doing, general, there would be,
I won't say no poor, for they are always with us, but no poor man who
could not live by his labor."

"The mayors of Conches, Cerneux, and Soulanges have sent us all their
paupers," said Groison, who had now looked at the certificates; "they
had no right to do so."

"No, but our people will go to their districts," said the general. "For
the time being we have done enough by preventing the gleaning before
the sheaves were taken away; we had better go step by step," he added,
turning to leave the field.

"Did you hear him?" said Mother Tonsard to the old Bonnebault woman,
for the general's last words were said in a rather louder tone than the
rest, and reached the ears of the two old women who were posted in the
road which led beside the field.

"Yes, yes! we haven't got to the end yet,--a tooth to-day and to-morrow
an ear; if they could find a sauce for our livers they'd eat 'em as they
do a calf's!" said old Bonnebault, whose threatening face was turned in
profile to the general as he passed her, though in the twinkling of
an eye she changed its expression to one of hypocritical softness and
submission as she hastened to make him a profound curtsey.

"So you are gleaning, are you, though my wife helps you to earn so much
money?"

"Hey! my dear gentleman, may God preserve you in good health! but, don't
you see, my grandson squanders all I earn, and I'm forced to scratch
up a little wheat to get bread in the winter,--yes, yes, I glean just a
bit; it all helps."

The gleaning proved of little profit to the gleaners. The farmers and
tenant-farmers, finding themselves backed up, took care that their wheat
was well reaped, and superintended the making of the sheaves and their
safe removal, so that little or none of the pillage of former years
could take place.

Accustomed to get a good proportion of wheat in their gleaning, the
false as well as the true poor, forgetting the count's pardon at
Conches, now felt a deep but silent anger against him, which was
aggravated by the Tonsards, Courtecuisse, Bonnebault, Laroche, Vaudoyer,
Godain, and their adherents. Matters went worse still after the vintage;
for the gathering of the refuse grape was not allowed until Sibilet had
examined the vines with extreme care. This last restriction exasperated
these sons of the soil to the highest pitch; but when so great a social
distance separates the angered class from the threatened class, words
and t