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Bibliotl)eca Curtoga, 
 
 NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 IRounb nib^ IRoom, 
 
 BY 
 
 XAVIER DE MAISTRE. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 
 
 EDMUND GOLDSMID, F.R.H.S. 
 
 F.S.A. (Scot.) 
 
 T 3:r TT T 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED, EDINBURGH. 
 1886 
 
 u 
 

 This edition is limited to zys small-pafer copies, 
 and 7j' large-paper copies. 
 
a IRpcturnal jeypeMtion 
 IRounb (TD^ TRoom. 
 
 — *6€^9*— ^ 
 
 I. "^O arouse some intere;st in the new room in 
 which I have performed a Nocturnal Expe- 
 dition,! must inform the reader hpw it had fallen to 
 my share. Having my attention continually called 
 away from my work in the noisy house in which I 
 lived, I had long (thought of taking a quieter 
 residence, when, one day, reading a biographical 
 notice of Buffon, I found that that celebrated 
 man had chosen in his garden, a lovely summer 
 house, containing only his arm chair and the desk 
 at which he wrote, while the only. book admitted 
 was the MS. on which he was engaged. 
 
 The trifles which occupy me are so essentially 
 different from the immortal works of Buffon, that 
 the thought of imitating him, even on this point. 
 
4 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 would certainly not have occurred to me, had it 
 not been for an accident. A servant, dusting the 
 furniture, thought he saw a good deal of dust on a 
 crayon drawing which I had just completed, and 
 wiped it so thoroughly with a cloth that he suc- 
 ceeded in ridding it of all that I had so carefully 
 put into it. After having raved against this fellow, 
 who happened to be out, and after having said 
 nothing to him when he came back, according to 
 my custom, I started off at once and returned with 
 the key of a little room which I had hired on the 
 fifth story of a house in Providence Street. That 
 same day, I had the materials for my favorite 
 employments carried over, and henceforth I spent 
 most of my time there, where domestics ceased to 
 trouble, and picture-cleaners were at rest. Hours 
 passed like minutes,> and more than once my 
 reveries caused me to forget the dinner hour. 
 
 Sweet Solitude ! I have known the charms 
 with which thou dost intoxicate thy lovers. Woe 
 to him who cannot be alone for one day without 
 feeling the weariness of ennui, and prefers, if 
 need be, to hold conversation with fools, rather 
 than with himself ! 
 
 I will confess, however, that I love solitude in 
 large cities ; but, unless I am compelled by serious 
 causes, such as "A journey round my room," I 
 do not care to be a hermit except in the morning ; 
 in the evening, I like to see human faces again. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. S 
 
 The inconveniences of social life, and those of 
 solitude, thus counteract each other, and these 
 two modes of existence thus beautify one ano- 
 ther. 
 
 The inconstancy and fatality of earthly aifairs 
 are such, however, that the vividness of the plea- 
 sures that I enjoyed in my new residence ought to 
 have warned me of their probably short duration. 
 The French Revolution, which was surging on all 
 sides, had just overtopped the Alps, and was 
 pouring down upon Italy. The first wave carried 
 me to Bologna. Here, nevertheless, I still kept on 
 my hermitage, into which I had all my furniture 
 moved, to await happier times. For some years I 
 had been an exile : one fine morning I found 
 myself without employment. After a whole year 
 spent in seeing men and things I cared little for, 
 and in wishing for things and men I could no 
 longer see, I returned to Turin. It was necessary 
 to take some definite step. I walked out from the 
 Hotel de la Bonne Femnie, where I had put up, 
 with the intention of giving up my little room, and 
 selling my furniture. 
 
 On re-entering my hermitage, I experienced 
 sensations difficult to describe : Everything was 
 in the same order, I mean the same disorder in 
 which I had left it : The furniture piled up 
 against the wall had been protected from the 
 pust by the lowness of the roof ; my pens were 
 
6 A NOCTDRNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 Still standing in the dried up inkstand, and I found 
 on the table a letter which I had begun. 
 
 "I am stijl^t hoijie,'' I said to myself, with 
 genuine satisfaction. 
 
 Each object recalled some event in my life, and 
 my room seemed' ■papered with memorifis,- Instead 
 of returning , to the inn,- I resolved to spend the 
 night in the midst of my goods and chattels. I 
 sent -for my portmantedu, and deterroindd ■ to start 
 on the morrow, without taking leave or advice from 
 anyone, casting myself without reserve into the 
 hands of Providence. ;' 
 
 II. A^HILST I was thus i:eflecting,,gloiying in 
 this well-defined plan of traveljtime was 
 passing, and my servant did not return. He was 
 a man whom necessity had m^de me take into my 
 service a few weeks before, and, as to whose faith- 
 fulness I had conceived some suspicions. No 
 sooner did the idea occur to me that he might 
 have carried off my. portmanteau, than I ran to 
 the inn: it was quite time. As I. turned the 
 corner of the street in which the Hotel de la 
 Bonne Femme is situated, I saw_ him , issue 
 hurriedly from the gateway, following a poller 
 who carried my portmanteau. He . had, himself 
 undertaken to carry my cash box ; arid, instead of 
 turning in my direction, he ijioved .off ; to the left 
 towards a point of the compass opposite to that 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. ^ 
 
 he ought to have sought. His intention was clear. 
 I easily caught him up, and without saying any- 
 thing to him, I walked for some time by his side 
 without his perceiving me. Had any one wished 
 to depict the highest degree of astonishment and 
 fear on the human face, he would have made a 
 perfect model, when he saw me at his side, I had 
 plenty of time to study him, for he was so discon- 
 certed by my unexpected apparition and the 
 serious expression of my face as I gazed on him, 
 that.he continued the walk on for some time with 
 me without uttering a word, as if we had been 
 taking a walk together. At length he muttered 
 some excuse about some business in the Rue 
 Grand-Doire ; but I set him on the right track, 
 and we returned home, when I dismissed him. 
 
 It was then only that I determined to make a 
 new journey in my room, during the last night I 
 was to spend in it, and I set ^bout my preparations 
 at once. 
 
 III. T HAD long wished to jevisit the country 
 which I had formerly so delightfully tra- 
 velled through, andihe description of which did not 
 appear to me -to be complete., Some^friends who 
 had- liked it urged me to continue, and, no doubt, 
 I should have madeup my ujiodto doso sooner, 
 had I not been separated from my travelling 
 companions. Sorrowfully, I -again took, up my 
 
8 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 parable. Alas ! I took it up alone. I was about 
 to journey, unaccompanied by my dear Joanetti 
 and my amiable Rosine. My first room itself had 
 undergone a most disastrous revolution ; nay, it no 
 longer existed. Its walls now formed part of a 
 horrible building blackened by flames, and all the 
 murderous inventions of war had united to destroy 
 it utterly.' The wall where hung the portrait of 
 Madame de Hautcastel had been pierced by a 
 shell. In a word, had I not performed my journey 
 before this catastrophe, the learned men of to-day 
 would have had no knowledge of this remarkable 
 chamber. In a similar way, were it not for the 
 observations of Hipparcus, they would be ignorant 
 that there was formerly one star more in the 
 Pleiades, which has disappeared since the days of 
 that famous astronomer. 
 
 Already, driven by circumstances, I had forsaken 
 my room some time previously, and transported 
 my Penates elsewhere. No great misfortune, you 
 will say. Yes, but how am I to replace Joanetti 
 and Rosine? Ah! that is impossible. Joanetti 
 had become so necessary to me that I shall never 
 be able to replace him. Who, however, can flatter 
 himself with the hope that he will ever be able to 
 live with those he loves ? Like those swarms of 
 
 ' De Maistre's former room was situated in the citadel of 
 Turin, which had been taken by the Austro-Prossian army. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 9 
 
 flies one sees hovering in the air on fine summer 
 nights, men meet by chance, and for a moment 
 only. Happy if, in their rapid flight, skilfiil as 
 flies, they do not run their heads against one 
 another ! 
 
 I was going to bed one night. Joanetti was 
 waiting on me with his usual attention, and 
 appeared even extra zealous. When he took away 
 the light I cast my eyes on him, and I saw a 
 distinct change in his physiognomy. Was I to 
 believe that poor Joanetti was waiting on me for 
 the last time? I will not keep the reader in a 
 state of uncertainty more painful than the truth. 
 I prefer to say at once that Joanetti married that 
 same night and left me the next day. 
 
 Let no one, however, accuse him of ingratitude 
 for having left his master so hurriedly. I had 
 known his intention for a long time, and I had 
 been wrong in opposing it. A busybody came to 
 me very early in the morning to give me this 
 information, and I had plenty of time, before 
 seeing Joanetti, to get in a rage and out again, so 
 that he escaped ' the reproaches he expected. 
 Before entering my room, he pretended to speak 
 loudly to some one in the passage, to make me 
 believe he was not afraid ; and, calling to his aid 
 all the brazen-facedness a simple soul like his was 
 capable of, he presented himself with a determined 
 countenance. I saw at once from his face what 
 
lO A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 was passing within him, and I was rather pleased 
 than otherwise. Modern jokers have in our day 
 so frightened. people with the danger of marriage, 
 that a bridegroom often resembles a man who has 
 had a frightful fall without hurting himself, and 
 who is at the same time full of fear and delight, 
 which makes him look ridiculous. It was there- 
 fore not astonishing if the actions of my faithful 
 servant were influenced by the peculiarity of his 
 situation. 
 
 '' So you are married, my dear Joanetti," said 
 I, laughiiig. He had only armed himself against 
 my anger, so that all his precautions were in vain. 
 He fell back at once to his ordinary level, and 
 even a little lower; for he began tO' shed tears. 
 " What would you have. Sir,'" replied he, sobbing; 
 "I had given my word." — "Oh! you have done 
 quite right, my friend ; may you be satisfied with 
 your wife, and especially with , yourself ! May 
 you have children like you ! We must part, 
 then!" — "Yes, Sir; we are thinking of settling 
 at Asti." — " And when do you want to leave 
 me?" Here Joanetti looked at his fSet with an 
 embarrassed air, and answered fully two tones 
 lower: " My wife has found a carrier from her 
 district who is returning empty,"and leaves to- 
 day. It would be a fine opportunity ;■ but . •. . . 
 nevertheless .... it is as you like, Sir, .... 
 although such an opportunity will not be easily 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. II 
 
 found again."— " What ! so soon!" said I. A 
 feeling of regret and of affection, mingled with a 
 large dose of irritation, kept: me silent for a 
 moment. "No, certainly," replied I, somewhat 
 sharply, " I will not detain you ;- start at once, if 
 it suits you." Joanetti looked pale. " Yes, go, 
 my friend. Go to your wife. Be always as good, 
 as honest as you have been with me." We settled 
 some small matters ; I sadly bade him adieu : he 
 went out. 
 
 This man had served me fifteen years. One 
 moment separated us. I have never seen him 
 again. 
 
