orious in the eternal battle which life wages
against death, thanks to that continual increase both of offspring and
of fertile land which was like their very existence, their joy, and
their strength. Desire passed like a gust of flame--desire divine
and fruitful, since they possessed the power of love, kindliness, and
health. And their energy did the rest--that will of action, that quiet
bravery in the presence of the labor that is necessary, the labor that
has made and that regulates the world. They were, however, still in the
hard, trying, earlier stage of their work of conquest, and they often
wept with grief and anxiety. Many were their cares, too, in transforming
the old pavilion into a farm. The outlay was considerable, and at
times it seemed as if the crops would never pay the building accounts.
Moreover, as the enterprise grew in magnitude, and there came more and
more cattle, more and more horses, a larger staff of both men and
girls became necessary, to say nothing of additional implements and
appliances, and the increase of supervision which left the Froments
little rest. Mathieu controlled the agricultural part of the enterprise,
ever seeking improved methods for drawing from the earth all the life
that slumbered within it. And Marianne watched over the farmyard, the
dairy, the poultry, and showed herself a first-class accountant,
keeping the books, and receiving and paying money. And thus, in spite of
recurring worries, strokes of bad luck and inevitable mistakes, fortune
smiled on them athwart all worries and losses, so brave and sensible did
they prove in their incessant daily struggle.

Apart, too, from the new buildings, the estate was increased by
five-and-seventy acres of woodland, and five-and-seventy acres of
sandy sloping soil. Mathieu's battle with those sandy slopes became yet
keener, more and more heroic as his field of action expanded; but he
ended by conquering, by fertilizing them yet more each season, thanks to
the fructifying springs which he directed through them upon every side.
And in the same way he cut broad roads through the new woods which
he purchased on the plateau, in order to increase the means of
communication and carry into effect his idea of using the clearings as
pasture for his cattle, pending the time when he might largely devote
himself to stock-raising. In this wise, then, the battle went on,
and spread incessantly in all directions; and the chances of decisive
victory l