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The Purloined Poe Lacan, Derrida & Psychoanalytic Reading

Edited by john P. Muller & William]. Richardson

Thejohns Hopkins University Press Baltimore and London

© I988 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

The Johns Hopkins University Press 70I West 40th Street Baltimore Maryland 2 I 2 I I The Johns Hopkins Press Ltd., London

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of Ameri-can National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39-48-I984.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 87-2760 ISBN o-8oi8-3292-6 ISBN o-8oi8-3293-4 pbk

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data will be found on the last page of this book.

Preface

ONE Poe and Lacan

Thomas 0!/ive Mabbott, Tel Letter," with Notes

2 jacques Lacan, Seminar on translated by Jeffrey Mehlffk

3 Lacan's Seminar on "The I Overview

4 Lacan's Seminar on "The I the Text

5 Lacan's Seminar on "The· to the Text

TWO On Psychoanalytic Readir

6 Marie Bonaparte, Selectior of Edgar Allan Poe: A Psyc

v

r of "The Purloined Letter,'' with Notes THOMAS 0LLIVE

MABBOTT

Poe wrote]. R. Lowell on July 2, I844, that "'The Purloined Letter,' forthcoming in 'The Gift' is perhaps the best of my tales of ratiocina-tion." Many judicious critics have agreed, some even considering it the best of all Poe's stories. Its great merit lies in the fascination of the purely intellectual plot and in the absence of the sensational.

No exact source for Poe's plot has been pointed out, but Poe remarked on not seeking truth in a well in his prefatory "Letter to Mr.--" in Poems (I 8 3 I); in a review of Alexander Slidell's An American in England in the Southern Literary Messenger, February I836; and in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," at note 29 (Mabbott I978, 2: 572).

The story was apparently hastily completed for the annual in which it was first printed. On May 3 I, I844, Poe wrote Edward L. Carey, a publisher, requesting a proof, because "the MS had many interlineations and erasures" -whereas most of his printer's copy was carefully prepared and unusually clean. (The untidy condition referred to is paralleled in the

Reprinted by permission of the publishers from Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Volume III: Tales and Sketches r843-I849, Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1978 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

3

4 Th

omaJ

0/li

ve M

abbo

tt

case

of

"The

Mur

ders

in

the

Rue

Mor

gue,

" bu

t in

no

othe

r su

rviv

ing

man

uscr

ipt

of a

Poe

sto

ry.

The

May

3 I

lette

r w

as p

rint

ed i

n th

e fir

st su

pple

men

t of O

stro

m's

Lette

rs o

f Edg

ar A

llan

Poe [

see A

mer

ican

Liter

atur

e, N

ovem

ber

I952

}.)

The

revi

sion

for

the

pub

licat

ion

of "

The

Purl

oine

d Le

tter"

in th

e Ta

les o

f I84

5 w

as m

oder

ate

but s

killf

ul, a

nd th

e st

ory

was

ha

rdly

cha

nged

at a

ll in

the

J. L

orim

er G

raha

m c

opy.

Th

e ta

le w

as re

prin

ted

in C

hamb

ers'

Edin

burg

h jou

rnal

ofN

ovem

ber 3

0,

I844

, w

ith th

e fo

llow

ing

intr

oduc

tion:

The

Gift

is a

n A

mer

ican

ann

ual

of g

reat

typ

ogra

phic

al e

lega

nce,

and

em

belli

shed

with

man

y be

autif

ul e

ngra

ving

s. I

t co

ntai

ns a

n ar

ticle

, w

hich

, fo

r se

vera

l re

ason

s, ap

pear

s to

us

so r

emar

kabl

e, t

hat

we

leave

as

ide

seve

ral e

ffusio

ns o

f our

ord

inar

y co

ntri

buto

rs in

ord

er to

mak

e ro

om

for

an a

brid

gmen

t of i

t. Th

e w

rite

r, M

r. Ed

gar A

. Po

e, is

evid

ently

an

acut

e ob

serv

er o

f men

tal p

heno

men

a; a

nd w

e ha

ve to

than

k hi

m fo

r one

of

the

apte

st i

llust

ratio

ns w

hich

cou

ld w

ell

be c

once

ived

, of

that

cur

ious

pl

ay o

f tw

o m

inds

, in

whi

ch o

ne p

erso

n, l

et u

s ca

ll hi

m A

, gue

sses

wha

t an

othe

r, B

, will

do,

jud

ging

that

B w

ill a

dopt

a p

artic

ular

line

of p

olic

y to

cir

cum

vent

A.

Som

e st

uden

ts h

ave

belie

ved

that

the

abri

dgm

ent,

whi

ch is

wel

l don

e,

was

by

the

auth

or,

but P

oe's

failu

re t

o ad

opt t

he v

ersi

on in

I84

5 ar

gues

th

at th

e ch

ange

s w

ere

unau

thor

ized

. (A

sep

arat

e pa

mph

let r

epri

nt o

f the

ab

ridg

ed te

xt w

as is

sued

in L

ondo

n in

an

editi

on o

f 325

cop

ies

in I

93I,

w

ith

an i

ntro

duct

ion

by D

r. Ja

cob

Schw

arz,

who

wis

hed

to r

egar

d th

e Ed

inbu

rgh

vers

ion

as t

he e

arli

est-

and

omitt

ed C

ham

bers

's in

trod

uc-

tion!

Act

ually

, Th

e G

ift w

as p

ublis

hed

in th

e fa

ll of

I84

4-W

iley

and

Pu

tnam

adve

rtise

d it

for s

ale

in th

e Ne

w-Yo

rk D

aily

Trib

une

for S

epte

mbe

r 2

4-a

nd

tw

o or

thr

ee w

eeks

was

am

ple

time

for

copi

es t

o re

ach

Edin

burg

h.)

Poe

knew

of t

he im

med

iate

succ

ess

of h

is s

tory

abr

oad.

In

revi

ewin

g Po

e's T

ales

in h

is A

ristid

ean

for

Oct

ober

I84

5, D

r. En

glis

h, w

ho h

ad

cert

ainl

y di

scus

sed

them

with

the a

utho

r, w

rote

: "Th

ere

is m

uch

mad

e of

no

thin

g in

'The

Pur

loin

ed L

ette

r,' -t

he st

ory

of w

hich

is s

impl

e; b

ut th

e re

ason

ing

is re

mar

kabl

y cl

ear,

and

dire

cted

sole

ly to

the

requ

ired

end

. It

first

app

eare

d in

the

'Gif

t,' a

nd w

as th

ence

cop

ied

into

Cha

mbe

rs' '

Edin

-bu

rgh

Jour

nal,'

as

a m

ost

nota

ble

prod

uctio

n."

An

unsi

gned

tra

nsla

tion,

"U

ne l

ettr

e vo

lee,

" w

as p

ublis

hed

in t

he

Paris

Mag

asin

Pitt

ores

que

of A

ugus

t I 8

4 5, a

nd th

e st

ory

beca

me

popu

lar

in F

ranc

e. (

Late

r on,

a p

lay

foun

ded

on J,

>oe's

sto

ry b

y V

icto

rien

Sar

dou,

Le

s pat

tes de

mou

che [

I86o

}, tr

ansl

ated

as A

Scr

ap o

f Pap

er [I

86I}

, gav

e ris

e

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

5

to th

e si

nist

er p

hras

e us

ed c

onte

mpt

uous

ly to

des

crib

e th

e tre

aty

brok

en

in I

9I4

by th

e in

vasi

on o

f Bel

gium

that

beg

an th

e Fi

rst W

orld

War

. See

C.

P. C

ambi

aire

, The

lnflu

ence

ofEd

garA

llanP

oein

Fran

ce[I

927,

286

}, fo

r a s

ynop

sis o

f the

lite

ratu

re o

n th

is c

urio

us s

ubje

ct.)

Alth

ough

som

e of

the

idea

s are

from

boo

ks in

whi

ch P

oe w

as in

tere

sted

and

thou

gh so

me

of th

e ch

arac

ters

are

bas

ed o

n re

al p

eopl

e, i

t goe

s w

ithou

t say

ing

that

the

real

qu

een

of F

ranc

e, M

arie

Am

elie

, w

as n

ot p

ortra

yed.

TE

XT

S

(A)

The

Gift

: A

Chris

tmas

, Ne

w Ye

ar,

and

Birth

day

Pres

ent,

I845

(Se

p-te

mbe

r I8

44):

4I-

6I;

(B)

Ta

les (

I845

),

200-

2I8;

(C)

J.

Lorim

er

Gra

ham

cop

y of

Tale

s, w

ith m

anus

crip

t ch

ange

s of

184

9; (

D)

Wor

ks

(185

0),

I:26

2-8o

. Th

e J.

Lorim

er G

raha

m c

opy

of th

e Ta

les (

C)

is fo

llow

ed.

Gris

wol

d's

vers

ion

(D) i

s mer

ely

a rep

rint

of a

n un

revi

sed

copy

of t

he T

ales (

B) a

nd h

as

no i

ndep

ende

nt a

utho

rity

; it

intro

duce

s th

ree

typo

grap

hica

l err

ors.

Repr

ints

Cham

bers'

Edi

nbur

gh J

ourn

al,

Nov

embe

r 30

, 18

44,

abri

dged

fro

m T

he

Gift

. The

abr

idgm

ent w

as c

opie

d by

: Litt

ell's

Liv

ing A

ge(B

osto

n), J

anua

ry

r8,

I84 5

; the

Spiri

t of th

e Ti

mes (

Phila

delp

hia)

, Jan

uary

20

and

22,

184 5

; an

d th

e Ne

w Yo

rk W

eekly

New

s, Ja

nuar

y 25

, 18

45,

labe

led

"Cha

mber

s' jo

urna

l via

Litt

ell's

Liv

ing

Age"

(fo

r th

e la

st,

see

G.

Thom

as T

anse

lle,

Publ

icatio

ns o

f the

Bibl

iogr

aphi

cal S

ociet

y of

Amer

ica, s

econ

d qu

arte

r 19

62).

'r'o-

, ..,

\-0

""

Q

1 .

"e-"

ce<J

I?'

Purlo

med

Lett

er (C

} ·

. .

'-....

-v

t

Nil

sapi

entia

e od

iosius

acu

min

e ni

mio

. ('

X/t

hi

is YY

\oye

Sene

ca

h.Q

..k.-

fvl

TO

N

-t-Y"

\.Or"\

. c.

\<.v-e

..r.-n

$"

At P

aris

, jus

t afte

r dar

k on

e gu

sty

even

ing

in th

e of

r8

-, I

was

en

joyi

ng th

e tw

ofol

d lu

xury

of m

edita

tion

and

a 1

in c

om-

pany

with

my

frie

nd C

. A

ugus

te D

upin

, in

his

litt

le b

ack

libra

ry,

or

book

-clo

set,

au tr

oisie

me,a

No.

33,

Rue

Dun

8t,

Faub

ourg

St.

Ger

mai

n.2

For o

ne h

our a

t lea

st w

e ha

d m

aint

aine

d a p

rofo

und

sile

nce;

whi

le ea

ch, t

o an

y ca

sual

obs

erve

r, m

ight

hav

e se

emed

inte

ntly

and

excl

usiv

ely

occu

pied

w

ith t

he c

urlin

g ed

dies

of s

mok

e th

at o

ppre

ssed

the

atm

osph

ere

of th

e ch

ambe

r. Fo

r m

ysel

f, ho

wev

er,

I was

men

tally

dis

cuss

ing

certa

in to

pics

w

hich

had

form

ed m

atte

r for

con

vers

atio

n be

twee

n us

at a

n ea

rlier

per

iod

of th

e ev

enin

g; I

mea

n th

e af

fair

of th

e R

ue M

orgu

e, a

nd t

he m

yste

ry

atte

ndin

g th

e m

urde

r of

Mar

ie R

oget

.b I

loo

ked

upon

it,

ther

efor

e, a

s so

met

hing

of a

coi

ncid

ence

, whe

n th

e do

or o

f our

apa

rtm

ent w

as t

hrow

n op

en a

nd a

dmitt

ed o

ur o

ld a

cqua

inta

nce,

Mon

sieu

r G--,

the

Pref

ect

of th

e Pa

risia

n po

lice.

3 I'"

•

Tran

slat

ion

from

Mag

asin

Pitt

ores

que,

Auf

usr

1845

, as

"Une

letrr

e vo

!C!e,

" re

prin

ted

in

L'Ech

o de

Ia P

resse,

Aug

ust

25,

1845

. V\

M

otto

om

itted

in A

. •tr

oisi

eme,

(A

, B

, C,

D)

,..

O '

,../)f

?f

, .. ,...

(A

) vt'sr

u· 0

6

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

7

We g

ave

him

a he

arty

wel

com

e; fo

r the

re w

as n

early

hal

f as m

uch

of th

e en

tert

aini

ng as

of t

he c

onte

mpt

ible

abo

ut th

e m

an, a

nd w

e ha

d no

t see

n hi

m fo

r se

vera

l yea

rs.

We

had

been

sitt

ing

in th

e da

rk,

and

Dup

in n

ow

aros

e fo

r th

e pu

rpos

e of

ligh

ting

a la

mp,

but

sat

dow

n ag

ain,

with

out

doin

g so

, up

on G

.'s s

ayin

g th

at h

e ha

d ca

lled

to c

onsu

lt us

, or

rat

her t

o as

k th

e op

inio

n of

my

frie

nd,

abou

t so

me

offic

ial

busi

ness

whi

ch h

ad

'\ L\ \o

'3 oc

casi

oned

a g

reat

dea

l of t

roub

le.

