## Prediction of Cassandra to M. Léon d'Audiffret.¹

1\. Thy son shall depart from here And make a very great stir, Shall sing, shall shout, shall laugh — But rot, yes rot he shall. To Paris he shall repair, At Bignon's shall take his lunch, Through the Bois shall take his ride — And rot, yes rot he shall.

2\. All the vilest haunts shall frequent, Shall keep cocottes in his pay, Shall fancy himself a nabob — And rot, yes rot he shall!

3\. At the Moulin Rouge shall dine, Shall drink champagne aplenty, Shall smash plates and glasses too — And rot, yes rot he shall.

4\. At Mabille shall he dance Till he casts off his coat, Shall soil his yellow gloves — And rot, yes rot he shall.

5\. His top hat shall be dented, His shirt shall be in tatters, Then in the gutter he'll roll — And rot, yes rot he shall.

6\. A great scandal shall produce, Shall conduct himself shamefully, And finally shall get drunk — He shall rot, he shall rot!

7\. The police shall pinch him fast, Into the cells shall stuff him, Where the night he shall pass — And rot, yes rot he shall.

8\. When from there he shall come out Shall start again, worse than before, At the club shall gamble and lose — And rot, yes rot he shall.

9\. Having lost everything, shall weep, Shall tear out his hair, Shall regret Andriot — And rot, yes rot he shall.

10\. Then shall put on his Greek cap, Shall present himself to Gioia, Shall beg for a little love — And rot, yes rot he shall.

11\. "I am a pauper," he shall tell her, And the beauty shall drive him off, For pay her he shall not be able — He shall rot, he shall rot!

12\. Shall then turn toward Laura, Shall bring her to a hotel, Shall keep her there several days — And rot, yes rot he shall.

13\. When she shall need to dress He shall not know how to help her, And Émile shall dress her himself — He shall rot, he shall rot!

14\. Such joy shall he express That the hotel shall revolt — And turned out, yes turned out shall he be — He shall rot, he shall rot!

15\. At last to Nice shall return, Shall plunge into the sea, Shall leave all his filth therein — But rot, yes rot he shall.

16\. Up to the château shall climb, His blasted father shall embrace, The white coat shall put on — And rot, yes rot he shall.

17\. Shall assure thee how wise he has grown, A thousand fancies shall relate, Shall fool thee like any old beast — And rot, yes rot he shall.

18\. With Saëtone shall dine, At the Français shall show himself, Shall cast eyes of fire about — But rot, yes rot he shall!

19\. Shall take singing lessons, But his voice shall not return — Shall cough and howl — And rot, yes rot he shall.

20\. Shall dream of speculation, Shall run the Opera house, A thousand expenses shall cut — But rot, yes rot he shall.

21\. Shall daub the scenery himself, Shall paint the actresses' faces, At rehearsals shall preside — But rot, yes rot he shall.

22\. Shall admire his own work, In his box shall strut and preen, In his armchair shall fall asleep — And rot, yes rot he shall.

23\. With a start shall awaken At the shrill cry to be raised By the actress whose voice shall crack — And rot, yes rot he shall.

24\. The public shall cry out, Shall storm up to Émile's box And from on high shall hurl him down — And rot, yes rot he shall.

25\. Broken, he shall rise again, Shall limp back to the château, Worn-out like thyself shall remain — And rot, yes rot he shall.

26\. The theatre shall be shut, His effects disposed of, Émile shall have a wig — And rot, yes rot he shall.

27\. Shall refuse to own himself beaten, Shall take up the irrigation trade, But there too shall fail — And rot, yes rot he shall.

28\. All his goods shall squander, His fine château shall sell, Shall mortgage even thee — And rot, yes rot he shall.

29\. These wreckages shall gather up, All anew shall spend again, One last brilliant day shall shine — And rot, yes rot he shall.

30\. From his friends shall borrow, Shall never repay a sou, Every last penny shall gobble up — And rot, yes rot he shall.

31\. At last shall repent, Shall take up his trade again, And measure cloth once more — But rot, yes rot he shall.

32\. Shall never reform himself, Shall overturn the shop, Shall stir up the assistants — And rot, yes rot he shall.

33\. At his trade shall take offence, Shall recall the good old days, And at last shall make his escape — And rot, yes rot he shall.

34\. His uncle shall spit upon him, Shall call him villain, And after that shall curse him — He shall rot, he shall rot!

35\. Then shall he come to a stop, Shall pull his Greek cap down, Shall look about him all around — And rot, yes rot he shall.

36\. One fine day shall marry, Shall fire upon his wife like thee, And by her shall be thrown out — He shall rot, he shall rot!

37\. Like a pale shadow shall wander, Shall reel and shall turn — But rot he must and always must — And rot, yes rot he shall.

As one may have observed, I have enlarged and revised this poem to thirty-eight stanzas.

We composed it together with Collignon, who is a serious woman.

I have already begun to copy it out, and this fine thing will be received before long.

How wretched I am when it rains! I have not gone out; I have seen no one. I know nothing of what is happening! Are we not sufficiently alone, sufficiently abandoned!

Varpahovsky dined here.

How great is human vanity! I thought, looking at the château. If Audiffret did not have that great mass of stones, I would not even speak of him.

Every time I am ready to give him up, I have only to look at his château to say to myself: No — he has too fine a château.

And yet what do I care about the château, since I do not even want to have it? Alone — yes. But with Audiffret inside it — no.

Georges — that dear man — is here in a state impossible to imagine. Fortunately he makes no noise, and they hide him from me.

Ah! How tiresome life is!