EDITOR'S PREFACE. IN 1866 I made the acquaintance of a man who was short and thick-set, with an agreeable, intelligent face, over which, however, there passed at times, quick as a flash, a gleam of ferocity. This man's language was animated and fanciful; his conversation most agreeable and diverting. He was intimately acquainted with all the small political secrets, spoke of the most distinguished men as if he had lived on intimate terms with them, and related the most detailed anecdotes about their private life. The groundwork of his character was a sovereign contempt for all mankind, whom he looked upon as vile, mean, and capable of the basest actions to gratify their ambition. He said frequently that if there were no kings the nations would soon invent them, because the ambitious need a king to enable them to reach the desired goals. "Kings," said he, "are mirrors which reflect the glory qu'on leur préte. Remove those mirrors, and any number B of people will at once complain at no longer being able to gaze at the tinsel in which they are arrayed. The basis of mankind is made up of vanity and stupidity." The man who thus spoke was known as the Baron de Rimini. In a short time I became his indispensable companion, and the confidence with which I inspired him was such that he revealed to me all the details of his past life, and gave me a voluminous manuscript containing his memoirs. He even drew up a regular deed of sale. It is this manuscript which I now place before the public. I warn the reader that I have not changed a single word of the author's. The style is his own, with all its imperfections and all its originality. In the beginning of the year 1867 Baron de Rimini suddenly disappeared from the little room which he occupied in the Rue de la Fiançée, Number 51. What had become of him? I never knew. But some time afterwards I was summoned before the examining magistrate, who, after asking me several questions about the Baron, ended by demanding the manuscript which he knew to be in my possession. I did not deny the fact, but did not see why I should obey the order to place it in the hands of justice; I even resisted a threat of seizure. Later, I was again summoned to the inferior court for civil causes, and assisted at the nonsuiting of Arthur de Vezzani, who had illegally used the name of Baron de Rimini. I have never been able to understand the motive of the condemnation, the great care taken to nonsuit, and the small concern of police and magistrates at this mysterious disappearance. I am convinced that it is only a fresh adventure in our hero's life, and that at some time I shall receive an explanation of the conduct of the Court. Meanwhile I publish Baron de Rimini's memoirs up to 1866, and feel certain that the readers will find therein ample means of satisfying their curiosity. |