About a quarter of an hour elapsed. The prioress returned and seated herself once more on her chair.
The two interlocutors seemed preoccupied. We will present a stenographic report of the dialogue which then ensued, to the best of our ability.
"Father Fauvent!"
"Reverend Mother!"
"Do you know the chapel?"
"I have a little cage there, where I hear the mass and the offices."
"And you have been in the choir in pursuance of your duties?"
"Two or three times."
"There is a stone to be raised."
"Heavy?"
"The slab of the pavement which is at the side of the altar."
"The slab which closes the vault?"
"Yes."
"It would be a good thing to have two men for it."
"Mother Ascension, who is as strong as a man, will help you."
"A woman is never a man."
"We have only a woman here to help you. Each one does what he can. Because Dom Mabillon gives four hundred and seventeen epistles of Saint Bernard, while Merlonus Horstius only gives three hundred and sixty-seven, I do not despise Merlonus Horstius."
"Neither do I."
"Merit consists in working according to one's strength. A cloister is not a dock-yard."
"And a woman is not a man. But my brother is the strong one, though!"
"And can you get a lever?"
"That is the only sort of key that fits that sort of door."
"There is a ring in the stone."
"I will put the lever through it."
"And the stone is so arranged that it swings on a pivot."
"That is good, reverend Mother. I will open the vault."
"And the four Mother Precentors will help you."
"And when the vault is open?"
"It must be closed again."
"Will that be all?"
"No."
"Give me your orders, very reverend Mother."
"Fauvent, we have confidence in you."
"I am here to do anything you wish."
"And to hold your peace about everything!"
"Yes, reverend Mother."
"When the vault is open--"
"I will close it again."
"But before that--"
"What, reverend Mother?"
"Something must be lowered into it."
A silence ensued. The prioress, after a pout of the under lip which resembled hesitation, broke it.
"Father Fauvent!"
"Reverend Mother!"
"You know that a mother died this morning?"
"No."
"Did you not hear the bell?"
"Nothing can be heard at the bottom of the garden."
"Really?"
"I can hardly distinguish my own signal."
"She died at daybreak."
"And then, the wind is not blowing in my direction this morning."
"It was Mother Crucifixion. A blessed woman."
The prioress paused, moved her lips, as though in mental prayer, and resumed:--
"Three years ago, Madame de Bethune, a Jansenist, turned orthodox, merely from having seen Mother Crucifixion at prayer."
"Ah! yes, now I hear the knell, reverend Mother."
"The mothers have taken her to the dead-room, which opens on the church."
"I know."
"No other man than you can or must enter that chamber. See to that. A fine sight it would be, to see a man enter the dead-room!"
"More often!"
"Hey?"
"More often!"
"What do you say?"
"I say more often."
"More often than what?"
"Reverend Mother, I did not say more often than what, I said more often."
"I don't understand you. Why do you say more often?"
"In order to speak like you, reverend Mother."
"But I did not say `more often.'"
At that moment, nine o'clock struck.
"At nine o'clock in the morning and at all hours, praised and adored be the most Holy Sacrament of the altar," said the prioress.
"Amen," said Fauchelevent.
The clock struck opportunely. It cut "more often" short. It is probable, that had it not been for this, the prioress and Fauchelevent would never have unravelled that skein.
Fauchelevent mopped his forehead.
The prioress indulged in another little inward murmur, probably sacred, then raised her voice:--
"In her lifetime, Mother Crucifixion made converts; after her death, she will perform miracles."
"She will!" replied Father Fauchelevent, falling into step, and striving not to flinch again.
"Father Fauvent, the community has been blessed in Mother Crucifixion. No doubt, it is not granted to every one to die, like Cardinal de Berulle, while saying the holy mass, and to breathe forth their souls to God, while pronouncing these words: Hanc igitur oblationem. But without attaining to such happiness, Mother Crucifixion's death was very precious. She retained her consciousness to the very last moment. She spoke to us, then she spoke to the angels. She gave us her last commands. If you had a little more faith, and if you could have been in her cell, she would have cured your leg merely by touching it. She smiled. We felt that she was regaining her life in God. There was something of paradise in that death."
Fauchelevent thought that it was an orison which she was finishing.
"Amen," said he.
"Father Fauvent, what the dead wish must be done."
The prioress took off several beads of her chaplet. Fauchelevent held his peace.
She went on:--
"I have consulted upon this point many ecclesiastics laboring in Our Lord, who occupy themselves in the exercises of the clerical life, and who bear wonderful fruit."
"Reverend Mother, you can hear the knell much better here than in the garden."
"Besides, she is more than a dead woman, she is a saint."
"Like yourself, reverend Mother."
"She slept in her coffin for twenty years, by express permission of our Holy Father, Pius VII.--"
"The one who crowned the Emp--Buonaparte."
