mured softly:
"The voice of the people is the voice of God!"

THE WOMAN AND THE CAT

BY MARCEL PREVOST

"Yes," said our old friend Tribourdeaux, a man of culture and a
philosopher, which is a combination rarely found among army surgeons;
"yes, the supernatural is everywhere; it surrounds us and hems us in and
permeates us. If science pursues it, it takes flight and cannot be
grasped. Our intellect resembles those ancestors of ours who cleared a few
acres of forest; whenever they approached the limits of their clearing
they heard low growls and saw gleaming eyes everywhere circling them
about. I myself have had the sensation of having approached the limits of
the unknown several times in my life, and on one occasion in particular."

A young lady present interrupted him:

"Doctor, you are evidently dying to tell us a story. Come now, begin!"

The doctor bowed.

"No, I am not in the least anxious, I assure you. I tell this story as
seldom as possible, for it disturbs those who hear it, and it disturbs me
also. However, if you wish it, here it is:

"In 1863 I was a young physician stationed at Orleans. In that patrician
city, full of aristocratic old residences, it is difficult to find
bachelor apartments; and, as I like both plenty of air and plenty of room,
I took up my lodging on the first floor of a large building situated just
outside the city, near Saint-Euverte. It had been originally constructed
to serve as the warehouse and also as the dwelling of a manufacturer of
rugs. In course of time the manufacturer had failed, and this big barrack
that he had built, falling out of repair through lack of tenants, had been
sold for a song with all its furnishings. The purchaser hoped to make a
future profit out of his purchase, for the city was growing in that
direction; and, as a matter of fact, I believe that at the present time
the house is included within the city limits. When I took up my quarters
there, however, the mansion stood alone on the verge of the open country,
at the end of a straggling street on which a few stray houses produced at
dusk the impression of a jaw from which most of the teeth have fallen out.

"I leased one-half of the first floor, an apartment of four rooms. For my
bedroom and my study I took the two that fronted on the street; in the
third room I set up some shelves for my wardrobe, and the other room I
left empty. This made a very comfortable lodging for me, and I had, for a
sort