The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 4, July, 1851Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 4, July, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
"He has in his hand his last notes," said Aminta--"he places them before
him. Silence! hark, there is a confused noise. The wheel again makes its
odious circle. It stops--Henri advances to take them. No, no, they are
not his. The man seizes them, and takes possession of this. What does he
say?" continued she, with attention--"ruined! ruined! he says. Well,
what matter? it is only gold--only gold that he has lost. Dear Henri,"
said she, in a beseeching air, as if she knelt before him--"husband,
what is the value of your money, if you love me? Listen to me. Do not
weep, for your tears will kill me. Come to me--I forgive you. I will not
reproach you, and you will not leave me again--never, never, never. He
repels and avoids me. Whither does he go? What a desert! what an
isolated street! How dark it is!--let us follow him, and not desert him.
What do I see at the end of this street?" She looked through her hands,
as if to enable her to see further. "What long black cloth is that? What
pall is that? Henri does not walk--but I cannot follow him," said she,
in a heart-rending voice. "Listen to me, Henri, I am suffering--I have
walked so far and am so overcome. I do not see him--he is gone! he draws
near the pall. My God! is there not a mourning-cloth painted on the
horizon? It is water--a river--he rushes toward it--let us reach him--I
cannot! Ah! here he is. I am with him now. What does he want. He calls
me--he pronounces my name. Here I am--close--next to you. Your father
also calls you. Come, come, let us turn to him. He does not hear me--he
lifts his eye to heaven--he prays. Henri, Henri, why do you approach
this dark water? Take care of the water--death is before you--under your
very feet."...
Just then the Marquise uttered a terrible cry, and was seized with a
violent nervous attack.
"You would insist, Monsieur," said the doctor to the Prince, in a
reproachful tone. Then, taking the young woman's hands, he clasped them
in his own, and made a few rapid passes over her face and eyes. He then
made her smell a flacon of salts, and opened a window of the room, close
to which he placed the Marquise's chair. This occupied a few minutes,
all who were present standing around Mme. de Maulear, and paying
attention only to her. The first excitement having passed away, they
discovered that the Prince de Maulear had fainted. The doctor drew near
the old man, and soon restored him to consciousness. When he had
recovered his senses, the Prince called the doctor to him, and
whispered, "Do you believe all this?"
The doctor clasped the hand of the Prince, and went away.
The Marquise de Maulear, smiling and calm, said, "Have I not been
asleep?"
Her memory, however, recalled nothing of the scenes which had passed
before her in her somnambulism. She forgot, as people frequently do,
both pleasant and mournful dreams....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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