The Infant's Skull; Or, The End of the World. A Tale of the Millennium

by Eugène Sue

  CHAPTER VI.

  YVON AND MARCELINE.

  Upon leaving the room where lay the corpse of Louis the Do-nothing, Yvondescended the stairs to the apartment of Adelaide, the lady of theQueen's chamber, and mistress of the golden-haired Marceline, whom heexpected to find alone, Adelaide having followed the Queen when thelatter ran to the King's apartment feigning despair at the death of herhusband. Yvon found the young female serf at the threshold of the doorin a state of great agitation at the tumult that had suddenly invadedthe castle. "Marceline," Yvon said to her, "I must speak with you; letus step into your mistress's room. She will not leave the Queen for along time. We shall not be interrupted. Come!" The young woman openedwide her eyes at seeing for the first time the Calf expressing himselfin a sane manner, and his face now free of its wonted look of stupidity.In her astonishment, Marceline could not at first utter a word, and Yvonexplained, smiling: "Marceline, my language astonishes you. The reasonis, you see, I am no longer Yvon the Calf but ... Yvon who loves you!Yvon who adores Marceline!"

  "Yvon who loves me!" cried the poor serf in fear. "Oh, God, this is somesorcery!"

  "If so, Marceline, you are the sorceress. But, now, listen to me. Whenyou will have heard me, you will answer me whether you are willing ornot to have me for your husband." Yvon entered the room mechanicallyfollowed by Marceline. She thought herself in a dream; her eyes did notleave the Calf and found his face more and more comely. She rememberedthat, often struck by the affectionateness and intelligence that beamedfrom Yvon's eyes, she had asked herself how such looks could come from ayoung man who was devoid of reason.

  "Marceline," he proceeded, "in order to put an end to your surprise, Imust first speak to you of my family."

  "Oh, speak, Yvon, speak! I feel so happy to see you speak like a saneperson, and such language!"

  "Well, then, my lovely Marceline, my great-grandfather, a skipper ofParis named Eidiol, had a son and two daughters. One of these, Jeanike,kidnapped at an early age from her parents, was sold for a serf to thesuperintendant of this domain, and later she became the wet-nurse of thedaughter of Charles the Simple, whose descendant, Louis the Do-nothing,has just died."

  "Is the rumor really true? Is the King dead? So suddenly? It isstrange!"

  "Marceline, these kings could not die too soon. Well, then, Jeanike, thedaughter of my great-grandfather had two children, Germain, a foresterserf of this domain, and Yvonne, a charming girl, whom Guyrion thePlunger, son of my great-grandfather, took to wife. She went with him toParis, where they settled down and where he plied his father's trade ofskipper. Guyrion had from Yvonne a son named Leduecq ... and he was myfather. My grandfather Guyrion remained in Paris as skipper. A womannamed Anne the Sweet was assaulted by one of the officers of the Countof the city, and her husband, Rustic the Gay, a friend of my father,killed the officer. The soldiers ran to arms and the mariners rose atthe call of Rustic and Guyrion, but both of them were killed togetherwith Anne in the bloody fray that ensued. My grandfather being one ofthe leaders in the revolt, the little he owned was confiscated. Reducedto misery, his widow left Paris with her son and came to her brotherGermain the forester for shelter. He shared his hut with Yvonne and herson. Such is the iniquity of the feudal law that those who dwell a yearand a day upon royal or seigniorial domain become its serfs. Such wasthe fate of my grandfather's widow and her son Leduecq. She was put towork in the fields, Leduecq following the occupation of his unclesucceeded him as forester of the canton of the Fountain of the Hinds.Later he married a serf whose mother was a washerwoman of the castle. Iwas born of that marriage. My father, who was as gentle towards mymother and myself as he was rude and intractable towards all others,never ceased thinking of the death of my grandfather Guyrion, who wasslaughtered by the soldiers of the Count of Paris. He never left theforest except to carry his tax of game to the castle. Of a somber andindominable character, often switched for his insubordination towardsthe bailiff's agents, he would have taken a cruel revenge for theill-treatment that he was subjected to were it not for the fear ofleaving my mother and myself in want. She died about a year ago. Myfather survived her only a few months. When I lost him, I came by ordersof the bailiff to live with my maternal aunt, a washerwoman at thecastle of Compiegne. You now know my family."

  "The good Martha! When you first came here she always said to me: 'It isno wonder that my grandson looks like a savage; he never left theforest.' But during the last days of her life your grandmother oftensaid to me with tears in her eyes: 'The good God has willed it that Yvonbe an idiot.' I thought as she did, and therefore had great pity foryou. And yet, how mistaken I was. You speak like a clerk. While you werejust now speaking, I said to myself: 'Can it be?... Yvon the Calf, whotalks that way? And he in love?'"

