第89章 CHAPTER II(5)

They looked at your hand， and told you marvellous prophecies；they were equal to predicting to Judas that he would become Pope. Nevertheless， ugly rumors were in circulation in regard to them； about children stolen， purses cut， and human flesh devoured. The wise people said to the foolish： "Don't go there！" and then went themselves on the sly. It was an infatuation. The fact is， that they said things fit to astonish a cardinal. Mothers triumphed greatly over their little ones after the Egyptians had read in their hands all sorts of marvels written in pagan and in Turkish. One had an emperor；another， a pope； another， a captain. Poor Chantefleurie was seized with curiosity； she wished to know about herself， and whether her pretty little Agnes would not become some day Empress of Armenia， or something else. So she carried her to the Egyptians； and the Egyptian women fell to admiring the child， and to caressing it， and to kissing it with their black mouths， and to marvelling over its little band， alas！ to the great joy of the mother. They were especially enthusiastic over her pretty feet and shoes. The child was not yet a year old. She already lisped a little， laughed at her mother like a little mad thing， was plump and quite round， and possessed a thousand charming little gestures of the angels of paradise.

She was very much frightened by the Egyptians， and wept.

But her mother kissed her more warmly and went away enchanted with the good fortune which the soothsayers had foretold for her Agnes. She was to be a beauty， virtuous， a queen.

So she returned to her attic in the Rue Folle-Peine， very proud of bearing with her a queen. The next day she took advantage of a moment when the child was asleep on her bed， (for they always slept together)， gently left the door a little way open， and ran to tell a neighbor in the Rue de la Séchesserie， that the day would come when her daughter Agnes would be served at table by the King of England and the Archduke of Ethiopia， and a hundred other marvels. On her return， hearing no cries on the staircase， she said to herself： 'Good！ the child is still asleep！' She found her door wider open than she had left it， but she entered， poor mother， and ran to the bed.---The child was no longer there， the place was empty. Nothing remained of the child， but one of her pretty little shoes. She flew out of the room， dashed down the stairs， and began to beat her head against the wall， crying： 'My child！ who has my child？ Who has taken my child？' The street was deserted， the house isolated； no one could tell her anything about it. She went about the town， searched all the streets， ran hither and thither the whole day long， wild， beside herself， terrible， snuffing at doors and windows like a wild beast which has lost its young. She was breathless， dishevelled， frightful to see， and there was a fire in her eyes which dried her tears. She stopped the passers-by and cried： 'My daughter！ my daughter！ my pretty little daughter！ If any one will give me back my daughter， I will he his servant， the servant of his dog， and he shall eat my heart if he will.' She met M. le Curé of Saint-Remy， and said to him： 'Monsieur， I will till the earth with my finger-nails， but give me back my child！' It was heartrending， Oudarde； and IL saw a very hard man， Master Ponce Lacabre， the procurator， weep. Ah！ poor mother！ In the evening she returned home. During her absence， a neighbor had seen two gypsies ascend up to it with a bundle in their arms， then descend again， after closing the door. After their departure， something like the cries of a child were heard in Paquette's room. The mother， burst into shrieks of laughter， ascended the stairs as though on wings， and entered.--Afrightful thing to tell， Oudarde！ Instead of her pretty little Agnes， so rosy and so fresh， who was a gift of the good God， a sort of hideous little monster， lame， one-eyed， deformed， was crawling and squalling over the floor. She hid her eyes in horror. 'Oh！' said she， 'have the witches transformed my daughter into this horrible animal？' They hastened to carry away the little club-foot； he would have driven her mad. It was the monstrous child of some gypsy woman， who had given herself to the devil. He appeared to be about four years old， and talked a language which was no human tongue； there were words in it which were impossible. La Chantefleurie flung herself upon the little shoe， all that remained to her of all that she loved. She remained so long motionless over it， mute， and without breath， that they thought she was dead.

Suddenly she trembled all over， covered her relic with furious kisses， and burst out sobbing as though her heart were broken.

I assure you that we were all weeping also. She said： 'Oh， my little daughter！ my pretty little daughter！ where art thou？'--and it wrung your very heart. I weep still when Ithink of it. Our children are the marrow of our bones， you see.---My poor Eustache！ thou art so fair！--If you only knew how nice he is！ yesterday he said to me： 'I want to be a gendarme， that I do.' Oh！ my Eustache！ if I were to lose thee！--All at once la Chantefleurie rose， and set out to run through Reims， screaming： 'To the gypsies' camp！ to the gypsies' camp！ Police， to burn the witches！' The gypsies were gone. It was pitch dark. They could not be followed.

On the morrow， two leagues from Reims， on a heath between Gueux and Tilloy， the remains of a large fire were found， some ribbons which had belonged to Paquette's child， drops of blood， and the dung of a ram. The night just past had been a Saturday. There was no longer any doubt that the Egyptians had held their Sabbath on that heath， and that they had devoured the child in company with Beelzebub， as the practice is among the Mahometans. When La Chantefleurie learned these horrible things， she did not weep， she moved her lips as though to speak， but could not. On the morrow， her hair was gray. On the second day， she had disappeared.