Download the full version of the ebook at ebookname.

com

CIMA Official Learning System Management

Accounting Decision Management Fifth Edition CIMA
Managerial Level 2008 Jo Avis

https://ebookname.com/product/cima-official-learning-system-
management-accounting-decision-management-fifth-edition-
cima-managerial-level-2008-jo-avis/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Download more ebook instantly today at https://ebookname.com

Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...

CIMA Learning System Fundamentals of Management Accounting

New syllabus CIMA Certificate Level 2008 1 Lslf Edition
Janet Walker
https://ebookname.com/product/cima-learning-system-fundamentals-of-
management-accounting-new-syllabus-cima-certificate-level-2008-1-lslf-
edition-janet-walker/
ebookname.com

CIMA Learning System 2007 Organisational Managementand

Information Systems CIMA Managerial Level 2008 1 Lslf
Edition Bob Perry
https://ebookname.com/product/cima-learning-
system-2007-organisational-managementand-information-systems-cima-
managerial-level-2008-1-lslf-edition-bob-perry/
ebookname.com

CIMA Study Systems 2006 Management Accounting Performance

Evaluation Cima Official Study Systems Robert Scarlett

https://ebookname.com/product/cima-study-systems-2006-management-
accounting-performance-evaluation-cima-official-study-systems-robert-
scarlett/
ebookname.com

What s the Secret To Providing a World Class Customer

Experience 1st Edition John R. Dijulius

https://ebookname.com/product/what-s-the-secret-to-providing-a-world-
class-customer-experience-1st-edition-john-r-dijulius/

ebookname.com
Petroleum Production Engineering A Computer Assisted
Approach 1st Edition Boyun Guo

https://ebookname.com/product/petroleum-production-engineering-a-
computer-assisted-approach-1st-edition-boyun-guo/

ebookname.com

Italian Folk Vernacular Culture in Italian American Lives

1st Edition Joseph Sciorra

https://ebookname.com/product/italian-folk-vernacular-culture-in-
italian-american-lives-1st-edition-joseph-sciorra/

ebookname.com

Learning iPhone Game Programming A Hands on Guide to

Building Your First iPhone Game 1st Edition Michael Daley

https://ebookname.com/product/learning-iphone-game-programming-a-
hands-on-guide-to-building-your-first-iphone-game-1st-edition-michael-
daley/
ebookname.com

Studies in Applied Welfare Analysis Papers from the Third

ECINEQ Meeting 1st Edition John A. Bishop

https://ebookname.com/product/studies-in-applied-welfare-analysis-
papers-from-the-third-ecineq-meeting-1st-edition-john-a-bishop/

ebookname.com

Discordant Democracy Noise Affect Populism and the

Presidential Campaign 1st Edition Justin Patch

https://ebookname.com/product/discordant-democracy-noise-affect-
populism-and-the-presidential-campaign-1st-edition-justin-patch/

ebookname.com
Fundamentals of Microelectronics Behzad Razavi

https://ebookname.com/product/fundamentals-of-microelectronics-behzad-
razavi/

ebookname.com
CIMA’S Official
Learning System

Managerial Level

Management
Accounting – Decision
Management

Colin Wilks
Louise Burke
CIMA Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA

First edition 2008

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system

or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher

Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights
Department in Oxford, UK: phone (⫹44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (⫹44) (0) 1865 853333;
e-mail: [email protected]. Alternatively you can visit the Science and Technology
Books website at www.elsevierdirect.com/rights for further information

Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons
or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use
or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material
herein.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

978-0-7506-8958-8

For information on all CIMA publications

visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

Typeset by Charontec Ltd., A Macmillan Company. (www.macmillansolutions.com)

Printed and bound in Italy

07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Working together to grow

libraries in developing countries
www.elsevier.com | www.bookaid.org | www.sabre.org
Contents

The CIMA Learning System xi

Acknowledgements xi
How to use your CIMA Learning System xi
Guide to the Icons used within this Text xii
Study technique xiii
Management Accounting – Decision Management Syllabus xv
Transitional arrangements xix

1 Revision of Basic Aspects, Classifications and

Approaches to Cost Accounting 1
Learning Outcome 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 What is meant by cost? 3
1.3 Cost units 4
1.3.1 Composite cost units 4
1.4 Cost centres 5
1.5 Classification of costs 5
1.5.1 Classification of costs according to their nature 6
1.5.2 Classification of costs according to their purpose 6
1.5.3 Other examples of cost classification 6
1.6 Cost behaviour 7
1.6.1 Fixed cost 7
1.6.2 Variable cost 8
1.6.3 Semi-variable cost 10
1.6.4 Analysing semi-variable costs 10
1.6.5 Using historical data 13
1.7 The elements of cost 13
1.8 Summary 14

2 Absorption Costing, Activity-based Costing

and Marginal Costing 15
Learning Outcome 17
2.1 Introduction 17
2.2 Overhead allocation and apportionment 17
2.3 Overhead absorption 18
2.4 Applying the overhead absorption rate 18
2.5 Selecting the most appropriate absorption rate 19
2.6 Predetermined overhead absorption rates 20
2.6.1 Under- or over-absorption of overheads 20
2.6.2 The reasons for under- or over-absorption 21

iii
iv MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

2.6.3 Accounting for under- or over-absorbed overheads 21

CONTENTS 2.6.4 The problems caused by under- or over-absorption
of overheads 22
2.7 Illustrative example 22
2.8 Recent developments in absorption costing methods 24
2.8.1 The criticisms of the traditional approach 24
2.8.2 Activity-based costing 24
2.9 The difference between marginal costing and absorption costing 28
2.10 Marginal costing and contribution 28
2.11 Preparing profit statements using marginal costing
and absorption costing 29
2.11.1 Profit statements using marginal costing 30
2.11.2 Profit statements using absorption costing 30
2.12 Reconciling the profit figures 31
2.12.1 Reconciling the profits given by the different methods 31
2.12.2 Reconciling the profits for different periods 32
2.12.3 Profit differences in the long term 32
2.13 Should marginal costing or absorption costing be used? 33
2.14 A comprehensive example of ABC 33
2.15 Summary 44

3 Breakeven Analysis 45
Learning Outcomes 47
3.1 Introduction 47
3.2 Breakeven or cost–volume–profit analysis 47
3.2.1 Calculating the breakeven point 47
3.3 The margin of safety 48
3.4 The contribution to sales (C/S) ratio 49
3.5 Drawing a basic breakeven chart 50
3.6 The contribution breakeven chart 52
3.7 The profit–volume chart 52
3.7.1 The advantage of the profit–volume chart 53
3.8 The limitations of breakeven (or CVP) analysis 54
3.9 The economist’s breakeven chart 55
3.10 Using costs for decision-making 55
3.10.1 Short-term decision-making 56
3.11 Evaluating proposals 56
3.12 Multi-product CVP analysis 58
3.13 Using the C/S ratio–an example 60
3.14 Summary 61
Revision Questions 63
Solutions to Revision Questions 67

4 Relevant Cost and Short-term Decisions 73

Learning Outcomes 75
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Relevant costs 75
4.2.1 Non-relevant costs 75
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT v

4.3 Opportunity costs 77

CONTENTS
4.3.1 Examples of opportunity costs 77
4.3.2 Notional costs and opportunity costs 78
4.4 Avoidable, differential and incremental costs 78
4.4.1 Avoidable costs 78
4.4.2 Differential/incremental costs 78
4.4.3 Using incremental costs 78
4.4.4 Incremental revenues 79
4.4.5 Minimum price quotations for special orders 80
4.5 Limiting factor decision-making 80
4.5.1 Decisions involving a single limiting factor 80
4.6 Further decision-making problems 83
4.6.1 A practical example 85
4.7 Summary 91
Revision Questions 93
Solutions to Revision Questions 101

5 Linear Programming 109

Learning Outcomes 111
5.1 Introduction 111
5.2 Basic linear programming 111
5.2.1 Formulating the mathematical model 112
5.2.2 The graphical method of solving linear programming models 113
5.2.3 Further examples of the construction and graphing of constraints 117
5.2.4 Multiple solutions 119
5.2.5 Slack and surplus 121
5.2.6 Shadow prices and opportunity costs 123
5.3 The Simplex method 124
5.3.1 Formulating the problem 124
5.3.2 Interpreting the solution 125
5.4 Worth and relative loss 126
5.5 Summary 128
Revision Questions 129
Solutions to Revision Questions 133

6 Pricing 139
Learning Outcomes 141
6.1 Introduction 141
6.2 Demand and the product life cycle 141
6.2.1 Price elasticity of demand 141
6.2.2 The product life cycle 146
6.2.3 The profit-maximisation model 148
6.2.4 Limitations of the profit-maximisation model 150
6.3 Pricing strategies based on cost 150
6.3.1 Total cost-plus pricing 150
6.3.2 Marginal cost-plus pricing 153
6.4 Other pricing strategies 154
6.4.1 Premium pricing 154
vi MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

6.4.2 Market skimming 154

CONTENTS 6.4.3 Penetration pricing 155
6.4.4 Price differentiation 155
6.4.5 Loss leader pricing 156
6.4.6 Product bundling 156
6.4.7 Pricing with additional features 157
6.4.8 Using discounts in pricing 159
6.4.9 Controlled pricing 159
6.5 Summary 160
Revision Questions 161
Solutions to Revision Questions 165

7 Risk and Uncertainty 169

Learning Outcomes 171
7.1 Introduction 171
7.2 Probability 171
7.2.1 The probabilistic model and expected value 171
7.2.2 Examples of expected value calculations 173
7.3 Decision trees 176
7.3.1 Method and applications 176
7.3.2 The value of perfect information 180
7.4 Uncertainty in investment appraisal 181
7.5 Standard deviations to measure risk and uncertainty 182
7.6 Maximin, Maximax and Regret Criteria 183
7.6.1 A practical example 183
7.6.2 The maximin approach 184
7.6.3 The maximax approach 184
7.6.4 The minimax regret approach 184
7.7 Simulation 187
7.8 Summary 187
Revision Questions 189
Solutions to Revision Questions 193

