The Project Gutenberg EBook of El Verdugo, by Honore de Balzac

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Title: El Verdugo

Author: Honore de Balzac

Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley

Release Date: August, 1998 [Etext #1425]
Posting Date: February 24, 2010

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EL VERDUGO ***

Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny

EL VERDUGO

By Honore De Balzac

Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley

DEDICATION

To Martinez de la Rosa.

EL VERDUGO

The clock of the little town of Menda had just struck midnight. At that
moment a young French officer, leaning on the parapet of a long terrace
which bordered the gardens of the chateau de Menda, seemed buried
in thoughts that were deeper than comported with the light-hearted
carelessness of military life; though it must be said that never were
hour, scene, or night more propitious for meditation. The beautiful sky
of Spain spread its dome of azure above his head. The scintillation of
the stars and the soft light of the moon illumined the delightful valley
that lay at his feet. Resting partly against an orange-tree in bloom,
the young major could see, three hundred feet below him, the town of
Menda, at the base of the rock on which the castle is built. Turning
his head, he looked down upon the sea, the sparkling waters of which
encircled the landscape with a sheet of silver.

The chateau was illuminated. The joyous uproar of a ball, the sounds of
an orchestra, the laughter of the dancers came to him, mingling with the
distant murmur of the waves. The coolness of the night gave fresh energy
to his body, that was tired with the heat of the day. Besides which, the
gardens were planted with trees so balmy and flowers so sweet, that the
young man felt as if plunged in a perfumed bath.

The chateau de Menda belonged to a grandee of Spain, who was at this
time living there with his family. During the whole evening, the eldest
daughter had looked at the young officer with an interest expressing
extreme sadness, and such implied compassion on the part of a Spaniard
might well have caused