threw
himself into my arms, bathed in tears. Beside him were his loaded
pistols: one day later, and all would have been over. I cannot tell you
the reason of his despair; I am not at liberty to do so; but it did not
greatly astonish me. Now there is a complete cure to effect. We must
calm, and soothe, and heal this poor soul, which has been cruelly
wounded. The hand of friendship is alone equal to this delicate task,
and I have good hope of success. I have therefore persuaded him to
travel for some time; movement and change of scene will be favorable to
him. I shall take him first to Nice; we set out tomorrow. If he wishes
to prolong this excursion. I shall do so too, for my affairs do not
imperiously demand my presence in Paris before the end of March. As
for the service I have to ask of you, it is conditional. These are the
facts. According to some family papers that belonged to my mother,
it seems I have a certain interest to present myself at No. 3, Rue
Saint-Francois, in Paris, on the 13th of February. I had inquired about
it, and could learn nothing, except that this house of very antique
appearance, has been shut up for the last hundred and fifty years,
through a whim of one of my maternal ancestors, and that it is to be
opened on the 13th of this month, in presence of the co-heirs who, if
I have any, are quite unknown to me. Not being able to attend myself, I
have written to my foreman, the father of General Simon, in whom I have
the greatest confidence, and whom I had left behind in the department
of the Creuse, to set out for Paris, and to be present at the opening
of this house, not as an agent (which would be useless), but as a
spectator, and inform me at Nice what has been the result of this
romantic notion of my ancestor's. As it is possible that my foreman may
arrive too late to accomplish this mission, I should be much obliged
if you would inquire at my house at Plessy, if he has yet come, and,
in case of his still being absent, if you would take his place at the
opening of the house in the Rue Saint-Francois. I believe that I have
made a very small sacrifice for my friend Bressac, in not being in Paris
on that day. But had the sacrifice been immense, I should have made it
with pleasure, for my care and friendship are at present most necessary
to the man whom I look upon as a brother. I count upon your compliance
with my request, and, begging you to be kind enough to write me, 'to
be called for,' at Nice