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Speaker 1: The Invisible Eye by Erkman Chatrian. About this time, said

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Christian Poor, as a church mouse, I took refuge in

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the roof of an old house in Minnesanga Street, Nuremberg,

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and made my nest in the corner of the garret.

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I was compelled to work over my straw bed to

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reach the window. But this window was in the gable end,

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and the view from it was magnificent, both town and

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country being spread out before me. I could see the

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

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filled with frogs, carrying nourishment to their ravenous brood. The

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pigeons springing from their coats, their tails spread like fans,

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hovering over the streets. In the evening, when the bells

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called the world to the Angelus. With my elbows upon

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

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I watched the windows as one by one they were

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lighted up. The good burghers smoking their pipes on the sidewalks,

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the young girls in their red skirts with their pitchers

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under their arms, laughing and chatting around the fountain Sant

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sabot Insensibly, all this faded away. The bats commenced their

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rapid course, and I retired to my mattress in a

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sweet peace and tranquility. The old curiosity seller, Tubac knew

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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,

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his ugly head, adorned with a reddish cap, raised the

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trap door. His fingers grasped the ledge, and he cried

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out in a nasal tone, well, well, master Christian, have

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you anything, to which I replied, come in. Why in

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

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little landscape, and you must tell me what you think

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of it. Then his great back, seeming to elongate, grew

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up even to the roof, and the good Man laughed silently.

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I must do justice to Tubac. He never haggled with

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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.

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This was an honest jew. I began to grow fond

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of this mode of existence and to find new charms

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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.

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Not far from my dormer window, a little to the

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left stood the Inn Berf Gras, an old ouberche much

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patronized throughout the country. Three or four wagons filled with

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sacks or casks were always drawn up before the door,

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where the rustic drivers were in the habit of stopping

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on their way to the market to take their morning

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draft of wine. The gable end of the inn was

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distinguished by its peculiar form, twas very narrow pointed, and

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on two sides cut in teeth like a saw. The

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carvings were strangely grotesque, interwoven and ornamenting the cornices and

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surrounding the windows. But the most remarkable fact was that

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the house opposite reproduced exactly the same sculptures, the same ornaments.

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Even the sign board, with its post and spiral of iron,

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was exactly copied. One might have thought that these two

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ancient houses reflected each other. Behind the inn, however, was

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a grand old oak, whose somber leaves darkened the stones

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of the roof, while the other house stood out in

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bold relief against the sky. To complete the description, this

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old building was as silent and dreary as the Inn

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

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

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cracking their whips. On the other, profound silence reigned. Perhaps

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once or twice during the day, the heavy door seemed

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to open of itself to allow a little old woman

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to go out, with her back almost in a semicircle,

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her dress fitting tight about her hips, an enormous basket

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on her arm, and her hand contracted against her breast.

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It seemed to me that I saw, at a glance,

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as I looked upon her, a whole existence of good

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works and pious meditations. The physiognomy of this old woman

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had struck me more than once. Her little green eyes,

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long thin nose, the immense bouquets of flowers on her shawl,

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which must have been at least a hundred years old,

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the withered smile which puckered her cheeks into a cockade,

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the lace of her bonnet falling down to her eyebrows.

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All this was fantastic and interested me much. Why did

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this old woman live in this great deserted he? I

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wished to explore the mystery One day, as I paused

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in the street and followed her with my eyes. She

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turned suddenly and gave me a look, a horrible expression

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of which I know not how to paint, made three

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or four hideous grimaces, and then, letting her palsied head

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fall upon her breast, drew her great shawl closely around her,

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and advanced slowly to the heavy door, behind which I

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saw her disappear. She's an old fool, I said to myself,

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in a sort of stupor. My faith it was the

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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

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would willingly give me fifteen florins if I could paint

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it for him. I must confess that these pleasantries of

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mine did not entirely reassure me. The hideous glance which

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the old shrew had given me pursued me everywhere more

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than once, climbing the almost perpendicular ladder to my loft,

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feeling my clothing caught on some point, I trembled from

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head to foot, imagining that the old wretch was hanging

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to the tails of my coat in order to destroy me. Tubac,

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to whom I related this adventure was far from laughing

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at it. Indeed, he assumed a grave and solemn air.

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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,

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and that is not natural at her age, she has

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an evil eye. Children flee from her, and the people

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of Nuremberg call her Fledamous. I admired the clear, sagacious

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intellect of the Jew, and his words gave me cause

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for reflection. Several weeks passed away, during which I often

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encountered Fladamous without any alarming consequences. My fears were dissipated,

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and I thought of her no more. But an evening

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came during which, while sleeping very soundly, I was awakened

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by a strange harmony. It was a kind of vibration

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so sweet, so melodious, that the whispering of the breeze

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among the leaves can give but a faint idea of

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its charm. For a long time I listened intently, with

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my eyes wide open, and holding my breath so as

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not to lose a note. At last, I looked toward

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the window and saw two wings fluttering against the glass.

