Publisher's Synopsis
Book Excerpt: uted over it every spring. The rich soil, inwhich the gravediggers could no longer delve without turning up somehuman remains, was possessed of wondrous fertility. The tall weedsovertopped the walls after the May rains and the June sunshine so asto be visible from the high road; while inside, the place presentedthe appearance of a deep, dark green sea studded with large blossomsof singular brilliancy. Beneath one's feet amidst the close-set stalksone could feel that the damp soil reeked and bubbled with sap.Among the curiosities of the place at that time were some large pear-trees, with twisted and knotty boughs; but none of the housewives ofPlassans cared to pluck the large fruit which grew upon them. Indeed, the townspeople spoke of this fruit with grimaces of disgust. No suchdelicacy, however, restrained the suburban urchins, who assembled inbands at twilight and climbed the walls to steal the pears, evenbefore they were ripe.The trees and the weeds with their vigorous growth had rapidlRead Mor
