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CHAPTER VI
THE GRASS COVERS AND
THE RAIN EFFACES
In the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise, in the vicinity of the
common grave, far from the elegant quarter of that city of
sepulchres, far from all the tombs of fancy which display in
the presence of eternity all the hideous fashions of death, in
a deserted corner, beside an old wall, beneath a great yew
tree over which climbs the wild convolvulus, amid dande-
lions and mosses, there lies a stone. That stone is no more
exempt than others from the leprosy of time, of dampness,
of the lichens and from the defilement of the birds. The wa-
ter turns it green, the air blackens it. It is not near any path,
and people are not fond of walking in that direction, be-
cause the grass is high and their feet are immediately wet.
When there is a little sunshine, the lizards come thither. All
around there is a quivering of weeds. In the spring, linnets
warble in the trees.
This stone is perfectly plain. In cutting it the only thought
was the requirements of the tomb, and no other care was
taken than to make the stone long enough and narrow