Do you think
the department will revolt?"
"To my mind it's a certainty. Plassans, perhaps, will not make a
stir; the reaction has secured too firm a hold here for that. But the
neighbouring towns, especially the small ones and the villages, have
long been worked by certain secret societies, and belong to the advanced
Republican party. If a Coup d'Etat should burst forth, the tocsin will
be heard throughout the entire country, from the forests of the Seille
to the plateau of Sainte-Roure."
Felicite reflected. "You think, then," she resumed, "that an
insurrection is necessary to ensure our fortune!"
"That's my opinion," replied Monsieur de Carnavant. And he added, with a
slightly ironical smile: "A new dynasty is never founded excepting upon
an affray. Blood is good manure. It will be a fine thing for the Rougons
to date from a massacre, like certain illustrious families."
These words, accompanied by a sneer, sent a cold chill through
Felicite's bones. But she was a strong-minded woman, and the sight of
Monsieur Peirotte's beautiful curtains, which she religiously viewed
every morning, sustained her courage. Whenever she felt herself
giving way, she planted herself at the window and contemplated the
tax-receiver's house. For her it was the Tuileries. She had determined
upon the most extreme measures in order to secure an entree into the new
town, that promised land, on the threshold of which she had stood with
burning longing for so many years.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166