Guillaume then gave him some further
counsel—which you might find tiresome.

"Louis came tolerably often to get his
casket filled. One day he again fancied that
he saw the Master knit his brows. He then
thought that perhaps some caprice of the old
man might deprive him, at one moment or
another, of the wealth to which he had
become accustomed; and he determined to
make a fresh demand as soon as half the
money in the casket was spent, in order to
be able to amass a treasure, and render his
future career independent of the
necromancer's whims. He spent his life in gambling,
and in orgies of every description. There
was nothing which he did not believe himself
permitted to practise; and unhappily, the
immense fortune which he had at his
disposal converted those who surrounded him
into so many slaves, who spared no pains to
confirm him in that idea. In his despotic
license, he knew no check; and afterwards,
cloyed with pleasures which he could not
greatly vary, on account of being unable to
travel far from the source of his riches, he
could find amusement in no other pursuit
than in doing mischief to those around
him.

"The intimate companion of his
debaucheries was a clever and good-natured young
man, who although partaking of a portion of
his pleasures, did not, on that account, hesitate
to blame other parts of his conduct; and
who, for that very reason alone, had put
himself in danger of incurring Louis's displeasure.
An accident changed this discontent into a
deep and envenomed hatred. Louis had a
mistress, who resided a league from this spot;
and her house was the usual scene of the riot
and debauchery which occupied his life,
excepting the moments when he was a prey
to ennui. One day, he imagined that he
discovered between her and Rechteren certain
looks of intelligence, which kindled a burning
jealousy in his heart. He did not, however,
cease to receive Rechteren in the most friendly
manner. But one evening, when they were
departing together from the house of—"
Here the coast-guard hesitated. I waited
for some time; and then, fearing that he
might have fallen asleep, I made a noise to
awaken him. But he was not asleep; only
puzzling his brains.

"It is singular!" he said, "that I cannot
remember the name of Louis Morand's
mistress."

"Substitute some other, then."

"I shall remember it directly. I want to
tell you the story exactly as it was told to
me.—Her name was Hortense.—As they were
leaving Hortense's house together, Louis
Morand said to his friend, 'If you will be
guided by me, we will take advantage of the
ebb tide to follow the path at the foot of the
cliffs. We shall see the sun set in the sea.'
It is most probable," added the coast-guard,
"that Louis Morand made use of some
additional arguments to persuade his companion
to go that way; for sunset is not so very
uncommon a sight. The sun must set every
evening, as long as he rises every morning.
It was, as near as may be, at this season of
the year, and the moon was at the full.
Consequently, it was 'spring tides,' and the tide
began to flow at four o'clock. As you would
easily perceive if the water was not so high,
and as you have most likely observed on other
occasions, it is rather a rough and fatiguing
task to have to walk over points of rock and
pebbles which roll beneath your feet. They
were proceeding exactly below the hut in
which we are sitting. At this time of day,
the tide rises ten fathoms over the spot where
their feet were standing. They amused
themselves with admiring the sunset, and with
gossiping. The wind blew from the north
west, and slightly tipped the waves with
white. There are people in the world who
would spend a whole week in gazing at the
sea, without doing anything else. For the
last eleven years it has been my principal
employment, and I have yet to learn what
pleasure it can give them. All of a sudden,
Rechteren noticed that for the last hour the
tide had been flowing, that the wind was
driving the waves before it, and that it would
be more prudent to retrace their steps,
especially as they had scarcely advanced mare
than a quarter of a league. But Louis
Morand burst out laughing, asked him scornfully
if he were afraid, and assured him that
in another quarter of an hour they would be
walking in the town of Fécamp.

"'Very well, then,' said Rechteren, 'let us
proceed.'

"But they could only proceed at a very
slow rate. It was now almost night; and
they incurred every moment the risk of
breaking their legs between, the rocks. Louis
was continually finding some pretext for
retarding their progress. Sometimes he
pointed out to Rechteren the yellow tints
which the sun had left in the west;
sometimes he noticed the earliest stars which were
making their first appearance in the east
They were still far from the end of their
journey, and the sea roared in a menacing
tone. Every wave which broke upon the
rocks advanced further than its predecessor
had done. It now became completely night,
and a faint glimmer behind the ciiffs
announced the rising of the moon.

"Rechteren stopped. 'Louis!' he ex-
claimed, 'let us return. In half an hour we
can retrace the distance which we have
advanced; and we do not know how long it
will take us to get to the end of our present
path. We have not even the moon to guide
us. She is hidden behind the heavy clouds
which the wind is driving before it from the
offing.'

"'Return, if you like,' said Louis Morand;
'for my part, I shall go on.'

"'I will follow you then,' said Rechteren.