initial commit of ebook 1433HEADmain

13 files changed, 10581 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/1433-0.txt b/1433-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0dc5b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1433-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1414 @@
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1433 ***
+
+THE RED INN
+
+
+By Honore De Balzac
+
+
+
+Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+
+
+
+                             DEDICATION
+
+                 To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED INN
+
+
+In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of
+those friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the
+world through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to him.
+This friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg, was a
+stout worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a man
+of pipes, having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square open
+forehead adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was the
+type of the sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in honorable
+natures, whose peaceful manners and morals have never been lost, even
+after seven invasions.
+
+This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked
+his straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that
+of most Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who does
+nothing frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's table and
+eating with that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout Europe,
+saying, in fact, a conscientious farewell to the cookery of the great
+Careme.
+
+To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws, and
+were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have found
+no cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies. Mankind
+can't always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one might
+find a few sweet hours during which we could fancy their sinister craft
+a pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+
+"Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+story to terrify us?"
+
+These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was the
+only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose education
+was then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which she adored.
+At this moment the guests were in that happy state of laziness and
+silence which follows a delicious dinner, especially if we have presumed
+too far on our digestive powers. Leaning back in their chairs, their
+wrists lightly resting on the edge of the table, they were indolently
+playing with the gilded blades of their dessert-knives. When a dinner
+comes to this declining moment some guests will be seen to play with a
+pear seed; others roll crumbs of bread between their fingers and thumbs;
+lovers trace indistinct letters with fragments of fruit; misers count
+the stones on their plate and arrange them as a manager marshals his
+supernumeraries at the back of the stage. These are little gastronomic
+felicities which Brillat-Savarin, otherwise so complete an author,
+overlooked in his book. The footmen had disappeared. The dessert was
+like a squadron after a battle: all the dishes were disabled, pillaged,
+damaged; several were wandering around the table, in spite of the
+efforts of the mistress of the house to keep them in their places.
+Some of the persons present were gazing at pictures of Swiss scenery,
+symmetrically hung upon the gray-toned walls of the dining-room. Not
+a single guest was bored; in fact, I never yet knew a man who was sad
+during his digestion of a good dinner. We like at such moments to remain
+in quietude, a species of middle ground between the reverie of a thinker
+and the comfort of the ruminating animals; a condition which we may call
+the material melancholy of gastronomy.
+
+So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German,
+delighted to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of
+no interest. During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator
+is always delightful to our languid senses; it increases their negative
+happiness. I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces about
+me, enlivened by smiles, beaming in the light of the wax candles, and
+somewhat flushed by our late good cheer; their diverse expressions
+producing piquant effects seen among the porcelain baskets, the fruits,
+the glasses, and the candelabra.
+
+All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who
+sat directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat
+and smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and apparently
+endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely noticed him,
+but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the lights, seemed to
+me to have altered its character; it had certainly grown ghastly; violet
+tones were spreading over it; you might have thought it the cadaverous
+head of a dying man. Motionless as the personages painted on a diorama,
+his stupefied eyes were fixed on the sparkling facets of a cut-glass
+stopper, but certainly without observing them; he seemed to be engulfed
+in some weird contemplation of the future or the past. When I had long
+examined that puzzling face I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I
+said to myself. "Has he drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in
+the Funds? Is he thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+
+"Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the
+unknown man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her head
+gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell it in
+Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former purveyor
+to the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather original. He
+married a second time by way of speculation; but for all that he makes
+his wife extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom he refused for
+many years to recognize; but the death of his son, unfortunately
+killed in a duel, has compelled him to take her home, for he could not
+otherwise have children. The poor girl has suddenly become one of the
+richest heiresses in Paris. The death of his son threw the poor man into
+an agony of grief, which sometimes reappears on the surface."
+
+At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon
+me; that glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But
+suddenly his face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and
+put it, with a mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that
+was near his plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled.
+After all, that man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments,
+hadn't probably two ideas in his brain, and was thinking of nothing.
+Consequently I felt rather ashamed of wasting my powers of divination
+"in anima vili,"--of a doltish financier.
+
+While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological
+observations, the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch of
+snuff and was now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to reproduce
+it in his own language, with his frequent interruptions and wordy
+digressions. Therefore, I now write it down in my own way; leaving out
+the faults of the Nuremburger, and taking only what his tale may have
+had of interest and poesy with the coolness of writers who forget to put
+on the title pages of their books: "Translated from the German."
+
+
+
+
+THOUGHT AND ACT
+
+Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in
+the present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men, leaving
+Bonn in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the environs of
+Andernach, a small town standing on the left bank of the Rhine a few
+leagues from Coblentz. At that time the French army, commanded by
+Augereau, was manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then occupied the
+right bank of the river. The headquarters of the Republican division was
+at Coblentz, and one of the demi-brigades belonging to Augereau's corps
+was stationed at Andernach.
+
+The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue
+mixed with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above
+all their hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a
+tricolor plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons,
+a body of men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only
+in our own army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At this
+period many sons of good families taken from their medical studies
+by the recent conscription law due to General Jourdan, had naturally
+preferred to continue their studies on the battle-field rather than be
+restricted to mere military duty, little in keeping with their early
+education and their peaceful destinies. Men of science, pacific yet
+useful, these young men did an actual good in the midst of so much
+misery, and formed a bond of sympathy with other men of science in the
+various countries through which the cruel civilization of the Republic
+passed.
+
+The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their
+way to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both belonged
+to moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the gentle
+manners and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a species of
+birthright. Attracted to the theatre of war before the date at which
+they were required to begin their functions, they had travelled by
+diligence to Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only allowed them
+a slender sum of money they thought themselves rich in possessing a few
+louis, an actual treasure in those days when assignats were reaching
+their lowest depreciation and gold was worth far more than silver.
+The two young surgeons, about twenty years of age at the most, yielded
+themselves up to the poesy of their situation with all the enthusiasm
+of youth. Between Strasburg and Bonn they had visited the Electorate and
+the banks of the Rhine as artists, philosophers, and observers. When a
+man's destiny is scientific he is, at their age, a being who is truly
+many-sided. Even in making love or in travelling, an assistant-surgeon
+should be gathering up the rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+
+The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of the
+Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,--a strong,
+rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories, ever fresh
+and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of fire and sword.
+Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful land. Here and
+there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather the foresight of
+the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down the ancient castles
+that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at this marvellous
+country, covered with forests, where the picturesque charm of the
+middle ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to conceive the German
+genius, its reverie, its mysticism.
+
+The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science
+and pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of
+Augereau's division was established in the very palace of the Elector.
+These assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old comrades,
+to present their letters of recommendation to their medical chiefs, and
+to familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their profession.
+There, as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to which we cling
+so fondly in favor of the beauties of our native land. Surprised by the
+aspect of the columns of marble which adorn the Electoral Palace, they
+went about admiring the grandiose effects of German architecture, and
+finding everywhere new treasures both modern and antique.
+
+From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at
+leisure on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some
+granite hill that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing
+of the forest or cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden glimpses
+of the Rhine framed in stone or festooned with vigorous vegetation. The
+valleys, the forest paths, the trees exhaled that autumnal odor which
+induced to reverie; the wooded summits were beginning to gild and
+to take on the warm brown tones significant of age; the leaves were
+falling, but the skies were still azure and the dry roads lay like
+yellow lines along the landscape, just then illuminated by the oblique
+rays of the setting sun. At a mile and a half from Andernach the two
+friends walked their horses in silence, as if no war were devastating
+this beautiful land, while they followed a path made for the goats
+across the lofty walls of bluish granite between which foams the Rhine.
+Presently they descended by one of the declivities of the gorge, at
+the foot of which is placed the little town, seated coquettishly on the
+banks of the river and offering a convenient port to mariners.
+
+"Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who
+was named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the
+painted houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket,
+and separated only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for
+a moment the pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden
+staircases, the galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the
+vessels swaying to the waves in the port.
+
+[At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper Magnan,
+my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass of
+water, and emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted my
+attention, I thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a
+moisture on the brow of the capitalist.
+
+"What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+
+"Taillefer," she replied.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange personage
+was turning pale.
+
+"Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am listening,"
+he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all simultaneously looking
+at him.
+
+"I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other young
+man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made to me
+enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and jovial.
+I will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater clearness to
+the tale I am about to tell you."
+
+The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the
+smallest regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young
+French surgeon with a Teutonic name.]
+
+By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs
+and obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of
+soldiers, they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn
+standing some two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color
+of which, embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had greatly
+admired from the summit of the hill above the town. Painted entirely
+red, this inn produced a most piquant effect in the landscape, whether
+by detaching itself from the general background of the town, or by
+contrasting its scarlet sides with the verdure of the surrounding
+foliage, and the gray-blue tints of the water. This house owed its name,
+the Red Inn, to this external decoration, imposed upon it, no doubt
+from time immemorial by the caprice of its founder. A mercantile
+superstition, natural enough to the different possessors of the
+building, far-famed among the sailors of the Rhine, had made them
+scrupulous to preserve the title.
+
+Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+upon the threshold of his door.
+
+"By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had to
+sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots
+who are bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is
+occupied. If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room to
+offer you. As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of the
+courtyard. The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come from
+France?" he added after a slight pause.
+
+"From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+
+"Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people
+come to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round. You
+shall have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+
+After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who
+vainly called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public room
+of the inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of smokers
+prevented them from at first recognizing the persons with whom they
+were thrown; but after sitting awhile near the table, with the patience
+practised by philosophical travellers who know the inutility of making
+a fuss, they distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the inevitable
+accessories of a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots of beer, the
+long pipes, and here and there the eccentric physiognomies of Jews,
+or Germans, and the weather-beaten faces of mariners. The epaulets of
+several French officers were glittering through the mist, and the clank
+of spurs and sabres echoed incessantly from the brick floor. Some were
+playing cards, others argued, or held their tongues and ate, drank, or
+walked about. One stout little woman, wearing a black velvet cap, blue
+and silver stomacher, pincushion, bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided
+hair,--all distinctive signs of the mistress of a German inn (a costume
+which has been so often depicted in colored prints that it is too
+common to describe here),--well, this wife of the innkeeper kept the two
+friends alternately patient and impatient with remarkable ability.
+
+Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired to
+their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set for
+the two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon the
+table, eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The silence
+of night enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise their
+horses made in eating their provender, and the murmur of the waters of
+the Rhine, together with those indefinable sounds which always enliven
+an inn when filled with persons preparing to go to bed. Doors and
+windows are opened and shut, voices murmur vague words, and a few
+interpellations echo along the passages.
+
+At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their
+landlord, who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the Rhine
+wines, the Republican army, and his wife, were all three listening
+with a sort of interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a boat which
+appeared to be coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar no doubt
+with the guttural shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily, but presently
+returned conducting a short stout man, behind whom walked two sailors
+carrying a heavy valise and several packages. When these were deposited
+in the room, the short man took the valise and placed it beside him as
+he seated himself without ceremony at the same table as the surgeons.
+
+"Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is
+full. Considering all things, that is best."
+
+"Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+
+"No sauer-kraut?"
+
+"Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell you
+just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are sitting,
+and no other chamber than this public room."
+
+At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and the
+two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally expressed.
+
+["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell
+you that we have never known the real name nor the history of this man;
+his papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called himself
+Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin manufactory in
+the suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of that region, he
+wore a surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and breeches of dark
+green velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather belt. His face was
+round, his manners frank and cordial; but during the evening he seemed
+unable to disguise altogether some secret apprehension or, possibly,
+some anxious care. The innkeeper's opinion has always been that
+this German merchant was fleeing his country. Later I heard that his
+manufactory had been burned by one of those unfortunate chances so
+frequent in times of war. In spite of its anxious expression the man's
+face showed great kindliness. His features were handsome; and the
+whiteness of his stout throat was well set off by a black cravat, a fact
+which Wilhelm showed jestingly to Prosper."
+
+Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+
+Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their
+supper, and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man
+who feels himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on the
+floor and put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and removed
+a pair of pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this time set
+a knife and fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy their
+appetites in silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and the flies
+were so numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open the window
+looking toward the outer gate, so as to change the air. This window
+was barricaded by an iron bar, the two ends of which were inserted into
+holes made in the window casings. For greater security, two bolts were
+screwed to each shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed the manner in
+which the landlord managed these obstacles and opened the window.
+
+As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to you
+the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate knowledge of
+the premises depends an understanding of my tale. The public room in
+which the three persons I have named to you were sitting, had two outer
+doors. One opened on the main road to Andernach, which skirts the Rhine.
+In front of the inn was a little wharf, to which the boat hired by the
+merchant for his journey was moored. The other door opened upon the
+courtyard of the inn. This courtyard was surrounded by very high walls
+and was full, for the time being, of cattle and horses, the stables
+being occupied by human beings. The great gate leading into this
+courtyard had been so carefully barricaded that to save time the
+landlord had brought the merchant and sailors into the public room
+through the door opening on the roadway. After having opened the window,
+as requested by Prosper Magnan, he closed this door, slipped the iron
+bars into their places and ran the bolts. The landlord's room, where
+the two young surgeons were to sleep, adjoined the public room, and
+was separated by a somewhat thin partition from the kitchen, where
+the landlord and his wife intended, probably, to pass the night. The
+servant-woman had left the premises to find a lodging in some crib or
+hayloft. It is therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the landlord's
+chamber, and the public room were, to some extent, isolated from
+the rest of the house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose
+deep-toned barking showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+
+"What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at the
+sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+
+The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be
+heard.
+
+"Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles
+of wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that
+you have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+
+The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through
+the kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of the
+building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought back
+with him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of the
+supper. She gave to the dishes and to the room generally the glance of
+a mistress, and then, sure of having attended to all the wants of the
+travellers, she returned to the kitchen.
+
+The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her go
+to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into their
+talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more sonorous by
+the thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced herself, made
+the guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight, when nothing
+remained on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit, and good wine,
+the guests, chiefly the young Frenchmen, became communicative. The
+latter talked of their homes, their studies, and of the war. The
+conversation grew lively. Prosper Magnan brought a few tears to the
+merchant's eyes, when with the frankness and naivete of a good and
+tender nature, he talked of what his mother must be doing at that hour,
+while he was sitting drinking on the banks of the Rhine.
+
+"I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed.
+She won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor
+Prosper; I wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from
+her neighbors--your mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's
+elbow--"she'll go and put them in the great red earthenware pot, where
+she is accumulating a sum sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining
+her little estate at Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least
+sixty thousand francs. Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live all
+my days at Lescheville, without other ambition! How my father used to
+long for those thirty acres and the pretty brook which winds through
+the meadows! But he died without ever being able to buy them. Many's the
+time I've played there!"
+
+"Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+Wilhelm.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now--"
+
+The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+
+"As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I bought
+a field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+
+They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never
+stingy on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the
+night, Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+
+"You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+
+"Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take
+one off and put it on the floor."
+
+So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that
+prudent operation demanded.
+
+"I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added,
+lowering his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired it.
+My boatmen seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the night with
+two brave young men, two French soldiers, for, between ourselves, I have
+a hundred thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my valise."
+
+The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received
+by the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord
+assisted in taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was arranged
+for the best he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+
+The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their pillows.
+Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of Wilhelm under
+the end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place of a bolster,
+which was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of precaution, put his valise
+under his pillow.
+
+"We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your gold;
+I, on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my instruments will
+ever bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+
+"You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do
+everything; have patience, however."
+
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed
+on the floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of
+sleeplessness, or that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is
+certain that Prosper Magnan continued awake. His thoughts unconsciously
+took an evil turn. His mind dwelt exclusively on the hundred thousand
+francs which lay beneath the merchant's pillow. To Prosper Magnan one
+hundred thousand francs was a vast and ready-made fortune. He began to
+employ it in a hundred different ways; he made castles in the air, such
+as we all make with eager delight during the moments preceding sleep, an
+hour when images rise in our minds confusedly, and often, in the silence
+of the night, thought acquires some magical power. He gratified his
+mother's wishes; he bought the thirty acres of meadow land; he married
+a young lady of Beauvais to whom his present want of fortune forbade
+him to aspire. With a hundred thousand francs he planned a lifetime
+of happiness; he saw himself prosperous, the father of a family, rich,
+respected in his province, and, possibly, mayor of Beauvais. His brain
+heated; he searched for means to turn his fictions to realities. He
+began with extraordinary ardor to plan a crime theoretically. While
+fancying the death of the merchant he saw distinctly the gold and
+the diamonds. His eyes were dazzled by them. His heart throbbed.
+Deliberation was, undoubtedly, already crime. Fascinated by that mass
+of gold he intoxicated himself morally by murderous arguments. He asked
+himself if that poor German had any need to live; he supposed the case
+of his never having existed. In short, he planned the crime in a manner
+to secure himself impunity. The other bank of the river was occupied by
+the Austrian army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman; he would
+cut the throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and escape
+with the valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the
+Austrians. He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he
+had reached in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's
+throat without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+
+Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one,
+he dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that fatal
+intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him, with
+that power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners or
+to criminals in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron bars,
+slipped them from their places without the slightest noise, placed them
+against the wall, and opened the shutters, leaning heavily upon their
+hinges to keep them from creaking. The moon was shedding its pale pure
+light upon the scene, and he was thus enabled to faintly see into the
+room where Wilhelm and Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he told me, he
+stood still for a moment. The throbbing of his heart was so strong, so
+deep, so sonorous, that he was terrified; he feared he could not act
+with coolness; his hands trembled; the soles of his feet seem planted
+on red-hot coal; but the execution of his plan was accompanied by such
+apparent good luck that he fancied he saw a species of predestination in
+this favor bestowed upon him by fate. He opened the window, returned
+to the bedroom, took his case of instruments, and selected the one most
+suitable to accomplish the crime.
+
+"When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself
+mechanically to God."
+
+At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he
+heard a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He flung
+the instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and stood
+before the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of himself.
+Feeling his virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the spell that was
+upon him he sprang out upon the road and walked along the bank of the
+Rhine, pacing up and down like a sentinel before the inn. Sometimes he
+went as far as Andernach in his hurried tramp; often his feet led him up
+the slope he had descended on his way to the inn; and sometimes he lost
+sight of the inn and the window he had left open behind him. His object,
+he said, was to weary himself and so find sleep.
+
+But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping of
+the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees to
+sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his momentary
+frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious precepts, but
+above all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple life beneath the
+parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he returned to the inn
+after a long meditation to which he abandoned himself on the bank of the
+Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he could, he said to me, not have
+slept, but have watched untempted beside millions of gold. At the moment
+when his virtue rose proudly and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt
+down, with a feeling of ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt
+happy, light-hearted, content, as on the day of his first communion,
+when he thought himself worthy of the angels because he had passed one
+day without sinning in thought, or word, or deed.
+
+He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make
+a noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head
+on his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which
+precedes the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is
+abolished by degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering of
+our consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air is!"
+he thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained this
+vaguely to himself by the difference which must exist between the
+atmosphere of the close room and the purer air by the river. But
+presently he heard a periodical noise, something like that made by drops
+of water falling from a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a feeling
+of panic terror he was about to rise and call the innkeeper and waken
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he suddenly remembered, alas! to his great
+misfortune, the tall wooden clock; he fancied the sound was that of
+the pendulum, and he fell asleep with that confused and indistinct
+perception.
+
+["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an empty
+decanter.
+
+Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause
+occasioned by this interruption.]
+
+The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He seemed
+to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of the
+nerves which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a painful
+impression begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes place
+within us, a start, to use the common expression, which has never been
+sufficiently observed, though it contains very curious phenomena for
+science. This terrible agony, produced, possibly, by the too sudden
+reunion of our two natures separated during sleep, is usually transient;
+but in the poor young surgeon's case it lasted, and even increased,
+causing him suddenly the most awful horror as he beheld a pool of
+blood between Wahlenfer's bed and his own mattress. The head of the
+unfortunate German lay on the ground; his body was still on the bed; all
+its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+
+Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had stained
+his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical instrument
+beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool of Wahlenfer's
+blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my thoughts." When
+he recovered consciousness he was in the public room, seated on a
+chair, surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a curious and
+observing crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer engaged
+in taking the testimony of several witnesses, and in writing down, no
+doubt, the "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his wife, the
+two boatmen, and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical instrument
+which the murderer had used--
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow
+his nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions
+were noticed by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on
+Monsieur Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity.
+The purveyor leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his right
+hand and gazed fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no other
+sign of emotion or interest, but his face remained passive and
+ghastly, as it was when I first saw him playing with the stopper of the
+decanter.]
+
+The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table
+with the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with
+Prosper's purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned
+alternately from these convicting articles to the young man, who seemed
+to be dying and whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw nothing. A
+confused murmur which was heard without proved the presence of a crowd,
+drawn to the neighborhood of the inn by the news of the crime, and also
+perhaps by a desire to see the murderer. The step of the sentries
+placed beneath the windows of the public room and the rattle of their
+accoutrements could be heard above the talk of the populace; but the inn
+was closed and the courtyard was empty and silent.
+
+Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering his
+testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man, and
+he raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd
+of enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was so
+piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and suffered
+his head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put vinegar to his
+nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless his haggard eyes
+were so devoid of life and intelligence that the surgeon said to the
+officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,--
+
+"Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+
+"Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the
+surgeon, and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You
+cursed coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try at
+least to walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor of the
+Republic."
+
+This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air
+and saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way under
+him.
+
+"This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the
+two soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support
+him.
+
+"There he is!--oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+
+These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous voice
+of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at every step.
+During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise made by the
+tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the various
+colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the aspect
+of Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,--these
+impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely, confusedly,
+torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his waking. There
+were moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer living.
+
+I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of
+age, I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free
+lances, which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days
+before these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a French
+detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the most. My
+scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of Andernach, and they
+talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate others. The French
+talked also of reprisals. My father, however, obtained a reprieve for
+three days to give him time to see General Augereau, whom he knew,
+and ask for my pardon, which was granted. Thus it happened that I saw
+Prosper Magnan when he was brought to the prison. He inspired me with
+the profoundest pity. Though pale, distracted, and covered with blood,
+his whole countenance had a character of truth and innocence which
+struck me forcibly. To me his long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed
+German. A true image of my hapless country. I felt he was a victim
+and not a murderer. At the moment when he passed beneath my window he
+chanced to cast about him the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man
+who suddenly recovers for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile
+was assuredly not the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I
+questioned him about his new prisoner.
+
+"He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He
+is sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning
+to-morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+
+That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We talked
+together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair, replying
+with evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that first
+conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and obtained
+the favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again at
+intervals, and the poor lad let me in without concealment to all his
+thoughts. He believed himself both innocent and guilty. Remembering the
+horrible temptation which he had had the strength to resist, he feared
+he might have done in sleep, in a fit of somnambulism, the crime he had
+dreamed of awake.
+
+"But your companion?" I said to him.
+
+"Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of--"
+
+He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+
+"When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and lost
+his head; no doubt he fled."
+
+"Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+
+Suddenly he burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I remember
+my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I couldn't have
+cut off the head of a man while I dreamed I was running."
+
+Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he
+felt that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in his
+mind.
+
+"And yet, I _am_ good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at this
+moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder
+a man--oh! she would die of it! And I _am_ in prison, accused of
+committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly
+killed my mother!"
+
+Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and if
+I had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against it.
+
+"Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly be
+acquitted; think of your mother."
+
+"My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation
+before she hears anything else,--it is always so in little towns; and
+the shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you the
+whole truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my conscience."
+
+After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his breast,
+bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this instant
+the turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to leave my
+companion at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I pressed him
+in my arms with friendship, saying:--
+
+"Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your
+own."
+
+The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed myself
+at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast his eyes up
+to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts, presentiments,
+resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace. It was, as it
+were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man bequeathed his
+lost existence to his only friend. The night must have been very
+hard, very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of his face
+expressed a stoicism gathered from some new sense of self-respect.
+Perhaps he felt that his remorse had purified him, and believed that he
+had blotted out his fault by his anguish and his shame. He now walked
+with a firm step, and since the previous evening he had washed away the
+blood with which he was, involuntarily, stained.
+
+"My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+
+I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of
+war. The division was to march on the following morning, and the
+commanding-officer did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry into
+the crime on the spot where it had been committed. I remained in the
+utmost anxiety during the time the council lasted. At last, about
+mid-day, Prosper Magnan was brought back. I was then taking my usual
+walk; he saw me, and came and threw himself into my arms.
+
+"Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me my
+innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves me
+without reproach. But is there a future?"
+
+The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+thoughtful.
+
+"Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you? Did
+you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+
+He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+answered with feverish excitement:--
+
+"First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I said,
+'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have taken
+great precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was stupefied.
+The sailors said they saw me walking, first to Andernach, then to the
+forest. I made many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the gold and
+diamonds. The valise had not been found. My remorse still held me dumb.
+When I wanted to speak, a pitiless voice cried out to me, _'You meant
+to commit that crime!'_ All was against me, even myself. They asked me
+about my comrade, and I completely exonerated him. Then they said to me:
+'The crime must lie between you, your comrade, the innkeeper, and
+his wife. This morning all the windows and doors were found securely
+fastened.' At those words," continued the poor fellow, "I had neither
+voice, nor strength, nor soul to answer. More sure of my comrade than
+I could be of myself, I could not accuse him. I saw that we were both
+thought equally guilty of the murder, and that I was considered the most
+clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by somnambulism, and so protect my
+friend; but there I rambled and contradicted myself. No, I am lost.
+I read my condemnation in the eyes of my judges. They smiled
+incredulously. All is over. No more uncertainty. To-morrow I shall be
+shot. I am not thinking of myself," he went on after a pause, "but of my
+poor mother." Then he stopped, looked up to heaven, and shed no tears;
+his eyes were dry and strongly convulsed. "Frederic--"
+
+["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+
+My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over his
+eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we caught a
+darkling flame proceeding from them.
+
+"Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+
+I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+
+Hermann continued:]
+
+"Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He
+must have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our
+horses were both in the courtyard this morning. What an incomprehensible
+mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence. "Somnambulism!
+somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life, and that was when
+I was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he cried, striking the
+ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there is of friendship in
+the world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a fraternal love begun
+when we were only five years old, and continued through school and
+college? Where is Frederic?"
+
+He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+
+"Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to
+be seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play the
+heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All last
+night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood; I
+fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's my
+future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too senseless."
+
+Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his strength.
+
+"You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether
+you are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They
+won't fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go to
+Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you will
+find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was innocent!' She
+will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you must take her my
+last look; you must tell her that you were the last man whose hand
+I pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my last friend.
+Here," he said, after a moment's silence, during which he was overcome
+by the weight of his recollections, "all, officers and soldiers, are
+unknown to me; I am an object of horror to them. If it were not for you
+my innocence would be a secret between God and myself."
+
+I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I
+showed touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him again
+before the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am ignorant of
+the formalities that followed or accompanied this judgment, nor do I
+know whether the young surgeon defended his life or not; but he expected
+to be executed on the following day, and he spent the night in writing
+to his mother.
+
+"We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see him
+the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your pardon."
+
+I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features, as
+it were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed his
+face.
+
+"I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged
+for mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon.
+"Yes, yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most awful
+moral agony--I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of me.
+Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+therefore--"
+
+
+
+
+A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+
+"Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was
+shot I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the rest."
+
+We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm,
+said to him--
+
+"I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+
+"Yes. I was present at the execution."
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you--"
+
+"He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in following
+the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an innocent man!
+The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He seemed to live only
+in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to his mother his last
+sigh."
+
+"And did you?"
+
+"At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking
+to the mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously
+undertook that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption. It
+was not without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I was
+the bearer. You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I see
+a drama of sad sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed those
+parting words cast between two graves, unknown to all creation, like the
+cry uttered in a desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion seizes."
+
+"And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face with
+a man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!' would not
+that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+
+Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+
+"You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!--there, seated on that sofa at the corner
+of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of coffee.
+He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been torture,
+present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+
+"Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some action
+attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my neighbor
+went up to the purveyor.
+
+"Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+
+Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+
+"I, madame? No, never."
+
+"What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting
+him. "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+
+"Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+
+"You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a
+good man."
+
+"Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+
+Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity
+takes place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed.
+If two men meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or despise
+the other, whether from a knowledge of some private and latent fact
+which degrades him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming
+revenge, those two men divine each other's souls, and are able to
+measure the gulf which separates or ought to separate them. They observe
+each other unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by themselves;
+through their looks, their gestures, an indefinable emanation of their
+thought transpires; there's a magnet between them. I don't know which
+has the strongest power of attraction, vengeance or crime, hatred or
+insult. Like a priest who cannot consecrate the host in presence of an
+evil spirit, each is ill at ease and distrustful; one is polite, the
+other surly, but I know not which; one colors or turns pale, the other
+trembles. Often the avenger is as cowardly as the victim. Few men have
+the courage to invoke an evil, even when just or necessary, and men are
+silent or forgive a wrong from hatred of uproar or fear of some tragic
+ending.
+
+This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a
+mysterious struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first
+inquiry I had put to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had
+steadily avoided my eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other
+guests. He talked with the youthful, inexperienced daughter of the
+banker, feeling, no doubt, like many other criminals, a need of drawing
+near to innocence, hoping to find rest there. But, though I was a long
+distance from him, I heard him, and my piercing eye fascinated his. When
+he thought he could watch me unobserved our eyes met, and his eyelids
+dropped immediately.
+
+Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it
+by sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his adversary;
+hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player left the table
+and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+
+"Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at Beauvais?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+
+He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+
+"It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear--"
+
+He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering,
+and he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and seemed
+to take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I looked
+at each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach upon her
+countenance.
+
+"Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having lost
+all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why not
+leave things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one but
+we cannot escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge of the
+court of assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the work of
+an executioner."
+
+"After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing
+me on morality?"
+
+"You have made me reflect," she answered.
+
+"So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify
+gold! However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you see
+that young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+
+"Yes, what of her?"
+
+"I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador,
+and I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her
+name. No one was able--"
+
+"That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+
+I grew dizzy.
+
+"Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her education.
+For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She comes here for
+the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+
+These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+
+At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed to
+come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back through
+the garden.
+
+"Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+
+We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached our
+ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed the
+window.
+
+"Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+
+The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and
+said a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry, ran
+to the door, and disappeared. This event produced a great sensation. The
+card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor. The murmur of
+voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+
+"Can Monsieur Taillefer be--" I began.
+
+"--dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+mourning, I fancy!"
+
+"But what has happened to him?"
+
+"The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+with one."
+
+"What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+
+"Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors know
+no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while the
+unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack, and
+I was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing him;
+his cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter was
+obliged to have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his bed.
+The poor man declares there are live animals in his head gnawing his
+brain; every nerve quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he writhes
+in torture. He suffers so much in his head that he did not even feel the
+moxas they used formerly to apply to relieve it; but Monsieur Brousson,
+who is now his physician, has forbidden that remedy, declaring that the
+trouble is a nervous affection, an inflammation of the nerves, for
+which leeches should be applied to the neck, and opium to the head. As a
+result, the attacks are not so frequent; they appear now only about once
+a year, and always late in the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says
+repeatedly that he would far rather die than endure such torture."
+
+"Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who was
+present.
+
+"Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died in
+one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on pressing
+business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay twenty-two hours
+stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot bath was all that
+saved him."
+
+"It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+
+"I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering
+his head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They
+say the English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with
+prussic acid--"
+
+At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house, and
+froze us with horror.
+
+"There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said
+the banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers
+untold agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as
+ever during even short cessations of the pain--nature is so queer!
+A German doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that
+agrees with Brousson's opinion."
+
+I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On
+the staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to
+fetch.