 I was thinking over this sudden parting, as I 
 walked about my room. Rosine had followed 
 Joanetti without his perceiving it. A quarter of 
 an hour later, a door opened ; Rosine entered. I 
 saw Joanetti's hand as he pushed her into the 
 room ; the door closed, and I felt a pang in my 
 heart : he no longer enters my room ! A few 
 minutes have been sufficient to make strangers Of 
 two old comrades of fifteen years' standing.. Oh, 
 sad, sad condition of humanity ! There is not a 
 single stable object on which man can fix the least 
 of his affections ! 
 
 IV. ©OSINE also was living far away from me. 
 
 '^ You will perhaps learn with some interest, 
 
 my dear Mary, that at the age of 15 she was still 
 
12 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 the most amiable of animals, and the same supe- 
 rior intelligence which formerly distinguished her 
 from all her species now enabled her to bear with 
 resignation the weight of many years. My wish 
 would have been to have kept her ; but when the 
 fate of our friends is at stake, ought one only to 
 consult one's pleasure or one's interest ? It was 
 necessary that Rosine should give up the peram- 
 bulating existence she led with me, and enjoy in 
 her latter days a rest her master no longer hoped 
 for. Her age compelled me to have her carried 
 about. I felt it my duty to pension her off. A 
 beneficent nun undertook her care, and I know 
 that in her retreat she enjoyed all the advantages 
 which her good qualities, her age, and her reputa- 
 tion had so deservedly merited. 
 
 And since the nature of man is such that it 
 would seem as if happiness were not made for 
 him, since friend unwittingly offends friend, and 
 lovers themselves cannot live without quarreling ; 
 since, in a word, from the days of Lycurgus to 
 our own, every legislator has failed in his efforts 
 to make men happy, I, at least, shall have the 
 consolation of having insured the happiness of a 
 dog. ' 
 
 V. aTOW that I have acquainted the reader with 
 
 J the last events in the history of Joanetti 
 
 Rosine, I need only say a word of Anima and 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. I3 
 
 Bistia to set myself square with him. These two 
 individuals, especially the latter, will no longer 
 play so interesting a part in my journey. An 
 amiable traveller, who has followed the same 
 itinerary as myself,' says they must be tired. 
 Alas ! his observation is but too true. It is not 
 that my soul has lost any of its activity, so far at 
 any rate as I can make out, but her connection 
 with the other has altered. Bestia no longer shows 
 the same vivacity in her retorts ; she no longer 
 has . . . How shall I express it ! ... 
 I was about to say the same presence of mind, as 
 if mere matter could have any ! However that 
 may be, and without entering into an embarrass- 
 ing explanation, I will only say that, carried away 
 by the confidence young Alexandrine had shewn 
 me, I wrote her a somewhat tender epistle, to 
 which I received a cool though polite reply, end- 
 ing in these words : " Be assured. Sir, that I will 
 ever lo.ok upon you with feelings of sincerest 
 esteem." Good Heavens ! cried I, I am lost 1 
 Since that fatal day, I resolved no longer to put 
 forward my system oi Anima and Bestia. I shall 
 , therefore, without making any distinction between 
 these two beings, and without separating them, 
 push them forward, unus super alterum, like mer- 
 chants do with their merchandise, and I will 
 
 * The author here alludes to ■' un second voyage autour de ma 
 chambre," by an anonymous writer. 
 
14" A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 advance iii close formation to avoid any incon- 
 venience.' 
 
 VI. T NEED not speak of the size of my new 
 room. It is so like my old one, that at first 
 sight you might take it for it.'had not the architect 
 taken the precaution to incline the iroof, on the 
 side overlooking the .Street, • to the angle required 
 by the laws of hydraulics to enable the rain to fall 
 off. Daylight penetrates through a single opening 
 two and a half feet wide by four feet high, about 
 six or seven feet' above the floor, and reached by 
 means of a short ladder. 
 
 The elevation of my window above the floor was 
 one of those happy circumstatices Which may be 
 equally due to chance or to the genius of the 
 architect. The almost perpendicular light thrown 
 into my cell gave if a mysterious aspect. ' The 
 ancient Temple of the Pantheon- receives its light 
 in almost the same way. Besides this, no exterior 
 object could distract my attention. Like those 
 navigators lost on the vasty deep, who see but 
 sky and water, I could' see but the sky and my 
 room, and the nearest exterior objects that met 
 my eyes were the moon or the morning star; 
 which fact placed me in immediate connection 
 with heaven, and gave to my thoughts an elevated 
 
 ' To understand this chapter the reader should be acquaiiued 
 ■with De Maislre's "Journey Round my Room." 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 15 
 
 teiidencythey would never have-had, had I chosen 
 to lodge on the first floor. ■ ' 
 
 The window I am, speaking of looked out over 
 the roof, and formed the prettiest frame to the 
 landscape. Its elevation was such that Avhen. the 
 rays of the rising sun first lighted it, it was still 
 dark in the street. The view was one of the finest 
 that can be imagined. But the loveliest view 
 becomes monotonous when too often seen ; the 
 eye becomes accustomed to it, and it is no longer 
 made much of. The position of my window 
 enabled me to avoid this inconvenience, for, as I 
 never saw the magnificent spectacle of the environs 
 of Turin without climbing four or five steps, my 
 enjoyment was always keen because not too often 
 indulged in. When, weary, I wished for some 
 agreeable recreation, I closed my day by climbing 
 up to my window. 
 
 On the first step I saw nothing but the sky ; 
 soon, the colossal temple of Superga' began to 
 appear. The hill on which Turin rests, rose 
 gradually before me, covered with woods and rich 
 vineyards, spreading forth with pride before the 
 setting sun its gardens and its palaces, whilst 
 simple and modest dwellings seemed to half hide 
 
 ' A magnificent church built by Victor Amadeus I. in 1706 in 
 accomplishment of a vow to the Virgin in the event of the 
 French raising the sie^e of Turin. It is the builal place of the 
 princes of the house pf Savoy. 
 
l6 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 themselves in its valleys, offering retreats to the 
 wise and favoring their meditations. 
 
 Charming hill ! often hast thou seen me seek 
 thy solitary nooks, and prefer thine unfrequented 
 paths to the brilliant promenades of the capital ; 
 often hast thou seen me lost in thy labyrinths of 
 verdure, listening to the morning song of the lark, 
 my heart full of a vague unrest, and longing 
 earnestly to spend my life in thine enchanting 
 valleys. Hail to thee, charming hill ! thou art 
 imprinted on my heart. May the dew of Heaven, 
 if it be possible, render thy fields more fertile, and 
 thy groves more shady ! May thine inhabitants 
 enjoy their happiness in peace, and thy leafy 
 bowers ensure perfect rest ! May thy fruitful soil 
 ever be the sweet refugfe of true philosophy, of 
 modest science, and of the sincere and hospitable 
 friendship that welcomed me when there ! 
 
 VII. T BEGAN my journey punctually at eight 
 o'clock in the Evening, the weather was 
 calm and promised a fine night. I had taken my 
 precautions to be alone till midnight, and not to 
 be disturbed by visitors, who are scarce at the 
 height where I dwelt, and especially under the 
 circumstances in which I found myself. Four 
 hours would be quite sufficient for the execution 
 of the enterprise, as I only intended to make a 
 short excursion round my room. If my first 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. I7 
 
 journey lasted 42 days, that was because I was 
 unable to shorten it. I did not intend to travel 
 in a carriage as before, ' feeling sure that a 
 pedestrian sees much that is missed by him who 
 takes post horses. I therefore resolved to travel 
 alternately, or according to circumstances, on foot 
 or on horseback: a new method which I have not 
 yet made known, and whose usefulness will be 
 soon seeii. Lastly, Idetermined to take notes on 
 the road, and to write down my observations as 
 they occurred to me, so as not to forget anything. 
 In order to carry out my plan systematically, 
 and to give it a further chance of success, I 
 thought I ought to begin with a dedication, 
 written in verse, to make it more interesting. But 
 two difficulties occurred to me and nearly made 
 me give up the idea, notwithstanding its apparent 
 advantages. The first was to know to whom to 
 address the dedication, and the second was how 
 to make verses. After having thought it well 
 over, I saw that reason demanded that I should 
 write my dedication first and then consider to 
 whom it was best suited. I set to work at once 
 and laboured for more than an hour to find a 
 rhyme to the first line I had written, and which 
 I wished to preserve, as it seemed to me rather 
 good. I then luckily remembered that I had 
 read somewhere that Pope never composed any- 
 thing interesting save after repeating many lines 
 
l8 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 aloud and moving rapidly about his study to excite 
 his energy, I at once tried to imitate him. I 
 took . the poems of Ossian and repeated them 
 aloud, pacing my room to arouse my enthusiasm. 
 I perceived that this method certainly warmed 
 my imagination, and gave me a secret feeling of 
 poetic capacity, which I should have made use of 
 to compose successfully my dedication in verse, 
 had I not unfortunately forgotten the obliquity of 
 the roof of my room, whose acute angle prevented 
 my forehead from going as far as my feet in the 
 direction I had taken. I struck so hard against 
 this confounded wall, that the roof of the house 
 was shaken : the sparrows that slept under the 
 eaves fled, filled with terror, and the concussion 
 sent me fully three steps back. 
 
 VIII. VVTHILST I was thus walking about to 
 excite my imagination, a young and 
 pretty woman who lodged below, astonished at 
 the noise I was making, and thinking, perhaps, I 
 was giving a dance in my room, despatched her 
 husband to find out the reason of the disturbance. 
 I was still confused with the blow I had ex- 
 perienced when the door opened. An elderly 
 man, with a melancholy face, put in his head, 
 and gave an inquisitive glance round the room. 
 When the surprise of finding me alone allowed 
 him to speak, he said, " My wife has a headache, 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. I9 
 
 Sir. Allow me to call your attention , . . . " I 
 interrupted him at once, and my style reflected 
 the height my thoughts had risen to. " Respect- 
 able messenger ol my lovely neighbour," said I 
 in the language of the bards, " why do thine eyes 
 sparkle beneath thy bushy eyebrows, like two 
 meteors in the black forest of Cromba ? Thy 
 lovely mate is a ray of light, and I would die a 
 thousand deaths ere I troubled her repose ; but 
 thine aspect, oh respectable messenger, thine 
 aspect is dark as the furthermost vault of the 
 Cavern of Camora, when the gathered storm- 
 clouds darken the face of night, and lower over 
 the silent plains of Morven." 
 
