written by the hand of the Benedictine, Laurent of Lorraine,
Abbot of Vaux, told of the admission to the monastery of a child, son
of Henri d'Artin, to whom the good monks gave the name Bartholomew
Pasquier. This child, though designed for orders, left the monastery,
cast his fortunes with the King of Navarre, and became a great officer
in the household of King Henri the Fourth.

Other documents gave an account of the posterity of this child down to
one Francois Rene Alois de Pasquier, who fled to America in 1674 to
escape the vengeance of a certain great lord whose son he slew in a
duel. This was he who was reputed to have been killed in battle, and
to have left no issue. And this was he whom I afterward found to be my
own good father.

There was also contained an account of the later life of Pedro d'Ortez,
who, profiting not by his blood-gotten gains, threw himself, while in
delirium, into the same old well whereon he had hanged his brother,
Henri d'Artin.

Some further notes by the good abbot told of how Raoul, the second son
of Pedro, slew his own brother, before their father's eyes, in order
that he, Raoul, might be Count of Cartillon. And this same Raoul, some
years later, did have the locket made and forced his own son to swear
that he would restore the real sons of d'Artin, the true children of
the Black Wolf's Breed, to their own again. All of these accounts are
of surpassing interest, old and quaint, to a perusal of which I
recommend my children.[1]

For the first time, in reading these manuscripts, did I begin clearly
to associate the name d'Ortez with the name used by the madman in his
story at the old Norman ruin. With this new light, link by link did
the whole knotted chain untangle. Curiously enough, the tale I had
heard at the ruined castle tallied in the main with the monkish
documents here preserved. Indeed it supplied me with knowledge of much
which otherwise I would not have comprehended so completely. The
horrible reality of that weird recital was still fresh and distinct
before me, undimmed by time and unforgotten through all my troubles.

I had sought refuge many times from brooding over my own affairs by
turning to this for interest and occupation. Every further detail was
supplied by a number of quaint documents, which Colonel d'Ortez had
digested into this:

TABLE SHOWING THE MALE DESCENDANTS OF

HENRI d'ARTIN AND OF PEDRO ORTEZ.

Henri Francois Placid