\ (}

fit i

s any

poi

nt re

quir

ing

refle

ctio

n,"

obse

rved

Dup

in, a

s he

fore

bort

\J)

to

the

wic

k, "

we s

hall

exam

ine

it to

bet

ter p

urpo

se in

the

dark

:J

(!'h

at is

ano

ther

of y

our

odd

notio

ns,"

sai

d th

e Pr

efec

t, w

ho h

ad a

fa

shio

n of

calli

ng e

very

thin

g "o

dd"

that

was

bey

ond

and

thus

live

d am

id a

n ab

solu

te le

gion

of

"Ver

y tr

ue,"

sai

d D

upin

, as

he

supp

lied

his

visi

ter

with

a p

ipe,

and

ro

lled

tow

ards

him

ac

com

forta

ble

chai

r. "A

nd w

hat

is th

e di

ffic

ulty

now

?" I

ask

ed.

"Not

hing

mor

e in

the

as

sass

inat

ion

way

, I

hope

?"

"Oh

no; n

othi

ng o

f tha

t nat

ure.

The

fact

is, t

he b

usin

ess

is ve

ry s

impl

e in

deed

, an

d I

mak

e no

dou

bt t

hat

we

can

man

age

it s

uffic

ient

ly w

ell

ours

elve

s; b

ut th

en I

thou

ght D

upin

wou

ld li

ke to

hea

r the

det

ails

of i

t, be

caus

e it

is so

exc

essiv

ely

odd.

" /"'

:\.

(:si

mpl

e an

d od

d,"

said

"W

hy, y

es; a

nd n

ot e

xact

ly th

at, e

ither

. The

fact

is, w

e ha

ve a

ll be

en a

go

od d

eal

puzz

led

beca

use

the

affa

ir is

so s

impl

e, a

nd y

et b

affie

s us

al

toge

ther

."

"Per

haps

it

:whit

;:l:tpl

.l.t.S.

.y.Q.

Y.l!!

fa.u

lt."

said

my

frie

nd.

"Wha

t non

sens

e yo

u do

talk

!" r

eplie

d th

e Pr

efec

t, la

ughi

ng h

earti

ly.

"Per

haps

the

mys

tery

is

said

Dup

in.

"Oh,

goo

d he

aven

s! w

ho e

ver h

eard

of s

uch

an id

ea?"

"A

litt

le to

o se

lf-ev

iden

t."

•:<o':

•·;--r

·.-··

"Ha!

ha!

ha!

-ha!

ha!

ha!

-ho!

ho!

ho!

" ro

ared

e ou

r vi

site

r, pr

o-fo

undl

y am

used

, "o

h, D

upin

, yo

u w

ill b

e th

e de

ath

of m

e ye

t!"4

"And

wha

t, af

ter

all,

is th

e m

atte

r on

hand

?" I

ask

ed.

"Why

, I w

ill te

ll yo

u,"

repl

ied

the

Pref

ect,

as h

e ga

ve a

long

, ste

ady,

an

d co

ntem

plat

ive

puff

, and

settl

ed h

imse

lf in

his

cha

ir. "

I will

tell

you

in

<eve

ry (A

) dO

mitt

ed (D

) •r

oare

d ou

t (A

)

8 Th

omas

Olli

ve M

abbo

tt

a fe

w w

ords

; but

, bef

ore

I beg

in, l

et m

e ca

utio

n yo

u th

at th

is is

f an

affa

ir de

man

ding

the

grea

test

secr

ecy,

and

that

I sh

ould

mos

t pro

babl

y lo

se th

e po

sitio

n I

now

hol

d, w

ere

it k

now

n th

at I

conf

ided

_\t t

o an

y !''

Proc

eed,

" sa

id I.

\

--(jO

0. n

to-v

I 0.'{

dvrt

I no

t," s

aid

Dup

in._

j -

9 0

oV

'5'1

0()

"Wel

l, th

en;

I ha

ve r

ecei

ved

pers

onal

inf

orm

atio

n, f

rom

a v

ery

high

qu

arte

r, th

at a

cer

tain

doc

umen

t of

the

last

im

port

ance

, ha

s be

enpu

r-lo

ined

fro

m t

he r

oyal

apa

rtm

ents

. Th

e in

divi

dual

who

pur

loin

ed i

t is

know

n; th

is b

eyon

d a d

oubt

; he w

as se

en to

take

it. I

t is k

now

n, a

lso,

that

it

stil

l rem

ains

in h

is p

osse

ssio

n."

"How

is t

his

know

n?"

aske

d D

upin

. "I

t is

clea

rly i

nfer

red,

" re

plie

d th

e Pr

efec

t, "f

rom

the

nat

ure

of th

e do

cum

ent,

and

from

the

non

-app

eara

nce

of ce

rtain

resu

lts w

hich

wou

ld

at o

nce

arise

fro

m i

ts p

assi

ng o

ut o

f the

rob

ber's

pos

sess

ion;

-tha

t is

to

say,

fro

m h

is e

mpl

oyin

g it

as

he m

ust d

esig

n in

the

end

to e

mpl

oy i

t."

"Be

a lit

tle m

ore

expl

icit,

" I

said

. "W

ell,

I may

ven

ture

so fa

r as

to

say

that

the

pape

r giv

es it

s ho

lder

a

cert

ain

pow

er in

a c

erta

in q

uart

er w

here

suc

h po

wer

is i

mm

ense

ly v

alu-

able

." T

he P

refe

ct w

as f

ond

of th

e ca

nt o

f dip

lom

acy.

"S

till I

do

not q

uite

und

erst

and,

" sa

id D

upin

. "N

o? W

ell;

the d

iscl

osur

e of t

he d

ocum

ent t

o a t

hird

per

son,

who

shal

l be

nam

eles

s, w

ould

bri

ng in

que

stio

n th

e ho

nor

of a

pers

onag

e of

mos

t ex

alte

d st

atio

n; a

nd th

is fa

ct g

ives

the

hold

er o

f the

doc

umen

t an

asce

nd-

ancy

ove

r th

e ill

ustr

ious

per

sona

ge w

hose

hon

or a

nd p

eace

are

so

jeop

ardi

zed.

" "B

ut th

is a

scen

danc

y,"

I int

erpo

sed,

"w

ould

dep

end

upon

the

robb

er's

know

ledg

e of

the

lose

r's k

now

ledg

e of

the

robb

er.

Who

wou

ld d

are-

" "T

he th

ief,"

sai

d G

., "i

s th

e M

inis

ter D

--,

who

dar

es a

ll th

ings

, th

ose

unbe

com

ing

as w

ell a

s th

ose

beco

min

g a

man

. T

he m

etho

d of

the

thef

t w

as n

ot le

ss i

ngen

ious

tha

n bo

ld.

The

docu

men

t in

que

stio

n-a

lette

r, to

be

fran

k-ha

d be

en r

ecei

ved

by t

he p

erso

nage

rob

bed

whi

le

alon

e in

the

roy

al b

oudo

ir. D

urin

g its

per

usal

she

was

sud

denl

y in

ter-

rupt

ed b

y th

e en

tranc

e of

the

othe

r ex

alte

d pe

rson

age

from

who

m e

s-pe

cial

ly it

was

her

wis

h to

con

ceal

it. A

fter

alm

rrie

d an

d va

in en

deav

or to

th

rust

it i

n a

draw

er,

she

was

for

ced

to p

lace

it,

open

as

it w

as,

upon

a

tabl

e. T

he a

ddre

ss,

how

ever

, w

as u

pper

mos

t, an

d, t

he c

onte

nts

thus

un

expo

sed,

the

lette

r esc

aped

not

ice.

At t

his

junc

ture

ente

rs th

e M

inis

ter

fOm

irred

(0

)

•·

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

9

D--

. H

is l

ynx

eye

imm

edia

tely

per

ceiv

es t

he p

aper

, re

cogn

ises

the

ha

ndw

ritin

g of

the

add

ress

, ob

serv

es t

he c

onfu

sion

of

the

pers

onag

e ad

dres

sed,

and

fat

hom

s he

r se

cret

. A

fter

som

e bu

sine

ss t

rans

actio

ns,

· 1 t'Yl-r,

hurr

ied

thro

ugh

in h

is o

rdin

ary

man

ner,

he p

rodu

ces

a le

tter s

omew

hat

-c..-t_

of

sim

ilar

to t

he o

ne i

n qu

estio

n, o

pens

it,

pret

ends

to

read

it,

and

then

0\ reA

cl

ose

juxt

apos

ition

to th

e ot

her.

Aga

in h

e co

nver

ses,

for s

ome

fifte

en m

inut

es,

upon

the

pub

lic a

ffairs

. A

t le

ngth

, in

tak

ing

leav

e, he

ta

kes a

lso fr

om th

e ta

ble

the

lette

r to

whi

ch h

e ha

d no

cla

im. I

ts ri

ghtf

ul

owne

r sa

w,

but,

of c

ours

e, d

ared

not

cal

l at

tent

ion

to t

he a

ct,

in t

he

pres

ence

of t

he t

hird

per

sona

ge w

ho s

tood

at

her

elbo

w.

The

min

iste

r de

cam

ped;

lea

ving

his

ow

n le

tter

-one

of

no i

mpo

rtan

ce-u

pon

the

tabl

e."

"Her

e, t

hen,

" sa

id D

upin

to

me,

"yo

u ha

ve p

reci

sely

wha

t yo

u de

-m

and

to m

ake

the

asce

ndan

cy c

ompl

ete-

the

robb

er's

know

ledg

e of

the

lose

r's k

now

ledg

e of

the

robb

er."

"Y

es,"

repl

ied

the

Pref

ect;

"and

the

pow

er th

us a

ttain

ed h

as, f

or s

ome

mon

ths

past

, be

en w

ield

ed,

for

polit

ical

pur

pose

s, t

o a

very

dan

gero

us

exte

nt. T

he p

erso

nage

robb

ed is

mor

e th

orou

ghly

con

vinc

ed, e

Yery

day

, of

the

nece

ssity

of r

ecla

imin

g he

r le

tter.

But

this

, of

cour

se,

cann

ot b

e do

ne o

penl

y. I

n fin

e, dr

iven

to d

espa

ir, s

he h

as c

omm

itted

the

mat

ter t

o m

e." "T

han

who

m,"

sai

d D

upin

, am

id a

per

fect

whi

rlw

ind

of sm

oke,

"no

So..

.,. c.•"

., -tY

I

mor

e sa

gaci

ous

agen

t co

uld,

I s

uppo

se,

be d

esir

ed,

or e

ven

imag

ined

."

"You

flat

ter m

e,"

repl

ied

the

Pref

ect;

"but

it is

pos

sibl

e th

at so

me

such

op

inio

n m

ay h

ave

been

ent

erta

ined

."

"It i

s cle

ar,"

said

I, "

as y

ou o

bser

ve, t

hat t

he le

tter i

s stil

l in

poss

essi

on

of th

e m

inis

ter;

sinc

e it

is th

is p

osse

ssio

n, a

nd

empl

oym

ent

the

lette

r, w

hich

?es

tow

s th

uow

er.

the

empl

oym

ent

the

"Tru

e,"

said

G.;

"an

d up

on th

is c

onvi

ctio

n I p

roce

eded

. My

first

care

w

as t

o m

ake

thor

ough

sear

ch o

f the

min

iste

r's h

otel

;5 a

nd h

ere

my

chie

f em

barr

assm

ent l

ay i

n th

e ne

cess

ity o

f sea

rchi

ng w

ithou

t his

kno

wle

dge.

B

eyon

d al

l thi

ngs,

I h

ave

been

war

ned

of th

e da

nger

whi

ch w

ould

resu

lt fr

om g

ivin

g hi

m re

ason

to

susp

ect o

ur d

esig

n."

"But

," s

aid

I, "

you

are

quite

au

fait

in t

hese

inv

estig

atio

ns.

The

-Pa

risia

n po

lice

have

don

e th

is t

hing

ofte

n be

fore

."

"0 ye

s; an

d fo

r thi

s rea

son

I did

not

des

pair.

The

hab

its o

f the

min

iste

r ga

ve m

e, t

oo, a

gre

at a

dvan

tage

. H

e is

freq

uent

ly a

bsen

t fro

m h

ome

all

nigh

t. H

is se

rvan

ts a

re b

y no

mea

ns n

umer

ous.

The

y sl

eep

at a

dis

tanc

e

f'c• .-

.J"A

.,-

L. c

•"""

---$

/

\-f"

L!)

W\

\./

w.n

,...,,

,.l·•'

\-

·:;:z

;;;¥\

<!

•"*" 1

111"

v "- oj ':1 v ..Jl + ,_

IO

Thom

as 0

//ive

Mab

bott

from

the

ir m

aste

r's a

part

men

t,g a

nd,

bein

g ch

iefly

Nea

polit

ans,

are

re

adily

mad

e dru

nk. 6

I ha

ve k

eys,

as y

ou k

now

, with

whi

ch I

can

open

any

cham

ber

or c

abin

et i

n Pa

ris.

For

thre

e m

onth

s a

nigh

t ha

s no

t pa

ssed

, du

ring

the

grea

ter p

art o

f whi

ch I

have

not

bee

n en

gage

d, p

erso

nally

, in

rans

acki

ng th

e D

--

Hot

el. M

y ho

nor i

s in

tere

sted

, and

, to

men

tion

a gr

eat

secr

et,

the

rew

ard

is en

orm

ous.

So

I di

d no

t ab

ando

n th

e se

arch

un

til I

had

beco

me

fully

sat

isfie

d th

at th

e th

ief i

s a m

ore

astu

te m

an th

an

mys

elf.

I fa

ncy

that

I h

ave

inve

stig

ated

eve

ry n

ook

and

corn

er o

f th

e pr

emis

es in

whi

ch i

t is

poss

ible

tha

t the

pap

er c

an b

e co

ncea

led.

" "B

ut is

it n

ot p

ossi

ble,

" I s

ugge

sted

, "t

hat a

lthou

gh th

e le

tter m

ay b

e in

pos

sess

ion

of th

e m

inis

ter,

as i

t un

ques

tiona

bly

is, h

e m

ay h

ave

con-

ceal

ed i

t els

ewhe

re t

han

upon

his

ow

n pr

emis

es?"

