Page:Works of Heinrich Heine 01.djvu/100

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84
FLORENTINE NIGHTS.

wretched dancing. Then they praised the dog at my expense, fed him with cakes, and threw me the crumbs. "The dog," she said, "was her best support; he pleased the public, which did not take the least interest in me; that the dog must maintain me by his work, and that I lived on the charity and refuse of the dog. Damn the dog!'

"'Oh! you need not curse him again,' I interrupted the angry beauty. 'He is dead; I saw him die'——

"'Is the beast done for at last? 'cried Laurence, as she sprang up with delight beaming in every feature.

"'The dwarf also is dead,' I added.

"'Monsieur Turlutu?' cried Laurence, also joyfully. But the expression faded from her face gradually, and with a milder, almost melancholy tone, she sighed, 'Poor Turlutu!'

"As I did not conceal from her that the dwarf in his dying moments had complained of her bitterly, she burst into passionate protestation that she had the fullest intention and desire to provide for the dwarf in the best manner, and that she had offered him an annual pension if he would live quietly and modestly, anywhere in the country. 'But with his habitual vanity and desire of distinction,' continued Laurence, 'he desired to remain in Paris and dwell in my