The Purloined Letter

English
كتاب معرف: 703
وليس من الممكن دائما العثور على غلاف الكتاب للكتاب الذي نشرت طبعة. يرجى النظر في هذا فقط كصورة مرجعية، وليس دائما بالضبط غلاف الكتاب المستخدمة في الطبعة التي نشرت الكتاب.

Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio.

Seneca

 

At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18—, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, or book closet, au troisième, No. 33, Rue Dunot, Faubourg St. Germain. For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer, might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber. For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rogêt. I looked upon it, therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G-, the Prefect of the Parisian police.

We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not seen him for several years. We had been sitting in the dark, and Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down again, without doing so, upon G.'s saying that he had called to consult us, or rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official business which had occasioned a great deal of trouble.

"If it is any point requiring reflection," observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, "we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark."

"That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing "odd" that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities."

"Very true," said Dupin, as he supplied his visitor with a pipe, and rolled towards him a comfortable chair.

"And what is the difficulty now?" I asked. "Nothing more in the assassination way, I hope?"

Edgar Allan Poe - Эдгар Аллан По - إدغار آلان بو

Edgar Allan Poe · English

ملكية عامة

ما لم يذكر خلاف ذلك ، فإن جميع المحتويات المنشورة في هذا الموقع هي في المجال العام. ويشمل ذلك النصوص الأصلية والترجمات وأغلفة الكتب. يمكنك مشاركته وتكييفه لأي استخدام. يرجى الرجوع إلى قسم معلومات عنا لمزيد من المعلومات.