of Semur; our
towers, which we had been born to love like our father's name. I have
had joys in my life, deep and great. I have loved, I have won honours, I
have conquered difficulty; but never had I felt as now. It was as if one
had been born again.

When we had gazed upon them, blessing them and thanking God, I gave
orders that all our company should be called to the tent, that we might
consider whether any new step could now be taken: Agnes with the other
women sitting apart on one side and waiting. I recognised even in the
excitement of such a time that theirs was no easy part. To sit there
silent, to wait till we had spoken, to be bound by what we decided, and
to have no voice--yes, that was hard. They thought they knew better than
we did: but they were silent, devouring us with their eager eyes. I love
one woman more than all the world; I count her the best thing that God
has made; yet would I not be as Agnes for all that life could give me.
It was her part to be silent, and she was so, like the angel she is,
while even Jacques Richard had the right to speak. _Mon Dieu!_ but it is
hard, I allow it; they have need to be angels. This thought passed
through my mind even at the crisis which had now arrived. For at such
moments one sees everything, one thinks of everything, though it is only
after that one remembers what one has seen and thought. When my
fellow-citizens gathered together (we were now less than a hundred in
number, so many had gone from us), I took it upon myself to speak. We
were a haggard, worn-eyed company, having had neither shelter nor sleep
nor even food, save in hasty snatches. I stood at the door of the tent
and they below, for the ground sloped a little. Beside me were M. le
Cure, M. de Bois-Sombre, and one or two others of the chief citizens.
'My friends,' I said, 'you have seen that a new circumstance has
occurred. It is not within our power to tell what its meaning is, yet it
must be a symptom of good. For my own part, to see these towers makes
the air lighter. Let us think of the Church as we may, no one can deny
that the towers of Semur are dear to our hearts.'

'M. le Maire,' said M. de Bois-Sombre, interrupting, 'I speak I am sure
the sentiments of my fellow-citizens when I say that there is no longer
any question among us concerning the Church; it is an admirable
institution, a universal advantage----'

'Yes, yes,' said the crowd, 'yes, certainly!' and some added, 'It is the
only saf