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diff --git a/1841-h/1841-h.htm b/1841-h/1841-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5bb12f --- /dev/null +++ b/1841-h/1841-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1714 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Z. Marcas, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Z. Marcas, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Z. Marcas + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Clara Bell and Others + +Release Date: March 3, 2010 [EBook #1841] +Last Updated: November 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK Z. MARCAS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + Z. MARCAS + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Clara Bell and Others + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + DEDICATION<br /><br /> To His Highness Count William of Wurtemberg, as a + token of the<br /> Author’s respectful gratitude.<br /><br /> DE BALZAC.<br /> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>Z. MARCAS</b> </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0002"> ADDENDUM </a> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + Z. MARCAS + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + I never saw anybody, not even among the most remarkable men of the day, + whose appearance was so striking as this man’s; the study of his + countenance at first gave me a feeling of great melancholy, and at last + produced an almost painful impression. + </p> + <p> + There was a certain harmony between the man and his name. The Z. preceding + Marcas, which was seen on the addresses of his letters, and which he never + omitted from his signature, as the last letter of the alphabet, suggested + some mysterious fatality. + </p> + <p> + MARCAS! say this two-syllabled name again and again; do you not feel as if + it had some sinister meaning? Does it not seem to you that its owner must + be doomed to martyrdom? Though foreign, savage, the name has a right to be + handed down to posterity; it is well constructed, easily pronounced, and + has the brevity that beseems a famous name. Is it not pleasant as well as + odd? But does it not sound unfinished? + </p> + <p> + I will not take it upon myself to assert that names have no influence on + the destiny of men. There is a certain secret and inexplicable concord or + a visible discord between the events of a man’s life and his name which is + truly surprising; often some remote but very real correlation is revealed. + Our globe is round; everything is linked to everything else. Some day + perhaps we shall revert to the occult sciences. + </p> + <p> + Do you not discern in that letter Z an adverse influence? Does it not + prefigure the wayward and fantastic progress of a storm-tossed life? What + wind blew on that letter, which, whatever language we find it in, begins + scarcely fifty words? Marcas’ name was Zephirin; Saint Zephirin is highly + venerated in Brittany, and Marcas was a Breton. + </p> + <p> + Study the name once more: Z Marcas! The man’s whole life lies in this + fantastic juxtaposition of seven letters; seven! the most significant of + all the cabalistic numbers. And he died at five-and-thirty, so his life + extended over seven lustres. + </p> + <p> + Marcas! Does it not hint of some precious object that is broken with a + fall, with or without a crash? + </p> + <p> + I had finished studying the law in Paris in 1836. I lived at that time in + the Rue Corneille in a house where none but students came to lodge, one of + those large houses where there is a winding staircase quite at the back + lighted below from the street, higher up by borrowed lights, and at the + top by a skylight. There were forty furnished rooms—furnished as + students’ rooms are! What does youth demand more than was here supplied? A + bed, a few chairs, a chest of drawers, a looking-glass, and a table. As + soon as the sky is blue the student opens his window. + </p> + <p> + But in this street there are no fair neighbors to flirt with. In front is + the Odeon, long since closed, presenting a wall that is beginning to go + black, its tiny gallery windows and its vast expanse of slate roof. I was + not rich enough to have a good room; I was not even rich enough to have a + room to myself. Juste and I shared a double-bedded room on the fifth + floor. + </p> + <p> + On our side of the landing there were but two rooms—ours and a + smaller one, occupied by Z. Marcas, our neighbor. For six months Juste and + I remained in perfect ignorance of the fact. The old woman who managed the + house had indeed told us that the room was inhabited, but she had added + that we should not be disturbed, that the occupant was exceedingly quiet. + In fact, for those six months, we never met our fellow-lodger, and we + never heard a sound in his room, in spite of the thinness of the partition + that divided us—one of those walls of lath and plaster which are + common in Paris houses. + </p> + <p> + Our room, a little over seven feet high, was hung with a vile cheap paper + sprigged with blue. The floor was painted, and knew nothing of the polish + given by the <i>frotteur’s</i> brush. By our beds there was only a scrap + of thin carpet. The chimney opened immediately to the roof, and smoked so + abominably that we were obliged to provide a stove at our own expense. Our + beds were mere painted wooden cribs like those in schools; on the chimney + shelf there were but two brass candlesticks, with or without tallow + candles in them, and our two pipes with some tobacco in a pouch or strewn + abroad, also the little piles of cigar-ash left there by our visitors or + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + A pair of calico curtains hung from the brass window rods, and on each + side of the window was a small bookcase in cherry-wood, such as every one + knows who has stared into the shop windows of the Quartier Latin, and in + which we kept the few books necessary for our studies. + </p> + <p> + The ink in the inkstand was always in the state of lava congealed in the + crater of a volcano. May not any inkstand nowadays become a Vesuvius? The + pens, all twisted, served to clean the stems of our pipes; and, in + opposition to all the laws of credit, paper was even scarcer than coin. + </p> + <p> + How can young men be expected to stay at home in such furnished lodgings? + The students studied in the cafes, the theatre, the Luxembourg gardens, in + <i>grisettes’’</i> rooms, even in the law schools—anywhere rather + than in their horrible rooms—horrible for purposes of study, + delightful as soon as they were used for gossiping and smoking in. Put a + cloth on the table, and the impromptu dinner sent in from the best + eating-house in the neighborhood—places for four—two of them + in petticoats—show a lithograph of this “Interior” to the veriest + bigot, and she will be bound to smile. + </p> + <p> + We thought only of amusing ourselves. The reason for our dissipation lay + in the most serious facts of the politics of the time. Juste and I could + not see any room for us in the two professions our parents wished us to + take up. There are a hundred doctors, a hundred lawyers, for one that is + wanted. The crowd is choking these two paths which are supposed to lead to + fortune, but which are merely two arenas; men kill each other there, + fighting, not indeed with swords or fire-arms, but with intrigue and + calumny, with tremendous toil, campaigns in the sphere of the intellect as + murderous as those in Italy were to the soldiers of the Republic. In