8 Investment Appraisal 199

Learning Outcomes 201
8.1 Introduction 201
8.2 The different appraisal methods 201
8.2.1 Introduction 201
8.2.2 Net present value (NPV) 203
8.2.3 Payback (PB) 205
8.2.4 Discounted payback (DPB) 206
8.2.5 Discounted payback index (DPBI) or profitability index 207
8.2.6 Internal rate of return (IRR) 208
8.2.7 Multiple IRRs 209
8.2.8 Modified internal rate of return (MIRR) 211
8.2.9 Accounting rate of return (ARR) 212
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT vii

8.2.10 Example comparing ARR and NPV 213

CONTENTS
8.2.11 Summary of the four investment appraisal methods 215
8.3 Making the cash flows and NPV model more realistic 215
8.3.1 Using the annuity rate 215
8.3.2 Unequal lives 216
8.3.3 Asset replacement cycles 217
8.3.4 Capital rationing 220
8.3.5 The discount rate 221
8.3.6 Sensitivity analysis 221
8.3.7 Risk 225
8.3.8 Inflation 226
8.3.9 Incorporating the effect of taxation 228
8.4 Post-completion appraisal 231
8.4.1 The investment cycle 231
8.4.2 Benefits of post-completion appraisal 233
8.4.3 Project abandonment 234
8.4.4 Role of post-appraisal in project abandonment 237
8.5 Summary 237
Revision Questions 239
Solutions to Revision Questions 247

9 The Value Chain – TQM 261

Learning Outcomes 263
9.1 Introduction 263
9.2 Continuous improvement 263
9.3 Kaizen costing 264
9.4 Value analysis 264
9.5 Functional analysis 265
9.6 The value chain 265
9.7 Just-in-time concept 266
9.8 Total quality management (TQM) 269
9.8.1 Quality as a concept 269
9.8.2 Measuring the cost associated with delivering quality 270
9.8.3 TQM in practice 271
9.8.4 Accounting for quality 272
9.8.5 Criticisms of TQM 272
9.8.6 Conclusion 273
9.9 Business process re-engineering 273
9.10 Gain sharing arrangements 273
9.11 Summary 275
Revision Questions 277
Solutions to Revision Questions 279

10 Activity-based Approaches 285

Learning Outcomes 287
10.1 Introduction 287
10.2 The overhead problem 287
viii MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

10.2.1 Cost behaviour 287

CONTENTS 10.2.2 Absorption costing 288
10.2.3 Direct product profitability (DPP) 289
10.3 Activity-based costing (ABC) 292
10.3.1 Activity-based costing and activity-based management 292
10.3.2 Activity-based management: cost management of activities 293
10.3.3 Costing objects other than products 294
10.3.4 Activity-based management: customer profitability analysis 295
10.3.5 Distribution channel profitability 297
10.3.6 Activity-based management: strategic activity management 298
10.3.7 Using ABC in service industries and activities 299
10.3.8 Problems with implementing ABC 299
10.4 Pareto analysis 300
10.4.1 The rule 300
10.4.2 Uses of Pareto analysis 301
10.5 Summary 304
Revision Questions 305
Solutions to Revision Questions 313

11 Learning and Experience Curves 327

Learning Outcome 329
11.1 Introduction 329
11.2 The learning curve 329
11.2.1 Introduction 329
11.2.2 The nature of the learning curve 329
11.2.3 Uses of the learning curve 333
11.2.4 Deriving the learning rate using logs 334
11.2.5 Learned behaviour 335
11.2.6 Experience curves 335
11.3 Summary 338
Revision Questions 339
Solutions to Revision Questions 341

12 Costing Systems 345

Learning Outcomes 347
12.1 Introduction 347
12.2 Costing systems and manufacturing philosophy 347
12.2.1 Introduction 347
12.2.2 Traditional manufacturing philosophy 348
12.2.3 Modern manufacturing philosophy 350
12.2.4 Volume versus variety 350
12.3 Accounting for pull systems – backflush accounting 352
12.4 Throughput accounting 355
12.4.1 The theory of constraints (TOC) 355
12.4.2 Throughput accounting (TA) 356
12.4.3 Throughput cost control and effectiveness measures 360
12.4.4 Summary of throughput accounting 361
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT ix

12.5 Cost planning and reduction over the life cycle 362

CONTENTS
12.5.1 Target costing: a strategic profit management system 362
12.5.2 Using target costing in the concept and design stages 364
12.5.3 Target costing for existing products 365
12.5.4 Target costing support systems 365
12.6 Life cycle costing 367
12.6.1 Life cycle costing – introduction 367
12.6.2 Product life cycle costing 367
12.6.3 Customer life cycle costing 370
12.7 Summary 371
Revision Questions 373
Solutions to Revision Questions 379

Preparing for the Examination 383

Revision technique 385
Planning 385
Getting down to work 386
Tips for the final revision phase 386
Format of the examination 387
Structure of the paper 387
Revision Questions 389
Solutions to Revision Questions 441

November 2007 Examinations 535

Index 567
This page intentionally left blank
The CIMA
Learning System

Acknowledgements
Every effort has been made to contact the holders of copyright material, but if any here
have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary
arrangements at the first opportunity.
This text has been structured to be studied independently of the Performance Evaluation
paper, therefore the reader will notice some unavoidable overlap between the two texts.

How to use your CIMA Learning System

This Management Accounting – Decision Management Learning System has been devised as a
resource for students attempting to pass their CIMA exams, and provides:
● a detailed explanation of all syllabus areas;
● extensive ‘practical’ materials, including readings from relevant journals;
● generous question practice, together with full solutions
● an exam preparation section, complete with exam standard questions and solutions.
This Learning System has been designed with the needs of home-study and distance-
learning candidates in mind. Such students require very full coverage of the syllabus top-
ics, and also the facility to undertake extensive question practice. However, the Learning
System is also ideal for fully taught courses.
The main body of the text is divided into a number of chapters, each of which is organ-
ised on the following pattern:
● Detailed learning outcomes expected after your studies of the chapter are complete. You
should assimilate these before beginning detailed work on the chapter, so that you can
appreciate where your studies are leading.
● Step-by-step topic coverage. This is the heart of each chapter, containing detailed explana-
tory text supported where appropriate by worked examples and exercises. You should
work carefully through this section, ensuring that you understand the material being
explained and can tackle the examples and exercises successfully. Remember that in
many cases knowledge is cumulative: if you fail to digest earlier material thoroughly, you
may struggle to understand later chapters.

xi
xii MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

● Readings and activities. Some chapters are illustrated by more practical elements, such
as relevant journal articles or other readings, together with comments and questions
designed to stimulate discussion.
● Question practice. The test of how well you have learned the material is your ability to
tackle exam-standard questions. Make a serious attempt at producing your own answers,
but at this stage do not be too concerned about attempting the questions in exam condi-
tions. In particular, it is more important to absorb the material thoroughly by complet-
ing a full solution than to observe the time limits that would apply in the actual exam.
● Solutions. Avoid the temptation merely to ‘audit’ the solutions provided. It is an illusion
to think that this provides the same benefits as you would gain from a serious attempt
of your own. However, if you are struggling to get started on a question you should read
the introductory guidance provided at the beginning of the solution, and then make
your own attempt before referring back to the full solution.
Having worked through the chapters you are ready to begin your final preparations for
the examination. The final section of this CIMA Learning System provides you with the
guidance you need. It includes the following features:
● A brief guide to revision technique.
● A note on the format of the exam. You should know what to expect when you tackle the
real exam, and in particular the number of questions to attempt, which questions are
compulsory and which optional, and so on.
● Guidance on how to tackle the exam itself.
● A table mapping revision questions to the syllabus learning outcomes allowing you to
quickly identify questions by subject area.
● Revision questions. These are of exam standard and should be tackled in exam condi-
tions, especially as regards the time allocation.
● Solutions to the revision questions. As before, these indicate the length and the quality
of solution that would be expected of a well-prepared candidate.
If you work conscientiously through this CIMA Learning System according to the guide-
lines above you will be giving yourself an excellent chance of exam success. Good luck with
your studies!

Guide to the Icons used within this Text

Key term or definition
Equation to learn

Exam tip to topic likely to appear in the exam

Exercise

Question
Solution

Comment or Note
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2 xiii

Study technique

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

Passing exams is partly a matter of intellectual ability, but however accomplished you are
in that respect you can improve your chances significantly by the use of appropriate study
and revision techniques. In this section we briefly outline some tips for effective study dur-
ing the earlier stages of your approach to the exam. Later in the text we mention some
techniques that you will find useful at the revision stage.

Planning
To begin with, formal planning is essential to get the best return from the time you spend
studying. Estimate how much time in total you are going to need for each subject that you
face. Remember that you need to allow time for revision as well as for initial study of the
material. The amount of notional study time for any subject is the minimum estimated time
that students will need to achieve the specified learning outcomes set out earlier in this chapter.
This time includes all appropriate learning activities, for example face-to-face tuition, private
study, directed home study, learning in the workplace, revision time, etc. You may find it help-
ful to read Better Exam Results by Sam Malone, CIMA Publishing, ISBN: 075066357X. This
book will provide you with proven study techniques. Chapter by chapter it covers the building
blocks of successful learning and examination techniques.
The notional study time for Managerial level Decision Management is 200 hours. Note
that the standard amount of notional learning hours attributed to one full-time academic
year of approximately 30 weeks is 1,200 hours.
By way of example, the notional study time might be made up as follows:

Hours

Face-to-face study: up to 60
Personal study: up to 100
‘Other’ study – e.g. learning at the workplace, revision, etc.: up to 40
200

Note that all study and learning-time recommendations should be used only as a guideline and
are intended as minimum amounts. The amount of time recommended for face-to-face
tuition, personal study and/or additional learning will vary according to the type of course
undertaken, prior learning of the student, and the pace at which different students learn.
Now split your total time requirement over the weeks between now and the assessment.
This will give you an idea of how much time you need to devote to study each week.
Remember to allow for holidays or other periods during which you will not be able to
study (e.g. because of seasonal workloads).
With your study material before you, decide which chapters you are going to study in
each week, and which weeks you will devote to revision and final question practice.
Prepare a written schedule summarising the above – and stick to it!
The amount of space allocated to a topic in the study material is not a very good guide
as to how long it will take you. For example, ‘Summarising and Analysing Data’ has a
weight of 25 per cent in the syllabus and this is the best guide as to how long you should
spend on it. It occupies 45 per cent of the main body of the text because it includes many
tables and charts.
xiv MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

It is essential to know your syllabus. As your course progresses you will become more
familiar with how long it takes to cover topics in sufficient depth. Your timetable may need
to be adapted to allocate enough time for the whole syllabus.

