by Eugène Sue
“There will always be time for me to add a few lines to our family’s narrative; besides, it seems to me, and I admit the notion is foolish, that to write ‘I have lived’, sounds very much like saying ‘I am about to die’ — Now, then, I am so happy that I cling to life, just as oysters do to their rocks.”
And so it came about that, from to-morrow to to-morrow, your great-grandfather reached his ninety-sixth year without increasing the history of our family with a single word. When he lay on his deathbed he said to me:
“My child, I wish you to write the following lines for me in our archives:
“ ‘My grandfather Gildas and my father Goridek lived in our house quietly and happy, like good husbandmen; they remained true to their love for old Gaul and to the faith of our fathers; they blessed Hesus for having allowed them to be born and to die in the heart of Britanny, the only province where, for so very many years, the shocks that have elsewhere shaken Gaul have hardly ever been felt — those shocks died out before the impregnable frontiers of Breton Armorica, as the furious waves of our ocean dash themselves at the feet of our granite rocks.’”
That, then, my son Jocelyn, is the reason why neither your grandfather Goridek nor his father wrote a line themselves.
“And why,” you will insist, “did you, Araim, my father, why did you wait so long, until you had a son and grandchildren, before you paid your tribute to our chronicle?”
There are two reasons for that: the first is that I never had enough to say; the second is that I would have had too much to write.
“Oh!” you will be thinking when you read this. “His advanced age has deranged old Araim’s mind. He says in one breath that he had too much and too little to say. Is that sensible?”
Wait a moment, my son; be not in a hurry to believe that your old father has fallen into his second infancy. Listen, and you will discover how it is that I have at once too much and not enough to write upon.
As to what concerns my own life, being an old husbandman, I have been in the same predicament as my ancestors since Schanvoch — there never was sufficient matter for me to write about. Indeed, the interesting and charming narrative would have run somewhat after this fashion:
“Last year the autumn crop was richer than the winter crop; this year it is the reverse.”
Or, “The large black cow yields daily six pints of milk more than the brindled cow.”
Or, “The January sheep have turned out more woolly than the sheep of last March.”
Or, “Last year grain was so dear, so very dear, that a ‘muid’ of old wheat sold at from twelve to thirteen deniers. The price of cattle and poultry is also on the upward tack: we now pay two gold sous for a draft ox, one gold sou for a milch-cow, six gold sous for a draft horse.”
Or, “Will not our descendants be delighted to know that in these days a pig, if good and fat, fetches twelve deniers in autumn, which is neither more nor less than the cost of a bell-wether? And will they not rejoice to learn that our last coop of one hundred fat geese was sold last winter at the market of Vannes for a full pound of silver by the weight? And imagine how well posted they will feel when they learn that the day-laborers whom we hire during harvest time are paid by us one denier a day.”
That would hardly be considered either a charming or a thrilling narrative.
On the other hand, would our descendants feel more elated if I were to tell them:
“That in which my pride lies is the knowledge that there is no better field-laborer than my son Jocelyn, no better housekeeper than his wife Madalen, no sweeter creature than my granddaughter Roselyk, no handsomer and more daring lads than my two grandsons, Kervan and Karadeucq — especially the latter, the youngest of the set, my own pet! — a very demon for deviltry, bravery and attractiveness. One should see him, at seventeen years of age, break in the wild colts of our meadows, dive into the sea like a fish, not lose an arrow out of ten when he shoots at the sea-gulls on the wing, along the beach, during a storm — or handling the ‘pen-bas,’ our redoubtable Breton stick! Five or six soldiers armed with lances or swords would find more sores than pleasure if they rubbed against my Karadeucq with his ‘pen-bas.’ He is so robust, so agile, so dexterous! And then, he is so handsome, with his beautiful blond hair cut round and falling over the collar of his Gallic blouse; his eyes of the blue of heaven, and his stout cheeks tanned by the wind of the fields and the breeze of the sea!”
