Then he resumed, “She really has eyes that pierce
one’s heart like a gimlet. And that pale
complexion! I adore pale women!”
When he reached the top of the Arguiel hills he had
made up his mind. “It’s only finding
the opportunities. Well, I will call in now and
then. I’ll send them venison, poultry;
I’ll have myself bled, if need be. We shall
become friends; I’ll invite them to my place.
By Jove!” added he, “there’s the
agricultural show coming on. She’ll be there.
I shall see her. We’ll begin boldly, for
that’s the surest way.”
At last it came, the famous agricultural show.
On the morning of the solemnity all the inhabitants
at their doors were chatting over the preparations.
The pediment of the town hall had been hung with garlands
of ivy; a tent had been erected in a meadow for the
banquet; and in the middle of the Place, in front
of the church, a kind of bombarde was to announce
the arrival of the prefect and the names of the successful
farmers who had obtained prizes. The National
Guard of Buchy (there was none at Yonville) had come
to join the corps of firemen, of whom Binet was captain.
On that day he wore a collar even higher than usual;
and, tightly buttoned in his tunic, his figure was
so stiff and motionless that the whole vital portion
of his person seemed to have descended into his legs,
which rose in a cadence of set steps with a single
movement. As there was some rivalry between the
tax-collector and the colonel, both, to show off their
talents, drilled their men separately. One saw
the red epaulettes and the black breastplates pass
and re-pass alternately; there was no end to it, and
it constantly began again. There had never been
such a display of pomp. Several citizens had
scoured their houses the evening before; tri-coloured
flags hung from half-open windows; all the public-houses
were full; and in the lovely weather the starched
caps, the golden crosses, and the coloured neckerchiefs
seemed whiter than snow, shone in the sun, and relieved
with the motley colours the sombre monotony of the
frock-coats and blue smocks. The neighbouring
farmers’ wives, when they got off their horses,
pulled out the long pins that fastened around them
their dresses, turned up for fear of mud; and the
husbands, for their part, in order to save their hats,
kept their handkerchiefs around them, holding one corner
between their teeth.
The crowd came into the main street from both ends
of the village. People poured in from the lanes,
the alleys, the houses; and from time to time one
heard knockers banging against doors closing behind
women with their gloves, who were going out to see
the fete. What was most admired were two long
lamp-stands covered with lanterns, that flanked a
platform on which the authorities were to sit.
Besides this there were against the four columns of
the town hall four kinds of poles, each bearing a
small standard of greenish cloth, embellished with
inscriptions in gold letters.