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I thought at first that it was a bat caught

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

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I saw the wings of a magnificent butterfly of the night,

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delineated upon her shining disk. Their vibrations were often so

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rapid that they could not be distinguished. Then they posed

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extended upon the glass, and their frail fibers were again

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brought to view. Miss misty apparition, coming in the midst

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of the universal silence, opened my heart to all sweet emotions.

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It seemed to me that an airy sylph, touched with

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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.

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I will not keep you against your will. Return to

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heaven and to liberty. I then opened my little window.

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The night was calm, and millions of stars were glittering

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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.

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But judge of my amazement. When lower my eyes I

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saw a man hanging from the cross beam of the

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sign of the berf gras, the hair disheveled, the arms stiff,

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the legs elongated to a point, and casting their gigantic

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shadows down to the street. The immobility of this figure

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under the moon's rays was terrible. I felt my tongue freezing,

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my teeth clinched. I was about to cry out in terror, when,

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by some incomprehensible, mysterious attraction, my glance fell below, and

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I distinguished confusedly the old woman, crouched at her window,

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in the midst of dark shadows, and contemplating the dead

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man with an air of diabolic satisfaction. Then I had

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a vertigo of terror. All my strength abandoned me, and

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retreating to the wall of my loft, I sank down

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and became insensible. I do not know how long the

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sleep of death continued. When restored to consciousness, I saw

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that it was broad day. The mists of the night

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had penetrated to my garret and deposited their fresh dew

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upon my hair, and the confused murmurs of the street

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ascended to my little lodging. I looked without. The burgomaster

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and his secretary were stationed at the door of the inn,

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and remained there a long time. Crowds of people came

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and went, and paused to look in, then recommenced their course.

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The good women of the neighborhood, who were sweeping before

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their doors, looked on from afar and talked gravely with

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each other. At last a litter, and upon this litter

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a body covered with a linen cloth issued from the inn.

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

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

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All the people drew back as they advanced. The window

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opposite was still open. The end of a rope floated

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from the cross beam. I had not dreamed. I had

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indeed seen the butterfly of the night. I had seen

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the man hanging, and I had seen flayed the mouse.

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That day, Toubac made me a visit, and as his

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great nose appeared on a level with the floor, he exclaimed,

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Master Christian, have you nothing to sell? I did not

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hear him. I was seated upon my one chair, my

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

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

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Master Christian, then striding over the sill, he advanced and

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struck me on the shoulder. Well, well, what is the

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matter now, ah? Is that you Toubac eh parbleu? I

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rather think so? Are you ill? No? I am only

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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

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singular history? 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

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too late. There will certainly be a fourth who will

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follow the example of the others. In laque le premiere

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pa gikute. Saying this, Toubac took a seat on the

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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

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a meditative air. My faith said he. I am not fearful,

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but if I had full permission to pass the night

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in that chamber, I should much prefer to sleep elsewhere. Listen,

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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.

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He called for supper. He ate well, he drank well,

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and was finally conducted to that room in the third story.

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It is called the green Room. Well, the next morning

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he was found hanging to the cross beam of the signboard.

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

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Every proper investigation was made, and a stranger was buried

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at the bottom of the garden. But look you. About

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six months afterwards, a brave soldier from Neustadt arrived. He

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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,

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while emptying his wine cup, he spoke fondly of his

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little cousin, who was waiting to marry him. At last,

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this big monsieur was conducted to his room, the Green Room,

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And the same night the watchman, passing down the street Minnesanger,

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perceived something hanging to the cross beam. He raised his

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lantern and lo it was the soldier, with his final

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discharge in a bow on his left hip, and his

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hands gathered up to the seam of his pantaloons, as

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

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

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much visited, the walls were replastered, and the dead man

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was sent to Neustadt. The registrar wrote this marginal note,

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died of apoplexy. All Nuremberg was enraged against the innkeeper.

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There were many, indeed, who wished to force him to

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take down his iron crossbeam under the pretext that had

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inspired people with dangerous ideas. But you may well believe

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that old Michael Schmidt would not lend his ear to

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

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my grandfather. It has borne the sign of Berfgraft for

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one hundred and fifty years, from father to son. It

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harms no one, not even the hay wagons which pass beneath,

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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.

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Gradually the town calmed down, and during several months no

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new event agitated it. Unhappily, a student of Heidelberg returning

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to the university, stopped day before yesterday at the inn

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Berfkras and asked for lodging. He was the son of

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a minister of the Gospel. How could any one supposed

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that the son of a pastor could conceive the idea

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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.

