I then saw that these letters were such as they should be. I have no idea how the public will accept them, but I have faith in their frankness, even in their fury. They are human. Hence, my friends, I resolved to publish this book. I took my decision in the name of truth and the general good. Besides, looking above the masses, I thought of you: it would please me to relate to you again the terrible story which has already filled your eyes with tears. This story is bare and true even to crudity. The delicate may not like it, but it will teach them a lesson they cannot fail to profit by. I have not felt at liberty to cut out a single line, being certain that these pages are the complete expression of a heart in which there was more light than darkness. They were written by a nervous and loving youth, who gave himself entirely to them amid the quivering of his flesh and the bounds of his soul. They are the morbid manifestation of a special temperament, which had a bitter need of the real and the false but sweet hopes of a dream. The whole book is a struggle between illusion and reality. If Claude's strange love affair should make people judge him severely, they will pardon him at the dénouement, when he lifts himself up, younger and stronger, relying upon God. There was an apostle in Claude. He tells us of his desolated youth, shows us his wounds and cries aloud what he has suffered that his brethren may avoid like sufferings. These are evil times for hearts which resemble his. I can in a word characterize his work, accord him the highest praise that I desire as an artist, and, at the same time, reply to all the objections that may be made: Claude's aspirations were too lofty. ÉMILE ZOLA. CONTENTS Chapter I. A MANSARDE IN THE LATIN QUARTER II. A POET'S LONGINGS III. THE YOUNG HARVEST-GIRL IV. TEMPTATION V. PAQUERETTE VI. DESPAIR VII. LAURENCE VIII. A MISSION FROM ON HIGH IX. THE COURSE OF REFORMATION X. THE EMBROIDERY STRIP XI. ON THE WAY TO THE BALL XII. THE PUBLIC BALL XIII. AN ACCEPTANCE OF REALITY XIV. JACQUES AND MARIE XV. BITING POVERTY XVI. REMINISCENCES XVII. CLAUDE'S LOVE XVIII. JACQUES' SUPPER XIX. A TRIP TO THE COUNTRY XX. A BITTER AVOWAL XXI. A HORRIBLE PROPOSITION XXII. THE SHADOWS ON THE WALL XXIII. PRACTICAL ADVICE XXIV. SAD REFLECTIONS XXV. THE FAIR XXVI. AT MARIE'S BEDSIDE XXVII. MARIE'S DEATH XXVIII. LAURENCE'S DEPARTURE XXIX. CONCLUSION CLAUDE'S CONFESSION. BY ÉMILE ZOLA. AUTHOR Of "NANA," "L'ASSOMMOIR," "THE GIRL IN SCARLET," "HELENE," "POT-BOUILLE," "THERESE RAQUIN," "THE MYSTERIES OF MARSEILLES," "MAGDALEN FERAT," "A MAD LOVE: OR, THE ABBE AND HIS COURT," "THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT OF LOUIS NAPOLEON," "LA BELLE LISA; OR, THE PARIS MARKET GIRLS," "ALBINE; OR, THE ABBE'S TEMPTATION." CHAPTER I A MANSARDE IN THE LATIN QUARTER