The Miserable World

Chapter 4 Part One (3)
'Monseigneur has not even claimed the allowance which the department owes him for the expense of his carriage in town，and for his journeys about the diocese.
It was customary for bishops in former days.'
'Hold！'cried the Bishop，'you are quite right，Madame Magloire.'
And he made his demand.
Some time afterwards the General Council took this demand under consideration，and voted him an annual sum of three thousand francs，under this heading：

Allowance to M.the Bishop for expenses of carriage，expenses of posting，and expenses of pastoral visits.
This provoked a great outcry among the local burgesses；and a senator of the Empire，a former member of the Council of the Five Hundred which favored the 18 Brumaire，and who was provided with a magnificent senatorial office in the vicinity of the town of D——，wrote to M.Bigot de Preameneu，the minister of public worship，a very angry and confidential note on the subject，from which we extract these authentic lines：——

'Expenses of carriage？

What can be done with it in a town of less than four thousand inhabitants？

Expenses of journeys？

What is the use of these trips，in the first place？

Next，how can the posting be accomplished in these mountainous parts？

There are no roads.No one travels otherwise than on horseback.
Even the bridge between Durance and Chateau-Arnoux can barely support ox-teams.These priests are all thus，greedy and avaricious.
This man played the good priest when he first came.
Now he does like the rest；he must have a carriage and a posting-chaise，he must have luxuries，like the bishops of the olden days.
Oh，all this priesthood！Things will not go well，M.le Comte，until the Emperor has freed us from these black-capped rascals.
Down with the Pope！

[Matters were getting embroiled with Rome.]For my part，I am for Caesar alone.'Etc.，etc.
On the other hand，this affair afforded great delight to Madame Magloire.'Good，'said she to Mademoiselle Baptistine；'Monseigneur began with other people，but he has had to wind up with himself，after all.He has regulated all his charities.
Now here are three thousand francs for us！

At last！

That same evening the Bishop wrote out and handed to his sister a memorandum conceived in the following terms：——

EXPENSES OF CARRIAGE AND CIRCUIT.
For furnishing meat soup to the patients in the hospital.1，500 livres
For the maternity charitable society of Aix……250
For the maternity charitable society of Draguignan……250
For foundlings……500
For orphans……500
Total……3，000
Such was M.Myriel's budget.
As for the chance episcopal perquisites，the fees for marriage bans，dispensations，private baptisms，sermons，benedictions，of churches or chapels，marriages，etc.，the Bishop levied them on the wealthy with all the more asperity，since he bestowed them on the needy.
After a time，offerings of money flowed in.
Those who had and those who lacked knocked at M.Myriel's door，——the latter in search of the alms which the former came to deposit.
In less than a year the Bishop had become the treasurer of all benevolence and the cashier of all those in distress.
Considerable sums of money passed through his hands，but nothing could induce him to make any change whatever in his mode of life，or add anything superfluous to his bare necessities.
Far from it.
As there is always more wretchedness below than there is brotherhood above，all was given away，so to speak，before it was received.
It was like water on dry soil；no matter how much money he received，he never had any.
Then he stripped himself.
The usage being that bishops shall announce their baptismal names at the head of their charges and their pastoral letters，the poor people of the country-side had selected，with a sort of affectionate instinct，among the names and prenomens of their bishop，that which had a meaning for them；and they never called him anything except Monseigneur Bienvenu[Welcome].We will follow their example，and will also call him thus when we have occasion to name him.
Moreover，this appellation pleased him.
'I like that name，'said he.
'Bienvenu makes up for the Monseigneur.'
We do not claim that the portrait herewith presented is probable；we confine ourselves to stating that it resembles the original.
Ⅲ　A HARD BISHOPRIC FOR A GOOD BISHOP
The Bishop did not omit his pastoral visits because he had converted his carriage into alms.
The diocese of D——is a fatiguing one.There are very few plains and a great many mountains；hardly any roads，as we have just seen；thirty-two curacies，forty-one vicarships，and two hundred and eighty-five auxiliary chapels.
To visit all these is quite a task.
The Bishop managed to do it.
He went on foot when it was in the neighborhood，in a tilted spring-cart when it was on the plain，and on a donkey in the mountains.
The two old women accompanied him.When the trip was too hard for them，he went alone.
One day he arrived at Senez，which is an ancient episcopal city.He was mounted on an ass.
His purse，which was very dry at that moment，did not permit him any other equipage.
The mayor of the town came to receive him at the gate of the town，and watched him dismount from his ass，with scandalized eyes.
Some of the citizens were laughing around him.
'Monsieur the Mayor，'said the Bishop，'and Messieurs Citizens，I perceive that I shock you.
You think it very arrogant in a poor priest to ride an animal which was used by Jesus Christ.
I have done so from necessity，I assure you，and not from vanity.'
In the course of these trips he was kind and indulgent，and talked rather than preached.
He never went far in search of his arguments and his examples.
He quoted to the inhabitants of one district the example of a neighboring district.
In the cantons where they were harsh to the poor，he said：

(End of this chapter)