for this monumental embodiment of woe. I returned to my inn, lost in gloomy thoughts. When I had supped, the hostess came into my room with an air of mystery, and said, ‘Monsieur, here is Monsieur Regnault.’     

       “‘Who is Monsieur Regnault?’     

       “‘What, sir, do you not know Monsieur Regnault?—Well, that’s odd,’ said she, leaving the room.     

       “On a sudden I saw a man appear, tall, slim, dressed in black, hat in hand, who came in like a ram ready to butt his opponent, showing a receding forehead, a small pointed head, and a colorless face of the hue of a glass of dirty water. You would have taken him for an usher. The stranger wore an old coat, much worn at the seams; but he had a diamond in his shirt frill, and gold rings in his ears.     

       “‘Monsieur,’ said I, ‘whom have I the honor of addressing?’—He took a chair, placed himself in front of my fire, put his hat on my table, and answered while he rubbed his hands: ‘Dear me, it is very cold.—Monsieur, I am Monsieur Regnault.’     

       “I was encouraging myself by saying to myself, ‘Seek!’     

       “‘I am,’ he went on, ‘notary at Vendôme.’     

       “‘I am delighted to hear it, monsieur,’ I exclaimed. ‘But I am not in a position to make a will for reasons best known to myself.’     

       “‘One moment!’ said he, holding up his hand as though to gain silence.       ‘Allow me, monsieur, allow me! I am informed that you sometimes go to walk in the garden of la Grande Bretèche.’     

       “‘Yes, monsieur.’     

       “‘One moment!’ said he, repeating his gesture. ‘That constitutes a misdemeanor. Monsieur, as executor under the will of the late Comtesse de Merret, I come in her name to beg you to discontinue the practice. One moment! I am not a Turk, and do not wish to make a crime of it. And besides, you are free to be ignorant of the circumstances which compel me to leave the finest mansion in Vendôme to fall into ruin. Nevertheless, monsieur, you must be a man of education, and you should know that the laws forbid, under heavy penalties, any trespass on enclosed property. A hedge is the same as a wall. But, the state in which the place is left may  

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