Page 232 - madame-bovary

The poor fellow gave way, for it was like a conspiracy.
Binet, who never interfered with other people’s business,
Madame Lefrancois, Artemise, the neighbours, even the
mayor, Monsieur Tuvache—everyone persuaded him, lec-
tured him, shamed him; but what finally decided him was
that it would cost him nothing. Bovary even undertook to
provide the machine for the operation. This generosity was
an idea of Emma’s, and Charles consented to it, thinking in
his heart of hearts that his wife was an angel.
So by the advice of the chemist, and after three fresh
starts, he had a kind of box made by the carpenter, with the
aid of the locksmith, that weighed about eight pounds, and
in which iron, wood, sheer-iron, leather, screws, and nuts
had not been spared.
But to know which of Hippolyte’s tendons to cut, it was
necessary first of all to find out what kind of club-foot he
had.
He had a foot forming almost a straight line with the
leg, which, however, did not prevent it from being turned
in, so that it was an equinus together with something of a
varus, or else a slight varus with a strong tendency to equi-
nus. But with this equinus, wide in foot like a horse’s hoof,
with rugose skin, dry tendons, and large toes, on which the
black nails looked as if made of iron, the clubfoot ran about
like a deer from morn till night. He was constantly to be
seen on the Place, jumping round the carts, thrusting his
limping foot forwards. He seemed even stronger on that leg
than the other. By dint of hard service it had acquired, as it
were, moral qualities of patience and energy; and when he

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