Nevertheless, they had to submit: the abbé kept up the ancient scholastic traditions; he had a deaf ear and a vigorous hand; and a thrashing all round with the cane increased the groans, the complaints, and the threats.
I realised that I was collecting a storm over my head which would result later in a hail of fisticuffs.
The caning had this much good, that it did away with work during all that class; not a line was written from nine o'clock to midday, under pretext that the abbé had hit so hard that their hands were numbed.
The abbé accepted the excuse.
At noon, each boy tried to find some excuse to escape retention. It was incredible the things they had to do and what importance their going out was that day.
I remember three of the excuses given: Saunier had to take his clarionet lesson; Ronet had to take a dose of oil; Leloir ought to be drawing for conscription!
These three pretexts were handed in by the three scholars named Saunier, Ronet and Leloir.
Needless to relate, the clarionet lesson, castor oil, and drawing for conscription had to wait till the next day, and at midday I went out of college absolutely alone.
Oh! what profound reflections I made as I returned home! How well I realised that it would have been far better to laugh at the joke, no matter how grim it was, than to cry as I had done! I placed Heraclitus a thousand times higher than Democritus!
My mother was much struck by my sadness, and she questioned me closely upon the causes of my melancholy, but I had been too ready to tell tales, and I preserved profound silence.