No! By the glorious bones of old Joel. No! He could not have been prouder of his three sons — Guilhern the field-laborer, Michael the armorer, and Albinik the mariner; or of his daughter Hena, the Virgin of the Isle of Sen — a now deserted island that, at this moment, looking out at the window, I see yonder, far away, almost in the open sea, veiled in mist. No! The good Joel could not be any prouder of his family than I, old Araim, am of my grandchildren! But the sons of Joel either fought valiantly for freedom or remained dead on the battlefield; and his daughter Hena, whose saintly and sweet name is sung to this day and has come down from century to century, disinterestedly laid her life on the altars of Hesus for the welfare of her country, while the children of my son will die, obscure like their father, in this corner of Gaul. At least they will die free! The barbarous Franks have twice dashed forward as far as the frontiers of our Britanny, but never dared to enter it; our impenetrable forests, our bottomless marshes, our inaccessible and rocky mountains, above all our sturdy men, quickly up and in arms in response to the call of our ever-beloved druids, the Christian as well as the non-Christian druids, have rolled back the Frankish marauders, who, however, have rendered themselves masters of our other provinces since nearly fifteen years ago.
Alas! After nearly two centuries, the gloomy prophecy of the foster sister of our ancestor Schanvoch has been verified. Victoria the Great predicted it but too accurately. Long ago did the Franks pour over our frontier of the Rhine; they have since spread themselves over the whole of Gaul and subjugated the land — except our Breton Armorica.
These are the reasons why old Araim believed that neither as a father nor a Breton did his obscure happiness deserve to be chronicled in our family records, and these are the reasons why, alas! he had too much to write as a Gaul. Is not the account of the defeat, the shame, the renewed slavery of our common country, too much to write about, although we here in Britanny are ourselves free from the misfortunes that overwhelm our brothers elsewhere?
“But,” meseems I hear you, my son Jocelyn, still insist, “why should old Araim, who has too little or too much to say, why should he begin his narrative to-day, rather than yesterday, or why did he not postpone starting to write until to-morrow?”
This is my answer, my son:
Read the narrative that I am now writing on that winter’s evening when you, your wife and your children will gather by the fire in the large hall of our farmhouse and await the return of my pet Karadeucq, who left for the chase early in the morning promising to bring home a stag. Read this narrative, it will recall to your mind the family gathering of the previous evening, my son Jocelyn — it will also inform you of something that you do not know. You will not thereafter ask again:
“Why did good Araim start this narrative to-day, and not yesterday?”
CHAPTER II.
FAIRIES AND HOBGOBLINS.
THE JANUARY SNOW and hail are falling in torrents; the wind moans; at a distance the sea roars and dashes inshore as far as the sacred stones of Karnak. It is only four o’clock in the afternoon, and yet it is night to all intents and purposes; the warmly stalled cattle are locked in; the gates of the farmyard are closed tightly out of fear of prowling wolves; a large fire shoots up its flames in the fireplace of the hall; old Araim is seated in his armchair, at the chimney-corner, with his large grey dog, its head streaked with the white of old age, stretched out at his feet. The old man is at work on a net for fishing; his son Jocelyn is fashioning a plough handle; Kervan is adjusting new thongs to a yoke; Karadeucq is sharpening the points of his arrows on a flint-stone
. The tempest will last till morning if not longer, because the sun went down like a ball of fire behind thick black clouds that wreathed the isle of Sen like a dense fog. Whenever the sun sets in that fashion and the wind blows from the west the tempest lasts two, three, sometimes four and five days. The next morning Karadeucq will be out on the beach to shoot sea-gulls while they graze with their wings the still raging waves. It is the lad’s amusement — my pet is such a skilful and expert archer!
