_The Portrait_
|DAY broke over the city. A cloudy day, with a mist that enveloped
everything in a sinister manner. The sun tried in vain to penetrate that
sombre atmosphere.
Mid-day showed a dark red ball, rolling ingloriously in a sulphurous
light. Such was the picture of the heavens that day.
Théophraste sprang out of bed early, and awoke Marceline suddenly by
an excess of foolish hilarity. Marceline inquired the reason for such
strange joyfulness. He said that he could not help laughing at the idea
of M. Milfroid, the Commissioner of Police, receiving back the stolen
goods which had been pickpocketed right before his very eyes. “My dear
Marceline,” he said, “it is foolish, the way people carry the money
in their pockets. If you cannot put your hand in, slip a straw, filled
with glue, in. It is an excellent scheme for extricating money from
people’s pockets.”
Marceline sat up and gazed at him. She could not understand, as he never
looked more natural in his life, and yet he was saying peculiar things,
and his words were most unnatural.
“Théophraste, you frighten me,” she cried, and in her fear,
groaned, “My poor child.”
Théophraste grew terribly angry. He threw himself at his wife, and
threatened to strike her. “You know perfectly well that I do not
wish to be called a child since the death of Jeanneton-Venes. I am no
child.”
Marceline swore that she would never do it again, and in the depths
of her soul regretted the unlucky moment which had given her husband
proprietorship of a document which had brought into the household
such fears and such follies. She knew neither Marie Antoinette, nor
Jeanneton-Venes, although he continually referred to them. He had a
familiar way of expressing himself about these women which made her
uneasy, and finally the unexpected sentences, spoken by Théophraste,
and his actions, made her dread the incomprehensible Théophraste of
two hundred years ago. It made her long for the former Théophraste,
so kind, so easy to understand. Then she gave herself up to bitter
reflections upon the theory of reincarnation.
Théophraste finished dressing, and then announcing that he would
not breakfast at home, said that he had a rendezvous with his friend
Va-de-Bon Cœur, at the corner of the Rue Mazarin and Rue Guinegaud,
to do a good turn for M. de Francouse, but as that rendezvous was after
breakfast, he intended enjoying the air in the Moulin de Chopinette.
“You will leave my green umbrella here,” he said, “and I will take
my black feather.” Then, putting the final touches to his cravat, he
went out. On the landing he met Signor Petito, the Italian professor,
who was also going downstairs. Signor Petito bowed very low, complained
of the state of the weather, and complimented Théophraste on his
appearance.
Théophraste answered in a less amiable tone, as he was not desiring the
Signor’s company, and he demanded of him if Madame Petito could not be
induced to learn another air on the piano than “Carnival de Venice.”
But Signor Petito replied, smiling, that she was already studying
“Love’s Destiny,” but in future she would study only the pieces
which would please M. Longuet. He then asked, “Which way are you
going?”
“For a turn in the Moulin de Chopinette; but the weather is too bad,
so I will have to go down to the Porcherons.”
“To the Porcherons?” Signor Petito was going to ask, but he changed
his mind. “Where is the Porcherons?” he asked. “I will go, too.”
“Aha, indeed!” said M. Longuet, glancing curiously at Signor Petito.
“You too will go to the Porcherons?”
“Go there or somewhere else,” said Signor Petito, pleasantly, and he
followed Théophraste.
At the end of a short silence Signor Petito ventured to ask, “Where
are your treasures, M. Longuet?”
Théophraste faced about suddenly. “What has put such an idea into
your head?” he exclaimed.
“Do you not remember the day that you brought the specimen of your
handwriting and asked for my opinion?”
“I remember, and you were wrong,” said Théophraste drily, as he
opened his umbrella.
Signor Petito, in nowise discouraged, placed himself under the shelter
of Théophraste’s umbrella. “Oh! M. Longuet, I did not say that to
annoy you.”
They arrived at the corner of the Avenue Tre-daine. Théophraste was in
very bad humor.
“Monsieur,” he said, “I have an appointment at the tavern of the
Veau-qui-telle, by the side of the Chapel Porcherons, here, you see.”
“But we are at the Chapel Notre Dame de Lor-rete, and not the
Porcherons, at all.”
Théophraste disregarded Petito’s remark, and suddenly said to him,
“Do you know that there is a price on my head?”
Signor Petito seemed taken aback by this sudden change of tone.
“It will cost them dear, though, to get my head,” said Théophraste.
“Do you know how much it will cost, Signor, the head of L’Enfant?
No? Very well. I am going to tell you, since the occasion has presented
itself, and I am going to tell you the whole story, which may be
profitable to you.”
Then, without any preparation, he related in the most natural way
possible, his existence previous to his present one.
“My head is worth 20,000 pounds,” said he, “and you know it very
well.” And as he pronounced these words he struck the table such a
blow that Signor Petito recoiled instinctively.
