J6us&, because of his children, was wavering* But
suddenly into his tired blue eyes leapt the dogged,
determined look of the peasant — the look that even
to-day fronts the world with a stubborn pride in passing
traditions; the look that has in it something primi-
tive and fine and courageous, yet also something
pathetic. There he stood fast ageing but still
undaunted, still clinging to his faith in himself and
.in those who for years had given him honourable
employment, still unable or unwilling to admit
defeat, still unable or unwilling to envisage the future.
And that pride handed down to him by his forebears,
that will to uphold the integrity of labour, that deep
love for those things which the hands have made and
which thus have become a part of the craftsman;
aye, and the memory of brave old dwellings once
seen in the narrow by-ways of Lisieux, dwellings
that had stood for the dignity of home, for the
honesty and skill of their master-builder, must now
all combine to delude the perceptions of this man
whose soul was not of his time, but rather of some
simpler and more stalwart era. Standing there
staring out of his broken window, clad in clothes that
were daily becoming more shabby, he yet fancied
himself indestructible; as firm and enduring he felt
as the arch bequeathed to the town of Saint Loup
by the Romans.
He swung round and faced the apostle of progress:
clt is that you would make of me a robber;5 he thun-
dered, cit is that you would have me build lies, all
lies, in order that you may sell them as houses. Green
wood I must use because it is cheap and will therefore
procure you a larger profit. And the walls need not
be obtrusively thick, nor the paint, it would seem,
because those who buy, being fools, will not be any
the wiser. And sell quickly, you say; but yes, you
are right, it will surely be better to sell very quickly,
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