inality and polished form. He is an exalted lyrical singer who seldom
bothers about the good and humble truth, which French poets are now
seeking so persistently and patiently. He strives to set down dreams,
subtle thoughts, sometimes great, sometimes visibly forced, but sometimes
magnificent.

Two years later I found the house closed and its tenants gone. The
furniture was being sold. In memory of them I bought the hideous flayed
hand. On the grass an enormous square block of granite bore this simple
word: "Nip." Above this a hollow stone offered water to the birds. It was
the grave of the monkey, who had been hanged by a young, vindictive negro
servant. It was said that this violent domestic had been forced to flee
at the point of his exasperated master's revolver. After wandering about
without home or food for several days, he returned and began to peddle
barley-sugar in the streets. He was expelled from the country after he
had almost strangled a displeased customer.

The world would be gayer if one could often meet homes like that.

This story appeared in the "Gaulois," November 29, 1882. It was the
original sketch for the introductory study of Swinburne, written by
Maupassant for the French translation by Gabriel Mourey of "Poems
and Ballads."

MAGNETISM

It was a men's dinner party, and they were sitting over their cigars and
brandy and discussing magnetism. Donato's tricks and Charcot's
experiments. Presently, the sceptical, easy-going men, who cared nothing
for religion of any sort, began telling stories of strange occurrences,
incredible things which, nevertheless, had really occurred, so they said,
falling back into superstitious beliefs, clinging to these last remnants
of the marvellous, becoming devotees of this mystery of magnetism,
defending it in the name of science. There was only one person who
smiled, a vigorous young fellow, a great ladies' man who was so
incredulous that he would not even enter upon a discussion of such
matters.

He repeated with a sneer:

"Humbug! humbug! humbug! We need not discuss Donato, who is merely a very
smart juggler. As for M. Charcot, who is said to be a remarkable man of
science, he produces on me the effect of those story-tellers of the
school of Edgar Poe, who end by going mad through constantly reflecting
on queer cases of insanity. He has authenticated some cases of
unexplained and inexplicable nervous phenomena; he makes his way into
that