第23章

repliedMadameBovarysenior。

“Shewantstobeforcedtooccupyherselfwithsomemanualwork。

Ifshewereobliged，likesomanyothers，toearnherliving，shewouldn’thavethesevapours，thatcometoherfromalotofideasshestuffsintoherhead，andfromtheidlenessinwhichshelives。

Yetsheisalwaysbusy，“saidCharles。

“Ah!alwaysbusyatwhat？Readingnovels，badbooks，worksagainstreligion，andinwhichtheymockatpriestsinspeechestakenfromVoltaire。Butallthatleadsyoufarastray，mypoorchild。Anyonewhohasnoreligionalwaysendsbyturningoutbadly。“

SoitwasdecidedtostopEmmareadingnovels。Theenterprisedidnotseemeasy。Thegoodladyundertookit。Shewas，whenshepassedthroughRouen，togoherselftothelending-libraryandrepresentthatEmmahaddiscontinuedhersubscription。Wouldtheynothavearighttoapplytothepoliceifthelibrarianpersistedallthesameinhispoisonoustrade？Thefarewellsofmotheranddaughter-in-lawwerecold。Duringthethreeweeksthattheyhadbeentogethertheyhadnotexchangedhalf-a-dozenwordsapartfromtheinquiriesandphraseswhentheymetattableandintheeveningbeforegoingtobed。

MadameBovaryleftonaWednesday，themarket-dayatYonville。

ThePlacesincemorninghadbeenblockedbyarowofcarts，which，onendandtheirshaftsintheair，spreadallalongthelineofhousesfromthechurchtotheinn。Ontheothersidetherewerecanvasbooths，wherecottonchecks，blankets，andwoollenstockingsweresold，togetherwithharnessforhorses，andpacketsofblueribbon，whoseendsflutteredinthewind。Thecoarsehardwarewasspreadoutonthegroundbetweenpyramidsofeggsandhampersofcheeses，fromwhichstickystrawstuckout。

Nearthecorn-machinescluckinghenspassedtheirnecksthroughthebarsofflatcages。Thepeople，crowdinginthesameplaceandunwillingtomovethence，sometimesthreatenedtosmashtheshopfrontofthechemist。OnWednesdayshisshopwasneverempty，andthepeoplepushedinlesstobuydrugsthanforconsultations。SogreatwasHomais’reputationintheneighbouringvillages。Hisrobustaplombhadfascinatedtherustics。Theyconsideredhimagreaterdoctorthanallthedoctors。

Emmawasleaningoutatthewindow；shewasoftenthere。Thewindowintheprovincesreplacesthetheatreandthepromenade，shewasamusingherselfwithwatchingthecrowdofboorswhenshesawagentlemaninagreenvelvetcoat。Hehadonyellowgloves，althoughheworeheavygaiters；hewascomingtowardsthedoctor’shouse，followedbyapeasantwalkingwithabentheadandquiteathoughtfulair。

“CanIseethedoctor？“heaskedJustin，whowastalkingonthedoorstepswithFelicite，and，takinghimforaservantofthehouse——“TellhimthatMonsieurRodolpheBoulangerofLaHuchetteishere。“

Itwasnotfromterritorialvanitythatthenewarrivaladded“ofLaHuchette“tohisname，buttomakehimselfthebetterknown。

LaHuchette，infact，wasanestatenearYonville，wherehehadjustboughtthechateauandtwofarmsthathecultivatedhimself，without，however，troublingverymuchaboutthem。Helivedasabachelor，andwassupposedtohave“atleastfifteenthousandfrancsayear。“

Charlescameintotheroom。MonsieurBoulangerintroducedhisman，whowantedtobebledbecausehefelt“atinglingallover。“

“That’llpurgeme，“heurgedasanobjectiontoallreasoning。

SoBovaryorder