"T

his i

s bar

ely

poss

ible

," sa

id D

upin

. "T

he p

rese

nt p

ecul

iar c

ondi

tion

" ·.f' '-

) {} \:

of af

fairs

at

cour

t, an

d es

peci

ally

of t

hose

int

rigu

es i

n w

hich

D--

is to

be

invo

lved

, wou

ld re

nder

the

inst

ant a

vaila

bilit

y of

the

docu

-\

men

t-it

s su

scep

tibili

ty o

f be

ing

prod

uced

at

a m

omen

t's n

otic

e-a

poin

t of n

early

equ

al i

mpo

rtan

ce w

ith it

s po

sses

sion

."

"Its

sus

cept

ibili

ty o

f bei

ng p

rodu

ced?

" sa

id I.

"T

hat i

s to

say,

of b

eing

des

troye

d," s

aid

Dup

in.

"Tru

e,"

I obs

erve

d; "

the

pape

r is

clea

rly t

hen

upon

the

prem

ises

. A

s fo

r its

bei

ng u

pon

the p

erso

n of

the

min

iste

r, w

e m

ay c

onsi

der t

hat a

s out

of

the

ques

tion.

" "E

ntire

ly,"

sai

d th

e Pr

efec

t. "H

e ha

s be

en t

wic

e w

ayla

id,

as i

f by

fo

otpa

ds,

and

his

pers

on ri

goro

usly

sear

ched

und

er m

y ow

n in

spec

tion.

" "Y

ou m

ight

hav

e sp

ared

you

rsel

f thi

s tro

uble

," sa

id D

upin

. "D

--,

I pr

esum

e, is

not

alto

geth

er a

fool

, and

, if n

ot, m

ust h

ave a

ntic

ipat

ed th

ese

way

layi

ngs,

as

a m

atte

r of

cour

se."

[_

"Not

alto

geth

er a

fool

," sa

id G

., "b

ut th

en h

e's a

poe

t, w

hich

I ta

ke to

be

onl

y on

e re

mov

e fr

om a

foo

l."7

"Tru

e,"

said

Dup

in, a

fter a

long

and

thou

ghtf

ul w

hiff

from

his

mee

r-sc

haum

, "a

lthou

gh I

have

bee

n gu

ilty

of ce

rtain

dog

gere

1 m

ysel

f."

you

deta

il,"

I sai

d, "

the

parti

cula

rs o

f you

r se

arch

.:3

"Why

the

fact

is, w

e to

ok o

ur ti

me,

and

we

sear

ched

ever

y whe

re. I

hav

e ha

d lo

ng e

xper

ienc

e in

thes

e af

fairs

. I t

ook

the

entir

e bu

ildin

g, r

oom

by

room

; dev

otin

g th

e ni

ghts

of a

who

le w

eek

to e

ach.

We

exam

ined

, firs

t, th

e fu

rnitu

re o

f eac

h ap

artm

ent.

We

open

ed e

very

pos

sibl

e dr

awer

; and

I pr

esum

e yo

u kn

ow th

at,

to a

pro

perly

trai

ned

polic

e ag

ent,

such

a th

ing

SetJ-

Y"vr

eJ o

\(0.

·

.. """

"__,

. .,,u·-

.-, ..

,_..,

_.,.

• T

EX

T O

F "T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

II

as a

secr

et dr

awer

is i

mpo

ssib

le. A

ny m

an is

a d

olt w

ho p

erm

its a

'.se

cret

' dr

awer

to es

cape

him

in a

sear

ch o

f thi

s kin

d. T

he th

ing

is so

pla

in. T

here

is

a ce

rtain

am

ount

of b

ulk

-of

spac

e-to

be

acco

unte

d fo

r in

eve

ry

cabi

net.

Then

we

have

acc

urat

e ru

les.

The

fiftie

th p

art o

f a li

ne c

ould

not

A

fter t

he c

abin

ets w

e to

ok th

e ch

airs

. The

cus

hion

s we.

prob

ed

with

the

fine

long

nee

dles

you

hav

e se

en m

e em

ploy

. Fro

m th

e ta

bles

we

rem

oved

the

top

s."

"Why

so?

" "S

omet

imes

the

top

of a

tab

le,

or o

ther

sim

ilarly

arr

ange

d pi

ece

of

furn

iture

, is

rem

oved

by

the

pers

on w

ishi

ng t

o co

ncea

l an

artic

le;

then

th

e le

g is

exca

vate

d, t

he a

rticl

e de

posi

ted

with

in th

e ca

vity

, and

the

top

repl

aced

. Th

e bo

ttom

s an

d to

ps o

f bed

post

s ar

e em

ploy

ed i

n th

e sa

me

way

." "But

cou

ld n

ot t

he c

avity

be

dete

cted

by

soun

ding

?" I

ask

ed.

"By

no m

eans

, if,

whe

n th

e ar

ticle

is d

epos

ited,

a su

ffic

ient

wad

ding

of

cotto

n be

pla

ced

arou

nd i

t. B

esid

es,

in o

ur c

ase,

we

wer

e ob

liged

to

proc

eed

with

out

nois

e."

"But

you

cou

ld n

ot h

ave

rem

oved

-you

coul

d no

t hav

e ta

ken

to p

iece

s al

l arti

cles

of f

urni

ture

in

whi

ch it

wou

ld h

ave

been

pos

sibl

e to

mak

e a

depo

sit

in t

he m

anne

r you

men

tion.

A l

ette

r may

be

com

pres

sed

into

a

thin

spira

l rol

l, no

t diff

erin

g m

uch

in sh

ape o

r bul

k fro

m a

larg

e kn

ittin

g-ne

edle

, and

in th

is fo

rm i

t mig

ht b

e in

serte

d in

to th

e ru

ng o

f a c

hair,

for

ex

ampl

e. Y

ou d

id n

ot ta

ke to

pie

ces

all

the

chai

rs?"

"C

erta

inly

not

; bu

t we

did

bett

er-w

e ex

amin

ed th

e ru

ngs

of ev

ery

chai

r in

the

hot

el,

and,

ind

eed,

the

joi

ntin

gs o

f eve

ry d

escr

iptio

n of

fu

rnitu

re, b

y th

e ai

d of

a m

ost p

ower

ful m

icro

scop

e. H

ad th

ere

been

any

tra

ces o

f rec

ent d

istu

rban

ce w

e sh

ould

not

hav

e fa

iled

to d

etec

t it i

nsta

nt-

ly.h

A s

ingl

e gr

ain

of g

imle

t-du

st,i

for

exam

ple,

wou

ld h

ave

been

as

obvi

ous a

s an

appl

e. A

ny d

isor

der i

n th

e glu

eing

-any

unu

sual

gap

ing

in

the

join

ts-w

ould

hav

e su

ffice

d to

ins

ure

dete

ctio

n."

"I p

resu

mei

you

loo

ked

to t

he m

irror

s, b

etw

een

the

boar

ds a

nd t

he

plat

es,

and

you

prob

ed t

he b

eds

and

the

bed-

clot

hes,

as

wel

l as

the

cu

rtai

ns a

nd c

arpe

ts."

"T

hat o

f cou

rse;

and

whe

n w

e ha

d ab

solu

tely

com

plet

ed ev

ery

parti

cle

of th

e fu

rnitu

re i

n th

is w

ay,

then

we

exam

ined

the

hou

se i

tsel

f. W

e

hins

tant

er.

(A)

'gim

let-

dust

, or

saw

-dus

t, (A

) i"J

pre

sum

e/"

Of c

ours

e (A

)

I2

Thom

as 0

!/iv

e M

abbo

tt

divi

ded

its e

ntir

e su

rfac

e in

to c

ompa

rtm

ents

, w

hich

we

num

bere

d, s

o th

at n

one

mig

ht b

e m

isse

d; t

hen

we

scru

tiniz

ed e

ach

indi

vidu

al s

quar

e in

ch t

hrou

ghou

t th

e pr

emis

es,

incl

udin

g th

e tw

o ho

uses

im

med

iate

ly

adjo

inin

g, w

ith th

e m

icro

scop

e, a

s be

fore

."

"The

two

hous

es a

djoi

ning

!" I

excl

aim

ed;

"you

mus

t hav

e ha

d a g

reat

de

al o

f tro

uble

."

"We

had;

but

the

rew

ard

offe

red

is pr

odig

ious

."

"You

inc

lude

the

grou

nds

abou

t the

hou

ses?

" "A

ll th

e gr

ound

s ar

e pa

ved

with

bric

k. T

hey

gave

us

com

para

tivel

y lit

tle tr

oubl

e. W

e ex

amin

ed t

he m

oss

betw

een

the

bric

ks, a

nd f

ound

it

undi

stur

bed.

"k

"You

look

ed a

mon

g D

--'s

pap

ers,

of c

ours

e, a

nd in

to th

e bo

oks

of

the

libra

ry?"

"C

erta

inly

; we

open

ed e

very

pac

kage

and

par

cel;

we

not o

nly

open

ed

ever

y bo

ok, b

ut w

e tu

rned

ove

r eve

ry le

af in

each

vol

ume,

not

con

tent

ing

ours

elve

s w

ith a

mer

e sh

ake,

acc

ordi

ng t

o th

e fa

shio

n of

som

e of

our

po

lice

offic

ers.

9 W

e al

so m

easu

red

the

thic

knes

s of e

very

boo

k-co

ver,

with

th

e m

ost a

ccur

ate

adm

easu

rem

ent,

and

appl

ied

to e

ach'

the

mos

t jea

lous

sc

rutin

y of

the

mic

rosc

ope.

Had

any

of t

he b

indi

ngs

been

rece

ntly

med

-dl

ed w

ith, i

t wou

ld h

ave

been

utte

rly

impo

ssib

le th

at th

e fa

ct sh

ould

hav

e es

cape

d ob

serv

atio

n. S

ome

five

or si

x vo

lum

es, j

ust f

rom

the

hand

s of t

he

bind

er,

we

care

fully

pro

bed,

lon

gitu

dina

lly,

with

the

nee

dles

."

"You

exp

lore

d th

e flo

ors

bene

ath

the

carp

ets?

" "B

eyon

d do

ubt.

We

rem

oved

eve

ry c

arpe

t, an

d ex

amin

ed th

e bo

ards

w

ith t

he m

icro

scop

e."

"And

the

pap

er o

n th

e w

alls

?"

"Yes

." "Y

ou lo

oked

int

o th

e ce

llars

?"

"We

did.

"rn

"The

n," I

said

, "yo

u ha

ve b

een

mak

ing

a mis

calc

ulat

ion,

and

the l

ette

r is

not u

pon

the

prem

ises

, as

you

supp

ose.

"

kAfte

r th

is a

re tw

o ad

ditio

nal p

arag

raph

s:

"And

the

roo

fs?"

"W

e su

rvey

ed e

very

inc

h of

the

exte

rnal

sur

face

, an

d pr

obed

car

eful

ly b

enea

th e

very

til

e."

(A)

1 them

(A)

m"W

e di

d."/

"We

did;

and

, as

tim

e an

d la

bour

wer

e no

obj

ects

, w

e du

g up

eve

ry o

ne o

f th

em c

o th

e de

pth

of fo

ur f

eet."

(A

)

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R

I3

"I fe

ar y

ou a

re r

ight

ther

e,"

said

the

Pref

ect.

"And

now

, Dup

in, w

hat

wou

ld y

ou a

dvis

e m

e to

do?

" P

ro m

ake

a th

orou

gh r

e-se

arch

of t

he p

rem

ises

.:')

""th

at is

abs

olut

ely

need

less

," r

eplie

d G

-. "

I am

not

mor

e su

re

that

I br

eath

e th

an I

am t

hat

the

lette

r is

not a

t th

e H

otel

."

"I h

ave

no b

ette

r ad

vice

to

give

you

," s

aid

Dup

in.

"You

hav

e, o

f co

urse

, an

acc

urat

e de

scri

ptio

n of

the

lette

r?"

"Oh

yes!"

-An

d h

ere

the

Pref

ect,

prod

ucin

g a

mem

oran

dum

-boo

k,

proc

eede

d to

read

alo

ud a

min

ute

acco

unt o

f the

inte

rnal

, and

esp

ecia

lly

of th

e ex

tern

al a

ppea

ranc

e of

the

mis

sing

doc

umen

t. So

on a

fter f

inis

hing

th

e pe

rusa

l of

this

des

crip

tion,

he

took

his

depa

rtur

e, m

ore

entir

ely

depr

esse

d in

spi

rits

tha

n I

had

ever

kno

wn

the

good

gen

tlem

an b

efor

e.

In a

bout

a m

onth

afte

rwar

ds h

e pa

id u

s an

othe

r vi

sit,

and

foun

d us

oc

cupi

ed v

ery

near

ly a

s be

fore

. H

e to

ok a

pip

e an

d a

chai

r and

ent

ered

in

to s

ome

ordi

nary

con

vers

atio

n. A

t le

ngth

I sa

id,-

"Wel

l, bu

t G--,

wha

t of t

he p

urlo

ined

lette

r? I

pres

ume

you

have

at

last

mad

e up

you

r min

d th

at th

ere

is no

such

thin

g as

ove

rrea

chin

g th

e M

inis

ter?

" "C

onfo

und

him

, say

!-y

es;

I mad

e th

e re

-exa

min

atio

n, h

owev

er, a

s D

upin

sug

gest

ed-b

ut i

t w

as a

ll la

bor

lost

, as

I k

new

it

wou

ld b

e."