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We must admit, Master Christian, that the thing was not probable,

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that these reasons would not have seemed sufficient to myself

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or to you Enough enough, I exclaimed, this is too horrible.

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I see a frightful mystery involved in all this. It

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is not the crossbeam, it is not the room. What

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do you suspect the innkeeper, the most honest man in

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the world, and belonging to one of the oldest families

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in Nuremberg. No, no, may God preserve me from indulging

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in unjust suspicions. But there is an abyss before me

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

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astonished at the violence of my excitement. We will speak

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of other things. A propos, Master Christian, where is our

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landscape of Saint Odile? This question brought me back to

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the world of realities. I showed the old man the

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painting I had just completed. The affair was soon concluded,

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and to Bac, well satisfied, descended the ladder, entreating me

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to think no more of the student of Heidelberg. I

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would gladly have followed my good friend's counsel. But when

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the devil once mixes himself up in our concerns, it

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is not easy to disembarrass ourselves of him. In my

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00:17:33,279 --> 00:17:37,440
solitary hours, all these events were reproduced with frightful distinctness

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in my mind. This old wretch, I said to myself,

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is the cause of it all. She alone has conceived

253
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these crimes and has consummated them. But by what means

254
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has she had recourse to cunning alone? Or has she

255
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obtained the intervention of invisible powers? I walked to and

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fro in my retreat, an inward voice cried out, It

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is not in vain that providence permitted you to see

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fladormous contemplating the agonies of her victim. It is not

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in vain that the soul of the poor young man

260
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came in the form of a butterfly of the night

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to awake you. No, no, all, this was not accidental. Christian.

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The heavens impose upon you a terrible mission. If you

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do not accomplish it, tremble lest you fall yourself into

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the hands of the old murderess. Perhaps at this moment

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she is preparing her snares in the darkness. During these

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several days, these hideous images followed me without intermission. I

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lost my sleep. It was impossible for me to do anything.

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My brush fell from my hand, and horrible to confess,

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I found myself sometimes gazing at the cross beam with

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a sort of complacency. At last, I could endure it

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no longer, and one evening I descended the ladder and

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hid myself behind the door of Fledormous, hoping to surprise

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her fatal secret. From that time, no day passed in

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which I was not en route, following the old wretch, watching, spying,

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never losing sight of her. But she was so cunning,

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had a scent so suptile, that without even turning her head,

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she knew I was behind her. However, she feigned not

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to perceive this. She went to the market to the

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butcher's like any good simple woman, only hastening her steps

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and murmuring confused words. At the close of the month,

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I saw that it was impossible for me to attain

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my object in this way, and this conviction made me

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00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:57,920
inexpressibly sad. What can I do? I said to myself,

284
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the old woman divines my plan. She is on her guard.

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Every hope abandons me. Ah, old hag, you think you

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already see me at the end of your rope. I

287
00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:13,599
was continually asking myself this question, what can I do?

288
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What can I do? At last, a luminous idea struck me.

289
00:20:21,319 --> 00:20:25,319
My chamber overlooked the house of Fledermous, But there was

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no window on this side. I adroitly raised a slate,

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and no pen could paint my joy. When the whole

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00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:41,599
ancient building was thus exposed to me. At last, I

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00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:47,400
have you, I exclaimed, You cannot escape me. Now from

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here I can see all that passes, your goings, your comings,

295
00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:57,319
your arts and snares. You will not suspect this invisible eye,

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this watchful eye, which will surprise crime. At the moment

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00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:10,079
it blooms, Oh, justice, Justice. She marches slowly, but she arrives.

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Nothing could be more sinister than the den now spread

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out before me. A great court yard, the large slabs

300
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,960
of which were covered with moss. In one corner, a

301
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:29,039
well whose stagnant waters you shuddered to look upon a

302
00:21:29,079 --> 00:21:33,200
stairway covered with old shells. At the farther end, a

303
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,279
gallery with wooden balustrade and hanging upon it some old linen,

304
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and the tick of an old straw mattress. On the

305
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,079
first floor. To the left, the stone covering of a

306
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:50,200
common sewer indicated the kitchen. To the right, the lofty

307
00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,799
windows of the building looked out upon the street, then

308
00:21:53,839 --> 00:21:58,240
a few pots of dried withered flowers. All was cracked

309
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somber moist. Only one or two hours during the day

310
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could the sun penetrate this loathsome spot. After that the

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00:22:09,799 --> 00:22:14,319
shadows took possession. Then the sunshine fell upon the crazy walls,

312
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the worm eaten balcony, the dull and tarnished glass, and

313
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upon the whirlwind of atoms floating in its golden rays,

314
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disturbed by no breath of air. I had scarcely finished

315
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,160
these observations and reflections when the old woman entered, having

316
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just returned from market. I heard the grating of her

317
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heavy door. Then she appeared with her basket. She seemed fatigued,

318
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almost out of breath. The lace of her bonnet fell

319
00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,640
to her nose. With one hand, she grasped the banister

320
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and ascended the stairs. The heat was intolerable, suffocating. It

321
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:05,079
was precisely one of those days in which all insects, crickets, spiders, mosquitoes,

322
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:09,400
et cetera, make old ruins resound with their strange sounds.