 The neighbour, who had apparently never read 
 the poems of Ossian, foolishly mistook this fit of 
 enthusiasm for a fit of lunacy, and seemed much 
 embarrassed. Having no intention to offend him, 
 I offered him a chair, and begged him to be 
 seated ; but I perceived that he softly withdrew, 
 making the sign of the Cross, and murmuring : 
 " E matto, per Baccho, h matto !" • 
 
 IX. T LET him go out without caring to enquire 
 
 how far his observation was correct, and I 
 
 sat down to my desk to take note of these events 
 
 ■'He's mad, by Jove, mad," 
 
20 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 as usual ; but hardly had I opened a drawer where 
 I expected to find some paper, than I hastily 
 closed it, filled with one of the most disagreeable 
 sensations one can experience, that of humbled 
 pride. The species of surprise with which I was 
 filled on that occasion resembles that experienced 
 by a thirsty traveller when, putting his lips to a 
 limpid stream, he perceives, at the bottom, a frog 
 looking at him. It was nothing more, however, 
 than the springs and carcase of an artificial dove, 
 which, following the example of Archytas, I had 
 formerly endeavoured to make. I had worked 
 unceasingly at its construction for more than three 
 months. The day of trial having come, I placed 
 it at the edge of a table, after having carefully 
 closed the door, so as to keep my discovery a 
 secret, and cause pleasant surprise to my friends. 
 A thread kept the mechanism immovable. Who 
 can imagine the palpitations of my heart, and my 
 feeling of anxiety as I seized the scissors to cut 
 the fateful thread? .... There! .... The 
 spring in the dove starts and begins noisily to 
 work. I raise my eyes to see it pass ; but after 
 one or two turns, it falls and hides itself under the 
 table. Rosine, who was sleeping there, sadly 
 walked away. Rosine, who never yet saw a fowl, 
 or pigeon, or the smallest bird without attacking 
 it and pursuing it, did not even deign to look at 
 my dove struggling on the floor. This was the 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 
 
 last Stab given to my pride. I went out for a 
 walk on the ramparts. 
 
 X. C(UCH was the fate of my artificial dove. 
 '^'^ Whilst my mechanical genius destined it 
 to follow the eagle into the skies, fate gave it the 
 instincts of a mole. 
 
 I was walking about sad and discouraged, as is 
 natural after a great hope disappointed, when, 
 raising my eyes, I perceived a flock of wild geese, 
 passing over my head. I stopped to watch them. 
 They advanced in triangular formation, like the 
 English column at the battle of Fontenoy. I saw 
 them speed from cloud to cloud. " Ah ! how well 
 they fly, murmured I ; with what assurance they 
 glide along the invisible path they are following." 
 Shall I confess it ! alas ! may I be forgiven ! 
 the horrible feeling of envy once, once only, 
 entered my heart, and I was envious of geese. I 
 followed them with jealous eyes to the limit of the 
 horizon. Long, motionless amidst the crowd of 
 loungers, I watched the rapid flight of the swallows, 
 and I was surprised at seeing them suspended in 
 mid air, as if I had never observed this pheno- 
 menon before. A feeling of profound admiration, 
 unknown before, filled my heart. I listened with 
 astonishment to the buzzing of the insects, to the 
 song of the birds, and to that mysterious and 
 confused sound of all living creation unwittingly 
 
22 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 celebrating its author. Inexpressible concert, 
 wherein man alone has the sublime privilege of 
 uttering hymns of thanksgiving! "Who is the 
 author of this brilliant mechanism? Who is he 
 who, opening his creative hand, sent out the first 
 swallow to fly in the air ? Who is he who ordered 
 the trees to spring from the ground and raise their 
 branches towards the sky? And thou, that 
 majestically walkest under their shade, enchanting 
 creature whose features command respect and 
 love, who has placed thee on the surface of the 
 earth to embellish it ? AVhat mind designed thy 
 divine form, 'and created the look and smile of 
 innocent beauty ? And I, myself, who feel my 
 heart beat, what is the object of my existence? 
 Who am I, and whence come I, I, the author of 
 the centripetal artificial dove?" Hardly had I 
 pronounced this barbarous name than, recovering 
 my senses suddenly like a sleeper o'er whom a pail of 
 cold water has been thrown, I perceived that 
 several persons Were surrounding me and examin- 
 ing me, whilst my enthusiasm led me to talk 
 aloud. I then saw lovely Georgina walking a few 
 paces ahead of me. Half her left cheek, loaded 
 with rouge, peeping through the curls of her 
 golden wig, placed me once again on a level with 
 the things of this world, from which I had made 
 a short excursion. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 2$ 
 
 XI. i^S soon as I had somewhat recovered from 
 the shock which the sight of my 
 artificial dove had caused me, the pain of the 
 bjow I had received made itself keenly felt. I 
 put my hand to my forehead and found a new 
 bump just where Dr. Gall has placed the bump of 
 poetry. But I did not think of that then, and 
 experience alone was to demonstrate to me the 
 truth of that celebrated man's system. 
 
 After having collected my thoughts for a 
 moment before making a last effort at my dedica- 
 tion, I took a pencil and set to work. Conceive 
 my astonishment ! Lines appeared to spring from 
 the paper; I filled two pages in less than one 
 hour, and I concluded from this circumstance 
 that, if movement was necessary for Pope's head 
 to compose verses, nothing less than a blow could 
 get them out of mine. I will, however, not give 
 the reader those that I then composed, for the 
 prodigious rapidity with which the adventures of 
 my journey followed one another, prevented my 
 putting a finishing' touch to them. Notwithstand- 
 ing this reticence on my part, the accident which 
 had happened to me must be looked upon as a 
 precious discovery, of which poets cannot make 
 too much use. 
 
 I am indeed so convinced of the infallibility 
 of this new method, that, in the poem in four and 
 
24 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 twenty cantos which I have since then composed, 
 and which will be published with " The Prisoner 
 of Pignerol," ' I have not thought it necessary as 
 yet to begin the verses ; but I have neatly copied 
 out 500 pages of notes, which form, as every one 
 knowSj the whole merit and the greater part of 
 the bulk of most ^lodern poems. 
 
 As I was thinking deeply over my discoveries 
 and walking about my room, I came across my 
 bed, on which 1 sat down, and my hand falling 
 by chance on my nightcap, I made up my mind to 
 cover my head with it and go to bed. 
 
 XII. T IIAD been in bed about a quarter of an 
 hour and, as usual, I was not yet asleep. 
 The saddest reflections had succeeded the thought 
 of my dedication : my candle, drawing to an end, 
 oast a fitful and solemn light, and my room had 
 the appearance of a tomb. A gust of wind 
 suddenly blew the window open, extinguished my 
 candle, and banged the dpor. The dark hue of 
 my thoughts was increased by the darkness. 
 
 All my past pleasures, all my present troubles, 
 fell on my heart and filled it with regrets and 
 bitterness. 
 
 Although I make continual efforts to forget my 
 griefs and drive them from my thoughts, it some- 
 
 ' Both poem and romance are fictitious, 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 25 
 
 times happens, when not on the watch, that they 
 suddenly re-enter my memory in a body, as if a 
 dam had given way. There is nothing for me 
 then but to yield to the torrent, and my thoughts 
 . then become so black, everything seems to me so 
 dark, that I generally end by laughing at my folly ; 
 thus tlie violence of the evil brings with it its own 
 remedy. 
 
 I was still in the midst of one of these melan- 
 choly fits, when a part of the gust, which had 
 opened my window and closed my door on its 
 passage, after taking a turn or two in my room, 
 turned the leaves of my books, and throwing a loose 
 sheet of my travels to the ground, finally entered 
 my curtains and died on my cheek. I felt the 
 sweet ftflfihness of the night, and considering it an 
 invitation on its part, I arose at once, and climbed 
 my ladder to enjoy the calm of nature. 
 
 XIII. )t( HE weather was fine: the milky way, 
 like a slight cloud, divided the sky ;' 
 a gentle ray of light fell on me from each star, and 
 when I watched one attentively, its companions 
 seemed to twinkle more vividly to attract my eyes, 
 and these thoughts passed through my mind : — 
 
 It is ever for me a fresh enjoyment to contemplate 
 the starry heavens, and I cannot reproach myself with 
 having accomplished a single journey, or even a mere 
 evening walk, without paying the tribute of admira- 
 
26 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 tion I owe to the marvels of the firmament. Although 
 I feel the full want of power of my meditations, I find 
 in them an inexpressible pleasure. I love to imagine 
 that it is not chance that carries to my eyes the light 
 that emanates from these far off worlds, and each 
 star sheds with its light a ray of hope into my heart. 
 What ! shall these marvels have no other connection 
 with me than that of merely shining before my eyes ? 
 And my thought, that rises to their level, my heart, 
 which vibrates at their aspect, shall they be strangers 
 to them ? Ephemeral spectator of an eternal spec- 
 tacle, man raises for a second his eyes to Heaven, and 
 closes them for ever ; but, during that rapid second 
 that is granted to him, from all the quarters of 
 Heaven, and from the outer limits of the Universe, a 
 consoling ray darts from each world and meets his 
 eyes, to announce to him that some connection'eiists 
 between him and infinity, and that even he is linked 
 to eternity. 
 
 XIV. r)NE unpleasant feeling grated however 
 on the pleasure I experienced in these 
 meditations : — 
 
 How few people, I thought to myself, are now en- 
 joying with me the sublime spectacle which Heaven 
 spreads in vain before weary humanity ! It may be 
 all very well for those who are asleep j but what 
 would it cost those who are walking abroad, those 
 who are crowding out of the theatres, to look for one 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 27 
 
 moment with admiration on the brilliant constella- 
 tions that shine everywhere above their heads? No ; 
 the attentive spectators of Scapin and of Jocrisse' will 
 not deign to raise their eyes ; they will brutally 
 return to their homes, or elsewhere, without dreaming 
 that the sky exists. How curious it is ! because 
 one can see it often, and for nothing, they will have 
 none of it. If the heavens were always hidden from 
 us, if the view it offers depended on a lessee, the stage 
 boxes on the roofs of the houses would fetch fabulous 
 prices, and the ladies of Turin would tear their eyes 
 out to obtain my attic window. " Oh, were I but 
 sovereign of some country ! cried I, filled with just 
 indignation, I would have the alarm bell rung each 
 night, and I would force my subjects of every age, of 
 every sex, and of every condition, to look out of the 
 window and gaze on the stars." Here Reason, who in 
 my kingdom has only a limited right of remonstrance, 
 was happier than usual in her objections on the sub- 
 ject of the inconsiderate decree I was thinking of 
 issuing in my States. " Sire,'" said she, " would not 
 your Majesty deign to make an exception in favour of 
 rainy nights, for, in that case, the sky being cloudy, . 
 . . ." " guite right, quite right, I had not thought 
 of that: you may note an exception in favour of rainy 
 nights." " Sire, I think it might be well to except 
 also those fine nights when cold is excessive, or when 
 the north wind blows, for the rigorous execution 
 
 ' Two comic characters in Moiiere's plays. 
 
28 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 of your decree would overwhelm your happy subjects 
 with colds and catarrhs," I began to see a' good many 
 difficulties in the way of executing my projects ; but 
 I did not like to change my mind, '* You will have 
 to write," said I, " to the Council of Medicine, and to 
 the Academy of Sciences, in order to fix what degree 
 of the Centigrade thermometer will excuse my subjects 
 from going to the window ; but I require, I insist, that 
 my orders shall be carried out rigorously." "And the 
 sick, sire ? " " Of course, let them be excepted : 
 Humanity must be first considered," "If I were not ■ 
 afraid of fatiguing your Majesty, 1 would suggest that 
 one might (in case your Majesty thought it right, and 
 no great inconvenience be experienced) make another 
 exception in favour of the blind, since, being deprived 
 
 of the organ of sight, " "Well, is that all?" 
 
