首页 >出版文学> The Works of Edgar Allan Poe>第26章
  Astheapeapproachedthecasementwithitsmutilatedburden,thesailorshrankaghasttotherod,and,ratherglidingthanclamberingdownit,hurriedatoncehome-dreadingtheconsequencesofthebutchery,andgladlyabandoning,inhisterror,allsolicitudeaboutthefateoftheOurang-Outang。ThewordsheardbythepartyuponthestaircaseweretheFrenchman’sexclamationsofhorrorandaffright,commingledwiththefiendishjabberingsofthebrute。
  Ihavescarcelyanythingtoadd。TheOurang-Outangmusthaveescapedfromthechamber,bytherod,justbeforethebreakofthedoor。Itmusthaveclosedthewindowasitpassedthroughit。Itwassubsequentlycaughtbytheownerhimself,whoobtainedforitaverylargesumatthe_JardindesPlantes。_LeDonwasinstantlyreleased,uponournarrationofthecircumstanceswithsomecommentsfromDupinatthebureauofthePrefectofPolice。Thisfunctionary,howeverwelldisposedtomyfriend,couldnotaltogetherconcealhischagrinattheturnwhichaffairshadtaken,andwasfaintoindulgeinasarcasmortwo,abouttheproprietyofeverypersonmindinghisownbusiness。
  “Lethimtalk。”saidDupin,,whohadnotthoughtitnecessarytoreply。“Lethimdiscourse;itwilleasehisconscience,Iamsatisfiedwithhavingdefeatedhiminhisowncastle。Nevertheless,thathefailedinthesolutionofthismystery,isbynomeansthatmatterforwonderwhichhesupposesit;for,intruth,ourfriendthePrefectissomewhattoocunningtobeprofound。Inhiswisdomisno_stamen。_Itisallheadandnobody,likethepicturesoftheGoddessLaverna,or,atbest,allheadandshoulders,likeacodfish。Butheisagoodcreatureafterall。Ilikehimespeciallyforonemasterstrokeofcant,bywhichhehasattainedhisreputationforingenuity。Imeanthewayhehas’_deniercequiest,etd’expliquercequin’estpas。_’“*
  *Rousseau-NouvelleHeloise。
  EsgiebteineReiheidealischerBegebenheiten,diederWirklichkeitparallellauft。Seltenfallensiezusammen。MenschenundzufallemodifieirengewohulichdieidealischeBegebenheit,sodasssieunvollkommenerscheint,undihreFolgengleichfallsunvollkommensind。SobeiderReformation;stattdesProtestantismuskamdasLutherthumhervor。
  Thereareidealseriesofeventswhichrunparallelwiththerealones。Theyrarelycoincide。Menandcircumstancesgenerallymodifytheidealtrainofevents,sothatitseemsimperfect,anditsconsequencesareequallyimperfect。ThuswiththeReformation;
  insteadofProtestantismcameLutheranism-
  Novalis。{*2}MoralAnsichten。
  THEREarefewpersons,evenamongthecalmestthinkers,whohavenotoccasionallybeenstartledintoavagueyetthrillinghalf-credenceinthesupernatural,bycoincidencesofsoseeminglymarvellousacharacterthat,asmerecoincidences,theintellecthasbeenunabletoreceivethem。Suchsentiments-forthehalf-credencesofwhichI
  speakhaveneverthefullforceofthought-suchsentimentsareseldomthoroughlystifledunlessbyreferencetothedoctrineofchance,or,asitistechnicallytermed,theCalculusofProbabilities。NowthisCalculusis,initsessence,purelymathematical;andthuswehavetheanomalyofthemostrigidlyexactinscienceappliedtotheshadowandspiritualityofthemostintangibleinspeculation。
  TheextraordinarydetailswhichIamnowcalledupontomakepublic,willbefoundtoform,asregardssequenceoftime,theprimarybranchofaseriesofscarcelyintelligiblecoincidences,whosesecondaryorconcludingbranchwillberecognizedbyallreadersinthelatemurderofMaryCecilaRogers,atNewYork。
  When,inanarticleentitled“TheMurdersintheRueMorgue。”I
  endeavored,aboutayearago,todepictsomeveryremarkablefeaturesinthementalcharacterofmyfriend,theChevalierC。AugusteDupin,itdidnotoccurtomethatIshouldeverresumethesubject。Thisdepictingofcharacterconstitutedmydesign;andthisdesignwasthoroughlyfulfilledinthewildtrainofcircumstancesbroughttoinstanceDupin’sidiosyncrasy。Imighthaveadducedotherexamples,butIshouldhaveprovennomore。Lateevents,however,intheirsurprisingdevelopment,havestartledmeintosomefartherdetails,whichwillcarrywiththemtheairofextortedconfession。HearingwhatIhavelatelyheard,itwouldbeindeedstrangeshouldIremainsilentinregardtowhatIbothheardandsawsolongago。
