Chapter 145 Letter VII to Gentleman Edward

Three days ago, I began to try to write to you every evening, but, after a busy day, I was sleepy when I got home: in the morning, as soon as it was light, I had to go to work.An intoxication, sweeter than wine, filled me with such delightful excitement that it was impossible not for a moment to savor that pleasure which was new to me. As long as I am with these people, I will be happy wherever I go.You know why I have a soft spot for this place?This is because here I really feel that I am in the country, and, almost for the first time, I dare to say so.People in the city can never appreciate the beauty of the countryside; they don't know how to live in the countryside; even if they go to the countryside, they don't understand what the farmers are busy in the fields.They have a disdain for country labor and its joys, and they do not appreciate it, and if they live in the country, it is as if they are in a foreign country; I am not surprised that they feel uncomfortable in the country.When you come to the countryside, you have to act like a rural person, otherwise you don’t want to go, because if you don’t like it, what are you doing in the countryside?Parisians who thought they had been to the countryside never went there at all: they took their Parisian way of life with them to the country.Singers, wits, great writers, parasites, etc., all followed the Parisians to the countryside, so after they came, they only knew to gamble, play cards, listen to music, and act all day long.Their table is filled with the same dishes as in Paris; they eat at the same time as in Paris; they eat with the same table and servants in the same order; they follow everything: so look at it. Come on, it's better to stay in Paris, because, no matter how rich they are, and how well prepared they are, in the countryside, they always feel that something is missing, and they can't take all of Paris with them to the countryside?The change, therefore, is too costly for them, and they always avoid it; they have never known but one way of life, and are always weary of it.

To be honest, the work in the countryside is quite interesting, and it is not so difficult that it makes people feel sympathetic.It is good for the public as well as for the individual, and that is why it is done with vigor; and, moreover, it is the first duty of man: it brings to the mind a pleasant memory, and stirs in the heart a golden age. of various beauties.The human imagination is not indifferent to the sight of spring blossoms and autumn fruits.There is always something touching about the simple pastoral life.You see, the pasture is full of people, turning over the pasture and singing, and there are groups of cattle and sheep scattered in the distance: unconsciously, you don’t know why, and you feel warm in your heart.Sometimes, the sound of nature will soften our indifferent hearts; although we always have a kind of helpless regret when we hear this sound, there is always a certain joy in hearing it.

I admit that in some places where the tax collectors expropriate the produce of the land, the countryside is barren, and the farmer's helpless efforts to open up the land, and the extreme exploitation of the inhuman masters, have completely destroyed the beauty of the countryside. .The horses are hungry and tired, emaciated, beaten and almost dead, the poor peasants are in rags, and the huts and huts of the village present a bleak picture for people: when you think that you are all dependent on these misfortunes. When the blood and sweat of other people are feeding you, you almost regret being a human being.But when you see good and wise housekeepers who turn the tillage into a means of wealth and joy, when you see them lavishly distributing the bounty of God to all, You see them filling their barns and cellars to the brim, and making the people and animals around them healthy and strong, when you see them making those around them rich and happy, How happy and comfortable you will be when you have this kind of endless fun!Who can be indifferent to the wonderful fantasies these scenes produce?You will forget the world today, forget your contemporaries, and go back to the era of clan society and patriarchy. Everyone wants to work with their own hands, and everyone wants to share a share of farm work and the joy of labor.Ah, in the age of innocent love, the women were gentle and courteous, and the men simple and content!Ah, Rachel!How happy is that charming girl who is so obsessively loved, who never regrets being a slave for fourteen years in order to win your favor!Ah, Noemi's good student!That kind old man, how happy he is to have you warming his feet and heart!No, beautiful things can only show their infinite charm in field labor.Only in the fields are the three goddesses of Meihui controlling everything. They are unpretentious, lively and joyful, and people can't help admiring them.Excuse me, gentleman, let me come back to our business now.