 I inquired, with irritation. " Pardon me. Sire ; but 
 lovers .' The kind heart of your Majesty would not 
 constrain lovers to gaze at the stars ? " " Very well, 
 very Well," said the King, " we will put it off for the 
 present ; we will take time to think of it. You had 
 better give me a detailed report on the matter." 
 
 Good Heavens ! how one must reflect before issuing 
 a mere police regulation ! 
 
 XV. /TV HE most brilliant stars have never been 
 
 those which have caused me the most 
 
 pleasure ; but the smallest, those which, lost in 
 
 immeasurable space, appear mere imperceptible 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 29 
 
 specks, have always been my favourities. The 
 reason is simple: You will easily understand that, 
 causing my imagination to travel as far beyond 
 their sphere as my eyes do to reach to them, I 
 find myself transported without an effort to a 
 distance such as few travellers have covered before 
 me, and I am astonished, when reaching that 
 point, to find myself only at the beginning of this 
 vast Universe ; for it would, I think, be ridiculous 
 to imagine that there exists a barrier beyond 
 which chaos begins, as if chaos were easier to 
 comprehend than existence ! ' Beyond the last star 
 I picture to myself another, which itself cannot be 
 the last. By assigning limits, however remote, to 
 creation, the Universe appears to me but a luminous 
 speck, compared to the immensity of emptiness 
 which surrounds it with that fearful and gloomy 
 chaos, in the midst of which it would be suspended 
 like a solitary lamp. Here I covered my eyes 
 with my two hands, to concentrate my thoughts, 
 and give to my ideas the depth required by such 
 a subject; and, making a supreme effort, I com- 
 posed a system of the world, the most complete 
 that has yet appeared. Here it is in all its details ; 
 it is the result of the meditations of my whole life : 
 / believe that space being .... but this deserves 
 a separate chapter ; and, considering the import- 
 ance of the matter, it shall be the only one in the 
 narrative of my journey which shall have a title. 
 
3° A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 System of the World. 
 
 I BELIEVE, then, that space being 
 infinite, creation is infinite also, and 
 that God, during his Eternity, has created 
 an infinitude of worlds in the immensity 
 of space. 
 
 XVII. T WILL, however, confess in good faith 
 that I hardly understood my own 
 system better than all the other systems produced 
 up to this day by the imagination of ancient and 
 modem philosophers ; but mine has the precious 
 advantage of being contained in four lines, enor- 
 mous though it be. The indulgent reader will 
 please to observe, also, that it has been entirely 
 composed at the top of a ladder. I should, how- 
 ever, have embellished it with commentaries and 
 notes if, at the moment when I was most occupied 
 with my subject, I had not been disturbed by 
 certain enchanting sounds which agreeably met 
 my ear. A voice, the most melodious I have 
 ever heard, not even excepting that of Zeneida — 
 one of those voices which are always in unison 
 with the strings of my heart — sang, close to me, a 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 3 1 
 
 ballad of which I did not miss one word, and 
 which shall ever remain in my memory. Listen- 
 ing attentively, I found that the voice issued from 
 a window lower than mine ; unfortunately, I 
 could not see it, the ledge of the roof, above 
 which was my attic window, hiding it from my 
 eyes. 
 
 The desire to catch sight of the siren who 
 charmed me by her melody increased as the words 
 of the ballad brought tears into my eyes. Soon, 
 unable to resist ray curiosity longer, I climbed to 
 the top of the ladder, placed a foot on the edge 
 of the roof, and, holding on to the framework of 
 the window with one hand, I overhung the street, 
 at the risk of breaking my neck. 
 
 I then saw on a balcony to my left, somewhat 
 below me, a young woman in a white dressing- 
 gown : her head rested on her hand, and was 
 sufficiently bent to enable me to catch a glance, 
 with the aid of the starlight, of a most interesting 
 profile. Her attitude seemed purposely intended 
 to give an aeriel traveller like myself the best view 
 of a small yet well-developed figure ; one of her 
 naked feet, thrown slightly back, was so placed 
 that notwithstanding the darkness I could make 
 out its small size, whilst a pretty little slipper, 
 apart from it, certified it still better to my curious 
 eyes. I leave you to imagine, my dear Sophia, 
 the awkwardness of my position. I did not dare 
 
32 A NOCTURNAI. EXPEDITION 
 
 Utter the slightest exclamation, for fear of startling 
 my pretty neighbour, nor to make the 'least move- 
 ment, for fear of falling into the street. A sigh, 
 however, escaped me ; but I was in time to keep 
 back half of it ; the remainder was carried 
 away by a zephyr which happened to pass by; 
 and I had plenty of leisure to examine the fair 
 dreamer, sustained in my perilous position by the 
 hope of hearing her sing again. But, alas ! her 
 ballad was- done, and my evil genius led her to 
 maintain a most obstinate silence. At length, 
 after having waited long, I thought I might 
 venture to speak to her : I had only to find some 
 compliment worthy of her and of the feelings she 
 had inspired me with. Oh ! how much I regretted 
 not having completed my dedication in verse! 
 What an excellent opportunity I should have had 
 of making use of it ! My presence of mind did 
 not fail me in my need. Inspired by the soft 
 influence of the stars, and by the still more power- 
 ful wish to make an impression on this lovely 
 woman— after having gently coughed, to warn 
 her and to soften the sound of my voice — in the 
 most afftctionate manner I remarked: "It is very 
 fine to night." 
 
 XVIII. T THINK I hear Madame de Haut-Castel, 
 
 who never lets me off anything, asking 
 
 me for particulars of the ballad I mentioned in the 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 33 
 
 preceding chapter. For the first time in my life, I 
 find myself under the painful necessity of refusing her 
 something. If I inserted these lines in my voyage, I 
 should be undoubtedly considered the author of them, 
 which would draw upon me, on the subject of blows 
 on the head, many a jest I prefer avoiding. I shall 
 therefore continue to relate my adventure with my 
 amicable neighbour, an adventure the unexpected 
 catastrophe of which, and the delicacy I showed 
 therein, are well fitted to interest all classes of readers. 
 But, before telling what her answer was, and how she 
 received the ingenious compliment I had paid her, I 
 must reply to certain persons who think themselves 
 more eloquent than I was, and who will condemn me 
 without mercy for having commenced a conversation 
 in a manner so trivial, at any rate in their opinion. I 
 will prove to them that, had I been witty on that 
 important occasion, I should have openly transgressed 
 the rules of prudence and good taste. Any man, who 
 enters into conversation with a woman, either with an 
 epigram or a compliment, however flattering, discovers 
 pretensions which should only appear when they 
 begin to have a foundation. Besides, if he tries wit, 
 it is clear that he seeks to shine, and, consequently, 
 that he is thinking less of the lady than of himself. 
 Now, ladies like to| be thought of ; and although they 
 have not always the precise thoughts I have written 
 down, they possess a delicate and natural instinct 
 which tells them that a trivial phrase, spoken simply 
 
34 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 to enter into conversation and approach them, U 
 worth a thousand witticisms inspired by vanity, or 
 even (which will appear astonishing) than a dedication 
 in verse. Moreover I maintain (though my opinion 
 may be considered a paradox), that light and brilliant 
 wit in conversation is not even necessary during the 
 longest courtship, if the heart has really called it into 
 existence ; and, notwithstanding everything that is 
 said by persons who have only half loved of the long 
 intervals that separate the paroxisms of love or 
 friendship, time is always too short when spent 
 with one's love, and silence is as interesting as dis- 
 
 Ilowever that may be, it is quite certain that I 
 found nothing better to say from the edge of the 
 roof where I was, than the words in question. I 
 had hardly uttered them, before my soul was 
 transported to the drum of my ears, to catch the 
 faintest echo of the sounds I hoped to hear. The 
 lovely creature raised her head to look at me : her 
 long hair spread round her like a veil, and acted 
 as a background to her charming face, wherein 
 was reflected the mysterious light of the stars. 
 Already her lips separated to utter sweet words . 
 
 but, oh Heavens ! what was my 
 
 surprise and my terror ! a sinister noise resounded 
 and a masculine and sonorous voice from the 
 interior of the apartment, exclaimed : "What are 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 35 
 
 you doing there, Madam, at this hour? Come in !" 
 I was petrified. 
 
 XIX. C^UCII must be the sound which terrifies 
 -^ the guilty when the burning gates of 
 Tartarus are suddenly opened before them ; or 
 that caused beneath the infernal vaults by the 
 seven cataracts of the Styx, which the poets have 
 forgotten to mention. 
 
 XX. ® SHOOTING star crossed the sky at 
 this moment, and disappeared almost 
 at once. My eyes, which the brilliancy of the 
 meteor had attracted for a moment, returned to 
 the balcony, and saw nothing there but the little 
 slipper. My neighbour, in her hurried flight, had 
 forgotten to pick it up. I gazed long at this 
 pretty cast of a foot worthy of Praxiteles with an 
 emotion I dare not confess the extent of, but what 
 will appear very singular, and I cannot explain 
 it to myself, is that an overpowering attrac- 
 tion prevented my removing my eyes from it, in 
 spite of every effort to direct them to some other 
 object. 
 
 It is said that when a serpent looks at a night- 
 ingale, the unfortunate bird, the victim of an 
 irresistible spell, is forced to approach the vora- 
 cious reptile. Its rapid wings only lead it to its 
 ruin, and every effort to get away only brings it 
 
36 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 nearer to the enemy, which follows it with its 
 eyes. Such was the effect on me of this slipper, 
 without, however, my being able to say with cer- 
 tainty which of us two, the slipper and I, was the 
 serpent, since, according to the laws of physic, 
 the attraction should have been reciprocal. It is 
 certain that this fatal influence was not a play of 
 my imagination. I was really so strongly attracted, 
 that I was twice on the point of letting go and of 
 falling. Nevertheless, as the balcony I wished to 
 reach was not exactly under my window, but a 
 little to the side, I saw very clearly that the force 
 of gravitation invented by Newton, combining 
 itself with the oblique attraction of the slipper, I 
 should have followed in my fall a diagonal line, 
 and I should have fallen on a sentry box, which, 
 from the height I was at, looked no bigger than 
 an egg, so that my object would not have been 
 attained. ... I therefore clutched my window 
 the more firmly, and, making a supreme effort, I 
 managed to raise my eyes and to look at the sky. 
 
