Year: 1872

" Home, of course, you idiot-Ru
= Bellechasse''


The carriage dashed off at full speed
: the horses feet shrinking fire from tn


stones in their mad gallop; a few mil
: utes later and all was quiet.


| Without loss of time had the Inspectc
? to the place where | had put the dead mar
2 and, raising him up. we placed his arm
> within our own, and carried him away a
/ though he was dead drunk but althoug
! we were both strong men, it was with tn
greatest difficulty that we could keep fror
slipping as we made our way to Pom
Neuf. My idea was this: Pont Neuf wa
a vast thoroughtare, into which all tn
principal streets empty themselves. an
, where it is impossible for any one to ga
with certainty from which part of Paris tn
wayfarer may come. From the city-fron


the Faubourg St. German-from tn


Greve-or from the Faubourg St Jaque


he cannot say. further intended to throw


OFT the scent any Interior search as t,


where M. de karls had passed the night


hence nv choice of the Pont Neuf As sool


rs we arrived opposite the Place Dauphin,


l decided to stop and wait for the frs


passing cab, and any one who know


Paris can easily imagine that we had no
to wait long. AS soon as we heard The
sound of wheels. | told the Inspector tC
initiate the singing OF a drunken man, ane
to DO SO as well as he could in Germat
larg"n. | had hardly given the order
when he burst forth in splendid style will
an AlSatlan drinking song in which Join
ed as heartily as one could wish, and in
such manner that the approaching cab
man could not fail to think us both ntox-
/ lcated AS soon as the cab come within
a few yards of us | cried out, Here, my
man, can you take this gentleman home
we've neither time, nor are we sober
enough to do it ourselves?" Without wait
ing for an answer | opened the door and
thrust in the dead body. not being very
particular. you may imagine, whether he
was comfortably seated or not, and bang
ing the door to, gave the driver five francs
| for his Journey. and told him the address,
''Rue St. Florentin, first large house on
the right; and look alive" And he did
50, while we struck up our song again,
as two drunken men will when they part
from companion.


| The trick was done.


| When the cabman got to his journeys
end he was not at all astonished to find
his fare fast asleep; but experiencing very
| great difficulty in awakening him, he be-
gan to think something must be wrong,
and rang the bell fiercely. The door was
opened the porter and his wife came out,
recognized M. de karls at once, although
his face was still more drawn and disfig-
ured, and in few moments the whole
household was up, in dreadful state of
dismay and CONSERVATION. The driver
examined by M. de Karls' valet, told all
he knew-the gentleman was completely
drunk when he was put into the cab at
Pont Neut by two other gentlemen hardly
less intoxicated, who went off singing as
soon as they had put him in that was all
everything


The dead man was carried up stairs to
his room and laid on his bed-sO that
| had kept my word to the Countess; while
next day the papers mentioned the unfor-
tunate death of NJ. de karls, Il Young man
OF noble family, who was seized with apo
pleXy while going home in II cab. What
took place on the Countess return home
| cannot tell YOU, for never heard but
q few days after she WAS obi ged to attend
the funeral service in the Madeleine ow-
ing to the Counts official relations with
the Austrian Embassy. What a torture it
must have been to her! Obliged to appear
calm and Indifferent, not daring TO weep
or to pray, while her whole soul went ont
in sorrow to the beloved dead


She returned home, and never again left
her house alive; her sorrow turned To
melancholy, then to depressed languor,
then came illness, doctors, and lastly
death She lived in her love-that dead
| ,,1 .
had not forgotten her promises Caron
received secretly Il large sum of money !;
the servant, independent for life, now
lives at Nilevorde on property of her
own; nor was overlooked d-this diamond
was my reward and would not part with
it for millions-no, not tens Of millions
it is riveted to my finger


| The Count left Paris, and after years of
| travel in all parts of the world, he retired
to Dalmatia, where he had large estates
and settled at last in Trieste Lonely,
melancholy, visiting no one. he had only
one pleasure-the opera, music alone
seemed to have the power of tightening
the burden Of sorrow he bore with him
wherever he went


One evening he heard his wife's name
mentioned by French tourist, who was
in the adjoining box; the gentleman was
describing to his companions the extra
ordinary likeness between the prima donna
and the Countess De b, a lady for
merly well-known in Paris, who, suspect
ed by her husband of being falthless, was
poisoned by him, although it was given
out that she had died of consumption He
! further entered into other details Of the
most painful description to the Count,
who. at the end of the act Knocked at the
door OF the adjoining lo9e, formally hand
ed his card to the talk;ttive tourist and
bowing low, returning to his own place,
where he quietly remained till the end OF
the opera. On the card both time and
place were fixed for the morrow, swords
being the weapons chosen by the Count,
whose reputation as a fencer was known
| both far and wide.


After wounding his adversary slightly
and dsarming him two or three times, the
Count suddenly threw himself, perfectly
uncovered, on his opponents sword which
transfxed his heart. He had wished to
commit suicide by another mans hand
and thus my story ends.


After slight pause, Balzac spoke al
do not like that finish; it is not equal to
the rest; there is something wanting
should have desired-in fact, if the Count,
knew nothing of the death of M. de Karls,
in his house, on his sofa, at the feet of his
wife, and he could not know that unless
the Prefect, you, or Honorine, had been
indiscreet enough to"-


"No, no." protested Vidocq, interrupt
ing mo one has spoken a word. tell
you to day because have right to do 50,
since the only persons who could complain
are both dead"


"Then," continued Balzac, "this duel,
this suicide by the hand of another, as you
call it, is not sufficiently justified. Were |
to take this domestic drama as a ground
work, and relate it after my own fashion,
l would seek, invent, imagine better
conclusion-one more logical and COM
plete Not that disagree with the kind
of deaths chosen by the Count, which is
not only possible but true-nay, very true
in its originality; but still-and l came
back again to the old fault-the Count
knew too little to justify his great despair.
SO you see, after all, that your story is not
complete, as you thought-it wants some-