THE HIDDEN MASTERPIECE
by HONORE DE BALZAC
Translated By
Katharine Prescott Wormeley
THE HIDDEN MASTERPIECE
CHAPTER I
On a cold morning in December, towards the close of the year 1612, a
young man, whose clothing betrayed his poverty, was standing before
the door of a house in the Rue des Grands-Augustine, in Paris. After
walking to and fro for some time with the hesitation of a lover who
fears to approach his mistress, however complying she may be, he ended
by crossing the threshold and asking if Maitre Francois Porbus were
within. At the affirmative answer of an old woman who was sweeping out
one of the lower rooms the young man slowly mounted the stairway,
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