Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant novel. A total of 284 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Maupa.s.sant Original Short Stories (180).by Guy de Maupa.s.sant.VOLUME I.GUY DE MAUPa.s
Maupa.s.sant Original Short Stories (180).by Guy de Maupa.s.sant.VOLUME I.GUY DE MAUPa.s.sANT A STUDY BY POL. NEVEUX "I entered literary life as a meteor, and I shall leave it like a thunderbolt." These words of Maupa.s.sant to Jose Maria de Her
- 284 "A gas of our own invention. We have the patent. On the other side of the building are the public entrances-three little doors opening on small streets. When a man or a woman present themselves they are interrogated. Then they are offered a.s.sistanc
- 283 "What can I do for you?""Monsieur," I replied, "pardon my curiosity. I had never seen this establishment. The few words inscribed on the facade filled me with astonishment, and I wanted to know what was going on here."He smiled before replying, then
- 282 She fell on her knees, exclaiming: "Oh, my G.o.d! Oh, my G.o.d! I would never dare! My G.o.d! My G.o.d! Help me!"The priest continued: "The doctor holds out little hope, madame, and George is expecting you!"And he left the room.Two hou
- 281 "I do not mind your seeing them," she murmured, "but I do not know that gentleman who is with you.""He is a doctor also, who can give you better care than I can."She then allowed her face to be uncovered, but her dread, her e
- 280 "Oh, dear, look at that cat; how like it is to Misti."And she explained to the old woman that she had a cat "exactly like that, exactly like that!"The old woman replied gravely: "If you are in love with a man, you must not keep it
- 279 The door of the little house they occupied was open, and we perceived, lying on a stretcher in the small, dimly lighted vestibule the corpse covered with white silk. We could see him plainly as he lay stretched out on his back, his outline clearly defined
- 278 I desired this year to breathe the odor of orange blossoms and I set out for the South of France just at the time that every one else was returning home. I visited Monaco, the shrine of pilgrims, rival of Mecca and Jerusalem, without leaving any gold in a
- 277 Then, turning to my companion, I began to laugh."You know that I am aware of your history. The boating man was not the first.""Oh, yes, my dear, I swear it:""You are lying, my dear.""Oh, no, I a.s.sure you.""Yo
- 276 "Here's a funny thing that happened to me on, that very subject." And he told us the following story: One evening last winter I suddenly felt overcome by that overpowering sense of misery and languor that takes possession of one from time t
- 275 "And your brother, Mathurin, where's he now?"The sailor laughed silently: "Don't worry; he's warm, all right."And both of them looked toward Jeremie, who was triumphantly putting down the double six and announcing: "
- 274 He was no longer young. His gray hair looked a little like those fur bonnets worn by certain Northern peoples, and his long beard, which fell down over his chest, had also somewhat the appearance of fur. He was talking to a lady, leaning toward her, speak
- 273 "Be off with you! What will get me into trouble? Be off with you, miscreants!"She was about to attack us, but we fled, saddened at what we had seen. When we got outside, my friend said: "Well, you have seen her, what do you think of her?""Tell me the
- 272 As I stood erect after picking it up, I noticed that my temples were bathed in perspiration, that cold sweat which is the result of anguish of soul. And I remained until daylight bending over my son, becoming calm when he remained quiet for some time, and
- 271 "I entered the apartment. She rose the moment she heard my name mentioned; and suddenly our eyes met in a peculiar fixed gaze."I sat down. I stammered out some commonplaces which she seemed not to hear. I did not know what to say or do. Then, abruptly,
- 270 They declared that this whimsical Englishman ate nothing but boiled. roasted or stewed monkey; that he would see no one; that he talked to himself hours at a time and many other surprising things that made people think that he was different from other men
- 269 He understood that it was at an end, and there was no hope for him, that he could not marry his negress. She also understood it; and as they drew near the farmhouse they both began to weep. As soon as they had got back to the house, she once more took off
- 268 "There's only one thing you may not like. She is not a white slip."They did not understand, and he had to explain at some length and very cautiously, to avoid shocking them, that she belonged to the dusky race of which they had only seen samples in pic
- 267 The innkeeper was delighted and treated her like a lady, giving her roast fowl, black pudding, leg of mutton and bacon and cabbage. But she ate next to nothing. She had always been a small eater, and had generally lived on a little soup and a crust of bre
