“‘You ask me that?’ he exclaimed. ‘Think what renown and prestige it gives. Think of the blind confidence reposed in one who has discovered for himself the secret of not dying. Do you not know that the faith of a sick person in his physician is frequently the cause of his cure? Have regard to the moral and mental powers, and the physical ones will most surely feel the influence. You yourself are a proof of this.’ “‘I?’ “‘Did you not remain beautiful till you were eighty years old?’ “‘That is true.’ “‘Do you know what was in those bottles which were to render your beauty of such long duration? They contained pure water.’ “‘Is it possible?’ “‘Yes, Mademoiselle, pure water, mixed with a few drops of an innocuous chemical drug to keep it incorruptible, and to slightly colour it. The experiment succeeded. My father had no serious intention of making you think you had made a compact with the devil. Just now, in the idea that you recognised me, you received a terrible shock. Did he not say that the hour when you should see him again, you would not have three days to live?’ “‘He told me so!’ I replied, shuddering. “‘How old are you?’ “‘Eighty-six years.’ “‘Your arm, if you please.’ “I stretched it out to him; he felt my pulse. “‘Just so,’ he said; ‘not only will you not die in three days, but I guarantee you at least five more years, before you need to be thinking of the other world. Farewell, Mademoiselle. To complete your tranquillity and peace of mind, I will look for, and send you at once the leaf of my father’s tablets on which you wrote your signature.’ “He kept his word. Before an hour had passed, I received the hateful red leaf, and my heart glowed with satisfaction. “Here, my friend, in deepest confidence, you have the conclusion of my adventure with the devil—and of course I like it much better that way; but, alas! I see things now in a different light from those days. “Adieu, my dear old friend. Reflect a little yourself, weigh the pros and cons of it all, and in that other world let us hope we shall not be separated. NINON.” THE END FOOTNOTES: [1] De Mirecourt. [2] De Mirecourt. [3] This anecdote is attributed by St Simon to another source, and to a much later date; but it truly occurred as here recorded. [4] “Est animal rubrum, callidum, rapax, et vorax omnium benificiorum. Mazarin is a misfortune to the queen, her evil genius, consequently ours. I hate him as I do the devil, and hold him for what he is, _morus nebule_, a creature destitute of honour, a mime in a red hat, and a long-robed charlatan.” GUY PATIN. [5] Gayot de Pitaval, _Causes Celébres_. [6] Du Tillet. [7] St Simon. [8] Maître Patelin. [9] Leigh Hunt. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE