uence of a wound in the foot. He has already stayed
several months with my cousin, as, _so he says_, a civil office has
been offered him in France, and he's only obliged to wait for his
Polish papers before becoming a naturalized citizen of that country. As
he's an excellent judge of horses, a tolerably good huntsman, and an
adept in all games of chance, my cousin has no reason to doubt the
existence of these papers, and I of course still less. His next
neighbor, the elegant gentleman of uncertain age, uncertain glance, and
very certain doubtful movements of the fingers, which suggest great
skill in tricks with cards, is, to speak frankly, what we call in plain
prose, a blackleg, a Parisian acquaintance of my cousin, whom he
invited here and can't shake off again, much as I've urged him
to do so. But he seems to have his reasons for handling this
Chevalier de Marsan--the only person here with whom I never exchange a
syllable--with gloved hands, while I would show him the door without
ceremony. My dear doctor, there are more doubtful personages between
heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy. A real
antidote to this corrosive sublimate pill, which I am daily compelled
to swallow, is the stout gentleman on the other side of my cousin, a
plebeian owner of an ancient estate, who married the daughter of an
immensely rich banker; his wife never appears among us, probably
because he's ashamed of her manners, which are not exactly suited to a
drawing room; but nevertheless, as you see, he's an excellent man, an
admirable landlord, a great huntsman, and a lover of old wine and old
stories, in short, the most appreciative of auditors for my witticisms.
You've heard how he can laugh. I once made a bet that I could make him
laugh till he rolled under the table, merely by telling stories of
great eaters, and to be sure, at the end of an hour, he lay gasping on
the floor; we were actually afraid of a fit of apoplexy. Beside this
harmless mortal and directly opposite you, sit two no less worthy
specimens of the creatures of God, who, however, can hardly be very
proud of these, his images. Did you ever see two people so exactly
alike? They look as if they'd just stepped out of Pletsch, don't they?
The same short, fair hair, the same low brows, small noses, close
cropped brushes on the upper lip, and solemn faces when everyone else
is roaring with laughter, which proves them very dull of comprehension.
When they stand up,