ent to see
what they were doing, and discovered the body of the blind man,
already half devoured, mangled. His wan eyes had disappeared, pecked
out by the long, voracious beaks.

And I can never feel the glad radiance of sunlit days without sadly
remembering and gloomily pondering over the fate of the beggar so
disinherited in life that his horrible death was a relief for all
those who had known him.

A WIFE'S CONFESSION

My friend, you have asked me to relate to you the liveliest
recollections of my life. I am very old, without relatives, without
children; so I am free to make a confession to you. Promise me one
thing--never to reveal my name.

I have been much loved, as you know; I have often myself loved. I was
very beautiful; I may say this to-day, when my beauty is gone. Love
was for me the life of the soul, just as the air is the life of the
body. I would have preferred to die rather than exist without
affection, without having somebody always to care for me. Women often
pretend to love only once with all the strength of their hearts; it
has often happened to be so violent in one of my attachments that I
thought it would be impossible for my transports ever to end. However,
they always died out in a natural fashion, like a fire when it has no
more fuel.

I will tell you to-day the first of my adventures, in which I was very
innocent, but which led to the others. The horrible vengeance of that
dreadful chemist of Pecq recalls to me the shocking drama of which I
was, in spite of myself, a spectator.

I had been a year married to a rich man, Comte Herve de Ker---- a
Breton of ancient family, whom I did not love, you understand. True
love needs, I believe at any rate, freedom and impediments at the same
time. The love which is imposed, sanctioned by law, and blessed by the
priest--can we really call that love? A legal kiss is never as good
as a stolen kiss. My husband was tall in stature, elegant, and a
really fine gentleman in his manners. But he lacked intelligence. He
spoke in a downright fashion, and uttered opinions that cut like the
blade of a knife. He created the impression that his mind was full of
ready-made views instilled into him by his father and mother, who had
themselves got them from their ancestors. He never hesitated, but on
every subject immediately made narrow-minded suggestions, without
showing any embarrassment and without realizing that there might be
other ways of looking at t