Mysteries of Paris, V3

prisoners, notwithstanding their cynical perversity, almost always preferred artless stories (we will not say puerile), in whic

innately of the multitude. Is it not evident that these salutary instincts may become fixed principles in those unfortunate beings whom ignorance and poverty expose to the subversive attacks of evil? Why not have every hope of a people whose good moral sense is so invariably manifested? of a people who, in spite of the fascinations of art, will never permit a dramatic work to arrive at its denouement by the triumph of the wicked and the punishment of the just? This fact, scorned and laughed at though it be, appears to us of considerable importance on ac

es of which he is conscious? The impression caused by the story of Pique-Vinaigre will demonstrate, or rather display, we hope, some of the ideas we have just set forth. Pique-Yinaigre then commenced his story in these terms, in the midst o

and gray blouse, "it was some small houses near

lanes; no houses, but hovels; no pavement, but a carpet of mud, so that the noise of carriages would not have incommoded you if any passed; but none passed. From morning to night, and, above all, from night til

e were heaps of organ-players, rope-dancers, Punch-and-Judy-men, or keepers of curious beasts. Among the latter was one named Cut-'em-in-

st three. The prisoners entering their sleeping apartments at

keeper does not go," whi

Crip

rted, he will leave." Pique-V

to say the same as the old women. What makes this likely is, that he always had with him a great red ape called Gargousse, which was so cunning, and wicked, that one would have said he had Old Nick in him. By and by I shall speak again of Garg

gue?" said

!" answered P

ow is

th modest assurance. "To this ornament, Cut-in-half joined the trade of having I do not know how many

off, to beg for a sou or dance a Catalina. Those who, at night, brought back less than fifteen sous were

s. Although quite old, the Alderman was strong as a Hercules, and very much feared; they swore only by him in Little Poland; when he said, 'It is good,' every one said, 'It is very good;' when he said, 'It is bad,' every one said, 'It is awful bad,' he was a good man at the bottom, but terrible; when, for example, strong people caused misery

te tumble to the old boy," sa

aching the group. Skeleton could not r

naigre c

the same straw, in a garret, to which they clambered by a ladder and through a trap-door-and that was the way he lodged them. Once the beasts and children were all housed, he took away the ladder and locked the trap-door with a key. You may imagine the noise and uproar which these apes, guinea-pigs, foxes, mice, tortoises, marmosets, and children made, without any light, in this garret, which was as large as a thimble. Cut-in-half slept in a room underneath, having his large ape Gargousse tied to the foot of the bed. When the noise was too loud in the garret, the owner of the beasts arose, took a large whip, mounted the ladder without a light, opened the trap, and lash

at my soup," said the keeper. Skeleton exchanged

in the world, where he never asked to come, and whence he could have gone, without anybody caring at all about it. He was not called Gringalet in mere sport; he was dwarfish and puny, and reedy; no one would have given him over seven or eight

r in the blue cap; "there are so many like him on

young," replied Pique-Vinaigre, bitterl

Skeleton, gruffly; "the keeper is i

per; "I wish to make a little more acqu

resting," added Germain,

my capitalist; that gives me mo

ed the Skeleton. "Will you h

answered Pi

t he would have been very wicked if strength and courage had not failed him. But no; when they beat him, he cried, saying, 'I have done no harm to any one, yet every one harms me-it is unjust. Oh! if I were strong and bold!' You think, perhaps, that Gringalet was going to add, 'I would return to others the evil they d

ea!" said the priso

this idea, one would have said that Gringalet consoled himself for be

," said the keeper, "Pique-

ll please understand that Gringalet did not go and interfere in the affairs of the tigers, lions, wolves, or even the foxes and apes of the menagerie; he was too cowardly for that. But as soon as he saw, for example, a spider concealed in his web, to catch a poor foolish fly that was buzzing about gayly in the sun, without harming any one, crack! Gringalet gave a sweep into the web, delivered the fly, and crushed the