Tips for effective studying

(1) Aim to find a quiet and undisturbed location for your study, and plan as far as pos-
sible to use the same period of time each day. Getting into a routine helps to avoid
wasting time. Make sure that you have all the materials you need before you begin so
as to minimise interruptions.
(2) Store all your materials in one place, so that you do not waste time searching for items
around the house. If you have to pack everything away after each study period, keep
them in a box, or even a suitcase, which will not be disturbed until the next time.
(3) Limit distractions. To make the most effective use of your study periods you should
be able to apply total concentration, so turn off the TV, set your phones to message
mode, and put up your ‘do not disturb’ sign.
(4) Your timetable will tell you which topic to study. However, before diving in and
becoming engrossed in the finer points, make sure you have an overall picture of all
the areas that need to be covered by the end of that session. After an hour, allow your-
self a short break and move away from your books. With experience, you will learn
to assess the pace you need to work at. You should also allow enough time to read rel-
evant articles from newspapers and journals, which will supplement your knowledge
and demonstrate a wider perspective.
(5) Work carefully through a chapter, making notes as you go. When you have covered
a suitable amount of material, vary the pattern by attempting a practice question.
Preparing an answer plan is a good habit to get into, while you are both studying and
revising, and also in the examination room. It helps to impose a structure on your
solutions, and avoids rambling. When you have finished your attempt, make notes of
any mistakes you made, or any areas that you failed to cover or covered only skimpily.
(6) Make notes as you study, and discover the techniques that work best for you. Your
notes may be in the form of lists, bullet points, diagrams, summaries, ‘mind maps’,
or the written word, but remember that you will need to refer back to them at a later
date, so they must be intelligible. If you are on a taught course, make sure you high-
light any issues you would like to follow up with your lecturer.
(7) Organise your paperwork. There are now numerous paper storage systems available
to ensure that all your notes, calculations and articles can be effectively filed and eas-
ily retrieved later.
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2 xv

Management Accounting – Decision Management

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

Syllabus
First examined in May 2005

Syllabus outline
The syllabus comprises:

Topic Study Weighting

A Financial Information for Short-term Decision-Making 30%
B Financial Information for Long-term Decision-Making 25%
C The Treatment of Uncertainty in Decision-Making 15%
D Cost Planning and Analysis for Competitive Advantage 30%

Learning aims
Students should be able to:
● separate costs into their fixed and variable components and use these in break-even anal-
ysis and in decision-making under multiple constraints;
● establish relevant cash flows for decision making and apply these principles in a vari-
ety of contexts including process/product viability and pricing including evaluation of
the tension between short-term, ‘contribution based’ pricing and long-term, ‘return on
investment’ pricing;
● develop relevant cash flows for long-term projects taking account of inflation and tax-
ation where appropriate, evaluate projects using discounting and traditional methods,
critically assess alternative methods of evaluation and place evaluation techniques in the
context of the whole process of investment decision making;
● apply learning curves in forecasting future costs and the techniques of activity-based
management, target costing and value analysis in managing future costs and evaluate the
actual and potential impacts of contemporary techniques such as JIT, TOC and TQM
on efficiency, inventory and cost;
● undertake sensitivity analysis and assess the impact of risk in decision models using
probability analysis, expected value tables and decision trees as appropriate;
● discuss externally oriented management accounting techniques and apply these tech-
niques to the value chain, ‘gain sharing’ arrangements and customer/channel profitabil-
ity analysis.

Assessment strategy
There will be a written examination paper of three hours, with the following sections.
Section A – 20 marks
A variety of compulsory objective test questions, each worth between 2 and 4 marks.
Mini-scenarios may be given, to which a group of questions relate.
xvi MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

Section B – 30 marks
Three compulsory medium answer questions, each worth 10 marks. Short scenarios
may be given, to which some or all questions relate.
Section C – 50 marks
Two questions, from a choice of three, each worth 25 marks. Short scenarios may be
given, to which questions relate.

Learning Outcomes and Syllabus Content

A – Financial Information for Short-term
Decision-Making – 30%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies students should be able to:
(i) discuss the principles of decision making including the identification of relevant
cash flows and their use alongside non-quantifiable factors in making rounded
judgements;
(ii) explain the particular issues that arise in pricing decisions and the conflict between
‘marginal cost’ principles and the need for full recovery of all costs incurred;
(iii) apply an approach to pricing based on profit maximisation in imperfect markets and
evaluate the financial consequences of alternative pricing strategies;
(iv) explain the possible conflicts between cost accounting for profit reporting and stock
valuation and the convenient availability of information for decision-making;
(v) explain why joint costs must be allocated to final products for financial reporting
purposes, but why this is unhelpful when decisions concerning process and product
viability have to be taken;
(vi) discuss the usefulness of dividing costs into variable and fixed components in the
context of short-term decision making;
(vii) apply variable/fixed cost analysis in multiple product contexts to break-even analysis
and product mix decision making, including circumstances where there are multiple
constraints and linear programming methods are needed to reach ‘optimal’ solutions;
(viii) discuss the meaning of ‘optimal’ solutions and show how linear programming meth-
ods can be employed for profit maximising, revenue maximising and satisfying
objectives.

Syllabus content
● Relevant cash flows and their use in short-term decisions, typically concerning accept-
ance/rejection of contracts, pricing and cost/benefit comparisons.
● The importance of strategic, intangible and non-financial judgements in decision-making.
● Pricing decisions for profit maximising in imperfect markets. (Note: tabular methods of
solution are acceptable).
● Pricing strategies and the financial consequences of market skimming, premium pricing,
penetration pricing, loss leaders, product bundling/optional extras and product differen-
tiation to appeal to different market segments.
● The allocation of joint costs and decisions concerning process and product viability
based on relevant costs and revenues.
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2 xvii

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

● Multi-product break-even analysis, including break-even and profit/volume charts, con-
tribution/sales ratio, margin of safety etc.
● Simple product mix analysis in situations where there are limitations on product/ service
demand and one other production constraint.
● Linear programming for more complex situations involving multiple constraints. Solution
by graphical methods of two variable problems, together with understanding of the
mechanics of simplex solution, shadow prices etc. (Note: questions requiring the full
application of the simplex algorithm will not be set although candidates should be able
to formulate an initial tableau, interpret a final simplex tableau and apply the informa-
tion it contained in a final tableau.)

B – Financial Information for Long-term

Decision-Making – 25%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies students should be able to:
(i) explain the processes involved in making long-term decisions;
(ii) apply the principles of relevant cash flow analysis to long-run projects that continue
for several years;
(iii) calculate project cash flows, accounting for tax and inflation, and apply perpetuities
to derive ‘end of project’ value where appropriate;
(iv) apply activity-based costing techniques to derive approximate ‘long-run’ product or
service costs appropriate for use in strategic decision making;
(v) explain the financial consequences of dealing with long-run projects, in particular the
importance of accounting for the ‘time value of money’;
(vi) evaluate project proposals using the techniques of investment appraisal;
(vii) compare, contrast and evaluate the alternative techniques of investment appraisal;
(viii) evaluate and rank projects that might be mutually exclusive, involve unequal lives
and/or be subject to capital rationing;
(ix) apply sensitivity analysis to cash flow parameters to identify those to which net
present value is particularly sensitive;
(x) produce decision support information for management, integrating financial and
non-financial considerations.

Syllabus content
● The process of investment decision making, including origination of proposals, crea-
tion of capital budgets, go/no go decisions on individual projects (where judgements on
qualitative issues interact with financial analysis), and post audit of completed projects;
● Generation of relevant project cash flows taking account of inflation, tax, and ‘final’
project value where appropriate.
● Activity-based costing to derive approximate ‘long-run’ costs appropriate for use in stra-
tegic decision making.
● The techniques of investment appraisal: payback, discounted payback, accounting rate
of return, net present value and internal rate of return.
xviii MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

● Application of the techniques of investment appraisal to project cash flows and evalua-
tion of the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques.
● Sensitivity analysis to identify the input variables that most effect the chosen measure of
project worth (payback, ARR, NPV or IRR).
● Methods of dealing with particular problems: the use of annuities in comparing projects
with unequal lives and the profitability index in capital rationing situations.

C – The Treatment of Uncertainty

in Decision-Making – 15%
On completion of their studies students should be able to:
(i) evaluate the impact of uncertainty and risk on decision models that may be based on
CVP analysis, relevant cash flows, learning curves, discounting techniques etc.;
(ii) apply sensitivity analysis on both short- and long-run decision models to identify vari-
ables that might have significant impacts on project outcomes;
(iii) analyse risk and uncertainty by calculating expected values and standard deviations
together with probability tables and histograms;
(iv) prepare expected value tables and ascertain the value of information;
(v) prepare and apply decision trees.

Syllabus content
● The nature of risk and uncertainty.
● Sensitivity analysis in decision modelling and the use of computer software for ‘what if ’
analysis.
● Assignment of probabilities to key variables in decision models.
● Analysis of probabilistic models and interpretation of distributions of project outcomes.
● Expected value tables and the value of information.
● Decision trees for multi-stage decision problems.

