Page 373 - madame-bovary

it must contain something besides bills and money. Mon-
sieur Lheureux, in fact, went in for pawnbroking, and it was
there that he had put Madame Bovary’s gold chain, together
with the earrings of poor old Tellier, who, at last forced to
sell out, had bought a meagre store of grocery at Quincam-
poix, where he was dying of catarrh amongst his candles,
that were less yellow than his face.
Lheureux sat down in a large cane arm-chair, saying:
‘What news?’
‘See!’
And she showed him the paper.
‘Well how can I help it?’
Then she grew angry, reminding him of the promise he
had given not to pay away her bills. He acknowledged it.
‘But I was pressed myself; the knife was at my own
throat.’
‘And what will happen now?’ she went on.
‘Oh, it’s very simple; a judgment and then a distraint—
that’s about it!’
Emma kept down a desire to strike him, and asked gently
if there was no way of quieting Monsieur Vincart.
‘I dare say! Quiet Vincart! You don’t know him; he’s more
ferocious than an Arab!’
Still Monsieur Lheureux must interfere.
‘Well, listen. It seems to me so far I’ve been very good to
you.’ And opening one of his ledgers, ‘See,’ he said. Then
running up the page with his finger, ‘Let’s see! let’s see! Au-
gust 3d, two hundred francs; June 17th, a hundred and fifty;
March 23d, forty-six. In April—‘

Madame Bovary