremnant of Gaspard Bès's troop, in the county of Nice; then he made hisway to Piédmont, and suddenly reappeared in France, in the vicinityof Barcelonette. He was first seen at Jauziers, then at Tuiles. He hidhimself in the caverns of the Joug-de-l'Aigle, and thence he descendedtowards the hamlets and villages through the ravines of Ubaye andUbayette.

  He even pushed as far as Embrun, entered the cathedral one night,and despoiled the sacristy. His highway robberies laid waste thecountry-side. The gendarmes were set on his track, but in vain. Healways escaped; sometimes he resisted by main force. He was a boldwretch. In the midst of all this terror the Bishop arrived. He wasmaking his circuit to Chastelar. The mayor came to meet him, and urgedhim to retrace his steps. Cravatte was in possession of the mountainsas far as Arche, and beyond; there was danger even with an escort; itmerely exposed three or four unfortunate gendarmes to no purpose.

  "Therefore," said the Bishop, "I intend to go without escort."

  "You do not really mean that, Monseigneur!" exclaimed the mayor.

  "I do mean it so thoroughly that I absolutely refuse any gendarmes, andshall set out in an hour."

  "Set out?"

  "Set out."

  "Alone?"

  "Alone."

  "Monseigneur, you will not do that!"

  "There exists yonder in the mountains," said the Bishop, "a tinycommunity no bigger than that, which I have not seen for three years.They are my good friends, those gentle and honest shepherds. They ownone goat out of every thirty that they tend. They make very prettywoollen cords of various colors, and they play the mountain airs onlittle flutes with six holes. They need to be told of the good God nowand then. What would they say to a bishop who was afraid? What wouldthey say if I did not go?"

  "But the brigands, Monseigneur?"

  "Hold," said the Bishop, "I must think of that. You are right. I maymeet them. They, too, need to be told of the good God."

  "But, Monseigneur, there is a band of them! A flock of wolves!"

  "Monsieur le maire, it may be that it is of this very flock of wolvesthat Jesus has constituted me the shepherd. Who knows the ways ofProvidence?"

  "They will rob you, Monseigneur."

  "I have nothing."

  "They will kill you."

  "An old goodman of a priest, who passes along mumbling his prayers? Bah!To what purpose?"

  "Oh, mon Dieu! what if you should meet them!"

  "I should beg alms of them for my poor."

  "Do not go, Monseigneur. In the name of Heaven! You are risking yourlife!"

  "Monsieur le maire," said the Bishop, "is that really all? I am not inthe world to guard my own life, but to guard souls."

  They had to allow him to do as he pleased. He set out, accompanied onlyby a child who offered to serve as a guide. His obstinacy was bruitedabout the country-side, and caused great consternation.

  He would take neither his sister nor Madame Magloire. He traversed themountain on mule-back, encountered no one, and arrived safe and soundat the residence of his "good friends," the shepherds. He remainedthere for a fortnight, preaching, administering the sacrament, teaching,exhorting. When the time of his departure approached, he resolved tochant a _Te Deum_ pontifically. He mentioned it to the curé. But whatwas to be done? There were no episcopal ornaments. They could onlyplace at his disposal a wretched village sacristy, with a few ancientchasubles of threadbare damask adorned with imitation lace.

  "Bah!" said the Bishop. "Let us announce our _Te Deum_ from the pulpit,nevertheless, Monsieur le Curé. Things will arrange themselves."

  They instituted a search in the churches of the neighborhood. All themagnificence of these humble parishes combined would not have sufficedto clothe the chorister of a cathedral properly.

  While they were thus embarrassed, a large chest was brought anddeposited in the presbytery for the Bishop, by two unknown horsemen, whodeparted on the instant. The chest was opened; it contained a cope ofcloth of gold, a mitre ornamented with diamonds, an archbishop's cross,a magnificent crosier,--all the pontifical vestments which had beenstolen a month previously from the treasury of Notre Dame d'Embrun.In the chest was a paper, on which these words were written, _"FromCravatte to Monseigneur Bienvenu."_

  "Did not I say that things would come right of themselves?" said theBishop. Then he added, with a smile, "To him who contents himself withthe surplice of a curate, God sends the cope of an archbishop."

  "Monseigneur," murmured the curé, throwing back his head with a smile."God--or the Devil."

  The Bishop looked steadily at the curé, and repeated with authority,"God!"

  When he returned to Chastelar, the people came out to stare at him as ata curiosity, all along the road. At the priest's house in Chastelar herejoined Mademoiselle Baptistine and Madame Magloire, who were waitingfor him, and he said to his sister: "Well! was I in the right? The poorpriest went to his poor mountaineers with empty hands, and he returnsfrom them with his hands full. I set out bearing only my faith in God; Ihave brought back the treasure of a cathedral."

  That evening, before he went to bed, he said again: "Let us never fearrobbers nor murderers. Those are dangers from without, petty dangers.Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices are thereal murderers. The great dangers lie within ourselves. What matters itwhat threatens our head or our purse! Let us think only of that whichthreatens our soul."

  Then, turning to his sister: "Sister, never a precaution on the partof the priest, against his fellow-man. That which his fellow does, Godpermits. Let us confine ourselves to prayer, when we think that a dangeris approaching us. Let us pray, not for ourselves, but that our brothermay not fall into sin on our account."

  However, such incidents were rare in his life. We relate those of whichwe know; but generally he passed his life in doing the same things atthe same moment. One month of his year resembled one hour of his day.

  As to what became of "the treasure" of the cathedral of Embrun, weshould be embarrassed by any inquiry in that direction. It consisted ofvery handsome things, very tempting things, and things which were verywell adapted to be stolen for the benefit of the unfortunate. Stolenthey had already been elsewhere. Half of the adventure was completed; itonly remained to impart a new direction to the theft, and to cause itto take a short trip in the direction of the poor. However, we make noassertions on this point. Only, a rather obscure note was found amongthe Bishop's papers, which may bear some relation to this matter, andwhich is couched in these terms, _"The question is, to decide whetherthis should be turned over to the cathedral or to the hospital."_