these + days, when everything is an intellectual competition, a man must be able + to sit forty-eight hours on end in his chair before a table, as a General + could remain for two days on horseback and in his saddle. + </p> + <p> + The throng of aspirants has necessitated a division of the Faculty of + Medicine into categories. There is the physician who writes and the + physician who practises, the political physician, and the physician + militant—four different ways of being a physician, four classes + already filled up. As to the fifth class, that of physicians who sell + remedies, there is such a competition that they fight each other with + disgusting advertisements on the walls of Paris. + </p> + <p> + In all the law courts there are almost as many lawyers as there are cases. + The pleader is thrown back on journalism, on politics, on literature. In + fact, the State, besieged for the smallest appointments under the law, has + ended by requiring that the applicants should have some little fortune. + The pear-shaped head of the grocer’s son is selected in preference to the + square skull of a man of talent who has not a sou. Work as he will, with + all his energy, a young man, starting from zero, may at the end of ten + years find himself below the point he set out from. In these days, talent + must have the good luck which secures success to the most incapable; nay, + more, if it scorns the base compromises which insure advancement to + crawling mediocrity, it will never get on. + </p> + <p> + If we thoroughly knew our time, we also knew ourselves, and we preferred + the indolence of dreamers to aimless stir, easy-going pleasure to the + useless toil which would have exhausted our courage and worn out the edge + of our intelligence. We had analyzed social life while smoking, laughing, + and loafing. But, though elaborated by such means as these, our + reflections were none the less judicious and profound. + </p> + <p> + While we were fully conscious of the slavery to which youth is condemned, + we were amazed at the brutal indifference of the authorities to everything + connected with intellect, thought, and poetry. How often have Juste and I + exchanged glances when reading the papers as we studied political events, + or the debates in the Chamber, and discussed the proceedings of a Court + whose wilful ignorance could find no parallel but in the platitude of the + courtiers, the mediocrity of the men forming the hedge round the + newly-restored throne, all alike devoid of talent or breadth of view, of + distinction or learning, of influence or dignity! + </p> + <p> + Could there be a higher tribute to the Court of Charles X. than the + present Court, if Court it may be called? What a hatred of the country may + be seen in the naturalization of vulgar foreigners, devoid of talent, who + are enthroned in the Chamber of Peers! What a perversion of justice! What + an insult to the distinguished youth, the ambitions native to the soil of + France! We looked upon these things as upon a spectacle, and groaned over + them, without taking upon ourselves to act. + </p> + <p> + Juste, whom no one ever sought, and who never sought any one, was, at + five-and-twenty, a great politician, a man with a wonderful aptitude for + apprehending the correlation between remote history and the facts of the + present and of the future. In 1831, he told me exactly what would and did + happen—the murders, the conspiracies, the ascendency of the Jews, + the difficulty of doing anything in France, the scarcity of talent in the + higher circles, and the abundance of intellect in the lowest ranks, where + the finest courage is smothered under cigar ashes. + </p> + <p> + What was to become of him? His parents wished him to be a doctor. But if + he were a doctor, must he not wait twenty years for a practice? You know + what he did? No? Well, he is a doctor; but he left France, he is in Asia. + At this moment he is perhaps sinking under fatigue in a desert, or dying + of the lashes of a barbarous horde—or perhaps he is some Indian + prince’s prime minister. + </p> + <p> + Action is my vocation. Leaving a civil college at the age of twenty, the + only way for me to enter the army was by enlisting as a common soldier; + so, weary of the dismal outlook that lay before a lawyer, I acquired the + knowledge needed for a sailor. I imitate Juste, and keep out of France, + where men waste, in the struggle to make way, the energy needed for the + noblest works. Follow my example, friends; I am going where a man steers + his destiny as he pleases. + </p> + <p> + These great resolutions were formed in the little room in the + lodging-house in the Rue Corneille, in spite of our haunting the Bal + Musard, flirting with girls of the town, and leading a careless and + apparently reckless life. Our plans and arguments long floated in the air. + </p> + <p> + Marcas, our neighbor, was in some degree the guide who led us to the + margin of the precipice or the torrent, who made us sound it, and showed + us beforehand what our fate would be if we let ourselves fall into it. It + was he who put us on our guard against the time-bargains a man makes with + poverty under the sanction of hope, by accepting precarious situations + whence he fights the battle, carried along by the devious tide of Paris—that + great harlot who takes you up or leaves you stranded, smiles or turns her + back on you with equal readiness, wears out the strongest will in + vexatious waiting, and makes misfortune wait on chance. + </p> + <p> + At our first meeting, Marcas, as it were, dazzled us. On our return from + the schools, a little before the dinner-hour, we were accustomed to go up + to our room and remain there a while, either waiting for the other, to + learn whether there were any change in our plans for the evening. One day, + at four o’clock, Juste met Marcas on the stairs, and I saw him in the + street. It was in the month of November, and Marcas had no cloak; he wore + shoes with heavy soles, corduroy trousers, and a blue double-breasted coat + buttoned to the throat, which gave a military air to his broad chest, all + the more so because he wore a black stock. The costume was not in itself + extraordinary, but it agreed well with the man’s mien and countenance. + </p> + <p> + My first impression on seeing him was neither surprise, nor distress, nor + interest, nor pity, but curiosity mingled with all these feelings. He + walked slowly, with a step that betrayed deep melancholy, his head forward + with a stoop, but not bent like that of a conscience-stricken man. That + head, large and powerful, which might contain the treasures necessary for + a man of the highest ambition, looked as if it were loaded with thought; + it was weighted with grief of mind, but there was no touch of remorse in + his expression. As to his face, it may be summed up in a word. A common + superstition has it that every human countenance resembles some animal. + The animal for Marcas was the lion. His hair was like a mane, his nose was + sort and flat; broad and dented at the tip like a lion’s; his brow, like a + lion’s, was strongly marked with a deep median furrow, dividing two + powerful bosses. His high, hairy cheek-bones, all the more prominent + because his cheeks were so thin, his enormous mouth and hollow jaws, were + accentuated by lines of tawny shadows. This almost terrible countenance + seemed illuminated by two lamps—two eyes, black indeed, but + infinitely sweet, calm and deep, full of thought. If I may say so, those + eyes had a humiliated expression. + </p> + <p> + Marcas was afraid of looking directly at others, not for himself, but for + those on whom his fascinating gaze might rest; he had a power, and he + shunned using it; he would spare those he met, and he feared notice. This + was not from modesty, but from resignation founded on reason, which had + demonstrated the immediate inutility of his gifts, the impossibility of + entering and living in the sphere for which he was fitted. Those eyes + could at times flash lightnings. From those lips a voice of thunder must + surely proceed; it was a mouth like Mirabeau’s. + </p> + <p> + “I have seen such a grand fellow in the street,” said I to Juste on coming + in. + </p> + <p> + “It must be our neighbor,” replied Juste, who described, in fact, the man + I had just met. “A man who lives like a wood-louse would be sure to look + like that,” he added. + </p> + <p> + “What dejection and what dignity!” + </p> + <p> + “One is the consequence of the other.” + </p> + <p> + “What ruined hopes! What schemes and failures!” + </p> + <p> + “Seven leagues of ruins! Obelisks—palaces—towers!