  UponthewindingupofthetragedyinvolvedinthedeathsofMadameL’Espanayeandherdaughter,theChevalierdismissedtheaffairatoncefromhisattention,andrelapsedintohisoldhabitsofmoodyreverie。Prone,atalltimes,toabstraction,Ireadilyfellinwithhishumor;and,continuingtooccupyourchambersintheFaubourgSaintGermain,wegavetheFuturetothewinds,andslumberedtranquillyinthePresent,weavingthedullworldaroundusintodreams。
  Butthesedreamswerenotaltogetheruninterrupted。Itmayreadilybesupposedthatthepartplayedbymyfriend,inthedramaattheRueMorgue,hadnotfailedofitsimpressionuponthefanciesoftheParisianpolice。Withitsemissaries,thenameofDupinhadgrownintoahouseholdword。ThesimplecharacterofthoseinductionsbywhichhehaddisentangledthemysteryneverhavingbeenexplainedeventothePrefect,ortoanyotherindividualthanmyself,ofcourseitisnotsurprisingthattheaffairwasregardedaslittlelessthanmiraculous,orthattheChevalier’sanalyticalabilitiesacquiredforhimthecreditofintuition。Hisfranknesswouldhaveledhimtodisabuseeveryinquirerofsuchprejudice;buthisindolenthumorforbadeallfartheragitationofatopicwhoseinteresttohimselfhadlongceased。Itthushappenedthathefoundhimselfthecynosureofthepolicialeyes;andthecaseswerenotfewinwhichattemptwasmadetoengagehisservicesatthePrefecture。
  OneofthemostremarkableinstanceswasthatofthemurderofayounggirlnamedMarieRog阾。
  ThiseventoccurredabouttwoyearsaftertheatrocityintheRueMorgue。Marie,whoseChristianandfamilynamewillatoncearrestattentionfromtheirresemblancetothoseoftheunfortunate“cigar-
  girl。”wastheonlydaughterofthewidowEstelleRog阾。Thefatherhaddiedduringthechild’sinfancy,andfromtheperiodofhisdeath,untilwithineighteenmonthsbeforetheassassinationwhichformsthesubjectofournarrative,themotheranddaughterhaddwelttogetherintheRuePav閑SaintAndr閑;{*3}Madametherekeepingapension,assistedbyMarie。Affairswentonthusuntilthelatterhadattainedhertwenty-secondyear,whenhergreatbeautyattractedthenoticeofaperfumer,whooccupiedoneoftheshopsinthebasementofthePalaisRoyal,andwhosecustomlaychieflyamongthedesperateadventurersinfestingthatneighborhood。MonsieurLeBlanc{*4}wasnotunawareoftheadvantagestobederivedfromtheattendanceofthefairMarieinhisperfumery;andhisliberalproposalswereacceptedeagerlybythegirl,althoughwithsomewhatmoreofhesitationbyMadame。
  Theanticipationsoftheshopkeeperwererealized,andhisroomssoonbecamenotoriousthroughthecharmsofthesprightlygrisette。Shehadbeeninhisemployaboutayear,whenheradmirerswerethrowninfoconfusionbyhersuddendisappearancefromtheshop。MonsieurLeBlancwasunabletoaccountforherabsence,andMadameRog阾wasdistractedwithanxietyandterror。Thepublicpapersimmediatelytookupthetheme,andthepolicewereuponthepointofmakingseriousinvestigations,when,onefinemorning,afterthelapseofaweek,Marie,ingoodhealth,butwithasomewhatsaddenedair,madeherre-appearanceatherusualcounterintheperfumery。Allinquiry,exceptthatofaprivatecharacter,wasofcourseimmediatelyhushed。
  MonsieurLeBlancprofessedtotalignorance,asbefore。Marie,withMadame,repliedtoallquestions,thatthelastweekhadbeenspentatthehouseofarelationinthecountry。Thustheaffairdiedaway,andwasgenerallyforgotten;forthegirl,ostensiblytorelieveherselffromtheimpertinenceofcuriosity,soonbadeafinaladieutotheperfumer,andsoughttheshelterofhermother’sresidenceintheRuePav閑SaintAndr閑。
  Itwasaboutfivemonthsafterthisreturnhome,thatherfriendswerealarmedbyhersuddendisappearanceforthesecondtime。Threedayselapsed,andnothingwasheardofher。OnthefourthhercorpsewasfoundfloatingintheSeine,*neartheshorewhichisoppositetheQuartieroftheRueSaintAndree,andatapointnotveryfardistantfromthesecludedneighborhoodoftheBarri鑢eduRoule。{*6}