323
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Fladamouse crossed the gallery slowly, like an old ferret who

324
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feels at home. She remained more than a quarter of

325
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an hour in the kitchen, then returned, spread out her linen,

326
00:23:23,799 --> 00:23:27,319
took the broom and brushed away some blades of straw

327
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:32,279
on the floor. At last, she raised her head, and

328
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:38,079
turning her little green eyes in every direction, searching, investigating carefully.

329
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Could she, by some strange intuition suspect anything? I do

330
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,160
not know, But I gently lowered the slate and gave

331
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:55,799
up my watch for the day. In the morning, Fladamouse

332
00:23:55,799 --> 00:24:00,000
appeared reassured. One angle of light fell upon the gallery.

333
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,359
In passing, she caught a fly on the wing and

334
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presented it delicately to a spider established in a corner

335
00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:12,119
of the roof. This spider was so bloated that, notwithstanding

336
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,799
the distance, I saw it descend from round to round,

337
00:24:16,599 --> 00:24:19,759
then glide along a fine web like a drop of venom,

338
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seize its prey from the hands of the old shoe,

339
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,240
and remount rapidly. Flador Mouse looked at it very attentively,

340
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with her eyes half closed, then sneezed and said to

341
00:24:31,039 --> 00:24:35,400
herself in a jeering tone, God, bless you, beautiful one,

342
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:42,440
God bless you. I watched during six weeks and could

343
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,720
discover nothing concerning the power of Fladormouse. Sometimes seated upon

344
00:24:47,759 --> 00:24:51,000
a stool, she peeled her potatoes, then hung out her

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linen upon the balustrade. Sometimes I saw her spinning, but

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she never sang, as good kind old women are accustomed

347
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,839
to do, their trembling voices mingling well with the humming

348
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:10,279
of the wheel. Profound silence always reigned around her. She

349
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:15,319
had no cat that cherished society of old women. Not

350
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,039
even a sparrow came to rest under her roof. It

351
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,720
seemed as if all animated nature shrank from her glance.

352
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:29,839
The bloated spider alone took delight in her society. I

353
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,039
cannot now conceive how my patience could endure these long

354
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:38,880
hours of observation. Nothing escaped me, nothing was matter of indifference.

355
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At the slightest sound, I raised my slate. My curiosity

356
00:25:44,319 --> 00:25:52,559
was without limit, insatiable. Toubac complained greatly. Master Christian said

357
00:25:52,559 --> 00:25:55,640
he How in the devil do you pass your time?

358
00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,799
Formerly you painted something for me every week. Now you

359
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,720
do not finish a piece once a month. Oh, you painters.

360
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,519
Lazy is a painter is a good wise proverb. As

361
00:26:09,559 --> 00:26:12,200
soon as you have a few kreutzers in possession, you

362
00:26:12,279 --> 00:26:14,400
put your hands in your pockets and go to sleep.

363
00:26:16,799 --> 00:26:21,319
I confess that I began to lose courage. I had watched, spied,

364
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,039
and discovered nothing. I said to myself that the old

365
00:26:25,079 --> 00:26:27,720
woman could not be so dangerous as I had supposed,

366
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,680
that I had perhaps done her injustice by my suspicions.

367
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,920
In short, I began to make excuses for her. One

368
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,839
lovely afternoon, with my eye fixed at my post of observation,

369
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:47,400
I abandoned myself to these benevolent reflections. When suddenly the

370
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:53,240
scene changed. Flaedormouse passed through the gallery with the rapidity

371
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,039
of lightning. She was no longer the same person. She

372
00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:01,000
was erect. Her jaws were clinched, her glove ants fixed,

373
00:27:01,319 --> 00:27:05,440
her neck extended. She walked with grand strides, her gray

374
00:27:05,519 --> 00:27:09,960
locks floating behind her. Oh, at last, I said to myself,

375
00:27:10,079 --> 00:27:15,720
something is coming attention, But alas the shadows of evening

376
00:27:15,759 --> 00:27:19,759
descended upon the old building. The noises of the city expired,

377
00:27:20,559 --> 00:27:27,599
and silence prevailed. Fatigued and disappointed, I lay down upon

378
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,119
my bed. When casting my eyes toward my dormer window,

379
00:27:32,279 --> 00:27:38,519
I saw the room opposite illuminated. So a traveler occupied

380
00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:44,559
the green room, fatal to strangers. Now all my fears

381
00:27:44,599 --> 00:27:48,640
were reawakened. The agitation of flator mouse was explained. She

382
00:27:48,759 --> 00:27:52,680
scented a new victim. No sleep for me that night.

