Night had already come as I drew my cloak more closely about me and stepped forth into the street. I had lingered long over my meal, as a man will who has been alone all the day and sees little chance of companionship before him. For in all the city I knew no one, and there seemed small prospect of the night bringing any enjoyment with it. I turned to the left, away from that dingy house in the Rue Bailleul, which was the only home I had thus far found in Paris, determined to forget, for a time at least, its narrow entrance leading to the dirty interior court, where a thousand odors struggled ceaselessly for mastery; the dark staircase mounting steeply upward, and the close little room, which a single week’s occupancy had sufficed[10] to render loathsome to me. Ah! it was different from the wide, sweet valley of the Loire. At the outset of my career in Paris I had been confronted by a problem which demanded immediate solution. I might lodge well and dress poorly, or I might dress well and lodge poorly, but I had not money enough to do both well. After mature deliberation, I had chosen the latter course and expended my money upon my wardrobe, reasoning that all the world would notice my attire, while no one would penetrate to my lodging. My neighbors in the Rue Bailleul had not yet recovered from the astonishment with which my advent had filled them, and still gazed wonderingly and suspiciously after me whenever I chanced to pass. So I strode through the night away from that shabby garret, and as I went I thought somewhat bitterly of the high hopes I had brought with me to the city a week before,—hopes of adventure and glory, after the fashion, doubtless, of every youth who came to Paris from the provinces. But a week had passed without adventure, and as for glory, it seemed farther away than ever. In faith, those same hopes were about my only possession, a fact brought painfully to my attention when I had[11] opened my purse ten minutes since to pay my score, and something must needs happen soon or—well, I had seen a man taken from the Seine the day before and his face seemed peaceful. At least, I would never go back to the narrow life which I had always hated. A splash into a pool of mud brought me out of my thoughts. I stopped and looked about me, but did not recognize the street, which seemed a very squalid one. The dilapidated wooden buildings with their plastered fronts tottered together over my head. A putrid stream filled the central gutter, giving forth an odor which reminded me forcibly of the court below my window. I started to retrace my steps and return to a more inviting quarter of the city, when a hand was laid suddenly upon my shoulder. “Ah, monsieur,” said a pleasant voice, “you seem to have lost your way.” “’Tis not a difficult task in Paris,” I replied, and as I did so, threw off the man’s hand and stepped quickly back to have my sword arm free in case of need. “I should be pleased to conduct monsieur wherever he might wish to go,” continued the[12] voice, the face of whose owner I tried in vain to distinguish. “A thousand thanks,” I answered. “If monsieur will tell me the shortest way of reaching the Rue St. Denis I need trouble him no further.”

Noć je već bila došla kad sam bliže zavukao svoj ogrtač i izašao na ulicu. Dugo sam se zadržao na obroku, kao što će čovjek koji je cijeli dan bio sam i pred sobom ne vidi male šanse za društvo. Jer u cijelom gradu nisam poznavao nikoga, a činilo se da će noć donijeti bilo kakav užitak. Skrenuo sam ulijevo, dalje od one prljave kuće u Rue Bailleul, koja je bila jedini dom koji sam do sada pronašao u Parizu, odlučan zaboraviti, barem na neko vrijeme, njen uski ulaz koji vodi u prljavi unutarnji dvor, gdje tisuću mirisa neprestano se borilo za gospodarenje; mračno stubište koje se strmo penje prema gore i bliska sobica, koja je bila dovoljna za jedan tjedan[10] da mi bude odvratna. Ah! bila je drugačija od široke, slatke doline Loire. Na početku svoje karijere u Parizu bio sam suočen s problemom koji je zahtijevao hitno rješenje. Mogao bih se dobro smjestiti i loše odjenuti, ili bih se mogao dobro odjenuti i loše odsjeći, ali nisam imao dovoljno novca da oboje dobro obavim. Nakon zrelog promišljanja, odabrao sam potonji smjer i potrošio novac na svoju garderobu, s obrazloženjem da će cijeli svijet primijetiti moju odjeću, a da nitko neće prodrijeti u moj stan.Moji susjedi u Rue Bailleul još se nisu oporavili od zaprepaštenja kojim ih je ispunio moj dolazak, i još uvijek su začuđeno i sumnjičavo gledali za mnom kad god bih imao priliku proći. Tako sam koračao kroz noć daleko od tog otrcanog potkrovlja, i dok sam išao, pomalo sam gorko razmišljao o velikim nadama koje sam ponio sa sobom u grad tjedan dana prije, nade u avanturu i slavu, po modi, bez sumnje, svaki mladić koji je došao u Pariz iz provincije. Ali prošao je tjedan dana bez avanture, a što se slave tiče, činilo se da je dalje nego ikad. U vjeri, te iste nade odnosile su se na moj jedini posjed, što mi je bolno skrenulo pažnju kada sam[11] otvorio svoju torbicu deset minuta otkako da platim svoj rezultat, a nešto se mora uskoro dogoditi ili – pa, vidio sam čovjek odveden sa Seine dan prije i lice mu se činilo mirnim. Barem se nikad ne bih vratio uskom životu koji sam oduvijek mrzio. Prskanje u bazenu blata izbacilo me iz misli. Zaustavio sam se i pogledao oko sebe, ali nisam prepoznao ulicu, koja mi se činila vrlo jadnom. Oronule drvene zgrade s ožbukanim pročeljima klatile su se zajedno nad mojom glavom. Gnojni potok ispunio je središnji oluk, odajući miris koji me snažno podsjetio na dvorište ispod mog prozora. Počeo sam se vraćati svojim koracima i vraćati se u privlačniji dio grada, kad mi je ruka iznenada položila na rame."Ah, monsieur", rekao je ugodan glas, "čini se da ste zalutali." “Nije težak zadatak u Parizu”, odgovorio sam, i dok sam to činio, odbacio čovjekovu ruku i brzo se odmaknuo kako bih u slučaju potrebe oslobodio ruku s mačem. "Bilo bi mi drago da odvedem monsieura kamo god želi", nastavio je[12] glas, lice čijeg sam se vlasnika uzalud trudio razlikovati. “Hvala tisuću”, odgovorio sam. "Ako mi monsieur kaže najkraći put do Rue St. Denis, ne trebam ga više gnjaviti."