第37章

"OnthemorningoftheninthdayIsawalittlepaperundermydoorasI

gotup.Iseizedit，openeditandread：’YouhavedesertedmeandyouknowwhatIsaid.Itisdeathtowhichyouhavecondemnedme.AsIdonotwishtobefoundbyanotherthanyou，cometotheparkjustwhereI

toldyoulastyearthatIlovedyouandlookintheair.’

"IthoughtthatIshouldgomad.IdressedasquicklyasIcouldandranwildlytotheplacethathehadmentioned.Hislittlecapwasonthegroundinthemud.Ithadbeenrainingallnight.Iraisedmyeyesandsawsomethingswingingamongtheleaves，forthewindwasblowingagale.

"Idon’tknowwhatIdidafterthat.Imusthavescreamedatfirst，thenfaintedandfallen，andfinallyhaveruntothechateau.ThenextthingthatIrememberIwasinbed，withmymothersittingbesideme.

"IthoughtthatIhaddreamedallthisinafrightfulnightmare.

Istammered：’Andwhatofhim，whatofhim，Gontran？’Therewasnoanswer.Itwastrue！

"Ididnotdareseehimagain，butIaskedforalockofhisblondhair.

Here——hereitis！"

Andtheoldmaidstretchedouthertremblinghandinadespairinggesture.Thensheblewhernoseseveraltimes，wipedhereyesandcontinued：

"Ibrokeoffmymarriage——withoutsayingwhy.AndI——Ialwayshaveremainedthe——thewidowofthisthirteen—year—oldboy."Thenherheadfellonherbreastandsheweptforalongtime.

Astheguestswereretiringforthenightalargeman，whosequietshehaddisturbed，whisperedinhisneighbor’sear："Isn’titunfortunateto，besosentimental？"

THEENGLISHMANOFETRETAT

AgreatEnglishpoethasjustcrossedovertoFranceinordertogreetVictorHugo.Allthenewspapersarefullofhisnameandheisthegreattopicofconversationinalldrawing—rooms.FifteenyearsagoIhadoccasionseveraltimestomeetAlgernonCharlesSwinburne.IwillattempttoshowhimjustasIsawhimandtogiveanideaofthestrangeimpressionhemadeonme，whichwillremainwithmethroughouttime.

Ibelieveitwasin1867orin1868thatanunknownyoungEnglishmancametoEtretatandboughtalittlebuthiddenundergreattrees.Itwassaidthathelivedthere，alwaysalone，inastrangemanner;andhearousedtheinimicalsurpriseofthenatives，fortheinhabitantsweresullenandfoolishlymalicious，astheyalwaysareinlittletowns.

TheydeclaredthatthiswhimsicalEnglishmanatenothingbutboiled.

roastedorstewedmonkey;thathewouldseenoone;thathetalkedtohimselfhoursatatimeandmanyothersurprisingthingsthatmadepeoplethinkthathewasdifferentfromothermen.Theyweresurprisedthatheshouldlivealonewithamonkey.Haditbeenacatoradogtheywouldhavesaidnothing.Butamonkey！Wasthatnotfrightful？Whatsavagetastesthemanmusthave！

Iknewthisyoungmanonlyfromseeinghiminthestreets.Hewasshort，plump，withoutbeingfat，mild—looking，andheworealittleblondmustache，whichwasalmostinvisible.

Chancebroughtustogether.Thissavagehadamiableandpleasingmanners，buthewasoneofthosestrangeEnglishmenthatonemeetshereandtherethroughouttheworld.

Endowedwithremarkableintelligence，heseemedtoliveinafantasticdream，asEdgarPoemusthavelived.HehadtranslatedintoEnglishavolumeofstrangeIcelandiclegends，whichIardentlydesiredtoseetranslatedintoFrench.Helovedthesupernatural，thedismalandgrewsome，buthespokeofthemostmarvellousthingswithacalmnessthatwastypicallyEnglish，towhichhisgentleandquietvoicegaveasemblanceofrealitythatwasmaddening.

Fullofahaughtydisdainfortheworld，withitsconventions，prejudicesandcodeofmorality，hehadnailedtohishouseanamethatwasboldlyimpudent.Thekeeperofalonelyinnwhoshouldwriteonhisdoor：

"Travellersmurderedhere！"couldnotmakeamoresinisterjest.Ineverhadenteredhisdwelling，whenonedayIreceivedaninvitationtoluncheon，followinganaccidentthathadoccurredtooneofhisfriends，whohadbeenalmostdrownedandwhomIhadattemptedtorescue.

