CHAPTER XXXV 



PIG'S MEASLES 



JEAN had come to market to sell his pig; Math- 

 ieu, on his part, had gone thither to buy one. 

 Jean's animal pleased him. After some talk in 

 which all sorts of finesse were employed on the part 

 of the seller to heighten the value of his merchandise, 

 on the part of the buyer to lower it, they came to an 

 agreement on the price and shook hands to bind the 

 bargain. 



But before taking out his purse and counting 

 out the crowns Mathieu wished, as was his right, to 

 make sure that the pig was sound. A man was 

 called whose business it was to decide such ques- 

 tions. He took the animal by the legs and threw it 

 over on its side. Whereas Jean and Mathieu stood 

 in some awe of the animal, he made no ceremony 

 about forcing a stick, as a sort of lever, between the 

 pig's teeth and prying the jaws apart. Then he 

 plunged his hand in between those terrible jaws and 

 felt about with his fingers to the right, to the left, 

 and especially under the tongue. Meanwhile the pig 

 was giving forth heartbreaking cries, and with rau- 

 cous grunts all its companions in the market voiced 

 their sympathy in its distress. The whole square 

 was in an uproar. The ordeal over, the animal was 



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