—The + ruins of Palmyra in the desert!” said Juste, laughing. + </p> + <p> + So we called him the Ruins of Palmyra. + </p> + <p> + As we went out to dine at the wretched eating-house in the Rue de la Harpe + to which we subscribed, we asked the name of Number 37, and then heard the + weird name Z. Marcas. Like boys, as we were, we repeated it more than a + hundred times with all sorts of comments, absurd or melancholy, and the + name lent itself to a jest. Juste would fire off the Z like a rocket + rising, <i>z-z-z-z-zed</i>; and after pronouncing the first syllable of + the name with great importance, depicted a fall by the dull brevity of the + second. + </p> + <p> + “Now, how and where does the man live?” + </p> + <p> + From this query, to the innocent espionage of curiosity there was no pause + but that required for carrying out our plan. Instead of loitering about + the streets, we both came in, each armed with a novel. We read with our + ears open. And in the perfect silence of our attic rooms, we heard the + even, dull sound of a sleeping man breathing. + </p> + <p> + “He is asleep,” said I to Juste, noticing this fact. + </p> + <p> + “At seven o’clock!” replied the Doctor. + </p> + <p> + This was the name by which I called Juste, and he called me the Keeper of + the Seals. + </p> + <p> + “A man must be wretched indeed to sleep as much as our neighbor!” cried I, + jumping on to the chest of drawers with a knife in my hand, to which a + corkscrew was attached. + </p> + <p> + I made a round hole at the top of the partition, about as big as a + five-sou piece. I had forgotten that there would be no light in the room, + and on putting my eye to the hole, I saw only darkness. At about one in + the morning, when we had finished our books and were about to undress, we + heard a noise in our neighbor’s room. He got up, struck a match, and + lighted his dip. I got on to the drawers again, and I then saw Marcas + seated at his table and copying law-papers. + </p> + <p> + His room was about half the size of ours; the bed stood in a recess by the + door, for the passage ended there, and its breadth was added to his + garret; but the ground on which the house was built was evidently + irregular, for the party-wall formed an obtuse angle, and the room was not + square. There was no fireplace, only a small earthenware stove, white + blotched with green, of which the pipe went up through the roof. The + window, in the skew side of the room, had shabby red curtains. The + furniture consisted of an armchair, a table, a chair, and a wretched + bed-table. A cupboard in the wall held his clothes. The wall-paper was + horrible; evidently only a servant had ever been lodged there before + Marcas. + </p> + <p> + “What is to be seen?” asked the Doctor as I got down. + </p> + <p> + “Look for yourself,” said I. + </p> + <p> + At nine next morning, Marcas was in bed. He had breakfasted off a saveloy; + we saw on a plate, with some crumbs of bread, the remains of that too + familiar delicacy. He was asleep; he did not wake till eleven. He then set + to work again on the copy he had begun the night before, which was lying + on the table. + </p> + <p> + On going downstairs we asked the price of that room, and were told fifteen + francs a month. + </p> + <p> + In the course of a few days, we were fully informed as to the mode of life + of Z. Marcas. He did copying, at so much a sheet no doubt, for a + law-writer who lived in the courtyard of the Sainte-Chapelle. He worked + half the night; after sleeping from six till ten, he began again and wrote + till three. Then he went out to take the copy home before dinner, which he + ate at Mizerai’s in the Rue Michel-le-Comte, at a cost of nine sous, and + came in to bed at six o’clock. It became known to us that Marcas did not + utter fifteen sentences in a month; he never talked to anybody, nor said a + word to himself in his dreadful garret. + </p> + <p> + “The Ruins of Palmyra are terribly silent!” said Juste. + </p> + <p> + This taciturnity in a man whose appearance was so imposing was strangely + significant. Sometimes when we met him, we exchanged glances full of + meaning on both sides, but they never led to any advances. Insensibly this + man became the object of our secret admiration, though we knew no reason + for it. Did it lie in his secretly simple habits, his monastic regularity, + his hermit-like frugality, his idiotically mechanical labor, allowing his + mind to remain neuter or to work on his own lines, seeming to us to hint + at an expectation of some stroke of good luck, or at some foregone + conclusion as to his life? + </p> + <p> + After wandering for a long time among the Ruins of Palmyra, we forgot them—we + were young! Then came the Carnival, the Paris Carnival, which, henceforth, + will eclipse the old Carnival of Venice, unless some ill-advised Prefect + of Police is antagonistic. + </p> + <p> + Gambling ought to be allowed during the Carnival; but the stupid moralists + who have had gambling suppressed are inert financiers, and this + indispensable evil will be re-established among us when it is proved that + France leaves millions at the German tables. + </p> + <p> + This splendid Carnival brought us to utter penury, as it does every + student. We got rid of every object of luxury; we sold our second coats, + our second boots, our second waistcoats—everything of which we had a + duplicate, except our friend. We ate bread and cold sausages; we looked + where we walked; we had set to work in earnest. We owed two months’ rent, + and were sure of having a bill from the porter for sixty or eighty items + each, and amounting to forty or fifty francs. We made no noise, and did + not laugh as we crossed the little hall at the bottom of the stairs; we + commonly took it at a flying leap from the lowest step into the street. On + the day when we first found ourselves bereft of tobacco for our pipes, it + struck us that for some days we had been eating bread without any kind of + butter. + </p> + <p> + Great was our distress. + </p> + <p> + “No tobacco!” said the Doctor. + </p> + <p> + “No cloak!” said the Keeper of the Seals. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you rascals, you would dress as the postillion de Longjumeau, you + would appear as Debardeurs, sup in the morning, and breakfast at night at + Very’s—sometimes even at the <i>Rocher de Cancale</i>.