The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume III (of 8) by Guy de Maupassant

Chapter 8 No.8

Word Count: 37147 | Released on: 06/12/2017

er, dated the day after we had left, and that

For the moment I am at the inn, where I have ju

nd as her children were with their grandparents. I have learnt all this since yesterday, and it has turned my ideas of vengeance into more humane feelings. At the very moment when I felt pleasure in in

chwoman? You think that you will do right in

I rep

t you are going to do in burning me. I aven

ou approve of this vengea

not f

without trembling, while I brought wood and dried leaves together, and feverishly threw on

and he seemed to be looking at me with his large, glassy eyes, and I applied myself to my work again after kiss

frightened?'

ss your husband, I thought

ing suddenly she said to me in b

ou any c

saw two photographs of quite young children, a boy and a girl, with those kind, gentle, chubby faces that German children have. In it there w

dead husband, who was not to be avenged, I went with her as far as the inn. She is free; I have just left her, and she kiss

ed what it all meant, I was told that there was a captain of Franc-tireurs and his wife inside, both dea

ly. "Go in if you wish to, as you knew them. You

were covered by a sheet. I raised it, and saw that the woman had inflict

weeping, the woman who had been mentioned to me

LONEL'

tell me to go through the eye of a needle, I believe I should take a jump at it, like a clown through a hoop. I shall die like that; it i

nobody will ever get a woman out of our hearts; there she is, and there she will remain, and we love her, and shall continue to love her, and go on committing all kin

ng me, her confounded looks which set your blood on fire, I should like to do I don't know what; to fight a duel, to have a ro

e very end, when there is a woman in the case, a pretty woman. Remember what Joan of Arc made us do formerly! Come, I will make a bet that if a pretty woman had taken comm

aris, and I remember a little anecdote of the war which proves

, pursued, tired out, and half dead with fatigue and hunger, and by the next day we were bound to reach Bar-sur-Tain, otherwise we should be done for, cut off from the main body and ki

r devils of fellows will

, and huddled close together, so as not to feel the cold so much; we did not venture to speak o

my men. Some of them would not get up; they were almost incapable oí moving or o

ng like a curtain, in large, white flakes, which concealed everything under a heavy, thick

lads, let

and they seemed to think: 'We have had enough of this; we may

and I sent four of them three hundred yards ahead, to scout, and the others followed pell-mell, walking at random and without any ord

s without melting, and made phantoms of us, a species of specters of dead soldiers, who we

ll those flakes make, as they come down together. Some of the men shook themselves, but others did not move, and so I gave the order to set off again; they shouldered their rifles, and wi

om the Prussians, who had occupied their house during the evening, and who had got drunk, The father had become alarmed on his daughter's account, and, without even telling their servants, they had made their escape into the

me intense. The girl, who was leaning on her father's arm, wa

she did, I believe, to see that poor little woman dragging hersel

ired that I cannot

came round her, and as for me, I stamped on the ground, not knowing what to do, and quite unable to make up my mind to a

young lady, otherwise we shall not s

and said: 'That is very good of you, my chil

eft, through the darkness, and several men went into it, and s

hrown to him. In a moment, the girl was lying, warm and comfortable, among them, and was raised upo

renchmen, you see. The soldiers, who were reanimated and warm, had almost reformed their ranks, and an old franc-tireur[16] I who was following t

, there is nothing like the women to m

voice, and heard the harsh, metallic sound of the cocking of rifles. For there, in the middle of the plain, some strange object was moving about. It might have been taken for some enormous animal running about, which unfolded itself like a serpent, or c

panting of the horses, the clink of their swords, and

oke had cleared away, we saw that the twelve men and nine horses had fallen. Three of the animals were galloping away at a furious pace, and one

e a terrible laugh, and said: 'The

d. And a third added:

put out of

er?' she asked; 'y

le,' I replied; 'we have go

ed off once more. We marched on for a long time, and at last the sky began to grow pale. The snow became quite

goes t

and as my men defiled before the outpost, a commandant on horseback, whom I had informed of what

vered with light hair, appeared, d

I, Mon

uite light-hearted, while Pratique, who was walking by

d. I do not know why, except that I thoug

that little face, you may be sure, and if I had to give my opinion about abolishing drums, trumpets, and bugles, I should propose to replace them in every regiment by a pretty girl,

and then continued, with an air o

are very fond of w

out before us. The high hills were covered with forests, and in the distance the yellow sands fo

t, unknown world, on the outskirts of that strange world of the ostrich, the camel, the gazelle, the hippopotamus, the gorilla, the lion and the tiger, and the negro. I had seen the Arab galloping like the wind,

hatter, of commonplace cares, and of continual hand-shaking, and I should bid adieu to all that I had got to like so

I was standing by the side of my portmanteau, looking at the great steamer lying at anchor in the roads, and filled with admiration at that unique shore, and that semi-circle of hills, bathed in blue light, which were more beautiful than thos

ld school-fellow

ossible. What

moul

ere in the same

, I recognized

of friendly selfishness, I shook both the hands of my former sc

tall, thin fellow, whose head seemed to be too heavy for his body; it was a large, round head, and hung sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left, onto his chest. Trémou

of ingeniously sentimental ideas. His father, who kept a chemist's shop near the Panthéon, was not supposed to be very well off,

lanter,"

u really

ave my h

t is

om which I

ne-growing

at suc

e better, o

going to t

urse I

ust just come home

ter is s

ro who was watching our move

ssions it had had on me, and seeing how enthusiastic I was about it, he seemed to like me better than ever. He lived in an old Moorish house, with an interior courtyard, without any windows looking int

me in this place. You are indeed lucky to be living here! Wha

ll go onto it this evening

ind of

by torc

articularly

ter dinner, and we will come ba

we went down to the quay, and we saw nothing except the fires and the stars, those large, bright, scintillating African stars. A boat was waiting for us, and as soon as we had got in, a man whose face I could

ike towers built in the water, and I suddenly perceived that the sea was phosphorescent, and as the oars moved gently, they seemed to light up moving fl