383
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,160
The rustling of the straw, the nibbling of the mice

384
00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:00,480
under the floor gave me nervous chills. I rose and

385
00:28:00,559 --> 00:28:05,319
leaned out of my window. I listened. The light in

386
00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:09,640
the room opposite was extinguished. In one of those moments

387
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,119
of poignant anxiety, I cannot say if it was illusion

388
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,960
or reality. I thought I saw the old wretch also

389
00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:22,759
watching and listening. The night passed, and the gray dawn

390
00:28:22,839 --> 00:28:27,319
came to my windows. By degrees, the noise and movements

391
00:28:27,319 --> 00:28:31,519
in the street ascended to my loft. Harassed by fatigue

392
00:28:31,559 --> 00:28:35,640
and emotion, I fell asleep, But my slumber was short,

393
00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,880
and by eight o'clock I had resumed my post of observation.

394
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,720
It seemed as if the night had been as disturbed

395
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:49,240
and tempestuous to flador Mouse as to myself. When she

396
00:28:49,319 --> 00:28:52,160
opened the door of the gallery, I saw that a

397
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:57,279
livid pallor covered her cheeks and thin throat. She had

398
00:28:57,319 --> 00:29:01,000
on only her chemise and the woolen skirt. A few

399
00:29:01,039 --> 00:29:04,920
locks of reddish gray hair fell on her shoulders. She

400
00:29:05,039 --> 00:29:09,279
looked towards my hiding place with a dreamy, abstracted air,

401
00:29:10,599 --> 00:29:14,799
but she saw nothing. She was thinking of other things.

402
00:29:16,359 --> 00:29:19,680
Suddenly she descended, leaving her old shoes at the bottom

403
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,240
of the steps. Without doubt, thought I, she is going

404
00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,039
to see if the door below is well fastened. I

405
00:29:27,079 --> 00:29:30,440
saw her remount, hastily, springing up three or four steps

406
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,720
at a time. It was terrible. She rushed into the

407
00:29:33,759 --> 00:29:36,680
neighboring chamber, and I heard something like the falling of

408
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,039
the top of a great chest. Then Flademaus appeared in

409
00:29:40,079 --> 00:29:44,160
the gallery, dragging a mannikin after her, and this mannikin

410
00:29:44,279 --> 00:29:50,920
was clothed like the Heidelberg student. With surprising dexterity, the

411
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,799
old woman suspended this hideous object to a beam of

412
00:29:53,799 --> 00:29:57,599
the shed, then descended rapidly to the courtyard to contemplate it.

413
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:03,200
A burst of sardonic laughter escaped from her lips. She remounted,

414
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,200
then descended again like a maniac, and each time uttered

415
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,160
new cries and new bursts of laughter. A noise was

416
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,039
heard near the door, and the old woman bounded forward,

417
00:30:13,279 --> 00:30:17,119
unhooked the mannikin and carried it off. Then, leaning over

418
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,559
the balustrade with her throat elongated, her eyes flashing, she

419
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:26,799
listened earnestly. The noise was lost in the distance. The

420
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,480
muscles of her face relaxed, and she drew long breaths.

421
00:30:31,599 --> 00:30:36,039
It was only a carriage which had passed. The old

422
00:30:36,079 --> 00:30:40,559
wretch had been frightened. She now returned to the room,

423
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:45,640
and I heard the chest close. This strange scene confounded

424
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:50,720
all my ideas. What did this mannikin signify? I became

425
00:30:50,759 --> 00:30:55,759
more than ever attentive. Flador Mouse now left the house

426
00:30:55,799 --> 00:30:58,960
with her basket on her arm. I followed her with

427
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,039
my eyes till she turned the corner of the street.

428
00:31:02,119 --> 00:31:04,359
She had reassumed the air of a trembling old woman,

429
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:09,000
took short steps, and from time to time turned her

430
00:31:09,039 --> 00:31:12,480
head partly round to peer behind from the corner of

431
00:31:12,519 --> 00:31:19,160
her eye. Clady Mouse was absent fully five hours for myself.

432
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:25,359
I went, I came I meditated. The time seemed insupportable.