D – Cost Planning and Analysis for Competitive

Advantage – 30%
Learning outcomes
On completion of their studies students should be able to:
(i) compare and contrast value analysis and functional cost analysis;
(ii) evaluate the impacts of just-in-time production, the theory of constraints and total
quality management on efficiency, inventory and cost;
(iii) explain the concepts of continuous improvement and Kaizen costing that are central
to total quality management and prepare cost of quality reports;
(iv) explain and apply learning and experience curves to estimate time and cost for new
products and services;
 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING – DECISION MANAGEMENT P2 xix

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

(v) apply the techniques of activity-based management in identifying cost drivers/ activi-
ties and explain how process re-engineering can be used to eliminate non-value add-
ing activities and reduce activity costs;
(vi) explain how target costs can be derived from target prices and describe the relation-
ship between target costs and standard costs;
(vii) explain the concept of life cycle costing and how life cycle costs interact with market-
ing strategies at each stage of the life cycle.
(viii) explain the concept of the value chain and discuss the management of contribution/
profit generated throughout the chain;
(ix) discuss gain sharing arrangements whereby contractors and customers benefit if con-
tract targets for cost, delivery etc. are beaten;
(x) apply activity-based costing ideas to analyse ‘direct customer profitability and extend
this analysis to distribution channel profitability;
(xi) apply Pareto analysis as a convenient technique for identifying key elements of data
and in presenting the results of other analyses, such as activity-based profitability
calculations.

Syllabus content
● Value analysis and quality function deployment.
● The benefits of just-in-time production, total quality management and theory of con-
straints and the implications of these methods for decision-making in the ‘new manufac-
turing environment’.
● Kaizen costing, continuous improvement and cost of quality reporting.
● Learning curves and their use in predicting product/service costs, including derivation of
the learning rate and the learning index.
● Activity-based management in the analysis of overhead and its use in improving the effi-
ciency of repetitive overhead activities.
● Target costing.
● Life cycle costing and implications for marketing strategies.
● The value chain and supply chain management, including the trend to outsource manu-
facturing operations to Eastern Europe and the Far East.
● Gain sharing arrangements in situations where, because of the size of the project, a lim-
ited number of contractors or security issues (e.g. in defence work), normal competitive
pressures do not apply.
● The use of direct and activity-based cost methods in tracing costs to ‘cost objects’, such
as customers or distribution channels, and the comparison of such costs with appropriate
revenues to establish ‘tiered’ contribution levels, as in the activity-based cost hierarchy.
● Pareto analysis.

Transitional arrangements
Students who have passed the Management Accounting – Decision Making paper under
the Beyond 2000 syllabus will be given a credit for the Management Accounting – Decision
Management paper under the new 2005 syllabus. For further details of transitional arrange-
ments, please contact CIMA directly or visit their website at www.cimaglobal.com.
This page intentionally left blank
 1
Revision of Basic
Aspects,
Classifications and
Approaches to
Cost Accounting
This page intentionally left blank
 1
Revision of Basic
Aspects,
Classifications and
Approaches to
Cost Accounting

LEARNING OUTCOME
 Discuss the usefulness of dividing costs into variable and fixed components in the
context of short-term decision-making.

1.1 Introduction
In this chapter we will look at some of the fundamental aspects of cost accounting which
you should recall from your earlier studies.
In particular, we will see how costs can be classified and coded to assist in cost collection
and analysis. The most common cost behaviour patterns will be explained and analysed.

1.2 What is meant by cost?

The word ‘cost’ can be used in two contexts. It can be used as a noun, for example, when
referring to the cost of an item. Alternatively it can be used as a verb, for example, we can
say that we are attempting to cost an activity. CIMA’s definition of cost used in these two
contexts is as follows:

As a noun: the amount of expenditure (actual or notional) incurred on, or

attributable to, a specified thing or activity
As a verb: to ascertain the cost of a specified thing or activity.

The terminology goes on to explain that the word cost can rarely stand alone and should
be qualified as to its nature and limitations. You will know from your earlier studies, and
will be seeing throughout this text, that there are many different types of cost and that
each has its usefulness and limitations in different circumstances.

3
 4 STUDY MATERIAL P2

BASIC ASPECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS AND APPROACHES TO COST ACCOUNTING

1.3 Cost units
You should already be able to explain what a cost unit is, using your earlier cost accounting
knowledge. The CIMA Terminology defines a cost unit as ‘a unit of product or service in
relation to which costs are ascertained’.
This means that a cost unit can be any item for which it is possible to determine the
cost. The cost unit selected in each situation will depend on a number of factors, including
the purpose of the exercise and the amount of information available.
Cost units can be developed for all kinds of organisations, whether manufacturing, com-
mercial or public service based. Some examples from the CIMA Terminology are as follows:

Industry sector Cost unit

Brick-making 1,000 bricks
Electricity Kilowatt-hour (KwH)
Professional services Chargeable hour
Education Enrolled student
Activity Cost unit
Credit control Account maintained
Selling Customer call

The list is not exhaustive. A cost unit can be anything which is measurable and useful
for cost control purposes. For example with brick-making, 1,000 bricks is suggested as a
cost unit. It would be possible to determine the cost per brick but perhaps in this case a
larger measure is considered more suitable and useful for control purposes.
Notice that this list of cost units contains both tangible and intangible items. Tangible items
are those which can be seen and touched, for example the 1,000 bricks. Intangible items can-
not be seen and touched but they can be measured, for example, a chargeable hour of account-
ing service.

1.3.1 Composite cost units

The cost units for services are usually intangible and they are often composite cost units,
that is, they are often made up of two parts. For example, if we were attempting to moni-
tor and control the costs of a delivery service we might measure the cost per tonne deliv-
ered. However, ‘tonne delivered’ would not be a particularly useful cost unit because it
would not be valid to compare the cost per tonne delivered from London to Edinburgh
with the cost per tonne delivered from London to Brighton. The former journey is much
longer and it will almost certainly cost more to deliver a tonne over the longer distance.
Composite cost units assist in overcoming this problem. We could perhaps use a ‘tonne-
mile’ instead. This means that we would record and monitor the cost of carrying one tonne
for one mile. The cost per tonne-mile would be a comparable measure whatever the length
of journey and this is therefore a valid and useful cost unit for control purposes.
Other examples of composite cost units might be as follows:
Business Cost unit
Hotel Bed-night
Bus company Passenger-mile
Hospital In-patient day
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
still shining, the colours of Brest seemed to me greyer than ever.
At number 154—above the sign: À la pensée du beau canonnier—I
climbed three flights of stairs in an old wide staircase, and came
upon the room of the Kermadecs.
I could hear through the door the regular sound of a cradle. Little
Pierre, very spoilt in spite of all, had retained this habit of being
rocked to sleep, and Yves, alone with his son, was sitting near him,
rocking the cradle with one hand, very slowly.
He raised pathetic eyes, moved at seeing me, but hesitating to come
to me, his expression saying:
"Ah, yes, brother, I know. You have come to take me away; it is true
that this is what I asked of you; but . . . but I did not expect you
perhaps so soon; and to go away . . . that will be very hard to bear. .
. ."
Physically, Yves had greatly changed. He had become paler,
sheltered as he had been from the tanning of the sea; his expression
was different, less assured, almost mournful. It was plain that he
had suffered; but on his face, marmorean still and colourless, vice
had not succeeded yet in imprinting any trace.
I looked around with an impression of surprise, and a contraction of
the heart. I had not, in fact, foreseen what the dwelling of my
brother Yves, on shore and in a town, would be like. It was very
different from that sea dwelling in which I had so long known him:
the masthead, full of wind and sun. Here, now, amid this reality of
poverty I felt as he no doubt felt himself, out of place and ill at ease.
Marie was outside, at the pump, and little Pierre was sound asleep,
his long baby's eyelashes resting on his cheeks. We were alone
together and as he was uncomfortable in my presence, he began
hurriedly to talk of embarking, of departure.
A change in the list had called me to Brest prepared for immediate
departure: two or three ships were about to be put into commission
—for the China station, for the Southern Seas, for the Levant—and it
was necessary to hold myself in readiness, from hour to hour, for
one of these destinations.
The week which followed was one of those agitated periods which
are common enough in a sailor's life: living at the hotel as in a flying
camp, amid the disorder of half-unpacked trunks, not knowing to-
morrow's destination; busy with a number of things, official business
at the port and preparations for the voyage;—and then these
comings and goings, applications on Yves' behalf, in order to secure
his withdrawal from the Reserve, and to keep him near me, ready to
depart with me.
The December days, very short, very gloomy, sped quickly. I climbed
often, three steps at a time, the sordid old staircase of the
Kermadecs; and Marie, anxious always about the first words I might
say, smiled at me sadly, with a respectful and resigned confidence,
awaiting the decision I should bring.

CHAPTER LXI

IN THE ROADSTEAD OF BREST,

23rd December, 1880.
A night in December, clear and cold; a great calm over the sea, a
great silence on board.
In a little ship's cabin, which is painted white and has iron walls,
Yves is sitting near me amid open trunks and cases. We are still in
the disarray of arrival; we have yet to instal ourselves, to make a
little home, in this iron box which presently is going to carry us
through the waves and storms of winter.
All the embarcations we had foreseen, all the long voyages we had
projected, had come to nothing. And I find myself simply on board
this Sèvre which is not going to leave the Brittany coast. Yves is
among the crew and we shall be together again, in all human
probability, for a year. Given our calling it is a stroke of good luck; it
might have happened to us at any moment to be separated for ever.
And Yves has very gladly given a hundred francs out of his purse to
the sailor who consented to give up his place to him.
Let us make the best of this Sèvre, since fate will have it so. It will
remind us at any rate of the times already distant when we sailed
together over the misty northern sea under the protecting eye of the
Creizker tower.
But I should have liked it better if we had been sent elsewhere, to
somewhere in the sun; for Yves' sake especially, I should have
preferred to be going farther from Brest, farther from his evil
companions and the taverns of the coast.