, and the sparks of water dropping from the oars; it was hot, very hot, and the darkness seemed as hot as

ch was fastened over the bows of the boat, which was covered with wood, as if it had been a floating funeral pile, and which soon was blazing brightly and illuminating the boa

lants and animals, just like the air of heaven does. Trémoulin, who was standing in the bows with his body bent forward, and holding the sharp-pointed trident in his hand, was on the look-out with the ardent gaze of a beast of prey watching for its spoi

he handle of the trident. It was an octopus, and Trémoulin opened his knife, and with a swift movement plunged it between the eyes, and killed it. And so our fishing conti

ugh I could not tell where the land or where the port was. B

py?" my frien

he sli

o and have a ch

l be de

with their flat roofs, descending down towards the sea, while human forms were standing or lying on them, sleeping or d

hts. My head was full of the Bible and of The Arabian Nights; I could hear the prophets proclaiming miracles, and I could see princesses wearing silk dra

fortunate in

uite by accide

acci

nd unhappiness b

e been u

unha

and his voice had such a painful ring in it that it almo

es have been; perhaps it will d

e hear

really w

reamt of writing books, and I tried it, after taking my degree, but I did not succeed. I published a vol

h she was two-and-twenty. She was very small, with delicate features, outlines and tints, just like some beautiful water color. Her nose, her mouth, her blue eyes, her light hair, her smile, her waist, her hands, all looked as if they were fit for a stained window, and not for everyday life, but she was lively, supple, and incredibly active, and I was very much in love

a poet, a novelist, or a dramatic author, and thought a prosperous business could afford perfect happiness. So I gave up the idea of wr

n poets, and especially on politics. My wife, who took a very active part in the business, enjoyed quite a reputation in the town, but, as for me, while they were all talking downstairs, I was working in my studio upstairs, which

h of France, with an olive skin, and dark, expressive eyes; Monsieur Barbet, a magistrate; two merchants, who were partners, Messrs. Faucil and Lab

her in the shop half an hour before, suffering from a headache. She was walking quickly on before me, without turning round, and, in spite of myself, I followed her, as I felt surprised and uneasy. I said to myself: 'It it she; no, it is quite impossible, as she has a sick headache. And then, what could she have to do in that house?'

come out? And how

and I have been

her

the Rue Cassinelli,

eyes!-appeared to be full of truth, but I felt vaguely and painfuly that they were full of lies. I was much more confused and embarra

ight to go out, if

my head is

ou goin

of cour

to her, I had an intuitive feeling of her falseness, but now I could not believe that it was s

ing; I only knew that she had lied. You must remember that every night, after the customers and clerks had left, we were alone, and either strolled as far as the harbor, when it was fine, or remained talking in my office, if th

could neither eat nor sleep. Why had she told me a lie? What was she doing in that house? I went there, to try and find out something, but I could discover nothing. The man who rented the first floor, and who was an upholst

e, innocent secrets, a kind of second, interior life, for which one ought not to be responsible to anybody? Can a man, because he has taken a girl to be his companion through life, demand that she shall neither think nor do anything without telling him, either before or afterwards? Does the word marriage mean renouncing all liberty and independence? Was it not quite possible that she was going to the dressmaker's without telling me, or that she was going to assist the family of one of the coachmen? Or she might have thought that I might criticize, if not blame, her visit to the house. She knew me thoroughly, and my slightest

voured by it. I felt secret grief and anguish, and a thought which I still veiled, and I did not dare to lift the veil, for beneath it

ether, had discussed the love ventures it contained, had found something in it that resembled them, and they had turned that analogy into reality. And so I watched them, a prey to the most terrible sufferings that a man can endure. I bought shoes wit

soon as I had walked a hundred yards along the street, I said to myself: 'He is there!' and when I found he was not th

in bed asleep, or pretending to be asleep! Was she rea

hat I should have seen nothing except what is to be found in every head, and I should have discovered nothing, for that would have been impossible. And her eyes! When she looked at me, I felt furious with rage. I loo

have seized her by the throat until I choked her.... Or else I would have held her fingers into the fire. ...Oh! how I should have enjoyed doing it! ...Speak

at little woman, that little, fair, lively, artful woman, as if I had known her personally. I saw her selling her books, talking with the men whom her childish ways attracted, and in her delicate, doll-like head, I could see little craft

a fermenting wine. I have got rid of it, and so much the worse for you. Well, I had made a mistake, but it was worse than I thought, much worse. Just listen. I employed the means which a man always does under such circumstances,

the table, and then, turning towards her, I should leave her time-a few moments-to understand it all and to stretch out her arms towards me, mad with terror, before dying in her turn. Oh! I was ready, strong, determined, and pleased, madly pleased at the idea. The idea of the terrified look that she would throw at my raised stick, of her arms that she would stretch out to me, of her horrified cry, of her livid and convulsed looks, avenged me beforehand. I would not kill her at one blow! You will think me cruel, I dare say; but you do not know what a man s

t is the room!' So I grasped my stick, as if my fingers had been made of iron, and went in. I had chosen a most appropriate moment, for they were kissing most lovingly, but it was

with disgust. She, who did not look fifteen, small and slim as she was, had given herself to this fat man, who was nearly paralyzed, because he was a marquis and a general, the friend and representative of dethroned kings. No, I do not know what I felt, nor what I thought.

as a rule, but many women, especially in Paris, are absolutely bad. They will give themselves to all men, old or young, from the most contemptible and different motives, because it is their profession, their vocation, and their function. They are the eternal, unconscious,

air, he repeated all the glorified disgrace of all the mistresses of old kings, the respectable shame of all those

le, are docile to senile desires. They rose up before one, the handmaids of the patriarchs, who are mentioned in the Bible, Hagar, Ruth, the daughters of Lot, Abigail, Abishag, the virgin of Shunam, who reanimated David with h

you do?"

remained sitting side by side for a long

midst those white figures on the neighboring roofs, all seemed to concur in producing a unique sensation. Certain meetings, certain inexplicable combinations of things, decided

ERMAP

all of us, who are well made and vigorous, feel for those whom their step-mother, Nature, has disfigured in some way or other, for those la

in which the mouth is like a piece of inert flesh, and where the small eyes glisten with concentrated cunning, and remind us of the watchful, angry eyes of a gorilla, at the same time, into ridicule. I

the theater or the club, and so I had neither to defend him, nor to uphold him as a friend. But I can swear to you that now I reproach myself for all t

b Shelley said, throwing the

, incessant torture, of physical and moral suffering, which was more maddening than that which Tantalus endured on the banks of the river Acheron. He had nearly everything of the woman about him; he was a ridiculous caricature of our sex, with his shrill voice, his large hips, his bust concealed by a loose, wide coat, his cheeks

d by mental giddiness. He could imagine nothing handsomer, more desirable, or more charming than that chance friend. He had sudden transports, fits of surprise, tenderness, curiosity, jealousy, the ardent longings of an old maid w

middle of the chest, at Milan, on account of some ballet girl, and as he certainly

who wore rings on nearly every finger, who had such a musical voice, and who, with h

f delicious, intoxicating kisses, the delight and the balm of which such a person can never know; the horror of that dishonor of being pointed at, made fun of, driven away like unclean creatures that pros

a sad and moved voice. "In his place

ow few there are who venture to forestall t

after when he was confined to his bed two months before, by an attack of influenza, we should still be hearing him propose a game of poker before din