"How

muc

h w

as t

he r

ewar

d of

fere

d, d

id y

ou s

ay?"

ask

ed D

upin

. "W

hy,

a ve

ry g

reat

dea

l-a

very

lib

eral

rew

ard-

I do

n't

like

to s

ay

how

muc

h, p

reci

sely

; bu

t on

e th

ing

I w

ill s

ay,

that

I w

ould

n't

min

d gi

ving

my

indi

vidu

al ch

eck

for f

ifty

thou

sand

fran

cs to

any

one w

ho co

uld

obta

in m

e th

at l

ette

r. Th

e fa

ct i

s, it

is be

com

ing

of m

ore

and

mor

e im

port

ance

eve

ry d

ay; a

nd th

e re

war

d ha

s be

en la

tely

dou

bled

. If

it w

ere

treb

led,

how

ever

, I

coul

d do

no

mor

e th

an I

have

don

e."

"Why

, yes

," sa

id D

upin

, dra

wlin

gly,

bet

wee

n th

e w

hiffs

n of

his m

eer-

scha

um,

"I r

eall

y-th

ink,

G--,

you

have

not

exe

rted

your

self

-to

the

utm

ost

in t

his

mat

ter.

You

mig

ht-d

o a

little

mor

e, I

thi

nk,

eh?"

"H

ow?-

in w

hat w

ay?"

"W

hy-p

uff,

puf

f-yo

u m

ight

-puf

f, p

uff-

empl

oy c

ouns

el in

the

mat

ter,

eh?-

puff

, pu

ff,

puff.

Do

you

rem

embe

r th

e st

ory

they

tel

l of

A

bern

ethy

?"

"No;

han

g A

bern

ethy

!"

"To

be su

re! h

ang

him

and

wel

com

e. B

ut, o

nce

upon

a tim

e, a

cer

tain

nwhi

ch (

D)

mis

prin

t

14

Thom

as 0

//ive

Mab

bott

rich

mis

er c

once

ived

the

des

ign

of sp

ungi

ng u

pon

this

Abe

rnet

hy fo

r a

med

ical

opi

nion

. 10

Get

ting

up,

for

this

pur

pose

, an

ord

inar

y co

nver

sa-

tion

in a

priv

ate

com

pany

, he

insi

nuat

ed h

is ca

se to

the

phys

icia

n,

of an

im

agin

ary

indi

vidu

al.

"'W

e w

ill s

uppo

se,'

said

the

mis

er,

'that

his

sym

ptom

s ar

e su

ch a

nd

such

; no

w,

doct

or,

wha

t wou

ld y

ou h

ave

dire

cted

him

to ta

ke?'

"'T

ake!

' sai

d A

bern

ethy

, 'w

hy,

take

adv

ice,

to b

e su

re.'"

"B

ut,"

said

the

Pref

ect,

a lit

tle d

isco

mpo

sed,

"I a

m pe

rfectl

y w

illin

g to

ta

ke ad

vice

, and

to p

ay fo

r it.

I wou

ld re

ally

give

fifty

thou

sand

fran

cso

to

any

one

who

wou

ld a

id m

e in

the

mat

ter."

"I

n th

at c

ase,

'' re

plie

d D

upin

, op

enin

g a

draw

er,

and

prod

ucin

g a

chec

k-bo

ok,

"you

may

as

wel

l fil

l m

e up

a c

heck

for

the

amou

nt m

en-

tione

d. W

hen

you

have

sig

ned

it, I

will

han

d yo

u th

e le

tter."

I

was

ast

ound

ed.

The

Pref

ect

appe

ared

abs

olut

ely

thun

ders

tric

ken.

Fo

r so

me

min

utes

he

rem

aine

d sp

eech

less

and

mot

ionl

ess,

loo

king

in-

cred

ulou

sly

at m

y fr

iend

with

ope

n m

outh

, and

eyes

that

seem

ed st

artin

g fr

om th

eir s

ocke

ts; t

hen,

app

aren

t! y

reco

verin

g hi

mse

lf in

som

e m

easu

re,

he se

ized

a p

en, a

nd a

fter s

ever

al p

ause

s and

vac

ant s

tare

s, fi

nally

fille

d up

an

d si

gned

a ch

eck

for f

ifty

thou

sand

fran

cs, a

nd h

ande

d it

acro

ss th

e ta

ble

to D

upin

. The

latte

r exa

min

ed it

care

fully

and

dep

osite

d it

in h

is p

ocke

t-bo

ok; t

hen,

unl

ocki

ng a

n es

crito

ire,

took

then

ce a

lette

r and

gav

e it

to th

e Pr

efec

t. Th

is f

unct

iona

ry g

rasp

ed i

t in

a pe

rfec

t ago

ny o

f joy

, ope

ned

it

with

a t

rem

blin

g ha

nd,

cast

a r

apid

gla

nce

at i

ts c

onte

nts,

and

the

n,

scra

mbl

ing

and

stru

gglin

g to

the

door

, rus

hed

at le

ngth

unc

erem

onio

us-

ly f

rom

the

room

and

from

the

hou

se, w

ithou

t hav

ing

utte

red

aP sy

llabl

e si

nce

Dup

in h

ad r

eque

sted

him

to fi

ll up

the

chec

k.

Whe

n he

had

gon

e, m

y fr

iend

ent

ered

int

o so

me

expl

anat

ions

. "T

he P

aris

ian

polic

e,"

he s

aid,

"ar

e ex

ceed

ingl

y ab

le i

n th

eir

way.

They

are

pers

ever

ing,

ing

enio

us, c

unni

ng, a

nd th

orou

ghly

ver

sed

in th

e kn

owle

dge

whi

ch t

heir

dut

ies

seem

chi

efly

to

dem

and.

Thu

s, w

hen

G-

deta

iled

to u

s hi

s m

ode

of se

arch

ing

the

prem

ises

at

the

Hot

el

0--,

I fel

t ent

ire

conf

iden

ce in

his

hav

ing

mad

e a

satis

fact

ory

inve

sti-

gati

on-s

o fa

r as

his

labo

rs e

xten

ded.

'' "S

o fa

r as

his

labo

rs e

xten

ded?

" sa

id I

. "Y

es,"

said

Dup

in.

"The

mea

sure

s ad

opte

d w

ere

not o

nly

the

best

of

thei

r ki

nd,

but c

arrie

d ou

t to

abs

olut

e pe

rfec

tion.

Had

the

let

ter

been

0fr

ancs

, ev

ery

centi

me o

f it,

(A)

Pa s

olita

ry (

A)

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

15

depo

site

d w

ithin

the

rang

e of

thei

r sea

rch,

thes

e fe

llow

s w

ould

, bey

ond

a qu

estio

n, h

ave

foun

d it.

'' I

mer

ely

laug

hed-

but

he s

eem

ed q

uite

ser

ious

in

all

that

he

said

. "T

he m

easu

res,

then

," h

e co

ntin

ued,

"w

ere

good

in

thei

r ki

nd,

and

wel

l exe

cute

d; th

eir d

efec

t lay

in th

eir b

eing

inap

plic

able

to th

e ca

se, a

nd

to t

he m

an.

A c

erta

in s

et o

f hig

hly

inge

niou

s re

sour

ces

are,

with

the

-·

--

----

---

--Pr

efec

t, a

sort

of P

rocr

uste

an b

ed, 1

1 to

whi

ch h

e fo

rcib

ly a

dapt

s hi

s B

ut h

e pe

rpet

ually

errs

by

bein

g to

o de

ep o

r too

shal

low

, for

the

mat

ter i

n ha

nd; a

nd m

any

a sch

oolb

oy is

a b

ette

r rea

sone

r tha

n he

. I k

new

on

e ab

out e

ight

yea

rs o

f age

, w

hose

suc

cess

at g

uess

ing

in t

he g

ame

of

'even

and

odd

' attr

acte

d un

iver

sal a

dmir

atio

n. T

his

gam

e is

sim

ple,

and

is

play

ed w

ith m

arbl

es.

One

pla

yer h

olds

in h

is h

and

a nu

mbe

r of t

hese

to

ys, a

nd d

eman

ds o

f ano

ther

whe

ther

that

num

ber i

s eve

n or

odd

. If t

he

gues

s is

righ

t, th

e gu

esse

r win

s on

e; i

f wro

ng,

he lo

ses

one.

The

boy

to

who

m I

allu

de w

on a

ll th

e m

arbl

es o

f the

scho

ol. O

f cou

rse

he h

ad s

ome

prin

cipl

e of

gue

ssin

g; a

nd t

his

lay

in m

ere

obse

rvat

ion

and

adm

easu

re-

men

t of

the

astu

tene

ss o

f his

opp

onen

ts.

For

exam

ple,

an

arra

nt s

im-

plet

on is

his

oppo

nent

, and

, ho

ldin

g up

his

clo

sed

hand

, ask

s, 'ar

e th

ey

even

or

odd?

' O

ur s

choo

lboy

rep

lies,

'odd

,' an

d lo

ses;

but

upon

the

se

cond

tria

l he

win

s, fo

r he

then

says

to h

imse

lf, "

the s

impl

eton

had

them

ev

en u

pon

the

first

tria

l, an

d hi

s am

ount

of c

unni

ng is

jus

t suf

ficie

nt to

m

ake

him

hav

e th

em o

dd u

pon

the

seco

nd; I

will

ther

efor

e gu

ess

od

d;-

he g

uess

es o

dd, a

nd w

ins.

Now

, with

a si

mpl

eton

a de

gree

abov

e th

e fir

st,

he w

ould

hav

e re

ason

ed th

us:

'Thi

s fel

low

find

s th

at in

the

first

inst

ance

I gu

esse

d od

d, a

nd,

in t

he s

econ

d, h

e w

ill p

ropo

se t

o hi

mse

lf, u

pon

the

first

impu

lse,

a s

impl

e va

riatio

n fr

om e

ven

to o

dd,

as d

id t

he f

irst

sim

plet

on; b

ut th

en a

seco

nd th

ough

t will

sug

gest

that

this

is to

o si

mpl

e a

varia

tion,

and

fin

ally

he

will

dec

ide

upon

put

ting

it e

ven

as b

efor

e. I

w

ill th

eref

ore

gues

s ev

en;'-

he g

uess

es e

ven,

and

win

s. N

ow th

is m

ode

of re

ason

ing

in th

e sc

hool

boy,

who

m h

is fe

llow

s te

rmed

'luc

ky,'-

wha

t,

in it

s la

st a

naly

sis,

is it?

" "I

t is

mer

ely,

" I s

aid,

"an

iden

tific

atio

n of

the

reas

oner

's in

telle

ct w

ith

<Ee:

=s

--

that

of h

is

. "I

t is,"

sai

d D

upin

; in

quir

ing

of th

e bo

y by

wha

t mea

ns h

e ef

fect

ed t

he th

orou

gh i

dent

ifica

tion

in w

hich

his

suc

cess

con

sist

ed,

I re

-ce

ived

ans

wer

as

follo

ws:

'Whe

n I

wis

h to

fin

d ou

t ho

w w

ise,

or

how

· st

upid

, or h

ow g

ood,

or h

ow w

icke

d is

any

one,

or w

hat a

re h

is th

ough

ts

at t

he m

omen

t, I

fash

ion

the

expr

essi

on o

f m

y fa

ce,

as a

ccur

atel

y as

po

ssib

le,

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

e ex

pres

sion

of h

is,

and

then

wai

t to

see

wha

t tho

ught

s or

sen

timen

ts a

rise

in m

y m

ind

or h

eart

, as

if to

mat

ch o

r

•

r6

Thom

as 0

/liv

e M

abbo

tt

corr

espo

nd w

ith th

e ex

pres

sion

:J2

This

resp

onse

of t

he sc

hool

boy

lies

at

the

botto

m o

f all

the

spur

ious

pro

fund

ity w

hich

has

bee

n at

trib

uted

to

Roc

hefo

ucau

lt,q

to L

a Br

uyer

e,<

to M

achi

avel

li, a

nd t

o C

ampa

nella

."1 3

"And

the

iden

tific

atio

n,"

I sai

d, "

of th

e re

ason

er's

inte

llect

with

that

of

• hi

s op

pone

nt,

depe

nds,

if I

und

erst

and

you

arig

ht,

upon

the

acc

urac

y w

ith w

hich

the

oppo

nent

's in

telle

ct is

adm

easu

red.

" "F

or it

s pra

ctic

al v

alue

it d

epen

ds u

pon

this

," re

plie

d D

upin

; "an

d th

e Pr

efec

t and

his

coh

ort f

ail s

o fr

eque

ntly

, de

faul

t of t

his

iden

tific

a-by

ill-

adm

easu

rem

ent,

;ath

er t

hrou

gh n

on-a

d-m

-;asu

rem

ent,

ofi:

hein

tdle

ct w

ith w

hich

they

are e

ngag

ed. T

hey

cons

id-

e.r o

nly th

eifOw

n id

eas

of i

ngen

uity

; an

d, "

rn-s

earc

hing

for

any

thin

g hi

dden

, ad

vert

only

to

the

mod

es i

n w

hich

they

wou

ld h

ave

hidd

en i

t. Th

ey a

re r

ight

in

this

muc

h-th

at t

heir

ow

n in

genu

ity i

s a

faith

ful

repr

esen

tativ

e of

that

of t

he m

ass;

but w

hen

the

cunn

ing

of th

e in

divi

dual

fe

lon

is di

vers

e in

cha

ract

er f

rom

the

ir o

wn,

the

fel

on f

oils

them

, of

co

urse

. Thi

s alw

ays h

appe

ns w

hen

it is

abo

ve th

eir o

wn,

and

ver

y us

ually

w

hen

it is

bel

ow.

