Voice Through My Cabala--A Bad Joke--The Corticelli--I Take d'Aranda to
London My Arrival At Calais

As usual, Madame d'Urfe received me with open arms, but I was surprised
at hearing her tell Aranda to fetch the sealed letter she had given him
in the morning. I opened it, found it was dated the same day, and
contained the following:

"My genius told me at day-break that Galtinardus was starting from
Fontainebleau, and that he will come and dine with me to-day."

She chanced to be right, but I have had many similar experiences in the
course of my life-experiences which would have turned any other man's
head. I confess they have surprised me, but they have never made me lose
my reasoning powers. Men make a guess which turns out to be correct, and
they immediately claim prophetic power; but they forgot all about the
many cases in which they have been mistaken. Six months ago I was silly
enough to bet that a bitch would have a litter of five bitch pups on a
certain day, and I won. Everyone thought it a marvel except myself, for
if I had chanced to lose I should have been the first to laugh.

I naturally expressed my admiration for Madame d'Urfe's genius, and
shared her joy in finding herself so well during her pregnancy. The
worthy lunatic had given orders that she was not at home to her usual
callers, in expectation of my arrival, and so we spent the rest of the
day together, consulting how we could make Aranda go to London of his own
free will; and as I did not in the least know how it was to be done, the
replies of the oracle were very obscure. Madame d'Urfe had such a strong
dislike to bidding him go, that I could not presume on her obedience to
that extent, and I had to rack my brains to find out some way of making