The Magic Skin

"Towards the end of the month of October 1829 a young man entered the
Palais-Royal just as the gaming-houses opened, agreeably to the law which
protects a passion by its very nature easily excisable. He mounted the staircase
of one of the gambling hells distinguished by the number 36, without too much
deliberation.

"Your hat, sir, if you please?" a thin, querulous voice called out. A
little old man, crouching in the darkness behind a railing, suddenly rose and
exhibited his features, carved after a mean design."

- Excerpted from "The Magic Skin"