CHAPTER I
In my opinion, it is impossible to create characters until one has spent
a long time in studying men, as it is impossible to speak a language until it
has been seriously acquired. Not being old enough to invent, I content
myself with narrating, and I beg the reader to assure himself of the truth of
a story in which all the characters, with the exception of the heroine, are
still alive. Eye-witnesses of the greater part of the facts which I have
collected are to be found in Paris, and I might call upon them to confirm
me if my testimony is not enough. And, thanks to a particular
circumstance, I alone can write these things, for I alone am able to give the
final details, without which it would have been impossible to make the
story at once interesting and complete.
This is how these details came to my knowledge. On the 12th of
March, 1847, I saw in the Rue Lafitte a great yellow placard announcing a
sale of furniture and curiosities. The sale was to take place on account of
the death of the owner. The owner\'s name was not mentioned, but the sale
was to be held at 9, Rue d\'Antin, on the 16th, from 12 to 5. The placard
further announced that the rooms and furniture could be seen on the 13th
and 14th.