- 266 "There is no doubt about that," he replied.I did not attempt to make him understand that it could easily happen that the famished animals had eaten their master, after he had died suddenly in his hut.As for the cross on the wall, it had appeared one mor
- 265 ORIGINAL SHORT STORIES, Vol. 13.GUY DE MAUPa.s.sANT ORIGINAL SHORT STORIES Translated by ALBERT M. C. McMASTER, B.A.A. E. HENDERSON, B.A.MME. QUESADA and Others VOLUME XIII.OLD JUDAS This entire stretch of country was amazing; it was characterized by a gr
- 264 "He killed all the relatives, all the connections of his enemy's family. He slew during his life fourteen gendarmes, burned down the houses of his adversaries, and was, up to the day of his death, the most terrible of all the bandits whose memor
- 263 He slept badly. He rose at dawn, and taking a strong rope, went to get the dog. She stood up slowly, shook herself, stretched and came to welcome her master.Then his courage forsook him, and he began to pet her affectionately, stroking her long ears, kiss
- 262 Inside there are ruined halls, crumbling stairways, unknown cavities, dungeons, walls cut through in the middle, vaulted roofs held up one knows not how, and a ma.s.s of stones and crevices, overgrown with gra.s.s, where animals glide in and out.I was exp
- 261 The following day Zidore did not come.When he did come at last, he found Coco still stretched out; he saw that he was dead.Then he remained standing, looking at him, pleased with what he had done, surprised that it should already be all over. He touched h
- 260 "Be silent, be silent! Let me speak! Don't stop me! It is terrible. Let me tell all, to the very end, without interruption. Listen. You remember-you remember-Henry-"Suzanne trembled and looked at her sister. The younger one went on: "I
- 259 He stopped.She asked: "Then?"He answered: "Then-what did you think? What-what-what would you have answered?"She broke into a peal of laughter. Some of the juice ran off the tips of her fingers on to the carpet."What?""I?
- 258 Monsieur Saval, who was called in Mantes "Father Saval," had just risen from bed. He was weeping. It was a dull autumn day; the leaves were falling. They fell slowly in the rain, like a heavier and slower rain. M. Saval was not in good spirits.
- 257 "'I can prove it to you. His right arm is tattooed.'"'The sleeve was rolled up. It was true. The inspector added, with bad taste: "'You can trust us for the other proofs.'"And they led my maid away!"Well,
- 256 Madame Margot barely smiled, and said in a low tone of voice: "I a.s.sure you that it is very amusing to be loved by a servant. It has happened to me two or three times. They roll their eyes in such a funny manner-it's enough to make you die lau
- 255 Just above their heads, perched in one of the trees which hid them, the bird was still singing. He uttered trills and roulades, and then loud, vibrating notes that filled the air and seemed to lose themselves on the horizon, across the level country, thro
- 254 "Yes, this will do; and, besides, there is a view."They drove into a large field behind the inn, separated from the river by the towing path, and dismounted. The husband sprang out first and then held out his arms for his wife, and as the step w
- 253 M. Lemonnier, frightened, bent his head. He saw a storm brewing.Celeste took his plate, filled it herself and placed it in front of him.He tasted the soup and said: "It is, indeed, excellent."The servant took the boy's plate and poured a sp
- 252 "This is also true," said the others.Then nothing was heard but the bellows which fanned the fire of the furnace. Philip hastily bent himself down to Simon: "Go and tell your mother that I am coming to speak to her this evening." Then
- 251 "But I-I-I have none."Then the workman became serious. He had recognized La Blanchotte's son, and, although himself a new arrival in the neighborhood, he had a vague idea of her history."Well," said he, "console yourself, my
- 250 And he left them.Ladies and gentlemen, what is your opinion on the subject?SIMON'S PAPA Noon had just struck. The school door opened and the youngsters darted out, jostling each other in their haste to get out quickly. But instead of promptly dispers
- 249 "I shook hands with them and told my coachman to start, and during the whole drive the dead man kept falling against me. When we got to his house I said that he had become unconscious on the way home, and helped to carry him upstairs, where I certifi
- 248 "Now I even hate to be with people whom I used to meet with pleasure; I know them so well, I can tell just what they are going to say and what I am going to answer. Each brain is like a circus, where the same horse keeps circling around eternally. We
- 247 Then he married. He married, quite suddenly, a little girl from the provinces, who had come to Paris in search of a husband. How in the world could that little thin, insipidly fair girl, with her weak hands, her light, vacant eyes, and her clear, silly vo
- 246 And each spring, as soon as the little wandering tribe has taken up its abode an the rock, the same sportsmen also reappear in the village. One knew them formerly when they were young; now they are old, but constant to the regular appointment which they h