+
+"Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+deserve such suffering?--so kind as he is!"
+
+I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+
+Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even
+more distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a dreadful
+look as the carriage rolled away.
+
+That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and on
+my feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps, because
+honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a murderer,
+however good a husband and father he might be. A curious fatality
+impelled me to visit those houses where I knew I could meet Victorine;
+often, after giving myself my word of honor to renounce the happiness
+of seeing her, I found myself that same evening beside her. My struggles
+were great. Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse, assumed the
+color of a criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing to Taillefer
+when, by chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed to him all the
+same.
+
+Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is
+also educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the
+slightest pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses
+with reserve, and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can
+resist. She loves me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a
+certain smile which she keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows
+softer still. Oh, yes! she loves me! But she adores her father; she
+tells me of his kindness, his gentleness, his excellent qualities. Those
+praises are so many dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to the heart.
+
+One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the
+crime which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on
+the point of asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I
+travelled; I went to Germany, to Andernach; and then--I returned! I
+found Victorine pale, and thinner; if I had seen her well in health and
+gay, I should certainly have been saved. Instead of which my love
+burst out again with untold violence. Fearing that my scruples might
+degenerate into monomania, I resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound
+consciences, and obtain from them some light on this problem of high
+morality and philosophy,--a problem which had been, as we shall see,
+still further complicated since my return.
+
+Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen,
+the secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now
+a mature statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a
+simple-hearted being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that
+the memory of it is still green at the Palais; besides these, there were
+present a judge, a lawyer, and a notary,--in short, all social opinions,
+and all practical virtues.
+
+We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then,
+at dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice,
+concealing, of course, the Taillefer name.
+
+A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary took
+leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+
+The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to
+silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under
+guardianship, to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+
+"I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+energetically enough what I ought to do."
+
+On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+
+A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General Foy
+exclaimed:--
+
+"Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+
+"Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me with
+his elbow.
+
+"Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from
+the estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of
+the Edict of Nantes.
+
+The lawyer rose, and said:--
+
+"In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le
+duc is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations. Where
+should we all be if we had to search into the origin of fortunes? This
+is simply an affair of conscience. If you must absolutely carry the case
+before some tribunal, go to that of the confessional."
+
+The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+good priest, rose.
+
+"God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the property
+she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the poor."
+
+"But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be
+met with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage
+only because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the
+fruit of the crime."
+
+"This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on
+which a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought
+to enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+
+"Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+
+"Yes!" said the priest.
+
+But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+
+A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one
+hundred and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+
+"Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature
+is one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to
+which sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made ought
+to be the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden conception, a
+prompt inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental apprehension,
+much like the flashes of sentiment which constitute taste. Let us vote."
+
+"Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+
+I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of
+virginity, was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I
+myself abstained from voting, out of delicacy.
+
+My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority.
+Each man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat, used
+to hold the numbered balls when card-players draw for their places at
+pool. We were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity; for this
+balloting to clarify morality was certainly original. Inspection of the
+ballot-box showed the presence of nine white balls! The result did not
+surprise me; but it came into my heard to count the young men of my own
+age whom I had brought to sit in judgment. These casuists were precisely
+nine in number; they all had the same thought.
+
+"Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+problem?"
+
+"Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+
+"There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my conscience
+has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous. If to-day
+its voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I received,
+about two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+
+And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+pocket-book:--
+
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+
+"Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before
+you in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in Mademoiselle
+Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a vast Aceldama.
+I know that. _But_ Prosper Magnan left no heirs; _but_, again, I have
+been unable to discover the family of the merchant who was murdered at
+Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that fortune? And ought it
+to be wholly restored? Have I the right to betray a secret surprised by
+me,--to add a murdered head to the dowry of an innocent girl, to give
+her for the rest of her life bad dreams, to deprive her of all her
+illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained with blood'? I have borrowed
+the 'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience' from an old ecclesiastic, but
+I can find nothing there to solve my doubts. Shall I found pious masses
+for the repose of the souls of Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer?
+Here we are in the middle of the nineteenth century! Shall I build a
+hospital, or institute a prize for virtue? A prize for virtue would
+be given to scoundrels; and as for hospitals, they seem to me to have
+become in these days the protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable
+actions, more or less profitable to vanity, do they constitute
+reparation?--and to whom do I owe reparation? But I love; I love
+passionately. My love is my life. If I, without apparent motive, suggest
+to a young girl accustomed to luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful
+of all enjoyments of art, a young girl who loves to idly listen at the
+opera to Rossini's music,--if to her I should propose that she deprive
+herself of fifteen hundred thousand francs in favor of broken-down old
+men, or scrofulous paupers, she would turn her back on me and laugh, or
+her confidential friend would tell her that I'm a crazy jester. If in an
+ecstasy of love, I should paint to her the charms of a modest life,
+and a little home on the banks of the Loire; if I were to ask her to
+sacrifice her Parisian life on the altar of our love, it would be, in
+the first place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I might only be opening
+the way to some painful experience; I might lose the heart of a girl who
+loves society, and balls, and personal adornment, and _me_ for the time
+being. Some slim and jaunty officer, with a well-frizzed moustache, who
+can play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride a horse elegantly, may
+get her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's sake, give me some
+advice!"
+
+The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of Jeannie
+Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the present
+moment hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he looked at me
+and said:--
+
+"Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDUM
+
+The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+
+     Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+       The Firm of Nucingen
+       Father Goriot
+       The Magic Skin
+
+     Taillefer, Victorine
+       Father Goriot
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1433 ***
diff --git a/1433-h/1433-h.htm b/1433-h/1433-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7589d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1433-h/1433-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,1696 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Red Inn and Others by Honore de Balzac
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+    
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+    
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1433 ***</div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE RED INN <br /><br />and others
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Honore De Balzac
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      DEDICATION<br /><br /> To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.<br />
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      Contents
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+    </h3>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> THE RED INN </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THOUGHT AND ACT </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> ADDENDUM </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      THE RED INN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+      commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of those
+      friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the world
+      through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to him. This
+      friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg, was a stout
+      worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a man of pipes,
+      having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square open forehead
+      adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was the type of the
+      sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in honorable natures,
+      whose peaceful manners and morals have never been lost, even after seven
+      invasions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+      remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked his
+      straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that of most
+      Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who does nothing
+      frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's table and eating with
+      that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout Europe, saying, in fact, a
+      conscientious farewell to the cookery of the great Careme.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+      intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+      pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+      with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+      joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws, and
+      were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have found no
+      cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies. Mankind can't
+      always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one might find a few
+      sweet hours during which we could fancy their sinister craft a
+      pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+      story to terrify us?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+      doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was the
+      only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose education was
+      then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which she adored. At this
+      moment the guests were in that happy state of laziness and silence which
+      follows a delicious dinner, especially if we have presumed too far on our
+      digestive powers. Leaning back in their chairs, their wrists lightly
+      resting on the edge of the table, they were indolently playing with the
+      gilded blades of their dessert-knives. When a dinner comes to this
+      declining moment some guests will be seen to play with a pear seed; others
+      roll crumbs of bread between their fingers and thumbs; lovers trace
+      indistinct letters with fragments of fruit; misers count the stones on
+      their plate and arrange them as a manager marshals his supernumeraries at
+      the back of the stage. These are little gastronomic felicities which
+      Brillat-Savarin, otherwise so complete an author, overlooked in his book.
+      The footmen had disappeared. The dessert was like a squadron after a
+      battle: all the dishes were disabled, pillaged, damaged; several were
+      wandering around the table, in spite of the efforts of the mistress of the
+      house to keep them in their places. Some of the persons present were
+      gazing at pictures of Swiss scenery, symmetrically hung upon the
+      gray-toned walls of the dining-room. Not a single guest was bored; in
+      fact, I never yet knew a man who was sad during his digestion of a good
+      dinner. We like at such moments to remain in quietude, a species of middle
+      ground between the reverie of a thinker and the comfort of the ruminating
+      animals; a condition which we may call the material melancholy of
+      gastronomy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German, delighted
+      to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of no interest.
+      During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator is always
+      delightful to our languid senses; it increases their negative happiness.
+      I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces about me, enlivened by
+      smiles, beaming in the light of the wax candles, and somewhat flushed by
+      our late good cheer; their diverse expressions producing piquant effects
+      seen among the porcelain baskets, the fruits, the glasses, and the
+      candelabra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who sat
+      directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat and
+      smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and apparently
+      endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely noticed him,
+      but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the lights, seemed to
+      me to have altered its character; it had certainly grown ghastly; violet
+      tones were spreading over it; you might have thought it the cadaverous
+      head of a dying man. Motionless as the personages painted on a diorama,
+      his stupefied eyes were fixed on the sparkling facets of a cut-glass
+      stopper, but certainly without observing them; he seemed to be engulfed in
+      some weird contemplation of the future or the past. When I had long
+      examined that puzzling face I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I
+      said to myself. "Has he drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in the
+      Funds? Is he thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the unknown
+      man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her head
+      gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell it in
+      Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former purveyor to
+      the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather original. He married a
+      second time by way of speculation; but for all that he makes his wife
+      extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom he refused for many years
+      to recognize; but the death of his son, unfortunately killed in a duel,
+      has compelled him to take her home, for he could not otherwise have
+      children. The poor girl has suddenly become one of the richest heiresses
+      in Paris. The death of his son threw the poor man into an agony of grief,
+      which sometimes reappears on the surface."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon me; that
+      glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But suddenly his
+      face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and put it, with a
+      mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that was near his
+      plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled. After all, that
+      man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments, hadn't probably two ideas
+      in his brain, and was thinking of nothing. Consequently I felt rather
+      ashamed of wasting my powers of divination "in anima vili,"&mdash;of a
+      doltish financier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological observations,
+      the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch of snuff and was
+      now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to reproduce it in his own
+      language, with his frequent interruptions and wordy digressions.
+      Therefore, I now write it down in my own way; leaving out the faults of
+      the Nuremburger, and taking only what his tale may have had of interest
+      and poesy with the coolness of writers who forget to put on the title
+      pages of their books: "Translated from the German."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THOUGHT AND ACT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in the
+      present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men, leaving Bonn
+      in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the environs of Andernach,
+      a small town standing on the left bank of the Rhine a few leagues from
+      Coblentz. At that time the French army, commanded by Augereau, was
+      manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then occupied the right bank of the
+      river. The headquarters of the Republican division was at Coblentz, and
+      one of the demi-brigades belonging to Augereau's corps was stationed at
+      Andernach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue mixed
+      with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above all their
+      hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a tricolor
+      plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons, a body of
+      men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only in our own
+      army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At this period many
+      sons of good families taken from their medical studies by the recent
+      conscription law due to General Jourdan, had naturally preferred to
+      continue their studies on the battle-field rather than be restricted to
+      mere military duty, little in keeping with their early education and their
+      peaceful destinies. Men of science, pacific yet useful, these young men
+      did an actual good in the midst of so much misery, and formed a bond of
+      sympathy with other men of science in the various countries through which
+      the cruel civilization of the Republic passed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+      assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their way
+      to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both belonged to
+      moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the gentle manners
+      and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a species of birthright.
+      Attracted to the theatre of war before the date at which they were
+      required to begin their functions, they had travelled by diligence to
+      Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only allowed them a slender sum of
+      money they thought themselves rich in possessing a few louis, an actual
+      treasure in those days when assignats were reaching their lowest
+      depreciation and gold was worth far more than silver. The two young
+      surgeons, about twenty years of age at the most, yielded themselves up to
+      the poesy of their situation with all the enthusiasm of youth. Between
+      Strasburg and Bonn they had visited the Electorate and the banks of the
+      Rhine as artists, philosophers, and observers. When a man's destiny is
+      scientific he is, at their age, a being who is truly many-sided. Even in
+      making love or in travelling, an assistant-surgeon should be gathering up
+      the rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+      admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of the
+      Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,&mdash;a
+      strong, rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories, ever
+      fresh and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of fire and
+      sword. Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful land. Here
+      and there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather the foresight
+      of the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down the ancient
+      castles that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at this marvellous
+      country, covered with forests, where the picturesque charm of the middle
+      ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to conceive the German genius,
+      its reverie, its mysticism.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science and
+      pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of Augereau's
+      division was established in the very palace of the Elector. These
+      assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old comrades, to
+      present their letters of recommendation to their medical chiefs, and to
+      familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their profession. There,
+      as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to which we cling so fondly
+      in favor of the beauties of our native land. Surprised by the aspect of
+      the columns of marble which adorn the Electoral Palace, they went about
+      admiring the grandiose effects of German architecture, and finding
+      everywhere new treasures both modern and antique.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at leisure
+      on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some granite hill
+      that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing of the forest or
+      cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden glimpses of the Rhine
+      framed in stone or festooned with vigorous vegetation. The valleys, the
+      forest paths, the trees exhaled that autumnal odor which induced to
+      reverie; the wooded summits were beginning to gild and to take on the warm
+      brown tones significant of age; the leaves were falling, but the skies
+      were still azure and the dry roads lay like yellow lines along the
+      landscape, just then illuminated by the oblique rays of the setting sun.
+      At a mile and a half from Andernach the two friends walked their horses in
+      silence, as if no war were devastating this beautiful land, while they
+      followed a path made for the goats across the lofty walls of bluish
+      granite between which foams the Rhine. Presently they descended by one of
+      the declivities of the gorge, at the foot of which is placed the little
+      town, seated coquettishly on the banks of the river and offering a
+      convenient port to mariners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who was
+      named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the painted
+      houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket, and separated
+      only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for a moment the
+      pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden staircases, the
+      galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the vessels swaying to the
+      waves in the port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper Magnan,
+      my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass of water, and
+      emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted my attention, I
+      thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a moisture on the
+      brow of the capitalist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Taillefer," she replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange personage
+      was turning pale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am listening,"
+      he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all simultaneously looking at
+      him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other young
+      man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made to me
+      enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and jovial. I
+      will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater clearness to the
+      tale I am about to tell you."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the smallest
+      regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young French surgeon
+      with a Teutonic name.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+      Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs and
+      obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of soldiers,
+      they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn standing some
+      two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color of which,
+      embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had greatly admired from
+      the summit of the hill above the town. Painted entirely red, this inn
+      produced a most piquant effect in the landscape, whether by detaching
+      itself from the general background of the town, or by contrasting its
+      scarlet sides with the verdure of the surrounding foliage, and the
+      gray-blue tints of the water. This house owed its name, the Red Inn, to
+      this external decoration, imposed upon it, no doubt from time immemorial
+      by the caprice of its founder. A mercantile superstition, natural enough
+      to the different possessors of the building, far-famed among the sailors
+      of the Rhine, had made them scrupulous to preserve the title.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+      upon the threshold of his door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had to
+      sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots who are
+      bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is occupied.
+      If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room to offer you.
+      As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of the courtyard.
+      The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come from France?" he
+      added after a slight pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people come
+      to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round. You shall
+      have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who vainly
+      called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public room of the
+      inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of smokers prevented
+      them from at first recognizing the persons with whom they were thrown; but
+      after sitting awhile near the table, with the patience practised by
+      philosophical travellers who know the inutility of making a fuss, they
+      distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the inevitable accessories of
+      a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots of beer, the long pipes, and
+      here and there the eccentric physiognomies of Jews, or Germans, and the
+      weather-beaten faces of mariners. The epaulets of several French officers
+      were glittering through the mist, and the clank of spurs and sabres echoed
+      incessantly from the brick floor. Some were playing cards, others argued,
+      or held their tongues and ate, drank, or walked about. One stout little
+      woman, wearing a black velvet cap, blue and silver stomacher, pincushion,
+      bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided hair,&mdash;all distinctive signs
+      of the mistress of a German inn (a costume which has been so often
+      depicted in colored prints that it is too common to describe here),&mdash;well,
+      this wife of the innkeeper kept the two friends alternately patient and
+      impatient with remarkable ability.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired to
+      their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set for the
+      two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon the table,
+      eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The silence of night
+      enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise their horses made in
+      eating their provender, and the murmur of the waters of the Rhine,
+      together with those indefinable sounds which always enliven an inn when
+      filled with persons preparing to go to bed. Doors and windows are opened
+      and shut, voices murmur vague words, and a few interpellations echo along
+      the passages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their landlord,
+      who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the Rhine wines, the
+      Republican army, and his wife, were all three listening with a sort of
+      interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a boat which appeared to be
+      coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar no doubt with the guttural
+      shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily, but presently returned conducting
+      a short stout man, behind whom walked two sailors carrying a heavy valise
+      and several packages. When these were deposited in the room, the short man
+      took the valise and placed it beside him as he seated himself without
+      ceremony at the same table as the surgeons.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is full.
+      Considering all things, that is best."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+      provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+      Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No sauer-kraut?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell you
+      just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are sitting, and
+      no other chamber than this public room."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and the
+      two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally expressed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell you
+      that we have never known the real name nor the history of this man; his
+      papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called himself
+      Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin manufactory in the
+      suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of that region, he wore a
+      surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and breeches of dark green
+      velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather belt. His face was round, his
+      manners frank and cordial; but during the evening he seemed unable to
+      disguise altogether some secret apprehension or, possibly, some anxious
+      care. The innkeeper's opinion has always been that this German merchant
+      was fleeing his country. Later I heard that his manufactory had been
+      burned by one of those unfortunate chances so frequent in times of war. In
+      spite of its anxious expression the man's face showed great kindliness.
+      His features were handsome; and the whiteness of his stout throat was well
+      set off by a black cravat, a fact which Wilhelm showed jestingly to
+      Prosper."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their supper,
+      and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man who feels
+      himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on the floor and
+      put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and removed a pair of
+      pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this time set a knife and
+      fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy their appetites in
+      silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and the flies were so
+      numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open the window looking
+      toward the outer gate, so as to change the air. This window was barricaded
+      by an iron bar, the two ends of which were inserted into holes made in the
+      window casings. For greater security, two bolts were screwed to each
+      shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed the manner in which the landlord
+      managed these obstacles and opened the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to you
+      the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate knowledge of the
+      premises depends an understanding of my tale. The public room in which the
+      three persons I have named to you were sitting, had two outer doors. One
+      opened on the main road to Andernach, which skirts the Rhine. In front of
+      the inn was a little wharf, to which the boat hired by the merchant for
+      his journey was moored. The other door opened upon the courtyard of the
+      inn. This courtyard was surrounded by very high walls and was full, for
+      the time being, of cattle and horses, the stables being occupied by human
+      beings. The great gate leading into this courtyard had been so carefully
+      barricaded that to save time the landlord had brought the merchant and
+      sailors into the public room through the door opening on the roadway.
+      After having opened the window, as requested by Prosper Magnan, he closed
+      this door, slipped the iron bars into their places and ran the bolts. The
+      landlord's room, where the two young surgeons were to sleep, adjoined the
+      public room, and was separated by a somewhat thin partition from the
+      kitchen, where the landlord and his wife intended, probably, to pass the
+      night. The servant-woman had left the premises to find a lodging in some
+      crib or hayloft. It is therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the
+      landlord's chamber, and the public room were, to some extent, isolated
+      from the rest of the house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose
+      deep-toned barking showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at the
+      sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles of
+      wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+      drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that you
+      have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through the
+      kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of the
+      building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought back with
+      him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of the supper. She
+      gave to the dishes and to the room generally the glance of a mistress, and
+      then, sure of having attended to all the wants of the travellers, she
+      returned to the kitchen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her go
+      to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into their
+      talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more sonorous by the
+      thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced herself, made the
+      guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight, when nothing remained
+      on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit, and good wine, the guests,
+      chiefly the young Frenchmen, became communicative. The latter talked of
+      their homes, their studies, and of the war. The conversation grew lively.
+      Prosper Magnan brought a few tears to the merchant's eyes, when with the
+      frankness and naivete of a good and tender nature, he talked of what his
+      mother must be doing at that hour, while he was sitting drinking on the
+      banks of the Rhine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed. She
+      won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor Prosper; I
+      wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from her neighbors&mdash;your
+      mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's elbow&mdash;"she'll go and
+      put them in the great red earthenware pot, where she is accumulating a sum
+      sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining her little estate at
+      Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least sixty thousand francs.
+      Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live all my days at Lescheville,
+      without other ambition! How my father used to long for those thirty acres
+      and the pretty brook which winds through the meadows! But he died without
+      ever being able to buy them. Many's the time I've played there!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+      Wilhelm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I bought a
+      field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+      each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never stingy
+      on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the night,
+      Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+      Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+      elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take one
+      off and put it on the floor."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that prudent
+      operation demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added, lowering
+      his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired it. My boatmen
+      seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the night with two brave
+      young men, two French soldiers, for, between ourselves, I have a hundred
+      thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my valise."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received by
+      the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord assisted in
+      taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was arranged for the best
+      he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their pillows.
+      Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of Wilhelm under the
+      end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place of a bolster, which
+      was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of precaution, put his valise under
+      his pillow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your gold; I,
+      on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my instruments will ever
+      bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do everything;
+      have patience, however."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed on the
+      floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of sleeplessness, or
+      that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is certain that Prosper
+      Magnan continued awake. His thoughts unconsciously took an evil turn. His
+      mind dwelt exclusively on the hundred thousand francs which lay beneath
+      the merchant's pillow. To Prosper Magnan one hundred thousand francs was a
+      vast and ready-made fortune. He began to employ it in a hundred different
+      ways; he made castles in the air, such as we all make with eager delight
+      during the moments preceding sleep, an hour when images rise in our minds
+      confusedly, and often, in the silence of the night, thought acquires some
+      magical power. He gratified his mother's wishes; he bought the thirty
+      acres of meadow land; he married a young lady of Beauvais to whom his
+      present want of fortune forbade him to aspire. With a hundred thousand
+      francs he planned a lifetime of happiness; he saw himself prosperous, the
+      father of a family, rich, respected in his province, and, possibly, mayor
+      of Beauvais. His brain heated; he searched for means to turn his fictions
+      to realities. He began with extraordinary ardor to plan a crime
+      theoretically. While fancying the death of the merchant he saw distinctly
+      the gold and the diamonds. His eyes were dazzled by them. His heart
+      throbbed. Deliberation was, undoubtedly, already crime. Fascinated by that
+      mass of gold he intoxicated himself morally by murderous arguments. He
+      asked himself if that poor German had any need to live; he supposed the
+      case of his never having existed. In short, he planned the crime in a
+      manner to secure himself impunity. The other bank of the river was
+      occupied by the Austrian army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman;
+      he would cut the throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and
+      escape with the valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the
+      Austrians. He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he had
+      reached in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's
+      throat without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one, he
+      dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that fatal
+      intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him, with that
+      power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners or to criminals
+      in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron bars, slipped them from
+      their places without the slightest noise, placed them against the wall,
+      and opened the shutters, leaning heavily upon their hinges to keep them
+      from creaking. The moon was shedding its pale pure light upon the scene,
+      and he was thus enabled to faintly see into the room where Wilhelm and
+      Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he told me, he stood still for a moment.
+      The throbbing of his heart was so strong, so deep, so sonorous, that he
+      was terrified; he feared he could not act with coolness; his hands
+      trembled; the soles of his feet seem planted on red-hot coal; but the
+      execution of his plan was accompanied by such apparent good luck that he
+      fancied he saw a species of predestination in this favor bestowed upon him
+      by fate. He opened the window, returned to the bedroom, took his case of
+      instruments, and selected the one most suitable to accomplish the crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself mechanically
+      to God."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he heard
+      a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He flung the
+      instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and stood before
+      the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of himself. Feeling his
+      virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the spell that was upon him he
+      sprang out upon the road and walked along the bank of the Rhine, pacing up
+      and down like a sentinel before the inn. Sometimes he went as far as
+      Andernach in his hurried tramp; often his feet led him up the slope he had
+      descended on his way to the inn; and sometimes he lost sight of the inn
+      and the window he had left open behind him. His object, he said, was to
+      weary himself and so find sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+      affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping of
+      the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees to
+      sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his momentary
+      frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious precepts, but above
+      all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple life beneath the
+      parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he returned to the inn
+      after a long meditation to which he abandoned himself on the bank of the
+      Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he could, he said to me, not have
+      slept, but have watched untempted beside millions of gold. At the moment
+      when his virtue rose proudly and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt
+      down, with a feeling of ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt
+      happy, light-hearted, content, as on the day of his first communion, when
+      he thought himself worthy of the angels because he had passed one day
+      without sinning in thought, or word, or deed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make a
+      noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+      certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head on
+      his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which precedes
+      the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is abolished by
+      degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering of our
+      consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air is!" he
+      thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained this vaguely
+      to himself by the difference which must exist between the atmosphere of
+      the close room and the purer air by the river. But presently he heard a
+      periodical noise, something like that made by drops of water falling from
+      a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a feeling of panic terror he was about
+      to rise and call the innkeeper and waken Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he
+      suddenly remembered, alas! to his great misfortune, the tall wooden clock;
+      he fancied the sound was that of the pendulum, and he fell asleep with
+      that confused and indistinct perception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+      house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an empty
+      decanter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause occasioned
+      by this interruption.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He seemed
+      to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of the nerves
+      which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a painful impression
+      begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes place within us, a start,
+      to use the common expression, which has never been sufficiently observed,
+      though it contains very curious phenomena for science. This terrible
+      agony, produced, possibly, by the too sudden reunion of our two natures
+      separated during sleep, is usually transient; but in the poor young
+      surgeon's case it lasted, and even increased, causing him suddenly the
+      most awful horror as he beheld a pool of blood between Wahlenfer's bed and
+      his own mattress. The head of the unfortunate German lay on the ground;
+      his body was still on the bed; all its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had stained
+      his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical instrument
+      beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool of Wahlenfer's
+      blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my thoughts." When he
+      recovered consciousness he was in the public room, seated on a chair,
+      surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a curious and observing
+      crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer engaged in taking the
+      testimony of several witnesses, and in writing down, no doubt, the
+      "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his wife, the two boatmen,
+      and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical instrument which the murderer
+      had used&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow his
+      nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions were noticed
+      by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on Monsieur
+      Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity. The purveyor
+      leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his right hand and gazed
+      fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no other sign of emotion or
+      interest, but his face remained passive and ghastly, as it was when I
+      first saw him playing with the stopper of the decanter.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table with
+      the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with Prosper's
+      purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned alternately from
+      these convicting articles to the young man, who seemed to be dying and
+      whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw nothing. A confused murmur
+      which was heard without proved the presence of a crowd, drawn to the
+      neighborhood of the inn by the news of the crime, and also perhaps by a
+      desire to see the murderer. The step of the sentries placed beneath the
+      windows of the public room and the rattle of their accoutrements could be
+      heard above the talk of the populace; but the inn was closed and the
+      courtyard was empty and silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering his
+      testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man, and he
+      raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd of
+      enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+      demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was so
+      piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and suffered his
+      head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put vinegar to his
+      nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless his haggard eyes
+      were so devoid of life and intelligence that the surgeon said to the
+      officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the surgeon,
+      and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You cursed
+      coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try at least to
+      walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor of the Republic."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+      steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air and
+      saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way under him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the two
+      soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There he is!&mdash;oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous voice
+      of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at every step.
+      During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise made by the
+      tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the various
+      colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the aspect of
+      Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,&mdash;these
+      impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely, confusedly,
+      torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his waking. There were
+      moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer living.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of age,
+      I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free lances,
+      which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days before
+      these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a French
+      detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the most. My
+      scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of Andernach, and they
+      talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate others. The French
+      talked also of reprisals. My father, however, obtained a reprieve for
+      three days to give him time to see General Augereau, whom he knew, and ask
+      for my pardon, which was granted. Thus it happened that I saw Prosper
+      Magnan when he was brought to the prison. He inspired me with the
+      profoundest pity. Though pale, distracted, and covered with blood, his
+      whole countenance had a character of truth and innocence which struck me
+      forcibly. To me his long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed German. A
+      true image of my hapless country. I felt he was a victim and not a
+      murderer. At the moment when he passed beneath my window he chanced to
+      cast about him the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man who suddenly
+      recovers for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile was assuredly
+      not the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I questioned him about
+      his new prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He is
+      sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+      reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning
+      to-morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+      short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We talked
+      together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair, replying with
+      evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that first
+      conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and obtained the
+      favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again at intervals, and
+      the poor lad let me in without concealment to all his thoughts. He
+      believed himself both innocent and guilty. Remembering the horrible
+      temptation which he had had the strength to resist, he feared he might
+      have done in sleep, in a fit of somnambulism, the crime he had dreamed of
+      awake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But your companion?" I said to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+      youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and lost
+      his head; no doubt he fled."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+      Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he burst into tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I remember
+      my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I couldn't have cut
+      off the head of a man while I dreamed I was running."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+      calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+      question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he felt
+      that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And yet, I <i>am</i> good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at
+      this moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+      little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder a
+      man&mdash;oh! she would die of it! And I <i>am</i> in prison, accused of
+      committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly killed
+      my mother!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+      rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and if I
+      had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly be
+      acquitted; think of your mother."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation before
+      she hears anything else,&mdash;it is always so in little towns; and the
+      shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you the whole
+      truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my conscience."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his breast,
+      bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this instant the
+      turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to leave my companion
+      at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I pressed him in my arms
+      with friendship, saying:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+      still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+      friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your own."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+      nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed myself
+      at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast his eyes up
+      to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts, presentiments,
+      resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace. It was, as it
+      were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man bequeathed his
+      lost existence to his only friend. The night must have been very hard,
+      very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of his face expressed
+      a stoicism gathered from some new sense of self-respect. Perhaps he felt
+      that his remorse had purified him, and believed that he had blotted out
+      his fault by his anguish and his shame. He now walked with a firm step,
+      and since the previous evening he had washed away the blood with which he
+      was, involuntarily, stained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+      restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of war. The
+      division was to march on the following morning, and the commanding-officer
+      did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry into the crime on the spot
+      where it had been committed. I remained in the utmost anxiety during the
+      time the council lasted. At last, about mid-day, Prosper Magnan was
+      brought back. I was then taking my usual walk; he saw me, and came and
+      threw himself into my arms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+      murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me my
+      innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves me
+      without reproach. But is there a future?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+      thoughtful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you? Did
+      you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+      answered with feverish excitement:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I said,
+      'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have taken great
+      precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was stupefied. The sailors
+      said they saw me walking, first to Andernach, then to the forest. I made
+      many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the gold and diamonds. The valise
+      had not been found. My remorse still held me dumb. When I wanted to speak,
+      a pitiless voice cried out to me, <i>'You meant to commit that crime!'</i>
+      All was against me, even myself. They asked me about my comrade, and I
+      completely exonerated him. Then they said to me: 'The crime must lie
+      between you, your comrade, the innkeeper, and his wife. This morning all
+      the windows and doors were found securely fastened.' At those words,"
+      continued the poor fellow, "I had neither voice, nor strength, nor soul to
+      answer. More sure of my comrade than I could be of myself, I could not
+      accuse him. I saw that we were both thought equally guilty of the murder,
+      and that I was considered the most clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by
+      somnambulism, and so protect my friend; but there I rambled and
+      contradicted myself. No, I am lost. I read my condemnation in the eyes of
+      my judges. They smiled incredulously. All is over. No more uncertainty.
+      To-morrow I shall be shot. I am not thinking of myself," he went on after
+      a pause, "but of my poor mother." Then he stopped, looked up to heaven,
+      and shed no tears; his eyes were dry and strongly convulsed. "Frederic&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+      other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+      Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over his
+      eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we caught a
+      darkling flame proceeding from them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hermann continued:]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He must
+      have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our horses
+      were both in the courtyard this morning. What an incomprehensible
+      mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence. "Somnambulism!
