"And thou, holy mother of God, suffer thy unworthy servant to summon thee to keep thy promise.Let thy august power at last be made manifest.At the sight of thy frowning brows let there be accomplished a mystery of terror and tears in hardened hearts.Let the neck of the proud be broken, and let his haughty head, bent down by the breath of thy lips, as by the wind of a tempest, bow to the very earth and its hair sweep the dust of this pavement."Just then they heard a voice calling:
"Father Alexis, Father Alexis, where are you?"The priest turned pale and trembled.He tried in vain to rise, his knees seemed nailed to the ground.
"Ah! my child, did you not hear a divine voice answer me?"But helping him to his feet, Gilbert said with a sad smile:
"There is nothing divine in that voice.It has a strongly-marked Provencal accent, and if I am not mistaken, it belongs to Jasmin the cook, who is there in the court with a lantern in his hand, and is calling you.""Perhaps you are right," answered the good father, shaking his head and passing his hand over his forehead, which was bathed in perspiration."Let us see what this good Jasmin wants.Perhaps he brings my dinner.I had notified him, however, that I proposed to fast to-day."Jasmin no sooner saw them come out of the chapel than he ran towards them and said to the priest:
"I don't know, father, what has happened to Ivan, but when I went into his room to carry him his dinner, I found him stretched on his bed.I called him and shook him, but couldn't wake him up."A shudder ran through Gilbert's whole body.Seizing the lantern from Jasmin he darted off on a run; in two seconds he was with Ivan.Jasmin had told the truth; the serf slept heavily and profoundly.By dint of pulling him by the arm, Gilbert succeeded in making him open his eyes; but he soon closed them again, turned towards the wall, and slept on.