The Last Heights 



venges " to be taken for the injustice which 

 Fabre had suffered. 



We have spoken of his early struggles in 

 the University, of his career, first hampered, 

 then shattered, of the jealousies and persecu- 

 tions evoked by this " irregular " self-taught 

 pioneer; no doubt the work of a triumphant 

 clique, which eventually drove him from the 

 house and slammed the door. This was, as 

 the reader may remember, on the occa- 

 sion of his lecture to young girls at Saint- 

 Martial. 



But now, on the 23rd of April 191 1, a 

 fresh invasion of young girls, almost all 

 pupils of the University, burst into the 

 harmas. 1 And what had they to say? That 

 they came from Paris to visit the glories of 

 Provence, and that next to Mistral they had 

 wished to see Fabre, after the " emperor of 

 poetry," the " king of science," and they made 

 it clear that it was not only to the scientist, 

 but still more to the pioneer, the initiator — 

 or why not say, with them, to the most 

 illustrious of " cronies " 2 — that the girl 

 " cronies," as they called one another in their 

 group, had come to present their heart-felt 



1 This was the pilgrimage of the young girls of the 

 Universite des Annates politiques et litteraires. 



2 The French words are " Cousins," " Cousines." Cousin 

 trrcousin, good friend, crony. — B. M. 



367 



