The Normandy Edition of the Works of Guy de Maupassant (Volume 10): Yvette, the Heritage, and Other Stories. Index

by Guy de Maupassant

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1911. Excerpt: ... YVETTE CHAPTER I A DOVE OR A HAWK? AS they were going out of the Cafe Riche, Jean de Servigny said to Leon Saval: "If you're willing, we will walk. The weather is too beautiful to take a cab." And his friend answered: 'All right, I am willing." Jean went on: "It is not quite eleven; we shall arrive there long before twelve, so let us go slowly." A lively throng was swarming on the boulevard, that summer-night crowd, full of the joy of living, that moves, drinks, murmurs and flows like a river. Every few steps a cafe shed its light upon the mass of diners, whose tables, covered with bottles and glasses, were in the way of passing strollers. In the streets cabs with red, green or blue eyes shot by in the projected light, showing, for a second, the silhouette of a trotting, lanky horse, the elevated profile of the coachman and the somber-hued body of the carriage. Those of the Urbaine Company, with their yellow panels, were an exception to the rest when struck by this light. The two friends walked slowly, enjoying their cigars, in full dress, their overcoats thrown on their arms, flowers in their buttonholes and hats carelessly tilted to one side, as they are often worn after a good dinner and when the breeze is slightly warm. They were bound to one another by a strong, solid friendship that dated back to their schooldays. Jean de Servigny, short and thin, slightly bald, somewhat frail, very elegant, with curled mustache, light eyes, delicate lips, was one of those night owls who seem to have been born and brought up on the boulevard; indefatigable and full of vigor, although he always looked exhausted. He was one of those many Parisians to whom the gymnasium, fencing, shower and vapor baths impart a fictitious nervous energy. He was as well known for his fa...

Genres: Fiction

196 pages, Paperback

Published January 31, 2012

About the author

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.