The sea roars from the distance like rumbling thunder; the house rocks in the gale; the hail is heard clattering in the chimney. Roar, tempest! Blow, sea gale! Drop, both snow and hail! Ah! How good it feels to hear the ice-laden blast thunder, when one sees his family merrily gathered in the house around a blazing fireplace! And then, the young lads and their sister whisper things to one another that make them shiver and smile at once. For it does, indeed, look as if during the last century all the hobgoblins and all the fairies of Gaul have taken refuge in Britanny. Is it not a positive pleasure to hear tell during a tempest and by the fire those wonders to which one gives a lingering credence if one has not seen them himself, and more so if one has seen them?
This is what the young folks are saying to one another. My grandson Kervan starts the ball rolling as he shakes his head:
“The traveler who has lost his way and who should happen to pass to-night by the cavern of Pen-March will hear the hammers clang—”
“Yes, the hammers that beat in time while the devilish hammerers themselves sing their song, the burden of which ever is: ‘One, two, three, four, five, six, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday—’”
“And it is said they even add ‘Thursday,’ ‘Friday’ and ‘Saturday,’ but never ‘Sunday,’ the day of the mass — of the Christians.”
“And the traveler may prize himself happy if the little Dus do not drop their false coiners’ hammers and start to dance, compelling him to join in their reel until death closes upon him.”
“What dangerous demons those Dus must be, dwarfs no taller than barely two feet high! Meseems I see them, with their hairy and shriveled faces, their cats’ claws, their goats’ hoofs and their eyes flashing fire. The bare thought of them is enough to make one shiver.”
“Look out, Roselyk! There is one under the bin. Look out!”
“How imprudent you are, brother Karadeucq, to sport in that way over the Dus! Those hobgoblins are spiteful things. I tremble when I think of them.”
“As for me, were I to come across a band of these customers, I would capture two or three brace of them, I would tie them together by the legs like partridges — and off I would make with them—”
“Oh! You, Karadeucq, are not afraid of anything.”
“Justice should be done the little Dus. Although they do coin false money in the cavern of Pen-March, they are said to be excellent blacksmiths, and matchless in the shoeing of horses.”
“Yes, you may rely on that! From the moment a horse has been shod by those devilish dwarfs, he shoots fire out of his nostrils; and as to running — as to running without ever stopping for breath — either night or day — to even take a look at his rider—”
“Children, what a tempest! What a night!”
“Fine night for the little Dus, mother! They love storms and darkness! But it is a bad night for the poor little Korrigans, who love only the mild nights of the month of May.”
“Certes, I am dreadfully afraid of the hairy and clawy dwarfs with their purses full of false coin dangling from their belts and their blacksmith’s hammers on their shoulders. But I would be still more afraid if I were to run across a Korrigan, only two feet high, combing her hair, and looking at herself in some secluded fountain, in the clear water of which she is admiring those blonde tresses that they are so proud of.”
“What! Afraid of those pretty little fairies, brother Kervan! I, on the contrary, have often tried to meet one of them. It is said positively that they assemble at the fountain of Lyrwac’h-Hen, which lies in the thickest of the large oak forest that shades several druid stones. I have gone thither three times — and all the three times I saw nothing—”
“Luckily for you that you saw nothing Karadeucq, because it is said that the Korrigans never meet for their nocturnal dances except near the sacred stones. Woe to him who sees them!”
“I gather that they are expert musicians and that they sing like nightingales.”
“It is also said of them that they like to pilfer food like cats. Yes, Karadeucq, you may laugh — but you should believe me; I am no fibber,” observed his sister indignantly. “I have heard the rumor that at their nocturnal feasts they spread upon the sward, but always near a fountain, a cloth white as snow, and woven of the dainty thread that we find in summer on the meadows. In the very center of the cloth they place a crystal cup that shines so brightly, so very brightly, that it serves the fairies for a torch. People add that a single drop of the liquid in the cup would make one as wise as God.”
“And what do the Korrigans eat on that table cloth as white as snow? Do you know, Karadeucq, you who love them so much?”
