“Such as—?” said Godefroid, hoping for further revelations.

“I must tell you that we are as rich as Baron de Nucingen himself.  But the ‘Imitation of Jesus Christ’ forbids us to regard our wealth as our own.  We are only the spenders of it; and if we had any pride in being that, we should not be worthy of dispensing it.  It would not be transire benefaciendo; it would be inward enjoyment.  For if you say to yourself with a swelling of the nostrils, ’I play the part of Providence!’ (as you might have thought if you had been in my place this morning and saved the future lives of a whole family), you would become a Sardanapalus,—­an evil one!  None of these gentlemen living here thinks of himself when he does good.  All vanity, all pride, all self-love, must be stripped off, and that is hard to do,—­yes, very hard.”

Godefroid bade him good-night, and returned to his own room, deeply affected by this narrative.  But his curiosity was more whetted than satisfied, for the central figure of the picture was Madame de la Chanterie.  The history of the life of that woman became of the utmost importance to him, so that he made the obtaining of it the object of his stay in that house.  He already perceived in this association of five persons a vast enterprise of Charity; but he thought far less of that than he did of its heroine.

VIII

WHO SHE WAS—­WIFE AND MOTHER

The would-be disciple passed many days in observing more carefully than he had hitherto done the rare persons among whom fate had brought him; and he became the subject of a moral phenomenon which modern philosophers have despised,—­possibly out of ignorance.

The sphere in which he lived had a positive action upon Godefroid.  The laws which regulate the physical nature under relation to the atmospheric environment in which it is developed, rule also in the moral nature.  Hence it follows that the assembling together of condemned prisoners is one of the greatest of social crimes; and also that their isolation is an experiment of doubtful success.  Condemned criminals ought to be in religious institutions, surrounded by prodigies of Good, instead of being cast as they are into sight and knowledge of Evil only.  The Church can be expected to show an absolute devotion in this matter.  If it sends missionaries to heathen or savage nations, with how much greater joy would it welcome the mission of redeeming the heathen of civilization? for all criminals are atheists, and often without knowing they are so.

Godefroid found these five associated persons endowed with the qualities they required in him.  They were all without pride, without vanity, truly humble and pious; also without any of the pretension which constitutes devotion, using that word in its worst sense.  These virtues were contagious; he was filled with a desire to imitate these hidden heroes, and he ended by passionately studying the book he had begun by despising.  Within two weeks he reduced