THE FRENCH CONVTTLSIVES. 447 



had remarked the presence of Raphael, appears, to announce the ful- 

 filment of the wish, which is thus contrived : 



" ' Peace a moment/ said the notary, deafened by a chorus of ma- 

 licious jokes ; ' I have come hither upon serious business. I bring six mil- 

 lions to one of you/ Profound silence ' Sir !' said he, addressing himself 

 to Raphael, who, at the moment, was unceremoniously wiping his eyes with 

 the corner of his napkin, ' was not your mother a Miss O'Flaharty ?' ' Yes/ 

 replied Raphael, somewhat mechanically, ' Barbara-Maria-Charlotte, born 

 at Tours/ ' Have you in your possession/ rejoined the Notary, ' the certi- 

 ficates of your own and your mother's birth ?' ' I believe so/ ' Well then, 

 sir, you are sole heir of Major Martin O'Flaharty, deceased in August 1828, 

 at Calcutta. The Major having, by his will, disposed of several sums for 

 the benefit of some public institutions, the residue of his property has been 

 claimed of the East India Company, by the French government. Now it is 

 at this moment clear, palpable, and beyond doubt and for a fortnight I have 

 sought in vain for the next of kin of the lady Barbara-Maria-Charlotte 

 O'Flaharty, when, yesterday at dinner ' 



" Here Raphael sprung suddenly from the table, betraying the quick mo- 

 tion of a man who had just received a wound. There ensued a sort of silent 

 acclamation ; for the first impression of the company was a voiceless and 

 cruel feeling of envy. All eyes were directed upon him like so many flames. 

 Anon, a murmnr like that which is the prelude to an uproar in the pit, com- 

 menced and swelled, and each one uttered a word of congratulation for this 

 immense fortune brought by the Notary. 



" Restored to the full enjoyment of his reason by the sudden obedience of 

 fate, Raphael quickly extended on the table the napkin upon which he had 

 previously measured the dimensions of the talisman. Without hearing a 

 word that was uttered, he placed the talisman upon it, and a convulsive 

 shudder shook his frame on observing a considerable space between the con- 

 tour traced upon the napkin and that of the skin. ' What's the matter 

 with him ?' cried the banker. ' Support him, Chatillon/ said a painter to 

 Emilius ; ' he is going to die of joy/ A frightful pallor brought into relief 

 all the muscles of the faded figure of the heir : his features became con- 

 tracted ; the projections of his countenance became white ; its hollows be- 

 came sombre, the skin livid, and the eyes fixed. He beheld DEATH ! 



" That splendid banquet, surrounded by faded courtezans, by those coun- 

 tenances marked with satiety, that agony of joy, was the living image of his 

 life. He gazed thrice at the talisman, which played with ease within the 

 merciless and capricious lines imprinted on the napkin : he strove to doubt ; 

 but a presentiment annihilated his incredulity. The world belonged to him 

 lie could command every thing, and he wished for nothing more. Like 

 the traveller in the midst of the desert, he had a little water left for his 

 thirst", and he measured his life by the number of mouthfuls. He saw dis- 

 tinctly the total amount of days which each desire would cost him. Then 

 did he believe in the talisman. Hearing his own respiration, he already 

 began to feel ill. He asked himself, ' Am I not consumptive ? Did not my 

 mother die of inflammation of the lungs?' 



" Every thing that then met his eye those golden ceilings, those courte- 

 zans, that banquet, that luxury, fastened upon his throat, and made him 

 cough. ' Do you wish for some asparagus ?' cried the banker to him. 

 ' I wish for nothing,' replied Raphael, in a voice of thunder." 



From this hour all his faculties are employed in the preservation 

 ~2 existence. Though he has become Marquis de Valentin, and is 

 surrounded by more than eastern magnificence, his life is a continued 

 torture, a protracted agony. His first care, after his change of for- 