For a clever man like Fauchelevent, this allusion was an awkward one. Fortunately, the prioress, completely absorbed in her own thoughts, did not hear it. She continued:--
"Father Fauvent?"
"Reverend Mother?"
"Saint Didorus, Archbishop of Cappadocia, desired that this single word might be inscribed on his tomb: Acarus, which signifies, a worm of the earth; this was done. Is this true?"
"Yes, reverend Mother."
"The blessed Mezzocane, Abbot of Aquila, wished to be buried beneath the gallows; this was done."
"That is true."
"Saint Terentius, Bishop of Port, where the mouth of the Tiber empties into the sea, requested that on his tomb might be engraved the sign which was placed on the graves of parricides, in the hope that passers-by would spit on his tomb. This was done. The dead must be obeyed."
"So be it."
"The body of Bernard Guidonis, born in France near Roche-Abeille, was, as he had ordered, and in spite of the king of Castile, borne to the church of the Dominicans in Limoges, although Bernard Guidonis was Bishop of Tuy under of the Saintete Claustrale, he was the Basil of the West. His order has produced forty popes, two hundred cardinals, fifty patriarchs, sixteen hundred archbishops, four thousand six hundred bishops, four emperors, twelve empresses, forty-six kings, forty-one queens, three thousand six hundred canonized saints, and has been in existence for fourteen hundred years. On one side Saint Bernard, on the other the agent of the sanitary department! On one side Saint Benoit, on the other the inspector of public ways! The state, the road commissioners, the public undertaker, regulations, the administration, what do we know of all that? There is not a chance passer-by who would not be indignant to see how we are treated. We have not even the right to give our dust to Jesus Christ! Your sanitary department is a revolutionary invention. God subordinated to the commissary of police; such is the age. Silence, Fauvent!"
<s??
"Where?"
"Into the vault."
"What vault?"
"Under the altar."
Fauchelevent started.
"The vault under the altar?"
"Under the altar."
"But--"
"You will have an iron bar."
"Yes, but--"
"You will raise the stone with the bar by means of the ring."
"But--"
"The dead must be obeyed. To be buried in the vault under the altar of the chapel, not to go to profane earth; to remain there in death where she prayed while living; such was the last wish of Mother Crucifixion. She asked it of us; that is to say, commanded us."
"But it is forbidden."
"Forbidden by men, enjoined by God."
"What if it became known?"
"We have confidence in you."
"Oh! I am a stone in your walls."
"The chapter assembled. The vocal mothers, whom I have just consulted again, and who are now deliberating, have decided that Mother Crucifixion shall be buried, according to her wish, in her own coffin, under our altar. Think, Father Fauvent, if she were to work miracles here! What a glory of God for the community! And miracles issue from tombs."
"But, reverend Mother, if the agent of the sanitary commission--"
"Saint Benoit II., in the matter of sepulture, resisted Constantine Pogonatus."
"But the commissary of police--"
"Chonodemaire, one of the seven German kings who entered among the Gauls under the Empire of Constantius, expressly recognized the right of nuns to be buried in religion, that is to say, beneath the altar."
"But the inspector from the Prefecture--"
"The world is nothing in the presence of the cross. Martin, the eleventh general of the Carthusians, gave to his order this device: Stat crux dum volvitur orbis."
"Amen," said Fauchelevent, who imperturbably extricated himself in this manner from the dilemma, whenever he heard Latin.
Any audience suffices for a person who has held his peace too long. On the day when the rhetorician Gymnastoras left his prison, bearing in his body many dilemmas and numerous syllogisms which had struck in, he halted in front of the first tree which he came to, harangued it and made very GREat efforts to convince it. The prioress, who was usually subjected to the barrier of silence, and whose reservoir was overfull, rose and exclaimed with the loquacity of a dam which has broken away:--
"I have on my right Benoit and on my left Bernard. Who was Bernard? The first abbot of Clairvaux. Fontaines in Burgundy is a country that is blest because it gave him birth. His father was named Tecelin, and his mother Alethe. He began at Citeaux, to end in Clairvaux; he was ordained abbot by the bishop of Chalon-sur-Saone, Guillaume de Champeaux; he had seven hundred novices, and founded a hundred and sixty monasteries; he overthrew Abeilard at the council of Sens in 1140, and Pierre de Bruys and Henry his disciple, and another sort of erring spirits who were called the Apostolics; he confounded Arnauld de Brescia, darted lightning at the monk Raoul, the murderer of the Jews, dominated the council of Reims in 1148, caused the condemnation of Gilbert de Porea, Bishop of Poitiers, caused the condemnation of Eon de l'Etoile, arranged the disputes of princes, enlightened King Louis the Young, advised Pope Eugene III., regulated the Temple, preached the crusade, performed two hundred and fifty miracles during his lifetime, and as many as thirty-nine in one day. Who was Benoit? He was the patriarch of Mont-Cassin; he was the second founder of the Saintete Claustrale, he was the Basil of the West. His order has produced forty popes, two hundred cardinals, fifty patriarchs, sixteen hundred archbishops, four thousand six hundred bishops, four emperors, twelve empresses, forty-six kings, forty-one queens, three thousand six hundred canonized saints, and has been in existence for fourteen hundred years. On one side Saint Bernard, on the other the agent of the sanitary department! On one side Saint Benoit, on the other the inspector of public ways! The state, the road commissioners, the public undertaker, regulations, the administration, what do we know of all that? There is not a chance passer-by who would not be indignant to see how we are treated. We have not even the right to give our dust to Jesus Christ! Your sanitary department is a revolutionary invention. God subordinated to the commissary of police; such is the age. Silence, Fauvent!"
