Pagina 293 de 896

All the people of the village were at the fountain, standing

about in their depressed manner, and whispering low, but showing

no other emotions than grim curiosity and surprise. The led cows,

hastily brought in and tethered to anything that would hold them,

were looking stupidly on, or lying down chewing the cud of

nothing particularly repaying their trouble, which they had

picked up in their interrupted saunter. Some of the people of the

chateau, and some of those of the posting-house, and all the

taxing authorities, were armed more or less, and were crowded on

the other side of the little street in a purposeless way, that

was highly fraught with nothing. Already, the mender of roads had

penetrated into the midst of a group of fifty particular friends,

and was smiting himself in the breast with his blue cap.