The Hermit of Serignan 



was theirs from morning to night, from night 

 to morning. He was always watching, al- 

 ways listening; his mind was always on the 

 alert where they were concerned. And the 

 veils were lifted, secrets were revealed, confi- 

 dences followed confidences, and a light was 

 shed upon points which had so far remained 

 impenetrable for a space of twenty or thirty 

 years. 



In the laboratory of the harmas the day 

 begins early; as soon as nature awakens with 

 the first rays of sunlight, directly our hermit 

 hears the call of his vigilant life-companions. 

 This appeal is sometimes very early, when, 

 for example, he pushes complaisance to the 

 length of permitting the swallow to nest in 

 his study. 



The room is closed for the night. The father 

 lies outside; the mother does the same when the 

 fledglings are a certain size. Then, from the earli- 

 est dawn, they are at the windows, greatly troubled 

 by the glass barricade. In order to open the win- 

 dow to the afflicted parents, I have to rise hur- 

 riedly with my eyelids still heavy with sleep. 



But here is something to repay the valiant 

 naturalist for his early sacrifice: the delights 

 of " prayer in the chapel of the lilacs." 



My hermitage contains an alley of lilacs, long 

 and wide. When May is here, when the two 



235 