AlthoughIwasunabletoreachthemanuntilhehadalreadybeenrescued，IreceivedtheheartythanksofthetwoEnglishmen，andthefollowingdayIcalleduponthem.

Thefriendwasamanaboutthirtyyearsold.Heboreanenormousheadonachild’sbody——abodywithoutchestorshoulders.Animmenseforehead，whichseemedtohaveengulfedtherestoftheman，expandedlikeadomeaboveathinfacewhichendedinalittlepointedbeard.Twosharpeyesandapeculiarmouthgaveonetheimpressionoftheheadofareptile，whilethemagnificentbrowsuggestedagenius.

Anervoustwitchingshookthispeculiarbeing，whowalked，moved，actedbyjerkslikeabrokenspring.

ThiswasAlgernonCharlesSwinburne，sonofanEnglishadmiralandgrandson，onthematernalside，oftheEarlofAshburnham.

Hestrangecountenancewastransfiguredwhenhespoke.Ihaveseldomseenamanmoreimpressive，moreeloquent，incisiveorcharminginconversation.Hisrapid，clear，piercingandfantasticimaginationseemedtocreepintohisvoiceandtolendlifetohiswords.Hisbrusquegesturesenlivenedhisspeech，whichpenetratedonelikeadagger，andhehadburstsofthought，justaslighthousesthrowoutflashesoffire，great，geniallightsthatseemedtoilluminateawholeworldofideas.

Thehomeofthetwofriendswasprettyandbynomeanscommonplace.

Everywherewerepaintings，somesuperb，somestrange，representingdifferentconceptionsofinsanity.UnlessIammistaken，therewasawater—colorwhichrepresentedtheheadofadeadmanfloatinginarose—

coloredshellonaboundlessocean，underamoonwithahumanface.

HereandthereIcameacrossbones.Iclearlyrememberaflayedhandonwhichwashangingsomedriedskinandblackmuscles，andonthesnow—

whitebonescouldbeseenthetracesofdriedblood.

ThefoodwasariddlewhichIcouldnotsolve.Wasitgood？Wasitbad？

Icouldnotsay.Someroastmonkeytookawayalldesiretomakeasteadydietofthisanimal，andthegreatmonkeywhoroamedaboutamongusatlargeandplayfullypushedhisheadintomyglasswhenIwishedtodrinkcuredmeofanydesireImighthavetotakeoneofhisbrothersasacompanionfortherestofmydays.

Asforthetwomen，theygavemetheimpressionoftwostrange，original，remarkableminds，belongingtothatpeculiarraceoftalentedmadmenfromamongwhomhavearisenPoe，Hoffmannandmanyothers.

Ifgeniusis，asiscommonlybelieved，asortofaberrationofgreatminds，thenAlgernonCharlesSwinburneisundoubtedlyagenius.

Greatmindsthatarehealthyareneverconsideredgeniuses，whilethissublimequalificationislavishedonbrainsthatareofteninferiorbutareslightlytouchedbymadness.

Atanyrate，thispoetremainsoneofthefirstofhistime，throughhisoriginalityandpolishedform.Heisanexaltedlyricalsingerwhoseldombothersaboutthegoodandhumbletruth，whichFrenchpoetsarenowseekingsopersistentlyandpatiently.Hestrivestosetdowndreams，subtlethoughts，sometimesgreat，sometimesvisiblyforced，butsometimesmagnificent.

TwoyearslaterIfoundthehouseclosedanditstenantsgone.Thefurniturewasbeingsold.InmemoryofthemIboughtthehideousflayedhand.Onthegrassanenormoussquareblockofgraniteborethissimpleword："Nip."Abovethisahollowstoneofferedwatertothebirds.Itwasthegraveofthemonkey，whohadbeenhangedbyayoung，vindictivenegroservant.Itwassaidthatthisviolentdomestichadbeenforcedtofleeatthepointofhisexasperatedmaster’srevolver.Afterwanderingaboutwithouthomeorfoodforseveraldays，hereturnedandbegantopeddlebarley—sugarinthestreets.Hewasexpelledfromthecountryafterhehadalmoststrangledadispleasedcustomer.

Theworldwouldbegayerifonecouldoftenmeethomeslikethat.

Thisstoryappearedinthe"Gaulois，"November29，1882.ItwastheoriginalsketchfortheintroductorystudyofSwinburne，writtenbyMaupassantfortheFrenchtranslationbyGabrielMoureyof"PoemsandBallads."

