The Misfortunes of Virtue, and Other Early Tales by Marquis de Sade

Author:Marquis de Sade
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2010-02-02T18:12:00+00:00

The honest Monsieur de Corville had not sat through this tale without being prodigiously moved by it. As for Madame de Lorsange, whose sensibility, as we have said, had not been blunted by the monstrous errors of her youth, she was almost reduced to a swooning state.

`Mademoiselle,' she said to Sophie, `it is difficult to hear you and not be moved to feel the keenest interest in your case. But I must confess, a sentiment which I cannot explain, keener still than that interest I defined a moment since, draws me irresistibly to you and makes your misfortunes mine. You have kept your name from me, Sophie, you have concealed the truth of your birth. Tell me the secret, I beg you. Do not think it is idle curiosity which prompts me to ask this of you. If what I suspect should be true . . . 0 Justine! If only you were my sister!'

`Justine! Madame, what name ...Y

`She would be your age now.'

`0 Juliette, is that you whose voice I hear?' said the ill-starred prisoner throwing herself into the arms of Madame de Lorsange. `You! My sister! Great God! But what blasphemy have I committed in doubting Providence! Ah! I shall die less wretched now that I have been allowed to embrace you once more!'

And the two sisters, their arms tightly encircling each other, spoke only through sobs and heard each other only in their tears. Monsieur de Corville, incapable of stopping up his eyes and perceiving that he could not but take the most pressing interest in these events, immediately left the chamber and entered an adjacent room. There he wrote to the Lord Chancellor, painting the wretched Justine's ghastly fate in strokes of blood and offering to stand as guarantor for her innocence. He petitioned that until a full investigation into her trial was complete, the alleged criminal be detained in his chateau and nowhere else, and signed an undertaking to give her up immediately on receipt of his Lordship's order requiring him to do so. Having written his letter, he gave it into the keeping of the two escorts, made himself known to them, ordered them to deliver it immediately to its destination and to return. Then, if the Chief Magistrate gave his authorization, they were to carry the prisoner to his residence. The two men, seeing that they were dealing with a person of consequence, did not fear that they would be compromised by obeying his instructions. In the mean time, a carriage drew up at the ready.

`So beautiful and so ill-used!' said Monsieur de Corville to Justine who was still locked in her sister's arms. `Come. The past quarter of an hour has wrought a transformation in your affairs. It must not be said that your virtues will never find their reward on this earth, nor that you met only with hearts of flint. Come, follow me. You are my prisoner. Henceforth I alone shall answer for you.'

Then Monsieur de Corville spoke briefly of what he had just arranged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.