Page 382 - madame-bovary

choise, and the Faubourg, as far as an open street that
overlooked some gardens. She walked rapidly; the fresh air
calming her; and, little by little, the faces of the crowd, the
masks, the quadrilles, the lights, the supper, those wom-
en, all disappeared like mists fading away. Then, reaching
the ‘Croix-Rouge,’ she threw herself on the bed in her little
room on the second floor, where there were pictures of the
‘Tour de Nesle.’ At four o’clock Hivert awoke her.
When she got home, Felicite showed her behind the clock
a grey paper. She read—
‘In virtue of the seizure in execution of a judgment.’
What judgment? As a matter of fact, the evening before
another paper had been brought that she had not yet seen,
and she was stunned by these words—
‘By order of the king, law, and justice, to Madame Bovary.’
Then, skipping several lines, she read, ‘Within twenty-four
hours, without fail—‘ But what? ‘To pay the sum of eight
thousand francs.’ And there was even at the bottom, ‘She
will be constrained thereto by every form of law, and nota-
bly by a writ of distraint on her furniture and effects.’
What was to be done? In twenty-four hours—tomorrow.
Lheureux, she thought, wanted to frighten her again; for
she saw through all his devices, the object of his kindnesses.
What reassured her was the very magnitude of the sum.
However, by dint of buying and not paying, of borrow-
ing, signing bills, and renewing these bills that grew at each
new falling-in, she had ended by preparing a capital for
Monsieur Lheureux which he was impatiently awaiting for
his speculations.

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