a pleasure to him if I continued. I therefore
leaned down towards him, and said with as firm
a voice as I could command,

"Adieu! adieu! Farewell, till we meet in
Heaven! I am resolved to obey your injunctions
faithfully. . . I believe in God the Father; I
believe in the compassion and the merits of the
Saviour. Do not be anxious on my account.
You have prepared me so well, that I now stand
in need only of God's assistance."

Here my poor grandfather squeezed my hand
more forcibly, and, making an unavailing effort
to answer me, he could only express his joy by
a long-drawn sigh.

"I will take care to remember," I continued,
"all the advice you gave for the preservation of
my life. For the love of you, I will neglect
nothing that can prolong my existence and help
me to escape from the chalet. Farewell, dear
grandfather! Farewell! farewell!"

I felt one more feeble pressure of the hand:
it was the last; for his hand, which had gradually
grown colder, let mine drop. He expired without
effort, without convulsion, and without a
sigh.

My most terrible moments, after that time,
were not the first. It was when I slowly came
to myself, and found myself alone in that sad
habitation with—a dead body; it was then that
I felt an involuntary shudder run through me,
especially when night came.

In the morning, I had sufficient command
over myself to wind up the clock and to
milk Blanchette; the cold compelled me to
light a fire: that gave me occupation: but I
afterwards fell into a stupor of grief. Unfortunately,
that same evening the wind rose with
such violence that I could hear the wailing of
its mournful gusts more plainly than I had done
for some time past.

I was sitting in the chimney-corner; I was
watching by the feeble glimmer of the nightlight,
with my back turned towards the bed:
little by little, I felt a shivering fit come over
me; I was no longer master of my own ideas.
My mental trouble would have gone on increasing,
and might have become of serious
consequence, if I had not thought of a mode of
putting an end to it which many people might
think would make it worse. I went up to the
corpse, at first constrainedly, afterwards with
greater resolution. I looked at it: I dared to
touch it. It was a painful effort; nevertheless
I persisted. I repeated the action several times,
and I felt that the shock I had suffered became
by degrees more supportable.

From that time I did not cease, at short
intervals, to return to the remains of my
departed friend. I fulfilled with respect to them
the same offices which persons accustomed to
such things perform coolly. The expression
of the countenance was so calm and pleasant,
it caused me to shed tears. "No," I
sobbed aloud, "I am not afraid."

Nevertheless, my anguish returned when I
felt that sleep was stealing over me; at my age,
it is impossible to resist it. Was I to go and
lie down by the side of the body? My resolution
did not carry me so far as that; and I
sought, I must confess, a very wretched
protection from the superstitious fears which were
resuming their sway: I went and took refuge by
the side of Blanchette. The warmth and the
vital motion which I found in this poor animal,
the slight noise she made while chewing the cud,
reassured me in some slight degree.

At last I fell into a sound sleep.

The next day, as soon as I woke, I
recommenced the struggle of yesterday; I employed
myself as much as possible about the goat and
my other work, and, above all, I frequently
went near to the body. I even held that dear
and venerable head for a considerable time in
my hands. The more my fear diminished, the
more I felt my grief increase; and I was pleased
with myself on observing so reasonable and so
natural a change. My thoughts then became
directed, to the preparations for the burial, and
I recalled to mind what my grandfather had
said. I believe that it was with a secret intention
that he had sometimes spoken of the
dangers of precipitate interments; I resolved, therefore,
to wait until nature should compel me to
accomplish this last duty. The lively affection
which I retained for my grandfather kept me
from yielding to the cowardly wish to get rid of
a painful spectacle at the very earliest moment
possible.

But I took my tools, and opened the dairy
door.

"What a Jack-of-all-trades!" I said to myself.
"First, nurse and doctor, and now gravedigger!
What other bereaved relatives are spared the
sight of, I am obliged to execute with my own
hands!"

The first few strokes revolted me, and I was
obliged to stop short. It was not that my arms
refused to work, but my mind was troubled, and
deprived me of the requisite energy. Every
time I struck the ground, a loud echo
resounded from the roof, which was vaulted with
bricks, like that of a cellar. I was obliged to
accustom myself to the sound, and it took me
the whole day to do an amount of work which
ought not to have occupied more than a couple
of hours. In fact, the ground is sandy and
light, and at last I was able to throw it out with
the shovel without being obliged to break it up
previously. I took advantage of the
circumstance to dig a deep grave; for—I said to
myself—if the chalet has to be left empty for any
length of time (whether I escape from it, or
whether it is my turn to die next), I ought to
use my utmost endeavours to preserve the body
from ravenous beasts. I therefore went on
with my melancholy task, until I was standing
in a grave as deep as I was high. The clock
struck ten. Night was come, and all its black
thoughts with it. But the violent exercise
which I had taken soon enabled me to fall
asleep. It was only deferred a few minutes by
Blanchette's caresses; she seems very glad to
have me with her, and never refuses to serve as
my pillow.