—Dry + bread for you, my boys! Why,” said I, in a big bass voice, “you deserve to + sleep under the bed, you are not worthy to lie in it—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes; but, Keeper of the Seals, there is no more tobacco!” said + Juste. + </p> + <p> + “It is high time to write home, to our aunts, our mothers, and our + sisters, to tell them we have no underlinen left, that the wear and tear + of Paris would ruin garments of wire. Then we will solve an elegant + chemical problem by transmuting linen into silver.” + </p> + <p> + “But we must live till we get the answer.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I will go and bring out a loan among such of our friends as may + still have some capital to invest.” + </p> + <p> + “And how much will you find?” + </p> + <p> + “Say ten francs!” replied I with pride. + </p> + <p> + It was midnight. Marcas had heard everything. He knocked at our door. + </p> + <p> + “Messieurs,” said he, “here is some tobacco; you can repay me on the first + opportunity.” + </p> + <p> + We were struck, not by the offer, which we accepted, but by the rich, + deep, full voice in which it was made; a tone only comparable to the + lowest string of Paganini’s violin. Marcas vanished without waiting for + our thanks. + </p> + <p> + Juste and I looked at each other without a word. To be rescued by a man + evidently poorer than ourselves! Juste sat down to write to every member + of his family, and I went off to effect a loan. I brought in twenty francs + lent me by a fellow-provincial. In that evil but happy day gambling was + still tolerated, and in its lodes, as hard as the rocky ore of Brazil, + young men, by risking a small sum, had a chance of winning a few gold + pieces. My friend, too, had some Turkish tobacco brought home from + Constantinople by a sailor, and he gave me quite as much as we had taken + from Z. Marcas. I conveyed the splendid cargo into port, and we went in + triumph to repay our neighbor with a tawny wig of Turkish tobacco for his + dark <i>Caporal</i>. + </p> + <p> + “You are determined not to be my debtors,” said he. “You are giving me + gold for copper.—You are boys—good boys——” + </p> + <p> + The sentences, spoken in varying tones, were variously emphasized. The + words were nothing, but the expression!—That made us friends of ten + years’ standing at once. + </p> + <p> + Marcas, on hearing us coming, had covered up his papers; we understood + that it would be taking a liberty to allude to his means of subsistence, + and felt ashamed of having watched him. His cupboard stood open; in it + there were two shirts, a white necktie and a razor. The razor made me + shudder. A looking-glass, worth five francs perhaps, hung near the window. + </p> + <p> + The man’s few and simple movements had a sort of savage grandeur. The + Doctor and I looked at each other, wondering what we could say in reply. + Juste, seeing that I was speechless, asked Marcas jestingly: + </p> + <p> + “You cultivate literature, monsieur?” + </p> + <p> + “Far from it!” replied Marcas. “I should not be so wealthy.” + </p> + <p> + “I fancied,” said I, “that poetry alone, in these days, was amply + sufficient to provide a man with lodgings as bad as ours.” + </p> + <p> + My remark made Marcas smile, and the smile gave a charm to his yellow + face. + </p> + <p> + “Ambition is not a less severe taskmaster to those who fail,” said he. + “You, who are beginning life, walk in the beaten paths. Never dream of + rising superior, you will be ruined!” + </p> + <p> + “You advise us to stay just as we are?” said the Doctor, smiling. + </p> + <p> + There is something so infectious and childlike in the pleasantries of + youth, that Marcas smiled again in reply. + </p> + <p> + “What incidents can have given you this detestable philosophy?” asked I. + </p> + <p> + “I forgot once more that chance is the result of an immense equation of + which we know not all the factors. When we start from zero to work up to + the unit, the chances are incalculable. To ambitious men Paris is an + immense roulette table, and every young man fancies he can hit on a + successful progression of numbers.” + </p> + <p> + He offered us the tobacco I had brought that we might smoke with him; the + Doctor went to fetch our pipes; Marcas filled his, and then he came to sit + in our room, bringing the tobacco with him, since there were but two + chairs in his. Juste, as brisk as a squirrel, ran out, and returned with a + boy carrying three bottles of Bordeaux, some Brie cheese, and a loaf. + </p> + <p> + “Hah!” said I to myself, “fifteen francs,” and I was right to a sou. + </p> + <p> + Juste gravely laid five francs on the chimney-shelf. + </p> + <p> + There are immeasurable differences between the gregarious man and the man + who lives closest to nature. Toussaint Louverture, after he was caught, + died without speaking a word. Napoleon, transplanted to a rock, talked + like a magpie—he wanted to account for himself. Z. Marcas erred in + the same way, but for our benefit only. Silence in all its majesty is to + be found only in the savage. There is never a criminal who, though he + might let his secrets fall with his head into the basket of sawdust does + not feel the purely social impulse to tell them to somebody. + </p> + <p> + Nay, I am wrong. We have seen one Iroquois of the Faubourg Saint-Marceau + who raised the Parisian to the level of the natural savage—a + republican, a conspirator, a Frenchman, an old man, who outdid all we have + heard of Negro determination, and all that Cooper tells us of the tenacity + and coolness of the Redskins under defeat. Morey, the Guatimozin of the + “Mountain,” preserved an attitude unparalleled in the annals of European + justice. + </p> + <p> + This is what Marcas told us during the small hours, sandwiching his + discourse with slices of bread spread with cheese and washed down with + wine. All the tobacco was burned out. Now and then the hackney coaches + clattering across the Place de l’Odeon, or the omnibuses toiling past, + sent up their dull rumbling, as if to remind us that Paris was still close + to us. + </p> + <p> + His family lived at Vitre; his father and mother had fifteen hundred + francs a year in the funds. He had received an education gratis in a + Seminary, but had refused to enter the priesthood. He felt in himself the + fires of immense ambition, and had come to Paris on foot at the age of + twenty, the possessor of two hundred francs. He had studied the law, + working in an attorney’s office, where he had risen to be superior clerk. + He had taken his doctor’s degree in law, had mastered the old and modern + codes, and could hold his own with the most famous pleaders. He had + studied the law of nations, and was familiar with European treaties and + international practice. He had studied men and things in five capitals—London, + Berlin, Vienna, Petersburg, and Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + No man was better informed than he as to the rules of the Chamber. For + five years he had been reporter of the debates for a daily paper. He spoke + extempore and admirably, and could go on for a long time in that deep, + appealing voice which had struck us to the soul. Indeed, he proved by the + narrative of his life that he was a great orator, a concise orator, + serious and yet full of piercing eloquence; he resembled Berryer in his + fervor and in the impetus which commands the sympathy of the masses, and + was like Thiers in refinement and skill; but he would have been less + diffuse, less in difficulties for a conclusion. He had intended to rise + rapidly to power without burdening himself first with the doctrines + necessary to