played a great part in Paris, where he bought one of the finest
mansions in the Faubuorg Saint-Germain after marrying the only
daughter of a rich contractor named Sibuelle. He never came to
Gondreville; leaving all matters concerning the property to the
management of Grevin, the Arcis notary. After all, what had he to
fear?--he, a former representative of the Aube, and president of a
club of Jacobins. And yet, the unfavorable opinion of Michu held by
the lower classes was shared by the bourgeoisie, and Marion, Grevin,
and Malin, without giving any reason or compromising themselves on the
subject, showed that they regarded him as an extremely dangerous man.
The authorities, who were under instructions from the minister of
police to watch the bailiff, did not of course lessen this belief. The
neighborhood wondered that he kept his place, but supposed it was in
consequence of the terror he inspired. It is easy now, after these
explanations, to understand the anxiety and sadness expressed in the
face of Michu's wife.

In the first place, Marthe had been piously brought up by her mother.
Both, being good Catholics, had suffered much from the opinions and
behavior of the tanner. Marthe could never think without a blush of
having marched through the street of Troyes in the garb of a goddess.
Her father had forced her to marry Michu, whose bad reputation was
then increasing, and she feared him too much to be able to judge him.
Nevertheless, she knew that he loved her, and at the bottom of her
heart lay the truest affection for this awe-inspiring man; she had
never known him to do anything that was not just; never did he say a
brutal word, to her at least; in fact, he endeavored to forestall her
every wish. The poor pariah, believing himself disagreeable to his
wife, spent most of his time out of doors. Marthe and Michu,
distrustful of each other, lived in what is called in these days an