Page:The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter.djvu/211

said he to himself, “it’s not in verse, but it’s called ‘Don Lopez.’”

Carolus began to read:

“On a cold winter night, two cavaliers, enveloped in large cloaks, and mounted on sluggish mules, were making their way side by side over one of the roads which traverse the frightful solitudes of the Sierra Morena.”

“May the Lord have mercy on me!” ejaculated Rodolphe mentally.

Carolus continued to read his first chapter, written in the style of the above throughout. Rodolphe listened vaguely, and tried to devise some means of escape.

“There is the window, but it’s fastened; and, besides, we are in the fourth story. Ah, now, I understand all these precautions.”

“What do you think of my first chapter?” asked Carolus, “do not spare criticism, I beg of you.”

Rodolphe thought he remembered having heard some seraps of philosophical declamation upon suicide, put forth by the hero of the romance, Don Lopez, to wit; so he replied at hazard:

“The grand figure of Don Topez is conscientiously studied; it reminds me of the ‘Savoyard Vicar’s Confession of Faith;’ the description of Don Alvar’s mule pleases me exceedingly; it is like a sketch of Géricault’s. There are good lines in the landscape; as to the thoughts, they are seeds of Rousseau planted in the soil of Lesage. Only allow me to make one observation: you use too may stops, and you work the word henceforward too hard. It is a good word, and gives color, but should not be abused.”

Carolus took up a second pile of paper, and repeated the title “Don Lopez; or, Fatality.”