Chapter 8 Summary

After his visit to the doctor in Lille, the priest's first impulse is to catch a train to see the Curé de Torcy. However, he soon realizes this impulse is foolish. The priest thinks to himself that even if his appointment had gone well, he probably would have still gone to the same pub in which he finds himself now, and that he still would have written in his diary. Although the priest writes that he first looked for comfort in a church, he did not find what he was looking for. In wandering the city, he but finds himself in the back room of a small pub.

The priest finally works up the courage to write in his diary the particulars of his doctor's appointment. It seems that Dr. Lavigne meets with patients in his own home and on this particular day...