Fauchelevent was but ill at ease under this shower bath. The prioress continued:--
"No one doubts the right of the monastery to sepulture. Only fanatics and those in error deny it. We live in times of terrible confusion. We do not know that which it is necessary to know, and we know that which we should ignore. We are ignorant and impious. In this age there exist people who do not distinguish between the very great Saint Bernard and the Saint Bernard denominated of the poor Catholics, a certain good ecclesiastic who lived in the thirteenth century. Others are so blasphemous as to compare the scaffold of Louis XVI. to the cross of Jesus Christ. Louis XVI. was merely a king. Let us beware of God! There is no longer just nor unjust. The name of Voltaire is known, but not the name of Cesar de Bus. Nevertheless, Cesar de Bus is a man of blessed memory, and Voltaire one of unblessed memory. The last arch-bishop, the Cardinal de Perigord, did not even know that Charles de Gondren succeeded to Berulle, and Francois Bourgoin to Gondren, and Jean-Francois Senault to Bourgoin, and Father Sainte-Marthe to Jean-Francois Senault. The name of Father Coton is known, not because he was one of the three who urged the foundation of the Oratorie, but because he furnished Henri IV., the Huguenot king, with the material for an oath. That which pleases people of the world in Saint Francois de Sales, is that he cheated at play. And then, religion is attacked. Why? Because there have been bad priests, because Sagittaire, Bishop of Gap, was the brother of Salone, Bishop of Embrun, and because both of them followed Mommol. What has that to do with the question? Does that prevent Martin de Tours from being a saint, and giving half of his cloak to a beggar? They persecute the saints. They shut their eyes to the truth. Darkness is the rule. The most ferocious beasts are beasts which are blind. No one thinks of hell as a reality. Oh! how wicked people are! By order of the king signifies to-day, by order of the revolution. One no longer knows what is due to the living or to the dead. A holy death is prohibited. Burial is a civil matter. This is horrible. Saint Leo II. wrote two special letters, one to Pierre Notaire, the other to the king of the Visigoths, for the purpose of combating and rejecting, in questions touching the dead, the authority of the exarch and the supremacy of the Emperor. Gauthier, Bishop of Chalons, held his own in this matter against Otho, Duke of Burgundy. The ancient magistracy agreed with him. In former times we had voices in the chapter, even on matters of the day. The Abbot of Citeaux, the general of the order, was councillor by right of birth to the parliament of Burgundy. We do what we please with our dead. Is not the body of Saint Benoit himself in France, in the abbey of Fleury, called Saint Benoit-sur-Loire, although he died in Italy at Mont-Cassin, on Saturday, the 21st of the month of March, of the year 543? All this is incontestable. I abhor psalm-singers, I hate priors, I execrate heretics, but I should detest yet more any one who should maintain the contrary. One has only to read Arnoul Wion, Gabriel Bucelin, Trithemus, Maurolics, and Dom Luc d'Achery."
The prioress took breath, then turned to Fauchelevent.
"Is it settled, Father Fauvent?"
"It is settled, reverend Mother."
"We may depend on you?"
"I will obey."
"That is well."
"I am entirely devoted to the convent."
"That is understood. You will close the coffin. The sisters will carry it to the chapel. The office for the dead will then be said. Then we shall return to the cloister. Between eleven o'clock and midnight, you will come with your iron bar. All will be done in the most profound secrecy. There will be in the chapel only the four Mother Precentors, Mother Ascension and yourself."
"And the sister at the post?"
"She will not turn round."
"But she will hear."
"She will not listen. Besides, what the cloister knows the world learns not."
A pause ensued. The prioress went on:--
"You will remove your bell. It is not necessary that the sister at the post should perceive your presence."
"Reverend Mother?"
"What, Father Fauvent?"
"Has the doctor for the dead paid his visit?"
"He will pay it at four o'clock to-day. The peal which orders the doctor for the dead to be summoned has already been rung. But you do not understand any of the peals?"
