FOOTNOTES:

[13] Author’s Note.—Corporals were formerly the chief officers of the Corsican communes after they had rebelled against their feudal lords. To-day they still occasionally give the name to a man who—because of his property, his relationships, and his business—commands a certain influence, and a sort of effective magistracy over a parish or a canton. The Corsicans divide themselves, after ancient custom, into five castes: gentlemen (of whom some, magnifiques, are of higher estate, and some of lower, signori), corporals, citizens, plebeians, and foreigners.

[14] Author’s Note.—This word is synonymous with outlaw.

[15] Author’s Note.—Voltigeurs, that is, a body raised by the government of late years which acts in conjunction with the police to maintain order.

[16] Author’s Note.—The uniform of the voltigeurs was at that period brown, with a yellow collar.

[17] Author’s Note.—A leather belt which served the joint purpose of a cartridge box and pocket for dispatches and orders.

[18] Author’s Note.—Buon giorno, fratello—the ordinary salutation of the Corsicans.

II
STORIES OF MYSTERY AND FANTASY

The Purloined Letter.—Edgar Allan Poe

The Monkey’s Paw.—W. W. Jacobs