433
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,039
The sun heated the slate of the roof and scorched

434
00:31:29,079 --> 00:31:33,640
my brain. Now I saw at the window the good

435
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:37,559
man who occupied the fatal green chamber. He was a

436
00:31:37,599 --> 00:31:41,200
brave peasant of Nassau, with a large three cornered hat,

437
00:31:41,519 --> 00:31:45,640
a scarlet vest, and a laughing face. He smoked his

438
00:31:45,759 --> 00:31:49,440
pipe of ulmn tranquility and seemed to fear no evil.

439
00:31:51,039 --> 00:31:53,039
I felt a strong desire to cry out to him,

440
00:31:53,279 --> 00:31:56,640
good man, bey on your guard. Do not allow yourself

441
00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,920
to be entrapped by the old wretch. Distrust yourself. But

442
00:32:01,039 --> 00:32:07,039
he would not have comprehended me. Toward two o'clock, Fladormaus returned.

443
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:13,079
The noise of her door resounded through the vestibule. Then alone,

444
00:32:13,319 --> 00:32:17,640
all alone, she entered the yard and seated herself on

445
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:22,359
the interior step of the stairway. She put down her

446
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,720
basket before her and drew out first some packets of herbs,

447
00:32:27,319 --> 00:32:32,880
then vegetables, then a red vest, then a three cornered hat,

448
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:38,559
a coat of brown velvet, pants of plush, a coarse

449
00:32:38,599 --> 00:32:43,920
woolen hose, the complete costume of the peasant from Nassau.

450
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,000
For a moment I felt stunned. Then flames passed before

451
00:32:50,039 --> 00:32:54,319
my eyes. I recollected those precipices which entice with an

452
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,359
irresistible power, Those wells or pits which the police have

453
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,799
been compelled to close because as men threw themselves into them,

454
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,079
Those trees which had been cut down because they inspired

455
00:33:05,119 --> 00:33:10,160
men with the idea of hanging themselves. That contagion of suicides,

456
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:15,000
of robberies, of murders at certain epochs by desperate means,

457
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:21,279
that strange and subtile enticement, of example, which makes you

458
00:33:21,359 --> 00:33:24,599
yawn because another yawns, suffer because you see another suffer,

459
00:33:25,559 --> 00:33:30,039
kill yourself because you see others kill themselves. And my

460
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:35,680
hair stood up with horror. How could this flador mouse,

461
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:41,720
this base, sordid creature, have derived so profound a law

462
00:33:41,799 --> 00:33:46,079
of human nature? How had she found the means to

463
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,839
use this law to the profit or indulgence of her

464
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:54,200
sanguinary instincts. This I could not comprehend. It surpassed my

465
00:33:54,319 --> 00:34:00,720
wildest imaginations. But reflecting longer upon this inexplicable mystery, I

466
00:34:00,799 --> 00:34:04,160
resolved to turn the fatal law against her, and to

467
00:34:04,279 --> 00:34:08,840
draw the old murderess into her own net. So many

468
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,440
innocent victims called out for vengeance. I felt myself to

469
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,480
be on the right path. I went to all the

470
00:34:17,519 --> 00:34:21,039
old clothes cellars in Nuremberg and returned in the afternoon

471
00:34:21,079 --> 00:34:24,360
to the Inn berth Cras with an enormous packet under

472
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:29,440
my arm. Michel Smitt had known me for a long time.

473
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:33,519
His wife was fat and good looking. I had painted

474
00:34:33,559 --> 00:34:38,599
her portrait. Ah, mister Christian, said he squeezing my hand.

475
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:43,159
What happy circumstance brings you here? What procures me the

476
00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:47,679
pleasure of seeing you, my dear mister Smitt. I feel

477
00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:50,679
a vehement, insatiable desire to sleep in the green room.

478
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,239
We were standing on the threshold of the inn, and

479
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,519
I pointed to the room. The good man looked at

480
00:34:58,519 --> 00:35:03,480
me distrustfully, fear nothing, I said, I have no desire

481
00:35:03,559 --> 00:35:10,000
to hang myself a la boneur, ah, la boneur. For frankly,

482
00:35:10,039 --> 00:35:13,199
that would give me pain an artist of such merit.

483
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:20,599
When do you wish the room, Master Christian, This evening impossible?

484
00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:26,039
It is occupied. Monsieur can enter, immediately, said a voice

485
00:35:26,119 --> 00:35:28,159
just behind me. I will not be in the way.