For a month now, due to the abundant sunshine in autumn, the harvest of grapes is in sight; the first few frosts have fallen, and the work of harvesting grapes has begun; Inviting the world to hurry up and start picking.The vineyards are all covered with this beautiful fruit that God bestows on the poor to make them forget their sorrows; The singing of the grape girls echoed around the bottom of the hillside and valley; there was an endless stream of people transporting the picked grapes to the press; At this moment, the moving scene seems to be dyed all over the corners; finally, like the fog barrier of the stage curtain, it dissipates with the rising sun in the morning.All this makes the work of harvesting the grapes a festive one, and it is all the more wonderful when you recall that this festive atmosphere combined labor and merriment only on such occasions.

Monsieur de Walmart devoted the best land here to planting grapes, and he had made all the necessary preparations in advance.Wine vats, juicers, storage rooms, vats, all ready and waiting for that sweet juice to arrive.Mrs. de Walmart is in charge of directing the work of picking grapes, selecting workers, and all work arrangements and schedules are under her control.Mrs. de Orbe is responsible for the workers' meals and pays the workers' wages according to the regulations they have established; they have established regulations that are absolutely not allowed to be violated.I was in charge of the inspection. Since Julie could not bear the smell of alcohol in the tank, I supervised the workers who operated the juicer to carry out Julie’s instructions. Claire was very supportive of my taking on this job because he knew that I Is a wine connoisseur.

After the task is assigned in this way, everyone can do the grape picking, so where there is a shortage of manpower, those who are free will hurry to fill it.Everyone got up as soon as it was light, and gathered to go to the vineyard.Mrs. de Horbe felt that her work was not too busy, so she took the initiative to assign more work to herself: supervising and reprimanding lazy people, and I can say without exaggeration that she is no exception to me, and even Deliberately supervise me more strictly.As for the old baron, while we were all busy, he would take me away from the grape-pickers from time to time to go with him to shoot turtledoves, with a shotgun on his back, so that some might say yes. I secretly encouraged him to do so, and as a result I gradually lost my title as a philosopher and became known as a loafer, which is not really that different from a philosopher.

You can see from what I have just said of the Baron that we reconciled in good faith, and that Wal-Mart had reason to be satisfied with his second trial.How could I hate my girlfriend's father!No!If I were his son, I might not respect him as much as I do now.In truth, I never saw a more frank, upright, magnanimous, and in every respect respectable man than this good nobleman.However, his prejudices are also really grotesque and puzzling.Since he was sure I would not be a member of his family, he admired me a lot; he would rather condescend to me if I were not his son-in-law.The only thing I can't forgive him is that, when I'm alone with him, he sometimes jokes about what I, the so-called philosopher, have taught me.His jokes struck me as sharp and unacceptable.However, when he saw that I was angry, he laughed it off and said to me, "Okay, let's go shoot turtledoves, enough arguments." Then he called out as he walked, "Claire, Claire, here you are!" I want to whet his appetite." Indeed, at his age, he can run faster than me in the vineyard with a shotgun, and his marksmanship is extremely accurate.But he didn't dare to show his airs in front of his daughter, which made me a little relieved, and it was finally a kind of revenge for his mockery of me; the little girl in the past made her father the same as her teacher. in awe.I'll just go on and talk about our harvesting of grapes.

It's been a week since we started this fun job and the harvest is barely halfway done.Besides those ready for the market and our usual stockpiles (which need only a little vinification), good Julius is making finer wines for those of us who drink too much.I acted as her assistant in the magic winemaking process I told you about, and we made great wines everywhere from grapes in the same vineyard.There is a method of making wine that when the grapes are ripe, she has people bend the vines to the roots, let the sun dry them, and then pick the bunches of grapes and squeeze them to make wine; The method of growing wine is that she has people pick grapes one by one, remove the seeds, and then put them into wine barrels for brewing; there is also a kind of wine, she has people pick the red grapes before sunrise. The grapes, while still covered with flowers and dew, are carefully put into the juicer to make white wine.She also makes a kind of alcoholic wine, first put the unfermented grape juice boiled into syrup on the fire into the barrel, if you want to make dry red and dry white, don't let it ferment in the barrel, if To make an appetizing absinthe or muscat, add some herbs to the drink.All these different wines have their own brewing methods, and the wines produced are all natural wines that are beneficial to health; It is a good way to increase income and reduce expenditure, and can use the grapes in the vineyard to brew wines made from grapes in various climatic conditions.

