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The Invisible Eye by Erkman Chatrian.
About this time, said Christian Poor,

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as a church mouse, I took
refuge in the roof of an old house

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in Minnesanga Street, Nuremberg, and
made my nest in the corner of the

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garret. I was compelled to work
over my straw bed to reach the window.

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But this window was in the gable
end, and the view from it

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was magnificent, both town and country
being spread out before me. I could

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see the cats walking gravely in the
gutters, the stalks, their beaks filled

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with frogs, carrying nourishment to their
ravenous brood. The pigeons springing from their

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coats, their tails spread like fans, hovering over the streets. In the

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evening, when the bells called the
world to the Angelus. With my elbows

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upon the edge of the roof,
I listened to their melancholy chimes. I

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watched the windows as one by one
they were lighted up. The good burghers

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smoking their pipes on the sidewalks,
the young girls in their red skirts with

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their pitchers under their arms, laughing
and chatting around the fountain Sant sabot Insensibly,

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all this faded away. The bats
commenced their rapid course, and I

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retired to my mattress in a sweet
peace and tranquility. The old curiosity seller,

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Tubac knew the way to my little
lodging as well as I did,

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and was not afraid to climb the
ladder. Every week, his ugly head,

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adorned with a reddish cap, raised
the trap door. His fingers grasped

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the ledge, and he cried out
in a nasal tone, well, well,

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master Christian, have you anything,
to which I replied, come in.

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Why in the devil don't you come
in. I'm just finishing a little

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landscape, and you must tell me
what you think of it. Then his

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great back, seeming to elongate,
grew up even to the roof, and

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the good Man laughed silently. I
must do justice to Tubac. He never

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haggled with me about prices. He
bought all my paintings at fifteen florins,

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one with the other, and sold
them again for forty each. This was

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an honest jew. I began to
grow fond of this mode of existence and

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to find new charms in it day
by day. Just at this time the

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city of Nuremberg was agitated by a
strange and mysterious event. Not far from

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my dormer window, a little to
the left stood the Inn Berf Gras,

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an old ouberche much patronized throughout the
country. Three or four wagons filled with

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sacks or casks were always drawn up
before the door, where the rustic drivers

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were in the habit of stopping on
their way to the market to take their

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morning draft of wine. The gable
end of the inn was distinguished by its

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peculiar form, twas very narrow pointed, and on two sides cut in teeth

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like a saw. The carvings were
strangely grotesque, interwoven and ornamenting the cornices

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and surrounding the windows. But the
most remarkable fact was that the house opposite

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reproduced exactly the same sculptures, the
same ornaments. Even the sign board,

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with its post and spiral of iron, was exactly copied. One might have

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thought that these two ancient houses reflected
each other. Behind the inn, however,

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was a grand old oak, whose
somber leaves darkened the stones of the

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roof, while the other house stood
out in bold relief against the sky.

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To complete the description, this old
building was as silent and dreary as the

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Inn Berf cuire was noisy and animated. On one side, a crowd of

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merry drinkers were continually entering in and
going out, singing, tripping, cracking

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their whips. On the other,
profound silence reigned. Perhaps once or twice

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during the day, the heavy door
seemed to open of itself to allow a

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little old woman to go out,
with her back almost in a semicircle,

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her dress fitting tight about her hips, an enormous basket on her arm,

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and her hand contracted against her breast. It seemed to me that I saw,

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at a glance, as I looked
upon her, a whole existence of

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good works and pious meditations. The
physiognomy of this old woman had struck me

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more than once. Her little green
eyes, long thin nose, the immense

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bouquets of flowers on her shawl,
which must have been at least a hundred

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years old, the withered smile which
puckered her cheeks into a cockade, the

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lace of her bonnet falling down to
her eyebrows. All this was fantastic and

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interested me much. Why did this
old woman live in this great deserted he?

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I wished to explore the mystery One
day, as I paused in the

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street and followed her with my eyes. She turned suddenly and gave me a

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look, a horrible expression of which
I know not how to paint, made

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three or four hideous grimaces, and
then, letting her palsied head fall upon

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her breast, drew her great shawl
closely around her, and advanced slowly to

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the heavy door, behind which I
saw her disappear. She's an old fool,

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I said to myself, in a
sort of stupor. My faith it

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was the height of folly in me
to be interested in her. However,

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I would like to see her grimace
again. Old Toubac would willingly give me

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fifteen florins if I could paint it
for him. I must confess that these

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pleasantries of mine did not entirely reassure
me. The hideous glance which the old

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shrew had given me pursued me everywhere
more than once, climbing the almost perpendicular

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ladder to my loft, feeling my
clothing caught on some point, I trembled

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from head to foot, imagining that
the old wretch was hanging to the tails

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of my coat in order to destroy
me. Tubac, to whom I related

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this adventure was far from laughing at
it. Indeed, he assumed a grave

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and solemn air. Master Christian said
he, if the old woman wants you

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take care, her teeth are small
pointed and of marvelous whiteness, and that

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is not natural at her age,
she has an evil eye. Children flee

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from her, and the people of
Nuremberg call her Fledamous. I admired the

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clear, sagacious intellect of the Jew, and his words gave me cause for

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reflection. Several weeks passed away,
during which I often encountered Fladamous without any

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alarming consequences. My fears were dissipated, and I thought of her no more.

