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9 PM

I have o to see M Charnot But before that I shall go to his publisher's and find out so whatever

December 31st He lives in the Rue de l'Universite

I have called I have seen hi her orders

As I entered, on the stroke of five, he was spinning a spiral twist of paper beneath the lahter--he a hteen So that is how these big-wigs employ their leisure moments!

The library where I found thelass doors, tall bookcases, dwarf bookcases, bookcases standing on legs, bookcases standing on the floor--of statuettes yelloith shts, paper-knives, pens, and inkstands of "artistic" pat terns He was seated at the table, with his back to the fire, his arer and thu briskly Across the table stood his daughter, leaning forith her chin on her hands and her white teeth showing as she laughed for laughing's sake, to give play to her young spirits and gladden her old father's heart as he gazed on her, delighted

I must confess it made a pretty picture; and M Charnot at that moment was extremely unlike the M Charnot who had confrontedto contemplate

The irl juhtiness, ht confusion To co of that look at sight of Actaeon M Charnot did not rise, but hearing somebody enter, turned half-round in his arht the intruder in the partial shadow of the room

I felt myself doubly uneasy in the presence of this reader of the Early Text and of this laughing girl

"Sir," I began, "I owe you an apology--"

He recognized irlThis gentleinning

She thought so, too, perhaps, and withdrew discreetly into a dim corner, near the bookcase at the end of the rooret, sir, for that accident the other day--I set down the penholder clumsily, in equilibrium--unstable equilibrium--besides, I had no notion there was a reader behind the desk Of course, if I had been aware, I should--I should have acted differently"