Page:Hoffmann's Strange Stories - Hoffman - 1855.djvu/362

 king requested your opinion of the petition that had been presented to him, for protection against the nightly assassins;—adding, that ever since he had heard of that occurrence, he had cherished towards the lady de Scuderi the utmost respect, gratitude and veneration; and that you were endowed with such pre-emiment [sic] virtue and talents, that, for the first time in his life, he felt an influence, which could overpower that of the malignant destiny to which he had been hitherto subjected. Nay, so much was he impressed with these sentiments, that if Mademoiselle de Scuderi were to bear on her person the finest ornaments he had ever made, the whispering demon of murder would never once tempt him to recover it. At last, 'Mark you, Olivier,' said he, 'what I have now firmly resolved to do. A considerable time since, I received an order for a necklace and a pair of bracelets, from the Princess Henrietta of England. I was not limited to any fixed price, and succeeded in the work, even beyond my best expectations; but my heart was almost broken, when I thought that I must part with these jewels, which, more than any that I had ever made up, had rivetted my affections. You know how that princess fell by the hands of an assassin. Of course the jewels remained unclaimed in my possession, and now, as a token of my veneration and gratitude, I shall present them as a gift from the supposed band of invisible robbers, to the lady de Scuderi. Besides that she will by this means receive a flattering proof of her triumphant influence over the King, I shall at the same time express my contempt for Desgrais, and his troop of catchpoles. You then, Olivier, shall be the bearer of this present to her ladyship's house, and the sooner that she receives it the better.'

"Even at the first mention of your name, it seemed as if a dark veil were drawn aside, and I beheld again in all their brightness and effulgence the delightful hopes and prospects of my youth. Cardillac perhaps observed the impression which his words had made on me, and interpreted it after his own manner. 'You appear,' said he, 'to approve of my