+      somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life, and that was when I
+      was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he cried, striking the
+      ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there is of friendship in the
+      world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a fraternal love begun when we
+      were only five years old, and continued through school and college? Where
+      is Frederic?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to be
+      seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play the
+      heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All last
+      night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood; I
+      fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+      suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+      shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's my
+      future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too senseless."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his strength.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+      will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether you
+      are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They won't
+      fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go to
+      Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you will
+      find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was innocent!' She
+      will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you must take her my
+      last look; you must tell her that you were the last man whose hand I
+      pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my last friend. Here,"
+      he said, after a moment's silence, during which he was overcome by the
+      weight of his recollections, "all, officers and soldiers, are unknown to
+      me; I am an object of horror to them. If it were not for you my innocence
+      would be a secret between God and myself."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I showed
+      touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him again before
+      the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am ignorant of the
+      formalities that followed or accompanied this judgment, nor do I know
+      whether the young surgeon defended his life or not; but he expected to be
+      executed on the following day, and he spent the night in writing to his
+      mother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see him
+      the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your pardon."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features, as it
+      were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged for
+      mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon. "Yes,
+      yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most awful moral
+      agony&mdash;I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of me.
+      Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+      therefore&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+      interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+      uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was shot
+      I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the rest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm, said
+      to him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes. I was present at the execution."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in following
+      the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an innocent man!
+      The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He seemed to live only
+      in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to his mother his last
+      sigh."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And did you?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking to the
+      mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously undertook
+      that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption. It was not
+      without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I was the bearer.
+      You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I see a drama of sad
+      sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed those parting words cast
+      between two graves, unknown to all creation, like the cry uttered in a
+      desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion seizes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face with a
+      man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!' would not
+      that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+      neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!&mdash;there, seated on that sofa at the
+      corner of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of
+      coffee. He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been
+      torture, present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Why not?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some action
+      attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my neighbor went
+      up to the purveyor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I, madame? No, never."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting him.
+      "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a good
+      man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+      murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity takes
+      place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed. If two men
+      meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or despise the other,
+      whether from a knowledge of some private and latent fact which degrades
+      him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming revenge, those two men
+      divine each other's souls, and are able to measure the gulf which
+      separates or ought to separate them. They observe each other
+      unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by themselves; through their
+      looks, their gestures, an indefinable emanation of their thought
+      transpires; there's a magnet between them. I don't know which has the
+      strongest power of attraction, vengeance or crime, hatred or insult. Like
+      a priest who cannot consecrate the host in presence of an evil spirit,
+      each is ill at ease and distrustful; one is polite, the other surly, but I
+      know not which; one colors or turns pale, the other trembles. Often the
+      avenger is as cowardly as the victim. Few men have the courage to invoke
+      an evil, even when just or necessary, and men are silent or forgive a
+      wrong from hatred of uproar or fear of some tragic ending.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a mysterious
+      struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first inquiry I had put
+      to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had steadily avoided my
+      eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other guests. He talked with the
+      youthful, inexperienced daughter of the banker, feeling, no doubt, like
+      many other criminals, a need of drawing near to innocence, hoping to find
+      rest there. But, though I was a long distance from him, I heard him, and
+      my piercing eye fascinated his. When he thought he could watch me
+      unobserved our eyes met, and his eyelids dropped immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it by
+      sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his adversary;
+      hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player left the table
+      and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+      Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at Beauvais?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+      asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering, and
+      he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and seemed to
+      take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I looked at
+      each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach upon her
+      countenance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+      embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having lost
+      all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why not leave
+      things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one but we cannot
+      escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge of the court of
+      assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the work of an
+      executioner."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing me
+      on morality?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You have made me reflect," she answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify gold!
+      However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you see that
+      young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, what of her?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador, and
+      I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her name. No
+      one was able&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I grew dizzy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+      convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her education.
+      For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She comes here for
+      the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed to
+      come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back through
+      the garden.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached our
+      ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed the
+      window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+      father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and said
+      a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry, ran to the
+      door, and disappeared. This event produced a great sensation. The
+      card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor. The murmur of
+      voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Can Monsieur Taillefer be&mdash;" I began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "&mdash;dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+      mourning, I fancy!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But what has happened to him?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+      attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+      Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+      with one."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors know
+      no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while the
+      unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack, and I
+      was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing him; his
+      cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter was obliged to
+      have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his bed. The poor man
+      declares there are live animals in his head gnawing his brain; every nerve
+      quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he writhes in torture. He
+      suffers so much in his head that he did not even feel the moxas they used
+      formerly to apply to relieve it; but Monsieur Brousson, who is now his
+      physician, has forbidden that remedy, declaring that the trouble is a
+      nervous affection, an inflammation of the nerves, for which leeches should
+      be applied to the neck, and opium to the head. As a result, the attacks
+      are not so frequent; they appear now only about once a year, and always
+      late in the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says repeatedly that he
+      would far rather die than endure such torture."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who was
+      present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died in
+      one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on pressing
+      business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay twenty-two hours
+      stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot bath was all that saved
+      him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+      thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering his
+      head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They say the
+      English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with prussic acid&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house, and
+      froze us with horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said the
+      banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+      dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers untold
+      agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as ever during
+      even short cessations of the pain&mdash;nature is so queer! A German
+      doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that agrees with
+      Brousson's opinion."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On the
+      staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to fetch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+      deserve such suffering?&mdash;so kind as he is!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+      carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+      handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even more
+      distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a dreadful look
+      as the carriage rolled away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and on my
+      feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps, because
+      honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a murderer, however
+      good a husband and father he might be. A curious fatality impelled me to
+      visit those houses where I knew I could meet Victorine; often, after
+      giving myself my word of honor to renounce the happiness of seeing her, I
+      found myself that same evening beside her. My struggles were great.
+      Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse, assumed the color of a
+      criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing to Taillefer when, by
+      chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed to him all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is also
+      educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the slightest
+      pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses with reserve,
+      and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can resist. She loves
+      me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a certain smile which she
+      keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows softer still. Oh, yes! she
+      loves me! But she adores her father; she tells me of his kindness, his
+      gentleness, his excellent qualities. Those praises are so many
+      dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to the heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the crime
+      which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on the point of
+      asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I travelled; I went to
+      Germany, to Andernach; and then&mdash;I returned! I found Victorine pale,
+      and thinner; if I had seen her well in health and gay, I should certainly
+      have been saved. Instead of which my love burst out again with untold
+      violence. Fearing that my scruples might degenerate into monomania, I
+      resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound consciences, and obtain from them
+      some light on this problem of high morality and philosophy,&mdash;a
+      problem which had been, as we shall see, still further complicated since
+      my return.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+      attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen, the
+      secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now a mature
+      statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a simple-hearted
+      being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that the memory of it
+      is still green at the Palais; besides these, there were present a judge, a
+      lawyer, and a notary,&mdash;in short, all social opinions, and all
+      practical virtues.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then, at
+      dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice, concealing,
+      of course, the Taillefer name.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary took
+      leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to silence; in
+      fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under guardianship, to
+      make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+      energetically enough what I ought to do."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General Foy
+      exclaimed:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me with
+      his elbow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from the
+      estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of the
+      Edict of Nantes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lawyer rose, and said:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le duc
+      is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations. Where
+      should we all be if we had to search into the origin of fortunes? This is
+      simply an affair of conscience. If you must absolutely carry the case
+      before some tribunal, go to that of the confessional."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+      champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+      good priest, rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+      heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the property
+      she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the poor."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be met
+      with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage only
+      because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the fruit of
+      the crime."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on which
+      a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought to
+      enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes!" said the priest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one hundred
+      and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature is
+      one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to which
+      sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made ought to be
+      the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden conception, a prompt
+      inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental apprehension, much like
+      the flashes of sentiment which constitute taste. Let us vote."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of virginity,
+      was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I myself abstained
+      from voting, out of delicacy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority. Each
+      man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat, used to hold
+      the numbered balls when card-players draw for their places at pool. We
+      were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity; for this balloting to
+      clarify morality was certainly original. Inspection of the ballot-box
+      showed the presence of nine white balls! The result did not surprise me;
+      but it came into my heard to count the young men of my own age whom I had
+      brought to sit in judgment. These casuists were precisely nine in number;
+      they all had the same thought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+      marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+      problem?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+      heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my conscience
+      has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous. If to-day its
+      voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I received, about
+      two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+      pocket-book:&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      "Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before you
+      in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in Mademoiselle
+      Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a vast Aceldama. I
+      know that. <i>But</i> Prosper Magnan left no heirs; <i>but</i>, again, I
+      have been unable to discover the family of the merchant who was murdered
+      at Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that fortune? And ought it
+      to be wholly restored? Have I the right to betray a secret surprised by
+      me,&mdash;to add a murdered head to the dowry of an innocent girl, to give
+      her for the rest of her life bad dreams, to deprive her of all her
+      illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained with blood'? I have borrowed the
+      'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience' from an old ecclesiastic, but I can
+      find nothing there to solve my doubts. Shall I found pious masses for the
+      repose of the souls of Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer? Here we
+      are in the middle of the nineteenth century! Shall I build a hospital, or
+      institute a prize for virtue? A prize for virtue would be given to
+      scoundrels; and as for hospitals, they seem to me to have become in these
+      days the protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable actions, more or
+      less profitable to vanity, do they constitute reparation?&mdash;and to
+      whom do I owe reparation? But I love; I love passionately. My love is my
+      life. If I, without apparent motive, suggest to a young girl accustomed to
+      luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful of all enjoyments of art, a young
+      girl who loves to idly listen at the opera to Rossini's music,&mdash;if to
+      her I should propose that she deprive herself of fifteen hundred thousand
+      francs in favor of broken-down old men, or scrofulous paupers, she would
+      turn her back on me and laugh, or her confidential friend would tell her
+      that I'm a crazy jester. If in an ecstasy of love, I should paint to her
+      the charms of a modest life, and a little home on the banks of the Loire;
+      if I were to ask her to sacrifice her Parisian life on the altar of our
+      love, it would be, in the first place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I
+      might only be opening the way to some painful experience; I might lose the
+      heart of a girl who loves society, and balls, and personal adornment, and
+      <i>me</i> for the time being. Some slim and jaunty officer, with a
+      well-frizzed moustache, who can play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride
+      a horse elegantly, may get her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's
+      sake, give me some advice!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of Jeannie
+      Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the present moment
+      hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he looked at me and
+      said:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ADDENDUM
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+    </h3>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+       The Firm of Nucingen
+       Father Goriot
+       The Magic Skin
+
+     Taillefer, Victorine
+       Father Goriot
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+  <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1433 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e217b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #1433 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1433)
diff --git a/old/1433-h.zip b/old/1433-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6d5324
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/1433-h.zip
diff --git a/old/1433-h/1433-h.htm b/old/1433-h/1433-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d28122
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/1433-h/1433-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,2101 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Red Inn and Others by Honore de Balzac
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+    
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+    
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Red Inn
+
+Author: Honore de Balzac
+
+Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+Release Date: February 25, 2010 [EBook #1433]
+Last Updated: April 3, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE RED INN <br /><br />and others
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Honore De Balzac
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      DEDICATION<br /><br /> To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.<br />
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      Contents
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+    </h3>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> THE RED INN </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THOUGHT AND ACT </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> ADDENDUM </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      THE RED INN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+      commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of those
+      friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the world
+      through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to him. This
+      friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg, was a stout
+      worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a man of pipes,
+      having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square open forehead
+      adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was the type of the
+      sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in honorable natures,
+      whose peaceful manners and morals have never been lost, even after seven
+      invasions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+      remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked his
+      straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that of most
+      Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who does nothing
+      frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's table and eating with
+      that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout Europe, saying, in fact, a
+      conscientious farewell to the cookery of the great Careme.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+      intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+      pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+      with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+      joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws, and
+      were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have found no
+      cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies. Mankind can't
+      always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one might find a few
+      sweet hours during which we could fancy their sinister craft a
+      pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+      story to terrify us?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+      doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was the
+      only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose education was
+      then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which she adored. At this
+      moment the guests were in that happy state of laziness and silence which
+      follows a delicious dinner, especially if we have presumed too far on our
+      digestive powers. Leaning back in their chairs, their wrists lightly
+      resting on the edge of the table, they were indolently playing with the
+      gilded blades of their dessert-knives. When a dinner comes to this
+      declining moment some guests will be seen to play with a pear seed; others
+      roll crumbs of bread between their fingers and thumbs; lovers trace
+      indistinct letters with fragments of fruit; misers count the stones on
+      their plate and arrange them as a manager marshals his supernumeraries at
+      the back of the stage. These are little gastronomic felicities which
+      Brillat-Savarin, otherwise so complete an author, overlooked in his book.
+      The footmen had disappeared. The dessert was like a squadron after a
+      battle: all the dishes were disabled, pillaged, damaged; several were
+      wandering around the table, in spite of the efforts of the mistress of the
+      house to keep them in their places. Some of the persons present were
+      gazing at pictures of Swiss scenery, symmetrically hung upon the
+      gray-toned walls of the dining-room. Not a single guest was bored; in
+      fact, I never yet knew a man who was sad during his digestion of a good
+      dinner. We like at such moments to remain in quietude, a species of middle
+      ground between the reverie of a thinker and the comfort of the ruminating
+      animals; a condition which we may call the material melancholy of
+      gastronomy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German, delighted
+      to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of no interest.
+      During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator is always
+      delightful to our languid senses; it increases their negative happiness.
+      I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces about me, enlivened by
+      smiles, beaming in the light of the wax candles, and somewhat flushed by
+      our late good cheer; their diverse expressions producing piquant effects
+      seen among the porcelain baskets, the fruits, the glasses, and the
+      candelabra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who sat
+      directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat and
+      smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and apparently
+      endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely noticed him,
+      but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the lights, seemed to
+      me to have altered its character; it had certainly grown ghastly; violet
+      tones were spreading over it; you might have thought it the cadaverous
+      head of a dying man. Motionless as the personages painted on a diorama,
+      his stupefied eyes were fixed on the sparkling facets of a cut-glass
+      stopper, but certainly without observing them; he seemed to be engulfed in
+      some weird contemplation of the future or the past. When I had long
+      examined that puzzling face I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I
+      said to myself. "Has he drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in the
+      Funds? Is he thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the unknown
+      man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her head
+      gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell it in
+      Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former purveyor to
+      the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather original. He married a
+      second time by way of speculation; but for all that he makes his wife
+      extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom he refused for many years
+      to recognize; but the death of his son, unfortunately killed in a duel,
+      has compelled him to take her home, for he could not otherwise have
+      children. The poor girl has suddenly become one of the richest heiresses
+      in Paris. The death of his son threw the poor man into an agony of grief,
+      which sometimes reappears on the surface."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon me; that
+      glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But suddenly his
+      face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and put it, with a
+      mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that was near his
+      plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled. After all, that
+      man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments, hadn't probably two ideas
+      in his brain, and was thinking of nothing. Consequently I felt rather
+      ashamed of wasting my powers of divination "in anima vili,"&mdash;of a
+      doltish financier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological observations,
+      the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch of snuff and was
+      now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to reproduce it in his own
+      language, with his frequent interruptions and wordy digressions.
+      Therefore, I now write it down in my own way; leaving out the faults of
+      the Nuremburger, and taking only what his tale may have had of interest
+      and poesy with the coolness of writers who forget to put on the title
+      pages of their books: "Translated from the German."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THOUGHT AND ACT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in the
+      present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men, leaving Bonn
+      in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the environs of Andernach,
+      a small town standing on the left bank of the Rhine a few leagues from
+      Coblentz. At that time the French army, commanded by Augereau, was
+      manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then occupied the right bank of the
+      river. The headquarters of the Republican division was at Coblentz, and
+      one of the demi-brigades belonging to Augereau's corps was stationed at
+      Andernach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue mixed
+      with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above all their
+      hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a tricolor
+      plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons, a body of
+      men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only in our own
+      army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At this period many
+      sons of good families taken from their medical studies by the recent
+      conscription law due to General Jourdan, had naturally preferred to
+      continue their studies on the battle-field rather than be restricted to
+      mere military duty, little in keeping with their early education and their
+      peaceful destinies. Men of science, pacific yet useful, these young men
+      did an actual good in the midst of so much misery, and formed a bond of
+      sympathy with other men of science in the various countries through which
+      the cruel civilization of the Republic passed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+      assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their way
+      to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both belonged to
+      moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the gentle manners
+      and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a species of birthright.
+      Attracted to the theatre of war before the date at which they were
+      required to begin their functions, they had travelled by diligence to
+      Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only allowed them a slender sum of
+      money they thought themselves rich in possessing a few louis, an actual
+      treasure in those days when assignats were reaching their lowest
+      depreciation and gold was worth far more than silver. The two young
+      surgeons, about twenty years of age at the most, yielded themselves up to
+      the poesy of their situation with all the enthusiasm of youth. Between
+      Strasburg and Bonn they had visited the Electorate and the banks of the
+      Rhine as artists, philosophers, and observers. When a man's destiny is
+      scientific he is, at their age, a being who is truly many-sided. Even in
+      making love or in travelling, an assistant-surgeon should be gathering up
+      the rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+      admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of the
+      Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,&mdash;a
+      strong, rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories, ever
+      fresh and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of fire and
+      sword. Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful land. Here
+      and there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather the foresight
+      of the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down the ancient
+      castles that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at this marvellous
+      country, covered with forests, where the picturesque charm of the middle
+      ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to conceive the German genius,
+      its reverie, its mysticism.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science and
+      pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of Augereau's
+      division was established in the very palace of the Elector. These
+      assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old comrades, to
+      present their letters of recommendation to their medical chiefs, and to
+      familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their profession. There,
+      as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to which we cling so fondly
+      in favor of the beauties of our native land. Surprised by the aspect of
+      the columns of marble which adorn the Electoral Palace, they went about
+      admiring the grandiose effects of German architecture, and finding
+      everywhere new treasures both modern and antique.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at leisure
+      on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some granite hill
+      that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing of the forest or
+      cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden glimpses of the Rhine
+      framed in stone or festooned with vigorous vegetation. The valleys, the
+      forest paths, the trees exhaled that autumnal odor which induced to
+      reverie; the wooded summits were beginning to gild and to take on the warm
+      brown tones significant of age; the leaves were falling, but the skies
+      were still azure and the dry roads lay like yellow lines along the
+      landscape, just then illuminated by the oblique rays of the setting sun.
+      At a mile and a half from Andernach the two friends walked their horses in
+      silence, as if no war were devastating this beautiful land, while they
+      followed a path made for the goats across the lofty walls of bluish
+      granite between which foams the Rhine. Presently they descended by one of
+      the declivities of the gorge, at the foot of which is placed the little
+      town, seated coquettishly on the banks of the river and offering a
+      convenient port to mariners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who was
+      named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the painted
+      houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket, and separated
+      only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for a moment the
+      pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden staircases, the
+      galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the vessels swaying to the
+      waves in the port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper Magnan,
+      my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass of water, and
+      emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted my attention, I
+      thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a moisture on the
+      brow of the capitalist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Taillefer," she replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange personage
+      was turning pale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am listening,"
+      he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all simultaneously looking at
+      him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other young
+      man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made to me
+      enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and jovial. I
+      will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater clearness to the
+      tale I am about to tell you."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the smallest
+      regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young French surgeon
+      with a Teutonic name.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+      Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs and
+      obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of soldiers,
+      they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn standing some
+      two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color of which,
+      embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had greatly admired from
+      the summit of the hill above the town. Painted entirely red, this inn
+      produced a most piquant effect in the landscape, whether by detaching
+      itself from the general background of the town, or by contrasting its
+      scarlet sides with the verdure of the surrounding foliage, and the
+      gray-blue tints of the water. This house owed its name, the Red Inn, to
+      this external decoration, imposed upon it, no doubt from time immemorial
+      by the caprice of its founder. A mercantile superstition, natural enough
+      to the different possessors of the building, far-famed among the sailors
+      of the Rhine, had made them scrupulous to preserve the title.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+      upon the threshold of his door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had to
+      sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots who are
+      bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is occupied.
+      If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room to offer you.
+      As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of the courtyard.
+      The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come from France?" he
+      added after a slight pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people come
+      to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round. You shall
+      have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who vainly
+      called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public room of the
+      inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of smokers prevented
+      them from at first recognizing the persons with whom they were thrown; but
+      after sitting awhile near the table, with the patience practised by
+      philosophical travellers who know the inutility of making a fuss, they
+      distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the inevitable accessories of
+      a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots of beer, the long pipes, and
+      here and there the eccentric physiognomies of Jews, or Germans, and the
+      weather-beaten faces of mariners. The epaulets of several French officers
+      were glittering through the mist, and the clank of spurs and sabres echoed
+      incessantly from the brick floor. Some were playing cards, others argued,
+      or held their tongues and ate, drank, or walked about. One stout little
+      woman, wearing a black velvet cap, blue and silver stomacher, pincushion,
+      bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided hair,&mdash;all distinctive signs
+      of the mistress of a German inn (a costume which has been so often
+      depicted in colored prints that it is too common to describe here),&mdash;well,
+      this wife of the innkeeper kept the two friends alternately patient and
+      impatient with remarkable ability.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired to
+      their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set for the
+      two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon the table,
+      eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The silence of night
+      enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise their horses made in
+      eating their provender, and the murmur of the waters of the Rhine,
+      together with those indefinable sounds which always enliven an inn when
+      filled with persons preparing to go to bed. Doors and windows are opened
+      and shut, voices murmur vague words, and a few interpellations echo along
+      the passages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their landlord,
+      who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the Rhine wines, the
+      Republican army, and his wife, were all three listening with a sort of
+      interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a boat which appeared to be
+      coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar no doubt with the guttural
+      shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily, but presently returned conducting
+      a short stout man, behind whom walked two sailors carrying a heavy valise
+      and several packages. When these were deposited in the room, the short man
+      took the valise and placed it beside him as he seated himself without
+      ceremony at the same table as the surgeons.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is full.
+      Considering all things, that is best."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+      provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+      Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No sauer-kraut?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell you
+      just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are sitting, and
+      no other chamber than this public room."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and the
+      two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally expressed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell you
+      that we have never known the real name nor the history of this man; his
+      papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called himself
+      Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin manufactory in the
+      suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of that region, he wore a
+      surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and breeches of dark green
+      velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather belt. His face was round, his
+      manners frank and cordial; but during the evening he seemed unable to
+      disguise altogether some secret apprehension or, possibly, some anxious
+      care. The innkeeper's opinion has always been that this German merchant
+      was fleeing his country. Later I heard that his manufactory had been
+      burned by one of those unfortunate chances so frequent in times of war. In
+      spite of its anxious expression the man's face showed great kindliness.
+      His features were handsome; and the whiteness of his stout throat was well
+      set off by a black cravat, a fact which Wilhelm showed jestingly to
+      Prosper."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their supper,
+      and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man who feels
+      himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on the floor and
+      put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and removed a pair of
+      pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this time set a knife and
+      fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy their appetites in
+      silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and the flies were so
+      numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open the window looking
+      toward the outer gate, so as to change the air. This window was barricaded
+      by an iron bar, the two ends of which were inserted into holes made in the
+      window casings. For greater security, two bolts were screwed to each
+      shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed the manner in which the landlord
+      managed these obstacles and opened the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to you
+      the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate knowledge of the
+      premises depends an understanding of my tale. The public room in which the
+      three persons I have named to you were sitting, had two outer doors. One
+      opened on the main road to Andernach, which skirts the Rhine. In front of
+      the inn was a little wharf, to which the boat hired by the merchant for
+      his journey was moored. The other door opened upon the courtyard of the
+      inn. This courtyard was surrounded by very high walls and was full, for
+      the time being, of cattle and horses, the stables being occupied by human
+      beings. The great gate leading into this courtyard had been so carefully
+      barricaded that to save time the landlord had brought the merchant and
+      sailors into the public room through the door opening on the roadway.
+      After having opened the window, as requested by Prosper Magnan, he closed
+      this door, slipped the iron bars into their places and ran the bolts. The
+      landlord's room, where the two young surgeons were to sleep, adjoined the
+      public room, and was separated by a somewhat thin partition from the
+      kitchen, where the landlord and his wife intended, probably, to pass the
+      night. The servant-woman had left the premises to find a lodging in some
+      crib or hayloft. It is therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the
+      landlord's chamber, and the public room were, to some extent, isolated
+      from the rest of the house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose
+      deep-toned barking showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at the
+      sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles of
+      wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+      drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that you
+      have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through the
+      kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of the
+      building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought back with
+      him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of the supper. She
+      gave to the dishes and to the room generally the glance of a mistress, and
+      then, sure of having attended to all the wants of the travellers, she
+      returned to the kitchen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her go
+      to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into their
+      talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more sonorous by the
+      thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced herself, made the
+      guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight, when nothing remained
+      on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit, and good wine, the guests,
+      chiefly the young Frenchmen, became communicative. The latter talked of
+      their homes, their studies, and of the war. The conversation grew lively.
+      Prosper Magnan brought a few tears to the merchant's eyes, when with the
+      frankness and naivete of a good and tender nature, he talked of what his
+      mother must be doing at that hour, while he was sitting drinking on the
+      banks of the Rhine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed. She
+      won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor Prosper; I
+      wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from her neighbors&mdash;your
+      mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's elbow&mdash;"she'll go and
+      put them in the great red earthenware pot, where she is accumulating a sum
+      sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining her little estate at
+      Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least sixty thousand francs.
+      Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live all my days at Lescheville,
+      without other ambition! How my father used to long for those thirty acres
+      and the pretty brook which winds through the meadows! But he died without
+      ever being able to buy them. Many's the time I've played there!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+      Wilhelm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I bought a
+      field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+      each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never stingy
+      on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the night,
+      Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+      Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+      elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take one
+      off and put it on the floor."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that prudent
+      operation demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added, lowering
+      his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired it. My boatmen
+      seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the night with two brave
+      young men, two French soldiers, for, between ourselves, I have a hundred
+      thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my valise."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received by
+      the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord assisted in
+      taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was arranged for the best
+      he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their pillows.
+      Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of Wilhelm under the
+      end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place of a bolster, which
+      was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of precaution, put his valise under
+      his pillow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your gold; I,
+      on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my instruments will ever
+      bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do everything;
+      have patience, however."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed on the
+      floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of sleeplessness, or
+      that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is certain that Prosper
+      Magnan continued awake. His thoughts unconsciously took an evil turn. His
+      mind dwelt exclusively on the hundred thousand francs which lay beneath
+      the merchant's pillow. To Prosper Magnan one hundred thousand francs was a
+      vast and ready-made fortune. He began to employ it in a hundred different
+      ways; he made castles in the air, such as we all make with eager delight
+      during the moments preceding sleep, an hour when images rise in our minds
+      confusedly, and often, in the silence of the night, thought acquires some
+      magical power. He gratified his mother's wishes; he bought the thirty
+      acres of meadow land; he married a young lady of Beauvais to whom his
+      present want of fortune forbade him to aspire. With a hundred thousand
+      francs he planned a lifetime of happiness; he saw himself prosperous, the
+      father of a family, rich, respected in his province, and, possibly, mayor
+      of Beauvais. His brain heated; he searched for means to turn his fictions
+      to realities. He began with extraordinary ardor to plan a crime
+      theoretically. While fancying the death of the merchant he saw distinctly
+      the gold and the diamonds. His eyes were dazzled by them. His heart
+      throbbed. Deliberation was, undoubtedly, already crime. Fascinated by that
+      mass of gold he intoxicated himself morally by murderous arguments. He
+      asked himself if that poor German had any need to live; he supposed the
+      case of his never having existed. In short, he planned the crime in a
+      manner to secure himself impunity. The other bank of the river was
+      occupied by the Austrian army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman;
+      he would cut the throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and
+      escape with the valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the
+      Austrians. He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he had
+      reached in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's
+      throat without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one, he
+      dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that fatal
+      intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him, with that
+      power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners or to criminals
+      in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron bars, slipped them from
+      their places without the slightest noise, placed them against the wall,
+      and opened the shutters, leaning heavily upon their hinges to keep them
+      from creaking. The moon was shedding its pale pure light upon the scene,
+      and he was thus enabled to faintly see into the room where Wilhelm and
+      Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he told me, he stood still for a moment.
+      The throbbing of his heart was so strong, so deep, so sonorous, that he
+      was terrified; he feared he could not act with coolness; his hands
+      trembled; the soles of his feet seem planted on red-hot coal; but the
+      execution of his plan was accompanied by such apparent good luck that he
+      fancied he saw a species of predestination in this favor bestowed upon him
+      by fate. He opened the window, returned to the bedroom, took his case of
+      instruments, and selected the one most suitable to accomplish the crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself mechanically
+      to God."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he heard
+      a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He flung the
+      instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and stood before
+      the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of himself. Feeling his
+      virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the spell that was upon him he
+      sprang out upon the road and walked along the bank of the Rhine, pacing up
+      and down like a sentinel before the inn. Sometimes he went as far as
+      Andernach in his hurried tramp; often his feet led him up the slope he had
+      descended on his way to the inn; and sometimes he lost sight of the inn
+      and the window he had left open behind him. His object, he said, was to
+      weary himself and so find sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+      affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping of
+      the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees to
+      sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his momentary
+      frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious precepts, but above
+      all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple life beneath the
+      parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he returned to the inn
+      after a long meditation to which he abandoned himself on the bank of the
+      Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he could, he said to me, not have
+      slept, but have watched untempted beside millions of gold. At the moment
+      when his virtue rose proudly and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt
+      down, with a feeling of ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt
+      happy, light-hearted, content, as on the day of his first communion, when
+      he thought himself worthy of the angels because he had passed one day
+      without sinning in thought, or word, or deed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make a
+      noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+      certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head on
+      his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which precedes
+      the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is abolished by
+      degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering of our
+      consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air is!" he
+      thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained this vaguely
+      to himself by the difference which must exist between the atmosphere of
+      the close room and the purer air by the river. But presently he heard a
+      periodical noise, something like that made by drops of water falling from
+      a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a feeling of panic terror he was about
+      to rise and call the innkeeper and waken Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he
+      suddenly remembered, alas! to his great misfortune, the tall wooden clock;
+      he fancied the sound was that of the pendulum, and he fell asleep with
+      that confused and indistinct perception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+      house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an empty
+      decanter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause occasioned
+      by this interruption.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He seemed
+      to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of the nerves
+      which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a painful impression
+      begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes place within us, a start,
+      to use the common expression, which has never been sufficiently observed,
+      though it contains very curious phenomena for science. This terrible
+      agony, produced, possibly, by the too sudden reunion of our two natures
+      separated during sleep, is usually transient; but in the poor young
+      surgeon's case it lasted, and even increased, causing him suddenly the
+      most awful horror as he beheld a pool of blood between Wahlenfer's bed and
+      his own mattress. The head of the unfortunate German lay on the ground;
+      his body was still on the bed; all its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had stained
+      his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical instrument
+      beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool of Wahlenfer's
+      blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my thoughts." When he
+      recovered consciousness he was in the public room, seated on a chair,
+      surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a curious and observing
+      crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer engaged in taking the
+      testimony of several witnesses, and in writing down, no doubt, the
+      "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his wife, the two boatmen,
+      and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical instrument which the murderer
+      had used&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow his
+      nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions were noticed
+      by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on Monsieur
+      Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity. The purveyor
+      leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his right hand and gazed
+      fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no other sign of emotion or
+      interest, but his face remained passive and ghastly, as it was when I
+      first saw him playing with the stopper of the decanter.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table with
+      the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with Prosper's
+      purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned alternately from
+      these convicting articles to the young man, who seemed to be dying and
+      whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw nothing. A confused murmur
+      which was heard without proved the presence of a crowd, drawn to the
+      neighborhood of the inn by the news of the crime, and also perhaps by a
+      desire to see the murderer. The step of the sentries placed beneath the
+      windows of the public room and the rattle of their accoutrements could be
+      heard above the talk of the populace; but the inn was closed and the
+      courtyard was empty and silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering his
+      testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man, and he
+      raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd of
+      enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+      demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was so
+      piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and suffered his
+      head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put vinegar to his
+      nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless his haggard eyes
+      were so devoid of life and intelligence that the surgeon said to the
+      officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the surgeon,
+      and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You cursed
+      coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try at least to
+      walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor of the Republic."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+      steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air and
+      saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way under him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the two
+      soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There he is!&mdash;oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous voice
+      of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at every step.
