As the priest had still not arrived, I thought I should express to my unfortunate comrade my apologies for a delay that risked depriving him of the consolations the Church reserves for the dying. He did not appear to hear me. But a few moments later, his hand came to rest on mine, and with his eyes he clearly signalled to me that I should move my ear close to his mouth. He then uttered distinctly, although with extreme slowness, these words which I am sure I report very accurately: ‘What does it matter? All is grace.’
I think he died almost immediately.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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First published in French as Journal d’un curé de campagne by Éditions Plon 1936
This translation first published in Penguin Classics 2019
Translation copyright © Howard Curtis, 2019
All rights reserved
The moral right of the translator have been asserted
Cover: Mountain Church, Larrau by Dora Carrington/Private
Collection/Photo © The Bloomsbury Workshop/Bridgeman Images
ISBN: 978-0-241-38183-0
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Diary of a Country Priest Page 28