"I pay no attention to any but my own."
"That is well, Father Fauvent."
"Reverend Mother, a lever at least six feet long will be required."
"Where will you obtain it?"
"Where gratings are not lacking, iron bars are not lacking. I have my heap of old iron at the bottom of the garden."
"About three-quarters of an hour before midnight; do not forget."
"Reverend Mother?"
"What?"
"If you were ever to have any other jobs of this sort, my brother is the strong man for you. A perfect Turk!"
"You will do it as speedily as possible."
"I cannot work very fast. I am infirm; that is why I require an assistant. I limp."
"To limp is no sin, and perhaps it is a blessing. The Emperor Henry II., who combated Antipope Gregory and re-established Benoit VIII., has two surnames, the Saint and the Lame."
"Two surtouts are a good thing," murmured Fauchelevent, who really was a little hard of hearing.
"Now that I think of it, Father Fauvent, let us give a whole hour to it. That is not too much. Be near the principal altar, with your iron bar, at eleven o'clock. The office begins at midnight. Everything must have been completed a good quarter of an hour before that."
"I will do anything to prove my zeal towards the community. These are my orders. I am to nail up the coffin. At eleven o'clock exactly, I am to be in the chapel. The Mother Precentors will be there. Mother Ascension will be there. Two men would be better. However, never mind! I shall have my lever. We will open the vault, we will lower the coffin, and we will close the vault again. After which, there will be no trace of anything. The government will have no suspicion. Thus all has been arranged, reverend Mother?"
"No!"
"What else remains?"
"The empty coffin remains."
This produced a pause. Fauchelevent meditated. The prioress meditated.
"What is to be done with that coffin, Father Fauvent?"
"It will be given to the earth."
"Empty?"
Another silence. Fauchelevent made, with his left hand, that sort of a gesture which dismisses a troublesome subject.
"Reverend Mother, I am the one who is to nail up the coffin in the basement of the church, and no one can enter there but myself, and I will cover the coffin with the pall."
"Yes, but the bearers, when they place it in the hearse and lower it into the grave, will be sure to feel that there is nothing in it."
"Ah! the de--!" exclaimed Fauchelevent.
The prioress began to make the sign of the cross, and looked fixedly at the gardener. The vil stuck fast in his throat.
He made haste to improvise an expedient to make her forget the oath.
"I will put earth in the coffin, reverend Mother. That will produce the effect of a corpse."
"You are right. Earth, that is the same thing as man. So you will manage the empty coffin?"
"I will make that my special business."
The prioress's face, up to that moment troubled and clouded, grew serene once more. She made the sign of a superior dismissing an inferior to him. Fauchelevent went towards the door. As he was on the point of passing out, the prioress raised her voice gently:--
"I am pleased with you, Father Fauvent; bring your brother to me to-morrow, after the burial, and tell him to fetch his daughter."
三 纯贞嬷嬷
大致过了一刻钟。院长走回来，去坐在椅子上。
那两个对话的人仿佛各有所思。我们把他们的谈话尽量逐字逐句地记录下来。
“割爷？”
“崇高的嬷嬷？”
“您见过圣坛吧？”
“做弥撒和日课时我在那里有间小隔扇。”
“您到唱诗台里去工作过吧？”
“去过两三次。”
“现在我们要起一块石头。”
“重吗？”
“祭台旁边那块铺地的石板。”
“盖地窖的那块石板吗？”
“对。”
“在这种情况下，最好是有两个男人。”
“登天嬷嬷会来帮助您，她和男人一样结实。”
“一个女人从来也顶不了一个男人。”
“我们只有一个女人来帮您忙。各尽所能。马比容神甫根据圣伯尔纳的遗教写了四百十七篇论文，梅尔洛纽斯·奥尔斯修斯只写了三百六十七篇，我绝不至于因此就轻视梅尔洛纽斯·奥尔斯修斯。”
“我也不至于。”
“可贵的是各尽自己的力量来工作。一座修院并不是一个工场。”
“一个女人也并不是一个男人。我那兄弟的气力才大呢！”
“您还得准备好一根撬棍。”
“象那样的门也只能用那样的钥匙。”
“石板上有个铁环。”
“我把撬棍套进去。”
“而且那石板是会转动的。”
“那就好了，崇高的嬷嬷。我一定能开那地窖。”
“还会有四个唱诗嬷嬷来参加你们的工作。”
“地窖开了以后呢？”
“再盖上。”
“就这样吗？”
“不。”
贪撬起来。
“祭台下面的地窖！”
“祭台下面的地窖。”
“可是……”
“您带一根铁杠来。”
“行，可是……”
“您用铁杠套在那铁环里，把石板旋开来。”
“可是……”
“必须服从死者的意旨。葬在圣坛祭台下的地窖里，不沾俗人的泥土，死了还留在她生前祈祷的地方，这便是受难嬷嬷临终时的宏愿。她对我们提出了那??=嗬戳恕Ｔ撼ず孟笤诔斐?痪觯??斐鱿麓剑?倭艘幌伦熘?缶痛蚱屏顺聊?