 XXI. J SHOULD find it very difficult to ex- 
 plain and define correctly the kind of 
 pleasure I felt on this occasion. All I can afiirm 
 is that it was quite unlike that which, a few 
 moments before, the sight of the milky way and 
 the starry sky had caused me. Yet, as in the 
 most embarassing situations of life I have always 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 37 
 
 tried to understand what was passing in my soul, 
 I endeavoured now to ascertain exactly what plea- 
 sure an honest man can find in watching a lady's 
 slipper, as compared with that caused by the con- 
 templation of the stars. With this object I picked 
 out in the sky the most brilliant constellation. It 
 was, I believe, Cassiopcea's Chair which was above 
 my head, and I looked from the constellation to 
 the slipper, and from the slipper to the constella- 
 tion. I then found that these two sensations were 
 of an entirely different character : One was in my 
 head, whilst the other seemed to affect my heart. 
 But what I cannot confess without some shame is 
 that the attraction of the enchanted slipper 
 absorbed all my faculties. The enthusiasm 
 which, a few moments before, the sight of the 
 stars had caused me only existed now in a feeble 
 degree, and soon it vanished utterly when I heard 
 the window on the balcony open, and perceived a 
 little foot, whiter than alabaster, advancing softly 
 to seize the little slipper. I tried to speak ; but, 
 not having had time to prepare myself as on the 
 first occasion, I no longer found my usual presence 
 of mind, and I heard the window close before I 
 had thought of anything suitable to say. 
 
 XXII. hrvHE foregoing chapters will suffice, i 
 
 hope, to answer victoriously an 
 
 accusation of Madame de Hautcastel's, who has 
 
38 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 not hesitated to attack my first Journey, under the 
 pretext that one has no opportunity of making 
 love in it. She could not say the same of my new 
 journey ; and, although my adventure with my 
 amiable neighbour was not pushed very far, I 
 affirm I found more satisfaction in it than in many 
 others, wherein I had considered myself very 
 fortunate, for want of some object of comparison. 
 Every one enjoys life in his own way; but I should 
 not think I had treated my benevolent reader well, 
 were I to hide from him a discovery which, more 
 than anything else, has contributed to. my happi- 
 ness (on condition, however, of its remaining a 
 secret between us). It is nothing less than a new 
 system of love-making, far more advantageous 
 than the old one, without any of its numerous 
 inconveniences. This invention being specially 
 adapted for persons who may adopt my new mode 
 of travelling, I consider I ought to devote a lew 
 chapters to their instruction. 
 
 XXIII. T HAD observed in the course of my life 
 that, when I was in love according to 
 the usual plan, my sensations never equalled my hopes, 
 and my imagination was defeated in all its projects. 
 On thinking the matter over carefully, it struck me 
 that if I could extend the feeling which inclines me 
 to the love of an individual to the whole sex, I might 
 secure new enjoyments without compromising myself 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 39 
 
 in any way. What could be said, in fact, to a man 
 with a heart capable of loving all the amiable women 
 of the universe ? Yes, Madam, I love them all, and 
 not only those I know or expect to meet with, but all 
 those that exist on the surface of the earth; much 
 more : I love every woman that has ever existed, and 
 those that will hereafter exist, without counting a 
 much larger number whom my imagination creates : 
 every possible woman, in a word, is comprised in the 
 vast circle of my affections. 
 
 By what unjust and strange caprice should I enclose 
 a heart like mine within the narrow limits of one 
 society ? Nay, why circumscribe its flight within the 
 limits of one kingdom or even of one republic ? 
 
 Seated at the foot of an oak, beaten by the storm, 
 a young Indian widow mingles her sighs with the roar 
 of the unchained winds. The arms of the warrior 
 whom she loved are suspended over her head, and the 
 mournful sound they produce as they clash, brings 
 back to her heart the memory of her past happiness. 
 Meanwhile, the lightening rives the clouds, and their 
 livid light is reflected in her fixed eyes. Whilst the 
 stake, whereon she is to be consumed, rises from the 
 ground, alone, without consolation, in the stupor of 
 despair, she awaits a frightful death, which a cruel 
 prejudice causes her to prefer to life. 
 
 What a sweet and melancholy pleasure would any 
 tender-hearted man experience in consoling this 
 unfortunate ! Whilst seated on the grass at her side, 
 
40 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 I seek to dissuads her from the horrible sacrifice, and 
 mingling my sighs with hers, and my tears with her 
 tears, I endeavour to turn her thoughts from her grief, 
 the whole town is hastening to the house of Mrs 
 
 A , whose husband has just died from a fit of 
 
 apoplexy. Resolved not to survive her misfortune, 
 insensible to the tears and prayers of her friends, she 
 has determined to die of hunger ; and since early this 
 morning, when the sad news was incautiously broken 
 to her, the unfortunate woman has only eaten one 
 biscuit and drunk one glass of Madeira. I only offer 
 this despairing woman the mere attention requisite 
 not to break through the rules of my universal system, 
 and I leave her, as I am naturally jealous, and do not 
 wish to be compromised with a crowd of consolers, or 
 with persons too easy to console. 
 
 Unfortunate beauty has special claims on my heart, 
 and the tribute of sensibility I owe them does not 
 diminish the interest I bear to beauty joyful. This 
 gives infinite variety to my pleasures, and enables me 
 to pass from joy to melancholy, and from senti- 
 mental repose to enthusiasm. 
 
 Often also I form love intrigues in Ancient History, 
 and cancel entire lines in the old registers of fate. 
 How many times have I not stopped the paricidal 
 hand of Virginius and saved the life of his unfortunate 
 daughter, the victim at once of excess in crime and of 
 excess in virtue ! This event fills me with terror 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 4I 
 
 when it recurs to my mind ; I am not surprised that 
 it was the origin of a revolution. 
 
 I hope that reasonable persons and compassionate 
 souls will thank me for having settled this matter in 
 a friendly way ; and every man who has any know- 
 ledge of the world will agree with me that, had the 
 Decemvir had his own way, this passionate man could 
 not have failed to do justice to the virtue of Virginia ; 
 relations would have interfered ; Father Virginius at last 
 would have quieted down, and the marriage would have 
 taken place according to all the forms required by law. 
 
 But what would have become of the unfortunate 
 and neglected lover ? Well, what did the lover gain 
 by the murder ? But, since you deign to have an 
 interest in him, I will tell you, my dear Mary, that 
 six months after the death of Virginia he was not 
 only consoled but very happily married, and after 
 having had several children, he lost his wife and mar- 
 ried again, six weeks later, the widow of a tribune of 
 the people. These circumstances, unknown till now, 
 were discovered and deciphered in a Palimpsest MS^ 
 in the Ambrosian library by a learned Italian anti- 
 quary. They will, unfortunately, increase by a page 
 the abominable and already too protracted history of 
 the Roman Republic. 
 
 XXIV. ® FTER having saved the interesting Vir- 
 ginia, I modestly avoid her gratitude ; 
 and being always desirous of rendering some service to 
 
42 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 lovely woman, I profit by the obscurity of a rainy 
 night and secretly open the tomb of a young vestal 
 virgin, whom the Roman Senate has barbarously 
 buried alive for having allowed the sacred fire of Vesta 
 to go out — or, perhaps, for having got slightly burnt 
 by it. Silently I tread the bye lanes of Rome, enjoy- 
 ing the inward delight which precedes good actions, 
 especially when they are not without danger. I care- 
 fully avoid the Capital for fear of awakening the 
 geese, and, gliding through the Collina Gate, I happily 
 reach the tomb without being perceived. 
 
 At the noise I make in raising the stone which 
 covers her, the wretched woman lifts her dishevelled 
 head from the damp floor of the vault. 1 see her by 
 the light of the sepulchral lamp, casting around her 
 looks distraught with terror : In her delirium, the 
 unfortunate victim imagines herself already on the 
 banks of the Cocytus : • "Oh Minos ! " she cries, 
 " oh inexorable judge ! I loved, it is true, on earth, 
 contrary to the severe laws of Vesta. If the 
 gods are as barbarous as men, open, open for me 
 the abyss of Tartarus ! I loved and I love still." 
 
 " No, no, thou art not yet in the kingdom of the 
 
 dead ; come, young and unfortunate woman, reappear 
 on earth ! revisit light and love." Meanwhile I 
 seized her hand already frozen with the chill of the 
 
 ' Cocytus, named of lamentation loud 
 Heard on the rueful stream. 
 
 — (Milton's paradise Lost. II.) 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 43 
 
 tomb ; I took her in my arms, and, pressing her to 
 my heart, I tore her away from this horrible spot, 
 filled with terror and with gratitude. 
 
 Do not think, madame, that any personal interest 
 actuated me in this good action. The hope of 
 obtaining the favour of the lovely ex-vestal virgin 
 entered in no wise into my calculations : I can 
 assure you, on the word of a traveller, that during the 
 whole of the walk from the CoUina gate to the spot 
 now occupied by the tomb of the Scipios, notwith- 
 standing the darkness, and the fact that her weakness 
 obliged her to lean on my arm, I never ceased to treat 
 her with the respect and consideration due to her 
 misfortunes, and I scrupulously returned her to her 
 lover who was waiting for her on the road. 
 
 XXV, fTjNOTHER time, carried away by my 
 ^^ reveries, I happened by chance to be 
 present at the Rape of the Sabines : I saw, with much 
 surprise, that the Sabines took the matter in quite a 
 different spirit from that mentioned in history. 
 Understanding nothing of the row that was going on, 
 I oftered my protection to a woman who was running 
 away j and I could not help laughing, as I accompanied 
 her, when I heard a furious Sabine warrior exclaim, 
 with the accent of despair : « Ye immortal gods ! 
 why did I not bring my wife to the feast ! " 
 
44 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 XXVI. QeSIDES that half of the human race to 
 whom I bear so great an affection — 
 shall I confess it, and will you believe me if I do ? — 
 my heart is endowed with such a capacity for tender- 
 ness, that every living thing, and even inanimate 
 objects, have their share in it. I love the trees that 
 give me shade, and the birds that sing in their branches, 
 and the midnight shriek of the owl, and the sound of 
 
 the torrents : I love everything I love the 
 
 moon ! 
 
 You smile, miss : it is easy to turn into ridicule 
 feelings one does not share : but hearts like mine will 
 understand me. 
 
 Yes, I get attached to everything that surrounds 
 me. I love the paths I tread, the spring I drink of ; 
 I cannot part without regret from the stick I have 
 taken from the hedge as I passed ; I look back after 
 it when I have thrown it away; we had made friends j 
 I regret the falling leaves, and even the passing zephyr. 
 Where is now that zephyr which kissed thy black 
 tresses, Eliza, when, seated by my side on the banks of 
 the Doire, on the eve of our eternal separation, thou 
 didst gaze on me in sorrowful silence ? "Where is thy 
 look > Where is that painful, yet cherished, moment ? 
 
 Oh time ! terrible divinity ! it is not thy cruel scythe 
 which terrifies me ; I fear only thy hideous children, 
 indifference and forgetfulness, which turn into a long 
 death three quarters of our existence. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 45 
 
 Alas : that zephyr, that look, that smile, are as far 
 away from one as the adventures of Ariadne : in the 
 depths of my heart there remain only regrets and vain 
 memories ; a sad combination on which my life still 
 floats, like a vessel, shattered by the tempest, still 
 floats on the agitated sea ! 
 
 XXVn. "I ["NTIL, the water gradually penetrating 
 through the leaking planks, the 
 unfortunate ship disappears, engulfed in the abyss ; the 
 waves close over it, the tempest is calmed, and the sea- 
 gull skims the solitary and tranquil plain of the ocean. 
 
