, the faith of his early
priesthood, had all vanished, had been carried off, and their place was
bare and empty. In truth, it could be hell alone that had thus prepared
him for the reception of evil, disarming him of all his former weapons,
and reducing his body to languor and softness, through which sin might
readily enter.

He, perfectly unconscious of it all, unknowingly surrendered himself
to the gradual approach of evil. When he had reopened his eyes in the
Paradou, he had felt himself an infant once more, with no memory of the
past, no knowledge of his priesthood. He experienced a gentle pleasure,
a glad feeling of surprise at thus beginning life afresh, as though it
were all new and strange to him and would be delightful to learn. Oh!
the sweet apprenticeship, the charming observations, the delicious
discoveries! That Paradou was a vast abode of felicity; and hell, in
placing him there, had known full well that he would be defenceless.
Never, in his first youth, had he known such enjoyment in growing. That
first youth of his, when he now thought of it, seemed quite black and
gloomy, graceless, wan and inactive, as if it had been spent far away
from the sunlight.

But at the Paradou, how joyfully had he hailed the sun! How admiringly
had he gazed at the first tree, at the first flower, at the tiniest
insect he had seen, at the most insignificant pebble he had picked up!
The very stones charmed him. The horizon was a source of never-ending
amazement. One clear morning, the memory of which still filled his eyes,
bringing back a perfume of jasmine, a lark's clear song, he had been so
affected by emotion that he felt all power desert his limbs. He had long
found pleasure in learning the sensations of life. And, ah! the morning
when Albine had been born beside him amidst the roses! As he thought of
it, an ecstatic smile broke out upon his face. She rose up like a
star that was necessary to the very sun's existence. She illumined
everything, she made everything clear. She made his life complete.

Then in fancy he once again walked with her through the Paradou. He
remembered the little curls that waved behind her neck as she ran on
before him. She exhaled delicious scent, and the touch of her warm
swaying skirts seemed like a caress. And when she clasped him with her
supple curving arms, he half expected to see her, so slight and slender
she was, twine herself around him. It was she who went foremost. She led
him thro