an who would have attacked a wolf, to take

in-half, to drag Gringalet from his claws

unged two of his fingers into the waves and caught the cricket, which he afterward placed on a blade of grass; a champion swimmer with a medal, who should have fished up his tenth drowned person, at fifty francs the head, could not have been more proud than Gringalet, when he saw his cricket kick and run away. And yet the cricket gave him neither money nor a medal, and did not even say thank you, nor did the fly. 'But then,

e not revenge himself in

that have done hi

rm because oth

ve the flies," answered Blue Cap. "He thought, perhaps, '

o for the flies; they will break up his web, and snatch me from his claws.' For until then, on no account would he have dared to run away from his master; he would have thought himself stone dead. Yet, one day, when neither he nor his turtle had had any luck, and they had only earned two or three

h the better!"

o the Alderman?" said Blue Cap; "he w

ize for an ape! Now I am going to tell you why they did not lead him as a show through the streets, like the other beasts of the menagerie; it was because Gargousse was so wicked and so strong that, among all the children, there was only one, Auvergnat, fourteen years old, a resolute fellow, who, after having several times collared and fought with Gargousse, had succeeded in mastering him, and leading him by a chain; and even then, there were often battles between them, and bl

od

! Auve

in, he's got

, the rascally Gargouss

kicked a moment, and then shammed dead, not budging any more than a log. The Auvergnat wished nothing more; believing the ape done for, he cleared out, never to put his feet in Cut-in-half's drum again. But the vagabond Gargousse watched him out of the corner of his eye, all wounded as he was, and as soon as he saw himself alone and Auvergnat at a distance, he gnawed the cord with his teeth. The Boulevard Monceau, where he had had his dance, was very near Little Poland; the ape knew the road as well as he did his prayers. He slowly w

ment toward the door; "Pique-Vinaigre would make the birds come down from

ipple; "I am in a fever, so much do I burn. Only attend to

id the keeper, goi

Germain, while the Big Cripple and Nicholas, at a co

, you are going away at

e, with an ai

who prevented his move

have sprung upo

moment?" answered t

t know all you are going to lose; the most ch

difficulty restraining his rage; "he is not in th

n to the end. I have only enough to fill a good quarter of an hour; besides, your soup is cold. Now what do you r

but make haste," said t

conclusion; there is the triumph of the ape and of Gringalet, escorted by all the little beast conductor

said the keeper, com

nt cells. And, moreover, Skeleton saw, from the interruptions of several of the prisoners, that they found themselves, thanks to the story of Pique-Vinaigre, filled with ideas that softened their hearts; perhaps, then, they would not assist, with savage indifferenc

e-Vinaigre. "Well, the honorab

f do to punish Gringalet for wishing to run away? That you shall know directly; in the mean time, he caught the child, shut him up in the garret, saying t

he struggled with all his strength without being able to escape; then he saw coming toward him softly, cautiously, a kind of monster, which had the face of his master, on a spider's body. My poor Gringalet began again to struggle, as you may imagine; but the more efforts he made, the more he was entangled in the toils, just like the poor flies. At length the spider approached-touched him-and he felt the large, cold, an

vertheless, he was a little comforted, saying to himself, 'Perhaps the golden gnat wi

t his dream, or rather, he only remembered the frightful part of it; the great web where he had been entangled, and the spider with the pa

t-in-half. Then he threw himself on his knees in the middle of the garret, and weeping hot tears, he begged his companions to ask his pardon from Cut-in-half, or to assist him to

isoner in the blue cap, "the

her; "it is vexing to s

out his neck without wincing, it is always a pity. When one has teeth to bite, th

said several o

nd addressing Blue Cap, "will you shut up? Have I not already

d touching with the little finger the thumb of the left, also spread out like a fan. Blue Cap accompanied this mute answer with an expression so grotesque that several of the prisoners shouted with lau

n on your hide. I'll set dow

son for remaining in order to prevent a p

the ruling of the hall, and I must

not interrupt. And you, Pique-Vina

order to give each one his piece of bread; all descended the ladder, and Gringalet, more dead than alive, crouching in a corner of the garret, moved no more than it did; he saw his companions going off one after the other; he would have given anything to do a

