Œuvres Complètes de Alfred de Musset — Tome 7.

A bright‑eyed son of an Orphée‑shop‑owner, Croisilles wanders home along the Seine, his mind humming with verses for Julie Godeau, the coveted daughter of a wealthy local family. His carefree stride and half‑tucked wig paint a portrait of a poet‑dreamer more at home chasing rhymes than counting coin. The promise of love and the sparkle of his modest inheritance keep his steps light as he pictures a future beside the girl with “the most beautiful eyes in the world.”

Returning to the Havre, Croisilles finds his father’s shop sealed and his family’s fortunes vanished, the patriarch having fled to America without a word. Overcome with shock and a sudden, naked desperation, he is drawn to the pier where a loyal old servant, Jean, hands him a brief, cryptic letter. The note hints at hidden motives and unfinished business, leaving the young man at a crossroads between ruin and the faint hope of redemption.