FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171  
172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   >>   >|  
"How hard she has toiled, poor thing, to educate her lad all alone, and how much she has wept since she no longer goes out, save to go to church, God only knows." "This also is true," said the others. Then no more was heard than the bellows which fanned the fire of the furnace. Phillip hastily bent himself down to Simon: "Go and tell your mamma that I shall come to speak to her." Then he pushed the child out by the shoulders. He returned to his work and with a single blow the five hammers again fell upon their anvils. Thus they wrought the iron until nightfall, strong, powerful, happy, like hammers satisfied. But just as the great bell of a cathedral resounds upon feast days above the jingling of the other bells, so Phillip's hammer, dominating the noise of the others, clanged second after second with a deafening uproar. And he, his eye on fire, plied his trade vigorously, erect amid the sparks. The sky was full of stars as he knocked at La Blanchotte's door. He had his Sunday blouse on, a fresh shirt, and his beard was trimmed. The young woman showed herself upon the threshold and said in a grieved tone: "It is ill to come thus when night has fallen, Mr. Phillip." He wished to answer, but stammered and stood confused before her. She resumed: "And still you understand quite well that it will not do that I should be talked about any more." Then he said all at once: "What does that matter to me, if you will be my wife!" No voice replied to him, but he believed that he heard in the shadow of the room the sound of a body which sank down. He entered very quickly; and Simon, who had gone to his bed, distinguished the sound of a kiss and some words that his mother said very softly. Then he suddenly found himself lifted up by the hands of his friend, who, holding him at the length of his herculean arms, exclaimed to him: "You will tell them, your school-fellows, that your papa is Phillip Remy, the blacksmith, and that he will pull the ears of all who do you any harm." On the morrow, when the school was full and lessons were about to begin, little Simon stood up quite pale with trembling lips: "My papa," said he in a clear voice, "is Phillip Remy, the blacksmith, and he has promised to box the ears of all who do me any harm." This time no one laughed any longer, for he was very well known, was Phillip Remy, the blacksmith, and was a papa of whom anyone in the world would have been proud.
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171  
172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Phillip
 

blacksmith

 

hammers

 

school

 

longer

 
answer
 
believed
 

replied

 
fallen
 

shadow


wished

 

resumed

 
understand
 

talked

 
matter
 

confused

 
stammered
 
herculean
 

trembling

 

promised


morrow

 

lessons

 

laughed

 

mother

 

softly

 

distinguished

 

entered

 

quickly

 

suddenly

 

exclaimed


fellows

 
length
 

lifted

 

friend

 

holding

 
shoulders
 

returned

 
single
 

pushed

 
wrought

nightfall
 

strong

 
anvils
 
hastily
 

furnace

 

educate

 
toiled
 

bellows

 
fanned
 

church