He began two great works there: a comedy, which was to bring
him fame in a day, and the "Theory of the Will," a long work, like
that of Louis Lambert, meant to be a continuation of the books by
Mesmer, Lavater, Gall and Bichat. Raphael de Valentin as a doctor of
laws was destined by his father for the life of a statesman. Reduced
to extreme poverty, and deprived of his last possession, the islet in
the Loire, inherited from his mother, he was on the point of
committing suicide, in 1830, when a strange dealer in curiosities of
the Quai Voltaire, into whose shop he had entered by chance, gave him
a strange piece of shagreen, the possession of which assured him the
gratification of every desire, although his life would be shortened by
each wish. Shortly after this he was invited to a sumptuous feast at
Frederic Taillefer's. On the next morning Raphael found himself heir
to six million francs. In the autumn of 1831 he died of consumption in
the arms of Pauline Gaudin; they were mutual lovers.
Pages:
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453