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But an evening came during which,
while sleeping very soundly, I was

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awakened by a strange harmony. It
was a kind of vibration so sweet,

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so melodious, that the whispering of
the breeze among the leaves can give but

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a faint idea of its charm.
For a long time I listened intently,

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with my eyes wide open, and
holding my breath so as not to lose

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a note. At last, I
looked toward the window and saw two wings

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fluttering against the glass. I thought
at first that it was a bat caught

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in my room, but the moon
rising at that instant, I saw the

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wings of a magnificent butterfly of the
night, delineated upon her shining disk.

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Their vibrations were often so rapid that
they could not be distinguished. Then they

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posed extended upon the glass, and
their frail fibers were again brought to view.

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Miss misty apparition, coming in the
midst of the universal silence, opened

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my heart to all sweet emotions.
It seemed to me that an airy sylph,

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touched with a sense of my solitude, had come to visit me,

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and this idea melted me almost to
tears. Be tranquil, sweet, captive,

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Be tranquil, said I. Your
confidence shall not be abused. I

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will not keep you against your will. Return to heaven and to liberty.

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I then opened my little window.
The night was calm, and millions of

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stars were glittering in the sky.
For a moment I contemplated this sublime spectacle,

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and words of prayer and praise came
naturally to my lips. But judge

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of my amazement. When lower my
eyes I saw a man hanging from the

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cross beam of the sign of the
berf gras, the hair disheveled, the

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arms stiff, the legs elongated to
a point, and casting their gigantic shadows

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down to the street. The immobility
of this figure under the moon's rays was

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terrible. I felt my tongue freezing, my teeth clinched. I was about

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to cry out in terror, when, by some incomprehensible, mysterious attraction,

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my glance fell below, and I
distinguished confusedly the old woman, crouched at

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her window, in the midst of
dark shadows, and contemplating the dead man

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with an air of diabolic satisfaction.
Then I had a vertigo of terror.

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All my strength abandoned me, and
retreating to the wall of my loft,

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I sank down and became insensible.
I do not know how long the sleep

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of death continued. When restored to
consciousness, I saw that it was broad

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day. The mists of the night
had penetrated to my garret and deposited their

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fresh dew upon my hair, and
the confused murmurs of the street ascended to

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my little lodging. I looked without. The burgomaster and his secretary were stationed

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at the door of the inn,
and remained there a long time. Crowds

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of people came and went, and
paused to look in, then recommenced their

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course. The good women of the
neighborhood, who were sweeping before their doors,

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looked on from afar and talked gravely
with each other. At last a

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litter, and upon this litter a
body covered with a linen cloth issued from

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the inn. Carried by two men. They descended to the street, and

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the children, on their way to
school, ran behind them. All the

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people drew back as they advanced.
The window opposite was still open. The

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end of a rope floated from the
cross beam. I had not dreamed.

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I had indeed seen the butterfly of
the night. I had seen the man

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hanging, and I had seen flayed
the mouse. That day, Toubac made

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me a visit, and as his
great nose appeared on a level with the

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floor, he exclaimed, Master Christian, have you nothing to sell? I

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did not hear him. I was
seated upon my one chair, my hands

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clasped upon my knees, and my
eyes fixed before me. Toubac, surprised

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at my inattention, repeated in a
louder voice, Master Christian. Master Christian,

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then striding over the sill, he
advanced and struck me on the shoulder.

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Well, well, what is the
matter now, ah? Is that

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you Toubac eh parbleu? I rather
think so? Are you ill? No?

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I am only thinking what in the
devil are you thinking about? Of

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the man who was hanged? Oh? Oh, cried the curiosity vender.

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You have seen him, then,
the poor boy. What a singular history?

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The third in the same place,
How the third? Ah, yes,

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I ought to have warned you,
but it is not too late.

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There will certainly be a fourth who
will follow the example of the others.

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In laque le premiere pa gikute.
Saying this, Toubac took a seat on

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the corner of my trunk, struck
his match box, lighted his pipe,

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and blew three or four powerful whiffs
of smoke with a meditative air. My

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faith said he. I am not
fearful, but if I had full permission

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to pass the night in that chamber, I should much prefer to sleep elsewhere.

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Listen, Master Christian. Nine or
ten months ago, a good man

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of Tubingen, wholesale dealer in furs, dismounted at the Inn Boeufras. He

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called for supper. He ate well, he drank well, and was finally

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conducted to that room in the third
story. It is called the green Room.

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Well, the next morning he was
found hanging to the cross beam of

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the signboard. Well that might do. For once nothing could be said.

