ng at the same time, "Come!" After a slightly trivial
farce-overture of apparitions in various banal forms, Luizzi compels the
fallen archangel to show himself in his proper shape; and the bargain is
concluded after some chaffering. It again is not quite the usual form;
there being, as in Melmoth's case, a redemption clause, though a
different one. If the man can say and show, after ten years, that he has
been happy he will escape. The "consideration" is also uncommon. Luizzi
does not want wealth, which, indeed, he possesses; nor, directly,
pleasure, etc., which he thinks he can procure for himself. He wants
(God help him!) to know all about other people, their past lives, their
temptations, etc.--a thing which a person of sense and taste would do
anything, short of selling himself to the Devil, _not_ to know. There
are, however, some apparently liberal, if discreditable,
concessions--that Luizzi may reveal, print, and in any other way avail
himself of the diabolic information. But, almost immediately, the
metaphorical cloven foot and false dice appear. For it seems that in
certain circumstances Luizzi can only rid himself of his ally when
unwelcome, and perform other acts, at the price of forfeiting a month of
his life--a thing likely to abridge and qualify the ten years very
considerably, and the "happiness" more considerably still.[282] And this
foul play, or at any rate sharp practice, continues, as might be
expected, throughout. The evil actions which Luizzi commits are not, as
usual, committed with impunity as to ordinary worldly consequences,
while he is constantly enlarging the debt against his soul. He is also
always getting into trouble by mixing up his supernatural knowledge with
his ordinary life, and he even commits murder without intending or
indeed knowing it. This is all rather cleverly managed; though the
end--the usual sudden "foreclosure" by Diabolus, despite the effort of
no less than three Gretchens who go upwards, and of a sort of inchoate
repentance on Luizzi's own part before he goes downwards--might be
better.

The bulk, however, of the book, which is a very long one--three volumes
and nearly a thousand closely printed pages--consists of the _histoires_
or "memoirs" (whence the title) of other people which the Devil tells
Luizzi, sometimes by actual _recit_, sometimes otherwise. Naturally they
are most of them grimy; though there is nothing of the Laclos or even of
the Paul de Kock kind. I find