MAGNETISM

Itwasamen’sdinnerparty，andtheyweresittingovertheircigarsandbrandyanddiscussingmagnetism.Donato’stricksandCharcot’sexperiments.Presently，thesceptical，easy—goingmen，whocarednothingforreligionofanysort，begantellingstoriesofstrangeoccurrences，incrediblethingswhich，nevertheless，hadreallyoccurred，sotheysaid，fallingbackintosuperstitiousbeliefs，clingingtotheselastremnantsofthemarvellous，becomingdevoteesofthismysteryofmagnetism，defendingitinthenameofscience.Therewasonlyonepersonwhosmiled，avigorousyoungfellow，agreatladies’manwhowassoincredulousthathewouldnotevenenteruponadiscussionofsuchmatters.

Herepeatedwithasneer：

"Humbug！humbug！humbug！WeneednotdiscussDonato，whoismerelyaverysmartjuggler.AsforM.Charcot，whoissaidtobearemarkablemanofscience，heproducesonmetheeffectofthosestory—tellersoftheschoolofEdgarPoe，whoendbygoingmadthroughconstantlyreflectingonqueercasesofinsanity.Hehasauthenticatedsomecasesofunexplainedandinexplicablenervousphenomena;hemakeshiswayintothatunknownregionwhichmenareexploringeveryday，andunablealwaystounderstandwhathesees，herecalls，perhaps，theecclesiasticalinterpretationofthesemysteries.Ishouldliketohearwhathesayshimself."

Thewordsoftheunbelieverwerelistenedtowithakindofpity，asifhehadblasphemedinanassemblyofmonks.

Oneofthesegentlemenexclaimed：

"Andyetmiracleswereperformedinoldentimes."

"Idenyit，"repliedtheother："Whycannottheybeperformednow？"

Then，eachmentionedsomefact，somefantasticpresentimentsomeinstanceofsoulscommunicatingwitheachotheracrossspace，orsomecaseofthesecretinfluenceofonebeingoveranother.Theyassertedandmaintainedthatthesethingshadactuallyoccurred，whilethescepticangrilyrepeated：

"Humbug！humbug！humbug！"

Atlastherose，threwawayhiscigar，andwithhishandsinhispockets，said："Well，Ialsohavetwostoriestotellyou，whichIwillafterwardsexplain.Heretheyare：

"InthelittlevillageofEtretat，themen，whoareallseafaringfolk，goeveryyeartoNewfoundlandtofishforcod.Onenightthelittlesonofoneofthesefishermenwokeupwithastart，cryingoutthathisfatherwasdead.Thechildwasquieted，andagainhewokeupexclaimingthathisfatherwasdrowned.Amonthlaterthenewscamethathisfatherhad，infact，beensweptoffthedeckofhissmackbyabillow.Thewidowthenrememberedhowhersonhadwokeupandspokenofhisfather’sdeath.Everyonesaiditwasamiracle，andtheaffaircausedagreatsensation.Thedateswerecompared，anditwasfoundthattheaccidentandthedreamwerealmostcoincident，whencetheyconcludedthattheyhadhappenedonthesamenightandatthesamehour.Andthereisamysteryofmagnetism."

Thestory—tellerstoppedsuddenly.

Thereupon，oneofthosewhohadheardhim，muchaffectedbythenarrative，asked：

"Andcanyouexplainthis？"

"Perfectly，monsieur.Ihavediscoveredthesecret.Thecircumstancesurprisedmeandevenperplexedmeverymuch;butyousee，Idonotbelieveonprinciple.Justasothersbeginbybelieving，Ibeginbydoubting;andwhenIcannotunderstand，Icontinuetodenythattherecanbeanytelepathiccommunicationbetweensouls;certainthatmyownintelligencewillbeabletoexplainit.Well，Ikeptoninquiringintothematter，andbydintofquestioningallthewivesoftheabsentseamen，Iwasconvincedthatnotaweekpassedwithoutoneofthem，oroneoftheirchildrendreaminganddeclaringwhentheywokeupthatthefatherwasdrowned.Thehorribleandcontinualfearofthisaccidentmakesthemalwaystalkaboutit.Now，ifoneofthesefrequentpredictionscoincides，byaverysimplechance，withthedeathofthepersonreferredto，peopleatoncedeclareittobeamiracle;fortheysuddenlylosesightofalltheotherpredictionsofmisfortunethathaveremainedunfulfilled.Ihavemyselfknownfiftycaseswherethepersonswhomadethepredictionforgotallaboutitaweekafterwards.But，if，thenonehappenstodie，thentherecollectionofthethingisimmediatelyrevived，andpeoplearereadytobelieveintheinterventionofGod，accordingtosome，andmagnetism，accordingtoothers."