you,' answered Cut-in-half. Gring

limb, and remembering his dream, 'now you are in f

ed the trap-door. He placed his foot on the ladder to descend, when Cut-in-half, taking him by his poor little leg, as slender as a

t a fine dance for Cut-in-half," said Blue Cap; "it i

d carried him into his den, where he kept his big ape tied to the foot of his bed. On seeing the child, the beast began

how did he ever

e clutches of the ape, he woul

f dead," said Blue Cap: "

a mouse-what do

I eit

or

d be wanting, cried, furious at these interruptions, which seemed to indicate that several of the prisone

st courageous of his comrades trembled at the name alone of Gargousse, let him imagine his terror when he saw himself carried by his master near to

thing to reproach himself with; but Cut-in-half laughed at that. In spite of the cries of the child, who

the audience, who were

en to go away," said the kee

cold and hairy paws of the great ape, which seized him by the throat and by the head, he thought himself

Lord! the spider of my dream-l

s, as white as a sheet, he shut his eyes and shivered as if it had been January. Meantime the ape beat him, pulled his hair, and scratched him; and from time to time, the wicked beast stopped to look at his master, absolutely as if they

f you by the tail, I would spin you round like a mill-just

he was as wic

o men so wic

rward: he unfastened the chain (which was very long) from the bed, took the child, more dead than alive, fr

men more cruel than t

his, he said to his ape, whi

turn you shall show Gringalet; he shall be your ape. Come, hop, s

s, his hands clasped, but not able to

e,' said Cut-in-half to his ape;

m around the court, by striking him with the switch. The ape obeyed, and began to chase Gringalet in this manner, while Cut-in-half held his sides with laughter. You think that this wickedness was enough? Oh! yes, but it was nothing as yet. Up to this time, Gringalet would have escaped with a few scratches, lashes, and horrible fear. Now this is what Cut-in-half did: to make the ape furious against the child, who, panting and out of breath, was more dead than alive, he took Gringalet by the hair, pretending to belabor him with blows, and then he handed him back to Gargousse, crying, 'Speak to him, speak to him!' and then he showed him a piece of sheep's heart, as much as to say to him, '

n!" cried the pr

gh the door, 'Will you open, Cut-in-half? will you ope

lderman, who was a rough, as solid as a bridge, in spite of his fifty ye

he nape of his neck, and tried to take the child away from under him; but he only then saw that the child was chained to the ape. Seeing this, he looked at Cut-in-half in a terrible manner, and cried, 'Come, then, at once, and unchain this poor boy!' Y

ep toward the door; "now Gringalet

yes, saved! but not yet at the en

eral of the prison

ppen to him now?" asked

shall know," answ

one just as he pleases," said the ke

med with rage. Piqu

s child such suffering! You are drunk pretty early this morning!' 'I am no more drunk than you are; I was teaching a trick to my ape; I wish to give a representation where he and Gringalet will appear together; I am following my business-why do you meddle with it?' 'I meddle with what concerns me. This morning, not seeing Gringalet pass before my door with the other children, I asked them where he was; they did not answer-they looked embarrassed. I know you. I thought you were after no good, and I was not wrong. Listen to me: every ti

aid Blue Cap; "in his place, I sh

ave had it too hasti

d your beasts; otherwise I will stir up the neighborhood against you; you know they hate you here, so you will have a passport which your back will remember, I promise you.' Traitor as he was, in order to be able to execute his wicked idea, instead of continuing to be angry against the Alderman, Cut-in-half cringed like a dog, and said: 'Faith of a man! you were wrong to strike me, Alderman, and to think that I wished any harm to Gringalet; on the contrary, I repeat to you that I was teaching a new trick to my ape; he is not sweet-tempered when