They

hav

e no

var

iatio

n of

prin

cipl

e in

thei

r inv

estig

a-tio

ns;

at b

est,

whe

n -ur

ged

by s

ome

unus

ual

emer

genc

y-by

s-om

e ex

-tra

ordi

nary

-rew

ard-

=-i:h

ey -e

xten

d-or

-exa

ggcr

atet

neir

oid

mod

es o

f pra

c-tic

e, w

itho-

ui:-t

oucf

illl.i

i:fie

ir pr

!nci

pTeS

:Wha

t, for

" exa

mpl

e, in

this

case

of

D--

-, h

as b

een

thep

rinc

iple

of a

ctio

n? W

hat

is al

l th

is

bori

ng,

and

prob

ing,

and

sou

ndin

g, a

nd s

crut

iniz

ing

with

the

mic

ro-

scop

e, a

nd d

ivid

ing

the

surf

ace

of th

e bu

ildin

g in

to r

egis

tere

d sq

uare

in

ches

-wha

t is

it al

l bu

t an

exa

gger

atio

n of

the

appl

icatio

n of

the

one

prin

cipl

e or s

et o

f prin

cipl

es o

f sea

rch,

whi

ch ar

e bas

ed u

pon

the

one s

et o

f no

tions

reg

ardi

ng h

uman

ing

enui

ty,

the

Pref

ect,

in t

he l

ong

rout

ine

of hi

s du

ty, h

as b

een

you

not s

ee h

e ha

s ta

ken

it ,\\1

for

gran

ted

that

all

men

pro

ceed

to

conc

eal

a le

tter

,-no

t ex

actly

in

a gi

mle

t-ho

le b

ored

in

a ch

air-

leg-

but,

at

leas

t, in

some

out

-of-

the-

way

.g.

J ho

le o

r cor

ner s

ugge

sted

by

the

sam

e te

nor o

f tho

ught

whi

ch w

ould

urg

e p S

a

man

to se

cret

e a le

tter i

n a g

imle

t-ho

le b

ored

in a

chai

r-le

Jl A

nd d

o yo

u -\

not s

ee a

lso,

that

suc

h rec

herch

es• n

ooks

for c

once

alm

ent a

re a

dapt

ed o

nly

\ or

or

mar

y oc

casi

ons,

and

wou

ld b

e ad

opte

d on

ly b

y or

dina

ry in

telle

cts;

l

r, in

all

case

s of

con

ceal

men

t, a

disp

osal

of t

he a

rtic

le c

once

aled

-a

\ \.d

is

in t

his

reche

rc.bi.

. man

ner,

-is,

in

the

very

firs

t in

stan

ce,

· 1 c

v h

lc\f

-tn

i v"q

S i 0

X

qJ

n al

l tex

ts p \

a t.f

'IJ

II f;r

{} B,

C,

D) c

orre

cted

edito

rially

fi.

P

. \d

e \S"

\f (A

) V

Tv

hI

C n

-'-'

lj

TE

XT

OF

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

I7

•pre

sum

able

and

pre

sum

ed;•

and

thu

s its

dis

cove

ry d

epen

ds,

not a

t al

l up

on t

he a

cum

en,

but

alto

geth

er u

pon

the

mer

e ca

re,

patie

nce,

and

de

term

inat

ion

of th

e se

eker

s; a

nd w

here

the

cas

e is

of im

port

ance

-or,

w

hat a

mou

nts

to th

e sa

me

thin

g in

the

polic

ial e

yes,

whe

n th

e re

war

d is

of m

agni

tude

-the

qua

litie

s in

que

stio

n ha

ve n

ever

bee

n kn

own

to fa

il.

You

will

now

und

erst

and

wha

t I

mea

nt i

n su

gges

ting

that

, ha

d th

e pu

rloi

ned

lette

r bee

n hi

dden

any

whe

re w

ithin

the

limits

of t

he P

refe

ct's

exam

inat

ion-

in o

ther

wor

ds, h

ad th

e pr

inci

ple

of it

s con

ceal

men

t bee

n co

mpr

ehen

ded

with

in th

e pr

inci

ples

of t

he P

refe

ct-i

ts d

isco

very

wou

ld

have

bee

n a m

atte

r alto

geth

er b

eyon

d qu

estio

n. T

his f

unct

iona

ry, h

owev

-er

, has

bee

n th

orou

ghly

mys

tifie

d; a

nd th

e re

mot

e so

urce

of h

is d

efea

t lie

s in

the

sup

posi

tion

that

the

Min

iste

r is

a fo

ol,

beca

use

he h

as a

cqui

red

reno

wn

as a

poe

t. A

ll fo

ols

are

poet

s; t

his

the

Pref

ect f

eels;

14 a

nd h

e is

mer

ely

guilt

y of

a no

n di

strib

utio

med

ii15

in th

ence

infe

rrin

g th

at al

l poe

ts

are

fool

s."

"But

is th

is re

ally

the

poet

?" I

aske

d. "

Ther

e are

two

brot

hers

, I k

now

; an

d bo

th h

ave

atta

ined

rep

utat

ion

in le

tters

. Th

e M

inis

ter I

bel

ieve

has

w

ritte

n le

arne

dly

on t

he D

iffer

entia

l Cal

culu

s. H

e is

a m

athe

mat

icia

n,

and

no p

oet."

"Y

ou a

re m

ista

ken;

I kn

ow h

im w

ell;

he is

bot

h. A

s po

et a

nd m

athe

-m

atic

ian,

he

wou

ld r

easo

n w

ell;u

as

mer

e m

athe

mat

icia

n, h

e co

uld

not

have

rea

sone

d at

all,

and

thu

s w

ould

hav

e be

en a

t th

e m

ercy

of

the

Pref

ect."

"Y

ou su

rpris

e m

e,"

I sai

d, "

by th

ese o

pini

ons,

whi

ch h

ave

been

con

tra-

dict

ed b

y th

e vo

ice

of th

e w

orld

. Y

ou d

o no

t mea

n to

set

at n

augh

t th

e w

ell-d

iges

ted

idea

of c

entu

ries.

The

mat

hem

atic

al re

ason

has

long

bee

nv

rega

rded

as

the

reas

on p

ar e

xcell

ence

." "'I

I y a a

parie

r,' "

w re

plie

d D

upin

, quo

ting

from

Cha

mfo

rt, "

'que

toute

ide

e pub

lique

, to

ute

conv

entio

n re

fue, e

st un

e sot

tise,

car e

lle a

con

venu

x au

plus

gr

and

nomb

re. 'y

16 T

he m

athe

mat

icia

ns, I

gra

nt y

ou, h

ave

done

thei

r bes

t to

pro

mul

gate

the

popu

lar e

rror

to w

hich

you

allu

de, a

nd w

hich

is n

one

the l

ess a

n er

ror f

or it

s pro

mul

gatio

n as

trut

h. W

ith

an ar

t wor

thy

a bet

ter

' ..

'pre

sum

ed a

nd p

resu

mab

le; (

A)

uwel

l; as

poe

t, pr

ofou

ndly

; (A

) •l

ong

been

/bee

n lo

ng (

A)

wpar

ier, ·

(A,

B, C

, D) a

ccen

t dele

ted e

dito

rially

•c

onve

ntlt

(A,

B, C

, D

) cor

recte

d ed

itoria

lly

YThi

s se

ntenc

e no

t ita

licize

d (A

)

18

Thom

as 0

/live

Mab

bott

caus

e, fo

r exa

mpl

e, t

hey

have

insi

nuat

ed th

e te

rm 'a

naly

sis'

into

app

lica-

tion

to a

lgeb

ra.

The

Fre

nch

are

the

orig

inat

ors

of th

is p

artic

ular

dec

ep-

tion;

but

if a

term

is o

f any

im

port

ance

-if w

ords

der

ive

any

valu

e fr

om

appl

icab

ilit

y-th

en '

anal

ysis

' co

nvey

s 'a

lgeb

ra'

abou

t as

muc

h as

, in

La

tin 'a

mbi

tus'

impl

ies

'am

bitio

n,' '

relig

io' '

relig

ion,

' or '

hom

ines

hon

esti,

' a

seto

fhon

orab

lem

en."

17

c:e-C

e_rtY

\Cj"'

\q

_m(.t

.-1"'\

, -

fYou

hav

e a

quar

rel

on h

and,

I s

ee,"

said

I,

"with

som

e of

the

\k,tkt·

gebr

aist

s of

Par

is; b

ut p

roce

ed."

18

"I d

ispu

te th

e av

aila

bilit

y, a

nd th

us th

e va

lue,

of t

hat r

easo

n w

hich

is

culti

vate

d in

ot

her

abst

ract

ly lo

gica

l. I

dis-

pure

, In

eaiice

a by

mat

h-em

atic

s ar

e th

e sc

ienc

e of

form

and

qua

ntity

; mat

hem

atic

al re

ason

ing

is m

erel

y lo

gic

appl

ied

to o

bser

vatio

n up

on f

orm

and

qua

ntity

. Th

e gr

eat

erro

r lie

s in

supp

osin

g th

at e

ven

the

trut

hs o

f wha

t is c

alle

d pur

e al

gebr

a,

are

abst

ract

or

gene

ral

this

err

or is

so

egre

giou

s th

at I

am

co

nfou

nded

at t

he u

nive

rsal

ity w

ith w

hich

it h

as b

een

rece

ived

. M

athe

-m

atic

al a

xiom

s are

not

axio

ms o

f gen

eral

trut

h. W

hat i

s tr

ue o

f rel

:iiiO

il-in

reg

ard

to m

orai

s, f

or

exam

ple.

In

this

lat

ter

scie

nce

it is

very

usu

ally

unt

rue

that

ga

ted

part

s ar

e eq

ual t

o th

e w

hole

. In

che

mis

try

also

the

axi

om fa

ils.

In

the c

onsi

dera

tion

of m

otiv

e it

fails

; for

two

mot

ives

, eac

h of

a gi

ven

valu

e,

have

not

, ne

cess

arily

, a

valu

e w

hen

unite

d, e

qual

to

the

sum

of t

heir

va

lues

apa

rt.

Ther

e ar

e nu

mer

ous

othe

r m

athe

mat

ical

tru

ths

whi

ch a

re

only

trut

hs w

ithin

the

limits

of r

elat

ion.

But

the

mat

hem

atic

ian

argu

es,

from

his

fini

te t

ruth

s,

thro

ugh

habi

t, as

if

they

wer

e of

an

abso

lute

ly

gene

ral a

ppli

cabi

lity

-as

the w

orld

inde

ed im

agin

es th

em to

be.

Bry

ant,

in h

is v

ery

lear

ned

'Myt

holo

gy,'

men

tions

an

anal

ogou

s so

urce

of e

rror

, w

hen

he s

ays

that

'al

thou

gh t

he P

agan

fab

les

are

not

belie

ved,

yet

we

forg

et o

urse

lves

con

tinua

lly, a

nd m

ake

infe

renc

es f

rom

the

m a

s ex

istin

g re

aliti

es.'1

9 W

ith

the

alge

brai

sts,

z ho

wev

er, w

ho a

re P

agan

s th

emse

lves

, th

e 'P

agan

fabl

es' a

re b

elie

ved,

and

the

infe

renc

es a

re m

ade,

not

so m

uch

thro

ugh

laps

e of

mem

ory,

as

thro

ugh

an u

nacc

ount

able

add

ling

of th

e br

ains

. In

sho

rt,

I ne

ver

yet e

ncou

nter

ed t

he m

ere

mat

hem

atic

ian

who

co

uld

be tr

uste

d ou

t of e

qual

root

s, o

r one

who

did

not

clan

dest

inel

y ho

ld

it as

a p

oint

of h

is fa

ith th

at x

2 +

px w

as a

bsol

utel

y an

d un

cond

ition

ally

eq

ual t

o q.

Say

to o

ne o

f the

se g

entle

men

, by

way

of e

xper

imen

t, if

you

plea

se,

that

you

bel

ieve

occ

asio

ns m

ay o

ccur

whe

re x

2 +

px is

not

al-

zaJg

ebra

ist,

(A)

TE

XT

O

F "T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R

I9

toge

ther

equ

al t

o q,

and

, ha

ving

mad

e hi

m u

nder

stan

d w

hat y

ou m

ean,

ge

t out

of h

is re

ach

as s

peed

ily as

con

veni

ent,

for,

beyo

nd d

oubt

, he

will

en

deav

or to

kno

ck y

ou d

own.

"I

mea

n to

say,

'' co

ntin

ued

Dup

in,

whi

le I

mer

ely

laug

hed

at h

is la

st

obse

rvat

ions

, "t

hat i

f the

Min

iste

r had

bee

n no

mor

e th

an a

mat

hem

ati-

cian

, th

e Pr

efec

t wou

ld h

ave

been

und

er n

o ne

cess

ity o

f giv

ing

me

this

ch

eck.

aa I

knew

him

, how

ever

, as

both

mat

hem

atic

ian

and

poet

, and

my

mea

sure

s w

ere

adap

ted

to h

is c

apac

ity,

with

ref

eren

ce t

o th

e ci

rcum

-st

ance

s by

whi

ch h

e w

as s

urro

unde

d. I

knew

him

as a

cou

rtier

, too

, and

as

a bo

ld in

trig

uant

. Su

ch a

man

, I c

onsi

dere

d, c

ould

not

fail

to b

e aw

are

of

the

ordi

nary

pol

icia

l mod

es o

f act

ion.

He

coul

d no

t hav

e fa

iled

to a

ntic

i-pa

te-a

nd e

vent

s ha

ve p

rove

d th

at h

e di

d no

t fa

il to

ant

icip

ate-

the

way

layi

ngs

to w

hich

he

was

sub

ject

ed.