begin with, for a man in opposition, but an incubus later to + the statesman. + </p> + <p> + Marcas had learned everything that a real statesman should know; indeed, + his amazement was considerable when he had occasion to discern the utter + ignorance of men who have risen to the administration of public affairs in + France. Though in him it was vocation that had led to study, nature had + been generous and bestowed all that cannot be acquired—keen + perceptions, self-command, a nimble wit, rapid judgment, decisiveness, + and, what is the genius of these men, fertility in resource. + </p> + <p> + By the time when Marcas thought himself duly equipped, France was torn by + intestine divisions arising from the triumph of the House of Orleans over + the elder branch of the Bourbons. + </p> + <p> + The field of political warfare is evidently changed. Civil war henceforth + cannot last for long, and will not be fought out in the provinces. In + France such struggles will be of brief duration and at the seat of + government; and the battle will be the close of the moral contest which + will have been brought to an issue by superior minds. This state of things + will continue so long as France has her present singular form of + government, which has no analogy with that of any other country; for there + is no more resemblance between the English and the French constitutions + than between the two lands. + </p> + <p> + Thus Marcas’ place was in the political press. Being poor and unable to + secure his election, he hoped to make a sudden appearance. He resolved on + making the greatest possible sacrifice for a man of superior intellect, to + work as a subordinate to some rich and ambitious deputy. Like a second + Bonaparte, he sought his Barras; the new Colbert hoped to find a Mazarin. + He did immense services, and he did them then and there; he assumed no + importance, he made no boast, he did not complain of ingratitude. He did + them in the hope that his patron would put him in a position to be elected + deputy; Marcas wished for nothing but a loan that might enable him to + purchase a house in Paris, the qualification required by law. Richard III. + asked for nothing but his horse. + </p> + <p> + In three years Marcas had made his man—one of the fifty supposed + great statesmen who are the battledores with which two cunning players + toss the ministerial portfolios exactly as the man behind the puppet-show + hits Punch against the constable in his street theatre, and counts on + always getting paid. This man existed only by Marcas, but he had just + brains enough to appreciate the value of his “ghost” and to know that + Marcas, if he ever came to the front, would remain there, would be + indispensable, while he himself would be translated to the polar zone of + Luxembourg. So he determined to put insurmountable obstacles in the way of + his Mentor’s advancement, and hid his purpose under the semblance of the + utmost sincerity. Like all mean men, he could dissimulate to perfection, + and he soon made progress in the ways of ingratitude, for he felt that he + must kill Marcas, not to be killed by him. These two men, apparently so + united, hated each other as soon as one had deceived the other. + </p> + <p> + The politician was made one of a ministry; Marcas remained in the + opposition to hinder his man from being attacked; nay, by skilful tactics + he won him the applause of the opposition. To excuse himself for not + rewarding his subaltern, the chief pointed out the impossibility of + finding a place suddenly for a man on the other side, without a great deal + of manoeuvring. Marcas had hoped confidently for a place to enable him to + marry, and thus acquire the qualification he so ardently desired. He was + two-and-thirty, and the Chamber ere long must be dissolved. Having + detected his man in this flagrant act of bad faith, he overthrew him, or + at any rate contributed largely to his overthrow, and covered him with + mud. + </p> + <p> + A fallen minister, if he is to rise again to power, must show that he is + to be feared; this man, intoxicated by Royal glibness, had fancied that + his position would be permanent; he acknowledged his delinquencies; + besides confessing them, he did Marcas a small money service, for Marcas + had got into debt. He subsidized the newspaper on which Marcas worked, and + made him the manager of it. + </p> + <p> + Though he despised the man, Marcas, who, practically, was being subsidized + too, consented to take the part of the fallen minister. Without unmasking + at once all the batteries of his superior intellect, Marcas came a little + further than before; he showed half his shrewdness. The Ministry lasted + only a hundred and eighty days; it was swallowed up. Marcas had put + himself into communication with certain deputies, had moulded them like + dough, leaving each impressed with a high opinion of his talent; his + puppet again became a member of the Ministry, and then the paper was + ministerial. The Ministry united the paper with another, solely to squeeze + out Marcas, who in this fusion had to make way for a rich and insolent + rival, whose name was well known, and who already had his foot in the + stirrup. + </p> + <p> + Marcas relapsed into utter destitution; his haughty patron well knew the + depths into which he had cast him. + </p> + <p> + Where was he to go? The ministerial papers, privily warned, would have + nothing to say to him. The opposition papers did not care to admit him to + their offices. Marcas could side neither with the Republicans nor with the + Legitimists, two parties whose triumph would mean the overthrow of + everything that now is. + </p> + <p> + “Ambitious men like a fast hold on things,” said he with a smile. + </p> + <p> + He lived by writing a few articles on commercial affairs, and contributed + to one of those encyclopedias brought out by speculation and not by + learning. Finally a paper was founded, which was destined to live but two + years, but which secured his services. From that moment he renewed his + connection with the minister’s enemies; he joined the party who were + working for the fall of the Government; and as soon as his pickaxe had + free play, it fell. + </p> + <p> + This paper had now for six months ceased to exist; he had failed to find + employment of any kind; he was spoken of as a dangerous man, calumny + attacked him; he had unmasked a huge financial and mercantile job by a few + articles and a pamphlet. He was known to be a mouthpiece of a banker who + was said to have paid him largely, and from whom he was supposed to expect + some patronage in return for his championship. Marcas, disgusted by men + and things, worn out by five years of fighting, regarded as a free lance + rather than as a great leader, crushed by the necessity of earning his + daily bread, which hindered him from gaining ground, in despair at the + influence exerted by money over mind, and given over to dire poverty, + buried himself in a garret, to make thirty sous a day, the sum strictly + answering to his needs. Meditation had leveled a desert all round him. He + read the papers to be informed of what was going on. Pozzo di Borgo had + once lived like this for some time. + </p> + <p> + Marcas, no doubt, was planning a serious attack, accustoming himself to + dissimulation, and punishing himself for his blunders by Pythagorean + muteness. But he did not tell us the reasons for his conduct. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to give you an idea of the scenes of the highest comedy + that lay behind this algebraic statement of his career; his useless + patience dogging the footsteps of fortune, which presently took wings, his + long tramps over the thorny brakes of Paris, his breathless chases as a + petitioner, his attempts to win over fools; the schemes laid only to fail + through the influence of some frivolous woman; the meetings with men of + business who expected their capital to bring them places and a peerage, as + well as large interest. Then the hopes rising in a towering wave only to + break in foam on the shoal; the wonders wrought in reconciling adverse + interests which, after working together for a week, fell asunder; the + annoyance, a thousand times repeated, of seeing a dunce decorated with the + Legion of Honor, and preferred, though as ignorant as a shop-boy, to a man + of talent. Then, what Marcas called the stratagems of stupidity—you + strike a man, and he seems convinced, he nods his head—everything is + settled; next day, this india-rubber ball, flattened for a moment, has + recovered itself in the course of the night; it is as full of wind as + ever; you must begin all over again; and you go on till you understand + that you are not dealing with a man, but with a lump of gum that loses + shape in the sunshine. + </p> + <p> + These thousand annoyances, this vast waste of human energy on barren + spots, the difficulty of achieving any good, the incredible facility of + doing mischief; two strong games played out, twice won, and then twice + lost; the hatred of a statesman—a blockhead with a painted face and + a wig, but in whom the world believed—all these things, great and + small, had not crushed, but for the moment had dashed Marcas. In the days + when money had come into his hands, his fingers had not clutched it; he + had allowed himself the exquisite pleasure of sending it all to his family—to + his sisters, his brothers, his old father. Like Napoleon in his fall, he + asked for no more than thirty sous a day, and any man of energy can earn + thirty sous for a day’s work in Paris. + </p> + <p> + When Marcas had finished the story of his life, intermingled with + reflections, maxims, and observations, revealing him as a great + politician, a few questions and answers on both sides as to the progress + of affairs in France and in Europe were enough to prove to us that he was + a real statesman; for a man may be quickly and easily judged when he can + be brought on to the ground of immediate difficulties: there is a certain + Shibboleth for men of superior talents, and we were of the tribe of modern + Levites without belonging as yet to the Temple. As I have said, our + frivolity covered certain purposes which Juste has carried out, and which + I am about to execute. + </p> + <p> + When we had done talking, we all three went out, cold as it was, to walk + in the Luxembourg gardens till the dinner hour. In the course of that walk + our conversation, grave throughout, turned on the painful aspects of the + political situation. Each of us contributed his remarks, his comment, or + his jest, a pleasantry or a proverb. This was no longer exclusively a + discussion of life on the colossal scale just described by Marcas, the + soldier of political warfare. Nor was it the distressful monologue of the + wrecked navigator, stranded in a garret in the Hotel Corneille; it was a + dialogue in which two well-informed young men, having gauged the times + they lived in, were endeavoring, under the guidance of a man of talent, to + gain some light on their own future prospects. + </p> + <p> + “Why,” asked Juste, “did you not wait patiently for an opportunity, and + imitate the only man who has been able to keep the lead since the + Revolution of July by holding his head above water?” + </p> + <p> + “Have I not said that we never know where the roots of chance lie? Carrell + was in identically the same position as the orator you speak of. That + gloomy young man, of a bitter spirit, had a whole government in his head; + the man of whom you speak had no idea beyond mounting on the crupper of + every event. Of the two, Carrel was the better man. Well, one becomes a + minister, Carrel remained a journalist; the incomplete but craftier man is + living; Carrel is dead. + </p> + <p> + “I may point out that your man has for fifteen years been making his way, + and is but making it still. He may yet be caught and crushed between two + cars full of intrigues on the highroad to power. He has no house; he has + not the favor of the palace like Metternich; nor, like Villele, the + protection of a compact majority. + </p> + <p> + “I do not believe that the present state of things will last ten years + longer. Hence, supposing I should have such poor good luck, I am already + too late to avoid being swept away by the commotion I foresee. I should + need to be established in a superior position.” + </p> + <p> + “What commotion?” asked Juste. + </p> + <p> + “AUGUST, 1830,” said Marcas in solemn tones, holding out his hand towards + Paris; “AUGUST, the offspring of Youth which bound the sheaves, and of + Intellect which had ripened the harvest, forgot to provide for Youth and + Intellect. + </p> + <p> + “Youth will explode like the boiler of a steam-engine. Youth has no outlet + in France; it is gathering an avalanche of underrated capabilities, of + legitimate and restless ambitions; young men are not marrying now; + families cannot tell what to do with their children. What will the + thunderclap be that will shake down these masses? I know not, but they + will crash down into the midst of things, and overthrow everything. These + are laws of hydrostatics which act on the human race; the Roman Empire had + failed to understand them, and the Barbaric hordes came down. + </p> + <p> + “The Barbaric hordes now are the intelligent class. The laws of + overpressure are at this moment acting slowly and silently in our midst. + The Government is the great criminal; it does not appreciate the two + powers to which it owes everything; it has allowed its hands to be tied by + the absurdities of the Contract; it is bound, ready to be the victim. + </p> + <p> + “Louis XIV., Napoleon, England, all were or are eager for intelligent + youth. In France the young are condemned by the new legislation, by the + blundering principles of elective rights, by the unsoundness of the + ministerial constitution. + </p> + <p> + “Look at the elective Chamber; you will find no deputies of thirty; the + youth of Richelieu and of Mazarin, of Turenne and of Colbert, of Pitt and + of Saint-Just, of Napoleon and of Prince Metternich, would find no + admission there; Burke, Sheridan, or Fox could not win seats. Even if + political majority had been fixed at one-and-twenty, and eligibility had + been relieved of every disabling qualification, the Departments would have + returned the very same members, men devoid of political talent, unable to + speak without murdering French grammar, and among whom, in ten years, + scarcely one statesman has been found. + </p> + <p> + “The causes of an impending event may be seen, but the event itself cannot + be foretold. At this moment the youth of France is being driven into + Republicanism, because it believes that the Republic would bring it + emancipation. It will always remember the young representatives of the + people and the young army leaders! The imprudence of the Government is + only comparable to its avarice.” + </p> + <p> + That day left its echoes in our lives. Marcas confirmed us in our + resolution to leave France, where young men of talent and energy are + crushed under the weight