home he had prepared for her. With some alacrity, therefore, they
stepped out of the carriage, the gates of the Hôtel were thrown open,
the concierge rang the bell which announced to the servants that their
master and mistress had arrived, and whilst these domestics appeared
above, holding lights over the balusters, Natalie, followed by her
husband, ascended the stairs. But when they reached the landing-place
of the first flight, they saw the figure of a man standing in a corner
as if to make way for them; the flash from above fell upon his face,
and again Antoine de Chaulieu recognized the features of Jacques
Rollet!

From the circumstance of his wife's preceding him, the figure was
not observed by De Chaulieu till he was lifting his foot to place it
on the top stair; the sudden shock caused him to miss the step, and,
without uttering a sound, he fell back, and never stopped till he
reached the stories at the bottom. The screams of Natalie brought the
concierge from below and the maids from above, and an attempt was
made to raise the unfortunate man from the ground; but with cries of
anguish he besought them to desist.

"Let me," he said, "die here! What a fearful vengeance is thine! Oh,
Natalie, Natalie!" he exclaimed to his wife, who was kneeling beside
him, "to win fame, and fortune, and yourself, I committed a dreadful
crime! With lying words I argued away the life of a fellow-creature,
whom, whilst I uttered them, I half believed to be innocent: and
now, when I have attained all I desired, and reached the summit of
my hopes, the Almighty has sent him back upon the earth to blast me
with the sight. Three times this day--three times this day! Again!
again!"--and as he spoke, his wild and dilated eyes fixed themselves
on one of the individuals that surrounded him.