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Every proper investigation was made, and
a stranger was buried at the bottom of

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the garden. But look you.
About six months afterwards, a brave soldier

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from Neustadt arrived. He had received
his final discharge and was rejoicing in the

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thought of returning to his native village. During the whole evening, while emptying

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his wine cup, he spoke fondly
of his little cousin, who was waiting

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to marry him. At last,
this big monsieur was conducted to his room,

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the Green Room, And the same
night the watchman, passing down the

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street Minnesanger, perceived something hanging to
the cross beam. He raised his lantern

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and lo it was the soldier,
with his final discharge in a bow on

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his left hip, and his hands
gathered up to the seam of his pantaloons,

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as if on parade. Truth to
say, this is extraordinary, cried

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the burgomaster. The devils to pay
well, the chamber was much visited,

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the walls were replastered, and the
dead man was sent to Neustadt. The

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registrar wrote this marginal note, died
of apoplexy. All Nuremberg was enraged against

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the innkeeper. There were many,
indeed, who wished to force him to

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take down his iron crossbeam under the
pretext that had inspired people with dangerous ideas.

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But you may well believe that old
Michael Schmidt would not lend his ear

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to this proposition. This crossbeam said, he was placed here by my grandfather.

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It has borne the sign of Berfgraft
for one hundred and fifty years,

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from father to son. It harms
no one, not even the hay wagons

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which pass beneath, for it is
thirty feet above them. Those who don't

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like it can turn their heads aside
and not see it. Well. Gradually

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the town calmed down, and during
several months no new event agitated it.

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Unhappily, a student of Heidelberg returning
to the university, stopped day before yesterday

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at the inn Berfkras and asked for
lodging. He was the son of a

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minister of the Gospel. How could
any one supposed that the son of a

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pastor could conceive the idea of hanging
himself on the cross beam of a sign

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board because a monsieur and an old
soldier had done so. We must admit,

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Master Christian, that the thing was
not probable, that these reasons would

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not have seemed sufficient to myself or
to you Enough enough, I exclaimed,

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this is too horrible. I see
a frightful mystery involved in all this.

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It is not the crossbeam, it
is not the room. What do you

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suspect the innkeeper, the most honest
man in the world, and belonging to

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one of the oldest families in Nuremberg. No, no, may God preserve

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me from indulging in unjust suspicions.
But there is an abyss before me into

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which I scarcely dare glance. You
are right, said Toubac, astonished at

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the violence of my excitement. We
will speak of other things. A propos,

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Master Christian, where is our landscape
of Saint Odile? This question brought

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me back to the world of realities. I showed the old man the painting

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I had just completed. The affair
was soon concluded, and to Bac,

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well satisfied, descended the ladder,
entreating me to think no more of the

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student of Heidelberg. I would gladly
have followed my good friend's counsel. But

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when the devil once mixes himself up
in our concerns, it is not easy

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to disembarrass ourselves of him. In
my solitary hours, all these events were

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reproduced with frightful distinctness in my mind. This old wretch, I said to

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myself, is the cause of it
all. She alone has conceived these crimes

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and has consummated them. But by
what means has she had recourse to cunning

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alone? Or has she obtained the
intervention of invisible powers? I walked to

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and fro in my retreat, an
inward voice cried out, It is not

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00:18:06,519 --> 00:18:11,480
in vain that providence permitted you to
see fladormous contemplating the agonies of her victim.

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It is not in vain that the
soul of the poor young man came

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00:18:15,839 --> 00:18:19,720
in the form of a butterfly of
the night to awake you. No,

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no, all, this was not
accidental. Christian. The heavens impose upon

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00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:30,039
you a terrible mission. If you
do not accomplish it, tremble lest you

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fall yourself into the hands of the
old murderess. Perhaps at this moment she

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00:18:34,079 --> 00:18:41,839
is preparing her snares in the darkness. During these several days, these hideous

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00:18:41,839 --> 00:18:48,319
images followed me without intermission. I
lost my sleep. It was impossible for

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00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:52,440
me to do anything. My brush
fell from my hand, and horrible to

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00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,640
confess, I found myself sometimes gazing
at the cross beam with a sort of

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00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:03,519
complacency. At last, I could
endure it no longer, and one evening

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00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:07,680
I descended the ladder and hid myself
behind the door of Fledormous, hoping to

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00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:15,960
surprise her fatal secret. From that
time, no day passed in which I

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00:19:15,039 --> 00:19:21,119
was not en route, following the
old wretch, watching, spying, never

216
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,599
losing sight of her. But she
was so cunning, had a scent so

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00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:30,240
suptile, that without even turning her
head, she knew I was behind her.