, of that great depth of darkness in which we lose ourselves in the abyss of Annihilation and Oblivion, he obstinately r

her friend or relation, who tried to make him listen to reason, and who could not understand his attacks of rage and neurosis from his bedside. He seemed to b

hing stroke to his body, which had been so robust and free from ailments hitherto, and he died, trying to utter som

y, and whom all this disturbance had upset in his habits, and whose only desire was to get i

e whether there might not be, somehow or other, a will in which Lantosque expressed his last w

s, he first of all saw that Lantosque was dressed from head to foot

is cousin's writing-table, opened it, and successively searched every drawer, and soon found an envelope fastened

n his own presence, he will have me wrapped up in the sheets of the bed on which I die, and have me put into the coffin so, without any fur

uis to betray the secr

n woman, and was any married man, who loved h

s attracted me for so long. You laughed a great deal beforehand at my dusky sweethearts, as you called them, and declared that you could see me return

who have made me feel very much inclined to have to fall in love with them; but

ou, then, that here they love furiously. From the very first moment, one feels a sort of trembling ardor, of constant desire, to the very tips of the fingers, which over-excite

ood, a great deal of good about it, is really terrible in this climate. The heat, the burning atmosphere which makes you feverish, those suffocating blasts of wind from the south, those waves of fire which come from the desert which is so near us, th

o Bougie through the defiles of Chabet, by an excellent road through a large forest, which follows the sea at a height of six hundred feet above it,

ees the Bougie. It is built on the steep sides of a high hill, which is covered with trees, and forms a

, which are so close together that one can hardly see the open sea, so that the gulf looks like a lake. The blue water is wonderfully transparent, and the azure sky, a deep a

agine one was at the opera. It is the old Saracen Gate, overgrown with ivy, and there are ruins in all directions

They have no windows on the outside; but they are lighted from top to bottom, by an inner court. On the first floor,

hottest time in Africa, the time when one can scarcely breathe; when the streets, the fields, and the long, dazzling

f torture on this earth, which I hope you will never know: the want of water, and the want of women, and I do not know which is the worst. In the desert, men would commit any infamy for the sake of a glass of clean, cold water, and what would one not do

ly on my couch, until at last, unable to bear it any longer, I got up and went out. It was a terribly hot day, in the middle of July, and the pavement was hot enough to bak

re the baths are. There was nobody about, and nothing was stirring; not a sound of bird or of

und, I saw a tall, naked girl, sitting up to her breasts in the water, taking a bath; no doubt she reckoned on being alone,

. She turned round, uttered a cry, and half swimming, half walking, she went and hid altogether behind her rock; but as she must necessarily come out, I sat down on the beach and waited. Presently, she just showed her

air, then her forehead, and then her eyes reappeared, but slowly and prudently, as if she were playing at hide-and-seek, and were looking to see who was near. This time she was furious, and called out: "You will make me get some illness, and I shall not come out as long as you are the

we were eager lovers. Her name was Marroca, and she pronounced it as if there were a dozen r's in it. She was the daughter of Spanish colonists, and had married a Frenchman, whose

r half-open mouth, her sharp teeth, and even her smiles, had something ferociously loving about them; and her curious, long and straight breasts, which were as pointed as if they had been pears of flesh, and as elastic as if they contained steel springs, gave her w

two and two are four, and a sonorous

conscious immodesty. When she was at last overcome and worn out by her cries and movements, she used to sleep soundly and

Oriental fabric. When the full moon lit up the town and the gulf, with its surrounding frame of hills, we saw on all the other terraces what looked li

the clear rays of the moon; she did not trouble herself much about anybody who might see us, and often, in s

ips, which curled slightly, close to my face, she said: "You must come and stay at my house." I did not unde

ing her hot breath into my throat, and moistening my moustache with her lips: "I want it as a remembrance." Stil

me time, and said: "You must be ma

n cried, and at last said: "You shall see how I will love you there." Her wish seemed so strange that I could not explain it to myself; but on thinking it over, I thought I co

he is very kind." "But you are not fond of him?" She looked at me with astonishment in

isted, however, and so she got up immediately, and went away; nor did she come back for a week. On the eighth day she came back, stopped gravely at the door of my room, and said: "Are you coming to my house to

they had their meals, and then into a very tidy, whitewashed room, with photographs on the walls, and paper flowers under a glass case. Marroca seemed beside herself with

it is I." She started: "My husband! ... Here, hide under the bed, quickly." I was distracted

shut it again, and she came back into the room, carrying some object which I could not see, but which she quickly put down; and as her husband

ut his feet, which were enormous. If the rest of

d thrown herself onto a bed, as if she were tired out, he went up to her, and no doubt tried to caress her, for she flung a volley of angry r's at him. His feet were so close to me that I felt a stupid, inexplicable longing to catch hold of them, but I restrained myself, and when

with a bound, for I had sat down on something cold, and as I was no more dressed than my accomplice was, the contact made me start, and I looked round. I had sat down on a small axe, used for cutting wo

, and I was rather hurt at her foolish laughter. "Supposing your husband had seen me?" I said. "There was no danger of tha

ad let his hat fall, he would have been sure to pick it up, and then... I was well prepared to defend myself, in this costume!" She put her two strong, round arms about my neck,

all drew my attention to the little axe which was used for cutting wood, whose sharp blade was glistening in the candle-light, and while she put out her hand as if she were going to tak

which people here understand conju

ART

those little feminine ailments from which pretty women frequently suffer; slight anaemia, nervous attack, and a suspicion of fatigue, of th

band. Even allowing that she does not love him, that she pays no heed to her vows and promises, how can she give herself to an

I even feel certain that no woman is ripe for true love until she has passed through all the promiscuousness and all the loathsomeness of married life, which, according to an illustr

h occasions, and the simplest of them are wonderful, and extricat

one in a dangerous affair, and women are certainly more liable than men to lose their heads on such occasions." The doctor raised his hands. "After

e town were sounding a fire alarm, and I woke up with a start. It was my own bell, which was ringing wildly, and as my footman did not seem to be answering the door, I, in turn, pulled the bell at the he

s colleague, Monsieur Bonnet.' I put the note into an envelope, and went to sleep again, but about half an hour later the street bell rang again, and Jean came to me and said: 'There is somebody downstairs; I do not quite know

as Madame Berthe Lelièvre, quite a young woman, who had been married for three years to a larg

d to speak, without being able to utter a sound, but at last she stammered out: 'Come... quick... quick, Doctor... Come... my... my lover has ju

etrified with horror. 'It was my servant... she knows.' And then, after a short silence, she went on: 'I was there... by his side.' And she uttered a sort of cry of horror, and after a fit of choking, which ma