of successful commonplace, envious, and + insatiable middle age. + </p> + <p> + We dined together in the Rue de la Harpe. We thenceforth felt for Marcas + the most respectful affection; he gave us the most practical aid in the + sphere of the mind. That man knew everything; he had studied everything. + For us he cast his eye over the whole civilized world, seeking the country + where openings would be at once the most abundant and the most favorable + to the success of our plans. He indicated what should be the goal of our + studies; he bid us make haste, explaining to us that time was precious, + that emigration would presently begin, and that its effect would be to + deprive France of the cream of its powers and of its youthful talent; that + their intelligence, necessarily sharpened, would select the best places, + and that the great thing was to be first in the field. + </p> + <p> + Thenceforward, we often sat late at work under the lamp. Our generous + instructor wrote some notes for our guidance—two pages for Juste and + three for me—full of invaluable advice—the sort of information + which experience alone can supply, such landmarks as only genius can + place. In those papers, smelling of tobacco, and covered with writing so + vile as to be almost hieroglyphic, there are suggestions for a fortune, + and forecasts of unerring acumen. There are hints as to certain parts of + America and Asia which have been fully justified, both before and since + Juste and I could set out. + </p> + <p> + Marcas, like us, was in the most abject poverty. He earned, indeed, his + daily bread, but he had neither linen, clothes, nor shoes. He did not make + himself out any better than he was; his dreams had been of luxury as well + as of power. He did not admit that this was the real Marcas; he abandoned + this person, indeed, to the caprices of life. What he lived by was the + breath of ambition; he dreamed of revenge while blaming himself for + yielding to so shallow a feeling. The true statesman ought, above all + things, to be superior to vulgar passions; like the man of science. It was + in these days of dire necessity that Marcas seemed to us so great—nay, + so terrible; there was something awful in the gaze which saw another world + than that which strikes the eye of ordinary men. To us he was a subject of + contemplation and astonishment; for the young—which of us has not + known it?—the young have a keen craving to admire; they love to + attach themselves, and are naturally inclined to submit to the men they + feel to be superior, as they are to devote themselves to a great cause. + </p> + <p> + Our surprise was chiefly roused by his indifference in matters of + sentiment; women had no place in his life. When we spoke of this matter, a + perennial theme of conversation among Frenchmen, he simply remarked: + </p> + <p> + “Gowns cost too much.” + </p> + <p> + He saw the look that passed between Juste and me, and went on: + </p> + <p> + “Yes, far too much. The woman you buy—and she is the least expensive—takes + a great deal of money. The woman who gives herself takes all your time! + Woman extinguishes every energy, every ambition. Napoleon reduced her to + what she should be. From that point of view, he really was great. He did + not indulge such ruinous fancies of Louis XIV. and Louis XV.; at the same + time he could love in secret.” + </p> + <p> + We discovered that, like Pitt, who made England his wife, Marcas bore + France in his heart; he idolized his country; he had not a thought that + was not for his native land. His fury at feeling that he had in his hands + the remedy for the evils which so deeply saddened him, and could not apply + it, ate into his soul, and this rage was increased by the inferiority of + France at that time, as compared with Russia and England. France a + third-rate power! This cry came up again and again in his conversation. + The intestinal disorders of his country had entered into his soul. All the + contests between the Court and the Chamber, showing, as they did, + incessant change and constant vacillation, which must injure the + prosperity of the country, he scoffed at as backstairs squabbles. + </p> + <p> + “This is peace at the cost of the future,” said he. + </p> + <p> + One evening Juste and I were at work, sitting in perfect silence. Marcas + had just risen to toil at his copying, for he had refused our assistance + in spite of our most earnest entreaties. We had offered to take it in + turns to copy a batch of manuscript, so that he should do but a third of + his distasteful task; he had been quite angry, and we had ceased to + insist. + </p> + <p> + We heard the sound of gentlemanly boots in the passage, and raised our + heads, looking at each other. There was a tap at Marcas’ door—he + never took the key out of the lock—and we heard the hero answer: + </p> + <p> + “Come in.” Then—“What, you here, monsieur?” + </p> + <p> + “I, myself,” replied the retired minister. + </p> + <p> + It was the Diocletian of this unknown martyr. + </p> + <p> + For some time he and our neighbor conversed in an undertone. Suddenly + Marcas, whose voice had been heard but rarely, as is natural in a dialogue + in which the applicant begins by setting forth the situation, broke out + loudly in reply to some offer we had not overheard. + </p> + <p> + “You would laugh at me for a fool,” cried he, “if I took you at your word. + Jesuits are a thing of the past, but Jesuitism is eternal. Your + Machiavelism and your generosity are equally hollow and untrustworthy. You + can make your own calculations, but who can calculate on you? Your Court + is made up of owls who fear the light, of old men who quake in the + presence of the young, or who simply disregard them. The Government is + formed on the same pattern as the Court. You have hunted up the remains of + the Empire, as the Restoration enlisted the Voltigeurs of Louis XIV. + </p> + <p> + “Hitherto the evasions of cowardice have been taken for the manoeuvring of + ability; but dangers will come, and the younger generation will rise as + they did in 1790. They did grand things then.—Just now you change + ministries as a sick man turns in his bed; these oscillations betray the + weakness of the Government. You work on an underhand system of policy + which will be turned against you, for France will be tired of your + shuffling. France will not tell you that she is tired of you; a man never + knows whence his ruin comes; it is the historian’s task to find out; but + you will undoubtedly perish as the reward of not having the youth of + France to lend you its strength and energy; for having hated really + capable men; for not having lovingly chosen them from this noble + generation; for having in all cases preferred mediocrity. + </p> + <p> + “You have come to ask my support, but you are an atom in that decrepit + heap which is made hideous by self-interest, which trembles and squirms, + and, because it is so mean, tries to make France mean too. My strong + nature, my ideas, would work like poison in you; twice you have tricked + me, twice have I overthrown you. If we unite a third time, it must be a + very serious matter. I should kill myself if I allowed myself to be duped; + for I should be to blame, not you.” + </p> + <p> + Then we heard the humblest entreaties, the most fervent adjuration, not to + deprive the country of such superior talents. The man spoke of patriotism, + and Marcas uttered a significant “<i>Ouh! ouh!