- 245 The doctor, surprised, insisted: "But why does he dance like that at his age?"She shrugged her shoulders and turned red from the anger which was slowly rising within her and she cried out: "Ah! yes, why? So that the people will think him yo
- 244 15th August. The temptation has come to me. It pervades my whole being; my hands tremble with the desire to kill.22d August. I could resist no longer. I killed a little creature as an experiment, for a beginning. Jean, my servant, had a goldfinch in a cag
- 243 The conductor answered, in a bantering tone of voice: "It's a lady who got left by her husband during the trip."The other continued: "Oh! that's nothing. You go about your business."Then he turned on his heels and walked away
- 242 He began to scold her smilingly: "Is that the way you save money? A cab for a five minutes' ride at six cents a minute! You would deprive yourself of nothing.""That's so," she said, a little embarra.s.sed.A big omnibus was pa
- 241 It was decidedly long, three verses of eight lines each, with the last line and the last but one repeated twice.All went well for the first two verses; they were the usual commonplaces about bread gained by honest labor and by dishonesty. The aunt and the
- 240 "I made the acquaintance of an English family who were stopping at the same hotel where I was. The father looked like those men you see over there, and the mother was like all other Englishwomen."They had two sons, the kind of boys who play roug
- 239 And whose was the sixteenth? She didn't tell. It was doubtless the first. Perhaps everybody knew, for no one was surprised. Even Caniveau kept mum.But Belhomme began to moan again: "Oh-oh-oh! It's scratching about in the bottom of my ear! O
- 238 "Oh! I'm always well and healthy.""And you, Maitre Poiret?" asked the abbe."Oh! I'd be all right only the colzas ain't a-goin' to give much this year, and times are so hard that they are the only things worth w
- 237 "You must acknowledge, madame, that it is very surprising that M. Oreille should have asked no compensation for damages amounting to five hundred francs, and should now claim five or six francs for mending an umbrella."She was not the least put
- 236 Left at home alone, Mme. Oreille could not get over the loss of her eighteen francs by any means. She had put the umbrella on the dining-room table, and she looked at it without being able to come to any determination.Every moment she thought of the a.s.s
- 235 Oreille was continually saying to his wife: "You really might be more liberal, as we have no children, and never spend our income.""You don't know what may happen," she used to reply. "It is better to have too much than too l
- 234 And presently from the top of a high hill we saw again the magnificent valley of the Seine and the winding river beneath us.At our right a very small slate-covered building, with a bell tower as large as a sunshade, adjoined a pretty house with green Vene
- 233 The whole table was convulsed with laughter, so that the gla.s.ses shook, but the bridegroom became furious at the thought that anybody would profit by his wedding to come and poach on his land, and repeated: "I only say-just let them come!"Then
- 232 Mme. Lefevre, however, had become accustomed to the animal. She even went so far as to like it and to give it from time to time pieces of bread soaked in the gravy on her plate.But she had not once thought of the dog tax, and when they came to collect eig
- 231 "What was going on in her poor little head? Was it because she had sacrificed all her fortune that she became madly fond of this youngster, or was it because she had given him the first tender kiss? The mystery is alike for children and for those of
- 230 The Norman, red as a tomato, his eyes ablaze, filled up the gla.s.ses and clinked, saying: "Here's to you!". And the Prussian, without speaking a word, poured down one after another gla.s.sfuls of cognac.It was a contest, a battle, a reveng
- 229 "Dinner made me lose my head altogether. I sat beside her, and my hand continually met hers under the tablecloth, my foot touched hers and our glances met."After dinner we took a walk by moonlight, and I whispered all the tender things I could t
- 228 "I tried to awaken his master's sympathy, so that he should look after him, offering to pay him for doing so. The innkeeper, finally surprised, said, very wisely: 'All that you do for him, monsieur, will only help to destroy him. He must be
- 227 "The following day he felt a little better, and we set out again. But on the road he was seized with intolerable pain, and we could scarcely get as far as Pont Labbe."Here, at least, there was an inn. My friend went to bed, and the doctor, who h
- 226 Then he continued his walk with a solemn demeanor.After that I never lost sight of him, and each morning he began anew his outlandish exercises.I was wildly anxious to speak to him. I decided to risk it, and one day, after greeting him, I said: "It i
