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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,"—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,—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,—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. + </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—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!" + </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—" + </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— + </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,— + </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!—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,—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—" + </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—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,—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:— + </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:— + </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—" + </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—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—" + </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— + </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—" + </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!—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—" + </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—" + </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—" I began. + </p> + <p> + "—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—" + </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—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?—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—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. + </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,—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:— + </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:— + </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:— + </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,—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 + <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:— + </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> |