CHAPTER LXII

AT SEA 25th December, Christmas

Day.
It was the second day following, very early, at daybreak. I came up
on deck, having scarcely slept a moment, after a very trying watch
from midnight to four o'clock: we had been buffeted throughout the
night by a gale of wind and a heavy sea.
Yves was there, wet through, but in his element and very much at
ease; and, as soon as he saw me appear, he pointed out to me,
smiling, a singular country which we were approaching.
Grey cliffs walled the distant horizon like a long rampart. A kind of
calm fell upon the waters, although the wind continued to buffet us
furiously. In the sky, dark heavy clouds slid one over the other, very
rapidly: a leaden vault in movement; immense, dark things, which
changed shape, which seemed in haste to pass, to reach a goal
elsewhere, as if seized with the vertigo of some impending and
formidable convulsion. Around us, thousands of reefs, dark heads
which rose up everywhere amid this other silvered commotion made
by the waves; they seemed like immense herds of sea monsters.
They stretched as far as eye could see, these dangerous dark heads,
the sea was covered with them. And then, beyond, on the distant
cliff, the silhouettes of three very old towers, looking as if they had
been planted alone there in the midst of a desert of granite, one of
them greatly overtopping the two others, and rearing its tall figure
like a giant who watches and presides. . . .
Yes! I recognize it well, and, like Yves, salute it with a smile;
somewhat puzzled, nevertheless, to see it reappear so close to us,
and in the midst of this festival of shadows, on a morning when I
was not expecting it. . . . What were we going to do there, in its
neighbourhood? This was no part of our original plan and I could not
understand it.
It was a sudden decision of the captain, taken during my hour of
sleep: to make for the entrance to the roadstead of Taureau, hard by
Saint Pol, and seek a shelter there from the south wind, the open
sea being now too rough for us.
And that was how it came about that, on his return to the northern
waters, Yves' first visit was to the Creizker tower.

CHAPTER LXIII

CHERBOURG, 27th
December, 1880.
At seven o'clock in the morning word is brought to me that Yves,
dead-drunk, is in a boat alongside. Some old friends of his, topmen
on the Vénus, have kept him drinking through the night in low
taverns—to celebrate their return from the Antilles.
I am of the watch. There is no one yet on deck, save some sailors
busy with their furbishing—but devoted fellows these, known for
many a day and to be counted on. Four men get him aboard, and
furtively carry him down a hatch and hide him in my room.
A bad beginning, truly, on board this Sèvre, where I had taken him
under my charge as on a kind of probation, and where he had
promised to be exemplary. And the black thought came to me for
the first time that he was lost, beyond redemption, no matter what I
might do to save him from himself. And also this other thought,
more desolating still, that perhaps he was deficient in certain
qualities of heart.
Throughout the day Yves was like a dead man.
He had lost his bonnet, his purse, his silver whistle, and there was a
dent in his head.
It was not until about six o'clock in the evening that he showed sign
of life. Then, like a child awakening, he smiled—a sign this that he
was still drunk, for otherwise he would not smile—and asked for
food.
Then I said to Jean-Marie, my faithful servant, a fisherman from
Audierne:
"Go to the ward-room kitchen and see if you can get him some
soup."
Jean-Marie brought the soup, and Yves began to turn his spoon this
way and that, as if he did not remember which way to hold it:
"Come on, Jean-Marie, make him eat it!"
"It is too salty!" said Yves suddenly, lying back, making a wry face,
his accent very Breton, his eyes again half-closed.
"Too salty! Too salty!" . . .
Then he fell asleep again, and Jean-Marie and I burst out laughing.
I was in no frame of mind for laughter, but this notion and this spoilt
child's air were too comical. . . .
Later, at ten o'clock, Yves came round, got up furtively, and
disappeared.
For two days he remained hidden in the crews' quarters in the bow
of the ship, only showing himself for his watch and for drill, hanging
his head, not daring to look at me.
Oh! these resolutions taken twenty times and as many times broken.
. . . We dare not take them again or at any rate dare not say that we
have taken them. The will flags, and the days slip by while we wait
inert for the return of courage and self-respect.
Slowly, however, we came back to our normal manner of existence. I
used to call him in the evenings and we would walk up and down
the deck together for hours on end, talking almost in the old way, in
the mournful wind and the fine rain. He had still the same fashion of
thinking and speaking as before, very naïve and at the same time
very profound; it was the same, but with just the least suggestion of
constraint; there was something frigid between us which would not
thaw. I waited for a word of repentance which did not come.
Winter was advancing, the winter of the Channel, which envelopes
everything—thoughts, and men, and things—in the same grey
twilight. The cold dark days had come, and our evening walk was
taken at a quicker pace in the damp wind of the sea.
There were times when I wanted to grip his hand and say to him:
"Come, brother, I have forgiven you; let us forget all about it." But I
checked the words on my lips; after all it was for him to ask
forgiveness; and there remained a kind of haughty coldness in my
manner which kept him at a distance from me.
This Sèvre was not a success for us at all, that was clear.

CHAPTER LXIV

Little Pierre is at Plouherzel, trying to play in front of his

grandmother's door—quite lost as he looks at the motionless sheet
of water before him, with the large beastlike shape which seems to
be asleep in the centre, behind a veil of mist. There is free air and
open sky here, to be sure, but the wind is keener than at Toulven,
and the country more desolate; and children feel these things by
instinct; in the presence of things forlorn, they have involuntary
melancholies and silences—as birds have.
Here now are two little comrades who have come from a
neighbouring cottage to take stock of him, the little new-comer. But
they are not those of Toulven; they do not know the same games;
the few little words which they are able to speak are not of the same
Breton. And, therefore, not venturing much on one side or the other,
they remain all three at gaze, with shy smiles and comical little airs.
It was yesterday that little Pierre arrived at Plouherzel with Marie
Kermadec. Yves had written to his wife bidding her make this
journey as soon as she could; the thought had come to him
suddenly, the hope indeed, that this might reconcile them with his
mother. For the old woman, always hard and headstrong, after
having in the first instance flatly refused her consent to their
marriage, had accepted it subsequently with bad grace, and, since,
had not even troubled to answer their letters.
Poor forsaken old woman! Of thirteen children whom God had given
her, three had died in infancy. Of the eight sons who had reached
manhood, all of them sailors, the sea had taken seven—seven who
had been lost in shipwreck, or else had disappeared abroad, like
Gildas and Goulven.
Her daughters, too, had left her. One of them had married an
Icelander, who had taken her away to Tréquier; the other, her head
turned by religion, had entered the convent of the Sisters of Saint
Gildas du Secours.
There remained only the little grandchild, the forsaken little daughter
of Goulven. And all the old woman's love was centred in her—an
illegitimate child, it is true, but the last survivor of that long
shipwreck which had bereft her, one after another, of the others.
This little child loved to watch the incoming tide from the shore of
the sea water lake. She had been forbidden to do it, but one day she
went thither alone and did not return. The next tide brought in a stiff
little corpse, a little body of white wax, which was laid to rest near
the chapel, under a wooden cross and a mound of green turf.
She still cherished a hope in her son Yves, the last, the best beloved,
because he had remained the longest at home. . . . Perhaps he, at
least, would return one day to live near her!
But it was not to be. This Marie Keremenen had stolen him from her;
and, at the same time—a thing which counted in her rancour—she
had taken from her also the money which this son had previously
sent to help her to live.
And for two years now, she had been alone, quite alone, and would
be alone to her last day.
In obedience to Yves, Marie had come yesterday, after two days'
journeying, and knocked at this door with her child. An old, hard-
featured woman, whom she recognized at once without ever having
seen her, had opened to her.
"I am Marie, Yves' wife. . . . How do you do, mother?"
"Yves' wife! Yves' wife! So this then is little Pierre? This is my little
grandson?"
Her eye had softened as she looked at the little grandson. She had
made them enter, given them to eat, seen that they were warm and
comfortable, and prepared for them her best bed. But for all that
there was a coldness, an ice which nothing could thaw.
In the corner, surreptitiously, the grandmother embraced her
grandchild with affection. But before Marie she gave no sign and
remained always stiff and hard.
Now and then they spoke of Yves, and Marie said timidly that, since
their marriage, he had reformed greatly.
"Tra la la! . . . Reformed!" repeated the old woman, assuming her ill-
tempered air. "Tra la la! my child! . . . Reformed! . . . He has his
father's head, they are all the same, they are all alike, and you have
not seen the last of it in him; mark my words!"
Then poor Marie, her heart heavy, not knowing what to reply, nor
what else to say during the long day, nor what to do with herself,
waited impatiently for the time fixed by Yves for their departure.
Very surely she would not return.

CHAPTER LXV
At Paimpol Marie, with her son, has climbed into the diligence which
moves off and is bearing them away. Through the door she watches
her mother-in-law who has had the grace to accompany them from
Plouherzel to see them off, but who has said good-bye briefly and
coldly, a good-bye to chill the heart.
She watches her and is puzzled; for the old woman is running now,
running after the diligence—and her face, too, is working; she seems
to be making some kind of grimace. What can she want of them?
And as she watches Marie becomes almost afraid. For she is
grimacing still. And see! now she is crying! Her poor features are
quite contorted, and her tears fall fast. . . . And now she
understands!
"For the love of heaven! stop the diligence, sir, if you please," says
Marie to an Icelander, who is sitting near her and who, too, has
understood; for he passes his arm through the little window in front
and pulls the conductor by the sleeve.
The diligence stops. The grandmother, who has continued to run, is
at the back, almost on the step; she stretches out her hands to
them, and her face is bathed in tears.
Marie gets down and the old woman throws her arms round her,
embraces her, embraces little Pierre.
"My dear child! may God in His goodness be with you."
And she weeps and sobs.
"My child, with Yves, you know, you must be very gentle, you must
take him by the heart; you will see that you can be happy with him.
Perhaps I was too hard with his poor father. God bless you, my dear
daughter!"
And there they stand, united in the same love for Yves, and weeping
together.
"Now then, my good women!" cries the conductor, "when will you
have finished rubbing noses?"
They had to drag them apart. And Marie, seated once more in her
corner, watches as she draws away, with eyes filled with tears, the
old woman, who has sunk down, sobbing, on a milestone, while little
Pierre waves good-bye with his plump little hand from the window.

CHAPTER LXVI

1st January, 1881.

