urrection of 1863. Having spoken the
truth about his parents, it is to be presumed that he told the truth
about himself. Very well, but one can fight for one's country, and have
a saint for one's mother, and yet possess none of the qualities that go
towards making a happy household. I take back the word adventurer, but I
still hold to all I have said about him. Why did he take an inventory of
my furniture with his eyes? Why did he sleep so soundly in a bed where
there were three peas? This requires an explanation.

"Kiss Antoinette for me. Give my regards to Mlle. Moiseney, without
telling her that I think her a simpleton; it is a conviction in which I
shall die. Was it, indeed, very difficult to descend from that terrible
rock of yours?"

Three days later, Mme. de Lorcy wrote a second letter:

"August 19th.

"I have received this very moment, my dear monsieur, the reply from
Vienna that I have been expecting, and which I hasten to share with you.
I had applied to our friend Baron B---, first secretary of the embassy
from France to Vienna, in order to try to learn what reputation Count
Larinski had left there. He is esteemed there as a most worthy man; as
an inventor who was more daring than wise; as a devoted patriot; as one
of those Poles whose only thought is of Poland and of their Utopia, and
who would set fire to the four corners of the earth without wincing, for
the sole purpose of procuring embers at which to roast their chestnuts.
I will not return to the subject of the gun; you know all about it. It
seems that there was some good in this explosive gun, and that he who
invented it united a sort of genius with ingenuousness, inexperience,
and ignorance enough to make one weep. Nothing can be said against the
private character of the man. He had a few debts, and his tradespeople
felt considerable anxiety when he left Vienna one morning on foot. He
had no sooner reached Switzerland than he sent back money to settle
everything. Here we have an admirable trait. However, his tastes were
simple, and he led a steady life; it was the gun that brought his
finances into disorder. I will add that M. Larinski visited in Vienna
at several of the most distinguished houses, where he is remembered
most kindly. He was sought everywhere on account of his talents as
a musician, which were far more to be relied on than his talent as a
gunsmith. He plays the piano to perfection, and has a very beautiful
voice. Had he employed t