In 1815, the Bishop of Digne was M. Charles-François Bienforu Myrière.He was an old man of about seventy-five; he had been Bishop of Digne since 1806.
Though these trifles in no way touch upon the main point of the story we are about to relate, it is not in vain, for the sake of complete precision, to mention here some of the rumors and legends which were circulated about him during the first days of his office.The popular legends, whether true or not, of certain persons often play as much a part in their lives, and especially in their destinies, as what they themselves do.M. Myriel was the son of a senator of the court of Aix, the so-called nobles of the judiciary.It is said that his father married him very early, at the age of eighteen or twenty, in accordance with the custom quite common among aristocratic families in the judicial world, because he wanted him to inherit the office.Although M. Myriel was married, it is said that M. de Myrière was often talked about.He was very good-looking, handsome, handsome, and eloquent in spite of his small stature; and the first period of his life was spent entirely in company and with women.Revolutions broke out, events took place, and the noble families of the judiciary were destroyed, expelled, hunted, and dispersed.Monsieur Myriel, went into exile in Italy when the revolution first began.His wife died of tuberculosis.They don't have a single child.What happened to his life after that?The collapse of the old French society, the ruin of his own family, and the tragedies of 1993, which ordinary exiles may seem even more frightening due to rumors from afar and exaggerated horrors, did he ever feel depressed and lonely in his mind?A person may be unmoved by a great disaster in life or property, but sometimes there is a mysterious and terrible blow that hits a person's heart, but it can make a person completely devastated; Has he ever suffered such a sudden blow?No one said that, and all we know is that he was a priest when he came back from Italy.
In 1804, M. Myriel was parish priest of Brignore.He was old and living a reclusive life.
Near the time of his coronation, he had been in Paris on an unknown occasion in the district.He made appeals to his superiors on behalf of the congregation of his diocese, and had been among a group of dignitaries to meet Cardinal Fish.One day, the emperor came to visit his uncle. The eminent curate was waiting in the antechamber, and the emperor happened to pass by.Seeing the curious eyes of the old man looking at him, Napoleon turned around and asked suddenly:
"Who is that fellow looking at me?"
"Your Majesty," said M. Myriel, "you look at a man, I look at a emperor. They both count."
The emperor asked the cardinal the name of the parish priest that evening.Not long afterward, M. Myriel received with great astonishment the news that he had been made bishop of Digne.
Besides, which of the anecdotes told about M. Myriere's early life are true?No one knows.Few people know what happened to the Myrière family before the revolution.
Anyone who first arrives in a small town with many words and few thoughts has enough for him, and M. Myrière was no exception.Although he is a bishop, and because he is a bishop, he suffers.In short, the conversations involving his name may be nothing more than small talk, the content is nothing more than overheard slurs and speculative things, sometimes not even speculative, and according to the strong expression of the southerners, it is just "nonsense". .
At any rate, after nine years of his tenure at Digne, the gossip that had become the subject of conversation in small towns and small people was entirely forgotten.No one dares to mention it anymore, no one even dares to recall those gossips anymore.
M. de Myrière was accompanied by an old maiden who was ten years his junior, Mademoiselle Baptistine, when he arrived at Digne.
Their servant is only a maid of the same age as Miss Baptistine, named Madam Magloire. Now, after she has become "Mr. Priest's maid", she has obtained such a double title: the maid of the maid and the bishop's housekeeper.
Miss Baptistine, a lanky, delicate-faced, good-natured creature, embodies the ideal expressed by the word "respectable," for it seems that if a woman is to be "respectable," she must first be a mother.She never had a period of beauty, her life was but a succession of holy works, which gave her body a whiteness and splendor; near old age she had what we call "beautiful beauty."The emaciation in her youth turned into a kind of pure and clear charm when she was half-old, making one think that she is an angel.She is simply a god, and a virgin is also inferior.Her body seems to be made of shadows, there is almost no entity enough to show gender, just a handful of shimmering substances, her long and beautiful eyes are always downcast, we can say that she is a celestial maiden residing in the world.
Madame Magloire was a little old, fat, fat, busy woman, out of breath, partly because of her laborious work, and partly because of her asthma.
On the arrival of M. Myriel, he was installed in the bishop's college according to the ceremonies prescribed by the decree which ranks the bishop next to the marshal.The mayor and the speaker made his first calls, and he, for his part, made his first calls to the general and the prefect.
After the deployment was completed, the whole city waited for the bishop to carry out the task.