In the heart of the docks at Brest, a little before dawn, on the first
morning of the year 1881. A mournful place, these docks; the Sèvre
has been moored there now for a week.
Above, the sky has begun to brighten between the high granite walls
which enclose us. The lamps, few and far between, shed in the mist
their last meagre yellow light. And already one may discern the
silhouettes of formidable things which are taking shape, awakening
ideas of a grim and cruel rigidity; machines high perched, enormous
anchors upturning their black arms; all sorts of vague and ugly
shapes; and, in addition, laid-up ships, with their outline of gigantic
fishes, motionless on their chains, like large dead monsters.
A great silence prevails and a deadly cold. There is no solitude
comparable with that of a naval dockyard at night, especially on a
night of holiday. As the time approaches for the gun to sound the
signal to cease work, everybody flees as from a place of pestilence;
thousands of men issue from every point, swarming like ants,
hastening towards the gates. The last of them run, actuated by a
fear lest they should arrive too late and find the iron gates closed.
Then calm descends. Then night. And there is no longer a soul, no
longer a sound.
From time to time a patrol passes on his round, challenged by the
sentries, giving in a low voice the password. And then the silent
population of rats debouches from all the holes, takes possession of
the deserted ships, the empty yards.
On duty on board since the previous day I had got to sleep very late,
in my icy, iron-walled room. I was worried about Yves, and the
songs, the shoutings of sailors which came to me in the night from
the distance, from the low quarters of the town, filled me with
foreboding.
Marie and little Pierre were to make their journey to Plouherzel in
Goello, and Yves had wanted, nevertheless, to spend the night on
shore in Brest, to celebrate the New Year with some old friends. I
could have stopped him by asking him to stay and keep me
company; but the coldness between us persisted; and I had let him
go. And this night of the 31st December is of all nights perhaps the
most dangerous, a night when Brest gives itself up wholly to a riot of
alcohol.
As I climbed on deck, I saluted rather sadly this first morning of the
New Year, and I began the mechanical promenade, the hundred
paces of the watch, thinking of many past things.
And especially I thought of Yves, who was my present
preoccupation. During the last fortnight, on this Sèvre, it seemed to
me that the affection of this simple brother who had long been the
only real friend I had in the world, was slowly, hour by hour, drifting
from me. And then, also, I was angry with him for not behaving
himself better, and it seemed to me, that, for my part, too, I loved
him less. . . .
A black bird passed above my head, uttering a mournful croaking.
"Good luck to you!" said a sailor who was making his morning
ablution in cold water. "Here's some one come to wish us a happy
New Year! . . . You ugly croaker! Anyhow, you are a sign that better
things are to follow."
Yves returned at seven o'clock, walking very straight, and answered
the roll-call. Afterwards he came to me, as usual, to wish me good
morning.
I quickly saw, from his eyes slightly dulled and his voice slightly
altered, that he had not been as abstemious as he should. And I said
to him in the tone of a curt order:
"Yves, you will not return to shore to-day."
And then I affected to speak to others, conscious that I had been
unduly severe and none too pleased with myself.
Midday. The dockyard, the ships are emptying, becoming deserted
as on days of holiday. Everywhere the sailors may be seen on their
way out for the day, all very smart in their clean Sunday clothes,
brushing off with eager hand the least trace of dust, adjusting for
one another their large blue collars. Walking briskly they soon reach
the gates and press forward into Brest.
When it comes to the turn of those on the Sèvre Yves appears with
the others, well brushed, well washed, and very bare about the
neck, in his best clothes.
"Yves, where are you going?"
He gave me an angry glance such as I had not had from him before.
It seemed to defy me and I read in it still the fever and
bewilderment of alcohol.
"I am going to join my friends," he said. "Sailors from my country,
whom I have arranged to meet, and who are expecting me."
Then I attempted to reason with him, taking him aside, obliged to
say what I had to say very quickly, for time pressed, obliged to
speak low and to maintain an appearance of complete calm, for it
was necessary that the others who were standing quite near us
should not know what was passing. And I began to feel that I had
taken a wrong road, that I was no longer myself, that my patience
was exhausted. I spoke in the tone which irritates and does not
persuade.
"I am going, I am going, I tell you," he said at the end, trembling,
his teeth clenched. "Unless you put me in irons to-day, you will not
stop me."
He turned away, defying me to my face for the first time in his life,
and moved to rejoin the others.
"In irons? Very well then, Yves; in irons you shall be."
And I called a sergeant-at-arms, and gave him out loud the order to
lead him away.
Oh! the glance he gave me as he turned away, obliged to follow the
sergeant-at-arms who prepared to take him below, before all his
fellows, to descend into the hold in his brave Sunday clothes! He
was sobered, assuredly; for his gaze was penetrating and his eyes
were clear. It was I who hung my head under this expression of
reproach, of sorrowful and supreme amazement, of sudden
disillusion and disdain.
And then I went back to my room.
Was it all over between us? I thought it was. This time I had lost
him indeed.
I knew that Yves, with his obstinate Breton character, would not
return; his heart, once closed, would never open again.
I had abused my authority over him, and he was of those, who,
before force, rebel and will not yield.
I had begged the officer on duty to let me continue in charge for this
day, not having the courage to leave the ship—and I continued my
endless walk up and down the deck.
The dockyard was deserted within its high walls. There was no one
on deck. The sound of distant singing came from the low-lying
streets of Brest. And, from the crew's quarters below, the voices of
the sailors of the watch calling at regular intervals the Loto numbers
with the little jokes usual among sailors, which are very old and
always gain a laugh.
"—22, the two quartermasters out for a walk!"
"—33, the legs of the ship's cook!"
And my poor Yves was below them, at the bottom of the hold, in the
dark, stretched on the floor in the cold, with his foot in an iron ring.
What should I do? . . . Order him to be set free and sent to me? I
foresaw perfectly well how this interview might turn out: He
standing before me, impassive, sullen, his bonnet, respectfully
doffed, braving me by his silence, his eyes downcast.
And, if he refused to come—and he was quite capable of this in his
present mood—what then? . . . How could I save him from the
consequences of such a refusal of obedience? How could I then
extricate him from the mess I should have made between our own
private affairs and the blind rules of discipline?
Now, night was falling and Yves had been nearly five hours in irons.
I thought of little Pierre and of Marie, of the good folk of Toulven,
who had put their hope in me, and then of an oath I had sworn to
an old mother in Plouherzel.
And above all, I realized that I still loved my poor Yves as a brother. .
. . I went back to my room and began hurriedly to write to him; for
this must be the only means of communication between us; with our
characters, explanations would never be successful. I wrote quickly,
in large letters, so that he could still read them: darkness was
coming on quickly, and, in the dockyard, a light is a thing forbidden.
Then I said to the sergeant-at-arms:
"Bring Kermadec to speak to the Officer of the Watch, here in my
room."
I had written:

"DEAR BROTHER,—I forgive you and I ask that you too will
forgive me. You know well that we are now brothers, and that,
in spite of everything, we must stick together through thick and
thin. Are you willing that all that we have done and said on the
Sèvre should be forgotten, and are you willing to make one
more firm resolution to be sober? I ask this of you in the name
 of your mother. If you will write 'Yes' at the bottom of this
paper, all will be over and we will not speak of it again.
"PIERRE."

When Yves came in, without looking at him, and without waiting for
a reply, I said to him simply:
"Read this which I have just written for you." And I went out,
leaving him alone.
He came out quickly, as if he had been afraid of my return, and, as
soon as I heard that he was some distance away, I re-entered my
room to see what he had answered.
At the bottom of my letter—in letters still larger than mine, for it was
growing darker—he had written: "Yes, brother," and signed: "YVES."

CHAPTER LXVII

"Jean-Marie, go as quickly as you can and tell Yves that I am waiting

for him on shore, on the quay."
This was ten minutes later. It was clearly necessary that we should
meet—after having written one another thus—in order to make the
reconciliation complete.
When Yves arrived, his face had changed and he was smiling as I
had not seen him smile for many a long day. I took his hand, his
poor topman's hand, in mine; it was necessary to squeeze it very
hard to make it feel the pressure, for work had greatly hardened it.
"But why did you do that? It wasn't kind, you know."
And this was all he found to say to me by way of reproach.
The guard at night on the Sèvre was not very strict.
"Look here, Yves, we are going to spend this first night of the New
Year on shore, in Brest, and you are going to have dinner with me,
as my guest. That is a thing we have never done and it will be fun.
Quickly, go and brush your clothes (for he had got very dirty in irons
in the hold), and let us go."
"Oh! but we must be quick, though. Let me rather brush myself
when we get on shore. The gun will sound directly, and we shall not
have time to get out."
We were in a remote part of the docks, very far from the gates, and
we started off at once almost running.
But, as luck would have it, when we were but half-way, the gun
sounded and we were too late.
There was nothing for it but to return to the Sèvre, where it was
cold and dark.
In the wardroom there was a pitiful lantern in a wire cage, which
had been lit by the fireman patrol, but no fire. And it was there we
passed the first night of the new year, dinnerless through our own
fault, but content nevertheless that we had found each other again
and had made friends.
Nevertheless something still worried Yves.
"I did not think of it before: but perhaps it would have been better if
you had left me in irons until the morning, on account of the others,
you know, who won't be able to make out what has happened. . . ."
But about his future conduct, he had no misgiving at all; to-night he
felt very sure of himself.
"In the first place," he said, "I have found a sure method; I will
never go ashore again except with you, and you will take me where
you will. In that way, you see. . . ."

CHAPTER LXVIII

Sunday, 31st March, 1881.

