Attwoo’clockshehurriedtoLeon，andknockedatthedoor。Nooneanswered。Atlengthheappeared。
　　“Whatbringsyouhere？“
　　“DoIdisturbyou？“
　　“No；but——“Andheadmittedthathislandlorddidn’tlikehishaving“women“there。
　　“Imustspeaktoyou，“shewenton。
　　Thenhetookdownthekey，butshestoppedhim。
　　“No，no!Downthere，inourhome!“
　　AndtheywenttotheirroomattheHoteldeBoulogne。
　　Onarrivingshedrankoffalargeglassofwater。Shewasverypale。Shesaidtohim——
　　“Leon，youwilldomeaservice？“
　　And，shakinghimbybothhandsthatshegraspedtightly，sheadded“Listen，Iwanteightthousandfrancs。“
　　“Butyouaremad!“
　　“Notyet。“
　　Andthereupon，tellinghimthestoryofthedistraint，sheexplainedherdistresstohim；forCharlesknewnothingofit；
　　hermother-in-lawdetestedher；oldRouaultcoulddonothing；buthe，Leon，hewouldsetaboutfindingthisindispensablesum。
　　“HowonearthcanI？“
　　“Whatacowardyouare!“shecried。
　　Thenhesaidstupidly，“Youareexaggeratingthedifficulty。
　　Perhaps，withathousandcrownsorsothefellowcouldbestopped。“
　　Allthegreaterreasontotryanddosomething；itwasimpossiblethattheycouldnotfindthreethousandfrancs。Besides，Leon，couldbesecurityinsteadofher。
　　“Go，try，try!Iwillloveyouso!“
　　Hewentout，andcamebackattheendofanhour，saying，withsolemnface——
　　“Ihavebeentothreepeoplewithnosuccess。“
　　Thentheyremainedsittingfacetofaceatthetwochimneycorners，motionless，insilence。Emmashruggedhershouldersasshestampedherfeet。Heheardhermurmuring——
　　“IfIwereinyourplace_I_shouldsoongetsome。“
　　“Butwhere？“
　　“Atyouroffice。“Andshelookedathim。
　　Aninfernalboldnesslookedoutfromherburningeyes，andtheirlidsdrewclosetogetherwithalasciviousandencouraginglook，sothattheyoungmanfelthimselfgrowingweakbeneaththemutewillofthiswomanwhowasurginghimtoacrime。Thenhewasafraid，andtoavoidanyexplanationhesmotehisforehead，crying——
　　“Morelistocomebackto-night；hewillnotrefuseme，Ihope“
　　thiswasoneofhisfriends，thesonofaveryrichmerchant；
　　“andIwillbringityouto-morrow，“headded。
　　Emmadidnotseemtowelcomethishopewithallthejoyhehadexpected。Didshesuspectthelie？Hewenton，blushing——
　　“However，ifyoudon’tseemebythreeo’clockdonotwaitforme，mydarling。Imustbeoffnow；forgiveme!Goodbye!“
　　Hepressedherhand，butitfeltquitelifeless。Emmahadnostrengthleftforanysentiment。
　　Fouro’clockstruck，andsherosetoreturntoYonville，mechanicallyobeyingtheforceofoldhabits。
　　Theweatherwasfine。ItwasoneofthoseMarchdays，clearandsharp，whenthesunshinesinaperfectlywhitesky。TheRouenfolk，inSunday-clothes，werewalkingaboutwithhappylooks。ShereachedthePlaceduParvis。Peoplewerecomingoutaftervespers；thecrowdflowedoutthroughthethreedoorslikeastreamthroughthethreearchesofabridge，andinthemiddleone，moremotionlessthanarock，stoodthebeadle。
　　Thensherememberedthedaywhen，allanxiousandfullofhope，shehadenteredbeneaththislargenave，thathadopenedoutbeforeher，lessprofoundthanherlove；andshewalkedonweepingbeneathherveil，giddy，staggering，almostfainting。
　　“Takecare!“criedavoiceissuingfromthegateofacourtyardthatwasthrownopen。
　　Shestoppedtoletpassablackhorse，pawingthegroundbetweentheshaftsofatilbury，drivenbyagentlemaninsablefurs。Whowasit？Sheknewhim。Thecarriagedartedbyanddisappeared。
　　Why，itwashe——theViscount。Sheturnedaway；thestreetwasempty。Shewassooverwhelmed，sosad，thatshehadtoleanagainstawalltokeepherselffromfalling。