+      During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise made by the
+      tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the various
+      colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the aspect of
+      Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,&mdash;these
+      impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely, confusedly,
+      torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his waking. There were
+      moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer living.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of age,
+      I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free lances,
+      which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days before
+      these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a French
+      detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the most. My
+      scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of Andernach, and they
+      talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate others. The French
+      talked also of reprisals. My father, however, obtained a reprieve for
+      three days to give him time to see General Augereau, whom he knew, and ask
+      for my pardon, which was granted. Thus it happened that I saw Prosper
+      Magnan when he was brought to the prison. He inspired me with the
+      profoundest pity. Though pale, distracted, and covered with blood, his
+      whole countenance had a character of truth and innocence which struck me
+      forcibly. To me his long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed German. A
+      true image of my hapless country. I felt he was a victim and not a
+      murderer. At the moment when he passed beneath my window he chanced to
+      cast about him the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man who suddenly
+      recovers for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile was assuredly
+      not the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I questioned him about
+      his new prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He is
+      sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+      reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning
+      to-morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+      short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We talked
+      together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair, replying with
+      evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that first
+      conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and obtained the
+      favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again at intervals, and
+      the poor lad let me in without concealment to all his thoughts. He
+      believed himself both innocent and guilty. Remembering the horrible
+      temptation which he had had the strength to resist, he feared he might
+      have done in sleep, in a fit of somnambulism, the crime he had dreamed of
+      awake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But your companion?" I said to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+      youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and lost
+      his head; no doubt he fled."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+      Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he burst into tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I remember
+      my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I couldn't have cut
+      off the head of a man while I dreamed I was running."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+      calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+      question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he felt
+      that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And yet, I <i>am</i> good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at
+      this moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+      little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder a
+      man&mdash;oh! she would die of it! And I <i>am</i> in prison, accused of
+      committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly killed
+      my mother!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+      rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and if I
+      had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly be
+      acquitted; think of your mother."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation before
+      she hears anything else,&mdash;it is always so in little towns; and the
+      shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you the whole
+      truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my conscience."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his breast,
+      bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this instant the
+      turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to leave my companion
+      at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I pressed him in my arms
+      with friendship, saying:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+      still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+      friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your own."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+      nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed myself
+      at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast his eyes up
+      to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts, presentiments,
+      resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace. It was, as it
+      were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man bequeathed his
+      lost existence to his only friend. The night must have been very hard,
+      very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of his face expressed
+      a stoicism gathered from some new sense of self-respect. Perhaps he felt
+      that his remorse had purified him, and believed that he had blotted out
+      his fault by his anguish and his shame. He now walked with a firm step,
+      and since the previous evening he had washed away the blood with which he
+      was, involuntarily, stained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+      restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of war. The
+      division was to march on the following morning, and the commanding-officer
+      did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry into the crime on the spot
+      where it had been committed. I remained in the utmost anxiety during the
+      time the council lasted. At last, about mid-day, Prosper Magnan was
+      brought back. I was then taking my usual walk; he saw me, and came and
+      threw himself into my arms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+      murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me my
+      innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves me
+      without reproach. But is there a future?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+      thoughtful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you? Did
+      you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+      answered with feverish excitement:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I said,
+      'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have taken great
+      precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was stupefied. The sailors
+      said they saw me walking, first to Andernach, then to the forest. I made
+      many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the gold and diamonds. The valise
+      had not been found. My remorse still held me dumb. When I wanted to speak,
+      a pitiless voice cried out to me, <i>'You meant to commit that crime!'</i>
+      All was against me, even myself. They asked me about my comrade, and I
+      completely exonerated him. Then they said to me: 'The crime must lie
+      between you, your comrade, the innkeeper, and his wife. This morning all
+      the windows and doors were found securely fastened.' At those words,"
+      continued the poor fellow, "I had neither voice, nor strength, nor soul to
+      answer. More sure of my comrade than I could be of myself, I could not
+      accuse him. I saw that we were both thought equally guilty of the murder,
+      and that I was considered the most clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by
+      somnambulism, and so protect my friend; but there I rambled and
+      contradicted myself. No, I am lost. I read my condemnation in the eyes of
+      my judges. They smiled incredulously. All is over. No more uncertainty.
+      To-morrow I shall be shot. I am not thinking of myself," he went on after
+      a pause, "but of my poor mother." Then he stopped, looked up to heaven,
+      and shed no tears; his eyes were dry and strongly convulsed. "Frederic&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+      other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+      Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over his
+      eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we caught a
+      darkling flame proceeding from them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hermann continued:]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He must
+      have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our horses
+      were both in the courtyard this morning. What an incomprehensible
+      mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence. "Somnambulism!
+      somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life, and that was when I
+      was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he cried, striking the
+      ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there is of friendship in the
+      world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a fraternal love begun when we
+      were only five years old, and continued through school and college? Where
+      is Frederic?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to be
+      seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play the
+      heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All last
+      night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood; I
+      fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+      suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+      shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's my
+      future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too senseless."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his strength.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+      will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether you
+      are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They won't
+      fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go to
+      Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you will
+      find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was innocent!' She
+      will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you must take her my
+      last look; you must tell her that you were the last man whose hand I
+      pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my last friend. Here,"
+      he said, after a moment's silence, during which he was overcome by the
+      weight of his recollections, "all, officers and soldiers, are unknown to
+      me; I am an object of horror to them. If it were not for you my innocence
+      would be a secret between God and myself."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I showed
+      touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him again before
+      the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am ignorant of the
+      formalities that followed or accompanied this judgment, nor do I know
+      whether the young surgeon defended his life or not; but he expected to be
+      executed on the following day, and he spent the night in writing to his
+      mother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see him
+      the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your pardon."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features, as it
+      were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged for
+      mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon. "Yes,
+      yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most awful moral
+      agony&mdash;I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of me.
+      Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+      therefore&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+      interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+      uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was shot
+      I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the rest."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm, said
+      to him&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes. I was present at the execution."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in following
+      the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an innocent man!
+      The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He seemed to live only
+      in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to his mother his last
+      sigh."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And did you?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking to the
+      mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously undertook
+      that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption. It was not
+      without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I was the bearer.
+      You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I see a drama of sad
+      sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed those parting words cast
+      between two graves, unknown to all creation, like the cry uttered in a
+      desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion seizes."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face with a
+      man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!' would not
+      that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+      neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!&mdash;there, seated on that sofa at the
+      corner of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of
+      coffee. He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been
+      torture, present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Why not?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some action
+      attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my neighbor went
+      up to the purveyor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I, madame? No, never."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting him.
+      "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a good
+      man."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+      murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity takes
+      place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed. If two men
+      meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or despise the other,
+      whether from a knowledge of some private and latent fact which degrades
+      him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming revenge, those two men
+      divine each other's souls, and are able to measure the gulf which
+      separates or ought to separate them. They observe each other
+      unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by themselves; through their
+      looks, their gestures, an indefinable emanation of their thought
+      transpires; there's a magnet between them. I don't know which has the
+      strongest power of attraction, vengeance or crime, hatred or insult. Like
+      a priest who cannot consecrate the host in presence of an evil spirit,
+      each is ill at ease and distrustful; one is polite, the other surly, but I
+      know not which; one colors or turns pale, the other trembles. Often the
+      avenger is as cowardly as the victim. Few men have the courage to invoke
+      an evil, even when just or necessary, and men are silent or forgive a
+      wrong from hatred of uproar or fear of some tragic ending.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a mysterious
+      struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first inquiry I had put
+      to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had steadily avoided my
+      eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other guests. He talked with the
+      youthful, inexperienced daughter of the banker, feeling, no doubt, like
+      many other criminals, a need of drawing near to innocence, hoping to find
+      rest there. But, though I was a long distance from him, I heard him, and
+      my piercing eye fascinated his. When he thought he could watch me
+      unobserved our eyes met, and his eyelids dropped immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it by
+      sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his adversary;
+      hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player left the table
+      and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+      Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at Beauvais?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+      asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering, and
+      he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and seemed to
+      take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I looked at
+      each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach upon her
+      countenance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+      embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having lost
+      all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why not leave
+      things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one but we cannot
+      escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge of the court of
+      assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the work of an
+      executioner."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing me
+      on morality?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You have made me reflect," she answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify gold!
+      However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you see that
+      young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes, what of her?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador, and
+      I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her name. No
+      one was able&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I grew dizzy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+      convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her education.
+      For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She comes here for
+      the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed to
+      come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back through
+      the garden.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached our
+      ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed the
+      window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+      father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and said
+      a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry, ran to the
+      door, and disappeared. This event produced a great sensation. The
+      card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor. The murmur of
+      voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Can Monsieur Taillefer be&mdash;" I began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "&mdash;dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+      mourning, I fancy!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But what has happened to him?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+      attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+      Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+      with one."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors know
+      no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while the
+      unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack, and I
+      was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing him; his
+      cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter was obliged to
+      have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his bed. The poor man
+      declares there are live animals in his head gnawing his brain; every nerve
+      quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he writhes in torture. He
+      suffers so much in his head that he did not even feel the moxas they used
+      formerly to apply to relieve it; but Monsieur Brousson, who is now his
+      physician, has forbidden that remedy, declaring that the trouble is a
+      nervous affection, an inflammation of the nerves, for which leeches should
+      be applied to the neck, and opium to the head. As a result, the attacks
+      are not so frequent; they appear now only about once a year, and always
+      late in the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says repeatedly that he
+      would far rather die than endure such torture."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who was
+      present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died in
+      one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on pressing
+      business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay twenty-two hours
+      stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot bath was all that saved
+      him."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+      thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering his
+      head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They say the
+      English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with prussic acid&mdash;"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house, and
+      froze us with horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said the
+      banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+      dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers untold
+      agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as ever during
+      even short cessations of the pain&mdash;nature is so queer! A German
+      doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that agrees with
+      Brousson's opinion."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On the
+      staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to fetch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+      deserve such suffering?&mdash;so kind as he is!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+      carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+      handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even more
+      distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a dreadful look
+      as the carriage rolled away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and on my
+      feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps, because
+      honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a murderer, however
+      good a husband and father he might be. A curious fatality impelled me to
+      visit those houses where I knew I could meet Victorine; often, after
+      giving myself my word of honor to renounce the happiness of seeing her, I
+      found myself that same evening beside her. My struggles were great.
+      Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse, assumed the color of a
+      criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing to Taillefer when, by
+      chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed to him all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is also
+      educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the slightest
+      pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses with reserve,
+      and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can resist. She loves
+      me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a certain smile which she
+      keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows softer still. Oh, yes! she
+      loves me! But she adores her father; she tells me of his kindness, his
+      gentleness, his excellent qualities. Those praises are so many
+      dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to the heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the crime
+      which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on the point of
+      asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I travelled; I went to
+      Germany, to Andernach; and then&mdash;I returned! I found Victorine pale,
+      and thinner; if I had seen her well in health and gay, I should certainly
+      have been saved. Instead of which my love burst out again with untold
+      violence. Fearing that my scruples might degenerate into monomania, I
+      resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound consciences, and obtain from them
+      some light on this problem of high morality and philosophy,&mdash;a
+      problem which had been, as we shall see, still further complicated since
+      my return.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+      attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen, the
+      secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now a mature
+      statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a simple-hearted
+      being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that the memory of it
+      is still green at the Palais; besides these, there were present a judge, a
+      lawyer, and a notary,&mdash;in short, all social opinions, and all
+      practical virtues.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then, at
+      dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice, concealing,
+      of course, the Taillefer name.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary took
+      leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to silence; in
+      fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under guardianship, to
+      make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+      energetically enough what I ought to do."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General Foy
+      exclaimed:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me with
+      his elbow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from the
+      estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of the
+      Edict of Nantes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lawyer rose, and said:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le duc
+      is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations. Where
+      should we all be if we had to search into the origin of fortunes? This is
+      simply an affair of conscience. If you must absolutely carry the case
+      before some tribunal, go to that of the confessional."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+      champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+      good priest, rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+      heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the property
+      she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the poor."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be met
+      with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage only
+      because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the fruit of
+      the crime."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on which
+      a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought to
+      enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes!" said the priest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one hundred
+      and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature is
+      one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to which
+      sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made ought to be
+      the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden conception, a prompt
+      inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental apprehension, much like
+      the flashes of sentiment which constitute taste. Let us vote."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of virginity,
+      was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I myself abstained
+      from voting, out of delicacy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority. Each
+      man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat, used to hold
+      the numbered balls when card-players draw for their places at pool. We
+      were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity; for this balloting to
+      clarify morality was certainly original. Inspection of the ballot-box
+      showed the presence of nine white balls! The result did not surprise me;
+      but it came into my heard to count the young men of my own age whom I had
+      brought to sit in judgment. These casuists were precisely nine in number;
+      they all had the same thought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+      marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+      problem?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+      heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my conscience
+      has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous. If to-day its
+      voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I received, about
+      two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+      pocket-book:&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      "Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before you
+      in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in Mademoiselle
+      Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a vast Aceldama. I
+      know that. <i>But</i> Prosper Magnan left no heirs; <i>but</i>, again, I
+      have been unable to discover the family of the merchant who was murdered
+      at Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that fortune? And ought it
+      to be wholly restored? Have I the right to betray a secret surprised by
+      me,&mdash;to add a murdered head to the dowry of an innocent girl, to give
+      her for the rest of her life bad dreams, to deprive her of all her
+      illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained with blood'? I have borrowed the
+      'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience' from an old ecclesiastic, but I can
+      find nothing there to solve my doubts. Shall I found pious masses for the
+      repose of the souls of Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer? Here we
+      are in the middle of the nineteenth century! Shall I build a hospital, or
+      institute a prize for virtue? A prize for virtue would be given to
+      scoundrels; and as for hospitals, they seem to me to have become in these
+      days the protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable actions, more or
+      less profitable to vanity, do they constitute reparation?&mdash;and to
+      whom do I owe reparation? But I love; I love passionately. My love is my
+      life. If I, without apparent motive, suggest to a young girl accustomed to
+      luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful of all enjoyments of art, a young
+      girl who loves to idly listen at the opera to Rossini's music,&mdash;if to
+      her I should propose that she deprive herself of fifteen hundred thousand
+      francs in favor of broken-down old men, or scrofulous paupers, she would
+      turn her back on me and laugh, or her confidential friend would tell her
+      that I'm a crazy jester. If in an ecstasy of love, I should paint to her
+      the charms of a modest life, and a little home on the banks of the Loire;
+      if I were to ask her to sacrifice her Parisian life on the altar of our
+      love, it would be, in the first place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I
+      might only be opening the way to some painful experience; I might lose the
+      heart of a girl who loves society, and balls, and personal adornment, and
+      <i>me</i> for the time being. Some slim and jaunty officer, with a
+      well-frizzed moustache, who can play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride
+      a horse elegantly, may get her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's
+      sake, give me some advice!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of Jeannie
+      Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the present moment
+      hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he looked at me and
+      said:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ADDENDUM
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+    </h3>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+       The Firm of Nucingen
+       Father Goriot
+       The Magic Skin
+
+     Taillefer, Victorine
+       Father Goriot
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1433-h.htm or 1433-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/3/1433/
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/old/1433.txt b/old/1433.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3dfc10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/1433.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1802 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Red Inn
+
+Author: Honore de Balzac
+
+Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+Release Date: August, 1998  [Etext #1433]
+Posting Date: February 25, 2010
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED INN
+
+
+By Honore De Balzac
+
+
+
+Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+
+
+
+                             DEDICATION
+
+                 To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED INN
+
+
+In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of
+those friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the
+world through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to him.
+This friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg, was a
+stout worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a man
+of pipes, having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square open
+forehead adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was the
+type of the sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in honorable
+natures, whose peaceful manners and morals have never been lost, even
+after seven invasions.
+
+This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked
+his straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that
+of most Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who does
+nothing frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's table and
+eating with that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout Europe,
+saying, in fact, a conscientious farewell to the cookery of the great
+Careme.
+
+To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws, and
+were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have found
+no cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies. Mankind
+can't always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one might
+find a few sweet hours during which we could fancy their sinister craft
+a pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+
+"Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+story to terrify us?"
+
+These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was the
+only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose education
+was then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which she adored.
+At this moment the guests were in that happy state of laziness and
+silence which follows a delicious dinner, especially if we have presumed
+too far on our digestive powers. Leaning back in their chairs, their
+wrists lightly resting on the edge of the table, they were indolently
+playing with the gilded blades of their dessert-knives. When a dinner
+comes to this declining moment some guests will be seen to play with a
+pear seed; others roll crumbs of bread between their fingers and thumbs;
+lovers trace indistinct letters with fragments of fruit; misers count
+the stones on their plate and arrange them as a manager marshals his
+supernumeraries at the back of the stage. These are little gastronomic
+felicities which Brillat-Savarin, otherwise so complete an author,
+overlooked in his book. The footmen had disappeared. The dessert was
+like a squadron after a battle: all the dishes were disabled, pillaged,
+damaged; several were wandering around the table, in spite of the
+efforts of the mistress of the house to keep them in their places.
+Some of the persons present were gazing at pictures of Swiss scenery,
+symmetrically hung upon the gray-toned walls of the dining-room. Not
+a single guest was bored; in fact, I never yet knew a man who was sad
+during his digestion of a good dinner. We like at such moments to remain
+in quietude, a species of middle ground between the reverie of a thinker
+and the comfort of the ruminating animals; a condition which we may call
+the material melancholy of gastronomy.
+
+So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German,
+delighted to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of
+no interest. During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator
+is always delightful to our languid senses; it increases their negative
+happiness. I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces about
+me, enlivened by smiles, beaming in the light of the wax candles, and
+somewhat flushed by our late good cheer; their diverse expressions
+producing piquant effects seen among the porcelain baskets, the fruits,
+the glasses, and the candelabra.
+
+All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who
+sat directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat
+and smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and apparently
+endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely noticed him,
+but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the lights, seemed to
+me to have altered its character; it had certainly grown ghastly; violet
+tones were spreading over it; you might have thought it the cadaverous
+head of a dying man. Motionless as the personages painted on a diorama,
+his stupefied eyes were fixed on the sparkling facets of a cut-glass
+stopper, but certainly without observing them; he seemed to be engulfed
+in some weird contemplation of the future or the past. When I had long
+examined that puzzling face I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I
+said to myself. "Has he drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in
+the Funds? Is he thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+
+"Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the
+unknown man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her head
+gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell it in
+Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former purveyor
+to the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather original. He
+married a second time by way of speculation; but for all that he makes
+his wife extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom he refused for
+many years to recognize; but the death of his son, unfortunately
+killed in a duel, has compelled him to take her home, for he could not
+otherwise have children. The poor girl has suddenly become one of the
+richest heiresses in Paris. The death of his son threw the poor man into
+an agony of grief, which sometimes reappears on the surface."
+
+At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon
+me; that glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But
+suddenly his face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and
+put it, with a mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that
+was near his plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled.
+After all, that man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments,
+hadn't probably two ideas in his brain, and was thinking of nothing.
+Consequently I felt rather ashamed of wasting my powers of divination
+"in anima vili,"--of a doltish financier.
+
+While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological
+observations, the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch of
+snuff and was now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to reproduce
+it in his own language, with his frequent interruptions and wordy
+digressions. Therefore, I now write it down in my own way; leaving out
+the faults of the Nuremburger, and taking only what his tale may have
+had of interest and poesy with the coolness of writers who forget to put
+on the title pages of their books: "Translated from the German."
+
+
+
+
+THOUGHT AND ACT
+
+Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in
+the present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men, leaving
+Bonn in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the environs of
+Andernach, a small town standing on the left bank of the Rhine a few
+leagues from Coblentz. At that time the French army, commanded by
+Augereau, was manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then occupied the
+right bank of the river. The headquarters of the Republican division was
+at Coblentz, and one of the demi-brigades belonging to Augereau's corps
+was stationed at Andernach.
+
+The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue
+mixed with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above
+all their hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a
+tricolor plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons,
+a body of men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only
+in our own army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At this
+period many sons of good families taken from their medical studies
+by the recent conscription law due to General Jourdan, had naturally
+preferred to continue their studies on the battle-field rather than be
+restricted to mere military duty, little in keeping with their early
+education and their peaceful destinies. Men of science, pacific yet
+useful, these young men did an actual good in the midst of so much
+misery, and formed a bond of sympathy with other men of science in the
+various countries through which the cruel civilization of the Republic
+passed.
+
+The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their
+way to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both belonged
+to moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the gentle
+manners and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a species of
+birthright. Attracted to the theatre of war before the date at which
+they were required to begin their functions, they had travelled by
+diligence to Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only allowed them
+a slender sum of money they thought themselves rich in possessing a few
+louis, an actual treasure in those days when assignats were reaching
+their lowest depreciation and gold was worth far more than silver.
+The two young surgeons, about twenty years of age at the most, yielded
+themselves up to the poesy of their situation with all the enthusiasm
+of youth. Between Strasburg and Bonn they had visited the Electorate and
+the banks of the Rhine as artists, philosophers, and observers. When a
+man's destiny is scientific he is, at their age, a being who is truly
+many-sided. Even in making love or in travelling, an assistant-surgeon
+should be gathering up the rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+
+The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of the
+Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,--a strong,
+rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories, ever fresh
+and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of fire and sword.
+Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful land. Here and
+there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather the foresight of
+the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down the ancient castles
+that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at this marvellous
+country, covered with forests, where the picturesque charm of the
+middle ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to conceive the German
+genius, its reverie, its mysticism.
+
+The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science
+and pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of
+Augereau's division was established in the very palace of the Elector.
+These assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old comrades,
+to present their letters of recommendation to their medical chiefs, and
+to familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their profession.
+There, as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to which we cling
+so fondly in favor of the beauties of our native land. Surprised by the
+aspect of the columns of marble which adorn the Electoral Palace, they
+went about admiring the grandiose effects of German architecture, and
+finding everywhere new treasures both modern and antique.
+
+From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at
+leisure on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some
+granite hill that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing
+of the forest or cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden glimpses
+of the Rhine framed in stone or festooned with vigorous vegetation. The
+valleys, the forest paths, the trees exhaled that autumnal odor which
+induced to reverie; the wooded summits were beginning to gild and
+to take on the warm brown tones significant of age; the leaves were
+falling, but the skies were still azure and the dry roads lay like
+yellow lines along the landscape, just then illuminated by the oblique
+rays of the setting sun. At a mile and a half from Andernach the two
+friends walked their horses in silence, as if no war were devastating
+this beautiful land, while they followed a path made for the goats
+across the lofty walls of bluish granite between which foams the Rhine.
+Presently they descended by one of the declivities of the gorge, at
+the foot of which is placed the little town, seated coquettishly on the
+banks of the river and offering a convenient port to mariners.
+
+"Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who
+was named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the
+painted houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket,
+and separated only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for
+a moment the pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden
+staircases, the galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the
+vessels swaying to the waves in the port.
+
+[At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper Magnan,
+my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass of
+water, and emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted my
+attention, I thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a
+moisture on the brow of the capitalist.
+
+"What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+
+"Taillefer," she replied.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange personage
+was turning pale.
+
+"Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am listening,"
+he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all simultaneously looking
+at him.
+
+"I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other young
+man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made to me
+enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and jovial.
+I will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater clearness to
+the tale I am about to tell you."
+
+The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the
+smallest regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young
+French surgeon with a Teutonic name.]
+
+By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs
+and obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of
+soldiers, they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn
+standing some two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color
+of which, embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had greatly
+admired from the summit of the hill above the town. Painted entirely
+red, this inn produced a most piquant effect in the landscape, whether
+by detaching itself from the general background of the town, or by
+contrasting its scarlet sides with the verdure of the surrounding
+foliage, and the gray-blue tints of the water. This house owed its name,
+the Red Inn, to this external decoration, imposed upon it, no doubt
+from time immemorial by the caprice of its founder. A mercantile
+superstition, natural enough to the different possessors of the
+building, far-famed among the sailors of the Rhine, had made them
+scrupulous to preserve the title.
+
+Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+upon the threshold of his door.
+
+"By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had to
+sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots
+who are bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is
+occupied. If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room to
+offer you. As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of the
+courtyard. The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come from
+France?" he added after a slight pause.
+
+"From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+
+"Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people
+come to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round. You
+shall have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+
+After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who
+vainly called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public room
+of the inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of smokers
+prevented them from at first recognizing the persons with whom they
+were thrown; but after sitting awhile near the table, with the patience
+practised by philosophical travellers who know the inutility of making
+a fuss, they distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the inevitable
+accessories of a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots of beer, the
+long pipes, and here and there the eccentric physiognomies of Jews,
+or Germans, and the weather-beaten faces of mariners. The epaulets of
+several French officers were glittering through the mist, and the clank
+of spurs and sabres echoed incessantly from the brick floor. Some were
+playing cards, others argued, or held their tongues and ate, drank, or
+walked about. One stout little woman, wearing a black velvet cap, blue
+and silver stomacher, pincushion, bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided
+hair,--all distinctive signs of the mistress of a German inn (a costume
+which has been so often depicted in colored prints that it is too
+common to describe here),--well, this wife of the innkeeper kept the two
+friends alternately patient and impatient with remarkable ability.
+
+Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired to
+their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set for
+the two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon the
+table, eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The silence
+of night enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise their
+horses made in eating their provender, and the murmur of the waters of
+the Rhine, together with those indefinable sounds which always enliven
+an inn when filled with persons preparing to go to bed. Doors and
+windows are opened and shut, voices murmur vague words, and a few
+interpellations echo along the passages.
+
+At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their
+landlord, who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the Rhine
+wines, the Republican army, and his wife, were all three listening
+with a sort of interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a boat which
+appeared to be coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar no doubt
+with the guttural shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily, but presently
+returned conducting a short stout man, behind whom walked two sailors
+carrying a heavy valise and several packages. When these were deposited
+in the room, the short man took the valise and placed it beside him as
+he seated himself without ceremony at the same table as the surgeons.
+
+"Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is
+full. Considering all things, that is best."
+
+"Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+
+"No sauer-kraut?"
+
+"Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell you
+just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are sitting,
+and no other chamber than this public room."
+
+At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and the
+two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally expressed.
+
+["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell
+you that we have never known the real name nor the history of this man;
+his papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called himself
+Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin manufactory in
+the suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of that region, he
+wore a surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and breeches of dark
+green velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather belt. His face was
+round, his manners frank and cordial; but during the evening he seemed
+unable to disguise altogether some secret apprehension or, possibly,
+some anxious care. The innkeeper's opinion has always been that
+this German merchant was fleeing his country. Later I heard that his
+manufactory had been burned by one of those unfortunate chances so
+frequent in times of war. In spite of its anxious expression the man's
+face showed great kindliness. His features were handsome; and the
+whiteness of his stout throat was well set off by a black cravat, a fact
+which Wilhelm showed jestingly to Prosper."
+
+Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+
+Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their
+supper, and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man
+who feels himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on the
+floor and put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and removed
+a pair of pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this time set
+a knife and fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy their
+appetites in silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and the flies
+were so numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open the window
+looking toward the outer gate, so as to change the air. This window
+was barricaded by an iron bar, the two ends of which were inserted into
+holes made in the window casings. For greater security, two bolts were
+screwed to each shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed the manner in
+which the landlord managed these obstacles and opened the window.
+
+As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to you
+the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate knowledge of
+the premises depends an understanding of my tale. The public room in
+which the three persons I have named to you were sitting, had two outer
+doors. One opened on the main road to Andernach, which skirts the Rhine.
+In front of the inn was a little wharf, to which the boat hired by the
+merchant for his journey was moored. The other door opened upon the
+courtyard of the inn. This courtyard was surrounded by very high walls
+and was full, for the time being, of cattle and horses, the stables
+being occupied by human beings. The great gate leading into this
+courtyard had been so carefully barricaded that to save time the
+landlord had brought the merchant and sailors into the public room
+through the door opening on the roadway. After having opened the window,
+as requested by Prosper Magnan, he closed this door, slipped the iron
+bars into their places and ran the bolts. The landlord's room, where
+the two young surgeons were to sleep, adjoined the public room, and
+was separated by a somewhat thin partition from the kitchen, where
+the landlord and his wife intended, probably, to pass the night. The
+servant-woman had left the premises to find a lodging in some crib or
+hayloft. It is therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the landlord's
+chamber, and the public room were, to some extent, isolated from
+the rest of the house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose
+deep-toned barking showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+
+"What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at the
+sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+
+The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be
+heard.
+
+"Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles
+of wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that
+you have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+
+The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through
+the kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of the
+building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought back
+with him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of the
+supper. She gave to the dishes and to the room generally the glance of
+a mistress, and then, sure of having attended to all the wants of the
+travellers, she returned to the kitchen.
+
+The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her go
+to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into their
+talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more sonorous by
+the thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced herself, made
+the guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight, when nothing
+remained on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit, and good wine,
+the guests, chiefly the young Frenchmen, became communicative. The
+latter talked of their homes, their studies, and of the war. The
+conversation grew lively. Prosper Magnan brought a few tears to the
+merchant's eyes, when with the frankness and naivete of a good and
+tender nature, he talked of what his mother must be doing at that hour,
+while he was sitting drinking on the banks of the Rhine.
+
+"I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed.
+She won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor
+Prosper; I wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from
+her neighbors--your mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's
+elbow--"she'll go and put them in the great red earthenware pot, where
+she is accumulating a sum sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining
+her little estate at Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least
+sixty thousand francs. Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live all
+my days at Lescheville, without other ambition! How my father used to
+long for those thirty acres and the pretty brook which winds through
+the meadows! But he died without ever being able to buy them. Many's the
+time I've played there!"
+
+"Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+Wilhelm.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now--"
+
+The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+
+"As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I bought
+a field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+
+They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never
+stingy on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the
+night, Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+
+"You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+
+"Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take
+one off and put it on the floor."
+
+So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that
+prudent operation demanded.
+
+"I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added,
+lowering his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired it.
+My boatmen seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the night with
+two brave young men, two French soldiers, for, between ourselves, I have
+a hundred thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my valise."
+
+The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received
+by the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord
+assisted in taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was arranged
+for the best he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+
+The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their pillows.
+Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of Wilhelm under
+the end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place of a bolster,
+which was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of precaution, put his valise
+under his pillow.
