" 'That no reason, not even such as morality and the law would concur in disapproving, can justify the influence which the said Mme.
Jeanrenaud exerts over M.d'Espard, who, indeed, sees her very seldom;nor account for his strange affection for the said Baron Jeanrenaud, Major with whom he has but little intercourse.And yet their power is so considerable, that whenever they need money, if only to gratify a mere whim, this lady, or her son----' Heh, heh! NO REASON EVEN SUCH ASMORALITY AND THE LAW CONCUR IN DISAPPROVING! What does the clerk or the attorney mean to insinuate?" said Popinot.
Bianchon laughed.
" 'This lady, or her son, obtain whatever they ask of the Marquis d'Espard without demur; and if he has not ready money, M.d'Espard draws bills to be paid by the said Mongenod, who has offered to give evidence to that effect for the petitioner.
" 'That, moreover, in further proof of these facts, lately, on the occasion of the renewal of the leases on the Espard estate, the farmers having paid a considerable premium for the renewal of their leases on the old terms, M.Jeanrenaud at once secured the payment of it into his own hands.
" 'That the Marquis d'Espard parts with these sums of money so little of his own free-will, that when he was spoken to on the subject he seemed to remember nothing of the matter; that whenever anybody of any weight has questioned him as to his devotion to these two persons, his replies have shown so complete an absence of ideas and of sense of his own interests, that there obviously must be some occult cause at work to which the petitioner begs to direct the eye of justice, inasmuch as it is impossible but that this cause should be criminal, malignant, and wrongful, or else of a nature to come under medical jurisdiction;unless this influence is of the kind which constitutes an abuse of moral power--such as can only be described by the word POSSESSION----'
The devil!" exclaimed Popinot."What do you say to that, doctor.These are strange statements.""They might certainly," said Bianchon, "be an effect of magnetic force.""Then do you believe in Mesmer's nonsense, and his tub, and seeing through walls?""Yes, uncle," said the doctor gravely."As I heard you read that petition I thought of that.I assure you that I have verified, in another sphere of action, several analogous facts proving the unlimited influence one man may acquire over another.In contradiction to the opinion of my brethren, I am perfectly convinced of the power of the will regarded as a motor force.All collusion and charlatanism apart, I have seen the results of such a possession.Actions promised during sleep by a magnetized patient to the magnetizer have been scrupulously performed on waking.The will of one had become the will of the other.""Every kind of action?"
"Yes."
"Even a criminal act?"
"Even a crime."
"If it were not from you, I would not listen to such a thing.""I will make you witness it," said Bianchon.
"Hm, hm," muttered the lawyer."But supposing that this so-called possession fell under this class of facts, it would be difficult to prove it as legal evidence.""If this woman Jeanrenaud is so hideously old and ugly, I do not see what other means of fascination she can have used," observed Bianchon.
"But," observed the lawyer, "in 1814, the time at which this fascination is supposed to have taken place, this woman was fourteen years younger; if she had been connected with M.d'Espard ten years before that, these calculations take us back four-and-twenty years, to a time when the lady may have been young and pretty, and have won for herself and her son a power over M.d'Espard which some men do not know how to evade.Though the source of this power is reprehensible in the sight of justice, it is justifiable in the eye of nature.Madame Jeanrenaud may have been aggrieved by the marriage, contracted probably at about that time, between the Marquis d'Espard and Mademoiselle de Blamont-Chauvry, and at the bottom of all this there may be nothing more than the rivalry of two women, since the Marquis had for a long time lived apart from Mme.d'Espard.""But her repulsive ugliness, uncle?"
"Power of fascination is in direct proportion to ugliness," said the lawyer; "that is the old story.And then think of the smallpox, doctor.But to proceed.
" 'That so long ago as in 1815, in order to supply the sums of money required by these two persons, the Marquis d'Espard went with his two children to live in the Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve, in rooms quite unworthy of his name and rank'--well, we may live as we please--'that he keeps his two children there, the Comte Clement d'Espard and Vicomte Camille d'Espard, in a style of living quite unsuited to their future prospects, their name and fortune; that he often wants money, to such a point, that not long since the landlord, one Mariast, put in an execution on the furniture in the rooms; that when this execution was carried out in his presence, the Marquis d'Espard helped the bailiff, whom he treated like a man of rank, paying him all the marks of attention and respect which he would have shown to a person of superior birth and dignity to himself.' "The uncle and nephew glanced at each other and laughed.
