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On the cover of that of Eugenie Grandet he had drawn a ground plan of old Grandet's house, and had compiled a list of names, from which he chose those of the characters in the story.
Such conduct and such ideas explain Charles Grandet's silence. In the Indies, at St. Thomas, on the coast of Africa, at Lisbon, and in the United States the adventurer had taken the pseudonym of Shepherd, that he might not compromise his own name.
Plant 'em there, and they'll get nourishment from the government," he said, turning to Cruchot, and giving a slight motion to the wen on his nose, which expressed more than the most ironical of smiles. "True enough; poplars should only be planted on poor soil," said Cruchot, amazed at Grandet's calculations. "Y-y-yes, monsieur," answered the old man satirically.
For this one, Maitre Cruchot had procured the money required for the purchase of a domain, but at eleven per cent. For that one, Monsieur des Grassins discounted bills of exchange, but at a frightful deduction of interest. Few days ever passed that Monsieur Grandet's name was not mentioned either in the markets or in social conversations at the evening gatherings.
Let them sail off on Grandet's 'We'll see about it, and keep yourself quiet, young man. Eugenie will none the less be your wife." In a few moments the news of Grandet's magnanimous resolve was disseminated in three houses at the same moment, and the whole town began to talk of his fraternal devotion.
In spite of Grandet's fervent wishes for the health of his wife, whose death threatened more than death to him; in spite of the consideration he now showed on all occasions for the least wish of his astonished wife and daughter; in spite of the tender care which Eugenie lavished upon her mother, Madame Grandet rapidly approached her end.
It was even known that the young woman was not able to see or take care of her mother, except at certain times when her father was out of the house. Grandet's conduct was severely condemned. The whole town outlawed him, so to speak; they remembered his treachery, his hard-heartedness, and they excommunicated him. When he passed along the streets, people pointed him out and muttered at him.
It incarnates all the past of its old owner, and visibly links it to the action when the story opens. The elaborate summary of Grandet's early life, the scrupulously exact account of the building of his prosperity, is brought to an issue in the image of the "cold, dreary and silent house at the upper end of the town," from whence the drama widens again in its turn.
The four or five louis presented by the Belgian or the Dutchman who purchased the wine were the chief visible signs of Madame Grandet's annual revenues.
Ah! mother, if you had read his letter, you, too, would have thought only of him." The next morning, January 1, 1820, the horrible fear to which mother and daughter were a prey suggested to their minds a natural excuse by which to escape the solemn entrance into Grandet's chamber. The winter of 1819-1820 was one of the coldest of that epoch. The snow encumbered the roofs.
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