He

mus

t ha

ve f

ores

een,

I r

e-fle

cted

, th

e se

cret

inv

estig

atio

ns o

f his

prem

ises

. H

is f

requ

ent

abse

nces

fr

om h

ome

at n

ight

, whi

ch w

ere

haile

d by

the

Pref

ect a

s cer

tain

aids

to h

is su

cces

s, I r

egar

ded

only

as ru

ses,

to af

ford

opp

ortu

nity

for t

horo

ugh

sear

ch

to th

e po

lice,

and

thus

the

soon

er to

impr

ess

them

with

the

conv

ictio

n to

w

hich

G--,

in fa

ct,

did

final

ly a

rriv

e-th

e co

nvic

tion

that

the

lette

r w

as n

ot u

pon

the

prem

ises

. I f

elt,

also

, th

at th

e w

hole

trai

n of

thou

ght,

whi

ch I

was

at s

ome

pain

s in

det

ailin

g to

you

jus

t now

, co

ncer

ning

the

inva

riabl

e pr

inci

ple

of po

licia

l act

ion

in se

arch

es fo

r arti

cles

con

ceal

ed-!

fe

lt th

at th

is w

hole

trai

n of

thou

ght w

ould

nec

essa

rily

pass

thro

ugh

the

min

d of

the

Min

iste

r. It

wou

ld im

pera

tivel

y le

ad h

im to

des

pise

all

the

ordi

nary

nook

s of c

once

alm

ent.

He

coul

d no

t, I r

efle

cted

, be

so w

eak

as n

ot

to se

e th

at th

e m

ost i

ntri

cate

and

rem

ote

rece

ss o

f his

hot

el w

ould

be

as

open

as h

is co

mm

ones

t clo

sets

to th

e ey

es, t

o th

e pr

obes

, to

the

gim

lets

, an

d to

the

mic

rosc

opes

of t

he P

refe

ct.[

'saw

, in

fin

e, th

at h

e w

ould

be

driv

en, a

s a m

atte

r of c

ours

e, to

sim

plic

ity,

if no

t del

iber

atel

y in

duce

d to

it

as a

mat

ter o

f cho

ice.

You

will

rem

embe

r, pe

rhap

s, h

ow d

espe

rate

ly th

e Pr

efec

t lau

ghed

whe

n I

sugg

este

d, u

pon

our f

irst

inte

rvie

w,

that

it w

as

just

pos

sibl

e th

is m

yste

ry tr

oubl

ed h

im so

muc

h on

acc

ount

of i

ts b

eing

so

very

sel

f-ev

iden

t.:J

"Yes

,'' .sa

id I

, "I

rem

embe

r hi

s m

erri

men

t w

ell.

I re

ally

tho

ught

he

wou

ld h

ave

falle

n in

to c

onvu

lsio

ns."

"T

he m

ater

ial

wor

ld,''

con

tinue

d D

upin

, "a

boun

ds w

ith v

ery

stri

ct

anai7

>gies

to th

e Im

mat

eria

l; an

d th

us so

me

colo

r of t

ruth

has

bee

n gi

ven

.. Af

ter t

his

Had

he

been

no

mor

e th

an a

poet

, I th

ink

it p

roba

ble

that

he

wou

ld h

ave

foile

d us

all.

(A

)

20

Th

omas

Olli

ve M

abbo

tt

to t

he r

heto

rical

dog

ma,

tha

t m

etap

hor,

or s

imile

, m

ay b

e m

ade

to

stre

ngth

en a

n ar

gum

ent,

as w

ell

as t

o em

belli

sh a

des

crip

tion.

The

pr

inci

ple

of th

e vis

ine

rtiae

,2o

for

exam

ple,

bb s

eem

s to

be

iden

tical

in

.\

,....,

, r

"-.

/!<

phys

ics

and

met

aphy

sics

. It

is n

ot m

ore

true

in th

e fo

rmer

, th

at a

larg

e bo

dy is

with

mor

e di

ffic

ulty

set i

n m

otio

n th

an a

smal

ler o

ne, a

nd th

at it

s su

bseq

uent

mom

entum

cc is

com

men

sura

te w

ith th

is d

iffic

ulty

, tha

n it

is, i

n th

e la

tter,

that

inte

llect

s of t

he v

aste

r cap

acity

, whi

le m

ore

forc

ible

, mor

e co

nsta

nt,

and

mor

e ev

entfu

l in

the

ir m

ovem

ents

tha

n th

ose

of in

ferio

r gr

ade,

are

yet

the

less

rea

dily

mov

ed, a

nd m

ore

emba

rras

sed

and

full

of

hesi

tatio

n in

the

firs

t fe

w s

teps

of t

heir

pro

gres

s. A

gain

: ha

ve y

ou e

ver

notic

ed w

hich

of

the

stre

et s

igns

, ov

er t

he s

hop-

door

s, a

re t

he m

ost

attr

activ

e of

atte

ntio

n?"

"I h

ave

neve

r gi

ven

the

mat

ter

a th

ough

t," I

sai

d.

"The

re is

a g

ame

of p

uzzl

es,"

he

resu

med

, "w

hich

is p

laye

d up

on a

m

ap. O

ne p

arty

pla

ying

requ

ires a

noth

er to

find

a g

iven

wor

d-th

e na

me

of to

wn,

rive

r, st

ate

or e

mpi

re-a

ny w

ord,

in s

hort

, upo

n th

e m

otle

y an

d pe

rple

xed

surf

ace

of th

e ch

art.

A n

ovic

e in

the

gam

e ge

nera

lly s

eeks

to

emba

rras

s hi

s op

pone

nts

by g

ivin

g th

em t

he m

ost

min

utel

y le

ttere

d na

mes

; bu

t th

e ad

ept s

elec

ts s

uch

wor

ds a

s st

retc

h, i

n la

rge

char

acte

rs,

from

one

end

of

the

char

t to

the

oth

er.

Thes

e, l

ike

the

over

-larg

ely

lette

red

sign

s an

d pl

acar

ds o

f the

str

eet,

esca

pe o

bser

vatio

n by

din

t of

be

ing

exce

ssiv

ely

obvi

ous;

and

her

e th

e ph

ysic

al o

vers

ight

is p

reci

sely

w

ith th

e m

oral

inap

preh

ensi

on b

y w

hich

the

inte

llect

suffe

rs to

pa

ss u

nnot

iced

tho

se c

onsi

dera

tions

whi

ch a

re t

oo o

btru

sive

ly a

nd t

oo

palp

ably

sel

f-ev

iden

t. B

ut th

is is

a p

oint

, it a

ppea

rs, s

omew

hat a

bove

or

bene

ath

the

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

the

Pref

ect.

He

neve

r on

ce t

houg

ht i

t pr

obab

le, o

r pos

sibl

e, th

at th

e M

inis

ter h

ad d

epos

ited

the

lette

r im

med

i-at

ely

bene

ath

the

nose

of t

he w

hole

wor

ld, b

y w

ay o

f bes

t pre

vent

ing

any

port

ion

of th

at w

orld

fro

m p

erce

ivin

g it.

21

"But

the

mor

e I r

efle

cted

upo

n th

e da

ring

, das

hing

, and

dis

crim

inat

-in

g in

genu

ity o

f D--;

upon

the

fact

tha

t th

e do

cum

ent m

ust a

lway

s ha

ve b

een

at ha

nd, i

f he

inte

nded

to u

se it

to g

ood

purp

ose;

and

upo

n th

e de

cisi

ve e

vide

nce,

obt

aine

d by

the

Pref

ect,

that

it w

as n

ot h

idde

n w

ithin

th

e lim

its o

f tha

t di

gnita

ry's

ordi

nary

sea

rch-

the

mor

e sa

tisfie

d I

be-

cam

e th

at, t

o co

ncea

l thi

s let

ter,

the

Min

iste

r had

reso

rted

to th

e co

mpr

e-he

nsiv

e an

d sa

gaci

ous

expe

dien

t of n

ot a

ttem

ptin

g to

con

ceal

it

at a

ll.

bbex

ampl

e, w

ith

the

amou

nt o

f mom

entu

m p

ropo

rtio

nate

with

it a

nd c

onse

quen

t upo

n it,

(A

) cc

;mpe

tuJ

(A)

TE

XT

O

F

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R

21

"Ful

l of

thes

e id

eas,

I pr

epar

ed m

ysel

f with

a p

air

of g

reen

spe

cta-

cles

,22

and

calle

d on

e fin

e m

orni

ng, q

uite

by

acci

dent

, at t

he M

inis

teria

l ho

tel.

I fo

und D

--

at h

ome,

yaw

ning

, lo

ungi

ng,

and

daw

dlin

g, a

s us

ual,

and

pret

endi

ng to

be

in th

e la

st e

xtre

mity

of e

nnui

. He

is, p

erha

ps,

the

mos

t rea

lly e

nerg

etic

hum

an b

eing

now

ali

ve-b

ut th

at is

onl

y w

hen

nobo

dy s

ees

him

. "T

o be

eve

n w

ith h

im,

I com

plai

ned

of m

y w

eak

eyes

, and

lam

ente

d th

e ne

cess

ity o

f th

e sp

ecta

cles

, un

der

cove

r of

whi

ch I

cau

tious

ly a

nd

thor

ough

ly su

rvey

ed th

edd

apar

tmen

t, w

hile

seem

ingl

y in

tent

onl

y up

on

the

conv

ersa

tion

of m

y ho

st.

"I p

aid

espe

cial

atte

ntio

n to

a la

rge

wri

ting-

tabl

e ne

ar w

hich

he

sat,

and

upon

whi

ch l

ay c

onfu

sedl

y, s

ome

mis

cella

neou

s le

tters

and

oth

er

pape

rs,

with

one

or

two

mus

ical

ins

trum

ents

and

a f

ew b

ooks

. H

ere,

ho

wev

er, a

fter a

long

and

ver

y de

liber

ate

scru

tiny,

I sa

w n

othi

ng to

exci

te

part

icul

ar s

uspi

cion

. "A

t le

ngth

my

eyes

, in

goi

ng t

he c

ircu

it of

the

room

, fe

ll up

on a

tr

umpe

ry fi

llagr

ee c

ard-

rack

of p

aste

boar

d, th

at h

ung

dang

ling

by a

dir

ty

blue

rib

bone

e fr

om a

litt

le b

rass

kno

b ju

st b

enea

th t

he m

iddl

e of

the

man

tel-p

iece

. In

this

rack

, whi

ch h

ad th

ree

or fo

ur c

ompa

rtm

ents

, wer

e fiv

e or

six

vis

iting

car

ds a

nd a

sol

itary

lette

r. Th

is la

st w

as m

uch

soile

d an

d cr

umpl

ed.

It w

as t

orn

near

ly i

n tw

o, a

cros

s th

e m

iddl

e-as

if

a de

sign

, in

the

first

inst

ance

, to

tear

it e

ntire

ly u

p as

wor

thle

ss, h

ad b

een

alte

red,

or

stay

ed,

in t

he s

econ

d. I

t ha

d a

larg

e bl

ack

seal

, be

arin

g th

e D

--

ciph

er v

ery

cons

picu

ousl

y, a

nd w

as a

ddre

ssed

, in

a d

imin

utiv

e fe

mal

e ha

nd,

to D

--,

the

min

iste

r, hi

mse

lf. I

t was

thr

ust c

arel

essly

, an

d ev

en, a

s it

seem

ed, c

onte

mpt

uous

ly, i

nto

one

of th

e up

perf

f div

isio

ns

of th

e ra

ck.

"No

soon

er h

ad I

glan

ced

at th

is le

tter,

than

I co

nclu

ded

it to

be

that

of

whi

ch I

was

in

sear

ch.

To b

e su

re,

it w

as,

to a

ll ap

pear

ance

rad

ical

ly

diff

eren

t fr

om t

he o

ne o

f w

hich

the

Pre

fect

had

rea

d us

so

min

ute

a de

scrip

tion.

Her

e th

e se

al w

as la

rge

and

blac

k, w

ith th

e D

--

ciph

er;

ther

e it

was

sm

all

and

red,

with

the

duc

al a

rms

of th

e S

---

fam

ily.

Her

e, t

he a

ddre

ss,

to th

e M

inis

ter,

was

dim

inut

ive

and

fem

inin

e; t

here

th

e su

pers

crip

tion,

to

a ce

rtain

roya

l per

sona

ge,

was

mar

kedl

y bo

ld a

nd

deci

ded;

the

size

alon

e fo

rmed

a p

oint

of c

orre

spon

denc

e. B

ut, t

hen,

the

ra

dicaln

ess

of th

ese

diff

eren

ces,

whi

ch w

as e

xces

sive;

the

dir

t; th

e so

iled

ddth

e w

hole

(A,

B,

D)

••ri

band

, (A

) ff

uppe

rmos

t (A

, B

, D

)

22

Th

omas

0/li

ve M

abbo

tt

and

torn

con

ditio

n of

the

pape

r, so

inco

nsis

tent

with

the

true

met

hodi

cal

habi

ts o

f 0--,

and

so s

ugge

stiv

e of

a de

sign

to

delu

de th

e be

hold

er

into

an

idea

of t

he w

orth

less

ness

of t

he d

ocum

ent;

thes

e th

ings

, tog

ethe

r w

ith t

he h

yper

obtru

sive

situ

atio

n of

this

doc

umen

t, fu

ll in

the

view

of

ever

y vi

site

r, an

d th

us e

xact

ly i

n ac

cord

ance

with

the

con

clus

ions

to

whi

ch I

hav

e pr

evio

usly

arr

ived

; th

ese

thin

gs,

I sa

y, w

ere

stro

ngly

cor

-ro

bora

tive

of su

spic

ion,

in

one

who

cam

e w

ith th

e in

tent

ion

to su

spec

t. "I

pro

trac

ted

my

visi

t as

long

as

poss

ible

, an

d, w

hile

I m

aint

aine

d a

mos

t ani

mat

ed d

iscu

ssio

n w

ith th

e M

inis

ter,

ongg

a to

pic

whi

ch I

knew

w

ell h

ad n

ever

faile

d to

inte

rest

and

exci

te h

im, I

kep

t my

atte

ntio

n re

ally

riv

eted

upo

n th

e le

tter.