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00:19:32,799 --> 00:19:36,839
However, she feigned not to perceive
this. She went to the market

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00:19:37,319 --> 00:19:41,880
to the butcher's like any good simple
woman, only hastening her steps and murmuring

220
00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:48,240
confused words. At the close of
the month, I saw that it was

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00:19:48,279 --> 00:19:52,599
impossible for me to attain my object
in this way, and this conviction made

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00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:57,480
me inexpressibly sad. What can I
do? I said to myself, the

223
00:19:57,519 --> 00:20:03,519
old woman divines my plan. She
is on her guard. Every hope abandons

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00:20:03,559 --> 00:20:07,599
me. Ah, old hag,
you think you already see me at the

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00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:12,160
end of your rope. I was
continually asking myself this question, what can

226
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:18,200
I do? What can I do? At last, a luminous idea struck

227
00:20:18,279 --> 00:20:25,839
me. My chamber overlooked the house
of Fledermous, But there was no window

228
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:33,400
on this side. I adroitly raised
a slate, and no pen could paint

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00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:40,960
my joy. When the whole ancient
building was thus exposed to me. At

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00:20:41,039 --> 00:20:45,799
last, I have you, I
exclaimed, You cannot escape me. Now

231
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,599
from here I can see all that
passes, your goings, your comings,

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00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:57,359
your arts and snares. You will
not suspect this invisible eye, this watchful

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00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:03,759
eye, which will surprise crime.
At the moment it blooms, Oh,

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00:21:04,039 --> 00:21:14,119
justice, Justice. She marches slowly, but she arrives. Nothing could be

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00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,799
more sinister than the den now spread
out before me. A great court yard,

236
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,759
the large slabs of which were covered
with moss. In one corner,

237
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:30,400
a well whose stagnant waters you shuddered
to look upon a stairway covered with old

238
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:36,200
shells. At the farther end,
a gallery with wooden balustrade and hanging upon

239
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:41,200
it some old linen, and the
tick of an old straw mattress. On

240
00:21:41,279 --> 00:21:45,880
the first floor. To the left, the stone covering of a common sewer

241
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:51,519
indicated the kitchen. To the right, the lofty windows of the building looked

242
00:21:51,559 --> 00:21:56,519
out upon the street, then a
few pots of dried withered flowers. All

243
00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:04,799
was cracked somber moist. Only one
or two hours during the day could the

244
00:22:04,799 --> 00:22:11,160
sun penetrate this loathsome spot. After
that the shadows took possession. Then the

245
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:17,119
sunshine fell upon the crazy walls,
the worm eaten balcony, the dull and

246
00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:22,359
tarnished glass, and upon the whirlwind
of atoms floating in its golden rays,

247
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:30,400
disturbed by no breath of air.
I had scarcely finished these observations and reflections

248
00:22:30,279 --> 00:22:36,559
when the old woman entered, having
just returned from market. I heard the

249
00:22:36,599 --> 00:22:41,599
grating of her heavy door. Then
she appeared with her basket. She seemed

250
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:47,960
fatigued, almost out of breath.
The lace of her bonnet fell to her

251
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,119
nose. With one hand, she
grasped the banister and ascended the stairs.

252
00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:00,960
The heat was intolerable, suffocating.
It was precisely one of those days in

253
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:07,039
which all insects, crickets, spiders, mosquitoes, et cetera, make old

254
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:14,359
ruins resound with their strange sounds.
Fladamouse crossed the gallery slowly, like an

255
00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:18,240
old ferret who feels at home.
She remained more than a quarter of an

256
00:23:18,279 --> 00:23:23,160
hour in the kitchen, then returned, spread out her linen, took the

257
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:30,400
broom and brushed away some blades of
straw on the floor. At last,

258
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,440
she raised her head, and turning
her little green eyes in every direction,

259
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:42,480
searching, investigating carefully. Could she, by some strange intuition suspect anything?

260
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,480
I do not know, But I
gently lowered the slate and gave up my

261
00:23:48,599 --> 00:23:57,480
watch for the day. In the
morning, Fladamouse appeared reassured. One angle

262
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:02,440
of light fell upon the gallery.
In passing, she caught a fly on

263
00:24:02,519 --> 00:24:06,640
the wing and presented it delicately to
a spider established in a corner of the

264
00:24:06,759 --> 00:24:12,799
roof. This spider was so bloated
that, notwithstanding the distance, I saw

265
00:24:12,839 --> 00:24:18,480
it descend from round to round,
then glide along a fine web like a

266
00:24:18,519 --> 00:24:22,960
drop of venom, seize its prey
from the hands of the old shoe,

267
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:27,960
and remount rapidly. Flador Mouse looked
at it very attentively, with her eyes

268
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,880
half closed, then sneezed and said
to herself in a jeering tone, God,

269
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:41,160
bless you, beautiful one, God
bless you. I watched during six

270
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:47,839
weeks and could discover nothing concerning the
power of Fladormouse. Sometimes seated upon a

271
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,720
stool, she peeled her potatoes,
then hung out her linen upon the balustrade.