  Theatrocityofthismurder,foritwasatonceevidentthatmurderhadbeencommitted,theyouthandbeautyofthevictim,and,aboveall,herpreviousnotoriety,conspiredtoproduceintenseexcitementinthemindsofthesensitiveParisians。Icancalltomindnosimilaroccurrenceproducingsogeneralandsointenseaneffect。Forseveralweeks,inthediscussionofthisoneabsorbingtheme,eventhemomentouspoliticaltopicsofthedaywereforgotten。ThePrefectmadeunusualexertions;andthepowersofthewholeParisianpolicewere,ofcourse,taskedtotheutmostextent。
  Uponthefirstdiscoveryofthecorpse,itwasnotsupposedthatthemurdererwouldbeabletoelude,formorethanaverybriefperiod,theinquisitionwhichwasimmediatelysetonfoot。Itwasnotuntiltheexpirationofaweekthatitwasdeemednecessarytoofferareward;andeventhenthisrewardwaslimitedtoathousandfrancs。
  Inthemeantimetheinvestigationproceededwithvigor,ifnotalwayswithjudgment,andnumerousindividualswereexaminedtonopurpose;while,owingtothecontinualabsenceofallcluetothemystery,thepopularexcitementgreatlyincreased。Attheendofthetenthdayitwasthoughtadvisabletodoublethesumoriginallyproposed;and,atlength,thesecondweekhavingelapsedwithoutleadingtoanydiscoveries,andtheprejudicewhichalwaysexistsinParisagainstthePolicehavinggivenventtoitselfinseveralserious閙eutes,thePrefecttookituponhimselftoofferthesumoftwentythousandfrancs“fortheconvictionoftheassassin。”or,ifmorethanoneshouldprovetohavebeenimplicated,“fortheconvictionofanyoneoftheassassins。”Intheproclamationsettingforththisreward,afullpardonwaspromisedtoanyaccomplicewhoshouldcomeforwardinevidenceagainsthisfellow;andtothewholewasappended,whereveritappeared,theprivateplacardofacommitteeofcitizens,offeringtenthousandfrancs,inadditiontotheamountproposedbythePrefecture。Theentirerewardthusstoodatnolessthanthirtythousandfrancs,whichwillberegardedasanextraordinarysumwhenweconsiderthehumbleconditionofthegirl,andthegreatfrequency,inlargecities,ofsuchatrocitiesastheonedescribed。
  Noonedoubtednowthatthemysteryofthismurderwouldbeimmediatelybroughttolight。Butalthough,inoneortwoinstances,arrestsweremadewhichpromisedelucidation,yetnothingwaselicitedwhichcouldimplicatethepartiessuspected;andtheyweredischargedforthwith。Strangeasitmayappear,thethirdweekfromthediscoveryofthebodyhadpassed,andpassedwithoutanylightbeingthrownuponthesubject,beforeevenarumoroftheeventswhichhadsoagitatedthepublicmind,reachedtheearsofDupinandmyself。Engagedinresearcheswhichabsorbedourwholeattention,ithadbeennearlyamonthsinceeitherofushadgoneabroad,orreceivedavisiter,ormorethanglancedattheleadingpoliticalarticlesinoneofthedailypapers。ThefirstintelligenceofthemurderwasbroughtusbyG,inperson。HecalleduponusearlyintheafternoonofthethirteenthofJuly,18,andremainedwithusuntillateinthenight。Hehadbeenpiquedbythefailureofallhisendeavorstoferretouttheassassins。Hisreputation-sohesaidwithapeculiarlyParisianair-wasatstake。Evenhishonorwasconcerned。Theeyesofthepublicwereuponhim;andtherewasreallynosacrificewhichhewouldnotbewillingtomakeforthedevelopmentofthemystery。HeconcludedasomewhatdrollspeechwithacomplimentuponwhathewaspleasedtotermthetactofDupin,andmadehimadirect,andcertainlyaliberalproposition,theprecisenatureofwhichIdonotfeelmyselfatlibertytodisclose,butwhichhasnobearinguponthepropersubjectofmynarrative。
  Thecomplimentmyfriendrebuttedasbesthecould,butthepropositionheacceptedatonce,althoughitsadvantageswerealtogetherprovisional。Thispointbeingsettled,thePrefectbrokeforthatonceintoexplanationsofhisownviews,interspersingthemwithlongcommentsupontheevidence;ofwhichlatterwewerenotyetinpossession。Hediscoursedmuch,andbeyonddoubt,learnedly;whileIhazardedanoccasionalsuggestionasthenightworedrowsilyaway。