'I have one,' she said; 'it is his, which was waiting for him!' She wr

shaking voice, that proceeded from a distracted heart: 'Oh! If you only knew, if you only knew what I am suffering! I loved him, I have loved him

ed candle by her side, as she was afraid to stop by the dead man, and I went into the room, which was turned upside down, as if there had been a struggle in it. The bed, which was tumbled and open, seemed to be waiting for somebody; o

s, and then, turning to the two women, who were shaking as if they were frozen, I said to them: 'Help me to carry him onto the bed.' When we had laid him gently

ut to the clothes which the women brought, and they put on his socks, drawers, trousers, wai

s over, I looked at our work, and said: 'You ought to arrange his hair a little.' The girl went and brought her mistress's large-toothed comb and brush, but as she was trembling, and pulling out his long, matted hair in doing it, Madame Lelièvre too

owing herself onto him, she took him into her arms and kissed him ardently. Her kisses fell like blows onto his closed mouth and eyes, onto his forehead and temples, and then, putting her lips to his

ed up, and I said: 'We must carry him into the drawing-room.' And when we had done this, I placed him on a sofa, and lit the chandeliers, and just then the front door was opened a

hands feeling along the walls. 'Come here, my d

nd us in great embarrassment. I had remained late, chatting with your wife and our friend, who had brought me in his carriage, when he suddenly fainted, and in spite of all we have done,

held the body up, so as to deceive the coachman, and said: 'Come, my friend; it is nothing; you feel better already, I expect. Pluck up your courage, and make an attempt. It will soon be over.' But as I felt that he was slipping out of my hands, I gave him a slap on the shoulder, which sent him forward and made

got to his house, I said that he had become unconscious on the way home, and helped to carry him upstairs, where I certified tha

d the young woman, who was in a very nervous state

gallant bow,

fer you my servic

SSIGN

d put on over the +other as soon as she had got into the cab, she was beating +the top of her little boot with the po

s, when she knew that her husband would be on the Stock Exchange, in order to

writing-table between the windows, and a strong, sweet smell of violets from two bunches which were in a couple of D

urned round to look at herself in the glass and smiled. "

ld be back in an hour, at the latest-which was a lie;

r its roofs, invading the houses through their walls, and making it look gay, shedding brightness over its stone fa?ades, the aspha

air, that feeling of summer which penetrates our breast on some days, now took possession of her so suddenly that she changed her mind, and

ed that she saw him growing impatient, looking at the clock, opening the window, listening at the door, sitting down for a few moments, getting up

o get to her destination that she only sought for some pretext for stopping, and at the end of the street, in the little square,

it would take her a quarter of an hour to reach the Rue Miromesnil, and a few minutes more in strolling along-an hour! a whol

ng the last month, and she did not dare to do it again so soon. Why did she go to see him? Oh! why? Because she had acquired the habit of doing it, and had no reason to give poor Martelet when he wanted to know the why! Why had she begun it? Why? She did not know herself, any longer. Had she been in love with him? Very possibly! Not very much, but a little, a long time ago! He was very nice, sought after, perfectly dressed, most courteous, and after the first glance, he was a perfect lover for a fashionable woman. He had courted her for three months-the normal period, an honorable strife and sufficient resistances-and then she had consented, and with what emotion, what nervousness, what terrible, delightful fear, and that first meeting i

driven once, in the middle of the night, from some street or other to a railway station, and that they have to do with almost as many passengers as there are hours in the day, and that their memory is good enough for them to declare: "That is the man whom I took up in the Rues des Martyrs, and put down at the Lyons Railway Station, at 12 o'clock at night, on July 10, last year!

assengers, the servants, everybody, and almost before the cab had stopped, she jumped out and ran past the porter who was standing outside his lodge. He must know everything, everything!-her address, her name, her husband's profession-everything, for those porters are the most cunning of policemen! For two years she had intended to bribe him, to give him (to throw at him one day as she p

hat porter who barred her retreat; and if anyone came down at that moment she would not dare to ring at Martelet's door, but would pass it as if she had been going elsewhere! She would have gone up, and

" Then he followed her into the room, when with closed shutters and lighted candles, out of refinement, no doubt, he knelt down before her and looked at her from head to foot with an air of adoration. On the first occasion that had been very nice and very successful; but now it

inly there were not many men as awkward as he was, or as uninteresting. Certainly, little Baron de Isombal would never have asked her in such a manner: "Do you want me to help you?" He would have helped her, he was

gitated he will be!" and then she quickly left the square; but she had not taken a dozen ste

he said, in surprise. She ha

e continued: "Do you know that you are the only one-you will allow me to sa

ady cannot go to a bach

eat mistake, when it is a quest

e, she cann

l you their names? No-I will not do that; one must be discreet, even when one it not guilty; as a matter of fact, there is nothing

e said is certainly

come and see

ow, imme

e; I am in

sitting in the square f

re watc

looking

sadly in

Confess that you are i

ugh, and said: "Well, ...

called out: "Cabman!" and the vehicle stopped,

is impossible to-d

g to look at us, and you will collect a crowd; they will think I am t

d, and he sat down by her side, sayi

e forgotten a very important telegram; please dr

the Baron: "Would you kindly get me a fifty centimes telegraph form? I promised

gave her the blue telegrap

from neuralgia, which keeps me in bed. Impossible to go out.

ANN

de Martelet, 240 Rue Miromesnil," and then, giving it back to the Baron, s

DVEN

be right! Yes, nobody ventures to trust to chance, in these days, for as soon as there is any slight mystery, or a spice of danger, they draw back. If, however, a man is willing to go into them b

every stranger is beset at night on the Piazzo de la Signoria, by some worthy Pandarus or other, with a head like that of a venerable priest. These excellent fellows g

omewhat roughly, and on turning round, I found myself face to face with a woman of about fifty, who said to me with a strong German ac

I should,' I repl

made to broad daylight, and in very bad French, but it was even worse when she added: 'Do you know everything they do in Pari

not for long, for almost immediately afterwards I grew pale, when she said: 'I want to assure myself of it, personally.' And she said this in the same p

her explanation. It was indeed an adventure, and was almost like a ro

high life, and who had done me the honor of choosing me for her companion. But then, this preliminary test! 'By Jove!' I said to myself, 'this

ut if your mistress is really like springtime and a flower, you (pray excuse me for being so blunt) are not exactly

d she finished her explanation, which had been incomplete before. All she had to do was to go with me to Mother Pata

se, an old, shriveled up woman, as I guessed, but she is a specialist.

place, of which I had heard wonderful things said, but the entry to which was barred me, on account of my small means. Five napoleons was the price! Fancy! I could not treat myself to it, and so I accepted the good lady's

was not too troublesome, and your humble servant did

statue of Perseus. It was shameful, I confess, but I enjoyed the partial restitution of the

I was playing. But if you only knew how fair that little girl at Patata's was! As I went along, I thought only of her, and did not pay any attention to where w

running by the side of a palace with high walls, and in fron

so ardent on her own account! She had me in a trap! No doubt she wanted i

little girl of the other day.' So it was really true, this story out of The Arabian Nights? Why not? And after a

ncess, and one of those princesses out of fairy tales, a fairy herself. An exquisite German woman, exquisite as German women can be, whe

he began to give vent to a flood of German words, which I did not understand, while I remained standing, dumbfounded. But just t

n, who grew more and more terrified, could not find any French words, and chattered wildly.

nowing what streets I had been through, nor where I had come from,

an baron had killed his wife with a revolver, but he had been liberated on bail, as he had appealed to his counsel, t

d, bound and gagged by four hired ruffians, who had been caught, and who had confessed everything. Thus, reduced to immobility, and unable to help himself, the baron had been obliged to witness a degrading scene, whe

do?" someone ask

s! It was with swords, and he ran me right through the body. That was also his right, but he exceeded his right when he called me her ponce. T