272
00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:57,759
Sometimes I saw her spinning, but
she never sang, as good kind

273
00:24:57,839 --> 00:25:03,839
old women are accustomed to do,
their trembling voices mingling well with the humming

274
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:11,880
of the wheel. Profound silence always
reigned around her. She had no cat

275
00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:17,079
that cherished society of old women.
Not even a sparrow came to rest under

276
00:25:17,079 --> 00:25:22,720
her roof. It seemed as if
all animated nature shrank from her glance.

277
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:30,279
The bloated spider alone took delight in
her society. I cannot now conceive how

278
00:25:30,319 --> 00:25:37,480
my patience could endure these long hours
of observation. Nothing escaped me, nothing

279
00:25:37,599 --> 00:25:41,480
was matter of indifference. At the
slightest sound, I raised my slate.

280
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:52,559
My curiosity was without limit, insatiable. Toubac complained greatly. Master Christian said

281
00:25:52,559 --> 00:25:57,799
he How in the devil do you
pass your time? Formerly you painted something

282
00:25:57,799 --> 00:26:02,680
for me every week. Now you
do not finish a piece once a month.

283
00:26:03,559 --> 00:26:07,279
Oh, you painters. Lazy is
a painter is a good wise proverb.

284
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,640
As soon as you have a few
kreutzers in possession, you put your

285
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:18,039
hands in your pockets and go to
sleep. I confess that I began to

286
00:26:18,079 --> 00:26:22,960
lose courage. I had watched,
spied, and discovered nothing. I said

287
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,720
to myself that the old woman could
not be so dangerous as I had supposed,

288
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:33,559
that I had perhaps done her injustice
by my suspicions. In short,

289
00:26:33,599 --> 00:26:38,160
I began to make excuses for her. One lovely afternoon, with my eye

290
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:44,640
fixed at my post of observation,
I abandoned myself to these benevolent reflections.

291
00:26:45,799 --> 00:26:52,319
When suddenly the scene changed. Flaedormouse
passed through the gallery with the rapidity of

292
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:57,400
lightning. She was no longer the
same person. She was erect. Her

293
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:03,839
jaws were clinched, her glove ants
fixed, her neck extended. She walked

294
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,960
with grand strides, her gray locks
floating behind her. Oh, at last,

295
00:27:08,039 --> 00:27:15,279
I said to myself, something is
coming attention, But alas the shadows

296
00:27:15,319 --> 00:27:18,759
of evening descended upon the old building. The noises of the city expired,

297
00:27:19,559 --> 00:27:27,039
and silence prevailed. Fatigued and disappointed, I lay down upon my bed.

298
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:33,720
When casting my eyes toward my dormer
window, I saw the room opposite illuminated.

299
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:44,079
So a traveler occupied the green room, fatal to strangers. Now all

300
00:27:44,079 --> 00:27:48,079
my fears were reawakened. The agitation
of flator mouse was explained. She scented

301
00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:53,200
a new victim. No sleep for
me that night. The rustling of the

302
00:27:53,279 --> 00:27:57,799
straw, the nibbling of the mice
under the floor gave me nervous chills.

303
00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:04,319
I rose and leaned out of my
window. I listened. The light in

304
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:10,839
the room opposite was extinguished. In
one of those moments of poignant anxiety,

305
00:28:11,559 --> 00:28:15,880
I cannot say if it was illusion
or reality. I thought I saw the

306
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:22,759
old wretch also watching and listening.
The night passed, and the gray dawn

307
00:28:22,839 --> 00:28:26,799
came to my windows. By degrees, the noise and movements in the street

308
00:28:26,839 --> 00:28:33,519
ascended to my loft. Harassed by
fatigue and emotion, I fell asleep,

309
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:38,200
But my slumber was short, and
by eight o'clock I had resumed my post

310
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:45,599
of observation. It seemed as if
the night had been as disturbed and tempestuous

311
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,759
to flador Mouse as to myself.
When she opened the door of the gallery,

312
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:56,000
I saw that a livid pallor covered
her cheeks and thin throat. She

313
00:28:56,079 --> 00:29:00,839
had on only her chemise and the
woolen skirt. A few locks of reddish

314
00:29:00,839 --> 00:29:07,599
gray hair fell on her shoulders.
She looked towards my hiding place with a

315
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:14,319
dreamy, abstracted air, but she
saw nothing. She was thinking of other

316
00:29:14,359 --> 00:29:18,839
things. Suddenly she descended, leaving
her old shoes at the bottom of the

317
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,720
steps. Without doubt, thought I, she is going to see if the

318
00:29:22,759 --> 00:29:29,400
door below is well fastened. I
saw her remount, hastily, springing up

319
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:33,680
three or four steps at a time. It was terrible. She rushed into

320
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,160
the neighboring chamber, and I heard
something like the falling of the top of

321
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,359
a great chest. Then Flademaus appeared
in the gallery, dragging a mannikin after

322
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:49,359
her, and this mannikin was clothed
like the Heidelberg student. With surprising dexterity,

323
00:29:49,839 --> 00:29:53,240
the old woman suspended this hideous object
to a beam of the shed,

324
00:29:53,920 --> 00:30:00,400
then descended rapidly to the courtyard to
contemplate it. A burst of sardonic laughter

325
00:30:00,519 --> 00:30:03,920
escaped from her lips. She remounted, then descended again like a maniac,

326
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:10,160
and each time uttered new cries and
new bursts of laughter. A noise was

327
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:14,160
heard near the door, and the
old woman bounded forward, unhooked the mannikin

328
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,119
and carried it off. Then,
leaning over the balustrade with her throat elongated,

329
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:25,599
her eyes flashing, she listened earnestly. The noise was lost in the

330
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:30,480
distance. The muscles of her face
relaxed, and she drew long breaths.