486
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,079
We turned round in great surprise. The peasant of Nassau

487
00:35:33,199 --> 00:35:36,519
stood before us, with his three cornered hat and his

488
00:35:36,639 --> 00:35:39,760
packet at the end of his walking stick. He had

489
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,280
just learned the history of his three predecessors in the

490
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:47,280
green room and was trembling with rage. Rooms like yours,

491
00:35:47,679 --> 00:35:51,599
cried he stuttering. But it is murderous to put people

492
00:35:51,599 --> 00:35:56,159
in there. It is assassination. You deserve to be sent

493
00:35:56,239 --> 00:36:02,079
to the galleys. Immediately. Go go calm yourself, said the innkeeper.

494
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,840
That did not prevent you from sleeping. Well, happily I

495
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,480
said my prayers at night, said the peasant. Without that,

496
00:36:10,679 --> 00:36:14,000
where would I be? And he withdrew with his hands

497
00:36:14,079 --> 00:36:22,400
raised to heaven. Well, said nischheol Smidt, stupefied. The room

498
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,119
is vacant. But I entreat you, do not serve me

499
00:36:26,159 --> 00:36:30,159
a bad trick. It would be a worse trick for

500
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:35,079
myself than for you, monsieur. I gave my packet to

501
00:36:35,119 --> 00:36:38,960
the servants and installed myself for the time with the drinkers.

502
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,400
For a long time I had not felt so calm

503
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:46,559
and happy after so many doubts and disquietudes. I touched

504
00:36:46,559 --> 00:36:51,360
the goal. The horizon seemed to clear up, and it

505
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:55,559
appeared that some invisible power gave me the hand. I

506
00:36:55,639 --> 00:36:58,880
lighted my pipe, placed my elbow on the table, my

507
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:02,800
wine before me, and listened to the chorus in Freischutz,

508
00:37:03,519 --> 00:37:06,079
played by a troop of gypsies from the Black forest.

509
00:37:07,559 --> 00:37:10,639
The trumpets, the hue and cry of the chase the

510
00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:15,159
hot boys plunged me into a vague reverie, and at

511
00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:18,280
times rousing up to look at the hour. I asked

512
00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:22,880
myself gravely if all which had happened to me was

513
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,960
not a dream. But the watchman came to ask us

514
00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:30,159
to leave the sal and soon other and more solemn

515
00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:33,880
thoughts were surging in my soul and in deep meditation.

516
00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:37,440
I followed little Charlotte, who preceded me with a candle

517
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:42,599
to my room. We mounted the stairs to the third story.

518
00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:48,960
Charlotte gave me the candle and pointed to the door there,

519
00:37:49,599 --> 00:37:56,719
said she, and descended rapidly. I opened the door. The

520
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,920
green room was like any other inn room. The sea

521
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:04,280
was very low, the bed very high. With one glance,

522
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:07,519
I explored the interior and then glided to the window.

523
00:38:09,599 --> 00:38:11,960
Nothing was to be seen in the house of Fladermouse.

524
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:16,400
Only in some distant room an obscure light was burning.

525
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:22,960
Some one was on the watch that is well, said I,

526
00:38:23,079 --> 00:38:29,199
closing the curtain. I have all necessary time. I opened

527
00:38:29,199 --> 00:38:33,559
my packet. I put on a woman's bonnet with hanging lace. Then,

528
00:38:33,639 --> 00:38:36,719
placing myself before a mirror, I took a brush and

529
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,960
painted wrinkles in my face. This took me nearly an hour.

530
00:38:42,559 --> 00:38:44,800
Then I put on the dress and a large shawl,

531
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,880
and I was actually afraid of myself. Fladermouse seemed to

532
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:53,760
me to look at me from the mirror. At this moment,

533
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:58,679
the watchman cried out eleven o'clock. I seized the mannikin

534
00:38:58,719 --> 00:39:01,400
which I had brought in my packet, and muffled it

535
00:39:01,559 --> 00:39:04,239
in a costume precisely similar to that worn by the

536
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:11,519
old wretch. I then opened the curtain. Certainly, after all

537
00:39:11,519 --> 00:39:13,880
that I had seen of the Flaedor Mouse, of her

538
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:18,800
infernal cunning, her prudence, her adroitness, she could not in

539
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:24,519
any way surprise me. And yet I was afraid. The

540
00:39:24,639 --> 00:39:27,519
light which I had remarked in the chamber was still immovable,

541
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,880
and now cast its yellow rays on the mannikin of

542
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,280
the peasant of Nassau, which was crouched on the corner

543
00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:37,039
of the bed, with the head hanging on the breast.

544
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:41,280
The three cornered hat pulled down over the face, the

545
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,800
arms suspended, and the whole aspect that of absolute despair.