You can't imagine with what enthusiasm and joy it was all done.Everyone sang and laughed all day long, and the work was done even more quickly.Everyone is like a family, everyone is equal, and everyone cares about each other.The ladies are airless, the peasant women are decent in everything, and the men are joking but not vulgar.Everyone competed to sing, tell stories, and tell jokes.When everyone gets together, there will inevitably be quarrels and contradicting each other, but this only shows the mutual trust between each other.No pretentiousness, no pretentiousness; they were in the vineyard during the day, and Julie had a hut built in the vineyard, for warmth when it was cold, and shelter when it rained.We ate lunch with the farmers at their hour and worked with them afterward.Their meals are a bit crude, but tasty and wholesome, with plenty of fresh vegetables, which we ate with gusto.We never disdain their awkwardness and rustic compliments.In order to make them less reserved, we never put on airs when talking to them.They saw our goodwill very clearly, so they were very moved.Seeing that we don't put on airs as masters, they are more conscious of following the rules.During the meal, the children came, and they let the children play in the vineyard in the afternoon.How happy these good villagers were to see the children!They hugged the children in their thick and strong arms and said: "Oh, what a child! May God shorten our life and increase their life! You must be like your father and mother, and benefit your neighbors like them !" Most of them had served in the army, and they could wield spears and swords as easily as they could hold pruning knives, scissors, and picks, and Julie was so lovely and respected among them, she and her The children of the children were warmly welcomed by them, and the scene reminded people of the scene when the famous and virtuous Agripina let the soldiers of Germanicus see her son.Julie!Incomparable woman!Through the simplicity of your personal life, you have developed a demeanor of wisdom and kindness that everyone respects.You are the sacred spiritual sustenance of all the local people, everyone is willing to defend you with their own blood and life, and among these beloved people, you are safer and more honorable than the monarchs of various countries who have countless soldiers guarding you .

In the evening, we happily walked home together.During the grape harvest season, they control the workers.Even on Sunday, after vespers, they would gather with the workers to dance and sing until supper time.On other days, when they got back to the lodgings, everyone stayed together, except the Baron, who never ate his supper and went to bed early, so Julie took the child and went upstairs to his room until he Going to bed before leaving.From the beginning of the harvest to the end of the grape harvest, they never let the country life mix one iota of city life.Their harvest carnivals were more amusing and more fitting than those of the Romans.It really doesn't make sense for the Romans to swap the places of master and slave during carnival.It is the warm and equal atmosphere here that truly restores the order of nature, which is instructive for the master, a comfort for the servant, and a bond of friendship for everyone.

