ted that, notwithstanding the distance, I
saw it descend from round to round, then glide along a fine web, like
a drop of venom, seize its prey from the hands of the old shrew, and
remount rapidly. Fledermausse looked at it very attentively, with her
eyes half closed; then sneezed, and said to herself, in a jeering
tone, "God bless you, beautiful one; God bless you!"

I watched during six weeks, and could discover nothing concerning the
power of Fledermausse. Sometimes, seated upon a stool, she peeled her
potatoes, then hung out her linen upon the balustrade.

Sometimes I saw her spinning; but she never sang, as good, kind old
women are accustomed to do, their trembling voices mingling well with
the humming of the wheel.

Profound silence always reigned around her; she had no cat--that
cherished society of old women--not even a sparrow came to rest under
her roof. It seemed as if all animated nature shrank from her glance.
The bloated spider alone took delight in her society.

I cannot now conceive how my patience could endure those long hours of
observation: nothing escaped me; nothing was matter of indifference. At
the slightest sound I raised my slate; my curiosity was without limit,
insatiable.

Toubac complained greatly.

"Master Christian," said he, "how in the devil do you pass your time?
Formerly you painted something for me every week; now you do not finish
a piece once a month. Oh, you painters! 'Lazy as a painter' is a good,
wise proverb. As soon as you have a few kreutzers in possession, you
put your hands in your pockets and go to sleep!"

I confess that I began to lose courage--I had watched, spied, and
discovered nothing. I said to myself that the old woman could not be
so dangerous as I had supposed; that I had perhaps done her injustice
by my suspicions; in short, I began to make excuses for her. One
lovely afternoon, with my eye fixed at my post of observation, I
abandoned myself to these benevolent reflections, when suddenly the
scene changed: Fledermausse passed through the gallery with the
rapidity of lightning. She was no longer the same person; she was
erect, her jaws were clinched, her glance fixed, her neck extended;
she walked with grand strides, her gray locks floating behind her.

"Oh, at last," I said to myself, "something is coming, attention!" But,
alas! the shadows of evening descended upon the old building, the
noises of the city expired, and silence prevailed.

Fatigued and d