  "And are you pleased to see your error dispelled? Do you reciprocate myfeelings?"

  "I do not know," answered the young serf blushing. "I am so taken bysurprise by all that you have been telling me! I must have time tothink."

  "Marceline, will you marry me, yes or no? You are an orphan; you dependupon your mistress; I upon the bailiff; we are serfs of the same domain;can there be any reason why they should refuse their consent to ourmarriage?" And he added bitterly: "Does not the lambkin that is bornincrease its master's herd?"

  "Alack! According to the laws our children are born and die serfs asourselves! But would my mistress Adelaide give her consent to mymarrying an idiot?"

  "This is my project: Adelaide is a favorite and confidante of the Queen.Now, then this is a beautiful day for the Queen."

  "What! The day when the King, her husband, died?"

  "For that very reason. The Queen is to-day in high feather, and for athousand reasons her confidante, your mistress, must feel no less happythan the widow of Louis the Do-nothing. To ask for a favor at such amoment is to have it granted."

  "What favor would you ask?"

  "If you consent to marry me, Marceline, you will need Adelaide'spermission and we shall want her promise to have me appointed foresterserf with the canton of the Fountain of the Hinds under my charge. Twowords of your mistress to the Queen, two words of the Queen to thebailiff of the domain, and our wishes are fulfilled."

  "But, Yvon, do you consider that everybody takes you for an idiot? Andwould they entrust you with a canton? It is out of the question."

  "Let them give me a bow and arrows and I am ready to acquit myself as anarcher. I have an accurate eye and steady hand."

  "But how will you explain the sudden change that has turned you from anidiot to a sane man? People will want to know why you pretended to be anidiot. You will be severely punished for the ruse. Oh, my friend, allthat makes me tremble."

  "After I am married I shall tell you my reasons for my long comedy. Asto my transformation from idiocy to sanity, that is to be the subject ofa miracle. The thought struck me this morning while I followed yourmistress and the Queen to the hermitage of St. Eusebius. Everything isexplainable with the intervention of a saint."

  "And why did you follow the Queen?"

  "Having woke up this morning before dawn, I happened near the fosse ofthe castle. Hardly was the sun up when I saw at a distance yourmistress and the Queen going all alone towards the forest. Themysterious promenade pricked my curiosity. I followed them at a distanceacross the copse. They arrived at the hermitage of St. Eusebius. Yourmistress remained there, but the Queen took the path to the Fountain ofthe Hinds."

  "What could she be up to at that early hour? My curiosity also is nowpricked."

  "That is another question that I shall satisfy you upon after we aremarried, Marceline," answered Yvon after a moment's reflection; "but toreturn to the miracle that is to explain my transformation from idiocyto sanity, it is quite simple: St. Eusebius, the patron of thehermitage, will be credited with having performed the prodigy, and themonk, who now derives a goodly revenue from the hermitage will not denymy explanation, seeing that the report of the new miracle will doublehis tithes. His whole fraternity speculate upon human s
tupidity."

  The golden-haired Marceline smiled broadly at the young man's idea, andreplied:

  "Can it be Yvon the Calf that reasons thus?"

  "No, my dear and sweet maid, it is Yvon the lover; Yvon on whom you tookpity when he was everybody else's butt and victim; Yvon, who, in returnfor your good heart, offers you love and devotion. That is all a poorserf can promise, seeing that his labor and his life belong to hismaster. Accept my offer, Marceline, we shall be as happy as one can bein these accursed times. We shall cultivate the field that surrounds theforester's hut; I shall kill for the castle the game wanted there, andas sure as the good God has created the stags for the hunt, we nevershall want for a loin of venison. You will take charge of our vegetablegarden. The streamlet of the Fountain of the Hinds flows but a hundredpaces from our home. We shall live alone in the thick of the woodswithout other companions than the birds and our children. And now,again, is it 'yes' or 'no'? I want a quick answer."

  "Oh, Yvon," answered Marceline, tears of joy running from her eyes, "ifa serf could dispose of herself, I would say 'yes' ... aye, a hundredtimes, 'yes'!"

  "My beloved, our happiness depends upon you. If you have the courage torequest your mistress's permission to take me for your husband, you maybe certain of her consent."

  "Shall I ask Dame Adelaide this evening?"

  "No, but to-morrow morning, after I shall have come back _with mysanity_. I am going on the spot to fetch it at the hermitage of St.Eusebius, and to-morrow I shall bring it to you nice and fresh from theholy place--and with the monk's consent, too."

  "And people called him the 'Calf'!" murmured the young serf more andmore charmed at the retorts of Yvon, who disappeared speedily, fearinghe might be surprised by the Queen's lady of the chamber, Adelaide.