to require his testimony.

" 'That no reason, not even such as morality and the law would concur
in disapproving, can justify the influence which the said Mme.

Jeanrenaud exerts over M. d'Espard, who, indeed, sees her very seldom;
nor account for his strange affection for the said Baron Jeanrenaud,

Major with whom he has but little intercourse. And yet their power is
so considerable, that whenever they need money, if only to gratify a

mere whim, this lady, or her son----' Heh, heh! NO REASON EVEN SUCH AS
MORALITY AND THE LAW CONCUR IN DISAPPROVING! What does the clerk or

the attorney mean to insinuate?" said Popinot.
Bianchon laughed.

" 'This lady, or her son, obtainwhatever they ask of the Marquis
d'Espard without demur; and if he has not ready money, M. d'Espard

draws bills to be paid by the said Mongenod, who has offered to give
evidence to that effect for the petitioner.

" 'That, moreover, in further proof of these facts, lately, on the
occasion of the renewal of the leases on the Espard estate, the

farmers having paid a considerablepremium for the renewal of their
leases on the old terms, M. Jeanrenaud at once secured the payment of

it into his own hands.
" 'That the Marquis d'Espard parts with these sums of money so little

of his own free-will, that when he was spoken to on the subject he
seemed to remember nothing of the matter; that whenever anybody of any

weight has questioned him as to his devotion to these two persons, his
replies have shown so complete an absence of ideas and of sense of his

own interests, that there obviously must be some occult cause at work
to which the petitioner begs to direct the eye of justice, inasmuch as

it is impossible but that this cause should be criminal, malignant,
and wrongful, or else of a nature to come under medical jurisdiction;

unless this influence is of the kind which constitutes an abuse of
moral power--such as can only be described by the word POSSESSION----'

The devil!" exclaimed Popinot. "What do you say to that, doctor. These
are strange statements."

"They might certainly," said Bianchon, "be an effect of magnetic
force."

"Then do you believe in Mesmer's nonsense, and his tub, and seeing
through walls?"

"Yes, uncle," said the doctor gravely. "As I heard you read that
petition I thought of that. I assure you that I have verified, in

another sphere of action, several analogous facts proving the
unlimited influence one man may acquire over another. In contradiction

to the opinion of my brethren, I am perfectly convinced of the power
of the will regarded as a motor force. All collusion and charlatanism

apart, I have seen the results of such a possession. Actions promised
during sleep by a magnetized patient to the magnetizer have been

scrupulously performed on waking. The will of one had become the will
of the other."

"Every kind of action?"
"Yes."

"Even a criminal act?"
"Even a crime."

"If it were not from you, I would not listen to such a thing."
"I will make you witness it," said Bianchon.

"Hm, hm," muttered the lawyer. "But supposing that this so-called
possession fell under this class of facts, it would be difficult to

prove it as legal evidence."
"If this woman Jeanrenaud is so hideously old and ugly, I do not see

what other means of fascination she can have used," observed Bianchon.
"But," observed the lawyer, "in 1814, the time at which this

fascination is supposed to have taken place, this woman was fourteen
years younger; if she had been connected with M. d'Espard ten years

before that, these calculations take us back four-and-twenty years, to
a time when the lady may have been young and pretty, and have won for

herself and her son a power over M. d'Espard which some men do not
know how to evade. Though the source of this power is reprehensible in

the sight of justice, it is justifiable in the eye of nature. Madame
Jeanrenaud may have been aggrieved by the marriage, contracted

probably at about that time, between the Marquis d'Espard and
Mademoiselle de Blamont-Chauvry, and at the bottom of all this there

may be nothing more than the rivalry of two women, since the Marquis
had for a long time lived apart from Mme. d'Espard."

"But her repulsive ugliness, uncle?"
"Power of fascination is in direct proportion to ugliness," said the

lawyer; "that is the old story. And then think of the smallpox,
doctor. But to proceed.

" 'That so long ago as in 1815, in order to supply the sums of money
required by these two persons, the Marquis d'Espard went with his two

children to live in the Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve, in rooms
quite unworthy of his name and rank'--well, we may live as we please--

'that he keeps his two children there, the Comte Clement d'Espard and
Vicomte Camille d'Espard, in a style of living quite unsuited to their

future prospects, their name and fortune; that he often wants money,
to such a point, that not long since the landlord, one Mariast, put in

an execution on the furniture in the rooms; that when this execution
was carried out in his presence, the Marquis d'Espard helped the

bailiff, whom he treated like a man of rank, paying him all the marks
of attention and respect which he would have shown to a person of

superior birth and dignity to himself.' "
The uncle and nephew glanced at each other and laughed.

" 'That, moreover, every act of his life, besides the facts with
reference to the widow Jeanrenaud and the Baron Jeanrenaud, her son,

are those of a madman; that for nearly ten years he has given his
thoughts exclusively to China, its customs, manners, and history; that

he refers everything to a Chinese origin; that when he is questioned
on the subject, he confuses the events of the day and the business of

yesterday with facts relating to China; that he censures the acts of
the Government and the conduct of the King, though he is personally

much attached to him, by comparing them with the politics of China;
" 'That this monomania has driven the Marquis d'Espard to conduct

devoid of all sense: against the customs of men of rank, and, in
opposition to his own professed ideas as to the duties of the

nobility, he has joined a commercialtaking" target="_blank" title="n.任务；事业；计划">undertaking, for which he
constantly draws bills which, as they fall due, threaten both his

honor and his fortune, since they stamp him as a trader, and in
default of payment may lead to his being declared insolvent; that

these debts, which are owing to stationers, printers, lithographers,
and print-colorists, who have supplied the materials for his

publication, called A Picturesque History of China, now coming out in
parts, are so heavy that these tradesmen have requested the petitioner

to apply for a Commission in Lunacy with regard to the Marquis
d'Espard in order to save their own credit.' "

"The man is mad!" exclaimed Bianchon.
"You think so, do you?" said his uncle. "If you listen to only one

bell, you hear only one sound."
"But it seems to me----" said Bianchon.

"But it seems to me," said Popinot, "that if any relation of mine
wanted to get hold of the management of my affairs, and if, instead of

being a humblelawyer, whose colleagues can, any day, verify what his
condition is, I were a duke of the realm, an attorney with a little

cunning, like Desroches, might bring just such a petition against me.
" 'That his children's education has been neglected for this

monomania; and that he has taught them, against all the rules of
education, the facts of Chinese history, which contradict the tenets

of the Catholic Church. He also has them taught the Chinese
dialects.' "

"Here Desroches strikes me as funny," said Bianchon.
"The petition is drawn up by his head-clerk Godeschal, who, as you

know, is not strong in Chinese," said the lawyer.
" 'That he often leaves his children destitute of the most necessary

things; that the petitioner, notwithstanding her entreaties, can never
see them; that the said Marquis d'Espard brings them to her only once