Then it occurred to him
that it was not yet seven o'clock, and it might arouse suspicions
if he asked for a room at that early hour. He reflected that he
still had over one hundred francs, and resolved to dine. It should
be his last meal. He went into a restaurant and ordered it. But
he in vain tried to throw off the anxious sadness which filled him.
He drank, and consumed three bottles of wine without changing the
current of his thoughts.
The waiters were surprised to see him scarcely touch the dishes set
before him, and growing more gloomy after each potation. His dinner
cost ninety francs; he threw his last hundred-franc note on the
table, and went out. As it was not yet late, he went into another
restaurant where some students were drinking, and sat down at a
table in the farther corner of the room. He ordered coffee and
rapidly drank three or four cups. He wished to excite himself, to
screw up his courage to do what he had resolved upon; but he could
not; the drink seemed only to make him more and more irresolute.
A waiter, seeing him alone at the table, offered him a newspaper.
He took it mechanically, opened it, and read:
"Just as we are going to press, we learn that a well-known person
has disappeared, after announcing his intention to commit suicide.
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