“This ended the conversation on that particular theme, and, shortly afterwards, the party dissolved, agreeing to meet again on the night mentioned, which, strange coincidence! was the very one of the singular adventure with ‘the ghost of Ravalette;’ for, to tell the truth, I had by this time begun to suspect that my old man of the Louvre—he who appeared under three different aspects at one and the same time, nay, under five, and who was heard to speak, though himself unseen, by the man of the Guinguette—was something more than mortal.
“You must bear in mind the fact, that the party and conversation at Mr. Carr’s took place before I had ever seen Ravalette at all to speak with him. And now, if you please, we will continue the train of events in progress before I made this digression.
“You will remember that, after making fruitless inquiries for the two horsemen, and an equally fruitless search after foot-prints on the soil near Belleville, that I took my way toward Paris, slowly, on foot, musing deeply as I went along. As I passed down the Rue Faubourg du Temple, the tolling of a distant clock announced the hour of four. I remembered my engagement at the Baron’s, but, as I had fully two hours left in which to dress for the occasion, I determined to drop in at D’Emprat’s, in the Rue Michel le Compte, as I went by, and hear whatever might have turned up in my absence.
“I reached the street, and was greatly surprised to find a large and highly excited crowd of people before the gate, and the more so, as I beheld the surplices of at least a dozen priests of the Order St. Lazare, elbowing their way, and trying to pass both in and out of the house.
“With heart palpitating with vague and dread uneasiness, I approached an intelligent-looking man, and, assuming a carelessness by no means felt, asked him the cause and reason of the gathering.
“ ‘Lord bless you, sir!’ he said. ‘Do you not know that the devil and five of his imps have just been on a visit to that house, and carried off three or four of the inmates through the roof in a flame of blue fire? If you don’t know it, I assure you it is a fact!’
“I saw in this answer the legitimate effect of superstition, and that the man’s cloth belied his intelligence; I, therefore, drew out a sheet of paper and a pencil, and began to flourish them in the eyes of the crowd for the purpose of attracting its attention.
“My ruse succeeded; the people set me down as a reporter of the press, and instantly gave way right and left; so that I had but little difficulty in gaining an entrance to the building. Once there, I soon learned that the poor D’Emprat had relapsed into the swoon occasioned by his first fright, and had passed thence into the most frightful convulsions, exclaiming all the while, as the thick foam rolled from his bloodless lips, ‘Oh, the devil! the devil has come for my soul, because I killed Baptiste Lemoine thirty-seven years ago! Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! They will drag me to hell! Ah, God!’
“His wife had exerted all her influence and power to stifle these dangerous cries, but without avail. His cries still increased in fury, until at last the police had forced an entrance into the house, and were speedily followed by a score of priests, who, hearing that the devil was in Paris, in proper person, were very anxious to try the effect of a little shower-bath of holy water, as well as to get a sight of their arch enemy, whom, doubtless, the vast majority of them regarded secretly as nothing more than a man—or, rather, devil—of straw.
“The news spread like wild-fire that the devil had appeared, and to the questions asked by priest and bailiff of the porter, he confirmed the rumor, and told, as best he could, the incidents of the afternoon. His story did not rest here, however, but, taking two of the officers aside, he told them something which caused them to start back in the wildest horror, and cross themselves most devoutly. The result of the interview was, that the officers cautioned the porter from uttering one word of what he had just told them to any person else. After this, they all again entered the room where D’Emprat was still struggling in all the terrors of delirium, still accusing himself of a long-committed homicide, still calling on God and the priests to save him from the clutches of the devil, whom he averred he saw beside him armed with fork and trident, ready to drag his unfortunate soul to perdition and the damned. During all this fearful scene, Madame D’Emprat was doing all she could to quiet her husband, but without avail. The man went on harder than before. The ghosts of evil deeds were there, and avenging angels lashed his soul to frenzy.