+
+"We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your gold;
+I, on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my instruments will
+ever bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+
+"You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do
+everything; have patience, however."
+
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed
+on the floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of
+sleeplessness, or that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is
+certain that Prosper Magnan continued awake. His thoughts unconsciously
+took an evil turn. His mind dwelt exclusively on the hundred thousand
+francs which lay beneath the merchant's pillow. To Prosper Magnan one
+hundred thousand francs was a vast and ready-made fortune. He began to
+employ it in a hundred different ways; he made castles in the air, such
+as we all make with eager delight during the moments preceding sleep, an
+hour when images rise in our minds confusedly, and often, in the silence
+of the night, thought acquires some magical power. He gratified his
+mother's wishes; he bought the thirty acres of meadow land; he married
+a young lady of Beauvais to whom his present want of fortune forbade
+him to aspire. With a hundred thousand francs he planned a lifetime
+of happiness; he saw himself prosperous, the father of a family, rich,
+respected in his province, and, possibly, mayor of Beauvais. His brain
+heated; he searched for means to turn his fictions to realities. He
+began with extraordinary ardor to plan a crime theoretically. While
+fancying the death of the merchant he saw distinctly the gold and
+the diamonds. His eyes were dazzled by them. His heart throbbed.
+Deliberation was, undoubtedly, already crime. Fascinated by that mass
+of gold he intoxicated himself morally by murderous arguments. He asked
+himself if that poor German had any need to live; he supposed the case
+of his never having existed. In short, he planned the crime in a manner
+to secure himself impunity. The other bank of the river was occupied by
+the Austrian army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman; he would
+cut the throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and escape
+with the valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the
+Austrians. He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he
+had reached in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's
+throat without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+
+Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one,
+he dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that fatal
+intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him, with
+that power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners or
+to criminals in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron bars,
+slipped them from their places without the slightest noise, placed them
+against the wall, and opened the shutters, leaning heavily upon their
+hinges to keep them from creaking. The moon was shedding its pale pure
+light upon the scene, and he was thus enabled to faintly see into the
+room where Wilhelm and Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he told me, he
+stood still for a moment. The throbbing of his heart was so strong, so
+deep, so sonorous, that he was terrified; he feared he could not act
+with coolness; his hands trembled; the soles of his feet seem planted
+on red-hot coal; but the execution of his plan was accompanied by such
+apparent good luck that he fancied he saw a species of predestination in
+this favor bestowed upon him by fate. He opened the window, returned
+to the bedroom, took his case of instruments, and selected the one most
+suitable to accomplish the crime.
+
+"When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself
+mechanically to God."
+
+At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he
+heard a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He flung
+the instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and stood
+before the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of himself.
+Feeling his virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the spell that was
+upon him he sprang out upon the road and walked along the bank of the
+Rhine, pacing up and down like a sentinel before the inn. Sometimes he
+went as far as Andernach in his hurried tramp; often his feet led him up
+the slope he had descended on his way to the inn; and sometimes he lost
+sight of the inn and the window he had left open behind him. His object,
+he said, was to weary himself and so find sleep.
+
+But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping of
+the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees to
+sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his momentary
+frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious precepts, but
+above all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple life beneath the
+parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he returned to the inn
+after a long meditation to which he abandoned himself on the bank of the
+Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he could, he said to me, not have
+slept, but have watched untempted beside millions of gold. At the moment
+when his virtue rose proudly and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt
+down, with a feeling of ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt
+happy, light-hearted, content, as on the day of his first communion,
+when he thought himself worthy of the angels because he had passed one
+day without sinning in thought, or word, or deed.
+
+He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make
+a noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head
+on his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which
+precedes the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is
+abolished by degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering of
+our consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air is!"
+he thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained this
+vaguely to himself by the difference which must exist between the
+atmosphere of the close room and the purer air by the river. But
+presently he heard a periodical noise, something like that made by drops
+of water falling from a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a feeling
+of panic terror he was about to rise and call the innkeeper and waken
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he suddenly remembered, alas! to his great
+misfortune, the tall wooden clock; he fancied the sound was that of
+the pendulum, and he fell asleep with that confused and indistinct
+perception.
+
+["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an empty
+decanter.
+
+Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause
+occasioned by this interruption.]
+
+The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He seemed
+to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of the
+nerves which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a painful
+impression begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes place
+within us, a start, to use the common expression, which has never been
+sufficiently observed, though it contains very curious phenomena for
+science. This terrible agony, produced, possibly, by the too sudden
+reunion of our two natures separated during sleep, is usually transient;
+but in the poor young surgeon's case it lasted, and even increased,
+causing him suddenly the most awful horror as he beheld a pool of
+blood between Wahlenfer's bed and his own mattress. The head of the
+unfortunate German lay on the ground; his body was still on the bed; all
+its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+
+Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had stained
+his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical instrument
+beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool of Wahlenfer's
+blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my thoughts." When
+he recovered consciousness he was in the public room, seated on a
+chair, surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a curious and
+observing crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer engaged
+in taking the testimony of several witnesses, and in writing down, no
+doubt, the "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his wife, the
+two boatmen, and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical instrument
+which the murderer had used--
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow
+his nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions
+were noticed by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on
+Monsieur Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity.
+The purveyor leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his right
+hand and gazed fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no other
+sign of emotion or interest, but his face remained passive and
+ghastly, as it was when I first saw him playing with the stopper of the
+decanter.]
+
+The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table
+with the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with
+Prosper's purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned
+alternately from these convicting articles to the young man, who seemed
+to be dying and whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw nothing. A
+confused murmur which was heard without proved the presence of a crowd,
+drawn to the neighborhood of the inn by the news of the crime, and also
+perhaps by a desire to see the murderer. The step of the sentries
+placed beneath the windows of the public room and the rattle of their
+accoutrements could be heard above the talk of the populace; but the inn
+was closed and the courtyard was empty and silent.
+
+Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering his
+testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man, and
+he raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd
+of enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was so
+piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and suffered
+his head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put vinegar to his
+nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless his haggard eyes
+were so devoid of life and intelligence that the surgeon said to the
+officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,--
+
+"Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+
+"Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the
+surgeon, and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You
+cursed coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try at
+least to walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor of the
+Republic."
+
+This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air
+and saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way under
+him.
+
+"This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the
+two soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support
+him.
+
+"There he is!--oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+
+These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous voice
+of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at every step.
+During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise made by the
+tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the various
+colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the aspect
+of Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,--these
+impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely, confusedly,
+torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his waking. There
+were moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer living.
+
+I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of
+age, I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free
+lances, which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days
+before these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a French
+detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the most. My
+scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of Andernach, and they
+talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate others. The French
+talked also of reprisals. My father, however, obtained a reprieve for
+three days to give him time to see General Augereau, whom he knew,
+and ask for my pardon, which was granted. Thus it happened that I saw
+Prosper Magnan when he was brought to the prison. He inspired me with
+the profoundest pity. Though pale, distracted, and covered with blood,
+his whole countenance had a character of truth and innocence which
+struck me forcibly. To me his long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed
+German. A true image of my hapless country. I felt he was a victim
+and not a murderer. At the moment when he passed beneath my window he
+chanced to cast about him the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man
+who suddenly recovers for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile
+was assuredly not the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I
+questioned him about his new prisoner.
+
+"He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He
+is sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning
+to-morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+
+That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We talked
+together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair, replying
+with evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that first
+conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and obtained
+the favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again at
+intervals, and the poor lad let me in without concealment to all his
+thoughts. He believed himself both innocent and guilty. Remembering the
+horrible temptation which he had had the strength to resist, he feared
+he might have done in sleep, in a fit of somnambulism, the crime he had
+dreamed of awake.
+
+"But your companion?" I said to him.
+
+"Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of--"
+
+He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+
+"When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and lost
+his head; no doubt he fled."
+
+"Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+
+Suddenly he burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I remember
+my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I couldn't have
+cut off the head of a man while I dreamed I was running."
+
+Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he
+felt that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in his
+mind.
+
+"And yet, I _am_ good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at this
+moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder
+a man--oh! she would die of it! And I _am_ in prison, accused of
+committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly
+killed my mother!"
+
+Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and if
+I had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against it.
+
+"Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly be
+acquitted; think of your mother."
+
+"My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation
+before she hears anything else,--it is always so in little towns; and
+the shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you the
+whole truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my conscience."
+
+After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his breast,
+bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this instant
+the turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to leave my
+companion at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I pressed him
+in my arms with friendship, saying:--
+
+"Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your
+own."
+
+The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed myself
+at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast his eyes up
+to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts, presentiments,
+resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace. It was, as it
+were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man bequeathed his
+lost existence to his only friend. The night must have been very
+hard, very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of his face
+expressed a stoicism gathered from some new sense of self-respect.
+Perhaps he felt that his remorse had purified him, and believed that he
+had blotted out his fault by his anguish and his shame. He now walked
+with a firm step, and since the previous evening he had washed away the
+blood with which he was, involuntarily, stained.
+
+"My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+
+I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of
+war. The division was to march on the following morning, and the
+commanding-officer did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry into
+the crime on the spot where it had been committed. I remained in the
+utmost anxiety during the time the council lasted. At last, about
+mid-day, Prosper Magnan was brought back. I was then taking my usual
+walk; he saw me, and came and threw himself into my arms.
+
+"Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me my
+innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves me
+without reproach. But is there a future?"
+
+The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+thoughtful.
+
+"Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you? Did
+you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+
+He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+answered with feverish excitement:--
+
+"First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I said,
+'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have taken
+great precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was stupefied.
+The sailors said they saw me walking, first to Andernach, then to the
+forest. I made many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the gold and
+diamonds. The valise had not been found. My remorse still held me dumb.
+When I wanted to speak, a pitiless voice cried out to me, _'You meant
+to commit that crime!'_ All was against me, even myself. They asked me
+about my comrade, and I completely exonerated him. Then they said to me:
+'The crime must lie between you, your comrade, the innkeeper, and
+his wife. This morning all the windows and doors were found securely
+fastened.' At those words," continued the poor fellow, "I had neither
+voice, nor strength, nor soul to answer. More sure of my comrade than
+I could be of myself, I could not accuse him. I saw that we were both
+thought equally guilty of the murder, and that I was considered the most
+clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by somnambulism, and so protect my
+friend; but there I rambled and contradicted myself. No, I am lost.
+I read my condemnation in the eyes of my judges. They smiled
+incredulously. All is over. No more uncertainty. To-morrow I shall be
+shot. I am not thinking of myself," he went on after a pause, "but of my
+poor mother." Then he stopped, looked up to heaven, and shed no tears;
+his eyes were dry and strongly convulsed. "Frederic--"
+
+["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+
+My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over his
+eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we caught a
+darkling flame proceeding from them.
+
+"Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+
+I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+
+Hermann continued:]
+
+"Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He
+must have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our
+horses were both in the courtyard this morning. What an incomprehensible
+mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence. "Somnambulism!
+somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life, and that was when
+I was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he cried, striking the
+ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there is of friendship in
+the world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a fraternal love begun
+when we were only five years old, and continued through school and
+college? Where is Frederic?"
+
+He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+
+"Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to
+be seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play the
+heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All last
+night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood; I
+fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's my
+future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too senseless."
+
+Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his strength.
+
+"You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether
+you are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They
+won't fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go to
+Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you will
+find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was innocent!' She
+will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you must take her my
+last look; you must tell her that you were the last man whose hand
+I pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my last friend.
+Here," he said, after a moment's silence, during which he was overcome
+by the weight of his recollections, "all, officers and soldiers, are
+unknown to me; I am an object of horror to them. If it were not for you
+my innocence would be a secret between God and myself."
+
+I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I
+showed touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him again
+before the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am ignorant of
+the formalities that followed or accompanied this judgment, nor do I
+know whether the young surgeon defended his life or not; but he expected
+to be executed on the following day, and he spent the night in writing
+to his mother.
+
+"We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see him
+the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your pardon."
+
+I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features, as
+it were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed his
+face.
+
+"I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged
+for mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon.
+"Yes, yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most awful
+moral agony--I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of me.
+Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+therefore--"
+
+
+
+
+A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+
+"Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was
+shot I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the rest."
+
+We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm,
+said to him--
+
+"I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+
+"Yes. I was present at the execution."
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you--"
+
+"He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in following
+the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an innocent man!
+The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He seemed to live only
+in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to his mother his last
+sigh."
+
+"And did you?"
+
+"At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking
+to the mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously
+undertook that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption. It
+was not without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I was
+the bearer. You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I see
+a drama of sad sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed those
+parting words cast between two graves, unknown to all creation, like the
+cry uttered in a desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion seizes."
+
+"And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face with
+a man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!' would not
+that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+
+Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+
+"You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!--there, seated on that sofa at the corner
+of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of coffee.
+He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been torture,
+present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+
+"Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some action
+attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my neighbor
+went up to the purveyor.
+
+"Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+
+Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+
+"I, madame? No, never."
+
+"What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting
+him. "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+
+"Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+
+"You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a
+good man."
+
+"Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+
+Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity
+takes place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed.
+If two men meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or despise
+the other, whether from a knowledge of some private and latent fact
+which degrades him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming
+revenge, those two men divine each other's souls, and are able to
+measure the gulf which separates or ought to separate them. They observe
+each other unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by themselves;
+through their looks, their gestures, an indefinable emanation of their
+thought transpires; there's a magnet between them. I don't know which
+has the strongest power of attraction, vengeance or crime, hatred or
+insult. Like a priest who cannot consecrate the host in presence of an
+evil spirit, each is ill at ease and distrustful; one is polite, the
+other surly, but I know not which; one colors or turns pale, the other
+trembles. Often the avenger is as cowardly as the victim. Few men have
+the courage to invoke an evil, even when just or necessary, and men are
+silent or forgive a wrong from hatred of uproar or fear of some tragic
+ending.
+
+This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a
+mysterious struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first
+inquiry I had put to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had
+steadily avoided my eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other
+guests. He talked with the youthful, inexperienced daughter of the
+banker, feeling, no doubt, like many other criminals, a need of drawing
+near to innocence, hoping to find rest there. But, though I was a long
+distance from him, I heard him, and my piercing eye fascinated his. When
+he thought he could watch me unobserved our eyes met, and his eyelids
+dropped immediately.
+
+Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it
+by sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his adversary;
+hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player left the table
+and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+
+"Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at Beauvais?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+
+He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+
+"It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear--"
+
+He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering,
+and he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and seemed
+to take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I looked
+at each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach upon her
+countenance.
+
+"Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having lost
+all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why not
+leave things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one but
+we cannot escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge of the
+court of assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the work of
+an executioner."
+
+"After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing
+me on morality?"
+
+"You have made me reflect," she answered.
+
+"So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify
+gold! However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you see
+that young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+
+"Yes, what of her?"
+
+"I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador,
+and I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her
+name. No one was able--"
+
+"That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+
+I grew dizzy.
+
+"Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her education.
+For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She comes here for
+the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+
+These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+
+At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed to
+come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back through
+the garden.
+
+"Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+
+We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached our
+ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed the
+window.
+
+"Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+
+The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and
+said a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry, ran
+to the door, and disappeared. This event produced a great sensation. The
+card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor. The murmur of
+voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+
+"Can Monsieur Taillefer be--" I began.
+
+"--dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+mourning, I fancy!"
+
+"But what has happened to him?"
+
+"The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+with one."
+
+"What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+
+"Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors know
+no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while the
+unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack, and
+I was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing him;
+his cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter was
+obliged to have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his bed.
+The poor man declares there are live animals in his head gnawing his
+brain; every nerve quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he writhes
+in torture. He suffers so much in his head that he did not even feel the
+moxas they used formerly to apply to relieve it; but Monsieur Brousson,
+who is now his physician, has forbidden that remedy, declaring that the
+trouble is a nervous affection, an inflammation of the nerves, for
+which leeches should be applied to the neck, and opium to the head. As a
+result, the attacks are not so frequent; they appear now only about once
+a year, and always late in the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says
+repeatedly that he would far rather die than endure such torture."
+
+"Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who was
+present.
+
+"Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died in
+one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on pressing
+business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay twenty-two hours
+stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot bath was all that
+saved him."
+
+"It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+
+"I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering
+his head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They
+say the English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with
+prussic acid--"
+
+At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house, and
+froze us with horror.
+
+"There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said
+the banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers
+untold agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as
+ever during even short cessations of the pain--nature is so queer!
+A German doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that
+agrees with Brousson's opinion."
+
+I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On
+the staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to
+fetch.
+
+"Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+deserve such suffering?--so kind as he is!"
+
+I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+
+Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even
+more distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a dreadful
+look as the carriage rolled away.
+
+That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and on
+my feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps, because
+honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a murderer,
+however good a husband and father he might be. A curious fatality
+impelled me to visit those houses where I knew I could meet Victorine;
+often, after giving myself my word of honor to renounce the happiness
+of seeing her, I found myself that same evening beside her. My struggles
+were great. Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse, assumed the
+color of a criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing to Taillefer
+when, by chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed to him all the
+same.
+
+Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is
+also educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the
+slightest pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses
+with reserve, and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can
+resist. She loves me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a
+certain smile which she keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows
+softer still. Oh, yes! she loves me! But she adores her father; she
+tells me of his kindness, his gentleness, his excellent qualities. Those
+praises are so many dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to the heart.
+
+One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the
+crime which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on
+the point of asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I
+travelled; I went to Germany, to Andernach; and then--I returned! I
+found Victorine pale, and thinner; if I had seen her well in health and
+gay, I should certainly have been saved. Instead of which my love
+burst out again with untold violence. Fearing that my scruples might
+degenerate into monomania, I resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound
+consciences, and obtain from them some light on this problem of high
+morality and philosophy,--a problem which had been, as we shall see,
+still further complicated since my return.
+
+Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen,
+the secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now
+a mature statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a
+simple-hearted being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that
+the memory of it is still green at the Palais; besides these, there were
+present a judge, a lawyer, and a notary,--in short, all social opinions,
+and all practical virtues.
+
+We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then,
+at dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice,
+concealing, of course, the Taillefer name.
+
+A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary took
+leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+
+The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to
+silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under
+guardianship, to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+
+"I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+energetically enough what I ought to do."
+
+On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+
+A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General Foy
+exclaimed:--
+
+"Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+
+"Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me with
+his elbow.
+
+"Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from
+the estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of
+the Edict of Nantes.
+
+The lawyer rose, and said:--
+
+"In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le
+duc is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations. Where
+should we all be if we had to search into the origin of fortunes? This
+is simply an affair of conscience. If you must absolutely carry the case
+before some tribunal, go to that of the confessional."
+
+The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+good priest, rose.
+
+"God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the property
+she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the poor."
+
+"But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be
+met with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage
+only because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the
+fruit of the crime."
+
+"This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on
+which a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought
+to enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+
+"Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+
+"Yes!" said the priest.
+
+But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+
+A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one
+hundred and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+
+"Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature
+is one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to
+which sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made ought
+to be the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden conception, a
+prompt inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental apprehension,
+much like the flashes of sentiment which constitute taste. Let us vote."
+
+"Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+
+I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of
+virginity, was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I
+myself abstained from voting, out of delicacy.
+
+My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority.
+Each man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat, used
+to hold the numbered balls when card-players draw for their places at
+pool. We were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity; for this
+balloting to clarify morality was certainly original. Inspection of the
+ballot-box showed the presence of nine white balls! The result did not
+surprise me; but it came into my heard to count the young men of my own
+age whom I had brought to sit in judgment. These casuists were precisely
+nine in number; they all had the same thought.
+
+"Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+problem?"
+
+"Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+
+"There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my conscience
+has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous. If to-day
+its voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I received,
+about two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+
+And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+pocket-book:--
+
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+
+"Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before
+you in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in Mademoiselle
+Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a vast Aceldama.
+I know that. _But_ Prosper Magnan left no heirs; _but_, again, I have
+been unable to discover the family of the merchant who was murdered at
+Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that fortune? And ought it
+to be wholly restored? Have I the right to betray a secret surprised by
+me,--to add a murdered head to the dowry of an innocent girl, to give
+her for the rest of her life bad dreams, to deprive her of all her
+illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained with blood'? I have borrowed
+the 'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience' from an old ecclesiastic, but
+I can find nothing there to solve my doubts. Shall I found pious masses
+for the repose of the souls of Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer?
+Here we are in the middle of the nineteenth century! Shall I build a
+hospital, or institute a prize for virtue? A prize for virtue would
+be given to scoundrels; and as for hospitals, they seem to me to have
+become in these days the protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable
+actions, more or less profitable to vanity, do they constitute
+reparation?--and to whom do I owe reparation? But I love; I love
+passionately. My love is my life. If I, without apparent motive, suggest
+to a young girl accustomed to luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful
+of all enjoyments of art, a young girl who loves to idly listen at the
+opera to Rossini's music,--if to her I should propose that she deprive
+herself of fifteen hundred thousand francs in favor of broken-down old
+men, or scrofulous paupers, she would turn her back on me and laugh, or
+her confidential friend would tell her that I'm a crazy jester. If in an
+ecstasy of love, I should paint to her the charms of a modest life,
+and a little home on the banks of the Loire; if I were to ask her to
+sacrifice her Parisian life on the altar of our love, it would be, in
+the first place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I might only be opening
+the way to some painful experience; I might lose the heart of a girl who
+loves society, and balls, and personal adornment, and _me_ for the time
+being. Some slim and jaunty officer, with a well-frizzed moustache, who
+can play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride a horse elegantly, may
+get her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's sake, give me some
+advice!"
+
+The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of Jeannie
+Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the present
+moment hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he looked at me
+and said:--
+
+"Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDUM
+
+The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+
+     Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+       The Firm of Nucingen
+       Father Goriot
+       The Magic Skin
+
+     Taillefer, Victorine
+       Father Goriot
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1433.txt or 1433.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/3/1433/
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/1433.zip b/old/1433.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc01e92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/1433.zip
diff --git a/old/old/20050714-1433.txt b/old/old/20050714-1433.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4a2ae9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/old/20050714-1433.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1840 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Red Inn
+
+Author: Honore de Balzac
+
+Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+Release Date: July 14, 2005 [EBook #1433]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny
+
+
+
+
+
+                            THE RED INN
+
+                                 BY
+
+                          HONORE DE BALZAC
+
+
+
+                           Translated by
+
+                    Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+
+
+
+                             DEDICATION
+
+                 To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.
+
+
+
+
+                            THE RED INN
+
+
+
+In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of
+those friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the
+world through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to
+him. This friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg,
+was a stout worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a
+man of pipes, having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square
+open forehead adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was
+the type of the sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in
+honorable natures, whose peaceful manners and morals have never been
+lost, even after seven invasions.
+
+This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked
+his straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that
+of most Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who
+does nothing frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's
+table and eating with that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout
+Europe, saying, in fact, a conscientious farewell to the cookery of
+the great Careme.
+
+To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws,
+and were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have
+found no cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies.
+Mankind can't always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one
+might find a few sweet hours during which we could fancy their
+sinister craft a pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+
+"Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+story to terrify us?"
+
+These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was
+the only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose
+education was then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which
+she adored. At this moment the guests were in that happy state of
+laziness and silence which follows a delicious dinner, especially if
+we have presumed too far on our digestive powers. Leaning back in
+their chairs, their wrists lightly resting on the edge of the table,
+they were indolently playing with the gilded blades of their
+dessert-knives. When a dinner comes to this declining moment some
+guests will be seen to play with a pear seed; others roll crumbs of
+bread between their fingers and thumbs; lovers trace indistinct
+letters with fragments of fruit; misers count the stones on their
+plate and arrange them as a manager marshals his supernumeraries at
+the back of the stage. These are little gastronomic felicities which
+Brillat-Savarin, otherwise so complete an author, overlooked in his
+book. The footmen had disappeared. The dessert was like a squadron
+after a battle: all the dishes were disabled, pillaged, damaged;
+several were wandering around the table, in spite of the efforts of
+the mistress of the house to keep them in their places. Some of the
+persons present were gazing at pictures of Swiss scenery,
+symmetrically hung upon the gray-toned walls of the dining-room. Not
+a single guest was bored; in fact, I never yet knew a man who was sad
+during his digestion of a good dinner. We like at such moments to
+remain in quietude, a species of middle ground between the reverie of
+a thinker and the comfort of the ruminating animals; a condition
+which we may call the material melancholy of gastronomy.
+
+So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German,
+delighted to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of
+no interest. During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator
+is always delightful to our languid senses; it increases their
+negative happiness. I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces
+about me, enlivened by smiles, beaming in the light of the wax
+candles, and somewhat flushed by our late good cheer; their diverse
+expressions producing piquant effects seen among the porcelain
+baskets, the fruits, the glasses, and the candelabra.
+
+All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who
+sat directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat
+and smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and
+apparently endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely
+noticed him, but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the
+lights, seemed to me to have altered its character; it had certainly
+grown ghastly; violet tones were spreading over it; you might have
+thought it the cadaverous head of a dying man. Motionless as the
+personages painted on a diorama, his stupefied eyes were fixed on the
+sparkling facets of a cut-glass stopper, but certainly without
+observing them; he seemed to be engulfed in some weird contemplation
+of the future or the past. When I had long examined that puzzling face
+I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I said to myself. "Has he
+drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in the Funds? Is he
+thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+
+"Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the
+unknown man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her
+head gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell
+it in Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former
+purveyor to the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather
+original. He married a second time by way of speculation; but for all
+that he makes his wife extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom
+he refused for many years to recognize; but the death of his son,
+unfortunately killed in a duel, has compelled him to take her home,
+for he could not otherwise have children. The poor girl has suddenly
+become one of the richest heiresses in Paris. The death of his son
+threw the poor man into an agony of grief, which sometimes reappears
+on the surface."
+
+At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon me;
+that glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But
+suddenly his face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and
+put it, with a mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that
+was near his plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled.
+After all, that man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments, hadn't
+probably two ideas in his brain, and was thinking of nothing.
+Consequently I felt rather ashamed of wasting my powers of divination
+"in anima vili,"--of a doltish financier.
+
+While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological
+observations, the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch
+of snuff and was now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to
+reproduce it in his own language, with his frequent interruptions and
+wordy digressions. Therefore, I now write it down in my own way;
+leaving out the faults of the Nuremburger, and taking only what his
+tale may have had of interest and poesy with the coolness of writers
+who forget to put on the title pages of their books: "Translated from
+the German."
+
+
+
+                           THOUGHT AND ACT
+
+Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in
+the present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men,
+leaving Bonn in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the
+environs of Andernach, a small town standing on the left bank of the
+Rhine a few leagues from Coblentz. At that time the French army,
+commanded by Augereau, was manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then
+occupied the right bank of the river. The headquarters of the
+Republican division was at Coblentz, and one of the demi-brigades
+belonging to Augereau's corps was stationed at Andernach.
+
+The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue
+mixed with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above
+all their hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a
+tricolor plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons,
+a body of men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only
+in our own army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At
+this period many sons of good families taken from their medical
+studies by the recent conscription law due to General Jourdan, had
+naturally preferred to continue their studies on the battle-field
+rather than be restricted to mere military duty, little in keeping
+with their early education and their peaceful destinies. Men of
+science, pacific yet useful, these young men did an actual good in the
+midst of so much misery, and formed a bond of sympathy with other men
+of science in the various countries through which the cruel
+civilization of the Republic passed.
+
+The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their
+way to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both
+belonged to moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the
+gentle manners and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a
+species of birthright. Attracted to the theatre of war before the date
+at which they were required to begin their functions, they had
+travelled by diligence to Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only
+allowed them a slender sum of money they thought themselves rich in
+possessing a few louis, an actual treasure in those days when
+assignats were reaching their lowest depreciation and gold was worth
+far more than silver. The two young surgeons, about twenty years of
+age at the most, yielded themselves up to the poesy of their situation
+with all the enthusiasm of youth. Between Strasburg and Bonn they had
+visited the Electorate and the banks of the Rhine as artists,
+philosophers, and observers. When a man's destiny is scientific he is,
+at their age, a being who is truly many-sided. Even in making love or
+in travelling, an assistant-surgeon should be gathering up the
+rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+
+The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of
+the Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,--a
+strong, rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories,
+ever fresh and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of
+fire and sword. Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful
+land. Here and there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather
+the foresight of the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down
+the ancient castles that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at
+this marvellous country, covered with forests, where the picturesque
+charm of the middle ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to
+conceive the German genius, its reverie, its mysticism.
+
+The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science
+and pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of
+Augereau's division was established in the very palace of the Elector.
+These assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old
+comrades, to present their letters of recommendation to their medical
+chiefs, and to familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their
+profession. There, as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to
+which we cling so fondly in favor of the beauties of our native land.
+Surprised by the aspect of the columns of marble which adorn the
+Electoral Palace, they went about admiring the grandiose effects of
+German architecture, and finding everywhere new treasures both modern
+and antique.
+
+From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at
+leisure on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some
+granite hill that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing
+of the forest or cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden
+glimpses of the Rhine framed in stone or festooned with vigorous
+vegetation. The valleys, the forest paths, the trees exhaled that
+autumnal odor which induced to reverie; the wooded summits were
+beginning to gild and to take on the warm brown tones significant of
+age; the leaves were falling, but the skies were still azure and the
+dry roads lay like yellow lines along the landscape, just then
+illuminated by the oblique rays of the setting sun. At a mile and a
+half from Andernach the two friends walked their horses in silence, as
+if no war were devastating this beautiful land, while they followed a
+path made for the goats across the lofty walls of bluish granite
+between which foams the Rhine. Presently they descended by one of the
+declivities of the gorge, at the foot of which is placed the little
+town, seated coquettishly on the banks of the river and offering a
+convenient port to mariners.
+
+"Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who
+was named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the
+painted houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket,
+and separated only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for
+a moment the pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden
+staircases, the galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the
+vessels swaying to the waves in the port.
+
+[At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper
+Magnan, my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass
+of water, and emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted
+my attention, I thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a
+moisture on the brow of the capitalist.
+
+"What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+
+"Taillefer," she replied.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange
+personage was turning pale.
+
+"Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am
+listening," he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all
+simultaneously looking at him.
+
+"I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other
+young man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made
+to me enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and
+jovial. I will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater
+clearness to the tale I am about to tell you."
+
+The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the
+smallest regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young
+French surgeon with a Teutonic name.]
+
+By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs
+and obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of
+soldiers, they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn
+standing some two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color
+of which, embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had
+greatly admired from the summit of the hill above the town. Painted
+entirely red, this inn produced a most piquant effect in the
+landscape, whether by detaching itself from the general background of
+the town, or by contrasting its scarlet sides with the verdure of the
+surrounding foliage, and the gray-blue tints of the water. This house
+owed its name, the Red Inn, to this external decoration, imposed upon
+it, no doubt from time immemorial by the caprice of its founder. A
+mercantile superstition, natural enough to the different possessors of
+the building, far-famed among the sailors of the Rhine, had made them
+scrupulous to preserve the title.
+
+Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+upon the threshold of his door.
+
+"By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had
+to sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots
+who are bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is
+occupied. If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room
+to offer you. As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of
+the courtyard. The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come
+from France?" he added after a slight pause.
+
+"From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+
+"Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people
+come to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round.