In th

is e

xam

inat

ion,

I co

mm

itted

to m

emor

y its

ex

tern

al a

ppea

ranc

e an

d ar

rang

emen

t in

the

rack

; and

also

fell,

at l

engt

h,

upon

a d

isco

very

whi

ch s

et a

t re

st w

hate

ver

trivi

al d

oubt

I m

ight

hav

e en

tert

aine

d. I

n sc

rutin

izin

g th

e ed

ges o

f the

pap

er, I

obs

erve

d th

em to

be

mor

e ch

afed

than

seem

ed n

eces

sary

. The

y pr

esen

ted

the

brok

en a

ppea

ranc

e w

hich

is

man

ifest

ed w

hen

a st

iff p

aper

, ha

ving

bee

n on

ce f

olde

d an

d pr

esse

d w

ith a

fol

der,

is re

fold

ed i

n a

reve

rsed

dir

ectio

n, i

n th

e sa

me

crea

ses

or e

dges

whi

ch h

ad fo

rmed

the

orig

inal

fold

. Th

is d

isco

very

was

su

ffic

ient

. It

was

cle

ar to

me

that

the

lette

r had

bee

n tu

rned

, as

a gl

ove,

in

side

out

, re-

dire

cted

, and

re-s

eale

d.23

I ba

de th

e M

inis

ter g

ood

mor

n-in

g, a

nd to

ok m

y de

part

ure

at o

nce,

lea

ving

a g

old

snuf

f-bo

x up

on th

e ta

ble.

"T

he n

ext m

orni

ng I

calle

d fo

r the

snuf

f-bo

x, w

hen

we

resu

med

, qui

te

eage

rly,

the

conv

ersa

tion

of th

e pr

eced

ing

day.

Whi

le t

hus

enga

ged,

ho

wev

er, a

loud

rep

ort,

as i

f of a

pis

tol,

was

hea

rd im

med

iate

ly b

enea

th

the w

indo

ws o

f the

hot

el, a

nd w

as su

ccee

ded

by a

serie

s of f

earfu

l scr

eam

s, an

d th

e sh

outin

gs o

f ahh

mob

. D

--

rush

ed t

o a

case

men

t, th

rew

it

open

, and

look

ed o

ut. I

n th

e m

eant

ime,

I st

eppe

d to

the

card

-rac

k, to

ok

the

lette

r, pu

t it i

n m

y po

cket

, and

rep

lace

d it

by a

fac-

simi/e

ii (so

far

as

rega

rds

exte

rnal

s)ii

whi

ch I

had

car

eful

ly p

repa

red

at m

y lo

dgin

gs;ii

im

itatin

g th

e D

--

ciph

er, v

ery

read

ily,

by m

eans

of a

sea

l for

med

of

brea

d.

"The

dis

turb

ance

in

the

stre

et h

ad b

een

occa

sion

ed b

y th

e fr

antic

be

havi

or o

f a m

an w

ith a

mus

ket.

He

had

fired

it

amon

g a

crow

d of

w

omen

and

chi

ldre

n. I

t pro

ved,

how

ever

, to

have

bee

n w

ithou

t bal

l, an

d th

e fe

llow

was

suf

fere

d to

go

his w

ay as

a lu

natic

or a

dru

nkar

d. W

hen

he

had

gone

, D

--

cam

e fr

om t

he w

indo

w,

whi

ther

I ha

d fo

llow

ed h

im

8Bup

on (

A,

B,

D)

'' .

. .

"Om

itted

(A)

hha

terr

ified

(A

, B,

D)

iilo

dgin

gs;/

lodg

ings

-(A

, B

, D

)

TE

XT

O

F "T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

23

imm

edia

tely

upo

n se

curin

g th

e ob

ject

in

view

. So

on a

fterw

ards

I b

ade

him

far

ewel

l. Th

e pr

eten

ded

luna

tic w

as a

man

in

my

own

pay.

" "B

ut w

hat p

urpo

se h

ad y

ou,"

I as

ked,

"in

repl

acin

g th

e le

tter b

y a f

ac-

simile

? W

ould

it n

ot h

ave

been

bet

ter,

at th

e fir

st vi

sit,

to h

ave

seiz

ed i

t op

enly

, and

dep

arte

d?"

"0

--,"

rep

lied

Dup

in,

"is

a de

sper

ate

man

, an

d a

man

of n

erve

. H

is h

otel

, to

o, is

not

with

out a

ttend

ants

dev

oted

to h

is in

tere

sts.

Had

I m

ade

the

wild

att

empt

you

sug

gest

, I m

ight

kk n

ever

hav

e le

ft th

e M

inis

-te

rial p

rese

nce

aliv

e. T

he g

ood

peop

le o

f Par

is m

ight

ll ha

ve h

eard

of m

e no

m

ore.

But

I ha

d an

obj

ect a

part

from

thes

e co

nsid

erat

ions

. You

kno

w m

y po

litic

al p

repo

sses

sion

s. In

thi

s m

atte

r, I

act

as a

par

tisan

of t

he l

ady

conc

erne

d. F

or e

ight

een

mon

ths

the

Min

iste

r ha

s ha

d he

r in

his

pow

er.

She

has

now

him

in h

ers;m

m s

ince

, bei

ng u

naw

are

that

the

lette

r is n

ot in

hi

s pos

sess

ion,

he

will

pro

ceed

with

his

exac

tions

as if

it w

as. T

hus w

ill h

e in

evita

bly

com

mit

him

self,

at

once

, to

his

pol

itica

l de

stru

ctio

n. H

is

dow

nfal

l, to

o, w

ill n

ot b

e m

ore

prec

ipita

te th

an a

wkw

ard.

It

is al

l ver

y w

ell t

o ta

lk a

bout

the f

acili

s de

scens

us A

vern

i;24

but i

n al

l kin

ds o

f clim

b-in

g, a

s C

atal

anin

n sa

id o

f sin

ging

, it

is fa

r m

ore

easy

to

get u

p th

an to

co

me

dow

n. 25

In

the

pres

ent i

nsta

nce

I ha

ve n

o sy

mpa

thy-

at le

ast

no

pity

-for

him

who

des

cend

s. H

e is

that

mon

strum

hor

rend

um,2

6 an

un-

prin

cipl

ed m

an o

f gen

ius.

I c

onfe

ss, h

owev

er, t

hat I

sho

uld

like

very

wel

l to

kno

w th

e pr

ecis

e ch

arac

ter o

f his

thou

ghts

, whe

n, b

eing

def

ied

by h

er

who

m th

e Pr

efec

t ter

ms

'a ce

rtain

per

sona

ge,'

he is

red

uced

to o

peni

ng

the

lette

r whi

ch I

left

for

him

in th

e ca

rd-r

ack.

" "H

ow?

did

you

put a

ny t

hing

par

ticul

ar in

it?

" "W

hy

-it d

id n

ot se

em a

ltoge

ther

righ

t to

leav

e th

e in

teri

or b

lan

k-

that

wou

ld h

ave

been

insu

lting

. D--,0

0at

Vie

nna o

nce,

did

mea

n ev

il tu

rn, w

hich

I to

ld h

im, q

uite

goo

d-hu

mor

edly

, tha

t I s

houl

d re

mem

ber.

So, a

s I k

new

he

wou

ld fe

el so

me

curio

sity

in re

gard

to th

e id

entit

y of

the

pers

on w

ho h

ad o

utw

itted

him

, I th

ough

t it a

pity

not

to g

ive

him

a cl

ue.

He

is w

ell a

cqua

inte

d w

ith m

y M

S., a

nd I

just

cop

ied

into

the

mid

dle

of

the

blan

k sh

eet

the

wo

rds-

--U

nP

P d

esse

in s

i fu

nest

e,

S'il

n'es

t dig

ne

est d

igne

de

Thye

ste.

They

are

to

be f

ound

in

Cre

billo

n's

'Atre

e.' "

27

kksh

ould

(A

) m

mhe

rs;/

hers

-(A

, B,

D)

00To

be

sure

, D

--,

(A)

11w

ould

(A

) nn

Cat

alin

i (A

) m

ispr

int

PP

--U

n/"

'--

--U

n (B

, D

)

24

Thom

as 0

1/iv

e M

abbo

tt

NO

TE

S

Mot

to: T

he L

atin

quo

tatio

n as

crib

ed to

Sen

eca h

as n

ot b

een

loca

ted.

Poe

use

d it

fir

st in

the

I 84

3 ve

rsio

n of

"The

Mur

ders

in th

e R

ue M

orgu

e,"

near

the

end

of th

e ta

le,

but

he o

mitt

ed i

t in

lat

er t

exts

. It

mea

ns "

Not

hing

is

mor

e ha

tefu

l to

w

isdo

m t

han

too

muc

h cu

nnin

g."

Com

pare

Dup

in's

com

men

t: "T

he P

aris

ian

polic

e, s

o m

uch

exto

lled

for a

cume

n, ar

e cu

nnin

g bu

t no

mor

e."

1.

A m

eers

chau

m p

ipe

is al

so m

entio

ned

in "

The

Ligh

t-H

ouse

."

2.

Dup

in li

ved

up th

ree

fligh

ts o

f sta

irs, o

n w

hat w

e ca

ll th

e fo

urth

floo

r. T

he

nam

e of

the

stre

et is

imag

inar

y, a

s are

a n

umbe

r of t

he st

reet

nam

es in

Poe

's ot

her

Dup

in s

torie

s.

3· T

he c

hief

of po

lice

in P

aris

from

I83

I to

I83

6 w

as H

enri

-Jos

eph

Gis

quet

, w

ho d

ied

in F

ebru

ary

I866

. 4·

Com

pare

Pol

itian

2.3

-4,

"I s

hall

die,

Cas

tiglio

ne,

I sh

all

die ..

. of

la

ughi

ng!"

5.

H

otel

mea

ns m

ansi

on o

r to

wn

resi

denc

e; t

he w

ord

is ca

pita

lized

lat

er

whe

n us

ed i

n co

nnec

tion

with

the

ow

ner's

nam

e.

6. C

ompa

re g

etti

ng r

id o

f the

ser

vant

s in

"Th

e C

ask

of A

mon

tilla

do."

7.

See

Mid

sum

mer

Nig

ht's

Dre

am,

5. I.

7-8

, "T

he lu

natic

, th

e lo

ver,

and

the

poet

I A

re o

f im

agin

atio

n al

l com

pact

."

8. T

he m

etho

d of

sear

ch d

escr

ibed

may

com

e fr

om s

ome

acco

unt o

f Nap

o-le

on's

dete

ctiv

e V

idoc

q.

9·

In a

lette

r of A

ugus

t 28,

I84

9, P

oe in

stru

cted

Mrs

. Cle

mm

how

to ex

cuse

th

e lo

ss o

f a d

raw

ing

of E

lmir

a Sh

elto

n: "

Just

cop

y th

e fo

llow

ing

wor

ds in

you

r le

tter:

I ..

. ca

nnot

find

it a

nyw

here

. I to

ok d

own

all t

he b

ooks

and

sho

ok th

em

one

by o

ne."

IO

. Th

e gr

eat B

ritis

h su

rgeo

n Jo

hn A

bern

ethy

(176

4-I8

3 I)

was

ver

y gr

uff,

but

Dup

in's

stor

y is

told

abo

ut a

noth

er s

urge

on,

Sir

Isaa

c Pe

nnin

gton

(I7

45-

I8q

), a

t p.

3 I o

f Nut

s to

Crac

k (P

hila

delp

hia,

I83

5), a

jest

boo

k Po

e re

view

ed in

th

e So

uthe

rn L

itera

ry M

esse

nger

[he

reaf

ter

cite

d as

SLM

}, D

ecem

ber

I835

· I

I.

Proc

rust

ean

bed-

rigo

rous

, ru

thle

ss,

and

arbi

trar

y li

mit

s-de

rive

d fr

om P

rocr

uste

s, a

leg

enda

ry A

ttic

robb

er,

slai

n by

The

seus

, w

ho f

itted

his

vi

ctim

s to

a b

ed b

y st

retc

hing

the

shor

t and

cut

ting

the

feet

off

the

tall.

I

2.

The

sys

tem

of m

ind

read

ing

used

by

the

scho

olbo

y ha

s lo

ng b

een

at-

trib

uted

to

Tom

mas

o C

ampa

nella

. A

n ac

coun

t of

how

he

unco

vere

d hi

s in

-qu

isito

r's th

ough

ts ap

pear

s in

the

Voya

ge to

the M

oon

of C

yran

o de

Ber

gera

c (I6

I9-

55),

a w

ork

refe

rred

to

in P

oe's

"Han

s Ph

aall.

" [S

. L.

Var

nado

, in

Poe

New

slette

r, O

ctob

er I

968,

quo

tes

a des

crip

tion

by E

dmun

d B

urke

of C

ampa

nella

's sy

stem

.}

Hor

ace

Bin

ney

Wal

lace

, in

Sta

nley

(I8

38),

a b

ook

Poe

drew

on

freq

uent

ly,

said

(2

:242

):

It w

as r

emar

ked

by t

he in

geni

ous

Cam

pane

lla th

at w

hen

he w

ishe

d to

dis

cove

r th

e le

adin

g ch

arac

teris

tics o

f any

one

who

m h

e sa

w, h

e arr

ange

d hi

s fea

ture

s in

to a

T E

X T

0 F

.. T

R

L 0

I N

T

E R

" 25

sim

ilitu

de w

ith th

eirs

and

then

obs

erve

d w

hat e

mot

ions

rose

wit

hin

his

hear

t to

play

up,

as i

t wer

e, t

o th

at e

xpre

ssio

n of

coun

tena

nce;

in th

e sa

me

man

ner,

if w

e di

spos

e ou

r in

tere

sts,

and

wis

hes,

whi

ch m

ay b

e ca

lled

the

feat

ures

of f

eelin

g,

into

a c

onfo

rmity

wit

h th

ose

of o

ther

s, w

e sh

all

find

that

the

ir t

houg

hts

and

coun

sels

sta

rt n

atur

ally

up

in o

ur m

ind.