The meeting place was an old-fashioned hall with a large fireplace burning brightly.The hall was illuminated by three lamps, all of which were fitted with tin lampshades by Mr. de Walmart to keep out the smoke and to reflect the light.In order to avoid envy or jealousy, the hosts try their best not to put things that are not in the homes of these simple people, but to put some common and common items, which are just carefully selected good things, and they are distributed to everyone. It is also richer to show the wealth of the family.There were two long tables arranged for dinner.There are no luxurious decorations and tableware on the table, but the dishes are rich and enjoyable.Masters, laborers, and servants all eat at the same table; everyone has to sit up and serve food for everyone, regardless of each other, without exception, and when serving food, all of them are orderly, natural and generous.Alcohol can be drunk casually, but not in excess, enough is enough.The presence of such respected masters made everyone dare not make mistakes, but it did not make everyone feel embarrassed and disappointed.Even if someone gets carried away, the host will not scold on the spot, so as not to spoil the atmosphere of the dinner, but the next day, this person will be dismissed without mercy. I also appreciate the cheerful atmosphere and good seasons here.I ventured back to the Valais way of life, and often drank a little wine, but only when one of their cousins ​​poured it himself.They will pour me wine according to my drinking capacity, and will not let me drink too much.Who better to control my drinking and know when to let me drink and when not to let me drink better than the two of them?If the day's labor was fruitful, and the meal was long and cheerful, they poured me more diligently, and I drank to my heart's content; and I did not mind the presence of a sensible Mr. de Walmart. , drink as you please.I am not afraid that his deep eyes will read my mind; when a sweet memory comes to me again, Clare can fool him by looking at him, and Julie can look at me If I did, I'd be blushing. After dinner, everyone stayed for an hour or two, combing the hemp and singing songs in turn.Sometimes the girls who picked the grapes sang together, sometimes they took turns singing solo, and everyone sang the refrain at the end of the lyrics.Most of the songs they sang were old lyrical songs. The tunes were not moving, but they had an indescribably simple and quiet charm, which moved people's hearts when they listened to them.The lyrics are simple and unadorned, and often a little sad, but they are enjoyable to listen to.When we hear certain words in the lyrics that we've used before, we can't help but be moved: Claire smiles; Julie's cheeks flush; I sigh.Whenever I looked up at them at such times, I couldn't help thinking of the past, and I shuddered all over my body. Suddenly, my heart was heavy and I couldn't breathe, and an indelible impression of sadness remained in my heart.In these evenings, however, I discovered a beauty which I cannot explain to you, but which I felt deeply myself.There is something touching about this gathering of people of different ranks, this simplicity of its manner, this pursuit of pleasure, friendship, ease, and the peace of mind it brings to every soul. I feel that the songs I sing are more interesting.The chorus of female voices is also sweet and moving.For my part, I am convinced that, of all harmonies, there is no sound that sounds better than unison, and that we must add chords because our taste has weakened.In fact, don't all harmonies come from a common voice?What can we add to it without disturbing the proportions nature has established for the relative volumes of the various harmonious sounds?If we double the volume of some sounds and not others, don't we suddenly break the established ratio?Nature has arranged everything as well as possible, but we still want to add something to it, isn't it self-defeating? Whether it is daytime work or nighttime work, everyone is chasing each other.I wanted to be opportunistic yesterday, but in the end I made a fool of myself.I'm clumsy about combing hemp, and my mind is distracted when I'm doing it, but I don't want people to see that I'm always out of work, so I quietly hook the hemp combed by the person next to me with my feet. Come to my hemp pile, but was discovered by the ruthless Mrs. de Orbe. She immediately motioned to Julie, caught me on the spot, and reprimanded me severely. "Mr. Cheating," she said aloud to me, but without fuss and in jest, "that's how people get bad, and what's worse, it's a joke." That's what happened that night.When it was almost time to go back to her room, Mrs. de Walmart said: "Let's set off the fireworks." And each of them took his own combed hemp stalk—an honorable token of his labor—and set it down In the middle of the yard, they are piled up in a pile to make it look like a celebration monument, and they are lit with fire. However, not everyone is lucky enough to light the fire. It is up to Julie to decide. She will hand over the torch to him or her who has done more work that night. Lighting piles of hemp stalks; if she had been doing the most work that night, she would not have hesitated to light the fire herself.The solemn ceremony started with bursts of applause and cheers.In an instant, the hemp stem ignited a bright fire, which shot straight into the sky. It was a happy fire, and everyone danced and laughed around the fire.Then, the host asked everyone to toast to the health of the winners of the night, and then returned to the room to rest with satisfaction, joy and no regrets after a day's work. I don't feel tired when I keep doing this.