+You shall have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+
+After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who
+vainly called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public
+room of the inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of
+smokers prevented them from at first recognizing the persons with whom
+they were thrown; but after sitting awhile near the table, with the
+patience practised by philosophical travellers who know the inutility
+of making a fuss, they distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the
+inevitable accessories of a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots
+of beer, the long pipes, and here and there the eccentric
+physiognomies of Jews, or Germans, and the weather-beaten faces of
+mariners. The epaulets of several French officers were glittering
+through the mist, and the clank of spurs and sabres echoed incessantly
+from the brick floor. Some were playing cards, others argued, or held
+their tongues and ate, drank, or walked about. One stout little woman,
+wearing a black velvet cap, blue and silver stomacher, pincushion,
+bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided hair,--all distinctive signs of
+the mistress of a German inn (a costume which has been so often
+depicted in colored prints that it is too common to describe here),
+--well, this wife of the innkeeper kept the two friends alternately
+patient and impatient with remarkable ability.
+
+Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired
+to their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set
+for the two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon
+the table, eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The
+silence of night enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise
+their horses made in eating their provender, and the murmur of the
+waters of the Rhine, together with those indefinable sounds which
+always enliven an inn when filled with persons preparing to go to bed.
+Doors and windows are opened and shut, voices murmur vague words, and
+a few interpellations echo along the passages.
+
+At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their
+landlord, who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the
+Rhine wines, the Republican army, and his wife, were all three
+listening with a sort of interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a
+boat which appeared to be coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar
+no doubt with the guttural shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily,
+but presently returned conducting a short stout man, behind whom
+walked two sailors carrying a heavy valise and several packages. When
+these were deposited in the room, the short man took the valise and
+placed it beside him as he seated himself without ceremony at the same
+table as the surgeons.
+
+"Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is
+full. Considering all things, that is best."
+
+"Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+
+"No sauer-kraut?"
+
+"Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell
+you just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are
+sitting, and no other chamber than this public room."
+
+At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and
+the two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally
+expressed.
+
+["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell
+you that we have never known the real name nor the history of this
+man; his papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called
+himself Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin
+manufactory in the suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of
+that region, he wore a surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and
+breeches of dark green velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather
+belt. His face was round, his manners frank and cordial; but during
+the evening he seemed unable to disguise altogether some secret
+apprehension or, possibly, some anxious care. The innkeeper's opinion
+has always been that this German merchant was fleeing his country.
+Later I heard that his manufactory had been burned by one of those
+unfortunate chances so frequent in times of war. In spite of its
+anxious expression the man's face showed great kindliness. His
+features were handsome; and the whiteness of his stout throat was well
+set off by a black cravat, a fact which Wilhelm showed jestingly to
+Prosper."
+
+Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+
+Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their
+supper, and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man
+who feels himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on
+the floor and put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and
+removed a pair of pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this
+time set a knife and fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy
+their appetites in silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and
+the flies were so numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open
+the window looking toward the outer gate, so as to change the air.
+This window was barricaded by an iron bar, the two ends of which were
+inserted into holes made in the window casings. For greater security,
+two bolts were screwed to each shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed
+the manner in which the landlord managed these obstacles and opened
+the window.
+
+As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to
+you the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate
+knowledge of the premises depends an understanding of my tale. The
+public room in which the three persons I have named to you were
+sitting, had two outer doors. One opened on the main road to
+Andernach, which skirts the Rhine. In front of the inn was a little
+wharf, to which the boat hired by the merchant for his journey was
+moored. The other door opened upon the courtyard of the inn. This
+courtyard was surrounded by very high walls and was full, for the time
+being, of cattle and horses, the stables being occupied by human
+beings. The great gate leading into this courtyard had been so
+carefully barricaded that to save time the landlord had brought the
+merchant and sailors into the public room through the door opening on
+the roadway. After having opened the window, as requested by Prosper
+Magnan, he closed this door, slipped the iron bars into their places
+and ran the bolts. The landlord's room, where the two young surgeons
+were to sleep, adjoined the public room, and was separated by a
+somewhat thin partition from the kitchen, where the landlord and his
+wife intended, probably, to pass the night. The servant-woman had left
+the premises to find a lodging in some crib or hayloft. It is
+therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the landlord's chamber, and
+the public room were, to some extent, isolated from the rest of the
+house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose deep-toned barking
+showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+
+"What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at
+the sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+
+The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be
+heard.
+
+"Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles
+of wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that
+you have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+
+The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through
+the kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of
+the building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought
+back with him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of
+the supper. She gave to the dishes and to the room generally the
+glance of a mistress, and then, sure of having attended to all the
+wants of the travellers, she returned to the kitchen.
+
+The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her
+go to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into
+their talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more
+sonorous by the thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced
+herself, made the guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight,
+when nothing remained on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit,
+and good wine, the guests, chiefly the young Frenchmen, became
+communicative. The latter talked of their homes, their studies, and of
+the war. The conversation grew lively. Prosper Magnan brought a few
+tears to the merchant's eyes, when with the frankness and naivete of a
+good and tender nature, he talked of what his mother must be doing at
+that hour, while he was sitting drinking on the banks of the Rhine.
+
+"I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed.
+She won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor
+Prosper; I wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from her
+neighbors--your mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's elbow
+--"she'll go and put them in the great red earthenware pot, where she
+is accumulating a sum sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining her
+little estate at Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least
+sixty thousand francs. Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live
+all my days at Lescheville, without other ambition! How my father used
+to long for those thirty acres and the pretty brook which winds
+through the meadows! But he died without ever being able to buy them.
+Many's the time I've played there!"
+
+"Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+Wilhelm.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now--"
+
+The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+
+"As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I
+bought a field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+
+They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never
+stingy on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the
+night, Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+
+"You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+
+"Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take
+one off and put it on the floor."
+
+So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that
+prudent operation demanded.
+
+"I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added,
+lowering his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired
+it. My boatmen seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the
+night with two brave young men, two French soldiers, for, between
+ourselves, I have a hundred thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my
+valise."
+
+The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received
+by the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord
+assisted in taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was
+arranged for the best he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+
+The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their
+pillows. Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of
+Wilhelm under the end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place
+of a bolster, which was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of
+precaution, put his valise under his pillow.
+
+"We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your
+gold; I, on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my
+instruments will ever bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+
+"You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do
+everything; have patience, however."
+
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed on
+the floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of
+sleeplessness, or that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is
+certain that Prosper Magnan continued awake. His thoughts
+unconsciously took an evil turn. His mind dwelt exclusively on the
+hundred thousand francs which lay beneath the merchant's pillow. To
+Prosper Magnan one hundred thousand francs was a vast and ready-made
+fortune. He began to employ it in a hundred different ways; he made
+castles in the air, such as we all make with eager delight during the
+moments preceding sleep, an hour when images rise in our minds
+confusedly, and often, in the silence of the night, thought acquires
+some magical power. He gratified his mother's wishes; he bought the
+thirty acres of meadow land; he married a young lady of Beauvais to
+whom his present want of fortune forbade him to aspire. With a hundred
+thousand francs he planned a lifetime of happiness; he saw himself
+prosperous, the father of a family, rich, respected in his province,
+and, possibly, mayor of Beauvais. His brain heated; he searched for
+means to turn his fictions to realities. He began with extraordinary
+ardor to plan a crime theoretically. While fancying the death of the
+merchant he saw distinctly the gold and the diamonds. His eyes were
+dazzled by them. His heart throbbed. Deliberation was, undoubtedly,
+already crime. Fascinated by that mass of gold he intoxicated himself
+morally by murderous arguments. He asked himself if that poor German
+had any need to live; he supposed the case of his never having
+existed. In short, he planned the crime in a manner to secure himself
+impunity. The other bank of the river was occupied by the Austrian
+army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman; he would cut the
+throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and escape with the
+valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the Austrians.
+He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he had reached
+in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's throat
+without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+
+Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one,
+he dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that
+fatal intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him,
+with that power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners
+or to criminals in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron
+bars, slipped them from their places without the slightest noise,
+placed them against the wall, and opened the shutters, leaning heavily
+upon their hinges to keep them from creaking. The moon was shedding
+its pale pure light upon the scene, and he was thus enabled to faintly
+see into the room where Wilhelm and Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he
+told me, he stood still for a moment. The throbbing of his heart was
+so strong, so deep, so sonorous, that he was terrified; he feared he
+could not act with coolness; his hands trembled; the soles of his feet
+seem planted on red-hot coal; but the execution of his plan was
+accompanied by such apparent good luck that he fancied he saw a
+species of predestination in this favor bestowed upon him by fate. He
+opened the window, returned to the bedroom, took his case of
+instruments, and selected the one most suitable to accomplish the
+crime.
+
+"When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself
+mechanically to God."
+
+At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he
+heard a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He
+flung the instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and
+stood before the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of
+himself. Feeling his virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the
+spell that was upon him he sprang out upon the road and walked along
+the bank of the Rhine, pacing up and down like a sentinel before the
+inn. Sometimes he went as far as Andernach in his hurried tramp; often
+his feet led him up the slope he had descended on his way to the inn;
+and sometimes he lost sight of the inn and the window he had left open
+behind him. His object, he said, was to weary himself and so find
+sleep.
+
+But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping
+of the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees
+to sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his
+momentary frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious
+precepts, but above all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple
+life beneath the parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he
+returned to the inn after a long meditation to which he abandoned
+himself on the bank of the Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he
+could, he said to me, not have slept, but have watched untempted
+beside millions of gold. At the moment when his virtue rose proudly
+and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt down, with a feeling of
+ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt happy, light-hearted,
+content, as on the day of his first communion, when he thought himself
+worthy of the angels because he had passed one day without sinning in
+thought, or word, or deed.
+
+He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make a
+noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head
+on his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which
+precedes the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is
+abolished by degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering
+of our consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air
+is!" he thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained
+this vaguely to himself by the difference which must exist between the
+atmosphere of the close room and the purer air by the river. But
+presently he heard a periodical noise, something like that made by
+drops of water falling from a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a
+feeling of panic terror he was about to rise and call the innkeeper
+and waken Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he suddenly remembered, alas! to
+his great misfortune, the tall wooden clock; he fancied the sound was
+that of the pendulum, and he fell asleep with that confused and
+indistinct perception.
+
+["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an
+empty decanter.
+
+Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause
+occasioned by this interruption.]
+
+The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He
+seemed to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of
+the nerves which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a
+painful impression begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes
+place within us, a start, to use the common expression, which has
+never been sufficiently observed, though it contains very curious
+phenomena for science. This terrible agony, produced, possibly, by the
+too sudden reunion of our two natures separated during sleep, is
+usually transient; but in the poor young surgeon's case it lasted, and
+even increased, causing him suddenly the most awful horror as he
+beheld a pool of blood between Wahlenfer's bed and his own mattress.
+The head of the unfortunate German lay on the ground; his body was
+still on the bed; all its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+
+Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had
+stained his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical
+instrument beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool
+of Wahlenfer's blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my
+thoughts." When he recovered consciousness he was in the public room,
+seated on a chair, surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a
+curious and observing crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer
+engaged in taking the testimony of several witnesses, and in writing
+down, no doubt, the "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his
+wife, the two boatmen, and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical
+instrument which the murderer had used--
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow
+his nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions were
+noticed by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on
+Monsieur Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity.
+The purveyor leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his
+right hand and gazed fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no
+other sign of emotion or interest, but his face remained passive and
+ghastly, as it was when I first saw him playing with the stopper of
+the decanter.]
+
+The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table
+with the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with
+Prosper's purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned
+alternately from these convicting articles to the young man, who
+seemed to be dying and whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw
+nothing. A confused murmur which was heard without proved the presence
+of a crowd, drawn to the neighborhood of the inn by the news of the
+crime, and also perhaps by a desire to see the murderer. The step of
+the sentries placed beneath the windows of the public room and the
+rattle of their accoutrements could be heard above the talk of the
+populace; but the inn was closed and the courtyard was empty and
+silent.
+
+Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering
+his testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man,
+and he raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd
+of enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was
+so piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and
+suffered his head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put
+vinegar to his nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless
+his haggard eyes were so devoid of life and intelligence that the
+surgeon said to the officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,--
+
+"Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+
+"Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the
+surgeon, and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You
+cursed coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try
+at least to walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor
+of the Republic."
+
+This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air
+and saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way
+under him.
+
+"This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the
+two soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support
+him.
+
+"There he is!--oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+
+These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous
+voice of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at
+every step. During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise
+made by the tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the
+various colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the
+aspect of Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,
+--these impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely,
+confusedly, torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his
+waking. There were moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer
+living.
+
+I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of
+age, I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free
+lances, which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days
+before these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a
+French detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the
+most. My scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of
+Andernach, and they talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate
+others. The French talked also of reprisals. My father, however,
+obtained a reprieve for three days to give him time to see General
+Augereau, whom he knew, and ask for my pardon, which was granted. Thus
+it happened that I saw Prosper Magnan when he was brought to the
+prison. He inspired me with the profoundest pity. Though pale,
+distracted, and covered with blood, his whole countenance had a
+character of truth and innocence which struck me forcibly. To me his
+long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed German. A true image of my
+hapless country. I felt he was a victim and not a murderer. At the
+moment when he passed beneath my window he chanced to cast about him
+the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man who suddenly recovers
+for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile was assuredly not
+the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I questioned him about
+his new prisoner.
+
+"He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He
+is sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning
+to-morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+
+That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We
+talked together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair,
+replying with evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that
+first conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and
+obtained the favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again
+at intervals, and the poor lad let me in without concealment to all
+his thoughts. He believed himself both innocent and guilty.
+Remembering the horrible temptation which he had had the strength to
+resist, he feared he might have done in sleep, in a fit of
+somnambulism, the crime he had dreamed of awake.
+
+"But your companion?" I said to him.
+
+"Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of--"
+
+He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+
+"When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and
+lost his head; no doubt he fled."
+
+"Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+
+Suddenly he burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I
+remember my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I
+couldn't have cut off the head of a man while I dreamed I was
+running."
+
+Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he
+felt that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in
+his mind.
+
+"And yet, I _am_ good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at this
+moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder
+a man--oh! she would die of it! And I _am_ in prison, accused of
+committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly
+killed my mother!"
+
+Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and
+if I had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against
+it.
+
+"Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly
+be acquitted; think of your mother."
+
+"My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation
+before she hears anything else,--it is always so in little towns; and
+the shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you
+the whole truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my
+conscience."
+
+After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his
+breast, bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this
+instant the turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to
+leave my companion at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I
+pressed him in my arms with friendship, saying:--
+
+"Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your
+own."
+
+The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed
+myself at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast
+his eyes up to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts,
+presentiments, resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace.
+It was, as it were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man
+bequeathed his lost existence to his only friend. The night must have
+been very hard, very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of
+his face expressed a stoicism gathered from some new sense of
+self-respect. Perhaps he felt that his remorse had purified him, and
+believed that he had blotted out his fault by his anguish and his
+shame. He now walked with a firm step, and since the previous evening
+he had washed away the blood with which he was, involuntarily,
+stained.
+
+"My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+
+I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of war.
+The division was to march on the following morning, and the
+commanding-officer did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry
+into the crime on the spot where it had been committed. I remained in
+the utmost anxiety during the time the council lasted. At last, about
+mid-day, Prosper Magnan was brought back. I was then taking my usual
+walk; he saw me, and came and threw himself into my arms.
+
+"Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me
+my innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves
+me without reproach. But is there a future?"
+
+The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+thoughtful.
+
+"Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you?
+Did you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+
+He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+answered with feverish excitement:--
+
+"First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I
+said, 'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have
+taken great precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was
+stupefied. The sailors said they saw me walking, first to Andernach,
+then to the forest. I made many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the
+gold and diamonds. The valise had not been found. My remorse still
+held me dumb. When I wanted to speak, a pitiless voice cried out to
+me, _'You meant to commit that crime!'_ All was against me, even myself.
+They asked me about my comrade, and I completely exonerated him. Then
+they said to me: 'The crime must lie between you, your comrade, the
+innkeeper, and his wife. This morning all the windows and doors were
+found securely fastened.' At those words," continued the poor fellow,
+"I had neither voice, nor strength, nor soul to answer. More sure of
+my comrade than I could be of myself, I could not accuse him. I saw
+that we were both thought equally guilty of the murder, and that I was
+considered the most clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by
+somnambulism, and so protect my friend; but there I rambled and
+contradicted myself. No, I am lost. I read my condemnation in the eyes
+of my judges. They smiled incredulously. All is over. No more
+uncertainty. To-morrow I shall be shot. I am not thinking of myself,"
+he went on after a pause, "but of my poor mother." Then he stopped,
+looked up to heaven, and shed no tears; his eyes were dry and strongly
+convulsed. "Frederic--"
+
+["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+
+My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over
+his eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we
+caught a darkling flame proceeding from them.
+
+"Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+
+I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+
+Hermann continued:]
+
+"Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He
+must have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our
+horses were both in the courtyard this morning. What an
+incomprehensible mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence.
+"Somnambulism! somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life,
+and that was when I was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he
+cried, striking the ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there
+is of friendship in the world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a
+fraternal love begun when we were only five years old, and continued
+through school and college? Where is Frederic?"
+
+He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+
+"Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to
+be seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play
+the heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All
+last night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood;
+I fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's
+my future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too
+senseless."
+
+Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his
+strength.
+
+"You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether
+you are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They
+won't fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go
+to Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you
+will find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was
+innocent!' She will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you
+must take her my last look; you must tell her that you were the last
+man whose hand I pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my
+last friend. Here," he said, after a moment's silence, during which he
+was overcome by the weight of his recollections, "all, officers and
+soldiers, are unknown to me; I am an object of horror to them. If it
+were not for you my innocence would be a secret between God and
+myself."
+
+I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I
+showed touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him
+again before the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am
+ignorant of the formalities that followed or accompanied this
+judgment, nor do I know whether the young surgeon defended his life or
+not; but he expected to be executed on the following day, and he spent
+the night in writing to his mother.
+
+"We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see
+him the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your
+pardon."
+
+I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features,
+as it were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed
+his face.
+
+"I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged
+for mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon.
+"Yes, yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most
+awful moral agony--I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of
+me. Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+therefore--"
+
+
+
+                         A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+
+"Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was
+shot I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the
+rest."
+
+We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm,
+said to him--
+
+"I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+
+"Yes. I was present at the execution."
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you--"
+
+"He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in
+following the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an
+innocent man! The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He
+seemed to live only in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to
+his mother his last sigh."
+
+"And did you?"
+
+"At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking to
+the mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously
+undertook that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption.
+It was not without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I
+was the bearer. You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I
+see a drama of sad sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed
+those parting words cast between two graves, unknown to all creation,
+like the cry uttered in a desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion
+seizes."
+
+"And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face
+with a man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!'
+would not that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+
+Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+
+"You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!--there, seated on that sofa at the
+corner of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of
+coffee. He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been
+torture, present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+
+"Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some
+action attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my
+neighbor went up to the purveyor.
+
+"Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+
+Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+
+"I, madame? No, never."
+
+"What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting
+him. "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+
+"Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+
+"You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a
+good man."
+
+"Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+
+Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity
+takes place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed.
+If two men meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or
+despise the other, whether from a knowledge of some private and latent
+fact which degrades him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming
+revenge, those two men divine each other's souls, and are able to
+measure the gulf which separates or ought to separate them. They
+observe each other unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by
+themselves; through their looks, their gestures, an indefinable
+emanation of their thought transpires; there's a magnet between them.
+I don't know which has the strongest power of attraction, vengeance or
+crime, hatred or insult. Like a priest who cannot consecrate the host
+in presence of an evil spirit, each is ill at ease and distrustful;
+one is polite, the other surly, but I know not which; one colors or
+turns pale, the other trembles. Often the avenger is as cowardly as
+the victim. Few men have the courage to invoke an evil, even when just
+or necessary, and men are silent or forgive a wrong from hatred of
+uproar or fear of some tragic ending.
+
+This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a
+mysterious struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first
+inquiry I had put to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had
+steadily avoided my eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other
+guests. He talked with the youthful, inexperienced daughter of the
+banker, feeling, no doubt, like many other criminals, a need of
+drawing near to innocence, hoping to find rest there. But, though I
+was a long distance from him, I heard him, and my piercing eye
+fascinated his. When he thought he could watch me unobserved our eyes
+met, and his eyelids dropped immediately.
+
+Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it
+by sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his
+adversary; hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player
+left the table and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+
+"Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at
+Beauvais?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+
+He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+
+"It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear--"
+
+He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering,
+and he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and
+seemed to take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I
+looked at each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach
+upon her countenance.
+
+"Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having
+lost all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why
+not leave things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one
+but we cannot escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge
+of the court of assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the
+work of an executioner."
+
+"After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing
+me on morality?"
+
+"You have made me reflect," she answered.
+
+"So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify
+gold! However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you
+see that young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+
+"Yes, what of her?"
+
+"I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador,
+and I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her
+name. No one was able--"
+
+"That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+
+I grew dizzy.
+
+"Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her
+education. For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She
+comes here for the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+
+These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+
+At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed
+to come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back
+through the garden.
+
+"Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+
+We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached
+our ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed
+the window.
+
+"Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+
+The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and
+said a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry,
+ran to the door, and disappeared. This event produced a great
+sensation. The card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor.
+The murmur of voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+
+"Can Monsieur Taillefer be--" I began.
+
+"--dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+mourning, I fancy!"
+
+"But what has happened to him?"
+
+"The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+with one."
+
+"What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+
+"Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors
+know no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while
+the unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack,
+and I was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing
+him; his cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter
+was obliged to have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his
+bed. The poor man declares there are live animals in his head gnawing
+his brain; every nerve quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he
+writhes in torture. He suffers so much in his head that he did not
+even feel the moxas they used formerly to apply to relieve it; but
+Monsieur Brousson, who is now his physician, has forbidden that
+remedy, declaring that the trouble is a nervous affection, an
+inflammation of the nerves, for which leeches should be applied to the
+neck, and opium to the head. As a result, the attacks are not so
+frequent; they appear now only about once a year, and always late in
+the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says repeatedly that he would
+far rather die than endure such torture."
+
+"Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who
+was present.
+
+"Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died
+in one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on
+pressing business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay
+twenty-two hours stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot
+bath was all that saved him."
+
+"It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+
+"I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering
+his head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They
+say the English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with
+prussic acid--"
+
+At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house,
+and froze us with horror.
+
+"There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said the
+banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers
+untold agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as
+ever during even short cessations of the pain--nature is so queer! A
+German doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that
+agrees with Brousson's opinion."
+
+I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On
+the staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to
+fetch.
+
+"Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+deserve such suffering?--so kind as he is!"
+
+I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+
+Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even
+more distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a
+dreadful look as the carriage rolled away.
+
+That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and
+on my feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps,
+because honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a
+murderer, however good a husband and father he might be. A curious
+fatality impelled me to visit those houses where I knew I could meet
+Victorine; often, after giving myself my word of honor to renounce the
+happiness of seeing her, I found myself that same evening beside her.
+My struggles were great. Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse,
+assumed the color of a criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing
+to Taillefer when, by chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed
+to him all the same.
+
+Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is
+also educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the
+slightest pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses
+with reserve, and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can
+resist. She loves me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a
+certain smile which she keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows
+softer still. Oh, yes! she loves me! But she adores her father; she
+tells me of his kindness, his gentleness, his excellent qualities.
+Those praises are so many dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to
+the heart.
+
+One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the
+crime which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on the
+point of asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I
+travelled; I went to Germany, to Andernach; and then--I returned! I
+found Victorine pale, and thinner; if I had seen her well in health
+and gay, I should certainly have been saved. Instead of which my love
+burst out again with untold violence. Fearing that my scruples might
+degenerate into monomania, I resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound
+consciences, and obtain from them some light on this problem of high
+morality and philosophy,--a problem which had been, as we shall see,
+still further complicated since my return.
+
+Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen,
+the secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now a
+mature statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a
+simple-hearted being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that
+the memory of it is still green at the Palais; besides these, there
+were present a judge, a lawyer, and a notary,--in short, all social
+opinions, and all practical virtues.
+
+We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then, at
+dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice,
+concealing, of course, the Taillefer name.
+
+A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary
+took leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+
+The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to
+silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under
+guardianship, to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+
+"I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+energetically enough what I ought to do."
+
+On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+
+A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General
+Foy exclaimed:--
+
+"Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+
+"Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me
+with his elbow.
+
+"Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from
+the estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of
+the Edict of Nantes.
+
+The lawyer rose, and said:--
+
+"In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le
+duc is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations.
+Where should we all be if we had to search into the origin of
+fortunes? This is simply an affair of conscience. If you must
+absolutely carry the case before some tribunal, go to that of the
+confessional."
+
+The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+good priest, rose.
+
+"God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the
+property she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the
+poor."
+
+"But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be
+met with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage
+only because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the
+fruit of the crime."
+
+"This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on
+which a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought
+to enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+
+"Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+
+"Yes!" said the priest.
+
+But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+
+A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one
+hundred and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+
+"Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature
+is one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to
+which sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made
+ought to be the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden
+conception, a prompt inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental
+apprehension, much like the flashes of sentiment which constitute
+taste. Let us vote."
+
+"Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+
+I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of
+virginity, was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I
+myself abstained from voting, out of delicacy.
+
+My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority.
+Each man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat,
+used to hold the numbered balls when card-players draw for their
+places at pool. We were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity;
+for this balloting to clarify morality was certainly original.
+Inspection of the ballot-box showed the presence of nine white balls!
+The result did not surprise me; but it came into my heard to count the
+young men of my own age whom I had brought to sit in judgment. These
+casuists were precisely nine in number; they all had the same thought.
+
+"Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+problem?"
+
+"Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+
+"There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my
+conscience has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous.
+If to-day its voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I
+received, about two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+
+And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+pocket-book:--
+
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+
+"Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before
+you in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in
+Mademoiselle Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a
+vast Aceldama. I know that. _But_ Prosper Magnan left no heirs; _but_,
+again, I have been unable to discover the family of the merchant who
+was murdered at Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that
+fortune? And ought it to be wholly restored? Have I the right to
+betray a secret surprised by me,--to add a murdered head to the dowry
+of an innocent girl, to give her for the rest of her life bad dreams,
+to deprive her of all her illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained
+with blood'? I have borrowed the 'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience'
+from an old ecclesiastic, but I can find nothing there to solve my
+doubts. Shall I found pious masses for the repose of the souls of
+Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer? Here we are in the middle of
+the nineteenth century! Shall I build a hospital, or institute a prize
+for virtue? A prize for virtue would be given to scoundrels; and as
+for hospitals, they seem to me to have become in these days the
+protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable actions, more or less
+profitable to vanity, do they constitute reparation?--and to whom do I
+owe reparation? But I love; I love passionately. My love is my life.
+If I, without apparent motive, suggest to a young girl accustomed to
+luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful of all enjoyments of art, a
+young girl who loves to idly listen at the opera to Rossini's music,
+--if to her I should propose that she deprive herself of fifteen
+hundred thousand francs in favor of broken-down old men, or scrofulous
+paupers, she would turn her back on me and laugh, or her confidential
+friend would tell her that I'm a crazy jester. If in an ecstasy of
+love, I should paint to her the charms of a modest life, and a little
+home on the banks of the Loire; if I were to ask her to sacrifice her
+Parisian life on the altar of our love, it would be, in the first
+place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I might only be opening the way to
+some painful experience; I might lose the heart of a girl who loves
+society, and balls, and personal adornment, and _me_ for the time being.
+Some slim and jaunty officer, with a well-frizzed moustache, who can
+play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride a horse elegantly, may get
+her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's sake, give me some
+advice!"
+
+The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of
+Jeannie Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the
+present moment hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he
+looked at me and said:--
+
+"Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDUM
+
+The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+
+Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+  The Firm of Nucingen
+  Father Goriot
+  The Magic Skin
+
+Taillefer, Victorine
+  Father Goriot
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED INN ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1433.txt or 1433.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/3/1433/
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.net/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.net
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/old/20050714-1433.zip b/old/old/20050714-1433.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc835b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/old/20050714-1433.zip
diff --git a/old/old/rdinn10.txt b/old/old/rdinn10.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9238b37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/old/rdinn10.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1712 @@
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+#35 in our series by Balzac
+
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check
+the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!!
+
+Please take a look at the important information in this header.
+We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an
+electronic path open for the next readers.  Do not remove this.
+
+
+**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
+
+**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations*
+
+Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and
+further information is included below.  We need your donations.
+
+
+The Red Inn
+
+by Honore de Balzac
+
+Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley)
+
+August, 1998  [Etext #1433]
+
+
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+*****This file should be named rdinn10.txt or 1rdinn0.zip******
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, rdinn11.txt.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, rdinn10a.txt.
+
+Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz
+and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com
+
+We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance
+of the official release dates, for time for better editing.
+
+Please note:  neither this list nor its contents are final till
+midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement.
+The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at
+Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month.  A
+preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment
+and editing by those who wish to do so.  To be sure you have an
+up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes
+in the first week of the next month.  Since our ftp program has
+a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a
+look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a
+new copy has at least one byte more or less.
+
+
+Information about Project Gutenberg (one page)
+
+We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work.  The
+fifty hours is one conservative estimate for how long it we take
+to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright
+searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc.  This
+projected audience is one hundred million readers.  If our value
+per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2
+million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-two text
+files per month, or 384 more Etexts in 1997 for a total of 1000+
+If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the
+total should reach over 100 billion Etexts given away.
+
+The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext
+Files by the December 31, 2001.  [10,000 x 100,000,000=Trillion]
+This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers,
+which is only 10% of the present number of computer users.  2001
+should have at least twice as many computer users as that, so it
+will require us reaching less than 5% of the users in 2001.
+
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+
+All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are
+tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.  (CMU = Carnegie-
+Mellon University).
+
+For these and other matters, please mail to:
+
+Project Gutenberg
+P. O. Box  2782
+Champaign, IL 61825
+
+When all other email fails try our Executive Director:
+Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com>
+
+We would prefer to send you this information by email
+(Internet, Bitnet, Compuserve, ATTMAIL or MCImail).
+
+******
+If you have an FTP program (or emulator), please
+FTP directly to the Project Gutenberg archives:
+[Mac users, do NOT point and click. . .type]
+
+ftp uiarchive.cso.uiuc.edu
+login:  anonymous
+password:  your@login
+cd etext/etext90 through /etext96
+or cd etext/articles [get suggest gut for more information]
+dir [to see files]
+get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files]
+GET INDEX?00.GUT
+for a list of books
+and
+GET NEW GUT for general information
+and
+MGET GUT* for newsletters.
+
+**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor**
+(Three Pages)
+
+
+***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START***
+Why is this "Small Print!" statement here?  You know: lawyers.
+They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with
+your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from
+someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our
+fault.  So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement
+disclaims most of our liability to you.  It also tells you how
+you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to.
+
+*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT
+By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept
+this "Small Print!" statement.  If you do not, you can receive
+a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by
+sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person
+you got it from.  If you received this etext on a physical
+medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request.
+
+ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS
+This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-
+tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor
+Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at
+Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project").  Among other
+things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright
+on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and
+distribute it in the United States without permission and
+without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules, set forth
+below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext
+under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark.
+
+To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable
+efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain
+works.  Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any
+medium they may be on may contain "Defects".  Among other
+things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged
+disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer
+codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES
+But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below,
+[1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this
+etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including
+legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR
+UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT,
+INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE
+OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE
+POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
+
+If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of
+receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any)
+you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that
+time to the person you received it from.  If you received it
+on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and
+such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement
+copy.  If you received it electronically, such person may
+choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to
+receive it electronically.
+
+THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS".  NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS
+TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
+PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or
+the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the
+above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you
+may have other legal rights.
+
+INDEMNITY
+You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors,
+officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost
+and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or
+indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause:
+[1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification,
+or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect.
