The Miserable World

Chapter 64 Part One (63)
This deputy had been a member of the legislative body of the Empire，and shared the religious ideas of a father of the Oratoire，known under the name of Fouche，Duc d'Otrante，whose creature and friend he had been.
He indulged in gentle raillery at God with closed doors.
But when he beheld the wealthy manufacturer Madeleine going to low mass at seven o'clock，he perceived in him a possible candidate，and resolved to outdo him；he took a Jesuit confessor，and went to high mass and to vespers.Ambition was at that time，in the direct acceptation of the word，a race to the steeple.
The poor profited by this terror as well as the good God，for the honorable deputy also founded two beds in the hospital，which made twelve.
Nevertheless，in 1819 a rumor one morning circulated through the town to the effect that，on the representations of the prefect and in consideration of the services rendered by him to the country，Father Madeleine was to be appointed by the King，mayor of M.sur M.Those who had pronounced this new-comer to be'an ambitious fellow，'seized with delight on this opportunity which all men desire，to exclaim，'There！what did we say！'
All M.sur M.was in an uproar.The rumor was well founded.
Several days later the appointment appeared in the Moniteur.
On the following day Father Madeleine refused.
In this same year of 1819 the products of the new process invented by Madeleine figured in the industrial exhibition；when the jury made their report，the King appointed the inventor a chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
A fresh excitement in the little town.Well，so it was the cross that he wanted！

Father Madeleine refused the cross.
Decidedly this man was an enigma.
The good souls got out of their predicament by saying，'After all，he is some sort of an adventurer.'
We have seen that the country owed much to him；the poor owed him everything；he was so useful and he was so gentle that people had been obliged to honor and respect him.
His workmen，in particular，adored him，and he endured this adoration with a sort of melancholy gravity.When he was known to be rich，'people in society'bowed to him，and he received invitations in the town；he was called，in town，Monsieur Madeleine；his workmen and the children continued to call him Father Madeleine，and that was what was most adapted to make him smile.In proportion as he mounted，throve，invitations rained down upon him.'Society'claimed him for its own.
The prim little drawing-rooms on M.sur M.，which，of course，had at first been closed to the artisan，opened both leaves of their folding-doors to the millionnaire.They made a thousand advances to him.
He refused.
This time the good gossips had no trouble.
'He is an ignorant man，of no education.
No one knows where he came from.
He would not know how to behave in society.
It has not been absolutely proved that he knows how to read.'
When they saw him making money，they said，'He is a man of business.'When they saw him scattering his money about，they said，'He is an ambitious man.'
When he was seen to decline honors，they said，'He is an adventurer.'
When they saw him repulse society，they said，'He is a brute.'
In 1820，five years after his arrival in M.sur M.，the services which he had rendered to the district were so dazzling，the opinion of the whole country round about was so unanimous，that the King again appointed him mayor of the town.
He again declined；but the prefect resisted his refusal，all the notabilities of the place came to implore him，the people in the street besought him；the urging was so vigorous that he ended by accepting.It was noticed that the thing which seemed chiefly to bring him to a decision was the almost irritated apostrophe addressed to him by an old woman of the people，who called to him from her threshold，in an angry way：

'A good mayor is a useful thing.
Is he drawing back before the good which he can do？'
This was the third phase of his ascent.
Father Madeleine had become Monsieur Madeleine.
Monsieur Madeleine became Monsieur le Maire.
BOOK FIFTH.——THE DESCENT
Ⅲ　SUMS DEPOSITED WITH LAFFITTE
On the other hand，he remained as simple as on the first day.He had gray hair，a serious eye，the sunburned complexion of a laborer，the thoughtful visage of a philosopher.
He habitually wore a hat with a wide brim，and a long coat of coarse cloth，buttoned to the chin.He fulfilled his duties as mayor；but，with that exception，he lived in solitude.
He spoke to but few people.
He avoided polite attentions；he escaped quickly；he smiled to relieve himself of the necessity of talking；he gave，in order to get rid of the necessity for smiling，The women said of him，'What a good-natured bear！'
His pleasure consisted in strolling in the fields.
He always took his meals alone，with an open book before him，which he read.
He had a well-selected little library.
He loved books；books are cold but safe friends.
In proportion as leisure came to him with fortune，he seemed to take advantage of it to cultivate his mind.
It had been observed that，ever since his arrival at M.sur Mhis language had grown more polished，more choice，and more gentle with every passing year.
He liked to carry a gun with him on his strolls，but he rarely made use of it.When he did happen to do so，his shooting was something so infallible as to inspire terror.
He never killed an inoffensive animal.He never shot at a little bird.
Although he was no longer young，it was thought that he was still prodigiously strong.
He offered his assistance to any one who was in need of it，lifted a horse，released a wheel clogged in the mud，or stopped a runaway bull by the horns.
He always had his pockets full of money when he went out；but they were empty on his return.When he passed through a village，the ragged brats ran joyously after him，and surrounded him like a swarm of gnats.
It was thought that he must，in the past，have lived a country life，since he knew all sorts of useful secrets，which he taught to the peasants.
(End of this chapter)