Toulven, in spring; the lanes full of primroses. A first warm breeze
stirs the air, a surprise and a delight; it stirs the branches of the oaks
and beeches, and the great leafless woods; it brings us, in this grey
Brittany, the scent of distant places, memories of sunlit lands. A pale
summer is at hand, with long, mild evenings.
We are all outside at the cottage door, the two old Keremenens,
Yves, his wife, and Anne, little Corentine, and little Pierre. Religious
chants, which we had first heard in the distance, are slowly drawing
near. It is the procession coming with rhythmic step, the first
procession of spring. It is now in the green lane. It is going to pass
in front of us.
"Lift me, godfather, lift me!" says little Pierre, holding out his hands
for me to take him in my arms, so that he may see better.
But Yves forestalls me and raising him very high, places him
standing on his shoulders; and little Pierre smiles to find himself so
tall and thrusts his hands into the mossy branches of the old trees.
The banner of the Virgin passes, borne by two young men,
thoughtful and grave of mien. All the men of Trémeulé and of
Toulven follow it, bareheaded, young and old, hat in hand, with long
hair, brown or whitened by age, which falls on Breton jackets
ornamented with old embroideries.
And the women come after: black corselets embroidered with eyes,
a little restrained hubbub of voices pronouncing Celtic words, a
movement of large white things of muslin on the heads. The old
nurse follows last, bent and hobbling, always with her witch-like
movements; she gives us a sign of recognition and threatens little
Pierre, in fun, with the end of her stick.
It passes on and the noise with it.
Now, from behind and from a distance, we see the long procession
as it ascends between the narrow walls of moss, a long lane of white
wide-winged head-dresses and white collarettes.
It moves on, in zigzags, ascending always towards Saint Eloi of
Toulven. It is a strange sight, this long procession.
"Oh! what a lot of coifs!" says Anne, who is the first to finish her
rosary, and who begins to laugh, struck with the effect of all these
white heads enlarged by the muslin wings.
And now it has disappeared—lost in the distances of the vault of
beech trees—and one sees only the tender green of the lane and the
tufts of primroses scattered everywhere: eager growths which have
not waited for the sun, and which cluster on the moss in large
compact masses, of a pale sulphur yellow, a milky amber colour. The
Bretons called them "milk flowers."
I take little Pierre's hand and lead him with me into the woods, in
order to leave Yves alone with his relations. They have very serious
matters, it seems, to discuss together: those interminable questions
of profits and distribution which, in the country, take so large a place
in life.
This time it has to do with a dream Yves and his wife have dreamt
together: to realize all their possessions and build a little house,
covered with slate, in Toulven. I am to have my room there in this
little house, and in it are to be put the old-fashioned Breton things I
love, and flowers and ferns. They do not want to live any more in
the large towns, not in Brest particularly—it is not good for Yves.
"It is true," he says, "that I shall not often be at home; but when I
am, we shall all be very happy there. And then, you know, later on
when I take my pension . . . it is for then really; I shall settle down
very nicely in my house and my little garden."
His pension! That is ever the sailor's dream. It begins in early youth,
as if the present life were only a time of trial. To take his pension, at
about forty; after having traversed the world from pole to pole, to
possess a little plot of earth of his own, to live there very soberly
and to leave it no more; to become someone of standing in his
village, in his parish church—a churchwarden after having been a
sea-rover; the devil turned monk and a very peaceful one. . . . How
many of them are mown down before they reach it, this more
peaceful hour of ripe age? And yet, if you ask them, they are all
thinking of it.
This sure method which Yves had discovered for keeping sober had
succeeded very well; on board he was the exemplary sailor he had
always been, and, on shore, we were never apart.
Since that miserable day which began the year 1881, the relations
between us had completely changed, and I treated him now in every
respect as a brother.
On board this Sèvre, a very small boat, we officers lived in a very
cordial intimacy. Yves was now of our band. At the theatre, in our
box; sharing our enterprises which for the most part were
insignificant enough. Rather shy at first, refusing, slipping away, he
had ended by accepting the position, because he felt that he was
loved by us all. And I hoped by this new and perhaps unusual means
to attach him to me as much as possible, and to raise him out of his
past life and win him from his former friends.
That thing which it is usual to call education, that kind of polish
which is applied thickly enough, it is true, on so many others, was
entirely wanting in my brother Yves; but he had naturally a kind of
tact, a delicacy much rarer, which cannot be assumed. When he was
in our company, he kept himself always so well in his place, that in
the end he himself began to feel at ease. He spoke very little, and
never to say those banal things which everybody says. And when he
put off his sailor's clothes and dressed himself in a well-fitting grey
suit with grey suede gloves to match, then, though preserving still
his careless sea-rover's carriage, his high-held head and his bronzed
skin, he had all at once quite a distinguished air.
It used to amuse us to take him with us and present him to smart
people upon whom his silence and bearing imposed and who found
him rather haughty. And it was comical, next day, to see him once
more a sailor, as good a topman as before.
Little Pierre and I, then, were in the woods of Toulven, looking for
flowers during the family council.
We found a great many, pale yellow primroses, violet periwinkles,
blue borage, and even red silenes, the first of the spring.
Little Pierre gathered as many as he could, in a state of great
excitement, not knowing which way to run, panting hard, as if in the
throes of a very important work; he brought them to me very
eagerly in little handfuls, very badly picked, half-crushed in his little
fingers, and too short in the stalk.
From the height we had reached we could see woods as far as eye
could command; the blackthorns were already in flower; all the
branches, all the reddish sprigs, full of buds, were waiting for the
spring. And, in the distance, in the midst of this country of trees,
Toulven church raised its grey spire.
We had been out so long that Corentine had been placed on the look
out in the green lane to announce our return. We saw her from a
distance, jumping, dancing, playing all sorts of tricks alone, her big
head-dress and her collarette fluttering in the wind. And she shouted
loud:
"They are coming, big Peter and little Peter, hand in hand."
And she turned it into a rhyme and sang it to a lively Breton air as
she danced in time:
"See here they come together
And they hold each other's hand,
Peter big and Peter little
Are coming hand in hand."
Her big head-dress and her collarette aflutter in the breeze, she
danced like some little doll which had become possessed. And night
was falling, a night of March, always mournful, under the leafless
roof of the old trees. A sudden chill passed like a shudder of death
over the woods, after the sunny warmth of the day:
"And they hold each other's hand,
Peter big and Peter little!
And little black man Peter!"
"Little black man" was the nickname Yves had borne, and she gave it
now to her little cousin Pierre, on account of the bronzed colouring
of the Kermadecs. Thereupon I called her "Little Miss Golden Locks,"
and the name stuck to her; it suited her well, on account of the curls
which were for ever escaping from her head-dress, curls like skeins
of golden silk.
Everybody in the cottage seemed very pleased, and Yves took me
aside and told me that matters had been arranged very satisfactorily.
Old Corentin was giving them two thousand francs and an aunt was
lending them another thousand. With that they would be able to buy
a piece of land for a term of years and begin to build immediately.
We had to leave immediately after dinner in order to catch the
diligence at Toulven and the train at Bannalec. For Yves and I were
returning to Lorient, where our ship was waiting for us in the
harbour.
At about eleven o'clock, when we had got back to the chance
lodging we had booked in the town, Yves, before going to bed,
began to arrange in vases the flowers we had gathered in the woods
of Toulven.
It was the first time in his life that he had ever done anything of the
kind; he was surprised at himself that he should find pleasure in
these poor little flowers to which he had never before given a
thought.
"Well, well!" he said. "When I have my own little house at Toulven, I
shall have flowers in it, for it seems to me that they look very well.
But it is you, you know, who have given me the idea of these things.
. . ."

CHAPTER LXIX

At sea, on the following day, the first of April. Bound for Saint
Nazaire. A full spread of canvas; a strong breeze from the north-
west: the weather bad; the lighthouses no longer visible. We came
into dock in the small hours, with a damaged bow and a broken
foretopmast.
The 2nd is pay day. Drunken men stumble in the hold in the dark
and there are broken heads.
A little liberty of two days, quite unexpected. On the road with Yves
for Trémeulé in Toulven. This Sèvre is a good boat which never takes
us away for long.
At ten o'clock at night, in the moonlight, we knock at the door of the
old Keremenens and of Marie, who were not expecting us.
They wake up little Pierre in our honour, and sit him on our knees.
Surprised in his first sleep he smiles and says how do you do to us
very low, but afterwards does not make much ado about our visit.
His eyes close in spite of himself and he cannot hold up his head.
And Yves, disturbed at this, seeing him hanging his head, and
looking at us in sidelong fashion, his hair in his eyes:
"You know, it seems to me that he has . . . that he has . . . a sly
look."
And he looks at me anxious to know what I think of it, conceiving
already a grave misgiving about the future.
Nobody in the world but my dear old Yves would have felt concern
on such ludicrous grounds. I shake little Pierre, who thereupon
becomes wide awake and bursts out laughing, his fine big eyes well
opened between their long lashes. Yves is reassured and finds that
in fact he does not look at all sly.
When his mother strips him, he looks like a classic baby, like the
Greek statues of Cupid.

CHAPTER LXX

Toulven, 30th April.

The cottage of the old Keremenens, as darkness is falling on an
evening of April. Our little party has just returned from a walk: Yves,
Marie, Anne, little Corentine "golden locks," and "little black man"
Pierre.
Four candles are burning in the cottage (three would be unlucky).
On an old table of massive oak, polished by the years, there are
paper, pens and sand. Benches have been placed round. Very
solemn things are about to happen.
We put down our harvest of herbs and flowers, which shed a
perfume of April in the old cottage, and take our places.
Presently two dear old women enter with an important air: they say
good evening with a curtsey, which makes their large starched
collarettes stand upright, and sit down in a corner. Then Pierre
Kerbras, who is engaged to Anne. At last everybody is placed and we
are all complete.
It is the great evening for the settlement of the family
arrangements, when the old Keremenens are going to fulfil the
promise they have made to their children. The two of them rise and
open an old chest on which the carvings represent Sacred Hearts
alternating with cocks; they remove papers, clothing, and from the
bottom, take a little sack which seems heavy. Then they go to their
bed, lift up the mattress and search beneath: a second sack!
They empty the sacks on the table, in front of their son Yves, and
then appear all those shining pieces of gold and silver, stamped with
ancient effigies, which, for the last half century, have been amassed
one by one and put in hiding. They are counted out in little piles; the
two thousand francs promised are there.
Now comes the turn of the old aunt who rises and empties a third
little sack; another thousand francs in gold.
The old neighbour comes last; she brings five hundred in a stocking
foot. And all this is lent to Yves, all this is heaped before him. He
signs two little receipts on white paper and hands them to the two
old lenders who make their curtsey preparatory to leaving, but who
are detained, as custom ordains, and made to drink a glass of cider
with us.
It is over. All this has been done without a notary, without a deed,
without discussion, with a confidence and a simple honesty that are
things of Toulven.
"Rat-tat-tat!" at the door. It is the contractor for the building, and he
arrives in the nick of time.
But with this gentleman it is desirable to use stamped paper. He is
an old rogue from Quimper, with only a smattering of French, but he
seems cunning enough for all that, with his town manners.
It is given to me to explain to him a plan which we had thought out
during our evenings on board, and in which a room is provided for
me. I discuss the construction in the smallest details and the price of
all the materials, with an air of knowledge which imposes on the old
man, but which makes Yves and me laugh, when by ill-luck our eyes
chance to meet.
On a sheet bearing a twelve sou stamp I write two pages of clauses
and details:
"A house built of granite, cemented with sand from the seashore,
limewashed, joinered in chestnut wood, with skylit attic, shutters
painted green, etc., etc., the whole to be finished before the 1st May
of next year and at the price fixed in advance of two thousand nine
hundred and fifty francs."
This work and this concentration of mind have made me quite tired;
I am surprised at myself, and I can see that they all are amazed at
my foresight and my economy. It is unbelievable what these good
people have made me do.
At last it is signed and sealed. We drink cider and shake hands all
round. And Yves now is a landowner in Toulven. They look so happy,
Yves and his wife, that I regret no part of the trouble I have taken
for them.
The two old ladies make their final curtsey, and all the others, even
little Pierre, who has been allowed to stay up, come with me, in the
fine moonlit night, as far as the inn.