</i>” He laughed at his + would-be patron. Then the statesman was more explicit; he bowed to the + superiority of his erewhile counselor; he pledged himself to enable Marcas + to remain in office, to be elected deputy; then he offered him a high + appointment, promising him that he, the speaker, would thenceforth be the + subordinate of a man whose subaltern he was only worthy to be. He was in + the newly-formed ministry, and he would not return to power unless Marcas + had a post in proportion to his merit; he had already made it a condition, + Marcas had been regarded as indispensable. + </p> + <p> + Marcas refused. + </p> + <p> + “I have never before been in a position to keep my promises; here is an + opportunity of proving myself faithful to my word, and you fail me.” + </p> + <p> + To this Marcas made no reply. The boots were again audible in the passage + on the way to the stairs. + </p> + <p> + “Marcas! Marcas!” we both cried, rushing into his room. “Why refuse? He + really meant it. His offers are very handsome; at any rate, go to see the + ministers.” + </p> + <p> + In a twinkling, we had given Marcas a hundred reasons. The minister’s + voice was sincere; without seeing him, we had felt sure that he was + honest. + </p> + <p> + “I have no clothes,” replied Marcas. + </p> + <p> + “Rely on us,” said Juste, with a glance at me. + </p> + <p> + Marcas had the courage to trust us; a light flashed in his eye, he pushed + his fingers through his hair, lifting it from his forehead with a gesture + that showed some confidence in his luck and when he had thus unveiled his + face, so to speak, we saw in him a man absolutely unknown to us—Marcas + sublime, Marcas in his power! His mind was in its element—the bird + restored to the free air, the fish to the water, the horse galloping + across the plain. + </p> + <p> + It was transient. His brow clouded again, he had, it would seem, a vision + of his fate. Halting doubt had followed close on the heels of white-winged + hope. + </p> + <p> + We left him to himself. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then,” said I to the Doctor, “we have given our word; how are we to + keep it?” + </p> + <p> + “We will sleep upon it,” said Juste, “and to-morrow morning we will talk + it over.” + </p> + <p> + Next morning we went for a walk in the Luxembourg. + </p> + <p> + We had had time to think over the incident of the past night, and were + both equally surprised at the lack of address shown by Marcas in the minor + difficulties of life—he, a man who never saw any difficulties in the + solution of the hardest problems of abstract or practical politics. But + these elevated characters can all be tripped up on a grain of sand, and + will, like the grandest enterprise, miss fire for want of a thousand + francs. It is the old story of Napoleon, who, for lack of a pair of boots, + did not set out for India. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what have you hit upon?” asked Juste. + </p> + <p> + “I have thought of a way to get him a complete outfit.” + </p> + <p> + “Where?” + </p> + <p> + “From Humann.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” + </p> + <p> + “Humann, my boy, never goes to his customers—his customers go to + him; so that he does not know whether I am rich or poor. He only knows + that I dress well and look decent in the clothes he makes for me. I shall + tell him that an uncle of mine has dropped in from the country, and that + his indifference in matters of dress is quite a discredit to me in the + upper circles where I am trying to find a wife.—It will not be + Humann if he sends in his bill before three months.” + </p> + <p> + The Doctor thought this a capital idea for a vaudeville, but poor enough + in real life, and doubted my success. But I give you my word of honor, + Humann dressed Marcas, and, being an artist, turned him out as a political + personage ought to be dressed. + </p> + <p> + Juste lent Marcas two hundred francs in gold, the product of two watches + bought on credit, and pawned at the Mont-de-Piete. For my part, I had said + nothing of the six shirts and all necessary linen, which cost me no more + than the pleasure of asking for them from a forewoman in a shop whom I had + treated to Musard’s during the carnival. + </p> + <p> + Marcas accepted everything, thanking us no more than he ought. He only + inquired as to the means by which we had got possession of such riches, + and we made him laugh for the last time. We looked on our Marcas as + shipowners, when they have exhausted their credit and every resource at + their command it fit out a vessel, must look on it as it puts out to sea. + </p> + <p> + Here Charles was silent; he seemed crushed by his memories. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” cried the audience, “and what happened?” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell you in a few words—for this is not romance—it is + history.” + </p> + <p> + We saw no more of Marcas. The administration lasted for three months; it + fell at the end of the session. Then Marcas came back to us, worked to + death. He had sounded the crater of power; he came away from it with the + beginnings of brain fever. The disease made rapid progress; we nursed him. + Juste at once called in the chief physician of the hospital where he was + working as house-surgeon. I was then living alone in our room, and I was + the most attentive attendant; but care and science alike were in vain. By + the month of January, 1838, Marcas himself felt that he had but a few days + to live. + </p> + <p> + The man whose soul and brain he had been for six months never even sent to + inquire after him. Marcas expressed the greatest contempt for the + Government; he seemed to doubt what the fate of France might be, and it + was this doubt that had made him ill. He had, he thought, detected treason + in the heart of power, not tangible, seizable treason, the result of + facts, but the treason of a system, the subordination of national + interests to selfish ends. His belief in the degradation of the country + was enough to aggravate his complaint. + </p> + <p> + I myself was witness to the proposals made to him by one of the leaders of + the antagonistic party which he had fought against. His hatred of the men + he had tried to serve was so virulent, that he would gladly have joined + the coalition that was about to be formed among certain ambitious spirits + who, at least, had one idea in common—that of shaking off the yoke + of the Court. But Marcas could only reply to the envoy in the words of the + Hotel de Ville: + </p> + <p> + “It is too late!” + </p> + <p> + Marcas did not leave money enough to pay for his funeral. Juste and I had + great difficulty in saving him from the ignominy of a pauper’s bier, and + we alone followed the coffin of Z. Marcas, which was dropped into the + common grave of the cemetery of Mont-Parnasse. + </p> + <p> + We looked sadly at each other as we listened to this tale, the last we + heard from the lips of Charles Rabourdin the day before he embarked at le + Havre on a brig that was to convey him to the islands of Malay. We all + knew more than one Marcas, more than one victim of his devotion to a + party, repaid by betrayal or neglect. + </p> + <p> + LES JARDIES, May 1840. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + ADDENDUM + </h2> + <h3> + The following personage appears in other stories of the Human Comedy. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Marcas, Zephirin + A Prince of Bohemia +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Z. Marcas, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK Z. 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