A servant of Satan

te beneath the Paris guillotine. I had just driven back into town from witnessing the execution by the "garrote" of the regicide Francisco Otero, and was

rprise of all the spectators, he escaped with a few bruises. His master, however-the only other occupant of the carriage-was less fortunate. Hurled by the shock with considerable violence to the pavement, almost at my very feet, he remained unconscious for some minutes. When at length he recovered his senses, and attempted to rise with my assistance, it was found that he had broken his ankle, and was unable to stand upright. Placing him in my trap, I drove him t

on that it was quite dark before I left the house. It turned out that he, too, had been present at the execution of the wretched Otero, and that he was on his way home when his horses became frightened and bolted.

His manners were perfect, and displayed unmistakable signs of birth and breeding. Although not above the ordinary stature, he was a man of very compact and muscular build. Dressed [Pg 9] in the most perfect and quiet taste, his appearance, without being foppish, was one of great chic and elegance. No trace of jewelry was to be seen about his person. His hands and feet were small and well shaped; his mustache was black, as were also his large and luminous eyes. His hair, slightly gray toward the temples, showed traces of age, or, perhaps, of a hard life. But the most remarkable thing about him was his smile, which seemed to light up his whole face, and which was singularly winning and frank. I confess I took a great fancy to

ions when he smiled that his [Pg 10] face resumed traces of its former appearance. Day after day I sat in court and listened to the evidence against him. The impression which the latter left on my mind was that, however guilty he undoubtedly had been of other crimes-possibly even of murder-he was, nevertheless, innocent of the death of Marie Aguetant, the charge on which he was executed. The crime was too brutal and too coarse in its method to have been perpetrated by his hand. Moreover, the evidence against him in the matter was not direct, but only circumstantial. Neither the jewelry nor the bonds which he was alleged to have stolen from the murdered

rious coincidence that our first meeting had been on our way home from the execution of the regicide Otero. The only thing which he seemed to dread was that his aged father-his one and solitary affection in the world-should learn of his disgrace. In answer to my repeated inquiries as to who his father was he invariably p

lly led to the scaffold, yet "Prado," or "Castillon" appeared to have an intuition of the imminence of his death. For two da

g

nd that your conduct toward me has been prompted by pity more than by any other sentiment. Were you, however, to know my true story you would pity me even more. The statements which I made to M. Guillo, the Judge d'Instruction who examined me, were merely invented on the spur of the moment, fo

e placed a bulky

ibed on the inner envelope until you see the death of its possessor announced in the newspapers. It is the name of my poor old father. He is in failing health and can scarcely live much longer. When he passes away you are at

ather sadly and paused for a

y," said he at last, "I am totally indiff

g

crimes have been numerous; they have been committed in many different lands, and I have never hesitated to put people out of the way when I found them to be dangerous to my interests. But whatever I may have done has been accomplished with skill and del

e wishes of a man who is about to disappear into Nirwana. Yo

owers of attraction which he had formerly exercised on me at Madrid came again to the surfa

the age expiated his numerous crimes on the scaffold in

e of worldwide fame, one of the most brilliant in the "Almanac de Gotha," and familiar in every court in Europe. However, mindful of my promise to the dead, I locked the package away in my safe. My curiosity, howeve

nd thoroughly impressed me with the conviction that, however innocent he may have been of the murder of Marie Aguetant, yet he fully deserved the penalty which was finally meted out to him. Of scruples or of any notions of morality he had none, and so cold-blooded and repulsive is the cynicism which this servant of Satan at times displays in the notes conc

h of my former friend, I cannot bring myself to disclose to the general public the real name of the unfortunate family

great house in question so well known, that all who have any acquaintance of the i

ard.