Toulven, 1st May, 1881.

We are very busy, Yves and I, assisted by old Corentin Keremenen,
measuring with string the land to be acquired.
First of all we had to select it, and that took us all yesterday
morning. For Yves it was a very serious matter this fixing of the site
of his little house, in which he pictured, in the background of a
melancholy and strange distance, his retirement, his old age and
death.
After many goings and comings we had decided on this spot. It is in
the outskirts of Toulven, on the road which leads to Rosporden, on
high ground, facing a little village square which is brightened this
morning by a population of noisy fowls and red-cheeked children. On
one side is Toulven and its church, on the other the great woods.
At the moment it is just an oatfield very green. We have measured it
carefully in all directions; reckoned by the square yard it will cost
fourteen hundred and ninety francs, without counting the lawyer's
fees.
How steady Yves will have to be, and how he will have to save to
pay all that! He becomes very serious when he thinks of it.

CHAPTER LXXI

ON BOARD THE Sèvre,

May, 1881.
Yves, who will soon be thirty years old, begs me to bring him from
the town a bound manuscript book in order that he may commence
to record his impressions, after my manner. He regrets even that he
can no longer recall very clearly dates and past events so that he
might make his record retrospective.
His intelligence is opening to a crowd of new conceptions; he models
himself on me and perhaps makes himself more "complex" than he
need. But our intimacy brings in its train another and quite
unexpected result, namely that I am becoming much simpler in
contact with him; I also am changing, and almost as much as he.

BREST, June, 1881.

At six o'clock, on the evening of the feast of St. John, I was
returning with Yves from the "pardon" of Plougastel on the outside
of a country omnibus.
In May the Sèvre had been as far as Algiers, and we appreciated, by
contrast, the special charm of the Breton country.
The horses were going at full gallop, beribboned, with streamers and
green branches on their heads.
The folk inside were singing, and, on top, next to us, three drunken
sailors were dancing, their bonnets on one side, flowers in their
button-holes, with streamers and trumpets, and, in mockery of those
unfortunate enough to be short-sighted, blue spectacles—three
young men, smart of bearing and intelligent in face, who were
taking a last French leave before their departure for China.
Any ordinary man would have broken his neck. But they, drunk as
they were, kept their feet, nimble as goats, while the omnibus
careered at full speed, swinging from right to left in the ruts, driven
by a driver who was as drunk as they.
At Plougastel we had found the uproar of a village fête, wooden
horses, a female dwarf, a female giant, a fat lady, and a boneless
man, and games and drinking stalls. And, in an isolated square, the
Breton bagpipes played a rapid and monotonous air of olden times,
and people in old-fashioned costume danced to this age-old music;
men and women, holding hands, ran, ran like the wind, like a lot of
mad folk, in a long frenzied file. It was a relic of old Brittany,
retaining still its note of primitiveness, even at the gates of Brest,
amid the uproar of a fair.
At first we tried, Yves and I, to calm the three sailors and make
them sit down.
And then it struck us as rather comical that we, of all people, should
assume the rôle of preacher.
"After all," I said to Yves, "it's not the first sermon of the kind we've
preached."
"To be sure, no," he replied with conviction.
And we contented ourselves with holding on to the iron rails to
prevent ourselves from falling.
The roads and the villages are full of people returning from the
"pardon," and all these people are amazed at seeing pass this
carriage-load of madmen with the three sailors dancing on the top.
The splendour of June throws over this Brittany its charm and its
life; the breeze is mild and warm beneath the grey sky; the tall
grass, full of red flowers; the trees, of an emerald green, filled with
cockchafers.
And the three sailors continue to dance and sing, and at each
couplet, the others, inside, take up the refrain:
"Oh! He set out with the wind behind him,
He'll find it harder coming back."
The windows of our carriage rattle with it. This air, which never
changes and is repeated over and over again for some six miles of
our journey, is a very ancient air of France, so old and so young, of
so frank a gaiety and so good a quality, that in a very few minutes
we too are singing it with the rest.
How beautiful Brittany looks, beautiful and rejuvenated and green, in
the June sunshine!
We poor followers of the sea, when we find spring in our path,
rejoice in it more than other people, on account of the sequestered
life we lead in the wooden monasteries. It was eight years since
Yves had seen a Breton spring, and we both had long grown weary
of the winter, and of that eternal summer which in other parts reigns
resplendent over the great blue sea; and these green fields, these
soft perfumes, all this charm of June which words cannot describe
held us entranced.
Life still holds hours that are worth the living, hours of youth and
forgetfulness. Away with all melancholy dreams, all the morbid
fancies of long-faced poets! It is good to sail, in the face of the wind,
in the company of the most lighthearted among the children of the
earth. Health and youth comprise all there is of truth in the world,
with simple and boisterous merriment and the songs of sailors!
And we continued to travel very quickly and very erratically,
zigzagging over the road among these crowds of people, between
very tall hawthorns forming green hedges, and under the tufted
vault of the trees.
And presently Brest appeared, with its great solemn air, its great
granite ramparts, its great grey walls, on which also grass and pink
foxgloves were growing. It was as it were intoxicated, this mournful
town, at having by chance a real summer's day, an evening clear
and warm; it was full of noise and movement and people, of white
head-dresses and sailors singing.

CHAPTER LXXII

5th July, 1881.

At Sea.—We are returning from the Channel. The Sèvre is
proceeding very slowly in a thick fog, blowing every now and then
its whistle which sounds like a cry of distress in this damp shroud
which envelops us. The grey solitudes of the sea are all about us
and we feel them without seeing them. It seems as if we were
dragging with us long veils of darkness; we long to break through
them; we are oppressed as it were to feel that we have been so long
enclosed within them, and the impression grows that this curtain is
immense, infinite, that it stretches for league on league without end,
in the same dull greyness, in the same watery atmosphere. And then
there is the endless roll of the waters, slow, smooth, regular, patient,
exasperating. It is as if great polished and shining backs heaved and
pushed us with their shoulders, raising us up and letting us fall.
Suddenly in the evening the fog lifts and there appears before us a
dark thing, surprising, unexpected, like a tall phantom emerging
from the sea:
"Ar Men Du (the Black Rocks)!" says our old Breton pilot.
And, at the same time, the veil is rent all round us. Ushant appears:
all its dark rocks, all its reefs are outlined in dark grey, beaten by
high-flung showers of white foam, under a sky which seems as
heavy as a globe of lead.
Immediately we straighten our course, and taking advantage of the
clearing, the Sèvre stands in for Brest, whistling no longer, but
hastening and with every hope of reaching port. But the curtain
slowly closes again and falls. We can see no longer, darkness comes,
and we have to stand out for the open sea.
And for three long days we continue thus, unable to see anything.
Our eyes are weary with watching.
This is my last voyage on the Sèvre, which I am due to leave as
soon as we reach Brest. Yves, with his Breton superstition, sees
something unnatural in this fog, which persists in midsummer as if to
delay my departure.
It seems to him a warning and a bad omen.

CHAPTER LXXIII

BREST, 9th July, 1881.

We reach port at last, however, and this is my last day of duty on
board. I disembark to-morrow.
We are in the heart of the Brest docks, where the Sèvre comes from
time to time to rest between two high walls. High gloomy-looking
buildings overlook us; around us courses of native rock support the
ramparts, a roundway, a whole heavy pile of granite, oozing sadness
and humidity. I know all these things by heart.
And as we are now in July there are foxgloves, and tufts of silenes
clinging here and there to the grey stones. These red plants growing
on the walls strike a note of summer in this sunless Brest.
I have a kind of pleasure, nevertheless, in going away. This Brittany
always causes me, in spite of everything, a melancholy sense of
oppression; I feel it now, and when I think of the novelty and the
unknown which await me, it seems to me that I am about to awaken
with the passing of a kind of night. . . . Whither shall I be sent? Who
knows? In what particular corner of the earth shall I have to
acclimatize myself to-morrow? No doubt in some country of the sun
where I shall become another person altogether, with different
senses, and where I shall forget, alas! the beloved things I am now
about to leave behind me.
But my poor Yves and my little Pierre, I shall not part from either of
them without a pang.
Poor Yves, who has so often himself had to be treated like a spoilt
and capricious child, it is he now, at the hour of my departure, who
surrounds me with a thousand kind attentions, almost childlike, at a
loss to know what he can do to show sufficiently his affection. And
this attitude in him has the greater charm, because it is not in his
ordinary nature.
The time we have just passed together, in a daily fraternal intimacy,
has not been without its storms. He still deserved in some degree,
unfortunately, the epithets "undisciplined, uncontrollable," inscribed
long ago in his sailor's pay-book; but he had improved very much,