OUBLE

ellow, what ja

kes you

ve played me an

, or a

wom

omen a

as the

in a box of water-colors. They were nearly the same age, twenty-five to thirty. One was dark and the other fair, and they had the same semi-elegant look of stock-jo

h that little woman, a tradesman's wi

ris, whom I loved dearly; an old friend, a good friend, and

r ha

whom I also value very much, a very cordial fellow. A capital compa

to leave Paris, and I found

you go to

cannot remain on the Bou

d t

woman I mentioned to

at head of the

me every Sunday, and he is horrible! I understand

the r

I told her I liked her, and she made me repeat it, so that she

ou lov

tle; she is

about th

and wre returned here on the best of terms. Do you know how to br

erfectl

you ma

ve he

o you

see her an

ing she com

.. not

she come

I am no

looks af

r some dir

he puts u

letters, so that he may look after

om I do not see more than once a year, others every ten months, others on those days when they want to dine at a restaurant, those whom I ha

the

ine, as I told you! As her husband spends all the whole day at his office, she began

dev

, to avoid confusion; Saturday and Monday for the o

show her th

friend, she

dev

, to avoid confusion; Saturday and Monday for the o

show her th

friend, she

you two days to y

enough

compliment

ppened to me. For four months everything had been going on perfectly; I felt perfe

is very punctual, but I thought that something might have accidentally delayed her. However, half-an-hour passed, then an hour, an hour and a half, and then I knew that something must have detained her; a sick headache, perhaps, or

her. And she rep

ld not come; I

somethin

t wa

annoying

d, and amorous in expectation of the public official's little wife, and I was surprised that she had not come before the appointed time, and I looked at the clock every moment, and watched the hands impatiently, but the quarter past

. She was reading a novel my dear fellow! 'Well!' I said, anxiously, an

y w

noying

was only some strange coincidence, as I could not believe in such dissimulation on her part, and so, after half-an-hour's friendly talk, which was,

e thing

thout any explanation, without anything explaining that stra

new eve

ut how? Ah! I had a great deal o

ou manage

same day they both gave me the

nd look after them, but the others are much more treacherous; those confounded little black-headed pins which look al

to my looking-glass. My usual one had immediately seen this little black speck, no bigger than a flea, and had taken it out

ne replied to this telegraphic signal by three black pellets, one on the top of the other, and as soon as this method had begun, they continued to communicate with one another, without saying a word,

sand stratagems, with all the prudence that is necessary in such cases, but the regular one did a bold stroke, and made an appointment with th

that

not see th

hem as friends, for we have

e they m

w, they have become

that given

what

of making them put back the

R TH

bancourt suffered more than most men do from his widowerhood. He regretted his lost happiness, was angry with fate, which separated united couples so brutally, a

ave something ridiculous and insane about them; and so he dragged on his dull and weary existence, escaped from all those familiar objects which constantly recalled the past to him, and went from hot

son, who used to yawn by stealth, and who seemed to be mentally counting the h

nt past, and one was as monotonous,

rning, among the new arrivals, who sat next to him at dinner. She had a sad, pale face, that told of suffering, a beautiful figure,

r side, though he did not know why. He trembled with instinctive and confused happiness, just as if in some distant country he had found some female friend or relative, who

t their grief in contact? What made him so sanguine and so calm, and incited him t

ho for the sake of her course, transformed herself into a Slav, or into an American, or simply into a provincial; who was ready to take part in any comedy in order to make money, and not to be obliged to waste her strength and her brains on fruitless struggles or on wretched expedients. Thus s

ed by a disgusted shrug of the shoulders, and a heartrending smile, and by insensibly exciting his feelings. In a word, she triumphed over the last rem

soul which seemed to be so like his own, which seemed to offer him a refuge where he could be cheered up, and where the wounds of h

cefully in the country, much more than in Paris. He was ignorant of the female wiles of temptations, offered to creatu

walks. She never appeared to tire of his anecdotes and reminiscences, and she played cards with him. She waited on him carefully when he was confined to his bed, appeared to have no sex, and transformed herself; and though she handled him skillfully, she seemed ingenuous and ignorant of evil. She acted li

pen the door of her bedroom at the hotel, which she had locked, and came in like a mad man. There was the phantom of violence, and the fallacious submission of a woman, who was overcome by so much tenderness, who rebelled no longer, but who accepted the yoke of her master and lov

distance from him, and gave no signs of life, Monsieur de Loubancourt's son joined them in Provence

the new comer, reassured him by her careless airs of a girl, who took life as it came, and who

eat the woman, who had assumed the place of death, and who governed her lover as his sovereign mistress, as an enemy, he

out even giving him the tips of her fingers, or granting him the slightest favor, induced him to be so imprudent, that the old man g

this young fellow, five-and-twenty. He threw himself at her feet and declared his love, and besought her to run away with him, and when she tried to bring him to reason and repulsed him, and told him in a loud a

a brute to take advantage of a woman like that.... Please

ding place with clenched fists and a slobbering mouth, threw himself on

Get out of my house immediately

hose name appeared on the civil register-which was a detail of no importance to a man who was in love-as Frida Krub

society in those places of winter resort where people's by-gone history is so rarely gone into, and whe

ONE AND

wine growers have possibly believed that that pretty little Parisian woman, with her soft innocent eyes, like those o

hand, and was always ready to join in farandole.[18] She seemed to be so in love with Eliénne Rulhiére, to trust him so entirely, to be so proud of forming half of his life, and of belonging to him, gave him such looks full of pleasure and of hope,

xpected holiday, and as she was an actress at heart, she played her part seriously, and threw herself in

the usual groove for a time, and also the dream that this journey of a few weeks would have the sequence, that her lover would not separate

m and flattered him, spurred his ambition on, threw her quivering arms around him, and amidst her kisses, whispered

o set light to the first rocket, and balls at which she astonished those worthy people by her affability. And when they left, three little girls dressed in white, as if they were going to be confirmed, came onto the platform and recited some complimentary verses to her while the band played the Marseillaise, the women waved their pocke

-bye, only for the present;

to come and see him in Paris as there were plenty of excursion trains. They a

r accent, but that, as they had great influence, and were excellent men, they deserved a good reception. It was a very useful precaution, for when they came into the drawing-room in their new clothes, expanding with pleasur

questions at random, and racked their brains to discover the solution of the enigma. Captain Mouredus looked at the fire, with the fixed gaze of a somnambulist, Marius Barbaste s

got up from his arm chair laughing heartily, dug

hat people do not come to Paris to be bored, eh? Mad

ehind his back to his friends, a

t knowing of the lot of us.... Ah! Monsieur Rulhière, wit

, and expanding his che

very pretty in your part of

ground, however, during the whole of dinner, which was a noisy, jovial meal, during which the five electors, with their elbows on the table, and their waistcoats unbuttoned, and half drunk, told coarse stories, and swore like t

her with gaping mouths, and M

to your little quiet establishment, but to speak to you frankly, I should not, in