331
00:30:30,599 --> 00:30:37,279
It was only a carriage which had
passed. The old wretch had been frightened.

332
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,559
She now returned to the room,
and I heard the chest close.

333
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:49,319
This strange scene confounded all my ideas. What did this mannikin signify? I

334
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:56,519
became more than ever attentive. Flador
Mouse now left the house with her basket

335
00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:00,519
on her arm. I followed her
with my eyes till she turned the corner

336
00:31:00,519 --> 00:31:03,359
of the street. She had reassumed
the air of a trembling old woman,

337
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:10,720
took short steps, and from time
to time turned her head partly round to

338
00:31:10,839 --> 00:31:15,880
peer behind from the corner of her
eye. Clady Mouse was absent fully five

339
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:23,400
hours for myself. I went,
I came I meditated. The time seemed

340
00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:29,519
insupportable. The sun heated the slate
of the roof and scorched my brain.

341
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,920
Now I saw at the window the
good man who occupied the fatal green chamber.

342
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:41,200
He was a brave peasant of Nassau, with a large three cornered hat,

343
00:31:41,519 --> 00:31:45,160
a scarlet vest, and a laughing
face. He smoked his pipe of

344
00:31:45,279 --> 00:31:52,319
ulmn tranquility and seemed to fear no
evil. I felt a strong desire to

345
00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:55,920
cry out to him, good man, bey on your guard. Do not

346
00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,079
allow yourself to be entrapped by the
old wretch. Distrust yourself. But he

347
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:07,599
would not have comprehended me. Toward
two o'clock, Fladormaus returned. The noise

348
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:14,880
of her door resounded through the vestibule. Then alone, all alone, she

349
00:32:15,079 --> 00:32:21,720
entered the yard and seated herself on
the interior step of the stairway. She

350
00:32:21,759 --> 00:32:25,720
put down her basket before her and
drew out first some packets of herbs,

351
00:32:27,319 --> 00:32:32,799
then vegetables, then a red vest, then a three cornered hat, a

352
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:40,079
coat of brown velvet, pants of
plush, a coarse woolen hose, the

353
00:32:40,119 --> 00:32:46,839
complete costume of the peasant from Nassau. For a moment I felt stunned.

354
00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:53,319
Then flames passed before my eyes.
I recollected those precipices which entice with an

355
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:59,680
irresistible power, Those wells or pits
which the police have been compelled to close

356
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:04,079
because as men threw themselves into them, Those trees which had been cut down

357
00:33:04,119 --> 00:33:09,160
because they inspired men with the idea
of hanging themselves. That contagion of suicides,

358
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:16,440
of robberies, of murders at certain
epochs by desperate means, that strange

359
00:33:16,799 --> 00:33:22,759
and subtile enticement, of example,
which makes you yawn because another yawns,

360
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:28,759
suffer because you see another suffer,
kill yourself because you see others kill themselves.

361
00:33:29,759 --> 00:33:35,680
And my hair stood up with horror. How could this flador mouse,

362
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:42,720
this base, sordid creature, have
derived so profound a law of human nature?

363
00:33:44,599 --> 00:33:46,880
How had she found the means to
use this law to the profit or

364
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:53,200
indulgence of her sanguinary instincts. This
I could not comprehend. It surpassed my

365
00:33:53,319 --> 00:34:00,680
wildest imaginations. But reflecting longer upon
this inexplicable mystery, I resolved to turn

366
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:06,359
the fatal law against her, and
to draw the old murderess into her own

367
00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:13,440
net. So many innocent victims called
out for vengeance. I felt myself to

368
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,920
be on the right path. I
went to all the old clothes cellars in

369
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,079
Nuremberg and returned in the afternoon to
the Inn berth Cras with an enormous packet

370
00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:30,519
under my arm. Michel Smitt had
known me for a long time. His

371
00:34:30,599 --> 00:34:35,840
wife was fat and good looking.
I had painted her portrait. Ah,

372
00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:40,320
mister Christian, said he squeezing my
hand. What happy circumstance brings you here?

373
00:34:42,119 --> 00:34:46,159
What procures me the pleasure of seeing
you, my dear mister Smitt.

374
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:52,960
I feel a vehement, insatiable desire
to sleep in the green room. We

375
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,360
were standing on the threshold of the
inn, and I pointed to the room.