+
+DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm"
+You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by
+disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this
+"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg,
+or:
+
+[1]  Only give exact copies of it.  Among other things, this
+     requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the
+     etext or this "small print!" statement.  You may however,
+     if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable
+     binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form,
+     including any form resulting from conversion by word pro-
+     cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as
+     *EITHER*:
+
+     [*]  The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and
+          does *not* contain characters other than those
+          intended by the author of the work, although tilde
+          (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may
+          be used to convey punctuation intended by the
+          author, and additional characters may be used to
+          indicate hypertext links; OR
+
+     [*]  The etext may be readily converted by the reader at
+          no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent
+          form by the program that displays the etext (as is
+          the case, for instance, with most word processors);
+          OR
+
+     [*]  You provide, or agree to also provide on request at
+          no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the
+          etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC
+          or other equivalent proprietary form).
+
+[2]  Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this
+     "Small Print!" statement.
+
+[3]  Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the
+     net profits you derive calculated using the method you
+     already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  If you
+     don't derive profits, no royalty is due.  Royalties are
+     payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon
+     University" within the 60 days following each
+     date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare)
+     your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return.
+
+WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?
+The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time,
+scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty
+free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution
+you can think of.  Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg
+Association / Carnegie-Mellon University".
+
+*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
+
+
+
+
+
+Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz
+and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED INN
+
+BY
+
+HONORE DE BALZAC
+
+
+
+Translated By
+Katharine Prescott Wormeley
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATION
+
+To Monsieur le Marquis de Custine.
+
+
+
+
+THE RED INN
+
+In I know not what year a Parisian banker, who had very extensive
+commercial relations with Germany, was entertaining at dinner one of
+those friends whom men of business often make in the markets of the
+world through correspondence; a man hitherto personally unknown to
+him. This friend, the head of a rather important house in Nuremburg,
+was a stout worthy German, a man of taste and erudition, above all a
+man of pipes, having a fine, broad, Nuremburgian face, with a square
+open forehead adorned by a few sparse locks of yellowish hair. He was
+the type of the sons of that pure and noble Germany, so fertile in
+honorable natures, whose peaceful manners and morals have never been
+lost, even after seven invasions.
+
+This stranger laughed with simplicity, listened attentively, and drank
+remarkably well, seeming to like champagne as much perhaps as he liked
+his straw-colored Johannisburger. His name was Hermann, which is that
+of most Germans whom authors bring upon their scene. Like a man who
+does nothing frivolously, he was sitting squarely at the banker's
+table and eating with that Teutonic appetite so celebrated throughout
+Europe, saying, in fact, a conscientious farewell to the cookery of
+the great Careme.
+
+To do honor to his guest the master of the house had invited a few
+intimate friends, capitalists or merchants, and several agreeable and
+pretty women, whose pleasant chatter and frank manners were in harmony
+with German cordiality. Really, if you could have seen, as I saw, this
+joyous gathering of persons who had drawn in their commercial claws,
+and were speculating only on the pleasures of life, you would have
+found no cause to hate usurious discounts, or to curse bankruptcies.
+Mankind can't always be doing evil. Even in the society of pirates one
+might find a few sweet hours during which we could fancy their
+sinister craft a pleasure-boat rocking on the deep.
+
+"Before we part, Monsieur Hermann will, I trust, tell one more German
+story to terrify us?"
+
+These words were said at dessert by a pale fair girl, who had read, no
+doubt, the tales of Hoffmann and the novels of Walter Scott. She was
+the only daughter of the banker, a charming young creature whose
+education was then being finished at the Gymnase, the plays of which
+she adored. At this moment the guests were in that happy state of
+laziness and silence which follows a delicious dinner, especially if
+we have presumed too far on our digestive powers. Leaning back in
+their chairs, their wrists lightly resting on the edge of the table,
+they were indolently playing with the gilded blades of their dessert-
+knives. When a dinner comes to this declining moment some guests will
+be seen to play with a pear seed; others roll crumbs of bread between
+their fingers and thumbs; lovers trace indistinct letters with
+fragments of fruit; misers count the stones on their plate and arrange
+them as a manager marshals his supernumeraries at the back of the
+stage. These are little gastronomic felicities which Brillat-Savarin,
+otherwise so complete an author, overlooked in his book. The footmen
+had disappeared. The dessert was like a squadron after a battle: all
+the dishes were disabled, pillaged, damaged; several were wandering
+around the table, in spite of the efforts of the mistress of the house
+to keep them in their places. Some of the persons present were gazing
+at pictures of Swiss scenery, symmetrically hung upon the gray-toned
+walls of the dining-room. Not a single guest was bored; in fact, I
+never yet knew a man who was sad during his digestion of a good
+dinner. We like at such moments to remain in quietude, a species of
+middle ground between the reverie of a thinker and the comfort of the
+ruminating animals; a condition which we may call the material
+melancholy of gastronomy.
+
+So the guests now turned spontaneously to the excellent German,
+delighted to have a tale to listen to, even though it might prove of
+no interest. During this blessed interregnum the voice of a narrator
+is always delightful to our languid senses; it increases their
+negative happiness. I, a seeker after impressions, admired the faces
+about me, enlivened by smiles, beaming in the light of the wax
+candles, and somewhat flushed by our late good cheer; their diverse
+expressions producing piquant effects seen among the porcelain
+baskets, the fruits, the glasses, and the candelabra.
+
+All of a sudden my imagination was caught by the aspect of a guest who
+sat directly in front of me. He was a man of medium height, rather fat
+and smiling, having the air and manner of a stock-broker, and
+apparently endowed with a very ordinary mind. Hitherto I had scarcely
+noticed him, but now his face, possibly darkened by a change in the
+lights, seemed to me to have altered its character; it had certainly
+grown ghastly; violet tones were spreading over it; you might have
+thought it the cadaverous head of a dying man. Motionless as the
+personages painted on a diorama, his stupefied eyes were fixed on the
+sparkling facets of a cut-glass stopper, but certainly without
+observing them; he seemed to be engulfed in some weird contemplation
+of the future or the past. When I had long examined that puzzling face
+I began to reflect about it. "Is he ill?" I said to myself. "Has he
+drunk too much wine? Is he ruined by a drop in the Funds? Is he
+thinking how to cheat his creditors?"
+
+"Look!" I said to my neighbor, pointing out to her the face of the
+unknown man, "is that an embryo bankrupt?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she answered, "he would be much gayer." Then, nodding her
+head gracefully, she added, "If that man ever ruins himself I'll tell
+it in Pekin! He possesses a million in real estate. That's a former
+purveyor to the imperial armies; a good sort of man, and rather
+original. He married a second time by way of speculation; but for all
+that he makes his wife extremely happy. He has a pretty daughter, whom
+he refused for many years to recognize; but the death of his son,
+unfortunately killed in a duel, has compelled him to take her home,
+for he could not otherwise have children. The poor girl has suddenly
+become one of the richest heiresses in Paris. The death of his son
+threw the poor man into an agony of grief, which sometimes reappears
+on the surface."
+
+At that instant the purveyor raised his eyes and rested them upon me;
+that glance made me quiver, so full was it of gloomy thought. But
+suddenly his face grew lively; he picked up the cut-glass stopper and
+put it, with a mechanical movement, into a decanter full of water that
+was near his plate, and then he turned to Monsieur Hermann and smiled.
+After all, that man, now beatified by gastronomical enjoyments, hadn't
+probably two ideas in his brain, and was thinking of nothing.
+Consequently I felt rather ashamed of wasting my powers of divination
+"in anima vili,"--of a doltish financier.
+
+While I was thus making, at a dead loss, these phrenological
+observations, the worthy German had lined his nose with a good pinch
+of snuff and was now beginning his tale. It would be difficult to
+reproduce it in his own language, with his frequent interruptions and
+wordy digressions. Therefore, I now write it down in my own way;
+leaving out the faults of the Nuremburger, and taking only what his
+tale may have had of interest and poesy with the coolness of writers
+who forget to put on the title pages of their books: "Translated from
+the German."
+
+
+
+THOUGHT AND ACT
+
+Toward the end of Venemiaire, year VII., a republican period which in
+the present day corresponds to October 20, 1799, two young men,
+leaving Bonn in the early morning, had reached by nightfall the
+environs of Andernach, a small town standing on the left bank of the
+Rhine a few leagues from Coblentz. At that time the French army,
+commanded by Augereau, was manoeuvring before the Austrians, who then
+occupied the right bank of the river. The headquarters of the
+Republican division was at Coblentz, and one of the demi-brigades
+belonging to Augereau's corps was stationed at Andernach.
+
+The two travellers were Frenchmen. At sight of their uniforms, blue
+mixed with white and faced with red velvet, their sabres, and above
+all their hats covered with a green varnished-cloth and adorned with a
+tricolor plume, even the German peasants had recognized army surgeons,
+a body of men of science and merit liked, for the most part, not only
+in our own army but also in the countries invaded by our troops. At
+this period many sons of good families taken from their medical
+studies by the recent conscription law due to General Jourdan, had
+naturally preferred to continue their studies on the battle-field
+rather than be restricted to mere military duty, little in keeping
+with their early education and their peaceful destinies. Men of
+science, pacific yet useful, these young men did an actual good in the
+midst of so much misery, and formed a bond of sympathy with other men
+of science in the various countries through which the cruel
+civilization of the Republic passed.
+
+The two young men were each provided with a pass and a commission as
+assistant-surgeon signed Coste and Bernadotte; and they were on their
+way to join the demi-brigade to which they were attached. Both
+belonged to moderately rich families in Beauvais, a town in which the
+gentle manners and loyalty of the provinces are transmitted as a
+species of birthright. Attracted to the theatre of war before the date
+at which they were required to begin their functions, they had
+travelled by diligence to Strasburg. Though maternal prudence had only
+allowed them a slender sum of money they thought themselves rich in
+possessing a few louis, an actual treasure in those days when
+assignats were reaching their lowest depreciation and gold was worth
+far more than silver. The two young surgeons, about twenty years of
+age at the most, yielded themselves up to the poesy of their situation
+with all the enthusiasm of youth. Between Strasburg and Bonn they had
+visited the Electorate and the banks of the Rhine as artists,
+philosophers, and observers. When a man's destiny is scientific he is,
+at their age, a being who is truly many-sided. Even in making love or
+in travelling, an assistant-surgeon should be gathering up the
+rudiments of his fortune or his coming fame.
+
+The two young had therefore given themselves wholly to that deep
+admiration which must affect all educated men on seeing the banks of
+the Rhine and the scenery of Suabia between Mayenne and Cologne,--a
+strong, rich, vigorously varied nature, filled with feudal memories,
+ever fresh and verdant, yet retaining at all points the imprints of
+fire and sword. Louis XIV. and Turenne have cauterized that beautiful
+land. Here and there certain ruins bear witness to the pride or rather
+the foresight of the King of Versailles, who caused to be pulled down
+the ancient castles that once adorned this part of Germany. Looking at
+this marvellous country, covered with forests, where the picturesque
+charm of the middle ages abounds, though in ruins, we are able to
+conceive the German genius, its reverie, its mysticism.
+
+The stay of the two friends at Bonn had the double purpose of science
+and pleasure. The grand hospital of the Gallo-Batavian army and of
+Augereau's division was established in the very palace of the Elector.
+These assistant-surgeons of recent date went there to see old
+comrades, to present their letters of recommendation to their medical
+chiefs, and to familiarize themselves with the first aspects of their
+profession. There, as elsewhere, they got rid of a few prejudices to
+which we cling so fondly in favor of the beauties of our native land.
+Surprised by the aspect of the columns of marble which adorn the
+Electoral Palace, they went about admiring the grandiose effects of
+German architecture, and finding everywhere new treasures both modern
+and antique.
+
+From time to time the highways along which the two friends rode at
+leisure on their way to Andernach, led them over the crest of some
+granite hill that was higher than the rest. Thence, through a clearing
+of the forest or cleft in the rocky barrier, they caught sudden
+glimpses of the Rhine framed in stone or festooned with vigorous
+vegetation. The valleys, the forest paths, the trees exhaled that
+autumnal odor which induced to reverie; the wooded summits were
+beginning to gild and to take on the warm brown tones significant of
+age; the leaves were falling, but the skies were still azure and the
+dry roads lay like yellow lines along the landscape, just then
+illuminated by the oblique rays of the setting sun. At a mile and a
+half from Andernach the two friends walked their horses in silence, as
+if no war were devastating this beautiful land, while they followed a
+path made for the goats across the lofty walls of bluish granite
+between which foams the Rhine. Presently they descended by one of the
+declivities of the gorge, at the foot of which is placed the little
+town, seated coquettishly on the banks of the river and offering a
+convenient port to mariners.
+
+"Germany is a beautiful country!" cried one of the two young men, who
+was named Prosper Magnan, at the moment when he caught sight of the
+painted houses of Andernach, pressed together like eggs in a basket,
+and separated only by trees, gardens, and flowers. Then he admired for
+a moment the pointed roofs with their projecting eaves, the wooden
+staircases, the galleries of a thousand peaceful dwellings, and the
+vessels swaying to the waves in the port.
+
+[At the moment when Monsieur Hermann uttered the name of Prosper
+Magnan, my opposite neighbor seized the decanter, poured out a glass
+of water, and emptied it at a draught. This movement having attracted
+my attention, I thought I noticed a slight trembling of the hand and a
+moisture on the brow of the capitalist.
+
+"What is that man's name?" I asked my neighbor.
+
+"Taillefer," she replied.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I said to him, observing that this strange
+personage was turning pale.
+
+"Not at all," he said with a polite gesture of thanks. "I am
+listening," he added, with a nod to the guests, who were all
+simultaneously looking at him.
+
+"I have forgotten," said Monsieur Hermann, "the name of the other
+young man. But the confidences which Prosper Magnan subsequently made
+to me enabled me to know that his companion was dark, rather thin, and
+jovial. I will, if you please, call him Wilhelm, to give greater
+clearness to the tale I am about to tell you."
+
+The worthy German resumed his narrative after having, without the
+smallest regard for romanticism and local color, baptized the young
+French surgeon with a Teutonic name.]
+
+By the time the two young men reached Andernach the night was dark.
+Presuming that they would lose much time in looking for their chiefs
+and obtaining from them a military billet in a town already full of
+soldiers, they resolved to spend their last night of freedom at an inn
+standing some two or three hundred feet from Andernach, the rich color
+of which, embellished by the fires of the setting sun, they had
+greatly admired from the summit of the hill above the town. Painted
+entirely red, this inn produced a most piquant effect in the
+landscape, whether by detaching itself from the general background of
+the town, or by contrasting its scarlet sides with the verdure of the
+surrounding foliage, and the gray-blue tints of the water. This house
+owed its name, the Red Inn, to this external decoration, imposed upon
+it, no doubt from time immemorial by the caprice of its founder. A
+mercantile superstition, natural enough to the different possessors of
+the building, far-famed among the sailors of the Rhine, had made them
+scrupulous to preserve the title.
+
+Hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, the master of the Red Inn came out
+upon the threshold of his door.
+
+"By heavens! gentlemen," he cried, "a little later and you'd have had
+to sleep beneath the stars, like a good many more of your compatriots
+who are bivouacking on the other side of Andernach. Here every room is
+occupied. If you want to sleep in a good bed I have only my own room
+to offer you. As for your horses I can litter them down in a corner of
+the courtyard. The stable is full of people. Do these gentlemen come
+from France?" he added after a slight pause.
+
+"From Bonn," cried Prosper, "and we have eaten nothing since morning."
+
+"Oh! as to provisions," said the innkeeper, nodding his head, "people
+come to the Red Inn for their wedding feast from thirty miles round.
+You shall have a princely meal, a Rhine fish! More, I need not say."
+
+After confiding their weary steeds to the care of the landlord, who
+vainly called to his hostler, the two young men entered the public
+room of the inn. Thick white clouds exhaled by a numerous company of
+smokers prevented them from at first recognizing the persons with whom
+they were thrown; but after sitting awhile near the table, with the
+patience practised by philosophical travellers who know the inutility
+of making a fuss, they distinguished through the vapors of tobacco the
+inevitable accessories of a German inn: the stove, the clock, the pots
+of beer, the long pipes, and here and there the eccentric
+physiognomies of Jews, or Germans, and the weather-beaten faces of
+mariners. The epaulets of several French officers were glittering
+through the mist, and the clank of spurs and sabres echoed incessantly
+from the brick floor. Some were playing cards, others argued, or held
+their tongues and ate, drank, or walked about. One stout little woman,
+wearing a black velvet cap, blue and silver stomacher, pincushion,
+bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided hair,--all distinctive signs of
+the mistress of a German inn (a costume which has been so often
+depicted in colored prints that it is too common to describe here),--
+well, this wife of the innkeeper kept the two friends alternately
+patient and impatient with remarkable ability.
+
+Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired
+to their rooms, the clouds of smoke dispersed. When places were set
+for the two young men, and the classic carp of the Rhine appeared upon
+the table, eleven o'clock was striking and the room was empty. The
+silence of night enabled the young surgeons to hear vaguely the noise
+their horses made in eating their provender, and the murmur of the
+waters of the Rhine, together with those indefinable sounds which
+always enliven an inn when filled with persons preparing to go to bed.
+Doors and windows are opened and shut, voices murmur vague words, and
+a few interpellations echo along the passages.
+
+At this moment of silence and tumult the two Frenchmen and their
+landlord, who was boasting of Andernach, his inn, his cookery, the
+Rhine wines, the Republican army, and his wife, were all three
+listening with a sort of interest to the hoarse cries of sailors in a
+boat which appeared to be coming to the wharf. The innkeeper, familiar
+no doubt with the guttural shouts of the boatmen, went out hastily,
+but presently returned conducting a short stout man, behind whom
+walked two sailors carrying a heavy valise and several packages. When
+these were deposited in the room, the short man took the valise and
+placed it beside him as he seated himself without ceremony at the same
+table as the surgeons.
+
+"Go and sleep in your boat," he said to the boatmen, "as the inn is
+full. Considering all things, that is best."
+
+"Monsieur," said the landlord to the new-comer, "these are all the
+provisions I have left," pointing to the supper served to the two
+Frenchmen; "I haven't so much as another crust of bread nor a bone."
+
+"No sauer-kraut?"
+
+"Not enough to put in my wife's thimble! As I had the honor to tell
+you just now, you can have no bed but the chair on which you are
+sitting, and no other chamber than this public room."
+
+At these words the little man cast upon the landlord, the room, and
+the two Frenchmen a look in which caution and alarm were equally
+expressed.
+
+["Here," said Monsieur Hermann, interrupting himself, "I ought to tell
+you that we have never known the real name nor the history of this
+man; his papers showed that he came from Aix-la-Chapelle; he called
+himself Wahlenfer and said that he owned a rather extensive pin
+manufactory in the suburbs of Neuwied. Like all the manufacturers of
+that region, he wore a surtout coat of common cloth, waistcoat and
+breeches of dark green velveteen, stout boots, and a broad leather
+belt. His face was round, his manners frank and cordial; but during
+the evening he seemed unable to disguise altogether some secret
+apprehension or, possibly, some anxious care. The innkeeper's opinion
+has always been that this German merchant was fleeing his country.
+Later I heard that his manufactory had been burned by one of those
+unfortunate chances so frequent in times of war. In spite of its
+anxious expression the man's face showed great kindliness. His
+features were handsome; and the whiteness of his stout throat was well
+set off by a black cravat, a fact which Wilhelm showed jestingly to
+Prosper."
+
+Here Monsieur Taillefer drank another glass of water.]
+
+Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their
+supper, and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man
+who feels himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on
+the floor and put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and
+removed a pair of pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this
+time set a knife and fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy
+their appetites in silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and
+the flies were so numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open
+the window looking toward the outer gate, so as to change the air.
+This window was barricaded by an iron bar, the two ends of which were
+inserted into holes made in the window casings. For greater security,
+two bolts were screwed to each shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed
+the manner in which the landlord managed these obstacles and opened
+the window.
+
+As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to
+you the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate
+knowledge of the premises depends an understanding of my tale. The
+public room in which the three persons I have named to you were
+sitting, had two outer doors. One opened on the main road to
+Andernach, which skirts the Rhine. In front of the inn was a little
+wharf, to which the boat hired by the merchant for his journey was
+moored. The other door opened upon the courtyard of the inn. This
+courtyard was surrounded by very high walls and was full, for the time
+being, of cattle and horses, the stables being occupied by human
+beings. The great gate leading into this courtyard had been so
+carefully barricaded that to save time the landlord had brought the
+merchant and sailors into the public room through the door opening on
+the roadway. After having opened the window, as requested by Prosper
+Magnan, he closed this door, slipped the iron bars into their places
+and ran the bolts. The landlord's room, where the two young surgeons
+were to sleep, adjoined the public room, and was separated by a
+somewhat thin partition from the kitchen, where the landlord and his
+wife intended, probably, to pass the night. The servant-woman had left
+the premises to find a lodging in some crib or hayloft. It is
+therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the landlord's chamber, and
+the public room were, to some extent, isolated from the rest of the
+house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose deep-toned barking
+showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.
+
+"What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at
+the sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.
+
+The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be
+heard.
+
+"Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles
+of wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by
+drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that
+you have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."
+
+The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through
+the kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of
+the building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought
+back with him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of
+the supper. She gave to the dishes and to the room generally the
+glance of a mistress, and then, sure of having attended to all the
+wants of the travellers, she returned to the kitchen.
+
+The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her
+go to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into
+their talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more
+sonorous by the thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced
+herself, made the guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight,
+when nothing remained on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit,
+and good wine, the guests, chiefly the young Frenchmen, became
+communicative. The latter talked of their homes, their studies, and of
+the war. The conversation grew lively. Prosper Magnan brought a few
+tears to the merchant's eyes, when with the frankness and naivete of a
+good and tender nature, he talked of what his mother must be doing at
+that hour, while he was sitting drinking on the banks of the Rhine.
+
+"I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed.
+She won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor
+Prosper; I wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from her
+neighbors--your mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's elbow--
+"she'll go and put them in the great red earthenware pot, where she is
+accumulating a sum sufficient to buy the thirty acres adjoining her
+little estate at Lescheville. Those thirty acres are worth at least
+sixty thousand francs. Such fine fields! Ah! if I had them I'd live
+all my days at Lescheville, without other ambition! How my father used
+to long for those thirty acres and the pretty brook which winds
+through the meadows! But he died without ever being able to buy them.
+Many's the time I've played there!"
+
+"Monsieur Wahlenfer, haven't you also your 'hoc erat in votis'?" asked
+Wilhelm.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, but it came to pass, and now--"
+
+The good man was silent, and did not finish his sentence.
+
+"As for me," said the landlord, whose face was rather flushed, "I
+bought a field last spring, which I had been wanting for ten years."
+
+They talked thus like men whose tongues are loosened by wine, and they
+each took that friendly liking to the others of which we are never
+stingy on a journey; so that when the time came to separate for the
+night, Wilhelm offered his bed to the merchant.
+
+"You can accept it without hesitation," he said, "for I can sleep with
+Prosper. It won't be the first, nor the last time either. You are our
+elder, and we ought to honor age!"
+
+"Bah!" said the landlord, "my wife's bed has several mattresses; take
+one off and put it on the floor."
+
+So saying, he went and shut the window, making all the noise that
+prudent operation demanded.
+
+"I accept," said the merchant; "in fact I will admit," he added,
+lowering his voice and looking at the two Frenchmen, "that I desired
+it. My boatmen seem to me suspicious. I am not sorry to spend the
+night with two brave young men, two French soldiers, for, between
+ourselves, I have a hundred thousand francs in gold and diamonds in my
+valise."
+
+The friendly caution with which this imprudent confidence was received
+by the two young men, seemed to reassure the German. The landlord
+assisted in taking off one of the mattresses, and when all was
+arranged for the best he bade them good-night and went off to bed.
+
+The merchant and the surgeons laughed over the nature of their
+pillows. Prosper put his case of surgical instruments and that of
+Wilhelm under the end of his mattress to raise it and supply the place
+of a bolster, which was lacking. Wahlenfer, as a measure of
+precaution, put his valise under his pillow.
+
+"We shall both sleep on our fortune," said Prosper, "you, on your
+gold; I, on my instruments. It remains to be seen whether my
+instruments will ever bring me the gold you have now acquired."
+
+"You may hope so," said the merchant. "Work and honesty can do
+everything; have patience, however."
+
+Wahlenfer and Wilhelm were soon asleep. Whether it was that his bed on
+the floor was hard, or that his great fatigue was a cause of
+sleeplessness, or that some fatal influence affected his soul, it is
+certain that Prosper Magnan continued awake. His thoughts
+unconsciously took an evil turn. His mind dwelt exclusively on the
+hundred thousand francs which lay beneath the merchant's pillow. To
+Prosper Magnan one hundred thousand francs was a vast and ready-made
+fortune. He began to employ it in a hundred different ways; he made
+castles in the air, such as we all make with eager delight during the
+moments preceding sleep, an hour when images rise in our minds
+confusedly, and often, in the silence of the night, thought acquires
+some magical power. He gratified his mother's wishes; he bought the
+thirty acres of meadow land; he married a young lady of Beauvais to
+whom his present want of fortune forbade him to aspire. With a hundred
+thousand francs he planned a lifetime of happiness; he saw himself
+prosperous, the father of a family, rich, respected in his province,
+and, possibly, mayor of Beauvais. His brain heated; he searched for
+means to turn his fictions to realities. He began with extraordinary
+ardor to plan a crime theoretically. While fancying the death of the
+merchant he saw distinctly the gold and the diamonds. His eyes were
+dazzled by them. His heart throbbed. Deliberation was, undoubtedly,
+already crime. Fascinated by that mass of gold he intoxicated himself
+morally by murderous arguments. He asked himself if that poor German
+had any need to live; he supposed the case of his never having
+existed. In short, he planned the crime in a manner to secure himself
+impunity. The other bank of the river was occupied by the Austrian
+army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman; he would cut the
+throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and escape with the
+valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the Austrians.
+He went so far as to calculate the professional ability he had reached
+in the use of instruments, so as to cut through his victim's throat
+without leaving him the chance for a single cry.
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer wiped his forehead and drank a little water.]
+
+Prosper rose slowly, making no noise. Certain of having waked no one,
+he dressed himself and went into the public room. There, with that
+fatal intelligence a man suddenly finds on some occasions within him,
+with that power of tact and will which is never lacking to prisoners
+or to criminals in whatever they undertake, he unscrewed the iron
+bars, slipped them from their places without the slightest noise,
+placed them against the wall, and opened the shutters, leaning heavily
+upon their hinges to keep them from creaking. The moon was shedding
+its pale pure light upon the scene, and he was thus enabled to faintly
+see into the room where Wilhelm and Wahlenfer were sleeping. There, he
+told me, he stood still for a moment. The throbbing of his heart was
+so strong, so deep, so sonorous, that he was terrified; he feared he
+could not act with coolness; his hands trembled; the soles of his feet
+seem planted on red-hot coal; but the execution of his plan was
+accompanied by such apparent good luck that he fancied he saw a
+species of predestination in this favor bestowed upon him by fate. He
+opened the window, returned to the bedroom, took his case of
+instruments, and selected the one most suitable to accomplish the
+crime.
+
+"When I stood by the bed," he said to me, "I commended myself
+mechanically to God."
+
+At the moment when he raised his arm collecting all his strength, he
+heard a voice as it were within him; he thought he saw a light. He
+flung the instrument on his own bed and fled into the next room, and
+stood before the window. There, he conceived the utmost horror of
+himself. Feeling his virtue weak, fearing still to succumb to the
+spell that was upon him he sprang out upon the road and walked along
+the bank of the Rhine, pacing up and down like a sentinel before the
+inn. Sometimes he went as far as Andernach in his hurried tramp; often
+his feet led him up the slope he had descended on his way to the inn;
+and sometimes he lost sight of the inn and the window he had left open
+behind him. His object, he said, was to weary himself and so find
+sleep.
+
+But, as he walked beneath the cloudless skies, beholding the stars,
+affected perhaps by the purer air of night and the melancholy lapping
+of the water, he fell into a reverie which brought him back by degrees
+to sane moral thoughts. Reason at last dispersed completely his
+momentary frenzy. The teachings of his education, its religious
+precepts, but above all, so he told me, the remembrance of his simple
+life beneath the parental roof drove out his wicked thoughts. When he
+returned to the inn after a long meditation to which he abandoned
+himself on the bank of the Rhine, resting his elbow on a rock, he
+could, he said to me, not have slept, but have watched untempted
+beside millions of gold. At the moment when his virtue rose proudly
+and vigorously from the struggle, he knelt down, with a feeling of
+ecstasy and happiness, and thanked God. He felt happy, light-hearted,
+content, as on the day of his first communion, when he thought himself
+worthy of the angels because he had passed one day without sinning in
+thought, or word, or deed.
+
+He returned to the inn and closed the window without fearing to make a
+noise, and went to bed at once. His moral and physical lassitude was
+certain to bring him sleep. In a very short time after laying his head
+on his mattress, he fell into that first fantastic somnolence which
+precedes the deepest sleep. The senses then grew numb, and life is
+abolished by degrees; thoughts are incomplete, and the last quivering
+of our consciousness seems like a sort of reverie. "How heavy the air
+is!" he thought; "I seem to be breathing a moist vapor." He explained
+this vaguely to himself by the difference which must exist between the
+atmosphere of the close room and the purer air by the river. But
+presently he heard a periodical noise, something like that made by
+drops of water falling from a robinet into a fountain. Obeying a
+feeling of panic terror he was about to rise and call the innkeeper
+and waken Wahlenfer and Wilhelm, but he suddenly remembered, alas! to
+his great misfortune, the tall wooden clock; he fancied the sound was
+that of the pendulum, and he fell asleep with that confused and
+indistinct perception.
+
+["Do you want some water, Monsieur Taillefer?" said the master of the
+house, observing that the banker was mechanically pouring from an
+empty decanter.
+
+Monsieur Hermann continued his narrative after the slight pause
+occasioned by this interruption.]
+
+The next morning Prosper Magnan was awakened by a great noise. He
+seemed to hear piercing cries, and he felt that violent shuddering of
+the nerves which we suffer when on awaking we continue to feel a
+painful impression begun in sleep. A physiological fact then takes
+place within us, a start, to use the common expression, which has
+never been sufficiently observed, though it contains very curious
+phenomena for science. This terrible agony, produced, possibly, by the
+too sudden reunion of our two natures separated during sleep, is
+usually transient; but in the poor young surgeon's case it lasted, and
+even increased, causing him suddenly the most awful horror as he
+beheld a pool of blood between Wahlenfer's bed and his own mattress.
+The head of the unfortunate German lay on the ground; his body was
+still on the bed; all its blood had flowed out by the neck.
+
+Seeing the eyes still open but fixed, seeing the blood which had
+stained his sheets and even his hands, recognizing his own surgical
+instrument beside him, Prosper Magnan fainted and fell into the pool
+of Wahlenfer's blood. "It was," he said to me, "the punishment of my
+thoughts." When he recovered consciousness he was in the public room,
+seated on a chair, surrounded by French soldiers, and in presence of a
+curious and observing crowd. He gazed stupidly at a Republican officer
+engaged in taking the testimony of several witnesses, and in writing
+down, no doubt, the "proces-verbal." He recognized the landlord, his
+wife, the two boatmen, and the servant of the Red Inn. The surgical
+instrument which the murderer had used--
+
+[Here Monsieur Taillefer coughed, drew out his handkerchief to blow
+his nose, and wiped his forehead. These perfectly natural motions were
+noticed by me only; the other guests sat with their eyes fixed on
+Monsieur Hermann, to whom they were listening with a sort of avidity.