ére, the lawful Madame Rulhiére, is much more amiable, and altogether ni

aternal grim

l hold our tongue; it would be to

moustache, turned up over his thick lips, with his prominent eyes, which never know any emotion or sorrow, which remind one of the calm eyes of cows an

s made fun of once upon a time, was ballasted with a respectable number of millions, as is becomi

y to the gallery, because he had been educated at Vangirard and knew a little English; because he had gone through his voluntary ser

isms, learning anecdotes and jokes by heart, like a lesson, to use them again at small parties, constantly laughing, without knowing why his friends burst into roars of merriment, and was in the

rds of the time, that they had all deceived him, and made him perfectly ridiculous at the end of the week, Charles Dupontel m

t and supple that she reminded him of those outlines of saints which one sees in old stained-glass church windows. There was also something enigmatical about her, for she had at the same time the delightfully ingenuous look of a school girl during the holidays, and also of some e

clasped by a bracelet, turned up eyelashes, which fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, close on an im

ed his position bravely, and continued that, and who kept himself afloat by prodigies of coolness and skill. He belonged to a race

et his brain, and altogether turned him upside down, and combined th

a month later, as if it were an affair to be hurried over, he asked for and obtained the hand of Madem

was nothing but a ridiculous puppet, and immediately set about to consider how she migh

if it were a necessity for her not only to make him ridiculous, but also to forget that she ought to sacrifice her virgin d

g, and in braving danger. She seemed like a young colt, that is intoxicated with the sun, the air and its liberty, and which gal

and who had been cuckolded, although his wife repelled him, quarreled with him, and constantly pretended to be out of sorts or tired out, in order to esc

spondence with the Orleans Princes, was thinking of starting a racing stable, and finished up by believing that he really was a fashionable man, and strutted about, and was puffed out w

ters disturbed his quietude, and

ot his i's and cross his t's and to clear his brain for him, that the unhappy man began to grow disturbed, and to watch and to ferret about. He instituted minute

inually acted a part, and one evening appeared unexpectedly with a commissary of

id herself behind the bed curtains, while he, who was an officer of dragoons, very much vexed at being mixed up in such a pinchbeck scandal, and at being caught in

ess of an amateur, prepared to verify the fact that they were caught flagrante de

your name in f

ssary was writing it down from his dictation, he added suddenly: "

RTER'S

oment by a cut of the whip, or a coarse oath, pointed to the top of the hill, where the windows of a solitary house, in wh

there, Monsieur, and w

ips like a drunkard, who remembers a bottle of good liquor that he has lately drunk, and drawing himself up

ll turn your head for you before you ha

of Capsir, which were traversed by torrents, extensive meadows in which undefined forms were moving about, fields of rye, like huge golden table-covers, and here and there wretched villagers, and broad sheets of water, into which the stars seemed to look in a mela

hat over his eyes, twirled his large mo

sh to stop here?

the door there stood three wagons drawn by mules, and loaded with huge stems of trees, and which took up nearly the whole of t

rously. A woman with large round hips, and with a lace cap pinned onto her hair, in the Catalan fashion, who looked strong and bold, and who had a certain amount of gracefulness about her, and with a pretty, but untidy head, was urging them

the door, like a man who

and everybody; there is ro

ken from them, and who showed their teeth, ready to bite, while the girl shrugged her shoulders and

m I to

u have in the cupboard," Glaizette, the

coaxing sound. I fancied I saw her, as in a mirage, reclining triumphantly on a couch, indifferent to the fights which were going on about her, always waiting-longing for him who would prove himself the stronger, and who would prove victorious. She was, in short, the hospitable dispenser of love, by the side of that difficult, stony road, who opened her

longer to feel the woman with her beautiful, white hands, so near one; so I threw her a piece of gold and made my escape without saying a word to her, w

but I was ashamed to ask the driver and to show any interest in such a creature, and when he began to talk, as we were going up another hill, as if he had guessed

ambling at the inn when they are not traveling on the high roads with their mules, while the women

one of the family knew how to keep a halfpenny, but spent more than they earned, and were like cracked jugs, from which the water escapes drop by drop, they found themselves ruined one fine day, just as if they had been at the bottom of a blind alley. So on the "Feast of Our Lady of Succor," when people go

passed from hand to hand, inherited some property from an old farmer, whom she had caught, as if she had been a thrush on a twig c

s one does not see now in the worst garrison towns, and who would open the door

oppers, and I looked for them, and saw them in the darkness; they danced before me like phosphorescent lights, and I would have given then the whole contents of my purse to that man

sy and childish cheeks, while every female perversity was reflected in the depths of her strange eyes, which were the color of the sea on a stormy evening. Yes, she was very charming, very fantastic, and above all, so Russia

bought two years ago, and in which I have not yet set foot? Very well, then! The

ency in the dining-room of the old castle, which was situated ten hours from Paris. They had arrived there that morning; they were going to have

en whims, had felt some surprise, which was quickly checked by

ly, nobody else. Oh! these Russians!" But those who had known her for some time, and who h

clined to move out of her great rocking-chair, from which she could see the sun setting over the sea. The sight always delighted her very much. It might have been taken for a large red billiard ball

ongratulating herself more than ever on being alone, so as to enjoy that languor, which was almost like a gentle dream, when, in perfect harmony with that melancholy

ng in

g my

of mine w

o you

makes yo

the rest; it was really terrible; so she jumped out of the rocking-chair, ran to the balustrade of te

re prompted by curiosity, rather than by any desire to comply with her order, and holding his hand over

in his wretchedness. His hair and beard were not shaggy and ragged, like such men usually wear them, and evidently he had his hair cut occasionally, and he had a fine, and even dis

tty! The little woman is very pretty!" But he did not obey Sonia's order, who repeated it, alm

more and more ardent. "How stupid I am!" Sonia suddenly thought. "Of course he is waiting for something." She felt in her pocket, in which she always carried some gold by way of half-pence, took out a twenty-franc piece and threw

hen he said proudly, though in a very gentle voice: "I do not ask for charity, little lady; but if it gives you pleasure, I will sing you the whole song, the whole

ng was carried away by the slow rhythm of the melody, which related an old love story, and when he had done he again looked at her with a smile, and as she was crying, he said to her: "I dare say

er purse in which coppers rattled. He poured them out into the palm of his hand, and said merrily: "You see, little one, I have a purse. Forty-seven sous; forty-seven!" "So you will not take my napoleon?" Sonia said. "Certainly not,"

lly, at any rate an original, almost in his dotage, living by any lucky bits that he could make as horse-coper and veterinary. The peasants gave him a little work, as they feared that he might throw spells over anyone who refused to employ him. The

o the little door that opened onto the terrace, overtook the musician, and with a ceremonious

to bring old recollections back, and then with a very formal, old-fashioned bow, he

lled, started. "I see what disturbs you," she said. "It is his dress. Well! It

ina, she will show you to it. These gentlemen and I will wait dinner for you." And as soon as he had gone out, she said to the youngest there: "And now, E

piece, and the six others clapped their hands. "Nob

on having some fun with him, and especially Ernest, who set up as a wit, had intended to draw him. But at the first attempt of this sort, Sonia had given

m of showing how put out they were, and those inward long faces grew longer still when Sonia said to the

