Volume III Part 12 (1/2)
”A for the superintendent in ten or twelve houses I spoke to theconsiderably the injury that had been done to me I was listened to, condoled with, and coed to return to his house at night, and then he could not help hearing what I had to say That would not suit me, so I continued the chase
At one o'clock the attorney took reat deal of in the town She was dining all by herself After giving great attention towrong in telling a stranger the whereabouts of an individual who, in virtue of his office, ought never to be inaccessible
”And so, sir, I hter toldto dine at Madame N----'s, and that the superintendent was to be there Do you go after him now, and you will find him at table in the best society in Aive your name at the door The nu for your name You can then speak to hih you don't know him he will hear all you say I am sorry that I cannot be present at so fine a situation”
I gratefully took leave of the worthy lady, and I set off in all haste to the house I had been told of, the attorney, as al me Without the least difficulty he and I slipped in between the crowds of servants till we got to a hall where there weredown to a rich and delicate repast
”Ladies and gentle your quiet on this festive occasion with a tale of terror”
At these words, uttered in the voice of Jupiter Tonans, everybody rose The surprise of the high-born cohts and ladies at ined
”Since seven o'clock thisfrom door to door and from street to street for his honour the superintendent, whoh to find here, for I know perfectly well that he is present, and that if he have ears he hears me now I am come to request him to order his scoundrelly ive it up, so that I may continue my journey If the laws bid me pay twelve hundred francs for seven ounces of snuff for my own private use, I renounce those laws and declare that I will not pay a farthing I shall stay here and send a er to entium' has been violated in the Ile-de-France in reat enough to refuse to becoht And if that satisfaction which isan affair of state, andFrenchmen for a few pinches of snuff, but will expel them all root and branch If you want to knohoe, I threw my passport on the table
A man picked it up and read it, and I knew hi handed round I saw expressed on every face surprise and indignation, but the superintendent replied haughtily that he was at Amiens to administer justice, and that I could not leave the town unless I paid the fine or gave surety
”If you are here to do justice, you will look upon my passport as a positive command to speed me on entleo bail for breaches of the law in your country?”
”In h birth do not condescend to take dishonourable e can be dishonourable”
”The hang”
”Take care what you say”
”Take care what you do Know, sir, that I aed, and know, too, that I fear no one Throw me out of the , if you dare”
”Sir,” said a lady to me in the voice of theout of s”
”Madary man makes use of tered by a most cruel act of injustice, and I hu offended you Please to reflect that for the first time in dohway robbers For them I have my pistols, and for the worthy superintendents I have a passport, but I find the latter useless For the sake of seven ounces of snuff which I bought at St Oentle's majesty is my surety that no one shall interfere with me; he calls on e of his impudent menials and to the derision of the mob, from whom I had to rid myself by my money and the aid of this worthy man beside me I am treated like a scoundrel, and the man who should have been my defender and deliverer slinks away and hides himself, and adds to the insults I have received His myrmidons have turned my clothes upside down, and pitchforked e the them twenty, four sous To-morrow the manner in which I have been treated will be known to the diplomatic bodies at Versailles and Paris, and in a few days it will be in all the newspapers I will pay not a farthing because I owe not a farthing Now, sir, am I to send a courier to the Duc de Gesvres?”
”What you have got to do is to pay, and if you do not care to pay, you entleain”
As I was rushi+ng out of the rooood Italian to wait a minute I turned round, and saw the voice had proceeded froe, who addressed the superintendent thus:--
”Let this gentleo bail for him Do you understand me, superintendent? I will be his surety You don't know these Italians I went through the whole of the last war in Italy, and I understand the national character Besides, I think the gentleood,” said the official, turning to me ”All you have to do is to pay a matter of thirty or forty francs at the custoht I told you that I would not pay a single farthing, and I tell it you again But who are you, sir,” said I, turning to the worthy old h to beco me?”