“割爷？”
“崇高的嬷嬷？”
“您知道今天早晨有位嬷嬷死了。
“我不知道。”
“难道您没有听见敲钟？”
“在园子底里什么也听不见。”
“真的吗？”
“叫我的钟，我也听不大清楚。”
“她是在天蒙蒙亮的时候死的。”
“而且，今天早上的风不是向我那边吹的。”
“是那位受难嬷嬷。一个有福的人。”
院长停住不说了，只见她的嘴唇频频启闭，仿佛是在默念什么经文，接着她又说：
“三年前，有个冉森派①的教徒，叫贝都纳夫人的，她只因见到受难嬷嬷做祷告，便皈依了正教。”
①冉森派是十七世纪荷兰天主教反正统派的一支，被罗马教皇英诺森十世斥为异端，下谕禁绝，但各国仍有不少人信从。
“可不是，我现在听见报丧钟了，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“嬷嬷们已把她抬到礼拜堂里的太平间里了。”
“我知道。”
“除了您，任何男人都不许也不该进那间屋子的。您得好好留意照顾。那才会出笑话呢，假如在女人的太平间里发现一个男人！”
“出出进进！”
“嗯？”
“出出进进！”
“您说什么？”
“我说出出进进。”
“出出进进干什么？”
“崇高的嬷嬷，我没说出出进进干什么，我说的是出出进进。”
“我听不懂您的话。您为什么要说出出进进呢？”
“跟着您说的，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“可是我并没有说出出进进。”
“您没有说，可是我是跟着您说的。”
正在这时，钟报九点。
“在早晨九点钟和每点钟，愿祭合上最崇高的圣体受到赞叹和崇拜。”院长说。
“阿们。”割风说。
那口钟敲得正凑巧。它一下打断了关于出出进进的争执。
如果没有它，院长和割风就很可能一辈子也纠缠不清。
割风擦了擦额头。
院长重新默念了一小段，也许是神圣的祈祷，继又提高嗓子说：
“受难嬷嬷生前劝化了许多人，她死后还要显圣。”
“她一定会显圣的！”割风一面说，一面挪动他的腿，免得后来站不稳。
“割爷，修院通过受难嬷嬷，受到了神的恩宠。当然，并不是每个人都能象贝律尔红衣主教那样，一面念弥撒经，一面断气，在魂归天主时口中还念着‘因此我作此贡献。’不过，受难嬷嬷尽管没有得到那样大的幸福，她的死却也是非常可贵的。直到最后一刻，她的神智还是清楚的。她和我们谈话，随后又和天使们谈话。她把她最后的遗言留给了我们。要是您平日更心诚一些，要是您能待在她的静室里，她只消摸摸您的腿，您的病就好了。她脸上一直带着笑容。大家感到她在天主的心里复活了。在她的死里我们到了天国。”
割风以为那是一段经文的结尾。
“阿们。”他说。
“割爷，我们应当满足死者的愿望。”
院长已经拨动了几粒念珠，割风却不开口。她接着说：
“为了这个问题，我请教过好几位忠于我们救世主的教士，他们全在宗教人事部门担任职务，而且还都是有辉煌成绩的。”
“崇高的嬷嬷，从这儿听那报丧钟比在园子里清楚多了。”
“而且，死者不是一个女人，这是位圣女。”
“就和您一样，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“她在她的棺材里睡了二十年，那是我们的圣父庇护七世特别恩准的。”
“就是替皇……替波拿巴加冕的那位。”
对象割风那样一个精明的人来说，他这次的回忆是不合时宜的。幸而那位院长，一心想她的事，没有听见。她继续说：
“割爷？”
“崇高的嬷嬷？”
“圣迪奥多尔，卡巴多斯的大主教，曾经嘱咐人家在他的墓上只刻这么一个字：Acarus，意思是疥虫，后来就是那么办的。这是真事吗？”
“是真的，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“那位幸福的梅佐加纳，亚基拉修院院长，要人把他埋在绞刑架下面，后来也照办了。”
“确是那样办的。”
“圣泰朗斯，台伯河入海处港口的主教，要人家把插在弑君犯坟上的那种标志，刻在他的墓石上，希望过路的人都对他的坟吐唾沫。那也是照办了的，死者的遗命，必须遵守。”
