y four limbs, I had now only my
right hand, and even that had lost its strength; so it was necessary
to find some gentlemanly occupation for it. After trying a little of
everything, I fell upon card-box making, and here I am at cases for the
lace and buttons of the national guard; it is work of little profit, but
it is within the capacity of all. By getting up at four and working
till eight, I earn sixty-five centimes; my lodging and bowl of soup
take fifty of them, and there are three sous over for luxuries. So I am
richer than France herself, for I have no deficit in my budget; and I
continue to serve her, as I save her lace and buttons."

At these words Father Chaufour looked at me with a smile, and with his
great scissors began cutting the green paper again for his cardboard
cases. My heart was touched, and I remained lost in thought.

Here is still another member of that sacred phalanx who, in the battle
of life, always march in front for the example and the salvation of the
world! Each of these brave soldiers has his war-cry; for this one it is
"Country," for that "Home," for a third "Mankind;" but they all
follow the same standard--that of duty; for all the same divine law
reigns--that of self-sacrifice. To love something more than one's
self--that is the secret of all that is great; to know how to live for
others--that is the aim of all noble souls.

CHAPTER XI. MORAL USE OF INVENTORIES

November 13th, Nine O'clock P.M.

I had well stopped up the chinks of my window; my little carpet was
nailed down in its place; my lamp, provided with its shade, cast a
subdued light around, and my stove made a low, murmuring sound, as if
some live creature was sharing my hearth with me.

All was silent around me. But, out of doors the snow and rain swept the
roofs, and with a low, rushing sound ran along the gurgling gutters;
sometimes a gust of wind forced itself beneath the tiles, which
rattled together like castanets, and afterward it was lost in the empty
corridor. Then a slight and pleasurable shiver thrilled through my
veins: I drew the flaps of my old wadded dressing-gown around me, I
pulled my threadbare velvet cap over my eyes, and, letting myself sink
deeper into my easy-chair, while my feet basked in the heat and light
which shone through the door of the stove, I gave myself up to a
sensation of enjoyment, made more lively by the consciousness of the
storm which raged without. My eyes, swimming in a sort