 XXVIII. T FIND I must here close the explana- 
 tion of my new method of love- 
 making, as I perceive that it is verging on the 
 dismal. It may not, however, be out of place to 
 add a few more details on this discovery, which 
 does not equally suit everybody and all ages. I 
 would not advise any one to make use of it at 
 twenty years of age. The inventor himself did 
 not follow the system at that period. To make 
 the most of it, one must have felt all the sorrows 
 of life without being discouraged, and all its 
 enjoyments without being surfeited. It is easy to 
 follow my system, but it is especially useful at that 
 age when reason advises us to give up the habits 
 of our youth, and it can be made to act as a 
 stepping-stone or bridge from pleasure to wisdom. 
 
46 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 This crossing, as all moralists have observed, is 
 extremely difficult. Few men have the noble 
 courage to cross courageously; and often, after 
 having passed over, they weary on the further 
 bank, and recross the river, with grey hair and to 
 their great shame. This they will easily be able 
 to avoid by following my new system of love- 
 making. In fact, most of our pleasures being 
 only the results of imagination, it becomes neces- 
 sary to offer this imagination some innocent prey 
 to draw its attention off from objects which it 
 should renounce, in the same way as parents offer 
 toys to children when refusing them sweets. In 
 this way one has time to take one's stand on the 
 land of wisdom without noticing that one has yet 
 reached it, and one travels there by the high road 
 of folly, which will make it peculiarly easy to 
 many people. 
 
 I do not think, then, that I have been mistaken 
 in the hope of being useful, which hope induced 
 me to take up my pen ; and the only thing I have 
 to guard against is a natural feeling of pride at 
 having revealed to men truths of this nature. 
 
 XXIX. S) LL these revelations, my dear Sophia, 
 will not have caused you to forget, 
 I hope, the awkward position in which you left 
 me at my window. The emotion which the pretty 
 foot of my neighbour had caused me still existed. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 47 
 
 and I had fallen more than ever under the dan- 
 gerous influence of the slipper, when an unexpected 
 event saved me from the peril in vfhich I stood of 
 throwing myself from the fifth storey into the 
 street. A bat which was flying round the house, 
 seeing me so long motionless, took me evidently 
 for a chimney, and suddenly darted on me and 
 seized me by the ear. I felt on my cheek the 
 horrible cold of its damp wings. All Turin 
 re-echoed with the involuntary shriek I uttered. 
 The distant sentinels gave the alarm, and I heard 
 in the street the hurried march of a patrol. 
 
 I left the view of the balcony without much 
 regret ; it no longer had any attraction for me. 
 The chill of evening seemed to have seized me. 
 I slightly shuddered ; and as I drew my dressing 
 gown round me, I sadly noticed that the cold and 
 the bat's attack had been sufilcient to again change 
 the direction of my thoughts. The magic slipper 
 would have had no more influence on me than 
 Berenice's locks, or any other constellation. I at 
 once saw how foolish it was to spend the night 
 exposed to the cold, instead of following the law 
 of nature which commands sleep. My reason, 
 which then had alone any power over me, made 
 this as clear as a proposition in Euclid. I was, 
 in fact, suddenly deprived of imagination and 
 enthusiasm, and given over bodily to sad reality. 
 Wretched existence ! One might as well be a 
 
48 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 dead tree in a forest, or an obelisk in a public 
 square. 
 
 What strange machines, I cried, are the head 
 and the heart of man ! Carried away alternately 
 in opposite directions by these two motive powers, 
 the one he follows last always seems to him the 
 best ! Oh folly of enthusiasm and sentiment ! 
 says cold reason ; oh weakness and uncertainty of 
 reason ! says sentiment. Who shall decide 
 between them ? 
 
 I thought it would be a good opportunity to 
 decide which of these two guides it would be well 
 to follow for the remainder of my life. Should it 
 be my head or my heart ? Let us examine the 
 question. 
 
 XXX. CLAYING these words, I noticed a dull 
 ^ pain in the foot which rested on the 
 ladder step. I was, besides, very tired of the 
 difficult position I had maintained up till then. I 
 sat down gently; and, letting my legs hang to 
 the right and left of the window, I continued my 
 journey on horseback. I have always preferred 
 this way of travelling to any other, and am 
 passionately fond of horses. Nevertheless, out of 
 all those I have ever seen or heard mentioned, 
 the one I should prefer is the wooden horse 
 spoken of in the Thousand and One Nights,' on 
 ' Arabian Nights' Entertainment. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 49 
 
 which one could travel through the air, and which 
 sped away like lightning when you turned a little 
 catch between its ears. 
 
 Now, you may notice that my steed greatly 
 resembles that of the Thousand and One Nights. 
 Owing to his position, he who travels on horseback 
 on his window-sill communicates on one side with 
 the heavens, and enjoys the imposing spectacle of 
 nature ; meteors and stars are at his disposal : on 
 the other side, the sight of his dwelling and the 
 objects it contains brings him back to the world. 
 A turn of the head replaces the enchanted catch, 
 and suffices to make in the traveller's soul a change 
 as rapid as it is extraordinary. Inhabiting earth 
 and heaven by turns, his mind and heart experi- 
 ence every enjoyment that is given to man. 
 
 I at once saw the advantage I could derive from 
 my steed. When I felt myself comfortably in the 
 saddle, certain of having nothing to fear from 
 highwaymen or false steps on the part of my 
 horse, I thought the opportunity a very favourable 
 one to examine the problem I wished to solve 
 touching the pre-eminence of reason or sentiment. 
 But my first thought brought me to a standstill. 
 
 Is it for me to make myself judge in such a cause ? 
 
 For in my conscience I am already for a verdict in 
 
 favour of sentiment. But again, if I exclude persons 
 
 whose heart outweighs their head, whom shall I 
 
 D 
 
50 A NOCXURNAI. EXPBnjTION 
 
 qonsult ? A geomctriciao.J Bah ! Tboae fellows are 
 sold body and soul to reason. To decide the point, « 
 man should have received frqm nature an equal 
 quantity of reason and sentiment, and, at the moment 
 of deciding, tjiese two faculties should be in perfect 
 equilibrium .... An impossibility ! It would he 
 easier to keep a republic in equiUbriuai. 
 
 The only competent judge, then, would be a man 
 who would have nothing in common with either ; a 
 man without s head and without a heart. This 
 extraordinary result was revolting to ray reason j my 
 heart protested it had nothing to do with it, Vet it 
 seemed to me I had reasoned logieaJly, and I should at 
 once have formed the worst idea of my intellectual 
 faculties had 1 not reflected that, in high metaphysical 
 speculations such as these^ the greatest philosophers 
 have often been led to frightful results which have 
 had a great influence on human society. 
 
 I console myself, then, with the idea that my specu- 
 lations will do harm to na one, I left the. question 
 undecided, and resolved, for the retoaindej of my day«, 
 alternately to follow my head and my hearts I fancy 
 this i& the best plan. It has not brought me a^ fortune 
 as yet. Never mind, I still advaBce, descending the 
 steep path of life without fear and without plans, 
 laughing or weeping ia turn, and sometimes both 
 together, or whistling some old tune to pass the time 
 away. Sometimes, I gather- a daisy at the corner of a 
 hedge ; I pull out the, petal* one after anotheTi saying ; 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. $1 
 
 " She lovea me little, much, passionately, not at all." ' 
 The last petal almost invariably brings mt at all. In 
 very truth, Eliza loves me no more. 
 
 Whilst I am thus occupied, the entire generation of 
 the living passes away : like an immense wave it will 
 soon dash with me on to the shore of eternity ; and, 
 as if the tempest of life was not fierce enough, 
 as if it were urging us too gently towards the final 
 barriers of existence, nations murder each other and 
 forestall the date fixed by nature. Conquerors, them- 
 selves carried away by the rapid whirlwind of time, 
 amuse themselves by slaughtering myriads of men. 
 Hie \ gentlemen, what are you thinking about ? Wait 
 a moment ! All these good people were on the point 
 of dying naturally. Do you not sec the wave 
 
 advancing ? It already foams near the shore 
 
 Wait, in the name of Heaven, one moment only, and 
 you, and your enemies, and I, and the daisies, we shall 
 all have come to an end. Can one understand such 
 madness ! Come ! one thing is settled ; henceforth 
 I myself will cease to destroy daises, 
 
 XXXI. ® FTER having setUed by means of my 
 
 luminous logic, rules for my conduct 
 
 in future, I had still one point to determine with 
 
 regard to the journey I was undertaking. It is 
 
 ^ This is a favourite amusement with children and young 
 people abroad, and resembles our own "• Sortes Virgilianse," of 
 counting the cherry-stones, after eating chefry-pie, repeating, " I 
 shall be married this year, next year, now or never." 
 
S2 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 not everything to get into a carriage or on horse- 
 back ; one must also know where one is going to. 
 I was so fatigued with my metaphysical researches 
 that before deciding on the region of the globe to 
 which I should give the preference I thought it 
 best to rest and think of nothing at all. This is a 
 way of living which I have also invented, and 
 which has been of great use to me ; but everyone 
 cannot make use of it; for if it is easy to give depth 
 to one's ideas by fixing one's thoughts perseveringly 
 on a subject, it is not so easy to stop ones ideas 
 suddenly like the pendulum of a clock. Moli^re 
 has very foolishly ridiculed a man who amused 
 himself in making circles with stones in the water 
 of a well ; I on the contrary should be inclined to 
 think that man was a philosopher who had the 
 power to suspend the action of his intelligence in 
 order to rest, one of the most difficult operations 
 the human mind can perform. 
 
 As this mode of existence powerfully favours the 
 invasion of sleep, after half a minute's enjoyment 
 I felt my head fall on my breast : I at once opened 
 my eyes, and my ideas started afresh ; a circum- 
 stance which evidently proves that this kind of 
 voluntary lethargy is very different from sleep, as 
 it was sleep that woke me; an accident which 
 certainly never happened to any one else. 
 
 Raising my eyes, I perceived the polar star just 
 above the house ; this seemed to me a good omen 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 53 
 
 on starting on a long journey. During the interval 
 of rest I had enjoyed, my imagination had regained 
 all its strength, and my heart was ready to receive 
 the softest impressions ; so much does a temporary 
 annihilation of thought increase its energy ! The 
 feeling of sadness which my precarious worldly 
 situation caused me was suddenly transformed 
 into a powerful feeling of hope and courage ; I 
 found myself capable of daring life, and all the 
 chances of misfortune and happiness it brings 
 with it. 
 
 Brilliant star ! I exclaimed in the delicious 
 ecstasy which filled me,incomprehensibleproduction 
 of the Eternal Mind ! Thou who alone, motionless 
 in the sky, hast watched since the day of creation 
 over half the earth ! who -directest the navigator 
 over the deserts of the ocean, and a single sight of 
 whom has often given back hope and life to the 
 sailor pressed by the tempest ! since I have never, 
 when a clear night has allowed me to see the 
 heavens, failed to seek thee amongst thy companions, 
 assist me, celestial light ! Alas ! earth abandons 
 me : be to-day my counsellor and my guide, and 
 tell me what region of the globe I should fly to ! 
 During this invocation, the stars seemed to shine 
 more brilliantly, and to rejoice in heaven, inviting 
 me to trust to its protecting influence. I do not 
 believe in presentiments ; but I believe in a divine 
 providence that leads men by unknown ways. 
 