+The purveyor leaned his elbow on the table, put his head into his
+right hand and gazed fixedly at Hermann. From that moment he showed no
+other sign of emotion or interest, but his face remained passive and
+ghastly, as it was when I first saw him playing with the stopper of
+the decanter.]
+
+The surgical instrument which the murderer had used was on the table
+with the case containing the rest of the instruments, together with
+Prosper's purse and papers. The gaze of the assembled crowd turned
+alternately from these convicting articles to the young man, who
+seemed to be dying and whose half-extinguished eyes apparently saw
+nothing. A confused murmur which was heard without proved the presence
+of a crowd, drawn to the neighborhood of the inn by the news of the
+crime, and also perhaps by a desire to see the murderer. The step of
+the sentries placed beneath the windows of the public room and the
+rattle of their accoutrements could be heard above the talk of the
+populace; but the inn was closed and the courtyard was empty and
+silent.
+
+Incapable of sustaining the glance of the officer who was gathering
+his testimony, Prosper Magnan suddenly felt his hand pressed by a man,
+and he raised his eyes to see who his protector could be in that crowd
+of enemies. He recognized by his uniform the surgeon-major of the
+demi-brigade then stationed at Andernach. The glance of that man was
+so piercing, so stern, that the poor young fellow shuddered, and
+suffered his head to fall on the back of his chair. A soldier put
+vinegar to his nostrils and he recovered consciousness. Nevertheless
+his haggard eyes were so devoid of life and intelligence that the
+surgeon said to the officer after feeling Prosper's pulse,--
+
+"Captain, it is impossible to question the man at this moment."
+
+"Very well! Take him away," replied the captain, interrupting the
+surgeon, and addressing a corporal who stood behind the prisoner. "You
+cursed coward!" he went on, speaking to Prosper in a low voice, "try
+at least to walk firmly before these German curs, and save the honor
+of the Republic."
+
+This address seemed to wake up Prosper Magnan, who rose and made a few
+steps forward; but when the door was opened and he felt the fresh air
+and saw the crowd before him, he staggered and his knees gave way
+under him.
+
+"This coward of a sawbones deserves a dozen deaths! Get on!" cried the
+two soldiers who had him in charge, lending him their arms to support
+him.
+
+"There he is!--oh, the villain! the coward! Here he is! There he is!"
+
+These cries seemed to be uttered by a single voice, the tumultuous
+voice of the crowd which followed him with insults and swelled at
+every step. During the passage from the inn to the prison, the noise
+made by the tramping of the crowd and the soldiers, the murmur of the
+various colloquies, the sight of the sky, the coolness of the air, the
+aspect of Andernach and the shimmering of the waters of the Rhine,--
+these impressions came to the soul of the young man vaguely,
+confusedly, torpidly, like all the sensations he had felt since his
+waking. There were moments, he said, when he thought he was no longer
+living.
+
+I was then in prison. Enthusiastic, as we all are at twenty years of
+age, I wished to defend my country, and I commanded a company of free
+lances, which I had organized in the vicinity of Andernach. A few days
+before these events I had fallen plump, during the night, into a
+French detachment of eight hundred men. We were two hundred at the
+most. My scouts had sold me. I was thrown into the prison of
+Andernach, and they talked of shooting me, as a warning to intimidate
+others. The French talked also of reprisals. My father, however,
+obtained a reprieve for three days to give him time to see General
+Augereau, whom he knew, and ask for my pardon, which was granted. Thus
+it happened that I saw Prosper Magnan when he was brought to the
+prison. He inspired me with the profoundest pity. Though pale,
+distracted, and covered with blood, his whole countenance had a
+character of truth and innocence which struck me forcibly. To me his
+long fair hair and clear blue eyes seemed German. A true image of my
+hapless country. I felt he was a victim and not a murderer. At the
+moment when he passed beneath my window he chanced to cast about him
+the painful, melancholy smile of an insane man who suddenly recovers
+for a time a fleeting gleam of reason. That smile was assuredly not
+the smile of a murderer. When I saw the jailer I questioned him about
+his new prisoner.
+
+"He has not spoken since I put him in his cell," answered the man. "He
+is sitting down with his head in his hands and is either sleeping or
+reflecting about his crime. The French say he'll get his reckoning to-
+morrow morning and be shot in twenty-four hours."
+
+That evening I stopped short under the window of the prison during the
+short time I was allowed to take exercise in the prison yard. We
+talked together, and he frankly related to me his strange affair,
+replying with evident truthfulness to my various questions. After that
+first conversation I no longer doubted his innocence; I asked, and
+obtained the favor of staying several hours with him. I saw him again
+at intervals, and the poor lad let me in without concealment to all
+his thoughts. He believed himself both innocent and guilty.
+Remembering the horrible temptation which he had had the strength to
+resist, he feared he might have done in sleep, in a fit of
+somnambulism, the crime he had dreamed of awake.
+
+"But your companion?" I said to him.
+
+"Oh!" he cried eagerly. "Wilhelm is incapable of--"
+
+He did not even finish his sentence. At that warm defence, so full of
+youth and manly virtue, I pressed his hand.
+
+"When he woke," continued Prosper, "he must have been terrified and
+lost his head; no doubt he fled."
+
+"Without awaking you?" I said. "Then surely your defence is easy;
+Wahlenfer's valise cannot have been stolen."
+
+Suddenly he burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he cried, "I am innocent! I have not killed a man! I
+remember my dreams. I was playing at base with my schoolmates. I
+couldn't have cut off the head of a man while I dreamed I was
+running."
+
+Then, in spite of these gleams of hope, which gave him at times some
+calmness, he felt a remorse which crushed him. He had, beyond all
+question, raised his arm to kill that man. He judged himself; and he
+felt that his heart was not innocent after committing that crime in
+his mind.
+
+"And yet, I AM good!" he cried. "Oh, my poor mother! Perhaps at this
+moment she is cheerfully playing boston with the neighbors in her
+little tapestry salon. If she knew that I had raised my hand to murder
+a man--oh! she would die of it! And I AM in prison, accused of
+committing that crime! If I have not killed a man, I have certainly
+killed my mother!"
+
+Saying these words he wept no longer; he was seized by that short and
+rapid madness known to the men of Picardy; he sprang to the wall, and
+if I had not caught him, he would have dashed out his brains against
+it.
+
+"Wait for your trial," I said. "You are innocent, you will certainly
+be acquitted; think of your mother."
+
+"My mother!" he cried frantically, "she will hear of the accusation
+before she hears anything else,--it is always so in little towns; and
+the shock will kill her. Besides, I am not innocent. Must I tell you
+the whole truth? I feel that I have lost the virginity of my
+conscience."
+
+After that terrible avowal he sat down, crossed his arms on his
+breast, bowed his head upon it, gazing gloomily on the ground. At this
+instant the turnkey came to ask me to return to my room. Grieved to
+leave my companion at a moment when his discouragement was so deep, I
+pressed him in my arms with friendship, saying:--
+
+"Have patience; all may yet go well. If the voice of an honest man can
+still your doubts, believe that I esteem you and trust you. Accept my
+friendship, and rest upon my heart, if you cannot find peace in your
+own."
+
+The next morning a corporal's guard came to fetch the young surgeon at
+nine o'clock. Hearing the noise made by the soldiers, I stationed
+myself at my window. As the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he cast
+his eyes up to me. Never shall I forget that look, full of thoughts,
+presentiments, resignation, and I know not what sad, melancholy grace.
+It was, as it were, a silent but intelligible last will by which a man
+bequeathed his lost existence to his only friend. The night must have
+been very hard, very solitary for him; and yet, perhaps, the pallor of
+his face expressed a stoicism gathered from some new sense of self-
+respect. Perhaps he felt that his remorse had purified him, and
+believed that he had blotted out his fault by his anguish and his
+shame. He now walked with a firm step, and since the previous evening
+he had washed away the blood with which he was, involuntarily,
+stained.
+
+"My hands must have dabbled in it while I slept, for I am always a
+restless sleeper," he had said to me in tones of horrible despair.
+
+I learned that he was on his way to appear before the council of war.
+The division was to march on the following morning, and the
+commanding-officer did not wish to leave Andernach without inquiry
+into the crime on the spot where it had been committed. I remained in
+the utmost anxiety during the time the council lasted. At last, about
+mid-day, Prosper Magnan was brought back. I was then taking my usual
+walk; he saw me, and came and threw himself into my arms.
+
+"Lost!" he said, "lost, without hope! Here, to all the world, I am a
+murderer." He raised his head proudly. "This injustice restores to me
+my innocence. My life would always have been wretched; my death leaves
+me without reproach. But is there a future?"
+
+The whole eighteenth century was in that sudden question. He remained
+thoughtful.
+
+"Tell me," I said to him, "how you answered. What did they ask you?
+Did you not relate the simple facts as you told them to me?"
+
+He looked at me fixedly for a moment; then, after that awful pause, he
+answered with feverish excitement:--
+
+"First they asked me, 'Did you leave the inn during the night?' I
+said, 'Yes.' 'How?' I answered, 'By the window.' 'Then you must have
+taken great precautions; the innkeeper heard no noise.' I was
+stupefied. The sailors said they saw me walking, first to Andernach,
+then to the forest. I made many trips, they said, no doubt to bury the
+gold and diamonds. The valise had not been found. My remorse still
+held me dumb. When I wanted to speak, a pitiless voice cried out to
+me, 'YOU MEANT TO COMMIT THAT CRIME!' All was against me, even myself.
+They asked me about my comrade, and I completely exonerated him. Then
+they said to me: 'The crime must lie between you, your comrade, the
+innkeeper, and his wife. This morning all the windows and doors were
+found securely fastened.' At those words," continued the poor fellow,
+"I had neither voice, nor strength, nor soul to answer. More sure of
+my comrade than I could be of myself, I could not accuse him. I saw
+that we were both thought equally guilty of the murder, and that I was
+considered the most clumsy. I tried to explain the crime by
+somnambulism, and so protect my friend; but there I rambled and
+contradicted myself. No, I am lost. I read my condemnation in the eyes
+of my judges. They smiled incredulously. All is over. No more
+uncertainty. To-morrow I shall be shot. I am not thinking of myself,"
+he went on after a pause, "but of my poor mother." Then he stopped,
+looked up to heaven, and shed no tears; his eyes were dry and strongly
+convulsed. "Frederic--"
+
+["Ah! true," cried Monsieur Hermann, with an air of triumph. "Yes, the
+other's name was Frederic, Frederic! I remember now!"
+
+My neighbor touched my foot, and made me a sign to look at Monsieur
+Taillefer. The former purveyor had negligently dropped his hand over
+his eyes, but between the interstices of his fingers we thought we
+caught a darkling flame proceeding from them.
+
+"Hein?" she said in my ear, "what if his name were Frederic?"
+
+I answered with a glance, which said to her: "Silence!"
+
+Hermann continued:]
+
+"Frederic!" cried the young surgeon, "Frederic basely deserted me. He
+must have been afraid. Perhaps he is still hidden in the inn, for our
+horses were both in the courtyard this morning. What an
+incomprehensible mystery!" he went on, after a moment's silence.
+"Somnambulism! somnambulism? I never had but one attack in my life,
+and that was when I was six years old. Must I go from this earth," he
+cried, striking the ground with his foot, "carrying with me all there
+is of friendship in the world? Shall I die a double death, doubting a
+fraternal love begun when we were only five years old, and continued
+through school and college? Where is Frederic?"
+
+He wept. Can it be that we cling more to a sentiment than to life?
+
+"Let us go in," he said; "I prefer to be in my cell. I do not wish to
+be seen weeping. I shall go courageously to death, but I cannot play
+the heroic at all moments; I own I regret my beautiful young life. All
+last night I could not sleep; I remembered the scenes of my childhood;
+I fancied I was running in the fields. Ah! I had a future," he said,
+suddenly interrupting himself; "and now, twelve men, a sub-lieutenant
+shouting 'Carry-arms, aim, fire!' a roll of drums, and infamy! that's
+my future now. Oh! there must be a God, or it would all be too
+senseless."
+
+Then he took me in his arms and pressed me to him with all his
+strength.
+
+"You are the last man, the last friend to whom I can show my soul. You
+will be set at liberty, you will see your mother! I don't know whether
+you are rich or poor, but no matter! you are all the world to me. They
+won't fight always, 'ceux-ci.' Well, when there's peace, will you go
+to Beauvais? If my mother has survived the fatal news of my death, you
+will find her there. Say to her the comforting words, 'He was
+innocent!' She will believe you. I am going to write to her; but you
+must take her my last look; you must tell her that you were the last
+man whose hand I pressed. Oh, she'll love you, the poor woman! you, my
+last friend. Here," he said, after a moment's silence, during which he
+was overcome by the weight of his recollections, "all, officers and
+soldiers, are unknown to me; I am an object of horror to them. If it
+were not for you my innocence would be a secret between God and
+myself."
+
+I swore to sacredly fulfil his last wishes. My words, the emotion I
+showed touched him. Soon after that the soldiers came to take him
+again before the council of war. He was condemned to death. I am
+ignorant of the formalities that followed or accompanied this
+judgment, nor do I know whether the young surgeon defended his life or
+not; but he expected to be executed on the following day, and he spent
+the night in writing to his mother.
+
+"We shall both be free to-day," he said, smiling, when I went to see
+him the next morning. "I am told that the general has signed your
+pardon."
+
+I was silent, and looked at him closely so as to carve his features,
+as it were, on my memory. Presently an expression of disgust crossed
+his face.
+
+"I have been very cowardly," he said. "During all last night I begged
+for mercy of these walls," and he pointed to the sides of his dungeon.
+"Yes, yes, I howled with despair, I rebelled, I suffered the most
+awful moral agony--I was alone! Now I think of what others will say of
+me. Courage is a garment to put on. I desire to go decently to death,
+therefore--"
+
+
+
+A DOUBLE RETRIBUTION
+
+"Oh, stop! stop!" cried the young lady who had asked for this history,
+interrupting the narrator suddenly. "Say no more; let me remain in
+uncertainty and believe that he was saved. If I hear now that he was
+shot I shall not sleep all night. To-morrow you shall tell me the
+rest."
+
+We rose from table. My neighbor in accepting Monsieur Hermann's arm,
+said to him--
+
+"I suppose he was shot, was he not?"
+
+"Yes. I was present at the execution."
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she said, "how could you--"
+
+"He desired it, madame. There was something really dreadful in
+following the funeral of a living man, a man my heart cared for, an
+innocent man! The poor young fellow never ceased to look at me. He
+seemed to live only in me. He wanted, he said, that I should carry to
+his mother his last sigh."
+
+"And did you?"
+
+"At the peace of Amiens I went to France, for the purpose of taking to
+the mother those blessed words, 'He was innocent.' I religiously
+undertook that pilgrimage. But Madame Magnan had died of consumption.
+It was not without deep emotion that I burned the letter of which I
+was the bearer. You will perhaps smile at my German imagination, but I
+see a drama of sad sublimity in the eternal secrecy which engulfed
+those parting words cast between two graves, unknown to all creation,
+like the cry uttered in a desert by some lonely traveller whom a lion
+seizes."
+
+"And if," I said, interrupting him, "you were brought face to face
+with a man now in this room, and were told, 'This is the murderer!'
+would not that be another drama? And what would you do?"
+
+Monsieur Hermann looked for his hat and went away.
+
+"You are behaving like a young man, and very heedlessly," said my
+neighbor. "Look at Taillefer!--there, seated on that sofa at the
+corner of the fireplace. Mademoiselle Fanny is offering him a cup of
+coffee. He smiles. Would a murderer to whom that tale must have been
+torture, present so calm a face? Isn't his whole air patriarchal?"
+
+"Yes; but go and ask him if he went to the war in Germany," I said.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+And with that audacity which is seldom lacking to women when some
+action attracts them, or their minds are impelled by curiosity, my
+neighbor went up to the purveyor.
+
+"Were you ever in Germany?" she asked.
+
+Taillefer came near dropping his cup and saucer.
+
+"I, madame? No, never."
+
+"What are you talking about, Taillefer"; said our host, interrupting
+him. "Were you not in the commissariat during the campaign of Wagram?"
+
+"Ah, true!" replied Taillefer, "I was there at that time."
+
+"You are mistaken," said my neighbor, returning to my side; "that's a
+good man."
+
+"Well," I cried, "before the end of this evening, I will hunt that
+murderer out of the slough in which he is hiding."
+
+Every day, before our eyes, a moral phenomenon of amazing profundity
+takes place which is, nevertheless, so simple as never to be noticed.
+If two men meet in a salon, one of whom has the right to hate or
+despise the other, whether from a knowledge of some private and latent
+fact which degrades him, or of a secret condition, or even of a coming
+revenge, those two men divine each other's souls, and are able to
+measure the gulf which separates or ought to separate them. They
+observe each other unconsciously; their minds are preoccupied by
+themselves; through their looks, their gestures, an indefinable
+emanation of their thought transpires; there's a magnet between them.
+I don't know which has the strongest power of attraction, vengeance or
+crime, hatred or insult. Like a priest who cannot consecrate the host
+in presence of an evil spirit, each is ill at ease and distrustful;
+one is polite, the other surly, but I know not which; one colors or
+turns pale, the other trembles. Often the avenger is as cowardly as
+the victim. Few men have the courage to invoke an evil, even when just
+or necessary, and men are silent or forgive a wrong from hatred of
+uproar or fear of some tragic ending.
+
+This introsusception of our souls and our sentiments created a
+mysterious struggle between Taillefer and myself. Since the first
+inquiry I had put to him during Monsieur Hermann's narrative, he had
+steadily avoided my eye. Possibly he avoided those of all the other
+guests. He talked with the youthful, inexperienced daughter of the
+banker, feeling, no doubt, like many other criminals, a need of
+drawing near to innocence, hoping to find rest there. But, though I
+was a long distance from him, I heard him, and my piercing eye
+fascinated his. When he thought he could watch me unobserved our eyes
+met, and his eyelids dropped immediately.
+
+Weary of this torture, Taillefer seemed determined to put an end to it
+by sitting down at a card-table. I at once went to bet on his
+adversary; hoping to lose my money. The wish was granted; the player
+left the table and I took his place, face to face with the murderer.
+
+"Monsieur," I said, while he dealt the cards, "may I ask if you are
+Monsieur Frederic Taillefer, whose family I know very well at
+Beauvais?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," he answered.
+
+He dropped the cards, turned pale, put his hands to his head and rose,
+asking one of the bettors to take his hand.
+
+"It is too hot here," he cried; "I fear--"
+
+He did not end the sentence. His face expressed intolerable suffering,
+and he went out hastily. The master of the house followed him and
+seemed to take an anxious interest in his condition. My neighbor and I
+looked at each other, but I saw a tinge of bitter sadness or reproach
+upon her countenance.
+
+"Do you think your conduct is merciful?" she asked, drawing me to the
+embrasure of a window just as I was leaving the card-table, having
+lost all my money. "Would you accept the power of reading hearts? Why
+not leave things to human justice or divine justice? We may escape one
+but we cannot escape the other. Do you think the privilege of a judge
+of the court of assizes so much to be envied? You have almost done the
+work of an executioner."
+
+"After sharing and stimulating my curiosity, why are you now lecturing
+me on morality?"
+
+"You have made me reflect," she answered.
+
+"So, then, peace to villains, war to the sorrowful, and let's deify
+gold! However, we will drop the subject," I added, laughing. "Do you
+see that young girl who is just entering the salon?"
+
+"Yes, what of her?"
+
+"I met her, three days ago, at the ball of the Neapolitan ambassador,
+and I am passionately in love with her. For pity's sake tell me her
+name. No one was able--"
+
+"That is Mademoiselle Victorine Taillefer."
+
+I grew dizzy.
+
+"Her step-mother," continued my neighbor, "has lately taken her from a
+convent, where she was finishing, rather late in the day, her
+education. For a long time her father refused to recognize her. She
+comes here for the first time. She is very beautiful and very rich."
+
+These words were accompanied by a sardonic smile.
+
+At this moment we heard violent, but smothered outcries; they seemed
+to come from a neighboring apartment and to be echoed faintly back
+through the garden.
+
+"Isn't that the voice of Monsieur Taillefer?" I said.
+
+We gave our full attention to the noise; a frightful moaning reached
+our ears. The wife of the banker came hurriedly towards us and closed
+the window.
+
+"Let us avoid a scene," she said. "If Mademoiselle Taillefer hears her
+father, she might be thrown into hysterics."
+
+The banker now re-entered the salon, looked round for Victorine, and
+said a few words in her ear. Instantly the young girl uttered a cry,
+ran to the door, and disappeared. This event produced a great
+sensation. The card-players paused. Every one questioned his neighbor.
+The murmur of voices swelled, and groups gathered.
+
+"Can Monsieur Taillefer be--" I began.
+
+"--dead?" said my sarcastic neighbor. "You would wear the gayest
+mourning, I fancy!"
+
+"But what has happened to him?"
+
+"The poor dear man," said the mistress of the house, "is subject to
+attacks of a disease the name of which I never can remember, though
+Monsieur Brousson has often told it to me; and he has just been seized
+with one."
+
+"What is the nature of the disease?" asked an examining-judge.
+
+"Oh, it is something terrible, monsieur," she replied. "The doctors
+know no remedy. It causes the most dreadful suffering. One day, while
+the unfortunate man was staying at my country-house, he had an attack,
+and I was obliged to go away and stay with a neighbor to avoid hearing
+him; his cries were terrible; he tried to kill himself; his daughter
+was obliged to have him put into a strait-jacket and fastened to his
+bed. The poor man declares there are live animals in his head gnawing
+his brain; every nerve quivers with horrible shooting pains, and he
+writhes in torture. He suffers so much in his head that he did not
+even feel the moxas they used formerly to apply to relieve it; but
+Monsieur Brousson, who is now his physician, has forbidden that
+remedy, declaring that the trouble is a nervous affection, an
+inflammation of the nerves, for which leeches should be applied to the
+neck, and opium to the head. As a result, the attacks are not so
+frequent; they appear now only about once a year, and always late in
+the autumn. When he recovers, Taillefer says repeatedly that he would
+far rather die than endure such torture."
+
+"Then he must suffer terribly!" said a broker, considered a wit, who
+was present.
+
+"Oh," continued the mistress of the house, "last year he nearly died
+in one of these attacks. He had gone alone to his country-house on
+pressing business. For want, perhaps, of immediate help, he lay
+twenty-two hours stiff and stark as though he were dead. A very hot
+bath was all that saved him."
+
+"It must be a species of lockjaw," said one of the guests.
+
+"I don't know," she answered. "He got the disease in the army nearly
+thirty years ago. He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering
+his head from a shot on board a boat. Brousson hopes to cure him. They
+say the English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with
+prussic acid--"
+
+At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house,
+and froze us with horror.
+
+"There! that is what I listened to all day long last year," said the
+banker's wife. "It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves
+dreadfully. But, strange to say, poor Taillefer, though he suffers
+untold agony, is in no danger of dying. He eats and drinks as well as
+ever during even short cessations of the pain--nature is so queer! A
+German doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head, and that
+agrees with Brousson's opinion."
+
+I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away. On
+the staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer, whom a footman had come to
+fetch.
+
+"Oh!" she said to me, weeping, "what has my poor father ever done to
+deserve such suffering?--so kind as he is!"
+
+I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the
+carriage, and there I saw her father bent almost double.
+
+Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her
+handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even
+more distorted, a convulsive cry rent the air, and he gave me a
+dreadful look as the carriage rolled away.
+
+That dinner, that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and
+on my feelings. I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer, precisely, perhaps,
+because honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a
+murderer, however good a husband and father he might be. A curious
+fatality impelled me to visit those houses where I knew I could meet
+Victorine; often, after giving myself my word of honor to renounce the
+happiness of seeing her, I found myself that same evening beside her.
+My struggles were great. Legitimate love, full of chimerical remorse,
+assumed the color of a criminal passion. I despised myself for bowing
+to Taillefer when, by chance, he accompanied his daughter, but I bowed
+to him all the same.
+
+Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl, she is
+also educated, intelligent, full of talent and of charm, without the
+slightest pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption. She converses
+with reserve, and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can
+resist. She loves me, or at least she lets me think so; she has a
+certain smile which she keeps for me alone; for me, her voice grows
+softer still. Oh, yes! she loves me! But she adores her father; she
+tells me of his kindness, his gentleness, his excellent qualities.
+Those praises are so many dagger-thrusts with which she stabs me to
+the heart.
+
+One day I came near making myself the accomplice, as it were, of the
+crime which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family. I was on the
+point of asking the father for Victorine's hand. But I fled; I
+travelled; I went to Germany, to Andernach; and then--I returned! I
+found Victorine pale, and thinner; if I had seen her well in health
+and gay, I should certainly have been saved. Instead of which my love
+burst out again with untold violence. Fearing that my scruples might
+degenerate into monomania, I resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound
+consciences, and obtain from them some light on this problem of high
+morality and philosophy,--a problem which had been, as we shall see,
+still further complicated since my return.
+
+Two days ago, therefore, I collected those of my friends to whom I
+attribute most delicacy, probity, and honor. I invited two Englishmen,
+the secretary of an embassy, and a puritan; a former minister, now a
+mature statesman; a priest, an old man; also my former guardian, a
+simple-hearted being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that
+the memory of it is still green at the Palais; besides these, there
+were present a judge, a lawyer, and a notary,--in short, all social
+opinions, and all practical virtues.
+
+We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then, at
+dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice,
+concealing, of course, the Taillefer name.
+
+A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary
+took leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
+
+The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to
+silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under
+guardianship, to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
+
+"I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
+energetically enough what I ought to do."
+
+On this there came a stir throughout the assembly.
+
+A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General
+Foy exclaimed:--
+
+"Like Virtue's self, a crime has its degrees."
+
+"Rash tongue!" said the former minister, in a low voice, nudging me
+with his elbow.
+
+"Where's your difficulty?" asked a duke whose fortune is derived from
+the estates of stubborn Protestants, confiscated on the revocation of
+the Edict of Nantes.
+
+The lawyer rose, and said:--
+
+"In law, the case submitted to us presents no difficulty. Monsieur le
+duc is right!" cried the legal organ. "There are time limitations.
+Where should we all be if we had to search into the origin of
+fortunes? This is simply an affair of conscience. If you must
+absolutely carry the case before some tribunal, go to that of the
+confessional."
+
+The Code incarnate ceased speaking, sat down, and drank a glass of
+champagne. The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel, the
+good priest, rose.
+
+"God has made us all frail beings," he said firmly. "If you love the
+heiress of that crime, marry her; but content yourself with the
+property she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the
+poor."
+
+"But," cried one of those pitiless hair-splitters who are often to be
+met with in the world, "perhaps the father could make a rich marriage
+only because he was rich himself; consequently, the marriage was the
+fruit of the crime."
+
+"This discussion is, in itself, a verdict. There are some things on
+which a man does not deliberate," said my former guardian, who thought
+to enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety.
+
+"Yes!" said the secretary of an embassy.
+
+"Yes!" said the priest.
+
+But the two men did not mean the same thing.
+
+A "doctrinaire," who had missed his election to the Chamber by one
+hundred and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty-five, here rose.
+
+"Messieurs," he said, "this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature
+is one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to
+which sobriety is subjected. Consequently the decision to be made
+ought to be the spontaneous act of our consciences, a sudden
+conception, a prompt inward verdict, a fugitive shadow of our mental
+apprehension, much like the flashes of sentiment which constitute
+taste. Let us vote."
+
+"Let us vote!" cried all my guests.
+
+I have each two balls, one white, one red. The white, symbol of
+virginity, was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it. I
+myself abstained from voting, out of delicacy.
+
+My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority.
+Each man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat,
+used to hold the numbered balls when card-players draw for their
+places at pool. We were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity;
+for this balloting to clarify morality was certainly original.
+Inspection of the ballot-box showed the presence of nine white balls!
+The result did not surprise me; but it came into my heard to count the
+young men of my own age whom I had brought to sit in judgment. These
+casuists were precisely nine in number; they all had the same thought.
+
+"Oh, oh!" I said to myself, "here is secret unanimity to forbid the
+marriage, and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that
+problem?"
+
+"Where does the father-in-law live?" asked one my school-friends,
+heedlessly, being less sophisticated than the others.
+
+"There's no longer a father-in-law," I replied. "Hitherto, my
+conscience has spoken plainly enough to make your verdict superfluous.
+If to-day its voice is weakened, here is the cause of my cowardice. I
+received, about two months ago, this all-seducing letter."
+
+And I showed them the following invitation, which I took from my
+pocket-book:--
+
+  "You are invited to be present at the funeral procession, burial
+  services, and interment of Monsieur Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of
+  the house of Taillefer and Company, formerly Purveyor of
+  Commissary-meats, in his lifetime chevalier of the Legion of
+  honor, and of the Golden Spur, captain of the first company of the
+  Grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris, deceased, May 1st, at
+  his residence, rue Joubert; which will take place at, etc., etc.
+
+  "On the part of, etc."
+
+"Now, what am I do to?" I continued; "I will put the question before
+you in a broad way. There is undoubtedly a sea of blood in
+Mademoiselle Taillefer's estates; her inheritance from her father is a
+vast Aceldama. I know that. BUT Prosper Magnan left no heirs; BUT,
+again, I have been unable to discover the family of the merchant who
+was murdered at Andernach. To whom therefore can I restore that
+fortune? And ought it to be wholly restored? Have I the right to
+betray a secret surprised by me,--to add a murdered head to the dowry
+of an innocent girl, to give her for the rest of her life bad dreams,
+to deprive her of all her illusions, and say, 'Your gold is stained
+with blood'? I have borrowed the 'Dictionary of Cases of Conscience'
+from an old ecclesiastic, but I can find nothing there to solve my
+doubts. Shall I found pious masses for the repose of the souls of
+Prosper Magnan, Wahlenfer, and Taillefer? Here we are in the middle of
+the nineteenth century! Shall I build a hospital, or institute a prize
+for virtue? A prize for virtue would be given to scoundrels; and as
+for hospitals, they seem to me to have become in these days the
+protectors of vice. Besides, such charitable actions, more or less
+profitable to vanity, do they constitute reparation?--and to whom do I
+owe reparation? But I love; I love passionately. My love is my life.
+If I, without apparent motive, suggest to a young girl accustomed to
+luxury, to elegance, to a life fruitful of all enjoyments of art, a
+young girl who loves to idly listen at the opera to Rossini's music,--
+if to her I should propose that she deprive herself of fifteen hundred
+thousand francs in favor of broken-down old men, or scrofulous
+paupers, she would turn her back on me and laugh, or her confidential
+friend would tell her that I'm a crazy jester. If in an ecstasy of
+love, I should paint to her the charms of a modest life, and a little
+home on the banks of the Loire; if I were to ask her to sacrifice her
+Parisian life on the altar of our love, it would be, in the first
+place, a virtuous lie; in the next, I might only be opening the way to
+some painful experience; I might lose the heart of a girl who loves
+society, and balls, and personal adornment, and ME for the time being.
+Some slim and jaunty officer, with a well-frizzed moustache, who can
+play the piano, quote Lord Byron, and ride a horse elegantly, may get
+her away from me. What shall I do? For Heaven's sake, give me some
+advice!"
+
+The honest man, that species of puritan not unlike the father of
+Jeannie Deans, of whom I have already told you, and who, up to the
+present moment hadn't uttered a word, shrugged his shoulders, as he
+looked at me and said:--
+
+"Idiot! why did you ask him if he came from Beauvais?"
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDUM
+
+The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
+
+Taillefer, Jean-Frederic
+  The Firm of Nucingen
+  Father Goriot
+  The Magic Skin
+
+Taillefer, Victorine
+  Father Goriot
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Red Inn, by Honore de Balzac
+
diff --git a/old/old/rdinn10.zip b/old/old/rdinn10.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa12eac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/old/rdinn10.zip