In the evening, M. Drouet went to seek the notary, who promised to run over the following day, after breakfast, to open the will, and make an inventory. On the morrow, at mid-day, in the presence of MM. Fortin, Drouet, Bertrand, and Mathieu, the will was opened. It appointed me his sole heir, and at the same time indicated a cupboard in which would be found, in a bag, two hundred and sixty louis d’or, which comprised his whole fortune. It also charged me to give all the little things he had collected, and which were of no use to me, to the poor of the village of Islettes; also to give all the implements of the chase, with the exception of those which pleased me, to his old friends, Flobert and Lafeuille. On no account was anything to be sold. As I was under age, M. Drouet, by my uncle’s wish, became my guardian. As a matter of course, I immediately handed over to him the two hundred and sixty louis which my uncle had left me, telling him to keep them till I came of age. All being thus arranged, I placed on a wheelbarrow, which Bertrand lent me, all my carpentry tools, my compasses, my plane, and so on. Two hours after, I arrived at M. Gerbaut’s. On my entrance, I found the whole family at supper. “M. Gerbaut,” said I, “you offered me, if at any time I desired to work under a master, an apprenticeship—are you inclined to stand by your agreement?” “Thanks, my boy, for having thought first of me. But sit down and eat; it will be time enough to think of work to-morrow.” “Sit down by my side, my friend,” said Sophie, with a sweet smile, holding out her hand. She drew her chair a little nearer to her father’s, and I accepted the place thus offered. CHAPTER XXII. MY NEW LIFE UNDER SOPHIE’S FATHER. The changes made by death excepted, there is this strange and touching peculiarity of country life, that, whilst kingdoms are rent, hedgerows, and fields, and rustics, apparently remain ever the same. Nearly a year had passed since I last set foot in Father Gerbaut’s house, and on entering I found everything the same as when I had last left it; the covers laid in the same places, on the same table, and for the same number of persons. Not only were material affairs the same, but the affections remained unaltered. Sophie had said, “Come, my brother,” and I came. She gave me her hand, and said, “Brother, you are welcome!” And yet a great agitation prevailed over the whole surface of France; all the ancient names of the provinces had been changed. France was divided into eighty-three departments. One part of Champagne had taken the names of the Department of the Meuse; the part neighboring was now the Department of the Marne. The little River Biesme, which served as a line of demarcation between Germany and France, and, likewise, between Champagne and Clermontois, fixed the limit of the two departments. Les Islettes, Clermont, and Varennes were in the Department of the Meuse.