“但愿如此。”
“伯尔纳·吉端尼出生在法国蜜蜂岩附近，在西班牙图依当主教，可是他的遗体，尽管卡斯蒂利亚国王不许，但仍按他本人的遗命运回到里摩日①的多明我教堂。我们能说这不对吗？”
①里摩日（Limoges），法国中部的一个城市。
“千万不能，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“这件事是由普朗达维·德·拉弗斯证实了的。”
几粒念珠又悄悄地滑了过去，院长接着又说：
“割爷，我们要把受难嬷嬷装殓在她已经睡了二十年的那口棺材里。”
“那是应当的。”
“那是睡眠的继续。”
“那么，我得把她钉在那棺材里吗？”
“对。”
“还有殡仪馆的那口棺材，我们就把它放在一边吗？”
“一点不错。”
“我总依照极崇高的修院的命令行事。”
“那四个唱诗嬷嬷会来帮您忙的。”
“为了钉棺材吗？用不着她们帮忙。”
“不是。帮您把棺材抬下去。”
“抬到哪儿？”
“地窖里。”
“什么地窖？”
“祭台下面。”
割风跳了起来。
“祭台下面的地窖！”
“祭台下面的地窖。”
“可是……”
“您带一根铁杠来。”
“行，可是……”
“您用铁杠套在那铁环里，把石板旋开来。”
“可是……”
“必须服从死者的意旨。葬在圣坛祭台下的地窖里，不沾俗人的泥土，死了还留在她生前祈祷的地方，这便是受难嬷嬷临终时的宏愿。她对我们提出了那样的要求，就是说，发出了那样的命令。”
“这是被禁止的。”
“人禁止，天主命令。”
“万一被人家知道了呢？”
“我们信得过您。”
“呵，我，我是您墙上的一块石头。”
“院务会议已经召开过了。我刚才还和参议嬷嬷们商议过，她们还在开会，她们已经作了决议，依照受难嬷嬷的遗言，把她装殓在她的棺材里，埋在我们的祭台下面。您想想，割爷，这里会不会出现奇迹！对这修院来说，那是多么大的神恩！奇迹总是出现在坟墓里的。”
“可是，崇高的嬷嬷，万一卫生委贝会的人员……”
“圣伯努瓦二世在丧葬问题上曾违抗君士坦丁·波戈纳①。”
“可是那警署署长……”
“肖诺德美尔，是在君士坦丁②帝国时代进入高卢的七个日耳曼国王之一，他确认教士有按照宗教仪式举行丧葬的权利，那就是说，可以葬在祭台下面。”
“可是那警署的侦察员……”
“世界在十字架前算不得什么。查尔特勒修院第七任院长玛尔丹曾替他的修会订下这样的箴言：‘天翻地覆时十字架屹立。’”
“阿们。”割风说。他每次听见人家说拉丁语③，总是一本正经地用这个方法来替自己解围。
①君士坦丁·波戈纳（Constantin Pogonat），七世纪东罗马帝国的皇帝。
②君士坦丁（Constance），三○六年至三三七年为罗马帝国皇帝。
③“天翻地覆时十字架屹立”原文是拉丁文。
嘴闭得太久了的人能从任何一种谈话对象那里得到满足。雄辩大师吉姆纳斯托拉斯出狱的那天，由于身上积压了许多两刀论法和三段论法，便在他最先遇到的一棵大树跟前停下来，对着它高谈阔论，并且作了极大的努力，要说服它。这位院长，平日也是沉默得太久了，正如水库里的水受着堤坝的阻挡，不得畅泄，积蓄过满；她立起身来，象座开放了的水闸，滔滔不绝地说个不停：
“我，我右边有伯努瓦，左边有伯尔纳。伯尔纳是什么？是明谷隐修院的第一任院长。勃艮第的枫丹能见他的出生，那是个有福的地方。他的父亲叫德塞兰，母亲叫亚莱特。他创业于西多，定居在明谷，他是由纪尧姆·德·香浦，索恩河畔夏龙的主教任命为修院院长的，他有过七百名初学生，创立了一百六十座修院。一一四○年他在桑城的主教会议上压倒了阿伯拉尔①、皮埃尔·德·勃吕依和他的弟子亨利，还有一些所谓使徒派的旁门左道。他曾把阿尔诺德·德·布雷西亚②驳到哑口无言，痛击过屠杀犹太人民的拉乌尔和尚，主持过一一四八年在兰斯城举行的主教会议，曾要求判处普瓦蒂埃的主教吉尔贝·德·波雷，曾要求判处艾翁·德·爱特瓦勒，调解过亲王间的纠纷，开导过青年路易王③，辅助过教皇尤琴尼乌三世，整顿过圣殿骑士团，倡导过十字军，他在一生中显过二百五十次奇迹，甚至在一天中显过三十九次。伯努瓦又是什么呢？是蒙特卡西诺的教父，是隐修院的二祖师，是西方的大巴西勒④。从他创立的修会里产生过四十位教皇、二百位红衣主教、五十位教父、一千六百位大主教、四千六百位主教、四个皇帝、十二个皇后、四十六个国王、四十一个王后、三千六百个受了敕封的圣者，这修会并且延绵了一千四百年。一边是圣伯尔纳，一边是什么卫生委员会的人员！一边是圣伯努瓦，一边又说有什么清洁委员会的侦察员！国家、清洁委员会、殡仪馆、规章、行政机关，我们用事？”