376
00:34:57,599 --> 00:35:01,239
The good man looked at me distrustfully, fear nothing, I said,

377
00:35:01,639 --> 00:35:07,199
I have no desire to hang myself
a la boneur, ah, la boneur.

378
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:13,199
For frankly, that would give me
pain an artist of such merit.

379
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:20,840
When do you wish the room,
Master Christian, This evening impossible? It

380
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:25,719
is occupied. Monsieur can enter,
immediately, said a voice just behind me.

381
00:35:27,039 --> 00:35:30,480
I will not be in the way. We turned round in great surprise.

382
00:35:31,079 --> 00:35:36,360
The peasant of Nassau stood before us, with his three cornered hat and

383
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,400
his packet at the end of his
walking stick. He had just learned the

384
00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:44,760
history of his three predecessors in the
green room and was trembling with rage.

385
00:35:45,159 --> 00:35:51,599
Rooms like yours, cried he stuttering. But it is murderous to put people

386
00:35:51,599 --> 00:35:55,840
in there. It is assassination.
You deserve to be sent to the galleys.

387
00:35:55,880 --> 00:36:01,800
Immediately. Go go calm yourself,
said the innkeeper. That did not

388
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:07,159
prevent you from sleeping. Well,
happily I said my prayers at night,

389
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:13,280
said the peasant. Without that,
where would I be? And he withdrew

390
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:20,840
with his hands raised to heaven.
Well, said nischheol Smidt, stupefied.

391
00:36:22,079 --> 00:36:25,239
The room is vacant. But I
entreat you, do not serve me a

392
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:30,119
bad trick. It would be a
worse trick for myself than for you,

393
00:36:30,199 --> 00:36:37,800
monsieur. I gave my packet to
the servants and installed myself for the time

394
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:40,519
with the drinkers. For a long
time I had not felt so calm and

395
00:36:40,599 --> 00:36:49,440
happy after so many doubts and disquietudes. I touched the goal. The horizon

396
00:36:49,559 --> 00:36:52,679
seemed to clear up, and it
appeared that some invisible power gave me the

397
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:58,880
hand. I lighted my pipe,
placed my elbow on the table, my

398
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:04,159
wine before me, and listened to
the chorus in Freischutz, played by a

399
00:37:04,199 --> 00:37:08,239
troop of gypsies from the Black forest. The trumpets, the hue and cry

400
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:15,159
of the chase the hot boys plunged
me into a vague reverie, and at

401
00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:20,840
times rousing up to look at the
hour. I asked myself gravely if all

402
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:25,480
which had happened to me was not
a dream. But the watchman came to

403
00:37:25,559 --> 00:37:30,159
ask us to leave the sal and
soon other and more solemn thoughts were surging

404
00:37:30,199 --> 00:37:36,639
in my soul and in deep meditation. I followed little Charlotte, who preceded

405
00:37:36,679 --> 00:37:42,119
me with a candle to my room. We mounted the stairs to the third

406
00:37:42,199 --> 00:37:49,840
story. Charlotte gave me the candle
and pointed to the door there, said

407
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:57,400
she, and descended rapidly. I
opened the door. The green room was

408
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:01,079
like any other inn room. The
sea was very low, the bed very

409
00:38:01,159 --> 00:38:07,119
high. With one glance, I
explored the interior and then glided to the

410
00:38:07,159 --> 00:38:13,360
window. Nothing was to be seen
in the house of Fladermouse. Only in

411
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:19,320
some distant room an obscure light was
burning. Some one was on the watch

412
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,800
that is well, said I,
closing the curtain. I have all necessary

413
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:31,159
time. I opened my packet.
I put on a woman's bonnet with hanging

414
00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:36,719
lace. Then, placing myself before
a mirror, I took a brush and

415
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:42,840
painted wrinkles in my face. This
took me nearly an hour. Then I

416
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:46,039
put on the dress and a large
shawl, and I was actually afraid of

417
00:38:46,079 --> 00:38:52,360
myself. Fladermouse seemed to me to
look at me from the mirror. At

418
00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:58,920
this moment, the watchman cried out
eleven o'clock. I seized the mannikin which

419
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,360
I had brought in my packet,
and muffled it in a costume precisely similar

420
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:09,920
to that worn by the old wretch. I then opened the curtain. Certainly,

421
00:39:10,039 --> 00:39:14,519
after all that I had seen of
the Flaedor Mouse, of her infernal

422
00:39:14,599 --> 00:39:19,679
cunning, her prudence, her adroitness, she could not in any way surprise

423
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:24,880
me. And yet I was afraid. The light which I had remarked in

424
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:30,760
the chamber was still immovable, and
now cast its yellow rays on the mannikin

425
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:35,039
of the peasant of Nassau, which
was crouched on the corner of the bed,

426
00:39:35,559 --> 00:39:38,599
with the head hanging on the breast. The three cornered hat pulled down

427
00:39:38,639 --> 00:39:45,199
over the face, the arms suspended, and the whole aspect that of absolute