Cut-in-half, with a smirking look. 'In truth, it is,' said the Alderman, 'so much t

ingalet, he will imitate me with his large wooden razor; but on that ac

chosen Gringalet ra

ated, Gargousse will be larger than he is; besides

sy of the owner of the beasts, 'I regret the dose I gave you;

the Alderman's feet, and beg to be taken away; but his courage failed him, and he began again to despair, saying to himself, '

that ought to encourage you to accustom yourself to the ape. Bah! bah! you w

d his master, giving him a side look so terrible that

master!' h

only wish for his welfare, after all. If Gargousse scratched him the

us every one wi

st,' said Cut-in-h

ter,' said the

a good breakfast; for the Alderman is going to send a plate of cu

f, my cellar and my kitchen a

sold some eatables and drinkables, and reassured as to the fate of Gringalet. So now, here is the poor little fellow fallen again into the power of his master. The moment the Alderman had

rly. He was there for a good hour sobbing, when he heard Cut-in-half's coarse voice calling him. What

ce?' said the owner of the

each step, for Cut-in-half had drunk so much that he was as tipsy as a sow, and could hardly keep his legs; his body swayed backward and forward, and he lo

he bed. In the middle of the room was a

imitating, to the end of his story, the stammering of

that not easily; for although the owner of the beasts could still see a little, and knew what he was about, you may imagine he made gr

The Alderman had gone, and Cut-in-half had double-locked the door of the court o

he prisoners, much interested in t

fellow!"--"

ould save him, I

als

n-half! Whatever i

t is you who have been the cause that-I have been beaten by the Alderman-you-are-go-o-o-ing to die!' And he d

ated among the prisoners, and interrupted

master, pardon! do not kill me! 'C-r-r-r-y, c-r-r-y, b-o

ingalet, almost delirious, recalling to his mind

t by my (hic!) hand-because, besides, they will guillotine me-e-e. I will say-and-prove-that it was-the a-a-pe-I have prepared-but no matter!' said Cut-i

he razor and Gringalet, whom he held by the ha

nded what his master wished; and, to prove it to him, shook his chain with the left paw, threw his head back, and pretended to cut his throat. 'That's it, Gargousse- that's it,' said Cut-in-hal

o say yes, and put out his paw to tak

this moment, Gringalet saw come in at the window one of those small flies, green and gold, which are so common; one would have called it a spark of fire which flew, and just at the moment Cut-in-half gave the razor to Gargousse, the golden gnat flew straight

me!' cried Gringalet; for, still seated, an

evented his throat from being cut," cr

golden gnat!"

golden gnat!" repe

igre and his stori

rushing Gargousse, and had almost broken one of his hind paws. You know how wicked this villainous beast was-rancorous and malicious. He held on to the razor which his master had given him to cut the throat of Gringalet. What does my lovely ape do when he sees his master stretched on

ra

l do

ive Gar

golden gna

, Grin

" cried the prisone

ed at the success of his story, "what you have ju

s that

e first knocked-no answer; at length, when they were all assembled, they knocked again-no reply; one of them went after the Alderman, and told him that they had knocked, and that their mas

d on the chair, not daring to cast his eyes on the dead body, and looking at-guess what? The little golden fly, which, after having fluttered around the child, as if to felicitate him, had finally come and seated itself on his little hand. Gringalet related al

nct was detested by everybody, 'a triumph

, another his guinea-pig: those who played on the hurdygurdy, played on the hurdygurdy; there were chimney-sweeps, with their bagpipes, who also played; it was an uproar of joy, which cannot be imagined! Behind the musicians came all the inhabitants of Little Poland, men, women, and children; they all held torches, and shouted like madmen, 'Hooray, Gringalet!' 'Gargousse forever!' The cortège in this order marched r

Pique-Vinaigre

hout; "come then, and eat your soup; fo

me finely; you may be proud of it," said the keeper to Pique-Vinaigre, going toward

ined rage. Then he whispered to the Big Cripple, "Go to the door, look after the keeper

companied the keeper, and remained

that Gringalet, all the time of his triump

!" cried t

mself on Germain so that he could neither make a movement nor utter a c