- 225 "He should put salt water on it," said another.They brought some salt water and poured it on the wound. The injured man became livid, ground his teeth and writhed a little, but did not exclaim.Then, as soon as the smarting had abated, he said to
- 224 "What steps shall I take, colonel?""We will retire in good order," replied the colonel, "to avoid having to return and make another attack with artillery and a larger force of men."And he gave the command to set out.The colum
- 223 His resolution was formed at once."I will const.i.tute myself a prisoner."He rose, determined to put this plan into execution without a moment's delay. But he stood motionless, suddenly a prey to disturbing reflections and fresh terrors.Whe
- 222 I knew that tall young fellow, Rene de Bourneval. He was an agreeable man, though rather melancholy and seemed prejudiced against everything, was very skeptical, and he could with a word tear down social hypocrisy. He would often say: "There are no h
- 221 She had brought some work with her, for she worked without ceasing by the side of the dead and dying, sometimes for herself, sometimes for the family which employed her as seamstress and paid her rather more in that capacity. Suddenly, she asked: "Ha
- 220 "'M'sieu le Baron.'"'What is it, my dear Jean?'"'I have something to tell you.'"'Tell it, my dear Jean.'"'You remember Louise, my wife.'"'Certainly, I remember her.&
- 219 And Rene du Treilles suddenly exclaimed: "I love this soil; I have my very roots in it."He was a pure Norman, tall and strong, with a slight paunch, and of the old race of adventurers who went to found kingdoms on the sh.o.r.es of every ocean. H
- 218 "Go into one of their huts; you will never find the father there. If you ask the woman what has become of her husband, she will stretch her arms out over the dark ocean which rumbles and roars along the coast. He remained, there one night, when he ha
- 217 They drank one gla.s.s of brandy, then two, then three, and old Amable once more began wandering through the a.s.sembly. His thoughts became slightly confused, he smiled without knowing why, he smiled in front of the lotteries, in front of the wooden hors
- 216 "You'll make yourself ill in the long run."He replied: "Certainly not. I'm a good judge."Nevertheless one evening he came home so fatigued that he had to get to bed without supper. He rose up next morning at the usual hour, b
- 215 "I am much afraid it is.""Come on! Let us start," said another.Those rose up. Then Cesaire, whom a feeling of uneasiness had taken possession of, climbed up the ladder of the loft to see whether his father was ready. The old man, alway
- 214 "That's understood. So long, my lad.""Good-by till we meet again, Monsieur le Cure; many thanks.""Not at all, my lad."And Cesaire Houlbreque returned home, his heart relieved of a great weight.He held on lease a little f
- 213 Cesaire in vain shouted in his ear, in that ear which still heard a few sounds: "I'll take good care of you, daddy. I tell you she's a good girl and strong, too, and also thrifty."The old man repeated: "As long as I live I won
- 212 "There is a drinker, a sorry fellow, a scoundrel for you. I know him well, you may be sure. And he is not even honest, and ill-bred," etc., etc.Three months later, and they are living together.But one morning one hears that they have fought a du
- 211 Joseph, on seeing him, made a wry face. Then he observed him with surprise, as though he were a creature of some peculiar race, which he had never been able to observe at close quarters. During the meal he told some rather free stories, allowable in the i
- 210 Berthe again made a search; and farther down among the reports of criminal cases, she read: "'Gloomy Drama. A shop girl, no longer young, allowed herself to be led astray by a young man. Then, to avenge herself on her lover, whose heart proved f
- 209 Why? I immediately thought that it must have served to work some spring which hid a secret, and I looked. It took a long time. After about two hours of investigation, I discovered another hole opposite the first one, but at the bottom of a groove. Into th
- 208 At last I inquired: "Why do you scream like that?""I have lost my poor dog," he replied in a tone of discouragement and despair."How is that-you have lost your dog?""Yes. He was just a year old. He had never been outside
- 207 A RECOLLECTION How many recollections of youth come to me in the soft sunlight of early spring! It was an age when all was pleasant, cheerful, charming, intoxicating. How exquisite are the remembrances of those old springtimes!Do you recall, old friends a
- 206 "And this is what Lord Byron said, who, nevertheless, loved women: 'They should be well fed and well dressed, but not allowed to mingle with society. They should also be taught religion, but they should ignore poetry and politics, only being all
- 205 At last they stopped, and Monsieur Patissot, judging his neighbor to be a man of initiative, consulted him about the preparations which he expected to make: "Lanterns and flags are all right,"' said Patissot; "but I prefer something be
