"Beware, my child, of what is going on in your heart," said the cure with a frown. "I congratulate you on your vocation if it is that alone to which you owe your contempt for a more than adequate income. I have been the cure of Verrieres for fifty-six years all told, and yet, to judge from the way things look, I am about to be dismissed. This grieves me. However, I have a private income of eight hundred francs. I mention this detail so you will have no illusions about what to expect when you enter the priesthood. If you have any thought of currying favor with men in power, your eternal damnation is assured. You may make your fortune, but you will be obliged to do it at the expense of the indigent, flatter the subprefect, the mayor, the man of consequence, and serve his interests. This course, which is called knowing how to get along in the world, may not be absolutely incompatible with salvation for a layman, but in our profession one is forced to make a choice: either to lay up treasure in this world or the next. There is no middle way. Go now, my dear friend; think it over, and come back in three days with your final answer. To my sorrow, I have caught a glimpse in the depths of your character of a dark passion, which does not promise the moderation and complete abnegation of things worldly that are essential in a priest; I predict good things of your mind, but, if you will allow me to say so," added the good father, with tears in his eyes, "once you became a priest, I would tremble for your salvation."