Remember the words
of Ruth: 'Whither thou goest, I shall go; and where thou lodgest, I will
lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God, where thou
diest will I die, and there will I be buried.'"
I left her precipitately, and rushed out to find Mercanson. I was told
that he had gone out, and I entered his house to wait for him.
I sat in the corner of the room on a priest's chair before a dirty black
table. I was becoming impatient when I recalled my duel on account of my
first mistress.
"I received a wound from a bullet and am still a fool," I said to myself.
"What have I come to do here? This priest will not fight; if I seek a
quarrel with him, he will say that his priestly robes forbid and he will
continue his vile gossip when I have gone. Moreover, for what can I hold
him responsible? What is it that has disturbed Brigitte? They say that
her reputation has been sullied, that I ill-treat her and that she ought
not to submit to it. What stupidity! that concerns no one, there is
nothing to do but allow them to talk; in such a case, to notice an insult
is to give it importance. Is it possible to prevent provincials from
talking about their neighbors? Can any one prevent a gossip from
maligning a woman who loves? What measures can be taken to stop a public
rumor? If they say that I ill-treat her, it is for me to prove the
contrary by my conduct with her, and not by violence.
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