There was then no longer any reasonable room for doubt. The rat had
been smelled- and by Diana. Heavens! shall I ever forget the intense
excitement of the moment? Alas! what is the boasted intellect of
man? The rat!- it was there- that is to say, it was somewhere. Diana
smelled the rat. I- I could not! Thus it is said the Prussian Isis
has, for some persons, a sweet and very powerful perfume, while to
others it is perfectly scentless.
The staircase had been surmounted, and there were now only three
or four more upward steps intervening between us and the summit. We
still ascended, and now only one step remained. One step! One
little, little step! Upon one such little step in the great
staircase of human life how vast a sum of human happiness or misery
depends! I thought of myself, then of Pompey, and then of the
mysterious and inexplicable destiny which surrounded us. I thought
of Pompey!- alas, I thought of love! I thought of my many false
steps which have been taken, and may be taken again. I resolved to
be more cautious, more reserved. I abandoned the arm of Pompey, and,
without his assistance, surmounted the one remaining step, and
gained the chamber of the belfry. I was followed immediately afterward
by my poodle. Pompey alone remained behind. I stood at the head of the
staircase, and encouraged him to ascend. He stretched forth to me
his hand, and unfortunately in so doing was forced to abandon his firm
hold upon the overcoat.
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