"Well, Therese," he cries, "recommend your soul to God, the instant my delirium¹ supervenes will be that when I plunge² you into the eternal abyss awaiting you; ah... ah... Therese, ah..." and I feel my head covered with proof of his ecstasy³; but, happily, he has not parted the rope: he lifts me out.

 

"Ha," says he, "were you afraid?"

 

"Oh, Monsieur -"

 

" 'Tis thus you'll die, be sure of it, Therese, be sure of it, and 'twas pleasant to familiarize you with your egress⁴."

 

We climb back to the light.... Was I to complain? or be thankful? What a reward for what I had just done for him! But had the monster not been in a position to do more? Could he not have killed me ? Oh, what a man!

 

Roland prepared his departure; on the eve of setting out he pays me a visit; I fall before his feet, most urgently I beg him to free me and to give me whatever little sum of money he would like, that I might be able to reach Grenoble.

 

"Grenoble! Certainly not, Therese, you'd denounce us when you got there."

 

"Very well, Monsieur," I say, sprinkling his knees with my tears, "I swear to you I'll never go there and, to be sure of me, condescend⁵ to take me to Venice with you; I will perhaps find gentler hearts there than in my native land, and once you are so kind as to set me free, I swear to you by all that is holy I will never importune⁶ you."

 

"I'll not aid you, not a pennyworth of aid will you get from me," that peerless rogue⁷ answered; "everything connected with pity, commiseration⁸, gratitude⁹ is so alien to my heart that were I three times as rich as I am, they'd not see me give one crown to the poor; the spectacle of misery¹⁰ irritates me, amuses me, and when I am unable to do evil myself, I have a delicious time enjoying that accomplished¹¹ by the hand of destiny. Upon all this I have principles to which, Therese, I adhere faithfully; poverty is part of the natural order; by creating men of dissimilar strength, Nature has convinced us of her desire that inequality be preserved even in those modifications¹³ our culture might bring to Nature's laws. To relieve indigence¹⁴ is to violate the established order, to imperil it, it is to enter into revolt against that which Nature has decreed, it is to undermine the equilibrium¹⁵ that is fundamental to her sublimest¹⁶ arrangements; it is to strive to erect¹⁷ an equality very perilous¹⁸ to society, it is to encourage indolence and flatter drones, it is to teach the poor to rob the rich man when the latter is pleased to refuse the former alms, for it's a dangerous habit, and gratuities¹⁹ encourage it."

 

"Oh, Monsieur, how harsh these principles are! Would you speak thus had you not always been wealthy?"

 

"Who knows, Therese? everyone has a right to his opinion, that's mine, and I'll not change it. They complain about beggars in France: if they wished to be rid of them, the thing could soon be done; hang seven or eight thousand of 'em and the infamous²⁰ breed will vanish overnight. The Body Politic²¹ should be governed by the same rules that apply to the Body Physical. Would a man devoured²² by vermin allow them to feed upon him out of sympathy? In our gardens do we not uproot²³ the parasitic²⁴ plant which harms useful vegetation? Why then should one choose to act otherwise in this case?"

 

"But Religion," I expostulated, "benevolence²⁵, Monsieur, humanity..."

 

"... are the chopping blocks of all who pretend to happiness," said Roland; "if I have consolidated²⁶ my own, it is only upon the debris²⁷ of all those infamous prejudices of mankind; 'tis by mocking laws human and divine; 'tis by constantly sacrificing the weak when I find them in my path, 'tis by abusing the public's good faith; 'tis by ruining the poor and stealing from the rich I have arrived at the summit of that precipice²⁸ whereupon sits the temple sacred to the divinity I adore; why not imitate me? The narrow road leading to that shrine²⁹ is as plainly offered to your eyes as mine; the hallucinatory virtues³⁰ you have preferred to it, have they consoled you for your sacrifices? 'Tis too late, luckless one, 'tis too late, weep for your sins, suffer, and strive to find in the depths of the phantoms³¹ you worship, if any finding there is to be done, what the reverence³² you have shown them has caused you to lose."

 

With these words, the cruel Roland leaps upon me and I am again forced to serve the unworthy pleasures of a monster I had such good reason to abhor³³; this time I thought he would strangle me; when his passions were satisfied, he caught up the bull's pizzle and with it smote³⁴ me above a hundred blows all over my body, the while assuring me I was fortunate he lacked the time to do more.#p#分页标题#e#

 