S4 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 Each instant of oui existence is a new creation, an 
 act of the All-powerfuU Will. I may even assert that 
 I have sometimes perceived the imperceptible 
 threads by means of vphich Providence makes the 
 greatest men act like marionnettes, whilst they 
 imagine they are leading the world ; a movement 
 of pride it breathes into their hearts is sufficient to 
 destroy armies, and to turn a nation upside down. 
 However that may be, I believed so firmly in the 
 reality of the invitation I had received from the 
 polar star, that I immediately resolved to go 
 north ; and although I had in these far-off regions 
 neither preference nor real object, when I left 
 Turin the next day, I went out by the Palace gate, 
 to the north of the town, convinced that the polar 
 star would not abandon me. 
 
 XXXII. T HAD reached this point of my 
 journey, when I was obliged to get 
 down hurriedly from my horse. I would not have 
 mentioned this detail, were I not in conscience 
 bound to inform the persons who may wish to 
 adopt this mode of travelling of its little incon- 
 veniences, after having pointed out its immense 
 advantages. 
 
 Windows, in general, not having been primi- 
 tively invented for the new purpose I have put 
 them to, architects in building them neglect to 
 give them the commodious and rounded form of a 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. $5 
 
 saddle. The intelligent reader will understand, I 
 hope, without further explanation, the painful 
 cause whieh compelled me to make a halt. I got 
 down with some difficulty, and took a turn or two 
 up and down my room to stretch myself, reflecting 
 on the mixture of pain and pleasure with which 
 life is variegated, and on the kind of fatality which 
 makes men the slaves of the most insignificant 
 circumstances. After which I hastened to remount 
 my horse, furnished with n sofa cushion, which I 
 should not have dared do a few days before, for 
 fear of being hooted by the cavalry ; but having 
 met the preceding day, at the gates of Turin, a 
 party of Cossacks arriving on similar cushions from 
 the banks of the Putrid and Caspian Seas, I 
 thought I might, without violating the laws of 
 horsemanship, which I greatly respect, adopt the 
 same custom. 
 
 Delivered from the disagreeable sensation that 
 I have hinted at, I was unable to give my mind 
 to the details of my journey. 
 
 One of the difficulties that worried me most, 
 because it was a matter of conscience, was to 
 know if I was acting rightly or not in giving up 
 my country, half of which had given me up.' 
 Such a step seemed to me too important to 
 be settled ofif-hand. Reflecting on the word native 
 
 ' The author was serving in Piedmont, when Savoy, where he 
 was born, was united to France. 
 
S6 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 land, I perceived I had no very clear idea of its 
 meaning. 
 
 " My native land ? What is my native land ? Is 
 it an assemblage of houses, of fields, of rivers ? I can- 
 not think so. Is it my family? Do my friends 
 constitute my native land ? But they have left it. 
 Ah, I have it ! It is the government. But it is 
 changed. Good God ! where, then, is my native 
 land ? " I passed my hand over my forehead in a 
 state of inexpressible anxiety. The love of my native 
 land is so fervent ! The regrets I felt at the mere 
 thought of leaving mine proved its existence so tho- 
 roughly that I would have remained on horseback all 
 ray life without dismounting rather than not have solved 
 this difficulty. 
 
 I soon saw that the love of one's country depends 
 on several circumsances — that is to say, on the long 
 habit man gets into from his youth of being connected 
 with the same individuals, the same locality, the same 
 government. There only remained to examine how 
 far these three causes contribute, separately, in making 
 up one's native land,^ 
 
 The link which binds us to our fellow countrymen 
 m general depends on the government, and is only the 
 feeling of strength and happiness it gives us in com- 
 mon ; for real affection is limited to the family and 
 a small number of individuals immediately around us. 
 Everything which breaks the habit or throws difficulty 
 in the way of meeting men makes them enemies : A 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 57 
 
 chain of mountains creates two peoples that dislike 
 one another ; the inhabitants of the right bank of a 
 river think themselves far superior to those of the 
 left bank, and the latter ridicule their neighbours in 
 their turn. This disposition is noticed even in large 
 towns cut by a river, notwithstanding the bridges 
 which span it. The difference of language divides 
 men still more. Lastly, the family itself, in which is 
 centred our real affection, is often dispersed through- 
 out our country ; it continually changes its forms and 
 numbers ; besides which, it may be removed. It is, 
 therefore, neither amongst our countrymen nor in our 
 family that the love of our country is confined. 
 
 Locality contributes at least as much to the love we 
 bear our native land. A very interesting question 
 arises on this point : it has always been noticed that 
 mountaineers, of all people, are most attached to their 
 country, and that nomadic nations generally inhabit 
 large plains. What can be the cause of this diHerence 
 in the affection these people have for locality.' If I 
 mistake not, it is because amongst mountains one's 
 native land has a physiognomy of its own, while it is 
 not so in plains. It is a woman without features, and 
 one cannot love her, in spite of all her good qualities. 
 What, in fact, remains of his country for a villager to 
 love when, inhabiting a wood-built hamlet, an enemy 
 passes through, burning the village and cutting the 
 trees > The wretch seeks in vain, along the uniform 
 line of the horizon some known object wherewith to 
 
S8 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 recall memories of the past : none exist. Each 
 point of space offers him the same aspect and the same 
 interest. This man is nomadic by nature unless the 
 custom of his government holds him back ; but his 
 home will be here, there, anywhere ; his native land 
 is wherever the government exerts its power : he has 
 only half a native land. The mountaineer loves tbe 
 objects which meet his eyes from infancy, visible and 
 indestructable forms : from every part of the valley, 
 he can see and recognise his field on the side of the 
 hill. The sound of , the torrent, bubbling between the 
 rocks, is never interrupted ; the path that leads to the 
 village swerves round an immovable block of granite. 
 He sees in his dreams the outlines of the mountains, 
 which are imprinted on his heart, just as, after having 
 long looked at the panes of a window, one still sees 
 them on closing one's eyes : The picture graven on 
 his memory is part of himself, and cannot be effaced. 
 Besides, memories themselves are connected with 
 locality, but it must contain objects, the origin of 
 which is unknown, or whose end cannot be foreseen. 
 Old buildings, ancient bridges, everything which bears 
 the character of greatness and long duration, takes the 
 place, in part, of mountains ; yet the monuments of 
 nature have more power over the heart. To give 
 to Rome a surname worthy of herself, the proud 
 Romans called it the City of the Seven Hills, A habit, 
 once formed, can never be destroyed. A middle-aged 
 mountaineer can have no affection for the localities of 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 59 
 
 a great city, and the inhabitant ofcities cannot become 
 a mountaineer. Hence it is, perhaps, that one of our 
 greatest writers, who has painted with genius the 
 deserts of America, found the Alps paltry, and Mont 
 Clanc considerably too small,' 
 
 The share of government is evident. It is the 
 first basis of one's native land. It is government 
 which produces the reciprocal affection of men, 
 and which renders more energetic the love they 
 naturally bear to locality ; government alone can, by 
 memories of happiness or of glory, attach them to the 
 soil whence they sprang. 
 
 If the government is good, the love of one's native 
 land is in full vigour ; if bad, love sickens j if it 
 changes, it dies. It is then a new land, and each 
 man can adopt it or choose another. 
 
 When the whole population of Athens quitted that 
 city on the faith of Themistocles did the Athenians 
 abandon their country, or did they carry it with them 
 on to their ships ? 
 
 When Coriolanus 
 
 Good God ! into what discussion have I 
 drifted ! I forget that I am on horseback on my 
 window-sill. 
 
 XXXIII, T HAD an old relation of much wit, 
 whose conversation was extremeiy 
 interesting; but her memory, inconstant though 
 ^ Gustave Aymard. 
 
6o A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 fertile, often made her pass from episode to episode, 
 and from digression to digression, till she was 
 forced to implore the help of her auditors : 
 "What was I going to tell you?" she used to 
 say ; and often her auditors had forgotten it also, 
 which threw the whole company into inexpressible 
 embarrassment. Now, you may have remarked 
 that the same accident often happens to me in my 
 narrative, and I confess that the plan and order of 
 my journey are traced on the identical plan of my 
 aunt's conversation ; but I ask assistance of no 
 one, because I perceive that my subject comes 
 back of its own accord at the very moment I 
 expect it least. 
 
 XXXIV. ^ /tKhOSE persons who do not approve 
 of my treatise on the subject of 
 native lands, must be warned that for some time 
 past sleep has been creeping over me, notwith- 
 standing my efforts to keep awake. Nevertheless, 
 I am not quite sure now whether I fell fast asleep, 
 and whether the extraordinary events I am about 
 to relate were the effect of a dream or of a super- 
 natural vision. 
 
 I saw a brilliant cloud descend from heaven 
 and approach me by degrees, covering, as with a 
 transparent veil, a young woman twenty-two or 
 twenty-three years of age. I know not how to 
 describe the feelings which her aspect gave birth 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 6 1 
 
 to. Her face, sparkling with goodness and kind- 
 ness, had all the charms of youth's illusions, and 
 was soft as the dreams of the future. Her look, 
 her peaceful smile, all her features, in a word, 
 realised in my eyes the ideal being sought for so 
 long by my heart, and whom I had despaired of 
 meeting. 
 
 While I watched her in delightful ecstasy, I 
 saw the polar star through her black tresses, 
 fluttering in the wind, and at the same moment I 
 heard these consoling words. Words, do I say ? 
 It was the mysterious expression of the Divine 
 Mind unveiling the future to my intelligence ; it 
 was a prophetic communication from the protect- 
 ing star I had invoked, and the sense of which I 
 will try to render in human words. 
 
 " Thy confidence in me shall not be betrayed," 
 said a voice whose tone resembled the sound of 
 iEolian harps. "Behold this is the land I have 
 reserved for thee; this is the gem men aspire to, 
 who think that happiness is a calculation, and ask 
 of the earth what can only be obtained from 
 Heaven." At these words, the meteor returned 
 into the depths of space, and the celestial divinity 
 was lost in the mists of the horizon ; but, as she 
 retired, she cast on me glances which filled my 
 heart with confidence and hope. 
 
 Immediately, burning to follow her, I put 
 spurs to my horse with all my might ; but, as I 
 
62 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 had forgotten to put on spurs, I struck my tight 
 heel against the angle of a tile so violently, that 
 pain woke me up with a start. 
 
