in virtue of which the prosecutor
appropriates to himself the head of a man--as one would say, 'a system
of philosophy'--that is, an _ensemble_ of reasonings and sophisms, by
the aid of which we establish some harmless truth, theory, or fancy.
His system of indictment was nearly completed, when the deposition of
a witness which he had not examined, suddenly presented itself, with
such an aspect as threatened to overturn all the edifice of his logic.
He hesitated for some moments; but, as we have already seen, M.
Desalleux, in his functions of deputy-prosecutor, consulted his vanity
at least as often as his conscience. Invoking all his powers of logic
and skill for turning words to his purpose, struggling muscle to
muscle with the unlucky testimony, he did not despair of finally
enlisting it in the number of his best arguments, as containing the
most conclusive evidence against the prisoner; but, unfortunately, the
trouble was considerable, and the night was already far advanced.

The clock had just struck three, and the lamp upon his table, burning
with a crust upon the wick, gave only a feeble light in the chamber.
Having trimmed it, and feeling somewhat excited with his labours, he
rose and walked to and fro, then returned and sat in his chair, from
which, leaning back in an easy attitude, and suspending his
reflections for awhile, he contemplated the stars which were shining
through a window opposite. Suddenly lowering his gaze, he encountered
what seemed to him two eyes staring in at him through the
window-panes. Imagining that the reflection of the lamp, doubled by
some flaw in the glass, had deceived him, he changed his place; but
the vision only appeared more distinct. As he was not wanting in
courage, he took a walking-stick, the only weapon within reach, and
opened the window, to see who was the intruder who came thus to
observe him at such an hour. The chamber which he occupied was high;
above and below, the wall of his house was perfectly perpendicular,
and afforded no means by which any one could climb or descend. In the
narrow space between himself and the balcony, the smallest object
could not have escaped him; but he saw nothing. He thought again that
he must have been the dupe of one of those hallucinations that
sometimes visit men in the night; and, with a smile, he applied
himself again to his labours. But he had not written twenty lines,
when he felt, before looking up, that there was something moving