Volume III Part 4 (2/2)
”All lotteries,” said I, ”are advantageous to the holders, but the king is at the head of the Government lottery, and I am the principal receiver, in which character I shall proceed to confiscate this casket, and give you the choice of the following alternatives: You can, if you like, return to the persons present the money you have unlawfully won froo with your box If you refuse to do so, I shall send for a policeman, ill take you to prison, and to-morrow you will be tried by M Berier, to who We shall soon see whether we are rogues as well as they”
Seeing that they had to do with a man of determination, and that resistance would only result in their losing all, they resolved with as good a grace as they could s, and for all I know double the suh they swore they had only enty The company was too select for me to venture to decide between them In point of fact I was rather inclined to believe the rascals, but I was angry with the ht in the main, but odious to me in the extre theht to keep, and which they asked me in vain to return to them My firmness and my threats, and perhaps also the fear of the police, et off with their jewel-box As soon as they were gone the ladies, like the kindly creatures they were, began to pity theiven them back their book,” they said to ht have let them keep their money”
”But they cheated us of it”
”Did they? Well, their cheating was done with the book, and I have done the it from them”
They felt the force of my remarks, and the conversation took another turn
Early nextwith the twenty-four lovely pieces of Dresden china I found this argued to return the them at the same time with imprisonment if they dared to carry on their business in Paris for the future They pro so--no doubt with aabout that
I resolved to offer this beautiful gift to Mdlle de la Meure, and I took it to her the same day I had a hearty welcome, and the aunt loaded me with thanks
On March the 28th, the day of Daood tie would scarcely hold us all, no objection wasmy sweetheart on my knee, and in this order we reached the Place de Greve The three ladies packing thehtly as possible took up their positions at the , leaning forward on their elbows, so as to prevent us seeing from behind
Thehad two steps to it, and they stood on the second; and in order to see we had to stand on the same step, for if we had stood on the first we should not have been able to see over their heads I havethese minutiae, as otherwise the reader would have soed to pass over in silence
We had the courage to watch the dreadful sight for four hours The circumstances of Damien's execution are too well known to render it necessary fora one, and in my opinion such horrors are an offence to our common humanity
Daood work and obtaining a heavenly reward, had tried to assassinate Louis XV; and though the atteht wound, he was torn to pieces as if his crime had been consu executed, I was several tied to turn awayshrieks, half of his body having been torn froe an inch Was it because their hearts were hardened? They told me, and I pretended to believe them, that their horror at the wretch's wickedness prevented The that compassion which his unheard-of torments should have excited The fact was that Tiretta kept the pious aunt curiously engaged during the whole time of the execution, and this, perhaps, hat prevented the virtuous lady fro himself behind her, he had taken the precaution to lift up her dress to avoid treading on it That, no doubt, was according to the rule; but soon after, on giving an involuntary glance in their direction, I found that Tiretta had carried his precautions rather far, and, not wishi+ng to interrupt my friend or to make the lady feel aard, I turned my head and stood in such a way thaton; this put the good lady at her ease For two hours after I heard a continuous rustling, and relishi+ng the joke I kept quiet the whole time I ade, but what pleased nation hich the pious aunt bore it all
At the end of this long session I saw Madaaze on Tiretta, and found hi had happened, but the aunt seemed to me to have a rather pensive appearance She had been under the fatal necessity of keeping quiet and letting Tiretta do what he liked for fear of the Laht be scandalized by the revelation of
We set out, and having dropped the Pope's niece at her door, I begged her to lend me Tiretta for a few hours, and I then took Madame to her house in the Rue St Andre-des-Arts She askedto tell me, and I remarked that she took no notice of my friend as she left us We went to the ”Hotel de Russie,” where they gave you an excellent dinner for six francs a head, and I thought th
”What were you doing behind Mada, or anybody else either”
”No, because when I saw the beginning of your , I stood in such a way that neither the Lauess what your goal was, and I must say I admire your hearty appetite But your wretched victiry”
”Oh! my dear fellow, that's all the affectation of an old maid She may pretend to be put out, but as she kept quiet the whole tiain”
”I think so, too, in her heart of hearts; but her pridein respect, and the suggestion would be by no roundless”
”Respect, you say; butin respect to women when one wants to come to the point?”