 XXXV. 'pHIS accident was a real advantage 
 for the geological portion of my 
 journey, as it gave me the opportunity of ascertain- 
 ing exactly the he^bt of my room above the layer 
 of alluvial soil on which the town of Turin is built. 
 My heait beat fast, and I had just counted three 
 and a half beats, from the time I had spurred my 
 horse, when I heard the fall of my slipper into the 
 street, which, having closely calculated the time 
 which heavy bodies take in falling, and that 
 occupied by the transmission of sonorous undula- 
 tions through the air from the street to my ear, 
 gives a height from the level of the Turin pavement 
 to my window of 94 feet, 3 lines, and ig-aoths of 
 a line, supposing my heart, agitated by the dream, 
 was beating 120 to the minute, which cannot be 
 far from the truth. It is only for the sake of 
 science that, after speaking of the interesting 
 slipper of my beautiful neighbour, I venture to 
 mention mine : I therefore warn yon that this 
 chapter is strictly intended for the learned. 
 
 XXXVI. /pHE brilliant vision I had experienced 
 
 made me feel all the: more, on 
 
 awakening,, the horror of the isolation ia which. I 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 63 
 
 found myself. I cast my eyes around and saw 
 nothing but roofs and chimneys. Alas! sus- 
 pended up at the fifth story between heaven and 
 earth, surrounded with an ocean of regrets, 
 desires, and anxieties, an uncertain gleam of hope 
 atone bound me to existence ; a fantastic support 
 the fragility of which I have but too often expe- 
 rienced. Doubt re-entered my heart, still bleed- 
 ing with the disappointments of life, and I firmly 
 believed that the polar star had been laughing at 
 me. Unjust and guilty suspicion, for which the 
 heavenly body punished me by ten years of wait- 
 ing ! Oh, if I had only foreseen then that all 
 these promises would be accomplished, and that I 
 should one day meet again on earth the adored 
 being whose image I had only caught a glimpse 
 of in the sky I Dear Sophia, if I had known that 
 my happiness would surpass all my hopes ! but I 
 must not antidpate events. I return to my sub- 
 ject, not wishing to interrupt the methodical and 
 severe regularity of the plan I have followed in 
 the narrative of my journey. 
 
 XXXVII. WhE clock in the tower of the 
 Church of St Philip slowly tolled 
 midnight. I counted each stroke, and the last drew 
 a. sigh from me. "There is another day," said I, 
 '' gone from my life;" and although the decreasing 
 vibrations of the brazen bell still resound -in my 
 
64 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 ear, that part of my voyage preceding midnight 
 is as far from me as the voyages of Ulysses or 
 Jason. In this abyss of the past, seconds and 
 centuries are equal; and has the future more 
 reality? I am standing poised between two 
 precipices, as it were on the edge of a sword. 
 Time, indeed, seems to me something so incon- 
 ceivable, that I am tempted to think it does not 
 really exist, and that what is so named is only a 
 punishment of the mind. 
 
 I was rejoicing at having found this definition 
 for time, as incomprehensible as time itself, when 
 another clock struck midnight, which caused me 
 a disagreeable sensation. I am always somewhat 
 irritable when I have been working at an insoluble 
 problem, and I thought this second warning from 
 a clock, to a philosopher like myself, extremely 
 out of place. But I was simply disgusted, a few 
 seconds later, when I heard in the distance a 
 third clock, that of the Convent of the Capucines, 
 on the other bank of the Po, strike midnight, as 
 if out of spite. 
 
 When my aunt used to call her old and some- 
 what cross lady's maid, whom she was very fond 
 of, she was not satisfied, in her impatience, with 
 ringing once, but she pulled the bell-rope inces- 
 santly till her maid appeared. "Come on. 
 Mademoiselle Branchet !" and the latter, angry at 
 being hurried, came leisurely, and answered 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 6S 
 
 sharply, before entering the drawing room : 
 " Coining, Ma'am, coming." Such was the feeling 
 of irritation I felt, when I heard the indiscreet 
 clock of the Capucines ringing out midnight for 
 the third time. " I know it, I know it," cried I, 
 stretching my hands towards the clock ; "I know 
 that it is midnight : I know it but too well. " 
 
 It is, undoubtedly, on the advice of the Evil Spirit, 
 that men have 6xed on that hour to divide their days. 
 Shut up in their homes, they sleep or enjoy themselves, 
 whilst it cuts one of the threads of their existence : 
 the next day they rise joyfully, not dreaming the least 
 in the world, that they are a day older. In vain does 
 the prophetic sound of the clock warn them of the 
 approach of Eternity j in vain does it sadly remind 
 them of each hour as it passes ; they hear nothing, 
 or if they hear, they understand not. Oh midnight ! 
 terrible hour ! I am not superstitious, but this hour 
 ever inspired me with a kind of fear, and I feel 
 that, if I ever die, it will be at midnight. Then I 
 shall die some day > What ! / die ! /, who speak, 
 who feel j can / die ? I have some difficulty in 
 believing it : for, after all, that others should die is 
 perfectly natural : one sees that every day : we see 
 them pass by, and get accustomed to it ; but to die 
 one*s self ! to die bodily ! that is rather too much. 
 And you, gentlemen, who look upon these reflections 
 
66 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 as rubbish, learn that every one thinks this, you 
 amongst the number. No man thinks that he has to 
 die. If there existed a race of immortals, this idea 
 of death would frighten them more than it does us. 
 
 There is something in this which I do not under- 
 stand. How is it that men, ever agitated with hope, 
 or with the mirages of Future, take so little thought 
 of the only certain and inevitable pvent the Future has 
 in store for them ? May it not be that beneficent 
 Nature itself has given us this happy indifference, so 
 that we may in peace fulfil our destiny ? I believe, 
 indeed, that one can be a very good fellow without 
 adding, to the real evils of life, that turn of thought 
 which leadsv to gloomy reflections, and without 
 troubling one's imagination with black phantoms. 
 Lastly, I think one should laugh, or smile at any rate, 
 whenever an innocent opportunity offers. 
 
 Thus ends the meditation inspired by the clock 
 of St, Philip's. I should have pushed it further if 
 some scruples had not arisen in my mind as to the 
 morality of my conclusions. But, unwilling to 
 examine this doubt, I whistled the Follies of 
 Spain,' which has the power of changing my 
 thoughts when they go astray. The effect was so 
 prompt, that I at once brought my ride to an end. 
 
 ^ A favorite air at the end of the eighteenth century. 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 67 
 
 XXXVIII. ©EFORE re-entering my room, I 
 cast a glance over the town and 
 darkened neighbourhood of Turin, that I was 
 about to leave, perhaps for ever, and bid them a 
 last farewell. Never had night appeared so lovely ; 
 never had the view before me so interested me. 
 After having saluted the mountain and temple of 
 Superga, I took leave of the towers, steeples, and 
 all known objects I never thought I could regret 
 so much, of the air, the sky, and the river whose 
 soft ripple seemed to re-echo my adieux. Oh ! 
 if I could paint the feelings, tender and cruel, 
 which filled my heart, and all the memories of the 
 best half of my life, which crowded round me, 
 like so many will-o'-the-wisps, to retain me at 
 Turin ! but, alas ! memories of past happiness are 
 the wrinkles of the soul I when we are unhappy, 
 we must drive them from our thoughts as mocking 
 phantoms deriding our present situation : it is a 
 thousand times better than to give one's self up to 
 the deceitful illusions of hope ; especially is it 
 necessary to put a good face on the matter, and to 
 admit no one into the secret of one's misfortunes. 
 I have noticed, in my ordinary journeys amongst 
 men, that by dint of being unfortunate one becomes 
 ridiculous. In those dreadful moments, nothing 
 can be more suitable than the new method of 
 travelling I have described. I found it so, un- 
 doubtedly. Not only did I succeed in forgetting 
 
68 A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION 
 
 he past, but I was even able to look my present 
 troubles in the face. Time will carry them away, 
 I thought ; he carries everything away ; he forgets 
 nothing ; and whether we try to hurry or to 
 restrain him, our efforts are alike vain, and 
 cannot change his changeless course. Although 
 I seldom notice his rapid flight, some circumstance, 
 some train of thought, recalls it to me in a striking 
 manner. It is when men are silent, when the 
 demon of noise is dumb in the midst of his temple, 
 in the midst of a slumbering city, it is then that 
 Time raises his voice, and is heard by my soul. 
 Silence and darkness become his interpreters, and 
 unveil to me his mysterious flight ; he is no longer 
 a being my mind cannot comprehend : he becomes 
 visible to my thoughts; I see him in the skies, 
 driving the stars towards the west. Behold him 
 chasing the rivers to the sea, and rolling over the 
 hills with the mists ! . . . . Listen ! the winds 
 howl under the pressure of his rapid wings, and 
 the distant bell tolls his passing knell ! 
 
 " Let us profit, let us profit by his course," I 
 cried. " I will make good use of the seconds he 
 will rob me of." Wishing to carry out this good- 
 resolution, I at once leant forward to urge on my 
 steed, making with my tongue a certain noise 
 which was never meant to hurry horses forward, 
 but which cannot be written according to any rules 
 
ROUND MY ROOM. 69 
 
 of orthography: "Gh ! gh ! gh!" and I finished 
 my ride with a gallop. 
 
 XXXIX. T WAS raising my right foot to get off 
 my horse, when I felt a somewhat 
 sharp blow on my shoulder. To say I was not 
 frightened at this event would be untrue ; and 
 here occurs an opportunity of pointing out to the 
 reader, and of proving to him, how difficult it 
 would be for anyone but myself to execute a 
 similar journey. Supposing another traveller had 
 a thousand times more means and talents for 
 observation than I had, could he flatter himself 
 with the prospect of such peculiar, such numerous 
 adventures, as those which have happened to me 
 within four hours, and which are undoubtedly the 
 result of my destiny? If anyone doubts this, let 
 him try to guess who struck me. In the first 
 moment of emotion, forgetting the position I was 
 in, I thought my horse had reared, or had struck 
 me against a tree. Heaven knows how many 
 terrible thoughts passed through my mind during 
 the second it took rae to turn my head to look 
 into my room. I then saw, as usually happens in 
 what appears most extraordinary, that the cause 
 of my surprise was a very natural one : The same 
 puff of wind which, at the beginning of my journey, 
 had opened my window and closed my door as it 
 
70 AN EXPEDITION ROUND MY ROOM. 
 
 passed, and part of which had slipped in between 
 the curtains of my bed, had noisily re-entered my 
 room. It roughly opened the door and went out 
 of the window, pushing the frame against my 
 shoulder, which caused the surprise I have men- 
 tioned. 
 
 You will recollect that it was on the invitation 
 of this puff of wind that I had left my bed. The 
 shock I had just experienced was evidently an 
 invitation to return to it, which I thought myself 
 compelled to accept. 
 
 It is a fine thing, no doubt, to be thus in 
 familiar intercourse with the night, the sky and 
 the meteors, and to know how to profit by their 
 influence. Ah I the intercourse one is compelled 
 to have with men is far more dangerous ! How 
 many times have I not been the dupe of my 
 confidence in these gentlemen ! I had even 
 mentioned something of this subject in a note 
 which I have suppressed, because it happened to 
 to be rather longer than the text itself, which 
 would have damaged the proper proportions of 
 my journey, the shortness of which is its greatest 
 merit. 
 
 The End. 
 
 Fruited by E. 6f G. Goldsmid, Edinburgh. 
 
<00 
 OHQs 
 
 8