“Here is the history of it all. I was walking, two hundred years
ago, in the Rue de Vauregard, with my hands in my pocket, without arms,
without even a sword, with the most honest intentions in the world, when
a man met me. He bowed almost to the ground, and told me that my face
reminded him so much of some one he knew. He was called ‘Old Man
Bidel,’ or ‘Bidel the Good-natured,’ and he said that he had a
secret to confide to me.
I encouraged him by a friendly tap on the shoulder, and he confided his
secret to me. He whispered in my ear that the Regent had promised twenty
thousand pounds to whoever would arrest the Enfant, and he knew where
the Enfant was hiding. That I looked to him like a man of courage, and
that he, with my aid, would do anything to get the 20,000 pounds. He
said that he would divide the reward.
“The old man Bidel was on the wrong track, Signor Petito, for I also
knew where to find L’Enfant, seeing that I was that person.”
Signor Petito did not wish to believe any of this, as he could see
for himself that M. Longuet had been out of infancy a good many years.
However, he dared not say anything. Théophraste continued, “I replied
to the old man Bidel, that it was a happy chance and that I thanked
Heaven for putting him in my path, and I made him conduct me to the
place where he could find the Enfaut. He said to me, ‘To-night, the
Enfant sleeps at the Capucine, in the Tavern Suite, which bears as a
sign the Cross of the St. Hester.’
“It was true, Signor Petito, the old man Bidel was very well informed.
I congratulated him, and we passed just then a cutlery shop, and I
bought a small knife, much to the astonishment of Bidel, who asked me
what I planned to do with such a weapon. I replied to him that with a
small knife like this one could kill a fly, and I plunged it into his
heart. He sank down, raised his arms wildly for a few moments, and
died.”
Signor Petito, who at first had moved away from Théophraste, now rose
and ran to the door, and was glad to get out of sight.
M. Longuet drank his wine, got up and went to the Bousset Brewery, where
Mme. Barth was standing, making up her books. He said to her, “Mme.
Taconet-------”
Mme. Barth demanded why he called her Mine. Taconet, but he disregarded
her question, and continued, “If Signor Petito comes here again, you
will tell him for me that the first time I find him in my way, I will
cut his ears off.” Saying this, Théophraste fondled the handle of his
umbrella as one grasps the handle of a dagger.
There was no doubt about it, he had his black plume. He had become the
Other entirely.
The fog was still thick and he did not think of breakfasting yet. He
walked into the sulphurous mist like one in a dream. He crossed the
whole of the Quarter of An tin, and that which was formerly the Avenue
L’Enrique, until he came under the shadows of the towers of Trinity,
which he called the Chateau du Coq. On his arrival at the St. Lazare, he
believed that he was at the Petite Pologue.
But little by little the fog cleared away, and his dream disappeared
with it. He had the most exact idea of things when he crossed
the Point Royale, and by the time he had set foot on the left bank, he
was again the honest Théophraste, and had only the vaguest idea of that
which had happened on the right bank. But he could remember this,
and when he questioned himself thoroughly, he began to experience the
different conditions or states of the soul. He discovered in himself
three distinct states. First, that which resulted from his life as an
actuality, the honest merchant; second, that which resulted from the
sudden and momentary resurrection of the Other; and third, that
which resulted from memory. The recollection was to him like a third
Théophraste, who related to the first what he had known of the second.
This resurrection of Théophraste’s was a terrible thing.
On crossing the Bridge he hurried beyond the Rue Guinegaud. He did
not care to pass by the corner of the Rue Mazarin, he knew not why. He
turned the corner by the Hotel Monniare, and almost ran into Adolphe,
who was waiting for him there.
“Have you ever heard of a person called L’Enfant, my dear
Adolphe?” he asked.
“Oh, yes, yes,” said Aldolphe, “I have heard of him. I even know
his real name, his family name.”
“Ah, what is it?” anxiously inquired Théophraste.
Adolphe for reply pushed Théophraste into the hallway of an old house,
in the Rue Guinegard, a few steps from the Hotel de la Monniare. They
climbed a tottering staircase, and entered a room in which the curtains
were drawn. Somebody had spent the night in the room.
On a little table in the corner, the trembling flame of a wax candle lit
up a portrait. It was the picture of a man about thirty years of age.
He had a robust figure, high forehead, strong nose, a smooth chin, and
large mouth and moustache. His thick hair was covered by a coarse woolen
cap, and he wore a coat over a coarse linen shirt, which appeared to be
a prison garb.
“Wait,” said Théophraste, without raising his tone, “how is it
that my portrait is in this house?”
“Your picture?” asked Adolphe. “Are you sure?”
“Who could be more sure of it than I?” said Théophraste again,
without being excited.
“Very well,” said M. Lecamus, with emotions that it would be hard to
describe. “That portrait, which is your portrait, is the portrait of
Cartouche.” When M. Lecamus turned to see the effect his words would
produce on his friend, he saw Théophraste stretched on the floor in a
dead swoon.
For a long time he worked to bring him to. He blew out the candle and
opened the windows, allowing the good air to come in. Théophraste came
to himself, and his first words were, “Adolphe, above all things do
not speak of this to my wife.”