- 204 "What a celebration it will be, my friend; what a celebration!""Have you heard the news? All the rulers are coming incognito, as bourgeois, in order to see it.""I hear that the Emperor of Russia has arrived; he expects to go about
- 203 "Is this spot good, gentlemen?" Patissot was going to speak, when his friend answered: "Fine!" The whole family smiled and settled down beside the fishermen. The Patissot was seized with a wild desire to catch a fish, just one, any kin
- 202 PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXCURSION M. Patissot, born in Paris, after having failed in his examinations at the College Henri IV., like many others, had entered the government service through the influence of one of his aunts, who kept a tobacco store where the
- 201 He did not understand."What is it you want to distract you? Theatres, evening parties, dinners in town? You knew, however, when you came here, that you ought not to expect any distractions of this kind!"She saw a reproach in these words, and in
- 200 She gazes at the sky full of suns.h.i.+ne and swallows, at the zigzag summits of the Esterel over yonder, and at the sea, the blue, calm, beautiful sea, close beside her.She smiles again, and murmurs: "Oh! how happy I am!"She knows, however, tha
- 199 MOONLIGHT Madame Julie Roubere was expecting her elder sister, Madame Henriette Letore, who had just returned from a trip to Switzerland.The Letore household had left nearly five weeks before. Madame Henriette had allowed her husband to return alone to th
- 198 "After shaking my hands warmly, he took me into what he called his garden. It was at the end of another alleyway enclosed by high walls and was a little square the size of a pocket handkerchief, surrounded by houses that were so high that the sun, co
- 197 "Thank you," said the vicomte.The marquis added: "Please excuse us if we do not stay now, for we have a good deal to see to yet. We shall want a reliable doctor, since the duel is not to end until a serious wound has been inflicted; and you
- 196 When the vicomte reached home he walked rapidly up and down his room for some minutes. He was in a state of too great agitation to think connectedly. One idea alone possessed him: a duel. But this idea aroused in him as yet no emotion of any kind. He had
- 195 Madame d'Hubieres, trembling with anguish, spoke of the future of their child, of his happiness, and of the money which he could give them later.The peasant asked: "This pension of twelve hundred francs, will it be promised before a lawyer?"
- 194 I also learned that Clothaire II had given the patrimony of Gisors to his cousin, Saint Romain, bishop of Rouen; that Gisors ceased to be the capital of the whole of Vexin after the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte; that the town is the chief strategic cent
- 193 When she came out, the people, flattered at this honor paid to a citizen of Gisors, shouted "Long live the dauphine!" But a rhymester wrote some words to a refrain, and the street retained the t.i.tle of her royal highness, for "The princes
- 192 "What general?""General Blaumont! We had to have a statue. We are not 'the proud people of Gisors' for nothing! So we discovered General de Blaumont. Look in this bookseller's window."He drew me towards the bookstore, wh
- 191 We had just left Gisors, where I was awakened to hearing the name of the town called out by the guards, and I was dozing off again when a terrific shock threw me forward on top of a large lady who sat opposite me.One of the wheels of the engine had broken
- 190 When twelve o'clock struck, he called out: "Hullo, mother, is the soup ready?""There's no soup for you, lazy-bones," cried the old woman from her kitchen.He thought she must be joking, and waited a while. Then he begged, impl
- 189 Whenever the gentry of Fecamp gave a dinner they always had at least one of Madame Toine's chickens to be in the fas.h.i.+on.But she was born ill-tempered, and she went through life in a mood of perpetual discontent. Annoyed at everyone, she seemed t
- 188 He brooded over it all night long.The next day, about one in the afternoon, Marius Paumelle, a farm hand of Maitre Breton, the market gardener at Ymauville, returned the pocketbook and its contents to Maitre Holbreque, of Manneville.This man said, indeed,
- 187 Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, had just arrived at G.o.derville and was making his way toward the square when he perceived on the ground a little piece of string. Maitre Hauchecorne, economical as are all true Normans, reflected that everything was worth
- 186 Patin was a good sailor, but brutal. He used to frequent Father Auban's inn, where he would usually drink four or five gla.s.ses of brandy, on lucky days eight or ten gla.s.ses and even more, according to his mood. The brandy was served to the custom
- 185 He turned his attention to the other letters. They were of no importance.The whole day he kept thinking of this ghost of other days. What was she like now? How strange it was to meet in this way after twenty-five years! But would he recognize her?He made