But
when, on the contrary, he found himself in the presence of a man of
energy, he pleaded extenuating circumstances, and persevered until he
obtained the least possible punishment. He never resented the infliction
of just punishment, but suffered very much when punished in public. On
the day when the class marks were read aloud, if he suspected that his
own were to be bad, he took refuge in the infirmary to avoid the shame
of public exposure. Honor, for him, was not a vain word.
"He was very sensitive to reproaches. He was an admirer of courage,
audacity, anything generous. Who at Stanislas does not remember his
proud and haughty attitude when a master vexed him in presence of his
classmates, or interfered to end a quarrel in which his own self-respect
was at stake? All his nerves were stretched; his body stiffened, and he
stood as straight as a steel rod, his arms pressed against his legs, his
fists tightly closed, his head held high and rigid, and his face as
yellow as ivory, with its smooth forehead, and his compressed lips
cutting two deep lines around his mouth; his eyes, fixed like two black
balls, seemed to start from the sockets, shooting fire.
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