“假如您还有这一类的其他工作，我那兄弟的力气可大呢。就象个蛮子！”
“您得尽可能快地完成。”
“我快不到哪里去，我是个残废人，正因为这个原因，我得有个帮手。我的腿是瘸的。”
“瘸腿并不算是缺点，也许还是福相。打倒伪教皇格列高利以及重立伯努瓦八世的那位亨利二世皇帝就有两个外号：
圣人和瘸子。”
“那多么好，有两件外套。”割风嘟囔着，其实，他耳朵有点聋。
“割爷，我想起来了，还是准备花整整一个钟头吧。这并不太段 +o噔大利起义，建立罗马共和政权，一一五五年失败后被绞死。
③青年路易王（LouisⅦ，le Jeune，1120?180），即路易七世。
④大巴西勒（Basile Magnus，约330?79），古代基督教希腊教父。
割风挨了这阵倾盆大雨，很不自在。院长接着又说：
“谁也不应该怀疑修院对处理丧葬问题的权力。只有狂热派和怀疑派才否认这种权力。我们生活在一个思想混乱到了可怕程度的时代。应当知道的东西大家全不知道，不应当知道的，大家又全知道。卑污，下流。一个是极其伟大的圣伯尔纳，另外还有一个伯尔纳①，是十三世纪的一个相当善良的教士，所谓‘穷苦天主教徒们的伯尔纳’，而今天居然还有许多人对这两个人分辨不清。还有些人，蓄意亵渎，竟把路易十六的断头台和耶稣基督的十字架拿来相提并论。路易十六只是个国王。留心留心天主吧！现在已无所谓公道和不公道了。伏尔泰这名字是大家知道的，大家却全不知道凯撒·德·布斯②这名字。然而凯撒·德·布斯是幸福的，伏尔泰是不幸的。前任大主教，佩里戈尔红衣主教，甚至不知道贝律尔的继承者是查理·德·贡德朗，贡德朗的继承者是弗朗索瓦·布尔戈安，布尔戈安的继承者是弗朗索瓦·色诺，而让·弗朗索瓦·色诺的继承者是圣马尔泰的父亲。大家知道戈东③神甫这名字，并非因为他是争取建立经堂④的三个倡议人之一，而是因为他的名字成了信奉新教的国王亨利四世骂人的字眼。圣方济各·德·撒肋之所以受到富贵人家的爱戴，是因为他能隐恶扬善。而今天会有人攻击宗教。为什么？因为从前有过一些坏神甫，因为加普的主教萨吉泰尔是昂布伦的主教萨乐纳的兄弟，而且他们俩全跟随过摩末尔。那有什么关系？能阻止玛尔丹·德·图尔不让他成为圣者，不让他把半件袍子送给一个穷人吗？他们迫害圣者。他们对着真理闭上眼睛。黑暗是经常的。最凶残的禽兽是瞎了眼的禽兽。谁也不肯好好地想想地狱。呵！没良心的人！奉国王的命令，在今天的解释是奉革命的命令。大家已经忘了自己对活人和死人所负的责任。清净的死也是在禁止之列的。丧葬成了公家的事务。这真教人胆寒。圣莱翁二世曾写过两封信，一封给皮埃尔·诺泰尔，一封给西哥特人的国王，专就丧葬问题针对钦差总督的大权和皇帝的专断进行了斗争和驳斥。夏龙的主教戈蒂埃在这个问题上，也曾和勃艮第公爵奥东对抗过。前朝的官府曾有过协议。我们从前在会议席上，即使涉及世俗的事务也有发言权，西多修院的院长，这一修会的会长，是勃艮第法院的当然顾问。我们对自己的死人可以随意处理。圣伯努瓦本人的遗体难道没有送回法国，葬在弗勒利修院，即所谓的卢瓦尔河畔圣伯努瓦修院里吗？尽管他是在五四三年三月二十一日，一个礼拜六，死在意大利的蒙特卡西诺的。这一切全是无可否认的。我鄙视那些装模作样高唱圣诗的人，我痛恨那些低着脑袋做祈祷的人，我唾弃那些邪魔外道，但是我尤其厌恶那些意见和我相反的人。只要读几本阿尔努·维翁、加白利埃·布斯兰、特里泰姆、摩洛利古斯和唐·吕克·达舍利的著作⑤就知道了。”