"The

Due

de

L'O

mel

ette

" co

ntai

ns r

efer

ence

s to

irs

hero

's us

e of

phy

siog

nom

y.

I 3.

Poe's

spe

lling

(Roc

hefo

ucau

lt) fo

r Fr

anc;o

is de

Ia R

oche

fouc

auld

(I 6

30-

8o)

is fo

und

in t

he f

irst

editi

on o

f hi

s m

axim

s lis

ted

in t

he B

ritis

h M

useu

m

Cat

alog

ue as

car

ryin

g th

e au

thor

's na

me

on th

e tit

le p

age:

Rejl

exion

es o

u sen

tence

s et

maxim

es m

orale

s de M

onsie

ur d

e Ia

Roch

efouc

ault ..

. (A

mst

erda

m,

I705

); in

Isaa

c D

'Isra

eli's

Cur

iosit

ies o

f Lite

ratu

re, s

o fr

eque

ntly

use

d by

Poe

; and

in T

he D

uke d

e Ia

Roch

efouc

ault's

Max

ims a

nd M

oral

Refl

ectio

ns (N

ew Y

ork:

G. a

nd C

. Car

vill,

I83

5),

whi

ch w

as a

ppar

ently

bas

ed o

n an

"im

prov

ed e

ditio

n" (

with

the

sam

e sp

ellin

g)

issu

ed i

n Ed

inbu

rgh

in I

796.

"L

a B

ougi

ve,"

whi

ch I

hav

e em

ende

d to

La

Bru

yere

, is u

ndou

bted

ly a

prin

ter's

err

or, f

rom

a m

isre

adin

g of

Poe's

man

uscr

ipt.

Poe s

pelle

d th

e na

me

corr

ectly

in c

redi

ting

the

mot

to fo

r "Th

e M

an o

f the

Cro

wd"

an

d in

his

revi

ew o

f Lon

gstre

et's

Geor

gia

Scen

es (S

LM, M

arch

I83

6), w

here

he

also

m

entio

ned

Roc

hefo

ucau

lr. M

achi

avel

li w

as m

entio

ned

in S

atan

ic c

ompa

ny i

n "B

on-B

on,"

alo

ng

with

R

oche

fouc

ault

and

Sene

ca i

n th

e in

trod

uctio

n to

"Pin

akid

ia"

(SLM

, A

ugus

t I8

36,

rew

orke

d in

"M

argi

nalia

," n

o. 4

6, D

emoc

ratic

Re

view,

Dec

embe

r I8

44,

58 I)

; w

ith C

ampa

nella

was

rep

rese

nted

on

the

book

-sh

elve

s of

the

Hou

se o

f Ush

er (B

urto

n's M

agaz

ine,

Sept

embe

r I8

39);

and

with

R

oche

fouc

ault

was

men

tione

d in

a re

view

ofT

he C

anon

s of G

ood B

reed

ing

(Bur

ton's

, N

ovem

ber

I839

). I4

. In

"Li

oniz

ing"

we

read

that

"Si

r Pos

itive

Par

adox

...

obs

erve

d th

at a

ll fo

ols

wer

e ph

iloso

pher

s, a

nd t

hat

all

philo

soph

ers

wer

e fo

ols."

I 5.

Non

dist

ribut

io m

edii

-the

falla

cy o

f the

und

istr

ibut

ed m

iddl

e-is

igno

r-in

g th

e fa

ct t

hat

if al

l A

's ar

e B'

s, al

l B's

may

nor

nec

essa

rily

be A

's.

I6.

Poe

quot

es fr

om th

e Fr

ench

cyn

ic S

ebas

tien-

Roc

h N

icol

as, c

alle

d C

ham

-fo

rt (1

740-

94),

Max

imes

et pe

nsee

s, 2:

{2:

"It i

s saf

e to

wag

er th

at ev

ery

idea

that

is

publ

ic p

rope

rty, e

very

acc

epte

d co

nven

tion,

is a

bit

of s

tupi

dity

, for

it h

as s

uite

d th

e m

ajor

ity."

Poe

had

alre

ady

used

the

Fre

nch

quot

atio

n in

rev

iew

ing]

. P.

R

ober

tson

's So

lomon

See

saw

in B

urto

n's,

Sept

embe

r I8

39,

Writ

ings

of C

harle

s Sp

ragu

e in

Gra

ham

's, M

ay I

84I,

and

Lon

gfel

low

's Ba

llads

and

Oth

er P

oems

in

Gra

ham

's, M

arch

I84

2; h

e us

ed i

t ag

ain

late

r in

"M

argi

nalia

," n

o. 2

50 (S

LM,

June

r 84

9, 3

38).

I 7.

In c

lass

ical

Lat

in am

bitu

s m

eans

seek

ing

offic

e, re

ligio

is s

uper

stiti

on, a

nd

homi

nes

hone

sti is

Cic

ero'

s te

rm fo

r m

en o

f his

par

ty.

Poe

also

ref

erre

d to

relig

io in

th

e fir

st ve

rsio

n of

"M

etze

nger

stei

n" a

nd i

n "M

argi

nalia

," n

o. q

6 (G

raha

m's,

N

ovem

ber

I846

, 24

6).

I8.

]. ].

Coh

ane,

in

his

book

lis

t, A

pril

I859

(ite

m 8

6, c

atal

ogue

30)

, po

inte

d ou

t tha

t Poe

's so

urce

for D

upin

's ar

gum

ent i

n th

e fo

llow

ing

para

grap

h is

Hor

ace

Bin

ney

Wal

lace

's no

vel S

tanl

ey (

cite

d in

no.

I 2

abov

e),

I :20

6-8:

• "!!

26

Thom

as 0

/live

Mab

bott

As

a m

eans

. .

. o

f cul

tivat

ing

the

inte

llect

. .

. I

con

side

r m

athe

mat

ics

as a

st

udy

of li

ttle

valu

e as

com

pare

d w

ith

mor

al lo

gic.

...

The

axi

oms

of m

athe

-m

atic

s are

not

axi

oms o

f gen

eral

trut

h; th

ey ar

e de

rived

from

the

cons

ider

atio

n of

fo

rm a

nd q

uant

ity, a

nd it

doe

s no

r fol

low

that

wha

t is t

rue

offo

rm a

nd q

uant

ity is

tr

ue o

f mor

al p

rinc

iple

s or o

f hum

an m

otiv

es ...

. In

mor

als,

thin

gs ar

e co

nsid

-er

ed a

nd ..:

om pa

red

by th

eir c

ateg

orie

s or q

ualit

ies,

whe

reof

each

thin

g ha

s man

y,

acco

rdin

g to

the

view

and

pur

pose

in re

fere

nce

to w

hich

the

thin

g is

look

ed a

t; w

hat i

s af

firm

ed o

f a t

hing

in c

onte

mpl

atio

n of

one

cate

gory

is n

ot tr

ue o

f it i

n re

spec

t of a

noth

er,

nor t

rue

in re

spec

t of t

hat c

ateg

ory

in re

fere

nce

to a

ll co

nsid

-er

atio

ns ...

. Th

us,

the

posi

tion,

tha

t tw

o th

ings

bei

ng e

qual

to

a th

ird

are

equa

l to

one

anot

her,

may

be

true

uni

vers

ally

if w

e de

fine

"equ

al"

with

abs

olut

e st

rict

ness

, bu

t, in

use

, w

ill c

onst

antly

lea

d to

the

log

ical

fal

lacy

of

an u

n-di

stri

bute

d m

iddl

e te

rm; a

nd i

f you

will

exa

min

e th

e lo

gic

of a

mat

hem

atic

ian

you

will

find

the

erro

r of a

non

-dis

trib

uted

med

ii ve

ry o

ften

com

mitt

ed. A

noth

er

mat

hem

atic

al a

xiom

whi

ch is

not

true

in th

e sc

ope

of ge

nera

l rea

son

is,

that

all

the

part

s tak

en to

geth

er ar

e equ

al to

the

who

le. T

his

is no

t alw

ays t

rue o

f phy

sica

l sc

ienc

e, a

nd is

gen

eral

ly fa

lse i

n m

oral

s. I

t is

not t

rue

in c

hym

ical

com

bina

tion,

an

d th

e in

stin

ct o

f a

chym

ist's

min

d w

ould

be

to d

eny

the

axio

m;

it i

s no

t ne

cess

arily

tru

e th

at if

two

mot

ives

sep

arat

ely

have

giv

en v

alue

s, t

hese

mot

ives

un

ited

will

hav

e a v

alue

equa

l to

thei

r sum

...

. I m

ight

nam

e to

you

man

y ot

her

prin

cipl

es o

f mat

hem

atic

al s

cien

ce w

hich

are

not

true

bey

ond

the

boun

dari

es o

f th

at sc

ienc

e. I

n tr

uth,

mat

hem

atic

s is

a co

mpo

site

scie

nce ..

. an

d no

t a fu

nda-

men

tal e

xhib

ition

of r

easo

n; it

is lo

gic ap

plie

d to t

he sc

ience

s of fo

rm a

nd qu

antit

y ...

. Th

ere

is da

nger

that

the

mat

hem

atic

ian

will

mis

take

the a

xiom

s of h

is sc

ienc

e fo

r th

e pr

inci

ples

of r

easo

n, a

nd w

ill a

pply

uni

vers

ally

wha

t is

true

onl

y of

a pa

rtic

u-la

r sy

stem

.

19.

The

rem

ark

of Ja

cob

Bry

ant

com

es f

rom

A N

ew S

ystem

of A

ncie

nt M

y-tho

logy,

3d e

d. (

1807

), 2:

173.

Poe

ref

erre

d to

it

in "

Pina

kidi

a,"

no.

70 (S

LM,

Aug

ust

1836

, 57

7), a

nd u

sed

it a

gain

in

Eure

ka.

20.

Vis

iner

tiae

is th

e fo

rce

of in

ertia

. 2 I

. C

ompa

re:

"Jus

t as

the

mod

erat

ely-

size

d sh

op-s

igns

are

bet

ter a

dapt

ed to

th

eir o

bjec

t tha

n th

ose

whi

ch ar

e B

robd

igna

gian

, so,

in

at le

ast t

hree

case

s out

of

five,

is a

fact

or

a re

ason

ove

rlook

ed s

olel

y on

acc

ount

of

bein

g ex

cess

ivel

y ob

viou

s. I

t is

alm

ost i

mpo

ssib

le to

see

a th

ing

that

is i

mm

edia

tely

ben

eath

one

's no

se"

("D

oes

the

Dra

ma o

f the

Day

Des

erve

Sup

port

'" in

Eve

ning

Mirr

or, J

anua

ry

9, a

nd W

eekly

Mirr

or, J

anua

ry 1

8, I

845)

. 22

. G

reen

spe

ctac

les

are

men

tione

d al

so i

n "T

he F

olio

Clu

b,"

"Bon

-Bon

,"

and

"The

Mys

tery

of M

arie

Rog

er."

23

. Th

e le

tter w

as o

n an

old

-fas

hion

ed fo

ur-p

age

shee

t, w

ith

text

on

the

first

and

addr

ess

on t

he l

ast p

age,

and

so

coul

d be

tur

ned

insi

de o

ut.

The

min

iste

r er

red

in u

sing

his

ow

n se

al.

24.

Facil

is de

scens

us A

vern

o-"T

he d

esce

nt t

o H

ades

is e

asy"

-co

mes

fro

m

Ver

gil

Aene

id 6

. I 2

6. P

oe u

sed

the

Latin

wor

ds e

arlie

r in

a c

ritic

ism

of

Mis

s Se

dgw

ick'

s Ta

les a

nd Sk

etche

s in

SLM

, Jan

uary

I83

6.

25.

Whe

re th

e re

mar

k of

Ang

elic

a C

atal

ani (

I779

-I84

9), I

talia

n op

era

star

an

d te

ache

r, is

reco

rded

is

not

know

n. P

oe u

sed

her

nam

e pu

nnin

gly

in "

A

Dec

ided

Los

s."

TE

XT

O

F

"T

HE

P

UR

LO

INE

D L

ET

TE

R"

27

26.

"A t

erri

fyin

g m

onst

er"

is fr

om t

he A

enei

d 3.

658

and

is al

so q

uote

d in

"T

he S

yste

m o

f Doc

tor T

arr a

nd P

rofe

ssor

Fec

her."

27

. Th

e qu

otat

ion,

"So

bal

eful

a p

lan,

if u

nwor

thy

of A

treu

s, i

s w

orth

y of

Th

yest

es,"

com

es f

rom

A tre

e et

Thye

ste (

1707

), 5-

4· I

3-15

, by

Pro

sper

-Jol

yot d

e C

rebi

llon

(I67

4-I7

62).

Poe

had

use

d it

prev

ious

ly in

a re

view

of T

hom

as C

amp-

bell'

s Li

fe o

f Petr

arch

in

Gra

ham

's M

agaz

ine,

Sept

embe

r 18

4 r,

and

earli

er h

ad

quot

ed C

rebi

llon'

s Xe

rxes

in

the

mot

to to

"Ep

iman

es"

and

refe

rred

to th

e pl

ay in

"T

he M

urde

rs in

the

Rue

Mor

gue.

" A

bri

ef co

mm

ent o

n C

rebi

llon

is qu

oted

in

"Pin

akid

ia,"

no.

I 2

9 (S

LM,

Aug

ust

!836

, 58

0) a

nd r

epea

ted

in "

Mar

gina

lia,"

no

. 24

(Dem

ocra

tic R

eview

, N

ovem

ber

I844

, 48

8).