On the morrow, before setting out, the wretch³⁵ presented us with a new scene of cruelty and of barbarity whereof no example is furnished by the annals of Andronicus, Nero, Tiberius, or Wenceslaus. Everyone at the chateau³⁶ supposed Roland's sister would leave with him, and he had indeed told her to dress and ready herself for the journey; at the moment of mounting his horse, he leads her toward us. "There's your post, vile³⁷ creature," says he, ordering her to take off her clothes, "I want my comrades to remember me by leaving them as a token the woman for whom they thought I had a fancy; but as we need only a certain number and as I am going to follow a dangerous road upon which my weapons will perhaps be useful, I must try my pistols upon one of these rascals³⁸." Whereupon he loads one of his guns, aims it at each of our breasts, and comes at last to his sister. "Off you go, whore," says he, blasting out her brains, "go advise the devil that Roland, the richest villain³⁹ on earth, is he who most insolently⁴⁰ taunts⁴¹ the hand of Heaven and challenges Satan's own!" The poor girl did not expire at once: she writhed⁴² in her death throes for a considerable period: 'twas a hideous⁴³ spectacle: that infamous scoundrel calmly considered it and did not tear his eyes away until he had left us forever.

 

Everything changed the day after Roland went away. His successor, a gentle and very reasonable man, had us released at once .

 

"That is hardly fit work for a frail⁴⁴ and delicate sex," he said to us with kindness; "animals should be employed at this machine; our trade is criminal enough without further offending the Supreme⁴⁵ Being with gratuitous⁴⁶ atrocities⁴⁷."

 

He installed us in the chateau and, without requiring me to do so, suggested I assume possession of the duties Roland's sister had performed; the other women were busied cutting out counterfeit⁴⁸ coins, a much less fatiguing⁴⁹ task, no doubt, and one for which they were rewarded, as was I, with good lodgings⁵⁰ and excellent food.

 

At the end of two months, Dalville, Roland's successor, informed us of his colleague's happy arrival at Venice; there he had established himself and there realized his fortune and there he enjoyed it in peace and quiet, wholly content, full of the felicity he had anticipated. The fate of the man who replaced him was of a distinctly different character. The unfortunate Dalville was honest in his profession, indeed, even more honest than was necessary in order to be destroyed.

 

One day, while all was calm at the chateau, while, under the direction of that good master, the work, although criminal, was however being carried on with gaiety, one day the gates were stormed, the moats bridged and the house, before our men had a moment's opportunity to look to their defense⁵¹, found itself invaded by soldiers of the constabulary, sixty strong. Surrender was our sole alternative; we were shackled⁵² like beasts; we were attached to the horses and marches down to Grenoble. "O Heaven!" I said to myself as we entered, "'tis then the scaffold destiny holds for me in this city wherein I wildly fancied my happiness was to be born.... Oh! how deceived is man by his intuitions!"

 

The court was not long tarrying over the counterfeiters' case; they were all sentenced to the gallows⁵³; when the mark that branded me was detected, they scarcely gave themselves the trouble of interrogating⁵⁴ me and I was about to be hanged along with the others when I made a last effort to obtain some pity from that famous magistrate⁵⁵ who proved to be an honor to his tribunal, a judge of integrity, a beloved citizen, an enlightened philosopher whose wisdom and benevolence will grave his name for all time in letters of gold upon Themis' temple. He listened to me; convinced of my good faith and the authenticity⁵⁶ of my wretched plight⁵⁷, he deigned⁵⁸ to give my case a little more attention than his cohorts saw fit to lavish⁵⁹ upon it.... O great man, 'tis to thee I owe an homage⁶⁰: a miserable⁶¹ creature's gratitude would not sit onerously⁶² with thee and the tribute she offers thee, by publishing abroad thy goodness of heart, will always be her sweetest joy.

 

Monsieur S*** himself became my advocate; my testimony⁶³ was heard, and his male eloquence⁶⁴ illumined the mind of the court. The general depositions⁶⁵ of the false coiners they were going to execute fortified⁶⁶ the zeal⁶⁷ of the man who had the kindness to take an interest in me: I was declared an unwilling⁶⁸ party to crime, innocent, and fully¹² acquitted⁶⁹ of all charges, was set at complete liberty to become what I wished; to those services my protector added a collection he had taken for my relief, and it totaled more than fifty louis; I began to see a dawning of happiness at last; my presentiments⁷⁰ seemed finally about to be realized and I thought I had reached an end of my tribulations⁷¹ when it pleased Providence⁷² to convince me they were still far from their definitive⁷³ cessation.#p#分页标题#e#

 

Upon emerging from jail I took up lodgings at an inn facing the Isere bridge on the side of the faubourgs where, I had been assured, I might find proper quarters. My plan, suggested by the advice of Monsieur S***, was to stay there awhile in order to try to find a situation in the town; in the event the letters of recommendation Monsieur S*** had so kindly⁷⁴ given me produced no results, I was to return to Lyon. On the second day I was dining at my inn - -'twas what is called table d'hote when I noticed I was being closely scrutinized⁷⁵ by a tall, very handsomely attired⁷⁶ woman who went under a baroness⁷⁷' title; upon examining her in my turn, I believed I recognized her; we both rose and approached each other, we embraced like two people who once knew each other but cannot remember under what circumstances.

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