{"product_id":"2940013709010","title":"The Spiritualist","description":"In quest of local colour in that part of France that once was known as\u003cbr\u003eLanguedoc, I spent a week last autumn in the little village of\u003cbr\u003eAubepine. I stayed at the Hotel du Cerf, whereof Jules Coupri is host,\u003cbr\u003eand for companions of an evening I had the village notary, a couple of\u003cbr\u003egrocers, a haberdasher--who was in his way a leader of fashion in\u003cbr\u003eAubepine--the postmaster, and half-a-dozen young farmers, who were in\u003cbr\u003ethe habit of coming there to drink their petit-vin and exchange their\u003cbr\u003eideas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA student of human nature in my humble way, I made a point of mingling\u003cbr\u003efreely with them, and I am afraid that their patience and good nature\u003cbr\u003edrew me to talk a good deal. But on the eve of my departure I was for\u003cbr\u003eonce cast into the shade by a young seafaring man of the better sort,\u003cbr\u003ewho was, he informed us, on his way to Carcassonne. He expatiated upon\u003cbr\u003ethe wonders of Greece and Italy with such eloquent picturesqueness\u003cbr\u003ethat he monopolised the attention which hitherto I had enjoyed without\u003cbr\u003ecompetition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut my revenge was to come. Towards nine o'clock a tall, swarthy man,\u003cbr\u003edressed in black clothes, which, if seedy, were of more or less\u003cbr\u003efashionable cut, and wearing a chimney-pot hat, stalked into the room,\u003cbr\u003eand called for the landlord. He wanted supper as quickly as possible\u003cbr\u003efor himself and his driver--he travelled in a ramshackle carriage--and\u003cbr\u003eannounced to all that he must push on that night to St. Hilaire. He\u003cbr\u003ewas evil-looking of face, yet not without distinction. The nose was\u003cbr\u003ethin as the bill of an eagle, and as curved; the forehead high and\u003cbr\u003enarrow, with absurdly long, black hair brushed straight back; the eyes\u003cbr\u003ewere close-set and piercing; the mouth little more than a straight\u003cbr\u003eline above the square, lean chin. He was on the whole a striking\u003cbr\u003eindividual, and from the moment of his advent he absorbed the\u003cbr\u003eattention of all present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeemingly aware of the impression he had created, he came over to the\u003cbr\u003etable at which I sat, and fell easily into conversation with those\u003cbr\u003eabout upon small matters of provincial interest. In less than five\u003cbr\u003eminutes the sailor and his voyages were forgotten.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI was still speculating upon the man's business in life--for I am of\u003cbr\u003ethose who believe that a man bears upon him the outward signs of his\u003cbr\u003eprofession--when a young farmer happened to mention that his vineyards\u003cbr\u003ehad been doing badly for the last three years--ever since his\u003cbr\u003ebrother's death. The stranger's gimlet eyes were instantly turned upon\u003cbr\u003ehim.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47156581826800,"sku":"2940013709010","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013709010_p0.jpg?v=1763584672","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013709010","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}