And Louise, laying down her distaff, ran hastily out to look at the "King of Diamonds." The arrival of the fool Yégof at the beginning of winter was quite an event; some were delighted at it, hoping to keep him and make him tell stories of his fortune and glories, by the inn firesides; others, and especially the women, felt a sort of uneasiness, for madmen, as everybody knows, have dealings with the world of spirits; they know the past and the future, and are inspired by God; the only thing is to be able to understand them, their words having always two meanings--one common, for vulgar people, the other deep, for refined and cultivated minds. And this fool besides, had, above all others, really extraordinary and sublime ideas. No one knew either where he came from, where he went, or what he wanted; for Yégof wandered about the country like a troubled spirit; he would talk of races now extinct, and claimed to be himself Emperor of Austrasia, Polynesia, and other places. Large volumes might have been written about his castles, his palaces, and his strongholds; he knew the numbers, situation, and architecture of them all, and celebrated their grandeur, beauty, and riches with a simple and modest air. He would speak of his stables, his hunting exploits, the officers of his crown, his ministers, his counsellors, the superintendents of his provinces; he never mistook their names or their rank, but he complained bitterly of having been dethroned by the accursed race, and the old midwife, Sapience Coquelin, every time she heard him groaning over this subject, would shed a shower of tears, as would many others too. Then he, pointing with his finger to heaven, would exclaim: "Oh! women! oh, women! remember! The hour is near. The spirit of darkness flies. The old race--the masters of your masters--advance like the waves of the sea!" And every spring he was in the habit of making a tour among the old owls' nests--those antique ruins that crown the wooded summits of the Vosges, Nideck, Geroldseck, Lutzelbourg, Turkestein, saying that he was going to visit his fiefs, and talking of re-establishing the ancient splendour of his States, and bringing back his revolted subjects into slavery, with the help of the grand Golo, his cousin. Jean-Claude Hullin used to laugh at these things, not having a mind high enough to enter into the invisible spheres; but they had a great effect upon Louise; above all, when the great raven flapped his wings, and uttered his hoarse croak. Yégof was coming down the street without stopping anywhere, and Louise, quite in a fright at seeing that he was fixing his eyes upon their little house, said hastily: "Papa Jean-Claude, I think he is coming here." "Very likely," was Jean Hullin's reply. "The poor fellow must be in great want of a pair of strong sabots, now the cold weather is coming, and if he asks me, I should find it hard to refuse him." "Oh, how good and kind you are!" said the young girl, with a loving kiss.