Oneofthesmokersremarked：

"Whatyousayisrightenough;butwhataboutyoursecondstory？"

"Oh！mysecondstoryisaverydelicatemattertorelate.Ithappenedtomyself，andsoIdon’tplaceanygreatvalueonmyownviewofthematter.Aninterestedpartycannevergiveanimpartialopinion.

However，hereitis：

"AmongmyacquaintanceswasayoungwomanonwhomIhadneverbestowedathought，whomIhadneverevenlookedatattentively，nevertakenanynoticeof.

"Iclassedheramongthewomenofnoimportance，thoughshewasnotbad—

looking;sheappeared，infact，topossesseyes，anose，amouth，somesortofhair——justacolorlesstypeofcountenance.Shewasoneofthosebeingswhoawakenonlyachance，passingthought，butnospecialinterest，nodesire.

"Well，onenight，asIwaswritingsomelettersbymyfiresidebeforegoingtobed，Iwasconscious，inthemidstofthattrainofsensuousvisionsthatsometimespassthroughone’sbraininmomentsofidlereverie，ofakindofslightinfluence，passingoverme，alittleflutteroftheheart，andimmediately，withoutanycause，withoutanylogicalconnectionofthought，Isawdistinctly，asifIweretouchingher，sawfromheadtofoot，anddisrobed，thisyoungwomantowhomIhadnevergivenmorethatthreeseconds’thoughtatatime.IsuddenlydiscoveredinheranumberofqualitieswhichIhadneverbeforeobserved，asweetcharm，alanguorousfascination;sheawakenedinmethatsortofrestlessemotionthatcausesonetopursueawoman.ButIdidnotthinkofherlong.Iwenttobedandwassoonasleep.AndIdreamed.

"Youhaveallhadthesestrangedreamswhichmakeyouovercometheimpossible，whichopentoyoudouble—lockeddoors，unexpectedjoys，tightlyfoldedarms？

"Whichofusinthesetroubled，excising，breathlessslumbers，hasnotheld，clasped，embracedwithrapture，thewomanwhooccupiedhisthoughts？Andhaveyouevernoticedwhatsuperhumandelightthesehappydreamsgiveus？Intowhatmadintoxicationtheycastyou！withwhatpassionatespasmstheyshakeyou！andwithwhatinfinite，caressing，penetratingtendernesstheyfillyourheartforherwhomyouholdclaspedinyourarmsinthatadorableillusionthatissolikereality！

"AllthisIfeltwithunforgettableviolence.Thiswomanwasmine，somuchminethatthepleasantwarmthofherskinremainedinmyfingers，theodorofherskin，inmybrain，thetasteofherkisses，onmylips，thesoundofhervoicelingeredinmyears，thetouchofherclaspstillclungtome，andtheburningcharmofhertendernessstillgratifiedmysenseslongafterthedelightbutdisillusionofmyawakening.

"AndthreetimesthatnightIhadthesamedream.

"Whenthedaydawnedshehauntedme，possessedme，filledmysensestosuchanextentthatIwasnotonesecondwithoutthinkingofher.

"Atlast，notknowingwhattodo，Idressedmyselfandwenttocallonher.AsIwentupstairstoherapartment，IwassoovercomebyemotionthatItrembled，andmyheartbeatrapidly.

"Ienteredtheapartment.Sherosethemomentsheheardmynamementioned;andsuddenlyoureyesmetinapeculiarfixedgaze.

"Isatdown.Istammeredoutsomecommonplaceswhichsheseemednottohear.Ididnotknowwhattosayordo.Then，abruptly，claspingmyarmsroundher，mydreamwasrealizedsosuddenlythatIbegantodoubtwhetherIwasreallyawake.Wewerefriendsafterthisfortwoyears."

"Whatconclusiondoyoudrawfromit？"saidavoice.

Thestory—tellerseemedtohesitate.

"TheconclusionIdrawfromit——well，byJove，theconclusionisthatitwasjustacoincidence！Andthen——whocantell？PerhapsitwassomeglanceofherswhichIhadnotnoticedandwhichcamebackthatnighttomethroughoneofthosemysteriousandunconscious——recollectionsthatoftenbringbeforeusthingsignoredbyourownconsciousness，unperceivedbyourminds！"

"Callitwhateveryoulike，"saidoneofhistablecompanions，whenthestorywasfinished;"butifyoudon’tbelieveinmagnetismafterthat，mydearboy，youareanungratefulfellow！"

AFATHER’SCONFESSION

AllVeziers—le—RethelhadfollowedthefuneralprocessionofM.Badon—

Leremincetothegrave，andthelastwordsofthefuneralorationpronouncedbythedelegateofthedistrictremainedinthemindsofall：

"Hewasanhonestman，atleast！"

Anhonestmanhehadbeeninalltheknownactsofhislife，inhiswords，inhisexamples，hisattitude，hisbehavior，hisenterprises，inthecutofhisbeardandtheshapeofhishats.Heneverhadsaidawordthatdidnotsetanexample，neverhadgivenanalmswithoutaddingawordofadvice，neverhadextendedhishandwithoutappearingtobestowabenediction.

Helefttwochildren，aboyandagirl.Hissonwascounselorgeneral，andhisdaughter，havingmarriedalawyer，M.PoireldelaVoulte，movedinthebestsocietyofVeziers.

Theywereinconsolableatthedeathoftheirfather，fortheylovedhimsincerely.

Assoonastheceremonywasover，theson，daughterandson—in—lawreturnedtothehouseofmourning，and，shuttingthemselvesinthelibrary，theyopenedthewill，thesealsofwhichweretobebrokenbythemaloneandonlyafterthecoffinhadbeenplacedintheground.

Thiswishwasexpressedbyanoticeontheenvelope.

M.PoireldelaVoultetoreopentheenvelope，inhischaracterofalawyerusedtosuchoperations，andhavingadjustedhisspectacles，hereadinamonotonousvoice，madeforreadingthedetailsofcontracts：

Mychildren，mydearchildren，IcouldnotsleeptheeternalsleepinpeaceifIdidnotmaketoyoufromthetombaconfession，theconfessionofacrime，remorseforwhichhasruinedmylife.Yes，Icommittedacrime，afrightful，abominablecrime.

Iwastwenty—sixyearsold，andIhadjustbeencalledtothebarinParis，andwaslivingthelifeoffyoungmenfromtheprovinceswhoarestrandedinthistownwithoutacquaintances，relatives，orfriends.

Itookasweetheart.Therearebeingswhocannotlivealone.Iwasoneofthose.Solitudefillsmewithhorribleanguish，thesolitudeofmyroombesidemyfireintheevening.IfeelthenasifIwerealoneonearth，alone，butsurroundedbyvaguedangers，unknownandterriblethings;andthepartitionthatseparatesmefrommyneighbor，myneighborwhomIdonotknow，keepsmeatasgreatadistancefromhimasthestarsthatIseethroughmywindow.Asortoffeverpervadesme，afeverofimpatienceandoffear，andthesilenceofthewallsterrifiesme.ThesilenceofaroomwhereonelivesaloneissointenseandsomelancholyItisnotonlyasilenceofthemind;whenapieceoffurniturecracksashuddergoesthroughyouforyouexpectnonoiseinthismelancholyabode.

Howmanytimes，nervousandtimidfromthismotionlesssilence，I

havebeguntotalk，torepeatwordswithoutrhymeorreason，onlytomakesomesound.MyvoiceatthosetimessoundssostrangethatI

amafraidofthat，too.Isthereanythingmoredreadfulthantalkingtoone’sselfinanemptyhouse？One’svoicesoundslikethatofanother，anunknownvoicetalkingaimlessly，tonoone，intotheemptyair，withnoeartolistentoit，foroneknowsbeforetheyescapeintothesolitudeoftheroomexactlywhatwordswillbeuttered.Andwhentheyresoundlugubriouslyinthesilence，theyseemnomorethananecho，thepeculiarechoofwordswhisperedbyonesthought.

MysweetheartwasayounggirllikeotheryounggirlswholiveinParisonwagesthatareinsufficienttokeepthem.Shewasgentle，good，simple.HerparentslivedatPoissy.Shewenttospendseveraldayswiththemfromtimetotime.

ForayearIlivedquietlywithher，fullydecidedtoleaveherwhenIshouldfindsomeonewhomIlikedwellenoughtomarry.Iwouldmakealittleprovisionforthisone，foritisanunderstoodthinginoursocialsetthatawoman’sloveshouldbepaidfor，inmoneyifsheispoor，inpresentsifsheisrich.

Butonedaysheto