{"product_id":"2940013378803","title":"THE HONOR OF THE NAME","description":"CHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the first Sunday in the month of August, 1815, at ten o'clock\u003cbr\u003eprecisely--as on every Sunday morning--the sacristan of the parish\u003cbr\u003echurch at Sairmeuse sounded the three strokes of the bell which warn\u003cbr\u003ethe faithful that the priest is ascending the steps of the altar to\u003cbr\u003ecelebrate high mass.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe church was already more than half full, and from every side little\u003cbr\u003egroups of peasants were hurrying into the church-yard. The women were\u003cbr\u003eall in their bravest attire, with cunning little _fichus_ crossed upon\u003cbr\u003etheir breasts, broad-striped, brightly colored skirts, and large white\u003cbr\u003ecoifs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeing as economical as they were coquettish, they came barefooted,\u003cbr\u003ebringing their shoes in their hands, but put them on reverentially\u003cbr\u003ebefore entering the house of God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut few of the men entered the church. They remained outside to talk,\u003cbr\u003eseating themselves in the porch, or standing about the yard, in the\u003cbr\u003eshade of the century-old elms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor such was the custom in the hamlet of Sairmeuse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe two hours which the women consecrated to prayer the men employed\u003cbr\u003ein discussing the news, the success or the failure of the crops; and,\u003cbr\u003ebefore the service ended, they could generally be found, glass in hand,\u003cbr\u003ein the bar-room of the village inn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the farmers for a league around, the Sunday mass was only an excuse\u003cbr\u003efor a reunion, a sort of weekly bourse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll the cures who had been successively stationed at Sairmeuse had\u003cbr\u003eendeavored to put an end to this scandalous habit, as they termed it;\u003cbr\u003ebut all their efforts had made no impression upon country obstinacy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey had succeeded in gaining only one concession. At the moment of the\u003cbr\u003eelevation of the Host, voices were hushed, heads uncovered, and a few\u003cbr\u003eeven bowed the knee and made the sign of the cross.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut this was the affair of an instant only, and conversation was\u003cbr\u003eimmediately resumed with increased vivacity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut to-day the usual animation was wanting.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47147525505264,"sku":"2940013378803","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013378803_p0.jpg?v=1763580128","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013378803","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}