　　Thenshethoughtshehadbeenmistaken。Anyhow，shedidnotknow。
　　Allwithinherandaroundherwasabandoningher。Shefeltlost，sinkingatrandomintoindefinableabysses，anditwasalmostwithjoythat，onreachingthe“Croix-Rouge，“shesawthegoodHomais，whowaswatchingalargeboxfullofpharmaceuticalstoresbeinghoistedontothe“Hirondelle。“Inhishandheheldtiedinasilkhandkerchiefsixcheminotsforhiswife。
　　MadameHomaiswasveryfondofthesesmall，heavyturban-shapedloaves，thatareeateninLentwithsaltbutter；alastvestigeofGothicfoodthatgoesback，perhaps，tothetimeoftheCrusades，andwithwhichtherobustNormansgorgedthemselvesofyore，fancyingtheysawonthetable，inthelightoftheyellowtorches，betweentankardsofhippocrasandhugeboars’heads，theheadsofSaracenstobedevoured。Thedruggist’swifecrunchedthemupastheyhaddone——heroically，despiteherwretchedteeth。
　　AndsowheneverHomaisjourneyedtotown，heneverfailedtobringherhomesomethatheboughtatthegreatbaker’sintheRueMassacre。
　　“Charmedtoseeyou，“hesaid，offeringEmmaahandtohelpherintothe“Hirondelle。“Thenhehunguphischeminotstothecordsofthenetting，andremainedbare-headedinanattitudepensiveandNapoleonic。
　　Butwhentheblindmanappearedasusualatthefootofthehillheexclaimed——
　　“Ican’tunderstandwhytheauthoritiestoleratesuchculpableindustries。Suchunfortunatesshouldbelockedupandforcedtowork。Progress，myword!creepsatasnail’space。Weareflounderingaboutinmerebarbarism。“
　　Theblindmanheldouthishat，thatflappedaboutatthedoor，asifitwereabagintheliningthathadcomeunnailed。
　　“This，“saidthechemist，“isascrofulousaffection。“
　　Andthoughheknewthepoordevil，hepretendedtoseehimforthefirsttime，murmuredsomethingabout“cornea，““opaquecornea，““sclerotic，““facies，“thenaskedhiminapaternaltone——
　　“Myfriend，haveyoulonghadthisterribleinfirmity？Insteadofgettingdrunkatthepublic，you’ddobettertodieyourself。“
　　Headvisedhimtotakegoodwine，goodbeer，andgoodjoints。Theblindmanwentonwithhissong；heseemed，moreover，almostidiotic。AtlastMonsieurHomaisopenedhispurse——
　　“Nowthere’sasou；givemebacktwolairds，anddon’tforgetmyadvice：you’llbethebetterforit。“
　　Hivertopenlycastsomedoubtontheefficacyofit。Butthedruggistsaidthathewouldcurehimselfwithanantiphlogisticpomadeofhisowncomposition，andhegavehisaddress——“MonsieurHomais，nearthemarket，prettywellknown。“
　　“Now，“saidHivert，“forallthistroubleyou’llgiveusyourperformance。“
　　Theblindmansankdownonhishaunches，withhisheadthrownback，whilstherolledhisgreenisheyes，lolledouthistongue，andrubbedhisstomachwithbothhandsasheutteredakindofhollowyelllikeafamisheddog。Emma，filledwithdisgust，threwhimoverhershoulderafive-francpiece。Itwasallherfortune。
　　Itseemedtoherveryfinethustothrowitaway。
　　ThecoachhadgoneonagainwhensuddenlyMonsieurHomaisleantoutthroughthewindow，crying——
　　“Nofarinaceousormilkfood，wearwoolnexttheskin，andexposethediseasedpartstothesmokeofjuniperberries。“
　　Thesightofthewell-knownobjectsthatdefiledbeforehereyesgraduallydivertedEmmafromherpresenttrouble。Anintolerablefatigueoverwhelmedher，andshereachedherhomestupefied，discouraged，almostasleep。
　　“Comewhatmaycome!“shesaidtoherself。“Andthen，whoknows？
　　Why，atanymomentcouldnotsomeextraordinaryeventoccur？
　　Lheureuxevenmightdie!“