“The dear little darlings! It can not be costly to nourish their rosy and transparent bodies that are hardly two feet high. Sister Roselyk says they are gourmands. What is it they eat? The juice of night flowers, served upon gold grass blades?”
“Gold grass blades? That superb grass that, if you step upon it, puts you to sleep and imparts to you the knowledge of the language of birds—”
“And what do the Korrigans drink?”
“The dew of heaven in the azure shell of wrens’ eggs — what boozers they are! But at the slightest sound of human feet — off they vanish. They vanish into the fountain and return to their crystal and coral palace at the bottom of the water. It is to the end of being able to escape quickly the sight of men that they always stay near the water. Oh, the pretty little fairies! I would give my best bow and twenty arrows, I would give all my fishing nets, I would give ten years, twenty years of my life to see a Korrigan!”
“Karadeucq, my son, make not such impious vows on such a stormy night as this — it may bring ill luck — I have never heard the enraged sea roar like this — it sounds like thunder—”
“Good mother, I would brave murky darkness, tempest and thunder to see a Korrigan!”
“Hold your tongue, rash boy, hold your tongue — do not say such words!”
“What a bold and venturesome lad you are, my boy!”
“Grandfather, you should join us in scolding my brother Karadeucq instead of encouraging him in his dangerous wishes. Do you not know—”
“What, my blonde Roselyk?”
“Alas! grandfather, the Korrigans steal the children of poor mothers and put little monsters in their place. The song so has it—”
“Let’s hear that song, my little Roselyk.”
“It runs this way, grandfather:
“Mary is very sad; she has lost her little Laoik; the Korrigan snatched him away.
“As I went to the spring for water I left my Laoik in his cradle; when I came back to the house, my little one was gone far away.
“And in its place the Korrigan left me this monster — with a face as red as a toad’s; he scratches and bites.
“And all day he wants to be nursed, and yet he is seven years old — and yet he wants to be nursed.
“Mary is very sad; she has lost her little Laoik; the Korrigan snatched him away!
“That is the song, grandfather. And will brother still want to meet the wicked things, these Korrigan fairies who snatch away babes?”
“What have you now to say in defense of your fairies, my pet?”
“Grandfather, my sweet sister Roselyk has been imposed upon by evil tongues. All mothers with ugly urchins for children declare that the Korrigans substituted a little monster for their darling.”
“Well answered, my grandson!”
“And, on my part, I maintain that the Korrigans are, on the contrary, sweet and serviceable. Do you know the v
alley of Helle?”
“Yes, my dare-devil.”
“One time the finest hay in the world was to be got in that valley —
“ ‘Hay from Helle, perfumed hay.’”
“Well, that was thanks to the Korrigans—”
“Indeed? Tell me how—”
“When the time for mowing and haymaking came around, the Korrigans arrived and camped on the crests of the rocks around the valley to watch over the meadow. If during the day the sun parched the grass too much, the Korrigans caused a plentiful dew to drop. When the grass was mowed, they scattered the clouds that might have interfered with the making of hay. A foolish and wicked bishop wanted to chase away the pretty and kind fairies. He caused a large heather fire to be kindled early one night all over the rocks; when these were sufficiently hot, the ashes, were all carefully removed. At their regular hour, and suspecting nothing, the dear Korrigans came to hold watch over the meadow, but they instantly burned their feet on the hot rocks. They then wept and cried: ‘Oh! Wicked world! Oh! Wicked world!’ Since then they never more returned to the place, and as a consequence, ever since, the hay has been either rotted by the rain, or burned by the sun in the valley of Helle. That is what comes of being unkind to the Korrigans. No, I shall not die happy if I do not see at least one of them—”
“Children, children, put no faith in such witcheries; above all never wish to witness any. It brings bad luck—”
“What, mother, simply because I desire to see a Korrigan, some misfortune will befall me? What kind of misfortune?”