‘Revertitur in terram suam unde erat,’ recited the priest, who had opened a book and was making haste.

But he was not heard, for a large engine had come up puffing, and was manoeuvring backwards and forwards near the funeral party.  It had a loud thick voice, a guttural whistle, which was intensely mournful.  It came and went, panting; and seen in profile it looked like a heavy monster.  Suddenly, moreover, it let off steam, with all the furious blowing of a tempest.

‘Requiescat in pace,’ said the priest.

‘Amen,’ replied the choirboy.

But the words were again lost amid the lashing, deafening detonation, which was prolonged with the continuous violence of a fusillade.

Bongrand, quite exasperated, turned towards the engine.  It became silent, fortunately, and every one felt relieved.  Tears had risen to the eyes of Sandoz, who had already been stirred by the words which had involuntarily passed his lips, while he walked behind his old comrade, talking as if they had been having one of their familiar chats of yore; and now it seemed to him as if his youth were about to be consigned to the earth.  It was part of himself, the best part, his illusions and his enthusiasm, which the sextons were taking away to lower into the depths.  At that terrible moment an accident occurred which increased his grief.  It had rained so hard during the preceding days, and the ground was so soft, that a sudden subsidence of soil took place.  One of the sextons had to jump into the grave and empty it with his shovel with a slow rhythmical movement.  There was no end to the matter, the funeral seemed likely to last for ever amid the impatience of the priest and the interest of the four neighbours who had followed on to the end, though nobody could say why.  And up above, on the embankment, the engine had begun manoeuvring again, retreating and howling at each turn of its wheels, its fire-box open the while, and lighting up the gloomy scene with a rain of sparks.

At last the pit was emptied, the coffin lowered, and the aspergillus passed round.  It was all over.  The second cousin, standing erect, did the honours with his correct, pleasant air, shaking hands with all these people whom he had never previously seen, in memory of the relative whose name he had not remembered the day before.

‘That linen-draper is a very decent fellow,’ said Bongrand, who was swallowing his tears.

‘Quite so,’ replied Sandoz, sobbing.

All the others were going off, the surplices of the priest and the choirboy disappeared between the green trees, while the straggling neighbours loitered reading the inscriptions on the surrounding tombs.

Then Sandoz, making up his mind to leave the grave, which was now half filled, resumed: 

’We alone shall have known him.  There is nothing left of him, not even a name!’

‘He is very happy,’ said Bongrand; ’he has no picture on hand, in the earth where he sleeps.  It is as well to go off as to toil as we do merely to turn out infirm children, who always lack something, their legs or their head, and who don’t live.’