546
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:52,840
The shadows, managed with diabolical art, allowed nothing to be

547
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:56,679
seen but the general effect of the face, the red

548
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,960
vest and six round buttons alone to shine out in

549
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:06,000
the darkness, but the silence of the night, the complete

550
00:40:06,119 --> 00:40:11,760
immobility of the figure, the exhausted, mournful air were well

551
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,559
calculated to take possession of a spectator with a strange power.

552
00:40:17,079 --> 00:40:22,119
For myself, although forewarned, I was chilled even to my bones.

553
00:40:24,679 --> 00:40:28,079
How would it then have fared with the poor simple peasant.

554
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:32,440
If he had been surprised unawares, he would have been

555
00:40:32,519 --> 00:40:38,079
utterly cast down, despairing. He would have lost all power

556
00:40:38,119 --> 00:40:41,400
of self control, and the spirit of imitation would have

557
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:46,360
done the rest scarcely had I moved the curtain. When

558
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,360
I saw a flayed a mouse on the watch behind

559
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:54,199
her window, she could not see me. I opened my

560
00:40:54,239 --> 00:41:00,639
window softly. The window opposite was opened, and her mannikin

561
00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:05,159
appeared to rise slowly and advance before me. I also

562
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,400
advanced my mannikin, and seizing my torch with one hand

563
00:41:10,039 --> 00:41:13,000
with the other, I quickly opened the shutter, And now

564
00:41:13,039 --> 00:41:15,880
the old woman and myself were face to face, struck

565
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,400
with sudden terror. She had let her mannekin fall. We

566
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,320
gazed at each other with almost equal horror. She extended

567
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:31,159
her finger. I advanced mine. She moved her lips. I

568
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:36,840
agitated mine. She breathed a profound sigh and leaned upon

569
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:43,800
her elbow. I imitated her. To describe all the terrors

570
00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:50,119
of the scene would be impossible. It bordered upon confusion, madness, delirium.

571
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:55,440
It was a death struggle between two wills, between two intelligences,

572
00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:59,360
between two souls, each one wishing to destroy the other.

573
00:42:00,159 --> 00:42:04,840
And in this struggle I had the advantage. Her victims

574
00:42:05,119 --> 00:42:11,719
struggled with me. After having imitated for some seconds every

575
00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:14,960
movement of flador mouse, I pulled a rope from under

576
00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:19,800
my skirt and attached it to the cross beam. The

577
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:24,480
old woman gazed at me with gaping mouth. I passed

578
00:42:24,519 --> 00:42:30,519
the rope around my neck. Her pupils expanded, lightened, her

579
00:42:30,519 --> 00:42:38,159
face was convulsed. No, no, said she in a whistling voice.

580
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:42,119
I pursued her with the impassibility of an executioner. Then

581
00:42:42,199 --> 00:42:46,719
rage seemed to take possession of her old fool. She exclaimed,

582
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,440
straightening herself up and her hands contracted on the cross beam.

583
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:53,880
Old fool, I gave her no time to go on

584
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,960
blowing out my lamp. I stooped like a man going

585
00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,719
to make a vigorous spring and seizing my mannekin, I

586
00:42:59,719 --> 00:43:02,480
passed the rope around its neck and precipitated it below.

587
00:43:03,679 --> 00:43:08,159
A terrible cry resounded through the street, and then silence,

588
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:17,039
which I seemed to feel. Perspiration bathed my forehead. I

589
00:43:17,119 --> 00:43:21,239
listened a long time. At the end of a quarter

590
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:25,400
of an hour, I heard, far away, very far away,

591
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:32,159
the voice of the watchman crying. Inhabitants of Nuremberg midnight.

592
00:43:33,039 --> 00:43:40,519
Midnight sounds. Now justice is satisfied, I cried, and three

593
00:43:40,599 --> 00:43:48,800
victims are avenged. Pardon me, o Lord. About five minutes

594
00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:52,760
after the cry of the watchman, I saw fledormouse, attracted

595
00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:57,760
allured by my mannikin her exact image, spring from the

596
00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:02,840
window with a rope around her neck and rest suspended

597
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:07,920
from the crossbeam. I saw the shadow of death undulating

598
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:16,119
through her body, while the moon, calm, silent, majestic, inundated

599
00:44:16,159 --> 00:44:20,320
the summit of the roof, and her cold, pale rays

600
00:44:21,119 --> 00:44:27,480
reposed upon the old disheveled, hideous head. Just as I

601
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:31,440
had seen the poor young student of Heidelberg, just so

602
00:44:31,679 --> 00:44:37,960
did I now see Fledermouse. In the morning, all Nuremberg

603
00:44:38,079 --> 00:44:41,920
learned that the old wretch had hanged herself, and this

604
00:44:42,159 --> 00:44:45,119
was the last event of that kind. In the street

605
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:46,119
Minnesonga