most reprehensible motives, and I avoided him by dodging into the
oilery by a side door which happened to stand ajar. I locked it at
once and was alone with my dead. My father had retired for the night.
The only light in the place came from the furnace, which glowed a
deep, rich crimson under one of the vats, casting ruddy reflections on
the walls. Within the cauldron the oil still rolled in indolent
ebullition, occasionally pushing to the surface a piece of dog.
Seating myself to wait for the constable to go away, I held the naked
body of the foundling in my lap and tenderly stroked its short, silken
hair. Ah, how beautiful it was! Even at that early age I was
passionately fond of children, and as I looked upon this cherub I
could almost find it in my heart to wish that the small, red wound
upon its breast--the work of my dear mother--had not been mortal.

It had been my custom to throw the babes into the river which nature
had thoughtfully provided for the purpose, but that night I did not
dare to leave the oilery for fear of the constable. "After all," I
said to myself, "it cannot greatly matter if I put it into this
cauldron. My father will never know the bones from those of a puppy,
and the few deaths which may result from administering another kind of
oil for the incomparable _ol. can._ are not important in a population
which increases so rapidly." In short, I took the first step in crime
and brought myself untold sorrow by casting the babe into the
cauldron.

The next day, somewhat to my surprise, my father, rubbing his hands
with satisfaction, informed me and my mother that he had obtained the
finest quality of oil that was ever seen; that the physicians to whom
he had shown samples had so pronounced it. He added that he had no
knowledge as to how the result was obtained; the dogs had been treated