"Where shall we go to?" But Sonia's only reply was to

ee years

ts with

eautif

lendid

ne makes

keeps m

the door which led to Sonia's apartments. "Hum!" Ernest ventured to say, "this is really rather strong!" "Yes," the eldest of the

go and wish Sonia good-morning, as usual, before she was out of her room. Ernest hesitated more than any of them about it, and it was not until Sabina, her ma

should like to know?" Sonia replied, drawing herself up. "The man has his own habits, I suppose!" "Do you know, Madame," Sabina observed, "that he came back half an hour after he left?" "Ah!" S

came round to see what had caused her emotion. "Look here! Just look here!

ich they could not understand, she showed them a small bunch of wild flowers, by the side of

forty-sev

ioneers were knocking down the various lots in a listless manner. In a back room, on the f

ed, although it had originally been white. Some second-hand dealers were there, two or three men with dirty beards, and a fat woman with a big stomach, one of those wome

ound the cross, and long blue iris, which came up to the foot of the sacred emblem, and wreaths of roses in the corners. When I had bought it, I noticed that there was a faint scent about it, as if it were p

I felt some paper beneath my fingers, and when I cut the lining, some letters fell at my feet. They were yellow with age, and the faint ink was the col

ly settled places of meeti

fortably and warmly on my eider-down coverlet. I have a book of which I am very fond, and which seems as if it really applied to me.

ife; for we were born in it, we live in it, and we shall die in it. If, therefore, I had Monsieur de Crébillon's pen, I should write the history of a bed, and what exciting

hree days, and how much more I love it, in consequence. It seems to me to be inhabited, haunted, if I may say s

existences in it, from birth to the grave. Think of that, my friend; think of it all; review all those lives, a great part of which was spent between these four posts

led, comes from her. It is a male child to which she has given birth, and the young mother feels happy in spite of her pain; she is nearly suffocated with joy at that first cry, and stretches out her arms, and those around her shed tear

a terrestrial heaven, that kiss which speaks of human delights, which continually promises them, announces them, and precedes them. And their bed is agitated like the tempestuous sea, and it bends and murmurs, and itself seems to become animated and joyous, for the maddening mystery of love is being accompli

which you read to me last year? I do not rememb

nd I in bed

ous we

aying a tho

rs, gam

he top of my bed, where Pyramus and Thisbe are con

the one which lets in the world. What cries, what anguish, what sufferings, what groans, how many arms stretched out towards the past; what appeals to happiness that has vanished for ever; what c

vered this within the last three days. There is nothing good exc

are ill and suffering; a place of repose and comfort for worn-o

ll? Besides that, I am so tired that I mean to retire to my pillows, stretch myself out at full length, and sleep a l

e my hands for you to kiss, a

NTURE I

aking of women who are really women, who are endowed with that triple-bottomed disposition, which appears to be reasonable and cold on the surface, but whose three secret compartments are filled. The first, with female uneasiness, which is always in a state of flutter; the next, with sly tricks which are colored in

But her heart beat with unsatisfied curiosity, and some unknown longing. She was continually thinking of Paris, and read the fashionable papers eagerly. The accounts of parties, of the dresses and various entertainments, excited her longing; but, above all, she was strangely

eep those well-known men whose names appeared on the first page of the newspapers as great stars in the dark skies; and she pictured to herself their life of continual excitement, of constant deb

pt in those regular, horridly monotonous, everyday occupations, which constitute the happiness of the home. She was still pretty, for she was well preserved in her tranquil existence, like some winter fruit in a closed cupboard; but she was

as her husband could not go with her, she went alone, and as soon as she arrived, she invented a reason for remaining for two

umn of the Figaro, which every morning seemed to her like a tocsin, a summons to love. But nothing put her on the track of those orgies of actors and actresses; nothing revealed to her those templ

as going along the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin, she stopped to look into a shop full of those colored Japanese knick-knacks, which strike the eye on account of their color. She was looking at the little ivory buffoons, the tall vases o

omers, young women and well-dressed gentlemen, gave a swift and furtive, but respectful glance at the celebrated writer, who was

and artistic customers, and have special prices for them. They all come to me, Monsieur Varin. Yesterday, Monsieur Busnach bought a large, antique goblet of me, and the other day

or young. It was Jean Varin himself, Jean Varin. After a long struggle, and painful hesitation, he put the figure down onto the table. "No, it is too dear," he said. The shop-keeper's eloquence redoubled. "Oh! Monsieur Varin, too dear? It is worth two thousand francs, if it is worth a son." But the man of letters replie

ed eyes, observantly, and then he took in the details, as a connoisseur. She was charming, suddenly animated by that flame which had

asty, as perhaps you had not finally made up your mind." He, however, only bowed, and said: "Indeed, I had, Madame." And she, filled with emotion, continued: "W

she quoted his works, and while they were talking he rested his arms on a table, and fixed his bright eyes upon her, trying to make out who and what she really was. But th

st trembled with pleasure at being seen talk

order for an assault. "Monsieur," she said, "will you do me a great, a very great pleasure? Allow me to offer you this

much amused, and at which he laughed heartily; but that only made her more obstinate, and

, as he did not wish to accept a present for which he could not possibly account. He reached her just as she was jumping into the vehicle, and getting in after her,

ou," she said, "if you will promise to do all I want to-day." And the whole affair seemed so funny to him that he agreed. "What do you generally do at this time?" she asked him; and

ts, their private affairs, and their vices; and when it was getting dusk, she said to him: "What do you do every day at this time?" "I

elf: "At last! At last!" But time went on, and she observed that she supposed it must be about his dinner time, and she suggested that they should go and dine. When they left Bignon's, after di

to him, and, to her great pride, the whole house s

s delightful day...." But she interrupted him: "What do you do at this time, every night?" "Why ... why ...

lined to run away, but with a fixed determination, after all, to see it out to the end. She was so excited that

he went to sleep, and the night passed, and the silence was only disturbed by the tick-tack of the clock, and she, lying motionless, thought of her conjugal nights; and by the light of the Chinese lantern, she looked, nearly heart-broken, at the little fat man lying on his back, whose round stomach raised up the bed-clothes like a balloon filled with gas.