①还有一个伯尔纳，应指克昌尼的伯尔纳（Bernard de Cluny），据考证此伯尔纳约生于十二世纪上半叶。
②凯撒·德·布斯（CésardeBus，1544?607），起初在军队和宫廷里供职，不得志，三十岁上出家修行，创立兄弟会。
③戈东（Coton），法王亨利四世和路易十三的忏悔神甫。亨利四世原是法国新教徒的首领，为了平息内战并夺取王位，便改奉旧教（天主教），并准许新旧两教并存。他骂人时常说“我否认天主”，后来接受戈东的建议，改说“我否认戈东”。戈东因而出了名。
④经堂是未出家的信徒们修行的寺院。
⑤这些都是本笃会体系的神学家。
院长吐了一口气，继又回转头来对着割风说：
“割爷，说妥了吧？”
“说妥了，崇高的嬷嬷。”
“我们可以依靠您吧？”
“我服从命令。”
“这就好了。”
“我是全心全意忠于修院的。”
“就这么办。您把棺材钉好。嬷嬷们把它抬进圣坛。大家举行超亡祭。接着大家回到静室。夜晚十一点以后十二点以前，您带着铁杠来。一切都要进行得极其秘密。圣坛里除了那四个唱诗嬷嬷、登天嬷嬷和您外，再没有旁人。”
“还有那柱子跟前的嬷嬷呢。”
“她不会转过头来的。”
“可是她会听见。”
“她不会注意，而且修院知道的事，外面不会知道。”
谈话又中断了一会儿。院长继续说：
“您把您的铃铛取下。柱子跟前的那个嬷嬷不用知道您也在场。”
“崇高的嬷嬷？”
“什么事，割爷？”
“验尸的医生来检查过了吗？”
“他今天四点钟来检查。我们已经敲过钟，叫人去找那验尸医生。难道您什么钟响也听不见？”
“我只注意叫我的钟。”
“那样很好，割爷。”
“崇高的嬷嬷，至少得有一根六尺长的铁杠才行。”
“您到哪里去找呢？”
“到有铁栅栏的地方去找。有的是铁杠。在我那园子底里有一大堆废铁。”
“在午夜前三刻钟左右，不要忘了。”
“崇高的嬷嬷？”
“什么事？”
“假如您还有这一类的其他工作，我那兄弟的力气可大呢。就象个蛮子！”
“您得尽可能快地完成。”
“我快不到哪里去，我是个残废人，正因为这个原因，我得有个帮手。我的腿是瘸的。”
“瘸腿并不算是缺点，也许还是福相。打倒伪教皇格列高利以及重立伯努瓦八世的那位亨利二世皇帝就有两个外号：
圣人和瘸子。”
“那多么好，有两件外套。”割风嘟囔着，其实，他耳朵有点聋。
“割爷，我想起来了，还是准备花整整一个钟头吧。这并不太多。您准十一点带着铁杠到大祭台旁边来。祭礼夜间十二点开始。应当在开始前一刻钟把一切都完成。”
“我总尽力用行动来表明我对修院的忠忱。这些都是说定了的。我去钉棺材。十一点正，我到圣坛里面。唱诗嬷嬷们会在那里，登天嬷嬷会在那里。有两个男人，就可能会好些。算了，不用管那些！我带着我的撬棍。我们打开地窖，把棺材抬下去，再盖好地窖。在这以后，一点痕迹也没有。政府不至于起疑心。崇高的嬷嬷，这么办该算妥当了吧？”
“不。”
“那么还有什么事呢？”
“还有那空棺材。”
这问题占去了一段时间。割风在想着，院长在想着。
“割爷，他们把那棺材拿去，会怎么办？”
“埋在土里。”
“空埋？”
又是一阵沉寂。割风用左手做着那种驱散疑难的姿势。
“崇高的嬷嬷，是我到礼拜堂的那间矮屋子里去钉那棺材，除了我，旁人都不能进去，我拿一块盖棺布把那棺材遮上就是了。”
“可以，但是那些脚夫，在抬进灵车，送进坟坑时，一定会感到那里没有东西。”
“啊！见了……！”割风叫了起来。
院长开始画十字，瞪眼望着那园丁。“鬼”字哽在他喉咙里了。
他连忙信口胡凑了一个应急的办法，来掩盖他那句亵渎的话。
“崇高的嬷嬷，我在那棺材里放些泥土，就象有个人在里了。”
“您说得有理。泥土和人，原是一样的东西。您就这么安排那个空棺材吧？”
“我一定做到。”
院长的脸一直是烦闷阴郁的，现在却平静了。她做了上级要下级退去的那种表示，割风朝着屋门走去。他快要跨出门外时，院长又微微提高了嗓子说：
“割爷，我对您很满意，明天，出殡以后，把您的兄弟带来，并且要他把他姑娘也带来。”