428
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:52,119
despair. The shadows, managed with
diabolical art, allowed nothing to be seen

429
00:39:52,199 --> 00:39:58,760
but the general effect of the face, the red vest and six round buttons

430
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:04,559
alone to shine out in the darkness, but the silence of the night,

431
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:12,480
the complete immobility of the figure,
the exhausted, mournful air were well calculated

432
00:40:12,679 --> 00:40:17,159
to take possession of a spectator with
a strange power. For myself, although

433
00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:24,760
forewarned, I was chilled even to
my bones. How would it then have

434
00:40:25,079 --> 00:40:30,920
fared with the poor simple peasant.
If he had been surprised unawares, he

435
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:37,079
would have been utterly cast down,
despairing. He would have lost all power

436
00:40:37,119 --> 00:40:44,559
of self control, and the spirit
of imitation would have done the rest scarcely

437
00:40:44,559 --> 00:40:46,679
had I moved the curtain. When
I saw a flayed a mouse on the

438
00:40:46,679 --> 00:40:53,639
watch behind her window, she could
not see me. I opened my window

439
00:40:53,719 --> 00:41:01,000
softly. The window opposite was opened, and her mannikin appeared to rise slowly

440
00:41:01,039 --> 00:41:07,599
and advance before me. I also
advanced my mannikin, and seizing my torch

441
00:41:07,679 --> 00:41:13,000
with one hand with the other,
I quickly opened the shutter, And now

442
00:41:13,039 --> 00:41:15,840
the old woman and myself were face
to face, struck with sudden terror.

443
00:41:16,599 --> 00:41:22,000
She had let her mannekin fall.
We gazed at each other with almost equal

444
00:41:22,039 --> 00:41:30,239
horror. She extended her finger.
I advanced mine. She moved her lips.

445
00:41:30,079 --> 00:41:37,519
I agitated mine. She breathed a
profound sigh and leaned upon her elbow.

446
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:44,559
I imitated her. To describe all
the terrors of the scene would be

447
00:41:44,639 --> 00:41:51,000
impossible. It bordered upon confusion,
madness, delirium. It was a death

448
00:41:51,039 --> 00:41:58,000
struggle between two wills, between two
intelligences, between two souls, each one

449
00:41:58,039 --> 00:42:02,440
wishing to destroy the other. And
in this struggle I had the advantage.

450
00:42:04,039 --> 00:42:12,159
Her victims struggled with me. After
having imitated for some seconds every movement of

451
00:42:12,199 --> 00:42:16,159
flador mouse, I pulled a rope
from under my skirt and attached it to

452
00:42:16,199 --> 00:42:23,079
the cross beam. The old woman
gazed at me with gaping mouth. I

453
00:42:23,159 --> 00:42:30,840
passed the rope around my neck.
Her pupils expanded, lightened, her face

454
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:37,519
was convulsed. No, no,
said she in a whistling voice. I

455
00:42:37,599 --> 00:42:43,599
pursued her with the impassibility of an
executioner. Then rage seemed to take possession

456
00:42:43,639 --> 00:42:49,679
of her old fool. She exclaimed, straightening herself up and her hands contracted

457
00:42:49,679 --> 00:42:52,760
on the cross beam. Old fool, I gave her no time to go

458
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:57,280
on blowing out my lamp. I
stooped like a man going to make a

459
00:42:57,360 --> 00:43:00,239
vigorous spring and seizing my mannekin,
I passed the rope around its neck and

460
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:07,159
precipitated it below. A terrible cry
resounded through the street, and then silence,

461
00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:16,519
which I seemed to feel. Perspiration
bathed my forehead. I listened a

462
00:43:16,519 --> 00:43:22,840
long time. At the end of
a quarter of an hour, I heard,

463
00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:28,000
far away, very far away,
the voice of the watchman crying.

464
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:38,199
Inhabitants of Nuremberg midnight. Midnight sounds. Now justice is satisfied, I cried,

465
00:43:39,079 --> 00:43:47,480
and three victims are avenged. Pardon
me, o Lord. About five

466
00:43:47,519 --> 00:43:53,039
minutes after the cry of the watchman, I saw fledormouse, attracted allured by

467
00:43:53,079 --> 00:43:59,760
my mannikin her exact image, spring
from the window with a rope around her

468
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:07,920
neck and rest suspended from the crossbeam. I saw the shadow of death undulating

469
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:15,119
through her body, while the moon, calm, silent, majestic, inundated

470
00:44:15,159 --> 00:44:22,079
the summit of the roof, and
her cold, pale rays reposed upon the

471
00:44:22,159 --> 00:44:28,920
old disheveled, hideous head. Just
as I had seen the poor young student

472
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:36,559
of Heidelberg, just so did I
now see Fledermouse. In the morning,

473
00:44:37,119 --> 00:44:42,320
all Nuremberg learned that the old wretch
had hanged herself, and this was the

474
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,119
last event of that kind. In
the street Minnesonga