she made the lock creak, and he woke up and rubbed his eyes. He was some moments before he quite came to himself, and then, when he remembered all that had happe

dedly since yesterday. Be open, and tell me why you did it all, for upon my word I cannot understand it in the least." She went close up to him, blushing

he room, and downsta

a semi-circle, and she met them in every street, like dancing puppets, walking automatically with their swaying motion. And it seemed to her as if something had been swept out of her; as if her over-excited dreams had been

er room, she threw hersel

E BAP

he first thing I did was to look at the clock, and I found tha

topped outside the gates of the station, racking my brains to find something to do. The street, which was a kind of a boulevard, planted with acacias, between two rows of houses of unequal s

of the inevitable and interminable visit to the small café at the railway station, where I should have to sit over a glass of undrinkable beer and the illegible newspaper, when I saw a funeral procession coming out of a side street into the one in which I was, and the sight of the hearse

hinkers, who would have made a point of making a manifestation. What could it be then? The rapid pace of the procession

llow it, with the eight gentlemen. That would take up my time for an hour, at least, and I, accordingly, walked with the others, w

ted the two in front of them, who stared at me in turn. This close attention which they p

on, but seeing a civil funeral, I have followed it, although I

man," one o

ised at hearing

civil funeral

me all about it, then said: "Yes and no. The clerg

of astonishment. I could not understand it

at is the reason why she cannot be buried with any religious ceremony.

with some

discreet if I ask you to tell me the facts of the case? If I am

n took my ar

it you, although it is a very sad story. We have plenty of time before getting to

he b

terrible adventure; a footman violated her. She nearly died, in consequence, and the wretch's brutality betrayed him. A terrible criminal case was the result, and i

d her forehead, and she became a sort of monster, a phenomenon to all the town. People said to each other in a whisper: 'You know, little Fontanelle,' and everybody turned away in the streets

resistible desire to mix with the other children, she advanced, timidly, with nervous gestures, and mingled with a group, with furtive steps, as if conscious of her own infamy

hat it meant, and then she began to cry, nearly heart-broken with grief

rn, nothing; that she no longer had the right to the symbolical wreath of orange-flowers; that almost before she could read, she had penetrated

ys weighing upon her, the other girls, who were not nearly so innocent as people thought, whispered and giggled as they looked at her knowingly, and immediately turned their heads absently, if she happened to look at them

d never laughed, and her parents themselves appeared uncomfortable in her

and Madame Fontanelle looked on their daughter as they would have done on a son who had just been released from the hulks. She was pr

in the Latin Quarter[21], it appears. He saw Mademoiselle Fontanelle, and fell in love with her, and when told of what occurred, he merely said: 'Bah! That is

n boldness, he paid wedding-calls,[22] as if nothing had happened. Some people returned them, other

and to social life, that he had braved public opinion, faced insults, and, in a word, performed such

cular people and the greatest sticklers opened their doors

int of our town. The Prefect, surrounded by his staff and the authorities, presided at the musical competition, and when he had finis

orm, and, in his proper turn, the bandmaster from the village of Mourmillon came up. This band was only to receive a second-class medal, for one ca

ptiste. You owe him a first-clas

or lady. Have you ever seen a woman going mad, Monsieur? Well, we were present at the sight! She got up and fell back on her chair three times follow

! Madame

er and over again; people stood on tip-toe to see the unhappy woman's face; husbands lifted t

she? The on

ocks, and laughter was

uickly, as if a vivid light were shining in her face, and she panted like a horse that is going up a steep hill, so that it almost broke one's heart to see it. Meanwhile, howeve

ll her nerves had been set in motion by springs, suddenly sprang on the parapet of the bridge, and threw herself into the river, before her hu

stopped, an

her taken into church. Ah! If it had been a religious funeral, the whole town would have been present, but you can understand that her suicide added to the other af

ffin had been lowered into the grave, before I went up to the poor fellow who was sobbing viole

d I was not sorry that I

lake, and the atmosphere was so warm, so saturated with the subtle odors of the mimosas, th

oking at the sails, which were gradually becoming lost in the mysterious distance, and at the almost m

ariegated posters, which for weeks had imparted the strange aspect of some Oriental bazaar to the whole city, had just been relati

maging libraries, and who had certainly compiled more manuscripts than any Benedec

to my head, while you were speaking, my dear friend, which I read forme

removed from our epoch, but you shall judge for your

ndrel, had thrust his lovely daughter into a convent, and had forced his sons, who might have claimed their parental heritage, and have again imposed the abhorred yoke upon them, into a monastery, the town had nev

urch porches, and in the squares, while only the watchmen disturbed the silence of the starlit nigh

supple waists, nor were bottles of red wine put to cool in the fountains under the trees. There were no more love adventures, to the rhythm of laughter and

a conquered city, and had seized posts of honor and well-paid offices, and had sacked the Treasury with their greedy and eager hands. After them, came the middle classes, and those solemn upstarts and hypocrites, like leather

carcely find time to tear the seditious placards, whic

n, who had been brought up under monastic rules, and were accustomed to nothing so much as

elves with luxurious meals, to increase their property by degrees, to put everything up for sale, and to get

ffairs lasted for twenty years, when, as war was imminent with Lucca, the Council raised troops and enrolled mercenaries. Several battles were

and laurel-crowned Caesar, around their campfires, was a poor condottiere[25], who po

le, deeds, fortune, nor relations, for he had been born one night in the tent of a female camp follower; for a long time, an old, broken drum had been his cradle, and he had grown up anyhow, without knowing those maternal kisses and endearments that warm the heart, or the pleasure of

was as virgin as some virgin shore, on which

h almost imperial splendor, more, however, to deceive the people and to regain their waning popularity by means of some one else, by a cerem

alms and hymns of joy, as if it might have been Easter. The streets and squares were strewn with branches of b

e appeared even taller, more vigorous and more masculine than he really was. He had a joyous and tranquil smile on his lips, and a hidden fire was burning in his eyes, and his soldier

es to him, and held up their children so that they might see him, and he might touch them, and the men cheered him, and looked at him

the danger by which they were menaced, and to rid themselves of a guest who was quite ready to become their master. They saw clearly that their hours were numbered

m that he had only to make a sign and to say a word, for his name to be in every mouth, and for his authority to be accepted. They begged him on their knees to accept the supreme authority, as though he w

nds in his hands, of having a palace, arsenals full of arms, chests full of gold, ships which he could send on adventurous cruises wherever he ple

aconda, who was one of the most beautiful courtesans in Venice, and who knew every secret in the Art of Love, and whose kisses were a foretaste of Paradise, back with them from that city. She soon managed to touch the soldier with her delicate, fair skin, to make him inhale its bewitching odor in close proximity, and to dazzle him with her large, dark eyes, in which the ref

k his life when he loved and was loved, and when the minutes were all too short, w

whatever Gioc

there were gardens full of lemon trees, where the deserted beach looked as if it were covered with gold, and where the sea was a deep blue until it was lost in the distance. And while the captain and the courtesan loved each other and wore themselves out with plea

iteful songs and jokes, and the members of the Council breath

er-Masoch's nov

shops are to be found, and much freq

inal Investigation D

r of the Fatherland. The term Honved is applied

Exotic

d, of which Warsaw is t

thing.-T

ry, who is devoted to the inst

dancing girl

soldiers were selected by conscription, a certain amount of tho

chantant,